United Airlines(HOUSTON) -- An African woman has filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against United Airlines charging she and her two young children were removed from a flight and publicly humiliated after she had a confrontation with a white passenger.



The Nigerian woman, Queen Obioma, said she and her children suffered unnecessary embarrassment when a flight crew ordered them off a plane in Houston, Texas, in 2016 after the passenger complained to a pilot that she was "pungent" and he was uncomfortable flying on the same plane as her, according to the lawsuit.



The suit was filed on Friday in federal court in Houston and asks for damages of more than $75,000.



Obioma says she was taking her two children to Ontario, Canada, to enroll in a school and had boarded the second-leg of a three-plane flight to their destination when they were forced off the jet, according to the suit.



"United has no legitimate reason or justification to remove [Obioma] from the flight but for racial prejudice and insulted [her] by stating that Ms. Obioma stank," according to the lawsuit.



In a statement to ABC News on Sunday, the airline said, "United does not tolerate discrimination of any kind and will investigate this matter."



"We have not yet been served with this suit and due to the pending litigation involved, were unable to provide further comment," a spokeswoman for the airline told ABC News.



In a statement to ABC News on Monday, Obioma's lawyer, Nwadi Nwogu, said the "lawsuit speaks for itself."



"For now we will decline further comment except to say that we have a responsibility to our client to seek redress for the unfair, undeserving and [inhumane] treatment she and her children received from United Airlines," Nwogu's statement reads.



According to court papers, Obioma says the incident occurred on March 4, 2016, about two hours after she and her children arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston part way into a 16-hour flight from Lagos, Nigeria, to Ontario.



She said when she boarded United Flight 404 from Houston to San Francisco, she found a man sitting in her business-class seat and refusing to budge.



"She politely informed the white male that he was occupying her assigned seat but he ignored her," according to the suit.



Obioma told a member of the flight crew, who asked the man to move to his assigned seat, the suit says. But when he refused to move, Obioma was asked to take another seat in business class and she complied.



As she placed her carry-on luggage in the overhead compartment, she noticed the man who was in her original seat go into the cockpit, according to the suit.



Obioma said she went to the restroom while people were still boarding and when she came back, she found the same man blocking the aisle.



She said she asked the man, who was not identified, to let her get by, saying "excuse me" three times before he finally gave her enough room to squeeze by him, the suit claims.



As soon as she took her seat, a flight attendant "ordered her out of the aircraft stating that her attention was required because someone was waiting to speak with her outside the aircraft," the lawsuit reads.



Once outside, Obioma was told she was being removed from the flight. She protested and showed the flight attendant her boarding pass, the suit says.



The flight attendant told her "the pilot personally requested that Ms. Obioma be ejected from the aircraft because the white man sitting around her in the business class cabin was not comfortable flying with her because she was 'pungent,'" the suit says.



"Ms. Obioma asked [the flight attendant] what 'pungent' meant and he answered that she smelled," the suit states.



"At that point, Ms. Obioma was lost, confused and disoriented. Her mind went blank and she was utterly befuddled," according to the suit.



She argued that she had to make a connecting flight in San Francisco to Ontario, and had a meeting at her children's school that they would miss if not allowed to take the flight.



The suit claims Obioma wasn't allowed back on the plane to get her children seated in economy class or to retrieve her carry-on luggage.



A flight attendant, instead, escorted Obioma's two children off the plane.



"Ms. Obioma watched her minor children marched out of the aircraft like criminals, confused and perplexed and she slumped," according to the legal papers. "She sobbed uncontrollably for a long time."



Obioma and her children were delayed five hours before they could catch another flight, the papers say.



The delay caused Obioma to miss the scheduled appointment at her children's school. She had to reschedule and extend her stay, adding additional expenses to her trip, the suit claims.



Obioma alleges United "wrongfully" singled her and her children out because of their race and "punished them publicly because a white man did not want them on the plane," according to the suit.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- More than 50 people, including eight children, have been killed by the Israeli military in Palestinian protests that erupted Monday along the Gaza border as the U.S. opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinian authorites said.



The deaths and injuries to over 2,400 people came mostly from gunfire by Israeli forces as Palestinians amassed at the border in far greater numbers than in other recent demonstrations.



The crowds had swelled to tens of thousands by the time a U.S. ceremony to open its new embassy started about 50 miles away in the Arnona neighborhood of Jerusalem.



The Palestinian ambassador to the U.N. accused Israeli forces of using "massive firepower" against civilians.



"We condemn in the strongest term the atrocity by the Israeli occupying forces using this massive firepower against civilians who have the right to demonstrate peacefully, and they have been demonstrating peacefully," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters outside the U.N. Security Council chambers in New York.



"We condemn this action in the strongest possible terms," Mansour said. "We demand that this action be stopped immediately, and we want those responsible to be brought to justice from the Israeli side because this is not allowed under the provisions of international law."



He said among the Palestinian civilians killed on Monday were eight children under the age of 16.



Mansour spoke just hours after the ceremony to inaugurate the relocated U.S. embassy concluded.



'May there be peace'



In a videotaped statement played at the ceremony, President Donald Trump said the move of the embassy from Tel Aviv has been "a long time coming."



The president said the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement" between Israelis and Palestinians. "We extend a hand in friendship to Israel, the Palestinians, and to all of their neighbors."



"May there be peace," Trump said. "May God bless this embassy."



The killings of Palestinian protesters made Monday the bloodiest in Gaza since the first Palestinian intifada in 1987, an uprising against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.



"What was opened today in Jerusalem is not the U.S. embassy but an Israeli settlers' post," Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. "The number of Palestinian deaths will go up. It was a barbaric massacre in Gaza today."



He said the move of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem means the United States should no longer try to serve as an intermediary in the Middle East peace process.



"The U.S. is not a mediator anymore," Abbas said.



Mansour at the U.N. echoed this view, saying there is "no chance" that Palestinians will engage in a U.S.-led peace process.



Tens of thousands gather at Gaza border



Protesters began amassing at the Gaza border ahead of the embassy ceremony.



Mansour cited the macabre juxtaposition of smiling faces at the embassy ceremony and a scene of anger, terror and death at the Gaza border.



"It is very, very tragic that they're celebrating an illegal action while Israel is killing and injuring thousands of Palestinian civilians," Mansour said. "This is the life of the Palestinian people, and those who think that opening the embassy opens doors to peace, let them look at what is really happening in the Gaza Strip."



A 21-year-old and a 29-year-old were among the first killed by Israeli soldiers, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Since March 30, nearly 100 Palestinians have been killed and more than 11,000 injured in protests along the Gaza border, according to Mansour.



"Shame on those who ignore the pain and the suffering of the Palestinian people," Mansour said, adding that he is considering asking for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting.



Kuwait took that step Monday, requesting an opening meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday morning to discuss what a spokesman for Kuwait's U.N. mission called "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, in light of the developments on the ground and the killing of innocent civilians."



Trump keeps his promise



President Trump announced in December that the U.S. would move its embassy to Jerusalem which he said is Israel's capital. His decision set off protests by Palestinians who see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. Both Israelis and Palestinians consider Jerusalem the holiest site of their respective religions.



The opening of the new embassy in Jerusalem coincides with the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel. For Palestinians, Tuesday marks the anniversary of "naqba," or catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of people fled or were forced from their homes during the war surrounding Israel's founding.



President Trump did not make the trip for the official opening, but sent daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner in his place. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin also made the trip.



"I am so proud to be here today in Jerusalem, the eternal heart of the Jewish people," Kushner told those gathered at the ceremony.



He said Trump made good on his promise.



"While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American embassy, once in office this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it," Kushner said.



Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the opening of the U.S. embassy as "a day that will be engraved in our national memory for generations."



"This is a great day. A great day for Jerusalem. A great day for the state of Israel," Netanyahu said at the dedication ceremony.



He thanked President Trump for "having the courage" to keep his pledge to move the U.S. diplomatic headquarters in Israel to Jerusalem, which Netanyahu called the "eternal, undivided capital of Israel."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Money sent home by Filipinos working overseas declined 9.8 percent year-on-year in March, the biggest drop in 15 years, following the repatriation of Filipinos from Kuwait. Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed the decline in remittances in March was the sharpest since the 10.9-percent fall in April 2003. Cash remittances in March reached $2.36 billion, down from $2.615 billion registered a year ago. They were also a reversal of the 4.5-percent expansion in February. The figure brought cash remittances in the first quarter to $7 billion, up by 0.8 percent from $6.953 billion in the same period last year. The negative growth during the month was primarily due to base effect following the sharp increase in remittances in March 2017 at 10.7 percent, Guinigundo said. Further contributing to the decline was the lesser number of banking days in March 2018 compared to the same month in 2017 since the celebration of the Holy Week happened during the last week of March as opposed to April in 2017, Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said. Guinigundo said the continued repatriation of overseas workers from the Middle East countries could have affected the inflows of cash remittances. Preliminary data from the Labor Department showed that as of Feb. 8, 2018, some 1,124 OFWs were repatriated from Kuwait. President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the repatriation of thousands of OFWs from Kuwait where they were allegedly maltreated.The president also appealed to OFWs in Kuwait to return to the country after Kuwait expelled the Philippine ambassador for launching rescue missions for Filipinos abused by their employers in the Gulf state. The countries that registered the biggest declines in cash remittances in March were Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the United States. Personal remittances, which included non-cash items, also declined 9.9 percent in March to $2.627 billion from $2.915 billion a year ago. This brought the first-quarter figure to $7.809 billion, up 1.3 percent from $7.709 billion in the same quarter last year. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos reached a record $28.06 billion in 2017, up 4.3 percent from $26.90 billion in 2017. Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. said earlier remittances might grow stronger by 5 percent in 2018 as OFWs would likely send more money in the Philippines when the peso was weaker against the US dollar. The Bangko Sentral projected a conservative 4-percent growth for remittances this year.
LEXINGTON, Ky., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Fazoli's, America's largest elevated quick service Italian chain, announced today the opening of its newest franchised location in Columbus, Georgia. Marking the brand's fifth restaurant in Georgia, the newly built restaurant is located at 6589 Whittlesey Boulevard. The new Columbus restaurant will celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon cutting on June 4 with the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The Fazoli's restaurant will officially open its doors on June 5. The restaurant will include a drive-thru and also showcase Fazoli's new interior design featuring a contemporary look and feel.

The new Columbus restaurant is owned and operated by longtime franchisees Allen Peake and Mike Chumbley of C&P Italian Company, LLC. Allen and Mike bring extensive restaurant operations experience, having owned multiple foodservice franchises such as Cheddar's Casual Cafe and Captain D's. In addition to being franchisees of Fazoli's, Allen has served for 12 years on the Georgia House of Representatives and Mike Chumbley serves as City Councilman in Georgia.

"From a business standpoint, Fazoli's has proved to be an extremely successful franchise for us and we are thrilled to be bringing the newest location to Columbus," said Allen. "Fazoli's has an unmatched track record of success, and is a great place for friends and family to enjoy hearty Italian food with fresh ingredients at a great value."

The Columbus restaurant will open with Fazoli's recently refined menu, introducing more flavor and menu options to meet ever-changing consumer tastes and preferences. The modernized menu uses premium ingredients and includes offerings such as tableside grated Parmesan, upgraded plateware, as well as new dishes such as "Spicy Penne with Chicken or Sausage," and "Brownie Gelato Sundae."

The Columbus location will serve guests Sunday-Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. For more information, visit www.fazolis.com. Local residents are encouraged to join the Fazoli's eFamily to receive the latest happenings and deals from their local restaurant by signing up at fazolis.com/efamily.

As a testament to its achievements, Fazoli's franchisees are experiencing nearly three times the industry average growth rate with new franchised restaurants continually setting new system-wide records. With nearly 220 restaurants in 27 states, Fazoli's is currently seeking single- and multi-unit operators to join its growing, successful franchise network and is targeting new markets across the U.S.

For more information about franchise opportunities, contact Jeff Sturgis, Chief Development Officer, at 859.825.6212 or [email protected].

About Fazoli's

With approximately 220 restaurants in 27 states, Fazoli's is America's largest elevated QSR Italian chain, serving freshly prepared pasta entrees, Submarinos sandwiches, salads and pizza. One of Franchise Business Review's top ranked franchises in franchisee satisfaction and a FastCasual.com Brand of the Year, Fazoli's franchisees are experiencing record sales growth. Visit www.ownafazolis.com for details on development opportunities.

Contact:

Alisha Sheth

Fish Consulting

954-893-9150

[email protected]

SOURCE Fazoli's

Related Links

http://www.fish-consulting.com


ALBANY, N.Y., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstLight, a leading fiber-optic bandwidth infrastructure services provider operating in the Northeast, announced today that the Saratoga Springs School District in Saratoga, NY, has selected FirstLight to provide high-speed, dedicated Internet and Voice services to the schools throughout the school district. FirstLight's Internet and voice services will ensure fast, high-quality connectivity and reliability to the district's 1,100-member faculty and administrative staff and 6,422 students in kindergarten through 12th grade.

With technology offerings such as iPads, tablets, SMART boards and online educational resources for all students, the Saratoga Spring School District sought to work with a communication service provider that could offer dedicated multi-Gigabit speed, reliability and superior customer support.

"FirstLight has been very attentive to the school district's needs and has provided a secure and consistent connection to the Internet, as well as quality voice services," commented David L'Hommedieu, Assistant Superintendent for Information Technology and Operational Innovation for the Saratoga Springs School District. "FirstLight's service offerings have allowed our students and staff to effectively access web-based applications that, prior to Firstlight, would have required intensive bandwidth capacity. A weight has been lifted knowing that the district's uptime will not be an issue for years to come allowing our students, faculty and staff to leverage the latest educational applications without experiencing any buffering or downtime."

"We are honored to serve the Saratoga Springs School District in New York, a district that has been educating students since 1923," stated Kurt Van Wagenen, President and CEO of FirstLight. "As a service provider with deep experience supporting K-12 and higher learning educational institutions, we understand the critical role that our high quality connectivity solutions play in supporting the learning environment, and we're proud to have been chosen to to support the schools in Saratoga Springs."

FirstLight provides a comprehensive portfolio of secure, scalable telecommunications solutions and knowledgeable staff experienced in working with K-12 districts and libraries to support advanced voice/VoIP, multicast, video and distance learning applications for single and multi-site institutions.

For more information on FirstLight or to learn how FirstLight solutions can enhance the K-12 and higher learning experience, visit https://www.firstlight.net.

About FirstLight

FirstLight, headquartered in Albany, New York, provides fiber-optic data, Internet, data center, cloud and voice services to enterprise and carrier customers throughout the Northeast connecting nearly 8,000 locations in service with more than 20,000 locations serviceable by our 14,000-route mile network. FirstLight offers a robust suite of advanced telecommunications products featuring a comprehensive portfolio of high bandwidth connectivity solutions including Ethernet, wavelength and dark fiber services as well as dedicated Internet access solutions, data center, cloud and voice services. FirstLight's clientele includes national cellular providers and wireline carriers and many leading enterprises, spanning high tech manufacturing and research, hospitals and healthcare, banking and financial, secondary education, colleges and universities, and local and state governments.

About Saratoga Springs School District

Our mission, supported by the Saratoga Springs community, is for every student to experience a personal connection to learning which will serve them for a lifetime. Each student's innate desire to learn will be fostered through access to challenging and relevant learning experiences, appropriately designed learning environments and skilled instructors who are trained to utilize innovative instructional strategies.

In addition to an outstanding academic experience, the Saratoga Springs City School District has a reputation for having a supportive community. Partnerships and ongoing support from our community allows students to gain real-world knowledge and hands-on experience. Read more about the Saratoga Springs community.

Media Contact:

Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA)

1-866-695-3629 ext. 6

[email protected]

SOURCE FirstLight

Related Links

http://firstlight.net


Engineering.com's ProjectBoard is the online community and app for STEM minds to share ideas, take action and solve problems, big and small. For students, ProjectBoard offers them a fun and exciting way to share, discover, and collaborate on their school projects. They can also explore and engage with projects created by their peers and STEM practitioners.

Reni Barlow, Executive Director, YSC commented, "Youth Science Canada's national science fair network serves over 25,000 students. Engineering.com is the perfect partner for YSC. Their reach in the engineering community is significant and their ProjectBoard offers us a way to engage with entry- and regional level students that wasn't possible before. This will help YSC support students working on STEM projects in the digital age."

"The work that YSC does is very important, they inspire the STEM leaders, inventors and engineers of tomorrow," said Frank Baldesarra, Co-founder and CEO of engineering.com. "Through our shared values, we are very excited to work with YSC. This partnership with help expand the reach and impact of YSC science fairs and student work in a new way."

About engineering.com

Engineering.com is a digital media company that provides informing and inspiring content for the engineering world. With a mission to connect and mobilize the dreamers and doers in the Shared Economy, the company's newly launched ProjectBoard app, is a safe space for dreamers and doers to share ideas, collaborate and make things happen. Click here to download App

About Youth Science Canada (YSC)

YSC (youthscience.ca) fuels the curiosity of Canadian youth through STEM projects. The organization has over 8000 volunteer educators, scientists, engineers and parents who support young scientists and organize science fairs in every province and territory across the country. (cwsf.youthscience.ca/welcome-cwsf).

SOURCE engineering.com

Related Links

http://www.engineering.com/


TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Four leading companies in the burgeoning cannabis space announced today a binding letter of intent (the "LOI") to merge (the "Business Combination") to form one of the industry's most comprehensive platforms, operating under the name TILT Holdings Inc. ("TILT"). Together, the united companies represent all facets of the industry to provide technology driven solutions throughout the entire cannabis ecosystem.

"TILT will enable businesses the opportunity to interact, communicate and operate with a greater degree of efficiency with their patients and consumers," said Alex Coleman, Manager of Sea Hunter Holdings, LLC. "Due to the conflict between federal and state law, the industry still faces numerous challenges that are impeding the ability of businesses to effectively deliver products and services to a large and growing demand base. TILT will maintain competencies across the entire spectrum of the industry, from vertically integrated operations to cutting edge genetics and CRM systems, all supported by robust data-driven insights. While a portion of our revenue is derived from our own proprietary operations, our emphasis is to enable businesses the ability to successfully evolve and meet the needs of a rapidly growing market."

The companies forming part of the Business Combination, which have collectively raised over US$150 million in capital and securities, include:

Baker Technologies Inc. ( Denver, CO ) - The cannabis industry's largest software company, Baker helps dispensaries generate more revenue and build relationships with their customers through a variety of products, featuring online ordering, customer loyalty, messaging, and analytics. The company works with over 1,000 dispensaries in 24 states and Canada .

) - The cannabis industry's largest software company, Baker helps dispensaries generate more revenue and build relationships with their customers through a variety of products, featuring online ordering, customer loyalty, messaging, and analytics. The company works with over 1,000 dispensaries in 24 states and . Briteside Holdings, LLC ( Bend, OR ) - Briteside produces a diverse range of products and services, from prefabricated modular cultivation units to home delivery and subscription based services. All Briteside products are predicated on proprietary algorithms designed to improve yields and efficiencies while reducing costs and time.

) - Briteside produces a diverse range of products and services, from prefabricated modular cultivation units to home delivery and subscription based services. All Briteside products are predicated on proprietary algorithms designed to improve yields and efficiencies while reducing costs and time. Sea Hunter ( Boston, MA ) - Sea Hunter is a leading source of cultivation, retail, operational and capital support to state licensees and, in certain circumstances, operates proprietary, vertical operations which allows it to deliver a more knowledge based product to customers.

) - Sea Hunter is a leading source of cultivation, retail, operational and capital support to state licensees and, in certain circumstances, operates proprietary, vertical operations which allows it to deliver a more knowledge based product to customers. Sante Veritas Holdings Inc. (SVT) - SVT's subsidiary Sante Veritas Therapeutics Inc. ("SVT Subco") is at the final stage of obtaining a cultivation license under the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (the "ACMPR"). Health Canada recently issued SVT Subco a "confirmation of readiness" for a licence under the ACMPR, confirming its initial annual cultivation request of 2,835,000 grams of cannabis flower. SVT Subco is currently completing the buildout of Phase I of its cannabis products cultivation platform, comprising more than 40,000 square feet of combined indoor cultivation and administrative facilities in Powell River, British Columbia , on a waterfront site that was formerly part of Catalyst Paper's operations. SVT Subco anticipates receipt of licensed producer status later in 2018.

The merged company, TILT, expects to establish operations in every state where cannabis laws exist, for both infrastructure as well as technology. At present, Baker, Briteside and Sea Hunter operate in 24 states collectively, and have licenses for operations in a portion of those, and expects to operate in all such states within a short time.

The merged company, TILT is forecasting revenue of US$70 million at calendar year-end 2018 and in excess of US$200 million at calendar year-end 2019. TILT will maintain principal offices in Boston, Denver and Toronto.

"The combined company is expected to allow TILT to provide a more holistic solution to the industry," said Baker CEO, Joel Milton. "Baker's goal has always been to provide our clients a single platform that connects all of the tools and data they use on a daily basis. This merger is expected to be a win for us, the cannabis retail ecosystem and, most of all, the producers and dispensaries and their customers. Through this broader platform, with greater access to capital and resources, we are excited to introduce new technology enabled products which continue to create value for our clients. While these are currently being generated internally, we now also expect to accelerate our offerings through complementary, future acquisitions."

Summary of the Business Combination

Following completion of the Business Combination, it is expected that former shareholders and securityholders of each of Baker, Briteside, Sea Hunter and SVT will own approximately 14.3%, 22.3%, 41.1% and 22.3%, of TILT, respectively. The Business Combination contemplates that the former shareholders and securityholders of Baker, Briteside and Sea Hunter will receive compressed shares of TILT. The terms of the compressed shares will provide the holders with super voting rights and a right to convert the compressed shares into common shares of TILT, subject to certain limitations. The former holders of shares of SVT will receive common shares of TILT. Outstanding options and warrants of the parties will be adjusted in accordance with their terms to reflect the consideration described above.

It is anticipated that the Business Combination will be carried out by way of a court-approved plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), and will require the approval of: (i) at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of TILT (which at such time, will effectively be the shareholders of Baker, members of Briteside, and Sea Hunter); and (ii) at least two-thirds of the votes cast by the shareholders of SVT; each at a special meeting of their respective shareholders to be held on the same day.

The LOI includes customary fiduciary-out provisions, non-solicitation covenants, and the right to match any superior proposal. A termination fee of up to US$5 million is payable by a party in the case of certain terminating events, and damages may also be payable in certain circumstances.

The Business Combination is also subject to completion of the definitive agreements relating to the Business Combination (the "Definitive Agreements"), receipt of requisite regulatory approval, including the approval of the CSE, and completion of confirmatory legal due diligence.

Following the execution of the Definitive Agreements, the Business Combination will remain subject to any necessary court, shareholder, stock exchange, and regulatory approvals. Trading in the SVT Shares has been halted in accordance with the policies of the CSE and will remain halted until such time as all required documentation has been filed with and accepted by the CSE and permission to resume trading has been obtained from the CSE. It is anticipated that the Parties will enter into the binding Definitive Agreements on or about June 15, 2018. One of the conditions to the completion of the Business Combination will be the acceptance of the listing of TILT's common shares on the CSE.

TILT's Board of Directors and Officers

Upon completion of the Business Combination, TILT's board of directors (the "Board") will consist of seven members. Both Sea Hunter and SVT both will be entitled to nominate two members to the Board and Briteside and Baker both will be entitled to nominate one member to the Board. The six such board members will nominate the seventh director to the Board. Alexander Coleman, CEO of Sea Hunter and proposed CEO, and Michael Orr, the Executive Chairman of SVT, are proposed to be co-Chairmen of the Board.

Baker CEO, Joel Milton will assume a role as President overseeing the technology business; and Robert Leidy, Managing Partner at Sea Hunter, will assume a role as President in charge of consumer related operations. Justin Junda from Briteside will assume the role of Chief Strategy Officer for TILT."

Additional Information

Additional information regarding SVT is available under SVT's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Additional information regarding the Business Combination, Baker, Briteside, and Sea Hunter, will be made publicly available by the Parties in accordance with applicable securities laws.

The securities which will be issued pursuant to the Business Combination will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Forward-Looking Information

Certain portions of this press release contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, which is also referred to as "forward-looking statements", which may not be based on historical fact. Wherever possible, words such as "will", "plans," "expects," "targets," "continues", "estimates," "scheduled," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "may," "could," "would" or might, and the negative of such expressions or statements that certain actions, events or results "may," "could," "would," "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, have been used to identify forward looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Business Combination, the expected business of TILT, the negotiation and execution of the Definitive Agreements, and the timing thereof.

Forward looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future events, future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of the times at, or by which, such events, performance or results will be achieved, if achieved at all. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by SVT, including expectations and assumptions concerning SVT, Baker, Briteside, Sea Hunter, TILT, and the Business Combination, the timely receipt of all required shareholder and regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions in accordance with the terms of the Definitive Agreements. Although SVT believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information because SVT can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. By its nature, such forward-looking information is subject to various risks and uncertainties, which could cause the actual results and expectations to differ materially from the anticipated results or expectations expressed. These risks and uncertainties, include, but are not limited to, the results of the due diligence review on the Parties on each other are less than satisfactory, or the required shareholder approvals are not obtained. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is given as of the date hereof, and to not use such forward- looking information for anything other than its intended purpose. SVT undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE TILT Holdings Inc.
CSE: TGIF

FWB: 1QF

OTC: TGIFF

VANCOUVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Friday Night Inc. (the Company or Friday Night) (CSE: TGIF) (FWB: 1QF) (OTCQB: TGIFF), a leading cannabis, hemp and CBD producer in Nevada, and its subsidiary, Alternative Medicine Association ("AMA"), are pleased to announce that construction is underway on the new cultivation facility. The Company also announces that it has signed a purchase agreement on a new building that will be used for cannabis production, processing and extraction.

Construction of New Cannabis Cultivation Facility is Underway

The Company is pleased to report that work has begun on AMA's new cannabis cultivation facility in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Company was granted approval from the Clark County Zoning Commission in Nevada, for its building redesign from a one story, 35,000 sq. ft. facility to a two story, 67,750 sq. ft. facility for cannabis cultivation on 1.4 acres in an M-1 (Light Manufacturing) (APZ-1) (AE-75) Zone. The new facility, when completed, increases AMA's total footprint from the current 12,000 sq. ft. to a total of 79,000 sq. ft. and allows the Company to significantly increase flower cultivation to support AMA's own line of cannabis-based products and white-label extraction for multiple well-known cannabis brands in the State of Nevada.

Purchase Agreement signed for a New Cannabis Production, Processing and Extraction Facility

Friday Night is also pleased to announce they have entered into a purchase agreement for an existing 12,160 sq. ft. building adjacent to the future cultivation facility, which will be utilized for cannabis production, processing and extraction purposes. AMA's current production space is less than 2,000 sq. ft. yet contributes more than half of AMA's overall revenue. Management is confident that a larger production facility which increases the current footprint more than 6-fold will play a key role in the Company's aggressive growth strategy in Nevada. The purchase price is USD $2,250,000 and the subjects are anticipated to be removed within 30 days.

Due mainly to the upcoming increase in cultivation and production space, Friday Night also announces the decision to continue the management contract of Harvest Foundation. The Company evaluated the potential advantages of expanding the current contract to encompass an acquisition and has since decided to postpone acquisition talks.

"It is every company's desire to grow and become a significant player amidst all their competitors. AMA has already claimed a significant role in the Nevada market and with the new construction and the expanded work space for production, AMA's world class team can expand their talents, scale up operations and continue to provide the Nevada marketplace with the cannabis brands they demand."

 Drew Milburn, Alternative Medicine Association

About Friday Night Inc.

Friday Night Inc. is a Canadian public company, which owns and controls cannabis and hemp-based assets in Las Vegas Nevada as well as an international cannabis and mining security logistics consulting firm. The Company owns 91% of Alternative Medicine Association, LC (AMA), a licensed medical and adult-use cannabis cultivation and production facility that produces its own line of unique cannabis-based products and manufactures other third-party brands. Infused MFG, also a 91% owned subsidiary, produces hemp-based, CBD products, thoughtfully crafted of high quality organic botanical ingredients. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Spire Secure Logistics is a leading provider of customized security programs, compliance, information technology, buildout design, and due diligence services for the legal cannabis, mining and investment sectors. Friday Night Inc. is focused on strengthening and expanding its current operations.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. Friday Night undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Friday Night Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Future Farm Technologies Inc. (the "Company" or "Future Farm") (CSE: FFT) (CSE: FFT.CN) (OTCQX: FFRMF) is pleased to announce that it is moving into Phase II of its ongoing efforts to be the largest hemp cultivator and CBD producer in New England.

On May 10th the Company completed Phase I of the buildout of its 12,800-sq. ft. hemp processing and production facility in Belfast, Maine (the "Facility"). During Phase I, the Company upgraded the Facility's electrical system, installed state of the art lighting and propagation tables and hired a seasoned team to assist with planting. Finishing Phase I allows the Company to plant over 200,000 seeds for the propagation of feminized CBD hemp seedlings. These seedlings will produce feminized CBD seeds for sale as well as CBD isolate biomass.

In response to a successful petition by Future Farm and other Maine licensees, Maine's State Horticulturist has issued an Extension of Indoor Growing Allowance for the 2018 Season. A memo to Industrial Hemp Grower Applicants and Licensees stated that, "Considering the slow start to the growing season this year and the cold soil temperatures that persist, we are extending the allowance for starting your industrial hemp plants indoors. We will allow seedlings to be grown indoors until June 15, 2018." The extension will allow hemp seedlings the extra growing time needed to become hardy enough to withstand Maine's unpredictable weather. As a result of the extension, Future Farm plans to transfer its seedlings from the propagation facility to its Amity and Hersey fields on or about June 10, 2018.

"Now that the ground has thawed, field prep has begun at both the Hersey and Amity farms," explains Zak Lapan, Future Farm Maine's General Manager. "Wells are being drilled and the fields are scheduled to be plowed, mulch papered and irrigated. Preliminary soil analysis on Future Farm's organically certified 100-acres in Hersey shows very fertile fields."

The fields are being prepared for transplant in tandem with the build-out of the state of the art propagation facility, leveraging the most modern irrigation and fertilization systems the industry has to offer. The next phase is the build-out of the processing and extraction lab, which will be capable of processing over 500 pounds of biomass an hour. In 2018, the Company is projected to produce 150,000-200,000 pounds of organic, high CBD biomass and to harvest over 75,000,000 organic, feminized, high CBD hemp seeds.

Derek Ross of Cannatech and Future Farm's strategic partner in Maine states, "The goal for next year is to be a resource for local farmers to obtain feminized CBD hemp seeds, making a significant impact to the agricultural community in Maine."

The industrial hemp opportunity is significant. According to Forbes, cannabis research firm Brightfield Group estimates that the U.S. market for hemp-derived CBD had $291 million in sales in 2017 and will grow to annual sales of $1.65 billion in 2021.

On behalf of the Board,

Future Farm Technologies Inc.

William Gildea, Chairman & CEO

About Future Farm Technologies Inc.

Future Farm is a Canadian company with holdings throughout North America including California, Massachusetts, Florida, Maine, Puerto Rico and Newfoundland. The Company's mission is to advance sustainable agriculture through production of wholesale and retail cannabis products, including hemp. As a leader in its field, Future Farm is committed to using only the highest quality processes and products. Towards this goal, the Company acquires or partners with licensed-cannabis operators, and acquires or develops leading technologies in cannabis production, breeding, genetics, and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Future Farm's scalable, indoor CEA systems utilize minimal land, water and energy resources. The Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to use a patented vertical farming technology that, when compared to traditional plant production methods, generates yields up to 10 times greater per square foot of land.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws.



For further information, contact

William Gildea

Director

+1-888-387-3761



SOURCE Future Farm Technologies Inc.
Dr. Neil Buckholtz served as the director of the Division of Neuroscience at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During his time at the NIA he was responsible for the development and management of numerous Alzheimer's research programs. As a GAP board member, Dr. Buckholtz will focus on scientific advances in research on Alzheimer's disease and how they may impact GAP's mission.

"I have dedicated my career to research of Alzheimer's disease and I'm delighted to lend my expertise to the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation," said Dr. Neil Buckholtz. "I truly believe that we're close to great breakthroughs in clinical research and that GAP's mission to reduce the timeframe for clinical trials is key to getting treatments to patients - faster."

Michael J. Glosserman, formerly a managing member of The JBG Companies and chairman of its Executive Committee, is now a board member of its successor company, The JBGSmith REIT. Glosserman began his career as a staff attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice before moving into commercial real estate investment and development with the Rouse Company in 1972, before joining JBG in 1979. Upon conversion to a public company in 2017, JBG was the largest real estate development and operating company in the Washington Metro Area. Glosserman is also a member of The Costar Group's board and brings significant business development and financial experience to the board.

"Members of my family have had Alzheimer's, so I've observed and experienced first-hand the ravages of this disease," said Glosserman. "Every day saved in finding a cure will result in less suffering by millions of patients and their family and friend care-givers and substantially mitigate its terrible financial consequences."

John Dwyer, president of Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation, and George Vradenburg, chair of Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation, announced the appointments today, saying, "Both Neil and Mike bring personal passion and complementary expertise to our Board. We are all united in our goal of bringing hope and new treatments to the 5.7 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer's."

About Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation (GAP)

The Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation (GAP) is a patient-centric organization dedicated to speeding the delivery of innovative medicines to those in need by reducing the time and cost of Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. In collaboration with other foundations, research centers, and industry, GAP fully established GAP-Net, a growing network of >60 Alzheimer's disease (AD) research centers committed to disrupting recruitment and study conduct processes. GAP-Net consists of both academic and private sites with requisites that include data and best practices sharing, use of a central Institutional Review Board and common clinical trial contracts, and a commitment to reducing clinical testing cycles by up to two years. GAP is a 501c3 organization. For more information, please visit www.globalalzplatform.org

Media Contact:

Greg Bortkiewicz

Landis Communications Inc.

(415) 359-2306

[email protected]

www.landispr.com

SOURCE Global Alzheimers Platform Foundation

Related Links

http://www.globalalzplatform.org


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Electrosurgical Devices Market to Reach $4.33 Billion by 2023, Reports BIS Research



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5381408



The electrosurgical devices industry is a multi-billion-dollar market which consists of multitudinous companies involved in the manufacturing of generators and instruments as well as electrosurgical accessories to bolster the increasing demand for electrosurgical devices.



Electrosurgical devices include electrosurgical generators, monopolar and bipolar devices, and electrosurgical accessories to improve the overall minimally invasive surgical process efficiency (e.g., coagulation, desiccation, fulguration and incision, among others). Currently, electrosurgical devices are essential solutions for the medical devices companies that are facing increasing level of demand for high productivity and cost reduction. The recent advances in electrosurgery has revolutionized the field of surgery. Currently, several minimally invasive surgeries, such as laparoscopy, thoracoscopy, endoscopy, coronary bypass surgery, surgery of face, endoscopic brow, and face lift, among others have been performed using electrosurgical devices. Limited blood loss, minimized post-operative recovery time, and improved efficiency of surgical procedures are the most prominent factors facilitating the growth of incorporation of electrosurgical devices in the surgical industry. Furthermore, the advent of technologies, such as vessel sealing technology, tissue response technology, active electrode monitoring systems, and argon gas enhanced technology, has enabled the companies in the medical devices industry to meet the regulatory compliance as well as manage their profit margins and remain competitive in the market.



The purpose of this study is to gain a holistic view of the electrosurgical devices market in terms of various influencing factors, such as recent trends and technological advancements.The scope of this report constitutes of an in-depth study of the global electrosurgical devices market, including a thorough analysis of the products across different regions.



The market has been segmented into 'product', 'application', and 'regions'.The report presents the reader with an opportunity to unlock comprehensive insights with respect to the market and helps in forming well informed strategic decisions.



The research uncovers some of the substantial parameters that must be taken into consideration before entering into the market.



This research report aims at answering various aspects of the global electrosurgical devices market with the help of the key factors driving the market, restraints that can possibly inhibit the overall market growth, and the current growth opportunities that are going to shape the future trajectory of the market expansion.The report includes an in-depth examination of the key ecosystem players and key strategies and developments taking place in this market.



Moreover, the report includes chapters on market dynamics (market drivers, opportunities and challenges) and industry analysis as well.



The research study considers the market share analysis for a comprehensive understanding of the global electrosurgical devices market, and assesses the factors governing the same.Opportunity matrix and detailed product mapping have been included in the report.



The market by region has been further sub-segmented in various countries, and in each sub-segment the key market trends, list of the key players, and the recent developments that have taken place, have been discussed.



The answers to the following key questions can be derived from this report:

 What are the major market drivers, challenges and opportunities in the global electrosurgical devices market?

 What was the market value of the leading segments and sub-segments of the global electrosurgical devices market in 2016?

 How will each segment of the global electrosurgical devices market grow during the forecast period and what will be the revenue generated by each of the segments by the end of 2023?

 What are the influencing factors that may affect the market share of the key players?

 How will the industry evolve during the forecast period 2017- 2023?

 What are the key developmental strategies that are being implemented by the key players to sustain in this market?

 What is the market share of each of the companies by electrosurgical generators, devices and accessories across various regions?

 Who are the key players in the electrosurgical generators, devices and accessories market and what are their contributions?

 What are the major benefits of the implementation of electrosurgical devices in different field of applications including general surgery, gynaecological surgery, urologic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, cosmetic surgery, and neurosurgery?

 What is the scope of electrosurgical devices in the emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America?

 What is the scope for expansion by the key players of the electrosurgical devices market in Asia Pacific and Latin America?



The key players who have been contributing significantly to the electrosurgical devices market include B. Braun Melsungen AG, Boston Scientific Corporation, Bovie Medical Corporation, Bowa Electronic GmbH & Co.KG, CONMED Corporation, ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, Kirwan Surgical Products, LLC, KLS MARTIN GROUP, Maxerendoscopy, Medtronic Plc, Olympus Corporation, Smith&NephewPlc, Stryker Corporation, and Utah Medical Products, Inc., among others.



Executive Summary

The global medical devices market was valued at approximately $371 billion in 2015 and is anticipated to reach $617 billion by 2025.The economic impact on surgical care is anticipated to reach $420 billion by 2030, with approximately 33 million people facing catastrophic health expenditure due to costs of surgeries.



The rise in the global geriatric population is also bolstering the increasing level of industry demand and aiding the rise of the global healthcare expenditure.Furthermore, the recent roll out of significant regulatory changes for cost containment has remarkably increased the pressure on the healthcare industry.



The companies are extremely pressurized to take necessary initiatives to reduce the costs and make healthcare solutions accessible to wide range of population.



The medical devices industry has been witnessing an annual growth rate of approximately 4.5%, since 2011. Additionally, the medical device manufacturers are facing increasing demand for higher productivity and cost reduction. Further, rising demand for minimally invasive surgeries are significantly impacting the electrosurgical devices market. Therefore, to sustain in the highly competitive market, electrosurgical devices is gradually becoming an indispensable solution for medical device industries. The emergence of electrosurgical devices has facilitated surgical efficiency of several minimally invasive surgeries with precise tissue cut, limited blood loss, and reduced postoperative recovery time. The advent of the advanced energy based medical devices and technologies has improved the diagnosis and treatment, as well as enabled the healthcare companies to meet the regulatory compliance, and to manage their profit margins as well. The electrosurgical devices usually involve generators, monopolar and bipolar devices, electrosurgical accessories, and surgical smoke evacuation systems which improve the efficiency of minimally invasive surgery process as compared to the traditional surgeries.



The purpose of the study is to gain a holistic view of the electrosurgical devices market in terms of various factors influencing it such as recent trends and technological advancements of the market.The scope of this report is centered upon conducting a detailed study of the products allied with the electrosurgical devices market, which include electrosurgical generators, monopolar and bipolar devices, electrosurgical accessories, and surgical smoke evacuation systems.



The global electrosurgical devices market is segmented into three different parts: by product, by application, and by region.The global market value was estimated using these three different approaches and was validated with one another.



These segments are further segmented into several sub-segments to ease the market estimation.



The global electrosurgical devices market was estimated at $2.64 billion in 2016 and is anticipated to reach $4.33 billion by 2023. With the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgeries, increasing geriatric population with higher life expectancy, and new product launches by several conglomerate companies, the electrosurgical devices market is expected to witness moderate growth. Moreover, the electrosurgical generators sub-segment dominated the global electrosurgical devices market in 2016 in terms of products. However, the electrosurgical accessories segment is anticipated to witness the highest CAGR in the forecast period from 2017 to 2023. The general surgery application specific electrosurgical devices witnessed the highest industry demand. Besides, the electrosurgical devices specific to orthopaedic surgery are also expected to witness impressive CAGR in the forecast period 2017-2023.



The global electrosurgical devices market is segmented by the geographical regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Rest of the World (RoW).North America is the leading contributor to the global electrosurgical devices market.



However, the Rest of the World (Mainly Middle East and Africa) is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.00% in the forecast period 2017-2023. The global electrosurgical devices market is majorly dominated by the U.S. and the European players. The U.S. based company Johnson & Johnson Corporation and the European company Medtronic Plc contributed approximately more than 45% of the market value in 2016.



The key players who have significant contributions to the electrosurgical devices market are B. Braun Melsungen AG, Boston Scientific Corporation, Bovie Medical Corporation, Bowa Electronic GmbH & Co.KG, CONMED Corporation, ERBE Elektromedizin GmbH, Johnson & Johnson Corporation, Kirwan Surgical Products, LLC, KLS MARTIN GROUP, Maxerendoscopy, Medtronic Plc, Olympus Corporation, Smith & Nephew Plc, Stryker Corporation, and Utah Medical Products, Inc., among others.



Countries Covered

 North America

 U.S.

 Canada

 Europe

 Germany

 U.K.

 France

 Italy

 Spain

 Rest of Europe

 Asia Pacific

 Japan

 China

 Australia

 India

 South Korea



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5381408



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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DUBLIN, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Gifts Retailing Market 2018-2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global gifts retailing market will register a revenue of almost USD 77 billion by 2022.

Global Gifts Retailing Market 2018-2022, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.



According to the report, one driver in the market is rise in demand for seasonal decorations and growing gifting culture. According to this market research and analysis, the continuous rise for seasonal decorations and growing gifting culture will be the key factors fueling the market's growth during the next few years. Consumers in the advanced economies including the US and the UK contribute to the major demand for seasonal gifts.

One trend in the market is rise in demand for specialized merchandize. With the growing demand for novelty and souvenir gifts, vendors in the gift card industry are focused on offering specialized merchandise. The personalized gifts market exhibits a clear distinction between mass and specialty merchandisers.



Further, the report states that one challenge in the market is pricing pressures due to fierce market competition. The presence of numerous players in the market increases market competition, which in turn, leads to increased pricing pressure.



Key vendors

American Greetings

Card Factory

Disney

Hallmark Licensing

Spencer Gifts

Key Topics Covered:



PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT



PART 03: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



PART 04: MARKET LANDSCAPE



PART 05: MARKET SIZING 2017-2022



PART 06: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS



PART 07: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT



Comparison by product

Global souvenirs and novelty items market

Global seasonal decorations market



Global greeting cards market

Global giftware market



Global other gift items market



Market opportunity by product

PART 08: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE



PART 09: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL



Comparison by distribution channel

Global gifts retailing market through offline distribution channel

Global gifts retailing market through online distribution channel

Market opportunity by distribution channel

PART 10: REGIONAL LANDSCAPE

Geographical segmentation

Regional comparison

Key leading countries

Market opportunity by region

PART 11: DECISION FRAMEWORK



PART 12: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES

Market drivers

Market challenges

PART 13: MARKET TRENDS

Rise in demand for specialized merchandise

Offering personalized gifts, enhanced customer service, and introduction of customer loyalty programs

Increased demand for non-seasonal gifts

Other trends

PART 14: VENDOR LANDSCAPE

Overview

Landscape disruption

Competitive scenario

PART 15: VENDOR ANALYSIS

Vendors covered

Vendor classification

Market positioning of vendors



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/8frhw4/global_gifts?w=5





Media Contact:

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo is set to open a Global Flagship Store at Glorietta 5 in Makati, the largest in the country and in Southeast Asia. The Philippine store will be Uniqlos 15th Global Flagship Store across 11 markets in the world. It is scheduled to open in the fall/winter 2018 season. According to a statement, Uniqlo has chosen Manila as the location of its newest flagship store to strengthen the foundation of its business in the Philippines and in Southeast Asia.

We are honored and excited to open our first Uniqlo Global Flagship Store in the Philippines. Having been a member of the local retail scene since 2012, we remain committed to contributing to the local community and to being an integral part of Manilas growth and future, said Satoshi Hatase, chief executive officer of Uniqlo Southeast Asia and Oceania. Set over a sales floor area of 4,100 square meters, the newest flagship store will offer a world-class immersive shopping experience featuring large visual displays and state-of-the-art design concepts. As with other Global Flagship Stores, the store will also showcase the full lineup of LifeWear for men, women, kids, and babies.
CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- This Memorial Day weekend, dozens of military veterans and supporters will join together to make a 105-mile journey to honor those whose lives have been lost fighting for our country. Military support advocate and Gold Star Mom Jill Stephenson organized the "Freedom Walk to the Wall" as a journey throughout Chicagoland in remembrance and reflection for the ultimate sacrifices soldiers make in the name of freedom.

Every year, Memorial Day honors those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for American freedom. This is not lost on Stephenson, who experienced her own loss, as her son Cpl. Benjamin S. Kopp, was fatally wounded in the summer of 2009 during his third deployment in Afghanistan. The walk was organized by Stephenson to honor him, along with over 7,000 brave men and women who are now commemorated on The Middle East Conflicts Wall, a first of its kind, granite memorial wall that features the names of all fallen soldiers whose lives were lost from the Middle East conflicts since 1967 located in Marseilles, IL. It is the only memorial for fallen soldiers in the U.S. that is still regularly updated with names.

"Memorial Day is a special time to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good of this country," said Stephenson. "The 'Freedom Walk to the Wall' is an opportunity for veterans, family, friends and supporters to stand in solidarity and make a 105-mile remembrance walk. I am honored to walk with these men and women to bring awareness to brave American soldiers."

The "Freedom Walk to the Wall" will begin on Friday, May 25 in Veterans Memorial Park in Glencoe, Illinois, and head to Navy Pier in downtown Chicago. From the city, Stephenson and her fellow participants will begin their trek to the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial, arriving in Marseilles, Illinois, on Saturday afternoon. On Memorial Day, walk participants will be celebrated by military veterans and members of the ILMFR board who raises funds annually for the wall at the Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run held on June 16, 2018. There will be a moment of silent reflection for those who have served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Stephenson believes that one of her purposes in life is to be an advocate for military families everywhere and continue to tell Ben's story. His memory lives on in the hearts of those who loved him, along with the 60 people whose lives were enhanced or saved by the donation of his organs granted by his living will  Kopp's heart beats on through donation inside a woman who resides in Winnetka, IL. Ben is also honored on the Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial.

"Losing a child is something no mother ever imagines. As a military parent the phone call I received on July 10, 2009 was completely unexpected and shook me to my core. But through my pain, I have chosen to focus on the silver lining," said Stephenson. "From the moment he was born, he gave my life meaning, and I refuse to allow his death to take that meaning away. His energy and memory motivates me to help others to pick up the pieces  to take their hardships and the unfairness of life and turn it into positivity, and through it, a path to move forward. I hope that my story and the story of millions of others who have lost family members motivates everyone to get involved in the walk."

For more information or to donate to the Freedom Walk to the Wall, please visit iamjillstephenson.com.

ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST CONFLICTS WALL MEMORIAL:

The Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial is a first of its kind granite wall that bears the names of fallen soldiers who served in middle east conflicts since 1967. Dedicated on June 19, 2004, it is the only memorial in the U.S. that is updated with new names. The memorial founders  Tony Cutrano and Jerry Kuczera  spearheaded the project to ensure that those sacrificing their lives for America's freedom were given the proper recognition for the selfless service to our great country. Due to the unfortunate growth of the wall, names for the memorial are updated in early summer each year and read during the memorial's signature annual fundraising event put on by the Illinois Motorcycle Freedom Run.

SOURCE VenYoeu
BOSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Goldman Sachs has all but reached the $1-billion mark in credit towards fulfilling a $1.8-billion consumer-relief obligation under its two April 11, 2016, mortgage-related settlement agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and three states, Eric D. Green announced today in his seventh report as independent Monitor of the consumer-relief portions of the agreements.

Since Professor Green's previous report on February 15, 2018, Goldman Sachs forgave a total of $61,610,295 in principal on 666 first-lien mortgages, for average principal forgiveness of $92,508 per loan and total reportable credit of $75,278,610 after the application of appropriate crediting calculations and multipliers.

The latest increment brought the total amount of credit claimed and conditionally validated by the Monitor to $993,420,822, or 55 percent of the $1.8-billion target.

The modified mortgages are spread across 41 states and the District of Columbia, with 26 percent of the credit located in the settling states of New York, Illinois, and California, and 45 percent of the credit located in Hardest Hit Areas, or census tracts identified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as containing large concentrations of distressed properties and foreclosure activities.

The report also describes additional testing of a portion of the credit claimed by Goldman Sachs in the periods covered by the November 15, 2017 report and the February 15, 2018 report. "The validation of credit in those reports was subject to additional testing pursuant to protocols agreed upon by the Monitor and Goldman Sachs. This testing has now been satisfactorily completed," Professor Green said.

The two agreements settled potential and filed legal claims against Goldman Sachs regarding the marketing, structuring, arrangement, underwriting, issuance and sale of mortgage-based securities. Besides the Department of Justice, California, Illinois and New York, Goldman Sachs reached settlements with the National Credit Union Administration Board and the Federal Home Loan Banks of Chicago and Des Moines. Under the settlements, Goldman Sachs agreed to provide a total of $5.06 billion, including consumer relief valued at $1.8 billion to be distributed by the end of January 2021.

Professor Green, a professional mediator and retired Boston University law professor, was named by the settling parties as independent Monitor with responsibility for determining whether Goldman Sachs fulfills its consumer-relief obligations. He has assembled a team of finance, accounting and legal professionals to assist in the task.

The report is available at the Monitor's website at: http://goldmansachs.mortgagesettlementmonitor.com. The website provides further details about the settlement, plus contact information for Goldman Sachs, the Department of Justice, the Attorneys General of California, Illinois and New York, and agencies that provide legal or tax advice to consumers.

The Monitor's mailing address is: Monitor of the Goldman Sachs Mortgage Settlement, P.O. Box 10310, Dublin, OH 43017-5910, and the e-mail address is [email protected].

SOURCE Monitor: Eric D. Green
HAMPTON, Ga., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern States LLC, a leading provider of switching, automation and protection solutions to utilities for over 100 years, announced today that the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has successfully deployed multiple Southern States ES-1 three-way switches to support transmission reliability programs.

As the nation's sixteenth largest public power utility based on generation, GRDA operates a diverse portfolio of hydro, coal, natural gas and wind generation to produce reliable electricity that reaches into 75 of 77 Oklahoma counties. Through direct or indirect means, nearly 500,000 meters in the state receive GRDA power.

GRDA's Vice President of Transmission and Distribution Operations Michael Waddell noted, "Our mission at GRDA is to provide low-cost, reliable electric power and related services to our customers. Southern States' switches have helped lower our cost of installation, and they've helped GRDA meet its system reliability goals."

Southern States designed its ES-1 three-way switches to support utility ease of installation and long-term reliability. "The ES-1's innovative collapsible frame, optional load break interrupter (LLS) and proven contact geometry cuts the average installation time by 50 percent while improving long term reliability," said Southern States Vice President of Marketing Tom Speas. "Working closely with customers like GRDA, we're committed to continuous innovation that lowers total cost of ownership and provides superior reliability over time."

About Grand River Dam Authority

Headquartered in Vinita, Oklahoma, the Grand River Dam Authority is a non-appropriated state agency, fully funded by revenues from the sale of electricity and water instead of tax dollars.

GRDA generates, transmits and sells electricity to Oklahoma municipalities, electric cooperatives and industrial customers, as well as off-system customers across a four-state region. Learn more at www.grda.com.

About Southern States

Southern States increases utility systems reliability by delivering next generation switching, automation and protection solutions built on a century of service and customer care. Learn more at https://www.southernstatesllc.com/

SOURCE Southern States LLC

Related Links

http://www.southernstatesllc.com


"Jargon is pervasive and persistent, plaguing our industry with buzzwords lacking substance," said Srikant Sastry, national managing principal of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton. "Anyone who works in business can relate to the overuse of corporate jargon, and, frankly, professional services providers are some of the main culprits. At Grant Thornton, we listen to our clients and advise them in terms anyone can understand."

Topping the list of most popular jargon is "best in class," which was used in 71,729 instances, while the least-used jargon term was "sharpen the pencil," which appeared just 33 times during the three-month period. The average number of uses for all the terms in the Jargon Index was 7,868.

Most and Least-Used Jargon Terms

Biggest Change in Usage over Three Months

The term "corporate values" increased in popularity in the three-month time period assessed by 190 percent, while "tiger teams," "get on the horn" and "chat offline" significantly plunged in use by 85, 72 and 66 percent, respectively.

To learn more about Grant Thornton's Jargon Index, visit www.gt.com/jargonindex.

About Grant Thornton's Jargon Index

The Grant Thornton Jargon Index is a ranking of commonly used business jargon terms and phrases developed using Brandwatch. This inaugural index tracked mentions of 124 key business jargon terms from January 1  March 31, 2018. Results were edited to eliminate spam and irrelevant mentions. Grant Thornton's Jargon Index is part of the firm's "Status Go" brand platform, which emphasizes challenging the status quo in a forward-thinking way that produces results for clients.

About Grant Thornton LLP

Founded in Chicago in 1924, Grant Thornton LLP (Grant Thornton) is the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd, one of the world's leading organizations of independent audit, tax and advisory firms. Grant Thornton, which has revenues in excess of $1.7 billion and operates 59 offices, works with a broad range of dynamic publicly and privately held companies, government agencies, financial institutions, and civic and religious organizations.

"Grant Thornton" refers to Grant Thornton LLP, the U.S. member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL). GTIL and the member firms are not a worldwide partnership. Services are delivered by the member firms. GTIL and its member firms are not agents of, and do not obligate, one another and are not liable for one another's acts or omissions. Please see grantthornton.com for further details.

SOURCE Grant Thornton LLP

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MIAMI, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- GraphPath (www.graphpath.ai), creators of the Knowledge Graph-as-a-service (KGaaS) solution that allows organizations to evolve from Big Data to Big Knowledge, today unveiled GraphOS (www.graphos.io), the world's first decentralized operating system for Knowledge Graphs on the blockchain.

GraphOS will facilitate the creation, collaboration and sharing of Knowledge Assets among network participants and seamlessly integrate Knowledge Graphs in a safe, secure and transparent manner. The GraphOS network will be powered by the GraphOS Protocol, which will provide a mechanism for defining and exchanging Knowledge Assets. Knowledge Assets can include any component and specifications of a Knowledge Graph system, such as data, code, ownership and governance details, asset description (i.e. data, code, ontology, algorithms, etc.), and licensing details, among others.

"As we thought about scaling GraphPath's business from a few dozen to hundreds, or even thousands of customers, we identified an opportunity to complement our existing strategy with a Multisided Platform (MSP) approach," explained Demian Bellumio, CEO of GrapPath. "We envision an MSP is which a network of Knowledge Graphs can safely and securely be interconnected via blockchain technology, and where a wide array of participants, such as Knowledge Graph owners, data providers, knowledge experts, and data scientists can efficiently transact with each other. We call this ecosystem, a Graph Operating System, or GraphOS, as it will manage all the resources necessary to run the network."

In order to develop the GraphOS Protocol in a collaborative manner with a community of experts, GraphPath has created the GraphOS Consortium, which will be spearheaded by Mr. Bellumio and Andrew McLaughlin, a leading technologist that has worked with ICANN, Google, the US Government and Tumblr. Through the GraphOS Consortium, a group of executives from blockchain and a number of other industries will be collaborating in the development of a technological and economic framework for GraphOS.

GraphOS Consortium Industry Members

Artificial Intelligence

Antoine Blondeau, Co-Founder and Chairman at Sentient

Chris Boos, Founder and CEO at Arago

Brian Brackeen, Founder and CEO at Kairos

Advertising

Sergio Barrientos, Chief Strategy Officer at M8

Arts

Kevin Abosch, Visual Artist, Hacker and Entrepreneur

Blockchain

Carlos Domingo, Founder at SPiCE VC and Securitize

Jose Saez Lopez, Founder at ElevenYellow

Pablo Ruiz, VP Engineering at Polymath

Pablo Yabo, CTO at CoinFabrik

Shayne Coplan, Founder at TokenUnion

Fintech

Jorge Ruiz, Founder and CEO at above & beyond

Government / Civic

Andrew McLaughlin, Co-Founder and Partner at Higher Ground Labs

Michael Sarasti, Chief Innovation Officer at City of Miami

IoT

Babak Razi, Chairman of the Board at Ingenu

Education

Esteban Sosnik, General Partner at Reach Capital

Benoit Wirz, Investment Partner at Brighteye VC

Real Estate

Amol Sarva, Co-Founder and CEO at Knotel

Telecommunications

Leandro Rzezak, Founder and CEO at Intraway

Javier Villamizar, Managing Director at Greensill Capital

About GraphPath

GraphPath (www.graphpath.ai) allows organizations to evolve from Big Data to Big Knowledge through the creation and management of large-scale enterprise knowledge graphs. The GraphPath solution allows companies to semantically organize all of their raw data into a single ontology that facilitates searching and analyzing their knowledge, as well as, deploying automated machine learning workflows, all in a collaborative and visually-engaging manner.

GraphPath Executive Contact

Martin Enriquez

COO

[email protected]

SOURCE GraphPath
VENTURA, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 22nd, 2018 everyone in the world will have 100% free access to Green Flower's vast library of cannabis science, health, and products videos--without content bans or shutdowns.

Max Simon, CEO Green Flower

Green Flower, the globally recognized leader for providing up-to-date, expert-led cannabis information and training, is launching a newly updated "Green Flower 2.0" platform. The modernized, upgraded designed website will offer interested consumers an easily navigated portal to hundreds of hours of sharable video programming for FREE with an option of a "premium" paid channel focused on the cannabis industry.

"Sadly, there are too many social media platforms that have aggressively shut down cannabis channels over the past few months, with Green Flower being the latest victim on YouTube," noted Max Simon, CEO of Green Flower. "Green Flower provides expert-backed knowledge about the medical benefits of cannabis, cannabis science, the use of cannabis for specific ailments and conditions, basically detailed information to assist anyone in their search of understanding how cannabis can improve the quality of their lives. If we are getting shut-down despite the credibility and quality of our content, it shows just how deeply the world doesn't understand cannabis today. In response Green Flower 2.0 will be the credible cannabis content a platform without fear or judgement of being shut-down."

Green Flower 2.0 will include a new video series called, "Showcases," a place for cannabis companies to explicitly talk about their products and services without fear or censorship. Created for cannabis entrepreneurs and businesses seeking to ''showcase'' their particular cannabis products or services, "Showcases" will allow cannabis companies and entrepreneurs a marketing platform that's targeted, safe, and effective to advertise their solutions and reach customers at scale.

"YouTube's decision to cut cannabis content so drastically is destined to have a negative impact on those who are seeking to learn the truth about the many medical benefits of cannabis and undoubtedly will affect today's key experts who were dedicated to sharing their personal stories," Simon shared. Green Flower 2.O is the solution for consumers and professionals seeking a cannabis-friendly media platform with credibility and reach. YouTube may not want to embrace the cannabis community, so we'll gladly take their place."

Media Contact: Sabrina Propper

Publicity Director, Green Flower

[email protected]

Cell: 818.515.5798

Established in 2014, Ventura-based Green Flower Media (https://www.learngreenflower.com) is the world's largest video platform for trusted cannabis knowledge with 1,000+ hours of high-quality video content featuring 600+ top cannabis industry experts, doctors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and thought-leaders. Serving both consumers and professionals, Green Flower has become the go-to platform for understanding every aspect of cannabis today including using cannabis to treat specific ailments and conditions, how to grow your own cannabis, the science and research around cannabis, how to cook with cannabis, how to understand all the new cannabis products, and the blossoming cannabis industry (licensing, investment, marketing, and more). Green Flower's mission is to improve the quality of millions of people's lives by delivering trusted cannabis knowledge through high-quality video.

SOURCE Green Flower Media

Related Links

https://www.learngreenflower.com


CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Quick Leonard Kieffer, a leading national executive search firm is pleased to announce a new Of Counsel relationship with H. Stephen "Steve" Lieber. Steve will be assisting with executive search and client consulting, with a special emphasis on the health care association and professional society arenas, as well as the information and digital technology industry sectors.

Steve is an internationally recognized association and healthcare leader, drawing on 35 years of experience. A frequent commentator on health policy, in general  and healthcare IT trends and issues, specifically  Steve is a regular speaker and contributor to health system and corporate strategic planning efforts, government-sponsored policy efforts, private sector initiatives, and other non-profit organizations and associations. He has been consistently recognized as one of Modern Healthcare's "100 Most Influential People in Health Care," was named the "Professional Association CEO of the Year" in 2017 by CEO Update for his remarkable leadership of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), and received the 2015 Samuel Shapiro Association Executive of the Year Award from Association Forum.

Prior to joining QLK, Steve spent 17 years as the president and CEO of HIMSS, a global, cause-based, not-for-profit organization that leads efforts to optimize health engagements and care outcomes using information technology. The HIMSS enterprise consists of HIMSS and HIMSS International, which are mission-based, global membership societies; HIMSS Analytics, the market research and data services group; HIMSS Media, the diversified media and publishing division; and Health 2.0, the early stage HIT thought leadership and events group. In this strategic role, Steve orchestrated the organization's expansion in scope and reach to more than 40 countries.

Earlier in his career, Steve served as the CEO of the Emergency Nurses Association; as the vice president of the American Hospital Association's Division of Personal Membership Groups; as the vice president of operations for the Illinois Hospital Association; as a senior budget analyst for the Illinois Bureau of the Budget; and as an assistant administrator for research and statistics with Arkansas Social Services. He earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Arkansas and his master's degree in social service administration from the University of Chicago.

"Steve Lieber brings remarkable Association CEO experience to his work with QLK client boards of directors, CEOs and hiring managers because he has "walked in their shoes" and assembled talented board and executive leadership teams his entire career as well as served on boards selecting CEOs. He knows the ins and outs of nationwide and international health care associations having led in Washington, DC, Chicago and across the US and internationally. He also brings tremendous subject matter knowledge and deep understanding of the revolution going on in the health care information technology and data industry sector for clients looking to identify and recruit thought leaders of tomorrow not yesterday. Indeed, we are so very fortunate to have Steve join our team," said Steve Derks, President and CEO of QLK.

Steve has been a Certified Association Executive since 1994, is a member of the American Society of Association Executives and Association Forum, and has been awarded honorary life memberships with the American Hospital Association and the American Society of Healthcare Risk Management. He was one of the founders of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (HIT) and the HIT Technology Standards Panel, two federally funded initiatives at the foundation of the U.S. interoperability effort.

About QUICK LEONARD KIEFFER

Founded in 1999, Quick Leonard Kieffer is one of the country's leading retained executive search firms specializing in the health care, life sciences/medical device, academic, association, and nonprofit industries. For more information, please visit www.qlksearch.com.

SOURCE Quick Leonard Kieffer

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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- H2O.ai, the open leader in AI, announced its commitment to AI in Healthcare with a new focused initiative. Since its founding in 2011, H2O.ai has been dedicated to AI for good. H2O.ai's AI in Healthcare Initiative aims to improve the quality of life for people around the globe through AI and machine learning (ML). Healthcare is perhaps the most critical example of where AI can have great impact because it not only helps streamline processes, but helps save lives. H2O.ai helps healthcare organizations improve not only their day-to-day business operations, but also patient care and patient outcomes with its AI platforms.

"Our long term vision is to change the world of health with AI. Health is wealth and one worth saving the most with AI," said Sri Ambati, Founder and CEO of H2O.ai. "Healthcare should be optimized for health and outcomes for the ones in need of care. Health by Care, i.e, how healthy can one be with the least amount of care. We are investing in partnerships, teams, use cases and AI products in health because it is the right long term thing to do."

As part of the commitment to AI in Healthcare, H2O.ai recently joined Health IT Now to collaborate on improving the quality of care while lowering costs. Health IT Now is the leading coalition of patient groups, provider organizations, employers, insurers, and other stakeholders. H2O.ai will be working with Health IT Now's Joel White and team, Members of Congress, and coalition members to use the power of technology and AI to:

Speed the development of new cures and treatments

Engineer a data-driven and proactive response to the opioid crisis

Increase access to better care for our veterans

Health IT Now is excited about our partnership with H2O.ai because the massive problems that confront our country can be solved, at least in part, through AI and predictive analytics, said Joel White, President and CEO of Health IT Now. We spend so much money on too many people addicted to opioids. When brought to bear, H2O.ais solutions will help doctors, health systems and insurers spot issues before they become problems. We all save massively. We will save money. More importantly, we will save lives.

In addition, this week, H2O.ai is leading a number of discussions at various events including Prashant Natarajan hosting a panel discussion on AI in healthcare in partnership with the Silicon Valley Big Data Science meetup to be held at the H2O.ai offices in Mountain View, Calif. Sanjay Joshi, chief of technology, Healthcare and Life Sciences at H2O.ai is delivering the Chairperson's Remarks for the inaugural Machine Learning track at the 2018 Bio-IT World conference in Boston on Wednesday, May 16. Joshi will also present a talk at Bio-IT World titled, "AI and Health: A Data and Process Approach," addressing the recent hype regarding AI in Health and Life Sciences and present an introduction to a use-case based approach to AI and machine learning.

The AI in Healthcare Panel on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 will bring together data scientists, IT professionals and physicians to discuss how AI and machine learning is transforming healthcare and life sciences and advancing things like disease prediction and prevention by putting real-time data into the hands of clinicians, researchers and healthcare providers.

The all-physician panel will include:

H2O.ai's Prashant Natarajan as the moderator

as the moderator Dr. Baber Ghauri , Regional CMIO and healthcare innovator at Trinity Health

, Regional CMIO and healthcare innovator at Trinity Health Dr. Esther Yu , Associate Professor & Neuroradiologist at University of California San Francisco (UCSF)

, Associate Professor & Neuroradiologist at (UCSF) Dr. Pratik Mukherjee , Director of the Center for Imaging of Neurodegenerative Disease (CIND), Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences at UCSF

The panel discussion will focus on how the physicians are driving clinical innovations using AI in their specialties and organizations.

"Physicians are at the forefront of the coming health sciences revolution," said Natarajan. "Research, drug discoveries, market reconfiguration and consolidation and a new movement towards value-based care are all driving transformations in the healthcare and life sciences community. In order to embark on a journey to improve wellness, patient outcomes and clinician satisfaction, healthcare professionals must leverage technologies like machine learning, deep learning and artificial intelligence to generate deeper insights."

Natarajan is H2O.ai's new leader of AI Applications in Health. He is a recognized industry expert, hands-on solutions specialist, best-selling author and subject matter expert in big data, analytics, applied machine learning and cancer informatics. In addition to his role at H2O.ai, Natarajan serves as Industry Advisor for the CIAPM computer vision projects at San Francisco VA and is on the Board of Advisors at Council for Affordable Health Coverage, Washington D.C. He also teaches Applied Deep/Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence as a co-faculty instructor at Stanford University.

"By automating machine and deep learning, scientists can ease the path toward more useful insights, improved access, better affordability and evidence-based care," said Joshi. "Having the right technical foundation is key in creating a data-driven learning system within any healthcare organization."

Joshi brings 25 years of practical experience in healthcare and the life sciences to his role at H2O.ai and was most recently the CTO of Life Sciences and Healthcare at Dell EMC. He holds a patent in "system, method, and article for detecting abnormal cells using multi-dimensional analysis." Joshi speaks frequently at industry events and has published articles on topics ranging from, "The Case for a Global Clinical Oncology Digital Archive" to "Genes and Complex Networks; Function and Artificial Intelligence."

H2O.ai will be leading discussions in Healthcare in AI throughout the year. H2O.ai's Prashant Natarajan will:

Host a Spring webinar series with Pistoia Alliance, starting in May with the webinar "Intro to AI in Life Sciences"

Be featured on the #HCBiz podcast in an interview by Don Lee to discuss Precision Medicine on April 27 from 9 - 10:15 am PT

to discuss Precision Medicine on from Deliver the keynote on AI in Health and Life Sciences at Innowave 2018 in Varna, Bulgaria in October 2018

in Host H2O.ai's new podcast series: AI in Healthcare, which focuses on how the world of healthcare is changing with AI and profiles experts from across all fields and disciplines

Connect with H2O.ai

Visit us to learn more: www.h2o.ai

Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/H2Oai

Connect with us on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/2820918/

Download Driverless AI for a free 21-day trial: https://www.h2o.ai/try-driverless-ai/

About H2O.ai

H2O.ai is the leader in AI with its visionary open source platform, H2O. Its mission is to democratize AI for all. H2O.ai is transforming the use of AI within all software with its category-creating visionary open source machine learning movement. More than 12,600 companies use open-source H2O in mission-critical use cases for Finance, Insurance, Healthcare, Retail, Telco, Sales, and Marketing. H2O.ai recently launched Driverless AI that uses AI to do AI in order to provide an easier, faster and cheaper means of implementing data science. In February 2018, Gartner named H2O.ai, as a Leader in the 2018 Magic Quadrant for Data Science and Machine Learning Platforms. H2O.ai partners with leading technology companies such as NVIDIA, IBM, AWS, Azure and Google and is proud of its growing customer base which includes Capital One, Progressive Insurance, Comcast, Walgreens and Kaiser Permanente. For more information and to learn more about how H2O.ai is transforming business processes with intelligence, visit www.h2o.ai.

H2O.ai Media Contact:

Erika Kamholz

[email protected]

949-282-8560

SOURCE H2O.ai

Related Links

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Just around the corner from the royal palace, Richmond University's Kensington campus will be the closest university to the golden couple, with students already excited about the possibility of spotting the royal couple locally. With two campuses in London in Kensington and Richmond, and being the only American University in London, Richmond has many royal connections already.

The University's Kensington campus expansion was officially opened by Prince Harry's mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, in March 1988 and she also attended a graduation at the University.

Richmond University has been home to many royal families including Prince Louis de Luxembourg and Princess Tessy de Luxembourg, HRH Isa AlKhalifa of Bahrain, Baroness Tatjana von Gaisberg and Baroness Natalija von Gaisberg from Liechtenstein and Princess Sara Faisel Mohamed Al Saud from Saudi Arabia.

"We are delighted to welcome Meghan Markle to the London Borough of Kensington", said Professor John Annette, President and Vice Chancellor of Richmond University. "We're privileged to be located in two fantastic locations in London, in Kensington as well as Richmond. Harry and Meghan will be very close by to us in Kensington and the University would be very happy to welcome them in the near future."

Richmond University is also unique as it's the only university offering dual US and UK degree accreditation. The University's liberal arts education is based on the US system which helps students develop the necessary skills they need to succeed while fostering a strong sense of personal and social responsibility.

London has just been named as the best city in the world for university students, according to new international rankings, the QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2018.

Note to editors

The American University in London is a private, not for profit University which offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with accreditation in both the USA and UK. The University is based across two beautiful campuses in London, in Richmond and Kensington.

The first university to introduce a US liberal arts approach to education in the UK, the American University in London offers a system which provides students with a broad knowledge of the world combined with in-depth study in a specific area of interest.

SOURCE Richmond, the American International University in London
If he could have his way, Senate President Aquilino Koko Pimentel III on Tuesday said that he would want to remain in his post as he runs for reelection in the coming mid-term elections in May. If you will ask me, it can be that this no longer happens, said Pimentel when questioned when does he intend to step down as the highest leader of the Upper Chamber. But we should not be too attached to the position if there is a change [in the Senate leadership] in sentiment, we follow the sentiment, said Pimentel. He added that he would agree to leave his current position before the filing of the Certificate of Candidacy so he can prepare for his reelection bid and the slate of PDP-Laban, being its president. I have to prepare for the slate of the party nationwide. So I am just busy with the filing of the COC of the entire party. I am busy nowadays on political matters. He also conceded about a possible change in the Senate leadership since he will seek a reelection. At the same time, he warned of a leadership vacuum in the Senate once his term officially ends at 12 noon on June 30, 2019. My term as senator ends at 12 noon on June 30, 2019 so even if I get re-elected that doesnt mean I bring the title of Senate President. Therefore at 12 noon on June 30, there is no Senate President if Im still the Senate President at that time so I want to avoid that and thats why Im telling my colleagues, he said. And for that legal reason alone, Pimentel said that he was ready to give up his post, and assured the public that he was ready to give up his position anytime if his colleagues want it. Well there might be, possibility po lahat parati naman yun. We should always be ready, said Pimentel who said he does not know when the change in the leadership will occur. Earlier, it was reported that Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, being the longest-serving member of the Senate, would assume the post to be vacated by Pimentel. The reports also said there was already an agreement about a smooth turnover between the two Senate leaders, but this was denied by Pimentel and Sotto, who said the issue should be decided by majority of their colleagues. I am saying that I can be replaced anytime. Im willing to let go. There will be no hard feelings and I will also be a part of the majority, Pimentel said. Sotto said no two senators could agree to share a term because members of the chamber elect their leaders. Term-sharing is not an issue. Senate leaders serve at the pleasure of the senators, he added Pimentel likewise said they were supposed to hold a caucus Tuesday, but was deferred following the death of former Senate President Edgardo Angara. Meanwhile, Senator Sonny Angara said the decision of the Philippine government to lift the deployment ban for skilled and semi-skilled Filipino workers bound for Kuwait is a step in the right direction toward normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries and ensuring full protection for OFWs in the Gulf nation. Angara said the Philippine government under President Rodrigo Duterte deserves support for its effort to put in place more practical measures.Angara said this would guarantee the safety and welfare of Filipinos working in Kuwait and the entire Middle East region. We hope that our government will remain steadfast in ensuring that the labor rights of all Filipinos working abroad, especially domestic workers, are upheld and protected at all times, he said. Senator Joel Villanueva, chairperson of the Senate committee on labor, employment, and human resources development, welcomed the partial lifting of the ban on the deployment of overseas Filipino. We welcome the lifting of the deployment ban and at the same time, we would want DOLE and POEA to report on the required training before the deployment of HSWs through TESDAs NC-II Domestic Work certification, said Villanueva. We would want to know whether this has been complied, how many recruitment agencies are complying, how many HSWs have been certified prior to deployment, and what are the problems encountered, he added. He emphasized that domestic helpers, which he prefers to call as household service workers (HSWs), are required to acquire TESDA certification prior to their deployment. We urge the DOLE and POEA to conscientiously pursue the upgrading of household service work as a profession with unique skills set and not slaves consistent with ILO Convention 189 on Domestic Work, which the country actively campaigned for to ensure the protection of our HSWs. Our HSWs should already be armed with NC II certificates as professional service workers, and recruitment agencies should be required to deploy only certified HSWs, Villanueva said. In other issues, Senator Francis Pangilinan said the Benham Rise is uncontested territory. since it belongs to the Philippines and no other country has been contesting its possession. Hindi inaagaw o inaarmasan ng China o ng kahit anong bansa ang Benham Rise. Teritoryo natin ito, stresses Pangilinan, also the Liberal Party president. Pangilinan said this is separate to other islands within the countrys exclusive economic zone, where China has deployed anti-air and anti-ship missiles and where foreign militarization on Philippine land and waters is happening. Chinese missiles in Zamora Reef are about 13 nautical miles (about 24.05 kilometers or closer than the distance between Camp Aguinaldo and National Bilibid Prisons) away from Pag-asa Island, the largest Philippine-controlled island out of the nine features in Spratlys; in Kagitingan Reef, about 103 nautical miles (about 190.55 kilometers or the distance between Malacanang and Manaoag Church); and in Panganiban Reef, about 117 nautical miles (about 216.45 kilometers or almost double the distance of the Bataan Death March). On the western side of the country, Pangilinan said the countrys sovereignty is clearly violated, our security is threatened, and leadership is badly needed. It is in the West Philippine Sea, not in Benham Rise, where action is necessary and critical, he said.
WASHINGTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After years of hard work and advocacy from the American Federation of Government Employees Council of Prison Locals, Congress passed the Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act. The bill makes permanent the Bureau of Prisons policy of providing gun lockers to correctional workers, so that prison employees can defend themselves on their commute to and from work.

Jean Williams, mother of fallen correctional officer Eric Williams, and Helen Albarati, widow of fallen correctional officer Osvaldo Albarati, gather at a candlelight vigil for correctional workers in Washington, D.C.

"This is a huge step towards making our prisons safer," said Eric Young, President of the Council of Prison Locals. "The Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act guarantees that our officers will have a secure place to store their firearms to defend themselves, and will help us ensure that husbands, wives, children, and grandchildren not be left behind because their loved ones were killed commuting to and from their place of work."

The Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Self-Protection Act (H.R. 613) was introduced by Representative David McKinley of West Virginia on January 23, 2017. The bill is named for Lieutenant Osvaldo Albarati, a correctional officer at MDC Guaynabo who was murdered in connection with his work inside the prison.

"We have been fighting for secure gun lockers since the death of Lieutenant Albarati, and I can't think of a better way to honor his sacrifice and remember his service than to pass this bill during Law Enforcement Week," Young said.

AFGE National President J. David Cox echoed Young's praises, and credits the bill's passage to the mobilization of union members.

"Since 2013, the Council of Prisons Locals and the American Federation of Government Employees have worked tirelessly to increase the safety of our correctional officers at federal prisons throughout the country," said AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. "Thanks to our activists' hard-won fight, we're making great strides in prison safety."

Young says that the Council of Prison Locals will continue its work to make prisons safer, and make the gun locker policy change permanent with the passage of the Osvaldo Albarati Correctional Officer Protection Act.

"All of the men and women who keep peace in our communities by safeguarding our nation's prisons deserve the right to feel safe at work," Young said. "We hope to keep this momentum going and continue working towards safer prisons for all correctional workers."

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 700,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia, including 39,000 in the federal Bureau of Prisons.

For the latest AFGE news and information, visit the AFGE Media Center. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees

Related Links

http://www.afge.org


HOBOKEN, N.J., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Recovery Solutions, the leading innovative post-acute remote patient monitoring company, announced today that it has launched a next generation version of its patented telehealth software. HRS has released an updated version of the ClinicianConnect web portal to help clinicians better manage high risk patient populations.

The new ClinicianConnect software has an increased capacity to handle more patients with existing staff and contains tools that enhance workflow for clinicians, including prioritization dashboards, advanced reporting, and clinical disease pathways. This software release supports HRS' mission to improve healthcare efficiency and enhance patient care.

HRS ClinicianConnect allows clinical users to triage patients by symptoms, vital signs, and medication adherence captured by HRS' RPM application, PatientConnect. This unique feature gives clinicians the ability to intervene when necessary, thus minimizing the risk of rehospitalization and emergency department visits due to chronic disease exacerbation.

Anne Carle RN, Clinical Coordinator of Cornerstone VNA states, "I have had the opportunity to practice on the new web portal and found it to be user friendly, easier to navigate, and time efficient. The portal will allow telehealth nurses the control to designate high risk patients accordingly, to monitor and triage."

HRS ClinicianConnect also provides clinicians with insight into long term data and allows them to develop detailed reports for physicians and providers. The software helps clinicians and providers identify disease trends and adhere to clinically proven care protocols, so they can effectively adjust care plans and maximize the potential of value based care models.

Daniel Priece, Chief Technology Officer at HRS, states, "We have listened and responded to the needs of our clients with this software update. All of us here at HRS couldn't be more excited to help clinicians care for more patients with the next generation of ClinicianConnect."

HRS also offers programs to help clinicians focus on providing valuable care. For example, HRS offers a shipping and logistics program called PatientDirect, which manages telehealth inventory for clinicians, allowing them to focus entirely on patient care. HRS also provides the option for clients to participate in HRS CareConnect, a clinical monitoring service that minimizes gaps in clinician coverage by ensuring 24/7 support for telehealth patients.

HRS is committed to the advancement of healthcare and is continuously growing to offer patients and clinicians a comprehensive approach to remote patient care. HRS has served over 25,000 patients, achieved readmission rates as low as 1.3%, and saved clients millions of dollars. HRS has future plans to double the amount of disease module offerings to over 30, add additional accessibility options to the platform, and leverage the data collected to launch a predicative analytics platform that can potentially catch readmissions earlier than ever before possible. This is an exciting time of growth for the company.

To learn more about Health Recovery Solutions, visit www.healthrecoverysolutions.com or call (347) 699-6477

SOURCE Health Recovery Solutions

Related Links

http://www.healthrecoverysolutions.com


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunt Mortgage Group, a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today it has provided four Freddie Mac Small Balance Loans to refinance a four-property multifamily portfolio. The total Hunt Mortgage Group investment is $5.09 million.

The transaction includes four individual loans known collectively as the GNO Portfolio. The borrower is GNO Portfolio, LLC, backed by Michael Meredith, Andre Lewis and Dennis Stump. The loan term includes a five-year note with P&I payments amortized over 30 years.

All of the properties are located in Louisiana, within the New Orleans-Metairie MSA and include:

671 Central Avenue Apartments . Hunt Mortgage Group provided a $1.02 million loan to refinance 671 Central Avenue Apartments, a 30-unit multifamily property located at 671 Central Avenue in Jefferson, Louisiana . The property consists of two, three-story apartment buildings that were constructed in the 1970s. The property offers 30 surface parking spaces for tenants and is 93% occupied. Since acquiring the property in 2016, the borrowers have invested approximately $250,000 in capital improvements at 671 Central Avenue Apartments.

. Hunt Mortgage Group provided a loan to refinance 671 Central Avenue Apartments, a 30-unit multifamily property located at 671 Central Avenue in . The property consists of two, three-story apartment buildings that were constructed in the 1970s. The property offers 30 surface parking spaces for tenants and is 93% occupied. Since acquiring the property in 2016, the borrowers have invested approximately in capital improvements at 671 Central Avenue Apartments. Montbatten Apartments. Montbatten Apartments is a 30-unit multifamily property located at 1726-1836 Montbatten Drive in Marrero, Louisiana . The Hunt Mortgage Group loan to refinance this property is in the amount of $1.05 million . The property is 100% physically occupied and is comprised of 15, single-story buildings. The property was built in 1985 and has received over $99,000 in capital expenditures since acquisition in 2016. There are 60 surface parking spaces available for tenants, and public street parking is available just outside of each building.

Montbatten Apartments is a 30-unit multifamily property located at 1726-1836 Montbatten Drive in . The Hunt Mortgage Group loan to refinance this property is in the amount of . The property is 100% physically occupied and is comprised of 15, single-story buildings. The property was built in 1985 and has received over in capital expenditures since acquisition in 2016. There are 60 surface parking spaces available for tenants, and public street parking is available just outside of each building. 718 Central Avenue Apartments . Hunt Mortgage Group provided a $1.32 million loan for the refinance of 718 Central Avenue Apartments, a 32-unit multifamily property located at 718 Central Avenue in Jefferson, Louisiana . The property consists of a three-story apartment building that was constructed in the 1980s. Common areas include a community laundry room and outdoor swimming pool and there are 32 parking spaces available for tenants including 21 open and 11 carports. 718 Central Avenue has received over $161,000 in capital expenditures.

. Hunt Mortgage Group provided a loan for the refinance of 718 Central Avenue Apartments, a 32-unit multifamily property located at 718 Central Avenue in . The property consists of a three-story apartment building that was constructed in the 1980s. Common areas include a community laundry room and outdoor swimming pool and there are 32 parking spaces available for tenants including 21 open and 11 carports. 718 Central Avenue has received over in capital expenditures. Kabel Drive Apartments. Kabel Drive Apartments is a 32-unit multifamily property located at 3250-3260 Kabel Drive in New Orleans . The property is 91% occupied and is comprised of seven, two-story apartment buildings that was built in the 1980s. Hunt Mortgage Group provided a $1.36 million loan to refinance Kabel Drive Apartments and the property has received over $848,000 in capital expenditures since acquisition.

"The borrowers are experienced multifamily real estate investors that represent VPG Enterprises, a value-add private equity group that specializes in investing in multifamily assets throughout New Orleans and the surrounding markets," noted Mark Besharaty, Director at Hunt Mortgage Group.

"The borrowers have executed on a number of improvements at all four buildings and the renovations are ongoing," added Besharaty. "In addition, they bring with them a successful track record of repositioning assets in and around the New Orleans submarket. We were pleased to partner with them on this transaction."

Improvements completed at each property includes new flooring, new kitchens, new bathrooms and updated interior accents. Exterior improvements include new paint, new facades, new landscaping and new windows. Approximately 30-50% of the units in each complex have been upgraded and the borrower plans to upgrade the remaining units as they become vacant.

About Hunt Mortgage Group

Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States. The Company finances all types of commercial real estate: multifamily properties (including small balance), affordable housing, office, retail, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, industrial, and self-storage facilities. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA in addition to its own Proprietary loan products. Since inception, the Company has structured more than $21 billion of loans and today maintains a servicing portfolio of more than $13.4 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group has 232 professionals in 25 locations throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Brent Feigenbaum

Hunt Mortgage Group

212-317-5730

[email protected]

Pam Flores

773-218-9260

[email protected]

SOURCE Hunt Mortgage Group

Related Links

http://www.huntmortgagegroup.com


Leadership's commitment to driving execution excellence in customer service, company-wide productivity initiatives and storm restoration continues to deliver strong performance in first quarter of 2018

TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Hydro One Limited (Hydro One or the Company), the parent company of Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution utility, today announced its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.

Earnings per share (EPS) of $0.37 and adjusted EPS of $0.35 , compared to $0.28 in the prior year, reflecting the Ontario Energy Board's (OEB) decision on transmission rates, seasonal weather, and controlled operating costs

and adjusted EPS of , compared to in the prior year, reflecting the Ontario Energy Board's (OEB) decision on transmission rates, seasonal weather, and controlled operating costs Quarterly dividend increased 5% to $0.23 per share, payable June 29, 2018

per share, payable Management's focus on delivering industry-leading customer service has resulted in a six percentage point increase year-over-year in distribution customer satisfaction

A number of milestones reached in the regulatory approval for the Avista Corporation (Avista) transaction with settlement agreements filed in Washington , Alaska , and Idaho , as well as a settlement in principle in Oregon , all of which remain subject to approval by the respective commissions. In addition, the transaction also received U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, and U.S. Federal Communications Commission consent

, , and , as well as a settlement in principle in , all of which remain subject to approval by the respective commissions. In addition, the transaction also received U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance, U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval, and U.S. Federal Communications Commission consent Tentative deal with the Power Workers' Union (PWU) demonstrates management's commitment to building relationships with union leadership through alignment of business goals in agreement negotiations

New methodology and proactive approach to storm restoration efforts results in all-time Company record for speed of service restoration after nearly 500,000 customers lost power in mid-April ice storm

Senior management further strengthened by the announcements of accomplished leaders in the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Corporate Development Officer roles

"The first quarter demonstrated Hydro One's true potential through strong execution and an unwavering determination to succeed," said Mayo Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro One. "The Company's growing list of achievements is a result of our leadership team's uncompromising commitment to customer service and storm restoration, as well as their resolve in driving excellence to deliver cost savings through productivity improvement plans that will flow back to customers and shareholders. Finally, our all-party, all-issues settlement agreements in three states and anti-trust clearance show significant progress in achieving milestones to combine with Avista."

Selected Consolidated Financial and Operating Highlights



Three months ended March 31, (amounts throughout in millions of Canadian dollars, except as otherwise noted)

2018 2017







Revenues

1,576 1,658 Purchased power

751 889 Revenues, net of purchased power1

825 769 Net income attributable to common shareholders

222 167 Income related to acquisition of Avista

(12)  Adjusted net income attributable to common shareholders1

210 167







Basic earnings per common share (EPS)

$0.37 $0.28 Diluted EPS

$0.37 $0.28 Adjusted basic EPS1

$0.35 $0.28 Adjusted diluted EPS1

$0.35 $0.28







Net cash from operating activities

376 471 Capital investments

305 350 Assets placed in-service

145 228







Transmission: Average monthly Ontario 60-minute peak demand (MW)

19,815 19,795 Distribution: Electricity distributed to Hydro One customers (GWh)

7,406 6,967





1 Non-GAAP Measures - Hydro One uses financial measures that do not have a standardized meaning under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (US GAAP) and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other entities. Hydro One calculated the non-GAAP measures by adjusting certain US GAAP measures for specific items that impact comparability but which the Company does not consider part of normal, ongoing operations. Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section of the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for further discussion of these items.

Key Financial Highlights

In the first quarter of 2018, the Company reported net income attributable to common shareholders of $222 million (2017 - $167 million), a 32.9% increase from last year, and EPS of $0.37 (2017 - $0.28). Adjusted EPS, which exclude the impact of $12 million income related to the Avista acquisition, was $0.35 for the quarter.

Revenues, net of purchased power, for the first quarter were higher than last year by 7.3%. This increase reflects higher transmission revenues driven by the OEB's decision on the 2017-2018 transmission rates filing, and increased transmission and distribution revenues due to higher energy consumption resulting from seasonal weather.

The comparability of first quarter earnings was positively impacted by higher transmission revenues driven by the timing of OEB's decision on the 2017-2018 transmission rate filing, lower corporate support costs, which were partially offset by costs relating to Hydro One's response to the Northeastern storms; and lower financing charges primarily due to revaluation of the deal-contingent foreign exchange forward contract, partially offset by interest on the Convertible Debentures issued in August 2017.

Hydro One continues to invest in the reliability and performance of Ontario's electricity transmission and distribution systems, address aging power system infrastructure, facilitate connectivity to new generation sources, and improve service to customers. The Company made capital investments of $305 million during the first quarter, and placed $145 million worth of new assets in-service.

Selected Operating Highlights

Management's focus on delivering industry-leading customer service further contributed to the rising trend of distribution customer satisfaction, now up six percentage points to 74% over the same period last year.

On March 1, the Company successfully completed the integration of 400 contact centre employees, who were previously contracted out, to advance Hydro One's renewed customer-centric service culture. Critically, contact centre performance metrics rose during the transition. When compared with the end of 2017, first quarter results for overall customer satisfaction with calls rose by four points to 94%, customer issues resolved on the first call jumped four points to 89%, and billing accuracy reached 99.7%.

The Company was also recognized with two Achieving Communications Excellence awards from the Canadian Public Relations Society for its meaningful community engagement projects.

Hydro One and Avista have achieved numerous key milestones in the regulatory approval process for the proposed merger, including all-party, all-issues settlement agreements filed in Washington in March, and Alaska and Idaho in April. A settlement in principle with all parties in the Oregon proceeding was reached in May. The settlement agreements remain subject to approval by the respective commissions. The companies also achieved approval from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January, antitrust clearance under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 in April, and consent from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission in May. Hydro One and Avista continue to anticipate closing the transaction in the second half of 2018.

The Company continues to drive a company-wide productivity improvement initiative resulting in additional cost savings in the first quarter, with a significant portion of savings culminating from more competitive procurement practices. Adopting industry best practices and streamlined processes, the Company is sourcing materials and services at lower costs compared to previous years.

Hydro One and PWU reached a tentative settlement of a two-year collective agreement covering approximately 4,000 employees in critical front line roles. This agreement recognizes the significant contributions employees make in maintaining the supply of power across the province while delivering value to customers and shareholders. Union members will now vote on this tentative agreement with the outcome anticipated by the end of the second quarter of 2018.

The Company continued to build its reputation at home and abroad for storm relief and operational excellence. In January, the Company received an Emergency Assistance Award from the Edison Electric Institute for support efforts following Hurricane Irma in Florida last September. In March, it mobilized nearly 175 employees to help restore power following a storm in Boston and Baltimore that left approximately one million people without power. Following a severe rain, ice and wind storm that hit Ontario in mid-April, the Company restored power to nearly 500,000 customers in four days. Through a new approach to storm planning and response execution, this set a new Company record for restoration time by surpassing the previous six-day effort from the last, large scale ice storm in March 2016.

The Company further strengthened its leadership team by adding proven, experienced, highly-regarded executives.

Patrick Meneley joined Hydro One as Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Development Officer on March 1. Meneley was most recently EVP, Wholesale Banking at TD Bank Group and Vice Chair and Head of Global Corporate and Investment Banking for TD Securities. At Hydro One, he assumes responsibility for leading strategy, innovation and mergers and acquisitions.

The Company also welcomed Paul Dobson as Chief Financial Officer March 1. Dobson was most recently CFO for Direct Energy Ltd. in Houston, Texas, where he was responsible for overall financial leadership of a $15 billion revenue business with three million customers in Canada and the U.S. Dobson took over the finance, treasury, controller, audit, technology and regulation functions.

Common Share Dividends

Following the conclusion of the first quarter, on May 14, 2018, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend to common shareholders of $0.23 per share to be paid on June 29, 2018 to shareholders of record on June 12, 2018. This represents a dividend increase of 5% since the last increase in May 2017. This second annual consecutive increase reflects the Company's expectation of continued long-term earnings growth and demonstrates the true potential of Hydro One through strong management.

Supplemental Segment Information



Three Months Ended March 31, (millions of dollars)

2018 2017







Revenues







Transmission

421 367

Distribution

1,145 1,279

Other

10 12

Total revenues

1,576 1,658







Revenues, net of purchased power







Transmission

421 367

Distribution

394 390

Other

10 12

Total revenues, net of purchased power

825 769







Income (loss) before financing charges and taxes







Transmission

213 164

Distribution

157 153

Other

(12) (14)

Total income before financing charges and taxes

358 303







Capital investments







Transmission

190 209

Distribution

114 138

Other

1 3

Total capital investments

305 350







Assets placed in-service







Transmission

38 82

Distribution

105 146

Other

2 0

Total assets placed in-service

145 228

This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's first quarter 2018 Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A). These statements and MD&A together with additional information about Hydro One, including the full year 2017 Consolidated Financial Statements and Management's Discussion and Analysis, can be accessed at www.HydroOne.com/Investors and www.sedar.com .

Quarterly Investment Community Teleconference

The Company's first quarter 2018 results teleconference with the investment community will be held on May 15, 2018 at 8 a.m. ET, a webcast of which will be available at www.HydroOne.com/Investors . Members of the financial community wishing to ask questions during the call should dial 1-855-716-2690 prior to the scheduled start time and request access to Hydro One's first quarter 2018 results call, conference ID 4548189 (international callers may dial 1-440-996-5689). Media and other interested parties are welcome to participate on a listen-only basis. A webcast of the teleconference will be available at the same link following the call. Additionally, investors should note that from time to time Hydro One management presents at brokerage sponsored investor conferences. Most often, but not always, these conferences are webcast by the hosting brokerage firm, and when they are webcast, links are made available on Hydro One's website at www.HydroOne.com/Investors and are posted generally at least two days before the conference.

About Hydro One Limited

We are Ontario's largest electricity transmission and distribution provider with more than 1.3 million valued customers, over C$25 billion in assets and 2017 annual revenues of nearly C$6 billion. Our team of over 7,400 skilled and dedicated regular and non-regular employees proudly and safely serves suburban, rural and remote communities across Ontario through our 30,000 circuit km of high-voltage transmission and 123,000 circuit km of primary distribution networks. Hydro One is committed to the communities we serve, and has been rated as the top utility in Canada for its corporate citizenship, sustainability, and diversity initiatives. We are one of only five utility companies in Canada to achieve the Sustainable Electricity Company designation from the Canadian Electricity Association. We also provide advanced broadband telecommunications services on a wholesale basis utilizing our extensive fibre optic network. Hydro One Limited's common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: H).

For More Information

For more information about everything Hydro One, please visit www.HydroOne.com where you can find additional information including links to securities filings, historical financial reports, and information about the Company's governance practices, corporate social responsibility, customer solutions, and further information about its business.

Forward-Looking Statements and Information

This press release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such information includes, but is not limited to, statements related to: growth; customer service; cost savings; performance; efficiencies; reliability; productivity; improvement plans; operational excellence; storm restoration; ongoing and planned investments, projects and initiatives; the OEB's transmission rates decision and its anticipated impacts; collective agreements; dividends; continued long-term earnings growth; the deal-contingent foreign exchange forward contract; and the acquisition of Avista. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "attempt," "may," "plan," "will", "can", "believe," "seek," "estimate," and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking information. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or actions and involve assumptions and risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking information. Some of the factors that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from the results expressed, implied or forecasted by such forward-looking information, including some of the assumptions used in making such statements, are discussed more fully in Hydro One's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Hydro One does not intend, and it disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking information, except as required by law.

SOURCE Hydro One Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hydroone.com


In 2017, IEEE Intelligent Systems called for nominations worldwide, with the requirement that nominees with doctorates must have received their PhDs in the past ve years. The selection committee, made up of IEEE Intelligent Systems editorial and advisory board members, then voted on a short list of top candidates. They based their final selections on reputation, impact, expert endorsement, and diversity.

"IEEE Intelligent Systems has long helped promote young and aspiring AI scientists via its biennial 'AI's 10 to Watch' special section. The 2018 group consists of 10 young stars who have demonstrated outstanding AI achievements," said Qiang Yang, Selection Committee chair and Editorial Board member. "IEEE Intelligent Systems is proud to present these aspiring AI researchers in 2018's list of 'AI's 10 to Watch.'"

This year's 10 to Watch are as follows:

Bo An has made fundamental contributions to the field of multiagent systems, particularly involving game-based algorithms for physical security, cybersecurity, and sustainability.





has made fundamental contributions to the field of multiagent systems, particularly involving game-based algorithms for physical security, cybersecurity, and sustainability. Erik Cambria has championed a multidisciplinary approach to natural language understanding that aims to bridge the gap between statistical natural language processing and other disciplinessuch as linguistics, commonsense reasoning, and affective computingnecessary for understanding human language.





has championed a multidisciplinary approach to natural language understanding that aims to bridge the gap between statistical natural language processing and other disciplinessuch as linguistics, commonsense reasoning, and affective computingnecessary for understanding human language. Yoav Goldberg has contributed to the fields of lexical semantics (understanding the meaning of words), syntactic parsing (representing and automatically inferring the structure of sentences), and deep learning for language processing.





has contributed to the fields of lexical semantics (understanding the meaning of words), syntactic parsing (representing and automatically inferring the structure of sentences), and deep learning for language processing. Akshat Kumar has done seminal research on decision-based theoretical planning, constraint optimization, probabilistic reasoning, graphical models, and multiagent systems.





has done seminal research on decision-based theoretical planning, constraint optimization, probabilistic reasoning, graphical models, and multiagent systems. Wei Liu has worked on large-scale learning, classification, search, and recommendation related to visual data.





has worked on large-scale learning, classification, search, and recommendation related to visual data. Cynthia Matuszek has combined robotics, natural language processing, and machine learning to build systems that nonspecialists can instruct, control, and interact with intuitively and naturally.





has combined robotics, natural language processing, and machine learning to build systems that nonspecialists can instruct, control, and interact with intuitively and naturally. Sinno J. Pan is a pioneer in the field of transfer learning. He has helped lay the early theoretical foundations and develop practical algorithms for transfer-learning techniques with diverse real-world applications.





is a pioneer in the field of transfer learning. He has helped lay the early theoretical foundations and develop practical algorithms for transfer-learning techniques with diverse real-world applications. B. Aditya Prakash has won awards for his important work on understanding, reasoning about, and mining propagation of information over networks in diverse real-world systems. He has developed a suite of efficient, near-optimal immunization policies to control influenza spread in a variety of realistic settings. His work has also led to surprising applications in social media and cybersecurity.





has won awards for his important work on understanding, reasoning about, and mining propagation of information over networks in diverse real-world systems. He has developed a suite of efficient, near-optimal immunization policies to control influenza spread in a variety of realistic settings. His work has also led to surprising applications in social media and cybersecurity. Maria Vanina Martinez has researched automated reasoning about rich knowledge bases that contain potentially uncertain information. She has proposed solutions for personalizing the integration of inconsistent and incomplete knowledge bases, and has developed inconsistency-management semantics for relational databases and logic-based knowledge bases.





has researched automated reasoning about rich knowledge bases that contain potentially uncertain information. She has proposed solutions for personalizing the integration of inconsistent and incomplete knowledge bases, and has developed inconsistency-management semantics for relational databases and logic-based knowledge bases. Yang Yu has helped build the theoretical foundation of evolutionary computation, addressing its basic questions by designing time-complexity analysis tools, proposing approximate analysis framework, and disclosing the effect of nature-inspired operators.

One of the first technical magazines that emerged to cover the then-new field of AI, IEEE Intelligent Systems is a bimonthly IEEE Computer Society publication that provides peer-reviewed, cutting-edge articles on the theory and applications of systems that perceive, reason, learn, and act intelligently.

For full coverage of the "AI's 10 to Watch" list, visit IEEE Intelligent Systems here.

About IEEE Computer Society

IEEE Computer Society, the computing industry's unmatched source for technology information and career development, offers a comprehensive array of industry-recognized products, services, and professional opportunities. Known as the community for technology leaders, IEEE Computer Society's vast resources include membership, publications, a renowned digital library, training programs, and conferences. Visit www.computer.org for more information on all products and services.

SOURCE IEEE Computer Society

Related Links

http://www.computer.org


ROHNERT PARK, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the years, certain colleges and specific majors have been receiving far many more applications from qualified students than they can handle, making them "impacted." With certain classes in specific majors being affected, students are having a harder time completing their degrees on time. Impacted classes and degrees are becoming an ever-increasing issue for faculty and students alike. Ameritech Financial, a document preparation service company that specializes in working with applications for income-driven repayment plans, understands that the damage from impacted classes on a student's education can be significant.

Credit: Boris Fedorenko/Bigstock

"Impacted classes create a less-than-welcoming environment within colleges, with all the students fighting to be one of the bodies that gets to fill the chairs within those classrooms," said Tom Knickerbocker, executive vice president of Ameritech Financial. "It creates an atmosphere of competition that isn't conducive to college success."

Not being able take the courses needed for getting a degree in a timely manner has severe impact on a student's life in many ways. The obvious is that the student has to remain at the college for longer periods of time, delaying his or her graduation and entrance into the workforce as well as hampering their personal life. The less obvious is the outward rippling effects that many people may not immediately think of.

For example, if a student has to stay enrolled longer at a college, it may mean having to take out more student loans to afford housing that is still accessible to the college campus. With anything, the more use it gets, the more likely that it will need updates or repairs; in the same way, the longer a student is enrolled in college, the more their electronics, cars and other items will need further funding to be maintained.

For certain students receiving financial aid, impacted classes could be an issue as well. If students only need one or two classes to complete their degree program, they may have to enroll in extra classes to have a full-time schedule required for certain financial aid. Those additional classes may cost extra in tuition, books and other supplies. Or the student might have to figure out how to afford those classes without some of the financial aid that they were previously receiving.

Impacted campuses and majors have a large chance to do significant damage to student loan borrowers. That damage could potentially take decades for borrowers to sort out on their own. Ameritech Financial is a private company that assists qualifying borrowers in filling out applications for income-driven repayment programs. Approved applicants may find it easier to get back on their feet after impacted courses tried to topple them over.

"Impacted courses affect more than just the length of time that a student is potentially at a college. And while there is no immediate fix to this problem, Ameritech Financial is doing what it can to assist those who might have gotten in over their heads with student loans because of them," said Knickerbocker.

About Ameritech Financial

Ameritech Financial is a private company located in Rohnert Park, California. Ameritech Financial has already helped thousands of consumers with financial analysis and student loan document preparation to apply for federal student loan repayment programs offered through the Department of Education.

Each Ameritech Financial telephone representative has received the Certified Student Loan Professional certification through the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators (IAPDA).

Ameritech Financial prides itself on its exceptional customer service.

Ameritech Financial Newsroom

Contact

To learn more about Ameritech Financial, please contact:

Ameritech Financial

5789 State Farm Drive #265

Rohnert Park, CA 94928

1-800-792-8621

[email protected]

Related Images

impacted-classes-impact-students.jpg

Impacted Classes Impact Students

Credit: Boris Fedorenko/Bigstock

image2.png

Related Links

Ameritech Financial home page

Related Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRza8MbLvuM

SOURCE Ameritech Financial

Related Links

https://ameritechfinancial.com


HOUSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Inception Fertility Ventures has partnered with Houston Fertility Specialists (HFS) with a plan to merge HFS with its Aspire Fertility Houston operations, allowing them to provide fertility services to a much broader market. The merged business will now operate fertility clinics in Houston, Sugar Land, Katy, and Clear Lake, all under the Aspire Fertility brand.

HFS was founded in 1986 by Reproductive Endocrinologist George M. Grunert, MD, and Lab Director Alfred Wun, PhD, HCLD. For more than 30 years, HFS has been helping patients achieve their dream of starting or expanding their family. HFS is one of the largest fertility practices in the United States, with four locations, seven physicians, and more than 7,000 babies born. In the new venture, Dr. Grunert will continue to serve as the IVF Program Director and Dr. Wun as the Lab Director. Dr. Grunert, Dr. Wun, and the entire HFS team look forward to the partnership and the opportunity to expand this premier IVF program throughout Houston.

In the two short years since they opened their doors Aspire Fertility Houston has successfully served patients in the Texas Medical Center and surrounding areas, with a focus on patient experience and clinical excellence. HFS's clinical expertise, combined with long-standing referral relationships in areas of Houston that Aspire does not currently serve, provides a market-leading proposition for the combined practice. The combined venture will enhance the company's future growth and performance. Immediate plans to expand into other areas of the greater metropolitan Houston area are already underway.

"HFS is an impressive operation with an amazing team of physicians, nurses, and support staff, and we couldn't have chosen a better partner. We will work closely together to seamlessly merge our exceptional clinical services while expanding our geographic presence," says TJ Farnsworth, Inception's Founder and CEO. He adds, "The true strength of our partnership is that Aspire and HFS share a vision in that our common purpose is to achieve the highest bar in patient experience, science and medicineno exceptions."

"We couldn't be more excited to join forces with Aspire," adds HFS managing partner, Dr. Randy Dunn. "We share a common culture in that our patient's experience is just as important as their outcome. To that end, it is important to note that only our name will change; patients will continue to receive 5-star care from their physician and support staff."

ABOUT ASPIRE FERTILITY

Aspire Fertility is a subsidiary of Inception Fertility Ventures, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company's mission is to shift the paradigm of the IVF market by raising the standard of care, streamlining fragmented components into an integrated system, and enhancing the overall patient experience. In business since 2015, the company operates facilities in Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. For more information about Aspire Fertility, please call 713.300.1123 or visit aspirefertility.com.

ABOUT HOUSTON FERTILITY SPECIALISTS

Houston Fertility Specialists (HFS) is one of the oldest and most successful fertility practices in the United States. Over the past 30 years, HFS has grown its team to over 60 members including physicians, nurses, and support specialists, and has helped patients welcome more than 7,000 babies into their families. HFS offices are located in the Texas Medical Center, Sugar Land, Katy and Clear Lake.

MEDIA CONTACT

Laura Turcotte

Inception Fertility Ventures

281.797.8196

aspirefertility.com

SOURCE Inception Fertility Ventures

Related Links

https://www.aspirefertility.com


BRANFORD, Conn., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IsoPlexis has been recognized with Pharma Tech Outlook's cover story for the top 10 analytics solution providers in 2018. The award focuses on IsoPlexis' IsoSpeak software suite's ability to clarify results, reports, and associations from large, complex patient data sets, thereby delivering leading biopharma and clinical researchers better data by which to determine effective cancer immunotherapies.

The IsoLight instrument and IsoCode chip, which was recognized as The Scientist's and Fierce Life Science's #1 Innovation of 2017, provides an integrated solution for detecting functional cellular responses with single-cell resolution. The system can capture a previously unseen 42 different secreted functional proteins per cell, across thousands of single cells simultaneously.

The critical final element for understanding the large scale of data generated is IsoPlexis' IsoSpeak informatics software, which enables researchers to generate a precise, functional patient profile from this data, and compare large groups of patients in a comprehensible and actionable fashion.

Sean Mackay, CEO and Co-founder of IsoPlexis, commented, "We are excited to receive this distinction as a top analytics solution from Pharma Tech Outlook. We have made easy-to-use yet powerful software one of the centerpieces of our product suite, so that the complex functional data generated by our chip can be visualized and acted upon in a straightforward manner. We will continue to provide our customer base cutting-edge software solutions and reports that help our users continue to advance the latest cancer immunotherapy treatments."

IsoPlexis' platform has been used throughout the cancer immunotherapy world over the last year. In 2017, the system predicted Non-Hodgkin lymphoma patient response in CAR-T cell therapy by assessing the pre-infusion cellular product, as presented at AACR 2017. Correlative clinical research data was produced in 2017 in anti-PD-1 melanoma therapy as well. The system was used beyond oncology to predict pre-clinical immune cell responses to malaria vaccine and patient pathogenesis in autoimmune disease, preparing for multiple use cases in high need and high impact application areas.

For more information on this award, please go to https://analytics-solution.pharmatechoutlook.com/vendors/top-analytics-solution-providers-2018.html.

ABOUT ISOPLEXIS:

IsoPlexis, a privately held life sciences company, is developing novel technologies at the forefront of the revolution in immunity-based treatments of cancer. Using a next-generation diagnostic and therapeutic platform to identify patient responses at the single cell level, IsoPlexis' original scientific leaders from Yale, Caltech, UCLA, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have advanced understandings of personalized therapies against various cancers. IsoPlexis is venture funded by Spring Mountain Capital, North Sound Ventures and Connecticut Innovations, as well as supported through grant funding from the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health. For additional information on IsoPlexis, visit http://www.isoplexis.com or email [email protected].

SOURCE IsoPlexis
PORTLAND, Ore., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Janrain, the company that pioneered the Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) category, today announced Janrain CFO Martin Day will be honored at the Portland Business Journal CFO of the Year Awards ceremony this week. As a CFO of the Year honoree, Mr. Day has demonstrated a strong record of innovation, outstanding performance and a clear track record of meaningful community involvement. Mr. Day was chosen along with a handful of other financial professionals from more than 100 nominations after Janrain experienced record bookings in 2017, including doubling new customer wins and enjoying the largest single quarter bookings in the company's 16-year history. Janrain continues its record-setting pace for growth in 2018 with Q1 bookings that were three times that of the prior year.

"I am truly honored to be recognized by the Portland Business Journal especially after Janrain experienced such incredible momentum in 2017, which set the stage for continued record setting growth in 2018," said Janrain CFO Martin Day. "With such a talented employee base driving new product innovations and global expansion, supportive investors, and world-class customers, Janrain will continue setting the pace for the rest of the identity space."

Day joined Janrain in June 2015 and has over 20 years of finance and operations leadership for high-growth companies. Prior to Janrain, he held finance and operations leadership positions at MotoSport (where he tripled revenue), Digimarc, Ascension Software, CSI Digital and Spinriot after starting his career at Ernst & Young.

"We're very proud of our CFO Martin Day for being recognized for the tremendous work he has done to help drive growth, profitability, and overall success of our business," said Janrain CEO Jim Kaskade. "Janrain is now the largest independent CIAM leader in the industry with the most mature business model compared to its peers, and Martin has been instrumental in helping us make that happen."

The Portland Business Journal's CFO of the Year Awards ceremony will take place on May 17 at the luxury Nines Hotel in Portland.

About Janrain

Founded in 2002, Janrain pioneered Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) and is widely recognized by industry analysts as a global CIAM leader. The Janrain Identity Cloud provides identity management, security and activation solutions that enable seamless and safe customer experiences across their digitally connected world, while providing enterprise organizations with deep customer insights. Janrain's identity capabilities include social and traditional login and registration, single sign-on, customer profile data storage and management, customer segments, customer insights and engagement solutions. The company reaches over 1.5 billion digital identities with over 3,400 commercial deployments, including Pfizer, Samsung, Whole Foods, Philips, McDonald's and Dr Pepper. Janrain is based in Portland, Oregon, with offices in London, Paris and Silicon Valley. For more information, please visit www.janrain.com and follow @janrain.

Media Contact:

Chris Blake

MSR Communications

Phone: 1-415-989-9000

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Janrain

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CLEVELAND, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- John Carroll University announced today that it has received a $10 million gift to establish the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. The Boler Family Foundation, based in Chicago, made the historically significant gift to the University Heights, Ohio, Jesuit Catholic university in memory of Mr. Boler, a 1956 John Carroll graduate. In 2016, the year in which Mr. Boler passed away, the Boler School of Business celebrated 20 years of being named in his honor. The Boler School will be transformed into the Boler College, and will include two new schools: the School of Accountancy and Information Science, and the School of Leadership and Social Innovation.

John Carroll University, located in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, announces that its Boler School of Business will be transformed into the Boler College of Business. The Boler College will include two new schools: the School of Accountancy and Information Science, and the School of Leadership and Social Innovation.

John Carroll University President Michael Johnson, Ph.D., offered perspective. "I'm thrilled to be joining John Carroll at such an exciting time in the university's history," Dr. Johnson said. "The vision for what the Boler College can achieve with new schools and programs will have a powerful impact on how we teach and prepare our students for careers in business."

In announcing this transformative investment, the Boler family is supporting the university's launch of the $25 million "Inspired Lives Campaign," for the new business college and its schools. Mr. Boler's son, Matt, spoke on behalf of his family, saying, "We honor our father's legacy and commitment to John Carroll University by making this leadership challenge gift. We challenge others to join us by investing in this innovative Jesuit business education for a changing world." The family's gift will endow the dean's position in honor of their late father. Matt's mother, Mary Jo Lombardo Boler, and siblings, Judy Boler McCormack, Jill Boler McCormack, Jim Boler, and Mike Boler, were present for the announcement.

Several John Carroll board members have pledged an additional $5 million in total gifts.

"The Boler gift will make a tremendous difference for our students who are seeking to make a powerful impact in the world of business, benefiting from our focus on the role of business as a catalyst for solving the social, environmental, and technological challenges that we face in America and around the world," emphasized Alan Miciak, Ph.D., dean of the newly announced Boler College of Business.

Click here for more information: http://boler.jcu.edu/.

SOURCE John Carroll University

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HANOIA photo of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts depicting Beijings claims to the disputed South China Sea has sparked online anger in Vietnam, prompting calls for the visitors to be deported. The shirts featured a map of China and its so-called nine-dash linethe sea boundary found on some 1940s-era maps that Beijing says proves its claim to most of the waterway, despite partial claims from Vietnam and other nations. The territorial dispute is a hot-button issue in Vietnam, which has a turbulent history of conflict with its powerhouse neighbor. The visitors arrived in southern Cam Ranh airport on Sunday night and were stopped by security at the immigration desk, an airport police officer confirmed to AFP. We asked them to take the T-shirts off before allowing them to leave the airport, said the officer, without providing his name because of the sensitivity of the issue. Photos of the tourists in their nationalist attire made the rounds on social mediawith the nine-dash line crossed out with an X. AFP Some netizens said the tourists were not welcome in Vietnam. Immediately deport them and ban them permanently from coming to Vietnam, Facebook user Nguyen Ngoc Hieu posted. Another, Quan Hai, wrote: We must be determined, not allowing anyone passing through our border gates if the passports, T-shirts or anything else with the dash-line maps. Vietnam and China have long sparred over the resource-rich sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands and installed airstrips and military equipment.This is not the first time the dispute has trickled into the tourism sector. A Chinese passport featuring a map of Beijings sea claims was defaced in 2016 by a border agent in Ho Chi Minh Citys airport with an unfriendly welcome note reading Fuck you. Border officials in tourist hot spots Danang and Phu Quoc island have also reportedly refused to issue visa stamps in Chinese passports with maps of the nine-dash line. More than four million Chinese visitors came to Vietnam last yearover 30 percent of all foreign guestsand Chinese tourists are a major cash cow. Some guides say this can put them in a spot, especially when visitors dispute Hanois version of historical events. We dont like the Chinese tourists but they bring us profits, so we cannot resist them, Hung, a Hanoi-based tour operator, told AFP, using only his first name. A group of guides petitioned authorities in Danang last year, complaining that unlicensed Chinese guides were leading tours with their own interpretation of historyand sea claims. Hung said guides have to push back. We are Vietnamese, we cant let them distort the truth about our homeland and our history.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kennedy Funding Financial (kennedyfunding.com), the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey-based direct private lender, closed on a $3.185 million refinancing loan to SML Seattle Modern Living at Redondo, LLC.

The borrower plans to refinance the 7.89-acre property located halfway between Seattle and Tacoma, at 26195 Pacific Highway South in Redondo, an incorporated community within the city of Des Moines, Washington. The proceeds will be used to pay off a matured loan.

The property has been preapproved for a mixed-use development, including a 150-room hotel and up to 600 housing units.

"The Seattle area has so much to offer: industry, culture, good food and breathtaking nature," said Kevin Wolfer, CEO of Kennedy Funding Financial. "There's no doubt that this property will be an attractive community to live, work and play and Kennedy Funding is proud to have had the opportunity to help fund the project."



Seattle Modern Living at Redondo, LLC acquired the property last summer from Valley Cities Counseling and Consultation, a behavioral health care provider with several locations in the Seattle area. The property consists of two parcels, one vacant 7.2-acre property and one .69-acre property facing cross-street 16th Ave. South. A single-family residence on the smaller property will be torn down to make way for future development.

The proposed development will include four phases, the first to construct a 150-room hotel and the next three consisting of up to 200 multifamily units each. The development will also include senior housing and market-rate apartments. Construction on the first phase is expected to begin by September 2018.

According to Wolfer, Seattle and the surrounding metro area is home to a growing, healthy housing market. Large corporate headquarters including such global names as Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft and Costco are attracting more and more residential development to the area. King County and Seattle's suburbs have experienced exponential growth in recent years, with Des Moines experiencing a 9.5 percent increase in its population since 2010.

The property on Pacific Highway South is located just below S 260th Street in Redondo. Grocery stores, pharmacies, medical professionals and convenience stores are all within the immediate vicinity. Saltwater State Park along the city's waterfront is a few blocks away. The King County Metro Transportation bus system, which goes to and from Seattle, maintains a stop a block away from the property, while Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is a 15-minute drive from Redondo.

Wolfer adds that this transaction illustrates the importance of how Kennedy Funding, a direct private lender, can lend on raw land: by examining the entirety of the deal based on its potential and not just the current state of the property.

"Securing a loan on raw land is no easy feat, especially from traditional financing institutions who may automatically dismiss the application without reviewing the borrower's plans for the site," Wolfer said. "Because our application process is flexible and has fewer requirements, we could thoroughly review Seattle Modern Living's plans and see first-hand how they plan to transform this empty lot into a bustling mixed-use facility. Not only were we able to close, but we were able to do so quickly, so the group could immediately pay off their matured loan and get to the first construction phase."

About Kennedy Funding Financial

Kennedy Funding Financial, is a nationwide direct private lender specializing in bridge loans for commercial property and land acquisition, development, workouts, bankruptcies, and foreclosures. The principals of the company have closed over $3 billion in loans to date. The firm's creative financing expertise enables the closing of loans of up to 75% loan-to-value, from $1 million to over $50 million, in as little as five days. Kennedy Funding Financial continues to actively seek new funding opportunities throughout the world.

www.kennedyfunding.com

SOURCE Kennedy Funding Financial

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PALO ALTO, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ladder, the company reinventing life insurance to be instant, simple and smart for today's consumers, continues to gain momentum as a leader in the future of life insurance. The company has just raised a $10M strategic investment from two of the most renowned companies in the insurance industry: Allianz Life Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures. This investment extends Ladder's Series B funding to a total of $40M and will be used to continue to fund growth -- specifically hiring of engineers, marketers, and product-focused teams.

"We've been increasingly impressed with the innovations Ladder is bringing to the market," said Emily Reitan, VP of strategy and business development for Allianz Life. "Life insurance is a critical component of any solid financial plan, and both Allianz Life and Ladder share the common goal of ensuring Americans have the proper protection in place to help meet their financial goals."

Technology has brought simplicity and convenience to nearly every area of financial services, but life insurance has traditionally been a late adopter. Over the last two years, Ladder has been modernizing the process of buying life insurance, making it simpler and more convenient for consumers to get coverage in place. The company not only wants to close the $16T coverage gap that exists in the United States because of "stuck" shoppers (LIMRA) but is also focused on evolving the industry overall, including removing unnecessary complexity.

Forward thinking life insurance companies recognize that many customers want to buy life insurance online, but won't wait (an average of) 8 weeks to get a decision and won't accept that they can't easily change their coverage whenever they need to. Ladder is using technology, design thinking, behavioral economics, and machine learning to make the process as seamless as possible for consumers, while reducing costs Ladder's entirely new, fully-digital process gives customers a more convenient and manageable experience, from consideration and application through policy management.

"We set out to introduce customer-focused innovation to a well-established industry," said Jamie Hale, CEO and co-founder, Ladder. "We've proven that consumers are ready for a modern solution to life insurance, and we're honored to be recognized by Allianz Life and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures. We're committed to continuing to speed up the evolution and digitalization of life insurance, while continuing to reduce the costs of the industry."

Ladder has built proprietary technology from the ground up, giving the company the ability to quickly iterate on its product and streamline the process for consumers. This technology has also enabled the company to expand quickly across the country. Since its initial launch in California in January 2017, Ladder has expanded to 49 states and DC and is in the process of filing in the state of New York. To-date, the company has placed over $1B of coverage.

"Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures is focused on partnering with startups that are creating innovative solutions that deliver a new type of experience and help consumers take control of their personal and financial lives," said Mark Batsiyan, venture partner, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures. "Ladder has developed a leading digital insurance platform, and the company shares our passion for helping people better understand and achieve financial security."

In addition to this notable round of funding, Ladder continues to be recognized by key industry organizations. The company was recently named one of Fast Company's top ten most innovative companies in Finance and was recognized by the FinTech Breakthrough Awards as the Best Insurtech Company for 2018. Ladder was a winner of Celent's annual Model Insurer Awards in the Innovation and Emerging Technologies category in April and was also recently mentioned -- along with other esteemed insurance companies -- in the Forrester Life Insurance Wave: Q2 2018 report, further demonstrating the company's position as a leading innovator in life insurance.

For more information or to get a quote, visit www.ladderlife.com.

About Ladder:

Ladder is life insurance built to be instant, simple, and smart. Founded in 2015, Ladder has designed a digital-first life insurance product to serve today's financially savvy consumer. Ladder has raised a total of $54M in funding from investors, including RRE Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. For more information visit: www.ladderlife.com/about.

Contact:

For press inquiries, email [email protected]

SOURCE Ladder

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IRVINE, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Laguna Diagnostics, LLC, focused on development of proprietary blood-based, molecular biomarker tests for diagnosis of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, announces the recent publication of a peer-reviewed study, "Exon Array Biomarkers for the Differential Diagnosis of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder" in Molecular Neuropsychiatry. The publication is available online: www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/485800.

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program provided funding and was awarded by the National Institute of Mental Health. Ninety subjects, ranging in age from 18-45 years, enrolled in the Institutional Review Board-approved study at the University of Iowa.

The study developed potential blood-based biomarker tests for diagnosing and differentiating schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar I disorder (BD), and psychiatric control subjects (30 per group) using mRNA gene expression signatures. Subjects provided blood samples at two visits. Affymetrix exon microarray was used to profile messenger RNA expression. The patent-pending 18-gene biomarker panels, using logistic regression modeling, correctly differentiated the three groups with high accuracy (83-88%) across two clinical visits.

"We found stable trait gene panel markers for lifelong psychiatric disorders that may have diagnostic utility in younger undiagnosed patients where there is critical unmet need," stated Marquis Vawter, MA, MS, PhD, lead author and Director of the Functional Genomics Laboratory and Research Professor of Psychiatry, University of California - Irvine, School of Medicine. "Currently, there are no FDA-approved clinical diagnostic tests for psychiatric disorders. Biomarker signatures could lead to faster, more accurate diagnoses, reducing the duration of untreated psychosis, suicidality, and cognitive decline, as well as advancing understanding of shared and unique pathophysiologies of each disorder."

A validation study with replication is required for ultimate proof of utility of the differential diagnosis. Blood test results described in the study may offer molecular diagnostic support for psychiatrists' clinical evaluation with rapid, overnight laboratory test results.

Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

SZ and BD are chronic, severe, and disabling brain disorders affecting approximately 1 and 2%, respectively, of the US population 18 years and older. One estimate of the direct and indirect annual costs in the US for SZ is $174 billion, and an additional $151 billion for BD. Today, diagnosis and treatment are based on patients reporting symptoms and clinical observations over months or years. Patients often do not receive timely treatment because the disorder is not correctly recognized. As a result, patients experience multiple hospitalizations and incur socioeconomic disadvantages that can last for decades. Objective biomarkers are important to help implement treatment at an early stage.1

1Cloutier M, et al: J Clin Psychiatry 2016; 77:764771. Dilsaver SC: J Affect Disord 2011:129:7983.

Laguna Diagnostics, LLC

Laguna Diagnostics, LLC, develops proprietary blood-based, molecular biomarker diagnostic tests for accurate diagnosis of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. First products are gene expression tests to diagnose and differentiate schizophrenia and bipolar disorder from control subjects. Visit website: www.lagunadiagnostics.com.

SOURCE Laguna Diagnostics, LLC

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ST. LOUIS and NEW ORLEANS, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lumeris, the industry leader in value-based care solutions, today announced its partnership with LCMC Health in New Orleans to deploy and manage day-to-day operations for LCMC Healthcare Partners, a newly formed clinically integrated network (CIN). As part of the strategic partnership, Lumeris and LCMC Health will build the infrastructure and governance for the CIN; develop and deploy a value-based care payer contracting strategy; and develop and drive programs to educate, incentivize and engage providers.

LCMC Health selected Lumeris based on its proven ability to develop, operationalize and execute value-based managed services models that deliver top-tier outcomes. The partnership will leverage Lumeris' unique provider engagement model and capabilities. This jointly developed care delivery model has been designed to improve outcomes, engage providers and increase patient satisfaction.

LCMC Health and its community partners serve all patient populations across Louisiana and the Gulf South, including the region's growing elderly population and, as part of its mission, cares for the uninsured and the underinsured in the area. The organization is also a major provider of pediatric services and operates the state's only free-standing pediatric hospital.

"At LCMC Health, our highly motivated providers are committed to improving care delivery and enhancing the health of our patient populations through an emphasis on preventative measures that will help to identify and mitigate risks earlier, resulting in better health outcomes and lowering cost to patients. In pursuit of these goals, we are investing in the population health infrastructure and resources required for successful value-based patient management," said Dr. John Heaton, President of Clinical and System Operations at LCMC Health. "We chose Lumeris as our partner because of its ability to consistently deliver better clinical outcomes and superior financial results for its clients. We're looking forward to collaborating to drive better health outcomes across the region."

Lumeris has developed a Best in KLAS model that emphasizes the pursuit of the Triple Aim Plus One, defined as better health outcomes, lower costs and improved patient experience, plus physician satisfaction. The company's award-winning, data-driven, collaborative approach model consistently improves clinical outcomes and financial results.

"We were impressed by the commitment of LCMC Health's leaders and providers to accelerate population health initiatives across greater New Orleans and the Gulf South. That commitment and drive is what we seek out in our clients who we view as partners on the journey to value," said Art Glasgow, president and chief operating officer for Lumeris. "Our team is excited to work with LCMC Health to help them realize their vision of a CIN that simultaneously reduces the cost of care, promotes wellness, and increases patient and physician satisfaction. After all, that is the Lumeris vision as well  and what we strive to deliver to all of our clients."

Ross Armstrong, Lumeris' senior vice president for the region, said, "We're incredibly pleased to bring our proven methodology to LCMC Health. We will help their organization not only to build a high-functioning population health services organization but also to create and operate a fully integrated delivery networkand together, we will improve the health of patients while also reducing costs and increasing efficiency."

ABOUT LCMC HEALTH

Established in 2009, LCMC Health is a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit hospital system serving the healthcare needs of the Gulf Coast region. LCMC Health currently manages Children's Hospital, Touro, New Orleans East Hospital, University Medical Center New Orleans and West Jefferson Medical Center.

ABOUT LUMERIS

Lumeris serves as a long-term operating partner for organizations that are committed to the transition from volume-to value-based care and delivering extraordinary clinical and financial outcomes. We guide health systems and providers through seamless transitions from volume to value, enabling them to deliver improved and more affordable care across populationswith better outcomes. And, we work collaboratively with payers to align contracts and engage physicians in programs that drive high-quality, cost-effective care with satisfied consumersand engaged physicians.

An industry recognized leader, Lumeris won the 2018 Best in KLAS award for value-based care managed services for helping clients deliver improved clinical and financial outcomes. This was the third year it received this distinguished award. For the past seven years, Essence Healthcare, Lumeris' inaugural client with more than 65,000 members in Missouri and Illinois, has received 4.5 to 5 Stars from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Lumeris is committed to delivering these same results with its multi-payer/multi-population clients to meet their goals and missions.

Contacts

Media

Amendola Communications for Lumeris

Lisa Chernikoff, 734-678-5513

[email protected]

Lumeris

Christopher Currington, 314-770-3723

[email protected]

SOURCE Lumeris

Related Links

http://www.lumeris.com


CARTHAGE, Mo., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Increased second quarter dividend by $.02 , or 5.6%, to $.38 per share

, or 5.6%, to per share Indicated dividend yield is 3.6%, one of the highest among the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats

Annual Meeting addressed three items of business; voting aligned with Board recommendations

Leggett & Platt's Board of Directors announced a dividend of $.38 per share for the second quarter, an increase of $.02 per share or 5.6% versus the dividend declared in the second quarter of 2017. The dividend will be paid on July 13, 2018 to shareholders of record on June 15, 2018.

A member of Standard & Poor's Dividend Aristocrats, Leggett & Platt has increased its annual dividend for 47 consecutive years, a record that only ten S&P 500 companies currently exceed. At an annual indicated dividend of $1.52 per share, the yield is 3.6%, based upon yesterday's closing stock price of $41.75 per share. Accordingly, Leggett & Platt possesses one of the highest dividend yields among the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats.

Annual Meeting Results

The annual meeting of Leggett & Platt shareholders was held this morning in Carthage, Missouri. Shareholders elected as directors the 9 nominees proposed by the Board; ratified the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers as the company's independent registered public accountant for 2018; and endorsed the compensation of the company's named executive officers. No other proposals were voted upon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit Leggett's website at www.leggett.com.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION: At Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG), we create innovative products that enhance people's lives, generate exceptional returns for our shareholders, and provide sought-after jobs in communities around the world. L&P is a 135-year-old diversified manufacturer that designs and produces engineered products found in most homes and automobiles. The company is comprised of 14 business units, 22,000 employee-partners, and 120 manufacturing facilities located in 18 countries.

Leggett & Platt is the leading U.S. manufacturer of: a) bedding components; b) automotive seat support and lumbar systems; c) components for home furniture and work furniture; d) flooring underlayment; e) adjustable beds; f) high-carbon drawn steel wire; and g) bedding industry machinery.

CONTACT: Investor Relations, (417) 358-8131 or [email protected]

David M. DeSonier, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Investor Relations

Susan R. McCoy, Vice President of Investor Relations

Wendy M. Watson, Director of Investor Relations

Cassie J. Branscum, Manager of Investor Relations

SOURCE Leggett & Platt

Related Links

http://www.leggett.com


Industry-First Authentication and Data Transport Application Will Use Trusted Brand Domain Registry to Further Regulatory Compliance for the Liaison ALLOY Platform

ATLANTA and TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Liaison Technologies, a recognized leader in cloud-based integration and data management, and Authentic Web, which specializes in domain automation and business intelligence for digital brands, today announced a partnership to develop the industry's first Brand Registry-based authentication and trust protocol for enterprise networks within the award-winning Liaison ALLOY Platform. The new protocol will further advance the enterprise data security and privacy capabilities of the ALLOY Platform, which is designed and maintained to exceed data regulatory compliance standards across multiple regulatory frameworks including PCI DSS, SOC2, HIPAA and HITRUST, Privacy Shield and GDPR.

"Digital transformation has driven enterprises to rely heavily on the cloud despite known data security and compliance related risks using the domain name system (DNS) over transport layer security (TLS) communications protocols," said Rob Consoli, Chief Revenue Officer of Liaison Technologies. "Liaison owns its own private domain registry. With this new trust protocol developed by Authentic Web for the Liaison ALLOY Platform, clients will be able to leverage our Brand Registry capabilities to better secure network data in motion and to enhance data compliance requirements."

Enterprise reliance on cloud-based data communications is expanding the digital surface area where sensitive data in motion is at risk or where integrity may be compromised. Private Brand Registries offer increased authentication and control throughout the data in motion chain of trust. Brand Registries are proprietary, top-level domain (TLD) name spaces owned by an enterprise brand, offering improved brand authority and control of digital identities compared to legacy open name spaces.

A new registry trust protocol built by Authentic Web will provide increased server-to-server security for data in motion. Says Founder & CEO of Authentic Web, Peter LaMantia; "We are fortunate to have a savvy technology partner like Liaison that understands the value and game changing technical capabilities of a proprietary Brand Registry. Leveraging the Brand Registry to enhance data privacy, security and compliance with data regulatory standards for network data in motion is an innovative and pioneering use of this powerful technology."

The companies plan to develop use cases for the new registry-based trust protocol for testing in 2018.

Liaison Technologies is a member of the Brand Registry Group, an organization of Brand Registry owners formed to represent the interests of members to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and to share best practices and innovation initiatives in these new spaces.

Learn more about ALLOY at www.liaison.com/liaison-alloy-platform and about the ALLOY Platform's comprehensive approach to data regulatory compliance.

ALLOY is a registered trademark of Liaison Technologies.

About Liaison Technologies

Liaison Technologies provides integration and data management solutions to help customers unlock the power of a data-centric approach to their business. Liaison's cloud-based approach breaks down the barriers between data silos to tap into the valuable information needed to make better decisions, faster. Tailored to solve complex data problems today while building a robust foundation for tomorrow's unforeseen challenges, Liaison fosters a seamless flow of information securely and at scale. Founded in 2000, Liaison serves more than 7,000 customers in 46 countries, with offices in the United States, the Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Singapore. For more information, visit www.liaison.com and connect with Liaison on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

About Authentic Web Inc.

Authentic Web equips brands with domain intelligence and digital asset management systems to innovate and optimize their digital footprint with improved control, visibility and automation. Leading enterprise brands worldwide have chosen Authentic Web to replace and consolidate legacy domain providers to better manage their domain portfolio and DNS for security, compliance, digital performance and operational efficiency. We design, build and integrate technologies that leverage the new capabilities of proprietary Brand Registries. For more information visit us at www.authenticweb.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Liaison Technologies Inc.

Amy Dardinger

SSPR

(847) 415-9321

[email protected]

Authentic Web Inc.

Paul D. Engels

Vice President

(416) 583-3782

[email protected]

SOURCE Liaison Technologies

Related Links

http://www.liaison.com


INDIANAPOLIS, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today that galcanezumab met its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 study of patients with episodic cluster headache, demonstrating statistically significant differences in the reduction of weekly cluster headache attacks compared to placebo across weeks one to three of the two-month, double-blind treatment period. A statistically significantly greater percentage of patients treated with galcanezumab also achieved at least a 50 percent reduction in weekly cluster headache attacks compared to placebo at Week 3, the gated secondary endpoint.

The observed safety and tolerability profile was consistent with previous studies that evaluated galcanezumab for the prevention of migraine. In this study, 8 percent of patients treated with galcanezumab discontinued treatment during the study compared to 21 percent of patients treated with placebo. Four percent of patients treated with galcanezumab discontinued treatment during the study due to adverse events compared to 2 percent of patients treated with placebo. Discontinuations due to lack of efficacy occurred in 2 percent of patients treated with galcanezumab, compared to 14 percent of patients treated with placebo.

"Cluster headache can be difficult to evaluate in clinical studies, which has contributed to few available treatment options for cluster headache, often considered the most severe pain one can experience," said Christi Shaw, president of Lilly Bio-Medicines. "The positive results in episodic cluster headache are truly a landmark momentboth for people living with cluster headache and for our researchers at Lilly, many of whom have spent more than two decades researching and developing innovative, non-opioid treatment options for diseases like migraine and cluster headache."

Lilly also conducted a separate Phase 3 study for patients with chronic cluster headache, which represents 10 to 15 percent of cluster headache cases.1 This study did not meet its primary endpoint.

Based on results from the episodic cluster headache trial, Lilly is working with regulatory agencies around the world to determine the best path forward. Episodic cluster headache represents 85 to 90 percent of cluster headache cases.1

These studies, which evaluated a combined 343 patients, are the largest controlled preventive trials conducted in cluster headache to date.

"It is hard to articulate the devastating impact that cluster headache can have on those of us living with the disease. Many people living with cluster headache spend years searching for effective treatment options to help ease an excruciating level of pain," said Bob Wold, a patient living with cluster headache and founder of Clusterbusters, Inc. "We are very excited by these results and galcanezumab's potential as a new treatment option for people living with cluster headache, many of whom have spent years feeling ignored and alone in their struggle."

Episodic Cluster Headache Study Results

The episodic cluster headache study included a two-month treatment period comparing galcanezumab to placebo. Patients with episodic cluster headache treated with galcanezumab (300 mg once-monthly) experienced statistically significant differences in the reduction of weekly cluster headache attacks compared to patients treated with placebo across weeks one to three of the two-month, double-blind treatment period (-8.7 for galcanezumab compared to -5.2 for placebo, p=0.036), the primary endpoint of the study.

In May 2017, Lilly announced positive data from three Phase 3 studies (EVOLVE-1, EVOLVE-2 and REGAIN) evaluating galcanezumab for the treatment of chronic and episodic migraine. In these studies, galcanezumab demonstrated statistically significant reductions in the number of monthly migraine headache days compared to placebo at both studied doses (120 mg and 240 mg once-monthly).

The FDA is currently reviewing galcanezumab for the prevention of migraine in adults. A decision is expected in the third quarter of 2018.

About the Phase 3 Studies

The episodic cluster headache study was a two-month Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled global trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of galcanezumab (300 mg once-monthly) administered subcutaneously compared with placebo in 106 patients with episodic cluster headache. Patients who participated in this trial had an average of 17.5 cluster headache attacks per week at baseline. The primary endpoint was the overall mean change from baseline in weekly cluster headache attack frequency across weeks one to three with galcanezumab compared with placebo.

The chronic cluster headache study was a three-month Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled global trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of galcanezumab (300 mg once-monthly) administered subcutaneously compared with placebo in 237 patients with chronic cluster headache. Patients who participated in this trial had an average of 18.8 cluster headache attacks per week at baseline. The primary endpoint was the overall mean change from baseline in weekly cluster headache attack frequency during the three-month, double-blind treatment phase with galcanezumab compared with placebo. In this study, patients who completed the three-month double-blind period could choose to enter an ongoing 12-month, open-label extension phase and receive galcanezumab during that time.

About Cluster Headache

Cluster headache is an uncommon, disabling headache disorder composed of recurrent "attacks" of intense headaches on one side of the head, frequently associated with pain behind or around one eye, restlessness and agitation.1,2 Cluster headache attacks typically last between 15 to 180 minutes, occurring near daily to multiple times daily during a cluster period.1 It is estimated that 85 to 90 percent of cluster headache cases are classified as "episodic" with attacks occurring in periods that last from seven days to one year, separated by pain-free remission periods of one month or longer.1 The remaining 10 to 15 percent are classified as "chronic" with attacks occurring for more than one year without a remission period, or with remission lasting less than one month.1

About Galcanezumab

Galcanezumab is a monoclonal antibody specifically designed to bind to and reduce the overactivity of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is believed to play a role in migraine and cluster headache. Galcanezumab is an investigational once-monthly, self-administered injection under evaluation for the prevention of migraine and cluster headache.

About Lilly's Commitment to Headache Disorders

For over 25 years, Lilly has been committed to helping people suffering from headache disorders, investigating more than a dozen different compounds for the treatment of migraine, cluster headache and other disabling headache disorders. These research programs have accelerated the understanding of these diseases and furthered the advancement of Lilly's comprehensive late-stage development programs studying galcanezumab for prevention of migraine and cluster headache, and lasmiditan for the acute treatment of migraine. Our goal is to make life better for people with headache disorders by offering comprehensive solutions to prevent or stop these disabling diseases. The combined clinical, academic and professional experience of our experts helps us to build our research portfolio, identify challenges for healthcare providers and pinpoint the needs of patients living with migraine and cluster headache.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and www.lilly.com/newsroom/social-channels. P-LLY

This press release contains forward-looking statements (as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) about galcanezumab as a potential treatment for patients with cluster headache and migraine and reflects Lilly's current belief. However, as with any pharmaceutical product, there are substantial risks and uncertainties in the process of development and commercialization. Among other things, there can be no guarantee that future study results will be consistent with the results to date or that galcanezumab will receive regulatory approvals. For further discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, see Lilly's most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, Lilly undertakes no duty to update forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.

1 Headache Classification Committee of the International Headache Society (IHS). The international classification of headache disorders, 3rd edition. Cephalalgia. 2013;33(9):629-808.

2 Matharu M, Goadsby P. Trigeminal autonomic cephalgias. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry. 2002;72(Suppl II):ii19-ii26.

Refer to: Jen Dial; [email protected]; 317-220-1172 (Lilly Bio-Medicines)

Kevin Hern; [email protected]; 317-277-1838 (Investor Relations)

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company
ANNAPOLIS, Md., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dickey's Barbecue Pit plans to open their newest location in Annapolis in late 2018. The new location will be owned by Dickey's franchisee Yvonne Stanley.

"Dickey's Barbecue Pit has been family owned and operated since 1941 and we consider each of our owners as a part of our family," said Laura Rea Dickey, CEO of Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc. "We are proud to invite Yvonne, our newest franchisee, into the Dickey's family and look forward to her success."

This Dickey's location will be Yvonne's first restaurant venture. Originally from upstate New York, Yvonne now calls the Annapolis area home and looks forward to serving the residents of her community Dickey's delicious, slow-smoked barbecue.

"I decided it was time to open my very own business and after doing extensive research, I found a home in Dickey's Barbecue Pit," says Yvonne. "I was impressed by the successful business model Dickey's has in place and the support they offer franchisees."

Find your nearest Dickey's location here.

About Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc.

Dickey's Barbecue Restaurants, Inc., the nation's largest barbecue chain was founded in 1941 by Travis Dickey. Today, all meats are still slow smoked on-site in each restaurant. The Dallas-based family-run barbecue franchise offers several slow-smoked meats and home style sides with 'No B.S. (Bad Stuff)' included. The fast-casual concept has expanded to more than 550 locations in 45 states. In 2016, Dickey's won first place on Fast Casual's "Top 100 Movers and Shakers" list and in 2017 again won a top 10 on the list. Dickey's Barbecue Pit has also been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine, Franchise Times, and Nation's Restaurant News. For more information, visit www.dickeys.com.

Media Contacts:

Callie Head

[email protected]

Ashley Richardson

[email protected]

SOURCE Dickey's Barbecue

Related Links

http://www.dickeys.com


ONTARIO, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MAG Instrument, Inc. (MAG), the world leader in flashlight technology, has been awarded the National Hardware American Manufacturing Award for Best New Product for the second year in a row. The award was presented to MAG by John Lederer with the National Hardware Show (NHS) and Marcie Gabor of the Made In USA Brand. The Maglite ML150LR LED Rechargeable Flashlight System was selected out of eight finalists to receive the award.

NHS and the Made In USA Brand annually pick the Best New Product from an American manufacturer as such products are favored by conscientious consumers. The NHS and the Made in USA Brand are working together to support manufacturers who are forerunners in this national trend. The American Manufacturing Awards are given to companies that manufacture their products in the U.S.A. and focus on excellence in design, quality and innovation.

"It is an honor to receive this coveted award for the second year in a row," said Tony Maglica, president, owner and founder of MAG Instrument. "We maintain a commitment to high quality, American manufactured products while providing the public with high-performance, reliable and durable products."

The mid-sized ML150LR flashlight was designed with first responders in mind. It is a rechargeable flashlight that comes with a cradle intended to ride alongside officers in their patrol vehicle. The ML150LR packs over 1,000 lumens and lasts up to 79 hours in ECO mode. Multiple law enforcement officers from the National Tactical Officers Association who field-tested the ML150LR flashlight gave it a high rating and praised it for a variety of critical features including brightness, beam throw, toughness, on-time between charges and more. The ML150LR is also MAG's first mid-size flashlight to use Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFeP04) rechargeable battery chemistry, which allows for faster recharging (about 2.5 hours from "dead" to "full").

About Mag Instrument:

Mag Instrument is proud to be a U.S.A. manufacturer. Each flashlight is a result of an obsession with fine engineering, craftsmanship and a commitment to perfection. Founder, owner and president Anthony Maglica has guided his company's growth from a one-man machine shop in 1955 to an enterprise that has proudly employed thousands of American workers since it produced its first flashlight in 1979.

For more information, visit: http://maglite.com/

MAGLITE SALES

Scott Field

Global Vice President

Sales and Marketing

+1-800-289-6241

[email protected]

MEDIA ONLY CONTACT:

Lou Desmond

for Mag Instrument, Inc.

+1-951-258-6466

[email protected]

*IMAGE Link for Media: Send2Press.com/300dpi/18-0415s2p-magaward-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE Mag Instrument, Inc.

Related Links

http://maglite.com


EHART, AfghanistanHeavy fighting has broken out in the western Afghan city of Farah after the Taliban launched a major offensive overnight to capture the restive provincial capital, with residents reporting air strikes, explosions and gunfire. Government forces including 100 commandos have arrived and are clashing with the insurgents, a local provincial council member told AFP, as residents said the situation was very bad. The attack, which comes as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, began around midnight, with the insurgents capturing one district and parts of another, local provincial council member Jamila Amini told AFP Tuesday from inside the city. Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions, she said. AFP Government reinforcements have arrived including around 100 commando forces. At least one army convoy has been hit by a suicide attacker on a motorbike, she added, saying there are casualties. Satar Hissaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP: The situation is very bad. Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them, he said. NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban. The insurgents released a statement warning residents to remain inside their homes and called on people to stay calm.But the defence ministry said the army had repulsed the attack, and the security forces are now chasing the enemy. The sounds of explosions and gunfire have filled the city, one resident who gave his name as Bilal said, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS. The assault comes as the Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture by the Afghan government. Farah is a poppy-growing province in a hard to reach part of Afghanistan which a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline will traverse. Despite security concerns, the Taliban have pledged to cooperate with the project. Farah has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017 insurgents tried to overrun the capital three times, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network. Afghan security forces have struggled to hold back the resurgent Taliban since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014. The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including in Kunduz and Lashkar Gah.
By merging the latest Waterpik  Water Flosser and Sonic Toothbrush technologies, Sonic-Fusion  enables brushing and flossing at the same time. As the sonic toothbrush head cleans tooth surfaces, the Water Flosser jet inside the brush head targets plaque and debris between teeth and below the gumline where toothbrush bristles can't reach. This flexible device also allows for brushing and flossing separately, with the touch of a button.

Waterpik Sonic-Fusion delivers all the clinically-proven benefits of the Waterpik Water Flosser1 and is significantly more effective for removing plaque vs. other sonic toothbrushes.

Up to 2X as effective as regular brushing and flossing

Removes up to 99.9% of plaque from treated areas

Dr. Chris Salierno, DDS, tested Sonic-Fusion with his patients who struggled with home care. "I had the opportunity to test Sonic-Fusion with my patients and I was truly amazed by the results that I saw. My patients had significantly less plaque build-up, less bleeding and less inflammation of the gums. It appears to me that Sonic-Fusion is not only a more effective way to brush and floss, but it's also easier, so I found that my patients were actually flossing more often than they normally would."

The new Sonic-Fusion features specially engineered Waterpik Water Flosser and Sonic Toothbrush technologies, as well as:

Compact, all-in-one design that requires less counter space

One-handed mode control for simplified use

Three modes (brush, floss, brush + floss) for flexibility

Advanced water pressure control and 10 settings for custom comfort

2-minute brushing timer with 30-second pacer

Reservoir capacity of 60+ seconds

Premium LED recharge indicator

2 patented Water Flossing brush heads included

Deluxe toothbrush case included

3-year limited warranty

Waterpik Sonic-Fusion has earned the American Dental Association (ADA) Seal of Acceptance. The extensive review of the clinical research by the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs confirmed that it helps remove plaque along the gumline and between teeth and prevents and reduces gingivitis.

The new Waterpik Sonic-Fusion will be available online May 15th for $199.99. For more information, visit waterpik.com/sonic-fusion

About Waterpik

Waterpik is the #1 brand of Water Flossers and Replaceable Shower Heads. Headquartered in Fort Collins, Colorado, the company has a rich history of innovation and design, engineering their products to deliver the wellness benefits of water in multiple new-to-the world products  including the iconic Water Flosser and Original Shower Massage. The Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Church & Dwight.

For more information, visit waterpik.com. Waterpik can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

1 Find more information at https://waterpik.com/oral-health/clinical-research/.

CONTACT: Lois Whitman

HWH PR PHONE: 917-822-2591 E-MAIL: [email protected]

SOURCE Waterpik

Related Links

https://www.waterpik.com


BOSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education will launch Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels on the HBS campus in Boston from August 5-8, 2018. This new program will equip executives with tools and frameworks to address the tremendous changes sales leaders are experiencing. With an emphasis on practical applications and tactical execution, the program will guide leaders through the process of designing a channel network and managing a sales force that optimizes sales outcomes.

In this hands-on program, leaders will analyze different routes to market and design a channel network that leads to better sales performance. Guided by expert faculty, participants will learn how to design and lead a go-to-market system, manage a multichannel network, recruit and supervise a sales force, and develop compensation plans for sales teams and distributors.

"The main theme of the program is how to go to market to achieve the best sales outcomes possible," said Doug J. Chung, MBA Class of 1962 Associate Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels. "As sales leaders, we have to use our teams effectively and determine the kinds of channels to go into  whether that's a digital, indirect, or direct sales force channel  as well as how to manage the sales force within those parameters."

Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels is intended to help participants draw links between what they have learned in the classroom and in their organizations. The program curriculum includes a series of case studies focused on serving customers, designing and implementing go-to-market strategies, improving sales force management, and leveraging data and technology.

"This program is about what happens after a company has developed its big-picture Strategy," said V. Kasturi Rangan, Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels. "It's about how you really get the job done through sales and distribution. Distribution is hard to change, but that doesn't mean you can't evolve it to keep up with the changes in the marketplace. Otherwise, you lose your distinctive edge."

Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels is designed for individuals directly or indirectly responsible for their organization's go-to-market strategy or sales force activities. It is ideal for middle-management leaders from midsize and large corporations where teams are encouraged to bring together people who view sales from different angles.

As with other HBS Executive Education offerings, Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels will rely on research from leading HBS faculty, collaboration with industry peers, and learnings from real-world case studies from successful, innovative global companies.

Program Details:

Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels will take place from August 5-8, 2018 on the Harvard Business School campus. Please visit https://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/sales/ for complete curriculum and to apply.

Faculty:

Doug J. Chung, MBA Class of 1962 Associate Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels.

V. Kasturi Rangan, Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing and faculty cochair of Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels.

Donald K. Ngwe, Assistant Professor of Business Administration.

About Harvard Business School Executive Education:

Harvard Business School Executive Education, a division of Harvard Business School, is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, Massachusetts. In fiscal year 2017, HBS faculty developed and delivered more than 60 Executive Education programs for leading organizations worldwide. Over 10,000 business executives attended programs held on campus in Boston as well as classrooms in Mumbai and Shanghai. With global research centers in nine key regions, HBS faculty continue to develop groundbreaking research, forge powerful alliances with global organizations, and fulfill the mission of educating leaders who make a difference by shaping the practices of business, innovation, and entrepreneurship around the world. Learn more at www.exed.hbs.edu.

SOURCE Harvard Business School Executive Education

Related Links

http://www.exed.hbs.edu


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken today announced the expansion of its cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) service locations to facilitate global cell & gene therapy trials. Marken's expanded network now includes facilities in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Tokyo. Johannesburg will be added later this year to complete the global network. The combination of its expanded locations and packaging fleet allows Marken to meet client demands in a rapidly growing industry.

Ultra-low temperature transportation has become an increasingly important supply chain requirement for cell, gene or immunotherapy-based medicines. The complex process of extracting human cells and transporting them across country borders under strict time and temperature requirements pose significant challenges for the logistics industry. Materials derived from patient samples are usually bio-hazardous, have a short shelf life and must reach the manufacturing site within 28-48 hours of the patient visit. Regulators also require 'chain of identity' assurance that each patient has received his or her own individualized medicine. Marken's expanded cryogenic network of liquid nitrogen filling locations and specialized fleet of packaging will allow its clients to recruit and treat patients from a greater number of countries around the world.

The global gene therapy market is projected to grow to $363m by 2022. An estimated 2,200 clinical trials are expected to drive this growth and will focus on oncology, rare diseases, Parkinson's, HIV, severe combined immuno-deficiencies (SCID) and hemophilia. The majority of these trials are projected to take place in the US, Europe, Canada and China1.

Wes Wheeler, Marken's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continue to see an increase in the demand for cell and gene therapy trial shipments. We are committed to building the largest cryogenic service network in the clinical logistics industry in order to serve our clients who are engaged in immunotherapy research."

1 Global Gene Therapy Market Analysis & Forecast to 2022, Kelly Scientific Publications, March 2018

About Marken

Marken is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS. Marken is the only patient-centric supply chain organization 100% dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Marken maintains the leading position for Direct to Patient services and biological sample shipments and offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 48 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 860 staff members manage 50,000 drug and biological shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 150 countries. Additional services such as biological kit production, ancillary material sourcing, storage and distribution, shipment lane verification and qualifications, as well as GDP, regulatory and compliance consultancy add to Marken's unique position in the pharma and logistics industry.

SOURCE Marken

Related Links

http://www.marken.com


PRINCEVILLE, Hawaii, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mauna Kea Realty, a well-established Hawai'i real estate brokerage firm with more than three decades of success on Hawai'i Island, joins Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers this month. The new division of Hawai'i Life will be known as Mauna Kea Realty  A Hawai'i Life Company. Founded in 2008 and locally owned, Hawai'i Life has emerged as the third largest brokerage in the state. With more than a billion dollars in sales last year, the firm is leading the Hawai'i real estate industry in both listings and sales above the $3 million luxury benchmark.

This marks the second strategic acquisition by the 10-year-old Hawai'i Life Real Estate Brokers this year. The company joined forces with CHOI International on O'ahu early in January to form The CHOI Group with Hawai'i Life. Both Mauna Kea Realty and CHOI International have been in operation for more than three decades in the state of Hawai'i. "The opportunity to work with Bob and Steve and to help leverage the Mauna Kea brand is an absolute dream. We're so honored to call Mauna Kea Realty a Hawai'i Life company. We're looking forward to expanding on a rich history in the resort market on Hawai'i Island," said Beall.

Mauna Kea Realty principals Bob Chancer and Steve Hurwitz have been integral to the growth and development of the Kona-Kohala Coast, where they've practiced real estate for more than 30 years. They bring extensive area and market knowledge to the partnership. Chancer and Hurwitz will continue to lead the team of professional realtors operating out of their existing office, housed within the award-winning and historic Mauna Kea Beach Hotel.

"Hawai'i Life has built an incredible reputation, including here on the Big Island," said Bob Chancer. "Joining the organization will provide our team with new resources and help us deliver more value to our clients and the property owners at the Mauna Kea Resort, without losing the elements that make Mauna Kea Realty so special."

The new entity will retain the signature orange plumeria logo by which the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel and Resort brands have been recognized around the globe for decades. "Mauna Kea Realty is a well-known and respected brand here in Hawai'i, as well as nationally and internationally," said Matt Beall, Hawai'i Life CEO and Principal Broker.

Mauna Kea Realty will benefit from Hawai'i Life's unrivaled statewide network and brand recognition. Hawai'i Life employs more than 270 professional agents and brokers working across 14 offices statewide, including offices at Queen's Marketplace on the Kohala Coast, and in Kailua-Kona and Hilo on Hawai'i Island.

Mauna Kea Realty's client listings will be marketed through Hawai'i Life's offices and through HawaiiLife.com, the most trafficked real estate website in the state, with more than 3 million online visitors per year. The substantial online traffic of HawaiiLife.com is supported by the more than 20 million viewers of HGTV's television program of the same name. Hawaii Life is the only real estate brokerage to represent the state of Hawai'i on a nationally televised program, which also airs in Canada, and is available to internet viewers the world over.

Mauna Kea Realty clients will also benefit from Hawai'i Life's global affiliations, as the exclusive statewide affiliate of CHRISTIE'S International Real Estate and an affiliate of Luxury Portfolio International. Both global networks serve top-tier luxury markets internationally.

Highly attuned to the impact of quality design in real estate marketing, as well as the reach that brand recognition and digital platforms could provide, Hawai'i Life founders Matt Beall and Winston Welborn set out in 2008 to create a cutting-edge, innovative brokerage that put digital marketing and design ahead of more traditional real estate selling tools.

About Mauna Kea Realty

Mauna Kea Realty is the exclusive real estate brokerage company at the legendary Mauna Kea Resort. In addition to serving the needs of the property owners at Mauna Kea Resort, Mauna Kea Realty also provides insight and services for the surrounding areas and resorts on the Kona-Kohala Coast, including Kukio, Hualalai, Mauna Lani, Waikoloa, Puako, Kohala Waterfront, Kohala Ranch, Waimea and North Kohala.

About Hawai'i Life

Hawai'i Life is a 100% locally created, owned, and operated real estate brokerage with 14 offices and more than 270 agents statewide. The firm reached more than $1 billion in sales in 2016 and operates the state's most popular real estate website. To learn more about Hawai'i Life, please visit hawaiilife.com.

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Hawaii Life

Related Links

https://www.hawaiilife.com


CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mesirow Financial acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Integrated Behavioral Health, Inc. ("IBH" or the "Company") on an investment from Periscope Equity LLC ("Periscope Equity").

Based in Costa Mesa, CA, IBH provides employee engagement and administration solutions, including managed behavioral health ("MBH"), employee assistance programs ("EAP"), wellness programs and impaired professional monitoring. IBH serves a diverse set of clients, including self-insured companies, commercial insurance carriers, health plans and third-party administrators across the United States. The Company provides these services to over 7 million lives, across 26,000+ employers, delivering these employees access to IBH's clinical services team and its distributed national network of 23,000+ healthcare providers.

Ed Bosanac, chief executive officer of IBH, commented, "We are excited to partner with Periscope Equity and are confident this investment will enhance our ability to provide innovative behavioral health solutions. Mesirow Financial's expert guidance and dedicated service from start to finish resulted in a successful outcome for all parties involved."

Jeff Golman, vice chairman of Mesirow Financial, said, "We were honored to represent the owners of IBH in this process. We believe this investment will enable IBH to continue delivering exceptional service as a platform going forward."

About Integrated Behavioral Health, Inc.

IBH is a pioneer in managed behavioral health and integrated employee assistance programs and services. As a boutique managed care company with a national footprint, IBH partners with employers and health plans to provide clients personalized care, uncompromising service to patients, providers and clients with outcome driven, cost effective care plans. Along with its subsidiaries Reliant Behavioral Health ("RBH"). Quality Health Solutions ("QHS"), American Behavioral Health Benefit Managers ("ABBM") and CFR EAP Preferred ("CFR"), IBH has successfully managed treatment and benefits for self-insured employers, medical and disability carriers and health plans for over 30 years. IBH currently serves over seven million members, representing 26,000 individual clients across the United States. IBH strives to achieve and maintain a healthy, safe and productive pool of employees and members for employers and health plans. To learn more, please visit ibhcorp.com.

About Periscope Equity LLC

Periscope Equity is a Chicago, IL based private equity firm, focused on buyouts of technology-enabled businesses service companies. Periscope focuses exclusively on investments within niche sector leaders across five key verticals with unique mission or operationally critical products, data, technology or service offerings, a history of sustainable profitability and cash generation and known vectors of growth. In addition to providing liquidity, financial capital and commercial access through its extensive network, Periscope seeks to align and work in harmony with proven, like-minded management teams and bring strategic, operational, product and acquisition expertise to help transform and scale such companies to drive superior investment returns on an accelerated schedule. To learn more, please visit periscopeequity.com.

About Mesirow Financial

Mesirow Financial is an independent, employee-owned firm founded in 1937. As specialists in investment, risk management and advisory services, we are committed to helping our institutional, corporate and individual clients achieve their objectives. Our professionals are inspired by an entrepreneurial desire to develop tailored solutions designed to deliver measurable results. To learn more, please visit mesirowfinancial.com.

CONTACT:

Rebecca Jackson

Mesirow Financial

312.595.7119

[email protected]

Michael Herley/Peter Hill

Kekst

212-521-4897/4859

[email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Mesirow Financial
BOISE, Idaho, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Methodist Health System in Dallas has selected VisitPay to deploy its market-leading, cloud-based patient financial experience platform. The solution will provide Methodist patients with a simplified billing experience and more flexible financing options tailored to their specific needs.

"Patients are now among the largest payer groups in the nation, and the industry's current billing experience is too confusing and opaque," said Kent Ivanoff, CEO of VisitPay. "By making the process more transparent and putting the patient in control, satisfaction and loyalty increase and so do payment rates."

Through VisitPay, patients will have access to a Methodist-branded portal that displays a comprehensive accounting of their financial responsibilities. This helps patients understand what they owe and provides the tools they need to make payments that fit their budgets.

VisitPay's proprietary patient segmentation and advanced analytics will help Methodist offer sustainable financing options relevant to each patient's financial situation, while remaining fully compliant with Methodist's credit risk policies and national regulations.

"Methodist is excited about our partnership with VisitPay. We are confident this solution will bring a better experience to our patients," said Craig Bjerke, Senior VP of Finance and Controller of Methodist Health System. "Our goal is to improve our communication with our patients around their financial options and give them flexibility in paying their medical bills."

The deployment, which is well underway, is spearheaded by VisitPay's implementation team who are working with key stakeholders at Methodist. To ensure a smooth go-live, VisitPay uses implementation playbooks developed from best practices from previous deployments. These playbooks guide Methodist through each step of the implementation process, including technical work, establishing financial terms and policies that align with existing business rules, and syncing critical patient and billing data in their Epic system.

The VisitPay platform is on schedule to go-live this summer.

Learn more about VisitPay at www.visitpay.com.

About VisitPay

VisitPay is the first and only platform for Patient Financial Health. The culmination of seven years learning and development, this proprietary platform enables health systems to dramatically increase the amount paid on patient balances because patients can finally exercise control over their financial health. VisitPay is proudly headquartered in Boise, Idaho, one of the most livable cities in the country, where it has assembled a powerful team focused on predictive analytics, user-driven software design and consumer finance. More information about the company and its solutions can be found at www.visitpay.com.

Media Contacts

Linda Healan

Amendola Communications for VisitPay

[email protected]

404-725-7117

Stacy Covitz

Assistant Vice President, Strategic Communications for Methodist Health System

[email protected]

913-706-3823

SOURCE VisitPay

Related Links

http://www.visitpay.com


"To continue the Michigan Chamber's tradition of leadership and accomplishment, we must constantly strive to be an efficient, high-performing business organization that encourages professional development of Chamber staff," said Michigan Chamber President & CEO Rich Studley. To prepare for the next decade of challenges and opportunities facing Michigan's business community, I am pleased to announce the following, well-deserved promotions.

Jim Holcomb is promoted to Executive Vice President of the Chamber. Holcomb joined the Chamber staff in 2008. Holcomb most recently served as Senior Vice President for Business Advocacy & General Counsel. Jim will continue to serve as General Counsel and will continue to be engaged in legislative, legal and political action on behalf of the Chamber while becoming increasingly involved in executive management of the organization.

Bob Thomas is promoted to Chief Operating Officer. Thomas joined the Chamber staff in 1997. He most recently served as Vice President of Operations and Executive Director of the Michigan Chamber Foundation. In his new role, Bob will lead the Chamber's membership development team and continue to supervise daily operations for the Chamber.

Rounding out the Chamber's new executive leadership team is Wendy Block, who is promoted to Vice President of Business Advocacy. Block joined the Chamber staff in 2004. Wendy most recently served as Senior Director of Health Policy, Human Resources & Business Advocacy. She will continue to be engaged on health policy and human resources while guiding the Chamber's lobby team on a wide range of economic and business issues.

Rich Studley, who is now one of the longest serving state chamber executives in the country, will continue to lead the Michigan Chamber as President & CEO.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is a statewide business organization representing over 6,000 employers, trade associations and local chambers of commerce. The Chamber represents employers of every size and type in all 83 counties of the state. Chamber members employ over one million Michigan residents. The Chamber was established in 1959 to be an advocate for Michigan's job providers in the legislative, political and legal process.

SOURCE Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Related Links

http://www.michamber.com


LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MicrobeDx, Inc., a biotechnology company addressing the global crisis in antibiotic resistance, today announced that it had entered into a collaboration with CARB-X (Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator), a global public-private partnership focused on funding the development of promising new antibiotics and rapid diagnostics. The partnership will advance the development MicrobeDx's breakthrough diagnostic system, which utilizes a compact desktop device to detect the presence of bacteria in clinical urine specimens within 30 minutes and complete anti-microbial susceptibility testing within three hours, versus 48-72 hours under the current standard of care. While initially focused on urinary tract infections, MicrobeDx's system may ultimately be utilized on a variety of bodily fluids, including positive blood cultures.

"MicrobeDx's technology addresses a critical unmet need: rapid, accurate and cost-effective near-to-care testing that enables correct antibiotic therapy from the patient's first dose," said Dr. Bernard Churchill, Chairman and CEO of MicrobeDx. "We are both pleased and honored to be partnering with CARB-X to accelerate the development of our products and allow doctors to use them, and patients to benefit from them, sooner."

"MicrobeDx aims to speed the diagnosis and treatment of UTIs, taking the guesswork out of treatment decisions in the first critical hours of illness," said Kevin Outterson, Executive Director of CARB-X. "The world urgently needs new diagnostics and other products to protect us from life-threatening drug-resistant bacteria. The projects in the Powered by CARB-X portfolio are in the early stages of development, but if successful, they offer great potential in the fight against drug-resistant bacteria and in saving lives."

MicrobeDx's technology utilizes a transformational ribosomal RNA-based assay on an innovative microfluidic disc platform developed at UC Irvine that is both compact and cost-effective. By rapidly identifying whether bacteria are present and, if so, which antibiotics they are susceptible to, MicrobeDx's system aims to reduce the number of unnecessary and ineffective prescriptions and facilitate the prompt and effective treatment of infections. The Company's unique method has the potential to dramatically improve patient outcomes, reduce healthcare costs and preserve the miracle of safe and effective antibiotics for future generations.

About MicrobeDx

MicrobeDx is an early-stage biotechnology company focused on addressing the global crisis in antibiotic resistance through real-time personalized antibiotic selection. Based on over 15 years of innovative research at UCLA and UC Irvine, MicrobeDx is harnessing the power of its ribosomal RNA-based technology on an innovative centrifugal disc microfluidic platform. Funded by benefactor donations, NIH/NIBIB and NIH/NIAID grants, private capital and now CARB-X, the MicrobeDx diagnostic system is currently in product development, to be followed by manufacturing and FDA clinical studies, with market launch expected in 2020. https://www.microbedx.com

About CARB-X

CARB-X is the world's largest public-private partnership devoted solely to accelerating early development antibacterial R&D. Funded by ASPR/BARDA and Wellcome Trust, with in-kind support from NIAID, CARB-X is investing up to $455 million from 2016-2021 to support innovative antibiotics and other therapeutics, vaccines, rapid diagnostics and devices to treat drug-resistant bacterial infections. CARB-X focuses on high priority drug-resistant bacteria, especially Gram-negatives. CARB-X operates through Boston University. Other partners include RTI International, the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, MassBio, and the California Life Sciences Institute (CLSI). http://www.carb-x.org

Investor Contact:

Michael Churchill

416.678.0928

[email protected]

Media Contact:

David Haake

310.237.3447

[email protected]

SOURCE MicrobeDx, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.microbedx.com


PETAH TIKVA, Israel, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Minerva Labs, a leading provider of anti-evasion technology for enterprise endpoints, and BlueVoyant, a provider of Advanced Threat Intelligence, Managed Security, and Incident Response today disclosed a successful joint defense against a highly evasive banking Trojan called Emotet.

The issue began when an educational institution reached out to BlueVoyant's Cyber Forensics and Incident Response team for assistance in conducting a forensic examination. The investigation revealed that the Emotet banking Trojan had wormed its way onto 1,400 of the institution's systems.

In response, BlueVoyant deployed Minerva's advanced Anti-Evasion Platform. The platform tricks the malware into disarming itself, providing the containment necessary to remove highly-active malware such as Emotet. The partnership neutralized the epidemic and saved BlueVoyant's client from what could have been a months-long systems overhaul costing several hundred thousand dollars.

"When our clients' environments are breached, we need specific tools with critical strengths that we can count on 100 percent of the time. Minerva is that tool when it comes to containing sophisticated and evasive network attacks," said Austin Berglas, global head of BlueVoyant's Cyber Forensics and Incident Response business.

"With the help of Minerva Labs, we were able to contain and clean up the Emotet infection 60-70 percent faster than if we had used our previous manual method," said Vincent D'Agostino, BlueVoyant's deputy head of Cyber Forensics and Incident Response. "This resulted in drastically lower remediation costs, almost zero network downtime, and fewer losses for the client."

"The results BlueVoyant obtained by deploying Minerva's Anti-Evasion Platform solidifies our unique capabilities in helping our customers address infections at a faster and more efficient rate," said Eddy Bobritsky, Co-Founder and CEO of Minerva Labs. "Our goal has always been to make sure our customers have the tools to strengthen their endpoint defenses." Minerva Labs helps IT security teams strengthen endpoint defenses without taking on the operational challenges often associated with deploying and maintaining security solutions. Customers can rapidly roll out Minerva's Anti-Evasion Platform and benefit from an ultra-light agent that doesn't require reboot or affect endpoint performance.

As part of their ground-breaking Anti-Evasion Platform, Minerva released the industry's first Endpoint Malware Vaccination module for enterprises. This tool helps simulate infection markers across enterprise endpoints to deceive malware into believing it has already infected the system. This approach, combined with other unique capabilities of the platform, allows Minerva's customers to prevent infections even if other defensive capabilities failed at blocking the attack.

About BlueVoyant

BlueVoyant is a Threat Intelligence, Managed Security Service, and Cyber Forensics and Incident Response business with offices in New York, the Washington D.C. area, London, Madrid and Tel Aviv. More information on BlueVoyant can be found at www.bluevoyant.com.

About Minerva Labs

Minerva Labs is an innovative endpoint security solution provider that protects enterprises from today's stealthiest attacks without the need to detect threats first, all before any damage has been done. Minerva Labs Anti-Evasion Platform blocks threats which bypass antivirus and other baseline protection solutions by deceiving the malware and controlling how it perceives its environment. Without relying on signatures, models or behavioral patterns, Minerva Labs solution deceives the malware and causes it to disarm itself, thwarting it before the need to engage costly security resources.

Headquartered in Petah Tikva, Israel, and with offices in New York and Atlanta, Minerva Labs boosts customers' existing defenses without the need to embark upon a costly and risky overhaul of their entire endpoint security architecture. To learn more about Minerva, visit www.minerva-labs.com.

Media contact :

Lumina Communications for Minerva Labs

Danielle Scotto

[email protected]

SOURCE Minerva Labs

Related Links

http://www.minerva-labs.com


WASHINGTON, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Mort Zuckerman, Chairman of the Executive Committee and Editor-in-Chief of U.S. News & World Report, has been honored by the Embassy of Israel in Washington, DC as one of the 70 greatest American contributors to the U.S.-Israel relationship. The list, compiled in honor of the State of Israel's 70th anniversary today, May 14, 2018, recognizes individuals and organizations who have worked to strengthen the alliance between Israel and the U.S.

"Through philanthropy and outspoken advocacy, Mort Zuckerman has been a great champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance," says Ron Dermer, Israel's Ambassador to the United States.

Zuckerman co-founded Boston Properties in 1970 and has been a trustee of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He has also served as Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and as President of the America- Israel Friendship League. Most recently, he launched a $100 million STEM initiative to bring academics to Israel, funding on par with the Rhodes scholarship. The money is designated for students and faculty at the Technion, the Weizmann Institute, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University, deepening collaboration between the best research institutions in Israel and the United States.

Zuckerman, who has owned U.S. News since 1984, has written and published hundreds of articles and op-eds presenting the clear facts of Israel's history and advocating for a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. In a deeply personal column about the passing of his friend, the author, Holocaust survivor and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, Elie Wiesel, Zuckerman wrote, "[Wiesel] inspired me to fight for the Jewish community in the United States and to support Israel, which had become the unique safe place where so many Jews in the Middle East and other parts of Europe and Africa had found refuge. He taught me and he brought forth the very best that I could do to help others suffering from religious prejudice."

About U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. Focusing on Education, Health, Personal Finance, Travel, Cars and News, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings, news and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 30 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report

Related Links

http://www.usnews.com


SEOULSatellite photos indicate North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear test site ahead of a historic summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, a US monitor said Tuesday. In a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul, North Korea said at the weekend it will completely destroy the Punggye-ri test site, in a ceremony scheduled between May 23-25 in front of invited foreign media. But no observers from international atomic monitoring agencies have been invited, raising concerns over the openness of the process. Punggye-ri, in the northeast of the country, has been the site of all six of the Norths nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb. North Korea pledged to close the testing ground after Kim last month declared the countrys nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex. The respected 38 North website said Tuesday that satellite images dated May 7 showed the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well under way. Several key operational buildings as well as smaller sheds had been razed and rails connecting the tunnels to their waste piles were removed, the monitoring group said. Excavation of a new tunnel has also been halted since late March, it added. Images showed preparatory work for the destruction ceremony had also begun, including a newly positioned foundation among the waste piles believed to have been built for the invited journalists. It is conceivably for a future camera position to record the closure of the West Portal, the group said.However no tunnel entrances appear to have been permanently closed and some main buildings are still intact, it added, saying the destruction of those facilities was likely to be carried out in front of the foreign media. Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and Trump which will be held in Singapore on June 12. Kims latest diplomatic overture has seen him hold a summit with the Souths President Moon Jae-in and travel twice in less than two months to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The two Koreas are due to meet for a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures from their summit last month, Seouls unification ministry said. Washington is seeking the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the North and stresses that verification will be key. But skeptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal, which includes missiles capable of reaching the United States. Satellite photos from last month showed signs of construction at the Norths Yongbyon nuclear facility. The purpose of the new buildings at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre was unknown, 38 North has said, with no observable signs that initial reactor operations are imminent. North Korea blew up a cooling tower at the nuclear facility in 2007 following a deal with the US, but soon restarted the reactor.
The redevelopment will include a complete restoration of the treasured Eero Saarinen-designed midcentury modern landmark to its 1962 glory and culminate in a one-of-a-kind experience transporting thousands of visitors each day to the magical Jet Age. MCR and MORSE Development broke ground at a December 15, 2016 ceremony attended by New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo; Robin Hayes, President and Chief Executive Officer of JetBlue; former Port Authority Executive Director Pat Foye; Melinda Katz, Queens Borough President; and Peter Ward, President of the New York Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO. The two hotel structures are now topped out and TWA Hotel is on schedule to open in the spring of 2019.

"JFK is one of the nation's busiest airports and a welcoming point to New York City. The reimagination of the TWA Flight Center, which was one of New York City's most prestigious transit icons when it opened in the early 1960s, will have a significant impact on JFK as the hotel will benefit both business and leisure travelers from across the globe," said M&T Bank Long Island Market President Jason Lipiec.

M&T Bank was the sole lead arranger and administrative agent for the multi-bank loan, with participation from Mercantil Bank, N.A., BMO Harris Bank N.A., Western Alliance Bank, Flushing Bank and Union Labor Life Insurance Company, on behalf of its Separate Accounts.

"The execution of this construction loan, facilitated by M&T Bank, brings us one step closer to reviving this treasured landmark and reopening it to the public for generations to come," said Tyler Morse, CEO of MCR and MORSE Development.

Commissioned by Howard Hughes for Trans World Airlines (TWA) and opened in 1962, the TWA Flight Center was designed, according to Saarinen, to "express the drama and excitement of travel." Designated a New York City landmark in 1994, the Flight Center  which closed in 2001  was listed on the National and New York State Registers of Historic Places in 2005.

TWA Hotel  JFK's first on-site, full-service hotel  will feature:

A 1962 aesthetic throughout the hotel.

512 ultra-quiet guest rooms with exhilarating views of JFK's runways or the TWA Flight Center.

A 50,000-square-foot event center that can host up to 1,400 people.

Six restaurants and eight bars, including a Lockheed Constellation "Connie" L-1649A Starliner repurposed as a cocktail lounge and positioned on the tarmac.

A variety of high-end retailers and services.

A museum focused on the Jet Age, the midcentury modern design movement and TWA, with vintage TWA air hostess uniforms by Valentino, Ralph Lauren and Stan Herman on display.

and on display. A rooftop pool and a 10,000-square-foot observation deck overlooking the runways.

A 10,000-square-foot fitness center.

An authentic Solari split-flap departures board with original mechanical operation manufactured in Udine, Italy .

. An entirely off-grid cogeneration plant.

Connections to JFK Terminal 5 via Saarinen's iconic arrival tubes made famous by the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can.

Access to all terminals via the AirTrain.

For more information on the TWA Hotel at JFK International Airport, please visit http://www.twahotel.com/.

About M&T Bank

M&T Bank Corporation (NYSE: MTB)("M&T") is a financial holding company headquartered in Buffalo, New York. M&T's principal banking subsidiary, M&T Bank, operates banking offices in New York, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Trust-related services are provided by M&T's Wilmington Trust-affiliated companies and by M&T Bank.

About MCR

Based in New York City, MCR is the seventh largest hotel owner-operator in the United States with a $2.0 billion portfolio of 85 premium-branded hotels across 26 states and 67 cities, including The High Line Hotel, an adaptive reuse hotel, in Manhattan. For more information, please visit www.mcrinvestors.com.

 2018 M&T Bank. Member Equal Housing Lender

SOURCE M&T Bank

Related Links

http://www.mtb.com


WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- For the families of critically ill and premature babies, the hospital newborn intensive care unit (NICU) can be a confusing blur of equipment, sounds, and terminology. Now March of Dimes is helping to change that by providing a one-stop shop of information and support for families with its new My NICU Baby app. The app is free and available for both iOS and Android devices.

"My NICU Baby empowers moms and dads with the knowledge and tools they need at an overwhelming and scary time in their lives," says Stacey D. Stewart, president of March of Dimes.

Using the My NICU Baby app, families will have the resources they need in their hand to help them cope with the NICU experience as well as the transition to home. Unique features will allow families to:

Watch educational videos on various parenting topics;

Learn the vocabulary of the baby's care;

Use a checklist and questionnaire to help keep track of questions for health care providers, make to-do lists, or take notes;

Track feedings and breast milk pumping for their baby;

Track weight gain/loss for their baby;

Use a fun "Photo booth" feature to put photo filters on new or existing photos;

Participate in Share Your Story, the March of Dimes online community of parents;

Give feedback to March of Dimes and receive notifications.

"No other app has all these features in one place for parents," says Denise Zahui Gboignon, whose son Orion, born prematurely at 24 weeks in February 2018, is still in a Massachusetts hospital NICU. Denise began using My NICU Baby a week after Orion's birth. "It was so helpful to find all the education videos right there. I learned the medical terms used in the NICU, and what questions to ask the doctors. My sister-in-law also downloaded the app and it helped her understand the baby's care, too. She came with me to meet with the doctors and was able to support me more because of that."

"Right now I'm using the app to track my son's weight; it gives me peace of mind to know that he's on the right track in his development," Denise says. "I'm also taking pictures to share with family and friends, and learning about kangaroo care. The app also gives me confidence about our transition to home," she says.

Denise finds the ability to connect with other parents of preemies in the Share Your Story community uniquely valuable. "Other parents understand what you're going through, and it's so nice to share experiences with them and know you're not alone," she says.

My NICU Baby is part of March of Dimes' investment in the health of all moms and babies. Content in the app is written in plain language and reviewed by medical experts and NICU families. Printed versions of the information are available to families through the March of Dimes NICU Family Support program, a partnership between March of Dimes and hospitals across the country that offers information and comfort to families experiencing the NICU hospitalization of their baby and provides training for NICU staff.

March of Dimes leads the fight for the health of all moms and babies. We support research, lead programs and provide education and advocacy so that every family can have the best possible start. Building on a successful 80-year legacy of impact and innovation, we stand up for every mom and every baby. Visit marchofdimes.org or nacersano.org for more information. Visit shareyourstory.org for comfort and support. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram and Twitter.

SOURCE March of Dimes

Related Links

http://www.marchofdimes.org


VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MYM Nutraceuticals Inc., (CSE: MYM) (CSE: MYM.CN) (the "Company" or "MYM") is pleased to announce that the Company has acquired an additional 18% of CannaCanada and the Weedon, Quebec project from 9292-4372 Quebec Inc (the "seller"), bringing the Company's total ownership of the late stage ACMPR applicant, up to 93%.

"MYM's ownership in the Quebec Cannabis market continues to grow with the recently closed 93% stake in CannaCanada and the Weedon project," said Rob Gietl, CEO of MYM. "This is a material development for the future of MYM as the total square footage of the Weedon project is slated to be 1.5 million square feet."

The Company continues to position itself to benefit from the anticipated increase in licenses awarded to Quebec ACMPR applicants in the near term. The province has more than 20% of Canada's population, yet only 5% of ACMPR approved licenses.

Construction of the Weedon, Quebec facility is now underway with the first set of greenhouses due to be completed and ready for Health Canada's final review in Q3 of 2018.

Immediately issued to the seller are 300,000 MYM common shares. Upon acquiring a cultivation license for the facility, the Company will issue the seller 500,000 MYM common shares. Upon acquiring a sales and distribution license for the Facility, the company will issue to the seller one million MYM common shares.

Moving forward, MYM has retained the services of Cannabis Compliance Inc. to consult the Company on regulatory compliance and due diligence for all its ACMPR projects in Canada. "Joining forces with Cannabis Compliance as our consultant on file for all medicinal cannabis projects is the necessary solution to advance our applications in a timely manner," said Gietl. "Cannabis Compliance has an amazing track record in leading ACMPR applicants to the finish line. With their guidance, MYM intends on progressing full steam ahead into what will prove to be a very exciting 2018."

About Cannabis Compliance Inc.

Cannabis Compliance Inc. (CCI) offers risk mitigation, due diligence and regulatory compliance for commercial cannabis producers and resellers around the world. They focus on the Global market and provide their clients with trusted and comprehensive solutions. CCI has extensive expertise in regulatory compliance, cultivation/horticulture, security designs/tender, facility designs/build-outs, quality assurance, training programs, auditing, Good Production Practices (GPP), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP), Import & Export, staff recruitment and financial planning. CCI exists to empower the future leaders in the global cannabis industry.

About MYM Nutraceuticals Inc.

MYM Nutraceuticals Inc. is an innovative company focused on acquiring Health Canada licenses to produce and sell high-end organic medicinal cannabis supplements and topical products. MYM has two production projects in Quebec that when completed will have over 1.5 million sf of production space. MYM is also a partner in a 1.2 million sf production project (Northern Rivers Project) in New South Wales, Australia. Australia is an exciting new market that has recently legalized medicinal cannabis. To ensure a strong presence and growth potential within the industry, MYM is actively looking to acquire complementary businesses and assets in the technology, nutraceuticals and CBD sectors. MYM shares trade in Canada, Germany and the USA under the following symbols: (CSE: MYM) (OTC:MYMMF) (FRA:0MY) (DEU:0MY) (MUN:0MY) (STU:0MY).

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Rob Gietl, CEO

MYM Nutraceuticals Inc.

www.mymarijuana.ca

Keep up to date with MYM on our social media channels:

Twitter: @MYM_Nutra

Facebook: @mymcanada

Instagram: @MYM_Nutra

This news release may contain forward-looking statements based on assumptions and judgments of management regarding future events or results. Such statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements. The company disclaims any intention or obligation to revise or update such statements. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure filings with Canadian securities regulators, which are posted on www.sedar.com

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE or CNSX Markets), nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the CSE), accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein in the United States. The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities law and may not be offered or sold in the "United States", as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration requirements is available.

Investor Relations

Terry Brown

+1-855-696-2261

[email protected]

SOURCE MYM Nutraceuticals Inc.

Related Links

http://www.mymarijuana.ca


SHELTON, Conn., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- NanoViricides, Inc. (the "Company") reports that it is financially sound and that its drug candidates in the HerpeCide program are moving towards the clinical stage at a reasonable pace.

NanoViricides reports that it does not know of the reasons for a recent sharp decline in its stock price. The Company's current drug candidates in the HerpeCide program are moving towards the clinical stage steadily. The Company is diligently working towards obtaining all the information that we will need for filing our first Investigational New Drug application (IND).

The Company has previously reported excellent results in human skin study for its shingles drug candidates.

The Company recently reported that these drug candidates were shown to have an extremely good safety profile in a preliminary rat toxicology study. This has paved the way for moving the drug candidate(s) into formal GLP Safety/Tox Package studies.

The Company has scaled up production of its drug candidates substantially. We believe we have the ability to make the required estimated quantity for the Safety/Tox study in just a few production batches. This estimate was revised upwards to ~750g, due to the extremely strong safety profile of the drug candidates observed in the preliminary safety/toxicology study.

The Company's search for a new CEO with strong pharmaceutical industry background was begun prior to Dr. Seymour's retirement. It has been accelerated and the Executive Search Committee reports that it is now in due diligence phase. In the interim, the Board has appointed Anil R. Diwan, PhD, President and Chairman, as the acting CEO in January, following retirement of Dr. Eugene Seymour.

The Company has a continuity of leadership in place after Dr. Seymour's retirement, with the temporary appointment of Dr. Diwan as the interim CEO. Dr. Diwan and Dr. Seymour together previously constituted the Executive Committee, and thus, Dr. Diwan has been involved in strategic decision-making, as well as fund-raising activities since the founding of the Company. The company's executive committee works with the senior leadership and additional consultants to develop and execute the Company's business strategy and activities.

The Company is financially stable, and believes that it has sufficient financing available for more than one year of operations.

Dr. Seymour has stated that he was resigning for personal reasons and to make room for a pharmaceutical industry executive with experience in drug development through regulatory stages. The separation agreement with Dr. Seymour was executed on May 1, 2018. In consideration of Dr. Seymour's role in the Company as a Founder and in building the Company from scratch in his many long years of service to the Company and its shareholders, the Company agreed to provide Dr. Seymour with severance payments equivalent to his then-current salary until December 31, 2018, and to grant him 250,000 options with an exercise price equal to $2.00 per share. More complete information has been filed in an 8-K current report.

The Company believes that once it has engaged into a meaningful investor outreach program, it will have the ability to tell its story more effectively to the investors, buyers and sellers alike.

About NanoViricides :

NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for viral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide class of drug candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral diseases including H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, oral and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes keratitis, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will, materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of principle in pre-clinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective; successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking; the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market acceptance of our products.

SOURCE NanoViricides, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nanoviricides.com


ARLINGTON, Va., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nestle will bring its global flagship initiative, Nestle for Healthier Kids to the United States through a kick-off event in Newark, N.J. today, that introduces the "Start Healthy, Stay Healthy" program.

Globally, Nestle for Healthier Kids uses Nestle's industry-leading innovation to support families in raising healthy kids, with the goal of helping 50 million children worldwide live healthier lives by 2030. A critical component of the global Nestle for Healthier Kids program is accelerating the implementation of grassroots programs to better equip parents and caregivers with nutritional knowledge and practical tips.

As part of Nestle for Healthier Kids in the United States, the company will support initiatives that help provide nutrition education for parents of young children under the banner of a program called "Start Healthy, Stay Healthy." This program focuses on the first 1,000 days and provides families with evidence-based education to help them establish and maintain good nutritional habits for their children. Families who complete the curriculum also have an opportunity to become mentors to other families entering the program.

Start Healthy, Stay Healthy was originally piloted in 2014 with Rutgers University-Newark's Office of University-Community Partnerships (OUCP). "This program and its curriculum have had a positive impact on our local community. Those families who have completed the pilot program have committed to providing their young children with healthy foods and good nutritional habits," stated Dr. Diane Hill, who leads the initiative for OUCP.

This year, the program will again expand through a partnership with the New Jersey YMCA State Alliance to five sites in the state.

"We are excited and proud to partner with Nestle on Start Healthy, Stay Healthy," said Dr. Darrin Anderson, executive director of the Alliance. "This public-private partnership combines Nestle's industry-leading innovation with the YMCA's deep community ties to provide opportunities for dynamic, ongoing engagement with families and children about health and nutrition. We are also pleased to have Dr. Hill and her Rutgers team actively involved in training our teams and conducting the ongoing evaluations."

The formal launch event for this partnership will be held today at the YMCA of Newark and Vicinity. The event includes remarks from Nestle, YMCA and Rutgers University-Newark leadership, as well as a healthy, hands-on snack-making activity by Nestle chef and Food Network Star Matthew Grunwald. Other event attendees will include Start Healthy, Stay Healthy program graduates, local children and local government officials, in addition to representatives from each of the partner organizations.

The Start Healthy, Stay Healthy program is a vital way for Nestle to help ensure a healthier future for communities. According to Wendy Johnson, PhD, MPH, RD, vice president of nutrition, health and wellness for Nestle, "What children eat in their first 1,000 days has an impact on their health trajectory over the span of life. Understanding this speaks volumes about the criticality of this program for our future. We are very proud to partner with the YMCA and Rutgers University-Newark to do this very important work."

Press Contacts

Nestle in the United States

Josh Morton

[email protected]

(571) 457-5262

YMCA State Alliance

LaNella Hooper-Williams

[email protected]

908-334-5565

Rutgers University-Newark, Office of Communications

Jeffrey Billingsley

[email protected]

973-353-5263

About Nestle in the U.S.

Nestle in the United States is committed to being a trusted leader in nutrition, health and wellness. Our 50,000 employees in the United States are committed to enhancing quality of life, contributing to a healthier future for individuals and families, our communities, and the planet. Nestle in the U.S. offers a wide and varied portfolio of food and beverage products for people and their pets throughout their lives. Nestle in the U.S. consists of eight main businesses: Nestle USA, Nestle Waters North America, Nestle Nutrition, Nestle Professional, Nespresso, Nestle Health Science, Nestle Skin Health and Nestle Purina PetCare Company. The United States is Nestle S.A.'s largest market with combined product sales in the United States totaling more than $27 billion in 2017. For more information, visit NestleUSA.com or Facebook.com/NestleUSA.

About YMCA New Jersey State Alliance

New Jersey YMCA State Alliance is comprised of 36 member associations serving both children and adults. Through advocacy, collaboration and funded statewide initiatives, the Alliance fosters a greater ability for YMCAs throughout the state to positively impact more children, improve health outcomes and engage more volunteers and donors. Our collective voice strengthens local communities and supports YMCAs in promoting youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

About Rutgers University  Newark, Office of University-Community Partnerships

The mission of the Office of University-Community Partnerships is to serve as the nexus that connects Rutgers UniversityNewark students, faculty and staff to expand, create and promote reciprocal and mutually beneficial partnerships that support and align with the university's strategic engagement priorities. The Office of University-Community Partnerships' guiding principles are to invest in collaborative academic and research programs, invest in our students, invest in anchor institution collaboration, and leverage our diversity and building civic dialogue.

SOURCE Nestle in the U.S.

Related Links

https://www.nestleusa.com


TSX-V: NDR

VANCOUVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - New Dimension Resources Ltd. (TSXV: NDR) (the "Company" or "New Dimension") is pleased to announce that it has acquired a 100% interest in the Las Calandrias, Los Cisnes, and Sierra Blanca high grade gold-silver projects located in Santa Cruz province, Argentina (the "Transaction") from Sandstorm Gold Ltd. (TSX: SSL, NYSE American: SAND)("Sandstorm"). The Transaction was announced on February 20, 2018.

Key Points:

Acquisition of 86,000 hectares of highly prospective, advanced-stage gold-silver exploration properties in mining-favourable Santa Cruz , Argentina

, New leadership with appointment of former members of management of Sandstorm's subsidiary, Mariana Resources Limited ("Mariana Resources")

Completed financing of $3.8M providing capital to advance exploration in Argentina , including drill-ready targets at the Las Calandrias and Los Cisnes Project

providing capital to advance exploration in , including drill-ready targets at the Las Calandrias and Los Cisnes Project Filed an updated NI 43-101 compliant technical report for the gold-silver mineral resource estimate at the flagship Las Calandria Project

Share-restructuring and addition of Sandstorm as major shareholder and supporter of New Dimension

Acquisition of Santa Cruz Properties

New Dimension has acquired a 100% interest in the Santa Cruz Properties through an agreement dated February 19, 2018 amongst Sandstorm, New Dimension and certain subsidiaries of each entity. The agreement is available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Consideration for the acquisition is payable as:

A $400,000 amount payable to Sandstorm in cash or shares at New Dimension's election on each anniversary of the acquisition, until December 31, 2032 or earlier if certain events occur, including commencement of commercial production;

amount payable to Sandstorm in cash or shares at New Dimension's election on each anniversary of the acquisition, until or earlier if certain events occur, including commencement of commercial production; a 2% net smelter returns royalty ("NSR") on each of the Santa Cruz Properties, pursuant to NSR agreements.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Eric Roth, commented today: "I'm pleased to see such high levels of support from investors, in particular from our new major shareholder Sandstorm Gold, as we embark on this exciting new phase for the Company. Concurrent with closing we expect to initiate a 5,000m drill program on high grade gold-silver targets at both the Las Calandrias and Los Cisnes Projects. In parallel, we will continue to generate targets on our Sierra Blanca Project and elsewhere within our regional property portfolio for future drill testing.

We are also fortunate to have retained most of Mariana Resources' highly successful management team, as well as Mariana's Argentine exploration team. This ensures that their many years of experience and expertise in Santa Cruz Province will be put to immediate use to quickly advance our projects. I look forward to keeping the market informed on progress with our drill programs."

Senior Management Changes

Concurrent with the closing of the Transaction, Eric Roth, Ph.D. (Economic Geology), F.AusIMM, F.SEG, former Chief Operating Officer of Mariana Resources and current director of the Company, has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of New Dimension. Fred Hewett, current President & CEO will remain on the Company's Board of Directors. The Company wishes to thank Mr. Hewett for his dedication and service to New Dimension and is very pleased that he will remain on as a director.

In addition, the following management changes will also be completed upon closing:

Karen Davies has assumed the role of VP Investor Relations ("IR") for New Dimension. Karen was previously IR representative for Mariana Resources, and takes over this role from Nancy Curry .

has assumed the role of VP Investor Relations ("IR") for New Dimension. Karen was previously IR representative for Mariana Resources, and takes over this role from . Kathryn Witter has assumed the role of Corporate Secretary for New Dimension, taking over the role from Brenda Nowak . Kathryn had previously been Canadian Corporate Secretary for Mariana Resources.

Each of Ms. Curry and Ms. Nowak will remain involved with NDR to ensure an orderly transition, both have made significant contributions to the Company's successes to date. The Company is fortunate that they will remain engaged, and thanks them for their service.

Share Consolidation

Prior to the closing of the Transaction, the Company completed a consolidation of its issued common shares on the basis of one (1) post-consolidated share for every 2.5 pre-consolidated shares. The Company anticipates that the Company's common shares will commence trading on May 17, 2018.

Closing of Private Placement

The Company also announces the closing of an oversubscribed Private Placement through which 34,772,727 post-consolidated shares were issued at a price of $0.11 for gross proceeds of approximately $3.8M. The securities issued through the Private Placement are subject to a statutory hold period in Canada expiring September 15, 2018 (four months and one day from the issuing date). Cash fees of 6% (for a total of $100,393) were paid to finders in the Private Placement. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for exploration activities and to advance the Argentinean portfolio. The Company also issued an additional 4,972,521 post-consolidated common shares to Sandstorm to settle outstanding debt owed by New Dimension to Sandstorm in connection with the acquisition of the Santa Cruz Properties.

Upon closing of the Private Placement, Sandstorm will become New Dimension's largest shareholder with approximately 10.3% of the issued common shares of the Company. Management and Directors also participated in the Private Placement and will collectively hold 14.1% of the issued common shares of the Company.

Early Warning Disclosure

Pursuant to National Instrument 62-103 - The Early Warning System and Related Take Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues, Sandstorm is announcing the acquisition of an aggregate of 5,010,612 common shares ("New Dimension Shares") of New Dimension. Sandstorm acquired 38,091 shares pursuant to the Private Placement conducted by New Dimension. The remaining 4,972,521 shares were acquired by Sandstorm upon the conversion of certain debt owed by New Dimension to Sandstorm in connection with the Argentina transaction. With the acquisition of New Dimension Shares, Sandstorm now holds approximately 10.3% of the outstanding common shares.

The acquisition of the New Dimension Shares by Sandstorm was effected for investment purposes. Sandstorm may from time to time acquire additional securities of New Dimension, dispose of some or all of the existing or additional securities it holds or will hold, or may continue to hold its current position.

The early warning report, as required under National Instrument 62-103, contains additional information with respect to the foregoing matters and will be filed by Sandstorm on New Dimension's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

On Behalf of the Board of New Dimension Resources Ltd.

"Eric Roth"

_____________________

Eric Roth, Ph.D., FAusIMM

President & CEO

Qualified Person and Disclosure Statement

The technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements set out in NI 43-101, and approved by Eric Roth, the Company's President & CEO, a director and a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

Further information on the Las Calandrias Project is available in the technical report entitled "Updated Technical Report for Estimated Gold  Silver Resources at Las Calandrias Santa Cruz Province, Argentina" with an effective date of February 20, 2018, available on the Company's website at http://www.newdimensionresources.com or under New Dimension's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com

Cautionary Notes and Forward-looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Such statements include, without limitation, statements regarding the future results of operations, performance and achievements of New Dimension, including completion of the acquisition of the Santa Cruz Properties, trading of the Company's shares, the appointment of directors and officers of New Dimension, and receipt of all necessary regulatory and third-party approvals required in connection with the acquisition and the Private Placement. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurances that such expectations will prove to be correct. All such forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions and analyses made by New Dimension in light of their experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors management believes are appropriate in the circumstances. This information, however, is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from this forward-looking information include those described under the heading "Risks and Uncertainties" in New Dimension s most recently filed MD&A. New Dimension does not intend, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or revise the forward-looking information contained in this news release, except as required by law. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release does not constitute an offer to purchase securities. The securities to be offered in the Private Placement have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the benefit or account of, a U.S. person, except pursuant to an available exemption from such registration requirements.

SOURCE New Dimension Resources Ltd.

Related Links

www.newdimensionresources.com


NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The results of the first ever US government funded study of fluoride and IQ have just been published. A team of researchers found a statistically significant association between fluoride exposure in women during pregnancy and a lowering of IQ in their children, reports the Fluoride Action Network.

The study was published in Environmental Health Perspectives by scientists from the University of Toronto, University of Michigan, Harvard, McGill, and the national public health agency of Mexico. It was funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, with over $3 million in grants.

The study was conducted in Mexico City using a long-running cohort of women-infant pairs that have been studied extensively for effects of environmental neurotoxins such as lead and mercury. It found an average loss of 5 to 6 IQ points among children of mothers with urine fluoride levels of 1.5 mg/L compared to those with 0.5 mg/L. For an entire population, such a loss would be expected to halve the number of geniuses in society and double the number of mentally handicapped. For IQ measured at 4 years of age, there was no apparent fluoride exposure threshold below which the effect leveled out.

The mothers in this study had a range of fluoride exposures similar to that found in fluoridating countries like the United States.

According to the lead investigator and professor of environmental health, epidemiology and global health at the University of Toronto, Dr. Howard Hu, the study "also suggests that the pre-natal nervous system may be more sensitive to fluoride compared to that of school-aged children."

Experts in the field of environmental toxicology have said the results are a huge red flag:

"This is a very well-conducted study, and it raises serious concerns about fluoride supplementation in water. These new insights raise concerns that the prenatal period may be highly vulnerable and may require additional reconsideration," says Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician who studies potential links between environmental exposures and health problems at New York University Langone Health. (Newsweek, 9/19/17)

Chris Neurath, research director for FAN agrees, "The loss of IQ is very large, as large as in previous studies from China where fluoride exposure levels were typically higher. The study was meticulously done and controlled for a wide range of potential spurious factors such as lead, mercury, socio-economic status, smoking, alcohol use, and health problems during pregnancy. The study was able to largely rule out confounding by these other factors."

Proponents of water fluoridation such as the American Dental Association (ADA) have responded to this study with the erroneous claim that the mothers in Mexico had exposures to fluoride higher than found in the USA and other fluoridating countries, and is therefore not applicable. They even make the nonsensical claim that if fluoride in the Mexican mothers' urine came from a mix of sources that differs from women in the USA that the study would not be applicable. Once the fluoride is in the women's body, it does not make any difference with respect to toxicity where the fluoride originally came from.

According to Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH, director of the Fluoride Action Network, "The dental lobby is confirming what we have suspected for some time, they are more interested in protecting the outdated program of water fluoridation, than in protecting the brains of future generations. Supporters of fluoridation have not refuted the key finding of this study that fluoride harms the developing brain."

FAN has documented over 300 animal and human studies indicating fluoride's neurotoxicity over the last 20 years. Three of the earliest studies from China showed brain damage in fetuses from areas with high natural fluoride levels in the water (He et al., 1989; Du et al, 1992 and Yu et al., 1996). These early studies prompted the dozens of Chinese IQ studies conducted from 1991 to the present. Many of these studies were reviewed by a Harvard team in 2012 (Choi et al., 2012) and found to give a strikingly consistent pattern of lower IQ with higher fluoride exposure.

FAN's advisory director, Dr. Paul Connett, PhD, chemistry and toxicology, in a video response states "this finding is a game-changer in the fluoridation debate. How could any rational person put the saving of a very modest amount of tooth decay over the mental development of our children?"

"Children are the primary victims of our failed fluoridation policy, and mothers are our last line of defense." advises Bill Osmunson, DDS, MPH. "To protect your baby's brain, we recommend mothers avoid drinking fluoridated water, swallowing fluoride supplements or toothpaste, and avoid fluoride dental treatments during and before pregnancy."

Founded in 2000, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) is the leading advocacy and educational nonprofit in the world on fluoridation and overexposure to fluoride, with over 80,000 members, and an alliance of over 5,000 medical and scientific professionals, and the most visited website on fluoride and fluoridation on the internet (www.fluoridealert.org). FAN has assisted many of the over 200 communities that have ended fluoridation since 2010.

www.FluorideAlert.org

SOURCE Fluoride Action Network

Related Links

http://www.fluoridealert.org


ATLANTA, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- We are pleased to announce that Nick M. Child and Natasha Willicombe have joined Secretariat. Based in London, they will lead our Business Development function across the globe and drive our growth in Europe and beyond.

Mr. Child is a seasoned professional and has played a particularly active role in the global construction law industry for over 26 years. He heads up firm-wide business development and will focus on delivering the Secretariat brand around the world. With his detailed knowledge and understanding of the market and our specialist practice areas, Mr. Child puts the needs and expectations of our clients first.

Ms. Willicombe is a Business and Law graduate with more than 20 years' experience in the legal sector. She will play an essential role in business development for Secretariat by putting her detailed knowledge and understanding of our specialist practice areas into play.

To view full bios, please click on the links below:

http://secretariat-intl.com/member/nick-child/

http://secretariat-intl.com/member/natasha-willicombe/

SOURCE Secretariat

Related Links

http://secretariat-intl.com


The initiative launched at Nordstrom Century City in Los Angeles in October 2017, with participation primarily coming from denim brands including Topshop, Rag & Bone and Madewell. For holiday 2017, Nordstrom launched the initiative online with 40 brands making extended sizes. At that time, the retailer set a goal of expanding extended sizes to 15 additional stores with 60 participating brands by the spring of 2018, and is excited to have exceeded those numbers. It's important to note that Nordstrom is not eliminating its existing plus size or petite departments, but instead is working toward filling the gaps in sizes and integrating all sizes together for a more size inclusive shopping experience.

Brand additions include but are not limited to the following:

Nike, Adidas and Beyond Yoga added size XXL

Paige, Frame and MOTHER added size 34

Rebecca Taylor , Theory and ALC added sizes 14 and 16

, Theory and ALC added sizes 14 and 16 Nordstrom private-label brands Halogen, Zella and Nordstrom Signature now come in sizes XXS-XXL and 0-18

***More brands are available upon request.

Quotes:

"The industry really needed a retailer to be the voice of customers and ask for more sizes," said Tricia Smith , Nordstrom executive vice president and general merchandise manager for women's apparel. "It's been hard work and we're making progress. We're thrilled more and more brands are extending their offerings to this population of stylish women who were previously missed. We remain focused, inspired and committed to inclusivity and having more sizes available to serve customers."

, Nordstrom executive vice president and general merchandise manager for women's apparel. "It's been hard work and we're making progress. We're thrilled more and more brands are extending their offerings to this population of stylish women who were previously missed. We remain focused, inspired and committed to inclusivity and having more sizes available to serve customers." Smith elaborates further that, "Style and fashion apply to everyone. We don't view being size inclusive any differently that the need to be more inclusive across the boardwhether it's ethnicity, size or body type. In our opinion, petite and plus sizes shouldn't be considered special categories. They're just sizes."

What's Next:

Nordstrom is further expanding the extended sizes initiative for the upcoming Anniversary Sale (beginning July 20,) with many of its own private label brands making up to size 24. For fall 2018, a broader range of size-inclusive mannequins designed exclusively for Nordstrom will be rolled out in the 30 stores to help create a size inclusive shopping experience. The retailer will also be working on expanding the range of sizes available from its European brand partners.

Extended sizes are now offered in 30 Nordstrom locations:

Alderwood, Lynwood, WA

Brea Mall, Brea, CA

Burlington Mall, Burlington, MA

Westfield Century City, Los Angeles, CA

The Village at Corte Madera , Corte Madera, CA

, Del Amo Fashion Center, Torrance, CA

Downtown Portland , Portland, OR

, Downtown Seattle , Seattle, WA

, King of Prussia Mall, King of Prussia, PA

Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, CA

Mall of America, Bloomington, MN

Michigan Avenue, Chicago, IL

Westfield Montgomery , Bethesda, MD

, Natick Mall, Natick MA

Northpark Center, Dallas, TX

Oakbrook Center, Oakbrook, IL

Westfield Old Orchard , Skokie, IL

, Pentagon City Mall, Arlington, VA

Perimeter Mall, Atlanta, GA

Philipps Plaza , Atlanta, GA

, Roosevelt Field , Garden City, NY

, The Mall at Short Hills , Short Hills, NJ

, Somerset Collection, Troy, MI

Stonebriar Centre, Frisco, TX

Tacoma Mall, Tacoma WA

Twelve Oaks Mall, Novi, MI

Tysons Corner Center, McLean, VA

Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek, CA

Washington Square, Tigard, OR

The Westchester , White Plains, NY

About Nordstrom

Nordstrom, Inc. is a leading fashion retailer based in the U.S. Founded in 1901 as a shoe store in Seattle, today Nordstrom operates 370 stores in 40 states, including 122 full-line stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico; 236 Nordstrom Rack stores; two Jeffrey boutiques; two clearance stores; seven Trunk Club clubhouses; and its Nordstrom Local service concept. Additionally, customers are served online through Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook and TrunkClub.com. Nordstrom, Inc.'s common stock is publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol JWN.

SOURCE Nordstrom, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nordstrom.com


Casualty. The mother of Leila al-Ghandour, a Palestinian baby of eight months who, according to Gazas health ministry, died of tear gas inhalation during clashes in East Gaza the previous day, holds her at the morgue of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on May 15, 2018. Fresh protests are expected a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflicts bloodiest day in years. AFP

GAZAFresh protests were expected Tuesday a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflicts bloodiest day in years. Palestinians on Tuesday mark the Nakba, or catastrophe, commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israels creation. It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned. Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gazas health ministry said. The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said. At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya vowed protests in Gaza would continue on Tuesday. Hamass armed wing and other militant groups will not prolong their silence over the crimes of the occupation, he said. In the West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared a general strike on Tuesday after accusing Israel of massacres. On Monday, tens of thousands had gathered near the border in protest while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side. The death toll led to strong condemnation from rights groups and concern from a range of countries. But the United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into the violence, diplomats at the United Nations said. Despite the violence, the embassy inauguration went on as planned in Jerusalem, attended by a Washington delegation that included US President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides. Trump addressed the gathering by video. Our greatest hope is for peace, he said, despite the Palestinian anger the move has provoked. Israels military said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the protests and clashes. It said its aircraft had targeted 11 Hamas sites and tanks fired at two terror posts belonging to Hamas, accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement of opening fire towards Israeli forces. Israel says its action is necessary to stop infiltrations of the border fence and claims that Hamas, which runs the blockaded Gaza Strip, uses the protests as cover to carry out violence.The White House also blamed Hamas for the violence.French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence of the Israeli armed forces against the protesters as several countries urged restraint. Britains minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt acknowledged Israels right to defend its borders but also said the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning. We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint, he said. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of state terror and genocide. Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel for consultations, while South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice. At least 113 Palestinians have been killed in a campaign of protests along the Gaza border since March 30, the vast majority by Israeli snipers during clashes. Only one Israeli soldier has been reported wounded during that time. On Monday, the army said many rioters tried to breach the border fence and approximately 10 explosive devices and several firebombs were used to target the security fence and (Israeli) troops. It said shots were also fired at the soldiers. The embassy inauguration followed Trumps December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community. Jerusalems status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state. International consensus has been that the citys status must be negotiated between the two sides, but Trump broke with that to global outrage. He has argued that it helps make peace possible by taking Jerusalem off the table, but many have noted he has not announced any concessions in return from Israel. Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move was also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.
ORLANDO, Fla., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutriband Inc. (OTC: NTRB), a Nevada Corporation, is pleased to announce that it has appointed Jeff Patrick PharmD as Chief Scientific Officer and to head of its Pharmaceutical Advisory Board.

Dr. Jeff Patrick

Jeff Patrick Pharm.D. currently serves as Director of Drug Development Institute at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Patrick most recently serving as Chief Scientific Officer for New Haven Pharmaceuticals. Prior roles included global vice president of professional affairs at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; and roles with ascending responsibilities at Dyax, Myogen/Gilead, Actelion and Sanofi-Synthelabo, Inc.

Dr. Patrick is a residency-trained clinical pharmacist with approximately 20 years of pharmaceutical industry experience. He brings expertise in executive leadership, scientific and medical strategy, drug development and commercialization to the company.

Prior to pursuing a career in research and development, Patrick was an ambulatory care clinical pharmacist at the University of Tennessee Medical Center and a clinical assistant professor of pharmacy at the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, where he earned his doctorate in pharmacy. He also completed the Wharton School of Business Pharmaceutical Executive Program.

Nutriband Inc.

Nutriband

Nutriband is a unique, result's driven, health and pharmaceutical Company based in Orlando Florida. Unlike traditional health and pharmaceutical companies, Nutriband found its start by spotting and targeting a gross and virtually unexplored niche in the supplement market through its method of ingredient delivery. All Nutriband products are based around the science of transdermal / Topical technologies. www.nutriband.com

About Our Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this press release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words "believes", "anticipates", "expects" and words of similar import, constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve both known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including our ability to create, sustain, manage or forecast our growth; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; changes in our business strategy or development plans; competition; business disruptions; adverse publicity and international, national and local general economic and market conditions. Except as required by applicable law, we undertake no obligation to revise or update any of our forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date hereof.

For more information, contact:

Gareth Sheridan

CEO

Nutriband Inc.

407 880-6810

[email protected]

www.nutriband.com

SOURCE Nutriband Inc.

Related Links

http://www.nutriband.com


SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing first-in-class therapies for rare and common malignancies, today announced its opening of the CIRLL study ( C irmtuzumab and I brutinib targeting R OR1 for L ymphoma and L eukemia), a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial evaluating cirmtuzumab in combination with ibrutinib for the treatment of patients with B-cell malignancies, including mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL). Oncternal is conducting this study in collaboration with researchers at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego) School of Medicine and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In addition to UC San Diego, CIRLL study sites now include MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where the first MCL patient was dosed, as well as Columbia University Medical Center and Northwell Health, both in New York.

"There remains significant unmet medical need for patients with B-cell malignancies because current drug treatments can induce partial responses, but these are temporary. It is our hope that adding cirmtuzumab to standard of care ibrutinib will induce complete responses that may be durable," said James Breitmeyer, M.D., Ph.D., Oncternal's President and CEO. "Our collaboration with Dr. Thomas Kipps of UC San Diego has shown that cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib synergistically block multiple signaling pathways that are important in the pathogenesis and progression of B-cell lymphomas and leukemias and provide a strong rationale for combination therapy."

The CIRLL study is a multi-center clinical trial to evaluate the combination of cirmtuzumab and ibrutinib in patients with previously treated MCL or CLL/SLL who have not received previous Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor therapy. A total of 117 patients will be enrolled.

An initial dose-finding portion of the study will determine the optimal dose of cirmtuzumab to administer when given with the approved dose of ibrutinib, and then confirm this dose in an expansion cohort. The study will then randomize patients to receive the combination of cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib compared to ibrutinib alone. The objective is to demonstrate that a significantly greater number of patients will achieve a durable complete response when treated with cirmtuzumab plus ibrutinib compared with those treated with ibrutinib alone. The study could serve as the basis of registration if robust.

Further information on this study can be found on https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ under the study ID number NCT03420183.

About Cirmtuzumab

Cirmtuzumab is a first-in-class humanized monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to a biologically important epitope on ROR1 (Receptor-tyrosine kinase-like Orphan Receptor 1). ROR1 is a type 1 transmembrane protein expressed on the plasma membrane with an extracellular domain that is essential for ligand binding and signal transduction. Cirmtuzumab binds to many different types of cancer cells, but does not recognize normal human tissues. Tumor cells that express ROR1 have stem-cell like features that are associated with the dedifferentiated oncogenic state. When expressed by hematologic malignancies such as mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL), ROR1 acts as a receptor for the tumor growth factor Wnt5a. When cirmtuzumab binds to ROR1, it blocks Wnt5a activation and inhibits tumor-cell proliferation, migration and survival.

About Oncternal Therapeutics

Oncternal Therapeutics is a clinical-stage oncology company developing first-in-class and novel therapies for both rare and common cancers by focusing on targets that are differentially expressed by cancer cells. The company is leveraging its scientific and development expertise, as well as academic collaborations, to rapidly advance its two pipeline products, cirmtuzumab, an anti-ROR1 monoclonal antibody, and TK216, a small molecule that inhibits the biological activity of ets-family transcription factor oncoproteins. In a collaboration with UC San Diego, Oncternal is developing a chimeric antigen receptor expressing T cell (CAR-T) targeting ROR1.

INVESTOR CONTACT

James Breitmeyer

Oncternal Therapeutics

T: 858-434-1113

E: [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT

Kelly Conlon

First Light Communications

T: 207-233-2430

E: [email protected]

SOURCE Oncternal Therapeutics, Inc.
This summer, thousands of local law enforcement officers across the U.S. will be giving free Slurpee drink coupons to kids caught doing good deeds. For the 23 rd year, 7-Eleven is working with police and sheriff's departments to distribute the coupons to deserving children and youth.

During 2018, 7-Eleven will issue 1.4 million Slurpee coupons to approximately 1,100 law enforcement agencies. Most will be distributed during the summer months and back-to-school season.

"The Philadelphia Police Department's partnership with 7-Eleven's Operation Chill program encourages positive interactions between officers and youth in our communities," said Richard Ross, Philadelphia Police commissioner. "This is the 23rd year our officers have gotten immense pleasure from 'ticketing' children and teens they who are caught making responsible and friendly decisions. This is a wonderful way for officers to nurture engagement and relationships with young people throughout the city. We appreciate 7-Eleven's fun and refreshing way of focusing on youth doing the right thing."

Big city police departments and small town forces alike use the Slurpee coupons to enhance relationships with young people by rewarding them for good deeds, constructive activities and acts of kindness. Appropriate "offenses" might include helping another person, following safety and traffic laws, or participating in a community- or police-sponsored event. Although the reasons for being "ticketed" are varied, the end result is the same for every youngster: a free Slurpee drink and a smile for being a good kid. Each coupon can be redeemed for a small Slurpee drink at participating 7-Eleven stores.

Begun in Philadelphia to give law enforcement officers a positive reason to interact with children and teens, Operation Chill has expanded to cities across the country. Since the program's inception in 1995, almost 21 million Operation Chill coupons have been distributed to hundreds of law enforcement agencies across the country in areas where 7-Eleven operates stores.

"I don't know who gets more excited when Operation Chill season rolls around each year  the police officers or the kids," said Mark Stinde, 7-Eleven vice president of asset protection. "Not only is Operation Chill our most popular community service program, it's one of the best at building bridges in communities and bringing people together. Everyone loves it."

7-Eleven's proprietary Slurpee semi-frozen carbonated beverage has generational appeal with thirsty kids of all ages. More than a half-million Slurpee drinks are purchased each day during the summer at 7-Eleven stores across the country. This summer's flavor lineup includes Slurpee Lite sugar-free Lemonade made with all natural flavors.

Multimedia assets are available for immediate download at https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/pT7cNt1eQd.

About 7-Eleven, Inc.

7Eleven, Inc. is the premier name and largest chain in the convenience-retailing industry. Based in Irving, Texas, 7Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 66,000 stores in 17 countries, including 11,600 in North America. Known for its iconic brands such as Slurpee, Big Bite and Big Gulp, 7Eleven has expanded into high-quality salads, side dishes, cut fruit and protein boxes, as well as pizza, chicken wings, cheeseburgers and hot chicken sandwiches. 7Eleven offers customers industry-leading private-brand products under the 7-Select brand including healthy options, decadent treats and everyday favorites at an outstanding value. Customers also count on 7Eleven for bill payments, self-service lockers and other convenient services. Find out more online at www.7-Eleven.com, via the 7Rewards customer-loyalty platform on the 7Eleven mobile app, or on social media at Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

SOURCE 7-Eleven, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.7-eleven.com


CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Outcome Health, a technology company that provides health education at the moment of care to improve patient outcomes, today announced the continuation of an initiative to raise awareness of lupus across the country. The initiative will feature content from The Lupus Initiative (TLI), a national program of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), and deliver actionable health information to patients in a digital format. Participating physician practices will feature the educational programming on their waiting room TV monitors to patients awaiting care.

"ACR's Lupus Initiative designs educational programs that increase awareness about lupus, advance health equity, eliminate health disparities, and improve the quality of life for people living with lupus," said Sheryl McCalla, ACR Senior Director of Collaborative Initiatives. "By working with Outcome Health, we reach people with lupus and people experiencing lupus symptoms nationwide during the critical moments when they're with their healthcare provider."

Approximately 160,000 to 322,000 Americans are currently living with lupus and according to the ACR; lupus occurs nine times more often in women than in men. Early diagnosis and treatment of lupus is critical to preventing long-term consequences of the disease.

"There is so much about lupus that remains unknown, therefore it's critical that we leverage our nationwide network to raise awareness for this disease," said Anil Harjani, Vice President of Product Management and Strategic Partnerships at Outcome Health. "Outcome Health is proud to work with TLI to provide support for patients, caregivers and survivors."

In recognition of Lupus Awareness month in May, Outcome Health and TLI will focus on deploying resources to educate patients and providers about the signs and symptoms of lupus across Outcome Health's nationwide rheumatology network. TLI recently launched a campaign called "Be Fierce. Take Control.TM, which encourages women to take control of their health and not ignore possible symptoms of lupus, such as fatigue and joint pain.

Outcome Health's nationwide network reaches 41,242 practices and its platform includes technologies such as the Waiting Room TV, which can promote specialty-specific content and deliver lifestyle management videos to patients' pre-consultation.

About The Lupus Initiative

The Lupus Initiative (TLI) is a multi-faceted education program designed to reduce disparities and improve outcomes among people with lupus. TLI is dedicated to improving the diagnosis, treatment, and management of lupus in populations disproportionately affected based on race, ethnicity, and gender.

About the American College of Rheumatology

The American College of Rheumatology is an international medical society representing over 9,600 rheumatologists and rheumatology health professionals with a mission to empower rheumatology professionals to excel in their specialty. In doing so, the ACR offers education, research, advocacy and practice management support to help its members continue their innovative work and provide quality patient care. Rheumatologists are experts in the diagnosis, management and treatment of more than 100 different types of arthritis and rheumatic diseases.

About Outcome Health

Outcome Health's mission is to activate the best health outcome possible for every person in the world through technologies that change behavior to positively shape the human condition. Founded in 2006, Outcome Health serves health information and health intelligence during critical moments of care to enable patients and physicians to make the best healthcare decision possible. Across the country, Outcome Health has over 150,000 digital devices and a presence in over 40,000 physician offices and health systems in its BPA certified network.

Contact:

Outcome Health Press Office

[email protected]

SOURCE Outcome Health

Related Links

http://www.outcomehealth.com


WOODSTOCK, Ill., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OWC, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has announced their support for photojournalist Florian Wagner's African Waters 360 project. The photo-film mission will see Wagner flying 18,000km via helicopter across ten African countries, capturing 360 panoramic images of diverse African cities located near bodies of water and river systems that are meaningful for ecological balance.

The project will kick off on Friday, May 18th at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. At the event, Florian Wagner and other environmental collaborators will showcase works that explore how water impacts the human condition in resource-stressed and changing environments.

The goal of Wagner's African Waters 360 project is to document Africa's beauty while creating awareness of the need for responsible water policy. The program will also serve as a fundraising project for clean water charities, with a fundraising goal of $250,000.

OWC Founder and CEO Larry O'Connor said, "We are thrilled to support Florian Wagner in this important project. Not only is his work significant from an artistic point of view, but he shares OWC's commitment to examining the world around us, and finding ways to improve the environment on a local and global scale. We all share in that obligation, and OWC is dedicated to raising funds for organizations that provide local communities with access to clean water and improve the residents' standard of living. We are happy to continue those efforts through this venture."

OWC is supporting Wagner and his team with a line of workflow solutions that will ensure the images captured during their excursion remain safe and secure. Professionals and prosumers alike need assurance that the content they create can be backed up without worry, and the OWC Envoy Pro EX (VE) with Thunderbolt 3, OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini and OWC ThunderBay 4 with Thunderbolt 3 allow Florian's team to keep their work securely stored. Wagner is a Leica Camera ambassador, and the African Waters 360 project is also supported by Garmin, Yeti, and Leatherman.

The event kick-off on May 18th is open to the public and will feature presentations on water and the environment as well as photographic exhibits, all hosted in the beautiful Two Oceans Aquarium. The event takes place from 6:30 to 9:00pm local time. Tickets can be purchased here.

About Florian Wagner

Florian Wagner is a photographer and helicopter pilot based in Munich, Germany. His work has been featured in such publications as National Geographic, GQ and Focus, and often explores wildlife and the environment. His trek across Africa can be followed at: African Waters 360.

About OWC

Having served the Apple community worldwide since 1988, OWC has become the reliable manufacturer and upgrade provider of choice for Apple and PC enthusiasts with its extensive catalog of accessories, storage, and memory upgrades for nearly every Mac made in the last decade. Recognized for award-winning customer service, OWC provides extensive U.S.-based technical support for Mac and PC users around the world and comprehensive step-by-step installation and support videos.

Get social: follow OWC and follow Florian's trek on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

 2018 Other World Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple and Mac are the trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Thunderbolt are trademarks of Intel Corporation registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other marks may be the trademark or registered trademark property of their respective owners.

SOURCE OWC
Pamela Anderson Calls Out Ride-Hailing Labor Injustices

Actress & Activist Partners with Ride Responsibly Cautioning Public about Unfair Business Practices of Ride-Hail Apps
DENVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PaySimple, a leading Service Commerce platform for businesses, today announced the integration of its embedded payment processing technology, PaySimple AppConnect, with improveit 360, a leading CRM and business management software purpose-built for residential remodelers, contractors, and home improvement professionals.

PaySimple AppConnect enables improveit 360 customers to accept payments directly from their improveit 360 desktop or mobile application, making it simpler than ever to collect payments on-time for major home remodeling projects in the field, in the office or on the go.

The integration makes it easier for home improvement professionals to run their businesses, allowing them to securely accept large sums, down payments, multi-step payments or recurring payments without disrupting core services. By combining the power of improveit 360's all-in-one business management platform & mobile app, with PaySimple's secure payment acceptance capabilities, home improvement professionals can focus on projects, not toggling between software systems.

"Allowing businesses to accept payment directly from their improveit 360 application furthers our mission of being a true all-in-one business management solution," says Mark Quinlan, CEO of improveit 360. "Every minute of time improveit 360 customers save collecting payments is another minute they can invest in marketing, selling, open projects and client relationships."

PaySimple AppConnect integrates with service business platforms to facilitate down payments, recurring payments, web forms, payment plans, credit card & ACH processing, virtual point-of-sale, "card on file" PCI Compliant Vault, and cash flow reporting.

"We're excited to help improveit 360 customers simplify the way they accept payments and ultimately, provide better service to their clients," says David Sharp, President of PaySimple.

The integration is available to all improveit 360 customers. To learn more, visit: https://paysimple.com/paysimple-i360-prospects.html

About PaySimple

PaySimple is the leading Service Commerce platform for businesses, supporting the success of over 17,000 companies in the United States. PaySimple enables businesses to market services, accept payments, and retain customers using one end-to-end solution that covers everything from payments and appointments, to online sales and customer management. Products include: Service Point of Sale, Payment Forms & Online Store, Appointment Scheduling, credit card and e-check processing, Recurring Billing, Mobile Payments, Secure Customer Management, e-Invoicing, cash flow reporting, and more.

About improveit 360

improveit 360 is the leading CRM and business management software purpose-built for residential remodelers, contractors, and home pros. We also build custom solutions for home improvement franchisors and manufacturers. Our system and associated mobile apps help you manage leads, marketing, sales, quoting, projects, appointments, call centers, and real-time reporting from one centralized location. improveit 360 improves efficiency, reduces the day-to-day chaos, and helps grow businesses.

Media Contact:

Nell Gable

303-800-0585

[email protected]

SOURCE PaySimple

Related Links

https://paysimple.com


The 2018 Peking University Guanghua New York Forum coincided with Peking University's 120 th anniversary and served as a significant piece of the University's overseas celebrations. To mark this critical moment in the University's history, Vice President WANG Bo opened the Forum program by discussing the close relationship between Peking University's history and China's economic and social development. Vice President WANG indicated that protectionist attitudes are becoming increasingly common globally, presenting the world with new challenges to navigate. In a nod to the Forum's topics of discussion, he also acknowledged the new challenges and opportunities that technological advances are creating for economic and social development.

In remarks welcoming Forum guests and addressing the tense economic relationship between China and the US, Stephen Kennedy Smith advocated for a vision of the world similar to that held by his uncle President John F. Kennedya vision rooted in the virtue of global citizenship. In his remarks, Mr. Kennedy Smith also acknowledged that China's leaders have also called for a unified world. However, even as China's rapid economic development has lifted millions out of poverty, both China and the US are grappling with income inequality, a key issue of sustainable economic development.

Dean LIU Qiao of Peking University's Guanghua School of Management provided an overview of China's economic activity, highlighting its success using an investment-led growth model focused on infrastructure and its willingness to becoming an active participant in global trade. Even as China is catching up to the US in terms of the number Fortune 500 companies counted in its ranks, Chinese companies have shown a much lower Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) than their US counterparts, translating to lower quality growth. China must now focus on striking a better balance between investment rate and ROIC. Moving to a sustainable model promoting quality growth is a key policy objective of China's current leadership, and as the country tackles these challenges, it can serve as a reference point from which other emerging economies can learn.

Continuing on the theme of the global economy, Jeffrey Sachs, University Professor at Columbia University, emphasized that the current market economy framework is not meeting the needs of all citizenry since it does not produce fairness or environmental sustainability. Fairness, trust, and other measures of well-being should be considered along with productivity when addressing economic problems. Professor Sachs also warned against hubris that stems from being a powerful country, which is what led China to close its doors to the world several centuries ago and has led to expectations for eternal prosperity in the US during its 70 years as a superpower. Global problems can only be solved through cooperation, and universities must lead the way in establishing partnerships to solve challenges. Professor Sachs also commended the collaborative nature of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

With technology driving the new economy, developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the mobile economy being pioneered by the US and China have important implications for the impact of economic growth on society. MIT's Max Tegmark shared background on the development of AI, with most AI researchers optimistic that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is possible within the next few decades. However, for AGI to become a positive engine for human progress and economic development, researchers must follow several principles. Specifically, they must avoid developing new ways of harming people and propel research that creates new ways of helping society, they must avoid AI-generated wealth inequality, and they must invest in AI safety research. As technology continues to develop, it should empower society, rather than overpower it.

Dean CAI Hongbin of the University of Hong Kong's Faculty of Business and Economics gave further context to the state of AI research in China and the US before leading a dialogue with Professor Tegmark. The US has almost 1100 AI companies compared to China's 600, and the US saw AI capital investment of $17 billion compared to $2.6 billion in China. However, China has more sources of data from which to pull and development of AI technology in China is catching up very quickly with the US in terms of AI-related publications and AI start-ups. Competition in AI research may not necessarily be a negative thing. When Dean CAI inquired about the benefits of AI, Professor Tegmark indicated that technological advancements often generate wide benefits that cannot be limited to a single group of people. For example, everyone enjoys the benefits of electricity without having to worry about who actually discovered it.

NYU's Anindya Ghose shifted focus to the mobile economy and its impact on business and economic growth. Currently, the mobile economy represents 4% of world GDP, but it is expected to go up as a percentage. People are now doing many different activities in many different locations, and are using multiple devices, presenting a challenge for companies to identify the needs of consumers. However, coupling location data with other contextual data can help companies reach consumers and meet their needs. Blockchain technology can also be used to augment mobile technology to solve problems such as digital ad fraud.

PKU Guanghua Professor SHEN Qiaowei expounded on the development of the mobile economy in China where mobile payment penetration has already reached 77%. Consumers in Beijing can move around freely with just a mobile phone, able to pay for public transit, food, and other purchases using mobile wallets. The mobile economy has also driven the development of other industries in China, such as food delivery services. During Professor SHEN's dialogue with Professor Ghose, Professor Ghose indicated that there are still some barriers to cross for society to see the full benefits of the mobile economy. In particular, as companies collect fuller profiles on consumers, it will be easier for them to target consumer needs. While many consumers are under the misconception that organizations harbor malicious intent, many companies are actually investing heavily in protecting consumer privacy, and blockchain technologies can be used for addressing inadvertent leaks of information.

Asia Society's Vice President for Development and Partnerships Christine Davies provided a summary of the speakers' viewpoints, sharing her optimism for cooperation between the United States and China, even as differences in viewpoints may remain.

Going forward, the Guanghua School of Management will endeavor to continue serving as a platform for the exchange of new thoughts, perspectives, and ideas that can help bridge China, the US, and the world.

SOURCE Guanghua School of Management of Peking University
DENVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PepPod is known for its plant-based energy tablets that deliver more than 75 trace minerals, vitamins, electrolytes and amino acids, but the Denver-based company also would like to be known for giving back to Colorado communities.

PepPod CEO Jennifer Pearce is happy to announce a 30-day extension to the ongoing partnership with Sentiv to raise money for The Wild Animal Sanctuary, a 720-acre facility near Denver in Keenesburg that is home to more than 450 exotic wild animals.

"PepPod's charity walkathon to benefit The Wild Animal Sanctuary has officially been extended another 30 days to June 16," Pearce said. "We're almost halfway to our goal of raising $3,000 dollars to help these beautiful animals have a better life. You don't have to donate money, all you have to do is download the app, and walk  we'll take care of the rest."

Sentiv, or Incentivizing Fitness for Social Impact, is a platform for "fit-lanthropy," which is philanthropy through fitness. Sentiv is an app whereby anyone can set up virtual fitness challenges to raise money for a charity of choice.

The Wild Animal Sanctuary, established in 1980, is home to more than 450 animals, including African lions, tigers, black and grizzly bears, wolves, ostriches, camels and more. The sanctuary's goal is to help alleviate cruelty to large, exotic and endangered captive wild animals that have been abandoned or subjected to deprivation and neglect, and to provide care and boarding for the rest of their lives.

The exotic animal trade is the third largest source of illicit profits in the U.S. Many of these exotic animals are abused, neglected and abandoned. Simply walking can help end this captive wildlife crisis by benefitting the great work of the Wild Animal Sanctuary.

PepPod is the health and wellness side of plant-based energy and nutrition, for workouts, workdays and everything in between. It is all natural and vegetarian friendly, and can help treat a hangover.

Click here, enter a cell phone number and Sentiv will send a link to download the app, which will track steps through fitness apps like the iPhone's Health app.

For more information on PepPod, visit www.peppod.com. To learn more about the Wild Animal Sanctuary, visit www.wildanimalsanctuary.org. Visit https://tx04.app.link/GF2KBxrEiL to sign up and start walking today.

Please direct inquiries to:

Shaun Cox, 561-544-0719

[email protected]

SOURCE PepPod

Related Links

http://www.peppod.com


PARIS, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Travelers no longer have to choose between the warmth of a traditional bed-and-breakfast and the luxury of a traditional hotel. Pied a Terre is a new type of home sharing platform that is shaking up the residential hospitality industry. This innovative new business model connects travelers who value diversity, care for the environment, and appreciate art and culture, with like-minded hosts. The result is a service that feels more like an international society.

Pied a Terre's travelers receive curated attention from hosts who are passionate about sharing their home and community. With properties in over eight countries, Pied a Terre fosters an environment of openness and warmth at every location. The Pied a Terre mission is to provide high quality-service for a generation of travelers that are looking for immersive cultural experiences while connecting property owners with the power and reach of the digital world.

Pied a Terre is a one-stop shop for travelers and renters. Not only does the website connect guests and hosts, it also features a marketplace where hosts can purchase household goods to ensure their accommodations are top-notch. Hosts also qualify for free advertising on Google AdWords and social media through the website, enabling them to better reach interested travelers.

"Travelers seek a unique, memorable connection with the destinations they visit. The lodging experience should be a gateway to art and culture," said Francisco de Paula Leon, founder of Pied a Terre. "We are committed to elevating the importance of the arts in the travel experience and to connecting travelers with property owners who share this belief."

As part of its commitment to culture and the arts, in January of this year Pied a Terre launched the international photography contest "The World We Live In", open to professionals and amateurs alike who want to express their views about the beauty and challenges of our current world situation. On May 7th, the three winners were announced from a pool of entrants from over 50 countries. The theme of the second edition of this contest will be released this summer.

On May 31st, Pied a Terre will celebrate its worldwide launch at the legendary Chambord Castle in France. During this special evening, Celine Cousteau, filmmaker, explorer, and socio-environmental advocate, will deliver a keynote address on the topic "People and the Natural World: An Exploration of Connections." Following the address, Ami Vitale, National Geographic photographer, Nikon ambassador and official judge of "The World We Live In" photography contest, will introduce the first-place winner, photographer Fabiola Kano from Costa Rica.

For those interested in listing their property or to choose a destination and connect with a host, visit the Pied a Terre website at https://www.piedaterre.world

For more information about destinations, company philosophy and becoming a host, visit the website, subscribe to the list serve to receive exclusive offers and follow Pied a Terre on Instagram and Facebook.

About Pied a Terre

Pied a Terre is an international community within a reservations platform focused on highlighting culture, art, local gastronomy, diversity and environmental care while generating travel experiences around the world. Our main goal is to build a unique relationship between hosts and travelers that enriches both of them and goes beyond just a lodging experience.

Contact:

Ariadna Perez

Pied a Terre

+52 55 29 66 86 13

[email protected]

SOURCE Pied a Terre

Related Links

https://www.piedaterre.world


Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 8:45 am

Virginia Alice Cottey was born March 27, 1848, in a log cabin about 10 miles from the village of Edina in Knox County. Her parents were Ira and Sara (Eads) Cottey, and Alice was one of 10 children born to the couple.

While the Cottey children were growing up, the Southern Methodist Church held services in their home for many years. Ira and Sara believed in a good education for all their children, including the girls, although educational opportunities for girls were very limited. Alice did get to attend the St. Josephs Academy for Girls in Edina for a year, even though she was not Catholic. But for the most part, she was self-taught through reading.

Young Alice read a book about Mary Lyon, who founded Mount Holyoke College for Women. Struggling as she was to get an education, the book affected her deeply and she began practicing teaching with the idea of someday opening a school for young ladies. She began teaching her younger siblings at home and other students also came to learn. Soon, she had a dozen students. Trustees from the Southern Methodist Seminary at Richmond visited to observe her teaching, then offered her a teaching job, which she accepted.

Alices brother, Louis, who had been admitted to the bar, was asked to take the position of superintendent at Knox County schools. One of the schools in his care was Bee Ridge, and it was not up to standards. Louis drafted Alice to be the teacher at that school.

In 1875, at the age of 27, Alice was hired to teach at Central Female College in Lexington. Her little sister, Ella Medora Dora Cottey, was a student at that school.

In 1883, Alice decided she had better start her own school if she was going to. She was 35, and an unmarried women of that age was considered an old spinster. Alice had saved $3,000, but needed more to start her school. Her sisters, Dora and Mary pitched in another $3,000.

Alice sent out letters to Southern Methodist ministers in Missouri, looking for a place to start her school for women. The Reverend W.T. McClure, who pastored a church in Nevada, Missouri, wrote back and asked her to check out Nevada as a location.

Alice and Dora visited Nevada and met with the mayor, Harry C. Moore. Alice told him that if Nevada provided the land, she would start building her school there immediately. The towns businessmen came up with six acres on undeveloped land belonging to Major Prewitt on the west edge of town and Alice started construction on her school.

The first building there was a small brick schoolhouse that would soon be added onto. Alice chose to call her new school Vernon Seminary, after the county of which Nevada is the county seat.

On Sept. 7, 1884, 12 boarding girls arrived at Alices school and she had her first students. Counting the day students who did not board there, there were 28 total enrollees when classes began  and that number rose to 72 girls before the end of the first school year. The school started out with elementary and high school, as well as junior college-level classes.

As the school continued to grow and Alice Cottey became more well-known in Nevada, the residents began calling it Cottey College. So in 1886, the name was officially changed to that designation. That was also the year widower Samuel Stockard brought his 5-year-old daughter to Cottey to board and to get an education.

Stockard was born in Tennessee in 1838. By 1870, he was living in Wayne, Tennessee, and working as a clerk at a dry goods store. In 1874, he was living in Springfield. That year, he married Rose Carnahan in Washington, Arkansas. Sam was 35 and Rose was 21.

By 1880, the couple were living on Jefferson Street in Springfield, where Sam was clerking in a store, and they had three children: 4-year-old John, 2-year-old George, and baby Katie. Five years later, on June 15, 1885, Rose Stockard died, leaving Sam with three young children to raise.

Sam moved with his kids to Nevada and boarded Katie with Alice at her school. Katie was the youngest student there and Alice took charge of her personally. The next year, although it was primarily a school for girls, Sam also sent John and George there. Eventually, Sam asked Alice to marry him. Alice, being the straightforward person she was, informed him that if she did marry him, her school would always come first. Sam was OK with that, and they were wed on March 6, 1890.

Meanwhile, the first graduate of Cottey College, Olive Gatewood of Nevada, received her diploma in 1887. And the next year, the college faced its first adversity when a scarlet fever epidemic struck Nevada and the school was quarantined for the first two weeks of February.

But there were also happier times. In the fall of 1885, the students had their first nutting party, where they picked walnuts and pecans along the Marmaton River. It became an annual tradition. In 1887, Nevada acquired its first electrical system and horse-drawn street cars began running in the town, right past Cottey College.

Virginia Alice Cotteys association with the school that still bears her name had really just began, as well as the storied history of one of the MOzarks most unusual colleges.

Next week: The tragedies and triumphs of Alice Cottey and her college.
COLUMBUS, Ohio, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Since 2013, Demotech has conferred the Stakeholder Team Accomplishment Recognition (STAR) Award to Property & Casualty companies that were able to satisfy all stakeholders by meeting or exceeding the objective criteria for each stakeholder category.

Based on statutory financial statements submitted to the NAIC and obtained through our data vendor, S&P Global, an elite group of companies qualified for a 2018 STAR Award. Comprising less than 1% of the more than 2,600 eligible Property & Casualty carriers reporting data to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, STAR Award winners have addressed the needs of the spectrum of stakeholders: regulators, consumers, producers, corporate employees, reinsurers, claimants, and owners.

Preliminary 2018 STAR Award Qualifiers:

ACUITY, A Mutual Insurance Company

Allstate Insurance Company

American Association of Orthodontists Insurance Company (RRG)

American Coastal Insurance Company, Inc.

American Equity Specialty Insurance Company

Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company

Discover Specialty Insurance Company

Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company of Michigan

General Star Indemnity Company

General Star National Insurance Company

Germantown Mutual Insurance Company

Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company

Markel Insurance Company

MMIC Insurance, Inc.

Northland Casualty Company

Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Company

Safety Insurance Company

SECURA Insurance, a Mutual Company

Sentry Insurance, a Mutual Company

Southwest General Insurance Company

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company

St. Paul Surplus Lines Insurance Company

The list of finalists will be released following confirmation of key criteria available in the first quarter 2018 financial statements of the preliminary qualifiers.

For further information on the Stakeholder Team Accomplishment Recognition Awards, email Rachel Wilkins at [email protected] or go to http://www.demotech.com/starawards.aspx.

About Demotech, Inc.

Demotech, Inc. is a financial analysis firm specializing in evaluating the financial stability of regional and specialty insurers. Since 1985, Demotech has served the insurance industry by assigning accurate, reliable and proven Financial Stability Ratings (FSRs) for Property & Casualty insurers and Title underwriters. FSRs are a leading indicator of financial stability, providing an objective baseline of the future solvency of an insurer. Demotech's philosophy is to review and evaluate insurers based on their area of focus and execution of their business model rather than solely on financial size. Visit www.demotech.com for more information.

SOURCE Demotech, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.demotech.com


Dedicated recruiter to focus on bringing more early-career and second-career candidates to firm

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - RBC Wealth Management today announced it has revamped its Associate Financial Advisor (AFA) training program to allow more diverse candidates  from inside and outside of the financial services industry  to join the firm and ultimately pursue careers as financial advisors.

Maggie Russett will serve as the dedicated recruiter for the program, identifying and vetting AFA prospects  whether they be recent college graduates or people who have worked in other industries and are seeking second careers. Russett joins RBC Wealth Management from Patterson Companies, where she supported the corporate office in developing recruiting processes and identifying and evaluating new employees.

"In an industry where a large percentage of the current workforce is expected to retire within the next 10 years, attracting new talent to the business is critical to future growth," said Tom Sagissor, President of RBC Wealth Management-U.S. "With that in mind, we revamped our AFA program to allow entry level candidates or those who have had successful careers elsewhere and are looking for a change to find a home at RBC Wealth Management."

A new landing page on rbcwealthmanagement.com guides candidates through the application process, with exciting new videos that show why a career at RBC Wealth Management is a compelling move.

The enhanced program is designed not only to prepare new advisors for the role, but to train, mentor and support them in their careers with a variety of resources. The training program includes:

Over 20 online courses on products, processes, and tools.

A wealth planning and client experience specific curriculum to build deep relationships with clients.

50+ micro-learning videos on relationship-building skills that are easily accessible.

A one-on-one training coach.

Video role-play scenarios to help AFA participants develop confidence and expertise.

A formal one-on-one mentorship program.

An ongoing call series enabling AFAs to learn from industry experts and peers.

An intensive, week-long workshop focused on enhancing relationships, building resources and applying concepts learned.

"With the dynamic pace of change and complexity in the financial services industry, it's absolutely critical that we invest in building the next generation of financial advisors to serve our clients today, tomorrow and well into the future," Sagissor said.

About RBC Wealth Management  U.S.

In the United States, RBC Wealth Management operates as a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Founded in 1909, RBC Capital Markets, LLC. is a member of the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, and other major securities exchanges. RBC Wealth Management has $348 billion in total client assets with approximately 1,800 financial advisors operating in 200 locations in 40 states.

SOURCE RBC Wealth Management - U.S.
"It is particularly fitting for Rev. Dr. Hammond  a driving force in Boston's continued efforts to build bridges to improve the community  to address the 2018 class," said Dean John F. O'Brien. "A large portion of our graduates have participated in opportunities during law school that have given back extensively to the community. I am proud of their commitment to public service and look forward to hearing Rev. Dr. Hammond's inspiring remarks."

During the ceremony, New England Law leadership will also present honorary doctor of humanities degrees to Susan Axelrod, Founding Chair, CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy); Edward P. Kelley, Chief Executive Officer, Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps; and Robert Lewis, Jr., Founder and President, The Base. Each of the honorees is known for his or her extraordinary commitment to public service. Judith G. Greenberg, Associate Dean and Professor of Law at New England Law | Boston, will receive an honorary doctor of laws degree for her 39 years of exemplary service.

2018 Graduates Join New England Law Alumni Network

New England Law graduates live and work in all 50 states and 29 countries. Members of the most recent graduating class have secured positions in a variety of employment sectors, including law firms of all sizes; federal, state, and local government organizations; and academic institutions. Notable placements include associate-level positions at Boston law firms Manion Gaynor & Manning, Morrison Mahoney LLP, and Beck Reed Riden LLP; judicial clerkships in Boston, Washington D.C., Maine, and New Hampshire; in-house counsel positions at Deloitte, National Grid, and Tecogen; and government and public interest positions for the Massachusetts House of Representatives, the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, and the Committee for Public Counsel Services in Boston.

"New England Law graduates are successful in their post  law school careers thanks to the opportunities afforded to them during law school," said Mandie LeBeau, Esq., Director of Career Services. "By the time they graduate, our students have had the opportunity to participate in as many as six real-world experiences, including clinics, internships, externships, and pro bono activities. These experiences prepare them for life after law school, and this is why our graduates have gone on to impress us in the ways they have."

On May 18, 185 graduates will join the ranks of New England Law's esteemed and extensive alumni network. Upcoming 2018 graduates have already accepted a variety of positions, including a U.S. Navy JAG officer placement; an associate position at Boston law firm Mintz Levin; Assistant District Attorney with the Bronx District Attorney's Office; and a judicial clerkship with Chief Justice Mark V. Green at the Massachusetts Appeals Court.

For more information on New England Law's alumni network and the employment opportunities available to graduates, visit here.

About New England Law | Boston

New England Law | Boston was founded in 1908 as Portia Law School, the first and only law school established exclusively for the education of women. Today, New England Law offers its co-ed student body flexible, convenient programs that combine rigorous academics, dynamic community, and early access to practical experience, as well as a diverse, global network spanning 29 countries, 50 states, and 55 practice areas. For more information, please visit www.nesl.edu.

SOURCE New England Law | Boston

Related Links

http://www.nesl.edu


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- RTI International, a leading research institute, today announced an investment in Clinical Ink, to help solve the problem of reducing the cost and complexity of clinical research for sites, sponsors and patients. The transaction includes RTI joining as a strategic co-investor in a majority recapitalization and growth equity investment led by the private equity team at NovaQuest Capital Management, L.L.C ("NovaQuest").

"Advancements in data collection technology will enable clinical trial sponsors to improve protocol execution and ultimately shorten the clinical trial lifecycle" said E. Wayne Holden, PhD, president and CEO of RTI International. "Clinical Ink's technology aimed at providing real-time access to high-quality study data is complementary to RTI's scientific leadership in the areas of patient reported outcomes and large-scale data collection used in a variety of research studies. Advancing new clinical trial technology is well aligned with RTI's mission to improve the human condition by turning knowledge into practice."

Since 2007, Clinical Ink has focused on being the pioneering provider of eSource and patient engagement technologies for clinical trials. Its SureSource Platform is used in data capture, ePRO, eCOA and remote monitoring. Founded in Winston-Salem, NC, Clinical Ink is committed to reducing the cost and complexity for clinical research for sites, sponsors and patients.

"We are excited to be a co-investment partner with NovaQuest and extend our healthcare and life sciences expertise to Clinical Ink," said Matt Jenkins, vice president and head of corporate development at RTI. "This deal fits well with our philosophy of investing alongside strong management teams and investment partners in high growth markets with a connection to our core research work and mission."

"RTI's global reach, scale, and depth of scientific expertise is wonderful to have as a co-investor," said Ed Seguine, CEO of Clinical Ink. "Having support from NovaQuest and RTI, who are both deeply experienced in the life sciences and clinical research sectors, is ideal for us as we commence the next stage of growth for Clinical Ink."

About RTI International

RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approachone that integrates expertise across the social and laboratory sciences, engineering, and international development. We believe in the promise of science, and we are inspired every day to deliver on that promise for the good of people, communities, and businesses around the world. For more information, visit www.rti.org.

About Clinical Ink

Founded in 2007, Clinical Ink is transforming clinical development with innovative technologies that make clinical research easier for sites, sponsors and patients. Clinical Ink's SureSource comprehensive platform directly captures eSource data and documents and improves patient engagement by focusing on the critical moments that matter when executing the protocol. Clinical Ink maintains offices in Winston-Salem, NC, and Philadelphia, PA. Find more at www.clinicalink.com.

About NovaQuest Capital Management, L.L.C.

NovaQuest Capital Management is a leading investor in life sciences and healthcare through its BioPharma and Private Equity strategies. NovaQuest was formed in 2000 with the vision of building an investment platform to provide strategic capital to life sciences and healthcare companies. Today, NovaQuest Capital Management manages over $1.8 billion through its BioPharma and Private Equity strategies. The investment team consists of highly seasoned operational and investment professionals with significant investment experience and deep life science and healthcare expertise. Furthermore, NovaQuest benefits from an extensive network of industry experts and relationships that assist in identifying, analyzing and growing NovaQuest portfolio companies and investments. For more information, please visit www.novaquest.com.

SOURCE RTI International

Related Links

http://www.rti.org


Mr. Ferrando moves to the role of President & CEO after previously serving as the company's President alongside Mr. Antle. He has held executive leadership roles with Salient CRGT's predecessor companies, including as CEO of CRGT and President and COO of Cherry Road Technologies, dating back to 2001.

"Tom is exceptionally qualified to lead Salient CRGT, having spun out and grown the business over nearly two decades," said Walter Florence, Managing Partner of Frontenac and a member of the Salient CRGT Board. "He approaches each customer relationship as an opportunity to address crucial IT modernization issues across our diverse mix of federal agency partners, and his deep and hands-on operating experience at Salient CRGT leaves him well suited to drive key strategic initiatives going forward. We are grateful for Brad's leadership and contributions to Salient CRGT, and we wish him all the best in his future endeavors."

"I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to lead Salient CRGT into its next phase of growth and development," said Tom Ferrando. "Over the last decade, we have successfully expanded our customer base and capabilities around digital services, health IT, data analytics, cyber, mobility, cloud and IT service management. I believe there is a tremendous opportunity in front of us for growing our business, particularly in the favorable current environment for federal services."

Mr. Nolan will help drive the overall strategic vision for the company and work closely in partnership with Mr. Ferrando to promote future growth. Mr. Nolan was most recently the CEO of Camber Corporation, which was acquired by Huntington Ingalls Industries in 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Nolan was Chairman, President and CEO of Stanley, Inc., which he took public in 2006 and then sold to CGI Group in 2010 for $1.2 billion. Under Phil's leadership, Stanley grew from a 20-person operation to a company of 5,000 employees and almost $1 billion in revenue.

"Phil is a highly recognized and respected leader in the federal technology services industry. He has a proven track record of delivering outstanding business performance and building great management teams," said Alok Singh, Managing Principal of Bridge Growth Partners and a member of Salient CRGT's Board. "Importantly, Phil is very familiar with Salient CRGT's businesses, services, customers, and key programs."

Walter Florence added, "We are committed to continuing to build Salient CRGT. We have known Phil for many years and are fortunate to have him leading our board and supporting Tom and the rest of the Salient CRGT team."

"Salient CRGT is an impressive organization with a long and successful track record of providing leading-edge technology services to address the needs of its well-diversified customer base," said Phil Nolan. "I am delighted to join Tom and the management team to help build upon their strong foundation as we continue to deliver critical technology capabilities in support of our customers' missions."

About Salient CRGT

Salient CRGT provides agile software development, health, data analytics, mobility, cyber security and infrastructure solutions. We support these core capabilities with full lifecycle IT services and trainingto help our customers meet critical goals for pivotal missions. We are purpose built for IT transformation supporting federal civilian, health, defense, homeland, and intelligence agencies, as well as Fortune 1000 companies. We use the most innovative talent delivery model in the industry, scientifically providing exactly the right people for the customers' most pressing requirements. Salient CRGT has earned a record of success with integration and operations of largescale, highvolume solutions. For additional information on Salient CRGT, visit www.salientcrgt.com .

Tweet: @Salient_CRGT Promotes Tom Ferrando to President & CEO; Phil Nolan Joins Board as Chairman http://bit.ly/1MGSz5l

SOURCE Salient CRGT, Inc.
OKLAHOMA CITY, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SandRidge Energy, Inc. ("SandRidge" or the "Company") (NYSE: SD) today announced that it has sent a letter to shareholders regarding the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 19, 2018. The Company also announced that it has filed definitive proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the Annual Meeting, in which SandRidge shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 20, 2018 will be entitled to vote.

The SandRidge Board of Directors strongly recommends that shareholders vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR" all five of SandRidge's highly-qualified directors: Sylvia K. Barnes, Kenneth H. Beer, Michael L. Bennett, William M. Griffin and David J. Kornder. The Board also recommends that shareholders vote "FOR" the addition of only two independent directors proposed by Icahn Capital. The Board has already carefully vetted and offered to appoint John J. "Jack" Lipinski and Randolph C. Read as directors in connection with a settlement proposal that Icahn Capital refused.

The Board also recommends shareholders vote "FOR" the ratification of the continuation of the short-term shareholder rights plan through November 26, 2018 to protect shareholders from unfair, abusive or coercive takeover strategies, including acquisition of control without payment of an adequate premium, while the Board continues its review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

Included below is the full text of the letter.

Dear Fellow SandRidge Shareholders:

As a SandRidge Energy shareholder, you face an important decision at the June 19, 2018 Annual Meeting:

We recommend you vote on the

WHITE proxy card to

ELECT BOARD NOMINEES WHO ARE:

We recommend you DO NOT vote on the

GOLD proxy card to

ELECT ICAHN CAPITAL NOMINEES WHO ARE:





Independent

Dominated by Icahn Capital Employees Demonstrably Responsive to

Shareholder Concerns OR Inherently Biased Towards a Single Outcome Experienced in Our Industry

Largely Inexperienced in Our Industry Committed to Maximizing Value for

All Shareholders

Intent On Side-Stepping the

Company's Ongoing Strategic Process

The SandRidge Board believes the decision to elect an independent Board and maximize shareholder value is the only logical choice.

YOUR BOARD RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS TO MAXIMIZE SHAREHOLDER VALUE AND RETAIN CONTROL OF YOUR INVESTMENT Vote "FOR" existing directors: Sylvia K. Barnes, Kenneth H. Beer, Michael L. Bennett, William M. Griffin and David J. Kornder .

Vote "FOR" the addition of only two new independent directors proposed by Icahn Capital  the Board has already carefully vetted and offered to have John J. "Jack" Lipinski and Randolph C. Read join as directors.

Vote "FOR" the ratification of the continuation of the short-term shareholder rights plan through November 26, 2018 to protect shareholders from unfair, abusive or coercive takeover strategies, including acquisition of control without payment of an adequate premium, while the Board continues its review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

DO NOT support nominees employed, or recently employed, by Icahn Capital  Jonathan Christodoro, Jonathan Frates and Nicholas Graziano.

DO NOT turn control of the Board over to Icahn Capital's seven nominees.

What is at Stake

The SandRidge Board is committed to a thorough and impartial strategic review process.

On March 19, 2018, the Board commenced a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. Such alternatives may include divestment or joint venture opportunities associated with our North Park Basin assets and potential corporate and asset combination options with other companies. SandRidge will also evaluate any credible acquisition offers. The Board remains committed to conducting a thorough and impartial strategic review process that seeks to maximize shareholder value and is in the best interest of all shareholders.

Icahn Capital is seeking to gain control of SandRidge without paying an appropriate premium or participating in a competitive process.

Icahn Capital has made clear its desire to acquire SandRidge. Icahn Capital has stated that it "would, after conducting due diligence, be willing to make an all-cash offer" to allow the Company's shareholders to monetize their investment. Rather than competing fairly with other potential counterparties in the thorough and even-handed process being conducted by the SandRidge Board, Icahn Capital has nominated for election a full slate of seven candidates, including two who work directly for Icahn Capital and one recent former employee (the "Icahn Nominees"), to sidestep the ongoing impartial process. If elected, the Icahn Nominees would ostensibly take over the process to evaluate strategic alternatives.

In reality, the election of the Icahn Nominees would end the impartial process, drive away competition and position Icahn Capital to consolidate control as cheaply as possible.

Shareholders would be disadvantaged by a process led by a Board the majority of which consist of the Icahn Nominees because of the distraction and delay caused by their lack of familiarity and limited experience in the upstream oil and gas sector. Worse, a process led by such a Board, in our view, would likely have a chilling effect on the participation of potential counterparties because such a process would be rigged in favor of Icahn Capital, either in perception or reality. For this reason, we believe that otherwise interested third parties will be unwilling to incur the time, cost and expense of participating in a process controlled by Icahn Capital.

Therefore, we believe a process overseen by the current Board has the highest likelihood of maximizing shareholder value relative to an Icahn Nominee-run process.

Our Nominees Are Highly Qualified and Experienced in Our Industry

SandRidge shareholders have the opportunity to elect seven directors at the upcoming Annual Meeting. The Company recommends shareholders vote "FOR" five existing directors: Sylvia K. Barnes, Kenneth H. Beer, Michael L. Bennett, William M. Griffin and David J. Kornder. As set forth below, these directors, have a strong track record in the energy, finance and private equity spaces, with professional experience ranging from 25-40 years per Board member, and all have public company experience.

Our nominees also have experience conducting strategic alternatives processes, and four of our five directors have significant experience in leading strategic sales processes.

SandRidge Directors (Principal Occupation) Independence Additional Information Sylvia K. Barnes Principal and owner of

Tanda Resources LLC Age: 61 Independent (director since 2018) Ms. Barnes has over thirty years of oil & gas finance experience and a background in engineering. Her qualifications to serve on the Board include her extensive financial analysis and transaction experience and knowledge of the oil & gas industry. Ms. Barnes' experience provides her with valuable insights into corporate strategy, capital allocation, equity and debt financing and the assessment and management of risks faced by energy companies. See page 29 of our proxy statement for more details. Kenneth H. Beer EVP and CFO, Stone

Energy Corporation Age: 60 Independent (director since 2018) Mr. Beer's nearly forty years of financial analysis, transactional and managerial experience, as well as his knowledge of the oil & gas industry, service on other public company boards and his background in overseeing public company financial management and reporting qualify him to serve on the Board. See page 30 of our proxy statement for more details. Michael L. Bennett President and CEO, Terra Industries, Inc.

(retired) Age: 64 Independent (director since 2016) Mr. M. Bennett's forty plus years of technical and managerial experience in the petrochemical industry, senior management experience, his service on other public company boards and his background in overseeing public company financial management and reporting qualify him to serve on the Board. See page 31 of our proxy statement for more details. William M. Griffin, Jr. Interim President and

CEO, of SandRidge

Energy, Inc. Age: 58 Previously independent (director since 2016) Mr. B. Griffin's thirty-seven years of technical and leadership experience with active public and privately owned upstream energy organizations, along with his demonstrated ability to effectively manage exploration and production businesses while improving profitability and generating value growth through organic asset development and acquisitions qualify him to serve on the Board. See page 31 of our proxy statement for more details. David J. Kornder Co-founder and Managing Director, Sequel Energy Group LLC Age: 57 Independent (director since 2016) Mr. Kornder's twenty-five years of experience in the energy industry, senior management experience in the upstream oil and gas sector through various commodity cycles, his prior service on other public and private company boards, his background in energy-focused investing and capital raising activities and his background in overseeing public company financial management and reporting qualify him to serve on the Board. See page 32 of our proxy statement for more details.

We Believe Two Additional Independent Directors Would Be Additive to Our Board

The Board believes that the addition of two new directors who are independent of both management and Icahn Capital can benefit the Company. The Board determined that increasing the size of the Board to seven would allow for additional independent directors to assist in the Board's impartial review of strategic alternatives and add a fresh perspective. The Board also decided to use a universal proxy card at this year's annual meeting to enable shareholders to cast votes for any director nominee on a single card, regardless of who nominated them.

However, the Board believes that the majority of the directors must be well versed in the Company, its operations, assets and industry to credibly evaluate the variety of options that could emerge and effectively complete the strategic alternatives process. As such, shareholders are encouraged to support only two of Icahn Capital's independent nominees. Shareholders should also note that the Board carefully evaluated and offered to appoint Jack Lipinski and Randolph Read to the Board in connection with a settlement offer that Icahn Capital refused. We have not had the opportunity to fully evaluate Ms. Dunlap or Mr. Christodoro given the timing of their nominations, but based on a review of the Icahn Capital nomination materials, it appears that neither has relevant exploration and production industry experience and only Ms. Dunlap could be considered independent.

Icahn Capital Nominees (Principal Occupation) Independence Additional Information John J. "Jack" Lipinski

CEO and President and a Director of CVR Energy Age: 67 Independent Mr. Lipinski has more than forty years of experience in the petroleum refining and nitrogen fertilizer industries, including extensive experience in the role of public company president and CEO, and has served on public and private company boards. See page D-3 of our proxy statement for more details.

SandRidge offered to appoint Mr. Lipinski in a settlement proposal rejected by Icahn Capital. Randolph C. Read

President and CEO of Nevada Strategic Credit Investments Age: 65

Independent Mr. Read has extensive leadership experience in a variety of industries and has served on public and private company boards. See page D-3 of our proxy statement for more details.

SandRidge offered to appoint Mr. Read in a settlement proposal rejected by Icahn Capital. Bob G. Alexander

Director of CVR Energy Age: 84 Independent Mr. Alexander has more than forty years of experience in the exploration and production and oil and gas property management industries, including extensive CEO and M&A experience, as well as service on public company boards and numerous industry committees. See page D-1 of our proxy statement for more details. Nancy Dunlap

Private Counsel and head of the family office of former New Jersey Governor and Senator Jon S. Corzine Age: 65 Independence Under Review Ms. Dunlap has experience overseeing the personal investment and legal affairs of the family of former New Jersey Governor and United States Senator Jon S. Corzine, before which she served as an attorney focused on commercial real estate transactions. See page D-2 of the proxy statement for more details.

Turning Board Control Over to Icahn Capital is Not in Shareholders' Best Interest

Icahn Capital has nominated for election to the Board two of its current employees and one recent former employee. These candidates lack independence and would present inherent conflicts given Icahn Capital's desire to acquire SandRidge. Combined with their lack of familiarity and experience with the upstream oil and gas sector, a process led by the Icahn Nominees would likely have a chilling effect on participation by potential counterparties to strategic alternatives.

Additional Icahn Capital Nominees (Principal Occupation) Independence Additional Information Jonathan Christodoro

Private Investor; Former Managing Director of Icahn Capital LP Age: 42 Not Independent Based on a review of Icahn Capital's nomination materials, Mr. Christodoro joined the board of an exploration and production company only as a representative of Icahn Capital in the context of a settlement. See page D-1 of our proxy statement for more details. Jonathan Frates

Associate at Icahn Enterprises L.P. Age: 35 Not Independent Based on a review of Icahn Capital's nomination materials, Mr. Frates has very limited experience in the exploration and production industry. See page D-2 of our proxy statement for more details. Nicholas Graziano

Portfolio Manager of Icahn Capital Age: 46 Not Independent Based on a review of Icahn Capital's nomination materials, Mr. Graziano has very limited experience in the exploration and production industry. See page D-2 of our proxy statement for more details.

The SandRidge Board Is Committed to Full Accountability

The Board is fully accountable and responsive to shareholders. In light of the feedback received from extensive discussions with our largest shareholders in December 2017 and January 2018, the Board took clear and decisive action:

Committed the Company to a new strategic direction;

Implemented a management transition plan to replace the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer; and

Dramatically reduced the Company's general and administrative expenses.

Further, as detailed in the enclosed proxy statement, the Board is committed to shareholder-centric governance and, in 2017, fully revamped the Company's executive compensation program to reflect input from its shareholders.

Short-Term Rights Plan Is Critical to Protecting Shareholder Interests

Last fall, the Board implemented a short-term shareholder rights plan to encourage the fair and equal treatment of all shareholders by resisting abusive or coercive take-over initiatives absent an appropriate premium. The short-term rights plan will expire unless ratified by shareholders at the Annual Meeting. In light of the Board's commitment to leading a thorough and impartial strategic review process, and taking into consideration the ongoing efforts of Icahn Capital to potentially bias or preempt that process, the Board believes it is in the best interest of shareholders to extend the short-term rights plan. In the absence of the short-term rights plan, Icahn Capital will be able, alone or in concert with others, to acquire creeping control of the Company, or at least a sufficient number of shares to discourage potential counterparties from participating in the strategic alternatives process.

If shareholders choose to extend the short-term rights plan, it will continue in effect until November 26, 2018, at which time it will expire by its terms. The Company believes that this allows for sufficient time to complete the strategic alternatives evaluation prior to the expiration of the short-term rights plan.

Your Vote is Important  Please Sign and Send the White Proxy Card Today

We strongly urge you vote for the entire slate of five highly-qualified and experienced current SandRidge director nominees and two additional fully-independent nominees, as well as vote for the ratification of the short-term rights plan.

Your vote is very important  no matter how many shares you own. Support your Board by voting the WHITE proxy card TODAY. Please follow the instructions on the enclosed WHITE proxy card to vote by telephone or Internet or sign, date and return the enclosed WHITE proxy card in the postage-paid envelope provided.

As we look forward, we are enthusiastic about the opportunities to maximize shareholder value for all Company shareholders while we continue to execute on our business objectives. We are committed to acting in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. Thank you for your investment.

Sincerely,

Sylvia K. Barnes, Independent Director

Kenneth H. Beer, Independent Director

Michael L. Bennett, Chairman of the Board

William M. Griffin, Jr., Director and Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

David J. Kornder, Independent Director

If you have any questions or require assistance with voting your WHITE proxy card, please call MacKenzie Partners at the phone numbers listed below: MACKENZIE PARTNERS, INC. 1407 Broadway New York, New York 10018 (212) 929-5500 (Call Collect) or Call Toll-Free (800) 322-2885 Email: [email protected]

About SandRidge Energy, Inc.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with its principal focus on developing high-return, growth oriented projects in Oklahoma and Colorado. The majority of the Company's production is generated from the Mississippi Lime formation in Oklahoma and Kansas. Development activity is currently focused on the Meramec formation in the NW STACK Play in Oklahoma and multiple oil rich Niobrara benches in the North Park Basin in Colorado.

Important Additional Information

SandRidge, its directors and certain of its executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the Company's shareholders in connection with the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders (the "2018 Annual Meeting"). The Company has filed a definitive proxy statement and WHITE proxy card with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the solicitation of proxies from the Company's shareholders. SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED TO READ THE COMPANY'S DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT, ACCOMPANYING WHITE PROXY CARD AND ALL OTHER DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AS THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Information regarding the ownership of the Company's directors and executive officers in Company common stock and restricted stock is included in the Company's SEC filings on Forms 3, 4 and 5, which can be found through the Company's website www.sandridgeenergy.com in the section "Investor Relations" or through the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Information can also be found in the Company's other SEC filings, including the definitive proxy statement, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the 2018 Annual Meeting. Shareholders will be able to obtain any proxy statement, any amendments or supplements to the proxy statement and other documents filed by the Company with the SEC at no charge at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies will also be available at no charge at the Company's website at www.sandridgeenergy.com in the section "Investor Relations."

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains forward-looking statements concerning our expectations for future performance, including statements regarding the exploration of strategic alternatives, the pursuit of options that maximize shareholder value and the consideration of candidates for nomination to SandRidge's Board of Directors. These "forward-looking statements" are based on currently available information, operating plans and projections about future events and trends. They inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted in such forward looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: uncertain outcome, impact, effects and results of SandRidge's exploration of strategic alternatives; and any changes in general economic or industry specific conditions. SandRidge cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Additional information concerning these and other risk factors is contained in SandRidge's public filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and SandRidge undertakes no obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof.

Investor Contact:

Johna Robinson

Investor Relations

SandRidge Energy, Inc.

123 Robert S. Kerr Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73102

+1 (405) 429-5515

MacKenzie Partners, Inc.

Dan Burch, +1 (212) 929-5748, [email protected]

Paul Schulman, +1 (212) 929-5364, [email protected]

Media Contact:

SVC

Bryan Locke, +1 (312) 895-4700, [email protected]

Kelly Kimberly, +1 (832) 680-5120, [email protected]

SOURCE SandRidge Energy, Inc.

Related Links

https://sandridgeenergy.com


HERNDON, Va., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP National Security Services, Inc. (SAP NS2), a provider of software and support services for U.S. national security and critical infrastructure customers, today announced the acquisition of Technology Management Associates (TMA). The acquisition, which closed on April 30, 2018, reinforces SAP NS2's commitment to delivering innovative solutions to the federal government and expands their position across the intelligence community. TMA will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of SAP NS2, and brings additional depth and customer intimacy to the organizations mission service offerings.

Based in Chantilly, Virginia, TMA delivers collaborative Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) technologies and employee engineering services supporting critical national security programs. "Combining the strength of SAP NS2 with the engineering excellence of TMA significantly accelerates our ability to deliver impactful solutions to our customers. It also provides direct access to world-class data analytic capabilities completing our collective ability to offer full intelligence lifecycle solutions," said Matt Jones, president of TMA.

"The ability to rapidly fuse massive amounts of intelligence data is critical in today's complex threat landscape," said Mark Testoni, president & chief executive officer of SAP NS2. "With TMA's leading capabilities in this area, combined with the power of our data management and analytical platforms, we can offer customers a real edge in the national security mission."

The acquisition was supported by KippsDeSanto and Holland and Knight representing TMA and Cooley LLP representing SAP NS2.

About SAP NS2

At SAP NS2, we are driven to defend. We provide innovative computing, analytics, and cloud solutions that accelerate the pace of data fusion, analysis and action. Our solutions help leaders better manage the business of the mission from the back office to the battlefield, delivering a critical offset over the adversary. As an independent subsidiary of SAP, we're backed by game changing technology, staffed by 100% U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, dedicated to meeting the unique mission requirements of U.S. national security organizations. Learn more at www.SAPNS2.com.

About Technology Management Associates (TMA)

TMA (Technology Management Associates) has been a leading provider of operationally driven SIGINT and engineering expertise to the Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense since 1993. TMA specializes in combining sensor data to provide accurate situational awareness for more rapid decision cycles. We provide automated, non-proprietary solutions to give front-line SIGINT operators true, multi-sensor capabilities. For national-level and tactical intelligence operations, our software-based, Digital Signal Processing solutions place innovative and mission-critical tools where they are needed most: at the operator's fingertips.

TMA's core competencies include national-tactical integration, mission-building and analysis, Algorithm Development, and systems integration. Learn more at www.tmamission.com.

SOURCE SAP National Security Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.SAPNS2.com


FORT MILL, S.C., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In recognition of its industry-leading apprenticeship programs in the Americas, Schaeffler received the highly regarded "Excellence in Practice Award" in the Career Development category from the Association for Talent Development (ATD). Formerly known as the American Society for Training and Development and active in over 125 countries, ATD is the world's largest professional organization dedicated to workplace learning. Schaeffler accepted the award, which recognizes exemplary practices in workplace learning and talent development, at the ATD International Conference and Exposition in San Diego, California, on May 8, 2018.

A long history of apprenticeship programs in the Americas

As a family company, the Schaeffler Group is committed to the continued education of its employees, because the key to Schaeffler's manufacturing success  not just in the Americas, but throughout the world  is a well-trained workforce. To that end, Schaeffler facilities in North and South America have offered apprenticeship programs for more than five decades.

"Every Schaeffler apprenticeship program is based on the German 'dual system' of learning, which combines on-the-job training with classroom instruction  typically at a nearby vocational school," explained Jim Jones, manager - technical training and apprenticeship programs for the Americas region. This enables the successful apprenticeship graduate to seamlessly step into his or her role as a full-time Schaeffler employee, thanks to the excellent foundation gained as a result of the comprehensive theoretical and practical preparation.

Prepared for the manufacturing challenges of the future

"This is a significant accomplishment for the company and for everyone involved in our apprenticeship programs," said Greg Tinnell, senior vice president, human resources Americas. "Manufacturing technology is becoming increasingly complex, and having our vocational training programs receive this kind of recognition shows that we are not just trying to stay on top of this technology wave, we are trying to get ahead of it. The effort that has gone into our apprenticeship programs in the past has laid a solid foundation for where we want to carry them into the future."

To learn more about job opportunities and apprenticeship programs with Schaeffler, visit the company's careers page online.

About Schaeffler

The Schaeffler Group is a global automotive and industrial supplier. Top quality, outstanding technology, and exceptionally innovative spirit form the basis for the continued success of the company. By delivering high-precision components and systems in engine, transmission and chassis applications, as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications, the Schaeffler Group is already shaping "Mobility for tomorrow" to a significant degree. The technology company generated sales of approximately EUR 14 billion in 2017. With more than 90,000 employees, Schaeffler is one of the world's largest family companies and, with approximately 170 locations in over 50 countries, has a worldwide network of manufacturing locations, research and development facilities, and sales companies.

Schaeffler | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

SOURCE Schaeffler

Related Links

http://www.schaeffler.com


BOSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Seniorlink, Inc., a leading tech-enabled health services company that transforms care management at home, is pleased to announce that two of its senior executives will be speaking in Washington, D.C. at the second annual Medicare Advantage Summit.

President and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Riley will discuss the role engaged family caregivers play in improved patient outcomes at the "Family Caregivers and Patient Engagement" panel. Joining Mr. Riley will be R. Shawn Martin, Senior Vice President of Advocacy, Practice Advancement and Policy for AAFP, and C. Grace Whiting, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Alliance for Caregiving. The panel will take place on May 17th at 1:15 pm.

Executive Vice President of Policy and Programs Lois Simon will participate in a panel entitled, "The Future of Programs for Dual Eligibles." She will be joined by Christine Aguiar Lynch, Vice President of Medicare and Managed Long-Term Services and Supports for the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP), Jack Rollins, Senior Policy Analyst for the National Association of Medicaid Directors (NAMD), and Ghita Worcester, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs and Marketing for UCare Minnesota. The panel, which will take place at 3:45 pm on May 17th, will discuss possibilities for patients eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

Medicare Advantage is a public-private partnership that has provided an effective framework for 20 million beneficiaries to access affordable, quality care with enhanced benefits. Currently more than one in three Medicare beneficiaries choose to use the Medicare Advantage program, which emphasizes early intervention and better care management in order to help avoid adverse, high-cost events such as unnecessary emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

More information about Seniorlink can be found at www.seniorlink.com.

Details on the Medicare Advantage Summit can be found at medicareadvantagesummit.com.

About Seniorlink

Seniorlink is a tech-enabled health services company that transforms care management at home through care collaboration solutions. The company serves patients and caregivers by partnering with risk-bearing provider and payer organizations to augment existing care management capabilities through solutions that leverage human touch and technology. Seniorlink's team of compassionate, experienced professionals uses a proprietary platform, Vela, to encourage real-time collaboration among the extended care team that results in better outcomes at a lower cost. Backed by nearly two decades of care expertise, Seniorlink leads the way on delivering high quality care. Seniorlink's Caregiver Homes Network is the first Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) provider in the U.S. to receive National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Case Management Accreditation with Long Term Services and Support Distinction. More information about Seniorlink can be found at www.seniorlink.com.

SOURCE Seniorlink, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.seniorlink.com


Kuwait is postponing the implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) to 2021 as authorities prefer for the time being to speed up the selective tax procedures on selected commodities such as tobacco, energy drinks and soft drinks.

Unlike its neighbors, Kuwait has decided not to apply the regional 5 per cent taxes on services and goods agreed upon. Implementation was set for latest 2019.

The delay was announced in a statement posted on the official website of the National Assembly, following a meeting of the budget and final accounts committee.

The committee noted that the value added tax will be delayed in Kuwait until 2021, and that the Ministry of Finance considered the need to speed up the selective tax procedures on selected commodities such as tobacco, energy drinks and soft drinks, the statement read.

Revenues to be generated by 100 per cent tax on tobacco, energy drinks and 50 per cent on soft drinks are expected to reach $663.1 million.

VAT implementation plans in the Gulf country have raised eyebrows as lawmakers fear the tax may affect businesses and the lives of citizens.

Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) have moved ahead with the plans and introduced the tax early this year. The implementation is expected to take effect in Bahrain and Oman next year.
Hard work, motivation and thinking outside-the-box created a foundation for RealTruck.com's success at its inception. Bintz credits adherence to core principles and a focus on company culture, however, for taking his company to the next level. "I wanted to be the same person at work as I am in my daily life," said Bintz. "So it was important that I followed the guiding principles of my own life and character when running my company. That was a good start, but it wasn't until I learned about what Zappos was doing with company culture and made the decision to implement guiding principles on a larger scale -- for more than just myself -- that RealTruck.com evolved."

In his page-turning debut, Principles to Fortune, Bintz shares hard-core experience and practical actions any business can take to create a winning workplace culture. It has received praise from business leaders such as Chip Conley and Tony Hsieh; this book offers an alternative to sell-your-soul corporate culture. Learn how to win awards and generate revenue, all while being yourself and having fun. Principles to Fortune is available for sale on Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com and PrinciplesToFortune.com. It is currently the number one seller in its category on Amazon new releases.

About the Author

Scott Bintz is on a mission to make people's lives better. The founder of RealTruck.com, RedHeadedRebel.com, RHRBrew.com, RHRSwag.com and other businesses, he is considered a serial e-commerce and business entrepreneur. Bintz is an expert in ecommerce, business strategy, digital marketing and company work-culture building. Aside from overseeing his enterprises, Bintz advises brands on e-commerce strategy, serves on a variety of boards and does limited speaking engagements. He has also served as an adjunct professor for digital marketing at the University of Jamestown. Learn more at ScottBintz.com/about,

If you would like more information, please contact Meghan Riley, Media Relations at Red Headed Rebel.

Meghan (@) RHRebel.com 701-952-3535

Downloads:

Image: Scott Bintz

Image: Book

SOURCE Scott Bintz

Related Links

http://scottbintz.com


CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ServerCentral introduced its Recover Anywhere managed service powered by Veeam Backup & Replication (part of Veeam Availability Suite). Recover Anywhere is a fully managed service that enables customers to use any infrastructure or cloud platform as the restore point for their applications, data and servers. That means customers can restore data on-demand to their on-premise infrastructure, a ServerCentral Enterprise or Private Cloud, a Managed Amazon Web Services (AWS) solution, or another other cloud provider.

"People often neglect recovery. But backing up is just one part of the equation, it doesn't do you much good if you can't recover," said Tom Kiblin, VP of Managed Services at ServerCentral. "We want organizations to be as confident in the recovery as they are in their backup. RTO/RPO shouldn't be unknowns or even variables. They should be certainties."

Everything accessible to everyone, 24x7x365, is now the minimum business requirement and Recover Anywhere is designed to keep customers always-on, regardless of their application architecture or cloud platforms. With Recover Anywhere, ServerCentral's Managed Services team works with customers to guarantee their recovery time and point objectives (RTO and RPO) are defined and met on an application by application basis, and that their destinations for recovery and restore can meet the changing nature of their business.

"Hybrid cloud environments are the norm today, but the increased criticality and sprawl of data introduces new challenges to maintaining an always-on digital experience," said Matt Kalmenson, Vice President of Sales and Service Provider Sales, Americas, at Veeam. "ServerCentral's approach to availability goes beyond backup, leveraging intelligent approaches to data management and the managed service expertise needed to make Hyper-Availability a reality. We are pleased to have ServerCentral as a partner in our effort to solve the key challenges of our joint customers."

The Recover Anywhere service includes:

Complete configuration & administration by ServerCentral's Managed Services experts

Backup, retention and restore processes and schedule designed around customer requirements

Support for applications, data and complete server environments

Quarterly review of backup and retention schedule and processes

Annual testing of application, data and server restore processes

Recover Anywhere is part of ServerCentral's Managed Backup & Recovery Service portfolio, all of which are configured, administered, monitored, and supported by the ServerCentral Managed Services team. ServerCentral works with customers to understand their data protection needs and configure the service parameters to support their unique business, financial, and technological requirements. Customers can adjust the frequency of backups, retention policy, encryption methods, data locations and restore processes to fit these requirements.

More information on ServerCentral's Recover Anywhere offering can be found here.

About ServerCentral

ServerCentral provides managed IT infrastructure solutions for leading technology, finance, healthcare, and e-commerce companies including Basecamp, ABN AMRO, Vizient and Shopify. Since 2000 we've architected, deployed, managed and scaled mission critical solutions across our global data center footprint - including North America, Europe, and Asia. Whether it's cloud, managed services, infrastructure as a service (IaaS), or colocation, ServerCentral designs the optimal solution for each client. Learn more by visiting us at http://www.servercentral.com or contact us at +1 (312) 829-1111, [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @ServerCentral.

Press Contact

Carli Coleman

Director of Marketing, ServerCentral

[email protected]

312-268-9205

SOURCE ServerCentral

Related Links

https://www.servercentral.com


(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/691220/Sharps_Pixley_BTC.jpg )

On 26th September 2017 Sharps Pixley and Bitpay announced they had teamed up on trades converting Bitcoin-To-Gold - this new arrangement now permits trades the other way from Gold-To-Bitcoin, making the trade reversible and allowing clients to trade either way between these two important assets.

Since Sharps Pixley initially offered clients the opportunity to trade between gold and bitcoin, it has seen strong demand and recorded its best ever monthly sales totalling 10M sales in March 2018 since the opening of its London bullion showroom in early 2016.

Ross Norman, Sharps Pixley CEO said "by allowing clients to firstly convert bitcoin into gold and now gold into bitcoin is a recognition that there is overlap between these two assets in terms of the motivation for owning them ; it follows that people should be able to trade between them in either direction."

"Sharps Pixley is one of the largest and most reputable gold dealers in the world and we are excited for them to be the first merchant to offer payouts in bitcoin for gold" said Sonny Singh, Chief Commercial Officer of BitPay. "We know this solves a real pain point in this industry as customers can now profit in both bearish and bull markets."

Giles Maber, Director at Sharps Pixley said "even before we began accepting bitcoin as payment for gold, we had serious interest from clients looking to execute this trade, gold to bitcoin. This new service provides crypto investors with a safe haven in bearish markets and fast liquidity back into bitcoin when they turn bullish."

Sharps Pixley, London's leading bullion broker were among the first merchants to accept bitcoin as payment method for physical gold and other precious metals. Sharps Pixley only offer this service via voice broking for larger transactions above 25,000 in value with total transaction fees from 1.75%

As full members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), Sharps Pixley offer investors an extensive choice of bullion bars and coins produced by world leading and LBMA accredited good delivery refineries. A full service "one-stop shop," investors can buy, store and trade precious metals using bitcoin. Sharps Pixley has a showroom dedicated to precious metals in St James's, London where clients can walk in off the street to make their purchases or sales. "Our aim is to make investing in gold as visible, simple and competitive as possible" added CEO Ross Norman

The Sharps Pixley name dates back to 1778. The business is built on old fashioned trust and discretion ; however, by offering its customers the ability to pay with Bitcoin it provides a very modern perspective.

For more information, please contact Sharps Pixley on 020 7871 0532 or [email protected]

Visit our online shop at https://shop.sharpspixley.com

About Sharps Pixley

Sharps Pixley is a leading London-based provider of physical precious metals who put gold on the High Street for UK investors. Our new showroom in St James's has secure vault storage and safe deposit boxes onsite, along with gold assay testing equipment to authenticate your purchase.

In addition to the new showroom, Sharps Pixley also offers an online web shop where customers can purchase bullion and which provides an information platform where customers can browse precious metals news, research and analysis.

Sharps Pixley is wholly owned by Degussa Goldhandel of Germany, said to be the largest seller of retail gold bars and coins in Europe with 14 bullion stores including Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore, Zurich, Geneva and Madrid, which is owned by one of the wealthiest family offices in Germany.

For more information, please contact Giles Maber on 0207 871 0532 or [email protected]

Sharps Pixley Ltd

54 St James's Street

London SW1A 1JT

About BitPay

Founded in 2011, BitPay is the pioneer and the most experienced company in bitcoin and blockchain payments. Its suite of products enables businesses to send and receive cross border payments, and enables consumers to manage digital assets with the BitPay Wallet. The company has offices in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised over $70 million from leading investors including Founders Fund, Index Ventures and Aquiline Technology Growth. For more information visit https://bitpay.com

For more information, please contact Jan Jahosky at [email protected], +44-(0)207-871-0532

BitPay Inc.

8000 Avalon Blvd, Suite 300,

Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

United States

SOURCE Sharps Pixley
TEMECULA, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Current Director of Defense Pricing, Shay Assad, will receive the GCP Summit Service Recognition Award for Contract Pricing Excellence at the Government Contract Pricing Summit this June.

"I really can't think of anyone that is more deserving to receive our inaugural award," said Joe Shurance, CEO of Executive Business Services Inc., hosts of the event. "He (Assad) continues to work towards improving pricing and procurement processes. That is exactly why we started the GCP Summit, to help change and improve the pricing landscape between government and industry."

The award, to be presented annually, will be given to a nationally renowned and distinguished pricing and acquisition professional who has made significant and continuing contributions to the pricing landscape. This year, the award recognizes Mr. Assad for both his exceptional achievement in the profession and reputation for pushing pricing reform within the Department of Defense (DoD).

Mr. Assad is responsible for contact pricing matters within the DoD. Throughout his extensive career in contract pricing, Mr. Assad has received multiple awards, and has been credited for assisting the USD AT&L in the implementation of the Department's Better Buying Power initiatives. His leadership at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) was instrumental in the establishment of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund which will serves as a foundation of providing the necessary training to the workforce on an ongoing basis.

The GCP Summit welcomes Shay Assad back for its third year as their government keynote speaker. The award will be presented after the keynote address on Wednesday, June 20th, 2018 in Bethesda, MD.

About the Government Contract Pricing Summit:

The Government Contract Pricing Summit is a one-of-a-kind pricing event for pricing, procurement, and acquisition professionals. Individuals from federal government and industry come together for networking and training, applicable for all career levels. The Summit is dedicated to the growth of pricing and acquisition strategies to better serve both sides of the federal acquisition equation worldwide. The GCP Summit strives to serve and inform the profession it represents and to offer opportunities for the open exchange of ideas in neutral forums. For more information on the event, please visit https://www.gcpsummit.com/.

Contact name:

Holly DeHesa

Contact phone:

951.693.0440

Contact E-mail:

[email protected]

SOURCE Government Contract Pricing Summit

Related Links

https://www.gcpsummit.com


The Old Metairie location is open seven days a week from 5am to 7pm and, other than delicious donuts and savory kolaches, offers beignets, a local staple.

Shipley Do-Nuts Old Metairie is 100-percent locally owned and operated by news anchor Scott Walker, businessman Jimmy Licciardi and restaurateur Desi Vega. The general manager is 40-year New Orleans restaurant veteran Lisa Labit.

Since 1936, the Shipley family donut recipe has withstood the test of time. With more than 60 varieties of delicious donuts, pastries, and kolaches made fresh daily and served hot, it's this same simple concept that has continued to bring back multiple generations of loyal customers. Shipley Do-Nuts originated in Houston, Texas where it still maintains its offices and production facility. Today, Shipley Do-Nuts is under the leadership of Lawrence Shipley III, with 300 franchise locations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Mississippi, and Tennessee. The company, with 6 stores open in Louisiana, will continue to expand in the state and has plans to enter Lafayette and Baton Rouge in the next 12 months.

For more information, please visit www.shipleydonuts.com or follow the company at www.facebook.com/ShipleyDonuts or www.twitter.com/ShipleyDo_Nuts.

For specific information about the Shipley Do-Nuts Old Metairie location, please visit facebook.com/shipleyoldmetairie, instagram.com/shipleyoldmetairie or twitter.com/shipleydonutsOM.

Contact Information:

Stacey Michel

713.869.4636

[email protected]

SOURCE Shipley Do-Nuts

Related Links

http://www.shipleydonuts.com


DETROIT, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ash & Erie, the premier menswear brand for men 5'8" and under, today announced that it has surpassed $1MM in overall sales. The Detroit-based retailer has seen significant progress since opening in 2015 with 300 percent growth, year over year, selling more than 11,000 shirts and 1,100 jeans.

"Since launch, we have made it our mission to help men look and feel their best," said Steven Mazur, CEO of Ash & Erie. "For too long shorter guys have had to battle shirts that are too long and pants that don't fit. The success of our business allows us to better serve this important demographic with the continued launch of new and properly fitting clothing lines."

Every item from Ash & Erie is custom designed for guys 5'8" and below, with a properly scaled sleeves, refined collars, and shorter body lengths. The Ash & Erie jeans feature shorter inseams, tapered legs and reduced leg openings.

"Ash & Erie has spent the last two years focusing on the necessities, including jeans and long-sleeve dress shirts," said co-founder Eric Huang. "As we continue to grow, we plan to tap into additional clothing lines, starting with sweaters and chinos this fall."

Ash & Erie has recently launched short sleeve button down shirts and is slated to roll out sweaters and chinos later this year. Beginning fall of 2018, these products will join the popular 'everyday' offerings of dress shirts, flannels and denim already available on its website.

The business launched in 2015 and has since positioned itself as the chicest retailer in the 'shorter guy' market. Ash & Erie customers come from around the globe, anxious for that perfect fit. Products are competitively priced, with shirts starting at $79 and jeans at $159.

Ash & Erie secured funding from billionaire businessman Mark Cuban after an appearance on Shark Tank in 2017. The company also received investment from Quicken Loans after participating in a pitch competition during Quicken Loans Detroit Demo Day in 2017.

For more information, visit: https://ashanderie.com/

About Ash & Erie

Founded in 2015 by Steven Mazur and Eric Huang, Ash & Erie is the premier menswear brand for men 5'8" and below, offering premium casual shirts, dress shirts, jeans, and other clothes for shorter men. Made from premium materials, Ash & Erie products are manufactured with particular attention to color, length, sleeve and inseam design to accommodate the body shapes of shorter men. Located in the heart of Detroit, Ash & Erie is part of the Quicken Family of Companies and is one of the fastest growing fashion companies in Michigan. Learn more about Ash & Erie at www.ashanderie.com.

SOURCE Ash & Erie
LA JOLLA, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Silvergate Bank today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, with net income of $3.9 million. The Bank's total assets were $1.90 billion at quarter end, compared to $1.89 billion at December 31, 2017, and equity capital increased to $154.7 million, compared to $92.3 million at yearend 2017. $60 million of this increase was a capital contribution from our parent holding company, Silvergate Capital Corporation, following its completion of a private placement during the quarter generating gross proceeds of $114 million. Our significantly increased capital will support further growth in the Bank's nationwide fintech deposit initiative and its business banking and residential lending activities.

"We are very pleased with the outcome of our parent firm's private placement and our strong earnings for the first quarter of 2018," said Alan Lane, the Bank's chief executive officer. "Our higher capital base will sustain continued investments in technology and people to expand and improve the products and services offered to our business customers."

Financial Performance

The Bank's net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $3.9 million, compared to $2.3 million for the prior quarter, and $1.6 million for the first quarter last year.

The Bank's net interest income for the first quarter of 2018 was $15.6 million, compared to $13.9 million for the prior quarter, and $10.3 million for the first quarter last year. These increases over prior periods were due to an increase in interest earning assets combined with a decline in interest bearing liabilities. The Bank's net interest margin for the first quarter was 3.19%, compared to 3.57% for the prior quarter, and 3.94% for the first quarter last year. The decrease from prior quarters is primarily the result of significant growth in lower yielding interest assets relative to the increase in interest income on those assets.

The Bank's provision for loan losses totaled $143 thousand for the first quarter, compared to $30 thousand for the prior quarter, and $23 thousand for the first quarter last year. The Bank added to its allowance for loan losses during the quarter in response to the continued expansion of its commercial lending activities. The Bank experienced net recoveries of $9 thousand in the first quarter of 2018, compared to net recoveries of $56 thousand in the previous quarter, and net charge-offs of $136 thousand in the first quarter of 2017.

Noninterest income totaled $1.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $1.5 million for the prior quarter, and $529 thousand for the first quarter of 2018. The variance over the prior year's first quarter primarily reflects increased fee income related to growth in cash management services for the Company's fintech deposit division.

Noninterest expense was $10.9 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to $8.9 million for the prior quarter, and $6.8 million for the same period last year. These increases over prior periods primarily reflect higher compensation expense resulting from strong production activity and increases in total employees as the Bank continued to expand its fintech and business banking activities.

"The first quarter's net income was supported by continued strong loan production at good yields," noted Derek Eisele, the Bank's president.

Balance Sheet Activity

The Bank's total assets were $1.90 billion at March 31, 2018, compared to $1.89 billion at December 31, 2017, and $949.0 million at March 31, 2017. The Bank's total loans were $859.4 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $879.7 million at December 31, 2017, and $809.9 million at March 31, 2017.

The Bank's Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division experienced lower production volumes during the first quarter, with $824.9 million in loans funded for the first quarter, compared to $982.8 million in the prior quarter and $857.3 million in the first quarter of 2017. Total commercial real estate loan balances totaled $367.2 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $375.5 million and $366.5 million at December 31, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively. Residential loan balances totaled $432.1 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $459.8 million and $401.0 million at December 31, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively. Commercial and industrial loan balances totaled $66.7 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $50.7 million and $49.1 million December 31, 2017, and March 31, 2017, respectively.

At March 31, 2018, deposits totaled $1.7 billion, compared to $1.8 billion at the prior quarter-end, and $769.0 million at March 31, 2017. Deposit balances decreased by 2.2% compared to the prior quarter end, and increased 125.9% compared to March 31, 2017. At March 31, 2018, noninterest bearing deposits totaled $1.4 billion (representing approximately 83% of total deposits), consistent with the prior quarter, and representing a $1.2 billion increase compared to March 31, 2017. The substantial growth in noninterest bearing deposits reflects the Bank's special focus on deposits and cash management services for emerging financial technology companies. At March 31, 2018, deposit balances related to financial technology companies totaled $1.3 billion, an increase of $1.2 billion compared to deposit balances of $98.5 million at March 31, 2017. The Bank has experienced substantial growth in the number of new fintech deposit relationships during the first quarter of 2018, and continues to invest in technology and personnel to support this growth.

At March 31, 2018, Silvergate Bank's Tier 1 Leverage Capital Ratio was 8.13% and Total Risk-Based Capital Ratio was 22.49%, both substantially exceeding "well capitalized" minimums of 5.00% and 10.00%. At March 31, 2018, the ratios of nonperforming loans to total loans and nonperforming assets to total assets remained low, at 0.69% and 0.42%, respectively.

About Silvergate Bank

Silvergate Bank is a San Diego-based bank that specializes in meeting the needs of businesses and residential loan producers through a comprehensive offering of lending products and personalized banking services. Silvergate Bank opened in 1988 and is a subsidiary of Silvergate Capital Corporation. The Bank has business banking centers in La Jolla, La Mesa, and San Marcos in San Diego County, and a loan production office located in Seal Beach in Orange County. Silvergate Bank's headquarters office is located at 4250 Executive Square, Suite 300, La Jolla, CA 92037. The Bank's website is www.silvergatebank.com .

Statements concerning future performance, developments or events, expectations for growth and income forecasts, and any other guidance on future periods, constitute forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from stated expectations. When used in this release, the words or phrases such as "will continue," "is anticipated," "estimate," "expect," "projected," "believe," "seeking," or similar expressions, are intended to identify "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which reflect views only as of the date hereof. Neither Silvergate Capital Corporation nor Silvergate Bank undertakes any obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

CONTACT: Alan Lane

858-362-6300

SOURCE Silvergate Bank

Related Links

http://www.silvergatebank.com


FAIR LAWN, N.J., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SK Life Science, Inc., a subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd., focused on developing and commercializing treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS), is proud to announce a grant in support of the world-renowned J. Kiffin Penry Epilepsy Education Programs. The programs have provided comprehensive training to more than 6,000 neurologists and epileptologists worldwide since 1986.

"As a supporter of our programs, SK life science is ensuring the brightest new minds in neurology have access to immersive post-graduate education with key opinion leaders, educators and faculty in the epilepsy space," said Martin Penry, executive director of J. Kiffin Penry Epilepsy Education Programs. "These programs provide physicians with the latest knowledge and tools to best care for and improve the quality of life for their epilepsy patients."

SK life science's grant as principal sponsor will support multiple neurology resident epilepsy programs and an epilepsy minifellowship for fellows in 2018, with participants engaging in lectures, group discussions and case-study workshops with leading epilepsy clinicians and researchers.

"We are thrilled to be part of the J. Kiffin Penry Epilepsy Education Programs' 30-year tradition of advancing physicians' knowledge of epilepsy, which affects more than three million people in the U.S.," said Marc Kamin, M.D., chief medical officer at SK life science. "SK life science is proud to offer support to young neurologists, underscoring our unwavering commitment to address the broad, unmet needs of the CNS patient population, specifically those suffering from epilepsy."

About SK life science

SK Life Science, Inc., is a subsidiary of SK Biopharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd., focused on developing and commercializing treatments for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Both are a part of the global conglomerate SK Group, the second largest company in Korea. SK life science is growing quickly in the U.S., with headquarters in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

SK life science has a pipeline of six products in development for the treatment of CNS disorders including epilepsy, sleep disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, among others. The company's lead product is cenobamate, an investigational compound that is being studied as a potential treatment option for patients with epilepsy.

For more information, visit SK life science's website at www.SKLifeScienceInc.com.

About SK biopharmaceuticals

SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is a part of the global conglomerate SK Group, the second largest company in Korea. SK biopharmaceuticals (global headquarters) is responsible for the development of innovative next-generation drugs within SK Group.

For more information, visit SK biopharmaceuticals' website at www.skbp.com.

SOURCE SK Life Science, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.SKLifeScienceInc.com


DALLAS, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) is launching a four-day sale offering extra-low fares for summer travel, so book your next trip now! Customers may take advantage of low domestic fares starting at $49, $79, $99, and $149 one-way to select destinations today through May 18, 2018, 11:59 p.m. in the respective time zone of the originating city. A 21-day advance purchase required. Seats and days are limited. See full fare rules and terms and conditions below.

"Summer travel season is here, and there's still a great opportunity for Customers to grab Southwest Airlines' low fares and take advantage of no change fees*, up to two bags that fly free*, and free live TV*," said Ryan Green, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Southwest Airlines. "These fares are so low you can't afford to miss that summer vacation."

*There are no change fees, though fare differences might apply; first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply; free live TV where available for a limited time.

See below for examples of these great low fares and for restrictions and exclusions. To see the full list of available cities and prices, and to take advantage of Southwest's special fares, visit Southwest.com.

Examples of Southwest Airlines' low fares include (see fare rules below):

As low as $49 one-way nonstop between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and San Diego International Airport and one-way nonstop between Los Angeles International Airport and Reno-Tahoe International Airport

one-way nonstop between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and International Airport and one-way nonstop between International Airport and Reno-Tahoe International Airport As low as $79 one-way nonstop between New Orleans International Airport and Tampa International Airport and one-way nonstop between San Diego International Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport

one-way nonstop between International Airport and International Airport and one-way nonstop between International Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport As low as $99 one-way nonstop between Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport and one-way nonstop between Denver International Airport and Houston (Hobby)

one-way nonstop between Baltimore-Washington International Airport and International Airport and one-way nonstop between International Airport and As low as $149 one-way nonstop between Houston (Hobby) and San Jose International Airport and one-way nonstop between General Mitchell International Airport ( Milwaukee ) and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

SOUTHWEST AIRLINES SALE FARE RULES

A 21-day advance purchase required. Purchase from May 15 through May 18, 2018, 11:59 p.m. in the respective time zone of the originating city. Domestic travel valid June 5 through October 31, 2018. Domestic travel is valid only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Travel to/from San Juan, Puerto Rico is valid Monday - Thursday. Fares valid on domestic, nonstop service only. Points bookings do not include taxes, fees, and other government/airport charges of at least $5.60 per one-way flight. Fares not available to/from Portland, ME. Seats and days are limited. Fares may vary by destination, flight, and day of week and won't be available on some flights that operate during very busy travel times and holiday periods. Travel is available for one-way Wanna Get Away fares. Fares may be combined with other Southwest Airlines combinable fares. If combining with other fares, the most restrictive fare's rules apply. Sale fares may be available on other days of week, but that's not guaranteed. Fares are nonrefundable but may be applied toward future travel on Southwest Airlines, as long as reservations are canceled at least ten minutes prior to the scheduled departure. Failure to cancel prior to departure will result in forfeiture of remaining funds on the reservation. Any change in itinerary may result in an increase in fare. Standby travel may require an upgrade to the Anytime fare depending on Rapid Rewards tier status. Fares are subject to change until ticketed. Offer applies only to published, scheduled service.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.

In its 47th year of service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) continues to differentiate itself from other air carriers with exemplary Customer Service delivered by more than 57,000 Employees to a Customer base topping 120 million passengers annually, in recent years. Southwest became the nation's largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. During peak travel seasons, Southwest operates more than 4,000 weekday departures among a network of 100 destinations in the United States and 10 additional countries. Southwest has announced its intention to sell tickets in 2018 for service to Hawaii, subject to requisite governmental approvals.

Southwest coined Transfarency to describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free to everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on select routes or in qualified circumstances), and there are no change fees, though fare differences might apply.

As launch customer of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in North America, the Company operates the largest fleet in the world of Boeing aircraft, all of which are equipped with satellite-based WiFi. Customers who connect to the WiFi network may use their personal devices to view on-demand movies and television shows, as well as nearly 20 channels of free, live TV.

With a bold new look first unveiled in 2014, Southwest is progressing through a multi-year refresh of its fleet to showcase the carrier's Heart: a new logo, aircraft livery, interior design featuring new seats, Employee-designed uniforms, and an updated airport experience, all of which showcase a dedication of Southwest Employees to connect Customers with what's important in their lives.

From its first flights on June 18, 1971, Southwest Airlines launched an era of unprecedented affordability in air travel described by the U.S. Department of Transportation as "The Southwest Effect," a lowering of fares and increase in passenger traffic wherever the carrier serves. With 45 consecutive years of profitability, Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world, known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to efficiency and the planet.

Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online at Southwest Airlines or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.

Related Links

http://www.southwest.com


NEW BRITAIN, Conn., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley Black & Decker (NYSE: SWK) invites investors and the general public to listen to a webcast of a presentation by Jim Loree, President & CEO, at the 2018 Electrical Products Group Conference in Longboat Key, FL on Monday, May 21, 2018 at 10:45 AM ET. The live webcast will be available in the "Investors" section of the company's website at www.stanleyblackanddecker.com. A replay of the webcast will be provided on the website and will be available for 90 days.

Stanley Black & Decker, an S&P 500 company, is a diversified global provider of hand tools, power tools and related accessories, electronic security solutions, healthcare solutions, engineered fastening systems, and more. Learn more at www.stanleyblackanddecker.com.

Stanley Black & Decker Investor Contacts

Dennis Lange

Vice President, Investor Relations

(860) 827-3833

[email protected]

Michelle Hards

Director, Investor Relations

(860) 827-3913

[email protected]

SOURCE Stanley Black & Decker

Related Links

http://www.stanleyblackanddecker.com


A Libyan security official aligned with UN-backed government announced Monday repatriation of the remains of Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded in February 2015 in the city of Sirte after their capture by the Islamic State group (ISIS).

ISIS in 2015 shocked the world after it posted a video footage showing 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians being beheaded on a beach, in Sirte, hometown of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The security official said the remains were recovered in October after the area was recaptured. They will be flown back to Egypt from Misrata airport. The official said an additional corpse was identified as a Ghanaian.

ISIS entered Libya in 2014 and turned Sirte into its North Africa stronghold before being flashed out last year by brigades from the western city of Misrata, with the support of US Air Forces.

Despite loss of its Sirte stronghold and other territories, the terror group has remained active in the messed up North African country.

Early this month, the global terror group on the shrink claimed responsibility for attacks on the High National Election Commission in Tripoli. Sixteen people were killed in this attempt to sabotage the UN-sponsored political process aiming to end years of rivalries between factions.
HOUSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent women's travel safety survey revealed that 45 percent of female travelers feel less safe or much less safe about traveling than they did five years ago. Results of the travel trends survey, commissioned by AIG Travel, a worldwide leader in travel insurance and assistance services, also show that safety is top of mind for women while they are evaluating potential destinations as well as during their travels.

Further analysis of the data indicates an opportunity for employers to adopt a bigger role in educating employees about travel safety. "The local risks where employees travel may be completely different than the local risks they face in their home city," said Gaurav D. Garg, CEO of Personal Insurance at AIG. "With the help of insurers, employers can tailor insurance and security programs to meet the needs of their entire workforce."

As solo travel rises in popularity, especially among females, increased reports of violence or geopolitical turmoil in some regions may heighten awareness of individual security and impact women's decisions on where and when to journey. To help minimize risks that females may face when traveling, AIG Travel recently launched a Women's Travel Safety initiative, which shares advice on how to research travel destinations, become familiar with local laws and customs, and leverage tools in the event of adverse situations, such as kidnappings or other crimes. The initiative is also designed to raise awareness of women's travel safety through tips shared via social media with the hashtag #WomenWhoTravel.

Other key findings from AIG Travel's Pulse Poll on Women's Travel Safety include:

Two-thirds of the respondents are very likely or somewhat likely to travel alone to either a domestic or an international destination in 2018.

The majority (63 percent) of women think about safety always or frequently while traveling.

The top four risks that women consider before or during a trip center on theft and scams, such as pickpocketing/purse snatching (93 percent), credit card fraud (86 percent), identity theft (63 percent), and taxi scams (62 percent).

The top two actions that women take with a goal of increasing their personal safety before or during a trip are sharing an itinerary with a friend or family member (93 percent) and purchasing travel insurance, emergency travel medical coverage, and/or emergency travel evacuation coverage (87 percent).

The safety of a destination is a woman's most important consideration  other than her own personal interest in the destination  when booking travel.

If feeling unsafe while traveling, women are most likely to reach out to their hotel staff (36 percent) or law enforcement authorities (33 percent) for help.

Of the respondents who routinely travel for business, 84 percent reported that their employers either did not provide travel safety tips/resources or that they weren't aware of any such tools.

"As a travel safety advocate and as part of our organization's commitment to educate the public, we feel well-positioned to provide women, who may have unique travel considerations, with tools designed to help them be more aware, alert, confident travelers," said Rhonda Sloan, Head of Marketing and Industry Relations, AIG Travel. "Our research findings underscore the fact that although many travelers are already quite savvy about helping to ensure their personal safety, our industry still has opportunities to provide guidance and resources to help women minimize risks and experience safer journeys."

AIG Travel distributed the Pulse Poll to female consumers who identify as interested in travel, including followers of the brand's social media channels and women on its U.S. direct marketing email list. The survey garnered more than 1,800 responses.

Visit www.aig.com/travel/forwomen to view the Women's Travel Safety initiative advice and materials or follow AIG Travel on Twitter @TravelGuard for more information about AIG Travel, Travel Guard travel insurance, and ways to empower female travelers.

About AIG Travel and Travel Guard

AIG Travel, Inc., a member of American International Group, Inc., is a worldwide leader in travel insurance and global assistance. Travel Guard is the marketing name for its portfolio of travel insurance solutions and travel-related services, including medical and security services, marketed to both leisure and business travelers around the globe. Services are provided through a network of wholly owned service centers located in Asia, Europe and the Americas. For additional information, please visit our websites at www.aig.com/travel and www.travelguard.com.

About AIG

American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is a leading global insurance organization. Founded in 1919, today AIG member companies provide a wide range of property casualty insurance, life insurance, retirement products, and other financial services to customers in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. These diverse offerings include products and services that help businesses and individuals protect their assets, manage risks and provide for retirement security. AIG common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

Additional information about AIG can be found at www.aig.com | YouTube: www.youtube.com/aig | Twitter: @AIGinsurance | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/aig. These references with additional information about AIG have been provided as a convenience, and the information contained on such websites is not incorporated by reference into this press release.

AIG is the marketing name for the worldwide property-casualty, life and retirement, and general insurance operations of American International Group, Inc. For additional information, please visit our website at www.aig.com. All products and services are written or provided by subsidiaries or affiliates of American International Group, Inc. Products or services may not be available in all countries, and coverage is subject to actual policy language. Non-insurance products and services may be provided by independent third parties. Certain property-casualty coverages may be provided by a surplus lines insurer. Surplus lines insurers do not generally participate in state guaranty funds, and insureds are therefore not protected by such funds.

Contact: Rhonda Sloan

AIG Travel

713-284-8232

[email protected]

SOURCE AIG Travel

Related Links

http://www.aig.com


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 10th, TechDay held its seventh annual New York City show at Pier 94 and welcomed it's largest crowd to date.

Thousands of Silicon Alley's most prominent influencers attended the event including seasoned investors, corporate end-users, early adopters, developers and members of the press.

This massive community of techies was amongst the first to see and experience the latest and greatest tech products and services from hundreds of exhibiting startups.

These companies spanned every industry and included some that launched for the very first time at the Show as well as ones that have grown into household names like WeWork, CheapoAir and GoDaddy.

TechDay New York 2018 also debuted TechDayTalks, a series of brief presentations presented by industry thought-leaders. Executives from companies including Mastercard, Salesforce and Microsoft took the stage to share their insights on topics like AI, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, blockchain and more. This new conference component of the event completely sold out in its premier year!

In addition, the participation of some of the nation's most competitive accelerator programs and startup influencers contributed to the excitement of TechDay New York. Techstars, MassChallenge and Dreamit were all in attendance along with NYCEDC, Built In NYC and Digital NYC.

"The huge success of this year's TechDay New York is not only a testament to the innovativeness of our participating companies, but to the thriving New York startup scene as a whole," said Jasmine Hoffman, TechDay's lead Event Director. "We're proud to provide such a massive platform for this community, and serve as a catalyst for its continued growth."

Exhibitor registration is now open for TechDay New York 2019 as well as for the fourth annual TechDay Los Angeles and third annual TechDay London.

Startups interested in reserving exhibit space are invited to contact TechDay Event Directors, at [email protected].

Companies that are no longer in "startup" mode, but have an interest in aligning their brand with the powerful technology start-up community are invited to develop custom event sponsorships. For details and more information, contact Sharon Lieberman TechDay's COO at [email protected].

About TechDay

TechDay is the largest startup event series in the world, hosting annual shows in New York City, Los Angeles, and London. TechDay is owned and managed by Continental Exhibitions, a leading producer of business-to-business events, including tradeshows, conferences and webinars since 1984.

SOURCE TechDay
BEAVERTON, Ore., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide provider of measurement solutions, and IEMN, a major French research laboratory, demonstrated a single carrier wireless link traveling at a 100 Gb/s data rate. This demonstration uses advanced data coding, THz photonics and wideband and linear devices to enable ultra fast wireless connections in the 252 - 325 GHz band per the recently published IEEE 802.15.3d standard.

The optical signal is down-converted to THz signals which are focused, using lenses or mirrors, on the receiver where they are converted to RF signals and demodulated using the Tektronix ATI wideband oscilloscope.

"Achieving 100 Gb/s transmission in a single carrier helps to fill the gap between the worlds of fiber-optics and radio. By combining the concept with dedicated architectures and photonic-based THz circuits we are paving the way for faster wireless transmission than what's possible today," said Guillaume Ducournau, an associate professor at IEMN/CNRS/University Lille working on THz communication systems.

The purpose of the new 802.15.3d standard is to provide for low complexity, low cost, low power consumption, very high data rate wireless connectivity among devices and in the future 'low THz' bands. Potential applications include consumer multimedia, wireless switched point-to-point applications in data centers, wireless backhaul/front haul, intra-device communications and a wide variety of additional use cases such as rapid large multimedia data downloads and file exchanges between two devices in close proximity.

Achieving 100 Gb/s and beyond requires the extension of carrier frequencies to the millimeter/sub-millimeter range, around 300 GHz, also called the "THz band." Using a combination of optical coherent technologies and THz transceivers, this latest demonstration showcased the advances being made toward operational wireless links with THz frequencies and optical-equivalent data rates.

The demonstration was accomplished within the framework of several research projects including the COM'TONIQ, Era-net Chistera TERALINKS and TERASONIC ANR projects in THz communications. The French Equipex programs, "FLUX" (high-speed guided fiber/wireless-based advanced data coms) and "ExCELSIOR" (advanced characterization of nano-devices and systems) also supported this effort along with IEMN platform facilities and the RENATECH French nanofabrication network, IRCICA USR-3380. The demonstration was also supported by the CPER "Photonics for society" and contributes to the "digital world" Hub 3 of the I-Site Universite de Lille Nord de France.

"Tektronix is delighted to be working in such close collaboration with IEMN on achieving this prestigious breakthrough," said Dr. Klaus Engenhardt, CTO Tektronix EMEA. "It's exciting to see our industry-leading end-to-end transmit and receive solution used to help bridge coherent optical and THz transceiver technologies. Advanced test tools are needed today to generate and characterize signals at 100G, 400G and beyond and Tektronix offers a wide portfolio of optical communication test solutions."

The Tektronix test equipment used in the IEMN demonstration included an AWG70000 Series 50GS/s arbitrary waveform generator, DPO70000SX 70GHz oscilloscopes and an OM5110 46GBd coherent optical transmitter.

Tektronix has a long history of collaboration with IEMN on THz communications research and most recently supported the first data transmission through a THz multiplexer.

Wondering what else Tektronix is up to? Check out the Tektronix Bandwidth Banter blog and stay up to date on the latest news from Tektronix on Twitter and Facebook.

About IEMN

The Institute of Electronics, Microelectronics and Nanotechnology (IEMN) is a major French laboratory, with ~500 people working on micro-nanoelectronics, MEMS, optics and acoustics. Medium-term joint programs with industrial partners or other national institutions and long-term research initiatives stimulate the resourcing of research projects. Thanks to the constant financial support of the Haut de France Regional Council combined with those of our trustees, IEMN can boast exceptional technical facilities: Micro and nano fabrication cleanroom (1600m, French Renatech network), very high frequency (DC-2.5 THz) RF and MEMS characterization platform, Near-field microscopy platform (AFM/STM), Telecom and EMC platforms. IEMN has also a key contribution on higher education, through doctoral and masters programs. IEMN scientific policy not only contributes to scientific research and its applications but also has the goal of bringing social, cultural and economic benefits for society through collaborations with industry. http://www.iemn.fr/

About Tektronix

Headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, Tektronix delivers innovative, precise and easy-to-operate test, measurement and monitoring solutions that solve problems, unlock insights and drive discovery. Tektronix has been at the forefront of the digital age for over 70 years. Join us on the journey of innovation at TEK.COM.

Tektronix is a registered trademark of Tektronix, Inc. All other trade names referenced are the service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

SOURCE Tektronix, Inc.

Related Links

http://TEK.COM


GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Tengasco, Inc. (NYSE American: TGC) announced today its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. The Company reported a net income from continuing operations of $133,000 or $0.01 per share of common stock during the first quarter of 2018 compared to a net loss from continuing operations of $170,000 or $0.02 per share of common stock during the first quarter of 2017. The $303,000 improvement in net income from continuing operations was primarily due to a $158,000 increase in revenues, a $78,000 decrease in production costs and taxes, and a $38,000 decrease in depreciation, depletion, and amortization. The Company also reported a net income from discontinued operations of $1.1 million or $0.10 per share of common stock during the first quarter of 2018, primarily from the gain on sale of the methane facilities, compared to a net loss from discontinued operations of $43,000 or $0.01 per share of common stock during the first quarter of 2017. Discontinued operations refer to the Company's methane facilities which were sold on January 26, 2018 for $2.65 million.

The Company recognized $1.4 million in revenues from continuing operations during the first quarter of 2018 compared to $1.2 million during the first quarter of 2017. The revenue increase was primarily due to a $261,000 increase resulting from an $11.04 per barrel increase in the average oil price from $46.32 per barrel during first quarter of 2017 to $57.36 per barrel during the first quarter of 2018. This increase was partially offset by a $107,000 decrease from a 2.3 MBbl decrease in oil sales volumes.

Michael J. Rugen, CEO said "The increase in oil prices we have experienced during the first quarter of 2018 has allowed the Company to return to profitability. In addition to the return to positive net income from continuing operations, and as previously disclosed, the Company sold its methane facility assets for $2.65 million in January 2018 and reported a gain of approximately $1.1 million as a result of the sale. During 2018 the Company plans to participate with other parties in drilling certain wells on a non-operated basis as well as to perform work on its own wells in order to move its reserves from the non-producing to the producing category. This work will primarily be funded by operating cash flow and the proceeds received from the sale of the methane facility assets. To date, the Company has taken a small working interest to participate in drilling two wells in Kansas, both of which were unsuccessful. In addition, the Company is continuing to evaluate other acquisitions, joint ventures, or corporate opportunities that may add shareholder value."

The statements contained in this release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The Company's actual results could differ materially from the forward-looking statements.

SOURCE Tengasco, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.tengasco.com


Angelini, 75, joined The Hanover's board in 1995 and served as its first chairman from 2002 to 2017, when he was succeeded by current board Chairman P. Kevin Condron. In addition to his role as chairman, Angelini has served as a member of the company's audit, compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees. He currently is chairman of Bowditch & Dewey, LLC, a leading law firm representing businesses, families and institutions throughout the Northeast Region.

As chairman, Angelini played a key role in the successful evolution of the company, from a small, regional property and casualty insurer to a national company with a global reach. Today, The Hanover is a leading provider of personal, commercial and specialty insurance lines in the United States, offering broad and innovative coverage through a select group of independent insurance agents and brokers, and underwrites business at Lloyd's of London, with clients in countries and territories across the world.

"Mike has served our company with great distinction," said John C. Roche, president and chief executive officer at The Hanover. "He has made an exceptional contribution over his more than 30 years on our board, providing great vision, leadership, insight and business acumen. We thank Mike for his unwavering dedication to our company and our many stakeholders, and we wish him the best."

"On behalf of our board of directors, I want to convey our most sincere appreciation to Mike," Condron said. "He has provided extraordinary leadership in his role as board chair, taking the company public, overseeing one of the most successful corporate reorganizations in the property and casualty industry, managing through critical changes in company leadership, and ensuring the company's continued success."

"It has been a great privilege to serve as a leader of this exceptional institution," Angelini said. "I deeply appreciate having had the opportunity to work with so many talented professionals to advance The Hanover's mission and to have participated in the progress of what is now a world class organization. I am very confident the company will continue to thrive, building on its unique business model, the strength of its workforce and its cultural dedication to excellence and inclusiveness. The Hanover reflects the very best attributes of a modern business enterprise: a passionate commitment to the financial reward of its shareholders and distinguished attention to the interests of its employees, agents, customers, and communities."

About The Hanover

The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc. is the holding company for several property and casualty insurance companies, which together constitute one of the largest insurance businesses in the United States. The company provides exceptional insurance solutions in a dynamic world. The Hanover distributes its products through a select group of independent agents and brokers. Together with its agents, The Hanover offers standard and specialized insurance protection for small and mid-sized businesses, as well as for homes, automobiles, and other personal items. Through its international member company, Chaucer, The Hanover also underwrites business at Lloyd's of London in several major insurance and reinsurance classes, including marine, property and energy. For more information, please visit hanover.com .

SOURCE The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.hanover.com


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Insulation Materials Market Anticipated to Reach $53,360.5 Million by 2021, Reports BIS Research



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5370185



Insulation materials are designed to reduce the heat flow by limiting heat transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation while facilitating vapour flow and water condensation of a process.The insulation materials such as mineral wool, polyurethane foam, polyethylene, extruded polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and fiberglass help in insulating the building envelop, reduce energy consumption, and reduce the emissions of greenhouse gas, and offers comfort and safety.



These insulation materials find use in residential construction, non-residential, HVAC and OEM, oil and gas, wires and cables, and automobiles. The insulation materials market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2% and 7.2% ($milllion) and (kilotons) between 2016 and 2021.



The report is a compilation of the different segments of global insulation materials market, including market breakdown by insulation materials type, end-user industry and geographical areas.Herein the revenue generated from the insulation materials types, namely: polyurethane foam, mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, polyethylene, extruded polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride; end-user industry, namely residential construction, non-residential, wires and cables, HVAC and OEM, automotive, and oil and gas; and geography, namely: North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World is tracked to calculate the overall market size, both in terms of value ($million) and volume (kilotons).



The report also provides market numbers and analysis on cross segments which includes country by end-user industries.While highlighting the key driving and restraining forces for this market, the report also provides a detailed summary of the global insulation materials market.



It also includes the key participants involved in the industry at the relevant sections.



The report answers the following questions about the global insulation materials market:

 What is the size, in terms of value ($million) and volume (kilotons) of global insulation materials market in 2016, and growth rate during the forecast period, 2017-2021?

 What is the market size of different types of insulation materials ($million and kilotons) and their growth rate during the forecast period, 2017-2021?

 How will each end-user industry of insulation materials market grow during the forecast period and what will be the market size ($million and kilotons) of each of the end-user industry by the end of 2021?

 What is the market size for different regions and countries in terms of value and volume ($million and kilotons) in the insulation materials market and their growth across the forecast period, 2017 to 2021?

 What is the market size for different regions by type and end-user industry in terms of value and volume ($million and kilotons) in the insulation materials market and their growth across the forecast period, 2017 to 2021?

 What is the market size for different countries by end-user industry in terms of value and volume ($million and kilotons) in the insulation materials market and their growth across the forecast period, 2017 to 2021?

 What are the major driving forces that tend to increase the demand for insulation materials market during the forecast period?

 What are the major challenges inhibiting the growth of the global insulation materials market?

 What is the competitive strength of key players in the global insulation materials market by analyzing through market share analysis?

 What are the key market players in the market, along with their detailed analysis & profiles (including their financials, company snapshots, key products & services, and SWOT analysis)?



The report further includes a thorough analysis of the impact of the Porter's five major forces to understand the overall attractiveness of the industry.The most commonly used strategy for developing a better hold on the market has been through business expansions.



Moreover, the company profile section highlights significant information about the key companies involved along with their financial positions, key strategies & developmental activities of recent years.



Further, the report includes an exhaustive analysis of the geographical split into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), and Rest of the World.Each geography details the individual push and pull forces in addition to the key players from that region.



The prominent players operating in the global insulation materials market are BASF SE, Huntsman Corporation, Knauf Insulation, Johns Manville, Nova Chemicals Corporation, Cellofoam North America Inc., and Dow Building Solutions, among others.



Executive Summary

The construction industry dates back to the early 1600s when the basic materials such as animal skins, fur, wool, and plant related products were used for enveloping the buildings.The construction industry has proven to be one of the major sources of pollution, accountable for approximately 4% of particulate emissions, 30% of the greenhouse gas emissions, and constitute for more than 4% of the water and noise pollution.



The construction industry contributes to more than 30% of all the global emission sources. Along with the rising pollution levels, rapid population growth and high energy consumption are the other key concerns of various regulatory bodies across the globe.



According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international body for the assessment of climate change, set by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), buildings are the largest energy-consuming sector with nearly 40.0% of the global electricity consumed and are responsible for approximately 36.0% of the global carbon emissions (CO2). This is because of the inefficient thermal insulation systems around the building envelop which lead to significant loss of energy. Similarly, according to the European Union (EU), buildings in Europe consume approximately 40.0% of energy and produce approximately 35.0% of greenhouse emissions. Thereby, the European Union has recognized the construction segment to be the largest untapped area for energy savings in both the new and existing buildings. It has undoubtedly been the root cause of degradation the built environment. Thus, high energy consumption and its related costs are one of the major concerns for the regulatory bodies in the recent years.



With the advent of the technological era, the construction methods, materials, and insulation materials have developed considerably.Insulation materials are primarily any material or substance which assists in preventing heat, electricity and noise from entering or leaving the premises.



Some of the significant insulation materials used are mineral wool, expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene, polyethylene, and fiberglass, among others. The insulation materials are widely used in the construction, oil and gas, wires and cables, and automotive industries, among others.



The major drivers for the global insulation materials market are significant reduction in energy consumption and its related costs, stringent regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase of net zero energy buildings, and population growth and urbanization. However, volatile raw material prices and lack of awareness about insulation materials in the construction industry may hamper the growth of the market.



There is a tremendous potential for the growth of insulation materials in the global market owing to the rising demands from end-user industries such as HVAC and OEM, oil and gas, wires and cables, and automobiles, among others, rising concern for changing climatic conditions and global warming, and increasing energy conservation regulations and greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.



Some of the key players in the global insulation materials market include BASF SE, Huntsman Corporation, Knauf Insulation, Johns Manville, Nova Chemicals Corporation, Cellofoam North America Inc., Dow Building Solutions, Rockwool International A/S, Saint-Gobain S.A., Covestro AG, Kingspan Insulation, Owens Corning, Armacell International S.A., URSA Insulation, S.A., GAF Materials Corporation, and Evonik Industries AG, among others. These companies provide a broad product portfolio for specific needs of the insulation industry and have strong presence in the North America, Asia-Pacific, and the European region. They cater to a global clientele by collaborating with well-established distributor and sales network.



The global insulation materials market is expected to reach $53,360.5 million by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2016 and 2021. This enormous growth is being anticipated due to the various benefits provided by insulation materials such as environmental benefits, emission reduction, less energy consumption, and the material's potential to be recycled and reused. These factors have contributed to the colossal demand of the insulation materials. Additionally, an increasing number of applications of insulation materials owing to their emission reduction potential, the building rating systems, stringent government regulations & emission control norms, and large-scale investment by government and federal agencies are some of the other factors propelling the growth of insulation materials market globally.



Regulatory Impact



The insulation-based buildings are assessed on the basis of certain parameters of energy, environment and ecology, considering both the social and technological aspects of all the projects, by the environmental assessment bodies such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA), Green Globes, Energy Star, among others. The building performances are evaluated during the initial stages of a project and the results are incorporated in the future design developmental stage of the building.



Insulation materials are designed to reduce the heat flow by limiting heat transfer through conduction, convection, and radiation while facilitating vapour flow and water condensation of a process.The insulation materials can be of the following types such as mineral wool, polyurethane foam, polyethylene, extruded polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, and fiberglass.



In 2016, mineral wool dominated the global insulation materials market as it serves as an excellent insulation material for thermal and acoustic insulation which are mainly used in residential and commercial buildings. On the other hand, the increasing demand of polyurethane foam as an insulation material from the construction sector is because of its light weight, ease of installation, reduced transportation costs, and low maintenance costs.



Insulation materials have applications in a vast range of end-user markets such as wires and cables, residential construction, non-residential, HVAC and OEM, automotive, and oil and gas, among others.Insulation has been one of the most cost-effective solution to reduce energy consumption in the residential buildings.



This increasing demand of insulation materials from residential construction segment is because of increasing need of reducing the energy consumption in the residential segment. Increasing construction expenditures in Asia-Pacific region along with the government initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is expected to increase the demand of insulation materials in the residential construction segment.



The demand for insulation materials vary according to various geographical regions.The insulation materials market holds a prominent share in various countries of North America, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Europe, and Rest of the World (RoW).



The Asia-Pacific market accounted for major share in the total revenue in the year 2016.The region is reported to have highest growth rate as compared to the others because of the high growth in the automotive, construction, and telecommunication industries along with rapid industrialization and digitalization.



Increasing insulation demand from the Asia-Pacific region is majorly attributed to growing automotive, construction and industrial sectors. Additionally, low cost of setting up of manufacturing facilities and low cost of insulation materials in the region further propels the demand of insulation materials in the Asia-Pacific market.



Competitive Landscape



The global insulation materials market is a highly competitive industry, with all its players competing to gain a greater market share. Rockwool International A/S, Knauf Insulation, Covestro AG, Owens Corning, and Saint-Gobain S.A. are some of the leading companies in this market. Most of the insulation materials manufacturers are of the similar financial capability and the landscape is extremely competitive because of the presence of a large number of players in the market. Therefore, innovation and development has been the key for gaining growth in this market.



To increase the global footprint, insulation material manufacturers are also entering new product launches, and mergers & acquisitions with different distribution networks. For instance, in November 2017, Rockwool International A/S started the construction of a basalt mineral wool production plant in Romania with an investment of $55.3 million. The expansion is expected to help the company move towards fire safety and energy efficient buildings. Additionally, in October 2017, the company purchased 180,000m2 of land in the eastern Swedish municipality of Eskilstuna. The expansion is done with an aim of future expansion of mineral wool production capacity and meet the future demands.



Other key players operating in this market have ramped up their product launch activities over the recent years, to generate public awareness about their existing and new products and technologies, and to compete with the competitors' product portfolio.For instance, in August 2017, Knauf Insulation launched a system called Supafil Frame to automate the installation of blown glass mineral wool during off-site manufacturing.



The system is expected to reduce the time required to insulate modular homes.Similarly, in December 2014, BASF SE changed its entire polystyrene-based insulation product portfolio as per the European market to the new polymeric flame retardant (PolyFR).



The change is in compliance with the REACH regulation which restricts the use of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) as a flame retardant as of 21 August 2015.



Moreover, extensive R&D activities and appropriate regulatory environments are also a prerequisite for the sustained growth of this market. Various government and private research institutes, and favorable trade policies are putting in substantial efforts to reduce the energy consumption and increase the awareness about insulation materials and its benefits among the consumers.



Countries Covered

 North America

 U.S.

 Mexico

 Canada

 Asia-Pacific

 China

 Japan

 India

 South Korea

 Australia & New Zealand

 Singapore

 Rest of APAC

 Europe

 Germany

 France

 U.K.

 Poland

 Italy

 Spain



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5370185



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

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WASHINGTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Starbucks' app is the most popular among several well-known restaurant loyalty rewards apps, according to a new survey from The Manifest, a business news and how-to website. Nearly half (48%) of app users surveyed regularly use the Starbucks loyalty app, compared to 34% who use the Domino's app and 30% who use the Pizza Hut app.

New data from The Manifest shows why people use food delivery apps. A consumer app survey from The Manifest portrays the most popular restaurant loyalty apps consumers use.

The survey of more than 500 smartphone owners shows how customers use food delivery and restaurant loyalty apps and indicates how restaurants potentially can increase customer engagement by delivering food through an app or launching a loyalty rewards app.

The user experience (UX) of Starbucks' app contributes to its popularity, say experts who point out UX elements the app does well.

For example, users must pre-load money onto the Starbucks app to pay with it. Since the money is on the app and can't be spent elsewhere, it entices users to visit Starbucks more.

"You've already pre-spent the money," said Chris Hobbs, president of Two Tall Totems, a Vancouver-based mobile app and software development firm. "I think that's what makes it so sticky."

The Starbucks app also clearly communicates how users can earn rewards, and it offers real value  not only through free food and drinks but also by offering free music, games, and other goodies.

Successful Loyalty Apps Capitalize on Love of Winning

Loyalty rewards apps are popular: 50% of smartphone owners regularly use them and are incentivized to do so through gamification, or the idea of turning the brand's experience into a game. When Starbucks users earn points toward a reward with every cappuccino they buy, they're more likely to keep purchasing.

"Gamification makes users return to the app," said Olexandr Leuschenko, head of mobile stack at Ciklum, a digital solutions company. "Gamification revolves around social actions and receiving awards  badges, likes, leaderboards, and other things that give the user a special status. People like to be the best in something almost as much as they like to get a free product."

Food Delivery App Users Want Options

Food delivery apps such as Postmates and Uber Eats are also popular among app users. A significant number of food delivery app users surveyed (20%) say they use their preferred app because it has "better restaurant options."

Some food delivery apps create exclusive partnerships with popular restaurant chains. For example, DoorDash partnered with fast-food chain Wendy's to deliver its food.

Experts recommend that restaurants exploring delivering their food through an app should ensure the apps they work with have a variety of restaurant options and a large user base.

The Manifest's 2018 Consumer App Survey included 511 U.S. smartphone owners.

Read the full report here: http://themanifest.com/app-development/how-customers-use-food-delivery-and-restaurant-loyalty-apps .

For questions about the survey, a comment on the findings, or an introduction to the industry experts included in the report, contact Riley Panko at [email protected].

About The Manifest

The Manifest is a business news and how-to site that compiles and analyzes practical business wisdom for innovators, entrepreneurs, and small and mid-market businesses. Use The Manifest as an approachable tour guide through every stage of the buyer journey. With three main offerings  data-driven benchmarks, step-by-step guides, and agency shortlists, The Manifest strives to make your business goals a reality.

Contact

Riley Panko

[email protected]

(202) 899-2779

SOURCE The Manifest
NEPTUNE, N.J., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK)  Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) Partnership will host its third Cancer Science Today event on Tuesday, May 22, at Hackensack Meridian Health Jersey Shore University Medical Center. The community education talk is titled "Knowing Your Family's Cancer Risk" and will jointly feature Dr. Elizabeth Jewell, Director of Surgery at MSK Monmouth and MSK Basking Ridge, and Dr. Verda J. Hicks, Chief of Gynecologic Oncology, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and Medical Director, Gynecologic Oncology, Hackensack Meridian Health Cancer Care in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex Counties.

The conversation, which will include an audience Q&A at the end, will be moderated by Steve Adubato, PhD, Emmy Award-winning anchor and author of "Lessons in Leadership".

During the event, Dr. Jewell and Dr. Hicks will discuss topics including known inherited gene mutations and their cancer risk, genetic testing and counseling, available treatment options, and resources available through the MSKHMH Partnership for patients and their families. Previous Cancer Science Today events included robust discussions around the capabilities and limitations of commercial genetic testing products, new approaches to cancer care, and the future of cancer prevention and treatment.

Formed in 2016, the MSK-HMH Partnership combines the expertise of two world-class organizations to work toward more cures for cancer and increasing patient access to the highest-quality cancer care available. Ultimately, the MSK-HMH Partnership will develop new standards of cancer care and open joint treatment facilities.

"The current public conversation around genetic testing is complex, and the subtleties of the information need to be clear to members of our communities," says Dr. Elizabeth Jewell, Director of Surgery at MSK Monmouth and MSK Basking Ridge. "I look forward to participating in the community talk on Tuesday, May 22, with Dr. Hicks. Together, we will be able to connect with the community, answer important questions, and share information and resources available through the MSK-HMH Partnership."

"The Memorial Sloan Kettering-Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership exists because together, we can do more," says Dr. Verda J. Hicks, Chief of Gynecologic Oncology, Jersey Shore University Medical Center, and Medical Director, Gynecologic Oncology, Hackensack Meridian Health Cancer Care in Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex Counties. "It is our hope that community members at this event gain a more in-depth understanding of the correlation between genetics and cancer, specifically family history, genetic testing, prevention and treatment options."

The event on May 22, will be held at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Lance Auditorium, located at 1945 Route 33 Neptune, NJ, and begins at 6:00pm. For more information about the MSK-HMH Partnership or to register for the event, please visit www.MSK-HMHPartnership.org.

ABOUT MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) is the world's oldest and largest private cancer center, home to more than 17,000 physicians, scientists, nurses, and staff united by a relentless dedication to conquering cancer. As an independent institution, MSK combines 130 years of research and clinical leadership with the freedom to provide highly individualized, exceptional care to each patient. MSK is consistently ranked the number-one hospital for cancer care in the Northeast and among the top two cancer hospitals nationwide. And its always-evolving educational programs continue to train new leaders in the field, here and around the world. www.mskcc.org.

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH

Hackensack Meridian Health is a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. Hackensack Meridian Health comprises 16 hospitals from Bergen to Ocean counties, which includes three academic medical centers  Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, JFK Medical Center in Edison; two children's hospitals - Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital in Hackensack, K. Hovnanian Children's Hospital in Neptune; 11 community hospitals - Ocean Medical Center in Brick, Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, Mountainside Medical Center in Montclair, Palisades Medical Center in North Bergen, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy, Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, Bayshore Medical Center in Holmdel, Raritan Bay Medical Center in Old Bridge, and Pascack Valley Medical Center in Westwood, JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute in Edison and Shore Rehabilitation Institute in Brick.

Additionally, the network has more than 160 patient care locations throughout the state which include ambulatory care centers, surgery centers, home health services, long-term care and assisted living communities, ambulance services, lifesaving air medical transportation, fitness and wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, and urgent care and after-hours centers. Hackensack Meridian Health has 33,000 team members, and 6,500 physicians and is a distinguished leader in health care philanthropy, committed to the health and well-being of the communities it serves.

The network's notable distinctions include having one of only five major academic medical centers in the nation to receive Healthgrades America's 50 Best Hospitals Award for five or more consecutive years, four hospitals among the top 10 in New Jersey, including Hackensack University Medical Center which is ranked No. 1 by U.S. News and World Report. Other honors include consistently achieving Magnet recognition for nursing excellence from the American Nurses Credentialing Center, recipient of the John M. Eisenberg Award for Patient Safety and Quality from The Joint Commission and the National Quality Forum, a six-time recipient of Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For," one of the "20 Best Workplaces in Health Care" in the nation, and the number one "Best Place to Work for Women." Hackensack Meridian Health is a member of AllSpire Health Partners, an interstate consortium of leading health systems, to focus on the sharing of best practices in clinical care and achieving efficiencies.

For additional information, please visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org.

ABOUT JOHN THEURER CANCER CENTER AT HACKENSACK UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER

John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack Meridian Health Hackensack University Medical Center is New Jersey's largest and most comprehensive center dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, management, research, screenings, and preventive care as well as survivorship of patients with all types of cancers. The 14 specialized divisions covering the complete spectrum of cancer care have developed a close-knit team of medical, research, nursing, and support staff with specialized expertise that translates into more advanced, focused care for all patients. Each year, more people in the New Jersey/New York metropolitan area turn to John Theurer Cancer Center for cancer care than to any other facility in New Jersey. Housed within Hackensack University Medical Center, a 775-bed not-for-profit teaching, tertiary care, and research hospital, John Theurer Cancer Center provides state-of-the-art technological advances, compassionate care, research innovations, medical expertise, and a full range of aftercare services that distinguish John Theurer Cancer Center from other facilities. For additional information, please visit www.jtcancercenter.org.

Contact:

Mike Iorfino

Office: 215-790-4361

[email protected]

SOURCE Memorial Sloan Kettering - Hackensack Meridian Health Partnership

Related Links

https://www.hackensackmeridianhealth.org


HOUSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 22, 2018, The Potts Law Firm defeated the San Jacinto River Authority in a district court hearing in which the SJRA moved to dismiss the lawsuit involving over 100 Kingwood residents. "It's a great first step in achieving recovery for those adversely affected by the SJRA' s decision to flood the thousands of residents downstream from Lake Conroe," said firm attorney Andrew Woellner.

According to the Petition, the San Jacinto River Authority flooded hundreds of Kingwood homes and businesses by releasing water from the Lake Conroe Dam during Hurricane Harvey. This swelled the West Fork San Jacinto River, which caused thousands of homes to flood that otherwise would not have flooded from the rain alone. The Potts Law Firm believes that the SJRA's action in releasing the water from the dam grants property owners the right to just compensation through the laws of inverse condemnation and the Texas Constitution.

The San Jacinto River Authority has since appealed the district court's ruling and The Potts Law Firm looks forward to the confirmation of the district court ruling. Despite its loss against The Potts Law Firm, the SJRA has filed to dismiss nearly every single case brought against it, even though they have been denied in every attempt to dismiss it has made. To date, the SJRA continues to refuse to recognize they are the cause of any damage to the residents along the West Fork San Jacinto River, even though multiple state representatives agree that the San Jacinto River Authority was the cause of much of the flooding along the river. Instead, the SJRA is putting its efforts and resources toward fighting and prolonging the lawsuits, rather than paying for the damage they've caused.

About Potts Law Firm

Potts Law Firm diligently pursues a variety of complex litigation and mass tort matters, from complex pharmaceutical cases to challenging eminent domain claims. The firm's team of highly competent attorneys have experience in many different areas complex litigation. Believing that every detail of a case matters, firm attorneys work tirelessly to pursue just compensation, regardless of the obstacles faced. For more information, visit www.potts-law.com.

SOURCE Potts Law Firm

Related Links

www.potts-law.com


Israeli forces killed Monday more than 60 Palestinians near Gaza border with Israel as protests against the transfer of US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem erupted.

Sixty-two Palestinians were killed on Monday in the deadliest day in the besieged territory since 2014 war, reported the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna.

It was the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since Hamas-led demonstrations began along the border fence on March 30; and the highest number of casualties inflicted since the 2014 conflict with Israel inside Gaza.

Monday victims include eight children under the age of 16 according to Palestinian officials. Over 2,400 Palestinians were wounded as Israeli snipers continued to fire into the crowds in an attempt to suppress the demonstrations.

The death toll since March 30, the beginning of the protests commemorating the Nakaba, has reached 109 protesters among whom journalists. There has been no victim on the Israeli side.

The Monday demonstration, which gathered 40,000 Gazans according to Israeli account, was held in protest against the official transfer of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The ceremony was attended by 800 guests. President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were among the US officials attending.

Last December, President Trump declared the old city capital of Israel, scorning therefore international consensus over the fate of the disputed city to be discussed at the final status negotiations.

Palestinians hope to declare the eastern part of the city the capital of their future state.

The mass killing and controversial embassy relocation drew condemnation from around the world, including from Kuwait, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, France, Belgium, UK, Germany to mention but a few. Several European countries have summoned the Israeli ambassador to protest the deadly violence.

The Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) slammed and rejected the embassy inauguration  a move it considers illegal and an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people.

South Africa announced it was calling back its envoy to Israel with immediate effect in protest against the indiscriminate and gravity of the latest Israeli attack. The African country also called for an independent inquiry into the Israeli killings.

In New York, UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said in a statement that the Secretary-General is profoundly alarmed by the sharp escalation of violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the high number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests.

Meanwhile, Kuwait called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council, due to convene this Tuesday, and said it will circulate a draft UN proposal calling for the protection of the Palestinian civilians.

UN Ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said on Tuesday, the draft would be circulated most probably tomorrow and would be designed to protect the Palestinians and provide international protection for civilians.
In the past two years, hundreds of thousands of teens and their parents have attended Franek's presentations on college admission across the country. It is what he has learned from his audiences in his post-talk Q&As that moved him to write his new book out today College Admission 101: Simple Answers To Tough Questions About College Admissions and Financial Aid (Penguin Random House / Princeton Review, $12.99, May 15, 2018).

College Admission 101 presents Franek's wise and witty answers to the 60+ questions his audiences of college-bound teens and their parents have most often asked. He warmly addresses their common concerns and hopes. He also reports on trending issues applicants and parents may face in college applications in years ahead and he laces his text with college-related statistics, survey findings, sidebars, timelines, and lists of quick tips.

Among the 60+ questions Franek answers in the book:

What criteria should I use to find the best college for me?

Should my child take the SAT  or the ACT  , and when is the best time to take the test(s)?

or the ACT , and when is the best time to take the test(s)? How many schools should I apply to?

What's the difference between Early Action, Early Admission, and Early Decision?

How does the financial aid process actually work?

What should my child be doing on the road to college in 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grade?

In eight sections, College Admission 101 also has an index and an appendix with supplementary resources. Among them: a glossary of 20 financial aid terms, a year-by-year application checklist, findings of The Princeton Review's 2017 College Hopes & Worries Survey, and homespun advice for future applicants and their parents from past applicants and parents who participated in The Princeton Review's previous years' Hopes & Worries surveys.

Franek brings a uniquely informed perspective to this book's subject. He knows both sides of the application equationwhat colleges most look for in applicants (he was a college admission officer for six years) and what applicants and their parents most look for in colleges.

He is also author of The Princeton Review books Colleges That Create Futures, Colleges That Pay You Back, and the company's annual "best colleges" guideof which the 2019 edition, The Best 384 Colleges, will be published in August. He is co-author of If the U Fits: Expert Advice for Finding the Right College and Getting Accepted.

In tandem with the May 15th release of this book, from May 18th to May 25th The Princeton Review is hosting free practice tests and sample classes across the country, plus a weeklong series of free College Admission 101 webinars for high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors. Students who participate can access timely advice from The Princeton Review college experts on strategies for scoring their best on the PSAT/NMSQT, SAT and ACT, how to build a college list, and what to do when in the college application process. Registration is required. Information is available here.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a leading tutoring, test prep, and college admission services company. Every year, it helps millions of college- and graduate school-bound students achieve their education and career goals through online and in person courses delivered by a network of more than 4,000 teachers and tutors, online resources, and its more than 150 print and digital books published by Penguin Random House. Its Tutor.com brand is the largest online tutoring service in the U.S. It comprises a community of thousands of tutors who have delivered more than 15 million one-to-one tutoring sessions. The Princeton Review is headquartered in New York, NY. The Princeton Review is not affiliated with Princeton University. For more information, visit The Princeton Review. Follow the company on Twitter @ThePrincetonRev.

COLLEGE ADMISSION 101:

Simple Answers To Tough Questions About College Admissions and Financial Aid

by Robert Franek

Penguin Random House / Princeton Review Books

May 15, 2018  $12.99 (Canada $17.99)  194 pages  ISBN: 978-1-5247-5853-0

e-Book edition available June 12, 2018

SAT is a trademark registered and owned by the College Board, which is not affiliated with and does not endorse this product. PSAT/NMSQT is a registered trademark of the College Board and the National Merit Scholarship Corporation which are not affiliated with, and do not endorse this product. ACT is a registered trademark of ACT, Inc.

WEBSITE: www.princetonreview.com

SOURCE The Princeton Review

Related Links

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BOSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ThyroSeq announced today that it will present performance data on utilization of ThyroSeq v3 Genomic Classifier at the upcoming American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) 27th Annual Scientific & Clinical Congress. ThyroSeq v3 Genomic Classifier is based on a robust genomic analysis of 112 genes for >12,000 DNA variants, >120 gene fusions, copy number alterations and gene expression alterations. ThyroSeq has more than 10 years of experience with testing indeterminate cytology nodules for molecular markers and over 5 years of utilizing next-generation sequencing. It relies on a proprietary database containing outcomes on thousands of patients with specific genetic alterations to uniquely provide interpretation of the test results, including cancer probability and aggressiveness. This information is essential to assist physicians with offering the most appropriate management for patients with thyroid nodules that have indeterminate cytology. The new "real world" data from more than 20 institutions on 3,783 FNA samples with indeterminate cytology will be presented at the AACE Annual Congress, which is being held May 16-20 in Boston.

"In this large consecutive series of indeterminate cytology nodules tested by ThyroSeq v3 GC, 62% of cases yielded a negative test result, so that diagnostic surgery may be avoided in most of these patients. Among test-positive nodules, ThyroSeq provided more precise assessment of cancer likelihood and potential for recurrence, allowing physicians to offer more individualized patient management," said Yuri Nikiforov, MD, PhD, one of the authors of the study.

The following abstract will provide information on the utility of ThyroSeq for diagnosis and management of patients with indeterminate cytology nodules in multiple clinical centers in the United States:

Title: Real World Experience with ThyroSeq v3 Genomic Classifier in Thyroid Nodules with Indeterminate Cytology: Results of Testing of the First 3,783 Consecutive Samples (Poster #1221) Presenter: Yuri E. Nikiforov, M.D., University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Date/Time: Saturday, May 19, 10:00 -11:00 a.m. Eastern Time Location: Hynes Convention Center, Exhibit Hall

ThyroSeq will also host the following reception and presentation event supported by Sonic Healthcare USA:



Title: Applying Genomic Science to Thyroid FNA Diagnosis Presenters: Yuri E. Nikiforov, M.D., PhD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Steven Hodak, MD, NYU School of Medicine Date/Time: Thursday, May 17, 7:15-9:15 p.m. Eastern Time Location: Top of the Hub, 800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

About ThyroSeq

ThyroSeq is an innovative proprietary test, which through 10 years of continuous refinement incorporates all major scientific discoveries and utilizes advanced technology to provide the most accurate diagnosis of whether malignant disease is present in thyroid nodules. For more information, visit www.ThyroSeq.com.

MEDIA CONTACT

Jeanine Wilson

(917)841-8565

[email protected]

SOURCE ThyroSeq

Related Links

http://www.ThyroSeq.com


GAINESVILLE, Fla., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TradePMR, a custodial-services provider to registered investment advisors (RIAs), has announced updates to their award-winning1 Fusion platform and their mobile-first platform Earnwise. The updates, including drift features and new money alerts, bring automatic rebalancing and cash management features to an advisor's workstation and/or mobile device. The announcement made today comes just days ahead of TradePMR's annual Synergy Conference where the firm plays host to growth-minded RIAs from across the nation.

"Rebalancing and cash management are two of the most important components of managing a client's portfolio," said Robb Baldwin, founder and CEO of TradePMR. "Including these important features as a basic functionality  not an add-on that is integrated from a third-party technology company  helps level the playing field for growth-minded advisors as they streamline workflows and seek to better serve their clients by using a more holistic digital advice platform."

AUTOMATING INVESTMENT STRATEGY

Drift summary reports are now available in Fusion and Earnwise. The report provides RIAs with nightly reports to review positions and identify drifts from initial model allocations. From this report, advisors can take immediate action, creating a basket trade to adjust positions that have drifted out of preset tolerances. To complement the new drift feature, advisors can subscribe to be notified through alert settings when securities drift outside of set tolerance levels.

"Cash flows and portfolio returns are the first two questions an advisor typically receives when they periodically sit down with their clients," continued Baldwin. "Any time an advisor has the opportunity to automate the firm's investment management strategy, it's a win for them  and it's a win for their clients."

CUSTOMIZABLE MONEY ALERTS

Advisors now have access to a new money alert feature within TradePMR Earnwise and Fusion platforms which notifies advisors when any money is deposited into client accounts, such as when an account receives a wire transfer, ACH or ACAT. The alert is customizable per deposit type and supports custom threshold amounts, which will limit notifications to deposits that are over a specified dollar amount.

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS AT SYNERGY

Details about the Synergy Conference, which is taking place May 16-18, 2018, in San Diego, including the complete list of speakers, full agenda and event registration is available at https://Synergy.TradePMR.com. TradePMR is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a special sunset dinner cruise and a "state of the union" address from founder and CEO Robb Baldwin. For breaking news and conference updates, follow the official Twitter hashtag #TradePMRSynergy.

Sponsoring companies include: FirstClearing^, Ascendant Compliance Management, Black Creek Group, Cion Investments, JVB Financial Group, Nationwide, PPC Loan, Asset Map, CalSurance, Myriad Advisor Solutions, Oranj, PIEtech, Probabilities Fund Management LLC, Redtail, Resource Real Estate, Riskalyze, Snappy Kraken, Sumridge Partners and YCharts.

Members of the media may request a press pass via [email protected].

ABOUT TRADEPMR

For the past 20 years, TradePMR has addressed the technology and support demands of financial advisors with solutions that are easy to implement and user-friendly. The privately held introducing brokerage firm (Member FINRA/SIPC), founded and located in Gainesville, Florida, has maintained a singular focus of providing brokerage and custody services and support to independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) and their clients. The firm delivers an integrated cloud-based workstation designed to enable RIAs to efficiently run their practices and be more effective. More information is available at TradePMR.com.

Follow TradePMR on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn.

^ First Clearing is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.

1Morningstar Magazine  Innovation of the Year, December 2013

MEDIA CONTACT:

Jessica Taylor Shores

Impact Communications Inc.

Phone: 800-974-7753

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE TradePMR
SILVER SPRING, Md., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In celebration of Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC) Global Awareness Day on May 15, the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance (TS Alliance) today announced its newest Global Alliances: the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance of India and the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance Foundation in Thailand. These new international partnerships will enhance community support, clinical care, education and research efforts in both countries. Affecting 1 million worldwide, TSC is a rare genetic disorder that causes tumors to form in vital organs; it's also the leading genetic cause of epilepsy and autism.

"We are honored to partner with the TS Alliance and become one of the newest Global Alliances. We look forward to working together to provide support for the TSC community in Thailand," said Nok Brenden, Co-Founder, Tuberous Sclerosis Foundation, Thailand.

"The rich experience and support the TS Alliance will provide to this partnership will enable us to organize support group interactions, increase awareness and help empower individuals and families in India to better manage the outcomes of individuals with TSC. Being part of a global community, we can work more efficiently and effectively in finding a cure for TSC," shared Shoba Srivastava, President, Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance of India.

The TS Alliance's Global Alliance program was created in 2014 to address unmet needs within the global TSC community at the country level. This program provides the opportunity for the TS Alliance to share experiences and assist in the start-up or support of TSC-related organizations in other countries. A Global Alliance is a structured group of empowered and caring volunteers who work closely with the TS Alliance to facilitate local connections for individuals and families affected by TSC, raise revenue and increase awareness while supporting the mission of the organization. The TS Alliance also has a formal partnerships with TS Alliance of Israel, Tuberous Sclerosis Canada Sclerose Tubereuse, TS Alliance of Mexico and Hungarian Foundation for Tuberous Sclerosis.

"The TS Alliance is excited to add two outstanding global partners with the new organizations in India and Thailand," said TS Alliance President & CEO Kari Luther Rosbeck. "We look forward to sharing our resources and knowledge as they work to advocate for individuals and families living with TSC, increase awareness and improve quality of care."

The TS Alliance is dedicated to finding a cure for tuberous sclerosis complex, while improving the lives of those affected. Founded in 1974, it works to improve quality of life for individuals and families affected by TSC by stimulating and sponsoring research; creating programs, support services and resource information; and developing and implementing public and professional programs designed to heighten awareness of the disease.

For more information about TSC and the TS Alliance, visit www.tsalliance.org.

Contact: Jaye Isham, [email protected], 301-562-9890

SOURCE Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance

Related Links

http://www.tsalliance.org


VIENNA, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Turkey becomes the 17th member state of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development

The number of member states of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) has increased by one as of May 2018. Turkey has become the 17th state to join ICMPD, an international migration policy organisation founded 25 years ago with Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. ICMPD already enjoys long-lasting cooperation with Turkey and runs several projects and activities from its office in Ankara.

"We are pleased to have gained yet another member state that is unquestionably a key stakeholder in the field of migration," said ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger. "At the present time, no other country in the world is hosting as many refugees as Turkey. We are pleased to welcome Turkey as a reliable partner to our family of member states."

ICMPD was founded in 1993, on the initiative of Austria and Switzerland, at a time when the migration reality in Europe saw dramatic changes following the political changes in Eastern Europe and the Balkan conflicts. The ranks of its member states saw their first growth in the 1990s with the addition of Hungary (in 1995) and Slovenia (in 1998). The Czech Republic then followed (in 2001), as did Sweden and Portugal (both in 2002) and Bulgaria (in 2003). Croatia and Poland joined next (both in 2004) as well as Slovakia (in 2006). Romania and Serbia were the next to join (in 2011) as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina (in 2012) and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (in 2015). Malta and Turkey both join in 2018.

The International Centre for Migration Policy Development is a key player in the migration field. It works with a regional approach in order to create efficient cooperation and partnerships along migration routes. Priority regions include Africa, Central and South Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Its three pillar approach to migration management - structurally linking research, migration dialogues and capacity building - contributes to better migration policy development world-wide. ICMPD has a staff of about 300 people and is active in more than 90 countries worldwide. The Vienna-based organisation has a mission in Brussels, a regional office in Malta and project offices in several countries.

More Information and Interview Requests

Bernhard Schragl

ICMPD - Communication and Media Coordinator

T: +43-1-504-4677-2444

E: [email protected]



www.icmpd.org

SOURCE ICMPD - International Centre for Migration Policy Development
"Rob brings the operational skills and leadership scale to enable UpLift in our mission to make travel more accessible, affordable and rewarding for everyone," said UpLift Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Barth, "His experience managing the $20B enterprise product business at Cisco and deep understanding of enterprise needs is a perfect complement to our team of deep travel, financial and consumer expertise. With Tom's proven ability to create value in travel markets and Noha's global capital markets experience we are ready to serve the largest and most complex travel providers in the world."

Barth, who founded SideStep - acquired by Kayak in 2007, now one of 6 primary brands of Booking Holdings - and created the meta-search for travel category, founded UpLift in 2013 to change the way consumers are able to purchase travel. UpLift Pay Monthly has been adopted by top travel suppliers and is enabling those brands to drive conversion, enhance profitability and build loyalty with travelers. Uplift is live today on the vacation package sites of Universal Studios, American Airlines, JetBlue, Funjet, Spirit as well as United Vacations and Southwest Vacations.

"We set out to build the best digital lending platform for Point of Sale," said UpLift President Rob Soderbery. "With that platform, we are now focused on creating great experiences for travelers while driving conversion, revenue and ancillaries for our travel partners. I am excited to take an operating role at UpLift helping Brian and the team achieve their vision."

UpLift enables travel providers to offer low, fixed monthly payments to their travelers. Uplift is focused on responsible lending, security and privacy for both consumers and providers. UpLift offers are always simply and clearly presented enabling consumers to make responsible choices. UpLift is PCI Level 1 compliant, and never shares or sells partner or consumer data.

Rob Soderbery - President

Rob Soderbery brings more than 30 years of product, technology and general management experience, most recently at Cisco as SVP and General Manager of the Enterprise Segment, with responsibility over $20B in Cisco products. He is active as an investor and advisor to numerous startups. Prior to Cisco, he held executive roles at Symantec and Veritas Software. He holds a BSEE from Caltech and MSEE from Stanford University.

Tom Botts - Chief Commercial Officer

Tom Botts brings deep travel industry knowledge and experience to UpLift. Botts has held positions in hospitality, online travel agencies and airlines including mostly recent serving as SVP and CMO at Miraval Group, a KSL Capital Partners portfolio company acquired by Hyatt Hotels and Resorts. Earlier, Botts co-founded travel industry consulting practice Hudson Crossing where he served as Managing Partner. Botts also has senior management experience at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Hotwire.com, and Delta Air Lines. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, and is an active investor and advisor across the travel landscape.

Noha Carrington - Chief Capital Officer

Noha Carrington brings proven ability to work with the most demanding global equity and debt investors, with deep experience in capital markets in New York, California and the Pacific Rim. Most recently, as founder and Chief Investment Officer at Carrington Strategic Advisors she provided customized investment products for clients around the globe. Prior to her shift to the buy-side, she spent 15 years as a global equity derivative sales trader with senior roles at Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers. She started her career with roles at Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

Carrington received her BS Finance summa cum laude from the University of Connecticut and her M.B.A. cum laude in Finance from New York University Stern Business School. She serves on the Board of the University of Connecticut and is a member of both the Investment and Governance committees.

About Uplift

Built by world-class travel technologists, UpLift helps the world's biggest travel brands build top line revenue and decrease transaction costs - boosting conversion rates, merchandising specific products and increasing total trip value. We are digital marketers and fintech experts whose core technology, the UpLift Engine, was designed by the team that created the original travel meta-search. Our flagship product, Pay Monthly, lets travelers buy now and pay later, with monthly installment payments offered at the industry's lowest rates.

Contact:

Michael Frenkel, MFC PR

(201) 317-7035

[email protected]

SOURCE UpLift
WABAN, Mass., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Temkin Group announces the release of the 2018 Temkin Trust Ratings (TTR). Based on a study of 10,000 U.S consumers, the ratings benchmarks the level of trust that consumers have with 318 companies across 20 industries. USAA's (TTR of 81%) banking business earned the top spot, followed by Wegmans (79%), credit unions (77%), H-E-B (77%), and USAA's credit card and insurance businesses (75%).

Four TV/Internet service providers earned the lowest Temkin Trust Ratings: Comcast (22%), Charter Spectrum (25%), Optimum (29%), and Cox Communications (29%).

Temkin Ratings: The Open-Source Benchmark of Customer Experience And Loyalty (TemkinRatings.com)

"When it comes to earning consumer trust, TV/Internet service providers are failing miserably. They let down customers so regularly that they've fostered an environment of deep mistrust," states Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.

Highlights of the 2018 Temkin Trust Ratings include:

The supermarket industry earned the highest average TTR (66%), followed by investment firms (62%), insurance companies (61%), and auto dealers (61%).





TV/Internet service providers earned the lowest average TTR (32%), well below the next lowest industry, health plans (49%).





When compared with their industry averages, eight companies earned TTRs that were at least 15 points above their peers: USAA (banks and credit cards), Alabama Power Company , credit unions, TriCare, Advantage Rent-A-Car, Regions Bank, and Navy Federal Credit Union.





(banks and credit cards), , and Seven companies earned TTRs that were 15 or more points below their industry averages: Days Inn, Sears, San Diego Gas & Electric, CarMax, Wells Fargo, Motel 6, and Spirit Airlines.





and The TTRs for all 20 industries declined between 2017 and 2018. The largest decline was in utilities (-6.2 %-points) and the smallest decline was in health plans (-0.9).





Between 2017 and 2018, Showtime improved the most (+13 %-points). Six other companies improved by seven or more points: Taco Bell, Whirlpool, Pizza Hut, Foot Locker, Family Dollar, and O'Reilly Auto Parts.





improved the most (+13 %-points). Six other companies improved by seven or more points: and Between 2017 and 2018, Appalachian Power Company declined the most (-26 %-points). Eight other companies declined by 15 or more points: Spirit Airlines, Michael's, Jeep, CarMax, Fox Rent A Car, Haier, PSE&G, and HSBC.

In its eighth year of publication, the 2018 Temkin Trust Ratings examines the likelihood of consumers to trust companies. It evaluates 318 companies across 20 industries: Computers & Tablets, Insurance, Investments, Credit Cards, Health Plans, TV/Internet Service, Streaming Media, Wireless, Airlines, Hotels & Rooms, Retailers, Fast Food, Rental Cars & Transport, Supermarkets, Parcel Delivery, TV & Appliances, Auto Dealers, Software Firms, and Utilities.

The 2018 Temkin Trust Ratings along with other ratings can be accessed at the Temkin Ratings website, www.TemkinRatings.com.

Detailed results and datasets for the 2018 Temkin Trust Ratings can be downloaded from the Customer Experience Matters blog, at ExperienceMatters.wordpress.com as well as from the Temkin Group website, www.TemkinGroup.com.

About Temkin Ratings: Temkin Ratings is a product of Temkin Group that amplifies the voice of consumers by making their feedback widely available and comparable across companies and industries. It's a collection of different benchmark metrics that provide key insights into how large organizations treat their customers. Temkin Ratings evaluates organizations based on feedback collected from a large-scale online survey of consumers, with quotas set to closely match the U.S. Census data for age groups, income levels, gender, geographic region, and ethnicity. Temkin Ratings include, Temkin Experience Ratings, Temkin Forgiveness Ratings, and Temkin Trust Ratings.

About Temkin Group: Temkin Group is widely recognized as a leading customer experience research and consulting firm. Many of the world's largest brands rely on its insights and advice to steer their transformational journeys. Temkin Group combines customer experience thought leadership with a deep understanding of the dynamics of organizations to help accelerate results. Rather than layering on cosmetic changes, Temkin Group helps companies embed practices within their culture by building four critical competencies: Purposeful Leadership, Employee Engagement, Compelling Brand Values, and Customer Connectedness. The firm's ongoing research identifies leading and emerging best practices across a wide range of activities for engaging the hearts and minds of customers, employees, and partners. For more information, contact Bruce Temkin at 617-916-2075 or send an email to [email protected].

Customer Experience Matters is a registered trademark of Temkin Group.

SOURCE Temkin Group

Related Links

https://temkingroup.com


PITTSBURGH, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers union (USW) issued the following statement today in response to the introduction of the PRINT Act into the U.S. Senate. The USW also sent a letter calling on senators to protect U.S. jobs by opposing the proposed legislation.

The USW strenuously opposes the PRINT Act, a piece of legislation which, if enacted, would seriously weaken U.S. trade enforcement by undermining current anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws.

Workers and companies currently rely on the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission (ITC) to review cases and protect them from illegal dumping and subsidies, which hurt American industry and imperil U.S. jobs. The PRINT Act would inject partisan Congressional politics into this process.

"The PRINT Act sets a dangerous precedent where workers or companies who are victims of unfair trade could have their rights taken away by powerful special interests," said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.

Under the proposed legislation, foreign lobbyists and other special interest groups could circumvent current U.S. trade enforcement by petitioning Congress directly to nullify the results of the ITC's or the Commerce Department's investigations.

"Senators who agree to support the PRINT Act are giving a green light to special interest lobbyists and foreign governments to undermine trade enforcement by dismantling our nation's carefully crafted trade laws," said Gerard.

The USW has participated in more than 80 trade enforcement cases to combat foreign unfair trade. Adding more unnecessary delays and more opportunities for circumvention will only further hurt American workers.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: www.usw.org.

CONTACT:

Holly Hart: (202) 778-4384

[email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


SAN JOSE, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today formally introduced the VESA Display Compression-M (VDC-M) standard, a new display interface compression standard designed for embedded mobile display applications, including smart phones and other hand-held devices. Developed in collaboration with the MIPI Alliance, VDC-M provides a higher level of compression ratio (up to 5:1) at the same visually lossless quality level as VESA's Display Stream Compression (DSC) standard (which offers up to 3:1 compression), with the trade-off of higher circuit complexity. VDC-M is the third compression standard in VESA's family of compression codecs, which include DSC 1.1 (introduced in 2014) and DSC 1.2 (introduced in 2017).

"VESA was a pioneer in the area of low-latency data compression specifically targeting the display interface," according to Bill Lempesis, executive director of VESA. "The initial application for VESA's effort in this area was the Embedded DisplayPort Standard (eDP) and MIPI DSI, both which currently use DSC 1.1, with the specific intent to increase battery life and reduce form factor. The success of this spearheaded our effort on DSC 1.2 for external displays, primarily focusing on increasing display resolution. Working again with MIPI through their liaison with VESA, we returned our focus on mobile displays with VDC-M, developing a display compression standard more optimized for smaller mobile devices such as smart phones."

As the demand for higher image quality and resolution on mobile devices continues to increase, system designers are under increased pressure to find innovative ways to support higher bandwidth across display links without compromising on the overall size, cost and battery life of the mobile device. VDC-M version 1.1 is a higher-complexity codec targeting higher rates of compression for use with higher resolution displays within a smartphone and other embedded usages. For a 30-bit image, VDC-M can enable compression down to 6 bits per pixel, providing a compression ratio of up to 5:1 while maintaining visually lossless viewing with no attendant loss of bandwidth.

Based on the broad industry support in developing the VDC-M standard, VESA expects the same broad industry adoption and longevity enjoyed by its DSC predecessors. The MIPI Alliance is already announcing plans to include VDC-M in its upcoming mobile display transport specification.

"The longstanding liaison relationship between MIPI Alliance and VESA has resulted in yet another advancement for the mobile ecosystem," said Joel Huloux, chairman of MIPI Alliance. "Ultimately, consumers want richer content on smaller devices. The combination of VESA VDC-M and MIPI DSI-2 will enable companies to deliver on those market demands faster and more efficiently."

While VDC-M has an increase in computational complexity compared to DSC, the ability to enable a higher level of compression provides additional design flexibility for system designers due to the ability to increase the resolution and/or color bit depth using the same display interface, or by lowering system power for the same display by reducing the link clock rate. VDC-M can also reduce power, weight and system cost by reducing the number of interface wires and connectors compared with no compression or less compression. In addition, the frame buffer size in video memory can be reduced, which is beneficial in reducing the form factor and extending the battery life of mobile devices.

"Hardent is pleased to announce the upcoming availability of new VDC-M encoder and decoder IP cores. Our unique position as a leading provider of VESA DSC IP cores since 2014, and active contributor to the VDC-M Task Group, has allowed us to design a quality IP solution that will enable the semiconductor industry to accelerate the adoption of VESA's latest video compression standard with significantly lower risk," stated Alain Legault, VP IP Products at Hardent.

Media participating at Display Week 2018 in Los Angeles next week are invited to attend a presentation by York University on Friday May 25 in Session 85 (Image Quality), titled "Visually Lossless Compression of High-Dynamic Range Images: A Large-Scale Evaluation," which evaluates the VDC-M and DSC standards at several compression levels for HDR image compression.

For more information on VDC-M, including a side-by-side comparison with VESA's DSC compression standards, please visit https://www.vesa.org/vesa-display-stream-codecs/.

About VESA

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) is an international, non-profit standards association representing a global network of more than 270 hardware, software, computer, display and component manufacturers committed to developing and promoting the electronics industry. For nearly 30 years, VESA has created and supported simple, universal and cross-product solutions for today's video and electronics industry. The association's standards include DisplayPort, the industry replacement for DVI, LVDS and VGA. DisplayPort utilizes a state-of-the-art digital protocol and provides an expandable foundation to enable astonishing digital display experiences. For more information on VESA, please visit http://www.vesa.org/.

VESA is a registered trademark of VESA. All other trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA)

Related Links

https://www.vesa.org


BOSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyros Law Offices is alerting investors of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) that it is filling legal claims against the company for possible securities fraud violations committed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX).

Kyros Law has recently signed numerous investors that have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the company. Kyros Law is dedicated to fighting for the rights of these investors, and other investors that have lost money in VRX stock.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) investors that have invested over $100,000 before March 2016 are urged to contact our law firm immediately to protect their rights. Visit our VRX Lawsuit website or call 1-800-934-2921 to speak to someone about your case.

The potential legal claims concern possible violations of securities law committed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) management that has led to significant losses to investors. Recent lawsuits filed against the company allege that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) may have improperly used a pharmacy network to artificially increase sales for their drugs.

In February 2016, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) announced it would restate its financial results, citing issues with revenue recognition stemming from sales from a specific pharmacy network. That same month, the company came under SEC investigation. During this time, the stock price of VRX dropped significantly, with the share prices dropping more than 90%.

Kyros Law Offices urges Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE:VRX) investors that invested more than $100,000 prior to March 2016 to contact our law firm immediately to protect their rights. Visit our VRX Lawsuit website or call 1-800-934-2921 to find out if you have a case.

Kyros Law specializes in a wide range of complex litigation, mass torts, and corporate governance matters, including the representation of whistleblowers, shareholders and consumers in securities fraud, false claims act and class actions. Our lawyers have been responsible for recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients throughout the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe. Visit our website to learn more about our firm.

SOURCE Kyros Law

Related Links

https://www.kyroslaw.com


Moscow and Cairo on Monday slammed the United States decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem.

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the status of Jerusalem should be resolved exclusively through direct dialogue between the leadership of Israel and Palestine.

The Egyptian foreign ministry, in a statement expressing strong denunciation of Israels use of force against Palestinian civilians, said Cairo totally supports the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.

The United States betrayed the peace process by opening an embassy in Jerusalem, the ministry said.

The embassy move follows U.S. President Donald Trumps decision last December to break with decades of U.S. policy and recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

The decision has delighted Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who welcomed the decision, saying it reflected that the Jewish people have had a capital for 3,000 years, and that it is called Jerusalem.

The move upset the Arab world and Western allies. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called it a slap in the face and said the United States can no longer be regarded as an honest broker in any peace talks with Israel.

Arab nations and the worlds largest body of Muslim-majority nations on Monday said it strongly rejects and condemns the White Houses deplorable action.

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation said it considers the U.S. move an illegal decision and an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people.
SALT LAKE CITY, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Western Governors University recently announced $40,000 in nursing scholarships to honor the leadership of Linda Knodel, Senior Vice President of National Patient Care Services at Kaiser Permanente and a member of Western Governors University's (WGU) National Nursing Advisory Board. The Linda Knodel Leaders in Nursing Scholarship, valued at up to $5,000 per student, is for nursing students in the MSN-Leadership & Management and the Master of Health Leadership degree programs.

Learn more about WGU's Linda Knodel Leaders in Nursing Scholarship at www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/scholarships/knodel.

Each Linda Knodel Leaders in Nursing Scholarship will be applied at the rate of $1,250 per six-month term, renewable for up to four terms. Students enrolling in either WGU's Master of Science in Nursing-Leadership and Management or Master of Health Leadership are eligible to apply. Applications are open to new students who have been officially admitted to WGU. While multiple scholarships will be awarded over the course of the next two years, this is a competitive program, and scholarships will be granted based on a candidate's academic record, financial need, readiness for online study, and current competency, as well as other considerations.

As part of the application process, students will be asked to share an example of their personal leadership within their healthcare organization or demonstrate how earning their master's degree will facilitate achievement of their leadership goals.

WGU's use of competency-based education, which focuses on measuring learning rather than time spent in class, allows students to earn their degrees by demonstrating mastery of the subject matter they need to be successfulreal-world competencies developed in collaboration with employers. Designed to meet the needs of adult learners, competency-based education allows students to take advantage of their knowledge and experience to move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. WGU faculty members work one-on-one with students as mentors, offering guidance, support, and individualized instruction. While WGU's degree programs are rigorous and challenging, competency-based learning makes it possible for students to accelerate their progress, saving both time and money.

About WGU

Established in 1997 by 19 U.S. governors with a mission to expand access to high-quality, affordable higher education, online, nonprofit WGU now serves 98,000 students nationwide and has more than 108,000 graduates in all 50 states. Driving innovation as the nation's leading competency-based university, WGU has been recognized by the White House, state leaders, employers, and students as a model that works in postsecondary education. In just 21 years, the university has become a leading influence in changing the lives of individuals and families, and preparing the workforce needed in today's rapidly evolving economy. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, has been named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies, and was featured on NPR, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and in The New York Times. Learn more at www.wgu.edu.

Follow WGU:

http://www.facebook.com/wgu.edu

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university

http://twitter.com/wgu

http://www.youtube.com/WesternGovernorsUniv

http://google.com/+wgu

http://news.wgu.edu/news/news.xml

Contact for media inquiries:

Joan Mitchell  VP of Public Relations

801-428-5463

[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:

866-225-5948

wgu.edu

SOURCE Western Governors University

Related Links

http://www.wgu.edu


SAN ANTONIO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Enrique Garcia started his career in healthcare 14 years ago, following family members who share a long history of service in the medical field. Along the way, he found a passion for creating positive patient experiences and a desire to advance his career into management. To help with this, Garcia enrolled in WGU Texas to pursue his MBA in Healthcare Management.

On May 2, WGU Texas surprised Garcia with a $2,500 Healthcare Partners Scholarship during a presentation at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital in San Antonio.

"My MBA in Healthcare Management degree from WGU will allow me to advance into a leadership role, where I can help mold others and provide exceptional care for those in my community," said Garcia. "Now is the perfect time to pursue my degree and I thank WGU Texas and their healthcare partnership for providing the opportunity to continue my education."

Garcia credits his employer and supervisor for encouraging him to achieve his goals to complete this academic milestone. "We're so very proud of Enrique. He is a valued employee with lots of compassion, drive, and ambition," said Glinda Weary, Nursing Director of Cardiovascular Transitional Services (CVTS) and Garcia's supervisor. "We're elated to have him on our CVTS team."

Metropolitan Methodist Hospital is a WGU Texas educational partner institution. Through this partnership, employees are eligible for tuition discounts and the WGU Texas Healthcare Partners Scholarship.

WGU Texas' competency-based learning model is ideal for adult learnersbecause it allows students to take advantage of their knowledge and real-world experience to move quickly through material they already know so they can focus on what they still need to learn. Students who devote additional time to their studies can often accelerate their programs, saving both time and money. WGU Texas mentors work one-on-one with students, offering guidance, support, and individualized instruction.

About WGU Texas

WGU Texas is an online, nonprofit, competency-based university established to expand Texans' access to higher education throughout the state. Formed through a partnership between the state of Texas and nationally-recognized Western Governors University, WGU Texas is open to all qualified Texas residents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the high-demand career fields of business, K-12 teacher education, information technology, and health professions, including nursing.

Degrees are granted under the accreditation of Western Governors University, which is accredited through the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Teachers College programs are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), and nursing programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).*

Learn more at texas.wgu.edu or call 1-877-214-7011.

*Western Governors University offers nursing programs that are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 5380, Washington, DC 20036, 202-877-6791).

Follow WGU Texas:

http://www.facebook.com/WGUTexas

http://www.linkedin.com/companies/western-governors-university

http://twitter.com/wgutexas

Contact for media inquiries:

Kathy Koza, PR Manager

512.225.6644 or 214.674.8057 (c)

[email protected]

Contact for enrollment information:

877.214.7011

texas.wgu.edu

SOURCE WGU Texas

Related Links

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AARHUS, Denmark, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

This week the European Commission will begin the process of awarding thousands of municipalities across the EU with grants to build municipal Wi-Fi networks. During the next three years, the EC will inject a total of 120M into new infrastructure for free Wi-Fi across the EU.

At Wi-Fi NOW, we want to make certain that this project - which is of unprecedented importance to Europe and to the global Wi-Fi industry - is successful. To that end, Wi-Fi NOW has today entered into an agreement with several partners to form a support and service organisation aimed at ensuring the successful introduction of WiFi4EU-funded free Wi-Fi services.

The organisation is known as the WiFi4Europe Association & Advisory or WAA. The WAA relies on (and is partly owned by) a number of partners and is supported by corporate donors. In the spirit of full transparency, we will release more information on the WAA's structure and ownership in due course.

The expressed goal of WiFi4EU is to effectuate the build of up to 8,000 municipal Wi-Fi networks. But a successful free municipal Wi-Fi service involves a lot more than simply installing a handful of Wi-Fi routers and connecting them to the Internet. To ensure popular success of prospective WiFi4EU networks, WAA provides a wide range of services including project audit and review, network solution development, optimizing project utility value, community creation and support, development of WiFi4EU best practices, WiFi4EU certification programs (targeted for 2019), and more.

The advisory services and memberships are offered at minimum possible cost in order to benefit as many EU municipalities - large and small - as possible. The WAA secretariat is staffed by technical and institutional experts with specific expertise and experience in municipal Wi-Fi.

Here is a short appeal: If you are a municipality or equipment/service supplier with the intention of participating in the WiFi4EU program, we encourage you to contact us immediately. It is of the utmost importance for the success of WiFi4EU that as many as parties as possible engage in information sharing and consistent practices from the start. We stand ready to serve you.

About Wi-Fi NOW:

Wi-Fi NOW is the world's leading event, media, and advisory organisation dedicated to the global Wi-Fi industry. For more about Wi-Fi NOW go to http://www.wifinowevents.com

About WiFi4Europe.org:

WiFi4Europe (WAA) supports the interest and goals of the community of WiFi4EU recipients and the Wi-Fi industry across Europe. WiFi4Europe delivers advisory services and success-critical information to support its government and corporate members and to facilitate the successful build and sustainable use of thousands of WiFi4EU free Wi-Fi networks across the EU. For more and to contact us, go to http://www.wifi4europe.org.

SOURCE Wi-Fi NOW
BEIJING, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. ("Xinyuan" or "the Company") (NYSE: XIN), an NYSE-listed real estate developer and property manager primarily in China and in other countries, today announced changes to its Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board").

The Board welcomes the appointments of Mr. Samuel Shen and Dr. Hao Gao as independent directors. Mr. Shen will be on the Compensation Committee and Investment Committee. Dr. Gao will serve as a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Audit Committee. Dr. Huai Chen and Mr. Steve Sun will resign as directors of the Board.

Mr. Samuel Shen is president of JD Cloud, the cloud business unit under JD.com, China's largest online retailer. Reporting directly to Richard Liu, JD.com CEO and chairman, Mr. Shen leads the efforts of JD Cloud to extend its offerings of tailored service solutions to a wide range of vertical industries. Mr. Shen previously held various senior positions at Microsoft, including chairman of the Microsoft Asia-Pacific Technology Company, COO of the Microsoft Asia-Pacific R&D Group, and general manager of Microsoft Cloud and Enterprise China. Before Microsoft, he worked at IDT in California. Mr. Shen holds a Master's Degree in Computer Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Dr. Hao Gao is the director of the Global Family Business Research Center and the director of Strategic Partnership and Development Office at Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, as well as the chief editor of the Family Business Series and Family Wealth Series published by the People's Publishing House/Oriental Press. He is also an independent director of Modern Media Holdings Limited (HKEX: 00072). Dr. Gao obtained a Bachelor's Degree in Automation Engineering from Tsinghua University, a Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Peking University, and a Ph.D. Degree in Management Science and Engineering from Tsinghua University. He has completed the Corporate Boards Program, the Audit Committees Program, and the Compensation Committees Program at Harvard Business School, as well as the Mergers and Acquisitions Program and the People, Culture, and Performance Program at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University.

Mr. Yong Zhang, Xinyuan's Chairman, commented, "On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Dr. Chen and Mr. Sun for their services to Xinyuan. Their expertise and counsel have contributed to our success, and we wish both of them the best in their future endeavors. Meanwhile, I would like to welcome Mr. Shen and Dr. Gao as our new board members. We believe Mr. Shen's intimate knowledge of the practical applications of today's leading technologies will provide us with valuable insight and guidance in our pursuit of our strategic, long-term growth goals. Dr. Gao's extensive knowledge and experience in finance and management will add to our strategic building and corporate governance initiatives."

About Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd. ("Xinyuan") is an NYSE-listed real estate developer and property manager primarily in China and in other countries. In China, Xinyuan develops and manages large scale, high quality real estate projects in over ten tier one and tier two cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Jinan, Xi'an, Suzhou, among others. Xinyuan was one of the first Chinese real estate developers to enter the U.S. market and over the past few years has been active in real estate development in New York. Xinyuan aims to provide comfortable and convenient real estate related products and services to middle-class consumers. For more information, please visit http://www.xyre.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements". These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements includes statements about estimated financial performance and sales performance and activity, among others, and can generally be identified by terminology such as "will", "expects", "anticipates", "future", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical statements are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated, including, but not limited to, our ability to continue to implement our business model successfully; our ability to secure adequate financing for our project development; our ability to successfully sell or complete our property projects under construction and planning; our ability to enter successfully into new geographic markets and new business lines and expand our operations; the marketing and sales ability of our third-party sales agents; the performance of our third-party contractors; the impact of laws, regulations and policies relating to real estate developers and the real estate industry in the countries in which we operate; our ability to obtain permits and licenses to carry on our business in compliance with applicable laws and regulations; competition from other real estate developers; the growth of the real estate industry in the markets in which we operate; fluctuations in general economic and business conditions in the markets in which we operate; and other risks outlined in our public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or review publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statement is made.

For more information, please contact:

In China:

Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Mr. Charles Wang

Investor Relations Director

Tel: +86 (10) 8588-9314

Email: [email protected]

ICR, LLC

Mr. William Zima

In U.S.: +1-646-308-1472

In China: +86 (10) 6583-7511

Email: [email protected]

Media:

Mr. Edmond Lococo

In China: +86 (10) 6583-7510

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Xinyuan Real Estate Co., Ltd.

Related Links

http://www.xyre.com


"This is a very difficult time for our boys and me but also for our Young Living family," said Mary Young. "Sharing the amazing benefits of essential oils with people around the world was a passion that Gary and I shared. It's why we built Young Living. To continue that mission and carry that legacy into the future, in recent years we have been recruiting and developing a truly world-class executive team. Gary had the utmost confidence in Jared to lead our talented team and was at peace that the company is well-positioned to follow the path he envisioned."

The undisputed leader of the global essential oil movement, Young spent 35 years studying the benefits and perfecting the extraction of essential oils, while building a billion-dollar global business designed to share what he deemed "the gift" of essential oils with millions of people.

Described as a "modern pioneer," Young was part innovator and part historian. His pursuit of wellness discoveries was rooted in ancient practices as he sought to unlock and share the benefits bestowed by essential oils from herbs, plants, and trees. His research would take him to the remote corners of the Earth and often back in time to better understand the many wellness-supporting benefits of natural essential oils overlooked by modern society.

After learning about essential oils in the 1980s, Young journeyed to France, where he studied and learned everything he could about essential oilsfrom how the plants were grown and distilled to the wellness benefits of the oils produced.

Upon his return to the United States, he planted a field of lavender behind his office in Spokane, Washington, from seeds he acquired while in France and started his farm in St. Maries, Idaho, in 1992. Gary began planting different aromatic crops in his desire to understand growth, cultivation, and oil extraction. He built two small distillers for his first extractions at the farm and then in 1994 built his first stainless steel stationary steam distillery. He wanted to teach and educate, so he decided to start Young Living Essential Oils in 1993 and incorporated it in 1994 in Utah.

It was Young's passion for quality, dedication to the company's customers, and innovation in pioneering the essential oils movements that has propelled Young Living from a small company almost 25 years ago to a global enterprise with more than 16 corporate and partner farms, over 3,000 employees, and well over 4 million customers all over the world today.

"Young Living will continue to honor Gary's life's work of sharing essential oils and their benefits with people around the world," said Jared Turner. "Over the years, he and I have had many discussions about his vision for the future of the company, and we are determined to follow the path that he set forward for Young Living."

Young created a purpose-driven culture for his company, one that's motivated by a desire to serve the global community and to inspire employees and customers around the world.

Through the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation, the company's members and employees travel around the world to work hand-in-hand with local communities. One of Young's proudest accomplishments was building the Young Living Academy, a school in Chongon, Ecuador, for children of this rural community at the edge of the jungle and for the children of the employees who worked at the farm.

The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. MT, on Friday, May 18, at the Whispering Springs Lavender Farm and Distillery, one of Gary's favorite spots in the world. The farm is located at 3700 Old Highway 91, Mona, UT 84645.

A viewing will be held at the farm before the funeral from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m. MT.

Young Living will also announce plans for a ceremony to honor the life of its founder.

Donations in Young's honor can be made to the D. Gary Young, Young Living Foundation to continue his life's work of serving the global community.

About Young Living Essential Oils

Young Living Essential Oils, LC, is the world leader in essential oils, with a strict Seed to Seal program that produces pure essential oil products for every individual, family, and lifestyle. This process ensures that all products are genuine, free of synthetic chemicals, and pure. This commitment stems from the company's more than 24 years of stewardship toward the earth and its people. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com.

Media Contact:

For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].

SOURCE Young Living Essential Oils

Related Links

http://youngliving.com


PALM BEACH, Florida, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Marketnewsupdates.com News Commentary

What do a pack of batteries, a bottle of sunscreen, and a jar of medicine have in common? All of these everyday products contain zinc. These applications barely scratch the surface of the many applications zinc has in people's everyday lives. This rising demand, coupled with slow growth on the supply side, has driven zinc prices to a decade-high, and reignited investor interest in zinc miners like Trevali Mining Corp. (TSX: TV), Teck Resources (NYSE: TECK) (TSX: TECK.A), Glencore PLC (OTC: GLCNF) (LSE: GLEN), Vedanta Resources PLC (OTC: VDNRF), and Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V: CNX) (OTC: CLLXF).

Engineers, Doctors, and Investors All Want Zinc

Zinc's demand is being driven by its diverse range of applications. Consumer demand for zinc is consistently growing, particularly as China also embarks on a massive infrastructure plan. This places customers of the diverse metal, like doctors and building engineers, in direct competition with each other. Pretty much everyone seems to want to get their hands on zinc right now.

However, the real factor driving up the price of zinc is the lack of supply. Wood Mackenzie expects there will be a deficit of 350,000 tonnes this year and 150,000 tonnes in 2019. Inventory now sits at 176,275 tonnes, the lowest since 2008. This lack of supply has played a huge factor in the price of zinc, which has risen by 25% year over year, going from $1,500 per tonne to as high as $3,500 this January- a ten-year high.

This supply deficit is being driven by several factors. First, zinc is not the most common mineral in the world. There are only a limited number of zinc sources available. Second, many existing overseas zinc mines were recently shut down. For example, in 2015, mining giant Glencore cut 500,000 tonnes of production. This has left the door wide open for a new generation of North American zinc miners to fill the void.

With this perfect storm of high demand and low supply driving zinc prices to ten-year highs, it is likely that investors will be closely watching this new generation of zinc mines. Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V:CNX) (OTCQX:CLLXF) is an example of a zinc mining company that could benefit from an increase in investor interest in zinc. On Monday, May 14th, 2018, the company released the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on its Nash Creek deposit in New Brunswick, Canada. The PEA results showed that the property offers an annual production potential of 77 million pounds (35,000 tonnes) of zinc per year. This would allow Callinex Mines Inc. to cover around a tenth of the current global deficit, a significant contribution.

In The Mining Game, PEA is Key

The PEA is one of the first signals to the public that a mining project is viable. It gives investors a glimpse into the overall potential of the mine. For example, in November 2017, Trevali Mining Corp.'s PEA showed an net-present value (NPV) of $166 million and internal rate of return (IRR) of 23%. Trevali's stock rose to a five-year high in the weeks after its PEA, a testament to how positively the market can react to a favorable PEA announcement.

Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V:CNX) (OTCQX:CLLXF)'s maiden PEA results showed that the Nash Creek property boasts a NPV of $230 million with an IRR of 34%. It's important to note that Callinex Mines Inc. currently sits at a market cap of just $20 million, so compared with the valuation of its Nash Creek property, the company is significantly undervalued. Combined with an annual production potential of 77 million pounds of zinc per year, the Nash Creek property could have a significant impact on the landscape of the zinc industry.

In addition to its Nash Creek property, Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V:CNX) (OTCQX:CLLXF) is moving forward with other zinc properties. The company's Superjack property is located just 90 kilometers away from Nash Creek. The Superjack Project is hosted within a similar geological environment as the 'supergiant' Brunswick No. 12 Mine, which was previously the world's largest underground zinc mine, and Trevali's nearby Caribou Mine that is currently in operation.

Shares in Callinex rose 17.4% after announcing the results of the independent study but still traded at a steep discount to the potential value of the project, according to the PEA study.

Other Active Zinc Producers Around The World

Glencore PLC (OTC: GLCNF) (LSE: GLEN.L)

Glencore is considered the biggest zinc producer in the world, with its operations based mainly in Australia. This year, the company intends to restart phased production at its Lady Loretta mine, with 100,000 tonnes of production expected in 2018 and an additional 60,000 tonnes in 2019. By 2020, Glencore expects to be producing 18% more zinc than in 2017, as Lady Loretta runs at full capacity and a new project in Kazakhstan comes on stream.

Vedanta Resources PLC (OTC: VDNRF)

Vedanta subsidiary Hindustan Zinc is the world's second-largest zinc producer. Currently, Hindustan operates the world's largest zinc mine, Rampura Agucha, located in Rajasthan, India. Earlier this year, it commissioned two additional mills in Rajasthan to match the growing zinc demand in India.

Trevali Mining Corp. (TSX: TV)

Trevali is a zinc-focused base metals company operating four mines: the Santander mine in Peru, the Caribou mine in New Brunswick, the Rosh Pinah mine in Namibia, and the Perkoa mine in Burkina Faso. As part of its acquisition of the Namibia and Burkina Faso mines from Glencore, Glencore now holds a 25.6% stake in the company.

Teck Resources (NYSE: TECK) (TSX: TECK-A)

Teck is a diversified resources company focused on copper, metallurgical coal, zinc, and energy. The company's zinc operations are mainly based in Alaska at the Red Dog mine. Last year, Teck produced 659,000 tonnes of zinc in concentrate, which was more than its 2017 production guidance.

Why Zinc, Why Now?

Zinc now plays a critical role in human society, and as such, will likely be in demand for the foreseeable future. Unlike other metals that rely on a single industry, zinc has a diverse range of applications including sunscreens, food additives, medicine, rubber, batteries, and many more. This diverse range of applications protects both the demand for and the price of zinc from shifts occurring within any one industry that consumes the metal.

On top of this, zinc faces a serious supply shortage due to the recent closures of a number of zinc mines. This has led zinc prices to a decade high and created a favorable climate for zinc miners like Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF).

The company is part of a new generation of zinc miners who are moving their projects to completion to help the world satisfy its insatiable demand for zinc. With zinc prices at a decade-high and demand not slowing down, the emergence of a potential world-class mine at Nash Creek may benefit from this perfect storm of soaring demand and dwindling supply.

For more information on Callinex Mines Inc. (TSX-V: CNX) (OTCQX: CLLXF), please visit Microsmallcap.com for a free research report.

DISCLAIMER: Microsmallcap.com (MSC) is the source of the Article and content set forth above. References to any issuer other than the profiled issuer are intended solely to identify industry participants and do not constitute an endorsement of any issuer and do not constitute a comparison to the profiled issuer. FN Media Group (FNM) is a third-party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. FNM is NOT affiliated with MSC or any company mentioned herein. The commentary, views and opinions expressed in this release by MSC are solely those of MSC and are not shared by and do not reflect in any manner the views or opinions of FNM. Readers of this Article and content agree that they cannot and will not seek to hold liable MSC and FNM for any investment decisions by their readers or subscribers. MSC and FNM and their respective affiliated companies are a news dissemination and financial marketing solutions provider and are NOT registered broker-dealers/analysts/investment advisers, hold no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security.

The Article and content related to the profiled company represent the personal and subjective views of the Author (MSC), and are subject to change at any time without notice. The information provided in the Article and the content has been obtained from sources which the Author believes to be reliable. However, the Author (MSC) has not independently verified or otherwise investigated all such information. None of the Author, MSC, FNM, or any of their respective affiliates, guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any such information. This Article and content are not, and should not be regarded as investment advice or as a recommendation regarding any particular security or course of action; readers are strongly urged to speak with their own investment advisor and review all of the profiled issuer's filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission before making any investment decisions and should understand the risks associated with an investment in the profiled issuer's securities, including, but not limited to, the complete loss of your investment. FNM was not compensated by any public company mentioned herein to disseminate this press release but was compensated forty four hundred dollars by MSC, a non-affiliated third party to distribute this release on behalf of Callinex Mines Inc.

FNM HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MSC and FNM undertake no obligation to update such statements.





Media Contact:

FN Media Group, LLC

[email protected]

+1(561)325-8757

SOURCE Marketnewsupdates.com
Real estate investment manager Cromwell Property Group has seen increased demand at its Mary Street commercial tower.

Cromwell has signed more than 13 new leasing deals at its Mary Street asset, predominantly with ASX-listed professional services companies.

The office tower is now close to 90% occupancy with the new tenants joining long-standing occupants Arthur J Gallagher, Australian Associated Press, and Retire Australia is growing financial services firm IOOF, AGL, Computershare, and engineering consultants Northrop.

The 20-level office tower, located at 200 Mary Street, is in the heart of Brisbanes Golden Triangle.

Bobby Binning, Cromwell Head of Property, said the recent deals highlighted the increasing popularity of sub-500 square metre space in the Central Business District

Demand has increased in the past few years, particularly from companies looking for creatively designed fitted tenancies of high quality to cater for the growing needs of these professional services firms, Binning said.

Mary Street is an attractive building for variety of firms as it offers flexibility, as well as quality management to meet the changing needs of our tenants and their employees.

Cromwell purchased the Mary Street asset in 2001 and has since undergone extensive modernisation and refurbishment.
A three bedroom brick and tile house in Koongamia, a northeastern suburb of Perth, has been listed for $349,000 by mortgagees.

The Western Australian home is offered by Donna Gibb from Harcourts.

Built in 2003, the 33B Koolgoo Way house comes with three double sized bedrooms, formal lounge, open plan dining and outdoor entertaining area.

It also features the well-appointed kitchen, entrance hall and family room.

Nestled on an easy care 548 square metre block, it is close to shops, school and public transport.

It last sold at $372,500 in 2007.

It hit the market in March with other agents at $379,000.
EXPERT OBSERVATION

With the release of regional population and migration data for 2016-17, in this weeks Pulse we take a look at where people migrating away from capital cities are ending up moving to.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recently released regional population growth data for 2016-17. The data included information on internal migration showing where people were moving to. Using this data we can determine when people migrate away from a capital city where they are settling. For this we are looking at internal movements from the Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA) to other SA4 regions across the country.

Of those people shifting out of Sydney, the most popular destinations were those directly adjacent to the city: Newcastle/Lake Macquarie and Illawarra. The Australian Capital Territory and Gold Coast also recorded more than 5,000 person arrivals from Sydney over the past year. Six of the top 10 regions for arrival of former Sydney residents were within New South Wales with the remaining for in ACT, Qld and Vic.

The top five regions of arrival for former residents of Melbourne are all within Victoria and they are all directly adjacent to Melbourne. Latrobe-Gippsland (7,259) and Geelong (6,894) have attracted the greatest number of former Melbourne residents over the past year. Seven of the top 10 regions for arrivals of former Melbourne residents were in Victoria with the Gold and Sunshine Coasts in Qld and the ACT accounting for the other three regions in the top 10.



Seven of the top 10 regions for arrivals of departing residents of Brisbane are also located in Qld. The Gold and Sunshine Coasts record a much greater number of arrivals from Brisbane than any of the other regions on the list. Interestingly, the data also suggests that those migrating away from Brisbane to other areas of Qld tend to remain in the southern areas of the state. The three regions of top migration from Brisbane that arent within the state are Melbourne-Inner, Richmond-Tweed (directly adjacent to the Gold Coast) and the ACT.



A reasonably large number of residents leaving Adelaide move to other regions of SA (noting there are only three regional SA4 areas in SA). The South-East region of the state is the most popular for departing Adelaide residents followed by Barossa-Yorke-Mid North. Melbourne is also a popular region for those departing Adelaide accounting for three of the top 10 regions with the ACT, Darwin, Gold Coast and Parramatta also making the list for regions outside of SA.



It is perhaps a little surprising that the top destinations for departing residents of Perth are within Western Australia and not interstate. The four regional SA4 regions of the state are also the top four destinations for those migrating out of Perth. Regions of Melbourne account for three of the remaining five locations outside of WA with Darwin, Gold Coast and ACT also making the list.



The most popular region for residents of Hobart that move out of the city is the surrounding South East region. In fact, the South East has seen double the number of migrants from Hobart than Launceston and the North East in second place. Note that there are only three SA4 regions of Tas outside of Greater Hobart and they are each listed. Outside of Tas, four regions are in Vic (each of which are in Melbourne), two regions are in Qld and the remaining region is the ACT.



When residents of Darwin move away from the city, the greatest share of them move to other parts of the Territory outside of the capital city. Qld is a popular destination from Darwin residents moving away with five of the top 10 regions listed within the state and all except for Ipswich being in coastal locations. The top 10 list also includes one region each in Melbourne, Perth and Adelaide as well as the ACT.



Residents of Canberra that leave dont have the option to move elsewhere within the territory however, a substantial number of them move to the Capital Region located adjacent in NSW. Seven of the 10 most popular regions for people from Canberra to migrate to are in NSW and 6 of them are in Sydney. Elsewhere in the top 10 Canberrans have migrated to two regions of Melbourne and the Gold Coast.



The data shows that overall a significant number of those people that moved away from a capital city over the past financial year moved to an area adjacent to the capital city. Some of these are coastal/lifestyle markets while also being locations where housing is more affordable. The reality is the reasons for moving to these locations likely vary somewhat from one in which the residents are seeking more affordable housing or one in which residents are looking for a seachange/treechange.

CAMERON KUSHER is head of research for CoreLogic. You can contact him here.
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Somalian government has called on African Union (AU) and United Nations to believe in the countrys ability to take over security responsibilities.

The war-torn nations government trough the voice of its National Security Advisor, Abdi said Musse Ali, asked a joint team of the African Union and the United Nations to not judge the country by its past but what it is today and what it will be in future.

Speaking at a high-level meeting attended by AU-UN joint review team, international partners, AMISOM Troop and Police Contributing Countries, held in Mogadishu, Mr. Ali said there was political will from the highest office in the land and the government was ready to handle the countrys security.

The Advisor noted that the transition plan is aimed at securing Somalia, through the implementation of the security architecture developed and adopted by the government last year.

In July 2016, the AU announced plans for a staggered withdrawal, to begin in October 2018 and be completed by the end of 2020. A UN Security Council resolution, adopted last August, authorized a gradual reduction.

However, relentless attacks by the terror group Al Shabaab, coupled with corruption and infighting within military ranks has cast some doubts on whether the Somali National Army is ready to handle the war-torn nations security.

More than 80 percent of the countrys territory has been recovered by the Somalia National Army and AMISOM, but the political and security situation in Somalia remains fragile.

The five East African nations contributing troops to the AMISOM peacekeeping mission in Somalia, in March, called on the U.N. Security Council to keep troops slated for removal by 2020.
Mystery book maven Otto Penzler has started yet another new initiative, Penzler Publishers. The new house will release its first six books this fall under the American Mystery Classics imprint.

American Mystery Classics, Penzler said, will feature traditional mystery stories by some of the most popular writers from what he called the "golden age of detective fiction," which he said ran from the end of World War I through World War II. The new books will be released in both hardcover and trade paperback, but not as e-books.

Penzler said his inspiration to launch the imprint by the fact that British publishers have been successfully releasing mystery reprints from this time period. And, he added, no company in the U.S. has followed suit. Were not doing the hardboiled guys that Vintage does, Penzler explained. Instead, he went on, his imprint will focus on authors such as Ellery Queen and Mary Roberts Rinehart.

Another motivation for creating the new company was to meet the needs of customers who have requested, both in his bookstore and in notes on his website, print copies of classics available now in only in e-book format. Relying on sales of books through his Mysterious Bookshop as well as his Mysterious Press.com e-bookstore, Penzler also found that traditional mysteries were the most in demand.

The Queen book that is part of the inaugural list is The Chinese Orange Mystery, while the Rinehart title is The Red Lamp. Rounding out the list are The So Blue Marble by Dorothy B. Hughes, Death from a Top Hat by Clayton Rawson, Home Sweet Homicide by Craig Rice, and The Puzzle of the Happy Hooligan by Stuart Palmer.

Charles Perry, former managing editor of Penzlers other mystery enterprises, is the publisher of American Mystery Classics. Jane Friedman, who worked with Penzler to publish mystery backlist titles in e-book format while she oversaw Open Road, is serving as a consultant.

Books from the imprint will be distributed by Norton. Penzler will release another six books in March. By 2020, he said he hopes to be releasing 24 books annually.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Purdue University professor Charles R. Santerre has been named a senior policy adviser in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

Santerre, a professor of food toxicology, will advise the Executive Office of the President on policies related to biotechnology, agriculture, rural prosperity and food safety.

Dr. Santerre has a distinguished track record in all three of our land-grant missions of discovery, learning, engagement focused on ensuring the safety of our food supply. We are proud to see that Dr. Santerre will be an adviser to our nations leaders on food safety and other important agricultural issues so they have the best scientific insights to make policy decisions, said Jay Akridge, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity.

Santerre studies emerging chemical hazards in foods, rapid detection and measuring residues in foods. He conducts exposure assessments, assesses bioaccessibility and bioavailability, determines clearance, develops biomarkers, and uses predictive models to predict toxicity.

According to an OSTP statement, Santerre along with other policy councils, will help develop administration policies in these areas of specialization that reflect the presidents key priorities of national security, economic prosperity for all Americans, and reducing overly burdensome regulations. He will also help coordinate interagency work, primarily through the National Science and Technology Council, to ensure that federal efforts related to biotechnology and agriculture are well coordinated, not duplicative, and tap into the right expertise from across the federal research and development enterprise.

He will also help drive much of OSTPs scientific work identified in the administrations recent Rural Prosperity Task Force Report, which presented over 100 recommendations for the federal government to consider in order to help improve life in rural America. President Donald Trump established the Rural Prosperity Task Force by Executive Order in April 2017 in order to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes to promote agriculture, economic development, job growth, infrastructure improvements, technological innovation, energy security, and quality of life in rural America.

Santerres previous engagement efforts have helped policymakers, regulators, agriculture industry representatives, health-care professionals and consumers better understand genetically-enhanced foods. On these topics, he has delivered more than 215 technical presentations nationally and internationally on food biotechnology and food safety. He continues to work closely with policymakers and regulators to bring science into the decision-making process, and he is a noted media source who has participated in more than 300 interviews.

I am honored to serve in this role, as I believe that using scientific evidence to inform policy can be a way for scientists to engage and best serve the public, Santerre said.

Prior to joining OSTP, Santerre served as interim head of the School of Health Sciences in 2013 and 2017-18. In 2014-15, he was selected as a National Academy of Sciences, Jefferson Science Fellow, and was hosted by the U.S. Department of State in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research as an intelligence analyst. In 2014-17, he was appointed to the Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutritions Food Advisory Committee. In 2010-11, he served as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Policy Technology Fellow and was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety Inspection Service, Office of Public Health Science, and Risk Assessment Division, where he developed and has helped implement a vision for identifying, measuring, and responding to emerging chemical contaminants in meat and poultry products. He serves or has served as a food safety expert for the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Life Sciences Institute of North America and the International Food Information Council.

About OSTP

In 1976, Congress established the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to provide the President and others within the Executive Office of the President with advice on the scientific, engineering, and technological aspects of the economy, national security, homeland security, health, foreign relations, the environment, and the technological recovery and use of resources, among other topics.

OSTP also leads interagency science and technology policy coordination efforts, assists the Office of Management and Budget with an annual review and analysis of federal research and development in budgets, and serves as a source of scientific and technological analysis and judgment for the president with respect to major policies, plans, and programs of the federal government.

Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, 765-494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Netflix plans to give Indian viewers a more cinematic TV experience with big budget big scale productions, the streaming giants chief content officer Ted Sarandos has said.





Differentiating its local original content from that of local broadcasters will help Netflix succeed in what he termed a television starved market, speaking at the MoffettNathanson Annual Media & Communications Summit in New York.What we are trying to do is bring something new to the country with cinema-infused television. Big budget big scale productions in long form storytelling, said Sarandos.Noting Indias love of the cinema, we added: We believe that it is the big budget production with scale and local stars which I think people like as much as they love movies.Six original shows are in production in India, with its adaptation of the Vikram Chandra novel Sacred Games, starring Saif Ali Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte set to be the first to stream on 6 July.Sarandos estimates 85% of the companys total spending globally is now on new shows and movies, with 470 originals scheduled to premiere by end of the year. More than 90% of Netflixs customers regularly watch original programming, he added.Appointments have been made to help channel the US companys growth in India. Shrishti Behl has taken the post of director for Netflix originals in India, while former Fox executive Swati Mohan will be responsible for brand marketing in the country. Netflix has also recently announced i t would make its service and complete content library available to subscribers of Indian direct-to-home (DTH) platform Tata Sky over the coming months.This move to expand its reach in India follows similar deals with the now merged DTH companies Dish TV and Videocon d2h, and telco Vodafones RED postpaid customers. Airtel and Jio are also reportedly in talks for a tie-up with the subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) service.
Executive Summary

The world has entered a new era of great power competition. The 2017 U.S. National Security Strategy declared:

After being dismissed as a phenomenon of an earlier century, great power competition returned. China and Russia began to reassert their influence regionally and globally. . . They are contesting our geopolitical advantages and trying to change the international order in their favor.[i]

Building off the concept of a renewed great power competition, the U.S. National Defense Strategy took a broad view of the necessary actions to ensure national security:

A long-term strategic competition requires the seamless integration of multiple elements of national powerdiplomacy, information, economics, finance, intelligence, law enforcement and military. More than any other nation, America can expand the competitive space, seizing the initiative to challenge our competitors where we possess advantages and they lack strength.[ii]

What the National Defense Strategy calls for, in essence, is a Competitive Strategy. This is an approach developed by the Pentagons Office of Net Assessment in the late 1970s to construct a long-term strategy for managing the military threat posed by the Soviet Union.[iii]

The main steps in the Competitive Strategies process are: 1) the identification and evaluation of the enduring strengths and weaknesses of both sides; 2) the alignment of one sides enduring strengths against the others areas of weakness, and; 3) the identification of specific actions that one side can employ to exploit their strengths against the adversarys weakness.

This study seeks to support the visions articulated in the National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy by developing a Competitive Strategy that can be employed to counter Russian aggression against the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). It identifies areas of comparative Western strength and Russian weakness.

It also identifies policies, mechanisms and investments that the U.S. and NATO should pursue to position strengths against weaknesses, thereby enabling the West to compete more effectively against Russia.

The current competition between the U.S./NATO and Russia is fundamentally different from that of the Cold War decades. So too is the international environment in which it is taking place and the relative power of the competitors. Hence, the U.S. needs a new approach to confront the Russian threat to NATO.

A new strategy for the long-term competition with Russia must address the relative prominence of hybrid operations in Russias strategy while simultaneously responding to the marked improvements in its conventional military forces and the evolution of Moscows views regarding escalation to nuclear use. The West faces a multi-faceted threat from an adversary militarily weaker than its Soviet ancestor and more vulnerable to economic pressure, but seemingly much more capable of wielding non-military instruments of state power.

Russia today suffers from a range of strategic weaknesses or vulnerabilities that can be addressed in a long-term Competitive Strategy. These include:

Chronic economic stagnation

An increasingly authoritarian political system

A small number of weak or dysfunctional allies

A conventional military with limited capabilities and excessive ambitions

Difficulties pursuing advanced military technologies

It is important to recognize that NATOs and the U.S challenge is not from any particular element of Russian power. Rather, it is to defeat Putins strategy to disrupt the current international security system by denying Moscow the ability to disrupt this order at minimum risk and an acceptable price.

It is a mistake to view the current struggle between Russia and the Western allies primarily as a military competition. Certainly, attention must be paid to NATOs ability to deter Moscow. But if Russia is denied the possibility of a quick, low-cost military campaign, then the competition will be decided on other battlefields. It is in these other domains that the U.S. and its allies have the advantage and are likely to prevail.

The primary competition should be in areas of Western strength and Russian weakness: economics, information operations, rule of law, the global banking system and advanced technology, such as commercial information technology (IT). The U.S. and its allies need to coordinate strategies to deny Russian access to investment resources and commercial technologies for its oil and gas industry.

The U.S. and NATO must compete with Russia in the conventional and nuclear military spheres. It must be made clear to Russia that it will never have a route to a quick and easy conventional victory against NATO, nor a credible option to escalate to the use of nuclear weapons without the certainty of retaliation. NATO needs a well-funded program to counter Russian investments in anti-access/area denial capabilities, particularly its integrated air defense. NATO needs to exploit its advantage in naval forces.

Air and missile defenses are a necessary component of a NATO Competitive Strategy. Russian leadership continues to be concerned with the potential for defenses to complicate its ability to execute high intensity disarming strikes against NATO. The U.S. and its allies need to exploit these concerns by deploying additional air and missile defenses.

Electronic warfare (EW) and cyber need to be priority areas for investment in a Competitive Strategy to counter Russia. EW assets should be directed at negating Russian air defense sensors, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) assets and communications, command and control systems.

The U.S. and NATO need an information operations strategy that not only defends networks and institutions from attack but also conducts offensive actions against Russia. The Russian leadership is vulnerable to an information operations campaign designed to split them from the people.

Finally, the U.S and its allies must be willing to engage in a long-term competitive campaign to its technological advantage vis-a-vis Russia. Investments need to be made in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomy, hypersonics, directed energy, electronic warfare and cyber.

NATO needs to focus not just on science and technology, but also on related industrial capabilities that will support high quantity production of advanced weapons systems. It is in the latter area that the West has a distinct advantage over Russia.

Click here for the full report.

Notes:

[i] https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf

[ii] https://www.defense.gov/Portals/1/Documents/pubs/2018-National-Defense-Strategy-Summary.pdf

[iii] https://www.dtic.mil/get-tr-doc/pdf?AD=ADA301844
China is moving to establish a network of naval and air bases in the Indian Ocean to support its growing strategic imperatives in the region. This likely includes plans to build bases in the eastern Indian Ocean, in waters much closer to Australia. Australia cannot afford to play onlooker to these developments.

In July 2017, China opened its first overseas military base in Djibouti, and Beijing is currently in negotiations with Pakistan to establish an additional base at or near Gwadar on the Arabian Sea.

But it will not be enough for China to only have capabilities in the north-west Indian Ocean, far from Australia. Chinas strategic imperatives, and the Indian Oceans distance from Chinese territory, mean that Beijing will likely see a need to develop a network of military facilities of various types across the ocean, including in its central/eastern zone.

These bases will be required if China wants to be able to protect the entire length of its eastwest sea lines across the Indian Ocean. Just as importantly, Beijing has growing political imperatives to protect the large number of Chinese nationals and assets across the region.

Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean is forecast to grow from the current 45 vessels to around 20 or more surface vessels and submarines in coming years. This will require a network of naval logistics facilities, including submarine support facilities, particularly if China is to pursue a serious sea denial or sea control strategy across the northern Indian Ocean.

It is not only about naval bases. China will also require air bases in at least three quadrants of the Indian Ocean (north-west, north-east, and south-west) to provide adequate air cover for its Indian Ocean fleet. The Peoples Liberation Army Air Force will not be able to provide adequate coverage with long-range maritime surveillance aircraft (let alone short-range strike aircraft), based in southern/western China. The deployment of aircraft carriers to the Indian Ocean or the use of air tankers based in China are unlikely to be enough to bridge the gap.

Chinas eastern Indian Ocean gambit has been playing out for a while, with Beijing preparing the ground in the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and/or Myanmar. This is a percentages game. Chinas ability to achieve its goals is far from assured, and there will probably be pushback, to different degrees, from potential host governments as well as from others.

The jostling for influence in those countries between China and India is already highly reminiscent of USSoviet competition for influence during the Cold War, and will likely grow in the future.

There has been much controversy over the port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. This sits close to sea lanes across the northern Indian Ocean and would make a fine logistics facility. The takeover of Hambantota by a Chinese company in an equity-for-debt swap last year heightened concerns that the uneconomic port may be converted into a naval base.

Sri Lanka has gone to great lengths to reassure India that Hambantota would not be used for this purpose. But Delhi remains sceptical of Sri Lankas claims, fearing that Chinese economic power will eventually force that country to bow to its demands.

The Maldives archipelago, located in the central Indian Ocean, would also make it an ideal location. Concerns about growing Chinese influence there came to a head early this year during a self coup by President Abdulla Yameen, who is seen as a close friend of Beijing.

But although the Maldives has long been within Indias sphere of influence, Delhi could do little about the coup. Despite conducting large military exercises nearby to show its displeasure, in fact Delhis options were limited.

India had weak grounds on which to intervene under international law (something important for Delhi), and there were real concerns that Beijing might step in to protect Yameen if it did. Indeed, China publicly warned against any intervention by India, stating that it did not want the coup to become another flashpoint. Concerns about a possible unintended shooting match may have been heightened by the likely presence of Chinese security personnel in the Maldives capital.

India was less concerned about restoring democracy in the Maldives and more about the potential for a Chinese base there, particularly on the island of Gan at the southern end of the archipelago.

This is the location of an old British naval and air base which was used up until the 1970s. Its position, relatively close to the US base on Diego Garcia, makes it well placed to cover the central Indian Ocean. For a decade the Indian navy has, with the consent of the Maldives Government, maintained a small maritime surveillance presence at Gan.

But the Indian presence may now have become a bargaining point. In April, Yameen ordered the withdrawal of an Indian naval helicopter from Gan. There are strong suspicions this was done to make way for China.

Indeed, the development of a Chinese naval and air base on Gan or elsewhere in the Maldives would be a game changer in the Indian Ocean, potentially threatening the U.S. military presence at Diego Garcia. The announcement a few days ago that an Indian naval vessel would be permitted to undertake a short patrol in Maldives waters is probably part of an effort by Yameen to play Delhi and Beijing against each other.

Myanmar is another good location. A Chinese naval base there would be well placed to threaten Indias naval dominance of the Bay of Bengal and protect (or threaten) the sea lanes that cross the bay and transit the Strait of Malacca. Although Myanmars previous military regime was a close collaborator with Beijing for almost three decades, it was able to successfully resist Chinese efforts to build a military presence in its country (despite some reports to the contrary).

But Myanmars new government may not be able to resist Chinese approaches forever. Chinese companies have built a new port at Kyaukpyu in Rakhine State as the terminus of a road and pipeline that links Chinas Yunnan province with the ocean. Last October, China acquired a 70% stake in the port and might well increase that share if Myanmar cant come up with further funding.

Chinas plans for Kyaukpyu port, however, may include elements consistent only with naval requirements, not commercial use.

For several decades, Australia has expended a lot of defence resources in the western side of the Indian Ocean, including on having a significant part of the Ausralian Navy chase pirates and drug smugglers. But these new challenges present more fundamental threats.

It is time to pay much more attention to the strategic environment in the eastern Indian Ocean, much closer to our shores. The bad news is that this will require a much greater commitment of defence, diplomatic, and financial resources by Australia to countries in this region.

Dr. David Brewster is with the National Security College at the Australian National University, where he specialises in South Asian and Indian Ocean strategic affairs. He is also a Distinguished Research Fellow with the Australia India Institute. His previous career was as a corporate lawyer working on complex cross-border transactions and he practiced for almost two decades in the United States, England, France and Australia.

This article appeared originally at Lowy Institute's the interpreter.
With the location and date of the forthcoming summit between President Donald Trump and Kim Jonga??un now fixed, speculation has turned to what sort of agreement might be achievable. US National Security Advisor John Bolton recently suggested that the Libyan model of nuclear disarmamentfrom 20032004might offer a framework that could be applied to North Korea in 2018.

The suggestion received what might kindly be called a mixed reception, not least because the North Koreans believe that Muammar al-Qaddafi was a fool to abandon his nuclear program. Still, Id like to explore the Libyan case here because it offers one of the few examples of denuclearisation that we have.

True, the two cases are markedly dissimilar: Libya, unlike North Korea, had made relatively little progress towards nuclear weapons when its leadership took the strategic decision to abandon the program. The Libyans had no nuclear weapons. Yes, they had a small number of centrifugessome still in their original packingand a quantity of uranium hexafluoride (the feedstock for a centrifuge enrichment cascade).

More ominously, they had a nuclear weapon design, apparently obtained from the A.Q. Khan networkalthough some Libyans claimed that the design was a bonus intended as a reward for their other purchases.

But when US officials appeared before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in early 2004 to talk about the disarmament effort, senators were at least as interested in the detailed picture of the nuclear black market that the Libyan program revealed as they were in the program itself. While a raft of fascinating material about the program had suddenly spilled forth, it was the procurement trail, stretching from Libya to Pakistan and Malaysia, that the committee chairman, Senator Richard Lugar, referred to as the treasure trove.

While North Koreas current indigenous capabilities are far stronger than Libyas were 15 years ago, one suspects there would be similar interest in Washington today about Pyongyangs proliferation links.

Further, there are some aspects of the Libyan model that the current US administration might want to replicate in any deal with North Korea. Two of those aspects concern access and relocation. US and British experts were given extraordinary access to the Libyan weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program. See the statements made in 2004 by Paula DeSutter, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance, to two congressional committees (here and here) and, separately, in an interview with Arms Control Today:

The Libyans said, We are no longer going to have a nuclear weapons program. They invited the United States and the United Kingdom in. They gave the United States and the United Kingdom access to all facilities that we requested to see. They were willing to permit any tests that we wanted to conduct. They were willing to have their centrifuge program removed  They have been very forthcoming. In the chemical weapons area, we assisted them in drafting their declaration to the OPCW [Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons]. They had the OPCW technical secretariat come in. On one occasion they said, You know, we really hadnt told the others that came before, but there are some other munitions we need to show you. They took us to a facility that we almost certainly would not have been able to identify independently and showed us the unfilled munitions there. That is transparency. That is the kind of access that we are given when a country has made a strategic commitment. They volunteer information.

Some sources suggest that the procedure was not quite as straightforward as that passage of text implies. William Tobey, for example, argues that Libyan commitment and transparency varied on a day-to-day basis, at least in the early months. (See Tobeys five-part series in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5, and his 2017 assessment of intelligence and policy cooperation in the Libyan disarmament case.)

It was because of that variability that the Americans wanted to relocate key parts of the WMD program quickly. The most proliferation-sensitive parts of the programequipment and documentswere airlifted to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The nuclear weapon design documents, revealed to the Americans on 20 January, were flown out of the country two days later.

During the night of 2526 January 2004, an American C-17, its insignia painted over, landed at an air base near Tripoli, loaded its cargoincluding advanced centrifuge rotors, five Scuda??C missile guidance sets and two tons of uranium hexafluorideand took off again. Later, in March 2004, another 1,000 tons of materials and equipment were loaded aboard a US ship, the Industrial Challenger, its insignia again painted over, and taken to America.

Is that what President Trump is going to propose to Kim Jonga??un? Media sources say that the US has asked North Korea to discard the data from its nuclear weapon development program and allow its nuclear scientists to emigrate. Of course, the mannerand directionin which that data might be discarded is a non-trivial issue.

And emigration would, of course, be a humane solution to an intractable problem: that even after the weapons are gone and the data has been discarded, the knowledge of how to make nuclear weapons and their delivery vehicles will still exist in the minds of North Koreas scientists. I dont imagine, though, that Washington wants those scientists heading to the Middle East. Russia and China might be acceptable destinations. People say that Tennessee is nice this time of year.

As was the case with the Libyan deal, the US is also arguing that this is an opportunity for North Korea to abandon not merely its nuclear program, but all of its WMD. Still, nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles seem likely to be the core of any deal.

On ballistic missiles, a key US objective in 20032004 was to ensure that Libyas missile program was compliant with the thresholds set out in the Missile Technology Control Regimenamely, that its missiles were limited in their range to a maximum of 300 kilometres and in their payload to a maximum of 500 kilograms.

In short, the Libyan model sets high standards in relation to the exposure of proliferation linkages; provision of access to sites, personnel and materials; relocation of key items; and acceptance of international standards on WMD. Can an agreement with Pyongyang meet those standards? Frankly, it seems unlikely.

The Libyan model, after all, had one driver that might not be equally compelling in the North Korean case: the strategic commitment by the leadership to put aside WMD. Because of that commitment, the model unfolded quickly and the verification hurdles proved surmountable.

A similar level of strategic commitment on Kim Jonga??uns part is what the Americans are hoping to find in Singapore on 12 June. The Trump administration is certainly signallingthat this is their desired approach.
Former CIA Director John Brennans insistence that the salacious and unverified Steele dossier was not part of the official Intelligence Community Assessment on Russian interference in the 2016 election is being contradicted by two top former officials.

Recently retired National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers stated in a classified letter to Congress that the Clinton campaign-funded memos did factor into the ICA. And James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, conceded in a recent CNN interview that the assessment was based on some of the substantive content of the dossier. Without elaborating, he maintained that we were able to corroborate certain allegations.

These accounts are at odds with Brennans May 2017 testimony before the House Intelligence Committee that the Steele dossier was "not in any way used as the basis for the intelligence community's assessment" that Russia interfered in the election to help elect Donald Trump. Brennan has repeated this claim numerous times, including in February on Meet the Press.



In a March 5, 2018, letter to House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Adm. Rogers informed the committee that a two-page summary of the dossier  described as the Christopher Steele information  was added as an appendix to the ICA draft, and that consideration of that appendix was part of the overall ICA review/approval process.

His skepticism of the dossier may explain why the NSA parted company with other intelligence agencies and cast doubt on one of its crucial conclusions: that Vladimir Putin personally ordered a cyberattack on Hillary Clintons campaign to help Donald Trump win the White House.

Rogers has testified that while he was sure the Russians wanted to hurt Clinton, he wasn't as confident as CIA and FBI officials that their actions were designed to help Trump, explaining that such as assessment "didn't have the same level of sourcing and the same level of multiple sources.

Here and in photo at top, from left, the National Security Agency Director, Adm. Michael Rogers; FBI Director James Comey; Director of National Intelligence James Clapper; CIA Director John Brennan; and the Defense Intelligence Agency Director, Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2016.

The dossier, which is made up of 16 opposition research-style memos on Trump underwritten by the Democratic National Committee and Clintons own campaign, is based mostly on uncorroborated third-hand sources. Still, the ICA has been viewed by much of the Washington establishment as the unimpeachable consensus of the U.S. intelligence community. Its conclusions that Vladimir Putin ordered the hacking and leaking of Clinton campaign emails to help Trumps chances of victory have driven the Russia collusion narrative and subsequent investigations besieging the Trump presidency.

Except that the ICA did not reflect the consensus of the intelligence community. Clapper broke with tradition and decided not to put the assessment out to all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies for review. Instead, he limited input to a couple dozen chosen analysts from just three agencies  the CIA, NSA and FBI. Agencies with relevant expertise on Russia, such as the Department of Homeland Security, Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Departments intelligence bureau, were excluded from the process.

While faulting Clapper for not following intelligence community tradecraft standards that Clapper himself ordered in 2015, the House Intelligence Committees 250-page report also found that the ICA did not properly describe the quality and credibility of underlying sources and was not independent of political considerations."

In another departure from custom, the report is missing any dissenting views or an annex with evaluations of the conclusions from outside reviewers. "Traditionally, controversial intelligence community assessments like this include dissenting views and the views of an outside review group, said Fred Fleitz, who worked as a CIA analyst for 19 years and helped draft national intelligence estimates at Langley. "It also should have been thoroughly vetted with all relevant IC agencies, he added. "Why were DHS and DIA excluded?

Fleitz suggests that the Obama administration limited the number of players involved in the analysis to skew the results. He believes the process was manipulated to reach a predetermined political conclusion that the incoming Republican president was compromised by the Russians.

Ive never viewed the ICA as credible, the CIA veteran added.

A source close to the House investigation said Brennan himself selected the CIA and FBI analysts who worked on the ICA, and that they included former FBI counterespionage chief Peter Strzok.

Strzok was the intermediary between Brennan and [former FBI Director James] Comey, and he was one of the authors of the ICA, according to the source.

Last year, Strzok was reassigned to another department and removed from Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigation after anti-Trump and pro-Clinton text messages he wrote to another investigator during the 2016 campaign were discovered by the Justice Departments inspector general. Strzok remains under IG investigation, along with other senior FBI officials, for possible misconduct.

Strzok led the FBIs investigation of Trump campaign ties to Russia during 2016, including obtaining electronic surveillance warrants on Carter Page and other campaign advisers. The Page warrant relied heavily on unverified allegations contained in the Democratic Party-funded dossier.

Brennan has sworn the dossier was not in any way" used as a basis for the ICA. He explains he heard snippets of the dossier from the press in the summer of 2016, but insists he did not see it or read it for himself until late 2016. Brennans claims are impossible to believe, Fleitz asserted.

"Brennan was pushing the Trump collusion line in mid-2016 and claimed to start the FBI collusion investigation in August 2016, he said. It's impossible to believe Brennan was pushing for this investigation without having read the dossier.

He also pointed out that the key findings of the ICA match the central allegations in the dossier. The House Intelligence Committee concluded that Brennan, who previously worked in the White House as Obamas deputy national security adviser, created a fusion cell on Russian election interference made up of analysts from the CIA, FBI and NSA, who produced a series of related papers for the White House during the 2016 campaign.

Less than a month after Trump won the election, Obama directed Brennan to conduct a review of all intelligence relating to Russian involvement in the 2016 election and produce a single, comprehensive assessment. Obama was briefed on the findings, along with President-elect Trump, in early January.

Brennan put some of the dossier material into the PDB [presidential daily briefing] for Obama and described it as coming from a credible source, which is how they viewed Steele, said the source familiar with the House investigation. "But they never corroborated his sources.

Attempts to reach Brennan for comment were unsuccessful. Several prominent Washington news outlets had access to the dossier during the 2016 campaign  or at least portions of it -- but also could not confirm Steeles allegations. So they shied away from covering them. All that changed in early January 2017, after CNN and The Washington Post learned through Obama administration leaks that the CIA had briefed the president and president-elect about them. Then the allegations became a media feeding frenzy. On Jan. 11, 2017, within days of the dossier briefings and release of the declassified ICA report, BuzzFeed published virtually all of the dossier memos on its website.

The House committee found significant leaks" of classified information around the time of the ICA -- and many of these leaks were likely from senior officials within the IC." Its recently released report points to Clapper as the main source of leaks about the presidential briefings involving the dossier. It also suggests that during his July 17, 2017, testimony behind closed doors in executive session, he misled House investigators.

When first asked about leaks related to the ICA in July 2017, Clapper flatly denied discuss[ing] the dossier or any other intelligence related to Russia hacking of the 2016 election with journalists. But he subsequently acknowledged discussing the dossier with CNN journalist Jake Tapper, and admitted he might have spoken with other journalists about the same issue.

On Jan. 10, 2017, CNN published an article by Tapper and others about the dossier briefings sourced to multiple U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the briefings. Tapper shared a byline with lead writer Evan Perez, a close friend of the founders of Fusion GPS, which hired Steele as a subcontractor on the dossier project.

The next day, Clapper expressed his profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, while stressing that I do not believe the leaks came from within the IC. A month after his misleading testimony to House investigators, Clapper joined CNN as a national security analyst."

Attempts to reach Clapper for comment were unsuccessful.
President Donald Trump has electrified the State of Israel with the embassy move. You have to see the excitement on the streets, especially Jerusalem, to understand the depth of gratitude. Flags are flying from every street light. Massive signs around the capital show the American and Israeli flags intertwined with giant thank yous to President Trump.
Many on the right insist that California's tough environmental rules are strangling its businesses. Evidence to the contrary emerged last week in news that California has just zoomed past Britain to become the world's fifth-biggest economy. California must be doing something right.

One of the things is vigorously confronting the perils of global warming. The Trump administration, married to fossil fuel interests, has gone AWOL in dealing with this threat to both the environment and global stability. Under Gov. Jerry Brown, California has assumed the leadership role, helping other states and other countries bypass Washington.

Before going on, let us note that many conservatives were outspoken environmentalists decades ago. President Richard Nixon established the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970. Check out a compelling recent essay in The American Conservative: "Time for Conservatives to Break the Anti-Environmentalist Mold."

California's "decarbonization" program has created a booming green energy economy. The solar industry alone supports 250,000 jobs in the state. The push away from fossil fuels is also putting more money in people's pockets.

For example, California just approved a requirement that nearly all new homes come equipped with solar panels in 2020. The rule will add about $9,500 to the cost of construction, but the state's homebuilders are for it.

Why would they back a regulation that makes their product more expensive? Because though the panels will add an average of $40 a month to a mortgage, consumers will save an average of $80 a month on their electric bills, according to California Energy Commission estimates. That's a $480-a-year bonus to save the planet. Where do we sign?

The Trump administration wants to scuttle the Obama-era mandate requiring automakers to boost the average fuel economy of cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. California says it's going to stick with that requirement whatever Washington does. California and more than a dozen other states following its lead in setting standards represent 43 percent of the U.S. car market. So what California says goes.

Well, isn't that going to make cars and light trucks more expensive? Sure. But as with solar panels, the savings in fuel efficiency could more than offset any rise in vehicle prices. The higher 2025 mileage standard would save car buyers $1,650, almost all from lower fuel costs, according to the EPA. And that's after factoring in the higher cost of more efficient vehicles.

The 54.5 mpg standard is not an unreasonable goal. Many electric cars already get the equivalent of more than 100 mpg. Norway, Germany and the Netherlands expect to phase out internal-combustion engines in new cars altogether by 2030.

The only thing the Trump administration can do about California's plan is to take away its right to set its own rules (under the Clean Air Act of 1970). And it's trying.

As Brown thumbs his nose at Washington, other countries still in the Paris agreement on climate change are now treating him as a national leader. In December, Brown represented the United States at the One Planet Summit, held on the second anniversary of the climate accord. Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a Republican, also attended.

"We have Gov. Brown of California. We have Mike Bloomberg," French President Emmanuel Macron proclaimed. "They've said they're going to stand in place of the American federal government: 'States, cities, private-sector players -- we're going to play a role ourselves.'" And so they are.

Brown, meanwhile, plans to host the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco this September. One can just imagine the hostile tweets that will emerge. But you can rest assured, it will be a two-way tweetstorm.

COPYRIGHT 2018 CREATORS.COM
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently granted flexible funding to improve services and equipment at Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center. Under the USDAs Community Facilities Loans & Grants Program the Agency provides direct loans, loan guarantees and grants to qualified organizations to develop, build and equip essential community facilities in rural areas. Examples of essential facilities include public safety, fire and rescue and telecommunications buildings, schools, libraries, hospitals and health care clinics.

This program provides financial backing for rural businesses, including healthcare operations. Funds can be used for several healthcare projects, including: business conversion or development; purchase and development of land; purchase of equipment, machinery, supplies, or inventory.

The USDA team presented the project package to Norman Price, Chief Executive Officer and Board of Trustee Officers. John Rounsaville, State Director of the USDA said, Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center is a prime candidate for being granted these low cost loans because this Medical Center and its ancillary services provides healthcare in a persistent poverty and strike force area serving seven counties and two parishes in Louisiana. We are pleased to be able to partner with Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center on this much-needed assistance in Southwest Mississippi.

The USDA project consists of three components:

Electronic Health Records Upgrade- The project will upgrade the Southwest Regionals Electronic Health Record System, which will significantly reduce the capital spend associated with the required hardware and infrastructure components into a more predictable operational expense year after year.

HVAC System Upgrades- The project will address HVAC inefficiencies throughout the main hospital building. The project primarily includes the

Page 2-USDA Project Presented to SMRMC

The project primarily includes the replacement of 26 air handler units and service and controls for the remaining 10 units.

Refinance- The project includes the refinance of their outstanding tax-exempt 2003 bond issue. The refinance is estimated to generate approximately $1.7 million of gross savings.

Norman Price, CEO of Southwest Regional said, The USDA loan is very much appreciate. The loan has made it possible for SMRMC to refurbish the air conditioning system, replace funds paid toward the federal mandated computer upgrades, restructure old bonds, and expand outpatient radiology services.

The Project was obligated by the USDA on September 22, 2017, and includes:

Direct Loan - $18,575,000 - Direct Persistent Poverty Loan Funds

Guaranteed Loan - $2,000,000

Applicant Contribution-$2,963,258

Total Project Cost - $23,538,258

Work on the HVAC System upgrades has begun and is expected to be completed by August 1.
For Bibi Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister save only founding father David Ben-Gurion, it has been a week of triumph.

Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the Iran nuclear deal as Bibi had demanded. Thursday, after Iran launched 20 missiles at the Golan Heights, Bibi answered with a 70-missile attack on Iran in Syria.

"If it rains on us, it will storm on them. I hope we have finished the episode," Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, boasting that Israel's raids hit "nearly all Iranian infrastructure in Syria."

The day before, Bibi was in Moscow, persuading Vladimir Putin to cancel the sale of Russia's S-300 air defense system to Damascus.

Yesterday, in an event televised worldwide, the U.S. embassy was transferred to Jerusalem, with Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner doing the honors in what Bibi called a "glorious day." Few can recall a time when Israel seemed in so favorable a position.

The White House and the Republican Party that controls Congress are solidly behind Israel. Egypt is cooperating to battle terrorists in Sinai.

Israel has a de facto alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf royals. And the Palestinians have never been more divided, isolated and alone.

Yet, there is another side to this story, also visible this last week.

As the transfer ceremony of the Jerusalem embassy was taking place, TV split screens showed pictures of protesting Palestinians, 52 of whom were shot dead Monday, with thousands wounded by snipers. Some 40,000 had rallied against the U.S. embassy move.

Even before Monday's body count, the Gaza Health Ministry said that, over the previous six Fridays of "March of Return" protests, 49 Palestinians had been killed and 2,240 hit by live fire from Israeli troops.

Those dead and wounded Palestinians are not likely to be forgotten in Gaza. And while Israel has never had so many Arab regimes willing to work with her in pushing back against Iran, Arab League Chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit called the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem, a "clear violation of international law."

Gheit added: "The fall of Palestinian martyrs by the bullets of the Israeli occupation must ring an alarm ... bell to any state that does not find anything wrong with the immoral and illegal stance that we are watching."

Last week, Hezbollah, which arose in resistance to the 1982 Israeli occupation of Lebanon, and expelled the Israeli army 18 years later, won Lebanon's elections. A Hezbollah-backed coalition will likely form the new government in Beirut.

Michael Oren, Israel's former ambassador to the U.S. and Bibi ally, said that any attack by Hezbollah, which fought Israel to a standstill in 2006, should bring an Israeli declaration of war -- on Lebanon.

While Israel launched some 100 strikes on Syria in recent years, Syrian President Bashar Assad has survived and, with the aid of Hezbollah, Iran and Russia, won his civil war.

Assad and his army and allies are far stronger now, while President Trump, Israel's indispensable ally, speaks of bringing U.S. troops home from Syria. In polls, a majority of Americans lines up behind Israel in its clashes, but a majority also wants no more U.S. wars in the Middle East.

Also, Sunday, the U.S. sustained another major political defeat.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi lost his re-election bid. Based on early results, the winning coalition was that of Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, against whose forces U.S. troops fought a decade ago.

Running second was a ticket led by a Shiite militia general close to Iran. When a new government is formed in Baghdad, the orientation of Iraq seems certain to shift away from the United States.

While the Israelis are the most powerful nation in the region, how long can they keep 2 million Palestinian Arabs confined in the penal colony that is the Gaza Strip? How long can they keep the 2 million Palestinians of the West Bank living in conditions even Israeli leaders have begun to compare to apartheid?

Across the West, especially in universities, a BDS movement to have students, companies and consumers boycott, divest and sanction Israeli-produced products has been gaining ground.

The Palestinians may have been abandoned by Arab rulers and the wider world. Yet, history teaches that people forced to survive in such conditions eventually rise in rebellion and revolution, take revenge, and exact retribution for what was done to them and their own.

Republican leaders often say that we cannot permit "any daylight" between the U.S. position and that of Israel.

But can the country that decried for decades the panicked reaction of an Ohio National Guard that shot and killed four students at Kent State University sit silent as scores of unarmed protesters are shot to death and thousands are wounded by Israeli troops in Gaza?

Bibi and Israel appear to be on a winning streak. It is difficult to see how, over the long run, it can be sustained.

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How do you compete in a Republican primary for a border state Senate seat? Martha McSally is offering one clue.

The Arizona congresswoman took to the House floor last week to ask unanimous consent to remove her name from a bill that would provide legal status and an eventual path to citizenship to some children of undocumented immigrants. Until then, McSally was one of 34 Republicans to co-sponsor the Recognizing America's Children Act, seen as a new and conservative version of the DREAM Act. The only Democrat to sponsor the bill is fellow Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, whom McSally hopes to take on in the fall in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

But in order to face Sinema, McSally must first survive a long and likely bitter battle against physician Kelli Ward and former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who was pardoned by President Trump last year after being convicted of criminal contempt for violating an immigration-related court order. Voters in Arizona won't select their GOP nominee until Aug. 28, giving the victor little time to pivot toward a general election position in a red state that shows signs of turning purple.

McSally's attempt to distance herself from one piece of DACA legislation in favor of a stricter measure backed by immigration hard-liners signals where Arizonas GOP voters are on the issue, and how it figures to play a decisive role in the primary and perhaps beyond.

McSally likely had her current constituents in mind when she agreed to sponsor the first measure. Arizona's 2nd Congressional District, which extends southeast from Tucson and shares a border with Mexico, tends to swing between Democrats and Republicans. Gabby Giffords once represented the area, and her aide Ron Barber took over not long after she was shot in the head during a constituent service event in Tucson. McSally unseated Barber in a 2014 race so close it ended in a recount. Hillary Clinton won the district by nearly five percentage points even as McSally won re-election there by nearly 14 points.

Co-sponsoring an immigration bill like HR 1468 seemed to make political sense then. The bill's lead sponsor is Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo, who represents a district Clinton won by over 16 points. Several other co-sponsors hail from similar districts that also make them vulnerable to defeat in November. (Curbello and other Republicans have filed a discharge petition to bring the legislation to the House floor for a vote, but the group has so far fallen short of the requisite majority signatures needed.)

But that kind of politics doesn't appear to work statewide in Arizona, at least not in a Republican primary. Flake, who co-sponsored the last comprehensive immigration reform package and is a top critic of President Trump, acknowledged as much in choosing to retire rather than seek re-election. McSally, who was the first female U.S. fighter pilot to fly a combat mission, has since endeared herself to Trump and echoed his tough stance on immigration. In a video announcing her Senate campaign, she highlighted border security as a top priority and said she was "tired of PC politicians." She also included a clip of Trump referring to "my friend Martha McSally: She's the real deal. She's tough."

And she pinned to her Twitter feed a video of herself in a meeting with Trump and other lawmakers at the White House, sitting to his right and talking about what to do with DACA recipients. "I also made this clear: we won't let the Dems hold our troops hostage in negotiations over DACA. We wont play politics w/Americas safety & military funding," she wrote. McSally is also now co-sponsoring a stricter DACA measure proposed by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte that would make cuts to legal immigration. And she was recently endorsed by former Gov. Jan Brewer, who stirred national controversy by signing one of the broadest and toughest immigration policies into state law in 2010.

Meanwhile, Ward has embraced Trump's "Drain the Swamp" mantra as her own and lists "Build the Wall" as her top policy passion. Her presence in the race is adding pressure for McSally, who is backed by GOP leadership, to move rightward. Arpaio's presence in the contest might divide far right support and thus provide a path for McSally to win the nomination. But the congresswoman's move on the immigration bill suggests it won't be that easy.

It's not unusual for Arizona Republicans running for Senate to take tough stances on immigration. In fending off a primary challenge in 2010, Sen. John McCain released a now infamous ad in which he promised to "compete the danged fence." But McCain and Flake both co-sponsored the so-called Gang of Eight immigration bill that passed the Senate but was anathema among conservatives, particularly those in the House. Since then, Trump's aggressive posture on the issue became a centerpiece of his election campaign. At an Arizona rally in 2016, he hardened his position and pledged to deport immigrants in the country illegally.

But he won the Grand Canyon State by just three points four years after Mitt Romney had taken it by 10. Additionally, a narrow special election victory last month in a district Trump won by 20 points has Republicans on edge about keeping the Senate seat in November.

Republicans in the state worry that even if McSally secures the nomination, she will have been forced to take positions that would could alienate the moderate voters she will need in the general election against Sinema. "The future of Arizona's economy is going to be based on north and south trade and the ability to create a legal trade relationship between Mexico and states in the U.S., particularly Arizona," state GOP strategist Chuck Coughlin told RCP last month. "Everybody here gets that. ... There's a deep sympathy here for people who have been part of this economy for a long time to be legalized."
In the wake of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the U.S. Congress authorized the use of force against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Seventeen years later, the White House still uses that congressional authorization to justify U.S. military involvement in conflicts around the world. In many of these conflicts, the administration has failed to articulate a coherent set of achievable U.S. objectives or a theory of victory for how to achieve them. Congress has an obligation to conduct oversight of U.S. military involvement in hostilities, but it has largely failed to hold presidents accountable.

In April, the Trump administration, alongside European allies, launched airstrikes against the Syrian regime after an apparent chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians. Aside from retaliation for the regimes use of chemical weapons against civilians, it is unclear how the airstrikes are intended to fit within broader U.S. objectives in Syria. While there are about 2,000 U.S. Special Forces personnel deployed in northeastern Syria, the Trump administration has done little to clarify what their mission is or to elucidate their longer-term goals for the Syrian conflict. While some senior members of the administration such as Secretary of Defense James Mattis have articulated the more narrow mission of defeating ISIS, others, including former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have outlined a more expansive mission that includes ending the ongoing conflict between the regime of Bashar al Assad and its opponents in Syria.

In addition to Syria, the U.S. military is involved in active conflict zones in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, and elsewhere. These forever wars endanger the lives of U.S. service members, drain taxpayer resources, and risk generating enmity against U.S. policy abroad. Meanwhile the White House has failed to articulate how these deployments contribute to U.S. security and international stability.

Congress has failed to hold the administration accountable. In October 2017, when four U.S. Special Forces personnel were killed in Niger under murky circumstances, several senators expressed surprise that U.S. troops were even deployed in Niger.

The 1973 War Powers Resolution limits the presidents ability to deploy U.S. forces into hostilities without congressional consent, and gives Congress leverage to hold the administration accountable. Most of the ongoing deployments are understood to be authorized under the 2001 Authorization of the Use of Military Force. But the 2001 Authorization, which passed Congress less than a week after the September 11th attacks, authorizes the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determined planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11th, without specific geographical or temporal limitations. Almost 17 years later, according to the unclassified section of a recently released report, the administration asserts that the 2001 Authorization provides the grounds for the United States to use force in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Libya, and Niger.

This interpretation appears to significantly stretch the intention of the measure. Yet since it was passed, the 2001 AUMF has been cited as the authorization for military actions in 41 instances across 18 countries. This raises important questions about the legality of the use of military force. But it also presents Congress with a critical opportunity to conduct oversight over the deployment of U.S. forces in a way that clarifies their mission and to call for the withdrawal of U.S. forces when their presence does not enhance U.S. and international security.

When Congress does choose to play this oversight role, the ensuing debate can help clarify the role of U.S. forces abroad. Recently a bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation titled S.J. Res. 54 that direct[ed] the removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities in the Republic of Yemen that have not been authorized by Congress, arguing that support for the Saudi-led coalition intervening in the civil war in Yemen was not covered by the scope of the 2001 AUMF. The Trump administration has responded by arguing that congressional authorization is not needed for its support to the Saudi-led coalition.

The legislation did not pass the Senate but garnered 44 votes in favor, a significant demonstration of some senators discontent with the administrations interpretation of the 2001 AUMF. Perhaps more important, the introduction of this legislation facilitated a public debate on the utility of the coalition intervention in Yemen to U.S. national interests and regional security, while also raising media coverage of this often-forgotten conflict.

Congress has an obligation to conduct oversight of U.S. military involvement around the world. It has had the opportunity to do so over the past 17 years by sunsetting the 2001 AUMF and passing a new authorizing bill that would place specific limits on the groups that can be targeted; require reporting requirements and other provisions requiring active consultation with Congress; and apply temporal limitations. So far it has failed to do so.

The goal of defeating terrorism around the world as articulated in the 2001 AUMF is so broad that it is impossible to know when a missions objectives have been achieved. Congress has a critical role to play in clarifying the scope of the AUMFand ideally passing a new oneas well as shining a spotlight on potential disagreements with the White Houses interpretation of where the AUMF can be applied. Congress should use its authority to pressure our political leadership to, as Phil Klay writes, articulate a mission and objective worth dying for. This would do a service to U.S. security objectives and to our military personnel deployed around the world.
The United Kingdom and Turkey  two countries with apparently nothing in common  are more similar than many might think. Both have immense pride in their not-too-distant imperial pasts. Both possess militaries that are powerful but not quite powerful enough to achieve security by strength of arms alone. Both are located on the periphery of Europe and would oppose the rise of a dominant power on the Continent  whether its capital be Berlin, Paris or Moscow. And both are U.S. allies with varying degrees of tolerance for doing Washingtons bidding. Its not surprise, then, that the two countries, with their common characteristics and shared interests, are improving their relationship.

Some of these interests are likely to be the subject of conversation during Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans three-day visit to the United Kingdom that will wrap up on May 15. The visit will include meetings with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II, not to mention a deluge of photo opportunities and obligatory press statements. But Erdogan made the most revealing statement of his trip just after arriving in Britain. He told reporters that the strategic partnership between Turkey and the U.K. is a necessity rather than a simple choice.

Rarely are political leaders so blunt about the sheer practicality of their relationships with other countries. But Turkey and the United Kingdom have a wealth of experience in the indifference of geopolitics. Neither the British Empire nor the Ottoman Empire could have grown powerful had they not mastered the ability to play different groups and states off each other and to integrate large numbers of outsiders into multinational states. Both struggle to manage the divisions that resulted from this history: London is trying to carefully navigate its relationship with Edinburgh, Belfast and, to a lesser extent, Cardiff, while Ankaras moves abroad are being dominated by its desire to control the Kurdish minority.

Shared Perspectives

But the two countries are being brought together not by the similarities of their pasts but by their shared perspectives on Europes future. As the U.K. prepares to leave the EU, its taking full ownership over its foreign policy and looking for new strategic partners, Turkey being an important candidate. Turkey cant leave the EU because it wasnt allowed to join in the first place, but it has had a change of heart about the union too. No longer interested in joining, it instead wants to secure its interests in Europe by expanding Turkish power there.

The United Kingdom now has to consider how best to keep Europe weak enough to prevent any Continental threat from reaching its shores, a possibility it hasnt had to consider in over half a century. A solidly unified Germany is now the economic powerhouse of Europe, and because it is as scared of its own past as its neighbors are, it has yet to translate its economic power into military power. The U.K. wants to keep it that way. France possesses the strongest military force in Europe, but political and economic malaise has prevented it from becoming a dominant power. That suits the U.K. as well. Russia has been pushed back behind a containment line but will only stay there with constant vigilance, hence British military deployments in Estonia and a recently signed U.K.-Poland defense treaty.

Similarly, Turkey finds itself facing old enemies. Instability on its southern border with Syria has brought Iranian and Russian military forces uncomfortably close to Turkeys border. Arab civil wars have empowered Kurdish groups throughout the region, forcing Turkey to secure its interests through military means, including by invading Syria.

Turkeys interests are not and never have been unidirectional, however. The new president of its historical adversary, Armenia, has called for the introduction of official ties between the two countries, and the Turkish prime minister said he would look at opening a new page in relations. If that page contains a blueprint for weakening Russian influence in the Caucasus, Turkey will pursue it resolutely. In the Balkans, Turkey is using the ties it shares with Muslim-majority countries and Muslim-minority groups to rebuild its influence at Russias and the EUs expense.

Economically, too, there is a basis for stronger U.K.-Turkey relations. The U.K. is the second-largest destination for Turkish exports, accounting for 6 percent of all Turkish exports. For the U.K., trade with Turkey is negligible but increasing. Turkey imported 23 percent more British goods in 2017 than in 2016. The British government has made no secret of its desire to secure a free trade agreement with Turkey once it officially withdraws from the EU, and Turkeys prime minister intimated in November that work on a potential agreement between the two sides had already begun. Turkey hopes the trade relationship can be strengthened and attract much-needed foreign investment  its economic struggles have become so serious that Erdogan called an emergency meeting of top economic officials last week and may have even persuaded Erdogan to call elections in June, much earlier than expected.

Stumbling Blocks

Turkey and the U.K.s long-term relationship, however, is tenuous at best. There are simply too many obstacles ahead of them. The first is Cyprus. Cyprus is part of Turkeys sphere of influence, yet the U.K. maintains a base on the island. Turkey is already developing greater strategic maritime capabilities and has shown a willingness in recent months to bully Greece and Italy in the Eastern Mediterranean. The issue may be manageable if the U.K. is willing to reduce its power projection in the Mediterranean, or if the British navy is preoccupied by Russia. But those are big ifs. The U.K. may not be as hostile to the rise of a dominant Mediterranean power as it would be to a dominant European continental power, but that isnt saying much.

The second and far bigger stumbling block is each countrys relationship with the United States. Turkeys relationship with the U.S. is strained, with reduced operations at the military base in ?ncirlik and almost monthly crises related to issues as varied as U.S. support of Syrian Kurdish groups fighting the Islamic State to the U.S. limiting weapons sales to Turkey. While the media is focused on Irans aggressive moves to become a dominant Middle Eastern power, Turkey is a stronger player than Iran. In 1980, Turkey and Iran had roughly the same gross domestic product; today, Turkeys GDP is almost twice Irans. In addition, Turkey has a stronger military (especially when it comes to airpower) and, most important, a more advantageous geography. Unlike Iran, Turkey has no mountain ranges that block its path to the region.

During the Cold War, the U.S. guaranteed Turkeys security against the Soviet Union. But the stronger Turkey gets, the less it needs the U.S. security guarantee, and the more it needs freedom of action to secure its interests. The U.K., on the other hand, is the United States closest ally, and that relationship will only get stronger in the years to come. This is not to say that the British alliance with the United States is seamless or eternal. For centuries before World War II, and even in some political factions during World War II, the U.K. and the U.S. were suspicious of each other. But the U.K. is no longer the global power it once was, and developments in Europe require that the U.K. move closer to, not further away from, the U.S. Of course, the presence of deep cultural ties and extensive historical trust helps, but they are not a substitute for shared interests.

It will be a while before this underlying weakness in their relationship presents itself. In the meantime, the U.K. and Turkey have many interests in common and their relationship will improve. Even Achilles achieved quite a bit of glory before his heel took him down.
If a debate takes place in the race to replace Ileana Ros-Lehtinen in Congress and Donna Shalala doesnt attend, does it make a sound?

Thats a conundrum that the field in Floridas 27th congressional district grappled with Tuesday as Miami-Dade Democrats prepared to host a candidates forum at a Unitarian Universalist church near Dadeland.

Democratic candidates Matt Haggman, Michael Hepburn, David Richardson and Kristen Rosen Gonzalez all planned to attend Tuesday night, according to the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. Shalala did not.

There will be lots of time to debate," Shalala told the Miami Herald.

To read the rest, click here.
The Committee on Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (Comfrel), a respected independent vote monitor, will not sign up observers for Julys parliamentary elections in face of government restrictions on NGO activities, a senior election observer told RFAs Khmer Service on Tuesday.

Senior Comfrel election observer Korn Savang said the decision not to deploy monitors to observe the July 29 parliamentary elections stems from the governments closure last year of the Situation Room group of 40 NGO election monitors, which followed accusations that Comfrel and likeminded organizations were trying to promote a Color Revolution in Cambodia.

"We are merely monitoring whether there are any threats in connection with human rights issues as normally. We wont deploy observers as in the past, which involved up to hundreds of thousands of observers, said Korn Savang.

We have only two to three hundred observers to monitor the situation from the outset. We wont register them with the National Election Commission. We will just observe as normal citizens, he added.

In July 2017, Cambodias Interior Minister Sar Kheng issued official letter notifying Comfrel and other groups leading the Situation Room cluster of election monitoring NGOs that their activities contradicted to the provisions of the Law on NGOs and Associations.

Comfrel director Koul Panha fled Cambodia last year after authorities disbanded the Situation Room, an early step in Prime Minister Hun Sens crackdown on Cambodias opposition, NGOs and the independent media as part of what observers say is a bid to ensure his Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) stays in power following the July 29 election.

In an interview with RFAs Khmer Service in early April, Koul Panha questioned the legitimacy of the July 29 election in the absence of the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP).

The CNRP was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November after Hun Sen alleged that it was plotting to topple his government. Two months earlier, CNRP leader Kem Sokha was arrested on treason charges and the party was accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

Koul Panha had said Comfrel would wait until the May 14 deadline for political parties to register before deciding whether it would participate as a monitor in the upcoming vote, and also urged would-be international observers to be aware of the political situation in Cambodia before accepting an invitation from NECthe countrys official electoral bodyto do the same.

Mondays deadline passed with only four political parties having officially registered with the NEC to contest elections in July, prompting government authorities to grant another five days to allow 16 others to complete required paperwork. The four parties now officially set to compete include the ruling CPP and three smaller, little-known parties.

The CNRPs former president Sam Rainy, living in exile, has urged supporters to shun the polls in July to avoid legitimizing what is expected to be a blowout victory for the ruling party in an election that is neither free nor fair.

Hun Sen has repeatedly urged Cambodians to show up for the ballot and he has lashed out at calls by Sam Rainsy for voters to boycott the upcoming general ballot, saying that it was a violation of electoral law.

In December, the NEC warned of 5-20 million-riel fines (U.S. $1,240-$4,950) and other criminal punishment for those sowing distrust of the election after RFAs Khmer Service reported on low turnout for voter registration following the dissolution of the CNRP.



The CNRP received more than 3 million votesaccounting for nearly half of the countrys registered votersin Cambodias 2013 general election, and enjoyed similar success in last years commune ballot, making it the only legitimate challenger to the CPP ahead of July.

Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Paul Eckert.


An environmental activist based in the Areng valley region of southwest Cambodias Koh Kong province on Tuesday urged authorities to launch an investigation into an attempt on his life over the weekend, saying he is no longer safe in his own home and expects his would-be killers will strike again.



An unknown assailant fired several shots at activist Ven Eth at around 10:00 p.m. on May 12 as he walked around 10 meters (33 feet) from his home in Chrak Russey village, in Thmar Baing districts Chum Noap commune, to his outdoor toilet.



The gunfire missed him, but struck the wall of his bathroom, he told RFAs Khmer Service, adding that he fled the area shortly afterwards to stay with an acquaintance.



I think that if I continue to stay there, they will surely return to try to kill me againthis person will not abandon their plan, Ven Eth said.



I call on competent authorities to investigate the matter and monitor this case, so as to identify the person who attempted to assassinate me. I want to return safely to my village.



According to Ven Eth, his assailant may have been politically motivatedas he is a former member of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November over an alleged plot to topple the governmentor sought revenge against him for his work exposing illegal deforestation.



Firstly, I am former CNRP memberI was lobbied to defect to [the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) after the dissolution of the CNRP], but  I always refused, which has angered people, he said.



Moreover, I am also an environmental activist. This also angered people since those who destroy forests and those who protect them are always at odds.



The attempt on Ven Eths life came following a legal complaint he had lodged with local authorities in connection with what he said was an April 17 death threat made against him by Tel Chan, the vice-chief of Chum Noap and a member of the CPP.



Ven Eth said he had initially lodged his complaint with Chum Noap Administrative Police Station, but received no resolution, so he moved himself, his wife and his children into hiding to protect their safety.



After spending two weeks in an undisclosed location, he had returned to his village last week without his family to testify at the Thmar Baing Administrative Police Station about the death threat, and the failure of commune authorities to adequately look into the case.



Ven Eth said that the two sides had agreed to a compromise and his case was resolved on May 9, but nonetheless, the attempt was made on his life three days later.



I thought that when Tel Chan made an agreement to ensure my safety, everything was resolved, plus, the issue was widely known, so I assumed that no one would dare do anything, he said.



I returned to clean before bringing my wife back home, and it was then that these people unexpectedly decided to get revenge and go ahead with their attempt on my life. So, at this time, I cant return home until the situation is fixed.



In addition to pursuing complaints with the Chum Noap and Thmar Baing Administrative Police Stations, Ven Eth said he intends to ask for help from human rights organizations. He said he doesnt expect local authorities to intervene on his behalf, because they have no interest in seeing his case settled.



In the meantime, while he remains in hiding, his family is running short on funds and his children are unable to attend school, he said.



Authorities in Chum Noap and Thmar Baing were not immediately available to comment on Ven Eths case.



Dedicated campaigner



Huor, a legal advocate with local rights group Licadho, told RFA that the authorities were obligated to investigate Ven Eths case to a satisfactory conclusion, according to Cambodian law.



Moreover, they must seek various measures to ensure his safety, since Ven Eth wants to return to his home, instead of having to flee and remain in hiding like this, Huor said.



He has never had any dispute with anyone for as long as he has been living in Chum Noap commune  until this threat. It seems to me that the relevant parties are exactly those who were involved in the same [threat] case, and should be subject to investigation in order to determine the truth.



Lim Kim Soar, an environmental activist who regularly works in the Areng valley, told RFA that Ven Eth is a dedicated campaigner who regularly advocated against the construction of the controversial Chhay Areng dam, which opponents say would force more than 300 ethnic minority families off of their ancestral lands and destroy the habitats of endangered animals.



She said that Ven Eths case has caused other activists working in the region to fear for their own safety.



I always thought that this village and commune were safe, until I saw that regular citizens were at risk of being shot at like this, Lim Kim Soar said.



Now, [Ven Eth] has fled the village where he used to live, leaving his house locked. His house used to be a place for people to gather to drink coffee  but now it is quiet. I feel so sorry for him.



The attempt on Ven Eths life came weeks after supporters held a low-profile ceremony in the capital Phnom Penh to mark the sixth anniversary of the still-unsolved murder of Cambodian environmental activist Chut Wutty.



Shot to death on April 26, 2012 while investigating illegal logging in Koh Kongs Mondul Seima district, Chut Wutty had been active in organizing communities to protect Cambodian forests against land grabs. He had also campaigned against the governments granting of land concessions in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.



Noting that an official investigation into his fathers death was closed in October 2013 when a court in Koh Kong province abruptly ended its proceedings, Chut Wuttys son vowed at the time to continue to fight for justice in his fathers case.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Scores of indigenous ethnic Phnorng residents of four villages in east Cambodias Mondulkiri province have fallen ill after drinking contaminated water, a representative said Tuesday, as the death toll from a similar incident in neighboring Kratie province increased to 18.



Prap Chuob, a Phnorng resident of Chak Char village, in Keo Seima districts Sre Chhouk commune, told RFAs Khmer Service that at least 80 people in his and three other villages recently became sick last week after consuming water from a stream passing through the area that had long been used for drinking.



More than half of the 80 residents were receiving treatment at an area hospital after paying fees of between 200,000 and 400,000 riels (U.S. $50 and $100), he said, while others, who could not afford to pay for medical care, were resting at home and using traditional remedies to regain their strength.



Those who are short of resources tried to boil tree bark as [a kind of traditional treatment], he said, adding that, in general, they are all facing severe hardship.



Prap Chuob said that villagers are now afraid to use the stream for drinking water, and have no other source of water because there are no water wells, other than a limestone well, which he said is difficult to use.



The villagers traditionally raise cattle, and their lives have become very difficult because of the water contamination, he said.



According to Prap Chuob, the contamination was caused by a Chinese mining company that had been drilling upstream near the water source.



This was done by the Chinese companythey use drilling equipment and other substances to remove stone, he said.



In late 2017, after Chinese mining firms began to operate in the region, he said, six cattle died as the result of suspected water contamination.



Three streams run through Sre Chhouk communethe O Chhao, O Ror Neng, and O Ka Tungand all have historically been used for drinking water by residents. The stream network connects Ter creek to Kratie provinces Cheth Borey district, where the death toll from a river pollution incident that sickened more than 200 people in two villages earlier this month reached 18 on Tuesday.



Influenza epidemic



Sre Chhouk commune chief Te Khit on Tuesday denied that residents were sickened by contaminated water, and said that an investigation conducted by provincial authorities and officials from Cambodias Ministry of Health had found that the 80 were suffering from influenza.



Most of the 46 villagers who sought medical treatment at the hospital have already returned home, he added, while authorities have educated residents about proper water sanitation techniques and donated pure drinking water to area families.



On May 10, the Ministry of Health issued a notice that Sre Chhouk commune had experienced an epidemic, with minister Morm Bun Heng saying that 11 people were suffering from influenza, and the other 73 were simply frightened by the pollution incident in Kratie province, and were merely suffering from symptoms that included headaches, diarrhea, stomach aches and dizziness.



Sok Ratha, the Mondulkiri coordinator for rights group ADHOC, told RFA that the Ministry of Environment must conduct a full investigation to determine the cause of the water contamination in Sre Chhouk commune, and take prompt and appropriate measures if the Chinese mining company was found to be responsible.



If it is the result of waste dumping or the use of chemical substances as part of mining operations, the ministry must take stringent and urgent measures, he said.



They must not allow incidents to occur like this, whereby many residents fell sick.



Kratie incident



Over 200 residents of two villages in Kratie provinces Cheth Borey district were sickened, with 18 later dying, in an outbreak of illnesses beginning in early May that authorities blamed partly on the consumption of homemade wine, citing symptoms including blurred vision and shortness of breath linked to methanol poisoning.



Most of those who had fallen ill had been sickened separately by drinking river water polluted by animal waste and insecticides, though, authorities said at the time.



Last week, villagers hospitalized after drinking water taken from the polluted river began to return home, with many expressing concern that clean water distributed by authorities may soon run out, leaving them again dependent on a contaminated source.



U.S.-based advocacy group Water.org found that around four million Cambodians lack access to clean water, while some six million others lack access to proper sanitation and hygiene. Among those who face a shortage of clean water, the group said, some 80 percent live in rural areas of the country.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sovannarith Keo. Written in English by Joshua Lipes.
Last month's joint statement by the leaders of North and South Korea on denuclearizing the Korean peninsula appears to have boosted optimism in the northeastern Chinese city of Dandong, just across the river from the isolated regime.



Since Kim Jong Un became the first leader of North Korea to cross the demilitarized zone separating his country from the South to meet with South Korean president Moon Jae-in at Panmunjom, demand for real estate in Dandong has been skyrocketing.



Prices have been rising to the tune of 100 yuan/square meter every day, particularly in the city's New District, a Dandong realtor told RFA on .



Just two weeks ago, apartments in Dandong New District were selling for as little as 3,000 yuan per square meter, he said.



"Now, they have doubled, shooting up to 6,000 or 7,000 in just two weeks," the realtor said. "When the news came that North Korea wants to open up, property prices skyrocketed. They are still changing day by day."



The city government has since slapped restrictions on non-resident investors to discourage speculation.



"Outsiders wanting to buy residential property in the New District now have to wait two years before they can sell it on again," the realtor said.



All eyes on North Korea

He said reports that North Korea is considering a greater degree of economic openness have also fueled hopes that Dandong is well-situated to benefit from increased cross-border trade, even though North Korea has been under tough United Nations sanctions since December, following a string of nuclear weapons tests.



"It depends on North Korea," the realtor said. "If North Korea really opens up, then property prices could rise to more than 10,000 yuan/square meter, no problem."



Repeated calls to the bureau of foreign trade and economic cooperation of the Dandong municipal government rang unanswered during office hours on .



Dandong, in the northeastern province of Liaoning, sits directly across the Yalu River from the special trading region of Sinuiju, which was set up by Pyongyang in 2002 with the aim of experimenting with a market economy.



Wang Sheng, a Korea expert at Jilin University, said the recent property boom means the city is getting ready to do business with its neighbor, possibly on a much larger scale than before.



"Dandong recently built the New Yalu River Bridge [completed in], and laid a good foundation," Wang told RFA.



But he said North Korea will need to play its part too.



"North Korea will still need more infrastructure in future, such as highways and high-speed railways," Wang said.



Long process expected

The bridge was originally scheduled to open in 2014, but North Korea has yet to build roads and other infrastructure connecting to its end of the bridge, calling on Beijing to meet more of the costs last October.



And Wang said the ruling Chinese Communist Party is likely to continue imposing U.N. sanctions imposed last December, despite a recent rapprochement between President Xi Jinping and Kim Jong Un.



"There is still a consensus between China and the United States that they will stand firm on sanctions until such time as North Korea achieves genuine, verifiable and concrete measures towards denuclearization," Wang said. "This will be a fairly long process ... that will take about two years."



Economic aid from the U.S. may even be a possibility, should the June 12 summit between Kim and President Donald Trump result in a denuclearization deal, according to some analysts.



Senior officials from North Korea arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport on morning and were greeted by Beijing-based diplomats, Japanese broadcaster NHK reported.



Security was tight at the airport, with a heavy armed police presence and traffic restrictions, it said.



Reports indicated that Kim Yong Chol, vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea for South Korean Affairs and a senior figure in the country's intelligence service, likely led the delegation.



The latest high-level visit to China on the eve of next month's summit in Singapore will like discuss preparations for the talks with Beijing.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFA's Mandarin Service, and by the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
A crushing, round-the-clock work schedule at a seaside resort being built for foreign tourists in North Korea has led to a fire that swept through a workers barracks, killing an unknown number, North Korean sources said.



At least 40 laborers and technicians were asleep in their rooms when the blaze, blamed on a short circuit in wiring, broke out, a source in the countrys coastal North Hamgyong province told RFAs Korean Service.



Its unclear how many people died in the fire, but there were reportedly a large number of casualties, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



The fire spread quickly through the barracks, and the workers who were deeply asleep couldnt escape the flames, he said.



Accelerated work schedules at the Wonsan-Kalma maritime tourist zone, a high-profile project now pushed for completion by October 10 by central government authorities, has left workers exhausted with only three to four hours sleep each day, the source said.



The Central Committee provides no construction materials or funds for the work, though, and so different organizations in the province have to support the project on their own.



The fire broke out in a section overseen by the provinces External Services Bureau, a department responsible for the management of hotels and other matters involving foreign visitors, RFAs source said.



It was caused by a short circuit in the wiring, he said.



Also speaking to RFA, a source in neighboring North Pyongan province agreed that work schedules were to blame for the fire, which had killed and injured a still unknown number of people working on the site.



More and more, local residents who hear about the deaths of these workers are expressing their dissatisfaction with how the construction is being pushed along, he said.



And even though a seaside resort is being built, well never get to go there.



Because construction crews are now being forced to work long hours with limited resources, accidents are bound to happen here and there, he said. And so the workers feel uneasy.



Reported by Jieun Kim for RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Richard Finney.
A total of 42 activists who participated in demonstrations this month against the civil war in northern Myanmars Kachin state have been charged with violating the countrys peaceful assembly law, a freedom of expression group said Tuesday.

Some activists who protested on May 12 in the commercial capital Yangon and in other rallies in Myingyan in central Myanmars Mandalay region and in Pyay in Bago region have been accused of not obtaining official permission to hold public demonstrations, as required by the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, said a statement issued by the youth-activist organization Voice.

Most people have been charged this month, said Maung Saung Kha, Voices executive director. It is the highest rate of arrests for peaceful protests during this current government. All of them have been charged for protesting against the fighting in Kachin state.

The protesters called for an end to fighting between the Myanmar army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in war-torn Kachin state and for officials to help thousands of displaced civilians, some of whom have been trapped in war zones for weeks.

On Monday, a national-level committee representing dozens of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Myanmar asked authorities to stop the arrests of and violent crackdowns on demonstrators in Yangon where about 300 people protested on Saturday.

The protest devolved into fistfights between organizers and baton-wielding police, who have charged 17 protesters, including Zayar Lwin, Myat Kyaw, Khin Sandar, Tin Htut Paing, Maung Saung Kha, Shar Yamone, Thet Swe Win, Moe Thway, and Thinzar Shoon Leiye with violating Article 19 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law, which allows public demonstrations only if organizers first obtain permission from local authorities.

Rights groups and lawyers see the pursuit of charges against peaceful protesters as a threat to freedom of expression and assembly in the Southeast Asian nation, which voted in a civilian-led government in late 2015 after five decades of military rule.

Human rights commission to investigate

Meanwhile, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MHRC), an independent group consisting of 11 retired bureaucrats and academics, will investigate the violent crackdown on the Yangon antiwar protesters and report its findings to the Yangon regional government and regional police force, commission member Yu Lwin Aung said Tuesday.

CSOs and activists who participated in the antiwar protests informed the MHRC that police conducted violent crackdowns on peaceful demonstrators as they started to head home and violated their human rights.

If the police arrested demonstrators when they were going home, it shouldnt be like this, Yu Lwin Aung said. But we didnt see what really happened that day with our own eyes because we were not there, so we have to listen to the other side.

We will review and decide who violated human rights after listening to both sides, he said.

The MHRC will watch closed-circuit videos, talk to people from both sides, and review related documents before determining whether authorities violated human rights, he said.

The Myanmar police have already come under fire in the ongoing trial of two Reuters news agency reporters detained for the past five months on charges of obtaining state secrets, despite recent court testimony by a policeman who said authorities set them up in a sting operation.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were taken into custody on Dec. 12 on the outskirts of Yangon shortly after they had dinner with two police officers who gave them documents related to a brutal military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state. They were formally charged on Jan. 10 and face up to 14 years in prison if found guilty.

In April, Police Captain Moe Yan Naing, called as a witness for the prosecution, gave sworn testimony that Police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko had ordered subordinates to set up the reporters and arrest them for possessing state secrets for their work investigating violence against the Rohingya.

The military-controlled Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees the countrys police, has denied accusations that police set up the reporters, said Police Chief Major General Aung Win Oo at a press conference in the capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday.

Police Captain Moe Yan Naing testified that the police had set up the Reuters reporters, he said, responding to a journalists question. The police didnt do it. Police Brigadier General Tin Ko Ko has not been charged or taken action against because he didnt set up the Reuters reporters as Moe Yan Naing said.

Aung Win Oo also said that the police brigadier general does not know the reporters, and saw them only for the first time in court during their ongoing trial.

Police Brigadier general Tin Ko Ko didnt order anybody to set them up, he said.

Reported by Thet Su Aung, Aung Theinkha, and Win Ko Ko Latt for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Ammunition is left on a bed inside an army-linked militia post following attacks by two ethnic armed groups in the border town of Muse in Myanmar's northeastern Shan state, May 13, 2018.

UPDATED at 9:42 A.M. EST on 2018-05-16

Three Chinese nationals were killed during weekend attacks by an ethnic armed group in the border town and trading hub of Muse in one of the deadliest bouts of hostilities to hit Myanmars volatile northeastern Shan state in years, a local government official told RFAs Myanmar service on Tuesday.

Soldiers from the Taang National Liberation Army (TNLA) attacked Muse townships police force, a local government-backed militia, and a casino on the outskirts of the town on May 12, leaving 20 people dead and more than two dozen injured.

Among the dead on Sunday were 14 civilians, including the Chinese nationals, while another civilian died the next day.

Three Chinese citizens were killed during the fighting in Muse, Hlaing Soe Thant, the towns district administrator told RFA, contradicting a statement by Chinese officials that two of its nationals had died.

They were visitors, he said.

The Chinese government has not asked Myanmar for compensation for the killing of its citizens, but it has urged the Myanmar government to intensify security in the area, Hlaing Soe said.

About 250 Myanmar citizens fled across the border into Chinese territory during the attacks on May 12, but Chinese authorities sent them back to Myanmar that evening after the fighting ended, he said.

Todays situation in Muse is getting back to normal, so no one needs to worry anymore, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Myanmar condemned the violence in a statement issued Monday and said it has sent representatives to the relevant authorities in Myanmar to urge the ethnic militia and the government army to exercise restraint for an immediate cease-fire and to take measures to prevent tensions from escalating.

Long-running hostilities

The TNLA has been engaged in long-running hostilities with Myanmar forces in northern Shan state, where it seeks greater autonomy. The militia was excluded from signing the government's nationwide cease-fire accord in October 2015, originally inked with eight other ethnic armed groups.

Ongoing fighting since 2011 has resulted in an increase in the number of internal refugees and civilian deaths in Shan and neighboring Kachin states, and has stymied the governments efforts to bring warring ethnic militias to the negotiating table.

The United Nations estimates that more 15,000 people, the majority of whom are women and children, remain displaced in camps or camp-like settings in Shan state after fleeing the hostilities, with continued sporadic clashes between other ethnic armies and the Myanmar military and different ethnic armed groups further compounding the situation.

China, which has been providing support to Myanmar to hold a third round of peace talks under the governments 21st-Century Panglong Conference, said it firmly opposes any attempt to undermine peace and stability along the China-Myanmar border and any act deliberately obstructing Myanmars peace process.

Motion on Muse passes

Also on Tuesday, the lower house of Myanmars parliament unanimously passed a motion submitted by lawmaker Than Soe and supported by lawmaker Thein Htun, both of the opposition Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), condemning the Muse attacks.

This fighting is not the first time that fighting has occurred in Muse, Than Soe said. It is the second time, and innocent people were killed.

The trade flow and other businesses have also stopped operating because Muse lies along the major trade route to and from China, he said.

Armed clashes between Myanmar forces and the ethnic Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army in northeastern Shan state in 2017 killed dozens, including a couple of Chinese nationals, and forced more than 30,000 to flee to safety, mostly in China where the Chinese government housed them in refugee camps.

The hostilities forced the closure of the Muse border trade zone, the largest of the trade hubs between Myanmar and China.

Reported by Thiri Min Zin and Win Ko Ko Latt for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.

Correction: An earlier version of this story erroneously stated that both TNLA and Kachin Independence Army soldiers were involved in the attacks in Muse.


For picture posts from 2010 and earlier, see the Earlier Picture Posts Page
A court in southern Vietnams Vung Tau province has reduced the prison term previously imposed on a convicted child molester, citing the mans age and his long service to the countrys ruling Communist Party, Vietnamese sources say.



Nguyen Khac Thuy, 78 and a retired banker, was handed an 18-month suspended sentence and 36 months probation on May 11 after successfully appealing a three-year prison term imposed on Nov. 17, 2017.



The appeals courts ruling prompted a public outcry, with Vietnamese citizens going online to criticize the courts decision and authorities warning family members of the victims not to discuss the politically sensitive case with foreign media.



Speaking to RFAs Vietnamese Service on May 12, the mother of one of Thuys two victims said that almost everyone attending last weeks hearing was disappointed and upset by the courts decision to reduce the sentence given by the lower court.



The witnesses and victims have discussed this and agree that we should now take this to a higher court, the woman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Local authorities have told her not to discuss the case with foreign media, she said.



I have to be careful while seeking justice for my daughter, because I dont want to have more trouble.



On Monday [May 14], I will send some paperwork to Saigon to begin an appeal, she said.



'Embarrassment to justice'



Caught molesting a girl in 2014, Thuy was reported to the Nguyen An Ninh commune of Vung Tau city but was not charged until another case came to light last year and a video prepared by the mother of the second victim, a six-year-old girl, went viral, sources said.



Writing on his Facebook page on May 11, a lawyer who helped the victims families prepare for last weeks hearing, said that many had feared that Thuy, a senior party member and director of a branch of Vietnams national bank, would never be brought to court.



This 18-month suspended sentence is an embarrassment to justice, the lawyer, Le Ngoc Luan, said, adding that he will continue to raise his voice in the case.



Also speaking to RFA, Kim Thuy, a retired party member living in Hanoi, pointed to widespread public outrage over the case.



The public is very upset about this, she said. People are cursing and criticizing all over the internet.



A good party member should never use his party status to threaten anyone. And if he is really so frail, how can he have such a strong libido? she asked.



Reported by RFAs Vietnamese Service. Translated by Viet Ha. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 15 officially unveiled a 19-kilometer-long road bridge linking the annexed Crimean Peninsula with Russian territories across the Kerch Strait. Construction of the bridge, which can carry up to 40,000 cars a day, started in 2016. It was originally expected to open in December but was finished ahead of schedule. A railway bridge is due to be completed by the end of 2019.



Ukraine has condemned the project, which cost 228 billion rubles ($3.7 billion). Sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States have targeted those involved in the bridge, including businessman Arkady Rotenberg, a close Putin ally whose company won the construction contract.



The bridge surpasses the Vasco de Gama bridge in Portugal as the longest in Europe.



(Gallery updated on May 15, 2018)
PRAGUE -- Czech authorities have denied asylum to a Russian man convicted for a social-media post stating that the Soviet Union collaborated with Nazi Germany and jointly "unleashed" World War II by attacking Poland.

Vladimir Luzgin, an auto detailer from the central Russian city of Perm, was informed of the decision on his asylum request during a May 15 meeting at the Czech Interior Ministry.

"They explained that they didn't find grounds for my political persecution," a visibly deflated Luzgin told RFE/RL outside the Czech Interior Ministry in Prague following the meeting. "Of course I'm disappointed," he said, adding that "life goes on."

The Czech authorities wrote that it "was not within their expert competence" to "engage in polemics" regarding the truthfulness of the historical events in question, and noted a lack of detail in Luzgin's asylum application as reasons for the denial.

"He did not encounter any negative reactions personally [in Russia], and he was not exposed to any action that could be described as persecution," the authorities said in a written judgement.

"I thought I was going to quit smoking today," the 39-year old said as he lit up a cigarette. He now has 15 days to decide whether to appeal the decision.

Luzgin fled Russia following his June 2016 conviction under a statute criminalizing the "rehabilitation of Nazism" that critics and historians assail as part of a broad effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin's government to manipulate history for political purposes.

Luzgin's case is one of the most high-profile of more than 10 convictions under the statute signed into law by Putin in May 2014 following Russia's seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and amid the escalating war in eastern Ukraine between Kyiv's forces and Russia-backed separatists.

His conviction was based on language in the law criminalizing the denial of "facts recognized by the international military tribunal" in Nuremberg, Germany, after World War II and the dissemination of "intentionally false information about the Soviet Union's activities during World War II."

The crime is punishable by up to three years in prison, though Luzgin was spared incarceration and fined 200,000 rubles ($3,240). The Russian Supreme Court upheld the ruling in September 2016.

Luzgin declined to pay the fine and fled to the Czech Republic. After leaving Russia, he told RFE/RL's Russian Service in December 2016 that he decided not to pay because he does not consider himself guilty.

He has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in connection with his conviction.

'Unleashing World War II'

The criminal case against Luzgin was based on a December 2014 post on the popular Russian social-networking site VKontakte. The material in question was a repost of a list of talking points defending Stepan Bandera, a World War II-era Ukrainian nationalist who collaborated with Nazi Germany against the Soviets but who also fell afoul of the Nazis.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center accuses followers of Bandera, who remains a venerated figure for Ukrainian nationalists, of participating in the "mass murder of Jews during the initial stages of the Holocaust."

After mass protest in Ukraine swept Kremlin-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych from power in February 2014, Russian officials and media repeatedly denounced supporters of his ouster as "Banderites" and "fascists."

But it wasn't the defense of Bandera in Luzgin's repost that landed him in trouble, and prosecutors did not accuse him of approving of Nazi crimes.

Instead, the court convicted Luzgin for language in the repost stating that the Soviet Union and Germany "actively collaborated" and "attacked Poland together, unleashing World War II," according to a copy of the verdict in his case.

The repost, which the court said drew around 20 views on Luzgin's Vkontakte page, referenced the 1939 nonaggression pact -- so-called Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact -- between Adolf Hitler's Germany and Josef Stalin's Soviet Union.

The pact paved the way for the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, as well as the Soviet invasion of eastern Poland two weeks later and the Soviet occupation of the Baltic States in 1940.

Soviet authorities long denied the existence of a secret protocol between the Soviets and Nazi Germany agreeing on spheres of influence in Europe between the two powers, though the Soviet Congress of People's Deputies ultimately condemned the pact in December 1989.

Putin himself has criticized the pact, while at the same time comparing it to dealings with Hitler by other leaders before the war.

"All attempts to appease the Nazis between 1934 and 1939 through various agreements and pacts were morally unacceptable," Putin in Poland in 2009. "We must admit these mistakes. Our country has done this."

But Putin has shifted his public remarks on the matter in recent years, saying the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact "made sense for ensuring the security of the Soviet Union" and suggesting there was nothing wrong with what he portrayed as a Soviet effort to avoid war.

'A Matter Of Time'

Proponents of criminalizing the "rehabilitation of Nazism" in Russia say it is necessary to "defend the historical record" about World War II, in which an estimated 20 million Soviet citizens lost their lives.

"We will not allow history to be rewritten," Russian lawmaker Irina Yarovaya, a key backer of the law, said of the push for the statute in 2013.

But some Russian historians have sharply criticized the law, calling it dangerous "for society's historical awareness" and for academics attempting to conduct objective research.

Days before Luzgin learned that he had been denied asylum in the Czech Republic, the Russian rights group Agora released a report in which it found at least 100 cases of prosecutions or bans by Russian authorities over the past decade related to public speech on history-related subjects.

According to Agora's research, they include 16 convictions in a total of 17 criminal cases.

"There are only a few criminal cases so far, but the number is growing," one of the report's co-authors, attorney Pavel Chikov, told RFE/RL.

More broadly, Russian authorities in recent years have stepped up prosecutions for online posts deemed to violate anti-extremism laws that critics say are often abused to stifle dissent.

So far no one in Russia has been sentenced to actual prison time after being convicted under the "rehabilitation of Nazism" statute, Chikov's co-author, Damir Gainutdinov, told RFE/RL's Russian Service.

"But it's only a matter of time," he added.


Afghan and NATO warplanes have bombed Taliban positions after insurgents attacked Farah city, the capital of Farah Province in western Afghanistan, close to the Iranian border, Afghan officials say.

The attack -- the first major assault targeting a provincial capital since the Taliban announced its annual spring offensive -- began when several security checkpoints were overrun after midnight, with the militants capturing one urban district and parts of another, according to provincial-council member Jamila Amini.

"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombing Taliban positions," Amini told the media by telephone from inside the city.



Special police forces from Kandahar and commandos from Herat had also been deployed in Farah, Afghan officials said.

A U.S. military spokesman in Kabul, Lieutenant Colonel Martin O'Donnell, told RFE/RL that the city "remains under [Afghan] government control."

Afghan forces supported by U.S. air power "are on the offensive against the Taliban," he added.

Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the Afghan Air Force was also taking part in the battle.

At least 10 insurgents and two members of the security forces had been killed so far, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmnish said.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Mujahid said Taliban fighters launched a multipronged attack and overran a large number of checkpoints belonging to Afghan security forces in the city.

Farah Province has been a key battleground for the Taliban for months. It borders Helmand Province, where the militants control several districts.

Violence has spiked in Afghanistan since the Taliban announced the start of their annual spring offensive last month.

But the commander of U.S. Central Command, General Joseph Votel, said on May 11 that the Taliban "cannot win militarily."

"The message I would send to the Taliban is that they cannot win militarily. The international coalition, led by the United States, is focused on providing the military pressure, in conjunction with social pressure and diplomatic pressure that will force them to come to the table," Votel said during a visit to Tajikistans capital, Dushanbe.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP
A Russian company that was among the first to be indicted in the U.S. investigation into alleged election meddling has accused Special Counsel Robert Mueller of inventing a "make-believe crime" while trying to criminalize "free speech" on the Internet.

In a court filing in Washington on May 14, the Concord consulting company headed by a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected Mueller's charge that it conspired to defraud the U.S. government by funding a covert social-media campaign during the 2016 presidential election aimed at helping get Republican Donald Trump elected president.

Concord is accused of providing funding for a Russian troll farm based in St. Petersburg that directed a social-media campaign that investigators say was aimed at sowing discord among Americans and at generating favorable opinions of Trump while denigrating his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton.

Concord is controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy businessman known as "Putin's cook" because his catering business has organized banquets for the Kremlin. Prigozhin was placed on a U.S. sanctions list earlier this year.

Lawyers for the company said in their filing that the Justice Department has never before brought a criminal case accusing a foreign corporation of interfering in American politics "by allegedly funding free speech."

"The obvious reason for this is that no such crime exists in the federal criminal code," the lawyers wrote.

The lawyers said the case "has absolutely nothing to do with any links or coordination between any candidate and the Russian government" and thus does not carry out Mueller's mandate from Congress to pursue alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

"The reason is obvious, and is political: to justify his own existence the Special Counsel has to indict a Russian -- any Russian," the lawyers wrote, including as a footnote a line from the movie Casablanca in which a police captain instructs his officers, after a man is shot, to "round up the usual suspects."

Concord claimed that Mueller in his indictment provided no evidence that the company intended to break U.S. law, even though the U.S. campaign laws and foreign agent registration laws that Concord allegedly violated require the government to show intent to break the law.

Besides arguing that the government has no proof that Concord intended to defraud the U.S. government, the company's attorneys argued that a foreign company like Concord could not possibly have known the intricacies of U.S. election and foreign lobbying laws "that are unknown even to most Americans."

The indictment in February against Concord also named two other Russian companies and 13 Russian individuals. It was the first brought by Mueller directly charging Russians for alleged criminal offenses connected with their activities during the election.

Most of the Russians named in the indictment remain in Russia, and Putin has said he would never extradite them to the United States to face the charges against them.

With reporting by AP and Reuters


European officials eager to salvage 2-year-old nuclear curbs on Iran are said to be exploring ways to ensure Tehran's continued participation following the U.S. decision to abandon the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA), under which Tehran limited sensitive nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Shuttle diplomacy is under way, with face-to-face talks taking place among senior diplomats from some of the non-U.S. signatories to the deal, which include Iran, the European Union, Britain, China, France, Germany, and Russia.

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini has said that Brussels is determined to preserve the JCPOA, and Iranian President Hassan Rohani has signaled that Tehran will continue to participate, for the time being.

Analysts who spoke to RFE/RL suggested that a combination of legal, financial, and political steps by European countries could allow them to continue to extend Iran the benefits of the accord, including trade and investment.

Legal Steps

President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that the United States would abandon the deal and reimpose tough sanctions lifted as part of the nuclear accord.

Foreign companies have 90 days to comply with U.S. sanctions or face penalties.

So if their aim is to salvage the deal, EU countries presumably need to protect their companies from so-called secondary sanctions, which allow Washington to take action against individuals or companies that are doing business with sanctioned countries.

"One needs to be present in the U.S. economy to have a stake in the U.S. market in order for the sanctions to be effective," says Riccardo Alcaro, coordinator of research at Italy's Institute of International Affairs (IAI). "But given the fact that most European banks and major companies and a lot of medium-size enterprises do have a stake in the U.S. economy and are involved in the financial market, it is very difficult not to become the target of U.S. regulations."

Alcaro suggests that EU governments could deploy the "blocking statute" that was originally crafted in 1996 in response to U.S. sanctions against Cuba, to shield EU companies from U.S. sanctions and pressure.

"The blocking regulation makes it illegal for EU companies to comply with laws with extraterritorial application," Alcaro says.

It proved to be a successful deterrent in the Cuban case, he says, adding that the European pushback eventually prompted President Bill Clinton's administration to back down.

But in order to be reused, Alcaro says the blocking regulation needs to be amended.

"Basically, the blocking regulation would impose fines on EU companies and banks, which would thus face the dual risk of being sanctioned by the Americans if they do business with Iran and be sanctioned by the EU if they don't," Alcaro says.

Carnegie Europe senior fellow Pierre Vimont, a former French ambassador to Washington, agrees and says that such adjustments impose obstacles of their own. "In order to [amend the blocking regulation], you need to get the agreement of all 28 [EU] member states, and that may take some time," Vimont tells RFE/RL.

European countries could also take retaliatory steps such as a "clawback" clause, as described recently by the International Crisis Group (ICG), an NGO, allowing for the recovery of damages incurred for alleged sanctions violations through tariffs on U.S. exports to the EU.

In a similar vein, French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire on May 11 proposed creating a European body that would have the same kind of powers that the U.S. Justice Department has to punish foreign companies for their trade practices. He cited the European Union's need to defend its "economic sovereignty" when it comes to the right to trade with Iran.

Financial Measures

Other European tactics could include specifically financial steps aimed at underscoring the delineation between doing business with Europe as opposed to the United States.

They might include, for instance, boosting ties between the Iranian Central Bank and European central banks.

Naysan Rafati, an Iran analyst with ICG, says there are numerous ways that EU countries can enhance banking connections with Iran and offer European companies protection on a multilateral basis. He cites "increasing credit lines to Tehran, working with European investment banks to facilitate loans, [or] working with development agencies trying to find euros denominated [to] minimize the impact of U.S. secondary sanctions."

Rafati notes that several European countries have already taken individual steps to facilitate trade with Iran. "For example, the Italians issued a credit line under Invitalia; the French have announced that they will be issuing a credit line under Bpifrance; the Danes have been issuing a credit line," he says

Then he adds, "The question is whether Trumps decision will give them a push towards adopting more systematic, continental-level measures."

Political Moves

Alcaro and other analysts say EU countries might also engage in political actions in conjunction with any possible legal or financial steps, with the intention of raising pressure on the United States and encouraging Washington to make some concessions.

He suggests that these could take the form of "a public-diplomacy campaign in the United States aimed at those people in the U.S. administration, the Congress, the media, and the public...who doubt the wisdom of Trumps decision to make it clear that applying sanctions against the companies of allied countries doing legitimate business because the president had withdrawn the United States from a deal that the Europeans are also party to without a justification would be considered by the Europeans a serious breach of inter-ally solidarity and a betrayal of their security interests."

He speculates that a staunch European effort could even prompt U.S. officials to give EU companies some leeway for limited business with Iran.

Difficult Road, Limited Time

For now, Iran has pledged to adhere to its commitments under the nuclear deal.

But hard-line elements from the country's supreme leader on down appear to be putting pressure on Rohani.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly expressed doubts last week that EU countries would deliver on their promises, and he challenged them to offer Iran guarantees.

A member of the influential Assembly Of Experts, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, told worshipers in a May 11 sermon in Tehran bluntly that "these European signatories [to the nuclear deal] also cannot be trusted," adding, "Iran's enemies cannot be trusted."

Lawmaker Hossein Naghavi Hosseini said Tehran had given the European Union 60 days to guarantee the implementation of the nuclear deal, citing a meeting attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, one of Iran's chief negotiators in the nuclear talks.

Vimont says time is of the essence -- "Europeans have to decide quickly" -- if the deal is to be kept alive.

Alcaro warns that Europeans may not be in position to invest as much in Iran as they would like. But at the same time, he says, European countries could make it clear to Iran that remaining in the deal would still be in Tehrans interests.

"In terms of economic return, Im not entirely sure even this would be enough for Iran," Alcaro says, "but it certainly would win Irans trust. And the Iranians may calculate that given the costs of risks associated with resuming the nuclear program, staying in the deal, keeping the moral high ground, keeping the United States isolated, seizing on the gap between Europe and America is still in Irans best interest."

Vimont characterizes the U.S. effort as effectively pursuing an economic embargo" against Iran, which might thoroughly test European resolve either way.

[They could] refuse to go along with the U.S., which is what many of them have said already, and therefore they need to organize themselves accordingly -- but then, for them, it is admitting that they are now, at least on the economic side of this whole story, on for a confrontation with America," Vimont says.

"Would all 28 member states agree on such a course? Thats the real question.
Iran's foreign minister says Tehran and European powers have made a "good start" in talks over how to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal in the wake of Washington's withdrawal.

Mohammed Javad Zarif made the comments in Brussels late on May 15 following talks with his counterparts from Britain, France, and Germany.

"We are on the right track...a lot will depend on what we can do in next few weeks," Zarif said after the 90-minute meeting.

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini, who also attended the meeting, said the four ministers shared a willingness to find "practical solutions" for keeping the nuclear accord going.

She said there was "awareness of the urgency" and the ministers agreed to find some solutions within weeks.

The EU cannot provide legal and economic guarantees to Tehran but is serious about seeking a way to keep investment flowing, the bloc's top diplomat also said.

The Iranian minister was in Brussels on the final stop of a global tour aimed at rallying support for the landmark nuclear accord between Tehran and six world powers.

In addition to the United States and Iran, the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, and the European Union.

U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out on May 8, claiming that Iran had violated the "spirit" of the deal by financing militant violence in the Middle East and by continuing to test ballistic missiles.

The EU hopes to convince Tehran to continue to adhere to the accord.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said before the meeting with Zarif that Britain and its European partners "continue to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully committed to upholding it."

"We want to hear what expectations there are in Iran," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said. "We will look for ways in which we can make sure that in Iran the deal can still be supported from a domestic political perspective."

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that the nuclear deal "certainly has weaknesses," but said that sticking to it was the best way forward.

Speaking at a labor union congress, Merkel said that Europe wasn't "blind" to threats posed by Tehran's activities in countries such as Syria to Israel.

"But we still think that, with the agreement, we would have better preconditions to speak with Iran about further agreements than by unilaterally canceling an agreement that was unanimously approved and endorsed in the UN Security Council," she added.

Earlier on May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran deal with French President Emmanuel Macron by phone, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to the Iran accord in the phone call, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization called on the European signatories to make up for the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear agreement.

"If they cannot do that, we are ready to take our nuclear program to a level stronger than before the JCPOA," Ali Akbar Salehi warned in an interview on state television.

Zarif arrived in Brussels from Russia, where he and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on May 14 agreed to remain in "close contact" over the deal.

Lavrov told Zarif that all the remaining signatories of the JCPOA have "legitimate interests" in keeping the deal and that "therefore we need to defend the legitimate interests of each of us together." Zarif said that Russia had confirmed its readiness to respect the pact.

Russian acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on May 15 it was possible to discuss the future of the Iran nuclear deal without the participation of the United States, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

Ryabkov, speaking at a meeting in Moscow of the Valdai Discussion Club -- a gathering of Russian and international foreign-policy experts -- also said there had been an attempt to present the situation in a way that it would be impossible to preserve the deal without Tehran making concessions, the Interfax news agency reported.

After his talks in Beijing on March 13, Zarif said Iran wanted a "clear future design" for the accord, adding that "the interests of the people of Iran must be assured."

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
The United States has imposed sanctions on the governor of Iran's central bank, accusing him of providing support for terrorist activities.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on May 15 announced sanctions against Valiollah Seif and another senior official in the Central Bank of Iran, Ali Tarzali.

The two were named "specially designated global terrorists" for allegedly assisting in funneling millions of dollars on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' Quds Force (IRGC-QF) to support Lebanon's Hizballah militia, the OFAC said in a statement.

"It is appalling, but not surprising, that Iran's senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hizballah, and it undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.

"The United States will not permit Iran's increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system," Mnuchin added.

The statement said the designations "do not extend" to the Central Bank of Iran.

The OFAC also blacklisted Al-Bilad Islamic Bank in Iraq and its chairman, Aras Habib, saying he helped the IRGC-QF to move funds from Tehran to Hizballah.

On May 10, the Treasury sanctioned nine Iranian individuals and entities for allegedly operating a currency-exchange network that transferred millions of dollars on behalf of the Quds Force.

The move comes a week after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States was pulling out of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Beginning on August 7, the United States will impose sanctions "on the purchase or acquisition of U.S. dollars banknotes by the government of Iran," the U.S. Treasury Department said.

And on November 5, additional sanctions will be reimposed on persons "knowingly engaging in certain significant transactions" with the central bank.
The Israeli and Palestinian envoys have engaged in a fierce exchange at the United Nations a day after dozens of Palestinians were killed in violence along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

Some 58 Palestinian protesters were killed and over 1,200 wounded by Israeli gunfire on May 14 -- the culmination of a weekslong protest against Israel.

Calm mostly prevailed on May 15, but two further deaths were reported.

Speaking at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansur condemned what he called "the odious massacre committed by Israel," and spoke of a "crime against humanity."

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon defended the use of force, calling the events at the border "violent riots." He also accused the Islamist movement Hamas of taking "the people of Gaza hostage."

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley defended Israel, saying, "No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has."

A number of countries expressed concern at the violence and some, including Germany and Britain, called for an independent probe.

Belgium and Ireland summoned their Israeli ambassadors, while Turkey temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador to Ankara. Israel did the same to the Turkish consul in Jerusalem.

May 14 marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and was also the day the United States took the controversial step of opening an embassy in Jerusalem.

Based on reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, and the BBC
A Japanese military-history buff who is in prison in Belarus on arms-smuggling charges will be released in days, his relatives say.

Daichi Yoshida's relatives told RFE/RL on May 14 that his 4 1/2-year prison sentence was reduced by 21 months and he is expected to be released on May 21.

Yoshida's lawyer Dzmitry Shylau told RFE/RL earlier that his client had no intention of violating the law and was only transiting Belarus with vintage gun parts that he acquired as a collector.

Yoshida was arrested in Belarus in August 2016 while seeking to return to Japan from Ukraine, where he bought 10 locks and four barrels from vintage bolt-action Russian-made Mosin-Nagant rifles dating back to the late 19th century.

Security officers at Kyiv's Zhulyany Airport assured him that his luggage was fine, but Belarusian authorities at the Minsk airport said that the gun parts were suitable for modern weapons and arrested him.

Yoshida, a 27-year-old comic book artist who says he is innocent, is serving his prison term in a high-security prison in the northeastern city of Vitsebsk.

His mother, Yoko Yoshida, told RFE/RL earlier that her son is suffering from depression and "struggling" to survive.

In a letter scrawled in English, Yoshida himself said he was in "terrible condition" and suggested he was mentally broken.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has opened the country's newly built bridge to the annexed Crimean Peninsula, driving a truck across the span and drawing angry condemnation from Kyiv, the European Union, and the United States.

Putin was shown live on state television at the wheel of a Kamaz truck in a convoy of vehicles that crossed what Russia calls the Crimean Bridge -- a symbol of Moscow's control over the Ukrainian peninsula -- on May 15.

After an excited reporter welcomed "our heroes" as the convoy arrived on the Crimean side, Putin hopped out of the cab in jeans and a jacket and praised builders for the "miracle" he said they had created.

"Throughout various historical epochs...people have dreamed of building this bridge," Putin said, calling it a "historic day."

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said that "the illegal construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin's disregard for international law."

In a statement posted on Twitter, he said it was "particularly cynical" that the opening took place days before the anniversary of the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in 1944.

EU foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini's spokeswoman said construction of the bridge "constitutes another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia."

"The construction of the bridge aims at the further forced integration of the illegally annexed peninsula with Russia and its isolation from Ukraine, of which it remains a part," spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.

The U.S. State Department also condemned Russia's construction of the bridge, saying it was done "without the permission of the government of Ukraine."

"Russia's construction of the bridge serves as a reminder of Russias ongoing willingness to flout international law," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

Nauert added that the bridge "represents not only an attempt by Russia to solidify its unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea, but also impedes navigation by limiting the size of ships that can transit the Kerch Strait, the only path to reach Ukraine's territorial waters in the Sea of Azov."

The 19-kilometer bridge over the Kerch Strait had been scheduled to open in December 2018, but Russian authorities recently announced it would open for cars and buses on May 16.

Construction on the bridge from Russia's Krasnodar Krai to Crimea's eastern end started in 2016, two years after Russia seized control of the peninsula following a military occupation and a referendum denounced as illegitimate by at least 100 countries.

The $3.7 billion project includes a four-lane highway and a two-lane railroad, which is still under construction.

PHOTO GALLERY: Putin Officially Opens Massive Bridge Linking Crimea To Russia (CLICK TO VIEW)



Putin expressed confidence that the bridge will be open for regular truck traffic in the fall and that the railroad section will open in 2019.

The bridge will give "the economy of Crimea...new momentum" and "raise people's living standards," Putin said. "We will go on working on similar projects throughout the entire country."

Putin has pledged to develop infrastructure and improve living standards substantially in his fourth presidential term, which began on May 7 and ends in 2024, but GDP growth has lagged behind targets and Crimea's economy is struggling.

The televised truck footage was par for the course for Putin, who state TV has shown at the controls of vehicles including a fighter jet, an ultralight aircraft, a minisubmarine, and a faster-moving racing truck in the past.

Crimea is connected to the mainland in Ukraine only, so the newly built bridge is the sole link between the peninsula and Russia.

In the EU statement, Kocijancic said that the bridge "limits the passage of vessels via the Kerch Strait to Ukrainian ports in the Azov Sea."

The European Union continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea...by Russia and will not recognize this violation of international law," she said.

Putin's government moved swiftly to seize Crimea in March 2014, after Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power by months of street demonstrations and fled to Russia.

Russia sent troops without insignia to Crimea and orchestrated the takeover of government bodies, before holding the referendum on March 16, 2014.

Moscow's takeover of the Black Sea peninsula severely damaged its relations with Kyiv and the West, leading to the imposition of sanctions by the United States, the European Union, and other countries.

Ties were further torn when Russia fomented unrest in Ukraine and backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,300 people in the eastern region known as the Donbas.

With reporting by Russia 24, TASS, and Interfax
Volodymyr Balukh, an imprisoned pro-Kyiv activist who has been on hunger strike for 55 days and whose release has been demanded by Washington, is on trial again in Russian-controlled Crimea.

The trial of Balukh, one of dozens of Crimeans prosecuted by Russia in what rights groups say has been a persistent campaign to silence dissent since Moscow seized the Ukrainian region in 2014, began at Rozdolne district court on May 15.

Balukh was sentenced in January to three years and seven months in a penal colony where convicts live close to an industrial facility or a farm where they work, after being convicted on a weapons-and-explosives-possession charge.

Balukh's initial sentence to the same prison term in August had been annulled by an appeals court and returned for additional investigation. Balukh insists the case against him was politically motivated.

In March, a new case was launched against Balukh after a warden in a local detention center in Crimea claimed that Balukh attacked him. Balukh denies the charge, saying the warden attacked him.

On May 3, the United States said that Balukh is a political prisoner and called on the "Russian occupation authorities in Crimea" to release him.

"Unacceptable for Russia to jail a Ukrainian citizen for flying a Ukrainian flag in Crimea and deny him medical care," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said on Twitter.

The new trial started the same day that Russian President Vladimir Putin ceremonially opened a bridge linking Russia to Crimea.

Balukh was arrested in December 2016, after the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said explosives and 90 bullets were found in the attic of his home.

The search was conducted shortly after Balukh planted a Ukrainian flag in his yard and affixed a sign to his house that read Heavenly Hundred Street, 18.

"Heavenly Hundred" is a term Ukrainians use for the dozens of people killed when security forces fired on protesters in Kyiv in February 2014, shortly before Russia-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power.

After Yanukovych's ouster, Russia seized Crimea by sending in troops and staging a referendum dismissed as illegal by Ukraine, the United States, and about 100 other countries.

The Russian takeover badly damaged Moscow's relations with Kyiv and the West and resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the European Union, the United States, and several other countries.

Rights groups say Crimean residents who opposed Russia's takeover have faced discrimination and abuse at the hands of the Moscow-imposed authorities.

In 2017, the European Parliament called on Moscow to free more than 30 Ukrainian citizens who were in prison or under other conditions of restricted freedom in Russia, Crimea, and parts of eastern Ukraine that are controlled by Russia-backed separatists.
The Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, has approved in its first reading a bill which provides for the jailing for up to four years of Russians who adhere to economic sanctions imposed by the United States.



The lawmakers approved the bill unanimously on May 15.

The bill, which needs two more votes in the Duma and one in the upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by President Vladimir Putin, is seen as an effort to respond to U.S.-imposed asset freezes and financial restrictions on Russian officials, tycoons, and companies associated with Putin.

Those April 6 sanctions, the latest in a series imposed by the United States, European Union, and other countries since Russia seized Crimea and has been backing armed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, were meant to punish Moscow for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other "malign activity around the globe."

The legislation would enable a court to impose a prison term of up to four years on any individual or representative of a legal entity in Russia who refuses to supply services or do business with a Russian citizen due to sanctions.

Offenders could also be fined up to 600,000 rubles ($9,710).

Under the bill, helping foreign governments impose sanctions on Russia by providing advice or information would also be a criminal offense, punishable by up to three years in prison and a fine of up to 500,000 rubles ($8,090).

The second vote is scheduled for May 17.

With reporting by Meduza
U.S. President Donald Trump has offered to help a Chinese technology giant that says it's being pushed out of business by U.S. penalties over its alleged violations of sanctions against Iran.

In a move that helped spur a rally in global stock markets on May 14, Trump said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are "working together" to give telecom giant ZTE "a way to get back in business, fast," saying too many jobs in China were at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to its U.S. suppliers.

"ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies," Trump tweeted. "Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"

Trump's about-face on the stiff sanctions imposed against ZTE comes as the United States is imposing sanctions increasingly on global firms like ZTE and Russia's Rusal, the world's second-largest aluminum manufacturer, which is also struggling to stay in business in the wake of U.S. sanctions.

As a result of Trump's recent decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, U.S. sanctions are also possible eventually against such other European and Asian giants as Airbus, Renault, Total, and Siemens if they continue to do business with Iran.

The U.S. Commerce Department last month cited alleged violations of U.S. sanctions on Iran in blocking ZTE from importing American-made components for its phones and other equipment for seven years.

The department imposed the penalty on Shenzhen-based ZTE after finding that the company, which had already paid a $1.2 billion fine, not only failed to discipline employees that were involved in the sanctions violations but paid them bonuses.

ZTE, a company with more than 70,000 employees that has supplied some of the world's biggest telecom companies, said earlier this month that as a result of the U.S. action, it had halted its main operations and the U.S. ban was threatening to push it out of business.

Under orders from Trump on May 14, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he was looking into whether there are "alternative remedies" to the crippling ban he originally imposed on ZTE.

While China said it was pleased with the U.S. reversal, which came on the eve of a visit to Washington by Chinese Vice Premier Liu He to discuss trade issues, some prominent members of Congress were not pleased.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of "backing off" and "doing a 180 on China."

"What about jobs in America, Mr. President? What about the millions of jobs that are lost because of what China has done?" he asked, adding: "Why on Earth would President Trump promise to help a Chinese telecom company that has flouted U.S. sanctions and whose practices are a risk to our national security?"

Republican Senator Marco Rubio also said it would be "crazy" to allow ZTE to operate in the United States without tighter restrictions.

"Problem with ZTE isn't jobs & trade, it's national security & espionage," he wrote on Twitter.

With reporting by AP, dpa, AFP, and Reuters
A U.S. diplomat who was involved in a fatal traffic accident has left Pakistan, two days after he was barred from leaving the South Asian country, U.S. and Pakistani officials said.

The departure of U.S. military attache Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall was reported by Pakistani officials and confirmed by the U.S. State Department on May 14.

Hall ran a red light in Islamabad on April 7 and hit motorcyclist Attique Baig, killing him. But the diplomat was not arrested because of his diplomatic immunity.

After registering a protest over the accident last month, authorities in Islamabad blocked Hall on May 12 from leaving Pakistan, forcing a U.S. military aircraft sent on his behalf to depart without him.

The U.S. Embassy in Pakistan expressed "deep sympathy" for the family of the dead man and for another person who was injured in the accident and said that it was cooperating with Pakistani investigators.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet on May 15 to discuss violence along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, following the deadliest day there since a 2014 war.

Kuwait called for the session after at least 58 Palestinians were killed and over 1,200 wounded by Israeli gunfire amid mass protests over the United States locating its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14.

Israel said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas militants of trying to attack under the cover of the protest.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the council session. No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March, and two UN diplomats said members couldn't reach unanimous agreement on May 14 on issuing a proposed statement circulated by Kuwait.

The draft statement, obtained by the media, would have expressed "outrage and sorrow" at the killings, sought an "independent and transparent investigation" of the deadly protests, and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

UN diplomats said the United States blocked the proposal over its demand that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested Jerusalem.

The United States vetoed a resolution in December that would have required President Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Earlier on May 14, the Palestinian UN envoy urged the council to condemn the killings. Israel, meanwhile, called on the council to condemn Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the Gaza strip and led the protests.

The violence came amid celebrations in Jerusalem over the first official recognition of the ancient city as Israel's capital in 70 years. The move infuriated Palestinians, who seek eastern Jerusalem as a future capital of their own.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and AFP


WASHINGTON  A top U.S. official said that the White House will urge Uzbek President Shavkhat Mirziyoev to continue reforming the economy and improving human rights when he visits for the first time this week.

Lisa Curtis, who oversees Central and South Asian affairs at the White House National Security Council, said on May 14 that Uzbekistan has made great strides since Mirziyoev took over the presidency from longtime autocratic ruler Islam Karimov.

But she signaled that U.S. officials will press Mirziyoev to go further to remedy long-standing problems involving the repression of human rights, forced labor, freedom of religion, and freedom of the press.

"This visit is an opportunity to encourage and validate those reforms already adopted by Mirziyoev, Curtis said, speaking at a meeting of the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank.

Mirziyoev is slated to have his first meeting with President Donald Trump on May 16 at the White House. In what was widely seen as a gesture to the U.S. administration ahead of the meeting, Uzbekistan on May 12 released human rights activist Fahriddin Tillaev, who had been imprisoned for more than four years in a case that watchdogs called politically motivated.

Prime minister for 13 years, Mirziyoev became acting president after Karimov's death was announced in September 2016. He was then elected president in December 2016.

Mirziyoev has sought to open up Central Asia's most populous country and move away from his predecessor's repressive policies, making changes as part of a bid to attract foreign investment and modernize Uzbekistan's stagnant economy.

Mirziyoev is being accompanied by a sizable delegation of officials and business leaders, who Curtis said intend to sign around $4 billion worth of contracts and business deals with U.S. companies when they visit the U.S. capital.

The Uzbek government has undertaken a marketing blitz in Washington and other Western capitals in recent months, seeking to persuade governments and companies to invest.

Ahead of Mirziyoev's visit, Amnesty International said Trump should push Mirziyoev to "continue and deepen" human rights reforms.

The British-based rights group said the Uzbek leader's White House visit "will be a critical opportunity for [Trump] to encourage Uzbekistan to implement human rights reforms that are long overdue and much needed."

But while Mirziyoev has freed some political prisoners, his administration also has moved to purge many prominent law enforcement and other government officials. That's led some Central Asian experts to caution that his reforms may be aimed in part at enriching Mirziyoevs political backers and consolidating his power.

Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said in a report published on March 28 that journalists and other critics of the government remain under pressure from legal restrictions, politically motivated prosecutions, and fear-induced self-censorship.

Beyond raising human rights and economic reform, Curtis said the White House will discuss the actions of China and Russia in the Central Asian region during the Uzbek leader's visit.

She said the White House will also ask Mirziyoev to help more with efforts to broker a peace settlement in neighboring Afghanistan, saying that Uzbekistan and other Central Asia countries should take on more of that burden.
Governor says due to Cancun violence, technology not enough

Cancun, Q.R.  In the face of the continual wave of criminal violence in Cancun, state governor Carlos Joaquin Gonzalez says that implementing the Technological Innovation Surveillance project is not enough.

He says that it is necessary to promote more crime prevention measures adding, We cannot just sit back and watch.

Definitely some executions and other actions have happened that most of the time occur between groups of criminals. What we have to do is promote preventive measures, work on crime prevention, he said.

Joaquin Gonzalez confirmed that over the next few days, the state will launch the Technological Innovation of Surveillance project, which will enable greater control of what happens on the streets in the main cities of the state.

He reports that his administration has invested nearly 3 billion peso into surveillance cameras, metal detector arches and a control and surveillance center.

He says that the state police have reinforced its presence in Cancun, Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, and that the next base of operations will be located between Tulum and Felipe Carrillo Puerto before the end of this year.

The police have the proper equipment with better salaries, a good number of patrols and training, he explained.

Joaquin Gonzalez said that the police presence will be reinforced by a Military Police base that will begin operations no later than October, with the purpose of providing greater security to the residents of Quintana Roo.
Social outrage as grandmother drags dog home outside car

Puebla, Puebla  A woman made headlines across Mexico Monday when she was videoed dragging a dog by a leash tied to the outside of her car.

The incident was recorded Monday afternoon by a motorist who saw a silver Toyota Avanza driving with a Golden Retriever tied to the passenger mirror of the vehicle in the area of the Ecological Park in the city of Puebla.

The video was quick to circulate around Mexican news agencies as well as social media and animal protection authorities. A motorist videoed the woman and her passenger dragging the dog by a leash. When the vehicle slowed for a stop light, the motorist requested they untie the dog.

In the video you can hear the motorist say, The dog is hurting, the dog can not walk anymore, the dog can not walk anymore, put the dog in!

The person in the passenger seat did finally open the door and allowed the dog entry into the car.

Ivan Galindo Castillejos of the city of Puebla said the animal was in good health. He said the dog was in the charge of a senior citizen who went to the park to pick up her grandson and the dog in the rain.

The grandmother said he did not want the dog to dirty the inside of her car, so she tied it to the outside of the car for the short trip of two streets drive home.
The mother left the house after hearing her daughter screaming and saw a large black bear dragging the child. Than, the bear dropped the girl who has serious injuries. She was took at St. Marys Hospital.



East Orchard Mesa

Mom told wildlife officers the girl went outside after hearing noises she thought could have been made by a dog. The bear bit the girl multiple times on her backside. Fortunately she had no injuries to her brain or chest organs or abdominal organs and no fractures, doctors said. They cleaned and repaired the wounds in a surgery lasting an hour and 45 minutes requiring more 77 stitches. Doctors said her recovery could take several weeks. Family members have asked for privacy. The girls father, Duane Cyr, identified her as Kimberly Cyr, 5.The bear, considered dangerous, would be killed once its captured, officials said. Three bear traps were installed in the area. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating. A heavy law enforcement presence will be seen throughout the area. Residents are reminded to take precautions to reduce human confrontations with bears. This is about to secure trash, keep pet food inside and immediately report any bear sightings in this neighborhood. However bear attacks on humans are rare.
BJP falls short of majority,Cong-JD(S) join hands

Bengaluru : The Karnataka Assembly election results threw up an unexpected suspense today, as a simple majority tantalisingly eluded BJP and the Congress quickly proclaimed support to third-placed JD(S) to keep the saffron party out of power . All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP, the single largest winner of seats, to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly.

BJP falls short of majority,Cong-JD(S) join hands

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Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12. Both sides rushed to meet Vala, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power. In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But as all the trends became known, it appeared the party will fall a few seats short of the 112 needed to form the government. "We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told India Today TV.

BJP falls short of majority,Cong-JD(S) join hands

"In the morning, it looked like the BJP will have enough to form the government, and on the basis of that BJP started celebrating also. Meanwhile, we fared well. JD(S) did not fare that well. And later, when the JD(S) and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it," he said. Azad's comments summed up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 general elections at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country. Karnataka was the only major non-BJP ruled state, and the party offices had reverberated with jubilation in the morning when initial trends put it ahead. Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the national capital. The swift political manoeuvring by Congress in reaching out to JD(S) headed showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJP's clever moves.
All set for a launch ahead of Diwali 2018, the new compact sub 4 meter SUV from Mahindra, which is currently codenamed S201, has been spied once again. Based on the SsangYong Tivoli, the 5 seater compact SUV showcases its LED tail-lamp in production spec for the first time.

Mahindra S201 SUV will sport typical styling features that are distinctive to other SUVs from Mahindra. These include a toothy grille, projector headlamps with LED DRLs, horizontal tail lamps, LED fog lamps and double spoke alloy wheels. It will also get roof rails and roof spoiler with an integrated stop lamp and license plate has been affixed to the tailgate rather than positioned on the bumper.

In terms of safety features, Mahindra S201 gets ABS and EBD as standard along with dual airbags. It is also expected to come in with automatic climate control, keyless entry, touchscreen infotainment system, windshield wipers, cruise control and a sun roof. It could also sport some outstanding features from the XUV500 such as bending lamps, tyre pressure monitoring system and voice guidance.

S201 will be launched in the sub-4 meter segment so as to take advantage of tax benefits. Engine options are not revealed, but it could get the same 1.5 liter engine which is seen on the TUV300. This engine is good to deliver 100 PS of power. Petrol and diesel engine option will be on offer along with manual and AMT options. More details will be revealed closer to launch.

Mahindra S201 SUV will be presented in two iterations, a 5 seater and 7 seater. The 7 seater variant will feature a longer wheelbase while the 5 seater variant will feature a shorter wheelbase. Both will be aggressively priced.

The 5 seater variant will rival the likes of Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon and Ford EcoSport while the 7 seater variant could rival the likes of Hyundai Creta, in pricing. For the five seater variant, expect prices to range within the Rs 7-10 lakh price range.
Disclaimer  As the manufacturer (TVS Motor Company) has blacklisted Rushlane from its events/rides as a consequence of decisions based on restrictive practices, this blog is reliant on a company issued press release.

With the launch of BMW engineered TVS Apache 310, the company celebrated 35 years of highly successful run in Indian motorsports. So, it was only a matter of time before the Hosur-based outfit came out with track tuned version of its new flagship. Today, the same has been revealed, along with the name of 12 racers who will race on them first.

Though TVS has not revealed specs of this bike, our sources tell us that the bike is good enough to deliver 45+ hp power. Going by the road-legal version, its safe to say that TVS factory riders are in for a significant upgrade from the existing Apache 200 race bike.

Speaking about the design, the bike largely derives its cues from the Akula concept which previewed the Apache 310 at the Auto Expo 2016. The track going version differs from regular model by forgoing headlamps and offering a slightly taller windscreen. Apache Cup Racer is also equipped with sharp edges at the base of headlamp cavities and fairing-mounted aerofoils to enhance aerodynamic performance.

The motorcycle is underpinned by an aluminium trellis frame and has benefited from numerous lightweight aluminium components. The 312.2 cc reverse inclined single-cylinder liquid-cooled engine is tuned to produce approximately 30-35% more power and torque than the stock bikes 34 PS and 27.3 Nm respectively.

In order to handle the additional performance, the TVS Apache RTR 310 Cup Racer is bestowed with stiffer suspension, upgraded brakes and of course, track-spec tyres. Below are the names of the 12 riders who have qualified for the race.

Deepak Ravikumar

Amarnath Menon

P Sriharsha

Arun Muthukrishnan

Abhishek V

Akash C

PM Soorya

Aditya Rao

S Sivanesan

K Kannan

Vivek Pillai

Vysakh Sobhan

Commenting on the selection, B Selvaraj, Team Manager, TVS Racing said, When we spoke about the TVS Apache RR One Make Series at the launch of the TVS Apache RR 310, the response across the country was phenomenal. This further translated into the number of entries and we were delighted to see new names spring into the final 12. We are glad to have such spirited and talented individuals on our platform and look forward to see them compete fiercely in the cup astride Race tuned TVS Apache RR 310. I wish them all the best for the cup.
Do metastatic cancer tumors "break bad" or are they "born bad"?

This question is an essential mystery in cancer early detection and treatment. Lacking a clear answer, patients are given the same aggressive therapies when small, abnormal clusters of cells are discovered early, even though they might well be harmless.

In a study publishing the week of May 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a research team co-led by scientists at Duke and the University of Southern California has found that in the colorectal tumors they examined, invasive cancers are born to be bad, and this tendency can potentially be identified at early diagnosis.

"We found evidence that benign and malignant tumors start differently, and that cell movement -- an important feature of malignancy -- manifests itself very early on during tumor growth," said lead author Marc D. Ryser, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in Duke's departments of Surgery and Mathematics.

"By testing screen-detected, small tumors for early cell movement as a sign of malignancy, it might be possible to identify which patients are likely to benefit from aggressive treatment," Ryser said.

Ryser and colleagues built on recent research showing that in a subset of human cancers, many key traits of the final tumor are already imprinted in the genome of the founding cell. As such, they reasoned, invasive tumors would start out with the ability to spread rather than developing that trait over time. That is, they are born to be bad.

The researchers analyzed 19 human colorectal tumors with genome sequencing technology and mathematical simulation models. They found signatures of early abnormal cell movement in the majority of the invasive samples -- nine of 15. This propensity is required for tumors to spread, causing them to become deadly. Early abnormal cell movement was not apparent in the four benign tumors the researchers studied.

"The early growth of the final tumor largely depends on the drivers present in the founding cell," the authors wrote.

The study was small and the researchers acknowledged that verification in a larger sample is required, but the finding is a significant step toward establishing a test to distinguish between deadly and harmless growths.

"Thanks to improved screening technologies, we diagnose more and more small tumors," said senior author Darryl Shibata, M.D., professor in the Department of Pathology at Keck School of Medicine of USC. "Because treating a patient aggressively can cause them harm and side-effects, it is important to understand which of the small screen-detected tumors are relatively benign and slowly growing, and which ones are born to be bad."
The average hippo weighs more than 3,000 pounds and consumes about 100 pounds of vegetation daily. This naturally results in large quantities of dung being deposited into the rivers and lakes where hippos spend their days.

In general, the nutrients delivered via hippo dung to such aquatic ecosystems are perceived to be beneficial. For millennia, they provided a natural source of fertilizer that appears to fuel life in aquatic food webs. That may be changing.

In sub-Saharan Africa, deforestation, water-intensive agriculture and now climate change are significantly altering water cycles and causing many rivers to begin to dry. A new study by UC Santa Barbara community ecologist Keenan Stears, with colleagues at UC Berkeley and Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania, examines how these forces of global change are redefining the way hippos -- and their dung -- shape the ecology of freshwater ecosystems. The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"This work explores how hippo dung shapes freshwater chemistry and links these changes to associated patterns of aquatic biodiversity change," said Stears, a postdoctoral researcher in UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology (EEMB). "It also illustrates that the net impact of hippos on river ecosystems is dynamically controlled by river hydrology and reveals the capacity of human disturbances on river flow to drastically alter the role of ecosystem-linking species."

Stears and his team studied river flow and hippo density in the Great Ruaha River in Tanzania's Ruaha National Park, which protects an area about the size of Connecticut and is home to large populations of some of Africa's most iconic species. The Great Ruaha River is the backbone of life in this dry region. Since 1993, however, the once constantly flowing river has ceased to flow during the dry season. The researchers tested nearly a dozen attributes of water quality and measured the diversity and abundance of aquatic life in hippo pools over multiple years, both when river flow was high and during dry periods when the river stopped flowing.

"During the dry season when there was no flow, the pools were completely separated," Stears explained. "We found a huge buildup of hippo dung, and therefore nutrient concentrations within high-density hippo pools. The high influx of nutrients caused the dissolved oxygen concentration to decline to sublethal levels for most fish species."

EEMB assistant professor Douglas McCauley, a senior researcher on the project, called these results an alarm bell for African wildlife. "Hippos are to Africa what polar bears are to the Arctic," he said. "Everything we thought we knew about how African ecosystems worked appears to be changing. Global change has turned productive hippo pools, once teeming with fish and life, into fetid black cesspools."

Only a few species of fish and insects are able to survive in the hippo pools when the river dries, because of extreme losses of dissolved oxygen in these pools. Stears and his colleagues noted large reductions in fish diversity and abundance inside the pools that were overfueled by dung when river flow ceased.

When the rains returned and the river resumed its flow, the researchers saw a reset in many impacts of hippo dung on water quality and biodiversity detected during the dry season.

"This suggests some kind of resilience within the system that allows it to recover after the hydrological disturbance every dry season," Stears said. "This resilience signifies that there is hope for this system, but without intervention soon, the chronic stress caused by river drying and overfertilizing of hippo dung may cause long-term species loss in this river system."

According to Stears, the findings from this study highlight the value of accelerating more efficient water-management policies and land-management practices not only for the conservation of hippos but also to ensure the sustained health and functioning of African watersheds in a changing environment.

"A lot of our results directly assess how changing river flow alters the hippos' influence on the ecological diversity and functioning of watersheds," Stears said. "However, these findings also call attention to the profound ways in which the dry-season impacts of hippos may influence local communities that rely on rivers as a food source. Tilapia are a commonly consumed fish throughout Africa and, during the dry season, we found that the presence of hippos reduced tilapia abundance by 41 percent across the watershed. That's not only bound to have ecological consequences but will also impact the human populations that rely on these rivers."
More than 8 million pounds of bisphenol A (BPA) is produced each year and reaches 90 percent of the population through consumer and medical products. Epidemiological studies find BPA exposure in adults correlate with adverse cardiovascular events, ranging from abnormal heart beats, or arrhythmias, and angina, chest pain, to coronary artery disease, the narrowing of the arteries, commonly referred to atherosclerosis -- the leading cause of death in the United Sates. Now, based on a study using neonatal rat heart cells, researchers find that the immature heart may respond to BPA in a similar fashion -- with slower heart rates, irregular heart rhythms and calcium instabilities. The study appears as an online advance in Scientific Reports.

The authors note that while additional research is needed to determine the impact prolonged BPA exposure has on a child's developing heart, this study documents the elevated risk short-term BPA exposure, for a period of 15 minutes, may have in pediatric intensive care settings. The authors highlight the importance of incentivizing the development, manufacturing and clinical adoption of alternative biomaterials to potentially improve patient safety outcomes, based on the preliminary data.

"Current research explores the impact endocrine disruptors, specifically BPA, have on adults and their cardiovascular and kidney function," notes Nikki Gillum Posnack, Ph.D., a study author and assistant professor at Children's National Heart Institute and the George Washington University. "We know that once this chemical enters the body, it can be bioactive and therefore can influence how heart cells function. This is the first study to look at the impact BPA exposure can have on heart cells that are still developing."

The significance of this research is that plastics have revolutionized the way doctors and surgeons treat young patients, especially patients with compromised immune or cardiac function.

"We're exploring the potential -- and inadvertent risk of plastic medical devices, which have revolutionized the medical field," notes Dr. Posnack. "We're investigating whether these hospital-based exposures may cause unintended effects on cardiac function and looking at ways to mitigate chemical exposure. We hope this preliminary research incentivizes the development of alternative products by medical device manufacturers and encourages the research community to study the impact of plastics on sensitive patient populations."

Dr. Posnack's ongoing research examines the impact environmental influences -- including BPA and other endocrine disruptors -- have on cardiac function. Her next studies are aimed at measuring chemical exposures in patients and translating her results to human models.
The popular meme proclaiming that all dogs are puppies assumes that humans' adoration of canines is not conditional on their age. But a new study led by Clive Wynne, professor of psychology and director of Arizona State University's Canine Science Collaboratory, suggests otherwise.

In a paper published this month in Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People and Animals, Wynne and colleagues describe the study, which found dogs' attractiveness to humans peaks at roughly eight weeks, the same point in time at which their mother weans them and leaves them to fend for themselves.

While spending time in the Bahamas, Wynne was able to observe the many street dogs there. According to him, there are around a billion dogs in the world, 80 percent of whom are feral. For those dogs, human intervention is crucial to their survival. Wynne wondered if there was a connection between pups' weaning age -- when they are at their most vulnerable -- and their level of attractiveness to humans. So he designed an experiment to test his query.

"It came out exactly as I'd hoped it would -- that there is indeed an optimal age of maximum cuteness, and that age does line up pretty closely with the age at which mothers wean their pups," Wynne said.

"This could be a signal coming through to us of how dogs have evolved to rely on human care. This could be dogs showing us how the bond between human and dog is not just something that we find immensely satisfying in our lives. ... But for them, it's the absolute bedrock of their existence. That being able to connect with us, to find an emotional hook with us is what actually makes their lives possible."

The study was carried out using a series of photographs of puppies at different ages, from the first weeks of life through young adulthood. Fifty-one participants were asked to rank the puppies' level of attractiveness in each photo. Three distinctive-looking breeds were ranked: Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos and white shepherds.

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Results showed that the pups' attractiveness was lowest at birth and increased to a maximum before 10 weeks of age before declining and then leveling off.

Cane corsos showed a maximum attractiveness at 6.3 weeks of age; Jack Russell terriers showed a maximum attractiveness at 7.7 weeks of age; and white shepherds showed a maximum attractiveness at 8.3 weeks of age.

"Around seven or eight weeks of age, just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they're going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings," Wynne said.

The findings provide insight into the depth and origin of the relationship between humans and dogs, the oldest and most enduring of any human-animal relationship. And while some theories attribute the survival of the canine species to their intelligence, Wynne dissents.

"I think that the intelligence of dogs is not the fundamental issue," he said. "It's this tremendous capacity to form intimate, strong, affectionate bonds. And that starts at maybe eight weeks of life, when they're so compelling to us."

Though humans and other animals, such as cats and birds, have the capacity to form strong bonds, dogs in particular are especially suited to the task because of their gregarious nature. Even in hand-reared wolves, the species from which all dogs are descended, the willingness to engage humans does not match that of the domestic dog.

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"It does seem to me that the dog has something rather special," Wynne said. "Dogs have a very open-ended social program. That they are ready and willing to make friends with anybody."

Wynne has thought of a couple of interesting ways to follow up on the cuteness study. One way is to show participants video of puppies at different ages, instead of still photos, to determine if perhaps there is something in the pups' movement that attracts people. Another is to determine what the pups' mother thinks about their level of attractiveness at different ages, though that is obviously easier said than done.

The takeaway from the study for Wynne is that extra piece of the puzzle that makes up the human-dog connection.

"[The study] doesn't mean to say that we stop loving our dogs past [eight weeks]," he said. "The eight-week point is just the point where the hook is biggest, the ability of the animal to grab our interest is strongest. But, having grabbed our interest, we continue to love them all their lives."
Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the world's most active volcanoes, with a persistent lava lake as one of its defining features. In a talk at the 2018 SSA Annual Meeting, Adrien Oth of the European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology discussed how he and his colleagues are using multiple methods to monitor lava lake levels at the volcano.

The researchers analyze seismic and infrasound signals generated by the volcano as well as data collected during satellite flyovers to measure Nyiragongo's lake level fluctuations. During the eruption in 2002, which caused a major humanitarian crisis, the lava lake was drained and the depth of the remaining crater was estimated between 600 and 800 meters. About four months after the eruption, the crater started filling up again. Nowadays, the inner crater floor is about 400 meters below the rim and the lava lake remains at high level.

"The lava lake level is, among other things, related to the variations of the pressure inside the magmatic system underneath Nyiragongo volcano," Oth and his colleagues explained." In that sense, the lava lake represents a window into the magmatic system, and its level fluctuations provide information on the recharge and drainage of the magmatic system, such as batches of fresh magma and/or gas, or lateral magmatic intrusions into the surrounding crust."

The different techniques used to observe the lava lake offer a more complete look at the volcano's activity, the authors said. The seismic and infrasound data, collected continuously, help researchers gauge pressure changes in magmatic activity. "Until very recently, very few high-quality data were available for this region," the researchers noted." Over the past few years, our consortium assisted the Goma Volcano Observatory to deploy one of the densest modern real-time telemetered monitoring systems in Africa. Combined with modern processing techniques, these newly acquired datasets provide unprecedented opportunities to investigate the behavior of this unique magmatic system."

In combination with seismic and infrasound data, the scientists are using high resolution synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images captured by satellites passing over the volcano to directly measure the rise and fall of the lava lake level. These images measure the length of the shadow cast by the crater's edge on the lava lake surface, which can be used to calculate the lava depth.

The lava lake observations are only one piece of the puzzle within the regional volcanic system, and "will certainly be of key importance for successful eruption forecasting in the future," said Oth and colleagues. "At this stage, however, these observations need to be first put into the larger context of the magmatic system in order to allow their proper interpretation in terms of eruptive processes."

The 2018 Annual Meeting, held May 14-17 in Miami, Florida, is a joint conference between the Seismological Society of America and the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission (LACSC).
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Andrew Harnik / Associated Press

A robocall that included anti-Semitic slurs directed at Sen. Dianne Feinstein circulated through California on Monday, directing listeners to support the campaign of Patrick Little, a neo-Nazi who is running as a Republican on the states June 5 Senate primary ballot.

Little, who was banned from registering at the California Republican Party earlier this month and was escorted from the premises by security officers, told The Chronicle on Monday that he was unaware of the call.
San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell is expected to unveil a two-year, $34.2 million budget proposal on Tuesday that would allow the citys Police Department to hire hundreds more officers, purchase new equipment  including Tasers  and fund ongoing police reform efforts.

Bolstering public safety is one of three primary priorities Farrell has pledged to fund in the citys upcoming budget. In recent weeks, hes also rolled out proposed budget increases for cleaning up the citys grimy streets and for addressing its homelessness crisis.

Farrells proposal calls for the bulk of the money  $22 million  to be put toward hiring 225 police officers over the next four years and hiring 25 additional civilian personnel for administrative jobs that are currently being performed by police officers. Those officers would also be added back into active-duty rotations, meaning 250 more officers could be on the streets by 2022.

Were lucky to have some of the best men and women in our Police Department  we simply dont have enough of them, Farrell said. He and Police Chief Bill Scott have been working for the past four months to arrive at a staffing number reflecting the urgent need to address the citys epidemic of property crime, particularly car break-ins  there were 30,000 reported last year, with only 1.6 percent of those incidents resulting in arrests.

The increased staffing, Farrell said, will finally provide SFPD with the resources they need to ensure our residents and neighborhoods are safe once again.

Jessica Christian / The Chronicle

Farrells plans, particularly the proposed police staffing increase, could come under the knife once the proposed two-year budget is presented to the Board of Supervisors on June 1. Supervisor Malia Cohen, who chairs the boards Budget Committee, has been a reliable political adversary for Farrell since he took office in late January.

Public safety is a priority issue for the board and San Francisco, Cohen said in an email. This budget proposal, however, looks like it was designed to be cut. Doubling down on the existing strategy, without proper investment in new training or reform, is right out of the (police unions) playbook and does not reflect the thoughtful, dynamic leadership approach that the city expects.

Currently, Scott said, the Police Department has about 2,150 personnel on its payroll, about 1,879 of whom perform full duty police functions, like working patrols, conducting investigations and serving on tactical units. The department estimates that about 80 officers retire from the force each year.

A 1994 amendment to the City Charter mandated that the Police Department maintain 1,971 full-duty officers on the police force at all times. According to the citys Budget and Legislative Analysts office, The rationale behind the 1,971 figure is not known, and some city officials have questioned its efficacy in 2018, now that San Franciscos population has expanded. Adding hundreds officers in four years would surpass that mandate, but attrition rates and the actual number of police academy graduates each year would probably bring it back down.

All of the 250 new and reassigned officers would be designated to full-duty roles, Scott said, working foot patrols, beefing up the departments burglary and serial-crimes units. Some would be deployed to the citys Healthy Streets Operations Center, an initiative involving several city departments working to address nonemergency homelessness complaints.

Most of the proposed officer increases  130  would come in the next fiscal year under Farrells proposal. The Police Department already has funding in its current $588.3 million budget to graduate 80 recruits from the police academy, which is expected by September. That funding came from a five-year department hiring plan set in motion by former Mayor Ed Lee in the 2012-13 fiscal year. Another 50-unit recruiting class would also be created this fiscal year.

Two more new academy classes will also be created each year through the 2020-21 fiscal year that could graduate a total of 95 new recruits. The department, Scott said, will also consider hiring officers from other police departments using Farrells proposed funding.

Beyond hiring more officers, the proposed Police Department budget increase also includes $7.5 million over two years to purchase 130 new vehicles.

Our fleet is in really bad shape, Scott said.

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Another $3 million would be put toward purchasing Tasers for the police force.

Farrells plan would also invest $1.7 million over two years in ongoing efforts to reform the Police Department. That would include $480,000 to develop an arrests database  one of the 272 reforms recommended by the Department of Justice in 2016 following several police shootings. Another $866,000 is earmarked for a contract with an independent auditing firm responsible for ensuring the Justice Departments reform measures are implemented.

These are all things that we believe will make this Police Department better and safer, and it give us the ability to sustain the things weve put in place, Scott said. And hopefully we get the support that we need at the board. It really will make a difference.

Asked whether his reported status as a finalist in the Los Angeles Police Departments search for a new chief might impact how the SFPD would make use of the proposed budget boost, Scott said his focus is always making decisions that I believe are in the best interest of this city and this Police Department. We want to put ourselves in a position to be successful, and were going to need staffing and a budget that supports that.

Regardless of what happens outside from that, the focus had to be on this organization and moving forward, and thats always been my priority, he said.

Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
With the election for San Francisco mayor just three weeks away, the candidates met Monday evening for a surprisingly well-mannered debate, with almost no harsh words and even fewer personal attacks.

The seven candidates on stage at the Commonwealth Club for the 90-minute matchup plowed little new ground.

I love this city, former Supervisor Angela Alioto said at one point, joining the other candidates in a pledge to support whomever is elected mayor.

Its not that the candidates couldnt use some additional support in advance of the June 5 ranked-choice election. A poll taken in late April found Board of Supervisors President London Breed on top with 28 percent of the first-place votes, followed by former state Sen. Mark Leno with 21 percent, Supervisor Jane Kim at 17 percent and Alioto at 8 percent. That leaves everyone with a long way to go to get to the 50 percent plus one needed to be elected mayor.

The leading candidates were joined by three of the other four candidates on the ballot: Amy Farah Weiss, a homelessness activist; Richie Greenberg, a small business adviser and the lone Republican in the race; and Ellen Lee Zhou, a public health worker and union representative.

Even the occasional jab was easy to miss. During their opening statements, for example, Breed and Alioto took pains to mention that they grew up in San Francisco and attended school here, but didnt take the next step and mention that Kim, who was born in New York City, and Leno, who is from Milwaukee, both moved to San Francisco as adults.

Monday nights showdown was the first all-comers debate since Kim and Leno made it official last week that they are double-teaming Breed. The pair released a joint ad urging voters to mark them one and two  in whatever order  a tactic they hope could squeeze out Breed, even if she finishes on top in the first vote count without winning a majority.

One of the few feisty moments came when Melissa Caen of KPIX-TV, the debates moderator, asked all the candidates whom they backed for second on the ballot. While Leno admitted that the worst-kept secret in San Francisco is that he supports Kim, Breed, no fan of that alliance, said quickly that London Breed is my number two choice and London Breed is my number three choice.

While Leno and Kim are combining hoping to freeze out Breed, theyre anything but allies. Each desperately wants to be mayor, and that wont happen unless they end up the top finisher, not one of the top two finishers. That means not only persuading voters to reject Breed, but also pointing to the differences between the leading progressive candidates.

Asked where he disagrees with Kim, Leno called the supervisor out on the 2012 Twitter tax break, which gave the company and other tech outfits a temporary exemption from city business taxes in return for bringing jobs into rundown parts of the city, such as the mid-Market area.

Leno argued that city leaders, including Kim, should have forced the companies to provide more community benefits, including local hiring so San Franciscans can get the jobs that the city essentially is paying the tech companies to provide. Instead, work now goes to people moving to San Francisco, putting more pressure on the citys housing and services.

Kim shot back that the Board of Supervisors didnt set the rules for any benefits the city sought and reminded Leno that the agreement came when the city was in the depth of the recession and jobs was the number one issue for the majority of residents.

The debate swirled around a number of local issues, but the disagreements were mostly in the details.

Asked about drug users who inject themselves at downtown transit stations, Leno said he favored a mental health justice center to treat it as an illness, Breed said she wanted to establish safe injection sites (to) bring it indoors, and Alioto said that while the city should provide services to addicts, drug users need to be picked up  its not all right to sit in the street and shoot up while the rest of the city walks by.

There was also plenty of talk about affordable housing, with candidates all agreeing that more was needed, but dividing on how to go about it.

Kim called for more subsidized housing, while Breed wants the city to build on underused sites, such as the McDonalds restaurant property at Haight and Stanyan streets that the city just bought for housing.

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There were some light moments. When the candidates were asked to name their favorite mayor, Alioto said it was no contest. Joe Alioto was the greatest mayor the city ever hand, bar none. He was also her father.

When it came time to sum up, longshot candidate Zhou pointed to her opponents and said, If they were so good, I would not be running. Fellow dark horse Weiss said she understood it would take a miracle for me to be mayor, but Im open to miracles. Greenberg had already reminded would-be voters that the most important part of his ballot argument is the Republican R after his name.

Regardless of who finishes on top next month, the winner wont have long to rest. While he or she will replace appointed Mayor Mark Farrell, the winner will serve out only whats left of the late Mayor Ed Lees term before facing re-election in November 2019.

Thats not a bad thing, Weiss suggested.

The winner will have a year to prove themselves, she said. Show me, dont tell me.

Chronicle staff writer

Steve Rubenstein contributed to this report.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle

.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
The San Francisco district attorneys office will take a high-tech approach to finding and wiping out certain felony marijuana convictions in a pioneering effort by city prosecutors to retroactively apply the states new legal marijuana laws.

District Attorney George Gascon on Tuesday announced a partnership with Code for America  a nonprofit with the goal of making government more efficient  to begin using a computer-based algorithm to take on the complicated job of identifying felony marijuana convictions that are eligible for reclassification.

The effort comes after the district attorneys office in January announced it would dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating to 1975. The decision was in response to California voters passing Proposition 64 in November 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Were very excited to partner with Code for America, Gascon said in an interview. A lot of what we do is antiquated, but we have continued our efforts to bring prosecutions into the 21st century by using technology and being thoughtful in how we employ public resources.

As of this week, the district attorneys office has prepared 962 motions to dismiss misdemeanor marijuana convictions, 528 of which have been submitted to San Francisco Superior Court. So far, judges have granted 428 of the motions.

The citys 4,940 felony marijuana cases, though, are trickier.

Under Prop. 64, people with prior violent felonies, registered sex offenders and those with certain other convictions are not eligible to have their felonies reclassified.

Code for America will use its algorithm to search through San Franciscos felony cases and identify which individuals can have their cases automatically reduced.

The technology uses optical character recognition to read criminal records and then maps the data to determine if the person is eligible. The program then auto-fills the necessary paperwork to have the charge reduced, which is then sent off in bulk to the courts, said Jennifer Pahlka, executive director of Code for America.

Our vision is to help government clear all eligible criminal records starting with convictions under Prop. 64, she said.

A major benefit of the plan is it wont require teams of attorneys to pull cases and review them one by one.

Gascon said he hopes the work will serve as a template that other jurisdictions can use to review past cases in states where marijuana is now legal.

We heard from prosecutors from around the state saying theyd like to, but dont have the resources, Gascon said. What Code for America is doing is going to basically draw a line between those that cant and those that wont. Anyone that talks about not having the resources  once we get this product online  is basically telling us, I wont do it.

Before legalization, many criminal justice reform advocates complained that marijuana laws disproportionately affected the poor and people of color. In San Francisco, African Americans were more than four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people, despite similar levels of use, according to a 2013 study by the American Civil Liberties Union.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

The San Francisco district attorneys office was the first in the state to move to clear marijuana convictions off the books, prompting other jurisdictions to follow suit.

In February, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley said she will dismiss, reduce or seal decades of marijuana convictions.

San Franciscos effort preceded decisions by prosecutors in Seattle, Philadelphia and other cities to drop old marijuana cases following legalization in those states.

Gascon said he hopes the partnership with Code for America will have impacts beyond marijuana cases alone.

The implication would be far-reaching, he said. Having the ability to automate the review of criminal history may lead to a very holistic approach to using technology for other areas of our work.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
John Dampeer closed his Noe Valley pub Caskhouse (3853 24th St.) in 2017, roughly four years after it opened, so he could focus his attention on its sibling business Hamlet located a block away. Then, a few months later, he closed that place, too.

For the last few months, Dampeer has been trying to coordinate the sale of the Hamlet space. Now, hes diving back into the business.

Dampeer will soon take over the former home of Mojo Bicycle Cafe (639 Divisadero St.), a familiar location in whats arguably San Franciscos hottest restaurant neighborhood. By the summer, hes hoping to open a beer and wine bar serving small snacks, in the same vein as Caskhouse and Hamlet.

As for the name of the new project, Dampeer wanted it to be an overt wink to his recent track record with alcohol-focused establishments: hes calling it Fools Errand.

Im opening yet another beer and wine bar in San Francisco, Dampeer said with a laugh. My friends are like, Another one? Really? The name just fit.

The process is still in its infancy. Menus still have to be designed and hes yet to decide what cosmetic changes need to be made.

What the bar veteran does know is that outside of the beer, which will come via the 10-tap draft system already in the Mojo space, Fools Errand will also feature a relatively robust wine selection, one that will include its fair share of natural wines from local wine makers.

Mojo Bicycle Cafe opened in 2007 and quickly became a neighborhood hangout thanks to its coffee, pastries, beer, and cozy parklet for outdoor drinking and eating.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Im just really excited about this project, Dampeer said. I hang out in the neighborhood a lot so I know how great of a place it is. Im just ready to get the ball rolling on it.

Justin Phillips is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jphillips@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JustMrPhillips
PITTSBURGH  In the imaginations of his hopeful defenders, Donald Trump was supposed to transcend left and right. Hed break the Republican Party from the shibboleths of the Reagan era and create a new ideology mindful of the interests of the partys working-class supporters.

Trump signaled this regularly. He touted a big infrastructure program. He insisted he would never cut Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security. He said his health care plan would be more comprehensive than Obamacare, at times using the government-oriented systems of Scotland, Canada and Australia as models.

That reinvention project is stillborn because it was never serious. Except on trade, where we still await the fruits of his efforts, his break-with-the-past agenda is dead.

One notable casualty is infrastructure, even if his grand words from his State of the Union address are still on the White House website. We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways and waterways all across our land, Trump declared. And we will do it with American heart, and American hands, and American grit.

Never mind.

It barely budged the news cycle when White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders effectively interred infrastructure last week, telling reporters that Trumps promises were unlikely to lead to a specific piece of legislation this year. His main bragging points on economic policy are thus as thoroughly conventional for a Republican president as you can imagine: a big, pro-business tax cut and large-scale deregulation.

Trumps failure to deliver to the voters who hoped hed be a working-class hero creates a large opening for Democrats and progressives in key swing areas that drifted Trumps way, especially in the Midwest and Pennsylvania.

But here again, the conventional wisdom is hard at work, this time with cliches that contradict each other. The first is that Democrats have no new ideas about the economy. The second is that they are moving to the left.

But if the second is correct, that must mean that they are offering ideas that are more progressive than the ones they put forward before  which, in turn, means that the first assertion cant be true.

Heres the reality: The economic crash of 2008 and Trumps success among blue-collar voters in parts of the country that have fallen behind moved moderates as well as liberals alike toward a tougher critique of how the American economy is working. There is nothing ultra-left about this. It is just a reckoning with what is happening to the lives and livelihoods of millions of our fellow Americans.

So, yes, there are more adventurous ideas out there, and this week, the Center for American Progress will release an important set of proposals that reflect this new thinking. Particularly ambitious is its effort to create a job guarantee for residents of the nations poorest counties.

The center-left think tanks agenda begins with a broad infrastructure program to keep the promise Trump broke, a major effort to modernize K-12 schools and substantial investments to help communities prepare for natural disasters and extreme weather.

The centers plan also builds on legislation in Congress to guarantee all families access to affordable, high-quality child care and calls for expanding long-term care services for the disabled and the elderly.

These initiatives, says Jacob Leibenluft, the centers executive vice president, are a twofer. They would not only meet real needs and solve pressing problems, he said, They would also create 3 million new jobs.

The job guarantee is an innovative gloss on an increasingly popular idea among progressives. Critics of guaranteeing work to the unemployed nationwide have argued that doing so would be hugely expensive and distort the job market. By focusing the guarantee on the 10 percent of Americans who live in the nations 676 most economically battered counties, the Center for American Progress version contains costs while delivering help to places where the need for new opportunities is greatest.

The affected counties, defined by unemployment and low participation in the labor market plus a variety of measures of poverty and income, are spread across 42 states and include areas that are both urban and rural, both predominantly African American or Latino and predominantly white.

If you are politically minded, note that this idea transcends the dead-end argument about whether progressives should focus their energies on white or minority communities. It brings home the fact that inner cities and rural areas alike have been hit hard by economic change and need relief.

To emerge from the Trump era, well need new ideas and new hopes. Those plans and aspirations are beginning to take shape. We should start paying attention.

 2018,

Washington Post Writers Group

E.J. Dionne: ejdionne@washpost.com Twitter: @EJDionne
A trailblazing solar panel mandate for new homes will add wattage to Californias clean energy supply and leadership. But the impact of this latest government directive on how exactly we build homes  a Golden State specialty  could be dwarfed by the environmental and other benefits of simply allowing more California homes to be built.

The California Energy Commission unanimously approved the requirement last week for single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings starting in 2020, echoing a San Francisco mandate that took effect in 2016. With only about 15 percent of such new construction currently being equipped with photovoltaic systems, the commission expects the dramatic increase in clean energy capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 700,000 metric tons over three years.

The mandate will add about $10,000 to the price of a new home, the commission estimates, a concern in a state beset by a dire housing shortage, sluggish construction and soaring prices. But the commission expects homeowners to save twice as much in electricity costs over the course of a 30-year mortgage, which could mitigate much of the effect on the market.

The California Building Industry Association supported the measure, expressing confidence that buyers would be able to recover the additional cost.

While the states building costs are high, most experts attribute the housing shortage to zoning and other barriers that block construction altogether. Just meeting the states current demand for housing  let alone cutting into a deficit of millions of dwellings  would mean doubling the number of units being built every year.

Much more than rooftops that have yet to be swathed in solar cells, its those millions of missing homes and residents that are Californias greatest missed opportunity to combat climate change. Because Californians contribute less to air pollution per capita than most Americans, adding capacity for more of the people who want to move here would reduce emissions overall. Furthermore, because mass transit and other factors make city dwellers more efficient than others, building dense housing in Californias cities, where employment and productivity are highest, would allow more people to relocate from suburbs and exurbs, where long commutes and less dense housing contribute more pollution.

With a few exceptions, however, the environmental, economic, and humanitarian reasons to allow more residential development, particularly of the dense, urban variety, have yet to persuade Californians to do so. We can only hope that the prospect of houses and apartment buildings doing double duty as power plants helps make the case for building a lot more of them.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom may be a likely first-place finisher in the June 5 primary for governor, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein is a virtual lock to advance to the fall campaign in her re-election bid  but wheres the fun in that?

With election day getting closer and more and more pollsters weighing in, theres something for everyone in the recent survey numbers.

Think Newsom is getting too much love? Then try a Gravis Marketing poll pushed by Republican businessman John Cox because it shows him with a 23 percent to 22 percent lead over Newsom.

Or what about a post-governors debate survey by NBC Bay Area last week that showed that 72 percent of viewers thought Republican Travis Allen was the debate winner, compared with 5 percent who gave Newsom the nod? Allen was quick to tweet the numbers, but not the stations cautionary note that it was an online, unscientific poll that allowed any candidates supporters to vote early and often.

Moving over to the Senate race, theres the SurveyUSA poll that asked respondents about only two of the 11 Republicans running and found that voters put Patrick Little, a neo-Nazi from Albany, in second place. Then theres the Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey that found little-known and underfunded Republican James Bradley, listed second alphabetically among the GOP hopefuls, running a strong third, which surprised even Bradley.

The sheer number of candidates and the length of the primary ballot is a problem for pollsters, said Ben Tulchin of San Francisco, who was Sen. Bernie Sanders pollster in the 2016 presidential campaign. Ive never dealt with ballots like this, Tulchin said. Its crazy.

With 27 candidates for governor and 32 people running for Senate, theres no easy way to survey voters on every single candidate, said Tulchin. He uses a mix of telephone and online polling.

We can test the full ballot online and shorten it for the phones, he said. But candidates who have raised money and are communicating with voters are still the top tier.

But Adam Probolsky, an Orange County pollster, said the only solution is to bite the bullet and list every candidate, even in telephone surveys.

Replicate the ballot, he said. Pollsters often condense the field, but that just shows what happens to the top several candidates.

On election day, he said, voters wont be choosing from two GOP candidates in the Senate race, but from all 11.

More than ever this year, there are no guarantees with polling.

This is definitely not a vanilla election, Tulchin said. Theres nothing easy.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
DALLAS  The abstract painting of a lighthouse caught the eye of Dallas Museum of Art curator Sue Canterbury as she visited a private collector about five years ago. Struggling to identify the artist, she walked up to the work and looked at the signature. I was like everyone else is to whom I speak about her now: Ida OKeeffe?

Canterbury has spent the ensuing years tracking down the works of renowned artist Georgia OKeeffes sister Ida Ten Eyck OKeeffe. When the exhibit Ida OKeeffe: Escaping Georgias Shadow opens on Nov. 18 at the Dallas museum, it will feature about 30 of her works, and Canterbury still hopes to find more, including the one painting from a series of seven depicting a Cape Cod lighthouse that she hasnt yet located.

Its been really difficult, and there are works that I have really great pictures of them, but theyve disappeared into collections somewhere and not even dealers can help me find where they are, Canterbury said.

Serendipity has played a role in her search. Jewelry designer Neil Lane got in touch with Canterbury after seeing information about her quest online. He had one of the lighthouse paintings, which he had bought some 25 years ago at a Los Angeles-area flea market. It was beautiful and well done, Lane said, adding, It has substance. It wasnt just an amateur.

Ida OKeeffe painted the lighthouse series in 1933 and kept them with her until her death in 1961 at the age of 71. Canterbury believes the one lighthouse painting she hasnt been able to find  the first and most realistic of the abstract series  is probably in California.

After Ida OKeeffe died in Whittier, near Los Angeles, her artwork went to her sister Claudia OKeeffe, who lived nearby. After Claudia OKeeffe died in 1984, Ida OKeeffes works began to trickle out into the public.

One notable difference between Georgia and Ida OKeeffe was the time they were able to spend focused on their art. Georgia benefited from the support of the man who eventually became her husband, the acclaimed photographer and gallery owner Alfred Stieglitz.

Ida OKeeffe, a professionally trained artist who got a masters in fine arts from Columbia University, squeezed in creating art and exhibiting it while working a series of jobs that included teaching art at schools and working as a nurse.

There were no saviors for Ida, Canterbury said. Accounts say Ida said to Georgia on more than one occasion: Id be famous, too, if Id have had a Stieglitz, which drove Georgia nuts.

The sisters grew apart after Georgia OKeeffe, one of Americas most successful artists by the mid-1920s, didnt support her sisters artistic endeavors. She didnt want anyone riding on her name  the other OKeeffe sister  and thats the way all the dealers were positioning it, Canterbury said.

Barbara Buhler Lynes, a leading Georgia OKeeffe scholar and former curator of the Georgia OKeeffe Museum in Santa Fe, N.M., said Georgia OKeeffe discouraged other family members from trying to become artists.

It was very difficult for a woman to be recognized as an important artist, Lynes said. To have two in the same family vying for the same position, on some level you can see it as her rejecting her sister; on the other hand you could see it as a very practical thing.

Lynes said that while, for her, Ida OKeeffes work isnt as powerful as Georgia OKeeffes, it has a sense of presence and is recognizably interesting.

Some of (Georgia) OKeeffes are better than others, and some of Idas are better than others, Lynes said, Some of Ida OKeeffes works are really quite great. I mean theyre really quite wonderful.

Jamie Stengle is an Associated Press writer.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who criticized Mylan NV for jacking up the price of its EpiPen allergy shot two years ago, called on federal officials to help end what he called an urgent and alarming shortage of the lifesaving device.

In a letter to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb on Monday, the Connecticut Democrat said the agency should work closely with manufacturers and distributors to eliminate shortages of EpiPen and other epinephrine auto-injectors. The FDA said Wednesday that while the EpiPen was still available, delays at Pfizers Meridian Medical Technologies, which manufactures the device for Mylan, had led to intermittent supply constraints.

Blumenthal requested that the FDA detail what steps its taken to alleviate supply delays, when the agency was made aware of the problem and why a notice wasnt published to its database of drug shortages until Wednesday.

Despite assurances from FDA and manufacturers that shortages are intermittent or isolated, there is solid evidence of widespread unavailability, the senator said.

A Mylan spokeswoman referred back to the companys statement from Wednesday, which said the EpiPen is available and Mylan is currently receiving continual supply from Meridian. The statement acknowledged that supply levels may vary across wholesalers and pharmacies and encouraged patients to call its customer-relations line for help locating alternative pharmacies.

Discrimination

Lawsuit over

AT&T policy

Two women filed a federal lawsuit Monday accusing AT&Ts mobile phone subsidiary of firing them for pregnancy-related absences in violation of federal discrimination laws.

The women allege that AT&T Mobilitys attendance policy, which assigns point-based demerits for late arrivals, early departures and absences, discriminates against pregnant women. According to the class-action lawsuit, both women were fired after accruing points for missing work because of pregnancy-related medical care, and, in one plaintiffs case, her infant sons emergency medical needs.

Plaintiffs Katia Hills and Cynthia Allen filed their claim on behalf of all female non-managerial employees in AT&T Mobilitys retail stores nationwide, and seek redress for all of these employees whose rights have allegedly been violated.

AT&T spokesman Marty Richter said the company was reviewing the complaint, adding, We do not tolerate discrimination of any kind, including for an employees gender or pregnancy.

Mergers

Xerox calls off

Fujifilm deal

Xerox said Sunday that it is calling off its merger deal with Fujifilm of Japan, after reaching a settlement with shareholder activist Carl Icahn and another major investor.

Under the settlement, Xerox will replace CEO Jeff Jacobson and change its board of directors.

Icahn, the billionaire hedge fund manager, and Darwin Deason, who became a major Xerox investor after selling his company to it, had argued that the merger plan undervalued the company. In a lawsuit, Deason accused Jacobson of striking the deal to keep a job at the combined company.

Chronicle News Services
Mexico has established a one-day waiting period on electronic money transfers of over $2,500 after a hack attack that may have taken as much as $20 million from several Mexican banks. The countrys central bank also announced the creation of a cybersecurity division to investigate the hack, in which criminals apparently duplicated valid settlement payments between banks, with one copy going to the intended recipient and the other going to an account set up by hackers.

Apology of the day

Gap has apologized for a T-shirt showing a map of China that did not include Taiwan, parts of Tibet and islands in the South China Sea that, in Beijings view, belong to China. The San Francisco retailer posted a statement on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo in which it said it was extremely sorry, calling the map an unintentional mistake. Gap, it said, respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. The retailer, which has more than 300 stores in Asia, said that the garment was pulled from shelves and that related products in the Chinese market were destroyed.

Number of the day

$50 million

Thats how much Good Eggs, the food delivery service, secured in a round of funding led by San Franciscos Benchmark. CEO Bentley Hall said the company, which shut down operations outside San Francisco in 2015, is ready to look at expansion, TechCrunch reported. Benchmarks Bill Gurley will join the Good Eggs board as part of the funding round, which was joined by existing investors Index Ventures, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures, DNS Capital, Uprising and Collaborative Fund.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
United Airlines last 747s stopped flying last fall, but for loyal customers who just cant get enough of the classic jumbos, the carrier just announced a pair of special MileagePlus auctions  one for a unique 747 experience, and another for pieces of the airplanes.

TravelSkills with Chris McGinnis sponsored by See More Collapse

The big event is an exclusive trip for two to Tupelo, Mississippi for a visit to the Universal Asset Management Aircraft Disassembly Center, which is currently home to several retired United 747s. The trip is scheduled for June 1-3, and the bidding deadline for MileagePlus members is May 24.
A San Francisco man who spent 20 years in prison for murder before his conviction was overturned can sue police for allegedly manipulating a key witness and falsifying evidence, a federal appeals court has ruled.

A jury convicted Maurice Caldwell of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of a man named Judy Acosta after an argument over drugs at the Alemany housing projects in June 1990. The chief prosecution witness, Mary Cobbs, identified Caldwell as the shooter.

Caldwell was serving a sentence of 27 years to life when a Superior Court judge released him from prison in 2011 after finding that his trial lawyer had represented him incompetently and damaged his chances for an acquittal. The judge, who based his decision on arguments by the Northern California Innocence Project, also barred a retrial after finding that critical evidence had been destroyed.

Caldwell is suing San Francisco and its police over their interactions with Cobbs, who died while he was in prison. According to his suit, police Sgt. Kitt Crenshaw grabbed Caldwell on the street, brought him to Cobbs door and identified him to her by his name and nickname, Twone.

Cobbs, when interviewed earlier about the crime she had witnessed, told police she did not know the shooter by name. But about two weeks later, she picked Caldwell out of a photo lineup and said she had heard people use the nickname.

Caldwells lawyers also said in the suit that their client and Crenshaw had a history of run-ins. Caldwell had filed a complaint about the officer with a city commission five months before the murder, and Crenshaw admitted to investigators that he had told Caldwell he would catch him with a gun and Im going to kill you.

The suit also claimed Crenshaw had fabricated statements Caldwell made to the officer during the murder investigation. Caldwell said he had told Crenshaw, under questioning, that he knew nothing about the killing and had been elsewhere, but Crenshaw said in his report that Caldwell admitted being present at the shooting and expected to be blamed because he had been a shooter in the past.

U.S. Magistrate Elizabeth Laporte dismissed Caldwells suit in 2016, ruling that his account of Crenshaws actions, even if true, was irrelevant because the prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Alfred Giannini, had made an independent decision to file the murder charge. But the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco reinstated the suit on Friday and said a jury should decide whether the officer had tried to frame Caldwell.

Cobbs identification of Caldwell was a crucial piece of evidence that the prosecutor relied on in deciding to file the charges, Judge A. Wallace Tashima said in the 3-0 ruling. He said Giannini had also reviewed Crenshaws allegedly falsified notes of Caldwells statements before filing charges.

A prosecutors judgment cannot be said to be independent where the prosecutor considers potentially fabricated evidence without knowing that the evidence might be fundamentally compromised, Tashima said.

Terry Gross, a lawyer for Caldwell, said he was pleased to have the opportunity to get a trial and get long-awaited compensation for Mr. Caldwell for his 20 years of wrongful imprisonment.

He said Caldwell has had a hard time adjusting to life outside prison, where he suffered physical injuries, but now lives in Sacramento and makes public appearances as an advocate for wrongfully convicted people.

Deputy City Attorney Sean F. Connolly maintained in a statement that the officer had done nothing inappropriately.

This a false allegation against San Francisco police officers, Connolly said. We look forward to the truth about this unfortunate murder coming out in court, whether on appeal or at trial.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko
A Santa Clara city councilman facing a spate of sexual harassment allegations resigned from office and suspended his campaign for Santa Clara County supervisor Tuesday, but he continued to deny allegations that hed made inappropriate advances toward young women and girls.

The allegations against Dominic Caserta, 43, came to light last week, after the personnel file for Caserta, a civics teacher at Santa Clara High School, was sent out, apparently inadvertently, to the staff of the Santa Clara Unified School District. A former campaign worker, Lydia Jungkind, 19, and Casertas campaign manager told San Jose Inside that he had sexually harassed her, and other complaints have been filed with Santa Clara police.

Jungkind was a student in a civics class Caserta taught at Foothill College in the fall of 2017 and later worked on his campaign. She told The Chronicle that his behavior in the classroom was inappropriate; she said he referred to her as Miss Germany and made demeaning comments about women.

She said things worsened after she joined his campaign as part of her classwork. After the semester ended in December, he asked her to stay on, and she agreed. He touched her thigh inappropriately, she said, and regularly made comments about her appearance and those of other women in the office.

He treated men and women very, very differently, she said.

Jungkind filed a police report detailing Casertas behavior, and said she hopes to see him face criminal charges.

Caserta, who has been on the Santa Clara City Council for 12 years, denied all allegations in his statement Tuesday.

Reading the papers, online reports, and watching the news is too much for my family and me to bear, Caserta said in his statement. I have decided to resign my seat on the Santa Clara City Council, something that is against every instinct in my body.

Caserta maintained his innocence and said his accusers were politically motivated.

Political adversaries are motivated to discredit my candidacy, bury me professionally and personally, he said. I will not let that happen.

Caserta touted his 20 years of teaching and noted he has twice won Santa Clara Highs Teacher of the Year award.

The allegations against me are false in every sense of the word, yet I have been tried and convicted in the court of public opinion without due process or recognition of my distinguished service to the school or the city, Caserta said.

The personnel file documents allegations of misconduct by Caserta dating to 2002, including unwanted hugging, inappropriate comments and flirting with high school students.

In one instance described in the personnel file, Caserta allegedly ran his hands through a female students hair, said he was sexually aroused and made sexually suggestive comments about her clothing. Police reportedly were called to the school twice in 2002 in response to allegations that Caserta had sexually harassed students.

As allegations mounted, Lisa Gillmor, the mayor of Santa Clara, called on Caserta to resign. His resignation came on the same day he was expected to address the situation at a City Council meeting.

Caserta did not say whether he planned to keep his position as a high school teacher.

Teresa ONeill, a council member in Santa Clara, said she was glad Caserta resigned, but added that she was disappointed by the text of his statement.

I am relieved that Dominic has done this, but Im a little concerned about the language in his press release, ONeill said. He certainly does deserve due process, but I would have hoped that he would take some more responsibility.

Jungkind felt similarly.

I feel very relieved that he resigned as a City Council member and stopped the campaign, but I read his press statement and I was very saddened to read that he thinks of himself as victim now, she said.

Sophie Haigney is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sophie.haigney@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SophieHaigney
The San Francisco district attorneys office will take a high-tech approach to finding and wiping out certain felony marijuana convictions in a pioneering effort by city prosecutors to retroactively apply the states new legal marijuana laws.

District Attorney George Gascon on Tuesday announced a partnership with Code for America  a nonprofit with the goal of making government more efficient  to begin using a computer-based algorithm to take on the complicated job of identifying felony marijuana convictions that are eligible for reclassification.

The effort comes after the district attorneys office in January announced it would dismiss and seal more than 3,000 misdemeanor marijuana convictions dating to 1975. The decision was in response to California voters passing Proposition 64 in November 2016 to legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.

Were very excited to partner with Code for America, Gascon said in an interview. A lot of what we do is antiquated, but we have continued our efforts to bring prosecutions into the 21st century by using technology and being thoughtful in how we employ public resources.

As of this week, the district attorneys office has prepared 962 motions to dismiss misdemeanor marijuana convictions, 528 of which have been submitted to San Francisco Superior Court. So far, judges have granted 428 of the motions.

The citys 4,940 felony marijuana cases, though, are trickier.

Under Prop. 64, people with prior violent felonies, registered sex offenders and those with certain other convictions are not eligible to have their felonies reclassified.

Code for America will use its algorithm to search through San Franciscos felony cases and identify which individuals can have their cases automatically reduced.

The technology uses optical character recognition to read criminal records and then maps the data to determine if the person is eligible. The program then auto-fills the necessary paperwork to have the charge reduced, which is then sent off in bulk to the courts, said Jennifer Pahlka, executive director of Code for America.

Our vision is to help government clear all eligible criminal records starting with convictions under Prop. 64, she said.

A major benefit of the plan is it wont require teams of attorneys to pull cases and review them one by one.

Gascon said he hopes the work will serve as a template that other jurisdictions can use to review past cases in states where marijuana is now legal.

We heard from prosecutors from around the state saying theyd like to, but dont have the resources, Gascon said. What Code for America is doing is going to basically draw a line between those that cant and those that wont. Anyone that talks about not having the resources  once we get this product online  is basically telling us, I wont do it.

Before legalization, many criminal justice reform advocates complained that marijuana laws disproportionately affected the poor and people of color. In San Francisco, African Americans were more than four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people, despite similar levels of use, according to a 2013 study by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The San Francisco district attorneys office was the first in the state to move to clear marijuana convictions off the books, prompting other jurisdictions to follow suit.

In February, Alameda County District Attorney Nancy OMalley said she will dismiss, reduce or seal decades of marijuana convictions.

San Franciscos effort preceded decisions by prosecutors in Seattle, Philadelphia and other cities to drop old marijuana cases following legalization in those states.

Gascon said he hopes the partnership with Code for America will have impacts beyond marijuana cases alone.

The implication would be far-reaching, he said. Having the ability to automate the review of criminal history may lead to a very holistic approach to using technology for other areas of our work.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky
Political ads have started trickling into your newsfeed, and yard signs are popping up around your neighborhood. Yes, it's that time of year again!

The June 5 primary is just on the horizon, ahead of the November general elections, and you have until May 21 to register if you want to vote in both. The primary is especially critical in California's gubernatorial elections, because in November, you'll only get to pick between the top two candidates.

Vote by Mail ballots went out May 7 and must be postmarked by June 5 to count. Can't contain your excitement? Luckily, if you live in one of the nine Bay Area counties, there's no shortage of ways to do your civic duty.

First, check your registration status. Once you're good and registered, check out the state's official voter guide here, and the San Francisco Chronicle's endorsements here.

For specific county information, scroll down to find yours:

ALAMEDA

(Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City)

In addition to going to the polls on June 5 or mailing in your ballot, Alameda County voters can request a ballot through the county's ballot will call service. This is also a quick way to get a replacement mail-in ballot if you mess up on yours.

If you don't want to mail in your ballot, or you want to vote early, you have a couple of options. You can fill out and cast your ballot at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters' Office at 1225 Fallon Street in Oakland from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., or you can or drop off a filled-out ballot at your city's official 24-hour drop-off box.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website / Local voter guide / Polling place list

CONTRA COSTA

(Antioch, Brentwood, Clayton, Concord, Lafayette, El Cerrito, Danville, Hercules,

Martinez, Moraga, Oakley, Orinda, Pleasant Hill, Richmond, Pinole, Pittsburg, San Pablo, San Ramon and Walnut Creek)

Starting May 14, you can drop off your Vote by Mail envelope during regular business hours at one of several county-wide locations.

You can vote early in person at locations in Antioch, Bay Point, Concord, El Cerrito, Richmond, San Ramon and Walnut Creek. Early voting runs May 29-June 1, with polls open from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and on June 2nd from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website

MARIN

(Belvedere, Bolinas, Corte Madera, Dillon Beach, Fairfax, Forest Knolls, Greenbrae, Inverness, Kentfield, Lagunitas, Larkspur, Marin City, Marshall, Mill Valley, Nicasio, Novato, Olema, Point Reyes, Ross, San Anselmo, San Geronimo, San Rafael, Sausalito, Stinson Beach, Tiburon, Tomales, Woodacre)

From now until June 5, you can vote in person by visiting the county election office at 3501 Civic Center Drive in San Rafael. Hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can also drop off your mail-in ballot there.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website / Polling place list

NAPA

(American Canyon, Calistoga, Napa, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Yountville)

American Canyon, Napa and St. Helena early voting centers will open May 26, and will be open daily starting May 26 until Election Day, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (4:30 p.m. on weekends). Additional locations, including voting centers in Angwin, Calistoga and Yountville, will open starting June 2. You can also cast your ballot at one of several ballot drop boxes. Some locations have a drive-through option.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website

SAN FRANCISCO CITY & COUNTY

Time to pick your next mayor, San Franciscans! City Hall will be open for early voting from now until Election Day. You can vote on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except May 28). The voting center will also be open on the two weekends before the election, May 26-27 and June 2-3, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website / Local voter guide / Polling place list

SAN MATEO

(Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, Colma, Daly City, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, Woodside)

In keeping with the Bay Area's tech ethos, you can find San Mateo County's ballot drop boxes and early voting centers on a Google map. You can stop the voting centers from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m on weekdays from now until Election Day, or on the weekends of May 26-27 and June 2-3. More voting centers will open as the big day draws nearer, and you can see a full list of ballot drop boxes here.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website

SANTA CLARA

(Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Mountain View, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga, Sunnyvale)

Santa Clara County is so serious about getting you to vote, it released a nifty app with everything you'll need to know. Early voting centers throughout the county will be open during business hours starting May 26. The county has also arranged an impressive number of ballot drop-off sites, including locations inside city libraries and on college campuses, in addition to more than a dozen 24-hour drop boxes.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website / Local voter guide

SOLANO

(Benicia, Dixon, Fairfield, Rio Vista, Suisun City, Vacaville and Vallejo)

Solano County voters have the option of getting updates on the status of their vote by text message.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website / Polling place list

SONOMA

(Cloverdale, Cotati, Healdsburg, Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Windsor)

The Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Office, at 435 Fiscal Drive in Santa Rosa, has a 24-hour drive-through drop box available for those who'd rather not mail their ballots in.

You can get personalized voting information here.

Election website
May in San Francisco means it's time for two beloved SF traditions: bundling up for the arrival of summer fog, and taking all those layers off to celebrate Bay to Breakers.

Here's everything you need to know about the wild race:

The basics: The race kicks off at 8 a.m. on Sunday, May 20, but corrals open to participants starting at 6 a.m. Racers will be broken up into 10 corrals based on anticipated mile time, with the fastest runners leading the pack.

The starting line is at the intersection of Howard and Main streets.

Transportation: The starting line is just two blocks from Embarcadero Station, making BART and Muni trains both great transportation options. Several Muni bus lines operate in the area, but may be affected by street closures.

Bay to Breakers will also be operating shuttles from the North Bay, East Bay and the Peninsula to take participants to and from the race. Shuttles leave from Mill Valley (Manzanita Parking Lot, Shoreline Highway), Emeryville (Emeryville Amtrak station) and Millbrae (Millbrae BART station) at 6:15 a.m. and return from the finish line at 11:30 a.m. More details here.

There will also be shuttles from the finish line back to Embarcadero BART and the starting line.

Lyft will have designated pickup and drop off areas to make hailing a car easier. Near the starting line, the designated area is at Sue Bierman Park near Drumm and Washington streets. At the finish line, it's at Fulton Street and Chain of Lakes Drive.

There are parking lots and garages near the Embarcadero, but drivers should allow plenty of time to navigate street closures and find a space. For a full list of street closures along the route (and there are a lot of them), click here.

The Golden Gate Larkspur Ferry will be operating an early morning ferry service that drops you off just a few blocks from the starting line. Schedule and ticket information can be found here.

Weather: Participants who opt for skimpy costumes (or nothing at all) might be chilly Sunday. It's expected to be cloudy with temperatures peaking in the low 60s.

How to participate: You can register for the race on the Bay to Breakers website. Regular registration costs $80 for adults, $38 for children, and $75 per person participating as part of a "centipede."

There's a $90 option for those who, for whatever reason, want to be "virtual runners." For $90, you get a swag bag mailed to your house but don't get to participate on race day. (You can watch the race for free on SFGATE's Facebook page. We'll be live streaming from Alamo Square.)

There are also more expensive VIP registration options. Race packets will be available for pickup on Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 at Pier 35.

Ticket prices may change as the race gets closer.

New this year: If you're willing to run 12K on a foggy Sunday morning, what's another 3 kilometers? This year organizers are offering the "Breakers Bonus" for an extra $20.

If you buy in, you can add an extra 3K to your run, get a bonus medal, and earn a drink ticket redeemable at the beer garden near the finish line. There will also apparently be "bonus entertainment in the final 3K to motivate runners to the finish line."

Media coverage: Check SFGATE.com throughout the day Sunday for live coverage and photos from the race.

Read Alix Martichoux's latest stories and send her news tips at amartichoux@sfchronicle.com.
WASHINGTON  President Trump said Tuesday that his wife, Melania, will come home from the hospital in a few days, after receiving medical treatment this week for a kidney condition the White House said is noncancerous.

Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support! Trump tweeted.

The president and first lady also spoke by telephone Tuesday, the White House said.

Mrs. Trump, 48, underwent the embolization procedure Monday morning at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington, her office announced that afternoon. The president visited her in the evening and tweeted that the procedure was successful and that she was in good spirits.

The White House has not offered any additional information about the first ladys condition, citing her privacy. Vice President Mike Pence, however, described the procedure as long planned during a speech Monday night in Washington.

The first lady was last seen in public on Wednesday at a White House event where she and the president honored military mothers and spouses for Mothers Day. She later accompanied Trump to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to welcome home three Americans who had been detained in North Korea.

Two urologists who have no personal knowledge of Mrs. Trumps condition said the most likely explanation for the embolization procedure is a kind of noncancerous kidney tumor called an angiomyolipoma.

The treatment of choice is to cut off the blood supply so the growth shrinks, said Dr. Lambros Stamatakis of MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Doctors do that with an embolization, meaning a catheter is snaked into the blood vessels of the kidney to find the right one and block it.

The Slovenia-born former model married Trump in 2005. They have a 12-year-old son, Barron.

Darlene Superville is an Associated Press writer.
With the recent news that Amazon paid zero federal taxes for 2017, every entrepreneur should be asking, :"How can my company pay no taxes, and legally, too?" According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Amazon "paid no U.S. income taxes on $5.6 billion in domestic profits last year." But companies in a position like Amazon's are just doing what the government wants them to do; their action is neither criminal nor evil.

Related: 10 Tax-Savings Hacks That Small Business Owners Often Miss

Other companies may be wondering how that no-tax thing works. And, in that case, they may just need more information on how taxes work.

What most people don't realize, in fact, is that 99 percent of the Internal Revenue Code is a series of incentives, primarily for businesses and investors to fuel the economy. There are only about 30 pages in the Code that actually raise revenue; they include charts and tables that tell you how much tax to pay. There is one line that basically declares, "All income is taxable unless we say it isn't," and another that basically says, "No expenses are deductible unless we say they are."

Then, there are about 6,000 pages that tell you how to reduce taxes through tax deductions, tax credits and other incentives.

To learn how to pay no taxes, entrepreneurs should closely review all the things the government wants you to do. All tax incentives refer to specific areas of the economy the government wants to enhance. For example, business owners receive tax incentives to start businesses, invest in research and development, invest in equipment, create new jobs, invest in real estate and give employees stock options. So let's take a look at how Amazon is doing that.

How Amazon reduces its federal tax bill to zero

Amazon paid zero U.S. income tax for 2017, primarily due to its legal action of taking advantage of tax credits and breaks on executive stock options. Here's how Amazon reduced its tax burden to zero, and could even get a refund:

Tax credits. While tax deductions reduce your taxable income, tax credits can directly put money in your pocket at tax time. Amazon receives tax credits for research and development on new products, on services such as Alexa, Amazon Go and on technologies like computer vision. Aaccording to FactSet data reported by Recode, Amazon spent $22.6 billion on R&D in 2017, which is more than any other U.S. company last year (followed by Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft and Apple).

Amazon also receives a lot of tax credits for state and local taxes. For example, Amazon will receive $40 million in tax incentives from Kentucky for building a $1.49 billion air cargo hub attached to the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport that will create 600 new jobs.

The top tax credits for small business include the Employer Wage Credit, the Disabled Access Credit, the Child Care Credit, the Work Opportunity Credit, the Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit, the Federal Empowerment Zone Tax Credit, and more. All entrepreneurs should review how these tax credits can attract great employees and reduce their tax bills at the same time.

Related: This Simple Difference Could Cost You Thousands in Taxes

Stock-based compensation. Amazon also received large tax benefits for compensation to employees in the form of stock. This incentive encourages businesses to share their stock with employees, who ought to benefit from a company's success. This profit-sharing result is what everyone hoped would happen with the reduction in the new corporate tax rates.

Great tax advisor. And it looks like Amazon has a much better tax advisor and tax strategy team than most retailers do. "Between 2008 and September 2017 ... Walmart paid $64 billion in income tax, compared to just $1.4 billion for Amazon," reported USA Today. Amazon also has a credit for its 2017 federal income taxes.

It's important to note that Amazon did pay $957 million in total taxes last year for state and international taxes, according to the company's 2017 annual report. Amazon also collected taxes on products that it sold to customers in the 45 states that have a sales tax.

What many people (such as Senator Bernie Sanders) don't understand is that the government's policies are often carried out through the tax law. Of course, if someone doesn't like a government policy, he or she can do something about it. People can write their members of Congress or, in Senator Sanders's case, actually propose a change to the government's policies from a position of influence.

Related: 5 Tax-Deduction Changes in the Trump Tax Plan You Need to Know About This Tax Year

As Washington, D.C., continues tax-policy debates leading up to the midterm elections, every entrepreneur should be re-evaluating his or her tax strategy. With the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 impacting everyone's 2018 returns, it's even more important to have a great tax advisor who understands how you can legally maximize tax incentives. With the right tax strategy, you can increase your wealth by "making way more money and paying way less taxes."

Related:

How Amazon and Entrepreneurs Can Pay Zero Federal Income Tax, and Do So Legally

A Boost for Sports Betting and Fewer Babies Named Alexa. 3 Things to Know Today.

How to Pay Zero Taxes Legally in Retirement



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
It has not been a good year for the Mark Zuckerberg name, as Facebook has fallen deep into a series of privacy scandals over allowing millions of users personal data to be improperly exploited.

And in San Francisco its become a particular flash point. Here, the Zuckerberg name is visible on one of the citys most iconic institutions and one where privacy is part of the compact: the 146-year-old general hospital. After a record-setting $75 million gift from Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, in 2015, the general hospital was renamed Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

Now, in light of Facebooks recent controversies, a group of nurses are saying the name makes patients wary. And they have renewed their efforts to have it removed.

We are in charge of keeping our most vulnerable people private and protected, said Heather Ali, who works at the hospital in nursing administration. Now people wonder, How much is my privacy protected at a hospital with that name on it?'

Megan Brizzolara, a nurse at the hospital, said the Zuckerberg name scares patients.

Renaming the hospital was one of the conditions of taking the $75 million gift and was approved with a vote by the citys Board of Supervisors.

Look its a double-edged sword, and I totally get the loyalty to the name as it was historically, but this is a thing thats between the donors and the Board of Supervisors completely, said Brent Andrew, the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospitals chief communications officer.

Some on the board at the time now question their decision.

Had we known what we know now, perhaps we wouldnt have accepted the funds from Zuckerberg, said John Avalos, the former supervisor.

On Saturday, about a dozen current and former nurses held a small demonstration outside the hospital, led by Sasha Cuttler, a nurse.

Guy Vandenberg, another nurse, came down in scrubs and on one placard wrote a diagnosis (malwareberg) and on another sketched out a fake prescription: Uninstall Zuckerberg.

At the end, Cuttler walked to the front of the driveway, where a metal sign welcomes guests to the hospital. With a roll of blue masking tape, piece by piece, they taped over the Zuckerberg.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
NOVATO (BCN)

An 18-year-old Novato resident and Novato High School student was arrested on suspicion of threatening a former roommate via text message and possessing ammunition on school grounds, according to Novato police.

Police said Adam Frey was taken into custody on school grounds on May 8 after police interviewed him regarding the text messages sent to the former roommate.

According to police, Frey consented to a search of his vehicle where ammunition commonly associated with a World War II-era Russian-made rifle was found. Police said the ammunition is known to be a collector's item.

Police said there were no known threats to the high school or its students nor were any firearms available or accessible nearby to Frey.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Officers arrested two men in connection with a home invasion robbery in which a teen was allegedly held at gunpoint in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood late Monday night, police said.

Around 11:15 p.m., a person flagged down officers near the 900 block of Larkin Street and said there was a man armed with a gun inside a building.

After entering the building, officers were able to located the victim, a 17-year-old boy, and the suspect, a 19-year-old man.

Officers arrested the suspect and, sometime afterward, arrested a second suspect, another 19-year-old man, in connection with the armed robbery, according to police.

The victim was injured but did not go to a hospital, police said.
SAN CARLOS (BCN)

Three men were arrested for burglarizing a CVS pharmacy on Sunday evening in San Carlos, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Sheriff's deputies responded to the store at 1324 San Carlos Ave. at about 5 p.m. to reports of a shoplifting in progress. They located three suspects: 20-year-old Quetzal Nevarez-Rodriguez, 19-year-old Michael Carmona and 23-year-old Jose Molina.

They were found to be in possession of more than $1,000 in stolen goods, according to sheriff's deputies. They were booked into county jail on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia.

Nevarez-Rodriguez was also booked for an outstanding felony warrant out of San Francisco and Molina was additionally arrested and booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of marijuana while driving.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the burglary is asked to call the sheriff's office anonymous tip line at (800) 547-2700.
SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT (BCN)

Someone pointed a laser at a United Airlines plane landing at San Francisco International Airport this morning but did not affect the plane's landing, an airport duty manager said.

The incident was reported at 5:50 a.m. and involved United Flight 955, which departed from Tel Aviv, Israel, duty manager Russ Mackey said.

PLANE ACCIDENT: Co-pilot sucked halfway out of plane after windshield cracks over China

The laser "did not have any operational impact" on the landing, Mackey said.

San Francisco police interviewed the plane's crew following the landing, but no information about the investigation into who pointed the laser was immediately available, according to Mackey.
SAN JOSE (BCN)

An investigation into a homicide that took place in San Jose in 2016 led to the arrest of a 31-year-old man after he fled the country, according to San Jose police.

Joseph Miller was taken into custody on Thursday for the murder of fellow San Jose resident Alfred Perez on Nov. 8, 2016, police said.

At 7:38 p.m. that evening, police responded to the area of West Alma Avenue and Mastic Street on a report of several people involved in a fight.

Upon arrival, officers found Perez suffering from visible injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Miller was determined to be the suspect in November 2017, but police could not locate him and asked the public for help in determining his whereabouts.

A warrant was obtained for Miller's arrest after San Jose police learned that he fled to Mexico. Last week, the U.S. Marshals Service and Mexican authorities aided San Jose police in apprehending Miller in Guadalajara.

Miller was flown back to the U.S. and booked into Montgomery County Jail in Texas, according to police. He will remain in custody until he is handed back over to authorities in San Jose.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact detectives Sgt. John Barg or Wayne Smith of the San Jose police Homicide Unit at (408) 277-5283.

Those wishing to remain anonymous may call the Crime Stoppers tip line at (408) 947-7867 or go to the Police Department's website and scroll down to find the "Submit a Tip" link.
SAN JOSE (BCN)

A Muslim civil rights organization has sent San Jose police Chief Eddie Garcia a letter with demands after a Lebanese-American police officer alleged blatant racism within the department last week.

The San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called for the department to investigate complaints of racial bias and take corrective action, implement Arab, Muslim, Middle Eastern and South Asian cultural-sensitivity education and implement independent review to ensure complaints are investigated.

The letter sent today was sparked by allegations made by 21-year San Jose police veteran Nabil Haidar that outlined harassment he received from fellow officers after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, CAIR-SFBA officials said in a statement.

Haidar's attorneys said the officer joined the Police Department in September 1996 and graduated from the academy in February 1997, at which time he was assigned to patrol duty.

The officer's attorneys said that after the 9/11 attacks, he experienced a "relentless stream" of harassment and discrimination and was regularly called "Taliban," "ISIS" and "Lebanese Bomber."

Those representing Haidar said he did not report the incidents previously because he was afraid they would have a negative affect on his career and future advancement opportunities.

Last November, Haidar had a breaking point moment in which he filed an internal complaint after Sgt. Robert LaBarbera allegedly called him out during a briefing meant to honor veterans, stating that he should be noted as an ISIS veteran because he was with them for two years.

The captain running the briefing, Capt. Johnson Fong, allegedly laughed at the comment in front of an estimated 70 sworn officers and 12 leadership staff, according to Haidar's attorneys.

The complaint went unaddressed, the attorneys alleged, so Haidar asked to transfer to the agency's Recruitment Unit. Just before his transfer, a fellow officer disrespected Haidar while out at the scene of a burglary.

Haidar's attorneys said that the other officer approached Haidar making hand motions and explosion sounds. Despite Haidar's body camera being on, the officer continued to mock him, flipping him off and calling him an "f------ Lebanese throat cutter."

Haidar and his attorneys said in their lawsuit that Garcia was aware of the allegations against the department but had not disciplined anyone involved in the incidents.

San Jose police officials called the allegations "an unfair characterization" after the lawsuit was filed on May 7.

Spokeswoman Officer Gina Tepoorten said that while she could not comment on specific personnel matters or a pending lawsuit that the police had not yet reviewed, the department's diversity is its biggest strength.

"Evidence of how we value diversity is reflected in our policies, actions and initiatives both internally and in our community," Tepoorten said.

CAIR-SFBA legal fellow Sally Horna said that while the department may pride itself on being culturally diverse, that does not mean that employees are immune from engaging in harassment and discriminatory behavior.

"We hope the SJPD commits to effectuating institutional change with measures that will eliminate long-standing concerns about racism and bigotry," Horna said today in a statement.
OAKLAND (BCN)

The Oakland Police Officers' Association said today that it's unhappy that a new app that the city launched to make it easier for citizens to file complaints against officers doesn't have a mechanism for telling officers when they do a good job.

The police union said it's also upset that the city chose to unveil the new app last week in advance of National Police Week, when national, state and local leaders come together to honor officers who make the ultimate sacrifice by dying during the course of performing their duties.

The union said in a statement, "Oakland has been diligent in providing forms, websites, email addresses, telephone hotlines and now an app to facilitate complaints against its police officers. However, the city has no mechanism for a resident to tell a hard-working Oakland police officer 'job well done.'"

The police union said it wants to reminds residents that they can still compliment any Oakland police officer, or any city worker, via the "contact" link on the association's website, OPOA.org, or by email at policeofficers@opoa.org.

Oakland Police Officers' Association president Barry Donelan said "It's sad when city leaders make it impossible for our residents to compliment a cop."

Donelan said, "I'm proud that the Oakland Police Officers' Association regularly receives compliments from our residents for cops who do a great job."

He said earlier this month officers held a memorial in Oakland to remember the 53 Oakland police officers who have died in the line of duty.

"Oakland officers are proud to serve," Donelan said.

The new app was launched by the city and its new Community Police Review Agency last week.

In a news release on Friday, city officials said the app, which is located in the CPRA's complaint portal, allows the public to file complaints against the Oakland Police Department online from any computer, tablet or mobile device with internet access.

The app is a case management system that will also improve internal tracking, investigation, and data collection of complaints.

City officials said the new app allows the public unprecedented ability to file and track complaints of police misconduct and provides a case management infrastructure so intake and investigative staff have a centralized location to build and store electronic case files.

The city said the app and case management system were developed over the past five months by a team of city staff from the Oakland Information Technology Department, the CPRA and outside vendor Do iT Lean.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

San Francisco elected officials today called for re-testing for radioactive material at an inhabited parcel of a former U.S. Navy shipyard in Hunters Point after revelations of fraudulent data by a Navy contractor.

At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Transportation Committee, Supervisor Malia Cohen, whose district includes the project area, as well as Supervisors Jane Kim and Sandra Lee Fewer called the credibility of the Navy's cleanup efforts into question following the criminal conviction of two employees of a federal contractor for falsifying records.

The Navy has been in the process of transferring the land to the city of San Francisco for development. But its use as a shipyard left it contaminated with petroleum, metals and radioactive material, necessitating $1 billion in cleanup work.

While the supervisors stressed that there is no evidence of radioactive material at a site known as Parcel A, which was transferred from the Navy to the city in 2004 and is now the site of about 300 homes, they called for re-testing the area to allay the concerns of residents about the adequacy of the cleanup.

Cohen said she has heard from expectant families who live on the site who raised concerns about giving birth and raising children on land that is widely perceived to be toxic.

"For years I have heard very real fears from the community and very little appropriate response from the Navy and other federal agencies about their work," Cohen said.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, sent a letter last week to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt and U.S. Navy Secretary Richard Spencer calling for the land to be re-tested.

Pelosi wrote that while she appreciates assurances the land is safe, the air of doubt around the project could affect property values. Given that community members living there have expressed a strong desire for re-testing, she agreed it should be done "out of an abundance of caution."

While there have been concerns about the adequacy of cleanup at the shipyard for years, those concerns grew even more severe this month with the revelation by the U.S. Department of Justice that two employees of Tetra Tech, a U.S. Navy contractor tasked with testing for radiation, had falsified results in 2012. Tetra Tech was paid $250 million for its work on the site.

The Tetra Tech employees, Stephen Rolfe and Justin Hubbard, both pleaded guilty last year to falsifying records and have each been sentenced to eight months in prison.

The falsified records were of soil outside of the inhabited parcels. Tetra Tech only worked on one building in Parcel A, which was demolished years ago and was only used for residences and administrative offices, according to the EPA.

A representative for the Navy, Laura Duchnak, stressed that the Navy believes there is no contamination in areas where people are living.

"Parcel A is safe. I would live there. I would have my family live there," she said.

Given the long time between the misconduct and its revelation, however -- the charges against Rolfe and Hubbard were sealed until last week -- Kim, Cohen and Fewer called the Navy's credibility into question.

"It feels as if the Navy is constantly sweeping something under the rug," Cohen said. "It's infuriating, it's unfair."

But most of the supervisors' ire was directed at Tetra Tech itself. Kim said she believes that the issue went beyond two employees and that the company -- a frequent government contractor, which works on projects for the EPA nationwide -- should lose all of its contracts.

"I am just so disappointed that we have not cut every single contract with this organization," Kim said. "It's a crime what they did."

Tetra Tech general counsel Preston Hopson was only given the opportunity to answer one question before he was dismissed by Cohen, who was frustrated as she'd requested a company representative with technical expertise be in attendance, not an attorney.

In a statement earlier today, Tetra Tech officials said that Hopson would have told the committee that the company had cleaned the shipyard to Navy standards. The issues with the data collection were the result of the actions of two "rogue employees" who have since been criminally convicted, the company said.

Tetra Tech also offered to pay for independent resampling for the areas it remediated to put to rest any questions about the quality of its work.
Assembly member David Chiu, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Connie Leyva, D-Chino, today emphasized the importance of two pieces of legislation that aim to tackle a backlog of untested rape kits in California.

A rape kit, or sexual assault kit, is a voluntary exam for victims directly after an attack occurs. The process can take up to six hours and collects DNA evidence from the victim's clothing and body.

Senate Bill 1449 will mandate that new rape kits are submitted to law enforcement within 20 days and tested no later than 120 days after they're received, and Assembly Bill 3118 will require an audit to determine how many rape kits are untested in California. Both were introduced on Feb. 16.

Leyva said SB 1449 makes one critical amendment to existing law -- that law enforcement "shall" follow listed time frames for testing kits, rather than "should" follow. It also includes a budget request of $2 million to fund the testing, according to Leyva.

Authorities do not know exactly how many rape kits are untested, but advocacy group End the Backlog has analyzed law enforcement records to find more than 13,000 untested kits in California.

Law enforcement officials might neglect to test rape kits when they believe it is unnecessary, Chiu said. This could include a case where the perpetrator turns themselves in to the police.

Chiu said, however, that rape kits are an importance part of evidence gathering and could connect a perpetrator to multiple crimes.

Natasha Alexenko, a survivor of sexual assault and founder of the Natasha Project, said she was unaware her rape kit went untested for nearly 15 years.

Her perpetrator committed a string of crimes across the nation during that time period and she said she blamed herself for "every other victim this monster created."

She said the perpetrator was finally arrested after law enforcement officials tested her rape kit.

"I want to be one of the last people that gets up here behind a podium and tells you that ... even though their body was a crime scene, their rape kit sat and collected dust," Alexenko said.

Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley is sponsoring the legislative package. As a college student, she assisted women at a rape crisis center in Contra Costa County.

She said the rape kit of one victim, untested for several years, was later connected to the Golden State Killer. Joseph James DeAngelo, 72, was arrested in Sacramento on April 24 due to DNA evidence.

"If that doesn't convince them, nothing will," Leyva said, answering a question about DeAngelo's arrest. "I think it just shows that DNA catches bad guys."

O'Malley added that Alameda County law enforcement were able to purge a backlog of 1,900 untested rape kits collected over 15 years after they audited their inventory. Some perpetrators are now being prosecuted for their crimes, she said.

The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors has also pushed for funding to test rape kits this year.

"It's about time," O'Malley said about the push for legislation to ensure justice for sexual assault survivors. "Enough is enough."
Santa Clara City Councilman and candidate for the county District 4 supervisor seat Dominic Caserta has resigned from his position and withdrawn his bid for supervisor amid sexual harassment allegations.

Caserta issued a statement this morning stating that the release of his personnel file by the Santa Clara Unified School District, with whom he is employed as a high school teacher, caused "irreparable harm" to he and his family.

He said that harm has caused him to no longer be able to effectively serve his constituents, so he has resigned his seat on the Santa Clara City Council "against every instinct in my body."

Caserta stated that while he was a front-runner for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors seat, he can no longer effectively talk about issues he is campaigning for. This means he will no longer campaign at all, he said.

He is still denying all allegations that he may have harassed or acted inappropriately in the presence of previous campaign staff or female underage students at Santa Clara High School.

Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor reported Monday at a news conference at City Hall that nine police reports had been filed against Caserta since the city sent out a notice asking for those who had been victims of Caserta's alleged actions to come forward.

"I must now work to preserve my family, livelihood and health," Caserta said in his statement. "In the next few months, the allegations against me will be put to the test and my name will be cleared."

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office today identified a couple who were found dead in their home west of Petaluma last week as Mark Allen Edington, 60, and his 56-year-old wife Terri Lynne Edington.

Terri Edington's sister asked the sheriff's office on May 7 to check on her welfare because she had not seen her or her brother-in-law in about a month.

The sister said the grass was high on the couple's property in the 4700 block of Roblar Road in unincorporated Sonoma County and mail was piling up in the mailbox, according to the sheriff's office.

Sheriff's detectives found the two bodies in the home and determined the deaths were suspicious. The deaths are still under investigation, sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

The Edingtons were identified through dental records, sheriff's officials said.

Someone pointed a laser at a United Airlines plane landing at San Francisco International Airport this morning but did not affect the plane's landing, an airport duty manager said.

The incident was reported at 5:50 a.m. and involved United Flight 955, which departed from Tel Aviv, Israel, duty manager Russ Mackey said.

The laser "did not have any operational impact" on the landing, Mackey said.

San Francisco police interviewed the plane's crew following the landing, but no information about the investigation into who pointed the laser was immediately available, according to Mackey.

Three adults who were displaced by a fire in downtown San Jose this morning will seek assistance from the American Red Cross, according to fire officials.

The two-alarm blaze in the 200 block of North Ninth Street was controlled just before 6 a.m., according to San Jose Fire Capt. Mitch Matlow.

The fire, located in a Victorian structure residence, was called in at 4:43 a.m., Matlow said. It was upgraded to a second-alarm at 4:51 a.m. and crews stopped the flames from spreading to other structures by 5:15 a.m.

A second-floor balcony in the back of the home was compromised and not accessible for fire crews fighting the flames, according to Matlow.

No injuries were reported, the fire captain said. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Richmond City Council is considering a no confidence vote regarding the performance of Fire Chief Adrian Sheppard during their regularly scheduled meeting this evening at City Hall.

Sheppard is also serving as fire marshal, and in addition to the vote on his performance, the agenda item in question would also direct the human resources manager and City Manager Bill Lindsay to update the job specifications for that position as well as various staffing levels in the department.

The matter was placed on the agenda by Vice Mayor Jovanka Beckles, but Mayor Tom Butt has criticized the move, saying that in 23 years on the Richmond City Council he cannot recall a time when a councilmember called for a no confidence vote on a city employee.

Personnel matters like this one should be handled through the city manager's office, according to Butt. Moreover, the council has already determined that the positions of fire chief and fire marshal should be separated and the city has already begun the recruitment process for a fire marshal.

Butt anticipates that a new fire marshal should be retained in a matter of weeks.

In a public memorandum, Butt suggested that this matter should be indefinitely tabled before it even gets discussed by the council.

Beckles and Lindsay did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The open session portion of this evening's City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Services Building at 440 Civic Center Plaza.

An Alameda County prosecutor told jurors Monday that a man and his platonic female friend should be convicted of murder for the stabbing death of a neighbor during a fight after a night of drinking in East Oakland last June.

In his closing argument in the trial of Antwan Robinson, 44, and Ebony Lewis, 32, prosecutor Butch Ford said the pair worked together to murder Alexander Hayes.

Hayes, 38, was stabbed in the 7700 block of MacArthur Boulevard at about 12:15 a.m. on June 16 and died at a hospital a short time later.

Ford said Robinson should be convicted of first-degree murder for stabbing Hayes and Lewis should be convicted of second-degree murder for aiding and abetting by giving Robinson the knife he used to stab Hayes.

Robinson's defense attorney Richard Foxall admitted in his opening statement two weeks ago that Robinson fatally stabbed Hayes but said Robinson did so in self-defense after Hayes attacked him several times and came at him with a 3-foot-long wooden object that was similar to an axe handle.

However, Ford alleged that Robinson was the aggressor in the fight and taunted Hayes by saying in front of a large group of their mutual acquaintances, "You just want this booty," implying that Hayes wanted to have sex with him.

Ford said, "If you accuse a heterosexual man of being gay in that neighborhood, it usually leads to violence."

Ford said Robinson and Hayes engaged in "mutual combat" but alleged that Robinson was never in fear for his life and continued to stab Hayes even after Hayes had backed up 50 feet and was lying helplessly on the ground.

Ford said, "Pursuing a fleeing victim is murder" and "it's not self-defense when you kill someone who's helpless."

Lewis testified last Thursday that she didn't give Robinson a knife the night of the stabbing and didn't want anyone to be hurt.

But Ford told jurors that they shouldn't believe Lewis because she initially told police that she wasn't present at the stabbing scene and "wanted to mislead everybody every step of the way."

In the first part of his closing argument Monday, Foxall said the prosecution's witnesses shouldn't be believed because they are friends of Hayes and are biased against Robinson.

In his opening statement two weeks ago, Foxall said Robinson's decision to stab Hayes was "his final attempt at preserving his own life" and he "reacted to a relentless attack by Mr. Hayes."

Foxall said Robinson "acted the only way he could" when he stabbed Hayes and should be found not guilty of murder.

Today, Foxall will present the rest of his closing argument, Lewis' attorney Alexander Harper will give his closing argument and Ford will present his rebuttal argument.

A 21-year-old man made his initial appearance in court Monday to face a murder charge for an alleged drunk driving crash that killed another man on state Highway 1 in Pescadero earlier this month, San Mateo County prosecutors said.

Paulino Najera, a Pescadero resident, allegedly caused the crash that occurred at about 8:45 p.m. on Highway 1 just south of Bean Hollow Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

J. Guadalupe Hernandez Camacho, 63, was a passenger in Najera's Ford Contour, which was traveling north but crossed into the southbound lane and struck a Toyota 4Runner, CHP officials said.

Camacho was pronounced dead at the scene following the crash, while Najera and the Toyota driver were taken to Stanford Medical Center with major injuries, according to the CHP.

Prosecutors said Najera was driving after hours of drinking tequila and beer with friends at the nearby Muzzi Ranch.

Officers at the scene found 14 cans of beer inside the vehicle, and learned Najera was on probation for two separate misdemeanor drunk driving convictions in January and his license was suspended, according to the district attorney's office.

He did not enter a plea during his initial arraignment Monday on charges of second-degree murder, vehicular manslaughter, DUI, and driving on a suspended license, prosecutors said.

Najera will return to court on May 21 for appearance of his attorney from the Private Defender Program and to possibly enter a plea. He remains in custody on $10 million bail, prosecutors said.

A man suffered life-threatening injuries when someone struck him in the head with a handlebar in downtown San Francisco on Monday afternoon, police said.

The incident occurred at Hallidie Plaza, near the Powell Street BART station entrance, just before 3 p.m., according to police.

The victim, a 57-year-old man, was allegedly trying to break up a fight when the suspect, a 22-year-old man, attacked him.

Officers responded to the scene and medical crews transported the victim to a hospital.

Officers arrested the suspect as well as a 21-year-old man in connection with the assault. Their identities were not released.

A teacher accused of inappropriately touching his students at a middle school in South San Francisco did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance Monday, according to San Mateo County prosecutors.

Joseph Goodman Toy, a 39-year-old San Bruno resident, taught computer science at Westborough Middle School for 13 years, but district personnel say he's been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of his case.

Toy stands accused of molesting at least four of his male students, all of whom were 13 or 14, despite a warning from administrators not to touch them after complaints surfaced that he was putting the boys on his lap, kissing the back of their necks and placing his hands on their stomachs and chests underneath their shirts, prosecutors said.

These incidents allegedly occurred on campus or in a hotel room during a school trip to Disneyland in April.

During Toy's appearance Monday afternoon, the court granted a request for time to retain a private attorney. He's scheduled to appear again on May 30 for further arraignment and to enter a plea.

A suspect armed with a knife allegedly pulled a man out of his vehicle and carjacked him Monday night in San Francisco's Bayview District.

Around 8:55 p.m., officers responded to the 1300 block of Palou Avenue for a report of a carjacking, according to police.

There, they learned that the 42-year-old victim was sitting in his vehicle when a suspect brandished a knife and pulled the victim from the vehicle.

The suspect, described as a man in his 40s, then hopped in the vehicle and fled, heading east on Palou Avenue, police said.

The victim was not injured and no arrest has been made, according to police.

Officers arrested two men in connection with a home invasion robbery in which a teen was allegedly held at gunpoint in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood late Monday night, police said.

Around 11:15 p.m., a person flagged down officers near the 900 block of Larkin Street and said there was a man armed with a gun inside a building.

After entering the building, officers were able to located the victim, a 17-year-old boy, and the suspect, a 19-year-old man.

Officers arrested the suspect and, sometime afterward, arrested a second suspect, another 19-year-old man, in connection with the armed robbery, according to police.

The victim was injured but did not go to a hospital, police said.

The San Francisco Police Department is inviting community input for a new website to display information and services.

Anyone who is interested can fill out an anonymous, 15-minute survey.

All questions are optional and ask residents about their neighborhood and relationship with police. The survey also asks residents how they receive breaking news stories and police-related news.

The survey will end on May 23 and can be accessed at http://sanfranciscopolice.org/survey.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  A Bahrain court on Tuesday revoked the citizenship of 115 people at a mass terrorism trial, the most to lose their nationality at any one time, amid a years-long crackdown on all dissent in the island kingdom.

Bahrains Sunni-rule government increasingly has wielded denaturalization as a hammer to beat back dissent on the Shiite-majority island off the coast of Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrains Public Prosecution said the case involved a little-known militant group it identified as the Zulfiqar Brigades, whose mass arrests authorities previously announced in 2016. Zulfiqar is the name of the forked sword of Imam Ali, the son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad who is revered by Shiites.

Prosecutors accused defendants of building and detonating bombs, receiving weapons training and plotting to kill police officers. Prosecutors also alleged defendants received training and support from Iran and its hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Bahrain long has accused Iran of stoking dissent in the country, something Tehran just as long has denied.

A statement from prosecutors said 53 defendants received life sentences, while dozens of others faced prison time. It said 23 defendants were acquitted.

Bahraini officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment for more information. Activists said the sentencing raised the number of those who have lost their citizenship since the 2012 to over 700.

Bahrain, a nation only some 290 square miles in size, is home to some 1.4 million people. About half are Bahraini citizens, the majority of them Shiite. The island is also home to the U.S. Navys 5th Fleet and a new British naval base.

Jon Gambrell is an Associated Press writer.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Patients with gunshot wounds filled wards and hallways in Gazas under-equipped and overwhelmed main hospital Tuesday, with dozens still waiting in line for surgery a day after Israeli soldiers shot and killed 59 Palestinians and wounded hundreds in mass protests on the Gaza border.

The high casualty toll triggered a diplomatic backlash against Israel and new charges of excessive use of force against unarmed protesters. The U.N. Security Council began its session Tuesday with a moment of silence for the dead.

Turkey expelled Israels ambassador, and several European countries called for an international investigation.

Israel said it has the right to protect its border and nearby communities, accusing Gazas ruling militant group Hamas of carrying out several attacks under the guise of the protests. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, came to Israels defense, saying no member would act with more restraint than Israel has.

Mondays border confrontation was the culmination of a weeks-long protest campaign to break a border blockade that Israel and Egypt imposed after Hamas took over Gaza by force in 2007. The protests were led by Hamas, but fueled by the growing despair among Gazas 2 million people who face worsening poverty, unemployment, 22-hour-a-day power cuts and sweeping bans on travel and trade.

The protests were also driven by anger over the relocation Monday of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to contested Jerusalem. Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem as a future capital.

Even before the latest round of bloodshed, Gazas health system of 13 public hospitals and 14 clinics run by NGOs had buckled under persistent blockade-linked shortages of medicines and surgical supplies. At Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the main health facility in the strip, these woes were magnified this week.

Anticipating a major influx of casualties ahead of Mondays mass march, Shifa had set up an outdoor triage station under a green and blue tarp in the hospital courtyard, setting up 30 beds and stretchers there.

Throughout the day Monday, Shifa received about 500 injured people, more than 90 percent with gunshot wounds, said hospital director Ayman Sahbani. Of those, 192 needed surgery, including 120 who needed orthopedic surgery, he said.

Fares Akram is an Associated Press writer.
MASAYA, Nicaragua  Alvaro Gomez was 17 when he volunteered to take up arms to defend President Daniel Ortegas Sandinista revolution against U.S.-backed Contra rebels in the 1980s. He lost a leg in an accident while on a mission.

Now 48, Gomez recently lost his 23-year-old son, also named Alvaro, who was fatally shot as police clashed with youths after confronting a student-led protest against Ortegas government in the Nicaraguan city of Masaya. Gomez believes riot police pulled the trigger.

It makes you ashamed to say you defended the revolution, said the high school math teacher who supported Ortega when he lost re-election in 1990 and when he won the presidency again in 2006. For what? ... So that they could come and kill our children?

Ortega has long been able to count on students, organized by Sandinista Front leaders in campus governments, as some of the most reliable backers of his leftist administration. But now many students are turning on him, organizing independently to oppose his government, enraged by a deadly crackdown on street protests last month by police and Sandinista Youth gangs. Students form the backbone of a protest movement that has left his administration shaken.

How Nicaragua emerges from its political crisis will likely depend on the willingness of students like the younger Gomez to continue confronting Ortegas government. The new generation does not know war, though their parents and grandparents struggle to reconcile their memories and loyalty to the revolution with anger over what has been harsh repression against their children.

The nongovernmental Permanent Commission on Human Rights on Monday put the death toll in the protests at 65, while other groups and the government have documented lower totals.

Gomez said his son, like other students, was angered by seeing Sandinista Youth taunt and attack a small group of pensioners who tried to march in opposition to social security cuts April 19 in Masaya. Police quickly blocked the march and support grew for the students.

But pushed into Masayas Monimbo neighborhood by riot police and Sandinista Youth, the young protesters pried up paving stones to build waist-high barricades.

They hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails and fired homemade mortars fashioned from welded pipe segments. Police fired tear gas, rubber bullets and, in some cases, live rounds.

Meanwhile, the students have not organized sufficiently to express a list of demands for upcoming negotiations with the government, which the Roman Catholic Church has agreed to mediate. Talks are expected to begin Wednesday.

Christopher Sherman is an Associated Press writer.
SEOUL  North Korea threw President Trumps planned summit meeting with its leader, Kim Jong Un, into doubt on Wednesday, threatening to call off the landmark encounter if the United States insisted on unilateral abandonment of its nuclear program.

The statement by the Norths disarmament negotiator came hours after state media warned the summit meeting might be canceled to protest a joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea that began this week.
Page Content

Business professionals from Japan visited the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM's) headquarters for a day to learn about workplace diversity and inclusion (D&I) policies and practices.

They were part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. SHRM was one of several stops during the group's three-week tour of the country in April. The itinerary also included visits to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Washington, D.C.; the Black Business Council in Boston; and Pride Industries in Sacramento, Calif., an employer of people with disabilities.

While at SHRM, the program participants met with Lynn Shotwell, head of global outreach and operations for SHRM and executive director of the Council for Global Immigration, a SHRM affiliate; Bettina Deynes, then-acting CHRO at SHRM; Mike Aitken, SHRM's vice president of government affairs; and Lisa Horn, SHRM's director of government affairs.



Participants' objectives were to:



Examine how U.S. employers use D&I to innovate and compete.



Understand the full range of D&I policies in the U.S. and their effectiveness.



Learn about a wide range of D&I policies, including those that address flexible work and leave, on- and off-ramps for careers, mentoring and sponsorship, unconscious bias, and methods of collecting and analyzing employment diversity data.



"The importance of D&I is being recognized by governments around the world," Shotwell said. "There is a particular emphasis on including women by ensuring equal access to education, employment and leadership opportunities."[SHRM members-only toolkit: Introduction to the Human Resources Discipline of Diversity The discussion at SHRM was a good reminder "that the work for HR is about people first, and what we are doing is [creating] the environment that enables them to be successful," said Satoko Tokinaga, manager of the HR recruiting support section for the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University and one of the IVLP participants. Her responsibilities include working in the Gender Equality and Human Resource Development Division.

Business leaders' commitment to match words with action in promoting D&I was one of the program's takeaways for Tokinaga, who has worked in HR since 1999.



"In all the organizations [we] visited, leadership stands up and talks about the importance of D&I and [how it] enhances the culture," she told SHRM Online in an e-mail. "To show leadership initiative and to take action to send the appropriate message [of] what the organization stands for and aspires to bewho and what the organization is trying to beis so important for us in Japan" and in the research field that "is still struggling to understand the importance of D&I."

She was eager to participate in the program, she said, to learn how U.S. organizations are creating a culture of high-level understanding of the importance of D&I in the workplace and to see what a culture of inclusion, and a respect for diversity, looks like.

Japan is a homogenous country, Tokinaga pointed out. There, diversity is primarily viewed through the lens of equal pay for men and women, creating an even ratio of men and women in the workplace, and a mindfulness toward people with disabilities and older workers.

"I wanted to know and experience the unique practices about D&I as well as other interesting HR topics that could be implemented in our organization," she said.

Measuring D&I was one difference she noted between the two countries.

At most of the U.S. businesses the program participants visited, she said, she did not get a clear picture of the D&I goals the organizations had.

"Is it because they are not held accountable? Or it is difficult to measure?" she wondered. In Japan, the government sets targets for companies, such as women holding 30 percent of management positions by 2020.

Other IVLP participants were:



Yumiko Sakai, finance division, department of general affairs and finance, for the Japanese Trade Union Confederation in Tokyo.



Yutaka Uchikoba, deputy representative for Father Japan Q-SHU in Fukuoka City.



Minami Kinjo, manager, HR department, for Sompo Care Next Inc. in Tokyo. She has worked in HR since 2005.





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Shares in A2 Milk, Blackmores and Bega Cheese all rallied Thursday as Bellamy's got hammered on its trading update

New Zealand dairy company A2 Milk said on Wednesday it expected full-year revenues to rise more than 63 per cent after a surge in the first nine months of the financial year.

Revenue for the 12 months to June 30 is expected to be between $NZ900 million and $NZ920 million ($827 million to $845 million) compared to $NZ549.5 million the previous year, the company said in a statement to the stock exchange.

A2 Milk said revenue for the nine months ended March 31 was $NZ660 million, up about 70 percent from last year on the back of strong sales growth in its nutritional products and liquid milk.

The sales growth also reflects the impact of seasonal sales from China selling events, weighted towards the first half of the financial year, the company said.
Steel maker BlueScope Steel has raised its guidance for underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the second half by 12.2 per cent, helped by stronger margins at a facility in the United States.

Underlying EBIT for the six months ended June 30 was now expected to be $680 million, compared to prior guidance of $606 million, attributing the upgrade to higher margins on steel from its North Star mini-mill in Ohio.

BlueScope said higher margins on coke exported also helped its Australian steel products business. Credit:Adam McLean

BlueScope added that higher margins on coke exported also helped its Australian steel products business.

US President Donald Trump reached an agreement to permanently exempt Australia from the imposition of steel and aluminium tariffs earlier in May, according to the White House.
Lorena Phegan's gift business really took off when she posted a photograph of one of the mugs she sold on Facebook.

It was a mug emblazoned with "I'm not feeling very talkative today, off you f-ck."

"It got 9 million views and so many orders came in they crashed my website," Phegan says. "That's when I thought the idea had legs."

Lorena Phegan is the founder of the Inappropriate Gift Company.

Starting lean
Dr Javier Leon is a geographer with a broad remit.

University of the Sunshine Coast lecturer Dr Javier Leon has worked everywhere, from the Great Barrier Reef to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Dr Leon is a geomorphologist.

That means his job is to scrutinise landforms, in particular coastal ones, and gauge coastal erosion and coral reef dynamics, to see how they change in form and structure.

And change is a theme of his career.

I guess I do a lot of fieldwork, so the key skill there is being able to adapt to changing conditions,  Dr Leon, 40, says.
Their first NAPLAN online test wasn't completely free of glitches but year 5 students at Annandale North Public School said they preferred it to the pen and paper test.

Amelia Otto, 9, Peppa Burnett, 10, and Ella Roche, 10, also said they were feeling the pressure of the much-debated national tests, which more than 1 million students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 around Australia are sitting this week.

"Because all of Australia does it, it's not like a school test, you get a grade compared to the average and your parents see it, there's a lot of pressure," Peppa said.

Annandale North Public School students (from left) Peppa Burnett, Amelia Otto and Ella Roche said they preferred NAPLAN online despite some glitches. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Amelia, who went to school outside Australia in year 3, said she was nervous because it was her first time sitting the literacy and numeracy tests.
Oh Thomas Markle, what are we going to do with you? His daughter is scarcely a week away from the most intense moment of her life, and he's out there, making it approximately one thousand times more adrenalised than it needs to be.

Thomas Markle with baby Meghan Markle, circa 1981. Credit:Instagram/Meghan Markle

As if suffering a heart-attack and then checking himself out of hospital last week wasn't stressful enough for everyone, it has emerged that 73-year-old Thomas Markle  with the aid of Meghan's half-sister, Samantha Markle  has arranged "candid" photoshoots over the past few months with a paparazzi agency. The paps were called in to photograph Mr Markle in various staged poses, including: leafing through a guide to Britain, looking up Meghan and Prince Harry online (in a library of all places), and being fitted for a suit for the wedding.

The mood was all very National Lampoon's European Vacation, until, of course, he was caught.

Samantha Markle, 53  who is working on a book titled The Diary of Princess Pushys Sister  maintained the shoot was not motivated by money, but rather a desire to have her dad portrayed in a more positive light. And look, we'd love to believe that, it's just that three small facts stand in our way.
ACT police are treating a house fire in Fisher on Sunday as suspicious.

Police and firefighters were called to Badimara Street about 8.30pm on Sunday, arriving to find a house well alight.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and following an analysis of the scene, ACT Policing's criminal investigations team launched an investigation.

Police said anyone with information that could help with the investigation should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.

Information can also be provided anonymously, quoting reference number 6265690.
Canberra Airports hopes of luring Jetstar to the capital have been damaged following an extraordinary public bust-up with Qantas.

On Monday, Qantas Domestic chief executive Andrew David criticised the airports heavy-handed tactics in dealing with the airline, which is its biggest customer.

Both Qantas and its wholly-owned subsidiary Jetstar have now spoken out against Canberra Airport. Credit:James Davies.

We deal with airports around Australia and around the world, and none of them behave the way Canberra Airport does. Its bizarre, Mr David said.

Jetstar Group chief executive Gareth Evans echoed these comments, as well as highlighting the prohibitive cost of flying into Canberra.
Canberrans are leaving the National Disability Insurance Scheme at the highest rate in the country, as services and advocates in the ACT call for an overhaul of the scheme.

Between September and December 2017, 139 people joined the NDIS in the ACT but 101 others left. Figures provided by the National Disability Insurance Agency, which runs the scheme, confirmed 381 Canberrans had exited the NDIS since 2013.

When compared to those joining, the rate of ACT exits topped the nation, at three times the national average.

ACT MLA Michael Pettersson at the first day of the inquiry on Friday. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

On Tuesday, the ACT's Disability Reference Group told an ACT parliamentary inquiry into the scheme that this high proportion of exits, many of whom were children, required an explanation, especially given the rate of locals joining the NDIS also appeared to be slowing down.
A former teacher who sexually abused more than a dozen boys at a school in Sydney's south-west had written letters to each of his victims while he was behind bars, a court has heard.

School teacher Shane Matthews was charged with grooming and indecently assaulting students.

Shane Andrew Matthews, 31, pleaded guilty to 33 offences, mostly committed against 15 children aged between 10 and 12 at Wattle Grove Public School between 2012 and 2015.

He later became an assistant principal at Woodlands Road Public School.

The offences included persistent child sexual abuse, indecent assault and procuring a child for unlawful sexual activity.
The man accused of a string of Sydney bombings and shootings said the judge presiding over a custody battle for his daughter wont be there much longer before he was shot dead, a judge has heard.

Family Court judge David Opas, killed out the front of his Woollahra home on June 23, 1980, is alleged to be one of four murder victims of Leonard John Warwick over a five-year period.

Police allege Mr Warwick, now 71, carried out seven high-profile attacks against people linked to the drawn-out custody battle between him and his estranged wife, Andrea Blanchard, over their only daughter, Trudi.

The former firefighter has pleaded not guilty to 24 charges on the first day of a six-month Supreme Court judge-alone trial conducted by Justice Peter Garling.
A convicted serial rapist should be sent back to jail for not telling authorities he was meeting an escort, a Sydney court has heard.

Graham James Kay, who was jailed over a series of rapes on Sydney's north shore in the 1990s, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to failing to comply with an extended supervision order condition that required him to disclose any "intimate relationships".

Graham James Kay. Credit:Seven News

Appearing in Parramatta Local Court by video link, the 66-year-old, while being questioned by a prosecution lawyer, said he had met an escort once before he was found with her at his home during a visit from a departmental supervising officer on April 7.

He agreed it was fair to describe his connection with the woman as "intimate" and he had taken the woman out to dinner that night - an additional service he paid her for - and bought her flowers.
Sara Huegill has been charged with shoplifting after allegedly stealing a pair of leather pants from a high-end boutique in Byron Bay on Mothers Day.

The 34-year-old wife of Olympian Geoff Huegill was arrested just after 2.30pm on Sunday in Byron by mounted police after allegedly stealing from a nearby shop, a police spokeswoman said.

Sara Huegill, wife of former Olympian Geoff Huegill, has been charged with shoplifting. Credit:Ken Butti

She was taken to Byron Bay Police Station and issued a field court attendance notice for shoplifting, and is due to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on June 7.

The mother-of-two had allegedly stolen a pair of $2500 leather Bassike pants from the Island Luxe store in Byron, News Corp reports.
Brisbane City Council has contacted more than 6000 households asking them to help convince the state government that a morning express bus is needed to service inner Brisbanes riverside suburbs.

The council is preparing to pitch its case to the state government for a Newstead-Teneriffe Express bus that would run on the Commercial Road corridor in morning peak hour.

Brisbane City Council contacted more than 6000 households asking them to help convince the state government the inner-city riverside suburbs needed a second high-frequency bus route.

The councils public and active transport chairman Adrian Schrinner said more people continued to call Brisbane home and it was important the city continued to be serviced by world-class public transport services.

By 2041, Brisbane will be home to an extra 386,000 residents and council is committed to working with the community to carefully plan for our future, Cr Schrinner said.
Police have appealed for information about a second man allegedly involved in the kidnapping of a 12-year-old boy from the Gold Coast on Friday.

The boy was found unharmed across the New South Wales border in Grafton on Saturday, after being taken from outside his home in Mudgeeraba when walking home from school.

The 12-year-old boy was allegedly abducted over gambling debts. Credit:Queensland Police Service

Detective Inspector Marc Hogan said police believe a man described as an "Asian male, young and thin build" was responsible for pulling the boy into a blue Jeep.

That man remains on the run while one man was charged over the alleged kidnapping on Tuesday.
A Brisbane Uber driver who claims taxi drivers deliberately parked him in is being investigated for driving on a footpath.

Max Foley told the ABC that he resorted to driving on the footpath after up to five taxi drivers blocked his exit from a private driveway in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley on Sunday.

Police told reporters they were investigating the incident after footage of a car driving on the path was posted on social media.

They could not confirm Mr Foley's claim that he had lodged a deprivation of liberty complaint against the cabbies who allegedly parked him in for about 10 minutes.
A Scottish tourist has survived two nights in Victoria's rugged Otway Ranges using fern fronds to keep warm and eating watercress from a river.

The 19-year-old sparked a massive search when he failed to return from a hike near Sabine Falls, north of Apollo Bay on the Great Ocean Road, on Tuesday.

He was found by police and Parks Victoria searchers on a track south-west of the falls at 9.15am (AEST) on Thursday.

Senior Sergeant Peter Nichols, of Colac Police, said the teenager made a bed of fern fronds and fed off watercress in a nearby river to survive.

"For someone with very limited bushcraft, not aware of the environment ... he's done fantastic," Senior Sergeant Nichols told AAP.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict.

A County Court staff member has been fired after they were allegedly caught looking up sensitive information about Cardinal George Pell's upcoming trial.

The staff member reportedly accessed the information through the court's computer system and was fired just hours after the court was alerted to the security breach.

Cardinal Pell was committed to stand trial on multiple historic sexual assault charges a fortnight ago and his case returns to the County Court of Victoria on Wednesday morning in front of Chief Judge Peter Kidd where a trial date is expected to be set.

The incident is expected to be raised during the directions hearing, according to News Corp.
The beleaguered headmaster of Trinity Grammar has resigned in the wake of the haircut incident which rocked his school.

The head of the Kew private school, Dr Michael Davies, has faced intense pressure to stand down since deputy headmaster Rohan Brown was sacked for chopping a students hair in March.

Dr Michael Davies

Dr Davies announced his resignation at an 8am meeting on Tuesday with staff.

He said he decided to step down after deep discussions with his family.
The Coroner says he has not been able to find the deaths of four people - who vanished from their Nannup home over 10 years ago - has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.

Coroner Barry King handed down his long awaited findings on Tuesday in the long running and tragic case of the so called Nannup cult family of four.

Chantelle McDougall, 30, her daughter Leela, 6.

The Coroner held an inquest into the suspected deaths of the four people - Chantelle McDougall, Leela McDougall, Tony Popic and Gary Felton - at the Busselton Courthouse in December.

The four vanished from their Roberts Road property in July 2007.
Police in Western Australia are working to determine why a farmer killed six members of his family, including four young children, before turning a gun on himself.

The shooting last week in Osmington, a tight-knit rural community near Perth, made headlines around the world for being the worst mass shooting in Australia in more than two decades.

Police continue their crime scene investigations at a rural property in Osmington, 260km south-west of Perth.

Strict gun-control laws in Australia have decreased the number of mass murders in the recent past. But experts said the events in Osmington were part of a wider, more insidious problem in rural Australia: suicide and family murder.

Most gun deaths are suicides
Police will be given sweeping new powers to demand identification from travellers under new laws to boost counter-terrorism efforts at Australia's airports.

The Australian Federal Police will be able to ask anyone for ID and eject them from the airport as part of a 2018 budget announcement that will also see the introduction of advanced X-ray and body scanning machines across the country.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull conceded the new powers were a big step but said they were necessary for "dangerous times".

Mr Turnbull said the terror attacks in the Indonesian city of Surabaya in recent days were a reminder that the threat still existed.
The Turnbull government has hit back at "profoundly misinformed" comments by Geoff Raby, a former Australian ambassador to China, in which he called for Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to be sacked after the recent deterioration in relations between Canberra and Beijing.

Mr Raby, now a Beijing-based businessman, has accused the government of adopting a policy of "strategic mistrust" towards the resurgent Asian power and causing the Chinese Communist Party to put the diplomatic relationship into a deep freeze.

In a Tuesday column for The Australian Financial Review, the former diplomat argued that Ms Bishop has strengths but Australia "needs a foreign minister who is steeped in history and geopolitics, who lives and breathes the issues and who has a grasp of the profound challenges Australia faces" in an evolving world order increasingly shaped by China.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing in February 2016. Credit:AP

"The Prime Minister needs to replace the Foreign Minister with someone better equipped for the demands of the job," Mr Raby wrote.
The Ukrainian government has made an extraordinary intervention on behalf of Turnbull government MP Chris Crewther, arguing a proposed boundary change to his marginal electorate would disadvantage a Ukrainian cheesemaker.

Mr Crewther, who first won the Melbourne seat of Dunkley in 2016 by just 1.4 per cent, is fighting the proposed changes. ABC election analyst Antony Green predicts the new boundaries would turn the seat notionally in favour of Labor by a margin of 1.3 per cent. The seaside town of Mornington, in Dunkley's south, is one of the areas slated for removal under the Australian Electoral Commission's suggested new boundaries.

Mr Crewther has been urging supporters, including the Ukrainians, to make submissions to the AEC protesting the changes.

In a letter to the AEC, Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Mykola Kulinich said he was "extremely concerned" about the proposed changes, and warned that the Ukraine-Australian relationship would "only be strengthened by Mornington remaining within the Dunkley electorate."

"I believe that the Ukrainian community in Dunkley will be disadvantaged by separating Mornington from the electorate, where many reside," the ambassador said.
The WA Opposition has launched a blistering attack on Premier Mark McGowan's 2017 delegation to China and Japan after the government revealed the 10-day trip cost more than $250,000.

Mr McGowan, three state ministers and 12 bureaucrats spent $119,281 on business-class airfares, accomodation and "associated costs", $118,284 in expenses for the China leg of the trip  including $29,254 for "media coordination fees"  and a further $19,000 on expenses in Japan.

Premier Mark McGowan celebrates the 30th anniversary of the WA-Zhejiang sister-state relationship with province Communist Party Secretary Che Jun on November 10. Credit:Twitter

Liberal upper house leader Peter Collier labelled the trip a "junket" and said it was "bullshit" the government did not reveal the full cost when he first asked about it in an early-December parliamentary sitting.

"He's taken half of Perth to China for close to a quarter of a million dollars and they are carrying on about closing Moora residential college which serves a whole community," Mr Collier said.
PARAGUAY A gang of 50 armed bandits made off with an estimated $US40 million ($53 million) from a vault in Paraguay on Tuesday, in what local officials are dubbing the "robbery of the century".

The culprits, who police believed were from Brazil, blew the front off a building to gain access and killed a police officer during the raid in Ciudad del Este, the South American country's second-largest city.

Three of the robbers were killed hours later in a gun battle with Brazilian police across the border, the Paraguayan Interior Ministry said. Five members of the gang were later arrested in Itaipulandia, which is 50 kilometres north of Ciudad del Este, a spokesman added.

Initial estimates placed the cash haul at around $US40 million, but a spokesman for Prosegur, the security company targeted in the raid, said it was less.
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's former attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali rejected an anti-corruption body's recommendations to investigate further evidence of corruption by then prime minister Najib Razak, members of a reviewing panel claim.

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Credit:AP

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) found evidence in late 2015 that 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) was transferred from a former subsidiary of state fund 1MDB into a Najib account, but its recommendation for further investigation was rejected, the members who reviewed the commissions case files said.

Najib, who was ousted in a shock election loss last week, has consistently denied wrongdoing in connection with alleged corruption involving 1Malaysia Development Berhad, and insisted $US681 million ($900 million) of funds deposited in his personal bank account were a donation from a Saudi royal. The $10.6 million would be in addition to that sum.
Seoul: North Korea suspended high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday due to US-South Korean military exercises and warned that a summit next month between its leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump could be in jeopardy.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency called the US-South Korean "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved US stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, a "provocation" that went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

South Korean soldiers stand guard in the Demilitarised Zone. Credit:AP

"This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," Yonhap quoted KCNA as saying.
Shanghai: The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday was "sucked halfway" out of the plane after a cockpit windshield blew out, media reported, citing the aircraft's captain.

Sichuan Airlines Flight 3U8633 left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the south-west city of Chengdu.

Liu Chuanjian, hailed a hero on social media after having to land the Airbus A319 manually, told the Chengdu Economic Daily his aircraft had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet (9800 metres) when a deafening sound tore through the cockpit.

The cockpit experienced a sudden loss of pressure and drop in temperature and when he looked over, the cockpit's right windshield was gone.
Rome: Italy's populist parties asked for more time to form a government on Monday as they thrashed out a spending plan that would cost the country more than 100 billion ($158 billion) and set it on a collision course with the EU.

Luigi Di Maio, the head of the Five Star Movement, and Matteo Salvini, the leader of The League, met President Sergio Mattarella in Rome.

Matteo Salvini, leader of the eurosceptic party League, speaks during a news conference following a meeting with Italy's President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, Italy. Credit:Bloomberg

After the talks, Di Maio said they were asking for "a few more days" in order to fine-tune policies and reach a deal. "We asked the president for more time to make a contract for government," Di Maio said.

The details of the accord with The League would be put to an online vote by members of the Five Star Movement, suggesting that the process of forming the government could drag on even longer after an inconclusive general election on March 4.
Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad was last week sworn in again, this time as the seventh prime minister, in a deal he took to voters where he would seek to release jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim via a royal pardon from the King, stepping aside after an expected two years to enable Anwar to take over. Anwar is expected to be released this week, as early as today.

Malaysia has now entered uncharted waters, matching the uncertainty of the South China Sea that divides the peninsula from East Malaysias states of Sabah and Sarawak. First, prime minister Najib Razak was implicated in one of the worlds largest corruption scandals, with millions of dollars found in his personal bank account in what the US Department of Justice declared was the biggest kleptocracy case it has ever investigated. But Najibs government was routed at last weeks polls. Winning in its place is a coalition called Pakatan Harapan (or "hope"), five parties with a broad array of agendas and visions for Malaysia.

Malaysia has been stable, predictable, even boring, for Australians looking at its Southeast Asian neighbourhood, which has experienced great upheaval in the decades since the Vietnam War and the Asian Financial Crisis of the 1990s. Malaysias ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional was in power for more than 60 years, rigging the elections system enough to allow them to maintain its rule. Now, in a surprising turn of events, that system has failed them. And no one is really sure what comes next.

In Australia, two former prime ministers reflect the ambivalence and sometimes confused views many share about a "predictable" Malaysia. As Tony Abbott tweeted last week: PM Najib Razak was a good friend of Australia and a voice of decency and common sense at international gatherings. On the big questions he got much right and his time in government saw strong and effective cooperation between our countries. Kevin Rudd avoided mentioning Najib, but shared Abbotts view that this "new" Malaysia has far-reaching consequences for Australia and the region. This is a stunning development with profound implications for Malaysia, South East Asia and China, he tweeted. Malaysia is a key partner for Australia in responding to a rising China.

But what will this new Malaysia look like? For this unfinished nations burgeoning civil society, the "reformasi" (or Malaysian reformation) movement that was sparked off by Anwars sacking and jailing by Mahathir 20 years ago still drives the democratisation hopes represented by Anwar. For many urban Malaysians, over 70 per cent of the country, Anwar personalises the non-racialised political and economic reforms they yearn for, with many assaulted and jailed over the past decades by BN governments led by Mahathir and Najib. Anwars coalition politics contrasted its inclusive nature against the "Malay supremacy" policies that were a feature of BNs rule.

Opposition party supporters cheer and wave their party flags on election night.

But, like Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, Anwar faces difficulties. Mahathirs new party ran on a policy to maintain these Malay-first policies, and is buffeted by a still hardy Islamist PAS party as well. This new government wouldnt have won without Mahathirs leadership and this promise. The opposition coalition was able to placate and win over millions of semi-rural and rural Malay voters previously beyond Anwars reach, partly because Mahathir represents Malaysia  and ethnic Malay leadership  at its peak in the 1990s, when Malaysia hosted the worlds tallest buildings and the stock market was the biggest (briefly) in Asia. Mahathir also played off his elder statesman role in the campaign by cutting through to rural voters with simple attacks against Najib, shredding him with accusations of "thief!". The enmity was starkly and deliberately drawn, and it worked.

Understanding and engaging with this new, possibly fractured Malaysia will be essential to the regions security, economy, and political developments. This new Malaysia is a win for democracy  and a big win for Australias own values. But this will require Australia and its democratic neighbours to invest in this win like never before.


That's when 42-year-old Katia Sastre decided to act. The off-duty police officer pulled out her own gun and fired at the robber three times, hitting him in the chest and leg.

A gunman rushes up to a group of primary schoolchildren in Brazil and tries steal a bag. They flee. Mothers grab their children, yanking them to safety.

Even watching the scene unfold on video is terrifying.

He fell to the ground but pointed his weapon at Sastre. According to the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo, he fired at least one bullet before his gun jammed.

"The first shot ricocheted off something," Sastre's husband Andre Alves told the paper. "On his second attempt to fire, his weapon jammed. Thankfully she was faster than he was, because when a thug discovers he's being confronted by a police officer, he shoots to kill."

The man dropped his weapon, at which point Sastre was able to roll him onto his stomach and pin him down until police arrived.

The whole scene was caught on the school's video security system.
USU showcases new customer-first solutions for digital customer service at the ICMI Contact Center Expo

\Customer first!\ Unymira (a division of USU) is staying true to that motto at the 2018 ICMI Contact Center Expo to be held at the Walt Disney World(R) Resort in Orlando from May 21 to 24. Unymira\-\-s experts will give live, practical demonstrations of their innovations in the field of smart digital customer service at one of the most important events for the industry in the U.S. Knowledge Center offers an innovation in knowledge management that helps to put the customer first! Such as a self-learning search that is based on AI, this helps service centers workers to provide better customer service. Unymira also offers a best in class Web Self Service and an intelligent Chatbot, these provide customer-centric organizations with better tools to support customers. As a result, the customer experience and key performance indicators (KPIs), such as the first-call resolution rate and call handling time in customer service, can be significantly improved.

New version of Knowledge Center

Knowledge Center is the heart of knowledge management at many service organizations. Knowledge Center\-\-s ACTIVE document technology is unique and is a new standard in the service center world. Version 6.9 offers an improved search experience: the AI-powered search. Users are able to train the bot on the basis of their daily searches. The result is a constantly growing pool of questions, synonyms and terms in an industry and language, enabling users to find the precise documents they need.

New functions for web self service

The smart web self-service solution Knowledge First now boasts significantly improved integration, particularly for one-page sites. The application can leverage the knowledge base\-\-s content, and can also offer users enhanced service functions, such as push messages and filters. Dynamic provision of tailored information helps resolve customer queries to suit their needs, any time, anywhere.

New Knowledge Bot solution

With its Knowledge Bot, Unymira enables content from the central knowledge base to be used in bot dialogs  a logical continuation of the trend toward service automation. The use of text-based dialogs also allows knowledge from Knowledge Center to be offered on websites or in social networks. Users can maintain knowledge in a structured, simple and efficient way, ensure its quality and make it readily available. The integrated learning function means the bot can be trained by agents\-\- daily work and automatically improved. Knowledge Bot is also able to integrate components from other venders, such as Facebook or Microsoft.

This press release is also available for download at https://www.unymira.com/en/events/ and https://www.usu.de/de/news/
GoldMining Completes Acquisition of Additional Gold Claims Contiguous with its Yellowknife Gold Project

Posted by Publisher Internet

GoldMining Inc. (the \Company\ or \GoldMining\) (TSX-V: GOLD; OTCQX: GLDLF) is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated April 26, 2018, the Company has completed its indirect acquisition of the Narrow Lake property (the \Property\).? The Property includes the N1 and N2 claims, which cover a total area of 618 hectares and are contiguous with the southern boundary of the Company\-\-s Nicholas Lake-Ormsby property, one of the four properties that comprise the Yellowknife Gold Project (\YGP\), which the Company acquired in July 2017.? With the acquisition of the Property, the YGP now has an expanded total area of 12,120 hectares.

Pursuant to the Agreement, GoldMining paid $50,000 in cash and issued 33,333 common shares of the Company to the vendor (the \Vendor\) in consideration for the Property.? An additional $100,000, payable in cash or common shares of the Company, at the Company\-\-s discretion, will be due on the first anniversary of the closing date.?

GoldMining granted the Vendor a 1% net smelter royalty with respect to the N1 and N2 claims upon commercial production. ?

About GoldMining Inc.

GoldMining Inc. is a public mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold assets in the Americas.? Through its disciplined acquisition strategy, GoldMining now controls a diversified portfolio of resource-stage gold and gold-copper projects in Canada, U.S.A., Brazil, Colombia and Peru.? Additionally, GoldMining owns a 75% interest in the Rea Uranium Project, located in the Western Athabasca Basin of Alberta, Canada.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor their Regulation Services Providers (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
First Cobalt Announces Upcoming Keynote Presentation

Posted by Publisher Internet

First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC, ASX: FCC, OTCQX: FTSSF) (the ?Company?) today announces President and CEO Trent Mell will be giving a keynote presentation on the cobalt market supply and demand fundamentals at a Benchmark Mineral Intelligence event in Vancouver on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 at 11:30 a.m.

The presentation will take place within the Benchmark Pavilion at the International Mining Investment Conference Vancouver at the Vancouver Convention Centre East. The Pavilion will focus on the lithium-ion battery and electric vehicle markets. Mr. Mell?s presentation will include a review of cobalt exploration and development projects in the context of increasing demand for cobalt in the drive towards vehicle electrification.?

To register for free to attend the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence Pavilion, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/benchmark-world-tour-2018-vancouver-tickets-41699263620. Separate registration is required for the Cambridge House International Mining Investment Conference 2018, available here http://cambridgehouse.com/e/international-mining-investment-conference-2018-73/register, but is not necessary to attend the BMI Pavilion.

First Cobalt recently announced a friendly merger with US Cobalt Inc. (TSX-V: USCO, OTCQB: USCFF) that will strategically position First Cobalt as a leading non-DRC cobalt company with three significant North American assets: the Canadian Cobalt Camp, with more than 50 past producing mines; the Iron Creek Project in Idaho, which has a historic mineral resource estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101) of 1.3M tons grading 0.59% cobalt; and the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America capable of producing battery materials. US Cobalt shareholders will vote on the transaction on May 17, 2018 and the transaction expected to close by the end of May 2018.

About First Cobalt

First Cobalt aims to create the largest pure-play cobalt exploration and development company in the world. The Company controls over 10,000 hectares of prospective land covering over 50 historic mines as well as mineral processing facilities in the Cobalt Camp in Ontario, Canada. The First Cobalt Refinery is the only permitted facility in North America capable of producing cobalt battery materials.

First Cobalt seeks to build shareholder value through new discovery, mineral processing and growth opportunities, with a focus on North America.?

For more information visit www.firstcobalt.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, ?forward-looking statements?) within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as ?plans?, ?expects\-\-, ?estimates?, ?intends?, ?anticipates?, ?believes? or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results ?may?, ?could?, ?would?, ?might?, ?occur? or ?be achieved?. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. In particular, forward-looking information included in this news release includes, without limitation, the anticipated closing date of the Transaction, the receipt of final court approval and other regulatory approvals. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set forth in the management discussion and analysis and other disclosures of risk factors for each of First Cobalt and US Cobalt, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although First Cobalt and US Cobalt believe that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, First Cobalt and US Cobalt disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Historic Estimates

US Cobalt considers the cobalt and copper tonnage and grade estimates above as historical estimates. The historical estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (?NI 43-101?) and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM Definition Standards. They were prepared in the 1980s prior to the adoption and implementation of NI 43-101. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and US Cobalt is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources. More work, including, but not limited to, drilling, will be required to conform the estimates to current CIM Definition Standards. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Iron Creek property. US Cobalt has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. US Cobalt believes that the historical estimates are relevant to continuing exploration on the Iron Creek property.

?
As most of us are well aware by now, from 25th May 2018, every EU country will be subject to the new General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), changing the way personal data is handled by strengthening compliance requirements and introducing strict penalties for failing to adequately protect personal data.

All UK businesses must be conscious of the new rules and make the necessary changes, since non-compliance can result in data breaches and massive fines of up to 20 million Euros, or 4% of turnover - whichever is highest.

The British Security Industry Association (BSIA) holds that there are a staggering six million active CCTV cameras currently being used in the UK. Most businesses of all types and size will be using some type of CCTV, whether it be for security purposes, health and safety or monitoring.

Peoples rights and freedoms cannot be overridden, as employees at work still have a right to privacy Right to privacy

What businesses need to be aware of though, is that the images and footage of people captured by their surveillance system is classified as personal data under GDPR, which means that those who operate this type of surveillance must ensure that they are complying with the new regulations.

Under GDPR, those who operate CCTV cameras must be able to demonstrate that there is a strong, transparent, fair reason for doing so. Peoples rights and freedoms cannot be overridden, even at work  employees still have a right to privacy.

If you havent done so already, you should immediately conduct a full data privacy impact assessment, as recommended by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) code of practice. This will help you determine if there is a legitimate reason for processing data through CCTV footage, while ensuring that you are not excessively impacting the privacy rights of the people captured.

Justifying privacy impact assessments

If you are unsure of how to carry out a privacy impact assessment, there are experts out there who can help you

An example of legitimate justification would be a construction site owner introducing wireless CCTV cameras to monitor and secure their site from would-be criminals. In this case, to meet legitimate purpose, the footage must be of sufficient quality and the images captured must be readily available for police examination if such a request is made.

An illegitimate reason, on the other hand, would be the installation of CCTV purely to track the behaviour of employees, which could be viewed as an invasion of privacy. However, if you can say it is there for health and safety purposes, with evidence to back this up, you might then have a justifiable explanation.

If you are unsure of how to carry out a privacy impact assessment, there are experts out there who can help you.

Maintaining transparency

Under GDPR, transparency is important when processing data, which means data subjects, i.e. those whose images are captured by CCTV, are entitled to know that they are being filmed, which means you must inform them of the CCTV presence.

To best ensure you are upholding this rule, it is a good idea to display prominent, unambiguous signs within the CCTV area to communicate that you are capturing footage and give people a number to contact for more information.

Not only does this inform people that they could be under surveillance, but by placing prominent signage you are also helping to deter trespassers, who are less likely to enter a premises if they know might be filmed.

Those whose images are captured by CCTV are entitled to know that they are being filmed

Data retention

One of the main aspects of GDPR is that personal data cannot be stored forever; it must only be kept for as long as its purpose requires (usually 30 days is recommended). As such, every camera your business operates will have to be assessed in order to ascertain how long footage is to be retained and why.

Each case will be subjective and there are no hard and fast rules as to the ideal retention period. It is up to you to determine an acceptable period, taking into account peoples rights when deciding what is best. The upside is most modern CCTV cameras will allow the operator to set specific data retention limits.

Individuals can request access for free under the new GDPR, making the likelihood of requests higher Responding to data requests

As it falls under personal data, people can request access to CCTV footage which relates to them and the CCTV operator is required to disclose it. However, you must ensure that the person requesting to see the footage is the person who is present in it.

By providing access to the footage, you must be wary not to disclose any personal data of other people, which may mean blurring out sections of the footage (e.g. containing number plates or images of other people) is necessary to avoid data breaches.

Moreover, once a request for data access has been made, this must be provided without delay and within one month at the latest. This can be extended by two months where the request is complex or numerous.

As such, you should ensure that there are appropriate policies in place within your working environment to ensure that employees know how to respond to individual data requests.

Under the old rules, there used to be an admin fee for such requests, but this has been scrapped and now individuals can request access for free under GDPR, making the likelihood of requests higher.

GDPR awareness among security service providers

Its always important to use a highly reputable security service provider who should be well aware of the GDPR rules Under GDPR, security suppliers are data processors, which means that the clients of them should have contracts in place outlining what the security supplier can do with the data.

As such, you must ensure that sub-contractors working for your business, such as security suppliers, installers or engineers, are following the rules too.

You will be opening up your business to potential data breaches if you are allowing such third parties to access, remove or distribute personal data captured by the CCTV.

This is why its always important to use a highly reputable security service provider who should be well aware of the GDPR rules. If you dont know, just ask!

Ensuring fair usage

The introduction of GDPR is certainly going to pose some interesting challenges for all businesses and how it unfolds is yet to be seen.

The tighter regulations show that it is no longer acceptable to not be aware of or not understand the rules surrounding personal data and that such breaches will be taken seriously.

However, they should certainly not discourage CCTV use, but instead operators should seek to guarantee fair usage is upheld and take steps to ensure that people know how and why they are being recorded.
The city of Georgetown is considering cutting funding to the organization that manages the historic Kaminski House.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High 76F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy. Low 63F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Blue Origin's New Shepard launch vehicle lifts from the company's West Texas launch site on a suborbital test flight. Blue Origin has set July 20 for its first crewed flight, including founder Jeff Bezos and the auction winner who placed a $28 million bid.

Blue Origin is a private spaceflight company started by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos in 2000. It was the first company in the world to successfully land a reusable rocket on a landing pad, a feat pulled off by the New Shepard suborbital vehicle during a test flight in November 2015 (and many times thereafter).

Blue Origin plans to take space tourists aloft using New Shepard and also aims to launch people and payloads to orbit, using a new rocket still under development called New Glenn.

Blue Origin is targeting July 20, 2021 for its first crewed New Shepard mission  a suborbital jaunt that will loft Bezos, his brother Mark, pioneering aviator Wally Funk and 18-year-old Oliver Daeman. (Daeman took the place of a still-mysterious person who paid $28 million for his or her seat in an online auction but pulled out of the July 20 flight due to scheduling conflicts, according to Blue Origin.)

Related: Blue Origin will launch billionaire Jeff Bezos into space on July 20. Here's how to watch.

Previously, NASA provided Blue Origin with more than $25 million in contracts (payment was based upon milestones completed) for the Commercial Crew Development program, which has helped develop privately funded space vehicles to bring people to the International Space Station. In 2014, NASA chose to support SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's Starliner spacecraft for those flights.

Quiet beginnings

Blue Origin is known in the space industry for not releasing much information about its flights and aspirations ahead of time, unlike companies such as SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. Blue Origin was registered as a company in 2000 but didn't garner much public attention until 2006, when Bezos made a series of land purchases in Texas.

According to the Wall Street Journal, these purchases were made under names such as "James Cook L.P.," "Jolliet Holdings," "Coronado Ventures" and "Cabot Enterprises," which all traced back to the same address. The corporate names were based on famous explorers.

In January 2007, according to MSNBC, Blue Origin's website opened for business, featuring videos and photos from such milestones such as a November 2006 test flight.

Blue Origin received two rounds of funding from NASA: $3.7 million in 2010 for the first round of the Commercial Crew Program, and $22 million for the second round in 2011.

The company's first major disclosed setback came in 2011, when a development vehicle failed at around 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) in altitude during a flight test.

"A flight instability drove an angle of attack that triggered our range safety system to terminate thrust on the vehicle. Not the outcome any of us wanted, but we're signed up for this to be hard," Bezos wrote in a Sept. 2, 2011, update to the company's website.

He added that the company was already working on another development vehicle. The next "short hop" took place in November that year.

October 2012 saw tests of the crew capsule escape system; the company dubbed the event "a great day in Texas" on its website. The system soared to 2,307 feet (703 m) before returning to Earth by parachute.

Blue Origins pusher escape system rockets the Crew Capsule away from the launch pad, demonstrating a key safety system for both suborbital and orbital flights. Image released Oct. 22, 2012. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

"The progress Blue Origin has made on its suborbital and orbital capabilities really is encouraging for the overall future of human spaceflight," NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Ed Mango said in a statement at the time. "It was awesome to see a spacecraft NASA played a role in developing take flight."

However, as the Commercial Crew program continued, NASA chose rival systems SpaceX's Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner  to provide crewed flights to and from the International Space Station. This left Blue Origin reliant on finding other customers to eventually support its work. One of the income streams Blue Origin is pursuing for New Shepard  which is named after Mercury astronaut Alan Shepard  is space tourism.

Related: Space tourism, 20 years in the making, is finally ready for launch

Here's what space tourists can expect: New Shepard will lift off using the rocket's BE-3PM engine, which will burn for about two minutes and 45 seconds. After main engine cutoff, the crew capsule will separate from the rocket. Passengers will be weightless for about four minutes, and will be able to see the Earth's curvature from an altitude of about 307,000 feet (93,573 m). The spacecraft will then re-enter the atmosphere for a safe landing on Earth, about 11 minutes after liftoff. The rocket, meanwhile, comes down for a powered, vertical landing at its designated touchdown pad.

New Shepard has undergone multiple iterations over the years, making 15 test launches to suborbital space as of mid-July 2021. Many of these flights have carried experiments for university researchers and other scientists, but none have yet been crewed.

Now, Bezos is scheduled to fly to the suborbital frontier on New Shepard on July 20, the 52nd anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It will be the first crewed spaceflight for New Shepard.

Related: As space billionaires take flight, 'the right stuff' for space travel enters a new era

Jeff Bezos at the Blue Origin launch pad with a New Shepard rocket in the background. (Image credit: Blue Origin)

Reusable rocket flights

One of the frontiers of space exploration right now is creating reusable rockets. SpaceX is another company that has been working on the concept for years, but Blue Origin beat them to the punch in landing on solid ground several weeks before SpaceX.

That moment came on Nov. 23, 2015, during a New Shepard suborbital test flight. The rocket and vehicle separated as usual, but the rocket did not fall back to Earth. Instead, it moved toward a landing pad and softly touched down with the assistance of its engines.

"Rockets have always been expendable. Not anymore," stated a blog post on the company's website written by Bezos. "Now safely tucked away at our launch site in West Texas is the rarest of beasts, a used rocket. This flight validates our vehicle architecture and design."

SpaceX landed the first stage of its two-stage Falcon 9 rocket successfully on land about a month later, in December 2015. And this was a different kind of feat, for the Falcon 9 is a more powerful rocket that goes much higher  all the way to Earth orbit.

Blue Origin followed up its world first with a reusability milestone on Jan. 22, 2016, launching the same New Shepard vehicle on another suborbital test flight. (SpaceX has since taken reuse to another level, landing Falcon 9 first stages during orbital launches 82 times and reflying used first stages 64 times as of mid-July 2021.)

Following the January 2016 mission, Bezos wrote that the company may soon have plans to share for a more powerful orbital system.

"We're already more than three years into development of our first orbital vehicle," he wrote. "Though it will be the small vehicle in our orbital family, it's still many times larger than New Shepard. I hope to share details about this first orbital vehicle this year."

That orbital launch system is called New Glenn, which is named after Mercury astronaut John Glenn.

Blue Origin will attempt to make New Glenn available for national security government missions. Most of that work is performed now by United Launch Alliance with its Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, though SpaceX has recently won some of those launch contracts. Blue Origin is also developing a lander called Blue Moon, which is designed to carry people and payloads to the lunar surface.

Other activities

Blue Origin also has other aspects to its business. For example, it's an engine supplier as well.

That engine is the BE-4, which will power the New Glenn orbital rocket. In 2018, Blue Origin signed a deal to provide the BE-4 to United Launch Alliance, which will use it on the first stage of its Vulcan Centaur vehicle, the successor to the Atlas V. Vulcan Centaur is scheduled to launch for the first time in 2022, on a mission that will send Astrobotic's Peregrine lander to the moon.

And Blue Origin has lunar ambitions of its own. The company leads "The National Team," a private group that proposed a human lander concept for use by NASA's Artemis program of crewed lunar exploration.

In late April 2021, NASA selected SpaceX's Starship vehicle over the offerings of The National Team and a third competitor, Alabama-based company Dynetics. The National Team and Dynetics soon filed protests with the Government Accountability Office (GAO) over NASA's human landing system choice, however. The GAO will issue a decision soon; its deadline to do so is 100 days since the protests were filed.

This article was updated on July 16, 2021 by Space.com Senior Writer Michael Wall.
The far side of the Moon and distant Earth, imaged by the Chang'e-5 T1 mission service module in 2014

Helsinki, FINLAND  China is set to launch a relay satellite to the second Earth-moon Lagrange point May 21, in a necessary precursor to the planned Chang'e 4 soft-landing on the lunar far side late in the year.

Chang'e 4 is the backup to the Chang'e 3 mission, which put a lander and rover on Mare Imbrium in late 2013. Following that success, the lunar craft have been repurposed for a pioneering landing on the moon's far side.

The lunar far side does not face the Earth, as the moon's orbital period matches its rotational period, thus requiring a relay satellite to facilitate communications. [China's Moon Missions Explained (Infographic)]

Launch of the satellite will take place at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in the southwest of the country via a Long March 4C rocket, with the three-day launch window opening on May 21.

The relay satellite, recently named Queqiao  or Magpie Bridge, taken from a Chinese folktale that sees two lovers reunited once a year when a flock of magpies forms a bridge across the Milky Way  will orbit around the Lagrange point around 40,400 miles (65,000 kilometers) beyond the moon, so as to be visible to both ground stations on the Earth and the lander and rover on the lunar far side at all times.

Its main function will be to relay telecommands from the ground to the Chang'e 4 lunar spacecraft and transmit data and telemetry back to Earth via S-band, while using x-band to communicate with the lander and rover.

Should launch and commissioning of the relay satellite proceed as planned, the lander and rover will be launched by a Long March 3B from Xichang around six months later, in November or December.

Ian Crawford, professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck, University of London, told SpaceNews the mission would be a "tremendous undertaking, as it would be the first time any spacecraft has successfully landed on the far side of the moon."

The landing is currently expected to target the Von Karman crater within the South Pole-Aitken Basin, though a decision on the final site has not been announced by Chinese scientists.

The South Pole-Aitken Basin is, Crawford notes, a high priority scientific objective for exploration, potentially offering unique insights into the formation of the moon and history of the solar system.

Astronomy goals

The relay satellite, developed by the China Academy of Space Technology, will also carry the Netherlands-China Low-Frequency Explorer (NCLE), a low-frequency, space-based astronomy pathfinder experiment that will attempt to detect radio signals from the cosmic dark ages, before emission of light by the first stars in the universe.

Radio astronomy below around 30 MHz can only be carried out effectively outside of the Earth's ionosphere, and the satellite's position beyond the moon will allow it to take a unique look at this largely unexplored region of the electromagnetic spectrum, with minimal interference from Earth.

Professor Heino Falcke of Radboud University in the Netherlands, part of the NCLE team, told SpaceNews he doesn't want to set the bar too high for this attempt at picking up a cosmic dark ages signal. It could put an upper limit on the signal and is expected to be instructive for future low-frequency astronomy space missions. [The Universe: Big Bang to Now in 10 Easy Steps]

Along with its main objective, NCLE will also aim to characterize the galactic background and measure emissions from the sun and Jupiter, as well as measure the wake of the solar wind behind the moon.

Falcke says getting the instrument ready in time and integrated on the spacecraft was a "ride on the edge," with the call for international participation in Chang'e 4 only coming in 2015, and the Dutch team needing to develop their own antenna from scratch, due to ITAR regulations limiting exports to China.

The antenna is only expected to be deployed for use sometime in 2019, after the main Chang'e 4 mission, with the rover having a designed operation time of three months on the lunar surface.

The May launch will also carry two microsatellites named Longjiang-1 and -2, meaning "Dragon River," which were developed by the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in the north-eastern province of Heilongjiang.

The pair will carry synchronized receivers for low-frequency astronomy and very long baseline interferometry experiments and operate in a highly elliptical lunar orbit. They will also be available for amateur radio tests, with one of the two 45-kilogram, 50x50x40-centimeter satellites also set to carry a micro optical camera developed by the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) of Saudi Arabia.

The launch this month will be China's fifth lunar mission, following two orbiters, Chang'e 1 and Chang'e 2 in 2007 and 2010, respectively; Chang'e 3 in 2013; and the 2014 Chang'e 5 T1 probe, which flew a capsule around the moon and back to test re-entry for a planned lunar sample return. The full sample-return mission, Chang'e 5, is expected to take place in 2019.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Could alien life exist in a parallel universe? Computer simulations from two new studies suggest the idea might not be out of this world.

Should the search for alien life in our universe come up empty-handed, it might be worth checking in on a neighboring universe instead.

According to a new pair of studies in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, theres a decent chance that life-fostering planets could exist in a parallel universe  even if that universe were being torn apart by dark energy.

The idea that our universe is just one of many, perhaps infinite, other universes is known as the multiverse theory. Scientists have previously thought that such parallel universes, if they exist, would have to meet an extremely strict set of criteria to allow for the formation of stars, galaxies and life-fostering planets like those seen in our own universe.

Related: Parallel Universes: Theories and Evidence

In the new study, researchers ran a massive computer simulation to build new universes under various starting conditions. They found that the conditions for life might be a little broader than previously thought  especially when it comes to the mysterious pull of dark energy.

Dark energy

Dark energy is a mysterious, invisible force thought to exist in the empty spaces of our universe. You could think about it as the archnemesis of gravity; while gravity pulls matter closer together, dark energy flings it apart  and dark energy is winning this cosmic tug-of-war handily.

Not only is our universe expanding, thanks to the constant, invisible push of dark energy, but the rate of that expansion is also getting faster and faster every day. It's thought that, as more empty space appears in the universe, even more dark energy appears to fill it. (Dark energy is not the same as dark matter, which is an abundant, invisible form of matter thought to be responsible for some very weird gravitational phenomena around space.)

Related: 5 Reasons We May Live in a Multiverse

Scientists don't know exactly what dark energy is or how it works; some think it's an intrinsic property of space  what Einstein called the cosmological constant  while others attribute it to a fundamental force called quintessence, with dynamic rules all its own. Others don't even agree that it exists. But whatever it is, everyone can agree that there's a whole lot of it: According to the best current estimates, nearly 70 percent of the mass-energy of our universe may be made of dark energy.

This quantity, for whatever reason, is in the right range to allow galaxies to grow and foster life. It is thought that if we lived in a universe with too much dark energy, space might expand faster than galaxies could possibly form. Too little dark energy, and runaway gravity could cause every galaxy to collapse in on itself before life ever had a chance to appear.

But the question of how much dark energy is "too much" or "too little" is a topic for debate  and it's this issue of quantity that the authors of the new studies hoped to narrow down.

Life finds a way

Across several experiments, an international team of researchers from England, Australia and the Netherlands used a program called Evolution and Assembly of Galaxies and their Environmentsto simulate the birth, life and eventual death of various hypothetical universes. In each simulation, the researchers adjusted the amount of dark energy present in that universe, ranging from none to several hundred times the amount in our own universe.

The good news: Even in universes with 300 times as much dark energy as ours, life found a way.

"Our simulations showed that the accelerated expansion driven by dark energy has hardly any impact on the birth of stars, and hence places for life to arise," study co-author Pascal Elahi, a research fellow at the University of Western Australia, said in a statement. "Even increasing dark energy many hundreds of times might not be enough to make a dead universe."

That's good news for fans of extraterrestrial life and the multiverse theory. But a bigger question remains: If galaxies could still thrive on so much dark energy, why did our universe get handed such a seemingly small amount?

"I think we should be looking for a new law of physics to explain this strange property of our Universe," co-author Richard Bower, a professor at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, said in the statement.

Of course, finding new laws of physics is easier said than done. Scientists won't give up easily  but perhaps, to hedge their bets, they should also look for a parallel universe where some intelligent life has already done it for them.

Originally published on Live Science.
Dana Vaisler of StemRad wearing an AstroRad vest prototype in front the Orion crew capsule at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The vest contours correspond to enhanced protection around sensitive organs  bone marrow, colon, stomach, ovaries and breast tissue.

NASA and the Israel Space Agency have signed an agreement to use the AstroRad radiation protection vest on Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the uncrewed first flight of NASA's powerful new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

AstroRad is the second product developed by the American-Israeli company StemRad, after StemRad 360 Gamma  the worlds first wearable shield that provides meaningful protection from harmful gamma radiation.

Tel Aviv-based StemRad collaborated with NASAs prime contractor for the Orion crew-carrying spacecraft, Lockheed Martin, to adapt its technology for use in space. On EM-1, which is currently scheduled to launch in late 2019, Orion will launch atop SLS, kicking off a three-week mission that will take the capsule beyond the moon.

The threat of radiation exposure is high on such deep-space journeys, posing potentially significant dangers to crewmembers.

That's where AstroRad comes in. During the EM-1 test, Orion will carry two test dummies, each of which contains thousands of radiation detectors. One dummy will be naked and the other will wear an Astrorad vest. (These dummies will be supplied by the German Aerospace Center.)

While Orion is unlikely to encounter a powerful solar storm during the relatively brief EM-1 mission, the spacecraft will pass through the Van Allen radiation belts, zones of energetic charged particles that emanate from solar winds. So AstroRad will get a trial in high-radiation conditions, project team members said.

If the test is successful, AstroRad will be used on crewed missions to deep space. Additionally, the vest is expected to be used aboard the International Space Station beginning in 2019 for advanced ergonomic studies in microgravity.

For more information on StemRad, go to www.stemrad.com.

Leonard David is author of "Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet," published by National Geographic. The book is a companion to the National Geographic Channel series "Mars." A longtime writer for Space.com, David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. This version of the story published on Space.com.
Scientist Lucy Lim (center), contractor John Hagopian (left) and engineer Larry Hess (right) are working at Goddard to build a new probe that could allow scientists to better analyze the chemical composition of rocky bodies like asteroids.

A new NASA probe will use incredibly tiny, rolled tubes of carbon to analyze rocky objects like asteroids, which may hold chemical clues about the origin of the solar system and its rocky inhabitants.

Scientist Lucy Lim, contractor John Hagopian, and engineer Larry Hess are building the probe at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The team is growing button-shaped dots made of multiwalled carbon nanotubes  incredibly thin, folded tubes made from one-atom-thick sheets of carbon  to use as "ammunition" for a probe that will help scientists study the chemical propertiesof rocks and soil found on rocky, airless bodies like asteroids or the moon.

These extraordinarily small dots  which are only 100 microns in diameter, about as wide as a human hair  will fuel a mini electron-emitting probe that could analyze the chemical properties of these objects, NASA officials said in a statement. This probe will use these carbon nanotube dots, organized into a grid, to "shoot" electrons at objects like asteroids to better understand the asteroid's properties. [In the Clean Room: Up-Close Look at NASA's Asteroid-Sampling Probe OSIRIS-REx]

Taken with an electron microscope, these images show the grid of carbon nanotube dots. On the right, you can see an up-close view of one of these dots. (Image credit: NASA)

Objects like asteroids can hold valuable information for scientists. Many asteroids are relatively unchanged from when they were created in the early days of the solar system, so they can hold chemical clues about the origins of the solar system and its inhabitants, scientists say.

The team at Goddard is growing these dots and developing the probe with funding from NASA's Planetary Instrument Concepts for the Advancement of Solar System Observations program.

To "grow" the carbon nanotubes for Lim's probe, the team placed a substrate  in this case, a silicon wafer  into a furnace. While the wafer heated up, they introduced a carbon gas, which helped to build the nanotube's hair-like structures. Carbon nanotubes are fantastic electron emitters and have unique electric, magnetic and even mechanical properties. The dots, organized in a grid-like pattern, can create an electrical field, according to the statement.

This grid of nanotube dots beams electrons through specialized lenses that direct the electrons quickly and accurately to a designated target. When the electrons hit the target, the object's elements are excited and produce X-rays, the researchers explained in the statement. These rays can be analyzed by a spectrometer to reveal the object's chemical makeup.

So far, Lim has successfully demonstrated, through testing, that the dots can emit enough electrons to excite a target sample  proving the conceptual basis of her design. Additionally, when Hagopian flew some samples to the International Space Station in 2014, the team proved that the dots could survive a trip to space. The probe is not yet ready to analyze asteroids, but the team thinks that they will be able to demonstrate the probe's capabilities within a couple of years, according to the statement from NASA.

Email Chelsea Gohd at cgohd@space.com or follow her @chelsea_gohd. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, shown here in an old artist's illustration, fell to Earth on April 30, 2018, burning up in the atmosphere. The satellite launched in 1995 and was decommissioned in 2012.

On April 30, after more than 20 years in space, NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) satellite re-entered and burned up in Earth's atmosphere. Decommissioned in 2012, the instrument spent its lifetime probing the environments of black holes and neutron stars in X-ray wavelengths, revealing new insight into these dense gravitational objects.

"Observing these X-ray phenomena with precise high-resolution timing was RXTE's specialty," Jean Swank, an astrophysicist emeritus at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who served as the mission's project scientist until 2010, said in a statement. "During RXTE's run, no other observatory could provide these measurements."

Launched in December 1995 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the mission was originally referred to as XTE. It was renamed in 1996 to honor Bruno Rossi, an MIT astronomer and pioneer of X-ray astronomy and space plasma physics who died in 1993. [Images: Black Holes of the Universe]

RXTE relayed its last scientific observation to the ground on Jan. 4, 2012, and was powered down the next day. By then, the spacecraft had made several important scientific observations.

"RXTE far exceeded its original goals and leaves behind an important scientific legacy," NASA officials said in the same statement.

A wealth of science

After a star explodes in a fiery supernova death, it can leave behind a core of packed-together neutrons called a neutron star. These incredibly dense objects can squeeze the mass of the sun into a city-size object. Exploding stars can also leave behind even smaller and denser black holes.

The strong gravity of black holes and neutron stars can pull material from nearby companion stars into their own orbit, forming what's called an accretion disk. Friction heats the orbiting gas to temperatures of millions of degrees  hot enough to emit X-rays. As the gas spirals inward, powerful X-ray bursts, flares and pulsations can explode in the innermost reaches of the accretion disk and on the surface of neutron stars.

Signals from these features can be incredibly brief  only a few seconds at most and sometimes less than a millisecond. Those short-lived X-ray bursts can provide important information on the compact object at the heart of the disk.

In 1997, RXTE provided the first observational evidence for "frame dragging," an effect based on Einstein's theory of general relativity and predicted 79 years earlier by Austrian physicists Joseph Lense and Hans Thirring. Massive objects like black holes warp the space-time around them, much like a bowling ball deforms a stretched elastic sheet  a phenomenon already revealed by other experiments. If the object rotates, the black hole catches hold of nearby space-time and drags it along, including the inner accretion disk, much as the rotating bowling ball would twist and distort the sheet. RXTE was able to track fast X-ray oscillations of hot gas deep within the accretion disk to catch the relativistic behavior.

RXTE also revealed that black holes of extremely different masses produce similar kinds of X-ray activity. Their activity varies at time scales proportional to their masses. Stellar-mass black holes undergo changes in a matter of hours, while supermassive black holes, which bear the mass of millions of stars, make similar changes over a period of years.

NASA's Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer satellite, shown here during prelaunch checks in 1995, was built to study the time variation of X-ray sources in space. (Image credit: NASA)

The mission also provided proof of the existence of a new type of neutron star known as a magnetar. While normal neutron stars produce magnetic fields up to 10 trillion times stronger than Earth's, magnetars boast fields a thousand times stronger than that, meaning they possess the most powerful magnetic fields known in the universe. Of the approximately 2,600 neutron stars currently cataloged, only 29 are classified as magnetars.

All of the data collected by RXTE is open to the public at NASA Goddard's High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center.

"The data remain a treasure trove for studying compact objects, whether pulsars and stellar-mass black holes in our own galaxy or supermassive black holes in the cores of distant galaxies," Goddard's Tod Strohmayer, who served as RXTE's project scientist from 2010 through the end of the mission, said in the statement. "So far, more than 3,100 published papers in refereed journals, totaling over 95,000 citations, include RXTE measurements."

The astronomical community has recognized the importance of RXTE's contributions, honoring the research with five major awards. These include four Bruno Rossi Prizes (1999, 2003, 2006 and 2009) from the High Energy Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society and the 2004 Spinoza Prize, the highest Dutch science award, from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research.

Although the mission came to an end in 2012, RXTE's niche has not been neglected. In 2017, NASA's Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) began to study variable X-ray sources from its perch on the skyward side of the International Space Station.

"NICER is the successor to RXTE, with an order-of-magnitude improvement in sensitivity, energy resolution and time resolution," Goddard's Keith Gendreau, principal investigator for the NICER mission, said in the statement. "The X-ray band NICER observes overlaps the lower end of RXTE's range, which means we can more easily take advantage of its long observational record."

When NASA originally retired RXTE in 2012, it was predicted to fall to Earth between 2014 and 2023. Fluctuations in solar activity that affect Earth's atmosphere made it difficult to precisely predict the satellite's fall at the time. Its launch before NASA issued standards for public safety from re-entering spacecraft meant that it had a 1-in-1,000 chance of harming someone when it crashed back to Earth  10 times riskier than NASA's current requirements for re-entering spacecraft. RXTE beat those odds, entering Earth's atmosphere over the tropics without harming anyone.

Since the beginning of the Space Age, there have been no confirmed injuries caused by falling satellites.

Follow Nola Taylor Redd at @NolaTRedd, Facebook, or Google+. Follow us at @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.




Other Women was directed by Kari Skogland with the teleplay by Yahlin Chang whose other credits include, and. The episode features terrific performances from Elisabeth Moss (June/Offred), Ann Dowd (Aunt Lydia), and Yvonne Strahovski (Serena Joy)  who is just so delightful to hate! I liked how the title in this episode resonated on two levels. Firstly, it underscores how divided the women of Gilead are  Aunts, Handmaids, Wives, and Marthas. Secondly, it refers to the other women in a marriage. June was an adulterer after all, and Serena sees her as the other woman in her marriage as well.In this episode, we really see June mentally beaten into submission. In fact, Im not sure weve ever seen her as low as she is by the end of this episode. She begins the episode, chained to a bed in the middle of a room. She muses about pigs who are given pig balls to roll around while they wait to be slaughtered. It improves their muscle tone and gives them something to do because they are curious by nature  just like June. I loved the contrast here to her jogging around The Boston Globe offices in the last episode and her going through the records, trying to make sense of what happened. Her captivity has clearly taken a toll on her already.Aunt Lydia is brutal about her choices. June can continue to be defiant  and I loved seeing her making eye contact!  have the baby, and be executed or Offred can be submissive and have an opportunity to return to the Waterfords  and maybe get passed on to another family? I wonder about this as June isnt exactly young. At what point will they stop trying to breed her? What happens to her then? A truly submissive handmaid might make the transition to Martha, but June would have to be destined for the coloniesAnn Dowd gives a truly wonderful performance in this episode. Its clear that her only concern is for the baby  she both cajoles and chastises June and Serena  but at the end of the day, its clear that her only allegiance is to the baby. June continues to maintain eye contact with Aunt Lydia in the van on the way to the Waterfords. Aunt Lydia clearly notices, but ignores it to some extent, though she does caution June that shell have to earn her place back and prove that shes worthy.This episode is full of beautiful shots. I was particularly struck by Junes re-entry into the Waterford house. We see her approach with Aunt Lydia and we get real time interspersed with slow motion. The best shot is the crane shot from above as June hesitates on the steps with the wind blowing her red dress and cloak around her  and then steps over the threshold.June waits to be greeted home. Its here that Aunt Lydia starts to demand more compliance and reminds June of her posture  forcing her head and eyes down. Fred (Joseph Fiennes) comes in first and welcomes her home. She looks straight at him and says thanks with a tight smile  she clearly still views him as something of an ally. I adored the look on Junes face as she stares at Aunt Lydia as Fred goes on about her kidnappers  its clearly the first time that shes hearing the official story. Serena then comes in and takes Freds hand, making it clear whose side hes now on. Its also a nice reminder of what happened to Putnam (Stephen Kunken) when his wife wouldnt stand for his other woman. When Aunt Lydia tries to get June to return Serenas Praise be, June stares Serena directly in the eyes.June returns to her room which is now a lot more austere  who knew it could get worse! Theres no bed frame or chair  no way to hang herself, obviously. She looks out the window, but theres also no sign of life at Nicks (Max Minghella).Serena comes sweeping up the stairs and goes directly to June, grabbing her by the throat and forcing her against the wall. She grits out 92 days and gives us a timeline. June just smiles at her, knowing that she is safe from real harm while she carries the baby. Serena lets her go, and June tells her, Serena remember. As long as my babys safe, so is yours. At first, I thought that she was referring to Hannah, but on reflection, Im sure shes talking about the baby inside her. June can be defiant because she thinks shes protected  but the entire episode is about how others are hurt by her actions, and because June isnt a monster, this is her Achilles heel.June is in the bath when the lights go out. There are little hints throughout that Gilead is under strain, and this is just one. Aunt Lydia simply barges in with a candle and a washcloth, instructing June to wash everywhere. June then turns the tables and makes it as uncomfortable as possible for Aunt Lydia, maintaining eye contact and making the motions as sexual as possible. Aunt Lydia declares the water is getting cold and tells June to get out and get ready for bed  never breaking. As June is drying off, she feels the baby kick for the first time  shes not alone anymore.In the morning, Aunt Lydia again breezes in, yanking the covers off June to wake her up, continuing to spout advice for the baby. Rita (Amanda Brugel) has brought her a fresh dress, and as soon as Aunt Lydia leaves, she gives June the letters back. June insists that someone was supposed to have made contact to pick them up, but Rita is too frightened to help. She tells June, What if SHE finds them! You dont know what its been like. The she is clearly Serena, who proves again and again in the episode that shes not fit to be a mother. June hides the letters behind the tub again.June comes down for breakfast and we see that the house it being decorated  its Serenas baby shower. Aunt Lydia has made a disgusting smoothie for June to drink. Nick finally makes an appearance and looks sheepish, but June smiles at him. Serena comes in, and Aunt Lydia demonstrates her control over June by making her drink the smoothie. June is both defiant and compliant as she downs almost half the disgusting concoction. As Serena is leaving, somewhat satisfied, June then throws up what she just drank. She says Sorry, Aunt Lydia, but clearly isnt really, and Aunt Lydia with no emotion says theyll just make another. EW!!!!The wives all sit in a circle as Serena opens her gifts. The handmaids all stand in a circle behind them, heads bowed. June gets to sit in a chair somewhat further apart. The baby needs to be there, but they dont have to acknowledge the other woman. Aunt Lydia asks June is she wants something to drink, ever solicitous of the baby, and June tells her no. Her anger is clear in the way she grips the arms of the chair.The women make general baby shower comments, for all the world like theyve actually given birth themselves. When Naomi (Ever Carradine)  another terrible mother  comments that she couldnt breathe until the babys first kick, Serena suggests its too early for that. June then bursts into the conversation to tell them that SHE felt the baby kick for the first time last night. She had that experience all to herself and kept it to herself. Its a reminder of just how apart from the process that the women really are. June manages to silence the conversation. When Aunt Lydia asks if June needs to take a break  clearly worried shes going to do something else to upset Serena  June tells her no. Shes having a great time  and I really enjoyed her finally being able to hurt Serena too!While the women are at the baby shower, the men are out doing manly things  but how appropriate that they are shooting skeet  its really like shooting something already dead and a lovely metaphor for their basic impotence. Warren is there and tells them he appreciates being included. Were introduced to Commander Cushing (Greg Bryk) as he makes a really snide comment about Warrens HANDicap. I was thrilled to see Greg Bryk  one of my favorite Canadian actors. Hes definitely going to shake things up Im betting. He has apparently been assigned to Canada by Commander Pryce (Robert Curtis Brown) to get them to ease sanctions. Theres that indication that things arent going so well in Gilead.Interestingly, Fred suggests that hed also like to be named as a special envoy to Canada. Is he trying to get away from Serena too? He suggests that he could help with the negotiations, but Pryce is no fool. He asks if things are in order in Freds home. After all, he just lost control of his handmaid and it couldnt have been cheap to expend those resources on getting her back  none of which is said, but all of which is implied. Its clear that there is no way that Pryce is letting Fred go to Canada.Back at the house, Serena has felt the need to take a break and is outside smoking when Aunt Lydia comes out to her. She tells Serena that she worked with many wives and handmaids, and Serena is quick to correct wives to mothers. Its clear that its not just having the child that is important but being a mother  and thats dangerous because that is the one thing that Serena will never be  unless, perhaps, she sleeps with Nick herself!Aunt Lydia tells Serena that its natural to resent the handmaid  the other woman  but that God will forgive her for it. Serena tells Aunt Lydia that June makes it difficult, and Aunt Lydia tells her that June is strong but that means the baby will be too. She tells Serena that everything from here bust be for the good of the child. And then she grabs Serenas cigarette and tells her no more smoking because its not good for the baby! Its telling that Aunt Lydia is in a position to do that to Serena.Meanwhile, June is sitting on the stairs and she gets Alma (Nina Kiri) to stop to talk to her. Alma is wistful that June almost made it and tells her that everyone was shitting themselves. June asks if anyone from May Day was killed, and Alma tells her that May Day has gone silent  but they arent helping the Handmaids anymore. Has June ruined everyone elses chance to escape?Ofglen (Tattiawna Jones) wont stop to talk, but Alma explains that its because they cut out her tongue for speaking out about Janine. Alma tells her that June wasnt responsible for Ofglen speaking out, she didnt make her say anything. When June notices the horrible burn on Almas arm, Alma clarifies that Ofglen isnt her fault  but the burn and the punishment of those who followed June is her fault. Moss is excellent here as we see the devastation on her face. Its the beginning of her descent.In the next scene, we see the ritual with the wives in the inner circle and the Handmaids in the outer circle. Serena stands in the middle with June kneeling at her feet. A thin rope is twined around everyones hands, binding them together. Its clearly a ritual which looks like June offering her baby to Serena. As Serena chants almost in rapture, June is consumed with guilt. She would like to be shameless and ignorant  but shes not.Junes other great source of guilt would appear to be the other time she was the other woman, and the flashbacks this week concern Annie (Kelly Jenrette), Lukes (O-T Fagbenle) wife. She accosts June at the gym, begging her to leave Luke alone and give them space to work out their marriage. She tells June that she still loves him. And in a horrible echo of the present, Annie bases her claim on the marriage vows that she and Luke made before God. Annie becomes increasingly incensed and tells June that she cant just wreck peoples lives and she finishes by calling her a fucking whore  and weve certainly heard Aunt Lydia call June a whore often enough. Its a reminder of how Junes actions and desires for her own life have an impact on others. How often do other women ever consider that? I think June is the one exception  even though it doesnt stop her.June is not the only one in this relationship, and she comes home to find Luke leaving an angry voicemail for Annie. He asks if shes ok, and she clearly isnt. Shes told Annie that Annie and Luke have been separated for 3 months, but she reminds Luke that they started when he was still with Annie. She asks him, what if I hadnt come along? But she did. Luke tells her that he loves her and that Annie is just trying to drive a wedge between them  and that is also what Aunt Lydia is trying to do. And the consequences to Junes actions continue to pile up in the episode.The shower is over, and they are putting the presents away. Serena says it will be a challenge to make sure her baby doesnt grow up spoiled. And I would added abused! Aunt Lydia remarks it was a beautiful shower  shes trying her best to placate Serena to encourage her to take June back. June wanders over to the gift table and wistfully picks up a bootie, remembering her own shower. She offers that after her shower they gave away half the gifts. I loved how this drew such a perfect line between Junes generous nature and Serenas covetous one. Serena is clearly furious at being shown up. Rita tries to defuse the situation, saying shell clear the toys away, and Serena furiously backhands her. She cant hit June after allAunt Lydia whisks June away for a walk. At first, I thought she was taking her out to protect her  and in one sense, its clear that Aunt Lydia does think that shes protecting June by breaking her. Aunt Lydia tells her that it isnt easy for her either  and I was really starting to feel in this moment that maybe Aunt Lydia did feel something for June. She tells June that shes trying to give her the best chance that she can have  after all, June was a fallen woman.In the end, Aunt Lydia has a cruel punishment for June. She drags her to the river walk and shows her the body of Omar (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II). June collapses to her knees  finally driven there by Aunt Lydia and the weight of her own culpability. Aunt Lydia isnt done yet. Omars wife will redeem herself by becoming a Handmaid  something she told June she despised. Their son will never see his mother again. She tells June its not the path they would have chosen for themselves: You chose for them. Such a selfish girl! Aunt Lydia presses her advantage demanding of June who killed them? Who made them do these things? Why would God to this? And June finally replies brokenly that she did it and God is trying to teach her a lesson.Aunt Lydia goes in for the kill  what did this woman do before this? Was she just a religious zealot? A torturer for the CIA?? She clarifies for June that the lesson was for JUNE, to teach JUNE a lesson because June ran away and consorted with terrorists. Offred, on the other hand, was kidnapped and is free from blame. Offred doesnt have to bear Junes guilt  and we see June retreat to the safety of Offred.In their absences, Serena has gone to Fred to demand that he send June back to the Red Centre to have the baby there. I suspect that she doesnt trust herself around June. Fred tells her that shes strong and deserves to experience the pregnancy. Or maybe he sees an opportunity to punish Serena? He tells her to think about the baby and that June is nothing.We see June kneeling again  this time as a supplicant, essentially begging to be allowed to stay with the Waterfords. When Serena presses for more, June tells her, Im not worthy yet. Im so grateful for everything youve done for me, please. Please let me try to be good. Nick and Rita are standing as witnesses, and Nick looks shocked  but he hasnt seen the psychological torture June has been put through. The Commander thinks it wonderful, and June still in shock, wanders back to her room where she stands alone, swaying slightly.Serena is standing by the babys crib, smoking and thinking. Shes clearly not going to let Aunt Lydia bully her! She then goes to June and lies down behind her, placing her hand possessively over Junes stomach. This was one of the creepiest scenes ever. She doesnt say a word to June, and June never lets on that shes even awake. Serena only speaks to the baby, telling it, All will be well and Mama loves you.As soon as Serena leaves, June gets up and retreats to the closet where where she found strength before. But what she finds is that the note has been erased  she is alone  and the question then becomes has June also been erased? She cries as a litany of my fault runs through her mind.The final flashback is Luke and June with Hannah at a busy coffee shop. The happy, nuclear family. But then June sees Annie across the crowd. Shes alone and turns and leaves when she makes eye contact with June. She is clearly still in pain and appears to be alone  but we dont know that for sure. June is still clearly a source of pain, but we have no indication that she hasnt moved on and found happiness with someone else. However, June will always be the other woman  just as she will always be that for Serena.June is filled with self-doubt, thinking I have done something so wrong so wrong that I cant even see it. I am inadequate, stupid, without worth. I might as well be dead. Let Hannah forget me. Let me forget me. And this resonates with what Luke said to June about Annie  Forget about her. She doesnt matter to US. And that is what June has really forgotten. She still matters to people. She is still a beacon of hope, she is still a mother. It also underscores the theme of not forgetting  the wall in the intake centre, the shrine that June made, and even the letters tucked behind the bathtub.In the morning, June seems to have forgotten herself. She gets dressed and goes downstairs, putting her hat on to go out, I was struck by how much the cornette acts like a blinders on a horse, allowing the wearer to only see their path ahead. As June walks out, Nick finally tries to talk to her  a little late buddy!  and she just keeps walking, saying Weve been sent good weather. She keeps repeating this over and over. She lets herself out of the gate, presumably to meet her walking partner to walk to market  though she has no basket or list. And then the complete evidence of her submission is Junes adopting the posture  head down, hands clasped in front.This was another terrific episode that traced Junes descent from defiance to beaten submission. Great performances from Dowd, Moss, and Strahovski in this episode. This is also a nice parallel to Moiras (Samira Wiley) own loss of self after her failed escape attempt. Im betting that June is going to draw strength from the baby growing inside her and that the baby will be her motivation to keep fighting to free both herself and her baby from Gilead  and especially Serena. What did you think of the episode? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
Lisbon, May 14, 2018 (SPS) - Portuguese Parliament has approved a motion of support for Sahrawi people in their struggle for independence, and in which the MPs called on the government to promote an action in favour of the right of Sahrawis to self-determination, said local media.



During a plenary session held on 11 May at Portugal's Parliament, the MPs reaffirmed, in the motion proposed by the Parliamentary Group of the Portuguese Communist Party, their support to the efforts for the resumption of an effective negotiation process for a just, peaceful and lasting solution to the Western Sahara conflict, said the source.



They also underlined that a just and lasting solution to the conflict entails the end of Morocco's illegal occupation of Western Sahara and its human rights abuses, added the source.



The MPs called on the Portuguese government, as part of its foreign policy, to promote actions in favour of achieving the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination, especially within international institutions where Portugal is represented, said the source. (SPS)



062/SPS/APS
5 events to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month in Connecticut

Here are Hispanic Heritage Month events, celebrated from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, around the state.
NEW CANAAN  On Saturday, March 10, Kristin Reed, a New Canaan resident, placed bridal shower invites at the United States Postal Service box outside the Locust location.

A month later, no one ever received them.

I mailed 47 bridal shower invites, Reed said. I placed them in the United States Post Office receptacle right in front of the New Canaan Post office on (18 Locust Ave.)  it was about 4:30 p.m.  I thought there was a final pick up at 5 p.m.

The cost for mailing several invites was an additional loss for Reed.

In any case, not one person received an invitation to my sisters bridal shower. I spent well over $200 between the stamps and invites themselves so as you can imagine I wasnt happy, Reed said.

Lt. Jason Ferraro of the New Canaan Police said there had been around 20 police reports this year concerning mailbox thefts in town but would not give a specific number of cases.

This is happening in New Canaan, especially the mailboxes located on Pine Street and Park Street, Ferraro said. This is happening in the entire region, its not solely isolated in the town.

Ferraro added that people are retrieving mail from both residential and public mail boxes. People are removing the mail and taking checks and cashing them, Ferraro said.

The police department, via Twitter and Instagram, have issued warnings about public and private mailboxes being compromised. Chief of Police Leon Krolikowski advised that residents physically go to the post office and hand over their mail to the clerk.

It appears that the bulk of the stolen mail was taken from the Pine Street postal mailboxes, Krolikowski said. I still believe it is safer to bring mail directly to the post office.

Other residents have also have lost other materials through snail mail.

My mortgage payment didnt clear and while its an assumption I think its pretty clear (it was never received). A birthday card I sent never got to where it was meant to be, Anne Hamilton, New Canaan resident, said.

Like others, Hamilton now avoids the blue USPS boxes on Pine Street opting to send her mail via her work office.

I try to mail things from work now in Riverside. We own a mail carried and we havent had a problem like that in the past, Hamilton said. All of this makes me not want to mail things from town offices anymore. Youll send a birthday card and never know if theyll get them or not, Hamilton said.

humberto.juarez@hearstmediact.com
Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire []
STAMFORD  An adopted woman charged with breaking into the Wilton home of her parents on Valentines Day this year pleaded not guilty to a first-degree burglary charge.

Appearing with her public defender Howard Ehring before Judge Richard Comerford on Tuesday morning, Jillian Katz, 31, remained silent after being brought into courtroom despite the fact there was some talk about her criminal history.

Assistant States Attorney Michelle Manning used the word voluminous to describe Katz earlier run- ins with the law.

According to her arrest affidavit by Wilton police, since 2010 Katz has been arrested 10 times on charges of burglary, larceny, criminal mischief and violating her probation and has resulting convictions for every charge except criminal mischief.

Police were alerted to a burglar alarm at Katzs parents home on River Gate Woods Drive just after 1 a.m. on Feb. 14.

When officers got to the empty home they found a broken window and jewelry scattered on the front walkway.

When the homeowners son arrived, he told them that he believed the burglar was his adopted sister, Jill Katz.

The homeowners said for the first time in a long time Katz visited them at the home three weeks earlier and they believed she stole two credit cards, which they immediately canceled, the arrest warrant states. They said Katz, a Manchester resident, knew they would be away in Florida when the break-in occurred.

Two days later police learned that Katz pawned 23 pieces of silver jewelry at Good Ole Toms in East Hartford just nine hours after police discovered the break-in.

Pictures of the items were sent to the homeowner while vacationing in Florida, who identified every possession taken to Good Ole Toms as belonging to he and his wife, the affidavit said.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate.com
M ark Yovich, the Aussie-born president of Ticketmaster International, was in ebullient mood as he threw a party to mark the opening of the worlds biggest ticketing companys new headquarters in The Angel, Islington.

The building, housing 500 staff, features a lethal-looking playground slide linking its various floors. Of course Ive been down it, says the boss.

Ticketmaster must overhaul its image to compete with secondary sellers like Seatwave and ViaGoGo, says Yovich. Weve got to sweep away all the extra booking processing fees you see and give customers a single, transparent price.

What about the absurd 2.50 charge for printing out your own tickets at home? Ive told the team  they have to find a way of getting rid of that too.

Yovich, who began his career pulling pints in a London pub, is confident he can deliver. But theres nothing he can do about the British weather, which could damp demand for some of the summers big shows, including Rihanna at Twickenham Stadium.

The talents needed for a turnaround

Should you choose to look, how do you spot a turnaround director? Its a question posed in the latest edition of Swift, the Institute For Turnarounds magazine.

Former IFT chairman Paul Thompson lists several things to look out for, including integrity, leadership and decisiveness. There are also less readily identifiable talents  the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon, the resilience of Nelson Mandela, the convictions of Martin Luther King, the self-belief of Jose Mourinho, and the humility of Mother Theresa among them, he writes. Blimey. City Spy would hate to see the entrance exam.

* Another headline from Swift: Endless London grows its human capital assets. In other words, the restructuring business Endless has recruited a new executive, in this case Francesco Santinon, from another private equity group. Sounds more human if you put it that way, doesnt it?

Betfair chairman keeps it under hat

Just because you are not a leader in the style stakes, its never too late to try. Word reaches Spy that ex-Railtrack boss Gerald Corbett has taken to wearing a fetching red homburg when he is out and about. The City veteran chairs drinks business Britvic, financial adviser Towry, Moneysupermarket.com and Betfair, where takeover talks failed last week. At least Corbetts new sartorial turn means he will stand out for shareholders in the betting exchange who want to button hole him for a cash return.

* What does Virgin Atlantic know that the airline industry regular does not? Its latest results show a 35 million one-off gain. Whats that for, City Spy asked. Turns out the airline had set aside the cash because it had expected to be fined for price-fixing on flights to Hong Kong, but then it wasnt. So the money went back into the system. Great!

* Old Schroders hands revel in the fact that six of them chair FTSE 100 companies these days. The ranks will thin when Sir Win Bischoff steps down at Lloyds Banking Group within the next year, but that still leaves Robert Swannell, pictured, at Marks & Spencer, Alison Carnwath holding the reins at Walkie-Talkie tower firm Land Securities, Tescos Richard Broadbent and Nick Ferguson at broadcasting giant BSkyB. Rumours that Gerry Grimstone is heading for retirement from Standard Life are wide of the mark, even though some say the Thatcher-era privatisation mandarin would be a good fit at Lloyds as the state gears up to sell shares. There is talk of a high-powered dinner for the six later this year so they can compare blue-chip notes.
E asyJets new captain is to pitch the airline against his old firm by selling more holidays while introducing a loyalty scheme for flyers.

Johan Lundgren, formerly at travel company TUI, said the airline would step up investment in its holidays business to persuade more travellers to book hotels through it.

Lundgren has hired former TUI colleague Garry Wilson to build the division. Only 500,000 passengers out of a possible 20 million currently book hotels through the airline.

The new chief executive also wants to increase the airlines focus on data and will introduce a loyalty programme, which he said would increase profit per seat.

Calling the plans an evolution of his predecessor Dame Carolyn McCalls strategy, Lundgren said the budget airline would not abandon its roots in low fares.

The company has evolved but low costs will absolutely be at the core of what we do, he added.

EasyJets plans were unveiled as the airline said it made record winter revenues of over 2 billion in the first six months of its year, to the end of March. Passenger numbers increased by three million to 36.8 million, helped by the collapse of rival airlines and the launch of a new base at Tegel Airport in Berlin.

Total revenue per seat increased by 10.9% to 54.10 and the airline made a small winter profit of 8 million, against a 220 million loss the previous year.

Lundgren also said the airline expected pre-tax profits for the full year to be between 530 million and 580 million  at least 30% higher than the 408 million of 2017.
L onmins merger with a South African rival was dealt another blow on Tuesday after the competition watchdog said it will investigate the tie-up.

The Competition and Markets Authority, which has blocked other rescue deals in the past, will examine if the proposed $383 million (283 million) deal with Sibanye-Stillwater would make the platinum market less competitive.

The union would create one of the worlds biggest platinum producers if it goes ahead, controlling a 25% chunk of the market.

The CMA said it will consider whether the tie-up will lessen competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods and services. However, City folk have argued that it will be given the okay because it is technically a rescue deal.

Lonmin, the loss-making firm from the late tycoon Tiny Rowlands sprawling Lonrho empire, admitted yesterday its cash pile had shrunk from $75 million to $17 million.

Sibanye-Stillwater has said it wants Lonmin to have cash in the bank, though its not a formal requirement. The precious metal company insisted it was on track to be cash positive.
I f you are in London reading this, then you should stop and marvel at the engineering genius of the Crossrail tunnels running some 40 metres deep beneath you. Each of the two new tunnels (one going eastbound and the other westbound) is 21 kilometres long and 6.2 metres wide.

In some places, such as Tottenham Court Road, the tunnels pass within a metre of existing Tube platforms, and elsewhere Crossrail has had to weave them to run precariously around historic buildings.

Luckily for the brilliant engineers who have designed this extraordinary subterranean world, London clay is suitable for tunnelling  which is the reason the Victorians built one of the earliest underground systems in the world.

On every level, the 14.8 billion Crossrail project is one of the most delicate and complex balancing acts of civil engineering ever to have been built in Europe. When complete in December, the new Elizabeth line will stretch 120 kilometres from Berkshire to Essex through 41 stations, and carry more than 200 million passengers a year.

Until now, apart from teething problems, Crossrail has run smoothly. So reports that it may need a bail-out of 500 million to finish the final touches on time is a disappointment. Last-minute problems with power supply and signals are apparently to blame.

Is this a surprise? Running over-budget is not unusual for such a mammoth project, and Crossrail hopes to make up any shortfall by spreading the cost over time from fares and rates.

Mischief-makers who say this hiccup shows again how awful Britain is at delivering mega-projects on time need to pipe down. For every disaster, such as the West Coast rail electrification or the Heathrow delay, there are great successes, such as the St Pancras Eurostar service and the Olympics.

Think about this: its taken Crossrail only five years to organise tens of thousands of people, working in tunnel gangs of 20 at a time, in 12-hour shifts, 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

These workers have operated eight giant tunnel-boring machines, weighing the same as 143 buses, to excavate eight million tonnes of earth in order to build the tunnels on time and without accidents.

Its a myth that the British are worse than our peers at big projects, and when it comes to engineering, we may well be better than most. Spare a thought for Rome. The eternal city has been waiting for its new Metro C line to open since 1990. San Giovanni, the main station, finally opened last weekend, running hundreds of million euros over budget, over deadline and with a few corruption scandals along the way.

In Amsterdam, the citys second metro line is due to open in July  10 years after it should have been finished. It was also over-budget.

Nor are the French, lauded for their grands projets, immune from problems. EDF Energy has warned that its nuclear power station at Flamanville is behind schedule and over budget. So too is the Finnish reactor it is building. What effect EDFs problems will have on Hinkley Point C is still not known.

Denmarks biggest construction project, to build the longest immersed tube tunnel in the world, between Denmark and Germany, is being held up because of legal problems. The tunnel has been in the planning for 10 years, but the ferry companies are taking the EU to the European Court of Justice over state aid. One to watch.

All big infrastructure projects run up against the buffers, particularly when government and their agencies, such as TfL, are involved, as they are with Crossrail. If one were to play the sceptic, this is because governments allow projects knowing they are being optimistic with their figures. But it is also easy for them to assume by the time the projects are finished, the public will have forgotten either delays or budgets.

Where the Government can be justly criticised is for delaying endlessly over decisions on whether to give the go-ahead to big projects such as Heathrows third runway or new nuclear stations  whether yes or no.

Central government is too timid about giving local councils permission to raise private capital from outside investors.
H ere the Evening Standard business team highlights all the major tech news today.

Top story sees Facebook back in the dock with UK politicians.

A parliamentary committee stated that the social network had failed to fully answer 39 questions examining data privacy and fake news, adding that it would ask the social media giant once again for the missing details.

The committee had put additional questions to Facebook after it said that the firms chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer had not addressed all its concerns during a parliamentary hearing last month.

Facebook UKs head of public policy, Rebecca Stimson, gave 39 answers to the extra questions in a letter published by the committee. However, its head said that they lacked the detail they were looking for.

Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said: It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points.

As part of its inquiry, the committee has been investigating allegations of the improper use of data for 87 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by President Donald Trumps 2016 US election campaign.

Collins said that Cambridge Analytica was one of the areas where Facebooks response had been insufficiently detailed.

In her letter, Stimson said that Facebook did not pass user information to Cambridge Analytica, although it did provide tools to a researcher who appeared to have shared the data with the consultancy.

We have provided comprehensive responses to the 39 points that the committee raised following Mike Schroepfers testimony, a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.

While Mark Zuckerberg has no plans to meet with the committee or travel to the UK at the present time, we fully recognise the seriousness of these issues and remain committed to providing any additional information required for their inquiry into fake news.

Meanwhile in the US Seattles city council approved a new tax for the citys biggest companies, including Amazon, to combat a housing crisis attributed in part to a local economic boom that has driven up real estate costs at the expense of the working class.

Amazon, the citys largest employer, said after the vote that it would go ahead with planning for a major downtown office building that it earlier had put on hold over its objections to a much stiffer tax plan originally proposed.

As passed on a 9-0 vote after a boisterous public hearing, the measure would apply to most companies grossing at least $20 million a year, levying a tax of roughly 14 cents per employee per hour worked within the city - about $275 annually for each worker.

That head tax formula is designed to raise $45 million to $49 million a year over the five-year life of the tax - down from an original $75 million annually - to build more affordable housing and support services for the homeless. The tax would end after five years unless renewed by the city.

Amazon had led private-sector opposition to the plan, saying earlier this month it was freezing expansion planning for Seattle pending the outcome of Mondays action.

The tax also would hit such Seattle-based stalwarts as coffee retailer Starbucks and department store chain Nordstrom, as well as California-based tech giants like Apple, Google and Facebook that have enough of a presence in Seattle that they would be subject to the new levy.

Finally in London management software firm Clear Review has secured 500,000 from Mercia Fund Managers.
V odafone chief executive Vittorio Colao is quitting after 10 years in which he built the business into one of the biggest telecom players in Europe while returning billions to shareholders.

He will be succeeded by chief financial officer Nick Read, whose duty will be to expand Vodafones digital offering and ensure that giant deals in India and Germany are a success.

Under Colao, Vodafone scrapped sprawling global ambitions, most notably with the $130 billion (96 billion) sale of its joint venture with US giant Verizon. Over the period, Vodafone became the biggest payer of dividends in the FTSE 100 and therefore a core holding of almost every pension fund.

Vodafone handed out around 100 billion in dividends and buybacks under Colao. He was paid 14 million in 2012, but usually took home less than that. Sources said there will be no golden goodbye once he leaves in October.

A hint of the future came in annual results which showed that Vodafone signed up 750,000 new customers in the year  a record. The aim is that more and more customers will take their internet, mobile phone and cable TV from Voda  a triple play deal, in the industry jargon.

It has been clear, unlike rival BT, that it will focus on pipes and wires rather than attempting to move into content.

In the year to March, Vodafone bounced from a 6 billion (5.3 billion) loss to a 2.8 billion profit.

Colao said Vodafone was beginning a new chapter, with a digital transformation which meant it was the right time to go. He said: The real legacy at the end of the day will be my people. This is an amazing management team. The assets, the transactions are important, but people and your values are your legacy.

Asked what plans he has for the future, he replied: None.

Though Read will be regarded by the City as a logical choice and his appointment a sign of good succession planning, the shares still dropped 3% to 201p on news of Colaos departure. Analysts note that although investors have done well from dividends, the shares have dramatically underperformed the Footsie in the past decade.

Last week Voda spent $22 billion to buy Liberty Globals cable and broadband networks in Germany and Eastern Europe.
I ts not the first time a Prime Minister and Sovereign have endured grim moral company in pursuit of the national interest, a thought that will surely occur to Theresa May and the Queen as they receive Turkeys autocratic leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a three-day state visit.

In 1973 the Queen welcomed President Mobutu of Zaire (now Congo) as an anti-communist ally in the proxy Cold War being fought out in Africa. Five years later, the FCO took leave of its senses and pressed for Nicolae Ceausescu, the Romanian dictator, to be granted a state visit to Britain in the vain hope that a dalliance with the Dacian kleptocrat might, in his befuddled alliances, somehow benefit the West if sufficiently flattered.

Entertaining despots requires a long spoon. Mays awkward standing with President Erdogans visit is clear to see. She needs to trade partners outside the EU, as well as tie down security cooperation over the terms on which would-be Jihadists come from Syria to Britain.

More broadly, the UK has taken a gamble on Turkey remaining strategically important to an embattled Nato and from listing fully into Vladimir Putins sphere of influence. Not coincidentally, BAE Systems wants to sell fighter jets to Turkey, to offset a major Russian push to sell air defence systems to Ankara.

Anne McElvoy

These are age-old plays for strategic alliance and commercial gain. Now, though, it is garlanded by a near-desperation of the Government to find quick trade deals after exiting the EU.

Nick Clegg, who on Monday revisited an old enmity and accused Michael Gove of a fawning silence over Erdogans visit, posed the thorny question, if not the solution. Suckers for consistency might point out that in government Clegg, as the deputy PM in the coalition, helped to spearhead a similar trade-luring exercise with Turkey in 2012 saying, Its fantastic to be announcing new jobs for the UK and such an impressive set of deals for British businesses.

By this point, Erdogan, who had been in power since 2003, was consolidating his grip on institutions and clearly out to meld presidential and parliamentary power. I was in Istanbul at the time, when one of his parliamentary opponents predicted it foreshadowed dark dictatorship, which has proved uncannily accurate. Erdogan was already stymying internal opposition and extending his clampdown to NGOs and universities.

The great knee-bend to the neo-Sultan of Ankara did not start in 2018, and to judge by the depth of President Macrons red carpet earlier this year, we are not alone in the floor-scraping courtship. .

The orchestration of this trip is, however, unfortunate. Gritted teeth on parade, sighs one Foreign Office official. For one thing, the short-term outlook benefits Erdogan a lot more than it does Britain. Calling both presidential and parliamentary elections in June was a sly move by the Turkish leader and one which ensured that the UK visit acts as window-dressing for his bid to accrue yet more of a monopoly on power.

This is the sixth time Turks have gone to the polls in four years at the leaders whim. It is being timed to beat a possible downturn in the economy  and gives the opposition no breathing space to mount a campaign  even if it could do so freely. It cannot because so many of his opponents are debarred from running or, in the case of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party, making a virtue of necessity by nominating a jailed former leader as the candidate.

"Thousands of journalists, civil rights campaigners and teachers are caught up in Turkeys petty repression"

Since the failed coup of 2016, tens of thousands of people have been arrested over alleged links to the Gulenist movement, a historic rivalry with Erdogan. Another round of voting heralds an extension of the post-coup state of emergency (now extended seven times, so pretty much a permanent state) and another media clampdown, including the forced sale in March of Dogan, the last major independent media group.

In these circumstances it would have been sensible to postpone the visit, or at least stage it more coolly than the all-inclusive offer we are witnessing this week. There is one small but vital with-holding  tea but no dinner at the Palace. The monarch, it appears, knows where to draw the line.

A hallmark of authoritarian governments is that when they hit their stride, everyone knows someone affected in some small or large way. I worked on a magazine assignment in 2016 for The Economist with Mathias Depardon, a French photographer based in Turkey, who was imprisoned for a month after gathering material from Kurdish forces that did not suit Ankaras propaganda whims. He was released after pressure from his publication and the French government  probably expedited by a week he spent on hunger strike.

Many thousands of journalists, NGOs civil rights campaigners, lawyers and teachers are caught up in the net of paranoia and petty repression in Turkey. We know that democratic countries have dubious allies. But there should be a bottom line to the diplomacy as well as the trade deal. The trouble is, we have little sense now of what that might be  and where May herself might say, Enough.

A thirst for new partners in commerce, we were assured, would go hand in hand with British values projected in the world. Yet these are hard to discern. We need not be remote idealists to think all this needs more scrutiny and frankness from our own government, when the worlds more difficult customers turn up for tea. National dignity is an odd thing. It can sustain all sorts of quid pro quos, sacrifices and trade-offs until one day we get the uneasy feeling that it has gone, without much to show for it.
G enerations of world leaders have talked about the Middle East peace process. And, at times, it really was a process, bringing stability and hope to both Palestinians and Israelis.

President Carter made it happen at Camp David in 1978. President Clinton did it again with the Oslo Accords in 1995. But that was years ago.

Today there is no process and little peace, as the brutal and unnecessary deaths of at least 58 civilians in the Gaza Strip yesterday showed.

They were shot by Israeli troops who were, in turn, attempting to deal with protests caused by President Trumps provocative and wrong-headed decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

That shift might be symbolic but in this conflict symbols matter.

So do words, which is why Israelis should regret their Prime Ministers claim, as the embassy opened: What a glorious day.

Surrounded by President Trumps inner circle, he rejoiced in an aggressive isolationism which many of Israels closest allies do not share.

Britain is right to side with its EU partners in opposing the move, which, along with the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, brings the two-state solution, which was the whole point of that decades-long peace process, close to extinction.

But if not two states, then what? Occupation of Palestinian Territories for ever?

There are no short cuts to peace. Perhaps, in this case, President Trump does not care about peace.

But if he doesnt, then those who respect Israel and Palestine, and those who live there, certainly should.

Corbyns Brexit errors

Like an amoeba, the Governments position on a Customs Union after Brexit is barely evolved, moves slowly and is prone to alter its shape unexpectedly through splits. But there is reason why the Government gets away with it.

The Oppositions approach is even worse. And in its case there is also less of an excuse: polls show most Labour supporters want a soft Brexit, as do Labour MPs and peers and the majority of trades unions.

So why isnt the party supporting one, when the gentlest push in the right direction from the Opposition benches would shove the Government out of the embrace of the hard Brexiteers and towards a sensible approach?

One reason: Jeremy Corbyn. The party is controlled by men who think trade is a capitalist conspiracy.

Last night Mr Corbyn told his parliamentary party he would not back an amendment allowing Britain to join the European Economic Area, which would mean a relationship with Europe along the lines of Norways, which isnt a perfect solution but is at least a plan of sorts.

They love to attack the Government for its divisions. But Labour MPs are tolerating a hard Brexit by stealth.

Bride and gloom

At a time when she should be looking forward to a joyful day, she is instead worried about her fathers wellbeing.

It is a difficult situation for her. Mr Markle has been exposed to relentless public exposure since his daughters enagagement and his difficulties have been compounded by ill health  he suffers from a heart condition  and also his imprudent decision to co-operate with paparazzi in posing for pictures.

But Mr Markle is naturally unused to the pressures that go with his daughters new role. He can be excused his error of judgment.

His reported observation that he did not wish to embarrass his daughter should give us pause; this is a man in frail health who wishes to do the best for her on her wedding day and he should be given every support in doing so.

Of course it is not necessary for a bride to be given away in marriage by her father in the traditional fashion, but that is what she wants and it would be sad if it did not happen.
The Luxury Law Awards 2018 celebrated the great and good of the fashion scene last night with winners including Stella McCartney, Ralph & Russo and Michael Kors.

Former chair of the British Fashion Council, Harold Tillman, was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his illustrious career.

The event, hosted by the Evening Standards Amira Hashish at the Ham Yard Hotel in Soho, centred on craftsmanship and sustainability in luxury retail and the digital evolution of the industry.

As part of his acceptance speech Tillman also spoke about the impact of Brexit on retail and the importance of shaping intellectual property law for the future of British fashion.

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Here are some of the fashion industrys big winners:

Luxury Business Leader 2018: Tamara Ralph and Michael Russo, Ralph & Russo

In just 10 years, the winners have turned a small couture atelier into a global powerhouse. The first British couture label in a century to show at the official Paris Couture Week in 2014, this winning brand has been making waves ever since. Boasting a client list that includes international celebrities, billionaires and royalty, the dynamic pair have now established themselves as one of the most 'go to' luxury brands in London. Global expansion is on the cards and new boutiques are planned around the world.

Luxury Sustainability Award 2018: Stella McCartney

Since she founded her brand in 2001, Stella McCartney has focused heavily on sustainability, creating ethical fashion, employing fur-free fur, skin-free skin, and faux leather and creating trainers without glue.

A true pioneer of sustainable luxury, McCartneys tenacity in building a high-end fashion brand while maintaining environmental values has inspired many others to follow her lead. Constantly innovating, this brand stands above and beyond others.

Luxury Entrepreneur 2018 Award: Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum, Teatum Jones

Rob Jones and Catherine Teatum are unique talents in the industry. Celebrated for their modern, polished and bold aesthetic, the design duo combine unique creativity with a strong human and ethical message in each and every of their collections. They are fiercely true and passionate about their vision and do not compromise their authenticity and understanding of how to run a fashion business whilst delivering a strong creative.

Lifetime Achievement Award 2018: Harold Tillman, CBE

A retail entrepreneur and investor, Harold has led and shaped the British fashion industry for the past 50 years. Formally the head of Jaeger and Aquascutum, he was also chair of the British Fashion Council (until September 2012) and is currently Chairman of the Ethical Fashion Forum, Former Chairman of the Alumini Board of the University of the Arts and Fashion Matters Fundraising for Students and a former trustee of the V&A. He was awarded a CBE in recognition for his achievements in being a driving force for the Fashion Industry and is now a champion of sustainability through Common Objective.
U pdate: Kensington Palace has revealed Prince Charles will be walking Meghan Markle down the aisle come Saturday.

We previously wrote why Markle should be walking down the aisle solo on Saturday, which you can read below ...

Its been a crazy few days in the Markle-Windsor household.

Like I said, crazy.

However, while this has made an already-stressful time for Markle even harder, it also presents her with the opportunity of a lifetime: she could walk herself down the aisle.

Over the past century, many traditions and habits have been modernised to accommodate the fact that men and women are now considered equals  yet weddings are a tradition that seems to have fallen behind.

Why, in a time where gender equality is as topical an issue as ever, is the father supposed to walk his daughter down the aisle and give her away? Why does a priest still ask, Who gives this woman to be married?

This now-archaic tradition dates back to the time of arranged marriages, when unwed daughters were considered to be their fathers property. The father would arrange his daughter to marry a suitor he deemed acceptable and through an agreement/trade or dowry, he would thus give her away.

Royal wedding countdown: The plan so far for Harry and Meghan

Many brides decide to follow this tradition  as it can be a nice moment between father and daughter  yet many also decide to have both parents walk them down, have another family member walk them down or  something that is becoming more and more common  walk down the aisle alone.

Writer Alice Graham chose to walk down the aisle alone when she was 28  and agrees that Markle should consider doing the same.

Graham told the Standard: I chose to walk down the aisle alone, at age 28, as it reflected the decision process I underwent to marry my husband - one I made all by myself. I was a grown woman. I was making my own commitment to be married to my husband for myself, not to please my family or his.

I think walking down the aisle myself was a powerful symbol of that, and after all, its not like my husband was accompanied by his dad to the altar. He went of his own free will and so did I.

Graham also considers the notion - that a woman is to be given away by her father - to be archaic. She continued: It suggests that a woman is property to be handed over by one family to another.

Our Feminist foremothers of some hundred years ago fought to shake off the idea that women were chattel. I dont understand why the symbolism of being walked down the aisle and given away persists even today.

Fathers walking daughters down the aisle is something that still happens in many western countries  but it is an ideal that Sweden has rejected for a long time.

Commoners who have married royals - in pictures 1 /18 Commoners who have married royals - in pictures Sofia Hellqvist Sweden's Prince Carl Philip married Sofia Hellqvist in 2015. Before meeting her Prince, Sofia was a glamour model and reality television contestant. The pair have two children. Getty Images Mary Donaldson At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Australian woman Mary Donaldson met heir to the Danish throne, Crown Prince Frederik in a bar. Four years later, they were married (and now have four adorable kids). Getty Images Kate Middleton Kate Middleton met Prince William while studying at St. Andrews University in Scotland in the early '00s. They married at Westminster Abbey in 2011 and are expecting their third child. Getty Images Letizia Rocasolano Spanish King Felipe de Bourbon married journalist and news anchor Letizia Rocasolano in 2004. They have two daughters. Getty Images Meghan Markle American actress and activist, Meghan Markle met Prince Harry on a blind date in 2016. They are to be married this summer. Getty Images Charlene Wittstock Prince Albert II of Monaco (son of Grace Kelly) married former Olympic swimmer for South Africa Charlene Wittstock in 2002. Getty Images Narriman Sadek Narriman Sadek married King Farouk of Egypt in 1951. She was the last Queen of Egypt. Getty Images Daniel Westling Heir to the Swedish throne, Crown Princess Victoria married personal trainer and gym owner Daniel Westling in 2010. Getty Images Tatiana Blatnik Prince Nikolaos of Greece married Tatiana Blatnik on August 25, 2010. The pair met during a ski trip in 2003 and Tatiana worked in publicity for designer Diane Von Furstenberg before their engagement in 2009. Getty Images Silvia Sommerlath King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden married Silvia Sommerlath, who had worked as an Argentine Consulate in Munich, in 1976. Getty Images Maxima Zorreguieta The Dutch King and Queen married in 2002 when Willem-Alexander was a Prince. He and Maxima assumed the titles of King and Queen of the Netherlands when his mother abdicated in 2013. The Argentinian-born beauty worked in banking before her wedding and met the Prince in 1999, in Seville, Spain where he only introduced himself as 'Alexander'. Getty Images Marie Cavallier Denmark's Prince Joachim married French woman Marie Cavallier on May 24, 2008. Before their wedding, Marie worked in marketing and advertising in New York, France and Switzerland. Getty Images Diana Spencer Prince Charles married Diana Spencer in 1981. They met through Diana's older sister, Lady Sarah Spencer. PA Sonja Haraldsen In 1968, Norway's Crown Prince Harald married Sonja Haraldsen - the pair had been dating for nine years prior but had to keep it secret as she was a commoner. Getty Images Mette-Marit Hiby Norway's Crown Prince Haakon married Mette-Marit Hiby in 2001 - which was controversial as she was a single mother. Getty Rania Yassine Rania Yassine married Prince Abdallah the eldest son of Jordan's former King Hussein on June 10 1993. Abdallah became King in 1999 after his father passed away, making Rania Queen. Getty Images Jetsun Pema This pair met when Jetsun was just seven year old and (the now) King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck was 17. He told her he would marry her one day and 14 years later on October 13, 2011, when the bride was 21, they did. Getty Images Jack Brooksbank Princess Eugenie is to marry Jack Brooksbank later this year. The pair met during a skiing trip to Verbier eight years ago. Getty Images

In 2010, there was an uproar when Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, heir to the Swedish throne, chose to have her father walk her down the aisle.

Most Swedish brides instead walk down the aisle hand-in-hand with their future husbands, symbolising the equality of their union  only 10 per cent of Swedish brides are given away.

So perhaps its time Markle took a leaf out of our Nordic neighbours books and walk up the aisle sans parents.

Markle has a long history of fighting for womens rights. Since her rise to fame on Suits, the actress has used her star power to help put a global spotlight on the need for gender equality  in 2014 she even became the Advocate for Political Participation and Leadership for the women's agency of the United Nations.

Before her engagement to Prince Harry, this role allowed her to spend time with Hillary Clintons team and visit Rwanda  which has the highest percentage of women in parliament.

Markle now has the chance to make a poignant statement. This weekend she will be on the world stage, being watched by millions of people worldwide, and she should take this opportunity to show women that they do not need to be given away at the altar.
W hile Europe and Southeast Asia still remain major targets for gap year travellers, Central America has, for the past few years, emerged as the trendier of the bunch for sabbatical-taking Londoners.

The Isthmian portion of the Americas offers year-round good weather and a sense of unbridled adventure without the sobering sights of teens sipping on fluorescent buckets of booze and garish Half Moon parties.

Yet Nicaragua is still fairly under-the-radar for seasoned travellers. This wedge-shaped nation is the largest in Central America but still remains one of the least visited.

Perhaps thats because it doesnt boast the Mayan ruins of Guatemala or Belize - in fact, almost all of its ancient structures have been destroyed by years of revolution and natural disasters.

But dont let that put you off - what it lacks in important archaeological sites, it more than compensates with a surplus of natural landscapes to rival those of neighbouring Costa Rica.

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Mukul, the nations first five-star resort opened its doors to international interest in 2013, and it has since been followed by a swathe of laid-back-luxe stays like Yemeya, Totoco Eco Lodge and Jacaro Island Ecolodge.

Aside from the luxury lodgings, heres why you should give it your attention this year.

1. Epic volcanoes

Forming a significant part of the pacific Ring of Fire, Nicaragua is country full of impressive volcanoes up and down the Port side of the country - 19 in total. There is a mixture of active and dormant volcanoes, many of which you can climb, and some of which offer the chance to swim in crater lakes and peek over the rim into the craters within. Cerro Negro is a popular point of call for adventurous travellers, an active black volcano located just outside the town of Leon. Here, daredevils looking for an adrenaline rush go volcano boarding - essentially throwing themselves off the crater of the rocky rupture and hurtling at 30mph on a thin wooden board. You have to climb the 2388 ft cone on foot with your sled strapped to your back. If you're crazy enough to try it, just make sure youve booked some travel insurance ahead of your trip.

2. Visit Granada

Travellers to Nicaragua usually head straight for the buzzy, colonial city of Granada. Strolling its streets feels almost like stepping back in time, with its 17th-century houses, crumbling courtyards and lavish Wes Anderson-style churches. And although Granada remains Nicaragua's sixth largest city, it is widely known for preserving some of the finest colonial-era architecture in the country. Meander through Parque Colon - a plaza that bustles with artisans and Vigoron sellers, soak in the atmosphere from a street cafe in bustling Calle La Calzada or check out the archipelago of colourful little islands surrounding the city by boat.

Granada: a Nicaraguan city on the shores of Lake Nicaragua / Flickr/elaine faith

3. Lake Nicaragua

With freshwater caldera lakes aplenty and the second largest rainforest in the Americas, Nicaragua is regarded as the next great eco destination. Lake Nicaragua is a must-visit, where you can spend your day kayaking, paddleboarding, and swimming to neighbouring islets with the chance to spot spider monkeys, sloths and tropical birds.

4. Unspoilt island hopping

On the coast, washed by two warm oceans, few can resist Nicaraguas beaches, whether it be the deep blue Pacific coast or the turquoise Caribbean Sea. One of the highlights is the Corn Islands - two car-less islands about 70km east of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, where you can really feel like Robinson Crusoe. Pristine white sands line the horseshoe bays where you can lie for hours watching lobster fishermen pull in their catch as the rose-tinted sunsets set in.

The Corn Islands / Flickr/danebrian

5. Brilliant cuisine

Foodies have been raving about the new set of stylish restaurants that have transformed Managua, a former no-go zone, into a fledgling culinary capital. Typical Nicaraguan dishes include Gallo Pinto: most people in Nicaragua eat this almost daily and it is considered a national symbol. Its composed of a mixture of fried rice with onion and sweet pepper, red beans boiled with garlic, which is combined and fried. Nacatamal is also a popular dish at the dinner table: a warm dough which is prepared with ground corn and butter and served with fresh bread and coffee.

6. Its less touristy than Costa Rica

Nicaragua is touted by those in the know as the 'new' Costa Rica, with Lonely Planet calling it cheaper, safer and less developed than its Central American neighbour.

A food market in Managua / Shutterstock / Riderfoot

7. Cathedral of Leon

Officially known as the Basilica de la Asuncion, the city of Leons cathedral is the largest in Central America. Built between 1747 and the early 19th century to the design of Guatemalan architect Diego Jose de Porres Esquivel, the monument is a fascinating transition from Baroque to Neoclassical architecture, with rich ornamentation to behold inside. On a clear day its worth taking the roof tour for a spectacular view of the city and volcanoes looming beyond.

8. Somoto Canyon

One of the oldest rock formations in Central America, the stunning natural wonders of the Somoto Canyon lie in the Madriz area of Nicaragua. Dramatic and beautiful with epic rock formations and diverse wildlife, the protected canyon is 200m deep, with sheer 100m cliffs falling straight to the water. It can be explored with a guide or alone, but in either case, make sure to bring sandals with you, as the stones on the bottom of the river can be painful when hiking, swimming and scrambling.

Go paddling in Somoto Canyon / Shutterstock / Matyas Rehak

9. Cloud forests

One of the most unique experiences to have in Nicaragua is visiting a cloud forest. The tropical forests that lie on top of many of the country's tallest volcanoes are characterised by a persistent low-level cloud cover. The effect of journeying through the lush greenery is akin to walking in the heavens.

Unmissable: cloud forests / Shutterstock / Riderfoot

10. Its cheap

Unfathomably so. Nothing attracts backpackers like a bargain, even with the disastrous state of the pound, you can comfortably survive here for around 20 per day.

So be quick if youre planning to visit, because this beautiful corner of the world is starting to sound like a good idea to everyone, meaning it wont be a bargain forever.

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I ts a common refrain of the newlywed: The wedding was lovely but the honeymoon was the best bit. There are no more tricky guests to worry about, speeches to deliver or dresses to fit into. But, just as with the marriage, there is pressure to pick the right one.

For Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, that is magnified. It has to be private  Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridges honeymoon on the private 4,000-a-night North Island in the Seychelles was marred by paparazzi intrusion. It should be consistent with their image  as Commonwealth youth ambassadors they are concerned about the environment so eco-tourism would be on brand. And crucially, it should be a barnstormingly good holiday.

Wedding planner Mark Niemierko, who arranged James Corden and Julia Careys wedding, says the honeymoon planning usually begins six months before the wedding and no one has just one anymore. Mega-moons are on the rise. Couples go on a pre-wedding break to top up their tans, then a mini-moon after the wedding to regroup  Europe is popular, as is Marrakech because its sunny. A couple recently took 10 friends with them on a boating mini-moon in Croatia. Then later on they do a bigger break somewhere remote, which Harry and Meghan really need. Traditionally, the man arranged the honeymoon and this tradition has continued.

Harry and Meghan have said that they arent going on honeymoon right away  they have royal appointments to keep, namely Meghans new father-in-laws 70th birthday party. But they might get away for a few days and a Soho House destination is possible  the couple have a wedding list at the groups shop and Markle has stayed at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire.

They are a well-travelled couple. Roz Webster, owner of Cream Travel, says: They are not lying on the beach people or the type who would necessarily go for the most popular place. People usually want to go somewhere thats new for both of them on honeymoon. They are adventurous and will want to escape.

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On Markles lifestyle blog The Tig, she writes not a week goes by without me finding my derriere on a plane. So where might they jet off to?

The insiders tip

Alamy Stock Photo

Botswana has special significance for the royal couple. Just four weeks after their first date, Prince Harry says he persuaded Markle to join him out there, camping under the stars and being really by ourselves to get to know each other. They went back for her 36th birthday and her engagement ring features a stone from the country.

Staff at Roger Dugmore Safaris, who have been friends with Harry since he took a trip with them in 1999, say people there know who he is but respect his right to remain anonymous. They wouldnt comment on whether they are expecting a visit from the royal couple. Everyone knows who he is but they wouldnt say anything. Our safaris are very small, with campfires in the evening, which honeymooners enjoy.

Africa is a popular choice for our clients who want to go off the grid, says Jenny Graham, Director, Quintessentially Travel. You can get a private jet straight into the smaller game reserves. Its only an hour ahead, so no jet lag, and interior travel is easy.

Harry has been going to Botswana since 1997, when his father took him and his brother there to escape the media circus after his mothers death. He has said he feels more like himself there than anywhere in the world: I have this intense sense of complete relaxation and normality here.

The romantic favourite

The loudest rumours are that Meghan and Harry have picked the Hoanib valley camp in Namibia.

The Hoanib camp starts at 463 a night and is on the banks of the Obias river, surrounded by mountains. It passes the woke test  everything is solar powered and the camp is a giraffe conservation centre. May is the best time of year to go  its not too hot, theres no rain and you have the best chance of seeing the wildlife.

Tatlers travel editor Francisca Kellett wonders if Hoanib is too obvious. Her money is on Wolwedeans in the Namib-Rand. It has a private lodge, where they can glamp, do their own cooking and take hot-air balloon rides over red sand dunes to watch the sunrise.

Harry missed his nieces christening to help with anti-poaching projects in Namibia but he did go on holiday there with his ex Chelsy Davy  a mark against the country for Markle?

Combination trips are an option. Graham organises a lot of Botswana to Mozambique holidays. There is also Segera Retreat in Kenya, which has an Out of Africa plane to get you in and Graham says is super private.

Webster thinks a gorilla trekking trip to Sabinyo in Rwanda is a possibility, with a beach holiday at Andbeyond Beguerra in Mozambique at the end or a trip to Thanda, a private island off Zanzibar.

The wild card

Alamy Stock Photo

Globe-trotting couples like Harry and Meghan often choose adventure honeymoons, says Graham. Theyve already been to previously traditional honeymoon places like The Maldives so now they will want to push boundaries and make new memories together that arent just sitting on the beach.

For this type of island exploit, Madagascar fits the bill, says Kellett. Theres even a new resort there, Miavana, from the team behind North Island in The Seychelles, where Wills and Kate went on their honeymoon. Its a private island with a focus on authenticity and the environment  they are building a sanctuary for endangered lemurs.

Graham suggests combining Madagascar and the Seychelles. Privacy will be an overriding concern. Intimate properties here are Vakona Forest Lodge, Anjajavy, Hotel Relais des Plateaux and the Maia Luxury Resort.

If thats too mainstream  the paparazzi managed to track down Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge on their honeymoon to a similar place  they could consider another off-the-beaten-track location. Mary-Clare Gribbon, director of GribbonBerry PR, says that Alaska, the Grenadines and Patagonia are on the rise. Petit St Vincent is a private island in The Grenadines with limited wi-fi (but it does have a resident expert yoga teacher).

The staycation

Alamy Stock Photo

In their new role as Commonwealth youth ambassadors, the couple will be travelling a lot so perhaps a staycation could be a relaxing change (and have a low carbon footprint with no flying required). It would also be a safe option if the rumours about Markle being pregnant are true  theres no zika or malaria in the UK.

There is royal precedent for keeping it local. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip spent their honeymoon in Hampshire, at Philips Uncle Earl Mountbattens country pile, Broadlands. Its still in the Mountbatten family. Prince Charles and Diana began their honeymoon there  before a comprehensive cruise that took in Gibraltar, Tunisia, Sardinia, Greece and Egypt.

Charless estate in the Brecon Beacons, West Range, would be a wholesome alternative. A mini-moon in Ireland has been mooted, but Charles and Camilla are going there in May  is the Emerald Isle big enough for a family affair?
I t seems Ryanair really, really want all of us to start paying extra for priority boarding.

At the start of this year, the budget airline introduced a new policy that meant people without priority boarding couldn't take their cabin bags on the plane but had to put them in the hold instead  and now theyre cutting our check-in window in half for people who have not paid for a reserved seat.

Millions of Ryanair passengers booked on flights from June 13 onwards are being warned that they can only check in 48 hours before departure.

Just two years ago, passengers could check in up to a week before departure before reducing the window to four days in 2016.

For the past year, the airline has faced extensive criticism for assigning passengers travelling together in different seats nowhere near each other on the aircraft  thus making customers feel obliged to pay to pick their seats if they want to sit together.

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Now, only passengers who pay to reserve their seat will be able to check in four days before their flight. Free check in will only begin 48 hours before departure.

10 cheapest city break destinations for 2018 - in pictures 1 /10 10 cheapest city break destinations for 2018 - in pictures Riga, Latvia Shutterstock Vilnius, Lithuania Shutterstock Lisbon, Portugal Pixabay Moscow, Russia Pixabay Krakow, Poland Pixabay Prague, Czech Republic Pixabay Athens, Greece Shutetrstock Budapest, Hungary Pixabay Warsaw, Poland Pixabay Lille, France Shutterstock

The airline has said this change will give reserved seat customers more time to select their preferred seats.

This move is a smart tactic as we are coming into the busiest travel period of the year.

In 2017, Ryanair made 1.1billion in profits. The airline operates over 600,000 flights per year and the Boeing 737-800 can hold around 189 passengers. If all of these passengers were to buy priority boarding (5 a pop) this is an extra 567million the airline could make per year.

A representative from the airline said in a statement: "Online check-in (for those customers who dont choose reserved seats) will be available from 48 hours to 2 hours pre-departure for all flights from Wednesday, 13th June. This is double the 24 hour check-in period operated by Aer Lingus, British Airways, Lufthansa, Norwegian and Iberia. This will give reserve seat customers more time to select their preferred seats prior to departure."
P olice are hunting two thugs who sprayed a man in the face with "acid" after he met them to sell a mobile phone.

Police were called to the scene on Burdett Road, in Tower Hamlets, when a man in his was injured after having a "noxious substance" sprayed in his face.

The victim, a man in his 20s who asked to remain anonymous, told the Standard he had arranged to meet a buyer after advertising his iPhone 10 for sale on Gumtree.

He said: "It all happened so quickly. It was a real shock.

"I went downstairs and opened my flat's lobby door to let this guy in...he said he wanted to check the phone out before he bought it.

"Suddenly he knocked it out of my hands and his mate threw liquid in my face. One of them shouted: 'It's acid.'

"They were gone before I knew it.

"I obviously didn't care about my phone at this point. I just ran upstairs, told my girlfriend what had happened and jumped in the shower."

The pair made off with his phone.

Luckily, medics said the substance was an alkaline substance less damaging than those used in many of the attacks on the streets of London.

The victim was in and out of hospital in the same evening, though he suffered some damage to his right cornea.

"I'm just grateful it wasn't a lot worse to be honest."

The victim was taken to an east London hospital where he remains in a stable condition.

No arrests have been made. Detectives from Tower Hamlets are investigating.
T wo youths who choked a student and forced him to apologise for being gay in a vile homophobic attack on the Tube have walked free from court.

Will Mayrick, 20, feared for his life and was left struggling to breathe after two attackers placed him in a headlock as he travelled on a train to a fancy dress event at the O2 with four of his friends.

The photography student today said the horrifying ordeal might never have happened if the teenage culprits, who cannot be named because of their age, had taken LGBT education classes at school.

He has called for the Government to make LGBT studies compulsory after his attackers, aged 16 and 17, pleaded guilty to the assault which occurred on a Jubilee line train on October 21 last year.

Mr Mayrick, right, getting ready for the fancy dress event with his housemate

Mr Mayrick's attackers, from Newham, were handed 12-month referral orders and were each ordered to pay a 20 victim surcharge and 150 compensation.

The 17-year-old admitted a public order offence and the 16-year-old pleaded guilty to assault by beating before both were sentenced at Bexley Magistrates Court last Friday.

Speaking after his attackers, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced at a youth court on Friday, he said: They were so young, and I cant help but think that if they had had some sort LGBT education then the attack might never have happened.

Headded: If it was made compulsory that children were taught about it they could widen their knowledge and get a better understanding.

Mr Mayrick, from Clapham, said more needs to be done as the attack and similar incidents highlight that young people are still growing up with homophobic views.

He added: I hope that someone from the Department of Education (DfE) looks in to this Its clear that there needs to be a better support network in schools.

A Government spokeswoman said: Homophobia has no place whatsoever in society and especially not in our schools. We have given schools 3 million to help them stamp out homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying in the classroom.

We have made relationships and sex education compulsory in secondary schools and are updating the curriculum to make it fit for the 21st century and include information about LGBT relationships. No one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.

He was attacked on a Jubilee line train between West Ham and North Greenwich (file photo) / Krestine Havemann/Evening Standard

A report by LGBT charity Stonewall found in 2014 that more than half of secondary school teachers (55 per cent), and four in ten primary school teachers (42 per cent) said they do not challenge homophobic language every time they hear it.

Almost nine in ten secondary school teachers (86 per cent) and almost half of primary school teachers (45 per cent) surveyed said pupils in their schools had experienced homophobic bullying.

A report from the same group last year found that three in four LGBT pupils have never learnt about or discussed bisexuality or gender identity in school.

Mr Mayrick has called for better LGBT education in schools

Mr Mayrick described his relief that he finally has closure following the ordeal, but said he was disappointed with the outcome of the sentences.

He said: I feel like the sentencing was a little on the light side considering what has happened and that they are of the age where they have the full understanding of what they are doing.

He said he plans to gives the compensation he receives to LGBT charities Diversity Role Models and Just Like Us, which both work to tackle homophobia in schools.

The student, who was 19 when he was attacked, said: Its a big relief that this has come to an end, to have closure, as dealing with this since it happened so many months ago hasnt been pleasant. But now its time to turn this negative into a positive, and thats what I plan to do by raising awareness and donating the compensation to LGBT charities.

Chief Inspector Chris Casey from British Transport Police, described the attackers behaviour as completely disgraceful.

Casey added: They targeted their victims with homophobic abuse and violence, forcing one of them to apologies for being gay. Their attitude and aggression was shocking."

Steve Burton, director of compliance and policing at TfL, said: Hate crime has absolutely no place in the capital, and public transport is no exception. I hope this sentencing reassures our customers that we, alongside the police, take these crimes extremely seriously.
D octors are investigating whether a procedure undergone by the Duke of Edinburgh is effective in unblocking the arteries of heart failure patients.

More than 400 of a target 700 patients have been recruited to a clinical trial seeking to establish the benefit of using stents to improve the hearts ability to pump blood around the body.

The full procedure, known as angioplasty and stenting, involves inserting a small balloon into the artery, via the groin or waist, and pushing it up to the blockage, where it is inflated. The artery is then kept open with a tiny cylindrical scaffold, known as a stent.

The procedure is routinely used for angina  about 75,000 procedures a year in the UK  but the benefit for heart failure patients, where the heart has a reduced ability to pump blood around the body, is unknown.

The REVIVED (REVascularisation for Ischaemic VEntricular Dysfunction) trial is being run at about 30 UK hospitals, including St Thomas, the Kings College and the Royal Free.

Investigator Dr Divaka Perera, consultant interventional cardiologist at Guys and St Thomas and professor of cardiology at Kings College London, said: We cant be sure that stents necessarily help patients with heart failure caused by coronary artery disease, even though a lot of patients and doctors feel it must.

Stenting for patients where the heart muscle is poor does carry some complications. This study aims to find out if length of life and symptoms are improved with use of stents.

Dr Perera added that previous attempts to do this research had failed because it was difficult to recruit enough patients.

Prince Philip underwent angioplasty and stenting in 2011 after suffering from a blocked coronary artery. The standard treatment involves tablets, and occasionally the use of an implantable cardiac device to regulate heart rhythm. Half the patients volunteering for the trial will also receive one or more stents.

An estimated 300,000 people in the UK have heart failure caused by coronary artery disease. This is when the arteries which supply the heart with blood become narrowed due to a gradual build-up of fatty material.

Study saved me, says powerlifter

A world champion powerlifter believes that taking part in the REVIVED study helped save his life.

Alan Luker, 68, of Snodland in Kent, was in a supermarket in 2013 when his heart rate reached 216 beats per minute; a normal resting rate is 60 to 100. An ambulance came and I thought it was my time, so I relaxed and waited to die, he said.

Alan Luker claimed the REVIVED trial saved his life after having a heart-attack in 2013
S moke bombs were set off and scuffles broke out between demonstrators near Downing Street today ahead of the visit of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

At least three people were arrested before his arrival today for a meeting at No 10 with Theresa May.

Anti-Erdogan protesters chanted Turkey state, fascist state and clashed with the presidents supporters as mounted police and extra officers, including some with dogs, were ordered to keep the two groups apart.

At one stage, officers were spattered with what appeared to be red paint.

The Queen greets President Erdogan / AFP/Getty Images

Barriers kept the protest clear of the entrance to Downing Street and a police van parked between the crowd and the gates obstructed the protesters view.

Police filmed the demonstrators, some of whom were wearing scarves over their faces. A Kurdish group raised a giant banner bearing the word #TAMAM, Turkish for enough.

A demonstration earlier in the day, organised by the Kurdish Solidarity Campaign, saw a "#TAMAM" banner draped over the side of Westminster Bridge.

Meanwhile, a group of 70 Turkish nationalists waved the countrys flag in support of Mr Erdogan.

Earlier today, Mr Erdogan signalled he would tighten his grip on Turkeys economy as the indisputable head of the executive if he wins a snap election next month.

Critics denounce Erdogan as a 'terrorist' for his attacks on the urds (Getty) / Getty Images

He said the Turkish central bank would remain independent but would have to listen to his views.

Mrs May has been accused of cosying up to the president in a bid to strike a post-Brexit trade deal. Since a failed coup in 2016, 120,000 public servants have been sacked and 50,000 people detained. Presidential and parliamentary elections are due on June 24.

Downing Street insisted Mrs May will raise human rights issues.
B oris Johnson today appealed to President Trump not to torpedo legitimate trade with Iran that could save the nuclear deal from breaking down.

The Foreign Secretary said Britain and Europe were ready to save the 2015 deal which the US leader denounced as rotten.

The UK and our European partners continue to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully committed to upholding it, he told the Evening Standard ahead of talks in Brussels.

I also call on the US to avoid any actions that could prevent the remaining parties to the agreement from meeting their commitments under the deal  including delivering sanctions relief through legitimate trade.

Boris Johnson today appealed to President Trump not to torpedo legitimate trade with Iran that could save the nuclear deal from breaking down / AFP/Getty Images

Mr Johnson is meeting counterparts from France and Germany this morning in a race to salvage the deal, brokered by Barack Obama, which offers sanctions relief in return for Teheran shelving its programme to acquire nuclear warheads.

He said the allies would raise our worries about Irans wider, disruptive, behaviour in the Middle East region when they sit down with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is taking part in the talks.

Mr Trump has vowed to reimpose US sanctions on Iran, which could stop western companies striking business deals, including an estimated 440 billion worth of British deals in the pipeline. Iran is also set to buy 73 airliners from Airbus, the European manufacturer.

French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian and Germanys Heiko Maas have allied with Britain to explore ways to save the deal, backed by the EUs High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini.

On Sunday, Prime Minister Theresa May used a telephone call with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani to restate Britains commitment to upholding the Iran deal, while condemning Teherans missile attacks against Israeli forces in the Golan Heights.

Visiting London yesterday, Mr le Drian said the deal was the only way to fight against the risk of [nuclear] proliferation.
R eality is catching up with Brexit backers, it was claimed today after the Prime Minister told Conservative MPs that the Northern Ireland border issue could endanger the unity of the United Kingdom.

Theresa May reportedly slapped down leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg at a private briefing for Tory MPs at No 10 yesterday.

The Right-winger suggested that Ireland was bluffing about the need for hard border controls if Britain quits the European Union without a deal. He then predicted that unionists would win any referendum held in the province on the issue. Mrs May replied: I would not be as confident as you. Thats not a risk Im prepared to take.

Nicky Morgan, the former education secretary who chairs the Treasury Committee, said today that the exchange was revealing because it showed how the border issue was proving insoluble. Reality is catching up with the Brexiteers and the PM made it clear their warm words wont cut it when dealing with the complexities of Irish politics and international trade arrangements, she told the Standard.

Mr Rees-Mogg hit back: Brexiteers have always been awake to the reality that the nation voted to leave, something some others seem quite unable to grasp.

He said an account of yesterdays meeting in The Times was over-written and the question-and-answer session had been of a uncontentious and courteous nature.

A Tory MP who attended the briefings said Mrs May was a firm supporter of the Union who clearly does not want to take chances with it.

The Brexit War Cabinet was meeting at No 10 today to hear updates from the two working groups set up to try to find a solution to the border deal. A source said neither the maximum facilitation idea of using new technology nor the new customs partnership has yet been made to work, and that there is no alternative currently on the table.

Cabinet minister David Mundell said the Cabinet was trying to test proposals to destruction. He denied the impasse showed the Government was stumped. I think it is right that the Cabinet do a full analysis, a full detailed look at this issue, he said.

The Scottish Secretary joined Jeremy Hunt in criticising Boris Johnson for branding the customs partnership crazy. He said: I agree with cabinet collective responsibility.

Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, said no progress had been made in talks since March.

George Hamilton, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, raised concerns about the border problem. He told BBC2s Newsnight: We wouldnt want to see anything that looks like physical infrastructure at the border, primarily because we assess that could symbolically become the focus of attention and targeting by violent dissident Republican groups.
N o real progress has been made during Brexit negotiations since March, the European Union has said.

Ekaterina Zakharieva, the chairwoman of the talks, quoted Michel Barnier at a briefing in Brussels on Monday as she made clear the Irish border issue remained a major sticking point.

Mr Barnier, the EUs Brexit negotiator, told 27 ministers at the same meeting: we are not there yet, referring to the ongoing talks between Britain and the bloc.

More work is needed to prepare for the UK's orderly withdrawal... Allow me to repeat myself: we are not there yet, he said.

Theresa May's spokesman said the focus is on 'getting this right' rather than meeting a deadline / EPA

Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman, however, said the "focus is on getting this right" rather than meeting a deadline.

Diplomats and officials in Brussels have raised doubts about whether the bloc and Britain will be able to mark a milestone in the negotiations at the summit of EU leaders on June 28-29.

The current schedule puts progress in June as an important step towards a final Brexit deal in October, which would leave enough time for an elaborate EU ratification process before the Brexit day.

"October is only five months from now and still some key issues related to the withdrawal agreement need to be settled. In June we need to see substantive progress on Ireland, on governance and all remaining separation issues," said Ms Zakharieva, deputy prime minister of Bulgaria which holds the EU's rotating presidency.

German, Austrian and Dutch ministers all echoed the same concern, saying Britain has not made its position clear in detail on parts of the negotiations: "The clock is ticking," Germany's Michael Roth told his EU peers.

"We need now to be making substantial progress, but that is not happening. What is worrying us in particular is the Northern Ireland question where we expect a substantial accommodation from the British side."

May's spokesman said the UK was working on two options for post-Brexit customs cooperation.
O 2 have apologised after Sim cards addressed to Mr GetOut ofEngland and Mr Isis Terroriste were sent to a British-Iraqi family.

The company said the cards were ordered by an unknown third party last August but the Muslim family, from Wembley, assumed they were junk mail and have only just opened the envelopes.

They told the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire Programme they were saddened by the hate mail.

"It's even sadder to think that such hate speech has become normalised despite living in such a uniquely multicultural and diverse city like London, they added.

A family friend Sura Jawad told the programme she was horrified by the letters.

She added: It's horrible to think that there are people who have so much hatred in them that they set out to deliberately make others feel isolated and unwelcome or who take comments like these light-heartedly.

O2 said the postage and printing of Sim cards was managed by a third party partner.

A spokesman said: We have a rigorous data cleansing process in place to prevent any of our free products being sent to addresses with obscenities or offensive names and so this is a rare occurrence.
A county councillor has faced heavy criticism after moving 400 miles away from his constituency and claiming he "can do his job over Skype".

Donald Adey, a Cambridge councillor living in Fife, Scotland, also blamed Brexit for the move, saying English people were "too right wing" and not as friendly as the Scottish.

Mr Adey recently resigned from the Liberal Democrats to stand as an independent on both Cambridge city council and Cambridgeshire county council.

His position on each council allows Mr Adey to claim expenses of 14,500 in taxpayer money.

He told the Courier: "I am quite confident that I can well cover the needs of the constituents there by using the internet, phone, Skype and such things.

Im not the only councillor that lives outside Cambridgeshire. There are others. I think one even spends most of their time in Singapore.

I decided to move away primarily because of Brexit and the right wing nature of England. That was the biggest prompt...

When you go to get a cup of tea or a paper from the local shop [in Fife], people actually talk to you. It seems the further south you go, the less people speak to each other.

He added that Cambridge was "lovely" and that moving away did not alter his level of knowledge.

Both local Lib Dem and Labour politicians have called on Mr Adey to resign, claiming he has shown "utter disregard and contempt" for Cambridge residents.

Local Labour deputy Kevin Price said: "Cllr Adey's comments show what utter disregard and contempt he has for Cambridge residents and his duty to represent them as an elected councillor on the city council.

"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that he is doing this simply to retain his two allowances for the city and county councils but they really should not be used to fund his life in Scotland.

"I know that many in the city, and of course, in Trumpington will feel let down and cheated. He should resign his council seats."
A round two thirds of Britons are not interested in Prince Harry and Meghan Markles royal wedding, according to a new poll by YouGov.

The research found 66 per cent of the 1,615 people asked said they were not very interested or not interested at all in the ceremony, while 60 per cent planned to have a normal weekend.

Other findings showed 57 per cent of those surveyed thought the royals should pay the full cost of the wedding, including funds spent on policing and security.

Anti-monarchy group Republic, which commissioned the poll, is planning to host a republican convention in central London as the couple tie the knot in Windsor.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are set to marry on Saturday / AP

Organisers are encouraging Britons to buy tickets to their convention, at 15 for members and 18 for non-members.

Campaigners from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are expected to attend, with speakers to include Labour MP Emma Dent Coad and the SNP's Tommy Sheppard MP.

Emma Dent Coad, Labour MP for Kensington, will speak at an anti-monarchy convention / PA

Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said: "We chose the day before they did. When they announced the royal wedding we decided to keep it.

"It's an opportunity to highlight the alternative and to point out the problems with the monarchy.

Royal wedding countdown: The plan so far for Harry and Meghan

"In the past, we have held street parties and protests, but the whole tone of this wedding seems different, so we thought it's time to do something different."

The group campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.
P rince Charles will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle for her wedding to Prince Harry after her father pulled out of the ceremony.

Her mother Doria Ragland had been widely tipped to stand in for her ex-husband and walk Harry's bride down the aisle at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday.

But on Friday morning, Kensington Palace confirmed Ms Markle had asked Harry's father Prince Charles to stand in for her sick father.

Prince Charles will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle tomorrow

Kensington Palace said in a statement: "Ms Meghan Markle has asked His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales to accompany her down the aisle of the Quire of St George's Chapel on her Wedding Day.

"The Prince of Wales is pleased to be able to welcome Ms Markle to the Royal Family in this way."

The announcement from Kensington Palace that Prince Charles will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle

For more Royal Wedding insights, subscribe to Robert Jobsons Royal Podcast. It's an intimate look at life inside the royal household, told through conversations with those who have lived and worked with the royals. Subscribe, rate and review on Apple Podcasts

Betfair had earlier reported a surge in bets on Prince Charles, who gets on with Ms Markle very well, to give her away at the wedding.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arriving in Windsor for a rehearsal on Thursday

Prince Charles previously escorted the daughter of his friend Norton Knatchbull, 3rd Earl Mountbatten of Burma, when she married Thomas Hooper in 2016.

He also personally walked his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, now the Duchess of Cornwall, down the aisle in 2005 during their religious ceremony. Their civil ceremony was kept private.

The Duke of Edinburgh will attend the royal wedding, Buckingham Palace also confirmed today.

Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle pulled out of the ceremony because of ill health earlier this week

Ms Markle will arrive at the St George's Chapel's West Steps by car, from her overnight accommodation of Cliveden House, with some of her bridesmaids and pageboys. It is there she will meet Prince Charles for him to walk her down the aisle.

She will travel to Windsor by car with her mother Ms Ragland and the car will make a brief stop at the castle when her mother will then exchange places with the bridesmaids and pageboys.

Ms Ragland, 61, will enter the chapel by the Galilee Porch.

Doria Ragland mother of Meghan Markle with her daughter at the Invictus Games Closing Ceremony Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada / PA

She was due to meet the Queen on Friday as she continued to support her daughter after a week of family drama which saw the bride-to-be's father pull out of the wedding.

Ms Ragland met William and Kate and their children on Thursday before a rehearsal was held at the wedding venue St Georges Chapel in Windsor ahead of Ms Markle and Prince Harrys big day on Saturday.

She also sat down for tea with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall alongside her future son-in-law Harry and the US actress on Wednesday.

A look at other times Prince Charles has walked brides down the aisle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Preparations 1 /54 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Wedding Preparations Claire Ptak, owner of Violet Bakery in Hackney, east London, puts finishing touches to the cake for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace PA A Jaguar convertible with a Union Flag paint scheme and life size cardboard cut outs of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is parked in Windsor Reuters Royal fans wave flags from the window of a Marks and Spencer store above a banner referring to the wedding Reuters Indian painter Jagjot Singh Rubal touches up his painting of Prince Harry (L) and Meghan Markle ahead of their royal wedding AFP/Getty Images A cardboard cut out of Britain's Queen Elizabeth stands behind Union flags on the crowd control barriers near Windsor Castle Reuters Royal fans camp out on the streets of Windsor Jeremy Selwyn Souvenirs featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are displayed in a Windsor gift shop Getty Images Kensington Palace update with the news that the Prince of Wales will accompany Meghan Markle down the aisle at her wedding to Prince Harry. PA 4 year old George high fives an armed police officer in Windsor a Jeremy Selwyn Philip Barnard-Brown, Senior Coachman at the Buckingham Palace Mews, leads a Windsor Grey, one of the four horses that will pull the carriage at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, past the Ascot Landau carriage, at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace PA School children in uniform wave Union Flags outside Windsor Castle Reuters James Vivian, Director of Music at St George's Chapel in Windsor directs the St. George's Chapel Choir during a rehearsal before evensong and ahead of the wedding PA Police officers prepare road closures outside Windsor Castle AP The royal kitchen at Windsor Castle where preparations are underway for the reception banquet after the wedding PA Alice Laughton, Project Manager at Mission Invertebrate, inspects plants at the Royal Parks Nursery in Hyde Park, where flowers are being grown for the wedding AFP/Getty Images Members of the Household Calvary ready for inspection in the Regimental Square during a facility to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks PA A general view of Windsor Castle Getty Images The reverse of the new coin design that will commemorate the next occasion for the British royal family, the wedding of His Royal Highness Prince Harry and Meghan Markle taking place at St. Georgeas Chapel, Windsor Castle, Windsor EPA State trumpeters play in the Regimental Square during a facility to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barrack PA Two Windsor Greys, which will pull the carriage at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, are groomed at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace PA A royal fan sleeps outside Windsor Castle AP A media stand is erected half way along The Long Walk at Windsor Castle as it prepares for the royal wedding Getty Images Armed police officers in Windsor speak with members of the public ahead of the wedding Getty Images Street art of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle by Pegasus on the wall of hair & beauty salon The N7 Collective Getty Images Britain's Prince Harry's name is painted on the exterior of a building in Windsor AFP/Getty Images Souvenirs featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are displayed in a Windsor gift shop Getty Images Union Jack bunting hangs in front of Windsor Castle Getty Images The Ascot Landau open carriage, which will be used in the case of dry weather, for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, stands ready in the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace in London AP Life size photographs of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are displayed in a gift shop in Windsor Getty Images A member of the Household Calvary works in the Tailors Shop during a facility to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks PA A member of the Household Calvary re-shoes a horse in the forge during a preview to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks Getty Images Union Flags hang above Regent Street, as part of the preparations for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Getty Images A photograph of Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is displayed in the window of the Two Brewers Pub in Windsor Getty Images Souvenirs featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are displayed in a Windsor gift shop Getty Images A media stand is erected half way along The Long Walk at Windsor Castle as it prepares for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Getty Images Souvenirs featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are displayed in a Windsor gift shop Getty Images The Ascot Landau (left) which will be used in the case of dry weather at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and the Scottish State Carriage, to be used in the case of rain, at the Royal Mews at Buckingham Palace, London PA Detail of State trumpeters uniforms in the Regimental Square during a preview to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks Getty Images Work continues along The Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding Getty Images Cardboard cut-outs of Prince Harry and his fiance US actress Meghan Markle sit among Royal memorabilia in a gift shop widow ahead of the couple's wedding in Windsor Getty Images Uniforms in the Full Dress store during a preview to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks Getty Images A window display commemorates the upcoming wedding of Prince Harry and his fiance US actress Meghan Markle in Windsor Getty Images Members of the Household Calvary works in the Tailors Shop during a preview to see The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment preparations for the forthcoming Royal Wedding at Hyde Park Barracks Getty Images Craftsman Deakin of the Royal Electrical Engineer stands near an Apache attack helicopter during a photocall to display the involvement of 3 Regiment Army Air Corp in ceremonial duties during the Royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megham Markle, at Wattisham airfield Getty Images 3 Regiment Army Air Corps practice marching at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk as they prepare for the forthcoming royal wedding o Getty Images Work continues along The Long Walk in front of Windsor Castle Getty Images 3 Regiment Army Air Corps led by Lieutenant Colonel N English at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk as they prepare for the forthcoming royal wedding Getty Images People gather outside a pub decorated to mark the upcoming wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Getty Images The changing of the guard ceremony takes place through the streets of Windsor ahead of the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Getty Images Royal fans awake at first light having spent the night outside of Windsor Castle Reuters Royal fans in Windsor Jeremy Selwyn Royal fans in Windsor Jeremy Selwyn Windsor Castle through the morning mist Jeremy Selwyn Royal fans in Windsor Jeremy Selwyn

Buckingham Palace confirmed the two women will meet on Friday at Windsor Castle, with the prince and his fiancee.

The head of state is likely to host afternoon tea for Ms Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker, who flew to the UK this week to be by her daughter's side.

It follows a week of family drama for Ms Markle, whose father pulled out of the wedding following a heart attack and after he was exposed for setting up staged paparazzi photos.
T heresa May and Jeremy Corbyn led heartfelt tributes to Dame Tessa Jowell in the Commons, hours after her family spoke movingly of her courageous and brave final days.

Speaker John Bercow appeared to fight back tears as he hailed Dame Tessa as "the best of us" while paying tribute to the former MP, who died of brain cancer at the weekend.

Prime Minister Mrs May praised Dame Tessa as a "most extraordinary politician, colleague and campaigner" as she led tributes in the House of Commons on Monday.

Labour leader Mr Corbyn said the former peer "taught us how to live and I think she also taught us how to die".

He joined others in celebrating her legacy in developing Sure Start children's centres, bringing the Olympics to London in 2012 and her work to improve brain cancer treatment.

Tessa Jowell addressing the TUC women's conference on International Women's Day at the Winter Gardens in Eastbourne in 2006 / PA

Veteran Labour MP Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House, described Dame Tessa as "true Labour".

And Labour former minister Yvette Cooper branded her the "mother of Sure Start" and prompted laughter when recalling a story about how Dame Tessa ensured there were condoms for athletes at London 2012.

The tributes in the Commons came after Jessie Mills, Dame Tessa's daughter, spoke about her mother's final days before dying at the weekend from a brain tumour aged 70.

Ms Mills said it had been an "incredibly peaceful" time, with the former Labour cabinet minister surrounded by her family.

Theresa May pays tribute to Dame Tessa Jowell in the House of Commons / PA

Speaking in the Commons, Mrs May said she met with Dame Tessa as she was confronting her illness and added her dignity and courage "were as humbling as they were inspirational".

Mrs May said Dame Tessa "refused to take no for answer" when others doubted that London should bid for the Olympics before touching on her sense of humour.

The Prime Minister said: "For many years after London won that Olympic bid, the screensaver on her phone was a photo of her and David Beckham after the announcement, hugging.

Baroness Tessa Jowell proudly holding her Dame Commander insignia in 2013 / PA

"As she said, you can be a feminist, but still be susceptible to a David Beckham moment."

Mrs May added that Dame Tessa fought to the end for everyone affected by cancer, noting: "Her legacy will live on."

For Labour, Mr Corbyn welcomed the cancer research fund set up in Dame Tessa's name as he said: "I hope we will all support that fund so that others don't suffer in the awful way that she suffered.

"She taught us how to live and I think she also taught us how to die."

'Greatest honour of my life to be her daughter': Tessa Jowell's family pay tribute

The voice of Labour's Helen Hayes trembled as she paid tribute to her predecessor as MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, while party colleague Peter Kyle drew laughs when he relayed a story of Dame Tessa's meeting with then prime minister Tony Blair over the Olympics.

The Hove MP said: "She said at the end of the meeting she turned informally to him and said, 'Do you want to be the prime minister that had the Olympics within your grasp and chose to turn away?'

"That, for me, was Tessa because she had learned to weaponise the male ego and woe betide any big beast that stood between her and one of her political objectives."

Speaking earlier, Ms Mills told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: "It is the greatest honour of my life to be her daughter. The way that she was until the last moment was just so courageous and brave.

"Just the day before she had her haemorrhage, her and dad were just walking down the beloved lane that we have outside our house.

"She was in the most wonderful spirits, smiling and laughing with dad and just having the most special time."

She said her family were with Dame Tessa "every single moment" in the last couple of days when she was "very, very, very ill", adding: "It was an incredibly peaceful time.

"Until the last moment she was the magnificent person, mother that we all know and just adore."

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn pays tribute to Dame Tessa Jowell in Parliament on Monday / PA

Dame Tessa's husband David Mills said that she had never given up hope of finding a cure for the disease. In the final days they had been looking to try to create a vaccine from the DNA of the tumour but it came too late.

He welcomed the Government's announcement that it was doubling funding into brain cancer research in the wake of her death to 40 million over the next five years.

He told the Today programme she had an extraordinarily successful career in politics.

He noted how, after the disease struck her, "she added another 25% to it in what she has done to publicise the shortage of research for brain cancer and to give people hope they wouldn't have had".
U S clothing retailer Gap has apologised over selling t-shirts showing an incorrect map of China.

The grey mens top features a red map of the Chinese mainland but fails to include territories including Taiwan.

Furious shoppers posted images of the t-shirt on Chinese social media network Weibo.

They pointed out that the map didn't include the self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.

The map also appeared to leave out southern Tibet and the disputed South China Sea, the state-owned Global Times said.

The photos were taken at a Gap shop in Canada's Niagara region, Global Times said.

The company sincerely apologised for the unintentional error and insisted it respected Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity".

The garment has been pulled from shelves, a statement added.

Bosses vowed to implement rigorous reviews in the wake of the error.

China noted Gap's apology and "will follow carefully their actions and remarks later on," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told reporters in Beijing.

Gap is the latest in a string of companies forced to apologise for perceived slights to China's sovereignty.
F resh protests are expected in the Middle East after dozens of Palestinians were killed in a day of bloodshed in the Gaza strip.

Tuesday marks 70 years since the day known as Nakba  or catastrophe  when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced after Israel was created in 1948.

Tensions in the region are high after the US completed the highly symbolic move of its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on Monday.

The day was marked by deadly protests in which at least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,700 injured along the Gaza border in the deadliest day in the region since 2014.

The protesters claim East Jerusalem should be the capital of a future Palestinian state, and consider the USs move to symbolise backing Israeli control over the whole city.

Jerusalem US embassy: Israel-Palestine tensions erupt in violence 1 /24 Jerusalem US embassy: Israel-Palestine tensions erupt in violence A Palestinian man uses a slingshot during clashes with Israeli forces along the border with the Gaza strip east of Khan Yunis AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian demonstrator kicks a burning tire during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border Reuters An Israeli border policeman fires tear gas at Palestinian demonstrators during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba in Bethlehem Reuters Palestinian protesters look at tear gas and smoke billowing from burning tyres, east of Gaza City AFP/Getty Images U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman is seen during a reception hosted by the Orthodox Union in Jerusalem ahead of the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Palestinian demonstrators burn tyres near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem Reuters A Palestinian demonstrator drags a burning tire during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel east of Gaza City AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian boy holds a leaflet dropped by the Israel military, east of Gaza City AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian demonstrator runs as smoke billows from burning tyres during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel east of Gaza City AFP/Getty Images Palestinians carry tyres to be burnt during clashes with Israeli forces near the border AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian demonstrator injured during clashes with Israeli forces lies on the ground AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres during clashes with Israeli forces along the border AFP/Getty Images Palestinians carry a protester injured during clashes with Israeli forces along the border AFP/Getty Images Palestinian demonstrators gather at the Israel-Gaza border during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, east of Gaza City Reuters A Palestinian woman walks through black smoke from burning tires during a protest on the Gaza Strip's border with Israel AP Palestinian protesters burn tires during a protest on the Gaza Strip's border with Israel AP A wounded Palestinian is evacuated during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba REUTERS Palestinian hold flames and signs reading 'We will return' during a rally in the West Bank city of Hebron ahead of the US embassy inauguration in Jerusalem EPA Palestinian protesters burn tires during a protest on the Gaza Strip's border with Israel AP A Palestinian demonstrator moves a burning tire during a protest against U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem Reuters Israelis wave their national flags during a march at the Western Wall Getty Images People march with the body of Jamal Affana (15) as he brought through a Rafa, Gaza alleyway after he succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained during protests last Friday at the Gaza border fence with Israel Getty Images

The demonstration came after a weeks-long Palestinian campaign against a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, seized control of Gaza in 2007. Protesters set tyres ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones towards Israeli soldiers across the border.

The Israeli military said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

US President Donald Trump hailed a great day for Israel as the new embassy was opened. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who was present at the opening in Jerusalem, accused protesters of provoking violence.

Ivanka Trump stands next to an inauguration plaque during the opening with treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin / AFP/Getty Images

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the opening: "What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history.

Palestinian protester killings overshadow US embassy opening in Jerusalem

In a videotaped address, Mr Trump said the embassy move, a key campaign promise, recognises the "plain reality" that Jerusalem is Israel's capital.

Yet he added the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement".

But Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move in the Arab world raised new doubts about Mr Trump's ambitions to broker what he called the "deal of the century".

Benjamin Netanyahu attended the ceremony for the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem / EPA

Egypt, an important Israeli ally, condemned the killings of Palestinian protesters, while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, decried the "shocking killing of dozens".

Turkey strongly condemned the US Embassy move, calling it "legally null and void" and said it was recalling its ambassador to the US.

It also recalled its ambassador to Israel following what it called a "massacre" of Palestinians on the Gaza border.

The UN Security Council was due to meet on Tuesday to discuss the violence on Monday.

Trump opens controversial US embassy in Jerusalem via video link amid violence

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the council session, which had been called for by Kuwait.

No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March, and two UN diplomats said members could not reach unanimous agreement on Monday on issuing a proposed statement circulated by Kuwait.
S hocking pictures have emerged showing the wrecked interior of a Sichuan Airlines cockpit after its windshield shattered and its co-pilot was "sucked" outside at 32,000 feet.

Industry news site China Aviation Review shared pictures of the cockpit after flight 3U8633 was forced to make a dramatic emergency landing on Monday.

Now, the images posted on Twitter have shown how the cockpit window was completely destroyed, leaving the pilots open to the elements.

Sichuan Airlines co-pilot 'sucked halfway out of cockpit' after window blowout at 32,000 feet

They also revealed how the plane's flight control unit (FCU) was partially sucked out of the window.

China Aviation Review posted before and after shots of the cockpit interior, detailing how much of the control unit had been ripped out of the plane.

It wrote: "Crew had to operate manually because part of FCU sucked out. No windshield, lost pressure, extremely noisy, 300kt wind, multiple failure. This is a remarkable incident in aviation history. Hero pilots saved everyone."

It comes after Captain Liu Chuanjian told how a deafening sound hit the cockpit after the Airbus A319 passenger jet had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.

"There was no warning sign. Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window," he told the Chengdu Economic Daily.

The captain added that "everything in the cockpit was floating in the air", and most of the plane's equipment "malfunctioned".

Blowout: the plane's cockpit window is seen with protection on it after the incident / REUTERS

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the co-pilot - who was wearing a seatbelt - was pulled back in to the cockpit.

Officials said he suffered scratches and a sprained wrist, adding that one other cabin crew member was also injured in the descent. None of the plane's 119 passengers were injured.

An investigation into how the incident occurred is under way.

The flight, Sichuan Airlines 3U8633, left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday morning and was bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the southwest city of Chengdu.
M eghan Markles father has said he has been popping a Valium for chest pains especially when he hears about his oldest daughter Samantha Grant, reports say.

Thomas Markle Snr apparently told TMZ he had been taking the pills to ease chest pains following claims he suffered a heart attack six days ago.

According to the US website, the bride-to-bes father specifically mentioned his eldest daughter Samantha Grant and said: I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter."

The comments came amid speculation Mr Markle Snr will no longer attend his daughters wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday.

Thomas Markle with baby Meghan

He was set to fly from his home in Mexico to walk his younger daughter down the aisle in Windsor.

Mr Markle says he is 'popping valium' every time he hears about eldest daughter Samantha Grant

He also reportedly said Ms Markle's mother Doria Ragland would be a "good choice" for his replacement.

The plans were thrown into turmoil over accusations Mr Markle Snr had staged paparazzi pictures of himself looking a pictures of the couple in an internet cafe and getting fitted for a suit.

Meghan Markle with her mother Doria Ragland

The Mail on Sunday published CCTV footage of Ms Markles father with a photographer appearing to set up the supposedly candid shots.

Ms Grant, who shares the same father as Ms Markle, then took the blame over the claims saying it was her idea.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle 1 /78 The Duke and Duchess of Sussex: Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attend The Endeavour Fund Awards at Mansion House Samir Hussein/WireImage Oprah Winfrey interviews Duke and Duchess of Sussex PA Media Misan Harriman Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding in St George's Chapel PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, pose with their newborn son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex holding their son Archie during a meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mrs Tutu at their legacy foundation in cape Town, on day three of their tour of Africa PA Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle announce their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle embrace following the polo at Coworth Park on 7 May 2017 Rex Features Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle announce their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace EPA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a walkabout on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet Pony Major Mark Wilkinson and regimental mascot Cruachan IV during a walkabout on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 at Nathan Philips Square on 25 September 2017 in Toronto, Canada Reuters Prince Harry with girlfriend Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto PA Prince Harry with girlfriend Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto Getty Images Prince Harry arrives with girlfriend actress Meghan Markle at the wheelchair tennis event during the Invictus Games in Toronto Reuters Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 at Nathan Philips Square on 25 September 2017 in Toronto, Canada Getty Images Prince Harry with girlfriend Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto Getty Images Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games in Toronto Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince Harry arrives with girlfriend actress Meghan Markle at the wheelchair tennis event during the Invictus Games in Toronto, Ontario Reuters Meghan Markle attends the Opening Ceremony of the 2017 Invictus Games at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada PA Meghan Markle on the cover of Vanity Fair Peter Lindbergh exclusively for Vanity Fair Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Wheelchair Tennis match during the Invictus Games 2017 Getty Images Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle announce their engagement in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace Jeremy Selwyn Larking around: Harry and Meghan pull faces in footage not shown in the BBC engagement interview BBC Meghan Markle visits Nottingham for her first official public engagement with fiancee Prince Harry Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at the Nottingham Contemporary in Nottingham, to attend a Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair on their first official engagement together PA Meghan Markle arrives at the Terrance Higgins Trust World AIDS Day charity fair at Nottingham Contemporary Getty Images The royal brothers and their partners on Christmas Day. AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle listen to a broadcast through headphones during a visit to youth-orientated radio station, Reprezent FM, in Brixton PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive in Brixton EPA Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle visit Reprezent 107.3FM in Brixton Getty Images Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle visit Reprezent 107.3FM in Brixton Getty Images Loved up: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Cardiff Castle EPA Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle attend a street dance class during their visit to Star Hub in during their visit to Star Hub on January 18, 2018 in Cardiff, Wales. Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit the people of Edinburgh Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception for young people at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images rince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle meet a Shetland Pony as they arrive at Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Frank Augstein/AP Meghan Markle during a walkabout on the esplanade at Edinburgh Castle PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle speak with patrons at the Social Bite in Edinburgh AP Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a walkabout during a visit to Millennium Point in Birmingham PA Meghan Markle arrives for a visit in Birmingham on International Women's Day PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on a walkabout during a visit to Millennium Point in Birmingham Splash News Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet members of the public on a walkabout during a visit to Millennium Point in Birmingham PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet members of the public on a walkabout during a visit to Millennium Point in Birmingham PA The Reverend Canon David Stanton, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leave after attending a Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbet AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend a reception with delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London PA Prince Harry and Meghan Markle ride in an Ascot Landau along the Long Walk after their wedding PA Meghan Markle walks down the aisle in St George's Chapel PA Harry and Meghan leaving Windsor Castle for the glamorous evening reception PA Harry and Meghan leaving Windsor Castle for the glamorous evening reception PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex head back down the Mall to Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour on June 9, 2018 Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talk to members of OneWave, an awareness group for mental health and wellbeing at South Bondi Beach on October 19, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex are seen during the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia, 27 October 2018 EPA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the Hubb Community Kitchen to see how funds raised by the 'Together: Our Community' Cookbook are making a difference at Al Manaar, North Kensington on November 21, 2018 in London Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Britain's Prince Harry unveil a plaque to officially open Number 7, a 'Feeding Birkenhead' citizens supermarket and community cafe, at Pyramids Shopping Centre, as part of a visit to Birkenhead, northwest England, Monday Jan. 14, 2019 AP Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits the National theatre in central London on January 30, 2019 AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a visit to the Bristol Old Vic theatre, which is undergoing a multimillion-pound restoration PA Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (L) and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, reacts as they visit Bristol Old Vic theatre in Bristol, south-west England on February 1, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (R) and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (C) help volunteers in the kitchen as they pack food parcels to go in the charity outreach van during a visit to One25 charity in Bristol, south west England on February 1, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards at Drapers Hall in London on February 7, 2019 AFP/Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex try some food during a cooking school demonstration at Villa des Ambassadors in Rabat on the third day of their tour of Morocco PA Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duke & Duchess of Sussex, pet a horse at the Moroccan Royal Federation of Equestrian Sports in Rabat on February 25, 2019 AFP/Getty Images Meghan Markle wearing a short Reiss dress on International Women's Day AFP/Getty Images Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day Youth Event at Canada House, where they meet young people who demonstrate a Canadian spring tradition of making maple taffy (maple syrup cooled on snow to make sweets) on March 11, 2019 in London Getty Images The Duke and Duchess of Sussex leave following a Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, London PA Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess Of Sussex attend a Commonwealth Day Youth Event at Canada House on March 11, 2019 in London WireImage Members of Britain's Royal family leave after attending the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey AP The Duchess of Cambridge (left) talks with the Duchess of Sussex (right) as they attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey, Richard Pohle/The Times/PA Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex hold their baby son in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle, Berkshire on 8 May 2019 REUTERS Archbishop Desmond Tutu kisses the forehead of baby Archie as his mother smiles on warmly Reuters The Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrive for a visit to the Auwal Mosque, the oldest mosque in South Africa, on day two of their tour of Africa. PA Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex attend a roundtable discussion on gender equality with The Queens Commonwealth Trust (QCT) and One Young World at Windsor Castle Jeremy Selwyn Prince Harry and Duchess of Sussex at The Fields of Remembrance in Westminster Abbey Jeremy Selwyn pixel8000

She told ITV's Loose Women she wanted to present a "positive" image of her dad.

Meghan Markle's father Thomas will apologise to daughter and Prince Harry over paparazzi photos, her brother claims

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding."
D onald Trump said today that his wife Melania was in good spirits following a health scare sparked by a serious kidney condition.

After visiting the First Lady in hospital, the president tweeted that her treatment was a success.

Melania, 48, had an embolisation to treat a benign kidney condition, according to her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham. The procedure was successful, there were no complications, the White House said.

The president was not at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, when his wife had surgery yesterday morning. He flew by helicopter to be at her bedside today.

President Donald Trump leaves the White House to visit his wife / AFP/Getty Images

Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania, he tweeted.

Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!

The hospital visit was shrouded in secrecy, with no statement in advance. He spent about an hour there then re-turned to Washington. Sources said Mr Trump phoned his wife before and after the operation.

Embolisation is most often used to block blood to a tumour. US urologists said the most likely explanation was a non-cancerous kidney tumour called an angiomyolipoma.

The First Lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere, the White House said. Melania is expected to be in the hospital until the weekend, the longest for a First Lady since Nancy Reagan spent about a week there after a 1987 mastectomy. In 2006, Laura Bush had surgery to remove skin cancer.

Melania Trump - In pictures 1 /30 Melania Trump - In pictures Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, flanked by wife Melania Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump, left, kisses his wife Melania during an election night rally Evan Vucci/AP Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump vote at PS 59 in New York, New York on 08 November 8, 2016 Carlo Allegri/Reuters Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump (C) walks off stage as (L-R) Eric Trump, Lara Yunaska, Vanessa Trump, Melania Trump, businessman Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, Vanessa Trump look on after the third U.S. presidential debate at the Thomas & Mack Center on 19 October 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Melania (L) and Ivanka (C) Trump sit next to Republican vice presidential nominee Governor Mike Pence (R) ahead of the start of the first debate between Republican U.S. presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic U.S. presidential nominee Hillary Clinton at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York ON 26 September 2016. Joe Raedle/Pool/Reuters Melania Trump sits down with CNN television host Anderson Cooper during an exclusive interview in New York to be aired on 17 October 2016 CNN Melania Trump defends husband Donald Trump in the interview with CNN CNN Melania Trump, Ivanka Trump, and Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence are seen in the audience of the first presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on 26 September 2016 Mandel NganAFP/Getty Images Model Melania Trump wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump walks on stage to deliver a speech at the Main Line Sports Center in Berwyn, USA on 03 November 2016 Patrick Semansky/AP Melania Trump, wife of Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, delivers a speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention on 18 July 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Melania Trump, wife of Donald Trump takes the stage after her introduction at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, America. Jim Young/Reuters Melania Trump kisses her husband and Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, after delivering a speech on the first day of the Republican National Convention on 18 July 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his wife Melania greet reporters in the spin room following a debate sponsored by Fox News at the Fox Theatre on 03 March 2016 in Detroit, Michigan Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Melania Trump, wife of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, stands on stage following the Republican presidential debate at St. Anselm College 06 February 2016 in Manchester, New Hampshire Joe Raedle/Getty Images Donald Trump, Barron Trump and Melania Trump attends Trump Invitational Grand Prix Mar-a-Lago Club at The Mar-a-Largo Club on 04 January 2015 in Palm Beach, Florida Getty Images Melania Trump attends The New York Ball: The 20th Anniversary Benefit For The European School Of Economics at Trump Tower on 19 November 2014 in New York Jamie McCarthy/Getty Imagess Donald Trump (L) and Melania Trump attend Central Park Horse Show presented by Rolex and produced by Chronicle of the Horse where Land Rover was the official vehicle on 18 September 2014 in New York City Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the "Schiaparelli And Prada: Impossible Conversations" Costume Institute Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 07 May 2012 in New York City Larry Busacca/Getty Images Donald Trump and wife Melania Trump arrive at the Vanity Fair Oscar party hosted by Graydon Carter held at Sunset Tower on 27 February 2011 in West Hollywood, California Craig Barritt/Getty Images Melania Trump attends the "Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty" Costume Institute Gala at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on 02 May 2011 in New York City Larry Busacca/Getty Images Melania Trump attends "Sex And The City 2" Premiere presented by Mercedes-Benz And Maybach at Radio City Music Hall on 24 May 2010 in New York City Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images Donald Trump and Melania Trump attend the Michael Kors Spring 2011 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at The Theater at Lincoln Center on 15 September 2010 in New York City Michael Loccisano/Getty Images Donald Trump, billionaire developer and producer of NBC's "The Apprentice," with his wife, Melania, and their son, Barron, pose for a photo after he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles in 2007 Damian Dovarganes/AP elevision personality Donald Trump's wife Melania Trump arrives at the 13th Annual Elton John Aids Foundation Academy Awards Viewing Party at the Pacific Design Center on 27 February 2005 in Los Angeles, California Getty Images Real estate mogul Donald Trump's fiancee Melinia Knauss walks out of the Episcopal Church of Bethesda by the Sea, after her wedding rehearsal on Friday 21 January 2005 in West Palm Beach, Florida Alan Diaz/AP Melania Trump Donald Trump and Melania Knauss wedding, The Episcopal Church of Bethesda by-the-Sea, Palm Beach, Florida, on 22 Jan 2005 Jeffrey Langlois/PB Daily News/Palm Beach Daily News/Rex Playmate Victoria Silvstedt, Donald Trump and Melania Knauss at the Playboy 50th Anniversary celebration 04 December 2003 in New York Peter Kramer/Getty Images Donald Trump and Melanie Knauss arrive for VH1's Divas Live concert at the Beacon Theater in New York City on 13 April 13 1999 Diane Freed/Getty Images Melanie Knauss arrives for an event in New York City in the 1990's Diane Freed/Getty Images This picture provided by courtesy of Nena Bedek and taken in 1977 in Radenci, northeastern Slovenia, shows Slovenian-American former model and Donald Trump's wife Melania Trump (born Melanija Knavs)(2nd right) as a child, together with Nena Bedek (right), attending a fashion review of Jutranjka, the textile company where her mother used to work AFP/Getty Images

Vice-president Mike Pence stood in for Mr Trump at an event in Washington marking the 70th anniversary of Israels independence. The president asked me to be here tonight because ... the First Lady underwent a long-planned medical procedure. Im pleased to report the procedure was a success and Melania is already on the mend, he said.

It was announced today that former Democratic Senate majority leader Harry Reid, 78, has had surgery for pancreatic cancer.

His family said surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore were confident the surgery was a success.
A mother killed alongside her four children in Australia wrote a chilling poem about her family struggles four years before she was murdered at her home.

Katrina Miles, 35, and her four autistic children Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10 and Kayden, eight, were shot dead in their beds on Friday.

Her father Peter Miles, 61, is the suspected gunman, who is then thought to have shot his wife Cynda before killing himself at their Margaret River property.

A poem written by Ms Miles four years ago has now resurfaced after it was first shared by domestic violence campaign group Red Heart.

The 67-stanza poem includes phrases such as I am not broken and the shame behind our doors.

Four children and three adults were found shot dead / EPA

It also states: "I look in the young eyes that still love me. I ask myself, so ashamed, 'How can my children still love me?' I stayed so long, so long."

Ms Miles also wrote of her worries about losing her children.

Police continue their investigations into the killing but are not seeking any further suspects.

Investigators are focusing on Peter Miles after three guns belonging to him were found on the property.

The mass-took place at a rural property at Margret River / EPA

It is the worst massacre since Port Arthur in 1996 where 35 people were killed in a mass shooting by perpetrator Martin Bryant.

Ms Miles ex-partner and the father of her four children, Aaron Cokman, released a statement to the media saying he had been cut off from his children for six months, blaming Peter and Cynda.

Ms Miles was described by friends as a devoted mother who worked tirelessly to provide them with everything they needed.
N orth Korea has begun dismantling facilities at its nuclear testing site, these satellite photos are said to reveal.

It is the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the rest site was already well underway, according to a blog post by 38 North, a website run by former US diplomats.

The analysts said that the commercial imagery, taken on May 7, show that several support buildings have been demolished, railroads have been removed and mining carts overturned.

Excavation of a new tunnel also appears to have stopped in March.

How the Punggye-ri site looked before (Spot Image via AP) / Airbus Defense & Space/38 North/Pleiades CNES/Spot Image via AP

The destruction of the site was offered as an example of the Pyongyang regimes commitment to disarming ahead of a historic meeting between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump next month.

The underground Punggye-ri site, which is situated in the northeast of the country deep within the mountains, was used for all of the Norths six nuclear tests.

Kim pledged to close the complex following his historic meeting with South Korean president Moon Jae-in and said they no longer needed the site.

Trump reveals time and place for meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un

Despite reports about the site being unstable, Kim allegedly dismissed the claims and said: We have two more tunnels that are bigger than the existing ones and that they are in good condition.

North Koreas plan to close the site has been commended by Washington, Seoul and the UN secretary general.

Moon Jae-in praised the commitment during a meeting with his aides on Monday, stating: "This would be a preliminary step toward complete denuclearisation.

The analysis suggests that work is underway on dismantling the site.

North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in 1 /18 North Korea's Kim Jon Un meets South Korea's President Moon Jae-in South Korean President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their meeting at the Peace House at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone REUTERS North Korean leader Kim Jong-un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un takes hand of South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) to cross the military demarcation line Getty Images North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in cross the border line at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone AP North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Reuters Kim walks with Moon at the Joint Security Area (JSA) on the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP The two leaders meet at the border village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea EPA North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in inspect an honor guard after Kim crossed the border into South Korea for their historic face-to-face talks, in Panmunjom AP South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attend the inter-Korean summit Reuters Kim Jong Un (2nd L) and his wife Ri Sol Ju (L) attend a farewell ceremony with Moon Jae-in (2R) and his wife Kim Jung-sook (R) AFP/Getty Images Ri Sol Ju (L), wife of North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, and Kim Jung-sook AFP/Getty Images The couple's toast at a farewell dinner at the end of the summit AFP/Getty Images The official dinner at the end of their historic summit AFP/Getty Images An image of flowers is beamed onto the Peace House where the summit had taken place during a closing ceremony AFP/Getty Images Kyu Cho, 27, reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A woman reads a newspaper with a front page story about the inter-Korean summit REUTERS A man walks past a newspaper featuring a front page story about the summit AFP/Getty Images

It reads: "Imagery from May 7 shows that two key buildings (one likely an engineering office building, the other a compressor building) near the portal has been razed along with a shed that might have housed instrumentation equipment and one small outbuilding.

"The rail lines for the mining carts have all apparently been removed and the previously noted train of mining carts appears to have been tipped over and/or disassembled on the spoil pile."

Meanwhile, a number of new structures could be designed to provide access and vantage points for the worlds press.

But no tunnel entrances at the test site appear to have been permanently closed as of yet.
N orth Korea has cancelled a high-level meeting with South Korea in reaction to on-going military exercises, state media reports.

Talks between the two countries aimed at reducing tension had been set to take place at a village on the border.

However, the Norths KCNA news agency said military exercises between the US and the South were a provocation.

The agency also reported that Pyongyang was also questioning whether next month's summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and US president Donald Trump can take place as planned.

The two-week military exercise between the US and South Korea started on Friday and involved around 11 warplanes.

President Trump shocked the world in March when he announced plans to meet Mr Kim for talks.
A shocking Modigliani nude has sold for a staggering $157.2 million (116 million), becoming the fourth most expensive work of art ever to be sold at auction.

Nu couche (sur le cote gauche), the most famous of a series of 35 nudes by the vagabond Italian artist, had already broken a record for its pre-sale estimate of $150 million.

But by just meeting expectations and failing to set a record even for a Modigliani, the canvas fell short of a handful of recently auctioned trophy works at the auction in New York on Monday.

It fell short most notably of Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi," which soared to $450.3 million at rival Christie's in November after several top-tier collectors competed furiously.

That work carried a pre-sale estimate of about $100 million.

An image of the painting 'Nu Couche (sur le cote gauche)' by artist Amedeo Modigliani is displayed during the sales event of The Modern Art Auction at Sothebys auction house in New York / EPA

Sotheby's was quick to note, while the auction was still live, that "Nu couche" had achieved the highest price of any work in the 274-year-old auction house's history.

And in a sign of soaring prices at the art market's highest echelons, the same work sold in 2003 for $27 million.

But it could not be denied that only a handful of collectors at most bid for the work, which fell short of the $170.4 million record for a Modigliani set in 2015.

Officials were relegated to characterizing the sale as "measured," a tacit admission that it was devoid of the free-spending frenzy that has marked recent auctions at both Sotheby's and Christie's.

"It was not an exuberant room," Simon Shaw, co-head of Impressionist and modern art, told Reuters afterward. But he added that "it was an ordered, efficient sale which achieved a total within its estimated range."

The auction took in $318.3 million, just beating the $307.4 million low pre-sale estimate. Of the 45 lots on offer, 71 percent found buyers.

Other highlights included Pablo Picasso's "Le Repos," which achieved $36.9 million and beat its high estimate of $35 million, and Claude Monet's "Matinee sur la Seine," which fetched $20.55 million, at the low end of the $18 million to $25 million estimate.

Georgia O'Keefe's "Lake George with White Birch" soared to $11.3 million, or nearly twice the high estimate, but another Picasso, "Femme au chien" estimated at $12 million to $18 million, failed to sell when no bids exceeded $11 million.
A n airline co-pilot was sucked halfway out of a cockpit window after it blew out at an altitude of 32,000 feet.

The captain of the Sichuan Airlines flight was hailed a hero after managing to make an emergency landing during the terrifying ordeal on Monday.

Captain Liu Chuanjian told how a deafening sound hit the cockpit after the Airbus A319 passenger jet had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet.

"There was no warning sign. Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window," he told the Chengdu Economic Daily.

"Everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned ... and I couldn't hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges," he said.

The co-pilot, who was wearing a seatbelt, was pulled back in. He suffered scratches and a sprained wrist, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said, adding that one other cabin crew member was also injured in the descent. None of the plane's 119 passengers were injured.

An investigation into how the incident occurred is underway.

The flight, Sichuan Airlines 3U8633, left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday morning and was bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the southwest city of Chengdu.

"The crew were serving us breakfast when the aircraft began to shake. We didn't know what was going on and we panicked. Then the oxygen masks dropped... We experienced a few seconds of free fall before it stabilised again," an unnamed passenger told the government-run China News Service.

"I'm still nervous. I don't dare to take an airplane anymore. But I'm also happy I had a narrow escape."

The windshield shattered about half an hour after the plane took off, the Chengdu Economic Daily said. A separate report said the aircraft had accumulated 19,912 flight hours since entering service at Sichuan Airlines in July 2011.

Incidents involving cracked windshields do happen on a regular basis due to occurrences such as bird or lightning strikes but ones involving entire windshields coming off are rare.
Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has received the support of the national government in the rehabilitation of city roads.

Sonko on Monday held a meeting with Transport CS James Macharia at City Hall to discuss how to collaborate in the repairs.

Held a consultative meeting with Transport CS James Macharia at City Hall. Our teams agreed to work on a joint plan for rehabilitation of city roads. We also pledged to commit more funding on the upgrade of roads, Sonko said.

We have already formulated a joint document for various roads interventions with more focus on roads within Eastlands, he added.

According to Infrastructure Principal Secretary Julius Korir, the government plans to repair 158 roads in Nairobi using a Ksh142 Million fund.

Some of the roads that are expected to receive a faclift include: Harambee Avenue, Kaunda Street, Loita Street, Muindi Mbingu Street, Nkrumah Avenue, Ronald Ngala Street, Standard Street, Tom Mboya Street, Kirinyaga Road, Harry Thuku Road, Moktar Daddah Street, Banda Street and Monrovia Street.

The PS noted that some of the roads had never been maintained since they were built and they would be attended to first.

The contractor has mobilised and prioritised Tom Mboya, Latema Street, Accra Road, River Road, and Kirinyaga Road for initial maintenance then to others on a priority basis, Korir explained.

Mokoyeti East Road, Kumbe Road and Jogoo Road are set for improvements while 17th Street(Part) and Kings Road will be upgraded to bitumen standard.

Kiambiu, Mwende roads, and Second Avenue Eastleigh will undergo routine maintenance as Kayole Spine Road, Five Acres Road and Komarock Phase II undergo spot improvement, rehabilitation and access improvement respectively.

Spot improvements on Othaya, Nyeri, Gatundu, Mwingi and Kikambala roads in Kileleshwa will also be done under the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF).

Residents of Kasarani Sportsview Estate and users of Shreeji Road(Embakasi) and Siaya Road(Kileleshwa) will have to wait for the improvement works on their roads amounting Ksh209 Million to be advertised.
J ohnny Depp will shock fans when they hear him play guitar as part of the Hollywood Vampires, said fellow band member Alice Cooper.

The rocker praised his actor friends musical skill, saying he was as good as anybody Ive worked with.

Hollywood Vampires, in tribute to the groups dead, drunk friends, is made up of Cooper, 70, Depp, 54 and Aerosmiths Joe Perry, 67.

Cooper told the Standard: Hes not new to playing on stage, people are going to be very surprised when they hear him play because they know him as Jack Sparrow.

Trio: The group comprises Depp, Aerosmith's Joe Perry and Cooper / Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

When they see a guitar in his band they going to say wait a minute I didnt have any idea he could play like that. Hes a real guitar player. I wouldnt be working with anybody that wasnt as good as anybody Ive worked with normally.

Last year we were testing the waters to see if people were even going to be interested in what we were doing and we found that they were, we got great reactions and sold out quite a few places.

I think a lot of that might have been out of curiosity, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and Alice Cooper what a weird combination.

Showman: Cooper said he enjoyed being a frontman for the group / Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

The Pirates Of The Caribbean star was the most anxious ahead of shows, said Cooper, who has released 27 studio albums over 56 years.

Joe can do Aerosmith all day, I can do Alice Cooper all day [so] I think Johnny might have been the one that was the most nervous about it, he said.

Once we got done with rehearsal and we heard what it sounded like and we were confident with the excitement of the show that went all went away. Once you get in front of the audience that goes away.

The Schools Out singer said he hopes London treats the group as a new band.and confirmed songs by UK bands will feature prominently at their Wembley show in June: If you look at who our friends were most of them were classic British rock bands so if were doing The Who or the Rolling Stones.

I want them to understand how much we respect those bands thats why were doing those songs. But there are four or five original Vampires songs that I think theyre going to dig.
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A group of business people carried out the biggest OneCoin (digital currency) transaction in Romania, worth almost two million euro, aimed at one plot of land in Baicoi locality, Prahova County (northern Bucharest) where a new housing neighbourhood is due to be built.

The transaction was conducted through the DealShaker platform.

According to a press release of Frames Media Network, quoting the data from the DealShaker trading platform, the investors paid 89,588.38 OneCoin for the 7,000-hectare plot situated on DN1 Ploiesti-Brasov national road, the amount standing for almost two million euro.Thus, according to the DealShaker experts, this is the highest OneCoin digital currency transaction ever carried out in Romania, on the e-commerce platform, where over 3,000 partners in our country are present."Bitcoin has done a good job, a pioneering one, but we come with many things that are improved. We have a "know your customer' procedure, we know the client's data, no anonymous transactions can be carried out. We have an 'anti money laundering' procedure, where there is no way of laundering money and so forth. We represent the soft and elegant side of crypto currency and we are trying to bring people into this concept, because we are talking about financial education and we are trying to educate people as much as possible so that they understand what this crypto currency is and how it can help them in the upcoming years and how it will work. Romania is one of the most active countries in the DealShaker community, a sign that Romanian business people have understood the business potential generated by this platform," Cristi Calina, partner OneLife Romanian Diamond stated.
Prime Minister Viorica Dancila on Tuesday will participate in the consultations on foreign policy matters, after being invited by President Klaus Iohannis, at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace, reads a release of the Government sent to STIRIPESURSE.RO

"Mr. President, I received your invitation to participate in the consultations on foreign affairs matters of a topical interest, namely the recent developments in the Middle East and Romania's bilateral relations with the Israel State. I am confirming now that I will participate," said Viorica Dancila, according to the release.

President Klaus Iohannis invited the head of the Executive, Viorica Dancila, on Tuesday, to the Cotroceni Palace, for consultations meant to clarify some aspects related to the foreign affairs, informs the Presidential Administration."Dear Mrs. Prime Minister, considering the Government's opinions of lately related to the recent developments in foreign affairs, based on the provisions of article 86 of the Constitution, I invite you to participate in the May 15, 11 am consultations, to be held at the Cotroceni Palace. The consultations will focus aspects related to Romania's foreign affairs, including the relocation of the Romanian Embassy from Israel, which are urgent matters and of a special importance," showed the invitation addressed by the PM by Klaus Iohannis.The head of the state specified that the Prime Minister can be accompanied by the relevant ministers.
On a two-day visit to Greece, Romania's Defence Minister Mihai Fifor on Monday discussed with his Greek counterpart Panos Kammenos the consolidation of defence co-operation between Romania and Greece.

According to a press statement released by the Romanian Ministry of Defence (MApN), the two ministers reviewed the latest developments in the Romanian-Greek defence co-operation, bilaterally and regionally, as well as inside NATO and the European Union.

"The two officials expressed their mutual interest in strengthening defence co-operation relations, including in the area of defence capabilities development, both by capitalising on the Romanian-Greek co-operation options and by joining multinational initiatives developed under the aegis of NATO and EU, having identified areas of interest to underpin the initiation of joint projects for the defence industries of the two countries," according to MApN.Fifor reiterated an invitation to the Greek Armed Forces to contribute to the commission of NATO bodies hosted on Romania's soil and to participate in multinational exercises planned for 2018 by Romania.He also thanked his Greek counterpart for having contributed senior staff officers to "Sea Shield 18," the largest NATO exercise in the Black Sea region this year, organised by the Romanian Navy.Also discussed were the modernisation and acquisition programmes of the two national armed forces, as well as the fair sharing of responsibilities and risks among NATO members. At the same time, there was an exchange of views on security in the Western Balkans, the Black Sea region and the Mediterranean Sea.Fifor on Monday started a two-day official visit to Greece.
The High Court has dismissed a case seeking to have married couples share their wealth equally in the event of a divorce.

Justice John Mativo, in a landmark ruling on Monday, threw out the petition by the womens rights organization  FIDA. The Federation of Women Lawyers had challenged the constitutionality of Section 7 of the Matrimonial Properties Act.

They wanted section 45 (3) of the Marriage and Property Act, which states that couples should get what they contribute, declared unconstitutional.

The organisation argued that parties to a marriage are entitled to equal rights at the start, during and at the dissolution of marriage. Fida further submitted that the law unfairly discriminates against women, arguing that the gender suffers most after divorce.

They, therefore, wanted the court to rule in favour of 50-50 sharing of wealth.

But the Judge said: A person cannot walk into a marriage and then walk out with more than what they deserve.

Justice Mativo further ruled that the section does not offend any sections of the Constitution as alleged by Fida nor does the section contradict any of the provision of the Act.

I find and hold the petitioner does not qualify for any of the reliefs sought. In the circumstances, I dismiss the petition, ruled Mativo.
Secretary of State with Romania's Foreign Ministry (MAE) Dan Neculaescu met on Monday with Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the State Department's Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Elisabeth Millard, on the occasion of a visit that the US official is paying to Romania.

According to a release of the MAE, the two officials exchanged views regarding the co-operation with the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine and states of the Central Asia.

During talks, the stage and prospects of the Romanian-US bilateral dialogue dedicated to the eastern vicinity within the Strategic Partnership have been assessed, with the two parties agreeing to deepen coordination in the next stage."State Secretary Dan Neculaescu reconfirmed the support for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the three eastern partners, underscoring the interest of the Romanian side to develop co-operation with each of these countries, both at a bilateral level and in the context of the Eastern Partnership, which will be turning, in 2019, ten years since its launching. The Romanian official reiterated the support for continuing the reform process of the three mentioned states, as well as our country's capacity and availability to actively contribute in this regard," the quoted source mentions.
President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday had talks with Prime Minister Viorica Dancila where he underscored that it is imperative that Romania's foreign policy be done only in the country's interest and that internal tensions should cease immediately, calling for loyal and fair institutional co-operation.

"During the talks, President Klaus Iohannis underscored that it is imperative that Romania's foreign policy be done only in the interest of Romania and that domestic tensions over foreign policy issues should cease immediately so that Romania can remain a credible player in the relationship with the United States of America, at the level of the European Union and NATO, as well as in the other strategic partnerships in which the country is engaged," reads a statement released by the Presidential Administration.

Iohannis warned that "Romania's foreign policy must be characterised by constancy and predictability, with some red lines that political decision-makers have never crossed, irrespective of their political hues.""Changing the balanced and equidistant position that Romania has so far had would only cause concern and anxiety," Iohannis said, according to the official statement.He called for loyal and correct institutional co-operation, in accordance with the legal and constitutional framework in force, underlining that this is the conduct that must guide all government actions in the national interest.According to the Presidential Administration, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila, Deputy Prime Minister for Implementation of Romania's Strategic Partnerships Ana Birchall, and Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu, who attended the consultations, also expressed the view that a loyal institutional approach is needed when it comes to the foreign policy of Romania.Iohannis also pointed out that the major foreign policy decisions of the country that have strategic effects, including on the national security and Romanian citizens, must always be made with responsibility and discernment.The consultations at the Cotroceni Presidential Palace took place following an invitation from Iohannis to Dancila to clarify some aspects of Romania's foreign policy, including the relocation of the Embassy of Romania in Israel.
This week sees a flurry of diplomatic efforts by Iran, China, Russia and the European Union to salvage the international nuclear accord following US President Trumps violation of the UN-backed treaty.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif is to travel to Beijing, Moscow and then Brussels to discuss how the remaining signatories to the accord can maintain it despite Americas attempt at upending.

Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in the Black Sea city of Sochi where they will emphasize their support for preserving the Iran nuclear deal.

Trumps illegal withdrawal last week from the 2015 international treaty known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was vehemently reproached by all other signatories  Iran, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany, the European Union and the United Nations.

Irans compliance with the JCPOA has been repeatedly confirmed by the UN monitoring body, the International Atomic Energy Agency. So Trumps claims that Iran is secretly building a nuclear weapon  as one of his reasons for breaching the accord  are baseless.

Perhaps one of the most significant consequences of Trumps action is the damage he appears to have inflicted on the seven-decade-old transatlantic alliance between the US and Europe. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was among several European officials who deplored the unilateral disregard by Washington towards Europes interests over the nuclear accord.

The Trump administrations threats of increasing sanctions on Iran also include secondary sanctions on any other nation doing business with the Islamic Republic. This extra-territorial application of US laws is being viewed as an unacceptable heavy-handed intrusion on the sovereign affairs of other countries.

Since the signing of the JCPOA three years ago and the lifting of erstwhile international sanctions on Iran, European nations have invested in substantial commercial cooperation with Tehran. European companies like German-Franco Airbus, Britains Shell, Frances Total and Peugeot, and Germanys Volkswagen group are just some of the firms that have made multi-billion-dollar commitments in Iran.

Trump is now threatening to scuttle Europes vital commercial interests in Iran, as well as jeopardizing its interests of maintaining security in the Middle East, which most observers say the JCPOA was underpinning.

The American presidents boorish dismissal of European concerns over the Iran deal is just the latest in a series of snubs from Washington to its EU allies. Trumps bullying over NATO spending, his shredding of the Paris Climate Accord and browbeating over trade tariffs have already vexed the Europeans. His attempt at torpedoing the Iran deal and sinking European strategic calculations is perhaps the last straw.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told Der Spiegel that Trump has poisoned the transatlantic relationship. He also warned that Berlin would take a tough line on Washington to defend its national interests.

The stakes are therefore dangerously high for the US if, in pursuing its hostile policy towards Iran, Washington ends up alienating Europe.

To that end, it appears that the US and its regional partners, Israel and Saudi Arabia, seem intent on ratcheting up tensions with Iran, stoking conflict and using false-flag provocations to undermine Tehran.

Trumps sabotage of the Iran deal appears to be coordinated with Tel Aviv and Riyadh. The week before the American withdrawal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made spectacular claims of Iranian secret nuclear-weapons ambitions. Netanyahus claims were widely dismissed as grandstanding, but Trump cited those claims in his White House address nixing US adherence to the nuclear deal.

Two days later, Israel claimed that Iran had launched rockets from Syrian territory on Israeli military forces occupying Syrias Golan Heights. Israel then promptly carried out scores of air strikes on Syria, said to be in revenge for the alleged Iranian rocket attack.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia condemned a Houthi missile attack from Yemen on its capital Riyadh as act of war by Iran, alleging that Tehran is supplying weapons to the Yemeni rebels.

Then the US announced new sanctions on Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for what Washington said was malign behavior in the region.

For its part, Iran denied carrying out the rocket attack on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights. Tehran condemned Israel for aggression on Syria based on false pretexts.

There is something of a hall of mirrors here. Israel has carried out as many 100 air strikes on Syria over the past few years, yet Israel is never condemned by Washington, Europe or the UN. Israel is illegally occupying Syrian territory in the Golan Heights since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, yet when its illegal positions are fired on it is Syria or Iran that is condemned.

We dont know who fired the alleged rockets last Thursday into the Golan. As noted Iran denies any involvement, and Syrian sources said that the fire may have actually been Israeli shelling of the Syrian side. That is, a false flag provocation.

However, is was lamentable that Germanys Merkel in particular was quick to categorically denounce Iran for the rocket attack.

Merkel and other European leaders are calling for calm in mounting tensions between Iran and Israel. But the EU seems to be mute when it comes to rebuking Israel over what is brazen and repeated aggression towards Syria and Iranian forces legally present in that country.

What appears to be underway is connivance between Washington, Israel and Saudi Arabia to intensify efforts at framing Iran for malign behavior.

The connivance takes on greater urgency this week as international signatories to the JCPOA engage in shuttle diplomacy to salvage the accord.

If the Europeans in particular hold strong to their vested strategic interests, the rebound of a salvaged nuclear deal could play very badly on Washington, especially if the Europeans move towards closer cooperation with Russia and China to block American abuse of international finance for its extraterritorial sanctions. In defending their interests, the Europeans will have to, by necessity, create financing and legal mechanisms that will ultimately undermine the US dollar and Washingtons control over international banking.

Regardless of Trumps stated belief in Netanyahus anti-Iran fantasies, Washington probably knows deep down that Irans compliance with the JCPOA is in fact irreproachable. That would mean the Europeans and all others having strong incentive to maintain the nuclear deal and make it work.

That then leaves the only other option for sabotaging the deal as inciting conflict with Iran, or provoking Tehran into military action which will suitably be distorted by Western media as malign behavior. If that cynical outcome can be achieved then the Europeans will likely withdraw their support for the Iran deal.

There is a real danger that a false flag atrocity will be carried out this week by the US and its client regimes in order to incriminate Iran and blow up the international nuclear accord.
The US withdrawal from the Iran deal (JCPOA) has not buried it. That agreement is still very much alive. Even the USs closest allies have refused to follow suit. The Iranian foreign minister is going on a trip just to save it. Tehran has the backing of all the signatories to the JCPOA, except America. That list includes Russia, China, and the EU, which keeps on trying to find an arrangement.

What the US did manage was to deal a heavy blow to trans-Atlantic solidarity. Washington set a six-month deadline for European companies doing business in Iran to get out. Theyll have to either terminate their operations or face heavy penalties. This means that the US has now become the main threat to Europes economy.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel slammed President Trump for his decision to pull out. The unofficial leader of Europe believes it damages trust in the global order. She is not alone. The UK and France have also admitted that they regret Trumps move. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire stated that European powers should not be Washingtons "vassals."

On May 11, the German chancellor discussed the situation with the Russian president in a phone conversation. Therell be more talks on May 18 when Angela Merkel visits the Russian resort city of Sochi. In defiance of the US, Germany became the first EU country to begin the construction of its portion of the Nord Stream 2 gas project on May 3. It did so even before Sweden and Finland had agreed to permit the pipeline to pass through their territorial waters. The US is adamant in its opposition to Nord Stream 2. Washington does not shy away from twisting the arms of any allies who dare to see Russias stable and cheap energy supplies as an alternative to Americas more expensive liquefied gas that must be transported by sea.

The US-European relationship has been clouded by Washingtons plans to introduce tariffs on steel and aluminium imports from the EU. The German chancellor has pointed out on a number of occasions that the US and EU have been clashing more frequently, which indicates that a wider schism is opening up within the Western alliance.

European leaders will discuss the US withdrawal from the Iran deal, as well as trade policy, at an EU summit that will be held June 28-29 in Bulgaria, at which the US is expected to face a united European front. Meanwhile, the EU is prepared to introduce countermeasures in response to the US-imposed punitive restrictions against European companies doing business with Iran. The idea has been floated of adopting an EU-wide blocking statute to nullify any US sanctions. A trade war is just around the corner. Can security interests coincide when economic ones differ so much? Not a chance.

The German chancellor believes that US global influence is on the wane and the time is ripe for Europe to stop relying on Americas military protection. Instead, it should take its destiny into its own hands. Some conflicts, such as a potential clash between Israel and Iran over Syria, may occur. Hostilities in the Middle East could trigger more streams of refugees into the Old Continent, but thats a European headache. Why should Washington care?

Last month, Paris launched an initiative to set up a European intervention force in June that would operate independently of the EUs current efforts. That would make it possible to include Great Britain, along with Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark. So far too much of the EU initiatives has consisted of hot air. Significant strides have been made on paper but with too few results achieved in purely practical terms. Some EU tactical rapid-reaction units exist but they have never been deployed.

This time, Britain was quick to support the French initiative. In December, the EU created PESCO but its not clear if the UK would be a part of it after pulling out from the EU. London is seeking a security treaty with the bloc by 2019  the Brexit deadline.

Meanwhile, EU High Representative Mogherini has announced her intention to submit for consideration by mid-June the new European Peace Facility that will streamline the EU's funding of defence and military operations. Seventeen joint European defense-program projects are being pursued within the framework of PESCO.

The US openly humiliated Europe by making a unilateral decision on such an important security issue as the Iran deal and threatening its closest allies with trade sanctions. Europeans are being told which energy projects are best for them. And prior to that, Washington made a unilateral decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement.

Sooner or later anyones patience wears thin. Today Europe is being pushed toward countering the America First message with a Europe First policy. Angela Merkel has the right to adopt her own Germany First approach. It looks like the European locomotive is shifting tracks to head off in that new direction. Despite all the nice words about common values and so on, these two entities are gradually diverging to go their separate ways.

Photo: tagesspiegel.de
Donald Trumps withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal, compounded hours later with an attack on Iranian forces in Syria demonstrates the determination on the part of these two players to spark regime change  or much worse  in Tehran.

On May 9, the world witnessed a double economic-military whammy against Iran courtesy of the US-Israel tag team: Just hours after Trump announced the US would be withdrawing from the landmark Iranian nuclear deal together with yet-to-be-announced crippling sanctions, Israel, claiming Iranian forces in Syria had initiated a missile strike on the Golan Heights, launched a full-scale attack on purported Iranian positions on Syrian territory.

Israel, however, provided no proof of an attack to support its claim. Nor did the Western media expend much energy pursuing that rather crucial information.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, blamed Iran's Al Quds forces for launching rockets at several Israeli bases, though he refused to say how Iranian involvement came to be determined.

Tehran roundly rejected the accusations that it had targeted Israeli positions, describing them as "freely invented and baseless" designed to give Israel a green light to intensify cross-border incursions in Syria.

Indeed, the only evidence that an attack on Israeli positions had occurred came in the form of a video where the sound of an air raid siren can be heard wailing amid an outcrop of unidentified structures. No missiles or projectiles from either side of the border can be seen in the video. That's not to say the attack didn't occur, of course, but then there remains the question as to why Iran would even contemplate such a thing.

Experts questioned the veracity of Israels claims, saying Iran would not be willing to risk a war with its US-backed, nuclear-armed rival.

It would be just egregiously silly to launch a missile targeting the region of Golan Heights [which is heavily guarded by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)] as it would certainly prompt military response, Leonid Ivashov, president of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems and a retired colonel-general of the Russian military intelligence (GRU), told RT. Iran has absolutely no reasons to launch a missile strike against Israel, he added.

Nevertheless, the apparent lack of credible evidence  much like the recent chemical attack against civilians in the town of Douma, which was quickly blamed on Syrian government forces without so much as the courtesy of an investigation  did not prevent Israel from initiating a ferocious attack on sovereign Syrian territory. According to a statement by the Russian military, the Israeli military vectored 28 fighter jets, which fired some 60 air-to-surface rockets at Iranian military targets near Damascus and along the southern border of the country. At the same time, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) fired about a dozen surface-to-surface projectiles.

Syria's SANA news agency said that Syrian air defenses successfully repelled the Israeli attack, although some missiles did reach their targets.

Such claims from both sides, however, are almost impossible to prove amidst the fog of an increasingly chaotic war. One thing that remains beyond doubt, however, is that the US and Israel have only just begun what promises to be a massive multi-pronged attack against Iran.

The games have just begun

In hindsight, the Iranian nuclear deal, otherwise known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with signatories from the US, UK, France, China, Russia and German, does exactly what Washington and Tel Aviv simply cannot tolerate: it removed the conditions necessary for continuing to accuse Iran of being hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons and threatening the civilized world. In other words, the agreement  which many thought Iran would reject  was too successful at curbing Irans purported nuclear ambitions, as well as its bad boy image in the Western world.

But it was never really about the nuclear deal per se, of course which was working fine and dandy. The endgame for the US and Israel when it comes to Iran has always been nothing less than total domination, followed by total destruction. In other words, regime change, Libya-style.

In order for the US and Israel to bring about the conditions for this apocalyptic wet dream, it is vital to first strip Iran of all means of protecting itself. No wonder, then, that Trump is furious about the Obama-era nuclear deal because it failed to take into account Tehrans research and development of long-range ballistic missiles. These could give any potential adversary real problems in the event that push comes to shove.

And now that Trump has brought on board fiercely anti-Iran radicals, like National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, it appears we are stuck in the fast lane for some sort of imminent showdown with the Islamic Republic.

In January, before Boltons star rose once again in Washington, he argued in the New York Times that in order to eliminate Irans nuclear ambitions the United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do whats necessary.

Such action, Bolton continued with unbridled enthusiasm, should be combined with vigorous American support for Irans opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.

That creepy comment requires very little reading between the lines.

Indeed, Trump wants sanctions that will eventually wear down even the hard-liners in Tehran to the point they will agree to surrender their ballistic missiles program, and despite the fact that it is not predicated on thermonuclear munitions as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

With such hawks now ensconced in the Trump White House, it is highly doubtful that even the moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani  who is now bearing the brunt of blame from Irans hardliners for trusting the US to uphold their end of the nuclear agreement  will agree to any new deal that requires Tehran to slash its defenses.

After all, the entire world, and certainly not least of all Iran, learned the invaluable lesson from the Korean Peninsula that unless a nation possesses the military means to defend itself from aggressive nuclear powers, it can expect some sort of imperial machinations. And even more predictably if that country happens to be blessed with some of the largest oil reserves on the planet.
Military Attache Col Joseph Emanuel Hall left for the United States on Monday evening, the US Embassy confirmed.

On April 7, Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall ran a red light and rammed into a motorcycle killing a Pakistani civilian. He was let go by police officials in Islamabad after the accident as the law  Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961  provided the diplomat immunity from criminal prosecution.

According to sources, the local police had handed over all record related to Colonel Hall to US officials.

Hall is a certified envoy who enjoys diplomatic immunity, the sources added. Pakistan's criminal, civil, and administrative laws are not applicable to the US envoy.

The US government had decided against withdrawing Hall's diplomatic immunity, said sources.

Earlier on Saturday, a United Airforce C130 airplane had returned from the Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi without the diplomat as the Interior Ministry refused to issue him a No Objection Certificate (NOC), sources had informed.

The Islamabad High Court on May 11, on a petition filed by the deceased's father, had ruled that the US diplomat does not have absolute immunity in the country.

The court had also granted two weeks to the Ministry of Interior Affairs to decide over placing his name on the Exit Control List (ECL).

A security official, part of Colonel Hall's security detail, had been arrested on the orders of AIG Islamabad for obstructing a police officer from performing his duty, a source had said.

Arrest orders had also been issued for all other officials involved in helping Colonel Joseph flee from the police station, the source had further said.
The prosecution's star witness in the Al Azizia reference against former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, Wajid Zia, completed recording his statement in the accountability court today.

Zia, a Federal Investigation Agency additional director, headed the Panama case Joint Investigation Team (JIT) that probed the Sharif family's assets last year.

He has already testified in the Avenfield properties reference.

Nawaz appeared in the court of Accountability Court-I Judge Mohammad Bashir, who has been hearing the high-profile case since September last year. Later, he was allowed by the judge to leave the courtroom after marking his attendance.

Zia then resumed recording his statement.

Once he finished, the court adjourned the hearing until tomorrow when Zia's cross examination by Nawaz's counsel will begin.

Decision on NAB plea to record accused's statement reserved

As the hearing went under way, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) prosecutor Sardar Muzaffar Abbasi pleaded the court to record the statement of Nawaz and his family in the Avenfield case.

After Nawaz's counsel Khawaja Haris and Abbasi completed their arguments on the request, the court reserved its verdict on the plea.

Zia began recording his statement in the reference on Thursday.

At yesterday's hearing, Zia informed the court of the JIT's correspondence with the UAE government regarding the Gulf Steel Mills.

Nawaz and his family are facing three corruption casesAl Azizia, Avenfield and Flagship in the accountability court after NAB filed references against them in light of the Supreme Court's verdict in the Panama Papers case last year.

On Friday, Zia presented details of cheques given by the former premier to his daughter Maryam. On March 27, Nawaz gave Maryam a cheque of Rs40 million, on February 14 one of Rs5 million and a Rs37 million cheque on May 10, 2016, he stated.

On Wednesday, hearing the Avenfield reference, Judge Bashir had remarked that the decisions on all three references against the accused will be given together.

The corruption cases

The trial against the Sharif family had commenced on September 14, 2017 with a six-month deadline.

The corruption references, filed against the Sharifs, pertain to the Al-Azizia Steel Mills and Hill Metal Establishment, offshore companies including Flagship Investment Ltd, and Avenfield properties of London.

NAB had earlier filed interim references in all three cases and later added supplementary references to them with new evidence and witnesses.

Nawaz and sons Hussain and Hasan are accused in all three references whereas his daughter Maryam and son-in-law Safdar are accused in the Avenfield reference only.

The two brothers, based abroad, have been absconding since the proceedings began last year and were declared proclaimed offenders by the court.

The court originally had a deadline of six months which ended in mid-March but was extended for two months after the judge requested the apex court.

Later, on May 9, the trial court's second plea for a deadline extension was approved by the Supreme Court which gave a month to both sides to finish the corruption cases.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry on Tuesday said that ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif is trying to declare Pakistan a terrorist state.

Lashing out at Sharif, Fawad Chaudhry said that the former premier has emerged out to be witness of Indian propaganda against Pakistan.

Nawaz Sharif is demanding to form the commission when the Panama Leaks case is in final phase, he added.

On the other hand, Shah Mahmood Qureshi called for the resignation of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in the National Assembly.

Nawaz leaves no stone unturned to malign Pakistan. What was the need for this statement? His interview became the highlight of newspaper and was then trumpeted by the Indian media. This entire situation led to an emergency meeting of National Security Committee that categorically rejected the statement of Nawaz, Shah maintained.

He went on to say that a resolution condemning the statement was submitted in Sindh Assembly while Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for investigation.
Israeli troops martyred dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the US embassy to Israel in Jerusalem raised the tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were martyred and 2,700 injured either by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with Turkey calling it a massacre.

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gazas ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli militarys actions as self-defence of his countrys borders.

In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the US Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by US President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks  aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict  have been frozen since 2014.

Border bloodshed

Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process.

A senior Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, said at a border encampment that Mondays protest was timed to coincide with the deplorable crime of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

He said: Our people went out today to respond to this new Zionist-American aggression, and to draw by their blood the map of their return.

In Gaza, Palestinian protests quickly turned into bloodshed. Tens of thousands had streamed to the edge of the coastal enclaves land border, some approaching the Israeli fence.

Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever, said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name.

Clouds of black smoke from tyres set alight by demonstrators rose in the air. Demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces, who fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday, the day Palestinians mourn as the Nakba or Catastrophe when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of them were driven out of their homes or fled the fighting around Israels creation.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence.

Every country has an obligation to defend its borders, he wrote on Twitter. The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens.

Hamas denied instigating the violence, but the White House backed Netanyahu. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response, White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters.

The Israeli military said in a statement: Rioters hurled firebombs and explosive devices at the security fence and Israeli troops. The soldiers response, it said, was in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The dead included at least six people under 18 years of age, including one girl. The total number of fatalities since a series of protests to demand Palestinians right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel is now 100.

They also included a medic and a man in a wheelchair who had been pictured on social media using a slingshot. The Israeli military said three of those killed were armed militants who tried to place explosives near the fence.

Sirens of ambulances carrying casualties to hospitals wailed almost non-stop all day. In Gaza mosques, loudspeakers mourned the dead, who were carried for burial in funeral marches.

These war crimes should not go unpunished and the international community has a responsibility to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Calls for restraint

Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, US envoy to the Middle East.

Kushner said it was possible for both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to gain more than give in any peace deal. Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together, he said in a speech.

But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem. He announced a general strike on Tuesday.

Unlike the previous administration of former president Barack Obama which had a strained relationship with Netanyahu, Trump has firmly supported the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu has long been a critic of the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump abandoned last week despite complaints from other US allies.

The Pentagon confirmed it had deployed additional US Marine guards to temporarily bolster security at several US embassies after the violence but declined to say which ones. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deployments bolstered security at US embassies in Israel, Jordan, and Turkey.

France and Britain called on Israel to show restraint, with French President Emmanuel Macron planning to talk to all involved parties in the region over the next few days.

Britain said it had no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and it disagreed with the US decision to do so. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the US move flouted international law.

Regional power Turkey accused Israeli security forces of carrying out a massacre and said the US embassy move had encouraged them.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel.

The Trump administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.
A member of Nyeri county assembly is nursing injuries following an alleged attack by her male colleague during a benchmarking trip in Arusha, Tanzania.

According to reports, Pauline Wanjira(Magutu Ward MCA) claims that Kirimukuyu Ward MCA Anthony Ndagita attacked her with a broken beer bottle.

The attack reportedly took place on Wednesday, 9th May at a bar in Arusha, Tanzania where members of the Nyeri County Assembly had gone for a training seminar.

Photos of Wanjira looking roughed up have since emerged on the internet. She flew back to the country on Thursday for treatment.

The ward rep pinned the attack on supremacy battles in the county assembly.

Wanjira has previously accused Kirimukuyu MCA Anthony Dagita of assaulting her, though no arrests were ever made.

Ndagita was one of 5 Nyeri MCAs who rejected the nomination of Caroline Karugu as Deputy Governor.
Chants of shame on you and Cambridge University  animal torturers echoed across King's Parade, as demonstrators from across the country took to the streets of Cambridge to protest the Universitys use of animal testing. The rally was a part of the World Week of Action for Animals in Laboratories, with similar events taking place across the UK.

Cambridge became a focal point of action, as one protestor, who had travelled from Leicester said, Cambridge University is one of the major places where [animal testing] happens with the University testing on 170,000 animals in 2013 alone.

However, the number of protestors fell short of the 500 predicted by organisers and the 1,000 attending the event on Facebook, with the Police estimating that 300 took part. Nonetheless, many protestors were pleased with the event, with one saying that it was a great success.

One protestor, Harry Jones, a student at Corpus Christi College and a member of the Cambridge University Vegan Society, told The Cambridge Student that Cambridge, as a forward-thinking university really needs to rethink what theyre putting funding into  Theyre being presented with  all these other alternatives  they should set an example for the future.

Bystanders seemed similarly supportive of the protest, saying "If all these things are true then this protest is really nice. One Cambridge graduand, whose ceremony was today, said that the march had caused some events to be rescheduled and postponed. However, he did not resent the protestors, saying, Its an important problem and the protest should help draw public attention.

Yet some onlookers denigrated the waste of public resources, as 50 police were in attendance, saying It was a fucking waste of police money. Nonetheless, a police spokesperson said: "Cambridgeshire Constabulary fully supports people's right to peaceful protest.

The University had also taken some security measures against the protestors, locking gates to University buildings on the march route. College porters were also informed of the protest in advance and many locked entrances to college buildings, citing protesters breaking windows in the past. Private security were also present along the route, though it was unknown who hired them.

This is not the first time this year that Cambridge has come under scrutiny because of animal testing. In February, plans for a new AstraZeneca animal-testing lab in Cambridge were approved, despite major opposition.
CUSU unanimously passed a motion yesterday evening proposing to make social aspects of Cambridge college life more accessible for students in receipt of a Cambridge Bursary, stating that some events prove inaccessible for students on bursaries due to their prohibitive cost.

The motion, submitted by Olivia Hylton-Pennant, the current CUSU Access Officer, stemmed from Hughes Halls May Ball initiative in offering a 20% discount on ticket prices at face value to Bursary recipients and the Cambridge Unions new, heavily-subsidised Access scheme.

The motion calls for aspects of Cambridge life to be more inclusive to students from lower-income backgrounds through progressive pricing.

Hughes Halls scheme was an unprecedented move among Cambridge colleges, renowned for their high May Ball ticket prices.

In her speech to Council, Hylton-Pennant argued that Bursary students relationships with their peers were negatively affected by the high prices for society or sport events. As the scheme is not currently part of CUSU policy, the emphasis currently lies with individual College bodies to make the decision.

I dont see why it cant be expanded across the university, sports, and societies, Hylton-Pennant said.

As the motion was adopted, CUSU has resolved to encourage the possibility of subsidised ticket options through emailing all May Ball and June Event presidents at the start of the Michaelmas and Lent terms, as well as society Access Officers to promote the provision of subsidised tickets to events such as formal dinners, balls and galas, and post-Varsity match dinners.
The second open meeting with the Vice-Chancellor Stephen Toope that took place today, May 15, focused on three main issues  the ethical responsibility of the University, racial justice, and internal democracy. Drinking societies were of course not entirely absent from the discussion.

Toope began by addressing the issue of the Universitys accountability, and on the topic of investment transparency, admitted: I cannot answer the question today about whether we have any investments specifically in fossil fuel companies.

He added that this was because there are transactions that occur within these companies which the University has no control over, although he was hoping that the University would soon be able to have better oversight over the transactions taking place.

When questioned about the partnership between the Engineering Department and UK Arms Trade, Toope stated that although there is one contract between BAE systems and the University, it was not a contract to do with the development of weapons. He reiterated, after his statement drew a laugh from the audience, that it is a contract related to BAEs business model instead.

On the matter of divestment, Toope assured that there is a lot of work being done by the University to think about where Cambridge can make the biggest difference. The Council has made decisions to create greater transparency, including training council members. He nevertheless acknowledged that the matter requires complex evaluation and that the University team working on it would have to balance interests and purposes.

He asserted crucially, however, that he could not say whether he personally supports divestment because of a confidentiality agreement with the University Council.

Toope had previously promised to open dialogues with students and the government about the marketization of the University, and reiterated today: I certainly want to continue working with CUSU and the Graduate Union on these issues. He added that he had already raised this topic with the Russell Group president, and that he wanted to try to recapture a narrative about social values in higher education that is not simply about economic growth.

One of the questions raised by an audience member was about whether the University accepts responsibility for Cambridge being voted the most unequal city for the second year in the row. Toope remarked that this was definitely within his reach of responsibility and committed to trying to keep housing prices down as much as possible.

The discussion then moved on to the topic of race, with Toope emphasising the need for the University to have a concrete series of policies dealing with intersectionality before releasing a statement or giving a comment in person.

On the importance of the University having more BME staff members, he asserted that he did not have the resources to appoint roles himself  that was the responsibility of specific schools and faculties. He nevertheless said that what could be done was a change in the budget model, and that he hoped to have some conversations with faculty and department heads.

One of the most tangible actions the centre of the University could do, he noted, was asking harder and harder questions about applicant pools.

In response to the decolonise movement, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Education Graham Virgo then added that although it addressed an important issue, his issue with the movement was that it implied intersectionality was a matter that applied only to specific degrees. The University needed to be inclusive as a whole, and all faculty members  not just those who are BME  should be engaging with the discussion.

The topic of Prevent was also raised by the audience, with Toope stating that it was the responsibility of the University to stand up for any attacked members. He added that there was appropriate training to counter this issue has been taking place, and that he would work to have the Universitys response be quicker.

Another student questioned the current state of the University's mental health services, particularly the counselling services resistance to allowing students to seek BME counsellors. Virgo assured that this option was now possible, and that the University had just employed three new counsellors  although not necessarily BME  to ensure that counselling services across the board are appropriate.

On the penultimate broad topic of discussion, internal democracy, Toope added that there was already an impressive level of student engagement, but that he wanted to use more informal structures to drive change. This, he said, was a more productive way than thinking about how formal governmental structures can be changed. Conversations can become derailed, he argued, and that more productive dialogues should be opened elsewhere.

At the conclusion of the meeting, drinking societies were raised by an audience member. Toope and Virgo expressed their sentiment against societies whose central purpose is to drink and who tend to cause such damage as has recently been exposed. Banning them is not out the question but there is a fear that they would go underground. Virgo focused on dealing with the "underlying behaviour" behind them and deal with why students are coming together to such ill effect.

For for more information check our Twitter feed where we live tweeted the entire evening.
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Barely a year ago, rappers Khaligraph Jones and Cashy were the it couple in Kenyas rap industry. This after they took the country by storm with a blazing collabo  Micasa Sucasa- in late 2016.

What followed was the anticipation of new music and a happy ever after from their fans. However, that is not to be after Khaligraph Jones recently confirmed that they broke up months ago.

Khalis admission was followed with news that Cashy is pregnant- something the rapper refused to talk about.

If you are asking me if Im still with Cashy, we are not together. As far as the baby goes, that one Im not going to talk about, sitaongelea, said Khaligraph.

With speculation rife on what could have happened to the former lovers, Cashy over the weekend was treated to baby shower by her friends.

She shared pictures of the event on social media leading to more speculation about the new man in her life.

The pics:
MyPhone MyT1 DTV

MyPhone MyT3 DTV

MyPhone MyT2 DTV

MyPhone MyT5 DTV

To be specific, some TP Friends are asking me if there are new Android slates with DTV function that they can get here in the Philippines.Well, the quick answer to that is YES. However, the options are quite limited because right now, only one company seems to still be interested in releasing such devices, which isIf it's your first time to hear about it, DTV or Digital Television is the latest generation in TV broadcast, officially superseding Analog, which is often hazy or blurry. Although channels are still very limited currently and not all areas the country are covered, DTV is a lot better than its predecessor because of the clarity of broadcast that it delivers.Filipinos love watching TV so I totally understand why many want their smartphones and tablets to have DTV functionality. In fact, I have handsets that have this feature too. And I'm sure viewing experience is even better on tablets.For those who sent me questions about the availability of these products, here are MyPhone's 2018 line-up of DTV-powered Android tablets, from the most affordable to the most pricey.Price:Key Specs:7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixels LCD2 MegaPixel Rear Camera2 MegaPixel Front Camera1.3 GHz Quad Core Spreadtrum 7731 Processor512MB RAM4GB ROMmicroSD Card SlotAndroid 4.4 KitKatDual SIM Dual Standby Phone Function3G HSPA+ Mobile Connectivity2,400 mAh Battery PackPrice:Key Specs:7-inch, 1024 x 600 pixels LCD5 MegaPixel Rear Camera5 MegaPixel Front Camera with Soft LED Flash1.3 GHz Quad Core Spreadtrum 7731 Processor1GB RAM8GB ROMmicroSD Card SlotAndroid 7.0 NougatDual SIM Dual Standby Phone Function3G HSPA+ Mobile Connectivity2,500 mAh Battery PackPrice:Key Specs:8-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels LCD5 MegaPixel Rear Camera2 MegaPixel Front Camera1.3 GHz Quad Core Spreadtrum 7731 Processor1GB RAM8GB ROMmicroSD Card SlotAndroid 5.1 LollipopDual SIM Dual Standby Phone Function3G HSPA+ Mobile Connectivity4,000 mAh Battery PackPrice:Key Specs:Key Specs:8-inch, 1280 x 800 pixels LCD5 MegaPixel Rear Camera2 MegaPixel Front Camera1.2 GHz Quad Core MediaTek MT8321 Processor512MB RAM4GB ROMmicroSD Card SlotAndroid 7.0 NougatDual SIM Dual Standby Phone Function3G HSPA+ Mobile Connectivity4,000 mAh Battery PackI'd like to note that I haven't had the chance to play with any of these slates so I don't think I can recommend any of them. Nonetheless, in terms of specs alone, I'm most interested in MyT5 DTV because of its larger and higher resolution display (versus the others), big battery, and updated version of the Android operating system.
As we reported back in March, Google has been working with the United States Department of Defense (DoD) on "Project Maven," a secretive military project involving AI.

Specifically, Google is working on technology that can automatically analyze drone footage using machine learning, though it was never specified what the AI was looking for.

As you might expect, Project Maven has proven to be quite controversial, particularly among Google's own employees. Many of the company's employees were worried about the ethical implications of working alongside a government military organization.

Google attempted to soothe these concerns by claiming their technology strictly "flags images for human review," and would only be used for "non-offensive" purposes. A month later, we reported that over 3,100 employees signed a letter opposing the partnership with the DoD.

That number has now reportedly reached 4,000, according to Gizmodo. Furthermore, roughly a dozen employees have officially left Google due to the company's ongoing work on Project Maven.

"Over the last couple of months, Ive been less and less impressed with the response and the way peoples concerns are being treated and listened to..."

"Over the last couple of months, Ive been less and less impressed with the response and the way peoples concerns are being treated and listened to," One of the resigning employees reportedly said.

It's tough to say whether or not these resignations and letter signatures will be enough to convince Google to break off their partnership with the DoD, but the company is certainly aware of their employee's complaints.

A Google spokesperson released the following statement in April:

An important part of our culture is having employees who are actively engaged in the work that we do. We know that there are many open questions involved in the use of new technologies, so these conversationswith employees and outside expertsare hugely important and beneficial. Maven is a well-publicized DoD project, and Google is working on one part of itspecifically scoped to be for non-offensive purposes and using open-source object-recognition software available to any Google Cloud customer. The models are based on unclassified data only. The technology is used to flag images for human review and is intended to save lives and save people from having to do highly tedious work. Any military use of machine learning naturally raises valid concerns. We're actively engaged across the company in a comprehensive discussion of this important topic and also with outside experts, as we continue to develop our policies around the development and use of our machine-learning technologies.
If you're an avid Google Drive user, the company has some interesting news for you. In an announcement today, Google unveiled "Google One," an upgraded version of their previous Google Drive cloud storage system.

Google One will reportedly be replacing Drive entirely for those who take advantage of Google's paid storage plans, while also providing them with an additional storage plan offering, a price tweak and a couple of notable subscription perks.

To start with, Google is slashing the price of their 2TB cloud storage plan from $19.99/month to a mere $9.99/month, and they'll be adding to their low-cost storage options with a $2.99/month 200GB storage plan.

The company's $9.99/month 1TB storage plan, which would be obsolete in light of the 2TB plan's price cut, won't be seeing any price tweaks. Rather, Google will simply be eliminating it altogether. It's unclear whether or not the company plans to roll out an alternative in the future, but the company's other storage plans -- such as their 10TB and 30TB offerings -- are largely remaining unchanged.

Google One will also include much-requested family sharing functionality (you'll be able to add up to five people to your storage plan), "one-tap" access to support experts, free Google Play credits, and deals on select hotels found through Google Search. Google plans to expand this list of perks over time.

If you're wondering when you'll be able to try out Google One for yourself, the company claims the upgrade will happen "automatically over the coming months" if you subscribe to any paid Drive storage plan; even the cheapest $1.99/month 100GB plan.

Google hopes to bring Google One to free Drive users "later this year."
A tech giant is being investigated for its data collection practices, but this time it isnt Facebook. An Australian regulator is looking into claims that Google collects data from millions of Android handset users, who are unknowingly paying their telecoms providers for the gigabytes consumed during this harvesting.

The move is part of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) inquiry into digital platforms; an investigation that was set up after Australian media companies expressed concerns over the impact Google and Facebook are having on the advertising market, according to The Guardian.

Part of the review saw Oracle make a presentation to the ACCC. The firm said Google receives detailed information from Android users about their internet searches and locations, even when location services are turned off, and they have no SIM cards or apps installed. Oracle added that the transfer of this information was eating into users data allowance purchased from their telecoms providersup to a gigabyte a month, which seems like quite a lot to go unnoticed.

The ACCC met with Oracle and is considering information it has provided about Google services, said Chairman of the ACCC, Rod Sims. We are exploring how much consumers know about the use of location data and are working closely with the privacy commissioner.

Australian telecoms companies are now asking Google about the accuracy of the allegations. We are aware of the reports in the media and we have asked Google to advise whether they are accurate, a spokesman for Australias biggest telecom company Telstra said.

A Google spokesperson said the company had users permission to collect data.

Even by tech company standards, Google and Oracle are far from friends. The latter recently won a long-running legal battle over Googles use of Java in Android.

Back in November, Google confirmed it used nearby cellular towers to track Android users when location services were turned off, and when no sim cards or apps were present. But the company said at the time that it was stopping the practice by the end of the month.
Moscow-based security software giant Kaspersky Lab is once again trying to win back the trust of consumers. This time, the company is moving some of its infrastructure from Russia to Switzerland in a bid to address claims that it had built back-doors into its software, thereby allowing Russian intelligence agents to spy on the US.

Kaspersky said "a number of core processes" will move from Russia, including customer data storage systems and processing "for most regions." It added that Switzerland was chosen for its policy of neutrality and strong data protection laws.

Last years allegations over Kasperskys close ties to Russian spy agencies led to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) banning the company from the governments approved vendors list. Retailers such as Best Buy also stopped selling Kaspersky products. The company strongly disputed the claims; it offered to share its source code with the government and filed a lawsuit against the ban.

Were addressing the question of trust by moving our data storage and processing facilities, as well as software assembly, to Switzerland, Eugene Kaspersky, company founder and CEO, told Reuters.

The data of our customers from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia will henceforth be stored and processed in Switzerland. More countries will follow.

The move is part of Kaspersky Labs transparency initiative that it launched in October last year. Other aspects of the plan include an independent review of its source code by an internationally recognized authority, an independent review of Kaspersky's internal process, and increased payouts for its bug bounty program. The company also said it was creating three transparency labs across the world, enabling clients, government bodies & concerned organizations to review source code, update code and threat detection rules.

An unnamed Swiss-based independent third party will oversee the transfer of Kasperskys systems and data to Switzerland. Kaspersky said it also intends to relocate the tools used to assemble software to Zurich by the end of this year.

Trust is essential in cybersecurity, and Kaspersky Lab understands that trust is not a given; it must be repeatedly earned through transparency and accountability, said the company.
The Cambridge Analytica data privacy controversy has caused quite a few problems for Facebook.

The company has actively taken steps to address user concerns, but users weren't the only ones who had tough questions for the social media platform.

In April, company CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared before Congress twice over the course of two days to answer virtually any question thrown at him, though how substantial his answers were has been the topic of much debate.

At any rate, the UK decided they'd like to ask Zuckerberg a few questions of their own, requesting that the CEO appear before the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee.

Unfortunately for Parliament, Zuckerberg declined to appear in March, sending fellow executive Mike Schroepfer to testify in his stead.

Schroepfer's responses weren't enough to satisfy Parliament, though. As a result, the Committee once again asked Zuckerberg to answer their questions, using much stronger language this time around.

Indeed, the Committee made it clear that should Zuckerberg decline their invitation again, they would consider issuing a "formal summons" compelling his appearance the next time he enters the UK.

It seems the CEO isn't too worried about the Committee's "invitation," though. According to Parliament, Facebook says Zuckerberg has "no plans" to travel to the UK anytime soon.

"If Mark Zuckerberg truly recognises the seriousness of these issues as they say they do, we would expect that he would want to appear in front of the Committee and answer questions that are of concern not only to Parliament, but Facebooks tens of millions of users in this country," Committee Chair Damian Collins MP said in a statement.

Collins went on to invite Zuckerberg to testify by video, should that prove more convenient for the CEO. Facebook has not yet responded to this new invitation, but we'll update this article if we learn more.
According to Gberi-be Ouattara, the Vice President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Cape Verdean government must immediately liberate detained Venezuelan... | Read More
Its almost four months since Polycarp Igathes resignation and Nairobians are still impatiently waiting for his replacement.

The most impatient of all appear to be members of the Nairobi Assembly allied to the Opposition party. Led by Minority Chief Whip Peter Imwatok, the ward representatives have given Governor Mike Sonko seven days to nominate Deputy Governor.

They say failure to do this will result in legal action against Sonko. They argue that the city is in a mess and that Sonko really needs help.

We are seeing how the county is, garbage everywhere, roads are pathetic and all these blames are directed at the governor. He needs a deputy to advise him and also do some of these jobs, especially supervisory, Imwatok told a press conference at City Hall on Monday.

Imwatok argued that Sonko seems to have disregarded an advisory by the Supreme Court to nominate a deputy. The Court issued the advisory on March 9 to both Sonko and his Nyeri counterpart Mutahi Kahiga.

I dont believe if the mess we are seeing in Nairobi would have been here if Igathe was still the deputy. We need a deputy now to help the Governor do his work, added Imwatok.

On Sonko saying he was considering appointing a Kikuyu lady as his deputy, Imwatok said: We dont care about the tribe. Nairobi has many professionals. So what we want is a deputy.

During an interview on Kameme FM last month, Sonko said he would only consult President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputy president William Ruto.

I know that the deputy governor post should go to a Kikuyu because they have a large population that supported me but let me appoint a Kikuyu I want. A technocrat, a professional and an elite. I already have names and I will give it to a woman but I need to consult first and the only people I will consult are President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputy president William Ruto, said Sonko.

Corporate guru Ms Agnes Kagure, former Kiambu Woman Representative Ann Nyokabi, and former Starehe MP Bishop Margaret Wanjiru are some of the notable names being touted for the deputy governor seat.
Harbour Energy has flagged a deal to work with Santos major Chinese shareholders ENN and Hony on a final takeover bid the major gas player.

In its notice to the Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday, ENN said it had reached a "preliminary intention with Harbour Energy" on the potential reorganisation of Santos if Harbour's $13.5 billion bid proceeded.

Santos is the target of US-based private equity firm Harbour Energy. Credit:David Mariuz

It is a significant milestone to commit to work together with ENN and Hony in connection with our Santos proposal," Harbour Energy chairman R. Blair Thomas said.

ENN holds a 10.31 per cent stake in Santos and has a "strategic relationship" with Santoss other large Chinese shareholder Hony, which has 5 per cent.
Russias Navy will receive Poseidon (Status-6) nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicles under the current state armament program for 2018-2027, a source in Russias defense industry told TASS. They will be carried by a new nuclear-powered submarine currently under construction at the Sevmash Shipyard, the source added.

Russias Navy will receive Poseidon (Status-6) nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicles under the current state armament program for 2018-2027, a source in Russias defense industry told TASS. They will be carried by a new nuclear-powered submarine currently under construction at the Sevmash Shipyard, the source added.

The Poseidon/Status-6 (NATO: KANYON) intercontinental, nuclear-armed, nuclear-powered, undersea autonomous torpedo

"The Poseidon system has been included in the state armament program through 2027 and is expected to be put into operation with the Navy before the program expires," the source said. "The system is composed of several high-speed deep-water torpedoes with a small nuclear power plant. They will be carried by a nuclear-powered submarine being built by the Sevmash Shipyard," the source added.



The source did not specify the type of the nuclear-powered submarine but said that "it will not be a fifth-generation Husky-class submarine."



TASS does not have any official confirmation of the information.

Russian MoD video showing Rubin's Klavesin-2R-PM UUV (first) and the nuclear-armed Kanyon/Status-6 long range torpedo/drone



The Sevmash Shipyard is building two special nuclear-powered submarines at least. According to public sources, the construction of the Project 949A submarine Belgorod was suspended, and then resumed in December 2012 under Project 09852. It will carry manned and unmanned deep-water research vehicles.



Another special nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk was laid down in July 2014. According to unconfirmed information, the submarine is being built under Project 09851 and can carry both various deep-water vehicles and the new weapon system.



The development of the unmanned underwater vehicle with a nuclear power plant was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his Address to the Federal Assembly in February 2018. Later, Navy Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Korolyov said that the weapon would allow the Navy to accomplish a wide range of missions in water areas near the enemys territory. The guidance system will aim the advanced system in an accurate manner.

 Copyright 2018 TASS. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Navy Recognition comment:

The Poseidon (formerly known as Status-6 / NATO designation Kanyon) is a self-propelled underwater craft to be carried by two submarines under construction - the Khabarovsk and the Belgorod. Open sources said each submarine will carry three-ten underwater craft. They resemble a big 20-meter long torpedo with a diameter of close to 1.5 meters. The range is up to 10 thousand kilometers. The craft has several compartments. It is likely a universal platform which can carry various modules depending on the mission. They can be nuclear or conventional charges, radio-electronic warfare or reconnaissance means.

Status-6 can engage in various missions ranging from destruction of important economic facilities on the coast up to the fight with aircraft-carrying forces. There are no weapons in the world at present which can counter the craft operating at major depths and at high speed
Just 60 centimetres of screen has become the new battleground for oil and gas companies, energy CEOs say.

Speaking on Tuesday at Australias largest energy event, the APPEA Oil and Gas Conference in Adelaide, the heads of Shell and Santos have called the contest for the publics hearts and minds the next frontier as the energy space transitions to a new power future.

Santos chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the industry needed greater support if it was to play an increasing role in Australias energy transition away from coal-fired power.

Our industry is overwhelming welcomed in places where it operates ... our economic contribution is accepted as the lifeblood of the regional economy, Ms Yujnovich said at the APPEA conference.

But this is not the narrative we see in capital-city-centric commentary. It was not the narrative at the Batman by-election and it is not the narrative in Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat feeds.
Just over a third of Australian millennials believe they will be better off than their parents compared to more than 50 per cent globally, according to a survey.

And only 35 per cent believe they will be happier, compared to 43 per cent worldwide.

Felicity Mullens: 'They are letting go of their ethics, morals and values and putting money above that.'

David Hill, chief operating officer for Deloitte Australia, which conducted the survey, said it was notable that millennials were so pessimistic considering the strength of the Australian economy.

However, youth unemployment is at 12.5 per cent, well above the national average of 5.6 per cent, and the rise of the gig economy means work is more uncertain for many," he said.
VISUAL ARTS

COLONY

NGV Australia, Federation Square, until July 15

History may be written by the winners but it is rewritten by the survivors. Even when brought up on the propaganda of a victorious culture, the vanquished and their descendants peep out from cracked old books and scrutinise the assumptions and complacency of the conquerors story.

Christian Thompson's Othering the explorer, James Cook, 2015, printed 2016. Credit:National Gallery of Victoria, courtesy of the artist and Gallery Gabrielle Pizzi

In Colony, a large soul-searching show at the NGV, I see the eyes of an Indigenous artist peeping out from a painting of Captain Cook. Cook had excellent features: the famous historical portrait by Nathaniel Dance-Holland shows him in a sterling light beneath his silver wig, purposeful, confident, self-assured and serene.

In Christian Thompsons Othering the explorer, James Cook, Cooks determined gaze is distracted. His eyes have been cut out, so that the original portrait serves as a kind of mask, defiantly held up by the artist on a rod in front of his own body. When we look into the explorers eyes we see the gaze of the explored: the colonised takes over the sight and command of the colonist.
"We will be more engaged," he said.

At its conclusion, Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux signed a pledge promising to promote gender equality and increase transparency in how the festival considers film submissions.

On Monday, European time, the gender parity-driven Hollywood organisation partnered with its French equivalent, 5050X2020, with the latter hosting a panel discussing women's issues in the industry worldwide.

Jury members Ava DuVernay, from left, Robert Guediguian, Chang Chen, Cate Blanchett, Khadja Nin and Cannes Film Festival Director Thierry Fremaux with the 50/50 2020 Gender Equality Pledge Credit:Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP

Fremaux's festival has come under the microscope in the wake of the Me Too and Time's Up movements. On Saturday, 82 filmmakers, directors and actresses stood in unity on the steps of the Palais des Festivals, symbolising the number of women whose films have been invited into competition for the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes in the festival's 71-year history. In the same span of time, the festival has welcomed films from 1688 male directors.

On Monday morning, groups representing the US, Spain, Italy, France and Greece gathered for the panel in a packed tent on the beach to discuss how to achieve gender equality in the industry.

Maha Dakhil, the industry agent who co-founded Time's Up (Reese Witherspoon is a client), represented the US.

"It's hard to yield," Dakhil said afterwards, commending Fremaux. She called the act "a great example of leading the charge"  particularly given resistance to the Me Too movement in France.
If the federal budget was supposed to dazzle Australian women, it failed to impress.

Before budget night Minister for Women Kelly ODwyer said there would be a lot in the budget for millions of Australian women".

But they will have to wait until spring to see what she has in mind.

NAB economists have noted the budget includes a $21 billion contingency reserve to fund a bunch of goodies likely to be rolled out in the election cycle.

ODwyer has said the government would unveil more measures aimed at women in the September sitting session of parliament, with the Coalition to further address issues including workforce participation, pay equity and superannuation.
A Canberra service station worker quit his job and lived in constant fear after he was the victim of an armed robbery, a court has heard.

A victim impact statement, read in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, described how the 7-Eleven worker had been traumatised and frozen by fear when confronted by a gun-wielding Jake Miller, 28, in January last year.

Footage of the incident, captured on the Holt's service station CCTV system, shows a bare-footed Miller, of Holt, enter the store about 10pm.

He walked to the counter, produced a black pistol and demanded cash, before making off with $500.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has many unique elements, including that the claims and counter-claims over land rights stretch back to biblical times. But the roots of the suffering of the people in Gaza are depressingly familiar: overcrowding, inadequate services and a lack of jobs (almost half are unemployed).

In Gaza, where close to 2 million Palestinians live cheek by jowl in what is effectively a vast open prison, a protest that had been simmering for months boiled over into bloody violence. Israeli soldiers killed more than 50 unarmed protesters. Another 2000 were injured.

Add a fresh triumph at Eurovision and joy should have been uncontained. Instead, Independence Day 2018 turned out to be a vivid reminder of the bleeding wound that is the unresolved conflict between Israelis and the Palestinian people, who share territorial claims over this strip of land between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.

Consider how much Israel had to celebrate on its 70th anniversary this week. The achievements are impressive almost everywhere you look  in agriculture, science and innovation, medicine and technology, and in the living standards Israel offers its citizens. Above all, Israel has created a vibrant liberal democracy in a region where autocracy and theocracy are the norm.

Of course, the people of Gaza have not helped themselves by allowing Hamas  whose military wing is regarded by Australia as a terrorist organisation  to take charge of their affairs. But they are not to blame for their situation, any more than their brothers and sisters on the West Bank. The ultimate cause is the failure of the Israeli and Palestinian leadership, and their international sponsors, over many decades, to achieve a sustainable and negotiated settlement.

That this settlement will involve a two-state solution, with capitals in East and West Jerusalem, is virtually inevitable. The antagonists have approached such a settlement, notably 25 years ago under the Oslo negotiations. There is broad support for a two-state solution in Israel. But Israels messy politics are shaped by a multi-party system that allows extreme and fundamentalist elements too much latitude to thwart mainstream opinion. As a result, Israel continues to build settlements on the West Bank that deepen the conflict and complicate its solution.

Into this already volatile mix comes an unstable new element, and there are no prizes for guessing what that is. US President Donald Trumps decision to move his Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was roundly criticised across the world and it was the immediate cause of the Gaza protests that have culminated in tragedy.

Mr Trumps son-in-law and Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, is said to be close to announcing, if not a path to peace, then at least a path to peace talks. As unlikely as it seems, Mr Kushner has built solid credibility, and a reputation as a good listener, across the region. But in an alarming portent of where he seems to be headed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, Mr Trump appears to have given away a key bargaining chip before the deal-making has even started.

It is possible, of course, that Mr Trump has a grand strategy. Perhaps his Jerusalem surprise comes with major demands on Israel that will be revealed in Mr Kushners twice-delayed plan. What we have seen so far, however, is neither grand nor a strategy. And it has resulted in avoidable loss of life.
Police have released CCTV footage in a bid to find the man who indecently assaulted a young girl in her bed in Sydneys east.

The eight-year-old girl was asleep in bed at her house in Barker Street, Kingsford, on Monday, when, between 2.45am and 2.55am, a man climbed through her bedroom window.

CCTV images show a man climbing in to the bedroom window of an eight-year-old girl in Kingsford in the early hours of May 14, before climbing back out and running away. Credit:NSW Police

The man spoke to the girl briefly, before indecently assaulting her and then leaving through the window.

Police have since viewed CCTV vision showing a man slowly crawling through the ground-floor window of a Barker Street house.
The state government has slammed the brakes on new housing proposals in one fast-growing Sydney area, conceding the rapid growth in apartments is outpacing infrastructure in parts of the city.

The government has also suspended the operation of new planning rules making it easier for homeowners to build terraces on their properties in the City of Ryde and the City of Canterbury Bankstown  delaying a policy it introduced only last month.

We've had a very buoyant property market, said Planning Minister Anthony Roberts.

The decision follows advice given to the government about where development is straining local infrastructure. Credit:Daniel Munoz

There's been a huge amount of overseas capital that has landed all of a sudden in Sydney  that has brought on a lot of these dwellings maybe sooner than we normally would have seen, said Mr Roberts, who on Tuesday told the two councils about the slow-down.
Her body was found in the bush at Macedon eight months later.

Borce Ristevski, 54, was charged with the murder of his wife Karen, 47, who went missing in June 2016 from the couple's Avondale Heights home they shared with Sarah.

Karen Ristevski's daughter Sarah will appear as a prosecution witness in the murder case against her father, Borce.

The revelation that Sarah is listed as a witness for the prosecution case comes as Mr Ristevski's lawyers attempt to stop media reporting of the Melbourne Magistrates Court proceeding.

In their notice of application to suppress the case, lawyers from Stary Norton Halphen argue a suppression order is required to ensure Mr Ristevski receives a fair trial.

Lawyers named both The Age and the Herald Sun stories that Mr Ristevski's legal representation was funded by taxpayers via legal aid as an example of reporting that was "deliberately toxic and designed to promote outcry in the community".

They said a follow-up story by the Herald Sun asserting Mr Ristevski would receive income from the rent of the Avondale Heights home, which had been put up for listing, inaccurate. The property is in the estate of Ms Ristevski and funds derived from it will not flow to her husband, the lawyers said.
Paramedic Paul Judd, who suffered injuries needing three operations, and still can't work after he was bashed by two drunken women in Melbourne, is appalled that his attackers have "gotten away" with their crime.

Mr Judd wiped away tears as Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20, had their jail sentences quashed on appeal on Tuesday.

"I just feel that justice hasn't been done," he said.

Paul Judd says his attackers have 'gotten away with it'. Credit:AAP

Warren and Underwood, who in 2016 attacked the paramedics in Reservoir after a day-long binge on bourbon, champagne and cannabis, were last year jailed by a magistrate for eight months and four months respectively.
A 12-year-old girl has been assaulted in her home by an intruder during a home invasion in Melbourne's inner-west.

Police believe a man gained entry to the home on Mary Street in Footscray sometime after 9pm on Monday night.

"The man, perceived to be of African appearance, was disturbed by the child," a police spokeswoman said.

"The 12-year-old girl was assaulted before the man fled on a scooter, believed to have been stolen from the home."

Detectives are investigating the aggravated burglary and no arrests have been made.
A childless woman on trial for murdering her housemate told a neighbour that two of the dead woman's four children were, in fact, hers and "she was going to take them", a court has heard.

Christine Lyons told the neighbour that Samantha Kelly didnt feed her own children, would dump them with others, regularly kicked her youngest daughters cot, was often out late with a boyfriend and appeared drug affected, the Supreme Court heard on Tuesday.

Christine Lyons entering a Bendigo court in January. Credit:Darren Howe/Bendigo Advertiser

Prosecutors allege Ms Lyons and housemate Ronald Lyons, who arent related, murdered Ms Kelly in January 2016 at their property in the Bendigo suburb of Kangaroo Flat, so Ms Lyons could become the mother to Ms Kellys three daughters and a son.

The Lyons are accused of plotting with Ms Lyons partner, Peter Arthur, to kill Ms Kelly. Arthur has admitted killing Ms Kelly by striking her to the head with a hammer in the bungalow behind the house.
A NSW Labor MP accused of sexually harassing a staffer, and cleared following an inquiry, has claimed the allegations were used as a "political weapon" against him with "devastating" consequences for his family.

Hugh McDermott, the member for Prospect, delivered an emotional speech in the NSW Legislative Assembly describing the impact of allegations as the "most confronting and distressing period not just in my parliamentary career, but in my entire professional life".

Prospect MP Hugh McDermott said he had "never indulged in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment". Credit:Jeff de Pasquale

Labor MPs packed the opposition benches in support as Dr McDermott told the chamber that he had "never indulged in conduct that constitutes sexual harassment".

"There was never a complaint made to me about sexual harassment by any staff member or any other person; and there has never been, to my knowledge, a complaint made to the Department of Parliamentary Services, the NSW Police Force, the relevant trade unions, or the NSW Labor Party," Dr McDermott said.
Brisbane City Councils planning boss has been called "a walking conflict of interest" as he will campaign for a federal seat while remaining in his role as city planning chairman.

Opposition leader Peter Cumming called for the councils city planning chairman, Julian Simmonds, to stand down from his chairman role immediately following his selection as the LNPs candidate for the federal seat of Ryan.

Julian Simmonds says he will not stand down from his portfolio following his preselection for the federal electorate of Ryan.

At Tuesdays city planning committee opposition councillor Jared Cassidy questioned Cr Simmonds on how he would manage real and perceived conflicts of interest while being a candidate for a federal election and still working in the role of city planning chair.

Will you rule out accepting developer donations through the federal division of the Liberal Party? he said.
Former independent MP Rob Pyne will not be pursued by the Queensland Parliament's powerful Ethics Committee over a security incident described as "very grave".

In September, Mr Pyne signed Petros Khalesirad into the Parliament, causing speaker Peter Wellington to refer him to the committee and warn MPs about security protocols, saying he was told the guest was left unattended.

Former independent Cairns MP Rob Pyne will not be investigated by the parliamentary Ethics Committee. Credit:Samantha Manchee/AAP

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk suggested Mr Pyne, a former Labor colleague, could have committed a very serious contempt of the Parliament.

At the time, Mr Khalesirad was facing a charge of stalking member for Keppel Brittany Lauga, however, in December, Rockhampton Magistrate Cameron Press found he had no case to answer.
A Labor minister has described farmers' heckling of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk as "shameful" and "disgusting", drawing a connection to violence against women.

Last week, Ms Palaszczuk said she was offended and shocked by the hostile welcome to the Beef Australia 2018 week in Rockhampton, where farmers protested the government's vegetation management laws.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was met with a less-than-warm welcome at Beef 2018 in Rockhampton last week. Credit:Kelly Butterworth/Queensland Country Life

Ms Palaszczuk had said she noted people's right to protest but said there were a couple of people who went too far.

"I don't believe verbal abuse, swearing is acceptable," she said.
Parking fees in Melbourne's CBD will rise to $7 an hour, as the city council tries to squeeze as much revenue as possible out of a smaller number of on-street car spaces.

Melbourne City Council on Tuesday released its draft annual budget, outlining how it would spend more than half a billion dollars in the next financial year.

Parking costs are going up. Credit:Marina Oliphant

The council's budget was released as scrutineers counting votes in the byelection for the city's new lord mayor said that Property Council boss Sally Capp was likely to be elected.

Parking fees jumped, with the council expecting to bring in $52 million from its meters  almost $6 million more than the current financial year.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The High Court overturned Cardinal George Pell's conviction for historic child sex offences in a judgment handed down April 7, 2020. In a unanimous decision all seven High Court judges found Victoria's Court of Appeal should not have upheld Pell's conviction It found the evidence could not support a guilty verdict.

Prosecutors are seeking a complete ban on media reporting of the Cardinal George Pell trial.

Cardinal Pell will be the most senior Catholic leader in the world to face a jury after he was committed to stand trial on multiple historic sexual assault charges a fortnight ago.

Cardinal George Pell has been committed to stand trial on multiple historical sexual assault charges. Credit:Jason South

But the Victorian Department of Public Prosecutions lodged an application with the Country Court of Victoria on Friday for a supression order over any media coverage of the trial.
The Greens candidate for the federal seat of Perth has made a pitch to traditional Liberal voters who will be left without a candidate in the upcoming byelection.

Caroline Perks, an expert in climate change policy, said she would be reaching out to disenfranchised Liberal supporters after their party decided to not contest the vote.

Greens Perth candidate Caroline Perks is reaching out to disenfranchised Liberal voters in the hope her party can upset Labor at the upcoming byelection. Credit:Nathan Hondros

The Liberal party vacated the contest after deciding they could not win the safe Labor seat in a byelection caused by the resignation of sitting Labor MP Tim Hammond.

A federal government has not won a seat off an opposition party in a byelection for almost a century.
Condola Rashad (Saint Joan) hosted Manhattan Theatre Club's annual spring gala on Monday, May 14, at Cipriani 42nd Street. The evening featured performances by the Broadway musicals The Band's Visit, Escape to Margaritaville, Frozen, Mean Girls, Once on This Island, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

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Richard Maltby Jr. directed the evening, overseeing the creative team of Jason Lyons (lighting design), Leon Rothenberg (sound design), and Justin Hornback (music direction).

The gala began with cocktails followed by dinner and the gala performance. All proceeds from the event support MTC's mission as a leading nonprofit theater company developing and producing contemporary plays on and off Broadway, as well as its renowned education program, which deepens students' understanding of themselves and the world through the medium of theater.
This month, New York audiences have a rare chance to see two of Eugene O'Neill's best plays, The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey Into Night, in award-worthy stagings. The second of these is Richard Eyre's outstanding Bristol Old Vic production, which just arrived at the BAM Harvey Theater after a run in the West End. Lesley Manville and Jeremy Irons lead the cast as Mary and James Tyrone, the long-suffering couple whom O'Neill based on his own parents. Their performances brim with anguish and gritty realism, while Eyre's direction adds a dreamlike patina to this story of regret and opioid addiction, a theme that resonates more today amid America's own devastating opioid crisis.

The play takes place on a single day in 1912 at the Tyrones' seaside summer home in Connecticut. Tightfisted retired actor James Tyrone and his wife, Mary, are worried about the health of their son Edmund, who has contracted an illness that may be tuberculosis, though Mary denies it's more than an ordinary cold. Jamie, their ne'er-do-well son who has come home from the bars and brothels of New York to sponge off his folks for a while, doesn't help matters as he needles his father about being a tightwad who got Mary hooked on morphine after trying to save money by sending her to a quack doctor. Mary has recently returned from a stay in a sanatorium to overcome her drug addiction, but now her husband and sons suspect that she is relapsing.

Rory Keenan as Jamie Tyrone and Jeremy Irons as James Tyrone in the Bristol Old Vic production of Long Day's Journey Into Night.

( Richard Termine)

As the day wears on and the house is swallowed by night and a fog that rolls in off the ocean, the men begin drinking whiskey as Mary sneaks off to her room for a fix. Tongues are soon loosened, and anger over regrets and past offenses spills into the open as the family members toss memory grenades into the room, blaming one another for their unhappiness and unfulfilled dreams.

Irons (who bears a resemblance to O'Neill himself in this production) growls and snarls in his gravelly voice, reverberating with rage and resignation, while Manville, in a tour-de-force performance, reels off Mary's repetitive litany of grievances against James. Irons and Manville's vibrant onstage chemistry brilliantly illuminates James and Mary's stubborn, unbreakable love even as they hurl accusations and recriminations at each other. Irons's performance is notable for capturing the silent gestures buried in O'Neill's work that only a great actor could tease out. As Edmund makes an offhand remark to Mary, James angrily waves him away without her seeing. Family arguments, Irons shows us, often take place behind our backs.

Jeremy Irons and Lesley Manville as James and Mary Tyrone.

( Richard Termine)

Manville captures the unconscious tics (the clutch of a shawl, the picking at a pillow) of a person who has spent too much time alone. As Mary becomes ever more drug-addled and lost in her broken dreams of becoming either a nun or a concert pianist, she delivers torrents of words that blur the line between thought and speech. Mary will speak to anyone who will listen, even the maid Cathleen, played with earthy pertness by Jessica Regan. Eyre poignantly shows us how Mary's loneliness has gradually made her into the ghost of herself in the final scene, where she glides quickly around a dark corner like a gothic specter in her white nightgown (costumes by Rob Howell) and plays a song on the piano. This tragic vision is what her husband and sons have feared all along.

Though Eyre's direction keeps the action moving despite voluminous passages of dialogue, the play's second half sputters during the long scene between Edmund and James. Matthew Beard has the challenge of making Edmund (the character O'Neill based on himself) into an engaging presence onstage, and the opportunity to do this comes near the end in Edmund's long speech about the sea, which Beard delivers haltingly as he sits restlessly in a chair. "Yes, there's the making of a poet in you all right," says James to his son afterward. Unfortunately, we're not as convinced. Rory Keenan, however, jumpstarts things when he enters as a very drunk Jamie. His fiery performance and the scene's verbal and physical violence remind us that the Tyrones are always one shot of whiskey away from tearing one another to pieces.

Matthew Beard and Jeremy Irons in a tense scene from Long Day's Journey Into Night.

( Richard Termine)

A mingling of the present and the dreamlike past is on display in the physical design as well. Howell's expressionistic set for the Tyrone home  with its translucent, oddly angled walls and an absurdly high bookcase that towers crookedly to the high ceiling  has the surreal look of a building in a Fritz Lang film. Peter Mumford's gauzy, silvery-blue light during the evening scenes casts an eerie glow over the Tyrone house like a shadowy nightmare, and with John Leonard's groaning foghorn in the background, the house itself seems like it has drifted out to sea.

Fortunately, this production does not drift. At about three-and-a-half hours, this Long Day's Journey Into Night feels like a vital work for our times as we examine issues (opioid addiction, sexual misconduct, abuses of power) that we, like the Tyrones, have been more or less in the fog about. Though O'Neill wrote the Tyrones as a way to come to terms with his pain, we should look at them as a reminder of how we need to address our own.
Barrett-Jackson Throttles up Driven Hearts Campaign to Raise Money and Awareness for Heart Health

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--Barrett-Jackson, The Worlds Greatest Collector Car Auctions, will accelerate its Driven Hearts campaign, the companys first-ever yearlong charity initiative to help raise funds and bring awareness to heart disease and stroke, during the 2018 Northeast Auction, June 20-23 at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut. The charitable initiative, spearheaded by Barrett-Jacksons Vice President of Brand Strategy, Carolyn Jackson, was unveiled during Januarys Scottsdale Auction and benefits the American Heart Association.

Heart disease is the number-one killer, which is why Barrett-Jackson is 100-percent committed to the battle against it, said Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson. The recent passing of our good friend Dave Ressler inspired Carolyn and me to donate our 35th Anniversary Corvette he once gifted to my mom, Nellie, and me. We auctioned it in Scottsdale to honor the memory of Dave as well as Greg Mauzy, two great members of the collector car community gone too soon. We are grateful for the more than $530,000 raised to date in 2018, along with the tremendous support on social media to help raise awareness. We are fully dedicated to this campaign and excited for Northeast to be our next stop in this fight against heart disease.

The electrifying and incredibly moving sale of Carolyn and Craig Jacksons Driven Hearts Corvette in January was not just an inspiration to those inside the auction arena. Darrell and Charmaigne Pullen, who watched the sale on TV from Texas, flew to Arizona following the auction and personally donated their matching 35th Anniversary Corvette to be auctioned in support of the Driven Hearts campaign and the AHA. The matching Corvettes were staged together in Palm Beach and the Jacksons Corvette, which was donated back to Barrett-Jackson not once, but twice, was auctioned again during the 16th annual event, while the Corvette donated by the Pullens will be auctioned at the upcoming Northeast Auction.

The collector car community has the biggest heart for supporting organizations dedicated to making our world a better, healthier place, said Carolyn Jackson. It was a tremendous honor to host Nancy Brown, CEO of the American Heart Association, in Scottsdale as we kicked off our Driven Hearts campaign, and we are overwhelmed by the incredible generosity of our bidders in Scottsdale and Palm Beach, as well as the Pullens for donating their personal car to support this tremendous cause. We look forward to bringing this campaign to Connecticut and continue our mission to slam the brakes on heart disease and stroke.

Additional elements of the Driven Hearts campaign that will be seen at the 3rd Annual Northeast Auction include Craig Jacksons wrapped 2008 Bugatti Veyron in a stunning red and silver #DrivenHearts livery. A fan-favorite photo opportunity in Scottsdale, the vehicle will again be on display to help promote the cause. Signage around the venue will again be seen promoting FAST, the AHAs acronym for Facial drooping, Arm tingling, Speech impairment, Time to call 911. Barrett-Jackson will also have the third of four commemorative collector plates that will be on all auction cars and will be available to purchase on-site and online at ShopBarrettJackson.com for $10, with $5 benefiting the AHA. The last collector plate will be released in advance of the Las Vegas auction. Additional details and information on the campaign can be found at drivenhearts.org.

Barrett-Jackson prides itself on the charitable platform weve created thats become a bully pulpit for many causes, said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. The Driven Hearts campaign is another example of our ability to bring attention to incredibly worthy causes. This years Northeast Auction will be very special with the sale of the Pullens 35th Anniversary Corvette, which will continue to raise awareness about heart disease. Both vehicles have incredibly meaningful backstories and we look forward to sharing those with the collector car community in the Northeast.

For information on becoming a bidder for the 2018 Northeast Auction, go to www.Barrett-Jackson.com/bid. To submit an application to consign at the 2018 Northeast Auction, click here. Also, follow Barrett-Jackson on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter for the latest news and information heading into the 2018 Northeast Auction.

About The Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

Established in 1971 and headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Barrett-Jackson, The Worlds Greatest Collector Car Auctions, is the leader in collector car and automotive lifestyle events, which include authentic automobilia auctions and the sale of high-profile estates and private collections. The company produces auctions in Scottsdale, Arizona; Palm Beach, Florida; at Mohegan Sun in Connecticut; and Las Vegas, Nevada. With broadcast partners Velocity and Discovery Channel, Barrett-Jackson features extensive live television coverage, including broadcasts in over 150 countries internationally. Barrett-Jackson also endorses a one-of-a-kind collector car insurance for collector vehicles and other valued belongings. For more information about Barrett-Jackson, visit Barrett-Jackson.com or call 480-421-6694.
PRAGUE, May 14, 2018 --

Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Prague, the fourth annual event dedicated to the blockchain, cryptocurrencies and ICO, will be held on May 17. This is one of the largest platforms in Europe for the exchange of experience and search for potential partners. Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Prague is an event organized by the Smile-Expo company, which created a network of blockchain events in 20 countries around the world. The organizers intend to exceed last year's success: experts from IBM, PwC and other companies known in the crypto community will be among the speakers.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/690847/Smile_Expo_Conference.jpg )



Guests will hear presentations:

On blockchain and its impact on business and the economy

Rene Bostic from IBM will analyze cases of blockchain application in business and tell you the key points of the process. The blockchain developer from the American IT company CA Technologies Alexandru Popa will tell about the impact of blockchain on user identification systems.

The head of consulting company VOX ICO Consulting Stefano Virgilli will clearly explain the blockchain basics. Representative of the European Organization for Nuclear Research Manuel Martin Marquez will talk on the acceleration of scientific progress after blockchain was introduced.

On ICO and cryptocurrencies

Guenther Dobrauz, partner in PwC Legal Switzerland, will explain how affordable investments in ICO will be in the future and whether token sale will replace venture capital. The co-founder of GRAFT Blockchain, Dan Itkis, will explain how to make the integration of crypto payments ubiquitous.

Co-founder of the blockchain platform Crowdgolding Alex Bozhinov will explain how power, politics and finance transformed the ICO. The co-founder of ICO accelerator Iconiq Lab Sandris Murins will talk on how to create a token and what is needed for this.

Exhibition area

In addition to the conference, an exhibition area will be available to Blockchain & Bitcoin Conference Prague guests. Companies representing the blockchain industry will demonstrate their achievements here:

 hardware and software for mining;

 blockchain developments;

 trading, marketing and technological services.

Venue

The event will be held in the fashionable Hotel Ambassador Zlata Husa, which is located in the historical center of the Czech capital. Guests will enjoy diving not only in the world of cryptocurrencies, but also in the atmosphere of one of the most beautiful European cities.

Address: Vaclavske namesti 840/5, 110 00, Prague 1.

Registration, the full program and news of the event >>> https://goo.gl/iik85y

About Smile-Expo

Smile-Expo is an international company, organizer of large business events. Smile-Expo keeps its finger on the pulse of global innovations, analyzes markets, predicts promising drives, shares information with friends and associates, and launches projects throughout new segments, which have no equivalents in Russia, or on the whole CIS territory.

We can safely say that Smile-Expo is a flagship of innovation in the field of exhibition and conference service. The company was the first to draw attention to such promising, but not yet sufficiently developed in the CIS fields as affiliate marketing, robotics, 3D technology, cryptocurrency, wearable devices and augmented reality, Internet of Things, mHealth, "Connected car" and many more.

Smile-Expo has started its way with interest in advanced developments in various sectors of the economy and desire to create projects that allow companies to keep up with the times. The result is 12 years of successful work in the market that inspire professionals of Smile-Expo for organization of large-scale exhibitions, conferences, congresses, forums, workshops and webinars.

Media Contact:

Eugenia Pasechnik

e.pasechnik@smileexpo.team

SOURCE Smile-Expo
About 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Plug In Hybrid

CAMDEN, NJ  May 11, 2018  Subaru of America, Inc., which has recorded nine consecutive years of record sales and 10 consecutive years of growth, announced today its first-ever plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV), the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid. The new Crosstrek Hybrid maintains all the capability of the traditional Subaru Crosstrek with increased fuel efficiency. It can be driven as a normal Hybrid, using both gas and electric power and eliminating range anxiety, or driven on pure electric drive for local commuting.

The Crosstrek Hybrid is an advanced, eco-friendly version of the versatile compact SUV that has become the brands third best-selling model in America. The 2019 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid uniquely integrates a four-cylinder direct-injection Subaru BOXER engine, Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, all-new transmission and the Toyota Hybrid System (THS). The Crosstrek Hybrid combines the wide-ranging off-road capability of the gas-powered Crosstrek with hybrid efficiency. Arriving at Subaru retailers near the end of this year, the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid will also feature unique styling, calling out its distinct abilities. Like the gas-powered Crosstrek models, the 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid is built around the Subaru Global Platform that was designed to accommodate hybrid and electric powertrains.

About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered at a zero-landfill office in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 620 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill production plants and Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc. is the only U.S. automobile production plant to be designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the companys vision to show love and respect to everyone, and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA has donated more than $120 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged more than 40,000 volunteer hours. As a company, Subaru believes it is important to do its part in making a positive impact in the world because it is the right thing to do.
Yoselyn Ortega. Photo: AP Photo

Before Judge Gregory Carro sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Yoselyn Ortega wept. Her hands were cuffed and chained to her waist, so she couldnt wipe away the tears rolling down her cheeks. Im sorry for everything that happened, said the woman who, in 2012, murdered two children she cared for as a nanny. But I hope that no one goes through what I have gone through. And though many people wish me all the worst,* my life is in the hands of god. I am in jail.

Ortega spoke in Spanish, with a court interpreter echoing her words in English. When the interpreter translated Ortegas tearful description of her imprisonment, Assistant District Attorney Stuart Silberg threw up his hands. Moments earlier, hed cited Ortegas self-pitying behavior as evidence of remorselessness. She has never shed a tear for those children, Silberg said. During her two-month trial, Ortega wept repeatedly  but only during testimony about her own suffering.

Last month, a Manhattan jury rejected Ortegas plea of not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect. Officially a murderer, Ortega returned to Rikers Island to await her sentence for killing Lucia and Leo Krim, ages 6 and 2, in 2012. That sentence arrived on Monday, after victim-impact statements from parents Marina and Kevin Krim. (The Krims left the room before Ortega spoke.)

On Monday, standing at a podium perhaps ten yards away from Ortega, Marina Krim spoke slowly. The last time I was here, I spent over six hours answering questions about what led to, and the day of, and the days after my daughter Lulu and son Leo were murdered by the evil defendant, she said. I wasnt planning on coming back into this courtroom after that. During her grueling two-day testimony, Marina Krim screamed Youre evil! Youre evil! at Ortega.

But at the sentencing, Marinas voice was even. Im here once again to finish this horrible chapter of my and my familys life, she said. I wrote this statement knowing that in the future, Nessie will read this. Nessie was with her mother on the day of the murderers, and saw her siblings bodies. Marina continued: Ines Olivia Krim, the girl who lived. We call her Nessie. Shes 9 now. She is happy, funny, [and] confident. She loves school and sports. But each time she makes a wish, its always for Lulu and Leo to come back to be with us. Nessie knows that wish will never come true. A figure skater, Nessie regularly performs to her late sisters favorite song, Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder, Marina said.

At the sentencing, Marina and Kevin Krim both cast blame on Ortegas extended family, whom Marina described as a conspiracy of bad, unethical people. Said Kevin Krim: What this court didnt hear enough of was how the family lied about the defendants background to us  they faked her history and references to make her seem qualified when she certainly was not. Their lies led directly and deliberately to our decision to hire the defendant. Kevin is now working with a bipartisan set of state legislators on Lulu and Leos Law, which would criminalize lying in the pursuit of a job in child care. (Lulu was Lucias nickname.)

The defendant is an evil and utterly dangerous narcissist, Kevin continued. It is right that she will go from being hated by the world to being forgotten by the world, before shes even dead, while Lulu and Leos siblings and legions of family and friends  even friends who never knew them  will never forget their inspiring legacies.

No members of Ortegas family were present at her sentencing.

When defense attorney Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg asked Judge Carro for mercy on behalf of her client, she characterized the jurys guilty verdict as unduly prejudiced by emotion. She quoted juror David Curtis, a father of two, who spoke on the jurys behalf at District Attorney Cy Vances post-trial press conference. Every one of us in the jury could feel the heartbreak and the agony when Kevin and Marina testified, Curtis had said; the jury deceived themselves, Van Leer-Greenberg argued. Seated in the second row of the courts gallery, Curtis held hands with two fellow jurors. They were not required to be there, but enough came willingly that they required more seats than the court had initially reserved for them.

Judge Carro went out of his way to refute the accusation of jury bias. He addressed Ortega directly: Your planning and forethought regarding your suicide plan on that day was unmistakable, he said. Before going to work on the day of the crime, Ortega had arranged her insurance cards, credit cards, bank statements, government IDs, and family keepsakes for her family to find.

You clearly were going to end your life that day, the judge continued. Whats unclear, mainly because you claim to have a lack of memory, is why you decided to take the lives of the children as well as your own. Thats always going to be a mystery to us, because you refuse to tell anyone. Acknowledging that Ortega seems to have some sort of mental illness (although not one severe enough to absolve criminal responsibility) Carro continued: You went untreated not because New York state doesnt have facilities and services for the mentally ill. You failed in your responsibility  and your family failed in their responsibility  to seek treatment for your mental illness. During her argument, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg confirmed that Ortega is still resisting treatment  she has, for years, refused to take the antipsychotic medication her doctors prescribe. And whereas mental illness may sometimes be a mitigating factor in sentencing, even when a person is responsible for a crime, Carro decided Ortegas resistance to treatment and unwillingness to admit culpability render her undeserving of lenience.

In the years since the crime, Marina and Kevin Krim have had two more children. They started a charitable foundation in the name of the children they lost. The defendant may think she destroyed Lulu and Leo, Marina concluded. But she is a failure in this too. Lulu and Leo are powerful forces. They are two stars now, that will always lead us forward.

*This post has been updated to reflect the accurate transcript of Yoselyn Ortega.
10 Children Found Tortured in New House of Horrors, Parents Arrested

Two parents in Northern California were arrested after allegedly torturing 10 children, according to local reports.

The 10 children had lived in squalor, including piles of spoiled food and feces, for years, investigators told SFGate this week. They were also allegedly burned and shot with a BB gun.

Ina Rogers first reported her 12-year-old son missing in March of 2018. He was later found asleep in a bush in a yard.

Thats when authorities first encountered the family. Responding officers then searched the home due to concerns about the childs welfare and found nine more children between the ages of 4 months and 11 years old living in unsafe conditions, the SFGate report said.

Rogers was arrested and taken to Solano County Jail on child neglect charges. The 10 children were taken to live with other family members. She was released after posting $10,000 bail, court records show.

The father, 29-year-old Jonathan Allen, was arrested on Friday, May 11, and taken into jail on seven counts of torture as well as nine counts of child abuse. Allen is being held on $5.2 million bail, and hes slated to make another court appearance on May 24.

Rogers, 30, defended herself in front of reporters, ABC7 reported.

This is absolutely appalling, Rogers said in reaction to the allegations against her and Allen. I strive, I thrive on being a good parent to my children, Rogers added. My husband has a lot of tattoos. He looks like a scary individual, and thats why people are so quick to judge him. But my husband is an amazing person. I am an amazing mother.

But police are telling a different story.

The children described incidents of intentional abuse resulting in puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot by a pellet or airsoft gun, said Lt. Greg Hurlbut, according to ABC7.

Officers located unsafe and unsanitary living conditions including garbage and spoiled food on the floor, animal and human feces and a large amount of debris making areas of the house unpassable, Hurlbut said.

Sharon Henry, who is a chief deputy district attorney for Solano County, told the ABC affiliate that she was horrified by the statements made by the kids.

Torture occurred in this house, Henry said, adding that it was carried out for sadistic purposes. She didnt elaborate on the details.

It literally breaks your heart, and youre outraged by how a parent or anyone could commit those acts, Henry said.

Neighbors were flabbergasted, and some didnt know the couple had 10 children.

Tawnya Roth, a next-door neighbor, told SFGate that she was under the impression the couple had three children.

My daughter was saying that when she was home at Christmastime, she saw some kids out there, Roth told the website. And when they first moved in, we heard kids playing out in the backyard late at night. But that was really the only time. Once in a while wed see a kid, but I didnt even know that they were theirs.

Larry Magney, who lives across the street, said the couple moved in about one year ago. He said he was unaware that they had children until Rogers approached him in March, asking about her missing son.

Magney recalled her asking him: Is there a way I can check your backyard, because my son is  missing or ran away? He said that it wasnt likely because his dog would have barked.

She was pretty concerned, and she was like, you know, running around the neighborhood, Magney said. I walk my dog at least twice a day, and my wife works out of our house, he said. If theres any activity here, we would kind of know.

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12 Students Rushed to Pennsylvania Hospital After School Bus Hits Rock

At least a dozen students in Pennsylvania were sent to a hospitals emergency room after a school bus hit a rock in Monroe County on Monday, May 14.

We just hit a bump, said one girl, named Savannah Paneto, to WNEP-TV in a video report.

I was just launched up in the air  hit my arm on the window, the girl said.

It could have been a lot worse, and I was actually hearing a lot worse and thinking, Oh, my God, Ive got to get there and I couldnt get here fast enough, said parent Tara Paneto.

No words because your heart stops. Your pulse jumps, and you cant get to your child fast enough. You cant find out information fast enough, said parent Danielle Kaplafka. She is doing well. She has a couple bangs, but she is back at the school and doing well. We are just crossing our fingers now for the others, she added.

Officials at the East Stroudsburg Area School District said that none of the students were seriously hurt. The students were sent to two different hospitals

The students were from Bushkill Elementary.

All students on that bus were evaluated by emergency medical services (EMS) at the scene, who determined that seventeen of the students required further evaluation at either St. Lukes  Bartonsville or Lehigh Valley  Pocono hospitals, the school said, according to local news website Palhomepage.com. School district administrators were dispatched to receive students and their parents at both medical facilities.

It added: Parents of the transported students were informed by telephone which medical center their child was being transported to. Students who were deemed by EMS not to require medical attention were transported back to school on the second school bus where they were seen by the school nurse in accordance with the districts emergency response plan.

The school said that parents of all fourth-grade students were informed of the field trip incident via our mass notification system after parents of all affected students were contacted personally. All students are expected to be treated and released before the end of the day.

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Photos of three members of the Saraya al-Quds terrorist group killed on the Gaza border on Monday, May 14. (Saraya)

24 Terrorists Identified Among Those Killed on Gaza Border

Israeli authorities have identified 24 members of terrorist groups among the people who died in clashes on the Gaza border on May 14.

The majority of those identified belonged to the Hamas terrorist group, while others belonged to the Islamic Jihad terrorist group, according to Israel National News.

Palestinian authorities released martyrdom photos of 10 members of the Hamas terrorist groups internal security apparatus who were killed on May 14.

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist group by the U.S. Department of State since 1997.

Islamic terrorist group Saraya al-Quds identified three of its members among the killed, according to its website. In addition, a funeral photo showed that one of the deceased, Mohammed Dwedar, was wrapped in the flag of Kataib al-Qassam, the armed wing of Hamas.

Hamas called on Palestinians to cross the border en masse to coincide with the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem on May 14. Hamas operatives fired shots and hurled pipe bombs and grenades at Israeli soldiers guarding the border, the Israeli Defense Forces said in a statement accompanied by a video.

Yesterday afternoon, the IDF received intelligence that Hamas operatives were preparing to cross through the security fence from northern Gaza. IDF special forces arrived at the scene, & 8 armed terrorists hurled pipe bombs & grenades at the soldiers & the security fence. pic.twitter.com/8G73DjEvZl  IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) May 15, 2018

The clashes continued on May 15. Local authorities say at least 60 people have been killed in two days as crowds of people burned tires, hurled rocks and Molotov cocktails, floated incendiary kites, and attempted to destroy border fencing and illegally cross into Israel.

Israel sent 53 tons of medical supplies into Gaza this week, according to the IDF.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley blamed Hamas for the border protests and the resulting deaths.

Lets remember that the Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy, Haley told U.N. officials. This is what is endangering the people of Gaza. Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday.

Haley asked those present what they would do if a hostile group attempted to cross their borders.

No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has, she said. In fact, the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained.

Haley also described the tactics used by Hamas, including urging the crowds to advance by falsely claiming that Israeli forces had retreated.

The White House also blamed Hamas in remarks on Monday and called the terrorist groups actions a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt.

The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah said. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response.

I think the Israeli government has spent weeks trying to handle this without violence, and we find it very unfortunate, Shah added.

When Trump announced the move of the embassy in December last yearin accordance with the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act passed in 1995he said that specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem are subject to final negotiations.

After Trump announced that the U.S. would move its embassy to Jerusalem at least ten other countries said they intended to follow suit.

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Apple to Become Worlds 1st Trillion Dollar Company

$1,000,000,000,000. 12 zeros. Apple is on pace to become the 1st trillion-dollar company after its market value was estimated at $908 billion.

The increase in value also comes only a week after Warren Buffett announced his company Berkshire Hathaway had purchased an additional 75 millions shares of Apple stock in the 1st quarter, making it the companys largest holding, according to Quartz. The stock was trading at $175 at the time of the purchase and now stands at $188.15 as of 05/14/18, an 8% increase. Whoever made the call on that just cashed in big time.

But this news should not come as a surprise to those who have been following Apple. New innovations such are iPhoneX and iPhone 8 are big reasons for Apples success, with 52.2 million units sold in the 1st quarter, accounting for $38 billion in revenue. Consumers are pleased with advances in technology which allow for face recognition and a high definition camera that allows for stellar photographs and films. Other new innovations include the Airpods (wireless headphones), a new and improved iPad and wireless charging, which allows for multiple Apple products to be charged simultaneously on a wireless device.

On Sunday 05/06/18, Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted that the company was celebrating the 20th anniversary of the unveiling of the iMac when Co-founder Steve Jobs famously displayed the blue transparent computer to the world for the 1st time.

20 years ago today, Steve introduced the world to iMac. It set Apple on a new course and forever changed the way people look at computers. pic.twitter.com/GbKno7YBHl  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) May 6, 2018

Yet, few could have imagined at that time that Apple would be in the state that it is today. When Jobs was asked to become the CEO of the company once again in 1997, after having been ousted year earlier, Apple was on the brink of bankruptcy. In a CNBC interview when Jobs returned to the company, he was asked about Apples financial situation at the time. He said, If you do the right things on the top line, the bottom line will follow. The top line being, of course, the people that are hired and the culture created by the company. The people and culture would go on to revolutionize the computer industry as well as the music industry. With subsequent products like the iPod and iPad, MacBook and MacBook Air, Apple continued to inspire a generation with their Think Different culture. As their brand and loyal customers, the bottom line also grew. The top line seems to be doing pretty well, because in the bottom line, the proof is in the pudding.

But, if Apples past is any indication, dont think that they will be in any hurry to achieve the trillion-dollar feat first. Current CEO Tim Cook once said at a Utah Tech Conference, It doesnt bother us that we are second, third, fourth or fifth if we still have the best. Apple was not the 1st company to create a desktop or laptop computer, neither were they the 1st to create a mobile phone, but their products continue to grab the attention of consumers because of their simplicity and high quality standard.

Looking back at those words that Jobs said now, the top line seems to be doing pretty well, because in the bottom line the proof is in the pudding.
The McNaughton family at their farm in Queensland, Australia. (Courtesy of Lauren and Peter McNaughton)

Australian Farmers Grow 42,000 Sunflowers to Raise Awareness for Stillbirth

A family of farmers in Queensland, Australia, has grown a field of sunflowers for a beautiful cause, moving people across the country.

Lauren and Pete McNaughton, from the North Burnett region, started growing sunflowers for the first time in order to raise awareness and funds for the Stillbirth Foundation Australiaa charity dedicated to stillbirth research.

Several years ago, the couples best friends, Sam and Carlee Cook, lost their son, Nate, who was stillborn. In order to honour the memory of Nate, the McNaughtons grew about 42,000 flowers in Nates Paddock which covers about 3 acres of their property.

The Sunflowers mean so much more to us than any other crop, Lauren wrote on her Facebook post.

The McNaughtons said they were going to harvest the sunflowers and sell them for seed and oil. They will also be selling some cut flowers at local markets. All proceeds will be going towards the charity.

Its still kind of a taboo subject, thats why were doing this just to raise awareness, Lauren told the ABC.

According to the Stillbirth Centre of Research Excellence, the rate of stillbirth in Australia is 7.4 in every 1000 births, which equates to about 2,200 families each year.

The major causes of stillbirth are infection, maternal conditions, haemorrhage, spontaneous preterm birth, and congenital abnormality. But about a quarter of stillbirths are still unexplained, which adds to the parents distress, according to the organisation.

Lauren said they did not tell the Cooks about what they were doing until a few weeks ago. She said they were grateful for such an act of kindness.

They were speechless and cant thank us enough but we say we dont need kind words. We love him and want to honour him and never forget him,' she told the ABC.

The Queensland farmer said she didnt expect the response she received from the local community, who kept contacting them to buy bunches of sunflowers.

When they all came into flower, we got such a big response of people ringing and messaging, wanting to buy flowers just to put on their kitchen table, she said.

The generosity of friends and the local community helped the McNaughtons raise more than $600 in one day.

Everyones been supportive and when they found out some of the reasoning behind it theyve all jumped on board and pledged donations, Pete told the news broadcaster.

Lauren said the Cooks are also holding an online auction fundraiser for the cause throughout the month of May. Businesses have also supported their cause by donating a variety of goods and services, reported ABC.

Every little bit can make a big difference, she wrote on her Facebook post.

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Bear Attacks Young Girl in Middle of the Night. Heres What Then Happened To It

A bear that was involved in an attack on a girl in Colorado was tracked down and killed, according to reports.

The Grand Junction Sentinel reported that wildlife officers are confident that a male bear they shot and killed Sunday is the same one that attacked the girl.

The girl is currently in fair condition at St. Marys Medical Center. Her name wasnt disclosed by local authorities.

A spokesperson for the hospital said that the family didnt want any information about whether the girl is still at the hospital.

An officer killed the bear at about 9:30 p.m. local time before it went inside a bear trap, said Mike Porras, spokesman with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. One of the things we want to do is go to the family and tell them we killed the right bear, and were glad to hear that she will make a full recovery, Porras said.

After dealing with the bear, they took the animals carcass to the Wildlife Health Laboratory in Fort Collins for a necropsy, the paper reported.

The mother told state wildlife officials that her young daughter went outside at around 2:30 a.m. local time to investigate noises. She thought it was her dog, the mom said, according to The Associated Press.

Then, the mother, who was not identified, saw her girl being dragged by the black bear. The mother started screaming, and the bear dropped the girl.

She yelled at the animal, she screamed at it. And by doing so, she probably saved her little girls life, said Porras, AP reported.

The Colorado Springs Gazette reported earlier in 2018 that Colorado wildlife officials feared another deadly attack because of a lack of food for black bears.

We had a real mild winter, but we havent had much moisture at all over winter or spring so far, Officer Cody Wigner told the paper. So, theres really nothing for them to eat.

Low food quantities force bears to head into neighborhoods and cars to look for garbage to eat.

You get sightings year-round because they have that year-round food source, which is trash, Wigner added to the Gazette. Currently, its not looking good.

Last month, a hungry bear got locked inside a car in Boulder County, Kansas.com reported.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, in a statement on its website, told residents to secure their trash, keep pet food inside, and tell officials about any bear sightings in residential areas.

Black bears are trying to share space with an ever-growing human population, the departments website stated. With many more people living and playing in bear country, human-bear encounters are on the rise.

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Cheesecake Factory Staff Attack Black Man for Wearing a Trump Hat

Employees at a Florida Cheesecake Factory restaurant surrounded a black Trump supporter who was celebrating Mothers Day with his girlfriends family on Mothers Day, threatening and attacking him verbally because he wore a Make America Great Again hat, The Daily Wire reported, citing multiple witnesses as well as photos and videos taken at the scene.

Eugenior Joseph, 22, sat down to dine at a Cheesecake Factory inside Dadeland Mall on Sunday. According to Joseph and multiple witnesses, a female employee approached him pointing at the Trump hat and signaling for other employees to come over.

Her finger was literally on top of his head, we were all looking at her like what is happening?' a witness told The Daily Wire. She was pointing at him, calling her other coworkers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat.

Around a dozen employees then crowded around Josephs table with some referring to him using the n-word and others threatening to punch him in the face.

So then all the employees started standing there, saying things out loud, like, Im going to knock his head in so hard his hats going to come off, the witness added.

One of the employees clenched his fists as though he was ready to fight.

He got behind me and another coworker came by and they were staring at each other and he fist bumped him and then he started looking at me, balling his fists, smacking his fists, trying to scare me, Joseph told The Daily Wire.

The Cheesecake factory issued a statement to The Daily Wire indicating that the company is investigating the incident.

No guest should ever feel unwelcomed in one of our restaurants and we are taking this matter very seriously, the company said in a statement. Upon learning of this incident, we immediately apologized to the guests in person. We are conducting an investigation and will take the appropriate corrective action.

However, according to The Daily Wire, the company did not reach out to apologize to Joseph.

The situation was so tense and traumatizing that an elderly woman had to take medication to calm herself down, according to a witness. A small girl sitting at a table was seen crying in a video of the incident reviewed by The Daily Wire.

When Joseph and his girlfriend got up to go to the bathroom, the staff continued to mock him.

I got up and went to the restroom, my girlfriend followed me, and as we were walking back, a group of [the employees] came out from the back and they just started clapping and yelling, and just screaming things at me, Joseph said.

When Joseph exited the restaurant with his girlfriend and her family, a manager follow them outside to let them know that some of the employees had been sent home.

Police officers were also outside the restaurant though it is unclear who called them. The officers took down a report but did not file any charges.

Joseph said that he is new to politics and wore the Make America Great Again hat because he believes Trump is a really good president. He was disappointed that a black man cant support the president without being attacked.

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A taxi driver uses the Didi Chuxing app while driving along a street in Guilin City, in China's southern Guangxi Province on May 13, 2016. (Greg Baker/AFP/Getty Images)

Chinese Ride-Hailing App Didi Chuxing to Test out Driverless Cars in California Amid Scandal and Tough Competition at Home

Chinese ride-hailing app Didi Chuxing has been granted a permit to test self-driving vehicles in California, according to an update on the California Department of Motor Vehicles website.

The news was first reported by The Financial Times and CNBC.

The company is seeking to catch up with international rivals as it faces stiff competition in the ride-hailing market back home. Company executives have in recent months emphasized the importance of research into artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving technology to Didis future.

Scandal

Didi is also currently embroiled in a scandal in China: last week, Li Mingzhu, a 21-year-old airline stewardess who hailed a ride via the app in Zhengzhou City, Henan Province, was found dead with stab wounds. The driver who took Lis ride request, Liu Mouhua, is the primary suspect.

The case has drawn the scrutiny of local media and Chinese netizens, after Didi revealed that Liu had used an account registered under his fathers name. It brought into question the companys procedures for authenticating the drivers identity, as Liu was able to bypass Didis facial recognition system, which matches the drivers face with registration information. The company said the system was not triggered before the suspect took Lis order.

Netizens have also called out Didi for failing to screen drivers on its service, as many drivers leave openly sexual comments when rating female customers on the app.

Before Li died, she texted a colleague saying that she had bumped into a pervert, according to a South China Morning Post report. [The person] said I look rather pretty and wanted to kiss me, she texted to her colleague.

Local police are still searching for Liu. The company said late last week that it would temporarily suspend its pooling service and begin driver identification checks.

According to Chinese media reports, Didi drivers have been suspected of other serious crimes against their customers, such as a rape case in Harbin City in northeastern China, and several cases of drivers getting into serious altercations with riders after arguments.

Big Investment

Didi is banking hard on driverless cars, as it looks to challenge the dominance of U.S.-based ride-hailing app Uber. It has already kicked Uber out of the Chinese market; in 2016, it bought Ubers local business in a merger deal worth $35 billion, after Uber battled unsuccessfully to win market share.

It has also invested in several of Ubers global rivals, such as the U.S.-based Lyft, Brazils 99, Indias Ola, Grab in Southeast Asia, Estonias Taxify, and Careem in the Middle East.

Now it is entering the self-driving market too. In March 2017, Didi established a research institute in Silicon Valley for the purpose of developing self-driving and other AI-enabled technology, according to China Times, a Taiwanese newspaper. In December, it raised $4 billion in financing earmarked for developing AI tech.

In January, the company announced that it had set up an AI lab in Beijing, with a team of almost 200 engineers and scientists working in R&D (research and development)and a plan to roll out a fleet of self-driving cars in China by early next year.

Then, in February, news emerged that Didi had tested driverless cars on highways in Shanghai, China, according to Taiwans Central News Agency.

The company has partnered with Chinese car manufacturer Qoros, with the latter supplying the cars and the former providing the software and sensor equipment. Didis chief technology officer Zhang Bo said at a smart car conference in March that the company would create a business model whereby such partnerships would enable car manufacturers to share in profits, according to a report by CheYun.com, a Chinese car technology website.

We hope that Didi is not only a platform for transportation service that connects users to drivers, but that in the future, humans, cars, roads, traffic lights, and the traffic system behind [everything] will become digitalized, Zhang said, hinting at future AI ambitions.

Uber, for its part, recently suspended its driverless car program after one of its autonomous cars hit and killed a pedestrian in Arizona.

Tight Race

Didi faces plenty of domestic rivals; not only are internet giants like Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu also testing driverless cars, but there are driverless-car startups like Jingchi and Pony.ai. The latter three companies are also licensed to test driverless cars in California.

Plenty of companies are also giving Didi a run for its money in the ride-hailing market, prompting it to focus on driverless technology for the companys business strategy, according to China Times. Those include car rental apps like Shouqi Car Rental and Ucar; rival ride-hailing app Dida Chuxing; and even Meituan, a Groupon-like app, and AutoNavi, a navigation app, have recently rolled out ride-hailing services.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on March 8, 2018. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Corey Lewandowski Joins VP Pences Political Action Committee, Promises Midterm Wins

Corey Lewandowski, political commentator and former campaign manager for then-candidate Donald Trump, is joining a political action committee (PAC) founded by Vice President Mike Pence.

Lewandowski will work on rallying support for Republican candidates during the upcoming midterm elections. Hes also expected to work on President Donald Trumps 2020 reelection bid.

Lewandowski discussed his joining Pences Great America Committee with Trump and was greenlighted by the president, Fox News reported on Monday, May 14, citing anonymous sources.

Lewandowski confirmed the news later that day on Twitter.

Proud to be joining the Great America PAC, he wrote. @realDonaldTrump and @MikePenceVP continue to fulfill the Camapign Promises they made to Make America Great Again! The Reps will expand majorities in the Senate and hold the House to keep America moving forward.

Proud to be joining the Great America PAC. @realDonaldTrump and @MikePenceVP continue to fulfill the Camapign Promises they made to Make America Great Again! The Reps will expand majorities in the Senate and hold the House to keep America moving forward. https://t.co/p1Frn4YHMi  Corey R. Lewandowski (@CLewandowski_) May 14, 2018

Trump has recently dedicated a significant portion of his speeches to the midterms.

Two special elections included, there will be 35 Senate seats up for grabs come election day on Nov. 6. Of those, 23 are currently held by Democrats, two by independentsBernie Sanders and Angus King, who are allied with Democratsand eight by Republicans.

In addition, voters will decide on all 435 voting seats in the House of Representatives, where Republicans currently hold 235 seats versus Democrats 193.

Get out and vote. Dont be complacent, Trump said. Like 90 percent of the time, you win the Presidency and, for whatever reason you lose the midterm. We cant let that happen.

Trump asked Lewandowski to lead his campaign in January 2015, about half a year before Trump announced his bid, Lowell Sun reported.

Lewandowski successfully led the campaign through crowded Republican primaries, but was fired by Trump in June 2016 after reportedly clashing with then-campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Days later, Lewandowski was hired as a political commentator by CNN, but left days after Trump was elected president.

Hes remained a staunch Trump supporter, authoring, with David Bossie, a memoir about the 2016 presidential campaign called Let Trump Be Trump.

Recently, hes been frequently making appearances on Fox News as a political commentator, weighing in on the alleged politically motivated abuse of government surveillance to spy on the Trump campaign by the previous administration in collusion with the Hillary Clinton campaign. The matter is being investigated by Congress.

To join Pences PAC, Lewandowski is leaving America First Policies, a nonprofit supporting Trumps signature policies such as tax cuts and renegotiating trade deals.

In March 2016, Lewandowski was charged with simple battery for grabbing a Breitbart reporter by the arm at a press conference. The charge was later dismissed.

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(From L) Iran's ambassador to Germany Ali Majedi, Chairman of Germany's North Africa and Middle East Initiative (NMI) Siegfried Russwurm, Iran's Minister of Energy Hamid Chitchian, and German state secretary in the foreign ministry Stephan Steinlein pose for photographers before opening the German-Iranian Business Forum in Berlin on March 3, 2016. (John Macdougall/AFP/Getty Images)

European Opposition to Canceled Iran Deal Spurred by Big Business and Corruption

European leaders have been lobbying the United States to stay in the Iran deal, as they face economic losses from new sanctions on Iran, and Iranian leaders are pressuring the EU to keep the deal in place.

President Donald Trump announced on May 8 plans to end the Iran deal, and called it one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered.

The deal was signed during the Obama administration by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Councilthe United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and Francealong with Germany. Before it was signed, it was criticized for unfreezing tens of billions of dollars for Iran, and for so-called sunset clauses restricting Irans nuclear program, which would allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon by 2026.

Since Trump ended the deal, however, Iran hasnt shown signs of throwing in the towel. Instead, it has called on the remaining European powers still in the deal to maintain the program.

Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif, in a statement on May 11, said that the remaining members, and especially its three European signatories, must take necessary action to safeguard the accord and to implement their commitments. None of the provisions or time frames in the agreement are negotiable in any manner, he said.

Zarif adds that he was directed to take necessary measures to obtain the required guarantees from the remaining members of the agreement, and from Irans other economic partners. Failing this, he said, Iran will prepare to conduct nuclear enrichment without any restrictions, using results from the latest research and development of its nuclear scientists.

The European response was swift. On May 11, Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy, announced that she would hold a ministerial meeting with the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom on May 15 in Brussels, and that it would soon be followed by a meeting with Iran.

#IranDeal "I have convened a ministerial meeting with the FMs of Germany?? @HeikoMaas, France?? @JY_LeDrian , UK?? @BorisJohnson for next Tuesday in Brussels. First the three of them with me, and then we will meet with Iran?? FM @JZarif @FedericaMog ?? #JCPOA #SOU2018 pic.twitter.com/E19WCmHfpk  European External Action Service  EEAS ?? (@eu_eeas) May 11, 2018

The EUs Big Business In Iran

Europe has a lot of money to lose with the end of the Iran deal.

While U.S. trade with Iran has stayed between $200 million and $300 million, European trade with Iran has reached in the tens of billions. According to the statistics service Statista, the EU was trading around $15.5 billion with Iran in 2012. Sanctions cut this nearly in half, however, with trade dropping to $7.4 billion in 2013. It partially rebounded to above $9 billion in 2014 and 2015.

When the Iran deal was signed, however, EU trade with Iran jumped to $16.4 billion in 2016 and $25 billion in 2017.

As European companies moved to exploit an open and growing market, U.S. companies struggled to get involved under a cloud of political uncertainty, Statista states. With the United States criticizing the Iran deal, the EU has scrambled to protect its business interests in Iran.

Statista states that the EU has developed a range of countermeasures should the Trump administration restore sanctions on Iran, such as non-dollar denominated finance lines and an EU blocking statute which was developed in the 1990s but never used. It adds, however, that many experts believed these responses would be largely symbolic rather than effective.

Corrupt Deals

According to a retired intelligence officer who has worked on dual use, speaking under condition of anonymity, Germany, in particular, has a long track record of underhanded business with Iran, which has included violations of sanctions and providing dual-use technologies for Irans nuclear weapons program.

He stated that German businesses rarely trade sensitive materials with Iran directly, but have for years gone through partner companies in Switzerland because it has looser laws. There was a big bribery channel, he said. When Germany outlawed the use of bribes by German companies, all they did was turn around and use Swiss subsidiaries to continue making bribes.

There is a lot of money involved, he said. The motivation is greed. They would sell the rope with which they hang them.

A former U.S. intelligence contractor, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, had a similar view. He said the Iran deal allowed German companies to trade with Iran without needing to use underhanded methods. Thats why the Western countries in Europe are pushing the U.S. to stay in the Iran dealbecause they have huge investments in Iran, he said.

He also noted that the banking sector has played a role, with Iran being granted access to the SWIFT banking system under the deal.

According to Dr. Robert J. Bunker, adjunct research professor at the Strategic Studies Institute at the U.S. Army War College, many major companies are acting with the sole purpose of making money for their investors and executive officers and, in doing so, have been openly selling dual-use technologies that can be used for nuclear weapons.

Overtly selling dual-use technologies to authoritarian regimes provides plausible deniability to the actual use of those products, he said in an email. At the same time, many of these companies have been covertly selling military technologies via foreign subsidiaries and cut-out brokers, [which] erases any corporate involvement in such nefarious activities.

Commenting on information that some of these dual-use technologies may have traveled from Iran to Syria, Bunker stated, Twenty-first century multinational leadership is more like that found recently with Volkswagenprofit over the environment, profit over human life. German and Japanese conglomerates are going to take profit where they can, and if it helps the Assad regime or some other group of autocrats as a result, so be it.

A Resignation and an Odd Meeting

While details are still murky, there have been several odd incidents following Trumps abandonment of the Iran deal.

On May 11, Tero Varjoranta resigned from his position as chief inspector of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency. According to The Times of Israel, his departure was sudden and no explanation was given.

The agencys role in inspecting Iranian facilities to ensure theyre holding to their side of the bargain has raised suspicions over whether Varjorantas departure was out of frustration, or that the inspections had problems that were not previously revealed.

In addition, John Kerry, who served as secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 under the Obama administration, was allegedly seen meeting Iranian officials on May 12.

Jason Osborne, former senior adviser to the Trump presidential campaign, stated on Twitter that Kerry was seen meeting with three Iranians with a five-man security detail, who were traveling in diplomatic vehicles.

So John Kerry just left a meeting @ LAvenue in Paris w/3 Iranians. A friend was sitting next to their table and heard JK blasting @realDonaldTrump. The Iranians had a 5 person security detail and left in diplomatic vehicles. Is he FARA registered? @seanhannity @TuckerCarlson pic.twitter.com/vVYwDQTPNb  Jason Osborne (@_JasonOsborne) May 12, 2018

A follow-up tweet included images of the men who met with Kerry. One was former Iranian foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi, another appeared to be Iranian Ambassador to France Abolghassem Delfi, and the third was allegedly the director general of chairmans office at the Tehran-based Strategic Council on Foreign Relations (SCFR), Abdolreza Faraji-Rad.

The one in front is certainly Kamal Kharazi (#Iran regime's FM from 1997-2005). The one behind the door looks very similar to Abolghassem Delfi (current Ambassador to France). See photos for comparison. Please bear in mind these ppl aren't diplomats. They're diplomat-terrorists. pic.twitter.com/4ZoSA9cyJ6  M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) May 13, 2018
Ex-Obama Official: Iran Deal Withdrawal Would Not Affect US Talks With North Korea

WASHINGTONA former senior U.S. diplomat from the Obama administration said that President Trumps recent decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal would not adversely affect U.S. negotiations with North Korea, contrary to the opinion of many of Trumps critics. The regimes dictator Kim Jong-Un never trusted the United States and is unlikely to follow through with an agreement in any case, the former Obama official said.

Daniel Russel served as the assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific from 2013 to 2017, which means that for four years he was the top U.S. diplomat for Asia under the Obama administration.

Speaking on Monday at a forum at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C. the former Obama official rebuked the commonly heard criticism in recent days that Trumps decision to withdraw from the Iran deal would undermine U.S. credibility in the eyes of North Korean regime and make it harder to reach a peace deal.

I think American credibility with North Korea started at zero. The likelihood is that Trumps withdrawal from the Iran deal didnt fundamentally alter Kim Jong-Uns thinking about U.S. posture, Russel said. It certainly doesnt help, but I dont think Kim Jong-Un is particularly looking abroad for models or examples [for negotiating with the United States].

Russel also said that Kim Jong-Un is unlikely to put any trust in U.S. promises in a negotiation in the first place, even before Trumps withdrawal from the Iran deal.

Russels views contrast with the Democratic backlash against Trumps decision, announced on May 8, to abandon the Iran deal, which is formally known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The view that a withdraw from the Iran deal would undermine U.S. credibility in future negotiations is commonly-held by Democrats but is more motivated by partisan hostility toward Trump than based on any solid analysis or understanding of the North Korean regime, according to Sung-Yoon Lee, a Korean studies professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University,

There is not a single international agreement North Korea has signed which it has not blatantly violated and cheated in history, so why are we not questioning North Korea for not following through with its numerous treaty obligations? Lee asked.

Concurring with Daniel Russels statement, Lee also said that the Iran deal has no implications for what Kim Jong-Un would or would not have done, since the North Korean regime has a documented record of using aggression to extort concessions in negotiation with South Korea and the United States, only to renege on its promises and repeat the same playbook again in a few years.

Ever since the Iran nuclear deal was brokered and signed under Obama administration in 2015, some Republicans and foreign policy hardliners have been highly critical of the deal, arguing that it only appeases and empowers the authoritarian Iranian regime while still allowing it to pursue the development of nuclear weapons in one way or another.
Palestinians throw rocks and float kites with firebombs into Israel during protests in Gaza City on May 14, 2018 against the opening of a U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Iran Front Group Offers $100,000 to Destroy the US Embassy in Jerusalem

A radical student group tied to a front organization of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is offering a $100,000 prize to destroy the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The organization put out its announcement in an image, which was picked up by major Iranian news outlets.

According to an English translation of the report from FARS News Agency, the semi-official voice of the Iranian regime, the Student Judicial Movement announced it would give the money to anyone who can manipulate the building.

It also notes that the student group asked a diplomat to answer why there has not been any action against the blood of the new martyrs or about equipping the West Bank.

The student group is allegedly affiliated with Student Basij, part of Basij, a paramilitary force that takes its orders from the Iranian regimes IRGC and from the Supreme Leader of Iran.

Iran is the worlds most prolific sponsor of terrorism, primarily through its IRGC, but also through its support for Hamas and Hezbollah. Among its key activities is the financing of terrorists and their familiesincluding payments to families of suicide bombers.

The payments often go through nonprofit proxies to the government in Palestine, which then pays the terrorist families. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu raised the issue during a March 6 speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC).

Netanyahu stated that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas pays close to $350 million a year to terrorists and their families. Thats about a little less than 10 percent of the total Palestinian budget. Thats an incredible number, Netanyahu said.

He pays Hakim Awad, the terrorist who murdered this beautiful family of Ehud and Ruth Fogel and their three children and a 3-month-old baby girl, he pays Hakim Awad, this murderer. Over the lifetime of this killer, he will be receiving $2 million.

I have a message for President Abbas: Stop paying terrorists! Because what message does this send to Palestinian children? It says murder Jews and get rich!

And I believe President Abbas should find better use for this money. To build roads, schools, hospitals, factories. Build life. Dont pay death.

In October 2017, the Trump administration designated the IRGC as a terrorist group. U.S. Department of Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that the IRGC has played a central role to Iran becoming the worlds foremost state sponsor of terror.

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A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City May 14, 2018. (Reuters/Mohammed Salem)

Israeli Forces Kill Dozens in Gaza as US Embassy Opens in Jerusalem

GAZA/JERUSALEMIsraeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it a massacre.

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gazas ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli militarys actions as self-defence of his countrys borders.

In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany, and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalema sacred city to Jews, Muslims, and Christiansshould be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed at finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Border Bloodshed

Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process.

A senior Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, said at a border encampment that Mondays protest was timed to coincide with the deplorable crime of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

He said: Our people went out today to respond to this new Zionist-American aggression, and to draw by their blood the map of their return.

In Gaza, Palestinian protests quickly turned into bloodshed. Tens of thousands had streamed to the edge of the coastal enclaves land border, some approaching the Israeli fence.

Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever, said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name.

Clouds of black smoke from tires set alight by demonstrators rose in the air. Demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces, who fired volleys of tear gas and rounds of gunfire.

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday, the day Palestinians mourn as the Nakba or Catastrophe when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of them were driven out of their homes or fled the fighting around Israels creation.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence.

Every country has an obligation to defend its borders, he wrote on Twitter. The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens.

Hamas denied instigating the violence, but the White House backed Netanyahu. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response, White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters.

The Israeli military said in a statement: Rioters hurled firebombs and explosive devices at the security fence and Israeli troops. The soldiers response, it said, was in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The dead included at least six people under 18 years of age, including one girl. The total number of fatalities since a series of protests to demand Palestinians right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel is now 103.

The Israeli military said three of those killed were armed militants who tried to place explosives near the fence.

Sirens of ambulances carrying casualties to hospitals wailed almost non-stop all day. In Gaza mosques, loudspeakers mourned the dead, who were carried for burial in funeral marches.

Israel said it would reopen the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, which provides vital supplies for the enclave, from Tuesday. It was shut after Gaza protesters vandalized it on Friday night when they set fire to a gas pipeline and a goods conveyor.

Calls for Restraint

Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Kushner said it was possible for both sides in the conflict to gain more than give in any peace deal. Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together, he said in a speech.

But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem. He announced a general strike on Tuesday.

Unlike the previous administration of former president Barack Obama which had a strained relationship with Netanyahu, Trump has firmly supported the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu has long been a critic of the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump abandoned last week despite complaints from other U.S. allies.

The Pentagon confirmed it had deployed additional U.S. Marine guards to temporarily bolster security at several U.S. embassies after the violence but declined to say which ones. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deployments bolstered security at U.S. embassies including Israel, Jordan, and Turkey.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to talk to all involved parties in the region over the next few days.

Britain said it had no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and disagreed with the U.S. decision to do so. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the U.S. move flouted international law.

Turkey accused Israeli security forces of carrying out a massacre and said the U.S. embassy move had encouraged them.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians and called for an independent and transparent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel.

The Trump administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller

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Yoselyn Ortega, a nanny convicted of killing Lucia and Leo Krim, ages 6 and 2 respectively, arrives for a hearing for her trial at Manhattan Supreme Court in New York on July 8, 2013. (REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo)

New York Nanny Sentenced to Life for Murdering Children in Her Care

NEW YORKA New York nanny convicted of fatally stabbing two young children in her care was sentenced on Monday, May 14, to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime that has been described as every parents nightmare.

In a case that drew national headlines, Yoselyn Ortega, 56, was found guilty by a jury in April of murdering both Lucia Krim, 6, nicknamed Lulu, and her 2-year-old brother, Leo, and leaving their bloody bodies in a bathtub in their luxury Manhattan apartment in October 2012.

Judge Gregory Carro on Monday called the case pure evil before issuing the sentence, the stiffest available.

The two-month trial at state Supreme Court in Manhattan featured testimony by the childrens mother, Marina Krim.

She recalled the shock of returning to the familys Upper West Side apartment to find her children slain and their nanny standing over them stabbing her own neck with a kitchen knife. Krim had come home with the childrens 3-year-old sister, Nessie, after Ortega failed to show up with the children at Lulus dance lesson.

I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare that I knew wasnt a nightmare. It was real, Krim told jurors. Its like a total horror movie.

The motive, prosecutors said, was Ortegas overwhelming financial problems after bringing her 17-year-old son from the Dominican Republic and her resentment toward Marina Krim, married to then-CNBC executive Kevin Krim, for being the mother she could never be.

In 2012, in the aftermath of the killings, the Krims founded the Lulu & Leo Fund, which supports creativity in schools. Their family now includes two more children: Felix, born in October 2013, and Linus, born in January 2016.

Ortegas lawyers had failed to convince the jury she was not guilty by reason of insanity.

By Alice Popovici
North Korean Envoys Arrive in Beijing Amid Reports of New Details About Kim-Xi Meeting

With less than a month before the historic summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12, negotiations are underway to decide how the North Korean regime will dismantle its nuclear arsenal.

Meanwhile, the Chinese regimeNorth Koreas communist allyhas been eager to exert itself into U.S.-North Korea talks.

On May 14, South Korean media spotted a North Korean delegation arriving in Beijing. Two officialsRyu Myong Son, department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers Party of Korea, and Kim Nung O, head of the Partys North Pyongan Central Committeewere among the group. The envoys aimed to discuss cooperation between the two regimes during the upcoming Trump-Kim summit.

While it was unclear who else was in the delegation, the group was welcomed by Ji Jae Ryong, the North Korean ambassador to China, at the airport, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.

North Korean Distrust of US

The news of another China-North Korea powwow came just as Japanese media reported that North Korea expressed a lack of trust in the United States when Kim visited Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on May 7 and 8.

Even though the U.S. has said that it will provide economic assistance if North Korea achieves denuclearization, the promise by the U.S. cannot be trusted, Kim reportedly said to Xi, according to Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun on May 13, citing unnamed diplomatic resources.

So far, North Korea and the United States have expressed different views on the steps and timetable for dismantling the regimes nuclear arsenal. According to Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, the North has resisted a request by the United States to relocate thousands of North Korean nuclear engineersa move to assure the North cannot restart nuclear development in the future.

While the United States wishes that dismantlement be done within months or up to two years, the North wants a longer period of time to carry out denuclearization.

Additionally, an agreement has yet to be made for what economic package the North Korean regime would receive in exchange for nuclear disarmament.

The Yomiuri Shimbun report also noted that during Kims visit, he had asked Xi for some form of economic assistance during the intermediate phase of disarmament, should his regime and the United States come to an agreement.

The Chinese regime has long been North Koreas biggest trading partner, providing food, energy resources, and other supplies to the North.

However, on May 13, U.S. national security advisor John Bolton made the U.S. stance clear when he said no benefits would flow to the North Korean regime unless a denuclearization process was completely underway thats irreversible.

Unrealistic Hopes?

After decades of failed diplomacy to negotiate on North Korean disarmament, some analysts are skeptical about what can be achieved at the upcoming summit in Singapore. One of those skeptics is Thae Yong-ho, North Koreas former deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, who defected to South Korea with his family in 2016.

That miracle wont happen, said Thae, who spoke on May 14 during a press conference about the release of his autobiography, The Secret Code of the Three-Story Secretariat Office: Thae Yong-hos Testimony, in the South Korean capital of Seoul, reported Korea JoongAng Daily.

He explained that Kim wouldnt agree to complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization (CVID) because that would mean unlimited inspection from international agencies. Doing so would strike a critical blow to the core foundation of the North Korean power structure, he said.

He added, I think the most realistic solution would be to have the North agree to reducing its nuclear threat.

So the likely scenario would be, according to Thae, Pyongyang would agree to SVID insteadsufficient, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearizationby downsizing its nuclear stockpile.

North Korea would then become a nuclear power wrapped around paper called denuclearization, concluded Thae.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, South Korea. (Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters)

North & South Korea To Hold High-Level Talks

SEOULNorth Korea and South Korea agreed on Tuesday to hold high-level inter-Korea talks on May 16 to discuss steps needed to uphold the pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, South Koreas Unification Ministry said.

The meeting will discuss specific plans needed to carry out the April 27 inter-Korea summit declaration, which includes pledges to finally end a seven-decade war this year, and pursue complete denuclearization.

The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on May 16 in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss implementation of Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, the Unification Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting would be the latest in a series of actions taken by North Korea that have spurred hopes that the seven-decade conflict on the Korean Peninsula may be coming to an end.

North Korea has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb test site for sometime between May 23-25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the countrys state media reported on Saturday, a month ahead of a planned North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet on June 12, a scenario that seemed improbable given the insults and threats exchanged between the two leaders in the past year.

Wednesdays inter-Korea talks will see North Korea send a 29-member delegation led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country. Also in the delegation will be Kim Yun-hyok, vice minister of Railways, and Won Kil-U, vice minister of Physical Culture and Sports.

From South Korea, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will led a team of five.

Reporting by Cynthia Kim and Christine Kim

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Parents of pupils killed when the Xinjian primary school collapsed in the May 12 earthquake cry as they hold portraits of their loved ones during a commemoration of Children's Day on the rubble-strewn school campus on June 1, 2008 in Dujiangyan, Sichuan province, China. Hundreds of parents and relatives of killed pupils wore T-shirts with the slogan 'Severely Punish Corrupt and Shoddy Construction' during the tearful gathering. (Andrew Wong/Getty Images)

On 10th Anniversary of Sichuan Earthquake, Chinese Authorities Harass Journalists, Parents of Perished Children

May 12 marked the 10-year anniversary of a 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province in southwestern China, killing 69,227 and injuring 374,643, according to the Chinese regimes Ministry of Civil Affairs. More than 17,000 remain missing.

An estimated 7,000 school buildings in the earthquake zone collapsed. At Beichuan Middle School alone, more than 1,000 students were crushed and killed in the rubble. Photos of the collapsed buildings that circulated online clearly showed that the concrete walls were merely supported by bits of iron mesh embedded inside, instead of the standard steel bars.

The shoddily built schools were thereafter referred to as tofu dreg construction, collapsing like tofu upon encountering earthquake tremors. Sichuan residents suspected that local authorities siphoned off construction expenses and cut corners when building the schools.

Miyamoto International, a California-based company that specialized in earthquake-secure construction, sent a team to investigate the collapsed school buildings after the earthquake, and found many flaws in the Sichuan schools, including construction techniques, building design, and quality supervision, reported India Today back in May 2008.

Parents Seek Justice

For the past decade, parents of the earthquake victims have protested the authorities to demand justice for their childrens deaths.

On May 12, about 200 parents commemorated the deaths of their children outside the former site of their school, Juyuan Middle School. The parents held banners asking local authorities to punish those officials responsible for the shoddily built schools. Many plainclothes police monitored the scene, according to a report by Cable TV Hong Kong.

When a Cable TV reporter, Lei Zijian, finished his interview with the parents and went back to his car, two men and one woman opened Leis car door and tried to drag him out, then took his bag, which contained his computer and audio recording equipment.

Another reporter, Chen Haohui, saw that Lei was being surrounded in his car, and started to record the scene with his cell phone, but was dragged aside by two men. They kneed Chen in the abdomen and kicked his head, reported Cable TV.

The two men left after staff from the local propaganda office arrived at the scene. The staff brought Chen to the hospital to examine his injuries. According to the hospital examination, Chen had numbness and pain in his wrists, as well as coughing, as a result of being beaten, reported Cable TV.

Cable TV interviewed Lu Biyu, parent of an earthquake victim, said two other Hong Kong reporters were taken away by plainclothes police.

Many parents have also tried to appeal to central authorities in Beijing, but have been met with police interference and arrests.

Sang Jun, parent of an elementary school student who perished in the 2008 earthquake, told Radio Free Asia on April 26 that he and other victims parents were stopped when they recently traveled to Beijing.

In recent few days, I have been surrounded by national security and agents who are monitoring me, said Sang. Several parents who are the lead representatives for student victims are also being monitored.

Ms. Chou (a pseudonym) from Mianyang City, Sichuan Province told The Epoch Times on April 28 that she has been jailed in 2009, 2010, and 2013 for her efforts to seek justice for earthquake victims. Now there are people following us wherever we go, even when we go to the market to buy groceries.

Embezzled Donations

Meanwhile, donations collected to aid earthquake victims have been embezzled by local officials.

According to data from Sichuan authorities, in the six months after the earthquake, China received 76.2 billion yuan ($12 billion) worth in goods and funds, including 65.2 billion ($10.3 billion) in money donations.

In August 2016, Chinese newspaper Beijing News revealed that Wen Jiabi, former executive vice president of the Sichuan branch of Red Cross Society, had received bribes of about 5.8 million yuan ($911,560) and embezzled more than 2.95 million yuan ($463,640) in donations during the 2008 earthquake. Tan Li, former party secretary of the Mianyang Citythe center of the earthquake zoneParty Committee received 86.3 million ($13.6 million) in bribes, reported state-run newspaper Peoples Daily on Oct 14, 2016.

Eighty percent of donations for the earthquake went to Chinese government accounts, according to an assessment done by professor Deng Guosheng and his team at Tsinghua Universitys public management institute in 2008.

Out of the 65.2 billion yuan ($10.3 billion) of donations, the Chinese regime only publicized allocation details for about 15.1 billion yuan ($2.37 billion)approximately 23 percent of the funds. As for the remaining 50.1 billion yuan ($7.87 billion), there are no public records for how it was spent, reported Caijing.com, a Chinese business publication, in May 2016.

Despite the corruption, the Chinese regime decided to formally establish the anniversary of the earthquake as Sichuan Thanksgiving Day, reported state-run media Xinhua on May 6.

The Chinese regime said citizens should remember the day by being grateful toward the Party for rescuing the earthquake survivors.

The Xinhua report quoted Yang Yunbing, the Party secretary of Zhongtanbao village, which was located in the earthquake zone: We are far too insignificant, comparing to the grand love of the government.

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Southwest Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Texas, Paramedics on Scene

Oxygen masks were suddenly released as cabin pressure dropped on a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver to Dallas.

The plane made an emergency landing at Dallas Love Field airport on May 12.

Plane passengers Josh Trimberger and Glen Eichelberger told CBS News they were told by flight crew that the oxygen masks had dropped due to a change in cabin pressure.

But Eichelberger said that there was poor communication from the flight crew.

Both Trimberger and Eichelberger said that they had feared for their lives.

According to CBS News, Southwest Airlines described the landing in a statement as uneventful.

The Crew of Flight 861 traveling from Denver to Dallas Saturday night radioed ahead for paramedics to meet the aircraft after a pressurization issue in flight, a Southwest representative told Business Insider.

The airline said four of the 120 passengers on the plane requested medical assistance to assess ear pain.

Eichelberger said, When youre in the air, 20,000 feet above the ground, and dont know whats going on, its not uneventful; its very eventful.

Luckily, we were in the DFW area where we have Alliance, Love Field, and DFW [airports], added Trimberger to CBS.

I had no idea what was going on or what the outcome was going to be, said Eichelberger. I reached over and grabbed Josh by the arm because I didnt know if we were going to make it or not. There was no communication whatsoever from the flight attendants or from the cockpit as far whether we were in mortal danger.

Both said that they hope passenger safety will be taken more seriously next time.

They do thousands of flights a day and its a rare instance that this happened and I think it could have happened to anybody, said Trimberger.

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Video Credit: Josh Trimberger via Storyful
Tesla Crash May Have Triggered Battery Fire: Swiss Firefighters

ZURICHSwiss firefighters said on Monday that the impact in a fatal accident involving a Tesla electric car may have set off a fire in the vehicles battery.

A 48-year-German driver died when his car hit the barrier in the central reservation of a motorway in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino, turned over and burst into flames.

The crash, which happened on Thursday, is one of several accidents to affect Tesla Inc vehicles in recent days.

The violent impact of Lithium-ion batteries could probably have caused a phenomenon called thermal runaway, i.e. a rapid and unstoppable increase in temperature, Ticino fire brigade said on its Facebook page.

Lithium-ion batteries can, under very exceptional circumstances, have a sudden and unstoppable increase in temperature, in a sort of chain reaction that leads to the complete destruction of the batteries and the car, said fire safety expert Guido Zaccarelli in an article quoted by the firefighters.

A Tesla spokesman said: We are deeply saddened by this accident, and we are working to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation to local authorities.

On Friday a Tesla Model S crashed at speed into a truck in South Jordan, Utah. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also reviewing a Florida crash of a Tesla vehicle last week that killed two teenagers.

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Visitors look on as a statue of German communist thinker Karl Marx is unveiled on May 5, 2018 in his native city of Trier, in southwestern Germany. (HARALD TITTEL/AFP/Getty Images)

The European Project and Karl Marx

Is the European Union losing its moral compass?

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker showed up recently in Trier, the birthplace of Karl Marx, to pay tribute to his memory. This was followed by a series of exhibitions, including the unveiling of a gigantic statue of Marx, sponsored by the Chinese regime, to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the creator of modern communism.

To come from a country that experienced Marxism in practiceas I do, being from Slovakiais to shudder over such fawning. What does it mean, or portend, when Juncker honors an architect of collectivist tyranny and oppression at a time when many democracies are struggling?

It means we should study and honor history, of course. We know from history that systems based on ideologies that pit one group of citizens against anotherthe very essence of Marxist class warfaredegenerate until they turn against humanity itself.

Junckers argument that [Marx] stands for things which he is not responsible for and which he didnt cause is mostly inaccurate. Knowledge of and experience with Marxism tell us the exact opposite. As for the practice, we do not have a single example of Marxist theory being applied with positive results. Would Junker and others have us believe that, if only we tried harder, we could one day get Marxism right in our politics?

Many have laid down their lives in the struggle against communism. They rejected Marxism both in theory and practice and grasped the inevitable consequences brought by those who naively dreamed about good intentions. For this reason alone, Junckers celebration of Marx and his message at Trier dishonor another part of history: the lives and deaths of those martyrs who fought for liberty and human dignity.

Marxism and Faith

For those of us who consider ourselves persons of faith, Junckers affection for Marx and Marxism is especially troubling.

Perhaps the most elaborated upon account of why Marxism inevitably enslaves the human person was provided by the Catholic Church, the church of which Juncker claims to be a member. In its encyclicals, the Church recognizes the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class and offers an alternative to the enslaving solution put forward by Marx, first in Leo XIIIs encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891), which is considered a foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching. Many of the positions on Marxs dogmas were supplemented by later encyclicals.

The timing and context are also alarming. To laud Marx when the West struggles both with people losing their faith and their trust that liberal democracy can deliver better lives for all is foolish.

Democracy is facing competition from populist demagoguery and is threatened by growing disinformation and propaganda campaigns. The Kremlin is one of the greatest resources for these campaigns.

Opinion polls in the Visegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) and Germany, conducted by the International Republican Institute in 2017, indicate that 40 percent of Czechs, 36 percent of Slovaks, 21 percent of Hungarians, and 17 percent of Poles believe that the EU is pushing them to abandon their traditional values. On top of that, 41 percent of Slovaks, 27 percent of Czechs, 20 percent of Germans, 18 percent of Hungarians and 14 percent of Poles believe that Russia has taken the side of traditional European values.

Putins regime is actively trying to revive the power of Russia by blurring the differences between communist regimes and liberal democracies while presenting the Soviet Union in a positive light.

Russian organizations like Memorial, which are trying to pay tribute to the hundreds of millions of victims of the Soviet regime and thus support the pro-democratic direction Russia initially took in the 1990s, are persecuted, while statues to Stalin are erected across the country.

Normalizing Communism

The attempts to normalize the memory of communism are exported to the EU with the tacit support of actors like the Slovak governing party Smer-SD; the Belgian Prince Laurent, who regularly attends events celebrating the Chinese, Cuban, or other regimes; many Western universities, which receive generous sponsorship from the Chinese regime; and now Juncker, with his tribute to Marx.

From one side, Europeans are being beleaguered by statues of Marx, which are sponsored by one of the most brutal current regimes: the party-state in China, which kills its own citizens on an industrial scale (see, for example, EndTransplantAbuse.org). From the other side, statues of Stalin are sponsored by Russia, which is waging a hybrid war and threatening the very integrity of the EU.

Last year, we observed the hundredth anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution. On Nov. 7, 2017, the European House of History, together with Junckers home political party, the European Peoples Party (EPP), organized an event to shed light on the historical incident that sparked one of the greatest atrocities in history and to pay tribute to the victims of Soviet communism.

The EPP embraces most of the parties of former dissidents and opposition leaders from the post-communist European states. In this regard, the party has an important role to play in safeguarding the memories of the horrors of communism.

Voices that defend Marxist ideology with the excuse that the atrocities were not an inevitable consequence of the theory of historical materialism are dangerous for currently contested democracies. The link between the atrocities and Marxist theory is clear. To put blinders on is irresponsible and dangerous.

Perhaps Juncker and the European Commission need a field trip. They might start with a visit to the labor camps and political prisons across China, whose party-state seems eager to encourage naivete and willful blindness.

Miriam Lexmann is a former permanent representative of the Slovak Parliament to the EU, who left diplomacy when the current post-communist government in Slovakia took over. She works in international democracy support and serves as a member of the advisory board of the University of Kents COMPASS.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Fresh protests were expected on Tuesday, a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict's bloodiest day in years.



Palestinians on Tuesday mark the Nakba, or "catastrophe," commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.



It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned.



Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said.



The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said.



At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.



Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya vowed protests in Gaza would continue on Tuesday.



Hamas's armed wing and other militant groups "will not prolong their silence over the crimes of the occupation", he said.



In the West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared a general strike on Tuesday after accusing Israel of "massacres".



On Monday, tens of thousands had gathered near the border in protest while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.



- Protests and clashes -



The death toll led to strong condemnation from rights groups and concern from a range of countries.



But the United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into the violence, diplomats at the United Nations said.



Despite the violence, the embassy inauguration went on as planned in Jerusalem, attended by a Washington delegation that included US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides.



Trump addressed the gathering by video.



"Our greatest hope is for peace," he said, despite the Palestinian anger the move has provoked.



Israel's military said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the protests and clashes.



It said its aircraft had targeted 11 Hamas sites and tanks fired at "two terror posts belonging to Hamas", accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement of opening fire towards Israeli forces.



Israel says its action is necessary to stop infiltrations of the border fence and claims that Hamas, which runs the blockaded Gaza Strip, uses the protests as cover to carry out violence.



The White House also blamed Hamas for the violence.



French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "violence of the Israeli armed forces against the protesters" as several countries urged restraint.



Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt acknowledged "Israel's right to defend its borders" but also said "the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning".



"We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint," he said.



EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said "we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life".



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide."



Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel "for consultations," while South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel "until further notice".



- 'Terrorist squads' -



At least 113 Palestinians have been killed in a campaign of protests along the Gaza border since March 30, the vast majority by Israeli snipers during clashes.



Only one Israeli soldier has been reported wounded during that time.



On Monday, the army said "many rioters" tried to breach the border fence and "approximately 10 explosive devices and several firebombs were used to target the security fence and (Israeli) troops". It said shots were also fired at the soldiers.



The embassy inauguration followed Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.



Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.



Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.



International consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides, but Trump broke with that to global outrage.



He has argued that it helps make peace possible by taking Jerusalem "off the table", but many have noted he has not announced any concessions in return from Israel.



Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move was also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.







AFP




Refugees are seen at the Cox's Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh, near Rakhine state, Burma, during a trip by United Nations envoys to the region April 29, 2018. (Reuters/Michelle Nichols)

US Criticizes China for Shielding Burma From UN Action

UNITED NATIONSThe United States indirectly criticised China on May 14 for shielding Burma, also known as Myanmar, from strong U.N. Security Council action over a military crackdown against mainly Rohingya Muslims that the U.S. and other countries have denounced as ethnic cleansing.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley did not mention China by name, but China proposed substantial amendments to a British-drafted Security Council statement on Burma last week. The 15-member council eventually agreed a weaker statement.

The Security Council met on May 14 to discuss a visit by envoys to Burma and Bangladesh two weeks ago.

Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts in Burmas Rakhine state in August last year sparked a military operation that sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to camps in Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh.

Some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons, Haley said. Some undermined the unity of the council demonstrated during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the councils message.

Speaking before Haley, Chinas U.N. Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu told the Security Council that Burma and Bangladesh should be encouraged to solve the crisis bilaterally to make sure it doesnt drag on or become more complicated.

The council should continue to encourage Burma and Bangladesh to increase consultations and cooperation for the early implementation of the bilateral arrangement, he said.

Burma and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow.

Diplomats said Russia has also backed China in council discussions on Burma.

Speaking after Haley, Russias deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the unity of the council on the issue was important and he hoped some members will not fall prey to the temptation of using this situation to pursue their narrow, domestic political aims.

Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson on a large scale. Burma denies ethnic cleansing and has said its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents.

The government of Myanmar has stated time and again that no violation of human rights will be condoned, Burmas U.N. Ambassador Hau Do Suan told council on May 14. Allegations supported by evidence will be investigated and action taken in accordance with the law.

The United States and Canada have imposed unilateral sanctions against a general in Burmas military for his role in the crackdown and the European Union is preparing individual sanctions.

Haley, who did not travel to Burma and Bangladesh, said that the Security Council had unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, though she did not elaborate.

We should move quickly to adopt a resolution that institutes real steps to resolve this enormous and growing humanitarian and human rights crisis, Haley said.

By Michelle Nichols

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Xerox Abandons Planned Deal With Fujifilm in Victory for Icahn and Deason

NEW YORK/TOKYOXerox Corp has scrapped a planned $6.1 billion deal with Fujifilm Holdings Corp in a settlement with activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason that also hands control of the U.S. photocopier giant to new management.

The victory for the billionaire investors puts the Japanese company further on the back foot in any new negotiations with Xerox, although it is by no means out of contention as Xerox is now expected to go up for sale in an auction at a higher price.

Xerox said that it had over several weeks repeatedly asked Fujifilm to immediately start talks about improved terms for a proposed transaction.

Despite our insistence, Fujifilm provided no assurance that it will do so within an acceptable timeframe, the U.S. firm said in a statement on its decision to drop the deal.

Fujifilm was quick to take a combative stance, saying it disputes Xeroxs right to terminate the deal and would look at all options including legal action seeking damages.

The two companies agreed in January to a complex deal that would have merged Xerox into their Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox and given Fujifilm control. That prompted Icahn and Deason, who own 15 percent of Xerox and argued the U.S. firm was being undervalued, to launch a proxy fight.

The activist investors have also said they are unhappy with the current structure of the joint venture, and settlement creates uncertainty concerning potential changes to a business that accounts for nearly half of Fujifilms revenue.

Icahn and Deason have said they believe other investors are waiting in the wings for Xerox while people familiar with the matter have previously said that buyout firm Apollo Global Management LLC has expressed interest in a bid for Xerox.

Inseparable?

But analysts believe the two firms are inextricably intertwined and that Fujifilm is not without bargaining power, while also doubting that talk of other buyers is that substantial.

It wouldnt be good if it goes elsewhere. But are there really other potential buyers? Icahn and Deason say there are, because they want a higher price, but you dont really know whether thats for real, said Ichiyoshi Asset Management senior executive officer Mitsushige Akino.

Fuji Xerox, 75 percent owned by Fujifilm, handles contracts that supply global clients with Xerox services in the United States and Europe, and Fuji Xerox services in Asia. Moreover, Xerox no longer builds its own office copiers, instead relying mostly on Fuji Xerox.

Xerox said its new board would meet immediately and begin a process to evaluate all strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.

Icahn and Deason have said they would consider an all-cash bid of at least $40 per share. In contrast to the investors argument that Fujifilm is only offering $28 per share, analysts have said the Japanese firms offer is not too far off that per share valuation, albeit not in cash.

The settlement will see Chief Executive Officer Jeff Jacobson  the main architect of the deal with Fujifilm  as well as five other directors step down. John Visentin is expected to take the helm.

Visentin had previously been hired by Icahn to assist in fighting Xerox. He had also been a candidate under consideration by the old board to replace Jacobson as recently as last year, according to court documents.

It is Xeroxs second settlement with the activist investors in just two weeks. The first settlement agreement was allowed to expire as Xerox came to believe it had flexibility to renegotiate a deal with Fujifilm and also took into account a stock dive that followed the agreement.

We are extremely pleased that Xerox finally terminated the ill-advised scheme to cede control of the company to Fujifilm, Icahn said in a statement.

Xerox also said it was ending the deal partly because Fujifilm had failed to provide audited financial information for Fuji Xerox by an April 15 deadline and that there were material deviations between audited Fuji Xerox financial statements and unaudited statements provided previously.

By Alwyn Scott and Makiko Yamazaki

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Drawing a visual comparing Stamford Harbor to Waikiki Beach represents an exercise in mental gymnastics for most anyone. But as the warm weather arrives in Connecticut, the Stamford waterfront scene will soon include floating tiki bars straight out of any Hawaiian brochure.

Norwalk resident John Davis launched Monday in Stamford his Captain Johns Tiki Tours & Boat Rentals, offering three excursion options including floating tiki bars that can accommodate up to a half-dozen patrons as they meander through the harbor.

Davis said he had considered both Stamford and Norwalk for Captain Johns Tiki Tours, ultimately choosing Harbor Point and its ample dock space for his flotilla. The company has already been drawing interest including from local companies for corporate events.

The tiki taxi package costs $65 per person or $350 for exclusive use of the floating bar for a 75-minute session, including a short safety briefing, with drinks available on a bring your own bottle basis.

You bring the fixings, well bring the mixings, Davis said. Well make it a fun time.

In addition to the tiki bars, Captain Johns Tiki Tours offers tiki kat rentals, small catamarans with side-by-side seating for two that zip along like jet skis. A tiki kat rental costs $199 for a two-hour session that includes time reserved for the safety overview and an overall orientation, with rentals restricted to those age 21 and older who have a drivers license. Davis said he will supervise boaters while on the water.

The company also offers charter trips on a Meridian yacht, with guests able to pick destinations from Manhattan to many points in Connecticut and New York along Long Island Sound.

Floating tiki bars are becoming more common in northern climes like Mystic, New York Harbor and Lake George, N.Y. , as well as tropical resorts like Key West and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Davis had his tiki bars built by Tiki Boatworks which has a manufacturing plant in Colonie, N.Y., and which was on hand for Norwalk Boat Show last September.

Growing up on the water at Stamfords Shippan Point and trained as an instructor in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Davis spent several years as a sales manager at Rex Marine and the Formula Boats showroom on Water Street in South Norwalk, where he also created boating training programs and introduced a charter service. He left to become a manager with Carefree Boat Club in Westport and Captains Cove marina in Bridgeport, with Carefree adding a location last summer at Harbor Point.

Davis said Captain Johns Tiki Tours offers a different kind of a water excursion, and is hopeful it will become a big hit. Information is online at www.captjohnstikitours.com or by calling 203-614-9268.

How do you make $1 million in the boating business? You start with $10, Davis said. I think people are going to really enjoy it.

Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-842-2545; @casoulman
The government has also proposed to impose new taxes, including on social media users in the next Financial Year as Uganda struggles to wean itself off donors.



















Clerics from both the muslim and christian have been surprised by an order from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) asking religious groups to start paying taxes on Bibles, Korans, prayer and hymn books.The clerics have asked that religious materials should be tax-exempt since they use them for "spiritual nourishment" of Ugandans.In a petition written by Church of Uganda's Archbishop, Stanley Ntagali last month, the prelate asked the tax authority to release a consignment of 9,120 prayer and hymn books imported from Nairobi, Kenya, without the church having to pay VAT.Written on March 18, Archbishop Ntagali noted that items had been shipped in by Centenary Publishing House Limited, Church of Uganda's (CoU) publishing arm, which he said should be tax-exempt."It is from this point of view that we write to you, appealing that the VAT be waived... since they (books) are used to educate the masses and Christians by spreading the word of God as our nation's motto affirms, For God and my country," he stated.Reacting to the petition, URA commissioner general, Ms Doris Akol said the practice of not taxing the entities and materials was in the first place "an anomaly"."We understand that Value-Added Tax (VAT) has in the past not been paid on the said Bibles, prayer books and hymn books. This was an anomaly," she wrote in an April 19 letter.Ms Akol added that she had no power to waive a tax not excluded under the law and, as such, URA released the consignment only after CoU paid 8.9 million Ugandan shillings.The secretary general of the Inter-Religious Council of Uganda, an umbrella body of different faiths, Mr Joshua Kitakule, yesterday said an eighteen per cent VAT on Bibles, Korans and prayer books would be "erroneous"."These items are not meant for profit; so, it is erroneous to tax them. Prayer books are supposed to strengthen the spiritual nourishment of individuals," he said.The move by the country's tax authority followed months of engagement with religious leaders who still oppose the proposal.
If a visitor asked me to take them to an iconic Connecticut roadside stand, I would choose Heibecks in Wilton. This wonderful seasonal place (opened in 1931) has been serving some of the best ice cream, burgers and hot dogs for generations.

Heibecks is such a townie institution that if you opened an encyclopedia to Georgetown, you would find pictures of the Heibeck family, who still own and run the stand. They also run the Sunoco gas station next door. The Heibecks are beloved fixtures of the community. Brothers Mike, Tom, Marty and George Heibeck are the backbone of the Georgetown Volunteer Fire Company No. 1 that incorporated around the same time the ice cream stand opened.

I have been coming here for years and can unequivocally say the place only gets better. Owner Bobbie Heibeck judicially adds new items keeping up with culinary trends but never being trendy. The place itself is a charming oasis tucked neatly on busy Route 7. If you dine in the lovely open air patio behind the stand, you can dream you are very far away from the honks and tire squeals.

Is there a better all-American triumvirate than hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream? If these were the only items on the menu, Heibecks would still be a treasured place. The rich, super premium ice cream has been made on the premises since the stand opened. Being a bit of a curmudgeon, it took friends quite a while to move me away from chocolate and vanilla. I am glad I did, but please note that the chocolate ice cream is made with legendary Bendsdorp Dutch cocoa and the vanilla is an egg-based custard ice cream flavored with pure Madagascan vanilla bourbon. You can see why it took me years to branch out.

Leaving my comfort zone I tried Mass Mocha, a wonderful conglomeration of homemade coffee ice cream , espresso beans and dark chocolate. I was about to order the newly listed butter pecan, but Bobbie Heibeck implored me to taste the newest delight, which is an all-natural soft-serve ice cream. I hesitated for a moment because soft-serve ice cream is usually a bottom-feeding poof of artificial ingredients. This was a revelation. Yes, it was the familiar soft-serve swirly thing, but the taste was pure and rich, truly something unique.

A post shared by Rebecca Carhart (@rebeccacarhart) on Jul 23, 2017 at 9:48am PDT

sundae scaries  A post shared by allison (@allsn816) on May 6, 2018 at 1:33pm PDT

At Heibecks I usually eat backwards, meaning I have ice cream first and then real food. This time I tried one old favorite (a chili dog) and two newer items, a loaded grilled cheese sandwich and shrimp scampi on a bun. I was prepared to be disappointed by the scampi. I mean what are the odds of a roadside stand serving really fresh shrimp in the exact right combo of butter and garlic? Amazingly, the shrimp scampi was as fresh and well seasoned as I have had at many upscale restaurants.

What makes a grilled cheese sandwich loaded? It is the addition of bacon and avocado slices that gild the cheesy lily. It is at once decadent and healthy tasting. Usually, I lay waste to a grilled cheese sandwich in 30 seconds; this was such a generous serving, I took half of it home.

Now, about the chili dogs. For regular readers of this column you might recall I recently visited the venerable Merritt Canteen in Bridgeport. I raved about the chili they put on the hot dogs. It is their signature offering and I could happily forgo the hot dog and bun and just slurp up the chili. Heibecks chili is a close contender: cinnabar red with finely minced meat. It is not as hot as Merritts, but it has the same depth of flavor. Some of you might laugh at the notion that chili for a hot dog has any special taste to it. This is wrong.

There are dozens of types of chilis to be had in this country, and all are very different. Although chili is usually served at the most unpretentious places, the recipes can be very complex. Heibecks chili (along with the Merritt Canteen) is similar to the legendary Cincinnati-style chili, which uses around 14 different spices to get it right. It is classic Macedonian food, in no way simple to make, yet few people realize it is anything but good old American road food.

Looking at the food being eaten by others at the Stand, I see the Mexican dishes are very popular. The most enticing being the Baja taco, a filet of crisp cod on a bed of homemade tomatillo slaw. The dish is topped with avocado salsa and sprinkled with lime and cilantro.

Fish and chips has recently been added to the menu. The chips part is a sure winner as Heibecks french fries are singularly delicious and have quite a following. I know more than one friend who thinks a well-balanced meal is french fries and ice cream.

Heibecks Stand is one of those places that defies conventional wisdom. If you take a hospitality course or hire a restaurant consultant and tell them your plan is to open a roadside stand next to a gas station where every single item is homemade and hand-selected, you will be laughed at. Starting a restaurant is (they will tell you) all about cutting corners, cutting costs, big-budget advertising and following trends. Thankfully, the Heibecks did not get the message. This unlikely little place with a well-curated menu would put many fancy places to shame. Sometimes taking pride in what you do outshines all the common formulas to success.

More Information Heibeck's Stand 951 Danbury Road, Wilton See More Collapse

Jane Stern, a Ridgefield resident, coauthored the popular Roadfood guidebook series with Michael Stern. Join her each week as she travels Fairfield County finding a great meal in unexpected places for $20 or less.
TRUMBULL  How many signatures out of New Haven? Mayor Joe Ganim yelled across Prime One Eleven restaurant on Tuesday evening to a campaign supporter.

Some 3,500 Democrats in that city have signed petitions to put Bridgeports mayor on the gubernatorial primary ballot, his aide yelled back.

Thats pretty good, Ganim said.

Hours earlier, Ganims route to become Connecticuts chief executive got much harder with Susan Bysiewiczs decision to end her campaign. She is joining Ned Lamonts ticket as lieutenant governor as the Greenwich businessman seeks to consolidate support ahead of this weekends Democratic nominating convention.

Gone were Ganims hopes for a divided convention and a crowded summer primary where he could eke out a win appealing to urban voters.

Now some allies  all of whom wished to remain anonymous  were instead saying it was time to drop out and strike a pre-convention deal with Lamont for party unity, for Bridgeport, and to save face.

Lamont, after all, is a millionaire who can self-fund his campaign. Ganim cannot even receive a campaign grant from the states clean elections program after being disqualified last year because of his criminal past.

But as he hosted a $250 to $3,500-per-head fundraiser at the restaurant Tuesday, Ganim was not acting like he was preparing to end his gubernatorial bid anytime soon, stating in an interview: Thats nowhere near anything were talking about.

Instead, he bragged about how close he was to collecting the 15,548 signatures needed to force a primary should he fail to receive 15 percent of the Democratic delegate votes this weekend.

His campaign announced Monday it was almost halfway there. Then after Lamont and Bysiewicz teamed up Tuesday, that 7,000 figure overnight increased to almost 8,500 in a Ganim campaign statement dismissing his opponents alliance.

I think were close to 9,000 signatures, Ganim said Tuesday evening as around a dozen supporters  many mayoral appointees in Bridgeport City Hall who have already been generous to the boss campaign  ate and drank.

Earlier Tuesday, one Ganim ally said they would like to see the mayor strike a deal with Lamont  maybe get the latter to commit to supporting a Bridgeport casino if elected  in time for the convention, rather than engage in a bitter primary fight that could cost him goodwill.

This same person noted that with outgoing Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy so unpopular, it will be a challenge for the party to hold that office. Ganim has the best acumen for the job, the source said, but a criminal record Republicans will weaponize.

Ganim was convicted of running a pay-to-play operation out of City Hall in 2003 after serving as Bridgeports mayor for 12 years. He waged a successful comeback in 2015 appealing to inner-city voters  the same constituency he would rely on to win a gubernatorial primary and general election.

I think the only way we have a shot (at beating a Republican) is if everybody gets on the same page, the Ganim ally said.

Its a disadvantage for the Democrats not to have a primary, especially if Republicans have one, Ganim said, adding, We wont have $10 million, but well still raise money. We have signatures  grass-roots support.

And, Ganim noted, he has already heard some talk about lack of diversity on top of the ticket now that Bysiewicz has joined Lamont.

Ganim, who is of Lebanese descent, looks as white as Lamont and Bysiewicz and, though not a millionnaire, comes from a wealthy Easton family that has sunk cash into his gubernatorial ambitions. Yet Bridgeports comeback mayor has a widely acknowledged ability to walk through underprivileged neighborhoods and position himself as the voice of the cities and of those looking for a second chance.

Id much rather be knocking on doors talking to people than probably doing anything else, Ganim said.

Another Ganim supporter on Tuesday admitted Bysiewiczs decision to drop her own bid for governor is a problem, but added, Joe is a much better campaigner and would probably bury Ned Lamont in any debate. Hes (Lamont) not good on his feet.

Lamont, following his appearance with Bysiewicz on Tuesday, said, Susan and I are going to be champions of the cities. We know that Connecticut will never be great unless our cities are great.

And Bridgeport will obviously be a big part of that, Lamont said. And I will lean on Joes advice any time I can get it.

But, at least for now, Ganim is keeping that advice to himself.

Lamont may drop out before the convention, he joked.

Staff writer Ken Dixon contributed to this story.
NORWALK  In an annual memorial service filled with tradition, Norwalk Police Tuesday memorialized police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

During the solemn ceremony outside of Norwalk police headquarters, police personnel, local dignitaries and members of the public paid tribute to Norwalk officers who died while serving the city, as well as retired officers who passed away in the last year.

The 30-minute service kicked off with a ceremonial flyover by Eagle One, the State Police helicopter, and a motorcycle procession led by Norwalk police officers.

Deputy Police Chief Susan Zecca welcomed dignitaries that included Mayor Harry Rilling, former Mayor Alex Knopp, police commissioners, Common Council members, state Sen. Bob Duff, Norwalk Fire Chief Gino Gatto and Assistant Fire Chief Chris King, along with police chaplains, retired officers and members of the public. Stamford and Darien police also took part in the ceremony, honoring their own officers who gave their lives serving their communities.

We frequently use the words Nver forget, the mayor said. We remember the brave men and women who are here to protect you 24/7 and who may lose their lives protecting people theyve never met.

In addition to the four Norwalk officers  Sgt. Frank Stratton, Officer Sherrald Gorton, Sgt. Nicholas Fera and Officer Marco Carias  who died while performing police functions over the past century, eight Norwalk officers who took their own lives were honored at the ceremony.

During his speech, Rilling urged support of a bill to address post-traumatic stress disorder, a driving cause of suicide among the law enforcement community. The PTSD legislation would afford officers the opportunity to seek assistance in dealing with some of the traumatic aspects of the job.

Officers say, Were just doing our job, a job that most people wouldnt do for 10 times the money, Rilling said. We know that police officers die in the line of duty, but more than three times that number die at their own hands.

A white-gloved police honor guard retired the colors and was followed by John Worley playing taps and The Star-Spangled Banner led by Detective Kristina LaPak and David Harris.

We are here to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, said Rev. Artie Kassimis, The police chaplain gave the invocation and quoted relevant scripture, saying: There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends.

Norwalk Police Chief Thomas Kulhawik urged attendees to remember the sacrifices made by police officers and to remember the toll that the profession has taken on them.

Please choose to never forget, Kulhawik said.

Zecca and LaPak conducted a candle lighting ceremony in remembrance of Stratton, Gorton, Fera and Carias. The Fairfield County Police Pipes and Drums played Amazing Grace before the ceremony was capped off by a closing prayer led by Kassimis and LaPak singing God Bless America.

The tradition of honoring police officers dates back to 1962 when President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation which designated May 15 as Peace Officers Memorial Day and the surrounding week as Police Week. More than 50,000 law enforcement personnel converge on Washington D.C. to participate in events honoring officers lost in the line of duty.
NORWALK  Norwalk will honor its veterans with flag placements at local cemeteries on Saturday, followed by the Shea-Magrath Memorial Ceremony at Calf Pasture Beach on Sunday and a big, long-missed parade on Memorial Day.

After being canceled the last two years because of weather, the parade will go forward Monday, May 28, come rain or shine, according to officials.

Two years ago, we had horrible thunder and lightening and storms, so we canceled the parade. Last year, the same thing and they were calling for lots of flooding at (Veterans Memorial) Park, said Jim Wrinn, parade marshal and adjunct with the Norwalk Veterans Memorial Committee. So were not going to let it happen again. No matter what happens, were going to have a parade.

Mayor Harry Rilling, speaking to Common Council members earlier this Monday, offered a similar assessment.

In the past two years, weve had a situation where the parade has been canceled due to weather, Rilling said. This year, its been decided that short of an earthquake were going to have a parade. So if it rains, bring your umbrella, bring a rain coat but were going to have the parade, anyway.

Norwalks 2018 Memorial Day Parade will step off 10 a.m. on Monday, May 28, from Veterans Memorial Park and proceed along Fort Point Street, Van Zant Street and East Avenue to the Norwalk Green with the reviewing stand set up at Norwalk City Hall, 125 East Ave.

Nick Samodel, who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II, will be the grand marshal.

As of Monday, 25 organizations had signed up to participate in the parade, including a pipe band from Greenwich, the Second Company Governors Horse Guard and bands from Norwalks middle and high schools. Wrinn expects a dozen floats and 3,500 spectators.

Organizations wishing to participate in the parade are asked to sign up at norwalkvets.org no later than May 22. The committee will hold an organization meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 24, at the American Legion, 60 County St.

If the weather is truly terrible on Memorial Day, the committee will host veterans, their families and parade goers wishing to stay dry with a ceremony at Norwalk Concert Hall, 125 East Ave.

On Saturday, May 19, from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Norwalk-based King Industries will sponsor an annual flag-placing ceremony at local cemeteries. Volunteers are needed to place flags on the graves of more than 5,000 military veterans across eight Norwalk cemeteries.

Volunteers are asked to meet at St. Johns cemetery, 223 Richards Ave. Coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m. For more information, visit www.kingindustries.com, or call 203-866-5551, ext. 244.

On Sunday, May 20, the Veterans Memorial Committee will host its annual Shea-Magrath Memorial Ceremony at the Shea-Magrath Memorial at Calf Pasture Beach.

U.S. Army Private 1st Class John D. Magrath, Norwalks first posthumous recipient of the Medal of Honor, fell to mortar fire on April 14, 1945, after storming a German machine-gun position in Italy during World War II. U.S. Army Private 1st Class Daniel J. Shea, who also received the medal, died May 14, 1969, after retrieving five wounded comrades from a rice paddy battlefield during the Vietnam War.

This years ceremony will begin with a concert at noon followed by the ceremony at 1 p.m.

The event will include the rededication of plaques honoring Shea and Magrath and other Norwalk veterans who died while serving their country.

The plaques were returned to Calf Pasture Beach last Friday after a $11,000 restoration inspired by U.S. Navy veteran Terry Rooney, launched by the Veterans Hall of Honor/Restoration Committee and undertaken by MonuMedic Monument Preservation of Sleepy Holly, N.Y.

Were honored to have done it for Norwalk because they (its veterans) get a lot of appreciation, said Tom Mitchell, vice president of MonuMedic. It means a lot to us.

Karen Doyle Lyons, Veterans Memorial Committee secretary, thanked individuals and organizations for donating money to pay for the restoration.

We were able to raise the funds to restore them to their beauty and to the respect that the soldiers deserve, Doyle Lyons said.
NORWALK  Almost 70,000 unexpected visitors dropped in to check out South Norwalk on Sunday. They didnt come by car or bus, but by train ... sort of.

A new streaming video feed on YouTube (click here), from cameras perched outside the SoNo Switch Tower Museum, went live around 10 a.m. and in 24 hours drew so many train enthusiasts the founders of Virtual Railfan didnt know what to make of it.

Its crazy because a lot of our cameras are in scenic locations, said Mike Cyr, of Athens, Tenn. In Norwalk youre just seeing the railroad  its hard to explain the popularity.

Virtual Railfan has 30 cameras in three countries. How SoNo built up a head of steam so fast probably has a lot to do with the cameras location. Hundreds of trains pass each day, Metro-North, Amtrak and even a late-night freight train.

At any given time, an average of 300 people have been watching the stream from above the corner of South Washington and North Main streets. The Switch Tower is a three-story brick structure with an elaborate set of controls that are used to control the switches on the tracks from the Walk Bridge to Lowe Street. Its now a museum open noon to 5 p.m. on weekends May through October, run by the Western Connecticut Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society.

In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, trains are few and there was little to see online but black railbed, shining silver rails, and dark overhead electrical towers made of very old iron.

Until theres a skickety-screatchety sound of overhead electrical wires. Flashes of light on rails and reflective signs. A Metro-North train moves into view, heading east toward the Walk Bridge. A while later came a sighting that might surprise many in Norwalk  diesel locomotives pulling a freight train full of rock. It disappears to the west, then is seen reversing its way up another set of tracks peeling off to Danbury.

Any time of the day, viewers can be seen commenting in a window to the right of the video.

These chat rooms create a community, Cyr said. Folks who know each other chat with each other every day.

Train enthusiasts are their own breed. Many find a love for all things trains when very young and never lose it. They have clubs, build vacations around railroad destinations, and almost have their own language when talking about railroad equipment.

My mother tells me I loved trains long before I could walk or talk, Cyr said. Hes now 39 and for a living designs 3D locomotives for the train simulator video game Trainz. Virtual Railfan is a side gig, and any money it brings in is reinvested in equipment and expanding the network to new locations, he said.

Cyr and a couple partners launched Virtual Railfan in 2009 with the first camera in Georgia. It now has 30 cameras, in 14 states, London and the Netherlands. About 30 more cameras are nearing launch, including several in Canada. Cyr said the YouTube channel launched a year ago and has been viewed by 40 million people.

Cyr said the only video feed thats comparable with Norwalks is from the train station in La Plata, Mo. Each day at 8:50 EST, about 2,000 check in to watch Amtraks Southwest Chief stop there. The stationmaster, Bob Cox, has become a minor celebrity among railfans, Cyr said. Cox and his wife, Amy, can be seen getting things ready around the station a couple of hours before the train arrives, and helping passengers for about an hour with luggage and other transportation.

Hes probably the most famous stationmaster in America, Cyr said, noting that, after someone floated the idea on Virtual Railfans chat room, the couple got about a hundred Christmas cards from around the world.

La Platas feed gets 1.2 million views a month.

I think Norwalk will be right up there with it, Cyr said.

While internet attention can be flattering, Cyr said it might also have a real-world impact.

I call it the Virtual Railfan Effect because people are showing up, Cyr said of visitors to the camera host sites. The whole idea of these is to expose railfans to other things out there. Our visitors are showing up and bringing friends, spending money. Its a huge benefit.

Thats the hope, said John Garofalo, treasurer of the SoNo Switch Tower Museum. He worked at the Norwalk tower and others on the New Haven Line in the 1970s as a summer job. I believe some have expressed an interest in coming. It would help attract visitors to South Norwalk.
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FAIRFIELD  Its not just the flowers that have awakened this Spring. Birds are on the wing; building nests, incubating eggs and preparing to fledge hatchlings when they are ready to take flight.

The current owners of the gray shingle Garrison colonial house at 2745 Burr St. enjoy watching a wide variety of birds in their backyard. Additionally, this house is located within walking distance to the Connecticut Audubon Society just down the street on Burr Street, a real advantage for bird lovers and nature lovers in general. This Audubon center has educational programs, exhibits, special events, and hiking trails at its adjoining Larsen Wildlife Sanctuary.

There are other advantages to owning this property of just over two acres in the Greenfield Hill neighborhood. It has a detached guest house which is a legal rental and provides income that well exceeds the annual taxes on the property, according to the listing agent. There is also an in-ground swimming pool, and no need to replace the asphalt roof for several decades since that was just done in 2016.

A fieldstone wall lines the front of the property and stone pillars topped with lanterns mark the entrance to the circular driveway. Ample parking is available in the driveway and in front of the detached three-car garage. A long red brick path leads to the front entrance. The front door has an arched glass pane and is flanked by sidelights.

Inside, the house has 12 rooms and 4,215-square-feet of living space, which has been updated since it was built in 1968. From the foyer there are bi-fold doors on opposite walls that access the formal living room to the left and the formal dining room to the right. In the sizable front-to-back living room there is a red brick fireplace and on both sides of it there are built-in bookshelves and cabinets. The dining room has wainscoting on the lower walls and built-in upper and lower cabinets with under cabinet lighting, and a corner china cabinet.

In the eat-in kitchen, there is a center island with a breakfast bar for two, three stainless sinks, decorative ceramic tile backsplash depicting food and animals, glass-front cabinetry, a skylight, and counters of white ceramic tile. The high-end appliances include a Sub-Zero refrigerator and a Gaggenau range top. In the eat-in area there are French doors to the sizable two-tiered wood deck, bluestone patio, backyard and pool.

A long hallway leads from the kitchen to the large family room and along the way there is a laundry room and an office or den with a floor-to-ceiling antiqued brick fireplace. From the hall there are three steps down into the family room where there is another fireplace - also of antiqued brick, a built-in window seat and bookshelves, French doors to the deck and another door to the patio.

On the second floor there are four bedrooms. The master suite has a walk-in closet and its bath has a double vanity and shower with a white ceramic subway tile backsplash.

Outside, the breezeway leads from the main house to the guest house, which has living room, bedroom, an eat-in kitchen, and full bath. In the living room there was a wall of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. In the bedroom there is a door to a screened porch. The porch has a door to the yard.

For more information or to set up an appointment to see the house, contact Karin Keith of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties at 203-258-2590 or karinkeith@bhhsne.com.
EDWARDSVILLE  The first of the Savvy Senior Seminars for Madison County's new Triad program is set for Wednesday at the Main Street Community Center in Edwardsville.

The seminar, which will deal with weather-related issues, emergency preparedness and spring scams, is set for 10 a.m. at the center, located at 1003 Main St., Edwardsville.

A second seminar will be held at 10 a.m. May 23 at Senior Services Plus in Alton.

The Triad program kicked off in mid-April with a document shredding event, and the unveiling of the group's web page, located on the drop-down menu of the Madison County Sheriff's Department website. The program is a collaboration between the Madison County Sheriff's Department and local senior citizen service providers.

It includes a very active social media component on Facebook and Twitter, and it's own web page on the Sheriff's Department's website.

"Things are going really well," said Lt. Kristopher Tharp, who organized the program. "I field phone calls on an almost daily basis."

Tharp suggested interested residents like both the Facebook and Twitter feeds, so they will receive the most up-to-date information.

He noted they recently put out a notice about fraud, and it received 10,000 views.

"That's the power of social media and we need to share it," Tharp said.

On Monday morning he was preparing to post information about several scams that have hit the area.

In one, local residents were hit with a computer scam involving a pop-up informing them about issues with their computer and asking for cash to fix the problem.

"It continues to ask for more money, it continues to ask for more information," Tharp said.

He noted that the scammers were able to obtain money and personal information.

The second incident was a "grandparent" scam, where the residents received a telephone call about their "grandson," who had legal troubles.

Tharp said this scam was "very elaborate," and included a telephone call from someone claiming to be a New Jersey prosecutor, followed up by a call from a fictitious bail bondsman and the "grandson" himself.

Tharp said it underscores the idea that people need to have conversations about these types of scams.

"If you get a suspicious pop-up on your computer, if you get a suspicious email, be careful before you open it," he said. "Don't ever be conned by giving your personal information over the phone.

"Unfortunately our scammers and fraudsters can be quite compelling," he added. "They prey upon the love and devotion that grandparents have for their grandchildren."

Wednesday's program will touch on both of those scams.

In addition, there will be a discussion about emergency preparedness and weather-related issues, a raffle of weather radios, some emergency preparedness backpacks,and complementary vehicle safety inspections for the first 20 people who register.

Presenters will include the Madison County Sheriff's Department, the Edwardsville Fire Department and Ameren.

The Alton presentation will include a meteorologist from KSDK Channel 5.

The webpage also has a resource page which currently has contact information for several hundred local agencies. It can be accessed through the Madison County Sheriff's Department website, at www.co.madison.il.us/triad or Madison County TRIAD on Facebook.
GLEN CARBON  The Village of Glen Carbon is challenging a local business's attempt to appeal its tax assessment.

At the most recent meeting of the Village Board, trustees approved a resolution to intervene on Best Buy's tax appeal.

Village Attorney Jim Schrempf said this isn't the first time the village has filed a petition to intervene.

"The difference between the county's assessment and what the Best Buy attorneys are trying to lower the assessment to would result in the difference in actual tax payment to the village by approximately $16,800," Schrempf said.

It is not uncommon for large companies to challenge the county's assessed value of property.

In the past Glen Carbon has challenged tax appeals by Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and Walgreens.

It is the practice of the Madison County Assessors office to notify taxing bodies of appeals asking for more than a $100,000 reduction in appraisals.

Those appeals resulted in the companies settling on a three-year assessment with the county.

This is the third year Best Buy has challenged the assessment.

"Currently pending on the state level is Best Buy's 2015 and 2016 appeal," Schrempf said. "Most likely whatever is decided in the 2015 case will be adopted for 2016 and 2017. I do think we need to get on the record for 2017."

It sometimes takes several years for the appeals to be resolved. In the meantime, the businesses continue to pay real estate taxes on the county's assessed valuation until the issue is resolved.

If the company would win the appeal it would be owed a refund representing the difference between what the company paid and what the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board decides they should have paid, plus statutory interest on all of the years the business was over assessed.

In the past District 7 has partnered with Glen Carbon on the appeals. Costs associated with the appeals, usually appraisal and lawyer fees, are split per amount of tax received.

Village Administrator Jamie Bowden said he has not been in contact with District 7 officials regarding this particular appeal.

Schrempf said he doesn't think a new appraisal will be necessary.
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Prep Football: No. 2 Pierre outscores No. 5 Watertown 52-42; Great Plains Lutheran drops finale

PIERRE  Lincoln Kienholz rushed for scores and passed for three others to push No. 2-rated Pierre past No. 5 Watertown 52-42 in a Class 11AA Eastern South Dakota Conference high school football shootout on Friday.
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) says it has no plans to back away from its campaign promoting home ownership to parties and candidates in the upcoming provincial election.

But OREA wont be moving ahead with billboards supporting or criticizing individual political candidates, a spokesperson said Monday.

That clarification comes in the wake of reports of industry squabbling between OREA and the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). On Sunday, The Canadian Press reported that TREB president Tim Syrianos sent OREA a letter telling it to step back from a misguided and ill-advised campaign that could negatively affect Toronto-area realtors by highlighting the home affordability challenges in the region, which has had a slow start in some areas this year.

Read more:

Toronto Real Estate Board tells Ontario counterpart to stay in their lane

A whos who guide to the real estate industry in Ontario: Ask Joe

The campaign called Keep the Dream Alive urges politicians to help make home ownership affordable to millennials. Rising home prices have pushed home ownership out of reach, says the material on the associations website.

Syrianos also suggested that endorsing or undermining certain politicians violated OREAs mission to promote policies rather than people.

Targeted billboard advertising was only one element of an election plan OREA circulated to its board, of which Syrianos is a member, said Matthew Thornton, association vice-president of public affairs.

Our board decided not to move forward with the program. It was a pilot initiative they were considering, and upon further review they decided not to move forward, he said.

That decision was made before Syrianoss letter leaked to the press, he said.

In it, the Toronto board president warned OREA against trying to supplant TREB and overtake our expertise and well-respected voice.

Syrianos also objected to OREAs plan to use an Ontario Realtor Party as part of its campaign. The Ontario Realtor Party is the professions voice promoting the dream of home ownership and protecting the real estate profession, according to the associations website.

TREB refused Monday to comment on the letter. It referred to a previous joint statement with OREA saying that the letter is not reflective of the long-standing and positive relationship between OREA and TREB who jointly remain committed to helping create a new generation of homeowners.

OREA represents 39 Ontario real estate boards, but about 50,000 of its 70,000 members belong to the Toronto board.

Thornton stressed that political campaigns arent new to OREA. He said the association successfully lobbied the province against allowing municipalities outside Toronto to levy their own land transfer tax.

The Keep the Dream Live campaign will move into a second phase in September through November, he said.

Its an opportunity for us to continue to promote this message that young people are struggling to afford a home, and policy-makers need to take this issue seriously, said Thornton.

OREA CEO Tim Hudak is the former leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative party. Last year, OREA lost its main function and key revenue source as the training provider for new realtors in the province, and it announced it would rebrand itself as the voice of the real estate industry and an advocate for home ownership.

The internal strife is typical of industry associations that have different tentacles or sometimes local, provincial and national arms, said James McKeller at the Brookfield Centre in Real Estate & Infrastructure at York Universitys Schulich School of Business.

Its hard to figure out the motives of both of these organizations. They pretend theyre representing the public, but theyve never given any evidence of that in the past, he said.

Meantime, Bosley real estate agent David Fleming said he would be happier if TREB represented the interests of active agents, rather than the 50,000, who are licensed to practice, many of whom help transact one or fewer sales each year. But the board is dependent on its large membership for revenue.

Meantime, he said, OREA is trying to figure out what is our purpose and they dont even really know.
CALGARYCall it turbulence that they just couldnt go around.

WestJet Airlines could be mere days away from seeing its pilots walk out of the cockpit and onto the picket line.

Some industry experts say its labour woes are an inevitable hurdle for a fast-growing company that began as a low-cost upstart over two decades ago but now flies more than a third of the countrys passengers.

But one analyst warns the Calgary-based carrier could stumble badly if it doesnt start taking a more realistic and enlightened view toward unionization drives involving their pilots and other employees.

Read more:

Passengers lose if WestJet goes on strike, advocate says

Possibility of a pilots strike has WestJet travellers on the edge of their seats

WestJet promises to refund cancelled flights

AltaCorp Capitals Chris Murray  who recently downgraded his rating of the company to underperform  said WestJet managements plan to use an outside provider to staff its new, ultra-low-fare carrier Swoop is an egregious shot across the bow of its nascent pilots union that thumbs its nose at labour law and is almost certain to fail.

When the pilots were represented by an employee association, WestJet had agreed they would fly all of the companys flights, Murray said in an interview with the Star.

But now that they want to unionize, theyve said, No thats not the case and were going to hire third-party pilots at a different set of wage rates, he said.

A lot of the pilots are saying, Hang on! Youre actually displacing WestJet routes and using WestJet planes, so tell me how youre not outsourcing my job.

The unit of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) representing 1,500 cockpit staff voted 91 per cent in favour of a strike last week, although it said it would hold off on any job action until after the Victoria Day weekend.

WestJet spokeswoman Lauren Stewart said the airline has made every effort since last summer to engage with the union in a constructive dialogue about Swoop so that company pilots can benefit when the new carrier starts operations next month.

In the meantime, WestJet continues to work diligently with ALPA on a collective agreement...and we remain confident that we will come to an agreement that will benefit the pilots and the company as a whole, Stewart said in a prepared answer to questions.

Barry Prentice, professor in the Asper School of Business at the University of Manitoba and an airline industry expert, believes the creation of Swoop was more about carving out a section of the market and scaring off other potential low-cost carriers.

Its more a threat tactic to reduce competition than it is necessarily a money-making opportunity for them, he said. If you have deep pockets and you have a diversified business, you can cross-subsidize a losing venture for a while.

Prentice said WestJet started out as a copy of Southwest Airlines  North Americas largest low-cost airline  but it has grown to become a major national carrier over the last 22 years.

Now instead of point-to-point service, it is switching to a hub-and-spoke model, with Calgary as its major centre, and Vancouver and Toronto as two secondary hubs.

Hes not sure that there will be a synergy between that more traditional model and the airlines proposed Swoop carrier once its up and running.

If anything, trying to do both at once has led WestJet pilots to organize and fight to protect their interests.

This is really about evolution, were essentially going back to what we had 20-odd years ago when we had Canadian Air and Air Canada, Prentice said.

Rob McFadyen, who heads the WestJet pilots union, said Swoop is a clear case of the carrier outsourcing work on routes normally flown by WestJet pilots.

Its certainly something we want to be addressed in the contract negotiations, said McFadyen, adding he couldnt think of a scenario where there could be a two-tiered system of pilots flying under WestJet.

As WestJet moves from the little airline that could to a national carrier, pilots arent the only staff looking to labour unions for help.

Hugh Pouliot, senior communications officer with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), confirmed that some members of WestJets cabin crew approached them with an interest in organizing, and the drive is now on.

He said that, in the early days, the company culture was employee-focused but the culture there has definitely changed  thats what weve heard.

He said CUPE is encouraged by how the drive has gone so far.

WestJet shares have fallen 25 per cent in value so far this year, including an 11 per cent nosedive last week amid disappointing first-quarter results and concerns about the pilots walkout.

That concern has the airline predicting a two per cent drop in revenues per available seat mile this quarter, but Murray thinks the decrease could be double that.

WestJet also faces unionizing drives targeting its airport staff and baggage handlers.

Murray thinks a brief interruption at WestJet is possible due to a pilots strike, but he believes the federal government will legislate them back to work and possibly impose binding arbitration on the company rather than risk public ire from a prolonged stoppage that would see 35 per cent of air traffic in the country disrupted.

While getting a first contract is never easy, he said, the behaviour of WestJet during the recent two-month conciliation period, with its organizing pilots, suggests management doesnt appreciate that the federal labour law governing the aviation sector is fairly friendly to employees who want to collectively bargain.

WestJet showed up for 14 of 60 days, which begs the question of WestJet: Guys are you actually taking this seriously? Murray said.

What the guys at WestJet never understood is that youre in Canada and you cant jam a union.

 With files from Kashmala Fida, StarMetro Edmonton

Correction - May 15, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said WestJet employees can no longer take some of their pay in company shares. In fact, shares are still an option for compensation.

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CALGARYPrime Minister Justin Trudeau recommitted Tuesday the previous federal governments pledge to allocate $1.53 billion toward Calgarys massive Green Line LRT project.

The former Conservative government promised to fund one-third of the light rail transit line in the week leading up to the 2015 election, but did not say when the money would arrive.

In years past, our predecessors at the federal level liked to make all these infrastructure announcements without funding plans or cost proposals, Trudeau told reporters gathered near the Victoria Park/Stampede CTrain station.

It was a lot of excitement without the follow through.

Three years later, the Liberal government has committed to an accelerated timeline that will more or less align with the provincial governments promise to deliver its third over eight years.

We are very, very pleased with the cash flow and the timing, Nenshi said.

As with the provincial governments announcement last summer, they are giving us what I would consider an accelerated timeline on the funding, which will save hundreds of millions of dollars in interest over time.

Details on the funding timeline were not released. The federal government previously committed its portion over 11 years. The prime ministers office issued a news release hinting Green Line funding would be doled out over the next decade.

The 46-kilometre light rail transit project will, eventually, run south from North Pointe, through the downtown core, to Seton in the citys deep southeast.

City officials have said the Green Line could serve as many as 456,000 Calgarians along the corridor once completed.

However, the $4.6 billion will only fund a portion of the entire line. Stage 1, slated to be done in 2026, will stretch 20 kilometres, from 16th Avenue in the north to 126th Avenue in the south.

The $4.6-billion price tag doesnt include debt-servicing cost, which is forecast to be tens of millions of dollars each year.

With a firm funding commitment from Ottawa, talks at city hall may soon turn to whether the city should allocate potential savings from Stage 1 to debt servicing or extending the line further south or north.

Council has said that if there is money left over from our original plan, then that money should go to extensions on the line, said Nenshi. I personally believe that, but I also believe that we need to minimize our debt as much as possible.

If we use money that was going to be paid for interest to be paid for principle then well have to figure out a way to pay for that interest, he said.

Councillor Shane Keating, arguably the Green Lines biggest champion on council, said the city could extend Stage 1 south to McKenzie Towne without too much difficulty.

We brought in a notice of motion not that long ago that said if theres any savings to be had, then we would look at extending the line, he said.

That said, we have to look at the amount of money that we have, what can be built for that, what is the timeline ... what is the possibility of including it in Phase 1.

Correction  May 16, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Stage 1 of the Green Line project was slated to be done in 2016. Stage 1 of the line is slated to be finished in 2026.

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EDMONTONLori Sigurdson, the NDP minister for seniors and housing, will be taking leave from her duties after being diagnosed with a rare type of leukemia.

The Edmonton-Riverview MLA said in a statement on Monday she is beginning treatment at the University of Alberta Hospital.

After experiencing unexplained symptoms for several days, last week I was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia, Sigurdson said in a news release on Monday.

It was not easy news to hear and certainly not what I was expecting. I am beginning a variety of treatments immediately, but at this point will not be undergoing chemotherapy. I am surrounded by my supportive and caring sons and I am lucky to have family and friends by my side for this entire journey.

Read more: Stony Plain MLA intends to keep working through cancer treatment

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia, a cancer that affects white blood cells.

The treatment of APL, according to the Canadian Cancer Society, is a drug called Tretinoin, made from vitamin A. Tretinoin is used in combination with other drugs to treat the disease. The cancer society said between 80 per cent to 90 per cent of people with APL have long-lasting remission.

While she undergoes treatment, Irfan Sabir will act as minister of seniors and housing. Currently, Sabir is minister of community and social services.

Premier Rachel Notley also issued a statement.

I know I speak for our entire caucus when I say how sad we are to learn of Ministers Sigurdsons diagnosis, Premier Rachel Notley said in a statement Monday.

The commitment and creativity she brings to her work, even on the toughest days, is inspiring. We are all keeping her and her family in our thoughts as she works towards recovery.

Sigurdson is the second NDP MLA to receive a cancer diagnosis in the past week.

Stony Plain MLA Erin Babcock was diagnosed with aggressive uterine cancer on May 7.

Babcock has said she will continue to work through her treatment.

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EDMONTONThe Nature Conservancy of Canada announced a new agreement with a northern Alberta First Nation to create what they say is the largest stretch of protected boreal forest on the planet.

At a press conference Tuesday, the environmental organization said it is partnering with the Tallcree Tribal Government, the governments of Alberta and Canada and industry to create new protections for what will be called Birch River Wildland Provincial Park, a 3,330-square-kilometre conserved area along the southern border of Wood Buffalo National Park.

When added to neighbouring provincial protected areas, including Richardson, Kazan, and Birch Mountain Wildland Provincial Parks, northern Alberta will now be home to 67,000 square kilometres of conserved boreal forest  an area twice the size of Belgium.

Its a bit like Kananaskis, said Bob Demulder, NCCs regional vice-president for Alberta. There are a number of different protected areas in Kananaskis. We just call it Kananaskis Country.

Besides playing host to 68 species of concern, including wood bison, woodland caribou, and peregrine falcons, the Birch River park constitutes a substantial addition to the provinces goal of conserving 17 per cent of land and inland waters by 2020.

This fits well in trying to achieve that, or at least move the yardstick in that direction, Demulder said.

The idea had identified itself a number of years back, Demulder said. Its taken a few years to pull all the pieces together, and make sure that all the signs and issues were addressed.

The catalyst for the new park, Demulder said, was a decision by the Tallcree Tribal Government to sell its timber quota in the area to the NCC for $2.8 million, which was then turned over to the Alberta government to help create the park.

Now were here today announcing the largest boreal protected area in the world, which in itself is quite a feat.

Syncrude managing director Doreen Cole announced that the oil producer will assist the NCC by offering $2.3 million to make the deal happen. The companys contribution provides it with conservation offsets to apply to other industrial projects.

In a release sent to media, Tallcree First Nation Chief Rupert Meneen said that the NCC, the two levels of government, and industry were all on the same page when it came to protecting the boreal forest.

The boreal forest holds greater value to the First Nation for exercising our traditional way of life and the quiet enjoyment of our treaty rights, he said.

At the announcement, Meneen said that the agreement allows the Tallcree to pursue alternative economic objectives and find sustainable growth.

As chief of Tallcree, I believe there should be a balance between developing economic opportunities and protecting our land, he said, so that it is not depleted of all the resources that it gives, allowing us to live our traditional lives of hunting, fishing, trapping, and harvesting medicine.

Minister of Environment and Parks Shannon Phillips said in the same release that the government is committed to protecting our land, water and forests for future generations.

This historic achievement shows what can be accomplished when governments, First Nations, industry and environmental organizations work together.

She also mentioned at the conference that the government is in early stages of creating an Indigenous guardians program that will involve First Nations and Metis peoples in maintaining the areas.

The goal is that Indigenous communities  if they so choose  can be part of managing the parks and these lands, Phillips added.

The decision has been applauded by other environmental organizations that have long pushed for more protection for caribou in the provinces northern regions.

We are very pleased that these wildland parks are officially established, Carolyn Campbell, a conservation specialist with the Alberta Wilderness Association, said in a release.

She said the new parks will protect parts of the Canadian Shield, in addition to the boreal forest, and also help safeguard the Red Earth, Richardson and Cold Lake caribou herds.

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EDMONTONAs a line of traffic stretched nearly 50 cars long while a freight train crossed 50th Street Tuesday afternoon, Edmonton drivers stuck waiting were relieved to hear the prime minister had promised federal funds to fix one of the citys worst traffic headaches.

I think its long overdue, said Marc-Andrew Amyotte, who was waiting in his car as the train crossed, a scenario that he said has played out in his commute numerous times.

I think Ive waited up to 20 minutes here before, he added.

Amy Foster said she ends up stuck waiting for the train to cross the busy intersection nearly every day, 15 minute waits, being late for work, just trying to get home through rush hour but being parked here, its awful.

I wish we could go over it or under it, Foster said.

Her wish could be granted as early as 2023, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday the federal government is committing nearly $40 million towards an $87.5 million project that will create a new underpass beneath the train tracks, widen 50th Street between 76th and 90th avenues to six lanes and reconstruct the intersection at 50 Street and 82 Avenue.

Traffic stacks up on 50th Street in Edmonton on Tuesday as drivers wait for a train to pass. Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the federal government would provide nearly $40 million to upgrade the intersection with an underpass.





While it has been great for commerce, it has admittedly caused headaches, delays and safety issues ... weve all seen traffic backed up as the trains seemingly go on for hours, Trudeau said at Edmonton City Hall, adding he understands the frustration commuters feel.

Getting stuck behind the train as a driver is a well known experience for local residents, a situation Amarjeet Sohi, federal minister of infrastructure and communities, called very infuriating.

As a matter of fact, when I was driving to downtown this morning I got stuck at this railway crossing, said Sohi, who is the MP for Edmonton Millwoods.

Trains cross 50th street nearly 34 times a day, causing the traffic to be blocked for approximately two hours daily, according to a city data.

The $39.8-million in federal funding is in addition to previous commitments made by both the province and the city. The province is chipping in up to $28.3 million and the city will cover the rest of the $87.5 million project.

The project is in the planning stages, but utilities could be moved as early as 2019.

Edmonton city Councillor Ben Henderson said he was delighted that my emails will now calm down from all those people trying to get in touch with me and ask me when, the intersection will be upgraded.

The train  has become so legendary in our city, it has been unaffectionately known as the 50th Street mascot, Henderson said.

The next priority, Henderson said, will be creating a grade separation between trains and vehicle traffic at the 75th Street crossing, but said that likely wont happen until after disruption from LRT construction in that area is over.

We can now move forward with this welcomed project that will help commuters and our local economy as we move goods and services more efficiently throughout our city, Mayor Don Iveson said in a statement.

Edmonton will be holding a public information session about the project June 26 at The Kings University from 58 p.m.

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AMHERST, N.S.Ottawa says it will study ways to protect the 275-year-old dikes that connect Nova Scotia to the rest of Canada from being washed away by rising sea levels, storm surges and other effects of climate change.

The $350,000 study will look at how rising water levels could affect key infrastructure in the Chignecto Isthmus trade corridor, including the Trans-Canada Highway, the Canadian National rail line and electricity transmission lines, Nova Scotia MP Bill Casey said in a statement Monday.

The study will involve an engineering assessment of existing infrastructure, consultation and options to protect the corridor, which carries an estimated $50 million worth of trade a day between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Read more:

Nova Scotia joins Western Climate Initiative for tech support for emissions plan

Trade between our two provinces is the lifeline that keeps our economies growing and our goods moving and this is why we must do all we can to protect the Chignecto Isthmus trade corridor from climate change, Casey, the MP for Cumberland-Colchester, said in a release.

The initiative comes amid increasing calls for something to be done to maintain the land link between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia by raising and reinforcing dikes at the narrow isthmus that joins the provinces and allow goods to travel to and from the busy port of Halifax.

The dikes in the Tantramar Marshes were built by Acadian settlers for agricultural purposes in the 1700s. The Chignecto Isthmus was cut off for several days in an 1869 storm, according to a 2008 study by Memorial University geologist Norm Catto.

The study said the odds of a recurrence would increase as sea levels rise.

Last month, the NDP in Nova Scotia said it would introduce a private members bill requiring the provinces agriculture minister to take steps to maintain the low-lying area where the Trans-Canada Highway goes over the Tantramar Marshes. The party said the governing Liberals should spend at least $10 million per year on maintaining the dikes in each of the next five years.

Last fall, the mayor of Amherst also raised concerns about the condition of the historic Acadian dikes and their ability to hold back rising sea levels occurring due to climate change.

Mayor David Kogon has said sea levels are projected to rise in the Bay of Fundy over the next two decades to the point where the Chignecto Isthmus will flood even when there is no storm surge, leaving Nova Scotia cut off.

The area where flooding could occur includes 20 kilometres of the Trans-Canada Highway, 20 kilometres of CN Rail, 35 kilometres of electricity lines and 35 kilometres of dikes. The isthmus itself is a narrow, low-lying strip of land that is about 20 kilometres at its narrowest point.

At the time, he said he wanted all three levels of government to work together, adding the first step would be an engineering study to determine the scope of the required repairs.

The Nova Scotia government has said it is developing new design standards that incorporate sea level rise and storm surge into dike maintenance and construction.

The province has also said that in the Amherst area specifically, it has allocated $10 million be spent to replace the Laplanche aboiteau for local farmland.

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MONTREALA Quebec man facing four years in a Cuban jail after a boating accident killed a fellow Canadian tourist last July is suing travel company Sunwing for damages.

Lawyers representing Toufik Benhamiche of Mascouche filed the application last week, seeking more than $340,000 for himself and his wife.

The Quebec man was driving a small boat as part of a tourist excursion in July 2017 in Cayo Coco, Cuba, when it veered out of control and fatally struck a woman from Ontario.

Read more: Quebec man faces four years in Cuban prison after accidentally killing tourist

In the lawsuit filed in Joliette, Que., his lawyers allege Benhamiche, 47, was given little instruction on how to operate the craft and was assured it was easy to use and by no means dangerous.

It also claims he was not briefed on safety or legal obligations.

Neither the defendant nor its subcontractors offered any liability insurance to the plaintiffs before placing them in a clearly dangerous situation, the application reads. They did not even inform the claimants this activity could potentially incur their civil and/or criminal liability in the event of an accident.

The travel operator commented by email Tuesday, noting it had provided assistance to all parties involved in the incident.

We do not see merit in the legal action, as Sunwing Vacations does not own, manage or operate local excursions in Cuba, the company said.

It noted the fatal accident took place during an adventure tour offered by local partner Gaviota Tours, which subcontracted the boat portion to another company, Marlin SA.

The travel company said it suspended selling the tour pending an investigation.

Sunwing said the fatality is the only major incident on record since the tour began operating in 1997.

Some of the tour-excursion employees were arrested at the time, but only Benhamiche ultimately stood trial.

He was found guilty of criminal negligence causing death and sentenced to four years in prison.

Benhamiche. who has appealed the conviction and is awaiting a ruling, insists the death was an accident.

He told Montreal La Presse on Tuesday his life has been turned upside down and that his goal is to rehabilitate his reputation.

Benhamiche has been forced to rent a home in Cuba pending the legal proceedings.

He has lost his engineering job near Montreal and his wife has been forced to care for their two daughters on her own for the past 10 months. She has frequently had to travel to Cuba to attend her husbands court dates.

His Montreal-based lawyer, Julius Grey, has been critical of what he describes as Canadian government inaction in Benhamiches case.

Grey said the Cuban government is also in a conflict of interest because of the state-run nature of the countrys economy.

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WATERLOOKathleen Wynne and Andrea Horwath are condemning the lock her up shouts at a Doug Ford rally, warning they recall Donald Trumps polarizing presidential campaign against Hillary Clinton.

While Ford distanced himself from his supporters outburst, Wynne blamed the Progressive Conservative leader for the irresponsible rhetoric in the June 7 election.

Read more:

Wynne, Horwath head to southwestern Ontario while Ford holds Toronto rally

More raises at privatized Hydro One turn former Crown utility into bigger lightning rod in election

With 69 women candidates, the NDP has more than any other Ontario party

Horwath echoed that, urging the Tory chief to calm things down.

Its unfortunate that those kinds of things are happening on this campaign and Mr. Ford is going to have to deal with his supporters in a way that I hope brings some respect to the political dialogue and discussion, the NDP leader said Tuesday in London.

Wynne said its indicative of a style of campaigning . Its angry. Its divisive.

Its about slogans and bumper stickers and angry division more than it is about responsible decision-making, principled policies  that are going to help people, she said.

The Liberal leader made her comments at a local high-tech firm where she was promoting her governments $11-billion commitment to build a high-speed rail link between Toronto and London.

At a packed Tory rally on Monday night in Niagara Falls, a Ford supporter twice shouted lock her up in regard to Wynnes handling of Hydro One, the electricity utility she partially privatized in 2015.

The Tory leader paused and chuckled as he was addressing some 300 partisans at the rally. He did not admonish the man at the time despite saying in the speech he intends to take the high road if the campaign to defeat Wynne gets personal.

But the next morning in Toronto, Ford expressed concern at the chant.

I dont believe in that, he told reporters outside the Hydro One annual meeting.

Let me be very clear: I dont condone that. Simple as that. I dont condone it.

Wynne, who trails Ford and Horwath in most public-opinion polls, said she cant control what Doug Ford and his team say and do.

Its a very disturbing trend here in Ontario and we all need to pay attention to it, she said, blasting Doug Ford doing that chaotic, divisive sloganeering.

The Liberals have tried to paint Ford as another Trump, drawing parallels between the Ontario election and the last U.S. presidential race.

In that campaign, Trumps Republican rallies routinely featured angry chants of lock her up aimed at his Democratic rival Clinton.

Since winning the 2016 American election, the president has frequently complained on Twitter that justice officials are investigating his administration, not Clintons alleged transgressions.

Ford has said if he wins next months election, he will launch a commission of inquiry into the Liberal governments spending.

London West incumbent Peggy Sattler, who served as the NDPs womens issues critics, said shes concerned about the influence of U.S.-style politics here.

What it suggests is that what we saw with Donald Trump, validating this kind of language as part of the public discourse, is creeping up into Ontario, said Sattler.

Doug Ford is OK with that. He is OK with having a candidate in London West who has made comments like that, she said, referring to Ford-appointee Andrew Lawton, a former talk-radio host who has apologized for past offensive social media postings on same-sex marriage, women and Islam, blaming his mental health issues.

Silence is validating those kinds of words and that kind of language and that kind of attitude as legitimate public discourse, and it is not. It cannot be, said Sattler. We need to be very clear about that.

With files from Kristin Rushowy

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An Amber Alert for a missing 8-year-old put Ontarios Emergency Alert system to the test Monday morning after the child was reported missing in Thunder Bay.

The alert was issued around 11:30 a.m. to phones across Ontario. A second alert, this time in French, was sent out shortly after. A third alert rang out around 1:30 p.m. after the child was found safe.

Test alerts were sent out to LTE enabled phones across eight provinces and two territories on May 9. A glitch in the messaging system caused problems for alerts testing in Ontario, where only a small set of mobile users received the notification. In Quebec, no alerts were received.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ordered wireless providers to implement the system to distribute warnings of imminent safety threats, such as tornadoes, floods, Amber Alerts or terrorist threats.

There is no opt out, said CRTC spokesperson Patricia Valladao when contacted by the Star on Monday. Given the importance of warning Canadians of imminent threats to their safety, life and property, it will not let you opt out of receiving alerts.

Pelmorex Corp., the company that controls the service that disseminates amber alerts, said on their website that the issuing government authority of the alert decides which areas itll be sent to. OPP spokesperson Sgt. Carolle Dionne confirmed that the police form sent to the alert system has a checkbox to specify whether or not the incident warrants a provincial alert.

People need to remember that its a quick alert that may potentially save a childs life, Dionne said. The OPP received numerous complaints from people about the alert causing disruptions.

The message lead to fervent discussion on social media, with many questioning the effect of an emergency alert issued across the province for an Amber Alert in Thunder Bay. Further concerns were raised on the impacts that the alerts may have on drivers who are startled by phones that were intentionally left on silent.

Martin Davies says he was at his work desk with his iPhone set to do not disturb, a setting that blocks incoming calls and text messages from disrupting the user. Davies was listening to music when the alert came in  loudly  through the headphones he was wearing. Later, Davies says he was driving to lunch when a second alert came in, this time over his cars Bluetooth.

All of a sudden it starts going off like crazy, Davies said. If someone was easily startled that could now cause distracted driving.

The Alert Ready website notes in its FAQ section that a device set to silent will display an emergency alert, though may not play the alert sound.

The emergency alert sound will usually play at whatever the current volume setting is on the wireless device, the page reads. However, this behaviour can differ depending on your wireless device.
The Ontario Provincial Police say federal funding may be insufficient to deal with the effects of incoming marijuana legalization.

It is unclear how legalization will impact police from a day-to-day operational perspective, including how it will impact, of course, police budgets  said Chuck Cox, chief superintendent of the OPP, at a press conference for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police in Toronto on Tuesday.

Police leaders in Ontario remain concerned that the federal funding for police to deal with the anticipating impacts of legalized cannabis may not be adequate to deal with police training, procurement, and their operational needs moving forward.

Read more:

Canadas marijuana industry looks abroad for growth

Tory staffer lobbied to delay legalized marijuana for weeks before being fired

New RCMP chief wants force to make positive change across the country

In September 2017, the federal government announced $274 million toward border efforts and policing marijuana-related incidents, including impaired driving, an investment that has started to flow, said MP Bill Blair, whos leading the Liberal governments charge toward legalization.

Blair said theres $113 million allocated for the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency; leftover is about $161 million, which is earmarked for training and equipment.

Of the $161 million, $81 million has been allocated for municipal and Indigenous police services, Blair said.

(This figure) was based on the calculation of a number of officers that they said needed training, he said. I believe its the right amount.

About 730 officers have been trained so far across the country, Blair said, noting imminent increases to that number.

On Tuesday, Ontario police leaders unveiled its annual Drive Safe! campaign, which underscores the need for drivers to remain in control while behind the wheel  which, they say, means staying sober.

But the association made clear there was a sense of uncertainty about how the drugs legalization will play out for law enforcement.

Im proud to say that Ontario is among the safest in traffic safety in North America, but sadly already this year 101 lives have been lost on OPP-patrolled highways through motor vehicle collisions, many of which, of course, are 100 per cent preventable, Cox told the crowd, adding police anticipate drug-impaired driving to increase with legalization.

Intoxicated driving, Cox continued, is nothing new to police.

We already have officers trained as drug recognition evaluators and trained to perform standardized field sobriety tests at roadside, he said.

But whether police services will be adequately funded during the change seems to be a sticking point.

Cox said police agencies have pre-emptively assessed the potential impacts of legalization, saying it would affect (about) two per cent of their police services overall budget.

We cant really predict whats going to happen, Cox told the Star.

We dont think that that money, when it finally rolls out to police agencies across the province, is going to be sufficient enough to cover off those costs, he said, adding municipalities would bear the brunt.

He said more calls to police mean more money, he continued, as would hiring on drug recognition evaluators.

Toronto Police Service Supt. Scott Baptist, also at the event, told the Star that driving high is problem in the city right now. In 2017, he said 69 people were charged with operating a vehicle while under the influence of marijuana, some of which resulted in accidents. Baptist could not provide a number of collisions.

Asked whether TPS will be primed for the legalization, Baptist said I know well be ready.

In the same breath, however, Baptist said theres uncertainty surrounding what exactly will happen.

This is a big change in our culture, a big change in the social use of this drug, and its something were going to have to see how it translates, he said.

We cant keep people away from marijuana, but what we can do is we will continue to work with a broad range of social agencies and different partners to educate and inform, Baptist said. Hopefully we can make sure that society works collaboratively so that people make informed choices so that we are all safe.
They moved inch by inch, meticulously scouring the floors, walls and ceilings, examining the furniture, searching inside dresser drawers, careful not to miss what may be key evidence inside the apartment of an alleged serial killer.

Virtually every day for the past four months, Toronto police forensic investigators have been at work inside Bruce McArthurs two-bedroom 19th-floor apartment at 95 Thorncliffe Park Dr., documenting its contents and searching for evidence such as hair, blood, fingerprints, fibres and more.

Finally this week  after seizing a trove of 1,800 exhibits and taking more than 18,000 photographs  investigators finished the exacting task, completing a central part of what has become the largest forensic examination in Toronto police history.

Its certainly the largest Ive ever seen, Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga said in an interview Tuesday.

Search warrant in hand, police descended on the concrete highrise apartment on Jan. 19, one day after McArthur was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Selim Esen and Andrew Kinsman. In the months since, McArthur has been charged with murdering six more men: Majeed Kayhan, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi and Kirushnakumar Kanagaratnam.

As the investigation has grown in scale  police have begun searches involving cadaver dogs at 75 properties linked to McArthur  a team of 10 was assigned to McArthurs apartment, with two officers stationed outside the door 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In part because of the sudden spike in resource-intensive probes including the McArthur investigation, Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders wrote in a recent report to the board that a variance to the police budget is needed. Saunders cites recent high-profile cases as being among the factors that have led to an estimated $3.8-million shortfall.

In the past six months, the Toronto police homicide squad has taken on three large-scale homicide investigations: McArthur, the ongoing probe into the deaths of billionaire couple Barry and Honey Sherman, and last months van rampage, in which driver Alek Minassian is charged with a slew of murder and attempted murder charges.

The police board meets Thursday to discuss Saunderss budget report.

Toronto police have not released definitive information about where McArthurs alleged killings took place. But forensic investigators went in assuming the possibility at least one murder had occurred inside as early as 2010  when McArthur is alleged to have killed Navaratnam, the first of the eight men.

The thinking was that if theres one of Skanda Navaratnams hairs in that apartment, you better find it, no matter where it is, Idsinga said.

Unlike other homicide scenes, where investigators would likely zero in on an area in an apartment where a forensic examination is necessary, the probe in McArthurs apartment encompassed the entire unit. That required investigators to work their way from the front entrance inward  otherwise, they risked contaminating the space, Idsinga said.

For the same reason, it was usually only the two lead investigators working inside the apartment, though they could call upon other officers when necessary. You want to minimize the number of people you have in that apartment, Idsinga said.

Some of the evidence retrieved from the apartment will now be further tested, either at the Toronto polices own forensic lab or at the Centre of Forensic Sciences.

McArthurs unit has now been turned over to the property management company for the building. An employee of Leaside Towers, which includes 95 Thorncliffe Park Dr., said she had no comment when asked Tuesday if the unit will made available to rent.

Since McArthurs arrest, the remains of seven men have been located inside large planters found on a Leaside property linked to McArthur, forensically identified through fingerprint, dental records or DNA testing. All but Kayhans remains have been identified.

Sources have previously told the Star that among the evidence collected by investigators were reams of digital images; photos of dead men were found on McArthurs computer, according to a police source.

Last week, police began using cadaver dogs to search other properties that may be linked to McArthur, either through his client list or tips from the public. Idsinga said that initial search with the dogs is expected to wrap up next week. After that, investigators may go back to locations where the dogs gave indications that more searching may be required.

In addition to the searches, police are investigating 25 cold cases dating to between 1975 and 1997 where there may be a possible connection to McArthur.
Ontarios Green party released its platform Monday, with billions promised for energy conservation grants and mental health supports.

The Greens say they would move to a clean economy by supporting jobs in cleantech and would commit to a 100-per-cent renewable energy supply by 2050. A centrepiece promise is a $4.2-billion program to give grants and loans to businesses and homeowners for energy conservation.

The platform says it can be funded in part by saving $1.1 billion by closing the Pickering Nuclear station this year and buying hydro power from Quebec.

Read more about the Ontario Election

We need to skate to where the puck is going, and not where its been, Leader Mike Schreiner said. The other parties are clinging to an old economy, but we see a better way forward  one where we tackle climate change, lower energy costs and spark a whole new generation of clean, well-paying jobs that will serve our children well into the future.

The party would also spend $4.1 billion over four years on mental health services, which they say they could help pay for by improving collections and reducing tax avoidance.

The Greens also support a basic income, which the Liberal government has been running a pilot project on, and would spend $3.4 billion next year to increase social assistance rates in the pilot as a first step to implementing it provincewide. They would pay for it by cancelling the governments hydro plan, which gives ratepayers 25-per-cent off their electricity bills by borrowing billions of dollars.

Read more about Ontarios party leaders

The Greens are proposing to raise corporate taxes by 0.5 per cent, and increase the income tax rate for the top one per cent of earners by one per cent.

They would also mandate 20 per cent of units in new housing builds be affordable, expand the protected land known as the Greenbelt, and spend more money on transit.

The party says it is running a full slate of candidates and that 52 per cent of them are women.

Schreiner is running in Guelph, where incumbent former cabinet minister Liz Sandals is not seeking re-election, and where Schreiner came in a close third in 2014 behind the Progressive Conservative candidate.
Green Leader Mike Schreiner sits down with the Toronto Stars editorial board on Tuesday at noon, and for the first time we are livestreaming the conversation.

Schreiner will be answering your questions on what he plans to do if he wins his partys first seat at Queens Park.

The party released its platform Monday, vowing to move to a clean economy by supporting jobs in cleantech and committing to a 100 per cent renewable energy supply by 2050.

A centrepiece promise is a $4.2-billion program to give grants and loans to businesses and homeowners for energy conservation.

The platform says it can be funded in part by saving $1.1 billion by closing the Pickering Nuclear station this year and buying hydro power from Quebec.

During elections, the Stars editorial board meets with party leaders to find out where they stand on the issues. It helps the Star determine, which, if any, party it will endorse.

Here is his profile:
More raises at Hydro One  this time for the chairman and board of directors  have turned the former Crown utility into a bigger lightning rod on the June 7 election trail, putting Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne on the defensive again.

Her main rivals for the premiers job said Tuesday the $25,000-boost to part-time directors, who will earn $185,000 a year, and a $70,000-increase to $330,000 for the chair, show the company owned 47 per cent by the province is out of control.

Read more:

Wynne, Horwath head to southwestern Ontario while Ford holds Toronto rally

Wynne and Horwath blast Ford for stoking Trump-style lock her up rhetoric

Im so passionate about Ontario embracing a new economy: Green party Leader Mike Schreiner

Thats unacceptable, Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford fumed on Dundas St. in the rain outside Hydro Ones annual meeting of shareholders.

Who does that? This is a waste of taxpayers money. This is the reason the boards going, the CEOs going, added Ford, who has previously vowed to fire the board and oust $6.2-million-a-year chief executive Mayo Schmidt over bonuses and changes that made it easier for them to get lucrative severance payouts if dismissed without cause.

Schmidt, whom Ford has repeatedly dubbed the six million dollar man, said incentive pay for him and other executives was up because profits have been increasing  with a 33 per cent rise in the first quarter alone  and $89 million in cost savings found last year.

I dont focus on the politics, he told reporters after the annual meeting. My job and responsibilities are to deliver for shareholders and our customers...I can count off a dozen metrics where weve improved things in this province.

The chief executive suggested it would be a mistake for a Ford government to mess with success at Hydro One which is about to grow when the takeover of U.S. energy company Avista is completed later this year.

Quite frankly, were creating a Canadian champion company and I would be very disappointed to see if there was an effort to impair that, said Schmidt, who is entitled to $10.7 million in severance if hes fired following a replacement of the board by the Ontario government.

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who has promised to buy back all the shares the government sold to restore full public ownership, also called the raises for the board unacceptable.

There are people in Ontario that live on less than $25,000 a year  lots of people, she said in London. These kinds of raises for their own board members are completely out of whack and out of touch with what a public utility would and should do.

Hydro One board chair David Denison was unapologetic for the pay changes approved by shareholders at the meeting, with the government abstaining from voting given that the company had previously agreed to review compensation levels.

We operate in the private sector and consequently all our benchmarking for both executive compensation and our other benchmarking is appropriately done in the private sector, Denison told reporters.

We believe that the level of compensation is appropriate, he added, insisting the pay review agreed to after the Liberal government raised its objections is not a sham.

A Hydro One statement said compensation for directors is in the bottom 25 per cent of similar companies, and that the raises were intended to increase their pay half way to median.

In Waterloo, Wynne said the government has been very clear it has not been impressed with the compensation changes for the board or executives.

The minister of energy called the CEO of Hydro One, made it clear that we were not happy with it, she said.

Thats why there will be a review of the compensation package. That review is beginning now. The CEO, the executive, and the board compensation are all under review, Wynne added. I do expect that there will be a change.

She maintained her governments decision to sell more than half of Hydro One to raise about $9 billion to pay down electricity system debt and help fund public transit improvements was the right move.

Ford accused the government of turning a blind eye to pay issues at Hydro One until he blew the whistle on them, and didnt rule out the Conservatives looking at a share buy-back as well, although that possibility has not previously been mentioned in his tightly scripted campaign.

Its a little premature to say were going to go in there and buy it back. Weve got to take a look at the books. All I know is, when I criss-cross the province, the number one issue is hydro rates.

New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns, running for re-election in Toronto Danforth, said Fords talk about firing the Hydro One board is all just for show.

As long as they leave it privatized, rich people are going to make themselves richer. Were the only ones with a plan to return Hydro to public control.

The New Democrats plan to use the governments dividends from Hydro One to buy back all the shares now in private hands, but Bay St. experts have warned that would cost about $8 billion and take two decades.

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LONDON  A majority of NDP candidates in the June 7 election are women  the highest rate for any political party in the provinces history.

With 56 per cent female candidates  or 69 of the total 124  NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said weve worked very hard over the years to encourage women to get engaged in the political process.

It takes some time to encourage people to seek office, and then have the process of having contested nominations. We prefer to have a process that invites people to get involved in our party, and as a result ... 56 per cent of our candidates are women because we made the effort to make that happen, she said during a campaign stop Tuesday in London.

Read more:

More raises at privatized Hydro One turn former Crown utility into bigger lightning rod in election

Wynne, Horwath head to southwestern Ontario while Ford holds Toronto rally

Wynne and Horwath blast Ford for stoking Trump-style lock her up rhetoric

The Green Party reports that 52 per cent of its candidates are women; the Liberals, almost 46 per cent and the Progressive Conservatives 33 per cent.

Most of the female PC candidates were recruited under previous leader Patrick Brown.

Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne, the first female premier in Ontario's history, said there are more and more women who do want to get involved and the numbers are going up, the percentages are going up.

However, Wynne also expressed concern about the toxicity of debate in the social-media era, which may discourage women from seeking office.

We all have a responsibility to say, look, if we want people to be involved in a decent political discussion then were going to have to deal with some of the language, some of the rhetoric that is used on social media, she said at a campaign stop in London.

I think social media has given license to a level of debate thats very, very disturbing.

Both Wynne and Horwath have been the target of misogynistic attacks online  called offensive names or threatened with violence  and their staff filter out comments on social media because the vulgar slurs are so frequent.

On Tuesday, Wynne and Horwath also criticized PC Leader Doug Ford for not properly dealing with an attendee at his Monday rally who twice yelled lock her up.

The NDPs success in recruiting so many women is the result of decades affirmative action, said University of Toronto political science professor Sylvia Bashevkin.

Its outreach efforts began in the early 1980s and this history helps to explain why local constituency associations have been pressed to think seriously about nominating women candidates for decades, said Bashevkin, an author and expert in women and politics.

The NDP, like left-of-centre parties in other political systems, is more open toward intervention in the marketplace than centrist and conservative parties  and this includes the marketplace called political candidacy.

Professor and author Erin Tolley said the parties hold the cards on this issue.

Nearly everything we know about representation in politics tells us that on election day, voters are not biased against women politicians, said Tolley of the University of Torontos political science department.

If you want to get more women into politics, the key is to nominate them. The nomination stage is the number one stumbling block for all candidates.

Horwath said every riding must actively search for women candidates and for those that are from what we would call equity-seeking groups  people who are living with disabilities, young people, women, people who are from various ethno-cultural and racial backgrounds  and as a result ... we also have a slate of candidates that truly reflects the diversity of the people that make up the province of Ontario and we are very proud of it.

Wynne noted during a Mothers Day campaign stop that her cabinet was 46 per cent women, as well as half of the chiefs of staff in her government.

So that means that every single policy we talk about, every discussion we have, there is a balance between what is the best for the whole population and whats the best for moms, for women, who are struggling, she said.

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Two of the major party leaders will be campaigning for the June 7 election in southwestern Ontario today.

Liberal Leader Kathleen Wynne is to make an announcement this morning in Waterloo, and in the afternoon makes an announcement in London and visits a brewery in Guelph.

Read more:

Wynne and Horwath blast Ford for stoking Trump-style lock her up rhetoric

More raises at privatized Hydro One turn former Crown utility into bigger lightning rod in election

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath plans to make a campaign announcement in London this morning and attend a campaign event in Paris this afternoon before holding a health-care focused town hall this evening in Kitchener.

Progressive Conservative Leader Doug Ford has a relatively light day with a morning rally in Toronto  the only item on his schedule.

The Green party released its platform Monday, with billions promised for energy conservation grants and mental health supports.

The Greens say they would move to a clean economy by supporting jobs in cleantech and would commit to a 100 per cent renewable energy supply by 2050.

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Just days before one of the most anticipated weddings in years, Kensington Palace issued a statement Monday asking for understanding and respect after a report that Meghan Markles father had decided to skip the ceremony and would not walk her down the aisle.

Markle, an American actress, will marry Prince Harry on Saturday at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle at a ceremony that will be attended by celebrities and be covered by media outlets around the world.

But Markles father, Thomas Markle, will not attend, the celebrity news website TMZ reported Monday  a revelation that has spurred a fresh round of gossip and speculation about who will take his place.

Read more:

Harry and Meghans royal wedding promises to set trends for seasons to come

Opinion | Vinay Menon: Give Meghan Markles embarrassing family a break

What to eat when watching the royal wedding

In a statement, released soon after TMZs report was published, a Kensington Palace spokesperson appeared to acknowledge the reports existence but stopped short of confirming it.

This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding, the spokesman said in the statement. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.

The Associated Press reported that the palace had previously said it would not comment on the report.

Efforts to reach Thomas Markle on Monday evening were not immediately successful.

On Saturday, The Daily Mail reported that Markle had been working with a British paparazzi photographer to pose for a series of pictures that were then sold to newspapers around the world.

In its own report Monday, TMZ said that it had spoken with Markle and that he said he had decided against attending the wedding because of fallout related to the photo deal. TMZ said he had decided not to go because he did not want to embarrass the Royal Family or his daughter.

Earlier this month, The Associated Press, citing a palace spokesperson, reported that both of Meghan Markles divorced parents would meet with Queen Elizabeth II and have special roles in their daughters wedding. Markles parents, who split when she was young, had been scheduled to arrive in London this week.

During a briefing at Buckingham Palace on May 4, the spokesperson, Jason Knauf, said that Markles mother, Doria Ragland, would travel with her daughter to Windsor Castle on the day of the wedding and that Thomas Markle would walk his daughter down the aisle.

Even that announcement marked a modest departure from convention. In past royal weddings, the brides mother has remained in the background, ceremonially upstaged by the brides father, who accompanies her to the venue and then walks her down the aisle.

But Meghan Markle is very close to her mother  so much so that there had been some speculation that Ragland would walk her daughter down the aisle. Markle was largely raised by Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker.

Harry has spent time with Ragland and was reported by People magazine to have asked her permission for Markles hand. His first meeting with Thomas Markle was to have been this week.

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MIAMICourt records say an Alaska man charged with killing five people and wounding six in a shooting rampage at a Florida airport has been found mentally competent and is scheduled to plead guilty later this month.

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing Monday that 28-year-old Esteban Santiago was recently evaluated by a psychologist. The findings are that Santiago understands the court proceedings and is able to assist in his case. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic.

Santiago is set to plead guilty May 23 in exchange for a life prison sentence. Prosecutors announced earlier this month they would not seek the death penalty.

The 28-year-old Anchorage, Ala., man is charged in a 22-count indictment in the January 2017 shooting in a baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
As the battle for the Trans Mountain pipeline rages on  last week, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley launched a million dollar ad campaign aimed at its opponents in B.C.  a big question still looms.

How can the federal and Alberta governments support a pipeline designed to significantly increase shipments of diluted bitumen from the oilsands while at the same time proclaiming it doesnt contradict their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and curb climate change?

Can they have it both ways? Are they talking out of both sides of their mouths?

Environmentalists and Indigenous groups in B.C. claim they are. They say the $8 billion pipeline expansion encourages ramped up production from the tarsands, and that will increase greenhouse gas emissions at a time when Canada should be reducing them.

In Alberta and some parts of B.C., proponents of the pipeline expansion arent so concerned about climate change policies; they simply see it as another Lego piece in the national petroleum infrastructure that keeps the economy humming along.

Its the old jobs versus the environment argument, in which we are expected to choose one over the other.

Or we want government to choose one over the other.

Trying to have it both ways is a lot more complicated.

Its important to look at this situation from a national policy perspective, Alberta economist Andrew Leach told me. If we want to significantly reduce green house gas emissions, government cant simply tell one industry that it has to shut down. What if it decided that some of the manufacturing sector in Ontario is to be shut down because its carbon emissions are too high?

Leach focuses on energy and the environment at the University of Albertas business school. In 2015 he chaired the newly minted Notley governments advisory panel on climate change and is widely recognized as the architect of Albertas carbon reduction policies.

Leach says we need to look past the political tit-for-tat nastiness that has erupted over the pipeline and view the situation in terms of national climate change policies and goals.

If we think blocking a pipeline will reduce carbon emissions, why not stop licensing gas guzzling pickup trucks or SUVs as well, asks Leach.

No doubt a lot of Canadians would not take kindly to that kind of micromanaging by government.

Instead, the Trudeau government decided on national carbon pricing as a way to reduce greenhouse gases and get Canada in line with international goals for curbing climate change. Notleys NDP government went along with the plan and set its own price on carbon. B.C. had already done so years before. Ontario and Quebec opted for cap and trade systems.

Interestingly, everyone from the Suzuki Foundation to Steve Williams, the CEO of Suncor (the largest oilsands producer), supports carbon pricing.

Carbon pricing is actually a conservative solution to rising carbon emissions, because it relies on market forces to reduce emissions rather than government regulation of particular industries or consumer practices.

If you produce a lot of carbon when you drive your car and the more you produce the more it costs you, you are more likely to eventually buy a smaller car, ride a bike or take public transit.

This long-term strategy  to reduce demand for carbon-emitting fuels by pricing carbon and letting the market sort it out  means oil will continue to flow through pipelines as long as there is demand for it. When demand for oil drops, as it is likely to, so will demand for pipelines and oil tankers.

But if the B.C. government and protesters manage to kill the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which has been approved by the National Energy Board and the federal cabinet, the Notley government is likely to pull out of the Trudeau climate change plan, or it will be defeated in next years election by the United Conservative Party, which has promised to abolish carbon pricing.

Either way, Trudeaus national climate change strategy will fall apart, because Alberta is a key player.

Trudeau and Notley still believe they can have it both ways.

Were about to find out if they are right or simply deluded.

GS Gillian Steward is a Calgary writer and former managing editor of the Calgary Herald. Her column appears every other week. is a Calgary writer and former managing editor of the Calgary Herald. Her column appears every other week. gsteward@telus.net

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This just in: you dont need to be a white person to use a Starbucks bathroom without purchasing something from the counter.

In fact, according to Howard Schultz, the executive chairman of the coffee mega chain, you dont have to purchase anything at the restaurant in order to use its facilities  not a Unicorn Frappuccino, not a Cake Pop, not a Sous Vide Egg bite (anybody know what that thing is?) and not even a Tall Blonde. From now on, all you have to do is walk into Starbucks and you are welcome to relieve yourself in one of its spacious stalls.

On the heels of yet another racist incident blowing up in the media  this one in which two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks after asking to use the restroom and sitting down without purchasing anything  Schultz announced a new policy, whereby pretty much anyone can use a Starbucks bathroom, paying customer or not.

Read more:

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In his own words, speaking in Washington D.C. this month: The first thing we want to make sure is that regardless of your station in life, the colour of your skin, your sexual orientation, your gender, your ethnic background  everyone is welcome at Starbucks. And in terms of the bathroom, were going to have to make sure that  we dont want to become a public bathroom, but were going to make the right decision 100 per cent of the time and give people the key, because we dont want anyone at Starbucks to feel as if we are not giving access to you to the bathroom because you are less than.

If youre a white person who doesnt believe racial bias was at play in the Philadelphia incident ask yourself how many times youve been handcuffed after sitting in a restaurant without buying any food. Ive been told, buy something or leave. But Ive never been arrested. When white people loiter were considered a nuisance. When Black people loiter theyre considered a threat.

Your call!

But an open door bathroom policy is precisely the right move for Starbucks not just in an ethical sense but in a practical sense too. Schultz may not want the company to be a public bathroom but the truth as anyone with a bladder knows, is that Starbucks already is a public bathroom. If youre downtown running some errands and nature calls, where do you go? Starbucks. Or McDonalds, or Tim Hortons, or any other massive chain restaurant where you stand a good chance of slipping into the bathroom unnoticed. Public restrooms are so rare in many North American cities and so rarely attended to (a.k.a. disgusting) big chains operate as public lavatories almost by default. Starbucks is arguably the official public bathroom of planet earth. (Ive used its facilities in a pinch, in at least eight different nations around the world.) Its about time the coffee chain came to terms with its status as international emergency toilet, because stringent bathroom policies flat out do not work.

Coffee and fast food chains are simply too crowded and their employees too busy to police the bathroom activity of every customer. Unless those employees are racists on the lookout for Black guys who dare use the john without buying a latte, most cashiers tend to bend the bathroom is for customers only rule. Or break it entirely. I certainly did when I worked at a Subway chain in Halifax, where half the city must have peed without approaching my register. If you work in fast food, its often difficult to remember who is a paying customer and who isnt because chain establishments, especially those in urban areas, are packed day and night. The bottom line is that there is very little consistency in how the customer-only bathroom rule is applied, leaving it open to gross abuse by prejudiced staff behind the counter.

Of course it makes perfect sense that some of these staff  not only prejudiced ones  are wary of open door bathroom policies because they fear overcrowding in their workspace and extra grimy facilities (that they inevitably have to clean).

But in an age where public confrontation is routinely broadcast in real time on the internet, the corporate leaders at the helm of these restaurants need to ask themselves a serious question: Whats worse for business? A dirtier-than-usual bathroom with a long lineup? Or the PR nightmare that ensues when an employee tells one kind of customer they may use the restroom, and another kind of customer to get lost?

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As a fresh political insult, gammon takes the cake. It means ham.

A piece of British slang referring to pink-faced middle-aged right-wing men whose faces turn colour with outbursts of rage at the unfairness of modern life, it describes the people most likely to have sailed through the decades by virtue of being precisely what they are. The irony will be lost on them.

These men are angry about everything: Europe being a next-door neighbour, women wanting rights, millennials expecting jobs, homes and pensions, basically anything desired by anyone whose skin hasnt long turned pink in the ever-hotter British sun combined with alcoholism.

Britain is a hard-drinking nation, one unspoken reason why rage is choking it like gas fumes on the London Orbital, the ring road that surrounds the city. Brits want out of the car. Theyre stuck in the car, forever.

I like gammon as a pejorative* about as much as I like it as a steaming red ball of salt ribbed with thick fat on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Although the face of former prime minister David Cameron is indeed as slablike and featureless as a ham, as Caitlin Moran was the first to point out, the word tacitly refers to men as meat.

This is objectionable, perhaps because women have always been referred to in animal terms by precisely the kind of men youd call canned hams. (You buy it in pear-shaped cans at Loblaws, perhaps for picnics.) Can we not transcend this?

I was raised on Hereford Corned Beef, sold in tapered trapezoid cans, each with its own key. I just remembered that. In this does my trauma-based objection to meat slurs reside?

The left likes the meat epithet, if only out of revenge for snowflake, as the left-wing campaigner Owen Jones writes. Jones normally dislikes abusive names, having written a book called Chavs about the demonization of the white working-class male  it stands for Council House and Violent  but I will not discuss the eternal class warfare that consumes British life. The U.S. had a class war  it was called Make America Great Again  in which the American poor took an axe to themselves and we neednt go there right now.

Jones says chav is punching down while the meat metaphor is punching up. I disagree. Gammon hits home regardless of money, inherited or otherwise.

Jones resembles what would be referred to as a twink, a now mainstream slang word for a good-looking, fit, fashionably dressed young man, short for Twinkie and the male equivalent of a sexy young woman. Jones is that fatal thing in journalism. He is attractive. Ask Ronan Farrow about the drawbacks.

Lets be candid. Stormy Danielss lawyer, the brilliant Michael Avenatti currently throwing dead cows at Trump over the parapet #basta, is seriously handsome. This is why Fox News also-ran Tucker Carlson complained that in fact, Avenattis eyes were too close together.

This is life as high school revisited, a Mean Girls cast with angry older American white men sending spumes of spite into the air to entertain their cohort and, one assumes, to get the attention of the non-handsome orange president who spends every night on the phone with Sean Hannity, who is not the twink he thinks he is.

I dont like these new hammer words. Equally, I dont like references to skin colour whether White, Black or Pink, as I fear Yellow will be next. Gammon is a dreadful descriptor. As a Guardian writer put it gracefully and damningly, it shuts down the discussion in an unhelpful way.

*Alert readers have discovered that Dickens used the word in Nicholas Nickleby in 1839 as an insult. A Mr. Gregsbury MP, a tough, burly, thick-headed gentleman, with a loud voice, a pompous manner, a tolerable command of sentences with no meaning in them was rebuked for his gammon tendency.

If it means that I grow a little too fervid, or perhaps even hyperbolical, in extolling my native land, I admit the full justice of the term, Gregsbury responded, huffing and puffing. In other words, he was the Doug Ford of the early 19th century. Or worse, the Kellie Leitch.
There was a time when the NDP sketched a plan that had the new charismatic federal leader ride into Ontario during this campaign to give a needed boost to the provincial leader.

That has been flipped on its head.

The question to be asked now is whether political success for Andrea Horwath in the June 7 vote can help her former deputy, the beleaguered federal leader Jagmeet Singh.

Horwath, early in the campaign, has cast herself as the sunny, positive alternative to Progressive Conservative Doug Ford, leapfrogging Kathleen Wynne as that anti-Ford option.

Singh, when the national cameras catch up with him, is the harried head of the national human rights department, more the guidance counsellor than federal leader as he deals with the tawdry details of the past love life of Quebec MP Christine Moore or the socially awkward close talker, former NDP MP Erin Weir.

He has had to quell incipient caucus discontent, is dogged by questions about whether he will seek a federal seat and sometimes leaves reporters puzzled as he ties himself into a pretzel trying to answer questions.

The party is looking for a coherent message to take to Canadians, something beyond we will refer this to an independent third party investigator.

Federally, Singhs party is stuck. Provincially, Horwath appears to be on the move.

A strong provincial showing by Horwath could give Singh the federal bump that has eluded him since his first-ballot leadership win last autumn. The emphasis is on could, but there are precedents worth studying, both provincially and federally.

While acknowledging the dangers in comparing federal and provincial campaigns, political conversation in Ontario often turns to the parallels between the ongoing provincial race and the 2011 federal election.

That campaign featured an unpopular Liberal leader in Michael Ignatieff and a New Democratic Party leader, Jack Layton, trying to re-invent himself as a fresh face in his fourth run for prime minister after eight years at the party helm.

After nine years as provincial leader, Horwath is trying to look new and refreshing in her third crack at the crown.

Both believed the path to success was to be relentlessly upbeat.

In 2011, the first debate was hyped as a battle between Ignatieff and Stephen Harper and as the punditry focused on their skirmishes, many missed that Layton won the debate, just as Horwarth was the acknowledged winner of an initial debate which was more focused on Wynne versus Ford.

There are differences, however.

In 2011, Laytons Quebec surge was identified very late in the campaign (as was Bob Raes surge when he won Ontario for the NDP in 1990) meaning he was allowed to campaign as Le Bon Jack relatively unbothered for much of the race.

Horwaths move into second place came during the first week of the campaign and she is being subjected to much more intense scrutiny, much earlier in the race.

This is the political equation that Singh enters in his home province and he has not been shy about campaigning.

He would know the 2011 federal campaign well. He ran and narrowly lost to the Conservative in the federal riding of Bramalea-Gore-Malton, before breaking new 905 ground for the provincial NDP by winning an overlapping riding in that years provincial election.

The federal leader has appeared in seven GTA ridings since last Friday, his office says, including two in the heart of the 416 as well as three stops in Brampton, the epicentre of the 905 where Singh was expected to bring new federal NDP strength.

Tuesday he was campaigning in Scarborough South West and Brampton North  including a town hall on auto insurance  and has appeared with Horwath at the Brampton East nomination of his younger brother, Gurratan Singh. More joint events with Horwath will follow.

There are important historic mileposts that federal New Democrats know painfully upend any direct line from provincial to federal success.

In 2015, Rachel Notleys victory in Alberta was received with song and celebration in the federal NDP caucus, but in the general election held mere months later, there was no federal breakthrough for the NDP in Alberta.

Three years after the NDPs Rae became Ontario premier, the federal NDP under Audrey McLaughlin lost official party status.

There is another lesson from the 2011 campaign. A collapsing Liberal vote and a resurgent NDP gave Harper his only Conservative majority.

That is doubtless the lesson that the veterans of the Harper team working for Ford remember best.

Tim Harper is a former Star reporter who is a current freelance columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @nutgraf1

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VANCOUVERCanadas decision to take no position on a B.C. First Nations lawsuit to halt work on the Site C hydroelectric dam came as a complete surprise to Chief Roland Willson.

The unexpected move last week was akin to Ottawa laying down its weapons in a legal battle, the West Moberly First Nations leader told StarMetro.

West Moberlys territories would be flooded by the $10.7-billion, 1,100-megawatt project  breaching its rights under Treaty 8, its Jan. 15 lawsuit against Ottawa, B.C. and B.C. Hydro argued.

It strikes me as odd that they would roll over on it, Willson told StarMetro in a sit-down interview Monday. But thats what they did.

We didnt quite understand what it meant. Theyre taking no position? Im still scratching my head over that.

The lawsuit also sought a temporary or permanent court order prohibiting B.C. Hydro from continuing or completing construction of Site C and flooding the Peace River.

Despite Canada approving the dams construction  underway since the nascent B.C. NDP government gave it a bitter blessing in December  the federal justice ministry declared in B.C. Supreme Court filings last Wednesday it does not oppose it going ahead.

West Moberly asked the court to declare B.C. and Canada breached their obligations to West Moberly under the Treaty, and unjustifiably infringed West Moberlys Treaty Rights.

It also seeks a declaration that any Crown action, decision, or approval permitting the construction or operation of the Site C Dam is unconstitutional, void, and of no force and effect.

Canadas Attorney General stated that although it does not consent to the lawsuits treaty violation request, it also does not oppose the granting of the orders to halt work on the dam pending resolution of the case, according to its response filed last Wednesday.

Canada takes no position on the granting of the orders, it stated.

By contrast, in B.C.s own response filed Thursday, it opposed all of West Moberlys requested actions.

The provinces energy minister Michelle Mungall refused StarMetros interview request Monday, but in a written statement said her government made its decision to proceed with Site C after careful consideration of all the issues.

I am going to respect the judicial process, her statement read, and not going to comment further at this time.

The president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, said in a release Monday that B.C. should follow suit.

This is what we have been calling on both federal and provincial governments to do on Site C, he said. Canada is actually choosing not to defend the project  The ball is now in the Premiers court.

For Willson, the decision to continue fighting his band  one of three opposing the project in the area, despite several others signing benefit agreements with B.C. Hydro  continues the hypocrisy of Premier John Horgan reluctantly continuing the project last year, citing the fiscal risks and rate increases of cancellation this far into construction.

The hypocrisy of the whole thing is (Horgan) is taking such a hard line on Kinder Morgan, Willson said. But Kinder Morgan is not going to cost B.C. anything to build, and it may never spill.

Site C is costing B.C. billions, and its impacts are 100 per cent  With a dam, once you flood that valley youve destroyed it  theres no returning.

Treaty 8, which stretches across the Alberta-B. C. boundary, is one of the few formal historical treaties covering B.C. lands, the rest being on Vancouver Island.

According to the First Nations original claim on Jan. 15: In entering into Treaty 8, the Plaintiffs ancestors would not and could not have understood that the Crown could take up or destroy the Peace River.

Such activity was not contemplated by the terms of the Treaty, the filing stated. Site C and the associated reservoir will  undermine West Moberlys ability to hunt and trap preferred species in a unique and centrally signifiant area.

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VANCOUVERFor decades, Vancouver elections have played out in predictable fashion: a centre-left party goes up against a centre-right party, and one wins a majority on council.

This year is different.

No fewer than four political parties and a host of mayoral candidates, many of them independents, are jockeying for position on the left side of the political spectrum. Meanwhile, the citys venerable centre-right party, the Non-Partisan Association, has been roiled by infighting, leading to the possibility that the centre-right could become as split as the left.

So whats changed? Political watchers point to three factors at play in Vancouvers unusually unpredictable city council race: new limitations on political donations, wavering support for Vision Vancouver and the emergence of housing as a divisive, hot-button issue.

Its absolutely because of (changes) to campaign finance, said Mario Canseco, whose firm Research Co. has produced several polls tracking the Vancouver election.

The provincial governments decision to ban corporate and union donations and cap individual donations at $1,200 has shaken up municipal politics  and not just in Vancouver, Canseco said. In Surrey, for instance, several new parties have formed.

Under the provinces previous and much-criticized unlimited campaign finance rules, established parties were guaranteed a good showing, Canseco said. In 2014, Vision Vancouver spent an unprecedented $3.4 million on the election and won.

There was definitely a feeling if you ran a campaign in 2014, say, you could depend on that war room, all the volunteers, the advertising. There were ways to ensure the campaign would work, said Canseco.

After 10 years in control of city hall, the centre-left Vision Vancouver party holds fragile support, explained David Moscrop, a political scientist at Simon Fraser University. Thats created something of a power vacuum.

But while Vision may be down, its not out. The party announced several weeks ago that it would run a mayoral candidate. Ian Campbell, a hereditary chief of the Squamish Nation, announced Monday that he would seek the Vision nomination, leading to the possibility Vancouver could have its first Indigenous mayor.

Thats a serious addition, Moscrop observed.

Then theres the housing issue. While Vancouvers extremely unaffordable housing has played a big part in previous elections, concern is now at a fever pitch.

Examples arent hard to find. Westside homeowners recently rallied against paying extra provincial taxes on properties worth more than $3 million. The split inside the NPA has involved Councillor Hector Bremner, who built his mayoral campaign around loosening zoning in single-family-home neighbourhoods to allow more density. Last week the party rejected Bremners bid to run for a mayoral nomination, leading to a bitter public fight.

Taken together, Moscrop said, these factors mean people have a chance to run and win  and its competitive.

Its an election in which anything could happen, including the possibility that the next mayor of Vancouver could win with a fraction of the vote.

Its good in the sense that in a healthy democracy, people who want to run should be able to run, Moscrop said of the political shakeup. Its tricky in the sense that municipal turnout is typically pretty low, and in a crowded field in this electoral system, people could win with a very small percentage.

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VANCOUVER  A tech CEO who signed a mass letter from hundreds of businesses opposing the Kinder Morgan pipeline, says the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade isnt representing all businesses in the city when it heads off to Edmonton to meet Alberta Premier Rachel Notley this week.

Michael Tippett, one of more 700 business people who signed a letter calling Premier John Horgan to stand against the pipeline, was critical the board of trade as it planned its so-called Federation Flight to Alberta to try and make nice with the oil-rich province.

On Thursday, an Air Canada flight carrying more than 100 business leaders, Indigenous members, community and labour groups will leave on a mission to bridge the threatening rift between the British Columbia and Alberta government to reinforce the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project for the benefit of all Canadians, and to sustain business confidence in Canada.

Tippett, who signed a block letter in April calling on Horgan to stand against the pipeline, said the views of the delegation do not reflect the greater business community and their message should be treated with a level of suspicion and skepticism.

Read more:

B.C. politics experts debate if pipeline feud really a constitutional crisis

Constitution allows B.C. to regulate, but not stop, national pipeline: experts

Opinion | Pipeline debate resonates with politicians more than it does with voters  so far

He and his tech sector colleagues, Tippett said, feel the pipeline is not in line with the values of British Columbians, and there are other ways to grow the economy.

For instance, he said investing in tech has much more potential to help grow jobs and the economy in ways that are more sustainable.

I just find it odd that British Columbians would be travelling to meet a premier from a different province to argue their case, Tippett said. If theyve got a point of view and theyre speaking on behalf of people who live in British Columbia, then why are they not speaking through our local provincial government who is opposed to the pipeline?

Iain Black, president of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, along with the Edmonton and Calgary chambers of commerce will be on the mission, branded as The Federation Flight.

Black said he is aware of the mass business opposition letter, but has not paid much attention to it.

From what I understand, there are music teachers and massage therapists that are on the list from what Ive been told about it. Im not particularly concerned about it, he said.

He emphasized the board, through its membership, represents a third of the workforce in B.C. and has been the voice that has represented the business community for over 130 years.

So were quite comfortable in the role we have in this conversation.

What Ive also heard is that there are a lot of people on that list who are not even business people, so Im not paying too much attention to be honest.

The April letter, which opposed the pipeline, was signed by owners, self-employed individuals and executives in industries such as agriculture, architecture, design, construction, art, real estate, education, renewable energy and food manufacturer Natures Path Foods Inc.

Ted Bannister, a self-employed marine surveyor who operates Silver Sea Marine in Comox on Vancouver Island and is another signatory of the opposition letter, said the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project is foolish and has no upside.

He believes the latest move by the board of trade and the business community flying to Edmonton is a lot like the American lobby model whereby stakeholders use any means they can to influence political decisions.

Its good for them. Its a smart move. It makes people think the business community is supportive of what theyre up to, Bannister said. Where the money is coming from in those organizations really says something about who they actually represent.

Bannister added that the mission does not represent businesses like his  the small businesses run by people on the coast of B.C., who depend on the marine environment in sectors like tourism and fishing.

They dont care about the you and Is that are just working out here, they got a different agenda and its (driven) by stock markets and big money.

The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade was offering media a seat on the flight for a $199 contribution toward costs, including a return flight from YVR to Edmonton, lunch, and ground transportation in Edmonton.

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VANCOUVERJust days after some residents managed to get briefly back into their homes, floodwaters in Grand Forks, B.C. are again on the rise.

This week, water levels in the area are expected to be higher than the last major flood, in 1948.

High temperatures are melting snowpacks, and rain, is in the forecast for Wednesday, said Frances Maika, a communications officer with the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.

Temperatures in the Grand Forks area were expected to hit above 30 C Tuesday, driving more snowmelt into the watershed.

Water levels are not expected to be quite as high as they were during last weeks peak, but thats small solace for homeowners bracing for another surge of extreme flooding, Maika said.

More than 3,000 people remain under evacuation orders and alerts across the Kootenay Boundary region.

The flooding is expected to peak Saturday, but the rain is a wild card, she said, noting the levels could peak Friday if the area gets heavier rains than expected in the next couple days.

After the first round of flooding, the water channels have changed, so water is expected to make its way to new places during the second surge.

Engineers are working quickly to repair dikes that were were breached during the first round of flooding, but the structures are weakened after being saturated by water, Maika said, adding a portable dam is also being brought in to help protect the downtown neighbourhoods.

Water levels in the Ruckle neighbourhood, which experienced some of the worst flooding last week, are on the rise again, and police are stationed in the area to keep people out of the neighbourhood for their own safety, Maika said.

In a release this morning, the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary said access would be restricted without exception.

Ethan Petersons house sits next to the Kettle River in the Ruckle neighbourhood. The entire first floor was swamped during last weeks flooding. He said he was able to get back in and rescue a few belongings on Saturday, but the area is now sealed off as the water starts to return.

The water was waist deep around the house, Peterson said. I tried to get back in (on Monday) to get some stuff and I was denied access.

Petersons father Wayne works in Grand Forks, and also has a property on Christina Lake where flooding has been just as bad.

Speaking to the Star from Grand Forks on Tuesday, Wayne said the water level in the downtown area has started rising again.

Its up about six inches, Wayne said, adding that emergency services had told him to expect the waters to peak around Saturday and to last longer than last weeks inundation.

The damage to the downtown core and the Ruckle neighbourhood has been bad enough that some are questioning whether the historic town will ever fully recover. Wayne, however, was optimistic.

Oh yeah, well recover, Wayne said. This town is already coming together.

Wayne said the town is prepared to face the next onslaught in part because at this point the worst of the damage has already been done.

You cant wreck wrecked, he said.

At Christina Lake, Wayne said his boat-access property is under about four metres of water. He has a cabin on a hillside that is thankfully still above the flooding, but many other cabins along the lakeshore are still totally submerged.

With a thunderstorm in the forecast for Wednesday, Wayne is expecting things to get worse before they get better.

We already get three-foot waves on that lake, Wayne said, adding that the power of a thunderstorm could push the waves even higher.

Other regions in South Central B.C. are also preparing for higher water this week. The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen recommended Monday that residents with health issues or limited mobility who live along the Similkameen River near Hedley, B.C. voluntarily evacuate ahead of more surging floodwater expected this week out of concern that flooding could force the closure of several sections of Hwy. 3, the main route in and out of the area.

All residents along the Similkameen, from Princeton, B.C. to the U.S. border, are being told to prepare for an evacuation order in the next few days.

Read more:

Southern B.C. residents brace for another surge of floodwater

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BETHALTO  In a changing of the guard ceremony before a packed house at the Bethalto Village Board meeting Monday night, outgoing Chief of Police Gregg Smock pinned the regalia of the rank on his successor, Craig Welch.

Welch, who began his stint with the police department 27 years ago as a dispatcher, and was sworn in as an officer in 1995, said he is both thrilled and humbled to be handed the job of leading the agency.

Its an awesome task, Welch said. I started this with an eye on becoming the chief of police in Bethalto, but that was 23 years ago. I started my career here as a part-time dispatcher in December of 1990, so Ive been with this organization for quite a while now. Its been a privilege to see it grow and become more and more professional over the years.

In his new role, Welch will oversee the departments staff, which consists of 12 sworn officers, four dispatchers, an animal control officer and a secretary.

Weve got a really good team here that Im proud to work with, and were producing some high quality service, he said.

Since his first days as a dispatcher, Welch has served in nearly every position in the department. After several years as a patrolman, he moved into investigations, where he spent 10 years, much of it working with the FBI on child exploitation cases. Later, he was promoted to lieutenant, then deputy chief, where the had the opportunity to train with the FBI in law enforcement administration at a special academy.

It was a fantastic experience to mingle with peers and see how other agencies across the country and even across the world administer their police departments and criminal justice, he said.

Welch attributes his inspiration to be a police officer to Bill Hays, who was a Bethalto officer in Welchs youth, and served as a mentor.

I wanted to be a police officer like Bill, he said.

Hays retired from the department in 1988, but Welch had the opportunity to serve under him when he came back for a stint as police chief in the early 2000s.

Welch, whose family has a long lineage in Bethalto, said he enjoys small-town life, the opportunity to serve his neighbors.

I grew up in Bethalto, as a third-generation Bethaltonian, he said. Back in 1995 when I became a police officer, all the government agencies had money and everybody was hiring. I had tested at multiple locations, and I had gotten job offers at multiple places, but when my hometown offered me a position that was an opportunity I couldnt pass up.

As the newly appointed chief, Welch said he has several goals for his tenure. He wants to maintain the high levels of professionalism that have been established within the department, which, he said, has set a very high bar for such a small department. He also wants to maintain the departments relationship with the FBI, and increase the departments numbers, which have been reduced over the years by budget cuts, by six additional officers  if finances grow sufficiently to allow it. But most of all, he wants to continue helping his neighbors.

Police work is not like being a carpenter, or other jobs, where people work with physical objects where, at the end of the day, you can see the fruits of your labor and get satisfaction from that. Its not that tangible, Welch said. But over time you can see that something that you have done in your service has improved someones life.

Even better, when that person recognizes it as well, and expresses appreciation to you. Thats really something special. Its kind of like when a teacher has a student come back to them and tell them what success theyve had, and remind them of the things that teacher had shared with them during their formative years.
ALTON  Imagine knowing how paint colors will look in a room before buying paint and streaking it on a wall.

True Value created Inspiration Realized to make that a reality. Altons St. Peters Hardware installed True Values Inspiration Realized paint center this month, thanks to one of the stores owners.

Don saw it, set up at a show, recalled Ellen (St. Peters) Bennett, who has mixed paint since she was 16 years old at her familys Alton hardware store, established in 1947. He said, We have to have this. Inspiration Realized allows customers to see how paint colors that they choose actually look in the intended rooms lighting, by placing a swatch under the lighting they have in their home.

Bennett strayed from the family business once, only to graduate from college.

When I started working here, we had half a wall  four-feet-by-four-feet  of paint colors, without knowing how to match or change colors, she noted. Now, we can have whatever we want, see how colors change in different light. I really like that. People see it on television, HGTV do-it-yourself shows and in real life, in nature, which you can carry over to your own rooms. You can see it virtually, see what the color is going to look like in your home.

Brothers Don and Virgil St. Peters started the go-to Alton hardware store, now in its fourth-generation  where Bennetts nephew, Alex St. Peters, works. St. Peters Hardwares current owners/operators are Bennetts father, Dale St. Peters, her uncle, Doug St. Peters, and her oldest brother, Dan St. Peters.

Bennett gets giddy over St. Peters Hardwares new paint bar, where creativity comes alive, she noted.

This is where we can tweak everything, said Bennett, who works full time at the family-owned store on State Street in Alton.

For True Values commercial retail entities, such as St. Peters Hardware, True Value, with its advanced-technology system Inspiration Realized, supplies peel-and-stick swatches, eliminating the need to splash paint on walls and live with it while deciding if selected paint colors are indeed livable for that individual.

In conjunction with Inspiration Realized, St. Peters Hardware distributes True Value educational literature, whether a paint purchase is made. Brochures inform consumers about paint application on interiors and exteriors, as well as about applying certain color groups, such as aquas, neutrals, blues and greens. And, one step farther, available brochures inform about paint colors for doors and trim, as well as modern, dramatic colors, picked less often for residential spaces.

True Values education component informs consumers about how to apply paint, what brushes to use, how to finish a room, etc., all complementary supplied to customers through True Value outlets, such as St. Peters Hardware.

We were so excited to get this, Bennett said. If were doing paint, we want customers to come because were the color and paint experts. If you cant figure out the color scheme, youre not going to be happy. We all go into a room that makes you happy, thats what Inspiration Realized is about.

St. Peters Hardware is having a buy-one-get-one-free paint sale Monday, May 14, in honor of Mothers Day.

The Alton retailer also recently started carrying True Value glitter paint in gold, silver and transparent. The store regularly and traditionally carries True Value lines EasyCare for interior paint and WeatherAll for exterior paint, all of which are tested and made at True Values Harvard, Illinois distribution center, Bennett said.

The glitter is completely, fully encapsulated. Once the paint dries, it wont come off of your walls or come off on your hands, Bennett said. Its stuck on the wall.

Existing wall color will show through the transparent glitter paint.

St. Peters Hardwares hours are from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; and, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Visit www.stpetershardware.com, follow the stores Facebook page at truevaluerentalof,Edwardsville,IL & Alton,IL or call 618-466-6931 for more information.

Reach Jill Moon at 618-208-6448 and Twitter @jill_moon.
Kanye West, a rapper of note, voiced his opinion on slavery during a recent interview on TMZ.

When you hear about slavery for 400 years..for 400 years? That sounds like a choice, he postulated. West honestly believes that blacks in colonial America and the United States prior to 1865 somehow chose to be slaves.

Some statements are so ridiculous and asinine that one assumes they dont require any kind of rebuttal. Given the historical illiteracy of so many Americans as well as the fact that 62 million voters cast their ballots for Trump in 2016, however, Ive decided that Wests assertion indeed must be refuted.

Slavery was no damn choice. Men and women living in Africa didnt choose to immigrate to the New World in search of better lives. They were purchased or captured by slave traders, who crammed these human beings into ships as though they were livestock. These women and men were kept shackled and so closely-packed that they had little room to move. Underfed and physically abused by crew members, many died before reaching port.

Even West should possess enough sense to realize that escape while at sea wasnt feasible. Demonstrating extraordinary daring, however, the captives aboard the Amistad in 1839 revolted, killed most of the crew and then attempted to force their remaining captors to return the ship to Africa. Instead, the Amistad sailed to Long Island in the United States. I suggest watching the 1997 film Amistad. Even West will have to concede these courageous Africans chose not to be slaves.

West is baffled as to why blacks in the United States remained slaves. He seems to think that slavery was rather like an unpleasant job. Why didnt slaves just tell the boss they were quitting, he wonders, and find better work?

Slavery wasnt a job, Mr. West. It was a lifelong prison sentence. Slaves were the chattel property of their owners, who could whip, brand, rape and work them to death.

There were numerous slave rebellions, Mr. West. Does the name Nat Turner mean anything to you? Turner in 1831 led a slave rebellion in Virginia. This revolt was ruthlessly put down and any slave even suspected of participation in it was killed.

Ever hear of the Underground Railroad, Mr. West? From 1800 to 1860, as many as 100,000 slaves fled captivity. Trailed by armed slave-catchers who often used tracking dogs, these men, women and children knew the deck was stacked against them. Help from whites  even those who were personally opposed to slavery  was uncertain at best.

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 stipulated a fine of $500 for anyone who offered refuge to a runaway slave. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 mandated a $1,000 fine and six months imprisonment for anyone who gave shelter or even food and clothing to a runaway. Yet, these slaves chose to seek freedom.

Slaves such as Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman liberated themselves and then devoted their lives to the liberation of others. Solomon Northup was a free black who was kidnapped and sold into slavery. There was no choice involved on his part.

In southwestern Illinois, where I live, there were two communities of escaped slaves: Rocky Fork in Madison County and Brooklyn in St. Clair County. These blacks could have moved to Canada, when the British Empire abolished slavery. Instead, they remained near the Mississippi River, which divided the free state of Illinois from the slave state of Missouri, so they could shelter runaway slaves.

These fugitive slaves risked their hard-won freedom to help other escaped slaves. None of the courageous blacks in those communities chose slavery, Mr. West. In fact, quite the opposite. They chose freedom: freedom for themselves and freedom for others of their race.

John J. Dunphy is the author of Lewis and Clarks Illinois Volunteers and Abolitionism and the Civil War in Southwestern Illinois. He owns The Second Reading Book Shop in Alton.
Britains Prince Harry and his fiancee, American actress Meghan Markle, who are getting married at Windsor on Saturday. Photo: Getty Images

Meghan Markle's father will not walk the royal bride down the aisle, after he pulled out of his daughter's wedding to Prince Harry last night.

Thomas Markle (73) said he would no longer be flying to Britain after embarrassing disclosures about his dealings with the paparazzi.

Mr Markle reportedly told the US showbusiness website TMZ that he had suffered a heart attack six days ago, but had checked himself out of hospital to travel for the ceremony on Saturday.

The decision leaves arrangements for the royal wedding in doubt, and Ms Markle without her father on the biggest day of her life.

It also raises the question that her mother, Doria Ragland, may walk her down the aisle, or that she will be accompanied by a member of the royal family or make the journey alone. Kensington Palace issued a statement asking for understanding.

A spokesman said: "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

Ms Markle is understood to be deeply worried about her father, who has been struggling to cope with being in the spotlight as a result of her engagement.

Palace aides, who have been attempting to help Mr Markle in dealing with media interest, have expressed concern about the pressure he has been under.

Mr Markle was last night said to be "devastated", with TMZ saying he had spoken to his daughter to apologise.

On May 4, a palace spokesman confirmed that Mr Markle intended to walk his daughter down the aisle, after months of speculation.

Video of the Day

He and Ms Ragland were also scheduled to meet the queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, his wife Camilla, and Prince William and his wife Kate, in a show of support from the royal family.

Ms Markle has been beset by difficulties in the lead-up to her May 19 wedding, with her estranged half-sister and half-brother regularly criticising her.

Her father, who lives alone in Mexico, was last weekend revealed to have collaborated with the paparazzi for a series of photographs.

The disclosure was particularly embarrassing after Kensington Palace had issued repeated warnings to the media not to publish pictures of Mr Markle, insisting he had no wish to take part in any personal publicity.

The photographs aroused suspicion after showing Mr Markle exercising in public, reading a book called 'Images of Britain', being measured for a suit, and looking up pictures of his daughter in an internet cafe.

Last weekend, 'The Mail on Sunday' published CCTV images showing him collaborating with a photographer, walking into the cafe with him and setting up the best angle.

TMZ quoted Mr Markle as saying he had meant no harm to his daughter or the prince, and had not made the decision for money but in order to recast his image after a series of unflattering photographs were taken without his co-operation.

"He's now decided not to go [to the wedding] because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter," TMZ reported.

Hours earlier, Ms Markle's half-sister claimed responsibility for setting up the paparazzi photo shoot for her father.

Samantha Grant, who is no longer in contact with Ms Markle, said she had suggested their father pose for "positive" photographs.

Pressed on whether he had been paid for his co-operation during a television appearance, Ms Grant said: "I have no idea, but if he did I'm going to assume it was a pittance."

Mr Markle has been receiving the support of Kensington Palace since news of his daughter's engagement brought him into the public eye, with a source saying that aides would "continue to make interventions with the media out of concern for his safety and security". ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
AN Irish bride got the ultimate wedding present when her father serenaded her on her big day.

John Cusack clearly took his father-of-the-bride duties for his daughter Louise Cusack's nuptials to Padraig Byrne in Clonaslee in Co. Laois last Friday seriously.

Things were going to schedule for the happy couple, when John surprised them with a pitch-perfect performance in the church.

"John has never sang in public but after seven weeks of rehearsals he nailed it", onlooker Simon Casey told independent.ie.

The surprise performance was received with a mixture of reactions, with John's son-in-law holding his face with a fit of the giggles and Louise looking amazed by the sweet gesture.

For the first time singing in public the father of the bride stepped up to the mark and made his daughter proud.

Send your videos to video@independent.ie.
As the countdown for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's big day begins, all eyes are on the royal wedding and final preparations. Closer home, dabbawalas or the famous tiffin carriers of Mumbai, are set to join the celebration in a special way of their own.

As Harry and Markle tie the knot on May 19 at the St George's Chapel at Windsor castle, dabbawalas will distribute sweets to relatives of patients at the government-run Tata Memorial Hospital, KEM Hospital and Wadia Hospital in Mumbai. The dabbawalas who deliver home-made lunches to thousands of office-goers in the city, usually provide free food at these hospitals to relatives of patients who come from distant places as a noble gesture. The sweets will be an add-on to pay respect to the royal family and share their joy.

It doesn't end therethey will also be sending the newly-weds traditional Maharashtrian gifts. While they plan to gift a kurta-pyjama and headgear to Harry, Meghan will be gifted a traditional nine-yard Paithani sari, mangalsutra and green glass bangles, considered auspicious for new brides.

Britain's Prince Harry stands with his fiancee Meghan Markle | AFP

The dabbawalas' association with the British royal family goes back to 2003 when Prince Charles visited them in Mumbai. Impressed by their legendary six-sigma efficiency and clockwork precision, Prince Charles had expressed interest in interacting with the group during his visit to India. In no mean feat, these tiffin carriers have earned a rating of 99.99 per cent for precision and accuracy from Forbes magazine. The efficiency of these men that wowed Prince Charles, has also found a place as case studies in top management institutions across the world.

Though their historic services are well-known, the world really sat up and took notice after Prince Charles' interaction with them.

Two years later, when Prince Charles announced his wedding to Camilla Parker, the Bombay Tiffin Box Supply Charity Trust, which represents the dabbawallahs sent them giftssimilar to the ones they plan to gift Prince Harry and Markle. In a dream-come-true moment for the dabbawalas, Prince Charles sent them an all expenses-paid invitation to his wedding. He took care of them during their six-day visit to London. The wedding was attended by Raghunath Medge, president of the Bombay Tiffin Box Supply Charity Trust, and another dabbawala Sopan More.

Though the dabbawalas could not make it into the guest list for Prince William and Kate Middletons wedding, they were happy watching the live coverage on television and even decided to send the couple a special handmade card to congratulate them on the occasion.

Now that another royal wedding is just around the corner, Dubbawala Association spokesperson Subash Talekar said they have an emotional connect with the British royal family.

"Prince Charles is a friend. If there's wedding at his home, it's wedding at our home. If we are invited, two of us will go there. When we met Prince Charles he turned us into management gurus," said Talekar.
An urban legend goes that a man in his mid-40s, reeling under midlife crisis, quit his cushy corporate job to seek enlightenment in the Himalayas. Suffering months of hardship and overcoming life-threatening conditions, he found a holy man in a remote cave. Devoid of food or water, the man stood by the feet of the sage for two days, waiting for him to snap out of his reverie. When he finally opened his eyes, the sage granted the man one wish. He would answer a single question on the vast and untapped mysteries of the universe. Choose wisely. The man thought for a moment: What is the one greatest truth of life, which governs every other? The sage closed his eyes as the man waited in anticipation. The house always wins, the wise old man whispered.

Whether the coalition forms the government or not, outwitting the BJP electorally, is beside the point and missing the forest for the trees. What is more significant is the impact (or the lack thereof) of BJP's behaviour throughout. Soon after the 2014 election, and all the hullabaloo around sabka saath sabka vikas, the BJP government has been testing the waters, distracting an entire nation with the smoke and mirrors that is Congress-mukt Bharat

Power is temporary, influence is permanent. Politicians can be voted out, relegated to the footnotes of history, but power brokers are like cockroachesthey would rise from the rubble of a nuclear explosion with the contacts of lobbyists and politicians intact in their BlackBerries. In 2014, Modi came to power railing against the 'house'the fixers and nixers of Lutyens' Delhi, the writers, journalists and artists who revelled in their proximity to power and whose disproportionate influence in mass media accorded them the authority to set the narrative. In his retellings across the campaign trail, Modi was always careful to highlight his own humble upbringing to counter his 'critics', who he claimed were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. The key ingredient of his campaign rhetoric, which he played just rightnot overdone or undersoldwas a sentiment of helplessness, of the presence of a vast, invisible deep state (the 'house') working to make sure that he did not succeed in serving the nation.

In an interview with Times of India, prior to his victory, he requested the Delhi elite not to be hostile if he succeeds in the polls. I don't think anybody wants India to remain poor. They will all be contributors to this journey of progress and prosperity rather than being an impediment as you seem to suggest. Later, a year into his prime ministership, in a CNN-News18 interview, he stepped on the gas a little: "As you know the position of prime minister of India is such that there's no question of liking or disliking Lutyens' Delhi. It's not a question of Modi. Look back at history, what happened with Sardar Patel. This group presented Sardar Patel as a simple person from a village with simple intellect. Look at what happened to Morarji Desai. What happened with Deve Gowda? These 'custodians' who are dedicated to a select few will never accept anyone who is linked to the roots of this country." At the time, his statements found an unlikely ally in former prime minister Deve Gowda: "I have seen Modi's comments. He has spoken the bitter truth. I wholly agree with what he has said. During my prime ministership the elite and powerful ecosystem of Lutyens' Delhi was hostile to me just because I am from a humble farming background. I thank the prime minister for exposing this despicable culture."

Fast forward to 2018. The Karnataka polls were considered a watershed moment for the BJP, who were at the receiving end of dalit and farmer discontent, in the run up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. A previously lethargic opposition was slowly finding its footing. Even the top leaders of the Sangh knew the election in the southern state would be no cakewalk. Siddaramaiah was an able administrator and a mass leader, whose hailed from a family of cattle grazers. Moreover, the Congress party elevated its social media game to a whole new level. Apart from its ground level campaign of AHINDA (acronym for minorities, backward castes and dalits) coalition, they made their mark with a series of highly acerbic videosincluding a very entertaining version of the hit song 'Why This Kolaveri di'that went viral on Whatsapp. The Siddaramaiah tweet about Amit Shah campaigning for the Congress party remains the most wicked burn of 2018. They had finally cracked the equation of getting through to the young votersmake their points instantly meme-able. Morever, the 'young' party chief Rahul Gandhi was pragmaticvisiting temples throughout the election campaignand erudite to boot. Add to that a complete absence of Modi wave, and BJP's attempts to prop up Reddy brothers and Yeddyurappa, both accused of corruption, smacked of desperation. This would be at best a hung assembly in the state notorious for its anti-incumbency, experts predicted.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah at a press conference in Bengaluru

As the results came, however, the Congress were in for a shock, as the BJP won over 100 seats, just short of the magic number 113. The pundits were aghast, alternating between showering praises on the 'master orator' and ranting against the inadequacies of the Congress president. Vokkaligas consolidated and Hyderabad Karnataka voted against expectations, armchair analysts claimed. At the time this report was published, a coalition of Congress and JD(S) was set to meet the governor and stake claim to form the government.

Whether the coalition forms the government or not, outwitting the BJP electorally, is beside the point and missing the forest for the trees. What is more significant is the impact (or the lack thereof) of BJP's behaviour throughout. Soon after the 2014 election, and all the hullabaloo around sabka saath sabka vikas, the BJP government has been testing the waters, distracting an entire nation with the smoke and mirrors that is Congress-mukt Bharat. Appointing as controversial a personality as Yogi Adityanath as the chief minister of India's most populous state was the first tangible step. Public outcry? None. Demonetisation and its fallout? Muted at best. Thus emboldened, in the Karnataka polls, a party that came to power on the plank of anti-corruption gave tickets to the notorious Bellary brothers and even projected a man who was jailed on corruption charges as its chief ministerial face. The discourse, too, was polarising, never touching the real issues like farmer suicides, pollution and water problems. The end result? In its most unfavourable conditions, the BJP emerged the single largest party in the state.

Modi was a man who claimed to be the victim of the 'house' at every turn of his political career. But, beneath the smokescreenin a silent coup, as Bill Maher would call itthe man has become the institution, the 'house', replete with the house edge (odds stacked in its favour). He sets the narrative, and everyoneeven the most anti-establishment establishmentstreads the line that he alone decides. The prime minister knows that, as long as he has the backing of the Sangh Parivar, political power is his to lose. But becoming the system himself, in a vitiated country with a highly balkanised media ecosystemthat was true power. However crafty the opponent, the house never loses. And to the pundits who lament about tampered EVMs, it is not the machines which were hacked, but the voters themselves.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author's. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday challenged the BJP to hold elections through ballot papers to clear doubts over the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

As votes for the Karnataka elections were counted and the BJP seemed set to emerge the single largest party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray agreed with Uddhav Thackeray.

"This is a victory for the Electronic Voting Machine," he tweeted.

Uddhav pointed out that the BJP was losing bypolls but winning Assembly elections.

"If you (BJP) trust yourself, hold elections through ballot papers once," Uddhav Thackeray said, reacting to the Karnataka election results.

"When so many people are asking for it, it will clear apprehensions (on the use of EVMs) once and for all," Uddhav told reporters.

Elections come and go, he added when asked about the Karnataka elections being the first major poll battle after Rahul Gandhi became Congress president.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. One should keep working," he said.

The Sena leader congratulated the BJP for its success in Karnataka polls and hoped that people of that state would now witness 'Acchhe Din'.

Last week, the Shiv Sena had accused the BJP of voter rigging using EVMs. It claimed the BJP had adopted the earlier Congress approach of winning elections by 'hook or crook'.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) could together form the next government in Karnataka.

"If statesmanship is shown, this can happen as we together have a majority in the Karnataka Assembly," the Congress leader told the media.
High drama is being unfolded on the counting day of Karnataka Assembly elections with both Congress and the BJP exploring all the options available to form the government.

Earlier, giving the first twist, Congress, which leads in over 70 seats as per the latest reports, offered an unconditional support to the JD(S) to form a coalition government in the state to keep away the BJP from power.

However, minutes after Congress reached out to JD(S), the BJP decided to form a counter strategy with party chief Amit Shah meeting senior party leaders at his residence. Reports said the BJP might woo the disgruntled MLAs in the Congress camp to its side.

Despite being the single largest party with lead over 100 seats, BJP will not be able to capture power in the southern state if the Congress-JD(S) deal works out. JD(S) is leading in over 35 seats.

Congress claimed that the JD(S) has accepted the Congress offer and that the two parties will meet Governor Vajubhai Vala in the evening.
If a party wins absolute majority in an assembly election, the Governor won't be in a dilemma as the Constitutional authority has to call the leader of the party with absolute majority in the Assembly and ask him or her to prove the majority on the floor of the House. Article 164(1) of the Constitution provides that the chief minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other ministers shall be appointed on the advice of the chief minister. But what if the election throws up a hung verdict as in the Karnataka polls, the results of which were out on Wednesday? What are the options Karnataka governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala should consider before calling a party to form the government in the state?

As the decisions taken by governors in case of a split verdict can create a row as has happened several times, the Sarkaria Commission has proposed a few guidelines on the matter, though individual governor's discretion is ultimately decisive. In a fractured mandate, the governor may adhere to the following general order of preference in calling a party or group of parties to form the government as per the Sarkaria report. (Sarkaria Commission was set up in June 1983 to examine the relationship and balance of power between state and central governments and suggest changes within the framework of the Constitution.)



1) The coalition of political parties that was formed before the elections.



2) The single largest party which stakes a claim to form the government with the support of other political parties, including independents.

3) A coalition of parties that was formed after the election, with all the allies expressing their intention to join the coalition government. The Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) alliance is one such in Karnataka.

4) A coalition of parties that was formed after the election, but only a few allies join the government and the rest promising to provide support from outside.

However, the discretionary powers of the Governor offer him or her vast liberty in actions.



According to the Constitution, the decision of the Governor is final and the validity of anything done by him as a matter of his discretion cannot be questioned.

What was the row in Goa and Manipur?



Last year's assembly elections in Goa and Manipur had thrown up a hung verdict and Congress had emerged as the single largest party. But in both states, BJP managed to form governments with the help of other parties and independents. In Manipur, the BJP had won 21 constituencies and the Congress had 28 seats out of the total 60 seats.



In Goa, the BJP and the Congress won 13 and 17 seats, respectively, out of the total 40 seats.

Meghalaya lesson for Cong



A few months ago, a similar situation arose in Meghalaya with the Congress emerging as the leading party with 21 seats in the 60-member assembly, but Conrad Sangma of the National People's Party with 19 seats became the chief minister after he managed to stitch up a fiveparty coalition after the election results were announced.



Know the governor



Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala was the speaker of the Gujarat assembly and finance minister in the Narendra Modi cabinet when the latter was the chief minster of the state. In 2011, he vacated his seat as legislator to pave way for Narendra Modi to contest the polls. The veteran BJP leader has the distinction of having presented the most number of budgets in the Gujarat assembly.



Vajubhai Vala became an indomitable leader by wresting the Rajkot (West) seat from the Congress in 1985. He retained the seat till 2001 and gave up it up let Narendra Modi contest a byelection. He returned to take the seat in 2007 and 2012. By then, Modi had moved to the Mani Nagar seat.


The Congress party today threw back at the BJP, the examples of Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, three states where the Congress was not invited by the Governor to form government despite being the single-largest party, but a post-poll coalition including the saffron party got the invitation to do so.

The Constitution of India, the laws and ethics are clear that any coalition, even if it is a post-poll coalition, if it has a clear majority, then the Governor, as per the Constitution, has no other option but to invite that alliance to form government. Hence we expect that the alliance of JD(S)-Congress is invited to form government, said Randeep Surjewala, chairman of the AICC communications department.

The Congress, which ended as a far second to the BJP in the assembly elections in Karnataka, has along with the JD(S) met governor to stake claim to form government. The BJP is likely to stop well short of the majority mark of 113, though it has emerged as the single largest party in the election.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is nowhere near the majority mark, now in a conspiratorial manner, is citing the S.R. Bommai case (as per which, the single largest party has to be invited to form government) to argue that it should be invited to form government, Surjewala said.

The Congress cited the examples of Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, where in the recent past the BJP robbed it of a chance to form government despite it being the single largest party.

In Goa, in the Assembly elections in 2017, the Congress had emerged as the single largest party with 18 MLAs in the 40-member assembly. The BJP had 12 MLAs, but it was invited to form government as part of a post-poll coalition. Similarly, in Manipur, again in 2017, the Congress won 28 seats, compared to 21 of the BJP out of a total of 60. However, the BJP-led post-poll alliance was invited to form government.

The Congress also cited the instance of Meghalaya, where in March 2018, the Congress won 21 seats in the Assembly elections, and the BJP won only two. However, the BJP and its allies were invited to form government.

The party also referred to the Supreme Court's verdict in the Goa case to buttress its point. The Congress had challenged in the apex court, the decision of the governor to invite the BJP to form government in Goa. However, the court ruled that the governor has discretion in cases like these, and inviting a post-poll coalition, if it has the majority, is in order.
Hours after Kerala Tourism put out one of the best tweets on Karnataka election results, the tweet was deleted. The tweet from Kerala Tourism's official handle welcomed all MLAs from Karnataka to unwind at the safe & beautiful resorts of God's Own Country after the elections.

The tweet had went viral, with Twitterati lauding Kerala Tourism for its tongue-in-cheek humour. It said:

After the rough and tumble of the #KarnatakaVerdict, we invite all the MLAs to unwind at the safe & beautiful resorts of God's Own Country. #ComeOutAndPlay

However, the tweet is no longer available.

The tweet was an obvious reference to 'resort politics' by political parties, who have in the past herded their lawmakers to various posh resorts in the country to stop them from defecting during crisis situations.

Recently, the Congress party last year shifted 42 MLAs from Gujarat to a resort in Bengaluru to prevent them from shifting loyalties to the BJP ahead of the Rajya Sabha poll.

In June 2016, Rajasthan BJP MLAs were holed away in a resort in Jaipur ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections.

The same month, the Congress in Karnataka whisked away nine independent MLAs to Mumbai, who were expected to back a Congress nominee in the Rajya Sabha polls.

Interestingly, Karnataka, and especially Bengaluru, has been the stage for the brazen act of realpolitik several times in the past. In 1983, Ramakrishna Hegde had to conceal his MLAs to protect them from the Congress when Indira Gandhi decided to topple the Janata Party government led by him.

Later, Telugu Desam Party chief N.T. Rama Rao sent his legislators to Bengaluru before shepherded them off to New Delhi after he had to face an intra-party revolt. N.T. Rama Rao again faced a similar crisis in 1995 and this time he shifted all MLAs supporting him to the Viceroy Hotel in Hyderabad.

In February 2017, when the AIADMK was threatened by a split after Jayalalithaa's death, the Sasikala camp packed all MLAs supporting it off to the Golden Bay resort near Kalpakkam to prevent them from going over to the O. Panneerselvam faction.

In 2006, Kumaraswamy brought down the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2006 by taking his MLAs to a resort in Bengaluru. Interestingly, Kumaraswamy is likely to be the chief minister this time with the support of the Congress if the governor gives his nod to the combine to form the government.

(With inputs from Onmanorama)
H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) has officially acknowledged that he plans to form a coalition government with the Congress as the counting of votes in Karnataka has thrown up a fractured mandate on Tuesday.

As of 4.30pm, the BJP was leading in/or had won 104 seats, which is short of the half-way mark of 112 seats. The Congress was ahead in 78 seats and JD(S) in 37 seats.

Kumaraswamy's letter to the governor | ANI

Kumaraswamy has sought permission of Governor Vajubhai Vala to meet him from 5.30-6.00pm on Tuesday to discuss government formation. The governor had initially said he wanted to wait for results to officially come in before beginning the process of government formation.

The Congress may have a deputy CM and multiple ministers in the planned coalition government, according to media reports.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa had criticised the Congress for trying to come back to power via the 'backdoor'. He said the mandate was against the Congress.

The Congress had announced on Tuesday afternoon that it had extended support to the JD(S) to form a government under the leadership of Kumaraswamy. Congress leaders, led by the party's state chief G Parameshwara, had planned to meet Vala; however, they were reportedly turned back.
The Union government is holding quiet parleys with the NSCN(IM) leadership in Delhi on Tuesday to review the progress of the Naga peace talks which are being held within the ''framework agreement'' announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 3, 2015. Hectic activity is going on between the government and the Naga groups to try and seal the Naga peace accord within the next one year.

With the 2019 Lok Sabha polls inching close, the Modi government is keen to demonstrate that its promise to end the decades long Naga insurgency was a real one. The peace talks have entered a critical phase now with only two Parliament sessions leftthe upcoming monsoon session and the winter sessionfor the NDA government to bring any major amendments to the laws paving way for greater Naga autonomy in the form of ''shared autonomy'' between the central government and the state keeping in mind the demands of the Naga outfits led by the biggest insurgent group NSCN(IM).

To ensure shared sovereignty, the final accord will require a modification of Article 371 (a) of the Constitution and permit the transfer of powers from the Centre to the state on certain items. The main demand of the Nagas has been for a separate Nagalim, which not only includes Nagaland but hill districts of Manipur, parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and large swathes of territory in Myanmar. For the peace accord to take a final shape, the government has been mulling creating autonomous hill district councils for the four Naga-inhabited districts of Manipur giving them financial autonomy.

Constitutional and administrative amendments will be required to transfer the right to explore oil and natural gas, coal, minerals, forest and other natural resources to the state's domain, said sources. Entries in the concurrent list of the Constitution which deal with the transfer of property other than agricultural land, matters related to vagrancy, nomadic and migratory tribes, religious institutions and protection of wild animals will also need to be transferred to the state list.

What is noteworthy is that the government's interlocutor for Naga talks, R.N. Ravi has managed to initiate talks with the other outfits like NSCN(KN) and the Naga HO HOthe apex tribal body of the Nagas. The Naga National Political Groups, which is an important stakeholder in the peace talks and has representation of all Naga groups, is also in talks with the government, which is a significant shift from the way in which the peace initiative had first begun only keeping the NSCN(IM) in loop.

Sources involved in the peace talks revealed that the various Naga outfits also want a solution to the vexed problem sooner than later by bringing the negotiations to a logical conclusion.

However, what remains a challenge for the central government is how to ensure that the geographical integrity of states like Manipur or Assam is not compromised while arriving at an acceptable solution. Whether the government is able to bring about a 'political solution that is inclusive, honorable and acceptable to the people while upholding the unique history and political rights of the Nagas'', as demanded by the Naga groups, is expected to become clear in the next few months.
When it was first announced in March, the move by the Congress government of Siddaramaiah to grant separate religion status to the Lingayats was touted as a bold masterstroke given that the community's vote can affect nearly 100 seats out of the 224 in the Assembly.

However, a glance at the results of counting in the Assembly elections show the Lingayat move may have backfired spectacularly. The BJP is leading in a majority of the Lingayat-dominated seats in the Hyderabad-Karnataka and central regions of the state. The BJP is leading in as many as 45 seats against just 14 for the Congress. The change is a spectacular contrast with the 2013 results when the Congress swept these seats, winning 47 seats against just five for the BJP.

The 2013 result in the Lingayat-dominated areas appears to be an aberration as Lingayats voted against the BJP for its treatment of B.S. Yeddyurappa and its poor governance record in that period.

Vinay Kulkarni, a Congress minister involved in the Lingayat agitation, is trailing in Dharwad while another Lingayat minister, Sharan Prakash Patil, is trailing in Sedam constituency.

The setbacks for its ministers and the results in the Lingayat-dominated seats show the Congress' stand on the issue has effectively backfired. The Lingayat vote seems to have stayed with the BJP, which had portrayed the separate religion attempt as an attempt to split the Hindu vote.
A portion of an under construction flyover, near the railway station in Varanasi, collapsed on Tuesday killing at least 16 persons while more were feared trapped under the debris, officials said.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the Varanasi flyover collapse site, an NDRF spokesperson said.

The incident occurred post-noon, officials said adding rescue teams were rushed to the spot.

"It is feared that several people are buried under the rubble," an official said.

Some vehicles were also crushed in the incident, they added.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident while Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is reaching there, an official spokesperson said in Lucknow.

Adityanath also set up a three-member committee to probe the flyover collapse, an official said.

The chief minister directed the district administration and PWD officials to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations.

Local administration was providing emergency services with medical and other teams carrying out rescue work, officials said.

Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths in the flyover collapse.

Modi said the Uttar Pradesh government was monitoring the situation. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said he had spoken with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected."

Naidu too condoled the deaths in the incident in a tweet.
When the Congress and JD(S) were seemingly considering post-poll alignments after the close of polling on May 12, B.S. Yeddyurappa was the odd man out. The BJP's chief ministerial candidate seemed so confident of victory that he was content in interacting with mediapersons and had reportedly even booked the Kantiveera Stadium in Bengaluru for his swearing-in ceremony.

Such a level of self-assurance may seem out of place for Yeddyurappa as the last decade has sure been a roller-coaster ride for the BJP's most popular leader in Karnataka.

He went from being the man who laid the foundations for the BJP's first government in what seemed to be an impregnable region in 2008 to being the first Karnataka chief minister to be jailed in 2011 to floating his own party in 2012 to finally returning as the BJP's state chief.

Now, with the BJP set to form the next government in Karnataka and the party's state unit effectively anointing him chief minister, it would be worthwhile to take a glance back at Yeddyurappa's rise to power.

While the BJP's back-room operators did their share to boost the party's numbers in the mid-2000s using 'Operation Lotus', the most credit for the saffron party's first government in Karnataka belongs to Yeddyurappa. His pro-people image, combined with a sympathy wave after H.D. Kumaraswamy pulled the plug on a 'rotating' chief ministership alliance, ensured Yeddyurappa was the BJP's biggest vote puller in 2008.

While his term in office was riddled with corruption allegations, Yeddyurappa managed to cultivate goodwill among large sections of the population, such as farmers and families with school-going children, using populist schemes. It can be argued that Yeddyurappa and the Congress' Siddaramaiah have a lot of similarities in their focus on welfare-based populism.

The virtual collapse in the BJP's popularity after Yeddyurappa's resignation as CM and formation of the Karnataka Janata Paksha in late 2012 showed how indispensable Yeddyurappa was. The return of Yeddyurappa played as much a role as the famed 'Modi wave' in the BJP winning more Lok Sabha seats than the Congress in the 2014 elections, barely a year after its drubbing in the 2013 Assembly elections.

While Yeddyurappa retains considerable clout, in part because of his Lingayat origins, the BJP he deals with today is a considerably different outfit from the party he could afford to virtually 'intimidate' after being made to quit in 2011. It is clear that he deals with a BJP high command to which he must defer to, not just because of his age but also the fact that party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have modified the way the party operates in states.

While Yeddyurappa had been projected as the BJP's prospective CM, his profile in the 2018 election campaign was visibly low key and the party deciding not to field his son, B.Y. Raghavendra, was interpreted as an attempt to cut him down to size.

Furthermore, toward the fag end of campaigning, there were rumours that B. Sriramulu, who is close to the influential Reddy brothers, could be made deputy CM. Sriramulu's relative youth, compared with Yeddyurappa, and dalit background also appeal to the BJP's long-term plans.

Further, the corruption charges against him and the 'rehabilitation' of the Reddy brothers will invite criticism for any Yeddyurappa government from the start.

Irrespective of how Yeddyurappa deals with possible rivals and prepares to counter tough issues such as the Lingayat religion status, May 15 will be day to relish for the Lingayat leader.
Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a truck across a new bridge linking mainland Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea today, triggering a fierce reaction from Kiev.

Russian state television showed Putin dressed in jeans and a casual jacket sit behind the wheel of a construction truck with workers to drive 19 kilometres across the bridge, which links the Taman peninsula in southern Russia to Ukraine's Crimea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

"I want to sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, festive and, in the full sense of the word, historic day," Putin told workers upon arrival on the Crimean side of the bridge.

"In different historical eras, even under the tsar, people were dreaming of building this bridge," Putin told cheering workers.

He was referring to Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, who first proposed such a bridge, but the outbreak of World War I prevented it going ahead.

Another unsuccessful attempt was made in the 1930s under Joseph Stalin. During World War II the occupying Nazis also began building a bridge but abandoned the project.

The Russian leader, who was re-elected for a fourth Kremlin term in March extending his long rule, pledged to build more of "such projects" across Russia. The Crimean Bridge overtakes Lisbon's Vasco da Gama Bridge as the longest in Europe.

A view of the new bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula prior to its opening ceremony near Kerch, Crimea | AP

Built at a cost of 228 billion rubles (USD 3.7 billion), the new structure connects the southern Krasnodar region with the Crimean city of Kerch, spanning a strait between the Black and Azov seas.

Ukraine, which along with most of the international community has not recognised Russia's annexation of Crimea, condemned the project which was personally championed by Putin.

"The Russian occupying powers, which have temporarily occupied Crimea, are continuing to act outside international law," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told AFP in an interview.

Ukraine has also previously complained that the construction has damaged the environment and that larger ships will be unable to get through to its ports on the Azov Sea.

The European Union also criticised what it called a fresh assault on Ukraine's territorial integrity.

"This constitutes another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia," said a statement by a spokesperson for the office of the European Union's foreign policy service, which said the bloc continues to refuse to recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's security service raided the offices of Russian state media in Kiev and detained one local journalist on suspicions of treason, moves the chief editor of Russia's RT television suggested were linked to the bridge opening.

The chief editor of the Kremlin-funded channel, Margarita Simonyan, wrote on Twitter that "Kiev decided to take revenge on us for the Crimean Bridge," after the raids on the offices of RIA Novosti state news agency, which is part of the same media group as RT.

European Union and US sanctions have targeted those involved in building the bridge, principally Putin's close ally, businessman Arkady Rotenberg, whose company Stroygazmontazh won the construction contract.

The annexation of the peninsula in 2014 was condemned by Kiev and the West as an illegal land grab but applauded in Russia.
NEW YORK/LONDON, May 15, 2018  Thomson Reuters has enhanced its World-Check One platform with the launch of Media Check, a unique media screening and processing feature powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that helps address the regulatory and reputational consequences of overlooking key data in the fight against financial crime. Media Checks machine learning capability increases efficiency by filtering unstructured content from over 11,000 global print and web sources, giving financial institutions more accurate and relevant data faster.

Thomson Reuters is committed to innovative solutions to assist its customers in the global fight against financial crime, and alleviate the considerable challenges associated with risk screening.

Institutions need to digest an increasing amount of relevant information to help prevent financial crime. The next-generation AI technology in Media Check lets them navigate this crowded environment to help comply with regulatory and other requirements and avoid the reputational risk of missing critical information that could result in criminal activity, said Phil Cotter, Managing Director, Risk Segment, Thomson Reuters. Adding a machine learning dimension to our World-Check One platform gives clients an exceptional means to help pinpoint the most relevant media information, thereby maximizing the efficiency of their due-diligence processes."

World-Check Ones Media Check has many benefits that include enhanced compliance workflow, and the assurance that only relevant content is presented to compliance professionals. This is achieved through intelligent searching, a unique AML taxonomy informed by 15 years of industry leading World-Check experience, and machine learning algorithms honed by the World-Check research team. The result is a reduction in false positives and improved content navigation leading to better and more informed decision-making. Media Check also provides continuous, up-to-date media and data monitoring.

For more information on World-Check Ones new Media Check offering, please visit here.

Since its inception in 2014, World-Check One has been at the forefront of innovation, bringing customers the latest in screening capabilities. In March 2018 the Customer Risk Screener app was introduced, integrating World-Check data into the Salesforce AppExchange. Earlier this year, a Watchlist Screening functionality was launched, enabling users to upload and manage their internal and public third-party lists for screening alongside the World-Check data in one simple workflow. Since 2017, the platform has offered an expanding language review capability beyond English, encompassing Japanese, French, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Russian.

World-Check One has earned industry recognition, starting with the 2014 Technology Development of the Year Award at Asia Risk Awards, and in 2015, the GRC Technology Innovation Award, as well as the Best Risk Management Technology of the Year at the Wealthbriefing Asia Awards.

About World-Check



World-Check is a risk intelligence database which helps organisations across the world meet their regulatory obligations, make informed decisions and help prevent them from inadvertently being used to launder the proceeds of financial crime or association with corrupt business practices. The database is managed by a team of over 350 highly trained analysts, speaking more than 65 languages, who monitor more than 600 sanctions, regulatory and law enforcement lists and thousands of media sources, as well as company information and regulatory filings, to ensure World-Checks data is accurate and up-to-date. The information in World-Check is made available on a subscription basis only to those who require it to carry out due diligence or other screening activities in accordance with their legal or regulatory obligations or risk management procedures designed to combat financial crime. For more information about Thomson Reuters World-Check, visit https://risk.thomsonreuters.com/worldcheck

About Thomson Reuters



Thomson Reuters is the worlds leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.
TOKYO/HONG KONG  14 May, 2018  Thomson Reuters has launched a new Cryptocurrency Real Time Rates data feed which provides reliable, real-time information from six currencies across major cryptocurrency trading exchanges; encouraging efficiency and transparency within the global market place for cryptocurrency investors.

The new Cryptocurrency Real Time Rates are accessible via Elektron Data Platform and through a customized API on Thomson Reuters Eikon, providing trading data from various exchanges including bitFlyer and BITPoint with more exchanges to be added over time.



According to the findings of a recent Thomson Reuters Trading Cryptocurrency survey*, Cryptocurrency trading by financial firms could increase in 2018, with approximately 20% of the participants indicating they are considering trading cryptocurrency over the next 3-12 months.

Michael Go, Head of FX Market Development - Asia Pacific at Thomson Reuters, said, The immense growth in the cryptocurrency market in the last decade highlights the strong momentum around this new technology and tradable asset class. Thomson Reuters Cryptocurrency Real Time Rates enhances our rate offering and helps create a transparent and efficient global marketplace, vital to the future stability of cryptocurrency trading to support the investor.

Yuzo Kano, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of bitFlyer, said, As the worlds largest Cryptocurrency exchange, bitFlyer has made efforts to facilitate the development of cryptocurrency markets. We are the first company to obtain a license to trade cryptocurrencies in Japan, the US and Europe and we are delighted to be able to provide valuable data to customers worldwide through Thomson Reuters.

Genki Oda, President, Representative Director at BITPoint Japan, said, Through Thomson Reuters, a global leader in financial news and data distribution, we are highly honored to deliver our cryptocurrency real-time data to investors worldwide. We are pleased to cooperate with Thomson Reuters in the further enhancement of its services and hope that our data will become a benchmark for the cryptocurrency industry as a global cryptocurrency trading exchange.

Thomson Reuters delivers transparent cross-asset insight into both traditional and new and emerging asset classes like crypto assets, providing real-time information via its flagship financial desktop platform Eikon and data feed.

*Source: Thomson Reuters Trading Cryptocurrency Survey

Thomson Reuters



Thomson Reuters is the worlds leading source of news and information for professional markets. Our customers rely on us to deliver the intelligence, technology and expertise they need to find trusted answers. The business has operated in more than 100 countries for more than 100 years. Thomson Reuters shares are listed on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges. For more information, visit www.thomsonreuters.com.

CONTACT

Silke Marsh

Head of PR, Financial & Risk, Asia Pacific

+61 (3) 9286 1464

silke.marsh@thomsonreuters.com

Hal Fujimori

Head of PR, Financial & Risk, Japan

+81 (0)3 6441 1504

hal.fujimori@thomsonreuters.com
ALBANY  Gov. Andrew Cuomo has postponed his trip to Israel amid protests on the border with the Gaza Strip that have left dozens of Palestinians dead and thousands wounded.

The governor had planned to travel to Israel on Tuesday.

"Last week after missiles were fired toward the Golan Heights, Governor Cuomo announced a trip to visit the area and meet with Israeli leadership," spokeswoman Dani Lever said in a statement. "Israel is now engaged on multiple fronts, including significant hostility and loss of life on the Gaza border.

"The Governor would like to visit both areas," Lever continued. "We will continue to monitor the situation and will visit in the coming weeks when the active on-the-ground conflict abates and Gov. Cuomo can visit both the Golan Heights area and the Gaza border."

Cuomo has visited Israel before, including other trips designed to show solidarity after violence.

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The most recent deaths on the border came Monday as Palestinian protesters tried to cross into Israel prior to the ceremonies marking the official move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Israeli military forces responded with tear gas and live ammunition.

The White House placed blame for the deaths and injuries on Hamas, the militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.
Rensselaer

The local arm of a national environmental group is teaming up with Rensselaer residents opposed to the state's largest construction and demolition debris dump.

The Hudson Mohawk chapter of the Sierra Club is looking into how the state Department of Environmental Conservation issued a 2012 permit that allowed the dump to open at the site of the Dunn sand and gravel mine.

Since trucks starting rolling in 2015, the dump has rapidly grown into the largest C&D landfill in the state. By the end of last year, nearly 50,000 trucks from New York and six other northeastern states had gone in and out, according to annual reports filed with DEC.

Residents of Partition Street, which is the only road to and from the dump, have complained that dozens of heavy trucks rumbling past each day create excessive noise, dust and odors, issues that the state permit determined would not be problems.

The dump is also adjacent to the campus of Rensselaer Junior-Senior High School, which contains about 1,000 students. Students have complained about noise, blowing dirt and foul odors coming from the dump.

The dump is so large that it is visible from across the Hudson River in Albany. DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos, who could see the facility from his office window, has said DEC will investigate whether the facility is complying with its permit.

Sierra Club officials said they will examine how DEC came to issue the permit. "It is our intention to explore legal options and investigate if the permit was issued without full knowledge of the actual conditions on the ground in Rensselaer," according to a Sierra Club statement issued Tuesday.

"It is evident that a number of environmental factors including noise, dust and others were not clearly documented or fully considered in the findings statement when submitted for the permit," according to the Sierra Club. "We look forward to working with citizens of Rensselaer in this review to ensure we understand the breadth of the issues involved."

The facility is owned by Texas-based Waste Connections, which purchased it from former owner Michael Dunn after Dunn obtained the necessary DEC permits. Waste Connections also manages the Colonie town landfill.

That state permit allows for up to 100 trucks a day to dump at the 73-acre Dunn facility, which includes land in Rensselaer, plus parts of neighboring East Greenbush and North Greenbush.

The DEC permit is due to expire in July 2022 unless renewed. There is enough space for the dump to operate until 2036, at which point it would be spread across more than 50 acres of the 73-acre site.

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"We are gratified that we have an environmental organization willing to step in and work to protect public health," said Lou Sebesta, a Partition Street resident and retired DEC forester who bought his home in 2013.

"The state has avoided its responsibility," he said. "They are just blue-skying this whole thing ... we cannot even sell our houses here to escape the war zone."

Sebesta said neighbors are prepared to push for an "independent noise study" on Partition Street.

Last month, Rensselaer County lawmakers also called for DEC to re-examine dump operations, and conduct air tests around the Partition Street neighborhood.

The DEC press office indicated the agency is "actively investigating community complaints related to operations at the Dunn landfill and is continuing to aggressively monitor the facility to ensure public health and the environment are protected."

DEC staffers are "conducting unannounced inspections of all operations at the facility, including spot checks of vehicles entering the landfill to ensure full compliance with all state rules and regulations to protect public health and the environment." About a dozen such visits have been made so far this year.

The dump can legally accept concrete, sheetrock, asphalt, masonry, roofing materials, plumbing fixtures, insulation (but not asbestos), empty buckets, wood, plastics and "pulverized waste." It cannot take regular household garbage or hazardous waste.
Albany

The man who should be New York's next attorney general  that would be Preet Bharara  grew only more qualified with last week's conviction of former Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver.

Bharara, of course, was the federal prosecutor who first investigated the Manhattan Democrat and discovered Silver was selling the power of his office to the tune of $4 million. It was Bharara who oversaw Silver's initial conviction before being fired by Donald Trump.

"The evidence was strong," Bharara said on Twitter when an appeals court later vacated Silver's guilty verdict. "The Supreme Court changed the law. I expect Sheldon Silver to be retried and re-convicted."

Bharara was proved right with time, and Silver's latest conviction again proves what only becomes more obvious: State government is a snake's den of corruption, and New York needs an independent, proactive attorney general who is willing to look under rocks.

But an independent AG is not what the state's political leaders want, not by a long shot. Witness the ridiculous process being undertaken to find a temporary replacement for the disgraced Eric Schneiderman. Witness Gov. Andrew Cuomo declaring that he intends to interview Democrats who want to run for the office.

"I'm going to sit down and meet with them because I want to have a substantive conversation on issues, policies, et cetera," the governor said Sunday in an interview with NY1.

Swell. We know that a candidate who seems a bit too, you know, ambitious won't get Cuomo's nod. The governor seems to lack the self-awareness needed to realize that a prospective AG who gets his blessing would instantly be tarnished.

Marc Molinaro, the presumptive Republican nominee in the upcoming governor's race, was right to call Cuomo's election meddling "a gross violation of separation of powers." Molinaro noted that the interviews are especially inappropriate given that the AG's office has been involved in the upcoming pay-to-play case involving former SUNY Poly head Alain Kaloyeros.

"Is it any wonder (Cuomo) presides over the most corrupt government in America?" Molinaro asked. "Attorney general candidates who do accept the interview should be disqualified."

Bravo! Finally, a gubernatorial candidate who truly wants an independent attorney general!

Or maybe not.

From Ken Lovett's column in the Daily News, we learned that Molinaro's campaign has reached out to Bharara to suggest that the pair come together as a fusion ticket for the November election.

Think about that.

In Trump's home state, the Republican candidate for governor is hoping to run with a former prosecutor, a Democrat, who was fired by the president and would no doubt appeal to voters as a potential Trump foil. That's the role Schneiderman was playing before that damning article in The New Yorker forced his resignation.

Still, Molinaro's idea makes sense, in a way, because he and Bharara would each target Cuomo's atrocious record on ethics. They would each talk about Joe Percoco and ziti. They might both even point out that the governor's upstate economic development efforts, including the troubled Buffalo Billion, seem to have prioritized campaign donations over actually fixing the region's economy.

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In short, if you'll excuse the Trumpism, they would each be running drain-the-swamp campaigns, and the Capitol is certainly a swamp worth draining. The place is all but teeming with anacondas and alligators.

More Information Contact columnist Chris Churchill at 518-454-5442 or email cchurchill@timesunion.com See More Collapse

But there's a problem Molinaro seems not to have considered: If Bharara ran with him, he would be no more independent than a candidate who teams with Cuomo.

The suggestion here isn't that Molinaro would be as ethically problematic a governor as Cuomo has proven to be. He wouldn't. But the attorney general should be independent of whoever is governor.

Bharara was never going to go for the idea, anyhow, and not only because running with a Republican would cost him more votes in New York than it would net him. Molinaro needs Bharara and his outsized reputation considerably more than Bharara needs Molinaro.

It isn't clear that Bharara will even run, although the Westchester County resident has yet to rule out doing so. On a recent episode of his podcast, Bharara made his reservations clear.

"I don't know that I want that job," he said. "I've said many, many times (that) politics is not my cup of tea."

Good. New York doesn't need an attorney general who swills political tea.

The state needs an independent AG who is willing to punch corruption in the jaw and has experience doing so. You know, someone like a former prosecutor who once saw how Shelly Silver was doing things and realized that something was terribly wrong.

cchurchill@timesunion.com  518-454-5442  @chris_churchill
NISKAYUNA  The Niskayuna Town Board has decided to postpone their decision on whether to grant a special use permit for a Jewish Holocaust Memorial until June 26.

Michael Lozman, a Latham-based orthodontist spearheading the Jewish Holocaust Memorial project, requested on Monday that the town board delay their vote on the project, according to a press release from the town.

In a letter to the town board, Daniel Hubbell, a Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP attorney representing the memorial project, said that the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York approves of the project and is networking with experts for the educational content of the memorial.

"The additional time will also grant the Capital District Jewish Holocaust Memorial and the Federation the opportunity to further establish this partnership, as well as the respective roloes and responsibilities in developing the Memorial," Hubbell wrote.

The established partnership with the Jewish Federation, as well as "Dr. Lozman's willingness to build consensus ... with residents of the Town regarding issues such as design elements, educational components, and location of the memorial," encouraged the town board to accept the postponement request, the press release said.

The memorial would be built on a lot east of the Most Holy Redeemer Cemetery donated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. It is designed to have railroad tracks in the shape of the Star of David leading to a box car standing in front of a stone wall  representing a gas chamber  on one side of which Lozman plans to engrave the names of Holocaust survivors who lived in the community, and the handprints of their children on another.

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An exterior pathway leading to the memorial will be lined with educational kiosks, the content for which Lozman said he is working with educators and the Jewish Federation of Northeastern New York. The memorial, Lozman has said, symbolizes the Jews who were transported in box cars to death camps.

The Jewish community has been split between support for the memorial as an important reminder of the Holocaust, and opposition to the memorial for a design some called upsetting and shocking.

Another criticism Lozman initially faced from the Jewish community was a lack of coordination and communication, prior to his partnership with the Jewish Federation.
ALBANY  If you want to buy cigarettes in Albany County, dont head to your local pharmacy.

In a 26-11 vote, Albany County legislators on Monday approved a ban on the sale of tobacco and nicotine-based products in pharmacies as well as stores that contain them.

Advocates of the law say the sale of these products  proven to be addictive, toxic and deadly  in stores that purport to improve health and wellness doesn't make sense.

As one local pharmacist put it Monday evening at the Legislature meeting, It behooves us to not be hypocritical.

County Executive Daniel McCoy must sign the law before it is filed with the state, and will take effect three months after that point.

Legislators Paul Burgdorf, Todd Drake, Mark Grimm, Brian Hogan, Patrice Lockart, Frank Mauriello, Richard Mendick, Ralph Signoracci, Christopher Smith, Travis Stevens and Peter Tunny all voted against the ban. Loudonville Republican Peter Crouse abstained and Menands Democrat Alison McLean Lane was absent from the vote.

Some 33 retailers in the county will be affected, including Rite Aid, Price Chopper, Hannaford, ShopRite, Walgreens and Walmart.

A similar ban was proposed in 2012 and approved by the county Legislature in 2014, but McCoy vetoed the measure because it lacked an enforcement mechanism. This time around, the ban allows the county health commissioner to impose a civil penalty of up to $500 a day for any store in violation of the law.

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San Francisco was the first municipality to ban tobacco products from pharmacies in 2008.

Since then, similar ordinances passed in a slew of other places in California and Massachusetts. In New York, Rockland County and New York City are the only municipalities with the bans in place.

Times Union reporter Bethany Bump contributed to this report.
ALBANY  The New York National Guard on Tuesday marked the 100th anniversary of Henry Johnson's defeat of nearly two dozen German soldiers, an act that won him the Medal of Honor 97 years later.

Johnson was one of the first American heroes of World War I and he was among the last to be recognized by his country.

In Albany, Johnson's story is legendary, retold in recent decades as his son and veterans groups and then politicians fought to win for him recognition for fighting off nearly two dozen German soldiers and saving a fellow soldier May 15, 1918 in France's Argonne Forest.

It took 97 years for Johnson's valor to be fully recognized because of a combination of poor record keeping and Jim Crow-era racism, only to eventually be pushed into the light after a drawn-out effort.

Henry Johnson moved to Albany as a child and worked various jobs, including as a railroad porter. He enlisted on June 5, 1917.

On May 15, 1918, Johnson was standing sentry in the Argonne alongside Private Needham Roberts.

The inexperienced pair had drawn the midnight to 4 a.m. shift, charged with watching the edge of the French lines. The two were members of the 369th Infantry Regiment, an all-black unit that had been integrated into the French Army because white American troops would not fight alongside them.

An hour into their watch, a German sniper began firing at them. Johnson later told an interviewer that he laid out a box of grenades nearby, preparing for further trouble.

During the attack, Roberts was seriously wounded by a German grenade. He was unable to do more than hand Johnson additional grenades as the Germans advanced.

Using grenades, a rifle and finally a large machete-like knife, Johnson fought off close to two dozen German soldiers and saved Roberts from being captured. The final bloody tally is uncertain but the accepted narrative is that Johnson, who stood only 5-foot-4, killed at least four Germans and wounded as many as 20 more. For his part, Johnson suffered 21 wounds in the hour-long fight, most of them from knives and bayonets.

The skirmish earned Johnson the nickname "Black Death."

In an interview months later, he seemed largely unfazed by what he had done, summing up the tale matter-of-factly.

"That's about all. There wasn't so much to it," he said.

In recognition of his bravery, France awarded him the Croix de Guerre with the gold palm, the country's highest military honor. Johnson became the first American to receive the award. Back home, his story was used as a recruiting tool to draw more black Americans to enlist.

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When the 369th, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, was sent home at the end of the war, they were greeted as heroes with a parade in New York City. They had spent 191 days at the front, the most of any American unit in the war.

But the goodwill toward Johnson was short-lived. He kicked off a promotional speaking tour in St. Louis after detailing the discrimination that black troops faced during the war, including being treated as servants, rather than soldiers. He struggled to hold a job because of his physical limitations from war wounds. His wife left him and he fell into alcoholism. He died July 1, 1929 at Walter Reed hospital in Washington, D.C., from myocarditis, a type of heart disease.

He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery under his birth name, William Henry Johnson.

A relentless push by Albany veterans and his son, Herman Johnson, forced the country to recognize Johnson properly.

In 1996, President Bill Clinton awarded him a Purple Heart. In 2002, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.

Finally, a staffer for Sen. Charles Schumer discovered a letter from Gen. John J. Pershing, praising Johnson's actions. That recognition of Johnson's valor from the leader of American troops in World War I fulfilled the final requirement and in 2015, President Barack Obama added Johnson to the list of Medal of Honor winners.

Read more: Silver medallion cast for 100th anniversary of soldier's famous fight against German soldiers
Editor's note: The Troy City School District budget represents a 1.54 percent tax levy increase. The amount of the increase was incorrect in an earlier version of this article.

Dont forget to head to the polls Tuesday to cast your votes on school district budgets and propositions as well as the selection of school board members.

Depending on what school district you live in, polling times may differ, so be sure to check with your local board of elections or school district.

Residents in the Albany City School District will be casting their votes on the proposed budget as well as school board seats at the same time. The state moved the citys school board elections from November to May last summer.

Voters should prepare to cast two ballots  one for school board nominees and another for the budget  when they go to the polls.

Heres a rundown of the school districts budgets across the Capital Region, polling times and contact information:

Albany: The $249.4 million budget would carry a 1.33 percent increase in the tax levy needed. Three school board seats are up for election. Polls for all Albany County school districts are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For additional information, contact the Albany County Board of Elections at 518-487-5060. You can also visit their website to find your polling location.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo: The more than $23 million spending plan represents a 2.64 percent increase in spending over the 2017-18 budget, and carries a 1 percent tax levy increase. Residents will also vote on a vehicle proposition and one board seat.

Bethlehem: The proposed budget totals $98.78 million, up about 1.7 percent. The tax levy increase will be 2.4 percent and is below the district's tax cap. The budget also seeks to buy 15 replacement school buses at a cost not to exceed $1,190,000.

North Colonie: A $111.1 million budget would increase spending by 3.6 percent and result in a tax increase of about 1.9 percent.

South Colonie: The district proposes a $102.2 million budget, up about 2.75 percent in spending and carrying a 2.95 percent tax levy increase. A bus proposition and board election are also on the ballot. A public hearing will be held at 7 p.m. May 8 at Saddlewood Elementary School.

Brunswick (Brittonkill): The $24.56 million budget is a 4.2 percent spending increase. The tax levy would rise by 2.82 percent, which is under the 5.66 percent state cap for this district. Voters also decide on buying two buses and a setting up a $100,000 capital fund. Residents can cast their votes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-279-4600.

East Greenbush: The budget proposal of $94.26 million is an increase of 2.29 percent and maintains all programs and services. Voters also will consider two bus purchases and the creation of a new bus purchase reserve fund. The first bus purchase proposition is to approve $652,498 from the current reserve fund to buy nine buses. The second proposed is to fund the $113,747 cost of buying a bus. The third proposition creates a new bus reserve fund. Residents can cast their votes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-207-2500.

Niskayuna: The district is proposing a budget of $84.2 million, up 1.03 percent. It would result in a 2.64 percent tax levy increase. Voters can also decide on the purchase of six replacement buses, and candidates for two seats on the board. Residents can cast their votes from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-377-4666.

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Troy: The $111.89 million budget maintains all academic programs and includes no staff layoffs, according to the district. This represents a 1.54 percent tax levy increase. Polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-328-5052.

Saratoga Springs: The district is proposing a $125.98 budget for the 2018-2019 school year, calling for a 2.66 percent spending increase and a tax levy of 3.93 percent. A $15.6 million proposal for outdoor improvements and renovations to the eight schools as well as Gavin Park, East Side Recreation Park and West Side Recreation Park also will greet voters. Residents can vote from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-583-4700.

Schenectady: A $194.4 million budget is up in spending by about 4.4 percent and would add $1.5 million worth of programs and services for students. It lowers the tax levy by $500,000. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-370-8100.

Scotia-Glenville: The Board of Education has adopted a $55.98 million budget for the 2018-19 school year that closes a $1.3 million budget gap and adds a high school mental health program. The proposal would raise the tax levy by 3.36 percent, slightly less than the state-provided tax levy cap of 3.46 percent. Also on the ballot: a bus purchase proposal, a $14 million capital project and two open board seats. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-347-3600.

Shenendehowa: A proposed $173.7 million budget includes a spending increase of 2.19 percent. The tax levy increase of 2.92 percent. There are three board seats open. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. For more information, contact the school district at 518-881-0611.

Contributing: Lynda Edwards, Massarah Milkati, Kenneth C. Crowe
MILTON - The town has already missed five deadlines and was denied a sixth. But that didn't stop the Town Board for asking the Twin Rivers Council of the Boy Scouts of America for yet another extension in the possible $1 million purchase of the 300-acre camp Boyhaven.

The Town Board passed a resolution on Monday night to ask for more time. In exchange, the town would offer the Boy Scouts up to $20,000 in cash for its patience  money that may or may not be added to the purchase.

The board also voted to further complicate the deal by seeking an additional 30 days in order for residents who oppose the plan to come up with 504 signatures. Those petition signatures would force a public vote on the land, which also could sink the deal.

"We have a lot of irons in the fire," said Councilman Benny Zlotnick, who took over the negotiation after lead negotiator Larry Woolbright stepped down. "We are moving forward with another deal. I know this has been a contentious issue. We are working hard to make it happen. I will speak with the Boy Scout Council tomorrow."

More than a year ago, Woolbright, at the behest of former Town Supervisor Dan Lewza, was put in charge of negotiating the deal with the Boy Scouts for the nearly 100-year-old wooded property on Route 29 and Middle Grove Road. The town borrowed $500,000 for the land, which it is holding in the bank. The remainder of the funds were to come from an anonymous donor. The deal started to unravel when the donor withdrew, said Woolbright, after the Ballston Journal and town attorney and developer Frank Rossi Jr. pressured the donor to reveal himself, in case the donated money was made criminally. At the same time, the town missed four of its deadlines to close on the property.

The Boy Scouts, who have said they would like the land preserved as a park and not sold to a developer, gave the town more time, thus a fifth deadline. When the town did not act after three meetings, the Boy Scouts said it would go back out to bid.

Woolbright, clearly frustrated with the inaction, stepped down from leading the project.

"I've done everything I could do," Woolbright said. "I was getting a lot of calls. I told people to start calling the supervisor. I've done everything I was asked to do and everything I was supposed to do. There is nothing more."

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The permissive referendum is exactly what Rossi was seeking. He says he has no interest in buying and developing the property.

Rossi, who also threatened to sue the anonymous donor for stepping away, has said many people are against the proposal. His sister, Gina Marozzi, said she expects the seniors living in more than 100 apartments will likely oppose the deal because an increase in taxes will force them to raise rent.

Zlotnick is confident, if a referendum is called, it would pass in favor of purchasig Boyhaven by an overwhelming margin. He also said he is disappointed that the town hasn't been able to get the job done.

"It's incredibly disappointing that a few vocal people with their recommendations and threatening letters could cost the town so much," Zlotnick said.
New York State Police

WILTON - A Pennsylvania man who allegedly was in possession of brass knuckles, a marijuana pipe and a jar of the drug was arrested on Monday, State Police said.

Stefhon C. Buchanan, 21, of Allentown, was stopped on I-87 for following another vehicle too closely, police said. He allegedly gave the drugs to a child, telling the child to hide the drugs from the police.
THE ISSUE:

The Legislature weighs appointing an interim attorney general.

THE STAKES:

Lawmakers could take the politics out of the selection process by appointment of a qualified non-politician.

The rush is on to fill the state attorney general's post in the wake of Eric Schneiderman's abrupt resignation, with 13 applicants seeking to run the Department of Law for the rest of the year and, in some cases at least, capitalize on the advantage of incumbency to get a potential edge in the next election.

The politicizing of the appointment  particularly Gov. Andrew Cuomo's insinuating himself into the process  is an unfortunate if not unexpected development. The Legislature, however, can take the high road and act in the interests of New Yorkers by appointing the acting attorney general, Barbara Underwood, to serve out the rest of Mr. Schneiderman's term and let the politics sort itself out where it should  at the polls.

Ms. Underwood, the state's solicitor general, took over the attorney general's office in an acting capacity after Mr. Schneiderman resigned following the The New Yorker's publication of an article on allegations of violent sexual abuse from four women. Under state law, the Legislature now has the authority to appoint someone to serve out the rest of his term though Dec. 31.

Importantly, Ms. Underwood has said she does not intend to run this fall for a full term as attorney general. That means she could devote her full attention to running the office and not be distracted by the demands of campaigning.

She is also a credible candidate for the interim post, having worked before coming to the state job for the U.S. attorney's office for the Eastern District of New York and as acting solicitor general and principal deputy solicitor general of the United States. She has already signaled that she would maintain the office's strong stance in challenging President Donald Trump's and Congress' ill-advised policies on such matters as health care, legal aid for the poor, net neutrality and climate change.

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

To his credit, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie plans to hold public interviews of the candidates Tuesday and Wednesday, rather than just make the decision in a back room. But the reality is, with his Democratic conference commanding a decisive majority even in a joint Assembly-Senate vote, this is as much a political process as a legislative one. And with the governor saying he wants to interview the candidates on his own and possibly make an endorsement, Republicans are justified in their concern about the interim attorney general, as well as the next one, potentially being beholden to the governor.

Mr. Cuomo already has enough key legal and investigative entities under his thumb, including the state inspector general's office and the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.

Yes, some other capable people are seeking the post. But appointing Ms. Underwood would send a clear signal that lawmakers can put political interests aside and pick a qualified candidate who has no future political agenda of her own  to act, that is, entirely in the interests of New Yorkers.
[May 14, 2018] Federated Rights Management from Verimatrix Wins Two Awards from The Connies 2018, Including Top International Honor

SAN DIEGO, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Verimatrix, a specialist in securing and enhancing revenue for network-connected devices and services, was honored twice over at The Connies 2018 award ceremony for improving the efficiency and traceability of premium content distribution. After winning the Video Technology Hero category for which it was shortlisted, Verimatrix's federated rights management solution became eligible forand ultimately wonthe competition's highest honor: The Grand Prix. "Federated Rights Management is bold and innovative  one of that rare breed of products that has the potential to completely change the way we do things," commented judge and Videonet Editor-in-Chief John Moulding. "It arrives at a time when everyone is focused on rationalizing the increasingly complex video delivery environment. The judges felt this solution can contribute to that process and made it a worthy winner for 2018." The Federated Rights Management model reduces OTT distribution complexity by offering a single point of integration for both operators and content providers where content is encoded, encrypted, and stored in the cloud before being delivered to video head-ends simply by exchanging encryption keys, content rights policy, and metadata. In addition to persistent encryption, it streamlines security workflows with content release window controls, policy definition and enforcement, and automated consumption reporting and analytics. The end result eliminates duplication of process and strengthens relationships beteen operators and content providers.



"Federated rights management is worthy of the Video Technology Hero award because that is precisely what it embodies; it's a completely redefined workflow that eliminates redundant processing that can cost operators millions and opens doors to new content distribution business models," said Verimatrix President Steve Oetegenn. "And we couldn't be more thrilled to take home the Grand Prix award as well. This is a huge win that underscores the need for such a game-changing solution that enables enormous savings in infrastructure, labor, and workflow risk." The Connies brings together the established UK Connected Consumer Awards from Mediatel and the internationally based Connected TV Awards from Videonet, now part of Mediatel Events. Awards serve to recognize innovation and the emerging best practices from across all sectors of the media landscape, showcasing initiatives that meet the needs of leading media businesses and practitioners in delivering value to the connected consumer. To view the full list of award recipients, click here.

To learn more about federated rights management, download Verimatrix's use case. About Verimatrix

Verimatrix specializes in securing and enhancing revenue for network-connected devices and services around the world and is recognized as the global number one in revenue security for IP-based video services. The award-winning and independently audited Verimatrix Video Content Authority System (VCAS) family of solutions enables next-generation video service providers to cost-effectively extend their networks and enable new business models. The company has continued its technical innovation by offering a comprehensive data collection platform, Verspective Analytics, for automated system real-time quality of experience (QoE) optimization to drive user engagement and content monetization, and data collection/analytics and Vtegrity, advanced security that addresses IoT threats and service lifecycle management. Its unmatched partner ecosystem enables Verimatrix to provide unique business value beyond security as service providers introduce new applications that leverage the proliferation of connected devices. For more information, please visit www.verimatrix.com, our Pay TV Views blog and follow us @verimatrixinc, Facebook and LinkedIn to join the conversation. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/federated-rights-management-from-verimatrix-wins-two-awards-from-the-connies-2018-including-top-international-honor-300647914.html SOURCE Verimatrix

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[May 14, 2018] Switch Announces First Quarter 2018 Financial Results

LAS VEGAS, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Switch, Inc. (NYSE: SWCH) ("Switch") today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. "Switch continues to execute on its market expansion strategy," said Rob Roy, CEO, chairman and founder of Switch. "We are excited about our growth prospects in 2018 in our Citadel and Pyramid Primes, and the continued growth in our Core Campus." First Quarter 2018 Financial Results Total revenue of $97.7 million , compared to $89.2 million for the same quarter in 2017, an increase of 10%.

, compared to for the same quarter in 2017, an increase of 10%. Operating income of $9.4 million , compared to $24.4 million for the same quarter last year, a decrease of 61%. Operating income in the first quarter of 2018 includes the impact of $12.4 million in equity-based compensation expense compared with $2.3 million in equity-based compensation expense in the same quarter of 2017. A significant portion of this equity-based compensation expense in the first quarter of 2018 relates to the continued vesting of Common Unit awards granted in connection with Switch's initial public offering. Operating Income in Q1 2018 also includes $4.6 million in additional depreciation from assets placed into service and $1.8 million in additional direct labor costs from hiring during the past year.

, compared to for the same quarter last year, a decrease of 61%. Operating income in the first quarter of 2018 includes the impact of in equity-based compensation expense compared with in equity-based compensation expense in the same quarter of 2017. A significant portion of this equity-based compensation expense in the first quarter of 2018 relates to the continued vesting of Common Unit awards granted in connection with Switch's initial public offering. Operating Income in Q1 2018 also includes in additional depreciation from assets placed into service and in additional direct labor costs from hiring during the past year. Net income of $4.0 million , compared to $20.3 million for the same quarter in 2017. Net income in the first quarter of 2018 includes $12.4 million in equity-based compensation expense compared with $2.3 million in equity-based compensation expense in the same quarter of 2017.

, compared to for the same quarter in 2017. Net income in the first quarter of 2018 includes in equity-based compensation expense compared with in equity-based compensation expense in the same quarter of 2017. Adjusted EBITDA of $46.9 million , compared to $47.1 million for the same quarter in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 48.0%, compared to 52.8% for the same quarter in 2017, a decrease of 480 basis points.

, compared to for the same quarter in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA margin of 48.0%, compared to 52.8% for the same quarter in 2017, a decrease of 480 basis points. Capital expenditures of $61.4 million , compared to $107.0 million in the same quarter in 2017, a decrease of 43%.

, compared to in the same quarter in 2017, a decrease of 43%. Churn of 0.1%, flat compared to the same quarter in 2017.(1)







(1) Churn is defined as a reduction in recurring revenue attributed to customer terminations or non-renewal of expired contracts, as a percentage of revenue at the beginning of the period.

"We are pleased with our progress in growing our ecosystem and positioning Switch as a partner of choice for global enterprises," said Thomas Morton, president and general counsel of Switch. "Our highly differentiated and strategically located campus ecosystems continue to attract primary deployments, while our unique telecom capabilities enable hybrid cloud environments and hyperscale cloud deployments with AWS Direct Connect, Microsoft Express Route, and Google Cloud Interconnect." Gabe Nacht, CFO of Switch, added, "Switch offers its clients significant expansion capacity and compelling cost savings at the highest rated resiliency data centers in the world. We have a strong track record of consistent growth as we continue to attract global enterprises to our world class facilities." Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of March 31, 2018, Switch's total debt outstanding net of cash and cash equivalents was $374 million, resulting in a net debt to last quarter annualized Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 2.0x. As of March 31, 2018, Switch had liquidity of $739 million including cash and cash equivalents and availability under its revolving line of credit. Capital Expenditures and Development

Capital expenditures for the first quarter totaled $61.4 million. Maintenance capital expenditure was $0.9 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to $1.0 million in the same period last year. Growth capital expenditure was $60.5 million for the first quarter of 2018, compared to $106.0 million in the same period last year. During the first quarter of 2018, Switch spent $19.5 million in The Core Campus to expand power and cooling in LAS VEGAS 10 and the continued site work and building of the shell on its LAS VEGAS 11 facility, which is planned to open in late 2018 or early 2019, adding another 340,000 gross square feet. Switch also invested $36.0 million in The Citadel Campus to support additional power and cooling for continued sector expansion. Switch spent $4.3 million for additional expansion in The Pyramid Campus. Finally, Switch spent $1.6 million on site development at The Keep Campus, which is scheduled to open in 2019. Dividend

Switch today announced that Switch's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of $0.0147 per share of Switch's Class A common stock for the second quarter of 2018. The dividend will be payable on June 8, 2018 to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 29, 2018. Prior to the payment of this dividend, Switch, Ltd. will make a cash distribution to all holders of record of common units of Switch, Ltd., including Switch, of $0.0147 per common unit. Future declarations of quarterly dividends are subject to the determination and discretion of Switch's Board of Directors based on its consideration of many factors, including Switch's results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, restrictions in Switch, Ltd.'s debt agreements and other factors that Switch's Board of Directors deems relevant. Recent Business Highlights Announced a 15MW colocation deal with an international streaming media corporation that plans to use Switch's North American PRIME data centers as a worldwide distribution hub for its services. The company plans to go live at Switch's facilities in Nevada in July of this year.

in July of this year. Signed additional contracts at The Pyramid Campus in Grand Rapids, MI , with a large electric utility company and a major debit and credit card processor.

, with a large electric utility company and a major debit and credit card processor. Advanced its intellectual property with the USPTO allowing 3 additional patents. Switch also filed an additional 4 patents on new innovative technology for its industry, bringing Switch's total patents and pending claims to date to more than 500. 2018 Guidance

Switch is maintaining its full year guidance, which is as follows: Total revenue in the range of $423 million to $440 million .

to . Adjusted EBITDA in the range of $216 million to $224 million .

to . Capital expenditures in the range of $260 million to $310 million . Switch does not provide reconciliations for the non-GAAP financial measures included in the 2018 guidance above due to the inherent difficulty in forecasting and quantifying certain amounts that are necessary for such reconciliations, including net income, accelerated depreciation, impairment charges, gains or losses on retirement of debt and variations in effective tax rate, which are difficult to predict and estimate and are primarily dependent on future events, but which are excluded from Switch's calculations of Adjusted EBITDA. Upcoming Conferences and Events

Switch management will participate in the following investor conferences: J.P. Morgan 46th Annual Global Technology, Media and Communications Conference on May 17, 2018 in Boston, MA.

in William Blair 38th Annual Growth Conference on June 13, 2018 , in Chicago, IL. Conference Call Information

Switch will host a conference call and live webcast for analysts and investors at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 14, 2018. Parties in the United States and Canada can access the call by dialing (800) 289-0438, using conference code 8957195. International parties can access the call by dialing (323) 794-2423, using conference code 8957195. The webcast will be accessible on Switch's investor relations website at https://investors.switch.com for one year. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available through Monday, May 21, 2018. To access the replay, parties in the United States and Canada should call (888) 203-1112 and enter conference code 8957195. International parties should call (719) 457-0820 and enter conference code 8957195. Presentation of Financial Information

This press release includes historical consolidated results for the periods presented of Switch, Ltd. and its subsidiaries, the predecessor of Switch, Inc., for financial reporting purposes. Amounts for the period from January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017 presented in the consolidated financial statements herein represent the historical operations of Switch, Ltd. and its subsidiaries. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Switch's condensed consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), Switch uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin, which are non-GAAP measures, in this press release. Switch defines Adjusted EBITDA as net income adjusted for interest expense, interest income, income taxes, depreciation and amortization and for specific and defined supplemental adjustments to exclude (i) non-cash equity-based compensation expense; (ii) equity in net losses of investments; and (iii) certain other items that Switch believes are not indicative of its core operating performance. Switch defines Adjusted EBITDA margin as Adjusted EBITDA divided by revenue. The presentation of these financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or superior to, financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. Investors are cautioned that there are material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP financial measures as an analytical tool. These measures may be different from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies, limiting their usefulness for comparison purposes. In addition, the non-GAAP measures exclude certain recurring expenses that have been and will continue to be significant expenses of Switch's business. Switch believes these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating its operating results, enhancing the overall understanding of its past performance and future prospects, and allowing for greater transparency with respect to key financial metrics used by its management in financial and operational-decision making. For more information on Switch's non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures, please see the "Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Results" table in this press release. Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Switch's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential" or "continue" or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, Switch's anticipated operating results for the year ending December 31, 2018 and Switch's expectations regarding the evolution of its marketplace, the timing for the opening of its LAS VEGAS 11 facility, statements regarding future declarations of quarterly dividends and customer deployment plans. Switch's expectations and beliefs regarding these matters may not materialize, and actual results in future periods are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstance that are difficult or impossible to predict. The risks and uncertainties that could affect Switch's financial and operating results and cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release are included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" and elsewhere in Switch's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in Switch's other reports filed with the SEC. Switch's SEC filings are available on the Investors section of Switch's website at https://investors.switch.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. The forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to Switch as of the date hereof, and Switch disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based, except as required by law. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Switch's views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release. ABOUT Switch POWERING THE FUTURE OF THE CONNECTED WORLD Switch (NYSE: SWCH), the technology infrastructure corporation headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada is built on the intelligent and sustainable growth of the internet. Switch founder and CEO Rob Roy has developed more than 500 issued and pending patent claims covering data center designs that have manifested into the company's world-renowned data centers and technology solution ecosystems. The Switch PRIMES located in Las Vegas and Tahoe Reno, Nevada; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Atlanta, Georgia are the world's highest-rated hyperscale data center campus ecosystems with low latency to major U.S. markets. The Switch PRIMES are located in the most cost-effective area of each North American zone based on power, connectivity, taxes, cost of living and lower risk of natural disasters. Visit switch.com for more information. Investor Contact:

Irmina Blaszczyk

The Blueshirt Group for Switch

investorrelations@switch.com

(702) 479-3993 Switch, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except for share data)



March 31,

2018

December 31,

2017

(Unaudited)



ASSETS





CURRENT ASSETS:





Cash and cash equivalents $ 238,561



$ 264,666

Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $301 and $472, respectively 18,511



16,386

Prepaid expenses 5,162



5,037

Other current assets 3,679



2,101

Total current assets 265,913



288,190

Property and equipment, net 1,183,165



1,133,572

Long term deposit 4,197



3,842

Other assets 9,194



9,155

TOTAL ASSETS $ 1,462,469



$ 1,434,759









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY





CURRENT LIABILITIES:





Long term debt, current portion $ 5,194



$ 5,194

Accounts payable 18,717



18,934

Accrued salaries and benefits 4,679



5,211

Accrued expenses 7,783



6,469

Accrued construction payables 19,656



7,052

Deferred revenue, current portion 11,665



11,482

Customer deposits 9,004



8,634

Capital lease obligations, current portion 2,309



2,309

Total current liabilities 79,007



65,285

Long term debt, net 585,268



586,566

Capital lease obligations 19,466



19,466

Accrued interest, capital lease obligations 1,871



1,927

Deferred revenue 19,299



19,382

TOTAL LIABILITIES 704,911



692,626

Commitments and contingencies





STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:





Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share, 10,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding 





Class A common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 750,000,000 shares authorized, 36,066,544 and 35,937,500 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 36



36

Class B common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 300,000,000 shares authorized, 173,624,316 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 174



174

Class C common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 75,000,000 shares authorized, 42,944,647 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 43



43

Additional paid in capital 111,073



107,008

Retained earnings 2,273



1,602

Accumulated other comprehensive income 79



31

Total Switch, Inc. stockholders' equity 113,678



108,894

Non-controlling interest 643,880



633,239

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY 757,558



742,133

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY $ 1,462,469



$ 1,434,759

Switch, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (in thousands, except for share/unit and per share/unit data) (unaudited)



Three Months Ended

March 31,

2018

2017 Revenue $ 97,717



$ 89,157

Cost of revenue 54,856



45,375

Gross profit 42,861



43,782

Selling, general and administrative expense 33,451



19,343

Income from operations 9,410



24,439

Other income (expense):





Interest expense, including $409 and $253, respectively, in amortization of debt issuance costs (6,273)



(4,020)

Equity in net losses of investments (331)



(441)

Other 1,029



350

Total other expense (5,575)



(4,111)

Income before income taxes 3,835



20,328

Income tax benefit 115





Net income 3,950



20,328

Less: net income attributable to non-controlling interest 3,279





Net income attributable to Switch, Inc. $ 671



$ 20,328









Net income per share/unit:





Basic $ 0.02



$ 0.10

Diluted $ 0.02



$ 0.10









Weighted average shares/units used in computing net income per share/unit:





Basic 36,003,087



199,776,051

Diluted 252,552,205



205,493,272









Other comprehensive income:





Foreign currency translation adjustments 331



272

Comprehensive income 4,281



20,600

Less: comprehensive income attributable to non-controlling interest 3,562





Comprehensive income attributable to Switch, Inc. $ 719



$ 20,600

Switch, Inc. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in thousands) (unaudited)



Three Months Ended

March 31,

2018

2017 CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:





Net income $ 3,950



$ 20,328

Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:





Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment 24,603



20,037

Loss on disposal of property and equipment 214



20

Income tax benefit (115)





Amortization of debt issuance costs 409



253

Bad debts 83



507

Equity in losses on investments 331



441

Equity-based compensation 12,357



2,250

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:





Accounts receivable (3,077)



(4,215)

Prepaid expenses (125)



127

Other current assets (530)



(433)

Other assets (129)



(92)

Accounts payable 262



4,712

Accrued interest, capital lease obligations (56)



(53)

Accrued salaries and benefits (532)



(295)

Accrued expenses 1,314



(5,912)

Deferred revenue 100



5,347

Customer deposits 370



407

Net cash provided by operating activities 39,429



43,429

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:





Acquisition of property and equipment (61,387)



(107,015)

Acquisition of intangible asset 



(13)

Escrow deposit (1,047)



(1,350)

Proceeds from notes receivable 



7

Purchase of portfolio energy credits (32)



(30)

Net cash used in investing activities (62,466)



(108,401)

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:





Payment of tax withholdings upon settlement of restricted stock unit awards (1,213)





Proceeds from borrowings 



70,000

Change in long term deposit (355)





Repayment of borrowings, including capital lease obligations (1,500)



(2,500)

Distributions paid to members 



(3,532)

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities (3,068)



63,968

NET DECREASE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS (26,105)



(1,004)

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTSBeginning of period 264,666



22,713

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTSEnd of period $ 238,561



$ 21,709

Switch, Inc. Reconciliation of Net Income to Adjusted EBITDA (in thousands) (unaudited)





Three Months Ended

March 31,



2018

2017 Adjusted EBITDA:







Net income

$ 3,950



$ 20,328

Interest expense

6,273



4,020

Interest income

(720)



(7)

Income tax benefit

(115)





Depreciation and amortization

24,603



20,037

Loss on disposal of property and equipment

214



20

Equity-based compensation

12,357



2,250

Equity in net losses of investments

331



441

Adjusted EBITDA

$ 46,893



$ 47,089

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/switch-announces-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-300648006.html SOURCE Switch, Inc.

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[May 14, 2018] Liz Barnhart of Talari Networks Named to 2018 CRN Women of the Channel Power 100 List

Talari Networks, the original innovator of Failsafe SD-WAN technology, announced today that CRN  , a brand of The Channel Company, has named Liz Barnhart, Director of Channels, to its list of 2018 Power 100, an elite subset of its prestigious annual Women of the Channel list. CRN's editorial team selects Women of the Channel honorees based on their professional accomplishments, demonstrated expertise and ongoing dedication to the channel. The Power 100 belong to an exclusive group drawn from this larger list: women leaders whose vision and influence are key drivers of their companies' success and help move the entire IT channel forward. Barnhart is Talari's Director of Channel Sales responsible for driving the channel strategy as well as optimizing Talari's partnering model and tool set. For the last three years, Liz has been instrumental in driving an increasingly larger share of Talari's US revenue through the channel, including Tier I distributor Tech Data (News - Alert) and Master Agent Avant. "I must admit, this award makes me proud of the traction and momentum Talari has gained through our loyal channel partners; I pursue innovative technologies with a passion and my desire is to impart that passion to my partners," said Barnhart. "Talari's leadership in the Failsafe SD-WAN space has given me a platform to help our partners build, grow and thrive, and in the end, to help them disrupt and improve the world through their customers." Barnhart has more than 20 years of experience in IT sales and management. She has a successful record of new market and channel development at the OEM, Distribution, VAR and integrator levels. Previously, she held similar roles in EMC and Avnet Technology Solutions (News - Alert) (now part of Tech Data). "This accomplished group of leaders is steadily guiding the IT channel into a prosperous new era of services-led business models and deep, strategic partnerships," said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. "CRN's 2018 Women of the Channel list honors executives who are driving channel progress through a number of achievements-exemplary partner programs, innovative product development and marketing, effective team-building, visionary leadership and accelerated sales growth-as well as advocacy for the next generation of women channel executives." "Liz Barnhart extends the reach of the Talari sales teams by engaging and enabling the most effective channel and alliance partners," said Patrick Sweeney, CEO, Talari. "Liz played a major go-to-market role in helping Talari achieve record growth and market traction across several categories including: 50 new channel partners and 75 percent sell-through with VARs, systems integrators and MSPs." Barnhart joins several other Talari partner executives on the CRN Women of the Channel list including: Jennifer Gallego, Executive Vice President of Channel Sales, West, AVANT Communications (News - Alert) ; Meghan Neilan, Director of Sales, BCM One; Susan Kozak, President, MNJ Technologies; and Jessica Yeck Vice President, Strategic Sales, Tech Data. The 2018 Women of he Channel and Power 100 lists will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/wotc.



"Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solutions have only been commercially available for a few years, but the technology's ability to address pressing enterprise networking needs has led to remarkable growth," according to a forecast from International Data Corporation ( IDC (News - Alert) ) that estimates worldwide SD-WAN infrastructure and services revenues will see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 70% and reach $8 billion in 2021. Talari's Failsafe SD-WAN technology delivers MPLS-class reliability and predictable application performance for both hybrid WANs and all-Internet WANs, based on its continuous, unidirectional, per-packet measurement of all traffic on all possible paths between locations. Further, Talari's analytics and visualization tools help customers identify where WAN problems are occurring, making the Failsafe SD-WAN solution an essential service assurance tool that managed services and solution providers can leverage. enabling Talari partners to proactively advise customers how to quickly resolve issues, while organically improving customer satisfaction. Talari support services has consistently recorded 90+ Net Promoter Score rating.

Additional Information: Talari-MSP White Paper (News - Alert) : https://www.talari.com/white_paper/grow-recurring-revenue-managed-sd-wan-services/ Talari SD-WAN Demo: https://www.talari.com/company/request-custom-demo/ Talari blog: https://www.talari.com/blog/ Following Talari: https://twitter.com/talari Follow The Channel Company: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook Suggested Tweet: @TheChannelCo names @lizbarnhart31 from @Talari to @CRN 2018 Power 100 list. #WOTC18 #crnpower100 www.CRN.com/wotc. About Talari Talari is the original innovator of Failsafe SD-WANs that deliver both MPLS-class high availability and QoE (Quality of Experience) predictable application performance for both TCP-based apps and real-time apps like VoIP and videoconferencing, whether built on a hybrid MPLS plus Internet WAN fabric, or a WAN comprised of only Internet connections. Talari technology delivers a multi-network WAN solution with 100 times more bandwidth for the same investment, a reduction in WAN costs by 40-80%, and greater network reliability and superior application QoE than any single MPLS network. A Talari Failsafe SD-WAN also enables more attractive Internet economics, dramatically reduces troubleshooting costs, and optimizes access for hybrid-cloud IT infrastructures and next-generation applications. Talari's patented failsafe SD-WAN solutions - hardware, virtual and cloud - are uniquely trusted to handle real-time VoIP traffic in large metro EMS-911 and public safety unified contact centers. Talari is deployed in over 500 customers in 40 different countries in more than 9,000 locations. For more information, visit www.talari.com About the Channel Company The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com CRN is a registered trademark of The Channel Company, LLC. All rights reserved.. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514006355/en/

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[May 14, 2018] SnapShot GmbH Announces S. Carson Booth as new CEO to Lead the Company into its Next Stage of Growth

BEIJING, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SnapShot GmbH announces Mr. S. Carson Booth has joined as CEO to lead the company into its next stage of growth. Booth brings over 25 years of hospitality technology experience and is the former global vice president of property technology at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide where he led a diverse global team managing the strategy, innovation and operations of associate- and guest-technology. He also concurrently served as general manager of Starwood's international licensing company, and previously as vice president IT EMEA. "Carson comes to Snapshot with a vast amount of global experience in the hospitality management and technology industry and with a very significant network of both management company and vendor relationships," states Michael Levie, COO citizenM Hotels and SnapShot board member. "His knowledge and leadership skills, will catapult SnapShot's growth and will continue to provide valuable impetus for the hospitality industry in general." Since leaving Starwood after the acquisition by Marriott International, Booth joined his family in Berlin and began an independent consultancy within the industry's vibrant technology start-up community including a mentoring role with METRO AG's Accelerator for Hospitality powered by Techstars program. "I am thrilled to join the talented team at SnapShot and help lead the charge in this exciting growth stage," said Booth. "SnapShot is the early disruptor in the hospitality business intelligence space, and I look forward to helping the team significantly extend this leading position with our innovative suite of products and services for hotels, management companies and owners." Booth together with David Turnbull co-founder and CCO, will take SnapShot to the next level of growth, providing enhanced data services for the hospitality industry and signals both readiness and value being placed on enhanced analytics and management tools. Funding from the Shiji Group is being used to help fuel this next stage of delivering affordable and scalable sets of services including data warehouse services, advanced analytics, and business intelligence to independent and boutiue hotels and global management groups alike.



SnapShot board member and COO at Shiji Group, Kevin King, adds "Carson joining as CEO builds upon the recently completed validation stage of SnapShot, and brings innovative and enterprise-class industry management to fast track SnapShot's entry into this next stage of accelerating growth." Booth graduated from the University of Nevada at Las Vegas with a B.A. in Computer Science. He is very active in the hospitality technology industry having served on several industry boards including Oracle's Hospitality Customer Advisory Board, Hotel Technology Next Generation (www.htng.org), Hospitality Financial and Technology Professionals (www.hftp.org).

About SnapShot Founded in 2013, SnapShot is a hospitality data and application marketplace company for the hospitality industry, with offices in Europe, Asia Pacific and the United States. In the last 12 months, SnapShot has signed over 5,000 hotels to its platform, as well as 40+ data partners. SnapShot On Demand brings in-depth data intelligence for hospitality management companies with a unique data warehouse-as-a-service offering. Bringing together all data enables actionable insights across multiple properties, regions and various systems, all accessible through custom reporting or dedicated API access, and integrated into your business intelligence tools like Tableau or those available through SnapShot Marketplace. Snapshot Marketplace offers a wide range of applications from SnapShot and third party developers. These include comprehensive hospitality data analytics, easy-to-use budget control tools and user-centric hospitality communication/messaging services. SnapShot Analytics Pro brings a fully integrated analytics business intelligence tool to independent operators and global management companies alike. Features include automatic alerts, advanced OTA commission tracking, tools to analyze your forecast and budget compared to on-the-books data, a custom report builder, and more. SnapShot, as your data management partner, combines the benefits of a necessary central repository for hospitality data with the unique opportunity for operators to independently choose the right applications for managing their business intelligence needs. SnapShot is unique in the industry, allowing fast, efficient and secure access to data and technology for your business. To find out more, please visit snapshot.travel. About Shiji Founded in 1998, Shiji's aim is to become a "big data" application service platform operator. Shiji has become the leading manufacturer of Chinese hotel information systems after three successful transformations. At the same time, Shiji is gradually expanding from hotel to catering and retail industries, becoming the major software supplier to both industries. Now, Shiji is responsible for approximately 60% to 70% of the market share in the high end sector of hotel and retail industries, and possesses a leading position in the catering industry. The estimated annual revenue of Shiji clients can be more than RMB 5 trillion. Shiji has completed three successful transformations since its establishment. It is now experiencing the 4th transformation dedicating to be a "big data" driven consumer application service platform operator. Shiji has introduced consulting, IT solutions and data platform services. Meanwhile, Shiji is developing worldwide leading products and technologies aiming for the international market and speeding up its globalization progress. Currently Shiji has more than 50 subsidiaries located in major Chinese cities and overseas markets (Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, United States, Germany, Spain, Poland and others) with over 3,000 employees. For more information, please visit www.shijigroup.com. SOURCE Shiji

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[May 14, 2018] Insight Robotics Expands its Footprint in Mexico, Portugal and Spain Through Strategic Distribution Partnership

The successful delivery of the first project in Mexico and the demonstration project in Portugal opened up a new page for Insight Robotics in these continents and partner network. HONG KONG, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Insight Robotics, a technology company that was founded in Hong Kong, with mission to safeguard natural resources and infrastructure through automation and early-warning threat detection, is pleased to announce the expansion of its business in Mexico, Portugal and Spain by establishing Distribution Partnership with Robotics Galu in Mexico and Leitek Innovative Solutions in Iberia respectively, which ensures an increased geographic sales footprint and broader access to maintenance and support resources for better client's engagement. The first five Wildfire Detection robots have been installed in the main forest in Guadalajara, the second largest city in Mexico. The robots are currently being monitored by state and federal authorities controlling forestry, an institution that provides assistance and resources at the national level -- throughout 32 states. The potential for replicating the project across the State of Jalisco and at the national level is high. Meanwhile, the Portugal's demonstration was carried in March at the Europe's largest laboratory for wildfire studies, LEIF (Laboratorio de Estudos de Incendios Florestais) and got national exposure and attention to Insight Robotics Early Wildfire Detection system to the Portuguese stakeholders, policy and key decision makers, as an effective solution to counter the recurring threat of wildfires that the country has been battered with. The demonstration had a dedicated reportage in the major TV news channel in Portugal (SIC). "Portugal doesn't have a culture of video surveillance of the forest and the big fire of Pedrogao Grande in June 2017 showed the benefit of video surveillance," said Professor Domingos Xavier Viegas, professor of the University of Coimbra, who is the highest technical and scientific authority in Portugal related to wildfires. "Insight Robotics Wildfire Detection system enales not only the detection and location of the fire, but also a great added value with lots of information to the firefighter such as providing the best path towards the fire, monitoring several fires simultaneously from a Command and Control Center." In the wake of the demonstration, Portugal government has enacted a regulation that installation of forest video surveillance systems, integrating with RGB and thermal cameras is mandatory for mitigation of wildfires.



With almost 10-year experiences, Insight Robotics already deployed its innovative technology and solutions to different countries. "To-date, more than 100 wildfire detection robots have been deployed in 44 cities in China, and Indonesia. Besides Portugal, we have successfully conducted demonstration/proof-of-concept worldwide, including in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Canada, Brazil and South Africa," said Mr. Kevin Chan, Co-founder and CEO of Insight Robotics. "The successful delivery of first project in Mexico and the demonstration in Portugal is our first and significant step to enter these two regions," added Mr. Chan. "We are thrilled to have Robotics Galu and Leitek as our distribution partners. We are looking ahead to enhance business through this strategic partnership and secure a competitive edge in Mexico, Portugal and Spain markets."

"After the first successful case, Robotics Galu and local authorities look forward to working collaboratively with Insight Robotics to offer Mexico with automated solutions to prevent, identify and combat wildfires through artificial intelligence algorithms," said Mr. Javier Markowicz, Director of Robotics Galu. Eng. Clelio Dinis Leite, CEO of Leitek Innovative Solutions, stated, "This is an exciting partnership for Leitek. The products of Insight Robotics are arriving at the right time in Portugal in the wake of 2017 wildfire disasters. The professionalism of Insight Robotics is 'bullet proof' and as distribution partner, we received full support and fast response from Insight Robotics. We believe it would be a big success in both Portugal and Spain." About Insight Robotics

Insight Robotics Limited is a pioneering technology company founded in Hong Kong in 2009 with mission to make the world a better, safer place to live  enable active risk management of the world's assets by generating and making sense of data. The company develops automated technology to give industry data-driven insights to quantify their risks and plan accordingly. Using real-time data collected from robots and sensors and presented with our geospatial intelligence system (GIS) platform, industry professionals can contain dangerous or costly situations before they can escalate. For more information, please visit www.insightrobotics.com or email press@insightrobotics.com. About Robotics Galu

Robotics Galu S.A de CV, founded in 2016, is a Mexican company composed of successful local entrepreneurs, lawyers and doctors, that offers different flight services with specialized drones that adapt to different applications, such as agriculture, environment, damage analysis and more. Robotics Galu becomes an exclusive distributor of Insight Robotics Limited in 2017 and believes the importance of protecting the environment by limiting the negative impact of forestry wildfire. For more information, please visit http://www.roboticsgalu.com. About Leitek Innovative Solutions

Leitek Innovative Solution, Lda, is the exclusive distributor of Insight Robotics Limited in both Portugal and Spain. Leitek is listed as a company of the Portuguese platform of defense companies (IDD) belonging to the technological and industrial defense base. Leitek develops its business in three main areas: Forest Surveillance and Early Wildfire Detection, Operational Safety of Aircraft in airports, and Security & Defense. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in February 2018 between Insight Robotics, Leitek and the Portuguese Association for the Development of Aerodynamics/Centre of Studies of Wildfires (ADAI/CEIF) in order to develop joint R&D projects. For more information, please visit http://www.leitek.co. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180514/2128535-1-a

Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180514/2128535-1-b

Logo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20180511/2128535-1LOGO-a SOURCE Insight Robotics

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[May 14, 2018] Aiming to Catch the Next Crypto Unicorn, The 2nd Blockchain Connect Conference is Coming to Silicon Valley in June 2018

Blockchain Connect Conference Silicon Valley 2018 will be held at the San Jose Convention Center on June 26-27, 2018. The two-day event brings together expert leaders and speakers to discuss the future of blockchain space. Major players in the blockchain industry will be attending this conference from around the globe. SV Insight will be hosting this conference together with Draper Dragon, Huobi Pro, DHVC and ConsenSys. The upcoming Blockchain Connect Conference will be packed with over 2,000 participants including top speakers, opinion leaders, tech experts, and the hottest projects in the blockchain space. In addition, there will be exhibitions of the most popular block companies and projects as well as the biggest blockchain career fair of this year. During the event, a 'Hackathon' space, where hackers develop codes and seek solutions for technical issues raised by conference speakers, will also be running in parallel with the conference. The theme of the conference this year is "the Next Crypto Unicorn", which is a reference to new blockchain startups. A "unicorn" is a startup company with a value of over $1 billion. Using this standard, all top 20 crypto assets can be considered as "unicorns". Aiming to be the next crypto unicorn, some of the hottest blockchain projects such as NKN and Ontology will appear at the upcoming Blockchain Connect Conference.



"While the theme is 'the next Crypto Unicorn', this is not limited to just cryptocurrencies," explains Paul Li, CEO of SV Insight. "The blockchain industry, as well as upstream and downstream industries, are also key participants." CoinTelegraph (one of the biggest global blockchain media), Huobi Pro (crypto exchange), as well as BTCC (Bitcoin services company) are all indispensable parts of the entire blockchain ecosystem. "'Catch the Next Crypto Unicorn' has two main objectives. Other than finding the next unicorn, we also want to help these new projects to grasp at an opportunity of a lifetime and become a real 'unicorn'." -Paul Li, CEO of SV Insight

The guest list includes Bobby Lee, co-founder of BTCC; Zhong Shao, CS Department Chair at Yale University; Daeje CHIN, Chairman of Korean Blockchain Association, former CEO of Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics; Yanbo Li, founder of NKN; Jun Li, Founder of Ontology and co-founder of Onchain, just to name a few. Organizers of the conference have also arranged professionals in legal, tax, regulation and community operations, to talk about hidden traps in blockchain startups and help projects comply with regulations and operate more efficiently. "With the entire blockchain industry facing tremendous changes the last few months, the conference could not come at a better time. The entire crypto market cap shrank by half, less and less ICOs are being launched, opportunists start to panic and there is an increasing amount of people starting to lose their faith in Blockchain," explains Paul Li. "Knowing the challenges that we will soon be facing in the industry, the Blockchain Connect Conference wants to unite the industry." About SV Insight Bridging the gap between China and the Silicon Valley, SV Insight has covered more than 2,000 innovative companies and products around the world. With the average page view reaching around 100,000 across all platforms and outlets, and over 4 million subscribers worldwide, the leading technology media company is ready to discuss what's new in the crypto world. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514006507/en/

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[May 15, 2018] L-com Introduces New IP67 Category5e/6 Dual Use Waterproof Ethernet Cables

NORTH ANDOVER, Massachusetts, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- L-com Global Connectivity, a preferred manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity products, announced today that it has launched a new series of IP67 rated waterproof Ethernet cables designed to address harsh environment networking applications. The innovative design of L-com's new IP67 waterproof cables allows them to be used with IP rated receptacles for a watertight seal or they can be used with standard RJ45 jacks. This eliminates the need to find specialized cables that are IP rated on one end and have a standard RJ45 on the other end. This dual functionality is accomplished by a waterproof shroud that can be pulled back to mate with standard RJ45 jacks. Additional features include a foil shield to protect against EMI/RFI interference, a tethered dustproof shroud cap and a CMX outdoor burn rating. These versatile cbles are available in both Category 5e and Category 6 versions and are compatible with L-com's WPBH series of RJ45 jacks for an IP67 rated seal.



"These new IP67 Ethernet cables provide the flexibility of being able to mate to standard or IP rated jacks meaning our customers can save time and money by purchasing just one assembly to address multiple application. The innovative design of these cables is sure to appeal to our industrial, military and transportation customers," said Dustin Guttadauro, Product Manager. L-com's new IP67 waterproof Ethernet cable assemblies are in stock and available for immediate shipment.

For more information about this release, please contact: Peter McNeil

L-com Global Connectivity

17792 Fitch

Irvine, CA

978-682-6936 x1174 About L-com Global Connectivity: L-com Global Connectivity, a leading manufacturer of wired and wireless connectivity products, offers a wide range of solutions and unrivaled customer service for the electronics and data communications industries. The company's product portfolio includes cable assemblies, connectors, adapters, antennas, enclosures, surge protectors and more. L-com is headquartered in North Andover, Mass., is ISO 9001: 2008 certified and many of its products are UL recognized. L-com is an Infinite Electronics company. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/690812/IP67_Category5e6_Dual_Use_Waterproof_Ethernet_Cables.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/430629/L_com_Global_Connectivity_Logo.jpg SOURCE L-com Global Connectivity

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[May 15, 2018] Sopra Steria Plans to Acquire German Firm it-economics

Regulatory News: Sopra Steria (Paris:SOP), a European leader in digital transformation, today announced its plans to acquire it-economics, a German IT consulting firm. Sopra Steria plans to acquire 100% of the share capital of it-economics, a German consulting firm. Specialising in digital transformation, agile development, cloud services and the management of complex large scale enterprise IT projects, it-economics has successfully established long-term trusted advisor relationships with a strong base of large enterprise accounts in the banking, insurance and utilities verticals. The acquisition would bolster Sopra Steria's position in Germany by enriching its end-to-end capacities in consulting and software development while strengthening its relations with major key accounts in the Group's strategic vertical markets. it-economics was founded in 2003 and generated in 2017 doube-digit organic growth and an estimated revenue of about 20 million.



The proposed acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. If it is completed successfully, Sopra Steria could consolidate it-economics in its accounts in the second half of 2018. About Sopra Steria

Sopra Steria, a European leader in digital transformation, provides one of the most comprehensive portfolios of offerings on the market, spanning consulting, systems integration, industry-specific solutions, infrastructure management and business process services. It provides end-to-end solutions to address the core business needs of large companies and organisations, helping them remain competitive and grow. Combining added value with innovative high-performance services, Sopra Steria excels in guiding its clients through their transformation projects to help them make the most of digital technology. With 42,000 employees in more than 20 countries, Sopra Steria generated revenue of 3.8 billion in 2017.

Sopra Steria (SOP) is listed on Euronext Paris (Compartment A) - ISIN: FR0000050809

For more information, please visit our website: www.soprasteria.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514006036/en/

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[May 15, 2018] Basilea reports launch of antibiotic Zevtera (ceftobiprole) in Saudi Arabia by Hikma Pharmaceuticals LLC

Basel, Switzerland, May 15, 2018 - Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. (SIX: BSLN) announced today that its partner Hikma Pharmaceuticals LLC has launched Basilea's hospital antibiotic Zevtera (ceftobiprole) in Saudi Arabia. Adesh Kaul, Chief Corporate Development Officer, said: "We are very pleased with the launch of Zevtera in Saudi Arabia. This is the first launch by our partner Hikma, a leading pharmaceutical company in the Middle East and North Africa region. Infections with bacteria resistant to established antibiotics remain a major health care concern across this region. Following the market entry in Saudi Arabia we are therefore looking forward to Hikma expanding the availability of Zevtera to further countries in the Middle East and North Africa." Zevtera is approved in Saudi Arabia for the treatment of adult patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Basilea entered into a distribution and license agreement for Zevtera with Hikma in 2015 and for the antifungal Cresemba (isavuconazole) in 2016. About Zevtera (ceftobiprole) Ceftobiprole is a cephalosporin antibiotic for intravenous administration with rapid bactericidal activity against a wide range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, including methicillin-susceptible and resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA, MRSA) and susceptible Pseudomonas spp.1 Ceftobiprole is approved for the treatment of adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP), excluding ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).1 It is marketed in major European countries, Argentina, Canada and Saudi Arabia. Basilea has entered into license and distribution agreements for the brand in Europe, Latin America, China, Canada, Israel, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Ceftobiprole is currently in a phase 3 clinical program for registration in the U.S. About hospital-acquired and community-acquired pneumonia Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is one of the most common hospital-acquired infections and has been shown to have among the highest mortality rates of all hospital-acquired infections.2 Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most frequent causes of hospital-acquired pneumonia.3 There is an increasing burden of antibiotic resistance, including MRSA, in countries of the Middle East and North Africa region.4,5 Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is a common condition with up to 60% of the patients requiring hospital admission and intravenous antibiotics.6 Prompt empiric intervention with an appropriate broad-spectrum antibiotic treatment is considered a best medical practice. The increasing incidence of bacteria resistant to many established antibiotics is a major concern.



About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial stage biopharmaceutical company developing products that address the medical challenge of increasing resistance and non-response to current treatment options in the therapeutic areas of bacterial infections, fungal infections and cancer. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com.

Disclaimer This communication expressly or implicitly contains certain forward-looking statements concerning Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. and its business. Such statements involve certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which could cause the actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements of Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is providing this communication as of this date and does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD

Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations

+41 61 606 1102

media_relations@basilea.com

investor_relations@basilea.com This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. References 1 U.K. Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) Zevtera: http://www.mhra.gov.uk/

[Accessed: May 14, 2018] 2 C. Rotstein et al. Clinical practice guidelines for hospital-acquired pneumonia and ventilator-associated pneumonia in adults. Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases & Medical Microbiology 2008 (19), 19-53 3 R. N. Jones. Microbial etiologies of hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2010 (51), S81-S87 4 H. M. Zowawi. Antimicrobial resistance in Saudi Arabia. An urgent call for an immediate action. Saudi Medical Journal 2016 (37), 935-940 5 A. Shibl et al. Infectious diseases in the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt. Clinical Microbiology and Infection 2012 (18), 1068-1080 6 W. I. Sligl et al. Severe community-acquired pneumonia. Critical Care Clinics 2013 (29), 563-601 Attachment Press release (PDF).pdf

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Cvent Unveils 2018 Lists of Top Meeting Hotels in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific

Cvent, Inc. a market leader in meetings, events, and hospitality technology, today released its annual lists of Top Meeting Hotels for meetings and events worldwide. Top venues are sorted geographically, and rankings are based on each hotel's group business performance. The list was compiled by analyzing meeting and event booking activity through the Cvent Supplier Network, which sourced more than $14.7 billion and more than 40 million room nights in 2017, helping to support more than 715,000 events worldwide.

Due to increased demand and buyer preferences, Cvent (News - Alert) also announced it has expanded its list categories to include sub-lists which segment venues further based on commonly searched attributes including property type, conference space size, and region-specific locales. These lists will be announced over the coming weeks.

"With industry research showing the current global value of the meetings and events industry at $750+ billion* and growing substantially, there is huge potential for hotels across the globe to capitalize on group business opportunities," said Bharet Malhotra, Senior Vice President of Sales for Cvent's Hospitality Cloud. "In response to this massive demand and supply growth, we have seen hotels continue to enhance their group marketing efforts and offerings as they look to attract top conferences and events to their venues."

"There are quite a few noticeable shifts in our Top Meeting Hotels lists, emphasizing a robust, growing marketplace," said Chris McAndrews, Vice President of Marketing for Cvent's Hospitality Cloud. "Hotels cannot rest on their laurels if they want to attract more group business in the years ahead."

"Being recognized as the highest-ranking hotel two years in a row is a testament to our incredibly talented team," said John Adams, General Manager, Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, which retained its number one position in the U.S. from the 2017 list. "Their drive and passion for providing memorable experiences has cemented Nashville's status as a meeting destination."







Top 10 View Top 10 Hotels U.S. Top 10 Hotels Europe Top 10 Hotels MEA Top 10 Hotels APAC Gaylord Opryland

Resort & Convention

Center Hilton Prague JW Marriott Marquis

Hotel Dubai Hyatt Regency Sydney Gaylord Texan Resort

& Convention Center Hilton London

Metropole Conrad Dubai Shangri-la Hotel,

Sydney The Venetian and

Palazzo Resort, Hotel

& Casinos DoubleTree by Hilton

Amsterdam Centraal

Station InterContinental Dubai

- Festival City Sydney Harbour

Marriott Hotel at

Circular Quay JW Marriott Austin Hotel Arts Barcelona Grand Hyatt Dubai Hilton Kuala Lumpur Hilton Anatole Sheraton Frankfurt

Airport Hotel &

Conference Centre Fairmont Dubai Shangri-La Hotel,

Singapore Omni Nashville Hotel Hilton Munich Park The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai

International Financial

Centre Hilton Tokyo ARIA Resort & Casino Hilton Diagonal Mar

Barcelona Radisson Blu Hotel

Sandton, Johannesburg Hilton Singapore Manchester Grand

Hyatt San Diego Rome Marriott Park

Hotel The Westin Cape Town Shangri-La Hotel,

Bangkok The Westin Kierland

Resort & Spa Hilton London

Paddington Hyatt Regency

Johannesburg Pan Pacific Singapore The Westin Peachtree

Plaza, Atlanta InterContinental

Vienna Madinat Jumeirah InterContinental

Sydney

U.S. List Highlights:

The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center retained its number one position as Top Meeting Hotel .

Two new properties have broken into the Top 10: Hilton Anatole, Dallas (Ranked 5 th ) The Westin Peachtree Plaza, Atlanta (Ranked 10 th )

Newcomers to the Top 100 list include: InterContinental Miami; Fairmont Austin; New York Hilton Midtown; The Broadmoor, Colorado; and The Phoenician, Scottsdale to name a few.

Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt (in that order) are the top three hotel chains represented on the Top 100 list.

View the full 2018 list of Top 100 Meeting Hotels in the U.S.

Europe List Highlights (new list in 2018):

Hilton took the top three spots for generating the most group business in Europe: Hilton Prague, Hilton London Metropole, The Double Tree by Hilton, Amsterdam Centraal Station in that order.

Marriott, Hilton, and IHG (in that order) are the top three hotel chains represented on the Top 50 list.

Germany and Spain represent the largest selection of hotels on the list with 12 and 10 in the Top 50 respectively including the following chains and brands: Radisson Blu, Sheraton, NH Hotel Group, Renaissance, W Hotels, Melia, and AccorHotels



View the full 2018 list of Top 50 Meeting Hotels in Europe.

Middle East and Africa List Highlights (new list in 2018):

JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Dubai took the number one position on the list.

Five other properties in Dubai round out the Top 10, highlighting the increasing interest in hosting meetings and events in the Dubai area: Conrad Dubai (ranked 2 nd ) InterContinental Dubai - Festival City (ranked 3 rd ) Grand Hyatt Dubai (ranked 4 th ) Fairmont Dubai (ranked 5 th ) The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (ranked 6 th )



Dubai hosts the largest selection of top hotels on the lists, followed by South Africa.

Marriott and Radisson Hotel Group (in that order) are the top two hotel chains represented on the list, while Hilton, Hyatt and AccorHotels all come in with five properties each.

View the full 2018 list of Top 25 Meeting Hotels in Middle East and Africa.

APAC List Highlights:

Hyatt Regency Sydney, new to the list this year, took the top position.

Five additional new properties have broken into the Top 10: Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel at Circular Quay (ranked 3 rd ) Hilton Kuala Lumpur (ranked 4 th ) Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore (ranked 5 th ) Hilton Tokyo (ranked 6 th ) Shangri-La Hotel, Bangkok (ranked 8 th )

There are 13 new properties to the list including: Grand Hyatt Shanghai; DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur; Kerry Hotel, Hong Kong; Millennium Hilton Bangkok; and JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach.

Marriott, Hilton and Hyatt (in that order) are the top three hotel chains represented on the Top 50 list.

View the full 2018 list of Top 50 Meeting Hotels in APAC.

Cvent evaluated hotel properties that generated business through the Cvent Supplier Network from January 2017 through December 2017. The properties were ranked according to various criteria, including total requests for proposals (RFPs), awarded RFPs, total room nights, awarded room nights, major metropolitan area (MMA) market share, conversion rate, and the hotel's unique profile visits in the Cvent Supplier Network. The criteria are designed to provide the most accurate reflection of the top meeting hotels in the U.S., Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific regions.

*Allied Market Research, Jan 2018

About the Cvent Supplier Network

Featuring more than 255,000 hotels, resorts and special event venues, the Cvent Supplier Network is one of the world's largest and most accurate databases of detailed venue information. Cvent sourced more than $14.7 billion in meetings and events through its marketplace and more than 40 million room nights in 2017. The CSN contains listings of hotels and other venues in more than 175 countries that can be searched and filtered based on approximately 200 meetings and events attributes. The Network is part of the Cvent Hospitality Cloud, which provides hotels, CVBs and other event venue owners, solutions to effectively generate qualified demand for meetings and events, manage that demand more efficiently, and measure group business performance.

For more information regarding the Cvent Supplier Network, visit www.cvent.com/venues.

About Cvent, Inc.

Cvent, Inc. is a leading cloud-based enterprise event management company with more than 25,000 customers, 300,000 users, and 3,000 employees worldwide. Cvent offers software solutions to event planners for online event registration, venue selection, event management, mobile apps for events, email marketing, and web surveys. Cvent provides hoteliers with an integrated platform, enabling properties to increase group business demand through targeted advertising and improve conversion through proprietary demand management and business intelligence solutions. Cvent solutions optimize the entire event management value chain and have enabled clients around the world to manage hundreds of thousands of meetings and events. For more information, please visit Cvent.com or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005298/en/
[May 15, 2018] Sharps Pixley Offer to Convert Gold Back into Bitcoin with BitPay

LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharps Pixley announced today that they are now officially allowing customers to convert their gold directly into bitcoin via leading payment processor BitPay. (Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/691220/Sharps_Pixley_BTC.jpg ) On 26th September 2017 Sharps Pixley and Bitpay announced they had teamed up on trades converting Bitcoin-To-Gold - this new arrangement now permits trades the other way from Gold-To-Bitcoin, making the trade reversible and allowing clients to trade either way between these two important assets. Since Sharps Pixley initially offered clients the opportunity to trade between gold and bitcoin, it has seen strong demand and recorded its best ever monthly sales totalling 10M sales in March 2018 since the opening of its London bullion showroom in early 2016. Ross Norman, Sharps Pixley CEO said "by allowing clients to firstly convert bitcoin into gold and now gold into bitcoin is a recognition that there is overlap between these two assets in terms of the motivation for owning them ; it follows that people should be able to trade between them in either direction." "Sharps Pixley is one of the largest and most reputable gold dealers in the world and we are excited for them to be the first merchant to offer payouts in bitcoin for gold" said Sonny Singh, Chief Commercial Officer of BitPay. "We know this solves a real pain point in this industry as customers can now profit in both bearish and bull markets." Giles Maber, Director at Sharps Pixley said "even before we began accepting bitcoin as payment for gold, we had serious interest from clients looking to execute this trade, gold to bitcoin. This new service provides crypto investors with a safe haven in bearish markets and fast liquidity back into bitcoin when they turn bullish." Sharps Pixley, leading bullion broker were among the first merchants to accept bitcoin as payment method for physical gold and other precious metals. Sharps Pixley only offer this service via voice broking for larger transactions above 25,000 in value with total transaction fees from 1.75%



As full members of the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA), Sharps Pixley offer investors an extensive choice of bullion bars and coins produced by world leading and LBMA accredited good delivery refineries. A full service "one-stop shop," investors can buy, store and trade precious metals using bitcoin. Sharps Pixley has a showroom dedicated to precious metals in St James's, London where clients can walk in off the street to make their purchases or sales. "Our aim is to make investing in gold as visible, simple and competitive as possible" added CEO Ross Norman The Sharps Pixley name dates back to 1778. The business is built on old fashioned trust and discretion ; however, by offering its customers the ability to pay with Bitcoin it provides a very modern perspective.

For more information, please contact Sharps Pixley on 020 7871 0532 or info@sharpspixley.com Visit our online shop at https://shop.sharpspixley.com About Sharps Pixley Sharps Pixley is a leading London-based provider of physical precious metals who put gold on the High Street for UK investors. Our new showroom in St James's has secure vault storage and safe deposit boxes onsite, along with gold assay testing equipment to authenticate your purchase. In addition to the new showroom, Sharps Pixley also offers an online web shop where customers can purchase bullion and which provides an information platform where customers can browse precious metals news, research and analysis. Sharps Pixley is wholly owned by Degussa Goldhandel of Germany, said to be the largest seller of retail gold bars and coins in Europe with 14 bullion stores including Frankfurt, Munich, Singapore, Zurich, Geneva and Madrid, which is owned by one of the wealthiest family offices in Germany. For more information, please contact Giles Maber on 0207 871 0532 or info@sharpspixley.com Sharps Pixley Ltd 54 St James's Street London SW1A 1JT About BitPay Founded in 2011, BitPay is the pioneer and the most experienced company in bitcoin and blockchain payments. Its suite of products enables businesses to send and receive cross border payments, and enables consumers to manage digital assets with the BitPay Wallet. The company has offices in North America, Europe, and South America and has raised over $70 million from leading investors including Founders Fund, Index Ventures and Aquiline Technology Growth. For more information visit https://bitpay.com For more information, please contact Jan Jahosky at media@bitpay.com, +44-(0)207-871-0532 BitPay Inc.

8000 Avalon Blvd, Suite 300,

Alpharetta, Georgia 30009

United States SOURCE Sharps Pixley

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[May 15, 2018] Flurry Analytics Launches Push Notifications to Help Mobile Developers Target, Engage and Retain Users

Today, Flurry from Oath unveiled Flurry Push, a free offering from the new Flurry Marketing Suite that enables app developers to send targeted messages to re-engage and retain users across Android (News - Alert) and iOS. With Flurry Push, mobile developers can leverage the power of push notifications, one of the most popular forms of engagement, to effectively grow their business and drive revenue. "We've heard consistently from our developers that messaging is one of the most powerful tools for boosting user engagement," said David Berger, VP, Engineering at Oath. "With Flurry Push, we're putting free messaging front-and-center to empower developers to take charge of their app business and address the recurring challenge of long-term engagement." With Flurry Push, developers have the option to choose between three types of push notification campaigns: Promotional: Schedule one-time, daily, weekly, or as-it-happens push notifications to drive engagement with new features, events, contests or other app content.

New User Retention: Convert new users who have recently installed the app to active users and increase overall retention.

Event Driven: Re-engage and convert users following a specific event or behavior within the app. Push notifications are sent to app users when an app is running in the background and not in use, making it easy for devlopers to target users at critical moments when there has been a lapse in engagement.



Brands including Yahoo Finance and Pacer Health have been testing Flurry Push, and so far, they've seen powerful results. "Push notifications are a critical component of our retention strategy, but historically, we've had to build the feature into our app or partner with third-party messaging vendors," said Michael Caldwell, Co-Founder of Pacer Health, Inc. "Flurry Push has made it incredibly easy to re-engage users from directly within the Flurry marketing suite for free, and so far, we've seen powerful results."

Pacer Health has been leveraging Flurry Push to promote online competition registrations through its iOS app, Pacer Pedometer, and so far, the company has seen 15% growth. Key features of Flurry Push include: Actionable Analytics: Analyze app KPIs and push notification campaigns through one single platform.

Triggered Push Notifications: Automatically send push notifications to users based on app-install time, event triggers or other audience attributes.

Powerful Segmentation: Target (News - Alert) users by geographic, demographic, behavioral and technographic attributes, including activity or inactivity, install date, device model, app version or specific event combinations. Save commonly-used user segments for quick set-up. Flurry Push is live in the Flurry Analytics Marketing Suite. Mobile developers can access Flurry Push today at www.flurry.com. About Oath Oath, a subsidiary of Verizon (News - Alert) , is a values-led company committed to building brands people love. Oath reaches one billion people around the world with a dynamic house of media and technology brands. A global leader in digital and mobile, Oath is shaping the future of media and technology. For more on Oath, visit www.oath.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005461/en/

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[May 15, 2018] SAP Receives Global Certification for Data Protection and Privacy from BSI

WALLDORF, Germany, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SAP SE (NYSE: SAP) today announced that the British Standards Institution (BSI) has certified the processes of SAP regarding data protection and privacy. SAP is one of the first companies to receive global certification from BSI for BS 10012:20171  which outlines the core requirements companies need to consider when collecting, storing, processing, retaining or disposing of personal records related to individuals. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the first major overhaul of EU-data protection regulations in 20 years. It harmonizes multiple EU regulations into a single, centralized standard. These stronger, more uniform rules on data protection mean individuals have more control over their personal data. This certification confirms that the certified internal processes of SAP meet the requirements of BS 10012:2017, which are in accordance to GDPR. In addition, the certification shows: SAP customers will benefit from standardized auditing processes that are more reliable and can help them reduce costs.

SAP has a reliable basis for evaluating internal compliance.

SAP uses an internationally renowned standard.

SAP becomes the first user of a certified data protection management system. Luka Mucic, Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE and Chief Financial Officer, said: "At SAP, data protection and privacy is a top priority. For us it is not a new trend  it is part of our DNA. Certification by British Standards Institution (BSI) is testimony that our certified internal processes are ready for the upcoming GDPR requirements. Our teams are very proud, as this is one of the highest data protection standards available." The independent, third-party certification from BSI, the business standards company that equips businesses with the necessary solutions to turn standards of best practice into habits of excellence, is formal recognition that SAP adheres to leading international standards when it comes to data protection and privacy.SAP is committed to ensuring compliance with GDPR as a company by May 25, 2018. SAP is also supplying technologies and products that help our customers prepare for the requirements of GDPR.



BSI Chief Executive Officer Howard Kerr said: "Data protection is a leading concern for organizations of all sizes and sectors, many of whom manage large quantities of sensitive data on their employees, customers and other stakeholders. By achieving this certification, SAP has demonstrated that they're taking a best-practice approach when acquiring, storing, processing and sharing personal data and are committed to building information resilience." Visit the SAP News Center. Follow SAP on Twitter at @sapnews.

About SAP As market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device  SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 388,000 business and public sector customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com. Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should" and "will" and similar expressions as they relate to SAP are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. SAP undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. The factors that could affect SAP's future financial results are discussed more fully in SAP's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including SAP's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.  2018 SAP SE. All rights reserved. SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see http://www.sap.com/corporate-en/legal/copyright/index.epx#trademark for additional trademark information and notices. For customers interested in learning more about SAP products:

Global Customer Center: +49 180 534-34-24

United States Only: 1 (800) 872-1SAP (1-800-872-1727) For more information, press only:

Rajiv Sekhri, SAP, +49 (6227) 774871, rajiv.sekhri@sap.com, CET

Jim Dever, SAP, +1 (610) 661-2161, james.dever@sap.com, EDT

Naomi Prior, BSI Group, +44 20 8996 6330, pressoffice@bsigroup.com, GMT 1 BS 10012:2017 is the British Standard that sets out the requirements for a personal information management system and aligns with the principles of the European General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sap-receives-global-certification-for-data-protection-and-privacy-from-bsi-300648405.html SOURCE SAP SE

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[May 15, 2018] Play2Live Launches Venture Fund to Invest in Gaming and Esports Industries

LIMASSOL, Cyprus, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Play2Live (P2L), the world's first decentralized streaming platform for gamers and esports fans based upon blockchain technology, launches venture fund with a focus on seed investments in gaming and esports projects. The initial value of the fund is $2M. In future, the fund will expand its value attracting new partners. (Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/632229/Play2Live_Logo.jpg )

Alexey Burdyko, CEO and founder at Play2Live, will become a managing partner of the fund. Burdyko is one of the industry leaders of the esports market in Eastern Europe and CIS. Play2Live raised $30M in total funds during a successful token sale event under his leadership. The fund will be focused on projects from Eastern European counries and CIS. Each project will receive $50K to $150K amount of investments.The fund team have already planned to hold 48 hours hackathons in Minsk, Moscow and Kazan, uniting developers, gamedev specialists, machine learning and blockchain pros. The prize fund for each hackathon will be $10K. During these hakatons, the fund will be looking for the projects in the field of computer vision in games, game characters intellectual behavior training, game strategy optimization, game data analysis and matches outcome prediction. The hackathons will be the first of their kind in Eastern Europe to merge blockchain technology and gaming industry. Alongside, in the coming months the fund will announce the first deals.



"It is extremely important for us to support fast-paced, rich in opportunities esports market. Every day we receive calls from projects preparing for the token sale, or various startups looking for financial investments. To help them in the most efficient way and to identify the most promising ones, we decided together with Play2Live partners and investors to launch a fund and start working right away. And of course, we will consider potential synergy with Play2Live. Our platform provides expanded ecosystem open for partnerships with promising young market players," comments Alexey Burdyko. The fund team will unite global gaming, esports and venture industries leaders. The fund will form an advanced advisory board that will consist of current large-scale esports companies' representatives and gaming market professionals. "We would like to invite investors and other funds to collaborate with us, because the prospects in the industry are tremendous, and we understand it, as no one else. Our experience and connections will help all the partners to achieve success," concluded Alexey.



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[May 15, 2018] Linguamatics I2E AMP 2.0 Automates Critical Insights Discovery in Real-Time with NLP

CAMBRIDGE, England and BOSTON, May 15, 2018 PRNewswire/ -- Linguamatics, the leading natural language processing (NLP) text analytics provider, today announced the latest release of its I2E AMP platform to automate the discovery of critical insights from text using NLP. The I2E Asynchronous Messaging Pipeline (AMP) platform delivers high-throughput, fault tolerant workflow management for real-time document and record processing, addressing the NLP text-mining and ETL (extract transform load) requirements for healthcare and life science organizations of all sizes by allowing users to plug I2E into enterprise workflows and rapidly process streams of data at scale. I2E AMP 2.0 includes enhanced functionality to speed overall throughput and performance, sophisticated pre- and post-processing capabilities, a Web GUI to simplify the set-up of initial workflows, and new AMP Agents for smarter load balancing, easier deployment, and optimized I2E mangement.



"I2E's flexible NLP platform goes far beyond traditional entity mark-up, providing semantically enriched data that normalizes concepts and relationships based on the relevant context," said David Milward, chief technology officer for Linguamatics. "With AMP, clients now have an enterprise class, high-throughput solution that provides secure, fault-tolerant, scalable, and real-time ETL from unstructured text to structured data." "AMP provides for the rapid transactional processing of unstructured data for a variety of workflows, including document markup and data extraction to feed enterprise search engines, machine learning, data warehouses, and dashboards," said Phil Hastings, chief business development officer for Linguamatics. "The 2.0 release includes new options that make it an even more valuable solution that can be applied to multiple use cases across life sciences and healthcare."

Within the life sciences, I2E AMP enables the automated transformation of text into structured data across the drug discovery and development pipeline. I2E AMP is highly configurable, allowing the flexible use of a wide range of ontologies and business rules to be applied. Pharmaceutical companies are using I2E AMP in target selection, for example to generate target-indication dashboards from patents; in business intelligence to generate email alerts for clinical trial insights; to build safety databases from internal reports; and in regulatory affairs for document QA. AMP allows healthcare users to quickly extract critical clinical details buried as unstructured text within EHRs, transform the text into discrete data, populate data warehouses, and support predictive risk models. New pre- and post-processing features enable the identification of document sections and evaluation of I2E NLP results for specific clinical criteria. This real-time NLP capability supports a more complete, 360-view of each patient so that providers can easily detect patient risk and predict adverse events, match patients with clinical trials, or support clinical document improvement workflows. About Linguamatics

Linguamatics transforms unstructured big data into big insights to advance human health and wellbeing. A world leader in deploying innovative natural language processing (NLP)-based text mining for high-value knowledge discovery and decision support, Linguamatics' solutions are used by top commercial, academic and government organizations, including 18 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and leading US healthcare organizations. Linguamatics I2E is used to mine a wide variety of text resources, such as scientific literature, patents, Electronic Health Records (EHRs), clinical trials data, news feeds, social media and proprietary content. I2E can be deployed as an in-house enterprise system, or as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) on the cloud. For more information, visit www.linguamatics.com and follow @Linguamatics on Twitter. Linguamatics Media contact:

Michelle Ronan Noteboom, Sr. Account Director

Amendola Communications

+ 1 512.426.2870

mnoteboom@acmarketingpr.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/linguamatics-i2e-amp-2-0-automates-critical-insights-discovery-in-real-time-with-nlp-300648148.html SOURCE Linguamatics

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[May 15, 2018] Abattis Adds Significant Strength to its Board and Leadership Team

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. (the "Company" or "Abattis") (CSE:ATT) (OTC:ATTBF) is pleased to announce the appointments of Kent McParland, Brazos Minshew, Shawn Balaghi and Jim Carter to the Companys leadership team and Wolfgang Richter to its Board of Directors.

Chief Financial Officer & Chief Operating Officer Kent McParland has been appointed as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, replacing David Whitney as Chief Financial Officer, and Rene David as Chief Operating Officer. Mr. McParland, a chartered professional accountant, joins Abattis following fifteen years in public practice with Grant Thornton, MNP and Deloitte. He has experience working in multiple industries and expertise in project management and change management. Medical Advisory Committee & Corporate Advisory Board Dr. Brazos Minshew has been appointed as Head of the Companys Medical Advisory Board and as President of the Corporate Advisory Board of Vergence Naturals Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abattis. In such roles, Mr. Minshew is expected to drive the sales and development of new formulations and to launch new brands and product offerings for the Company. Dr. Minshew is the author of four books with over one million copies sold, has more than 200 published articles, and is a proven researcher in the nutraceuticals space. Over the course of his career, the products he has developed have generated over US$4 billion in sales. Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory Jim Carter has been appointed as the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory and will drive the Companys upcoming expansion activities and mergers and acquisitions strategy. Mr. Carter will also act as an advisor to the Board of Directors on financial matters. On the corporate side, Jim has deep experience with mergers and acquisitions, corporate and debt restructuring and risk management, having previously served as Vice President of an NYSE-listed merchant banking company for nearly twenty years. Corporate Development Shawn Balaghi has been appointed as the Companys Head of Corporate Development. Mr. Balaghi has over 20 years experience working with public markets and draws on a strong understanding of the cannabis space, having worked with numerous licensed producers under theAccess to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations (ACMPR). Mr. Balaghi brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the corporate communications, capital markets and marketing teams.



As we enter this next stage in our growth and development as a company, we are excited to be able to attract such talented and sought after individuals such as Kent, Brazos, Jim and Shawn, stated Robert Abenante, President and CEO of Abattis. The Company would also like to thank David Whitney and Rene David for their contributions as CFO and COO, respectively, and wish them the best in their future endeavors. Mr. David has served in several executive positions with Abattis and continues to serve on the Companys Board of Directors, added Mr. Abenante. Board of Directors

Wolfgang Richter has been appointed as a director of the Company, bringing the number of directors of the Company to six. Mr. Richter draws on relevant experience with the cannabis industry, having previously served as a director of Northern Vine Canada Inc., a former subsidiary of the Company. The Company welcomes Mr. Richter to the Board of Directors, commented Robert Abenante. After serving with Wolfgang on the Board of Northern Vine, I am confident that his network and industry experience will add tremendous value to Abattis, added Mr. Abenante. About Abattis Bioceuticals Corp. Abattis is a life sciences and biotechnology company which aggregates, integrates, and invests in cannabis technologies and biotechnology services for the legal cannabis industry developing in Canada. The Company has successfully developed and licensed natural health products, medicines, extractions, and ingredients for the biologics, nutraceutical, bioceutical, and cosmetic markets. The Company is also seeking to acquire exclusive intellectual property rights to agricultural technologies to be employed in extraction and processing of botanical ingredients and compounds. The Company follows strict standard operating protocols and adheres to the applicable laws of Canada and foreign jurisdictions. For more information, visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF

ABATTIS BIOCEUTICALS CORP., "Rob Abenante" Robert Abenante, President & CEO For more information, please visit the Company's website at: www.abattis.com or www.northernvinelabs.com For inquiries, please contact the Company at (604) 674-8232 or at news@abattis.com. NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONS SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information, which may include information relating to Messrs. McParlands, Richters, Balaghis, Minshews and Carters respective appointments and expected roles with, and contributions to, the Company. Forward-looking statements (often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as expect, may, could, anticipate, or will, and similar expressions) may describe expectations, opinions or guidance that are not statements of fact and which may be based upon information provided by third parties. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions, expectations and estimates of management of the Company as at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or outcomes to differ materially from those anticipated or implied by such forward-looking statements. Those factors include, but are not limited to risks, uncertainties and other factors that are beyond the control of the Company, risks associated with the industry in general, rules and regulations relating to the cannabis industry, operational risks associated with development and production operations, delays or changes in plans and unanticipated costs and expenses, among others. In light of the risks and uncertainties associated with forward-looking statements, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking information. In particular, there is no assurance that any of Messrs. McParland, Richter, Balaghi, Minshew or Carter will contribute to the Company as expected. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements set out in this news release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release are expressly qualified, in their entirety, by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement contained in this news release.

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[May 15, 2018] Dicom Systems Releases Load Balancer Designed for Accelerated DICOM Application Performance

CAMPBELL, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dicom Systems, Inc. (www.dcmsys.com), a leader in Enterprise Imaging interoperability and workflows, announced today it has officially released the Dicom Systems Load Balancer designed specifically for DICOM traffic. The Dicom Systems Load Balancer is the latest module from the Enterprise Imaging Unifier platform, an interface engine designed for workflow, archiving, cloud and AI enablement. The load balancer has already been deployed at Desert Radiology ("DR") which operates eight outpatient locations and serves 12 hospitals throughout Southern Nevada. Because of new strategies to reduce vendor hardware footprint, the premier diagnostic imaging provider chose the Dicom Systems Load Balancer and High Availability for more efficient ingestion. "Load balancing our DICOM traffic required a level of sophistication and flexibility that Dicom Systems was able to rapidly deploy. Our enterprise workload is now balanced by a set of algorithms which boosts IT resources and reinforces our commitment to delivering the highest quality care to patients," said Paul J. Smith, Chief Information Officer for DR. "Dicom Systems is proud to bring DR an application-level load balancer that supports their tremendous growth while enhancing their existing Workflow Unifier HA Cluster. DR's heavy traffic volume and complex Enterprise Imaging environment called for the kind of highly-customized solution we've honed in on, said Dmitriy Tochilnik, President and CTO of Dicom Systems. "The positive response from Unifier customers for the Dicom Systems Unifier routing, query retrieve, DICOM proxies, and tag morphing modules has driven our team to develop a best of breed Load Balancer solution. Now we're excited to make it available to all healthcare organizations that want to accelerate DICOM performance."



Benefits of the Dicom Systems Load Balancer Full configuration and management for optimized DICOM image caching, compression, faster application delivery and scalability

Pre-built, easy to use templates for agile deployment in Enterprise Imaging

Provides an accurate, up-to-date health check on application and server performance

Available for license as a standalone module or part of the Dicom Systems Enterprise Imaging Unifier platform The Dicom Systems Load Balancer will be unveiled at the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (#SIIM18) to be held at the Gaylord Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland from May 31-June 2, 2018. Schedule a demo with Dicom Systems in booth #510 at dcmsys.com.

About Dicom Systems

Dicom Systems provides Enterprise Imaging and teleradiology workflow solutions that simplify IT. The features-rich Workflow Unifier and Archive platform delivers smart routing, SSL-based DICOM and HL7 integration tools, DICOM Modality Worklist, and Unifier Cloud Archive through on-premise, private cloud and leading cloud providers including Google Cloud, AWS, and Azure. Proven at worldwide deployments, Dicom Systems is recognized by top healthcare enterprises, government agencies and partners for next-generation Enterprise Imaging. To learn more, visit: www.dcmsys.com. Press Inquiries: Taylur Ngo, Dicom Systems, Inc., (415) 684-8790, 195127@email4pr.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dicom-systems-releases-load-balancer-designed-for-accelerated-dicom-application-performance-300648440.html SOURCE Dicom Systems, Inc

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[May 15, 2018]

Staymobile Ribbon-Cutting Officially Opens Cincinnati & Toledo Locations

ATLANTA, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Staymobile will celebrate the grand opening of two Ohio store locations on May 15th. These new store locations reflect Staymobile's continued commitment to the Ohio consumer, business, and education device repair service market. The ceremonial ribbon cutting will take place in front of the Staymobile store, and local consumers are invited to celebrate with them. Staymobile technicians will be on-hand to provide free phone cleanings and free diagnostic services on mobile devices.

Staymobile, an industry leading mobile device repair service, warranty and accessories company for businesses, schools and consumers, announces the grand opening of new Cincinnati and Toledo locations. Staymobile will offer increased services to the electronic, gaming and wireless repair customers including: residents, educators, and business owners.

"Consumers today demand accessibility across ultiple locations," states Brian Hutto, CEO of Staymobile. "These grand openings broaden those consumer channels throughout Ohio and the Midwest by opening three Ohio store locations in key consumer markets so far this year. And, it is only May. Our commitment to continued growth within Ohio is strong."







Staymobile Ohio Store Locations

Staymobile Cincinnati - 3262 Highland Ave. Cincinnati, OH 45213

Staymobile Toledo - 5313 Airport Hwy suite A, Toledo, OH 43615

Staymobile Columbus - 1598 N High St, Columbus, OH 43201

About Staymobile

Staymobile is a mobile device service company providing electronic repair, accessories and protection for businesses, consumers, K-12, and universities with the goal of ensuring its customers' personal and corporate mobility. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company currently operates more than 40 locations & over 600 Authorized Service Centers, both corporate and franchise, across the nation, with plans to expand national over the next three years. For more information on Staymobile services or franchising, please visit www.staymobile.com.

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/staymobile-ribbon-cutting-officially-opens-cincinnati--toledo-locations-300648173.html

SOURCE Staymobile
[May 15, 2018] BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group Inc. ("BIG") Comments On Top Emerging Patterns In International Cryptocurrency Regulation Development And Offers Policy Recommendations

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group Inc. ("BIG" or "the Company") (CSE:BIGG)(WKN:A2JSKG)(OTC:BBKCF), a leading developer of Blockchain technology search, risk-scoring and data analytics solutions, is pleased to comment on what it views as the top three emerging trends in cryptocurrency regulation development across a range of countries, while also offering policy recommendations related to these trends. In addition to providing blockchain technology tools and forensic services, BIG is also focused on participating in the development of policies and regulations that will support the use of cryptocurrencies in a secure and transparent manner. Toward that end, BIG previously ran a trial with the U.S. Treasury Department; established operations in Washington, D.C. in May 2018; and is currently seeking to partner with regulatory agencies that could benefit from BIGs expertise in the cryptocurrency space. With close proximity to the regulatory bodies, all having varying opinions on Cryptocurrency, BIGs focus is to offer the agencies technical understanding, strategies and solutions that could be deployed to mitigate the criminal activity involving cryptocurrencies. BIG's CEO, Lance Morginn, commented: Today's cryptocurrency market and the development of national regulations are still in their early days, and we look forward to being a contributing factor in the shaping of policy that results in the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies. Three emerging patterns are clear across major countries currently grappling with the new era of digital currencies. Our team at BIG has a unique take on policy recommendations, coming from the perspective of seasoned investigators and a Big Data search and analytics provider to the cryptocurrency space. That is why we're excited to discuss these developing regulatory patterns and our policy recommendations. Pattern #1: Growing Recognition of Security Risks More and more countries are recognizing the need to address security risks related to cryptocurrencies, which is positive news for the future of cryptocurrency and its users. In the US, Secretary of the Treasury, Steve Mnuchin, clarified his primary focus on cryptocurrencies was to "make sure that they're not used for illicit activities." In Europe, the UK Treasury along with the EU have made plans that would call for cryptocurrency platforms to conduct proper due diligence on customers while reporting any suspicious transactions. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin stated the use of cryptocurrencies carries serious risks ranging from money laundering to tax evasion, financing terrorism and spreading fraudulent schemes. Similar positions have been clearly stated by other countries, including Canada, Singapore and India, as they come to understand the need to address security risks through technology and cryptocurrency regulation. Pattern #2: Inconsistent Stances on Cryptocurrency Regulation Many countries are finding it difficult to decide on what their general approach will be to cryptocurrency regulation. According to Bitcoin Magazine, the US currently has "no coherent direction on its cryptocurrency regulation other than that there will be some soon," and "Russia, like South Korea, cant seem to decide how it wants to handle cryptocurrency regulations." Singapore has been relatively lax compared to many of its counterparts in Asia, but then took a somewhat less liberal stance lately in Q1 2018. India has gone from being viewed as a friendly environment for cryptocurrencies, to recently clamping down on cryptocurrencies in 2018. Australia's initial "hands-off" trajectory to cryptocurrencies back in 2015 has been replaced recently with that government strengthening its anti-money laundering laws and regulating digital currencies following the financial scandal surrounding the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 2017. Exceptions to this pattern include China on the conservative side, which has consistently taken greater actions to curtail the cryptocurrency space, and Switzerland on the liberal side, which says it wants to be "the crypto-nation." Despite these exceptions, the prevalent pattern is one of inconsistent national stances toward cryptocurrency regulation during these early days. Pattern #3: Cryptocurrency as Potential Solution to Fiat Money Issues and Sanctions Avoidance There are a growing number of countries employing cryptocurrency to address fiat money issues as well as to avoid international sanctions. For example, Venezuela's government has announced its own oil-backed, state-sanctioned "Petro" cryptocurrency in an effort to overcome that countrys weak economy resulting from international sanctions, and is now offering discounts to other nations that buy Venezuelas oil in Petro coins. Other countries working on developing native cryptocurrencies to bypass economic sanctions include Iran, Crimea and Russia with its CryptoRuble. Meanwhile, Nigerians used cryptocurrencies in 2017 to avoid fiat currency controls put in place to curtail the country's recession, resulting in a 1500% boom to Bitcoin trading.>



BIG's Policy Recommendations In response to these three emerging trends in cryptocurrency regulation development, the team at BIG is pleased to offer its top policy recommendations.

Recommendation Regarding Addressing Security Risks Legislation and regulations are a necessity for any technology, especially if there are ramifications related to money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion. Governments can address the associated risks with a well-educated and thoughtful approach, which will allow the emergence of the benefits of the technology while mitigating the risk. Engaging the digital currency industry to help develop policies that mitigate financial crime will be key to encouraging the advances and societal benefits of decreased cost and increased security. Key industry contributions could include participating in government forums and task forces, and providing cutting-edge and mutually-beneficial approaches to AML (Anti-Money Laundering) and CTF (Counter-Terrorist Financing) efforts, as well as KYC (Know Your Customer) and KYT (Know Your Transaction) checks. Recommendation Regarding Inconsistent National Stances on Cryptocurrency Regulation At the best of times, national policy formation can easily become a silo-ed process. The consequence can be regulations that are researched and developed in relative isolation, which can result in a countrys official positions suffering drastic changes if not costly wholesale reversals. This sort of nation-specific approach to policy formation is not conducive to the development of cryptocurrency policies due to digital currencies having a distinctive lack of restriction within national boundaries or traditional fiscal regulation. Instead, governments can respond to the borderless nature of cryptocurrencies by adopting cross-border approaches to policy formation. The development of transnational legislation and law enforcement could bring a new degree of stability to national stances. The process could be facilitated by intergovernmental organizations such as FATF (the Financial Action Task Force), while industry could play a role by contributing to intelligence sharing, particularly when it comes to responding to international crimes involving cryptocurrency. Recommendation Regarding Cryptocurrency as a Potential Solution to Fiat Money Issues The emergence of cryptocurrencies means we are in a new era of currency, which will inevitably require new paradigms regarding risk management, AML and CTF, and new tools and solutions to address the unique risks and advantages associated with digital currencies. In the years to come, there will only be more nations, criminals and individuals that discover ways to leverage cryptocurrencies that were never possible with fiat money. Since the rules have changed with digital currencies, so too governments will be required to approach rule making in new ways. Regulation will be more effective if designed to embrace cryptocurrencies rather than restrict them; to optimize their contribution in the financial landscape rather than limit it; to focus on accountability rather than absolute control. Once again, the cryptocurrency industry can play a role by providing insight into innovative policy recommendations that could match the rapid innovation occurring in the digital currency marketplace. References Carlisle, David. Virtual Currencies and Financial Crime: Challenges and Opportunities. Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Mar. 2017. Nelson, Andrew. Cryptocurrency Regulation in 2018: Where the World Stands Right Now. Bitcoin Magazine, 1 Feb. 2018, bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/cryptocurrency-regulation-2018-where-world-stands-right-now Malwa, Shaurya. Is 2018 the Year of Cryptocurrency Regulation? BTCManager.com, 13 Mar. 2018, https://btcmanager.com/2018-year-cryptocurrency-regulation Jackson, Dave. Iran Plans to Design Its Own Digital Currency. Stockhouse, 1 May, 2018, http://www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2018/05/01/iran-plans-to-design-its-own-digital-currency On behalf of the Board, Lance Morginn

Chief Executive Officer About BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group Inc. BIG Blockchain Intelligence Group Inc. (BIG) brings security and accountability to the new era of cryptocurrency. BIG has developed from the ground up a Blockchain-agnostic search and analytics engine, QLUE, enabling RegTech, Law Enforcement and Government Agencies to visually trace, track and monitor cryptocurrency transactions at a forensic level. Our commercial product, BitRank Verified, offers a risk score for Bitcoin wallets, enabling RegTech, banks, ATMs, exchanges and retailers to meet traditional regulatory/compliance requirements. About BitRank Verified BIG developed BitRank Verified to be the industry gold standard in ranking and verifying cryptocurrency transactions. BitRank Verified offers the financial world a simplified front-end results page, enabling consumer-facing bank tellers, exchanges, eCommerce sites and retailers to know whether a proposed transaction is safe to accept, questionable, or should be denied. BitRank Verified and its API are custom tailored to provide the RegTech sector with a reliable tool for meeting their regulatory requirements while mitigating exposure to risk of money laundering or other criminal activities. About QLUE QLUE (Qualitative Law Enforcement Unified Edge) enables Law Enforcement and RegTech investigators to literally follow the virtual money. QLUE incorporates advanced techniques and unique search algorithms to detect suspicious activity within bitcoin and cryptocurrency transactions, enabling investigators to quickly and visually trace, track and monitor transactions in their fight against terrorist financing, human trafficking, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, child pornography, corruption, bribery, money laundering, and other cyber crimes. Investor Relations - USA

KCSA Strategic Communications

Valter Pinto, Managing Director

Scott Eckstein, VP of Market Intelligence

email: BlockChainGroup@KCSA.com

D: +1-212-896-1254 Investor Relations - Canada

Skanderbeg Capital Advisors

Adam Ross

email: adam@skanderbegcapital.com

P: +1-604-687-7130 BIG Investor Relations

Anthony Zelen

D: +1-778-819-8705

email: anthony@blockchaingroup.io For more information and to register to BIGs mailing list, please visit our website at https://www.blockchaingroup.io/. Follow @blocksearch on Twitter. Or visit SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, which include completion of the search technology software and other matters. Forward-looking statements consist of statements that are not purely historical, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Such information can generally be identified by the use of forwarding-looking wording such as may, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, believe and continue or the negative thereof or similar variations. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of BIG. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because BIG can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from BIGs expectations include, consumer sentiment towards BIGs products and Blockchain technology generally, technology failures, competition, and failure of counterparties to perform their contractual obligations. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, BIG disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additionally, BIG undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or statements made by, third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.

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[May 15, 2018] AtYourGate Raises $2,000,000 in Seed Funding, Bolstered by TRITON FUNDS

SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AtYourGate, LLC today announced it has completed its raise of $2,000,000 in its Seed funding round. Bolstered by TRITON FUNDS, the new fund launched by students at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the investment has supported the development of the capability and capacity to deliver an innovative mobile e-commerce and gate delivery service in an airport environment as well as its current launch at San Diego International Airport. The investment comes as the Company experiences solid month over month growth at San Diego International Airport and is now poised to expand in to other domestic and international airports.

In March of this year, AtYourGate, a California scale-up, and GOLO, a mobile ordering platform and part of the Paysafe Group, announced the launch of AtYourGate powered by GOLO - an innovative new app that allows airport goers to use their mobile phones to order airport products and have them delivered directly to them. Since its launch, airport personnel, flight crews, and travelers at the San Diego International Airport have been able to use the first-ever app of its kind to make a purchase from any of the participating outlets  be that a sandwich, salad, snack, or gift  and have it delivered directly to their gate or to any convenient location airport-wide. AtYourGate is honored to receive the support and funding from TRITON FUNDS, said P.J. Mastracchio, Founder and CEO of AtYourGate, We were born as a business in San Diego based on the confidence and support of the San Diego International Airport Innovation Lab and now, with the support of TRITON FUNDS, we elevate our commitment to our fellow San Diegans as they travel through San Diego Airport. We will deliver with great distinction. AtYourGates senior leadership has deep experience in airport & hospitality marketing as well as foodservice & logistics; the entire team is comprised of seasoned operators with the maturity to foster the necessary relationships with airport authorities, concessions, airlines, and the local communities. AtYourGate is making advances towards an improved traveling experience by creating a more efficient airport visit, said Sam Yaffa, co-founder of TRITON FUNDS, They provide the modern-day traveler, and travelers of the future, with a user-friendly platform that takes the hassle and stress out of airport shopping and dining. We foresee the impact of AtYourGate as a necessity for all large airports across the world. AtYourGate paved its path in 2016 as an inaugural member of Plug and Plays Global Travel & Hospitality Platform of Innovation. The 12-week program provides infrastructure support and assistance with scaling disruptive technologies that have a positive impact on travel and leisure. The AtYourGate powered by GOLO app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play Store. A demonstration video of how the AtYourGate service works can be viewed on YouTube.



About AtYourGate: AtYourGate is the in-airport mobile e-commerce and gate delivery service for busy travellers, flight crews, and airport employees in airports around the world. Through a partnership with GOLO, AtYourGate aims to improve the passenger experience by offering a seamless mobile e-commerce and delivery experience inside the airport terminal. Open up the app, browse, order, and relax. Weve got this. We'll bring it all to you. For more information, visit www.atyourgate.com. About Paysafe: Paysafe is a leading global provider of end-to-end payment solutions. Its core purpose is to enable businesses and consumers to connect and transact seamlessly through industry-leading capabilities in payment processing, digital wallet and online cash solutions. Delivered through an integrated platform, Paysafe solutions are geared toward mobile-initiated transactions, real-time analytics and the convergence between brick-and-mortar and online payments. With over 20 years of online payment experience, a combined transactional volume of US $56 billion in 2017 and over 2,600 staff located in 12 global locations, Paysafe connects businesses and consumers across 200 payment types in over 40 currencies around the world. For more information, visit www.paysafe.com.

About Plug and Play Tech Center: Plug and Play Tech Center is the worlds largest global technology accelerator and venture fund. Since inception in 2006, our program has expanded worldwide to include entrepreneurs from 24 countries, providing necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley. With over 350 startups and 300 corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem. Plug and Play provides active investments with 180 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and more than 365 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $3.5 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com. About San Diego International Airport Innovation Lab: San Diego International Airport Innovation Lab is a ground-breaking collaborative environment where companies, innovators and airport executives work together to create and test new ideas to drive airport innovation and improve the passenger experience. Successful ideas have the opportunity to be implemented at SAN, other airports, and even in analogous industries like malls, hotels, and convention centers. For more information, visit www.san.org/business-opportunities/innovation-lab. About TRITON FUNDS LLC: TRITON FUNDS LLC is a student-run fund manager founded by undergraduates from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). TRITON FUNDS provides students the invaluable opportunity to gain real-world experience investing alongside experienced financial professionals. We invest in high performing teams with revolutionary aspirations to grow their company into industry leaders. TRITON FUNDS creates an ecosystem that assists talented entrepreneurs in successfully growing their ideas and maintaining strong community ethical standards. Utilizing our #millennialtouch, we provide strategic capitalization, business development support, and engineered exits to organizations we believe have a viable future in the modern economy. For more information, visit www.tritonfunds.com. For further information and/or to set up an interview, please contact: David Henninger, President, AtYourGate

+1 949-491-3370 / david@atyourgate.com Amy Gregus, Media Relations, Paysafe

+1 514-294-0247 / amy.gregus@paysafe.com Allison Romero, Media Relations, Plug and Play

+1 408-524-1457 / allison@plugandplaytechcenter.com Rebecca Bloomfield, Media Relations, San Diego International Airport

+1 619-400-2880 / rbloomfi@san.org Yash Thukral, Founder, TRITON FUNDS LLC

+1 858-768-0001 / tritonfunds@tritonfunds.com

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[May 15, 2018] Netcracker Honored with 2018 TM Forum Excellence Award for Operational Transformation and Agility

Netcracker Technology announced today that it was selected as a winner in the TM Forum (News - Alert) Excellence Awards 2018. Netcracker was recognized in the Operational Transformation and Agility category for delivering one of the world's most expansive rating and billing solutions for a global financial services provider. TM Forum announced the Excellence Award winner at this year's Digital Transformation World conference (formerly TM Forum Live!) in Nice, France. The award was presented at the Excellence Awards VIP Gala dinner. The winners were also honored during the event's opening keynote session. This year, Netcracker was recognized for delivering a large-scale rating and billing solution for a global financial services provider with substantial compliance to TM Forum standards. Netcracker created a highly secure transactional platform and network capable of supporting billions of transactions every year. The platform captures, rates and manages all financial transactions across this provider's global network. "Congratulations to Netcracker for its achievement in this year's TM Forum Excellence Awards," said Nik Willetts, President & CEO at TM Forum. "Operational and solution excellence, innovation, and digital industry leadership exemplify the winners of this prestgious award. Our sincere congratulations to Netcracker for playing its part in accelerating digital transformation, and our thanks for its commitment to TM Forum, our members and the telecoms industry as a whole."



"We want to thank TM Forum for recognizing Netcracker with this respected award," said Sanjay Mewada, Chief Strategy Officer at Netcracker. "We are especially proud of this digital transformation, given its immense complexities and sophisticated requirements." Since 2007, TM Forum's Excellence Awards recognizes the world's leading companies for their innovative achievements spanning digital transformation, business and IT agility, customer centricity, cross-industry partnering and collaboration, and product and service innovation.

The winners of TM Forum's 2018 Excellence Awards were judged by an impartial and independent panel of leading industry experts analysts including; Pascal Viginier - Group CEO Advisor at Orange, Sandra De Zoysa - Group Chief Customer Officer at Dialog Axiata PLC, George Glass - Chief Systems Architect at BT (News - Alert) , Camille Mendler - Lead Analyst at Ovum, Justin van der Lande - Principal Analyst at Analysis Mason, Keith Willetts - Founder and Former Chairman & CEO of TM Forum, and Julie Wood-Moss - Board Advisor to Boston Consulting Group, Agent 3/Next 15, Dial Partners LLP. About Netcracker Technology Netcracker Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC (News - Alert) Corporation, is a forward-looking software company, offering mission-critical solutions to service providers around the globe. Our comprehensive portfolio of software solutions and professional services enables large-scale digital transformations, unlocking the opportunities of the cloud, virtualization and the changing mobile ecosystem. With an unbroken service delivery track record of more than 20 years, our unique combination of technology, people and expertise helps companies transform their networks and enable better experiences for their customers. For more information, visit www.netcracker.com. About TM Forum TM Forum is an association of over 850 member companies generating US$2 trillion in revenue and serving five billion customers across 180 countries. We drive collaboration and collective problem solving to maximize the business success of communication and digital service providers and their ecosystem of suppliers around the world. Today, our focus is on supporting members as they navigate their unique digital transformation journeys, providing practical and proven assets and tools to accelerate execution and platforms to facilitate collaborative problem solving and innovation. Learn more at www.tmforum.org. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005958/en/

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[May 15, 2018] Society for Advanced Bronchoscopy Meets May 20 to Address "Hot Topics in Advanced Bronchoscopy"

TAMPA, Fla., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Society for Advanced Bronchoscopy (SAB) will hold its second meeting, Hot Topics in Advanced Bronchoscopy, on Sunday, May 20th at the Hotel Republic in San Diego, CA. The meeting will focus on multiple, timely topics impacting professionals who practice advanced bronchoscopy, including quality measurements, the latest in blood and biomarkers for nodule evaluation, and biopsy techniques.

Society President and Co-Program Chair Dr. D. Kyle Hogarth founded the SAB in the summer of 2017 to promote and support excellence in the interpretive skills and technical knowledge of those involved in advanced bronchoscopy and to help maintain professional practice integrity. The field of flexible and advanced bronchoscopy is growing rapidly, and we needed a focused, strong voice to promote quality practice, particularly in cancer staging and management, said Dr. Hogarth. After a successful first meeting and mnths of planning, we are thrilled to be hosting the SAB Hot Topics meeting as it will enable leading minds in the field to come together, share best practices, identify key issues and begin to shape solutions.



Increasing numbers of lung cancer, severe asthma, and emphysema cases in the United States are several of the factors driving steady growth in the bronchoscopy field. Among the issues the SAB plans to address are overall reimbursement of bronchoscopy, professional standards, and encouraging high-quality growth to meet the increasing demand. Lung cancer diagnosis and treatment are evolving at an incredible pace, and we believe the SAB will play a critical role in ensuring patients receive the most advanced, high-quality care, said David Brunel, CEO of Biodesix, Inc., an SAB founding commercial partner. We are proud to support the organization and look forward to hearing discussions on innovations in the field of bronchoscopy and how they can improve the current treatment paradigm.

Other SAB founding commercial partners include Boston Scientific, Ethicon, Medtronic, Merit Medical Endotek and Philips Medical. The agenda and registration information for Hot Topics in Advanced Bronchoscopy can be found at http://www.sabronchoscopy.org/meetings. Registration is free for SAB members and $95 for non-members. About the Society for Advanced Bronchoscopy The Society for Advanced Bronchoscopy is an international organization with a growing membership of physicians, fellows, residents, allied-health professionals, and students as well as industry partners. The society provides experience-based, quality education for physicians and technologists. Contact: Michele Parisi

925-864-5028

mparisi@forwardhealthinc.com

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[May 15, 2018] Lever Unveils GDPR Compliance Toolkit to Help Recruiting Teams Achieve Compliance With Active and Passive Candidates

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lever, the recruiting software for more than 1,500 leading companies around the world, today unveiled a new toolkit to help organizations easily and efficiently achieve General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance for their recruiting efforts by the May 25th deadline. Available to all Lever customers, Levers GDPR Compliance Toolkit offers a comprehensive set of features that addresses key GDPR requirements, including the ability to provide notice to candidates of data processing; gather, track, and refresh candidate consent where necessary; set data retention timeframes and respond to candidate rights requests. The GDPR Compliance Toolkit also offers flexible workflows and configurations to support each customers unique compliance needs, and built-in guidance, alerts, and reports to make it easy for teams to remain compliant. Our own research shows 61 percent of companies are highly concerned about the impact of GDPR on their recruiting and hiring processes, including how they recruit and source passive candidates, said Sarah Nahm, CEO of Lever. We know how important data privacy and security are for our customers across more than 40 countries, and have invested a great deal in our GDPR Compliance Toolkit to assuage their concerns. The solution is fully-featured, with built-in guidance and automation to help our customers recruit on a global scale and proactively meet their compliance obligations with confidence." Key components of Levers GDPR Compliance Toolkit let customers: Collect, track, and refresh consent for active and passive candidates - Unlike other ATS vendors, Lever provides flexible workflows for both candidate consent and legitimate interest. Companies choosing to rely on consent can ask applicants for consent during the application process, and seek consent from sourced candidates using consent links. Provide notice - Lever allows customers to provide notce of their data processing activities via links to their privacy policy on their Lever application form. Respond to candidate rights requests - Levers candidate rights page makes it easy for candidates to request to view and edit their data, or opt to be removed from the database entirely. Lever will send automatic reminders, assign tasks to candidate owners, and generate reports to ensure requests are resolved promptly and no request falls through the cracks. Set data retention timeframes - Lever allows companies to determine a data retention period, automatically identifies candidates who have been in the database beyond the retention period, and prompts users to take appropriate action. Anonymize candidate data - Lever ensures that organizations can meet GDPR requirements for managing candidate data while preserving the integrity of their reports with the ability to anonymize personally identifiable candidate data after a specified period of time.



Additional GDPR resources and research, including what the regulation means for recruiting and findings from Levers study of how 500 recruiters are preparing for the regulation can be found at https://www.lever.co/gdpr-recruiting.

About Lever

Built from the conviction that recruiting is the responsibility of everyone at the company, Levers applicant tracking and sourcing technology draws the entire team together to source, nurture, interview, and hire top talent through effortless collaboration. Lever has been intentionally designed with integrated ATS and CRM functionality, and features a modern interface that helps employers develop stronger candidate relationships in fewer clicks. Lever was founded in 2012 in San Francisco. The company has raised more than $73 million in funding from Adams Street Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Matrix Partners, Y Combinator, Redpoint Ventures, and Correlation Ventures among others. Lever supports the hiring needs of over 1,500 companies around the globe including the teams at Netflix, Hot Topic, KPMG New Zealand, and Cirque du Soleil. With an overall gender ratio of 50:50, Lever is also fiercely committed to building a team culture that celebrates diversity and inclusion. For more information, visit https://www.lever.co. MEDIA CONTACT:

Ashley Cohen

Traeger Communications

acohen@traegercommunications.com

303-522-0783

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[May 15, 2018] Digitivy announces the Launch of PrismPod - Digital Solutions Marketplace

ATLANTA, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digitivy Technology Solutions, Inc a digital business consulting and solutions provider announced the launch of "PrismPod" marketplace (www.prismpod.com) that includes a suite of digital solution accelerators to help companies rapidly realize their digital transformation goals. Digitivy is an Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle Cloud consulting partner that was founded in 2014 to "Help organizations conquer digital disruption." Since their inception, Digitivy consultants have worked with clients in Retail, Travel and Hospitality industries to help with various digital initiatives including formulating enterprise cloud strategy and migrating applications to public cloud infrastructure. PrismPod (www.prismpod.com) is a marketplace of digital solutions that have been built using Amazon Web Services (AWS), Oracle Cloud, Chef, Docker and Hashicorp's Terraform. CEO, Vik Kasturi states "PrismPod will help enterprises discover and procure innovative solution accelerators that rapidly reduce time to realize business value from their digital transformation initiatives." Some of the solution offerings included in the initial release of the PrismPod marketplace include:







a) Accelerators to help enterprises using open-source solutions such as Magento & Joomla E-Commerce Solutions, Drupal Content Management, Sugar CRM Customer relationship management solutions rapidly migrate to Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform. b) Accelerators to help enterprises leveraging Oracle solutions such as Oracle Webcenter Content Management Systems (CMS) rapidly migrate to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Oracle cloud platforms. c) Accelerators to help enterprise rapidly migrate data stores such as MongoDB to Cloud.

In addition, Digitivy announced the launch of "Digitivy Innovation Center" a facility that will support "Digitivy Labs", a service that will help enterprises accelerate digital innovation. "Digitivy Labs" includes a unique offering- "Innovation-As-A-Service" that includes "Innovation engineers" on-demand to help propel innovation through rapid prototyping. For access to the digital solution accelerator marketplace, please visit: www.prismpod.com About Digitivy Technology Solutions, Inc. Digitivy Technology Solutions, Inc(www.digitivy.com) is a digital business consulting firm focused on delivering world-class digital innovation and transformation solutions. Founded in 2014, Digitivy's leadership team has over a decade experience working with leading cloud solutions and delivering Business and IT transformation consulting for Fortune 500 clients in Retail, Travel & Hospitality industries. Digitivy is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, USA with a global delivery center in Hyderabad, India and an Innovation Center in Bengaluru, India. View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/digitivy-announces-the-launch-of-prismpod---digital-solutions-marketplace-300647367.html SOURCE Digitivy Technology Solutions, Inc.

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[May 15, 2018] SundaySky Debuts SmartVideo Studio for Enterprise Digital Storytelling and Video-Led Customer Experiences

SundaySky, the leading provider of personalized video for enterprise marketers, today introduced its new SmartVideo Studio, empowering marketers to create, manage, deploy and measure personalized video. Brands can now easily create personalized, data-driven video stories that deliver contextually relevant content to customers at a scale previously unmatched in the industry. Companies like Verizon (News - Alert) , UnitedHealthcare and Citibank have already added video-led personalized experiences into their marketing programs. In 2017 alone, SmartVideo generated $1.4 billion of measured value throughout the entire customer lifecycle for SundaySky customers. The SmartVideo (News - Alert) Studio puts high-investment video assets and data to work without the need for extensive and costly technical resources and staff, making enterprise storytelling faster, simpler and more cost effective. "We're trying to always look at how we improve customer experience," said Marcie Townsen, associate director of marketing customer communications and billing VCM marketing operations at Verizon. "SundaySky SmartVideo makes it easier for our customers to interact with us." The newest addition to SundaySky's SmartVideo Marketing Cloud, the SmartVideo Studio, lets companies deliver individualized experiences at critical moments throughout the customer lifecycle based on real-time customer information -- the moment a viewer clicks on the video, she receives the most relevantand timely content available. The ability to create video in real-time takes advantage of the SmartVideo Engine, SundaySky's proprietary scalable real-time rendering technology. This gives brands the ability to communicate what's important to the customer at that specific time and moment, greatly increasing engagement and loyalty.



"Linear storytelling is a thing of the past, and relevance drives action," said Shmulik Weller, co-founder and president of SundaySky. "In order for brands to successfully connect with their customers, they must compete on customer experience and communicate to consumers what's important to them at that moment by delivering personalized, engaging stories to individuals. The SmartVideo Studio does just this." With built-in analytics, dashboards and tools for authoring, deploying and optimizing SmartVideo programs, the SmartVideo Studio empowers innovative marketers and their teams to:

Enhance customer relationships with video-led, data-driven personalized video;

Increase revenue up to 25 times and reduce churn by 5 to 22 percent;

Improve customer satisfaction by 18 or more net promoter score points and reduce the cost of customer service by 20 percent or more;

Manage and scale enterprise-level personalization with ease;

Centralize and extend the shelf life of video assets; and

Integrate data from any source, including first, second and third-party data. SundaySky introduced and launched its new SmartVideo Studio and its SmartVideo Marketing Cloud at its annual customer and partner conference, the SmartVideo Summit today in New York. Attendees can learn from the world's biggest brands about their personalization successes and share insights on transforming video strategies for one-to-one customer engagement. Learn more about SundaySky's SmartVideo Marketing Cloud and the SmartVideo Studio at https://sundaysky.com/smartvideo-cloud/. About SundaySky SundaySky combines the power of personalization with the emotion of video to transform customer relationships, one person at a time. Its proprietary SmartVideo Marketing Cloud powers billions of personalized video experiences annually for the world's leading brands, including AT&T, Allstate, Citigroup, Staples (News - Alert) , Verizon and more. Headquartered in New York City, SundaySky has additional offices in Tel Aviv and Tokyo and is the only SOC II and HIPAA-compliant video marketing company in North America. In 2017, SmartVideo generated more than $1.4 billion in measured value for SundaySky customers. Please visit www.sundaysky.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005499/en/

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[May 15, 2018] OspreyData's AI-Based Optimization Platform for Oil & Gas Raises $5M in Series A Funding Led by Houston Ventures

OspreyData announced a $5 million Series A growth financing led by Houston Ventures with participation from existing shareholders. "This investment will help support our technology leadership position and the further adoption of our unique Expert-Augmented Machine Learning methodology and platform. We will continue to grow the sales and services teams to meet the needs of our global Oil & Gas customers," commented OspreyData CEO John Burke. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005495/en/ Fred Lummis, Junior Partner at Houston Ventures, said OspreyData was a perfect fit for their fourth fund that targets inefficiencies in Oil & Gas operations. He states, "OspreyData's hardware-agnostic analytics platform has the ability to deliver massive ROI by levraging existing production asset data streams to transition operators to an active monitoring program that reduces asset downtime and optimizes well performance. The enthusiastic response from early customers signals a positive shift in the industry's willingness to adopt Machine Learning-powered analytics solutions that augment the performance of their human and machine assets."



OspreyData's core value proposition is maximizing uptime of critical Artificial Lift assets by bringing engineers and operators early detection of key problem states. OspreyData has leveraged the knowledge of leading Oil & Gas industry experts, positioning them alongside Data Scientists to create powerful models capable of predicting problem states with real-time data. OspreyData works with clients in stages, helping them evolve into data-driven producers without requiring proprietary hardware or exorbitant capex investments. For more information on OspreyData and to request a demo of the OspreyData platform, please visit www.ospreydata.com.

About OspreyData OspreyData is the first software platform to bring Expert-Augmented Machine Learning to the E&P space within Oil & Gas. OspreyData's predictive models identify the problem states that lead to downtime and sub-optimal production, allowing operators to take early action to prevent failure and increase production and revenues. OspreyData is privately funded and based in Orange County, CA (News - Alert) and Houston, TX. For more information, visit www.ospreydata.com. About Houston Ventures Houston Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on technology solutions for the global Oil & Gas industry. For more information, visit www.houven.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005495/en/

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[May 15, 2018] Netfusion By Sedona Wins Leading Lights' Most Innovative Product Award

CUPERTINO, California, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sedona Systems, the global leader in multilayer network intelligence and automation, today announced that its NetFusion platform has won the "Most Innovative Telecoms Product" award in Light Reading's 2018 Leading Lights competition. Sedona has been recognized for its innovative approach to network optimization, and its strong market traction over the past year, marked by its strength in network intelligence and automation. NetFusion was commended as a "potentially market-leading optical/IP/Ethernet/FTTH product that, through engineering and technical excellence, enables the deployment of profitable next-generation telecom services." NetFusion offers communications service providers a full, near real-time view of their network. Its applications cover network optimization, automated control, and deep analytics. It is deployed by leading tier-1 service providers in North America. "This is a great vote of confidence in our vision," said Ori Gerstel, Sedona's CTO and co-founder. "NetFusion enables data-based network operation across layers, vendors and domains. It already delivers a wide range of business outcomes to our customers - fom smoother network mergers and migrations to always accurate inventory management, from enhanced resilience to new enterprise services. We are happy that Leading Lights have recognized it."



Now in their 14th year, the Leading Lights Awards are among the telecommunications industry's most coveted awards. They recognize the highest degree of expertise and success. The awards celebrate the top telecom companies across 24 categories for outstanding achievements in services, applications and equipment. Winners were announced at an awards ceremony in Austin, Texas on Monday, May 14th. A full list of the Leading Lights award winner can be found here.

About Sedona Systems Sedona Systems NetFusion is a set of transformative network intelligence & automation solutions, powered by unique network-derived service-to-fiber visibility. NetFusion software automatically discovers the packet and transport layers (L0-L3) of service provider networks and uses this unique real-time visibility and deep analytics to optimize and automate network control. With multilayer awareness and multivendor, multidomain support, Sedona's applications boost effective WAN capacity, ensure network resiliency, enable new services, and accelerate the path to SDN benefits. Sedona is headquartered in California and has solutions deployed in the production networks of Tier 1 and Tier 2 service providers globally. For more information and to learn about other NetFusion products, visit Sedona at http://sedonasys.com, on Twitter and LinkedIn, or contact us at marketing@sedonasys.com. Media Contact for Sedona Systems

Sarah Vonnegut

+972 (3) 7730770

marketing@sedonasys.com

SOURCE Sedona Systems

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[May 15, 2018] Auth0 Announces $55M in Series D Funding

BELLEVUE, Wash., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Auth0, a global leader in Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS), today announced $55 million in Series D funding, bringing the companys total financing-to-date to more than $110 million. This round is led by Sapphire Ventures, and includes investment from World Innovation Lab, as well as from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Trinity Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, and K9 Ventures. The funds will be used to continue innovation of the companys Universal Identity Platform, accelerate go-to-market programs, and drive global expansion.

The funding represents another major milestone for the company, following a banner year in 2017 that included a doubling of overall customers and more than 100 percent revenue growth; 140 new employee hires; and the opening of additional offices in London, Sydney, and Tokyo. This growth is largely attributed to Auth0s unique Universal Identity Platform, giving companies such as VMware, AMD, Mazda, NVIDIA, News Corp, and thousands of others the extensibility to customize the platform for their specific identity needs. Our goal is to identify companies that demonstrate consistent high growth in an industry that has incredible market potential. Between the outstanding leadership of the company and their disruptive technology offering, Auth0 offers that unique combination and then some. We are incredibly excited to take this journey together and help thm scale to global market leadership, said Anders Ranum, Partner at Sapphire Ventures.



"Corporations in Japan are looking for a scalable, unified identity platform that can cover complex use cases, and Auth0 is best positioned to serve such increasing needs," said Rob Theis, General Partner at World Innovation Lab. In todays global economy where cloud architecture dominates, companies are seeking ways to converge platforms to simplify their technology and save time and resources. Auth0s platform can fulfill any identity scenario, whether its for consumers, business partners, employees, or IoT devices, and eliminates the need for multiple identity providers.

We are humbled by the support from our investors, and emboldened in our mission to provide the most extensible, powerful, and easy-to-use identity management solution available, said Eugenio Pace, CEO and Co-founder of Auth0. We look forward to using these funds to make our product and company even better, and to continue offering value to our incredible customers around the world. About Sapphire Ventures

Sapphire Ventures is a venture capital firm focused on helping innovative technology companies become global category leaders. Leveraging nearly two decades of experience and an extensive global enterprise network, Sapphire Ventures invests capital, resources, and expertise to enable its portfolio companies to scale rapidly. Whether entrepreneurs sell to businesses, consumers or both, Sapphire Ventures offers a powerful platform for business development and operational excellence to help them accelerate growth. With $2.5 billion under management via direct growth investments and early-stage fund investments, Sapphire Ventures is positioned to elevate companies to the global stage. About World Innovation Lab

World Innovation Lab (WiL) connects entrepreneurs with corporate resources to build global businesses. WiL is a multi-stage venture capital firm that invests in consumer and enterprise technology companies. With a deep network of global corporate partners, the firm is committed to providing startups with unparalleled investment and partnership opportunities. World Innovation Lab's foundational platform includes the Japanese government investment arm and over 20 Japan leading corporations such as Sony, Nissan, All Nippon Airways, Mizuho Bank, Daiwa Securities, NTT, and KDDI. In addition to venture investment, WiL also collaborates with the worlds leading companies to incubate new businesses and to create spin-offs and joint ventures. About Auth0

Auth0, a global leader in Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS), provides thousands of enterprise customers with a Universal Identity Platform for their web, mobile, IoT, and internal applications. Its extensible platform seamlessly authenticates and secures more than 1.5B logins per month, making it loved by developers and trusted by global enterprises. The companys U.S. headquarters in Bellevue, WA, and additional offices in Buenos Aires, London, Tokyo, and Sydney, support its customers that are located in 70+ countries. For more information, visit https://auth0.com or follow @auth0 on Twitter. Media Contact:

Jeana Tahnk

Corporate Communications

Auth0

jeana.tahnk@auth0.com Kasia Hall

Matter for Auth0

khall@matternow.com

971-246-7898

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[May 15, 2018] Lysogene Announces the Nomination of Dr. Ralph Laufer as Chief Scientific Officer and Member of the Executive Team

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and PARIS, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lysogene (FR0013233475  LYS), a pioneering biopharmaceutical company specializing in gene therapy targeting central nervous system (CNS) diseases, is pleased to announce the nomination of Dr. Ralph Laufer as Chief Scientific Officer and member of the executive team.

Dr. Ralph Laufer brings over 25 years of industry experience in drug discovery, translational research and drug development at large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Karen Aiach, CEO and Founder of Lysogene says: "We are delighted that Ralph is joining Lysogene. His exceptional expertise and strong track record will be an invaluable asset during an exciting point in our companys growth. Ralph shares our unwavering commitment to deliver gene therapies that have the potential to transform the lives of patients with significant unmet needs." Before joining Lysogene, Dr. Ralph Laufer was Senior Vice President at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries in Israel, where he managed small molecule discovery, nonclinical development and CMC, leading a team of over 400 scientists in 5 global sites. Prior to that, he was the Scientific Director of IRBM Science Park, a drug discovery CRO and biotech company in Rome, Italy. Previously, Dr. Laufer was Head of Pharmacology at IRBM-Merck Research Laboratories Rome. He is the recipient of the American Chemical Society 2013 Heroes of Chemistry Award for his role in the discovery of IsentressTM (raltegravir), the first integrase inhibitor approved for use in HIV infected patients. Dr. Ralph Laufer originally trained as a molecular neurobiologist and his scientific achievements include the discovery of the tachykinin NK-3 receptor and the anti-obesity activity of ciliary neurotrophic factor. He is the author of about 90 scientific articles and inventor of about 20 patents. Dr. Ralph aufer obtained his PhD in Biochemistry (summa cum laude) and M.Sc. in Chemistry from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He conducted postdoctoral training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.



"I am thrilled to be joining the pioneering team at Lysogene, the leading gene therapy company in MPS IIIA and GM1 gangliosidosis, and to help expand and build the companys pipeline of innovative therapies for severe CNS disorders," said Dr. Ralph Laufer. About Lysogene

Lysogene is a gene therapy company focused on the treatment of orphan diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). The company has built a unique capability to enable a safe and effective delivery of gene therapies to the CNS to treat lysosomal diseases and other genetic disorders of the CNS. A pivotal clinical trial in MPS IIIA is expected to start in 2018, a phase 1-2 clinical trial in GM1 Gangliosidosis in 2019, while we are currently collaborating with a major partner to define the strategy of development for the treatment of Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disease related to autism. www.lysogene.com

Contact Julie Coulot / Emmanuel Huynh Chris Maggos NewCap LifeSci Advisors lysogene@newcap.eu chris@lifesciadvisors.com + 33 1 44 71 94 95 +41 79 367 6254 Forward looking statement

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, all statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release about future events are subject to (i) change without notice and (ii) factors beyond the Companys control. These statements may include, without limitation, any statements preceded by, followed by or including words such as target, believe, expect, aim, intend, may, anticipate, estimate, plan, project, will, can have, likely, should, would, could and other words and terms of similar meaning or the negative thereof. Forward-looking statements are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties beyond the Companys control that could cause the Companys actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the expected results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. This press release has been prepared in both French and English. In the event of any differences between the two texts, the French language version shall supersede.

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[May 15, 2018] Marketo Announces Partnership with The Pedowitz Group to Provide Marketing Services to Mid-Market Manufacturers

SAN MATEO, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marketo, Inc., the leading provider of engagement marketing software and solutions, today announced a strategic go-to-market partnership with The Pedowitz Group, a global revenue marketing company. The new alliance will help to operationalize business accountability, digital transformation, and the customer experience for mid-market manufacturers to transform their marketing organizations. "The Pedowitz Group has consistently been a valuable partner, helping hundreds of Marketo customers succeed in their transformational journeys," said Ted Purcell, senior vice president and general manager, North America SMB field operations, sales management, Marketo. "Their industry experience in manufacturing, combined with our Marketo Engagement Platform will help manufacturers use marketing as a differentiator to respond to and successfully compete in today's digital, customer-driven world." Through this partnership, The Pedowitz Group and Marketo will provide software, services, campaigns, and reports that will help to increase the rate of adoption and return on investment for manufaturing marketers. With a goal of driving results and accelerated growth, the alliance combines Marketo's strength serving vertical markets and The Pedowitz Group's proven track record in revenue marketing transformation.



A highlight of the partnership will be a special pricing structure that includes free implementation, expert services, and software licensing designed to maximize technology adoption and return on investment. Jeff Pedowitz, president and chief executive officer of The Pedowitz Group said, "After working with more than 150 global manufacturers, we have found a significant transformation underway. Manufacturers are rapidly adopting a customer focus, new sales models, new service models, and digital technology. As the category-defining, global leader in revenue marketing, we are delighted to be Marketo's strategic go-to-market partner to serve manufacturers as they continue their journey of pioneering change through intelligent marketing solutions."

About The Pedowitz Group  The Revenue Marketing Company

The Pedowitz Group is the leading thought leader on Revenue Marketing, helping operationalize business accountability, digital transformation and the customer experience through marketing operations. Believing marketing is the driver of customer engagement, The Pedowitz Group, is proud that its customers have won more than 50 national awards for Revenue Marketing excellence. To learn more visit www.pedowitzgroup.com/ or visit Revenue Marketer Blog. About Marketo

Marketo, Inc., offers the leading Engagement Platform that empowers marketers to create lasting relationships and grow revenue. Consistently recognized as the industry's innovation pioneer, Marketo is the trusted platform for thousands of CMOs thanks to its scalability, reliability, and openness. Marketo is headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with offices around the world, and serves as a strategic partner to large enterprise and fast-growing organizations across a wide variety of industries. To learn more about the Marketo Engagement Platform, LaunchPoint partner ecosystem, and the vast community that is the Marketing Nation, visit www.marketo.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/marketo-announces-partnership-with-the-pedowitz-group-to-provide-marketing-services-to-mid-market-manufacturers-300648723.html SOURCE Marketo, Inc.

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[May 15, 2018] Lytics Commits to Trust-Based Marketing

PORTLAND, Ore., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Lytics, Inc., the customer data platform company, today unveiled its commitment to a new paradigm for digital marketing: Trust-Based Marketing. The company launched this new initiative at the Gartner Digital Marketing Conference in San Diego. "Digital marketing is at an operational and ethical crossroads," said Lytics co-founder and CEO James McDermott. "We're all tired of lazy marketing that is intrusive, inefficient and that leaves customers frustrated and burned. Digital marketers owe their customers more." In the midst of controversies around misuse and misappropriation of consumer data, brands are struggling to deliver efficient marketing campaigns tailored to the individual consumer. Good digital marketing practices require good digital data obtained with the knowledge and consent of the individual consumer, and used in a way that respects and empowers that consumer. Third-party data pieced together and purchased without the knowledge and consent of the individual consumer is no longer acceptable. The marketing campaigns built on that sort of flawed data are no longer merely rude or annoying; they are unethical in a time like this. Instead, marketers should be able to communicate with their customers the way their customers want and like and with their permission. First-party data, knowingly shared, is more accurate and better captures an individual's preferences and behaviors. In the wake of consumer data misappropriation scandals, companes and brands that align with the values of Trust-Based Marketing will thrive, said Darren Guarnaccia, CMO of Lytics.



But embracing Trust-Based Marketing means more than just respectful gathering of data, Guarnaccia said. The concept also sets the expectation that marketers use personal data to serve the customer's best interests. The end goal is to make customers feel both valued and understood. "All the data in the world won't help you if you don't use it the right way," Guarnaccia said. "Lytics is committed to trust and transparency, and so are the digital marketers we serve. Now we're calling on all digital marketers to raise their standards and embrace Trust-Based Marketing."

The company is also committed to helping marketers understand and measure the impact they are having on customer trust. Lytics has been developing tools and KPIs to help marketers understand how their marketing practices are impacting consumer's trust in the brand. "The heart of Trust-Based Marketing is being intentional about being trustful in your engagement with your customers," Guarnaccia said. To that end, the company has also developed a formal methodology to guide organizations as they shift from legacy marketing approaches to Trust-Based Marketing. The security and privacy of customer data is built into the Lytics customer data platform. The Lytics system only collects and stores the data its customers gave permission to collect and store, under their valid privacy policies or other end-user agreements. In turn, the consumer gets treated as an individual, with marketing tailored to serve them based on their individual preferences and needs. When this core principle was challenged by inaccurate news reports recently, the company's leadership determined that now was the time to rally its customers to the concept of Trust-Based Marketing. "We believe this is the future of digital marketing  built on trust, and in service of the consumer," said McDermott. "Brands that put their customers' interests ahead of their own will thrive in this environment." About Lytics Lytics helps companies orchestrate more relevant experiences with consumers through the industry's only enterprise-grade customer data platform (CDP). Innovative companies such as Heineken, General Mills, Nestle, The Economist Group, AdWeek, Newsweek, Comcast NBCUniversal and Atlassian use Lytics to execute one-to-one marketing programs with machine learning. Lytics is headquartered in Portland, Ore. Learn more at www.lytics.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lytics-commits-to-trust-based-marketing-300648809.html SOURCE Lytics, Inc.

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[May 15, 2018] Averon Welcomes Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Care.com Founder, Chairwoman and CEO to the Averon Advisory Board

SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Averon today proudly announced that Sheila Lirio Marcelo has joined the Averon Advisory Board, adding to an already stellar roster. Marcelo is the acclaimed founder, chairwoman and CEO of Care.com (NYSE: CRCM), the world's largest online destination to find and manage family care, which serves more than 27 million people in more than 20 countries. Internationally recognized for her humanistic business focus, Marcelo has been lauded for her lifelong support of increased opportunities for women around the world. "The team at Averon has developed innovative solutions for today's biggest cybersecurity problems, and I am honored to join the Advisory Board and contribute to this exceptional team improving our world," Marcelo said. "Averon's technology offers urgently needed protection for society and social media, from addressing the fake news epidemic to defending our individual online identities. I believe Averon is uniquely positioned to become the global standard for digital identity." Marcelo founded Care.com in 2006 and took the company public in 2014, making her one of the few female tech founders to achieve that milestone. She is also the co-founder of LandIt, a digital platform for female career growth, and is a frequent speaker on women in technology, systemic change, female entrepreneurship, and leadership. Marcelo is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum and was awarded a Marshall Memorial Fellowship. She sits on the Boston Children's Hospital Board of Trustees, the Library of Congress Trust Fund Board, and the Board of the Philippine Development Foundation. She is also a member of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and advises numerousstart-up companies. Prior to founding Care.com, Marcelo was an Entrepreneur in Residence at Matrix Partners and held executive positions at Upromise, helping families save for college, and TheLadders.com, an executive search engine. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and received her J.D. and M.B.A. degrees from Harvard University.



"Sheila Marcelo's impeccable track record is highly relevant to Averon," said Lea Tarnowski, President, COO and co-founder of Averon. "Sheila has brilliantly taken Care.com from inception to IPO and knows exactly what is needed for success each step of the way. As our Averon team creates a new global standard for digital identity, we are proud to welcome Sheila as an advisor. Personally, I'm also delighted to collaborate with another female executive who is raising the bar for everyone." Marcelo joins Averon's other extraordinarily talented Advisory Board members, including:

Emily Ward , former VP and Worldwide Chief Technology Counsel for eBay and PayPal, and co-founder of ChIPs, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in law and technology

, former VP and Worldwide Chief Technology Counsel for eBay and PayPal, and co-founder of ChIPs, a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of women in law and technology John Hjelmstad , WeWork Vice President of Engineering, and former Head of Google Identity

, WeWork Vice President of Engineering, and former Head of Google Identity James Kondo , former Vice President of Twitter and Chairman of Twitter Japan

, former Vice President of Twitter and Chairman of Twitter Japan Professor John M. Smith , a top expert on cryptography and cybersecurity, and the Olga & Alberico Pompa Professor of Engineering, Applied Science & CIS at UPenn

, a top expert on cryptography and cybersecurity, and the Olga & Alberico Pompa Professor of Engineering, Applied Science & CIS at UPenn Ruvan Cohen , former managing director of Citibank's global credit card business About Averon

Averon's mission is to help the entire digital world Be Authentic. Averon is the developer of the world's first fully automatic and ultra-secure mobile identity verification standard, which works seamlessly whether users are on WiFi or LTE. Protected by 25 patents, Averon's conversion-increasing innovations authenticate users by leveraging real-time mobile network signaling and hardware already contained in every smartphone. Averon is trusted by the world's leading rideshare and transportation services, digital currencies, cryptocurrency wallets, and global telecommunications companies to provide the most elegant user experience with the highest caliber security. Averon requires no installations, zero effort by users and doesn't rely on personally identifiable information, making it the most private security solution across the digital realm, from banking and ecommerce to fraud prevention in ticketing and bot commerce. Averon can also authenticate IoT devices, including connected locks on homes and vehicles. Live on all US wireless service providers, Averon makes it easy to Be Authentic and stay effortlessly protected while connected. For more information, visit www.averon.com. Averon and Be Authentic are trademarks or registered trademarks of Averon US, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Contact:

Heather Gore

Spark

(415) 321-1885

averon@sparkpr.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/averon-welcomes-sheila-lirio-marcelo-carecom-founder-chairwoman-and-ceo-to-the-averon-advisory-board-300648858.html SOURCE Averon

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[May 15, 2018] Physicians' Education Resource Hosts "Advancing the Treatment of Bladder Cancers Using Evidence-Based Immuno-Oncology Strategies" Symposium

Physicians' Education Resource (PER), the leader in hematology and oncology continuing medical education, will host Advancing the Treatment of Bladder Cancers Using Evidence-Based Immuno-Oncology Strategies. The live educational symposium will be held on May 19 at 5:30 p.m. at the Moscone Center in San Francisco in conjunction with the American Urological Association's 2018 annual meeting. The program will be chaired by Daniel P. Petrylak, M.D., a professor of medical oncology and urology, the director of prostate and GU medical oncology, and the director of Prostate Cancer Translational Research Group at Yale Cancer Center. "In recent years, we have seen new data that supports the use of immuno-oncology strategies in the treatment of bladder cancers, a tumor were the standard of care hadn't changed in quite some time" said Phil Talamo, the president of PER. "This satellite symposium will help the urologist understand the latest data and integrate new care strategies for their bladder cancer patients." Designed for urologists, oncologists and researchers interested in the treatment of bladder cancers, Advancing the Treatment of Bladder Cancers Using Evidence-Based Immuno-Oncology Strategies is an educational symposium. The program provides a review of practice-changing data and its impact on patient care. Attendees will gain insight on immunotherapeutic approaches to managing bladder caner and patients and the role of biomarkers in contemporary urological cancer care. Attendees will gain insight through real-world interactive clinical case discussions and presentations.



This live CME symposium offers up to 2.0 American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award Category 1 Credits. For more information and to register, visit http://www.gotoper.com/conferences/iobladder18/meetings/advancing-the-treatment-of-bladder-cancers-using-evidence-based-immuno-oncology-strategies. About PER:

Since 1995, Physicians' Education Resource, LLC (PER), has been the leading provider of live and online continuing medical education activities on oncology and hematology by providing high-quality, evidence-based activities featuring leading experts who focus on the application of practice-changing advances. In 2018, PER will develop and implement 20 historic annual legacy conferences in the United States and Europe, along with many world-renowned online learning formats such as Medical Crossfire. PER is accredited by both the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the California Board of Registered Nursing (CBRN). PER is part of the Cranbury, New Jersey-based MJH Associates, Inc., family of businesses. Learn more at http://www.gotoper.com and http://www.mjhassoc.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515006522/en/

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[May 15, 2018] Wells Fargo Donates $250,000 for Denver-Aurora Stabilization Efforts

Wells Fargo (News - Alert) & Company (NYSE: WFC) today announced a total of $250,000 in donations for three local nonprofits to help revitalize Denver-Aurora neighborhoods through the Wells Fargo NeighborhoodLIFT program. Identified in collaboration with the city of Denver and city of Aurora, the nonprofits support behavioral health programs and affordable housing initiatives. "Our Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program is aimed at promoting housing security among Denver residents who are working hard but in need of support, and these funds will go a long way toward helping that effort," said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. "Through Wells Fargo's NeighborhoodLIFT initiative, we're able to expand and enhance the housing counseling services offered to residents receiving Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance, creating more stability for them with pathways to home ownership." "Our Aurora@Home collaborative is a critical behavioral health effort that assists those who are homeless, or at-risk of becoming homeless," said Aurora Mayor Pro Tem Marsha Berzins. "It also provides parents with tools to end the cycle of poverty for their children. I can't thank Wells Fargo enough for providing hope, support and resources to revitalize our city through the NeighborhoodLIFT program." The Wells Fargo Foundation will provide grants to the following Denver-Aurora area nonprofits: Brothers Redevelopment, Inc. , will receive $62,500 to support the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program. Created as part of the Denver mayor's five-year affordable housing plan, which is called Housing an Inclusive Denver, the program will help at-risk residents remain in their homes. The Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program also will provide emergency rental and utility assistance, housing counseling services and eviction prevention counseling for low-income residents who are at risk of displacement. Thes funds are intended to help mitigate involuntary displacement, help residents avoid eviction and provide time to help connect residents to alternative housing for longer term stability.

, will receive $62,500 to support the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program. Created as part of the Denver mayor's five-year affordable housing plan, which is called Housing an Inclusive Denver, the program will help at-risk residents remain in their homes. The Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program also will provide emergency rental and utility assistance, housing counseling services and eviction prevention counseling for low-income residents who are at risk of displacement. Thes funds are intended to help mitigate involuntary displacement, help residents avoid eviction and provide time to help connect residents to alternative housing for longer term stability. Northeast Denver Housing Center, Inc. , will receive $62,500 to support counseling and educational preparedness that help low-to-moderate income households make informed housing decisions. The center is partnering with Del Norte to administer the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program to provide lasting solutions for households facing short-term hardship and the risk of displacement and eviction.

, will receive $62,500 to support counseling and educational preparedness that help low-to-moderate income households make informed housing decisions. The center is partnering with Del Norte to administer the Temporary Rental and Utility Assistance program to provide lasting solutions for households facing short-term hardship and the risk of displacement and eviction. Aurora Mental Health Center will receive $125,000 to provide supportive services associated with Aurora@Home, a collaborative of approximately 16 organizations in the city of Aurora that assists individuals and families who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless. Funding will help furnish 63 households with 120 new beds and additional furniture, provide training that helps participants learn to negotiate rent, and provide career services such as resume writing, interview training and computer skill development. In addition, parents will be given tools so they can work with their children to contribute to ending the cycle of poverty.



program, which was launched in September 2017 for Denver and Aurora area homebuyers with a $4.8 million commitment by Wells Fargo to boost local homeownership and revitalize neighborhoods. Thus far, the NeighborhoodLIFT program has created 206 homeowners in the area by offering homebuyer education plus matching down payment assistance grants. An additional 37 homebuyers have grants reserved and are in the process of closing a home purchase. "Wells Fargo cares about communities, and this collaboration is another example of our efforts to create affordable and sustainable homeownership in local neighborhoods," said Patrice DeCorrevont, Wells Fargo regional president. "The NeighborhoodLIFT program will help hardworking families and individuals get on the path to achieve homeownership with down payment assistance and homebuyer education."

About NeighborhoodLIFT NeighborhoodLIFT program is the single largest corporate philanthropic effort of its kind in Wells Fargo's history. In collaboration with NeighborWorks America, the Wells Fargo LIFT program has helped create more than 17,550 homeowners in 57 communities since 2012. A video about NeighborhoodLIFT programs is posted on Wells Fargo Stories. About Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy our customers' financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,200 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune's 2017 rankings of America's largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515006530/en/

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[May 15, 2018] PayNet Sees Main Street Close Q1 in Expansion Mode

The latest Quarterly Credit Outlook from PayNet, the leading provider of small business credit data and analysis, shows Main Street closing Q1 2018 with a healthy increase in investment and relatively moderate risk. As a result, the business cycle looks healthy from a risk-reward standpoint, and expansion at the low-risk phase of the business cycle is alive and well. "Notable in Q1 is the pace of expansion - neither too fast nor too slow," said PayNet President William Phelan. "After years of low risk low growth, we are seeing a decided change towards higher growth coupled with higher credit risk. How high and far this expansion, propelled by Main Street, will last remains to be seen, but we are sure that a return to more normal and higher levels of credit risk will follow." On a monthly basis, the Thomson Reuters / PayNet Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) decreased slightly from 144.5 in February to 143.9 in March. Compared to the same month one year ago, the index is up 8%, representing the sixth continuous month of increases. The expansion phase of the business cycle gained momentum in Q1 2018, with investment exceeding 140 for the first time. Risk remained relatively modest, with loans severely past due increasing just 12 basis points to 0.37% from their low point of 0.25% in 2015. Results show solid investment support from several sectors in March, with year-over-year increases in Mining (13.4%), Transportation (9.9%), and Construction (6.9%). Weaknesses are primarily in the services sector with declines fromMarch 2017 in Information Services (-11.1%), Accommodation and Food Services (-5.2%), and Professional Services (-2.3%). Regionally, expansion is becoming more broad-based, with eight of the ten largest states experiencing material growth compared with March 2017. North Carolina (12.8%), Texas (10.8%) and Ohio (8.5%) led the largest ten states. California (-0.2%) was the only one of the ten that declined. The quarter-to-quarter change for the U.S. overall was 1%.



The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Delinquency Index (SBDI) 31-90 days past due increased 3 bps from 1.41% in February 2018 to 1.44% in March 2018, marking its highest level since April 2012. Compared to one year ago, delinquency increased by 10 bps (8%). Default rates remained flat month-over-month with the PayNet Small Business Default Index (SBDFI) at 1.84% for March 2018. Compared to a year ago, the index is down four basis points. Information Services defaults rose swiftly (+19 bps) since February 2018. Conversely, default rates continue to fall rapidly in the Transportation (-19 bps) and Mining, Oil, and Gas (-14bps) sectors compared with February 2018, as both industries continue to benefit from turnarounds in economic conditions in their respective industries.

"A clear shift to risk-taking is underway for Main Street," notes Bill Phelan. "Main Street businesses have shifted out of lack-luster growth to record levels of investment." About PayNet PayNet, Inc., is the leading provider of credit ratings on small businesses enabling lenders to manage credit risk, grow earning assets and operate credit at lower cost. PayNet maintains the largest proprietary database of small business loans, leases and lines of credit encompassing over 24 million contracts worth over $1.6 Trillion (News - Alert) . Using state-of-the-art analytics, PayNet converts raw data into real-time marketing intelligence and predictive information that subscribing lenders use to make informed small business financial decisions and improve their business strategy. For more information visit www.paynet.com. Thomson (News - Alert) Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) The Small Business Lending Index (SBLI) is based on new commercial loan and lease originations by major U.S. lenders in PayNet's proprietary database. This index measures the volume of loans to small businesses normalized to January 2005. Small businesses generally respond to changes in economic conditions more rapidly than do larger businesses, so this statistic is a leading indicator of the economy and predicts changes in GDP between 2-5 months. Thomson Reuters (News - Alert) /PayNet Small Business Delinquency Index (SBDI) The Small Business Delinquency Index (SBDI) measures the financial stress of small businesses with $1mm or less in credit outstanding. PayNet Small Business Default Index (SBDFI) The PayNet Small Business Default Index (SBDFI) measures small business defaults and signals insolvency across multiple sectors of the economy at the national, state and industry levels. Default is a point-in-time measurement of borrowers that have failed to remain current and as such is a vital piece of information to assess risk exposure and evaluate the health of the overall economy. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515006634/en/

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[May 15, 2018] Hyperlocal Tech Earns Zavvie, 8z 'Innovator Award' Finalist Selection

BOULDER, Colo., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- zavvie, real estate's hyperlocal technology leader, has won a coveted spot as a "2018 Inman Innovator Award" finalist along with its brokerage partner, 8z Real Estate, rated the #1 Colorado brokerage by Zillow online reviewers. The announcement comes just days after the REach technology accelerator program from the National Association of REALTORS named zavvie as a company in its REach Class of 2018. Inman, real estate's top news and information site, said it selected the two Boulder-based Colorado firms as 8z Real Estate "uses its partner technology company, zavvie, to produce neighborhood-specific data, information, and content for agents who want to establish themselves as local experts, and zavvie is helping 8z's agents in expanding markets..." "This reaffirms the success 8z Real Estate agents have experienced with zavvie, and every team, brokerage and their agents nationwide are understanding that if they get zavvie, they get listings," said Lane Hornung, zavvie co-founder and CEO. "They're discovering the ease of a hyperlocal platform that automates their social media and makes their exposure as the neighborhood expert on sites like Facebook and Nextdoor more powerful and drives deeper engagement." According to Hornung zavvie success in Colorado has resulted in the creation of a national footprint. "We have expanded nationally because of demand," he said. "Real estate professionals have discovered that the best local strategy that helps solve the inventory problem housing markets face is to be a hyperlocal real estate expert. Using hyperlocal marketing is the best way to free up local inventory. A hyperlocal agent can find the buyers and the sellers to make a market work again," Hornung added. zavvie is highly unique among tech start-ups. It was initially the hyperlocal technology for 8z Real Estate. zavvie helped launch 8z into the fastest growing of Colorado's ten largest brokerages, serving the state's Front Range. Today, 8z is a tech forward, high productivity brokerage with about 150 agents. Last year its sales transactions totaled nearly $1 billion and it was recognized as one of Colorado's "Top Workplaces" by the Denver Post. As the hyperlocal platform for 8z agents and teams, zavvie was refined and perfected. The zavvie technology was able to demonstrate how hyperlocal maketing could create a massive, higher quality lead generation system for agents working in real-world situations. That's something few startups can claim. The success 8z Real Estate experienced appears in a Case Study written by Victor Lund, founder of the WAV Group. The study is part of the real estate industry's first White Paper on hyperlocal marketing, "The Hyperlocal Movement in Real Estate," available here.



The annual Inman Innovator Awards highlight the most forward-thinking, who are working to shape the future of the real estate industry. With 8z as its laboratory, zavvie is an example of how new technology empowers traditional real estate professionals, helping professionals carve out local neighborhoods where disruptors cannot reach. "Hyperlocal is more than a technique, it is a movement," said Stefan Peterson, zavvie co-founder. "Research has shown us every major industry is being transformed by hyperlocalism and real estate is no exception. Teams and brokerages and their agents across the country are joining real estate's hyperlocal movement and we see zavvie as a driver of this sea change," he added.

Every neighborhood deserves a neighborhood hero, the founders argue, and they say zavvie offers consumers an agent with deep local knowledge and expertise they will never be able to get from the internet. Zavvie offers agents an innovative means to transition from offline "farming" to a far more efficient and cost-effective technology-based solution to connect to neighbors. Adding to recent zavvie recognitions, zavvie will be featured at two major events this week. zavvie will be at the REALTORS Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo, May 14-19 in Washington DC. They will be exhibiting as part of the NAR REach Class of 2018 at the Marriott Wardman Hotel, Booth 1731. Hornung is participating as a panelist at the upcoming "Gathering of Eagles" conference in Denver May 16-18, hosted by REAL Trends. At this annual event that attracts the industry's most distinguished influencers, he is billed as one a gathering of "technology thought leaders," who will discuss which digital tools are yielding actual results and how they can be deployed. About zavvie and 8z Real Estate zavvie is the nation's first hyperlocal marketing platform, the place where savvy, trusted local real estate agents go to tap into the most powerful way for a real estate agent to grow and maintain a successful real estate business. zavvie delivers to brokerages, teams and agents, a complete social media and hyperlocal system for top agents to build their listing business and make  or keep  them the dominant agent in their neighborhood. Discover more at zavvie.com. 8z Real Estate's mission statement is "Real Estate is broken, we are fixing it," and is committed to putting clients first. Named one of the "Best Companies to Work for" by the Denver Post, 8z is one of the fastest growing brokerages in the nation, and the fastest growing among Colorado's ten largest brokerages. With some 150 agents providing Colorado's Front Range home buyers and sellers with unmatched market data and online tools, 8z generated nearly $1 billion in total sales transactions last year. Find your 8z neighborhood agent at 8z.com. Contact: Kevin Hawkins 206-866-1220 kevin@wavgroup.com Related Images image1.jpg first-white-paper-on-hyperlocal.jpg

First White Paper on Hyperlocal Movement in Real Estate

zavvie sponsored the real estate industry's first White Paper on hyperlocal marketing, "The Hyperlocal Movement in Real Estate," available at zavvie.com. zavvie-logo.jpg

zavvie logo

zavvie logo Related Links zavvie 8z Real Estate View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/hyperlocal-tech-earns-zavvie-8z-innovator-award-finalist-selection-300648928.html SOURCE zavvie

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[May 15, 2018] UrtheCast Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results and Provides Update on US$142 Million Credit Facility

Company Also Provides Update on Financial Condition VANCOUVER, May 15, 2018 /CNW/ - UrtheCast Corp. (TSX:UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company") today announces financial results for the three months ended on March 31, 2018 and provides an update on its financial condition. Q1 2018 Financial Results







(in millions of Canadian dollars) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Revenue $ 4.3 $ 9.4 Operating costs (15.4) (15.6) Net loss (11.1) (5.1) Adjusted EBITDA(1) (6.1) (1.3)





1 Non-IFRS earnings measure. See reconciliation to Net Loss later in this press release Revenue was $4.3 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared to $9.4 million in the first quarter of 2017, due to lower revenues from engineering services and EO imagery sales. Engineering services revenue of $3.3 million in the first quarter of 2018, compared to $7.8 million in the first quarter of 2017, decreased mainly due to a change in the expected completion date of one of our engineering services contracts, which resulted in remaining revenue being recognized over a longer period, and also due to a stronger Canadian dollar as our engineering contracts are denominated in US dollars. Earth Observation ("EO") imagery revenue of $1.0 million in Q1 2018, compared to $1.6 million in Q1 2017, was lower due to an ongoing delay in securing a major contract award. The net loss of $11.1 million and negative adjusted EBITDA of $6.1 million in the first quarter of 2018 increased when compared to the net loss of $5.1 million and negative adjusted EBITDA of $1.3 million in the prior year, primarily as a result of the lower revenues. Outlook and Going Concern The Company continues to face significant liquidity challenges with recurring operating losses and negative cash flows. As at April 30, 2018, the Company had (i) approximately $4.8 million in cash on hand, a decrease of $2.7 million from its cash position of $7.5 million as at March 31, 2018, and a decrease of $18.4 million since December 31, 2017; and (ii) $16.2 million in restricted cash. Based on the Company's forecasted cash flows for the next twelve months, given an ongoing delay to secure a major contract award and the required principal repayments of its long-term debt in 2018, the Company's current cash flow from operations may not be sufficient to cover its commitments, obligations and operating costs for at least the next twelve months, which could have a negative impact on its ability to continue as a going concern. The Company will need to meet certain conditions precedent to draw on the UrtheDaily Financing, which is substantially finalized and is further described below, in order to pay for its ongoing costs of operations as well as service its working capital deficiency, meet its commitments to lenders and fund the development of the UrtheDaily Constellation. There can be no assurance that any such financing will be completed on the terms described below or at all. Management for the Company has concluded that material uncertainties regarding the Company's ability to secure adequate financing to fund its working capital deficiency and meet its commitments to lenders raise significant doubt as to the ability of Urthecast to continue as a going concern and therefore has included notice of such in the Company's interim consolidated financial statements. Please refer to Note 1 of the Company's interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018 for more information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company's interim financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, assuming that the Company will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of operations. The financial statements do not reflect adjustments that would be necessary if the going concern assumption was not appropriate. If the going concern assumption was not appropriate for these financial statements, adjustments to the carrying value of the assets and liabilities, reported expenses and statement of financial position classifications would be necessary. Such adjustments could be material. Business Highlights UrtheDaily Financing (i) Update on UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility On May 14, 2018, the Company announced that it has substantially finalized the definitive documentation for the credit agreement (the "Credit Agreement") and related documentation for the previously announced US$142 million senior secured credit facility (the "UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility") with the senior lenders. Subject to entering into the Credit Agreement and satisfaction of the drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement, the proceeds from the UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility will be used to finance the construction, launch and deployment of the UrtheDaily Constellation, and for related working capital and general corporate purposes. The loan will make available to the Company US$142 million in two equal drawdowns upon satisfaction of the conditions precedent described below. On May 3, 2018, the Company announced the closing of an approximately $34 million (or approximately US$27 million) private placement of subscription receipts (the "Subordinated Capital Financing", together with the UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility, the "UrtheDaily Financing") previously announced on April 3, 2018 and April 10, 2018. The Subordinated Capital Financing, as further described below, exceeds the requirement under a condition precedent to the UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility to raise a minimum of US$25 million. Under the terms of the Credit Agreement described above, the Company will also be required to refinance an existing credit facility and may therefore need to raise up to an additional US$25 million of subordinated capital acceptable to the Senior Lenders. Altogether, the UrtheDaily Financing is expected to substantially fund the UrtheDaily Constellation. (ii) Update on Subordinated Capital Financing The proceeds of the Subordinated Capital Financing were deposited in escrow and, following the expected execution of the Credit Agreement, approximately $5 million from the proceeds of the private placement will be released from escrow to the Company. The Company expects that approximately $21.7 million of the approximately $34.4 million in proceeds from the Subordinated Capital Financing will be available during the month of May 2018, although there can be no assurance that all of these conditions will be met during such time or at all. Pursuant to the terms of the Subordinated Capital Financing, there are restrictions on the use proceeds, where at least 50% of such proceeds are to be applied to the UrtheDaily Constellation. Please see the announcement dated May 3, 2018 for further details regarding the terms of the Subordinated Capital Financing. SELECTED FINANCIAL INFORMATION The following table provides selected financial information of the Company, which was derived from, and should be read in conjunction with, the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2018. All financial information is in thousands of Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted, and except for number of shares and per share amounts.

Three Months Ended March 31,

2018 2017 Revenue $ 4,267 $ 9,396 Other operating income 195 50

4,462 9,446 Operating costs



Direct costs, selling, general and administrative expenses 10,220 10,509 Research expenditures 306 276 Depreciation and amortization 4,368 4,474 Share-based payments 529 333

15,423 15,592 Operating loss (10,961) (6,146) Net finance costs (544) (442) Gain on derivative financial instruments 202 242 Foreign exchange gain (loss) 162 (219) Loss before income taxes (11,141) (6,565) Income tax recovery 83 1,486 Net loss (11,058) (5,079) Other comprehensive income 2,256 542 Comprehensive loss $ (8,802) $ (4,537) Net loss per share  basic and diluted $ (0.09) $ (0.05) NON-IFRS EARNINGS MEASURES The following table reconciles our Non-IFRS earnings measures to Revenue and Net Loss prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Three Months Ended March 31,

2018 2017 ADJUSTED EBITDA:



Net loss $ (11,058) $ (5,079) Add back (subtract):



Depreciation and amortization 4,368 4,474 Net finance costs 544 442 Income tax recovery (83) (1,486) EBITDA (6,229) (1,649) Share-based payments expense 529 333 Gain on derivative financial instruments (202) (242) Foreign exchange (gain) loss (162) 219 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ (6,064) $ (1,339) Urthecast Corp. Update on US$142 Million Credit Facility With respect to the Credit Agreement, and related documentation for the previously announced UrtheDaily Senior Secured Facility with the senior lenders (the "Senior Lenders"), UrtheCast and the Senior Lenders have substantially agreed on the principal documents for the financing transaction. The Company and the Senior Lenders currently plan on signing and closing the transaction on May 18, 2018. UrtheCast has also received confirmation that all funds currently held in escrow pursuant to the previously announced Subordinated Capital Financing, will remain in escrow until applicable release conditions have been satisfied or waived and, in any event, at least until May 18, 2018. Further details on the $34 million private placement were disclosed in UrtheCast's press release of May 3, 2018. ABOUT URTHECAST CORP. UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that serves the rapidly evolving geospatial and geoanalytics markets with a wide range of information-rich products and services. The Company operates Earth Observation (EO) sensors in space, through its subsidiary Deimos Imaging, S.L.U., including two satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2, to produce imagery data for partners and customers in multiple markets. UrtheCast processes and distributes imagery data and value-added products on behalf of the PanGeo Alliance, a network of seven satellite operators with a combined 13 medium- and high-resolution EO sensors. UrtheCast is developing a satellite constellation designed to capture high-quality, medium resolution optical imagery of the Earth's entire landmass (excluding Antarctica) every day, called UrtheDaily. UrtheCast is also developing the world's first fully-integrated constellation of sixteen multispectral optical and SAR satellites, called OptiSAR. Common shares of UrtheCast trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange as ticker "UR". For more information, visit UrtheCast's website at www.urthecast.com. Non-IFRS Financial Measures The Company prepares its financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. This release includes certain non-IFRS financial measures, such as EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA. The Company uses these non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its operating performance and financial position. These measures do not have any standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS and therefore are unlikely to be comparable to the calculation of similar measures used by other companies, and should not be viewed as alternatives to measures of financial performance calculated in accordance with IFRS or considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with IFRS. These non-IFRS financial measures should be read in conjunction with the Company's financial statements and accompanying MD&A. Forward Looking Information This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate to future events and often addresses expected future business and financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect" and "guidance", statements that an action or event "may", "might", "could" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to, statements relating to: UrtheCast's expectations with respect to: UrtheCast's expected entering into of the Credit Agreement, closing of the UrtheDaily Financing and beginning of the UrtheDaily build phase; UrtheCast's expected satisfaction of the escrow release conditions in respect of the proceeds from the Subordinated Capital Financing; UrtheCast's expectations with respect to its ability to raise proceeds from a subordinated debt or equity offering, achieve the required leverage and contracted revenue ratios and otherwise satisfy the first drawdown conditions and the final drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement in a timely manner; opportunities to renegotiate current and future customer contracts; and the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Such statements reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: UrtheCast's inability to enter into the Credit Agreement on the terms described in this release or at all; UrtheCast's inability to satisfy the escrow release conditions in respect of the proceeds from the Subordinated Capital Financing; UrtheCast's inability to raise proceeds from a subordinated debt or equity offering, achieve the required leverage and contracted revenue ratios or otherwise satisfy the first drawdown conditions or the final drawdown conditions under the Credit Agreement in a timely manner or at all; and uncertainty about UrtheCast's ability to continue as a going concern; as well as those factors and assumptions discussed in UrtheCast's annual information form dated April 2, 2018 (the "AIF"), which is available under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.

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[May 15, 2018]

High School Students Building NASA Hardware Recognized at Intrepid Museum Event

HOUSTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students and teachers who took part in NASA's High school students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program will showcase their work during an event Saturday, May 19, at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City.

As part of the NASA HUNCH program, some student projects eventually fly aboard the International Space Station. Projects have included stowage lockers for experiments, handrails, documentary videos, breakfast entrees and software applications used by astronauts in space. Many of the different projects will be on display starting at 12 p.m. EDT.

NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei will speak to those in attendance at 12:30 p.m. and recognize participating students. Vande Hei logged 168 days in space on his first mission to the station and returned to Earth in February. He regularly connected with schools on arth during his time aboard. The in-flight education downlinks are an integral component of NASA's Year of Education on Station, which provides extensive space station-related resources and opportunities to students and educators, and are continuing this summer.







For access to the Intrepid Museum, interested media should contact Ashley Allen, director of Public Relations for the Intrepid Museum, at aallen@Intrepidmuseum.org or 646-381-5292.

Media interested in speaking with NASA HUNCH personnel or students should contact Florence Gold, NASA HUNCH Implementation Project Manager, at florence.v.gold@nasa.gov or 406-690-2661.

The HUNCH program shows high school students the many ways they can put their talents to work for NASA, beyond the role of astronaut. The program provides students a hands-on experience with the space agency, building NASA-designed parts for use by agency personnel.

Learn more about HUNCH at:

https://nasahunch.com/

Learn more about the Intrepid Museum and NASA's involvement at:

https://www.intrepidmuseum.org

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SOURCE NASA
[May 15, 2018] Deimos Imaging awarded contract exceeding USD $2.6M by the Brazilian Ministry of Defence

MADRID and VANCOUVER, May 15, 2018 /CNW/ - UrtheCast Corp. (TSX: UR) ("UrtheCast" or the "Company") and its subsidiary, the Earth Observation company Deimos Imaging SLU ("Deimos Imaging"), announced today that Deimos Imaging has entered into a contract with the Brazilian Ministry of Defence's Aeronautics Command (COMAER) exceeding $2.6 million US dollars (the "Contract"). The Contract requires Deimos Imaging to supply Earth Observation products and services from the Deimos-2 satellite, during an initial period of three years that could be extended up to five years. Payments are expected to be spread equally over the initial three-year period. Under the Contract, Deimos Imaging will collect new satellite imagery and provide access to the catalogue of archived imagery. The data will feed the geo-information needs of the Brazilian Government and Institutions, accelerating and improving actionable decision making in a wide range of applications. "We are very excited and proud to deliver our best-in-class services to the Brazilian Ministry of Defence for the first time", said Jamie Ritchie, Chief Commercial Officer at Deimos Imaging. "The award of this contract reinforces our increasing role as key provider of imagery and geoinformation products worldwide." Deimos Imaging's extensive experience provides renowned quality control processes, technical knowledge and significant expertise. Additionally, its multi-resolution virtual constellation of over 30 satellites guarantees exceptional revisit capabilities worldwide. About UrtheCast and Deimos Imaging UrtheCast Corp. is a Vancouver-based technology company that serves the rapidly evolving geospatal and geoanalytics markets with a wide range of information-rich products and services. The Company operates Earth Observation (EO) sensors in space, through its subsidiary Deimos Imaging, including two satellites, Deimos-1 and Deimos-2, to produce imagery data for partners and customers in multiple markets. UrtheCast processes and distributes imagery data and value-added products through a unique virtual constellation - including 20 operational satellites with 1m or better resolution - which are all harmonized in the same environment.



Forward looking information This release contains certain information which, as presented, constitutes "forward-looking information" or "forward-oriented financial information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking information involves statements that relate to future events and often addresses expected future business and financial performance, containing words such as "anticipate", "plan", "explore" and "expect", statements that an action or event "may", "should" or "will" be taken or occur, or other similar expressions and includes, but is not limited to, statements relating to: UrtheCast's expected ability to deliver data produced by Deimos-2 to the customer and fulfill its other obligations, as required under the Contract; and UrtheCast's expectations regarding such customer complying with its payment obligations and other terms of the Contract. Such statements reflect UrtheCast's current views with respect to future events. Such statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by UrtheCast as at the date of this press release, are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors could cause UrtheCast's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: the Company being unable to deliver imagery products meeting the minimum specifications required by the Contract; interruptions to or failures of UrtheCast's or Deimos' infrastructure; the customer's inability to satisfy its payments obligations under the Contract; legal and regulatory changes; as well as those factors and assumptions discussed in UrtheCast's annual information form dated April 2, 2018, which is available under UrtheCast's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. UrtheCast cautions readers that such factors and uncertainties are not exhaustive and that should certain risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying estimates or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements may vary significantly from those expected. There can be no assurance that the actual strategies, results, performance, events or activities anticipated by the Company will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company.

UrtheCast undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by Canadian securities laws. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. SOURCE UrtheCast Corp.

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Ill admit that if you look closely enough  OK, maybe you dont even have to look all that closely  youll see dust bunnies. And sand tracked in on the porch. Oh, yeah, and fingerprints on the windows.

So, in other words, my house is not quite spotless.
Beleaguered Russian antivirus maker Kaspersky Lab is moving many of its servers and software-development operations from Moscow to Switzerland in an effort to win back the trust of Western customers  and especially Western governments.

(Image credit: The future location of many Kaspersky Lab operations and servers. Credit: Canadastock/Shutterstock)

"We are relocating a good part of our infrastructure to Zurich, Switzerland, including the 'software assembly line' and servers that store and process Kaspersky Security Network data, and creating our very first Transparency Center," the company announced in a blog posting today (May 15).

The company's surprise announcement followed some bad news, and some not-so-bad news, for Kaspersky Lab. Yesterday (May 14), the Dutch government said it would purge Kaspersky software from its systems. But later yesterday, the Washington-based news site CyberScoop reported that some U.S. government officials were backing off from the idea of imposing punitive sanctions on Kaspersky Lab.

MORE: Best Antivirus Software and Apps

Kaspersky said it was also "moving the servers that process and store Kaspersky Security Network information for users located in Europe, North America, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore."

Like the software-development facility, the servers would be open to inspection and review by an unnamed third-party organization.

Western governments worry that Kaspersky Lab is a Kremlin tool. The U.S. and British governments have stopped using it; Best Buy and OfficeMax stores pulled Kaspersky products from their shelves last year. Even Twitter stopped taking Kaspersky ads last month.

Kaspersky Lab is trying to counter the negative publicity with a charm offensive. It's making its antivirus software's code available to any "responsible stakeholders" who ask, and the company is trying to disclose as much about its internal operations as possible.

Kaspersky's self-proclaimed Global Transparency Initiative isn't winning over anyone in Washington, though. Last month, CyberScoop reported that the company might be included in a rumored broad round of punitive sanctions against Russian government entities.

Yesterday's CyberScoop story specified that the Kaspersky-sanctioning idea came from within the White House's National Security Council, recently taken over by the legendarily hard-line diplomat John R. Bolton. But the story also suggested that some officials were worried that sanctions could create a blowback against American companies overseas.

"What's stopping China from punishing Apple if they found out they were conforming to a National Security Letter or something?" an unnamed source told CyberScoop, referring to a super-secret demand for information by U.S. law-enforcement and intelligence agencies.

Another source said punitive sanctions "would be a bullet in the head for Kaspersky."

"It would kill their business not just here but pretty much anywhere that enjoys the benefits of using the U.S. banking system," the source added. "This could have a reverberating impact that comes back to hurt us."

CyberScoop's sources said they all still agreed with keeping Kaspersky software out of U.S. government systems.

Defense and other federal contractors have been told that they must get rid of Kaspersky software as well. However, some U.S. government officials have told private-sector companies to stop using Kaspersky software, without publicly disclosing why.

The understandable fear is that Kaspersky Lab could easily become, or may already be, an espionage vehicle for one or more of Russia's competing intelligence agencies. By law, Russian firms have to comply with Kremlin requests, and Kaspersky Lab has worked closely with the Kremlin in both tracking down cybercriminals, and running cybersecurity operations at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

That certainly makes it justifiable for American government agencies and defense contractors to stop using Kaspersky software, the presence of which would create an "unacceptable risk" in defense/intelligence parlance.

But U.S. officials have never fully explained why Kaspersky products might be a threat to the public at large. Leaks to major American newspapers in 2017 tried to establish that Kaspersky software was actively transmitting private data about U.S. computer systems back to Russia, and that Russian intelligence had access to Kaspersky servers. But the stories didn't quite hold water when examined closely.

These aggressive U.S. moves against Kaspersky products mirror those against Chinese telecom providers Huawei and ZTE, which U.S. national-security officials regard as espionage tools of the Chinese military. Under U.S. government pressure, Verizon and AT&T earlier this year abruptly canceled deals to sell Huawei smartphones.

ZTE also sold equipment to Iran and allegedly tried to cover up the sales, which led the U.S. government last month to ban U.S. companies, such as Qualcomm, from supplying crucial components to ZTE.

As a result of the ban, ZTE appeared to be on the verge of collapse until U.S. President Donald Trump had a change of heart this past weekend and said he'd work with the Chinese government to save the company.

We here at Tom's Guide still think Kaspersky antivirus software is excellent. We had a chance to attend a recent meeting between Kaspersky executives and members of the press in San Francisco, and we can report that the company's Global Transparency Initiative appears to be both sincere and expensive.

We dont know whether company co-founder and namesake Eugene Kaspersky really did work for the KGB, or how much the company cooperates with Russian intelligence services. But we can tell you that Kaspersky researchers and products are well-respected among information-security experts. Until the company's adversaries disclose more information, we see no reason why anyone who's not tied to national-security matters should stop using Kaspersky software.
TANACROSS, Alaska (AP)  One Alaska Native village knew what to do to keep out COVID-19. They put up a gate on the only road into town and guarded it round the clock. It was the same idea used a century ago in some isolated Indigenous villages to protect people from outsiders during another 
An Aranjuez taxi-driver is being treated for multiple stab wounds after a robbery attempt yesterday morning. Due to the swift work of residents of the area, as well as responding police, a suspect was held and is in police custody.
As salesman for the Governments fiscal policies, Colm Imbert must be congratulated for the Prime Ministers continued confidence in his ability to handle this responsibility during this period of our development history; and of course, his pitch that the Roadmap to Recovery informs their focus on making food security a high priority.
So helpful. Thanks!

Last time we were in AU and NZ we spent months rambling about, so I have little recollection for how long it took us to get around. Researching this trip is making me nostalgic for a time when I had unlimited days to travel. Alas, my life now can spare no more than two weeks of time away, and in my opinion that is better than nothing! And, as I mentioned before, I cannot change my inbound or outbound flights. So thanks to everyone for helping me to work with the factors I can control.

Some additional info and questions:

1) Canberra is the only state that my husband and I have not visited, and it would be lovely to tick this off our list. However, I'm concerned that this might not hold appeal for our teens, who aren't keen on museums. Thoughts?

2) Regarding beach time, our perfect beach is one that will have other things around to do for a portion of the days. We grow restless easily, and so far every "beach vacation" that I've ever planned we've cut short to go to another destination in that area. Snorkeling would be a plus.

3) We have friends we'd like to visit in Blighty, about 4 hours west of Sydney. That is why we were considering a road trip from Sydney to Melbourne. However, now I'm thinking this might be too ambitious. Is there anything else to see there or along the drive? Thoughts?

4) We spent time in Tasmania before and would love to return. However, as our return flight is from Auckland we are committed to spending at least a couple of days on the north island -- and I wonder if it is too similar to Tassie to make a side trip to Tassie worthwhile. Agree?

5) I think that the last time we went to the Blue Mountains we must have not known the best place to go, because I recall being underwhelmed. So many people have recommended this that I know it must be wonderful. So, suggestions for good trails are very welcome. We like to try to be away from the masses if possible, and our preferred distance is about 15 km.

6) Any thoughts about the yacht race from Sydney to Melbourne that I've heard happens this time of year (end of December/beginning Jan)?

Many thanks!!
Costa Rica Destinations summary guide: .

Some of your decision where to go might depend on the weather. This site has an overview of weather and availability, by months: .

Travelling options within CR: .

Ready-made itineraries for 1-2 wks in CR (you did not say how many days you are planning to be in CR): .

You might find a vacation in CR more expensive than in Nicaragua. "How Much Does it cost?" might be a good article for budgeting for the land portion of your vacation in CR: .

If you do not have time to plan, see if you can browse the hotels collections, organized by various criteria, - e.g., remote, luxury, beach, Eco lodges, etc: .

Have a good trip!
most reliable is by car but it doens't come cheap. We did it last year and it costs us US$160 for a 7 seater (there was four of us). It'd be cheaper if there's only two of you as you only need a smaller car.

Takes 8 hours but we opted for two stops along the way (2 hours doing Vinh Moc Tunnels at DMZ + 1 hour in Hue having lunch, plus quick photo stop on Hai Van Pass).

The other method which is going to be cheaper is to take the train from Dong Hoi to Danang then grab a taxi to Hoi An. Think that takes about 8 hours too but if you take an overnight train you'd save a night's accomodation.

Think there is a bus from Dong Hoi Airport to Phong Nha but not sure of details. Otherwise a cab from Dong Hoi to Phong Nah is 500k and takes about 40 minutes.
Oh, sure! The snow monsters are relatively accessible even to those who don't ski or snowboard. On our tour, we drove up and back in a snowcat, basically a tracked, cramped minibus if you see what I mean, and tramped around the snow-covered trees for 45 minutes or so wearing snowshoes on the fresh powder. At a quick look, this tour I just found looks similar to what we did

I've been to Shirakawago several times in the last few years, though never in winter. The "zassho" farmhouses covered in snow is a popular sight, I know. Here is a short guide and photo essay of Shirakawago in esrly autumn, if you're interested
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OK - there are a couple of problems.

You have the airports backward - you are flying into LGA (NOT an international airport except for Canadian flights that are precleared in Canada) and TO JFK - which is a major international airport.

Four hours is NOT enough for this transfer, esp if you have a ton of luggage. For a flight to Kenya you need to check in 3 hours in advance and you need at least an hour to get from LGA to JFK as well as an hour from wheels down at LGA to collecting all of your luggage and getting to the taxi line. So an absolute minimum would be 5 hours between flights. But LGA is notorious for flights being late so I would want at lest 6 hours to make this transfer - esp if you are anywhere near rush hour.

For sake of simplicity I would just hop in a cab - or 2 if your luggage won;t fit in a regular trunk (which seems likely) at the official line with dispatcher. Be sure you know which terminal you need at JFK, since there are 8 and we don;t know where your flight is actually to (think most flights to Kenya you would make another connection - possibly Amsterdam or Frankfurt - do check your ticket to make sure you have time for connection wherever).
- Timothy Kiptanui Kitai, also known as Cheparkach, was nabbed in Eldoret

- The suspect has been under the radar of local detectives for several months

- Police had placed KSh 1 million bounty on the head of the deadly criminal gang commander

- Cheparkach was also accused of recruiting militia to take control of land in the controversial Chepyuk settlement scheme

Police have finally arrested the most wanted criminal gang commander Timothy Kiptanui Kitai, also known as Cheparkach, after several months of pursuit.

Cheparkach, who has been under the radar of the local detectives, was reportedly nabbed in Eldoret on Tuesday, May 15 after he surrendered at a local chief's office.

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READ ALSO: Pasta awashangaza wengi akiwaamuru waumini kuvua chupi kanisani (video)

The local detectives have been pursuing Cheparkach for several months in connection with the Mt Elgon mayhem. Photo: The National Police Service.

Confirming the arrest, police said Cheparkach was wanted in connection with the rampant killings and chaos that rocked Mount Elgon region, Bungoma County.

The authorities strongly believed the suspect was armed and dangerous and operated a well organised criminal gang which unleashed terror on the residents of Mt Elgon.

READ ALSO: Bungoma politicians clash over leader of gang terrorising Mt Elgon residents

The authorities on March 7, 2018, offered a KSh 1 million reward for the arrest of Cheparkach following a spate of murders in the region.

Police said they had identified several other suspects behind the rag-tag militia besides the arrested leader.

READ ALSO: Matiangi issues three months dusk to dawn curfew in distressed Mt.Elgon region

Matiang'i had issued a three-month dusk-to-dawn curfew to give security agencies deployed to the area chance to hunt for the criminals and bring the killings to an end.

"This is a troubled region and the curfew is meant to deal with criminals roaming this region. The government will not tolerate few individuals causing havoc in an area that was trying to heal after the SLDF was crushed in 2008 following a military operation dubbed 'Okoa Maisha' where its ring leader Wycliffe Matwakei was killed," he said.

READ ALSO: We want more elite team to join the police service -Matiangi

A Bungoma based lobby group, Western Kenya Human Rights Watch (WKHRW), had also called on the government to investigate and take action against Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi and his political rival John Serut for allegedly recruiting and funding the ruthless criminal gangs.

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Rise of female gangsters in Kenya- On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko News
- The vocal lawyer was accused of working with cartels to bring down KPLC's boss

- Senior KPLC managers are said to be behind the plot to eject the CEO Ken Tarus

- The damning allegations have sparked heated exchange on social media platforms

- The former Kenya Law Society of Kenya chairman had filed a class action against KPLC

Vocal city lawyer Apollo Mboya is a man under siege.

An explosive report accusing the aggressive lawyer of working with a cohort of cartels to frustrate and bring down Kenya Power and Lighting Company CEO Ken Tarus has gone viral.

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Lawyer Apollo Mboya, ex-boss of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), accused Kenya Power of stealing from Kenyans by sending backdated inflated bills to recover KSh 10.1 billion loss. Photo: Kahawa Tungu.

Source: UGC

READ ALSO: We are sorry - Kenya Power apologises for overcharging Kenyans

According to the report seen by TUKO.co.ke on Tuesday, May 15, Mboya was being used by two senior KPLC managers who are said to be unhappy with Tarus's leadership and therefore want him gone.

The alleged cartels are reportedly made up of individuals hellbent on portraying Tarus, who hails from the Kalenjin community, as incompetent and unfit to continue serving as the CEO of the giant state corporation.

READ ALSO: Kenya Power opens hotline after complaints over electricity bills

The damning dossier sparked a heated exchange on social media platforms with a section of Kenyans coming to the defense of the city lawyer under the hashtag UnmaskingApolloMboya.

READ ALSO: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake (picha)

READ ALSO: Power blackout strikes most parts of Kenya and Uganda

Mboya has been embroiled in a nasty legal battle with KPLC.

In one of his latest Twitter tirades, Mboya accused the utility firm of deleting customer accounts and sending out backdated inflated electricity bills for non-existent accounts.

The ongoing quarrel between KPLC on one hand and Mboya and aggrieved consumers on the other erupted in 2017 when consumers started experiencing unexplained delays in token processing.

Some allegedly paid for tokens that were never generated. Others had to wait up to 15 hours before they could get back power after paying for token (a 20-digit figure that is loaded into the meter to receive electricity) through M-Pesa paybill number 888880.

Then there were those who could not understand why their power bills significantly varied from one month to another and extremely high in certain cases.

READ ALSO: Public outrage after fresh probe unearths KSh 10.5 billion heist at National Youth Service

The public rage which was already boiling over due to hiked electricity bills reached a crescendo in January 2018 when a report emerged indicating Kenya Power was backdating bills in attempts to recover KSh 10.1 billion loss reflected in the Annual Report for the year ending June 30, 2017.

It was during this time that lawyer Mboya and the Electricity Consumer Society of Kenya (ECSK) also moved to court to file a class action suit against KPLC, mentioned as the first respondent, and Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) as the second respondent.

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Kenyans call on government to end Kenya Power's monopoly - On Tuko TV

Source: Kenya Breaking News Today
- Ex-Town Clerk Gakuo and former PS Kirui were each jailed for three years and fined KSh 1 million each

- They were jailed following the KSh 283 million Mavoko cemetery land scandal

- Former City Hall legal affairs Director Ngethe was also jailed for three years and fined KSh 52 million

- Also jailed for three years was former secretary to the tender committee Musee, who was also fined KSh 32 million

Former Local Government Permanent Secretary Sammy Kirui and former Town Clerk John Gakuo have been sentenced to serve three years in prison and pay a fine of KSh 1 million each.

The two former high ranking officials were jailed by Anticorruption Chief Magistrate Douglas Ogoti over the 2010 KSh 283 Mavoko cemetery scandal.

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They were convicted alongside former City Hall legal affairs Director Mary Ngethe, who was sentenced to serve three years and pay a fine of KSh 52 million or serve an additional one year on default.

READ ALSO: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake (picha)

The former secretary to the tender committee, Alexander Musanga Musee, will also serve three years behind bars and in addition, pay a fine of KSh 32 million.

The four were charged in April 2010 together with 14 others with conspiracy to defraud, fraudulent acquisition of public property and abuse of office.

According to the charge sheet, Kirui and 13 others acquired KSh 283 million from the local government on diverse dates between December 2008 and April 2009.

READ ALSO: AP officer kills girlfriend, attempts suicide but fails

It is alleged they claimed the money was purchase price payable by City Council for a piece of land to be used as a public cemetery.

Ogoti ruled that it was only them who knew why they acted the way they did which led to the loss of tax payers money

"All the accused persons were persons of authority and acted perversely and allowed corruption to take place when they could have stopped it," the court noted

READ ALSO: Nairobi governor Sonko scores D+ in new county survey

Gakuo, who was recently appointed by Governor Mike Sonko to co-chair the Nairobi Regeneration team, broke into a sweat as the judgement was being read.

The team constituting officials from both Nairobi county government and those from the national government is meant to help the capital city regain its lost glory by ensuring garbage collection and general cleanliness.

By Zipporah Weru- Tuko correspondent

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Source: Kenya Breaking News Today
- Wanjira said they had just finished one of the training sessions when she was attacked by a male MCA

- Her colleague approached while accusing her of engaging in indecent acts with voters

- The female politician fell down on the floor but her assailant continued with kicks and blows

- The alleged assailant however denied travelling to Tanzania

- Wanjira was treated at MP Shah Hospital upon return

- The case was booked at Parklands Police Station as investigations continued

A female Member of Nyeri County Assembly (MCA) sustained serious eye and hand injuries after her male colleague attacked her during a four-day workshop in Tanzania for allegedly being promiscuous.

Magutu ward MCA Pauline Wanjira, was reportedly in the company of other colleagues on Wednesday, May 9, when the incident, which also left her with soft tissue injuries happened.

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Wanjira narrated they had just finished one of the training sessions and was whiling time away with friends when Anthony Dagita who is the Kirimukuyu Ward Rep descended on her.

READ ALSO: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake (picha)

Magutu ward MCA Pauline Wanjira was reportedly in the company of other colleagues when the incident which also left her with soft tissue injuries happened. Photo: Jackson Njeru/Facebook.

READ ALSO: Poor dog refuses to leave site its owner lived before Solai Dam tragedy which killed 45

He alleged her colleague was engaging in indecent acts with voters.

We had just finished one of the training sessions and I was sitting with my friends when he came up to me and accused me of being promiscuous. I defended myself and he attacked me, she said.

Overpowered, the female politician fell down on the floor but her assailant continued with kicks and blows.

It took friends and colleagues to free her from him and she went straight to her room.

When I was lying on the floor my colleagues came in and restrained him. If we were just the two of us, he would have killed me, she recounted.

Reports indicated the politician who has since asked for forgiveness, was arrested and later released the following day.

But when contacted, the Kirimukuyu leader denied the accusation saying he did not travel to Arusha.

He counter accused Wanjira of soiling his name for no apparent reason.

I did not travel to Arusha and I am not aware of what you are talking about. My name should not be mentioned without my consent, he said.

Konyu ward MCA Eric Wamumbi who witnessed the whole incident confirmed Wanjira was assaulted by the alleged attacker.

Wanjira was treated at MP Shah Hospital on Thursday, May 8, upon return.

The case was booked at Parklands Police Station as investigations continued.

In 2015, ex-Taita Taveta women representative Joyce Lay accused former Turbo MP Elisha Busienei of sexually harassing her while they were on an official duty in Japan.

The case drew attention of Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association (KEWOPA) whose members demanded the National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi to address the matter.

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Priscila Ibalai "I Was Compared to a Monkey" | Tuko TV.

Source: Tuko Breaking News
- Patel Mansukh sent his condolences to relatives of those who lost their lives in a paid for newspaper advert

- He revelealed investigations were underway to establish the cause of the tragic indident

- Patel assured Kenyans the farm was working together with government to help the victims

The owner of the Nakuru killer dam which swept almost 50 people to their death after its walls broke has finally condoled with the affected families.

Solai Group chairman Mansukh Patel in a paid for newspaper advert expressed his sympathy over the incident saying it was unforeseen.

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In the statement seen by TUKO.co.ke on Tuesday, May 15, Patel sent his heartfelt condolences to the kin of those who lost their loved ones.

READ ALSO: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake (picha)

Patel Mansukh expressed his condolences to the victims. Photo: Eric Njoa/ Twitter

"We the Patel family of the Solai and the members of the Patel farm management would like to express our deepest condolences," read a section of the statement.

He said probe was underway to establish the genesis of the ghastly incident.

"We are currently investigating how this could have happened and deeply regret the occurrence," he said.

READ ALSO: Solai Dam that killed 44 in Nakuru illegal - government

Patel said investigations were underway to establish the cause of the tragic occurrence. Photo: Mwenda Njoka

According to the chairman, preliminary investigations indicated the dam's walls burst as a result of pounding rains.

"Investigations point to the heavy rainfall in Dundori forest resulting to massive soil erosion with high pressure water accompanied by dead stumps, logs and big boulders that hit the wall of the dam causing a huge gush of water into the farm and outlying settlements," he said.

Patel went on to assure Kenyans that the farm management was working in collaboration with government and non-government institutions to assist the victims.

READ ALSO: DPP orders investigation on killer dam, demands report in 14 days

"We are doing everything possible to provide the necessary resources to displaced families affected by this unfortunate tragedy," "We appreciate the grace with which the government and NGOs have handled the situation, We pray that the Almighty in his infinite mercies may rest the souls of the departed in peace,"he said.

The statement comes barely days after a senior manager of Patel farm appealed to area residents to pray for an end to the rain.

The official statement from Patel below:

Patel sent his deep most condolences to the families. Photo: Daily Nation

As previously reported by TUKO.co.ke, over 40 people lost their lives while 2,500 other residents were left destitute after Solai dam in Nakuru county broke its walls in a chilling incident which sent shock waves across the country.

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Priscila Ibalai "I Was Compared to a Monkey" - on Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
- The move to offer foreign doctors specialised treatment has evoked mixed reactions

- The 100 Cuban medics will arrive in the country on May 28 for their two-year work in Kenya

- KPMDU had earlier opposed government move terming it as unethical

The move by the government to pamper foreign doctors from Cuba with exceptional treatment has elicited mixed reactions from Kenyans.

This is after reports emerged of the distinctive privileges that will be enjoyed by the 100 Cuban doctors, who will arrive in the country on May 28, for their two-year work in which Health ministry will cater for their salaries.

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Reports by the Business Daily seen by TUKO.co.ke on Tuesday, May 15, divulged the specialists will be offered furnished homes, air fares for holidays, paid utilities and transport on top of their salaries in a deal agreed with governors.

READ ALSO: Barua ya mapenzi ya mwanafunzi wa shule ya upili kwa mwalimu wake yasisimua wengi

In what is likely to upset local medics, county bosses will be expected to provide the physicians with accommodation, furniture, kitchen appliances, kitchen utensils and pay for their utilities like electricity, water and cooking gas.

Additionally, counties will also cater for the medic's local transport expenses as government pays their air fare to and from Cuba when serving their 30 day annual leave.

Deputy chair Council of Governors (CoG) Anne Waiguru, the 53 family physicians and 47 specialists would be provided with an enabling environment to do their work."

READ ALSO: Real optimism as Nyanza continues to reap big from Uhurus presidency

Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KPMDU) Secretary General Ouma Oluga had opposed the move terming it unethical because there are enough health officers locally.

Currently, Kenyas doctor-to-patient ratio is 1:16,000, according to official data, far below a recommendation of the U.N. World Health Organization of 1:1,000.

According to the government, doctors in far-flung hospitals lack specialised skills, forcing patients to pay to travel to the capital Nairobi or abroad for treatment.

READ ALSO: Suspected gang leader behind Mt Elgon chaos, killings finally surrenders, arrested

Kenyans were up in arms over the proposal which saw them flood social media to express their displeasure while others lambasted the government via sarcasm.

Read their reactions below:

Each county should get at least two of the Cuban doctors as KPMDU cites pay bias and lack of proper peer review.

READ ALSO: Kioja: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake

Health secretary Sicily Kariuki, however, said the doctors went through a rigorous preselection and peer review.

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Alcohol Blow Arrests in Nairobi - on Tuko TV

Source: Breaking News
Out of 86 countries invited to the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, only 33 attended, Kenya being one of them.

Israel had invited all the 86 countries because of their diplomatic missions in its borders but over 50% of the invited States gave the Monday, May 14, event a wide berth for fear of consequences which may follow.

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Kenyas union with 32 other countries to endorse the shifting of the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is likely to expose the country to more terror attacks.

READ ALSO: Barua ya mapenzi ya mwanafunzi wa shule ya upili kwa mwalimu wake yasisimua wengi

Kenya was among African States represented in the event. Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu/Facebook.

READ ALSO: Ex-government pathologist charged with stealing heart from a corpse

In Africa, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Tanzania were represented in the relocation exercise with was marred with violence leading to the death of 58 Palestinians.

The contest for Jerusalem, a city which is claimed by both Israel and Palestine turned ugly with reports indicating the Israeli soldiers killed 58 Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

The violence which was majorly hinged on religious differences puts Kenya at a risk of more terror attacks for taking sides with Israel in the contest for Jerusalem.

READ ALSO: Terrorist arrested en route to Nairobi for major attack

In fact, on Friday, May 4, the US embassy in Kenya warned terrorists may be targeting crowded places in the country and urged its citizens to be extra cautious.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded US President Donald Trump for fulfilling his promise to recognize Jerusalem as part of Israel. Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu/Facebook.

The embassy attributed the impending attacks to the embassy relocation exercise in Jerusalem, proving that international observers fears are not misplaced.

"Extremists may use the upcoming relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem to target its citizens. Terrorists may employ a variety of tactics like targeting schools, hospitals, churches, tourist locations, transportation hubs, and other public venues," the embassy warned.

READ ALSO: US government warns of major terror attacks in Kenya, schools and churches targeted

The move by Kenya has attracted public rage with many people questioning why the country did not go the way of South Africa which disassociated itself with the exercise saying it was executed without due regard to human life.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked US President Donald Trump for recognizing Jerusalem as part of Israel. Photo: Benjamin Netanyahu/Facebook.

South Africa withdrew its ambassador to Israel following the relocation exercise saying the US had refused to postpone the move as requested by the African State.

In Asian, three countries were represented, with Europe having nine representatives in the move whose consequences on their relationship with Arab countries will be known with time.

Isareli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lauded US President Donald Trump for the recognition of Jerusalem as part of Israel.

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Alcohol Blow Arrests in Nairobi - on Tuko TV

Source: Tuko News
- The event will be held in Nakuru county to honour those who died

- The tragedy saw thousands of people displaced after Solai Dam broke its walls

- The displaced are housed in a temporal camp as they try to recollect their lives

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are set to attend the memorial service of the victims of the tragic Solai Dam tragedy, TUKO.co.ke has learnt.

The event which will be held in Nakuru county will primarily be aimed at honoring those who lost their lives in the tragedy.

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Uhuru, Ruto to attend memorial service of 50 Solai Dam tragedy victims. Photo: Nation

READ ALSO: Solai Dam that killed 44 in Nakuru illegal - government

As at Monday, May 14, 47 people had been confirmed dead while about 5,000 others were displaced.

The owner of the ill-fated dam, Mansukh Patel, had caused an outrage days after the incident by blaming the tragedy on excessive rainfall.

The President is set to attend the memorial of the Solai dam victims. Photo: Uhuru/Facebook

READ ALSO: Poor dog refuses to leave site its owner lived before Solai Dam tragedy which killed 45

Amid public pressure, Patel finally issued an apology and a message of condolences to the victims.

Patel in a paid for newspaper advert expressed his sympathy over the incident saying it was unforeseen.

READ ALSO: Kioja: Mfanyibiashara apeleka panya 5 kituo cha polisi kwa kula pesa zake

"We the Patel family of the Solai and the members of the Patel farm management would like to express our deepest condolences," read a section of the statement.

The President had issued a statement on Sunday, May 12, condoling with families who had lost loved ones.

For DP Ruto, he urged dam engineers to follow the safety precautions in future to avoid any more potential tragedies.

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Alcohol Blow Arrests in Nairobi | Tuko TV:

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Militants violated ceasefire 42 times in last day.

Over the past day, May 14, the situation in the Joint Force Operation area in Donbas remained difficult. The intensity of fighting on the contact line abated, the JFO Headquarters press center reports.

As noted, Russian-occupation forces violated the ceasefire regime 42 times, using weapons prohibited under the Minsk accords in 11 cases.

In Luhansk region, the enemy launched attacks trying to provoke the Ukrainian soldiers outside Troitske (69km west of Luhansk), Novozvanivka (70km west of Luhansk) and Zolote (67km north-east of Luhansk).

In Donetsk region, the active armed hostilities were ongoing near Zalizne (39km north of Donetsk), Novhorodske (34km north of Donetsk), Butovka coal mine (11.4km north-west of Donetsk). The defensive lines of the Ukrainian units remained untouched.

Over the past day, no casualties among Ukrainian troops were reported.

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U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker has arrived in the area of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in Donbas and met with Ukraine's Joint Forces Commander, Lieutenant-General Serhiy Nayev, to discuss the security situation, the JFO's press center has reported on Facebook.

"We are glad to welcome you in the area of the operation. We thank our partners for their support in the fight against the Russian aggressor," Nayev said at a meeting with Volker.

Near the contact line the Joint Forces commander will acquaint the guest with the military and humanitarian components of the operation. The sides will discuss the security situation in Donbas and exchange views on the ways of peaceful settlement of the conflict.

It is the first meeting between the Joint Forces commander and the U.S. special representative for Ukraine since the beginning of the Joint Forces Operation.

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First Vice Prime Minister  Economic Development and Trade Minister of Ukraine Stepan Kubiv called on the participants of the 10th European Economic Congress to join the process of privatization in Ukraine.

"The European colleagues and guests of the Congress note the significant progress of our country on the path of reforms. They see many beneficial opportunities for investment in Ukraine. Therefore, I urge them to join privatization and participate in public-private partnership projects and Ukrainian projects in energy, infrastructure and other fields," Kubiv wrote on Facebook.

The First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine noted that more than 11,000 delegates had taken part in the European Economic Congress in the Polish city of Katowice.

The official added that much had been said about Ukraine in the discussions on investments and innovations.

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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities of Ukraine Hennadiy Zubko has urged the officials of small towns to properly draw up a development strategy with a specific plan of actions.

He said this during the 13th annual conference of small cities on the topic "Resources: Search and Efficiency" in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Do not look for additional funds, but look for tools to implement your strategy. There is never enough money... The most important thing is to properly develop a strategy, to determine what can be done in the first, second, third year. We are ready to help," Zubko said.

The conference is also attended by President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hennadiy Chyzhykov, mayors of small towns and heads of united territorial communities, representatives of central government bodies, business, international programs for technical assistance, experts.

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The Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr has signed a memorandum of cooperation in economic, humanitarian and social sectors with the Chinese city of Hulun Buir.

This has been reported by the press service of Zhytomyr City Council.

"On May 14, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the cities of Zhytomyr and Hulun Buir was signed. Leadership of Zhytomyr City Council met with a delegation from Hulun Buir (People's Republic of China) at the press center of the city council. The memorandum provides for cooperation and exchange in the economic, social and humanitarian sectors," the press service reports.

Deputy Mayor of Hulun Buir Chen Zhi expresses hope that the signing of the document will mark the beginning of fruitful cooperation and friendship between the cities. In turn, Mayor of Zhytomyr Serhiy Sukhomlyn thanks representatives of the Chinese delegation for cooperation and partnership.

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The high level of political dialogue that currently exists between Norway and Ukraine paves the way for fruitful economic cooperation.

Mr. Audun Halvorsen, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Norway, said this at a meeting with Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the Governmental portal reports.

"Norway is interested in deepening economic cooperation with Ukraine. The business contacts, which actively develop between the companies of the two countries on the basis of the chambers of commerce and industry, are deepening, and Norwegian investors positively assess the development of the business environment in Ukraine," Halvorsen said.

According to him, the Norwegian investors are most interested in the energy sector of Ukraine, particularly in green energy and energy efficiency.

Vice PM Klympush-Tsintsadze, in turn, thanked the representative of Norway for the consistent and practical support that his country has been providing to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian aggression

The total size of Norways financial assistance to Ukraine has exceeded $140 million over the past four years. Its priority areas are the reform of the judiciary and public administration; promotion of trade and European integration; energy efficiency and nuclear safety; humanitarian aid. The Norwegian investments in the Ukrainian economy have reached $7.23 million.

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To ensure a sustainable economic growth Ukraine has implemented or continues working on eight key structural reforms, as they were lined up by IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine, Mr. Goesta Ljungman, in his open lecture to students of Ternopil National Economic University.

In his words, amongst those reforms there is the restructuring of the National Bank of Ukraine as an institution, cleaning up the financial sector, changes in the public finance management and tax administration, pension and energy sector reforms, privatization, fighting corruption and land reform.

As the success of those reforms rests on viable institutions, the speaker put special emphasis on institutional economics and drew future economists attention to this field.

Robust and efficient government institutions are key in securing a sustainable economic growth as proved by acclaimed research. Institutionally strong countries grow faster though it is still a matter for dispute among economists whether mature institutions provide for a more dynamic economic growth or, on the contrary, the sustainable growth promotes a build-up of stronger institutions, Mr. Ljungman said.

Earlier, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said at a meeting with members of the Supervisory Board of the Yalta European Strategy (YES) that the Cabinet of Ministers was focused on reforms, primarily in the economic sector, and was also determined to continue constructive dialogue with international partners, including with the IMF.

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Ukraine will be able to export meat to Qatar. The Arab state has agreed upon veterinary certificates for Ukrainian livestock products.

This has been reported by the Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association.

"The State Service for Food Safety of the State of Qatar has reported that veterinary certificates for the export of meat and meat products (in particular, poultry and beef), milk and dairy products, eggs and egg products, fish and fish products from Ukraine to the State of Qatar meet all the requirements of the Qatari regulatory bodies. Thus, Ukrainian producers get one more potential importer to sell livestock products," the report reads.

It is noted that Qatar is a powerful importer of food products, and therefore it is a promising market.

"Qatar has practically no production of its own agricultural products, since the territory of this country is deserted. Therefore, Qatar is a powerful importer of food products," Chairman of the Ukrainian Stock Breeders Association Iryna Palamar said.

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Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has met with the delegation of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) headed by its President, George Tsereteli, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has reported.

"Pavlo Klimkin stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy within the OSCE and expressed gratitude to President George Tsereteli for his strong support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine in the context of Russia's ongoing armed aggression in Donbas and illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol," the statement reads.

Klimkin stressed that the restoration of peace on Ukrainian soil depends on the readiness of the Russian side to stop its aggression against Ukraine. Klimkin urged the OSCE PA to use all possible means and tools to force the Kremlin to adhere to the principles of the Helsinki Final Act and to abandon its aggressive and expansionist policy towards Ukraine.

"George Tsereteli confirmed the support of the OSCE PA for the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and assured further assistance and support for the initiatives of the Ukrainian side within the framework of the Assembly," the ministry's press service reported.

According to Tsereteli, a sign of the consolidated position of OSCE PA parliamentarians is the approval by the Assembly over the past seven years of the respective resolutions in support of Ukraine.

He stressed that during his visit to Donetsk region on May 13 he had an opportunity to assess the difficult security and humanitarian situation in Donbas and also noted the important role of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) in Ukraine.

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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko proposes that each EU country prepares a targeted program of patronage over certain cities of the Ukrainian Donbas to help them revive and restore infrastructure.

The President put forward a corresponding initiative during the meeting with President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly George Tsereteli, the press service of the Head of State reports.

"The parties discussed the ways of assistance to internally displaced persons and the revival of the Ukrainian Donbas. In this regard, the Head of State proposes that each EU country prepares a targeted program of patronage over certain cities of the Ukrainian Donbas, contributing to their revival and restoration of the infrastructure," the statement reads.

The interlocutors discussed the security situation in Donbas and the necessary urgent steps to achieve progress in the peaceful settlement, in particular the initiative to deploy a UN peacekeeping mission in Donbas.

In addition, the leaders emphasize the need to prolong the sanctions against the Russian Federation until the full restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Head of State called on the OSCE PA to continue efforts to release Ukrainian political prisoners from Russian prisons and Ukrainian hostages.

Particular emphasis was put on the important role of the OSCE PA in the context of commemoration of the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor, in particular the recognition by the national parliaments of the Holodomor as genocide of the Ukrainian people.

Poroshenko thanked the President of the OSCE PA for the support of the Assembly in the fight against Russian aggression by adopting important resolutions.

George Tsereteli shared his impressions from visiting Donbas and thanked the Ukrainian delegation in the OSCE PA.

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Culture Minister of Ukraine Yevhen Nyshchuk and Ambassador of the UAE to Ukraine Salem Ahmed Al-Kaabi have discussed the organization of the National Day of Culture of the United Arab Emirates in Kyiv this year.

This was reported by the press service of the Culture Ministry of Ukraine.

During the meeting, the parties considered the issue of deepening cultural cooperation between Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates and intensifying cultural dialogue between the countries.

"As part of the implementation of the provisions of the agreement on cooperation in the field of culture between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, the sides discussed the organization of the National Day of Culture of the UAE in Kyiv this year in order to tell the citizens of Ukraine about Arab folklore, culture, heritage and traditions," the report reads.

According to the press service of the Culture Ministry, the parties expressed interest in the implementation of joint cultural projects and the exchange of experience in the field of culture and art between the two countries.

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Moroccos counter terrorism agency (BCIJ) dismantled a four-member terrorist cell loyal to IS that was operating in the cities of Fez, Casablanca, Kenitra and Midar.

The arrested individuals engaged in propaganda and recruitment for IS and plotted to carry out terrorist acts in Morocco, a statement of the Interior Ministry said.

They were arrested in possession of electronic devices, military uniforms and terrorism apologetic books, it said.

The investigations show that they maintained contact with IS leaders to manufacture explosives with a view to carry out suicide attacks targeting vital sites in Moroccan cities.

Al Ahdath newspaper learnt from a security source that the cell was aiming to undermine Moroccos security by attacking tourist attractions in Casablanca and Marrakech.

This is the second cell busted in a week, following the dismantling of a five-member terrorist cell in a joint operation by Moroccan and Spanish security services.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has refused entry to Ukraine for three years to Russian comedian Danila Poperechny, who had to give a concert in Kyiv on May 18, the SBU's press service has told an Ukrinform correspondent.

"The SBU has banned Poperechny from entering [Ukraine] for three years from April 12, 2018," the SBU's press center said.

In general, during 2017-2018, 117 artists and other public figures from Russia who violated Ukrainian legislation on visiting the temporarily occupied Crimea were refused entry to Ukraine. On May 14, Svetlana Surganova (Surganova and Orchestra) was banned from entering Ukraine due to her visits to Russian-occupied Crimea.

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The Russian occupation of Crimea became possible, including, due to the deportation of the indigenous people 74 years ago.

First Deputy Information Policy Minister of Ukraine Emine Dzhaparova said this at a press conference on Tuesday.

"When we recall the events of 2014, we understand that the occupation is also a consequence of the deportation of 1944, when the indigenous people were evicted from the peninsula," Dzhaparova said.

According to her, the people, who were delivered to Crimea instead of Crimean Tatars, were mainly from the Russian Federation and became "the cause of political processes in Crimea, and for this reason Russia declares its special ties with Crimea and the protection of the Russian-speaking population in Crimea."

As the first deputy minister stressed, Russia still uses the traditional mechanism of replacing the population in Crimea to strengthen its positions after the occupation.

According to Dzhaparova, "tens of thousands of various consultants, servicemen, government officials are migrating from Russia to Crimea. Even teachers are brought from Russia."

She stressed that the de facto Russian authorities in Crimea are doing everything possible to turn Crimean Tatars into people non grata.

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The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have moved to the active phase of neutralizing the anti-Ukrainian activity of a Russian media entity, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko has said.

"Today the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the SBU moved to the active phase of neutralizing the anti-Ukrainian activities of another Russian media entity," he wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

According to Lutsenko, investigators have evidence of the realization of "well-paid anti-Ukrainian attacks by this entity [RIA Novosti-Ukraine], participation of Ukrainian citizens who simultaneously received Russian citizenship in this disinformation war."

The actions of these individuals fall under the signs of Article 111 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - high treason, Lutsenko said.

According to earlier reports, representatives of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the SBU on Tuesday raided the Kyiv offices of the RIA Novosti news agency.

According to the media, law enforcement officers detained Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the chief of the Ukrainian department of RIA Novosti.

In response to these investigative actions, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov promised that Moscow would take action in response.

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The minister stressed that the restoration of peace on the Ukrainian soil depends on Russia's readiness to stop its aggression against Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has called on the OSCE PA to use all available tools to ensure the Kremlin's respect for the Helsinki Final Act principles and to abandon Russia's aggressive policy toward Ukraine.

During the meeting with of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly delegation headed by the President George Tsereteli, Klimkin acknowledged the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in the OSCE and expressed his gratitude to the President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) George Tsereteli for his strong support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity in face of the Russian military aggression in Donbas and illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, according to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press center.

Read alsoFT: MI5 chief issues public warning to Russia in wake of Skripal attack

The minister stressed that the restoration of peace on the Ukrainian soil depends on Russia's readiness to stop its aggression against Ukraine.

Tsereteli assured of the OSCE PA consistent support of the territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders and of Assembly's readiness to further promote Ukrainian parliamentary initiatives. According to Tsereteli, the approval, in recent years, by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly of seven relevant resolutions in support of Ukraine has been considered as a consolidated position of Assembly's parliamentarians.

OSCE PA president stressed that during his yesterday's visit to Donetsk region of Ukraine he had an opportunity to witness the grave security and humanitarian situation in Donbas, as well as emphasized on the important role of the OSCE SMM.
Gitlianska said chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine had been detained.

The press secretary of the Ukrainian SBU Security Service's chief, Olena Gitlianska, has said the SBU officers are conducting searches in the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine.

"hief of RIA Novosti Ukraine has been detained," she wrote on Facebook.

Read alsoSBU raids office of banned Communist Party, home of leader Symonenko

Gitlianska said the agents of the Security Service of Ukraine, together with the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, have disclosed the activities of the network of media structures controlled by the Russian Federation.

"The law enforcers established that they [media structures] had been used by the aggressor country in the context of a hybrid information war against Ukraine. Investigative actions are under way," she said.
The German Foreign Ministry said it had been in touch with its Ukrainian counterpart to express its concern.

A Ukrainian diplomat in Germany has been suspended and could be recalled, Ukraine's foreign ministry said on Monday, following reports the consul had posted anti-Semitic content on social media.

Screenshots shared online claim to show Vasyl Marushchynets, who works at Ukraine's consulate in Hamburg, blaming Jews for World War II and saying "death to the anti-fascists" on his private Facebook page, Reuters wrote.

Reuters was not able to verify the images. Marushchynets and the Hamburg consulate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read alsoForeign Ministry: No increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine

"Anti-semitism and those who stir up inter-ethnic discord can have no place either in civilized society or in the foreign ministry," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on Twitter.

Asked what action the foreign ministry had taken in response to the reports about Marushchynets, ministry spokeswoman Mariana Betsa said a consul had been suspended.

"The question of recalling him is being considered," she said by telephone without referring to anyone by name.

The German Foreign Ministry said it had been in touch with its Ukrainian counterpart to express its concern.

"We are looking at the anti-Semitic statements of the Ukrainian consul with concern. Such statements are totally unacceptable. We have clearly communicated this to the Ukrainian side," a foreign ministry spokesman said in a statement.

"It's good that Ukrainian foreign minister Klimkin made it clear that anti-Semitism has no place at the Ukrainian Foreign ministry and that he will initiate proceedings."

The episode is potentially embarrassing for the Ukrainian authorities, who are keen to counter allegations by the Kremlin and Russian media that far-right and extreme nationalist attitudes are prevalent in Ukraine.
Simonyan said Kyiv decided to take revenge for the Crimean bridge.

Editor-in-Chief of the Russia Today television channel Margarita Simonyan says the officers of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine have blocked the work of the channel's Kyiv office.

"Kyiv decided to take revenge for the Crimean bridge. They broke into our office, there is no contact with the employees, the website is not updated, telephones are blocked," she wrote on Twitter.

      .    ,     ,   ,  .    (@M_Simonyan) May 15, 2018

As UNIAN reported earlier, the press secretary of the Ukrainian SBU Security Service's chief, Olena Gitlianska, said the SBU officers were conducting searches in the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine.
The MP also said the only weapon she has is a Glock 17 award pistol.

Ukrainian Member of Parliament Nadiia Savchenko, who is suspected of plotting terrorist attacks and seizing state power, says she is ready to serve 22 years in Russian prisons in exchange for 60 Kremlin hostages from Ukraine.

"As for me, I understand what could be my fate in Russia. If 60 Ukrainian captives and Crimean Tatars who are being held in Russian prisons are swapped for me, I will agree to serve 22 years in a Russian prison," TV Channel 112 Ukraine quoted Savchenko as saying at a court hearing on May 15.

Read alsoSavchenko's lie detector test hindered over hunger strike complications

The MP also said the only weapon she has is a Glock 17 award pistol given to her by Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy.

"Regarding weapons, Andriy Parubiy handed me the only weapon I possess. It is stored in the licensing department, since it was confiscated during the search. This is a Glock 17 pistol, which Parubiy presented me. Nobody gave me or transferred any other weapons. Any other speculations or fantasies will be revealed at court hearings on the merits," Savchenko added.

As UNIAN reported, the Verkhovna Rada on March 22 green-lighted the arrest of MP Nadiia Savchenko, a former Ukrainian pilot released from a Russian prison as part of a prisoner-of-war exchange. Ukraine's prosecutors charged Savchenko with plotting a coup and an act of terror in Ukraine, following an elaborate sting operation by SBU Security Service agents, who initially targeted former hostage swap negotiator Volodymyr Ruban.

Read alsoSavchenko loses 15 kg during hunger strike

The latter is believed to have conspired with Savchenko. Savchenko is suspected of committing crimes under Part 1 of Article 109 (actions aimed at the forcible change or overthrow of the constitutional order or seizure of state power); Part 1 of Article 14 (preparations for a crime), Part 2 of Article 28 (committing a crime by a group of persons, a group of persons by prior agreement, an organized group or a criminal organization), Article 112 (an attempted attack on the life of a public figure), Part 3 of Article 258 (an act of terror); Part 1 of Article 258-3 (creation of a terrorist group or organization) and Part 1 of Article 263 (illegal possession of weapons, ammunition or explosives) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

On March 23, Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky district court ruled that Savchenko be remanded in custody for 59 days without bail.

She announced in the courtroom she would go on hunger strike, denying plans to flee Ukraine.

On March 29, Kyiv's Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the first instance court to keep Savchenko behind bars for a period of 59 days until May 20.

It became known on May 11 that Savchenko's two lawyers  Oleh Soloviy and Dmytro Buhai  had refused to work for her.
It is noted Putin first talked with the builders of the bridge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended the opening of the Crimean bridge.

Earlier, the occupation authorities announced he would personally take part in the ceremony.

It is noted Putin first talked with the builders of the bridge.

Being at the wheel of a Kamaz truck, Putin led a column of trucks. Before that, he got acquainted with the readiness of the Unified Traffic Control Center for the operation of transport passage through the Kerch Strait.

Motor traffic along the Crimean bridge will be opened at 05:30 on May 16.

As UNIAN reported earlier, right after the illegal seizure by Russia of the Crimean peninsula, on March 19, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin voiced the need to build a bridge which would connect the territory with Russia's mainland Krasnodar Krai. Subsequently, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed off an order to appoint Stroygazmontazh, a company owned by Putin's crony Arkady Rotenberg, as a general contractor for the project.

The Russian government planned to complete the pass over the Strait of Kerch before December 2018.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine officially declared February 20, 2014, the date of the beginning of the temporary occupation of Crimea by Russia. Western states did not recognize the annexation of Crimea and imposed a series of economic sanctions against Russia. Moscow has denied any accusations of the illegal occupation of Crimea, calls its act "restoration of historical justice".
Opening the bridge across the Kerch Strait is an attempt to legitimize the annexation of part of Ukraine's territory.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed its strong protest against the launch of the bridge across the Kerch Strait by Russia in occupied Crimea and once again stressed that the construction of this facility without the consent of Ukraine is unlawful.

"Such actions by Moscow fundamentally contradict the generally recognized norms and principles of international law, grossly violate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 1982 and bilateral treaty obligations to Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement on May 15 when Russia officially opened the bridge.

Opening the bridge across the Kerch Strait is in fact an attempt to legitimize the annexation of part of Ukraine's sovereign territory against the backdrop of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine and the temporary occupation of the Crimean peninsula, the ministry said.

Read alsoPutin opens Crimean bridge

"The construction of the bridge, like any other actions of the Kremlin's occupying authorities, in no way can change the status of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as an integral part of the territory of Ukraine in its internationally recognized borders," the statement said. "The Russian Federation, as an occupying state, is fully responsible for the consequences of its internationally wrongful acts and will reimburse the harm caused."

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry stressed that Ukraine would consistently work to expand national and international sanctions against individuals and legal entities involved in the illegal construction of the Kerch Strait bridge.

As UNIAN reported, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the need to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait immediately after the annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

Originally, the bridge was expected to be built before 2018 and put into operation in the summer of 2019.
The PC (Personal Communications) Police. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Despite its manifest desire to mislead the public about its activities and intentions, Donald Trumps White House might well be the most transparent of any in our history. The administration allowed an adversarial reporter unfettered access to the West Wing for most of Trumps first six months in office. And even after John Kelly evicted Michael Wolff, the administration continued to keep the public informed about every little piece of petty palace intrigue that transpired at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue  including those generated by staffers keeping the public informed about every little piece of petty palace intrigue that transpires at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Thus, White House staffers leaked word last week that an administration aide had made an irreverent comment about John McCains impending death  and the White House responded by redoubling its efforts to crack down on leaks, which we know, because the details of said efforts immediately leaked.

On Thursday, administration staffers gave CNN an intimate look into how John Kellys ban on personal communication devices in the White House has been playing out. Specifically, they divulged that an anti-leaking squad  armed with devices that can detect the presence of non-government-issued phones  now patrols the West Wing in search of traitors:

Officials now either leave their personal devices in their cars, or, when they arrive for work each morning, deposit them in lockers that have been installed at West Wing entrances  Sources said its common to find several staffers huddled around the lockers throughout the day, perusing their neglected messages. The lockers buzz and chirp constantly from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The ban isnt based on an honor system. Sweeps are carried out to track down personal devices that have made it past the lobby and into the building. According to sources who are familiar with the sweeps, men dressed in suits and carrying large handheld devices have been seen roaming the halls of the West Wing, moving from room to room, scouring the place for devices that arent government-issued. If one is detected, one of the men will ask those in the room if someone forgot to put their phone away  if no one says they have a phone, the men begin searching the room.

Alas, there are no signs that the phone patrol has managed to plug the sieve. Ultimately, the presidents management philosophy  pitting his underlings against each other in a battle for who can best flatter his ego, subjecting those who fail to abusive tirades, and, most critically, making massively consequential policy decisions on the basis of what he hears in the media  ensures that the leaks will just keep coming. As leakers who spoke with Axios explained:

The most common substantive leaks are the result of someone losing an internal policy debate, a current senior administration official told me. By leaking the decision, the loser gets one last chance to kill it with blowback from the public, Congress or even the President.

Otherwise, the official added, you have to realize that working here is kind of like being in a never-ending Mexican Standoff. Everyone has guns (leaks) pointed at each other and its only a matter of time before someone shoots. Theres rarely a peaceful conclusion so you might as well shoot first.

A former senior White House official who turned leaking into an art form made a slightly more nuanced defense of the practice. Leaking is information warfare; its strategic and tactical  strategic to drive narrative, tactical to settle scores, the source said.

So, expect leaks (and leaks about leaks, and leaks about leaks about leaks) to continue flooding from the Trump White House for the duration of its tenure.
Vyshinsky is in the Myrotvorets database.

Deputy head of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine Viktor Kononenko says chief of the Kyiv-based office of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, who was detained in Kyiv on May 15, was paid EUR 53,000 every month for discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

"EUR 53,000 for subversive activities is only a proven amount. According to our data, the financing exceeds EUR 100,000 per month," Kononenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on May 15.

The money came from Russia to Serbia, then from Serbia to Ukraine, where it was distributed by Vyshinsky among the structures and persons involved in the unlawful activities.

Read alsoRussia Today propaganda channel says SBU raiding its Kyiv office

"While [Ukrainians] on the squares of our cities and towns were paying tribute to dead Ukrainian soldiers, they in the center of Kyiv were producing materials claiming that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had allegedly been shelling civilians in Donbas and committing other unlawful deeds. Mister Vyshinsky was regularly paid for this," he said.

Kononenko said that Vyshinsky jointly with several other journalists had started actively supporting the terrorist organizations, the "DPR" and the "LPR," after his return from Crimea in 2014.

In addition, Vyshinsky was included in the Myrotvorets website's list, as he has actively covered the Russian occupation forces' activities in Donbas and Crimea. In 2014, he was awarded with the Russian Medal of the Order "For Merits to the Fatherland" for "objective coverage of events in Crimea."
The authorities are accusing the media outlets of anti-Ukrainian activities and announced several raids as part of the investigation.

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir has raised concern over a raid by the SBU Security Service of Ukraine against Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and TV Channel RT offices in Kyiv on May 15 as well as the searches of homes of journalists and their arrests.

"I express serious concern about this morning's raid on Russian media offices in Kyiv, the arrest of journalists, and the search of journalists' homes. I reiterate my call on the authorities to refrain from imposing unnecessary limitations on the work of foreign journalists, which affects the free flow of information and freedom of the media," he said in a statement posted on the OSCE's website.

Read alsoChief of RIA Novosti's Kyiv office indicted on charges of treason  SBU

"I recall that under the Helsinki Final Act, the OSCE participating States have committed to facilitating the conditions under which journalists from one participating State exercise their profession in another participating State," Desir said. "This applies to the accreditation of journalists and correspondents of foreign media."

"The fight against propaganda must not fall short of international standards and should not represent disproportionate interference in media activities," he said.

According to reports, Ukrainian security services raided the RIA Novosti and TV Channel RT offices in Kyiv on May 15. The bureau chief of RIA Novosti Ukraine, Kirill Vyshinsky, a Ukrainian citizen who also has a Russian passport, was arrested along with other journalists and later charged with high treason.

The authorities are accusing the media outlets of anti-Ukrainian activities and announced several raids as part of the investigation.

Desir said he continues to closely follow the developments surrounding the searches of the media outlets by the Ukrainian security services.
Vyshinsky has a medal "For the Return of Crimea" from Putin.

Chief of RIA Novosti's Kyiv office Kirill Vyshinsky, who was detained on May 15, has been indicted on charges of high treason.

"The SBU Security Service of Ukraine informs that Kirill Vyshinsky, the head of the anti-Ukrainian propagandist media organization RIA Novosti Ukraine, has been notified of charges of committing a crime and detained under Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Criminal proceedings have been opened under Part 1 of Article 111 (high treason) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine," Press Secretary of the SBU Security Service Olena Gitlianska wrote on Facebook on May 15.

It was established that in spring 2014, when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea, Vyshinsky produced anti-Ukrainian materials and received a medal "For the Return of Crimea" from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the SBU said.

Read alsoPoroshenko: Russia uses 'Immortal Regiment' as element of hybrid warfareVyshinsky jointly with several other journalists started actively supporting the terrorist organizations in Donbas, the "DPR" and the "LPR," after his return from Crimea in 2014.

Deputy head of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine Viktor Kononenko says Vyshinsky had been paid EUR 53,000 every month for discrediting the Armed Forces of Ukraine. "EUR 53,000 for subversive activities is only a proven amount. According to our data, the financing exceeds EUR 100,000 per month," Kononenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on May 15.
No casualties are reported among the Ukrainian military.

Russian-led forces mounted 42 attacks on Ukrainian troops in Donbas in the past day.

Read alsoJFO: Russian-led forces mount 63 attacks on Ukraine army in Donbas in past day

"Thanks to 'active defense', the Ukrainian units managed to kill one militant, while three others were wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on May 15, 2018.

No casualties are reported among the Ukrainian military.

The occupiers opened fire near the town of Zolote, and the villages of Novozvanivka and Troyitsky (Luhansk region), the villages of Zalizne and Novhorodske, and Butivka coal mine (Donetsk region), the report says.
Observers could not ascertain whether it carried a coffin or not.

The OSCE Observer Mission based at the Russian checkpoints of Gukovo and Donetsk has seen a funeral service vehicle coming from Russia to the occupied Donbas, eastern Ukraine.

"On 12 May at 18:55 a funeral service vehicle arrived at the Gukovo BCP [Border Crossing Point] from the Russian side and crossed quickly into Ukraine. The same day at 20:42, the vehicle returned to the Russian Federation," the OSCE said in its weekly update published on May 15, 2018.

An observer team (OT) could not ascertain whether it carried a coffin or not, the OSCE said.

What is more, the OTs observed ambulances on three occasions at the Donetsk BCP during the reporting period.

Read alsoBellingcat identifies Russian officers, militants as perpetrators of January 2015 Mariupol artillery strike

"On two occasions, on 9 and 14 of May respectively, an ambulance with Russian Federation registration plates entered the BCP from the Russian Federation, before returning less than one hour later without crossing the border. On one occasion, on 14 of May at 01:56, one ambulance with 'LPR' ['Luhansk People's Republic] plates entered the BCP from Ukraine, underwent border formalities and crossed into the Russian Federation. The OT was able to observe one paramedic and one woman in civilian clothes in the vehicle," it said.

According to the OSCE, at 09:56 on May 10, at the Donetsk BCP, a convoy of six vehicles, four civilian cars and two police escorts arrived from the Russian Federation. "The vehicles underwent border formalities and crossed to Ukraine at 10:20. One of the police cars went back to the Russian Federation immediately. The OT could observe passengers in civilian clothes. During the convoy crossing, Russian Federation border guards stopped traffic inside the BCP," it said.
O'Sullivan said European leaders will host meetings in the coming days with partners and stakeholders to address the situation.

The European signatories to the Iran nuclear deal are seeking ways to soften the bite of U.S. sanctions on companies doing business in the Islamic Republic, David O'Sullivan, the European Union's ambassador to the United States, said at the Atlantic Council on May 14.

Though upset by U.S. President Donald J. Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal, the European signatories are committed to the agreement, according to the Atlantic Council.

"The European Union (EU) will maintain its commitment to the nuclear deal, as long as Iran does the same," said O'Sullivan. "We Europeans believe that we are bound by our commitment if we want Iran to stay in the deal," he added.

O'Sullivan delivered a rousing endorsement of the deal and expressed his profound dismay at Trump's May 8 decision to withdraw from it.

"This was never where we hoped we would be," O'Sullivan said, "with a heavy heart." However, he added, "maybe we shouldn't be entirely surprised, but that doesn't stop me from expressing my extreme disappointment and regret with where we now are."

Read alsoTrump pulls U.S. out of Iran nuclear deal

The Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), negotiated between the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany  known as the P5+1  and Iran was designed to curb Iran's nuclear program. It was signed in 2015.

O'Sullivan said European leaders will host meetings in the coming days with partners and stakeholders to address the situation. Further, European leaders will discuss their response to Trump's announcement on the margins of the Balkans Summit in Sofia this week. There they will begin to discuss a coherent and cohesive policy response to preserve European business interests in Iran, while protecting their investments from U.S. sanctions.

Trump, while announcing his decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal, also ordered the re-imposition of sanctions on Iran. Non-U.S. companies doing business in Iran will be hit by secondary sanctions.

"We will have to consider the negative effects of any primary or secondary sanctions re-introduced by the United States on any European firms" currently operating in Iran, said O'Sullivan.

However, with regard to any specific legislation to address the issue of sanctions, O'Sullivan said, "when we better understand how this is going to be managed [the re-imposition of sanctions], we will know how to respond from the European side."

O'Sullivan said, "this is not just about the ability of European countries to do business with Iran." Other countries, such as China and Russia, "will do business in Iran," he added.

Though Europe will do its best to keep the deal afloat and convince Iran to uphold its commitment without the United States, O'Sullivan said: "I very much doubt it will be possible to reinstate anything like that international consensus [in the JCPOA] given that it is the United States walking away from a deal that Iran agreed to."

Trump's decision to back out of the deal, "is something which we feel puts us in a very difficult position," said O'Sullivan. European allies, including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, implored Trump to uphold the agreement, and seek additional provisions to address his concerns over Iran's ballistic missiles and destabilizing activity in the region.

Read alsoReuters: Oil holds gains as markets tighten amid OPEC cuts, Iran sanctions

However, Trump withdrew from what he called a "disastrous deal," saying: "The fact is, this was a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made. It didn't bring calm, it didn't bring peace, and it never will."

According to O'Sullivan, "the deal is serving the purpose for which it was designed, which is to prevent Iran from ever designing or owning a nuclear weapon, which is to make the world a safer place."

In response to Trump's assertions, O'Sullivan countered one of the key "myths" about the deal. Addressing the claim that the deal has an expiration date, at which time Iran is free to return to its military nuclear program, O'Sullivan said that "this is a deal, in perpetuity, where Iran commits itself firmly and solidly before the international community that it will never acquire a nuclear weapon."

He said that "Iran could change its mind, as the United States has changed its mind, but then it would be in breach of the agreement."

As a result of the solid framework of the agreement, "we continue to believe, in Europe, that the JCPOA is a vital element of our national, European security," said O'Sullivan, adding, "It is also vital for the region, and more globally."

"We do not see a credible, peaceful alternative to the JCPOA," O'Sullivan said. "Frankly," he said, "the United States has not presented a credible alternative before or since [Trump's announcement."

O'Sullivan described the JCPOA as "a strategic, multilateral agreement," and "the single most important working model of nuclear nonproliferation."

As for the EU's relationship with the United States, "it's true to say that we're going through a slightly turbulent period in the transatlantic relationship," said O'Sullivan. He added, "this is just a moment that we're not on the same page."
Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means, Reuters wrote.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it "a massacre".

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gaza's ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli military's actions as self-defence of his country's borders.

Read alsoDW: Clashes erupt in Gaza as U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem set to open

In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for "having the courage to keep your promises".

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the foreign relations subcommittee that covers the region, told Reuters the situation was "tragic" and said "It's not viewed as the U.S. trying to solve a problem, it's viewed as the U.S. just stepping away from the problem, and that's sad."

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem  a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians  should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.
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The people of Kalash in Chitral have been working to preserve their heritage so as to save it from becoming a part of the past.

CHITRAL, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :The people of Kalash in Chitral have been working to preserve their heritage so as to save it from becoming a part of the past. One of their efforts is the school named' Kalasha Dur' constructed within the premises of a museum in Bumboret, where students are taught about their culture and heritage in the native language along with classes on subjects from the regular curriculum.

The school, called Kalash Culture and Traditional School, was built in 2007 and currently has 200 pupils studying in Primary grades. Imran Kabeer, Kalash Culture and Traditional School Chairperson said, the school was built by a group of young women and men of Kalash, who came up with the idea when they saw children of the community losing touch with their local culture.

He said school expenses are paid through earnings that come from the museum, but locals have been strongly supporting the initiative as most of the teachers are working voluntarily. So far students are enrolled in primary as the school has not yet been registered for matriculation, Kabeer said, adding that until then children of the valley were being taught basic subjects in their native language called Kalasha.

The locals are also supported by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums in preserving their heritage. The provincial department is playing its part with a project for restoration of the crumbling infrastructure of Kalash valleys.

Under the three-year project that would cost Rs60 million, the KP government would restore three old houses in the valleys and will also expand the 700-year-old graveyard of Kalash community that is situated in Bumboret.

KP Directorate of Archeology Field Officer Syed Gul Kalash, the first archeology lady of the area and In-charge of Chitral museum, said arrangement would be done in the graveyard to create walking space for tourists and others going there.

Other than the graveyard, halls built in the valleys for festive occasions would also be expanded to accommodate more people. The idea of expanding halls was suggested by Wazeerzada, a social activist belonging to the community and said they wanted to expand the halls in order to easily accommodate locals and tourists, who come to their valleys to see the annual festivities.

Wazeerzada said they sent a proposal for expansion of halls and graveyard to the KP government that disbursed the funds with which they would be buying the required land. The Kalash people have been living in the valleys, amid mountains of Chitral, since hundreds of years.

While talking about the Kalash community, an expert on archaeology, Nawazuddin, said some researchers suggest that Kalash people came to the valleys in Chitral from Afghanistan with Alexander the Great and stayed there as they could not leave because of harsh weather conditions. Other research states they migrated to the valleys because of the water and greenery there.
Greitens was surprisingly confident for a man still facing impeachment and at least one felony charge. Photo: Jim Salter/AP/REX/Shutterstock/Jim Salter/AP/REX/Shutterstock

Embattled Missouri governor Eric Greitens got some good news on Monday when prosecutors dropped their felony invasion-of-privacy charge against him just days before his trial was set to begin. Greitens proclaimed it a great victory in a statement on the courthouse steps  though the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys office said its seeking a special prosecutor, the case may be refiled, and hes still facing a political storm that could end his governorship.

Prosecutors said that Greitens took a nude photo of his lover without her consent in 2015, then threatened release the image if she didnt keep quiet about the affair. The charge was dropped after a judge ruled on Monday that the defense could call Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who filed the felony charge, as a witness. Greitenss attorneys have accused her of misconduct, and covering for a lead investigator committing perjury.

The ruling didnt mean that prosecutors had to drop the charge, but other issues threatened to undermine their case: some of their expert witnesses were disqualified, the woman in the case has been reluctant to go public, and theyve failed to find any evidence of the photo in Greitenss phone or iCloud. The woman said she heard his phone click, but she was blindfolded and never saw the image.

Without a photo the charge could be difficult to prove, and Anders Walker, a law professor at St. Louis University, told the New York Times that he doubts prosecutors would bring a similar charge. I think the circuit attorney sat down over lunch, decided that since no photograph was found in discovery, that this case was over, Walker said.

Greitens certainly isnt out of the woods. A special legislative session that could lead to the governors impeachment is set to start on Friday. In testimony to legislators, Greitenss former lover accused him of various violent, nonconsensual sex acts. Hes admitted to the affair, but says it was entirely consensual. Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe said the prosecutors decision would not affect the legislative investigation.

There are unfortunately a lot of disturbing allegations surfacing besides the original allegation, Kehoe said. When the committee is ready, they will present what they found to the full House and they will make a decision based on the facts, and not from what you may or may not be seeing in St. Louis.

Greitens is also facing another felony charge related to allegations that he illegally obtained the donor list from a veterans charity he founded and used it to raise money for his 2016 campaign.

Nevertheless, on Monday Greitens spoke like a man whos battled adversity beyond his control, and suggested theres something universal about the experience of being accused of attempting to blackmail ones former mistress:

This experience has been humbling, and I have emerged from it a changed man. I think that in all of our lives, we have to deal with pain. I think that if we work through it in the right way, we can work through pain and find wisdom. In all of our lives we have to deal with suffering. If we deal with suffering in the right way we can emerge with strength. I also believe, as I think many people of faith do, that even in the hardest and most difficult situations, we can find tremendous blessings.

His statement included one line apologizing for the pain that this process and my actions have caused my family, my friends, and the people of Missouri. However, Greitens quickly moved on to asking people of goodwill to come together so that all of us can continue to do good together (assuming that he isnt removed from office or found guilty of a separate felony).
An orientation session on Capacity Planning and ORIC Automation system has been held at Islamia College University, Peshawar (ICP).

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :An orientation session on Capacity Planning and ORIC Automation system has been held at Islamia College University, Peshawar (ICP). Vice Chancellor, Islamia University, Prof.

Dr. Habib Ahmad and Worthy Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Zia ul Qayyum University of Gujrat chaired the session. The project is an initiative by HEC on empowering HEIs on Capacity Planning and ORIC Automation.

The determinants of effective capacity include several factors such as facilities management, human resource management, financial management, infrastructure and operations. HEC's CPS & ORIC Automation System can help to extract relevant information from past and ongoing activities that can be used as the basis for programmatic fine-tuning, reorientation and future planning.

It will act as catalyst in effective HEIs system based planning, monitoring and evaluation of ORICS. The session was attended by the Registrar, Deans, Director ORIC, QEC and Director IT of ICU, Peshawar.

VC Prof. Dr. Habib Ahmad opened the session with a brief introduction, background and passion of university in deploying automation systems. Dr. Zahoor Jaan Director IT gave comprehensive presentation on Islamia College University Peshawar infrastructure with rich historical background, existing systems and IT projects in pipeline.

Prof. Dr. Zia ul Qayyum PD of this project briefed the session with a widespread background, introduction, functions and features of ORIC & CPS Automation. He further enlightened CPS as a component of Managed Learning Environment (MLE) and how the remaining components viz Higher education Learning Platform (HELP), Campus Management System, Enterprise Resource Planning complete the ecosystem of MLE.

Tanveer Ahmed consultant HEC gave the detail presentation on usability, functions, features, technical aspects and challenges. CPS and ORIC automation will complement ICUP existing IT infrastructure while providing aerial view of HEIs through drilling it down to lower level of abstraction.

CPS and ORIC Automation System will be deployed in 10 public sector universities viz; Islamia College University Peshawar, UET Lahore, University of Gujrat, Government College University Faisalabad (GCUF), Islamia University Bahawalpur, University of Haripur, International Islamic University Islamabad, The University of Sindh Jamshoro, University of Baluchistan Quetta and NED University of Engineering & Technology Karachi.

In concluding remarks, Prof. Dr. Habib Ahmad has applauded the efforts of HEC project team while showing keen interest and passion in deployment of this system and remaining components of MLE.
The Department of Clinical Medicine & Surgery of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture Research Board (PARB) organised a one-day "Bovine Udder Health Symposium" with the theme of Sustainable Quality Milk Production here on Tuesday in City Campus Lahore

LAHORE (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) The Department of Clinical Medicine & Surgery of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Lahore in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture Research board (PARB) organised a one-day "Bovine Udder Health Symposium" with the theme of Sustainable Quality Milk Production here on Tuesday in City Campus Lahore.

Secretory Livestock and Dairy Development Department Punjab (L&DDD) Naseem Sadiq presided over the inaugural session of the symposium while UVAS Vice-Chancellor Meritorious Prof Dr Talat Naseer Pasha, Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Masood Rabbani, PARB Executive Member Prof Dr Muhammad Abdullah, Prof Dr Aneela Zameer Durrani and a large number of farm managers, professionals, students and faculty member were present.

Speaking on the occasion, Secretory Livestock Naseem Sadiq said that livestock department is providing veterinary clinical and advisory services successfully in all over the Punjab to livestock farmers at their doorsteps through mobile veterinary dispensaries (MVD) & bikes by using trained veterinary staff.

He said production of quality milk relied on cow/buffalo udder health, if udder is infected by Mastitis which caused the economic loss for poor livestock farming community, even this disease results into slaughtering of effected animals.

He said it is direly needed to spread awareness among livestock farming ladies regarding disease prevention, measures and take care of infected animals by mastitis. He lauded UVAS to organise such an informative symposium for creating awareness among livestock professionals.

He said it is highly important for the development of livestock and dairy sector. In his address, the Vice-Chancellor said that if one of the cow/buffalo teats is infected by mastitis, gradually whole udder is wasted due to swelling and spreading of mastitis.

He called for focusing on prevention of mastitis disease not on the treatment of animals. He urged the experts to prepare brochures in urdu language for the guidance of livestock farmers regarding prevention of disease, safe handling and how to look after the sick dairy animals.

He also lauded the livestock department leadership for actively working for providing clinical facilities for the benefit and profitability of poor farming community. The objective of the symposium was to create awareness among livestock farmers and farm managers and gather professionals under one roof to discuss various issues regarding cause of mastitis, symptoms of disease, animal handling, precautionary measures to control disease & how dispose of infected animal milk and udder health for the better milk production.

Eminent professors and professionals were the resource persons of the symposium and they delivered their informative lectures to the participants on Udder health and milk quality, Current status and risk analysis of bovine mastitis in Pakistan, Impact of nutrition on udder health, Udder health and reproductive performance of dairy cow, Monitoring udder health on dairy farm, Recent developments in mastitis control, Mastitis Treatment  Antibiotics vs Non-antibiotics and Role of vaccine in control of bovine mastitis etc.
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China believes that Pakistan's coal-based power resources are highly productive and environment friendly and could contribute a lot, enabling the country to produce surplus electricity

Beijing, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018) : China believes that Pakistan's coal-based power resources are highly productive and environment friendly and could contribute a lot, enabling the country to produce surplus electricity.

This was stated by Hu Weidong, Vice President of Dongfang Electric Corporation (DEC) that has been actively engaged in exploiting Pakistan's energy resources. He said Pakistan's coal fired power projects are environment friendly because clean combustion technology with high efficiency and capacity is being used which is robust with zero emissions.

He was briefing a media delegation from Asia Pacific countries during their visit to company in China's Sichuan province. DEC is China's one of the 53 State's Owned Enterprises and it attaches top priority to protect environment during the production of electricity.

It is one of the world largest power generating equipment manufacturers and power plant contractors that has major role in the development of coal-based projects in Pakistan. He was confident that after completion of ongoing power projects, Pakistan will have surplus of electricity and its severe energy crisis will end.

Dongfang Electric Corporation was using super critical technically for combustion in generating power units in coal fired power projects and it is modern technology to burn the coal with and zero emission in generation of electricity to Pakistan.

"I have just come back from Pakistan and he was delighted to see that the country's severe energy crisis was going to end soon.

After completion of ongoing power projects, Pakistan will be in much better position in the power sector, he said adding " We feel pleasure that we have done a lot for resolving Pakistan's energy problem.

" Recently, they have completed Port Qasim power project in Karachi. They also supplied 660 megawatts major steam turbine generator. Our company has also signed first project under the name of Carrot hydro power project that is part of China Pakistan Economic Corridor and it would be the largest hydro project.

The company in the past completed Ghazi Brotha dam. While answering a question, he said that Pakistan has abundant coal resources in Thar and other areas and it has also abundant hydro power's potential which is very environmental friendly.

"As for as coal fired power projects are concerned, sometime people become afraid but coal fired power projects with clean combustion technology is good choice if clean combustion technology is used, he said.

He further added that DEC is producing clean energy by using modern technology as it has completed many nuclear power stations in China and the company has lot of overseas experience. It has intensified efforts in developing high-efficient clean energy capacity in developing hydro, thermal, nuclear, gas, wind and solar power equipment.
(@rukhshanmir)

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Mayor Karachi Wasim Akhtar said 500 city warden will perform duty alongside traffic police on city roads and other locations during Ramzan-ul-Mubarak and another 500 will depute at different locations in the city.

The Mayor said this in a meeting held in his office to review the traffic plan for Ramzan-ul-Mubarak and deployment of city warden, said a statement on Tuesday. He said that the wardens will help, assist and guide the people at city shopping centers, mosques and places of taraveeh prayers especially during peak hours/rush hours and to provide help and assistance to citizens during the Iftar and Taraveeh timings and while shopping at important commercial centers of Karachi.

He said that focal persons should be nominated by departments operating in the city to ensure full and continuous contact among them. The KW&SB and K-Electric must supply uninterrupted supply of water and electricity to citizens during Ramazan so that they could be saved from any difficulty while fasting in the holy month.

The Mayor urged the officers to ensure better flow of traffic on city roads during Ramazan by removing all hurdles and obstacles from around main and subsidiary arteries and managing the charged parking system.

He said the traffic police and city warden have an important role and they must be seen on roads so that citizens could be facilitated. This would be a great service of city if we perform our duty honestly in this month, he added.

The Mayor said to district representatives to identify the locations where city wardens are required during Ramazan. He said the busiest commercial centers and roads should be given more attention.

He said the charged parking department also needs to be made more functional during Ramzan. Deployment of city warden at various places of the city was aimed at ensuring smooth traffic during rush hours in Ramzan and to provide assistance to the people in coordination with the traffic police, he said. APP/ars/ms
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

A two-day International Conference of News Agencies (ICNA) has agreed to establish an International Forum of News Agencies (IFNA) for enhancing their mutual cooperation and coping with the challenges in an environment where the stage quite often is set by the social media

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :A two-day International Conference of News Agencies (ICNA) has agreed to establish an International Forum of News Agencies (IFNA) for enhancing their mutual cooperation and coping with the challenges in an environment where the stage quite often is set by the social media.

The conference, held from May 13 to 14, was organized by Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) under the theme "Pakistan's Media  Opportunities and Challenges", where the experts and veteran journalists in the field brought the spotlight on diverse issues and an urgent need for the newswires to adopt phenomenal change in various formats of news gathering.

As many as 21 delegates from 18 countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Tunisia participated in the conference.

On the first day of the conference, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb said media could be an effective tool in bridging the gaps and catering to the appetite for peace and stability among the nations having tense borders.

National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua said Pakistan was a great and peace loving country, which always stood by the world to contribute to global stability and prosperity. Acting Secretary Information and Broadcasting Shafqat Jalil highlighted aims and objectives of the conference and said free and vibrant media was guarantor of people's rights and protector of democracy.

In his opening remarks, Managing Director APP Masood Malik said that ICNA would help identify the technical and professional areas for strengthening collaboration, and chalk out a strategy to face challenges in the world of digital media.

Chairman Department of Media and Communication Studies, International Islamic University, Dr Zafar Iqbal said in modern times, the state's responsibilities had increased manifold and it had to protect its citizens from misuse of social platforms.

Senior journalist, Ziauddin said the developed countries had strict regulations on use of social media as countries like Germany had passed laws to fine websites propagating hate material. Head of Department Mass Communication NUML, Mufti Jamiluddin said social media provided a lot of information, but its authenticity could be questioned.

It had increased print and electronic media's responsibility in disseminating authentic information. Dr Jabbar from Rifah University pointed out that media could a play role in shaping behavior of society.

During the interactive session, News Editor Union of OIC News Agency, Saudi Arabia ElsadigBashir underlined the need for providing correct information by the government officials so that media persons did not misreport.

Former Federal minister for information Javed Jabbar suggested that representatives of news agencies from across the world should form a federation and meet annually to share ideas, experiences and strategies to keep growing their role in the challenging age of digital media.

"Holding of the news agencies conference is the best idea as it will unite Muslim countries, especially news agencies. This practice should continue as it will usher in a new era of cooperation among news organizations," Seyed Bahador Hosseini, Bureau Chief, Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) of Iran said.

Director Video News Department, Bulgarian News Agency, Borianka Dimitrova stressed the need for agreements between Pakistan and her country to enhance information and news sharing. Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Head of English Department Muhammad Mazen Ayon also stressed connectivity and exchanging media persons' visits and signing agreements among the news agencies.

Gumel Mekova, Chief Correspondent Azerbaijan State News Agency, said Azerbaijan wanted enhanced bilateral cooperation in all spheres. Mohammad Mehdi Rahimi, General Director of Domestic News, Mehr News Agency Iran said that his country was giving more importance to news from Pakistan as it was its neighbouring country and anything happening in Pakistan had impact in Iran.

Eliswan Azly from Indonesian news agency Antara desired expanded news and videos exchange with APP, as he stated that there were 113 channels in Indonesia and Antara needed footages from Pakistan.

Michalis Psilos, Chief Executive Officer of Greek news agency ANA expressed the need for inking a news exchange agreement with the APP, saying Pakistan was a veryimportant country and Greece wanted to promote bilateral relations with it.

Muhammad Usman of Sudan News Agency (SNA) felt the need for a prompt and efficient news exchange service. On second day of the conference, the participants highlighted the media's role in ensuring successful execution of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects by discarding propaganda of anti-CPEC and anti-Pakistan elements.

The moot also decided to set up a five-member Coordination Committee for the operation of International Forum of News Agencies (IFNA) as recommended by the participating countries. Minister for Defence Khurram Dastgir said Pakistan had re-emerged as a peaceful country that had a growing economy and expanding industry made possible after eliminating energy shortages.

In his concluding remarks, APP managing director urged media professionals, particularly those working with news agencies, to cope with the fake news phenomena without compromising on the accuracy and authenticity of the news.

At the end, the conference adopted recommendations electing APP as the IFNA's leader, hosting the forum's annual conference in rotation, creating web portal for sharing text, photos and videos among the member news organizations, deciding establishment of a five-member Coordination Committee for the operation of the platform, agreeing upon operational framework of the newly established portal.

On sidelines of the conference, the APP and National News Agency (NNA) of Lebanon signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) to promote collection and distribution of accurate, useful and objective news, with a view to facilitate better understanding between peoples of the respective countries.

Masood Malik, APP Managing Director and Laure Sleiman, General Director National News Agency (NNA) of Lebanon signed the MoC on behalf of their organizations. The foreign delegates also visited the APP headquarters where MD Masood Malik briefed them about working of the premier news agency.

Later, a dinner was hosted for the visiting delegates. A cultural show was also arranged for the delegates. Renowned musicians and folk performers mesmerized the audience with their enthralling performance and highlighted the rich cultural and traditional values of Pakistan.

The delegates also visited scenic sites of the federal capital including Pakistan Monument, Lok Virsa and Daman e Koh, and went for shopping. The APP Managing Director has thanked the organizers for their untiring efforts to make the conference a success and distributed shields among them.

This conference not only highlighted the image of Pakistan as a peace loving country, but also sent a message of warm hospitality and rich culture and traditions across the borders, he added.
Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Wajid Zia Tuesday completed recording of his statement before the Accountability Court (AC) of Islamabad in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Sharif family members

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head Wajid Zia Tuesday completed recording of his statement before the Accountability Court (AC) of Islamabad in the Al-Azizia Steel Mills reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the Sharif family members.

Defence counsel Khawaja Haris will start cross-examination of the JIT head's statement Wednesday (tomorrow). AC Judge Muhammad Bashir heard the reference. Former prime minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Capt (Retd) Muhammad Safdar attended the court proceedings.

Prosecution witness Wajid Zia, who completed the statement on fourth day, informed the court that despite requests, the accused did not provide the documents and financial statements related to the Hill Metal Company to the JIT.

He said the Hill Metal Company generated profit of 9.9 million Dollars after tax deduction during the years 2010 to 2017. About 88% of the profit was shifted to Nawaz Sharif by the company management during the years 2010 to 2015, he claimed.

He also claimed that in 2015, the company incurred loss of 1.5 million dollars, yet an amount of 2.1 million dollars was transferred to the former prime minister. Opposing the statement, Khawaja Haris said the statements related to Hassan Nawaz and Hussein Nawaz, which could not be presented as evidence in their absence.

Wajid Zia said on the basis of available evidence, the JIT reached the conclusion that Nawaz Sharif was the beneficial owner of Hill Metal Company. The JIT head also claimed that an amount of 0.8 million Pounds was also transferred to Hassan Nawaz in 2015.

The court also heard arguments from both sides at large regarding the NAB's request for recording the statements of accused in the Avenfield property reference under Section 342 and reserved its judgment. Later, the court announced its verdict that it would give a questionnaire to the defence counsel for preparations before recording the statements of accused in the reference.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Highlighting that main focus of the government was welfare of people and upholding supremacy of democracy, Federal Minister for Finance, Dr. Miftah Ismail Tuesday said tax relief to all segments of society has been provided through budget for fiscal year 2018-19, while avoiding imposition of any additional taxes, which is unprecedented in the budgetary history of the country.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Highlighting that main focus of the government was welfare of people and upholding supremacy of democracy, Federal Minister for Finance, Dr.

Miftah Ismail Tuesday said tax relief to all segments of society has been provided through budget for fiscal year 2018-19, while avoiding imposition of any additional taxes, which is unprecedented in the budgetary history of the country.

Winding up the budget debate in the National Assembly, the federal minister expressed the gratitude to all members of the assembly who fully participated in the budget debate, particularly the opposition members, who played positive role despite specific reservations.

Responding to various objections related to presentation of the budget by the incumbent government, he said it was the duty of the parliament to fix direction of national priorities for next financial year prior to the end of current year.

The fiscal budget was an important part of process of legislation which should be done by the elected parliament, he added. Miftah congratulated Chief Ministers of Sindh and Baluchistan for presenting budget of their respective province, but questioned how Sindh presented budget for only three months.

He lauded the role of the Senate and Senate Standing Committee on Finance for preparing many proposals to make the budget result-oriented. He said that as many as 157 recommendations were received from Senate, out of which 108 were related to the Federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), which have been forwarded to Planning and Development Division for further consideration.

He said that out of the remaining 49 recommendations related to Ministry of Finance, 42 were either accepted fully or partially. He said that the government had given relief to the low income people by exempting their incomes from tax, saying that they could now utilize this money on other expenditures including education.

Explaining issues related to exports, the minister said that theses had suffered due to recession in international market, internal security problems and energy crisis during the last some years.

However, he added, the government had announced export package, which resulted in enhancing the exports of the country, adding the exports witnessed increase of 24 per cent in March 2018 and 18 per cent in April 2018.

He said that a new export package was also on cards which is being launched on the direction of Prime Minister and Rs 24 billion has been set aside in the budget, adding further amount could also be provided for the package from supplementary grants, if required.

He rejected the misperception and claims of the some members of the House that the government at one side had withdrawn taxes of about Rs 184 billion and imposed other taxes of Rs400 billion. Similarly he also categorically stated that government did not impose Rs 30 billion taxes on petroleum products, nor was it intending to do so in future.

The minister clarified that enhancing the upper limit of petroleum levy was a constitutional requirement. He said that the budget also provided cushion for the poor segments of society, so the misperception that the budget had nothing to offer for the poor, was wrong.

He said that the government has increased the funding for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) by three times, while the funds for Pakistan Bait-ul-Mall have also been increased from just Rs2 billion in 2013 to Rs 6 billion in the current year and would be Rs10 billion next year.

On public debt issue, the minister said that there had been increase of only 6.1 per cent in the gross public debt and 4.1 per cent in net public debt while during the period from 2008 to 2017, the gross public debt was recorded at 6.4 per cent while the net public debt was 7.2 per cent, which is comparatively higher.

He said that the government had utilized the debt for infrastructure development. He said that in order to provide cheap electricity to the consumers, subsidy of Rs150 billion is being provided.

He said that when this government assumed power in 2013, around 18 hours load-shedding was being observed, while the government added about 12,230 megawatt into the national grid system. The minister said that efforts were being made to overcome circular debt.

He said that the sales tax for Information Technology has been reduced from 15 per cent to 5 per cent, and the provinces have also been asked to take necessary measures in this regard. He said that the government was taking measures to promote agricultural sector, and tax on all fertilizers has been reduced to 2 per cent.

In order to promote local gypsum and overcome gypsum deficiency in cultivable land, 20 per cent duty is being imposed on import of gypsum, he added. Announcing further relief for government employees, the minister announced 50 per cent conveyance allowance from grade-1 to Grade-16.

He said that for low income people, 50 per cent tax exemption is being provided on sales of house upto Rs2.5 million. He said the limit of purchasing property by non-filers has been increased from Rs4 million to Rs 5 million. maw-raz
An old man committed suicide while a youth was killed in a road accident here on Tuesday.

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :An old man committed suicide while a youth was killed in a road accident here on Tuesday. According to police, Abdus Sattar (60), resident of Mustafa Abad, swallowed poisonous pills after being frustrated over domestic issues.

He died at Allied Hospital. Muhammad Irshad s/o Liaqat Ali, resident of Chak No 67-JB, was riding a motorcycle when he slipped and suffered multiple injuries. He was rushed to Allied Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Pakistan has noted with grave concern that despite calls by the international community to comply with UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the two-state solution, US is moving its Embassy to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

Islamabad, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018) : Pakistan has noted with grave concern that despite calls by the international community to comply with UN General Assembly and Security Council resolutions on the two-state solution, US is moving its Embassy to the Holy City of Jerusalem.

This represents a violation of international law and several United Nations Security Council resolutions, in particular resolutions 476 and 478, the press release stated. It may be recalled that both houses of our Parliament have earlier voiced their position on the US decision.

Government and people of Pakistan stand firmly with the Palestinian people. Pakistan also renews its call for establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous State of Palestine, on the basis of internationally agreed parameters, the pre-1967 borders, and with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

Fresh protests were expected Tuesday a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict's bloodiest day in years.

Palestinians on Tuesday mark the Nakba, or "catastrophe," commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned.

Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said.
Pakistan and Nepal have signed the first-ever Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation in the field of literature.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Pakistan and Nepal have signed the first-ever Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for mutual cooperation in the field of literature. This MoU was signed in a ceremony held at Kathmandu , capital of Nepal Monday .

The MoU was signed by Director General, Pakistan academy of Letters (PAL), Dr. Rashid Hameed and Vice Chancellor, Academy of Nepal. Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, Mazhar Javed, Officer of International Affairs at National History and Literary Heritage (NH&LH), Naushad Khaliq and other officials from Pakistan and Nepal were present on the occasion.

The authorities in both the countries will soon start work on preparing strategy for implementation of MoU under which Pakistani literature published in English language will be translated into Nepali language.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, Mazhar Javed appreciated the efforts of NH&LH Division and PAL for promotion of literature in the country. He said MoU between Pakistan and Nepal for enhancing cooperation in literature is a welcome step and this will bring people of both countries close to each other.
Photograph courtesy of Black Car News Above: Doug Schifter with his car.

On a Monday morning in early February, Neil Weiss sat at his kitchen table in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, nursing a cup of coffee while checking messages on his iPad.

A text had arrived at 5:25 a.m. Making it count.

Weiss  the 51-year-old owner and editor of Black Car News, a trade publication serving drivers of New Yorks 84,000 for hire black cars  wasnt sure what that meant. The sender was Doug Schifter, 61, who had driven taxis and black cars in New York City for over four decades. Starting in 2014, he had also written a column called The Drivers Seat for Weiss. Over the course of more than 45,000 words, Schifter had gone from griping about traffic tickets and pedestrians running amok to thundering about the impending collapse of the industry, which would cause massive pain and problems for hundreds of thousands of people. He lambasted politicians for letting Uber and other app-based services flood the market with new drivers, ratcheting up competition and depressing wages. And he begged his fellow workers to band together to demand dignity and a fair days pay.

We are facing extinction, he wrote. The time to organize is NOW!

That morning, Schifter had posted what appeared to be a fresh column on Facebook. Weiss skimmed parts of it. Maybe, he figured, the early-morning text  Making it count  had been Schifters way of telling his editor hed made a new commitment to writing. So at 10:07 a.m., Weiss texted him back: no words, just a big thumbs-up.

Soon after, the phone rang. It was a reporter from the New York Post. Do you have a comment about what happened to Doug Schifter? she asked Weiss.

What do you mean? he said.

Just after sunrise, the reporter told him, Schifter had pulled up to the east gate of City Hall in a black car. Then, without so much as unbuckling his seat belt, he had parked, pointed a shotgun at his face, and pulled the trigger.

Weiss said he couldnt talk. He hung up the phone and wept.

Ubers Casualties

Drivers talk about their work  or the lack thereof  while waiting for fares in designated holding areas at JFK.

Interviews by Alexa Tsoulis-Reay

Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki Photo: Andres Kudacki





















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At the time of his death, Doug Schifter had driven  over 44 years and 4.5 million miles  the equivalent of more than 180 times around the Earth. He drove everything from a yellow Chevy Caprice to black Lincoln Town Cars, luxury SUVs, 80,000-pound tractor-trailers, and RVs. Like many drivers, he regaled his family with tales of having chauffeured the famous (Billy Crystal, Henry Winkler, Marc Anthony) and the otherwise notable (an ambassador, a CBS sportscaster, Michael Bloombergs daughters).

Schifter had been driving since his late teens. Growing up in Canarsie, he had been an introvert, quiet and reserved; his family liked to brag that, by age 4, he could read and comprehend the New York Times. While other kids gathered in the streets for pickup games of stickball and skelly, Doug, a big kid with thick glasses in dark plastic frames, preferred the company of books. What sort of books? The kind with paper in em, jokes George Schifter, one of Dougs two younger brothers, now a retired Air Force veteran. Im serious. He read everything.

That didnt make high school easy. After flunking gym prevented him from graduating, Doug realized he could earn more money driving a cab than helping out at his fathers service station on Flatlands Avenue in Canarsie, a few blocks from where he grew up. He got a taxi license and moved out of his parents house.

Doug Schifter. Photo: Courtesy of George Schifter

In those days, a 40-hour week at the wheel was enough to pay the bills. Though he soon got his GED, the road became Schifters life, eclipsing all else. He lived alone. He didnt date. In the early 1980s, he bought his own taxi medallion  back then they cost around $55,000  and got a yellow cab, which he rented half-time to another cabbie. I was a street legend, he later boasted on Facebook. Douglas took pride  a tremendous amount of pride  in his driving skills, George recalls. He could go from Kennedy airport to lower Manhattan in 19 minutes. And he had to use the sidewalk a few times.

In the 1990s, after selling his yellow-cab medallion, Schifter started driving Lincoln Town Cars for a black-car service called XYZ. Driving a black car was a big step up from being a cabbie. When the market was strong, cabbies could make $30,000 a year, while black-car drivers could take home $100,000. Ten years ago, the earning potential for the black-car industry was still decent, Weiss says. It was solid because you had all these corporate clients. Black cars drove titans of finance and white-shoe attorneys. They didnt rely on the vagaries of customers hailing them on the street. Dougs work wardrobe reflected his new station: fine linen jackets and tailored shirts, a full-length wool coat for winter. He dressed to the nines, George says. Sharp, you know?

Like being a cabbie, driving a black car came with a built-in community  a fraternity of drivers who bonded over lives lived behind the wheel. While he was working for a service called Dial Car  a booming Brooklyn operation founded before the city even began handing out permits for black cars  Schifter became friends with Sultan Faiz, an Afghan refugee who lived in Flushing with his wife and daughter. At six-foot-four, with a serious expression, Schifter could come off as intimidating. But if you ask him for the shirt off his back, he will give it to you, Faiz recalls. At the same time, he would not allow anybody to take his kindness as weakness. For that principle, I loved him. As they idled in taxi holding pens at the airport, waiting for a fare, Schifter and Faiz would sit in each others passenger seats talking about food and religion (Faiz is Muslim; Schifter was Jewish). Whenever one of them clocked in, he would scan the dispatch list for the radio number of the other  410 for Schifter, 248 for Faiz. Faizs daughter, Aisha, called Schifter Uncle Doug.

In 2004, with the money he made driving a black car, Schifter bought a split-level house nestled at the edge of a state forest in the Poconos, 110 miles west of Manhattan. He made the place his sanctuary, setting up a hammock on the back deck and building a library of 400 cookbooks. He made ice cream, baked bread, and marinated meat for barbecue, an obsession for which hed amassed three smokers, a kamado-style ceramic grill, a commercial deli slicer, and a vacuum sealer. He loved sharing new dishes with his fellow drivers; once he drove all the way from the Poconos to Queens to deliver some halal fried chicken hed prepared for Faiz, who had been hospitalized with an autoimmune disease.

Living so far from the city was hard. Commuting to midtown took two and a half hours  on the rare occasions that there wasnt any traffic. One winter morning in 2005, Schifter was up and preparing for work at 2 a.m. Hed been housebound, getting over a nasty cold, and he was eager to get on the dispatchers list for morning fares. As he left the house in the dark, he didnt see the black ice coating the front path. He slipped, bumping down eight stairs and shattering his right hip.

Schifter yelled for help, but no one came  his house was out in the woods, and his nearest neighbors were likely fast asleep. Lying alone in the cold, he dialed 911 on his cell phone. He spent the next 45 minutes waiting for an ambulance.

The surgery went well but laid him up for 90 days, leaving him with little to do but sit and watch the bills roll in. There were huge medical expenses, along with car, mortgage, and insurance payments. Since he wasnt driving, he had no income, and Schifter hadnt prepared for a time when he couldnt work. Money always burned a hole in his pocket, George recalls. He was always giving it away.

Schifters family chipped in to cover the shortfall, but he felt ashamed about taking help from his brothers and mother. It was the last thing on earth I wanted to happen, he later wrote. The despair was overwhelming.

Then things got worse. Scared of falling further behind on the bills, Schifter hurried back to work before hed fully healed from the hip replacement. A week after he started driving again, as he stopped at a red light in Times Square, his car was rear-ended. The crash reinjured his hip. That meant another six weeks off. Schifter was forced to declare bankruptcy. Once he was back on his feet, he began working harder than ever. He lived in his vehicle, George recalls. Unable to spare the time to drive home to the Poconos, Schifter slept in his car most nights, parking at a rest stop near the next mornings job. He kept two suits in rotation, making frequent visits to a dry cleaner. He showered at truck stops.

Over the next decade, the parade of health problems continued. A gastric bypass to control his diabetes led to an abdominal infection; his body took five months to heal. Doctors found a cancerous tumor in his large intestine and performed surgery to remove it. A driver backed into his car in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot, rupturing a disc in Schifters neck. He couldnt afford surgery. The pain was exacerbated by long hours in the drivers seat. He had to work through that, George says.

Police found Schifter in his car outside City Hall, dressed in a crisp white shirt and dress pants. I will not be a slave for chump change, read his suicide note. I would rather be dead. Photo: Theodore Parisienne/for New York Daily News

For a black-car driver like Schifter, it was not a good time to stumble into a financial crisis. Not long after its founding in 2009, a San Francisco start-up called Uber went looking for new markets to conquer with its app-based ride service  and New Yorks antiquated, dysfunctional taxi system made it the perfect target for disruption.

The number of taxi medallions  the de facto operating permits issued for yellow cabs  had stagnated at around 13,500, roughly unchanged since the Great Depression. That was good for drivers, who never had to look long for a fare; great for medallion owners, whose share of the yellow-cab monopoly appreciated faster than New York real estate; and not so great for riders, who often couldnt hail a cab when they needed one, especially if they were anywhere beyond midtown or downtown Manhattan. Passengers could take a for-hire vehicle  including livery cabs, limos, and black cars like the one Schifter drove. But those rides had to be prearranged by phone and could be costly.

After Uber arrived in New York, the price of taxi medallions plunged from $1.3 million to $120,000.

Uber seized on the opportunity. In May 2011, it launched in New York with 100 cars and three promises: a living wage for drivers, a better experience for riders, and big returns for investors. The pitch worked. Over the next six years, as the company blazoned the city with an ad campaign offering drivers the ultimate gig-economy opportunity to side hustle their way into the middle class, the number of for-hire vehicles in New York swelled from 39,708 to 102,536.

Ubers rapid expansion was good for passengers, who could suddenly summon a ride from anywhere in the city. But it was disastrous for almost everyone else. With more cars on the streets, traffic in the city got even slower and more congested. Investors poured more than $21 billion into the company, which has yet to turn a profit. (Uber posted $4.5 billion in losses last year alone, subsidizing rides in an all-out effort to establish a monopoly.) And according to one estimate, the companys drivers  after paying for gas, maintenance, and Ubers commission of 25 percent on every fare  took home barely $10 an hour on average. Last year, Uber agreed to shell out more than $80 million for underpaying drivers in New York  a systematic practice it blamed on an accounting error  and in January it agreed to pay $3 million to settle a class-action suit by New York drivers who accused it of levying excessive fees on their fares.

Veteran drivers like Schifter were hit especially hard. In the course of only a few years, Uber gutted the black-car and livery businesses, both of which had been reliable sources of income for working-class New Yorkers for generations. Cabbies also suffered: From June 2014 to June 2015, according to one analysis of city data, the number of Uber pickups in Manhattan soared by 1.4 million, while the number of taxi pickups plunged by 1.1 million. At the same time, the price of taxi medallions  which peaked at a record $1.3 million in 2014, when Uber was still ramping up  took a steep dive. In January, one sold for $120,000.

In his column in Black Car News, Schifter railed against what he recognized as unfair competition. For decades, drivers had spent their own money to build what the city had effectively promised would be a municipally regulated monopoly on for-hire vehicles, investing hundreds of millions of their hard-earned dollars to buy city-issued medallions and pay for vehicles. Then, almost overnight, the long-standing rules of supply and demand were upended. The customers just dont care, Schifter lamented in one column, essentially summing up Ubers entire business model. They want the lowest price, no matter what.

Everywhere he looked, Schifter saw the signs of an impending taxi apocalypse. One cabdriver told Schifter that he used to work five days a week and take home $1,000. Now he was driving seven days a week and taking home $800. One day, at the Flushing subway terminus, a friend of Schifters saw 30 cabs waiting on fares. In the pre-Uber days, there used to be only four. At JFK, Schifter watched as the taxi lot began to overflow with more waiting vehicles than hed ever seen. There apparently was not enough work in the city and they drove empty to JFK in desperation to get a job, he wrote. The Taxi & Limousine Commission and city government, as well as the state, are clueless as to the ticking time bomb they created.

Black cars, by their very nature, are even more vulnerable to competition from Uber, which offers customers less hassle and a lower price for a similar service. In 2015, Schifter spent an entire Wednesday evening on call, and for the first time in his four decades of driving, not a single job came through. There were times when he averaged less than $4 an hour  and that was before expenses. In April 2017, on the third anniversary of his column, Schifter told readers that he had been spending up to 120 hours each week on call in the city. But despite working every single day, for more than 17 hours a day, he got only 20 jobs. My income is down 50 percent in the past two years! he lamented. And unlike other drivers, he wasnt willing to go to work for the enemy by moonlighting for Uber or Lyft to supplement his dwindling income.

For Schifter, his column was more than a place to express his frustration and anger. It was a spiritual quest  the closest he came to a higher calling. One day, on a long drive to Connecticut, one of his clients suggested a book he had never heard of: Many Lives, Many Masters, a best seller with more than a million copies in print. He ordered it overnight express and devoured it the next day.

Although Schifter had always referred to himself as a natural skeptic, that hadnt kept him from puttering around the existential void, seeking a semblance of order and purpose in what had become a very hard life. The books author, a psychiatrist named Dr. Brian Weiss, claimed that he, too, had once been a hard-nosed skeptic. But after he treated a patient who described having 86 past lives, Weiss wrote, she connected him with spiritual beings called the masters, whose wisdom transformed his life.

The whole thing sounded implausible, but Weiss held degrees from Columbia University and Yale Medical School. He had been featured in the New York Times and interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on national television. Schifter urged George and Faiz to read the book, hoping they would be moved by its message. The books teachings were essentially a Whitmans sampler of the worlds religions, advising readers that acts of charity, hope, and love could advance the immortal spirit. The highest purpose of humanity, Weiss added, was learning: gaining knowledge and passing it along to others.

Schifter found that purpose in his column. Sitting in his car, waiting for jobs that came less and less often, he poured out his wisdom on his iPad. He addressed his readers as Brothers and Sisters, proposing a concrete plan of action. We will all be slaves to Uber, he warned, offering to play the role of Spartacus. I am seeking to organize drivers into a fighting army of thousands  Be part of an established tradition of fighting tyranny. And he promised a bright future on the far side of victory: If we work together, then everyone will have a better life and the true American Dream. 

In July 2016, to galvanize his fellow drivers and launch the revolution, Schifter created a Facebook group called NY Black Car Drivers Association. If there are too many vehicles on the street, the system (and its drivers) will be devastated, he had warned not long after launching his column. If you look back at the dawn of the industry, it was evident what can happen when too many vehicles overran the streets  robberies, killings, battles between the drivers themselves, etc.

Schifter was referring to the Great Depression, when unemployed men flooded the taxi industry, creating more supply than the market could bear. Thousands of cabbies chased a shrinking pool of riders. Fares plunged. Desperate drivers tried working 20-hour days and still couldnt make enough to get by. In 1934, a peaceful strike devolved into a riot when a mob of angry drivers began beating scabs and setting vehicles on fire all over the city. After a few false starts at regulation, the city eventually capped the number of cabs, creating the modern-day taxi-medallion system.

Now, in the midst of another industrywide depression  with Uber drivers flooding the streets  Schifter urged his brothers and sisters to band together and join his newly created association. He knew that his fellow drivers were going through what he was going through, Neil Weiss says. And that bothered him, probably more than anything.

A few friends liked the page to show their support. But the cavalry Schifter had summoned didnt answer the call. Desperate, in search of guidance from the man who had inspired him, he tried to contact Dr. Weiss on Facebook. I believe I am here for a purpose other than just for me, Schifter wrote. I am trying to find the answers. Do you have any suggestions?

The post was public. It received no response.

Despite working around the clock, Schifter saw no chance of turning his life around. His body was a wreck, and hours behind the wheel had only exacerbated the chronic pain in his neck and hip. He was deep in debt, and his income had slowed to a trickle. He was suffering from all this pain and difficulties with his finances. He couldnt keep up anymore, George recalls. It was too much of a drain on him.

In conversations with Faiz, Schifter blamed politicians for flooding the streets with cabs. But last summer, he also hit on a new idea to rouse the public to action: He wanted to end his life. And he would turn his death into an unavoidable call to arms.

The same book that had given Schifter a sense of purpose now gave him comfort. Death, he believed, is an illusion. Reincarnation is reality, he wrote on Facebook. Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss was my breakthrough discovery that established it. When he told Faiz about his plan, his friend was devastated. Dont even think about it, Faiz told him. Appealing to Schifters spiritual side, he pointed out that most religions forbid suicide.

But by last fall, Schifter had made up his mind. That Halloween, the engine on the black SUV he used for work  a GMC Yukon Denali XL  died for a second time. There was no money for the repair, and the car seemed determined to fall apart, so Schifter decided to let it go. That was the final straw, George says. That same month, Black Car News ran the last installment of his column, with the author credit in the past tense: Douglas Schifter was an executive chauffeur and a professional driver.

After Schifter missed a mortgage payment, his family invited him to come live with them. Friends offered to help him find work. But Schifter was unconvinced that anything would be enough to pay off his $75,000 in debt. He knew he was going to lose his home, and, at his request, George helped him start moving his possessions into storage. We would sit down and wed talk about life, our lives together, family, George recalls. Not a day went by when I didnt ask him to change his mind.

But he didnt. In January, George tried to confiscate the shotgun that Schifter kept hidden in his bathroom cupboard. George waited until his brother was asleep, then stashed the gun in his truck for safekeeping. Schifter woke up a few hours later, and somehow he knew.

Give it back to me! Schifter thundered.

George, who saw his brother as a gentle giant, was surprised.

Theres no reason for you to yell at me, he told Schifter. I dont deserve it.

Schifter welled up in tears and apologized. But he insisted on taking back the gun.

When George returned to his home in Orlando, he told their older brother, Paul, what had happened. Paul called the police to report that Schifter was in imminent danger of taking his life. But when officers paid a house call, Schifter told them everything was fine.

In early February, George and Matt, the familys youngest brother, drove back to the Poconos. On the way, they kept in frequent touch with Schifter from the road, checking in with him on his landline, since his cell phone had been disconnected. When they arrived that Sunday, shortly after noon, Schifter was already gone, but hed left the lights and heater on for them.

The next morning, a shotgun blast erupted from a rental car at the east gate of City Hall. A frenzy ensued. Was it terrorism? Police responded, taping off the scene. Traffic was halted on the Manhattan-bound side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The bomb squad came to check for explosives. All they found in the car was Schifter, lifeless in a crisp white shirt and dress pants. Next to him, inside a Ziploc bag, was a photograph of a clean-shaven kid standing in front of the American flag. It was a photo of George, from his days in basic training in the Air Force; on his recent visit, he had urged Doug to keep it with him, so he wouldnt feel alone.

In his suicide note, Schifter made clear what had driven him to take his own life. Due to the huge numbers of cars available with desperate drivers trying to feed their families, he wrote, they squeeze rates to below operating costs and force professionals like me out of business. They count their money and we are driven down into the streets we drive becoming homeless and hungry. I will not be a slave working for chump change. I would rather be dead.

But at the press conference about Schifters suicide, Mayor Bill de Blasio downplayed Schifters parting explanation. Lets face it, he told reporters. For someone to commit suicide, theres an underlying mental-health challenge. De Blasio was hardly in a position to diagnose Schifter. There was, in fact, no evidence that Schifter was mentally ill  just a long written record, published over the course of three years in Black Car News, that underscored how the upheaval in the taxi industry had left him physically impaired, financially desperate, and emotionally devastated. De Blasio himself had done little to rein in Uber, backing down on a cap he had proposed placing on app-driven services. I heard you were going to end the cruelty to the Central Park horses, Schifter had addressed de Blasio in one of his columns. How about ending the governments cruelty to us?

Schifter wasnt even the first driver to kill himself. Two months earlier, in separate incidents, two livery drivers  Alfredo Perez and Danilo Corporan Castillo  had committed suicide. Castillo, 57, had jumped from the roof of his Harlem apartment building after learning that he might lose his license for picking up unauthorized street hails. In his pocket, a suicide note was scrawled on the back of a summons from the Taxi & Limousine Commission.

When Schifters death made the cover of Black Car News, letters poured in from supportive readers. One called on de Blasio to name the east gate of City Hall Doug Schifter Way. Another compared Schifter to Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist monk who set himself ablaze on a Saigon street in 1963, and to Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian street vendor whose self-immolation in 2010 helped spark the Arab Spring. A third likened him to Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr. Someone suggested the date of Schifters suicide  February 5  may not have been a coincidence; it was the anniversary of New Yorks 1934 taxi riots, which gave birth to the industry that served the city and its drivers for so many decades.

And there were vigils and rallies. Protesters organized by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a grassroots group representing 19,000 drivers, descended on City Hall. They waved signs that read REST IN PEACE DOUGLAS SCHIFTER, OUR DRIVER BROTHER and YOUR LIFE AND DEATH WERE NOT IN VAIN. They held aloft his photograph and chanted, Douglas! Our brother! Therell never be another!

Then, on March 16, there was another suicide. Gabriel Ochisor found his father, Nicanor, hanging from a metal cable in the garage of their home in Maspeth, Queens. The 64-year-old Romanian immigrant had been a yellow-cab driver for more than 25 years. Hed watched the value of his medallion drop by more than a million dollars, his retirement evaporating before his eyes.

One hundred drivers returned to City Hall with their signs. They lined up at the east gate, where Schifter had ended his life, and shuffled through a metal detector. They gathered around photographs of the dead, then scattered flowers on four prop coffinsthe kind you might get at a Halloween store  before climbing the steps of City Hall. There, they took up a chant: No more loss! No more death! We need action now!

One cabbie, addressing the protesters, observed that the turnout would have been bigger if drivers could afford to show up. They need to be out working! he barked. They dont have the luxury to come out here and protest. Then, after an hour of chanting and speeches, everyone put down their signs and headed back to work.

*This article appears in the May 14, 2018, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The EU and Cuba are to sign a renewable energy deal on Tuesday, a step towards normalising relations in defiance of Washington's continuing hardline stance on Havana

Brussels, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :The EU and Cuba are to sign a renewable energy deal on Tuesday, a step towards normalising relations in defiance of Washington's continuing hardline stance on Havana.

As it scrabbles to save the Iran nuclear deal after US President Donald Trump ditched it last week, the EU will seek to add substance to its landmark cooperation agreement with Cuba, which came into effect in November.

EU diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini has condemned the US economic blockade of the communist island as "obsolete" and "illegal", but under Trump the US has rolled back the rapprochement championed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

Mogherini and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla will lead the first meeting of the EU-Cuba Joint Council in Brussels. The highlight will be the signing of an 18 million euro ($21.5 million) project to support Cuba's goal of getting a quarter of its energy from renewable sources by 2030.

The EU also plans to finance a food security support programme for the island with a contribution of 19.7 million Euros. "We are committed to support Cuba's economic and social reforms," Mogherini said in a statement ahead of the meeting.
Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar will visit Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on May 16-17 to boost bilateral ties, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday

ULAN BATOR, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar will visit Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on May 16-17 to boost bilateral ties, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

During his stay in Moscow, Tsogtbaatar is expected to hold talks with Lavrov, and the two sides will exchange views on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest, the ministry said in a statement.

"The visit will provide an opportunity to explore ways and means to further strengthen cooperation in the political, economic, trade and investment fields," the statement said. Also, the two foreign ministers will discuss ways to enhance trilateral cooperation between Mongolia, Russia and China.
A student was killed and 18 police injured Tuesday in clashes in Saint-Louis, northern Senegal, as students demanded payment of their grants, the Senegalese interior minister said

SaintLouis, Senegal, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :A student was killed and 18 police injured Tuesday in clashes in Saint-Louis, northern Senegal, as students demanded payment of their grants, the Senegalese interior minister said.

The scuffles broke out at the University of Saint-Louis, leaving "20 wounded, including 18 gendarmes," Ali Ngouye Ndiaye told private station Radio Future Media (RFM). "Unfortunately, a student died as a result of this incident," he added.

The second-year student was shot dead, student sources told AFP, adding "more than 20" were injured.

The victim's age was not given. "We regret this incident," the interior minister said, adding: "The (students') claim was primarily a grants problem." Lacking their grants, they wanted to "eat without paying the bill" in the university restaurants, which prompted the authorities to appeal to the police, he said.

The minister said he expected an inquiry to be held and promised that the grants would be paid. Student demonstrations are common in Senegal but rarely result in deaths.
Slovak justice authorities said on Tuesday they had extradited an Italian businessman wanted in Italy on drugs charges, who was also named by murdered journalist Jan Kuciak in an explosive report on alleged high-level corruption linked to the mafia

Bratislava, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Slovak justice authorities said on Tuesday they had extradited an Italian businessman wanted in Italy on drugs charges, who was also named by murdered journalist Jan Kuciak in an explosive report on alleged high-level corruption linked to the mafia.

Antonino Vadala was escorted by Slovak, Austrian and Italian police from Bratislava to Rome, Slovak national police spokesman Michal Slivka told the local TASR newswire. Police arrested Vadala, the owner of several companies based in Slovakia, in March in connection with a European arrest warrant issued by Italy last year over alleged drug trafficking.

Vadala also faces charges of attempted EU subsidy fraud in Slovakia. He has flatly denied the allegations, which were first made public in Kuciak's article. Vadala's name was mentioned several times in Kuciak's last unfinished investigative report, which was published after the journalist and his fiancee were found shot dead gangland-style at their home near Bratislava in late February.

The murders and the article sparked nationwide anti-government protests in the EU country of 5.4 million people, forcing the resignation in March of populist prime minister Robert Fico. Kuciak's article raised possible political links to Italian businessmen with alleged ties to Calabria's notorious 'Ndrangheta mafia, supposedly operating in eastern Slovakia.

The EU member's National Criminal Agency (NAKA) investigator began criminal proceeding against him in April. He is alleged to have attempted to trick the Slovak Agriculture Paying Agency to pay out subsidies amounting to roughly 120,000 Euros ($142,000) through one of his companies.
Some 160,000 people have fled their homes in Cameroon's English-speaking regions because of violence between anglophone separatists and government forces, the United Nations said on Tuesday

Libreville, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 15th May, 2018 ) :Some 160,000 people have fled their homes in Cameroon's English-speaking regions because of violence between anglophone separatists and government forces, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The majority of the displaced have fled into the bush with little to survive on," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report. "Others are hosted by local communities who are also grappling with adverse living conditions," it added.

The figure marks the UN's first detailed estimate of the number of people displaced since the crisis began to escalate in late 2016. Previously the UN, encountering difficulties in accessing remote parts of the Northwest and Southwest regions, had said "tens of thousands" had left their homes.

In addition to the 160,000 internally displaced, the OCHA said 20,000 had sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. In contrast, Nigeria's State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has put the number sheltering in Cross River state alone at 34,000.

Witness accounts given to AFP in Nigeria describe Cameroonians traversing the border on foot in mountainous and densely forested areas, making crossings difficult to track.

Violence in the Northwest Region and Southwest Regions occurs almost daily, pitching armed separatists against Cameroonian government forces.

The insurgency began in 2016, when activists in the anglophone minority, comprising about a fifth of the country's population of 22 million, stepped up a campaign for greater autonomy. President Paul Biya rejected their demands, prompting radicals to make a full-blown but symbolic declaration of independence last October 1.

On Friday, a man was abducted by gunmen in Widikum in the northwest, sources said. Clashes also took place earlier in May in Bafut and Yo-Ke. The separatists -- whose death toll is unknown -- are accused of kidnappings officials and other French-speaking Cameroonians, while the army is accused of abuses and burning houses.

According to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, "at least 120" civilians and "at least 43" security forces have been killed since the end of 2016.
Recently, the Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Archbishop Protase Rugambwa, paid a pastoral visit to two Southern African nations of Namibia and Botswana. The visit has been described as a sign of closeness and solidarity with the Holy Fathers office.

Sr Phatsimo Veronica Ramokgwebana Gaborone, Botwsana.

Ordination of new Bishop of Keetmanshoop in Namibia

The 12-days-visit began in Namibia where Archbishop Rugambwa ordained Willem Christiaans, as the new Bishop of Keetmanshoop. Bishop Christiaans is the former National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Namibia. In his homily at the episcopal ordination, Archbishop Rugambwa reminded the new Bishop that the effectiveness and fruitfulness of his ministry would always depend on his relationship with God.

Learning more about the life of the Church within the two mission countries

Archbishop Peter Wells, the Apostolic Nuncio to Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia accompanied Archbishop Rugambwa on his visits. Upon arrival in Botswana, Archbishop Rugambwa held a meeting with the College of Consultors in the Diocese of Gaborone. The College of Consultors are advisors who assist Bishop Frank Nubuasah S.V.D., in the administration of the diocese. Bishop Nubuasah, the Bishop of Francistown, is also the current Apostolic Administrator of the vacant Diocese of Gaborone.

Later, Archbishop Rugambwa described his visit to the two countries as exposure to learning more about the life of the Church within the two mission countries. He sought to encourage the great work of evangelization that still lies ahead. The visit also offered the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements reached in these mission countries and to witness first-hand the challenges facing the various pastoral agents, including Catechists and lay leaders. Furthermore, the visit was a sign of the closeness and solidarity with the universal Church in which the Holy Fathers office directs and coordinates mission work and cooperation.

Meetings with various pastoral agents

During the visit, Archbishop Rugambwa held two separate meetings with Catechists and Religious Superiors of the Diocese of Gaborone. Speaking to the Catechists, the Archbishop affirmed the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Gaborone as a well-established institution. He, nevertheless, indicated that there is still much that needed to be done in the diocese itself and beyond.

As a way of ending his two-day visit to the Diocese of Gaborone, Archbishop Rugambwa, paid a courtesy call on St. Josephs College, Kgale where he met with the Bishop Emeritus of Gaborone, Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi.

Archbishop Rugambwa wound-up his visit to Gaborone with a public Mass celebrated at Christ the King Cathedral. The next day he proceeded to Maun, the tourist capital of Botswana, which falls under the Diocese of Francistown where concluded his pastoral visit and returned to Rome.
Pope Francis is currently holding a series of closed-door meetings with the Bishops of Chile to formulate a response to the abuse crisis that has rocked the Church in that country. The discussions are being attended by 31 diocesan and auxiliary bishops and 3 emeritus bishops, and will be ongoing until May 17th.

Press conference of two Chilean bishops

On the eve of the meeting, two Chilean bishops held a press conference in Rome. They are Bishop Fernando Ramos, Auxiliary Bishop of Santiago and General Secretary of the Chilean Episcopal Conference, and Bishop Juan Ignacio Gonzalez of San Bernardo.

Called by the Pope

Bishop Ramos recalled Pope Francis letter of April 8th with which he summoned the bishops to the Vatican. He explained how the Bishops have come specifically: To receive the conclusions of the report by Archbishop Scicluna following his visit to Chile, and also to discern short, medium and long term measures to restore communion and justice. These, according to the General Secretary of the Bishops Conference were the two great themes to which the Holy Father invited us with his letter".

Discerning responsibilities

Speaking at the press conference in Rome, Bishop Ramos said the content of the meetings with the Pope would include: The issues of abuse of power, abuse of conscience, and sexual abuse, that have occurred in recent decades in the Chilean Church, as well as the mechanisms that led, in some cases, to concealment and serious omissions against the victims. A second point is to share the conclusions the Holy Father drew from Archbishop Sciclunas report. And a third point is the Pope's invitation to make a long synodal process of discernment to understand the responsibilities of each and every one regarding these terrible wounds of abuse, and to seek necessary changes so that they are not repeated".

Pain and shame

Bishop Ramos spoke of the Bishops feeling of pain and shame. Pain, he said, because unfortunately there are victims: there are people who are victims of abuse and this causes us profound pain. And shame, because these abuses occurred in Church environments which is precisely where this type of abuse should never occur".



Forgiveness and reparation

Bishop Ramos continued: "We must ask forgiveness 70 times 7. I think it is a very important moral imperative for us. The important thing is that the request for forgiveness is truly reparatory". He concluded: "In all humility we will listen to what the Pope will tell us"; this is "a very important moment" for the renewal of the Chilean Church.

Pope Francis as an example for the Chilean bishops

Also speaking at the press conference, Bishop Gonzalez said the Chilean bishops see Pope Francis as an example for having admitted his mistakes, for asking forgiveness, and for meeting with the victims. The victims are the center of our attention, he said, and for this reason the Church in Chile must work towards reparation, with humility and hope, following the teaching of Jesus.

Restoring trust in the Church

When it announced the meeting with the Chilean bishops, in a communique on May 12th, the Vatican Press Office explained that "it is fundamental to restore trust in the Church through good Pastors who witness with their lives that they have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and who know how to accompany the suffering of the victims, and work in a determined and tireless way in the prevention of abuse. The Holy Father thanks his brother Bishops for their willingness to stand in docile and humble listening to the Holy Spirit, and he renews his request to the People of God in Chile to continue to pray for the conversion of all". The communique concluded by confirming that the Pope will not be issuing any statements, either during or after the meetings, which will take place in absolute confidentiality".




Walker Furniture is seeking recommendation letters for the companys fifth annual Help for Heroes program to help wounded U.S. Military personnel and veterans in Clark County who need specialized furniture (Pictured above: Help for Heroes Larry Alterwitz CEO Walker Furniture, veteran Robert Leonard, Tim Gomez Commander Paradise Post 149 at 2017 Event).

Walker Furniture created the Help for Heroes to help make day-to-day living a little easier for a segment of our community that is often overlooked, said Larry Alterwitz, CEO for Walker Furniture. Again this year, the program will provide some relief for 10 active military personnel and/or veterans.

The Help for Heroes program relies on letters from the community describing the situations of prospective recipients. Walker Furniture will provide certain necessary items that are not generally available through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, such as lift chairs, adjustable beds, new mattresses, dining sets and a variety of other possibilities. Each delivery will be specific to the needs of each recipient. The deadline for submitting a letter is Saturday, June 30, 2018.

We need to remember and acknowledge what these men and women have sacrificed and done for us, Alterwitz said. The Veterans Administration helps them but is limited in what they can do beyond their medical needs. This is a chance to help a veteran and to say Thank You.

Letters received by Walker Furniture will be reviewed and evaluated by an independent panel headed by Commander Tim Gomez of the American Legion Paradise Post 149. The post commander and post members will personally visit each prospective recipient to evaluate their individual needs. The furniture items will be delivered shortly after a special presentation event to be held on Saturday, July 7 at the Leatherneck Club.

Letters should be sent to: Larry Alterwitz, CEO

Walker Furniture/Help For Heroes

301 S. Martin Luther King Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89106 Letters can be mailed by U.S. Postal Service, faxed to 702-384-7772, hand delivered submitted online by visiting www.walkerfurniture.com. The deadline is June 30, 2018.

Alterwitz said several local nonprofit organizations have come forward to offer assistance toward Help for Heroes, including the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, which will give food and other items to recipients if needed, as well as support in many other areas. John Mulls  Road Kill Grill will partner with Walker Furniture and provide lunch for the veterans and their families at the special event on July 7.
Four states are holding primaries today. Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post/Getty Images

Compared to last weeks statewide slugfests in Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, the primaries being held in four states today are relatively quiet, even if the outcomes arent always clear.

The lack of clarity is particularly strong in Pennsylvania, where in February the State Supreme Court declared the Republican-crafted congressional map that had been used since 2012 an unconstitutional gerrymander, and then redrew the 18 districts itself. That decision  in combination with a sex scandal  led to two resignations and one retirement from Republican incumbents in the state, and a landscape in which Democrats have got a shot at picking up four net House seats, and possibly more. Some general-election races are set, but in others the primary resorts could make a difference.

In the Pennsylvanias Seventh, incumbent Republican veteran Charlie Dent earlier retired and then resigned as of May 12. Under the new lines the Seventh is a district carried by Hillary Clinton by a point in 2016, and with a decent wind at the back, a Democrat should be favored over the likely GOP nominee, former Olympic cyclist Marty Nothstein. But a three-way field that includes a progressive activist pastor backed by Bernie Sanderss Our Revolution organization (Greg Edwards), Allentown City Solicitor Susan Ellis Wild, supported by EMILYs List, and blue-doggy-ish Northampton County DA John Morganelli (who has taken conservative positions on abortion and immigration) has created some suspense. If Morganelli (nicknamed MAGAnelli by his critics) wins the nomination, which he could based on name ID alone, Democrats could split in the general election.

Another important Democratic primary in the Keystone State is in the suburban Philadelphia First District, where incumbent Republican Brian Fitzpatrick is now running in a district Clinton carried by two points in 2016. Wealthy photojournalist Scott Wallace  whose grandfather was Vice-President Henry Wallace  has relatively weak ties to the district, but also has money to burn, which hes used to blast rival Rachel Reddick, a Navy veteran, for having been registered as a Republican until recently. Recriminations could weaken the winner in November.

Pennsylvania is the rare Trump 16 state that has both a Democratic senator (Bob Casey) and governor (Tom Wolf) up for reelection this year. Both are favored, though not heavily, in November. U.S. Representative Lou Barletta is the party favorite to win the Senate primary, though state legislator Jim Christiana is running one of those Im not a Washington insider kind of campaigns. In the gubernatorial primary, front-runner and state legislator Scott Wagner and first-time candidate Paul Mango have set up a potential murder-suicide scenario with nasty ads attacking each other, and a third candidate, Laura Ellsworth, may be benefitting. Wagner is from southeast Pennsylvania, and his two opponents are both from near Pittsburgh.

In the other three states holding May 15 primaries (Idaho, Nebraska, and Oregon), there is only one highly competitive House race in the offing for November: a likely rematch of the 2016 race in the Omaha-based Second District of Nebraska, in which Republican Don Bacon toppled freshman Democratic Representative Brad Ashford (though Ashford must survive a primary challenge from progressive Kara Eastman).

In Oregon, the most interesting primary is the GOP contest to choose an opponent for Governor Kate Brown. The incumbent isnt terribly popular, but shes vastly more popular in Oregon than Donald Trump, which is bad news in a midterm election year for the three competitive Republican gubernatorial candidates, described this way by the Salem Statesman Journal:

Their pitches varied: [state legislator Knute] Buehler relied on his legislative experience and more-moderate track record; [Greg] Wooldridge said he is a pragmatic conservative with the right demeanor and leadership experience to guide the state; [Sam] Carpenter described himself as a Trump conservative who will be able to rally the Republican base needed for victory.

In Idaho, Republican Governor Butch Otter is retiring, and the GOP primary is a classic three-way Establishment/ideologue/outsider affair. The Establishment candidate is Lieutenant Governor Brad Little, who is benefiting from a strong local economy and a lot of civic optimism. The outsider is real-estate developer Tommy Ahlquist. But the best-known candidate nationally is U.S. Representative Raul Labrador, a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and before that a tea party stalwart.

There is also, unusually, a vibrant Democratic gubernatorial primary in Idaho this year, involving an clear ideological and cultural choice:

Paulette Jordan, a 38-year-old two-term Idaho state legislator and a member of the Coeur dAlene Tribe, represents the young, fresh progressive face in the race. Shes picked up all the national endorsements, from Planned Parenthood to People for Bernie Sanders. But the states Democratic establishment is lining up behind A.J. Balukoff, a 72-year-old Idaho businessman who ran for governor in 2014.

For true political junkies the evening of May 15 will offer a steady stream of returns, with polls closing at 8:00 p.m. EDT in Pennsylvania; 8:00 p.m. CDT in Nebraska, 8:00 p.m. MDT in Idaho, and (for the most part) 8:00 p.m. PDT in Oregon. In all-mail-voting Oregon, that actually means ballots must be in the hands of election officials or dropped off at collection centers by then. As always, a host of locally significant primaries will occur everywhere, and we wont know the full story until November.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Monday said he hoped that the forthcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un would bring peace to the region.

His comments came after a successful meeting between Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in April, which led to hopes of a de-escalation of the standoff on the peninsula and denuclearization.

Trump said last week that he would meet Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore.

Speaking on Monday, Hun Sen said he was happy to see a more positive dialogue developing between the two governments, adding that he hoped the meeting could end the conflict on the peninsula.

For the past few weeks, there was a good and historical meeting between president Moon Jae-in of South Korea and the leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un, which is very pleasing for Cambodians, in expecting that the situation on the Korea peninsula will have greater developments, Hun Sen said on Monday.

And, we are waiting for a historical meeting, which is going to happen between the US President and leader of North Korea. Currently, the meeting seems to be prepared already in Singapore, Hun Sen said.

Cambodias relations with North Korea were built during the reign of King Norodom Sihanouk and Kim Jong Uns grandfather, Kim Il-sung.

But the relationship has soured somewhat in recent years, with Cambodia expressing unhappiness at North Koreas ballistic missile tests.
As the United States and Israel tout the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as a tribute to peace, Israeli forces have killed at least 50 Palestinian protesters and wounded hundreds of others in raids on protesters in Gaza. The inauguration of the U.S. embassy on Monday sparked protests in the region and elsewhere in the world. Human rights groups are calling for an investigation of the deaths in Gaza. VOA's Zlatica Hoke reports.
Afghan forces say they have pushed back the Taliban as reports said heavy fighting continued in Farah city, the capital of Afghanistans western Farah province.

Fierce fighting broke out in the pre-dawn hours of Tuesday after Taliban fighters attacked from the north and reached within three kilometers of the center of the province, according to Norulhaq Khaleqi, the spokesman for the Second Brigade of the Afghan National Army. Army officials said most of the fighting took place in the northern and western parts of the city.

Officials of the Afghan ministries of defense and interior claimed their security forces have stopped the Taliban's advance in the north of Farah city. In a joint press briefing midday Tuesday, they said their forces were fighting the Taliban a few kilometers outside the city.

Taliban leaders had claimed their fighters captured a number of government offices including a local office of the Afghan Intelligence Agency (NDS) during the fighting, a claim Najib Danish, an interior ministry spokesman, denied. He said Afghan forces were receiving support from foreign forces.

Afghan government officials at Tuesday's news conference said two Afghan security personnel were killed and four others wounded, while, 10 Taliban were killed and the same number of them wounded.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses told VOA that Taliban are still inside Farah city and fighting continued later Tuesday in a number of back streets. They said although the reinforcements have helped the security forces, the street to street fight with the Taliban continued.

Local media reported that Taliban forces was close to taking over a prison in the city.

#FARAH - Farid Bakhtawar, head of Farah provincial council, has said that clashes are ongoing in the city and the "enemies" are moving towards the prison compound.#Afghanistan, a tweet from the verified account of Afghanistans Tolo News TV channel read.

Defense ministry officials sought to quell panic as local media reported some residents were fleeing the city. We assure the people of Farah that all necessary operations have been implemented and Afghan air force, commando force, and contingents of Corp in western Afghanistan are in action against security threats, defense ministry officials said in a statement.

Officials said security forces had received reinforcements and were fighting back the rebels.

Fresh commando forces are now deployed to Police HQ, NDS and Prison in #Farah. People in #Farah stand by their security forces and operation continues. Situation will change by the end of the day! Tweeted Javid Faisal, the spokesman for Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Tuesday.

Reuters quoted residents as saying Taliban forces had set up illegal checkpoints in parts of the city and were stopping people from leaving.

Farah, sandwiched between Iran and Afghanistans opium heartland Helmand province, is also home to many drug smuggling routes into Iran. The province has seen ongoing clashes for several months. The security situation in the province has deteriorated as Afghan and NATO forces put pressure on Taliban in nearby Helmand and many fighters moved into nearby provinces, including Farah.

Taliban launched their spring offensive, called al-Khandaq, last month. Since then, Afghan security forces have suffered heavy casualties at the hands of the insurgents but claim they have inflicted heavy damage on the Taliban in return.
As a young boy chasing chickens on his parents' farm in northern Uganda, Louis Lakor dreamed of becoming a teacher. But when he finally set foot in a local primary school, aged seven, it was as an armed killer.

Abducted in a night raid, Lakor was forced to become a child soldier with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebel group, which terrorized northern Uganda for nearly two decades before being driven out of the country by a military offensive in 2005.

Clutching a gun handed to him by his kidnappers, Lakor was ordered to "shoot everything you see." He did.

"Otherwise they would have killed me," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation some 20 years later, looking out on the lush countryside near his home village of Awach, about 60 km (37 miles) south of Uganda's border with South Sudan.

The LRA, which has retreated to a jungle straddling the borders of South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, was notorious for kidnapping children for use as fighters and sex slaves.

It has massacred more than 100,000 people and displaced 2 million over the past three decades, according to the United Nations (U.N.), and its leader, Joseph Kony, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

A year since a controversial decision by the United States and its African partners to suspend the hunt for Kony, his victims are battling poverty and stigma  while their tormentor remains at large.

Lakor pointed to the school he attacked with a tormented look, amid fields dotted with mud huts. One memory stands out from the four years he spent as a rebel: he was coerced into killing his best friend when he lagged behind on a long march.

But Lakor, now a smartly dressed 27-year-old, is putting the horrors of the bush behind him, and helping other ex-child soldiers learn skills, from vehicle repairs and carpentry to tailoring and hairdressing, to get back on their feet.

"When I train youths here, I tell them my story," he said, pacing around his noisy workshop where lanky teenagers welded, sawed and hammered. "I tell where I came from - that I'm like them, that I'm still an orphan looking for a way to survive."

Vengeful

The U.N. estimates about 35,000 children were abducted by the LRA. Uganda offered amnesty to fighters who abandoned LRA ranks and renounced violence, paving the way for ex-child soldiers to start afresh - at least in theory.

But stigma persists, said Sasha Lezhnev, founding director of the Grassroots Reconciliation Group, which runs projects bringing together villagers and former child soldiers.

"One of the LRA's strategies was to have their soldiers kill people in their own communities so that they wouldn't be able to go back," he said.

Lakor escaped from the LRA, aged 11, when his guards were distracted, and returned to his village, where he found his parents were dead, and his relatives and neighbors vengeful.

"I tried to stay in the village but life was so hard," he said. "There was no money ... no food. I was living with my uncle but then he chased me away, saying he cannot keep a rebel with him."

While the government gives aid to ex-rebels, the chairman of the Amnesty Commission, Justice Peter Onega, said those who were less than 14 years old when they escaped - the legal age of criminal responsibility - did not qualify.

"It's the families who are supposed to look after them," he said.

Lakor ended up on the streets of Gulu, the main town in the region, sleeping rough and begging for money.

He had not eaten for two weeks when he was introduced to Peter Owiny Mwa, owner of local business Baka General Motors, who decided to give him a chance, at first employing him as a cleaner, and later training him as a mechanic.

Even then, Lakor could not find work, with prospective employers dismissing him as a "rebel."

His experience of hunger, hatred and destitution nearly drove him back into the hands of the LRA  this time willingly.

"You just ... get your gun, shoot people, rob people  that's how we used to get money," he said.

Lakor was stopped by Ugandan soldiers while trying to find the rebels' base and sent back.

Reconciliation

In 2013, he returned to the workshop and proposed a different strategy to Mwa: to let him train and employ ex-LRA youths, selling what they made to keep the enterprise running.

Today, the workshop - a cluttered open-air courtyard surrounded by dilapidated wooden buildings - assists about 60 boys and girls each year, with little external funding.

Lakor drives a motorcycle-taxi to keep up with the rent.

Ex-LRA youths, some with limbs scarred by machete and gun wounds, sleep two to a single, stained mattress on the floor of a filthy room with peeling paint and no mosquito nets or glass in the windows.

Former child soldier Denis Ochen, 21, said he witnessed LRA prisoners being cooked alive and served up as food.

Another student Godfrey Oloya, 18, was born in LRA captivity and still has a bullet lodged in his arm, a "souvenir" of his escape under gunfire when he was seven.

Back home, his mother could not afford to keep him in class, so he worked in the market with her, selling pancakes and shoes.

"When I finish here, I want to drive a taxi or a lorry," he said, as budding mechanics trained on the rusting remains of a pea-green Volkswagen Beetle from the 1970s.

While life remains hard, Lakor's work is producing results.

Trainees have gone on to set up workshops in their villages, enabling them to start new lives, despite years of missed schooling.

For Lakor, his work is also a path to reconciliation - meaning he is once again welcomed in his home village.

One of his former students is Nelson Luwum, the cousin of his murdered best friend. Today, the 19-year-old works in a village car repair shop.

"Now I call him my teacher," Luwum said of Lakor, "but also a friend."

Funding for this story was provided by the International Women's Media Foundation.
The foundation of U.S.-Hungarian billionaire George Soros said Tuesday it is closing its office in Budapest and shifting those operations to Berlin in response to what it called "an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary."

The Open Society Foundations released a statement in which it highlighted restrictions on nongovernmental organizations that are expected to be among the first legislative priorities for Hungary's new parliament.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government is backing a so-called "Stop Soros" bill that would include taxes and bans on NGOs involved in immigration. The government has cited national security concerns, and Orban has accused Soros of working to undermine Europe's cultural identity by working to bring large numbers of migrants to the continent.

"The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union," said OSF President Patrick Gaspard.

The OSF pledged to continue supporting civil society groups in Hungary, including work on arts, media freedom, transparency, education and health care.
Two grieving fathers from across Bosnia's ethnic divide called Tuesday for justice for sons they believe died in separate killings covered up by the police.

David Dragicevic, 21, an ethnic Serb student, was found in a river in March a week after he went missing in the northwestern town of Banja Luka. Dzenan Memic, 22, a Muslim, died of wounds to his head in Sarajevo in 2016.

Their fathers, Davor Dragicevic and Muriz Memic, believe the two cases were both covered up by police acting in cahoots with the killers, evidence they say of corruption that has plagued Bosnia's two ethnically based regions since war in the 1990s.

They were joined on Tuesday in Sarajevo by hundreds of supporters holding placards and T-shirts reading "Justice for David" and "Justice for Dzenan."

David Dragicevic's death in March has triggered daily protests in Banja Luka for more than 50 days, with demonstrators rebuking the police for giving conflicting accounts of the case.

The police have said he drowned and had alcohol and drugs in his body. His father said he was captured, tortured and killed.

"I demand the names of accomplices, killers and all those who hid evidence," he told the gathering in Sarajevo.

'I will never forgive them'

"My child was killed by a system created after the war. I will never forgive them for David, Dzenan and all the other children," Dragicevic said. "Criminals have no religion nor nationality, just their own interests."

When Dzenan Memic died in 2016, prosecutors initially said he had been slain but later dropped the investigation and declared he had been killed in a car accident.

The Memic family has never accepted that, saying he was slain and that the crime was covered up. Numerous street protests have been organized to demand the truth about his death over the past two years.

"It is sad that we are demanding justice in streets, but remaining silent is the worst," said Munira Abidzan, a protester.

Bosnia's ethnic Serbs, Croats and Muslims fought each other in a multisided war from 1992 to 1995. Since then, the country has been divided into a Serb region and a region of Croats and Muslims. Critics say the system has entrenched in power ethnic-based political parties, which have grown corrupt.
Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan not to go too far in his crackdown on those believed to be behind a failed 2016 coup attempt, speaking after a meeting in London marked by human rights protests.



Rights campaigners have accused May of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in pursuit of trade deals after Brexit.



In Turkey's case they point to the jailing tens of thousands of people after the attempted coup. Erdogan's government has said its actions are necessary to combat the threat it faces.



May said Britain's relationship with Turkey was indispensable, praising the impact of security cooperation and the prospect of close post-Brexit trade ties.



But she added a diplomatic warning on the need for restraint.



"It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice," May said, speaking alongside Erdogan in her Downing Street office following their meeting.



"But it is also important that in the defense of democracy, which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism, Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend."



She said she had underlined the need for Turkey to uphold democratic values and its human rights obligations.



Erdogan's visit is part of May's charm offensive to shore up relations with countries outside the European Union as Britain prepares to leave the bloc and secure at least the promise of future trade deals to bolster her all but stalled Brexit plans.



Erdogan, the most popular - and divisive - politician in recent Turkish history, has ruled for 15 years, overseeing a period of sharp economic growth and a widespread crackdown against his opponents. Last month he declared snap elections for June 24, bringing the polls forward by more than a year.



Erdogan deflected a question from a British journalist about his country's ability to hold a free and fair election. He said those arrested in Turkey were being processed by the judiciary.



Just hours before the leaders were due to meet, around 100 protesters waved banners outside May's office depicting Erdogan as a puppet master with blood on his hands. Another said "tamam," or enough.



About 20 meters away, separated by barriers and a police cordon, a similar number waved Turkish flags in the direction of the anti-Erdogan protesters, chanted and played loud music.



The two sides briefly scuffled.



Last year, May secured a commitment for Britain and Turkey to work on post-Brexit trade.



Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan welcomed a transition deal agreed between London and the EU to ease Britain's departure from the bloc. He said the two leaders had agreed trade could be increased to $20 billion annually, up from the 2017 level of around $16 billion.



Ties between the EU and Turkey are increasingly strained, with Brussels saying that Erdogan is leading his country away from the path to membership, while some Turkish officials say they feel betrayed by some of the bloc's leaders.
The husband of an Iranian-British woman jailed in Iran for alleged spying says she could be charged with an additional crime in the coming days, dashing her hopes for an early release from prison.

In a Tuesday interview with VOA Persian from London, Richard Ratcliffe said his wife, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, told him of the potential new charge in a phone call a day earlier from Tehran's Evin prison.

Ratcliffe said his wife told him that her father had learned of the potential new charge in a visit to the Tehran prosecutor's office. He said the office had told her father that it would make a decision on the case next week.

Ratcliffe said he believed the new charge against his wife could be that of spreading propaganda against the Iranian government. She began serving a five-year sentence in 2016 for spying, which she denies having done.

Ratcliffe said the main impact of the second open case against his wife was that authorities had suspended her application for an early release or a furlough from her existing sentence.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe is an employee of the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the London-based charitable arm of Canadian news company Thomson Reuters. Iranian authorities detained her in April 2016 as she tried to return home to Britain after visiting her family in Iran with her infant daughter. The 40-year-old woman has been seeking at least a furlough from prison to spend time with her daughter and parents.

Concurrent sentence, or acquittal

Ratcliffe said Tehran prosecutors told his father-in-law that Nazanin could face a new sentence of less than five years, applied concurrently with her existing sentence so as not to extend her jail time. He said the prosecutors also mentioned the possibility of prolonging her current term or granting an acquittal.

Ratcliffe said his wife initially was very distressed by news of a potential second criminal case against her but was calmer when he spoke to her again on Tuesday. He said she had written a letter to Iran's judiciary chief asking for an explanation of the second criminal case, which she thought had been dropped.

Ratcliffe told VOA he believed Tehran's pursuit of a second case against his wife was connected to its negotiations with European powers about preserving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was due to discuss the nuclear deal with his EU counterparts, including British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in Brussels on Tuesday. The U.S. withdrew from the agreement last week, prompting Iran to enter into talks with the deal's other signatories about whether to maintain it.

"Clearly, the new case against Nazanin is a political act," Ratcliffe said.

Rights activists have long accused Iran of arbitrarily detaining Iranian dual nationals and foreigners with Western connections to use as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Persian service.
Burundians head to the polls Thursday to vote yes or no on proposed changes to the constitution. The ruling party says the changes are aimed at shaking off vestiges of colonialism. The opposition says they are designed to extend the president's term in office.

Campaigns have ended in Burundi, and now both sides are hoping they will carry the day come Thursday.



The East African nation has been stuck in a political crisis since President Pierre Nkurunziza ran for and won a third term in 2015, in defiance of critics who said he was violating a two-term limit in the constitution.



The government says to avoid another dispute, the constitution must be changed.



The proposed amendments would change presidential terms from five years to seven, and in effect allow President Nkurunziza to run for two additional terms, potentially keeping him in power until 2034.

They would also allow the ruling party the power to fire an elected member of parliament who is found to be breaking the countrys laws and constitution.

For a bill to pass the legislature, it would need the approval from a simple majority of lawmakers, compared to 80 percent in the current constitution.



After the constitution is amended, Burundi will be more stable because this new constitution promotes democracy and fights impunity," said Nancy Mutoni, who is in charge of communication of the ruling party CNDD FDD. "It gives the people the voice, their will and wishes are in the constitution. So they will have more trust in the institutions more than ever because before it was discussed else where, it was discussed by politicians only the people were not consulted.



The 2000 Arusha agreement and the 2005 constitution brought an end to Burundis civil war, which claimed the lives of more than 300,000 people.



The Arusha agreement was designed to reconcile Hutus and Tutsis, and ensure the groups share power.



The International Federation for Human Rights said Tuesday that the proposed constitutional changes threaten to upset the balance of power and peace the country has enjoyed in the last decade.



Agathon Rwasa, a former presidential candidate who is urging Burundians to vote "no" on Thursday, says the changes would generate instability.



These amendments if its adopted we just generate more troubles in the country instead of stability. So we better look forward and try to get laws which are there to respond to the general interest of the nation not just for the sake of group of people or individual," he said.



Rwasa and his team have complained of harassment and intimidation during campaign period.



In Arusha it was agreed for the laws to change the country must be in a state of peace and stable," said Dieudonne Bashirahishize, a member of the Burundi Bar Association and council member of the East African Law Society. "But if you look at the current situation and the environment this referendum is being conducted, it's conducted in a state of fear and intimidation. People cannot express themselves and those who oppose the constitutional changes are getting killed.



Human rights groups have blamed the ruling party youth wing, known as Imbonerakure, of attacking, intimidating and killing opponents.




Wolfe in 1988. Photo: Ulf Andersen/Getty Images

Tom Wolfe, one of the great observers of the American scene  not least in his unique and peerless work at New York Magazine  died yesterday at 88, the Times has confirmed.

As a journalist and novelist, Tom Wolfe could, like no one else, take one particular broad subject  class and status  and slice it thin for examination and diagnosis, like a pathologist with a microtome. (Many people still dont think America has a class system. He knew better.) He seemed to love nothing more in print than to identify precisely the striated signifiers that communicate prestige, and do it in prose that danced and skipped along irresistibly. Wolfe had been an American Studies student at Yale, and  to use a favored expression of his  Santa Barranza! did he study America.

He got to begin that journalistic study at the best possible perch. In 1962, Wolfe was hired by the old New York Herald Tribune just as its editors and contributors were attempting to save their dying paper. Part of the push was to produce a serious daily that was far more stylishly written than the New York Times. (It was an achievable task: Most of the Times prose of that era was pretty joyless.) Two Trib writers  Wolfe and Jimmy Breslin  were pulled toward the Sunday-magazine section of the paper, which was being reimagined and renamed New York under the editors Jim Bellows and Sheldon Zalaznick, and (after Zalaznick was promoted a few weeks into the job) they were soon joined by a former Time Inc. editor named Clay Felker. Wolfe wrote for Felker frequently and hilariously, starting with a 1,500-word column each week, about New York rudeness, about the clothes he saw in the supermarkets of the Long Island suburbs, about the loopiness of landlord-tenant battles. He was doing similar, longer work on the side for Esquire, including the profile of a group of car customizers that became the title essay of his first book.

The term everyone throws around for this kind of writing is the New Journalism. Its a misleading one, because it wasnt new. Joseph Mitchell, John Hersey  heck, Nellie Bly, 80 years earlier  all had done similarly immersive reporting. But there was something new about this, in its energy and its connection to the moment, and in the tonal shift that came with a new generations interests and habits. Wolfe and Breslin and Gay Talese and Joan Didion and Nora Ephron were onto something, in the pages of New York and Esquire and a few other outlets: that vivid scenes and acute social observation and awareness of the journalists presence could tell the truth in ways that had infrequently taken place outside the world of fiction. Virtually every journalist working today, to varying degrees, has absorbed that lesson. Nobody  and Santa Barranza! I mean nobody  writes or even punctuates like Tom Wolfe, but a lot of us try to look at things the way Tom Wolfe did.

He became known as a man-about-town for his elaborately hand-tailored clothes, including, of course, those white suits  such a perfect metaphor for the detached journalistic observer in a sooty, grimy city. (What does wearing a white suit require? That you stand aside and take notes, that you look but dont touch.) His on-page manner depended on ridiculously long sentences, sometimes depending on the heavy use of  ellipses  and more ellipses  and complex punctuation like :::::. He was probably the first postmodernist on a major metro daily, co-opting some of the prolix habits of high 19th-century style  repurposed with winks and detached irony. (Look at a few of the weak Wolfe parodies that are out there, and youll see just how hard it is to write that way without being silly.) And in 1965, he and Felker, in the Tribune, happened upon an idea that was irresistible.

The New Yorker was turning 40, occasioning a certain amount of greatest magazine that ever was praise. Despite that, and despite the presence of a few of those New Journalism proto-pioneers, it was going through what was arguably one of the duller stretches in its history. Wolfe decided to try (in a move that Spy and Gawker, among others, would later make a raison detre) putting into print what most journalists would say only at the bar after hours.

The manuscript he produced was so long that it had to run in two parts. Tiny Mummies! The True Story of The Ruler of 43d Streets Land of the Walking Dead! was the first half, published on April 11, 1965, and it was vicious, hilarious, punishing, gleeful. Its basic stance was, as Wolfe himself said, to paint a portrait of a room full of very proper people who had gone to sleep standing up, talking to themselves. Yes, it was a little bit mean. It was also deadly accurate, and, probably inevitably, became the most-talked-about story in newsrooms across the city. (Old trick: Write about the press, and everyone in the press will write about you.) William Shawn, the magazines tiny-mummy-in-chief, was horrified, to such an extent that he attempted to get the Trib to discard the second installment instead of publishing it. (He did not succeed.) Dozens of the magazines writers, even J.D. Salinger, signed a letter of protest to the owner of the Trib. Its been suggested here and there that Shawn really did take the criticism to heart, and also that the majestic In Cold Blood, the robust story by Truman Capote of two thrill-killers that he published a few months later, was perhaps a silent answer to Wolfes wake-up call. How dare you call us sleepy? Heres the best true-crime story youll ever read. And Capotes subsequent book was often called a nonfiction novel, a tacit admission that the novelistic techniques of New Journalism were indeed part of The New Yorker.

Wolfe in 1965, with Herald Tribune Sunday supplement in view. Photo: Jack Robinson/Getty Images

When the Trib (and its short-lived successor paper, the World Journal Tribune) died for good in 1967, Felker and his colleague Milton Glaser began planning to relaunch their magazine on its own, and began raising funds and building buzz. They were able to do so partly on the strength of their three marquee writers: Gloria Steinem, Jimmy Breslin, and Wolfe. When the magazine reappeared as a glossy in the first week of April 1968, the three of them appeared in the first issue, Wolfe with an essay called You and Your Big Mouth: How the Honks and Wonks Reveal the Phonetic Truth About Status, devoted to New York accents. His eye for class and social distinction had found its perfect outlet.

Over the next couple of years, Wolfe began to write longer, at a slower frequency, as the magazine found its way and figured out its collective voice. And if there was a story that coalesced it all, it was Wolfes Radical Chic: That Party at Lennys, published in June 1970, about a fundraiser at Leonard Bernsteins apartment for the Black Panthers. It had everything a journalist could ask for: celebrity, a near-comical clash of cultures, elements of racial conflict, extreme timeliness, and rich people acting a little absurd. You can read it here, and should. Itll be taught as long as there are journalism schools. As will The Me Decade, the story that named the 1970s. Its an extremely unusual piece of magazine writing, going off into thickets about the sociology of Max Weber, but its under control all the way, and you will not find a better summary of the baby-boomer solipsism that (one could argue, and Wolfe does indeed suggest) was beginning to eat America alive.

Wolfe (and Felker and Glaser) left New York at the beginning of 1977, after the magazine was sold, and from then on his magazine work was mostly at Harpers and Rolling Stone. He had, by then, already begun a project telling the true story of the American space program and the early test-pilot and astronaut corps. The Right Stuff, published serially in Rolling Stone and in book form in 1979, is by far the longest of all of Wolfes journalistic projects, and probably his best. In many ways, it is really a fast-moving history of alpha males in postwar America: about the Cold War, faith in technology to fix things, men behaving badly, men behaving honorably, the role of science, the role of the press, and far more. It is a masterpiece. (You should also watch the movie, which tanked on release but is much better than people remember.) It nearly broke him, too: Its publication was first announced not too long after the first 1969 moon landing, and it took him ten years to get it done.

Its a novelistic book, so it is not especially surprising that Wolfe subsequently got into the business of writing fiction. And, as he rather assertively pointed out in a notorious essay for Harpers, and then a follow-up some years later, he believed in reported fiction, shot through with field research and Whartonian social observation. His first novel was written serially for Rolling Stone  its been said that his editors white-knuckled it through every installments press deadline  but it was worth the wait to them. Bonfire of the Vanities was and is the novel of New York in the Greed Decade.

Wolfe in 2012. Photo: Tina Barney for New York Magazine

Wolfe spent most of the remainder of his life as a novelist, with only occasional bits of pure journalistic writing. His final book, Back to Blood, was published in 2012. My colleague Boris Kachka wrote about him, superbly, on that occasion. But New York did coax Wolfe himself out of semiretirement last year to write about the photographer Marie Cosindas, an old friend who had just died at 93. Cosindas had spent much of her career producing unusual color photographs, in an extremely painterly style. When she died last month, Wolfe wrote, she was one of Americas leading art photographers  or was it leading classical painters? You could choose either one, or both, and not be wrong. The reporter-novelist understood: Its all one thing, balled up, craftsmanship and art-making and just plain paying attention. The great eye took it all in.
Cambodias National Election Committee (NEC) on Monday hailed the prospect of multi-party democracy with the registration of 20 parties for a July general election that the main opposition party has been prevented from contesting.

Prime Minister Hun Sen, who has ruled the country for 33 years, has waged a campaign against his critics, including the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which won the support of a new generation of voters disillusioned at what they see as the corruption and nepotism that have stalked politics.

But in November, the Supreme Court dissolved the CNRP and banned more than 100 of its politicians, after the government accused it of plotting to take power with the help of the United States.

Members of the opposition have called for a boycott of the July 29 vote but preparations are going ahead, with party registration ending on Monday.

Now, we have 20 political parties registered, this shows a multi-party democracy, NEC spokesman Dim Sovannarom told a news briefing.

This is an opportunity for people, in every five years, to chose their leaders, he added.

The NEC would take a week to consider the party registration applications, he said.

Analysts say that with the dissolution of the CNRP, Hun Sen will easily take the July vote.

The strategy of decapitating and finally dissolving the opposition was designed to ensure a landslide victory for the ruling party, Cambodia-based political analyst Lao Mong Hay told Reuters.
Grappling with the realities of President Donald Trump's reign, Democrats are trying to offer a counterweight to the president's message  without making it all about Trump.

An annual conference organized by a prominent Democratic think tank included an early glimpse Tuesday at some of the Democrats plotting a challenge to Trump in 2020. But it also laid bare some of the challenges Democrats face in opposing a president whose presence has been all-consuming and in developing an alternative agenda to reach voters who turned to Trump in 2016.

"What they want to hear about is the economy and their plans for it. They don't want to hear about Donald Trump every single minute,'' Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, said at the Center for American Progress' Ideas Conference. "We resist, but we also insist on a better way forward.''

The lineup at the daylong conference featured appearances by several potential 2020 candidates, including Klobuchar and Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Also speaking: former Housing Secretary Julian Castro and current New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Democrats have pointed to growing activism since Trump's election, from the women's march after his inauguration to a student movement in support of gun control measures following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida. And they have captured special election victories in Alabama, electing Democratic Senator Doug Jones, and in western Pennsylvania, helping Democrat Conor Lamb overcome millions in Republican expenditures in a GOP-leaning district.

Democrats are hoping for a "blue wave'' in the midterms to recapture one or both chambers in Congress, which they have said would serve as a precursor to ousting Trump from office.

Grass roots 'stood up'

"The reason why we don't have Trumpcare today,'' said New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, referring to the president's failed attempt to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, "is because the grass roots stood up, stood tall and said, 'No.' ''

But the party is still dealing with tensions on how far it should move to embrace more liberal policies on the economy and health care in response to Trump.

Sanders, who battled Hillary Clinton for the party's nomination in 2016, rattled off a litany of liberal causes, including the need for a single-payer health care system, a $15-an-hour minimum wage, reproductive rights and universal child care. But he pointed to the role of the "oligarchy in this country'' as the nation's most central challenge, a movement he said was leading to "a government of the few, by the few, and for the few.''

"It is so important that we set big goals and we not be afraid of that,'' said de Blasio, who announced plans for the New York Police Department to "overhaul and reform'' policies related to marijuana enforcement in the next month.

Castro, HUD secretary under President Barack Obama and a former San Antonio mayor, said the party needed a "new blueprint'' that would make universal prekindergarten a reality, provide free college for at least the first two years and protect hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

Trump's distilled message

One of the critiques of Clinton's 2016 Democratic presidential campaign was that it failed to present a coherent argument on what the party would stand for under her watch. Trump, meanwhile, successfully distilled his message into his slogan, "Make America Great Again,'' and narrowly defeated Clinton in Midwestern states like Michigan and Wisconsin that had been safe Democratic territory.

Senator Sherrod Brown, an Ohio Democrat, noted that Trump claimed victory in Ohio, a perennial presidential battleground, by nearly 9 percentage points in 2016, saying the president won in "communities he had no business winning.''

"I think workers in my state are looking for somebody in elected office to talk about the dignity of work, to talk about whose side are you on, to talk about why work matters,'' Brown said. "I don't hear that enough from elected officials.''

Neera Tanden, the center's president and a longtime Clinton adviser, said that while Trump represents "an unprecedented threat to our values and our norms,'' Democrats cannot simply resist the president and his policies but instead need to provide an alternative to his agenda.

The event was attended by a number of financial donors, political strategists and activists who are beginning to assess what is expected to be a massive field in 2020, spurred in part by Trump's sluggish public approval ratings.

Robert Wolf, a major Democratic donor who attended the conference, said the party was "starting to build a narrative of things we stand for,'' as opposed to simply opposing Trump at every turn.

"We have to make sure we're the party of 'for things,' '' Wolf said.
The Dutch government is phasing out the use of anti-virus software made by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab amid fears of possible spying, despite vehement denials by the Moscow-based cybersecurity company.



The Dutch Justice and Security ministry said in a statement late Monday the decision had been taken as a "precautionary measure" in order "to guarantee national security."



But Kaspersky Lab, whose anti-virus software is installed on some 400 million computers worldwide, said Tuesday it was "very disappointed" by the move.



The firm, which is suspected by US authorities of helping the Kremlin's espionage efforts, also announced Tuesday that it was moving its core infrastructure and operations to Switzerland.



"Our new center in Switzerland will strengthen the proven integrity of Kaspersky Lab's products, [and] significantly improve the resilience of our IT infrastructure to any trust risk  even theoretical ones," the Russian company said in a statement.



Last year, the US federal government removed Kaspersky from its list of approved vendors, weeks after senior US intelligence agency and law enforcement officials expressed concerns about the safety of its software.



The Netherlands fears Kaspersky's anti-virus software is "deep in systems" and any abuse could "pose a major security risk."



Dutch officials also voiced concern that under Russian law companies such as Kaspersky are "required to cooperate with the Russian government."



But the company hit back saying "Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber espionage or offensive cyber efforts" and adding it was "being treated as guilty merely due to geopolitical issues."



It said it would try to arrange a meeting soon with the Dutch coordinator for security and counterterrorism to discuss the situation.



Dutch intelligence officials have increasingly warned however that they fear the Kremlin is trying to hack into Dutch companies and manipulate elections here.



"Russia has an active offensive cyber program focusing on the Netherlands and vital Dutch interests," the ministry warned, adding it had therefore concluded there was a risk of "digital espionage and sabotage."
Dutch museums on Tuesday published two pages of Anne Frank's diary that had previously been hidden behind a layer of sticky brown paper.

The Anne Frank House Museum said at a presentation that it, and several Dutch historical institutes, were able to reproduce the lost pages after years of study by shining a light through them and photographing them in high resolution.

The Jewish teenager apparently covered up the pages because she worried that other people in her hideout would read them, as they contain a series of dirty jokes and her thoughts on sex education, said Ronald Leopold, director of Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.

Frank and her family hid from the Nazis in a secret annex in a house in Amsterdam during World War II but were discovered in 1944.



She died aged 15 at Bergen-Belson concentration camp in 1945. Her diary was published two years later and has been read worldwide and translated into at least 60 languages.
Hungary will tighten a bill that aims to closely regulate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) following the ruling partys big election victory last month, a minister said on Monday, in a move likely to dismay the European Union and rights groups.

The bill has been nicknamed Stop Soros as it targets NGOs that receive foreign funding, notably those financed by liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros, whom Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban accuses of political meddling and actively supporting mass immigration into Europe.

The bill would allow the interior minister to ban any NGOs active in the immigration field deemed to pose a national security risk. It would also slap a 25 percent tax on foreign donations to NGOs that back migration.

Antal Rogan, the minister for Orbans cabinet office, said the ruling right-wing Fidesz party's landslide re-election had given it a strengthened mandate to get tough with NGOs it saw as harmful to national interests.

We need a tighter proposal than the one currently in front of parliament, Antal Rogan, the minister for Orban's cabinet office, told a parliamentary hearing. He did not provide any details.

The original bill was submitted to parliament before the April election, when Orbans party won a third consecutive four-year term with about two thirds of the seats in parliament.

The EU's executive Commission has said it will take Hungary to court over the Stop Soros bill and a higher education law that targets a university founded by Soros.

The United Nations has said the bill represents an assault on human rights and has urged the Orban government to protect the right of freedom of association.

Orban used Soros as a scapegoat in the election campaign, accusing the Hungarian-born philanthropist of seeking to undermine the cultural and ethnic makeup of Europe. Soros denies the charge.

Rogan said Budapest considered its sovereignty paramount and that included the immigration issue.

We will enhance and clarify the bill so that it stops any kind of activity that would bypass Hungary's laws, violate national security and bring illegal migrants into the country, Rogan said.

"There is a plethora of ways in which foreign-funded organizations that enjoy no popular support in Hungary operate, including ways in which they bypass Hungarys laws," he added.

Rogan said he expected the issue also to dominate the election campaign for the European Parliament next year.
In the photo, the mother rests one hand on her youngest son's arm. Two little sisters in the front hold flowers against matching red head scarves. Dad stands in the back next to the oldest son who has already outgrown him. The six are dressed in happy prints and colors  a purple batik shirt, a pink flowered dress  and Mom's flowing headscarf is the color of sky.

It appears to be a picture of a happy middle-class Indonesian family. But it has shocked the world's most populous Muslim nation this week by becoming its new face of militant violence.

Friends and neighbors describe the Muslim parents as normal and nice, associating regularly with Christians who lived nearby and letting their home-schooled children play with others in the neighborhood.

But on Sunday, they fanned out with suicide bombs attached to themselves and their children, attacking three churches. The entire family was killed in Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya. At least 13 people died in the churches and more than 40 others were injured. The youngest human bomb, the little girl staring directly at the camera with big brown eyes, was just 8 years old. Her big sister was 12.

Before people had time to fully process that children had been used for the first time to carry out a suicide attack in Indonesia, it happened again. Another family  including a 7-year-old child who survived  participated in a similar suicide mission at police headquarters in the same city on Monday.

Three members of a third family also died when homemade bombs exploded in their apartment Sunday night, and three children survived. Police say the attackers all knew each other, and the father who carried out the church bombings, Dita Oepriarto, headed the Surabaya cell of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an Indonesian network of extremist groups affiliated with the Islamic State group.

In all, 26 people  including 13 militants and their children  have died since Sunday. Authorities say the surviving children are being treated for physical and mental issues and will eventually be placed with safe family members.

"For the kids, I think this is craziness,'' said Taufik Andrie, who runs an Indonesian institute that helps rehabilitate former militants ready to rejoin society. "It's the first time in Indonesia. I'm afraid this will be a new trend.''

Indonesia suffered its worst terrorist attack in 2002 on the resort island of Bali when 202 people, mostly foreign tourists, were killed in nightclub bombings. Jemaah Islamiyah, an al-Qaida-affiliated network, was responsible. The country has been relatively quiet in recent years after major cells connected to larger organized groups were stamped out.

The new spate of bombings comes just ahead of the holy Islamic month of Ramadan, and follows a melee at a detention center near Jakarta last week in which jailed Muslim extremists killed six officers. Andrie said much information leaked out after the incident, likely inciting others to act. IS has claimed responsibility for the recent violence in both cities.

"I think the message is simply that they can create momentum,'' he said. "And they don't want to lose it.''

Using women and children in militant attacks has long been a tactic deployed in other countries  Nigerian terror group Boko Haram often uses children as suicide bombers.

Experts say more than 1,000 Indonesians have gone abroad to help IS, and their return raises new worries.

"We've got hundreds of fighters coming back. Probably the Indonesians don't even know how many are coming back,'' said Bilveer Singh, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore. "If you don't get this thing right, then you are going to get more and more terrorist attacks in the coming months and years.''

He said the buildup to Indonesia's presidential election next year coupled with growing religious intolerance could spark new violence, especially if Islam is used as a politicizing weapon. President Joko "Jokowi " Widodo has struggled to push through anti-terror legislation proposed since 2016 which would make it easier for law enforcement officers to go after extremists. In condemning the recent attacks, he vowed to issue an emergency presidential decree if parliament continues to drag its feet.

"I'm not afraid of the bombing. I think it's the rising radicalization and growing intolerance of Indonesia,'' Singh said. "It has been moving in a very dangerous way, and it has not been stopped. And I think the danger of Indonesia is not tomorrow. The danger of Indonesia is in the next five to 10 years.''
New fighting broke out Monday along the border between Myanmar and China, as the United States and China urged restraint. The latest violence erupted near the area where 32 people were killed in fighting over the weekend.

The fighting continued most of the day in Ho-Mong village, a police officer from the Nam-phaka station told VOA Burmese. "Clashes began around 9 a.m. in Muse's Namohn and Nampauh areas, when around 100 to 150 [rebels] entered to the Ho-mong village," the police officer said.

The fighters from the Northern Alliance, a coalition of four armed ethnic groups, encountered Myanmar military troops in the village between Nam-phaka and Muse, and the subsequent fighting continued into the afternoon, according to the officer. Muse was the scene of Saturday's violence, where the dead included two Chinese citizens.

Muse Relief volunteer U Thaung Tun told VOA that the Nampawh Bridge near Muse was targeted by heavy weaponry Monday.

Despite the clashes, at least 3,000 trucks continued their daily route at the busy Muse border crossing between Myanmar's Shan state and China's Yunnan Province, according to the volunteer.

Yangon's U.S. Embassy Press Officer Aryani Manring told VOA, "We are deeply concerned by the casualties caused by recent clashes between the Ta'ang National Liberation Army, government security forces, and militias in Muse township in northern Shan state, and express our heartfelt sympathy to the families of those killed and injured in the conflict.

"We urge all relevant parties to exercise restraint in protecting the civilian population from further casualties, to allow humanitarian aid to reach all communities affected by conflict, and to negotiate for peaceful solutions to the problems that have plagued this nation for decades," Manring continued. "We stand ready to support such efforts."

Also Monday, China issued a statement saying that the clashes seriously undermined peace on the China-Myanmar border. During the daily press briefing Monday at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, spokesman Lu Kang told reporters, "China demands the parties to the conflict stop the firing immediately, take all measures to prevent further escalation of the situation ... and prevent incidents that sabotage the peace and stability in the China-Myanmar border region," according to an Associated Press transcript of the briefing.

Lu was referring to the rockets and stray bullets that fell on Chinese territory Saturday, followed by more than 300 refugees who fled to China after the violence.

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) launched the operation Saturday. The group belongs to the Northern Alliance, which describes itself on its website as "an ethnic revolutionary armies group comprising of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA),  and the Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting for the rights of national self-determination, equal political rights, people's rights, peace and social justice."

The goal of the alliance is to "establish a genuine federal democratic union of Myanmar where a constitutional guarantee for a certain degree of autonomy for non-Burman ethnic peoples will be provided. We always call for a genuine political dialogue to settle almost 70 years of ethnic conflict and civil war in Myanmar."

The initial attack began early Saturday on the outskirts of Muse in Shan State and continued for about three hours, Sai Kyaw Thein, a member of parliament from Muse, told The New York Times.

The TNLA claimed responsibility for the attack. The group said in a statement that it was retaliating for a push by Myanmar's military against another ethnic insurgent group, the KIA.

A TNLA spokesman said it had targeted soldiers and militia members who ran a casino.

"Many civilians go to casinos and it causes many social problems; that's why we launched a major assault," the spokesman, Colonel Tar Aik Kyaw, told the Times. He called the casino a "gateway for distributing drugs."
Former U.S. Army Captain Ernest Medina, who was acquitted of murder in the infamous My Lai Massacre, has died in Marinette, Wisconsin.

He was 81; no cause of death was announced.

Medina was a commander of Charlie Company, which was sent on a search-and-destroy mission against North Vietnamese guerillas in the South Vietnamese village of My Lai in March 1968.

Medina's unit had been given faulty intelligence that the village would be emptied of civilians.

As Medina stayed behind at a helicopter landing zone, an inexperienced officer, Lieutenant William Calley, led troops into the village who began firing on unarmed civilians, carrying out their search-and-destroy orders.

When the shooting ended, hundreds of people were dead in ditches, in huts and along roads. Most of the victims were women, babies and old men.

The Army put the death toll at nearly 350, while South Vietnamese said more than 500 were slaughtered.

Medina and Calley were court-martialed and tried. Medina, who testified that he knew nothing about the massacre until it was over, was acquitted. Calley was convicted.

The My Lai Massacre was one of the ugliest chapters in U.S. military history. The American public found out about the killings more than a year later, when journalist Seymour Hersh was tipped off about the massacre. His articles helped solidify growing opposition to the Vietnam War.

Medina became a salesman and real estate agent after leaving the army. He called My Lai a "horrendous thing" and something he regrets. But he said he felt no guilt because he said he did not cause it.

"That's not what the military, particularly the United States Army, is trained for," he said. "It was a guerilla war. It's something I feel a lot of draftees were not trained for. ... I'm talking not just about lieutenants. I'm talking about senior officers."

Medina added that maybe the U.S. never should have gotten involved in the Vietnam War without the will to win.
France's foreign minister warned on Tuesday that President Emmanuel Macron was prepared to respond to U.S. moves in the Middle East, marking a sharp departure from the warm relations on show during Macron's visit to Washington last month.

To date, Macron's best buddy approach to President Donald Trump has produced little practical influence on his policies.

"The situation in the Middle East is explosive, violence is doing the talking, war could loom," Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament on Tuesday, a day after the United States moved an embassy in Jerusalem and Israeli soldiers shot dead more than 50 Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border.

"The president of the republic has decided to take all necessary political initiatives" in response, Le Drian said, without providing specifics.

Britain's minister of state for the Middle East expressed similar exasperation with Washington, saying the Trump administration needed a greater understanding of the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Earlier, the French government spokesman defended Macron's efforts to build a close working relationship with Trump, despite the U.S. president having gone against the French leader on almost all major issues so far.

Asked if Trump was still Macron's friend, Benjamin Griveaux, a close adviser to the French president, told BFM TV: "When you are the president of the republic, you are not the friend of foreign leaders, you are their partner, you have strategic alliances."

"France is attached to one thing  multilateralism. We talk to everyone and we speak firmly and frankly to them, we don't mince our words," he added.

Since coming to power a year ago, Macron has not hidden his desire to build a familiar relationship with Trump.



"Perfect"

Weeks after he took office, he invited the U.S. president to attend the annual Bastille Day celebrations, putting on a spectacular military parade for Trump.

During their first phone call, 71-year-old Trump gave the 40-year-old Frenchman his personal mobile phone number, and the two have spoken frequently since.

Last month, Macron and his wife Brigitte traveled to Washington for a state visit  the first Trump has hosted since he took office. Trump described Macron as "perfect" and the two made a show of giving each other warm hugs.

"He's a great guy, his wife is fantastic," Trump said of Macron in January. "I like him. He's a friend of mine." Yet Macron has struggled to convert the 'bonhomie' into influence on critical issues.

Soon after Macron took office, Trump announced he was walking away from the Paris climate accord, a landmark international agreement to combat global warming.

In recent weeks, over the objection of Macron and other leaders, Trump has moved to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports, has withdrawn from the Iran nuclear deal and moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, fueling widespread Palestinian unrest.

Asked late last year whether Macron wasn't wasting his time buddying up to Trump, a close adviser to the French president said it was worth it.

"We don't know how much worse things might be if he wasn't building a close relationship," the official said.

Griveaux took a similar line, adding that Macron's efforts didn't mean he was giving in. "Does it mean that we endorse or share the positions [of the U.S. administration]?" he said. "The answer is no."
The United States defended Israels actions to suppress sometimes violent demonstrations at its Gaza border at the United Nations Tuesday in the face of widespread criticism from other countries.

U.S. Ambassador NikkI Haley said Israel had used "restraint" in response to deadly clashes with Palestinians and blamed the Hamas militant group for the violence.

But U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov, speaking to council members from Jerusalem, said there was "no justification" for the killings.

Mladenov said, "Israel has a responsibility to calibrate its use of force" if there is no "imminent threat of death or serious injury" and must protect its borders "proportionately and investigate every incident that has led to a loss of human life.

Haley dismissed assertions the violence stemmed from Monday's opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

"It does not undermine the prospects for peace in any way. And yet, for some, this is supposedly a cause for violence. But lets remember that the Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy."

Haley added the embassy "reflects the will of the American people" and "our sovereign right to decide the location of our embassy, a right that everyone in this room claims for their own country."

Kuwaiti Ambassador to the U.N. Mansour al-Otaibi said the Persian Gulf country "would like to condemn in the strongest terms the massacre perpetrated by the Israeli official authorities yesterday" and called on nations "to recognize the state of Palestine and occupied East Jerusalem as its capital."

Tuesday's U.N. Security Council emergency meeting followed the deadliest day of violence in Gaza between Israel and the Palestinians in five years.

Foes, allies condemn US move

Prior to the U.N. meeting, many U.S. allies, along with its foes, expressed criticism of the U.S. decision to open its embassy in Jerusalem, saying it would increase tensions in the Middle East.



A spokesman for British Prime Minister Theresa May said, "We disagree with the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital" before a final peace agreement is reached in the Middle East.



French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Monday's violence in Gaza, where Israeli soldiers killed more than 50 Palestinian civilians in clashes at the border. Macron said he had "warned repeatedly of the repercussions" of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

A statement from Macron's office said he talked Monday with Jordan's King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and is planning to talk Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.



Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated Moscow's objection to the U.S. move. "We firmly believe that it is inappropriate to unilaterally revise the decisions of the international community in this way," he said.



Many Arab leaders also condemned the move, with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri calling it "provocative," and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif describing it as "a day of great shame."



Saudi Arabia said it "strongly condemned" the Israeli gunfire against Palestinians in Gaza and opposed the relocation of the U.S. embassy.



Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to London the embassy move was "very, very unfortunate" and said it disqualified the United States from being a mediator in the Middle East peace process.



Turkeys government said it was recalling its ambassador to the United States for consultations over the U.S. embassy move. It also recalled its ambassador to Israel.

Turkey also has called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the worlds largest body of Muslim-majority nations.
Maybe he just remembered that Xi asked him to be cool. Photo: AFP Contributor/AFP/Getty Images

In recent months President Trump launched a trade war with China, a nation hes accused, in vivid terms, of stealing American jobs, wealth, and intellectual property. We cant continue to allow China to rape our country, and thats what theyre doing, he said during one campaign rally.

Then on Sunday, Trump suddenly became very concerned about protecting Chinese jobs:

President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018

Last year the Chinese telecommunications giant, which makes inexpensive smartphones, admitted in U.S. federal court that it violated U.S. sanctions by selling to Iran and North Korea. ZTE agreed to a plea deal involving as much as $1.2 billion in fines, but last month the U.S. Department of Commerce said it didnt follow through on the agreement, and banned American firms from selling to ZTE for seven years.

The 75,000-employee business was unable to find alternative suppliers and began shutting down its operations last week  but now ZTE might be saved, thanks to Trump. The exact reason for Trumps abrupt turn around remains a mystery; there are reports suggesting its about the midterms, the upcoming negotiations with North Korea, Trump Organization business, or maybe all of the above. Here are the leading theories on why the president developed a soft spot for a sanctions-defying Chinese tech company.

This Is the Only Way to Get a Trade Deal With China

Trump is looking to strike a trade deal with China and avoid the massive tariffs threatened by both sides. High-level talks have made little progress in recent weeks, and according to the Washington Post Trump recently asked his advisers what China wants. He was told that relaxing ZTEs punishment was a prerequisite to substantive discussions with the Chinese.

Chinese officials were furious about the penalties put on ZTE, which they viewed as excessive, but the Trump administration had been resisting their calls to back off. Dennis Wilder, a former China specialist at the CIA who just met with officials in Beijing, said he was told that the Chinese delegation led by Vice-Premier Liu He would not return to Washington for talks without a reprieve for ZTE. Hours after Trumps tweet it was confirmed that Liu will meet with top administration officials in Washington later this week.

Sources said Trump doesnt see easing penalties on ZTE as a major concession, though it doesnt set the best example for other companies that violate U.S. sanctions.

Saving Chinese Jobs Serves Trumps Larger Goal of Saving U.S. Jobs

ZTE is one of the U.S. telecom company Qualcomms biggest customers, so its shuttering would have negative consequences for Americans. In a tweet on Monday afternoon, Trump suggested he was actually focused on helping American companies:

ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

In exchange for backing off of ZTE, U.S. officials are reportedly pushing Beijing to let Qualcomms proposed acquisition of NXP Semiconductors move forward (they also want China to relax tariffs on U.S. agricultural products, but more on that later). Qualcomms effort had been effectively blocked by a Chinese antitrust review, which was seen as payback for aggressive trade moves by the U.S.

The U.S. investment firm Rangeley Capital noticed that Chinese regulators just changed their view of the merger. All of a sudden it was a tweet the president put out on ZTE, Rangeley partner Chris DeMuth Jr. told the Wall Street Journal. And then [the Chinese regulator] started up the review again.

The Trump Administrations Economic Nationalists Are Losing

It appears that Trumps whims are dictating U.S.-China trade policy, as the White House seemed caught off guard by his tweets and struggled to put out a coherent message. The Post summed up the mixed messages from Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross:

After Trumps Sunday tweet, White House officials spent much of the next 24 hours attempting to walk back his statement, saying ZTEs fate would ultimately be left up to a review by Ross. And Monday afternoon, Ross insisted in a speech at the National Press Club that ZTE would not be a factor in the trade talks, saying, Our position has been that thats an enforcement action separate from trade.

Just three hours later, Trump tweeted again, contradicting Rosss statement that the issues would be kept apart.

The New York Times suggests that Trumps abrupt shift is a sign that hes once again caught between his administrations America First adherents and his more mainstream advisers  and now the economic nationalists are losing out to the squares worried about what a massive trade war will do to the U.S. economy.

The nationalists took their shot when they handed the Chinese a long list of extreme demands during a trip to Beijing last month. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese were not receptive, and now Trump appears to be embracing Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchins efforts to quickly resolve trade tensions before a trade war ravages the economy.

Trump Is Thinking About Other International Problems

Another possible reason for Trumps shift: he just realized he needs to resolve economic tensions with China before he meets with North Koreas Kim Jong-un on June 12. As North Koreas closest ally and biggest trading partner, China will likely play a big role in any deal to end Pyongyangs nuclear-weapons program. Trump has repeatedly said that he would cut Beijing some slack on trade if they help with North Korea.

Trump Is Thinking About Domestic Problems

Trump sabotaging the economy right before the midterm elections has always sounded like a good way to ensure that Republicans suffer massive losses in November. In practice Trumps trade dispute with China has already irritated a key Republican constituency: farmers.

In April China retaliated against Trumps new tariffs by announcing its own tariffs on some U.S. agricultural commodities. Last month Trump floated the idea of solving the problem with new subsidy payments to farmers, but that idea was quickly shot down by fellow Republican lawmakers.

Now, according to the Journal, the Trump administration is worried that the backlash from farmers could further endanger Republican efforts to hold on to the House and Senate in the midterms. China has reportedly suggested it will hold off on the agricultural tariffs if the U.S. goes easy on ZTE.

Trump Is Thinking About How He Can Enrich Himself

About 72 hours before Trump developed a friendlier attitude toward Beijing, the Chinese government agreed to pump $500 million into an Indonesian theme park that will benefit the Trump Organization  and thus the president himself, since he refused to divest from his company when he took office.

The Chinese government just extended a loan to the state-owned construction firm Metallurgical Corporation of China. That company inked a deal with the Indonesian firm MNC Land last week to build a theme park outside Jakarta that will feature several Trump-branded properties. Chinese companies will not be directly financing the Trump properties, but the theme park is a key part of the project. AFP reported last week:

 marketing materials for MNC Lido City refer to the theme park and Trump properties as flagship elements of the development, and corporate filings and internal documents show the Trump Organisation and the presidents sons have been directly involved in various stages of its planning.

Even if this deal is completely and entirely above board, it simply furthers the perception of impropriety surrounding Trumps businesses, Christopher Balding, an economics professor at Shenzhens HSBC Business School, told AFP. Especially with the potential trade war, this is not a good look  Critics will be entirely right to demand answers.

That may be true, but it doesnt look like theyre going to get them. When asked to explain how this doesnt violate the Constitutions emoluments clause, Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah referred questions to the Trump Organization  though as Noah Bierman of the Los Angeles Times pointed out, the company cant speak on behalf of the president.

Youre asking about a private organizations dealings that may have to do with a foreign government. Its not something I can speak to, Shah said, moving on to the next question.
Islamic State (IS) militants pledged to fight to the death after U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced the start of the final push to liberate the last IS pockets in the eastern countryside of Deir el-Zour.

Suhaib Jaber, a Syrian journalist from Deir el-Zour working with the Euphrates Post, told VOA that IS urged its members, as well as civilians in the areas under its control, to unite and fight without negotiations or surrender.

Disputes escalated between IS Syrian fighters and IS foreign fighters after the disappearance of their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The allegiance came to unite them in one battle, Jaber said.

IS has resorted to the Allegiance of Death tactic during its last hours in the areas under its control after being cornered during battles to free Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria.

Al Jazeera storm

The operation against the last IS pockets in Deir el-Zour, code named Al Jazeera Storm, was launched Sept. 9, 2017, and was stalled for months at the beginning of 2018 after SDF fighters shifted attention to fight the Turkish military incursion against the Kurdish-held area of Afrin, in north Syria.

The operation to liberate the last IS pockets in Deir el-Zour resumed May 1, 2018, as Kurdish fighters returned from the Afrin area.

Over the coming weeks, our heroic forces will liberate these areas, secure the Iraq-Syria border, and end the presence of ISIS in eastern Syria once and for all, Leilwa Abdullah, spokesperson for the Al Jazeera Storm campaign, said in a statement.

IS has launched a number of attacks in the past several months on SDF-controlled areas and locations controlled by Syrian government forces in an attempt to regain a foothold along the Euphrates River and expand its shrinking territories.

Despite considerable losses, ISIS retains capabilities to plan and coordinate attacks against the region and coalition homelands, the Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve said, using an acronym for the militant group, in an official statement.

Coalition forces have worked since 2016 with SDF forces to clear territory controlled by IS in Syria.

On Sunday, U.S.-backed forces liberated the strategic village of Baguz on the Syrian side of the Iraqi border, closing the last border crossing in Deir el-Zour that IS can use to move between Syria and Iraq.

IS leader

The chief of Iraqi intelligence told Fox News last week that according to information it has received, IS leader al-Baghdadi currently resides in Hajin, in eastern Deir el-Zour, 18 miles from the Iraqi border.

Jaber, the Syrian journalist, said that according to local sources in Deir el-Zour, the Hajin area is too risky for al-Baghdadi to stay in because it is located on the confrontation line with coalition-backed SDF.

Jaber added that al-Baghdadi is more likely to hide in the town of Al Shaer in the southern countryside of the Al-Hasakah governorate, where IS militants can still move through the Syrian-Iraqi borders. This is the same area that five top IS leaders crossed last week and were captured by Iraqi forces.

IS still controls several pockets in Syria, including the towns of Al Sha'fah and Hajin, and the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, where U.S.-backed SDF operates.
Italy's far-right League, struggling to stitch together a coalition deal with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, said Tuesday that it was ready to wage war on European Union budget rules and put Italians first.

The two parties held a sixth day of negotiations aimed at creating a government and ending 10 weeks of political stalemate following an inconclusive election on March 4.

They had been widely expected to unveil a deal at a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella on Monday but had to ask for more time after differences emerged over policies and over who should head any new administration.

With frustration growing, League leaders turned their fire on European Union financial restrictions, which, if followed to the letter, would make it impossible for the anti-immigrant party to enact its big-spending electoral promises.

"We need to be able to speak with a single voice, to say to the EU, to which we pay many billions of euros every year, that for us Italians come first," League economics chief Claudio Borghi said, echoing U.S. President Donald Trump's rallying cry of "America First."

"First must come the things that need doing, and only afterwards (need we worry about) absurd rules written many years ago when the world was totally different," he said.

Borghi called on 5-Star to recognize the need to take on Brussels, and got a response from its leader, Luigi Di Maio.

"European [budget] constraints need to be reviewed, together with our partners, but they need to be reviewed," Di Maio said on Facebook.

5-Star has mellowed

Once fiercely euroskeptic, the 5-Star has mellowed in recent months, looking to reassure financial investors that it is fiscally responsible. It has hesitated about signing up to a full-frontal confrontation with Europe over public accounts.

The League has promised to introduce a flat tax rate of 15 percent, which would bring in 80 billion euros ($95 billion) per year, while 5-Star has pledged new welfare payments for the poor, costing about 17 billion euros.

They have both vowed to scrap an unpopular pension reform, a move that would punch a 15 billion-euro hole in state coffers.

Di Maio said the joint program the two groups are drawing up is "almost completed," and called on the League not to pull out at the last moment.

"This is the time to have the courage to go all the way," he said, promising measures including tougher penalties for tax evaders and cuts to the so-called "golden pensions" enjoyed by wealthy former politicians and business executives.

League leader Matteo Salvini told reporters on the way to a meeting with Di Maio on Tuesday evening that there were still areas, including the approach to the EU, where the parties diverged. "We cannot go to Brussels with positions that are far apart," he said.

With tensions high, Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president of the European Commission, warned that Italy should maintain its commitment to gradually reducing the public deficit and debt.

"It's very clear that in current times of economic growth, Italy needs to put its debt on a downwards trajectory," he said.

Another commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, was also quoted on Tuesday as weighing in on Italian politics, saying he hoped the new government maintained current immigration policies.

The League has promised a tougher line on migrants arriving from Africa and denounced Avramopoulos' comments. "We are seeing the latest, unacceptable interference from an unelected official in Europe," said Salvini.

'Constant attacks'

Di Maio backed his potential coalition partner, saying the nascent government was "receiving constant attacks, even today by some eurocrats who weren't elected by anyone."

5-Star has adopted a softer line on migration and Salvini said on Monday that this was another area of discord between the two sides. However, three 5-Star sources said the main stumbling point remained who should head the administration.

Salvini and Di Maio have both agreed to drop their own ambitions to be prime minister and are looking for a candidate from outside their parties to enact their program.

In a meeting with Mattarella on Monday, 5-Star proposed little-known law professor Giuseppe Conte, but the League has not yet given its go-ahead, a source in the president's office said. Mattarella has given them until next week to find an ccord. If they fail to do so, fresh elections look inevitable.
Cyrine Ben Said, a Tunisian Muslim, carried candles and wrote her hopes for the future on an egg in religious ceremony at a synagogue on the southern island of Djerba.

She wanted to share the rituals with her Jewish friends because, for her, Tunisia is a country of tolerance, coexistence and freedom of belief.

"I'm here to share rituals with my Jewish friends in new Tunisia of tolerance, coexistence and freedom of belief. ... Everyone has his religion, but we have many common points; the flag, love and peace," Ben Said said.

Tunisia is home to one of North Africa's largest Jewish communities. Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times, and the community once numbered 100,000.

But fear, poverty and discrimination prompted several waves of emigration after the creation of Israel in 1948. Many left after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, most going to France or Israel.

They now number about 2,000, with more than 1,200 in Djerba.

Ben Said is one of dozens of Muslims who participated in the Jewish religious ceremonies in the oldest synagogue in Africa, Ghriba, during an annual celebration held this month. The eggs, covered in people's ambitions for love and prosperity, are stored in a cellar.

The event is a powerful sign of mutual tolerance in Djerba, where the two communities have long coexisted.

"The Jews and the Muslims of Djerba are all Tunisian citizens, so there is no difference between us," said Perez Trabelsi, a Jewish community leader. He added that despite their small number, Jewish people have a strong presence in economic life, including tourism, restaurants and the jewelry trade.

'No difference'

Each year, Muslim religious leaders and politicians from the Mufti to the head of the government take the chance to go to Ghriba to promote the message of interreligious tolerance.

"This is a peaceful island that embraces its Jews and Muslims in harmony, giving a message to the world that we must abandon hatred and hostility," said Tunisian Imam Hassen Chalghoumi, as he shook hands with one of the rabbis.

Ghriba synagogue was hit by an al-Qaida truck bombing in 2002 that killed 21 people, most of them German visitors.

At the entrance to the synagogue, a young Muslim, Makrem Gaagaa, welcomes visitors with a broad smile and presents headscarves to those who need one.

"It's my job and my livelihood," he said. "My relationship with everyone who visits this place is good, they have their religion and I have my religion," added the guard, who has worked in the synagogue for seven years.

Most Jews in Djerba live in Hara Kbira neighborhood, their homes next to Muslim homes, where they exchange visits and gifts at religious events and weddings.

"Here, there is no difference between Jews and a Muslims," said Jewish resident Georgina, who gave only her first name. "We are good neighbors, some of them we visit all the time. They offer us food, and we give them food, too."

Security

Despite the peaceful atmosphere, security is still tight.

This year, during protests against government austerity measures in January, assailants threw petrol bombs at a small synagogue in Djerba, causing shock but no casualties.

In Djerba's old medina, Jewish tailor Mgissis Chabeh has worked for four decades sewing "jebba," a traditional Muslim dress.

"All my customers are Muslims and they love my work," 70-year-old Chabeh said from behind his sewing machine, in between jokes with a Muslim gold trader friend.

The old medina in Djerba is full of jewelry shops, most of which are run by Jews who have controlled the trade in Djerba for decades.

Nearby, a popular Jewish restaurant has a sign written in Arabic and Hebrew.

"In the old city there are many Jews," said Jewish chef Gabriel Yahich. "We cook meals for them that are compatible with the Jewish religion, but we also offer traditional meals accepted by the Muslims. For me the important thing is that trade is good, the rest is details."
A Kenyan court on Monday rejected a plea for a change to the laws on how property should be split in divorce cases, a ruling activists said was a blow for women's rights in the country.

Kenya's High Court dismissed a 2016 petition from the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA), an advocacy group that had argued the Marriage Properties Act was unconstitutional because it entitled each partner only to what they contributed.

The constitution states that married couples are entitled to equal rights and the group argued that the law unfairly impacted women, who were more likely to suffer financially from a marriage breakup.

In its ruling, the court said that changing the law would "open the door for a party to get into marriage and walk out of it in the event of divorce with more than they deserve."

In response, FIDA head Josephine Mong'are said it was a "sad day for Kenyans."

"Every year millions of women in Kenya still find themselves fighting to hold onto their property after a divorce or the death of their husband," she said in a statement.

Less than seven percent of title deeds are held by women alone or jointly with men in Kenya, according to a 2014 survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade.

Land is usually passed on to sons, making it hard for women to secure rights except through their husbands. Women and their children are often evicted if the husband dies or they divorce.

Less than two percent of title deeds issued in Kenya since 2013 went to women, according to the Kenya Land Alliance, an advocacy network.
Kenya has taken its first step into space with the launch Friday of a nano-satellite made at the University of Nairobi. Engineers involved in creating the cube-shaped space capsule described it as Kenyas joining the space club, although much remains to be done to get the Kenya space program off the ground.

Kenyans cheered as a live stream broadcast Friday at the University of Nairobi showed the countrys first homemade satellite being launched from the International Space Station.

Japans space agency deployed the small, cube-shaped nano-satellite using an airlock and robotic platform called Kibo, the only way to launch CubeSats.

The space capsule was designed by students and scientists at the university. They celebrated the landmark achievement.

Faith Karanja, a senior lecturer with the Department of Geospatial and Space Technology, worked on the satellite program. She said the successful launch shows Kenya has now joined other nations in the space club.

It has really taken us to the next level. Because, really, what we have been doing is...we have just been users of space technology, space science and technology. In fact, we were in the category where we were calling ourselves space-aspiring nation. In as far as now we are concerned, once the deployment has been done and it is successful, we are in the same league as the spacefaring nation, Karanja said.

Kenyas space agency was established just last year and has done little since, however.

While the nano-satellite represents a step toward a viable space program in Kenya, its a baby step that has required a lot of help.

The nano-satellite is quite small - 10 centimeters by 10 centimeters. And it weighs only 1.2 kilograms.

The small satellite was designed with the help of experts from Italys Sapienza University of Rome and Japans Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA. Japan funded much of the venture, spending about a million dollars on the project.

And while Kenyans did much of the technology design work, the satellite was taken to the space station in April by a SpaceX rocket during a resupply mission.

Nonetheless, Kenyan engineering students like Lucy Ruto are impressed with the achievement so far.

I am very happy because this program comes at a time when some of Kenya's students left abroad to study geospatial and space technology, leaving our universities. I am extremely happy because I know when they are there, they will know that we can compete with a space program, Ruto said.

The University of Nairobi is already making plans for further satellite development. Peter Ngau is head of the College of Architecture and Engineering.

Our next step is one, to try to make the next bigger size of this nano satellite. The one we have done is called 1-U. We need to make 3-U. 3-U can contain high resolution camera. It can also contain equipment for communication. So, this one will require another one year to make, Ngau said.

Ngau said the university has sent three Kenyan students for advanced science degrees at Japans Kyushu Institute of Technology-famous for nano-satellite testing.

The University of Nairobi says Kenyas first satellite will be used to collect data on wildlife, weather forecasting, disaster management, and food security-among other goals.
Mexico's economy minister said that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Thursday deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S. Congress.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be notified of a new NAFTA deal by Thursday to give lawmakers a chance of approving it before a newly elected Congress takes over in January.

It is not easy. We do not think we will have it by Thursday, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told broadcaster Televisa on Tuesday.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau struck a more upbeat tone, telling reporters in Calgary a few hours later, There is very much an eminently achievable outcome ... and we are very close.

We are going to continue to remain optimistic, said Trudeau. He met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday and discussed the possibility of bringing NAFTA talks to a prompt conclusion.

Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada have been in intense talks since last month to try to reach a deal before U.S. congressional elections in November. Mexicos presidential vote on July 1 also complicates the process.

We will keep negotiating, and in the moment that we have a good negotiation, we can close the deal ... independent of which Congress (the current or new) that will vote on it, said Guajardo.

Mexicos peso sank to its weakest level in over a year on Tuesday, and the countrys benchmark stock index fell about 1 percent to its lowest since early April.

Guajardo said the talks could be concluded before or just after the July 1 vote.

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is leading polls to win the presidential race, and his pick for economy minister, Graciela Marquez, said last month his administration would be willing to accept a deal struck before the election.

If that is not possible, she said it would be better to complete the negotiation after the next government takes office at the start of December. Guajardo said the next government's team would need to be involved in any talks after July 1.

Guajardo said negotiators were getting close to reaching a deal on rules for the auto sector under NAFTA.

However, talks still faced the hurdles of U.S. demands for a sunset clause that would allow NAFTA to expire if it is not renegotiated every five years, and the elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

More flexibility was needed for a deal, Guajardo said. Kenneth Smith, the chief Mexican negotiator at the talks, said that for Mexico there were no deadlines.

Irrespective of the Thursday deadline mentioned by Ryan,there was still time to ratify anew NAFTA this year, Smith told broadcaster Enfoque Noticias.

Hanging over the talks is Trumps threat to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on its trade partners. Mexico and Canada have been spared so far, although the latest exemption for them will run out at the end of May.

Smith said his government would retaliate with equivalent measures immediately if tariffs or quotas were imposed.
The coalition headed by fiery anti-U.S. Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr appears headed to victory in Iraq's parliamentary election.

With nearly all the ballots counted, al-Sadr's Marching Toward Reform alliance was leading in six regions, followed by the group headed by Iraqi militia commander Hadi al-Amiri.

Current prime minister Haider al-Abadi, who is supported by the United States, trails both rivals but appeals to Iraqis to respect the final results.

Hundreds of al-Sadr backers rejoiced in the streets of Baghdad as partial results were announced. Some said it was the start of a "new chapter for the Iraqi people," while others called it the end of corruption.

Al-Sadr did not run for a seat in parliament and cannot become prime minister. But as head of a political alliance, he will play a major role in the deal-making and horse trading that goes into putting together an Iraqi government.

Al-Sadr is known as a tough-talking Shiite cleric whose militia fought both Islamic State and the U.S. forces that invaded Iraq in 2003.

He has transformed himself into an anti-corruption crusader and someone who said he can rebuild Iraq after the costly war against IS.

Saturday's election was Iraq's first since IS was defeated, but the turnout was just 44 percent  the lowest since dictator Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003.
Muslims around the world are preparing for the holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting, reflection and communal gatherings, which starts Tuesday. Muslim-Americans of diverse backgrounds and national origins will gather in Islamic centers across the United States to worship and celebrate their faith.

Muslims in America observe Ramadan just like the rest of the Islamic world, with a set of traditional rituals. Families shop at Halal meat stores, prepare Iftar meals to break their dawn-to-dusk fasts with family and friends, pray together and help the poor.

Shaker Elsayed, imam of Dar Al Hijra Islamic Center in Virginia, which serves a Muslim community comprising 42 different nationalities, says the holy month is about unity.



Ramadan becomes a very helpful opportunity to bring people together, those who come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and linguistic backgrounds. We all speak English so we use English as a unifying language, and at the same time, we do all the activities to accommodate everybody, especially in Ramadan.

Shaker says the center provides Muslims free meals to break their daily fasts and organizes nightly prayers during Ramadan.



While Muslim-Americans are fasting during the day, theyre surrounded by non-fasting colleagues at work. For Egyptian-American Ibrahim Radi, that is not a problem.

I have to fast because it is my religious duty, so it doesnt matter what everybody else is doing, says Radi.

However, his wife, Nadia, misses the big family gatherings in Morocco.

There is a big difference; here you do not have extended families; so instead of having 10 people around the table, there is only the two of us.

The work day can seem even longer for Muslim-Americans performing their religious duties during Ramadan.



For Amina Tanboush, who hails from Senegal, Ramadan is about fellowship.

Everyone will cook some food and bring it, and we all eat together and pray together and we talk about [the] Muslim religion, teach each other, and at work, sometimes we go to pray together around lunch time, says Tanboush.



For Muslim-American groups, Ramadan also has served as an occasion to educate the American public about the religious observance and the Islamic faith in general.

That includes open houses at local mosques and Islamic centers, public lectures on Ramadan, interfaith Iftar dinners and TV ads reminding the public that Muslims are an integral part of U.S. society.

Imam Shaker Elsayed says his Islamic center invites Christian and Jewish Americans to Iftar dinner every Wednesday as a way of interfaith dialogue during Ramadan.

Interfaith dialogue thrives during the month and helps to better understanding among followers of different faiths as Keith Ellison, the first Muslim-American member of the U.S. Congress, explains.



It is certainly important dialogue for us to have; all people of all colors, all cultures and faiths need to come together to talk about points of difference so we can discover how are we unified, says Ellison.



Since the early 1990s, U.S. presidents have issued Ramadan greetings each year to the more 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Imam Shaker Elsayed believes the presidential greetings have helped to raise awareness among Americans about Ramadan.
New Catalan leader Quim Torra on Tuesday called for an end to direct rule over the Catalan regional government by Madrid at a joint news conference held in Berlin with former regional leader Carles Puigdemont.

The first aim of the newly formed Catalan government would be to seek dialogue with Madrid, said Torra, who said he had travelled to Berlin to pay homage to former leader Puigdemont whom he called Catalonia's legitimate president.

Ive asked (Spanish Prime Minister) Mr. Rajoy for the date and time to start talks, without conditions, said Torra at the news conference held in a Berlin hotel.

He would attempt to replace the regions previous administration and would seek to put Puigdemont in power again,

Torra said, without detailing how he would go about the latter. I see myself as a caretaker president, he told journalists.

The Catalan parliament voted in hard-line separatist Torra on Monday, bringing an end to seven months of direct rule from Madrid but heralding more political uncertainty as the new leader continues his fight to split from Spain.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on the region after the previous administration, led by Puigdemont, declared independence in October.

Under the terms of the legislation, Madrid will lift its intervention once the Catalan government is fully formed and members of cabinet named.

Earlier on Tuesday, Rajoy held a meeting with leader of the opposition Socalists, Pedro Sanchez, in Madrid where they discussed the election of Torra and its implications.

Both parties, which together hold a majority of seats in parliament, have expressed determination to unite to reject any attempt by the Catalan administration to go against Spains constitution, which states the country is indivisible, the government said in a statement following the meeting.

Puigdemont is in Germany awaiting the decision of a German court on an extradition order from Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds for his part in the organization of an illegal referendum on independence last October.

Pro-independence parties won most seats in regional elections held in December. But five attempts by the parliament to put forward candidates for leader, including Puigdemont, were blocked because the candidates were either living abroad or being held in custody in jail for their role in the referendum.

Puigdemont fled to Belgium after being sacked as leader. He faces charges of sedition and misuse of public funds in Spain.
Imagine a new, happier internet. Illustration: Pablo Delcan

So far, the biggest perceived effect of the most important data-privacy law ever has been a sharp increase in emails from social networks and web services alerting me that those endless contractual walls of text you thoughtlessly click OKAY on  privacy policies, data policies, and/or terms of service  will change, most of them conspicuously on the same date, May 25, 2018. Almost none of them mention what, exactly, has led to this mass update: the European Unions General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR.

GDPR becomes law, as keen deductive minds might gather, on May 25, two years after it was adopted by the European Parliament and just a few months after Facebooks Cambridge Analytica scandal turned data privacy into a top issue for every ambitious politician and excitable journalist in the U.S. and Europe. Its expansive scope will force corporations to change the way they do business; if it works well, it will likely serve as a model for much-needed privacy legislation in the U.S. And even if Congress fails to follow Europes lead, the law could potentially shift the balance of power online. Somewhere inside the emails that I and millions of others have reflexively ignored is the beginning of a process that will transform the face of the internet.

What does the GDPR do? First, it creates a set of legal responsibilities for data-gathering and data-processing companies, and second, it creates rights around personal data. Those rights protect anyone geographically within the E.U. or anyone outside it whose data is being harvested or processed by any company established in the E.U. The GDPR effectively turns the global nature of the internet to its advantage: There are not many internet companies that have no offices or employees or users somewhere in Europe.

Maybe the most important of tech companies new responsibilities is the GDPRs insistence that data harvesters obtain specific, informed and unambiguous consent from users. That is, websites and apps now need to make it very clear that they want to harvest your data and why  e.g., so we can target ads more efficiently or to sell it to third parties  and they need to make it easy for users to say no: So-called dark patterns that passively compel consent, like pre-checked boxes, are explicitly banned. The GDPR also mandates that protecting users data be a fundamental concern in the design of any new products and that those products must be subject to privacy testing even in early stages.

Some of the rights users are guaranteed are simply the inverse of these responsibilities; for example, users have a right to be clearly and intelligibly informed when their data is being collected. Others, like the right to a copy of your data, are designed to give users more control over their digital selves. Some of the rights could have a profound impact, like the right to erasure, which gives users the power to demand collected data be deleted from companies systems, and a family of rights related to automated individual decision-making that protect users from the vagaries of algorithmic decisions. If, say, a GDPR-protected user applies for a bank loan online and is denied based on the automated, data-based calculations of the banks system, he or she has the right to contest that decision, to demand human intervention, and, most important, to insist on regular audits of those algorithms. (Its significant that the bank is also obligated to make the applicant aware of those rights.)

For companies whose business model was users not understanding the business model, the cost of direct sunlight may just be too high.

This all seems fairly sensible and in the public interest, which means of course that many of the companies that have built hidden empires quietly slurping up, packaging, manipulating, and trading user data hate it. Facebook is already pushing the boundaries of whats acceptable: Its new terms-of-service dialogue features a big button that says I ACCEPT. What if you dont accept? Well, if you squint you can see a tiny little link that says SEE YOUR OPTIONS  a clear violation of the spirit, if not the letter, of GDPRs anti-dark-patterns clause.

But Facebook has it comparatively easy; at least it  and other consumer-web giants like Google, Spotify, and Amazon  has a prior relationship with the users whose consent it needs to obtain. Little-known companies behind widely loathed internet practices, like the third-party ad-retargeting firms responsible for, say, a shoe ad following you across the internet, now have to obtain explicit permission from each user to keep serving up ads. The effect of the consent laws will be a bit like exposing a colony of termites that have been living in your home and are then forced to introduce themselves to you, one by one, and ask if they can please stay.

For companies whose entire business model was users not really understanding the entire business model, the cost of direct sunlight may just be too high. Unroll.me, a company that offers to automatically declutter your in-box (while, uh, selling the insight it gleans from your data to companies like Uber), announced that it will no longer serve E.U. customers.

If enough companies follow this lead, one practical effect might be a split internet, with one set of GDPR-compliant websites and services for the E.U. and another set with a somewhat more, lets say, relaxed attitude toward data for the rest of the world. But even a loosely enforced GDPR creates conditions for improving privacy protections beyond Europe. Facebook, for example, has already said it will extend GDPR-level protections to all of its users  if they opt in to them.

This doesnt mean that a GDPR-style law is unnecessary in the U.S. As written, GDPR would be difficult to implement here  the right to erasure could run afoul of the First Amendment, for starters  but many of its key concepts would be easy to transfer. Whether theres political will to do so is a slightly different question. In November, Californians will vote on a ballot initiative that would extend many of the same protections. Its encouraging to supporters that GDPR was frequently referenced in questions to Mark Zuckerberg when he testified before Congress  but so far no federal bills with GDPRs scope or teeth have been proposed.

Thats not surprising. The culture of the internet has always maintained a justifiable wariness toward the idea of national sovereignty, which is thought to impinge on the freedom of the global network. But GDPR might be better thought of as an assertion of user sovereignty  an insistence that users have the right to control what they produce, and how theyre understood, on the network.

And if GDPR really does herald a shift in the balance of power on the internet, its not without risk. The corporate sovereigns may have created a depressing, buggy, heavily surveilled internet, but its also an enormously profitable one, and the revenue structure and incentives it encourages are now deeply embedded in the tech industry, not to mention the economy at large. The industry group Interactive Advertising Bureau claims digital ads add $625 billion to Europes economy and serve as the underlying business model for the bulk of Europes publications. A strictly enforced GDPR would raise the cost of doing business and limit the potential revenue  the IAB says data-driven ads are worth three times as much as non-targeted ads.

If GDPR is taken seriously by regulators and corporations, a lot of that money might disappear. Some of the publishers reliant on digital advertising might, too, and not just the clickbait-y ones. Drained of a significant portion of its ad money, the internet could be less of an economic engine for Europe. But it wouldnt necessarily be worse. Theres a potential utopian outcome, too: Reliant on subscriptions rather than advertising, publishers might produce better journalism. More aware of the cost of free social networks, users might find themselves paying new competitors to Facebook or Twitter. And freed of the extra load of third-party ad tech, websites might even be faster. Certainly, there would be less auto-playing video.

*This article appears in the May 14, 2018, issue of New York Magazine. Subscribe Now!
Nicaragua says it welcomes a visit by the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Roman Catholic bishops announced Monday that a dialogue with the government will start this week.



The Nicaraguan Council of Bishops said talks between civic groups and the administration of President Daniel Ortega will start Wednesday morning, following weeks of anti-government protests in which an estimated 65 people have been killed.



OAS General Secretary Luis Almagro published Nicaragua's acceptance letter in his Twitter account Monday.



The Nicaraguan bishops had demanded an international observation mission as a condition for dialogue, amid a crackdown on protesters by police and supporters of Ortega's government. The government initially had rejected an offer by the OAS's human rights observers.



The rights commission said in a statement Monday that during its visit it plans to meet with government, civil society and other representatives. It did not say when the visit would occur.



Cardenal Leopoldo Brenes said that while the conditions were not the best for starting the dialogue Ortega had offered, the country had to find some way out of the crisis.



Brenes expressed hope the talks could lead to increased democracy in a country tightly dominated by Ortega. He also called for an end to the violence and looting.



Demonstrators in the town of Sebaco, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Managua, said Monday that several people were injured when police attacked a roadblock there.



The nonprofit Permanent Commission on Human Rights now estimates 65 people have been killed and 500 injured since the protests broke out in April.



On Saturday, Nicaragua's military called for a halt to violence.



The protests forced Ortega to withdraw cuts to social security payments, and demonstrators are now demanding justice for the dead and greater democracy.
Heavy fighting broke out early Tuesday in a disputed part of Somalia's Sool region, leaving at least four people dead, a security official told VOA.



The fighting between Somaliland and Puntland erupted outside the village of Tukaraq. It lies between the main towns of Las Anod in Somaliland  a breakaway Somali state and self-declared republic  and Garowe in Puntland.



The office of Puntland's president, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali, issued a statement accusing Somaliland of launching an "unprovoked" attack on its territory.



Somaliland officials accused Puntland of attacking their positions, local media report.



Both sides reported casualties including deaths, but neither side provided any figures to confirm those provided by the security official.



The official, who is not being named because he is not authorized to speak with journalists, described "intense" fighting with heavy weaponry.



Both Puntland and Somaliland reportedly have well-armed forces, and troops have massed in the disputed area in recent weeks. Michael Keating, the United Nations' special representative for Somalia, visited Puntland and Somaliland over the weekend and urged de-escalation.



Somaliland forces captured Tukaraq village in January after a surprise attack. At the time, Somaliland military officials said their forces conducted an operation "within our own borders." Puntland leaders, meanwhile, said Somaliland was "occupying" parts of its own territories and vowed publicly to "retake" the land.



Territorial disputes in the region go back to the colonial era, when Britain colonized Somaliland and Italy colonized the rest of Somalia. The people in Sool region are represented in both the Somaliland and Puntland administrations.



Somaliland announced its secession from the rest of Somalia in 1991, but has not been recognized as an independent state.



Observers worry that continued fighting will aggravate humanitarian concerns in a region prone to recurrent droughts.
Thousands of Palestinian mourners rallied in Gaza Tuesday at funerals for the first of dozens of protesters killed in border clashes with Israeli security forces, an assault U.N. human rights officials condemned as "appalling."



Many of the mourners waved Palestinian flags and some called for revenge against Israel for the 60 who were killed and the 2,700 wounded on Monday. Mourners walking to two funerals in southern Gaza shouted, "With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs!"

New protests broke out along the Gaza border with Israel and in the West Bank, with demonstrators hurling rocks at the Israelis and setting fires as Israeli forces fired tear gas in response. But the number of protesters appeared to number in the hundreds at several locations, substantially smaller than the 40,000 who demonstrated along the Gaza border Monday in opposition to the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem less than 100 kilometers away. At least two Palestinians were reported killed on Tuesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the Jewish state's right to defend its border, but faced a growing international outcry for its use of live fire against the Palestinian protesters. The United States, however, blamed the militant Hamas group that administers Gaza for setting off the protests and blocked a United Nations Security Council statement calling for an investigation of the Palestinian deaths.



But U.N. human rights officials assailed Israel for its use of firepower against the protesters.

Michael Lynk, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, said in a statement, "This blatant excessive use of force by Israel -- 'an eye for an eyelash' -- must end, and there must be true accountability for those in military and political command who have ordered or allowed this force to be once again employed at the Gaza fence."



The U.N. human rights office said, "It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders, and at almost any point up to 700 meters from the fence."



Numerous governments called for an independent investigation of Monday's carnage.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel linked the violence to the U.S. moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, even as most governments with diplomatic ties to Israel have kept their embassies in Tel Aviv and condemned the U.S. action ordered by President Donald Trump.

Guatemala on Wednesday followed the U.S. move by opening its own embassy in Jerusalem.



Ireland's foreign ministry summoned the Israel ambassador to Dublin to express its "shock and dismay" at the bloodshed along the Gaza border, while South Africa recalled its ambassador from Israel.



Germany called for an independent investigation, saying the violence "concerns us greatly and it's terrible that so many people lost their lives, including minors." But government spokesman Steffen Seibert also blamed Hamas, saying it was "trying to escalate the violence. That is cynical."



Turkey lowered its flags to half-mast to mark three days of mourning and said it was willing to take in wounded Palestinians.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide." But Netanyahu rebuked the Turkish leader, saying, "Erdogan is one of the biggest supporters of Hamas, so there's no doubt he's an expert on terror and slaughter. I'd suggest he doesn't preach morality to us."



Netanyahu said on Twitter Monday every country is obligated to defend its borders.

"The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens," he said.



Monday's clashes occurred as U.S. and Israeli officials celebrated the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.



Along with rejecting the U.S. Embassy move, Palestinians are protesting to mark the anniversary of what they call the "nakba" or "catastrophe" in reference to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.



Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Israeli actions "massacres."
Polands environment minister has decided to stop the extensive logging in one of Europes oldest forests that has been declared illegal by a top European Union court, authorities said Tuesday.

Environment Minister Henryk Kowalczyk has ordered the governments 2017 permission for the increased felling of trees in the Bialowieza Forest to be halted by the top forestry official, a move expected this week.

It was the Polish governments official reaction to a ruling last month by the European Court of Justice that said the increased logging was against EU environmental laws. Poland has vowed to abide by the ruling.

Environmentalists have welcomed the move, but also urged the waiving of a 2016 decision by then-minister Jan Szyszko that laid the ground for increasing the logging in Bialowieza.

This is a step in the right direction, but we are waiting also for the other annulment that should close the matter, said Agata Szafraniuk of ClientEarth.

She said that the logging in one of Europes last pristine forests has stopped.

The logging was ordered by Szyszko, who argued it was to stop a bark beetle infestation. Environmentalists questioned that, suspecting profit motives.
Thirty-four Chilean bishops summoned to the Vatican over a cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy began crisis meetings with Pope Francis on Tuesday that could result in a purge of Chile's Catholic hierarchy.

"We feel pain and shame," Fernando Ramos, an auxiliary bishop of Santiago, told a news conference ahead of the three days of closed-door meetings.

The scandal has devastated the credibility of the Church in the once staunchly Catholic country. It has also hurt the pope's own image because this year he strongly defended a bishop accused in the alleged cover-up before reversing his position.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Gonzalez of the city of San Bernardo said he could not rule out some of the tainted bishops resigning or being sacked, as many Chileans have demanded.

"It does not depend on us. Each person must decide this together with the pope," he said.

One of the key bishops in the crisis is Juan Barros, whom the pope appointed to the southern city of Osorno in 2015 despite allegations that he had covered up sexual abuse of minors by his mentor, Father Fernando Karadima. Barros has said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

Luis Badilla, a Rome-based Chilean commentator for the Vatican-affiliated blog "Il Sismografo," called for "exemplary and educational decisions" by the pope to put the Chilean Church back on course.

A Vatican statement said that at the start of the meeting, the pope handed each bishop a list of themes on which they should meditate and pray before the start of the next encounter Wednesday.

During his trip to Chile in January, the pope said he had no proof against Barros, believed he was innocent, and that accusations against him were "slander" until proven otherwise.

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other Church members. He produced a 2,300-page report that will be discussed at the Vatican meetings.

Victims felt demonized, discredited

Victims have also accused other bishops of either covering up the abuse by Karadima, of delaying investigations, or of discrediting victims in the media and demonizing them in private conversations and emails.

Last month, Francis held four days of meetings with Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, three men abused by Karadima when they were teenagers in Santiago.

They said in a statement afterward that they had been "treated as enemies" by Chilean Church leaders for 10 years.

Karadima, who trained some of the bishops for the priesthood decades ago, was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s.

He never faced civilian justice because of the statute of limitations. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, Karadima has always denied the allegations.

At the pre-meeting news conference, Gonzalez said he had met many victims and knew the three who met the pope last month.

One of the victims, Cruz, later tweeted: "I've never seen him before in my life. The truth according to the bishops of Chile is very different from what we all have lived."

In a stern statement last Saturday, the Vatican indicated that the pope intended to be tough.

It spoke of "cover-ups and grave omissions regarding the victims" and said the meetings would seek to determine "collective and individual responsibility for these devastating wounds."

In a homily at his daily morning Mass on Tuesday, without specifically mentioning Chile, Francis said every bishop should know "when it's time to take his leave and step down."
Thousands of poor, low-wage workers, activists and religious leaders across the United States have kicked off a revival of the Poor People's Campaign, a civil disobedience movement founded 50 years ago by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The 2018 campaign will involve 40 days of protests and action at more than 30 state capitals and Washington, D.C., aimed at relaunching a fight against poverty, war and income inequality that first took root half a century ago.

In 1968, King created a multicultural, multifaith coalition after witnessing hunger in the rural town of Marks, Mississippi, about 113 kilometers (70 miles) south of Memphis, Tennessee. He envisioned a march of the poor, descending on the nation's capital to demand better living conditions and higher wages.

On May 13, 1968, more than 100 people departed Marks in covered wagons pulled by mules. Black-and-white photos taken by James Goldman show covered wagons with slogans painted on their canvas tops: "Feed the Poor,'' "Injustice is a Sin in the Sight of God'' and "Which is Better? Send Man to Moon or Feed Him on Earth.''

The caravan spent a month traveling to Atlanta, then the entire group  people, wagons and mules  boarded trains that took them to a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Organizers of the new Poor People's Campaign say King's vision has yet to be realized.

They are calling for a list of demands, including changes to federal and state living wage laws that are "commensurate for the 21st century economy," a reinvestment in public housing, a repeal to the 2017 GOP-led tax plan, an end to America's militarism, reallocation of "resources from the military budget to education, health care, jobs and green infrastructure needs," and eradicating systemic racism.

According to the U.S. Census, there are nearly 41 million people living in poverty, although activists say the actual number is likely much higher. The federal poverty level in 2018 is considered $25,001 annually for a family of four.

Organizers with the campaign, led by the Revs. William Barber of North Carolina and Liz Theoharis of New York, say official measures of poverty are too narrow and do not take into account the number of people struggling in an era of stagnant low wages, and steep rises in rents and living expenses.

On Monday, participants in the nationwide protests took their message to social media.

"Everybody's got a right to live. That's why @unitedchurch advocates are on Capitol Hill today with the #PoorPeoplesCampaign. Someone is hurting our people and we will not be silent anymore!" tweeted the UCC Justice & Witness Ministries.

Later Monday, organizers of the campaign tweeted that hundreds of people had been "arrested across the country standing up for truth & justice."
More protests are expected Tuesday along the Gaza border following a day of clashes in which Israeli forces killed at least 58 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700.

Monday was the deadliest day of cross-border violence in Gaza since a 2014 war with Israel.

The clashes happened as U.S. and Israeli officials celebrated the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem less than 100 kilometers away. The Israeli military said more than 40,000 people protested.

Along with rejecting the U.S. Embassy move, Palestinians are also protesting to mark the anniversary of what they call the "nakba" or "catastrophe" in reference to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Some countries, including U.S. allies France and Britain, called for restraint on Israel's part to curb the bloodshed. But the U.S. did not join the call for Israel to limit its response to the protests and laid the blame for the violence on the militant group Hamas that controls Gaza.

"We shouldn't lose sight that Hamas is responsible for the entire situation," White House spokesman Raj Shah said. He accused Hamas of "engaging in cynical action" to promote the protests against the Jewish state and the U.S.'s action in moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem even as most countries have kept their diplomatic operations in Tel Aviv.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Israeli actions "massacres."

As the U.S. embassy was opened, U.S. President Donald Trump, in a video message, proclaimed Jerusalem as "the capital of Israel." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, "We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay."

Shah said the Gaza violence and the opening of the embassy in would not affect U.S. efforts to forge an Israel-Palestinian peace accord.

But any semblance of peace was far from a reality along the Gaza border, where protesters massed along the dividing fence. Clouds of black smoke from tires set afire by the protesters filled the sky.

Some demonstrators hurled stones, firebombs and explosives at Israeli security forces, who responded with tear gas and gunfire.

Netanyahu said on Twitter: "Every country has an obligation to defend its borders. The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens."

Trump defied the sentiment of many governments around the world in December by upending longstanding U.S. policy to move the American embassy to Jerusalem.

Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a White House adviser and part of the U.S. delegation at the ceremony, said, "While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American embassy once in office, this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it."

In one of the few references at the celebration to the Gaza protests, Kushner called the Palestinians protesting in Gaza "part of the problem and not part of the solution."

In his video remarks, Trump described the moving of the American diplomatic outpost to Jerusalem as "a long time coming." But the U.S. leader said the United States "remains committed to a lasting peace agreement" between Israel and the Palestinians.

In Twitter remarks from Washington, Trump said, "A great day for Israel!" and congratulated the country. But he did not mention the violence.

Arab leaders condemned the U.S. action, with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri calling the embassy move "provocative" and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif describing it as "a day of great shame."

Abbas said he "will not accept" any peace deal with Israel that is proposed by the Trump administration. He said the new U.S. facility in Jerusalem "is not an embassy, it's a U.S. settlement outpost in Jerusalem."

Critics have faulted Israeli forces for using live fire during weeks of protests in Gaza, while Israel says its actions are necessary for security as people threaten the border fence. The Israeli military said it launched five airstrikes in Gaza on training camps of Hamas militants.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and should act "with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life."

The new U.S. Embassy site is an interim location operating inside the existing U.S. consulate building in Jerusalem while a search begins for a larger site.

Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its capital, while most Palestinians hope to see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

The issue has long been seen as one of the last big items that would need to be resolved in any Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Heather Murdock contributed to this report.
Rights defenders in Pakistan are under threat from an alleged "digital attacks," endangering their personal security in a country where it is extremely dangerous to be a human rights activist, Amnesty International warned Tuesday.



The monitoring group has released findings of its four-month investigation into what it condemned as a "sinister" campaign.



The scathing report said an "elaborate network" of individuals and companies based in Pakistan is using "fake" Facebook and Google login pages to "ensnare" human rights activists online to "mark them out for surveillance and cybercrime."



Amnesty researchers used digital forensic techniques and malware analysis to uncover the hacking methods.



They said social media accounts have been hacked and computers and mobile phones infected with spyware to "trick" victims into revealing passwords and personal information.



"Attackers use cleverly designed fake profiles to lure activists and then attack their electronic devices with spyware, exposing them to surveillance and fraud and even compromising their physical safety," said Sherif Elsayed-Ali, Amnesty's director for global issues.



Amnesty's report found that the campaign has targeted several Pakistani activists in this way, sometimes by people claiming to be human rights activists themselves.



Probe urged



The group demanded that being an elected member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Pakistan must immediately order an independent investigation to uncover those running the campaign to ensure security of human rights activists both online and offline.



Pakistani authorities were not available immediately for a reaction to Amnesty's claims.



Tuesday's revelations by Amnesty came against the backdrop of increased complaints Pakistani security institutions are allegedly subjecting civil society activists, including journalists, bloggers and peaceful protesters, to threats, intimidation, violent attacks and enforced disappearances.



The country's leading independent watchdog, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, or HRCP, in its annual report, released a month ago, said that activists continue to experience threats, attacks and abductions. It documented a rise in incidents in which the country's anti-blasphemy law is used to "coerce people into silence."



"The people's right to socio-cultural activities is curtailed by intolerance and extremism, and authorities are lenient for fear of a political backlash," the HRCP report said.



Several social media activists known to be highly critical of the Pakistan army had briefly "disappeared" early last year. Some of them later left the country for security reasons and accused security agencies for orchestrating their abductions.



Pakistani officials acknowledge counterterrorism operations do lead to prolonged detentions of suspects but they insist their number runs in the hundreds and those offered by rights activists are inflated ones.
Russia, Turkey and Iran will hold the next round of their Syrian peace talks in July in the Russian city of Sochi, not in the Kazakh capital Astana like their previous meetings, the three countries said Tuesday.

The Syrian rebels said they would boycott the talks due to Russia's role as host. Since they began last year, the trilateral meetings have taken place in Kazakhstan, which is not involved in the Syrian war  unlike Russia, which backs President Bashar al-Assad and has helped him turn the tide of war by deploying its own troops.

The July meeting announcement came from the latest round of Astana talks. The reason for the change in location for the next talks was unclear.

"We understand that this looks rather strange, but ... taking into account the situation on the ground, the new realities, we would like to give new momentum to further work, shifting the focus more toward the political and humanitarian components," Russia's chief negotiator Alexander Lavrentyev told reporters in Astana.

Rebel negotiator Yasser Abdul Rahim said the move was unacceptable.

"If they invite us, we will not go to Sochi, the armed rebels will not go to Sochi because we must respect our people," he told a briefing in Astana. "Russian forces have not stopped killing Syrian people."

Russia, Iran and Turkey began holding regular talks on the Syrian conflict in Astana at the start of 2017.

In a statement on this latest round, which ends Tuesday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it had made clear its "reservations on the forced evacuation operations conducted in Eastern Ghouta and in the north of Homs, as well as on the law that paves the way for the confiscation of the properties of Syrian refugees and IDPs [internally displaced people]."

Also in attendance were representatives of the Syrian government, who, like the rebels, participate in the meetings but do not sign joint statements.

Damascus envoy Bashar al-Ja'afari, who also serves as Syria's ambassador to the United Nations, said his delegation was "content" with the results of the latest talks, but took a jab at Turkey and the United States who back the rebels.

"We confirm that  the Syrian Arab Republic will continue its struggle to liberate every inch of our land, be it from terrorism or from states that are aggressors against our national sovereignty," he said.
Russian lawmakers Tuesday unanimously approved, in first readings, legislation to retaliate against the United States and other Western countries for last months imposition by Washington of sanctions on some of Russias biggest companies and business people.

One measure would empower the Kremlin to impose sweeping counter-sanctions in response. Another would make it a criminal offense to observe sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russia or to provide any information or advice on the punitive action.

Refusing to supply services or do business with Russian oligarchs or companies sanctioned by the U.S. would be punishable by up to four years in prison, under the proposed legislation. The proposed measures have prompted investor alarm and opened up the prospect of a tit-for-tat cycle of retaliation.

After the measures secured their first reading, Kremlin official Alexander Sinenko said the Russian government supports the parliamentary response to the sanctions aimed at punishing Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other malign activities. U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the measures last month.



Absolutely unfriendly

The U.S. sanctions are of an absolutely unfriendly type, said Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma. They affected over 400 Russian companies and about 200 citizens of our country. We are granting broad powers to our president and government to protect our country, our economy and workplaces.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last month pledged that the Kremlin would help companies targeted by U.S. sanctions. The proposed legislation would halt all cooperation with the U.S. in the nuclear, missile and aircraft-building spheres and introduces restrictions on various American imports. The proposed measures also allow Russian companies to produce various goods copyrighted in the West.

Initially, Russian lawmakers said they would impose restrictions on a wide range of specific goods and services from the United States, including medicine and agricultural products; but, in the draft legislation approved Tuesday, language that targeted specific goods to soften the impact on Russian consumers and industries was removed.

Small impact expected



The U.S. is Russias fourth-largest trading partner, and imports of American goods totaled $12.7 billion last year. Cars, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment were among the top items. Russian exports to the U.S. totaled $17 billion in 2017.

The Russian retaliation would have negligible impact on the U.S., given trade flows are insignificant as far as America is concerned, but the retaliation envisaged would exacerbate already highly fraught U.S.-Russian relations, which analysts describe as being at their lowest point since the Cold War.

The U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia in April, targeting two dozen Kremlin insiders and oligarchs close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, have proven to have had a greater impact on Russia than had been expected, say analysts. But they're doing nothing at this stage in turning ordinary Russians against the Kremlin or undermining the Russian leader's overall popularity, if recent polling data is accurate.

The ruble suffered its worst week in four years in the immediate wake of the April 6 announcement of new sanctions on 24 extremely wealthy Russians and 14 companies.

Game-changer

When the West imposed its first sanctions on Russia, following Moscow's annexation of Crimea and fomenting separatism in eastern Ukraine, the effect was limited, according to analyst Nigel Gould-Davies of Britain's Chatham House research group, and Russia found ways to adapt.

But America's latest financial sanctions, announced on April 6, are a game-changer, he argued in a recent commentary, noting the latest sanctions have created bigger uncertainty.

No one knows who might be targeted next," he continued. "Russia faces a new systemic risk: expectations about U.S. sanctions are now as important as the oil price for assessing its prospects."

The British government is starting the process of introducing legislation that will block Russian oligarchs and officials linked to human rights abuses from doing business in the country and buying property in Britain.

Russia-Crimea link

As Russian lawmakers debated the retaliatory measures, President Putin opened a controversial bridge linking southern Russia and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.

Before driving an orange truck on the 19-kilometer bridge that cost $3.6 billion to build, Putin told construction workers (and reporters): I want to sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, festive and, in the full sense of the word, historic day.

Even under the Tsar, people were dreaming of building this bridge, he said, in reference to Russia's last Tsar, Nicholas II, who had wanted to span a bridge across the Kerch Strait. In the 1930s, Communist autocrat Joseph Stalin also had proposed a Kerch Strait bridge.

Ukraine condemned the opening. The Russian occupying powers, which have temporarily occupied Crimea, are continuing to act outside international law, said Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.
Benon Mugumbya, who simply goes by Benon, is a musician, producer and the face of music label Swangz Avenue. But beyond his trademark boyish grin, he has astutely created a music empire from almost nothing, writes DAVID LUMU.

It was a 2007 trip to the USA for a gig that opened Benons eyes to music entrepreneurship. Back then, he was a well-known star as the frontman for the duo Benon and Vamposs.

Benon at Swangz Avenue

However, in spite of churning out a number of hits such as Nsazewo, Mumulete and I Know, he had not really established himself as household name in his own right. In an era when celebrities were associated with bravado, tattoos as well as fancy hairstyles and to some extent the ability to stir up controversy, Benon didnt possess any of these.

On the other hand, he had a special knack of writing, arranging as well as producing music. Being an instrumentalist was also a big plus. On that background, Benon soon realised he needs to pursue what he does best and set about to create his own recording studio.

The downside to his dream was that he didnt have enough money but after covering all his costs while on the USA tour, he was left with just $1,500 (about Shs 5.4m); this was a dream opportunity to buy from the best place at the cheapest rate.

My music career was going well but not the way I wished but I had already worked in production with the best in the industry and I thought I could also make it, he says. It was a huge gamble but I firmly knew what I wanted and nothing could stop me.

Benon would return home with just a computer, soundcard and two speaker monitors. His brother offered him a mixer and from then on, he never looked back.

Today, Swangz Avenue is one of the biggest labels combining production of music as well as commercials. It has also unearthed some of the biggest names in the industry such as GNL Zamba, Winnie Nwagi, Rabadaba, Irene Ntale and, lately, Vinka, among others.

DETERMINATION

From the start of his career, Benons biggest attribute was the ability to produce great hits, a skill he attained under the mentorship of Eddy Mpagi, the one half of music group Ngoni. I had always been a gadget geek right from childhood.

So, during my senior six vacation in 2000, I used to hang around Eddys Goodenuff studios in Makindye, from where he introduced me to music production, he recalls.

At the same time, I used to work at an internet cafe in downtown Kampala and this exposed me to various music programs such as FlootyLoops, which I used to make my own beats. I immediately fell in love with the process of making music.

Later, Eddy would leave Benon to take charge of the studio when he was away and in spite of breaking through as a musician with Nsazewo in 2003, Benon never really liked the limelight.

I was never comfortable being at the forefront but nevertheless enjoyed performing because that is what I wanted, he says. At Goodenuff, we worked as a team and for me the hit that stood out was Sweet Lady, which is widely viewed as Mowzey Radios breakout hit.

Benon at work in his studio at Swangz in Muyenga

By 2005, Benon had established himself as one of the most sought-after producers. That is when Steve Jean, the biggest producer at the time, called him up to join his Fenon studio. It was a no-brainer because Steve was one of my biggest inspirations. I had worked with him on Nsazewo and appreciated his attention to detail and perfection, he says.

Among his tasks at Fenon was to conjure something special to propel the emerging careers of Blu 3 and Radio & Weasel. We worked for two days and didnt come up with anything significant and just as they were about to give up, magic came from nowhere and thats how Where you are was done within about one and half hours, he says.

However, the concentration on radio adverts at Fenon saw Benon veer off from his music career. It was hectic and I reached a point where I felt overwhelmed yet my passion was music production, he says.

STARTING SWANGZ

It was on that background that Benon, while in the USA in 2007, made up his mind to go into production.

However, it was not a rosy start in 2008 when he finally settled in. I started Swangz when I set up the makeshift studio in my bedroom because I wanted to follow my passion, he says.

Luckily, he had made enough connections in the music industry and was greatly respected. Radio and Weasel came along and we made the song Dagala. Soon, he moved the studio to Muswangali avenue along Salama road, from where it loosely got its name Swangz Avenue.

Swangz quickly built a niche for nurturing young talents. Rabadaba and GNL emerged in 2011. But just when Swangz was hitting its stride, the 2012 death of Sera, one of its most promising artistes nearly brought it down.

We had in greatly invested in her career but her sudden death rocked us to the core, he says. The conspiracy theories that followed also traumatised us but with God, we were able to overcome the tragedy.

Along the way came Julius Kyazze, who partnered Benon to amplify the Swangz brand. He [Kyazze] is one of the most important people in my life because he brought the business aspect into Swangz, something I lacked, says Benon.

THE EMPIRE

Today, Swangz is located in a two-storied building in Muyenga, a plush suburb. The company employs about 100 people in various capacities even though most of them are part-timers.

Benon remains cagey about how big the business is but he acknowledges it is worth more than a billion shillings.

Swangz has since expanded to venture into commercials, video shooting as well as organising events such as the popular Roast & Rhyme and, according to Benon, they plan to go into television production.

These days Im more into the management of the place and do little production, he says. My goal now is to expand the Swangz brand and who knows, we plan to become a fullyf ledged international production label.

To mark the 10 years of Swangz, they have partnered Bell Jamz for a three-month countrywide music celebration dubbed Bell Jamz presents The Swangz All-Star Tour. The campaign will feature a number of music engagements around the country with a wide array of artistes.

At just 37 years, sky is the limit for Benon.

dlumu@observer.ug
Airstrikes against Syrian rebels have gone up 150 percent since Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, helping the regime triple the territory under its control, a report published on Tuesday showed.

The analysis by IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Center (JTIC) also found that just 14 percent of the strikes were against the Islamic State group.

It found that the Syrian state had increased the area under its control from 16 percent of the country in September 2015 to 47 percent in March 2018.

Russian intervention not only ensured the survival of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, it changed the course of the war.

"Russian intervention has provided the Syrian government with the space and time to concentrate forces at key strategic areas and use overwhelming force to recapture opposition-held territory," said Matthew Henman, head of JTIC at IHS Markit.

"JTIC's recorded data underlines the key role airstrikes have played in this strategy, with opposition forces largely unable to defend against, let alone replicate, the threat posed by airpower."

IHS Jane's said Assad's forces have successfully recaptured large urban centers such as Aleppo and Homs, as well as secured the border with Lebanon and contained the threat from Islamist rebels in Idlib.

Between September 2015 and March 2018, the number of Russian and Syrian strikes rose to 6,833 from 2,735.

Of these strikes, 960 were targeted the Islamic State group - around 14 percent - but the majority were against other rebel groups, the report found.

The strikes were "particularly concentrated in areas where the Islamic State had little or no operational presence," it said.
The historic summit between the United States and North Korea will take place next month in Singapore, about 5,000 kilometers south of the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. Some reasons the tiny city-state was chosen as the site.

Security:

Singapore has a track record of putting together top-level international gatherings at short notice. Single-party rule since Singapore gained independence in 1965 has ensured stability and fostered a security state that is among the world's most efficient.

Past experience:

Singapore also hosted a historic meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and then-Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou in November 2015. That meeting  the first between the leaders of the governments in Beijing and Taipei since the civil war ended seven decades earlier  was arranged under a shroud of secrecy.

Diplomatic ties:

Singapore is a large trading partner with the U.S., the second-largest Asian investor, and a longtime supporter of its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. It is also the regional headquarters of large U.S. companies including Google, Facebook and Airbnb.

Singapore is one of about four dozen countries in the world where North Korea has an embassy. North Korea's state-owned companies have, in the past, conducted legal and illegal business dealings with Singapore businesses. The city-state officially cut off trade relations with North Korea in 2017 to abide by international sanctions.
California last week became the first U.S. state to require solar installations on most new homes by the year 2020.

The mandate on single-family houses and multifamily units of up to three stories is part of an effort by the state to cut carbon emissions. The mandate comes as Washington adopts less ambitious environmental goals to reduce what President Donald Trump calls job-killing regulations.

Supporters believe California's action will jump-start the growing U.S. solar power industry, while opponents view the move as unneeded interference in the marketplace. They say it places a burden on low-income residents.

Forty percent of solar installations in the United States are now in California, where public utilities are promoting solar panels and other forms of clean energy.

Over a quarter-million of our customers, residents and businesses already have solar installed at their property, said Jill Anderson, vice president of customer programs and services at Southern California Edison, a utility power company that serves 15 million people. Were increasing that number by 4,000 to 5,000 new connections a month, she said.

With the upcoming mandate, solar power will become nearly universal in the companys service area.

Clean energy costs

Clean energy sources are getting cheaper, said professor Daniel Kammen of the Energy and Resources Group at the University of California, Berkeley.

We are finding wind and solar in particular are frequently the least-cost options -- not just equal, but the least-cost options, he said. Arizona just did a bid, a tender, Kammen noted, and solar came in at under 2 cents per kilowatt hour. The next closest competitor was dirty, air-polluting coal at over twice that price.

Critics complain that the solar mandate will raise construction costs by nearly $10,000 for the average home. For homeowners, the investment is worthwhile, said one solar power expert.

They can save a little bit in the short term in construction, said Peter Saeta, a physics professor at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, but its penny-wise and pound-foolish, certainly from a societal point of view, given the high costs resulting from fossil fuel pollution.

Saeta said emission-free solar power lets homeowners recoup their investment through lower energy costs. According to state officials, solar power users can expect $19,000 in savings over a 30-year period.

Some critics dont want government mandates, while others claim Californias housing is already too expensive and that the mandate will only boost an industry that is doing well on its own.

State officials said its an important part of their plan to reduce carbon emissions by 40 percent from 1990 levels by 2030.

Setting a goal

Kammen, of the University of California, Berkeley, said California can reach the goal, as can cloudier places like the city of Seattle in Washington.

We find that by adding wind, and solar, and some storage around the big demand centers in Seattle and Richmond and some other places, that they could also reach goals like Californias, which are essentially to be entirely powered by clean energy, Kammen said.

And that story, he added, is replicated around the country, using hydroelectric and geothermal, or other clean sources of energy.

A clean energy grid starts with adding more renewable and carbon-free resources to the supply, said Anderson, of Southern California Edison. A smarter electrical system, better-insulated buildings and improved solar-cell efficiency could get homes off the energy grid for days at a time.

Thats coming, Saeta said, based on improvements in (solar) panels, improvements in the control electronics, improvements in smart devices that talk to each other, and battery technology.

He is testing a modification in solar panels that could increase their efficiency by reducing the heat produced in solar cells.

Kammen said the federal government should raise the minimum standards for energy production to monitor, incentivize and essentially bring up the floor. So, as some states like New York and Washington and Florida and California set very aggressive standards," he said, "a really wonderful job for the federal government is to find the least-cost, most-effective ways to bring these policies to Kentucky, Mississippi -- a variety of states that might not have been clean-energy leaders in the past.

With or without federal action, supporters of the California mandate said the boost to the states economy, which is larger than those of France, India or Italy, may well spark an expansion of solar power around the United States.
South Africa recalled its ambassador from Israel on Tuesday, after Israeli forces killed around Palestinians 60 protesters during demonstrations against the U.S. embassy's move from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem.



South Africas Department of International Relations and Cooperation condemned the actions of Israeli forces against pro-Palestinian protesters in Gaza, saying, The victims were taking part in a peaceful protest against the provocative inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

That violence, said the department, prompted South Africa to immediately withdraw its ambassador from Tel Aviv, where most foreign embassies in Israel are based.

As we have stated on previous occasions, South Africa reiterates its view that the Israeli Defense Forces must withdraw from the Gaza Strip and bring to an end the violent and destructive incursions into Palestinian territories, the statement said. South Africa maintains further that the violence in the Gaza Strip will stand in the way of rebuilding Palestinian institutions and infrastructure.

The move was welcomed by the 100 or so protesters who gathered outside the United States consulate in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

Taking a stand

Among the protesters  many of whom wore shirts that read, Free Palestine and End Israeli Apartheid  was a small group of people who identified themselves as members of a group called South African Jews for a Free Palestine.



It is a really important move for South Africa to start taking a stand, said a young woman, Rosa, who asked that we not use her full name but who other protesters confirmed is a member of the group.

South Africa, you know, was crippled by apartheid, and as Nelson Mandela said, South Africa cannot be free until Palestine is free.

"And I think its really important that the South African government is hearing the voices of the people who are saying, We cant just watch, we cant just let children get murdered, we cant let civilians get murdered, and this is, I guess, a small symbolic gesture where theyre starting to do something."

The South African Jewish Board of Deputies, a much larger group, disagreed in a joint statement with the SA Zionist Federation.

Wendy Kahn, national director of the Board of Deputies, said the group was disappointed by the ambassadors withdrawal.

We believe that nothing can be achieved by shutting down a diplomatic channel, she told VOA. South Africa has a history of negotiation and dialogue and we believe that in so many ways they could have played a role in resolving this really awful conflict.

Africa-Israel tensions

South Africas reaction is the strongest to come out of the continent. But it is not new, or surprising, says analyst Alfred Majaye Dube of the Institute for Security Studies. The divide, he says, dates back to the Arab-Israeli wars in the 1960s and 70s, which coincided with the early days of independence for many African nations.

I think as the years passed, Africas position on decolonization was very clear, and therefore by extension there was a very strong feeling that Israel was in violation of various resolutions of the United Nations in terms of the occupied territories, he told VOA from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

And therefore, a resolution of the Organization of African Unity was that African states would not have diplomatic relations, or those that had would break relations with Israel over the question of the occupied territories.

That stance persists. Today, Israel has just 11 embassies on a continent of 54 countries. And the African Union has admitted the Arab League as the only non-African member state, and allows the body to address the bloc at its annual summit.

And, when the United Nations voted overwhelmingly last year to reject the United States move to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, only one African state - the tiny West African nation of Togo - voted with the United States and Israel.

President Donald Trump, who initiated the embassy move, tweeted Monday that the opening of the new mission in Jerusalem represents "A great day for Israel."
Syrian government forces are in full control of the last rebel enclave in Syria's largest province after "overpowering terrorism" following the evacuation of thousands of armed men and civilians, an officer told state-run TV Tuesday.

The rebels have agreed to surrender the northern countryside of Homs province to the government under a deal reached in early May. According to the deal, thousands of rebels and civilians who refuse to live under government control were to be evacuated to other rebel-held areas in the country's north.



State media and activists say more than 27,000 civilians and gunmen have left the northern countryside of Homs in the past days, the latest in a string of capitulation deals by the rebels around the country. In a major victory for the Syrian government, the rebels agreed, following Russian-sponsored mediation, to evacuate their areas in early May.



The northern rural Homs deal came days after rebels cleared their last remaining strongholds around the capital Damascus. The government troops and allied fighters continue to battle the remaining Islamic State fighters in a pocket south of Damascus.



A Syrian security officer told state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV on Tuesday that police began deploying in northern rural Homs, restoring government control.



"We declare from the area that we have triumphed over terrorism and we declare that we have overpowered terrorism from Homs province," the unnamed officer told Al-Ikhbariya. "Starting today, northern rural Homs will begin to return to normal life."



Al-Ikhariya TV showed Syrian government forces men raising the country's official flag over a building in a village in northern Homs.



Videos shared on social media showed vehicles carrying the Russian flag accompanying the deployment. According to the agreement, Russia military police were to deploy in the evacuated areas.



Activists said the deployment began in smaller villages in northern Homs, but it was not clear when it would begin in larger towns such as Houla, in northern Homs province.



Rebels were in control of northern rural Homs for years.



The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more evacuations are expected Tuesday.



A group of U.S.-backed rebels have a base in southern Homs near the border with Iraq.
U.S. President Donald Trump says his wife, Melania, is recovering from a procedure to treat what aides described as a noncancerous kidney condition.



"Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!," the president wrote on Twitter.



The 48-year-old Slovenian-born first lady underwent an embolization procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center just outside Washington, according to her communications director, Stephanie Grisham. The procedure is often used to cut off the flow of blood to a tumor or another type of growth.



The White House has not provided details about the first lady's condition, citing her privacy. But Vice President Mike Pence said during a Washington speech Monday night the procedure was "long planned."



Melania Trump was last seen in public early Thursday morning when she accompanied the president to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to greet three Americans who had been detained in North Korea.
President Donald Trump's prospects for brokering the Mideast peace "deal of the century'' plunged ever deeper Monday as the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opened amid bloodshed in Gaza. The day fueled global concern that U.S. policies are tipping the broader Middle East into deeper, intractable conflict.

At the same time, Trump is winning international support for his efforts to strike a deal with nuclear-armed North Korea. But his contentious decisions in the Middle East are roiling a region where U.S. administrations have traditionally sought perhaps their biggest diplomatic prize: an elusive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The embassy move, which Trump hailed a "great day'' for Israel even as dozens of Palestinians were killed in Gaza, damaged Washington's stature as a mediator between those parties. And it's but the latest in a series of U.S. decisions that may have set off a domino effect of unpredictable consequences.

"Traditionally we've tried to play a role of fireman in the Middle East. Now we're playing the role of arsonist,'' said Ilan Goldenberg, a former State Department and Pentagon official who runs the Mideast program at the Center for a New American Security.

Trump's withdrawal last week from the Iran nuclear deal, against the protestations of European allies, appears to have emboldened both Israel and Iran to move more forcefully toward full-on confrontation. In Syria, Trump's eagerness to pull out U.S. troops as soon as the Islamic State group is defeated has forced a reckoning by Iran's enemies about the possibility that Tehran will fill the void.

Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said Washington is not responsible for the fact that Iran acts as "the major source of tension and instability in the region.'' But he said the question is whether Trump's administration, having pulled out of the nuclear deal, has a strategy to deal with Iran in its absence.

Shapiro, who is now at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, said that while some U.S. allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia have celebrated the pullout, the reaction "will soon be followed by some degree of concern about whether the administration is sufficiently focused, prepared, staffed and able to devote the necessary attention when it's also managing another major foreign policy challenge in North Korea at the same time.''

U.S. officials insist the administration remains committed to restarting the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In a speech at the embassy opening, Trump's son-in-law, senior adviser Jared Kushner, said the U.S. "is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way we can.''

Left unsaid was the fact that Kushner's team has had to shelve Trump's long-awaited peace plan indefinitely amid the Palestinian uproar over the embassy move, several U.S. officials have said. Since Trump in December recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced the embassy would move, the Palestinians have effectively cut off all ties with the White House, a diplomatic chill that augurs poorly for the possibility that Trump can now introduce a plan the Palestinians would accept or deem fair.

"We're going through a rough-patch,'' U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Monday on Fox News. "It'll last as long as it lasts. I can't predict, but we will be back in a position I'm confident where we'll be discussing peace.''

White House spokesman Raj Shah said the peace plan will be released "at the appropriate time.''

That time, by all accounts, is not now. Responding to the embassy opening, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed Washington as "no longer a partner and a broker.''

"We will not sit with them,'' Erekat said. "They have become part of the problem not part of the solution, a big part of the problem. Trump's administration is the biggest problem.''

The White House response to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops on Monday during mass protests on the Israel-Gaza border won't help. The administration called the deaths "tragic'' but said they were the fault of Hamas, which controls Gaza and has fomented the protests. It voiced strong support for Israel's right to self-defense.

The renewed Gaza violence has created the unsettling but real possibility that Israel - far from enjoying a new era of peace with its neighbors - could soon find itself fighting wars on two fronts: with the Hamas militants who run the coastal Gaza Strip, and with Iranian troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Syria.

Already, fallout from the embassy opening has spread far beyond Jerusalem, illustrating how in the delicate Mideast, one point of conflict often begets another.

Jordan's King Abdullah II took to Twitter to say the embassy move would have "dangerous implications'' for security and "provoke Muslims and Christians.'' Thousands gathered in Turkey to protest the move. Several nations said they were pulling their ambassadors from Israel to protest the deaths in Gaza. And Erekat announced Monday that Palestinian leadership in the West Bank had decided to file a war crimes complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court.

"The U.S. has selected one of the most sensitive, one of the most difficult issues, to step in and put forward a position that it knows will be significantly damaging to its efforts,'' said Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian pollster and head of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research. He said Trump proceeded anyway "because of internal pressures and right-wing tendencies and evangelicals and others.''

"I cannot see the U.S. being an honest broker, whatsoever, as far as the Palestinian public is concerned,'' he added.
U.S. President Donald Trump urged for a quick conclusion to a renegotiated North American Free Trade Agreement during a phone call Monday with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The White House said Trump "underscored the importance" of quickly reaching a deal, while Trudeaus office said the two spoke of the "possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion."

The talks have come under increased pressure to quickly produce a deal after U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan said this week he would need to be notified of a new agreement by May 17 to give the current Congress a chance to pass it this year.

Canada, the United States and Mexico are renegotiating their 24-year-old free trade pact in a process triggered by the Trump administration. Trump has been highly critical of the 1994 deal, blaming it for the loss of millions of manufacturing jobs that hurt the U.S. economy.

He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory updated agreement is not reached.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues the three countries have been discussing appear to have been resolved. Ross, who is not directly involved in the NAFTA talks, told reporters in Washington Monday that the big issues are still a "work in progress."

Last week, the latest round of NAFTA talks ended in Washington without any major breakthroughs on how to renegotiate the deal. Those talks were the first to involve all three of the top officials in the negotiations  U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo.
The U.N. human rights office said Monday's killing of 58 Palestinians by Israeli forces is "appalling" and it is worried what might happen on Tuesday and in the future.



Palestinian officials said more than 2,700 protesters were injured in clashes along the Gaza border during the deadliest day of cross-border violence since a 2014 war with Israel.

"It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders, and at almost any point up to 700 meters from the fence," the U.N. human rights office said Tuesday.

Israeli forces have faced criticism over the use of live fire to confront Palestinians at the border during demonstrations the past seven weeks, but Israeli officials say the actions are necessary to protect the border and accused Hamas militants of using protests as a cover to carry out attacks.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Monday every country is obligated to defend its borders.

"The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens," he said.

Monday's clashes occurred as U.S. and Israeli officials celebrated the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. The Israeli military said more than 40,000 people protested.

Along with rejecting the U.S. Embassy move, Palestinians are protesting to mark the anniversary of what they call the "nakba" or "catastrophe" in reference to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were expelled or fled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Some countries, including U.S. allies France and Britain, called for restraint on Israel's part to curb the bloodshed. But the United States did not join their call and laid the blame for the violence on the militant group Hamas that controls Gaza.

"We shouldn't lose sight that Hamas is responsible for the entire situation," White House spokesman Raj Shah said. He accused Hamas of "engaging in cynical action" against the Jewish state .

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the Israeli actions "massacres."

As the U.S. embassy was opened, U.S. President Donald Trump, in a video message, proclaimed Jerusalem as "the capital of Israel." Netanyahu declared, "We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay."

Shah said the Gaza violence and the opening of the embassy in would not affect U.S. efforts to forge an Israel-Palestinian peace accord.

In his video remarks, Trump described the moving of the American diplomatic outpost to Jerusalem as "a long time coming." But the U.S. leader said the United States "remains committed to a lasting peace agreement" between Israel and the Palestinians.

Arab leaders condemned the U.S. action, with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri calling the embassy move "provocative" and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif describing it as "a day of great shame."

Abbas said he "will not accept" any peace deal with Israel that is proposed by the Trump administration.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called on Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and should act "with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life."

Israel sees all of Jerusalem as its capital, while most Palestinians hope to see East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Heather Murdock contributed to this report.


The head of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) on Tuesday said the North Korean leadership is hopeful that following a possible denuclearization deal, the international community will increase humanitarian aid for millions of people in the country who are living in poverty and suffering from malnutrition.

There is a tremendous sense of optimism by the leadership, by the people I met with, in the hopes that they will be turning a new chapter in their history, a new page, said David Beasley, the Executive Director of the WFP during a briefing in Seoul.

The WFP director visited North Korea for four days last week, spending two days in Pyongyang and two visiting rural areas outside the capital. Beasley said he was given remarkable access during his visit to the restrictive state where contact with foreigners is tightly controlled. Government minders also accompanied him during his visit.

Beasley, a former governor of the U.S. state of South Carolina, was nominated to head the WFP last year by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who is also a former South Carolina governor.

With the upcoming summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un now scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12, there are increased expectations that an agreement will be reached to dismantle the Norths nuclear, missile and chemical weapons programs that threaten the U.S. and its allies.

Details over the scope and timing of the denuclearization process must still be worked out, but the North Korean leader has indicated he wants to resolve the dispute to focus on improving the economic conditions of the country.

Widespread malnutrition

Ending the severe U.S. led sanctions banning 90% of North Korean trade that were imposed for the Norths repeated nuclear and missile tests, would open the door to increased economic investment and cooperation.

Humanitarian assistance has been exempted from the economic sanctions, but Beasely said import restrictions has made it more complicated to bring in aid, and made potential donors reluctant to contribute for fear of inadvertently violating sanctions.

Beasleys North Korean itinerary included trips to WFP funded projects, including a children's nursery in South Hwanghae province, located near the inter-Korean border, and a cookie factory in North Pyongan province, near the border with China. In the last year the WFP has made over 1,800 site visits to assure that aid provided went to those who need it most.

The WFP director said poverty and food shortages were prevalent, particularly in rural areas.

Going from village to village while we did not see starvation, there were clearly issues of under-nutrition or malnutrition, he said.

WFP provides food aid to an estimated 650,000 women and children in North Korea every month, although funding shortfalls, the organization says, have caused rations to be reduced or suspended in some cases.

The WFP is hoping to greatly increase food aid to North Korea after a nuclear deal is reached and sanctions are revoked. But Beasely said the leadership in Pyongyang must provide even greater access and transparency to clearly demonstrate the need for assistance, and to assure donors that their contributions will go to those who need it most.

I said very clearly that we want to work with you, we want to help you, but you must help us, said Beasely.

Agriculture reforms

The U.S. provided North Korea significant food aid in the 1990s to ease severe famine conditions that caused widespread starvation and deaths that were due in part to the loss of Soviet support and a failed communist agriculture model that caused food production to decline.

However Washington ended the bilateral aid program later due in part to concerns that assistance was being redirected to support the North Koreas military, and to free up more resources for the countrys nuclear development program.

North Korea currently produces five million metric tons of food a year, but the WFP estimates it needs between six and seven million metric tons annually to feed its population of 25 million. Around 10 million North Koreans suffer from malnutrition or under-nutrition, according to the WFP director.

Farmers in North Korea also face significant hardship in producing enough food for the population, with only 15 to 20 percent of land suitable for agriculture in the mostly mountainous terrain, and often lacking fertilizers and modern tractors to cultivate the fields.

In recent years North Korean leader Kim Jong Un instituted agricultural reforms allowing farmers to keep or sell a portion of what they produce. These financial incentives have been credited with helping to stabilize food production despite floods and droughts that regularly occur.

Lee Yoon-jee contributed to this report.
In November last year, doctors across the country laid down their tools for three weeks demanding that government fulfils a number of demands, including improved salaries, provision of housing and transport, domestic workers, stops the war on doctors and disbands the State House Health Monitoring Unit.

Other issues revolved around impossible working conditions (shortage of medicines and medical supplies, disproportionate workload, lack of meals, etc). The government reacted angrily, claiming that the Uganda Medical Association (UMA) was holding the country at ransom.

Also last year, at a meeting held at State House in Entebbe, the doctors were not ready to take more empty promises from President Museveni. Regardless of a last-minute pledge by the president, they went ahead with their strike. One of the responses which has since emerged is a much-criticized plan to import doctors from Cuba.

Dr Diana Atwine, the permanent secretary, ministry of health, on May 2 told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at Parliament that after Museveni accused the doctors of "holding the government to ransom," he proposed the hiring of medics from Cuba to replace them.

The most recent data one could find from 2013, shows Uganda's doctor-to-patient ratio stands at 1:24,725, way off the recommended 1:1,000 with a nurse-to-patient ratio at 1:11,000.

The question is, would importation of 200 doctors have an impact?

Uganda and Cuba enjoy warm relations. It is well known in diplomatic circles and in government that some Cuban doctors are already running many health projects in Uganda.

Cuban doctors were instrumental in setting up Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) in 1990s, and by 2017, MUST had trained over 1,000 medical doctors in Uganda.

Dr Ekwaro Obuku, the UMA president, says medical practitioners are still waiting for confirmation from government on how this "Cuban solution" will work.

According to Obuku, the problem is not lack of doctors, but the salaries and general welfare. Uganda being one of the countries with doctors leaving the country, the Cuban doctors cannot be a solution.

Parents and government inject a lot of money in training a doctor and it's very dismaying to see our doctors paid peanuts, something that forces them to leave the country or shun the public health facilities, he said. However, he also welcomes the idea of importing doctors but doubts government can maintain them.

Cost

The UMA puts the cost of training a medical doctor from primary school to university at Shs 70 million ($21,000) in Uganda.

"Uganda also passes out up to 600 doctors; at one point we have 150 specialists (doctors who have completed Master's) and around 550 doing internship, but very few are absorbed," Dr Obuku said.

On the other hand, UMA explained that aside from air tickets, housing and other related allowances a foreign doctor costs the government at least $3,000 (Shs 11 million) under the Uganda-Cuba arrangement, which money is paid directly to the exporting government.

As the negotiations are still going on, the ministry of Health is proposing to pay Cuban doctors $1,500 (Shs 5.4m), excluding housing, transport and security allowances while Ugandan doctors are listed to earn Shs 4.4m.

Double standards

A few years back, the ministry of Foreign Affairs advertised opportunities for Ugandan health workers to go to Trinidad and Tobago. According to the advertisement, Uganda wanted to "step up the existing outstanding unilateral relations" with Trinidad and Tobago.

At least 400 health workers, including senior specialists from government hospitals, applied to leave. This should have been an eye-opener to the government, though not much was made public after the advert, Uganda medical doctors are slipping away looking for greener pastures.

Figures from Uganda Medical and Dental Practitioners register for 2017 show that between 2010 and 2015, at least 265 (nine per cent Uganda doctors (non-specialists) out of a total 2,915, migrated from Uganda.

Challenges

The UMA says the comprehensive cost for importing Cuban doctors likely outweighs benefits.

"I have seen places where doctors and midwives deliver women using spotlights and phones hung in their mouths, we wonder if these doctors will bear with that," Dr Obuku said.

Further, health practitioners believe the language barrier would create a need for nurses or midwives as interpreters.

He added; "This 'Cuban solution' undermines the [government's] Buy Uganda Build Uganda policy and threatens our progress. Ugandan doctors deserve to be invited to enjoy the fruits of Uganda's happiness."

Bwanika

Dr Abed Bwanika, a two-time former presidential candidate, said Cuban doctors will be pricey for government. Bwanika contends that since Cuba exports doctors and earns directly for their services, Uganda will face a huge financial burden.

Speaking in a Monday interview, he said government will pay about US$ 5,000 per doctor each month. Of that, about US$ 3,500 is supposed to be paid directly to the Cuban government. This means that for 200 Cuban doctors, government will part with over US $1m (Shs 3.4bn).

"Whoever tricked the government into this move is wrong. We cannot simply pay over 18 million per foreign doctor," Bwanika said.

However, Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, says Cuban doctors are not meant to replace the local ones, but to complement the few local consultants in training and supervising intern doctors.

"These doctors will also be sent to stations upcountry where many Ugandan doctors don't want to go, it's not that we are outright replacing the whole medical team," she said.
Officials of the worlds two largest economies are to hold talks in Washington this week in a continuing attempt to avert a possible all-out trade war.

One the eve of the visit by a top Chinese official, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the gap remains wide between Washington and Beijing, but he hopeful for a fair deal to avert a worsening of economic ties.

Ross, speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, said, however, that the United States would be able to withstand such a clash better than China.

They would run out of targets for tariffs much sooner than we would, Ross asserted.

Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, who is President Xi Jinpings top economic adviser, arrives Tuesday for talks with U.S. officials scheduled to continue throughout the week. Liu will be joined by officials from several Chinese ministries and the Peoples' Bank of China, which implements the government's monetary policy.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday on Twitter he is working with Xi to throw a lifeline to one Chinese company about which U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials have long expressed cybersecurity concerns.

On Monday, he tweeted about trade negotiations with China, saying, ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi.

ZTE, a publicly traded company based in Shenzhen, makes cellular phones and other devices that could be used to spy on Americans, according to U.S. officials.

The Commerce Department last month announced American companies would be prohibited for seven years from exporting critical microchips and other components to ZTE to punish it for violating a sanctions settlement over illegal shipments to Iran and North Korea.

The ZTE issue is part of the complex relationship between the United States and China, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters at Mondays press briefing.

Concerns about U.S. sanctions on the company have been brought up at a number of levels during recent bilateral talks, Shah said. Its a significant issue of China. And in a bilateral relationship there are gives and takes.

Trump declared on Twitter he wanted to see ZTE, China's second-largest telecommunications equipment maker, get back into business fast after the U.S. ruling. Trump in the tweet said he had ordered the Commerce Department to get it done!

Ross was asked by a reporter at the press club event about Trumps directive.

ZTE did do some inappropriate things. Theyve admitted to that. responded Ross. The question is: Are there alternative remedies to the one that we had originally put forward? And thats the area we will be exploring very, very promptly.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang on Monday said that Beijing greatly appreciates the positive U.S. position on the ZTE issue.

A 2012 U.S. congressional report stated that ZTE was engaged in collaborative research with military and civilian universities, including satellite navigation, data link jamming techniques, training of active duty PLA personnel, and as a regular exhibitor and presenter at PLA sponsored defense industry expositions.

Douglas Jacobson, an attorney who represents suppliers who do business with ZTE, told VOA that Trump's order is stunning and bound to make U.S. law enforcement officials unhappy by going over their heads.

This has caught all of those in the exports and sanctions world certainly by surprise and with some degree of shock and awe, said the attorney who established the Jacobson Burton Kelly law firm specializing in international trade. This is unprecedented that the president of the United States would intervene in what really is a law enforcement case.

Jacobson adds he believes Trump may be willing to make a concession on China in exchange for China's help with North Korea.

A number of U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are expressing strong concern about the president's action.

Senator Marco Rubio, one of Trump's former rivals for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, said on Twitter the problem with ZTE isn't jobs & trade, it's national security & espionage. Any telecomm firm in #China can be forced to act as tool of Chinese espionage without any court order or any other review process. We are crazy to allow them to operate in U.S. without tighter restrictions.

Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer parodied Trumps Make America Great Again political slogan, saying, One of the few areas where the president and I agreed, and I was vocally supportive, was his approach towards China. But even here he is backing off, and his policy is now designed to achieve one goal: make China great again.

Ira Mellman contributed to this story.
Even before U.S. and Chinese officials were sitting down this week for a second round of high-level trade talks in Washington, both sides signaled a willingness to try and make a deal or at least meet the other halfway.

Whether or not that will be enough to get them across the finish line remains to be seen, analysts say.

Ahead of the talks, President Donald tweeted that China has "been making hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the U.S., for many years. Stay Tuned!"

Late last week at a forum sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington D.C., Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai signaled Chinas willingness to address a range of issues from the deficit to the protection of intellectual property rights.

Deficit detente

Cui said that while it is overly simplistic to say trade deficit means loss and surplus means gain, there is a clear need for better macroeconomic coordination between the two countries.

A huge deficit for you and a huge surplus for us  I dont think this should continue, he said. I dont think it will continue. For us, such an imbalance is already a problem rather than a benefit.

When Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Chinas Vice Premier Liu He led trade delegations earlier this month in Beijing, the deficit loomed large. A leaked list of some of Washingtons demands included a request that China help cut the trade deficit between the two countries by $100 billion a year over the next two years.

Many have scoffed at the figure and the possibility that Beijing could bridge such a seemingly huge gap, but Cuis remarks are telling.

Gene Ma, head of China research at the Institute of International Finance, said that even though negotiations may be hard, messy and ugly, that is better than not negotiating.

And while there is room for hope, any agreement is unlikely without some compromise, he said.

A lot of the tough measures put out can eventually be watered down, the tariffs can be postponed, some sectors can be wavered, China can buy more products from the U.S., he said. There is something that both sides can do, but of course there are other sectors that are harder such as technologies.

China has long been criticized for its trade policies, for forcing foreign companies to hand over technology in return for access to its markets and its rampant problem of intellectual property theft.

In a bid to change that, the Trump administration launched an investigation into Beijings policies and trade practices related to technology transfer, innovation and intellectual property.

The president has threatened to levy up to $150 billion in tariffs against China and the deadline for that action is fast approaching.

A public hearing will be held on Tuesday in Washington to discuss the tariffs, and if he chooses, President Trump could place a levy on Chinese goods as early as next week.

If he does, China has pledged to respond in kind, threatening to raise tariffs on some $50 billion in American goods, including soybeans.

IC Bargaining Chip

As for Beijings demands, one big concern is Washingtons recent decision to place a seven-year ban on the sale of American components to Chinese mobile phone maker ZTE.

In the first round of talks, Beijing demanded that the United States amend the ruling. And then late last week, just days before talks were set to resume in Washington, the company claimed that its main business operations had ceased due to the ban imposed by the U.S. government.

The move has highlighted the incredible leverage Washington has when it comes to technology, but also limits as well.

Over the weekend, however, U.S. President Donald Trump said that he was working with Chinese President Xi Jinping to throw a lifeline to the company. Trumps about-face has sparked outrage from some and concern from others. Some argue that if Trump does anything to reverse the ruling, he would be interfering with law enforcement.

Others said the move will conveniently buy the administration more time to strike a deal.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the two sides are narrowing in on a deal that could see Washington use the ZTE ban in exchange for a reprieve of Chinese tariffs on billions of dollars of American agricultural products.

But there are other obvious reasons for Trumps shift. The most glaring of them is that while the ban would hurt ZTE and highlights how China lags far behind in the computer chip industry, it is also an issue of American jobs.

Unlike soybeans, finding customers for such a large amount of semiconductor chips in such a short period of time is not easy and that would not only impact on American jobs but go against Trumps campaign promises, said Eric Zhou, a Beijing-based commentator. And because of that it's more pragmatic [for Washington] to use the ban as a policy measure and trade war bargaining chip.

Brian Kopczynski contributed to this report.
A federal judge refused on Tuesday to dismiss criminal charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller against President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, after Manafort claimed that Mueller had exceeded his prosecutorial powers.

In a sharp rebuke of those claims, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had followed all the Justice Department's rules when he hired Mueller and Mueller's case against Manafort is not overly broad or improper.

Rosenstein "expressly approved the Special Counsel's investigation of the facts alleged in the indictment, so there has been no violation of the regulations, and the Special Counsel did not act without authority," she wrote.

In response to the ruling, Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said: "Paul Manafort maintains his innocence and looks forward to prevailing in this matter." A spokesman for the Special Counsel declined to comment.

Manafort, who performed lobbying work for a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president before serving as Trump's campaign chairman in 2016, is facing two indictments brought by Mueller in federal courts in Washington and Alexandria, Virginia.

The charges against him in the Washington case include conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent. In Virginia, he faces charges that include bank fraud and filing false tax returns.

He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, none of which are directly related to work he performed for Trump's campaign.

In both criminal cases, Manafort has asked the courts to dismiss the charges on the grounds that Rosenstein's May 17 appointment order hiring Mueller runs afoul of Justice Department rules on special counsels.

He has also argued that Mueller's case against him has nothing to do with Russian interference in 2016 election, and that the probe by the FBI into his Ukraine dealings predates the Russia probe.
The United States Navy is closely watching Iranian behavior in the Gulf and expects a "period of uncertainty" and increased level of alertness after President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from an international nuclear deal with Iran, the U.S. Navy chief said on Monday.



Trump said last week that the United States was withdrawing from a 2015 deal negotiated by the Obama administration.



The withdrawal has upset Washington's European allies, cast uncertainty over global oil supplies and raised the risk of conflict in the Middle East.



"It is a period of uncertainty that we are entering into right, how the whole world will respond to this latest development," Chief of U.S. Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson told a small group of reporters.



"(We have to) remain alert, I mean even a little bit more alert than usual to just be open to any kind of response or new development or something like that," Richardson added.



He was speaking after visiting the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush off the coast of Virginia where U.S. and French troops are carrying out joint training.



Richardson said the U.S. Navy had not seen provocative Iranian behavior in the Gulf since Trump's announcement, but was watching closely.



In recent years, there have been periodic confrontations between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of Iran's armed forces, and U.S. military in the Gulf - a major trade route for oil - but there have been no major incidents since last year.



Last August, U.S. officials said an Iranian drone came within 30 meters of a U.S. Navy warplane as it prepared to land on an aircraft carrier in the Gulf.



Iran, which sees the Gulf as its backyard and believes it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence there, has long argued that the region should organize its own security collectively, without outside powers.
The United States indirectly criticized China on Monday for shielding Myanmar from strong U.N. Security Council action over a military crackdown against mainly Rohingya Muslims that the U.S. and other countries have denounced as ethnic cleansing.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley did not mention China by name, but China proposed substantial amendments to a British-drafted Security Council statement on Myanmar last week. The 15-member council eventually agreed a weaker statement.

The Security Council met on Monday to discuss a visit by envoys to Myanmar and Bangladesh two weeks ago.

Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts in Myanmar's Rakhine state in August last year sparked a military operation that sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to camps in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh.

"Some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons," Haley said. "Some undermined the unity of the council demonstrated during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the council's message."

Speaking before Haley, China's U.N. Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu told the Security Council that Myanmar and Bangladesh should be encouraged to solve the crisis bilaterally to make sure it doesn't "drag on or become more complicated."

"The council should continue to encourage Myanmar and Bangladesh to increase consultations and cooperation for the early implementation of the bilateral arrangement," he said.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow.

Diplomats said Russia has also backed China in council discussions on Myanmar.

Speaking after Haley, Russia's deputy U.N. Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the unity of the council on the issue was important and he hoped some members "will not fall prey to the temptation of using this situation to pursue their narrow, domestic political aims."

Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson on a large scale. Myanmar denies ethnic cleansing and has said its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents.

"The government of Myanmar has stated time and again that no violation of human rights will be condoned," Myanmar's U.N. Ambassador Hau Do Suan told council on Monday. "Allegations supported by evidence will be investigated and action taken in accordance with the law."

The United States and Canada have imposed unilateral sanctions against a general in Myanmar's military for his role in the crackdown and the European Union is preparing individual sanctions.

Haley, who did not travel to Myanmar and Bangladesh, said that the Security Council had "unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis," though she did not elaborate.

"We should move quickly to adopt a resolution that institutes real steps to resolve this enormous and growing humanitarian and human rights crisis," Haley said.
The United States on Tuesday blacklisted Irans central bank governor Valiollah Seif and its international department assistant director Ali Tarzali for allegedly sending millions of dollars to Lebanon-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah.

A statement from the U.S. Treasury Department said Seif and Tarzali helped Irans Revolutionary Guards' Qods Force (IRGC-QF) exploit the international financial system to fund its activities abroad.

Irans Central Bank Governor covertly funneled millions of dollars on behalf of the IRGC-QF through Iraq-based al-Bilad Islamic Bank to enrich and support the violent and radical agenda of Hezbollah, said Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in the statement.

The United States will not permit Irans increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system. The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies, Mnuchin said.

The U.S. Treasury Department also sanctioned the Iraqi al-Bilad Islamic Bank and its owner Aras Habib, as well as Hezbollah official Muhammad Qasir, for helping IRGC-QF transfer funds.

It said Habib exploited the bank to jeopardize the integrity of the Iraqi financial system by moving funds from Tehran to Iranian-backed Iraqi groups and Hezbollah, while Qasir served as a "critical conduit" to move financial disbursements from the Revolutionary Guards.

All four individuals will be added to the U.S. list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, which targets terrorists and those supporting acts of terrorism.

The new sanctions come as the U.S., in cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, last Thursday designated six individuals and three companies it said were funneling millions of dollars to IRGC-QF, just days after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

These actions build upon President Trumps May 8 decision to cease the United States participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and begin reimposing U.S. sanctions that had been lifted under the JCPOA, including against the Central Bank of Iran, Treasurys Tuesday statement said.

The department said the designations do not extend to the Irans central bank itself, but it will re-impose sanctions on certain transactions within the bank, including the purchase or acquisition of U.S. dollars banknotes by the Iranian government.

Additional sanctions will be re-imposed on November against people knowingly engaging in certain significant transactions with the bank, the department vowed.
Senate Democrats are mounting a last-ditch campaign to preserve so-called "net neutrality" that has prevented certain content or users from being slowed on the internet in the United States  an effort most Republicans say is misguided and counterproductive.

On Wednesday, the Senate will vote on whether to reverse the Federal Communications Commission's December decision to repeal Obama-era rules that barred internet service providers from favoring certain users or material. All 49 Democrats and one Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, back the resolution in the 100-member chamber.

"All [net neutrality] does is protect the openness of the internet to competitors across the country," said Angus King, a Maine Independent who caucuses with Democrats. "I believe this resolution will restore us to a place where small businesses will be able to compete and blossom and prosper."

Added Democrat Ed Markey of Massachusetts: "Net neutrality is our 21st century right, and we will fight to protect it. Eighty-three percent of Americans, in polling, say they want to protect net neutrality."

Republicans insist they, too, believe in net neutrality, but want to safeguard it by crafting forward-looking legislation rather than re-imposing an outdated regulatory structure.

"Democrats have decided to take the issue of net neutrality and make it partisan," Senator John Thune of South Dakota said. "Instead of working with Republicans to develop permanent net neutrality legislation, they've decided to try to score political points with a partisan resolution that would do nothing to permanently secure net neutrality."

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Trump appointee, defended the commission's decision at a recent telecommunications conference in Washington, saying antiquated and heavy-handed federal internet regulation slows innovation and discourages investment in cyberinfrastructure.

"If you want something to operate like a slow-moving utility [company], there is no better way to ensure that than by regulating it as such," Pai said. "[The American people] want more access, they want competition. They want the internet to be better and faster and cheaper."

The FCC chairman added that federal regulators retain the ability to crack down on any unfair practices regarding internet access, and that service providers are required to disclose whether they slow any content or offer paid so-called "fast lanes."

Such assurances have not satisfied more than 20 U.S. states that sued to prevent the FCC's decision from going into effect June 11. In Washington, Democrats say small-business owners are worried they will be at a disadvantage in reaching new customers if net neutrality disappears.

"It's all about having equal access to the internet," King said, pointing to Certify, a small Web-based company in Portland, Maine, as an example of what is at stake. "One hundred fifty employees. It has two million users around the globe  that's because of the power of the internet. We don't want that business to be choked off by a large competitor who can pay preferential rates [for internet access]."

America's largest internet service providers have said they will not engage in "throttling"  dramatically slowing down certain content  once the new FCC rules go into effect next month.

The net neutrality resolution could pass in the Senate 50-49, given the absence of Arizona Republican John McCain. From there, it faces significant hurdles. Passage is seen as less likely in the Republican-led House of Representatives, and President Donald Trump is unlikely to sign a bill overriding a decision backed by the FCC chairman he selected.

Even so, Democrats see an opportunity to highlight an issue of concern to many Americans ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

"This vote will allow senators to show once and for all where everyone stands on #NetNeutrality," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York tweeted.
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that the United States stands by Iraqis' electoral choices, despite the surprise success of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who fought U.S. troops during the Iraq War.

Mattis praised Iraq's move toward democracy.

"The Iraqi people had an election. That's a democratic process at a time when many people doubted that Iraq could take charge of themselves," he told reporters.

With official results from Saturday's election still pending, al-Sadr's Marching Toward Reform alliance is leading in nearly all regions.

Current prime minister Haider al-Abadi, who is supported by the United States, Tuesday said that if a new electronic voting system used in the election was found to be faulty, the election commission should hold a nationwide recount, state television reported.

Al-Abadi said at the least, a manual recount should be held in the northern province of Kirkuk after accusations of fraud and faulty machines were made there.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Washington was aware of the charges.

"I can just say the independent high electoral commission  that's basically the Iraqi equivalent of the federal election commission  they are investigating. They are taking a close look at allegations of fraud and intimidation," she said.

Nauert added that "international observers who were on the ground, as well ... have reported to us that they found the elections to be credible."

The Pentagon also struck a supportive note.

"We do not support any particular candidate or party, rather we support a fair and transparent process," spokesman Eric Pahon said. "We stand ready to work with whoever is fairly elected by the Iraqi people."

Al-Sadr did not run for a seat in parliament and cannot become prime minister. But as head of a political alliance, he will play a major role in the deal-making and horse trading that goes into putting together an Iraqi government.
Last Sunday, a group of Uzbek human rights activists laid a floral wreath at a statue in the center of Tashkent, the country's capital. It commemorated the 13th anniversary of the massacre of 400 civilians in the central Asian nation, all of them shot to death by the military during an anti-government protest, allegedly on orders of the late dictator Islam Karimov.

To Human Rights Watch investigator Steve Swerdlow, that simple act of humanity  the laying of the wreath  shows that change for the better is afoot in Uzbekistan.

"For the first time, they weren't arrested," he said this week in Washington. "This was a significant event from our perspective."

The changing face of Uzbekistan, a land-locked, predominantly Muslim nation of 32 million people, comes to the fore on Wednesday as the country's reformist leader, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, visits U.S. President Donald Trump and other top American officials in Washington.

The 60-year-old Mirziyoyev, in power for 20 months following Karimov's death, appears to represent something of an anomaly  a political leader from the former Soviet bloc who is moving toward more freedom for his people, not less.

Political prisoners

Swerdlow noted that Mirziyoyev has released 28 political prisoners, and that all but two individuals on a list of 34 detainees compiled by Human Rights Watch in 2014 are now free. Just days ago, Mirziyoyev freed Fahriddin Tillaev, an opposition and human rights activist who had been imprisoned for more than four years in what activists said was a politically motivated detention.

While more needs to be done, Swerdlow said, "That is one of the biggest developments, the release of long-held activists, journalists and democratic activists."

Ahead of Mirziyoyev's visit, Javlon Vakhabov, Uzbekistan's ambassador to Washington, told a forum on the state of Uzbek affairs, "There is tremendous landmark change occurring in Uzbekistan, on human rights, good governance and the rule of law."

"Our ultimate goal is a full-fledged democracy, with a robust market economy," he declared. "There is a spirit of change everywhere in Uzbekistan. The country is opening up to the world."

Vakhabov said the country is "now at the beginning of a long journey" toward more freedom, the easing of restrictions on freedom of religion and ending forced child labor.

"We're strongly committed to end torture and other crude and degrading means of punishment," Vakhabov said.

For its part, the White House said in advance of Mirziyoyev's visit that he "has made great strides" in overturning decades of authoritarian rule, but said it would press him to continue economic and human rights reforms.

"The visit is an opportunity to encourage and validate those reforms" Mirziyoyev has already adopted, said Lisa Curtis, who oversees Central and South Asian affairs at the White House National Security Council.

Rights issues remain

An Uzbek senator, Sadiq Safoyev, said at the Washington forum that Uzbekistan needs "genuine and irreversible" reforms, including greater evidence of justice and the rule of law. But he said he is hopeful, especially since 70 percent of the country is 30 years old or younger.

Young people, he said, "want more freedom. They want more opportunities."

Still, Safoyev said, "Freedom is not easy. Freedom continues to bring more challenges."

Human Rights Watch's Swerdlow said he believes Mirziyoyev's "political commitment is very real," but that more human rights advances are needed.

He said the United Nations' International Labor Organization found that 300,000 children were forced to work in Uzbekistan's 2017 farm harvests. He said Human Rights Watch believes "thousands" of religious adherents are still imprisoned in Uzbekistan, some of them for two decades.

Mirziyoyev first met Trump at the U.N. General Assembly last year. In addition to his White House meeting with the U.S. leader, Mirziyoyev is talking to U.S. lawmakers, State Department and Defense Department leaders, and officials at the World Bank.

After the U.N. visit last year, Mirziyoyev went home with $2.6 billion in new American investments. His spokesman says Mirziyoyev is hopeful of securing another $8.5 billion in investments during his current three-day stay in the United States.
Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA has bought nearly $440 million worth of foreign crude and shipped it directly to Cuba on friendly credit terms  and often at a loss, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.

The shipments are the first documented instances of the OPEC nation buying crude to supply regional allies instead of selling them oil from its own vast reserves.

Venezuela made the discounted deliveries, which have not been previously reported, despite its dire need for foreign currency to bolster its collapsing economy and to import food and medicine amid widespread shortages.

The open-market oil purchases to subsidize one of Venezuela's few remaining allies underscores its increasing global isolation and the disintegration of its energy sector under socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The purchases came as Venezuela's crude production hit a 33-year low in the first quarter  down 28 percent in 12 months.

Its refineries are operating at a third of capacity, and its workers are resigning by the thousands.

PDVSA bought the crude for up to $12 per barrel more than it priced the same oil when it shipped to Cuba, according to prices on internal documents reviewed by Reuters. But Cuba may never pay cash for the cargoes because Venezuela has long accepted goods and services from Cuba in return for oil under a pact signed in 2000 by late presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

PDVSA, the Venezuela government and the Cuba government did not respond to requests for comment.

Venezuela's government has previously said it only imports oil to blend with its own tar-like crude to improve quality and create an exportable product, or to feed its refinery in Curacao. But hundreds of PDSVA documents examined by Reuters detailing imports and exports, dated from January 2017 to May of this year, show the company is now buying crude at market prices to deliver to allies  in shipments that never pass through Venezuela.

Sanctions

The subsidized deliveries are aimed at maintaining political support from Cuba, one of a dwindling group of Venezuela allies, according to diplomats, politicians and PDVSA executives.

"Maduro is giving away everything he can because these countries' backing, especially from Cuba, is all the political support he has left," said a former top Venezuelan government official who declined to be identified.

Late Tuesday, a leader of the political opposition to Maduro, Henrique Capriles, reacted to Reuters' disclosure of the oil shipments to Cuba by tweeting: "Venezuelans are suffering the worst crisis without food or medicine, our oil is about to be seized due to PDVSA's debts, and they continue irresponsibly

Caracas has come under increasing international pressure as the United States, the European Union and Canada have sanctioned Venezuela for what they see as Maduro's attempts to cement a dictatorship.

As Venezuela spends on oil imports, it has imported less of everything else its citizens desperately need. Venezuela's spending on non-oil imports plunged from nearly $46 billion in 2011 to $6 billion in 2017, according to Venezuela Central Bank data and Ecoanalitica, a Caracas-based economic research organization.

The oil PDVSA procured for Cuba was Russian Urals crude, the documents show, a variety well-suited for Cuban refineries constructed from Soviet-era equipment.

PDVSA bought the crude from Chinese, Russian and Swiss firms  not for cash, but a pledge that PDVSA would deliver other oil shipments later, the documents show.

That adds to Venezuela's already towering debts of oil to state-owned firms in Russia and China, which together have extended Venezuela's government more than $60 billion in oil-for-loan deals that have propped up its budget amid declining exports and lower oil prices.

"It's nonsense to import oil to keep subsidized exports flowing," said Ecoanalitica President Asdrubal Oliveros.

Petro-diplomacy

Venezuela's socialist government has long used oil for domestic and international political ends, subsidizing goods and services at home and currying favor across the region with oil deliveries on generous terms.

Venezuela's oil supply arrangements have helped soften international political censure of Maduro's government.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which includes most Western Hemisphere nations, last year took up a motion seeking to pressure Venezuela to hold free elections, liberate political prisoners and declare a humanitarian crisis.

The effort was defeated when 12 countries that have received regular oil shipments from Venezuela in recent years  about a third of the OAS membership  opposed it or refused to vote.

Eventually, the OAS passed a watered-down motion urging free and fair elections.

Venezuela has avoided formal OAS condemnation "thanks to the support of the bloc of Caribbean nations that have benefited from its subsidized oil and development programs for years," said Michael Fitzpatrick, deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said on April 30 during a talk at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank in Washington.

Most of those countries are members of Venezuela's Petrocaribe trade pact, launched in 2005, which has granted up to 16 Caribbean and Central American states with oil supplies on favorable terms.

OAS President Luis Almagro declined to comment through press office representative Monica Reyes.

El Salvador's Economy Minister, Luz Estrella Rodriguez, said Petrocaribe and other pacts promoted by Venezuela had played an important role in her country's development.

"Our country is very grateful," she said. "The government of El Salvador, of course, is a friend and an ally of the Venezuelan government."

El Salvador refused to vote last year on the OAS motion to condemn Venezuela.

Venezuela also supplied fuel last year to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Dominica, the documents show.

In total, members of oil trade pacts with Venezuela last year received at least 103,000 bpd of crude and refined products from PDVSA, the documents show, or about 6 percent of Venezuela's exports.

Falling output, shrinking imports

The falling output of Venezuela's refineries has also left the country increasingly dependent on fuel imports to meet domestic consumption.

The internal PDVSA data reviewed by Reuters shows Venezuela last year purchased some 180,000 barrels per day of foreign crude and refined products from PetroChina, Rosneft, Lukoil, Reliance Industries and other suppliers, 17 percent more than in 2016.

Those companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The purchases totaled more than $4 billion, according to PDVSA records.

Last year, total oil-industry purchases, including equipment and services, consumed 45 percent of Venezuela's total import spending, up from 13 percent in 2011, Ecoanalitica data shows.

Energy imports totaled $5.4 billion out of $11.9 billion.

The resulting scarcity of food, medicine and employment has caused thousands of citizens to flee Venezuela. The pay of PDVSA workers now can't cover the barest essentials because of the collapse of its currency, the bolivar.

"A worker's salary is not even enough for a box of eggs," said Hector Bertis, a PDVSA worker and union leader. "We go to the bank, and they give us 10,000 bolivars  less than what a transportation fare costs."
After their April 2 attack on a Ugandan army peacekeepers base in Burmalelle, Lower Shabelle region of Somalia, Islamist Al-Shabaab militants telephoned Monah Muhammad Zubair and warned her against collaborating with soldiers deployed in the area.

Monah is one of several Somali nationals who work as informers for the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia (AMISOM) in Marka district, an area with a high concentration of the Al-Shabaab. Monah was not moved by the telephone call. Instead, she asked them to pay her if they wanted her to give up the AMISOM job.

UPDF troops in Somalia on patrol in the lower Shabelle region

They sent me $30 on mobile money and I asked them to increase the amount to at least $50 which they did. Days later, they sent me a text message telling me to prepare for my funeral since I had refused to give up my cooperation with an infidel force, Monah told The Observer.

Monah spoke to The Observer from Buufow, where the UPDF sector one under the 19th battalion is headquartered. It is 81km southwest of Mogadishu, and about 9km from the detach at Burmalelle where the Al-Shabaab killed 10 Ugandan soldiers and wounded several others on April 2.

Besides the direct messages to AMISOM collaborators, the Al-Shabaab send similar warnings through their Andulus radio that broadcasts from Kunyabarow; the militant groups biggest base in Lower Shabelle.

At Kunyabarow, according to Abdallah Bashir, the chief elder in Marka district, the Al-Shabaab have their biggest hospital, high court and main jail in which they keep captured AMISOM soldiers.

Al-Shabaab uses a lot of false propaganda against AMISOM through their own radio and TV stations; telling the locals not to cooperate with us because AMISOM is a force of the kafir [infidels]. But we are trying to counter that through our civilian-military cooperation by showing the population that we also have Muslims amongst us, Lt Col Robert Nahamya told journalists on May 1.

To cripple their propaganda machinery, US forces last month bombed Al-Shabaabs transmission site at Dara Salaam. The militants switched to mobile broadcasts from a van.

Maj Ceasar Otim Olweny, the spokesman of the Ugandan contingent in Somalia, said the militants have other radio stations as well as TV stations some of which broadcast from central Mogadishu.

HARSH CONDITIONS

The last UPDF outpost is about 240km from Mogadishu. Given the heavy rains that have been pounding Somalia over the past couple of weeks, most access roads have been cut off, making movement by road difficult for both sides.

The UN mission in Somalia airlifted journalists to Ceeljalle UPDF forward operating base. From here, the journalists boarded infantry fighting vehicles locally known as Mamba to Shalamboot which is 8km from the headquarters of the Al-Shabaab.

This offered an opportunity for the soldiers to speak about their poor facilitation given the harsh conditions under which they operate. The infantry commander at Shalamboot, Lt Col Fred Mwesigwa, was not as direct as his counterpart Lt Col Nahamya at Buufow.

Why are our payments delayed? We came here without anything until AMISOM came in. Why should a UN person get paid on time and there is nothing for the Ugandan soldiers? I hope you help us carry this message to the bosses, Nahamya said.

Nahamya said the UPDF have the worst facilities.

When you compare our FOBs [forward operating bases] they are the worst. We must have good FOBs, not improvised ones. Good shelter, helipads and enough supplies for drugs with which we treat the locals, Nahamya said.

In the Al-Shabaab infested areas, the AMISOM forces depend on local intelligence given through interpreters. The Al-Shabaab have mastered the art of mixing with the civilians which has made it difficult for the AMISOM forces to identify them.

We have recently started using the sea to take our supplies to Barrawe [the furthest base which is 240km from Mogadishu] but in the medium and long term, we hope to start using air; the EU is financing the construction of a runway at Barrawe, Brig Paul LOkech, the Uganda contingent commander in Somalia, said on May 3.

DIFFERENT APPROACHES

We are not here as UPDF; if we were UPDF, it would be a different story [but] AMISOM has its own way of operation. It is more defensive yet UPDF is offensive - we would have attacked, shelled their bases and flashed them out, Mwesigwa said.

Even in situations where AMISOM has authorised the UPDF to attack, they never hold ground.

In June last year, we went to Jenalle and flashed them out but we couldnt hold ground because the known AMISOM base is Shalamboot, we had to come back, and the Al-Shabaab later returned to Jenalle, Mwesigwa said.

UN RESOLUTION

Last year, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2372 to have a gradual draw-down of peace-keeping troops by 2021 so that the Horn of Africa nation takes charge of its own security. But the troop-contributing countries say Somalia is not ready.

After 10 years of presence, the UN wants us to hand power to the Somali National Army but the transition is condition-based; that as we move, there must be a stable and secure country, said Col Richard Omwega, the AMISOM force spokesman.

Omwega belongs to the Kenya Defence Forces. According to the withdraw plan, another 1,000 troops will be withdrawn in October this year which comes with a closure of a FOB for each of the troop-contributing countries. Besides Uganda and Kenya, AMISOM has troops from Burundi, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The big debate among the AMISOM commanders is whether the UN wish is achievable within three years.



The transition must be shaped in such a way that the SNA [Somali National Army] is well trained and prepared. They are well trained but not well prepared to take over the challenge, said LOkech.

Currently, there are 75 SNA cadet officers training in Uganda. These will join an earlier force of 4,000 SNA officers who were trained by Uganda. Turkey is training another force of about 1,000, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) trained about 500 troops plus some more being trained separately by the US and European Union.

Getting fighters is easy but how do you maintain them? Somalia for quite a long time didnt have an army, we are trying to build one but we need to put a lot of effort in training, re-organisation and preparation, LOkech said.

AMISOM is also selling to the Somali government the idea of an LDU-like force to secure villages.



sadabkk@observer.ug
The air quality in Vietnam overall does not quite rival that in China or India when it comes to pollution. But it is bad and getting worse. And all that toxic air comes with a cost, whether in the money spent to upgrade to cleaner fuels, or in the health problems Vietnamese will suffer as a result.

Environmental economist Le Viet Phu says sooner or later there will be a price to pay.

He is urging Vietnamese to take the long view and put up with the higher cost of clean energy, though it might be painful for their pocketbooks at first. And this statistic might give them a wake-up call: Vietnam now has the dubious distinction of joining the club of 10 countries with the worst air pollution in the world, according to the U.S. consulate in Ho Chi Minh City.

The consulates air quality monitor has become a daily reference for residents ever since it was installed in 2015, along with a similar device at the embassy in Hanoi.

In Vietnam the last 10 years, we developed very rapidly because of low energy prices, said Phu, who works at Fulbright University Vietnam.

The problem

Postwar economic improvements have brought Vietnam a long way, but some are pausing now to reflect on the tradeoffs made in that time. Gross domestic product expands 6 to 7 percent every year. Meanwhile, though, the frequency of days when Ho Chi Minh Citys air is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups has doubled compared to two years ago.

Scarier yet, 66,300 Vietnamese died from causes linked to bad air in 2013, U.S. consul general in Ho Chi Minh City Mary Tarnowka said, citing World Bank data.

Air pollution knows no boundaries and affects us all, she said, adding: My family lived in China and India for many years, and we understand how air quality affects health, especially the health of children, whose lungs are still growing.

Its not uncommon for schools to suspend classes for a few hours or even a full day to shield students from poor air. At home and at the office, tables and shelves have to be wiped down daily to keep up with the rapidly collecting dust particles.

Industrial pollution is especially problematic outside of the urban centers of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. But within them, 90 percent of the smog stems from traffic, Phu said.

The solution

Thats why some are recommending motorbike drivers be required to get regular smog checks.

Vietnam has weighed a couple of other options to reduce pollution from congestion. The national government has proposed raising the gas tax, but has yet to do so in the face of public opposition. The governments of both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have spent years building out subway systems to get people off private transit, but the dates for these to come online keep receding into the future amid budget shortages.

But Vietnam would enjoy the biggest impact if it traded in coal for wind, solar, and other alternative energy, according to CHANGE, a Vietnamese environmental group. Director Hoang Hong said this will help the Southeast Asian country keep its pledge in the Paris Climate Change deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

I hope Ho Chi Minh City, with its geographic and climatic advantages, along with its economic, technological and human potential, as well as the open mindset of both government and the people, will be a pioneer in the process of developing renewable energy in the country, she said.

Vietnam hasnt reached the level of its larger, more polluted neighbors in Asia, and environmentalists are hoping theres still time to make sure that never happens.
Women demonstrators in Nairobi have marched on a restaurant that allegedly asked a breastfeeding mother to cover up or breastfeed in the bathroom. The women say restaurants and other facilities need to support mothers who choose to breastfeed in public spaces.



What is so offensive about breastfeeding that you would send a mother to the bathroom?



This was the question posed by women taking part in Tuesday's march from Nairobi's Freedom Corner to parliament, and then to Olive Restaurant in downtown Nairobi.



It was at this restaurant that 26-year-old Beth Njeri says she was humiliated by a waitress for breastfeeding her baby.



It was early afternoon Njeri stepped inside the restaurant with her 16-month-old daughter, Alyssa, and ordered some food.



Njeri explains what happened.



"My baby did not settle. She was moving, she was trying to stand, she was disturbing and moving all around. I took her and started breastfeeding her, so that she can be calm because the order took some time. When I was still feeding her, a lady came and told me to cover up or stop breastfeeding. I stopped breastfeeding. I engaged her with some questions, if there was somewhere I could breastfeed, well, she rolled her head towards the washrooms," she said.



Njeri was angry and in her rage posted a description of the incident on her Facebook page. The post was picked up by members of other groups and quickly went viral, with mostly women jumping to her defense and even planning Tuesday's march.



Njeri says that she was shocked by the response from her post, but was glad that the incident had sparked a national dialogue on breastfeeding.

"Women should breastfeed anywhere, even in public places, because you cannot choose where the baby will want to breastfeed. It is nature."



Kenya's parliament is considering two bills that would mandate safe and convenient spaces for lactating mothers. Both would require employers to set aside special areas for breastfeeding mothers in the workplace.



Nairobi County nutrition coordinator Esther Kwamboka marched Tuesday in solidarity with the mothers.



"Every public space that holds more than 30 people is supposed to provide a breastfeeding space. We expect our organizations, and all our public spaces in this city to be able to provide breastfeeding spaces for our mothers," she said.



Meanwhile, the eatery has issued an apology to Njeri via its Facebook page and appealed for calm while it deals with the matter.
The MDC-T Member of Parliament for Harare West, Jessie Majome, says she pulled out of the parliamentary candidate selection process in the party led by Nelson Chamisa due to serious irregularities. Majome says she will now contest the forthcoming elections as an independent candidate.
The United States says President Emmerson Mnangagwas government needs to take action on its promises to conduct free, fair and credible general elections this year.

This comes at a time when some Americans are already in the country preparing for monitoring the forthcoming general elections to be contested by more than 120 political parties.

President Mnangagwa has promised that the southern African nation will conduct free, fair and credible elections this year following the removal of former president Robert Mugabe from power last November in what Mugabe has described as a military coup.

This will be the first time in 38 years that Zimbabwe will be conducting the elections without Mugabe, who participated in the 1970s liberation struggle against the colonial Ian Douglas Smith regime. Mugabe had ruled the country for more than 37 years and had fallen out of favor with some war veterans, who claimed that he wanted his wife, Grace, to succeed him.

America has already expressed its willingness to make some amendments to the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act if Mnangagwas government conducts free, fair and credible elections.

Against this background, Jennifer L. Savage, Charge d' Affairs at the United States Embassy in Harare, on Tuesday met with Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda in the capital, to assess the promised electoral reforms.

We had a great conversation mainly about the progress on the state of electoral law and electoral reforms and we are proud to hear that the law is progressing and we look forward to the outcomes there. All of it was part of a conversation about both of our shared hopes for extending our bilateral relationship and ensuring that our bilateral engagement is enhanced and deepened and expended and with that we look forward to the progress made on not just the electoral reforms but we look forward to hearing more on having further conversations with the honorable speaker about economic reforms, about reforms on the human rights front, on the governance front 

Asked to comment on preparations for Zimbabwes forthcoming general elections, Savage said President Mnangagwas government has not yet implemented its promises that would enable the country to conduct free and credible polls.

We are looking forward to more progress. I think we have seen some progress to date. We have been very pleased with a lot of the words we have been hearing, a lot of the promises and pledges we have been hearing and we are just looking forward with the implementation of those. We do talk about that but we are looking forward not just about elections  elections are an important step but we are looking forward to elections on a number of pillars, the economic reforms, the human rights reforms and good governance reforms as well as those free, fair and transparent elections. So, I think we are seeing, hearing all the right things. We need to see some action following up on all those things.

Some opposition parties are not happy with the electoral law, saying it is skewed in favor of the ruling Zanu PF party. On the amendment of Zimbabwes electoral law, Savage would not be drawn to comment any further.

Its still under consideration. I think we will reserve judgement until its finalized.

Indications are that the United States is eager to see a transparent election this year as the country is in the process of deploying its observers. Savage noted that some Americans are already in Zimbabwe preparing for the forthcoming general elections, expected to be held between July and August this year.

There are already folks on the ground getting set up, setting up offices and we are hoping that our long-term observers will be coming in the next few weeks and then following that we will have some observers on the ground, particularly even more observers on the ground, right up to election day. So, they are already here.

Savage also said the United States is helping Zimbabwe in many sectors, including programs focusing on tackling HIV/AIDS.

We just for example signed an agreement for another $150 million in PEPFAR programming. There will be additional sum for cervical cancer screening. So, health exchange continues. We provide assistance again through implementing partners on demining activities, educational exchange and economic, governance issues, we have a program through the southern African parliamentary support trust. We look forward to continuing on that and hopefully expanding on that.

America and other nations imposed targeted sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle following claims of alleged vote rigging and human rights violations.
NASA photo of the eruption of Klyuchevsky volcano on 30 September, 1994, the volcano's largest explosion in 40 years. The large

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Updated: Oct 9, 2021 14:17 GMT - Refresh

Kliuchevskoi is Kamchatka's highest and most active volcano. Since its origin about 6000 years ago, the beautifully symmetrical, 4835-m-high basaltic stratovolcano has produced frequent moderate-volume explosive and effusive eruptions without major periods of inactivity. Kliuchevskoi rises above a saddle NE of sharp-peaked Kamen volcano and lies SE of the broad Ushkovsky massif. More than 100 flank eruptions have occurred at Kliuchevskoi during the past roughly 3000 years, with most lateral craters and cones occurring along radial fissures between the unconfined NE-to-SE flanks of the conical volcano between 500 m and 3600 m elevation. The morphology of its 700-m-wide summit crater has been frequently modified by historical eruptions, which have been recorded since the late-17th century. Historical eruptions have originated primarily from the summit crater, but have also included numerous major explosive and effusive eruptions from flank craters.

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Source: Klyuchevsky information by the GVP (Smithsonian Institution)
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Uganda will spend at least $1.2 million (Shs 4.4bn) on marketing the country's tourism potential, an addition to the $1.5 million that was spent last year.



State minister for Tourism, Godfrey Kiwanda, says government will hire three more public relations firms from China, Japan and Gulf states to market Uganda's tourism potential. He revealed that each firm will pocket $ 400,000 (Shs 1.4 billion).

Tourists at Ngamba island chimpanzee sanctuary

In 2016, Uganda hired three public relations firms in German, UK and America to market the tourism sector with the aim of bolstering the number of foreign tourists. The three firms including PHG Consulting headquartered in USA, Kamageo of UK and KPRN of German pocketed $500,000 (Shs 1.8bn) each.



Kiwanda says government will also renew the contracts of the three firms. He says the overall assignment given to these firms is to leverage Uganda as a prime tourism travel destination, adding that the names of the new firms will be unveiled soon.



Addressing journalists on what the ministry of Tourism has done in implementing the NRM manifesto at Media Centre on Tuesday, Kiwanda argued that marketing of Uganda tourism potential has for instance resulted into a 17 per cent increase of tourists from Germany where one of the companies publicising the country is based.



Kiwanda said Uganda received 1.37 million tourists last year. The country targets to increase the number of tourists to 5 million by 2022 per year.



According to World Bank, tourism is now the leading foreign exchange earner for Uganda, bringing in about $1.4 billion annually, which is 26 per cent of its total foreign exchange earnings and 9.9 per cent of its GDP.



The sector employs about 520,000 people directly, and one million more indirectly, 70 per cent of them women and youth.



The World Bank, which assisted Uganda in negotiating the contracts with the three PR firms in November 2017 reported that the marketing campaign has had 1.2 million worth of media coverage in the UK market, 2 million in other markets.
Hoima Int'l Airport runway under construction

Workers at Hoima International Airport construction site in Kabaale, Hoima district have laid down tools to protest nonpayment of salaries for two months.

Construction of the airport is being undertaken by SBC Uganda in collaboration with Colas, a UK based firm.

The workers are also protesting the illegal dismissal of their friends and the harsh working environment they say they're being subjected to by the SBC management.

The strike come barely two weeks after workers of Shandong Taikai Power Engineering Company limited, which was contracted to erect a power line from Fort Portal to Hoima also staged a strike and blocked the Hoima Kaiso Tonya road.

They also accused their bosses of nonpayment of their salary. The SBC management couldn't be reached for a comment by the time of filing this story.



Hoima International Airport is one of the key projects being undertaken by government in preparation for oil production in the oil rich Albertine region.



Julius Hakiiza, the Albertine police region spokesperson, says they deployed at construction site to block workers from destroying property.

Once completed as scheduled in 2020, Hoima International Airport will be Uganda's second international airport after Entebbe.

The project is financed by Shs 1.3 trillion loan borrowed from the United Kingdom Export Finance (270.2 million) and from Standard Chartered bank of London (37.1 million) for the construction of the airport.
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Auburn University undergraduate Nicole Hogue has been awarded the David L. Boren Scholarship and will spend the next academic year studying Mandarin Chinese at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China, and the Harbin Institute of Technology in Weihai, China. The Boren Scholarship aims to increase the number of American students studying in nations that are underrepresented in traditional study abroad programs.

Hogue, a sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts from Charlotte, North Carolina, is majoring in French international trade and minoring in Asian studies and military science.

The scholarship, established by former U.S. Sen. David Boren from Oklahoma and funded by the National Security Education Program, focuses on geographic areas, languages and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to add an important international and language component to their education through specialization in area study, language study or increased language proficiency.

I am thrilled about receiving the Boren Scholarship and I look forward to my time abroad and the opportunities that will come with it, said Hogue. I am grateful for the support the Auburn community has given me  specifically, the continued support and guidance from my Chinese professor Xiong Ying, and from my cadre from Army ROTC, Master Sergeant Chad Fisher and Lieutenant Colonel Roshun Steele.

Hogue, with a perfect 4.0 grade-point-average, is a member of the Auburn University Army ROTC War Eagle Battalion where, upon graduation, she will commission as an officer in the U.S. Army. A member of the Deans list since her first semester, Hogue is a recipient of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures Catsanoli Young Scholars in Foreign Language Award.

Outside of the classroom, Hogue is active in the International Buddy program and as a member of the Mandarin English Language Exchange Program where she assists her fellow students in language acquisition. Hogue has also completed the U.S. Armys Cultural Understanding and Language Program in Madagascar during the summer of 2017. In addition to her stellar classroom performance, Hogue is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne School and later this summer she will attend the Army Air Assault School at Ft. Campbell, Kentucky.

Cadet Hogue will not only benefit from the Boren Scholarship in China, but as a future Army officer, the ability to overcome cultural and language differences is critical to our national security, said Master Sergeant Chad Fisher, senior military science instructor. I look forward to following her career in the future and know that our country will be in very capable hands with her as a leader of our young men and women.

For additional information about the Boren Scholarship, contact Paul Harris at the Honors College at paul.harris@auburn.edu. For more information about the Boren Scholarship, go to https://www.borenawards.org/.
The counting of votes for Karnataka Assembly election is underway right now, and according to the Election Commission of India, the Bharatiya Janata Party is leading on 109 seats while Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) are ahead on 64 seats on 48 seats, respectively. In a couple of hours, it would be clear who's going to win the Karnataka Assembly polls, though exit poll surveys have predicted a hung assembly in the state. A fact that has emerged as a talking point in this Assembly election in Karnataka is that this was the "costliest state election" with total spending of around Rs 10,500 crore. Total 5.06 crore - around 72.13 per cent of people - had voted in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 on May 12.

The current election is important for both the BJP and Congress. The election outcome will prove Prime Minister Narendra Modi's magic if the BJP comes to power, while it will be a huge blow to Congress if it fails to come to power; the grand old party is ruling in just two of the 29 states of the country. Top CM candidates, Congress' Siddaramaiah and BJP's BS Yeddyurappa are political stalwarts and their political careers are also at stake.

According to a survey by the Central for Media Studies, the current election in Karnataka is a "money guzzler" election, with all the political parties collectively spending around Rs 9,500 to Rs 10,500 crore in this Assembly election.

Parties spent double than the last election

In the 2018 Assembly election in Karnataka, the political parties have collectively spent double the amount than the 2013 Assembly election in the state.

The survey says the current expense does not include expenditure incurred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's poll campaigning. The survey, however, concludes that the Assembly election in Karnataka has proved to be more expensive than the state elections in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

The CCM survey says if the poll spending would go by this rate, political parties could spend around Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore in the 2019 Lok Sabh elections, which is double the amount spent in the last Lok Sabha election in 2014. The survey also says that personal expense has increased 75 per cent in the Karnataka election, and with this rate, the personal expense of individual candidates and political parties would grow by 50-60 per cent, 29-30 per cent in the next Lok Sabha elections next year.

Who could the next CM of Karnataka?

The new CM of Karnataka could be decided in the next few hours if any party gets full majority in the southern state. The Congress, which does not seem to be faring well in the initial trends, has fielded incumbent CM Siddaramaiah, Prime Minister Modi-led BJP has projected Yeddyurappa as the candidate for the top job in the state. Besides these two, three more candidates are also in the race for the CM's post. If Congress fails to get a majority, JDS could support it, playing the role of a kingmaker and projecting HD Kumaraswamy as the CM candidate. Apart from him, the names of Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief G Parameshwara are also being projected.

Also watch: Karnataka election results 2018: Watch live coverage on Aaj Tak
If one wishes to understand the current political scenario in India, one simply has to look at Tripura. The BJP wrestled power out of the CPI (M)'s bastion to replace former CM Manik Sarkar with the incumbent Biplab Deb, infamous for his controversial remarks. That is just one state in the country's 22 where BJP stormed to power. To add to its woes, Congress is now left with only two states - Mizoram and Punjab, a rather sharp decline from its heydays.

Since BJP's surge in 2014, it has been sweeping state elections too. The PM Modi-led BJP has been conquering Congress strongholds like Maharashtra and Assam where the party had ruled for at least 10 years before BJP fell it like a house of cards. The situation was not very different in Samajwadi Party buttress Uttar Pradesh, where BJP took over without much effort. In Meghalaya, BJP who had won a dismal 2 seats formed the government with National People's Party despite Congress emerging as the single largest party. Something similar happened in Manipur and Goa as well.

Whether by will or by wiles, BJP went on to make the governments.

Which brings us to Karnataka - one of the best political face-offs, where exit polls predicted a very close contest. Within hours, it was clear that CM Siddaramaiah would not be enjoying a new term, making way for BJP's BS Yeddyurappa. Early trends on Tuesday exhibited the old tale of the hare and the tortoise. While Congress took the lead initially, BJP soon caught up before cementing its victory. A big push for BJP was offered by UP CM Yogi Adityanath. His Unite Hindu and Hindutva factors worked rather well as BJP won in all the 33 seats that Yogi had visited.

Moreover, while Congress' strong social media campaign garnered a few laughs, it failed to create the necessary impact.

The last time a political party had swept over the country with such force was when Congress held 18 states, 24 years ago. BJP has now far surpassed that benchmark and forayed even into its weakest regions - the South and the Northeast.

With Karnataka gone, Congress is now left with only Mizoram and Punjab. In Punjab, Congress won 77 out of 117 seats, while AAP bagged 20, followed by BJP-SAD with 18. In Mizoram, however, BJP will have to battle it out with 79-year-old CM Lal Thanhawla who has been to power five times, to make a significant mark.

The Karnataka mandate would be a cause for concern for the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress. This win is also likely to bolster PM Modi's chance of re-election in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
I know the Schlapps. They are nice people, when not engaged in demagoguery. They live in the Washington area, as I do; they recently purchased a $3 million home, as I certainly did not. Both have advanced college degrees. Matt Schlapp was a top lobbyist for Koch Industries before taking over at the ACU. The couple also founded their own public relations and lobbying firm. How are they anything but elite, according to the false dichotomy they espouse? Why are they any more qualified to speak for ostensibly real Americans than the journalists they haughtily deride, virtually all of whom are far less affluent?
Oppo is all set to launch the first device of its sub-brand Realme. The company is targeting the youth with this phone and claims it will price all the phones with this sub brand within a price range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000.

The Realme 1 is the first phone that will be launched under the Realme branding and this will be an important launch as the company will set its first impression in a country that is obsessed with value for money deals.

The entire brand will only be sold online and the Realme 1 sale will only go live exclusively on Amazon India's website. The phone will be launched at 12:30pm today and can be streamed live from the company's official Facebook and YouTube page.

The company has already setup a dedicated micro-site for the device on Amazon India's website which gives us a rough picture of what to expect for the device.

Oppo's Realme 1 will go heavy with AI applications. Since youth is the audience for the device, the front camera is expected to be the centerpiece of the new device. Most Oppo smartphones focus on this aspect and Realme should be no different. The Realme 1 will use AI to beautify and generally enhance selfies taken by the device. The front camera is also expect to assist in something that the company is calling "speedy facial unlock".

In terms of raw specifications, we are expecting to be blown away by the device. One of the variants of the phone is expected to launch with 6GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage.

The phone will be launched with a diamond back design which has been seen on Oppo phones like the Oppo F7 and Oppo A3.

The focus points of the device will include battery enhancements, which again is powered by AI. Realme is also claiming that its processor is AI-based and is "born to solve" frequent crashes.

One of the biggest problems new brands like Realme face is quality of after-sale service and sometimes event the availability of service centres. The micro site on Amazon India claims that around 500+ authorized service centres will take care of Realme 1 phones with "1 hour guaranteed service for most cases". The company is basing this data on the repair requests it gets from Oppo devices.

Realme claims that the smartphone undergoes 20,000 drop and USB tests and 100,000 button tests to ensure a quality build.

Oppo is being used by the sub brand to tailor experiences for a specific audience. According to Realme 200 million fans, 370 patents and 6 R&D centres will help the company create this brand.
Its a condition that has no cure, except perhaps a box of tissues and hot herbal tea.

But this could soon change, with excited British researchers announcing the discovery of a potential drug treatment for the common cold.

Sneezy? Docs might be about to make you happy. Credit:tetmc

While most people eventually recover from their sniffing and congestion, a cold can trigger fatal illness in people with respiratory problems such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cystic fibrosis.

Until now, it has been virtually impossible to vaccinate against the virus because the condition is made of up of more than 100 different strains and remedies have instead focused on treating symptoms.
From Greg Swank, 12-4-2 You are about to read a list of 45 goals that found their way down the halls of our great Capitol back in 1963. As...
There has never been greater demand for regulation, but the supply has never been more constrained. Regulators are constrained by lack of information as the royal commission has shown; wrongdoers never disclose until they have to. Regulators are also constrained by tight budgets; and the budget cuts to ASIC in 2013 didnt help. Regulators have become more like risk managers, minimising short-term institutional risks rather than the systemic risks that matter most. Systemic risks are left to royal commissions.

For many years whistleblowers have avoided regulators and gone to the media. The first Senate inquiry into whistleblowing in 1994 showed that whistleblowers did not trust regulators; they saw them as captured by the institutions they regulate. The question asked then is the question we should ask now. Who regulates the regulators?

Australia has had more than 150 royal commissions but perhaps none more important than the banking royal commission. The royal commission is revealing more than the anomalous practices of financial advisers; it is revealing flaws in regulation.

The problem with royal commissions is that the regulatory zeal lasts only so long. The regulatory cycle is referenced by crisis and, once a crisis is over, regulation returns to what it was. Its not just in Australia. When the US Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 there were 180 pages of regulation; within four years it had been curtailed to 65 pages. The Securities Exchange Commission yielded to those it regulated.

The problem is that with every new infraction we get more red tape. Red tape penalises the compliant; and the miscreants always seem to know how to avoid it. We need a new approach. Whistleblowing provides insights as to how regulation must change. Whistleblowers are the independent regulators not captured by institutions; they observe the conflicts of interest that regulators do not observe; and they provide information ex-ante rather than ex-post. Whistleblowing is a template we can learn from.

Whistleblowing makes regulation more uncertain; the regulator could be in the next office. Uncertainty is a deterrent to non-compliance. The implication for regulators is to randomly sample institutions and to use the observations of whistleblowers as red flags. Red flags are used in many anti-corruption settings, most notably the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. When there is a sequence of red flags, it suggests the need to strongly regulate the institution. There were red flags about our financial institutions for more than 10 years but regulators did not act. They should have.

Whistleblowers are often the competitors of regulators. Regulators are monopolists and the regulated know how to capture their rents. Whistleblowers should be able to submit information to more than one regulator and with greater regulatory oversight. An example was provided by the Murray inquiry of 2014 which recommended a Financial Regulator Assessment Board to oversee financial regulators. Like other markets, the market for regulation needs to be competitive.

Royal commissions and other public inquiries show the power of transparency. The US False Claims Act is used by whistleblowers to litigate on behalf of the government. Litigation confers three advantages; it imparts transparency through court proceedings; it establishes precedents for future regulation; it provides tests of regulations. The False Claims Act is a strong deterrent to non-compliance, and it relates to any false claim not just fraud. Since 1986 when the Act was amended, more than $US56 billion of fraud has been recovered, and even more deterred. An Australian False Claims Act is long overdue.
A fundraising campaign for the funerals of the seven members of the Miles family found dead at a rural Margaret River farm last week has begun, as shocked friends pay tribute to the two women killed, Katrina and her mother Cynda.

The GoFundMe page is aiming to raise $40,000 for the family to help with preparations for the funerals of Katrina and her children, Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10 and Kayden, 8, who were well known within Margaret River's home-schooling community.

Katrina Miles with her four children. Credit:Facebook

Ms Miles' parents Cynda, 58, and Peter, 61, were also found dead at the Margaret River property on Friday morning.

Three guns licensed to Mr Miles were found at the property and the family all suffered gunshot wounds.
WSU Early Childhood Education Program Receives National Accreditation

May 15, 2018

OGDEN, Utah  During an end-of-the-year celebration, graduates of Weber State Universitys early childhood education program receive capes, signifying their super power to educate young children.

Now those graduates have the additional confidence of knowing they have earned their degrees from the only university in Utah accredited by National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

Senior Victoria Pierce teaches as part of her education

requirements.

NAEYC is the gold standard of accreditation, so meeting those standards demonstrates the high quality of Weber States early childhood education, said Wei Qiu, child and family studies associate professor. It wasnt just faculty working on accreditation. It was students, community members, all stakeholders working together as a team to make this happen.

Senior Victoria Pierce was one of the many students who contributed to the successful process. She believes graduating from an accredited program will indicate to future employers the quality of her education.

Accreditation means you worked hard to prove you met all the national standards, Pierce said. It shows how much work, effort, passion and care you have for your organization and program.

Following a rigorous two-year application and review process, this year Weber State was one of 12 schools in the country granted first-time accreditation by NAEYC in a pilot group of early childhood bachelors programs.

The standards are based on the qualities required of effective early childhood education teachers, said Carrie Ota, child and family studies associate professor. We had to prove Weber State is giving students the necessary education, the ability to practice the skills, and the time and means to effectively reflect on the process.

Accredited programs must show their students meet seven broad criteria, including promoting child development and learning; building family and community relationships; creating meaningful curriculum; and receiving practical experience.

Weber State educates approximately 200 early childhood/early childhood education majors each year, whose work will impact the lives of thousands of children and families.

Receiving capes during early childhood graduation ceremony

I know how important it is to get foundational knowledge, Pierce said. When I was younger, I had a difficult time learning how to read and feeling confident, but I had really good teachers who helped me when I was in elementary school. That really instilled in me the desire to go out there to help children learn and grow no matter the obstacle.

Weber State students have plenty of opportunity to test their knowledge; they are required to spend many supervised hours teaching and interacting with young children.

One of the things we are really proud of is how much time our students spend in field experience, said Teri Henke, child and family studies assistant professor. Weber State students spend more than 300 hours teaching children at WSUs Melba S. Lehner Childrens School and community programs before receiving a bachelors degree, so they have a lot of experience to combine with their classroom education.

The accreditation will remain in place for seven years with reviews annually to make sure the program retains its high standards and quality.

For more information about the accreditation process, visit NAEYC.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.
Of course. You would have to be be barking mad to want to bring this rabble to NZ. But then socialists are mad by definition. It's not as if we don't have...
A day after GOP-endorsed candidate for governor Mark Boughton called on his petitioning competitors to take a step back and unify behind his endorsement, Tim Herbst is taking the opposite stance on what could shape up to be a six-way primary in August.

I think we sort of are happy to have as many people who want to petition their way on as possible, said Herbsts campaign manager Jon Conradi. I dont think Mark Boughton should be worried about having more candidates in the race if he feels he has a message and record that voters can get behind. If hes nervous then maybe that speaks to his lack of confidence.

Consider those the first shots fired in what is shaping up to be a crowded and contentious primary season. In addition to Herbst and Westport businessman Steve Obsitnik ,who each earned enough delegate votes to primary, three other candidates, including Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti have all pledged to petition onto the August ballot.

Herbst, the former Trumbull First Selectman whos known for speaking his mind when it comes to his competition, isnt holding back. Though he fell to Boughton in all three rounds of voting at the GOP Convention at the Foxwoods Resort Casino over the weekend, Herbst came away with about 40 percent of delegate votes and every intention of giving Boughton a run for his money in August.

While Boughton took most of Sunday off to recuperate and spend time with his family, Herbst spent the day participating in interviews, meeting with his campaign staff and calling delegates to thank them for their votes, Conradi said. He did pause to take his mom to dinner at the Saybrook Point Inn.

In an interview Sunday, Boughton said he wouldnt run a negative campaign against any of his Republican counterparts, but called on those petitioning to take a long pause about primarying.

If you couldnt get 15 percent at the convention, you have to ask yourself, Are you a viable candidate at the primary? Boughton said Sunday.

At least one candidate has dropped his petition campaign  Stamford CFO Mike Handler announced as much on his Facebook page late Sunday. Former U.S. Comptroller Dave Walker officially suspended his campaign in a Twitter announcement late Saturday after failing to net 15 percent in the second round.

We must all focus on ensuring that our primary process produces a strong and electable Republican candidate in November, Handler wrote. For my part, I have decided that I will not be seeking to petition onto the primary ballot. I will therefore be focusing my efforts on supporting our party's elected nominee in the fall.

That leaves Bob Stefanowksi, the self-funded retired corporate executive from Madison, David Stemerman, another wealthy businessman from Greenwich, and Lauretti who each have until June 12 to collect roughly 9,000 signatures (2 percent of Republican voters).

Herbst took another shot at Boughton Monday, calling Boughtons comments about Democratic front runner Ned Lamont Democratic rhetoric. Boughton called Lamont a 1-percenter while positioning himself as a man of the people.

"Republicans are never going to defeat the Democrats by channeling their divisive rhetoric that demonizes success," Herbst said. "Republicans simply cannot afford to nominate a candidate who thinks the way to win in November or fix Connecticut is to channel the politics of Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren."

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
We popped along to the Shaftesbury Theatre to meet up with Natalie Kassanga  the new Diana Ross in Motown the Musical  and get a backstage look at the show as well as finding out all about how she feels to be playing one of her icons.

Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright, the show features Motown classics including "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", "I'll Be There", "Dancing In The Street" and "Stop! In The Name Of Love".

The production also recently announced a UK tour beginning in Birmingham in October.
Cuban doctors operating under a medical service and education agreement between Ghana and Cuba have not received their allowances since September last year.



The situation, according to the Cuban Deputy Health Minister, Dr Marcia Cobas Ruiz, was taking a toll on the work of the doctors and needed to be resolved urgently.



Under the agreement, the doctors are not supposed to be paid salaries but monthly allowances and given free accommodation.



It forms part of efforts by the government of Ghana to enhance the doctor-patient ratio and, accordingly, improve accessibility to healthcare services in the country.



Dr Ruiz said he would meet Ghanas Health Minister this week to deliberate on the matter.



Visit



The Cuban deputy minister announced this in Tamale last Saturday when she visited some of the doctors in the Northern Region to acquaint herself with their challenges.



According to her, the non-payment of the allowances was the main concern raised by the doctors during her interaction with them and urged the government to address the issue to help facilitate their work.



She said for the past 20 years, Cuban doctors had been working in Ghana to support efforts by the government to improve on the countrys health system, saying that attested to the strong partnership between the two countries in the health sector.



Despite the challenges the doctors are going through, we are willing to deliberate with the Ministry of Health to resolve those challenges, so that we can give Ghana additional doctors, she said.



Commitment



For his part, the Deputy Northern Regional Minister, Mr Solomon Boar, expressed the governments commitment to resolve the challenges confronting the doctors to provide a conducive environment for them to work effectively.



He called for more negotiations on contract extension for the doctors, whose two-year contract would end in July this year.

Source: Graphic.com









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Chavez Cuanto te queremos!



Por culpa de Chavez



Cerveza Polar







Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar







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LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


A major new marijuana cultivation business in Manitoba is being announced today, the Free Press has learned.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/5/2018 (1243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A major new marijuana cultivation business in Manitoba is being announced today, the Free Press has learned.

GrowForce Holdings Inc. will announce it is setting up a 120,000-square-foot facility in an old meat packing plant in Transcona.

The Toronto-based company is a newly created entity that last month announced the acquisition of WILL Cannabis Group in Brampton, Ont., an authorized licensed producer of cannabis for medical purposes through Health Canada.

A spokesman for the company said GrowForce will use that licence to add the Winnipeg production operation as a second facility. GrowForce has said publicly it plans to build a vertically integrated cannabis platform with cultivation, processing and retail facilities across Canada.

GrowForce also owns Grand River Organics in Dunnville, Ont., a smaller operation which is still in the process of obtaining its cultivation licence.

The GrowForce spokesman said the announcement today will include a "significant jobs announcement."

GrowForce is associated with Denver-based MJardin Group, the largest legal cultivator of marijuana in the United States, with more than 30 facilities in seven states. MJardin will manage the Winnipeg cultivation facility.

GrowForce is also in the process of securing a public stock market listing for its shares. It has a letter of agreement with Platform Eight Capital Corp. for a reverse takeover on the TSX Venture Exchange.

GrowForce enters the Canadian market with an experienced pedigree. Last week, it announced the appointment of James Lowe as executive vice-president of operations. Lowe is a co-founder of MJardin Group and, since 2009, has overseen the production and sale of more legal cannabis than has been grown legally in all of Canada to date.

Pat Witcher was named vice-president of strategic partnerships. Witcher is a former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent and most recently was the president of Buddy Boy Brands, one of the largest cannabis retail operations in Colorado.

With federal legislation on the legalization of recreational marijuana in Canada expected before the end of the year, GrowForce will become the third licensed producer of marijuana in Manitoba.

Delta 9 Cannabis was one of the original 13 companies licensed under Health Canadas Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations, and now has about 90 employees. It has been steadily increasing its production since it started about four years ago.

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In February, Delta 9, in partnership with Canopy Growth Corp., was awarded a retail licence in Manitoba. Delta 9 chief executive officer John Arbuthnot said depending on when the final federal legislation and provincial regulations are in place, the company hopes to have four or five retail locations in Winnipeg and outside the city open by the end of the year.

The other licensed producer in Manitoba, Bonify, has been producing for more than a year but has not yet received a licence to sell. CEO Jeff Peitsch said the company believes the move is imminent, and hopes to have it in place by the time federal legislation is passed.

Bonify operates a 320,000-square-foot facility Peitsch said is about half-way through the process of being fully commissioned.

Peitsch said results of the test production have been "exceptional" and although it does not yet have a licence to sell, Bonify has been building up inventory because all the the pre-licence test production will be salable.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
The drought plaguing Winnipeg and leaving it blanketed in bone-dry, tinder-like conditions, extends into day 32 Tuesday, officially placing it in the history books as one of the top-five worst to hit the city.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 14/5/2018 (1243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The drought plaguing Winnipeg and leaving it blanketed in bone-dry, tinder-like conditions, extends into day 32 Tuesday, officially placing it in the history books as one of the top-five worst to hit the city.

The last time Winnipeg got some relief in the form of measurable precipitation (at least 0.2 millimetres) was April 12. Since March 21, the city has seen 5.4 mm of precipitation, making it the driest spring on record since 1980.

PROVINCE OF MANITOBA

That's not likely to change until Thursday, when Environment Canada is forecasting overnight showers. However, according to senior climatologist Dave Phillips, while Winnipeg has experienced drier springs, the current situation might be the worst on record.

Parched province Due to hot, dry, and windy conditions in much of the province, the Manitoba government has instituted a number of restrictions to help prevent wildfires: click to read more Due to hot, dry, and windy conditions in much of the province, the Manitoba government has instituted a number of restrictions to help prevent wildfires: All burning permits have been cancelled for eastern, central, and parts of western Manitoba. New permits wont be issued until conditions improve.

Travel restrictions remain in place for eastern, central, and parts of western Manitoba. In addition, travel restrictions are in place for the Mars Hill Wildlife Management Area and southern Manitoba provincial parks.

Campfire restrictions are in place for all provincial parks in southern Manitoba. Fires are only allowed in approved fire pits from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. However, that may soon change, as a provincial spokesman has indicated a total fire ban is under consideration.

An open-air fire ban remains in effect in Winnipeg. To find out if other municipalities have also instituted similar bans, contact them directly or check respective websites. Close

"Spring is sort of an artificial beginning. What you want to do is look back to October (2017). Thats when the recharge season would have begun, which is when you build back moisture into the soil, the lakes, the reservoirs, so you are able to deal with the warm months," Phillips said.

"But this dry period, this drought, whatever you want to call it, began back in October (2017). It really stopped precipitating in October. The recharge this year has been the worst in (Winnipeg) history, which means the situation is potentially more disastrous."

The dry conditions are largely responsible for the recent uptick of brush fires keeping city fire crews on their toes. So far in 2018, the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service has responded to 57 such brush fires. In 2017, the department responded to a total of 85.

While the rain forecasted to fall Thursday will be welcome, it isn't likely to help much, according to Phillips.

"Thats not going to be the rescue rain you need. You want to look at the forecast and see four days of rain in a row to even begin to correct the situation," he said.

The situation hasnt been limited to Winnipeg, with 102 wildfires sparking throughout the province. Of those, 44 remain active and six are currently listed as out of control. On Monday, the province had eight helicopters, six water bombers and 82 extra firefighters battling wildfires.

Earl Simmons, a Manitoba Sustainable Development regional field supervisor, said provincial forest firefighters are concerned about whats coming down the pipe this summer.

"Theres concern from everybody involved in the profession, given the dry conditions and a healthy respect for fires and what they can do. Guys are recognizing the potential for fires out there," Simmons said.

The province has already had to rely on outside help this spring, calling in crews from Ontario to give provincial personnel a break, Simmons said, adding he hasn't seen conditions this dry since the late 1980s.

"Our crews have been working steady since the beginning of the year. Some of our crews have been working for 24 days straight," he said.

Evacuation in Caddy Lake A wildfire that struck the Caddy Lake area near the Ontario border late Sunday afternoon has left cottagers nervous and forced some residents to evacuate. Seven water bombers were called in to douse the flames from both sides of the Manitoba-Ontario border, circling the lake for roughly three hours, according to Earl Simmons, a Manitoba Sustainable Development regional field supervisor. click to read more A wildfire that struck the Caddy Lake area near the Ontario border late Sunday afternoon has left cottagers nervous and forced some residents to evacuate. Seven water bombers were called in to douse the flames from both sides of the Manitoba-Ontario border, circling the lake for roughly three hours, according to Earl Simmons, a Manitoba Sustainable Development regional field supervisor. Simmons called the deployment of seven water bombers to a single fire fairly unprecedented, but said it was key in battling the blaze, which increased in size rapidly. The province said the wildfire was sparked after a tree fell on a Manitoba Hydro power line during a wind storm. About 20 people have been evacuated from the area and crews continue to battle the blaze, which is contained but still out of control, Simmons said. While we have the fire surrounded, theres always the potential for that fire to get up into the trees and jump the fire line, he said. In total, the wildfire has torched roughly 95 acres of land. Highway 312 has been closed from Highway 44 to the Ontario border. So far no property or infrastructure  including the nearby Whiteshell fish hatchery and the Mantario Trial  has been damaged. This is the second time an evacuation has been called in Caddy Lake due to a wildfire in the past few years. In 2016, a significant wildfire, which burned thousands of acres, threatened the community and forced cottagers to evacuate. -- Nick Martin and Ryan Thorpe Close

In addition, Simmons said the province is currently mulling a total fire ban  even in fire pits  due to the dry, windy conditions. It remains unclear if the province intends to implement such a total ban prior to the May long weekend.

Phillips said the forecast for Manitobas summer  and the effect that will have on forest firefighters  isnt good.

"The current situation is bleak. The prospects are for it to get worse. But that weather isnt born yet. You cant look out the window and say this will be the weather come forest fire season. There are a lot of unknowns, a lot of uncertainty, but what is known is not good," Phillips said.

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That means unless something changes, and fast, its likely to be a busy season for forest firefighters, and one where the action isnt limited to a single portion of the province.

"The situation will become worse for forest firefighters if, in fact, the whole province is under flames. Where do you go to fight it? The problem is the whole province seems fairly dry, so theres potential to have wildfires in several areas," Phillips said.

"The forests in Manitoba are a tinderbox. A thunderstorm could be very bad news. Its just a spark away from happening. It could be lightning. It could be a vehicle backfiring. It could be people purposefully setting them.

"Everybody wants the rain, because the situation isnt good right now. One just has to hope the weather patterns turn around and bring some."

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @rk_thorpe
Indigenous peoples are inuwak, peoples of the land. We have a spiritual relationship with our mother Earth; our food is from the land and is intrinsically related to our cultural and spiritual way of life. Food not only nourishes us physically, it impacts our mental attitude and is an essential part of many of our spiritual ceremonies.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 15/5/2018 (1243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Indigenous peoples are inuwak, peoples of the land. We have a spiritual relationship with our mother Earth; our food is from the land and is intrinsically related to our cultural and spiritual way of life. Food not only nourishes us physically, it impacts our mental attitude and is an essential part of many of our spiritual ceremonies.

Unfortunately, integral parts of our culture and our connection to the land have been impacted or interrupted in many ways. Colonization disrupted access to the land and our traditional food sources. The genesis of much of the poor nutrition in our communities  and specifically with our children  begins with the history of residential schools.

The meals served at the residential schools didnt meet Canadas Official Food Rules, nor did they meet the later updated version of these guidelines in the form of Canadas Food Guide. Food often was inadequate in quality and quantity; children were hungry and suffered from malnutrition.

Weve heard so many accounts from residential school survivors of being served food that wasnt fit for human consumption. As a boy at residential school, I remember being fed dog biscuits.

The school meals were also unfamiliar  a far cry from the traditional food that many of our parents and grandparents had hunted, fished or harvested.

Food was used as a weapon in the schools and as a form of punishment. If you misbehaved, it could be taken away from you.

This history of poor nutrition in Indigenous children, starting with colonization and worsening through the residential schools, has carried through to today. Much like abuse, as weve found in our research of the residential school system, poor nutrition passes on through the family. If youre not fed properly as a child, you wont promote nutritious food to your own children. This is how habits are formed  we feed our children the way we were fed as children. And on it goes.

Today our communities face additional challenges around supporting their children in eating well and developing healthy food habits. For example, in isolated communities, healthy food choices are limited and expensive. Unhealthy choices are abundant and heavily marketed  and this is true in all communities across the country. Pop and other sugary, high-fat snacks line our store shelves, usually at our childrens eye level. Not surprisingly, this is the first thing they see and the first thing they want.

This has led to some very negative effects in our communities, including high rates of Type 2 diabetes, obesity in our children and other health complications. I remember an older man speaking at a traditional gathering summing it up well: "The day we started getting sick was the day we started hunting on the shelves."

Weve been led to poor nutrition through history, habit, availability of poor choices and marketing.

Now we need to go back. Theres richness in our traditional teachings, richness in our cultures and richness in our traditional ways of life that still have instructions for us. Its time to reflect on these traditions and take a holistic approach as we move forward.

We need to repair the flow of traditional knowledge from parents to children that has been damaged and, in some cases, severed due to the residential school system. We can do this by helping to educate our young parents about healthy eating and cooking.

We also need to make changes to our environment. Ive challenged schools and community centres to remove pop machines and other unhealthy choices. All communities should have access to affordable healthy food. Special efforts should be made for our remote communities where food costs are high and more nutritious items can be the most expensive.

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Celebrities and athletes have long been used to market food and we can do the same by having First Nations role models promote healthy lifestyles to our children.

Legislation to prohibit junk food marketing to our children would protect them and promote better food and drink choices. Bill S-228, the Child Health Protection Act, is in the House of Commons and is expected to pass this year.

Canadas Food Guide is undergoing revisions and this is an opportunity to consult with Indigenous leaders to ensure its culturally relevant and reflective of our First Nations, Inuit and Metis teachings.

In the old days, chiefs would look ahead to see what was coming so they could warn our communities, find a solution and protect them. Now is the time for all Indigenous leaders to do the same.

Treating illness is important, but we need to shift more of our focus to wellness and prevention by advocating for change at all levels to ensure all our children enjoy long, healthy lives.

Wilton Littlechild is a Indian residential school survivor, lawyer and former commissioner of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and an expert adviser with EvidenceNetwork.ca.
Bunge Ltd. operates as a holding company, which engages in the supply and transportation of agricultural commodities. It operates through the following segments: Agribusiness, Edible Oil Products, Milling Products, Sugar and Bioenergy, and Fertilizer. The Agribusiness segment involves in the purchase, storage, transportation, processing, and sale of agricultural commodities and commodity products. The Edible Oil Products segment includes production and sale of vegetable oils, shortenings, margarines, and mayonnaise. The Milling Products segment consists of production and sale of wheat flours, bakery mixes, corn-based products, and rice. The Sugar and Bioenergy segment comprises manufacture and marketing of sugar and ethanol derived from sugarcane, as well as energy derived from the sugar and ethanol production process. The Fertilizer segment focuses on producing, blending, and distributing fertilizer products for the agricultural industry. The company was founded by Johann Peter Gottlieb Bunge in 1818 and is headquartered in Chesterfield, MO.

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Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Imperial Brands PLC, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures, imports, markets, and sells tobacco and tobacco-related products. It offers a range of cigarettes, fine cut and smokeless tobacco, papers, and cigars; and next generation product (NGP) portfolio, such as e-vapour products, as well as oral nicotine and heated tobacco products. The company sells its products under various brands, including Davidoff, Gauloises, JPS, West, L&B, Bastos, Fine, Winston, News, Parker & Simpson, blu, Kool, Horizon, Jade, Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo Y Julieta, Backwoods, Skruf, Golden Virginia, Rizla, and Knox in approximately 160 countries worldwide. It also provides logistics services that include the distribution of tobacco and NGP products for tobacco and NGP product manufacturers; and various non-tobacco and NGP products and services. In addition, the company is involved in the management of a golf course; marketing of papers; restaurant business; distribution of pharmaceuticals, POS software, and published materials and other products; printing and publishing activities; and provision of long haul transportation, industrial parcel and express delivery, advertising, and support management services. Further, it owns the trademarks; and retails its products. The company was formerly known as Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and changed its name to Imperial Brands PLC in February 2016. Imperial Brands PLC was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Bristol, the United Kingdom.

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Iraqs election last Saturday was marked by mass disaffection, poor official organisation and allegations of outright vote-rigging. No grouping of parties has won anywhere near the support needed to form government in the 329-seat parliament.

Nationally, just 44.52 percent of eligible voters cast a ballot, compared with turnouts of at least 60 percent in previous elections. In the capital Baghdad, participation barely reached 32 percent.

The outcome portends yet more political conflict in every region of Iraq, with class and social divisions emerging to the fore, after more than 15 years of devastation by the US and its allies.

Of the two million people forced from their homes since 2014 by the US-backed war against Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), as few as 300,000 were even registered. The provinces most affected by the war were those with significant Sunni Muslim populations, such as Anbar in the west and Nineveh in the northwest. Those areas saw some of the lowest participation rates in the election.

In the three provinces of the autonomous Kurdish Region and the province of Kirkuk, parties opposed to the dominant Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and its alleged nepotism are complaining of fraud and demanding new elections or a vote recount. Police have been set on demonstrators and violence may escalate.

The Shiite coalition headed by outgoing US-backed Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, which had been predicted to win significant support, suffered a debacle. It won only 42 seats and will have to engage in weeks or even months of backroom negotiations to form a coalition that agrees to keep Abadi as prime minister.

A rival Shiite coalition headed by Nouri al-Maliki, who was pressured by Washington to resign as prime minister in 2014 after ISIS seized control of the countrys west and north, won just 25 seats.

The Fatah coalition headed by Hadi al-Amiri, won 47 seats to become the second-largest bloc in the parliament. Amiri heads the Badr Organisation, an Iranian-linked Shiite fundamentalist movement that gave the greatest support to the US occupation after 2003, alongside the PUK and other Kurdish nationalist parties.

Badr provided the personnel for US-trained Iraqi special forces death squads, which murdered tens of thousands of people suspected of opposing the occupation and supporting the former Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein.

From 2011-2012, Badr and other Shiite-based militias sent forces into Syria to fight alongside government troops against US-backed rebels. After ISIS entered Iraq in 2014, Badr supplied many of the militiamen who fought alongside US and Iraqi government troops. Amiris coalition won votes in the election, largely by promoting the role of its militia in defeating ISIS.

The largest bloc in the parliament, with 54 seats, will be the Alliance of Revolutionaries for Reform. This highly unstable grouping is led by the Sadrist movement that follows bourgeois nationalist cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and the Stalinist Iraqi Communist Party (CP). It won solid support in the working-class suburbs and slums of Baghdad and other major cities.

The bloc is wracked by contradictions. The Iraqi CP, in line with its history of collaboration with imperialism, fully supported the 2003 US invasion and occupation. Sadrs movement, which has its main base of support in the poorest working-class areas of Baghdad, initially opposed it. In 2004, Sadr called for armed resistance and his Mahdi Army suffered heavy losses in pitched battles with American and British forces in Baghdad, Basra, Najaf, Karbala, and other cities in the majority Shiite provinces of Iraq.

Sadr continued to verbally oppose the US occupation on Iraqi nationalist grounds but his movement turned to sectarian violence against Sunni-based forces in 2006. The Mahdi Army was blamed for some of the worst atrocities that forced a large proportion of the Sunni population of Baghdad to flee their homes into segregated cantons. After 2007, the Sadrists largely called off resistance and joined the jockeying for parliamentary power, including by taking ministries in the Shiite-dominated occupation governments at various times.

Sadr formed the alliance with the CP in 2016, based on seeking increased positions and privilege through common denunciations of the appalling poverty that faces the working class. Under conditions of growing US-Iranian tensions, Sadr also ramped up nationalist condemnations of Irans influence over the Shiite parties of Iraq, accusing Tehran of seeking to take over the country and its resources.

Outgoing Prime Minister Abadi has indicated he is prepared to hold talks with the Sadrist bloc over the formation of a new regime. Fatah, however, has said it opposes any role in the government for parties like the CP that advance a nominally secular perspective. This stance appears to be intended more to pressure Abadi and other political groupings to exclude the Sadrists and their anti-Iranian position.

It is entirely conceivable that US agencies will respond by encouraging a bloc between Abadi, Maliki and the Sadrists. While Sadr is presented in the establishment media as anti-American, he has demonstrated in the past his willingness to collaborate with the US to protect or advance the interests of the layer of the Shiite elite that he represents.

Under conditions in which the Trump administration has repudiated the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and tensions are rising rapidly in the region, Washington may promote the Sadrists as a counterweight against Tehrans influence within Iraq.
Last week, as US President Donald Trump canceled the Iranian nuclear treaty and Israel repeatedly bombed Iranian forces deployed in Syria, Unsubmissive France (LFI) leader Jean-Luc Melenchon took a three-day trip to Moscow. Criticizing Trumps threats against Iran, he called for an anti-American alliance between Paris and Moscow.

This is a reactionary, nationalist perspective that splits the working class. As strikes erupted among US teachers and French rail workers, last months NATO missile strike on Syria provoked opposition among not only Russian and Middle Eastern workers, but US and European workers also. Yet Melenchon called on French and Russian workers not to unite with their class brothers and sisters in opposition to war, but to focus on building new military alliances against them.

Melenchon embraced the Kremlin, who with Iran has fought NATO-backed Islamist guerrillas in Syria. I am absolutely against the US alliance, I want to leave NATO, he said before flying to Moscow. Very great violence is being prepared between Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, in this region, some of these countries have common borders with Russia, we should show the world is not black and white.

In Moscow, Melenchon proclaimed his friendship with Russia, met with Russian military brass and legislators as well as French investors in Russia, and worked for an anti-war alliance including LFI and the Stalinist Left Front of Sergei Udaltsov. He joined the May 9 military parade commemorating the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in 1945, wearing a tricolor sash with the French national colors. He told the media, I have come here to undertake a militant act: to say, The Russians are our friends.

Melenchons calls for good relations with Russia did not apply to the United States or to Germany. Instead, he denounced the growing influence in Europe of Germany, where after the annexation of East Germany, bad habits have returned.

The only way to fight the drive to war is to rally workers internationally against it, and Melenchons criticisms of US-led wars or German-led austerity policies, that ignore opposition to austerity and war among US and German workers, are reactionary. Uniting Paris and Moscow in an alliance against Washington or Berlin would have no progressive content at all. Like the 1891 Franco-Russian alliance, a key element of the inter-European rivalries that exploded into World War I in 1914, it would only intensify great-power conflicts that threaten to provoke new wars.

And while Melenchon tries to make such criticisms of NATO appear radical, they merely echo the debates agitating broad layers of the ruling class. Sections of the European press, angry at Trumps cancellation of the Iran treaty, are asking if the trans-Atlantic alliance is dead. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has declared that Europeans would have to fight for ourselves in future, and Trump himself called NATO obsolete.

Melenchons inflated rhetoric notwithstanding, his wooing of Udaltsov and the Kremlin is not a militant act to build an alliance to protect Iran from US-Israeli war threats, or to stop the great powers drive to repartition the Middle East. Rather, it provides a left face for the cynical and cowardly policies of Paris and Moscow, which are both seeking an accommodation with Trump.

To discourage Iran from restarting its nuclear program, thus giving Trump a pretext to impose more economic sanctions against their interests, the European Union (EU) and Moscow have signaled that they would back Israeli strikes on Iranian forces in Syria. Before launching its attacks, Israel obtained statements by the EU powers backing Israeli self-defense, and Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu went to Moscow for talks. Russia did not warn Iran of incoming Israeli strikes, making clear on which side the Kremlin stands.

These reactionary maneuvers drew no criticism from LFI or the Left Front. Instead, they appealed for an alliance with populist parties across Europe like Spains Podemos, Portugals Left Bloc, and Denmarks Red-Green Alliance (RGA). During Melenchons visit, the Left Front issued a statement, titled Stop the New World War! stimulating illusions that such a coalition of populist parties already holding high national and regional offices could suddenly turn to opposing war.

The statement began by condemning Trumps repudiation of the Iranian nuclear treaty. This is, it warned, not only inhumane towards the Iranians, but it also hits the economic interests of Europe and Russia, it contradicts the principles of justice that world leaders like to talk about  All this reflects the rapid and uncontrolled growth of inter-imperialist contradictions and the general crisis of global capitalism. Capital once again pushes people to the meat grinder of fratricidal wars.

Lamenting that one cannot expect a principled and tough stand against the unleashing of a new imperialist slaughter from the Kremlin, the statement called instead for the solidarity of peoples despite the heads of governments. However impossible it may seem today, we must build a global anti-war movement, relying on solidarity between all progressive forces in all countries.

This coalition of parties proposed by Udaltsov is a trap for workers and youth seeking to build an international movement against war. The International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), which publishes the WSWS, is fighting to build an international, socialist anti-war movement in the working class. Udaltsov and Melenchon, however, aim to subordinate workers and youth to pro-war parties that are longstanding fixtures of the political establishment.

The Western European parties in this proposed coalition are pro-imperialist parties of the affluent middle class, incorporating large Stalinist factions that supported the restoration of capitalism in the USSR, and that have a long record of supporting war. LFI is leading the planning in the French National Assembly for a return to the draft, euphemistically calling it universal national service with a military component to try to make it seem less objectionable.

Podemos and the RGA support the 2011 NATO war in Libya, which Melenchon also endorsed. In one infamous article, leading RGA member Bertil Videt criticized opponents of that war as obsessed with always being opposed to imperialist aggressions. The RGA, on the other hand, is not. And Podemos made General Jose Rodriguez, the leader of the Spanish armed forces operations in the Libyan war, a leading member as it recruited widely in the Spanish officer corps.

As for Udaltsov, his main concern is to channel opposition in Russia in directions acceptable to the Russian political establishment. In a sign of his close ties to factions of the Russian state and ruling elite, the Left Front statement was reposted on the web site of the Moscow Echo radio station, a mouthpiece of the Russian liberal opposition owned by state energy firm Gazprom.

There is no serious perspective for developing opposition to war in Russia and Europe without examining the alternative to Stalinism advanced by Trotsky, and the ICFIs Trotskyist critique of the Stalinist restoration of capitalism in the Soviet Union in 1991. It is ever-clearer that the Stalinist dissolution of the Soviet Union, against which Trotsky warned, did not only provoke an industrial collapse and social retrogression in Russia. It had disastrous geopolitical consequences far beyond the Soviet Unions borders.

The collapse of the main military counterweight to NATO opened an era of escalating imperialist wars, starting with the US-led 1991 Gulf War against Iraq, that cost millions of lives and have turned over 60 million people into refugees. Repeated wars in Iraq, three decades of war in Afghanistan, and wars in Libya, Syria and Yemen shattered entire societies. And as Washington demands total surrender from Iran on its nuclear program, an even greater war is being prepared.

Now, a growing radicalization is proceeding in the working class internationally. The fight against war requires a return to the best revolutionary traditions of the Russian and European working class, whose highest expression was the seizure of power by the working class in the October Revolution a century ago, led by the Bolsheviks under Lenin and Trotsky. Melenchon and Udaltsov are not proposing such a struggle, however, but consciously trying to smother it by channeling opposition behind petty-bourgeois, pro-war parties.

Melenchon in particular is both obsessed with passing himself off as a radical by speaking about Trotsky, and very aware of his own hostility to Trotskys politics. Le Monde reported the following scene during his tour in the military parade in Moscow: Melenchon was given a Soviet army medal. He said, Thank you, sir, then caught himself and said, Thank you, comrade, sir. Facing laughter all around, he added, I began my career based on the ideas of the founder of the Red Army, that is to say, Trotsky.

This absurd flirtation with references to Trotsky is a fraud. Melenchon came to politics just after the 1968 French general strike, joining the Organisation communiste internationaliste (OCI) as it broke with the ICFI and Trotskyism. Acting on the OCIs bankrupt perspective of building up the big-business Socialist Party (PS), Melenchon joined the PS in 1976; he had a long career as a PS senator, minister, and aide to PS President Francois Mitterrand.

Despite Melenchons current flirtation with the Kremlin, French imperialism under the PS pursued a generally anti-Russian policybacking the stationing of US missiles in Europe aimed at the Soviet Union, promoting the euro and the EU, and joining the 1991 Gulf War.

In Russia last week, Melenchon recounted his trips to the Soviet Union and Russia as a leading bourgeois politician. The first time was with Mitterrand, when we went to see (French astronaut) Jean-Loup Chretien take off from Baikonur in November 1988, he indicated. In the second, at a date Melenchon claimed to forget but that apparently was after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he met Gorbachev to try to figure out what had happened.

Such politicians military and diplomatic maneuvers will not rally humanity in solidarity against war, but work to block growing opposition among workers to capitalism and its drive to war.
With Australias Liberal-National government in turmoil, the pseudo-left organisation Socialist Alternative is supporting an Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) campaign for the election of yet another anti-working class Labor-led government.

The ACTUs Change the Rules advertising blitz is an attempt to channel mounting anger and political disaffection among workers behind the corporatised unions and the widely-reviled Labor Party. The unions are making limited criticisms of inequality, poverty and the assault on workers conditions to deflect attention from their own central responsibility for the social crisis, and prevent independent social and political struggles by the working class.

Socialist Alternative is well aware of this. On March 23, Tom Bramble, a leader of the organisation, wrote that the campaign involves throwing the resources of the union movement into a marginal seats campaign to toss out an incumbent Coalition government and re-elect Labor.

Bramble said it was a repeat of the unions Your Rights at Work initiative of 2006-2007, which channelled widespread hostility to the Liberal-National government of John Howard behind the election of a Kevin Rudd-led Labor government. That campaign, Bramble stated, did nothing to halt the employer attacks at that time.

Brambles article was an attempt at political damage control. He noted that since Sally McManus installation as ACTU secretary early last year, workers had suffered defeats in industrial disputes across the country. In virtually every instance cited by Bramble, McManus attended picket lines or protests and dispensed populist demagogy, while isolating striking or locked-out workers, and then collaborated with the companies involved to enforce cuts to wages and conditions.

Bramble did not mention the fact that in all these disputes, Socialist Alternative was a cheerleader for the union bureaucracy. It promoted McManus empty rhetoric, touted union claims to be leading a struggle and then apologised for, or remained completely silent on, the betrayal that followed.

On April 8, Jerome Small, another Socialist Alternative leader, dispensed with Brambles attempts to distance the group from the calls for a Labor government. He declared the ACTU campaign was a welcome attempt by Australias union movement to put corporate power and anti-worker industrial laws at the centre of political debate in the lead-up to the federal election.

Last week, in response to a rally of workers in Melbourne, called by the ACTU, another Socialist Alternative leader, Mick Armstrong, backed speakers who called for a Labor government. He cited Susie Allison, Victorian assistant secretary of the National Workers Union, who stated: We are going to change the government. Armstrong wrote: Fair enough.

On May 6, Bramble dropped his previous pretensions to oppose an effort to install Labor. What should we demand from the ALP to justify unions throwing their weight behind an electoral campaign? he wrote. Bramble advocated a log of claims, i.e., a set of demands, in exchange for backing Labor.

The fraudulent premise of this proposal is that mass pressure, in the form of limited protests, and bogus promises from Labor members of parliament, will result in reforms. Issuing demands would serve as a good test of whether Labor has any intention of improving workers lives.

Decades of experiences, however, have long demonstrated that the pledges of big business politicians during an election campaign are not worth the paper they are written on.

In his budget reply speech last week, Labor leader Bill Shorten bewailed inequality and corporate tax cuts, but made no commitments to boost social spending after decades of cuts by Labor and Liberal-National governments. Instead, he signalled to the financial elite that Labor would impose further austerity to slash public debt and reduce the budget deficit.

Above all, Bramble is attempting to cover up the fact that over the past 35 years, Labor and the unions have taken their nationalist and pro-capitalist program to its logical conclusion and become the central political instruments of the corporate elites assault on workers. They dispensed with their limited program of national reforms, which was rendered bankrupt by the globalisation of production, and became the chief proponents of ensuring the international competitiveness of Australian capitalism through the continuous reduction of workers wages and conditions.

From 1983, the Hawke Labor government and the ACTU struck Accords with the corporate elite that deregulated the economy, destroying hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs, and slashed corporate tax rates, beginning a massive transfer of wealth into the hands of the financial elite.

During the 1990s, Labor and the ACTU imposed enterprise bargaining. This split the working class into individual workplaces, blocked most industrial action and subordinated workers to the profit demands of their employers. For three decades, the unions have signed countless workplace agreements, driving down real wages, cutting conditions and enforcing mass redundancies.

After the 2007 elections, the unions backed the Rudd governments Fair Work Australia legislation that outlawed virtually all strike activity, punished workers who took industrial or political action and facilitated continuous pro-business restructuring. Far from opposing these rules, the unions have invoked them to suppress any struggle by workers against the corporate onslaught.

In other words, the unions function not as workers organisations, but as an industrial police force that ruthlessly enforces the dictates of the financial elite.

Brambles log of claims, even if adopted, would do nothing to reduce social inequality or alleviate the deteriorating conditions confronting broad sections of the working class.

All Brambles demands fall well within the framework of bourgeois politics. They do not propose any inroads into the wealth of the financial elite, or challenge the dominance of big business over every aspect of life. Among them are calls for a paltry increase to the minimum wage, from $18.29 an hour to just $22, a reduction in working hours, guaranteed three-hour shifts for casual employees and stiffer penalties for employers breaching employment standards or occupational health and safety provisions.

Significantly, the bulk of Brambles demands are for a Labor government to expand the rights of union officials, including to access work sites. Like McManus, Socialist Alternatives sole concern is to shore up the role of the unions in the bargaining process, where they negotiate away the jobs, wage and conditions of the workers they falsely claim to represent.

Bramble also called for Labor to boost the number of industrial inspectors, supposedly to prevent wage theft by big business. The real aim of government inspectors and officials is to enforce the requirements of the corporations and block workers struggles.

Substantial material interests are at stake, not just for the ACTU, but also for Socialist Alternative. Its members are increasingly integrated into the union officialdom, which they view as a stepping stone to privileged posts and entry into the political establishment.

This month, Socialist Alternative announced that the Victorian Socialists, an electoral coalition it has formed with other pseudo-left parties to contest a seat in a state election, recently received a $50,000 donation from the Electrical Trades Union. The union has previously donated substantial cash to Labor and the Greens. Socialist Alternative is doubtless seeking more such funds.

Like the pseudo-left as a whole, Socialist Alternative speaks for affluent sections of the upper middle-class in academia, the public sector and the union bureaucracy, whose acquisition of wealth over the past three decades has been bound up with the stock market boom and the suppression of the class struggle.

Amid a developing rebellion of workers internationally against social-democratic parties such as Labor and the unions, the pseudo-left is intensifying its efforts to prevent the emergence of a mass movement of the working class based on a genuine socialist and internationalist perspective.
On May 8, the Daily Telegraph asked, Could an Army coup remove Jeremy Corbynjust as it almost toppled Harold Wilson?

Written by Paul Carter for the de facto house organ of the Conservative Party, the article makes clear that discussions on such a course of action in the event of a Labour victory under Corbyn are ongoing.

The article begins by noting, Only one week after Jeremy Corbyns election as Labour leader, a serving general of the Army warned of a direct and public challenge if a future Prime Minister Corbyn jeopardised the countrys security: The army wouldnt stand for it ... people would use whatever means possible, fair or foul, to prevent that.

Carter refers to an article published by the Sunday Times in September 2015, after Corbyn had routed his Blairite leadership opponent with the backing of hundreds of thousands of Labour members and supporters. The newspaper cited an anonymous senior serving general that in the event of Corbyn becoming prime minister, there would be the very real prospect of a mutiny. Elements within the military would be prepared to use whatever means possible, fair or foul, the officer declared. He warned,  You would see a major break in convention with senior generals directly and publicly challenging Corbyn over vital important policy decisions such as Trident , pulling out of NATO and any plans to emasculate and shrink the size of the armed forces.

The Sunday Times said that the general served in Northern Ireland in the 1980s and 1990s.

At the time, a Ministry of Defence source said that it was unacceptable for a serving officer to make political comments about a potential future government, but rejected mounting any investigation, claiming there were too many generals to investigate. As the World Socialist Web Site noted, there are only around 100 generals currently serving in the British Army, and not all of them served in Northern Ireland during the 1980s and 1990s.

Moreover, the week prior to the interview the then Chief of Defence Staff, Sir Nicholas Houghton, spoke before the military think tank Chatham House of the worrying constraints of parliamentary consent that led MPs to reject military intervention following the Iraq debacle. Houghton was a company commander in, and commanding officer of, the 1st Battalion in the Mechanised and Air Mobile Roles and, in Northern Ireland, commanded the 39th Infantry Brigade in Belfast during the period leading up to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

The following November, asked by the BBCs Andrew Marr about Corbyns statement that he would never authorise the use of nuclear weapons, Houghton replied, Well, it would worry me if that thought was translated into power.

Carter raises none of this, but notes, The idea of a military coup against an elected Prime Minister Corbyn may seem fanciful. Yet, fifty years ago this week, this almost happened to [Labours] Harold Wilson, a prime minister regarded by many as Left-wing and anti-establishment, who had also been accused of consorting with communist spies.

He reports that on May 8, 1968, Earl Mountbatten of Burma, a member of the Royal Family and the great-grandson of Queen Victoria, held a meeting at his London home attended by Cecil King, Chairman of the International Publishing Corporation, which owned the Daily Mirror; its editor, Hugh Cudlipp; and at Mountbattens invitation, his longstanding friend, Sir Solly Zuckerman, the Governments Chief Scientific Adviser

Astonishingly, the-68-year-old Mountbatten was invited by King to head up a government of national emergency, whereby certain members of the armed forces, businessmen and other City figures would take over and replace the unpopular and mistrusted Wilson and his cabinet. So, could history repeat itself under a Jeremy Corbyn premiership?

Carter then proceeds to rewrite history to diminish the significance of what happened in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His message is that a coup against Wilson was not carried out then and that there is even less chance of a coup against Corbyn today.

He writes, The so-called military coup of 1968 faded and failed and was blamed on a pretty loony crew motivated by loose talk from gin-sodden generals. However, Kings apocalyptic vision of Britains economic breakdown did not occurdemocracy was allowed to run its course.

Democratic rule was not allowed to merely run its course at all. There were ongoing discussions of a coup for years after the events cited by Carter.

The years from 1968 to 1975 were characterised by an acute crisis for British and world capitalism that posed the threat of socialist revolution. The Mountbatten meeting took place just six days after the beginning of the MayJune 1968 events in France, which culminated in a general strike of over 10 million workersthe largest and most extended in history, with red flags flown over factories and President General Charles De Gaulle leaving the country.

The ultimate concern of the coup plotters was not Wilson, or the Labour Party, but the challenge posed by an increasingly combative working class.

From 1970 to 1974, the period when Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath was in power, senior UK intelligence and military figures repeatedly discussed a military coup.

Heaths period in office saw the greatest eruption of industrial action since the 1926 General Strike, and his calling of no less than five states of national emergency. During the seven-week-long miners strike in 1972, plans for a scab transport force were laid involving 600 drivers to be organised from a Royal Airforce Base. Afterwards, the COBRA national emergency cabinet committee was established. This came to a head in 1974 in a second miners strike, during which Heath placed responsibility for emergency powers under the control of the Civil Contingencies Unit. The police and the Ministry of Defence were secretly placed on an alert procedure and military manoeuvres were carried out at Heathrow airport and other strategic locations.

Heath called a general election for February 28, 1974, under the slogan, Who runs Britain, the government or the unions? Despite government threats and a vicious media witch-hunt, the miners stayed out on strike for the duration of the election campaign. As a result, Heath failed to secure a majority but refused to leave Number 10 for four days, during which time the then-chief of the Defence Staff, Lord Carver, admitted that discussions about military intervention had taken place among fairly senior officers.

In the end, the ruling elite decided to entrust a Labour government with stabilising the situation. But even then, continual plots were hatched against Wilson and he was smeared as a Soviet agentjust as Corbyn has been denounced as a stooge of the Czechoslovakian Stalinist regime during the 1980s.

Within two years of Wilson taking office in 1974, his opponents in ruling circles and the military had engineered his removal under conditions in which military operations were still taking place in Whitehall that were visible from Downing Street itself. His replacement, James Callaghan, was a trusted figure in ruling circles, who had served as the parliamentary adviser to the Police Federation . These events were the subject of a BBC documentary, The Plot against Harold Wilson, in 2006, which included interviews with Wilson and his private secretary from the 1950s, Marcia Williams, now Baroness Falkender.

Segments of taped discussions with BBC journalists Barry Penrose and Roger Courtiour, given to them by Wilson and Williams shortly after he resigned, were aired. Williams recalled of the airport operation, I still believe that operation they mounted at the airport  was a rehearsal, nothing more. There was all the terrific mobilisation, the alert was on, there wasall through Whitehallalong the airport road, up and down, landing and getting out.

In the 1970s, the only political tendency that sought to warn the working class of the dangers posed to the working class were the Socialist Labour League and its successor organisation, the Workers Revolutionary Partythen the British section of the International Committee of the Fourth International.

Dismissed as political paranoia by the pseudo-left groups, the ruling elite took these exposures seriously. In a House of Lords debate on subversive and extremist elements, held in February 1975, with the moves against the Wilson government in full swing, Lord Chalfont noted, At the last Election, one of the candidates was a prominent member of the Workers Revolutionary Party. Miss Vanessa Redgrave, who claimed that the Government were preparing concentration camps in Britain and that the Army was being prepared to repress the workers in Great Britain as it had done in Northern Ireland.

In the same debate, the Earl of Kimberley stated that the Workers Revolutionary Party or the Socialist Labour League, must not be dismissed as just another fringe movement. It is by far the most dangerous of the Trotskyist organisations in this country. It is larger, better organised, and, from the point of view of industrial agitation, more intelligently led than its rivals.

If anything, the danger of a military coup is greater today than it was in the 1970s. And once again, only the International Committee of the Fourth International seeks to warn the working class of what is threatened.

The fact that a military coup is again under serious consideration puts paid to the illusions assiduously cultivated by Corbyn and his apologists that a Labour government led by him will inaugurate a new period of reforms. The numerous interventions by leading armed forces personnel demonstrate that no such reforms, let alone a more pacifist military policy, will be tolerated. In March, for example, the Times gave substantial coverage to demands by military leaders for a strategic surge in defence spending, with the Times editorialising against the pernicious idea that defence spending is a mere footnote to the chunky health and welfare budgets.

In 2016, in its congress resolution, Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party: The strategic lessons, the Socialist Equality Party explained:

These threats mark a milestone in the degeneration of British democracy. As someone involved in politics throughout the 1970s, at a time of rising industrial militancy that culminated in the bringing down of the Conservative government of Edward Heath in 1974, Corbyn is well aware of their implications. This was the period in which the civil service, the police and the Ministry of Defence were secretly placed on alert and military manoeuvres were carried out at Heathrow airport and other strategic locations. Moreover, he is of a generation for whom the 1973 CIA-backed coup against the Chilean government of Salvador Allende was a formative experience. But rather than alerting the working class and insisting on Houghtons removal, Corbyn sent a polite letter to Defence Secretary Michael Fallon stating, It is essential in a democracy that the military remains politically neutral at all times.

Corbyn lists Allende as one of his heroes.

Another warning arises from the Telegraph article. One of Carters more significant observations regarding a possible coup is when he asks, Even assuming a plausible unelected leader was found  would they really want to challenge Corbyns 1.4 million Facebook followers with a depleted army of less than 80,000 soldiers?...

In 1968, talk amongst some army officers was that Wilson would be held at the Tower of London, with the Shetland Islands designated an internment camp for up to 5,000 Left-wing and trade union detainees. A lack of social media and mobile phones makes such a round-up easy.

This comment is telling. Masses of often young people, who are offered no future except social misery and war, have turned to social media to discuss ways of fighting back. Under the guise of combating fake news and Russian meddling, the ruling class is intent on censoring, restricting and even shutting down social media services.

Carters statements confirm that through such measures, the ruling elite are actively preparing for the brutal suppression of social opposition. The call by the WSWS for the formation of an International Coalition of Socialist, Anti-War and Progressive Websites in defence of free speech and democratic rights seeks to mobilise the working class in a political struggle against this.

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The UK military, Jeremy Corbyn and the threat of dictatorship

[11 November 2015]

Britain: Documentary reveals plan for coup against Wilson Labour governmentPart 1

[19 April 2006]

Britain: Documentary reveals plan for coup against Wilson Labour governmentPart 2

[20 April 2006]
Nashville, Tennessees upper middle-class boosters like to refer to the city as the "It" city with an ever-growing selection of restaurants and expensive homes and apartments. However, behind the glittering facades and growing neighborhoods, the feverish building boom rests heavily on the backs of the construction workers who have paid with their health and lives for the prosperity and comfort of the well-to-do.

Sixteen construction workers were killed on projects in Nashville between 2016 and 2017, marking the deadliest two year stretch in more than three decades, according to a recent report in the Tennessean based on state and federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) figures. Two more construction workers have already died in 2018.

There were more construction deaths in Nashville in 2016 than cities with a similar sized workforce and growth rate, according figures compiled by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among those municipalities Nashville surpassed in construction workers deaths were Austin, Texas; Orlando, Florida and Memphis.

Although the Nashville skyline has recently been the backdrop for more than a dozen giant 200-foot construction cranes used for high rise condominiums, exclusive apartments and office buildings, it has been the ongoing residential housing boom that has claimed the most lives.

Most died at single-family residential construction sites or at apartment buildings. The number of fatalities exceeded the pace of deaths during the previous boom in 2004 and 2005, when adjusted for the number of residential building permits issued, the Tennessean reported.

Alfonso Dominguez, 60, was one of those workers. He made only $10 an hour transferring shingles on the roof to where they were needed. The temperatures in June of last year were in the 80s Fahrenheit, according to the Tennessean, so the 60-year-old would have been exposed to the heat working on a steeply pitched, hot roof while carrying bundles of shingles that weighed between 60 and 80 pounds.

Dominguez apparently lost his balance and fell 24 feet into a backyard, suffering internal bleeding and head injuries. After 11 days in a coma he died. He was not wearing a safety harness which federal law requires employers to provide. Neither his employer nor the builder, who did not have a building permit, reported the death as required by law.

I would tell him, Dont be working there. Its not safe, his brother Hermenegildo Dominguez, who also works in construction told the Tennessean. "But its very difficult. We all need work. They would tell him they needed to finish a house soon, but they're working without any safety equipment.

Two months later, a 63-year-old worker was checking a metal staircase when a retaining bolt pulled loose and he fell 17 feet to a concrete floor. He died the next day from internal bleeding, a herniated brain and other injuries.

His employer attempted to place the blame on the worker. He was supposed to be checking each one (each bolt) he did, making sure they were safe and secured, a company representative told the Tennessean. He did not, I guess. He just got into a little bit of a hurry. He did not explain why there was no safety harness and the newspapers reporter did not ask.

Ten out of the sixteen construction workers died from falls because of lack of safety equipment employers are required to provide any time a worker is six feet or more off the ground. Federal law requires some sort of fall protection such as a harness and lanyard, a safety net, guard rails or a combination of safety measures and devices.

Even the experts never look at the drive for profit and the exploitation of labor as a cause for injuries and death when, instead, they can find fault with the workers.

When theres a big boom going on like there is in Nashville the companies start digging down into the labor pool and theres a greater need to train people, Fran Ansley, a retired professor at the University of Tennessee College of Law who researched construction deaths in Tennessee, told the newspaper, You start hiring people who are less qualified than those who were there before.

The federal and state agencies supposedly tasked with protecting workers have been doing less and less each year as cities and states attempt to bolster their business-friendly credentials. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) conducted 760 unannounced, random construction site inspections in 2008 but by 2016 inspections dropped to only 172 statewide.

What has happened in Tennessee mirrors the increase in construction deaths in New York and the nation reported by the WSWS in February.

Construction deaths in the state of New York reached a 14-year high in 2016, with 71 workers killed on the job. This amounts to a nearly 30 percent increase from 2015, when a total of 55 construction workers were killed on the job in the state. There were 5,190 fatal workplace injuries recorded in the United States in 2016, an increase of seven percent from the 4,836 workers killed on the job in 2015.
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About Me Scott Because prophetic scriptures are found throughout the bible, it is obvious that a comprehensive, systematic approach would be useful, if not necessary, for the understanding of prophecy. Past prophecies have been fulfilled in a literal manner, as confirmed by the dating of these writings and historical records of confirmation. These past prophecies also serve as a model of how to interpret future prophecies. A literal view of prophecy clearly indicates a certain sequence of events will occur within a single generation, concluding with the Tribulation and Second Advent and these events will be obvious. The prophetic signs appear to be present in this generation and we believe these signs are revealed in the news from around the world. View my complete profile
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A bill that requires all single-user public bathrooms to be marked as gender-neutral has been signed into law in Vermont. State lawmakers and activists say they hope the new law sends a powerful message to the rest of the nation.Vermont is the state that often has to show the rest of the United States where to go and how to get there, Brenda Churchill, a representative of the LGBTQIA Alliance of Vermont, told The Associated Press last week.
The majority of American workers will eventually collect Social Security benefits. Those who understand how Social Security works may be able to qualify for bigger payments and avoid benefit reductions and withholdings. Here are the answers to some of the most frequently asked Social Security questions.

[See: 10 Ways to Increase Your Social Security Payments.]

What is the Social Security retirement age? The age when you can claim your full Social Security benefit varies depending on your birth year. The full retirement age is 65 for those born in 1937 or earlier, 66 for baby boomers born between 1943 and 1954, and 67 for people born in 1960 or later. Those born in 1938 to 1942 and 1955 to 1959 have an even more specific retirement age. For example, the full retirement age is 65 and 10 months for people born in 1942 and 66 and 4 months for boomers with birth dates in 1956. Those who sign up for Social Security between ages 62 and their full retirement age get smaller monthly payments, while delaying claiming can increase your benefit up until age 70. "Just because you are 62 you don't necessarily have to take it," says Rianka Dorsainvil, founder and president of Your Greatest Contribution in Lanham, Maryland. "Each year you delay taking Social Security from your full retirement age up until age 70 your benefit increases by 8 percent each year."

How do you apply for Social Security? You can apply for Social Security online at ssa.gov, by calling 1-800-772-1213 or in person at your local Social Security office. You must be at least 61 years and 9 months old to submit an application for retirement or spousal benefits, and payments can start as early as age 62. Your age when you enroll plays a big role in determining your payment amount, so take care to see how much you will receive at various claiming ages.

How much Social Security will I get? You can get a personalized estimate of your future Social Security benefit by creating a My Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount and viewing your Social Security statement. Your statement lists how much you are likely to receive in retirement if you continue working at your current salary until your full retirement age, age 62 and age 70. "If you look at your Social Security statement today, your estimated benefit is based on your previous year's income," says Ross Menke, a certified financial planner and founder of Lyndale Financial in Nashville, Tennessee. "If you do stop working earlier, that will have an impact on what you would be eligible to receive as a Social Security benefit." The statement also lists how much you will qualify for if you become disabled and what family members might receive if you pass away. Social Security statements are mailed to workers age 60 and older who don't have a My Social Security account.

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[Read: 6 Social Security Calculators That Can Help You Decide When to Claim.]

What is the Social Security tax limit? Most workers pay 6.2 percent of their earnings into the Social Security system and employers match this amount. Self-employed workers contribute 12.4 percent of their paychecks. However, earnings that exceed $128,400 in 2018 are not taxed by Social Security or used to calculate retirement payments. Workers who earn more than $128,400 will see a bump in their paycheck when Social Security taxes stop being withheld.

Your Social Security payments might also be taxed in retirement. If the sum of your adjusted gross income, nontaxable interest and half of your Social Security benefit exceeds $25,000 ($32,000 for couples), federal income tax could be due on part of your Social Security benefit. If these income sources exceed $34,000 ($44,000 for couples), up to 85 percent of your Social Security payments may be taxable. There are also several states that tax Social Security benefits.

What is the Social Security wage limit? You can work and collect Social Security benefits at the same time. However, if you are younger than your full retirement age, part or all of your Social Security payments could be temporarily withheld. Social Security beneficiaries who are younger than their full retirement age can earn up to $17,040 in 2018 before they will lose one benefit dollar for each $2 earned above the limit. The earnings limit jumps to $45,360 for those who turn their full retirement age in 2018, and the penalty decreases to one dollar withheld for every $3 earned above the limit. However, once you turn your full retirement age your benefit will be recalculated to give you credit for your withheld benefit and continued earnings. You can earn any amount without being subject to Social Security withholding after you turn your full retirement age.

What is the average Social Security benefit? Social Security payments to retired workers averaged $1,410 per month in March 2018. The average spousal payment is about half that amount, or $735. Widows and widowers receive survivor's payments worth an average of $1,342 monthly.

What is the maximum Social Security benefit? The maximum possible Social Security benefit changes depending on the age you retire. A worker who retires at full retirement age in 2018 could be eligible for up to $2,788 per month. The maximum benefit at age 62 drops to $2,158, while someone who delays retirement until age 70 in 2018 could get as much as $3,698 monthly. In order to qualify for these large payments you need to maintain a high income throughout a career of 35 years or more. "Those who receive the maximum benefit possible are those who've earned at or above the highest taxable wage base all of the years that are used in the benefit calculation," says William Meyer, founder and managing principal of Social Security Solutions, a company that analyzes Social Security claiming strategies. "That person would have exceeded the maximum taxable earnings in each of the highest 35 years."

How do I get a new Social Security card? Many U.S. citizens with a driver's license or state-issued identification card can use their My Social Security account to apply for a replacement Social Security card online. You can also fill out a paper application and mail it in or take it to your local Social Security office.

How do I qualify for Social Security disability? If you have a medical condition that significantly limits your ability to work and perform basic activities such as walking or remembering, you might qualify for Social Security disability payments. Be prepared to provide medical records documenting your condition and why it prevents you from working. Social Security disability payments won't start until six months after your disability began. There's also a several month wait time to process disability applications.

[Read: The Social Security Retirement Age Increases in 2018.]

When will I receive my Social Security check? Social Security beneficiaries are required to sign up for electronic payments. Social Security benefits can be directly deposited into a bank or credit union account or loaded onto a prepaid debit card. The payment dates vary based on your date of birth. If your birthday falls on or before the tenth of the month, you will receive your payment on the second Wednesday of each month. Those born between the 11th and 20th get their payments on the third Wednesday, and people born late in the month get their direct deposits on the fourth Wednesday.
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A model dons a Choosy dress, inspired by Rihannas Christopher Kane gown

We obsess over the couture gowns and custom jeans that Hollywood darlings and runway models flaunt on the red carpet. But theyre all unattainable to regular people like me. Yes, print and digital magazines constantly push features like shop this look, fashion finder, or  look for less. But, rarely do the so-called replicas bear any resemblance to the original design, and you cant really trust the quality of the items on the sites youre redirected to.

Jessie Zeng, 25, is hoping to make the latest female fashion trends accessible and affordable with her new startup Choosy.

Think of it as ultra-fast fashion on-demand. Heres how it works  each week, a team of style scouts will identify the top 10 fashion trends (with the help of social media). Users then pre-order any of the items and Choosy will design and manufacture the items in-house within 48 hours, and get them delivered in as little as two weeks. All items are priced under $100 (free shipping included) and available in sizes 0-20. Most of the items are not unique in the marketplace, and they are not copying anything from smaller, independent designers. The site goes live on July 24.

Choosy announced Tuesday morning a $5.4 million round of funding led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA). Forerunner Ventures, Innovation Global Factor and XFactor Ventures are among the other investors in this seed round.

A former investment banker at Citigroup, Zeng recruited her former coworkers Sharon Qian and Mo Zhou to be Choosys chief technology officer and chief strategy officer, respectively, and help build the company. We started Choosy as a way to deliver the latest clothing in this new era of commerce to the consumer who wants to shop as she sees trends in real time, Zeng told Yahoo Finance.

The inspiration board

Zeng grew up in China but came to the U.S. for high school. After getting a dual degree in urban planning and economics at MIT and Wellesley, Zeng pursued banking at Citi for two years. Then she took three years off to return to China, working for the family business and dabbling in venture capital investing.

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During this time she noticed that fashion bloggers in China with massive followings were starting their own direct-to-consumer fashion brands.

The inspiration for Choosys red dress

These influencers post anything theyre wearing on their social media accounts, and being so close to the supply chain, they can take pre-orders and create the product right away, she explained.

Zeng tried out this model in the U.S. through a beta test in January. She and her team noticed that a pair of ripped, pearl-studded jeans that Gigi Hadid had posted on Instagram was trending, with many followers commenting where can I buy them? Along with three other items, the Choosy team received 1,000 pre-orders over the course of four hours.

Zengs family is deeply rooted in textile manufacturing, and she had tried to veer away from that path her entire childhood. While she originally shuddered at the idea of going into the family business, she found herself drawn to the fashion industry  and she had a significant advantage because of her familys existing network.

Chinas supply chain has been evolving within the past year or so. Brands are able to streamline the entire manufacturing process so that there is no excess inventory. We have a vertically integrated team that creates the mold, design, fabric designing and is in charge of QA/QC (quality assurance and quality control), said Zeng.

Choosy is based in NYC with 15 employees, with another 15 working out of China, all of whom are considered full-time employees and get full benefits.

With the founding teams backgrounds in supply chain, machine learning and finance, combined with their appreciation for fashion and styling and a relentless devotion in brand creation, Choosy is poised to sit at the helm of the new generation of social commerce, where the shopping experience is a simple extension of consumers existing social media habits, said Tony Florence, general partner and head of tech investing at New Enterprise Associates.

The fast fashion landscape

Fast fashion was supposed to be the beacon of hope in a dying brick and mortar retail industry. And a great experience for the customer who expects to see fresh styles every time she stops in to browse. But, excess inventory is proving to be a serious drag on the industry. Swedish retailer H&M reported $4.3 billion of unsold clothing, shoes and accessories in its latest quarterly report.

Over the past decade, consumers have been bombarded with digital and mobile-only retail brands that promise a lot but dont always deliver.

Girl Boss author Sophia Amoruso founded Nasty Gal in 2006 and raised multiple rounds of funding before ultimately filing for bankruptcy 10 years later. UK-based online retailer Boohoo bought the brand, that was once valued for over $200 million, for a mere $20 million. Los Angeles-based womens e-commerce site Revolve relies heavily on influencers to market their music festival-focused garb. According to Forbes, Revolve reported $1 billion in sales, dressed 416 influencers and reportedly generated 4.4 billion social impressions last year alone.

I have been disappointed by other players in the online, affordable fashion space. Theyre not able to get the quality right because they dont own the entire production process. A lot of these players started off going to wholesale markets in LA to pick certain styles. Then, it would end up on their sites, which ultimately led to their demise because brands like Nasty Gal and Modcloth ended up having the same exact dress at different price points, said Zeng.

Zeng calls Choosy a vertically-integrated e-commerce company 2.0 and has convinced investors that she can run a more streamlined business than her predecessors.

A lot of the revenue that thins margins in the retail industry comes from the middle man. If you look at even a first generation vertically-integrated e-commerce company, they actually still go through some sort of broker, mostly because of the sheer fact that the factory doesnt speak English. If they do, pricing is at a premium. So technically, its not actually direct to consumer because there are so many layers involved. We dont hold inventory so there isnt that unnecessary waste that we would be sitting on, she explained.

She sleeps and breathes it herself

Zeng herself has over 32,000 followers on Instagram. While she doesnt consider herself an influencer, she said she has always been passionate about fashion.

Shes very authentic. I dont follow Jessie on instagram, per se, but its so evident that shes a customer, knows the customer, understands the dynamic as a customer. She can really understand what the dynamics are, what the customer mindset is. She sleeps and breathes it herself. The little details that shes so obsessively focused on are going to matter for her potential consumer, NEAs Florence told Yahoo Finance.

Florence, who has led investments in companies like Care.com (CRCM), Snap (SNAP), Quidsi (acquired by Amazon), Jet.com (acquired by Walmart) and Gilt Groupe (acquired by Hudsons Bay), said Zeng immediately stood out to him among the thousands of entrepreneurs he meets every year.

25-year-old MIT grad and former investment banker Jessie Zeng launched Choosy to provide high-quality, affordable fashion to everyone. (Source: Choosy)

Whats unique about Jessie is that she very much thinks big. This is a product category that can touch every consumer on the internet. From what we learned is that price and perceived value and quality matter for retention. Choosy can build something thats a massive company that can have millions of customers. And they can do it at scale and in a repeatable way. Fashion and apparel is a place thats highly disruptable right now, he added.

Despite operating in a crowded space, Choosys business model directly addresses the lack of innovation in the fast fashion industry. H&M emphasized the need to focus on three key areas  developing a more efficient supply chain, advancing initiatives like AI, and building customer apps and new tech faster. While the major retailer has struggled to execute if Zeng succeeds, Choosy has the potential to reshape the shopping experience as we know it.

Melody Hahm is a senior writer at Yahoo Finance, covering entrepreneurship, technology and real estate. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm.

Read more:
Good morning! Catch up on your pop culture news with our roundup of todays top stories  so far.

1. Tonya Harding courts controversy

She never took home an Olympic medal, but former figure skater Tonya Harding now has a one-in-three chance of winning a mirrorball trophy after advancing to the Dancing with the Stars final  much to the annoyance of people still reeling from that whole Nancy Kerrigan scandal. Read more >

Its a Rumba for #TeamAxellent as Tonya Harding and @SashaFarber dedicate this dance to Tonyas dad. #DWTS: Athletes pic.twitter.com/m14s3CdMSj  Dancing with the Stars (@DancingABC) May 15, 2018

2. American Airlines cracks down on emotional support animals

Bad news for your emotional support sugar glider: American Airlines has issued a new ban on goats, rodents, and reptiles including snakes, regardless of their support animal status. On the bright side, miniature horses may still fly if theyve been trained as a service animal. Read more >

3. Ivanka Trump called a ghoul

Ivanka Trumps visit to Israel has landed her on the cover of the New York Daily News, which blasted the first daughter and White House adviser for putting a positive spin on her trip, despite Palestinians being killed and injured. Read more >

Deplorable https://t.co/EMGX6xPzva An early look at Tuesday's front pic.twitter.com/ZAK1Vk5ACW  New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) May 15, 2018

4. Meghan Markle deals with dad drama

Meghan Markle is facing some last-minute royal wedding drama, as her father has claimed he wont be walking her down the aisle after all. Thomas Markle Sr. blamed recent heart troubles and a fear of further embarrassing his daughter after he was caught staging paparazzi photos. Kensington Palace, meanwhile, has issued a statement asking for understanding and respect. Read more >

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5. Kristen Stewart emerges as a red carpet hero

Kristen Stewart has officially stolen the show at Cannes, and all she had to do was take off her high heels and walk the red carpet in bare feet. The actress has previously criticized the pressure on female stars to wear heels at the festival. Read more >

Kristen Stewart scrapped her heels at the Cannes premiere of BlacKkKlansman on Monday. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)

Thanks for reading! Come back this evening for your p.m. pop culture roundup.
(Adds USGS briefing, comments from evacuee and residents, lack of long-range weather impact)

By Terray Sylvester

PAHOA, Hawaii, May 14 (Reuters) - Lava flowing from giant rips in the earth on the flank of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano threatened highways on Monday, raising the possibility that officials will order thousands more residents to evacuate before access routes are cut off.

Since May 3 when Kilauea began erupting, 19 lava-spewing fissures have opened about 25 miles (40 km) from its summit, including one that tore through countryside close to houses on Monday in the Lower Puna area of Hawaii's Big Island.

Steaming cracks along one of the area's main routes, Highway 132, have raised concerns a new fissure may develop there, which would imperil access for 2,000 people in the lower Puna area on the east of the island.

If the highway is cut off, officials will start to plan for another major evacuation, Hawaii National Guard spokesman Major Jeff Hickman told reporters.

"We've been telling them, 'evacuate if you can, because if we have to come in and get you, we'll be putting first responders at risk," Hickman said.

Since the eruptions began, 37 structures have been destroyed and officials have ordered the evacuations of nearly 2,000 people, mostly in the hard-hit Leilani Estates area.

The American Red Cross said 500 people sought refuge in its shelters on Sunday night because of worsening volcanic activity.

"Eruption of lava continues from multiple points along the northeast end of the active fissure system," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a briefing.

'LAVA BOMBS'

Fountains of magma spouted "lava bombs" over 100 feet (30 meters) into the air and a narrow flow had travelled just under a mile (1.6 km) east-southeast by 6.30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT), moving slowly towards the coast some two miles (3.2 km) away, the Observatory said.

Residents from coastal communities fear the lava flow could block a dirt road, highway 137, that is their only way out after the main highway 130 was closed due to steaming cracks.

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"It's down to one gravel road, that's what also pushed us over the edge," said Rob Guzman, who with his husband Bob Kirk decided to leave their home in the Kalapana Seaview Estates subdivision around 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Leilani Estates.

Clouds of toxic gas and constant small earthquakes have sent many residents fleeing, but some either cannot or will not go, said Hazen Komraus, president of the community association.

"You can't hop in a car and drive your life, family, pets and job to another state," said Hazen, who described his area as one of the most diverse and tolerant in Hawaii.

While residents deal with noxious gas and lava on the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey said that pent-up steam could cause an explosion at the volcano crater as the lava pool drops, launching a 20,000-foot (6,100-meter) plume that could spread debris over 12 miles (19 km).

The ash plumes at the summit so far are rising only 4,000-6,000 feet (1,220-1,830 meters). Unlike other catastrophic eruptions, where huge volumes of ash were blown into the stratosphere and carried to distant locations, they are having no impact on weather elsewhere, Steve Brantley, the deputy scientist in charge for the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told Reuters.

(Reporting by Terray Sylvester in Pahoa and Jolyn Rosa in Honolulu; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Sandra Maler)
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes on Sunday apologised for a controversial stunt endorsing scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak before Malaysia's general election, in which he suffered a stunning defeat.

Fernandes said he came under pressure from Najib's government before the May 9 vote, causing him to issue a video enthusiastically crediting its policies for the success of the homegrown low-cost carrier.

But the Barisan Nasional coalition, which had ruled Malaysia for 61 years, suffered a humiliating defeat Wednesday at the hands of an opposition alliance led by his former mentor and ex-prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92.

Fernandes was strongly criticised online for the stunt endorsing Najib, who has been linked to a multi-billion-dollar corruption scandal involving Malaysian state fund 1MDB.

A photo showing Fernandes with Najib on board an AirAsia plane was widely circulated during the election campaign. That plane was painted in the blue colours of Najib's Barisan Nasional coalition.

Fernandes even changed the uniforms of AirAsia flight attendants from red to blue during that trip.

But in a video posted on his Facebook page Sunday, a sombre-looking Fernandes apologised for his "grave error of judgement".

"I'm sorry for what has gone on. I buckled at a crucial moment in our history," he said.

Fernandes said he had been under "tremendous" pressure from the then-government to sack popular former trade minister Rafidah Aziz, who is on the board of AirAsia's long-haul budget arm AirAsia X, because she was campaigning for the opposition.

Najib's government was also angry at him for adding extra flights to ferry people at low fares to their provinces so that they could cast their votes, and told him to cancel those flights, he said.

Fernandes said he "foolishly" thought that he could appease the government by coming up with the endorsement video as well as by repainting the plane and changing the flight attendants' uniforms.

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"Under the intense pressure, I buckled. It wasnt right, I'll forever regret it but it was a decision made at the spur of the moment," he said.

"I apologise again for the pain and the hurt I caused."

The new government slapped Najib with a travel ban on Saturday as speculation mounted he was about to flee the country in a possible bid to avoid prosecution over the 1MDB scandal. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The Trump Administration made a risky move Monday, putting into practice what many American politicians have promised in theorythe relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The joy among Israelis at watching their most powerful ally bestow official recognition on Jerusalem as their capital city is being matched with equal amounts of outrage among Palestinians, as protests along the border with Gaza turned particularly deadly.

At least 52 Palestinians in Gaza were killed by Israeli troops by the afternoon, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, and an additional 2,400 people have been injured. The Israeli army said that at least 35,000 Gazans amassed at the border, many of them pushing to break through into Israel at the culmination of a weeks-long protest called the March of Return.

Mondays escalating violence, accompanied by Palestinian demonstrations in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, cast a shadow on the embassy celebrations underway in Jerusalem. The demonstrations were expected to extend into at least through Tuesday, in a day of rage called by Palestinian leaders to mark what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, the Arabic term for the events of 1948including the mass evictions of Palestinians as part of the declaration of the state of Israel. Dozens of funerals will only add to the feeling of a land once again gripped by war.

Read more: How the idea of return has shaped the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for 70 years

There will be a Palestinian storm in the coming days whether I like it or not, says Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a political scientist in Jerusalem and founder of PASSIA, the Palestinian Academic Society for the Study of International Affairs. The battle of Jerusalem is a battle over geography, demography and sovereignty.

A worker on a crane hangs a U.S. flag alongside an Israeli flag, next to the entrance to the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem, on May 7, 2018.

Exactly 70 years ago today, the newborn state of Israel declared its independence. The Arab world rejected the proposition of a Jewish state in the regionas well as a partition plan proposed by at the United Nations the previous Novemberand declared war. That conflict ended with an armistice in 1949 that left an embattled Jerusalem divided into two partsa western half that was Israels capital, and an eastern half in Jordan. In a subsequent Middle East war in 1967, Israel wrested land from all of its immediate neighbors, gaining East Jerusalem and its coveted Old City, with its various holy places. Israel later annexed the territory and applied its law there, and for 50 years has called it the indivisible capital of Israel.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used those exact words Monday while speaking at a dedication ceremony marking the official move of the U.S. embassy to a building that had been intended for consular services. He told the crowd that as a child he used to walk on the exact spot on which the now-embassy stands, on what were then just fields near a no-mans land and the Jordanian border.

I would approach this place right here, but only so far, because my mother told me, you cant go any furtherit was exposed to sniper fire, Netanyahu said, and then paused. That was then, this is now. Today, the embassy of the most powerful nation on earth, our greatest ally, opened here! he told the crowd, to rousing applause.

For Israelis, Sunday was the official day marking the reunification of Jerusalem; to Palestinians, the very same date marks the occupation of the city. Many Palestinians are still hoping to see the creation of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem, co-existing with Israel in a two-state model that many hoped would result from the Oslo Accords first signed nearly 25 years ago. For President Donald Trump to move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem before any such solution is reached, Palestinians say, is to send a message that their claim to the disputed city is unimportant or irrelevant.

Read more: Gaza is once again at the center of violent clashes. Heres how the territory became so conflicted

I am here to express my rejection of the Trump declaration concerning Jerusalem, says Younis Lafi, a construction worker who came to a major protest at the Qalandia Checkpoint between Jerusalem and the West Bank. Lafi, 37, watched as younger men and teens dressed in black t-shirts lobbed stones at soldiers perched behind big blocks of concrete. Some marchers carried large keys to symbolize the desire to return to homes that their families left in 1948.

Israel and the U.S. must understand that no one can change the status of Jerusalem for us. It will always be our capital and they can never succeed in making it anything else, said Lafi. Nearby, a paramedic said hed seen injuries from live ammunition, rubber bullets and tear gas, all of which Israeli forces routinely use in response to Palestinian stonethrowers.

White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018.

Another protester said that the high death toll should be read as proof not just of the excessive force used by Israel, but of the willingness of Palestinians to die for their homeland.

Look at our young men everywhere who are telling the Israeli occupation that we sacrifice our lives for liberation. Either we want to live a decent life, or we dont want a life, says Ghassan Wahdan, 41, who had come to the protest with his 12-year-old son, who carried a Palestinian flag and wore a hat of Fatah, the main faction of the PLO. In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authoritys prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, released a statement saying that the very decision to announce the establish of the US embassy in Jerusalem on a tragic day in Palestinian history shows great insensibility and disrespect for the core principles of the peace process. 

Many Israelis heralded the official U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as a day that was long in coming. Pro-Trump activists festooned the city with signs reading Trump Make Israel Great, borrowed from his Make America Great Again campaign slogan. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, whose rightist political orientation is similar to Netanyahus, named a square after Trump to thank him for his decision to make good on a promise to move Washingtons embassy to Jerusalem.

Some Israelis, however, saw it as a mixed victory; others were even more ambivalent.

David Wilfond, a U.S.-born rabbi, lives a stones throw from the new embassy, which while not slated to be a permanent home, could be the acting embassy for several years to come. What had been a quiet Jerusalem neighborhood on the seam-line between East and West is now a focal point crawling with extra security.

Its the correct thing, but its certainly a scary thing, because we and our partners for peace have a very problematic relationship, says Wilfond. You could say there should be two embassies in Jerusalembut it seems like a bizarre double-standard that the world applies to Israel. Does anyone say to the Cypriots you cant put your capital there because the Turks used to be there?

Another local resident, Naomi Schacter, was one of several Israelis who launched a court challenge over the placement of a massive new security wall planned for a hilly road that overlooks the embassy and the pastoral landscape of East Jerusalem, the West Bank, and on clear day, the Dead Sea and Jordan. The high court petition was turned down, but the process seems to have delayed the construction of the wall that Israeli residents fear will wreck their view and increase the sense of being boxed in.

I view Jerusalem as central to Israelits where the government has been for decadesso that piece of the decision isnt really the matter for me, says Schacter, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel. But it was an ill-advised move, in that it could have served as collateral for something. It could have come with a peace deal, and instead it was just presented on a silver platter. This was an opportunity for forward movement, and instead its just fanned the flames.

That is a criticism that both Trump and Netanyahu are likely to face in the coming days. Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, sought in a keynote policy speech to link the embassy relocation with the administrations decision last week to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, touting both decisions as a kind of message about Americas new face in the Middle East.

But its difficult to say whether either move will make Israel more secure. Palestinians expected the protests to grow larger on Tuesday, and that was even before the death toll from Mondays demonstrations emerged. Some Palestinians said that the impending start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, could ratchet up tensions further.

U.S. diplomats, meanwhile, will be left with the trying job of convincing Israelis and Palestinians that Washington can still be an fair-minded broker. Its a very interesting process, says one U.S. embassy official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. We recognize the historic nature of this move, its going to require a lot of changes down the road. We also have a consulate-general in Jerusalem and their mandate is to continue relations with the Palestinian Authority. That may be the most challenging task of all. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the embassy an American settlement in East Jerusalem.

 With reporting by Nuha Musleh/Jerusalem
Lolade Siyonbola, the Yale University graduate student whose classmate called the police on her last week for napping in the common area of their dorm, said Monday that she wants to see consequences for people who call 911 with a racially motivated bias.

Sarah Braasch, a graduate student in the philosophy department who is white, called the police on Siyonbola, who is black, on May 7. I have every right to call the police. You cannot sleep in that room, Braasch said in a video taken by Siyonbola as they waited for officers to arrive.

I was like, you have got to be kidding me. This has to be a joke, Siyonbola said Monday on Good Morning America.

I posted the video just for my safety, she said. I have always said to myself since Sandra Bland was killed  I said to myself, if I ever have an encounter with police, Ill film myself.

EXCLUSIVE: Siyonbola, who is black, shared video she shot of police interrogating her after a white classmate called authorities because she fell asleep in their dormitorys common area at Yale University: https://t.co/ClrPvob2IG@LinseyDavis has the story. pic.twitter.com/8WohjI55xi  Good Morning America (@GMA) May 14, 2018

The incident was the latest example of the police being called on a person of color for seemingly no reason. Last month, two Native American teens were removed from a tour at Colorado State University after a mother on the tour became nervous and called police. In Philadelphia, two black men were arrested while waiting for a friend at Starbucks.

Someone who uses the police in the way that Sarah used the police should be held accountable, Siyonbola told Good Morning America. There needs to be punitive measures for people who, you know, act out of racially motivated bias.

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None of this is really new. None of it is shocking. Every day someone is treated with racial bias, she said. Every day, people are being approached by the police, receiving ridiculous treatment from the police.

In a statement on Thursday, Yale Police Chief Ronnell Higgins said Siyonbola had every right to be there. Kimberly Goff-Crews, vice president for student life at Yale, said she was deeply troubled by this incident and others that underscore that we have work to do to make Yale not only excellent but also inclusive.

Grateful for all the love, kind words and prayers, your support has been overwhelming, Siyonbola wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. Black Yale community is beyond incredible and is taking good care of me. I know this incident is a drop in the bucket of trauma Black folk have endured since Day 1 America, and you all have stories.
Nairobi (AFP) - Burundians on Thursday will vote in a referendum on sweeping constitutional reforms that would shore up the power of President Pierre Nkurunziza and enable him to rule until 2034.

With opponents cowed, beaten, killed or living in exile, there seems little doubt the amendments will pass, enabling the 54-year-old -- in power since 2005 -- to remain in charge for another 16 years.

The campaign period, like the preceding three years of unrest triggered by Nkurunziza's controversial but ultimately successful run for a third term, has been marked by intimidation and abuse, say human rights groups.

Opposition parties were allowed to rally for the first time since the start of the political crisis in 2015, drawing massive crowds during their "no" campaigns.

But critics say this was merely to provide a veneer of inclusivity.

"People seen as opposed to the referendum have been killed, kidnapped, beaten up, illegally arrested and held by state agents," the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said Tuesday.

Some 4.8 million people, or a little under half the population, have signed up to vote, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which is running the referendum.

The changes will be adopted if more than 50 percent of cast ballots are in favour.

The vote is taking place in tightly-controlled conditions, and a presidential decree ruled earlier this month that anyone advising voters to boycott the vote risks up to three years in jail.

- Small country, big problems -

The tiny central African nation, with an equally small economy, has struggled to recover from a brutal and destructive civil war from 1993-2006 that left more than 300,000 people dead.

A peace deal, signed in the Tanzanian city of Arusha in 2000, paved the way to ending the fighting and included a provision that no leader could serve more than two five-year terms.

Nkurunziza circumvented that clause by running for a third term in 2015 that critics said was unconstitutional. A crackdown on opponents of his bid prompted a crisis that has seen 1,200 people killed and 400,000 flee their homes.

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The violence and abuses are being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) while a sustained campaign against the press has forced most independent journalists to leave the country.

Nkurunziza -- a fervent Christian who believes he has a God-given right to rule and was recently declared "visionary" by his CNDD-FDD party -- now wants to rewrite the constitution and extend term lengths to seven years.

This would allow him to start again from scratch after the 2020 elections.

Other reforms weaken constitutional constraints over the feared national intelligence agency and allow the revision of ethnic quotas seen as crucial to peace after the war.

The new constitution also gets rid of one of two vice-presidents and shifts powers from the government to the president.

Burundi's exiled opposition, gathered in an alliance called CNARED, has called for a boycott of the referendum, which it describes as the "death knell" to the 2000 agreement that helped end the bloody civil war.

On Tuesday, Burundian exiles in Paris demanded the international community take stronger action against Bujumbura.

"Impose sanctions, an embargo," rights campaigner Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, who fled to Belgium after escaping a murder attempt, told a press conference. "Do something -- don't just issue statements."

"There have to be sanctions to force Pierre Nkurunziza to negotiate," said Elyse Ngabire, a former journalist who took refuge in France in 2015 after receiving threats. "I am worried for the future. The situation is heading towards worse violence."

The government has accused dissidents, and neighbouring countries, of planning to undermine the referendum and has deployed military units to areas bordering Rwanda to the north and Congo to the west.

Earlier this month Burundi's press regulator suspended broadcasts by the BBC and Voice of America (VOA) and warned other radio stations, including Radio France International (RFI), against spreading "tendentious and misleading" information.

- African 'third term-ism' -

Amending constitutions to stay in power while holding the regular elections that foreign donors demand is a popular tactic among African leaders.

Uganda's Yoweri Museveni changed the law in 2005 before running successfully for a third term. The 73-year-old has since removed age limits and is expected to run for a sixth term in 2021.

Cameroon's Paul Biya followed Museveni's lead in 2008 and remains in power today, as does Djibouti's Ismael Omar Guelleh who removed term limits in 2010.

In Rwanda, Paul Kagame in 2015 changed the constitution and is now set to rule until 2034 while Congo-Brazzaville's Denis Sassou Nguesso also pushed through the removal of term limits the same year.

Zambia's Edgar Lungu is trying the third term gambit, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila has simply refused to hold elections since the end of his constitutional terms 18 months ago.

Elsewhere in Africa, leaders have had less success avoiding term limits, with moves blocked or votes lost in Benin, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Senegal in the last dozen years.
With just five days to go before the Windsor Castle wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the castle kitchens are a hive of activity.

The culinary frenzy is part of the complex preparations underway, as more details emerge of the lavish ceremony on Saturday.

Here is a round-up of the latest news:

- No tables for royal feast -

The lucky 600 invited to dine after the ceremony will not be offered a sit-down dinner, but a buffet lunch of "bowl food", The Daily Mail reported on Monday.

This style of dining -- where guests remain standing as they are served mini main courses -- is all the rage in business circles as it allows guests to move around, socialising and networking as they eat.

According to Britain's Press Association the canapes, cooked up in the Windsor Castle kitchens by Queen Elizabeth II's personal chef Mark Flanagan, are designed to be devoured in two bites.

The larger prepared dishes are also designed to be eaten while standing.

The official residence of Prince Harry, Kensington Palace, declined to comment.

On Monday, during a press visit to his kitchens, Flanagan boasted that the dishes are all based on seasonal British produce, much of it from the royal estates. He also said the royal couple had been "involved in every detail" of menu preparations.

A separate dinner is also planned at Frogmore House, close to Windsor Castle, with 200 guests invited.

- A romantic getaway -

Harry and Meghan have spent their last weekend as an unmarried couple in a picture postcard cottage they rent in the Cotswolds, a region of rolling hills in the west of England. There they are relaxing ahead of the wedding, when the eyes of the world will be on them.

"The run-up to the wedding has been quite stressful for them and they just wanted to get away and relax before the big day," a friend told tabloid The Sun.

The couple may have escaped the gaze of the public, but they remained under the watchful eyes of their security staff.

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The Sun source noted that blacked-out Land Rovers had been spotted in the area, ferrying teams tasked with their protection around the countryside.

- A blundering father of the bride -

Kensington Palace was treated to an unwelcome surprise when it emerged that Markle's father Thomas Markle -- set to walk her down the aisle on Saturday -- had defied their pleas for secrecy by agreeing to pose for a paparazzi photoshoot.

The offending images, showing him being measured for a suit and admiring a photo of the future royal couple on his computer, sold for $100,000 (83,000 euros, 74,000) according to tabloid the Daily Mirror.

A source close to Thomas Markle, cited by the publication, said he was convinced after being hounded by the paparazzi. He is now said to feel "like a total fool" who has been "scammed".

The misadventure has led to Kensington Palace warning against the publication of photos stolen from Thomas Markle, and pleas for the media to respect his privacy.

- A wedding train -

Eurostar also announced Monday that it has seen a bookings boom in the number of passengers travelling to London on the day before and the day of the wedding.

"Friday May 18 is the day which will see the most traffic, with 10,000 arriving in London. The rise in travel between Brussels and London is the most noticeable, with a 54 percent rise in comparison to 2017", Eurostar said in a statement, also noting that travel from Paris is up 15 percent.

- Last night of singledom -

Kensington Palace on Monday announced that Prince Harry and his fiancee will stay at separate hotels in the Windsor area.

Harry will stay at Coworth Park along with his brother Prince William, who is his best man.

Markle will stay at Cliveden House Hotel with her mother Doria Ragland, a yoga teacher.

oaa/jts/dt/ecl

Daily Mail
By Sonya Dowsett MADRID (Reuters) - New Catalan leader Quim Torra on Tuesday called for an end to direct rule over the Catalan regional government by Madrid at a joint news conference held in Berlin with former regional leader Carles Puigdemont. The first aim of the newly formed Catalan government would be to seek dialogue with Madrid, said Torra, who said he had traveled to Berlin to pay homage to former leader Puigdemont whom he called Catalonia's legitimate president. "I've asked (Spanish Prime Minister) Mr. Rajoy for the date and time to start talks, without conditions," said Torra at the news conference held in a Berlin hotel. He would attempt to replace the region's previous administration and would seek to put Puigdemont in power again, Torra said, without detailing how he would go about the latter. "I see myself as a caretaker president," he told journalists. The Catalan parliament voted in hard-line separatist Torra on Monday, bringing an end to seven months of direct rule from Madrid but heralding more political uncertainty as the new leader continues his fight to split from Spain. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy imposed direct rule on the region after the previous administration, led by Puigdemont, declared independence in October. Under the terms of the legislation, Madrid will lift its intervention once the Catalan government is fully formed and members of cabinet named. Earlier on Tuesday, Rajoy held a meeting with leader of the opposition Socalists, Pedro Sanchez, in Madrid where they discussed the election of Torra and its implications. Both parties, which together hold a majority of seats in parliament, have expressed determination to unite to reject any attempt by the Catalan administration to go against Spain's constitution, which states the country is indivisible, the government said in a statement following the meeting. Puigdemont is in Germany awaiting the decision of a German court on an extradition order from Spain on a charge of misuse of public funds for his part in the organization of an illegal referendum on independence last October. Pro-independence parties won most seats in regional elections held in December. But five attempts by the parliament to put forward candidates for leader, including Puigdemont, were blocked because the candidates were either living abroad or being held in custody in jail for their role in the referendum. Puigdemont fled to Belgium after being sacked as leader. He faces charges of sedition and misuse of public funds in Spain. (Reporting by Sonya Dowsett; Editing by Alison Williams)
Robert E. McCoy

Security,

Or has Beijing now cemented its claim?

Do China's Missiles in the South China Sea Mean War?

The South China Sea China has the potential to become a cauldron of conflict, and China is stoking the fire. By claiming perhaps as much as 90% of the South China Sea, Beijing is trampling on the rights of other nations in the region, nations whose Exclusion Economic Zones (EEZs) and national waters are being violated.

China first laid claim to the South China Sea through its Nine Dash Line in the early 1950s. And other than pathetic vocal protestations by other nations  including the US  nothing was done about it for years. Perhaps no one took the claim seriously at the time.

To be sure, the case went to the International Court in The Hague, which in 2016 ruled against China. Unfortunately, there is no enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with that ruling.

Nonetheless, those who have been watching Beijing knew that it would not stop there. China soon started occupying various islets and partially submerged rocks within that Nine Dash Line. Not long after, China started improving those small pieces of land, dredging up sand and rock to buttress its artificially-created land.

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Little by little progress was made, and ultimately China built runways on these man-made islets. Recently, Chinese cargo planes have brought military gear and associated logistical material to support full-time occupation. Though many seem to be taken aback by this development, missiles and their associated radars are logical additions to fighters in support of Beijings claims to the area.

Now a fait-accompli

Earlier this year, the nominee to be the next US Pacific Fleet Commander proclaimed that China now controls the South China Sea. He was not overstating the situation. The US and the rest of world  especially Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia the Philippines and Vietnam, the nations most affected by this  have sat by and done nothing but complain.

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Even though Washington and Australia have sailed warships in the general area, called Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs), that action has been quite ineffective in stopping the Chinese.

Now it may be too late. It is almost impossible to imagine Beijing retreating from its newly created military outposts intended to defend its claim to nearly all of the South China Sea. Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and anti-ship/anti-cruise ballistic missiles (ACBMs), along with their necessary surveillance and fire-control radars, have been installed. The SAMs pose a threat to fighters and bombers and the ACBMs are intended to counter air or sea-launched cruise missiles. Attacking those islets is now a military challenge.

But China is also opening up another front in this issue  language designed to bolster its position. Last month, Beijing took major airlines and an American hospitality company to task for referring to Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Tibet as countries. China insists these are Chinese territories and the world must refer to them as such.

This, of course, is unadulterated bullroar and nearly everyone recognizes that. Obviously, in another effort to gain support for its claim, Beijing is using the subterfuge of linguistics. If China can hornswoggle the rest of the world into using words of its choice in order to not offend the Middle Kingdom and thereby risk losing its large commercial market, so much the better.

Beijing, after a few years or decades  yes, they do think and plan that far into the future  would be able to say something to the effect that, Look at how the entire world refers to these countries! Everyone has acknowledged that they are not countries at all; they are merely undisciplined territories of China. China knows that names have power.

Beijing intends to do the same thing in the South China Sea. See, we have been here for years and no one has seriously challenged us over this; these islets  and the waters around them  are clearly ours. So, stop with all that nonsense about the South China Sea  after all, it is even named after us. As the old saying goes, possession is nine-tenths of the law.

Status quo or casus belli?

Pundits have made various comments regarding Beijing in the South China Sea, but none have addressed the elephant in the room. Inaction by Washington and others in the region has resulted in China controlling Sea Lines of Communication that handle one-third of the worlds maritime traffic.

No one has faced the ever more obvious fact that the only way to get Beijing to comply with the ruling by The Hague is by means of force. That would be a difficult effort to mount since China is a member of the UN Security Council. Any resolution authorizing an international expedition to evict China from its falsely-claimed islets would be doomed to failure.

That leaves the Quad  formally, the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue  of Australia, India, Japan and the United States to do the dirty work. But what to do? That raises a number of questions.

Why does the US  and now Australia  downplay their FONOPs in the area, claiming that they are only routine sailings? Is Chinas defiance of international law only words or is Beijing psyched up for bloody battles? Are the US, the Quad and ASEAN nations willing to fight for the freedom of the South China Sea and the regional EEZs violated by Beijing? Are all so afraid of a military confrontation that they are willing to concede an entire sea to Beijing through inaction?

Chinas flouting of international conventions and law by refusing to accept the ruling of The Hague and its bullying of others in the region have been serious enough provocations. However, by militarizing islets in the South China Sea, something that Beijing avowed in 2015 that it would not do, China has flung down the gauntlet, effectively issuing a call to arms. How  or will  the US and its allies answer?

This first appeared in AsiaTimes here.

Read full article
China is looking to expand its support for Russia in Syria's prolonged civil war as regional powers Israel and Iran escalate a long-running feud that threatens to further destabilize the war-ravaged country.

Chinese Special Envoy for Syria Xie Xiaoyan told Russian state media on Sunday that he saw opportunities to expand China's role in Syria, where Russia is helping Syrian President Bashar al-Assad overcome rebels and jihadis in the wake of an attempted 2011 uprising backed by the West, Turkey and Arab gulf states. While China has not played a significant military part in the seven-year conflict, it has supported Moscow and Assad diplomatically and begun to invest heavily in the reconstruction of Syria.

"The relations between China and Russia imply a sweeping strategic partnership and collaboration. We are constantly in touch and conduct consultations. Each side contributes to the Syrian problem's settlement," Xie said, adding that there was still "huge space" for further cooperation, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.

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"I assume that both sides should continue assuming efforts in such areas as protection of the ceasefire regime, a responsible ceasefire resolution compliance, promotion of the political process, as well as regarding the issues of postwar recovery," said Xie.

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WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images

With direct support from Russia and Iran, the Syrian government has recovered much of what it lost in the early years of the war. Only a few pockets of Islamist insurgent control remain, and much of the northern part of the country is held by the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which have fought both alongside and against Syrian troops and the various local and regional militias fighting in support of them.

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As Assad roots out the last of Syria's armed opposition, his forces have been increasingly targeted by the West and Israel. The U.S. and its allies have charged Assad with using chemical weapons, and last month, the U.S., France and the U.K. conducted airstrikes against Syrian government targets suspected of being involved in the production of chemical weapons. China joined Russia and Iran in opposing the operation, demanding to first see the results of an investigation by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

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China has also aligned itself with Russia in recent clashes that threatened to open up an entirely new and deadly front for the region. Airstrikes widely believed to be from Israel have hit suspected Iranian positions with increased frequency in past months. Israel, which feels threatened by the growing presence of Iran and its paramilitary partners, often refuses to confirm or deny its role in the attacks, but spoke out after being targeted by a series of retaliatory rocket strikes Wednesday that Israel said were an Iranian attack on its forces in the occupied Golan Heights. That triggered an unprecedented wave of Israeli airstrikes that damaged military infrastructure and killed personnel in Syria.

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The U.S. has firmly backed Israel in the recent uptick in violence, which occurred shortly after President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from a landmark 2015 nuclear accord with Iran. Nevertheless, Russia has called for calm and attempted to mediate the conflict. Similarly, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang called for Israel and Iran to "stay coolheaded and restrained to jointly uphold regional peace and stability" during a press conference Friday.

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INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR/MAPS4NEWS/ISRAELI DEFENSE FORCES/REUTERS

China's motive for backing supporting Assad in Syria also plays into Chinese President Xi Jinping's vision for the One Belt, One Road project. The initiative seeks to reinvigorate and revamp historic and new trade routes across Asia, Africa and Europe, in which Syria lies on the crossroads. Beijing called the Syrian government a viable partner for its future economic goals and pushed a political solution to the conflict rather than a military one.

China and Russia have also increasingly joined forces in terms of their political and military relations in recent years. Xi and President Vladimir Putin both managed to renew their terms in March and have devoted considerable resources toward modernizing their armed forces and projecting power in regions in which U.S. has also sought to assert dominance.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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48-year-old UFC legend Chuck Liddell is ready to come out of retirement, and is targeting a November fight against Tito Ortiz. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

Forty-eight-year-old UFC Hall-of-Famer Chuck Liddell isnt done with his fighting career just yet.

Liddell announced Monday on The MMA Hour that he is officially coming out of retirement and targeting a fight against rival Tito Ortiz later this year.

I will fight again, yeah, Liddell said on Monday. If we can get a deal together with somebody that makes sense, yeah.

No deal has been finalized yet, however, Liddell said hes targeting a fight in November in either California or Las Vegas.

Whether Liddell comes back for his third fight against Ortiz, or its against somebody else, hes serious about coming out of retirement.

I miss it. I never stopped missing it, Liddell said. And I kinda hadnt really thought about it much. And then when he brought it up and we started getting going, and I started training and I started doing stuff again, getting ready to try to take this on, it made me go, You know what, what if he pulls out? Am I not going to fight? Am I going to do all of this and not fight? Oh no, we had to have somebody backing up, and if it doesnt work out with him, Im [still] going to give it a shot. Itll be somebody else, one of the guys from my past probably, most likely, and well see where Im at.

Liddell, or The Iceman, is one of the most popular fighters in UFC history. He retired in 2010 after three consecutive knockout losses.

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While UFC president Dana White and others have been critical of Liddells return, citing health reasons, Liddell isnt worried. Hes ready, not just for Liddell-Ortiz Round 3, but to simply fight again.

I want to fight, Liddell said. I miss everything. Everyone always asks me, Hey man, this must be a lot better than fighting? No, no, I still  that was my favorite thing. My wife asks me, How do you like doing that? My wife asks me that all the time. I still miss it. I miss everything. I miss cutting weight. I miss everything that goes with it, everything, the good, the bad. Its all of it. I mean, I miss hanging out the gym, going and working out every day. Its fun to me.

Liddell beat Ortiz in their first two matches in 2004 and 2006. Ortiz announced he was coming out of retirement last year in order to take on Liddell one more time.

Even though he said he doesnt care anymore, Liddell said hes more than ready to beat Ortiz one more time. And, Liddell added, Ortiz feels the same way.

I dont like him, I dont think hes a good person, but it is what it is, Liddell said. I can be civil with anybody. I dont have animosity. But yeah, I would love to beat him up again. Thats the one thing I have been asked since Ive retired more than anything is, Can you beat him up one more time? People just never get tired of seeing me hit him.

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(Motley Fool)

On Monday, rumours of Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO) merging with MedReleaf Corp. (LEAF.TO) came true: Aurora acquired MedReleaf for $3.2 billion in an all-stock deal.

The move is the latest in a series of mergers and acquisitions by Aurora, which now has a production capacity of 570,000 kilograms per year. Cam Battley, Chief Corporate Officer of Aurora Cannabis, spoke to Yahoo Canada Finance about the merger, and outlined why its been such a critical part of the companys strategy.

Yahoo Canada Finance: Why was now the right time to move forward with the MedLeaf merger?

Cam Battley: Because theres not a moment to be lost. We operate fast anyway. This sector moves fast, Aurora moves faster  we say we operate at the speed of Aurora. The validation for that is weve done eight acquisitions and eight strategic investments and partnerships in the past just over 12 months.

But theres not a moment to be lost, because theres a window of opportunity here for us to establish a global leadership position in inventing the global cannabis industry. Were already operating in Europe; we have the most significant business presence in Europe with our ownership of a company called Pedanios. Based in Berlin, its the largest by volume distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union. Through Pedanios, were already selling to the German medical cannabis system and into the Italian medical cannabis system.

In addition, were also building two facilities in Denmark, with which to supply Scandanavia and the broader EU market as well. In doing so, were not bumping into competitors from the United States. And the reason why is cannabis remains federally illegal in the United States. That means that companies are constrained to a significant degree. Producers cant produce in one state and sell in the other. They cant deduct their business expenses. They also cant list on public exchanges, and therefore achieve access to the kind of capital to rapidly expand and establish a footprint around the world.

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So thats what were in the business of doing: were inventing the industry not just in Canada but around the world. And we know theres a window of opportunity thats open right now, and we dont know when that window is going to shut. At some point we anticipate the U.S. will change its regulation and make cannabis federally legal, and when that happens, we want to have an insurmountable lead already established.

YCF: How will it improve Auroras position in the medical marijuana space?

CB: To begin with, these are companies with a high affinity for each other. We have very similar aligned philosophies of cultivation and production, where both companies are committed to high technology, high quality, high production efficiency and low cost production. We speak the same language, we share the same values, and we actually share the same global vision.

Beyond that, MedReleaf is a very highly respected medical brand, the quality of their product is right at the top of the Canadian sector, as is their production efficiency.

The other thing the two companies share is a commitment to data. More than any other company in the Canadian cannabis sector, Aurora and MedReleaf have invested in and made use of data. From the Aurora side, thats due to our first acquisition in the summer of 2016, when we acquired CanvasRX, the largest chain of cannabis counseling centres within Canada, with 28 locations across the country. The value of that acquisition, among many other things, has been in giving us excellent real time data on the evolution of the demographics of the Canadian medical cannabis system. CanvasRX, having proved its value that way, and by bringing patients into the Aurora universe, is another one of the tools were going to deploy internationally.

Now, thats one of the synergies between the two companies. Another one is our Pedanios subsidiary in Berlin. That company will allow us to send an ever-increasing volume of Canadian-grown cannabis into the German medical system, where they pay a premium. Were getting about 50 per cent more for the cannabis we sell in Germany than for that which we sell in Canada due to the currency differences.

YCF: Why has acquisition been so critical to Auroras strategy?

CB: You know, from the very beginning, we were committed to growth by both organic means and by M&A.

The organic side of this, you see the nature, and the scale, and the number of our massive production facilities  what we call our Sky-class facilities, named after the first in its class, Aurora Sky, at Edmonton International Airport. Thats an 800,000-square-foot facility capable of producing over 100,000 kilograms of high-quality cannabis per year. Its something the worlds never seen before, this level of technology and automation. Its essentially an indoor facility with a glass roof so we can make use of the sun. It features overpressure and automation that have never been used in cannabis before. The technologies have all been validated in the Netherlands, in the production of things like exotic flowers and vegetables, and the efficiency of Dutch hybrid greenhouses of this type is such that the Netherlands is the leading food exporter in the world  its quite astonishing, if you think how densely populated that country is and how little land there is.

So were growing organically through our facilities including Aurora Sky, Aurora Sun in Medicine Hat, Alta. which is 1.2 million square feet, Aurora Nordic in Denmark, which is 1 million square feet, and the Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD.TO) facility which were designing and engineering for them in Valleyfield, Que. Theyre a partner of ours and we own 18 per cent of them.

Thats the organic side. But weve also been committed to growing extremely rapidly through M&A. And its been intelligent M&A. You take a look at the acquisitions that weve made, whether it be small ones like B.C. Northern Lights, which produces the most elegant, beautiful, safe grow boxes for home cultivation anywhere in the world, to CanniMed, the previously largest transaction in the cannabis sector, which we just closed last week. These things are all intelligently thought out, theyre done from a strategy, not just from opportunity, and like I said, we feel a degree of urgency. We have a sense of urgency and we operate that way, theres no time to be lost, we want to establish our presence globally, and become the local domestic supplier. This is why we do it, and this is how we do it.

YCF: Does that sense of urgency come from the upcoming adult recreational market legalization?

CB: No, that would be short-term. Its helpful, because if you take a look at it, both companies would have done very well on their own, in terms of launching strong, admired brands into the consumer system.

But the real value of this acquisition is long term. You dont do M&A for short-term opportunities. The real value of this is long term and our ability to, essentially, conquer the world.

Edited for length and clarity.

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Scientists hope a new molecule which blocks the viruses which cause the common cold could one day consign the irritating condition to history.

The common cold is tough to treat and vaccinate against because the symptoms are triggered by almost 200 different quickly evolving viruses. The best line of defense is good hygiene practices to prevent it from spreading, and simply managing the dreaded runny nose, scratchy throat and general sense of malaise for the 10 days it can take to fully recover.

A new study has presented the latest step toward finding a treatment, as scientists have developed a molecule which has been shown to block several strains of rhinovirus, the most common type of respiratory virus.

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In early tests on human cells, researchers at Imperial College London created a molecule which targets a protein that viruses latch onto to create a protective shell, which enables them to multiply.

As every strain of the common cold uses the protein, known as N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), in this way, the molecule codenamed IMP-1088 has the potential to combat them all. And as the molecule affects the protein rather than the virus, it is unlikely the agents will become resistant to it.

Scientists set about investigating whether a molecule could prevent common cold viruses from hijacking human cells following a similar study into malaria parasites.

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Previous attempts to create drugs which engage with human cells rather than the virus itself have failed because they were found to be too dangerous. However, initial lab results suggest the new molecule does not negatively affect human cells.

The team hope that their results can be replicated in animal and human trials. If successful, related viruses, such as foot and mouth and polio, could also be treated with IMP-1088.

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Ed Tate, professor of chemical biology at Imperial College London and co-author of the study, said in a statement: "a drug like this could be extremely beneficial if given early in infection, and we are working on making a version that could be inhaled, so that it gets to the lungs quickly."

Common colds are the biggest cause of work and school absenteeism in the U.S., with millions of cases reported each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tate highlighted that while the common cold is an inconvenience for most people, it can cause serious complications for people with conditions such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

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"The way the drug works means that we would need to be sure it was being used against the cold virus, and not similar conditions with different causes, to minimize the chance of toxic side effects," Tate said.

Scientists at Imperial College London as well as Queens University Belfast, the University of York and the Pirbright Institute collaborated on the study published in the journal Nature Chemistry.

Dr. Peter Barlow, associate professor of immunology and infection at Edinburgh Napier University and spokesperson for the British Society for Immunology, told Newsweek: "This inhibitor [IMP-1088] appears to interfere with the ability of rhinovirus to replicate inside the cells of the host, which is an essential part of the virus life cycle. Because the inhibitor targets proteins that are common to most types of rhinovirus, it would likely have a broad range of activity, and be effective in treating rhinovirus infections in patients with existing lung conditions, such as asthma and cystic fibrosis.

"While this study was conducted entirely in vitro, i.e. using cells to model rhinovirus infection in the laboratory, it shows great promise in terms of eventually developing a drug treatment to combat the effects of this virus in patients."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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The Telegraph

In January 1942 one of the most infamous meetings in history took place in a mansion on the shore of the Wannsee, a lake on the outskirts of Berlin. The 15 men who met at Wannsee were not ignorant thugs  most of them were qualified lawyers, and eight of them held academic doctorates. Yet in this luxurious setting these highly educated individuals would discuss what is arguably the most appalling crime of all time  the extermination of the Jews. We only know about what was discussed at Wannsee
Tuesday night's primary election results may hold the key to whether Democrats will have any shot of retaking the House in November.

Primary elections in Nebraska, Oregon, Idaho and Pennsylvania on Tuesday will all provide helpful data points as Democrats plot to retake at least one chamber of Congress. But it's the the lattera swing state that went to its first Republican president in almost three decades in 2016that will give Democrats the clearest idea of just how feasible that is. Democrats' new advantage in Pennsylvania is mostly due to a state supreme court decision which struck down Republicans' proposed gerrymandered district map. The new map formed two new districts where Democrats have an edge they didn't have before, and knocked one safe red district off the map. In total, Democrats have a solid chance of capturing as many as five congressional district seats in Pennsylvania, according to Politico, roughly a quarter of the 23 seats the party needs to win the House.

The candidates who go on to win the party's nomination in those districts have to be the party's best and brightest. If Democrats can't win the Pennsylvania House seats, they could struggle to make up for it in other swing states.

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Meaningful dynamics will play out in these races and others. There's a Senate primary where President Donald Trump's influence could help or hurt, an intraparty battle between the Democratic establishment and leftist progressives and multiple districts where the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's intervention could thwart Democratic voter enthusiasm altogether and stymie the party's promised blue wave.

Here are just a few races to watch:

Pennsylvania Senate race

Trump is trying to leverage his influence in Pennsylvania's Senate race, where one of his allies, Lou Barletta, is competing for a chance at toppling longtime Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, one of the Senate's most vulnerable Democrats. Casey is running unopposed.

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The president featured in Barletta's latest campaign robocall this week, to give the four-term House representative a final boost over primary opponent Jim Christiana, a state representative who's positioning himself as an outsider representing those dissatisfied with Trump's failed attempts to disrupt D.C. politics. Barletta is strongly aligned with the president, especially regarding his platforms on border security, immigration and the Republican tax plan, one of the party's only notable legislative victories going into midterms.

"Like me, Lou Barletta is strong on the wall, tough on immigration, and has already cut your taxes," Trump says of Barletta on Monday's robocall. "He was with us all the way. If you like all the others want to keep it going this way, go out and vote for Lou. He's helped me all the way down the line."

Cozying up with the president has put Barletta miles ahead of his opponent in terms of fundraising: Barletta has raised $3 million to Christiana's roughly $275,000. But only time will tell if the president's words of support will help or hurt Barletta in November's general election.

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Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district

Three Democrats are vying for a chance to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick in a Republican toss-up district which, under newly drawn district lines, went blue by two points in 2016.

Rachel Reddick, a 33-year-old Navy veteran, is the only woman running for the seat, and is trying to deliver on the Democrats' anticipated "pink wave" by nailing the party-backed candidate, Scott Wallace, a wealthy philanthropist and attorney with a political family legacy. In Reddick's words, he's the "Mansplaining Multimillionaire from Maryland."

Wallace has raised over $1.8 million, putting him ahead of both Reddick, who's raised just over $360,000, and Steve Bacher, an environmentalist who pulled in roughly $47,000. Tuesday's competition is really about Wallace vs. Reddick, and who will compete for the heart of the party in a district that has become easily winnable for Democrats.

Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district

A crowded field of Democrats are clamoring for a House seat in the state's 5th congressional district, where a would-be incumbent left office for sexual misconduct allegations and new district lines turned a purple district into a solidly blue one.

Ten Democrats will be on Tuesday's ballot, with no clear front-runner in sight. Margo Davidson and Greg Vitali, both state representatives, should theoretically have more name recognition and institutional support than their other competitors, but neither is close to leading in fundraising, as of April's numbers. Richard Lazer, the former Philadelphia deputy mayor for labor, has earned national attention from Vermont Senator Bernie Sandersperhaps for his platforms like Medicare for all, a $15 minimum wage and tuition-free collegeas well as a progressive PAC that began airing in television spots last month.

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But another contender, attorney Mary Gay Scanlon, currently leads in polling.

It's still anyone's game on the Democratic side, though, and whoever wins will likely have a rather clear path to victory over the presumptive Republican nominee, Pearl Kim, who's running unopposed.

Pennsylvania 7th congressional district

Democratic support in Pennsylvania's 7th is divided among three candidates leading a pack of six in a crowded primary to claim a vacant seat that's leaning Democrat.

Pastor and first-time candidate Greg Edwards has outraised his primary opponents, despite a messy battle with the DCCC, which he said tried to dissuade him from running for the congressional seat. Edwards, a black man backed by the Sanders-inspired group Our Revolution, said the committee suggested he try for a seat lower down the ballot instead, given the opportunity handed to Democrats by the newly redrawn district lines.

"As far as I know, they only targeted one candidate to leave this racethe most progressive candidate, the only candidate of color, Edwards told The Washington Post in March. Their inability to understand why thats fundamentally wrong says everything. (A DCCC spokesperson told the Post it wasn't unusual for the committee to ask this of a candidate, should a district map be redrawn.)

Trailing Edwardsand not by muchis Susan Wild, Allentown, Pennsylvania's first female solicitor. She's received the backing of women's groups like NARAL and EMILY's List, which both put significant funding into the 7th-district race.

As compared to Edwards and Wild, progressive Democrats are more wary of primary competitor John Morganelli, a centrist Democrat who's drawn ire from leftists for his stances on immigration (hard-line), abortion (anti) and liberalism in general (sometimes "misguided"). In 2016, Morganelli even suggested he was seeking a position in the Trump administration and praised the president in tweets he has since deleted.

If Morganelli wins, Democrats fear it could lose the party one of its easy pick-up House seats in a district that, thanks to redrawn district lines, went from being one Trump won by double digits to one Hillary Clinton won by just one point in 2016.

Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district

The race for Pennsylvania's 14th may prompt feelings of deja-vu, but a new district map means a new opportunity for Rick Saccone, who is running in the same district he previously lost to Representative Conor Lamb.

Immediately after his election, Lamb's district was split between the 14th and the 17th, where he's now running, leaving this one to Saccone and his primary competitor, state Senator Guy Reschenthaler, to fight over. Democrats could easily lose the seat no matter who becomes the Republican nominee, given that the new district lines have given the GOP a much larger advantage. Cook Political Report has pegged it a likely Republican district.

Nonetheless, four Democrats will compete against each other on Tuesday in hopes of keeping the seat out of Republican hands, with Robert Solomon, a largely self-funded emergency physician campaigning on health care, leading the pack.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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President Donald Trump reportedly talks to Fox News host Sean Hannity every night after his show airs.

The US leader and the conservative television pundit spend time gabbing like old girlfriends nearly every weeknight, according to New York Magazine.

While it was previously known the presidents preferred viewing is the right-leaning network, a source close to the matter told the magazine that Mr Hannity actually gives tactical advice versus strategic advice to the president.

The report stated that White House staffers are well aware of the phone calls during which they discuss the latest developments since Mr Trump has announced them often in the past. But, the calls are not relegated to post-show, the magazine reported.

There have been days when the pair speaks several times and staffers said it helps the president decompress as opposed to the beginning of his term which included several early morning angry tweet streams based on watching MSNBC's "Morning Joe" or CNN's morning programmes. They often refer to the ongoing investigation into alleged collusion between the 2016 Trump campaign team and Russian officials, both thinking it is a "witch hunt," a phrase the president has tweeted often.

Mr Hannity is not a systematic thinker at all. Hes not an ideologue, a source said, much like Mr Trump. The radio and television host is one of a dozen people with direct access to the Oval Office and his influence "fills the void" left by former advisor Steve Bannon, who parted ways with the White House in August 2017 according to a White House official, adding that Mr Hannity is like an additional White House staffer who works outside of the building, in the media.

A former Trump official told the magazine that Fox News and Hannity's nearly-unconditional support of Mr Trump is a f*****-up feedback loop that puts Mr Trump in a weird headspace. What ends up happening is "Judge Jeanine" or "Hannity" fill him up with a bunch of crazy s***, and everyone on staff has to go and knock down all the f****** fires they started".

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The two do not just share phone calls and thoughts on politics, they also share lawyer Michael Cohen. The beleaguered attorney has been at the centre of a lawsuit by Stormy Daniels, a woman who said she had an affair with the president in 2006 and that she has the right to speak about it since Mr Trump never signed a nondisclosure agreement. She was also paid $130,000 by Mr Cohen just days before the November 2016 election in order to keep quiet about the affair. The source and what Mr Trump knew about the payment are unconfirmed and Mr Trump has denied the affair.

Generally, the feeling is that Sean is the leader of the outside kitchen cabinet, a White House official said. Mr Bannon also weighed in, saying that Mr Hannity "understands the basic issues of economic nationalism and America First foreign policy at a deeper level than the...clowns at New York Magazine".

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Youd think logic trumps all  except when it comes to Donald Trump.

On Monday the president took to Twitter to lash out against news leaks from White House staffers like the one reported last week regarding Kelly Sadlers remark that the opinion of Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is meaningless because hes dying anyway.

The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

Trumps anger is clear, but the tweet was a little confusing, as Twitter users helpfully pointed out, starting with CNN anchor Jake Tapper.

The leakers are traitors and cowards but what they're leaking is being exaggerated by the media. Got it. https://t.co/OAVswuy3JV  Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) May 14, 2018

Tapper wasnt the only one who picked up on the underlying contradiction of Trumps tweet.

"We must, at all costs, hunt down these leaking traitors who totally don't exist and it's not a big deal really." https://t.co/18MtuLRvTg  John Iadarola (@johniadarola) May 14, 2018

So its a totally fake problem AND a very serious real problem. Got it.  Erik Larson (@eelarson) May 14, 2018

Others had questions. Lots of questions.

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So the leaks are "so-called" so they're not leaks? If they're not leaks how can they be over-exaggerated? How does one "over-exaggerate" an exaggeration, anyways? But the leaks are real so you'll get the leakers?



Jesus, your stupid is just exhausting. https://t.co/4QuAKrMleY  Real Fake P0TUS (@RF_P0TUS) May 14, 2018

So, your point is "These leaks didn't happen and we're going to put in prison anyone we find who did leak these non-leaks". GOT IT.  TheWeekInTrump (@TheWeekInTrump) May 14, 2018

Lordy, if the leaks are fake why do they all turn out to be true? Trump is a moron. It's going to take some real luck to get through the Trump crazy without having America being permanently damaged.  John Oberlin (@OMGno2trump) May 14, 2018

One man pointed out the topsy-turvy message in the presidents tweet.

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In Trump's opinion, his staff member who made fun of John McCain's terminal illness isn't a "traitor," but the people who told the press about it are. https://t.co/CLtD4hjYdT  Renato Mariotti (@renato_mariotti) May 14, 2018

One person offered advice to Trump on finding whos responsible.

How to Find the Leaker in 4 Steps:



1) Close your eyes

2) Stand in front of a mirror

3) Open your eyes

4) Theres your leaker!  Troll Cat (@2p2TrollCat) May 14, 2018

You've got "so-called leaks" like the Titanic had "so-called leaks".  Scott Evans (@ScotttheHoople) May 14, 2018

Others rephrased Trumps tweet in a way that made more sense.

the food here is awful and the portions are too small  Popehat (@Popehat) May 14, 2018

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new look at old data is giving scientists a fresh reason to view Europa, a moon of Jupiter, as a leading candidate in the search for life beyond Earth, with evidence of water plumes shooting into space. A bend in Europa's magnetic field observed by NASA's Galileo spacecraft during a 1997 flyby appears to have been caused by a geyser gushing through its frozen crust from a subsurface ocean, researchers who reexamined the Galileo data reported on Monday. Galileo was passing some 124 miles (200 kilometers) above Europa's surface when it apparently flew through the plume. "We know that Europa has a lot of the ingredients necessary for life, certainly for life as we know it. There's water. There's energy. There's some amount of carbon material. But the habitability of Europa is one of the big questions that we want to understand," said planetary scientist Elizabeth Turtle of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. "And one of the really exciting things about detection of a plume is that that means there may be ways that the material from the ocean -- which is likely the most habitable part of Europa because it's warmer and it's protected from the radiation environment by the ice shell -- to come out above the ice shell. And that means we'd be able to sample it," Turtle told a NASA briefing. The research, headed by University of Michigan space physicist Xianzhe Jia, was published in the journal Nature Astronomy. The findings support other evidence of plumes from Europa, whose ocean may contain twice the volume of all Earth's oceans. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in 2012 collected ultraviolet data suggestive of a plume. NASA will get a close-up look from a new spacecraft during its Europa Clipper mission that could launch as soon as June 2022, providing a possible opportunity to sample plumes for signs of life, perhaps microbial, from its ocean. Europa is considered among the prime candidates for life in our solar system, but is not the only one. For example, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sampled plumes from Saturn's ocean-bearing moon Enceladus that contained hydrogen from hydrothermal vents, an environment that may have given rise to life on Earth. A bit smaller that Earth's moon, Europa's ocean resides under an ice layer 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 km) thick, with an estimated depth of 40 to 100 miles (60 to 150 km). (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Almost 36,000 feet underwater, near the very bottom of the worlds deepest ocean trench, scientists came across a troubling find: a plastic bag, similar to one you might take home from a supermarket, lying incongruously in the darkness.

A recent study on deep-sea ocean pollution identified the bag, found in 1998 by a robotic submersible at a depth of 35,756 feet in the Mariana Trench, as the deepest known piece of plastic trash on Earth. Scientists say its presence in one of the worlds most remote environments signals just how worryingly pervasive plastic pollution has become.

And the problem isnt limited to a single plastic bag.

For the study, researchers from Japan, together with scientists from UN Environments World Conservation Monitoring Center, combed through the Deep-Sea Debris Database, a massive Japanese library of deep-sea photos and videos taken on more than 5,000 dives over the course of 30 years. The database was made public in 2017.

What they found was a disturbing amount of trash clogging deep-sea environments, including the Japan Trench and the Mariana Trench, as well as deep-sea areas in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans.

The scientists said the images they scoured showed more than 3,400 pieces of debris. More than one-third of the waste they counted was made of plastic  a staggering 89 percent of which was single-use items like plastic bags, packaging and bottles.

In environments deeper than 19,000 feet, more than half of the debris logged by the study was plastic  and almost all of the plastic found at those depths was single-use.

The ubiquitous distribution of single-use plastic, even to the greatest depths of the ocean, reveal a clear link between daily human activities and the remotest of environments, UN Environment said in a statement last month.

Plastics are now reaching the deepest part of the ocean. Its time to #BreakFreeFromPlastic.https://t.co/d91klsHX6W  Greenpeace (@Greenpeace) May 13, 2018

It remains unclear what the full impact of plastic pollution is on deep-sea areas and habitats, but preliminary research paints a grim picture.

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Last year, scientists were stunned to find more chemical pollutants in parts of the Mariana Trench than in some of Chinas most polluted waterways. The researchers hypothesized at the time that some of that pollution had been caused by the breakdown of ocean plastics.

We still think of the deep ocean as being this remote and pristine realm, safe from human impact, but our research shows that, sadly, this could not be further from the truth, the studys lead author, Alan Jamieson told The Guardian last year.

Plastic debris may also be endangering organisms that live deep in the ocean.

The recent pollution study said 17 percent of the manmade debris that was counted was found with at least one organism  a relatively high percentage given how sparsely populated deep-sea habitats are. Some organisms were found to be entangled with the plastic items, the researchers said, and others were covered or attached to the debris.

Once in the deep-sea, plastic can persist for thousands of years, UN Environment said in its statement. Deep-sea ecosystems are highly endemic and have a very slow growth rate, so the potential threats from plastic pollution are concerning.

Every year, the oceans are inundated with about 19 billion pounds of plastic garbage, with single-use plastic products reportedly being the biggest source of trash found near waterways and beaches.

As public concerns mount about the potential impacts of such pollution on human health and the marine environment, state and national governments, as well as corporations and individual consumers, have been pushing for improved regulations of plastic use, production and waste management.

In 2015, Hawaii became the first U.S. state to ban plastic bags in grocery stores. California followed suit, and New York is considering similar restrictions.

The U.K. announced last month that it planned to ban the sale of single-use plastic straws, cotton buds and drink stirrers. The European Union announced its own war against single-use plastics earlier this year.

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Photo credit: Lifetime

From Harper's BAZAAR

With less than a week until Prince Harry weds Meghan Markle, Lifetime adapted the couple's love story into a film aptly titled Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance.

Airing last night, the movie depicted the relationship timeline of Harry and Meghan-from the factual public moments and milestones to the probably less accurate (and more dramatic) behind-the-scenes love story. While the movie did include real life events from Meghan and Harry's relationship (including their first blind date and whisking away to Botswana), there were also some...ahem...harder-to-believe plot-lines thrown in as well.

Though the film's stars, Parisa Fitz-Henley [Meghan] and Murray Fraser [Harry], resembled their real-life counterparts pretty well, there were several scenes that you can bet almost certainly didn't occur-no matter how accurate the cast's resemblance was.

Below, we're breaking down the dramatic, very Lifetime-y moments of the movie that probably, absolutely, most definitely did not happen in real life.

1) Harry and Meghan almost got attacked by a lion in Africa.

On a trip to Botswana around the 20th anniversary of Princess Diana's death, the couple is dramatically confronted by an angry lion when they run outside in the middle of the night after a fight. The near-death experience, of course, causes them to make up immediately. Honestly, I can't believe this whole scene isn't already a Taylor Swift song.

2) Meghan tried to break up with Harry via FaceTime, only to have him surprise her on set of Suits at the SAME exact moment.

Okay, first of all, you honestly can't expect me to believe that this woman tried to break up with AN ACTUAL PRINCE via FaceTime. That's just not how this game works. On top of that, the moment she decides to end things with him is the same moment he's knocking on the door of her Suits trailer for a surprise visit to Toronto? I'm going to need the receipts on this one.

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3) Meghan breaks up with Harry A SECOND TIME before dramatically running to stop his plane from taking off when she comes to her senses.

IT'S ALL TEW MUCH. NOBODY BREAKS UP WITH A PRINCE THIS MANY TIMES. Spoiler alert: she of course gets to his plane on time and is somehow miraculously able to stop the private royal jet from taking off. All that was missing from this scene was a thunderstorm moment filmed in the pouring rain.

4) The couple dressed up as a frog and Hillary Clinton for a Halloween party...

While the two were secretly dating, Harry dressed up in a frog suit (get it, the frog becomes Prince Charming?) to go "in disguise" at a Halloween party. Meghan, meanwhile, dressed as Hillary Clinton (because all feminists must be HRC for Halloween), making for the most awkward couples costume of all time. While it's unclear if the Soho House party in question actually occurred, I'm giving Harry and Meghan the benefit of the doubt that they would choose better costumes if said party did go down.

Photo credit: Lifetime

5) Kate Middleton's intense criticism and attitude toward Meghan Markle.

For whatever reason, Lifetime decided to portray the Duchess of Cambridge as a super snooty and cold character with plenty of criticism to dish out for Meghan. When William first tells Kate that Harry's dating an American girl (he actually reveals this by saying Harry "Botswana-ed" Meghan, a term that I'm willing to bet is not in William's vocabulary), Kate's response is, "Oh no, they're so loud."

While I'd be willing to overlook that slightly shady dig, later in the movie Kate tells Harry, "If shes your girl, she cant have opinions" before adding, "Shes divorced, shes American, shes half-black.are you ready for this? Think of what we went through because I was a commoner."

Um, I'm calling BS-I find it VERY hard to believe this was an exchange that ever took place. In fact, Kate and Meghan are reportedly pretty close now and have appeared at public events together alongside Prince William and Prince Harry. I'm sensing there was never any bad blood here...

Photo credit: Getty Images

What I would be here for, however, is a sequel movie depicting the friendship between Kate and Meghan following the royal wedding next weekend. Your move, Lifetime.

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Sebastien Roblin

Security, Europe

And it can take on the world's best.

Flanker: The Russian Jet That Spawned Many New Versions (And Lots of Dread)

Four decades, Flanker jets have served as Russias top fourth-generation fighterand also that of the worlds two most populous nations, China and India. The large twin-engine fighter is the Russian counterpart to the F-15 Eagleboasting long range, high speed, heavy weapons loads, advanced avionics and superior maneuverability.

But telling apart the literally dozens of different Flanker models that have been built can be confusinga problem worsened by the fact that creative marketing has led different Flanker models to be assigned more than one name (the Su-33 was formerly the Su-27K) and treated as distinct aircraft types. And then there are multiple Chinese knockoffs of the Flanker!

This guide should clarify the capabilities of the most important Flanker derivatives, which countries fly them and the nature of their operational career.

The Su-27 Flanker A and B: The Soviet Answer to the F-15 Eagle

In the 1970s, the United States deployed its first fourth-generation jetsthe F-14, F-15 and F-16. These could carry heavy weapon loads and cutting-edge electronics (look downshoot down capable doppler radars, heads-up displays, fly-by-wire avionics, digitized instruments) but still execute tight air combat maneuvers necessary to prevail in a short-range dogfight. In the late 1960, the Soviet Union began developing a long-range heavy fighter that, unlike the interceptors of the day, could still take on such agile opponents.

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The Soviet F-15 killer was intended to escort bombers on long range missions, as well as intercept NATO aircraft before they penetrated Soviet airspace. Meanwhile, shorter-range MiG-29 fighters would provide tactical air support for Soviet ground forces. Sukhoi tested two different T-10 prototypes in the 1970s and 80s, dubbed the Flanker-A after they were spotted by NATO recon satellites. Finally, the production-model Su-27S Flanker B entered service in 1985 and soon began performing intercepts of NATO aircraft.

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The large, twenty-two-meter long fighter carried enough fuel for a combat-radius of 900 miles and was powered by two AL-31F Saturn turbofans which could propel it over twice the speed of sound. The Su-27 boasted N001 Mech (Sword) doppler radar with a maximum range of eighty miles, eight weapons hardpoints, fly-by-wire controls and a heads up display (HUD). It also added an Infrared Search and Track system and a helmet mounted sight which allowed the pilot to target enemy aircraft with highly-maneuverable R-73 heat-seeking missileseven if the targets were not directly in front of his planes nose. A GSh-301 30mm cannon served as a backup weapon and was retained on later Flanker models.

The Flanker, furthermore, was supermaneuverablecapable of executing maneuvers beyond usual aerodynamic principles. When Moscow publicly unveiled the Flanker in the Paris Air Show of 1989, Soviet Viktor Pugachev stunned the audience by performance the now famous Cobra maneuver: he reared up his Flankers nose like a striking serpent to a ninety-degree anglethen further to 120 degrees!while continuing to coast forward on his original vector, showcasing the designs ability to achieve incredibly high angles of attack. You can see it here.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, an impoverished Russia sold Su-27s to China in exchange for food. Beijing then arranged to license-manufacture their own clone, the Shenyang J-11. However, China cut the licensing agreement early and to Russias fury produced more advanced derivatives including the J-11B and J-11D.

Ethiopia also acquired export-model Su-27SKs, where the Flanker saw its only major air-to-air combat experience. Between 1999 and 200, Ethiopian Flankers shot down four Eritreans MiG-29s for no losses, nearly all the kills achieved with short-range R-73 missilesas medium-range R-27s all missed. Flankers were also used in a ground attack role by Angola and Russia. An Su-27 also bears the tragic distinction as causing the deadliest air show accident in history when one plowed into a crowd at the 2002 Sknyliv airshow, killing seventy-seven.

Three or four hundred Su-27s remain in Russian service, many of which have been modernizing its older Flankers to the new Su-27SM 13 models by installing new avionics, radars and long-range missile support. The air forces of Angola, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Mongolia also still operate Su-27s.

The Su-30MKK Flanker-G: Chinas Strike Eagle

The basic Su-27 can only carry a limited payload of unguided bombs and rockets. Beijing wanted a strike plane similar to the F-15E Strike Eagle that could employ precision-guided weapons while still holding its own in air-to-air combat. In the mid-1990s they commissioned Russian manufacturer KnAAPO to build them one called the Su-30MKK.

Attack planes benefit from having a Weapon Systems Officer in the backseat to operate precision-guided weapons, so the Su-30 was derived from the two-seat Su-27UB trainer (the Flanker-C). However, the MKK is distinguished by enlarged rear rudders and fuel tanks, improved N001VEP and later Zhuk-MSE radar with surface-search capability, and compatibility with Russian Kh-31 anti-radar missiles, Kh-29 ground-attack missiles, laser-guided bombs and Kh-59 cruise missiles.

The Su-30MKK is made from composite carbon fibers to lower weight, affording it greater range and improved subsonic maneuverability. It also features a two-way radio communication system allowing an MKK to network with its squadron mates and serve as a sort of mini-AWACS. China acquired seventy-six MKKstwenty-four of which were MK2 variants optimized for anti-shipping missionsand also produced an upgraded domestic copy with an AESA radar, the J-16 Red Eagle. Venezuela, Vietnam, Uganda and Indonesia also operate Su-30MKKs and MK2s.

The Su-30MKI and Su-30SM Flanker-H: India and Russias Fancier Strike Eagle

In the 1990s, India also expressed interest in a multirole Flanker, but the Indian Air Force (IAF) had more ambitious upgrades in mind that would also improve air-to-air combat capabilities. The rival Irkut corporation offered a design incorporating vector-thrust technology pioneered in an Su-37 tech demonstrator.

The resulting Su-30MKI features flexible canardsa second small set of wings closer to the nosewhich provide improved maneuverability and low speed handling, though at a slight cost to speed and range. Another radical change was the incorporation of AL-31FP turbofans with two-dimensional vector thrust nozzleswhich means the nozzles can literally turn left and right to aid the aircraft in performing even tighter maneuvers than usual.

Avionic upgrades include a Bars N011 PESA radar with a search range over 200 miles, Israeli-built cockpit displays and jammers, and Indian-made radar warning receivers. In addition to a range of Russian guided weapons, the Su-30MKI can carry Indian Astra long-range air-to-air missiles and can even lug huge 5,000-pound Brahmos-A cruise missiles that can strike land or naval targets at nearly three times the speed of sound.

India has around 270 Su-27MKIs, which, along with thirty-six Rafale fighters on order, constitute its most advanced fighters. They have dueled repeatedly with American jets in exercises and often come out on top. Some argue that Indian fighters prevail in these exercises because the IAF refused to allow the use of radars and AWACS.

The Su-30s have also proven accident-prone and maintenance intensive. The AL-31s experienced sixty-nine engine failures between 2012 and 2015and the IAF has grounded the fleet on at least three occasions, once because the ejection system triggered midflight without cause.

Nonetheless, the Russian military was so impressed with the MKI it commissioned its own Su-30SM version outfitted with only Russian avionics. Over 100 serve in the Russian air force, twenty fly with Naval Aviation and a number saw combat over Syria. Algeria and Malaysia also operate their own customized Su-30 models based on the MKI, while Su-30SMs are serving in Kazakhstan and Myanmar, and are on order for Belarus.

The Su-33: the Carrier-Based Flanker-D

The Soviet Unions first aircraft carriers could only carry helicopters and subsonic Yak-38 jump jets that were unlikely to prevail when facing conventional jet fighters. In the 1980s, Moscow began building larger carriers with a ski-jump flight deck that could accommodate a Flanker variant designated first the Su-27K, then the Su-33.

In order to takeoff and land on a carriers cramped flight deck, the Su-33 has larger flaps and control surfacesas well as canardsto generate lift and improve low-speed handling, as well as reinforced landing gear to withstand the impact of harsh landings. As many as thirty Su-33s serve onboard Russias only carrier, the Kuznetsov, alongside newer MiG-29Ks. These saw their combat debut in 2016 when they launched raids on Syrian rebelsthough the air wing was temporarily transferred to land bases in Syria after one Su-33 crashed attempting to land due to a defective arrestor cable. China managed to acquire an Su-33 prototype from Ukraine and created a copy called the J-15 Flying Shark with upgraded avionics. These now serve as Chinas onboard Chinas first aircraft carrier, the Liaoning. However, both the J-15 and the Su-33 can only carry limited weapon and fuel loads because the ski-jump ramps of their respective carriers significantly limit maximum takeoff weight.

Su-34 Fullback: the Flanker-Bomber

Russia continues to operate Su-24 supersonic two-seater light strike bomber designed to penetrate enemy airspace at low-altitude, similar to the retired U.S. F-111 Aardvark. However, the Su-24 has poor odds facing enemy fightersso as early as the 1980s engineers at Sukhoi began designing an enlarged Su-27 to serve as a bomber.

In addition to being larger, the Su-34 is distinguished by its heavily swept canards, its flatter platypus style nose which houses a V004 PESA radar, and a distinctive humped neck supporting an enlarged cockpitwhich allows its two-person crew to side-by-side for comfort. The Su-34 is intended to fly long-range missions lasting up to ten hours at a time, (the maximum 2,500 mile can be greatly extended by inflight refueling) so its pilots have space to sleep, use a toilet and eat from a galley.

The huge Flanker-derivative can carry up to thirteen tons of weapons on twelve pylons, including anti-radar missiles, long and short-range air-to-air missiles, supersonic Oniks anti-shipping cruise missiles, and conventional dumb bombs and rockets. A rear-facing radar even allows the Fullback to detect enemy fighters closing from behind and launch missiles at them. Though its greater weight results in a slower maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (or 1.2 at low altitude), the Fullback remains just supermaneuverable like other Flankers.

In vogue during the 70s and 80s, low-altitude penetration is an increasingly risky tactic due to improvements to air- and ground-based radars and surface-to-air missile systems. With survivability in mind, the Fullbacks cockpit is enclosed in an armored bathtub of 17mm of titanium, while an L175 Khibiny electronic warfare system is designed to distort enemy missiles.

Russia has so far procured 114 Fullbacks out of a planned 200, and has used them to bomb rebels in Syria, mostly using unguided bombs, though its PLATAN laser-targeting system gives it precision-attack capability lacking in most Russian fighters. Algeria is the only other Su-34 operator.

The Su-35S Flanker E: The Ultimate Flanker

Back in 2003, KnAAOP began developing the ultimate single-seat multirole Flanker. The resulting Su-35S now features three-dimensional AL41FS turbofans that can tilt up and down as well as sideways to give extraordinary maneuverability, as you can see in this video. Designers also modestly reduced the Su-35Ss radar cross section to around 13 meters squared, increased the number of hardpoints to fourteen, and ensured compatibility with the latest precision-guided munitions and long-range air-to-air missiles such as the R-77. The Su-35S also boasts the Khibiny ECM system and a long-range IRST.

The Flanker-E appears to have a slight edge over the F-15 in terms of weapons load, defensive countermeasures and short-range dogfighting. However, modernized F-15s do boast superior Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars that are harder to detect and have higher resolution. The Su-35s Irbis-E radar has very long range (maximum 250 miles) and can scan for ground and air targets; however, its sheer power makes it quite indiscrete on enemy radars.

Though pricey compared to earlier Russian fighters, Su-35s have been purchased by Sudan and Indonesia. China also has acquired twenty-four Su-35s, likely in order to reverse-engineer their turbofans. The Russian air force has acquired around seventy Su-35s out of 100 on order, and deployed several to Syria. There, they escorted Russian bombers, played games of chicken with U.S. fighters, and dropped bombs on Syrian rebelsthough reportedly their radars had difficulty accurately guiding them.

The latest Flanker highlights the divergence in American and Russian air combat doctrine. The U.S. military believes speed, stealth and long-range weaponry trump maneuverabilityespecially as tight maneuvers like the Cobra bleed off prodigious energy, leaving a fighter unable to evade follow-on attacks. Russia continues to build highly maneuverable jets, believing that electronic warfare will reduce the kill-rate of beyond-visual range missiles, while arguing that ground-based low-bandwidth radars will help vector its fourth-generation fighters into range of stealthy adversaries. However, as AESA-radar equipped stealth fighters would see them coming from further away, this could be a difficult strategy to pull off.

Sebastien Roblin holds a Masters Degree in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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During a Fox News segment on various calls for special counsel Robert Mueller to end his probe into Russian meddling during the 2016 U.S. election, Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano defended the length of the investigation, which hits the 1-year mark this week.

Bob Mueller has no duty to tip his hand and show his cards until the end of his investigation, and he does have a duty to complete the investigation, Napolitano, a former judge, told host Heather Childers on Americas Newsroom.

Its going to take a while until he gets all the evidence, he added.

When Childers accused Mueller of expanding the scope of his investigation and therefore extending the timeline of the probe, Napolitano defended him.

I dont think he had any idea what he was going to stumble on, Napolitano said, listing the charges against President Donald Trumps former campaign manager Paul Manafort and the investigation of his personal lawyer Michael Cohen.

They cant overlook these things, he added of Muellers team.

Childers wrapped the segment up, but not before saying, I know a lot of people disagree with you because they think this has gone on way too long.

I understand their impatience, but itll come to an end one of these days, Napolitano replied.

Watch the full segment here.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
PARIS (Reuters) - French food retailer Leclerc has issued a recall of a brand of cheese made with raw milk that has been linked by the authorities to cases of E.coli bacteria among young children. Leclerc, France's biggest supermarket chain by market share, said on its website that it was withdrawing Reblochon cheese supplied by cheesemaker Chabert in the Savoy region and sold under the "Nos regions ont du talent" ("Our regions have talent") brand. The move came after the French health authorities linked seven cases of E.coli 026 bacteria among children between one-and-a-half and three years to the cheese, which is a creamy speciality of the French Alps. "The investigations conducted by the health authorities have confirmed an epidemiological link between these cases and the consumption of whole Reblochon cheese made with raw milk under the brand and sold by the Leclerc chain in several regions," France's health and agriculture ministries said in a joint statement. The ministries said that six of the seven cases of infection involved hemolytic-uremic syndrome, a potentially serious condition that can cause kidney failure among young children. Six children were taken to hospital and one is yet to return home, the health ministry added in an emailed response. The cause of the E.coli outbreak was not yet known, the ministries said in their statement, reiterating official guidance that raw milk and cheese made with raw milk should not be given to young children. The agriculture ministry, which is overseeing the product recall, said it was unable to give details at this stage, while Leclerc did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In another health alert affecting children, France witnessed a massive recall of baby milk late last year after cases of salmonella bacteria were linked to a factory of dairy giant Lactalis. (This version of the story corrects brand name in second paragraph to "Nos regions ont du talent" instead of "Nos regions ont des talents") (Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Bate Felix and Louise Heavens)
By Stephen Kalin and Lisa Barrington RIYADH/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters in Gaza on Monday sparked outrage in much of the Middle East - but virtual silence among Washington's closest Gulf allies. In recent years the bitter regional rivalry that pits Shi'ite Iran and its allies against a bloc led by Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia has increasingly pushed the decades-old Arab-Israeli struggle into the background. While Saudi Arabia and its fellow monarchies have previously criticized the embassy decision, they have also welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump's harder line against Iran, which has cast itself as the guardian of Palestinian rights. Among many ordinary people in the region, however, there was fury, dismay and bitter resignation at the news that Israeli gunfire had killed at least 43 Palestinians, the highest toll in a single day since protests demanding the right to return to ancestral homes in Israel began on March 30. "We are against the embassy move because this is our country. They haven't left us with anything," said Zeinab, a woman in the Palestinian refugee camp of Burj al-Barajneh in Lebanon. "As an Egyptian and an Arab, I feel humiliated," said Sami Badreddin, 40, a state company employee in Cairo, whose country made peace with Israel in 1978. "They transfer the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem while all the Arabs are silent." "Trump hates Muslims and he is showing it every day," said Salim Hamlaoui, a student at Algiers university. The United Nations says the status of Jerusalem - captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war - can only be resolved by negotiations. Palestinians want the city as their own capital. The timing of the embassy's move to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv on the 70th anniversary of the creation of Israel, a day Palestinians regard as their "nakba" or "catastrophe", when they lost their homeland, added insult to injury. In recent weeks, Israeli forces have shot dead scores of Palestinians in Gaza protesting at the border over the fate of refugees who fled their homes during partition in 1948, including dozens on Monday. The embassy move encouraged the "massacre carried out by Israeli security forces", said Turkey's foreign ministry. FRIENDS AND FOES U.S. allies warned the United States it would damage its regional standing after siding with Israel on a fundamental position without a final peace agreement. President Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, whose ties with its NATO ally have grown increasingly fractious, described the move as "igniting a fire". "The United States has chosen to be a part of the problem rather than the solution with its latest step and has lost its mediating role in the peace process," he said in London. Lebanon's Western-backed Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said the move spelt a "dead-end" for all paths to regional peace. In Jordan, which made peace with Israel in 1993 through a U.S-mediated peace process, protesters near the heavily-defended U.S. Embassy in Amman chanted: "America is the head of the snake. No U.S. embassy on Jordanian soil." Egypt, the most populous Arab country and longtime mediator in the peace process, avoided direct criticism of its U.S. ally. But state-run Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram said in an editorial that the U.S. move was "provocative" and "a dangerous episode in a series that is about to destroy any hope for achieving peace". Washington's foes were predictably scathing. Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani described Trump's international policy as "half-baked". "The leaders of America and the Zionist regime must understand the message of the protests that violating Palestine and the moving of the capital will not go unanswered," he added. In Iraq, Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, a nationalist and long-time adversary of the United States, who was leading in parliamentary elections with more than half the votes counted on Monday, tweeted: "I hope the divine response will come." Hezbollah, a Lebanese Shi'ite group backed by Iran and seen by the United States as a terrorist group and by Israel as the biggest threat on its border, called the embassy move a "worthless" unilateral step. GULF SILENCE Among some people, the dismay was tinged with anger at Arab governments - particularly those of the oil-rich Gulf monarchies - for failing to stop, or even to strongly protest against, the U.S. move. "The Gulf countries are the source of our misfortune," said Khalil Moumneh, a Palestinian refugee in Burj al-Barajneh who has spent his whole life in Lebanon. "This is like Arab rulers are selling a piece of their land," said Heba, a 32-year-old lawyer in Cairo, carrying her young daughter. Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, a former intelligence chief who no longer has a formal role, said on television: "America has stood for the rule of law, for justice, for respect of international agreements... and now we see all of that being pushed aside for the sake of internal political calculations." He said the move would benefit their shared foe Iran, allowing it "to capitalize on this issue". In the southern Yemeni city of Aden, where Gulf states have become embroiled in Yemen's civil war, Rashad Mohamed, a 55-year-old government employee, said the embassy move "has done a service to extremist groups and Iran". Some people accused Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and the custodian of its holiest places, of surrendering Palestinian rights for the sake of its alliance with Trump and his tough stand on Iran. A Saudi foreign ministry statement criticized Israel's violence against protesters and affirmed its support for Palestinian rights but did not mention the embassy move. Saudi newspapers and state media also largely ignored the U.S. move, instead focusing on domestic topics such as preparations for women to be allowed to drive from next month. "We look at our shattered world where we accuse each other of betrayal and of abandoning Palestine, while the truth is we have all abandoned it," tweeted Jamal Khashoggi, a former Saudi newspaper editor. (Reporting By Lisa Barrington and Babak Dehghanpisheh in Beirut, Mahmoud Mourad and Ali Abdelaty in Cairo, Karin Strohecker in London, Lamine Chikhi in Algiers, Stephen Kalin in Riyadh, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Alissa de Carbonnel in Brussels, Aziz El Yaakoubi in Dubai, Mohammed Ghobari in Aden and Daren Butler in Istanbul; writing by Angus McDowall; editing by Samia Nakhoul and Gareth Jones)
Gap has apologized to China after an image of a t-shirt on sale in Canada went viral.

The offending shirt portrayed a map of China that didnt adhere to Beijings territorial claims. Specifically, Taiwan, Southern Tibet, and the South China Sea were omitted from the map. The Peoples Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party, tweeted a picture of the map on Gaps shirt next to the one that is accurate according to Beijing:

American clothing retailer @Gap on Monday apologized for printing incomplete Chinese map on T-shirts for sales outside #China, said the brand respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity pic.twitter.com/uHJoLnpmr6  People's Daily,China (@PDChina) May 14, 2018

While Taiwan is self-governed, only a minority of countries recognize its sovereignty as a nation independent of China. The area China calls Southern Tibet is a disputed region on the countrys border with India, where China claims about 90,000 square kilometres in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. In the South China Sea, China is engaged in a number of disputes over islands, coral reefs, and lagoons in what is a major commercial thoroughfare that is potentially rich in resources.

In a statement the company said, Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. Upon the realization that one of our T-shirts sold in some overseas markets mistakenly failed to reflect the correct map of China, we urgently launched an internal investigation across the group and have decided to immediately pull back this T-shirt from all the concerned global markets. The related products were pulled off the shelves in the Chinese market and destroyed earlier. The company apologized for the error and reaffirmed its adherence to Chinese rules and laws.

This year, China has cracked down on international companies to reinforce the One China policy. Delta Air Lines, Marriott, Zara, and Mercedes-Benz are among the other companies that have apologized after similar slip-ups. Following a letter to several U.S. airlines demanding they change the way they refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau in promotional materials, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement calling the demand Orwellian nonsense.
It is possible, in theory, that the parallel events of May 14 might affect the sympathies of Americans watching them unfold on the split screens of cable news channels.

In Jerusalem, the ceremonial opening of the new U.S. Embassy proceeded at a stately pace, President Trumps daughter Ivanka unveiling a plaque that announced not only the new address for U.S. representation in Israel but also a new, snugger alignment with the host nation. A few miles away, cameras captured the chaos as Israeli soldiers methodically cut down some 2,700 Palestinians, 60 fatally, as they marched toward the fence that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip.

That patch of land, which hugs the Mediterranean Sea between Israel and Egypt, is home to some 2 million Palestinians, most of whose families once lived on land that is today Israel. They are stubborn refugees with no prospect of return, physically confined in an area only twice the size of the District of Columbia and with no prospect of improvement. Last year a Gaza home had four to six hours of electricity a day and water for six to eight hours every fourth day. Youth unemployment is 60%.

People are almost dead here, says Amal Murtaja, a teacher at the American International School in Gaza, explaining why thousands have gathered at the border over the past six weeks. They have zero money to support their families. So they thought, Were dead anyways.

A man hides behind an embankment during the protest along the Gaza-Israel border.

Paramedics assist a man who was injured in the chest and arms by Israeli troops along the Gaza border.

The idea of assembling at the fortified fence, both to protest the embassy move and to assert a right to return, first took root on social media. Political factions soon glommed on, including Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip. Inside Gaza, that brought a level of official organization to the project. Outside Gaza, it made an emotionally complex undertaking easier to condemn.

Partly funded by Iran, Hamas is seen as a terrorist group by the U.S. and Europe; it sent suicide bombers into Israel during the armed uprising of 2000. Its imprimatur, and presence, allowed Israel to cast the confrontation in purely military terms. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas, White House spokesman Raj Shah said on May 14, declining the balancing language of previous Administrations. Israel has the right to defend itself.

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With Trump in the White House, Israel has never sat taller in the saddle. The Iran nuclear deal is gone, and the opening of the embassy undercuts Palestinian aspirations for a Jerusalem capital of their own. The move was welcomed in Israel as a moment of validation 70 years to the day after its founding. The U.S. was the first country to recognize the new nation, a move Americans supported 2 to 1. Decades later, Americans continue to favor the Israelis over the Palestinians in ratios that are the mirror opposite of how the sides are viewed in Europe. There, newspapers referred to the Gaza massacre.

Palestinians, including a group of women, near the border fence with Israel during the demonstration.

A wounded woman is evacuated by other women after she was injured in the head during the protest along the Gaza-Israel border.

What has changed in the U.S. is the nature of the support. A March Pew poll found Republicans three times as likely as Democrats to say they prefer the Israeli side (half of Democrats sympathized with Palestinians). The GOPs backing is driven partly by evangelical Christians, whose zeal Israelis view uneasily, and partly by Trump, who swept aside the pretense of honest broker maintained by previous Administrations and moved the embassy out of Tel Aviv, where other nations keep their diplomats in deference to Palestinian aspirations. The result is a consolidation of political power for Israel commensurate with its military mightboth guaranteed by the U.S.

Left unsaid is why the U.S. ever wanted to be an honest broker. The specter of terrorism may animate Trumps approach to the region, but U.S. diplomacy for decades has recognized that the Palestinian struggle is for nationhood. And with that prospect diminished, the despair surging in Gaza also subsumes the West Bank. That Palestinian territory is governed not by Hamas but by the Palestinian Authority, funded by the U.S. and Europe and led by Mahmoud Abbas, whom Washington maneuvered to succeed Yasser Arafat. Abbas, described by Pope Francis as a man of peace, once spoke ardently of giving Palestinians hope. But after the embassy announcement he appeared to have lost his own, delivering a speech on April 30 smattered with anti-Semitic rhetoric, which he later walked back. A sense of regression was afoot in the land.

Look at our young men, everywhere, who are telling the Israeli occupation that we sacrifice our lives for liberation, said Ghassan Wahdan, 41, at a May 14 protest near an Israeli checkpoint on the West Bank. Either we want to live a decent life, or we dont want a life.

A wounded demonstrator is carried away during the protest along the Gaza-Israel border.

Palestinian men pray along the Gaza-Israel border.

Palestinian boys observe the protest along the Gaza-Israel border.

Israeli policymakers privately speak not of negotiating a final peace but of managing the conflict. In 2011, when the Arab Spring encouraged the idea that nonviolent marches could achieve anything, and at least 14 Palestinian protesters were killed breaching border fences, Israeli commanders expressed alarm at the toll. We have to come up with an improvement in nonlethal weapons, no doubt, one Israeli official said at the time. Yet no such innovation was evident on the Gaza border on May 14. Soon after the violence, the U.N. Security Council drafted a statement calling for an investigation, which was swiftly blocked by the U.S.

How Palestinians choose to proceed will also be key. One West Bank advocate for expanding nonviolent confrontation, Fadi Quran, argued that the deaths will play the role the 1960 Sharpeville massacre did in South Africa, where the slaying of 69 anti-apartheid activists changed the course of the nations history. This year is going to be the year that either nonviolence succeeds in transforming how the struggle is won on the ground here, Quran says, or its the year where Palestinians realize that they cannot count on the international community, no matter what form of struggle they use.

The conflict between Israel and Palestinians, in other words, may no longer be the burning central question of the Middle East. But its not for lack of fuel. With reporting by Nuha Musleh/Ramallah

An injured man is assisted by medics in a field hospital set up along the Gaza-Israel border.

An injured man rests in a bed at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Palestinians sit along the Gaza-Israel border as smoke wafts in the distance.

Ibrahim Dahir, 32, whose left leg was injured by Israeli troops during the protest, lays in a bed at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.

Emanuele Satolli is an Italian photographer based in Istanbul. Follow him on Instagram @emanuelesatolli.

Karl Vick is an Editor-at-Large based in New York after four years in Jerusalem. Follow him on Twitter @karl_vick.

Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is TIMEs Deputy Director of Multimedia. Follow him on Instagram @katzandrew.
Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - At Gaza's Shifa Hospital, people search desperately for loved ones. Some already know they are dead and grimly work their way through bodies.

Others have received no news so scour the wards, before descending to the morgue.

There a young man cries "Why are you leaving me alone?" as the body of his older brother lies on a stretcher.

But his mourning is cut short by the voice of a mortuary attendant calling to a colleague to move the corpse.

"Put him in the fridge quickly, another one has arrived," he said.

The dead man was one of at least 55 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border Monday as mass protests broke out against the controversial US embassy move.

It was the deadliest day in the conflict since a 2014 war between Israel and the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers Hamas.

In Shifa the situation is critical.

Even before the days carnage, medical centres were running desperately low on vital medicines after seven weeks of bloody protests that have left 109 Palestinians killed. No Israelis have died.

The Gaza Ministry of Health called for citizens to donate blood as supplies were running low.

-Break the fence-

Israel accuses Hamas of being behind the protests and says it is merely defending its territory.

Whether the bloodshed achieved the protesters goals is unclear.

The stated aim - to break the fence and enter Israel - wasnt achieved.

Palestinians were calling to be allowed to return to the homes their families fled from in 1948.

Using clouds of smoke from burning tyres to mask their approach, they hurled stones and some fire bombs toward the border.

Positioned on sand berms, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas first and then live rounds at the Gazans.

For hours groups of young Palestinian men tried without success to prise apart part of a barbed wire fence on their side of the border, which bars the way to a more robust barrier closer to Israeli troops.

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Despite the numbers falling around them, the protesters kept approaching the fence.

"We will continue to try to breach the border," said 20 year old Rabia al-Khawaja.

The wider goals of the protest, to focus attention on the suffering of the two million residents of Gaza and the Palestinian rejection of the embassy move, were achieved.

South Africa recalled its ambassador from Israel in protest, while Kuwait requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for Tuesday and condemned the bloodshed.

-Back tomorrow-

Inside Shifa Hospital, such is the shortage of beds that Mohammed Mekdad is being treated in a makeshift tent outside the emergency room.

He was shot in both legs and they are wrapped in a light gauze that barely stems the bleeding.

Passed a mobile phone, he sobs to his family: "I am in Shifa, come quickly."

On the side of the tent a woman and her daughter stand with tears filling their eyes.

"They told me my son was injured in the leg. I didn't find him here, he may have been killed and they didnt tell me," the mother said.

As the afternoon wore on, ambulances brought more wounded to the tent, with doctors admitting they were sending people home for lack of space.

As sunset approached, loudspeakers called on people to withdraw from the border zone amid rumours of plans for Israeli shelling and soon the protests drew to an end.

"We retreated in the evening after seeing planes and tanks (preparing to) bombard us," Khawaja said.

Looking at the border after the bloodiest day in the conflict in years, Umm Jameel said one of her sons had been injured in the leg.

Would she come back tomorrow?

"Of course," she said.
George Soros

Reuters/Jorge Silva

George Soros' Open Society Foundation (OSF) is closing its Hungarian office, citing a "repressive political and legal environment."

Hungary recently passed a law dubbed the "Stop Soros Act" that gives the interior minister the power to expel NGOs.

The recently re-elected right-wing Hungarian government ran a poster campaign against the billionaire, accusing him of meddling in countries' affairs.

The OSF president said: "The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union."



George Soros' Open Society Foundation (OSF) is pulling out of Hungary after the introduction of tighter restrictions on non-governmental organisations in the country that have been dubbed the 'Stop Soros Act.'

The OSF announced the move on Tuesday, blaming "an increasingly repressive political and legal environment." The foundation, which is funded by Soros and supports civil society groups around the world, said it will continue to support its work in Hungary and channel funding to projects from it's office in Berlin.

"The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union," OSF president Patrick Gaspard said in a statement.

A government billboard is seen in Budapest, Hungary, February 14, 2018. A billboard reads: 'Soros wants to transplant millions from Africa and the Middle East'. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Thomson ReutersThe retreat for OSF follows a landslide election victory for the right-wing Hungarian government led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban has been an outspoken critic of Soros and the activities of his foundation. The Prime Minister has accused him of meddling in the international affairs of countries and trying to flood the EU and Hungary with migrants. The government ran a poster campaign against Soros and sent a questionnaire about the billionaire to 8 million Hungarians.

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Speaking after his election victory, Orban said: "I know they [the OSF] wont accept the result of the election, they will organize all sorts of things, they have unlimited financial resources."

The attacks on OSF, which the NGO says are unfounded, were a core element of Orban and his Fidez parties' political campaign which saw them re-elected for a third term with almost 48% of votes.

Orban has increased his power over the media and put allies in control of institutions that were previously independent. He fell out with both Soros and the EU over the 2015 financial crisis and his stance on restricting immigration.

The Fidez party initiated the "Stop Soros Act" in February. It enables the interior minister to ban NGO's working on immigration citing possible "national security risks." It requires foreign-funded NGO's, like OSF to pay 25 % tax.

Soros, born in Hungary and a Jewish survivor of World War II, is worth around $25 billion and is best known in the UK as "The Man who broke the Bank of England" after he bet big against the pound in 1992 and made more than $1 billion.

The Hungarian billionaire has faced attacks in recent months from populists and nationalists who denounce his support for liberal causes.

Soros attacked his critics in a January interview with the Financial Times, saying that the dominant ideology in the world now is nationalism. He added that he believed Putin was behind many of the attacks on him.

"It's deja vu all over again with one big change  the dominant ideology in the world now is nationalism," said Soros. "It's the EU that's the institution that's on the verge of a breakdown. And Russia is now the resurgent power, based on nationalism."

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Budapest (AFP) - The announcement Tuesday that a foundation run by US-Hungarian liberal billionaire George Soros will quit Hungary puts the spotlight once again on the favourite whipping boy of Western nationalists.

Over three decades since it began, Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF) threw in the towel, citing Hungary's "increasingly repressive political and legal environment".

The organisation's departure will be poignant for the 87-year-old financier-cum-philanthropist who emigrated from Hungary after World War II.

In recent years Hungary's fiercely anti-immigration Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who himself received a Soros scholarship to study at Oxford, has accused Soros of orchestrating Europes migration crisis.

But the anti-Soros rhetoric is far from being limited to just Hungary.

Soros, listed by Forbes magazine as one of the worlds richest men, is accused by nationalists around the globe not just of stoking immigration but also of backing coups, sponsoring protests, and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda.

Soros "makes an excellent scapegoat for increasingly authoritarian regimes as someone who's invested a lot of money into philanthropy and represents capitalism", German political analyst Ulf Brunnbauer recently told AFP.

- 'Gift to my enemies' -

Born in the Hungarian capital in 1930, Soros survived both the Nazi and Soviet occupation before eventually moving to the US where he made his fortune from hedge funds.

His dealings were not without controversy.

In 1992, the Wall Street trader became known as "the man who broke the bank of England" when his aggressive speculation against the sterling sent it crashing out of the European exchange mechanism.

He also has a 2002 conviction of insider trading in France, a verdict he described as a "gift to my enemies".

Marked by his experience of totalitarian regimes  "I have seen the damage done when societies succumb to the fear of the 'other'," he wrote in the New York Times last year  Soros created his foundation in 1984 to help countries move from communism toward democracy.

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Since then he has poured billions of euros into ex-Soviet satellite states for programmes ranging from finance, health and justice reforms, to promoting the rights of minority groups and keeping tabs on government corruption.

He also backed pro-democracy groups in the colour revolutions in central and eastern Europe, and vowed to spend $1 billion in Ukraine to help save it from "Russian aggression".

Moscows "concept of government is irreconcilable with that of open society," Soros said recently.

- Call for 'de-Sorosisation' -

This kind of "interference" has earned him powerful enemies.

The Kremlin has accused Soros of fomenting violent uprisings and banned the OSF in 2015 as part of a massive NGO clampdown.

Europes migration crisis, which erupted that same year, has also deepened the rift between the pro-refugee rights OSF and anti-immigration nationalists.

Macedonia last year saw the emergence of a "Stop Operation Soros" movement and calls for the country's "de-Sorosisation".

The head of Poland's governing right-wing party Jaroslaw Kaczynski said Soros wanted to create "societies without an identity," while Romania's ruling party leader alleged the tycoon had "financed evil" by sponsoring mass protests.

Soros "interferes in elections and referendums all over the world," said leading Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage in February.

Italian anti-immigration leader - and possible member of the next government - Matteo Salvini has flayed the billionaire as "dangerous" for allegedly wanting to turn Italy into a "half-breed" country.

Meanwhile, leaders of Austria's far-right Freedom Party - now in government - have also begun to echo Orban's criticisms of Soros, while a right-wing magazine in France caused outrage with a recent front cover accusing Soros of "scheming against France".

And on the other side of the Atlantic, the far-right news website Breitbart  whose co-founding member Steve Bannon is a former aide to US President Donald Trump  runs almost daily anti-Soros stories.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are due to marry this Saturday, and more details of the day are slowly dripping in.

Now, Kensington Palace has revealed where the bride and groom will be staying  separately, of course  the night before their wedding.

Prince Harry will be staying at Coworth Park in Ascot, Berkshire, with his brother and best man, Prince William, for his last night as a single man.

Coworth Park is a country hotel located in Ascot, England. (Photo: Coworth Park)

Coworth Park  part of the Dorchester Collection hotel group  is a five-star luxury hotel with acres of surrounding land.

Prince Harry is familiar with the hotel, as he and his brother play polo on its grounds for the Audi Polo Challenge each year.

The couple will marry on May 19 at Windsor Castle. (Photo: Getty Images)

Markle has visited the hotel too, watching her groom play during the tournament in the early days of their relationship in May 2017.

The grounds are roughly 8.2 miles from Windsor Castle, meaning the groom will have to make around a 20-minute drive to his wedding venue on the morning of May 19.

One nights sleep in Coworth Parks cheapest room costs 372 (about $500), while its top-tier lodgings, the Mansion House Premium Suite (fit for a prince, no doubt), will set you back a cool 1,749 ($2,354) per night.

It will come as no surprise that theres no availability at the hotel on the night before the wedding, so royal fans looking to get a first glimpse of Prince Harry in his military attire will be out of luck.

Cliveden House Hotel is a five-star country house hotel in Berkshire near London. (Photo: Cliveden House)

Markle, accompanied by her mother, Doria Ragland, will be staying at Cliveden House Hotel, roughly 36 miles from where Prince Harry will be.

Cliveden is a five-star country house hotel in Berkshire near London, and its roughly nine miles from Windsor (25 minutes or so in the car).

Cliveden boasts award-winning restaurants and a spa, where the bride and her mom will no doubt get in some pampering time before the big day.

The hotels club rooms start at 445 ($599) per night, and rise steadily to the hotels most expensive rooms, the Mansion House Suites, which cost 1,535 ($2,066) per night.

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Cliveden House Hotel is where Markle is expected to have her hair and makeup done on the morning of the wedding, and its where shell get changed into that hotly anticipated wedding dress.

We can already hear the press setting up camp on the hotel grounds, hoping to get a first picture of her emerging

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Indonesia was rocked by a wave of deadly suicide bombings Sunday and Monday, including three near-simultaneous church blasts that killed 13 people and left scores injured in the countrys worst terrorist attack in a decade. Two of the attacks, and a third apparently foiled attack, were conducted by families that included young children.

On Sunday morning, a family of six, including children and teenagers, carried out suicide attacks that tore through three churches just before Sunday service in Indonesias second largest city, Surabaya. Bombs planted at a further two of the citys other churches failed to explode, Indonesias Jakarta Post reports.

Hours before, counterterrorism agents in West Java had shot dead four suspected terrorists and recovered handguns and explosives from the scene. That evening, three more people  a mother, father, and one of their three children  died in an explosion at an apartment block in Sidoarjo, just kilometers from the Surabaya churches. Local authorities said the family members were the perpetrators, not victims of the blast, according to the Guardian.

And on Monday morning, another bombing at Surabayas police headquarters killed at least four people and injured ten others. That attack was perpetrated by a family of five, including an eight-year-old child according to an Indonesian police official.

This is the act of cowards, undignified and barbaric, said Indonesias President Joko Widodo Monday, in reference to the spate of violence.

The attacks come on the eve of Islams holy month of Ramadan, which begins on May 15 or 16. While the vast majority of Muslims regard Ramadan as a period of reflection and charity, violent extremist groups consider attacks committed during the period particularly holy.

Indonesian police stand guard outside the Surabaya police station following another explosion on May 14, 2018 in Surabaya, Indonesia.

What do we know about the attackers?

Indonesian authorities say that a family of six was responsible for the three Sunday morning church attacks. Mother Puji and her two daughters Fadhila, 12, and Famela, 9, carried out the bombing at Diponegoro Indonesian Christian Church. Yusuf, 18 and Alif, 16 detonated bombs near the entrance to the Santa Maria Catholic Church. And Dita, their father drove a car bomb into the Surabaya Centre Pentecostal church, according to Indonesias National Police Chief Tito Karnavian.

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Karnavian initially said he suspected the family of six had likely returned from Syria, where hundreds of Indonesians have traveled to join the Islamic State (ISIS). But on Monday, the police chief clarified reports that the family had spent time in Syria were incorrect, according to AP.

He added that the family who died in the Sidoarjo  from which two surviving children were rushed to hospital  the family that perpetrated the Surabaya church bombings, all six of whom died, and the family that attacked the police headquarters were friends. The four adult perpetrators in the police headquarters attack died but the young child is now recovering in hospital.

ISIS claimed the church attacks through its Amaq media agency, Agence France-Presse reports.

Wawan Purwan, the communications director at Indonesias intelligence agency, said the Surabaya attackers were likely linked to the perpetrators of a prison riot last week, in which more than 150 Islamist militants killed five members of Indonesias elite Mobile Brigade police before surrendering.

This picture taken on May 13, 2018 shows a candlelight vigil in the city of Medan on Indonesia's Sumatra island to support the victims and their relatives of a series attacks at churches in Surabaya, East Java.

Is this the first time Indonesian women and children have been involved in suicide bombings?

Terrorism expert Sidney Jones, the director of the Jakarta-based Institute for Policy and Analysis of Conflict (IPAC), tells TIME that her organization has been flagging increased activity on the part of women, and increased intention to get involved in a more active combatant role for some time.

Indeed, female would-be suicide bombers are not new: in December 2016 Indonesian authorities arrested Dian Yulia Novi and Ika Puspitasari, who had volunteered for suicide missions. However, Sundays attacks are the first time female suicide bombers have successfully detonated devices in Indonesia, according to Jones.

Taufik Andrie the executive director of Indonesias Insitute for International Peace Building tells TIME. Its moving forward very fast in terms of how women are trying to reach their ultimate goal of being as important as men as perpetrators. Sunday and Mondays attackers he says, are likely to serve as a role model for other militants.

The narrative has now changed: its not only that kids can be a part of the radical family, but of also a part of the Jundallah, Andrie says, using an Arabic word meaning The Army of God.

Read more: ISIS Unveiled: The Story Behind Indonesias First Female Suicide Bomber

Although Indonesia does have a history of conflicts involving child combatants  such as in the Maluku Sectarian conflicts of the late 1990s and early 2000s  the use of young children in suicide missions is a particularly egregious development.

According to IPACs Jones, when Indonesian police refer to families who have returned from Syria, they often mean those who attempted to join ISIS there but were deported before crossing the border.

Deportees are put through a rudimentary rehabilitation program, Jones says, but the government lacks the capacity to monitor them once they have completed the short program: In this case, and in a couple of other cases, some seriously ideologically committed individuals have returned having been deported but they havent been picked up by Indonesian government programs.

Yuliastuti, grieves in front coffin of Sri Puji, one of the victims killed at Surabaya Centre Pentecostal Church attack, following a blast at the church a day earlier on May 14, 2018 in Surabaya, Indonesia.

What is Indonesias history with militant Islamist groups?

In the early 2000s, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), a homegrown extremist group allied with al-Qaeda and with cells in neighboring countries, was responsible for a spate of attacks in Indonesia, the deadliest of which were the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people. However, through a counter-terrorism offensive aided by the U.S., Jakarta eventually broke JI  the groups latest major attack was a suicide bombing in 2009, which killed nine people including the attackers.

Counterterrorism experts have warned of the threat returning fighters from Syria and Iraq pose to Indonesia, the worlds largest Muslim-majority nation. In June last year, Indonesias Military Chief General Nurmantyo told reporters In almost every province [of Indonesia] there are already ISIS cells. But they are sleeper cells.

After a period of relative calm, five ISIS devotees attacked a Starbucks in central Jakarta with bombs and guns in January 2016. In July that year, a botched suicide bombing at a police station in central Java killed the attacker and injured one officer. And in November, police foiled a plot to bomb the Myanmar embassy in Jakarta. When an ad-hoc group of ISIS aligned militants laid siege to Marawi City in the Philippines in May 2017, Indonesian fighters were among the combatants.

Read more: What the siege of a Philippine city reveals about ISIS deadly new front in Asia

It would be wrong to characterize Indonesians as overly prone to radicalism, TIMEs Charlie Campbell wrote in 2017, noting the relatively small proportion of Indonesians traveling to Syria and Iraq compared with those of other nations. However, the sheer size of the countrys population means even a slight increase in radicalized individuals could have calamitous consequences.

The success of the latest wave of attacks, says Taufik Andrie, will have inspired confidence in would-be militants: I think many of them will follow their lead, he says.
The EU believes the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal is worth preserving. It is no surprise, then, that President Trumps decision to restore nuclear sanctions and terminate Americas adherence to the JCPOA risks putting Washington on a collision course with Europe. With sanctions kicking-in between the next 90 to 180 days, all attention will be on the efficacy of American tools of financial pressure. In the interim, Washington must not lose sight of managing Europes reaction and preventing Iran from taking advantage of fissures in the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Already, there are meetings scheduled between European officials and their Iranian counterparts. Irans Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has tasked the government of President Hassan Rouhani with obtaining a strong guarantee from Europe to shield the Islamic Republic from American sanctions. Absent that, Khamenei said Iran wont stick to the nuclear agreement. And there is reason to worry.

In the 2003-2005 iteration of nuclear talks, it was then chief nuclear negotiator Rouhani who met with foreign ministers from the E3 (France, Germany, and the U.K.) and obtained a promise to prevent the transfer of Irans nuclear file to the UN Security Council (UNSC). After Rouhani was relieved of his duties in 2005, Irans nuclear dossier was eventually transferred to the UNSC, and the first in a series of escalating UNSC Resolutions (UNSCRs) against Iran were passed. As such, with Rouhani back at the helm and looking for guarantees, Europe and Iran may be able to work out a strategy to keep the deal alive and offset American sanctions.

Now, as Washington looks to generate the same pressure on Iran that existed during the sanctions incubation period (2010-2013), it must not forget that those measures had EU political buy-in and followed the strongest UNSCR on Iran. This necessitates close diplomatic coordination with Europe before the 180-day period lapses.

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Conversely, while Europe may strongly disagree with Washingtons unilateral exit, it too, can work to stem any trans-Atlantic fissure. Private European banks and businesses are more inclined to heed the Treasury Departments warnings, since they will make the logical calculation that doing business in an economy the size of Irans pales in comparison to being able to do business with the U.S. But state-owned European companies are another matter since they might be willing to take the risk of doing business with Iran, especially if they continue to hear invective against Washington by EU leaders.

In the aftermath of President Trumps decision, the E3 reiterated its commitment to keeping accord, as did EU High Representative Federica Mogherini. While both their statements cited the importance of UNSCR 2231which unanimously passed in 2015, codifying the JCPOAMogherinis statement signaled a European interest in deterring Washington from enforcing sanctions. The European Union is determined to act in accordance with its security interests and to protect its economic investments, she said. These interests might necessitate returning to 1990s-style blocking legislation that could shield European firms from having to comply with extra-territorial sanctions, an issue that EU officials have already met to discuss. Other options available to the EU include siding with Iran to stigmatize the U.S. as the violator of the accord in the JCPOAs Joint Commission, as well as filing complaints at the World Trade Organization.

A recent Politico article helps explain the EUs dogged attachment to the JCPOA as being motivated by pride, rather than commerce. While this may overstate the case in an attempt to understate the efficacy of American sanctionsparticularly as European imports from Iran have risen in the last two yearsit is worth considering. The EU has previously framed the JCPOA as the culmination of 12 years of diplomacy facilitated by the EU. Put differently, the EU sees the JCPOA as a multinational endeavor to use peaceful means of conflict resolution to [attempt] to solve a major global challenge.

Ultimately, even if the attempt to put up a fight is ineffective and American secondary sanctions compel Europe into begrudging compliance with the U.S.s pressure strategy, the short-term beneficiary of this public tiff would be the Islamic Republic.

Tehran could easily exploit the distance between both sides of the Atlantic over Iran policy to continue its destabilizing activitiessupport for terror groups in the regionwith little unified Western response. And in international fora, Iran could use European arguments against Washington to paint American concerns about Irans behavior as politically charged. To preclude that, Washington should create a channel with Europe to find a way to focus on areas of non-nuclear common interest in the post-May 8 world that involve Iran, like stopping ballistic missile flight tests.

Although its not worth crying over spilt milk, Washington had ample opportunity and authority to grow financial pressure on Iran in a manner that would not violate the JCPOA, and thus not cause a trans-Atlantic row. Neither President Obama, or interestingly enough, President Trump, took that chance. Instead, Washington today finds itself in a high-risk, high-reward game of sanctions enforcementnot against its chief Middle Eastern adversary, but rather, against its major global partner.

Behnam Ben Taleblu is a research fellow focusing on Iran at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
An Iranian student group has said it will pay $100,000 to anyone who is able to destroy the newly opened U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

The embassy was opened yesterday, accompanied by protests in the Gaza Strip that saw at least 58 Palestinians killed by Israeli army snipers. President Donald Trumps decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem has drawn international condemnation and dealt a blow to hopes of any Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement.

Now a hard-line Iranian organizationthe Iranian Justice Seekers Student Movementhas distributed posters calling for attacks on the embassy. In English, Arabic and Farsi, the fliers say the group will support anybody who destroys the illegal American embassy in Jerusalem.

Trending: Yanny vs. Laurel: What Does This Viral Video Say?

Jerusalem embassy

REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

The group claimed it would pay a $100,000 reward to whoever destroys the facility. The distribution of the posters was first reported by the Farsi-language regional news website University Student News Network.

The decision to open the embassy has been widely criticized. Trump announced the plan when he officially recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital in December 2017. Both Israelis and Palestinians consider Jerusalem their first city, so Trumps decision to recognize the city as the Israeli capital undermined Palestinian hopes it will serve as the capital of their future state.

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Most national embassies are located in Tel Aviv to avoid this issue. The U.S. was the first to announce it would relocate its facility, and several other nations have since followed suit.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday that the embassy, which he called a "settlement outpost," stood as an obstacle to peace. The president said Palestinian negotiators would not take part in any peace talks mediated by the U.S. in any way, shape or form.

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American and Israeli officials attending the opening ceremony yesterday stood in stark contrast to the bloodied protesters in Gaza. The American delegation was made up of Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and several lawmakers and religious leaders. Kushner has been criticized for comments suggesting protesters in Gaza are part of the problem and not part of the solution. These comments were edited out of the White House's official transcript from the event.

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REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun

U.S. Marines are now being deployed to American embassies in a range of countries in the region to provide additional security against potential retaliatory attacks.

On Monday, Irans Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani said the U.S. has entered a crisis of strategic decision-making that looks at the international arena immaturely and adventurously. He warned, Feeble-mindedness is costly for statesmen, and they will eventually have to pay the price.

Iranian-American relations are at a low point after Trump announced he would withdraw from the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which lifted international sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs in its nuclear program. The remaining signatories to the deal are attempting to work with Iran to maintain the agreement, but if it fails Iranian leaders have threatened to resume their nuclear weapons research.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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President Donald Trump sent his daughter and son-in-law to Jerusalem to help open the new U.S. Embassy there on Monday.

While the dignitaries were celebrating this major change in Mideast policy, protests against the decision to move the embassy turned violent in Gaza. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, Israeli troops shot and killed at least 58 protesters while some 2,700 others were injured.

The demonstrations were not mentioned during the embassy ceremony, but many people took to social media to call out White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kusher for celebrating the opening in the wake of such deadly violence:

My god, this image pic.twitter.com/e0xd7SEvq8  Luke Savage (@LukewSavage) May 14, 2018

Kushner and Ivankas presence and public roles at this Jerusalem embassy opening are outlandish. They are Assistants to the President. They have no business and no rank to be speaking for the country at a geopolitical flash point. We dont have Princes and princesses in America  Steve Schmidt (@SteveSchmidtSES) May 15, 2018

Ivanka Trump is still all smiles at new US embassy in Jerusalem even though Israeli snipers killed 52 Palestinians at Gaza border protests. https://t.co/QFq2CaguHk pic.twitter.com/MSOa5YosOe  Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 14, 2018

You lose the PR advantage on this one, #MrTrump, with those two images side be side, Ivanka and Jared yukking it up in Jerusalem while the Palestinians get shot at. Perfect, you moron.  Bette Midler (@BetteMidler) May 14, 2018

Ivanka Daddys Little Diplomat Trump opens the new Jerusalem embassy with the traditional, seductive Im pretending to be a supermodel kiss to cameras [at 33 seconds], famous in diplomatic circles since John Adams coquettishly opened the White House.pic.twitter.com/xKo4M9VLoy  Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) May 14, 2018

Jared Kushner failed to disclose that he served as a director for a foundation that funded a controversial Israeli settlement. Is he really the right person to serve as part of the US delegation to Jerusalem?https://t.co/mt8aifJUDk  Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 14, 2018

Jared and Bubblehead outside the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. While they are smiling and Ivanka does her best Price Is Right model point, 41 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,600 were wounded by Israeli soldiers whiles protesting on the Gaza Strip. Talk about tone deaf. pic.twitter.com/ssyZY0VQUw  Tiggerpawz Today (@tiggerpawz2day) May 14, 2018

Jared and Ivanka partying it up in Jerusalem while Israeli forces massacre Palestinians in Gaza is a level of depravity you can only find in the Trump and Netanyahu administrations.  Eugene Gu, MD (@eugenegu) May 14, 2018

Say what you will about Ivanka Trump, but she is ambitious. Today in Jerusalem she added whitewashing war crimes to her resume whereas before it had only been whitewashing sexual assault, adultery, racism, homophobia, and xenophobia.  Shannon Coulter (@shannoncoulter) May 14, 2018

People who told us Obama lacked experience are quite pleased that Jared Kushner is setting policy.  John Fugelsang (@JohnFugelsang) May 14, 2018

"On behalf of the 45th President of the US, we welcome you officially, and for the first time, to the Embassy of the US, here in Jerusalem. Ivanka Trump



This is not our Secretary of State. Its Trumps unqualified daughter. Proof nepotism is bad. pic.twitter.com/ACK4TNgUNd  Scott Dworkin (@funder) May 14, 2018

Javanka appearing in Jerusalem with Jared making a speech saying trump keeps his promises. Really???  Marcia Van Note (@317spier) May 14, 2018

Someone please remind me again why Jared Kushkush, who doesn't even have a security clearance, is delivering a speech at that embassy right now like he's the Secretary of State?? pic.twitter.com/MIUMVgwqb2  John Christopher (@jayceekessel) May 14, 2018

Contrast of the day pic.twitter.com/nIPtEqIxhg  Deborah B. Solomon (@deborah_solomon) May 14, 2018

Stands in the heart of the #TrumpRussia criminal investigation.



Has no security clearance.



No diplomatic experience.



Born a third generation multimillionaire.



Married Trumps daughter.



Why is Jared Kushner speaking for the United States in Israel while Palestine burns? pic.twitter.com/7eao1aa8aN  Grant Stern (@grantstern) May 14, 2018

This split-screen shot by @SkyNews on the Jerusalem embassy opening is everything wrong with the Trump administration and Javanka, in particular. Complete refusal to acknowledge how much their actions hurt or damage others, just furious, non-stop spin. pic.twitter.com/q5fi11Wgz1  Nai Mei (@naimeiyao) May 14, 2018

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Ivanka Trump, who is in Israel to mark the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, received a blessing from a controversial rabbi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ivanka Trump was blessed by a controversial rabbi, Yitzhak Yosef, who once implied that women who dress immodestly are animals, that black people are monkeys, and that non-Jewish people should not live in Israel unless they respect its religious laws.

The first daughter and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in Israel to mark the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, a city considered holy by three religions, amid protests between Palestinian protesters and the Israeli military, that have resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people, including eight children, according to ABC News.

Today we dedicated the new US Embassy in Jerusalem  a longtime promise to the American and Israeli people, Ivanka captioned an Instagram photo depicting her wearing a $1,890 Ralph Lauren jacket with a matching skirt and taupe pumps. When President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it.

On Sunday, the couple received the blessing from Yosef, an event that disgusted many on social media.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner choose a Rabbi to be blessed by: Yitzhak Yosef, who compares black people to monkeys, women who dress immodestly to animals, wants to expel non-Jews out of Israel to Saudi Arabiahttps://t.co/RfvCWVpqdb  Alfons Lopez Tena #FBPE (@alfonslopeztena) May 14, 2018

Not surprised that Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are being blessed by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, the Rabbi who infamously compared Black people to monkeys. The head of their household considers African countries "shitholes" and insults minorities regularly. Go figure.  Ernest Owens (@MrErnestOwens) May 14, 2018

Of course, openly using racial slurs has never been a problem for this garbage family and Regime, so Jared and Ivanka met with Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef for a blessing, less than 2 months after his slurs towards Black Peoplehttps://t.co/lwhphaSzHs  Sasha Fox (@third_sasha) May 14, 2018

Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (pictured with Pope Francis) reportedly blessed Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. (Photo: Getty Images)

According to a 2017 Times of Israel story, the rabbi once suggested during a weekly sermon that women who did not dress modestly are comparable to animals.

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If the secular knew how much we respect the woman Everything we do is for a womans dignity, Yosef said, according to the website, which credited the remarks to the Hebrew-language website Kikar Hashabat. A woman is not an animal; she has to keep her dignity. To be modest [in her dress] is her dignity.

During that sermon, the rabbi also referred to the religious tradition of not allowing men to hear a woman sing by herself, explaining that when he finds himself in such situations, he should pretend to read a book. That way they could all see that I am not listening, my head is in the book, close to what matters, he reportedly said.

Racially charged comment made by Israeli Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, comparing people of color to "monkeys", is utterly unacceptable. https://t.co/uQRPk7meyl  ADL (@ADL_National) March 20, 2018

In March, the Times of Israel also reported that Yosef used the word kushi, which is considered racist. You cant make the blessing on every kushi you see  in America, you see one every five minutes, so you make it only on a person with a white father and mother, he reportedly said. How would you know? Lets say you know! So they had a monkey as a son, a son like this, so you say the blessing on him.

At the time, Yosef explained that he was referencing the Talmud, the book of Jewish law, which states that the blessing is given when a person sees an elephant or a monkey. However, the Anti-Defamation League called the rabbis comments utterly unacceptable.

And in 2016, the Times of Israel reported that Rabbi Yosef remarked that non-Jewish people should not live in Israel if they dont obey the laws of Judaism. According to Jewish law, gentiles should not live in the Land of Israel, Yosef reportedly said. If a gentile does not agree to take on the seven Noahide Laws, we should send him to Saudi Arabia. When the true and complete redemption arrives, that is what we will do.

The rabbi also dislikes smartphones and even destroyed one belonging to a student by throwing it in water. If there is a student with an iPhone, then he needs to be kicked out of the yeshiva, without a doubt, for sure, he reportedly said in 2015, according to the Times of Israel, which attributed the story to Kikar Hashabat.

At the time, Yosef recalled an example of a student whose phone rang during class. After telling the student to bring him a bowl of water, the rabbi said, I put [the phone] inside, it bubbled, and was gone. The phone was gone.

According to Yosef, the boy said, Rabbi, that cost me hundreds of shekels, to which he responded: I told you not to bring it; there was an announcement not to do so. I dont have to pay you.

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Jerusalem (AFP) - Reactions to the opening of a US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday reflected the city's ethnic and religious divide, with Israelis jubilant and Palestinians seemingly resigned.

About a mile from the embassy building, the Palestinian neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber was peaceful although it has seen violent confrontations between its inhabitants and Israeli security forces in the past.

Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv "is not going to affect the lives of residents, but it will have a political impact because it will strengthen Israel and incite intolerance," neighbourhood leader Hussein Iwesiat told AFP.

"The (Israeli) occupation will be encouraged to become more violent," he said.

For Palestinians, the order given by President Donald Trump to break with decades of US policy, recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the embassy there is deeply provocative.

In east Jerusalem's walled Old City all was quiet on Monday and shops were open as usual, but there was frustration beneath the calm surface.

"I feel insulted as an Arab, humiliated by everything that happens," shopworker Ali Jaber, 53, said.

"But what can we do?"

Sitting amid the colourful clothes in her shop in an Old City bazaar, 32-year-old Nihad Abu Sneineh said she does not believe that demonstrations are the answer.

"If there is ever mass protest the Israeli police will not be handing out gifts," she said.

"They will beat the demonstrators and put them in prison," she added. "They even put children in prison."

Working in a shop across the alley, Hamed, 25, said that Israeli joy over the move could actually reflect anxiety.

"When a house does not belong to you, you feel obliged to tell everyone that it's really yours," he said.

- Embassy 'strengthens security' -

Just beyond the Old City walls in the commercial downtown of west Jerusalem, Israeli and US flags flutter in the breeze.

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Elisa Rake, a 31-year-old mother of two and a Parisian immigrant to Israel who has lived in the divided holy city for 12 years, has mixed feelings about Trump's decision.

"It's a special day, but I would have preferred the embassy to be moved by a guy who is not a homophobic racist," she said.

But she does not fear violent protest as a consequence.

"The presence of this embassy in Jerusalem can only strengthen security," she said.

Nearby, people sit in the sunshine at cafe terraces or stroll between the shops.

"I am sceptical about the future but American support for Israel is important," said Yaakov Cohen, who immigrated to Israel from the United States 25 years ago.

"If words have meaning then actions have even more, so maybe it's a historic day," he said.

Avraham Binyamin has been selling the kippa skullcaps worn by observant Jews for 37 years.

His merchandise, directed in part at Jewish tourists, includes items bearing the slogan "Trump, Make America Great Again" and portraits of the US president.

"Some worship him, others hate him," said Binyamin, 57.

"Nobody's indifferent, the same goes for his decision," he added.

A neighbouring cold-drink seller looks up from the book of psalms he is reading and points heavenward.

"It is not Trump who decides," he says. "It is only God".
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A federal judge dealt President Donald Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort a major blow on Tuesday by refusing to dismiss criminal charges brought by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, after Manafort claimed that Mueller's probe has run amok and should be reined in. In a sharp rebuke of those claims, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had followed all the Justice Department's rules when he hired Mueller and Mueller's case against Manafort is not overly broad or improper. Rosenstein "expressly approved the Special Counsels investigation of the facts alleged in the indictment, so there has been no violation of the regulations, and the Special Counsel did not act without authority," wrote Jackson, who was appointed by Democratic President Barack Obama. In response to the ruling, Manafort spokesman Jason Maloni said: "Paul Manafort maintains his innocence and looks forward to prevailing in this matter." A spokesman for the Special Counsel declined to comment. Manafort, who performed lobbying work for a pro-Russian former Ukrainian president before serving as Trumps campaign chairman in 2016, is facing two indictments brought by Mueller in federal courts in Washington and Alexandria, Virginia. The charges against him in the Washington case include conspiring to launder money, conspiring to defraud the United States and failing to register as a foreign agent. In Virginia, he faces charges that include bank fraud and filing false tax returns. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges, none of which are directly related to work he performed for Trump's campaign. In both criminal cases, Manafort has asked the courts to dismiss the charges on the grounds that Rosenstein's May 17, 2017 appointment order hiring Mueller runs afoul of Justice Department rules on special counsels. He has also argued that Mueller's case against him has nothing to do with Russian interference in 2016 election, and that the probe by the FBI into his Ukraine dealings predates the Russia probe. Trump has denied that his campaign colluded with Russia and called the probe that has dogged his presidency a "witch hunt." Jackson was not moved by any of Manafort's assertions. "Manafort was, at one time, not merely 'associated with,' but the chairman of, the Presidential campaign, and his work on behalf of the Russia-backed Ukrainian political party and connections to other Russian figures are matters of public record," she wrote, adding that it was "logical" for investigators to probe Manafort's dealings. Her ruling also pointed to an August 2017 memo by Rosenstein that further detailed the scope of the probe. That memo explicitly gave Mueller authority to probe all of Manafort's Ukraine-related work predating the 2016 campaign. Republicans in the House of Representatives who are critical of the Mueller probe have pressed the Justice Department in recent months to provide them with an unredacted copy of the August memo. The ruling marks a setback for Manafort, who last month was buoyed when the judge in the Alexandria case aggressively questioned prosecutors about whether their case was overly broad and mused that he believed they were using the charges to get Manafort to turn over dirt on Trump. That judge, T.S. Ellis III for the Eastern District of Virginia, has yet to rule on whether to dismiss the charges against Manafort. Ellis, who was appointed to the bench by Republican President Ronald Reagan, has also said he too wants to see an unredacted copy before he can fully form a decision on whether to dismiss the charges. He told prosecutors to turn over a copy to him by Friday. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; editing by Tom Brown and Cynthia Osterman)
Asteroid 2010 WC9 will come within about half the distance from the Earth to the moon (Getty)

An asteroid which was lost in space for eight years will make a dramatic reappearance this evening  with an alarmingly close whizz past our planet.

Asteroid 2010 WC9 could be up to 427 feet wide  the size of Londons Walkie-Talkie skyscraper  and it will pass less than half of the moons distance from Earth.

It will come closest to our planet at 22.05PM UTC (23.05 British Summer Time).

Passing us a mere 126,419 miles away, its one of the closest approaches ever observed from this asteroid in centuries, according to Earthsky.

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While its not by any means a doomsday rock, its thought to be bigger than the Chelyabinsk meteor which left 1,500 injured in 2013 when it exploded over Russia.

During the 2013 Chelyabinsk event, 1500 people were injured and 7300 buildings damaged by the intense overpressure generated by the shockwave at Earths surface.

'Lost' asteroid to pass closely May 15: https://t.co/PdZyylSIHH Corrected link. Asteroid 2010 WC9 will pass at about half the moon's distance, in one of the closest approaches ever observed of an asteroid of this size. Click in for information about viewing online. pic.twitter.com/RlBflFzy3T  EarthSky (@earthskyscience) May 12, 2018

Asteroid 2010 WC9 was spotted by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona in 2010  but became to faint to see.

It was spotted again on May 8, 2018.

It will be the closest approach of this asteroid in nearly 300 years, NASA says.
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's government is pushing ahead with a plan to hire 100 Cuban doctors despite opposition from a doctors' union that says the money could be used to employ local physicians instead. President Uhuru Kenyatta agreed the deal last year and the plan was accelerated after his state visit to Cuba in March. But Ouma Oluga, secretary general of Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU), told Reuters the decision is unethical because there are enough doctors locally. "There are 2,000 Kenyan doctors that require employment and 170 specialists ... have not been deployed by the Ministry of health," he said. "We do not understand why a government would be creating employment for another country and not their own." The dispute reflects an attempt by the government to resolve the problem of inadequate healthcare provision that many medical professionals say has been left to fester by successive administrations. Kenya's doctor-to-patient ratio is one to 16,000, according to official data, far below a recommendation of the U.N. World Health Organization of one to 1,000. The government says doctors in far-flung hospitals lack specialized skills, forcing patients to pay to travel to the capital Nairobi or abroad for treatment. Doctors say they are underpaid and lack equipment. In March, four members of staff at Kenya's largest referral hospital were suspended for starting brain surgery on the wrong patient. Last year the government granted doctors a pay rise promised in 2013 after a three-month strike. Oluga said KMPDU will not interfere with the government plan of importing doctors. "If the Kenyan government wants to bring Cuban doctors, that's up to them," he said. The doctors are expected to arrive in June and each county should get at least two. They will work in a country where medical provision is split between central government and 47 county governments. (Reporting by John Ndiso; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
A new report is highlighting the risks of keyless car ignitions after more than two dozen people died from carbon monoxide poisoning after mistakenly leaving a vehicle running in their garage.

Since 2006, at least 28 deaths and 45 injuries have been linked to keyless engines that do not automatically shut off after the driver exits the car, even if the driver leaves with the fob required to activate the engine, a review by The New York Times found.

In each case, the driver was found to have inadvertently left the car running in a garage. Many keyless vehicles do not need the fob nearby to remain running. The error caused the attached homes to fill up with the exhausts toxic carbon monoxide gas, which is odorless and colorless.

Keyless car ignitions have led to dozens of fatal carbon monoxide poisonings over the years, a New York Times report has found. (Photo: Koichi Kamoshida via Getty Images)

Doug Schaub, whose father, Fred Schaub, died in his Florida home after leaving his Toyota RAV4 running in his garage, summed it up as a simple mistake that can have grave consequences.

After 75 years of driving, my father thought that when he took the key with him when he left the car, the car would be off, he told The New York Times.

The exact number of deaths attributed to the keyless ignitions is not known, as official records have not been kept. The Times relied on news reports, lawsuits, police and fire records and incidents tracked by advocacy groups to complete its review.

In 2016, a similar review of car poisoning deaths by the nonprofit safety group KidsAndCars.org found that there were at least 20 deaths involving keyless ignitions from 2009 to 2016.

Almost half the fatalities and injuries reviewed by the Times involved Toyota models, including Lexus, a luxury vehicle division of Toyota.

Toyota, in a statement to HuffPost on Monday, argued that its products meet all safety standards.

Toyotas Smart Key System meets or exceeds all relevant federal safety standards while providing added convenience, improved theft prevention and personal security benefits, a company spokesperson said in an email. Toyotas Smart Key System also provides multiple layers of visual and auditory warnings to alert occupants that the vehicle is running when the driver exits with the key fob.

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Drivers have made the mistake of forgetting to turn off their car's engine after parking it in a garage, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning. (Photo: irontrybex via Getty Images)

For years safety groups have pushed for regulations that would prevent keyless cars from running unattended.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2011 said it was not considering requiring automatic shut-off systems in vehicles, saying that it was unable to determine a proper amount of time before the engine would shut down. Ford, which has an automatic shut-off feature for its keyless vehicles, turns engines off after 30 minutes.

The NHTSA also argued that some car owners want their car to remain running when they walk away, such as when they leave a pet inside that needs heat or air conditioning.

In 2015 a class action lawsuit that was filed against 10 automakers cited 13 deaths that it said were caused by keyless ignitions. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2016 after a judge ruled that its only speculative that the keyless feature causes death or injury, Law360 reported.

A video posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations website appears to agree that there are risks with such keyless technology.

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Since theres no traditional key to operate, it can be easy to forget to put the car in park when you shut it off  which can lead the car to roll away, the video warns. If the car is parked in an enclosed garage and you accidentally forget to turn off the engine, it can even result in carbon monoxide poisoning and death.

Such deaths make up just a small fraction of fatal carbon monoxide poisonings annually in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recorded 2,244 carbon monoxide fatalities from 2010 to 2015, with most of them in the winter months.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday on the violence in Gaza, with Kuwait preparing a draft resolution to protect Palestinian civilians and the United States defending ally Israel's use of "restraint."

The talks opened at UN headquarters in New York with a moment of silence for the 60 Palestinians who died Monday, the majority killed by Israeli fire, in the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014.

The deaths overshadowed the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, relocated from Tel Aviv in fulfillment of a campaign promise by US President Donald Trump, whose daughter Ivanka attended the inaugural ceremony.

The embassy move, which dramatically underscored US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, infuriated the Palestinians and was widely criticized, but on Tuesday the Security Council proved unable, once again, to reach consensus.

Arab ambassadors appeared jointly before reporters to call for an investigation into Israel's "crimes" and for the protection of the Palestinian people.

Kuwait, the only Arab nation with a current seat on the Security Council, said it would circulate a draft resolution on "providing international protection to the Palestinian people."

Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said the draft would be circulated "most probably tomorrow." Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said negotiations would then begin to try to get the resolution adopted.

But while Britain and Germany are among those backing an independent investigation, the United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN statement that would have called for an independent probe.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday launched a stinging attack on Iranian aggression in the Middle East, deploring a "double standard," condemning Hamas provocation and said ally Israel had acted with restraint.

- Europeans unite -

"No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," Haley told the council. "In fact the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained."

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To suggest that the violence had anything to do with the relocation of the US embassy was a smoke screen, she said.

"The Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy," she said. "Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday," she added.

"The United States deplores the loss of human life," she said.

Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden -- the five European nations on the council -- joined Belgium, Germany and Italy in a statement calling on Israel to "refrain from excessive use of force" and on Hamas "to avoid provocation" and ensure that protests remain non violent.

Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed the Security Council by video link from Jerusalem.

"This cycle of violence in Gaza needs to end," he said. "I have repeatedly called on all to exercise restraint, for all necessary steps to avoid an escalation of violence and for all incidents to be fully investigated."

Israel lays the blame squarely with Hamas, accusing Gaza's Islamist rulers of war crimes. Its ambassador urged the Security Council to condemn the faction.

"Only then will justice be served," Danny Danon told reporters. Israel, he said, regretted "every casualty."

"How many Palestinians have to die before you take action" implored the Palestinian envoy. "Why are we the exception? Why are you paralyzed?" he asked the Council.




Kyle Larson has 20 fewer points than he did at the end of Saturday nights race.

NASCAR announced Tuesday that Larson had been penalized 20 points because of a rear windshield infraction found in inspection following the race. Larsons rear windshield was visibly bowed-in after the race and its the fifth such penalty assessed to a Cup Series team so far this season.

Larsons crew chief Chad Johnston has also been fined $50,000 and car chief David Bryant has been suspended for two races. NASCAR is penalizing teams for windshields that buckle because the support structures for them are supposed to be rigid at all times.

Larson said after the race that the windshield looked the way it did because of the damage his car sustained after contact with Ryan Blaney on lap 248. That seems to be a valid reason because this photo of Larsons car  it was the best angle we could find of the rear windshield  doesnt appear to show a buckle.

The rear windshield of Kyle Larsons car earlier in the race. (Getty)

Im glad to see that we have a lot of damage back there because obviously if there was no damage back there we would probably get a penalty and who knows, we might still, Larson said Saturday night. But Ive got a ton of damage back there. These cars are pretty rigid and one piece of damage can affect the whole rest of the car, as you can see. So, well see what NASCAR says about it, but I think its pretty obvious that we have a ton of damage back there.

But it may not be the actual reason. Look at this image right before Blaney hit Larson significantly enough to cause the damage to Larsons quarterpanel. The bow appears to be there on the windshield.

(Via Fox Sports 1)

It didnt really turn out. The glare of the lights ruined it. pic.twitter.com/Tpy0wDkGiV  Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) May 13, 2018

But even if the reason Larson provided was entirely valid, NASCAR has said previously that its not in the business of judging intent. Adding damage caveats for rear windshield issues like this is a slippery slope. Weve seen drivers destroy their rear tires doing celebratory burnouts. In turn, those destroyed tires cause significant damage to the quarterpanels of the car. What if that winning car then showed up in victory lane with a bowed-in windshield?

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Yeah, its not a fun scenario to think about.

Larsons penalty comes a week after Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez were each docked 20 points for similar infractions. Kevin Harvick was the first driver to be penalized for a windshield issue after his win at Las Vegas in March and Chase Elliott was also penalized at Texas in April.

Before the penalty, Larson was 10th in the points standings. Now hes 11th as Aric Almirola jumps into the top 10 to give Stewart-Haas Racing four cars in the top 10 in the standings. No team in NASCARs playoff era had ever had four teams in the top 10 through the first 12 races.

      

Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

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Demian Barrios has barely slept since Hawaiis Kilauea volcano started erupting on May 3.

The lifelong volcano enthusiast, who describes himself as a lava chaser, has been running after every open fissure along the erupting volcano every day for the last 11 days. As a new fissure broke open and spewed rocks into the air on Sunday, Barrios, a professional photographer, was live streaming the action from the ground  including what he called lava bombs half the size of Volkswagen Beetle cars dropping to the ground around him.

Its really something that makes me feel alive, Barrios, 37, tells TIME about lava chasing. Theres an overwhelming sense of power and respect and love that you feel standing there being able to see that. Its almost addictive.

Barrios has been tracking volcanoes since moving to Hawaiis Big Island in 1999. The practice has turned into far more than a hobby  in fact, Barrios says, his partner often jokes that he is having an affair with Pele, the volcanic fire goddess from Hawaiian mythology.

The Kilauea eruptions mark a historic turn from what Barrios typically experiences in his journeys to volcanoes  while most Hawaiians are accustomed to lava flows, they tend to be repetitive, he says.

This time, its different.

Current eruptions from the Kilauea volcano have lasted nearly two weeks, destroyed dozens of homes and forced thousands of residents to evacuate. The most comparable eruption occurred in 1955 when a volcano erupted in Puna for three months, covering nearly 4,000 acres with lava, officials .

Its unclear when the lava spewing will end. But Barrios says he has to get out there to document whats happening because a similar event may not happen again in his lifetime.

This is bigger than Hawaii. Its not something you can come back to later, he says. Already so many people have been affected  by doing this and having someone here on the ground, it becomes all of our experience.

Of course, chasing after erupting volcanoes can be dangerous, especially for amateurs. Officials have strongly warned against approaching the active volcanic area, as lava and rocks continue to emerge from fissures, saying the volcano is unlikely to be deadly unless people visit the areas near the fissures. Hawaiis Volcano National Park closed on Friday due to the risk of rock and ash fall at the volcanos summit.

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While eager onlookers might not encounter hot lava to the skin, the sulfur dioxide levels in the air near the volcano have grown deadly since Kilaueas major eruption. As of May 9, sulfur dioxide levels measured above 100 parts per million  high enough that people living near the volcano had to evacuate, according to Elizabeth Tram, a professor of medicine and respiratory health at the University of Hawaiis John A. Burns School of Medicine.

And while most volcanic eruptions yield strong sulfur smells, Barrios says, the Kilauea volcano has offered some of most extreme amounts of obnoxious gases he has ever encountered. Some were the strongest and most noxious Ive ever experienced, he says.

The same goes for the reverberating sounds of rocks and lava exploding out of the volcano. It makes your heart skip a beat.

To be able to completely wrap your five senses around it  as a kid growing up being super passionate about volcanoes, its something Ive dreamt of, he says.

Barrios says hes received a great deal of criticism for his up close and personal live streams from the burning volcano. But it doesnt shake the lava chaser, who introduced his 4-year-old son to the thrills of seeing volcanos two years ago. In fact, Barrios says he has a connection with volcanos that runs deeper than government warnings against them. Chasing lava may be dangerous, but he points out that driving a car can also be deadly. You just have to learn how to do it in a safe way.

To stay safe, especially from the toxic gases, Barrios wears a respirator. He also wears a helmet, to protect himself from falling lava, and carries water and snacks in a backpack. Its like anything thats dangerous in life  if you practice it well, you should be there in a safe manner.

After nearly two decades of experience in tracking lava, he has honed an instinct for knowing when to exit a dangerous situation or press on for a great shot

I feel really comfortable, but am always able to put myself close enough to where I want to be, but not in a dangerous spot, he says. Everyone has a different threshold. I have a higher comfort level than most people.
By Joseph Sipalan and Linda Sieg KUALA LUMPUR/TOKYO (Reuters) - New Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said on Tuesday he will remain in office for one or two years and that Anwar Ibrahim, the jailed reformist he had vowed would replace him, will be released on Wednesday. Mahathir, 92, said he thought that "in a short while" the government could have a case against his predecessor, Najib Razak, who has been dogged by a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). A four-party alliance driven by Mahathir and Anwar won the general election last week, ousting the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition for the first time in the history of the Southeast Asian nation. Mahathir was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, making him the world's oldest democratically elected leader. In "an initial stage, maybe lasting one or two years, I will be the prime minister", Mahathir said, speaking by live video link from Kuala Lumpur to a Wall Street Journal CEO conference in Tokyo. "I will play a role in the background even when I step down." The pardons board in Malaysia's capital will meet on Wednesday to discuss Anwar's release and Mahathir said he would be released the same day. Anwar, 70, is serving a second five-year jail term for sodomy. He and his supporters have said the charges are politically motivated. A royal pardon would reverse Anwar's conviction and make him eligible to actively participate in politics. He has been in hospital for a few months recovering from a shoulder operation. During the campaign, Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years in a previous stint from 1981, promised to step aside and make Anwar prime minister once he was pardoned. But there have been differences between the two over the cabinet formation, and Mahathir made it clear on Tuesday that he was in charge. "I expect him to play the same role as the leaders of the other three parties. There will be no special powers given except as are given to ministers or deputy ministers or deputy prime ministers," Mahathir said. He added that he would make the final decision about cabinet posts. The Wall Street Journal cited what it called audio remarks from Anwar as saying Mahathir should be given time to achieve his objectives. "I'm not in a rush," Anwar was quoted as saying. Reuters could not verify the report. VOLATILE RELATIONSHIP Mahathir has named just three ministers so far in addition to himself and Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as deputy prime minister. Anwar's People's Justice Party (PKR), which has the most seats in the alliance, is demanding a proportionate number of posts in the cabinet. The volatile relationship between Anwar and Mahathir, from friends to foes to allies, has dominated Malaysia's political landscape for more than three decades and is central to the future of the alliance. When Mahathir was prime minister in the 1990s, Anwar was his deputy and clear heir-apparent. But in 1998, they disagreed on how to tackle the Asian financial crisis and fell out. Anwar was sacked, and later jailed on charges of sodomy and corruption. Anwar was freed in 2004 but in 2015, he was jailed again - for five years - for sodomizing a former aide, a charge he and his supporters describe as a politically motivated attempt by Najib to end his career. In an astonishing U-turn last year, Anwar shook hands with Mahathir and agreed to join forces to oust scandal-tainted Najib. Mahathir vowed on Monday to investigate any faults that may have been committed by Najib's government and said all ministries had been instructed not to destroy any documents. Asked if Najib would go to prison, he said: "It all depends on the investigation being made and whether there is a case against him or not. If there is no case, we do not go for detention without trial." The scandal is being investigated in at least six countries, including Singapore, Switzerland and the United States. The Swiss attorney general's office said on Tuesday that federal prosecutors were seeking quick talks with Malaysian counterparts on how to press forward with the investigation. News broke in 2015 that about $700 million allegedly stolen from 1MDB had made its way into Najib's personal bank accounts. Najib has said the deposit was a donation by an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family which had been largely returned. Najib was cleared of wrongdoing by the attorney general in 2016 but Mahathir has said the official has been asked to go on leave and replaced. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission found evidence in late 2015 that 42 million ringgit ($10.6 million) was transferred from a former subsidiary of 1MDB into an account of Najib, but its recommendation for further investigation was rejected by the attorney general, a member of a panel that reviewed the commission's case files told Reuters. Najib set up 1MDB in 2009 and previously served as chairman of its advisory board. He and the fund have denied wrongdoing. Mahathir blocked Najib from leaving the country at the weekend. (Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Additional reporting by Praveen Menon; Editing by Nick Macfie)
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - Malaysia's new Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 92, officially got down to work Monday after his shock election win last week that broke the six-decade stranglehold on power of a corruption-riddled regime.

The elderly leader, who is starting his second stint as premier after having previously been in office for two decades, arrived at the office of a foundation he runs in the administrative capital Putrajaya.

He arrived in a black car, which was part of a convoy that included police vehicles, and briefly rolled down the window to wave at waiting reporters. He was due to hold meetings with senior civil servants.

The stock market opened for the first time since Wednesday's polls but did not slide as heavily as had been anticipated after Mahathir sought in a speech Sunday to calm investors. It initially lost 2.7 percent but quickly won back ground and was down just 0.2 percent about an hour after opening.

Local currency the ringgit slipped as much as 0.9 percent against the US dollar.

Ooi Chin Hock, a dealer with SJ Securities, told AFP he believed the "government is supporting the stock market to make sure there is not too much volatility".

Mahathir stormed to an unlikely election victory at the head of an opposition alliance against the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition and their corruption-mired leader Najib Razak, toppling the regime that had led Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957.

Mahathir -- who was himself accused of ruling with an iron fist in his first stint as premier -- is now the world's oldest elected leader.

In an extraordinary volte-face, he threw in his lot with parties that he crushed while in power as they sought to oust Najib, who has been accused of involvement in plundering billions of dollars from sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

Najib and the fund deny any wrongdoing.

At the weekend, Mahathir slapped Najib and his unpopular wife Rosmah Mansor with a travel ban as speculation mounted they were about to flee the country.

Najib had said he was planning a "short break" overseas but angry Malaysians descended on an airport from where he was expected to depart in a bid to stop the couple leaving.

Jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim -- who was Mahathir's nemesis but became a key ally as they sought to oust Najib -- is expected to be pardoned by the king and released as early as Tuesday.
By Joseph Sipalan and Praveen Menon KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - The pardons board in Malaysia's capital will meet on Wednesday to discuss the release of jailed reformist leader Anwar Ibrahim, the palace and his party have said. Anwar, 70, is serving a second five-year jail term for sodomy, which is a crime in Malaysia. He and his supporters have said the charges are politically motivated. A royal pardon would reverse Anwar's conviction and make him eligible to actively participate in politics. Several people in his People's Justice Party (PKR) expect Anwar to walk free on Wednesday itself from the hospital where he been for the last few months recovering from a shoulder surgery. But there was no official confirmation of any possible date of release. PKR allied with Malaysia's 92-year-old leader Mahathir Mohamad to win a general election last week. Mahathir, who has been sworn in as prime minister for a second innings, had promised during the campaign to secure a pardon for Anwar and then step down and give him the prime minister's post. "All documentation for the pardon petition is in order and complete," PKR member Sivarasa Rasiah said in a statement late on Monday. "The prime minister has given his assurance that the meeting of the pardons board will proceed as scheduled now at 11 am (0300 GMT) on Wednesday." Mahathir vowed on Monday to investigate any faults that may have been committed by the government of ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak and said all ministries had been instructed not to destroy any documents. He announced that he would appoint a new anti-corruption commission chief and replace the attorney-general who had cleared Najib of wrongdoing in a multi-billion-dollar scandal linked to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund. The government has also transferred the top bureaucrat in the finance ministry with immediate effect while the chairman of the state palm oil plantation agency, Felda, has resigned. News broke in 2015 that about $700 million allegedly stolen from 1MDB had made its way into Najib's personal bank accounts. Najib has said the deposit was a donation by an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family which had been largely returned. Najib set up 1MDB in 2009 and previously served as chairman of its advisory board. He and the fund have denied wrongdoing. Mahathir blocked Najib from leaving the country last weekend. (Writing and editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
Margot Kidder, best known for her portrayal of Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeves Clark Kent in 1978s "Superman," has died. She was 69.

Kidder died at her Montana home on Sunday, TMZ reported. Her cause of death is not known.

She was born in Canada in 1948. Her earliest roles were on Canadian television in the 60s before moving on to feature films like "Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx" with Gene Wilder and "Gaily Gaily" with Beau Bridges.

But she catapulted to fame when she landed the role of Lois Lane in 1978's "Superman" and three subsequent films all starring the late Christopher Reeve as the titular hero.

Kidder was also open about her struggles with bipolar disorder.

During one manic episode in 1996, she was found hiding in the bushes of a home in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood. She had missing teeth that she claimed had been knocked out, and police described her as "dirty, frightened and paranoid."

Kidder later discovered medication to treat the condition.

She returned to the Superman universe in 2004 with a guest appearance on the TV series "Smallville." She remained close with Reeve until his death that same year.

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Meghan Markle pictured as a child in Rwanda with her mother Doria - Pix supplied as a technical service by Tim Stewart News Limited 07932745508. No copyright inferred o

Meghan Markle's family has taken the spotlight in the final days before her wedding, with her father revealing he no longer plans to attend the ceremony and her half-sister discussing allegedly-staged photos on Loose Women.

Meghan Markle's extended family has hit the headlines repeatedly over the past few months, with one newspaper describing it as a "motley collection of individuals who, between them, have a long record of boozing, bust-ups and bankruptcies".

Yet Meghan Markle is close to her "free-spirited" mother Dori Ragland  who is still expected to travel with Ms Markle to the church on Saturday  and her "thoughtful, inspiring" father, with the actress having written lovingly of her relationship with both her parents.

Here is a look at Prince Harry's future in-laws as Prince Harry and Ms Markle prepare to tie the knot in just a few days at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Royal wedding | Read more

Doria Ragland, Meghan Markle's mother

Doria Ragland, 60, was born in Los Angeles to an antique dealer father and a mother who was a nurse.

She attended the Fairfax High School, where she was remembered as bright and friendly - the teenager with the "Afro" hairstyle who loved listening to Marvin Gaye and dining out at a local Mexican taco joint with friends.

After school she worked as a make-up artist, which is how she met her husband, Thomas Markle, a lighting director in Hollywood. The pair married in 1979 and Ms Markle was born two years later.

Meghan Markle pictured as a child in Rwanda with her mother Doria Credit: TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED

The family moved into a house in The Valley, LA, to a neighbourhood that Ms Markle described as "leafy and affordable".

Ms Ragland and Mr Markle divorced in 1987, but remained friends. Ms Ragland took a job as an air stewardess, meaning their daughter was frequently cared for by her father.

Meghan Markle with her moother Doria, who has a masters in social work Credit: TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED

She later returned to university to obtain a masters in social work, following on from her BA in psychology.

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She now lives in the house she inherited from her father in 2011 in the Crenshaw area of LA.

Ms Ragland and her daughter are extremely close - Ms Ragland once drove a car with the number plate MEGNME - and Ms Markle has spoken of her pride in her free-spirited mother, with her dreadlocks and nose ring.

Ms Ragland is due to travel with her daughter to the ceremony on Saturday, travelling from their overnight accommodation at Cliveden House Hotel to St Georges Chapel by car.

Thomas Markle, Meghan's father

Born in Pennsylvania, of Dutch-Irish descent, Thomas Markle Snr, 72, made his way to Hollywood where he worked as a lighting director.

He worked for many years on the set of the television show Married With Children, and his work on long-running series General Hospital earned him nine Daytime Emmy nominations, of which he was twice named the winner.

He was also reportedly chosen to oversee the lighting for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics as well as the 1986 Oscar ceremony.

Baby Meghan Markle lies on the chest of her father Thomas Credit: TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED

Prior to meeting Doria Ragland, he had been married to Roslyn, with whom he had two children - Samantha, now 52, and Thomas Jr, now 50.

Mr Markle and his daughter were very close, with the young Meghan accompanying him on film sets and being cared for by him while her mother was travelling as an air stewardess.

Since retiring, Mr Markle moved to Mexico. He was declared bankrupt in June 2016. Miss Markle has described her father as the "most hardworking father you can imagine".

He has not met Prince Harry, but has spoken to him on the phone and has given his blessing to the Prince asking for his daughter's hand in marriage.

Mr Markle was to meet the Royal family for the first time this week, however he has cancelled his plans to travel to the UK for the ceremony.

Meghan Markle pictured as a toddler with her father Thomas Credit: TIM STEWART NEWS LIMITED

Thomas Markle, 73, said he would no longer be flying to Britain on Monday, after embarrassing disclosures about his alleged dealings with the paparazzi.

He also reportedly told the US showbusiness website TMZ that he had suffered a heart attack six days earlier, but had checked himself out of hospital and had been intending to travel for the ceremony on Saturday.

The wedding plans have since been called into question, as Mr Markle was to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday.

Meghan Markles uncles

Michael Markle

Of Thomas Markle Seniors two brothers, the eldest, Michael, had a profound impact on her early life. The 78-year-old is a retired US diplomat and Air Force veteran who lives in Florida. His wife, Toni, died of cancer in 2012.

During his State Department career, he reportedly worked in Ottawa, Bucharest, Berlin and Guam, and when Meghan was 20 years old, she planned to follow in his footsteps with a potential career in diplomacy.

It was through Michaels connections that Meghan was able to secure a prestigious at the American embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

After enrolling at Northwestern University in Illinois, Spanish speaker Meghan travelled to Argentina for her senior year in 2003. She completed a double major in Theatre and International Relations.

"So I'm 20 years old, in Buenos Aires, in a motorcade, doing that whole thing. I thought for sure I would still have a career in politics, she told Vogue a decade later.

In an interview with the Mirror earlier this year, Michael spoke of his role in the process.

I knew the ambassador, and I asked him if he could help, as her application was a little on the late side, he said. As a result, he was surprised not to be invited to his nieces wedding. I dont understand why she has been so indifferent towards me. Its uncalled for. I helped her out, and I didnt ask for anything in return. This whole invitation thing has not been played out very well. I never did anything to embarrass Meghan. It seems to me they handled the arrangements poorly.

Michael has a 58-year-old daughter, Trish Gallup, who runs her own who runs her own chauffeur business.

Frederick Markle

Meghans other paternal uncle, Frederick, is a reclusive cleric who also lives in Florida. There, he leader and sole minister of the small Eastern Orthodox Catholic Church, reportedly going by the name Bishop Dismas.

According to the Daily Mail, Frederick lives in a secluded woodland property and lives like a hermit, shunning technology. He has refused to speak about his nieces marriage, as have his two sons, Nick and David, and ex-wife Theresa.

Meghan Markle's siblings

Half-brother Thomas Markle Jr

The 50-year-old window fitter lives in Grants Pass, Oregon.

He said his family was like The Dukes of Hazzard and The Simpsons, versus the Royal family  but has spoken fondly of his half-sister, with whom he grew up in Los Angeles.

He was married for 11 years to Tracy Dooley, with whom he has two sons  Thomas and Tyler.

Thomas Markle Jr has spoken fondly of Meghan Markle, his half-sister Credit: AKGS

He was arrested in January for holding a gun to girlfriend Darlene Blounts head in a drunken argument. Mr Markle and Miss Blount are now engaged.

Half-sister Samantha Grant

Samantha Grant, 52, lives in Florida and is a wheelchair user and suffers from multiple sclerosis.

She discussed the allegedly staged images of her father's on Loose Women on Monday, saying she was entirely the culprit, convincing her father that it would be to his advantage to show himself in a positive light.

It was my suggestion that to benefit him and to benefit the Royal Family and that everyone looked good, and they depict you as you are, she said.

Samantha Markle has lashed out at her half-sister, Meghan, in several interviews Credit: Splash News

She also caused a stir in April when she announced she was writing a book entitled The Diary of Princess Pushys Sister.

Despite not having spoken to her in nine years, Ms Grant lashed out at Ms Markle in numerous interviews. She since says she was misquoted.

The Dooleys

Ms Markle's sister-in-law Tracy Dooley, and her sons Tyler and TJ, are among the family members who have not been invited to the wedding.

Ms Dooley, who was married to the former actress's half-brother, was pictured arriving at Heathrow Airport this week. She has previously told ITV's Good Morning Britain she had not received an invitation to the ceremony at Windsor Castle on Saturday, admitting she had not seen Ms Markle for 20 years. The Dooleys announced on Facebook they had arrived in the capital.

Meghan Markle's nephews Tyler and Thomas Dooley along with their mother Tracy Dooley Credit: Constant Media

Tyler, 25, who uploaded an image of the Imperial War Museum, as well as a photograph of the inside of a hotel room, is a cannabis farmer who considers himself a 'pioneer' in the legal production of the drug in California. He is reportedly keen to develop a new cannabis strain called 'Markle's Sparkle', in aid of his cousin's wedding.

Meghan Markle's nephew Tyler Dooley is a Cannabis farmer who is planning a new drug called Markle's Sparkle Credit: Mega

The family are keen on the burgeoning industry. TJ, 26, reportedly gives marijuana to his dog for pain relief, while Tracy frequently sells advertising space to marijuana dispensaries.

On arriving in London, Ms Dooley posted on her Facebook page  called "Royal Wedding with the Dooley Markles"  that she hoped Ms Markle's father was "well, healthy and happy". She wrote: "Just glad to have landed safely and hoping for Tom senior to be well, healthy, & happy. I wish the same for Meghan Prince Harry, my children, friends, family and those who need our prayers and love. Peace, love and good works."

In April, the page, which appears to be run by Ms Dooley, shared an article headlined "Meghan Markle snubs nephew and his mum with no invite to Royal wedding." It was accompanied with the caption: "Beyond blessed to be any part of this momentous occasion. We'll be front and center at Windsor cheering Meghan and Prince Harry on."

Trevor Engelson, Meghan's ex-husband

New York-born film and television producer Trevor Engelson, 41, was married to Ms Markle for two years, until 2013.

The pair married on the beach in Jamaica in 2011, tying the knot at the Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, in front of around 100 guests.

They are believed to have been dating for seven years before they married.

Meghan Markle and Trevor Engelson in 2006 Credit: Billy Farrell/Patrick McMullan/Getty

Their August 2013 divorce cited irreconcilable differences, and their work schedules - he is based in Los Angeles, while she began filming legal drama Suits in Toronto the year they married.

He is working on a show about a man whose wife runs off with a prince.
Thomas Markle is reportedly not attending this weekend's royal wedding in the wake of a photo scandal that has rocked the nuptials.

Just five days before the highly anticipated wedding, it has been found that Meghan Markle's father staged images of him getting ready for his daughter's big day that were published around the globe.

The photo scandal is front page news in London, with many reporting that the bride was let down by her father, Thomas Markle.

He will not attend the wedding Saturday at Windsor Castle's St. Georges Chapel, where he was supposed to walk his daughter down the aisle, to not embarrass her further, according to reports.

He also claimed to TMZ he had suffered a heart attack six days ago and checked himself out of the hospital in anticipation of the wedding.

A Kensington Palace official told reporter Roya Nikkah that the situation is a "deeply personal matter" for Markle.

A @KensingtonRoyal spokesman said of reports Thomas Markle wont attend: "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."  Roya Nikkhah (@RoyaNikkhah) May 14, 2018

Now the "Suits" actress estranged half-sister tells Inside Edition she's to blame for the scandal.

"Im the culprit  it was me," Samantha Grant told Inside Edition. "It was my idea that he show the world and the British royal family exactly what he is like  doing healthy things, getting in shape, being outdoorsy."

Grant says that paparazzi "were already involved" in the photos and claimed that they are "stalking" her father, as well as "renting the house next to him in Mexico so they can catch him off guard."

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She says the paparazzi have been "stressing him out."

The photos are believed to have sold for at least $100,000, but Grant claims she doesn't know if her father was paid for the pictures.

"If he was, it was the pits," she said.

Grant said that since the scandal broke, he has driven back to his home in Mexico.

She added that her father "had a rough time with his heart" and if he doesn't go to the wedding it is because of "health reasons," she claims.

The photographs showed 73-year-old Thomas Markle working out, getting measured for his morning suit, and surfing the internet for information about the wedding.

Surveillance video has surfaced showing him entering an internet cafe with a photographer and willingly posing for that photo as he looked up British culture and info on the wedding.

As for the young fellow supposedly measuring him for his suit, it is not a tailor but a college kid who says Thomas Markle gave him a $15 tip and even provided the measuring tape.

"I just went along with it," he's quoted as saying.

In England, the scandal is seen as a humiliation for Meghan Markle and the royal family, which only three days ago warned photographers not to "harass" Thomas Markle.

"If I am honest, I think we are on Meghan's side," said Amanda Holden, a judge on "Britain's Got Talent" and special royal wedding correspondent for Inside Edition. "The whole nation is with her. I think we feel nothing but embarrassment on her behalf."

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After marrying Prince Harry at St. Georges Chapel, Meghan Markle became an official member of the royal family. And just like Kate Middleton before her, she was given a royal title on the day of her nuptialsas was Prince Harry.

Kensington Palace tweeted Saturday morning that the Queen was pleased to confer a Dukedom on Prince Henry of Wales. His titles will be Duke of Sussex, Earl of Dumbarton and Baron Kilkeel.

Prince Harrys new title is His Royal Highness The Duke of Sussex, and after marriage, Meghan Markles title is Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex.

She is the first woman to be known as the Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry is the second Duke of Sussex. Prince Augustus Frederick, who campaigned against slavery, was the only other person to hold the title.

Just like Prince William was given the title of Duke of Cambridge on his wedding day, it was expected that Queen Elizabeth would also bestow a dukedom on Prince Harry to commemorate his nuptials. It was previously speculated that the vacant Dukedom of Sussex had been reserved for Harry, who will also retain the title of Prince Henry of Wales.

When Kate married Prince William on April 29, 2011, she received the title of Duchess of Cambridge to go along with the dukedom William was granted by Queen Elizabeth.

But after the royal wedding, there are still other ways to refer to Meghan Markle. Heres what we know about how and why the royals end up with certain names and titles.

Prince Harry looks at Meghan Markle, as she arrives accompanied by the Prince of Wales in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, May 19, 2018.

What is Prince Harrys last name?

Before we talk about Meghan, lets first get to the bottom of what exactly Prince Harrys last name is.

Henry Charles Albert David, familiarly known as Prince Harry, was born to Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, on Sept. 15, 1984. Harry was born into the House of Windsor and his last name is technically Mountbatten-Windsoras is the case for all royals who are descended from Queen Elizabeth II through the male line.

However, last names are typically only used by members of the royal family without titles, meaning Mountbatten-Windsor is pretty much never tacked onto Harrys name.

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During his time at school and in the military, Prince Harry was known simply as Harry Wales, a surname that derived from his fathers official title. Today, he is typically referred to as Prince Harry, or more formally, His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales.

What is Meghan Markles new title after marrying Prince Harry?

Meghan Markles marriage to Prince Harry does not make her a princess, as only women that are born into the royal family, like Princess Charlotte, hold that title. Instead, Meghan is now a duchess since Harry, as is tradition, was granted a dukedom on their wedding day.

However, despite the fact that Meghans official title is Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Sussex and she will never be a princess in her own right, she may still be referred to by the royal title in reference to her husband, i.e., HRH Princess Henry of Wales.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (left) arrives with his best man Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on May 19, 2018.

What is Meghan Markles new last name?

After marrying Prince Harry, Markle can now use Mountbatten-Windsor as her surname. However, considering royals tend to be known only by their first names, its not likely youll see her addressed by that name very often.

Just as Kate Middleton is mainly referred to by her maiden name or the title she was given by Queen Elizabeth at her wedding to Prince William, Duchess of Cambridge, Markle will likely only add Duchess of Sussexthe dukedom Prince Harry has been grantedto her current moniker.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle during their wedding service, conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in Windsor, Britain, May 19, 2018. Owen Humphreys/Pool via REUTERS

What title will Prince Harrys children have?

However, if Harry and Meghan have children, they will not be princes and princesses like William and Kates children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. Unless Queen Elizabeth issues a Letters Patent declaring otherwise, Harry and Meghans children will be lords and ladies.

This is due to a 1917 Letters Patent issued by King George V, that limited the titles of a sovereigns grandchildren. It read as follows: the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms.

Basically, Prince Williams oldest son, Prince George, was the only grandchild that was ever guaranteed the title of prince. However, when Kate was pregnant with Charlotte, the Queen issued a new Letters Patent stating that all of the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales would receive the title of prince or princess.

She could very well do the same for Harry and Meghans children.

Why doesnt the royal family use a last name?

The royal familys naming practice may seem complicated, but the reason behind it is relatively simple: The royals are typically so well known that they dont need a last name to be recognized.

Members of the Royal Family can be known both by the name of the Royal house, and by a surname, which are not always the same, the official royal website reads. And often they do not use a surname at all.

What do we call Kate Middleton?

Kate Middleton officially became Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cambridge when Prince William was granted the Dukedom of Cambridge on their wedding day. She can also be referred to as Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and HRH Princess William of Wales, as well as the more casual Catherine Cambridge or Catherine Mountbatten-Windsor.

In addition, William and Kate hold the titles of Earl and Countess of Strathearn in Scotland and Baron and Baroness of Carrickfergus in Ireland.
Meghan Markles father, Thomas Markle, went to the hospital Monday for new chest pain. This time, he said he was achingemotionally and physically. He first went to the hospital six days ago after having a heart attack, and he is concerned he might suffer from another one.

Though hes feeling the pain physically, Thomas Markle told TMZ it was caused by emotional stress. I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter, he told the publication.

Thomas Markle was referring to Meghan Markles half-sister, Samantha Grant. She took credit for her father staging paparazzi pictures, which led to him pulling out of the royal wedding. Originally, he was supposed to walk Prince Harrys bride down the aisle. After he received backlash for staging the paparazzi pictures, Thomas Markle pulled out the wedding, telling TMZ he hadnt heard from his daughter since the photos went viral.

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Samantha Grant, who regularly tweets about her estranged sister and the royal wedding, took credit or the planned pictures.

The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family, she tweeted on her private account Monday. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money.

As Grant noted, it wasnt known if Thomas Markle was paid for collaborating with paparazzi, but the pictures reportedly sold for $100,000.

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Thomas Markle, Jr. claimed the family was deeply embarrassed by the phony images. Ever since Megs relationship with Harry was made public two years ago, we have lived our once normal lives under the spotlight every second, he told the Daily Mail.

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Screen Shot 2018-05-14 at 8

Getty Images/Eddie Mulholland

Grant denied that her father would apologize for the fake pictures. My father does not speak to my brother! my brother is a lying scumbag to suggest that my father should apologize about anything, she tweeted Monday. my brother said publicly apologize for stealing from my father to the extent of being disowned! @DailyMail should be sued!

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Markle, 36, has not responded to the scandal directly, but the palace pleaded for privacy. "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation," a statement from Kensington Palace read.

Markle and Prince Harry are slated to marry at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle on Saturday. In addition to becoming British royalty, she will also garner a title: Princess Henry of Wales, but she will likely be referred to as Duchess of Wales.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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London (AFP) - Meghan Markle's father will not attend her wedding to Prince Harry this weekend, US media reported Monday, as Kensington Palace pleaded for "understanding and respect" for the couple during a "difficult situation".

According to celebrity news website TMZ, Thomas Markle, who recently posed for paparazzi photos, has pulled out of accompanying his daughter down the aisle at Windsor Castle because he does not want to embarrass her.

He is also reported to have suffered a heart attack in recent days.

Kensington Palace, the official residence of the couple, did not confirm whether Markle senior had pulled out of the wedding, but it did issue a statement hinting that all was not well.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," the palace said in a statement. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

The US actress' father had previously defied the palace's pleas for secrecy by agreeing to pose for a paparazzi photoshoot.

The images, showing him being measured for a suit and admiring a photo of the future royal couple on his computer, sold for $100,000 (83,000 euros, 74,000) according to tabloid the Daily Mirror.

A source close to Thomas Markle, cited by the publication, said he was convinced to pose for the shots after being hounded by the paparazzi. He is now said to feel "like a total fool" who has been "scammed".

Markle's gaffe-prone American family has been sending royal courtiers into something of a spin by airing its dirty laundry in public.

The bride-to-be remains close with her divorced parents but other relatives have been barred from the May 19 nuptials amid unwelcome stories of bust-ups, heavy drinking -- and even an arrest.

Markle, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, had been due to be walked up the aisle by her 73-year-old father an Emmy-winning Hollywood lighting director of Dutch-Irish descent who is enjoying retired life in Mexico.

Her mother Doria Ragland is a 61-year-old yoga instructor and clinical therapist.
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico said Tuesday it does not expect to reach a deal with the United States and Canada on an updated North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by the informal deadline set by the US Congress for later this week.

"The possibility of finishing the negotiations between now and Thursday isn't easy. We don't believe it will happen by Thursday," Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, head of the Mexican negotiating team, told TV network Televisa.

The speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, has said he needs the written agreement by Thursday if Congress is to approve NAFTA this year, while the Republicans have a majority.

The electoral calendar is pressuring negotiators to wrap up a deal as soon as possible in both the US and Mexico.

US Republicans could lose their majority in November mid-term elections, while Mexico is counting down to a presidential election on July 1 that could bring a leftist free trade skeptic, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, to power.

Guajardo said as far as Mexico was concerned, the US deadline was not a deal-breaker.

"We will keep negotiating. There are different times when we can wrap up these negotiations. It could be before the Mexican elections on July 1, or it could be just after," he said.

"What changes if it happens after July 1? The responsibility of the transition team named by whoever wins the election" would come into play, he said.

From Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto's standpoint, Guajardo said, the only deadline is December 1 -- the end of his term.

The Mexican minister said US President Donald Trump, who has railed against the 1994 trade deal as the worst ever signed, was coming around to its importance -- though he remained unpredictable.

"President Trump can wake up one day and say whatever he wants. The only thing that has happened over time, and which has been a positive part of these negotiations, is that he has evaluated the importance of the agreement to his own supporters, the agricultural sector, Republican governors, Republicans in Congress," he said.

Launched in August at Trump's behest, the talks have hit several stumbling blocks, in particular over US demands to increase the amount of American content in cars.
Mexico City (AFP) - A Mexican journalist was murdered Tuesday in the southern state of Tabasco, the governor said, as the country mourned acclaimed reporter and writer Javier Valdez on the first anniversary of his killing.

Juan Carlos Huerta was shot dead as he left his home in a suburb of the city of Villahermosa, said the state government.

He is at least the fourth reporter killed this year in what has become one of the world's most dangerous countries for the press, according to activists.

"I deeply regret this latest crime," said Tabasco governor Arturo Nunez.

"Juan Carlos was a top journalist ... you could also say a friend."

Police have blocked all roads out of the city and are searching for a vehicle apparently used in the attack, Nunez told journalists.

"It was not a robbery. They came to execute him," he said.

Huerta was a 45-year-old radio and television journalist with a wife and two children, according to Mexican media reports.

Since 2000, more than 100 journalists have been murdered in Mexico, where asking questions about government corruption or powerful drug cartels can mean risking one's life.

Last year there were at least 11 victims, making it the deadliest country in the world for the press after Syria, according to watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

Valdez, an internationally recognized journalist and author of several books, was shot dead on May 15, 2017 near the offices of the newspaper he co-founded, Riodoce, in the violent northwestern state of Sinaloa.

He was one of the most prominent chroniclers of Mexico's deadly drug war in a state where Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, now imprisoned in the United States, once reigned.

Protesters are marking the anniversary of Valdez's death with a series of marches around the country, calling on the authorities to punish those responsible and stop the wave of violence.
The captain of the MH370 Malaysia Airlines flight deliberately evaded radar and crashed the plane in a murder-suicide that killed 239 passengers more than four years ago, according to aviation experts.

The mysterious disappearance of the Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has puzzled the world, but a panel of investigators claim they have worked out what happened on board the flight in 2014.

Appearing on Australias 60 Minutes, the team of investigators, which included a man who led the search for two years, said Captain Zaharie Amad Shah orchestrated the crash and did everything he could to ensure it went as planned.

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In 2017, the biggest underwater search in history by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau was terminated two years after MH370 disappeared. Martin Dolan, who led the seabed search, told 60 Minutes: This was planned, this was deliberate, and it was done over an extended period of time.

Dolan rejected the possibility that a terrorist group were behind the incident. If this had been a terrorist event, its almost invariable that a terrorist organisation will claim credit for the event. There was no such claim made, he said.

"He was killing himself; unfortunately, he was killing everybody else on board, and he did it deliberately," said Larry Vance, a Canadian air crash investigator. There is no reason not to believe that the pilot did not depressurise the cabin to incapacitate the passengers.

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Using an interactive screen, Simon Hardy, a Boeing 777 pilot and instructor, reconstructed the planes route based on military radars. Hardy claims that Shah piloted the aircraft along the Malaysia and Thailand bordercriss-crossing along the way to evade detection from either side.

"It did the job, because we know, as a fact, that the military did not come and intercept the aircraft," Hardy said.

Two of the people sitting on the panel also rejected the Australian Transport Safety Bureaus version of events which concluded an uncontrolled death dive. Instead, they say that Shah piloted the aircraft a further 115 miles than is believed by authorities.

"I think someone was controlling the aircraft until the end," said Hardy. "This was a mission by one of the crew to hide the aircraft as far away from civilization as possible Which puts us way outside the search area that is currently being done."

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The experts also noted that evidence from the wreckage indicates that Shah was in full control of the craft.

Malaysia Airlines has not responded to Newsweeks request for comment.

Watch the full 60 Minutes segment below:

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Meghan McCain has been very vocal in her support for her father, Senator John McCain, who is currently undergoing treatment for brain cancer.

Just last week, McCain posted a photo of herself and her father on Instagram with this message: My Mother calls me John McCain in a dressmy relationship with my father has always been magicwe are fiercely and protectively forever on each others team. Love with your complete and whole heart in this life. We keep fighting because we are all McCains, we are a family of a long lineage of Vikingsfighting is what we have always done, and what we will always do.

McCain uses the word fight several times in talking about her father, but its a term many in the cancer community take issue with. In a new report titled Missed Opportunities, the U.K. charity Macmillan Cancer Support says that framing cancer as a fight or battle can make patients feel guilty or as if they have failed or lost if their condition worsens.

After the report went public, people flooded Twitter with their own thoughts on this, including actor Rob Delaney, who recently lost his young son, Henry:

My late wife Sian Busby always hated the metaphor of fighting cancer or beating it. She was always optimistic. And never fatalistic. And endured hideous treatments and operations. But she did not find the idea of cancer as the enemy especially helpful. pic.twitter.com/b16VGmXpOs  Robert Peston (@Peston) May 15, 2018

Thank you Robert. I hate the fighting metaphor. My son Henry was a bad motherfucker; its not about fighting. Our familys acknowledgement of reality allowed Henry to die peacefully at home. He was so happy in his final weeks. https://t.co/B62TLfxqhW  rob delaney (@robdelaney) May 15, 2018

I work in palliative care and Im so glad this is now being called out as it has frustrated me for years.  Juliette O'Sullivan (@JulietteOSull) May 15, 2018

@Peston Exactly this. Dont like the fighting or battle metaphor. Leads to x lost their battle with cancer, which implies a failure. You never hear x lost their battle with a heart attack, or y lost their battle with getting run over by a bus.  Andy Ward (@andyward79) May 15, 2018

Agree. I never use war metaphors to describe cancer treatments or someone's illness. We should kick the cancer as battle metaphor to the curb, it's designed to make everyone feel better EXCEPT the person with cancer. https://t.co/R01tc0vXSQ  Leslie Poston (@leslie) May 15, 2018

Clearly, everyone approaches a cancer diagnosis differently, and a variety of preferred terminology comes with that. (Shannen Doherty, whose breast cancer is now in remission, prefers the term cancer slayer, for example.) But this issue with using terms like fight and battle in relation to cancer isnt new, Marlon Saria, PhD, RN, advanced practice nurse researcher at the John Wayne Cancer Institute at Providence Saint Johns Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

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Fight and battle means that you can either win or lose, he says, adding that journey and survivor can also be controversial. If you think about it, who are the other survivors that we talk about other than cancer survivors? Saria says. You dont talk about someone being a diabetes survivor or a stroke survivor.

Its often patients in palliative care who struggle with this terminology the most, Martha Aschenbrenner, licensed professional counselor with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The idea of a battle always has a sense of personal responsibility and accountability, she points out. For a lot of people, they feel like it puts the onus on them to survive their cancer.

When it comes to helping people figure out how to mentally grapple with a cancer diagnosis, Aschenbrenner says she often asks the patient to define the terminology theyre comfortable with using. I ask people, What does this feel like to you? she says. A lot depends on a persons stage of life and their generational perspective. Those who are older tend to look at it as a battle, while younger people typically view cancer as something they have to learn to live with, Aschenbrenner says.

If you know someone who has a cancer diagnosis, it may be helpful to listen to them and see how they refer to their cancer before using certain terms like fight and battle. But, of course, support is the most important thing. If someone you love is dealing with cancer, its important for you to be there and show your support, even if you happen to slip and use terminology that may be controversial, Saria says. Ultimately, being present matters much more.

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Barbara Foy with the friendly staffers at Ruby Tuesday. (Photo: Lauren Nave/WMBF News)

Mothers Day got off to a rocky start for a woman who changed her fate by deciding to dine at Ruby Tuesday.

Barbara Foy was down in the dumps when she sat down for lunch at the chains Horry County, S.C., location on Sunday. It was Mothers Day, but she hadnt heard from her son. She told a local news station that she actually hadnt spoken to him in quite some time.

Some sympathetic staffers noticed that Foy was dining alone and knew they had to intervene. Employee Kabria Hasty walked over to the table to greet Foy and wished her a happy Mothers Day, and she started to tear up, the franchises general manager, Lauren Nave, tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

Foy shared her story with Hasty, who in turn shared it with co-workers Christianna Smith and Mariah Brown. Unwilling to let this mom go without feeling loved on Mothers Day, the three put their money together, ran to the store, and put together a thoughtful gift bag, Nave recalled. She said they went to the nearest place to shop, Dollar Tree, and bought notebooks, perfumes, pens, and anything they thought their customer might appreciate. They also comped her lunch, according to WMBF, and a fellow customer brought her a rose.

Photo: Getty Images

I really felt like I was queen for a day  mother for a day! Foy said, according WAFB. Ive never been made to feel so special.

And while it sounds like these ladies are pros at cheering customers up, this was a first for them. All three girls have said that they have not done something like this for a customer before, but have for sure gone above and beyond for family and friends, Nave explained. Its all about doing the right thing, and this was the right thing to do.

Fast food and chain restaurants may get a bad rap, but their employees are individuals who often make headlines for having empathy.

When a new Chick-fil-A franchise owner found out that a local 6-year-old boy had a rare condition that is triggered by 90 percent of the foods on the entire planet, for example, and that Chick-fil-As waffle fries are on the list of permitted items, they invited him to the restaurant as a guest of honor. With his new title, Chris Cataldo was able to take customers orders, operate the drive-thru, and even cook an order of fries before having some fun in the store playground and sitting down for his special meal.

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And last month at a Colorado Chipotle, where customer Adriana Alvarez unexpectedly gave birth, the chain threw her a baby shower.

Its chains like these that give the term comfort food a whole new meaning.

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Beijing (AFP) - A North Korean delegation has visited Beijing to learn about China's experience in economic reform and opening up, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, the latest diplomatic outreach by the isolated regime.

The Cold War-era allies have stepped up contacts in recent weeks as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un prepares for a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

China said Pak Thae Song, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, visited Beijing on Monday at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party.

"This visit is a concrete example of the important consensus between (Communist Party) General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing, confirming media reports about the trip.

The delegation came to "learn about the achievements of China's domestic economic development and reform and opening-up process, and promote an exchange of experience between the two parties on governance issues," Lu said.

Analysts have said Kim's promise last month to build "socialist economic construction" could herald more Chinese-style economic reforms, which transformed the communist-led country into the world's second largest economy.

Kim used the phrase when he declared that his regime had completed the development of its nuclear arsenal and no more atomic or missile tests were needed.

The delegation visited Beijing a week after Kim met Xi in China's northeastern port city of Dalian -- his second trip to China in less than two months.

Pyongyang and Beijing are seeking to mend frayed ties as a diplomatic thaw in the region intensifies.

Relations fell to a new low in the past year as Beijing, angered by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, supported a series of United Nations sanctions against its ally.

But Beijing is keen to avoid being sidelined in the wake of Kim's historic summit last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and ahead of his Trump summit.

Experts say Kim needs to maintain good relations with his country's main patron as the Trump meeting looms.

Kim, who picked Beijing to make his maiden official trip abroad in March, has also invited Xi to visit North Korea.
More than 100 have died and thousands been injured in the Gaza Strip over the past six weeks, as Palestinians attend protests in the lead up to the anniversary of the Nakba, or catastrophe.

At least 59 Palestinians were shot dead Monday in the worst day of Israeli-Palestinian violence since the 2014 war in Gaza. Nakba Day has often been a flashpoint for violence, and given recent events there is a fear the 2018 commemoration could be bloody.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Palestinian Nakba. It refers to the exodus of some 700,000 Palestinians who left or were forced to flee their homes when Israel was founded in May 1948. Upon its creation, Israel's Arab neighborsEgypt, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Yemenlaunched a war to destroy the nascent state. Amid the fighting, hundreds of thousands left their homes.

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REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

The diaspora has since spread worldwide, and half of the world's 12 million Palestinians now reside outside of Israel and the Palestinian territories. Many still live under difficult conditions in refugee camps in neighboring Arab states, barred from returning to Israel.

Unofficially celebrated since 1949, former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat inaugurated the day officially in 1998 in response to Israels 50th anniversary celebrations. The commemorations include rallies and speeches in cities across Israel and the Palestinian territories. Many attendees brandish house keys, a symbol of the homes their families have been unable to return to.

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Read MoreGaza Protests: What Do Palestinians Want, and Will They Get It?

Palestinians call on Israel to acknowledge their right to return to the ancestral lands lost in the 1948 exodus. Israel, however, has consistently refused to recognize the right, fearing that a mass movement of Palestinians across the border could make Israeli Jews a minority in the country. The countrys refusal is in violation of the 1948 United Nations Resolution 194, which resolved that refugees wishing to return to their homes be allowed to do so.

The charged nature of the commemoration means violence is always bubbling close to the surface. The first official Nakba Day in 1998 led to clashes between protesters and Israeli forces, leaving four Palestinians dead. In 2011, at least 22 Palestinians were shot dead as they tried to enter Israel by crossing the Syrian border.

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REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

With the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, this years Nakba Day has special significance. Accordingly, protesters have been gathering at the Gaza Strip-Israel border fence since March 30. Israel has used live ammunition to control the crowds, claiming that Hamasthe Islamist militant group controlling the Gaza Stripis using the protests as a cover for planning and executing attacks.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say several militants have been killed in recent weeks while trying to plant bombs at the border or breach the fence. Last night, the IDF conducted air and artillery strikes on suspected militant positions and threatened to target senior Hamas leaders if the protests continued.

After the deaths along the Gaza border on Monday, it is unclear whether demonstrations will escalate further. Israeli forces remain ready to meet the crowds with force if necessary, and are preparing for the spread of demonstrations to Palestinian areas of the West Bank and East Jerusalem

This article was first written by Newsweek

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(NEW YORK)  A nanny convicted of brutally murdering two small children in her care has been sentenced in New York City to life in prison without parole.

Yoselyn Ortega was convicted last month in the deaths of 6-year-old Lucia Krim and 2-year-old Leo Krim and was sentenced Monday. She had been working for the Krim family for nearly two years when she took the children to a bathroom of their apartment and stabbed them to death in 2012.

She wept and apologized to the family.

The childrens mother had been out with a third child and returned home to find them dead. Their father was out of town.

Ortegas lawyer argued she was too mentally ill to know what she was doing when she killed the children.

The 55-year-old Ortega is from the Dominican Republic.
New Jersey hair braiders are required to have a license to legally operate in a salon, but new legislation could change that. (Photo: Getty Images)

While most braiders would love to dive deeply into the business of braiding, in many states, there are barriers that keep them from legally operating a salon. One of those states is New Jersey. However, a few of its legislators are pushing a new bill that would relax state regulations and allow new braiding businesses to thrive.

According to NJ Spotlight, if you want to braid Afro-textured hair in New Jersey, you have to spend the equivalent of 50 days in cosmetology school. One of the main reasons this requirement has raised concerns is that most beauty schools dont teach hair braiding in their curriculum. A new bill, A3754, sponsored by legislators Angela McKnight, Shanique Speight, and Arthur Barclay would exempt hair braiders from this law.

I have started pushing for this change this year because it was brought to my attention, McKnight tells Yahoo Lifestyle. This is an important change, and the No. 1 reason is that the current cosmetology school does not teach people how to braid hair, but they currently must go to schools where they have to pay as much as $17,000 and spend roughly 1,200 hours for something that does not reflect what they will be professionally doing.

Speight adds, Prior to this, I had no idea about how tough it was for these women to practice what they love doing. These women should have the right to support their families without these kinds of restrictions.

Many West African women use hair braiding as a way to contribute to their familys income. (Photo: Getty Images)

But why are the laws so restrictive for hair braiders? One thought is that the laws are very dated and may be out of touch with current hair practices. Paul Avelar, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, who has led the organizations Braiding Freedom Initiative for the past four years, explained to Yahoo Lifestyle: In most states, the laws governing hair-related services were written between the 1930s through 1950s, and no one had ever thought about this issue. That meant that braiders got lumped into regulations meant for barbers or cosmetologists, two occupations that are different than braiding.

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Speight adds, Because hair is involved, hair braiding has traditionally been classified under cosmetology, because people outside of the culture know little about it. To prevent any potential harm to the public, the rules and regulations that apply to other cosmetology services have also applied to hair braiding.

One licensed hairstylist and salon owner, Barri Gibson of Red. by Rubyredroots salon in South Orange, N.J., supports a handful of local braiders and isnt opposed to the idea of hair braiders being required to have formal training and licensing. She stresses the importance of understanding funguses, how to properly disinfect hair, and scalp conditions, even if chemical services arent being done. Tons of women suffer from traction alopecia as a result of braids, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. As a stylist who takes pride in helping clients maintain healthy hair and scalps, I think its important for hair braiders to do the same. Many braiding salons dont have sinks to wash clients hair, which means they are servicing unclean hair and scalps.

Shauna Wright, another licensed New Jersey hairstylist and owner of ShaunieDoesMyHair, shared her past experience working at a hair braiding salon for several years with Yahoo Lifestyle and mentioned how willing she was to step in as manager because the salon owner, who wasnt licensed, faced the threat of being shut down. The actual owner, Sue, who I have grown to love, opened a hair braiding studio when she moved to New Jersey from Africa, Wright says. In her country, women were not allowed to learn to read and write and were taught to take on more domesticated duties while learning to rely solely on their husbands. Social gatherings among women would include braiding each others hair. This hobby soon turned into a passion of hers, and when her family relocated to America for a better life, she decided to home in on her passion. She had money to open an actual storefront, but she didnt know all of the regulations that would soon come with it. Because she cannot read or write, getting this license or even holding any other job, for that matter, seemed nearly impossible. I couldnt watch her amazing business get shut down and risk her no longer being able to provide for her family, so I became the salon manager, which allowed the storefront to stay open.

In the video posted above by NJSpotlightTV, one Senegalese immigrant and hair braider in Trenton, Khady Tima Cisse, opens up about how braiding helps her earns a living so she can help take care of her family. She also says she simply loves doing it. Its a part of my culture, she says.

The video also highlights another hair braider, Hortense Fassu, who has been fined more than $1,000 for operating without a cosmetology license, and the struggles shes faced while trying to conduct a business based on talents she learned in her home country, Cameroon.

In their efforts to lift laws that hamper hair braiders, McKnight and Speight havent faced much pushback to date. The bill passed in our committee, Women and Children, and we look forward to it passing in both houses in a few weeks, says Speight. There doesnt seem to be any opposition to the changes we are trying to make. One of the biggest factors is our ability to convey how safe this practice is to help people understand that formal training and licensing are unnecessary when it comes to hair braiding.

In 2016, after the Institute for Justice filed a lawsuit, Iowa relaxed regulations for hair braiders, and shortly before that, Kentucky rescinded laws requiring hair braiders to be licensed. If this new bill in New Jersey wins approval, it will be a huge win for many immigrants, more specifically women of color, who want to make a better living in America. It would also make New Jersey the 24th state that doesnt require braiders to have a license if they want to work in a salon.

Allowing unlicensed hair braiders  many of whom are already working, albeit unwittingly illegally  to open salons will free them to expand their businesses and empower consumers to make their own choices, says Avelar. Freeing braiders from onerous and unnecessary regulatory burdens will respect braiders right to earn an honest living and allow them to support themselves and their families through the practice of their cultural and traditional craft.

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South Korean president Moon Jae-in has welcomed North Korea's plans to dismantle its nuclear test facility and interpreted the decision as holding three layers of meaning, he told his aides at a meeting on Monday.

Not only does North Korea's announcement represent "an initial step towards complete denuclearization" Moon said, but it is also a sign of commitment to the success of the upcoming summit with President Donald Trump, as well as showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is upholding the promises made during the inter-Korean summit in April.

North Korea's state-controlled media released a statement from the ministry of foreign affairs on Saturday, exactly one month ahead of the historic Kim-Trump meeting planned for June 12 in Singapore. It announced the upcoming dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear research facility, which hosted all six of the country's underground nuclear tests.

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Korea Summit Press Pool/AFP/Getty Images

The dismantlement of the facility ahead of the summit would represent another goodwill gesture from Pyongyang, in addition to the liberation of three Korean-American detainees last week. The event, which the ministry called "a ceremony," is planned for May 23-25, "depending on weather conditions."

North Korea invited foreign journalists from the U.S., China, Russia, U.K. and South Korea to attend the event. The plan includes an explosion to force the collapse of all underground tunnels, blocking the entries, followed by the removal of on-the-ground observation and research facilities as well as structures hosting guard units.

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In a first comment on the North Korean proposal on Sunday, Seoul welcomed the decision to include foreign media as a move towards transparency on the path to denuclearization. "We hope that the sound of dynamite blowing up the Punggye-ri tunnels will be a gun salute in a journey toward a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons," Seoul's presidential spokesperson said.

President Trump reacted gleefully at North Korea's announcement. "Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!" he tweeted on Saturday. The Trump administration has repeatedly vowed to conduct a campaign of maximum pressure against North Korea until the country provided "a complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has already met Kim twice, indicated the U.S. would be ready to support the country should its leader take "bold action to quickly denuclearize."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Geneva (AFP) - North Korea plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, it told the United Nations disarmament body Tuesday.

"DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests," North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.

His comment came amid a recent whirlwind of diplomacy and outreach by the long isolated regime.

Dialogue brokered by Seoul has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

Kim last month announced that his country would halt its own nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, which was widely hailed as an important step towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But Pyongyang has yet to rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it withdrew from in 2003.

It is also one of eight countries with nuclear test capacity, including the United States, China and Iran, which have so far failed to either sign or ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, blocking it from taking effect.

Han, who made no reference to the treaties, told the UN assembly that his country aimed to make more "efforts to achieve the development of intra-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of the war on the Korean peninsula."

"It will make sincere efforts... to establish a durable lasting peace mechanism" with its neighbour to the south, he said, urging the international community to "extend its active support in encouraging and promoting the current positive climate."

- 'Historic opportunity' -

US ambassador Robert Wood meanwhile told the same forum that his country "welcomes the professed commitment by North Korea to end nuclear tests and missile launches and the shut-down of its nuclear test site."

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The United States, he said, was looking forward to the June 12 summit between Kim and Trump, who only a few short months ago were swapping insults and both openly threatening devastating direct action.

Trump last year threatened North Korea with "fire and fury".

Wood described the summit as "a historic opportunity to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula."

"We hope North Korea will seize the moment and take the bold steps necessary to lead North Korea to a peaceful and prosperous future."

The recent diplomatic frenzy comes after tensions on and around the peninsula had been mounting for years as Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes attracted increasingly strict sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US, EU, South Korea and others.

Asked about the continued threats of sanctions from Washington, Han warned Tuesday that they were "a dangerous attempt to ruin the hard-won atmosphere of dialogue."
By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Wednesday threw into question an unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for next month, denouncing military exercises between South Korea and the United States as a provocation and calling off high-level talks with Seoul. A report on North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency angrily attacked the "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, and appeared to mark a break in months of warming ties between North and South Korea and between Pyongyang and Washington. Any cancellation of the June 12 summit in Singapore, the first meeting between a serving U.S. president and a North Korean leader, would deal a major blow to Trumps efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency. Trump has raised expectations for a successful meeting even as many analysts have been skeptical of the chances of bridging the gap due to questions about North Koreas willingness to give up a nuclear arsenal that now threatens the United States. The KCNA report called the air drills a "provocation" that went against the trend of warming ties. "This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," KCNA said, referring to a joint statement from an April 27 inter-Korea summit. "The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities," KCNA said. A Trump-Kim summit until recently had looked impossible given the insults and threats the two leaders exchanged last year over North Korea's development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States. "Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing. "We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month," she said. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States would examine the North Korean statement "and continue to coordinate closely with our allies." South Korea's National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong said in early March, after meeting Kim, that the North Korean leader understood that "routine" joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States would continue in spite of a warming of ties. This was widely considered to be a major North Korea concession, though Pyongyang never publicly withdrew its long-standing demand for an end to the drills. Kims latest move could be aimed at testing Trumps willingness to make concessions ahead of the summit, which is due to be preceded by a visit to Washington next week by South Korean President Moon Jae-in. A U.S. government expert on North Korea said Kim may also be trying to gauge whether Trump is willing to walk away from the meeting, which has prompted the presidents supporters to suggest he deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Any acquiescence by Trump to a North Korean demand for a halt to joint drills would likely undermine South Korean and Japanese trust in his commitment to their security. Kim has also shown a desire to win international approval for his diplomatic outreach, and any sign that he is sabotaging the talks could damage this effort. SUSPENDED NORTH-SOUTH MEETING KCNA said North Korea was suspending a ministerial-level North-South meeting, which had been due to be held on Wednesday to focus on plans to implement the inter-Korea summit declaration, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearization". "The U.S. should make efforts to create an atmosphere for mutual respect and confidence before dialogue, not resorting to a foolish farce that may reverse the good trend created with much effort," KCNA said. The Pentagon said the May 14-25 Max Thunder exercises were routine and defensive in nature. A spokesman said the exercises would take place at Gwangju air base and would be "at a scale similar to that of the previous years". Last year, Max Thunder involved about 1,500 U.S. and South Korean personnel flying aircraft including F-16 fighter jets, according to a U.S. Air Force website. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if it agreed to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program, a move that would create economic prosperity that would rival that of South Korea. North Korea said on Saturday it would dismantle its nuclear bomb test site some time between May 23 and May 25 to uphold its pledge to cease tests. Joshua Pollack, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Pyongyang appeared irritated by the U.S. administration's vow to maintain sanctions in spite of North Korean concessions. "The North Koreans want a change in tone from the U.S., and at least so far, they're not hearing one," he said. A South Korean presidential adviser warned on Tuesday that an incremental North Korean approach to denuclearization would not be acceptable to Trump or the South Korean public. Bonnie Glaser, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Kim may be being influenced by Chinese President Xi Jinping after two recent meetings with the Chinese leader, who has advocated a freeze in North Korea's nuclear program in return for a freeze in U.S.-South Korean drills. "The fact this issue is back on the table suggests Xi Jinping may have raised it with Kim, and that Kim is carrying Xis water," she said. (Reporting by Josh Smith in Seoul; Additional reporting by David Brunnstrom, Phillip Stewart, Tim Ahmann, Matt Spetalnick and Lesley Wroughton in Washington; Writing by David Brunnstrom; Editing by Alistair Bell, James Dalgleish and Lincoln Feast)
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raising their hands after signing a joint statement at the border village of Panmunjom, April 27 2018 - Korea Summit Press Pool

Donald Trumps historic meeting with Kim Jong-un has been thrown into uncertainty as North Korea warned it could be cancelled over US military exercises and if Washington presses ahead with its one-sided demand for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear arsenal.

Kim Kye-gwan, North Korea's deputy foreign minister, warned on Wednesday that Pyongyang was not interested in talks that would pressure the rogue state to "unilaterally" give up its nuclear programme, taking aim at "unbridled remarks" by John Bolton, the US national security adviser, and other high-ranking White House officials.

In a statement issued by the North Korean Central News Agency [KCNA], Mr Kim took issue in particular with Mr Bolton's references to the so-called Libya model of nuclear abandonment and his statements on "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation."

Mr Kim claimed the remarks cast doubt on America's sincerity, underlining that his country was not Libya, which met a "miserable fate."

He added: "This is not an expression of intention to address the issue through dialogue. It is essentially a manifestation of awfully sinister moves to impose on our dignified state the destiny of Libya or Iraq which had [sic] been collapsed due to yielding the whole of their countries to big powers."

North Korea has taken aim at John Bolton, US national security adviser, for his remarks on denuclearisation Credit: Getty Images/Getty Images

North Korea analysts have cautioned that the undignified, brutal death of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, may be foremost on Kim Jong-un's mind ahead of talks on denuclearisation.

Several also pointed to Mr Bolton's fractious history with North Korea when he was appointed by Mr Trump in March.

In 2003, North Korea refused to participate in multilateral talks if Mr Bolton was present after he labelled then leader Kim Jong-il a tyrannical dictator, a memory which the regime invoked on Wednesday.

"We do not hide our feelings of repugnance towards him," said Mr Kim, warning the Trump administration to remember the lessons of the past.

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His remarks followed an unexpected announcement by KCNA on Tuesday that planned talks with South Korea had been postponed just hours before they were due to start because of the joint military drills.

America was also warned that careful deliberations would need to take place over whether to go ahead with Mr Trumps planned meeting with Kim.

The reaction was to the Max Thunder joint military exercises from America and South Korea that reportedly involve 100 war planes including B-52 bombers and F-15K jets.

The news blindsided the US State Department, which said it had received no formal or informal notification that the meeting was off.

A spokesman said there was nothing provocative or illegal about the military drills and insisted US officials would continue to prepare for the Trump-Kim summit.

Last week it was announced that Mr Trump will meet Kim on June 12 in Singapore to discuss the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

Kim vs Moon comparison side by side

The meeting was the culmination of a diplomatic drive from North Korea that saw Kim meet South Korean president Moon Jae-in last month.

Further talks were planned between both countries on Wednesday but just hours before the meetings North Korea announced it was pulling out because of military exercises.

"This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," the KCNA reported, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

Donald Trump had been set to meet with the North Korean leader on 12 June Credit: KEVIN LAMARQUE/Reuters

"The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.

"We'll keenly monitor how the United States and South Korean authorities will react."

Pyongyang also used its official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun, to lash out at the US for voicing concerns over the North's human rights record earlier this month, calling the criticism "unacceptable" and "extremely rude" for a dialogue partner.

However, the focal point of North Korea's current ire is the joint US-South Korea military drills, which have long been criticised by Pyongyang, which has framed the moves in the past as preparations for an invasion.

Heather Nauert, the US State Department spokesman, said the military exercises were certainly not provocative and said Kim had previously said he understands the need for them to take place.

Video: Trump announces he will meet Kim Jong-un to pursue peace

She said there had been no formal or even informal notification that the US-North Korea summit was cancelled, adding: We will continue to go ahead and plan the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jung-un.

Army Col. Rob Manning said this current exercise is part of the US and South Korea's "routine, annual training program to maintain a foundation of military readiness."

Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said the purpose of Max Thunder and exercise Foal Eagle - another training event - is to enhance the two nations' abilities to operate together to defend South Korea.

"The defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed," said Manning.

Kim Jong-un has the USA and South Korea exactly where he wants them

Joshua Pollack, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Pyongyang appeared irritated by the US administration's vow to maintain sanctions in spite of North Korean concessions.

"The North Koreans want a change in tone from the U.S., and at least so far, they're not hearing one," he said.

A South Korean presidential adviser warned on Tuesday that an incremental North Korean approach to denuclearisation would not be acceptable to Trump or the South Korean public.

Bonnie Glaser, of Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Kim may be being influenced by Chinese President Xi Jinping after two recent meetings with the Chinese leader, who has advocated a freeze in North Korea's nuclear program in return for a freeze in US-South Korean drills.

"The fact this issue is back on the table suggests Xi Jinping may have raised it with Kim, and that Kim is carrying Xis water," she said.

Relations between North Korea and China appear to be experiencing a new detente after several frosty years.

A delegation of senior North Korean officials visited China this week to learn about the Chinese model of "reform and opening up," Beijing said on Wednesday.

The visit has been linked in Chinese media to a vow last month by Pyongyang to ditch its nuclear weapons program in favour of "socialist economic construction".

China and North Korea are historic allies, but friction emerged last year after the North escalated regional tensions with a series of missile tests, prompting Beijing to back hard-hitting sanctions against its wayward neighbour.

Kim Jong-un and Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, have rekindled their political relationship Credit: KCNA/AFP

But ties appear to be back on track, with Kim Jong-un making two visits to China in the last few weeks. North Korean official media said the delegation arrived in Beijing on Monday and was led by Pak Thae-song, vice chairman of the Workers Party of Korea (WPK).

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said: "This visit is a concrete example of the important consensus between General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un."

The delegation came to "learn about the achievements of China's domestic economic development and reform and opening-up process, and promote an exchange of experience between the two parties on governance issues," Mr Lu said.

Mr Lu did not reveal how long the trip would last, but the Global Times newspaper speculated that the delegation might visit the southern province of Guangdong, where China's opening up first began 40 years ago.

The media outlet quoted an expert as saying that, compared to South Korea, China was a more practical model for North Korea to follow "as the two countries' political systems are more similar".

Separately, North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song said the country planned to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests.

A satellite survey conducted by American researchers also showed that the regime had begun dismantling facilities at its nuclear test site.
The city council wants to impose a head tax on big firms employees to tackle homelessness but the mayor says the plan hurts workers

Pedestrians and cyclists gather near the Amazon Spheres, in Seattle. Seattles latest tax proposal to combat homelessness takes aim at large businesses such as Amazon. Photograph: Ted S Warren/AP

Amazon and organized labor dont often find common cause, but an unorthodox attempt at taxing big business has given them just that in Seattle.

Staring down the housing crisis facing Americas prosperous cities, some Seattle leaders hope to charge large employers for every employee working in the city. The head tax prompted Amazon, the citys largest private employer and driving force behind Seattles booming real estate market, to stop construction at one office tower and move to shift 7,000 jobs to other locations.

Union construction workers, fearing a slump in building if Amazon gives up on the city, turned out in force against the measure.

Seattle leaders, like their counterparts in other left-leaning cities, have found easy villains in corporate titans.

Fast-food chains  McDonalds chief among them  were politicians favorite foil in a successful 2014 push for a $15-an-hour minimum wage. Pepsi and Coca-Cola were similarly tarred during a 2016 campaign for a sweetened beverages tax, one tightly drawn to avoid sugary drinks from another Seattle-based giant, Starbucks.

With the head tax put forward this spring, city council members cut no such break for Amazon, whose headquarters injects a techy glitz to Seattles downtown and swells the citys real estate market.

The tax would be imposed against the largest for-profit employers in the city, about 500 businesses in all. Were it to be enacted, it could generate, by estimates, about $75m a year for affordable housing and homeless services.

The tax is likely to pass the city council on Monday but may die on the mayors desk. In a statement on Friday, Mayor Jenny Durkan said the $500-per-employee tax, as drafted by the council, hurts workers.



I cannot support it, said Durkan, who proposed a limited tax carrying a $250-a-worker charge.

Revenue from the proposed tax is slated to address the housing crisis within Seattle, where real estate prices and rents have shot up in the past decade. Nearly half of the citys renters are struggling even as household incomes jumped 27% from 2012 to 2016. Homelessness is ascendant in the city, where spring sun has again seen tents and shacks pop up along freeways and in city parks.

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We have a public health crisis. People are sleeping outside every day, council member Teresa Mosqueda said on Friday. Frankly, people are dying in our streets.

Washington state, home to the two richest men in history  Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates  is one of seven US states without an income tax. Instead, services are funded primarily through a sales tax, set at 10.1% in Seattle, and property taxes. Supporters of the head tax describe it as a step toward equitable taxation.

A progressive tax on businesses most benefiting from this growth is our best option because we already rely heavily upon regressive property and sales taxes that hit everyone equally, council member Lisa Herbold said by email.

A simmering fight on the tax boiled over on 2 May when Amazon confirmed it was pausing construction on Block 18, a 405,000 sq ft office building at the heart of its Seattle campus, and reconsidering a lease on another downtown tower.



Pending the outcome of the head tax vote by City Council, Amazon has paused all construction planning on our Block 18 project in downtown Seattle and is evaluating options to sub-lease all space in our recently leased Rainier Square building, Amazon vice-president Drew Herdener said by email.

Monty Anderson, executive secretary of the Seattle Building & Construction Trades Council, said he was concerned that the tax would stifle the citys Amazon-driven building boom, which has made Seattle the nations construction crane capital since July 2016.

The ability of us to work is based on companies wanting to come here and build. Thats just a fact for us, said Anderson, who leads a collection of trade unions representing 10,500 workers.

In 08 and 09, when the economy tanked and my members were homeless, drug addicted, committing suicide, it was a tragedy  Now people are building here, and were seeing an uptick of our membership into the middle class. Dont take that away from us.

Organizers with Working Washington, an advocacy organization for low-wage workers in the state, have asked that Bezos be prosecuted criminally for intimidation, comparing him to a mob boss.

Facing a signal from Durkan that she will veto the measure as proposed, supporters need to win over the mayor or a sixth member of the council. A 6-3 vote for the tax would be veto-proof.

Speaking after Fridays hearing, Mosqueda said she was hopeful a compromise could be reached before a final vote on Monday.

The unified message from city council today is that we need more revenue to build shelter and housing, said Mosqueda, who added that she expects the final version of the bill to be different from the one passed on Friday by a 5-4 council vote.

If enacted, the tax would take effect in January. Supporters of the bill have planned a Saturday march on Amazons headquarters.
Bamako (AFP) - Armed men abducted and beheaded a five-year-old albino girl in Mali at the weekend, police said, in what was feared to be a ritual murder for supposedly magic body parts.

Djeneba Diarra, whose family lives in Fana village 125 kilometres (78 miles) north of Bamako, "was sleeping in the courtyard with her mother and her sister" when the men snatched her at around 2:00 am on Sunday, police told AFP on Monday.

The girl's mother at first tried to pursue the kidnappers, who scaled a wall with her child, but then turned back to protect her second daughter, also an albino.

"We searched for the little girl everywhere. We found her body beside a mosque, but she had no head," said a village teacher, Oumar Diakite.

Blaming a lack of security for the killing, angry local residents on Sunday partially burned down the paramilitary police headquarters in Fana, according to several witnesses.

"We demand justice. Her head was taken. This is a ritual crime," activist Mamadou Sissoko told AFP after going to the scene.

Sissoko, the general secretary of the Federation of Associations of Persons with Albinism in West Africa (FAPAO), pointed out the link between crimes against albinos and political events, ahead of Mali's presidential election on July 29.

"Every time there are elections, we become prey for people who want to make ritual sacrifices. This is not the first time this has happened in Fana," he said. "The state needs to take up its responsibilities."

An albino legend on the international stage, Malian musician Salif Keita has for years campaigned for the protection of albinos, who are both stigmatised and hunted for ritual purposes in many African countries, including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe as well as in West Africa.

Dozens of albinos are attacked and killed every year by people prepared to hack off their limbs to use in rituals aimed at bringing wealth, success and good fortune.

Albinism is a genetic hereditary disorder that causes a partial or total absence of pigmentation in the skin, the hair and the eyes, so that sufferers have a bleached look.

Apart from discrimination, albinos are also exposed to problems of eyesight and a heightened risk of skin cancer. In Africa, protective suntan creams are hard to find and expensive.
By James Oliphant WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Voters head to the polls on Tuesday in crucial party primaries in Pennsylvania, a state that has become central to Democrats hopes of retaking control of the U.S. House of Representatives. The state offers Democrats the opportunity to pick up as many as five seats from Republicans in congressional elections in November, analysts said. Democrats need a net total of 23 to assume the House majority, which would likely derail Republican President Donald Trumps policy agenda. Pennsylvanias politics were thrown into turmoil earlier this year when the state Supreme Court found that the current congressional districts had been unconstitutionally tailored to favor Republicans. The redrawn map has made some districts more competitive. In addition, six incumbent House Republicans are not running for re-election, further scrambling the races and requiring voters to become familiar with a raft of first-time candidates. Some 81 candidates are running for 18 congressional seats, including 10 Democrats in a single race. Democrats feel confident they can ultimately win three districts in suburban Philadelphia regardless of which candidates win their primaries on Tuesday because of the liberal tilt of those areas. A more interesting contest comes in the northeastern district being vacated by retiring Representative Charlie Dent, one of the few remaining moderate Republicans in the House. The largest city in the district, Allentown, sustained huge job losses with the 1995 closing of the Bethlehem Steel plant, once been a pillar of the regions economy. The three top contenders represent the diverse viewpoints in the modern Democratic Party: Greg Edwards, a pastor backed by progressive U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and the Congressional Black Caucus; Susan Wild, endorsed by the abortion rights group Emilys List; and John Morganelli, who opposes abortion rights and has been supportive of Trumps hardline immigration policies. Earlier this month, Sanders, who sought the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, visited Allentown to campaign with Edwards, drawing a crowd of more than 1,000. ELECTORAL RISK Terry Madonna, an expert on state politics at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, said Democrats risked losing the Allentown race if a candidate viewed as too liberal wins Tuesdays primary. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton edged Trump in the district by a single percentage point in the presidential election, he noted. Democrats are also hoping to pick up a seat held by first-term Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in another district outside of Philadelphia. Attorney Scott Wallace faces Navy veteran Rachel Reddick in the Democratic primary there. Madonna said he expected Pennsylvania to see the same surge in Democratic turnout that marked recent special elections. Typically, about 20 percent of Democrats vote in midterm elections. This time, it could be closer to 30 percent, he said. Nebraska will also hold a primary on Tuesday that could affect the balance of power in the House. Two Democratic candidates, moderate former U.S. Representative Brad Ashford and progressive Kara Eastman, are battling to take on Republican Representative Don Bacon in an Omaha-area district Democrats believe they can win. (Reporting by James Oliphant; Additional reporting by Caren Bohan in Allentown, Pa; Editing by Peter Cooney)
By Sarah N. Lynch

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Washington would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if the country agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, a move that would create economic prosperity that "will rival" that of South Korea.

As Pompeo spoke on several Sunday morning talk shows, the Pentagon said three American prisoners freed by North Korea had left Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington and been reunited with their families.

President Donald Trump and North Korean's Kim Jong Un

have a planned June 12 meeting in Singapore, the first such encounter between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

Pompeo said the United States would not be willing to invest taxpayer dollars to help the country, but was willing to "lift sanctions" to pave the way for private American investment in North Koreas energy, agriculture and infrastructure sectors.

What Chairman Kim will get from America is our finest  our entrepreneurs, our risk takers, our capital providers. ... They will get private capital that comes in. North Korea is desperately in need of energy ... for their people. They are in great need of agricultural equipment and technology, he said on CBS' Face the Nation.

We can create conditions for real economic prosperity for the North Korean people that will rival that of the South, he added.

North Korean state media reported over the weekend that the country had scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb site for later in May.

Pompeo welcomed that news.

"Every single site that the North Koreans have that can inflict risk on the American people that is destroyed, eliminated, dismantled is good news for the American people and for the world," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

COULD BECOME 'NORMAL NATION'

Last month, Pompeo became the first known U.S. official to meet with Kim, where he helped lay the groundwork for the upcoming meeting with Trump.

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He returned again to North Korea last week for a second meeting, after which Kim agreed to the release of the three Americans.

Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews, a Defense Department spokesman, described former prisoners Kim Dong-chul, Kim Sang-duk, who is also known as Tony Kim, and Kim Hak-song as being "grateful, in good spirits and coping well" when they left the hospital after medical evaluations.

"The returnees have been reunited with their families. Their time together has been an incredibly joyous occasion. They ask for privacy as they transition home," Andrews said.

White House national security adviser John Bolton said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that North Korea's future could be "unbelievably strong" if it follows through on its commitment to denuclearise.

"The prospect for North Korea is for it to become a normal nation, to behave and interact with the rest of the world the way South Korea does," he said.

Pompeo spoke about what it was like to meet Kim, whom few Americans have interacted with personally.

"The conversations are professional," he said on "Fox News Sunday. "He does follow the Western press. He'll probably watch this show at some point."

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Additional reporting by Valerie Volcovici, Idrees Ali and David Morgan; Editing by David Gregorio and Peter Cooney)
Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis began receiving Chilean bishops at the Vatican on Tuesday in a bid to address a child abuse scandal within the Church in Chile that has come to haunt his papacy.

The 34 bishops, three of whom are already retired, are to hold private and group meetings with the Argentine pontiff between Tuesday and Thursday.

"Firstly, we want to share our pain and shame," said Bishop Fernando Ramos, a spokesman for the Chilean delegation.

"Pain because there are victims of sex abuse, and shame because these abuses occurred within the Church," he told reporters.

The visit comes two weeks after Francis held private meetings with three victims of Chilean paedophile priest Fernando Karadima, and promised to adopt "adequate and lasting" measures to stop child sex abuse within the Catholic church.

Karadima was forced into retirement in 2011 after eventually being found by the Holy See to have been a serial abuser of minors during the 1980s and 1990s.

Controversial cardinal Javier Errazuriz, a key advisor to Francis, was also summoned as part of the Chilean delegation at the pontiff's request.

Errazuriz is accused by Karadima's victims of ignoring and helping to cover up the abuses committed by Karadima.

- Major shakeup? -

In a statement, the Vatican said Francis believed it was "necessary to examine in depth the causes and consequences, as well as the mechanisms that have led, in certain cases, to concealment and serious omissions towards the victims."

Speaking to reporters, Bishop Ignacio Gonzalez said: "The main focus is the victims, we can always make amends and move towards reconciliation with them."

The unprecedented summoning of the Chilean delegation is also a chance for Francis to repair some of the damage done during his visit to Chile in January, when his defence of controversial Chilean bishop Juan Barros caused a public outcry.

The pontiff strongly defended Barros, who was also accused of covering up Karadima's abuses, saying that he was convinced of his innocence and demanding "proof" before he would speak out against him.

He later apologised to the victims, admitting he had made "grave mistakes" after reading a 2,300-page report on the abuse in Chile.

Experts and sources within Chilean church suggested the pope could remove Barros from his duties and set in motion a major shake-up of the church hierarchy within the Latin American nation.
Moscow (AFP) - Preparatory work for the construction of a controversial Russian gas pipeline began off the German coast on Tuesday, just days ahead of a visit to Moscow by German chancellor Angela Merkel.

"Nord Stream 2 AG today started the offshore preparatory works for the subsequent pipelaying in the Bay of Greifswald" on Germany's Baltic Sea coast, the building consortium, led by Russian gas giant Gazprom, said in a statement.

It said the work was in line with planning approval granted by German authorities, and that similar offshore work had begun off the coast of Finland where approval has also been granted.

The pipeline, NordStream 2, will follow the track of the existing NordStream 1 pipeline and will double the amount of Russian gas arriving in the European Union's most powerful economy via the Baltic Sea when it is finished in late 2019 to 110 billion cubic metres per year.

The pipeline has proved controversial, in particular in eastern European EU states, who fear it could be used as a tool to boost Russian influence over the bloc.

Moscow notoriously used gas prices to pressure Ukraine during a mounting conflict with its former satellite which saw Russia annex the Crimean peninsula in 2014 -- prompting EU sanctions in response.

NordStream 2, by increasing Gazprom's capacity to deliver gas directly to Germany, will give Moscow even more ability to route gas exports around Ukraine.

Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has declined since the first NordStream pipeline opened in 2011.

Merkel unexpectedly threw German support for the pipeline into question last month when she said it could not go forward unless their were guarantees for Ukraine concerning current overland gas transit.

While Gazprom signalled its willingness to maintain transit of gas via Ukraine, it only offered lower volumes, prompting Ukraine to reject the offer.

Merkel is to travel to the southern Russian city of Sochi on Friday to meet President Vladimir Putin where gas transit is expected to be discussed.

In Russia, the project has been criticised on environmental grounds by Greenpeace, which has called for the route to be changed to avoid the Kurgalsky wildlife preserve near Saint Petersburg.

It said on Tuesday work had been started "illegally" in the preserve, destroying dunes and wetlands, while also distrubing birds during the critical nesting season.
Culiacan (Mexico) (AFP) - A Mexican journalist was murdered Tuesday, the fourth of 2018, as the country mourned acclaimed reporter and writer Javier Valdez on the first anniversary of his killing.

Juan Carlos Huerta was shot dead as he left his home in a suburb of Villahermosa, the capital of the southern state of Tabasco, the state government said.

The 45-year-old radio and television journalist had a wife and two children, according to Mexican media reports.

The latest killing in what has become one of the world's deadliest countries for the press fueled further outrage as protesters took to the streets demanding justice over the murder of Valdez and more than 100 other journalists killed since 2000.

Valdez, the co-founder of the newspaper Riodoce and a longtime contributor to Agence France-Presse, was gunned down in broad daylight near his newspaper's offices on May 15, 2017 in Culiacan, capital of the violent state of Sinaloa.

The killing drew international condemnation.

Valdez, 50, was one of the most prominent chroniclers of Mexico's deadly drug war in a state where notorious kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, now imprisoned in the United States, once reigned.

Protesters marked the first anniversary of his death with a series of marches around the country -- the main one in Culiacan -- calling on the authorities to punish those responsible and stop the wave of violence.

"This national day of protest is about reminding people that this murder happened, that it shouldn't go unpunished, that there must be justice," said Valdez's longtime colleague and Riodoce co-founder, Ismael Bojorquez.

Valdez was among at least 11 journalists murdered in Mexico last year, making it the deadliest country in the world for the profession after Syria, according to watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

The vast majority of the cases have gone unpunished -- as do more than 90 percent of violent crimes in Mexico.

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Racked by brutal violence linked to the multi-billion-dollar narcotics trade, the country posted a record number of homicides last year: 25,339.

- Killed for asking questions -

Asking questions about powerful drug cartels or government corruption can be a deadly job in Mexico.

According to investigators, Valdez was likely a victim of an internal power struggle that erupted in the Sinaloa cartel after "El Chapo" Guzman was extradited to the US in January 2017.

That February, Valdez scored a rare interview with Damaso "The Graduate" Lopez Nunez, who denied he had ordered a hit -- ultimately unsuccessful -- on Guzman's sons, his rivals for control of the cartel.

But Lopez Nunez apparently did not like the story. The day it came out, someone bought up every single copy of Riodoce and carted them away.

Three months later, the award-winning journalist and father of three was dead.

Investigators say a witness told them three hitmen for Lopez Nunez confessed to the crime at a party, showing off specially engraved pistols they received as a reward.

One of the three, nicknamed "The Koala," was arrested last month.

Another is in prison for a different crime and expected to be charged soon in Valdez's killing. The third was found burned to death in an abandoned car in September, according to a report by Riodoce.

Protesters in Culiacan demanded justice.

"Until both the killers and those who ordered the murder have been arrested and sentenced, this case will not be closed," said Valdez's widow, Griselda Triana.

Triana has left Culiacan with her family for their safety, but returned for Tuesday's march.

She was joined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights's Mexico representative Jan Jarab, who said solving Valdez's murder "would bring hope for so many other cases in Mexico."

- 'They came to execute him' -

Tabasco Governor Arturo Nunez meanwhile condemned Huerta's killing.

"Juan Carlos was a top journalist... you could also say a friend," he said.

Police have blocked all roads out of Villahermosa and are searching for a vehicle apparently used in the attack, Nunez said.

"It was not a robbery. They came to execute him," he added.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission said it "vehemently condemns" the killing, while the Tabasco state prosecutor, Fernando Valenzuela Pernas, promised a "sweeping investigation until we catch those responsible."
A Republican candidate for governor of Georgia is driving a deportation bus around the state, promising to fill it with undocumented immigrants and send them back to where they came from.

Michael Williams a Georgia state senator and, according to his website, the first elected official in the state to endorse Donald Trump  announced this week that he would drive a bus around the state to raise awareness of the overwhelming problem of illegal immigration.

Throughout his bus tour of sanctuary cities, Williams will expose how dangerous illegal aliens ruin local economies, cost American jobs, increase healthcare costs, and lower education standards, a statement on his Facebook page reads.

A campaign video announcing the tour shows Mr Williams descending from the bus, which appears to be a refurbished school bus emblazoned with a Michael Williams Deportation Bus Tour logo.

A message painted on the back of the bus reads: Danger: Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters and other criminals onboard.

Were not just gonna track em and watch em roam around our state, Mr Williams says, slapping the bus for emphasis. Were gonna put em on this bus and send em home.

"...only candidate wholl truly work closely w/President Trump to #MAGA for all its citizenry. Michael is definitely one of us a fellow patriot who loves his country & wants to give back. We urge all of our fellow Georgia Trump supporters to vote for Michael Williams on May 22." pic.twitter.com/ToUeniU2pR  Michael Williams (@williamsforga) May 10, 2018

It is unclear how Mr Williams intends to execute this plan, or whether he actually plans to detain the immigrants himself. Immigration arrests are generally made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and deportation proceedings are processed through special immigration courts.

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In the video, Mr Williams said he would implement a 287(g) deportation plan  a reference to a federal law that allows local police officers to collaborate with the federal government on immigration enforcement.

Mr Williams previously made headlines for a CNN interview in which he claimed Delta airlines gave discounts to members of Planned Parenthood  a network of womens health clinics that provides abortions, among other services. No such discount exists.

The senator did not respond to a request for comment.

Just days before Mr Williams released the video, one of his opponents  Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp  debuted another ad focusing on illegal immigration.

I got a big truck, just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take them home myself, Mr Kemp says in the 30-second spot.

Yep, I just said that, he adds. If you want a politically incorrect conservative, thats me.

Both Mr Kemp and Mr Williams are vocal supporters of Mr Trump, who campaigned on a hard-line anti-immigration platform. The president has famously referred to Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists, and promised to build a wall along the southern border.

Mr Williams said his bus tour will focus on a frequent topic of concern for Mr Trump: sanctuary cities. These cities  like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York  limit their cooperation with federal immigration officials in order to protect the undocumented immigrants living there.

Mr Trump has repeatedly lambasted such cities, most recently tweeting that soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.

Research from the University of California, Riverside has shown there is no significant difference in crime rates between sanctuary and non-sanctuary cities. A 2017 analysis from the Centre for American Progress and the National Immigration Law Centre found sanctuary cities had lower crime rates and stronger economies than non-sanctuary cities.

There are only two sanctuary counties in Georgia, according to the Centre for Immigration Studies.
Reports of earthquakes and volcano eruptions in regions along the Ring of Fire might lead some to believe that the level of activity in recent months is above average.

The approximately 25,000-mile-long, horseshoe-shaped Ring of Fire outlines the Pacific Ocean and is known for its chain of volcanoes and as the location for 90 percent of Earth's earthquakes.

In February, Indonesia's Mount Sinabung volcano exploded, coating nearby villages in ash and shooting a massive ash cloud about 3 miles up into the air. Not long after the eruption, a deadly magnitude-7.5 earthquake shook Papua New Guinea with what was considered its worst quake in a century.

Experts say that these occurrences, along with a string of other recent earthquakes and volcanic activity, aren't anything out of the ordinary for the notably active Ring of Fire.



Hawaii volcano, May 13, 2018 - AP Photo

Gases rise from lava fissure 17 after it erupted early Sunday, May 13, 2018 near Pahoa, Hawaii. The new fissure emitting steam and lava spatter spurred Hawaii officials to call for more evacuations on Sunday as residents braced for an expected eruption from the Kilauea volcano. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)

"There are always one or a few volcanoes acting up somewhere along the Ring of Fire, and there are frequent earthquakes," said Dr. Greg Valentine, geology professor and director of the University at Buffalo's Center for Geohazards Studies.

"The main thing that has changed recently is that we can measure these things all over the world and disseminate the information to the public quickly," Valentine said. Previously, he noted, only big earthquakes and volcanic eruptions were noticed and made the news.

Dr. Stephen Malone, research professor emeritus at the University of Washington, conducted several different searches of earthquake activity, checking for the number of occurrences above a threshold magnitude of 4.5 both worldwide and in the Ring of Fire, also known as the circum-Pacific tectonic belt.

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Malone found no unusual number of occurrences in the previous one or two months, he told AccuWeather. "In fact, the number of really large events [with a magnitude greater than 6.5] over the past two months is quite a bit below the average over the past several years," he said.

In the case of volcanic activity, reviewing the Smithsonian/ USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report can be helpful, Malone recommended. A glance through this data set indicates a large variability by week and seems to show that that anywhere between 10 and 50 volcanoes are reported to be active in any given week, with anywhere between three and 11 volcanoes being newly active in that week.

"Over the past couple of months, there have been between 15 and 22 total active and between three and eight new volcanoes," Malone said. "In the cases of both earthquakes and volcanoes, most of them do occur in the Ring of Fire, as is usual."

The recent volcanic and earthquake activity occurring in Hawaii following the eruption of Kilauea have prompted fears of Ring of Fire activity along the western coast of the United States, according to a recent news report.

However, Hawaii is not part of the Ring of Fire, which occurs around the edges of the ocean crust plates, explained Valentine. "It is instead an isolated volcanic system in the middle of an ocean plate," Valentine said. "It is caused by a hot spot, a place where hot material from the mantle is rising."

The current activity in Hawaii is a continuation of an eruption that began in 1983, according to Valentine.

There may be geophysical reasons why more volcanic and earthquake activity may cluster in space and time, Malone said. "[However], with the natural variability in such activity, it is hard to be convinced that minor groupings here or there have any geophysical significance," he added.


You go to Disney World  thats the one in Florida, not the one in California, which is Disneyland and is older and does have as much neat stuff, get it right, punk  to enjoy the rides, eat at nice restaurants, and watch the kids melt when they see their favorite fiction characters lumbering around in big foam costumes. Recently, visitors got all that and a whole lot more when a robotic dragon accidentally set itself on fire as it rolled through the park, and nobody seemed to think that anything was wrong.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, the dragon a regular part of the Disney World experience, and normally it just strolls down the main walkway during the parks daily parade. It doesnt do much beyond tilting back and forth and occasionally releasing a puff of smoke and flame, but this time things went a little bit sideways.

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The dragon, which is apparently a nod to the Maleficent character from the Sleeping Beauty franchise, caught its own head on fire as it it was performing its usual routine.

Instagram Photo

The dragons entire skull was engulfed in flames as onlookers shot video, and it appears that most park visitors just thought that it was part of the show. Eventually, park workers were able to douse the flames using portable fire extinguishers, but a chunk of the dragons head later fell off as well, suggesting some pretty serious damage.

Park official called the local fire department just to be on the safe side, but the dragon was already cooling off by the time they arrived. Nobody was injured in the fire, unless you count the dragon, but its probably going to need a wee bit of refurbishing before its ready to join the parade again.

The video which was posted to Instagram gives you a good idea of just how big the dragon is, and you can see the steady stream of what appears to be melted plastic bits falling to the ground and leaving smoke trails as park workers try to put the fire out. Honestly, they should just make this part of the regular routine.

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Los Angeles (AFP) - As Meghan Markle's gown undergoes final adjustments for her wedding to Prince Harry, her gaffe-prone American family has been sending royal courtiers into a spin by airing its dirty laundry in public.

The bride-to-be remains close with divorced parents Tom Markle and Doria Ragland but other relatives have been barred from the May 19 nuptials amid unwelcome stories of bust-ups, heavy drinking -- and even an arrest.

Markle, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, will be walked up the aisle by Tom, 73, an Emmy-winning Hollywood lighting director of Dutch-Irish descent who is enjoying retired life in Mexico.

Around the turn of the century, the future royal was filmed as an aspiring teen actress by childhood friend Ninaki Priddy discussing her relationship with her father as they drove across LA.

"We aren't going to go there," she says on the video -- posted to YouTube last year -- as they near Tom's Los Angeles home, before adding: "We aren't on the best of terms."

There has been a detente in the intervening years, however, with Markle publicly expressing her love for her father in an Instagram message in 2016 and declaring, "Your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world."

Markle's introduction to Hollywood came thanks to her father, who would bring her daily to the set of ABC's "General Hospital" and Fox sit-com "Married... with Children."

- 'Blurred line' -

"There I was, behind the scenes of a glossy soap opera and a TV sitcom, surrounded by famous actors and their glam teams, multi-million dollar budgets, and crew lunches that always included filet mignon," Meghan wrote on her now-defunct blog, The Tig.

Tom reportedly put Markle through Hollywood's most exclusive schools and the private Northwestern University in Illinois after winning $750,000 in the state lottery in 1990.

He met Harry in Toronto in mid-2016 and took to the prince immediately, describing him on a video obtained by British tabloid The Sun as "a gentleman."

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Markle's mother, a 61-year-old African American yoga instructor and clinical therapist, met Tom while working as an assistant make-up artist at "General Hospital."

The Ohio native has been through her own financial woes, according to the Daily Mail, which reported that she filed for bankruptcy in 2002 with assets of just $10,400 and credit card debts of $58,000.

"While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that," Markle wrote in a 2015 essay for Elle magazine about being biracial.

She and Prince Harry revealed in an interview with BBC they'd spent much time with Ragland ahead of their engagement. "Her mum's amazing!" enthused Harry, who is sixth in line to the British throne.

There was speculation that Markle's father would be left off the guest list after the American star barred estranged half-siblings Tom Jr and Samantha, Tom Snr's children from a previous marriage.

Tom Jr, 51, who lives in Oregon, was arrested in January on suspicion of holding a gun to his girlfriend's head while drunk, although the charges were dropped and the couple got engaged.

- 'Princess Pushy' -

The twice-divorced father-of-two says he and Meghan haven't been close since she moved from LA to Toronto in 2011 to start work on legal drama "Suits."

Relations are unlikely to have improved since Tom Jr sent Prince Harry a letter to call off the "fake fairytale wedding," arguing that his half-sister was "obviously not the right woman" for the royal.

"As more time passes to your royal wedding, it became very clear that this is the biggest mistake in royal wedding history," he said in the April 26 missive, which he shared with In Touch magazine.

He professed to be bored with Markle -- "like a below C average Hollywood actress" -- playing the part of princess and accused her of draining their father's money until he went bankrupt in 2016.

Samantha, 53 -- who lives in Florida and recently changed her surname from Grant to Markle -- is said to have angered the Markle clan with the announcement that she was planning a tell-all book called "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister."

Other members of the extended family include Thomas Jr's sons, Tyler, 27, and Thomas Markle III, who has berated his "crazy" father and aunt for their public feuding.

There is another half-nephew and an uncle, Tom Snr's older brother Frederick, who runs a Florida chapel that reportedly has little or no congregation.
Royal wedding: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will get married in 2018 - Getty Images Europe

Within hours of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announcing their engagement, low-cost memorabilia and photoshopped merchandise began appearing for sale online.

The unofficial engagement souvenirs - including mugs, T-shirts and badges - are available to buy on eBay for as little as 1.99 in anticipation of the 19 May wedding in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

British firm Emma Bridgewater also revealed details of a commemorative mug celebrating the couple's engagement, with production beginning within minutes of the nuptials being announced.

In March, an official range of commemorative china for the Royal wedding produced by the Royal Collection Trust was unveiled and is currently on sale. If you're after a Prince Harry and Meghan Markle mug - here's everything you need to know.

A history of royal merchandise

Aynsley China's range of pieces after the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announced their engagement Credit: AP

The Royal wedding souvenir phenomenon dates back to Queen Victorias wedding to Prince Albert in 1840, linked to the rise of mass production in Victorian Britain.

It remains a thriving industry today, with an estimated 222 million spent on memorabilia in the run-up to the 2011 Royal wedding, according to the Centre for Retail Research.

Since 1993, official souvenirs have been produced by the Royal Collection Trust, and to celebrate the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a range of china personally approved by the couple was released.

The commemorative china, which featured the couples initials and doves and ribbons, went on sale in December 2010, four months before the wedding at Westminster Abbey.

A Royal commemorative mug to mark the wedding of Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer Credit: Getty

To celebrate the wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, 70 million commemorative stamps and other stationary were issued.

In 1986, an unofficial souvenir plate by Prinknash Pottery was created to commemorate the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

For the marriage of Prince Edward to Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1999, an official small china range was produced.

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What is the Royal Collection Trust?

An official range of chinaware produced to celebrate the birth of HRH Princess Charlotte of Cambridge Credit: The Royal Collection Trust

The Royal Collection Trust produces official commemorative souvenirs commissioned by Buckingham Palace to celebrate royal occasions.

These include Her Majestys Diamond Jubilee in 2012, the 60th anniversary of The Queen's Coronation in 2013, the Queen's 90th birthday last year and chinaware to celebrate the births of TRH Prince George and Princess Charlotte, they say.

In 2010, a china range to celebrate the wedding of HRH Prince William of Wales and Miss Catherine Middleton went on sale.

How Royal wedding souvenirs are created

An exclusive range of chinaware to mark the 70th anniversary of the marriage of The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh Credit: The Royal Collection Trust

Official Royal commemorative chinaware is hand-produced in the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent using methods of production which have remained unchanged for 250 years.

Every piece of Royal Collection china is made entirely by hand by our skilled artisans, explains the Royal Collection Trust.

They use English fine bone china, which is highly regarded around the world for its whiteness, fineness and delicacy. Each piece is gilded by hand with 22-carat gold.

Unofficial memorabilia on sale in a gift shop in Windsor Credit: AFP

The ceramics industry has helped mark landmark events during the Queens reign such as the coronation, jubilees, engagements, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and births with commemorative ceramics pieces, say the British Ceramic Confederation.

Those with a made in Britain back stamp are particularly valued for cherished items that hold pride of place in peoples homes.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle coffee mugs, tankards and plates

Official commemorative china celebrating the marriage of Prince Harry and Ms Markle, commissioned exclusively by Buckingham Palace, went on sale in March.

Each item of fine bone china is made in Stoke-on-Trent, with the production process encompassing the skills of more than 50 individuals from several factories at the heart of the English Potteries, say the The Royal Collection Trust.

A decorative miniature coffee mug (19.95), coffee mug (25.00), pillbox (35.00), tankard (39.00) and plate (49.00) are among the official commemorative products on sale.

Featuring white and cornflower blue detailing, the exclusive design has a monogram of the couple's initials at its centre, tied together with white ribbons and surmounted by the coronet of Prince Harry.

An official range of commemorative china to mark the wedding of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle has been released Credit: Royal Collection Trust/ Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The decorative border of each piece is inspired by the ironwork of the 13th-century Gilebertus door of St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, where the wedding ceremony will take place.

The Gilebertus door is one of the few surviving parts of the earliest chapel at Windsor Castle, with the china inspired by the spiralling design of the stylised tree ironwork.

It also features the coronet of Prince Harrys 'degree', as a sovereign's grandchild, which according to the College of Arms, has two 'crosses formy' and two strawberry leaves alternating with four fleurs-de-lys.

The coronet features on Prince Harrys official coat of arms which he received on his 18th birthday.

Memorabilia can be purchased online and in Royal Collection Trust shops Credit: Royal Collection Trust/ Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Memorabilia can be purchased online and in Royal Collection Trust shops at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

The Royal Collection Trusts Retail Director, Nuala McGourty, said the charity is delighted to celebrate the occasion with an official commemorative range of china.

We are pleased to continue our support of the potteries of Stoke-on-Trent, who have manufactured our previous commemorative wares to celebrate royal birthdays, anniversaries and weddings, she said.

The official range of commemorative china went on sale in March Credit: Royal Collection Trust/ Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

All income generated from the memorabilia contributes directly to The Royal Collection Trust, a registered charity, responsible for the care and conservation of the Royal Collection, and the promotion of access and enjoyment through exhibitions, publications, loans and educational programmes.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian lawmakers unanimously approved in its first reading on Tuesday a bill that makes it a criminal offense to observe sanctions imposed by the United States or other countries, as part of counter-sanctions measures against Washington. The United States last month imposed sanctions on some of Russia's biggest companies and businessmen, striking at allies of President Vladimir Putin to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other "malign activities". The draft bill, which will have its second reading on Thursday, would make refusing to supply services or do business with a Russian citizen, citing U.S. or other sanctions, a crime punishable by up to four years in jail. Any person or representatives of legal entities in Russia found guilty of such an offense could also face other limits on their freedom or fines of up to 600,000 roubles ($9,696). The bill would also make it a criminal offense for Russian citizens to help foreign governments sanction Russia by providing advice or information. That offense would be punishable by up to three years in jail or other restrictions on an individual's freedom, or by a fine of up to 500,000 roubles. Initially lawmakers vowed to impose restrictions on a wide range of goods and services from the United States, including medicine and agricultural products. But they have since diluted the proposed counter-sanctions measures, removing language that targeted specific goods and sectors because of fears about the potential impact on Russian consumers and industries. The draft law, which has caused concern and uncertainty among investors in Russian assets, is likely to be changed in subsequent readings before it is signed by Putin. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev last month voiced support for the initiative and pledged that the government would help companies targeted by U.S. sanctions. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Gabrielle Tetrault-Farber; Editing by Catherine Evans)
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday it was possible to discuss the future of the Iran nuclear deal without the participation of the United States, the RIA news agency reported. Ryabkov also said there had been an attempt to present the situation in a way that it would be impossible to preserve the deal without Tehran making concessions, the Interfax news agency reported. He also said that the U.S. decision on Iran was "rash" amid nuclear talks regarding the Korean peninsula. (Corrects paragraph 2 to show it was not Russia's view that preserving nuclear deal would be impossible without changes, but that another party had presented it that way) (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Alison Williams)
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Russian company accused by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of funding a propaganda operation to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential election is asking a federal judge for access to secret information reviewed by a grand jury before it indicted the firm. In a court filing on Monday, lawyers for Concord Management and Consulting LLC said Mueller had wrongfully accused the company of a "make-believe crime," in a political effort by the special counsel to "justify his own existence" by indicting "a Russian-any Russian." They asked the judge for approval to review the instructions provided to the grand jury, saying they believed the case was deficient because Mueller lacked requisite evidence to show the company knowingly and "willfully" violated American laws. Concord is one of three entities and 13 Russian individuals charged earlier this year by Muellers office, in an alleged criminal and espionage conspiracy to meddle in the U.S. race, boost then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and disparage his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton. The indictment said Concord was controlled by Russian businessman Evgeny Prigozhin, who U.S. officials have said has extensive ties to Russias military and political establishment. Prigozhin, also personally charged by Mueller, has been dubbed Putins cook by Russian media because his catering business has organized banquets for Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior political figures. He has been hit with sanctions by the U.S. government. Concord is facing charges of conspiring to defraud the United States, and is accused of controlling funding, recommending personnel and overseeing the activities of the propaganda campaign. It has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and its lawyers are due to appear in a federal courthouse for a status hearing Wednesday. The legal burden to gain access to grand jury materials, such as testimony and jury instructions, is very high because such information is carefully safeguarded to protect the integrity of investigations. To win access, a defendant must show it is needed to prevent injustice and that the interest of disclosure outweighs the need for secrecy. Concord's attorneys said Mueller's claim that Concord conspired to defraud the United States was fatally flawed because it does not allege the company intended to do so. The lawyers also said a foreign company could not possibly have known the intricacies of U.S. federal election and foreign lobbying laws. "A foreign corporation with no presence in the United States is indicted in an unprecedented case ... for conspiring to defraud the United States purportedly by not complying with certain regulatory requirements that are unknown even to most Americans," the lawyers argued. A spokesman for Mueller's office declined to comment. (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Tom Brown)
WASHINGTON  Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates said she had something to get off her chest about President Trump at the 2018 Ideas Conference hosted by the Center for American Progress on Tuesday: Dont ignore his attacks on the rule of law.

What I worry about is the normalization of so much that is not normal, said Yates, who was fired by Trump in January 2017 after refusing to comply with his controversial executive order banning travel from seven Muslim-majority countries.

There is a time-honored tradition at the Department of Justice, at least since Watergate, that is nonpartisan, Yates said. There is a wall between the Department of Justice and the White House when it comes to criminal investigations and prosecutions.

Trump has been hammering away at that wall so often and with such ferocity, she said, nobodys rolling their eyes anymore.

It used to be a big news story that would say, In an unprecedented step, Trump said this, Yates explained. Now it doesnt even make it through the full 24-hour news cycle because it happens so frequently.

Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates. (Photo: Steven Senne/AP)

Trumps caustic tweets aimed at Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller are collectively tearing down the legitimacy of the Justice Department, Yates said.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., agreed.

We see this constant onslaught on the rule of law, Klobuchar said.

Yet just as troubling, Klobuchar said, are Trumps attacks on a free press.

You literally have a president in office that can tweet anything he wants every single morning but he doesnt respect the amendment that allows him to do it, Klobuchar said.

But looking ahead to the 2018 midterm elections and beyond, Klobuchar said progressive candidates should not put their focus entirely on Trump.

Progressives can do two things at once, she said. We can, one, focus on the optimistic economic agenda and what needs to be done there and, secondly, protect our democracy.

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Voters in Minnesota, Klobuchar said, dont want to hear about Donald Trump every single minute.

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Ted Galen Carpenter

Security, Middle East

Unfortunately, U.S. leaders seem inclined to blindly back Saudi Arabia whenever and whenever Riyadhs rivalry with Tehran takes place.

Saudi Arabia Will Use Trump to Gain Leverage over the War in Syria

As President Trump muses periodically about a prompt withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, he confronts warnings, including from his own foreign-policy advisers, that such a move would risk the onset of greater chaos in that country. He has responded with suggestions that an Arab stabilization force supplement and gradually replace U.S. troops to forestall that danger. However, the replacement force he has in mind would not be a generic Arab contingent, as he and other proponents describe. It would consist primarily of personnel from Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies.

Such a force would be neither politically neutral nor dedicated to restoring and preserving peace in Syria. Instead it would be the instrument of Sunni Arab power dedicated to overthrowing Bashar al-Assad. Indeed, since the earliest stages of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and 2012, the Gulf powers (along with Turkey) have been intent on that objective. The rebellion against Assad is primarily a Sunni bid for power against Assads coalition of religious minorities. As early as 2012, journalists embedded with rebel forces noted that they were virtually all Sunnis. Arrayed against them were Assads followers, primarily members of his quasi-Shiite Alawite sect, Christians and Druze. Syrian Kurds were busy pursuing their own agenda of carving out a de facto independent state in the north.

Predictably, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and other Sunni powers backed the rebels to the hilt, supplying them with both money and military hardware. Soon, though, they lost control of some of those forcesfactions that evolved into ISIS. As early as 2012, the United States cooperated with Riyadh and Ankara, sending nonlethal aid to supposedly moderate insurgents. By 2013, Washington was shipping arms to them, further entangling the United States in an increasingly murky ethno-religious conflict. The effort to boost the fortunes of Riyadhs Syrian clients failed, though, when Russia intervened in 2015 and backed government forces with extensive air power.

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Introducing a bogus stabilization force at a time when Assad and his Russian patrons are on the verge of victory over the insurgents is a last-ditch Sunni ploy to help the rebels avoid defeat. Even reasonably astute U.S. officials should understand that reality. They should also comprehend that Riyadhs goals do not necessarily benefit Americas interests. Most of the factions that Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies have backed are staunchly Islamist. One prominent client is the Salafist group Ahrar al-Sham. And Saudi support also seems to be flowing to Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) once that group officially ended its ties with Al Qaeda.

The emergence of a postAssad government that such factions would dominate might advance the agenda of the ultra-conservative Saudi royal family, but replacing a secular dictator like Assad with a Sunni Islamist regime does not enhance U.S. security in the slightest. Yet Syria is not the only arena in which Washington is supporting Riyadhs policies contrary to Americas best interests. Both the Obama and Trump administrations have backed the Saudi-led military intervention in Yemen. The United States continues to refuel coalition aircraft and provide intelligence data to assist those planes strike targets in that country. New information indicates that Washington has Special Forces on the ground to combat Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. Washingtons collusion with Saudi Arabias military campaign continues despite mounting evidence of the coalitions repeated, systematic war crimes against civilians in Yemen.

Washingtons explanations for that collaboration range from weak to laughable. One justification is that Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (perhaps the most dangerous of AQs affiliates) is active in Yemen. But that explanation ignores the fact that the Houthis are vehemently opposed to the group. Scarcely better is the allegation that the Houthis are Iranian pawns who are to blame for Yemens instability and violence. The extent of Tehrans backing actually is quite modest, and Riyadhs meddling is far more extensive and disruptive. As in Syria, defeating the Houthis and consolidating the hold of a Saudi-backed Sunni regime in Yemen may serve the Kingdoms interests, but that outcome does not benefit Americas interests or reputation. Collaborating in the commission of war crimes certainly does not do so.

Unfortunately, U.S. leaders seem inclined to blindly back Saudi Arabia whenever and whenever Riyadhs rivalry with Tehran takes place. President Trumps ongoing efforts to undermine the multilateral nuclear agreement with Iran appear to reflect the wishes of both Saudi Arabia and Israel. But sabotaging that accord creates needless tensions with Washingtons European allies and intensifies dangers throughout the Middle East. Worse, it increases the likelihood that Iran will acquire a nuclear arsenal, thereby likely leading to a U.S.-Iranian war. Such a conflict that removed Iran as a serious regional power would undoubtedly gladden the hearts of the Saudi royals, but it is hard to see how that destructive outcome benefits America.

For too many decades, the United States has adopted without much reflection policies that advanced Riyadhs agenda when American interests were not at stake or even when they were undermined. Trumps fawning behavior toward the Saudi rulers during his 2017 state visit to the Kingdom encapsulated Washingtons willingness to overlook or excuse Riyadhs outrageous domestic and international behavior.

Despite the assertion that Saudi Arabia has been a loyal U.S. ally, the record indicates otherwise. The Saudi government funds the Wahhabi clergy that has spread a virulent, anti-Western brand of Islam throughout much of the Muslim world. Saudi-backed extremists have become cadres in terrorist organizations from Al Qaeda to ISIS. That fifteen of the nineteen hijackers on 9/11 were Saudi nationals is indicative of the problem that Riyadhs sponsorship of Islamic extremism creates.

Saudi Arabia is a nasty, duplicitous power that pursues its own goals even when that pursuit imperils crucial American interests. President Trump needs to adopt a real America First policy in the Middle Eastone that no longer allows the Saudi tail to wag the American dog.

Ted Galen Carpenter, a senior fellow in defense and foreign-policy studies at the Cato Institute and a contributing editor at the National Interest, is the author of ten books, the contributing editor of ten books, and the author of more than seven hundred articles on international affairs.

Image: Reuters

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Edinburgh (AFP) - Scotland's parliament is expected to formally reject legislation for taking Britain out of the European Union on Tuesday in an unprecedented move that would set the scene for a constitutional crisis.

The Scottish government has urged the parliament in Edinburgh to refuse "legislative consent" for the highly contested European Union (Withdrawal) Bill currently being debated by lawmakers in London.

Prime Minister Theresa May is under no obligation to amend her Brexit plan if Scotland objects, but experts warn that a confrontation between London and Edinburgh could push Scotland towards independence.

The dispute centres on who will have control of powers currently residing in Brussels, such as over farming and fisheries, once Britain leaves the EU.

Scotland's government wants those powers to be under Scottish control, while the British government argues they should reside in London, at least initially.

Scottish officials have accused May of a "power grab".

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, leader of the separatist Scottish National Party, said Britain is now heading into "uncharted constitutional territory" with a majority in Scotland's semi-autonomous legislature expected to oppose the bill.

The UK Government has accused Scottish opponents of "nit-picking" and has insisted it is trying to protect Britain's economic integrity by building a common framework throughout the country when Brussels regulations are handed over after Brexit.

Sturgeon has rejected claims by May's Scottish Conservative allies that she is trying to "weaponise Brexit" to further her aim of Scottish independence.

"It is likely to be not just the SNP government that votes against legislative consent," Sturgeon told an audience in London on Monday.

"We are likely to be joined by Labour and the Liberals and the Greens in the Scottish Parliament so it will only be the Conservatives that vote to go ahead," she said.

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Scotland voted against independence by 55 percent in a referendum in 2014, but Sturgeon insists she has a mandate to hold a second vote since Scotland voted against Brexit by 62 percent in 2016.

"I'm not sure independence will ever be off the table until it is realised,a Sturgeon said on Monday.

She has pledged to outline her timetable for a second independence referendum in the autumn, once the terms of the Brexit agreement become clear.
(In this May 14 story, corrects title of Jeff Bezos to chief executive)

By Gregory Scruggs

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Seattle's city council on Monday approved a new tax for the city's biggest companies, including Amazon.com Inc <AMZN.O>, to combat a housing crisis attributed in part to a local economic boom that has driven up real estate costs at the expense of the working class.

Amazon, the city's largest employer, said after the vote that it would go ahead with planning for a major downtown office building that it earlier had put on hold over its objections to a much stiffer tax plan originally proposed.

As passed on a 9-0 vote after a boisterous public hearing, the measure would apply to most companies grossing at least $20 million a year, levying a tax of roughly 14 cents per employee per hour worked within the city - about $275 annually for each worker.

That "head tax" formula is designed to raise $45 million to $49 million a year over the five-year life of the tax - down from an original $75 million annually - to build more affordable housing and support services for the homeless. The tax would end after five years unless renewed by the city.

Amazon had led private-sector opposition to the plan, saying earlier this month it was freezing expansion planning for Seattle pending the outcome of Monday's action. The move by the world's largest online retailer, whose chief executive is billionaire entrepreneur Jeff Bezos, put in question more than 7,000 new jobs.

Following the council vote, Amazon's vice president, Drew Herdener, said the company has resumed construction planning for its so-called Block 18 project in downtown Seattle, following the pause it announced two weeks ago.

However, he added, "We remain very apprehensive about the future created by the council's hostile approach and rhetoric toward larger businesses, which forces us to question our growth here."

Amazon said it is still evaluating whether to sub-lease space in a second future office tower in Seattle, a project called Rainier Square, meaning it may move some planned jobs elsewhere and thus avoid further raising its tax liability.

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The tax also would hit such Seattle-based stalwarts as coffee retailer Starbucks and department store chain Nordstrom, as well as California-based tech giants like Apple, Google and Facebook that have enough of a presence in Seattle that they would be subject to the new levy.

The tax is expected to be borne by about 500 companies, accounting for 3 percent of the city's private sector. Healthcare companies are exempt, as are non-profits.

Sponsors of the tax said Seattle's biggest-earning businesses should bear some burden for easing a shortage in low-cost housing that they helped create by driving up real estate prices to the point where the working poor and many middle-class families can no longer afford to live in the city.

Supporters cite data showing Seattle's median home prices have soared to $820,000, and more than 41 percent of renters in the city ranked as "rent-burdened," meaning they pay at least 30 percent of their income on housing.

The Seattle metropolitan area also is home to the third-largest concentrations of homeless people, nearly 12,000 counted in a January U.S. government survey, and almost half of them were living on the streets or otherwise unsheltered.

Mayor Jenny Durkan, who expressed concern that the original proposal would lead to an economic backlash, said she would sign the new tax ordinance into law.

She had offered an amendment to essentially cut the original$75 million tax proposal in half, but her proposal was rejected last Friday. Council members then negotiated over the weekend to craft a compromise that would gain greater support and was certain to win a veto-proof majority.

On Monday, about 40 elected officials from across the United States, some representing local governments in the running to host Amazon's second headquarters, published an open letter to Seattle in support of the head tax and expressing concern that Amazon opposed the measure.

"By threatening Seattle over this tax, Amazon is sending a message to all of our cities: we play by our own rules," the officials wrote.

The head tax approved on Monday is not the first. Denver has enacted a similar tax, and Chicago had one but repealed it. Seattle itself had a head tax in effect from 2006 to 2009 but it was repealed to help businesses in the midst of the recession.

(Additional reporting by Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Net neutrality could be about to make its final stand.

Democrats say theyll force a Senate vote Wednesday on a proposal to restore the Federal Communications Commissions (FCC) open Internet rules. Even if the resolution passes, though, it has an uphill battle ahead of it.

All 49 Senate Democrats appear set to vote for the resolution, as does Republican Susan Collins of Maine. Should it pass the Senate, the resolution would move to the House, where its likely to encounter tougher opposition. And even if it manages to get through that branch of Congress, it would require the signature of Donald Trump, who has previously shown an inclination to toss the rules out.

Barring Congressional changes, net neutrality is set to expire on June 10, according to a recently issued notice by the FCC.

The repeal of net neutrality was supported by telecom providers such as Comcast and Verizon, but opposed by large tech companies, including Google and Facebook. (Several major websites, including Reddit and Pornhub, have protested the action as well.) The decision, made late last year prompted several lawsuits.

At the same time, several states, including Washington, Oregon, and California, are proposingand passingnet neutrality laws of their own, setting them up for a showdown with the FCC.
Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

WASHINGTON  Are you on the side of Wall Street or are you fighting for the little guy?

That was the question posed by Sen. Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, at the opening of the 2018 Ideas Conference, an annual gathering of liberals hosted by the Center for American Progress. It was directed to the members of the Democratic establishment seated in the Washington, D.C., hotel ballroom finishing their breakfasts, and to the members of Congress who would take to the stage later that day  including those who, like Brown, are likely to enter the 2020 presidential race. The base was moving left, and so was the Democratic establishment, if somewhat more reluctantly. Browns question, then, was something more of a statement: Youre either with us or against us.

In a conversation with liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, Brown outlined a Democratic agenda for the economy that suggests a dramatic leftward shift in the partys platform since the insurgent presidential candidacy of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., whose democratic socialist views were once thought toxic anywhere outside Berkeley or Brooklyn. Now, Sanderss core proposals  free public college, universal health care, a $15 minimum wage  are increasingly becoming the central tenets of the Democratic Party.

Brown made the case that the economy will be the central issue in the coming election, above anti-Trump sentiment and social issues like gun control and abortion. If were going to be a progressive movement and its about civil rights and human rights, its also about worker rights and its also about trade unions, he said, adding a little later, I dont talk about Clinton voters or Trump voters. I dont talk about white workers and black workers and Latino workers. I talk about workers and I talk about voters.

From left: moderator Neera Tanden, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and Sen. Sherrod Brown at the 2018 CAP Ideas Conference. (Screengrab via CAP)

And while the Democrats may not usher in the Scandinavian-style social democracy some on the left long for, the ideas discussed (and celebrated) at the conference would return to the federal government the muscular role it enjoyed during the Great Depression and the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Brown and Krugman repeatedly referenced, in particular, more powerful labor unions, higher wages and expanded social benefits.

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These ideas are not likely to become reality during the Trump presidency. Republicans would counter that economic growth make them unnecessary in light of the falling unemployment rate  now at 3.9 percent  and gains in the stock market. But Krugman and Brown maintain that these macroeconomic gains obscure a more grim reality, in particular for Americans who have seen their wages stagnate in the face of record corporate profits and executive pay increases. Brown referenced recent layoffs at health care company Humana Inc., which affected hundreds. At the same time, chief executive Bruce D. Broussard had his pay doubled to nearly $20 million.

We have a government thats hostile to the middle class, Brown said, mentioning last years tax cut and reform plan, which critics say was skewed heavily toward corporations and wealthy individuals. Krugman mused that benefits of the Trump tax cuts could eventually accrue for middle-class Americans, but only over decades. It was, he acidly concluded, an extraordinarily bad tax plan. Even so, tax cuts remain an article of faith for the right  except for a few, like former Ronald Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett, a onetime proponent, who has concluded that trickle-down economics do not work.

Thats the movie they run over and over, Brown lamented. Meanwhile, moderator Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, noted how little had come of the $1 trillion infrastructure plan Trump had proposed during the presidential campaign. Sanders and other prominent Democrats in the Senate have recently proposed a federal job guarantee, predicated in part on a massive infrastructure investment.

Sen. Sherrod Brown speaks at the 2018 CAP Ideas Conference. (Screengrab via CAP)

This being an ideas conference, ideas were not in short supply. Theres absolutely no reason not to be providing a floor, a social safety net, Krugman said. Even as the party remains in thrall to big-ticket donors (the panel was introduced by technology investor Glenn H. Hutchins, a CAP board member), its leaders are embracing ideas that, only a decade ago, were relegated to earnest Nation magazine editorials.

But ideas dwell in the realm of the abstract, while politics are consigned to a decidedly more mundane realm. We gotta win elections, Brown reminded the audience, to do all these things.

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New York (AFP) - A man who claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group when he shot a Philadelphia police officer in 2016 was sentenced Monday to a minimum 48 and a half years in prison.

Edward Archer, 33, ambushed Jesse Hartnett on January 7, 2016 while the police officer was patrolling in his car. Archer fired a dozen times with a pistol, hitting Hartnett three times and breaking bones in his arm.

The attack stoked worries at the time of a surge in "lone wolf" terror attacks by extremists inspired, but not directed, by the Islamic State or Al-Qaeda.

Archer was caught on video wearing a long white robe and firing as he ran up to the police cruiser and pushed the gun through the car window, continuing to shoot, before finally running away.

Hartnett, despite his wounds, managed to get out of the car and fire back, hitting Archer in the buttocks.

Archer later told police he was inspired by Islamic State.

But while he was found to have traveled to Saudi Arabia and Egypt years earlier, officials did not connect him directly to any jihadist group, and he was not charged with any terror-related offense.

Archer was found guilty of attempted murder on February 1 after a two-week trial.

He was given the maximum sentence -- a range of 48 and a half to 97 years in prison.

Hartnett, who still struggles with his wounds after 11 operations, said he was "absolutely glad" about the sentence, according to ABC television.

"I obviously would want the maximum penalty and he did receive the maximum penalty. I wish he had more," he said.

"As long as he doesn't get out of jail, I'll be happy."
Yahoo News photo Illustration; photos: AP, Getty

WASHINGTON  We are living in a time of miracles, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday, about halfway through the 2018 Ideas Conference, an annual gathering of Democrats hosted by the Center for American Progress, the influential liberal think tank.

One small miracle in evidence on Tuesday afternoon was a show of comity between the progressive and establishment factions of the Democratic Party, which have been feuding since the divisive 2016 presidential primary, in which Sen. Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, made former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seem like a creature of Wall Street with few ideas for the 21st century. Clinton supporters, by contrast, painted Sanders as a firebrand lacking achievements and substance.

Until this weeks conclave, there has been little evidence that these divisions might be resolved ahead of the 2018 midterms. But at Wednesdays event, Democrats showed a determination to make the marriage between moderates and progressives work, in large part in order to defeat Republicans in the looming congressional elections and, even more important, reclaim the White House two years later.

As the conference was about to begin, Fleetwood Macs Go Your Own Way played on the stereo system. It is a song of defiance (Loving you / Isnt the right thing to do), by a band that played at Bill Clintons 1993 inauguration ball. But the message wasnt intended for grassroots activists whove come to believe that Clintons liberal presidency was anything but. That much was made clear by Center for American Progress Vice President Winnie Stachelberg, who opened the event with a reminder of who wakes up at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. each morning.

Its clear that the moment for decisive action is now, Stachelberg said.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during an event kicking off New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendezs campaign for re-election at Union City High School, Wednesday, March 28, 2018, in Union City, N.J. (Photo: Julio Cortez/AP)

That action, according to the more than dozen Democratic luminaries that followed, would consist of a progressive agenda, one that would offer a stark counterargument to the corporation-friendly, regulation-averse approach of the Donald Trump administration. At the same time, it increasingly appears that Democrats are willing put aside their differences on divisive issues like reproductive rights and racial disparity in order to focus on an ambitious economic agenda that will include universal health care, tuition-free public college, a federal jobs guarantee and a $15-per-hour minimum wage. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, cast the issue in Manichaean terms: Are you on the side of Wall Street or are you fighting for the little guy?

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Others sought to reframe convictions in economic terms, in an apparent recognition of how central that issue is becoming to Democratic prospects. Women in positions of power changes everything, said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., a leader in the #MeToo movement. She argued that if women were represented in Congress relative to their share of the general population (that is, at 51 percent), policy proposals like paid family leave would no longer be the stuff of liberal fantasy.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee took an identical approach with his own signature issue: global warming. There is no better jobs message in America than green energy today, he said. The tension was best delineated by Sen. Christopher S. Murphy, D-Conn., who has become one of the most vociferous advocates in Congress for gun control: Social progress cannot be achieved without economic progress. The reverse, he said, was also true.

As the cliche du jour dictates, one must walk and chew gum at the same time. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., assured that her party could do just that. Progressives can do two things at once. We can, one, focus on the optimistic economic agenda and what needs to be done there and, secondly, protect our democracy.

Hillary Clinton, who once famously described herself as a progressive who likes to get things done, went largely unmentioned, in an apparent sign of how little enthusiasm Democrats have for summoning the aggrieved spirits of 2016. But those spirits lingered, nevertheless. The Center for American Progress was founded by John D. Podesta, who chaired her presidential campaign, and is headed by Neera Tanden, a close Clinton ally. The think tanks vice president is Jennifer M. Palmieri, who served as Clintons communications director. In an aside during a conversation about women in politics, Palmieri acknowledged that a big hurdle during the campaign was dispelling an intense dislike for Clinton that was not tethered to any particular policy position.

Another notable absence was former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who would arguably become the Democratic frontrunner the moment he announced for the presidency (he has not made clear whether he will do so). Biden went unmentioned despite the inarguable fact that his entrance into a Democratic primary would radically reconfigure the race.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., expresses her opposition to a move in the Senate to pass legislation that would roll back some of the safeguards Congress put into place after a financial crisis rocked the nations economy 10 years ago, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 6, 2018. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

That may be because the day was, in large part, an overture to progressives and their ideas. It also served as a kind of audition for 2020 candidates. Among these was Julian Castro, who served as President Obamas secretary of Housing and Urban Development. In a deft and uplifting speech, Castro contrasted the happy news that Michael Brown, an African-American teen from Houston, had recently been accepted to 20 prestigious colleges, with the tragic plight of Michael Brown, the Ferguson, Mo., high school graduate killed by a police officer in 2015.

If we want more success stories like Michael Brown of Houston, then we cant forget about Michael Brown of Ferguson, said Castro, who could declare for the presidency soon.

Another likely presidential candidate is Cory A. Booker, D-N.J., who delivered the lunchtime keynote address as the Ideas Conference. Indulging in his tendency toward orotund rhetoric, Booker delivered an impassioned speech about racial and economic uplift. A lot of this is common sense, Booker said of proposals like raising the minimum wage and offering universal early education, even if these would have been deemed too radical for the American populace a decade ago. Thats the best use of taxpayer dollars, because it grows the whole.

Booker said he had recently read J.D. Vances Hillbilly Elegy, a lament for working-class America that had been embraced by many on the right and some on the left. We in this country have a common pain, but we are lacking a sense of common purpose, he said.

Democrats plainly intend to argue that, despite endless tweets from Trump about the nations robust economic health, working-class and poor Americans are ailing. It is a reverse of the strategy Republicans used when Obama was president, contending that the recovery from the housing and financial crisis of 2008 inordinately benefited Americans living in wealthier coastal redoubts like New York and California. At the same time, Democrats evidently plan to portray Trump as a singularly divisive figure incapable of healing economic or any other wounds. The zero-sum society may be his, but it is not ours  or Americas, said Connecticuts Murphy, another potential 2020 contender.

Another young Democrat whose prospects have been rising is Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Mass., a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy. Earlier this year, Kennedy capably delivered a response to Trumps first State of the Union address. On Wednesday, he spoke with visible emotion about his constituents struggle to find health care they could afford.

We have to ensure that every single American can find access to a doctors door when they need it, Kennedy said. Period.

He was followed by a fellow legislator from the Bay State, Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Much as she did during the 2016 presidential campaign, when she proved a surprisingly eager surrogate for Clinton, Warren tore with relish into Trump, who she said was treating government as just another rich mans toy. She contrasted his version of public service with her own, describing how she had been born in Oklahoma, on the ragged edge of the middle class, married at 19 and seemingly without prospects.

I made it in this country because America gave me a chance, Warren said, sounding very much like a presidential candidate (she has denied that she plans to run). She also urged the audience throw a punch once in a while in defense of American democracy.

A verbal punch, she quickly added.

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An expert on torture gave a brief lesson on waterboarding to Tim Kennedy, a former Green Beret and MMA fighter, who posted a video of himself being subjected to waterboarding in support of CIA nominee Gina Haspel.

Wrong. Thats not how its done. Youre just holding your breath, Malcolm Nance tweeted at Kennedy on Saturday. Nance, a former counterterrorism and intelligence officer for the United States government, is the executive director of a non-profit defense research institute called TAPSTRI.

As a former SERE instructor & #Waterboarding quald resistance team member I can tell you its about aggression, intent, tiedown, pour technique, rate of flow & other factors," he continued. "Its a Nazis/Commie torture. Deal w/it.

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Nance did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.

Kennedy released a 41-minute-long video on Saturday in which he was voluntarily waterboarded by friends while answering questions in between, The Hill reported.

The reason we are doing this  is for us to have a conversation. Right now, an amazing hero has been appointed to be director of the CIA and because of that, some of the things she has done are being attacked, Kennedy said about President Donald Trumps pick to run the CIA.

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Haspels appointment as the next director of the CIA has faced some opposition over her role in the intelligence agencys detention and interrogation program.

Kennedy subjected himself to multiple waterboarding sessions and claimed that the interrogation technique was not torture but simply uncomfortable.

If I can change one persons mind about what torture is and what I would do to protect American freedom, I will do this for years, he said about waterboarding.

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The former UFC fighter defended his video when told that it did not accurately portray how waterboarding is done.

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Pretty sure I am intimately familiar with how it is done. I promise keeping your hands willingly out of the equation is much more difficult. Do in a basement, with little sleep, with crap food, its just water in the face from a bucket, on a slope, he tweeted.

Kennedy maintained that waterboarding is not torture but questioning. He also said that he absolutely opposes torture. Im simply saying that waterboarding simply isnt torture. I am in favor or [sic] getting a--hole terrorists to talk, he replied to one commenter on Twitter.

According to CNN, Republican leaders are confident that Haspel will be confirmed, despite Arizona Republican Senator John McCain announcing his opposition last week. Indiana Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly, however, became the second Democrat to add his support for her nomination over the weekend.

Two notable senators, Democrat Jeff Flake and Republican Lisa Murkowski, remain undecided.

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President Donald Trump's trade team faces a crunch week as they juggle talks on multiple sensitive issues representing hundreds of billions in trade amid pressing deadlines.

High-stakes negotiations will take place with China, the European Union and Washington's two North American Free Trade Agreement partners.

And while the talks have been going on for weeks and months, key deadlines are fast approaching -- critically for NAFTA.

- NAFTA deadline -

Officials have been working furiously to update the 24-year-old trade pact that Trump called "a horrible, horrible disaster for this country."

Trump spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday and discussed bringing the talks to quick conclusion, officials from both countries said.

But Mexico Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Tuesday it would be difficult to get a deal on the complex issues this week.

"The possibility of finishing the negotiations between now and Thursday isn't easy," he said on Mexican television.

"I don't think it will happen" by then but the negotiations would continue, even through the Mexican presidential elections set for July 1.

And outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week he would need a written agreement for the US Congress to approve a revamped trade pact this year, while Republicans still control the legislature -- something that could change in November's midterm elections.

The talks are hung up on Washington's demands to increase the US-made components in vehicles that receive duty-free status in NAFTA and the clock is running out. Canadian and Mexican officials have stressed they will not be pressured to reach a deal.

The NAFTA revision is vital for another reason: exemptions for Canada and Mexico from the steep US tariffs on steel imports expire June 1.

Unless officials agree on terms covering steel and aluminum, the tariffs would take effect.

- EU steel quotas? -

The EU also faces the same June 1 deadline when the tariff exemptions expire. Ross said he was due on Tuesday to hold the latest of a round of discussions with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem.

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"I hope to get a reasonable conclusion," Ross said, but "if not they will go into effect."

He said other countries, like South Korea, had agreed to export quotas that would have the same effect as tariffs but so far European officials "haven't agreed to anything."

The EU continues to insist that as key allies they should be granted a permanent exemption and Brussels says it refuses to negotiate under a tariff threat.

- China and ZTE -

Also on Tuesday, Vice Premier Liu He -- considered President Xi Jinping's right-hand man on economic issues -- will lead a Chinese delegation to Washington.

The officials will try to find a way to head off a major trade battle after the US threatened tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports, while Beijing has targeted $50 billion in US goods in the dispute over China's failure to protect intellectual property rights.

"The gap remains wide," Ross said, but he added he remained hopeful the strong personal relationship between Trump and Xi would "facilitate an agreement, just as it seems to be doing with regard to North Korea."

White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow concurred Tuesday, saying "There's a little bit of a bromance" between Xi and Trump.

Ross said his aim was for Beijing to change policies that harm US companies, including forced technology transfers and lack of protection for American know-how.

But he said it is likely Chinese officials also would raise the issue of telecoms giant ZTE, the company that was forced to cease operations after it was cut off from US technology products for violating US sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

Although he said "our position has been that that's an enforcement action separate from trade," Ross said he was exploring "alternative remedies... very, very promptly," after Trump intervened in the case.

ZTE was fined $1.2 billion in March 2017, but last month it was hit with a steeper sanction, prohibiting US companies from supplying the firm with needed parts amid revelations the company lied multiple times and failed to take actions against employees responsible for sanctions violations.

But President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Twitter on Sunday, offering to intercede to prevent the company from shutting down.

The US reportedly is calling on China to remove tariffs on US agricultural goods in exchange for easing sanctions on ZTE.

Trump returned to the issue Tuesday, again on Twitter, but did not add any specifics:

"Trade negotiations are continuing with China. They have been making hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the US, for many years," he tweeted. "Stay tuned!"
By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Tuesday he would support President Donald Trump's nominee to be CIA director, Gina Haspel, all but ensuring her confirmation as the first woman to lead the spy agency. Senator Mark Warner said it had been a "difficult decision," but cited Haspel's 33-year career and support from the CIA workforce and intelligence veterans. "Most importantly, I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral  like a return to torture," Warner said in a statement. In a letter to Warner dated Monday, Haspel said the CIA should not have undertaken a past harsh interrogation program, which has been a focus of debate over her confirmation. The Senate Intelligence Committee is due to vote on Wednesday on whether to approve Haspel. With Warner's support, she is expected to have the backing of all eight committee Republicans and at least two of the seven Democrats. Despite criticism - including from Republican Senators Rand Paul and John McCain - because of past ties to the CIA's former rendition, detention and interrogation activities, Haspel is expected to be confirmed by the full Senate next week. At least four other Democrats, all up for re-election in states Trump won in 2016, also support Haspel. Democratic Senators Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Bill Nelson of Florida announced their backing on Tuesday. Haspel pledged at her confirmation hearing that she would never restart the program, put in place after the Sept. 11 attacks, but did not go as far as saying it should not have been started. Haspel in 2002 served as station chief in Thailand, where the CIA conducted interrogations at a secret prison using methods including waterboarding, widely viewed as torture. Three years later, she drafted a cable ordering the destruction of videotapes of those interrogations. "While I won't condemn those that made those hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world," Haspel said in the letter, which did not address the videotapes. "With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken. The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that," Haspel said. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Peter Cooney)
As much as President Donald Trump reportedly loves Fox News coverage of him and his administration, the Republican was not always as avid a viewer.

Indeed, during the early months of Trumps administration, he often watched CNN or MSNBC programs that offered more critical coverage of the president and his team. He would get fired up and take to Twitter, often outshining the progress his administration was making on any particular day.

To combat the presidents Twitter habits, former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus and former press secretary Sean Spicer reportedly developed a plan to divert Trump away from critical coverage and towards Fox Newss kinder reporting.

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It got to the point that they were just like, We need to get him off these channels and onto Fox & Friends or else were going to be chasing down this crazy-train bullshit from MSNBC and CNN all day, one former White House official told New York Magazine.

The alleged plan was simple enough. Priebus and Spicer would essentially talk up Fox News, like its high ratings and how Trumps base often watches the network. And eventually, Trump started watching more, New York reported.

Still, Trump has a propensity to be angered by media coverage and can send the White House into a tizzy.

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Sometimes on Fox, a lot of stories are embellished, and they dont necessarily cover the big news stories of the day, a current White House official told New York. When they cover the smaller stories, if that gets the president riled up, then that becomes an issue. Whenever he tweets, all of us do a mad dash or mad scramble to find out as much information about that random topic as possible. Were used to it in a lot of ways, so its part of our morning routine.

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Priebus and Spicer did not immediately return Newsweek's request for comment.

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Getty Images/Scott Olson

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Even after Priebus and Spicer left, current White House Chief of Staff John Kelly put a system in place to control what the president sees. Both Kelly and former White House staff secretary Rob Porter, who left his role earlier this year after domestic abuse allegations surfaced, would review all materials that crossed Trumps desk in an effort to bring order to the West Wing, Politico reported in August.

The systems have not necessarily prevented Trump from bashing or threatening the media. Last week Trump made an apparent threat to take away media credentials after claiming a vast majority of coverage his administration receives is negative.

The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials? Trump tweeted Wednesday.

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Two Chinese nationals were among 19 people killed in northern Myanmar on Saturday when ethnic rebels attacked security force posts and a casino in an area bordering China, the foreign ministry said.

Several rockets and stray bullets fell on Chinese territory, it added, and more than 300 refugees have fled to China after the deadliest flare-up in the area in recent years.

"China is highly concerned about the armed conflicts that took place in northern Myanmar on May 12," ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told a regular press briefing Monday.

"According to what we have learned, as of now, the conflict has caused the death of two Chinese nationals in Myanmar, and three rockets and some stray bullets have fallen into Chinese territory."

China has also offered temporary shelter to "more than 300 Myanmar border residents who entered China to flee the violence", Lu said, giving no details of how the Chinese were killed.

The Ta'ang National Liberation Army, one of several insurgent groups fighting for more autonomy in the north, said it launched the operation on Saturday.

"China demands that the parties to the conflict stop the fire immediately, take all measures to prevent further escalation of the situation... and prevent incidents that sabotage the peace and stability in the China-Myanmar border region," Lu said.

Saturday's attack was launched outside the town of Muse in Shan state, which is situated at a crossing and major trading post between Myanmar and China's Yunnan province.

Clashes in the border region in early 2017 sent more than 20,000 Myanmar refugees scrambling across the border into Yunnan, raising tensions between the neighbours.

Rights activists say clashes in northern Myanmar have intensified since January as the international community focuses on the unfolding Rohingya crisis in the west of the country, where the Myanmar army stands accused of an ethnic cleansing campaign.
By Lesley Wroughton WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on Iran's central bank governor and an Iraq-based bank for "moving millions of dollars" for Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard, as Washington seeks to cut off funding it says Tehran is using to fund militant activities overseas. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin accused bank chief Valiollah Seif of covertly funneling money on behalf of the revolutionary guard's external arm, Quds Force (IRGC-QF), through Al-Bilad Islamic Bank "to enrich and support the violent and radical agenda of Hezbollah." The move cuts off Iran's use of a critical banking network, he said. The United States classifies Lebanon's Shi'ite Muslim movement Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, as a terrorist organization. "It is appalling, but not surprising, that Iran's senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, and it undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor," Mnuchin said in a statement. Speaking in Brussels, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called the sanctions against Seif illegal. The U.S. Treasury also blacklisted Ali Tarzali, assistant director of the international department of Iran's central bank, and the chairman of Al-Bilad Islamic Bank, Aras Habib. It said Habib had a history of smuggling money to Iranian-backed Iraqi groups and "enabled the IRGC-QF's exploitation of Iraq's banking sector to move funds from Tehran to Hezbollah, jeopardizing the integrity of the Iraqi financial system." The department said the sanctions would not immediately affect central bank transactions. It said, however, that sanctions being reimposed after the withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear deal would affect certain U.S. dollar transactions by the central bank starting from Aug. 7, 2018. Last week, two days after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions against six individuals and three companies it said were funneling millions of dollars to the IRGC-QF. British, French and German foreign ministers met in Brussels on Tuesday to try to find a way to save the nuclear deal without the United States, but appeared hard-pressed over how their companies could continue doing business with Iran once Washington begins to reimpose sanctions. The IRGC is by far Iran's most powerful security organization and has control over large stakes in Iran's economy and huge influence in its political system. The Quds Force is an elite unit in charge of the IRGC overseas operations. (Reporting by Lesley Wroughton, additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Brussels; editing by Dan Grebler and Rosalba O'Brien)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Trump administration was open to lifting sanctions and allowing private American investments into the reclusive state.

Speaking on several networks Sunday morning, Pompeo said that if North Korea agreed to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programs and launch capability, then the U.S. would allow capitalist endeavors in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Pompeo said such a move would be a huge boost to the countrys economic prosperity and could develop a financial relationship that will rival that of South Korea and the U.S.

What Chairman Kim will get from America is our finestour entrepreneurs, our risk takers, our capital providers. ... They will get private capital that comes in," Pompeo told CBSs Face the Nation Sunday. North Korea is desperately in need of energy ... for their people. They are in great need of agricultural equipment and technology.

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"If North Korea takes bold action to quickly denuclearize, the United States is prepared to work with North Korea to achieve prosperity on the par with our South Korean friends," Pompeo continued.

We can create conditions for real economic prosperity for the North Korean people that will rival that of the South, Pompeo added. North Korean state media claimed in several weekend reports that the countrys leadership had begun the process of dismantling their nuclear weapons program.

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"The Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground of the DPRK in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test," North Korea's state media reported Saturday.

Pompeo added that any sanction relief would be dependent upon North Korea abolishing its chemical biological weapons program (CBW) and no longer continuing to assert a threat to the U.S. through its nuclear weapons arsenal. According to the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Iniative, North Korea's primary military development program is the National Defense Commission (NDC), which directly controls the subordinate Second Economic Committee (SEC). Those agencies oversaw the country's 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017 missile tests, as well as the 2,500-5,000 metric tons of chemical weapons the organization estimates are in North Korea.

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Pompeos comments came after three American prisoners being were released by North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un and arrived in the U.S. on Thursday. The transfer, which Pompeo told CBS the U.S. didnt exchange anything for in return, culminated with President Donald Trump meeting the three men before their arrival at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Thursday.

"They came back because Chairman Kim thought it was in his best interest to do so, and we're thankful for that," Pompeo said of the release, which occurred while he was in Pyongyang to help set up next months summit between Trump and Kim Jong Un.

Every single site that the North Koreans have that can inflict risk on the American people that is destroyed, eliminated, dismantled, is good news for the American people and for the world, Pompeo told Fox News.

Pentagon spokeswoman Maj. Carla M. Gleason issued a statement Sunday saying the three Americans released by Kim Jong Un were grateful, in good spirits and coping well after their decompression time at a Washington-area hospital this week. Gleason said the men have been reunited with their families. Their time together has been an incredibly joyous occasion. They ask for privacy as they transition home.

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U.S. Marines were deployed to beef up security at U.S. embassies across the Middle East on Monday, in the wake of the Trump administrations inauguration of a new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Marines trained specifically to protect embassies were sent to U.S. diplomatic facilities in countries like Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, ostensibly to protect the buildings from any retaliation following the U.S. decision to move its embassy in Israel, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December and announced his intention to move the embassy. The move angered many across the Middle East, who believe that half of Jerusalem should be the future capital of a Palestinian state if a two-state solution is negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Thousands of protesters gathered along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel in the month leading up to the new embassys inauguration. The demonstrations were meant to mark Land Day, an annual event that calls for Palestinians to be given the right to return to their ancestral land. But the day of the embassys inauguration saw the largest number of protesters arrive along the fence separating Gaza from Israel, and dozens of protesters were killed by Israeli snipers.

Experts and human rights defenders argued that the bloodshed, which many associate with Trumps support for Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, could damage U.S. credibility in the Middle East, making U.S. embassies a target.

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The opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem and official American recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital should be a moment of celebration for all of us who feel deeply connected to Jerusalem and recognize its importance to the Jewish people over the millennia. However, the manner and timing of this move were designed to advance the agenda of right-wing political leaders in the U.S. and Israel, rather than the interest of Americans, Israelis and Palestinians in resolving the conflict, Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the advocacy group J Street, said Monday.

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Israels capital is in Jerusalem and it should be internationally recognized as such in the context of an agreed two-state solution that also establishes a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. In the absence of that final agreement between the parties on the citys status, blanket recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital is premature and divisive, Ben-Ami added.

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Others took even harsher tones, arguing that the U.S. is fueling human rights abuses with its decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem.

The Trump administration may portray this action as simply hauling desks from one building to another. But in reality, this move intentionally undermines Palestinian rights and in effect condones decades of violations by Israel, including the creation of illegal settlements, which constitute war crimes, Raed Jarrar, advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said in a statement.

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Turkey and South Africa both announced Monday that they would pull their ambassadors from Israel. in response to Monday's violence in Gaza.

But the White House argued that the opening of a new embassy should not impact its ability to broker a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

We remain committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians, newly appointed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday. I am delighted to have visited Israel on my first trip overseas as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning soon to visit our new U.S. Embassy and Ambassador [David Melech] Friedman in Jerusalem.

Peace talks have been stalled since 2014, and Monday was the bloodiest day in the region since then.

Embassies are frequently attacked to protest a countrys foreign policy, and U.S. embassies have been targeted in Afghanistan, Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Pakistan over the past decade.

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By Michael Holden LONDON (Reuters) - This weekend's carefully planned wedding of Britain's Prince Harry to his fiancee Meghan Markle was mired in confusion on Tuesday after the father of the American actress told a celebrity news website he was no longer coming, and then appeared to change his mind. Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeth's grandson and the sixth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, will marry on Saturday at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Markle's father Thomas, 73, was due to walk his daughter down the aisle in front of 600 guests including all the senior British royals and a smattering of celebrities. However, the TMZ website reported on Monday that he had decided not to attend the glittering wedding at the castle, the home of English and British monarchs for almost 1,000 years. On Monday, Markle told TMZ he did not want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family after reports he had staged pictures with a paparazzi photographer for a fee. He also said he had suffered a heart attack a week ago. On Tuesday, TMZ quoted Markle as saying he wanted to attend, if his health allows it. "I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle," Markle, who lives in Mexico, told the website. Markle added that if doctors let him out of the hospital he will risk his health and fly to England for Saturday's wedding. Kensington Palace, Harry's office, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. On Monday, it declined to comment on the TMZ report or Markle's father's plans. "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," Kensington Palace, Harry's office, said in a statement. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation." DEPENDS ON HIS HEALTH Samantha Markle, the actress's half-sister, told the Good Morning Britain TV program she hoped he would still be there but it depended on his health. "He was really having heart pains and suffered a heart attack," she said. "It was an unbelievable amount of stress. "I dont know as of today what his plans are, but theres a very real concern. I wanted to see him go (to the wedding). I didn't want him deprived of that. But clearly the priority should be whether or not its safe for him to do that." The bride-to-be's parents are divorced and while Harry has been pictured with her mother Doria Ragland, 61, there had been speculation about how Thomas Markle, a former lighting director for TV soaps and sitcoms, would feature. However, Harry's communications secretary told reporters last week he would have an important role and would give away his daughter on the couple's big day. He had also been expected to meet the queen, her husband and the other senior members of the Windsor family this week. Thousands of journalists from across the world are descending on the genteel town of Windsor for the wedding, and Thomas Markle told TMZ that the media attention had taken its toll. He said he had been offered up to $100,000 for interviews and been ambushed by paparazzi whose snaps had shown him buying beer and looking dishevelled. TMZ said he had agreed to the staged pictures, which showed him looking at images of the couple on a computer and being sized up for a suit, because he hoped they would improve his image. Prince Harry and his elder brother Prince William have both made clear in the past their dislike of the press, fueled by the death of their mother Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 as her limousine sped away from chasing paparazzi. Kensington Palace has limited press access to the ceremony itself and strictly controlled the release of details about the wedding to the media. If her father does not come, British newspapers suggested that Markle's mother, with whom she is spending the night before the ceremony at a nearby luxury hotel, would walk her daughter down the aisle. (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Heavens, William Maclean)
By William James

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan not to go too far in his crackdown on those believed to be behind a failed 2016 coup attempt, speaking after a meeting in London marked by human rights protests.

Rights campaigners have accused May of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in pursuit of trade deals after Brexit. In Turkey's case they point to the jailing tens of thousands of people after the attempted coup. Erdogan's government has said its actions are necessary to combat the threat it faces.

May said Britain's relationship with Turkey was indispensable, praising the impact of security cooperation and the prospect of close post-Brexit trade ties.

But she added a diplomatic warning on the need for restraint.

"It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice," May said, speaking alongside Erdogan in her Downing Street office following their meeting.

"But it is also important that in the defence of democracy, which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism, Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend."

She said she had underlined the need for Turkey to uphold democratic values and its human rights obligations.

Erdogan's visit is part of May's charm offensive to shore up relations with countries outside the European Union as Britain prepares to leave the bloc and secure at least the promise of future trade deals to bolster her all but stalled Brexit plans.

Erdogan, the most popular - and divisive - politician in recent Turkish history, has ruled for 15 years, overseeing a period of sharp economic growth and a widespread crackdown against his opponents. Last month he declared snap elections for June 24, bringing the polls forward by more than a year.

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Erdogan deflected a question from a British journalist about his country's ability to hold a free and fair election. He said those arrested in Turkey were being processed by the judiciary.

PROTESTS

Just hours before the leaders were due to meet, around 100 protesters waved banners outside May's office depicting Erdogan as a puppet master with blood on his hands. Another said "tamam", or enough.

About 20 metres away, separated by barriers and a police cordon, a similar number waved Turkish flags in the direction of the anti-Erdogan protesters, chanted and played loud music.

The two sides briefly scuffled.

Last year, May secured a commitment for Britain and Turkey to work on post-Brexit trade.

Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan welcomed a transition deal agreed between London and the EU to ease Britain's departure from the bloc. He said the two leaders had agreed trade could be increased to $20 billion annually, up from the 2017 level of around 16 billion.

Ties between the EU and Turkey are increasingly strained, with Brussels saying that Erdogan is leading his country away from the path to membership, while some Turkish officials say they feel betrayed by some of the bloc's leaders.

(Reporting by William James, additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Hugh Lawson)
Libreville (AFP) - Some 160,000 people have fled their homes in Cameroon's English-speaking regions because of violence between anglophone separatists and government forces, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The majority of the displaced have fled into the bush with little to survive on," the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.

"Others are hosted by local communities who are also grappling with adverse living conditions," it added.

The figure marks the UN's first detailed estimate of the number of people displaced since the crisis began to escalate in late 2016.

Previously the UN, encountering difficulties in accessing remote parts of the Northwest and Southwest regions, had said "tens of thousands" had left their homes.

In addition to the 160,000 internally displaced, the OCHA said 20,000 had sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. In contrast, Nigeria's State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has put the number sheltering in Cross River state alone at 34,000.

Witness accounts given to AFP in Nigeria describe Cameroonians traversing the border on foot in mountainous and densely forested areas, making crossings difficult to track.

Violence in the Northwest Region and Southwest Regions occurs almost daily, pitching armed separatists against Cameroonian government forces.

- Kidnappings and killings -

On Tuesday, Yaounde admitted Cameroonian soldiers had "mistreated and tied up" an alleged English-speaking separatist leader during his arrest on Saturday.

The government forces "clearly strayed from the legal norms and techniques in such circumstances," defence minister Joseph Beti Assomo told state radio after video of the arrest was widely shared on social media.

It is the first time the army has acknowledged abuses committed by security forces deployed in the anglophone regions since clashes erupted at the end of 2017.

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"An investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate, sanction the perpetrators of these acts, which are contrary to the respect for human rights," said the minister.

The video shows gendarmes beating a man covered in mud, tying his hand behind his back and striking his feet with the flat side of a machete.

The insurgency began in 2016, when activists in the anglophone minority, comprising about a fifth of the country's population of 22 million, stepped up a campaign for greater autonomy.

President Paul Biya rejected their demands, prompting radicals to make a full-blown but symbolic declaration of independence last October 1.

On Friday, a man was abducted by gunmen in Widikum in the northwest, sources said. Clashes also took place earlier in May in Bafut and Yo-Ke.

The separatists -- whose death toll is unknown -- are accused of kidnappings officials and other French-speaking Cameroonians, while the army is accused of abuses and burning houses.

According to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, "at least 120" civilians and "at least 43" security forces have been killed since the end of 2016.
United Nations (United States) (AFP) - The United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," read a draft of the statement, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability," read the text.

In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes and more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded.

They erupted before Israeli officials and a White House delegation including President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka formally opened the embassy in Jerusalem, and the bloodshed continued throughout the day.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

"The Security Council expresses its grave concern regarding recent developments in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the context of the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and the tragic loss of civilian lives," the draft statement read.

"The Security Council calls upon all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm," it said.

"The Security Council calls on all States not to undertake any steps that further aggravate the situation, including any unilateral and unlawful measures undermining the prospects of peace."

It also said that any decisions and actions "which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect" -- a reference to the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
London (AFP) - The US has lost its role as mediator in the Middle East by moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in London on Monday.

"With its latest step America has chosen to be a part of the problem, not a solution, and lost its mediator role in the Middle East peace process", Erdogan told the Chatham House international affairs think tank.

"We are rejecting once again this decision which violates international law and which is against UN resolutions," he said.

Erdogan called the US embassy move from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem "very, very unfortunate" and said it "will increase tensions and ignite an even greater fire between communities".

"The international community must do its part as soon as possible and take swift action to put an end to Israel's increasing aggression," he went on.

"The establishment of an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital is the only way for lasting peace and stability," he said.

A White House delegation and Israeli officials are set to attend an inauguration ceremony for the US embassy later on Monday and there have been clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces along the Gaza border.

Seven Palestinians were killed and more than 500 were injured on Monday as violence flared at five spots along the border, the Gazan health ministry said.
Caracas (AFP) - Venezuela's government seized control Tuesday of the South American country's Kellogg subsidiary after it halted operations, President Nicolas Maduro announced.

Maduro said the company had been "handed over to the workers" to continue production after the US-based cereals manufacturer said it was ceasing operations.

In a statement, the US multinational cited Venezuela's crippling economic crisis as the reason it was ending its operations in the country.

"The current economic and social deterioration in the country has now prompted the company to discontinue operations," Kellogg said.

Dozens of employees milled around the entrance to the factory in the western city of Maracay after turning up to find a notice informing them of the closure.

"What did the revolutionary government do? The labor minister and the economy minister immediately arrived, opened the company and handed it over to the workers, and the company is producing with the industrial working class," said Maduro, who is seeking a second term in elections Sunday.

The government has previously taken over the plants of other companies who have left the country.

US companies Kimberly-Clark, General Motors and Clorox are among several multinationals to shut down their Venezuela operations in recent years.

Brazil's Suramericana de Soplados, which supplied fuel tanks to the Ford Motors and Chrysler vehicle assembly plants in Venezuela, also shuttered.

Some, such as Coca-Cola and Colgate, have temporarily suspended or cut back their operations.
MEXICO CITY -- The experience begins in a cold room with metal benches -- and shoes. The cement floor is covered with them: loafers, high heels, running sneakers, flip-flops and even a handful of baby shoes. Each one was recovered from the taxing terrain along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Participants enter the room alone and are instructed to place their shoes and socks in a metal locker and wait. It's all part of the lead-up to a virtual reality exhibit created by Mexican film director and Academy-Award winner Alejandro G. Inarritu, known as "Carne y Arena" ("Flesh and Sand").

Although participants enter into the installation willingly, leaving the freezer-like room when an alarm blares and a red light blinks and then stepping into the sand-covered, dark room where they'll be equipped with a backpack, virtual reality headset and headphones. Headsets on, participants are transported into the desert, where a group of exhausted migrants come into view.

"Carne y Arena" made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival last year, traveling to Los Angeles and earlier this year opening in Washington, D.C. But the show's current run in Mexico City carries a particular weight for the thousands of visitors who walked barefoot in a sandy room at the Tlatelolco University Cultural Center. For roughly six and a half minutes, attendees learn what it's like to be a migrant apprehended by the U.S. border patrol.

At a time when U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly calls for the construction of a border wall to keep out migrants from Mexico and Central America, the exhibit's conveyance of the dangers in the trek to the U.S. has special resonance. In Mexico, where an estimated 5.5 million compatriots live in the U.S. without legal documentation and nearly 200,000 were apprehended along the two countries' border in 2016 alone, many say there's a gap in understanding.

Using photographs of the Sonoran Desert and testimony from migrants who crossed the border on foot, the exhibit offers a visceral and nuanced opportunity to walk briefly in the shoes of someone risking their life to make it to the United States.

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"Mexico is classist," says Ricardo Gonzalez, a 49-year-old graphic designer in Mexico City after exiting the installation earlier this year. "It's easy to dehumanize a really common thing like migration. If I travel to the U.S., it's with a visa and on an airplane."

The virtual reality installation "allowed me to live, to an extent, the migration experience. It made the reality of this phenomenon really tangible for me. It made it human," Gonzalez adds.

That's Inarritu's hope, after working on the project for nearly five years and interviewing dozens of migrants who traveled tens, hundreds or thousands of miles to cross into the United States. "Understanding is another word for love," he said at the installation's launch in Mexico City last September. "If you cannot understand, you can't love."

Migratory patterns between Mexico and the U.S. have changed dramatically during the past two decades, says Jorge Bustamante, professor emeritus from the College of the Northern Border located outside of Tijuana. In the 1980s and '90s, those heading north were doing so with the expectation that they'd move in a circular pattern: the U.S. for work, back to Mexico to spend time with family, and then back to the States again. The Mexican migrant population was almost entirely men.

"In Mexico, people understand better the push and pull of migration, because it's a historical phenomenon," says Bustamante, who also teaches sociology at the University of Notre Dame. The intimacy of this understanding varies, depending on where one lives in Mexico and in comparison to the U.S. border, he says.

Today, Mexican migrants heading toward the U.S. are almost evenly split by gender. U.S. immigration policies tightened in the late 1990s, and the risks of migration have become so extreme with the entrance of drug trafficking organizations and criminal gangs that once a migrant successfully crosses into the U.S., they aren't likely to return home any time soon.

Additionally, individuals fleeing poverty and violence in Central America's "Northern Triangle" -- El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras -- now make up a larger proportion of people apprehended along the southern U.S. border than Mexicans. The majority of the people participating in the recent "migrant caravan," which traveled thousands of miles and is now stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border, came from these Central American countries.

But "Carne y Arena" supporters say it focuses on humanizing the act of leaving home for a new country, and the importance of understanding and love.

The emblem of the show is a giant, anatomical heart with a jagged line dividing "U.S." and "T.H.E.M." On both sides of the border of this human heart are descriptors, like gay and transgender, teachers, artists, migrants and citizens. After studying the arteries -- or rivers and mountains -- on both sides of the divide, it becomes clear that the same categories of people live in both places.

"We're all human," says Josue Salvador Vasquez Arellanes, a 32-year-old film blogger in Oaxaca of the installation, which he ranked as the No. 1 film to see in 2017, despite Inarritu saying he doesn't consider it cinema.

"I live in a state where there's a long history of migration to the U.S.," Vasquez says. He often sees Central American migrants passing through Oaxaca, a southern state in Mexico, on their way to the U.S. He has a cousin who crossed the border illegally more than a decade ago, as well, but says that generally he's grown up without firsthand knowledge of the perils of going north.

He took the roughly seven-hour bus ride from the city of Oaxaca to Mexico City multiple times in order to go through the installation twice.

"I had to go back (a second time) because I felt like I missed so much," Vasquez says.

When the installation begins, the participant is transported into the desert at dusk. The silence is pierced by a man calling out to hurry up. He's threatening to leave people behind. Over the horizon, a group of migrants -- women, elderly, a child -- comes into view amid cactuses and tumbleweed. Some are limping, though they all look like they're in bad shape. The participant can walk toward the migrants, around them. It feels like they're making eye contact.

"When you run into someone, you can see their heart beating," Gonzalez says. "You can see their blood pumping. They're human, just like you."

Suddenly the wind whips, sand is kicked up, and the migrants scurry to hide behind cactuses and each other. A booming male voice starts yelling in English to get down. Hands up, on your knees.

"My English isn't very good, and I really felt the fear of not fully understanding what he was saying," Vasquez says.

Maria Garcia Moran, who crossed into the U.S. without legal documentation last winter and was deported back to Mexico in March 2017, says by phone that she tries not to think about her experience trekking through the rough terrain in south Texas during her border crossing.

"I have no interest in reliving that," she says of attending the installation here. She finds it surprising her countrymen are willing to pay 300 pesos (roughly $16) and set alarms for the online ticketing system that opens only once a week and sells out in minutes when they "could just talk to someone like me."

"There are a lot of us."

Whitney Eulich reports on Latin America and is based in Mexico City. Follow her on Twitter.
A multibillion-dollar bridge between Russia and Crimea, territory annexed by Russia in 2014, has been opened by Vladimir Putin Tuesday.

The 12-mile road and rail bridge is the only land link between Russia with the Black Sea peninsula, seized by Russian forces from Ukraine in 2014.

Putin saw a surge in popularity following the action on Crimea and commissioned his judo sparring partner, construction mogul Arkady Rotenberg, to build the bridge. Both men attended the ceremony opening the car lanes of the bridge on Tuesday, where Putin declared the day a "historic" occasion, many decades in the making.

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"All the way back in the days of the Czars, people dreamt that this bridge would be built," Putin told a crowd of builders and other locals on the Crimean side of the bridge, after crossing it by truck on live television. Thanks to your work, thanks to your talent, this project, this miracle has happened.

As planned, Putin arrived at the helm of a procession of construction vehicles from Russia's Krasnodar region to Crimea and addressed a crowd of several hundred people who were predominantly builders.



Speaking from a small concert podium, set up especially for the occasion Putin said that the bridge had been planned many times under Soviet rule but made no reference to Russia's relationship with Ukraine or the events of 2014 that lead to Moscow's annexation of the territory. The crowd applauded the president who left the stage to speak with journalists, as a saxophone version of the Rocky theme played on all speakers.

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Public access to the the construction that reportedly cost Russia around $4 billion will be fully open to drivers and pedestrians from the early hours of Wednesday morning.

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05_14_Putin_Crimea

Yuri Kochetkov/AFP/Getty Images

Road authorities have already opened the overpasses leading up to the bridge for drivers and a motorway with a speed limit of around 55 miles per hour will link the Russian and Crimean coastlines.

Besides cars and pedestrians, the bridge is designed to also accommodate cargo trucks and run a railway line, though both are expected to open later this year or next year.

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The bridges construction is hugely controversial, not only because most United Nations countries still recognize Crimea as Ukrainian territorydespite it being under Russian controlbut also because it obstructs the waterways that link three other Ukrainian regions to the Black Sea.

The bridges obstruction across the Kerch Straitthe waterway that separates the Black Sea and the Sea of Azovmeans that sea traffic from Ukraines Donetsk, eastern Kherson or Zaporozhye cannot sail to the Black Sea and beyond, without being granted access by Russia.

Ukraines government has vowed to take Russia to court over the bridge which one Ukrainian member of parliament described as a blockade.

This story has been updated to include Putin's latest comments

This article was first written by Newsweek

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The White House has refused to condemn Israel for shooting dead at least 55 Palestinian protesters or even call for restraint, instead seeking to put the blame on Hamas and describing the protests as a gruesome propaganda attempt.

As condemnation poured in from around the world over the latest violence carried out by Israeli forces on the border with Gaza, White House spokesman Raj Shah said the administration believed Israel had the right to defend itself.

Were aware of the reports of continued violence in Gaza today, said Mr Shah, the deputy press secretary. Responsibility with these tragic deaths rests solely with Hamas.

Asked if Israel should show restraint, he added: Hamas should bear responsibility for the entire situation right now....Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response.

Mr Shahs comment came as split-screen television images showed the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem going ahead as hundreds of Palestinian protesters demonstrated close to the Gaza border. Hundreds of them were hit by gunfire. More than 2,000 people were said to be injured.

Many countries, among them Britain and France, urged Israel to show restraint. Turkey called the shootings a massacre.

But Mr Shah refused to voice even the mildest criticism of Israel, instead repeatedly blaming Hamas, which has won elections to run Gaza since 2007. While reports suggest some of the protesters at previous demonstrations were Hamas members or supporters, many were not.

(Getty)

We shouldnt lose sight of the fact that Hamas is the one that, frankly, bear responsibility for the entire situation right now, Mr Shah said. He also claimed neither the opening of the new embassy, or the latest violence, would derail the Trump administrations efforts to secure a broader peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.

The peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time when it can be evaluated on its merits, he said.

Mr Trumps decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, fulfilled a campaign promise, despite opposition European and Middle East leaders who warned that doing so could undermine peace talks in the region.

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Reuters said Mondays deaths, marked the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since the Gaza conflict in 2014. Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 55 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured either by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

At the ceremony for the new embassy, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Mr Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

What a glorious day for Israel, he said. We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognised internationally, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem  a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians  should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.
The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is just days away, and while were counting down, the drama is heating up.

This week we learned that Meghans father, Thomas Markle, will not be attending his daughters wedding. Thomas was slated to walk Meghan down the aisle, but he backed out after allegedly staging paparazzi photos. He also suffered a heart attack last week. Thomas told TMZ he would skip the wedding to save his daughter any more embarrassment.

Kensington Palace released a statement Monday regarding Meghans father. This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.

With only days to go before the big day, Meghans father left a gaping hole in the preparations. Who will walk the future royal down the aisle?

The internet, of course, had some thoughts on who should replace Thomas, and we have to say, theyre pretty creative. Some people think that Meghans Suits dad, Wendell Pierce, should step in  several of the cast members are reportedly attending the nuptials.

Lot of speculation now who will walk Meghan Markle down the aisle on Saturday. I mean, are we kidding? It has to be Robert Zane pic.twitter.com/rj64ZcWjdn  Eric Hubbs (@BarstoolHubbs) May 15, 2018

Why doesnt Wendell Pierce come to Meghan Markles rescue & walk her down the aisle since her Dad wont be there to? #RoyalWedding2018 #MeghanMarkle #HarryAndMeghan  Anita (@miss_splendid) May 14, 2018

All this talk of Meghan Markles dads will he/wont he be at the wedding. I keep picturing Robert Zane.  Mark McKean (@WallaceEMann) May 15, 2018

Others think Prince Harrys pal Barack Obama should step in! They, of course, arent taking into account that the Obama family did not get an invitation to the wedding because the betrothed couple chose to exclude most political leaders, but the idea came from the right place.

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Choosing to believe that real plan all along has been for @BarackObama to magically appear and walk #MeghanMarkle down the aisle.  Alecia Carey (@AleciaCarey) May 15, 2018

How Great would it be for Obama to walk Meghan Markle down the aisle!  justsaying2u (@Christy52185968) May 15, 2018

President Obama should. He is welcome in the UK. I still hope her father changes his mind.  Patty Cross (@PattyCr52740149) May 15, 2018

Im low key hoping @BarackObama will step in and walk Meghan Markle down the aisle on Saturday since her father cant.  Terrance J. Caldwell (@BlackDiamondTJC) May 14, 2018

The feminist side of the internet wants Meghan to go it alone down the aisle, and, honestly, this is something she just might do. The actress is, after all, a longtime advocate for gender equality.

Or what a strange idea she could WALK HERSELF. (The days of someone giving away the bride are over.  Sarah the Bruce (@samwisebruce) May 15, 2018

#MeghanMarkle should walk down the aisle alone. She is strong and modern. Even if her dad does attend. #RoyalWedding @KensingtonRoyal @byEmilyAndrews  pamswine (@pamswine) May 15, 2018

A true women's rights campaigner would not need anyone to "Give her away" especially as she's already been given away at a previous wedding anyway.

Be a modern woman #MeghanMarkle !

Make the walk alone.  Anthea Lanesborough (@lanesborough77) May 15, 2018

Meghan Markle can easily have her mom walk her down the aisle, or better yet, walk alone down the aisle & give herself away to Harry. She's a grown woman. I walked down the aisle alone & it was exhilarating. Meghan would be a vision of strength for women everywhere. #RoyalWedding https://t.co/8K3G0lqjPf  Megan Connor Murphy (@mconnormurphy) May 15, 2018

Another nontraditional approach has also gained steam on the internet. Some want Prince Harry and Meghan to arrive together and walk down the aisle arm in arm. Other royal weddings have opted for this, including that of Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands in 2002 and Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit of Norway in 2001.

How about Prince Harry? That would be awesome arrive together to be married!  Karen McArthur (@Kmac2006) May 15, 2018

If her dad is a no-show Meghan could certainly walk solo. I'd also love to see #HarryandMeghan follow the Swedish tradition and walk in together. Harry said that whatever happens they're a team. Well team H&M can take center stage Saturday. #RoyalWedding https://t.co/ute9dBfCEu  Royal Suitor (@royal_suitor) May 15, 2018

While Im quite certain it will never happen, I really love the practice of a couple entering the church together. This was the case when Queen Maxima married King WA and her father was actually barred from attending the ceremony. One can dream, right? pic.twitter.com/iqGVpzNatY  Le Crown Princess (@LeCrownPrincess) May 14, 2018

Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit also entered the church together. pic.twitter.com/iopztKRIKD  Le Crown Princess (@LeCrownPrincess) May 14, 2018

But theres one clear frontrunner in all these suggestions for who should have the honor of walking Meghan down the aisle. Many people would love to see her mother, Doria Ragland, walk with her daughter.

It's 2018 FFS. If Meghan Markles mom Doria Ragland is the most supportive person in her life & her dad won't be there, then her mother should walk her down the aisle. Wouldn't be the first mom to do so. Two beautiful ladies. #RoyalWedding #MeghanMarkle pic.twitter.com/0komjl0Nm4  nicki (@nickiknowsnada) May 14, 2018

Just thinking out loud but is it just me but how POWERFUL a statement would it be if Meghan Markle's mother was to walk her up the aisle? #RoyalWedding2018  Emlyn Akoto-Dwemoh (@EmlynAD) May 15, 2018

Meghans mother please. She can break tradition in more ways than one.   Anna King (@SmileyViibes) May 15, 2018

While the palace has not confirmed who, if anyone, will replace Thomas Markle, several reports suggest that Doria will take his place. Thomas himself told TMZ that Doria would be a good choice to assume the role of giving away the bride.

Watch: No, the internet does not approve of Donald Trump and Sean Hannitys nightly calls

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About Yakimas sister city  Morelia, Michoacan

 The Mexican city, which was built in the 16th century, is designated a Cultural World Heritage site by the United Nations largely because of its more than 200 historical buildings, many of which are built in Renaissance, Baroque and Neoclassical styles.

 Yakima and Morelia officially became sister cities in March 1999

 Morelias population: more than 600,000 residents

 Michoacan also has a largely agriculturally based economy. Its the worlds largest suppliers of avocados and ranks third in the production of chickpeas and lemons.
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Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson said on Monday he will discuss ways to protect companies doing business with Iran at a meeting with counterparts from France and Germany on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal.

"What we are going to do tomorrow in Brussels is we are going to have a conversation about what we can do to help UK firms, European firms have some confidence that they can still do business," Johnson said.

Trump's decision last week to renege on the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and re-impose sanctions against Tehran came with the threat of penalties against any foreign firms involved in business there.
Turkey announced Monday evening it was recalling its ambassadors from the United States and Israel "for consultations," and has followed the Palestinian Authority's lead in announcing three days of mourning following the deaths of 59 protesters in Gaza Monday.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave a speech in London that same day, calling Israel a "terror state" and adding that "the assault on the Gaza protesters exposed Israel's ugly visage, as one who carries out genocide in Gaza."

In a later interview with Bloomberg Tuesday, Erdogan said that were "two people responsible: US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu."

Turkish President Erdogan called Israel a 'terror state' (Photo: AFP)

Following the day's incidents, Turkey also called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which Turkey currently chairs.

Ankara wants the meeting of the 57-member-state body to be held on Friday, government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

"I will speak to other leaders and call on them to raise their own voices against this injustice," Erdogan added. "As leaders of the Islamic world, we will not allow to lose Jerusalem on this day. We shall continue standing with our Palestinian brothers."

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm also denounced Israel's actions on the strip's border, calling them a "cowardly massacre." Speaking to reporters at an Ankara airport, Yldrm also denounced the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, saying the US "flaunted international law."

More on the Turkish reaction, thousands protested in Istanbul Monday evening against the aforementioned American decision. Protesters burned Israeli and American flags. Another protest will take place Tuesday.

Protests against the US decision in Istanbul (Photo: EPA)

"Al Quds belongs to the Muslims," one of the signs hoisted at the rally said, as the assembled crowd chanted, "Jerusalem is ours, and will be ours."

One of the speakers addressing the crowd during the rallyorganized by the same group behind the 2010 Gaza flotillacalled the Americans "dogs."

South Africa recalls ambassador

Similarly on the diplomatic front, South Africa announced earlier Monday that it was recalling Ambassador Sisa Ngombane from Israel to consultations in Pretoria after severely denouncing "violent and destructive incursions into Palestinian territories."

The African government issued a condemnation of "Israeli armed forces' violent aggression on the Gaza border. Victims took part in a peaceful protest against the provocative inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem" before calling on Israel to "withdraw from Gaza."

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "appalled by the escalation in the Palestinian territories and the number of people killed in wounded in the Gaza Strip protests."

Guterres further advised Israeli security forces to "act with the utmost restraint in using live fire."

Speaking about the Palestinian side of the issue, the secretary-general said Hamas and the protest's leaders "have a responsibility to prevent further acts of violence."

The international body's Security Council will convene Tuesday for an emergency session following the events in Gaza and the US Embassy's move to Jerusalem.

Kuwait, which called for the meeting, disseminated a draft media statement among the Council's members and suggested it be published during the session.

The draft statement said, "The Security Council expresses its rage and pain in light of the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their rights to peaceful protest. The Council calls on all countries to not take any further steps to exacerbate the situation and endanger chances for peace."

"The Council reaffirms that any decision or action to change the character, status or demographics of Jerusalem has no legal validity and are invalid." The US is expected to block the statement's publication Tuesday.

Israel's own envoy to the UN Danny Danon called on the Council's members Monday to denounce Hamas "for the war crimes it has perpetrated. It not only sends tens of thousands of people it has incited to break through the border and harm Israeli civilians, but also intentionally endangering Palestinian civilians."

"The massacre of Israeli civilians or the deaths of Gazanseither would be welcomed by Hamas. Any civilian hurt on the border is a victim of Hamas's war crimes, every mortality is the result of the group's terroristic activities and under its exclusive responsibility," Danon concluded.

Erdogan on embassy move: 'Will inflame tensions'

Turkish President Erdogan also spoke about US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"The US has chosen to be a part of the problem, not the solution, and has lost its role as mediator in the Middle-East peace process. We can't help but feelings as if we're back in the dark times preceding World War Two," Erdogan opined.

Calling the embassy move "highly regrettable," Erdogan warned it will "inflame tensions and stoke fires between the two peoples even more." The president also alleged it was a violation of international law and UN resolutions, concluding by calling it a "huge mistake."

An American defense official told NBC that the US sent reinforcements of dozens of US Marines to its diplomatic missions in Turkey, Jordan and Israel as a response to growing tensions.

The State Department and Pentagon were considering also sending Marines to other embassies in the region, including Lebanon, Egypt and Pakistan, the official added.

Jewish protesters in Washington (Photo: Reuters)

Demonstrations against Trump's decision also took place inside the US, with a prominent one taking place in Washington. Some one hundred protesters from the Jewish IfNotNow group protested outside the capital's Trump International Hotel.

Chanting "Stop the violence," protesters blocked Pennsylvania Avenue, which links the White House and the white-domed Capitol, for about two hours.

Protesters, many wearing skullcaps and black T-shirts stating that "the Jewish future demands Palestinian freedom," sang "We will build this world with love." They also carried mock building parts and directional signs for an "Embassy of Freedom" to replace what they called the "Embassy of Occupation" in Jerusalem.
John Brennan, director of the CIA under President Barack Obama, commented on the Gaza Strip riots on this Twitter account, and said that the deaths of 59 Palestinians was the result of "utter disregard by US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Palestinian rights and homeland."

By moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, he added, Trump has "played politics and destroyed the US's role as peacemaker."
For a moment, we were able to celebrate. The first round against Iran in Syria ended with an IDF victory . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a silent acquiescence from Moscow for Israels operations against Tehrans influence.

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At the same time, US President Donald Trump delivered a speech that not only canceled the nuclear agreement, which most Israelis were against, but also allegedly announced the United States return to the Middle Eastern arena.

At the same time, Netta Barzilai won the Eurovision possible proof of the Israel boycott movements failure and a display of proud Israeli normality.

And for dessert, we got the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem an Israeli consensus since the days of David Ben-Gurion.

Gaza fence riots, Monday. So what now? (Photo: MCT)

And then they returned. The ultimate they. The repressed, the rejectionists, the miserableand the enemies Israel would like to forget. For a historic second, Israel was able to ignore the elephant in the room. But you cant really erase the bitter pieces of reality, the reason a Saudi embassy hasnt opened, Israels main long-term challenge, the story Israel has been living with since the day it was established.

During the opening ceremony of the US Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the presidents advisor, Jared Kushner, expressed a desire for peace. But Gaza didnt really exist there. Neither did the Gaza vicinity communities, whose fields are being burned as they watch thousands trying to break into their territory as if they werent part of the story. After all, its the Gaza vicinity residents who are in danger. There was nothing to say about the dozens of dead Palestinians either. Its as if they came from a completely different world.

Gaza is controlled by a cruel, fundamentalist regime, which is abusing its citizens and waging a malicious campaign for a conflict in the strip. This situation is Hamas fault. But there are about two million people living in Gaza, on the verge or in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. There is not enough clean water and electricity, there is no work and no future. This hasnt been determined by the United Nations, but by our own defense establishment. Only a blind person fails to see the connection between the despair in the strip and Hamas ability to urge tens of thousands to risk their lives on the fences.

What does Israel want to achieve in Gaza? What is the immediate goal and what is the strategic goal? The negative scenario the IDF has been dealing with since the 1990sattempts to launch mass marches towards the Israeli territoryis already materializing. The result is materializing too: Extensive live fire, dozens dead and thousands wounded.

The defense establishment is asking repeatedly, directly and indirectly, what does the government want to achieve there. We know what the government doesnt want: It doesnt want a hudna, a reoccupation, a seaport; it doesnt want aggressive acts to topple Hamas; it doesnt want the international community to get involved; and it doesnt want a military operation, unless the other side fires the first shot. The Gazans are already on the fences, and the government must provide a rational, planned and clear answerwhat now?

Jared Kushner at US Embassy opening. Will Trump keeps his promise to reach the deal of the century too? (Photo: Amit Shabi)

We can enjoy the embracing American support and the wave of Israeli successes. But when this success is at its peak, we should be cautious, accurate, and remember the lessons of the past. We should especially look at the cracks revealing opportunities and dangers.

We can dance and celebrate the Eurovision at Rabin Square and imagine that history and its complexity have been pushed aside for good, but they haventand the Palestinians are still there. Theres no partner. Hamas is Islamist and suicidal, and we have cut all ties with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since his anti-Semitic speech

But what does Israel want? Why its stronger than ever. So what now? Some will say an iron wall until Hamas collapses in the strip. But thats a decision in itself, which could lead to undesirable results. If Hamas falls, the responsibility for Gaza may be handed over to Israel, as there is no legitimate Palestinian Authority at the moment as far as Jerusalem is concerned. Passively waiting on the fence for Hamas to fall could take a long time, and the situation in the strip could worsen, its residents suffering under Hamas could increase, and so could the acts of terror.

And one last thing: A lot has been said in the past few days about President Trump keeping his promises. We should perhaps listen to the message conveyed by his son-in-law, Kushner, about the plan to reach an extensive peace deal. This message is a direct continuation of Trumps promise to try to reach the deal of the century.

Nadav Eyal is Channel 10's chief international correspondent.
Israel's security forces are preparing for Nakba Day on Tuesday, with Palestinian protests, which claimed the lives of 59 in Gaza the previous day, expected to continue and perhaps even escalate.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held security consultations Monday night with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan, IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, Shin Bet Director Nadav Argaman, Police Commissioner Roni Alsheikh and National Security Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat.

IDF snipers on the Gaza border (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

The prime minister said after the meeting that the determined actions of the IDF and security forces prevented a breach of Israel's border. "The IDF, the Shin Bet and the police are prepared with reinforcements for any scenario," Netanyahu added.

At the height of Monday's violent clashes on the Gaza border, some 40,000 Palestinians protested in 13 different spots.

(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

"In response to the terror activities, 11 Hamas terror targets were attacked using fighter jets and other aircraft. In addition, the IDF attacked two terror positions in the north and south of the Gaza Strip with tanks," the army said. "The IDF is acting and will continue to act in a determined manner against the extensive terror incidents, which are being led by the Hamas terror organization. Any terror act will be met with a harsh response. Our forces are determined to defend Israel's sovereignty and its citizens."

The IDF also released a list of incidents that took place during the violent rioting on the Gaza border:

11:30am

- Hundreds of rioters ran towards the border fence in northern Gaza, with some climbing the fence in several places.

12:53pm - Five pipe bombs went off in the northern Gaza.

12:58pm - Explosive device went off in northern Gaza.

1:15pm - IDF thwarted an attempt by a terror cell to plant explosive devices by the border fence in the southern Gaza Strip; terror cell, made up of 4-6 members, opened fire at IDF forces, who returned fire.

1:30pm - Fire opened at IDF forces in the northern Gaza Strip.

1:45pm - Fire opened at IDF forces in the northern Gaza Strip by eight terrorists under the cover of the protests, troops returned fire.

1:50pm - IAF aircraft attacked Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip.

2:09pm - Three explosive devices went off in the southern Gaza Strip.

2:10pm - IAF aircraft attacked Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip.

2:13pm - Molotov cocktail thrown at IDF forces in the southern Gaza Strip.

2:15pm - IDF tanks attacked Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip.

2:49pm - Molotov cocktail thrown at IDF forces in the southern Gaza Strip. The troops returned fire.

3:10pm - Explosive device went off in the northern Gaza Strip.

3:26pm - IAF fighter jets attacked five Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip.

5:04pm - IDF tanks attacked Hamas position in the northern Gaza Strip.

5:25pm - IAF fighter jets attacked three Hamas targets in the northern Gaza Strip.

7:02pm - Terrorists opened fire at IDF troops in the southern Gaza Strip, IDF tanks fired at observation post in response.

Throughout the day Monday, the IDF disrupted internet and cell signals in areas close to the border, to stop Hamas from mobilizing more people.

Nakba Day

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday, the day Palestinians mourn as the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe" when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of them were driven out of their homes or fled the fighting around Israel's creation.

According to IDF assessments, Hamas will likely be able to bring tens of thousands of Palestinians to the border fence to clash with IDF troops on Tuesday as well, but in light of the high death toll from Monday, it is doubtful Hamas would be able to meet the goal it set itself of some 100,000 protesters. Funerals for many of the dead in Monday's protests are expected to take place Tuesday after noon prayers.

The Gaza Division held an initial inquiry into Monday's events and is expected to implement some of the conclusions drawn on Tuesday in light of the escalation by the main instigators of violence, who used women or protesters dressed up as women to mislead the Israeli forces.

The Air Force, meanwhile, is also preparing for more extreme scenarios, such as the launch of rockets from Gaza into Israel.

(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

The IDF's "target bank" was also updated in recent days, signaling to Hamas that any unusual incident or use of a firearm against IDF soldiers will be met with a swift response deep inside Gaza. Israel also sent a warning to Hamas that if Monday's events repeat on Tuesday, and if the situation escalates further, it would not hesitate to target the terror group's leaders as well.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Lieberman accepted the recommendations of the IDF and the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories to reopen the Kerem Shalom border crossing on Tuesday, despite three recent arsons on the Palestinian side.

(Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

At the same time, the IDF is preparing to face clashes in the West Bank and Jerusalem as well.

The Jerusalem Police held a situation assessment on Monday night to discuss preparations for Nakba Day, marked a day after the US Embassy opening in Jerusalem, which could serve as a catalyst for rioting. Police deployed some 3,000 officers across the capital, particularly at checkpoints and in the eastern part of the city.






Two-thirds of the United Nations Security Council expressed "profound concern" on Monday that a 2016 resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on land that Palestinians want for an independent state was not being implemented.

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A letter to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from 10 members of the 15-member council coincided with the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014. Israeli troops fatally shot dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border as the Trump administration opened the US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

"The Security Council must stand behind its resolutions and ensure they have meaning; otherwise, we risk undermining the credibility of the international system," wrote Bolivia, China, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Sweden in the letter seen by Reuters.

10 of Security Council's 15 members pen letter expressing 'grave concern' at lack of implementation (Photo: AFP)

A month before US President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, the Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements, with 14 votes in favor and one abstention by former US president Barack Obama's administration. Trump had denounced the resolution and called for the United States to wield its veto.

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov reported to the Security Council last year that Israel was flouting the demand for an end to settlements, while both parties were ignoring a call to stop provocation, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric.

The signatories to the letter said they were writing "to express our profound concern about the lack of implementation" of the resolution.

The 10 Security Council members also asked Guterres on Monday to start submitting his quarterly reports on the implementation of the resolution in writing instead of orally.

Sect.-Gen. Guterres was asked by the 10 members to deliver reports on resolution's implementation in written form (Photo: AFP)

"While there may sometimes be legitimate reasons for oral reports, they should be reserved for exceptional circumstances," the council members wrote.

The resolution also "underlines that it will not recognize any changes to the 4 June 1967 lines, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties through negotiations."

The US Embassy move to Jerusalem fulfilled a pledge by Trump, who in December recognized the city as Israel's capital.
The High Follow-Up Committee for Arab Citizens of Israel announced Monday evening a general strike in the Arab sector to be held Wednesday in solidarity with the people of Gaza, which is set to include schools and businesses.

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The Committee will also organized protests on Tuesday evening in Majd al-Krum, Wadi Ara and the Negev, in the wake of the deaths of 59 Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip border riots Monday.

Police and protesters clash outside US Embassy inauguration in Jerusalem (:  )

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Also Monday, a protest rally was held outside of the ceremony inaugurating the new US Embassy in Jerusalem Monday afternoon, with the participation of hundreds of Arabs as well as Jews.

File photo. Demonstration of Israeli Arabs

Police arrested 14 protesters during the demonstrationheld at the capital's Arnona neighborhoodwho were said to be bluntly disrupting the peace, confronting cops and disobeying orders.

While police authorized the protest, at a certain stage Palestinian flags were hoisted and slogans such as "Allahu akbar," "In blood and fire we shall redeem Palestine," "We will sacrifice our lives for the Al Aqsa Mosque" and " Gazan martyrs are heroes" began to be chanted.

Police noted the protest's goal was to "create a deliberate provocation and foment discord." Once the inciting chants died down, police noted, the demonstration carried on as planned.

Arab lawmakers and hundreds of others protested outside of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem (Photo: AP)

The rally was organized by the High Follow-Up Committee. Arab MKsJamal Zahalka, Ahmad Tibi and Yousef Jabareenas well as the Committee's head, himself a former lawmaker, Mohammad Barakeh, were forcefully pushed back by police officers present on the scene.

MK Zahalka, who is also the chairman of the Joint List's parliamentary group, said, "Moving the embassy is a dangerous provocation, a hostile move towards the Palestinian people and their just rights and a blatant violation of United Nations resolutions."

MK Zahalka fending off police

"Starting today, the United States can no longer claim to be an impartial, fair mediator and the embassy's move is a public statement that it stands to the side of the Israeli occupation and is an avowed enemy of the Palestinian people," Zahalka maintained.

"Al Quds is the capital of Palestine," the lawmaker declared, "and anyone who disavows that and tries to enforce an occupation on (Jerusalem) is pouring oil on the flames of bloodshed."
The phrase a historic moment usually serves as a cliche. In Israel, every road opening and every community center inauguration is a historic moment. But on Monday, shortly after 4 pm, all of us, the members of this generation, got to witness a historic moment , a moment which will be remembered in the history of the State of Israel as a really significant milestone.

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US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who played a significant part in moving the embassy to Jerusalem, began his speech by mentioning another historic moment in the State of Israels history. Eleven minutes after the Israeli Declaration of Independence by David Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, US President Harry Truman made a critical decision and announced the United States recognition of the State of Israel.

President Trump's video message during embassy opening. A real historic moment (Photo: Amit Shabi)

Truman made the decision despite advice he had received from some of his advisors, who were concerned about the fate of Americas relations with the Arab world, going against the opinion of many in the world. On the other hand, its hard to overstate the significance of that decision for the young State of Israel, which was in the middle of a battle of life and death.

The State of Israel of 2018, 70 years later, is no longer in a constant battle for its existence. While Israel is almost the only country with enemies that wish to destroy it, its existence is a fait accompli, even among its most bitter enemies. Nevertheless, its hard to overstate the importance of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, even if the move is mostly symbolic. In fact, in terms of US-Israel relations, this event is almost as important as the historic decision made by President Truman.

If recognizing the establishment of the State of Israel was a recognition of our existence here, recognizing Jerusalem as the State of Israels capita is a recognition of our identity. Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel is the strongest reflection of the Jewish peoples fundamental connection to their land, Land of Israel. This connection is reflected in many ways, but primarily in choosing Jerusalem, the capita of David and Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah, as the capital of the State of Israel.

Trump's daughter, Ivanka, unveils the embassy plaque (Photo: AFP)

The American decision to recognize this connection in practice, by moving the embassy, has changed the entire attitude towards the Israeli-Arab conflict. The Land of Israel is no longer a night refuge for the Jewish people; the Land of Israel is the Jewish peoples lawful land.

Two people are responsible for this historic move, whose full significance will be seen in the future: US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The two of them led the move despite the group of skeptics both in Israel and in the US who dismissed the possibility of an embassy move. One doesnt have to like them to recognize the fact that their names will forever be remembered in the history of the Jewish people as the people responsible for this historic move.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat commemorated 51 years to the capital's unification this week with a series of eventsa special Cabinet meeting he attended and the US Embassy's opening in Jerusalem and asserted that when Jerusalem succeeds, the State of Israel succeeds.

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Speaking about the embassy move in a Ynet studio interview, Barkat noted it marked "historical recognition of the link between Jerusalem and the Jewish people. US President Donald Trump's warm words were nothing less than dramatic.

"The president has joined hands with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in strengthening the ties of the peace-loving world and put up an iron wall opposite the Iranian axis of evil."

Jerusalem Mayor Barkat said the embassy move meant 'historical recognition of the link between Jerusalem and the Jewish people' (Photo: Amit Shabi)

On the same matter, Barkat opined that "the two things combined, along with the recognition of Jerusalem, constituted a new world order. The mere move symbolizes a change in Israel and the Middle East in general. That's the real celebrationpositioning Jerusalem, signaling that things are changing in the Mid-East and the world in general."

Alongside the festivities, there was some concern ahead of the embassy move and possible attempts to disturb the peace as part of the Palestinian Nakba Day protests.

Barkat was unmoved, and sought to communicate a calming message, saying, "We trust in our security forces all year round. Jerusalem is very quiet today, and what's happening on the Gaza border did not affect the city."

File photo. Security forces deployed in Jerusalem (Photo: Yuval Ozeri)

"Residents of the eastern portion of the city understand that this is a seismic shift, andtruth be toldI'm convinced in their heart of hearts they are even pleased because it will improve their quality of life," the Jerusalem mayor claimed.

"We see them choosing Israeli matriculation exams in greater numbers, asking for Israeli citizenshipsthey're going through a process of 'Israelization,' and (the embassy move) will serve their interests as much as it does anyone else's," he concluded.

Asked whether Jerusalem was divided, Barkat invited interviewers to visit the Old City. "Every square kilometer has more mosques, synagogues and churches than anyplace else in the world," he said.

"Look at the people there. Visit our hospitals, our workplaces in the public sector. There are Haredi, secular and Arab neighborhoods, but the city is one unit. It was unified in 1967 (in the Six Day Wared), and we're connecting it using transportation infrastructures, a single economy and one constantly-improving service sector," he stated.

Barkat welcomed the US Embassy's move to Jerusalem (Photo: Reuters)

On fears that Trump may force a change in Jerusalem's status, the mayor said he heard rumblings of a similar nature before. "Jerusalem will not be partitioned," Barkat vowed, "and President Trump said one thing very clearlythat understandings needed to be reached."

"As far as Israel is concerned, I don't see any possibility of Jerusalem being partitioned. We're better off with no deal at all than a bad deal. I'm highly optimistic regarding Jerusalem's prospectsand Israel's as a whole," he concluded.
At Gaza's Shifa Hospital, people search desperately for loved ones. Some already know they are dead and grimly work their way through bodies. Others have received no news so scour the wards, before descending to the morgue.

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There a young man cries, "Why are you leaving me alone?" as the body of his older brother lies on a stretcher.

Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border

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But his mourning is cut short by the voice of a mortuary attendant calling to a colleague to move the corpse. "Put him in the fridge quickly, another one has arrived," he said.

Funeral for one of the Gaza Strip's 59 mortalities (Photo: MCT)

59 Palestinians killed by Israeli fire on the Gaza border Monday as mass protests broke out against the controversial US embassy move

It was the deadliest day in the conflict since a 2014 war between Israel and the Palestinian enclave's Islamist rulers, the Hamas terror group.

8 month old Lila Randur was said to have died of gas inhalation

According to the Palestinians, an eight month old baby named Lila Randur, who was brought to the scene of the riots Monday, died of inhaling gas. While this was not the first time protesters brought family and children to the riots, the younger children would usually stay behind in tent encampments.

Palestinian Health Ministry appeals for blood donations

In Shifa the situation is critical. Even before the day's death toll, medical centers were running desperately low on vital medicines after seven weeks of bloody protests that have left 109 Palestinians killed.

The Gaza Ministry of Health called for citizens to donate blood as supplies were running low.

The Shifa Hospital appealed for blood donations (Photo: Getty Images)

Israel accuses Hamas of being behind the protests and says it is merely defending its territory. Whether the bloodshed achieved the protesters' goals is unclear. The stated aimto break the fence and enter Israelwas not achieved.

Palestinians burn tires, lob rocks at fence

Using clouds of smoke from burning tires to mask their approach, protesters hurled stones and some fire bombs toward the border.

Positioned on sand berms, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas first and then live rounds at the Gazans.

For hours groups of young Palestinian men tried without success to pry apart part of a barbed wire fence on their side of the border, which bars the way to a more robust barrier closer to Israeli troops.

Despite the numbers falling around them, the protesters kept approaching the fence. "We will continue to try to breach the border," said 20 year old Rabia al-Khawaja.

The wider goals of the protest, to focus attention on the suffering of the two million residents of Gaza and the Palestinian rejection of the embassy move, were achieved.

South Africa and Turkey recalled their ambassadors from Israel in protest, while Kuwait requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council for Tuesday and condemned the bloodshed.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Inside Shifa Hospital, such is the shortage of beds that Mohammed Mekdad is being treated in a makeshift tent outside the emergency room.

He was shot in both legs and they are wrapped in a light gauze that barely stems the bleeding. Passed a mobile phone, he sobs to his family: "I am in Shifa, come quickly."

On the side of the tent a woman and her daughter stand with tears filling their eyes. "They told me my son was injured in the leg. I didn't find him here, he may have been killed and they didn't tell me," the mother said.

As the afternoon wore on, ambulances brought more wounded to the tent, with doctors admitting they were sending people home for lack of space.

As sunset approached, loudspeakers called on people to withdraw from the border zone amid rumors of plans for Israeli shelling and soon the protests drew to an end.

"We retreated in the evening after seeing planes and tanks (preparing to) bombard us," Khawaja said.

Looking at the border after the bloodiest day in the conflict in years, Umm Jameel said one of her sons had been injured in the leg.

Would she come back tomorrow? "Of course," she said.
MOSCOW  The Kremlin on Tuesday urged countries, especially those in the Middle East quartet of mediators, to avoid action that might inflame tensions in the region, after dozens of Palestinian protesters were killed on the Gaza border on Monday.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the US Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Moscow was very concerned by the deaths of dozens of Palestinians and said the Kremlin was closely monitoring the situation.

Since 2002, the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators comprising the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations has been assigned to promote peace efforts, but have failed to secure any result.
Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney has summoned Israel's Ambassador to Dublin Zeev Boker to a talk in which he expressed his protest at the killing of multiple civilians in riots along the Gaza border.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the report.

Coveney also called on Israel to exercise restraint.

New Zealand also voiced support of the Palestinian demand for an impartial international probe by the United Nations to examine Monday's incidents.
LONDON  Iran's foreign minister said he had a constructive meeting with EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday, and he was optimistic Iran's interests in the nuclear deal could still be preserved despite the US withdrawal from the pact.

"It was a nice and constructive meeting," Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency. "We are on the right track to make sure the interests of the remaining signatories of the JCPOA (the nuclear deal), especially Iran, are guaranteed."
The United Nations Human Rights Council denounced Tuesday Israel's actions during protests along the Gaza border the previous day, which left 60 Palestinian protesters dead and more than 2,000 wounded.

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A statement on its official Twitter account said, "The rules on the use of force under international law have been repeated many times but appear to be ignored again and again.

"It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders and at almost any point up to 700m from the fence."

Anyone within 700 meters of the border fence could be shot, the UNHRC said (Photo: EPA)

Earlier in the day, the Council said the threat of Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence was not sufficient grounds for the use of live ammunition by Israeli security forces.

The human rights body concluded by saying it was "extremely worried about what may happen todayan emotional day on all sidesand in the weeks ahead. We urge maximum restraint. Enough is enough."

A senior Israeli official, meanwhile, dismissed decisions by Turkey and South Africa to recall their ambassadors following the Gaza Strip riots, and said, "There's no reason for amazement. (Turkish President) Erdogan and heads of the African National Congress are Hamas's best friends in the world today."

SA President Cyril Ramaphosa and Turkish President Erdogan were Hamas's best friends, an Israeli official said (Photo: Reuters, Getty Images)

Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Israel a "terror state" during a speech he gave in London Monday evening, adding that "the assault on the Gaza protesters exposed Israel's ugly visage, as one who carries out genocide in Gaza."

Following the day's incidents, Turkey also called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which Turkey currently chairs.

Ankara wants the meeting of the 57-member-state body to be held on Friday, government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

Turkish President Erdogan also spoke about US President Donald Trump's decision to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

"The US has chosen to be a part of the problem, not the solution, and has lost its role as mediator in the Middle-East peace process. We can't help but feelings as if we're back in the dark times preceding World War Two," Erdogan opined.

President Donald Trump and the Gaza riots. The US has chosen to be part of the problem, not the solution, Erdogan said (Photo: AP, AFP)

Turkey's ambassador to the United States was also recalled along with his Israeli counterpart.

On the backdrop of his president's scathing attack, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Tuesday Muslim countries should review their ties with Israel.

Turkey's decision to recall its ambassador was preceded by a similar decision from South Africa to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane from Israel for consultations.

South Africa also harshly condemned Israel for its actions, with the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation said that the Gazan casualties were "taking part in a peaceful protest against the provocative inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem."

The statement further called on Israel to "withdraw from the Gaza Strip and bring to an end the violent and destructive incursions into Palestinian territories", adding that the violence in the strip may scuttle the rebuilding of Palestinian institutions and infrastructures alike.

Irish FM Simon Coveney called the Israeli ambassador to Dublin for a conversation (Photo: Reuters)

More on the diplomatic front, Ireland's Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney summoned Israel's Ambassador to Dublin Zeev Boker to a talk Tuesday in which he expressed his protest at the killing of multiple civilians in riots along the Gaza border.

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the report. Coveney also called on Israel to exercise restraint.

New Zealand, for its part, also voiced support for the Palestinian demand for an impartial international probe by the United Nations to examine Monday's incidents.

'Relations with Turkey have not changed, remain poor'

Dr. Alon Liel, who previously served as Israel's ambassador to both Turkey and South Africa, commented Tuesday on the two countries' strained relationship with Israel in light of the Gaza protests.

Regarding Erdogan, Liel said in the Ynet studio interview that, "Over the past two and a half years, since our supposed reconciliation, Turkey and Israel have remained mutually hostile. Relations have not recuperated and yesterday's incidents bring things to a new low."

Dr. Alon Liel said relations with Turkey were already poor, and expected to remain that way

On the decision to recall its ambassador to Ankara, Dr. Liel said that, "In the weeks since the US announced the embassy move, Erdogan's attacks targeted both Washington and Jerusalem in the same proportion and with the same vigor, which is why he recalled both ambassadors."

"Looking at Israel and Turkey, however," he continued, "relations are so poor on the political echelons that our ambassador there and theirs here were exceedingly isolated, almost boycotted. I therefore don't see much of a change in our relations, despite the act of recalling ambassadors that has caused international furor."

The former diplomat further said that the Turkish president was a month before nationwide elections . "He's a very sophisticated politician and I doubt he would have taken this measure if it was not popular," he opined.

Anti-Israeli protests in Turkey (Photo: AFP)

"We've seen a mass protest in Istanbul yesterday following the Gaza deaths. I don't know if another such protest took place anywhere in the world, certainly not in the West Bank, so I presume it lines up with his what his 'base' believes," Liel said.

Regarding the South Africa decision to recall its own ambassador, Liel said that bilateral relations have also been poor in the past few years, to the point that "several months ago a severe water shortage was created in Cape Town, and when Israel offered help it was told, 'We don't want any from you.'"

"The ruling party there (the African National Congressed) is an avowed supporter of (the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement), and has already made a decision to downgrade relations with Israel. It just hasn't had a chance to follow through on it yet," he claimed.
BRUSSELS  Iran's talks with European countries to save the nuclear deal despite the US withdrawal are on the right path, Iran's foreign minister said after meeting EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini on Tuesday.

"Our meeting with Mrs. Mogherini was good and constructive ... We are on the right path to move forward ... Whatever decided should preserve and guarantee Iran's rights ... Our talks (with the E3) will continue in the next two weeks," Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters in Brussels.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's earlier statements on Israel, saying, "Erdogan is one of Hamas's biggest supporters and hence knows terrorism and slaughter well."

"I propose for him not to proselytize to us," he added.
Some 4,000 Palestinians are clashing with IDF forces on Tuesday afternoon in 18 conflagration zones in the West Bank, including in Hebron, near Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, outside Ramallah, at the Qalandiya checkpoint and in the Nablus area. Rioters are throwing stones, burning tires and lobbing Molotov cocktails at security forces.

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At the same time, some 700 Palestinians are protesting in 14 places around the Gaza border.

IDF and Border Police forces used crowd dispersal measures against the rioters.

In Tuesday's clashes on the Gaza border, a 51-year-old Palestinian was killed east of al-Bureij in the north-central Gaza Strip. Hours later, another protester was killed in the northern part of the strip.

A Border Policeman was lightly hurt from a stone thrown at him near Ramallah. An IDF reservist was also lightly wounded from stone-throwing near the settlement of Itamar.

In Gaza, funerals for over 60 Palestinians killed in Monday's border protests began.

The Palestinians reported on Tuesday morning that an eight-months-old baby girl died of gas inhalation during the clashes.

The IDF's Arabic-language spokesman, Maj. Avichay Adraee, wrote on Twitter that "there's fundamental doubt as to the credibility of the Hamas health ministry's statement about the death of the baby in the Gaza Strip as a result of the inhalation of tear gas. We have several testimonies questioning the veracity of that statement."

Due to the overcrowding in Gaza's hospitals, Egypt has allowed the transfer of some of the wounded from the strip to its territory for treatment. The Palestinians began the bureaucratic process of listing the wounded that need medical treatment outside the Gaza Strip. It is yet unclear how many will be allowed through the Rafah crossing.

On the Israeli side of the Gaza border, several incendiary kites caused fires in open areas.






The security establishment is currently preoccupied not merely with the Palestinian response to the transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem and events to mark Nakba Day , but also with the fear of Jewish "price tag" attacks sparking major unrest in the West Bank.

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The recent surge in price tag attacks by right-wing extremists against Palestiniansthe latest taking place in the village of Iksal in the north two and a half weeks agohas led the IDF, the Shin Bet and the Shai (West Bank) District Police to prepare for similar incidents in what is expected to be the most volatile week in years.

CCTV footage of arsonists setting fire to mosque's door last month

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The possibility of such attacks occurring was at the center of a recent meeting between the heads of Israel's security agencies and the army.

A hate crime in Iksal last month

The American embassy's move to Jerusalem, coinciding with the violent demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, have raised tensions to a new high, and assessments by the defense establishment state that a nationalistic attack against Palestinians will ignite the region and increase the chances of escalation.

The IDF, police and Shin Bet security service are preparing for this possibility by undertaking both overt and covert activity, particularly in the Samaria and Binyamin areas.

The Shin Bet estimates that a hard core of about 30 extreme right-wing activists, mostly youths, operates mainly from the Yitzhar settlement near Nablus.

About 25 of them, however, have been subjected to travel restrictions, including administrative restraining orders from the West Bank, while some have been placed under nighttime house arrest in Jerusalem.

File photo. A Palestinian car was torched

In the first four months of 2018, 16 violent incidents by right-wing activists were reported by Shin Bet. In one of them, about a month and a half ago, large stones were thrown at a Samaria Brigade commander in an outpost near the settlement of Itamar, causing the soldiers, who felt their lives were at risk, to fire live ammunition into the air.

For the sake of comparison, 24 attacks by right-wing extremists were recorded during 2017 on members of security forces.

The Shin Bet recommended setting up a police station in Yitzhar, and the matter was discussed by the army and the Shai District Police.

"The rule of law in Yitzhar is not good. We need riot police in order to enter," an official told Ynet. "When a Border Police unit was stationed in Yitzhar for a year, there was quiet there," he added.

Security officials noted the series of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Palestinians since the beginning of the year in the Samaria regionbeginning with the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach in Januaryled to feelings among right-wing activists that the IDF is not doing enough to protect them and they therefore need to take matters into their own hands.

"The Hilltop Youths who are under restraining orders are hiding in Yitzhar because they know that if the military or police force enters the settlement, a message will be sent to everyone immediately," the source explained.

According to Shin Bet, since the beginning of the year, 18 price tag incidents have been recorded against Palestinians in the West Bank (vandalism against Palestinian property) in addition to three "attacks" (mostly arson of vehicles, a house or a mosque). In 2017, there were 16 such incidents.

The door of a mosque near Nablus was torched (Photo: Zacharia Sadeh)

A profile composited by Shin Bet of a West Bank Hilltop Youth likely to act against Palestinians shows a boy aged 14 to 17, who has usually been expelled from educational institutions and has taken to price tag attacks in nearby Palestinian villages.

These activities are usually carried out from 2am to 4am, since youths know villagers leave for dawn prayers at mosques starting 4am. Going out to exact their revenge, they usually wear neck gaiters covering their faces up to their eyes and a hoodie to cover their heads and carry backpacks with equipment to be used in the action.

They are also trained to remain silent if they are apprehended and interrogated.

"If such youths come across a village full of irate Palestinians in the dead of night who then begin chasing them, it could end in a lynch that will start a cycle of bloodshed," the security official forewarned.

"If anything can send West Bank Palestinians out to the streets this week it's a serious attack by hard-line settlers. Hilltop Youths with restraining orders issued against them usually ignore them and are only charged after two or three violations of the order, in which case the administrative order becomes court orderedor a criminal offenseand only then can they be jailed."

"Until they reach that point, they can carry out up to five price tag attacks," he stated. "The solution is therefore a joint effort by all bodies and cooperation with education and welfare agencies in the settlement movement, which has long since realized the damage they do."

He concluded, "Of the Hilltop Youths detained recently, some were as young as 13. They are the new generation, after the Duma events (the killing of 18 month old Ali Saad Dawabsha and his parents in a price tag attacked), who have never experienced what transpired.

Ali Dawabsha, the baby killed in the fire, and the damaged home

"Some of these youths are especially violent and also abuse animals. They don't confer with rabbis before going on a price tag attack and are completely uninfluenced by their parents."

Several people suspected of violence against IDF soldiers were arrested since the year began but have yet to be charged.

In the most serious incident to datethe torching of a mosque near Nablus some eight weeks agono suspects have been arrested.

"The next step will be setting fire to homes," the security official warned. "That is why we used pressures exerted in advance. Security cameras placed in settlements have been taken down."

(Photo: Zacharia Sada, Rabbis for Human Rights)

A Yitzhar official rejected the claims made in the article, and explained that, "For the longest time the Shin Bet's Jewish division has blamed us for being a sanctuary city for Hilltop Youths, but they have never really looked into where the majority of price tag incidents take place."

"Yitzhar takes in a lot of boys from all across the country and all population groups, and endeavors to help them in any manner, oftentimes on a volunteer basis. In some cases, children who misbehaved found themselves outside of the community, but changes are made using educational measures," the settlement's official added.

"Senior defense establishment officials have expressed their satisfaction with these measures' progress. On the other hand, however, the Shin Bet gives briefings against Yitzhar. It's so easy to disparage, but a lot harder to engender real influence, which is what we're doing," he concluded.

The same official explained that a decision is expected in the coming days on Shin Bet's flagship casethe arson of the Dawabsha residence in Duma. The decision is said to center around the viability of admissions from the case's central defendants, allegedly extracted under duress and torture.

"The Shin Bet wishes to demonstrate at any cost a justification for their obsession with Hilltop Youths, and are using aggressive and unprecedented measures against these boys and children," the Yitzhar official accused.

An attorney who represents some of the Duma suspects said, "We regret to learn that in a week where March of Return rallies are held, tunnels are dug and incendiary kites are flown, the defense establishment has finally found the 'true culprits' for the security situationHilltop Youths."

"The thought cannot be chased away that the defense establishment is laying the groundwork for a decision on the Duma case and the viability of the evidence extracted under torture. It's time for a responsible adult to put a stop to all the spins against these youths and fight the true enemy," attorney Nati Rom said.
The Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministry summoned Israel's Ambassador Eytan Naeh and notified him he must leave.

The Jerusalem Foreign Affairs Ministry declined comment on the matter.

Notice of the ambassador's expulsion came after Turkey denounced Israel following Gaza Strip border protests Monday.
JERUSALEM  Germany says it supports calls for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests in Gaza.

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says the violence "concerns us greatly and it's terrible that so many people lost their lives, including minors."

Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Tuesday that the right to peaceful protest should exist in Gaza too, but blamed the Palestinian group Hamas for firing up tensions on the day the United States unveiled its new embassy in Jerusalem. He said: "Hamas is trying to escalate the violence. That is cynical."
Some 1,300 Palestinians are clashing with IDF forces in 18 conflagration zones in the West Bank. Rioters are throwing stones, burning tires and lobbing Molotov cocktails at security forces.

Soldiers are responding with crowd control measures.

At the same time, some 400 Palestinians are protesting in six places around the Gaza border. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that no irregular incidents have taken place thus far.
PARIS - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday described the situation in the Middle East as "explosive" and criticised the United States for unilateral acts in the region.

"The situation in the Middle East is explosive, violence is doing the talking, war could loom," he told lawmakers in parliament.
UNITED NATIONS - US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley praised Israel on Tuesday for showing restraint as Palestinian militant group Hamas "has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy" to Jerusalem.

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on recent deadly violence in Gaza, Haley said: "No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has."
At least 24 of the 61 Palestinians killed Monday in the Gaza border riots were terrorists affiliated mostly with the Hamas terrorist organization, with some being members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the IDF Spokesperson's Unit said Tuesday, following a joint investigation conducted by the IDF and the Shin Bet.

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Violent clashes erupted Monday between Palestinian protesters and the IDF on the Gaza border on the backdrop of the opening of the new US Embassy in Jerusalem. This is the highest Palestinian death toll since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

IDF fighter jets and tanks then attacked Hamas targets in a training camp in Jabalia, in the northern Gaza Strip, following earlier attempts to plant an explosive device on the fence and gunfire at soldiers.

Gaza border rioters and IDF snipers (Photo: AFP, IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

About 40,000 Palestinians have gathered near the fence in 13 hot spots along the border since the morning hours. Several thousand others were located in the tent area about half a kilometer from the fence.

More than 1,200 were shot and wounded, with 116 in serious or critical condition. About 1,200 others suffered other types of injuries, including from tear gas, Palestinian sources said.

On Tuesday, Some 1,300 Palestinians clashed with IDF forces in 18 conflagration zones in the West Bank, including in Hebron, near Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, outside Ramallah, at the Qalandiya checkpoint and in the Nablus area. Rioters threw stones, burned tires and lobbed Molotov cocktails at security forces.

At the same time, some 400 Palestinians protested in six places around the Gaza border. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said that no irregular incidents have taken place thus far, though a 51-year-old Palestinian protester was killed east of al-Bureij in the north-central Gaza Strip by IDF fire.
After recalling its ambassador from Israel for consultations Monday evening following turmoil on the Gaza border, Turkey expelled on Tuesday the Israeli Ambassador to Ankara. Israel then responded by summoning the Turkish Consul in Jerusalem Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu to the Foreign Ministry and asking him to leave the country until further notice.

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It is not yet clear whether the expulsion of the Ambassador is a temporary or permanent step in Israeli-Turkish relations.

Turkish protesters against US Embassy move (Photo: AFP)

Relations between the two countries have become especially tense in recent days.

Tuesday, Turkish opposition parties joined in too in the condemnation of Israel for its respons to the weekly protests on its border with Gaza, in which so far some 100 demostrators have been killed by IDF fire; they even called for the annulment of the reconciliation agreement signed between the two countries.

Officials at the Foreign Ministry said that Turkey notified the ambassador to return to Israel temporarily. Diplomatic protocol allows for a 24 hour grace period for an expelled diplomat to leave the country.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Erdogan (Photo: Reuters, Getty Images)

Education Minister Naftali Bennett tweeted: Erdogan is up to his head in Hamas terror. It was a mistake to sign the compensation agreement with him which cost us tens of millions of dollars after the Mavi Marmara incident. At the time I said that it will come back to bite us, and I voted against the deal , which unfortunately was approved by the cabinet.

Bennet added that he asked the Knesset Speaker to approve recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey. He also asked that the cabinet recognize the rights of Syrias Kurdish minority. Bennett also called on Israelis to cancel their trips to Turkey and take vacations in the Golan or Galilee instead. Israel will no longer refrain from responding to an attack on its dignity, it will guard its borders and its citizens.

Turks protest US Embassy move (Photo: AP)

Yesh Atid Chairman Yair Lapid said: Israel needs to sever relations with the Erdogan regime. Not temporarily but permanently; recognize the Armenian genocide and openly assist the Kurds. We should ensure that the US employs pressure to remove Turkey from NATO. The reconciliation agreement signed by Netanyahu was a mistake. One does not reconcile with anti-Semites like Erdogan. The time has come for the government to declare what has been clear for some time: Erdogan is a link in the Islamic terror chain.

Istanbul protests (Photo: Reuters)

On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke in London, calling Israel a terror state. He added that the attack against Gaza demonstrators exposes Israels true face, committing genocide in Gaza. In light of the events, Ankara called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

The two leaders proceeded to trade barbs on Twitter. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan saying: Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.

Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

Erdogan tweeted in response: Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions. He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey. Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandment.

Netanyahu responded: A man who sends thousands of Turkish soldiers to occupy northern Cyprus and invades Syria, will not preach to us when we defend ourselves from an attempted invasion by Hamas. A man whose hands are stained with the blood of countless Kurdish citizens in Turkey and Syria is the last one to preach to us about combat ethics.

A senior official said that there is no need to be surprised regarding the expulsion of the Israeli ambassadors from South Africa and Turkey as Erdogan and the ANC are Hamass best friends in the world today.

Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz said: Erdogan, the big instigator, a man of the Muslim Brotherhood and a partner of Hamas and Iranthe largest terror sponsor in the worldis recalling his ambassador from Israel. There is no limit to hypocrisy. Israel will continue to defend its borders from Hamas terrorists and the Jihad trying to harm our citizens.
Israel faced a growing backlash Tuesday and new charges of using excessive force, a day after Israeli troops firing from across a border fence killed 61 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700 at a mass protest in Gaza.

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Turkey expelled Israels ambassador, while Ireland and Belgium summoned Israeli envoys. Leading European countries and the UN human rights office called for an investigation of the bloodshed.

Israel says it has the right to defend its border against a possible mass breach and accuses Gazas Hamas rulers of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests. A military spokesman said Tuesday that 14 of those killed a day earlier were involved in attacks, while at least 24 were affiliated with terrorist organizations.

Anti-Israel demonstration in Lebanon (Photo: AFP)

Monday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 cross-border war with Israel, and was part of a high-stakes campaign by the Islamic militant Hamas to break a decade-long border blockade.

Gaza Health Ministry, which provided the toll from Mondays violence, said a 9-month-old girl died from tear gas exposure, but medical officials later cast doubt on that claim, saying the infant had a pre-existing medical condition. It remained unclear Tuesday where and how the child died.

In jarring contrast to the Gaza bloodshed, the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for a new US Embassy in contested Jerusalem at the same time Monday, just several dozen miles (kilometers) away. The juxtaposition of violence on the Gaza border and festivities attended by a Trump administration delegationcaptured on split screens in TV broadcasts around the worldbriefly drew attention to the plight of Gaza and its 2 million people.

This sparked pro-Palestinian protests to erupt across the world, with demonstrators calling to stop "apartheid Israel" and protect the Palestinians. Some were even seen burning the Israeli and US flags and pictures of their respective heads of state, while some were even seen carrying signs emblazoned with a swastika.

Demonstration in South Africa (: EPA)

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the deal of the century. The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

The high casualty toll revived international criticism of Israels open-fire policies. Rights groups have said the use of potentially lethal force against protesters who pose no immediate threat to soldiers lives is unlawful. The military has said presumably less lethal rubber-coated steel pellets are not effective in keeping demonstrators from the fence.

Germany, Belgium and Ireland called for an investigation of the violence.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Charles Michel called the Israeli actions unacceptable violence and said there was a clear lack of proportionality. Michel said the violence and killings would be moved onto the calendar of the European Union summit in Sofia on Wednesday and Thursday.

Demonstration in the Philippines (Photo: EPA)

German spokesman Steffen Seibert said the violence concerns us greatly, but also accused Hamas of cynically escalating the unrest.

Irelands Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express shock and dismay. Turkey asked Israels ambassador to leave temporarily and the country lowered flags to half-mast to mark three days of mourning. China called on Israel to exercise restraint. On Monday, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice.

The UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters from its border with Gaza, suggesting its forces should instead arrest those who reach the fence.

The UN Security Council planned to meet Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it was not clear what might come out of the session.

Demonstration in Mexico (Photo: AFP)

For Hamas, which seized Gaza in 2007, Mondays border protest was the culmination of a weeks-long campaign to try to break the blockade. The group has led weekly protests near the border with Israel since late March.

On Tuesday, there were no signs that Hamas had made a breakthrough in shaking off the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt. Egypt extended the opening of its border crossing with Gaza, initially set to continue for four days, by two more days, until Thursday. Typically, the Rafah crossing is closed for most of the year.

In recent days, there had been negotiations between Egypt and Hamas, presumably on easing the blockade in exchange for ending the protests.

Hamas has said protests would continue in a weekly format, but it was not clear if it would be able to maintain momentum during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which begins this week.

Khaled Batsh, the head of a grassroots organizing committee, said the next mass march would be held June 5, to mark the anniversary of the 1967 Mideast war in which Israel captured Gaza, the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Demonstration in Spain (Photo: EPA)

Protest organizers said Tuesday was set aside for funerals, in an apparent attempt to lower expectations of another mass protest later in the day. Thousands joined funeral processions Tuesday, though many of those killed Monday had been buried the same day, in line with Muslim tradition.

Hamas had initially said mass border protests would continue Tuesday, which marks the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call their nakba, or catastrophe  the uprooting of hundreds of thousands in the Mideast war over Israels 1948 creation. In the West Bank, sirens sounded for 70 seconds Tuesday to mark the nakba.

The border marches are seen as Hamas last hope of ending the blockade, which has made it increasingly difficult for the group to govern. Other tactics, including three wars with Israel and attempts at reconciliation with the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, have failed.

The Gaza Health Ministry said eight minors were among those killed by Israeli fire, and that a 9-month-old infant, Layla Ghandour, had died of tear gas exposure. However, a medical official cast doubt on the report, saying the infant had a serious pre-existing medical condition.

The babys family said Tuesday that Layla had been taken to the area of the protests by relatives in a mix-up and that she was with her grandmother near the border fence when tear gas fell.

Demonstration in Turkey (Photo: AP)

Some 1,360 Palestinians were wounded by gunshots, 130 of whom were in serious or critical condition, the ministry said.

The large number of wounded placed a new burden on Gazas already struggling hospitals, where key medicines and surgical supplies were lacking even before the latest bloodshed, in part because of the border closures.

Hospitals and other key installations in Gaza, such as sewage treatment and water pumping stations, heavily rely on generators because of hours-long power cuts every day. Gazas power crisis was further aggravated last week when Palestinian vandals destroyed the fuel terminal at Israels only cargo crossing into the territory, halting the flow of fuel and gas.

Demonstration in India (Photo: EPA)

Israel has defended its actions over the past few weeks, saying Hamas is trying to carry out attacks under the cover of protests.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had struck 11 terror targets in a Hamas military compound Monday and that tanks targeted two Hamas posts. It said Gaza activists used 10 explosive devices and firebombs against troops and that shots were fired at soldiers positioned along the border.
GENEVA - The 47 member states of the UN Human Rights Council will hold a special session on Friday to debate the deteriorating human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the U.N. said on Tuesday.

"The special session is being convened per an official request submitted this evening by Palestine and the United Arab Emirates, on behalf of the Arab Group of States, which has been supported by 26 States thus far," the UN human rights office said in an emailed statement.

The special session is the first since the Council considered the situation in Myanmar in December 2017.
The United Nations Security Council met Tuesday afternoon for an emergency session regarding events at the Gaza border, following the deadliest day since Operation Protective Edge. Kuwait called for the UN Security Council meeting after 61 Palestinians were killed and more than 1,200 wounded. The IDF said 24 of those killed were terrorists.

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US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley took Israel's side in the events that took place parallel to the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, saying Hamas, not the move, is responsible for undermining the peace process and regional stability.

"Those who suggest the Gaza violence has anything to do with the location of the American embassy are sorely mistaken," she said. "Rather the violence comes from those who reject the existence of the State of Israel in any location ... We must remember that the terrorist organization Hamas is the one undermining regional stability for many years before the US decided to move the embassy," she noted, adding "It was Hamas who set fire to the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main crossing through which equipment and food arrives in the Gaza Strip."

Nikki Haley (Photo: AP)

Haley asserted the IDF acted with unparalleled restraint, telling her fellow representatives, "Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border?  No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has."

Haley also referred to last week's rocket fire by Iranian forces in Syria on the Golan Heights, calling it "provocation that must be stopped" and reiterating that "Iran's behavior undermines stability in the region."

Haley then continued to attack Hamas, saying, "They urged demonstrators to break through the fence while they lie and told them that IDF soldiers are fleeingwhen in fact they are not. Hamas is so determined to make life miserable for the Palestinians. They send up burning kites and try to cause as much destruction as possible in Israel."

Britain's ambassador to the UN, Karen Price, said that her country "is concerned that the legitimate protest of Gaza residents is being exploited by militants. This is unacceptable." She added that "Britain is committed to the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as capital. This is the best solution to resolving the conflict. Today, more than ever, we need a diplomatic process. Price emphasized that Britain "is calling for calm and restraint, because escalation will not serve the interests of either side."

France's ambassador to the United Nations Francois Daltre said that President Emmanuel Macaron condemned "the violence by the Israeli army." He added that the Elysee Palace "calls for an independent investigation of the events yesterday," but stressed that "Hamas tried to use demonstrators to harm the security of Israel."

China also expressed "great concern" about the tense situation in the Gaza Strip. Chinese Ambassador to the UN Liu Jiayi called on "the Palestinians, and especially Israel, to moderate the events. The use of violence will not bring security to anyone." He said that "the humanitarian situation in Gaza is really bad - a fact that does not bode well for either side."

Kuwait's ambassador to the United Nations, Mansour al Atibi, said at the start of the meeting that the goal was "to provide protection for Palestinian citizens." He said there were "different ways" to do so. In the draft provided to the AP before the session, Kuwait expressed anger and pain regarding the killing of protesters and called for a transparent and independent investigation. "We call on all parties to maintain restraint," the report said.

Danny Danon (Photo: AFP)

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, spoke outside the Security Council at the start of the council's emergency session: "In the last month, rioters tried to break through the fence and infiltrate into Israel, they planted explosive devices, threw burning tires and Molotov cocktails and caused extensive fires in Israeli territory," he said as he showed a photo of the fire at the Kerem Shalom Crossing.

Last Friday they set fire to the Kerem Shalom Crossing, a major crossing for humanitarian supplies and goods into the Gaza Strip, and destroyed large parts of it. Look at this picture and understand that if the rioters would cross the fence, there is no doubt that this how Israeli communities would look like across the border," Dannon continued.

According to Danon, "Hamas is committing war crimes, but not only against Israeli civilians. Hamas continues to exploit the citizens of Gaza, including children, as human shields. While the world is quick to condemn Israel for defending its citizens, it does not seem that they are concerned by the double war crimes committed by Hamas. Every citizen who is hurt by the border is a victim of Hamas' war crimes and is their sole responsibility."

Danon concluded: "Anyone who claims that the decision to transfer the American embassy is the reason or justification for Palestinian violence should examine history well. This explanation is only the last excuse on the list of Palestinian excuses for violence against Israel."
The IDF has published new details on Monday's attempted terror attacks at the Gaza border protest that ended in the liquidation of 11 terrorists, revealing the militants lobbed pipe bombs and grenades at the Israeli soldiers who came to confront them.

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On Monday afternoon, at the peak of the violent demonstrations near the security fence and the rioters' attempts to breach it, the IDF received intelligence about two Hamas cells intending to carry out terror attacks aginst IDF soldiers by planting explosive devices on the security fence.

Footage of the incident (:  ")

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A Maglan Special Forces unit used the intelligence to ambush one of the cells on the Israeli side of the border, catching them in the act. The terrorists, eight of them in total, opened fire on the soldiers and on two armored IDF vehicles passing by and threw explosives at their positions.

Noticing this, the crowd of demonstrators dispersed and fled the area. This gave the Israeli soldiers a window, which they then seized to return fire and shoot dead the eight assailers.

Some of the weapons and tools seized from the slain militants (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

According to the IDF, at the end of the incident eight weapons were found on the eight bodies of the terrorists, including a pistol whose cartridge was emptied, fragmentation grenades and other explosives, as well as cutting tools and cables meant to be used to break through the border fence.

The IDF responded to the incident by ordering its fighter jets and tanks to attack Hamas positions in the northern Gaza Strip.

"The fighters worked professionally with a lot of courage and precision, and prevented a significant shooting attack on our forces," said the commander of the Maglan unit.

An unused grenade found in the possession of one of the terrorists (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Meanwhile, a smaller Sayeret Shaked Special Forces unit was dispatched to thwart the second, three-man terror cell, managing to shoot dead all three. Their bodies were then promptly hauled away by Palestinian women and mendressed as women to deter the IDF from opening fire on them.

An examination of the scene revealed that the terrorists in this cell too carried knives, cutting tools grenades and other explosive charges, some of which they threw at the IDF force during their encounter.

An undetonated grenade thrown at the Israeli soldiers (Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

No IDF soldier was harmed during the two operations.

The IDF praised the activities of the combatants and noted that similar incidents of explosive ordnance occurred Monday under the auspices of the demonstrations along the border.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday spoke by telephone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The two discussed regional issues. The Prime Minister said that in the wake of President Trump's declaration opportunities have been created to rein in Iran's aggression and prevent its military nuclearization.

The Prime MinisterNetanyahu thanked German Chancellor Merkel for condemning Iran's aggression and for her support of Israel's right to defend its sovereignty.

The Prime Minister also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and said that Israel would maintain its security interests and emphasized that no country would countenance threats to its sovereignty.
LONDON - Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan not to go too far in his crackdown on those believed to be behind a failed 2016 coup attempt, speaking after a meeting in London marked by human rights protests.

Rights campaigners have accused May of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in pursuit of trade deals after Brexit. In Turkey's case they point to the jailing tens of thousands of people after the attempted coup. Erdogan's government has said its actions are necessary to combat the threat it faces.

May said Britain's relationship with Turkey was indispensable, praising the impact of security cooperation and the prospect of close post-Brexit trade ties.

But she added a diplomatic warning on the need for restraint.

"It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice," May said, speaking alongside Erdogan in her Downing Street office following their meeting.

"But it is also important that in the defence of democracy, which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism, Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend."
The Palestinian envoy to Washington has been recalled to Ramallah in protest over the US relocating its embassy to Jerusalem.

Husam Zumlot confirmed to The Associated Press on Tuesday that he is returning home.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said President Mahmoud Abbas instructed Zomlot to return to Ramallah.

He said "When they (the US) opened their embassy in Jerusalem there was a need for a decision from our side and this was our decision."
Israel says the military has delivered eight trucks full of humanitarian aid and medical supplies to the Gaza Strip, where Israeli troops firing from across the border killed nearly 60 Palestinians at mass border protests on Monday.

COGAT, the military body for Palestinian civilian affairs, said Tuesday it has transferred 53 tons of medical equipment to Gaza this week, including medical fluids, bandages and physical therapy treadmills. It says fuel will be distributed later.

The trucks entered Tuesday, as medical facilities in Gaza were struggling to treat hundreds of people wounded by Israeli fire the day before.

Monday was the bloodiest day in Gaza since the 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers. Dozens of people were killed and 2,700 were wounded.

The protests were directed at a crippling blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after the Islamic militant group seized power in Gaza in 2007.

Israel says it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.
News

Washington, DC - Secretary Mike Pompeo met today in Washington with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. The Secretary thanked the Foreign Minister for his work on deepening the strong strategic, economic, and security partnership between the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

The two discussed a broad range of regional and bilateral issues. The Secretary expressed his appreciation for the United Arab Emirates strong support for President Trumps commitment to countering non-nuclear threats from Iran. On Yemen, the Secretary and the Foreign Minister agreed on the importance of all sides supporting the UN-led political process, facilitating humanitarian and critical commercial access, and working toward a comprehensive agreement to end the conflict. The Secretary emphasized the Presidents desire to see the Gulf dispute eased and eventually resolved, and his hope that parties will engage constructively ahead of the U.S.-GCC Summit. On civil aviation, the Secretary thanked the Foreign Minister for working with the United States to reach understandings that address concerns important to U.S. aviation stakeholders and strengthen our economic cooperation.
News

Washington, DC - Vice President Pence at the 37th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial:

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Linda, for that.

Mr. President, members of the Cabinet, distinguished members of Congress, honored guests, members of the law enforcement community, and the precious families of our peace officers whose memory and sacrifice we honor today: Its an honor to be with you all.

It is National Police Week. And I am deeply humbled to join so many courageous men and women of law enforcement, and especially the families of our fallen, at this, the 37th Annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service. You honor us by your presence here today.

To the leadership of the Fraternal Order of Police, to all those who serve on the Thin Blue Line of law enforcement  sheriffs, deputies, marshals, and detectives  and to all who have traveled from near and far to gather here at our nations capital, we are honored by your presence on this sacred day of remembrance.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy declared this day as Peace Officers Memorial Day and this week as National Police Week. And every year since 1982, members of our law enforcement community, their families, and friends have gathered on this day, in Washington, D.C., in solemn memorial services all across the country to mourn the fallen, to honor their sacrifice, and to rededicate ourselves to stand with those who protect our families and our communities every day.

Last year, President Trump and I were honored to stand before this extraordinary gathering. And President Trump promised on that day, in this administration, as he said, and I quote, We will always support the incredible men and women of law enforcement, and that is precisely what President Donald Trump has done. (Applause.)

In the past year, weve taken decisive action to give additional tools, funding, and equipment to those of you who protect and serve. And as the nation has witnessed time and time again, this President has made it clear to the men and women of law enforcement and their families that we are with you. We stand with you. And with President Donald Trump in the White House, we will always give those who serve on the Thin Blue Line of law enforcement the honor and the respect that you earn every single day. (Applause.)

But as all of you know, and as this day of remembrance so vividly reminds us, there is much hardship in your calling and there is much work to be done to ensure the safety and security of men and women that serve in law enforcement.

This year alone, weve seen attacks on law enforcement officers that have claimed the lives of 28 heroes. Soon, these names will join those of 199 peace officers who fell in the line of duty last year. We remember, and memorialize, and pray for them today.

And all their names will be added to a long line of heroes, more than 21,000 strong, who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the lives and liberties of their fellow Americans. These names, like those that have gone before, will forever be etched into those two marble walls at the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. But be assured, these names will also be forever etched into the hearts of the American people.

Those of you who wear the uniform, walk a beat, enforce our laws every day, know these are not numbers. They were your partners, your friends; you know their families, and you know of the lives that have been shattered.

The fallen heroes we remember today all answered the same call of duty to protect and serve. Their hearts were filled with the same selfless courage, written of long ago, that, No greater love has a man than this, that he should lay down his life for his friends.

Today, and any day that America loses one of our heroes in law enforcement, we mourn with those who mourn, and we grieve with those who grieve. But we do not grieve like those that have no hope, for your heroes give us hope. The heroes that we honor today, all the men and women of law enforcement gathered here, those looking on from across the country are our heroes.

You are the peace keepers, the shield for the innocent and vulnerable, the guardians standing between us and violence and lawlessness. And the American people are grateful every day.

Your courage strikes fear into the hearts of those who would do harm. Your sacrifice fills law-abiding citizens with confidence, and pride, and gratitude. And your presence wherever you are, day or night, makes our communities stronger, our streets safer, and our nation more secure.

You are the best of us. And the debt our nation owes to the men and women who serve every day in law enforcement and their families is a debt we can never fully repay. But know this: Under President Donald Trump, we will always fight for you. We will always support you. And we will never stop striving to be worthy of your noble example of service and sacrifice.

And with the selfless dedication of Americas peace officers, and the leadership of this President, and with Gods help, I know we will make America safe again.

May God comfort the families of the fallen. May God bless each of you as you protect and serve. And may God bless the United States of America. It is an honor to be with you all.
News

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College will be celebrating the 2018 Commencement on Friday, May 18, at 8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Stadium, 7150 E. 24th St. Graduates must report to the Gila Ridge High School Hawk Gym promptly at 7 p.m. The processional will begin at 7:40 p.m. under leadership of the Grand Marshal.

Those attending and participating in commencement should allow for extra travel time as traffic interchange improvements will be underway nearby for phase 2 of the Araby Road South Roundabout.

Beginning Wednesday, May 16, the eastbound I-8 off-ramp at Araby Road is scheduled to close as well as access to Araby from Gila Ridge Road. Araby Road will also be reduced to one lane in both directions between 30th to 26th Streets starting May 17.

Those driving to the ceremony from west of 3E are encouraged to use Hwy 95 to Araby Road to avoid construction and homebound traffic. Attendees coming from east of 3E are encouraged to take 9E to get to 24th Street.

People can visit www.azdot.gov/ArabyRoadTI for more information about the project.
Latest News

Washington, DC - Readout of President Donald J. Trumps Call with President Mauricio Macri of Argentina:

President Donald J. Trump spoke today with President Mauricio Macri to reinforce the strong partnership between the United States and Argentina. President Trump expressed strong support for President Macris efforts to transform Argentinas economy, and the two leaders underscored the need to maintain momentum against the regime in Venezuela.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - Students in the ASU@Yuma Secondary Education program have received early teaching contract offers before their upcoming graduation, some as early as during their first year of classes. With a shortage of teachers to fill open middle and high school positions in Yuma, the program has been a much-needed addition to the community.

The four-semester program began in 2016, allowing Arizona Western College students to transfer to Arizona State Universitys Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College to earn their Secondary Education degree while still living in Yuma. The program offers in-person and online courses for students who wish to become middle school and high school teachers in math, science, history, and English Language Arts.

There are 10 students in the first cohort of the program who will be graduating on May 18. Another 10 students are enrolled in the second cohort of the program. Of those 20 students, three students have been offered contracts or letters of intent from local schools.

I have students that are midway through the program that are already being offered teaching positions. They are working really hard to learn content and teaching strategies, and are successfully applying their skills in actual classrooms during their internships. This is a rigorous program, its not easy, but the students come out like second year teachers when they graduate, said Joena Ezroj, iTeachAZ Site Coordinator for AWC.

For the first three semesters of the program, students have an opportunity to do internships where they work in local classrooms one day a week with mentor teachers. During the fourth semester, they do full-time student teaching.

They get to practice what theyre learning with real live students and every semester its a different school, different mentor teachers, and different students all over Yuma, Ezroj said. Partner districts where students participate in internships and student teaching include: Yuma Union High School District, Yuma Elementary School District 1, Gadsden Elementary School District, and Crane Elementary School District.

Most of the students enrolled in the program are studying to become English teachers. AWC Professor of English Jane DeLaurier, who has taught upper-division literature courses for the program, shared that shes been advocating for a program like this for years after seeing a number of students leave Yuma because there wasnt a pathway for them to become an English teacher locally.

For years Ive listened to the frustrations of English students who wanted to teach English at the secondary level, but couldnt leave Yuma to study or get certified. Some became psychology majors and others turned to teaching elementary when they didnt really want to. This is finally an opportunity for these students to become who they really are  secondary English teachers, said DeLaurier.

One of those future English teachers is Yuma native Christine Cabrales. Shes already being paid to teach full-time before she graduates from the program.

I've wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember, but it wasn't in the cards for me. I have a family here and it wasn't realistic or doable for me to just uproot my family so that I can finish getting my B.A., said Cabrales. Next thing you know, I'm in the process of transferring and enrolling. It is just incredible to have this program locally. I think it really helps out those who are unable to pack up and leave for various reasons such as military, finances, or families.

There are 32 new students enrolled in Secondary Education for the upcoming fall semester. Ezroj shared that shes currently working to increase the amount of ASU faculty needed to meet the demand of the growing program.
Millennials participation in the gig economy continues to rise and organizations are eagerly tapping into this pool of workers to hire more people off their balance sheets. But how are the millennial gig workers faring? In which fields are they likely to find jobs? Are they earning enough to support themselves? A decade of data and research offers some answers.

Introduction

A growing body of research points to the growth of the alternative workforceparticularly as it relates to many millennials opting out of the traditional workforce. A recent 2017 study reports that overall self-employment is likely to triple to 42 million workers by 2020, with millennials leading the way. The study predicts that 42 percent of all self-employed individuals in the United States are likely to be millennials by 2020.1 As people consider new forms of employment, many organizations are turning toward the growing alternative workforce segment and seeking to hire more workers off their balance sheets as part of a workforce ecosystem.

How well do we understand what millennial alternative workers generally look like, do, and want? As more organizations begin to leverage this supply of talent, what story does the data tell about millennials working in the alternative workforce? In this article, we examine over a decade of data and research collected on millennials entering and exiting the alternative workforce to identify potentially notable or statistically significant trends over the years. The data appears to point to six emerging and notable trends that should be on the radar of any leader seeking to leverage the millennial alternative workforce:

The proportion of women in the millennial alternative workforce is shrinking, possibly because more millennial women than men are going back to school. The proportion of household income millennials receive from alternative work is increasing. Most alternative millennial workers make less than their traditional full-time employed counterparts. Millennial alternative workers are often supported by someone else in their household. Alternative millennial workers are more likely to find jobs in the arts, maintenance, and administrative professions. Alternative millennial workers appear to be more likely to break the rules, have emotional agility, and work hard.

Methodology and alternative workforce sample In 1997, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) began conducting interviews with individuals living in the United States who were born between 1980 and 1984 (as of 2013, their average age was 31). The study continued to gather detailed information on these individuals through 17 subsequent rounds. We examined data from these interviews beginning in 2003, when the subjects were between ages 19 and 23 (around the time they were most likely to enter the workforce) and ending in 2015, the last round for which data has been released. The data includes information regarding a persons household and geography; parents, family, and childhood; dating, marriage, and children; health, pregnancy, and fertility; crime and substance use; education, training, and achievement; employment, income, and assets; and attitudes and expectations. In total, more than 70,000 data points have been collected. The most powerful aspect of this information is its longitudinal nature. In the first round, 8,984 millennial individuals were interviewed, and nearly 80 percent of the sample (7,103 people) were also interviewed in round 17. For purposes of this article, we defined the millennial alternative worker as someone who received a portion of their income reported on US Form 1099 at the end of the year. These workers could have participated in the gig economy or may have started their own small businesses. Approximately 9 percent of the sample reported alternative work income, with alternative workers representing between 8.1 and 10.8 percent of the sample in various years.

Trend 1: The proportion of women in the millennial alternative workforce is shrinking, possibly because more millennial women than men are going back to school.

The BLS data shows that there is a slightly higher proportion of men than women in the millennial alternative workforce, with the difference in gender representation widening over time. In 2003, the millennial alternative workforce consisted of 52 percent men and 48 percent women; by 2015, that proportion had shifted to 60 percent men and only 40 percent women.

The decreasing percentage of women in the millennial alternative workforce may be because millennial women are more likely than millennial men to pursue secondary education, with some leaving the workforce (alternative or traditional) entirely to do so. Among the general millennial population, more millennial women are entering colleges than millennial men, and the women are completing their degrees faster than men.2 This trend could also explain our finding that among the millennial alternative workforce, women are more likely to hold a bachelors degree than men (figure 1).

With nearly 55 percent of the millennial alternative workforce in our study having yet to complete any postsecondary educationa similar proportion as in the overall millennial populationit is evident that, as some millennials make trade-off decisions related to college debt, many are forgoing the completion of additional education after high school and jumping into the labor market. However, when one looks at the trend line (see figure 2), it is also clear that many millennials are completing secondary education at their own pace, with millennial alternative workers doing so slightly later than the general millennial population.

The gender difference in the likelihood of pursuing a college degree, however, is unlikely to be the only reason why there are fewer women than men in the millennial alternative workforce. Some studies indicate that women may be facing higher barriers to entry into the alternative workforce related to a lack of access to networks, financial capital, and underrepresentation at incubators.3 As more millennials seek out alternative forms of work, ensuring there is broad access to financial capital and networks could be key to ensuring a diverse alternative workforce.

Trend 2: The proportion of individual income millennials receive from alternative work is increasing.

Alternative workforce participation increased sharply in 2007 and 2008 among the millennials studied. It is likely that the recession may be a cause for the increased participation as Millennials are recorded as facing high barriers of entry to the job market. Nearly 14 percent of the millennial generational cohort was unemployed during 20072008.4 (Another explanation may be a decreased participation from females reporting income from alternative work.) While alternative millennial workforce participation may be slightly decreasing, the amount of overall income received from alternative work is increasing, meaning more participants seem to be going all in when they do participate in alternative worker arrangements (see figure 3).

Trend 3: Most alternative millennial workers make less than their traditional full-time employed counterparts.

In general, the alternative millennial worker has consistently lagged behind peers in regards to individual income earned (figure 4). There may, however, be a silver lining: In 2015, the millennial alternative worker reported a big jump in earnings moving from median income of $30,720 in 2013 to $38,000 (see figure 4). While the general millennial population also showed a big earnings jump during this period, in percentage terms, it was not as significant as that of those who reported alternative income.

Organizational leaders seeking high quality work from the alternative workforce may be better positioned to recruit contract workers based on fair market pay. A recent study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that organizations can save up to 30 percent of labor costs by opting for a contract worker over a full-time one.5 It may be no surprise then that another study found 43 percent of all alternative workers citing insufficient pay as their reason for leaving the gig economy.6

Too often it seems the alternative workforce is seen as a way for organizations to cut costs, rather than create greater value and leverage within their operations. No wonder then that many organizations feel they do not get the same quality of work output from the alternative workforce. Not only does seeing alternative work as a cost-cutting exercise potentially diminish the quality and value workers offer back to the organization, it can also make these workers feel at a disadvantage if they are not paid fair market wages, as they are not receiving the typical longer-term incentives, such as health benefits, and retirement savings programs that traditional full-time employees receive. We suggest that organizational leaders who leverage the alternative workforce as a creative way to capture untapped value would be better positioned against competitors who leverage alternative workers as a way to cut costs. Doing so will require creative ways to engage the alternative worker in the organizations culture and ensuring fair market pay.7

Trend 4: Millennial gig workers are often supported by someone else in their household.

As many millennial alternative workers reported lower earnings compared to the general millennial population, it is no surprise that many are likely to have a household member helping offset daily expenses. Figure 5 shows the percentage of income millennials in the sample contribute to their overall household. For example, the data shows that at 21, millennials in both the general and alternative workforce were contributing approximately 20 percent of the overall household earnings. With age, the general millennial population has trended toward greater household contributions than the alternative worker. In the most recent data collection, at 33, the general millennial population contributed approximately 57 percent to the overall household earnings, while the alternative worker lagged behind at 51 percent.

This trend caused us to dig deeper to determine who most alternative workers were likely to live with (figure 6). Data shows that the alternative worker is less likely than the traditional full-time employee to live alone or with a parent. Rather, most of the millennial gig workers live with a spouse or opt for other living arrangements such as a roommate. Most alternative workers are likely to seek support as they build their businesses and may rely on others in their household for doing so.

Trend 5: Alternative millennial workers are more likely to find jobs in the arts, maintenance, and administrative professions.

Analyzing the data, we found that most alternative workers were finding their work in three distinct categories, in the arts, maintenance, and construction fields as well as administrative roles, and across two sectors, professional services and manufacturing (see figure 7). Likewise, alternative work is declining in administrative support roles, such as receptionists, mail carriers, data entry, and tellers. This is likely explained by the increased use of technology in such areas. The finance, insurance, and real estate industries also saw decreased millennial alternative workers in roles such as banking, insurance, and real estate agents. Alternative workers are likely to continue to hone their craft and become specialized in their chosen field, be it in the arts, manufacturing, or professional services. Organizations should seek to further develop and provide project-based opportunities for these workers to gain greater expertise in their chosen skill.

Trend 6: Millennial gig workers appear more likely to break the rules, have emotional agility, and work hard.

The last trend we explored within the data was possible distinctive personality test traits that emerged as more statistically different than the general millennial population. These traits were derived from the NLYS97 database through the personality questionnaires collected throughout the years that measured millennials attitudes, expectations, and beliefs. Within our analyses we found that millennial gig workers are more likely to score higher on the emotional agility, hard worker, and breaking the rules questions than traditional full-time millennial workers.8 For example, millennial gig workers are more likely than the general millennial population to rate themselves as dependable and self-disciplined, extraverted and enthusiastic, and being open to new experiences. They were also more likely to score higher on questions such as I do not intend to follow every little rule. As a result, entrepreneurial jobs may have appeared attractive to the millennial alternative worker.

Conclusion

The alternative workforce is likely to only continue to grow each year as organizations seek to expand the reach of their workforce, and individuals, especially millennials, carve out different modes of working.9 As a result, organizational leaders should look beyond traditional resumes and enterprise employment models to find talent. For example, when considering the alternative workforce, limiting criteria to a college degree could overlook talented workers who are specialized in a particular skill, trade, or experience. Another concern for millennials may be that of income for alternative workers. As mentioned in previous reports, it may take aligning individuals, organizations, and societies in a common direction to help fulfill the changing needs of the worker and workplace.10 In addition, organizations seeking to not only attract but retrain alternative workers may be wise to take a close look at the financial and learning and development mechanisms that alternative workers may be actively seeking as they continue to grow and expand their businesses.

To learn more, read our research about extending your organizations culture beyond your campus and balance sheets.
- John Dumelo is seen singing for his wife Gifty Mawunya during private wedding in Accra

- The ceremony was attended by many top citizens and celebrities

Award-winning Ghanaian actor, John Dumelo, on May 12, 2018, said 'I do' to Gifty Mawunya and the two got married at a star-studded private ceremony in Spintex, a suburb of Accra.

Many people were caught off guard by the wedding ceremony since there was no hint of it happening until Friday, May 11, when some rumors started going round about the upcoming wedding.

John Dumelo with his wife Mawunya

READ ALSO: Ernest Opoku, Adom FM report Nayas to Nima Police over beating incident

Many social media users were desperate to find out who the lucky woman getting married to arguably, Ghanas hottest actor, John Dumelo.

However, one of the major highlights of the wedding ceremony was when John Dumelo grabbed the microphone at his own wedding to sing a song to the admiration of his family and that of his wifes family.

It is purported that he was made to sing the song in the presence of his wife and all the other people who were present to witness the engagement.

In the video spotted on social media, John Dumelo sang Amazing Grace with the help of a lady believed to be the emcee at the event.

Video Credit: Ghanaweb

READ ALSO: Nana Ama McBrown reveals her real age and it is not 44 years old

John Dumelos wife is reported to be the sister of actress and TV personality, Selassie Ibrahim who is alleged to be an NDC sympathizer and also doubles as the manageress of Smarttys.

She is also believed to be a PhD holder and works with a top firm in Ghana

YEN.com.gh gathered that Mawunya, is a very close friend of award-winning actress Nadia Buari who was the brain or betweener in her relationship with John.

The wedding was attending by many high and mighty individuals in Ghana and beyond.

Among the star-studded guests at the wedding were ex-president John Mahama, Yvonne Nelson, Joselyn Dumas, Prince David Osei, Kwame A-Plus and Nigerias Ramsey Nouah.

However, news was rife that John Dumelo reportedly dated a lady for 4 years only to dump her and get married to Mawunya 2 weeks after the separation.

READ ALSO: Ernest Opoku "milked me" dry  Nayas cries in latest video

Top 7 worst jobs on earth in 2018:

YEN is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident?

Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Send us a message via YENs official Facebook page.

Source: Yen
Ghanaian media personality, Afia Schwarzenegger, has hinted of deep cracks within Zylofon Media.

According to a report by MyNewsGH.com, she stated that no representative of Zylofon Media was present when the music artiste launched her Kora Spa in Accra.

She went on to say that there were neither photos nor comments on any of Zylofons official channels to promote the work of their artiste.

READ ALSO: Sarkodie's artiste reportedly bags GHc70,000 to GHc100,000 per song

Even after the launch of the spa, Afia went on, Zylofon Media is yet to officially congratulate their artiste for her latest achievement.

These indications, she went on, create the impression that there were serious issues in the company that needed urgent attention.

Becca

Afias social media fans, as usual, reacted in different ways:

@angelatetteh simply laughed: "Hahahaaa, you are too much; i love you"

@ekwarteng68 exclaimed: "True ooo, you have now drawn my attention to it @queenafiaschwarzenegger"

@kwesikyereboah simply wrote: "Afia, I just love you ; God bless you..."

About a week ago, YEN.com.gh reported that Becca has opened an ultra  modern spa in Accra.

READ ALSO: University graduate becomes a cobbler in Accra

Top 7 Worst Jobs in the World in 2018 | Yen.com.gh:

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Source: Yen.com.gh
Celebrated Ghanaian actor, now a preacher, Pastor Majid Michel has advised the latest celebrity couple in town, John and Mawunya Dumelo days after their splash wedding in Accra.

The popular Ghanaian actor on Saturday with his girlfriend, tied the knot in a lavish wedding at a private ceremony that got everyone talking on various social media platforms.

John Dumelo and wife, Gifty Mawunya

READ ALSO: John Dumelo sings to the hearing of his new wife in latest video

The wedding ceremony which brought a number of Ghanaian and Nigerian celebrities together, also saw former Ghanaian leader, John Dramani Mahama in attendance.

However, days after the marriage ceremony, Majid Michel took to his social media page to offer his industry colleague, John Dumelo, an important marriage advice in order to sustain his union.

Majid, who is now known to be a preacher, in an Instagram post counseled Dumelo to cherish and offer Gifty his sincerest love until his last breath.

Pastor Majid also insisted that the only way John and Gifty can make their marriage stand test of time is to place Jesus at the center of their union.

READ ALSO: I will chase Ernest Opoku out of every Church  Angry Nayas drops another hot audio

He further shared a photo of John kissing Giftys ring with the caption, Let Jesus in. He is what you need. We choose to Love. Love is a choice not a feeling. Your hand has already been taken. Your life long promise should always stand. Until your last breath you will always hold her hand.

Pastor Majid also added that, Through everything shes half of you. Even though you may not always agree, you shall never part. This world may not be fair, but through sickness and in health, promise to be there.

Majid in a further address to John Dumelo revealed that,To make her happy, thats your only wish. To love and obey is also part of your promise. Anytime things get rough, always remember, sometimes God let you hit rock bottom so that you will discover that He is the Rock at the bottom.

READ ALSO: Omar Sterling of R2bees breaks silence on Patapaa in a latest video

Yen.com.gh is building a platform where Ghanaians can share local news and own experiences with each other. Witnessing an incident? Want to tell about a local problem? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Message us on Facebook.

Source: Yen
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Kathmandu, Nepal: A Sherpa climber, Ang Dawa Sherpa, 32, died of altitude-related sickness on Mt Makalu on Sunday night.





Sherpa had died at the Makalu base camp last night while returning from the summit point of Mt Makalu. Mount Makalu is the fifth highest mountain in the world.





Though Sherpa had complained of altitude-related sickness at Camp II on Monday, he was not rescued citing adverse weather.





It is said that deceased Sherpa was a part of a four-member Chinese expedition team that was in a Trek at Mt Makalu since Sunday.




Guwahati, May 14 : Assam Rifles had apprehended an illegal arms dealer and seized arms in Nagaland.





According to the reports, Medziphema battalion of Assam Rifles under the aegis of HQ IGAR (North) conducted an operation alongwith a police representative in general area Chumukdema.





During the operation Assam Rifles troops apprehended an illegal arms dealer with illegal weapon.





The arms dealer was identified as Zhovi.





The nabbed arms dealer had revealed the details of the arms supplier following which the Assam Rifles troops apprehended Udit Gogoi from Virouzuma village, Chumukedima.





The recoveries from the operation included one point 22 mm pistol with magazine and one live round of point 22mm ammunition.





The apprehendees along with recovered items were handed over to Chumukedima Police Station, Dimapur for further investigation.




Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepal Students Union (NSU), the student organization aligned to the Nepal Congress, staged a demonstration program to protest the remark made by Kirti Azad, the lawmaker from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in Kathmandu on Tuesday.





A demonstration program was organized about one hour at Ghantaghar of Kathmandu area. Hundreds of thousand students had participated at the demonstration.





The BJP lawmaker had made the statement when the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on a State visit to Nepal that Janakpur should be brought back to India, referring to the treaty of 1950.




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CIBJO, the World Jewellery Confederation, will hold its 2018 annual congress in Bogota, Colombia, October 15-17, with pre-congress meetings beginning on October 13.

The congress will be hosted by Fedesmeraldas, the National Federation of Emeralds of Colombia, which this year will be a celebrating the 20th anniversary of its founding. Immediately prior to the event, from October 12 to 14, Fedesmeraldas will also host the second edition of the World Emerald Symposium, which CIBJO Congress participants are encouraged to attend.

The main venue for the CIBJO Congress will be the Grand Hyatt Bogota, which is located in the heart of Ciudad Empresarial Sarmiento Angulo, the city's commercial district.

CIBJO Congresses serve as the official gathering place for the World Jewellery Confederation's Assembly of Delegates, and also are the venue for the annual meetings of CIBJO's sectoral commissions, where amendments can be introduced to the organisation's definitive directories of international industry standards for diamonds, coloured stones, pearls, gem labs, precious metals and coral, known as the Blue Books.

This is the second time that a CIBJO Congress will have been held in South America, with the first having taken place in Salvador, Brazil, in 2015. As Latin America's fourth largest economy, Colombia is synonymous with the fine emerald sector, which is anchored by a mining industry that has functioned uninterrupted since the rule of the Incas, and archaeological evidence indicates that gemstones were already being mined in the area more than 3,000 years ago. The country also has substantial gold reserves, and is a producer of silver and platinum. Bogota, its capital and primary business hub, is home to an emerald sorting, cutting and trade centre, as well as a growing jewellery industry and trade.

"In so many respects, Colombia represents both the past and the future of our industry," said Gaetano Cavalieri, CIBJO President. "It has been associated with the very finest of gemstones for centuries, but from a business perspective has still only scratched the surface of its potential, with studies indicating that about 80 percent of its vast emerald reserves still remain under the ground. The country's government and gemstone industry are committed to a programme that involves formalising the status of its artisanal and smaller-scale miners, enabling them to access the international markets, and so realize our business community's potential of being a force for sustainable economic and social development".

A dedicated CIBJO Congress 2018 website will be launched shortly.

Alex Shishlo, Editor of the Rough&Polished European Bureau in Brussels


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Greetings! I am a political scientist , specializing in International Relations , my research and teaching focus on ethnic conflict and civil-military relations . I watch way too much TV, and I like movies as well so I tend to write about both and find IR stuff in pop culture. I rant alot about American politics and sometimes about Canadian politics. I like to take ideas I once learned a long time ago and apply them to whatever strikes my fancy.


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May-15-2018 16:00 TweetFollow @OregonNews Germany's New Right Wing The clash of cultures has created some problems.

19 December 2016, a truck was deliberately driven into the Christmas market next to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church at Breitscheidplatz in Berlin, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured.

Photo: Andreas Trojak

(OLDENBURG, Germany) - Since parliamentary democracy was restored in Germany after World War Two, several right-wing parties have sought to get the required 5% of the popular vote to be represented in parliament. They all failed until 2017. In that election a new right-wing party, Alternatives for Deutschland (AfD), won 13% of the vote, making them the third most powerful party, ahead of the Greens, the Lefts, and the Liberals. They also won many seats in the individual state parliaments and one seat in the European Parliament. Exit polls showed, though, that most people who voted for them werent convinced by their overall program but only by one aspect of it: their strong opposition to the governments permissive refugee policy. Germany has taken in over two million refugees from the Mideast wars, far more than any other country. The equivalent for the US population would be eight million refugees, double the number of people in Los Angeles. This has created an enormous financial and cultural strain in a country that historically has had little immigration. It comes at a time when poverty is increasing and social services are being reduced. The once-generous welfare state is being dismantled. This financial squeeze is worsening now because of expenses for the refugees. The two million newcomers receive enough money to live on plus free healthcare, education, and access to special programs. Some cheat on this, registering in several places under different names and getting multiple benefits. Many Germans resent paying for all this with high taxes while their own standard of living is declining. The clash of cultures has created other problems. Two-thirds of the refugees are young men, some of them convinced God has ordained males to dominate females. In their view, women who arent submissive need to be punished. Since being male is the only power many of them have, they feel threatened by women in positions of power, and they sometimes react with hostility. Over a thousand women have been physically attacked -- some murdered and raped and many aggressively grabbed on the breasts as a way of showing dominance. Tens of thousands of women have been abused -- insulted, harassed, spat on. Some examples: New Year's Eve sexual assaults in Germany German foreign policy is also part of the problem. Many refugees are aware that Germany, as a member of NATO, supports these wars that have forced them to flee their homes. Theyre not fooled by the rhetoric of humanitarian intervention. They know NATOs motives are imperialistic: to install governments agreeable to Western control of their resources and markets. Although they are now safe, their relatives and friends are still being killed with weapons made in Germany and oppressed by soldiers and police trained and financed by Germany. Rather than a grateful attitude, some have come with a resentful one. A few ISIS and al-Qaeda members, determined to drive all forms of Western imperialism from their lands, have come to murder and maim. For instance: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Berlin_attack Crime has increased, especially violent crimes such as knife attacks. Police and others have been killed and wounded by refugees. Many Germans are incensed by this behavior. Because AfD is the only party that demands a sharp reduction in refugees, theyve benefited from an enormous protest vote. One factor in their success is that they dont come across as extremists. Although their policies are reactionary, bigoted, and anti-Muslim, they present them with a populist rhetoric that seems moderate, emphasizing the defense of Western cultural values. Rather than eliminate immigration, they want to limit it. They are pro Christian and support the nuclear family structure and traditional gender divisions but arent as rabid about it as, for instance, conservative Christians in the USA. Their proposals for social services -- healthcare, welfare, unemployment insurance, education -- are more liberal than the Democrats in the USA. They call for more direct democracy such as voter initiatives and referendums. The AfD are not fascists. They are more like a stodgy, crabby old uncle. That doesnt mean theyre not dangerous, though. They now have a national platform for propagating their right-wing program. They have the power to block progressive legislation and influence governmental appointments. But theyre not a resurgence of Nazism. That specter is a media myth. Of the two million refugees, those who cause problems are only a small minority. Most of the newcomers have a positive attitude. They are getting a fresh start in life, recovering from trauma, getting an education, learning new skills. Theyve been introduced to other cultural possibilities. Women in particular are responding favorably to this new environment. Seeing how women here live, some of the refugees are beginning to free themselves from patriarchal bondage. With help from German feminists they are developing the energy and determination to challenge male rule and change the conditions of their lives. Thats the real Alternative for Deutschland  and for the Mideast. _________________________________________ William T. Hathaway is a refugee from the USA now living in Germany. His environmental novel, Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness, tells of an old woman and a young man working together to defeat the corporations that control our shrinking water supplies: www.cosmicegg-books.com/books/wellsprings. _________________________________________

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Articles for May 15, 2018 | Articles for May 16, 2018




e-STEM or e-STEAM - STEM or STEAM curriculum with an environmental focus.





FACMAC - Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee. A district committee comprises of an all-volunteer citizen group created in 2012 to help bring research and ideas to capacity management issues in the district.



FERPA - Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law that protects students' privacy



FRL - Free and reduced lunch.



FTE - Full Time Equivalent



FY - Fiscal Year



Highly Capable Services - NEW name (as of 2014) as umbrella name for these programs: Highly Capable Cohort (formerly APP), Spectrum and ALO (Advanced Learning Opportunities).



HSPE - High School Proficiency Exam, state assessment that replaced the WASL for 10th graders, required for graduation



HQT - Highly Qualified Teacher, a standard set by federal law



IA - Instructional Assistant



IB - International Baccalaureate program. An international program of advanced classes that can either be taken as stand alone or as part of an overall IB program.



IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law that governs special education



IEP - Individual Educational Plan, a federal requirement for students with disabilities (special education)



JSCEE - John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (see headquarters)



MAP - Measures of Academic Progress. A computer-based adaptive assessment made by NWEA and originally purchased by the district for use as a district-wide formative assessment but now used for a wide variety of purposes.



MSP - Measurement of Student Progress, the state proficiency assessment that replaced the WASL for students in grades 1-8





NCLB - No Child Left Behind, a provision of the federal education law, ESEA, introduced during the George W. Bush administration



OSPI - Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction



PCP - Planning, Conference and Preparation



PD - Professional Development

PG & E - Professional Growth and Evaluation, the teacher (and principal) evaluation procedure



RIF - Reduction in Force



RttT - Race to the Top, see Arne Duncan



RIT - Rasch Unit - scoring used in MAP testing

RTI - Response to Intervention, the old name for MTSS



SBE - State Board of Education (or BOE)



SEA - Seattle Education Association (Seattle Teachers' union)



SEAC - Special Education Advisory Committee



SIT - School Intervention Team

STEAM - Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math



STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.



TIF - Teacher Incentive Fund



WASL - Washington Assessment of Student Learning (former state test)



WSF - Weighted Student Formula, the old method of determining school funding



WSS - Weighted Staffing Standards, the current method of determining school funding



MTSS - Multi-Tiered Systems of Support- No Child Left Behind, a provision of the federal education law, ESEA, introduced during the George W. Bush administration- Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction- Planning, Conference and Preparation- Professional Development - Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee. A district committee comprises of an all-volunteer citizen group created in 2012 to help bring research and ideas to capacity management issues in the district.- Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law that protects students' privacy- Free and reduced lunch.- Full Time Equivalent- Fiscal YearHighly Capable Services - NEW name (as of 2014) as umbrella name for these programs: Highly Capable Cohort (formerly APP), Spectrum and ALO (Advanced Learning Opportunities).- High School Proficiency Exam, state assessment that replaced the WASL for 10th graders, required for graduation- Highly Qualified Teacher, a standard set by federal law- Instructional Assistant- International Baccalaureate program. An international program of advanced classes that can either be taken as stand alone or as part of an overall IB program.- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law that governs special education- Individual Educational Plan, a federal requirement for students with disabilities (special education)- John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence (see headquarters)- Measures of Academic Progress. A computer-based adaptive assessment made by NWEA and originally purchased by the district for use as a district-wide formative assessment but now used for a wide variety of purposes.- Measurement of Student Progress, the state proficiency assessment that replaced the WASL for students in grades 1-8

Note: not a complete list. Here's a link to the district's list. - SPS' three-tier program for advanced learners. Made up of APP, Spectrum and ALOs. (Note: the name of the district program is "Advanced Learning Services and Programs" but these three programs fall under "Highly Capable Services" of AL Services and Programs.- Advanced Learning Opportunity, the third tier of SPS' Advanced Learning program- Advanced Placement. A national program of college-level classes given in high schools.- Accelerated Progress Program. One of the levels of the Advanced Learning Program. NOTE: the name of this program is now "HIGHLY CAPABLE COHORT." This change occurred in 2014.- Associated Student Body. High school leadership groups.Adequate Yearly Progress. Part of NCLB.- Building Excellence. SPS' capital renovation/rebuilding program that is funded via the BEX levy. Every 3 years there is the Operations levy and either the BEX or BTA levies as those two levies rotate in six year cycles).- Building Leadership Team. Staff members at a school who meet regularly to discuss building issues.Buildings, Technology, Academics. The major maintenance/other capital fund for SPS. Originally BTA was to cover major maintenance like HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), roofs, waterlines, etc.) but now covers wide swaths of items like athletic fields, technology and funding academic needs.- Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. Created by former Superintendent Manhas in 2008, to issue a report about reform recommendations for SPS.- Continuous School Improvement Plan, the plan for improvement for each school as required by state law.- Career and Technical Education (formerly Voc Ed)- Essential Academic Learning Requirement- Everyday Math, the board-adopted instructional materials for elementary math- English Language Learners- End of Course Assessments, given in math and science, required for high school graduation
If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE).
 Interesting accounting of history and modern realities of victims' rights | Main | Puzzling through the current politics of pursuing federal statutory criminal justice reforms 

May 14, 2018

"Killer Nanny" gets LWOP sentence plus 50 years for murdering kids in her care

Though I am never quite sure how often to blog about individual cases, I sometimes cannot resist reporting on the high-profile sentencing of defendants who get notorious monikers. Today, as reported in this New York Daily News piece, the "Killer Nanny" got sentenced. Here are some details:

The Upper West Side nanny who butchered two helpless children in 2012 was sentenced to life in prison without parole plus 50 years Monday, capping a harrowing story that has gripped the city for nearly six years. Yoselyn Ortega, 55, was convicted of first-degree murder on April 18 after a heartbreaking two-month trial in Manhattan Supreme Court. The conviction, which carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole, sealed her fate of never seeing the light of day as a free woman. It provided a much-needed measure of relief for the parents of 6-year-old Lulu and 2-year-old Leo Krim, who were savagely slain in the bathroom of their W. 75th St. home on Oct. 25, 2012, while the mom was out at a swim class with their middle sibling Nessie, then 3. The children's parents, Kevin Krim, 42, and Marina Krim, issued statements thanking the judge and jurors and the district attorney's office. Marina Krim, 41, went a step further, and called out the "evil defendant" and her "entire family of bad, unethical people." Her husband echoed her sentiments, but dedicated his statement to memories of their two slain children.... At trial, Ortega's lawyer argued she should be found not responsible by reason of mental disease or defect  a bid the jury rejected after weeks of psychiatric testimony from experts on both sides. Ortega stabbed and slashed the adorable children in the rear bathroom of the second-floor apartment of the La Rochelle before plunging a kitchen knife into her own throat in a failed suicide attempt. She settled her affairs by leaving her important documents for her sister and family heirlooms for her 17-year-old son  which prosecutors argued was proof she was of sound mind when she planned the unthinkable acts of that day. Assistant District Attorney Stuart Silberg argued she was driven by spite aimed at Marina and rage over her own personal failures. "It was her intention to take their lives and to destroy the family," he said at the sentencing. "This defendant to this day has shown no remorse. She has never shed a tear for these children. Why isn't she in tears now?" Little Lulu, who desperately tried to defend herself, sustained about 30 knife wounds, many defensive, while her kid brother suffered about five. Ortega cut them both across the throat leaving the tots no chance for survival. "Every stab, every slash  each one had a purpose and that purpose was to end the lives of those children," Silberg argued in summations.... Ortega also cried a little just before the sentence was imposed, framing herself as the real victim. "I'm very sorry for everything that happened, but I hope that no one goes through what I have gone through," she told the court.

May 14, 2018 at 05:03 PM | Permalink

Comments

Is mental illness a mitigating or an aggravating factor in sentencing?

Posted by: David Behar | May 14, 2018 7:52:26 PM

DB will never be condemned.

Posted by: Claudio Giusti | May 15, 2018 10:23:25 AM

Claudio. People whose incomes depend on protecting the criminal are continually, and viciously attacking me, on this blog. They all want me gone. Why? They make their living from the criminal. The victims generates no income, and may rot.

Posted by: David Behar | May 15, 2018 11:38:03 AM

Protecting the rights of the accused, you fascist idiot.

Posted by: Claudio Giusti | May 15, 2018 5:20:23 PM

These rights are all invented, false, and fraudulent. They are not rights to be freed if innocent. They are rights to an infinity of procedures to generate fraudulent lawyer jobs. The American lawyer learned this shit from the Inquisitors. The Inquisition business model lasted 700 years. When you look at the splendor of Vatican, how do you think that was financed? Was it from the money offered in collection boxes?

The first Inquisition ended when French patriots beheaded and expelled 10,000 high church officials. That is the model to remedy the Inquisition 2.0, as well.

Posted by: David Behar | May 16, 2018 11:10:01 AM

disgustin idiot !!!! Retaded fascist !!!

Posted by: Claudio Giusti | May 16, 2018 4:05:05 PM

Post a comment
 Thoughtful BBC series of articles on "Criminal myths: Misconceptions about criminals and crime" | Main | "The Right to Two Criminal Defense Lawyers" 

May 15, 2018

Lots of juvenile sentencing developments as Oklahoma sorts through application of Miller

Last week brought interesting developments in the arena of juvenile sentencing in Oklahoma thanks to all three branches of the state government. As this local article details, the Oklahoma legislature earlier this month passed, with some controversy, a new law to seeking to operationalize existing Eighth Amendment limits on LWOP sentences for juveniles:

Senate Bill 1221 would put sentencing for teen killers in the hands of a judge, not the jury that convicted them.... The bill passed Wednesday in the state Senate would require judges to determine sentencing based on a number of factors including the underage killers maturity, psych tests, and take jurys out of the sentencing equation. But some lawmakers cried foul. We are going to circumvent an Americans right to equal protection under the law because the kid is 17 years old not 21, said Senator AJ Griffin (R) Guthrie.... Its disrespectful to the citizens of this state that elected us and put us here in order to do our job. If an adult deserves a jury a kid deserves a jury, Senator Griffin said.

As this excerpt indirectly reveals, because jury sentencing is the norm in Oklahoma, this new law would have created a distinctive judge-centric sentencing procedure just for juvenile murders in Oklahoma. But before Oklahoma's Governor acted on this bill, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals (the state's highest criminal court) handed down a big new juve sentencing ruling in Stevens v. Oklahoma, 2018 OK CR 11 (Ok. Crim. App. May 10, 2018) (available here). Stevens is yet another notable example of another state court working through just how Miller and Montgomery should be applied, and it includes these notable passages (with most cites removed):

In all future trials where the State intends to seek a sentence of life without the possibility of parole for an offender who committed his or her offense under the age of eighteen (18) years of age the State shall give notice of this fact by stating at the bottom of the Information in bold type: "The State is seeking the punishment of life without the possibility of parole for the offense of Murder in the First Degree, as Defendant (state last name here) is irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible." See Parker v. State, 1996 OK CR 19,  24, 917 P.2d 980, 986 (adopting notice pleading). Both parties shall be afforded full discovery on this issue in accordance with established discovery law. 22 O.S.2011,  2001 et seq. The assigned trial judge has the authority under our Discovery Code to issue any orders necessary to accomplish this task. The Sixth Amendment demands that the trial necessary to impose life without parole on a juvenile homicide offender must be a trial by jury, unless a jury is affirmatively waived. Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000). The defendant's trial shall be bifurcated and the issue of the defendant's guilt shall be separately determined from the enhancement of his or her sentence.... [E]ach party shall be afforded the opportunity to present evidence in support of its position as to punishment in the second stage of the trial. The trial court shall submit a special issue to the jury as to whether the defendant is irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible.... It is the State's burden to prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant is irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible. Luna, 2016 OK CR 27,  21 n. 11, 387 P.3d at 963 n. 11; see also Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584 (2002) (holding facts increasing punishment beyond the maximum authorized by a guilty verdict must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt). The State shall have the opportunity to present any evidence tending to establish this fact subject to the limitations of 12 O.S.2011,  2403. Generally, this will include, but not be limited to, evidence concerning the defendant's: (1) sophistication and maturity; (2) capability of distinguishing right from wrong; (3) family and home environments; (4) emotional attitude; (5) pattern of living; (6) record and past history, including previous contacts with law enforcement agencies and juvenile or criminal courts, prior periods of probation and commitments to juvenile institutions; and (7) the likelihood of the defendant's rehabilitation during adulthood. See Luna, 2016 OK CR 27,  20, 387 P.3d at 962; Cf. 10A O.S.2011,  2-5-205(E). Similarly, the defendant must be permitted to introduce relevant evidence concerning the defendant's youth and its attendant characteristics. Miller, 567 U.S. at 489 ("[A] judge or jury must have the opportunity to consider mitigating circumstances before imposing the harshest possible penalty for a juveniles."). Generally, this will include, but not be limited to, evidence concerning the defendant's: "(1) chronological age and its hallmark features--among them, immaturity, impetuosity, and failure to appreciate risks and consequences; (2) the incompetencies associated with youth--for example, his inability to deal with police officers or prosecutors (including on a plea agreement) or his incapacity to assist his own attorneys; and (3) whether the circumstances suggest possibility of rehabilitation." Luna, 2016 OK CR 27,  20, 387 P.3d at 962 (quotations and citation omitted). If the sentencer unanimously finds that the defendant is irreparably corrupt and permanently incorrigible it is then authorized to consider imposing a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. If the sentencer does not make this finding it is prohibited from considering a sentence of life without the possibility of parole and may only impose a sentence of life imprisonment.

Notably, Oklahoma's Governor followed up all this activity by vetoing the bill that would allow for juvenile sentencing to be before a judge. Gov Mary Fallin's veto statement here states:

Senate Bill 1221, also known as the Alyssa Wiles Juvenile Life Without Parole Sentencing Act, has provisions that, are in my opinion, in violation of the United States Supreme Court decision in Miller v. Alabama, 567 U.S. 460, 132 SCt. 2455, 183 L.Ed.2d 407. That decision was followed by the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals in its decision rendered May 10, 2018, in Roberts A. Stevens v. The State of Oklahoma. Case No. PC-2017-219.

In case anyone cares, I believe there is at least a plausible argument that Apprendi jurisprudence does not demand that a jury make the essential "findings" that Miller and Montgomery seem to make constitutionally required under the Eighth Amendment for sentencing a juvenile to life without parole. Readers with long memories may recall that I have long argued that Blakely's Sixth Amendment rule makes most sense only when applied to offense facts rather than to offender characteristics. The Supreme Court has vaguely, but not conclusively, rejected such a conceptual distinction in the reach of the Sixth Amendment. But even though I can see possible constitutional uncertainty as to how offender-eligibility factors are must be adjudicated under the Supreme Court's Sixth and Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, I think it may well be sound practice for these kinds of determinations to be given to juries (perhaps particularly in a state with a strong tradition of jury involvement in sentencing decision-making).

May 15, 2018 at 03:41 PM | Permalink

Comments

Daniel once correctly stated, these tests were validated for educational decision making, not for culpability nor for sentencing. They are highly validated. So, a kid with a high IQ at 7 will be prosperous at 57.

So guess what. The lawyer has made it illegal to use them to make educational placement decision. Blacks have low IQ's, and the test is deemed racist.

So, guess what. The lawyer is using this test, not to get a student extra help in special education, but to put adults to death or not, and to sentence youth to long prison terms or not.

So guess what. The judge is now supposed to use these tests to predict the future.

Is my use of the phrase, guess what, getting annoying? Guess what, so is the stupidity of the lawyer profession.

Posted by: David Behar | May 15, 2018 10:20:55 PM

"Blacks have low IQ's," is not a constructive addition to any conversation.

You might as well eliminate the comments section. It's just a platform for David Behar, a man who ought to create his own blog if only to assist the rest of us in ignoring him more efficiently.

Posted by: Anonymous | May 17, 2018 9:35:29 AM

Anonymous: David does have his own blog, but it seems to get ignored like many of his repetitive comments here. I have taken to deleting some of his most tiresome comments, but I may need to do more.

Posted by: Doug B | May 17, 2018 10:30:57 AM

Post a comment
 "Killer Nanny" gets LWOP sentence plus 50 years for murdering kids in her care | Main | Thoughtful BBC series of articles on "Criminal myths: Misconceptions about criminals and crime" 

Rolling Stone has this notable new report on the latest politics surround federal criminal justice reform efforts under the headline "'We Don't Have to Worry About Senator Sessions': A look inside the Congressional battle for criminal justice reform." Here are excerpts:

Less than one month ago, there was no hope for any meaningful criminal justice reform to make its way out of this Republican-controlled Congress. But last week a large, bipartisan block of members of the House Judiciary Committee passed a narrow prison reform bill aimed at stemming the recidivism rate. That tees it up for a floor vote, even as many political watchers have predicted most major legislative efforts will be put on hold until after voters go to their polling booths in November.

"This is just a money and morals issue for me," Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), who is one of the bill's lead authors, tells Rolling Stone. "It's about money that we're saving by not only redirecting that in our prison system, but also the moral aspect that everybody deserves a second chance."

Collins was able to revive the effort by massaging the bill with his ally Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who represents Brooklyn and Queens and is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus. The legislation sailed through their House committee by a lopsided 25-5 vote, but it faces stiff opposition in the Senate from those who want it to go much further in overhauling the nation's system of mandatory minimum prison sentences that critics say constrain the nation's judges and have left prisons brimming with nonviolent drug offenders.

"I'm disappointed, but it doesn't change anything that we have to do over here," Sen. Chuck Grassley, the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, tells Rolling Stone. "[Senate Minority Whip Dick] Durbin and I are working together to make sure that if there's going to be anything done on criminal justice reform, it's going to contain sentencing reform."...

Collins says they were able to revive the bill in the House because they narrowed its scope to win over Attorney General Jeff Sessions. "We're not dealing with sentencing reform at this point, and he understood that," Collins said.

In response to reports that Sessions supported the measure, a DOJ official tells Rolling Stone that Sessions did not, in fact, sign off on the House bill, and that he opposes it. The official refused to elaborate on reasons why.

But Grassley maintains the attorney general is irrelevant on the issue  even though he's the top law enforcement official in the nation. "We don't have to worry about Senator Sessions," Grassley tells Rolling Stone. "Why's that?"

"We don't have to worry about Senator Sessions," he repeated. "You don't have to know why. We just don't have to worry about him." Grassley's staff refused to answer questions as to whether the senator has been assured that Trump would sign a mandatory minimum bill over Sessions' protest, or, on a more sinister note, whether Grassley believes Sessions will remain in his current position as attorney general.

Independent of Sessions, however, it's unclear whether there's enough support in Congress to pass criminal justice reform that leaves mandatory minimums untouched. Supporters of the House bill argue that doing anything to help current prisoners escape the incarceration cycle is better than not sitting idly by.

"[Sessions] is an impediment, and I'd suspect Trump's people are basically against sentencing reform," Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) tells Rolling Stone. "To get sentencing reform is probably going to necessitate a Democratic Congress, so that'll come next year. There's no reason to have people sit in a jail for another year when they don't need to be."
 Puzzling through the current politics of pursuing federal statutory criminal justice reforms | Main | Lots of juvenile sentencing developments as Oklahoma sorts through application of Miller 

May 15, 2018

Thoughtful BBC series of articles on "Criminal myths: Misconceptions about criminals and crime"

I just came across this series of special articles via BBC Future under the headine "Criminal Myths." Here is how this introductory piece sets up what follows:

In both the UK and the US violent crime has recently been rising, records show. There are now also record numbers of individuals behind bars around the world, about 10.35 million, a figure that has increased by 20% in under two decades. The highest number of these are in the United States, where those convicted are serving increasingly long sentences. Among the prison population, 70,000 are women and girls, a figure that has been rising higher than for males. A high proportion of women behind bars have mental health problems and have been victims of abuse. Despite these rises, we are not living in the most violent era of history (in 1991 the violent crime figures in the US were about double those of today). While in the UK, although police figures indicate that crime is rising, a national crime survey found that most crimes "either fell or were at a similar level". Meanwhile in the Netherlands, prisons are closing due to a lack of inmates to fill cells, as our reporter discovered on a visit to a Dutch jail, though this does not necessarily mean that crime is dramatically falling. These examples show that statistics can be confusing, and there is often more going on than the numbers suggest, such as falling police officers, longer jail terms, to a rise in community sentencing. That's why we are taking a look at some of these issues, to tackle the misconceptions about criminals and the factors that shape crime.

Here are the full headline of some of the articles in this series:

May 15, 2018 at 12:47 PM | Permalink

Comments

A myth is a widely held false belief. It not clear that long sentences deter crime is a widely held belief. The article suggests that it is a minority view. It is more likely that people believe that incapacitation reduces crime. So does age.

Posted by: John Neff | May 16, 2018 10:03:04 AM

These nitwits did not even count all common law crimes. Never mind billions of internet crimes to which the criminal has modernized. They are not counting 3 million crimes according to one estimate.

I agree with John Neff. The rewards of crime are so great, they cannot be deterred. Only incapacitation is a mature and effective goal of the criminal law. Retribution is Biblical, and unlawful. Deterrence is a joke. Rehabilitation is rent seeking, tax thieving quackery. Restitution has never taken place, not even one.

The registered Democrats and left wing British people are just doing a sell job to generate worthless government make work jobs.

Posted by: David Behar | May 16, 2018 11:04:40 AM

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Under the agreement, the two sides will strengthen diplomatic relations in fields of trade and investment, agriculture, forestry, fishery, culture and society, environment, border security management, planting of border pillars; and cooperate to implement targets and projects to develop the economy, society, security and public order, as well as protect the border area between the two provinces.



On this occasion, Vice Governor of Prey Veng province Chhan Tha conferred Friendship Medals of the Kingdom of Cambodia on Secretary of Party Committee of Tay Ninh province Tran Luu Quang, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Pham Van Tan and former Chairwoman of the provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Thi Thu Thuy for their outstanding contribution to the promotion of friendship and solidarity between the two countries and two provinces.





By DAI DUONG  Translated by Kim Khanh
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on May 15, 2018

2018/05/15

Q: On May 14, the US Embassy in Israel was relocated from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On that day, tens of thousands of Palestinians held protests and demonstrations in the Gaza Strip, close to the Israeli border. They clashed with the Israeli armed police, which ended in killing over 50 people and injuring more than 2,000 others. What is your comment?

A: China is deeply concerned about the heavy casualties caused by the violent conflict in the Gaza Strip and opposes the violence targeting civilians. We call on the Palestinians and Israelis, especially the Israeli side, to exercise restraint and avoid further escalation of the situation.

The status and ownership of Jerusalem is a highly complex and sensitive issue which is at the core of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute and involves national and religious feelings. China always believes that the issue of the final status of Jerusalem should be resolved through dialogue in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions and by resuming the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks at an early date.

We firmly support the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights and stand behind efforts based on the two-state solution to establish an independent State of Palestine that enjoys full sovereignty with East Jerusalem as its capital and based on the 1967 border through Palestinian-Israeli talks. China stands ready to join hands with relevant parties of the international community and work for the final proper settlement of the Palestinian issue.

Q: It is reported that a Chinese delegation will participate in the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum which will be held from May 24 to 26 in Russia. Can you confirm it? If so, who will lead the delegation and who are the participating members and enterprises?

A: The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is one of the world-renowned economic forums for discussions on international economic and financial situations. China has been sending high-level delegations to attend this forum annually in recent years. We believe that this forum also plays an important role in promoting China-Russia practical cooperation in the economic, trade and investment sectors. We are now definitely considering sending a high-level delegation to attend this year's forum.

Q: According to reports from the DPRK side, a friendship visiting group of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) arrived in China yesterday. Could you give us more details on the purpose and schedule of their visit? It is also reported that the DPRK traded its denuclearization for China's phased economic aid. What is your position?

A: Regarding your first question, at the invitation of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee, a group of the WPK officials commenced a friendship visit to China on May 14, as a concrete step to implement the important consensus reached between General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un. The visiting group will make some tours to learn about China's achievements in economic development and reform and opening-up and promote an exchange of views between the WPK and the CPC on state governance.

Regarding your second question, we have released the press readout for the Dalian meeting between General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un which details the perspectives and important consensus of the top leaders of the two parties and two states on China-DPRK relations and the Korean Peninsula situation. May I suggest you read it carefully?

Q: Yesterday, officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan held a meeting in Islamabad and they agreed to actively implement the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) towards eliminating terrorism and achieving peace and stability. What is China's comment?

A: We have taken note of relevant reports. China highly commends and firmly supports this development. We believe that it will help create an enabling environment for the realization of peace in Afghanistan at an early date and contribute to the joint efforts to uphold peace and development of the two countries as well as the whole region. As a neighbor and friend to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, China is willing to continue with its constructive role in improving the Afghanistan-Pakistan relations and actively advancing China-Afghanistan-Pakistan trilateral cooperation.

Q: A question again on the casualties following the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. When the spokesperson of the US State Department was questioned, they suggested it was the fault of Hamas. What is China's position on this?

A: Just now I have expounded on China's position on the recent violent conflict in the Gaza Strip. This violent conflict has become the deadliest in that area over the past few years, especially in terms of heavy civilian casualties. The Chinese government is gravely concerned about the situation and we are opposed to violent activities targeting civilians. Under the current circumstances, we believe that all relevant parties, the Israeli side in particular, should exercise restraint, prevent the situation from further escalation, and avoid causing greater turmoil or casualties. This is the pressing task at the moment. The current situation, as is well known by the international community, is a fallout of the dispute regarding Jerusalem's status. Just now I have also expounded on China's position on that as well as China's proposition on the final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Q: A recent report by the Harvard University researchers said that China seeks to gain strategic advantage by offering loans to 16 developing countries in the Asia Pacific. What is your response?

A: We usually make no comments on academic reports, and I am not sure whether the opinion you cited is the main idea of this report or very representative of this report. If so, then I have to say it is a highly irresponsible accusation. In other words, this report is written by those who are stuck in their habitual mindset to speculate on the considerations and positions of the Chinese government's foreign aid and cooperation.

When China cooperates with others, including in the economic and financial fields, it follows the principle of shared benefits through consultation and contribution, mutual respect and win-win results. As for how such cooperation translates into concrete results, the governments of our cooperative partners and their peoples are in the best position to say. The third party you mentioned had better stop gauging, based on their own mindset, what other people may think. They are so wrong to believe that South-South cooperation between China and other developing countries harbors ulterior political motives that they are get used to.

Q: GAP has apologized for publishing this incomplete map of China on one of its T-shirts. What is your comment? Has the Chinese government made a complaint to the company? Or is it simply a reaction to what Chinese consumers are saying?

A: I have noted from press reports that GAP Inc. has already issued an apology, saying that it respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity and that an internal inspection is underway to correct the relevant mistake as soon as possible. The statement also mentioned that GAP Inc. strictly follows Chinese laws and regulations and rigorous reviews will be put in place to avoid similar mistakes.

We have noted what they said in this statement, and we will continue to follow how it acts.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.



The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.







By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
The International Space Station will be orbiting a little higher this weekend to prepare for the departure of three Expedition 55 crew members and the arrival of a new Russian cargo craft.

The docked Russian Progress 69 resupply ship will fire its engines Saturday at 6:07 p.m. EDT for two minutes and 52 seconds slightly boosting the orbital lab's altitude.

This orbital reboost sets up the proper phasing trajectory for the Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft when it undocks June 3. The Soyuz will carry Commander Anton Shkaplerov and Flight Engineers Scott Tingle and Norishige Kanai back to Earth after six-and-a-half month mission in space. The reboost will also enable a two-orbit launch to docking opportunity for Russia's next resupply ship the Progress 70 in July.

Overnight and early Friday morning robotics controllers from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency supported the deployment of small satellites from outside the Kibo laboratory module. The Japanese robotic arm attached to Kibo ejected several small satellites to support a series of technology demonstrations.

Two spacewalkers and a pair of Flight Engineers continued more computer training and procedure reviews today ahead of next week's spacewalk. NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel will go outside in their U.S. spacesuits Wednesday for about 6.5 hours to swap out thermal control gear that cools external station systems. Tingle and Kanai will assist the duo in and out of the Quest airlock and help choreograph the spacewalk tasks.

On-Orbit Status Report

Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer 8 (J-SSOD#8): Last night and this morning, Robotics Controllers in Tsukuba, Japan maneuvered the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) to the Small Satellite Deploy Position and deployed the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Demonstration (JSSOD)-8 satellites. The crew supported the activity as observes, taking photographs of the various small satellites as they were deployed from both JSSOD-8 launchers.

Space Headaches: Two 53S crewmembers completed a weekly questionnaire for the ESA Space Headaches investigation today. This investigation collects information that may help in the development of methods to alleviate associated symptoms and improve the well-being and performance of crewmembers in space. Headaches during space flight can negatively affect mental and physical capacities of crewmembers that can influence performance during a space mission.

Live Public Affairs (PAO) Event: This evening, Drew Feustel will receive an honorary Doctorate degree from the University of Purdue. Feustel, along with Purdue Alumnus Scott Tingle, will also participate in Purdue's commencement ceremony, sharing words with the recent graduates.

Integrated Communications Unit (ICU) R4 Transition: This morning the crew installed a Gigabit Ethernet cable from ICU-1 to the JSL router and transferred the R4 software to the ICU-1 Kernal 1. Later this evening, ground teams will load new firmware/coefficient files and begin a transition from Antenna Group (AG)-2, and ICU-2, to AG-1 and ICU-1. This is the desired configuration for the SGTRC (Space to Ground Transmitter Receiver Controller) R&R scheduled during next week's US EVA. The intent of ICU R4 is to increase the return link bandwidth from 300 Mbps to 600 Mbps.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: In preparation for next week's US EVA 50 Pump and Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) Relocate, the crew utilized Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software to review crew translation paths and Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) movement during the EVA. Once complete with this simulation, the crew continued reviewing the EVA Systems Briefing Package before conducting a second EVA Procedures Conference with ground specialists. A checkout of the Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA), used to power the glove heaters on the Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), concluded the list of today's EVA prep activities.

Eye Exams: Today the entire US crew continued with a second day of routine eye exams using both Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Ultrasound hardware. Eye exams are performed regularly onboard in order to monitor crewmembers eye health. Eyesight is one of the many aspects of the human body that is affected by long-duration stays in a microgravity environment.

Mobile Servicing System (MSS) Operations: Last night, the Robotics Ground Control team powered up the MSS and maneuvered the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to stow the Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator (SPDM), with the "Leaky" Pump/Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS), on the LAB Power Data Grapple Fixture (PDGF). The SSRMS then released the SPDM and maneuvered to the start position in support for the EVA scheduled next week. MSS performance was nominal.

Today's Planned Activities

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

HV1-Server Shell Swap

ISS Crew and  (RSA Flight Control Team) weekly conference

Ultrasound 2 HRF Rack 1 Power On

JEM System Laptop Terminal Activation and Photo taking

FAZOPEREKHOD. Preparation steps and starting the experiment.

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan Prep

iPad Air 2 Update Prep

Inventory Management System (IMS) conference

KU-Comm Unit R4 Cable Mate

Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Setup

Kazbek fit check (Soyuz 737)

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Training Session Using -01- Set

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Ultrasound 2 Scan

Preparation and Configuration Setup for Remote RS Laptop on USOS.

Testing RS Remote Laptop with 1 and 2.

JEMRMS Small Satellite Deployment Observation Tear Down of Remote RS Laptop Setup.

MRM1 Fan Screen Cleaning (Group B)

FAZOPEREKHOD. Preparation steps and starting the experiment.

Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Exam

 maintenance

SEPARATION. Additional flushing of [--] urine circulation loop.

Health Maintenance System (HMS) OCT Stow

Veggie Ponds Plant Photo

Water Recovery and Management Condensate Pumping Init

Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Installation

MATRYOSHKA-R. Monitoring Tritel Readings and Data Downlink

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedures Print

Rechargeable EVA Battery Assembly (REBA) Powered Hardware Checkout

Water Recovery and Management Condensate Pumping Term

Portable Onboard Computers (POC) Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics (DOUG) Software Review

Audit of Personal Hygiene Articles

FAZOPEREKHOD. Closeout Ops.

Dust collectors C1, 2 filter cleaning by vacuum cleaner in FGB

Cleaning vent screens on FGB interior panels 116, 316, 231, 431

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Review

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Training Session Using -01- Set

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Procedure Conference

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Fundoscope Setup

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Eye Exam - Fundoscope

Inventory Management System (IMS) Conference

Health Maintenance System (HMS) Fundoscope Tear Down and Stow

IMS Update

Space Headaches - Weekly Questionnaire

Completed Task List Activities

None

Ground Activities

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

ICU R4 KCU1 Transition

JEMRMS JSSOD 8 deploy

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Saturday, 05/012: Housekeeping, Crew Off-Duty

Sunday, 05/13: Crew Off-Duty

Monday, 05/14: EVA Preps (EMU Water recharge, battery ops, EVA Tool Config/Audit), Cygnus OBTs, CIR Maintenance, HRF inventory, CSA Blood, J-SSOD Remove, HXP Adaptor Install, Vascular Echo.

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status

Elektron - On

Vozdukh - Manual

[] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off

[] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Standby

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Manual

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Idle

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Standby

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Full Up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Off

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The four astronauts who comprise the six-member Expedition 55 crew pose for a portrait inside the International Space Station. They are (clockwise from bottom right) NASA astronauts Ricky Arnold, Scott Tingle and Drew Feustel and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Norishige Kanai. Taken May 5, 2018. Credit: NASA.

Veteran astronauts Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel will embark on the 210th spacewalk Wednesday at the International Space Station to swap out thermal control gear.

The experienced spacewalkers have a combined 10 spacewalks between them with Feustel having conducted seven and Arnold with a total of three.

Flight Engineer Scott Tingle assisted the duo today getting spacewalk tools ready and recharging the U.S. spacesuits inside the U.S. Quest airlock. Tingle and Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai will assist the spacewalkers in and out of the airlock Wednesday and guide the duo during their tasks.

Orbital ATK will launch their Cygnus space freighter on Sunday at 5:04 a.m. EDT to resupply the Expedition 55 crew just four days after Feustel and Arnold complete their fourth spacewalk together. After a four-day trip in space, Cygnus will deliver crew supplies, station hardware and experiments exploring a variety of subjects including life science and space physics.

Arnold and Tingle practiced the robotics maneuvers today on a computer they will use to capture Cygnus after its approach and rendezvous with the station on May 24 at 5:20 a.m. NASA TV will broadcast the Cygnus launch and capture activities live at the orbital laboratory.

On-Orbit Status Report

ISS Reboost: On Saturday, May 12th, at 05:07:00 pm CDT the ISS performed a nominal 2 minute and 52 second reboost using the 69P thrusters. The purpose of the reboost was to set up proper phasing for the 53S landing in June and the 70P 2-orbit rendezvous in July.

Exposed Experiment Handrail Attachment Mechanism (ExHAM) #2: The crew brought the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) Airlock (JEMAL) Slide Table into the JEM this morning and replaced the J-SSOD deployers with the Handhold Experiment Platform (HXP) Adapter on the Multipurpose Experiment Platform (MPEP). They then returned the slide table to the Airlock and depressed and vented the Airlock. Later today the crew will extend the slide table to the exterior of the ISS. Tonight ground robotics controllers will use the JEM Remote Manipulator System (JEMRMS) Small Fine Arm (SFA) to transfer the HXP from the JEM External Facility to the Slide Table. On Wednesday the Slide Table will be brought back into the JEM and ExHAM samples will be exchanged before the HXP is returned to the JEM External Facility.

Veggie Passive Orbital Nutrient Delivery System (PONDS): On May 9th the crew reported what appeared to be mold growing on some of the plants. Today the crew aborted the Veggie PONDS run, photographed the plants and harvested some of them for return to the ground for evaluation. After removing the plants, the crew cleaned the Veggie PONDS hardware and set it up for drying. Organisms grow differently in space, from single-celled bacteria to plants and humans. Future long-duration space missions will require crew members to grow their own food. Understanding how plants respond to microgravity and demonstrating reliable vegetable production on orbit are important steps toward that goal. Veggie PONDS uses a newly developed passive nutrient delivery system and the Veggie plant growth facility aboard the ISS to cultivate lettuce and mizuna greens which are to be harvested on-orbit, and consumed, with samples returned to Earth for analysis.

Vascular Echo: Earlier today a 53S subject collected blood samples for the Vascular Echo investigation. Using the CardioLab Portable Doppler (PDOP), the crewmember donned the femoral probe and performed a 1-minute exercise followed by a resting period during which data was collected. Vascular Echo examines changes in blood vessels and the heart while the crew members are in space, and then follow their recovery on return to Earth. The results could provide insight into potential countermeasures to help maintain crew member health, and quality of life for everyone.

Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR): The crew replaced CIR manifold bottles today to support the ongoing microgravity combustion research operations in the CIR. They also replaced a seal as part of routine CIR maintenance. The Advanced Combustion via Microgravity Experiments (ACME) experiments being performed in the CIR include five independent studies of gaseous flames. The primary goals of ACME are to improve fuel efficiency and reduce pollutant production in routine fuel combustion activities on Earth. Its secondary goal is to improve spacecraft fire prevention through innovative research focused on materials flammability.

Cygnus OA-9 Capture On-board Training (OBT): Today the crew reviewed the OA-9 mission profile, rendezvous crew procedures, and interfaces necessary for monitoring and commanding to the Cygnus vehicle. Once completed, they participated in a conference with ground specialists to discuss the overall capture training plan and reviewed the Backaway and Capture Cue Cards. OA-9 is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on 24-May.

Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Urine Receptacle Remove and Replace (R&R): Today the crew Removed and Replaced (R&R) the WHC Urine Receptacle and Insert Filter. After the R&R, the crew performed a functionality test with nominal results.

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Preparations: In preparation for Wednesday's US EVA 50 Pump and Flow Control Subassembly (PFCS) Relocate, the crew completed additional EVA tool configuration and performed an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) 3003 and 3006 water recharge and ullage dump.

Public Affairs (PAO) Event: Today the crew participated in an educational event with the Tulsa Air and Space Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Participants in the Live Downlink were Oklahoma students in 5-12th grades that competed in an essay contest. Student essays described what they would ask an astronaut and how that question relates to their own life on earth.

Today's Planned Activities

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

CSA Generic Frozen Blood Collection

CSA Generic Refrigerated Centrifuge Configure

Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS) Lab Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Jumper Install

Veggie Ponds MWA Preparation

CSA Generic Refrigerated Centrifuge Spin Conclude

Regeneration of  1 Micropurification Cartridge (start)

CSA Generic Sample MELFI Insertion

CSA Generic Frozen Blood Collection Conclude And Stow

Veggie Ponds Growth Abort

FAZOPEREKHOD. Experiment Setup and Start Ops.

Opening of Lab MCA Hand Valve 01

JEM Airlock Press

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Experiment setup.

Auxiliary Laptop Computer System Virus Definition File Update

Veggie Ponds MELFI Insertion

Veggie Ponds Clean and Dry

XF305 Camcorder Setup

JEM Airlock Leak Check

JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Extension to JPM Side

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Assistance with -3 Test.

JEM Small Satellite Orbital Deployer (SSOD) onto Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform Removal

Battery Stowage Assembly (BSA) Operation Termination

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Experiment Ops on -2 Treadmill (MO-3 Test in Passive Mode).

Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) Water Recharge

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Closeout Ops.

Handhold Exp Platform Adapter installation

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Robotics Review

PROFILAKTIKA-2. Hygiene procedure

FAZOPEREKHOD. Closeout Ops.

JEM Airlock Slide Table (ST) Retraction from JPM Side

FAZOPEREKHOD. Experiment Setup and Start Ops.

JEM Airlock Depressurization

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Rendezvous Review

Preparing to monitor condition of RS structural surfaces using -2 device.

Checking -2 treadmill carriage position. Photograph position of -2 carriage relative to pullout roller by lifting -2 curtain. Downlink photo via OCA.

On-board Training (OBT) Cygnus Rendezvous Review

Exercise Data Downlink via OCA

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Waste Water Bag (WWB) Changeout

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Water Recovery System (WRS) Sample Analysis

On-Board Training (OBT) Cygnus Conference

Vascular Echo Exercise PDOP Measurement - Subject

FAZOPEREKHOD. Closeout Ops.

VIZIR. Preparation Steps and  Science Hardware Calibration.

Urine Receptacle (UR) and Insert Filter (IF) Remove and Replace

Public Affairs Office (PAO) High Definition (HD) Config LAB Setup

Filling (separation) of  () for Elektron-VM or -

Public Affairs Office (PAO) Event in High Definition (HD) - Lab

 maintenance

Monitoring RS structural shell surfaces using Multipurpose Eddy Current Device -2. Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Open

HRF MARES Power Interface Unit Stow

Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Open

Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Tool Configuring

Combustion Integrated Rack Chamber Seal Replacement

JEM Airlock Vent

Preparation for downlink data on monitoring RS structural surfaces

MOTOCARD. Experiment Ops.

JEM Airlock Vent Confirmation

Combustion Integrated Rack Front End Cap Close

MOTOCARD. Operator Assistance with Experiment

Closure of Lab MCA Hand Valve 01

In Flight Maintenance (IFM) Waste and Hygiene Compartment (WHC) Full Fill

Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #2 Bottle Replacement

MELFI 3 Ice Brick Insert 1

Delta file prep

Combustion Integrated Rack Manifold #4 Bottle Replacement

Combustion Integrated Rack Doors Close

Total Organic Carbon Analyzer (TOCA) Sample Data Record

AMS Laptop Battery Replace

External Television Camera Group Reconfiguration Part 1

VIZIR. Closeout Ops

External Television Camera Group Reconfiguration Part 2

Micropurification Unit () 1 Absorption Cartridge Regeneration (end)

Completed Task List Activities

None

Ground Activities

All activities are complete unless otherwise noted.

ESA COL-CC 2018 Patch

JEMAL Depress

JEMRMS HXP Transfer

Lab MCA Activation Pt 3

Three-Day Look Ahead:

Tuesday, 05/15: EVA Prep (Cuff Checklist print, EVA Tool Config, Equip Lock Prep, Procedure Rvw/Conf), CGBA relocate, Water samples, Two Phase Flow Experiment, MCA Jumper Teardown

Wednesday, 05/16: US EVA #50 with Robotics Support (Swap PFCS, R&R CP13 ETVCG, R&R SGTRC), CSA-CP maintenance

Thursday, 05/17: Cygnus OBT, Post EVA Ops (A/L deconfg/restow, EMU Water recharge, debrief), PFCS XFER, Team Task Switching, HXP2 Sample Detach, HRF samples, KU cable swap

QUICK ISS Status - Environmental Control Group:

Component - Status

Elektron - On

Vozdukh - Manual

[] 1 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV1") - Off

[] 2 - SM Air Conditioner System ("SKV2") - On

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Lab - Operate

Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) Node 3 - Standby

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Lab - Operate

Major Constituent Analyzer (MCA) Node 3 - Idle

Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) - Process

Urine Processing Assembly (UPA) - Process

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Lab - Full Up

Trace Contaminant Control System (TCCS) Node 3 - Off

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A trip to a Standardbred breeding farm proved to be a popular choice on Mothers Day, as more than 700 people visited and toured Mac Lilley Farms in Dutton, Ont. and Tara Hills Stud near Port Perry, Ont. during their Mothers Day Open House events on Sunday (May 13).



A mare and her foal pictured at Tara Hills Stud (SC Photo)

The horses were the stars of the event, but as well as meeting the resident mares, foals, yearlings and stallions at the farms, the guests were able to interact with the breeders, their families and staff to learn about the provinces Standardbred breeding and racing industry and a typical day in their lives. The result was nothing short of outstanding.



Kadabra mingles on Mothers Day (SC Photo)

We were ecstatic that so many people could come out to see the mares and foals, said Ruleen Lilley of Mac Lilley Farms. Events like this generate awareness and promote the industry and this is a way to do our small part. We couldnt have asked for a better weather day and that always helps!

It was a good day, we were really pleased said David Heffering, owner of Tara Hills Stud. It was great to meet and talk to so many people who had never visited a horse farm. We had a lot of non-Standardbred people and a lot of non-horsepeople. I dont think many people realize what a Standardbred is or how easily accessible our sport is to anyone who wants to be involved. Anyone can get in if they want.



Mac Lilley Farms was a busy attraction on Mothers Day (SC Photo)

Both farms relied on a team of volunteers  friends, family, local suppliers, local high school students and more to help out with their events. Between 350 and 400 guests toured the Mac Lilley operation, and some people came from as far away as Niagara Falls to visit the breeding farm. Tara Hills welcomed over 300 guests to its Port Perry farm and over $700 in cash donations were taken for Oak Ridges Hospice.



Kids mingle with horses on Mothers Day at Mac Lilley Farms (SC Photo)

Guests at both farms also enjoyed complimentary refreshments, prize draws supported by local businesses, free information on the industry and more. It was estimated that more than 50 per cent of the guests on hand at both farms were first-time visitors and had never been to the harness races.



Getting to know the horses at Mac Lilley Farms (SC Photo)

We cant underestimate the impact of events where we connect people and horses, said Kathy Wade Vlaar, SCs manager of industry marketing. These types of events not only generate awareness for the Standardbred industry, but create experiences and memories for the people who come out. Both Mac Lilley Farms and Tara Hills Stud did an outstanding job as hosts, providing so many people their first opportunity to meet and put their hands on a horse! Hosting 300- 400 guests at your farm is no small feat!



Foals pictured at Mac Lilley Farms (SC Photo)

The Mothers Day Open Houses were coordinated by Standardbred Canada and the Standardbred Breeders of Ontario Association. This marked the seventh year of the Open House program.
A filly with some fairly big horseshoes to fill made her first ever on-track appearance a successful one as Shake It Miki  the Always A Virgin full sister to harness racing's fastest horse, Always B Miki  debuted on Tuesday (May 15) in qualifying action at Harrah's Philadelphia.

With Andy Miller at the controls for trainer Joe Holloway, Shake It Miki sat third during the early going behind pacesetter Mount Royal (Tim Tetrick) through fractions of :28.3, 59.1 and 1:27.4. While nearly four lengths off the leader at three-quarters, a :29 closing quarter sealed the deal over the pacesetter for the win in 1:57.2.

Unraced at two, Shake It Miki (Always A Virgin - Artstopper) is a homebred owned by Roll The Dice Stable of Wilmington, Delaware. She's a sister to Always B Miki as well as millionaire and multiple stakes-winning pacing mare Yagonnakissmeornot.

Team 'Orange Crush'  driver Andy and wife-trainer Julie Miller  sent out a handful of winners on Tuesday, including a number of notable performers. Among those horses: 2017 Yonkers Trot winner Top Flight Angel made his four-year-old debut with a 17-length romp in 1:53.1; older trotting horse Tuonoblu Rex was 30 lengths the best in 1:53; and NYSS champ Obvious Blue Chip made her first appearance as an older pacing mare with a 1:53.1 mile, the best in her group by some 15-plus lengths.
Matt Kakaley is ready to go. Sidelined since a March 13 racing accident, the 30-year-old driver will be back in action this Saturday (May 19) with nine drives at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

I cant wait. I really cant wait, Kakaley said. Its been a tough couple months, but Im feeling good now and Im itching to get back. Seeing my name on the entries, it was a good feeling.

Kakaley was injured at Yonkers Raceway when the horse he was driving took a bad step and went down. Kakaley was thrown to the track and suffered injuries that required three surgeries, including one for a broken orbital bone and another for a fractured collarbone. He has spent the past month rehabbing and getting in shape for his return.

I put on a few pounds just sitting around, Kakaley said with a laugh. Thats the goal right now, to get those off and be fit again.

Kakaley is grateful for all the well wishes he received following the accident and the support of his friends and family, including his mom Linda, longtime partner Annie Larrabee and her mom Debbie, as well as trainer Ron Burke and fellow drivers Andy McCarthy and Mark MacDonald.

It showed me how many really good friends I really do have and how special my family is, Kakaley said. It was a tough time, but I had a good support system and people who were there for me to make it a little bit easier.

Kakaley, who set a career high with $9.04 million in purses last year, has 62 wins and $1.07 million in purses this season. Last week, he trained several horses for Burke in preparation for this weekend.

I just wanted to make sure it feels good sitting behind a horse and going a mile, said Kakaley, who has 4,169 career wins. I felt great. The shoulder wasnt bothering me at all, so I figured I was ready to go.

The last two weeks or so Ive been feeling really good, but I didnt want to come back too soon. I had to wait it out. Its for the better because I dont want to reinjure it.

Kakaleys drives on Saturday include Aleppo Hanover in a division of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for three-year-old male pacers and Rockin Ron and Check Six in divisions of the Great Northeast Open Series for male pacers.

In addition, Kakaley is one of the drivers participating in this weekends Trotting 4 Charity event. For more information, click here.

Trotting 4 Charity, organized by TrotCasts Ryan Macedonio, will be held May 18-20 at racetracks throughout North America. Participating drivers and trainers will wear a custom-made replica jersey of their own colours, with their selected charity logo displayed on the jersey.

During the weekend, drivers will race in their jersey. After the event, auctions will be held for fans to bid on the jerseys and all proceeds from winning bids will be donated to the corresponding charities. Kakaleys charity is Marleys Mission, which is based near Pocono and provides equine-based psychotherapy free of charge to children, and their families, who have experienced trauma.

I think its a great event and I thought Marleys Mission was a perfect fit, Kakaley said. I wanted to do something locally and this is great exposure for them, as well as harness racing.

Racing begins at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) Saturday at Pocono.

(USTA)
A new era at Woodbine Mohawk Park will officially open with a bang this Saturday evening (May 19).

The 55-year-old racetrack will host its annual Fireworks and Family Fun Night in conjunction with its Grand Re-Opening following $10 million in upgrades to the facility.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony will take place in the winners circle around 10:00 p.m., ahead of the spectacular fireworks show. A special group of dignitaries, including Mayor Gord Krantz of Milton, Ont., will be on hand for the ceremony.

Fireworks and Family Fun Night is a must-attend event each season, and there will be plenty of activities for all-ages this Saturday.

Outdoor activities include a special Kids Zone featuring bouncy castles and pony rides. Admittance to the Kids Zone is $5 and includes unlimited bouncy castle access.

The always popular face painters will return and work their magic inside the Grandstand on the main floor. Each face painting costs just $2. Crafts and games for kids will also be set up inside the Grandstand.

The concession stands will feature a Kids Combo Meal on Saturday. The $5.99 meal includes a choice of hot dog or pizza slice, juice box, chips and a glow bracelet.

Powerhouse vocalist Elyse Saunders and country band Ole Fashion will have fans entertained throughout the evening with live music both inside and outside the Grandstand.

Live racing gets underway at 6:45 p.m. and is scheduled to conclude at approximately 10:00 p.m. The 10-race card features a pair of $113,000-plus SBOA Stakes Finals.

The always spectacular fireworks show will take place at approximately 10:30 p.m.

For full details about Saturdays Grand Re-Opening and Family Fun Night, visit woodbinemohawkpark.com.

(WEG)
It has been announced that prominent Florida Standardbred breeder Betty L. McGreevy, 87, passed away recently in Aurora, Colorado.

Known for her meticulous ways in caring for her horses, McGreevy had been involved as an owner and breeder for several decades, breeding champions in Florida along the way.

Born July 14, 1930 in Petersburg, Indiana, she eventually moved to Terre Haute, Indiana, where she owned and operated Lark Commercial Painting and Sandblasting.

After the passing of her first husband, Betty married Mike McGreevy, a champion mini race car driver in the 1950s. They purchased a farm in Perrysville, Indiana, and, in 1979, relocated to Trenton, Florida, where they began breeding, training, racing and boarding Standardbreds.

Among her many successes as a breeder were Spin Mogul, Cracker Gold and McRyan Michael, all Super Night champions during their respective racing seasons.

In 1986, she was named Florida Breeder of the Year.

She retired in 2014 and she and her husband moved to Bell, Florida before moving to Colorado.

Her husband preceded her in death by 45 days.

Known for her forthcoming wit, she once said, My father was wider in the eyebrows than most men in the shoulders.

Betty McGreevy is survived by her daughter Elaine (Ed) Koschik, grandsons Mike (Jessica) and Chris, and four great-grandchildren, Ryan, Joshua, Matthew and Sophia.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Betty McGreevy.

(John Berry)
Bibles For The World Encourages and Equips Chinese Believers in Light of New Policy Governing Religious Belief

Using nationals to reach nationals, organization promotes evangelism and Bible distribution under stricter laws



Contact: Gregg Wooding,

972-567-7660



COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., May 15, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- As the Chinese government clarifies its religious beliefs policy, Bibles For The World (BFTW) President John Pudaite says his organization will focus on the urgent need for effective Scripture distribution while helping believers understand their religious rights.



Photo: Chinese Christians celebrate receiving a Bible from Bibles For The World--for many of them, the first time they have ever had their own copy of God's Word.



According to Pudaite, the new policy is under the guise of protecting the rights of believers and nonbelievers, but in reality, it is actually a way to regulate faith systems and their followers.



The changes announced by China's Cabinet in April promise protections and guarantees for freedom of religious belief, but are "really an attempt by the government to make belief more 'orderly.'" In fact, the policy states very clearly that "every citizen enjoys the freedom to choose whether to believe in a religion...to change from a non-believer to a believer and vice versa."



"It's more a clarification or closing of loopholes," Pudaite says. The push for uniformity derives from China's professed desire to achieve harmony among the major five religions  Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Catholicism and Protestantism  practiced there. All religions are expected to uphold and operate within the principles set forth by the Communist regime.



Fearing persecution, many believers are unaware of their ability to share their faith. BFTW workers distribute Bibles and Scripture portions to believers and encourage them to share them with others. Pudaite says many appear to ask, "Are we really allowed to do that? Can we actually give these out to other people who are not believers?"



The answer to these questions, though most don't realize it, is a resounding "yes!"



Local believers are invited to attend BFTW's intensive "Seed Sower" seminars where they are encouraged and trained in evangelism as well as equipped to "answer the difficult questions they'll be faced with as they share God's Word," Pudaite says.



BFTW uses a model of nationals reaching nationals, an evangelism system that proves effective while more readily complying with Chinese law. The organization is in its second year of Bible distribution in China and is concentrating specifically on unreached regions along the southwest border with the gospel. The goal is to reach at least 2 million people within several ethnic minorities  people groups that have had little access to Scripture because of distribution or language barriers.



Bible distribution remains a challenge in China, where approved Bible translations can be printed and sold freely in bookstores. However, Pudaite says there are only 80 approved bookstores that sell Bibles in all China.



"That's like one bookstore for every 20 million people," he says. "And many Bibles are printed, but they're not getting distributed. They're just sitting in warehouses."



Scripture distribution is such an issue, Pudaite says, that one village his team visited "was 100 percent Christian, but very few people had a copy of a Bible. Of course, they do now!" BFTW is looking at ways to distribute the Scriptures to strengthen the church and help its members fulfill the Great Commission, he says. "It's a new country for us. We're learning something new every day," he says.



Pudaite understands the impact even one copy of Scripture can have on a community. It was a single copy of the Gospel of John that resulted in the salvation of his grandfather and the evangelization of his entire tribe within a single generation.



"One of the reasons we're so passionate about sharing God's Word is because of my own people [the Hmar tribe of Northeast India], who were a tribe of fierce headhunters before the Gospel transformed us into 'heart-hunters' for Christ. We want to be a channel of this life-transforming power," he says.



He asked believers to lift up the Chinese church in prayer as it sorts through the implications of the new policy on religious freedom.



"We have to pray, even as this new policy on religion is being implemented, that those in the government would do it in such a way that it would not be oppressive or bring persecution to the Christians," Pudaite says. "We can pray the Christians in China will continue to be strong in their faith for any persecution or hardships they might face."



Since 1971, Bibles For The World (BFTW, (www.biblesfortheworld.org) has made God's word available  free of charge  to millions of people in more than 120 countries. BFTW is committed to Christian education and compassionate care, having established a hospital and dozens of elementary and secondary schools, plus a college and seminary in Northeast India and Delhi.


ORLANDO, Fla., May 15, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- The 2018 Light The Fire Again (LFTA) gathering in Toronto, Canada pulled together an unprecedented line up of leaders from revivals of the recent past: John Kilpatrick, Claudio Freidzon, Lou Engle and many, many more. But, one on-stage guest stood out less for her involvement in one of those moves of God and more for the unique fruit that came out it: a Christ-following pop star.Pattie Mallette is Justin Bieber's mom. As she testified at Light the Fire again 2018 , she gave her life to Jesus in Toronto hospital room after a failed attempt to take her own life. The Christian couple who took her under their wing were themselves discipled by none other than John and Carol Arnott, the leaders of the Toronto Blessing.She told the crowd at the packed Attwell Center (the very sight of the 1994 outpouring) that, as a new and unmarried believer she became pregnant with Justin. She felt deep shame and was sure that her pregnancy would end her acceptance at the church. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.Instead, her mentors and the church kept their arms wide open with grace. As she relayed to the Arnotts, "You taught them to love me where I was at. I remember coming here in 1994 when I was staying at a pregnancy home. I remember the church leaders praying over me and prophesying that I was going to birth revival When Justin was born I had him dedicated to Jesus."As Justin's platform as an artist has grown, he's begun to use his fame to point his audience to Jesus. During Pattie's testimony, John Arnott pointed out that Justin tweets about the love of Jesus to his 106+ million twitter followers. Pattie confirmed this and noted that, "He (Justin) came to Catch The Fire at 12 before he became 'Justin Bieber.' I remember the 20-somethings picked him up as a sign to upholding the next generation and they marched him around the room. And, they had no idea what God was going to do."She goes on to say, "This has been a full circle for us." She recalled travailing in the Spirit during one of the Toronto Blessing services. She was moved by the Holy Spirit to ask God to "take back the arts." Now, God has put their family at the center of the music industry and said, "Now God's saying, you guys have done it your way long enough. Now it's My turn. Move over and I'm going to show you how it's done. And now He's put all of these people (Christians) at the top and He's saying, 'Shine for Me!' ... And He's bringing revival!"John Arnott capped the segment by observing, "I believe young guys like Justin Bieber are going to bring this generation back to God like never before. We want to pass God's fire onto the next generation. I think the Church missed it with Elvis. He loved Jesus, but the pressures of the music industry are formidable. We need to get behind these guys, even when they make mistakes, we must welcome them back with open arms."Certainly, the need is great, time is short and Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and the CfAN team are beyond happy to see Christ proclaimed from any and every arena of society. We pray Justin and Pattie continue to see God's favor as they stand up for the truth of Christ's redeeming love. For Registration for the Light the Fire Again 2019 click here About Christ For All NationsCfaN is a non-denominational missions organization aimed at taking the Gospel message to the world. Christ for all Nations is primarily known for its historic crusades in Africa and recently surpassed a historic milestone of over 78 million documented decisions for Jesus Christ at major events in Africa and other parts of the world. CfaN has offices in countries around the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States.
New Service Offers Nonprofits 'Better Bottomline Through Better Online'

InChrist Communications adds Journity 'digital engagement' expertise, enhancing website visitors' experiences to suite of services



Contact: Ty Mays, 770-256-8710, tmays@inchristcommunications.com



CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 15, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- Christian marketing and public relations agency InChrist Communications (ICC) is partnering with internet engagement expert Journity to help faith-based clients improve the online engagement of website visitors  and their bottomline.



ICC is adding Journity's "digital engagement" service, which transforms web visitors' browsing behavior into a personalized experience for each user, to its suite of communications services. The two groups are co-hosting "Increase Online Donations with Donor Engagement," a free, online webinar, on May 23, from 11:30 a.m.- 12 noon EDT.



Nonprofit leaders will take part in a discussion of digital donor trends and how shifting focus to engaging and converting website visitors can increase online donations.



"Many organizations think that if they have a good-looking website, then they have done all they need to, but that's only the beginning," said ICC President Palmer Holt. "People have very short attention spans online, especially when they are using smartphones, and without given a clear path, they are likely to move on to another website."



"The bottom line is that when you customize your website visitors' experience, they are likely to give you more of their online timeand in turn more likely to give you more of their volunteer and financial support," Holt said.



While technology that improves website engagement is widely used in the commercial world, Journity's service is the first tailored to the unique needs of faith-based and other nonprofit groups.



As well as suggesting and presenting content tailored to each visitor, Journity's programs offer multivariate testing to enable users to fine-tune their messaging, along with an engagement score. That score individually profiles each visitor that comes to the website based on their level of interaction with it.



As visitors move from less engaged to more engaged, nonprofit marketers are able to quickly and effectively target different users based on their level of engagement with the organization. Key audience segmentation is available as well.



Journity users have seen increases of nearly 50 percent in year-end giving. Bryan VanHaitsma of Revive Our Hearts ministry, said that Journity was "the 'secret ingredient' that allowed us to double our gross revenue in our most recent sale."



"Optimizing and maximizing website visits is an important part of an effective media strategy," said Scott Anderson, vice president of partnerships at Journity.



"The kind of comprehensive marketing and public relations services InChrist Communications offers are essential in creating awareness of a group's mission and purpose, and driving visitors to websites," he said. "Journity can help complete that 'journey,' guiding website visitors to desired information and outcomes, ultimately transforming new visitors into mission advocates."



Registration for the free May 23 webinar is at "Increase Online Donations with Donor Engagement."



About InChrist Communications

InChrist Communications (www.InChristCommunications.com) is a national, full-service communications firm primarily serving faith-based ministries, businesses, churches and individuals. Core services include branding, marketing, advertising, public relations/publicity/media relations, social/digital media, donor development services, crisis communications, special events and creative services.



About Journity

Journity is a product of Five Q, based in Atlantic, Iowa. Journity optimizes nonprofit efforts through custom website content to deliver the best digital experience to engage users, drive donations and multiply impact.


Two meteotsunamis developed on Lake Michigan during a single day in April and a newly released modeling of them is giving us a look at their evolution. Meteotsunamis are a type of tsunami, but instead of being generated by an underwater earthquake, the source is meteorological, like thunderstorms with their strong winds and their atmospheric pressure change.

On April 13, bands of thunderstorms pushing across northern Lake Michigan spurred the development of a pair of meteotsunamis. NOAAs Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) released a modeling of the meteotsunamis in a tweet Friday. Click the play button below and notice rising water level (orange/red) followed by falling water level (blue) between 43 and 45 degrees north latitude (marked on the left side of the animation). This happens twice in the same general area of the modeled output, and thus indicates that that not only one but two separate meteotsunamis formed in response to storms that moved through the area.

Update: model output is here! Check out this GIF of not one, but TWO meteotsunamis that came across the lake on Friday the 13th. Red = higher water level, blue = lower. pic.twitter.com/zjTZXRquNA  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) May 11, 2018

The meteotsunami was caused by those short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure, said the GLERL. A rapid rise of Lake Michigans water level was noted in Ludington, Michigan, where the meteotsumani briefly submerged a breakwater.

GLERL said a gauge in Ludington reported a water level rise of 1.51 feet. It also noted that this measurement was taken in a harbor that was sheltered so the rise could have been higher in the open waters of Lake Michigan.

Impacts from the meteotsunami were minimal, but some docks were damaged from rising and falling water levels in Manistee, Michigan.

Check out these charts of winds and pressure from that day. The meteotsunami was caused by those short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure. After the meteotsunami, you can see the slow buildup of pressure and the continued winds  those set us up for a weekend of seiche-ing. pic.twitter.com/Ta1VSy28D3  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) April 18, 2018

Meteotsunamis Can Be Destructive and Deadly

Meteotsunamis are a potentially dangerous hazard on the Great Lakes that can be destructive and deadly. Scientists explained this phenomenon in detail in February at an American Geophysical Union conference in Portland, Oregon.

These are unusually fast changes in water level that can catch people off guard and inundate the coast, damage waterfront property, disrupt maritime activities and create strong currents, researchers said at the conference.

Thunderstorms, which generate about 80 percent of meteotsunamis, trigger their formation through a rise in wind speed and a pressure change, said Eric Anderson of NOAAs Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory. This creates a wave which then moves along with the storm.

Anderson said that if the wave and storm move at the same speed, this can cause it to become larger and potentially destructive. The growth of a meteotsunami can be further intensified as it enters shallower waters.

Meteotsunamis on the Great Lakes

About 100 meteotsunamis occur on the Great Lakes every year, and most are small, according to Anderson. He added that higher, destructive meteotsunamis happen about once per decade, on average.

The impacts from higher-end meteotsunamis are not nearly close to the catastrophic earthquake-induced tsunamis in Japan in 2011 and Indonesia in 2004.

Lake Michigan and Lake Erie typically have the most frequent meteotsunami activity, according to Dr. Chin Wu, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The large majority of meteotsunami events on the Great Lakes have occurred in the late-spring and summer months, when thunderstorms are most active in that region. Anderson said meteotsunami activity has historically peaked around May and June.

The most recent deadly meteotsunami occurred on the Great Lakes on July 4, 2003. The deaths of seven people in Sawyer, Michigan, were first blamed on rip currents until it was determined a meteotsunami was the cause. Anderson mentioned that several damaging meteotsunamis have occurred since then, including in 2012, 2014 and 2017.

Meteotsunami events can happen when there is no apparent weather danger nearby. Several people were killed in a 1954 meteotsunami on Lake Michigan in Chicago four hours after the weather system triggering the event moved through.

Anderson said that once a meteotsunami is generated it can refract or reflect off of coastlines. That may lead to the meteotsunami becoming disassociated from the weather system that led to its formation.

Meteotsunamis are not exclusive to the Great Lakes and occur around the world. The East Coast of the United States sees an average of about 20 meteotsunamis per year (1996-2016), according to Greg Dusek of NOAA. Those events are mostly small, he added.

A higher-end East Coast meteotsunami on June 13, 2013, generated a 6-foot wave that injured three people on a jetty in New Jersey during otherwise calm weather conditions.

Meteotsunamis can kill, so be prepared.

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What is a meteotsunami?
The temporary dining decks, installed last year to help restaurants keep business during the coronavirus pandemic, will by next month be removed or reconstructed to stretch only along the length of respective eateries' storefronts.
Airtel has announced the completion of their transaction, wherein, Airtel has acquired the operations of Telenor (India) Communications Private Limited (Telenor India). The transaction has received all regulatory and statutory approvals. As a next step, Airtel will begin integrating Telenor Indias operations across seven circles  Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.

All existing customers of Telenor India will now become a part of Indias largest mobile network and will enjoy world-class services  high speed data, voice and content  at affordable prices. All the customers will be transitioned seamlessly to the Airtel network and will continue to enjoy uninterrupted services with the Same SIM, Same Number, and Same Plan/Pack benefits. For any queries and further assistance, customers can call 121 or write to 121@airtel.com.

With the completion of this transaction, Airtels total mobile customer base in India now stands at over 330 million, further cementing its leadership position.

Airtel will add 5 MHz to 7.2 MHz of Telenors spectrum (1800 band) in each of the seven circles. The addition of this fresh spectrum (total of 43.4 MHz) will enable Airtel to further expand network capacity across these markets and fortify its network leadership. Airtel plans to step up investments and aggressively expand its high speed data network across the country over the coming year as part of Project Leap, its network transformation program.

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India & South Asia) said: We welcome all Telenor customers to the Airtel family and look forward to delighting them with best-in-class products. The acquisition consolidates our market leadership, further strengthens our network portfolio in key markets and will add to shareholder value. We would like to thank all the concerned authorities and stakeholders for granting approvals to this transaction.

I welcome todays closing of the transaction. We are pleased with our agreement with Airtel and finding a long-term solution to our India business has been a priority for us. I would like to thank the Telenor India team for their relentless and unwavering efforts over the years. To our customers, I would like to thank you for your loyalty and trust in our services, says Sigve Brekke, Chief Executive Officer of Telenor Group.
Sony has released its three new High Power Audio systems to power a proper party in 2018. With three options of the all-in-one box style; MHC-V81D, MHC-V71D and MHC-V41D will fill any room with booming sounds. These models have been introduced in the market keeping in mind the growing demand of one box style audio system. Customers will now get more option to choose from at various price points.

Boost up the party atmosphere with TAIKO and the new guitar input modes

The new TAIKO mode, as the name suggests in Japanese, allows one to use their High Power Audio one-box system like a drum. User can add twist to their favourite songs by tapping the touch panel and enjoy the sounds of a variety of drum samplers, or tap to the rhythm and compete with friends for the highest score. In the spirit of competition, one can also challenge their friends to see who can party most to win the Party King title.

Get the party off to a fiery start with stunning guitar skills! The new guitar input mode3takes guitar playing to the next level with the revolutionary capability of generating guitar overdrive sound effects without the use of a professional guitar amplifier. The user can plug bass guitar into the High Power Audio system to boost the bass and produce awesome sounds.

All the High Power Audio one-box systems come with unique attribute such as gesture control feature that enables one to be the DJ with a wave of a hand. The audio system is also enabled with Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) which helps boost the quality of any compressed music files.

Transform the living room into a dance floor with 360 party lights and 360 LIVE SOUND

These one box style High Power Audio systems spread loud and powerful sounds around the room, thanks to the integrated spread sound generator. In addition, MHC-V81D dustproof and its top surface is splashproof along with a 360 LIVE SOUND. The MHC-V71D is equipped with LIVE SOUND feature for high quality music output. They will be the center of any party space as the MHC-V71D and MHC-V81D models have flashy 360 party lights that illuminate the room crafting the perfect party atmosphere. With affordable MHC-V41D audio system, one can turn the house into a nightclub as it has the ability to sync speaker lights with the beat of the music for a real club atmosphere. With additional 2x tweeters, MHC-V81D is able to achieve 360 sound field. Even sound from the back of the unit is similar level of dB sufficient frequency for bass sound.

Explore fun features like Fiestable app

MHC-V81D, MHC-V71D and MHC-V41D have the ability to bring the whole party together with its unique interactive features that gets everyone involved. With the accompanying Fiestable app, user can easily control party features. DJ Control; user can control, DJ effect (Isolator/Flanger/Wah/Pan), Sampler (Drums/Voice/etc.), and EQ. Also user can manage illumination of those models.

Seamless streaming with Bluetooth and NFC

Connect sound as well as friends with the Wireless Party Chain via Bluetooth feature which can now connect up to 50 compatible systems together. User can also have multi device connectivity so the power of the DJ can be passed around by connecting several smartphones to the speaker allowing different members of the party to play their favourite song easily. All the three High Power Audio systems are enabled with NFC for seamless streaming. The LDAC helps to send approximately three times more data than conventional Bluetooth audio for a superior wireless listening experience.

Browse music through Music Center App

The Music Center app lets one control music and sound settings right from the phone. The Fiestable plug in puts the user in charge of light colours and enables one to activate DJ and karaoke modes. Make changes with a flick of the wrist with intuitive motion control.

Portable one box design

The unique design of these audio systems helps to achieve effortless portability in the living room. The wheels and handle bar make it easy to move around, making it the perfect addition to any party. The systems are also embedded with an option for built in DVD/CD player and HDMI output.

These High Power Audio systems will be available across all Sony Center and major electronic stores in India.

Product Information

Product MRP Availability Colour MHC-V81D Rs. 51,990 Already available Black MHC-V71D Rs. 41,990 Already available Black MHC-V41D Rs. 30,990 Already available Black
About me I'm Avi Green

From Jerusalem, Israel

I was born in Pennsylvania in 1974, and moved to Israel in 1983. I also enjoyed reading a lot of comics when I was young, the first being Fantastic Four. I maintain a strong belief in the public's right to knowledge and accuracy in facts. I like to think of myself as a conservative-style version of Clark Kent. I don't expect to be perfect at the job, but I do my best. My profile

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Role of Public Sector Corporations in Bangladesh

Dr. Sonjoy Chakraborty :

Public enterprises (PEs) are institution operating service of an economic or social character or behalf of government. The main attributes of public sector enterprises are: state owned, state control and management, public accountability, non profit motive, state privileges and regulations. In most of the countries, the roles of PEs are justified from a social point of view. In many cases PEs are not economically viable but socially desirable.

At present, more than 39 public corporations are producing mostly private goods and services. Though the government is not efficient in producing the private goods and services, the government has very important and strong role to produce these private goods. Generally in market-oriented economies, the state is expected to stop producing goods and services, which can better be done by private undertakings. The state is regarded to be a referee, not a player. However, unlike what is known, in many countries accepted market economy, the public sector has a significant role in the production of goods and services. Regarding the public enterprises in Bangladesh, Akram (1999) mentions:

Public enterprise activity is around 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and their fixed assets represents 25 percent of Gross Fixed Capital Formation. Public enterprises operate in crucial industrial segments of the economy, particularly in manufacturing, and in providing infrastructure services. The net worth of public enterprises is approximately US$ 3.6 billion (approximately 14 percent of GDP). In 1996-97, the annual losses of the public sector approach US$ 250 million, which is equivalent to 30 percent of the country's annual project disbursement aid and nearly 1 percent of its Gross Domestic Product. 90 percent of the public enterprises have borrowed highly from the nationalized commercial banks. There are nearly 300 public enterprises. These firms are organized into 39 corporations which are umbrella entities; four nationalized banks; three insurance corporation; two agricultural bodies; and three development financial institutions. Public enterprises are dominant in the following sectors: Electricity, gas, and water; railway; airlines and civil aviation; petroleum; telecommunication; and banks and insurance. 80 percent of public enterprise assets are in the utilities and infrastructure such as power, gas, telecommunications, and transport.

It can be argued that for the establishment of a well-operating free market economy, the state should not have a role in the production of goods and services to be served by private undertakings more efficiently, and it should only do with the role of regulator in the markets. However, what is known well in theory cannot be transformed into practice easily. At this juncture, having a role of referee or regulator (legislative, executive and the judiciary's role), the state is in a position to play against private undertakings. This seems to be very strange, and certainly creates what is called a conflict of interests.

Public sector enterprise is a very much essential to control over the monopoly, oligopoly, duopoly market structure in the private sector and to ensure the competition for the betterment of the economy. Sometimes, due to the financial crisis or any other international or geopolitical reason, the private sector may loss its interest to produce essential goods and services. Sometimes, due to the internal political crisis, the opposing political party who are not in power can stop the supply of the essential commodity if they have the control over a specific industry. In such a situation, public sector keeps the important role to keep the economy on the proper track.

In the world, Bangladesh Economy is the 33th largest positioned economy (IMF estimation, 2017) on the basis of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The Present Policy initiated by the BIDA in 2016 made Bangladesh as an attractive destination for business and investment by upholding the position of the Doing Business Index from the position of 176th in 2017 to at least 99th within 2021. Generally, an economy is broadly divided into three categories, namely Primary sector, Secondary sector and Tertiary sector. Primary Sector includes the production functions by utilizing natural resources like water, land, forest, mining, etc. Secondary Sector includes the industrial activities like Manufacturing, Mining, Quarrying and Electricity, Gas and Water Supply. Tertiary Sector includes activities like Construction, Trade, Hotel, Transport and Communication, Finance, Insurance, Real Estate & Business Services and Community, Social & Personal Services. For ensuring the smooth economic progress, the government should have strong regulatory supervision and direct activities in all categories of the economy.

Business is the main component in building the economy by affirming the competitive, sustainable and community based environment for the country. It creates prosperity with a vision for economic and societal growth with a contribution to quality of life, generation of employment, reduction in poverty and the distribution of income. If government is out of the direct business activities, government will become incapable to promote, control and regulate the private sector due to lack of direct experience. In such a situation government direct participation on to produce the private goods and public goods is very essential.

Why Public Sector activities are essential

a. Understanding the illegal activities of the regulator or the government: Sometimes, regulatory authority or the government employee may provide the illegal facility to the private businessman or the traders due to the shortage of appropriate knowledge, knowledge gap, nepotism or instead of illegal facility. The public enterprise would not provide the illegal facility to the regulatory authority because they have no personal interest. The public enterprise has to face the unequal competition in the market and they will inform to the government regarding this illegal activity of the regulatory body or government activity.

b. Unequal development: Due to the infrastructure and demand constrained, the private sector did not develop the commercial enterprise. Then these areas will be deprived from the development process. In considering the equity, public sector has to come to operate the commercial activity instead of many constrain so that other private entity may got the interest to develop the commercial or industrial activity in those less developed area.

c. Creation of competition: To make a desired growth through increasing investment by reducing unequal competition in the trade and business "Bangladesh Competition Commission" is established. To ensure the availability of products and services of the common people at the competitive price and to get the maximum utility of the product, it is essential to create a healthy competitive environment in the market. The goal of the Competition Commission is to create equality in the market by creating sustainable competition in the economy, ensuring consumer interest and best practice in the market. Public sector enterprise is a very much essential to control over the monopoly, oligopoly, duopoly market structure in the private sector and to ensure the competition for the betterment of the economy as well as to assist the "Bangladesh Competition Commission" for performing their activity efficiently.

d. International or geopolitical reason: Sometimes, due to the financial crisis or any other international or geopolitical reason, the private sector may lose its interest to produce essential goods and services. The the sublic sector can playthe important role to save the nation.

e. National political reason: Sometimes, due to the internal political crisis, the opposing political party who are not in power can stop the supply of the essential commodity if they have the control over a specific industry. In such a situation, public sector keeps the important role to keep the economy on the proper track.

f. To prepare appropriate rules and regulations: If the government has no direct experience in the production and Business area, then the government has to face the serious knowledge shortage to prepare the appropriate rules and regulation to run the private sector efficiently.

g. Absence of research expenditure in the private sector: It is called that "no research no development". At the early stage of development, private sector did not ready to spend for the research and development. Because, the research output is very low in the early stage and it is slow too.

Table 1: research expenditure of Few countries.

Rank Country Expenditure on Rand D (Billion USD in PPP) Expenditure on Rand D % GDP (Billion USD in PPP) Per capita GDP for R and D Expenditure Year

1 USA 473.4 2.74% 1,442. 51 2013

2 China 409 2.10% 298.56 2015

3 Japan 179.8 3.58% 1,413.90 2014

5 S. Korea 91.6 4.29% 1,518.47 2014

6 India 66.5 0.85% 39.37 2015

8 UK 44.8 1.70% 692.9 2014

9 Russia 42.6 1.19% 290.21 2014

33 Pakistan 2.4 0.29% 13.29 2013

36 Malaysia 10.6 1.30% 344.3 2015

40 Thailand 3.6 0.39% 52.67 2011

48 Indonesia 2 0.08% 8.09 2013

54 Vietnam 0.87 0.21% 9.91 2011

87 Hong Kong 2.7 0.73% 373.09 2012

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_research_and_development_spending*Only those nations which annually spend more than 50 million dollars have been included.

So, the private sector is very much interested to invest in this area in the early stage of economic development like the low and low medium income level. In this stage, only the public sector has to keep the role for the research and development.

In Bangladesh, Expenditure for R&D is less than 50 Million USD and it is also true that there is no real statistics of the research expenditure. So, it is not included in the mentioned sources. In this mentioned source, 87 countries are considered.

h. Development of human capital through public investment

Developing the human capital is the prime role of the government. There is no scope to economic development without developing human capital. The Private sector is very much silent to invest for the development of human capital in the early stage of economic growth. Public investment is an area that can have direct relevance for economic growth. This is the basic infrastructure of the economy. Public investment in basic infrastructure is an essential precondition for capital accumulation in the private sector. Public investment in education and health facilities improves human capital formation. However, public investment is also an area where grossly unproductive white elephants can be found. Diamond (1989) has found that capital spending on education, health, and housing has a positive effect on economic growth.

Figure: Human Capital Index, 2017

Source: World Economic Forum Report, 2017

Note: Higher value indicates lower position.

According to the Human Capital Index, 2017, the position of Bangladesh is 111th among the 130 countries in the world (World Economic Forum Report, 2017). This indicates that the government has to take the appropriate role to develop this basic infrastructure of the economy.

Optimum government size and Bangladesh

A. Government expenditure is the indicator of direct control of the overall business activity of the economy. Among the 8 Asian and 9 developed countries, government expenditure is the minimum in Bangladesh. Including USA and UK, most of the developed countries are the main advocate of the free economy, that is, the least government interference. However, in UK 39.21% GDP expenditure is government and it is 22.68% in the USA, which is the significantly higher in the world. The world average is 27.74%, which is the 300% of Bangladesh. If we observe among the Asian countries, developed countries and the group of the countries, the public expenditure is the lowest in Bangladesh. This indicates that Bangladesh should have more control over the business activity of the government or the country has less than optimal government interference on the overall business activity.

Figure: Government Expenditure as a Percentage GDP in Few Asian Countries

Source: World Bank Open Source

Figure: Government Expenditure as a Percentage GDP in Few Developed Country

Source: World Bank Open Source

Figure: Government Expenditure as a Percentage GDP in Few Group of Country

Source: World Bank Open Source

Many studies have aimed at estimating the effects of public expenditure on economic growth. Empirical studies have yielded conflicting results: some support the hypothesis that a rise in the share of public spending is associated with a decline in economic growth ((Landau, 1986) and Scully, (1989)); others have found that public spending is associated positively with economic growth (Ram (1986)); and still other studies have found no significant relationship (Kormendi and Meguire (1985) and Diamond (1989)). Public expenditures were observed in one study to have no impact on growth in developed countries, but a positive impact in developing countries (Sattar, 1993).

A number of studies have found a positive correlation between economic growth and various education indicators or expenditures: primary and secondary levels of educational attainment (Barro (1991) and Easterly and Rebelo (1993)); the share of expenditures on education in total expenditure (Otani and Villanueva (1990)); and capital expenditures on education (Diamond (1989)).

Boro (1983), Armey et al. (1995) and Rahn et al. (1996) and Scully (1998, 2003) did theoretical and empirical research and popularized the existence of an optimal size of government as depicted by an inverted U curve (therefore, it is referred as "BARS" Curve" after Barro, Armey, Rahn, and Scully). As the size of government, measured on the horizontal axis, expands from zero (complete anarchy) initially the growth rate of the economy-measured on the vertical axis - increases. As government continues to grow as a share of the economy, expenditures are channeled into less productive (and later counterproductive) activities, causing the rate of economic growth to diminish and eventually decline. The research studies using various empirical techniques and different sets of countries conclude that the optimal government size (total government spending as a share of GDP) is between 17% and 40% of GDP, and the mode of the estimates is in the range of 20 to 30% of GDP, much lower than the current government share in most developed countries . In 2007 the OECD average of total final government expenditures is 40.4% of GDP, while for the Euro area, the average is 46.2% of GDP (Chobanov & Mladenova, 2009).

The general government sector consists of the totality of institutional units which, in addition to fulfilling their political responsibilities and their role of economic regulation, produce principally nonmarket services (possibly goods) for individual or collective consumption and redistribute income and wealth. The distingtion between two types of production, and refers to them as market and non-market activities. Goods and services sold on the market are regarded as output of public corporations, not government. They are valued at market prices, even if these prices are less than cost. Examples are publicly-owned telecommunications, railways, utilities, etc. Goods and services which are produced by state employees and distributed without charge (or at prices which are not economically significant) are deemed to be the output of general government.

Contd on page 55
BUFT inks MoU with Liaoning University, China

Muzaffar U Siddique, founder Chairman, Board of Trustee of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology and Jiang Li, President Liaoing University, China exchanging documents after signing a MoU in a formal ceremony at LNCU, China recently.

Campus Report :

A team led by Muzaffar U Siddique, founder Chairman, Board of Trustee of BGMEA University of Fashion and Technology (BUFT), visited Liaoing University, China (LNCU) recently. Siddique, on behalf of BUFT, signed a memorandum of understanding with LNCU (MoU). LNCU President Jiang Li signed the documents as its counter part. Both the parties exchanged ideas and suggestions concerning the course setup as well as talents cultivation. Both the parties would like to have a further cooperation in terms of teaching, research, students and teachers exchange.

SM Mannan Kochi, Trustee Member, BUFT, Prof Dr Engr Ayub Nabi Khan, Pro Vice-Chancellor, BUFT, Xu Ying, Vice President, Liaoning Communication University and Members of LNCU, China were present in the Signing Ceremony. After the meeting, accompanied by Vice President Xu Ying, the BUFT delegation visited the art gallery, international students' apartments, training room and gymnasium at LNCU, China. BUFT has so far signed MoUs with three universities of China including this one.


SYLHET: BNP and its front organisations, South Surma Upazila Unit brought out a procession demanding release of BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia recently.
Gaza toll rises to 59 with more protests against Israel planned

North Korea\'s only nuclear test site is located in the mountainous northern region of the country.

AFP, Gaza :

At least 59 Palestinians were killed on Monday with more than 2,400 wounded Fresh protests were expected Tuesday a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict's bloodiest day in years.

Palestinians on Tuesday mark the Nakba, or "catastrophe," commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned.

Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said.

The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said.

At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war. Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya vowed protests in Gaza would continue on Tuesday.

Hamas's armed wing and other militant groups "will not prolong their silence over the crimes of the occupation", he said.

In the West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared a general strike on Tuesday after accusing Israel of "massacres".

On Monday, tens of thousands had gathered near the border in protest while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.

The death toll led to strong condemnation from rights groups and concern from a range of countries.

But the United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into the violence, diplomats at the United Nations said.

Despite the violence, the embassy inauguration went on as planned in Jerusalem, attended by a Washington delegation that included US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides.

Trump addressed the gathering by video.

"Our greatest hope is for peace," he said, despite the Palestinian anger the move has provoked.

Israel's military said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the protests and clashes.

It said its aircraft had targeted 11 Hamas sites and tanks fired at "two terror posts belonging to Hamas", accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement of opening fire towards Israeli forces.

Israel says its action is necessary to stop infiltrations of the border fence and claims that Hamas, which runs the blockaded Gaza Strip, uses the protests as cover to carry out violence.

The White House also blamed Hamas for the violence.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "violence of the Israeli armed forces against the protesters" as several countries urged restraint.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt acknowledged "Israel's right to defend its borders" but also said "the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning".

"We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said "we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide."

Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel "for consultations," while South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel "until further notice".

At least 113 Palestinians have been killed in a campaign of protests along the Gaza border since March 30, the vast majority by Israeli snipers during clashes.

Only one Israeli soldier has been reported wounded during that time.

On Monday, the army said "many rioters" tried to breach the border fence and "approximately 10 explosive devices and several firebombs were used to target the security fence and (Israeli) troops". It said shots were also fired at the soldiers.

The embassy inauguration followed Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

International consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides, but Trump broke with that to global outrage.

He has argued that it helps make peace possible by taking Jerusalem "off the table", but many have noted he has not announced any concessions in return from Israel.

Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move was also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.




Quota protesters block shuttle train to CU

bdnews24.com :

Students and job seekers blocked the Chittagong University-bound shuttle train yesterday morning at Sholosahar Rail Station as part of the strike called by the 'Bangladesh Council to Protect General Students' Rights'.

"Student protesters blocked the first shuttle train to the campus this morning. The second one has not set off from Battali Rail Station," Md Shahabuddin, station master at Sholosahar Railway Station told bdnews24.com.

The protesters are demanding that the government quickly issue the gazette abolishing the quota system in government jobs. The prime minister had suggested the quota system be abolished a month ago.

They said the boycott at different educational institutions in Chattogram since Monday is a part of central protest programme.

At present, 56 percent of government jobs are secured for different quotas, 30 percent for children of freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for less-developed districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups and 1 percent for people with disabilities.

The Bangladesh Council to Protect General Students' Rights, the platform of the quota reform protesters, demanded a reduction in the quotas up to 10 percent and wanted job-seekers on the merit list be hired if people eligible for quota are unavailable.

Prime Minister Hasina on Apr 11 told parliament the quota system will be completely scrapped.
Bangabandhu Satellite-1 ushers new hope

Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :

Human instinct is to know the unknown, to see the unseen and to explore the unexplored. Nothing is impossible in this world. There are many mysterious things in this vast universe. With a narrow mind if one tries to think the vastness one may be lost. It is only the indomitable courage, determination, will-force which may help one to reach the vast area of universe. One cannot see it or imagine it with his/her normal or white eye. It is the power of imagination, deep thought-line and one's mind's eye which empower to attain the destination over seas, ocean, sky and beyond.

In the near past, we have won to establish our rights in sea. For a long time it was under the judgment of International court of justice. At last by our strong diplomacy, it was settled and court's verdict was declared in favor of us. It might appear to some of our neighbors as a matter of jealousy and intolerance. We see their jaundiced eye. We may be jeopardized by jealousy for time-being. We may be harassed or loserer but ultimately, we will over come the clumsy situation or any man made crisis.

Over the period of time, it happens that narrowness and jealousy is undertaken or subjugated for their mischievous actions towards others. Very often in such cases nature takes its hand. There may be an indication of weakness in the lines stated above. There is a proverb- 'pride Goethe before destruction.' There is an adverse effect of any and every excess. However, my topic is on Bangabandhu Satellite-1. This is indeed a big job done from our country.

This is a victory of our diplomacy. Once, we had a dream of it. Today it is a reality. Our name & fame now is crossing across the sea. With this victory, our image has been built up throughout the world. It is our responsibility to up-hold this prestige.

It crosses to the high-ups and going beyond space. Ascending of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 is undoubtedly a miracle like performance by our profound thinkers, activists, diplomats and other concerned.

19 April, 1975 India in this sub-continent could get a chance of access to space by ascending their satellite with the support of Soviet Union. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Sri-lanka could make a room of satellite system with the support of China. But in South Asia, Bangladesh is an exception. Bangladesh with her own initiative, with its own financial support on ascending of Bangabandhu Satellite-1 has created a successful access to space. This is indeed significant. By it we have become a part of history.

On the eve of our graduation form LDC to developing country we planned for it. Many of our big brothers had their blinkings of eyes.

Many development partners were amazed to see it. When BTRC, the representatives of ITU applied for 102 degree axis line of East longitude. 20 member countries of ITU like China, Australia protested it, although we belong to it as an elected council member of ITU. Many assume that, those are yet to be settled from our diplomatic part and for our limitations in policy sharing with the ITU policy holders.

At last, Bangladesh hired 119.1 degree East longitude from Inter-spotonik of Russia and fired in the line of its target. For Bangladesh its road to development was never smooth. After its independence, Bangabandhu even spared no pains to build war-ravaged Bangladesh into its self-reliance.

Ignoring all the oppositions and limitations Bangabandhu could launch almost an abandoned Bethbonia geo-stationary satellite centre.

The inaugural session took place on 14th June, 1975 and Bangabandhu formally opened and declared the satellite activities. From its initial success our honorable Prime Minister has expedited this journey towards its success and optimal goal through ascending Bangabandhu Satellite-1 by its maximum use, capabilities and with our own resources. This is undoubtedly magnificent, marvelous and unique activity which may accelerate us to achieve digital Bangladesh. This is spell-bound and matter of pleasure to a nation. It is in fect the precedence and record of history and time immemorial. It is also a breakthrough in the line of air communication and capturing aerial resources.

(Data and information collected from an article published on 13th May, 2018 in the daily Janakantho by Reza Selim, a friend of myself).

We are grateful to India, for its act of kind cooperation in the field of communication channel. Bangladesh with the support of India was successful to send one SAARC Satellite Transponder of 36 Mega horse located at 97.5 degree East longitudinal part.

Other than Pakistan all other SAARC member countries could avail the opportunity. Nepal is still in line of process. In spite of opposition from ITU or not having the axis line, Bangladesh in an alternative way, its desired satellite could enter into space by its own arrangements and efforts. As per outer space treaty in 1967, every country is supposed to take the self responsibility abiding by the international code and ethics.

Unfortunately, we were deprived of the rights. Now the right is established. Our future prospects are brighter now. Mean while, the Bangabandhu Satellite-1 has captured 40 transponders. We may even lend some of the transponders to others. It they are properly utilized our broadcast and communication arena will be more and more shining.

But its use must be pro-service and in research line rather than that of recreational. That must be our prime motto. We are to be prepared for the 2nd and 3rd satellite so the area of scientific research need to be prioritized where we are in fact far behind.

These scientific researches will help us to reduce our poverty, expand education and enhance health protection. The world will have a surprise to see our innovation and research. With the innovative idea from our scientists, the outside world diplomats will give us due honor and their heads will be vowed to us. Now the thing is that we must utilize our brain and intellect. Research activities must be carried forward for a prestigious and dignified Bangladesh.
Gathering for human rights issues was meant for misleading propaganda

A number of countries from Europe, Asia, North and South America on Monday participated in the Human Rights Council Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review on its third cycle, underway at Geneva. The countries collectively urged Bangladesh to safeguard freedom of expression. Moreover, the countries advised the Bangladesh government to reconsider the proposed Digital Security Act. Our Law Minister is also representing Bangladesh, reportedly to highlight efforts and achievements of the government.

The push for protecting freedom of expression in Bangladesh is getting more regular in recent times, and also foreign envoys stationed in Bangladesh have made the same request couple of months back. Yet the government remains silent and somewhat hesitant to openly discuss on crucial issues like the freedom of expression.

However, the representatives of a number of countries urged our Law Minister on specific issues. For instance, the representative from Norway called upon Bangladesh government to ensure the rights of journalists and human rights defenders. The country also requested Bangladesh to investigate rights abuses by state agencies. The New Zealand representative called for safeguarding freedom of assembly and political association, and implementing the Chottogram Hill Tracts Accord signed in 1997. Poland had asked to ratify the United Nations Convention against Torture. Portugal and Slovakia said to put an end to death penalty and the list went on with other countries.

Nevertheless, what's puzzling is that while responding to their plea, our Law Minister was repeatedly explaining the list of achievements of the government. On the other hand, he was portraying the opposition BNP as an undemocratic force. Our point is -- such international forums, meetings or seminars are not platforms for sycophancy and propaganda of development politics. The issues raised were human rights connected but Minister was not willing to face those issues. The Law Minister plainly executed the duty of a public spokesperson of the ruling party.

Even had the Minister responded by assuring the participant countries that - he and the government would look into the issues raised - he would have sounded more relevant. We know, the issues raised in the Universal Periodic Review are not new but the Law Minister's response in that regard was a poor show and out of the context.


Tension in Gaza as Palestinians begin to bury 58 killed

Relatives mourn at a funeral in Gaza on Tuesday.

BBC Online :

Funerals are being held in Gaza for 58 people killed on Monday when Israeli troops opened fire during Palestinian protests, in the deadliest day of violence there since a war in 2014.

The burials coincide with the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba - a mass displacement of Palestinians after Israel's creation. Israel's military said it was preparing for further confrontations on Tuesday.

But Palestinian groups indicated they intended to rein in the protests.

Monday's violence came as the US inaugurated its first embassy in Jerusalem, a controversial move that broke with decades of US policy and incensed Palestinians.

Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state and see the US move as backing Israeli control over the whole of the city - which Israel regards as its indivisible capital.

Palestinian officials said that, as well as those killed, about 2,700 people had been injured in Monday's violence - which they condemned as a massacre.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military was acting in self-defence against Gaza's Islamist rulers, Hamas, who seek to destroy Israel. Israel's military said it had only fired at "targets of terrorist activity".

The UN human rights office was heavily critical of Israel's use of force.

"The mere fact of approaching a fence is not a lethal, life-threatening act, so that does not warrant being shot," spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva. "How much threat can a double amputee be making from the other side of a large fortified fence?" he asked. At Shifa, Gaza's main hospital, men were queuing on Tuesday to give blood. They wanted to help the many wounded in Monday's violence.

Inside the hospital, there were many with gunshot wounds. Across Gaza, families were burying their dead. By midday there were

no reports of new demonstrations. There was shock in Gaza at the scale of the killing. The right of return to lands they lost is a highly emotional issue for Palestinians but people here questioned whether it was worth staging such a protest after the terrible death toll.

In fact, this was an incident waiting to happen. Tension has been rising for weeks in Gaza. People here have been impoverished by a goods blockade imposed by Israel and by Egypt, which shuns Hamas because of its links with the Muslim Brotherhood. The only way of stopping more violence and death is to work seriously to settle the conflict. But that is not happening.

Palestinians were demonstrating on Monday as they have been for seven weeks, as part of a protest orchestrated in part by Hamas and branded the "Great March of Return".

Monday's protests were timed to mark the anniversary of Israel's creation in 1948 and the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who subsequently fled their homes or were displaced in the war that followed.

Israel said some 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in "violent riots" at 13 locations along Israel's security fence along Gaza's eastern border. Palestinians hurled stones and incendiary devices and approached the border fence. Israeli snipers fired live ammunition at protesters and used tear gas dispersed from drones.

Mr Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the violence and sought to justify Israel's military action. "Every country has an obligation to defend its borders," he said,

Hamas did not initiate the weekly protests that have been taking place for the past seven weeks, but the group has since become the driving force behind them.

Israel's actions were condemned or criticised by the UK, France, Germany, Turkey, Lebanon and other nations. Israel was defended by its key ally, the US. President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo chose not to address the deadly violence in Gaza.

The violence in Gaza and the US embassy opening were not explicitly linked but both were timed to coincide with Israel's 70th anniversary on Monday.

Commentators drew attention to the stark contrast between the images from Jerusalem - of a high-level US delegation, alongside Mr Netanyahu and his wife, celebrating the new US embassy opening - and the violent images emerging from Gaza. The relocation has incensed the Palestinians and drawn the ire of other nations, who say it violates international law. Palestinians claim East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, and see the US move as backing Israeli control over the whole of the city.
Probe all cases of rights violations

UNB, Dhaka :

UN-member states have recommended Bangladesh to thoroughly investigate all the cases of alleged abductions, enforced disappearances, tortures and extrajudicial killings taking place within law enforcement agencies and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The recommendations came at the third cycle Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights records of Bangladesh in Geneva on Monday, according to the UN Human Rights Council. A total 107 countries took the floor and praised Bangladesh's endeavours in

fulfilling its human rights commitments. A report on Bangladesh's UPR will be finalised on May 17 containing recommendations made by countries. The states, according to the UNHRC Secretariat, recommended Bangladesh to revise media law, including Digital Security & ITC Act, to decriminalise defamation, and ensure freedom of expression also online. They recommend protecting journalists and human rights defenders from harassment and investigating violations against them.

They also expressed concern that Bangladesh continues to impose the death penalty and recommend the country to consider the imposition of a moratorium on all pending executions as first step towards the full abolition of capital punishment. The UN-member states recommended Bangladesh to continue improving Rohingya Refugees' conditions, investigate allegations of abuses and human rights violations, guarantee the principle of non-refoulement and accede to 1951 Refugee Convention. They suggested Bangladesh to guarantee freedom of association, increase the transparency of recruitment system of migrant workers to combat forced labour and human trafficking, protect female workers from exploitation in the informal sector, and eradicate child labour.

The international community has highly appreciated the remarkable humanitarian role of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in providing shelter to the forcibly displaced Rohingyas and continuing humanitarian assistance to them.

The appreciation came at the third cycle Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights records of Bangladesh in Geneva on Monday, according to information gathered from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka.

The member-states of the UN also commended Bangladesh for its efforts in promoting and protecting human rights for all. The 3rd Cycle of UPR for Bangladesh was held at the 30th session of Human Rights Council in Geneva. Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Anisul Huq led the Bangladesh delegation.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam, Senior Secretary of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division Mohammad Shahidul Haque, Ambassador Shameem Ahsan, Bangladesh Permanent Representative to UN in Geneva and representatives from various Ministries/Division/agencies participated in the session.

Law Minister highlighted Bangladesh's achievements in promotion and protection of human rights and socio-economic advancements, which have been achieved under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Ten killed in road crashes

Staff Reporter :

At least ten persons were killed and around 35 injured in road accidents in Habiganj , Mymensingh and Manikganj districts on Tuesday.

Of the deceased, four were killed in Habiganj, three in Mymensingh and Manikganj districts each.

In Habiganj, a bus collided with a truck on Dhaka-Sylhet highway at Haritola in Shayestaganj upazila, resulting in the death of four people on the spot.

Jasim Uddin, Officer-in-Charge of Shayestaganj Highway Police Station said that the identities of the deceased could not be ascertained instantly.

Six injured persons were taken to Habiganj Sadar Hospital.

In Mymensingh, two passengers of a CNG-run auto-rickshaw were killed and four others injured when a truck hit the three-wheeler in Gabtoli area in Muktagachha upazila around 11:45am.

The victims were identified as Jalal Uddin, 38, from village Khajulia and Mustafizur Rahman Lebu, 45, from Kamalapur village in Muktagacahha Upazila of the district.

The injured were rushed to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.
Condemning use of force, BD calls for pressure on Israel

UNB, Dhaka :

Bangladesh has strongly condemned the use of deadly force by the Israeli authorities against unarmed Palestinians which left scores of Palestinian civilians dead and several thousand injured.

While expressing deep condolences and sympathies to the Palestinians, Bangladesh called on international community to put pressure on Israel to stop the atrocities immediately. Bangladesh also expressed its dismay at the United States' move to shifting its Embassy to Jerusalem. Bangladesh stressed

on preserving the legal status of Jerusalem as an international city within the framework of relevant UN resolutions.

"Bangladesh reaffirms its position in favour of establishing the State of Palestine on the basis of two-state solution and on the pre- 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," said the Foreign Ministry here in a statement on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a UN human rights expert has called on the Israeli Government to immediately cease its lethal assault against protesters at the Gaza fence, who appear to pose no credible threat to Israeli military forces on the Israeli side of the fence. Michael Lynk, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, condemned Israel's excessive use of force towards largely unarmed demonstrators at the Gaza fence on Monday, which has left 58 Palestinians dead, and almost 2,800 wounded. He expressed grave fears this figure could rise sharply in coming days unless Israeli authorities uphold their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

"This blatant excessive use of force by Israel - an eye for an eyelash - must end, and there must be true accountability for those in military and political command who have ordered or allowed this force to be once again employed at the Gaza fence," he was quoted as saying in a statement UNB received from Geneva on Tuesday. Lynk repeated his calls to the international community, through the United Nations, to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into these killings, as well as those that have occurred in the context of these demonstrations since 30 March.

"Impunity for these actions is not an option. Justice for the victims must become a priority for the international community," he said.
BNP spreading rumours over peaceful KCC polls: AL

Staff Reporter :

Awami League on Tuesday claimed the Khulna City Corporation (KCC) polls as 'peaceful' and blamed that BNP is spreading rumours over the peaceful voting.

"BNP is spreading rumours for making the KCC's peaceful polling questionably," said Awami League Joint General Secretary Jahangir Kabir Nanak.

He made the comment at a press briefing at the party's President Sheikh Hasina's Dhanmondi political office during the voting.

He said, "City dwellers, regardless male and female, exercised their franchise since morning with excitement and enthusiasm. A fair and neutral polling took place in the city."

"We hope that the people would not accept the BNP's allegations and the rumours," the AL leader said.

He also expressed hope that Awami League mayoral candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleque will surely win in KCC election.

Awami League Joint General Secretary Abdur Rahman, Organising Secretary Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, Education and Human Resource Affairs Secretary Shamsunnahar Chapa, among others, were also present.

On the other hand, Talukder Abdul Khaleque dismissed the allegation by the BNP candidate that his agents were barred from entering polling centres.

Abdul Khaleque said, "How can he complain of his agents being driven away before starting the voting, this is utterly untrue."

"We cannot help if their organisation is weak or they lack number of agents," he said.

In the same time he said that he is ready to accept any outcome of the polls.


Massive irregularities in KCC polls: BNP

Staff Reporter :

The BNP on Tuesday alleged of widespread irregularities in 50 per cent of polling stations in the Khulna City Corporation polls.

"Muscle men of ruling Awami League forcing out of BNP candidate's polling agents, stuffing ballots, assaulting and intimidating our supporters, in about 50 per cent of the total voting centres. The Election Commission played totally silent role about BNP's allegations. They were working in favour of AL's mayor candidate. The police also backed the ruling party,"

said BNP Senior Joint-Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi.

He was speaking at a press conference at the party's Nayapaltan central office.

Rizvi said, "Ruling party cadres are desperate to snatch people's right to franchise without obstruction. An awful situation has been prevailing in the Khulna election areas."

"The Commission turned one-eyed man and ignored BNP's allegation instead of taking action against widespread irregularities of the AL men. The EC has surrendered to the government forgetting its own authority as an independent body. This Commission is like a photocopy of the government," said Rizvi.

The BNP leader said, "The ruling party men were desperate to indulge in election irregularities due to the inactive role of the EC."

Rizvi said that in most the voting centers the BNP candidate's male agents were forced out while women agents and supporters were tortured and obstructed from entering polling stations.

He alleged that the AL mayor candidate's musclemen established their control over most of the pulling centres resorting to terrorism.

Rizvi, however, said as per their party's decision, they had asked their mayor candidate to stay there in the polls till the end.

On the other hand, BNP mayor candidate Nazrul Islam Manju also said that the ruling party men drove out his polling agents from most polling centres.

He said it after visiting different voting centres in the city. Manju also alleged that his agents were obstructed to enter many polling centres.

"The ruling party men also beat many of his polling agents in different polling centres," Manju alleged.


To be killed as unarmed Palestinians is a shame: Fight jointly Israeli war machine

Editorial Desk :

Gaza is braced for fresh protests against Israel as the first funerals are expected to be held for 65 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on Monday, the deadliest day since the end of the 2014 Gaza conflict. May 15th is the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled or fled amidst violence in the wake of the creation of Israel in 1948.

Weeks of angry protests were further enflamed on Monday by the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. While Ivanka Trump and other American dignitaries gathered in the afternoon sun to celebrate the embassy opening, the Gaza border was transformed into a scene of fire and chaos as tens of thousands of protesters faced Israeli snipers. Israel's military said that it opened fire to stop Hamas from using the protests as a distraction to breakthrough the border fence and carry out attacks inside Israel.

Palestinians said the overwhelming majority of those killed were unarmed demonstrators while the Palestinian Authority accused Israel of carrying out "a terrible massacre" and called for international intervention to stop the killing. Despite the bloodshed, US President Donald Trump hailed the day as "a great day for Israel" and said he believed his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would ultimately help forge peace between Israelis and Palestinians. In a speech in London the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticised the embassy opening. He said that the United States has chosen to be a part of the problem rather than the solution with its latest step and has lost its mediating role in the peace process.

The UK's Minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt, said: that the violence in Gaza and the West Bank has been shocking. The loss of life and the large number of injured Palestinians is tragic, and it is extremely worrying that the number of those killed continues to rise.

The reality remains that the will of one man, Israeli PM Netanyahu, is prevailing in the Middle East. Donald Trump's abject submission to the Netanyahu doctrine--which is to do anything to enhance the interests of Israel, has emboldened Israel to such an extent that it can massacre innocent civilians with impunity.

Now all that is left is for the US to attack Iran. If that occurs we can only imagine the unrestrained glee which will surround Netanyahu and his closest advisors because it will be a dream come true for Netanyahu. It will mean that his twisted vision of an Israeli which stands supreme in the Middle East will come to pass. But for that to happen the US will have to directly engage with Russia. That is something which it does not want to face at the present--so sooner or later cooler heads must prevail. The US should remember the wise words of its founder George Washington who asked the new nation back in its early days to stay away from conflicts which would involve other states.

Please do give Israel the pleasure of killing unarmed Palestinian Muslims. What armed militias do in and around Palestine is creating a situation so that civilians are killed by Israeli army for fun. It is a disgrace that the Muslim countries of the region cannot together fight a war against Israeli oppression.
Vote rigging, expulsion of BNP candidate's agents alleged: BBC

Staff Reporter :

Khulna City Corporation (KCC) elections ended on Tuesday with complaints of massive vote rigging, snatching of ballot boxes, driving out of BNP candidate's polling agents and assaulting election observers.

Reports from various polling stations said, presiding officers have suspended election in three polling centres after massive vote riggings that caused chaos there.

BNP mayoral candidate Nazrul Islam Manju complained that his polling agents were beaten up and driven out from 40 polling centers.

Agency reports said, voters were barred from coming to polling centres at many places. Many others also complained that they found their votes were already cast when they appeared at the polling centres, depriving them of their right to franchise.

BNP mayoral candidate also complained that vote rigging had taken place mainly under the shelter of the Khulna Metropolitan Police Commissioner.

BBC Bangla reporting from the spot said, presence of voters was good, especially female voters. But the returning officer had to suspend polling at a polling centre as 15 to 20 goons entered that centres and sealed ballots and staffed it into the ballot box.

Voting was also suspended at two other polling centres.

The BBC correspondent also confirmed expulsion of BNP candidate's agents from many polling centres and he personally did not see any agent at many centers.

The correspondent also said he saw crowd of workers and supporters of Awami League mayor candidate Talukder Abdul Khaleq outside many poling centers. But presence of BNP workers and supporters was not visible at all.

Presiding Officer Ali Hossain said, they have stopped electoral activities at polling centre No 278 under the Ward No 31around 2:30pm after ballot boxes were snatched away by the miscreants.

Another presiding officer Khalilur Rahman said, a group of miscreants snatched ballot papers from a polling station at Khulna Government Iqbal Nagar School around 10:30am and put seals on all the papers.

He said they later suspended the voting at the centre.

Meanwhile, voting at Fatema High School in Ward No 22 was suspended for two hours from 10:30am following an incident of fake balloting.

Voting in the Khulna city polls began at 8:00am to elect a new mayor, 31 councillors and 10 women for in reserved seats.

While casting votes, Awami League mayoral candidate Abdul Khaleq claimed that voting was going on in a peaceful and festive manner while BNP candidate Nazrul Islam Monju complained that a massive vote rigging was underway and his voters were barred from voting by the ruling party goons.




SC order on Khaleda's bail now today

Staff Reporter :

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has deferred till today (Wednesday) morning to deliver its verdict on the appeals against the High Court order that granted bail to BNP Chief Khaleda Zia in Zia Orphanage Trust case.

A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain rescheduled its verdict on Tuesday following further submission for about one hour made by Attorney General (AG) Mahbubey Alam against her bail.

The bench of the Appellate Division sat around 9:50 am for delivering judgment as per its previous schedule. But, the Attorney General stood and told the court that he wants to place some more arguments.

The AG said he could not complete placing arguments on May 9 as the court witnessed commotion from some lawyers on that day. After an interval, the court resumed the hearing at 12:05 pm. After AG's submission, Khaleda Zia's lawyer Zainul Abedin also placed some arguments.

After their submissions, the bench re-fixed the date for the verdict.

Mahbubey Alam said, "Khaleda Zia's case and other cases are not the same. Khaleda Zia's case should not be compared with other cases. This case was filed for the embezzlement of the government fund. A sum of money came to the Prime Minister's orphan fund. That money was embezzled by transferring to another orphan fund. Khaleda Zia gave the permission to transfer that money."

In his submission, the AG also read some decisions of the SC on bail of some leaders of Awami League and BNP. He said, "Physical condition of those leaders was seriously deteriorated. They also submitted medical documents in the court. Everyone served in jail for a long time. Their lives were in risk. But medical board did not say that Khaleda Zia's physical condition is so bad. Only the BNP men claimed this which was published in the newspapers."

"The trial of this case took nine years to end. So, appeal should be disposed of in the High Court on priority basis," he added.

After the AG's submission, Khaleda Zia's lawyer Zainul Abedin said, the cases were filed in the time of an emergency government of which decisions the Attorney General read. There is not a single example in which case was interfered by the Appellate Division after the High Court had granted bail to anyone. But we have seen that the ACC did not appeal after the HC bail. Yet the government and the ACC appealed together in Khaleda Zia's case."

On May 9, a four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain fixed May 15 to pass order on Khaleda Zia's bail after completing hearing on two appeal petitions filed by the ACC and the government against the High Court order that granted bail to her in the case.

The High Court on March 12 granted her four months' bail in Zia Orphanage Trust case in which she was sentenced to five years in prison.

On March 19, the SC stayed the HC bail till May 8 following two leave-to-appeal petitions filed by the Anti-Corruption Commission and the government.

The Appellate Division heard the leave-to-appeal petitions on May 8 and 9 and fixed May 15 for passing order, which was deferred to May 16.

Khaleda Zia landed in jail on February 8 after the special judge's court-5 of Dhaka sentenced her to imprisonment as the court found her and five others guilty in the case.

The court also sentenced Khaleda's elder son Tarique Rahman, now the Acting Chairman of BNP, and four others to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment each, and fined them a total of Tk 2.10 crore, saying that all the six convicts have to pay the fine in equal amounts.

The ACC had filed the case with Ramna Police Station in July 2008, accusing the six of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that came from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.




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Islamic economy generates 8.3 per cent of Dubais gross domestic product (GDP), according to Dubai Statistics Centre, a strategic partner of Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC), a media report said.



This was announced by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy and chairman of DIEDC while chairing the second meeting of DIEDCs Board of Directors in 2018, reported Emirates news agency Wam.



The contribution of the Islamic economy to Dubai's GDP increased from 7.6 per cent in 2014 to 8.3 per cent in 2016, registering a growth rate of 14 per cent. In 2016, Islamic economy sectors contributed Dh32.77 billion ($8.9 billion), compared to Dh32.21 billion in 2015, and Dh28.78 billion in 2014.



Al Mansouri said: "These results speak volumes not only in terms of the development of the Islamic economy in Dubai, but also the success of the UAE's sustainable development drive as part of its post-oil economy vision. We are keen to boost productive sectors and develop strategies that encourage responsible investment, entrepreneurship and innovation."



He emphasised that the 'Dubai: Capital of Islamic Economy' initiative achieved success just one year following its launch in 2013 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.



The Minister of Economy attributed the achievements to DIEDCs partners, their commitment to implementing the centre initiatives and their contributions to the development of an institutional framework that stimulates the growth of the Islamic economy and facilitates the development of halal industry standards. He also thanked Dubai Statistics Centre for its cooperative role as a strategic partner of DIEDC.



"Our goal of increasing the contribution of Islamic economy sectors to the national GDP by 2021 is well within our reach as long as we continue to implement our strategy on schedule and in productive cooperation with all local and international partners. Dubai is already enroute to leading several global Islamic economy indicators by 2021," Al Mansouri added.



He noted that the increased contribution of the Islamic economy to the GDP is the outcome of two factors. The first factor is the growth of key sharia-compliant sectors that goes hand in hand with increased trust in Dubai and the wider UAE as global references for the Islamic economy. Secondly, the impact of the Islamic economy culture on conventional sectors and greater awareness of the focus of Islamic economic standards on achieving sustainable development have attracted more investors to the field.



During the meeting, DIEDCs Board of Directors also reviewed a study of the Islamic economys contribution to Dubais GDP, prepared by Dubai Statistics Centre. The study was based on various indicators including the number of establishments active in the Islamic economy, index of production, intermediate consumption, and VAT index, as well as performance indicators of UAE-based halal companies.



According to the study, Islamic finance boosted its contribution from 22.2 per cent in 2014 to 24.7 per cent in 2015 to reach 26.3 per cent in 2016. The halal food sector accounted for 62.4 per cent in 2016, while modest fashion amounted to 25.7 per cent. Halal industries commanded a 94.5 per cent share of domestic trade in 2016, with halal food representing 58.7 per cent and halal pharmaceuticals and cosmetics making up the remaining 41.3 per cent.
A high-level delegation from South Africa led by Paul Mashatile, Treasurer General of the African National Congress and the Envoy of the South African President, met Dr Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at his office.



Dr Gargash received from Mashatile a message from the South African President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed to HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, confirming South Africa's participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, said the state news agency Wam.



During the meeting, both the parties discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and also develop cooperation in the field of economic and politics, as well as other issues of common interest. They also dwelt at length on the latest developments in the international and regional arena, it added.


The Saudi Ministry of Justice is planning to launch an alimony fund similar to the UKs Child Maintenance Service, in an attempt to empower mothers and provide sustainable living and support, for them and their children.



The alimony fund is dedicated to women who are divorced and facing difficulty in securing monthly expenses from their former husbands. The fund is designed to cover their expenses until a verdict can be reached as to the amount the husband should pay.



"I am so grateful for this fund," said Um Ahmed, a recently separated mother of three. "I am going through a divorce, with no stable source of income for me or my children. My main dispute with my husband was his lack of financial commitment towards me and my kids. This fund will force him to commit financially and will also ensure my children's needs are met."



The fund will be financed by divorced husbands, who are required by law to submit payments to the fund, which are then paid to enrolled women and children. Even if the husband fails to pay on time, the fund still covers the expenses of the enrolled mothers without delays and deducts the amounts from the husbands.



"We are looking forward to see this fund up and running," said the Ministry of Justice. "The ministry has planned well to ensure its sustainability. We researched many similar funds worldwide, such as the Child Maintenance Service in the UK, and used the experience to build a fund that is right for the country. We want to ensure the ministry can act quickly to provide practical solutions for divorced women and their children. We want to demonstrate our steadfast commitment to women in our society and move forward towards the realization of National Transformation Program and Vision 2030, which represents a better future for all our people."



According to the ministry's plan, the number of expected beneficiaries of the fund is expected to reach around 155,000 by 2022.



Saudi Arabia has recently launched several initiatives in support of women in general and Saudi women in particular, both in civic life and in the workplace. The efforts by the Ministry of Justice are designed to complement those initiatives, delivering help for women in providing for and raising their children. - TradeArabia News Service
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) has signed a project development agreement with Spain-based Cepsa for a new, world-scale Linear Alkylbenzene (LAB) facility in Adnocs refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais, UAE.



Cepsa is a Spanish integrated oil company, wholly owned by Abu Dhabis Mubadala Investment Company. Cepsa has over five decades of experience in LAB and brings market experience and market leading technology that provides the best raw material consumption ratios and excellent health and safety performance. LAB is the most common raw material in the manufacture of biodegradable household and industrial detergents, and is also used in house cleaners and soap bars.



The LAB project is one among a number of initiatives to be executed as Adnoc looks to significantly enhance and expand its refining operations and capabilities to support its downstream plans, said a statement.



The agreement follows the signing last November of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Adnoc and Cepsa to evaluate the setting up of a LAB facility in Ruwais, it said.



After the successful completion of a feasibility study, the project is now ready to move to the Front End Engineering Design (Feed) stage, it added.



The LAB manufacturing facility will be fully integrated within the Adnoc Refining complex, taking feedstocks of kerosene and benzene and benefitting from the suite of utilities and services of the Ruwais complex.



The facility is expected to have a production capacity of 150,000 tonnes per year of LAB upon completion, said a statement.



Abdulaziz Al Hajri, downstream director at Adnoc, said: We are pleased to be moving forward with our partnership with Cepsa, through its chemical business to develop a new LAB facility in Ruwais.



As we expand downstream and grow our refining capacity and capabilities, we will be able to expand the number of new products and value chains we can create, he said.



The development of a new LAB facility will enable the emergence of a surfactants cluster in our new Ruwais Derivatives and Conversion Parks, diversifying the number and type of industries being developed there, leading to the creation of an expanded and advanced petrochemicals ecosystem in the UAE, he added.



Pedro Miro, chief executive officer, Cepsa, said: The start-up of this complex underscores our commitment to continue developing our international operations as part of our integrated business model.



We are delighted with our collaboration with Adnoc across several of our businesses (chemicals, E&P, trading), and we are convinced that the future will bring us further opportunities to grow together, he said.



The Ruwais petrochemicals cluster strengthens our position as leaders in LAB and Detal technology, developed jointly with UOP, and adds to our plants in Spain, Canada, and Brazil, as well as giving us access to high growth markets to the east of the Suez Canal, he added.



The signing of the project development agreement comes as Adnoc outlined its new downstream strategy at its Downstream Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on May 13, said a statement.



At the heart of this strategy, is a Dh165 billion ($45 billion) investment programme that will see the Ruwais Industrial Complex upgraded to significantly increase its flexibility and integrated capabilities to produce greater volumes of higher-value refined and petrochemical products, it said.



Adnoc will also create a large scale, integrated manufacturing ecosystem in Ruwais through the creation of new petrochemicals Derivatives and Conversion Parks.



The Ruwais Derivatives Park will be fully integrated with the larger Ruwais complex, acting as a prime catalyst for the next stage of petrochemical transformation, by inviting partners to invest and produce new products and solutions from the feedstocks that are available in Ruwais.



The Ruwais Conversion Park will enable new businesses even further down the value chain, taking feedstock from Adnoc Refining, Borouge and the Derivatives Park, to manufacture higher value, converted end products, including packaging materials, coatings, high voltage insulation and automotive composites, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Petroliam Nasional Berhad (Petronas), the national oil company of Malaysia and Saudi Aramco have launched PRefChem, the corporate identity for their joint ventures in the Pengerang Integrated Complex (PIC) in Pengerang, Johor, Malaysia.



Pengerang Refining Company Sdn Bhd (PRefChem Refining) and Pengerang Petrochemical Company Sdn Bhd (PRefChem Petrochemical) both will be collectively known as PRefChem.



Petronas and Saudi Aramco had earlier in March concluded the share purchase agreement for equal ownership and participation in the operations of the refinery, cracker and selected petrochemical facilities in the PIC.



To mark the occasion, a ceremony was held at PIC which also saw the unveiling of PRefChems logo. Present were Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin, president & group chief executive officer of Petronas; Amin H Nasser, president & chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco; Datuk Md Arif Mahmood, executive vice president Downstream of Petronas, as well as Dr Colin Wong Hee Huing, who are respectively the chairman and chief executive officer of the two companies.



Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee said: This integrated partnership marks a visionary move by two professionally-run national oil companies where both are able to leverage on each others strengths and share technical capabilities as well as experiences for mutual benefit. I am proud that we are amongst the pioneer of national oil companies partnering with one another to ensure better positioning for both organisations in an increasingly competitive market.



Most importantly, this partnership was built on a shared vision and shared values that align a number of priorities for both parties including  upholding the amanah or trust that both organisations have in contributing to our respective nations and its people, he added.



Amin Nasser said: Today marks an important milestone for this giga joint venture project, which is an integral part of Saudi Aramcos refining and fuels marketing and chemicals business strategies and will help in strengthening the companys growth position in Southeast Asia through crude supply and world-scale downstream operations.



This venture also closely aligns with our downstream strategy to invest in a global refining and petrochemicals system of world-scale manufacturing complexes in key regions with participated refining capacity of eight to 10 million barrels per day by 2030.



We are committed to help enhance the areas prosperity and look forward to this new stage of cooperation with our valued partner Petronas. Malaysia provides a great opportunity for Saudi Aramcos downstream portfolio expansion in Asia and PRefChems strategic location in Pengerang will clearly position the country as a prolific regional energy hub, at the same time serve to enhance energy security in the Asia-Pacific region, he added.



At the event, PRefChem also celebrated a major milestone with the mechanical completion of Package 2 comprising the Crude Distillation Unit (CDU). The mechanical completion certificate was presented to Sun Lili, president of Sinopec Engineering, by Datuk Md Arif Mahmood, witnessed by Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee and Nasser.



Dr Colin Wong said that the circular movement of the logo represents collaboration, precision and bonding between Petronas and Saudi Aramco, while the blue and green colours portray PRefChem as a vibrant, dynamic and environmentally friendly company.



The refinery complex and cracker is now 96.54 per cent complete while the petrochemical facilities has achieved 84.8 per cent completion.



Apart from the refinery, cracker and the petrochemical facilities, PIC also includes the development of associated facilities, namely a co-generation plant, an LNG re-gasification terminal, a raw water supply plant, a deep water terminal, and air separation unit, as well as centralised and shared utility facilities.  TradeArabia News Service
Following the recently announced new route launch to Tbilisi, Jazeera Airways recently held a sales roadshow in Kuwait with the Georgian National Tourism Administration.



Promoting Georgia as a top leisure destination, the roadshow to travel agents in the city was followed by a workshop which took place at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel on May 6. In the evening a special dinner was held and attended by Roland Beridze, ambassador of Georgia to Kuwait, Georgian Tourism, local travel agents and Voyager, general sales agent for Jazeera Airways in Georgia, and Jazeera sales executives.



Jazeera Airways will commence three weekly flights to Tbilisi, capital and largest city in Georgia from June 13 onwards to address a growing travel demand for new travel experiences  especially amongst Kuwaiti nationals.



We are happy to have conducted the roadshow which served as a great platform to network and strengthen relations with our trade partners and agents on the ground. We are continuing to expand our route network with new leisure options, especially with summer season approaching. I am delighted with the cooperation we have received from the Georgian authorities and we look forward to elevating Georgias position as a prime tourist attraction. Wed also like to thank Roland Beridze for his personal attendance and support. said CEO of Jazeera Airways, Rohit Ramachandran.



The low-cost champion will provide a frequency of three weekly flights scheduled for departure at 14:50 pm and arrival at 18:20 pm in Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi International Airport and departure at 19:10 pm with arrival in Kuwait at 20:45 pm. Travellers will also enjoy connections from Tbilisi to Kuwait and onwards to Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Dubai and India.



Jazeera Airways will soon be opening its new terminal in May at Kuwait International Airport, bringing an enhanced passenger experience to its customers.



Jazeera Airways currently operates a fleet of nine Airbus A320 aircraft. Passengers can enjoy a baggage allowance of 30kg for Economy class and 50kg per Business class passenger. - TradeArabia News Service
The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority welcomed the announcement on civil aviation in Washington that strongly reaffirmed and maintained all the provisions of the 2002 bilateral Air Transport Agreement between the UAE and the US.



The understanding confirmed at a meeting between the Foreign Ministers of both countries reinforced the principles of Open Skies that advance competition and allow airlines to freely add or adjust services to best serve travellers.



Commenting from Washington after his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan thanked the secretary for working to achieve understandings on civil aviation and noted: "Aviation is at the centre of a UAE-US trade and commercial relationship that generates enormous benefits for both countries. Today's announcement confirms business as usual by validating all of the rights and benefits including 'Fifth Freedom' services -- of the 2002 Air Transport Agreement between the two countries. UAE and US airlines will continue to have complete commercial flexibility to add or adjust service to meet travellers needs."



"We are pleased that the discussions with the US have come to an end. They confirmed what was clear from the very beginning  that the UAE's international airlines have operated in complete compliance with the 2002 Agreement," said UAE minister of economy and chairman of General Civil Aviation Authority, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori. "Importantly, there is no freeze on or any change to operating rights. The UAE's international airlines can plan and begin new service, including Fifth Freedom flights, without limits and consistent with the 2002 Agreement."



"UAE airlines are among the world's best. Their success has been achieved through innovation, a differentiated approach to service, and a geographic advantage at the centre of the globe's fastest growing demand for air service," continued the minister. "Our airlines will continue to grow and expand to connect travellers from and to the Middle East with the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and beyond."



UAE airlines currently serve 12 US gateways with 131 flights a week. These flights generate tens of billions of dollars into the US and UAE economies, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in both countries. The US has a $15 billion trade surplus with the UAE, largely driven by sales of Boeing aircraft with GE engines to UAE airlines, and the UAE also invests hundreds of billions of dollars into the US. - TradeArabia News Service
Global aerospace and defence (A&D) industry revenues are expected to experience significant growth in 2018 with analysts predicting a 4.1 per cent jump - more than doubling last years 2.1 per cent growth.



This is according to Deloitte Globals 2018 Global aerospace and defence industry outlook, which analyses the commercial aircraft and defence sectors and identifies key trends ahead.



With the global economic recovery underway and heightened passenger travel demand, the commercial aircraft subsector is expected to grow 4.8 per cent, primarily driven by elevated production levels to meet growing demand. In 2017, the Asia-Pacific region fueled passenger travel, and will likely continue to drive such growth in the long-term, due to an expanding middle class in the region.

Global demand for new aircraft production is also projected to rise, with annual production likely to increase by 25 per cent over the next decade and 36,780 new aircrafts to be built over the next 20 years.



After a year of subdued growth in 2017, the commercial aircraft sector is accelerating again, however, key challenges remain that the industry must consider and address, said Rashid Bashir, Partner and Public Sector Leader at Deloitte Middle East. Companies need to refocus on strengthening the supply chain, instilling effective program management, and implementing new and advanced technologies to spearhead efficiency.



Amidst an uncertain future, dominated by fears of security threats and heightened global tensions, global powers are also revisiting their defence postures. In 2018, global defence sector revenues are expected to grow 3.6 per cent, with spending to cross $2 trillion by 2022. Global spending is estimated to rise at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 3.0 per cent between 2017-2022.



While the US remained the top spending nation in 2016 (accounting for 36 per cent of the total global military spending), governments in India, Russia, and China have also devoted more resources to defence, with each countrys spending increasing in 2016 to address current global concerns (8.5 per cent, 5.9 per cent, and 5.4 per cent year-on-year, respectively).



Across the globe, demand for defence military products is increasing, and with a growing risk of cyber-attacks worldwide, countries are reinforcing their defence mechanisms, adds Bashir. Higher defence spending across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India, South Korea, Japan, and other nations is likely to encourage the same by Western countries and NATO, as leaders remain hyperfocused on countering potential threats and remaining competitive.



Additional key trends in the industry include:

 Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) continues to gain momentum. M&A deal value in the global A&D industry reached $51.5 billion in 2017, despite the number of transactions declining slightly from 2016. Ultimately, pricing pressures from aircraft original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and expansion of high-margin aftermarket services are pushing suppliers to consolidate for scale and cost efficiencies. M&A activity is likely to remain strong. In the US in particular, increased defence budgets will provide certainty to military planners.



 Military expenditures vary by region. From 2010 to 2016, military expenditures for the Americas declined 18.9 per cent, while Europes spending grew 3.3 per cent during the same time. On the other hand, spending in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East grew substantially, leading global defence companies to reshift their focus on new markets, including India and the Middle East.



 US A&D exports on the decline. In 2017, US A&D exports experienced a slight decline after a multi-year history of growth. Exports stood at $144.7 billion, down 1.3 per cent over 2016. The decline is accounted for by the strengthening of the US dollar and increased competition from global powers such as Russia and China. While exports will continue to remain important globally, the US administrations regulatory policies will largely shape its future. - TradeArabia News Service
UAE developer Meraas has signed a strategic deal with Carnival Corporation, a US-based cruise company and the world's largest travel leisure company, to transform Dubai into a major regional maritime tourism hub.



The agreement was signed by Abdulla Al Habbai, group chairman of Meraas, and Arnold W Donald, chief executive officer of Carnival Corporation.



Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate across several strategic areas including port development, terminal management and new cruise development opportunities at Dubai Harbour and the broader region.



The deal follows the recent approval by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to make the Dubai Cruise Terminal as the main hub for cruise tourism in Dubai.



Dubai is set to become central to Carnival Corporations operations in the region. The agreement mandates Carnival Corporation to assist Meraas in ensuring the cruise terminal meets the highest international standards of the cruise industry, while the relevant authorities will be responsible for security, immigration and customs.



The plan is part of Dubai Tourism Vision 2020, which aims to attract 20 million visitors a year to the emirate.



Sheikh Mohammed said: "We welcome visitors from across the world and provide them with an exceptional tourism experience. We want them to leave with lasting memories that they can share in their countries and communities. The continuous development of infrastructure has enabled our country to be a destination of choice in the region."



Operations at the Dubai Cruise Terminal are scheduled to commence in October 2020.



Commenting on the signing of the agreement, Al Habbai said: The development of the Dubai Cruise Terminal reflects Meraas' commitment to implementing the vision and strategic plans of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to enhance Dubais global standing as a world-class business and leisure tourism destination. Dubai Harbour is a new and unique addition to the citys infrastructure and our alignment with DP World to make Dubai Cruise Terminal the main cruise terminal in the emirate will drive the transformation of Dubai into a fully integrated maritime tourism hub.



He added: In line with the agreement with Carnival Corporation, the cruise hub at Dubai Harbour will reinforce Dubai's status as an ideal holiday destination, a starting point for cruises to exclusive destinations and a gateway to exploring the world. Our partnership will enhance the citys tourism offering with new options for families, such as sharia-compliant tours.



According to the Cruise Lines Industry Association (CLIA), more than 40 million people worldwide will travel on cruise ships annually by 2030, a 40 per cent increase from 26 million passengers in 2017.



At a local level, the maritime tourism sector is expected to contribute more than Dh1.5 billion ($408.3 million) to Dubais economy by 2030.



The Dubai Cruise Terminal at Dubai Harbour will become Carnival Corporations primary hub for its homeporting and transit operations in the region. The partnership will also result in both parties working together to identify and grow the cruise tourism business in the Arabian Gulf region.



Speaking on the agreement, Donald said: We have a long history in Dubai with our world-leading cruise brands. We are excited to be part of this important venture that will drive new tourism opportunities for Dubai and the region through cruising.



Carnival Corporation will launch new cruises from Dubai Cruise Terminal and aims to attract new source markets from India and China



Launched in January 2017 by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Harbour will be located on King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street in the Mina Seyahi area and is set to span 20 million sq ft.



The development will feature a shopping mall, luxury residential units, restaurants, cafes, hotels and a yacht club, as well as Dubai Lighthouse, a 135-metre high architectural masterpiece with a viewing platform offering stunning panoramic views of Dubai.



In addition, Dubai Harbour will boast the largest yacht marina in the Middle East and North Africa with 1,100 berths capable of accommodating some of the world's largest yachts up to 150 m.



The project is being developed in phases and will create synergies with some of Dubais other iconic projects located in the area, including Bluewaters. - TradeArabia News Service




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[May 14, 2018] Rebecca Rosen of Broadvoice Recognized as One of CRN's 2018 Women of the Channel

LOS ANGELES, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadvoice, an award-winning provider of hosted voice, unified communications (UC) and SIP Trunking services for businesses, announced today that CRN  , a brand of The Channel Company, has named Rebecca Rosen, vice president of marketing at Broadvoice, to its prestigious 2018 Women of the Channel list. The executives who comprise this annual list span the IT channel, representing vendors, distributors, solution providers and other organizations that figure prominently in the channel ecosystem. Each is recognized for her outstanding leadership, vision and unique role in driving channel growth and innovation. CRN editors select the Women of the Channel honorees based on their professional accomplishments, demonstrated expertise and ongoing dedication to the IT channel. Rosen is an accomplished technology marketing executive with more than 17 years of experience serving competitive communications providers. She also is vice president and chair of the Finance Committee for Alliance of Channel Women (formerly Women in the Channel); a former faculty member for leading IT industry association CompTIA; and a frequent speaker on marketing, strategy, leadership and technology issues at industry events. Rosen hs been recognized for her channel leadership as a recipient of the Channel Partners 2018 Circle of Excellence Award.



As the leader of Broadvoice's marketing efforts, she was instrumental in the roll-out of Broadvoice b-hive, a Unified communications-as-a-Service (UCaaS) and virtual contact center platform that enables channel partners to deliver unprecedented cloud communications capabilities to small and medium businesses (SMBs) nationwide. "I'm honored to be recognized as one of CRN's 2018 Women of the Channel but the award truly belongs to everyone at Broadvoice for their role in tripling the number of partners in our network and growing partner revenue by 50 percent over the past year," said Rosen. "We have a talented and selfless team that enjoys enabling and supporting partners and their clients so they can reach new heights of achievement and success."

About Broadvoice

Broadvoice simplifies communications for small and medium businesses (SMBs) by combining powerful cloud PBX, UC and collaboration features with virtual contact center in one award-winning Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) platform that delivers enterprise-class features at affordable rates. The platform is connected to Broadvoice's secure, redundant network and hosting infrastructure, enabling SMBs to connect with customers securely anytime, anywhere and with any device. Broadvoice is ranked in the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 and Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. Visit Broadvoice.com to learn more. About the Channel Company

The Channel Company enables breakthrough IT channel performance with our dominant media, engaging events, expert consulting and education, and innovative marketing services and platforms. As the channel catalyst, we connect and empower technology suppliers, solution providers and end users. Backed by more than 30 years of unequaled channel experience, we draw from our deep knowledge to envision innovative new solutions for ever-evolving challenges in the technology marketplace. www.thechannelco.com Media Contacts: Kim Sparks

The Channel Company

508.416.1193

195066@email4pr.com Rachel Turkus

Marketing Production Manager

Broadvoice

408.540.8113

195066@email4pr.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rebecca-rosen-of-broadvoice-recognized-as-one-of-crns-2018-women-of-the-channel-300647892.html SOURCE Broadvoice

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The summit of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) member-countries in Sochi culminated in the adoption of the program for the coming year, which will be chaired by Russia. Among its priorities, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, are establishing unified goods and services markets, promoting trade and investment ties and strengthening production and technology cooperation. The meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was attended by the presidents of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, as well as the Prime Minister of Armenia. Moldova received an observer status in the EEU.

"The main goal of the Russian chairmanship is to strengthen our union and give an additional boost to bringing the five economies closer together, and, what is more important, to comprehensively develop our states," Putin said. However, the "five economies" are gradually becoming the "six economies". Moldova gained an observer status in the integration association. But the doors of the EEU are open to all comers. In particular, the organization is waiting for Tajikistan, which is not yet ready to join it and has been studying the pros and cons of integration for three years. " We are ready to consider applications from other interested countries, primarily our CIS neighbors," Putin said at an expanded meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Sochi.

According to experts, there will be more problems in the organization. Shortly before the summit, Russian Prosecutor General Yury Chaika in his annual report to the Federation Council accused Belarus and Kazakhstan of allegedly being the main sources of penetration of sanctions products into the Russian market in 2017. This is not the first time that we have heard such accusations. "This is a good cover for introducing non-tariff barriers to protect the domestic Russian market from its EEU partners," Kazakh political scientist and director of the Group of Risk Assessment, Dosym Satpayev, told Vestnik Kavkaza. According to him, the issue of the feasibility of the republic's presence in the EEU is increasingly discussed in Kazakhstan. This is due to the fact that most of this project's participants do not yet see economic efficiency from the EEU. The economies of Kazakhstan and Russia are of the same type - they have a strong dependence on the sale of raw materials. "The problem that arose after 2014 - the war on re-exports - is facing us every year. It is likely that this trend will continue in the coming years and will complicate relations between Moscow and Astana, as well as Moscow and Minsk, as the sanctions war between Russia and the West has entered a long phase, and we are not expecting any improvement. There is a clash with the interests of Kazakhstan in this issue. Its economic policy is based on multi-vector and in close interaction with various participants in trade relations, including with the West, while the EU remains the largest trading partner of Kazakhstan and ranks first in foreign trade turnover," Satpayev noted.

Relations between Russia and the West create many unpleasant moments for Kazakhstan and Belarus. Two years ago, Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said: "Working in the Russian market has become increasingly complex... The difficult economic situation forces Russia to protect its market, its producers." In this regard, the Belarusian Prime Minister called for the reorientation of Belarusian exports from the Russian market to other promising areas. And last month, President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko once again called upon the government to find new markets for Belarusian products within a year and gradually diversify the country's participation in the EEU. As far as one can understand, China is capable of being such a market for Belarus.

"It is not ruled out that the Chinese issue was raised during the bilateral meeting of the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan. President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev is going to meet with Chairman of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping this June. Several years ago, Vladimir Putin already proposed to strengthen cooperation between the EEU and the Chinese initiative 'Silk Road Economic Belt'. As it was announced, the EEU members and China can cooperate in the sphere of construction, extraction of resources, energy and high technologies. However, Beijing has already been actively drawing three EEU members - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus - into the sphere of its economic influence in all these areas. While Moscow is drawing its allied states into this geopolitical project, promoting free trade with Iran or Vietnam," Satpayev believes. The expert noted that it is difficult to stimulate the work of the organization if there is no trust between its members. This means that the split and the crisis will continue worsening.

The situation in Armenia is also raising a lot of problems and of great interest in Kazakhstan. Nursultan Nazarbayev was initially against Armenia's admission to the EEU. The official reason was the unsettled Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. However, Moscow insisted on it, and Yerevan became the fifth participant of the integration association. "What was the economic effect of the EEU expansion at the expense of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan? As can be seen, this enlargement was more political in nature than economically feasible. Today, Moscow urges Moldova and Tajikistan to join the organization as observers. Therefore, there will be more problems," Satpayev believes.

Member of the Iran-East (Iran) Central Asian and Afghan Studies Institute's Scientific Council, political scientist Igor Pankratenko, also believes that the creation of the EEU was based on politics. "The problem is that the basis for the world integration trend are specific economic or cross-border logistics projects, interests and business plans of producers, entrepreneurs, corporations. The EEU was based on policy. This is not the most reliable foundation for integration, especially if one of the its main initiators - Moscow - starts to pursue a fairly unbalanced foreign policy against the backdrop of serious problems in its own economy," the expert believes. Nevertheless, the EEU was formed. This is evidenced by the growth of trade within the union, the emergence of national goods in the markets of other member countries, the elimination of certain administrative barriers, as well as softer regulation of labor migration.
Irans Foreign Minister Javad Zarif sought further talks after failing to win any concrete assurance to help tackle the U.S. threat of economic sanctions over its nuclear program. Zarif is also scheduled to meet the British, French and German foreign ministers today in Brussels. As Bloomberg writes in an article "Iran Calls for Clarity Over Nuclear Deal After Talks With China", the meeting with Wang Yi in Beijing, at Chinas invitation, is Zarifs first stop on a diplomatic tour after President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal to limit Irans nuclear program and threatened to reimpose the highest level of financial sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

We hope that with this visit to China and other countries we will be able to construct a clear future design for the comprehensive agreement, Zarif said. My colleagues have had in-depth talks with their counterparts in Chinas foreign ministry over our cooperation, especially over the details of our cooperation. China offered to hold strategic talks with Iran but did not disclose whether Beijing might scale back imports in light of renewed U.S. sanctions. I hope and believe that these visits to multiple countries will improve countries, including Chinas, understanding of Irans position, Wang said. It will allow you to make your own positive contribution to help protect Irans legitimate national interests and peace and stability in the region.

China offers Iran a valuable alternative to trade with the U.S. and Europe. Commerce between Iran and China has more than doubled since 2006 to $28 billion with oil exports from Iran valued at $11 billion a year. Chinese companies have been among the most active in investing in Iranian infrastructure projects and energy assets after sanctions were lifted in 2016. State-owned train builder CRRC Corp. this year beat bids from two European rivals to win a contract worth more than $900 billion to supply wagons for the subways of several Iranian cities. In the past year, Chinese companies have signed some $2.2 billion in deals to build or fund railway lines to the eastern city of Mashhad and the Gulf port of Bushehr. Chinas largest energy company, China National Petroleum Corp., stands to take control of the contract to develop the South Pars gas field if its French partner Total SA cant win an exemption from U.S. sanctions.

China has found ways to bypass sanctions on Iran in the past. It has settled some of its oil debt through barter and Iran has used yuan paid into Chinese bank accounts to buy Chinese goods. Beijing-based oil importer Zhuhai Zhenrong Co. kept buying Iranian oil after the previous sanctions were put in place in 2012 and will likely keep doing so when they are reimposed, analysts say.
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that all sides in the Astana Syria peace talks will be taking part in next weeks meetings. As Asharq Al-Awsat writes in an article "Opening Aleppo-Damascus Highway on Agenda of Astana 9 Syria Talks", delegations from the Syrian regime and opposition will attend the ninth round of the talks in Astana amid talks that Moscow is seeking the opening of the Aleppo-Damascus highway. Informed sources said that the guarantor states of Russia, Turkey and Iran will take practical steps ahead of opening the highway to trade and passengers after a six-year closure.

The decision to open the highway was initially made during the sixth round of Astana talks back in October. At the time, the agreement to open the route was signed by the regime negotiators and opposition, but the deal was not announced because the circumstances on the ground were still not suitable yet.

The highway between Syrias political and economic capitals is the most important route that can revive the war-torn countrys economy.

It will present a welcome break for the regime, which has been made to rely on the 175-km desert road where checkpoints, looting and kidnappings are rampant. For the opposition, the opening of the highway will pave the way for trade opportunities with regime-held regions. This will help reduce the cost of regime-supplied fuel and various products in areas under its control, such as Idlib and the Hama countrysides. The highway will also offer residents of opposition-held regions safe travel routes to Aleppo. Opposition sources revealed that several routes along the highway will be open to trade and travelers between opposition and regime areas.
Turkey, Russia, and Iran have reached an agreement on holding the next high-level meeting on Syria in Russian resort city of Sochi in July 2018. The decision came during the ninth round of Astana talks on Syria held in Kazakhstan.

As Anadolu Agency writes in the article Turkey, Russia, Iran to meet in Sochi for Syria talks, on the final day of the Astana talks, Kazakh Deputy Foreign Minister Erjan Ashikbaev read out a joint statement by the tripartite countries. All parties have agreed on maintaining the de-escalation zones and the cease-fire in Syria, said the joint statement. According to the statement, the third meeting of the "Working Group on the release of detainees/abductees and handover of the bodies as well as the identification of missing persons by three Guarantors' representatives with the participation of the UN and ICRC experts" will be held in Ankara in June 2018. Turkey, Russia, and Iran in the statement reaffirmed their commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of Syria while maintaining the cease-fire regime and the de-escalation zones.

Underscoring the importance of restoring "normal and peaceful life" for Syrians and ensuring "rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to deliver necessary medical aid and humanitarian assistance," the statement also stressed the necessity of establishing "conditions for safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their original places of residence as well as free movement of local population." It also asserted "determination to fight terrorism in Syria in order to ultimately eliminate DAESH, Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with AlQaeda or DAESH as designated by the UN Security Council." The joint statement welcomed the convening of the second meeting of the working group on detainees, abductees and the handover of bodies. Guarantor countries, through the statement, reaffirmed the necessity "to continue joint efforts aimed at building confidence between the conflicting parties in Syria."

Geneva Process

Whereas the UNSC resolution adopted unanimously in late 2015 called for a lasting cease-fire and a viable political settlement in the war-torn Syria, the joint statement called for the continuation of political dialogue. The three countries "in this regard, agreed to hold joint consultations of their high-level representatives with the United Nations SecretaryGenerals Special Envoy for Syria as well as with Syrian parties in order to create conditions to facilitate the beginning of the Constitutional Committee's work in Geneva as soon as possible and to carry out such meetings on a regular basis," statement added.

'Astana process have been positive'

Later, Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement also affirmed that "the participants reviewed mainly the state of affairs regarding the implementation of the de-escalation memorandum as well as the establishment of the Constitutional Committee which was declared at the Syrian National Dialogue Congress. The issues of fight against terrorism in Syria and improvement of humanitarian access were also addressed." "At the meeting, we registered our reservations on the forced evacuation operations conducted in Eastern Ghouta and in the north of Homs, as well as on the law that paves the way for the confiscation of the properties of Syrian refugees and IDPs," statement added. In a news conference, Russian delegation head Alexander Lavrentiev said: "Astana process is alive and will continue. The Astana process have achieved positive results."

Meanwhile, former premier of the Syrian interim government Ahmed Tuma made a statement on behalf of the opposition delegation and said their priority is to protect the lives of nearly four million civilians in Syria's Idlib. Tuma welcomed the progress and the mechanism on the release of captives and hostages as he underscored that establishing of constitutional committee and constitutional reforms must be parallel to other processes.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura welcomed the joint statement which made reference to the Geneva process and said they are to announce next round of Geneva talks later.
This Saturday change of power has finally ended in Armenia: Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, elected by parliament on May 8, formed government, which consists mostly of representatives of his team, including members of the Civil Contract party and the Yelk faction. Writer, journalist, host of the "Vesti.FM" radio Armen Gasparyan discussed the results of the Velvet revolution's first stage in the Republic of Armenia in an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza.

- What do you think about current events in Armenia, including resignation of Serzh Sargsyan and appointment of Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister, as well as formation of the new Cabinet of Ministers?

- I do not really like revolutionary shocks, regardless of how they are called - "Maidan", "Velvet revolution", "Rose revolution" and so on - because no country in the post-Soviet space that went through them didn't begin to live better, on the contrary, standard of living dropped sharply. Many of those countries lost territories as a result of wars: Georgia lost South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Moldova lost Transnistria, Ukraine lost Crimea and southeast of the country. I closely monitored situation in Armenia and I must say that I didn't see those events as political - it was the embodied of John Lennon's, who once sang "power to the people".

So all those things happened, the new Cabinet of Ministers has been formed, but now the question is - how professional it is, are these people ready for such job? Starting with Pashinyan - does he have experience of serious government work, at least at the level of deputy mayor of the city? He doesn't. So is there any reason to believe that economic transformation that government wants to conduct will be successful? There are no successful examples of such reform in the post-Soviet countries. Pashinyan is going to invite Daron Acemoglu as his economic advisor, but he's a man who ruined economies of all countries that he was involved with - his entire work was based on getting as much IMF loans as possible and build economy using them. If Armenia follows this parth, it won't result in anything good.

I understand that the level of corruption in Armenia is very high, they really need to be fight it, most likely population just lost its patience. But I don't believe that what happened before our eyes over the past week and a half will directly lead to improvement of life in the country. Those steps that we saw so far prove my point. In addition, it would be nice if Mr. Pashinyan told about his foreign policy program. What should we base our foreign policy position on - on statements that he perfectly understands that there's no existing and there will be no any alternative to Russia, and that already great economic and trade climate will improve even more, or on what he said earlier, when he was a member of the Yelk faction, stating that Armenia needs to withdraw from the Customs Union and the Eurasian Union?

- Vladimir Putin and Nikol Pashinyan will meet for the first time today, some experts say that Russia is seeking loyalty of new Armenia in foreign policy. What do you expect from this meeting in Sochi? How can relations between Russia and Armenia change in the foreseeable future?

- I think we shouldn't expect something fundamentally new from this meeting. Pashinyan perfectly understands that he doesn't have and won't have any alternatives to friendship and partnership with Russia, both from historical, political and geopolitical points of view. There can be no relations with Turkey at all, since Turkey doesn't recognize the 1915 events as a crime, and there's a war with Azerbaijan, so it's clear that Armenia can only rely on Russia as a serious world power. I don't think that there will be any bargaining, most likely Pashinyan will say that nothing in relations between two countries will change, even though there's a new government.

- How did Russian part of Armenian diaspora react to resignation of Serzh Sargsyan and appointment of Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister in the wake of protests?

- I have no contacts with diaspora, and I can only speak from the point of view of observer. It was not very clear to me why some of Armenians in Russia, Russian citizens, began to immediately support Pashinyan. This is an interference in the affairs of a sovereign country. The fact that this part of Russian society is pretty politicized and that it participated in many of these processes is undeniable. They even protested the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio after the speech of Mikhail Leontiev. Perhaps they have a right to do this, if they identify themselves with the current Republic of Armenia. It's an issue of how these people position themselves in diaspora - do they identify themselves with historical homeland or not. If they are, then their concern and politicization in this matter is understandable.

- In your opinion, how much easier will it be for Nikol Pashinyan to establish a dialogue on the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, compared to Serzh Sargsyan?

- Many difficulties with Sargsyan in the negotiation process were associated with the fact that he's considered to be a war criminal in Azerbaijan. This made it difficult to negotiate. In this context, yes, it will be easier to negotiate with Pashinyan, he's not a representative of the Karabakh Armenians. On the other hand, who is Prime Minister of Armenia is not important for the settlement of this conflict. Karabakh is very important for Armenia, and any new leader of the country will maintain Serzh Sargyan's stance on Karabakh issue. There's no doubt about it.

Are negatiations necessary? Of course they are. The main problem is that this conflict exists for over 30 years. If we consider that one generation is 15 years, then as of now two generations have been raised in the state of war, and there are several consequences of them, the biggest of which is that there's still widespread propaganda of hatred in the two countries. I don't really know how will they overcome this factor, because it's possible to agree on good and positive concessions in a peaceful format, but if the entire society has been raised in such atmosphere, overcoming this situation will be incredibly difficult.
Staff member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe- ACRE, Themistoklis Asthenidis, who illegally visited our occupied territories, addressed an official letter to the Azerbaijani Embassy to the Kingdom of Belgium asking not to be included in the "list of foreign citizens who illegally visited to the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan".

In the letter Themistoklis Asthenidis noted that he paid a visit to Armenia as a part of the official delegation to Yerevan in December 2017, where ACRE event took place and admitted that he visited the occupied territories without prior notice, the Foreign Ministry said.

"As part of our visit in Armenia, our local partner has organized a series of tourist activities for members of our delegation. Prior to our departure for the activities on the day, I was absolutely unaware of the intention of our local partner to also take me to the occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, as the specifics of the visit were intentionally unclear at the time of departure and I recognize have been retrospectively misleading," his letter says.

In his letter Asthenidis reaffirmed his full respect to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Azerbaijan and of Nagorno-Karabakh as an integral part of Azerbaijan, noting that his visit does not constitute any recognition of the illegal occupation of our territories, and stressed that as a professional lawyer, he is very well aware of the legal and political sensitivities around the issue of our occupied territories.

He expressed his sincere regrets for this action and asked for permission to visit Baku in June of this year.

The appeal by Asthenidis was in a due manner considered and the decision was taken not to add his name into the "list of Foreign citizens illegally visited to occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan."
Turkey is recalling its ambassadors to the US and Israel in an official protest of the Trump administration's decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said the envoys were being called back, the report was confirmed by the Turkish embassy in Washington.

Asked how long the recall would last, a spokesperson for the Turkish Embassy said "we don't know at this stage" adding that the US ambassador was recalled for "consultations."

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that the US' decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv shows that the US prefers "to become part of the problem rather than the solution."

"With this last step [the embassy move] the United States has lost its role has mediator in the Middle East peace process," Erdogan said. Speaking at Chatham House, the Turkish leader continued by saying that the move on Monday is a "most unfortunate decision to execute. We once again reject this decision that violates international law."

Bozdag also said Turkey's foreign ministry has called for a UN General Assembly meeting on the issue, Anadolu reported.

During his remarks in London, Erdogan said that "Israel is a terrorist state" and "what Israel is doing is a genocide." At least 55 Palestinians have been killed in clashes along the Gaza-Israeli border, and some 2,700 injured. White House officials have placed the blame squarely on Hamas.
Russia's State Duma unanimously adopted in the first reading a draft law on criminal liability for complying with Western sanctions on Russian soil.

The initiative was introduced by the Speakers of the State Duma and the Federation Council Vyacheslav Volodin and Valentina Matvienko, as well as leaders and representatives of all parliamentary factions.

The bill proposes supplementing Russias Criminal Code with a new article - 284.2 "Restricting or Refusing to Perform Ordinary Business Operations or Transactions for the Purpose of Assisting the Enforcement of Restrictive Measures Imposed by a Foreign State, a Group of Foreign States or by an International Organization."

Part 1 of the new article envisages liability "for action or the lack of action" for the purposes of enforcing anti-Russian sanctions, if they restrict or deny Russian citizens, corporate entities, the Russian Federation, its regions or municipalities, and also their controlled entities the performance of ordinary business operations or transactions. Violations of this provision entail a penalty of up to 600,000 rubles ($9700) or placed in custody for a period of up to four years, or penal labor for the same period or imprisonment for a term of up to four years, along with fiscal penalties of up to 200,000 rubles ($3230).

A separate clause (part 2 of article 284.2) proposes introducing criminal liability for aiding and abetting the imposition of restrictions against Russia. This is understood to mean "the performance of willful actions by a Russian citizen that help a foreign state or a group of foreign states or an international organization to impose restrictive measures on Russian public and private entities and also on their controlled entities." This provision also covers "the issuance of recommendations and the transfer of information" that have caused or may have caused the imposition of restrictions against Russian companies and citizens.

Violations of this type envisage a penalty of up to 500,000 rubles ($8100), or placed in custody for a term of up to three years, or penal labor for the same period, or an arrest for up to six months, or imprisonment for a term of up to three years, along with fiscal penalties of up to 200,000 rubles ($3230).

The draft law defines "ordinary business operations or transactions" as legal actions that "are freely performed as part of normal economic and other law-abiding activity by persons that do not differ from private or public entities, and also from their controlled foreign entities against which the restrictive measures have been imposed."
Royal Windsor Horse Show has featured an exciting performance of the Equestrian Federation of Azerbaijan. The federation returns to Windsor, having previously performed at Her Majesty The Queens 90th Birthday Celebration in 2016, with their new performance 'Land of Fire  Azerbaijan'.

Azerbaijans participation at Royal Windsor Horse Show was co-organised by The European Azerbaijan Society (TEAS) and the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation, and supported by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.

The display celebrated the Karabakh horse, the native horse of Azerbaijan. Horse and rider combinations combined fast paced movements with tight turns and perfectly timed executions. They were accompanied by the Sarhadchi dance ensemble who performed traditional dances alongside fire-jugglers performing a spectacular fire show. The performance, choreographed specifically for Royal Windsor Horse Show, demonstrated the strength and bravery of the Karabakh horse, and the courage and peacefulness of the Azerbaijan people, AzerTAc reported.

Since 2012 Karabakh horses have been successfully representing Azerbaijan at the Royal Windsor Horse Show.

The delegation of the Azerbaijan Equestrian Federation met with Queen Elizabeth II, and presented her a bronze sculpture of the Karabakh horse.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not raise the issue of lifting sanctions at a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on May 18 in Sochi, acting Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"The Russian president said many times about it: the issue of sanctions is not our issue, it is not the issue on our agenda, and the Russian side neither did, nor is going to raise the issue of these sanctions, all the more that, as you know, we consider them illegal in terms of international law," TASS cited the acting Kremlin spokesman as saying.

"It was not Russia that introduced and initiated sanctions, and, thus, it is not Russia that should initiate these discussions," he added.
European countries have come under the gun from Washington over the Iranian nuclear deal, Russias Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.

"All other parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Irans nuclear program have reaffirmed their commitment to obligations so far," he noted. "Irans representatives also reaffirmed that, particularly during yesterdays visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. China and three European countries - France, Great Britain and Germany - have also said they remain committed to the agreement," TASS cited him as saying.

Lavrov stressed that Moscow could see pressure being exerted on them. "Ultimatums have been issued citing the need to stop trade with Iran, including the exports of certain goods and the imports of Iranian oil, the deadlines of 60 and 90 days have been set. It is kind of a plan to exert strong pressure," the Russian top diplomat pointed out.

"However, our European counterparts tell us they are getting ready to become independent from the US in relation to their trade and economic ties with Iran," he said. "We are interested in discussing the issue with all countries remaining within the agreement on Irans nuclear program," he noted.

"We will see how resilient the Europeans will be this time, for in the past there were times when they eventually gave in to Washington, damaging their own legitimate interests," Lavrov added.
The official opening of a the bridge connecting mainland Russia with the Crimean Peninsula was held today. The ceremony was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's Transportation Minister Maksim Sokolov and businessman Arkady Rotenberg briefed the head of state about the work done.

Putin took the seat at the wheel in the cabin of a Kamaz truck to lead a convoy of 35 vehicles along the bridge.

Vladimir Putin said that the Kerch Strait Bridge opening was an historic event. "I sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, ceremonious and truly historic day in the full meaning of this word!" Putin said, addressing construction workers.

He separately thanked the projects organizers who "without any exaggeration put general state interests above their personal and group interests."

Russia's president also expressed gratitude to army engineers, ecologists, archeologists, scientists, designers, engineers and workers involved in the projects implementation.

The 19-kilometer bridge links the southern Krasnodar region with the Crimean city of Kerch and spans across a stretch of water between the Black Sea and the Azov Sea.

The construction of the bridge began in May 2015. The project aims at facilitating transportation between mainland Russia and the peninsula, which were previously only connected by a ferry route. It had been expected to be fully constructed by the end of 2018 but has been completed six months ahead of schedule and will be open to traffic on May 16.

The bridge has two parts  one for automobile traffic, which is opening this week, and one for trains  which is to be finished next year. For several more months, trucks will not be allowed through, giving extra time to check all the safety measures and engineering quality.

The director of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin, speaking to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the value of the Crimean bridge for the full integration of the peninsula in Russia cannot be overestimated. "Because of the aggravated Russia-Ukraine relations, this bridge becomes the road of life for the Crimean citizens. Therefore its significance is enduring," he stressed.

Alexei Mukhin drew attention to Ukraine's desire to somehow damage the Crimean bridge. "We are closely watching the illegal actions of Ukrainian colleagues, including the current searches of the SBU in the Kiev offices of RT and RIA Novosti. Unfortunately, there is no way to call them to order, they are only exacerbating the situation. Their actions is a gesture of despair beyond international law. As for provocations on the site, we have established special units protecting the bridge," the director of the Center for Political Information said.

Political analyst Pavel Klachkov drew attention to the political, geopolitical, economic and spiritual importance of putting the Crimean bridge into operation. "Since Crimea has played a very large consolidating role in Russia's domestic policy since 2014. Therefore, everything connected with the way Crimea integrates into Russia is of fundamental importance. Many problems related to the Crimea integration were connected with Ukraine. I often communicate with Crimeans, and I know that a lot of discrepancies arose in the style of management since 1991, and a lot of work is required in order to fully enter Crimea into the Russian framework. The Crimean bridge is a material symbol of this work, which strongly affects the mindsets of people," he stressed.

"The bridge has been heavily criticized by our opponents in Ukraine and the West, but it will connect the shores of Crimea and Kuban, further integrating the peninsula into Russian life. Vladimir Putin is an effective and experienced politician, he understands this bridge's importance for Russian residents and residents of the near abroad. This is an undoubted success of our economy, our builders, and even our politicians," Pavel Klachkov concluded.
Turkey has called for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

The meeting of the 57-member-state body will be held on May 18.

Israeli troops shot dead 55 Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border yesterday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the actions of the Israeli forces as a genocide and Israel as a terrorist state.

The country's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the United States was an accomplice in a crime against humanity.

"Unfortunately, the U.S. has arrogantly stood by the Israeli administration which kills civilians and has partnered in this crime against humanity," Reuters cited Yildirim as saying.

"This provocation will only worsen the problems in the region and cause a deeper mark in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, and will make peace in the region more difficult," he added.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump was attempting to distract attention from domestic problems by moving the embassy, "trying to hide the fire inside by setting fires outside."
South and North Korea reportedly plan to conduct high-level talks this week as the estranged nations work towards a peace deal, the South Korean Unification Ministry said.

The two nations agreed to again have officials meet at the so-called neutral "truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles their border.

"The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on May 16 in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss implementation of 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula," the ministry said in a statement

Representatives of the two countries would be returning to a site where North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un dramatically crossed the border into South Korea last month for a meeting with his southern counterpart, president Moon Jae-in, the Independent reported.

On April 27, Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in, met in the border village of Panmunjom for a historic summit, the first in more than a decade. They signed a joint Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula. Seoul and Pyongyang reaffirmed that their common objective is the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and reached an agreement on continuing active top-level dialogue.
Russia, Turkey and Iran will hold regular consultations with United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on launching a constitutional committee, according to a joint statement adopted by Russia, Turkey and Iran at the 9th international meeting on Syria, held in Astana on May 14-15.

"Guided by the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, [the parties] reaffirmed their determination to continue joint efforts aimed at advancing the process of the political settlement, through facilitating the implementation of the recommendations of the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi," the statement reads.

In addition, the three countries "agreed to hold joint consultations of their high-level representatives with the United Nations Secretary Generals Special Envoy for Syria as well as with Syrian parties in order to create conditions to facilitate the beginning of the Constitutional Committees work in Geneva as soon as possible and to carry out such meetings on a regular basis."

Besides, Russia, Iran and Turkey "decided to hold the next high-level International Meeting on Syria in Sochi in July 2018."
The danger that military tensions in the Middle East will mount after the US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal is growing, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said, speaking at the meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club.

"Major reasons for the US withdrawal from the JCPOA on the Iranian nuclear program are not linked to the agreement itself, but to Washingtons approach to Tehrans policy in the Middle East, he said.

Ryabkov said that Moscow considers it possible to preserve the Iran nuclear deal with sufficient political will of its participants and despite the US withdrawal. "We need to determine parameters for work within the JCPOA without the US," he noted. "We believe that it is possible both in theory and in practice. Much depends on the politicians will, chiefly in the European countries."

The Russian Foreign Ministry believes that the United States will not revise its decision to pull out of the Iranian nuclear deal, he said. "The Foreign Ministry believes the US will not change its mind. President Donald Trump will translate into life what he said on May 8," TASS cited Ryabkov as saying.

According to the senior diplomat, maintaining the deal will depend on whether "the Europeans are ready to provide European economic entities with such a level of protection that would allow them to continue cooperating with Iran following the resumption of extraterritorial US sanctions."

At the same time, Ryabkov pointed out that it would be possible to ensure the protection of companies cooperating with Iran. "I think it is quite possible," he said in response to a question on the matter.

"It is most important that certain elements of Irans policy in the region, and also its missile program arouse resentment of the United States and its allies," Ryabkov said.

The diplomat added that Russia will comply with its liabilities within framework of the JCPOA regarding the Iranian nuclear program to reconfigure the Fordow enrichment facility - "to the extent the other partakers will adhere to the agreement."
Armenian parliament speaker Ara Babloyan signed the protocols on the termination of the tenures of three deputies from the Yelk bloc, the parliament's press service said.

Babloyan signed a protocol on the termination of the tenure of Ararat Mirzoyan in connection with his appointment as first deputy prime minister of Armenia.

The speaker also signed protocols on the termination of the tenures of MPs Mane Tandilyan in connection with her appointment as Minister of Labor and Social Affairs and Artak Zeynalyan, in connection with his appointment as Minister of Justice, ARKA reported.

On May 12, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan completed the process of forming the new Armenian government following his election on May 8.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of RIA Novosti Ukraine news agency in Kiev today, a journalist who was inside building dropped out of contact.

A spokeswoman for the SBU, Elena Gitlyanskaya confirmed that the SBU conducted searches at the Kiev office of Russian news agency RIA Novosti today.

"Yes, the searches are conducted," Gitlyanskaya wrote on Facebook page.

According to RIA Novosti, journalist Kirill Vyshinsky was detained near his house in Kiev. The journalist and his colleagues in Kiev stopped answering phone calls. The news agencys website is not being updated.

The SBU issued a statement announcing that "a network of media structures, which Moscow used for carrying out a hybrid war" against Kiev has been uncovered.

Director General of Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency Dmitry Kiselev urged the Ukrainian authorities to immediately release the detained journalist and stop persecution of media. "This is not the first time when the Kiev regime tramples on fundamental rights and freedoms, persecutes journalists We will address international structures, including those related to journalism, in the OSCE, in order to stop the persecution of journalists in Ukraine," Kiselev stressed.

Russia Today TV channel's editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan said on Twitter that its office phones in Kiev appeared to be blocked and that its Ukrainian website is down after security officers raided the building.
The Just Russia party has submitted a bill prohibiting placement of the Russian National Wealth Fund money in U.S. securities to the State Duma, parliaments lower chamber, leader of the party Sergei Mironov said.

"The Just Russia faction has submitted to the State Duma a draft law changing the Budget Code of the Russian Federation. The main issue of the bill is prohibition of placement of the National Wealth Fund money in bonds and other securities of the U.S, Interfax cited Mironov as saying.

"If we launch counter-sanctions, we must start with this," the party leader added.

The bill "On counter measures against unfriendly actions by the United States and/or other foreign countries" was submitted to the Russian State Duma by Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin and leaders of all parliamentary factions on April 13. The bill was drafted in response to the challenges coming from the US and its officials in the form of "unfriendly and non-constructive activities to impose sanctions against both Russia as a whole and its citizens and legal entities."

The advisor on macroeconomics to the CEO of the 'Opening-Broker' brokerage house, economist Sergey Hestanov, speaking to a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that the choice for U.S. securities was due their reliability and profitability. "There are no other equally reliable and profitable instruments to the extent to which the state needs to allocate reserves. Reliable securities of European countries either do not provide profitability, or generally have a negative yield, since interest rates in Europe are lower than in the U.S. It turns out that, despite the difficult political relations of our countries, there is no better option for investing reserve funds in the currency," he explained.

In this regard, the ban on investing in U.S. securities is not justified in economic terms. "Now the interest income on these securities is slightly higher than 2% and has a certain tendency to increase, but after the ban it will give zero income. These investments have their risks - remember the Iranian state funds frozen after the 1979 revolution. However, we should not seriously consider such risks in the near future," Sergei Hestanov predicts.

The head of the department of stock markets and financial engineering of the Faculty of Finance and the Banking Business of RANEPA, Konstantin Korischenko, noted that the Russian Central Bank's foreign exchange reserves are intended to provide the necessary international settlements, and do not belong to the budget. "In external markets, 70%-80% of such calculations are made in dollars, which means that the Central Bank has only two choices: either it keeps dollars in reserves to provide its companies and banks with currency, or it will have to buy dollars each time, which will cause additional costs," he said.

"By refraining from investing in assets denominated in dollars, we significantly reduce the liquidity of our assets. In this case the risks will be caused by a ban on investments in U.S. securities and will be associated with a significant decrease in liquidity of those assets that are part of the NWF. Finally, considering today's global payment turnover, the availability of funds in dollars is simply mandatory," Korishchenko concluded.
HCM CITY  The HCM City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank) is offering an attractive credit package with 6 per cent interest for the first two months or 8.5 per cent for the first six months for doing business and agriculture.

The rates will be applicable only for loans approved by June 30 and disbursed by July 31, and will be fully secured by property.

Borrowers will also be issued credit cards with a maximum limit of VN500 million (US$21,929).

At the end of last year, the lenders total outstanding loans were nearly VN110 trillion after increasing by 27 per cent.

Non-performing loans accounted for 1.51 per cent.  VNS


HA NAM - FrieslandCampina Ha Nam on Tuesday was awarded a Second Class Labor Medal from the Government for its contribution to Ha Nam Provinces socio- economic development.

The medal granting ceremony took place on the occasion of 10-year anniversary of the founding of the Dutch dairy companys Ha Nam branch, which is part of FrieslandCampina Viet Nam .

Nguyen Xuan ong, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, praised FrieslandCampina Ha Nam s dozens of million of US dollars worth of output, labourers income and contributions to the State budget over the past 10 years.

He also praised the companys contributions to the development of the countrys dairy industry and the provinces socio-economic growth. The company has also developed meaningful corporate social responsibility programs in the locality, he said.

ong said local authorities will continue to create favourable conditions for FrieslandCampina Ha Nam to invest and expand production in the province.

This year will become a memorable milestone in the history of the development of FrieslandCampina in Viet Nam, not only because of todays memorable event but also because this year marks the 45th year anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and the Netherlands, FrieslandCampina Viet Nam general director Arnoud van den Berg said.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the a Nang International Fireworks Festival (DIFF), Novotel Danang Premier Han River has introduced some fantastic promotional offers to celebrate the milestone.

With its first edition in 2008, the festival has today become the citys main attraction, growing from a standing view in 2008 to 30,000 seats this year.

DIFF 2018, which started in April and will commence in June, is themed on The Legend of Bridges befitting a Nang, which is known as the city of bridges. The festival will feature five evenings of spectacular fireworks, along with a series of correlated exciting events.

So far, Novotel Danang Premier Han River has always been the best venue to experience the entire show, although the attendance size has changed every year as has the format of the competition.

We are offering many promotions to suit a wide range of needs. Starting from April 30 to the end of June 2018, Novotel Danang has selected six prime spots at the hotel to best view the fireworks.

Located on the fourth and 29th floors, The Splash pool, The Square restaurant and Premier Lounge will be converted into exclusive areas to watch the fireworks and will be open to the public. Additionally, private viewing rooms will be available in our Oasis Spa room, selected meeting rooms and the corner suite room.

Packages start from VN1,000,000 (US$43.86) per person, and we recommend you to book as soon as possible as availabilities are highly limited.

We look forward to welcoming you.
HCM CITY  HCM City has created many programmes to support start-up activities, and has plans to expand its support to individuals and groups with poential, the Sai Gon Hi-tech Park Incubation Centre (SHTP-IC) has said.

Since 2014, the centre has incubated 38 projects, 22 of which have been commercialised, according to SHTP-IC. Last year total revenue from incubated projects reached VN41.4 billion (US$1.8 million), the centre said.

The centre also helps businesses and projects register for intellectual property rights, conduct market research, improve model products to take to trade fairs, and connect entrepreneurs with investors, capital plans and venture capital funds.

Le Thanh Nguyen, head of SHTP-IC, said this was a positive sign for a public incubation model for science-technology businesses.

Last year, the citys Department of Science and Technology kicked off a pilot programme for the incubation of science-technology businesses at HCM City-based Nong Lam University, HCM City University of Technology and Sai Gon Hi-tech Park.

The department also provided consultation and added technological services for the businesses.

In addition, a number of universities in the city have also established start-up support centres for their own students.

Other private incubation centres have also been built such as Software Business Incubator (SBI) and FPT Ventures.

Thanks to the diversity of incubation centres, start-ups can now easily find support, investment and partners, according to the centre.

Challenges

Most of Viet Nams start-ups, however, are small in scale and yet to enter the capital-calling period, according to the Department of Science and Technology.

They need support from the government and participation in public-private cooperation models, as well as contributions from part of the innovative start-up ecosystem.

In addition, they are not lucrative enough to attract investors because of specific features and policies of public incubation centres.

Tran Van Tung, deputy minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said the biggest weakness were start-up skills. A successful start-up business must bring its products to the market, he said.

In addition, mobilising capital from investors is very important. If start-ups cannot attract capital, they will not have enough resources to grow, he said.

Experts said the city would focus on encouraging innovative startup activities among young people and high school students due to their great potential.

Nguyen Viet Dung, director of the Department of Science and Technology, said it was necessary to help individuals and businesses conduct research and reform their operations.

Speaking at a recent meeting held in Ha Noi, Vu Tien Loc, chairman of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said more than 50 investment funds in diverse investment forms existed, but they were scattered and on a small scale.

To foster start-up activities, the city has introduced many policies, including a programme to help small- and medium-sized businesses to innovate and increase global competitiveness in the 2016-2020 period.

HCM City has set a goal to support 2,000 innovative businesses until 2020 by creating an innovative working environment for startups via public-private cooperation.

Viet Nam currently has 1,800 start-ups, of which 834 operate in HCM City.

Despite strong growth, investment in innovative start-ups in Viet Nam remains relatively modest, compared to the region and the world.  VNS
HA NOI  The Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (Vietcombank) and the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) have issued official warnings to customers over online phishing scams.

Both banks have reported information theft through e-banking counterfeiting, with cardholders negligence taken advantage of to steal their personal information, card data and passwords by asking them to input these on a fake website programmed to resemble the banks authentic online platform.

For example, two fake addresses were listed as homebank247.com/Bidv, or homebank247.com/Vietcombank. These fraud sites used forged interfaces mimicking the two banks real online banking services domains.

Vietcombank and BIDV confirmed that their official registered websites are vietcombank.com.vn and bidv.com.vn, respectively.

To protect personal information, Vietcombank said their customers should only use the website provided above and carefully read their safety transaction guide.

BIDV also advised customers not to login to the e-banking system from links sent via emails, which often contain unconfirmed advertising information from unknown sources.

If customers suspect that they have already accessed these fake links, they should change their password and contact BIDV for assistance immediately.

The move is a follow-up action by banks to ensure data thievery incidents, like Agribanks 12 hacked accounts earlier in May, would not happen again.

The probability of cyber crime happening to banks is low as they have established security systems, so often times customers are a more vulnerable target, according to BIDV.

The majority of bank account thefts occur due to disclosure of personal information, said Ho uc Dung, an expert in banking security.

According to Dung, cardholders should not deposit too much money in their ATM card accounts, and to set the lowest possible limit for credit cards in case of overcharges due to fraudulent activities.

He advised users to never lend anyone their card, and to change their personal identification number (PIN) often, as hackers could easily capture all personal information such as account numbers, PINs, or even CVV/CVC numbers on the back of the credit card to appropriate funds on the customers account.

Previously, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) reported that less than 11 per cent of cardholders in the country are aware that data thievery can occur to them instead of their financial institutions.

The SBV warned that e-banking users should understand their rights and obligations as customers, as well as the risks attached.

Previously, in 2017, the SBV noted a number of new fraudulent domain names registered for the purpose of mimicking banks official sites, not only to gain customer information, but also to provide untrustworthy loan services, customised to trick even seasoned users.

The SBV warned local banks about other hazards such as black box attacks and malware attacks, and required these bank branches to regularly inspect and monitor their ATM system to promptly detect suspicious signs, while installing 24/7 high-definition security cameras at withdrawal spots.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese businesses invested US$129 million in 34 new overseas projects in the first four months of this year, statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment revealed.

During the reviewed period, the firms also added $24.6 million into existing projects abroad, according to the data.

Finance and banking topped Viet Nams overseas investments with the total new and additional capital reaching $105 million, accounting for 68.3 per cent of total investment capital abroad.

The processing and manufacturing industries came second with 13.2 per cent, followed by the retail and wholesale sectors and others.

From January to April, Vietnamese enterprises injected investments in 19 countries and territories. Of which, Laos ranked first with $80.12 million. Cambodia and Cuba were the runners-up with $25.9 million and $19.9 million, respectively.

The flow of Vietnamese overseas investment is likely to increase more significantly in the time to come, said ang Phuong Linh from the Viet Nam University of Commerce.

In order to encourage Vietnamese firms to invest abroad, the State and relevant sectors should foster co-operation with the governments of countries where the firms have investments with a focus on creating a transparent and stable investment climate for businesses, Linh told Tap chi tai chinh (Finance) newspaper.

Promoting investment and providing domestic firms with effective information about overseas investment should also be included, she said.

Linh also emphasised the importance of hosting frequent dialogues among governments, Vietnamese enterprises, embassies, trade offices abroad, consulates and trade unions to solve difficulties the firms have encountered in a timely manner.

As far as businesses are concerned, she said, they need to study the laws and policies of the country where they want to invest.

Besides drawing up effective investment strategies for specific countries, they should sharpen their competition and management capacities, speed up the technological appliance and develop new products to gain more profits when investing abroad, she added. -VNS
HA NOI  Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has signed Decision 519/Q-TTg approving the proposal on a German-funded project to apply smart power network to develop renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The project, which will use non-refundable Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital of the German government, aims to complete the legal framework related to promoting and supporting the development of various sources of renewable energy in the power system, as well as a smart energy network in Viet Nam.

It is expected to help the country fulfil the Vietnamese Governments targets set in the national power development programme, the green growth strategy and the green growth action plan to ensure reliable supply of energy and improve the power quality, along with sustainable development of the power and energy sector.

The project will enhance partnership and technology transfer among universities, research institutes and enterprises in Viet Nam and Germany in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while establishing networks for co-operation and experience sharing among policy-makers, management officials, as well as other project development units.

The research affiliation will focus on latest technologies and technology products and software for energy efficiency for application in building smart houses and smart cities.

To be implemented from 2018 to 2022 nationwide, the project will have a total investment of nearly 5.3 million euros, of which five million euros is sourced through the non-refundable ODA of the German government, while $297,980 is Viet nams corresponding capital.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to send an official notice to the German side on this decision. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was asked to gather ideas from relevant agencies to complete, verify and ratify the projects document to issue a decision on the project.  VNS
HA NOI  The National Payment Corporation of Viet Nam (NAPAS) has proposed to increase the fee for money withdrawal from its ATM network by four times for each transaction from August 1.

NAPAS sent a document to some commercial banks which are under its inter-bank connection system on the fee hike which would be from the current VN2,200 to VN8,800 (US$0.39) (including tax).

Accordingly, the fee rise would be applied to credit institutions which issue cards but do not have ATM machines. Fees for banks that have their own ATM machines would be kept unchanged.

NAPAS said the fee increase was aimed at ensuring benefits of relevant parties and encouraging development of ATM network.

Currently, banks have focused on issuing cards but not investing in the ATM network due to high investment and operation costs, it said.

NAPAS is operating and managing an inter-bank connection system with 16,800 ATM, 220,000 POS, 90 million domestic cards of 43 domestic commercial banks and foreign banks operating in Viet Nam. NAPAS also provides e-commerce services to more than 200 merchants of airlines, telecommunications, hotels, tourism and other electronic payment services.

NAPAS is the first and unique intermediary payment service provider being granted a licence by the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV) of providing switching and electronic clearing and settlement services in Viet Nam. NAPAS majority shareholders include SBV and 15 big commercial banks in Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  Belgian enterprises want to widen their network and increase their share in Viet Nams growing market for processed potato products.

They also want to raise awareness of Belgian fries in Viet Nam and the region. This was announced at a press conference in the capital city on Monday.

The event was part of a five-nation promotional campaign in Southeast Asia, co-ordinated by Flanders Agricultural Marketing Board and Belgapom, the association representing the Belgian potato trade and processing industry.

It saw the participation of five largest family-owned businesses in the industry in Belgium  Agristo, Barts Potato Company, Clarebout Potatoes, Ecofrost and Mydibel  offering a wide range of potato products and specialties that are exported to over 100 countries worldwide.

Romain Cools, General Secretary of Belgapom, expressed his delight at introducing Belgian potatoes in Viet Nam following the products debut in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore.



He hailed Southeast Asia as one of the fastest-growing regions riding on the back of middle-class growth, urbanisation and young population and added that Belgiums frozen fries were ready to meet the market demand.

Cools said he believed that Belgian enterprises had many opportunities in Viet Nam even though they entered the market later than those from the United States and China.

Top priority should be better advertising of the image of Belgian potato in the Vietnamese market, following which Belgian firms could cooperate with local partners in setting up Belgian fry shops in Viet Nam as in many countries around the world, Cools said.

Belgium is the largest exporter of frozen fries in the world, with 90 per cent of its production exported to the global market.

In 2016, the export of Belgian fries rose by 14.3 per cent to 1.68 million tonnes compared to 2015, with an increasing quantity being exported to countries outside the European Union.  VNS
by Le Huong

The central coastal province of Phu Yen, a land of immense green grass fields scattered with yellow flowers and stunningly beautiful cliffs abutting the blue sea, is a highlight on the tourism map of Viet Nam.

During a visit to Phu Yen, one can sit by the windy beach and enjoy slices of fresh tuna fish so cold that they may freeze your teeth. After that, warm up your stomach with the most distinguished delicacy of the region, a bowl of hot tuna eyes stewed with herbs, available at very reasonable price. The dish offers a distinctive taste of the areas sea flavour.

Snack of fishermen

Phu Yen has been considered the capital of sea tuna in the country as fishermen in Phu Cau Village in Tuy Hoa City were among the first to bring home this kind of fish in 1994. Nguyen Ngoc Son, a native of the village, knows how to make tuna dishes better than almost anyone.

The eye is in a gourd: Some restaurants may serve tuna eyes inside pumpkins. Photo chiecthiavang.com

In the mid-1990s, Son opened a seafood restaurant called Son Cau Go on a street running along a Rang River in Tuy Hoa City. His restaurant has become famous for its tasty seafood and reasonable prices.

Before tuna became a good for export, fishermen just cut off its head, salted its body and sold the tunas head at local markets, he told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper. But almost no one bought it. Hence fishermen instead cut off meat parts from the head, like the meat around the two cheeks and its eyes to cook and serve with wine.

I dont remember exactly in 1998 or 1999, I tried to cook tuna eyes in a more complicated way to serve my guests, he recalled, People turned out to like the dish very much.

Ocean tuna, also known with the local name of "ca bo gu", is highly nutritious and can be processed into various dishes. For a tuna weighing 40-50kg, each of its eyes may weigh between 100-200 grams. The easiest way to prepare the eye is by putting one fish eye into a bowl, adding salt and putting the bowl into a pan with water to boil it.

The more complicated method includes washing the eye carefully, scalding it to reduce the fishy smell and then putting each eye in a ceramic bowl.

Eyes everywhere: Tuna eyes are popular in Phu Yen establishments from pavement restaurants to luxurious hotels. Photo chiecthiavang.com

The cook can add tomato juice and pineapple to increase flavour and at the same time soften the eye. Then sliced chili, pepper, onion, soya sauce and spices are added. The bowl is then boiled for 15-20 minutes until the eye is well cooked. The dish then should be eaten hot with fresh herbs like balm mint, basil and coriander.

Some restaurants keep the bowls hot with spirit cookers put on the tables. The fiery cookers make a great impression on tourists on summer nights when cooling winds blow in from the sea.

When the hot bowl is put on the table and the lid is opened, the fragrant smell of well-cooked eye fish flies out from the bowl. Diners should add the fresh herbs, stir well, add some spices and try the first bite.

One can taste the fatty and tender part of the eye, which contains the strong smell of the sea and blends with hot spices and herbs.

Local delicacy

The tuna fish eye has over time become a leading delicacy in Phu Yen. Tourists coming to Phu Yen can find the dish almost anywhere from pavement restaurants to five-star hotels.

Many restaurants have made the dish more special by stewing the fish eye with Chinese herbs.

Chinese herbs not only add special flavours to the dish but also help digest the food better, said Nguyen Minh Chanh, an experienced cook from Tuy Hoa City. Chinese herbs also help ensure the fish eyes dont taste fishy.

Some hotels even fry tuna eyes to make a crispy dish served with salad made from banana flowers.

See and smell: When the hot bowl is put on the table and the lid is opened, one may be lured by the scent of well-cooked fish eye. VNS Photo Le Huong

After being washed carefully, the fish eyes are scalded by boiling water and then covered with tapioca starch. The eyes are then deep fried for some minutes, according to Nguyen Tan Tai, a cook from Hung Vuong Hotel, Tuy Hoa City.

Mai Quang Khanh, another local cook, told Viet Nam News that he always put the fish eyes inside pumpkins after he removes the seeds. He also puts inside chopped turnip, carrot and pepper and then bakes the whole pumpkin. Eaters can eat the whole dish, including the pumpkin exterior.

Tai said tuna fish eyes have also been used for various dishes in Japan and South Korea due to their delicious taste and the amount of DHA and Omega 3, which are good for the brain.

Sea cow: Phuc Yen has been considered the capital of tuna. Photo chiecthiavang.com

Before 1990, Japanese people even did not eat tuna eyes. They threw them away, Tai sad. But since they discovered that tuna eyes are good for the brain, they have been interested in processing various dishes from the eyes.

Tai said that in Japan, a popular dish from tuna eyes is the eyes boiled in water with sugar, soya sauce and some sake wine. They sometimes fry and stew the eyes as well.

South Koreans do not cook tuna eyes, he said. They dont eat the whole eye but only the cartilage inside. They mince the cartilage inside the eye and put it into a glass of soju wine and eat the mixture.

Other restaurants may stew the fish eyes with lotus seeds or eggs.

Take a look: Deep fried tuna eyes. Photo chiecthiavang.com

In 2014, the Viet Nam Record Organisation named two delicacies of Phu Yen  ocean tuna and O Loan Lagoon blood cockle among the top 10 delicacies in Viet Nam.

My advice for you when trying the eye for the first time: order one eye for the group to share first. Then, if you find the taste ok, call for more! Not everyone likes the fatty and fishy taste of the dish. Ba Tam Ca Ngu in Le Duan Street in Tuy Hoa City is among the most famous places to try the dish.

Phu Yen is beautiful, with energetic people and special dishes at very cheap price, said tourist Vuong Ngoc Hai of Ha Noi, I want to return here every year.  VNS
HA NOI  An open exhibition by Los Angeles-based artist Jennifer Vanderpool will open on May 20. It will showcase the process of installing artwork in the gallery space.

The exhibition will display a multi-faceted combination of costumes, wall paintings and photographs.

Titled Garment Girl, the exhibition includes a large-scale, three-panel mural. Each panel will be an archival digital print consisting of imagery evoking questions about workers and the apparel and textiles industry. The second component will include poetic documentary videos shown as two projections.

The videos include interviews with Vietnamese people who have worked in Los Angeles garment sweatshops that the artist met while creating Worker in 2010-11, when she was the artist-in-residence at Pitzer College, Claremont University. Vanderpool had interacted with apparel industry scholars, activists and workers for the project.

The source material for Worker was based on the story of Vanderpools immigrant working-class family. The narrative was based on her grandmothers reminiscences about working as a cook in a sweatshop in the Alleghany Mountains and her mothers stories about sewing shirt collars to pay for her college tuition fees.

The third component of the exhibition will include textiles that Vanderpool is designing, which will be displayed as material objects as well as garments. An unusual fashion show, with models displaying new garments from the remade workshop of Vanderpool and Ha Noi-based artist-designer Pham Hong in the previous week, will be held on the day of the exhibitions opening ceremony.

With the opportunity to visit an open studio from May 12-18, viewers have been able to directly observe the entire process of setting up the exhibition as well as interact with the artist for inquiries regarding the show. They will also have the opportunity to be invited to volunteer for some exhibition-related work.

The exhibition will interlace the artists matrilineal family stories of struggle with the work of unseen labourers toiling in sweatshops in downtown Los Angeles. Employing Worker as a foundation, Garment Girl will develop a transnational narrative between the garment industry in Los Angeles and Viet Nam, evoking questions about the global textile industry as its subject.

Vanderpool is a new-genre artist who works across media to reveal relationships between physical landscapes and the unseen forces that shape them, knitting together narratives about forgotten institutions, people and communities.

She has received funding for the exhibition from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Kunstradet: Danish Arts Council, Swedish Arts Council and Malmo Stad as well as the National Endowment for the Arts Challenge America grant for her community art outreach work and a National Endowment for the Arts: Art Works grant for her curatorial work.

The exhibition will be open to the public until May 30 at Heritage Space, first floor, Dolphin Plaza building, No 6,Nguyen Hoang Street, My inh 2, Nam Tu Liem District.  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc receives Sen Lt Gen Suvon Luongbunmi, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao Peoples Army, in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Viet Nam and Laos should step up joint activities between their armies and security forces to maintain peace, security, order and friendship along the border as the two share a long borderline which mainly traverses mountainous and disadvantaged areas.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc made the suggestion while hosting a reception for Sen Lt Gen Suvon Luongbunmi, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao Peoples Army, in Ha Noi yesterday.

Aside from efforts to improve border residents living standards, the two armies also need to bolster ties in the fight against human trafficking and drug crimes, as well as in personnel training, he added.

The PM voiced his belief that the relationship between the armies will fortify the trust between the two Parties, States, and peoples while ensuring peace, stability and political security for each country.

He highlighted the tight ties between the two Parties, States, armies and peoples, noting that throughout history, the Vietnamese army and people have stood side by side with their Lao counterparts.

Sen Lt Gen Luongbunmi, who is on an official visit to Viet Nam, briefed his host about the outcomes of his talks with Sen Lt Gen Phan Van Giang, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam Peoples Army.

The two sides reviewed co-operation in 2017 and discussed plans for this year and beyond, he said, highlighting that the two defence ministries worked together in all aspects last year. Notably, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence has helped the Lao army build forces, greatly contributing to the development of Laos.

The two sides also carried out joint activities to improve living standards of residents in their countries border areas, which has been supported by Vietnamese and Lao people, he noted.

In the future, they plan to increase collaboration in personnel training and building the Viet Nam-Laos boundary into a border of stability and comprehensive development, the officer said.

Support continued in science

On Monday Phuc also made the statement to Lao Minister of Science and Technology and Chairman of the Lao National Scientific Institute Boviengkham Vongdara that Viet Nam would create more favourable conditions for Laos to conduct scientific research in Viet Nam and partner with Vietnamese scientists and experts to contribute to Lao socio-economic development.

Phuc said during the 40th meeting of the Inter-Governmental Committee, both sides agreed on the 2018 co-operation programme and directed ministries and localities to realise it to achieve goals set by the two governments.

He said Viet Nam was paying attention to improving the capacity of science-technology staff and infrastructure for scientific studies, including basic and applied sciences.

The PM lauded ties between the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology and the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology in general, and the Lao National Scientific Institute in particular, especially the outcomes of the first stage of the official development assistance-funded project Strengthening scientific study capacity and technology for the Lao National Scientific Institute.

The host asked both sides to continue studying technologies used for Lao socio-economic development and implementing research on mitigating the impacts of natural disasters in the two countries.

Vongdara, for his part, expressed desire to continue receiving support from the Vietnamese PM and agencies in the implementation of the project, making important contributions to improving research capacity of the Lao National Scientific Institute.  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (r) receives Minister-President of the Flanders region Geert Bourgeois in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  The Vietnamese Government supports and creates the best possible conditions for Belgian businesses and investors, including those from the Flanders region, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has affirmed.

He told visiting Minister-President of the Flanders region Geert Bourgeois in Ha Noi yesterday that Vietnamese businesses wanted to work with Belgian partners, and the Vietnamese Government has encouraged local people and enterprises to enhance co-operation with firms from the EU, including Belgium.

The fact 80 Flanders businesses are accompanying Minister-President Geert Bourgeois during his visit to Viet Nam shows their confidence in the countrys development, he said.

Viet Nam attaches importance to economic ties with the EU, and Belgium and the Flanders region in particular, the leader stressed.

He said that Viet Nam highly valued Belgiums role in the EU and the countrys co-operation and support for Viet Nam, particularly in education, training, economy and trade.

Viet Nams signing of a free trade agreement with the EU aimed to promote collaboration between the two sides, he said, expressing his belief that Belgium would encourage other EU member countries to soon approve the deal.

The PM told his guest that Viet Nam and Belgium are expected to sign a co-operation programme in agriculture, fishery, husbandry and floriculture, among other fields.

For his part, Minister-President Geert Bourgeois highlighted the long-standing relations between Viet Nam and Belgium as well as the Flanders region, saying working sessions between his delegation and Vietnamese ministries and agencies over the past days reaped fruitful outcomes.

The Minister-President noted his support for the approval of the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement and said that the pact would create momentum for economic and trade links between Viet Nam and EU countries.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam strongly condemns the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city of Indonesia, including inhuman attacks at three churches in the early morning of May 13 that left many civilians dead and injured, said the Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

Hang made the remarks on May 14 while answering reporters question regarding Viet Nams response to the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the Indonesian Government and families of the victims, she said, noting that Viet Nam supports the Indonesian Governments efforts in combating terrorism and believes that masterminds behind the attacks will be punished properly.



Also on May 14, President Tran ai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc cabled messages of condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo over the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city of Indonesia.



The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also expressed his sympathy to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.



Earlier on March 13, a series of bombings hit three Christian churches in Surabaya, East Java province, leaving at least 13 deaths and over 40 others wounded.



Indonesia police announced later the same day that the bombings at three Christian churches were conducted by a family of six, including four children aged 9 to 18.



The family had links to the self-claimed Islamic State (IS) and were among 500 Islamic sympathisers who had returned from Syria, the police added.



Indonesian government believed that IS-related terror group JAD was responsible for the bombings. Meanwhile, IS claimed responsibility for the attacks through its Amaq news agency.



The suicide bombings were followed by a bomb explosion in an apartment building in East Javas Sidoarjo town on May 13 evening, which killed a mother and her 17-year-old son.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam keeps a close watch on and is concerned about the escalating violence in the Gaza Strip over past days, leaving many Palestinians dead and injured, the Vietnamese Foreign Ministrys spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang said.

Hang made the statement in Ha Noi on May 15 while answering reporters questions regarding Viet Nams response to increasing conflicts in the Gaza Strip between Israeli security forces and Palestinian people.

Viet Nam calls on the concerned parties to exercise restraint, handle conflicts through peaceful measures and create favourable conditions for negotiations as well as international efforts to reach comprehensive, equitable and sustainable solutions, ensuring legitimate interests of the parties, and regional peace and stability, the spokesperson said.

On May 14, Viet Nams foreign ministry also denied having sent any representative to the opening ceremony of the US embassy in Jerusalem, contrary to reports by some media outlets.

Viet Nam has always been consistent in its support for the two-state solution in the long-standing Israel-Palestine conflict.

Earlier, at the open debate of the UN Security Council on April 26, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, head of Viet Nams Permanent Mission to the United Nations, also expressed Viet Nams concerns over the current Middle East situation and called on the UN Security Council to uphold its important role in encouraging the resumption of peace talks between concerned parties.

She stressed the need for all parties to respect international humanitarian law, stop any act of hostility, incitement and violence, to ensure unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance.  VNS
BINH THUAN  The southern province of Binh Thuans Military Command deployed the first test of using drone on Monday afternoon to inspect forest management in Ham Thanh Commune in HamThuan Nam District.

The Military Command launched the drone test in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, according to vov.vn online newspaper.

The domestically-manufactured VT-Pigeon drone was produced by Viettel Aerospace Institute under Viettel - Viet Nams largest mobile network operator. It is a wholly State-owned enterprise, operated by the Ministry of Defence.

The drone weighs 26kg and has a wingspan of 3.25m. Its five-litre fuel tank can fly it for three hours, and its information system can transmit signals directly within a 50km radius.

After its take-off from Ham Thanh Commune, the drone flew to My Thanh forest and crossed the Nui Ong forest area located between the districts of HamTan, Ham Thuan Nam and Tanh Linh.

The drones camera recorded the entire surface below, detected and transmitted images of five forest fires and sent clear coordinates of suspected locations of deforestation to the data centre.

The drone can scout both during the day and night, proving to be useful to the forces assigned to manage forests as well as provincial authorities, Than Hoang Ha, chief of the pilot flight, told Binh Thuan Provinces leaders and forest protection forces.

Ha said cases of deforestation and forest fires could be quickly detected and prevented in time with the help of the drone.

After nearly three hours of fly test, the drone returned safely.

After the trial, BinhThuan provincial authorities will discuss carefully before ordering, buying or renting the equipment.

Nguyen Manh Hung, secretary of the provincial Party Committee, said the pricing and features of the drone should be consistent with local natural conditions.

I think the device will be able to better serve forest management task, he said.  VNS
BINH THUAN  Binh Thuan Province Peoples Committee has proposed to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc the establishment of a focal agency to address the problems posed by five thermal power plants at Vinh Tan Power Centre, the Vietnam News Agency reports.

The proposal was made at a meeting on Monday between the provincial Peoples Commitee and National Assembly delegation.

According to province head Nguyen Ngoc Hai, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) had asked Vietnam Electricity (EVN) to take charge. However, EVN has not implemented any monitoring activities at the centre until now, reported the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Speaking at the meeting, Hai said the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) was re-evaluating environmental impact assessment reports, inspecting construction sites, implementing environment protection mechanisms and preparing a monitoring plan for large projects that pose threats to the environment, including projects at Vinh Tan Power Centre.

However, projects at Vinh Tan Power Centre do not feature in the 2018 inspection plan earlier approved by MoNRE. Several solutions to pollution-related issues at Vinh Tan Power Centre were also proposed by the provincial authorities. A plan on special management of projects with high risks of environmental pollution was proposed to be submitted to the Prime Minister at the earliest.

Viet Nam Environment Authority was assigned the responsibility to conduct inspection and evaluation of all projects at Vinh Tan Power Centre and assess their environment safety levels.

MoIT asked project investors to set up a plan of ash and slag consumption to accelerate the treatment of thermal plant waste, turning them to sources for the construction material industry. EVN was also tasked with being the focal agency, cooperating with local authorities at Vinh Tan Power Centre and moderating the process of composing the management mechanisms at the centre.

The environment impact assessment of projects was urgently asked to be implemented, focusing on Hon Cau Sea Preservation Area and livelihoods of locals.  VNS
SEOUL  Satellite photos indicate North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear test site ahead of a historic summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, a US monitor said Tuesday.

In a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul, North Korea said at the weekend it will "completely" destroy the Punggye-ri test site, in a ceremony scheduled between May 23-25 in front of invited foreign media.

Punggye-ri, in the northeast of the country, has been the site of all six of the Norths nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb.

North Korea pledged to destroy the testing ground after Kim last month declared the countrys nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex.

The respected 38 North website said Tuesday that satellite images dated May 7 showed "the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well under way".

Several key operational buildings as well as smaller sheds had been razed and rails connecting the tunnels to their waste piles were removed, the monitoring group said.

Excavation of a new tunnel has also been halted since late March, it added.

Images showed preparatory work for the destruction ceremony had also begun, including a newly positioned foundation among the waste piles presumably built for the invited journalists.

"It is conceivably for a future camera position to record the closure of the West Portal," the group said.

However no tunnel entrances appear to have been permanently closed and some main buildings are still intact, it added, saying that work will likely be carried out in front of the foreign media.

Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and Trump which will be held in Singapore on June 12.

Washington is seeking the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation" of the North and stresses that verification will be key.

But sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal, which includes missiles capable of reaching the United States.  AFP
JERUSALEM  Israeli forces killed 55 Palestinians on the Gaza border in the conflicts bloodiest day in years on Monday as clashes and protests coincided with the deeply controversial opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

The unrest, which left more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded, erupted before a White House delegation and Israeli officials opened the embassy at an inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem.

It was the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

Tens of thousands had gathered near the border in protest while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.

At the United Nations, the US blocked the adoption of a Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into the violence, diplomats said.

The embassy inauguration went on as planned, attended by a Washington delegation that included US President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides.

Ivanka Trump helped declare the new embassy open and a plaque and seal were unveiled before the 800 guests at the ceremony, which took place at what until now had been a US consulate building in Jerusalem.

Trump addressed the gathering by video.

"Our greatest hope is for peace," he said, despite the Palestinian anger the move has provoked.

"The United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump in his address that "by recognising history you have made history".

Along the Gaza border, crowds built throughout the day in the Palestinian enclave less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) away from Jerusalem and sealed off from Israel by a blockade.

Israels military said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the protests and clashes.

The military also said one of its fighter jets had struck five targets at a Hamas training facility in Gaza.

Earlier, a warplane and tank targeted two other Hamas posts in response to what it said was fire toward its forces by Hamas.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas accused Israel of "massacres," while Amnesty International called the violence an "abhorrent violation" of human rights. Human Rights Watch denounced a "bloodbath".

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said "we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life," while British Prime Minister Theresa Mays spokesman urged "calm and restraint".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide", announcing three days of mourning and a giant protest in Istanbul on Friday. Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the US and Israel "for consultations".  AFP
Some 45 years after almost 600 Americans returned home from imprisonment in North Vietnam, the Dallas-area community will honor these former prisoners of war at a special program at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, 7-10 pm on May 24, 2018. The program will feature a panel of six former Vietnam POWs, all now living in North Texas, who will describe and reflect on their experiences. The discussion will be moderated by former Dallas Cowboys defensive star Chad Hennings, a three-time Super Bowl champion and former US Air Force combat fighter pilot.

The event will be sponsored by Service Air Corps, http://www.serviceaircorps.com, a Dallas-based nonprofit that honors American military members and veterans by staging flyovers at little or no cost to community organizations throughout Texas.

Funds raised by the event will be used to pay selected Texas flight museums for the use of their Vietnam-era aircraft for the 45th Anniversary of Freedom of the Vietnam POWs flyovers on Aug. 17, 2018. Tables of 10 cost $5000. Individual tickets cost $300. All tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information, call Service Air Corps at 214-855-2258.

A little more than 45 years ago, from Feb 12 through late March, 1973, under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords, 591 American POWs returned home from imprisonment in North Vietnam. The effort was called, Operation Homecoming. The former POWs ranged from privates first class to colonels. Among those on the first flight was Navy Cmdr. Everett Alvarez Jr., the first American pilot to be shot down in North Vietnam and, by the wars end, the longest-held POW there. He spent 8.5 years in captivity.

The former Dallas-area POWs, all now retired from the military, who will speak at the Service Air Corps event on May 24, will be:

Col. Mo Baker, USAF, 5.5 years POW

Maj. Richard Bates, USAF, 6 months POW

Col. Ken Cordier, USAF, 6.5 years POW

Lt. Michael Penn, USN, 8 months POW

Lt. Col. Jerry Singleton, USAF, 7.3 years POW

Lt. Col. Jon Yuill, USAF, 3 months POW

For tickets and information call Sara Jones with Service Air Corps at 214-855-2258.
A non-profit trade association, the American Watchmakers-Clockmakers Institute (AWCI) is set to host two Build a Watch sessions during JCK Las Vegas, the biggest watch and jewellery fair in the United States. Taking place on June 3 and 4, the six-hour workshops are a hands-on introduction to mechanical watchmaking thats both theoretical and practical.

Each student starts with a disassembled ETA 6497, a time-only, hand-wind movement thats the biggest diameter, widely available calibre today. A student gets to put together the movement over the course of the class, acquiring a real-world understanding of crucial aspects of movement assembly like lubrication and regulation.

Once the movement is complete, students will move on to casing the watch  installing a dial, fitting the hands and installing the movement inside the case. Every student gets to keep his or her finished timepiece, which is a generic beobachtungsuhr-inspired pilots watch, at the end of the course.

The two-day class costs US$1295, and includes the finished watch. Its open to the public, and will take place at the Vdara Hotel & Spa. Registration can be done direct at AWCI.
Around Midland and around the world, loving and leading all people to deeper life in Jesus Christ.
By WestKyStar & MSU Staff May. 15, 2018 | 06:32 AM | MURRAY, KY





The Fulbright U.S. Student Program awarded Samantha Wright, a Murray State University student from Owensboro, with a 201819 English Teaching Assistant (ETA) grant to serve as a teacher and cultural ambassador in Taiwan beginning August.The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is an educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government that offers research, study and teaching opportunities in more than 140 countries. In addition to its academic offerings, Fulbright is designed to increase communication and understanding between the U.S. and other countries with Fulbright scholars exhibiting academic and professional achievements as well as demonstrated leadership potential.This opportunity gives me a chance to see parts of the world but, more than that, it offers an opportunity to grow as a person and as a teacher to have a more global perspective and understand people more fully, Wright said.Wright graduated from Murray State in May 2018 with a bachelors degree in learning and behavior disorders from the College of Education and Human Services. She is a presidential fellow and student in the Honors College, a community within Murray State that offers a unique honors curriculum, critical-thinking seminars and specialized programs and activities. In addition to her coursework and student-teaching requirements, Wright has conducted extensive research on strategies to prevent anger and aggression with guidance from education professors Dr. Eric Umstead and Dr. Ajay Das since the spring semester of her freshman year.We were not surprised that Samantha was selected by the Fulbright committee, said Dr. Warren Edminster, executive director of the Honors College. Were confident Murray State and Honors College students can compete with the very best candidates in the country. Samanthas selection only proves that.As a high school senior deciding where to pursue her undergraduate degree, Wright looked for a university where she could excel academically and personally. She found that university at Murray State. Over the last four years  whether it was through her involvement in the Springer-Franklin Residential College, her work in the department of adolescent, career and special education or her participation in education abroad opportunities  Wright consistently looked for ways to step outside her comfort zone to grow as a student and, ultimately, as an educator.As she started the fall 2017 semester, looking toward her impending graduation in the spring, Wright began the extensive Fulbright application process after talking with several faculty and staff advisors. She decided to apply for the grant in Taiwan for a number of reasons. One such reason was the countrys emphasis on teaching English for elementary and middle school students, which is Wrights primary area of focus.I just knew it was the one, Wright said.To be considered for the Fulbright program, Wright was responsible for writing essays about why she was interested in the program and what she could bring to it in addition to submitting traditional application materials. She also completed a roundtable interview with faculty and staff from the University to discuss her prospective teaching methods and how she would serve as a cultural ambassador for the U.S.Samantha embodies the compassion and desire to inform exhibited in educators, the diplomacy and professionalism of an ambassador and the sparkle in her eye of a life-long learner, Umstead said. In a time when many countries and communities are becoming more polarized, Samantha embodies the skills an educational ambassador needs to positively represent our country abroad while at the same time bringing people together.When she learned she had been accepted to the program, Wright recalled it being an emotional moment  the culmination of her hard work paying off. She will now depart for Taiwan to begin her ETA program in August 2018. From there, she is excited to see what the future holds and to begin her Fulbright experience.You have to jump in with both feet, Wright said. Give it all youve got.Wrights selection as a Fulbright scholar also continues to put Murray State in a global spotlight that displays the Universitys commitment to a high-quality and worthwhile education both at home and abroad.We challenge our students to engage in experiences that lead to self-discovery and personal growth through scholarly activity as part of their academic journey, said Dr. Mark Arant, provost and vice president for academic affairs. Samanthas selection as a Fulbright recipient is well-deserved and incredibly significant. We are proud of Samantha and trust that her time as a Fulbright scholar will be both personally enriching and profoundly impactful.Wright is the third Murray State student in the past decade to be selected as a Fulbright scholar, an elite group that includes Ashley Winkler, a 2011 graduate who served as an ETA in Spain, and Bryant Powell, a 2016 graduate who served as an ETA in Belgium.
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NICE inContact Delivers FedRAMP-Authorized Cloud Contact Center Solution

Different people sometimes have widely divergent views of the job of government. But many U.S. citizens seem to believe that politicians and government agency employees are supposed to be working for us  the citizenry.

Providing citizens with services is a complex endeavor that requires a wide variety of touchpoints. And government contact centers support many of those channels, including voice- and data-based interactions.

These arent just your run-of-the-mill contact centers, however. Contact centers used by U.S. federal agencies must meet strict FedRAMP requirements.

One of the contact center solution providers with a FedRAMP-Authorized solution in this realm is NICE inContact. The company offers a cloud-based contact center that helps government agencies provide better service to their citizenry while

being cost efficient and lowering ownership and security risk.

Government contact centers now have a clear path to the cloud that meets federally mandated security, reliability, availability, and performance requirements, the company says. NICE inContact CXone for FedRAMP empowers government agents to act smarter and respond faster to every-changing citizen expectations.

NICE inContact CXone for FedRAMP help improve citizen experiences by allowing for multichannel interactions. That includes the ability for government entities to do outreach via calling, SMS, and outbound email.

This solution also supports skills-based routing. That enables government agencies to provide citizens with more personalized experiences. And the system presents users with a single interface through which to manage multiple channels. Plus it collects and presents a 360-degree view of citizens, including their past interactions.

Because this solution lives in the cloud, it lowers government upfront costs. Plus it lowers their ongoing maintenance and management costs, and it decreases their investment risk, as NICE inContact ensures the solution is updated as needed.

This solution also delivers high availability, security, and the ability to scale up and down as needs require.
There's no better way to up your culinary game than by delving into the world's most exotic herbs and spices.

Want to try your hand at Ethiopian fare? We Spice in Alamo Square has everything you need. Looking for hard-to-find flavors? Oaktown Spice Shop is filled with them. Even if you do better cooking within your comfort zone, these spots can introduce you to unfamiliar varieties of even the most familiar flavorsthe just-right sea salt or chile powder really can make the difference.

Go ahead, add zest your life at these eight Bay Area spice shops.

(Courtesy of Spice Ace)

Spice Ace

The bright, streamlined Spice Ace is the perfectly organized spice rack you've always dreamed ofbut on a massive scale. Named one of the world's best spice shops by Food & Wine, Spice Ace's shelves are filled with more than 400 varieties of herbs, spices, salts, pepper, and chiles. Among the bottles you'll also find dozens of gourmet blends, many of which, including the Fisherman's Wharf blend (garlic, sun-dried tomato, herbs) and the Haight Street Rub (chipotle, chiles, peppers), pay homage to the city of San Francisco. // 1821 Steiner St (Pacific Heights), spiceace.com

Bombay Spice House

This utilitarian Indian grocery specializes in South Asian spices and foods from India to Fiji. Alongside imported and specialty products like flavored kulfis and dosa batter is an extensive selection of curry powders, Indian spices, and herbs such as garam masala and amla powder, pulses, and chutneys. The staff is genuinely friendly and able to answer your questions whether you're an old pro at South Asian cooking or just dipping your toe in the pot. // 1036 University Ave (West Berkeley), bombayspicehouse.org

(Courtesy of Oaktown Spice Shop)

Oaktown Spice Shop

Oaktown Spice Shop has a homey artisan vibe with sacks of spices piled high beneath rustic wooden shelves lined with jars full of fragrance and color. Oaktown sells the kitchen go-tosgarlic powder, pepper, saltbut they also have an eclectic collection of global flavors like Persian lime curry rub and schichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice). Craftily packaged sets like the baker's delight box ($42) and the tonic water kit ($18) make excellent gifts. Regular pop-ups and workshops such as the upcoming Sweet and Nourishing Spiced Desserts (May 29) will help get you out of your culinary funk and into the fire. // 546 Grand Ave (Oakland), oaktownspiceshop.com

Lhasa Karnak Herb Co

This apothecary-style herb company sells bulk herbs, oils, and extracts with a side of New Age wisdom. Even their name, Lhasa Karnak, celebrates herbal medicine in homage to centers of historic practice: Lhasa, Nepal, and Karnak, Egypt. At their two Berkeley locationson San Pablo Avenue and Shattuck Avenueyou'll find spices meant for flavoring foods and others for making holistic infused teas and tinctures. Books for sale cover every self-care, organic, DIY, and spiritual topic from aromatherapy to alchemical medicine. // 2506 San Pablo Ave (West Berkeley), lhasakarnak.com

(Courtesy of Local Spicery)

Local Spicery

Classic spices and mouthwatering blends abound at this chic little gourmet spice shop in downtown Tiburon. Local Spicery offers hundreds of spices, more than two dozen salts, and rubs galore, as well as 10 different types of dried chiles, drinking chocolate, and herb blends for making the perfect salad dressing (think buttermilk ranch and French vinaigrette). If you're looking for a good gift, check out their Spice Club, a wine club-style membership program that delivers new spice blends to your doorstep throughout the year. // 80 Main St (Tiburon), localspicery.com

We Spice

At this small, neighborhood Ethiopian and Eritrean spice shop, they have a selection of hard-to-find exotic flavors like the Ethiopian staple berbere. Even better the owner has extensive knowledge of the cuisine of the horn of Africa and can help guide you towards the ingredients you really need. For less adventurous chefs, We Spice also stocks a variety of more common spices and herbs to replenish your larder. // 1321 Golden Gate Ave (Alamo Square), 415.872.9355

(Courtesy of San Francisco Herb Company)

San Francisco Herb Company

There's nowhere better to stock up on spices than the bulk wholesale seller San Francisco Herb Company, a fragrant Mission mainstay since 1973. You'll find the usual spice-and-herb suspects here as well as a variety of unexpected items like dehydrated vegetables, nuts and seeds, extracts, teas, brewing and distilling supplies and, for your furry food connoisseur, catnip. Most of their products are sold in no-frills one pound bags; extracts and essential oils come in one- and eight-ounce versions. // 250 14th St (Mission), sfherb.com

Spice & Tea Exchange

You might imagine that, based on its location at heavily tourist-trafficked Pier 39, that Spice & Tea Exchange would be among the kitschier selections on this listand you'd be rightbut this national chain is no slouch when it comes to its selection of teas and spices. Among their shelves you'll find loose leaf teas in blends ranging from berry bouquet herbal to lemon drop mate, olive oils, and a variety of gifts including soy candles and kitchen accessories. The Spice & Tea Exchange is temporarily closed for renovations but is expected to reopen this summer. // Pier 39 (Fisherman's Wharf), pier39.com


Exclusive Global License Agreement with Zoetis

Brisbane, May 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Anatara Lifesciences ( ASX:ANR ) is delighted to announce an exclusive licensing agreement with Zoetis Inc., the leading global animal health company, for the worldwide development, manufacture, distribution and marketing of Detach(R) as a non-antibiotic approach to aid in the control of diarrhoeal disease (known as scour) in livestock and in horses.Key points:- Anatara has signed an exclusive agreement with Zoetis Inc., the leading global animal health company, to license Detach(R) - Anatara's non-antibiotic approach to aid in the control of diarrhoeal disease in livestock and horses- Zoetis to manage worldwide development, manufacturing, distribution and marketing of Detach(R) for livestock animals and horses- Agreement represents the achievement of a major milestone for Anatara and its shareholdersUnder the terms of the license agreement, Anatara has granted Zoetis exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, distribute and market Detach(R) worldwide, including in Australia. The agreement follows an initial Exclusive Research Evaluation and License Option period (announced 18th January 2016), during which time Zoetis evaluated Detach(R) for use as a non-antibiotic product in livestock species.The terms of the agreement include an upfront payment, milestone payments and royalties based on product sales. Intellectual property exclusively licensed to Zoetis under the agreement shall remain the sole property of Anatara. Exact details of the agreement remain confidential.Anatara's Executive Chairman, Dr Mel Bridges said, "Through signing this agreement with Zoetis, Anatara has reached a major commercial milestone - this an exciting moment for our shareholders."Dr Bridges added, "The global reach and resources that Zoetis is able to apply to making Detach(R) a successful product is of great value to Anatara. We see this as an outstanding result with a world-leading partner.""Veterinarians and livestock farmers are seeking new, integrated solutions to help keep animals healthy," said Dr. Scott A. Brown, Vice President, External Innovation at Zoetis. "We look forward to continuing our research and development of this novel approach and intend to explore its place in our diverse portfolio of solutions to prevent and treat gastrointestinal illness in livestock animals and horses."Anatara's Detach(R) technology has the potential to play an important role as an alternative to traditional antibiotics to control gastrointestinal diseases in livestock and production animals. The agreement demonstrates both companies' commitment to the responsible use of antibiotics in the food chain and finding natural alternatives to help control gastrointestinal disease.About ZoetisZoetis is the leading animal health company, dedicated to supporting its customers and their businesses. Building on more than 60 years of experience in animal health, Zoetis discovers, develops, manufactures and markets veterinary vaccines and medicines, complemented by diagnostic products, genetic tests, biodevices and a range of services. Zoetis serves veterinarians, livestock producers and people who raise and care for farm and companion animals with sales of its products in more than 100 countries. In 2017, the company generated annual revenue of $5.3 billion with approximately 9,000 employees. For more information, visit www.zoetis.com.About Anatara Lifesciences Limited

Anatara Lifesciences Limited (ASX:ANR) is developing and commercialising innovative, evidence-based products for gastrointestinal health where there is significant unmet need. Anatara is a life sciences company with expertise in developing products for animal and human health. Anatara is focused on building a pipeline of human gastrointestinal health products. Underlying this product development program is our commitment to delivering real outcomes for patients and strong value for our shareholders. For more information, please visit www.anataralifesciences.com.


Sets Up Subsidiaries in South-East Asia

Singapore, May 15, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Noble Vici Group Inc. ( OTCMKTS:NVGI ), a company that is focused on harnessing the opportunities in the digital revolution of IoT, Big Data, Blockchain and E-commerce, today announced that it will establish and fund two new subsidiaries in South-East Asia as part of its expansion plans.It is in the process of establishing and funding "Noble Digital Apps Sdn. Bhd." in Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor to focus on mobile apps development, and "The Digital Agency Pte. Ltd." in Singapore to offer digital marketing and content development services to support NVGI's global marketing outreach, as well as user and merchant acquisitions.Commenting on the expansion, CEO Sir Eldee Tang, said, "We are expanding our footprint into newer markets to strengthen our global ecosystem. Our goal is to bring the right mix of innovation, technology and marketing best practices to address the growing business needs as well as investing in the user base that will be leveraging our platforms."Sir Eldee added that, "NVGI is also in talks with multiple merchant acquisition platforms with operations in South-East Asia and China to broaden our reach and presence, as well as to gain access to mass-market users in Asia. We believe that Asia is in a state of transformation in the E-commerce sector as China's Belt and Road Initiative sets to reinvent inter-Asian trade and redefine East-West economics."As part of this go-forward strategy, NVGI is committed to divesting its non-core assets in a timely manner so that the company can target and inject upcoming businesses into its portfolio. Additionally, NVGI has filed a reverse stock split application at 1-for-1000 of all issued and outstanding Common Stock. The purpose of the reverse stock split application is to realign the Capital Structure and make newly issued stock available to fund acquisitions and expansion.About Noble Vici Group Inc.

Noble Vici Group, Inc. (OTCMKTS:NVGI) is a company on the cutting edge of technology, through in-house developments and external acquisitions the company is building an ecosystem of IoT, Big Data, Blockchain and E-commerce to form a digital revolution that provides our users with the tools to live and interact in the modern mobile world.


Andrew N. Liveris To Join Board

Brisbane, May 16, 2018 AEST (ABN Newswire) - ASX-listed NOVONIX Limited ( ASX:NVX ) ("NOVONIX" or the "Company") is pleased to formally announce the effective date for the appointment of Andrew N. Liveris AO to its Board of Directors as 1 July 2018.HIGHLIGHTS- As announced on 3 October 2017, Andrew N. Liveris AO, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company and a director of DowDuPont, will join the Board of Directors of NOVONIX.- The effective date for Mr Liveris' appointment has now been agreed as 1 July 2018, which follows the transition from his roles with Dow and DowDuPont and aligns with his appointment to the Board of Saudi Aramco (formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co.).- Mr Liveris will be instrumental in supporting NOVONIX's international business development and alliance efforts and relationships in the US$20 billion high-value battery materials sector.As previously announced, the appointment of Mr Liveris is a further step in the implementation of the Company's downstream integration strategy.The appointment will follow Liveris' transition from his roles with Dow and DowDuPont, and will coincide with his appointment to the Board of Saudi Aramco (formally known as Saudi Arabian Oil Co.).Mr Liveris is currently the Chairman of and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company and a director of DowDuPont, a nearly US$80 billion holding company comprised of The Dow Chemical Company and DuPont.Until recently, Mr Liveris also served as Executive Chairman of DowDuPont. DowDupont is traded on the NYSE under the stock ticker symbol "DWDP", with a current market capitalisation of US$155 billion.Mr Liveris has been a member of Dow's Board of Directors since February 2004, CEO since November 2004 and was elected as Dow's Chairman of the Board effective 1 April 2006. He was appointed Executive Chairman of DowDuPont in May 2016, and assumed that role until recently, following the close of the merger transaction between Dow and DuPont on August 31, 2017.Mr Liveris sits on the Board of Directors of IBM, is Vice Chair of the Business Roundtable, an Executive Committee Member and Past Chairman of the U.S. Business Council, and a member of the Concordia Leadership Council and the Australian government's Industry Growth Centres Advisory Committee. Liveris serves on the Board of Trustees of The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, California Institute of Technology and the United States Council for International Business.On 29 April this year, Saudi Aramco announced that Mr Liveris will join its Board of Directors, effective as of July 1, 2018.Born in Darwin, Australia, Mr Liveris attended the University of Queensland in Brisbane, graduating with a bachelor's degree (first-class honors) in Chemical Engineering. Earlier this year, he and his wife Paula donated $13.5 million to help establish the Liveris Academy in the University's Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology.He is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of The Institute of Chemical Engineers as well as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.His appointment to the Board of NOVONIX follows the commissioning of the PUREgraphite pilot plant in Tennessee, USA and expansion of the NOVNONIX Battery Testing Services factory and R&D facility in Nova Scotia, Canada.Mr Liveris will serve as a Non-Executive Director of NOVONIX and will particularly assist with international business development, market entry and strategic opportunities.NOVONIX Chairman, Mr Tony Bellas, said that the Board of Directors was very pleased to formalise the effective date of 1 July for Mr Liveris' appointment."The Board and senior executive team are looking forward to working closely with Andrew as we scale-up our from pilot-scale production, deepen our customer relationships, and undertake strategic international projects."Details of Mr Liveris' Board remuneration package were announced on 3 October 2017 when NOVONIX announced his intention to join the Board.About NOVONIX Ltd

NOVONIX Ltd (ASX:NVX) (FRA:GC3) (OTCMKTS:NVNXF) is an integrated developer and supplier of high-performance materials, equipment and services for the global lithium-ion battery industry with operations in the USA and Canada and sales in more than 14 countries. NOVONIX's mission is to support the global deployment of lithium-ion battery technologies for a cleaner energy future.


Yuba City, Sutter County -- On Wednesday, May 16th at 10:00AM, local Law Enforcement agencies will gather in front of Yuba City Police Department for a memorial ceremony in honor of Californias peace officers who died in the line of duty in 2017. The ceremony will also include the perpetual roll call of Yuba - Sutter peace officers killed in the line of duty. Wreaths will be placed to commemorate both Law Enforcement line of duty deaths and for the men and women of our armed forces who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Please join us as we remember and honor our fallen heroes.

2018 Peace Officers Memorial Ceremony

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

10:00 A.M.

Yuba City Police Department

The ceremony is open to the public.
Simon Sarkar has joined as Head of Research, having previously worked at the Financial Conduct Authority for over 13 years within the research team. In his new role, he will manage the research programme at the PLSA, commissioning and undertaking research for a range of industry and consumer projects. Tiffany Tsang also joins the PLSA as Policy Lead within the Governance & Investment team, working across defined benefit pensions and Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS). She is an economist and pension policy specialist with over 15 years of public policy experience. Prior to the PLSA, she was a Policy Adviser for the Association of British Insurers, and she has also been announced as a finalist in the Rising Star category of the Professional Pensions inaugural Women in Pensions Awards. Commenting on the announcements Julian Mund, Chief Executive, PLSA, said: The high quality work of our policy and research teams is at the heart of what we do at the PLSA, and the benefits we offer to our members. Im delighted to welcome Simon and Tiffany to the organisation and believe their extensive experience across pensions, savings and retirement will help us on our journey to ensuring everyone can achieve a better income in retirement. Simon Sarkar, Head of Research, PLSA, commented:I am very pleased to join the experienced team at the PLSA and help develop the research programme across so many important areas. The Hitting the Target project has proven particularly interesting to work on, and I look forward to feeding into the next stages of this campaign. Tiffany Tsang, Policy Lead: DB, PLSA, said: It is an exciting time to join the PLSA, with the recent release of the Governments DB white paper, ongoing discussions around DB consolidation, and the start of the next phase of the pooling process in the LGPS sphere. Im extremely passionate about the work the PLSA does to safeguard retirement outcomes for savers, and I look forward to helping it continue to develop solutions to the complex issues in these sectors.
Smiths Detection technology has been chosen by the Ethiopian Railways Corporation to safeguard people and infrastructure on the vital new railway link between Ethiopia and the port at Djibouti.



Above: Smiths Detections winning bid included equipment ranging from compact scanners for personal belongings to large X-Ray systems for goods pallets, including 18 HI-SCAN 6040i.



A range of 39 scanners will be deployed to prevent threats making their way onto trains at 16 major stations along the route by delivering high-speed, accurate screening for hand baggage, larger items of luggage and cargo.



The 750km line now links Addis Ababa with the sea in approximately 10 hours. This is a huge improvement on the two or three days previously needed for trucks to haul imports and exports by road between the landlocked country and the Djibouti port, which is a strategic trade hub for Asia, Europe and the rest of Africa.



This train link is expected to be hugely beneficial to the development of industry in Ethiopia and we are privileged to have the opportunity to help protect such a strategically significant route. Ensuring that threats do not infiltrate mass transport networks is essential to keep people safe, maintain public confidence and keep economies going, explained Tony Tielen, Vice President EMEA, Smiths Detection. It is our most significant railway security contract to date and demonstrates how we are continuing to strengthen our position in the urban security sector.



Public transportation networks, government buildings, prisons, public places and arenas are all highly susceptible to ongoing threats and attacks from a range of lethal weapons and explosive devices and Smiths Detections solutions are designed to respond to constantly changing threats.



The Ethiopian Railways Corporation contract was awarded following a competitive tender based on technical evaluation, reliability and reputation. Smiths Detections winning bid included equipment ranging from compact scanners for personal belongings to large X-Ray systems for goods pallets and comprises 18 x HI-SCAN 6040i; 12 x HI-SCAN 9075HR; and nine x HI-SCAN 145180-2is.



Delivery and installation are scheduled for June and July 2018.
The Northern Ireland Department of Health Information Analysis Directorate are to be commended for producing a detailed analysis of the prevalence of autism in schools in the province authored by Iain Waugh [1], the first from any United Kingdom health body I have seen since the middle of the last decade. The results of this survey are unfortunately in line with data I assembled in this column below [2,3,4,5,6].

Below is the most recent of a series of letters I have written posted in on-line British Medical Journal responding to an article by Prof Russell M Viner, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. While Prof Viner was trying to challenge the British government to focus on the health of children and young people, I have been trying to get them both to focus on the tragedy unfolding in our midst: this is the sixth letter since March assembling data from official sources (with much help from Anne Dachel), without a single response. The Northern Ireland Department of Health deserve special praise because all the previous data relating to current autism prevalence in schools comes from education sources. Here at least they recognise and expose the scope of the problem, which represents in greater detail the situation across the United Kingdom. One thing this does is to lay to rest completely the better recognition and diagnosis argument because we actually have here very large numbers of children with extreme levels of disability, not with marginal traits which might have been passed over in the past. In Belfast you are dealing with approaching 3% of the school population who are autistic and with Stage 5 support (the highest level).

The pamphlet records that the rate of diagnosed autism in the province's school has risen from 1.2% of the school population in 2008-9 to 2.9% in 2017 (a leap of 141% and representing a present rate of 1 in 34.5). Also, while the document emphasises that the proportion of complex cases (Stage 5) to the total number of autism cases has declined from 74% to 60%, Stage 5 autism cases have still risen dramatically in relation to the total school population from 0.89% in 2008-9 to 1.74% in 2017-18, i.e. they have nearly doubled and are heading for 2% of the school population.

The pamphlet also records that "children in urban areas were 1 1/2 times more likely to be autistic than those in rural areas" and that autism has become more connected with social deprivation:

"The prevalence of autism in the most deperived [sic] decile (1) has increased by 2.7 precentage

points between 2008/09 and 2017/18, compared to a 1.7 percentage point increase in the

least derpived [sic] decile (10) over the same period of time".

It is presumably a combination of these factors which leads Belfast's schools to have an autism rate of 4.7% (1 in 21 children). The figures will necessarily be incomplete because the younger children are the less likely they are to have yet received a diagnosis. By contrast a National Statistics survey of mental health for the whole of Great Britain in 1999 found a rate of Pervasive development disorder (i.e. the broadest possible definition of autism type conditions) of 0.2% in 11-15 year-olds (ie. 1 in 500 born c.1984-8), who being secondary students were more likely to have received a diagnosis [7].

Of course, the pamphlet only reports, it does not significantly discuss the causes of this catastrophic growth in a type of disability. I fear that whatever it is driving this phenomenon it will be unpalatable to the present generation of paediatricians and health officials, but how much worse does it have to get before they pay attention?

[1] Information Analysis Directorate 'The Prevalence of Autism (including Asperger Syndrome) in School Age Children in Northern Ireland 2018', published 10 May 2018, https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/health/asd-children-ni-2018.pdf

[2] John Stone, 'Re the NHS must prioritise health of children and young people - what about autism', 19 March 2018, https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rr

[3] John Stone, 'The government must face up to the autism pandemic, and so must the RCPCH', 26 March 2018, https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rr-0

[4] John Stone, ' Re: The government must face up to the autism pandemic, and so must the RCPCH', 1 April 2018, https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rr-2

[5] John Stone, 'The hidden crisis - where are the government and RCPCH, and what is their explanation?' 6 April 2018, https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rr-4

[6] John Stone, 'The worst figures of all - 600% rise in additional support in a decade in Scottish schools', 13 April 2018, https://www.bmj.com/content/360/bmj.k1116/rr-5

[7] Metzler et al, 'The mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain' National Statistics 1999, p.33 Table 4.1 'Prevalence of Mental Disorders', Pervasive development disorder is listed under 'less common disorders', http://www.dawba.com/abstracts/B-CAMHS99_original_survey_report.pdf
By Anne Dachel



Last week the World Mercury Project reported on the special education epidemic happening around the world in Part 4 of their series.

https://worldmercuryproject.org/.../part-4-the-special-ed-epidemic-uncovering-the-ans...

In this four-part series, World Mercury Project's partner, Focus for Health (FFH), examined the special education epidemic, its crippling effects ...

The WMPs evidence that increasingly students in our schools today cant learn or behave as children always have should be cause for follow-up by the national press, one would think, but sadly its probably not going to happen. In fact, theyll do just the opposite.

Sunday, May 13th the Washington Post addressed this critical topic. The headline said it all: Veteran policymaker says 80 percent of special-ed kids dont need that label

The Post, like every other mainstream news source out there, has never addressed the explosion in special needs students as a crisis. The truth is, its been completely ignored. Staten Island may have 24 percent of its students in special education, 22 percent in Racine, WI, 20 percent in Wahkiakum, WA, but still, its no cause for concern.

However, when an impressive group like the World Mercury Project, led by well-known environmentalist Robert Kennedy, Jr., calls whats happening in special ed an epidemic, its definitely going to draw more attention to the topic. The public might ask where the big name sources in print and broadcast news have been. Why have they said absolutely nothing about this?

The truth is, just like with the horrific increases in autism over the last two decades, the job of the media seems to be to first ignore the situation, and when finally forced to talk about it, deny anything is wrong.

This is exactly what the Post did in their story. The author of the piece, Jay Mathews, is the education columnist for the Post where hes been working for nearly 50 years. Mathews interviewed Kalman R. Buzzy Hettleman who served two terms on the Baltimore school board and was deputy mayor of Baltimore and Maryland secretary of human resources. Surely these two people should be able to tell us whats going on.








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The writing agencies work quite clearly. The student can easily get any type of academic paper well done. The only important thing is to find the reliable agency. There are too many of them in the Internet. To succeed, the student can compare several websites. He can evaluate the services and their price. After the student orders the paper, he also has to pay attention to who will write it for him. It is a good idea to evaluate several authors profiles. to make an informed choice.
Qatar Cargo B777F

Qatar Airways Cargo is providing Expo Freight Logistics (EFL) with a dedicated weekly Boeing 777 freighter service from Dhaka in Bangladesh to New York.

The flights, arranged through the Middle East carriers QR Charter services, can transport more than 100 tonnes of garments on each flight. The new freighter service commenced on 13 May and will continue for a year.

Hanif Yusoof, founder and chairman of Sri Lanka-headquartered EFL, said: Bangladesh has been a very attractive sourcing market for retailers and the development of better and faster supply chain solutions will further strengthen its reputation in the region.

The majority of apparel exports out of Dhaka carried on the freighter charters consist of sportswear, lingerie, loungewear, bridal wear, workwear, swimwear and childrens clothing, all winging their way to major retailers in the US.

Qatar Airways Cargo also offers bellyhold space on three times a day widebody passenger flights out of Dhaka, offering a combined capacity of over 900 tonnes out of Bangladesh each week for local exports.

QR Charter is available on Qatar Airways Cargos fleet of two B747-8Fs, 13 B777Fs and eight Airbus A330Fs.

Qatar Airways chief officer cargo Guillaume Halleux said: Our expertise in freight charters enables us to customise our connectivity and services for our customers to most of the airports in the world.

Utilising our renowned QR Charter service, we are able to offer tailor-made cargo solutions to our business partners.

Read more freighter operator news
https://www.aish.com/jw/id/Israeli-Pride-Winning-the-Eurovision-this-Momentous-Week.html

Netta Barzilai wins the Eurovision, the week of Jerusalem Day and the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Israel has once again won the Eurovision song contest, the massive annual music extravaganza thats watched by over 200 million fans world-wide. Israeli diva Netta Barzilai beat competitors from over 50 countries, with her catchy song Toy, an anthem of female empowerment.

Over a peppy Oriental beat, Netta declares Im not your toy and the Hebrew phrase Ani lo bubbah: Im not a puppet. Songwriter Doron Medalie, who penned the winning ballad, has explained he wanted a song that spoke to both women and men today, declaring Women are not toys. Its a powerful message about womens rights that fits in with Israels reality as a Western-style democracy where women and minorities enjoy full and equal rights.

Netta herself embodies many of the hallmarks that make Israel a welcoming place where people are judged by their abilities rather than their looks or genders. Speaking a week before her win, Netta explained that she used to think pop stars are thin and beautiful and light, and Ive never felt beautiful, skinny and light. Determined to prove herself, Netta went on the Israeli show HaKochav HaBa (The Rising Star) and declared that instead of conforming to traditional expectations of success and beauty, I wanted to be me. Netta won that show and went on to represent Israel in Eurovision, on her terms. Her songs positive message that women are not toys fit in with her can-do attitude.

That attitude also fits in with Israel as a whole. Netta sings that women are Wonder Women and in Israel, that resonates (and not only because of Gal Gadot). Israeli women have been Foreign Minister, Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament), Supreme Court Judges, and MPs, mayors, government ministers and army leaders. In 1969, Golda Meir became Israels first female Prime Minister - and only the third elected female leader in modern times. Israeli women are more likely than men to go on to higher education. Women now account for a majority of students in degree programs, and work alongside men in Israels burgeoning high-tech scene and in other industries.

While millions of fans around the world were celebrating Nettas win, Israelis also had something else to celebrate: Jerusalem Day, the national holiday marking the day Israeli troops reunified Jerusalem in 1967.

After Israel declared itself a state in 1948, it was immediately invaded by the armies of five surrounding Arab nations. After over a year of fighting, Israel was left with a small fraction of its original territory: much of Jerusalem, its capital, was taken over by Jordanian troops. Jordan didnt tolerate any Jews living in its territory and expelled the Jewish residents of the portions of Jerusalem it controlled. For 19 years, the Old City of Jerusalem and other neighborhoods in the east of the city that were under Jordanian control were strictly off-limits to Jews. Even the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, was forbidden for Jews to visit.

When Israeli troops recaptured these Jerusalem neighborhoods in 1967, they encountered scenes that seemed to be straight out of Nazi Germany. 34 out of 35 synagogues in Jerusalems Old City were destroyed. Many had been filled with garbage, the carcasses of dead animals and dung, and some had been turned into hen-houses. Hundreds of Torah scrolls and Jewish books had been burnt. Jewish graves on the Mount of Olives had been plundered: tens of thousands of tombstones were broken and used as building material and to make roads.

Israelis began the slow process of rebuilding, and they did so in the typically Israeli way, involving all of its citizens and maintaining its long-standing commitment to democracy and human rights. Israel continued to be a beacon of democracy in the Middle East, ensuring all citizens are guaranteed equal rights and enjoy freedom of assembly, press, speech and dissent. Israelis are represented in the Knesset by dozens of parties, including some catering specifically to Arab interests. Scores of newspapers offer a panoply of viewpoints, and can criticize the government without fear of persecution or revenge. And the myriad of mosques' towering minarets that dot Israel's cities testify to the freedom of religion that all Israelis enjoy.

It is no wonder that a recent poll found that a majority of Arabs living in Jerusalem say they prefer being citizens of Israel than citizens of a future Palestinian state.

Also during this historic week, the world is finally recognizing the reality on the ground: that Jerusalem is the eternal, unified capital of the Jewish state. On May 14, the United States finally moved its Israeli embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Other countries have indicated they will follow suit. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced that Guatemala will move its embassy to Jerusalem on May 16, and Paraguay recently said it would do the same. Czech President Milos Zeman has said hed like to transfer his nations embassy to Jerusalem, and Romanias government has adopted a proposal to become the first European Union country to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

During this historic week, Israels pluralism and respect for all its citizens' rights has been on full display. For Eurovision fans, Nettas proud embodiment of womens rights reminded the world that in Israeli women have the right and ability to proudly declare their independence and demand respect. In Jerusalem, the vibrant, multicultural city in which all people are allowed to worship, to vote, to express themselves without fear, Israelis rightly celebrated their countrys achievements as well. And at long last, with the opening of the US Embassy and the promise of other embassies opening soon, the world recognized Israels incredible achievements and celebrated Jerusalem, Israels capital.
https://www.aish.com/jw/me/5-Misconceptions-about-the-Violence-in-Gaza.html

Some clarity in a world filled with media distortion.

As thousands of Gazans clash with Israeli forces along Israels border with Gaza, the number of casualties continues to grow  and so has public condemnation of Israel. Here are five misconceptions fueled by the media about the current violence in Gaza  and what really is going on.

1. Gazans are protesting the new American Embassy in Jerusalem

Tens of thousands protested along the frontier against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem declared Britains Guardian newspaper. Many media outlets followed suit  misreporting the riots that rocked parts of Gaza as a spontaneous eruption sparked by the United States decision to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to Israels capital Jerusalem.

That overlooks the fact that the ongoing riots were planned months ago: back in February 2018, the Hamas terror group that governs Gaza announced there would be six weeks of riots along the border, set to culminate on May 15, 2018. Thats the day after Israels 70th anniversary of its founding as a modern state: May 15 is day mourned as the Nakba, or disaster, by many Palestinians and other Arabs. For weeks, crowds of Hamas militants have been gathering at points along Israels border with Gaza, burning tires and attempting to break down the fence and storm Israel. Theyve billed it as the March of Return, allowing Gazans to relocate and live in what they claim are their ancestral homelands inside of Israel.

Its not the first time in recent years that Hamas has attempted to invade Israel. The 2014 military conflict with Gaza showed that Hamas had spent years building highly engineered terror tunnels into Israel, designed to allow terrorists to infiltrate and carry out attacks. Israels army uncovered ammunition, maps, Israeli army uniforms, and plans to attack an Israeli kindergarten where one of the terror tunnels ended. Since that conflict, Hamas has lobbed scores of rockets into Israel, and has even sent explosives attached to kites over the border to attack the Jewish state. Efforts to tunnel into Israel continue unabated. In April 2018, Israel uncovered the longest and most sophisticated terror tunnel yet.

Hamas doesnt recognize a state of Israel in any borders, and last week, Yahya Sinwar, since 2017 the leader of Hamas in Gaza, reiterated his groups position, declaring that he intended to amass enough militants to launch a major invasion of Israel. Whats the problem with hundreds of thousands breaking through a fence that is not a border? he asked. Sinwars remarks were widely reported in the Israeli press. Its impossible that the reporters from Western media outlets tasked with covering this conflict dont know of Hamas plans  to pretend this is a spontaneous uprising sparked by the US embassys move is disingenuous at best and deliberately misleading at worst.

2. Israeli forces massacred protesting Gazans

Turkey said that Israel and the US shared responsibility for a vile massacre as dozens of Palestinian rioters were killed by Israeli fire on May 14. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has a political sharing agreement with Hamas, declared today once again, the massacres against our people continue. In the US Security council, only a veto by the United States averted yet another condemnation of Israel.

In the past six weeks, 40,000 Gazans have stormed the border with Israel in 13 locations along the Gaza Strip security fence. Fighting these military forces, many of whom traded live fire with Israeli soldiers, doesnt constitute a massacre. As White House spokesman Raj Shah explained, The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response.

As the fighting has escalated, Israels army has taken steps to tell civilians to stay away from the riots and to minimize deaths. On May 14, for instance, the Israeli Defense Forces put out media statements telling civilians to stay away from the riots, and dropped two rounds of leaflets warning people to stay away from the fighting.

3. The Gaza rioters are peaceful civilians

In a column in the New York Times on May 14, 2018, a Gazan named Ahmed Abu Ratima claimed that he was one of the first people to dream up the current six-week period of rioting  and admits that it has become out of control, violent and militarized. The riots cannot be completely controlled. We discouraged the burning of the Israeli flags and the attachment of Molotov cocktails to kites. he claims; We have also tried to discourage protesters from attempting to cross into Israel. However, we cant stop them. After six weeks of riots, it seems Hamas and other terrorist groups like Islamic Jihad are now calling the shots.

In a typical day of rioting, on May 6, 2018, Israeli soldiers shot at a group of terrorists who succeeded in breaching the border and made it into Israel. They were found to be carrying an axe, wire cutters, an oxygen mask, gloves, a camera and petrol bombs. On May 14, the most violent day of riots in this bloody six-week period, Hamas deployed at least a dozen separate terror cells to breach the border with Israel in different spots; they were ordered to confront and kidnap Israeli soldiers. In two locations, teams of Hamas fighters opened fire on Israeli soldiers, and in one spot terrorists planted a bomb along the border. Israeli Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis called the multiple military threats Israel faced on that day unprecedented.

In the context of these military-style attacks, the fact that Hamas is encouraging civilians, including women and children, to provide cover for hardened fighters is tragic. These civilian Gazans are nothing less than human shields. For weeks, Hamas has been using its own people as cannon fodder, encouraging civilians into a war zone of its own creation.

4. Hamas is seeking peace with Israel

Back in March of 2018, when the six weeks of violence at the Israel-Gaza border were just getting started, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh attended one of the gatherings and declared that the demonstrations marked the beginning of Gazans return to all of Palestine  meaning all of Israel. Since then, Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar, has escalated Hamas rhetoric, appearing at the riots declaring that the Gaza rioters will eat the livers of the Jews, and that he wont rest until he has personally broken into Israel and marched on Jerusalem.

Hamas, which adopted a new charter in 2017, continues to call for the destruction of Israel. In fact, it wont even name the Jewish state, calling Israel the Zionist entity instead. Speaking with reporters in 2017 when he became leader of Hamas in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar declared Hamas would disarm only when Satan enters paradise and explained theres not one minute of the day or night when we arent building up our military might. The current riots at the Israel-Gaza border are Sinwars first chance to show his military might, and he seems to be reveling in the hatred and violence hes causing.

5. Theres no way to fight misinformation and bias

For weeks, international media have adopted Hamas version of events, painting the Gaza riots as peaceful protests and Israels reactions as disproportionate and indefensible. For Israelis and Israels supporters, it can seem nearly impossible to counter the hate. But it is possible. Here are three suggestions to help inject more fairness and balance into discussions.

First, educate yourself. Read Israeli newspapers online. Subscribe to bulletins from organizations like the Israel Defense Forces https://www.facebook.com/idfonline/ and Honest Reporting (honestreporting.com). Speak with Israelis. Despite the violent nature of the current Gaza riots, Israelis have been remarkably unified in supporting their militarys response to the terror and infiltration and live fire theyve come under. Learn how Israelis are responding to the violence on their border, and to international efforts to blame Israel for the riots.

Second, dont be afraid to speak out. When you see unfair reporting or hear Israel slandered in the media or elsewhere, say something. Write letters to the editor. Blog about Israel. Speak up when people discuss the news as it relates to Israel. Its crucial that lies and distortions about Israel dont go unnoticed and uncorrected.

Finally, do all you can to educate those around you. It can be hard to believe that Hamas is sending bombs attached to kites sailing into Israel. It can sound incredible that they are cynically using human shields in their campaign to invade and destabilize Israel. It seems much easier to blame Israels military for the recent violence instead. Its up to each of us to spread accurate information, showing that far from conducting peaceful, measured protests, Hamas is cynically orchestrating violent protests that harm their own people. As Israel fights at its border, we all have a responsibility to fight misinformation and distortion that slanders the Jewish state.
A collision left a man dead on the intersection of U.S. Highway 441 and County Road 234 on Sunday afternoon.

Jeffrey DeLong, a resident of Clermont, Florida, was traveling south on U.S. Highway 441 with another passenger when the incident occurred at 12:54 p.m., according to a press release from Florida Highway Patrol. DeLong was driving a 2006 Suzuki motorcycle with no helmet.

Going eastbound on County Road 234, Freddie Slater, 50, approached a stop sign at the intersection with U.S. Highway 441 in a 1998 Lincoln Continental. He continued into the intersection in front of DeLong, according to a report from FHP.

DeLong couldnt avoid the car and collided into the left side of the Lincoln. Upon impact, he was ejected from the motorcycle and hit the upper side of the car, according to the report.

DeLong, 28, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Slater suffered no injuries, the press release said.

The motorcycle passenger Alaina Johnson, 25, reportedly suffered serious injuries. She and DeLong, her fiance, were on their way home from church in Gainesville when the accident occured, Johnson said. Sunday was both Mothers Day and Johnsons birthday.

Since the accident, she has started a petition for a traffic light to be added to that intersection. In three days, 601 people signed the petition.

Follow Jessica Curbelo on Twitter @jesscurbelo and contact her at jcurbelo@alligator.org.
In the aftermath of the graduation ceremony that became national news, UF President Kent Fuchs is seeking help from students on how to rethink future commencements.

Fuchs said in a video he posted on Twitter on May 8 that 22 students were rushed off stage at the commencement ceremony May 5 by an as-of-yet unnamed marshal. The employee has since been placed on paid administrative leave, UF spokesperson Margot Winick said.

Fuchs addressed the incident that occurred at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences graduation at the OConnell Center by tweeting apologies personally and on behalf of UF on May 6. The statement said the marshal acted inappropriately aggressive in rushing students across the stage.

Mackintosh Joachim, an 18-year-old UF psychology and womens studies sophomore, said the initial online apology was half-hearted and did not achieve any results. Joachim posted the video of the incident taken by UF public health student Tasha Raymond, 21.

Winick wrote in an email May 8 that UF is reviewing the incident and will not identify the marshal nor have further comment while under review.

I dont think its a fair punishment because he was clearly targeting black students, Joachim said. I think that they are trying to protect him because they know what he did was wrong.

Nafeesah Attah, 20, is one of three black students who were filmed being ushered off stage. The international studies graduate said she was going to perform a historic dance from her sorority called a duck walk  waving your arms up and squatting while stomping your feet  at the ceremony before the marshal interfered.

Attah said members of the sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, have done the dance at previous UF graduations and that other students were dancing and backflipping but were not handled in the same manner.

Although I appreciate the apology from (Fuchs), I think its a little too late, Attah said. I definitely hope the UF administration holds the person accountable.

Wallace Mazon, a UF political science and African American studies senior, said students are constantly raising their hands, shouting or dancing during the commencement walk across the stage.

If youve been to a graduation, thats, like, something you know, Mazon, 23, said. For that big guy to put his hands on graduating students after they put in so much work, to not only benefit the students but to also make UF more prestigious  it was complete negligence.

Fuchs spoke at a Faculty Senate meeting last Thursday afternoon and outlined his plans to create a task force to rethink future ceremonies. Student Body President Ian Green confirmed his role as a co-chair in the initiative along with Vice President Dave Parrott.

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I want to be thinking outside the box and making sure its truly a celebration with the students in mind, Green said. I think (Saturday) definitely shows that we have some challenges at UF that we need to work on together.

Fuchs said the task force being assembled is partly because of May 5s graduation and to create ways that would make the ceremonies more appropriate for the students of today. He said he would like to see commencement in December and May as a ceremony for all graduating students inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

He proposed that colleges and departments hold their own ceremonies that are catered specifically to their wants and needs, whether they be more formal or more celebratory.

I just believe that in (the current) commencement ceremonies, were doing too much, Fuchs said at the meeting. Were trying to accomplish a university-wide commencement ceremony with all the pomp and circumstance around that.

Fuchs said UF would send out a campus-wide notice to seek students input and any ideas theyd like to suggest.

Follow Angela DiMichele on Twitter @angdimi and contact her at adimichele@alligator.org.

UF sent framed diplomas to the 24 students who were rushed off stage during the Spring commencement ceremony.
Posted on: May 15, 2018 3:04 PM

The Anglican Church of Burundi has been training farmers to improve rice yields as part of efforts to combat food insecurity in the country. The two-year project has been run in partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development, the overseas development agency of the US-based Episcopal Church. Growing rice has been the main activity for people living along side Lake Tanganyika for many years; but the lack of improved techniques and seeds has caused low production and farmers could not expect to gain much from it.

Through the project, farmers have been trained and equipped with agricultural techniques and materials to improve rice production. Already the farmers are seeing changes in agricultural production and consequently in their daily lives, the province said in its newsletter.

Our situation has improved since we no longer cultivate the rice just for consumption, farmer Esperance Ndayishimiye, said. Im now able to meet easily my familys needs. I pay school fees for my children. I have bought lands and built houses. she said.

In addition the ERD, the Province has been working with the Burundi Institute for Agronomic Sciences on the initiative to to tackle food insecurity and to provide improved seeds to communities that are most vulnerable.

The beneficiaries of the improved rice seeds, who are encouraged to work in associations, have adopted a good strategy of sharing it with other members of the community, the EAB said. At the harvest they sell a certain quantity of improved seed at a low cost to other farmers in order to see increased production of rice.

Elsewhere, the new head of communications for Unicef in Burundi, Mrs Farellia Tahina, has spoken of the successful partnership between Unicef and the Anglican Church of Burundi. At a meeting with Archbishop Martin Blaise Nyaboho, the Primate of Burundi, she spoke of the pleasure of working with churches because they represent a strong force for change in communities and in the country.

The Anglican Church of Burundi has been working with Unicef for three years to tackle malaria and hygiene related diseases and to train youth to develop life skills.

Archbishop Martin expressed his gratitude to Unicef for the achievements that the partnership has brought and stressed the necessity of exploring other initiatives.
Posted on: May 15, 2018 11:35 AM

There is little appetite in parishes to continue discussing human sexuality, the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland has said, in a statement in which the stress that the provinces marriage service remains unchanged and marriage may be solemnised only between a man and a woman. In a separate statement, the House of Bishops of the Church of Australia said that the doctrine of their Church was that marriage is a lifelong union between a man and a woman. They said that in light of the Churchs doctrine, it was not appropriate for church buildings and halls, and chapels owned by Anglican schools and other Anglican organisations to be used as venues for same-sex marriages.

The statement from the Church of Ireland bishops was presented to the Provinces General Synod last week by the Bishop of Meath and Kildare, Pat Storey. It follows the work of a Select Committee on Human Sexuality in the Context of Christian Belief that was established by the General Synod in 2012, and which reported to the Synod last year. The Select Committee produced a Guide to Human Sexuality for parishes.

It was noted that following the production of the Guide to Human Sexuality, there was little appetite to discuss further these issues in the parishes, the bishops said in their statement. It would seem that there is no consensus in General Synod, the House of Bishops, or in the church island-wide to change the Canons of the Church of Ireland on the matter of marriage. This, the Church of Ireland marriage service remains unchanged and marriage may be solemnised only between a man and a woman. No liturgy or authorised service is provided therefore for any other situation.

The Australian bishops statement was made in the context of the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. It said that any change to the Provinces doctrines would need to be done through the framework of its constitution and canons. Bishops should give leadership in demonstrating trust in this framework as the way to move forward together, recognising that this will require care, persistence and generosity. The bishops commit to working together to manifest and maintain unity, as we together discern the truth.

The bishops commit to act within the framework of the Constitution and Canons of this Church, and to encourage those under their episcopal oversight to do so.

Both provinces expressed concern for the pastoral implications of their statements. The Australian bishops said: We affirm the need for humility and graciousness in discerning the way forward on these issues, recognising that there are complex interactions among the theological, pastoral and missional dimensions to these questions.

They added: All people are made in the image of God, loved by God and welcome in the community of Gods people. We earnestly desire that all people hear and respond to God's word and receive the grace of the sacraments.

We affirm the responsibility of ministers to pray with and care for same-sex couples in informal settings. Bishops trust that ministers will exercise discretion in their pastoral care for same-sex couples, acting in accordance with the doctrines and discipline of this Church.

The Church of Ireland bishops said: As the archbishops and bishops have already made clear to the clergy of the church of Ireland, it is not possible to proscribe the saying of prayers in personal and pastoral situations, but if clergy are invited to offer prayer after a same sex marriage, any such prayer must remain consonant with the spirit and teaching of the Church of Ireland.

They added: It is widely recognised that there is no simple solution for these and other issues of human sexuality; but with compassion, humility and concern, we offer our continued commitment to attentive listening and to respectful discussion.

We ask that all members of Synod who continue to hold strong opinions do so with integrity and compassion, and to also hold in prayer before God the challenging diversity that exists within the Church of Ireland.
(ANSA) - Vatican City, May 15 - Pope Francis met with 34 Chilean bishops at the Vatican on Tuesday as part of a series of confidential gatherings to formulate a response to the child abuse crisis that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the South American country, director of the Vatican press office Greg Burke has said.

There will be a further meeting on Wednesday and two more on Thursday, Burke added. "This evening the pope gave each of the bishops a written document setting out issues for meditation. The time from now until the next meeting is to be devoted exclusively to meditation and prayer," he concluded. In a statement on Saturday the Vatican Press Office explained that "it is fundamental to restore trust in the Church through good Pastors who witness with their lives that they have heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and who know how to accompany the suffering of the victims, and work in a determined and tireless way in the prevention of abuse". "The Holy Father thanks his brother Bishops for their willingness to stand in docile and humble listening to the Holy Spirit, and he renews his request to the People of God in Chile to continue to pray for the conversion of all".

The pope has apologies to abuse victims for playing down their opposition to Bishop Juan Barros who they said covered up abuse by the country's worst clerical predator Father Fernando Karadima.

Last month Francis admitted to making "serious mistakes" over child sex abuse by members of the clergy in Chile.

The pontiff made the admission in a letter to the bishops of Chile after reading a report by two special envoys sent for the express purpose of listening the stories of victims in the South American country.

Francis caused an outcry during his visit to Chile in January when he defended Bishop Juan Barros, who is accused of protecting predator priest Karadima despite having witnessed the abuse, saying there was no proof.

"The collected testimonies speak in a stark way, without additives or sweeteners, of many crucified lives, and I confess to you that that causes me sorrow and shame," the pope wrote in the letter, which the Vatican made public.

"I have made serious mistakes in the assessment and perception of the situation, especially due to the lack of truthful and balanced information." The head of the Catholic Church asked for forgiveness "from all those I have offended," saying he hoped to do so personally in coming days, in a series of meetings in Rome with representatives of the people interviewed.


(ANSA) - Rome, May 15 - Anti-migrant Eurospeptic League leader Matteo Salvini and his prospective government partner, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) leader Luigi Di Maio, both chafed Tuesday against alleged European Union interference in the formation of Italy's promised next government.

League leader Salvini, who also said there should be a new election if they failed to get a deal, accused the EU of meddling after Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said he hopes Italy's policy on asylum seekers does not change under the new government.

"From Europe we have the umpteenth unacceptable interference by unelected officials," Salvini said. "We have received and maintained too much. "Now is the time for legality, security and push-backs".

Avramopoulos said Italy deserved praise for the way it has addressed the Mediterranean migrant crisis while stressing that it was one of the countries to have received most support from Brussels. Italy, along with Greece, has taken the brunt of the Mediterranean migrant crisis and has been credited with saving Europe's honour for its efforts to save lives at sea. The flow of migrants from North Africa has fallen significantly after the outgoing government reached an agreement with Libya to support the efforts of its coast guard against human traffickers. Human rights groups have criticised this agreement, saying it means asylum seekers are being sent back to abuse and torture.

The League, which is in talks with the M5S on forming a new government in Rome, has called for the adoption of a harder line on migrants.

Di Maio, for his part, said that the more Eurocrats attacked the prospective M5S-league government, the more motivation it would draw from the attacks. "We have continual attacks, today also from some Eurocrats not elected by anyone and the FT speaks of new barbarians, but how do you dare?" said Di Maio.

"The more I see these attacks, the more I am motivated, because I see a lot of fear of change by a certain establishment.

"But those who fear change today are our enemy, and those who want it instead are fighting with us". The Financial Times focused on the "new barbarians" but also called them an "odd couple" that risks splitting up over Europe, examining the differences between Di Maio and Salvini.

The breaking point could be their respective attitudes towards Brussels, the paper said.

However, "with European elections around the corner in 2019, neither Mr Salvini nor Mr Di Maio will want to be caught off guard by making too many concessions to their partner. But for now, the new populist duo of Italian politics was savouring the taste of power," concluded the Financial Times.

Salvini said there would either be a government deal or else the Italians would be called on to vote again after the inconclusive March 4 election.

"Either a strong government is formed and that means reaching a deal with the Five Stars on everything or almost everything, or rather, as is possible, distances remain, we can say responsibly that we have tried our best".

Salvini said "and if we aren't able to start off, the only thing to do is to give the word to Italians (in another election)".




(ANSA) - Rome, May 15 - All 430 workers at Whirlpool's Brazilian fridge compressor unit Embraco's closed plant near Turin will be saved by new projects from two firms, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said Tuesday. On the future of the plant at Riva di Chieri, he said, "today the unions were presented with the projects from the two firms who will invest in the ex-Embraco re-employing all the workers with the same rights and the same compensations, without any support of public money," he said. He said the parties would meet "next Friday at the Turin industrialists' union to understand the details of the projects, it is a good operation and it has ended up well".

Embraco is moving its production to Slovakia.

Initially 497 jobs were threatened but around 70 have already left the firm, having taken redundancy payments.

The to firms are an Israeli-Chinese joint venture aiming to make robots to clean solar panels and water filters; and Turin's Astelav, which reboots used fridges.


(ANSA) - Brussels, May 15 - European Home Affairs and Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Tuesday that he hopes Italy's policy on asylum seekers does not change when the new government in Rome takes office.

"Let's hope that there are no changes on the migratory policy line," Avramopoulos said when asked about Italy.

The Commissioner said Italy deserved praise for the way it has addressed the Mediterranean migrant crisis while stressing that it was one of the countries to have received most support from Brussels. Italy, along with Greece, has taken the brunt of the Mediterranean migrant crisis and has been credited with saving Europe's honour for its efforts to save lives at sea.

The flow of migrants from North Africa has fallen significantly after the outgoing government reached an agreement with Libya to support the efforts of its coast guard against human traffickers.

Human rights groups have criticised this agreement, saying it means asylum seekers are being sent back to abuse and torture.

The League, which is in talks with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) on forming a new government in Rome, has called for the adoption of a harder line on migrants.
Jihadist extremismin Spain a home-grown affair Study indicates second-generation Moroccans

(ANSAmed) - Madrid, May 15 - Jihadist extremismin Spain is no longer the prerogative of foreigners but is increasingly becoming a home-grown affair, particularly amongst second-generation Moroccans, a study by the Elcano Royal Institute of Strategic Studies has said.



Research by Fernando Reynares and Carola Garcia-Calvo shows that 7 out of 10 jihadists who were arrested or died in Spain the the period 2013-2017 were of Moroccan origin.



Of these, three quarters were born in Spain, particularly in the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. Islamic extremism is concentrated on the poor outskirts of the two enclaves in Morocco, where social exclusion has created fertile ground for Salafism to take hold. However, there are also extremist elements in outlying urban areas of Catalonia. Nearly 40% of the over 800 Moroccan foreign fighters who travelled to Syria at the end of 2013 came from the regions surrounding Ceuta and Melilla. In addition, four of the six extremist Islamist cross-border networks dismantled by Spanish and Moroccan security apparatus in anti-terrorism operations between 2013 and 2017 were rooted in the enclaves. (ANSAmed).




States must act on Dublin revision, Avramopoulos 'It's time for EU Council to find common stance'

(ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 15 - The EU Commission for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos on Tuesday said time is running up and member States should hurry in finding a common stance on a revised Dublin Regulation. The commissioner made the remarks at an event organized by the European network on migrations.



Talking about the reform of the Dublin Regulation, Avramopoulos said the ''European Parliament has already expressed a common position and is beside the Commission. The time has also come for countries'' to find an agreement, said the commissioner. ''This doesn't solve everything but it is part of the solution''.



A meeting of ambassadors of the 28 (Coreper) on Tuesday will again examine the proposal launched by the Bulgarian rotating presidency that is trying to reach an agreement by the end of June. (ANSAmed)
As per Finance Ministry, the e-way bill rollout has been scheduled for Wednesday (May 16) in Assam, and Sunday (May 20) in Rajasthan.

The Centre on Monday informed that the e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods would be implemented in two more states.

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday informed that the e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods would be implemented in two more states, namely Assam and Rajasthan, this week.

As per the Ministry of Finance, the e-way bill rollout has been scheduled for Wednesday (May 16) in Assam, and Sunday (May 20) in Rajasthan.

The rollout of the e-way bill system, the Ministry noted, will enable trade and industry to be further facilitated insofar as the transport of goods is concerned, thereby eventually paving the way for a nation-wide single e-way bill system. For those unversed, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council had proposed the introduction of a system for inter-state movement of goods, which was rolled out from April 1 this year.

As on May 13, the e-way bill system for intra-state movement of goods has been rolled out in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Puducherry.

The Ministry noted that as on the aforementioned date, more than 4,15,00,000 e-way bills have been successfully generated, including more than one crore e-way bills for intra-state movement of goods.
As many as 245 firms got listed on BSE's SME platform and garnered a total of Rs 2,246 crore.

SME capital market has been witnessing participation from a wider class of investors and the trend is expected to continue.

New Delhi: Spurred by investor interest, the number of listed firms on NSE's small and medium enterprise (SME) platform reached 150, raising Rs 2,221 crore via initial public offer.

Two more firms -- E2E Network and 5 Core electronics -- will list on the exchange's Emerge platform next week and further traction is expected in the coming months as a slew of firms have lined-up their initial share-sale plans, an NSE spokesperson said.

"We touched the 150-mark on our Emerge platform on May 11. These firms mopped-up a total of Rs 2,221 crore," he said.

Of these, three have been now moved to the main board and there are 147 firms listed on the platform, with a market valuation of Rs 12,400 crore, he added. In comparison, as many as 245 firms got listed on BSE's SME platform and garnered a total of Rs 2,246 crore.

Of these, 48 have been migrated to the main board, as per latest update available with the exchange. At present, there are 197 companies listed on the BSE's SME platform with a market capitalisation of about Rs 11,311 crore.

BSE and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) had launched SME platforms in 2012. The platforms provide opportunity for investors to identify and invest in promising SMEs at an early stage.

Among the 150 companies listed on the NSE platform belong to a wide range of sectors, like logistics services, media, automotive components, pharma, infrastructure and hospitality.

Governance structures, capital access for expansion, improved credit rating, easy finances and branding are some of the key benefits for listing on SME platform Funds raised through the issues were used for business expansion plans, working capital requirements and other general corporate purposes.

"NSE is committed to continue engaging quality small and businesses, helping them access equity capital through our Emerge platform to guide them to robust business growth path," NSE Chief of Business Development Ravi Varanasi said.

"These listed small businesses are contributing immensely to the overall economic growth -- in terms of creating employment opportunities and enabling creative innovation," he said.

Moreover, the SME capital market has been witnessing participation from a wider class of investors and the trend is expected to continue.
Party says charges against Tharoor in Sunanda case politically motivated.

New Delhi: The Congress on Monday came out in open support of MP Shashi Tharoor, who has been chargesheeted by the Delhi police for cruelty and abetting the suicide of his wife Sunanda Pushkar in a Delhis five star hotel four years ago.

While addressing the media on Monday, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, We wont cow down or bow down. This is a conspiracy to defame Shashi Tharoor. We reject the charges totally.

Mr Surjewala added that the Delhi police took the said step in the Sunanda Pushkar case on instructions from BJP and the Narendra Modi-led government.

BJPs revenge factory is at work, he added.

The Congress stands by Dr Tharoor and denoun-ces this politically motivated chargesheet against him, the Congress Twitter handle shared after the Delhi police filed its chargesheet in the Sunanda Pushkar case.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, however, said that he would assist the prosecutor in the case in the city court.

Under Section 301 CrPC and also via JK International judgment of SC, I am entitled to assist the Prosecutor in the Sunanda unnatural death case. So I will appear on May 24th, he tweeted.

Mr Tharoor himself termed the charge sheet as preposterous and said he intends to contest it vigorously.
As many as 6 people were killed according to official reports, while unconfirmed numbers trailed between 6 and 12.

'People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered. This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate,' the Prime Minister said. (Photo: ANI |Twitter)

New Delhi: Addressing Bharatiya Janata Party workers in New Delhi on Tuesday after the party's massive win in the Karnataka Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi touched heavily upon the massacre created on Monday by the ruling Trinamool Congress during the panchayat polls.

"Bengal has always shown India the way," he said, criticising the 'murder of democracy' that stunned Bengal only a day before.

"People weren't allowed to file nominations. It isn't only BJP people who suffered. People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered. This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate," the Prime Minister said, adding that such malpractices are worrying in a democracy.

Also Read: Several dead during WB Panchayat polls, MHA seeks report from state

As many as 38,529 panchayat seats across West Bengal were up for contest on Monday.

"There are reports of six people being killed," a state Election Commission official said. However, unconfirmed reports say that 6 to 12 people have been killed in the violence across state.
Hindu Yuva Vahini was floated by Yogi Adityanath in the year 2002.

Lucknow: The Hindu Yuva Vahini, an outfit floated by Yogi Adityanath in 2002, has split.

Yogi Adityanath is the patron of the Vahini.

Sunil Singh, former state president of the Hindu Yuva Vahini (HYV), has floated a new organisation of the same name and has declared himself as its national president.

In a related development, the Yogi government has suspended R.P. Singh, the management officer of the VVIP Guest House in Lucknow where the rebel group held a meeting on Sunday.

Estate Officer, Yogesh Shukla told reporters that R P Singh had been suspended for allowing the rebel HYV group to hold a meeting in the government guest house.

We will be known as Hindu Yuva Vahini (Bharat) and our headquarters will be in Delhi. We will spread our ideology in all states where we will soon open offices, Sunil Singh told reporters.

Replying to a question, he said that after Yogi Adityanath became chief minister, HYV activists were sidelined in the BJP.

Our members were denied tickets and it became suffocating for us to stay on, he said.

Sunil Singh said that HYV (Bharat) will continue to follow the original agenda which includes construction of Ram temple, ban on cow slaughter, common civil code, abolition of Article 370 and upliftment of weaker sections.
CM Siddaramaiah loses in one seat, 16 of his ministers defeated.

Bengaluru: At the end of the counting of votes on Wednesday, Karnataka stared at a phase of political uncertainty with the May 12 Assembly polls throwing up a hung verdict, as none of the major political parties  BJP, Congress or JD(S)  was able to secure the magic number of 113 required to form a government, though the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats.

Nevertheless, a BJP delegation, led by its chief ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa, met governor Vajubhai Vala, a former BJP minister from Gujarat, on Tuesday evening, seeking a week to prove they had the numbers even as the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) cobbled together a coalition with former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) staking his claim to form the government with the support of the Congress.

Accompanying the JD(S) leader to Raj Bhavan were chief minister Siddaramaiah  who lost in his native Chamun-deshwari by a massive margin, though he won in Badami  and Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Dr G. Parameshwar, KPCC president, who is tipped to become deputy chief minister if the Congress chooses to be in government rather than support it from the outside as was being speculated.

Past animosities and the bitterness of the poll campaign were forgotten as the Congress  which had to be content with 78 seats compared to the 122 it had in the previous Assembly  and the JD(S) finalised formalities for government formation, a process which was initiated after polling day in Singapore where Mr Kumaraswamy met some Congress emissaries. Sources said the Congress has deliberately left the CM post to the JD(S) as it feels the mandate is not for the ruling party with as many as 16 ministers in the Siddaramaiah government biting the dust.

The CM himself managed to barely scrape through in Badami by 1,696 votes, the second seat he fought from, but the massive blow to the Congress prospects in central and north Karnataka proved that the Lingayat gamble of offering the dominant community in Karnataka minority religion status had not worked at all. All eyes are now on governor Vajubhai Vala amid conflicting reports of horse-trading, with some reports suggesting that five Lingayat MLAs from the Congress are already missing. The BJP needs eight more MLAs to reach the 112 mark in the 222-seat Assembly, with polls yet to be held in two seats. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has reportedly whisked away its MLAs to a resort to make sure they are not poached upon by the BJP in its effort to scramble together a majority.

While the Congress and the JD(S) together have a comfortable majority  116, three more than the halfway mark  it remains to be seen how the BJP, despite being the largest party, will get its required numbers with only two Independents winning the polls. Wait and watch was all that a top BJP source would say when asked how the party was planning to get the numbers. Any party or coalition staking claim to form the government will also have to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly, probably in a couple of weeks.

In fact, Karnataka has faced a similar situation in the past. In 2004, the Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government led by late Dharam Singh after no party could secure a majority though the BJP emerged as the single largest party. That government lasted for two years and was toppled by Mr Kumaraswamy, who led a JD(S)-BJP coalition government with the BJPs B.S. Yeddyurappa as his deputy. The 20-20 month power-sharing arrangement did not last long either, with H.D. Kumaraswamy refusing to give up power to the BJP, which led to the collapse of the coalition in 2007.
Shah had undertaken a similar exercise last year also to check the partys organisational strength in each state.

New Delhi: Sounding the poll bugle for the 2019 electoral battle, the BJP on Monday said it has accepted the challenge of a combined Opposition versus it. Exuding confidence that the partys strength and number will increase in the next Lok Sabha elections, BJP president Amit Shah told party leaders that people support the party because it has the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and organisational strength. Meanwhile, Mr Shah, who held a meeting of partys national office bearers and state unit chiefs on the eve of Karnataka poll result, will be embarking again on a nationwide tour to visit partys state units. Mr Shah had undertaken a similar exercise last year also to check the partys organisational strength in each state. The BJP president is likely to embark on this second tour by next month and will also be interacting with party workers till the ward level of districts. After this meeting, national office bearers of partys various morchas are scheduled to meet Mr Modi on May 17.

Sources disclosed that Mr Shah told party leaders that Modi governments people centric schemes have benefitted nearly 50 crore people, through schemes like Ujjwala, Jandhan, Mudra, Swachchh Bharat, Skill India, rural electrification and these beneficiaries could boost the partys existing votebase. With the party facing opposition flak for being anti-dalit, Mr Shah told leaders to reach out these communities, who seem to prefer regional outfits than the national parties. Mr Shah, it was learnt, told the party leaders that the BJP got nearly 17 crore votes during last Lok Sabha elections when 7.5 crore votes could decide the fate of any party.

After the meeting, BJP national spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said in his address Mr Shah gave credit to partys organisational stregnth that it is ruling 14 states on its own. Mr Shah said even other political outfits, in particular Congress, have now started copying it when their own organisation have been ruined due to their arrogance.

Mr Shah told party workers that the BJP will break the Oppositions created myth that it won the 2014 Lok sabha polls in a fluke and will prove that the it not only knows how to run a better government but also knows to remain in power due to its good work. He asked cadre to toil untill non-BJP states like Odisha and West Bengal comes to partys kitty.
BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to comment on the Congress-JD(S) alliance talks.

We dont have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form govt,' Congress leader G Parameshwara said. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Bengaluru: With the BJP falling short of the majority mark of 112 in Karnataka, the Congress has reached out to the JD(S) offering to support to it from outside. The JD(S) has agreed to the offer.

According to reports, the Congress has offered to support JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy as chief minister if the party agrees to an alliance.

With nearly 80 seats in the bag, and JD(S)' close to 40, the Congress will have more than the required 112 MLAs.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together."

"We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," Congress leader G Parameshwara said.

Both parties will jointly meet the Governor in the evening today.

Congress leader KC Venugopal said, "We (Congress and JD(S)) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today."

An official announcement is likely after that meet.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to comment on this new-found friendship between the Congress and the JD(S).

He added, "We will soon know the final figures and decide the future plan."
BJP chief Amit Shah said, 'Congress tried to divide castes and played the Lingayat card in Karnataka elections.'

'I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi,' said PM Narendra Modi. (Photo: Twitter/@BJP4India)

Bengaluru: The sudden turn of political events in Karnataka has dashed the hopes of BJP chief minister aspirant BS Yeddyurappa, who derided the new-found friendship between the Congress and the JD(S) as an attempt to "grab power though the people had rejected Congress".

The BJP was nicely cruising towards the majority mark in early counting but it now looks the party will fall well short of the majority of 112 seats. It had managed 104 seats till early evening.

The Congress has offered outside support to the JD(S) to form government and keep the saffron party out of power.

According to reports, the Congress is ready to make JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy the chief minister.

Here are LIVE updates of Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 results:

08:45 pm: Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to thank party workers and the people who voted for Congress. He said, "A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you. Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication & untiring hard work in support of the party."

08:13 pm: I wish all party workers, Amit Shah and all the leaders gathered here a hearty congratulations: PM Modi concludes speech

08:13 pm: I wish all party workers, Amit Shah and all the leaders gathered here a hearty congratulations: PM Modi

08:11 pm: G Parameshwara of Congress to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnatak, says Baiju Narajan, Janata Dal (Secular)

08: 10 pm: I congratulate the party workers for their tireless efforts: PM Modi

08:08 pm: Language never became a barrier while campaigning in Karnataka. The people of Karnataka sat in scorching heat for rallies and did not mind. I want to congratulate the people: PM Modi

08:04 pm: "I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased and assure that the government will do whatever it can to support these families," said PM Modi

08:04 pm: PM Modi offers his deepest condolences to the families who have lost their beloved ones.

08:02 pm: PM Modi speaks about Varanasi flyover crash. Says he spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath and rescue operations are underway

08:01 pm: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses BJP parliamentary meeting

07:59 pm: "In 2019 we will not only form the govt under the leadership of Modi Ji but also form a New India in 2022," Shah said

07:55 pm: Amit Shah also talks about the issue of "fake" voter IDs found in Bengaluru

07:54 pm: "Congress tried to divide castes and played the Lingayat card in Karnataka elections," Amit Shah said

07:52 pm: Amit Shah while addressing party workers says, "This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win."

(Photo:Twitter/@BJP4India)

07:50 pm: BJP Parliamentary Board meeting at BJP headquarters in New Delhi begins

07:17 pm: Here's the party-wise vote share of all the political parties that contested Karnataka polls:

(Photo: eciresults.nic.in)

06:34 pm: Following the mandate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.

I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

06:32 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah thanked his people of Karnataka after the mandate and also congratulated party workers

I thank people of Karnataka for voting BJP as the single largest party. This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018

I congratulate each & every Karyakarta of @BJP4Karnataka unit and Shri B S Yeddyurappa ji for their relentless efforts. Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown their unwavering trust in PM @narendramodis clean, transparent and pro-development governance.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018

06:09 pm: Congress and JD(S) have the numbers and the Governor will take the decision according to the law of the land, said Siddaramaiah

06:03 pm: Talking to the media, Siddaramaiah said JD(S) and Congress have handed over letter to the Governor saying that Congress is ready to support JD(S) in forming the government in the state

06:02 pm: "Congress has taken decision to support JDS. JDS will be able to form the govt with the help of Congress," Siddaramaiah

05:51 pm: "JD(S) and Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers," said M Veerappa Moily

05:48 pm: JD(S) legislative party meeting called at 6:15 pm today in Bengaluru

05:42 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge waits at Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. To meet Karnataka Governor shortly

05:39 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs inside Karnataka Raj Bhawan

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

05:26 pm: "We have met the Governor as we are single largest party, and have asked him to allow us to prove majority in the Karnataka Assembly," said BS Yeddyurappa

05:10 pm: 100 per cent we will form the government said BS Yeddyurappa as he is scheduled to meet Karnataka Governor in some time

05:08 pm: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leaves for Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru

04:55 pm: "I have taken an appointment with Karnataka Governor for 5 pm. We should be forming the govt as we are the single largest party," said BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa

04:38 pm: "I am here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Nagesh and others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka," Congress leader DK Shivakumar said

04:20 pm: HD Kumaraswamy sought an appointment from the Governor of Karnataka for today evening.

In a letter, Kumaraswamy wrote that JD(S) has accepted Congress' support to form government in Karnataka

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

04:12 pm: Siddaramaiah submits his resignation to Karnataka Governor

04:10 pm: Addressing a press conference at BJPs Karnataka office, BS Yeddyurappa said despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power in the state

He added, People of Karnataka have voted for change. People of the state have given mandate for Congress free Karnataka

Yeddyurappa also thanked his party workers and karyakartas who have helped the party achieve the mandate in the state

He added, Congress is trying to come to power through back door, people will not tolerate this.

Talking about the BJPs future course of action, Yeddyurappa said that the decision will be taken after consultation with leadership

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

03:31 pm: A Congress delegation led by G Parameshwara, who had gone to the Governor's House, did not get entry, turned back

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

03:29 pm: "Wait and watch, the cup will be ours," said JD (S) MLC Saravana

03:15 pm: Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S): BS Yeddyurappa, BJP

02:45 pm: CM Siddaramaiah to meet the Governor of Karnataka at 4 pm today

02:38 pm: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says, "The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka."

01:49 pm: BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes

01:38 pm: "Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback," said Karnataka Minister KJ George

01:10 pm: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Working President of Karnataka Congress leading from Gandhi Nagar constituency by 6143 votes over his JDS rival V Narayanasamy

12:50 pm: "This is the third straight defeat of Rahul Gandhi since he became Congress president. He declared himself the PM candidate. Now if all opposition wants to unite toh hamare liye bhi ye theek hai ki desh ki jitni gandagi hai vo ek saath hate (then it is also good for us that the entire filth is removed together), said Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

12:36 pm: "I would like to thank the people of Karnataka for this mandate. Also, credit goes to the hard work of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji, as well as state leadership, party workers and RSS cadre. BJP's southward march has begun. The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions, like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot," said BJP leader Ram Madhav

12:03 pm: Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

11:42 am: "People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state," said BJP Karnataka in-charge Prakash Javadekar

11:31 am: "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," said Karnataka minister DK Shivkumar

11:15 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Delhi as trends show the party is set to win Karnataka Assembly election

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

11:09 am: "People have rejected Siddaramaiah. He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone & because of his loose talk," said GT Devegowda, JD(S) candidate who is leading over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari by 17,000 votes

10:55 am: "This is a historic win for BJP. I want to thank all the people of Karnataka for voting for us. Ab desh mein Congress khojo abhiyan chalega, kahaan rahegi pata nahi," Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh said

10:15 am: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda is leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes

10:06 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Bengaluru as trends show the party leading

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

09:57 am: "There is no question of alliance (with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats," BJP leader Sadananda Gowda said

09:51 am: "Correct position will be known at 11-11:30 am. I am going to discuss it (possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said

09:40 am: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7,000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna

09:37 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar leading over JDS' Narayana Gowda by 2729 votes from Kanakpura

09:28 am: BJP chief minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa leading from Shikaripura seat by 3,420 votes over Congress' GB Malatesh

09:16 am: These are initial trends, we hope Congress will form the government in Karnataka and are confident of it, but yes all options (allying with JDS) are open, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said

09:03 am: HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate by 1,552 votes in Ramanagara

08:55 am: BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today ahead of the counting of votes

BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today ahead of the counting of votes. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

08:24 am: EVMs have been opened across counting centres in Karnataka

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

08:03 am: Counting of votes begin in Karnataka

08:02 am: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's younger son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is contesting from safe seat Varuna. He said, "Senior party leaders will decide on this (on possibility of post-poll alliance with JDS), but we are confident and hope to form Government on our own"

07:50 am: JDS' HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala ahead of counting of votes. Kumaraswamy is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:34 am: B Sriramulu, one of the most prominent candidates fielded by the BJP in the Karnataka election is seen praying before the counting begins. The 46-year-old parliamentarian from Bellary is contesting against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Sriramulu is extremely close to the Reddy brothers, and their association has stayed intact through the ups and downs with the BJP

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:32 am: 50,000 police personnel deployed across 38 counting centres in state, 11,000 in Bengaluru alone. 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies also deployed in Bengaluru

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:30 am: We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centres to ensure law and order is maintained, OP Rawat,Chief Election Commissioner

06:40 am: Karnataka election results: Key names and faces:

Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister, Congress

BS Yeddyurappa, chief ministerial candidate of BJP

HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular)

HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular)

BR Sriramulu, BJP

06:37 am: Extensive arrangements have put in place to ensure free, fair and smooth counting of votes. There are 38 counting centres in 30 districts in Karnataka, including five in Bengaluru. Security has been tightened around all the strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been kept

A thick blanket of security has been put in place across Karnataka to ensure a free and fair counting of votes. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Postal ballots will be counted first before the electronic voting machines are opened.
The first thing is to offer comfortable breastfeeding/pumping facilities like dedicated rooms and equipment.

The next thing would be to help break the taboo of breastfeeding (or pumping) at work. (Photo: Pixabay)

One of the most common reasons why new mothers switch to formula feeding of their babies once they get back to work is lack of breastfeeding support and facilities at their workplace, a recent survey said.

It highlighted that of the companies surveyed, only one-third, 33 per cent, provide dedicated nursing room for women to extract breast milk, while only 37 per cent of them provide a storage unit for extracted breast milk.

The survey report stated that around 53 per cent of companies have medical rooms that nursing mothers can use to extract milk.

It said that 92 pc of the companies surveyed comply with the provisions in the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2016 in terms of nursing breaks.

The survey was conducted by Medela India, a leading manufacturer of breast pumps and nursing accessories, in collaboration with ProEves, a leading childcare and maternity solutions provider.

It was conducted across 38 leading organizations under various sectors like FMCG, manufacturing, IT, ITES, e-commerce, Financial Services.

The report highlighted that new mothers who resume work after their maternity leave have two major concerns -- breastfeeding at work and the facilities provided by the employer for doing so.

It also showed that corporates are investing in their female employees, through provision of childcare support and paid maternity leave, in order to retain them when they become mothers.

The World Health Organization recommends mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months and continue breastfeeding along with solid food up to two years to build a healthy foundation for the child.

Recognising the need to encourage mothers to breastfeed, The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act 2017 was passed by the Government of India increasing the maternity leave period from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.

Speaking about the need for corporates to support mothers in sustaining their breastfeeding decision, Emilie Moulard, the Managing Director of Medela India said, "The first thing is to offer comfortable breastfeeding/pumping facilities like dedicated rooms and equipment such as breast pumps, storage bags, feeding pillows."

"The next thing would be to help break the taboo of breastfeeding (or pumping) at work, to make women proud of it instead of hiding it, by establishing a better dialogue between manager and returning employee to help deal with this transition in a very hormonal and emotional period," she said.
World Health Organisation obtained 4,000 doses of experimental Ebola vaccine and was preparing for deployment in Congo.

Congos nine neighbours have been put on high alert in case Ebola crosses a border, especially to Republic of Congo or Central African Republic. (Photo: AFP)

Kinshasa: The Democratic Republic of Congo and U.N. agencies began deploying emergency teams of specialists over the weekend to try to prevent the spread of an Ebola epidemic suspected to have infected more than 30 people, they said on Sunday.

The World Health Organisation obtained 4,000 doses of an experimental Ebola vaccine and was preparing for deployment in Congo, its Africa director, Matshidiso Moeti, told Reuters by telephone on Sunday.

Only two cases have so far been confirmed in a laboratory.

The latest suspected case was reported on Friday in the northwestern province of Equateur, which Health Minister Oly Ilunga Kalenga visited on Saturday with officials from the WHO and U.N. Childrens Fund (UNICEF).

President Joseph Kabila also met WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in Kinshasa on Sunday.

Moeti said 362 contacts had been traced of those who had fallen sick - a necessary precursor to deploying the vaccines. She added that two of those contacts had got to the provincial capital, Mbandaka. The biggest worry since the epidemic was identified has been that it could spread there.

Were concerned because this is a city of 1 million people, she said.

Congo first reported the outbreak, centred on the village of Ikoko Impenge, near the town of Bikoro, on Tuesday, with 32 suspected, probable or confirmed cases of the disease, including 18 deaths since April 4. Some deaths occurring as early as January have not yet been linked to the epidemic.

It is evident that two or three months earlier, some cases of hemorrhagic fever and some deaths occurred, Moeti said. Work is under way to determine the beginning of this epidemic.

Officials are racing to prevent the virus from spreading out of control, as happened in West Africa from 2014 to 2016, when Ebola killed more than 11,300 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

The WHO was criticised for bungling its response to that epidemic, and so has moved quickly.

Congo suffered eight previous Ebola epidemics. But owing to remote geography and poor transport links, they tended to fizzle out rather than spread to become a national crisis.

But this epidemics proximity to the Congo River, a major transport route and lifeline both to Congos capital, Kinshasa, and to neighbouring Congo Republics capital, Brazzaville, makes it more likely the virus could break out into a wider area.

The disease - most feared for the internal and external bleeding it can cause in its victims owing to damage done to blood vessels - has already spread to three locations covering 60 km (37 miles) or more in Equateur province.

Congos nine neighbours have been put on high alert in case Ebola crosses a border, especially to Republic of Congo or Central African Republic.

The WHO is strengthening its presence, positioning a dozen epidemiologists who will be divided on the axes of Mbandaka, Bikoro and Iboko to investigate alerts, its Congo representative, Allarangar Yokouide, said.

The WHO said on Friday it hoped to deploy an experimental Ebola vaccine to tackle an outbreak.
On Friday, he directed his driver, Ram Raj, to get the deliver the copper consignment to Delhis Zakhira area.

During interrogation, the driver said that the conspiracy was hatched by them and to give it an impression of highway robbery, he was injured on the head. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: With the arrest of four highway robbers, the Delhi police has busted a gang of highway robbers involved in similar offences and active in Delhi-NCR. A loaded truck carrying copper worth Rs 70 lakh has been recovered. All the accused were involved in more than two dozen cases.

Police has identified the accused as Ram Raj (33), Manoj (25) of Pratapgarh, UP, Vishal (25) and Ajay (35) of Sonipat, Haryana.

According to the police, the complainant was from Rajasthan. He is the proprietor of a logistics firm and deals in the transport of copper from Bhiwadi, Rajasthan to Delhi.

On Friday, he directed his driver, Ram Raj, to get the deliver the copper consignment to Delhis Zakhira area.

Accordingly, the driver left for Delhi, on Saturday at about 7.30am. Let he received a call from the driver who told him that truck along with goods was robbed at knife point by four armed robbers at Kirti Nagar. The driver also told him that he was hit on the head and administered some substance due to which he fell unconscious. When regained consciousness, he found himself in the forest of Narela.

During interrogation, the driver said that the conspiracy was hatched by them and to give it an impression of highway robbery, he was injured on the head.

However, the probe demolished the accuseds defense and he confessed to his involvement in the crime.

After conducting several midnight raids, the police found the truck containing the copper parked at a secluded place.
The boy was rescued after encounter between police and kidnappers at Shalimar City.

The 43-page charge sheet lists 81 witnesses and the evidence include stolen mobile phones and footage of CCTV cameras on the route from where the boy was kidnapped. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet in a kidnapping case in which a five-year-old boy was brazenly abducted from a school bus on the eve of Republic Day from Shahdara.

The boy was rescued after an encounter between the police and the kidnappers on February 6 at Shalimar City in Ghaziabad's Sahibabad area.

Of the four accused, Ravi (25) was killed in the encounter, while Pankaj was arrested. Nitin Sharma, another accused, was arrested on February 5, and Anshul Malhotra, his accomplice, after the boy was rescued.

They had demanded a ransom of Rs 60 lakh for the child's release, according to the charge sheet. Nitin used to make the ransom calls in the voice of a woman to mislead investigators, police said.

The charge sheet was filed before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Garg in the Karkardooma Court earlier this month and the accused were booked for kidnapping, attempt to murder, theft, wrongful restraint and under provisions of the Arms Act. The charge sheet mentions that Malhotra, who happens to be a friend of Nitin, had supplied arms to them. Pankaj and Ravi had allegedly kidnapped the boy from the school bus on January 25 near IBHAAS on the Mandoli Road on the directions of Nitin. They had also shot at bus driver Naresh Thapa, it stated.

The 43-page charge sheet lists 81 witnesses and the evidence include stolen mobile phones that were used by the accused to make the ransom calls and send a Whatsapp video of the boy saying "I love you" to his father. Other evidence include footage taken from CCTV cameras on the route from where the boy was kidnapped.

The charge sheet also mentions that Nitin used to make ransom calls in the voice of a female to create an impression that a woman had planned the entire episode and throw the police off-track. Nitin's voice samples have been sent for forensic examination and a report is awaited, it said.

The operation to rescue the child was called 'C-River' as the accused had demanded that the ransom money be delivered at the Cross River mall in Shahdara.

The plan to kidnap Vihaan Gupta, the son of a wholesale businessman, was hatched by Nitin who knew that the boy's father had recently struck a business deal of Rs 37 lakh, police said. The accused had decided to kidnap the boy to make quick money, they said.

The case was transferred to the Crime Branch on January 28 on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police. The Crime Branch formed a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik. It tracked the area in Sahibabad where the alleged kidnappers were holed up. Nitin was arrested from Seemapuri on February 5 when he was returning from a marriage party, the charge sheet stated. The police were keeping a tab on his movements and had even entered the wedding venue posing as guests, it said.
13 who share top 3 positions in country belong to MMR and Thane.

MUMBAI: The Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) on Monday declared the results of the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC), class X and XII exams, respectively.

In the class X exams, Swayam Das of St. Marys Navi Mumbai, topped in the country with 99.40 per cent; followed by Anokhi Mehta of Jamnabai Narsee School, Juhu, at second position; and Nidhi Dhanani of Vibgyor School, Goregaon, at third

position.

In the class XII exams, Abhijnan Chakraborty from Lilavatibai Podar topped with 99.50 per cent; and shares the position with Tansha Shah of the Cathedral and John Cannon School in south Mumbai.

Swayams teachers said, We are not surprised looking at Swayams results. The boy is very sincere and hardworking. Swayams parents cannot express how happy they are and have decided to let him choose his career after the ICSE exams.

The school principal of Anokhi Mehta, who is currently in China, Zeenat Bhojaboy, said, Our average percentage this year is 89.89, which is almost 90 per cent, and this is what we are most happy about. Moreover, we are grateful to the council (CISCE) which changed several strategies for the betterment of students.

Ananya Chakraborty, mother of ISC topper Abhijnan Chakraborty and a single parent, said, He has always been a serious, no-nonsense kid. The kind of concentration he had is what gave him such a good percentage. Meanwhile, Rewati Shitole, from Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhania School, Thane, who stood third all over the country in ISC, said, I expected to get 97 per cent but when I saw it was 99 per cent, I started crying as I could not contain my excitement. Rewati is the daughter of Bharat Shitole, additional collector of Raigad.
The move came after the HC reprimanded the government for acting contrary to the provisions of the Disaster Management Act (DMA).

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government informed the Bombay high court that it has set up separate disaster management authorities for the districts of Mumbai and Mumbai suburban. The move came after the HC reprimanded the government for acting contrary to the provisions of the Disaster Management Act (DMA).

The high court last month warned of initiating contempt proceedings against the additional chief secretary if the government failed to set up separate disaster authorities for Mumbai and Mumbai suburban. Despite the court having directed the government to do so in January, the government set up a common disaster management authority for both districts.

Earlier this month, the government filed an affidavit in the HC, stating that separate authorities have been constituted for Mumbai and Mumbai suburban.

The affidavit added that as per court orders and as mandated under the Act, the government has framed disaster management rules, which are being vetted by the law and the judiciary department. The affidavit also said that the government has updated its State Disaster Management Plan.

The plan has been updated as per the guidelines of the Natural Disaster Management Authority. A separate drought plan has also been prepared, the affidavit said.

The affidavit was submitted in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Sanjay Lakhe Patil, president of NGO, Marathwada Anushesh Nirmulan Aani Vikas Manch, on the issue of drought faced by farmers in several parts of Maharashtra every year due to deficient rainfall.

The PIL sought direction to the government to implement the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and disclose measures taken for drought mitigation.

The DMA, a central legislation, provides for effective management of disasters, both natural and man-made, and lays down guidelines to provide relief to persons affected by calamities.
The presiding deity was Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka, a great advocate of India-Pakistan friendship.

As with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, so with his daughters Salima and Moneeza Hashmi, there never was a question asked or a problem posed over their being welcomed in India with a spontaneous hug, always. On the contrary, their presence in Delhi was accepted as a great advertisement for Indias secular and progressive credentials.

In fact, the ease with which progressive men and women from Pakistan could travel to India gave India an air of cultural and political prowess over its neighbours. There didnt have to be a special occasion for the steady visits by Left and liberal folks from across the border.

A typical trip would find people gathering around a bonfire or a book release, an art exhibition, a musical soiree or endless discussions on Urdu or a greater need for India-Pakistan peace or at least an easier visa regime. Occasionally, the daughters, usually separately, would come unannounced and there would be knowledgeable whispers about their being sighted at the Khan Market book shop or some such.

I first met Salima and her husband Shoaib Hashmi in Srinagar some years ago when we had gathered from different countries in the region to celebrate South Asian unity, mostly the need for it.

The presiding deity was Chandrika Kumaratunga, the former President of Sri Lanka, a great advocate of India-Pakistan friendship. Salima had read my columns in Dawn. And I was keen to meet Shoaib after reading his account of a small roadside shop between Lahore and Kasur, I think, where he had found a treasure trove of Kamla Jharia songs.

We bonded and visited the house in Srinagar where Sheikh Abdullah had performed the ceremony at the quiet marriage of Faiz and Alys, Salima and Moneezas parents.

I last met Moneeza at the launch of her sons book on Faiz in Delhi, or around then. Ali Madeeh Hashmis Love and Revolution has been described as the only authorised biography of his grandfather. It could link the poet to his future admirers in India.

It was Alis tweet, as reported in the media, that first alerted me to the foolish but not entirely unexpected decision by someone in authority in Delhi to exclude Moneeza from a media conference she had been invited to address.

To my mind, had a Congress government stopped her, it would be a shock. But the Modi government is another ballgame. If it can be compared in its spirit and essential politics to anything in the South Asian region it should be to the Zia regimes Islamisation of Pakistan. A Zia-like bigotry through subversion of state institutions and menacing street power is what the Modi government has been busy with since 2014. Therefore, think again.

Where was Faiz biding his time in the Zia era? He was in Delhi when not in Beirut or Moscow. Would it be possible for him to be free in Pakistan under the regime? The plain answer is no. So why is there a different expectation for Moneeza when she is denied permission to address a media conference under Mr Modis watch?

Frankly, in this era when devotees from Pakistan are being denied travel to Indias Sufi shrines, I was surprised a Left-leaning liberal like Moneeza had a visa. Everyone and anyone with her ideas of fellowship of humans, Nehru onwards, is in the crosshairs of the Right-wing Indian government.

Things were different once. When it began to go wrong for Pakistan under Zia, Indira Gandhi threw open the doors to anyone threatened or suffocated by the military regime. Salamat Ali of the Far Eastern Economic Review became the toast of the Indian media as a fugitive journalist from Zia. Fahmida Riaz had escaped the regime with her little baby boy. That was Delhi.

Then one day during the Vajpayee government Fahmida had to run for her life. She was reciting a much-loved poem at JNU. The lines observed how Indians were becoming foolish like their Pakistani cousins and mixing religion with politics. She had dragged along Ahmed Faraz to JNU much against his will. Then someone who didnt like the poem whipped out a pistol. Fahmida and Faraz had to be spirited away for their own security.

One of Salimas and Moneezas frequent hosts in Delhi is Dharam Vir, my hostel warden at JNU. Vir came from the Communist flock of pro-Soviet partisans who became close to Indira Gandhi because she was close to Moscow. He taught Russian at JNU and also acted in the occasional play on campus.

Vir continues to be the go-to man to help set up the logistics for cultural events involving progressive Pakistanis. Former Communist student leader D.P. Tripathi recently retired from the Rajya Sabha. He has been another source of support to Pakistani liberals wanting help with meetings and seminars in India. In a sign of trouble that Moneeza encountered, Tripathi was livid when as an MP he was asked to get his sponsorship of the visa for Salima or Moneeza endorsed by a junior official.

As Faiz would say, it is time for people to walk boldly with their fetters on, baring the most secret love and flaunting deeply treasured desires so that perplexed onlookers can take a call about what lies in store ahead.

By arrangement with Dawn
A personality quiz app created by researchers has come under scanner for allegedly exposing data of over 3 million Facebook users.

There appears to be no end to Facebook's privacy-related woes. A personality quiz app created by researchers has come under scanner for allegedly exposing data of over 3 million Facebook users.

The app called 'myPersonality' has been created by researchers at the University of Cambridge. The quiz was completed by over 6 million people, some of whom opted to share Facebook profile data with the researchers, Mashable reported.

While this data was supposed to be restricted to approved groups, it was reportedly made available to select group of researchers outside of Cambridge as well. The login credentials for the website where the data was stored was available on GitHub for four years for anyone to download.

Facebook has since suspended the app. However, the incident is another reminder of the mega Cambridge Analytica scandal which brought infamy to the popular social networking platform.
A family of five,including a child, had carried out the suicide bombing that wounded 10 people.

Lit candles are placed in the ground during a candlelight vigil in support of the victims and their relatives following a series of bomb attacks in Surabaya, in Jakarta on May 14, 2018. (Photo: AFP)

Surabaya: The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Indonesias second city Surabaya Monday, according to the SITE monitoring group.

A family of five, including a child, carried out the suicide bombing which wounded 10 people, police said, a day after a deadly wave of attacks on churches in the same city staged by another family also claimed by IS.

A martyrdom-seeking operation with an explosive-laden motorcycle hit the gate of an Indonesian police headquarters in the city of Surabaya in East Java province in Indonesia, ISs official Amaq news agency reported, according to SITE.
by Mathias Hariyadi

A husband, wife and their four children have sown death in three churches in the city. The mother and her two daughters, aged nine and 12, carried out the suicide mission at the Christian Church of Indonesia (Gki). Another family blew itself up preparing bombs; another committed suicide at a police station. Abp. Suharyo: "The real objective of terrorists is to strike unified and pluralist Indonesia". Amazement and indignation among the family members of the mastermind of the attacks.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - "Planning and implementing a suicide attack by taking their children with them is a new" form "of violence. It is a family tragedy, decries Msgr. Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta and President of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference (Kwi).

He was commenting on the dynamics of the attacks that have hit three churches in Surabaya, capital of the province of East Java two days ago. Meanwhile, following the death of Nathanael, an eight-year-old Catholic child, the number of victims of the coordinated attack has risen to 12.

The terrorists belonged to a single terrorist family. The father, Dita Oeprianto, is the Pentecostal Church bomber (Gpps), while the two teenage sons carried out the attack on the Catholic church of Saint Mary Immaculate (Smtb), aboard a motorcycle. The mother and her two small daughters, aged nine and 12, carried out the suicide attack at the Christian Church of Indonesia (Gki).

"I am convinced - says Msgr. Suharyo - that the two young daughters had no idea what would happen. This is incomprehensible and I think this kind of thing should never happen again, clouding our humanity ". The prelate declares that the Surabaya attacks "are not a religious problem, but mainly concern the existence of the unified Republic of Indonesia (Nkri)".

Not only Christians, but also security forces agents have been targeted by terrorists. "It has always been the police who destroyed their plans and discovered their plots. For this reason, the agents are in their sights, "reiterates the Archbishop of Jakarta.

The authors of the coordinated attacks aimed to destroy the philosophical and political platform of the state, the Pancasila. "Indonesia rests on the value of pluralism and all the founding fathers agreed that the base of the state is the common ground of thought and commitment; the pluralist nations consist of a variety of ethnic groups, religious confessions and social groups ", concludes the archbishop.

The attacks of two days ago also shook the moderate Islamic community. Dentri, younger sister of Dita Oeprianto, was shocked to learn that her brother was the main actor in those deadly attacks. The parents, Dodik and Sumijati, feel humiliated because their family is now in the limelight. Dentri declares that she has no idea of the motive behind Dita's actions and maintains that the whole family had not seen their brother for some time, despite their homes being in Surabaya.

A few hours after the attacks on the Christian community, three members of another family were killed in an accidental explosion in an apartment in Sidoarjo, near Surabaya. The authorities say they were making bombs for another attack. Even the authors of the explosions yesterday morning at Surabaya police headquarters belong to a single family unit. The Indonesian police chief, Tito Karnavian, confirmed that the three families were part of the same terrorist network and knew each other.
by Dario Salvi

Joseph Nohra, 59, has experienced on his own flesh the wounds of war, but he did not leave, choosing instead to bear witness to the need for mercy and reconciliation. The Christian presence in the Middle East is "fundamental". A new seminary in two buildings destroyed by war is a "sign of God's grace".

Milan (AsiaNews)  For Joseph Nohra, a Lebanese Maronite Christian, "Mercy, reconciliation and forgiveness" are the bases on which to build coexistence, not only between Christians and Muslims, but also among all the ethnic groups, races and confessions that live in Lebanon and the Middle East.

Tensions, quarrels, and misunderstandings "also occur among us Christians", but what allows us to "reconcile and continue to live together is the experience of forgiveness". For Joseph, this comes from first-hand experience of violence and war. In fact, "My home is not far from the Church of St Michael, where conflict began and ended. I too was wounded by a bullet, but I made it."

AsiaNews met with him in Milan (Italy) at the conference Marhaba - God is love held in early May, an event organised by the Ambrosiana San Marco Foundation. About 50 priests, students and lay people associated with the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Lebanon, inspired by the Neocatechumenal Way founded by Kiko Arguello, attended the symposium.

As St John Paul II used to say, Lebanon is a mission of peace and coexistence" and "I too have experienced hatred and wounds, both physical and psychological. However, later I felt the need to deal with them, starting with the church and parish where I was hit. I told myself that this is the place where I want to live the faith and carry out the mission of witness to the Muslims who hit me.

Joseph is 59 years old, from Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, where he lives with his wife Barbara and their three children. A member of the Maronite Church, the largest Christian community in the country, he is responsible for the Neocatechumenals in Shiah Parish. He is a member of the pastoral economic council and president of the neighbourhood merchants' association. He is one of the proponents of the transfer of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary to a new location in Shiah, along the line between the citys Christian and the Muslim quarters, which divided former enemies.

"The Christian presence in the Middle East is fundamental, he says. I am a Christian, I come from a Christian family that wants to live in peace and security in their own country. Participating in parish life and activities gives a profound meaning to my life," he explains.

"Lebanon, like the other countries of the Middle East, does not need only politics but also people of faith who have experienced the value of reconciliation and forgiveness."

"Because of the war I wanted to leave. But I wanted to hear and believe the word of God, to experience His presence and the strength that comes from belonging to the Church  a faith strengthened thanks to the encounter with the Neocatechumenals and the experience of the journey.

Through our actions we want to be an example and bear witness to our Muslim brothers. We want to show that from a place of death, a seed can be born to bear fruit in the work of evangelisation." Today the thought of fleeing, of fear, is behind even if difficulties have certainly not gone away.

"Here in Milan I feel like a fish out of water, because I am far from Lebanon, from my land, from the Middle East. In fact, Every time I leave its borders I am afraid. This is why I never leave it for tourism but only if I am asked by a mission of witness. Of course, in Lebanon as in other parts of the Middle East some Christian families are afraid of staying. My fear, however, is precisely that of leaving my land."
The Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for Foreign Relations, is concerned about the lack of relations and dialogue between the US and Russia. There is a need to make sure that "the cold war does not grow into a real war".

Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Metropolitan of Volokolamsk, Ilarion (Alfeyev), says that the world has already entered a period of new cold war, especially looking at the tense relations between Russia and the United States. The metropolitan, who is also head of the Synodal Department of the Moscow Patriarchate for relations with foreign countries, adds that in order to avoid a real war, the leaders of the world must sit down at the negotiating table and talk.

Speaking on the Rossiia-24 Tivu channels the "Church and World" program, Ilarion said: "We are already living in the reality of cold war and I consider that now the responsibility lies upon all sides of the conflict and this is a responsibility first of all to see that the cold war does not grow into a real war".

The metropolitan referred explicitly to the relationship between the US and Russia. " And just like it was in the time of the cold war - he added - there is no direct dialogue, and in the absence of a direct dialogue the sides are not able to agree with one another". Ilarion concluded " "it is necessary to stop somewhere and sit down at the negotiating table".
by Nirmala Carvalho

According to the plaintiffs, the nuns presence offended Hindu feelings. The Sri Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam does not allow non-Hindus inside the area dedicated to worship. We cannot go against their belief, clergyman says.

Mumbai (AsiaNews)  Leading members of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other nationalist groups have filed a complaint against the administration of a Hindu temple in Tamil Nadu for allowing a group of Catholic nuns to visit the site, this according to The Hindu, one of Indias foremost daily newspapers.

According to the plaintiffs, the presence of nuns in their religious attire in a Hindu place of worship hurt the religious feelings of Hindu believers and was meant to mock the temples sanctity.

The complaint was filed by Sethu Aravind, a member of the BJP state executive committee, and representatives of militant Hindu fundamentalist movements: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Hindu Alaya Meetpu Iyakkam and Anaithu Hindu Iyakkam.

The incident occurred on 8 May at the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, an island in the city of Tiruchirappalli. The nuns were part of a group of tourists from Kerala.

The visit sparked the fury of the radicals when their social media began spreading the rumour that the nuns had taken rosaries out of their pockets and started to pray inside the Hindu temple.

Pictures of the nuns were posted on online messaging platforms showing them walking near the Thousand Pillar Mandapam, a theatre like structure made from granite.

Following the publication of the images, some devotees criticised the temple administration and filed a complaint with the Srirangam police.

Temple officials confirmed that the nuns wore their religious attire during the tour, but also made it clear that they did not pray inside the temple.

Furthermore, when they were asked to leave the Hindu holy place because of their dress, the nuns did not resist and left without delay.

Temple officials explained that non-Hindus are not allowed in the Sannidhis, the area dedicated to the worship of deities.

The temple of Srirangam in Tiruchirappalli is one of the temples which does not permit Christians to enter, said Fr Sebastian Michael, adviser to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue.

Even today, in a globalised world, it is their right not to permit people from other religions. We cannot go against their belief, he added.

All the same, it [the reaction] is too hard on the nuns, who did not know the rules, he explained. What is surprising is Hindu political parties interfering in religious affairs.

"Despite this, we continue to believe in dialogue. There is a lot of good will and cooperation between religions. Many Hindu religious leaders invite us to their religious meetings and we do the same, he noted.

According to Fr Michael, who is also a professor of cultural anthropology and a member of the Commission for Interreligious Dialogue of the Archdiocese of Mumbai, "there is so much cooperation between Hindus and Christians. Problems arise when political parties or groups that are not so open minded begin to spoil the situation. Small incidents like this one are blown out proportion."
At least 57 people died yesterday, including an eight-month-old girl, suffocated by tear gas. Today more clashes are expected. Criticism and concern from the international community. The US is blocking a UN declaration calling for the opening of a "transparent" investigation.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Israeli army response to demonstrations against the new American embassy on the Gaza border killed 57 people yesterday and wounded several thousand. The youngest victim is Leila al-Ghandur, an eight-month-old girl who died from inhaling tear gas. It is unclear how far the child was located from the barbed fence between Gaza and Israel.

The situation in the Gaza hospitals is critical, even in the main structure of the Strip, the Shifa hospital. In Gaza, the health system has been on the brink of collapse for months. Only yesterday there were about 2,700 wounded: at least 1,113 from firearms, 30 serious and 70 in grave conditions.

Meanwhile, the Palestinians are preparing for the March for Return. Today is the "Nakba Day", which marks the anniversary of the day when the first Arab-Israeli war broke out, during which some 700 thousand people were expropriated from their land. Since then, Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East have demanded the right to return to their ancestral lands.

There have been various and varied reactions from the international community to yesterdays bloody events.

In immediate defense of its Israeli ally, the United States blocked a UN Security Council statement proposed by Kuwait, which included a condemnation of the killings and the opening of a "transparent" investigation of Israel's actions at the border with Gaza. The US accuses the Palestinian Authority of the Strip, Hamas, of being responsible for the deaths because "it intentionally and cynically provokes this response [of Israel]".

The declaration by the UN Head of Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, condemned the "shocking" killings and injuries "by Israeli fire," adding that "the right to life must be respected" . Also from the UN, the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination said it was "alarmed by the disproportionate use of force demonstrated by Israeli security forces against Palestinian demonstrators".

Turkey has accused the US of being as responsible as Israel for the "vile massacre", and has announced that it will withdraw the ambassadors from both countries.

South Africa has taken a similar position- critical of Israel since the time of Nelson Mandela  withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv, condemning "the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack".

In its statements, Egypt did not mention the new American embassy but condemned "the use of force against peaceful marches".

On the European front, the representative of the European Union Federica Mogherini intervened, asking Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and "respect the right to peaceful protests".

The United Kingdom has defined the widespread use of live fires as "extremely worrying", while adding that the protests must be "peaceful".

Germany has supported Israel's right to defend itself, stating that this must be proportionate.

From the Elysee, the president of France Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence of the Israeli army.
Here is my story.



I had a meeting with a lawyer who is MARA registered



I then get contacted by another lawyer at that firm , probably on his behalf, working with him. I dont think this other person is MARA registered.



I then get contacted by the legal assistant asking for documents I had already sent to the other lawyer, which is pretty frustrating.



When I questioned them about my partner and his transfer from tourist visa to BVA , they sent me emails to say that he would have to cancel his tourist visa, they would apply for a BVE for him and then we would apply for working rights.

This advice is obviously COMPLETLY incorrect



What can I do about this ?



Does it actually matter if the are MARA registered? Like is that a matter I can raise?
A Guerneville, California man was arrested Saturday after threatening to set off pipe bombs at a Safeway in order to harm gay people and stole two rainbow flags from the Guerneville Chamber of Commerce, throwing one in the Russian River.

The Press Democrat reports:

The suspects intent was to injure sheriffs deputies and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community, Lt. Eddie Engram said in a statement. The rainbow flag is a symbol of the LGBTQ pride movement.

Vincent Joseph OSullivan was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of petty theft, making criminal threats and a hate crime, and was held on $50,000 bail.

The first flag theft from the pole in a public plaza at the corner of First Street and River Road was reported on April 26, and on May 5 a replacement rainbow flag was stolen, Engram said.

Deputies investigating the thefts learned of the pipe bomb threats and determined that OSullivan was the suspect in both matters, he said.
Republican California Judge Rules That Christian Baker Does Not Have To Make Gay Wedding Cake

While everyone who follows gay news knows that the Supreme Court will soon be ruling on the case of Jack Phillips and his Masterpiece Cake Shop in Colorado for denying to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. But another lesser know case has been been in the courts in Bakersfield, California. The case of Cathy Miller and Tastries Bakery which has flown under the gay news radar.

Miller refused to make a cake for the wedding of Eileen and Mireya Rodriguez-Del Rio because they are gay.

The newlyweds said the refusal was discrimination against homosexuals; Miller said she had a making the cake would violate her right to religious freedom.

On Monday, Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe, a staunch Republican appointed by then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Miller could continue to refuse to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples, as such confections were a form of artistic expression and expressive conduct and therefore protected by the First Amendment.

The judge stated an order from the state to compel someone to directly go against their beliefs would be the stuff of tyranny.

My business is owned by God, Miller said in August. We work for the Lord and my convictions and my conscience dont allow me to participate in a lot of things like Ive turned all kinds of orders away.

The group representing her, The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund, filed a motion for attorneys fees last week under Californias Private Attorney General statute.

The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing (DFEH) is likely to appeal the final judgment in addition to its appeal of the initial denial of its motion for preliminary injunction.

The Freedom of Conscience Defense Fund is allied with the LGBT hate group Alliance Defending Freedom
Contributing columnist Justin Salters writes weekly on politics and current events; the views expressed are his own. Reach him on Twitter @justinsalters or email him your thoughts: justin@justinsalters.com.
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Cathy Miller, owner of Tastries Bakery, says she never expected the level of attention shes received regarding her refusal to make a wedding 
Demand for premium real chocolate  whether alone or in baked foods, snack mixes, frozen desserts or other foods  is at an all-time high. Thanks to increased consumer awareness of the health benefits of flavonoid-rich cocoa and artisan producers raising awareness of sustainable cocoa bean farming programs, chocolate is in the spotlight.

Sometimes, however, real chocolate does not make economical or functional sense in formulations, and instead, compounds or coatings are used. These chocolate-like ingredients provide suppliers flexibility in formulation, which enables bakers to get more creative in product innovation. Choosing between the real and compound varieties can be a challenge.

Layers of understanding

Chocolate is derived from the cocoa plant. In the United States, the Code of Federal Regulations defines three basic types of chocolate: dark, milk and white. The law mandates that milk and dark chocolates must contain chocolate liquor, while all three must be made with cocoa butter. The regulations are very specific regarding the other optional ingredients  sugar, milk/whey solids, flavoring and emulsifiers  that may be included in each of the three types of real chocolate.

While compounds resemble and deliver the sensory properties of chocolate, they do not meet the standards of identity for chocolate products, said Marret Arfsten, cocoa and chocolate, product line and marketing leader, Cargill.

Barry Callebaut recently brought to market ruby chocolate, which the company described as the fourth chocolate. Introduced in September 2017, ruby chocolate has a berry-type fruit flavor and reddish color from the ruby cocoa beans from which it is derived. It took many years for Barry Callebaut to design a process that unlocked the ruby beans unique attributes. Already being used in Japan and South Korea, it will be some time before retail products launch in the United States, as the Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue a standard of identity for the new chocolate. It can, however, be used in retail bakeries and confection shops.

To better understand the varied tastes of real chocolate, Barry Callebaut introduced a sensory lexicon, which includes a chocolate sensory language and a tasting ritual. It was inspired by what exists for wine, coffee and craft beer categories.

Containing more than 20,000 identifiable chemical compounds, cocoa is one of the most complex foodstuffs on earth, said Pablo Perversi, chief innovation, quality and sustainability officer, Barry Callebaut. The sensory language that we have developed for chocolate will allow consumers to share their passion for a specific chocolate taste much more accurately.

Pairing cocoa and chocolate sensory research with consumer understanding, the company developed the consumer chocolate sensory wheel with 87 descriptors covering the flavor, texture and aroma. A tasting ritual requires the five senses  sight, touch, hearing, smell and taste  and enables professionals and consumers to discover new dimensions of the chocolate experience. This could also help compound manufacturers better replicate the desirable sensory attributes of real chocolate while providing improved functionality and a better nutrition profile.

Creating the compounds

The Code of Federal Regulations refers to compounds as cocoa/chocolate and vegetable fat coatings. The law specifies the minimum amount of cocoa or chocolate liquor required in the compound and allows for an array of optional ingredients, namely vegetable fats.

The most significant difference between chocolate and compound is the fat, said Zachary Freed, customer innovation applications specialist-confectionery, AAK. In the U.S., cocoa butter is the only fat, outside of the milkfat in dairy ingredients, allowed in pure chocolate. In compounds, there are a variety of options, including, but not limited to, palm, palm kernel, soy, coconut and shea. These vegetable fats allow for a wide range of melt points and melting curves.

Compounds still contain some cocoa butter, which is inherent to the cocoa ingredient. Additional cocoa butter is usually not added, as there are compatibility issues with cocoa butter and most of the vegetable fats used to make compounds. The addition of vegetable fats rather than cocoa butter typically makes compounds more cost-effective than chocolate in many applications.

Compounds may be designed to provide a better sensory experience than chocolate in snacks and baked foods, said James Jones, vice-president of customer innovation at AAK. Compound manufacturers can choose vegetable fats to create an ingredient that prevents moisture, flavor, color or fat migration, as well as attain specific melting properties.

Since real chocolate contains cocoa butter, it needs to undergo a process of tempering to ensure a nice shine and snap, said Jessica Blondeel, product manager for chocolate, Puratos Corp. Tempering requires special labor or specific equipment, which is why real chocolate is not suited for every company to use. Since compound chocolate contains vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter, it does not need any tempering and can simply be melted and applied.

Chocolate and compounds are processed differently, and this can impact sensory attributes.

Real chocolate should be processed on a high-end, five-roll refiner to reduce the particle size and eliminate any grittiness, Ms. Blondeel said.

In general, compounds are much more adaptable to baked goods and snack foods. Thats because theres less limitation on added ingredients, and they can be designed for better compatibility with the products composition. This includes delivering a more intense flavor.

The standards of identity, for example, limit the flavoring ingredients that can be added to chocolate. Allowed ingredients include spices, natural and artificial flavorings, ground whole nut meats, ground coffee, dried malted cereal extract and salt. Also included are other seasonings that do not either singly, or in combination, impart a flavor that imitates the flavor of chocolate, milk or butter.

Unlike chocolate, compounds may also contain flavors to enhance the chocolate or dairy flavor, Mr. Freed said. Such flavors are not allowed in real chocolate.

New tastes and functions

Beyond chocolate and compounds, theres a non-regulated category of ingredients generically referred to as fabricated particulates. Within this category, there are fat-based ingredients designed to resemble compounds without the required cocoa or chocolate liquor content. These ingredients provide the most flexibility in terms of innovation.

Our lipid-based inclusions go beyond chocolate, said Andrew Hart, technical sales manager for encapsulates and inclusions, SensoryEffects, a Balchem company. They are designed to add a burst of flavor and visual appeal into any bakery item, whether it be a chocolate hazelnut-flavored inclusion in a muffin or a caramel chocolate piece for snack bars.

Unlike chocolate, compounds and inclusions may be colored. This not only helps convey the added flavor, but also creates the opportunity for seasonal and limited-edition innovations, such as red and green chips for Christmas or blue ones for Hanukkah.

Inclusions allow for drop-in versatility when developing new products, Mr. Hart said. They are ideal for limited-time offerings and short development turnarounds. They can be custom designed to fit your flavor, color and ingredient statement needs, something that chocolate cannot do.
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This May 2, 2018 photo shows a list of people who were killed during anti-government clashes, hanging from a makeshift cross at a makeshift memorial in the Jean Paul Genie traffic circle, where a "Tree of Life" metal sculpture was brought dow by protesters, in Managua, Nicaragua. Nicaragua's military has expressed solidarity with families of those who have died  more than 60, according to a human rights group, and called for a halt to violence that has rocked the country during weeks of protests and a deadly crackdown by police and supporters of President Daniel Ortega's government. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo)
BALTIMORE (AP)  When Baltimore's mayor hand-picked Darryl De Sousa as her choice for police commissioner, heralding his experience and the respect he commanded in the city's force, he proudly described himself as a chess player who uses strategic thinking to avoid pitfalls.

Now just a few months later, De Sousa is out of the game, resigning in embarrassment for failing to file his taxes, a key test of Adulthood 101.

De Sousa's path from the corner office to the revolving door was speedy, even for a city accustomed to leadership instability in a scandal-plagued police force. De Sousa resigned on Tuesday, less than four months into the job, after being charged with failing to file three years of taxes.

Tuesday also was the deadline federal prosecutors gave the city for producing years of De Sousa's financial records.

Rising through the Baltimore force's ranks since the 1980s, De Sousa was the third commissioner in three years and the ninth since 2000. His downfall was a blow to Mayor Catherine Pugh and the City Council, which nearly unanimously authorized his promotion in February.

"Law enforcement needs to follow the law. It is critically important that the citizens of Baltimore have complete faith in their police department. I am deeply disappointed by Mr. De Sousa's actions that leave us in this place," City Councilman Zeke Cohen said.

Pugh had portrayed her choice of the veteran police commander as the right person to lead the force as the violent crime rate continued to soar. She said his resignation shouldn't derail the department's recent successes, and she's already begun a national search to find his successor.

"I want to reassure all Baltimoreans that this development in no way alters our strategic efforts to reduce crime by addressing its root causes in our most neglected neighborhoods," said Pugh, who fired De Sousa's predecessor, Kevin Davis, in January after roughly 2  years on the job.

In the meantime, the force is being led by Deputy Commissioner Gary Tuggle. He was named as acting leader Friday.

The U.S. Attorney's office announced last week that De Sousa "willfully failed to file a federal return for tax years 2013, 2014, and 2015, despite having been a salaried employee of the Baltimore Police Department in each of those years."

If proven, each of three misdemeanor counts carries up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine. But his ongoing case has the potential to get a whole lot worse for De Sousa: Federal prosecutors have issued grand jury subpoenas to the city's finance and police departments, seeking specifics about his pay, taxes, travel, and second jobs dating back years, according to a Tuesday report by The Baltimore Sun.

De Sousa himself could not immediately be reached Tuesday. His attorney, Steven Silverman, said he did not wish to comment. Last week, Silverman said federal prosecutors didn't give his client a chance to explain himself or file late returns before bringing criminal charges.

De Sousa's twin brother, Jason, described his brother's resignation as "a loss for Baltimore City."

"This is not the end. He has a very bright future, he's very talented," he said, adding that his brother was taking care of his parents, who had Alzheimer's, during the period when he didn't file his taxes.

Last week, De Sousa issued a statement admitting his failure to file federal and state taxes for those three years. He called it an oversight, and said he did file his 2016 taxes and got an extension for 2017 with the help of a "registered tax adviser."

"My only explanation is that I failed to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs," De Sousa said.

The U.S. Attorney's office did not immediately comment on De Sousa's resignation. His case is being handled by the same federal prosecutors who recently prosecuted eight members of a rogue Baltimore police unit called the Gun Trace Task Force. All but one await sentencing after pleading guilty or being convicted at trial of corruption charges.

The city's police union, which applauded De Sousa's promotion earlier this year, said it was "anxious to put these events behind us" and hoped Pugh would find a suitable replacement fast. "Our members deserve consistency in their leadership," said Gene Ryan, union president.

Another headline-making embarrassment couldn't come at a worse time.

The mid-Atlantic city of 615,000 inhabitants ended 2017 with 343 killings, bringing the annual homicide rate to its highest ever: roughly 56 killings per 100,000 people. In contrast, much larger New York City had 290 homicides last year: fewer than four per 100,000.

Baltimore's feverish rate of killings has cooled somewhat so far this year. Pugh has credited De Sousa's strategies and on Tuesday said "a broad-based, grassroots approach  underpinned by the utilization of new crime-fighting technology  is working and will continue to be effective."

Still, violent crime remains high, and Baltimore only recently finished its first year under a federal consent decree process that requires sweeping police reforms to address corruption and abusive practices. The jarring exploits of the Gun Trace Task Force, which included officers reselling looted narcotics and sticking GPS trackers on the cars of robbery targets, has seriously eroded confidence in police.

"In a police department that has had the worst kinds of challenges and scandals, this is the last thing that the people of Baltimore and its police officers need," said David Harris, who researches police behavior as a professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.

___

Follow McFadden on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dmcfadd

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP)  Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens may have gained an argument against impeachment when a St. Louis prosecutor dropped a criminal charge against him, but the governor's "great victory" seems to have done little to slow legislative momentum for an effort to try to remove him from office.

A day after the charge was dismissed, a House investigatory committee signaled that it's pushing forward with its own expanded investigation into allegations that extend beyond Greitens' acknowledged extramarital affair to his means of raising money for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign.

Republican legislative leaders affirmed that a monthlong special session focused solely on allegations against Greitens will convene Friday as scheduled. Attorneys for the governor's office are bracing for an impeachment defense, pre-emptively suggesting that lawmakers treat their hearings like a trial that allows them to call and question witnesses.

"What we do in a special session is totally divorced from what happens in a criminal case in St. Louis city," said Rep. Kathie Conway, a Republican who was among the first to call on Greitens to resign after his affair became public. "I don't think it's as good of news for the governor as he might want everybody to think."

Greitens, 44, was charged with felony invasion of privacy for allegedly taking and transmitting a photo of an at least partially nude woman without her permission in March 2015, before he was elected governor. Greitens hasn't directly answered questions about whether he took the photo, but defense attorneys said prosecutors were unable to find such a photo on Greitens' cellphone or cloud storage as jury selection in the criminal trial got underway.

The Republican governor declared it a "great victory" when prosecutors dropped the charge Monday.

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said she did so because a court said she had to answer questions under oath from Greitens' attorneys, who alleged that an investigator she hired had committed perjury and withheld evidence. Gardner's office says the criminal charge could be refiled by an assistant or special prosecutor.

A judge has yet to set a trial date on a remaining felony charge accusing Greitens of disclosing a donor list for The Mission Continues to his political fundraiser in 2015 without the permission of the St. Louis-based charity he founded.

The Missouri Constitution allows impeachment for a variety of reasons, including crimes, misconduct and "moral turpitude."

A felony conviction related to sexual misconduct would have almost assured Greitens' impeachment, said Dave Robertson, chair of the political science department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

A dropped charge leaves him "better off because he can claim some victory," Robertson said. "But it concentrates everybody's attention on what I think is a more serious and perilous process for the governor, which is the impeachment process."

The constitution doesn't require a criminal conviction for impeachment. If the House votes to impeach Greitens, the Senate then would appoint a judicial panel to preside over a trial on whether he should be removed from office.

"I still think that there is a significant amount of evidence and information and facts that were provided to the state representatives that would lead to an impeachment trial," said Sen. Denny Hoskins, a Republican who has clashed with Greitens.

Others who supported Greitens contend the dropped invasion-of-privacy charge should make it more difficult to get the 82 votes necessary to impeach Greitens.

"They better look very hard on that vote," said Sen. Dan Brown, a Republican who was one of just four senators not to sign a petition calling for the special session on disciplining the governor.

Republican Rep. Bryan Spencer, who initially signed and then removed his name for the petition, said he's heard from about two dozen people who believe "that with charges being dropped that the special session should be dissolved."

"It definitely sells his scenario and it makes it appear like it's political and a witch hunt," said Spencer, echoing a phrase Greitens has used to describe the investigations against him.

The House investigatory panel amped up its probe into Greitens on Tuesday. It decided to call Greitens' policy adviser Will Scharf as a witness and to subpoena information about a couple of obscure companies that contributed tens of thousands of dollars to Greitens' campaign.

The panel cited a memo Scharf wrote in July 2016, when he was working for Greitens' GOP primary rival Catherine Hanaway, suggesting that Greitens had used "shell companies to hide donors."

Greitens' attorneys, meanwhile, ratcheted up claims of misconduct by the prosecution team, making a complaint to St. Louis police alleging perjury by a private investigator hired by the circuit attorney's office. The police department said it would investigate.

Greitens' attorneys have suggested that any misconduct by prosecutors should also disqualify them from handling the separate computer data tampering charge related to the charity donor list.

Gardner spokeswoman Susan Ryan declined to discuss a timeline for that case and said the office has not decided whether to ask Attorney General Josh Hawley to take over the prosecution.

___

Associated Press reporter Jim Salter contributed from St. Louis.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korea on Wednesday canceled a high-level meeting with South Korea and threatened to scrap a historic summit next month between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over military exercises between Seoul and Washington that Pyongyang has long claimed are invasion rehearsals.

The surprise declaration, which came in a pre-dawn dispatch in North Korea's state media, appears to cool what had been an unusual flurry of outreach from a country that last year conducted a provocative series of weapons tests that had many fearing the region was on the edge of war. It's still unclear, however, whether the North intends to scuttle all diplomacy or merely wants to gain leverage ahead of the planned June 12 talks between Kim and Trump.

The statement by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency was released hours before the two Koreas were to meet at a border village to discuss how to implement their leaders' recent agreements to reduce military tensions along their heavily fortified border and improve their overall ties.

It called the two-week Max Thunder drills, which began Monday and reportedly include about 100 aircraft, an "intended military provocation" and an "apparent challenge" to an April summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, when the leaders met on their border in their countries' third summit talks since their formal division in 1948. KCNA said the U.S. aircraft mobilized for the drills include nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and stealth F-22 fighter jets, two of the U.S. military assets it has previously said are aimed at launching nuclear strikes on the North.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said the drills will go on as planned.

"The United States must carefully contemplate the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit amid the provocative military ruckus that it's causing with South Korean authorities," the North said Wednesday. "We'll keenly monitor how the United States and South Korean authorities will react."

North Korea's first vice foreign minister, Kim Kye Gwan, later released a separate statement saying Pyongyang has no interest in a summit with Washington if it's going to be a "one-sided" affair where it's pressured to give up its nukes.

He criticized recent comments by Trump's top security adviser John Bolton and other U.S. officials who have been talking about how the North should follow the "Libyan model" of nuclear disarmament and provide a "complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement." He also took issue with U.S. views that the North should also fully relinquish its biological and chemical weapons.

"We will appropriately respond to the Trump administration if it approaches the North Korea-U.S. summit meeting with a truthful intent to improve relations," Kim said. "But we are no longer interested in a negotiation that will be all about driving us into a corner and making a one-sided demand for us to give up our nukes and this would force us to reconsider whether we would accept the North Korea-U.S. summit meeting."

Some analysts say bringing up Libya, which dismantled its rudimentary nuclear program in the 2000s in exchange for sanctions relief, would risk derailing any progress in negotiations with the North.

Kim Jong Un took power weeks after former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's gruesome death at the hands of rebel forces amid a popular uprising in October 2011. The North has frequently used Gadhafi's death to justify its own nuclear development in the face of perceived U.S. threats.

Annual military drills between Washington and Seoul have long been a major source of contention between the Koreas, and analysts have wondered whether their continuation would hurt the detente that, since an outreach by Kim in January, has replaced the insults and threats of war. Earlier  and much larger  springtime drills, which Washington and Seoul toned down, went off without the North's typically fiery condemnation or accompanying weapons tests.

South Korean called North Korea's move "regrettable" and demanded a quick return to talks.

Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Baek Tae-hyun said the North's decision goes against the spirit of last month's inter-Korean summit, where the Koreas' leaders issued a vague vow on the "complete denuclearization" on the Korean Peninsula and pledged permanent peace between the rivals. He didn't provide a straightforward answer on whether Seoul sees the North's talks cancellation as potentially affecting the meeting between Trump and Kim.

In Washington, the U.S. State Department emphasized that Kim had previously indicated he understood the need and purpose of the U.S. continuing its long-planned exercises with South Korea. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. had not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul that would change that.

"We will continue to go ahead and plan the meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un," Nauert said.

Army Col. Rob Manning said this current exercise is part of the U.S. and South Korea's "routine, annual training program to maintain a foundation of military readiness." Manning, a Pentagon spokesman, said the purpose of Max Thunder and exercise Foal Eagle  another training event  is to enhance the two nations' abilities to operate together to defend South Korea.

"The defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed," said Manning.

Washington and Seoul delayed an earlier round of drills in the spring because of the North-South diplomacy surrounding February's Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, which saw Kim send his sister to the opening ceremonies.

Kim told visiting South Korean officials in March that he "understands" the drills would take place and expressed hope that they'll be modified once the situation on the peninsula stabilizes, according to the South Korean government.

South Korea didn't immediately make any official response to the North's announcement.

The North's statement Wednesday comes amid a slew of surprising moves in recent weeks.

On Tuesday, South Korea's military said North Korea was moving ahead with plans to close its nuclear test site next week, an assessment backed by U.S. researchers who say satellite images show the North has begun dismantling facilities at the site.

The site's closure was set to come before the Kim-Trump summit, which had been shaping up as a crucial moment in the decades-long push to resolve the nuclear standoff with the North, which is closing in on the ability to viably target the mainland United States with its long-range nuclear-armed missiles.

Despite the North's moves, some experts were skeptical about whether Kim would completely give up a nuclear program that he had pushed so hard to build. Kim has expressed his intention to negotiate over his weapons, but he still uses a long-contentious term, "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." The North previously has used this phrase when demanding that the United States pull its 28,500 troops out of South Korea and withdraw its so-called "nuclear umbrella" security guarantee to South Korea and Japan as a condition for its nuclear disarmament.

Wednesday's threat could also be targeted at showing a domestic audience that Kim is willing to stand up to Washington. Kim has repeatedly told his people that his nukes are a "powerful treasured sword" that can smash U.S. hostility.

North Korea also has a long history of launching provocations or scrapping deals with Seoul and Washington at the last minute.

In 2013, North Korea abruptly cancelled reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War just days before they were held to protest what it called rising animosities ahead of joint drills between Seoul and Washington. A year earlier in 2012, the North conducted a prohibited long-range rocket launch weeks after it agreed to suspend weapons tests in return for food assistance.

___

Associated Press writers Kim Tong-hyung in Seoul, South Korea, and Lolita Baldor and Josh Lederman in Washington contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
A jury was selected on May 14 for a two-week federal lawsuit trial against three Hernando County Sheriffs Office deputies whom a Brooksville man said beat him so badly that his eyeball fell out of its socket, and then tried to cover it up.

Incident occurred during Christmas party at Brooksville residence in 2009

Michael Bratt arrested for battery on law enforcement officer, found not guilty in 2013

Deputies had inconsistent stories about Bratt's injuries

"That's just what I hope, justice, said the mans relative, Elizabeth Sebesta. I pray for their souls."

According to court records, the incident happened during a Christmas party at Michael Bratt and Marjorie Youmans's rural home near Brooksville in 2009. Deputies were responding to a noise complaint at about 1:30 a.m., and deputy Steven George jumped the fence that surrounded the home, instead of using the front gate call box to contact the couple.

George stated in a report that Bratt was angry and said the deputy was trespassing. Youmans was also yelling at the deputy, and according to the report Bratt shoved her back into the house.

George told Bratt he committed domestic battery and the men got into a struggle. The deputy claimed Bratt slammed his head into a coffee table and tried to use Georges taser against him.

George was eventually able to handcuff Bratt on the floor.

However, Bratt and Youmans tell a much different version of events. The couple said Bratt put out his arm to restrain Youmans, who was yelling at George. The deputy then screamed that a battery had taken place, tasered Bratt through the front door and fell face-first when he burst through.

George then radioed for backup, stating he was down. He was later treated for a broken nose.

According to the lawsuit, when deputies Louis Genovese and Kenneth Van Tassel arrived, Bratt was dragged outside in handcuffs and asked if he liked beating up cops, or words to that effect. Thats when the deputies beat Bratt, and the 300-pound-plus Genovese drove his knee into Bratts face, shattering his orbital bone and causing his right eye to fall into the cavity of his cheek. (Click HERE to view an image showing Bratt's injury. WARNING: The image is graphic.)

Bratts stepfather-in-law said prisoners of war have been treated better.

"Being in Vietnam, being a Vet for a long time, we never treated our prisoners that way, said Mike Sebesta. We never did anything like that. I just hope justice comes to them because I don't think it's right."

Bratt was arrested for battery on a law enforcement officer, while Youmans was arrested for obstruction. The charge against Youmans was later dropped.

In 2013, a jury found Bratt not guilty of the battery on a law enforcement charge.

Bratts attorney said the deputies could not explain the injury to Bratts face and had inconsistent stories. The data on Georges taser also appeared corrupted.

The couple are seeking more than $10 million in damages from the three deputies.

Hernando County Sheriffs Office spokesperson Denise Moloney said Van Tassel has since resigned and left the area. George is still employed as a deputy, and Genovese has been promoted to sergeant.

Judge Charlene Honeywell has scheduled two weeks for the trial at the Tampa Federal Courthouse. Opening arguments in the case are expected to take place on Tuesday.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi said Tuesday a lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the state against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

Fla AG Pam Bondi makes lawsuit announcement

15 opioid deaths each day in Florida

About 175 deaths daily across U.S.

Tuesday, May 22: Spectrum News Original "Town Hall: Opioid Crisis"

"We are not scared to take them on," Bondi said during a press conference held at Riverside Recovery of Tampa.

The suit is being filed against several large pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma LP, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Cephalon, Inc. and Allergan.

Distributors named in the lawasuit include AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation, Cardinal Health, Inc., McKesson Corporation and Mallinckrodt LLC.

Bondi said 15 people in Florida and 175 across the country die each day because of opioids.

"We are in the midst of a national opioid crisis," she said. "You'd have to live under a rock to not know that."

Bondi said drug companies have published misinformation downplaying the dangerous effects of these drugs.

The full lawsuit can be found on the My Florida Legal website.

15 people a day are dying in Florida from opioid abuse.. if we continue this tragic path its hard to imagine any Florida family who will not be affected by this. @pambondi  DaveJordanBN9 (@DaveJordanBN9) May 15, 2018 <_script charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js">

"These dangerous acts and practices has devastating consequences. It's time they pay for results they have caused," she said.

Bondi was joined at the news conference by law enforcement officials, doctors and relatives of opioid abuse victims.

Lisa Brandy said she met Bondi a few years ago. It was a few months after her daughter died from drug abuse.

Brandy said her daughter's timeline with drugs spanned 18 months -- from the time she became addicted to her death.

"We as a community understand that one life is too much," she said. "One hundred and seventy five lives every single day? Somebody has to be accountable. Don't blame the addict anymore and don't blame the parents. Blame 'big pharma' for lying and knowing they created this."

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said it will take continued education and awareness to combat the problem.

"These billion dollar opioid manufactures and distributors are no different than the local suppliers on our street corners," he said.

Florida is the latest state to sue opioid manufacturers. Separate Florida counties have also filed lawsuits. Osceola County filed one earlier this year.

NEVADA ALSO FILES COMPLAINT

Meanwhile, Nevada state Attorney General Adam Laxalt alleges in a civil complaint filed Tuesday in Las Vegas that Purdue Pharma minimized risks and overstated benefits of long-term use of narcotic opioids including OxyContin.

Connecticut-based Purdue denied the claims in an email statement that said it will defend itself.

Company spokesman Bob Josephson says the civil lawsuits followed months of negotiations with state officials to address the opioid crisis.

He says the filing by these attorneys general promises costly and protracted litigation.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has issued an Amber Alert for a Titusville teenager on Tuesday morning.

Amber Alert issued for Titusville teen

Witness reported seeing 15-year-old girl abducted

Police plan to issue composite sketch of victim soon

The 15-year-old black girl has not been identified yet, but she is 5 foot 5 inches tall and unknown weight with dreads in her hair with one dread that is white.

She was wearing a green shirt and khaki pants.

She was last seen between 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday around the 1600th block of Barna Avenue in Titusville and "being pulled into a vehicle by an unknown dark-skinned person," the FDLE described.

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The vehicle is either a Mazda- or Nissan-style charcoal SUV and there is an exterior tire on the back of the vehicle, described the FDLE. No license number was given out.

A mother and daughter were on their way to school when they called 911 because they say they witnessed the teen getting pulled into the SUV, authorities say.

Titusville resident Rebecca Henderson told Spectrum News her daughter was outside getting ready to get into their car when she witnessed a possible abduction.

The girl was walking down the sidewalk right in front of her house when the vehicle came to a stop," Henderson said.

She said her daughter was not far away.

They grabbed her by the top of hair, on the top of the head, and trying to punch them off she could see her shoes and everything, Henderson said.

Tuesday afternoon, police passed out flyers to people in the area.

Shamika Merritt got one of them.

My condolences goes out the family, whosever daughter (because) thats a scary feeling, Merritt said.

Henderson says she got a look at the vehicle the girl was in as it left in front of their home.

It was a smaller SUV, like a charcoal gray, Henderson said.

Police say they have gone to the schools and accounted for every student who was identified as absent. They are relying on tips from everyone for leads into this case. They are also working on a composite sketch of the victim, which they will release to the public soon.

"All we have to go on at this point is the witness information that saw the described abduction, and then we have other witnesses that saw this victim just prior. We had some students that weren't accounted for initially in this, but we've tracked them all down," said Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson of the Titusville Police Department. "We understand that if someone is abducted, it may take until they're after school before someone notices they're gone."

Hutchinson says investigators have no reason to believe the original witness is not being accurate or truthful, based on interviews and descriptions.

The police dept. says they will keep the investigative team in place throughout the day, and that team is meeting.

Reporter Matt Fernandez contributed to this story.
WASHINGTON D.C. -- President Donald Trump addressed thousands of law enforcement officers and fallen officers' families who gathered in the nation's capitol Tuesday to commemorate Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Several Central Florida agencies in attendance

President spoke to gathering for 2nd year in a row

5 Florida law enforcement officers have died in line of duty so far in 2018

It's a day to pay tribute to federal, state, and local law-enforcement officers who died or were disabled in the line of duty in 2017.

Florida lost several officers:

Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton

Orange County Deputy First Class Norm Lewis

FL Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement Officer Joshua Sanchez Montaad

FHP Master Sgt. William Bishop

Escambia County Correctional Officer Joe William Heddy Jr.

Kissimmee Police Officer Matthew Baxter

Kissimmeee Police Sgt. Sam Howard

Florida Corrections Sgt. Joseph Ossman

Hardee County Deputy Julie Ann England-Bridges

Several Central Florida law enforcement agencies attended the observance.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard took part in the ceremony sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police. Their deputies participated in events at different sites and memorials.

Central Florida connections

Orlando Police also brought a large group of officers, who shared photos and videos of the event on social media. OPD Chief John Mina said the department attends every year, but this year is different.

"It's been ten years since we actually put an officer on the wall, so this year means a little bit more."

Orlando Police Lt. Debra Clayton and Orange County Deputy First Class Norm Lewis names are now engraved on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial -- after both lost their lives in the line of duty.

To see Debras name on the wall, knowing that her name will live on forever kind of gets us through this moment," Mina explained. "I remember the way she connected with our youth. All of our officers knew Deputy Norm Lewis. Were a tight knit law enforcement in Central Florida.

Meanwhile, Kissimmee Police Chief Jeff O'Dell honored the lives of Sgt. Sam Howard and Officer Matthew Baxter, who both died in August 2017.

"They are both husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, and what Im proud for them is not necessarily how they died, but how they lived, O'Dell said.

President's words of comfort

Trump spoke to the crowds at the memorial ceremony for the second year in a row.

"To the families and survivors with us this morning, I know today is filled with sadness and pain, Trump said. But today is also filled with love -- the love of an entire nation. They love you, they're praying for you, they're grieving with you, and pledging to you that we will never forget our heroes, ever."

Five Florida law enforcement agents have lost their lives in the line of duty so far this year. Earlier on Tuesday, a Jacksonville police officer, Lane Whitaker, died in a car crash.

Also on Tuesday, hundreds of law enforcement officers honored Highlands County Deputy William Gentry at his memorial service. Gentry was killed in the line of duty earlier this month.

In April, two Gilchrist County deputies were shot and killed while getting lunch -- Sgt. Noel Ramirez and Deputy Taylor Lindsey.

And in February, Brevard County Deputy Kevin Stanton was killed in a car crash.

In the last decade, Florida law enforcement agencies have lost 85 members including K9s, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
In a change of plans for St. Petersburg, Mayor Rick Kriseman announced Tuesday that the city will be joining a growing list of municipalities unwilling to provide more resource officers to the Pinellas County School District.

Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, City of Largo also declined district's request

City will fill three of the requested 28 positions

District will hire armed security officers for schools with no SROs

"While the City of St. Petersburg already has officers at its high school and middle schools, we will not be supplying additional officers to the remaining elementary schools, Kriseman said at a news conference Tuesday morning.

The Pinellas County Sheriffs Office and the City of Largo have also declined the districts request to provide more resource officers. The request came as part of its effort to comply with the new state mandate requiring armed security at all public schools.

Gov. Rick Scott signed off on the bill following the school shooting in Parkland, but critics say is gives school districts no time to phase in more officers.

"If we really want to get right down to it, you have a legislature and a governor who signed a bill that didn't provide the funding, Kriseman said. It's an unfunded mandate."

Currently, St. Petersburg spends about $800,000 a year for 13 school officers. The school district requested an additional 28 officers, which officials estimate would cost the city $3.2 million.

Instead, Police Chief Anthony Holloway said his department will fill just three of the requested positions. Those officers will be added to staff at St. Petersburg High School and North East High School.

Holloway assured the public that should there be an emergency, officers patrolling the city will be ready to respond.

"We can respond to any place in the city within five minutes, Holloway said. So if there is an incident at a school we will be there within five minutes."

The Pinellas County School District decided against the Guardian program option within the new state law.

Due to the funding challenges in meeting the law's mandate, the district confirmed it will be hiring armed security officers for schools that do not currently have resource officers as a temporary measure while it works to increase its police force.
For Immediate Release, May 15, 2018 Contact: Vera Pardee, (858) 717-1448, vpardee@biologicaldiversity.org Legal Petition Challenges Trump Administration's Rollback of Tailpipe Pollution Standards WASHINGTON A coalition of environmental groups filed a legal petition today challenging the EPAs weakening of greenhouse gas standards for cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2022 through 2025. Propping up gas-guzzlers is an assault on everyone who breathes, said Vera Pardee, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. The EPAs rollback flouts science, the law and its own mission, all to do the bidding of the nations worst polluters. Todays petition for review was filed in the D.C. Circuit Court. It comes after California, 16 other states and the District of Columbia filed a petition over the rollback earlier this month. Were fighting this dangerous decision alongside California and other states standing up for their residents, Pardee said. California should not budge an inch on its own tailpipe pollution standards. Those standards are already far less stringent than they ought to be. Background

Fossil-fuel vehicles are currently the nations largest source of greenhouse gas pollution. They also emit pollutants that cause ground-level ozone and lead to asthma and other serious health problems. In 2012 the EPA set greenhouse gas emission standards for passenger cars and light-duty trucks for model years 2017-2025. The standards aimed to halve carbon dioxide emissions from tailpipes and boost average fleet-wide fuel efficiency to over 50 mpg by 2025. The agency allowed for a midterm evaluation of the 2022-2025 guidelines to be completed no later than April 2018. In January 2017 the EPA completed the midterm evaluation, concluding that the standards were readily achievable, created overwhelming benefits for the public, and, if anything, could be strengthened. The evaluation noted that since the rules were established in 2012, the technology has become cheaper and improved even more rapidly than anticipated. On April 2, 2018, the EPA announced it was withdrawing that midterm evaluation and revising the standards.
NAIROBI, Kenya - Kenyan legislators have passed a wide-ranging bill that will criminalise free speech, with journalists and bloggers likely to be among the first victims if it is signed into law, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

Daniel Ernst via 123RF

CPJ has called on Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign into law a cybercrimes bill that was recently passed by the National Assembly because it will stifle press freedom.On April 26, 2018, the National Assembly approved the Computer and Cybercrimes Bill, 2017. The bill, among other provisions, criminalises the publication of false news and stipulates hefty fines and lengthy prison terms for those found guilty of the offense, according to the Hansard , a verbatim published report of debates and proceedings in Kenya's Parliament.Said CPJ Africa program coordinator Angela Quintal in New York: "We urge President Kenyatta to refer it back to Parliament so that members can ensure that its provisions are constitutional and do not violate the right to media freedom and free expression."Clause 12 of the bill provides for a five million Kenyan shilling (US$50,000) fine and/or up to two years in prison for publishing "false" or "fictitious" information. Another clause - introduced during the morning debate on April 26 by National Assembly majority leader Aden Duale - states that anyone found guilty of publishing false information that "is calculated or results in panic, chaos, or violence" or that is "likely to discredit the reputation of a person" is liable for a fine of five million Kenyan shillings and/or up to 10 years in prison, according to the Hansard Apollo Mboya, an advocate and former chief executive of the Law Society of Kenya, told CPJ that the provisions on false news would make it easy for authorities to "gag" journalists with whom they do not agree.He added that the provisions introduced during the debate that punish speech harmful to the "reputation of a person" are similar to a criminal defamation law that was declared unconstitutional by Kenya's High Court in 2017.Other provisions of the proposed law are also likely to undermine freedom of the press. Clauses in the bill that outlaw unauthorised access and sharing of government data do not allow for a public interest defense to protect whistle-blowers, as noted by Mboya and according to an analysis by global free speech organisation Article 19.State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu on May 4 told CPJ that the presidency would consider reservations about the bill raised in public statements and/or letters addressed to Kenyatta.
Nam Do of Lycoming College, Pennsylvania has won the 2018 New York Festivals Global Awards Young Globals competition. For his work on the "Push Back on Opioid Use" brief, Do, will receive the prestigious Young Global Award as well as paid internships with both Global Awards agency partner sponsors, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and Calcium, USA.

Nam Do has won the 2018 New York Festivals Global Awards Young Globals competition. Image supplied.

Opioid Gang

Imagination and curiosity

Internship

This was a banner year for the Young Globals  we received a robust increase in the number of entries submitted from 4 continents, which is a testament to the nature of the topic. Nam, one of the only one-person team entrants, truly deserves congratulations for his stand out entry illustrating the insidious nature of the opioid crisis, said Fran Pollaro, executive director of the Global Awards.The Global Awards is working in association with The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to do our part in fixing a spotlight on the epidemic and providing some thoughtful solutions, delivered directly from the vantage of our youth  an incredibly important point of view in this battle.I was able to review the finalists, and Im consistently impressed by the talent of young artists, dedicating their time and passion to change hearts and minds about substance use, and finding innovative ways to help turn the tide on the opioid epidemic, said Kristi Rowe, chief marketing officer, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.The Young Global award-winning entry Opioid Gang was created by Do. He was individually responsible for all art direction, copy, and strategy on the campaign. His creative poster Opioid Gang, depicting opioids as an underground gang, was inspired by a challenge brief for the (fictional) National Opioid Addiction Prevention Council for their project Push Back on Opioid Use."The Young Globals was a great opportunity for me to channel creativity into making a positive impact, and it was already rewarding enough for me to be able to support a meaningful cause as the fight against opioids, said Do. Truth be told, this is the only mindset I brought to the competition  I was by no means formally trained in advertising, so I did not expect to become a finalist, let alone the 2018 Young Globals winner. And yes, I simply couldnt help feeling astonished when I heard about the results.Do had this to say about his creative process in designing his campaign. I realised how similar opioids were to underground gangs: They attract followers with promises of immediate benefits, but initiated members are eventually made dependent on them, despite the dangers, I wanted to remind the viewers of the imminent danger of opioids and ultimately to encourage people to keep themselves and others away from it the way they would from gangs.Students achieving finalist status in the competition were interviewed by Young Globals sponsoring agencies award-winning executives, Steven Michaelson, founder and chief executive officer of Calcium USA and Kathy Delaney, global chief creative officer, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. Representatives from the sponsoring agencies had this to say about the award-winning entry."The competition was extremely strong in this years Young Globals. However, Nam Do really stood out, strategically and creatively. We're all excited and lucky to have him as an intern at our agency. Calcium is so proud to have been a sponsor of this awesome award, said Michaelson.Creativity emerges from imagination and curiosity, along with craftsmanship to bring your ideas to life. We saw all those inspiring qualities in Nam Do. As the 2018 Young Globals Competition Winner, we look forward to having him join the team as an honoured member of the Publicis Health Internship Program, said Delaney.Do will begin his internship this June at Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and this January 2019 at Calcium USA.The Young Global Award will be presented at the 2018 Global Awards ceremony taking place in November of 2018. The 2018 Young Globals competition will open August 2018. To learn more about the competition, please click here The annual Young Globals competition is open to all college and university students, including portfolio centres, who are exploring advertising, marketing, art, design, creative writing, technology, or similar areas of creative focus.
The right to user privacy and respect for personal information on the internet continued to make news headlines last month as the Facebook data breach saga headed to Washington, where Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced questions from US senators.

 Patra Kongsirimongkolchai via 123RF.com

Coming out of congress

Word up

Impact on advertisers

The importance of changing data practices

Protecting the revenue stream

Advertisers, marketers and brands are obviously keeping close tabs on what effect, if any, this latest scandal to befall the world's largest and most influential social media network will have on the Facebook user base, or to their level of engagement.Obviously, a mass exodus of users, or a drop in their willingness to engage on the platform will reduce the effectiveness of Facebook's data-driven advertising model. Should this happen, advertisers will have to ask if the platform can continue to deliver adequate returns on ad spend.The fundamental issues surrounding the scandal  the privacy and use of users' personal data  is not new. This is just the latest in a number of issues related to the misuse and abuse of user information, of which Facebook is not the sole perpetrator. Similar data breaches have happened at other internet companies and social media platforms.While I don't believe that there's widespread apathy towards these breaches among users, I doubt that these latest revelations will be the tipping point for a mass exodus.The main reason for this is that Zuckerberg and Facebook moved relatively quickly to respond. They have accepted blame and publicly acknowledged that 'mistakes were made'. They are also implementing corrective steps.Facing a five-hour barrage of questioning from Congress in Washington, Zuckerberg reaffirmed that the company's mission of connecting people would continue to take precedence over advertisers and developers.In the session, Zuckerberg stated that: "We need to take a more active view in policing the ecosystem and watching and looking out and making sure that all the members in our community are using these tools in a way that's going to be good and healthy."Obviously, such words are superfluous without meaningful action to back them up, but there has certainly been changes at Facebook since the scandal broke. Having taken responsibility for the breach, Facebook is now acting by assigning resources to solve the issues.Zuckerberg announced sweeping measures that have already, or will be, implemented across various aspects of the Facebook platform as part of the second phase of the Cambridge Analytica 'clean up'.He is keeping to the promises made about addressing and resolving the issues and he is widely viewed to be acting responsibility.These measures include notifying all Facebook users whether they were affected by the leak. This will include a notification prompting users to review which apps and websites have permission to see their data. The roll-out of this element started last Monday.Facebook also adjusted its privacy settings and ad targeting tools to give users more control over their information and is creating a tool to make it easier for users to approve what information is shared about them.In addition, Facebook is reviewing where additional risks for data leaks exist. Already underway is an audit of all third-party apps that offer the outside world access to the platform via their API. Any app that collected and misused data will be banned from the platform, and every user who engaged with the app in question will be notified.Further restrictions imposed on access to user data include a lockdown of the Groups, Events and Gaming APIs. These provided data to developers  such as the number of types of events attended by users  that Facebook now says is unnecessary as they should be able to create useful experiences without scraping this information.Following Zuckerberg's appearance on Capitol Hill, Facebook also announced a novel bounty programme, which will reward people who find and report cases of data abuse on its platforms with between $500 to $40,000, depending on the significance of the discovery.While welcomed, these sweeping changes and reforms that seek to impose stricter data safeguards understandably has Facebook marketing partners and advertisers wondering if their ability to target users effectively and deliver a return on their ad spend will now be limited.South African-based advertisers and agencies needn't be concerned, though, as the planned changes to the platform will have a minimal impact, if any, on Facebook advertising in our region.That's not to say that significant changes weren't announced, though. For instance, the shutting down of Partner Categories, a feature that enabled ad targeting on the platform by using third-party data provided by data brokers, could have ramifications across the Internet-based and social media marketing industries. However, its impact will be felt predominantly in the US and parts of the EU where the use of third-party data for narrow targeting is common practice.This approach was not adopted in South Africa, and we believe that this is a move in the right direction to improve industry best practices and ensure greater transparency regarding the responsible use of end-user data.There have also been a few minor changes to the platform's automated leads development solution, but these won't have an impact on the technical capabilities of the solution.Are these steps sufficient to stave off a significant backlash from users and advertisers?We believe so.For brands to continue realising a return on their ad spend on the platform, Facebook needs to ensure that users keep coming back, remain engaged with the content, and continue to feel like they are getting value.For that to happen, they can't feel like their right to privacy is being abused.Based on recent announcements and the steps already taken, it is clear that Facebook has realised the importance of fundamentally changing its data practices to restore trust among users. We feel that Facebook has achieved that with the measures implemented.This stance aligns with current user and ad data metrics, which haven't seen a drop off since news of the data breach first broke. Granted, there was a loss in investor value for holders of Facebook stock, but the fundamental value proposition to users and advertisers seems to still be intact.Zuckerberg also reaffirmed the company's commitment to its advertising model as the primary source of revenue. That means Facebook's future depends on its ability to deliver a return on ad spend. When asked whether he has considered offering an ad-free, subscription option for users, Zuckerberg didn't dismiss the idea, but stated that there will always be a free version of Facebook available.I also believe that the sunk investments made by most users in the platform, having built their profiles over years, even a decade for some, means that something more significant would have to happen for them to divest from the platform.Obviously, there's a threshold of user tolerance and many are already weary of the continual breaches in trust. However, Facebook has now taken accountability and has implemented bold and decisive action.We're therefore confident that it will remain business as usual for the brands that leverage the platform ethically to effectively reach their target audiences.
Beer is, for the most part, a product for men. They are, by far, the majority of its consumers and, therefore, the advertising is generally directed at them. And over the years, beer advertising as a genre has generated some good ads and some shockers.

Screengrabs from the ad.

The ads that fail are those which lose sight of the reality that men are, in fact, just big boys and they get amused by little things. And they are amused by the fact of being boys  and doing the things only boys can do in that little, exclusive club of theirs.Interestingly, when it comes to sexist attitudes, race doesnt come into it What boys dont really like is when their beer brand tries to preach to them or, even worse, when it tries to pretend it is something it is not, or to paint a false reality.That, in a beer cap, was what made the Carling Black Label ads of the 80s and 90s so cringe-worthy. The white bosses and black labourers simply did not get together  after a hard day building dams, rescuing damsels in distress, or even getting kittens out of high trees  and sink a Carling round a braai fire.That was the sort of ideal society the Soviet propagandists used to portray  while everybody on the ground knew the harsh reality.Windhoek beer (in this case Lager, but also its other, lesser-known brands) has always been my favourite. I lived in Namibia for almost five years and it was the drink of choice for the boys (women would only occasionally have a Windhoek Light, and normally only if it was a lunchtime braai).When I came to South Africa, I found it very difficult to find Windhoek products. I couldnt stand any of the SA Breweries equivalents, so I switched to wine. And thats where Ive stayed except for the occasional hot day or when we have beer-drinking guests. And out comes the Windhoek.So I am still fiercely loyal to the brand, as are many men and it hurt me to give Windhoek a marketing Onion some months ago for their silly Carling Black Label copycat ad, supposedly telling the story of the Windhoek Brewery and how everybody  black and white  came together in a crisis in the 1930s. RubbishI wondered then why they hadnt continued their earlier ad idea of a slightly mocking portrayal of the silliness of men (and we can laugh at ourselves).I am glad theyve got that groove back, though, with their latest TV ad, because it speaks to all of the good and bad things about men.We see a couple  young and, we suppose, in love  as they watch a magical sunset over the sea. The dolphins perform for them, forming a romantic heart, as do the birds flying past. Even the clouds form a cute heart.She turns to him and asks: Can it get any more perfect? Hes about to agree, when his eye falls on a neighbour, sitting with a woman, both with bottles of Windhoek Lager in hand.He doesnt have one in his hand and his envy is as green as the beer bottle. A tear comes to his eyes. She thinks its because hes a SNAG (Sensitive New Age Guy) and she wipes it gently away. But we know the truth.Parting a man from his beer will make him cry. And thats what reminds us why we love the brand, not the silly fake kum-ba-yah moments.Great ad from a great beer, so it gets an Orchid from me.So, this one falls in the pull the other leg please category. First National Bank has, according to the SMS it sent me last week, changed the way its ATMs operate. Now, if you make a withdrawal, you card will be spat out of the machine before the cash.So, said the SMS, Do not walk away. PLEASE wait for your cash.What intrigued me, though, was the first line of the SMS: You spoke and we listened. In other words, the implication is that consumers wanted this change. No-one asked me. Id be interested to hear if anyone else actually asked the bank.I dont think so. I think they just decided to change the system, because their techies said so or to use the same standards as others.So this weeks How the hell can we believe you Onion goes to FNB
"Ah, you're from Africa? You must know my friend Bob who lives in Gaborone." That's the oft tongue-in-cheek story Africans like to tell, to illustrate how much of the world perceives the continent - one giant landmass they know very little about.

Photo by sutirta budiman on Unsplash

Overcoming unfavourable obstacles

Tourism, the economic priority

Interesting then, that in the world of tourism, there are plans afoot to create an African Tourism Board. When asked recently whether such a pan-African initiative to promote African tourism would be viable, my response was that we already battle perceptions in Africa about the continent being one country.If an Ebola outbreak happens in West Africa, South Africa feels the impact in the form of reduced tourism numbers, and yet Spain is closer to West Africa than South Africa is.One of the strengths of marketing travel to Africa is that its destinations offer so much diversity. How would an African Tourism Board even begin to market the continent as one brand when there are so many cultures, ethnicities, landscapes and languages that comprise the continent? How could this organisation hope to position the African continent as a tourism destination, while ensuring the integrity of the individual country brands that exist?But before we even have the discussion about one brand identity for the African continent, we have to talk about removing some of the obstacles that make the destination an unfavourable choice for travellers who are deciding where to spend their tourism dollars, dirhams or dinar.You can have the most beautiful, inviting home on the street, but if the gate is locked and the door and windows are boarded up, whats the point of keeping its outside appearance in tip-top shape? In fact, if anything, its a complete brand disconnect when you entice a traveller with your destination marketing, but make it almost impossible for them to visit through onerous visa regimes or lack of access.That said, its quite an exciting time for Africa. Were seeing real steps towards opening up the continent  increasing air access to hubs across Africa such as Addis Ababa, Lagos and Nairobi  and a more favourable visa regime. Its high time as well since weve been talking about Africa being ripe with opportunity for some time. Finally, it feels like were on the verge of this becoming a reality.And while I dont believe necessarily that we can market the continent as one travel destination, I do feel that we need to be a more integrated continent, which is why I applaud efforts that certain African nations are making to work together on airlift, more open visa regimes and free trade agreements  all being key to boosting intra-African leisure and corporate travel.The caveat to that is when these practices are adopted by a few, but not all as we have seen with the Yamoussoukro Agreement , which is now re-emerging as the Single African Air Transport Market. Here, again, we have just 23 countries signing to open up Africas skies. Whats happened to the other 31?Even here in South Africa, the obstacle of unabridged birth certificates and onerous visa requirements for such African nations as Nigeria pose significant risks to increase inbound tourism from those markets. The recent appeal by South African Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom at Indaba to relax its visa requirements and efforts to engage with Home Affairs are most welcome.We often hear government stakeholders acclaim tourism and its role in the economic growth of a country. The next step is making tourism an economic priority  not only in words, but in deeds. As we have seen, however, it can take some time for government efforts to be coordinated to the extent where its truly a case of Open House with the welcome mat at the front door.Finally, once weve got our house in order, its not fair to rely on the government only to roll out the welcome mat. Destination marketing today requires a cohesive effort between public and private sector to be everywhere, all the time, based on how travellers and tourists consume information and make decisions to travel.So, while you and I in the private sector may not be involved in cleaning house, we certainly need to work together, and with government, to make sure people know the gates are wide open and theyre invited  no strings attached.
When it comes to out of home, the Sandton CBD has been stagnant for a while. All that changed in February when Guerrilla IMC unveiled its latest and most iconic Sandton Mega Format site.

Situated at 92 Rivonia Road, the new Icon is directly over the road from Sandton City, perched between Webber Wentzel and Werksmans Attorneys office complexes and smacks consumers in the face as they leave the Gautrain station. When it comes to a Sandton CBD location, this one just can't be beat.Printed on Contra Vision with impressive dimensions of 30m (h) x 17.5m (w), this icon creates a full 525 square meter canvas for a blue-chip brand. And it's no surprise that one of the countries leading companies were first to grab this opportunity. MTN and their media agency OMD outmaneuvered a number of other big brands to take ownership of Sandton with this iconic structure.Guerrilla IMCs Simon Allenberg was the man behind the deal, and his reaction when seeing the final product was as follows,MTN have first option on the renewal during the second half of 2018, but the Guerrillas are hard at work on a number of similar sites across SA. Get in touch to make sure you don't miss out on working with this remerging media owner that is rapidly rebuilding its portfolio.
Are African businesses ready to become disruptors? Disruption is a trendy term - but disruption has been around since the big bang, and we've seen it operating through time at different scales.

Brett St Clair

Now is the time to commit to building digital businesses: regardless of your service or product type, every business has to be a technology business.

African countries have an advantage

How to get ahead of your competition

The first step is to ask a set of different questions about the technology you are currently invested in. Can your servers be provisioned instantly? Can you launch new services or products in days, hours, minutes and seconds, or do you still have to wait weeks and months? If the latter is true, this is a clear signal to make a move to the cloud.



Even more important than scaling up is scaling down: if your tech does not solve the customer problem youre looking to address, you can shut it down in seconds. Why pay for servers if they are not being used? With Google's Cloud, for example, you can automatically close servers when theyre not in use, saving vast sums of precious capital.



Next, you need to ask different questions about your data.



It no longer suffices to use data as a status progress gauge for the past month. Your data is your instrumentation that guides all decision making. A great example is to ask if you can use data to track every part of your customers experience when buying your product or service - because if you can't, then you are missing opportunities to fix customer problems and create an incredible customer experience.



To reach the heights of an Emirates airline experience you need to act like them and behave like a business solely driven by data. To understand your data, you need to make use of tools like Google does - to store vast sums of data and process it very quickly to make instant decisions. The exact same technology that Google uses for itself is available at a click of the mouse for your business.



The third step is to think about your service or product offerings.



Are you ready to scale it to millions of customers? In today's world, businesses are no longer constrained by massive upfront investments in hardware or resources. Tiny startups can launch and within weeks be competing against the world's largest businesses with minimal capital outlay.



Put your products through a set of internal questioning to see if you can grow fast instantly, and then search for examples where people have done so and learn from them.



Finally, be prepared for just how much how your team's work will change and be open to this. Your staff will appreciate it, as long as they are given the opportunity to grow themselves and constantly improve their environments.



We have so much untapped talent sitting behind a desk consumed by manual mundane tasks. Take your people with you and learn new ways of working, such as 'agile' and 'lean startup' - these are now the norm in securing huge efficiency and effectiveness from all types of teams.

The trick is that it starts with you. Use new tools in your business, try new methodologies and build businesses that are comfortable with constant change, because this is the new era of work we live in.

What excites me is that for the first time in history, we can foresee digital disruption. The question is, do we just react to it, or do we jump right in and compete?In the last thousand years, weve seen series of revolutions - from industrial to the internet - disrupt existing stakeholders, even though these cycles sometimes took many years to happen.What were seeing now is the exponential acceleration of technology causing these cycles to take place in a couple of years. For example, Google's announcement last week of Google Duplex, where an AI assistant speaks exactly like a human and makes appointments for you via the phone.It opens up huge possibilities as well as raising huge concerns. But it is a clear reminder of how quickly disruption now happens.As a business executive, are you going to keep holding the course or are you going to take that bold step forward and go digital?In African countries, we have an advantage, because taking the leap away from a legacy investment and traditional style of work is much easier than elsewhere. We are not as heavily invested in these modes as other western or even eastern countries.Furthermore, new cloud technology is now accessible in minutes on a pay-as-you-go model, which only became possible in the last two to three years. There is no longer a need for long-term investments.If you are ready to start your journey, there are proven approaches to get ahead of your competition.My personal mission is to choose to not be the same and instead to adopt digital best practices and apply scaled solutions to a new set of customer problems.The time to become the disruptor is now!Read more #AfricaMonth content in the #AfricaMonth special section
This company article has been removed.
Thotbox is a media sales company that specialises in community radio airtime sales by integrating all regional radio stations to form a national grid.
This job expired on 29 May 2018.
This job expired on 21 May 2018.
The Minnesota's House will take up SF3367 today, a bill whose House author is Anoka Republican Abigail Whelan, who is retiring at the end of the session.

The bill, which will require lodging facility employees to be trained to recognize sex trafficking, enjoys bipartisan authorship in the chamber, from the conservative Whelan to Apple Valley's progressive DFL Erin Maye Quade. The senate language replaces the original House bill, which Whelan and a bi-partisan group of representatives support.

Om social media, Don Huizinga, an Anoka County Republican activist and once-aspiring state senate candidate, ridiculed Whelan's support for the bill after sharing Action4Liberty co-chair Jake Duesenberg's objections to the bill. Co-author Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, ably defended her in a comment.

Bluestem is struck by another aspect of the Huizenga rant against the bill, so much so that we wonder if the entire matter is simply an elaborate troll. He began his post:

Why do Republicans in Minnesota write this kind of stuff? Don't they realize they are adding unnecessary costs and burdens into the private sector, a tangible outcome, in the hopes of reducing loosely defined sex trafficking (intangible outcome), a problem that didn't exist in MN prior to all of this sanctuary city, Islamist immigration? What is the purpose of this bill?

The notion that sex trafficking didn't exist in Minnesota prior to "this sanctuary city, Islamist immigration" would make a cat laugh. We're hoping that even Dan Fabian can see the problem.

In fact, Minnesota enjoyed a robust reputation for sex trafficking during the 1970s, years before the concept of "sanctuary city" rose in the 1980s in response to the denial of refugees' requests for asylum from politically unstable countries in Central America.

In fact, Minnesota enjoyed a robust reputation for sex trafficking during the 1970s, years before the collapse of the Barre regime in Somalia in 1990 and UN intervention later in the decade.



Indeed, the state earned unwelcomed headlines for the "Minnesota Pipeline," in which teen-age girls ran away from small towns, were groomed by pimps and madams in the Twin Cities, then marketed to New York City and other points out-of-state.

That's a bit different than pipeline politics in Minnesota in 2018, mostly.

Minnesotans read headlines like The 'Minnesota Pipeline' Sends Teenage Hookers to New York, and Al Palmquist Wants to Plug It in People magazine.

But less sensational headlines and detailed accounts graced the New York Times. While some scholars have questioned the "pipeline" to New York City, their accounts nonetheless note that troubled girls fleeing small towns were recruited into underaged prostitution.

Instead, trafficking in under-aged girls was more diffuse geographically. In Money, Not New York, Lures Minnesota Prostitutes, (since the pimps were making the plans, they were the ones making the money, so the headline is unfortunate), the Times' Nathaniel Sheppard reported in 1977:

Although the number of young prostitutes from Minnesota who ply their trade in Manhattan is large, conversations here with police officers and prostitutes themselves suggest there is no formal network that channels women from Minneapolis into New York's redlight district. New York, it appears from this examination, is but one of a dozen cities that may attract the women and their pimps. And rather than the highly publicized pipeline carrying girls from the Middle West to Eighth Avenue's seamy Minnesota Strip, the prostitutes are simply lured to the cities where their earning prospects are best. The socalled pipeline flows in many directions, to wherever the money and the action are. A pimp may read or hear that some big convention is going on somewhere and tell a girl to hop on a bus, train or plane and meet him there, said one St. Paul teenager who at 19 is a veteran prostitute. First, he usually lets her work the streets or topless bars here and in small towns around the state and Iowa, she said, to learn the ropes and to make enough money to pay for them to get there. Sometimes the women go on their own, but more often they go on brutally enforced orders from their pimps, who set minimum daily earnings quotas that may range from $100 to $400, depending on the city, several young prostitutes said in interviews. Juveniles have accounted for much of the increase in prostitution in Minneapolis, according to the police here. Of 60 prostitution arrests in 1970, for example, there were no juveniles involved and the average age of the women arrested was 25 years. In 1976, however, juveniles accounted for 73 of the 389 women arrested for prostitution, dropping the average age of those arrested to 19.5 years. The police estimate that there are about 1,500 prostitutes in the MinneapolisSt. Paul metropolitan area, which has a population of about 1.5 million people. About 25 percent of the prostitutes are 18 years of age or younger. . .

There's more misinformed malarky in the comments, including this choice remark from a west central Minnesota activist:

Can't make it up: MN anti-Muslim activist sees huge liberal conspiracy in #StopFGM poster.

Super Bowl the biggest time for sex trafficking? Thats a myth. Heres what happens every day in the Twin Cities.

UPDATE: The Minnesota House passed the bill without a dissenting vote.

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BEIJING (PTI): China's first indigenously-developed aircraft carrier has begun sea trials, a historic step in the country's quest to modernise its military and bolster its naval presence in the disputed regional waters.



The 50,000-metric tonne vessel left a shipyard of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry in Liaoning province around 7 am (local time) on Sunday against thick fog and with assistance from several tugboats, before navigating into the sea using its own propulsion, state-run China Daily reported.



The vessel will become the country's second aircraft carrier, and the first to be entirely built and designed inside of China, when it joins the navy sometime before 2020.



The Navy said in a statement that the trial aims to demonstrate the reliability and capability of the ship's propulsion systems.



The still-unnamed carrier was launched this time last year but since then has been undergoing fitting of weapons and other systems and has not yet entered service.



China launched the new aircraft after it commissioned the first carrier the Liaoning, a refitted Soviet Union-made vessel in 2012.



Though Liaoning has become operational, it is being mostly used for research and improvements for the new carriers China plans to build.



Reports said China is already building its third aircraft carrier in Shanghai. China reportedly plans to have four aircraft carriers by 2030 to beef up its navy as it asserts its claims in the disputed South China Sea.



Few countries in the world have aircraft carriers. Besides India, the US, Russia, the UK, France, Italy, Thailand and China operate a total of 18 aircraft carriers.



The US is the largest operator as it runs 11 nuclear-powered carriers with each having a full-load displacement of about 100,000 tonnes.



Some reports said China is also planning to build a nuclear aircraft carrier.



Chinese experts have said that the missions for the new carrier will be different from those for the Liaoning, which is mainly tasked with testing equipment and weapons as well as training personnel.



The new vessel, by comparison, will focus on what a genuine aircraft carrier is supposed to do like conducting combat-ready patrols and safeguarding China's maritime sovereignty and interests, the report said.



China has developed a new jet fighter called A J-15 fighter to operate from the decks of its carriers.



The second aircraft carrier's name and hull code remain unknown as the PLA Navy usually makes public such information when a ship is commissioned.



The new carrier has a conventional propulsion system. Like the Liaoning, it will use a ramp to launch J-15 fighter jets. The ship will also carry several types of helicopters.



The new carrier has more than 12,000 pieces of equipment that were made by 532 Chinese enterprises including many private firms, the report said.



The vessel has more than 3,600 cabins. About 3,000 workers from across the country worked on the ship on a daily basis.



Officials of the Navy said, several aspects of the new carrier are different from those on the Liaoning. For example, the new ship's island is shorter and the landing section is longer.






NEW DELHI (PTI): Indian Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has begun a four-day visit to Sri Lanka with an aim to take forward the military cooperation between the two countries to the "next level".



Gen Rawat's maiden visit to the island nation as the Army Chief comes amid growing concern in the security establishment here about China's persistent efforts to expand its influence over Colombo.



The Army said Gen Rawat will hold talks with top political and military leadership of Sri Lanka and explore new areas of military-to-military cooperation between the ground forces of the two countries.



"He is scheduled to meet the senior-most political and military hierarchy of Sri Lanka. The visit assumes significance in light of India's persistent efforts to strengthen the existing bonds of friendship and military cooperation based on mutual interests and understanding," the Army said in a statement on Monday.



It said the focus of the visit would be to take forward the military-to-military cooperation between the two countries to the "next level".



In December last, Sri Lanka had handed over the control of the southern sea port of Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease, triggering concerns here.



Sri Lanka had later clarified that the port will not be used as a military base and it will not engage in any activities which may harm India's security interests.



Apart from meeting the senior leadership of the three services of Sri Lanka, Gen Rawat is also scheduled to meet the regional military commanders in Kandy and Trincomalee, Army officials said.



The regional commanders of the Lankan army are considered very influential in military matters.



The Army said the visit of Gen Rawat is reflective of India's persistent efforts to strengthen the existing bonds of friendship and military cooperation based on mutual interests and understanding.



"Indian Army has been catering not only for varied training requirements of the Sri Lankan Army, including imparting specific tailor-made training in different fields, but also providing military hardware support," the Army said.



The Chief of the Army Staff will be inaugurating a communication laboratory at School of Signals in Kandy.



The laboratory has been established by the Indian Army to train the personnel of Sri Lanka Army's Signal Corps.



General Rawat will also be visiting the Sri Lanka Military Academy in Diyatalawa.




An internet imagery.

NEW DELHI (PTI): After years of deliberations, the Indian Army has finalised a mega Rs 15,000-crore project under which a range of ammunition for its critical weapons and tanks will be produced indigenously to overcome long delays in imports and address the problem of a dwindling stockpile.



Official sources told PTI that 11 private firms would be involved in the ambitious project, the implementation of which is being monitored by the top brass of the Army and the Defence Ministry.



The immediate aim of the closely guarded project -- said to be the biggest ever initiative for the indigenisation of ammunition -- is to create an inventory for all major weapons to enable the forces to fight a 30-day war while the long-term objective is to cut dependence on imports.



"The overall cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 15,000 crore and we have set a specific target for the next 10 years in terms of the volume of ammunition to be produced," a senior government official involved in the project said, refusing to elaborate further.



Initially, ammunition for a range of rockets, air defence system, artillery guns, infantry combat vehicles, grenade launchers and various other field weapons would be produced under "strict timelines", a source said.



The production targets would be revised based on the result of the first phase of the implementation of the programme.



The sources indicated the broad contours of the project were discussed at a conference of the Army's top commanders here last month.



The initiative is seen as the first serious attempt by the government to address growing concerns voiced over the last many years by defence forces over the fast dwindling stockpile of key ammunition when China has been significantly ramping up its military capability, an issue that has been discussed by successive governments.



Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has been pushing for fast tracking the procurement of weapons and ammunition for the world's second largest standing Army, considering the evolving security threats in the region.



"The indigenisation of the ammunition project will be biggest such programme in decades," said the official.



In July last year, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), in a report tabled in Parliament, said a stock of only 61 types of ammunition out of 152 varieties was available, and these would only last for 10 days in the event of a war.



According to laid down security protocol, the stockpile should be adequate for a month-long war.



The sources said long delays in negotiations and subsequent procedural hurdles in the import of ammunition had adversely impacted the country's defence preparedness and that was why the indigenisation programme had been initiated.



Last year, the government had empowered the Army to directly procure ammunition and spares for 10 types of weapon systems and equipment after an internal review found the optimum level of "war stores" was not being maintained.



Considering the Army's demand, the government has already finalised one of the biggest procurement plans for infantry modernisation under which large numbers of light machine guns, battle carbines and assault rifles are being purchased at a cost of nearly Rs 40,000 crore.




A helicopter and a tank in coordinated action during the practice of Air Cavalry concept in recently concluded exercise Vijay Prahar at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan. A PTI Photo

JAIPUR (PTI): The Indian Army has tested in the desert terrain of Rajasthan the military concept of 'Air Cavalry' that was used by the US Army to locate and assault enemy ground forces during the Vietnam War, an official said.



To enhance its defence capabilities, the Army tested the concept under which weaponised helicopters carry out combined action against the enemy in coordination with tanks and mechanised ground forces.



This being done by the Indian Army, with an eye on the future, which is focusing on strengthening its combative air assets by procuring attack helicopters.



This is a new concept for the Indian Army and it is aimed at reshaping land battle by defeating the enemy by offensive punch from the air in coordination with tanks on the ground.



In the recently held offensive exercise 'Vijay Prahar' in Mahajan firing ranges near Suratgarh, the concept of 'Air Cavalry' was tried by the South Western command, defence spokesperson Lt Col Manish Ojha told PTI.



The concept was implemented after a detailed deliberation, sand-model discussions and war gaming.



In normal battle scenario, attack helicopters are called in on requirement basis by forces moving on the ground to launch an attack where the ground forces are not able to neutralise the target due to any reason, including difficult terrain.



Under the 'Air Cavalry' concept, attack helicopters are fully integrated with tanks and mechanised ground forces.



A fleet of armed helicopters simultaneously flies in air and performs a number of tasks, including troop insertion in forward areas, on the spot aerial recce, launching attacks and it proves more powerful and a good speed in the action is achieved.



This requires a very high degree of precision, coordination and continuous upgradation. It saves time and energy," another senior officer of the SW command said.



"The forces achieve more flexibility and fluidity in an operation and multitasking can be performed more quickly, swiftly and effectively and the ground commanders can act decisively, boldly and offensively, the officer said.



Under this kind of arrangement, attack helicopters can engage targets in the shortest possible time and the mission can be accomplished in a very flexible and effective manner.



This concept can be executed in different kind of terrains depending upon the feasibility.



While the US used this concept in the jungles of Vietnam during the war from 1954-75, India tested it in scorching heat in desert terrain to sharpen its teeth.



The Army is gradually inducting helicopters equipped with ultra-modern sensors and high-precision weapons and therefore a need was felt to use the Air Cavalry concept for increasing capabilities in monitoring and protecting both eastern and western borders of the country.



The Indian Army is focusing on its own combative air assets so there was a requirement that a concept should be in place for the best utilisation of attack helicopters. The helicopters will be used as force multiplier and will increase the potency of ground forces to engage the targets, defence sources said.



The Army's combative air assets will be crucial in the land battles in desert along the western front as well as in the eastern front where the terrain is mountainous, the sources said.



Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is developing Light Combat Helicopter for the Army to meet its requirement for an attack helicopter which can operate at high altitude. The Army will also procure multi-role AH-64 'E' Apache attack helicopter manufactured by American aviation giant Boeing.



The Defence Ministry in August last year had approved the procurement of six most advanced Apache helicopters along with weapons systems at a cost of Rs 4,168 crore which will be the Army's first fleet of attack choppers.



Apaches have played a vital role in international conflicts, including in the Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.


NEW DELHI (PTI): Top commanders of the Indian Navy have finalised a plan to incorporate big data analytics and artificial intelligence into operational functioning of the force and have reviewed the new transition cycle to deploy ships from maintenance to operational spheres.



A four-day conference of the commanders, which concluded last week, also undertook a review of the Navy's 'Mission Based Deployments', a plan for deployment of warships in the Indian Ocean region which was made operational last year.



"The review was aimed at maximising benefits accrued from the deployment of Indian Navy ships and aircraft to critical areas within the Indian Ocean Region," the Navy said.



The commanders also deliberated on the security and hardening of naval data networks in keeping with contemporary cyber security practices, it said.



It said measures such as information sharing with other navies as well as combining defence diplomacy initiatives such as bilateral exercises and port visits into these deployments are planned to be undertaken.



The commanders also deliberated extensively on the Navy's modernisation plan.



"The imperative need for approval of the second indigenous aircraft carrier for the Navy was also deliberated upon," the Navy said.



The commanders also deliberated upon various long-pending projects including production of mine counter measure vessels (MCMVs), landing platform dock (LPD), anti-submarine shallow water craft, diving support vessels and survey vessels.



On the force's plan in the cyber domain, it said, "In keeping with the Navy's ethos of harnessing niche technologies, concrete plans to incorporate big data analytics and artificial intelligence into the Navy's operational functioning have also been formulated."



They also reviewed the Navy's new transition cycle to deploy ships from maintenance to operational spheres that allows for a focused and gradual transition of ships from periods of maintenance layoffs to full scale operations, thus reducing chances of any mishap.



"This has resulted in considerable improvement in combat efficiency and crew proficiency of ships undergoing the new transition cycle.



"The new transition cycle has also resulted in the overall improvement of operational logistics, spares management and forecasting, refit planning and expenditure management," the Navy said.


NEW DELHI (PTI): An Indian Navy ship has been deployed to undertake joint surveillance of exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Maldives, seen as a move to improve bilateral relationship between the two countries which nose-dived after imposition of emergency in the island nation.



The Indian Navy said its ship Sumedha, a naval offshore patrol vessel has been deployed to undertake the joint surveillance of EEZ of Maldives from May 9 to 17.



It "is an endeavour of the Government of India and the Indian Navy to ensure the safety and security of the vast EEZ of the island nation," the Navy said.



It said the deployment has been made under its new 'Mission Based Deployments', a new plan for deployment of warships in the Indian Ocean region.



In February, Maldives had declined India's invitation to participate in the eight-day mega naval exercise -- Milan -- from March 6-13.



Ties between India and Maldives nose-dived after Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen declared emergency on February 5 following an order by the country's Supreme Court to release a group of Opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials.



On February 21, India had reacted strongly over the extension of emergency by a month. The emergency was lifted 45 days later.



The Navy said INS Sumedha would undertake an Operational Turnaround (OTR) at Male from May 11 to 12 during which Navy personnel on board the ship would interact and impart training to Maldives' National Defence Forces (MNDF) personnel.



The Indian Navy said Sumedha would also embark MNDF personnel onboard and undertake joint EEZ surveillance of Maldives from May 12 to 15.



Two officers and eight sailors of the Indian Navy's Marine Commando (MARCO) cadre are currently conducting the second Asymmetric Warfare Training Exercise 'Ekatha 2018' at Maldives, from Apr 28 to May 15.



The exercise is taking place at Composite Training Centre, Maafilhafushi, which is about 145 km north of Male.


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Google is under investigation in Australia following claims that it collects data from millions of Android smartphones users, who unwittingly pay their telecom service providers for gigabytes consumed during the harvesting, regulators said on Tuesday. Responding to the latest privacy concerns surrounding Google, a spokesman for the U.S. based search engine operator said the company has users' permission to collect data. The Australian investigations stem from allegations made by Oracle Corp in a report provided as part of an Australian review into the impact that Google, ...
says it has the right to defend its border against a possible mass breach and accuses Gaza's rulers of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.



is facing a growing backlash and new charges of using excessive force, a day after Israeli troops firing from across a border fence killed 59 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700 at a mass protest in Gaza.

expelled Israel's ambassador, while Ireland and Belgium summoned Israeli envoys. Leading European countries and the UN human rights office called for an investigation of the bloodshed, and the UN Security Council held a moment of silence for the Palestinians killed yesterday as it opened discussions on the Gaza situation.

Israeli troops have claimed lives of at least 60 Palestinians and left more than 2,771 injured on Monday along the Gaza border. Today, Gaza- border was expected to mainly calm, but according to a report in Reuters, an Israeli drone was seen dropping teargas on small crowds gathered at the border. And, according to an AFP report, Palestinians are clashing with Israeli troops in the West Bank.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that massacre of more than 60 people on the Gaza-Israel border reflects the need for a political solution to the ongoing conflict. During UN chiefs visit to the organization's European Union headquarters, Guterres said that the way out of the standoff is "a two state solution allowing Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security together." He further said it was "a terrible tragedy" and said "this only shows how important it is to have a political solution.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said the council needed to speak out against "Every casualty on the border is a victim of Hamas' war crimes, every death is a result of Hamas' terror activity, and these casualties are solely Hamas' responsibility," Danon said in a statement.

Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe), which saw hundreds of thousands flee amid the creation of Israel in 1948 and subsequent displacement of some 700,000 Palestinian refugees.

In light of yesterdays heinous bloodshed, the Palestinians have declared three days of mourning. Funerals of yesterday's casualties took place in Gaza today. Tens of thousands of people attended the funerals of those who were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.

Throughout the day, Gaza protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border.

It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned. In the bloodiest phase in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war, the death toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the Gaza health ministry said.

Just a few miles away from the Gaza-Israel boundary, Israel and the United States held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested

According to Gaza's health ministry, most of the 60 Palestinians who died yesterday along the Gaza strip were mostly shot dead by the Israeli snipers.

The rising number of casualty toll has enticed immense criticism of Israel's use of lethal force against unarmed protesters. China today condemned the border violence in Gaza and urged all parties to exercise restraint on Israel.

Here are the top 10 developments around the escalating toll amid violent protests and clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, which has so far claimed 59 lives of Palestinians:



An Israeli drone dropping tear gas on a Palestinian protest encampment in Sajayia, as seen from the Israeli side of the Gaza border, 80 yards from the fence. Small crowds, for now, but more are expected after the funerals of yesterdays dead. pic.twitter.com/dem20SaEPF  Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) May 15, 2018

The United Nationss permanent representative of Israel, Danny Danon addressed the UN security council on Tuesday over the killing of over 60 Palestinians in Gaza. Danon said, Hamas terrorists are hiding behind civilians during the riots. When it comes to the safety of the Israeli public, too often, the world is silent. The Palestinian leadership is using every ounce of its leadership to attack us and destroy us. Dannon accused Palestinian authorities of killing their own people and playing a public relations game. He also said Palestinians always choose violence.



2. Clashes erupt in West Bank: Palestinians are clashing with Israeli troops in the West Bank a day after deadly clashes killed dozens in the Gaza Strip. Thick black smoke billowed from burning tires as Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas.

About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 were demonstrating in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, The Guardian reported. Palestinians in the West Bank city of Ramallah have marked the 70th anniversary of their mass displacement with a 70-second siren. People stood at attention and traffic stopped in parts of the city Tuesday to mark the moment, though in some areas, the sirens appeared to malfunction and could barely be heard, reported ABC news.





Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip | AP/PTI Photo



3. China, other nations condemn Gaza deaths, urge Israeli restraint: "We condemn the violence against civilians and call upon the two parties, especially Israel, to maintain restraint and avoid escalation of the tension," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference. He stressed that the status of was the reason behind the current tensions and described it as a "highly sensitive issue that involved nationalistic and religious sentiments that should be resolved through dialogue between the two parties".

ALSO READ: China condemns Gaza deaths, urges Israeli restraint

"We support in resuming their legitimate rights and interests," Lu said, expressing Beijing's backing for "the establishment of a state that enjoys full sovereignty and (...) with East Jerusalem as its capital, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang. Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip had accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide" after Israeli forces killed at least 60 Palestinians on the Gaza border.

The Israeli military said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence. South Africa also recalled its ambassador to Israel, condemning "the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack".

4. US blocks call for independent Gaza inquiry at UN: The United States blocked an resolution to investigate the 60 deaths when Israeli troops shot and killed protesters in the Gaza Strip. The United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.





ALSO READ: Palestinians bury dead after bloodiest Gaza day since 2014

5. alarmed over the rising deaths of Gazans: The UNs secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said he was profoundly alarmed by the number of Palestinians killed. There already has been widespread condemnation of Mondays violence and the UN has expressed profound concern about what could happen later today.



I am profoundly alarmed and concerned by the sharp escalation of violence and the number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests. It is imperative that everyone shows the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life.  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) May 15, 2018

South Africa has recalled its ambassador to Israel. has called for Muslim nations to review their ties with Israel.

6. Israels ambassador to the UK defends Israels stand: Israels ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mark Regev, has defended the use of live fire against Palestinians and blamed Hamas for initiating the violence.





7. Netanyahu praises Donald Trump: Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude towards United States President for opening the in Jerusalem. He took to micro-blogging site Twitter to thank Trump for keeping his promises. "Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises. Thank you, President Trump for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever @realDonaldTrump", President Netanyahu tweeted.

8. Muslim countries should examine their ties with Israel, says Turkish PM: According to a report in Reuters, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim on Tuesday said, Muslim countries should review their ties with Israel, reported Haaretz.

9. Israel needs to directly threaten lives of Hamas leaders: According to what Haaretz reported earlier in the day, Israeli Public Defense Minister Gilad Erdan today said, Israel needs to directly threaten the lives of the Hamas chiefs who are causing the bloodshed along the Gaza Strip. Erdan further said he speaks solely for himself, and that it is his position Israel should return to its former policy of preempting Hamas' aggression by assassinating its leaders. According to Erdan, they are the ones causing the grievous harm to Israel and the Gaza Strip.



is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

10. Netanyahu slams over Gaza violence: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu censured the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday after his criticism over Monday's violent clashes. "Erdogan is among the greatest supporters of Hamas and undoubtedly understands terror and massacre. I advise him not to preach about morality."
A 27-year-old Indian-origin man along with two other co-founders of a start-up company have been indicted with a scheme to defraud investors, with authorities seizing digital currency worth more than $60 million raised from victims as part of the scheme.

Sohrab Sharma, Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas were the three co-founders of a start-up company called Centra Tech.

A grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned an indictment, charging the three with conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to induce victims to invest millions of dollars' worth of digital funds for the purchase of unregistered securities, in the form of digital currency tokens issued by Centra.

The three men were arrested last month based on criminal complaints charging them with the same crimes, Attorney for the United States, Robert Khuzami said.

Following their arrests, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized 91,000 Ether units, consisting of digital funds raised from victims as part of the charged scheme. This seized digital currency is presently worth more than $60 million.

"As alleged, the defendants conspired to capitalise on investor interest in the burgeoning market. They allegedly made false claims about their product and about relationships they had with credible financial institutions, even creating a fictitious Centra Tech CEO," Khuzami said.

Sharma, 27, Trapani, 27 and Farkas, 31, are all residents of Florida. All three of them are charged in a four-count indictment that carries a sentence of 65 years in prison in total.

According to allegations in the indictment, in approximately July 2017, the three men began soliciting investors to purchase unregistered securities, in the form of digital tokens issued by Centra Tech, through a so-called "initial coin offering" or "ICO."

As part of this effort, they told potential investors that Centra Tech had formed partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, and to issue Centra cards licensed by or and that Centra Tech had money transmitter and other licenses in 38 states.

Based in part on these claims, the victims provided millions of dollars' worth of digital funds in investments for the purchase of Centra Tech tokens.

In October 2017, at the end of Centra Tech's ICO, those digital funds raised from victims were worth more than $25 million. Due to appreciation in the value of those digital funds raised from victims, those digital funds are presently worth more than $60 million.

However, the representations that the three men made were false. Centra Tech had no such partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, or

In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against the three men.
Copier company Corp. has said it was ending an agreement to combine with Japan's Holdings and is entering a settlement deal with investors and Darwin Deason. opposed the move.

The two had announced earlier this year that Fuji Xerox, their 56-year-old joint venture, would combine with Xerox, with Holdings taking a 50.1 percent stake in the newly formed company, New Fuji The deal was meant to be part of a restructuring that, along with other reforms, would save the an estimated $1.7 billion a year by 2022.

But Norwalk, Connecticut-based said the deal was being terminated because of Fujifilm's failure to negotiate on improved terms.

"Over the past several weeks, the Xerox Board has repeatedly requested that Fujifilm immediately enter into negotiations on improved terms for a proposed transaction. Despite our insistence, Fujifilm provided no assurance that it will do so within an acceptable timeframe," Xerox's former board said in a statement.

In Tokyo, Fujifilm said Monday that Xerox has no right to withdraw from the agreement and urged the company to hold a shareholders' meeting. It was considering legal action seeking damages, it said.

"Fujifilm disputes Xerox's unilateral decision to terminate the transaction," it said in a statement.

"The proposed transaction, including its economic terms, was negotiated at arms' length based on fair valuations and we continue to believe it is the best option designed to allow the stockholders of both to share the enhanced future value of the combined company with Fujifilm. Fujifilm will urge the Xerox board of directors to reconsider their decision."



Xerox's former board said it believes the transaction cannot be completed under the circumstances, citing a court injunction and "the lack of shareholder support for the transaction on current terms." As part of a settlement agreement with Icahn and Deacon, Xerox said it has appointed five new board members and a new CEO, John Visentin. He replaces Jeff Jacobson, who resigned as and as a board member.

Icahn and Deason had opposed Fujifilm's takeover, arguing it undervalued Xerox, and had called for Jacobson's resignation. Both praised Xerox's decision to pull out of the deal.

"We are extremely pleased that Xerox finally terminated the ill-advised scheme to cede control of the company to Fujifilm," Icahn said in a statement.

Deason said, "Xerox is now positioned to conduct a true, robust strategic alternatives process.
Clarifying his predecessor Nawaz Sharif 's recent statement about the Mumbai attacks, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday appealed the opposition members not to put the country's national security in jeopardy for earning brownie points politically.

"I can say with assurance that no one in Parliament has read the newspaper interview of the former premier of which a furore is being created," Geo News quoted Abbasi as saying while speaking in Parliament.

Last week, during an interview with the Dawn, Sharif had stated that "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial?"

"We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan's narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it," he added.

His remarks were immediately picked up by Indian media, which termed the former prime minister's statement as a confession of Pakistan's role in the Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.

It is unacceptable that Nawaz is being branded as a traitor, Abbasi highlighted.

"Party leaders should make statements based on facts," he noted, mentioning nobody needs a certificate of patriotism from anyone.

Pakistan's premier even expressed that Nawaz did not say or imply that the Mumbai attackers were sent from Pakistan deliberately. "However, India created that impression by misreporting the interview.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) announced on Tuesday that officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan finalised a joint action plan on peace, aimed at ensuring peace and stability between the two countries.

The plan, known as the Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS), was agreed following Pakistan Prime Minister's Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's visited to Afghanistan last month.

Abbasi met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and held talks to finalise the APAPPS.

"Six working committees have been formed. An agreement has been reached on issues such as war against terrorism, expansion of bilateral economic cooperation, security cooperation, curbing the scale of violence, the repatriation of refugees, political cooperation and cooperation in the peace process," MoFA deputy spokesman Sibghatullah Ahamdi was quoted by TOLOnews as saying.

"We hope that this time Pakistan acts honestly and acts upon what it has committed to," said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

Political analysts questioned Islamabad's peace approach on Kabul, saying that it is based on "deceit and lies".

On Sunday, an agreement was signed between Afghan and Pakistani officials to resolve problems regarding transit and trade between the two countries. In return, Afghan officials agreed to lift limitations and conditions on quarantine certificates for Afghan goods which are being exported to Pakistan.

On May 3, Pakistan reopened a major trade route with Afghanistan, the Ghulam Khan pass which wasn't functional for four years.

Pakistan also supported Ghani's latest peace initiative to the Taliban militant group, in what was seen as the first possible breakthrough in the thawing of frosty ties between Kabul and Islamabad.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah on Tuesday congratulated the people of Karnataka for making BJP as the single largest party in the state.

He also claimed that Karnataka election will be BJP's 15th consecutive election win.

"I want to congratulate people of Karnataka for giving us support. We have emerged as the single largest party. This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win," Shah said while addressing party workers at BJP Headquarters here.

"In 2019 we will not only form the government under the leadership of Modi Ji but also form a new India in 2022," he added.

As the counting of votes is still on, trends show BJP leading with 106 seats while Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) and other trailing behind with 72, 40 and 2 seats respectively.

Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats, but the elections were held on 222 seats on May 12. A party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government in Karnataka.

It is to be noted that the Congress and JD-S have agreed to forge an alliance to prove the majority.

As the election results have left the assembly in hung, all eyes are set on Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, who will take the crucial decision-- whom to call first to form the government in the state.

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The 30th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday saw representatives of 107 member states taking the floor to praise Bangladesh for the way it has dealt with the Rohingya refugee crisis in terms of supplying aid.

The UNHRC has accepted a draft report from the Bangladesh delegation and said that it will review it and then adopt it on May 17, The Dhaka Tribune has reported.

According to the daily, the Bangladesh delegation was led by Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Anisul Huq and comprised of State Minister of Foreign Affairs M Shahriar Alam, Senior Secretary of Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs Division Mohammad Shahidul Haque, Permanent Represenative to the UN Masud Bin Momen and Ambassador Shameem Ahsan.

Anisul reaffirmed the importance of the cooperation between Bangladesh and various international committees on the rights of women, of migrant workers and the Rohingya refugee crisis, said, "Bangladesh has taken in around a million Rohingya refugees, and is protecting them and preparing them for their return to Myanmar. We are historically dedicated to the fight against genocide and to ensuring justice for victims."

The law minister further noted that there are many hurdles which would need to be overcome to implement all UPR recommendations such as extremism and climate change.

He stressed that the coming years in Bangladesh is extremely crucial in achieving Vision 2021 and Vision 2041 plans by the ruling party which will lead to a society where all people are treated equally with rights and dignity.

Bangladesh was recommended to continue the dialogue with Myanmar to resolve the Rohingya crisis while promoting the rights of the Rohingya people. Almost all the countries reviewing Bangladesh lauded Bangladesh's role in the humanitarian crisis.

Some countries called for Bangladesh to implement International Labour Organisation conventions designed to improve working conditions.

On human trafficking, it was recommended that Bangladesh continue its efforts to combat this practice.

Countries called for Bangladesh to ratify the optional protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on the death penalty, along with establishing a moratorium to abolish the death penalty.

Bangladesh was also recommended to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention. Bangladesh was recommended to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT).

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With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) inching closer towards an emphatic victory in the Karnataka Assembly Elections, holding leads in 112 assembly seat so far in the counting of the votes, BJP workers, on Tuesday, started with their celebrations outside the party office in Bengaluru.

Dismantling the incumbent Congress government will be like another stag-head trophy on the wall for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, as they have usurped several states from the Congress in recent years.

The latest Election Commission of India trends indicate that the BJP has claimed more seats than the Congress or the JD-S, assuring them of triumph in this crucial elections, which comes in the build-up to the all-important 2019 general elections.

Revelling in the landslide victory, BJP workers were seen parading with flags and raising 'Bharat Mata ki Jai!' slogans outside the party's Bengaluru office, with forming an independent government in the state all but confirmed for the most dominant political party in India's history.

Party workers in New Delhi also joined in the celebrations with flags, banners, and gulaal.

Apart from near-sealing their triumph in next year's Lok Sabha Elections, victory in Karnataka will also open the doors for the BJP to vie for authority in other Southern states as well.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. for 221 out of 224 assembly constituencies in 58,546 polling stations in the state. The elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru have been postponed earlier.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates were in the fray for the Assembly Elections this year.

The BJP fielded 223 candidates, while the Congress and the JDS fielded 222 and 201 candidates respectively.

Out of the 224 seats, 36 of them are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), while 15 of them are for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

It may be noted that a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.

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The Director General (DG) of Border Security Force (BSF) KK Sharma on Tuesday said that the infiltration bid, attempted by the terrorists on May 14 in the Mangu Chak area of Jammu district, was foiled.

A Border Security Force soldier lost his life in a cross-border firing along the International Boundary (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district on the intervening night of May 14 and 15, because of this infiltration bid.

"A BSF trooper was martyred yesterday," said KK Sharma.

"Few days ago, some terrorists might have crossed into India through a tunnel. Five militants were seen through High Sensitive Thermal Imaging (HSTI). Many terrorists waiting at launching pads in Pakistan to infiltrate into India," added Sharma.

The firing began when troopers of Manguchack post, 173 Battalion BSF, noticed suspicious movements ahead of a fence, closer to IB, and fired few illumination rounds to clear visibility.

The firing was immediately retaliated from where the movement was suspected.

The BSF troopers from nearby mounds further retaliated by firing.

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She came, posed, kicked off her Christian Louboutin heels and made a political statement at the Cannes Film Festival.

Keeping up with her rebel attitude, Kristen Stewart, who was attending the premiere of 'BlackKkKlansman,' marched up the steps in her bare feet to revolt against Cannes' high-heels-only rule.

The 'Twillight' star, however, was applauded by the Twitterverse for her act of rebellion.

"A moment when #KristenStewart is all women/men/people who grow sick of high heels. Yes. This. Totally," wrote one user.

Another user tweeted, "Hooray for #KristenStewart taking off her high heels at Cannes, what a ludicrous rule! What is this the Dark Ages? Bravo!"

The 28-year-old has been a vocal critic of the red carpet's policy.

Last year, during a roundtable conversation at the event, Stewart had reportedly said, "Things have to change immediately. It's just like you simply cannot ask me to do something that you are not asking him [to do]. I get the black-tie thing but you should be able to do either version-flats or heels.

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The death toll in the recent clashes between the Israel and Palestine at the Gaza Strip has risen to 62.

Turkey's Anadolu news agency quoted Palestinian Health ministry as saying that there was an incident of gunfire during the anti-occupation rallies.

Unidentified Palestinians were killed when Israeli soldiers opened fire at the eastern border of al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, as claimed by Ashraf al-Qidra, the ministry's spokesman.

The deceased include 8 minors and a toddler who died due to inhalation of tear gas.

A large number of Palestinians has gathered to protest on the Gaza Strip's eastern border to commemorate the Nakba anniversary and protest the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Following the violent clashes, Turkey recalled its ambassador from Israel and the U.S. for consultations, South Africa also recalled its envoy from Israel.

Earlier in the day, the United Nations had called for an emergency meeting to discuss the outcome of the ongoing Gaza border protests.

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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate alleged assault and physical torture on several prisoners lodged in the high-risk ward of Tihar jail.

The court had earlier indicated that it might direct lodging of FIR against the prison officials, who had allegedly subjected several prisoners to severe physical torture at the Tihar Jail.

The court today clearly said that an act does not decriminalize if it is done by a person in uniform.

The court was hearing a PIL which alleged that prisoner Shahid Husuf, currently being investigated by the Investigation Agency (NIA) and undergoing trial, was beaten up without any reason by the Tihar Jail staff.

So, the court directed the authorities to ensure safety and security of the jail inmates.

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Hollywood lost a notable actor earlier in the week and people are mourning the loss.

Film and television actor Margot Kidder, best known as 'Lois Lane' for essaying the role in 1978's 'Superman', died at the age of 69 on Sunday.

A number of celebrities took to Twitter to pay homage to the late actress.

Co-creator of several Marvel characters, Brian Michael Bendis, remembered the actor and wrote, "I rewatched all the superman the movie extras when we were prepping on powers and Margot Kidder's audition is a perfect moment for the perfect actor. Superman footage - The casting of Lois Lane @YouTube".

The official handle of DC Comics tweeted, "Thank you for being the Lois Lane so many of us grew up with. RIP, Margot Kidder."

'A Fistful of Fingers' director Edgar Wright posted, "Sad to hear of the passing of Margot Kidder. A spark of vivacious life in all of her films. I loved her in cult horrors 'Sisters' and 'Black Christmas'. And of course she remains the best Lois Lane in the magical 'Superman' & 'Superman II'. RIP to a unique screen presence."

Chief Strategist for Barack Obama's presidential campaigns, David Axelrod, wrote, "Margot Kidder should be remembered as much for courageously, candidly discussing her battles with mental illness as for any screen role. There are no Supermen- or women. It is not a character deficiency to acknowledge such struggles and get the help and treatment you need! RIP".

American actor, Clark Gregg, wrote, "#MargotKidder was incredible in the Superman movies. The Lois Lane she created had so much strength, humor and vulnerability that she became as much a part of what made the movie work as the wonderful Chris Reeve, Gene Hackman and others. #ripmargotkidder."

Renowned author Mark Millar wrote, "My Lois Lane has passed away. RIP Margot Kidder. Thank you for my favourite movie ever."

American actor Elijah Wood tweeted, "oh no, Margot Kidder."

American actor Mark Hamill posted, "On-screen she was magic. Off-screen she was one of the kindest, sweetest, most caring woman I've ever known. I'll miss you #MargoKidder. Your legacy will live on forever."

American actress Christy Carlson Romano wrote, "So sad to hear about the death of icon #MargotKidder we spoke at a comic con when I was a couple months pregnant about motherhood. She was a lovely and fierce gal. #RIP."

The veteran actress was known for her iconic role in the superhero movie, along with her iconic roles in 'The Great Waldo Pepper' and 'Some Kind of Hero'.

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Suspected terrorists on Tuesday fired upon a police vehicle, killing a Special Police Officer (SPO) at Pazalpora Arwani area of Bijbehara town in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district.

SPO Bilal Ahmad, who was initially injured in the attack, later succumbed to his injuries.

Further details are awaited.

In a similar incident, a police personnel, Shamim Ahmad died on Friday after he was shot by the terrorists in Budgam.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday hailed the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) majority in the Karnataka polls as an extraordinary and massive victory.

The Prime Minister thanked the people of Karnataka for their support and also lauded the efforts of the party workers.

"In Karnataka, the way the workers have worked, I want to thank them. Our president Amit Shah worked so hard. In the bright future of Karnataka, the BJP will not be far behind, I assure the people of Karnataka," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while addressing the party workers here.

He further attacked the Congress party and said it is trying to come to power in the state by forming an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular), despite facing rejection.

The Prime Minister further said that by rejecting the mandate of the people, the party is hurting India's Constitution for its political interests.

"No one could have imagined that in this election, Congress would do an act to hurt India's Constitution only for its political interests," he said.

The Prime Minister also said that the Karnataka elections are proof that the BJP is not a party for only Hindi speaking states.

"They said the BJP is a party of Hindi speaking states. Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the northeastern states of Hindi speaking states? No, BJP represents India and our proud diversity," Prime Minister Modi said.

Both, JD(S) and the BJP have taken appointment from the Governor of Karnataka to discuss the possibility to come to power in the state.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah has submitted his resignation from his post of the chief minister.

The Congress party has agreed to join hands with JD(S) to form the next government in Karnataka.

This new political development emerged after the numbers of the BJP started to drop from 115, which was a majority number.

But at the time of filing this report, the BJP was leading on 108 seats, Congress on 78, JD (S) on 38, Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party on one seat, and Independent on one seat.

Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party over Karnataka Assembly election results, which show the party cruising to victory.

Taking to Twitter, Banerjee said also said that had there been an alliance between the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) then the results would have been different.

"Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," Banerjee said.

The BJP is inching closer towards forming the next government in Karnataka, as it has taken a significant lead so far.

At the time of filing this report, the BJP was leading in 111 constituencies, while the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were leading in 65 and 38 seats respectively, thus implying that the saffron party could emerge as the single largest party in the state.

Among the chief ministerial candidates of the three parties, BJP's Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 21,140 votes, while JD (S)'s H.D. Kumaraswamy is leading by a margin of 13,761 in Ramanagara and 12,347 in Channapatna.

Meanwhile, incumbent Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading in Badami by 2,726 votes, while he is trailing in Chamundeshwari by 24,072 votes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States First Lady Melania Trump's operation for a "benign" kidney condition was completed successfully on Monday.

As per a White House official statement, Melania Trump underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition.

The statement further informed that the operation was successful.

"The procedure was successful and there were no complications. Mrs. Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will likely remain there for the duration of the week," the statement read.

Further, it has been reported that the Melania wishes to recover fully as she wants to focus her work for the children as part of 'Be Best' initiative.

Later, United States President Donald Trump took to his Twitter account to inform that he will be visiting Melania in the hospital.

"Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!," Trump tweets.

New York Times quotes Johns Hopkins Patients' Guide to Kidney Cancer describing an arterial embolization as a procedure in which a special sponge-like material is placed into an artery that supplies blood to the kidney. A thin tube catheter is inserted into a vessel in the leg and into the main vessel feeding the kidney.

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Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has faced backlash from the country's senators for his recent statement about the Mumbai attacks.

Sharif in an interview with the Dawn newspaper had said last week, "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial?"

It is being seen as an admission of Pakistan's involvement in the terrorist attacks in 2008.

Branding Nawaz Sharif's remark as an "irresponsible", senators demanded that he apologise to the nation and retract his statement, Dawn reported.

Some of the senators even demanded that Nawaz Sharif be tried for high treason; that his name be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL), and a thorough investigation to determine the reasons behind the statement made by a thrice-elected prime minister.

According to report, several senators belonging to the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl - an ally of the ruling PML-N -also castigated Sharif's remark, underscoring he had endorsed the "enemy's" narrative. Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri also tabled an investigation to figure out as to why the former PM had resorted to make such a statement.

In a new twist, Sharif reportedly told Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi that he did not make comments on Pakistan's role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and said he was "misquoted".

"The statements attributed to Sharif are factually incorrect and are being presented in a wrong light by the Indian media. He told me that he has not made such comments and his words have been misrepresented and taken out of context," Abbasi was quoted by Pakistan's Daily Times, as saying.

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Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude towards United States President Donald Trump for opening the US embassy in Jerusalem.

He took to micro-blogging site Twitter to thank Trump for keeping his promises.

"Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises. Thank you, President Trump for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever @realDonaldTrump", President Netanyahu tweeted.

Earlier on Monday, the US officially opened its brand new embassy in Jerusalem's Arnona area, amid the violent clashes in Gaza, which claimed over 50 lives.

US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin formally began the ceremony by unveiling a US seal, officially marking the shifting of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The moment was watched by Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and his and son-in-law Jared Kushner, as reported by CNN.

Jerusalem is often disregarded as the official capital of Israel by other countries. On December 6 last year, President Trump announced to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's official capital.

Trump's decision was criticised by Palestinians who had rejected Washington D.C's involvement in brokering a resolution to the age-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Jerusalem is a disputed territory, contested by both Israel and Palestine, which sees it as a capital of its future state.

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As the Bhartatiya Janata Party (BJP)?looks set to win the Karnataka assembly elections 2018, Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday said that no concrete decision can be taken until the end of the counting.

He said, "The correct position will only be known after final result. Whether it will be a single-party government or a coalition government will only be known after the result,"

When asked about coalition with the Janata Dal (Secular), Kharge told ANI that the party is discussing the matter and that the final decision will depend on the party high command.

Responding to his son Priyank Kharge, who is leading from his constituency in Chittapur with a margin of 6819 votes, Kharge said, "It is not good to be happy with initial trends, Priyank is doing good, but there will be more to come,"

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. for 222 out of 224 assembly constituencies in 58,546 polling stations in the state. The elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru have been postponed earlier.

As per Election Commission (EC) data, the BJP is leading in 111 constituencies, while the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) are leading in 65 and 38 seats respectively, thus implying that the saffron party could emerge as the single largest party in the state.

Among the chief ministerial candidates of the three parties, BJP's Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 21,140 votes, while JD (S)'s H.D. Kumaraswamy is leading by a margin of 13,761 in Ramanagara and 12,347 in Channapatna.

Meanwhile, incumbent Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading in Badami by 2,726 votes, while he is trailing in Chamundeshwari by 24,072 votes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
North Korea has recently canceled the high-level talks with South Korea due to latter's ongoing military drills with the United States.

As reported by the North's Korean Central News Agency on Wednesday, military drills called 'Max Thunder' are taking place between the US and South Korea air forces.

The high-level talks were meant to take place on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom to follow-up on the Kim Jong Un and South Korea's President Moon Jae-in summit last month.

With this move, now the future of the international forum - The peace and future for the Korean Peninsula - also lies in uncertainty.

North Korea had earlier agreed to send two of its diplomats to South Korea's unification ministry to attend the forum hosted by South Korea.

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Former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday expressed his feelings over the Bharatiya Janata Party's stupendous poll performance in Karnataka by imitating historic Roman leader Julius Caesar.

The former chief minister only tweeted three words, "Et tu #Karnataka."

In Shakespeare's famous play, Caesar was killed by friend Brutus and his co-conspirators.

Shocked at his friend's betrayal, Caesar's last words were, "Et tu, Brute?", which means, "Even you, Brutus?"

Another interesting thing is that Omar correlated Caesar's assassination date with the date of Karnataka election results. Caesar was killed on March 15 and the Karnataka election results have been declared today i.e May 15.

The BJP is inching closer towards forming the next government in Karnataka, as it has taken a significant lead so far.

At the time of filing this report, the BJP was leading in 111 constituencies, while the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were leading in 65 and 38 seats respectively, thus implying that the saffron party could emerge as the single largest party in the state.

Janata Dal (Secular) were leading in 65 and 38 seats respectively, thus implying that the saffron party could emerge as the single largest party in the state.

Among the chief ministerial candidates of the three parties, BJP's Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 21,140 votes, while JD (S)'s H.D. Kumaraswamy is leading by a margin of 13,761 in Ramanagara and 12,347 in Channapatna.

Meanwhile, incumbent Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading in Badami by 2,726 votes, while he is trailing in Chamundeshwari by 24,072 votes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
OnePlus, the leading premium Android smartphone maker, on Tuesday announced a host of interesting offers in the run up to the launch of the OnePlus 6. The much-awaited OnePlus 6 is all set to be revealed on 17th May at Mumbai's NSCI Dome.

On the purchase of OnePlus 6, customers can avail a discount of Rs 2,000 on SBI Credit and Debit card transactions during the first week.

They will also be eligible to avail No Cost EMI for upto three months on all popular banks.

In addition to this, all OnePlus 6 customers will be eligible for the following benefits:

- Complimentary 12-month accidental damage insurance by Servify

- Rs 2,000 cash back and device insurance for Idea subscribers

- Gift card worth Rs 250 for all Amazon Prime Video consumers and discounts up to Rs 500 on Amazon Kindle

- Benefits up to Rs 25,000 on flight and hotel bookings from ClearTrip

OnePlus has also provided fans with the chance to pre-book the OnePlus 6 on Amazon.in with added benefits, prior to its official launch in India.

OnePlus had partnered with Amazon.in for a 'Fast AF' sale, between 13-16 May, wherein customers can buy a Gift Card worth Rs 1,000 to be used to buy the OnePlus 6 between 21 and 22 May 2018 and get Amazon Pay Balance worth Rs 1,000 in addition to aforementioned offers.

The company will also be hosting pop-up events across eight Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad between 21-22 May 2018.

Fans will be able to experience and purchase the powerful and stylish OnePlus 6 at these pop-up stores over two days, on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Across the globe pop-ups will be held in New York, London, Paris, Milan and Beijing.

The OnePlus 6 will be available for purchase on OnePlus.in, Amazon.in, OnePlus Experience store as well as all other OnePlus offline sales channels.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday expressed happiness and thanked the people of Karnataka for making the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the single largest party in the state.

Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter and said, "I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP's development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party."

Meanwhile, BJP president Amit Shah also took to social media and said the mandate shows that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic and divisive casteism.

Shah took to Twitter saying, "I thank people of Karnataka for voting BJP as the single largest party. This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic and divisive casteism."

"I congratulate each and every Karyakarta of @BJP4Karnataka unit and Shri B S Yeddyurappa ji for their relentless efforts. Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown their unwavering trust in PM @narendramodi's clean, transparent and pro-development governance," Shah said in another tweet.

Earlier in the day, both Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) and the BJP have taken appointment from the Governor of Karnataka to discuss the possibility to come to power in the state.

Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has submitted his resignation from his post of the chief minister.

The Congress party has agreed to join hands with JD(S) to form the next government in Karnataka.

This new political development emerged after the numbers of the BJP started to drop from 115, which was a majority number.

Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Calling it unfortunate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the violence that broke out during West Bengal panchayat elections on Tuesday was a murder of democracy.

Addressing the media party workers at BJP headquarters here, Prime Minister Modi said, "There is one more thing I want to talk about...the scenes from the Panchayat Elections in West Bengal. It was nothing but a murder of democracy. From the nomination stage to the day of polling, where was the spirit of democracy? People were bullied."

The Prime Minister further said that the people were not allowed to file nominations in the elections.

"People were disallowed to file nominations also. It is not only BJP people who suffered. People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered. This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate," he added.

He further said, "It is not about who wins polls....all those who are democratic-minded, including friends in civil society, they must come together to strengthen the democratic spirit. We cannot see things only in partisan terms."

The panchayat elections in West Bengal saw huge-scale clashes on Monday between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMc) workers, resulting in the death of at least 12 people.

The Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and other parties of the Left Front also staged a protest outside State Election Commission in Kolkata against the incidents of violence.

The voting took place for 621 zilla parishads, over six thousand panchayat samitis, and nearly 31 thousand gram panchayats.

The counting of votes will take place on May 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Russia on May 21 for an informal summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the city of Sochi.

The two leaders will discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters.

This will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) read.

The statement further added this informal summit in Sochi between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin is in keeping with the tradition of regular consultations between India and Russia at the highest levels.

According to the statement, the summit is taking place at the invitation of Putin.

"There are plans to discuss key issues developing Russian-Indian very privileged strategic partnership and also to exchange views on vital issues of the international and regional agenda," the Russian news agency TASS reported citing, the Kremlin press service, as saying in a statement.

This will be the first meeting between Putin and Modi this year, however, since the beginning of the year, the two leaders have had several phone conversations.

This comes barely a month after when Prime Minister Modi attended a two-day informal summit along with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city.

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As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heads towards a possible victory in the Karnataka Assembly Elections, party's general secretary Ram Madhav on Tuesday accredited the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cadres for enormously helping the party in Karnataka.

Speaking to ANI, Madhav said, "I would give credit to Karnataka's leadership and cadres right from Yeddyurappa down to party cadres especially to the parivaar. The Sangh parivaar cadres have helped us enormously. When I analysed certain regions, we realized that in coastal Karnataka we completely swept off the region."

Counting of votes for the election is presently underway, and as per the data by Election Commission, the BJP has won four and is leading in 104 seats, while Congress follows second with victory on one seat and lead on 69 seats.

Madhav expressed foremost gratitude to the people of Karnataka giving a decisive mandate in BJP's favour.

He also accredited the leading trends to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah who campaigned extensively across the state.

"Prime Minister's hard work played off. About Amit Shah, everyone knows he is a master craftsman when it comes to election strategy and he has burnt a lot of midnight oil there," Madhav said.

Taking a jibe at the Congress party that may lose another state to the BJP, Madhav said, "Let Congress and Rahul Gandhi do some serious introspection but unfortunately they never do that."

BJP is viewing Karnataka elections as a gateway into the South, and if Karnataka comes in its kitty, the party will have state governments in 22 states.

Since the 2014 general elections, the Congress party has been defeated by the BJP in over a dozen states, drastically shrinking its political footprint.

Counting of votes began at 8 a.m. for 222 out of 224 assembly constituencies in 58,546 polling stations in the state. The elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru have been postponed earlier.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates were in the fray for the Assembly Elections this year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fielded 223 candidates, while the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) fielded 222 and 201 candidates respectively.

Out of the 224 seats, 36 of them are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs), while 15 of them are for Scheduled Tribes (STs).

It may be noted that a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.

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Russia has criticised the inauguration of United States embassy in Israel's Jerusalem, which resulted in the deadly clashes on Gaza strip on Monday.

As reported by Russian news agency TASS on Monday, Russia's Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov took upon the US to reverse its position on the international agreements.

Lavrov, in a press conference, said, "We are confident that agreements enshrined in the global community's decisions should be unilaterally revised in such a way."

He further said the Israel-Palestine issues can only be resolved via direct dialogue between the leaders of the two conflicting groups.

"As you know, Russia has many times suggested hosting a platform for such a dialogue. Our proposal is still on the table," Lavrov said.

The status of Jerusalem is one of the key issues concerning the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Yesterday, in the presence of a US delegation, including Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, a brand new US embassy was inaugurated at Jerusalem's Arnona area.

Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his gratitude towards United States President Donald Trump for the same.

Post the opening of the embassy, violent clashes erupted between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers at the Gaza Strip, resulting in the killing of over 50 agitators.

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Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the National Security Committee's (NSC) stance on his remarks related to the 26/11 terror attacks on Mumbai was regrettable and painful.

Addressing media a day after the NSC meeting at the Prime Minister's House, said that the statement coming from the NSC was in complete contrast to the stance taken by leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), including Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

"I reject NSC's May 14 statement as it is based on misperception. I am not an ordinary citizen but a three-time prime minister elected by the people of Pakistan, hence, I am privy to realities," Sharif was quoted by the Express Tribune, as saying.

He further asked, "What have we turned this country into? Who introduced terrorism to this beautiful country?"

On the formation of a national commission, Sharif asked, "Who led Pakistan towards isolation and has brought the country to a stage where the international community is not ready to accept Pakistan's narrative. The national commission should be tasked to find the cause of these issues."

It may be recalled that on May 12, during an interview with the Dawn, Sharif had stated that "Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can't we complete the trial?"

"We have isolated ourselves. Despite giving sacrifices, our narrative is not being accepted. Afghanistan's narrative is being accepted, but ours is not. We must look into it," he added.

His remarks were immediately picked up by Indian media, which termed the former prime minister's statement as a confession of Pakistan's role in the Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead.

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A county in China's south-west Sichuan Province has imposed a ban on Indian monks teaching Buddhism on grounds that it could breed separatism.

According to a report in the Global Times, authorities in Litang County have accused some Indian-origin monks of teaching Buddhism incorrectly to residents.

The Global Times quoted a ethnic and religious affairs bureau official in the county, as saying that Litang County stages patriotic education classes annually for those educated and awarded Gexe Lharampa - the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhist studies.

He revealed that those behaving improperly at these patriotic classes or showing "any signs of separatist intent" were being strictly monitored and banned from teaching Buddhism to the public.

China has its own criteria to award Gexe Lharampa, and candidates have to pass Chinese Buddhist tests and a sutra debate. Those awarded the degree overseas are not acknowledged by China and are not qualified to teach Buddhism in the country, the Global Times quoted Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, as saying.

Some 105 monks in Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region have been awarded the Chinese Buddhist version of the degree since 2004, Xinhua has reported.

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A Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday pronounced seven years imprisonment to 18 convicts in connection with 2007 Wagamon SIMI camp case.

The court also pronounced a penalty of Rs 25,000.

Earlier on Monday, the Investigation Agency (NIA) court in Kochi convicted 18 of the 35 people accused of organising a secret camp of the banned Islamic Students Federation of India (SIMI) in Kerala's Wagamon.

The rest of the accused facing trial were acquitted.

A case was registered on the basis of a complaint that a secret training camp was organised allegedly by the SIMI at Thangalpara, Wagamon in the state during December 2007.

The agency later alleged that the SIMI cadres were involved in physical and arms training, firing practices, motorbike racing and rope climbing practices in the camp.

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Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) on Tuesday conducted searches at the Kiev office of Russian news agency RIA Novosti.

Chief of the news agency's office Kirill Vyshinsky was detained, reported the Russian news agency TASS, citing a spokesperson for the SBU Elena Gitlyanskaya, as saying, in a statement.

According to the report, the SBU issued a statement announcing that "a network of media structures, which Moscow used for carrying out a hybrid war" against Kiev has been uncovered.

The move has drawn a response from Russia, with President Vladimir Putin's spokesman saying journalist Kirill Vyshinky's detention was "disgraceful and scandalous" if it was related to his work, according to several media reports.

"Tit-for-tat measures [after the detention of a staff member of Russian news agency in Kiev] will be certainly taken, but to say something more particularly we need to first get more detailed information," acting Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.

Kyiv has prohibited over a dozen Russian television channels since 2014, accusing them of spreading propaganda.

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An American diplomat, who was involved in a fatal car crash in Pakistan, has left the country, Geo News quoted the United States Embassy, as saying.

Colonel Joseph Emanuel Hall, the Defence and Air Attache at the US Embassy, was reportedly flown out of Pakistan from the Nur Khan Airbase in a special aircraft.

Colonel hall left the country after the United States refused to withdraw his diplomatic immunity. However, an Islamabad court had ruled earlier that Col Hall's diplomatic immunity did not protect him in the case, as per media reports.

The local police had handed over all records related to Colonel Hall to the US officials, the report said.

On Saturday, the authorities in Pakistan prevented the Colonel Hall, from flying out of the country. A U.S. Air Force C130 had landed at Pakistan's Nur Khan air base to bring Hall back to the United States but was forced to leave without him, according to Pakistani media.

Last month, Colonel Hall, ran down three persons in Daman-e-Koh, north of Islamabad.

He was reportedly sloshed while driving the white Land Cruiser that hit three motorcyclists at a traffic signal.

One of the riders was killed in the incident, while the other two were wounded critically.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As violence were reported in a number of places during panchayat polls in West Bengal, which was held on May 14, re-polling will be held in 568 booths across various districts tomorrow.

This development came after a number of candidates who were contesting the panchayat polls met State Election Commission, demanding re-polling in their booths.

The panchayat elections in West Bengal saw huge-scale clashes on Monday between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMc) workers, resulting in the death of at least 12 people.

The Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and other parties of the Left Front also staged a protest outside State Election Commission in Kolkata against the incidents of violence.

Taking note of the incident, the Ministry of Home Affairs also sought a report from the state government regarding incidents of violence during Panchayat Election in the state.

The voting took place for 621 zilla parishads, over six thousand panchayat samitis, and nearly 31 thousand gram panchayats.

The counting of votes will be held on May 17.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Net profit of Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 14.20% to Rs 1351 crore on 11.15% rise in net sales to Rs 9003 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

IT major Wipro will be watched. Wipro Gallagher Solutions (WGS), a Wipro company and a leading provider of loan origination software solutions, and Precision Risk Management Systems, Inc. (PRMS), a leading provider of performance management solutions, announced that they have partnered to deliver advanced mortgage business intelligence (BI) and customer experience management solutions to mortgage lenders. As a part of this alliance, Wipro will offer its clients a powerful set of dashboard-driven performance management tools, including enterprise reporting, intuitive metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPI) that focus on identifying potential problems before they progress in efforts to prevent business losses for lenders. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing Company reported net profit of Rs 10.95 crore Q4 March 2018 compared with net loss of Rs 62.53 crore in Q4 March 2017. Net sales rose 43.97% to Rs 757.76 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

Net profit of Honeywell Automation rose 167.02% to Rs 58.37 crore on 8% rise in net sales to Rs 639.76 crore in Q4 March 2018 over Q4 March 2017. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

Allahabad Bank said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed restrictions on its lending to risky assets and raising high-cost deposits in view of deteriorating financial health. RBI has asked Allahabad Bank to restrict expansion of RWA (risk-weighted assets); to reduce exposure to unrated and high-risk advances; to restrict creation of non-banking assets; (and) to restrict accessing/renewing wholesale/costly deposits. The Kolkata-based bank said its board meeting on 11 May took note of the restrictions. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

Kaveri Seed Company said that a meeting of the board of directors will be held on 24 May 2018, to consider a proposal for buyback of equity shares of the company. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 14 May 2018.

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Aluminium major & Navratna CPSE National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed MoU with the Ministry of Mines, Govt. of India, setting highest ever target of Rs 9350 crore revenue from operations for FY 2018-19 which is 15% higher than last year. The MoU was signed between Shri Anil Gopishankar Mukim, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, GoI and Dr. Tapan Kumar Chand, CMD, NALCO. Shri Mukim, Secretary, Mines complimented NALCO management for the excellent performance of the company, high standard of Corporate Governance in 2017-18 and robust business plans for 2018-19.

The MoU has been formulated as per Department of Public Enterprise guidelines and finalized after discussions with both Inter-Ministerial Committee as well as Ministry of Mines.

The MoU has also set a target of 2.1 million tons for production of Alumina with 100% capacity utilisation & an optimum Aluminium production target of 4.15 lakh tonnes. It sets a target of reduction in net carbon consumption as part of improvement in production efficiency, apart from giving thrust to commercialisation of new R&D products.

The Company has set a challenging CAPEX target of Rs.1100 crore for the year 2018-19. The expenses will be incurred in several projects like the 1 million tonne 5th stream of Refinery, Utkal-D&E coal blocks, wind power projects, JV projects and modernization & up- gradation of plant equipments. In yet another strategic move on the human resource front, target is also set for assessment of employees through People Capability Maturity Model (PCMM) and implementation of online human resource management system. The targets will enable the company to synchronize its workforce and skill set in line with the new corporate plan.

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With an aim to improve the performance of Power Sector in Bihar, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Government of Bihar (GoB) and NTPC Limited.

The MoU envisages transfer of Barauni Thermal Power Station (720 MW) to NTPC. In addition to this, Bihar State Power Generation Company's (BSPGCL) equities in Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUN) & Nabinagar Power Generating Company (Pvt.) Limited (NPGC) will also be transferred to NTPC.

All the three power generation facilities are envisaged to be transferred to NTPC from the effective date to be notified by Government of Bihar through a Statutory Transfer Scheme. The transfer of these power stations to NTPC will result in their optimal & efficient utilization, bring the tariff down and benefit the people of Bihar at large.

Power from all the three power station shall be available to State of Bihar as before after approval by the Ministry of Power, Government of India.

Background:

NTPC, a Maharatna Company under Ministry of Power, Govt. of India is the largest power generating company of India with a total installed capacity of 53651 MW (including JVs) from coal, gas, hydro, solar and wind power projects. NTPC is on an accelerated growth trajectory to meet this long-term targets and currently has 21,071 MW capacity under construction. Company has two operational coal mines. NTPC in the past has demonstrated strong capability in turning around under-performing state owned power stations.

Barauni Thermal Power Station (720 MW) which is located at Begusarai district in Bihar.

The Plant comprise of Stage-I (2x110 MW) (under advance stages of R&M) and Stage-II (2x250 MW) (under construction). NTPC with its expertise in construction of power projects and contract management capabilities is expected to complete the balance works and achieve sustained commercial operation of units in a time bound manner.

Nabinagar Power Generating Company (Pvt) Limited is a 50:50 Joint Venture Company of NTPC Limited and Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL). The Company is developing a 1980 MW (3x660 MW) Nabinagar Super Thermal Power Project in district Aurangabad, Bihar. The project is currently under-construction.

Kanti Bijli Utpadan Nigam Limited (KBUNL) is a subsidiary company of NTPC Limited in Joint Venture with Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL). Currently NTPC and BSPGCL owns 72.64%and 27.36% equity holding in KBUNL respectively. KBUNL owns and operates Muzaffarpur Thermal Power Station (MTPS) (2x110 MW+ 2x195 MW) situated at Kanti, District Muzaffarpur in the State of Bihar. Plant is under operation.

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At least six Afghan security forces and eight Taliban militants were killed on Tuesday after heavy fighting broke out in the country's Farah city.

Taliban militants launched a major offensive at around 2.40 a.m. from northern and western neighbourhood of Farah, in a coordinated effort to seize full control of the city, an official told Xinhua news agency.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said that a counter-offensive operation was ongoing and the security forces were trying to bring the situation under control.

"There is no fear of collapsing of the city to the hands of the insurgents," Danish said.

However, another official said that "the Taliban captured several security checkpoints inside and around the city.

"The situation is tense. Most people are staying indoors. The streets are deserted. Gunfight, airstrikes and explosions are taking place around the city," he said.

Several security personnel, including provincial Deputy Police Chief Abdul Razaq, were injured during the fighting.

--IANS

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At least 16 persons have been killed and another four are trapped under rubble after a spam of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi -- the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said on Tuesday.

The mishap took place in front of the local Cantt railway station. Two dozen persons have been injured in the incident, a police official said.

Many cars have been buried under the heap of rubble, district officials said, adding that the death toll could go up once the operation to clear the debris is completed.

The flyover was being constructed by the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar informed that seven NDRF teams comprising 325 men have been deployed at the mishap site. "16 dead bodies have been recovered so far and three persons have been pulled out alive from under the debris," he told IANS, adding adding that three-four people could still be trapped.

Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh government has constituted a three-member committee comprising Agriculture Production Commissioner (APC) Raj Pratap Singh, Irrigation Chief Engineer Bhupendra Sharma and Rajesh Mittal, the Managing Director of UP Jal Nigam, to probe the incident and submit a report within the next 48-hours.

The team has been asked to immediately leave for Varanasi and hold investigations.

Varanasi District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra said for now their prime focus is on rescue and relief work.

Work on the flyover between Chauka Ghat bus stand and Lahartara had been initiated during the regime of the Samajwadi Party (SP).

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has mourned the loss of lives in the mishap and directed officials to ensure prompt rescue and relief, a state government spokesman informed.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has already left for the site of mishap, he said.

A compensation of Rs 5 lakh each has been announced for the families of dead and Rs 2 lakh for those critically injured in the mishap.

--IANS

md/nir

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At least 18 persons were killed when a section of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said on Tuesday.

Two dozen persons were injured in the tragedy near the Cantonment railway station here. The flyover was being constructed by the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation.

Many cars were buried under the collapsed structure, district officials said, adding that the death toll could go up once the debris was cleared.

Three persons were pulled alive out of the crashed structure. Two persons admitted at a medical facility were said to be in a critical condition, an official spokesman told IANS.

A crane belonging to the National Highways Authority of India pulled out all vehicles that were crushed under the collapsed flyover portion.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath would reach Varanasi late in the night to take stock of the situation, the official said.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said that seven NDRF teams comprising 325 rescuers have been deployed at the spot to carry out rescue.

"Sixteen bodies have been recovered so far. Three persons have been pulled out alive from under the debris," he told IANS earlier, adding that three-four people could still be trapped.

The Uttar Pradesh government constituted a three-member committee of Agriculture Production Commissioner Raj Pratap Singh, Irrigation Department Chief Engineer Bhupendra Sharma and Jal Nigam Managing Director Rajesh Mittal to probe the collapse and submit a report within 48 hours.

The team had been asked to immediately leave for Varanasi and hold investigations.

Varanasi District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra said their prime focus for now was on rescue and relief.

Work on the flyover between Chauka Ghat bus stand and Lahartara had been initiated during the Samajwadi Party rule.

The Chief Minister mourned the loss of lives and directed officials to ensure prompt rescue and relief, a state government spokesman said.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya has already left for the spot.

A compensation of Rs 5 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 2 lakh for critically injured.

--IANS

md/tsb/nir

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A 70-year-old Chinese mountaineer who lost both legs to frostbite while attempting to climb Mount Everest four decades ago has successfully climbed the mountain in his fifth attempt.

Xia Boyu, 70, reached the top of the world's highest peak at 8.40 a.m. on Monday, becoming the first double leg amputee to accomplish the feat from the Nepal side, said Tourism Ministry official Gyanendra Shrestha from Everest Base Camp, the Kathmandu Post reported on Tuesday.

More than 50 other climbers also succeeded in scaling the summit, said the official.

The same day Steve Plain, an Australian, also reached the Everest, setting a speed record for climbing the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents.

Xia was part of a 20-man Chinese Everest expedition mission that tried to scale the 8,848 metre peak in 1975. However, about 200 metre from the top the climbers were forced to turn back due to high-altitude storms.

That time Xia suffered severe frostbite and lost both his legs. He returned to Mount Everest in 2014, but an avalanche killed 16 Nepali high-altitude guides that time, forcing the expedition to call off its summit bid.

He was back in 2015, but again the climbing season was abandoned when a powerful earthquake struck Nepal on April 25, killing 20 on the Everest.

Xia made his last attempt in 2016 but bad weather forced him to turn back. His dream was nearly shattered after the government amended the Mountaineering Expedition Regulation in December, prohibiting double amputees, persons without arms and legs and blind persons from attempting to climb mountains in Nepal.

However, disability advocacy groups filed a petition in the Supreme Court, arguing that the government had violated the rights of differently-abled people and the UN convention on the rights of people with disabilities.

Subsequently, the court overruled the controversial government ban in March, allowing Xia to fulfil his four-decade-old dream.

Xia was quoted by the People's Daily telling a friend earlier this week that he had been preparing for the moment for 43 years.

"It's not been easy for me to reach the peak of Mount Everest which I've dreamed of."

He is the second double amputee to climb the Everest after New Zealander Mark Inglis, who reached the peak from the Tibetan side in 2006, the Guardian reported.

Santiago Quintero, who had half of each foot amputated during a climb in south America, also reached the peak in 2013.

--IANS

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The central government's action against three top bankers in the country is a welcome move, said a top leader of All India Bank Employees' Association (AIBEA) on Tuesday.

He also said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), its nominees on the board of Punjab National Bank (PNB) cannot escape responsibility for the Letters of Understanding (LoU) scam.

"The Central government's decision to keep away Ananthasubramanian, Managing Director and CEO of Allahabad Bank and the two Executive Directors in PNB from their banks is a welcome decision. It is good that the alleged wrongdoers are removed from the system," C.H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, AIBEA told IANS on Tuesday.

He said taking moral responsibility, the current Managing Director of PNB should also keep himself away from PNB till the probe into the alleged scam is over.

Ananthasubramanian earlier headed the PNB.

On Monday the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed its first chargesheet in the Rs 13,000 crore Nirav Modi scam in the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

"Similarly, the current Managing Director of PNB Sunil Mehta should also keep away from the bank on moral grounds till the probe into the alleged scam is over," Venkatachalam added.

He said the whole system at PNB has failed and the top management has to take responsibility given the magnitude of the fraud.

The CBI has chargesheeted Ananthasubramanian and 21 others, including 11 bank officials in connection with the fraud in PNB allegedly masterminded by diamantire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

Apart from Ananthasubramanian, the CBI has also charge sheeted two Executive Directors of PNB viz., K.V. Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan and General Manager (International Operations) Nehal Ahad.

Venkatachalam does not agree with the view that RBI was misled by PNB officials on the possible misuse of LoU.

"The RBI has its nominees on the board of PNB. Further, RBI also inspects the bank branches. The RBI officials should also be brought under the net as they are culpable of serious negligence," Venkatachalam said.

He said the exposure of the banking sector to the gems and jewellery sector was huge and the RBI should have taken necessary action as the sector was not a priority sector.

--IANS

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All eyes were on Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on Tuesday after hotly-contested elections threw up a hung Assembly, forcing the BJP and a hurriedly stitched alliance of the Congress and the JD-S to stake claim to form a government.

The BJP, which appeared confident of returning to power in its only southern bastion, emerged as the single largest party but failed to cross the half-way mark in the 224-member Assembly where two constituencies didn't vote on Saturday.

The Election Commission data showed that the BJP could end up with 104 seats -- eight short of simple majority.

The Congress appeared to have learnt from its mistakes in Manipur and Goa where it, despite emerging as the single largest party in both states, reacted late and gave the BJP enough time to cobble together an alliance with smaller parties to form governments there.

This time, the Congress, set to win 78 seats, sprung a surprise and quickly announced its support to the Janata Dal-Secular which finished third with 37 seats in a bid to keep the BJP away from forming a government.

Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media in the company of outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the JD-S and the Congress "will meet the Governor and stake claim (to form a government)".

Led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, the JD-S quickly accepted the offer and wrote to the Governor staking claim to power.

Both JD-S leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah of Congress then met the Governor and staked the claim to form a government.

"I have accepted the support extended by the Congress to form the government," Kumaraswamy said.

That happened after BJP leader and its Chief Ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa met and urged the Governor to let him prove his majority support in the Karnataka Assembly. He was accompanied by Union Minister Ananth Kumar.

The ball now lies in the Governor's court. According to usual practice, the Governor calls the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government.

In the case of a hung Assembly, the leader is asked to prove the majority on the floor of the House within a stipulated time.

In Karnataka, the Congress and JD-S did not have a pre-poll alliance. However, it is for the Governor to take a call on who to invite first.

The dramatic turn of events that saw BJP's jubilations swinging up and down throughout the day spoiled its hopes to form its own government in Karntaka -- its gateway to the south.

According to party sources, three senior ministers -- Dhamendra Pradhan, Prakash Javadekar and J.P. Nadda -- have been rushed to Karnataka to strategise with the local leadership.

Mocking at the "desperation of a defeated Congress" to support the JD-S to form a coalition government to keep the BJP out of power, BJP spokesman Shantaram said his party was open to an alliance with the JD-S or seek its support to form the new government.

"We are open to JD-S support, if need be, after all the results are declared. Our approach to JD-S will depend on the number of legislators we need to prove majority in the house or win the confidence motion," he said.

BJP activists and leaders earlier celebrated noisily in both Bengaluru and New Delhi, waving party flags and shouting slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their main vote-getter, and Amit Shah.

Expectations of a BJP victory in Karnataka lifted the key Indian equity indices during the mid-morning trade session on Tuesday. But the markets later went into the red.

--IANS

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A data set of over 3 million users collected via a personality app was available to download freely for anyone for almost four years, New Scientist reported.

The dataset was collected via the personality quiz app "myPersonality" by academics at the University of Cambridge.

"The data was highly sensitive, revealing personal details of users, such as the results of psychological tests.

"It was meant to be stored and shared anonymously, however such poor precautions were taken that deanonymising would not be hard," the report said.

The data sets were controlled by David Stillwell and Michal Kosinski at the University of Cambridge.

"More than 6 million people completed the tests on the myPersonality app and nearly half agreed to share data from their profiles with the project," said the report.

Alexandr Kogan, at the centre of the British political consultancy firm scandal, was previously part of the project.

" had approached the myPersonality app team in 2013 to get access to the data, but was turned down because of its political ambitions," the report said.

Facebook last month suspended "myPersonality" from its platform, saying the app may have violated its policies.

The social media giant on Monday said that is auditing each and every app that has access to the data of its users and has already suspended 200 apps which failed to comply with its policies.

The company CEO Mark Zuckerberg had promised a thorough investigation and audit into apps that had access to information before Facebook changed its platform policies in 2014 -- significantly reducing the data apps could access.

"To date, thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended -- pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data," Facebook said.

If Facebook finds evidence that these or other apps did misuse data, it will ban them and notify users via Help Centre on its website.

Appearing before the US Congress in April, Zuckerberg told lawmakers that his own personal data was part of 87 million Facebook users that was improperly shared with
The Bihar government on Tuesday approved a scheme where Extreme Backward Caste (EBC) students cracking the civil services preliminary tests conducted by the UPSC and the BPSC will get Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 respectively, an official said.

The decision, taken at a state Cabinet meeting here chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, comes a week after the government approved a similar proposal for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe students.

"The state government is committed to providing better studying facilities to EBC students who appear for civil services examination.

"The aim is to ensure that EBC students who crack the preliminary test concentrate on the main examination rather than worry about the monetary expenses that will be incurred to pursue their dreams," Principal Secretary of the Cabinet Secretariat Department Arun Kumar Singh told the media.

In another decision, the government approved a proposal to provide Rs 1,000 monthly assistance to students living in minority hostels of the Welfare Department.

Principal Secretary of the Minorities Welfare Department Amir Subhani said at present, there are 33 minority welfare hostels in which 350 students are living.

The government has proposed to build 11 more such hostels and decided to open special residential schools at the district level to provide free food and lodging to minority students from Class 9 to Class 12, he said.

Last week, the government approved a proposal of the SC-ST Welfare Department to provide an assistance of Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 to SC-ST students who pass the preliminary test for the civil services exams held by the Union Public Service Commission and the Bihar Public Service Commission respectively.

It is seen as a move to woo SC/ST, EBC and minorities ahead of the 2019 polls.

--IANS

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Hundreds of BJP activists celebrated on Tuesday across Karnataka as the BJP appeared set to dethrone the Congress in the state.

Waving BJP flags and dancing to drum beats, the activists as well as some leaders cheered loudly in the party office here at Malleswaram. Many shouted slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah.

Vote count on Tuesday from Saturday's Assembly election showed the Bhratiya Janata Party almost touching the half-way mark in the 224-seat House. Polling, however, took place only in 222 seats.

--IANS

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa said on Tuesday evening that he had urged Governor Vajubhai R. Vala to allow him to prove majority support in the Karnataka Assembly.

"We are the single largest party. We have requested the Governor to give the BJP a chance to prove majority in the Assembly. We are staking claim to form the government," Yeddyurappa told reporters here.

Yeddyurappa made the comments to the media after calling on Vala, along with party leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar, after results from Saturday's Assembly election threw up a split verdict.

"Since we are emerging as the single largest party, we have appealed to the Governor to give us time to form the new government," party's spokesman S. Shantharam told IANS here.

--IANS

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A Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was killed on Tuesday in ceasefire violation by Pakistani rangers on the international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.

"Pakistan rangers started ceasefire violation at 1.30 a.m. They resorted to unprovoked firing at the BSF positions on the IB in the early hours.

"BSF constable, Devinder Singh, was injured in the firing. He succumbed to his injuries later," a BSF official said here.

The Indian positions retaliated effectively and strongly. Firing exchanges between the two sides continued for nearly three hours, he added.

There had been comparative calm on both the Line of Control (LoC) and the IB for nearly two months in the Jammu region.

Tuesday's ceasefire violation disrupted the peace that the residents of border villages had been experiencing.

--IANS

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China has banned India-trained "wrongly educated" monks from teaching Buddhism, fearing they may be of "separatist" bend.

The ban was imposed by a county in China's Southwest province in Sichuan, according to the state-run Global Times.

An official said on Monday that "monks wrongly educated in India were banned from teaching Buddhism to residents of Litang county".

Buddhism is one of the five officially recognised religions in China.

China accuses Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama of secessionist activities in Tibet where most people follow Buddhism.

The county Litang stages patriotic education classes every year for those educated and awarded Gexe Lharampa, the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhist studies in India, an official from Litang's ethnic and religious affairs bureau told the Global Times.

Those who behaved improperly at the patriotic classes or showed "any signs of separatist intent" are strictly monitored and banned from teaching Buddhism to the public, said the official who refused to be named.

China has its own criteria to award Gexe Lharampa. Candidates have to pass Chinese Buddhist tests and a sutra debate.

Those awarded the degree overseas are not acknowledged by China and are not qualified to teach Buddhism in the country, Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told the Global Times.

Some 105 monks in Tibet have been awarded the Chinese Buddhist version of the degree since 2004, the Xinhua news agency reported.

--IANS

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China on Tuesday condemned the border violence in Gaza and urged all parties to exercise restraint after 58 Palestinians were killed a day earlier during demonstrations coinciding with the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

"We condemn the violence against civilians and call upon the two parties, especially Israel, to maintain restraint and avoid escalation of the tension," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said at a press conference.

He underlined that the the status of Jerusalem was the reason behind the current tensions and described it as a "highly sensitive issue that involved nationalistic and religious sentiments that should be resolved through dialogue between the two parties".

"We support Palestine in resuming their legitimate rights and interests," Lu said, expressing Beijing's backing for "the establishment of a Palestine state that enjoys full sovereignty and (...) with East Jerusalem as its capital".

While US President Donald Trump claimed that the transfer of the embassy and recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital would serve to move towards peace, the day of the new embassy's inauguration turned out to be the most violent one in four years in Palestine.

--IANS

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A Congress leader on Tuesday lamented that the party failed to plan for the Karnataka Assembly election and educate the people about the government's welfare schemes.

"The party and its leaders, both in Bengaluru and Delhi, should have woken up much earlier and planned much better for the election to educate the people of the state about the Congress government's welfare schemes," Congress state unit Vice President B.K. Chandrashekar told IANS here.

"The good economic policies of the government weren't communicated effectively to the people of Karnataka."

Chandrashekar said the party's set-up was a reason for its defeat in the state election that took place on Saturday. The votes were counted on Tuesday.

"We should have strategized at least two-three years ahead of the elections by setting up a think tank in order to counter (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's charm," Chandrashekar said.

"The Congress failed in communicating to the people of the state that the of communalism and nationalism of the BJP must be rejected." The Congress now needs a structural reconstruction, he added.

--IANS

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The West Bengal CPI-M and the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) on Tuesday said they will move the High Court against the state government and the state election commission (SEC) for failing to conduct the rural polls properly.

The court earlier ordered the West Bengal government and the SEC to make proper security arrangements to ensure the safety of the electorate and hold the election in a free and fair manner.

"The SEC has failed to conduct the election in a proper manner. We highlighted the incidents of murder and vandalism on the polling day before the court. The court has asked us to file a petition with proper application. We will do that," the CPI-M counsel told reporters here.

The PDS had also appealed before a Division Bench of High Court Chief Justice Jyotirmay Bhattacharya and Justice Arijit Banerjee to look into the incidents of violence across the state and said the bench asked them to submit a report on what took place.

"The state government and the SEC claimed before that court that they had made the necessary arrangements to ensure the security of the voters. But yesterday's (Monday) violence including murders, attacks, looting of ballot boxes at several places clearly show that the security arrangements were not adequate.

"We informed the Chief Justice about the same today. He listened to us and asked us to appeal before the bench with specific records of all the incidents," PDS General Secretary Samir Putatundu said.

The state BJP has, however, decided not to move court immediately but said it would be sending reports of attacks on its activists to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

"We are moving the court right now... Seventeen of our activists have died in Bengal during the election process. We are preparing report to be sent to the PMO," state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh said.

--IANS

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BJP's cief ministerial face B.S. Yeddyurappa on Tuesday mocked the Congress party for being "desperate" to grab power by exploring an alliance with Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) despite being "rejected" by the people of the state.

"The people of the state have rejected Congress and voted for a change. People are moving towards 'Congress-mukt' (Congress-free) Karnataka. Despite being rejected, Congress is desperate to grab power," Yeddyurappa told reporters here.

Anti-incumbency against the ruling Congress government was so strong that outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself lost from Chamundeshwari seat in his home district of Mysuru, Yeddyurappa pointed out.

According to the Election Commission (EC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far won 85 seats and is leading in 19 of the 222 Legislative Assembly seats out of the total 224 constituencies in the state. The party is eight seats short of the 112 seats required to win a simple majority.

The BJP's national leaders will decide on the party's course of action in the event of a hung Assembly, Yeddyurappa said.

The Congress, on the other hand, has won in 58 seats and leading in 20.

Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media in the company of outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the JD-S had accepted the Congress offer of support.

"We will meet the Governor and stake claim (to form a government). Our numbers put together will be more than the BJP's," Azad said.

--IANS

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Doctors here have successfully conducted a laparoscopic surgery on a 23-year-old Iraqi woman who donated a part of her liver to her ailing son.

The "laparoscopic left lateral hepatectomy" procedure was employed to conduct a liver transplant on the woman's

two-and-a-half-years-old son Ali Baha Hussain, suffering from a condition known as "glycogen storage disease", a precursor to advanced liver disease and liver cirrhosis.

The child was weak and his growth was severely stunted. He had not grown in tandem with his age.

"The technological transition from the traditional liver transplantation to totally laparoscopy donor hepatectomy has multi-fold benefits. Liver donors will benefit most from minimally invasive surgery as laparoscopic organ procurement ensures an excellent cosmetic and psycho-social outcome," Vivek Vij, Director - Liver Transplant at Fortis Healthcare said in a statement on Tuesday.

After a through medical examination a graft was retrieved from the left lateral segment of the donor mother. The entire procedure took 10 hours.

The procedure helped the patient with lesser pain, invisible scars which lead to psychological and social acceptance and much lesser wound related complications. The recovery was smooth and uneventful with minimum hospital stay for the donor, the doctors said.

According to the World Health Organisation, liver diseases are the 10th most common cause of death in India. Since the liver is a multi-functionary organ, it is susceptible to viruses, toxic substances and contaminants present in food and water.

People with liver problems often experience few or no symptoms. While there have been major advances in treating liver diseases, there is no complete cure. The only way to manage a failed liver is to get a liver transplant.

--IANS

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In a hearing on the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute in the Supreme Court, the counsel for the Muslim petitioners to the suit on Tuesday took objection to the statements by certain Hindutva leaders that a temple will be constructed in Ayodhya even while the top court was seized of the matter.

Senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan, appearing for lead petitioner M. Siddiqui represented by his legal heirs, told an apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that "while the case is being argued, people should not make statements and in a way to bring pressure on the court. They should exercise restraint".

Dhavan said "we have (exercised) complete restraint" so as not to muddy the waters. The senior counsel said that his client even contemplated a contempt petition against such persons at one point in time but chose to exercise restraint.

The court in the past ordered restraint on parties from making public statements so long as it was seized of the matter.

Addressing the bench on the flaws in the 1994 five-Judge Constitution Bench judgment in the Ismail Faruqui case wherein it said that a mosque was not an integral part of religious practice of offering prayers, Dhavan said that this verdict completely denuded the concept of religious practices under Article 25 of the Constitution.

Article 25 guarantees right to freedom of religion, also provides for freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion, he contended.

In an earlier hearing, the counsel told the court that a larger bench of either five or seven Judges has to revisit the issue and decide "what is the meaning of mosque to the Muslims" and is it taken as a "gospel truth that a mosque is not essential to Muslims and Islam".

He said that as per the 1994 judgment, there is no constitutional protection for the Muslims' right to offer prayers whereas the Hindus' right to offer worship stands at a superior position.

Senior counsel K. Parasaran, appearing for deity Ram Lalla Virajman, contested Dhavan's contentions.

He said that the parties to the proceedings are bound by the judgment and they can't say that "I am party to the proceedings but I question the correctness of a judgment".

Since Parasaran commenced his arguments at the fag end of the day, he will continue with the same on Thursday.

The court was hearing a batch of cross petitions challenging the 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict that divided the disputed 2.77 acres site at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh between the Nirmohi Akhara, Lord Rama deity and the Sunni Waqf Board.

Dhavan told the court that the challenge to the High Court verdict in the title suit to the disputed site can be heard only by a larger bench. This is because the 2010 High Court verdict had relied on the 1994 judgment of the top court which said that a mosque was not essential to religious practice of offering prayers.

The top court was moved by the legal heirs of Siddiqui, the Nirmohi Akhara, the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board, Bhagwan Shri Ram Virajman, All India Hindu Mahasabha's Swami Chakrapani, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the Akhil Bharatiya Sri Ramjanam Bhoomi Punardhar Samiti and others.

--IANS

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The Centre on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi has been appointed to the Lokpal Selection Committee as an eminent jurist.

Rohatgi served as India's 14th Attorney General from June 2014 to June 2017.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told that Rohatgi was selected by a committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Supreme Court Chief Justice Dipak Misra at their April 10 meeting.

That meeting was not attended by Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as he was called not as a member of the selection panel but as a special invitee.

Kharge stayed away from the March 1 meeting of the selection panel on the same grounds.

Justice Gogoi said that it was expected that eminent persons on the selection committee will be alive to the urgency to appoint the Lokpal.

However, the apex court refused to give directions on the time frame for the appointment of the Lokpal which, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said, would take some time.

Venugopal had during a hearing on April 17 told the court that the Selection Committee's meeting on April 10 recommendations for appointment of an eminent jurist on the panel had been made and approval of the said recommendation was pending.

Reacting to Rohatgi's appointment as eminent jurist on the Selection Committee, lawyer Prashant Bhushan tweeted: "Today, the government informed the Supreme Court it has made progress on the appointment of Lokpal. After four years, the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and the Lok Sabha Speaker have selected former AG of Modi government and counsel for Amit Shah and assorted criminals as 'eminent jurist' on the Lokpal Selection Committee! However Lokpal would take 'considerable time'."

The selection panel will now constitute a seven-member Search Committee for preparing a list of persons to be considered for appointment as Chairman and members of Lokpal.

The apex court is hearing a contempt plea by NGO Common Cause after the government did not act on the court's April 27, 2017 judgment which held that the "(Lokpal) Act, as it stands today, is an eminently workable piece of legislation and there is no justification to keep the enforcement of the Act under suspension till the amendments, as proposed, are carried out".

--IANS

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"Deadpool 2" producer Simon Kinberg is hoping that the shooting for actor Channing Tatum-starrer "Gambit" will commence this summer as they will shortlist a director for the project later this week.

"We have a script that we love - that Channing loves... We have met with a bunch of directors in the last couple of weeks, and we are hoping to actually pick one in the next couple of weeks and shoot the movie maybe the end of this summer," Kinberg told variety.com.

Since 20th Century Fox announced "Gambit", the project has undergone multiple developmental setbacks. In September 2015, Rupert Wyatt, who was originally slated to direct, left the film due to a timing conflict resulting from a delay in the production schedule.

But the delays and departures didn't stop there. In January, Fox announced the release date would again be pushed back from February 14, 2019, to June 7, 2019, following the exit of another director, Gore Verbinski.

Unlike Wyatt, however, Verbinski cited creative differences as his reason for leaving the project.

The "Gambit" creative team has been on the search for a new director since his exit. The film is currently set to hit theatres in June 2019.

--IANS

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US clothing brand Gap has apologised for selling T-shirts which it said showed an "incorrect map" of China.

The apology came after one person posted pictures of the T-shirt on Chinese social media network Weibo saying that Chinese-claimed territories, including "Southern Tibet" -- a huge swathe of territory it claims in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the island of Taiwan and the South China Sea were not shown on it, the BBC reported.

The post on Monday, which said that the T-shirt was being sold in Canada, drew the ire of Chinese netizens. In a statement, Gap said it "sincerely apologised for this unintentional error" and had pulled the T-shirts from the Chinese market and destroyed them.

"Gap Inc. respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We've learned that a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets failed to reflect the correct map of China in the design," the company said.

The company didn't say whether the product would be withdrawn from sale in other markets.

Several other companies had issued similar apologies earlier this year after information on their websites appeared to conflict with China's territorial claims.

In January, Marriott International apologised to China after sending a letter to rewards club members that listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as options on a question asking customers their countries of residence.

Fashion brand Zara and Delta Air Lines drew Beijing's ire and apologised for listing Taiwan and/or Tibet as countries on drop-down menus on their websites.

In 2017, German carmaker Audi was in hot water for omitting Taiwan and parts of western China on a map used at their annual meeting, while Mercedes-Benz apologised in February for quoting the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, on Instagram.

The White House had earlier described China's claims as "Orwellian nonsense" and sharply criticised Beijing for trying to impose its "political correctness on American companies and their citizens".

--IANS

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Fresh protests are expected at the Gaza border on Tuesday, a day after Israeli troops killed 58 Palestinians during demonstrations coinciding with the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

International condemnation poured in over Israel's use of force against unarmed Palestinian protesters on Monday, the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 Israeli invasion. At least 2,700 people were injured in the violence.

Palestinians were demonstrating as they have been for six weeks as part of a protest, orchestrated by Hamas, called the "Great March of Return".

Tuesday marks the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe), which saw hundreds of thousands flee amid the creation of Israel in 1948.

Tensions will be high in Gaza where the dead will be buried later in the day. Palestinians see East Jerusalem, which was occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War and later annexed in 1980, as the capital of their future state, the BBC reported.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called for intensified protests after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his military was acting in "self-defence" against Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, who he said wanted to destroy Israel.

Israel said some 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in "violent riots" at 13 locations along Israel's security fence along Gaza's eastern border.

Abbas announced three days of mourning and there was fierce condemnation from several countries regarding the bloodshed. However, Israel's key ally, the US, backed it.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned "the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters" while Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called on Israel to be "proportionate in its response and refrain from excessive use of force".

In a phone call with Abbas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "condemned the attacks and wished Allah's mercy to all martyrs". Turkey recalled its ambassadors to Washington and Tel Aviv for consultations, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

Germany said Israel had the right to defend itself "but should do so proportionately".

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "profoundly alarmed" by the violence in Gaza and urged Israeli forces to "exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire", his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said: "The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas... Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response."

Kuwait drafted a UN Security Council statement calling for an independent inquiry into the violence and expressing "outrage and sorrow" but this was blocked by the US.

South Africa also recalled its ambassador to Israel, condemning "the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The number of Palestinians killed by the Israeli forces rose to 61 on Tuesday, as more protesters succumbed to their injuries following mass demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel boundary on Monday against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Monday's protests drew a level of bloodshed not seen in Gaza since a 2014 war with Israel and more could be ahead as residents bury the dead and prepare to mark the anniversary of Israel's founding, known to Palestinians as the "Nakba" or "Catastrophe".

More than two-thirds of Gaza's population is descended from refugees who were displaced at the time of Israel's creation 70 years ago.

Israeli officials, however, justified the military's tactics as necessary to stop the Palestinians from breaking into Israel, which has blockaded Gaza for more than a decade after the militant group Hamas took control of the area.

Omar Abu Fool, 30, was the latest protester to die, Efe news agency quoted Ashraf al-Qedra, the Ministry of Health spokesperson in Gaza, as saying while another 2,771 Palestinian protesters were wounded by the Israeli army, 225 of whom were minors.

Shortly before dawn on Tuesday, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) stated that "it was unbearable to witness such a massive number of unarmed people being shot in such a short time".

"Our medical teams are providing surgical and post-operative care, they will continue to do so as long as they are needed," MSF said via its official Twitter account.

The US embassy move from Tel Aviv was widely denounced as a blow to peace efforts in the region and a slap at the Palestinians, who consider part of Jerusalem the capital of a possible future state.

UN Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville on Tuesday said that while Israel had a right to defend itself, lethal force should be a last resort and was not justified on people just approaching the fence. He condemned Monday's "appalling deadly violence", the Washington Post reported.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas also condemned the continuing "massacre" of the Palestinian people. Turkey and South Africa announced they were recalling their envoys from Israel.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called on Muslim countries to review their ties with Israel in the wake of the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter, saying that he "is one of the great supporters of Hamas, and there is no doubt that he understands terror and the massacres well, and I suggest that he not preach morality to us".

Israeli newspapers contrasted the upbeat inauguration ceremony for the US Embassy with pictures of the violence on the border but couched it in terms of the country protecting itself.

"Every country must protect its borders," wrote Netanyahu in a tweet. "Hamas is a terrorist organisation that states its intention to destroy Israel and it sends thousands of people to breach the border fence to realize this goal. We will continue to act firmly to protect our sovereignty and our citizens."

He was backed by the Trump administration, which blamed Hamas for the loss of life. "The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas," deputy White House Press Secretary Raj Shah told reporters at a briefing.

Since the "Great March of Return" protests began on March 30, at least 109 Palestinians have been killed and 12,000 injured.

--IANS

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A "condition red" air quality alert has been issued after the Hawaii Fire Department reported that fissures near the Kilauea volcano were releasing high levels of sulfur dioxide gas.

Hawaii civil officials on Monday urged residents to take action to limit further exposure, warning that "condition red" means immediate danger to health, Xinhua news agency reported.

The situation can lead to severe problems like choking and an inability to breathe, said the Hawaii County Civil Defence.

The Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HEMA) offered suggestions to residents about how to cope with hazardous volcanic gas emissions in an emergency proclamation.

"Leaving the area of volcanic activity or sheltering in place are the best ways to protect yourself and your family," it said.

HEMA officials recommended that residents avoid outdoor activities, drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration, stay indoors and close windows and doors prior to gas inundation.

Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, has been spitting lava since 10 days. Lava flowing from fissures on its flank had destroyed dozens of homes and other buildings and caused the evacuation of thousands of residents.

--IANS

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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to conduct an investigation into the alleged assault on several prisoners lodged in the high risk ward of Tihar Jail here.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar asked the investigating agency to submit a report within four weeks and listed the matter for further hearing on July 10.

Delhi government standing counsel (criminal) Rahul Mehra told the court that criminal proceedings should not be initiated against security personnel as they are working under stressful conditions in an overcrowded prison.

The court said prison officials do not need to resort to violent methods to manage their jails and just because a person in uniform is inflicting the violence, the act does not get decriminalised.

The court direction came while hearing a plea filed by advocate Chinmay Kanojia alleging that his client and terror suspect Syed Shahid Yusuf, the son of Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, was among those who suffered injuries during a scuffle with security persons.

Eighteen inmates lodged in the high-risk cells of Tihar Jail were beaten up on November 21 last year when they objected to the seizure of their pillow covers, a preliminary investigation directed by the Delhi High Court had established.

Three prisoners suffered fractures inflicted by the security men, among them personnel of the Tamil Nadu Special Police and Quick Reaction Team.

The court directed the jail authorities to ensure the safety and security of those who have been beaten up.

--IANS

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Iceland's low fare transatlantic airline -- WOW air -- on Tuesday said that it will commence operations between New Delhi and Keflavik airport to multiple destinations in North America at fares starting from Rs 13,499 including taxes.

According to the low fare transatlantic airline, its India operations will commence from December 7, 2018 with five direct flights a week between New Delhi and Keflavik airport "subject to final completion of regulatory formalities".

The airline's Chief Executive and Founder Skuli Mogensen disclosed to IANS that the airline expects to have around 90 per cent load factor or capacity utilisation for its transatlantic flights from New Delhi via Keflavik airport.

Mogensen said that the airline has studied potential new destinations in India and will reveal its future plans to connect them to Iceland and North America within the next 12 months.

Besides, the airline said that it will offer 4 fare options -- WOW basic, WOW plus, WOW comfy and WOW premium.

A one-way ticket to Iceland, US, Canada and London in the economy category --WOW basic -- will start from Rs 13,499, including taxes, while the business class fares on -- WOW premium -- will be priced from Rs 46,599 onwards including taxes.

--IANS

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Kathmandu, May 15 ( IANS) India has provided the largest sum for river training in Nepal in a bid to control floods that also affect India during the monsoon season.

Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri on Tuesday handed over a cheque of NRs 180.74 million to Sanjay Sharma, Secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources of Nepal, for taming and training the rivers.

The river training and construction will carry on near the Indian border in three rivers.

The amount is India's contribution for river training and construction of embankments along Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamla rivers, the Indian embassy said.

The works is aimed at flood control and water resources management, which benefit several million people inhabiting in the watershed of these rivers in India and Nepal.

With the NRs 180.74 million, India has so far given 13 installments since 2008 to Nepal for the river training and embankment works totalling to over NRs 4.68 billion.

--IANS

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A 36-year-old Indian man has died after an accident on a highway in South Australia.

Amit Kumar Bonsrey worked in a factory in Adelaide and was delivering goods to Mildura, in Victoria, on April 30 when the fatal incident occured, SBS Australia reported on Tuesday.

Bonsrey was accompanied by his father Jagmal Singh Bonsrey when their truck collided with an approaching truck on Sturt Highway, Wigley Flat, in South Australia.

Bonsrey died after the collision while his father was critically injured and undergoing treatment at a hospital.

"His father accompanied him on the drive. He had been injured and underwent a 16-hour surgery. He remains in critical condition," said family friend Surender Chahal.

Bonsrey is survived by his wife Jasvinder Kaur, a 15-year-old daughter and one-year-old son.

--IANS

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Iran's Foreign Ministry on Monday urged Muslims to unite against US relocation of embassy in Israel, the state TV reported.

In a statement, the foreign ministry warned of the consequences of the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reports Xinhua.

The move by the US would only further strengthen the resolution and determination of the oppressed Palestinians in confronting and resisting occupation, it said.

Besides, "it will intensify anti-Zionist and anti-US moves in the region and across the world," it said.

The statement also called on Islamic nations and governments "to remain vigilant in the face of plots hatched by the Zionist regime (of Israel) and its allies."

The new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened on Monday. Israeli and US officials gathered in the city amidst deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also condemned Israel's violence against Palestinian protesters.

"Israeli regime massacres countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in the world's largest open-air prison," Zarif tweeted.

He called Monday "a day of great shame," noting that the killing of Palestinian protesters comes as "Trump celebrates the relocation of US illegal embassy and his Arab collaborators move to divert attention."

At least 43 Palestinians were killed and 2,200 were injured as Israeli troops fired on demonstrators along the Gaza-Israel boundary protesting the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem, Palestinian officials said, making it the deadliest day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war.

Organised by the National Commission of the Great March of Return in eastern Gaza Strip, the mass protests against Israel started on March 30, and are expected to peak on Tuesday, the day after the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence but marked by the Palestinians as the Nakba Day, or "Day of Catastrophe."

--IANS

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Having helped 1.7 million people around the world gain mobility with the famous Jaipur Foot, the organisation is now embarking on a mission to develop an affordable artificial hand, its founder D.R. Mehta has said.

The US affiliate, Jaipur Foot USA (JFU), is helping the organisation in the development of the artificial hand in collaboration with a US university and it was fitting that US and Indian organisations should cooperate in developing the technology, he said here on Monday.

He was speaking at an awards ceremony organised by the JFU at the Indian consulate honouring those who have contributed to its efforts.

Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, the president of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, said the Jaipur Foot organisation was promoting "aspirational justice", which he likened to concepts like economic justice that seek to create equal conditions for all.

"Aspirational justice" does this by making it possible for those without legs to have aspirations like everyone else when they are fitted with Jaipur Foot, said Sahasrabuddhe, who is also the national vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of parliament.

Narayan Lal Panchariya, a BJP MP, said that Mehta through his work spans the globe like a colossus.

Prem Bhandari, the chairman of JFU, said that an accident that Mehta had became a boon for the 1.7 million people who have received Jaipur Foot or other mobility aids because that incident made him empathise with those who have lost their mobility and inspired him to start the Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti that provides the prosthetics.

Consul-General Sandeep Chakravorty said Jaipur Foot has emerged as India's international brand and an ambassador for the nation projecting its best qualities.

Among those who were honoured for helping JFU were Suresh Venkatachari, a technology entrepreneur and the chairman of 8K Miles Media, and Rajeev Bhambri, the COO of India Abroad Publications.

O.P. Choudhary, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who is coordinating the artificial hand project, told IANS that they were working with the Frugal Innovation Lab of Santa Clara University in California.

The prosthetic, known as a myelectric hand, would connect to the nerves in the arm, which would control its movements through electrical impulses, he said.

Such devices now cost between $10,000 and $30,000 and their goal was to bring it down to $500, he said.

The Jaipur Foot had achieved a large scale of savings, with the prosthetic costing only $70 compared to $10,000 for a similar product in the US.

Bhandari said that the JFU has so far collected $1.2 million for Jaipur Foot.

It had sponsored four camps in India for people missing legs to be fitted with the device, he said.

JFU is also aiding Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's project for a university in Jamdoli near Jaipur for the differently abled people.

--IANS

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Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy will be the party's candidate for the Karnataka Chief Minister's post, it announced on Tuesday after finishing third in the Assembly and getting the backing of the Congress.

"It is crystal clear that it will be Kumaraswamy for the Chief Minister's post. With the blessings of the people of Karnataka, he will be the Chief Minister," JD-S spokesperson Danish Ali told a news channel.

Asked if Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Valal can invite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as the single largest party to form the government, he said: "How can (Governor call the BJP) when majority is there with the two parties?

"In Meghalaya, they didn't invite the single largest party," he said.

Asked if the post of Deputy Chief Minister will be offered to the Congress, Ali said the party will ask the Congress to join the government.

"All those details will be discussed later on. Both the parties have come together and we will provide a stable government," he said.

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad earlier said it would back the JD-S to form the government following a hung Assembly.

--IANS

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Convicted RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav will spend one more night in Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi and may be released on provisional bail on Wednesday, his lawyer said.

The Jharkhand High Court order regarding provisional bail for Lalu Yadav has not reached the CBI court as yet, the former Bihar Chief Minister's lawyer, Prabhat Kumar, told IANS.

"The order copy of provisional bail has not been officially communicated to CBI court. We are hopeful that the court will communicate district court and Lalu Yadav may be released on Wednesday," Kumar said.

Lalu Yadav returned to Ranchi on Monday after attending his elder son Tej Pratap's marriage on May 12.

Apart from a three day parole to attend the marriage in Patna, Lalu Yadav was also granted six weeks provisional bail by the Jharkhand High Court on May 11 for treatment.

Lalu Prasad was admitted to RIMS in Ranchi on March 17 following complaints of uneasiness when he was lodged at the Birsa Munda Jail. He was also sent to AIIMS, New Delhi for treatment.

He has been convicted in four fodder scam cases since 2013 -- the latest being the Dumka treasury case in which a special CBI court sentenced him to 14 years in jail.

--IANS

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US First Lady Melania Trump has undergone a "successful" kidney surgery and is currently recuperating at a naval hospital in Maryland, her office said.

She underwent the surgery at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre in Bethesda on Monday, New York Post reported.

"Melania Trump underwent an embolisation procedure to treat a benign kidney issue. She will likely remain there for the duration of the week," her office said in a statement.

"The First Lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere," it said.

An embolisation is a minimally invasive treatment that blocks one or more blood vessels or abnormal vascular channels.

A spokeswoman for the First Lady declined to offer more details on her condition, but said the 48-year-old is recovering.

"She's doing great. She's in good spirits," Stephanie Grisham told the Post.

President Donald Trump stayed behind in the White House, officials said, since his travel to the hospital could have meant a press pool would have camped out during the private medical procedure.

But once the East Wing announced her hospital stay, the President boarded Marine One two hours later to visit his wife.

"Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania," Trump tweeted. "Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!"

Earlier on Monday, Trump kept a light schedule with no public events and was planning to visit his wife.

The East Wing keeping her medical condition private until after the procedure was nothing unusual, the Post said.

She largely stayed away from the campaign trail during her husband's 2016 historic run for the White House and has only of late taken on a more public role.

--IANS

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North Korea has started to dismantle its nuclear test site, which it had pledged to close down after the inter-Korean summit on April 27, according to media reports on Tuesday.

"Commercial satellite imagery from May 7 provided the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well underway," Efe news agency reported citing the 38 North website report that published and analysed satellite images of the site.

Pyongyang had announced it would publicly dismantle its Punggye-ri nuclear facility between May 23 and 25 by destroying the tunnels in the complex with explosions, blocking entrances and removing observation areas, research centres, and security structures.

According to the report, many key operational support buildings have been razed since their last analysis.

Some of the rails and mining carts used for excavation of the tunnels in the complex have also been dismantled and other small buildings have been removed.

During the summit, Pyongyang had pledged to work for a complete denuclearisation of the peninsula, having promised to stop its weapons tests earlier.

The commitments came ahead of a summit to be held between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and the US President Donald Trump to discuss a possible end to Pyongyang's nuclear program.

North Korea has carried out six underground nuclear tests--including the last and most powerful one in September 2017--at the Punggye-ri site.

A number of analysts have doubted North Korea's commitment to the denuclearisation, citing the example of 2008, when Pyongyang publicly dismantled parts of its uranium reprocessing plant but kept developing its nuclear programme.

--IANS

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Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba accompanied by his wife Reena Lanba on Tuesday visited some important tourist places in the northeastern state of Tripura.

A Tripura government official said that Admiral Lanba visited southern Tripura's Tripureswari temple, constructed in 1501 A.D. by the then Maharaja Dhanya Manikya and northearn Tripura's famous archaeological site Unakoti, where amazing rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty dating back to the 7th-9th centuries can be seen.

In his maiden visit to the bordering state, the Naval Chief also visited the 88-year-old Neermahal, eastern India's lone lake palace. Tripura's last king Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur built the majestic palace Neermahal in 1930 in the midst of Rudrasagar lake as his summer residence.

The union forest and ministry had earlier declared Rudrasagar a national lake.

"During his two-day stay in Tripura, Admiral Lanba is likely to informally interact with the Assam Rifles officials about the state's situation," the official added.

--IANS

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After Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the military action that killed 55 Palestinians and wounded 2,700 as "self-defence", Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called for intensified protests on Tuesday, the media reported.

The violence on Monday coincided with the dedication ceremony of the US embassy. The transfer of the embassy from Tel Aviv had already incensed Palestinians, who claim eastern Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state.

Netanyahu defended his military against Gaza's Islamist rulers, Hamas, who he said wanted to destroy Israel, and said: "Every country has an obligation to defend its borders.

"The Hamas terrorist organisation declares its intention to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and our citizens."

Following the deadliest day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war, Abbas called Palestinians to intensify their protests on Tuesday. Announcing three days of mourning, he said: "Today (Monday) once again, the massacres against our people continue."

Palestinians were demonstrating on Monday as they have been for six weeks as part of a protest, orchestrated by Hamas, called the "Great March of Return".

It relates to the occasion of Nakba Day, (catastrophe in Arabic), referring to the mass expulsion of Palestinians both before and after the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

It refers to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who subsequently fled their homes or were displaced in the war that followed, the BBC said.

Israel on Monday said some 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the "violent riots" at 13 locations along the Gaza Strip security fence, the BBC reported.

Palestinians hurled stones and incendiary devices, while the Israeli military used tear gas and live fire from snipers, the BBC reported.

An Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesman said soldiers fired on those engaged in "terrorist activity and not on demonstrators, who were dispersed by usual means such as tear gas and according to the rules of engagement".

There were clashes between Israeli police and protesters who raised Palestinian flags outside the new embassy in Jerusalem and several protesters were detained.

Hamas said the border protests were being stepped up for Tuesday.

Palestine Liberation Organisation Executive Committee member Wasel Abu Yousef told Efe that Tuesday's strike would protest the "massacre" of Palestinians in Gaza.

More protests in the West Bank were expected for Tuesday, including a morning rally, with demonstrators scheduled to move toward the Beit El military checkpoint.

For the afternoon there would be another rally in which candles would be lighted to represent each Palestinians killed on Monday in Gaza, he added.

--IANS

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It has been billed as a state with 100 per cent literacy. But people there know they had an unfinished task. Having actually reached an overall literacy rate of 93.94 per cent, Kerala has now embarked on a programme to bridge the small gap in its achievements by training illiterates among tribals, scheduled castes, transgenders and the migrant labour communities.

Stock-taking of the activities in the past two years of the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) revealed that 11,000 students -- mostly from Wayanad and Palakkad districts -- are at various levels of equivalency exams among the tribal community. There are also 5,300 migrant labourers, 2,000 from the scheduled castes and 145 transgenders whose literacy levels are now being raised.

"The main reasons for the programme to have got a good response was because the trainers (teachers) are drawn from these communities themselves, leading students to immediately correlate with them --the oldest of whom is a 90-year tribal woman in Wayanad," Director of KSLMA, P.S.Sreekala, told IANS.

"We have 601 tribal teachers who are supporting us, besides retired teachers and colleges students. We have set out a timetable of 100 hours of classes where the basics of maths and Malayalam are taught to these illiterates and neo-literates. Our aim is to enable them to integrate themselves into the society, wherein they need not feel any sort of complex that they do not know to read or write," said Sreekala.

While the fee for the 100-hour classes till the equivalent 7th is free, students have to pay Rs 1,950 to Rs 2,250 from Class X and above. For SC/ST students it is fully free. With the scheme picking up, the respective local bodies are supporting the students by paying their fees.

Twenty-six-year-old Sunitha, who hails from a tribal settlement at Peringottukunnu in Wayanad district, told IANS that she had just written the 4th equivalency test.

"Our son in the new academic year will be in Class 1 and I am happy that I can teach him to the best of my ability, from what I learned. Before I went for my classes I could not read, but now I am able to slowly read even a newspaper. I now want to attend classes for the next level. I wish to do it because then I will be able to at least guide our son," Sunitha said.

The KSLMA has been supported by successive state governments and for the current fiscal has been allocated Rs 17 crore, up from Rs 15.50 crore in the previous fiscal. Of this, Rs 12 crore has been set aside for the literacy programme.

Speaking to IANS, P.N. Babu, the coordinator of the programme in Wayanad, said that it was a huge experience not just for students but also for the educators.

"There are around 2,975 tribal colonies here and we have touched 300 colonies where we got the students to attend the basic course in literacy. We held classes once a week and everyone who attended has carried the message back to their colonies. Hence, not only are we going to get more students from these colonies but are also starting classes in another 200 colonies," Babu added.

The state is well on its way to be truly called a literate one.

(Sanu George can be contacted at sanu.g@ians.in)

--IANS

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After 12 persons were killed in widespread violence during the West Bengal Panchayat election a day ago, post poll clashes continue to rock parts of the state on Tuesday.

The state administration, however, claimed only six of those deaths were poll-related, State Election Commission (SEC) said.

"According to the report received from the state administration, 12 deaths are reported on the polling day on Monday. Among them six are poll-related deaths, while the rest were due to different reasons," SEC Secretary Nilanjan Shandilya told IANS.

Post poll violence was reported from parts of Howrah district where bombs were hurled in at least 20 houses during a clash between Trinamool Congress workers and BJP activists.

A few vehicles were also vandalised and torched.

Sporadic incidents of violence took place in South and North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts late on Monday.

The single-phase rural polls in the state on Monday saw large scale violence and clashes between opposing political outfits throughout the day even as more than 60,000 armed personnel and 80,000 civic volunteers were deployed to guard close to 58,000 polling booths.

As the day progressed, reports of clashes, booth capturing, vandalising of ballot boxes and rigging were received from pockets of South and North 24 Parganas, North Dinajpur, Nadia, West Midnapore and Cooch Behar districts.

In several places, gun-toting goons attacked policemen on duty at polling premises, leaving at least two police officers severely injured. Several attempts to rig the election process were also reported across the state as miscreants poured water into ballot boxes or set them on fire.

Additional Director General of West Bengal Police Anuj Sharma on Monday said Trinamool activist Arif Ali Gazi died in poll-related violence in South 24 Parganas while two other workers of the party died in Nadia.

He said two Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) workers died in Nandigram in East Midnapore district and a Jharkhand Disom Party worker died in Kushmundi of South Dinajpur.

The opposition parties accused the Trinamool Congress of orchestrating unprecedented terror on the polling day and alleged the SEC and state administration completely failed to conduct a free and fair election.

Representatives of CPI-M held a protest demonstration outside the SEC office on Monday evening demanding an answer from the poll panel about the adverse situations across the state.

The state's ruling Trinamool Congress, however, claimed that the people were able to exercise their democratic rights and said the situation was well handled barring a few isolated incidents.

It accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of bringing in people from Bangladesh, Assam and Jharkhand with the help of Border Security Force personnel on the polling day to create unrest.

Voting for the rural bodies in West Bengal was to be held on May 1, 3 and 5, but as the nomination process started in April, it was rescheduled to May 14 by the SEC following a Calcutta High Court order to extend the nomination deadline and announce a fresh polling date.

--IANS

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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan who is all set for his upcoming multi-starrer action film "Race 3" on Tuesday said the film offers good music, action and people will have a good time watching the film.

The actor, who was present at the trailer launch of the film, told the media: "Like the kind of film used to happen earlier, this film is like that. This film has a vibe that earlier Bachchan saab, Dharmendraji used to do."

He said: "I heard the script of the film two years ago. After that Ramesh Taurani wanted me to listen to the improved script again. It was a difficult genre for me to do, I wanted few changes. I knew the genre of the film but I did not know where I will fit in the genre.

"Then Rameshji and Shiraz Ahmed, screenplay writer of the film, sat on the script and re-worked on it. Then I realized that it is actually a fun film to do."

The film features actors like Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salim, Bobby Deol among others.

Directed by Remo D'Souza, the 3D action film "Race 3" is releasing on June 15.

--IANS

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The Supreme Court on Monday gave 15 days to the Centre for inviting objections to the proposed amendments in the Master Plan of Delhi-2021, and asked it to finalise it after considering all the aspects.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur, which had earlier stayed any amendments in the Master Plan, modified its order partially asking the Centre to invite objections and thereafter finalise it after taking into consideration the objections of the public.

The apex court had on March 6 put a stay on proposed amendments to the Delhi Master Plan 2021 that sought to protect traders from a sealing drive in the national capital by increasing the floor area ratio (FAR).

During the hearing, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal, appearing for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) sought modification of the March 6 order and said the statutory authorities cannot be prohibited from framing laws.

Venugopal also submitted an action plan for monitoring of all construction activities in Delhi and fixing responsibility in cases of violation of the Master Plan and the building byelaws.

He said strong action would be taken if it was found that unauthorised constructions have come up in an area due to the connivance of public servants.

The bench then asked the DDA to apprise it whether the government officials would be placed under suspension if they failed to perform their duty and unauthorised constructions come up in areas under their jurisdiction.

"Will you suspend such officials immediately? This does not take us anywhere. One can understand if you say that the official would be suspended immediately but you are not saying that. If you are presuming that the official is in connivance, the least you can do is to suspend the official," the bench said.

As the Attorney General sought time to respond to the court's query, the matter has now been posted for May 17 for further hearing.

The bench asked the DDA to advertise in the leading dailies on three consecutive days the action plan placed before it.

The DDA said the action plan aimed at curbing corruption and the persons responsible in the department would be held accountable for any unauthorised construction in their respective areas.

Hearing the arguments of the Attorney General, the bench said: "There is a garbage dump of around 68 metres high and you are not able to do anything about it. Wherever you want to take the garbage, people are objecting. The situation is irreversible. There is no water, so people cannot drink water. There is pollution, so people cannot breathe and there is garbage. Where is the city going?"

The bench also asked the Centre to publish in the newspapers the notification issued on the constitution of a Special Task Force (STF) so that the people and the stakeholders are aware of their responsibility.

The STF was formed by the Central government to monitor issues relating to unauthorised constructions in Delhi and will take steps to demolish them.

It would also identify areas of congestion of traffic in Delhi and suggest measures to remedy the same to local bodies and other agencies.

The court was hearing pleas relating to the validity of the Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2006 and subsequent legislation protecting unauthorised construction from being sealed in Delhi.

--IANS

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A Delhi school on Tuesday rolled back its fee hike following a Delhi government order last week.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, acting on parents' complaints, asked Queen Mary's School in Model Town-3 to withdraw the fees hike for the 2018-19 academic session.

The order also asked the school to refund the increased fee to parents without delay and warned of action if this was not done.

The school informed the government in writing that the proposed provisional fee hike for session 2018-19 had been withdrawn and excess amount, if any, would be refunded or adjusted in fee accounts of students.

--IANS

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The Scottish parliament on Tuesday refused to give its consent to Britain's key Brexit legislation -- EU Withdrawal Bill.

MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) rejected the British government's bill by 93 votes to 30, reports Xinhua.

The governing party at Holyrood, the Scottish Nationalists Party (SNP), won backing from Labour, Liberal Democrats and Greens MSPs to inflict the blow to British Prime Minister Theresa May's government.

The vote meant SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's move to oppose proposals on post-Brexit power sharing was passed by the Scottish parliament, which fears May's current proposals would restrict its powers.

Political commentators said although the vote is not binding on May's government, it presents the British prime minister with the dilemma of either imposing a power-sharing plan on Holyrood, or attempting to avert a crisis by putting forward concessions.

The Guardian newspaper in London said Conservative Party sources suggested May is likely to push the legislation through the House of Commons without Scottish parliament's consent.

The Scottish parliament and Westminster have been at loggerheads for months over how to manage EU powers that will return to Britain after Brexit, including over state aid for industry, genetically modified crops policy, fishing quotas and farm subsidies, after ministers in London made a series of concessions brokered by the Scottish Conservatives.

Both sides agree those policies should operate uniformally across Britain.

May's government says it will consult the Scottish parliament on all changes to those policies, trying to seek agreement, while Sturgeon has decided that consultation is not enough and insists that her government should be given the legal power to block any changes it disagrees with.

--IANS

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Seven men involved in crime were arrested in Ghaziabad district on Tuesday, including two kidnappers of a minor girl who was rescued, police said.

Police arrested four thieves -- Ansar, Munazir, Aslam and Sushil -- and recovered 250 jeans, two mobile phones, a three-wheeler and knives from them.

Two kidnappers -- Lal Dhari Mandal and Bharti Mandal -- who had abducted a minor girl on May 6 from Vijay Nagar area of the city were arrested. The girl was rescued.

Police also arrested an auto thief, Videsh Kumar alias Sudesh, and recovered a Volkswagon Polo car stolen in Rajnagar on May 8, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said.

--IANS

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Turkey has recalled its ambassadors to the US and Israel to protest the Donald Trump administration's decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a media report said on Tuesday.

"Turkey has recalled ambassadors in Tel Aviv and Washington for consultations," Hurriyet Daily News reported quoting Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag as saying on Monday in Ankara following a cabinet meeting.

Israeli security forces on Monday killed at least 55 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border, marking the deadliest day of violence there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war.

"Today will go down in the history as Bloody Monday for Muslims and Islamic countries," Bozdag said, also adding that "the US has violated UN Security Council decisions by opening its embassy in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said the country has declared a three-day national mourning. "We declare a national mourning for three days, starting tomorrow, to stand in solidarity with our Palestinian brothers," Erdogan said, addressing students in London.

"Israel is a terror state," the President reiterated.

Labeling the killings as "genocide," Erdogan also said a big rally is set to be held on May 18 in Istanbul as a sign of solidarity.

In a show of anger fueled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, a key campaign promise of President Donald Trump, has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

--IANS

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Dhaka, May 15 (IANS/AKI) Almost 12,000 Rohingya refugees have now been relocated to safer ground as storms continue to lash southern Bangladesh, damaging tarpaulin shelters and raising the risk of landslides, the UN migration agency the International Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday.

"The impact of the recent storms is a worrying indication of what people will face during the cyclone season and at the height of monsoon," said Manuel Pereira, IOM's Emergency Coordinator in the Cox's Bazar area.

With support from partners, IOM has so far has helped 11,791 people to relocate - either because they were at serious risk of landslides and floods - or to allow for emergency access and other crucial infrastructure to be installed ahead of monsoon, the agency said.

Around 3,000 more people have been relocated by other agencies for similar reasons and IOM is racing to help relocate 24,000 people in overcrowded conditions who are at highest risk on the steep sandy slopes of the refugee settlements in Cox's Bazaar.

The latest relocations came as early incident reports revealed that lightning storms and strong winds, which have hit the refugee camps over the past few days, damaged scores of shelters and caused several small landslides, creating even more precarious living conditions for some refugees.

"There is no time to lose in supporting those at risk to move to safer ground. The work being done under the SMEP will help save lives," said, Pereira, referring to the Site Maintenance Engineering Project.

The SMEP, a joint effort between IOM, the UN World Food Programme and UNHCR, is also working at full speed to prepare new land made available by the government to the southwest of the existing camps to allow more people to move to safer ground, IOM said.

The first section of a new site to the southwest of the current camps is now ready to receive shelters and other key services, including water, hygiene and education facilities. The newly prepared land is part of around 40 acres that will be prepared in the coming weeks to accommodate hundreds of families most at risk from floods and landslides, the agency stated.

The government of Bangladesh has made 500 acres of new land available to relocate refugees at risk, but due to the topography of the Cox's Bazar area, where much of the land is hilly, major earthworks are needed to prepare the ground, said IOM.

Only a fraction of the newly available land can be made safe for relocation before the monsoon, which will begin in earnest next month, IOM warned.

IOM and its partners are also pre-positioning of key road clearing equipment and emergency provisions, mobile medical services among other measures to help refugees in the coming months, Pereira said.

Almost 700,000 refugees have fled violence in neighbouring Myanmar and arrived in Cox's Bazar since August 2017, according to the UN.

--IANS/AKI

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Older employees tend to feel more stressed than younger employees when their employers don't provide them with the support and resources they need to do their jobs well, according to a new study.

The study, published in the "Journal of Vocational Behavior", found that both younger and older workers had lower levels of overall stress when they were given more autonomy on the job, had good relationships with their bosses and felt they were respected and treated fairly at work.

But when such resources were lacking, older workers reported significantly higher stress levels a year later than their younger colleagues, the researcher said.

"With the workforce becoming more age-diverse and older at the same time, it is important to understand the differences between younger and older workers to help them cope with the demands of their work lives more effectively," said co-author Lale Yaldiz from the Portland State University in the US.

For the study, the researchers surveyed 243 municipal public works employees between the ages of 24 and 64 over the course of a year.

The findings suggest that older workers place a greater value on having autonomy and a supportive work environment than younger workers because those resources allow them to adapt to the psychological and physical changes that come with aging.

For example, older workers tend to prioritise emotional needs and care more about having socially meaningful interactions and mentoring their colleagues than younger workers whose focus tends to be on gaining the skills they need to advance in their careers, the researcher said.

Since older workers appear to be more susceptible to stress in the face of unfairness, organisations can help workers by being transparent about how decisions are made and implemented, not discriminating, valuing employee input when making key decisions and providing channels for employees to voice concerns, the researchers added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to address the violent clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, a Palestinian envoy said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said the meeting will take place "possibly within the next 24 hours."

"We condemn in the strongest term this atrocity by the Israeli occupying forces using this massive fire power against civilians who have the right to demonstrate peacefully," Xinhua quoted Mansour as saying.

Mansour said 45 Palestinians were killed, including eight under the age of 16, and more than 2,000 were injured in violent clashes with Israeli forces on Monday when the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, which trigged the escalation of conflict at the Gaza border.

The escalation has brought the number of casualties since March 30, when the Palestinians first held the "Great Return March" protests, to almost 100 dead and more than 11,000 injured.

He further demanded international protection for the civilian population and called on the Security Council to condemn "this massacre" and to provide security to the Palestinians.

When asked about forming an independent investigation that he had earlier urged, Mansour said 14 members of the Security Council were receptive to the idea but one member "was obstructing the Council from doing so."

He added the UNHCR in Geneva, the world body's human rights organ, may undertake the task of establishing such an investigation commission.

Mansour said he expects the Palestinian leadership later Monday to decide on whether to refer to the recent events as war crimes, as recommended by the Palestinian National Council.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A senior US diplomat who killed a motorcyclist in a road accident here last month was allowed by the Pakistani authorities to leave the country just days after officials prevented him from boarding a US military plane.

Col. Joseph Emanuel Hall, the Defence Attache at the US Embassy in Islamabad, was accused of jumping a red light and fatally hitting a 22-year-old motorcyclist on April 7. Another passenger on the bike was injured.

He was booked for unintentional murder and placed on an exit control list by the Interior Ministry.

"We can confirm that the American diplomat ... departed from Pakistan," a US embassy spokesman told Dawn online.

He left Nur Khan Airbase on board an American military aircraft that had come to pick him up a couple of days after the diplomat was refused exit by the Federal Investigation Agency.

A source told Dawn that the issue was resolved through negotiations and the Pakistani authorities had conveyed their willingness to let him go. The diplomat was permitted to leave after his name was removed from the exit control list.

The Pakistan Foreign Office had earlier asked the US embassy to withdraw the diplomat from diplomatic immunity so that he could be tried for the crime. The embassy refused to do so and demanded that the diplomat be allowed to leave the country.

The report said the government allowed Col. Hall's departure as conciliatory gesture after it imposed reciprocal movement restrictions on US diplomats, besides withdrawing several special concessions extended to them.

The Pakistani move was in response to similar restrictions imposed on Pakistani diplomats by the US government, it said.

The restrictions imposed by both sides symbolized a downward spiralling in an already tense relationship between the two countries.

--IANS

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"Adrift" director Baltasar Kormakur says he swam with sharks while shooting the film in Fiji, but didn't tell the producers about his adventure.

"I swam personally with sharks on his day off there in Fiji, where they shot the water scenes," Kormakur said in a statement to IANS.

"No, I didn't tell the producers knowing the insurance carriers would never have allowed the director to do such a thing," he added.

The film, being brought to India by PVR Pictures, is a true story in which a couple gets stuck in the open sea in their sailboat, they are forced to face huge waves and deadly conditions in order to survive. It is scheduled to release in India on June 1.

It stars Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflins.

Kormakur has helmed the film from a screenplay by Aaron Kandell, Jordan Kandell and David Branson Smith. It is based on the book "Red Sky in Mourning: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea".

--IANS

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A Delhi University official on Tuesday said that the varsity will try to wrap up the admission process for undergraduate programmes as early as possible and will refrain from issuing the cut-off lists beyond a certain number.

The registration for admission for undergraduate programmes will begin on Tuesday from 6 p.m. onwards, the time when the admission portal on the varsity website is programmed to go live.

The official, a member of the admission committee, told IANS that the university will reach out to the colleges asking them to keep the cut-offs "realistic" this time and take a cue from the previous year's cut-offs.

In its official communication, the university wrote that it will issue at least five cut-offs.

"Five cut-offs are standard. We always try to keep it within this and try to end the admissions as soon as possible. However, it all depends on how the colleges respond to this plan. We may have to issue more cut-offs if seats remain vacant," the official said.

"We can only request the colleges to keep the cut-offs realistic. Our role is only that of an advisor. Moreover, the CBSE also has said that it will not be spiking or moderating marks this year which will also result in more sensible cut-offs," he added.

Several colleges in the last few years have been raising the percentage bar up to as high as 99 per cent.

Last year, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Khalsa College, which demanded 99.66 per cent for the Electronics course, came down to 92 per cent by the time the sixth cut-off list was out.

--IANS

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WINIT, a leading mobile sales force automation company, on Tuesday announced that it will expand its footprint in Africa.

The company, having its operations across India, Middle East and South Asia, has signed a pact with OLAM, one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies in Africa.

"We are closely working with OLAM to drive some of the key sales and distribution objectives to help achieve the desired return on investment. We hope to automate other functions such as merchandising, route optimisaton and supervisory and take them through the journey of integrated automation," said Sathish Kannan, Executive Vice President - Operations, WINIT.

To begin with, it will provide services in Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique. The solution currently enables 550 users in the three markets.

As part of the global tie-up, the footprint will extend to other countries in Africa soon.

Hyderabad-based WINIT software solutions is one of the fastest growing sales force automation and consulting companies in India with over 50 customers across 11 countries.

--IANS

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Indian health care major Fortis, which has lost 7 per cent in value on the markets this year so far, has continued to stumble with its rehabilitation plan. The company was thrown into turmoil by allegations against the promoters, who had to step down in February. The latest wound is also self-inflicted.

Fortis board has chosen one of the four possible options. The deal will, of course, have to be accepted by shareholders. Yet the decision itself has raised knotty questions about the quality of corporate governance on offer at Fortis. It has been reported that three independent ...
Soon after the results were declared, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (pictured) took direct aim at the Congress saying it is time for the party to change its name from INC (Indian National Congress) to 'Congress (PMP)', given that it is in power in only three states. "With this #KarnatakaVerdict it's time for Congress to change its name from Indian National Congress to Congress (PMP) Congress  Punjab, Mizoram, ...

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One army jawan was killed and five others were injured in a blast at the Field Ammunition Depot in Dasuya this evening, police said.

The explosion took place during an inspection of defective ammunition, Hoshairpur SSP J Elanchezhian said.

However, he said that he was waiting for the exact details to be shared by the Army about the incident.

Jagdish Raj, the Station House Officer (Dasuya) said six jawans were injured in the blast.

They were admitted to the local civil hospital in Dasuya, where a jawan succumbed to injuries, he added.

Two seriously injured jawans were referred to a hospital in Jalandhar.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One person was killed and a policeman injured after a constable opened fire inside the premises of the police lines here today, police said.

The incident happened this morning under the jurisdiction of Buddha Colony police station, the police said.

The constable shot dead his brother-in-law and one policeman received a bullet injury when he was trying to catch the constable for opening fire, a police officer said.

A trainee constable, in a fit of rage, opened fire from his service weapon during an argument with his brother-in-law, the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Patna Central, D Amarkesh, said.

When other policemen tried to stop him, he opened fire at them also, the ASP said.

He said, the constable's brother-in-law was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to injuries.

The constable was overpowered by other policemen on the spot, he added.

The trainee constable has been arrested and an investigation has been initiated, the ASP said.

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Police arrested three men for allegedly supplying opium from Bangladesh to Punjab and seized contraband worth Rs 1.5 crore, an official said today.

The three accused were identified as Alam Sheikh (26), the carrier of narcotic drugs, Shakeel (45), a transporter, and Jasvinder (32), the receiver of the drugs.

The Crime Branch received information that members of a drug syndicate would come near Majnu Ka Tila, Timarpur in a truck with huge consignment of opium.

A trap was laid and the accused were nabbed with 15 kilogram of opium and the truck was also seized, the police said.

During interrogation, the accused revealed that the syndicate is being run by one Ibrahim, a resident of Malda, who procures the opium from Bangladesh and Jharkhand and supplies it to various areas of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Punjab, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Bhisham Singh said.

According to the police, Sheikh's father is suffering from a heart ailment and he was in a dire need of money for his treatment. About four-five months back, he came in contact with Ibrahim, who was looking for a carrier of illegal drugs. Sheikh was assured of Rs 10,000 per trip to accompany Shakeel, the transporter.

Shakeel went to Saudi Arabia in 2008 and worked as a truck driver and came back to India in 2014.

By his earnings from Saudi Arabia, the accused Shakeel purchased his own truck and started a transport business. During this period, he came in contact with Ibrahim, who lured him into this business with a promise to pay Rs 20,000 for each trip, said the officer.

The third accused owns a dhaba by the name of Virk Jack' on Shamli-Karnal Road, where large number of truck drivers are regular customers, who consume opium. About two-three years ago, he came in contact with Shakeel, who was supplying opium for Ibrahim.

Finding this trade profitable, the accused started purchasing opium from Ibrahim and selling it to retail to truck drivers and also supplied it to his various contacts in Punjab and Haryana in wholesale, added the DCP.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
All sides must observe restraint in expressing their views in the sub-judice Babri Masjid-Ram Temple land dispute and the Hindu side was not observing this, the Supreme Court was told today.

A special bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra, which is seized of a total of 14 appeals filed against the high court judgement delivered in four civil suits pertaining to Ayodhya title dispute, was told by senior advocate Rajeev Dhavan that Hindu side has not been observing restraint and also not refraining from inciting the public on the sensitive issue.

"It is extremely important that people should restrain themselves, especially the Hindu side. So far as the Hindu side is concerned, it has not observed restraint," Dhavan, appearing for M Siddiq who has died but is being represented through his legal heir, said.

Some leaders said they would go to Parliament to ensure construction of a Ram Temple, which was "contemptous and amounted to pre-judging and pressurising the court", Dhavan told the bench,which also included Justices Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer.

He then assailed certain findings of the 1994 verdict in the case of M Ismail Faruqui, holding that a mosque was not integral to the prayers offered by the followers of Islam, and said these have been referred to and relied upon by the Allahabad High Court in its judgement in the Ayodhya title dispute.

Referring to a seven-judge bench judgement of 1954 on the integral and essential practices of a religion, the senior lawyer said the 1994 verdict was "founded on a confusion regarding the application of the essential and/or integral test which needs to be resolved as a matter of constitutional significance.

"These concepts here permeated the judgment in the suits and the appeals (of Ayodhya case). It is submitted that these issues need to go to a larger bench of 5 or 7 Judges."



Former Attorney General and senior advocate K Parasaran, appearing for the deity -- Ram Lalla Virajman, opposed Dhavan's plea and said his client (M Siddiq) was a party to the litigation in the courts below and hence, cannot seek reference of the case to a larger bench.

"His (Dhavan's) client was party to the litigation and now, he is precluded from raising this issue," Parasaran said, adding that the question of law only can be referred to the larger bench.

At the outset, Dhavan said there were issues which were to be decided by the larger bench. "Is a mosque and prayer in it a part of the essential practice of the Muslim faith," he asked.

"Is it consistent with Indian secularism to evaluate the comparative significance of religious practices of different faiths to the detriment of another," Dhavan said, adding it was a key question needed to be answered.

"Once the Babri Masjid suit existing at the time of the Ismail Faruqui judgement stood fully revived, could it be said that the issues in it stood limited by observations in the Ismail Faruqui case," he asked.

Referring to the status quo at the site, he also asked "could it be said that the issue of Muslim ownership of the graveyard and other claims was rendered not adjudicatable".

He said on one hand, it has been observed that mosques are not integral to practice of Islam, while on the other, the present Haryana Chief Minister says that Muslims should offer 'namaz' in mosques and not on roads.

The lawyer then referred to the concept of secularism and said it was based on equality. India has the third largest Muslim population in the world and we are telling them that the mosques are not integral to Islam, he pondered.

The court posted the matter for further hearing on May 17 when Parasaran would advance arguments on the issue whether the Ayodhya case be referred to a larger bench.

Earlier, the Hindu bodies, fighting a legal battle to stake claim over the disputed site in Ayodhya, had told the Supreme Court that it was purely a property dispute which should not be referred to a larger bench.

The top court was told that the issue of "political or religious sensitivity" cannot be a ground to refer the matter to a larger bench and India has moved forward since the 1992 demolition of the Babri Masjid.

Earlier, the court had dashed the hopes of activists like Shyam Benegal and Teesta Setalvad to intervene in the sensitive Babri Masjid-Ram Temple land dispute case, making it clear that only the parties to the original lawsuits would be allowed to put forth their arguments.

The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total of 14 appeals filed against the high court judgement delivered in four civil suits.

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Board of state-owned today divested its MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian of all powers with immediate effect, following a directive from the finance ministry after she was named in the CBI's chargesheet in fraud case.

Ananthasubramanian, was the CMD of Punjab National Bank till May 2017.

Yesterday, the finance ministry had asked the boards of and to take action against Ananthasubramanian and two executive directors of

The PNB had yesterday divested its two executive directors of all powers.

"...the Board of Directors of the Bank in its meeting held on date has decided that Smt Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD & CEO be divested of all functional responsibilities of the Bank with immediate effect...," said in a regulatory filing.

It further asked the government to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.

The CBI yesterday filed its first chargesheet in the PNB fraud case detailing the roles of Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal Modi and Subhash Parab, an executive in Nirav Modi's company.

Meanwhile, PNB today said that its total liability works out to Rs 14,356.84 crore on account of the fraud allegedly carried out by jewellery designer and associates.

The fraud was detected at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai involving certain accounts under 'gems and jewellery' sector wherein, through apparent connivance between "these entities and few employees of the bank", some LoUs/FLCs were issued fraudulently to certain overseas branches of Indian banks through misuse of the SWIFT messaging system.
Indian to the US Navtej Singh Sarna has slammed the American media for their "negative portrayal" of India, alleging that there is a tendency among foreignsARNA journalists based in to pick up the "exception" stories and ignore the development news.

Sarna's remarks came during his address at the Center for Strategic and Studies, a top American think tank.

"Now, it is more a case of pity than worry. has moved on, you haven't," he said when asked about the portrayal of in the mainstream American media.

Sarna said the American media picks up the "exception" stories, while ignoring the development news.

There is a tendency to look at the social exception there is a dowry case, there is a caste issue so pick it up and splash it. But if there is a start-up story for instance... (they will say) that happens everywhere. Frankly it bothers me, but I do not loose sleep over it anymore I used to (worry)," the top Indian diplomat said.

By such a "negative" portrayal of India, Sarna said, the American media was doing "injustice" to its public.

Sarna was participating in a panel discussion during the opening session of the "US & India: From Estranged Democracies to Natural Allies" organised by the top American think-tank.

"These (negative) pieces just sound like oddities. They show the narrow mindset of the journalists, of the editor and marginalise them rather than marginalise us anymore," the Indian said.

"If they (the American media) want to survive and remain relevant, they should move on," Sarna said.

Referring to his previous four-year stint at the Indian Embassy here when he was its spokesperson, Sarna said this was what he tried "correcting then, but failed miserably".

"It is extremely important for us, but I think it's important for the as well to get a correct picture of, even if I was not in India and I would say of a very important country in the world. Unfortunately, can't tell you, I can guess at the reasons," he said.
The Delhi High Court today asked the Centre to apprise it about the criteria and list of activities allowed to be carried out by a person holding a business visa.

The court sought to know the details from the government while hearing a plea by a 48-year-old American woman entrepreneur, who has been blacklisted and was denied entry to India, where she had been residing for over a decade prior to her deportation on January 5.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher also sought the response of the central government on a plea by the woman seeking an interim relief that she be allowed into India during pendency of the main petition.

In her main petition, Kasha Elizabeth Vande has challenged her deportation to the US and denial of entry in to India despite having a valid business visa.

During the hearing, advocates Shoumendu Mukherji and Raghav Awasthi, appearing for Vande, said the woman should be allowed to come here as an interim relief as there was an urgency as she was the organiser of a popular photo exhibition 'PondyPHOTO', scheduled to be held this year in Puducherry.

The photo exhibition was widely popular around the world attracting various artists, high sponsorship, as well as partnership by the Puducherry government, positively impacting tourism and economy of the union territory, the counsel said in the plea.

Central government counsel Aseem Sood said the petitioner should explain the fresh ground for seeking the relief and claimed that the woman was running an NGO here which was prohibited under the visa norms.

The court listed the matter for further hearing in the matter on May 22.

The woman's counsel said that she has never violated her visa norms and she was black listed and deported out of India without giving a chance of a hearing and detailed ground.

A division bench of the high court had on recently directed the Centre to inform the woman the reasons for blacklisting her and denying her entry into India, within five days.

The court's order to provide the reasons for the decision had come on the woman's plea against the single judge order of March 12 declining to give any interim relief to her.

According to the woman's plea, she was denied entry into India despite having a valid business visa. She has also claimed that she had been residing in India for 10 years before her deportation in January this year.

The government had earlier defended its action, telling the single judge that she was deported as she was running an NGO instead of a business for which she was granted the visa that was valid till 2027. It had told the court that the visa was given to the woman to come here to set up and run a business and not to live here for over a decade.

The woman, in her plea, had claimed that she was running an organisation which was promoting tourism in Puducherry with the support and permission of the government there. According to her plea, she was running a cafe and boutique named Kasha ki Asha in Puducherry.

A plea was moved in January challenging her detention at the Chennai airport when she had returned from the US. However, by the time the matter reached the court, she had already been sent back.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A group of armed men allegedly attacked Buddhist monks and looted their belongings here, police said today.

According to the police, nearly six thieves barged into the Buddha Vihar library in Sankisa area yesterday night and attacked the monks before decamping with five mobile phones, one bike and Rs 40,000 cash.

Bhante Chaitsik said that the thieves alleged that they were from the Uttar Pradesh Police. Later, they thrashed the monks and looted their belongings, the police said.

The monks somehow managed to come out of the room and informed the UP Police about the incident. A case has been registered in this regard, Additional Superintendent of Police Tribhuwan Singh said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A portion of an under construction flyover, near the railway station here, collapsed today killing at least 16 persons while more were feared trapped under the debris, officials said.

Sixteen bodies have been recovered from the Varanasi flyover collapse site, an NDRF spokesperson said.

The incident occurred post-noon, officials said adding rescue teams were rushed to the spot.

"It is feared that several people are buried under the rubble," an official said.

Some vehicles were also crushed in the incident, they added.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident while Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is reaching there, an official spokesperson said in Lucknow.

Adityanath also set up a three-member committee to probe the flyover collapse, an official said.

The chief minister directed the district administration and PWD officials to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations.

Local administration was providing emergency services with medical and other teams carrying out rescue work, officials said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths in the flyover collapse.

Modi said the Uttar Pradesh government was monitoring the situation. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said he had spoken with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected."



Naidu too condoled the deaths in the incident in a tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A portion of an under-construction flyover near the railway station here collapsed today killing at least 18 persons while more were feared trapped under the debris, officials said.

Eighteen bodies have been recovered from the Varanasi flyover collapse site, UP Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar told PTI in Lucknow.

"It is feared that several people are buried under the rubble," an official said, adding rescue teams were at spot to rescue those trapped.

Some vehicles, including a bus, were crushed in the collapse, they said. At least three persons had been rescued, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said.

The Uttar Pradesh Bridge Construction Corporation was constructing the 2261-metre-long bridge at a cost of Rs 129 crore, officials said. The span which fell today was laid barely three months ago, they added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths. Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya rushed to the spot, an official spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the opposition targeted the state government over the tragedy in the "top-priority constituency of the country".

Chief Minister Adityanath set up a three-member committee to probe the flyover collapse. Adityanath also announced a Rs five lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs two lakh to the seriously injured, an official said.

The chief minister also directed the district administration and PWD officials to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," Modi tweeted.

In another tweet, the prime minister said he had spoken to Adityanath. "The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," he said.

Vice President M Venkaiah



Naidu and Governor Ram Naik too condoled the deaths.

Opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the state government over the incident.

"This is the reality of development in the top-priority constituency of the country. The ministers of the state used to visit this district for regular inspections. Is this incident an accident or result of corruption? This should be told to the people of Varanasi by the state government," the SP chief said.

Yadav appealed to his party workers to cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue. The incident should be probed "honestly", he demanded.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
NCP leader Dhanajay Munde today demanded Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's resignation for his "failure" to control the violence in Aurangabad that claimed two lives and left over 60 people injured.

Munde, who is the Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council, also sought a judicial inquiry into the riots.

He was speaking to reporters after visiting the violence-hit areas here.

"This was not a clash between two communities. It was executed for extortion by one of the corporators of Aurangabad Municipal corporation," he claimed.

He said two months back, the intelligence had given inputs about the possible violence in the city.

"However, the police failed to act on those inputs. The officers who hid the information provided by the intelligence should be suspended. The chief minister should resign for his failure," he said.

"It is shameful that the police were just mute spectators even as the hooligans were engaged in arson and stone-pelting. It is due to the sheer neglect of the police that the riots took place," Munde added.

He said since Fadnavis is also the state Home Minister, he should have visited the riot-hit city himself.

"Why didn't he visit the riot-hit Aurangabad? He sent the minister of state (for home Ranjit Patil) to take a stock of the situation despite knowing that MoS does not have any authority to take action," the NCP leader said.

"A judicial inquiry should be carried out in the riots and Rs 25 lakh compensation should be given to the kin of each deceased and Rs 2 lakh to each injured," he said.

Two persons - a 65-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy - were killed and around 60 others, including a dozen policemen, injured in clashes that broke out on May 11.

The police have registered six cases in which nearly 3,000 unidentified people were booked for offences like arson, rioting and damaging public property.

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The Bihar government today approved a scheme for providing financial assistance to candidates belonging to the Extremely Backward Classes (EBC) who crack the civil service preliminary tests conducted by the UPSC and the state public service commission.

The scheme - "Mukhyamantri Atyant Pichhda Varg Civil Seva Protsahan Yojana" - was approved at a meeting of the cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

"Under the scheme, EBC candidates cracking the civil services PT conducted by UPSC will be provided a grant of Rs one lakh while those from the social group clearing the preliminaries held by the BPSC will be given Rs 50,000", Prem Singh Meena, Secretary, department of welfare of OBCs/EBCs, told reporters.

He said another decision okayed by the cabinet was to provide Rs 1000 per month to boys and girls pursuing studies while staying at hostels meant for the OBCs and the EBCs.

Notably, the schemes have been rolled out exactly a week after similar doles wer announced by the state government for candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.

The move had drawn flak from opposition parties like the Hindustani Awam Morcha which had accused the Nitish Kumar government of trying to buy Dalits by throwing crumbs at them.

Speaking at the same press conference, Principal Secretary, Minority Affairs, Amir Subhani said the cabinet also gave its nod to a scheme for providing a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 to boys and girls living in "Alpasankhyak Kalyan Chhatravas" hostels, which are run by the department.

The scheme - Mukhyamantri Alpasankhyak Kalyan Chhatravas Yojana - aims at encouraging higher studies among the minority communities, Subhani said adding that at present 3350 boys and girls were pursuing their education at 33 hostels and their number was likely to cross 5,000 with the completion of construction of another 11 complexes.

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Bihar today handed over its three thermal power units to the NTPC, hoping to save more than Rs 800 crore every year.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) in this regard was exchanged here in presence of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Union Minister of State for Power (Independent Charge) R K Singh.

As per the agreement, the thermal power units at Kanti in Muzaffarpur district, Barauni in Begusarai and Nabinagar in Aurangabad were handed over by the state to the NTPC, a Maharatna company.

MoU was exchanged between National Thermal Power Corporations Director (Commercial) A K Gupta and R Lakshmanan, Managing Director of South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) and the Bihar State Power Generation Company Limited (BSPGCL), an official release said.

The MoU, which follows a cabinet decision taken to the effect on April 17 last, is expected to result in annual savings of Rs 875.06 crore for the state, the release said.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said handing over of the three power units to the NTPC would facilitate improved power generation and availability of electricity to consumers at lower rates.

The Union Power Minister, who also represents Ara in the state in the Lok Sabha, hailed the decision to hand over the three units to NTPC and said it reflected the foresight of the Chief Minister.

The three thermal power units have been handed over to the NTPC on a 30-year-lease, the states Principal Secretary, Power, Pratyay Amrit told reporters later.

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Senior BJP leader and former minister Lal Singh today organised a candlelight march here in support of his demand for a CBI probe into the gruesome rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Kathua.

The march in Jammu started from Singh's residence in Gandhi Nagar and ended at Satwari chowk here.

"We will not rest till the CBI inquiry is ordered into the Kathua rape and murder case," he said.

Singh has organised over 30 rallies in Kathua, Samba, Jammu, Udhampur, and Reasi districts since he resigned from the Jammu and Kashmir council of ministers after courting controversy by attending a rally in support of the accused in the case.

The girl, belonging to a nomadic community, was abducted, gang-raped and murdered in January this year. The case triggered a nationwide outrage.

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The BJP emerged as the single largest party today but fell 9 seats short of a majority in Karnataka where the Congress dramatically backed third-placed rival JD(S) for a post-poll alliance to keep the saffron party out of power.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly.

Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12 while polling for the remaining two will be held later.

Both sides rushed to meet Vala, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power.

Addressing BJP workers in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who undertook a vigorous campaign, hailed the party's win in Karnataka as "unparalleled and unprecedented".

The BJP bagged 104 seats, a gain of 64 , while the Congress notched 78, a loss of 44 seats, though its vote share was nearly two percentage points more than the saffron party.

The JD(S) secured 37 seats, down by three from its previous tally.

In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But at the end of counting of votes it came tantalisingly close to 113 needed to form the government.

"We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told India Today TV. "...when the JD(S) and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it."



Azad's comments summed up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 general elections at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country. Karnataka was the only major non-BJP ruled state, and the party offices had reverberated with jubilation in the morning when initial trends put it ahead.

Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the national capital.

The swift political manoeuvring by Congress in reaching out to JD(S) showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJP's shrewd moves.

"We have all together discussed and decided this.... This is the opinion of the All India Congress party. Congress will support JD(S) because there is a hung Assembly situation here as no party has been given clear majority by the people," outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters after submitting his resignation.

Congress Leaders Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjuna Kharge along with JD(S) state Chief H D Kumaraswamy met Vala and submitted a letter seeking an opportunity to form the government.

"All India Congress party leaders after discussion have given a letter to our party president extending support ....on behalf our party, along with Congress leaders we have asked governor seeking an opportunity to form the government with the support of Congress, also two independent MLAs," Kumaraswamy, the alliance's chief ministerial candidate, said.

Soon after Congress declared its support to JD(S), Kumaraswamy wrote to the governor informing him that he had accepted the offer to be the chief minister



KPCC chief G Parameshwara said modalities related to government formation would be discussed later.

However, BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa accused Congress of trying to grab power unfairly.

Yeddyurappa met the Governor and staked claim to form the government, slamming the move of the Congress-JDS combine as an attempt to come back to power through back door.

"BJP has emerged as the single largest party, we have requested the governor to give us an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the assembly," Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Vala along with Union minister Ananth Kumar.

A sombre-looking Yeddyurappa said the people of Karnataka had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel".

The usual practice is for the governor to call the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government, and in the event of a hung Assembly, asks him to prove the majority on the floor of the House.

Since the Congress and JD(S) did not have a pre-poll alliance, it remains to be seen if he invites Kumaraswamy to form the government.

At least 10 ministers fell by the wayside as they lost their seats in an anti-incumbency wave.

Siddaramaiah himself lost by a huge margin of 36,042 votes in his traditional constituency of Chamundeshwari in Mysuru to JDS' G T Deve Gowda.

He, however, managed to scrape through in Badami in north Karnataka, where he won by a slender margin of 1,696 votes after a see-saw battle against BJP's B Sriramulu, a close associate of the mining baron Reddy brothers.

Yeddyurappa won the Shikaripura seat by a margin of over 35,000 votes while Kumaraswamy won convincingly in both Channapatna and Ramanagara.

After a record 72.13 per cent voter turnout, the Election Commission announced that the Congress notched 38 per cent of votes as against BJP's 36.2 per cent. JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, got 18.4 per cent votes. .

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Buoyed by the success of BJP in Karnataka Assembly elections, Telangana BJP president K Laxman today expressed confidence that the party would be successful in Telangana as well.

Observing that the electorate in Karnataka voted for BJP as they were impressed by the development initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre, Laxman said the voters in Telangana would also vote for the party on the same plank.

The people of Telangana are looking for a change, he claimed.

Legislative Assembly elections in Telangana would be held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

Alleging that the Chief Ministers of Telugu states (N Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh and K Chandrasekhar Rao in Telangana) have campaigned against the BJP by sending some leaders to Karnataka, Laxman said the Telugu people in Karnataka, however, stood by his party.

BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections whose results were announced today.

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US aerospace major Boeing has said its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet can help India grow its aerospace ecosystem which can be utilised for its Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme.

Boeing's current F/A-18 production involves 60,000 jobs and 800 suppliers in 44 states in the US and this can be replicated in India, Thom Breckenridge, vice president, global sales, Boeing India, told PTI in an interview, as the company seeks to enterb India's fighter jet bidding process.

Eyeing the mega Indian Air Force's contract for 110 fighter jets, Boeing has recently tied up with Mahindra Defence System and state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for producing F/A-18 Super Hornets.

Breckenridge said that the Super Hornet is a platform that is continuously evolving to outpace future threats.

"Every two years, Boeing and its industry partners along with the US Navy work on delivering new capabilities to the fighter. Critical mission systems such as the radar, mission computers and sensors continue to evolve to match up to the mission profiles of the future," he said.

As the most advanced and lowest cost fighter per flight hour, the F/A-18 Super Hornet will deliver next-gen superiority and survivability to India, he said.

"By assembling, testing, and certifying this aircraft at a state-of-the-art Factory of the Future in India, Boeing will help grow the country's aerospace ecosystem," he said.

Observing that Super Hornet brings the latest generation of technologies to the warfare, he said that with designed-in stealth and robust capability growth plan, it is the best aircraft to get to India's Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft programme.

"Boeing is also committed to expanding its partnership by producing Super Hornets in India, further developing the country's aerospace ecosystem. Boeing will work closely with Indian industry to ensure they have the very latest technologies, applying lessons learned from the current Super Hornet production line, he said.

Boeing, he said, is prepared to bring its global scale and supply chain, its best-in-industry precision manufacturing processes, as well as the company's unrivaled experience designing and optimising aerospace production facilities to both expand India's aerospace ecosystem and help realise the 'Make in India' vision.

He said that Boeing and its current industry partners are having robust discussions with suppliers in India about building Super Hornets.

"We have talked to over 400 Indian companies as part of our partner evaluation process for various systems and subsystems of Super Hornet," Breckenridge said.

Responding to a question on Boeing's partnership withMahindra Defense Systems (MDS) and HAL, he said that this is to deliver affordable, combat-proven fighter capabilities with growth potential for the Indian warfighter and industrial capability to build India's aerospace industry.

"A Boeing-HAL-MDS partnership will transform India's aerospace and defense ecosystem by manufacturing F/A-18 Super Hornets in India and developing future technologies jointly, building on 'Make in India'," Breckenridge said.

"We have taken a dual approach of making equity and non-equity investments as part of our partner strategy for India.

Boeing will continue to invest millions of dollars in supplier development, training, tooling and quality systems and skill development at our Indian suppliers, Breckenridge said.

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China today expressed serious concern over the violent clashes in the Gaza Strip that left dozens of Palestinians dead and called on both Israel and Palestine to exercise restraint.

Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem, in the deadliest escalation of violence since 2014.

China is seriously concerned about the confrontations that caused mass casualties and opposes violent action targeting civilians, Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told media here today.

"We have called on both Israel and Palestine, especially the Israeli side, to keep restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions," Lu said.

He said the issue of Jerusalem's status and ownership is highly complicated and sensitive.

"The Chinese side holds that in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, peace talks between Palestine and Israel should be resumed as soon as possible and the final status of Jerusalem should be settled through dialogues," he said.

China supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and supports the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

China stands ready to work with relevant parties of the international community to make contributions to the final proper settlement of the Palestine issue.

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China's utilisation of intelligence services and nontraditional collectors to advance their national development continues to place the US' national security at risk, top counterintelligence official said today.

Bill Evanina, who is facing a confirmation vote to head the newly created National Counterintelligence and Security Center, told the Senate Intelligence Committee that China is one of the gravest concerns that the US has moving forward as a nation with respect to economic security.

He said China's utilisation of a whole-of-government approach towards the United States to increase their economic and military development is problematic.

"China's utilisation of intelligence services and nontraditional collectors to advance their national development continues to place our national security at risk.

"The US must continually and aggressively respond to China's systematic theft of US technology, trade secrets, proprietary data, research and development across wide swaths of the US economy, Evanina told lawmakers.

The utilisation of nontraditional collectors here in the United States -- engineers, scientists, students in school -- and their ability to, from a cyber-enabled perspective, identify and attract unclassified data from research facilities continues to allow the US to not only lose positions, jobs, research and funding, as well as provide first-to-market capability to the Chinese, he said.

This take America's ingenuity and proprietary data and trade secrets away, Evanina rued.

"The intelligence community and federal law enforcement is on record with this committee and the American people with respect to the threat posed by China telecom, Evanina said.

During the confirmation hearing, Senator Mark Warner, expressed concern over the security threat posed by Chinese telecom giant ZTE.

A number of members on this committee has raised concerns about certain of the Chinese telecom companies and their penetration into the American market. I was actually pleased that the president acted on one of those companies, ZTE. Now, it appears that that is simply a bargaining chip in negotiations with China, Warner said.

This is not the appropriate way, he noted.

"If this is a security threat, it is a security threat and needs to be dealt with as such, not as a bargaining chip in terms of greater trade negotiations," he said.

My concern is that we are asking purchasers of equipment at local government...we're asking others who are in the venture community and others to understand the threat of China.

"But I don't believe we can fully brief that threat if they don't have appropriate security clearances within their own institutions, another challenge that comes out of the backlog issue, Warner said.

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A Chinese county has banned Tibetan Monks "wrongly educated" in India from teaching Buddhism, fearing that they may spread "separatist" content, according to a state-run media report.

"Monks wrongly educated in India are banned from teaching Buddhism to residents of Litang county in Southwest China's Sichuan Province," state-run Global Times quoted an official as saying yesterday.

The county conducts patriotic education classes every year for those educated and awarded Gexe Lharampa - the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhist studies - in India, an official from Litang's ethnic and religious affairs bureau told the paper.

Those who behaved improperly at the patriotic classes or showed "any signs of separatist intent" are strictly monitored and banned from teaching Buddhism to the public, the official said.

The move was a standard practice every year "in response to the county's severe separatist situation," the official said.

China accuses Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and his associates as separatists. Over one and half lakh Tibetans whose families migrated along with Dalai Lama in 1959 lived in India. They have also established schools to team Tibetan Buddhism.

China has its own criteria to award Gexe Lharampa, and candidates have to pass Chinese Buddhist tests and a sutra debate, the paper said.

Those awarded the degree overseas are not acknowledged by China and are not qualified to teach Buddhism in the country, Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, told the daily.

Some 105 monks in Tibet have been awarded the Chinese Buddhist version of the degree since 2004, the state-run Xinhua agency reported.

As some monks received education overseas from the 14th Dalai Lama clique - whom China regards as separatists - it is necessary to tighten supervision so as to avoid the clique using local Buddhists to conduct separatist activities, Zhu said.

The official did not say how many monks are banned.

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Confusion prevailed today over whether Meghan Markle's father will walk his daughter down the aisle to marry Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on Saturday after reports said that he will not attend the royal wedding.

Thomas Markle, 73, was quoted by some US media as saying that he would not attend the royal wedding to avoid embarrassing his daughter and the royal family after paparazzi shots of him seemed to indicate he had been paid to pose for photographers.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation," a Kensington Palace statement said.

It had been announced earlier this month that Thomas, a retired Hollywood lighting engineer who lives in Mexico, would walk his daughter to the altar at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle, where the 36-year-old former actress is set to wed Prince Harry, 33, in front of 600 guests and an international television audience of millions on May 19.

Before the ceremony, Thomas was expected to perform the duty of the meeting of the in-laws some time this week, when he was to join ex-wife and the bride-to-be's mother, Doria Ragland, at tea with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Camilla.

Ragland, a social worker and yoga teacher who lives in Los Angeles, is to accompany her daughter in the bridal car.

The 61-year-old is now expected to step into her ex-husband's shoes and walk her daughter down the aisle if he is missing from the ceremony.

According to a US celebrity website TMZ, Thomas has given his ex-wife his blessing to perform the duty.

He claimed to have suffered a heart attack due to stress six days ago and plans to check himself back into hospital over chest pains.

Meghan has previously heaped her father with compliments for investing in her future.

She has been quoted as saying: "The blood, sweat and tears this man who came from so little in a small town of Pennsylvania, where Christmas stockings were filled with oranges, and dinners were potatoes and Spam invested in my future so that I could grow up to have so much.

"It's safe to say I have always been a daddy's girl he taught me how to fish, to appreciate Busby Berkeley films, write thank-you notes, and spend my weekends in Little Tokyo eating chicken teriyaki with vegetable tempura."



Meghan's half-sister, Samantha, has since claimed she hopes their father will attend if he is well enough. She said the media had "raked him over the coals" and "distorted his image".

"He had a moral right to set the record straight and defend himself," she said.

Prince Harry is yet to meet his future father-in-law.

Meanwhile, Meghan's extended family has begun arriving in the UK despite not being on the guest list.

Tracy Dooley, who was married to and had children with Meghan's half-brother Thomas Markle Jr, was pictured at Heathrow Airport with sons Tyler, 25, and Thomas, 26.

It will cause some embarrassment to Meghan, whose half-brother had written an open letter warning off fiance Prince Harry from marrying his jaded, shallow, conceited sister.

Dooley is expected to cover the royal wedding for an American broadcasting network and said she "will be in the front row cheering them on" in Windsor.

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As Karnataka appeared headed for a hung Assembly today with the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party but falling short of a majority, the Congress today sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the also-ran JD(S) in forming the government.

Seeking to throw a spanner in the BJP's works as the party appeared tantalisingly close to the magic figure of 112, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Congress's support to the JD(S).

Emerging from a huddle with senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Siddaramaiah said,"We have decided that the Congress will extend support to the JD(S) to form the government. That's the best way to keep the BJP out (of power)."



Azad said a Congress delegation will meet Governor Vajubhai Vala in the evening.

The Congress has won 28 of the 222 seats polling for which was held, while it is leading in 49 others. The JD(S) has won seven constitutiencies and its candidates are ahead of their rivals in 31. If the number seats the two parties have won and where they are leading is taken into account, they could together end up with 115 seats, three more than the magic figure of 112.

The BJP, on the other hand, has won 57 seats and is leading in 47, a total of 104.

Though the BJP initially looked set to sail through and win a simple majority in the 224-member Assembly, as the day progressed and more trends and results started pouring in, an outright victory seemed improbable.

However, even as the BJP was set to emerge as the single largest party and its workers began celebrating the victory on the streets of Bengaluru and New Delhi, came the sudden twist in the tale with the Congress's announcement.

Barely hours before the shock, BJP leaders in the national capital were hailing the poll results as an endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda and claiming that people had rejected the divisive, toxic and negative of the Congress.

The role of Governor Vajubhai Bala, a former BJP veteran, would be critical once the Congress formally extends support to the JD(S).

According to the usual practice, the governor calls the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government, and in the event of a hung Assembly, asks him to prove the majority on the floor of the House.

Since the Congress and JD(S) did not have a pre-poll alliance, it seems unlikely that he would invite the leader of the JD(S) legislature group to form the government.

The sudden development nonetheless poured cold water on the BJP's plans to form its government in the large southern state, which its president Amit Shah called the "gateway to south", for a second time.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, his close aide and MP Shobha Karndlaje had said earlier, was to fly to New Delhi to finalise the date for his swearing-in after consulting the party's national leadership. It is unclear now whether he would proceed to New Delhi given the state of flux in the state's

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the Karnataka election results had set the course for a "bigger victory" for the BJP and the NDA in the 2019 general elections.

"The wave of hope created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now been transformed into a wave of faith and the people have expressed it through their mandate," he told PTI.

Fadnavis said the poll outcome in the southern state was a "mandate of faith" in the prime minister and the credit for it should go to the election strategy of BJP president Amit Shah.

"My congratulations to B S Yeddyurappa and the people of Karnataka. This has set the course for a bigger victory of the BJP and the NDA in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls," he added.

According to Election Commission (EC) figures at 4 pm, the BJP had won 78 seats and was leading in 26 Assembly segments in Karnataka, well on course to emerge as the single largest party in the southern state.

The ruling Congress had won 49 seats and was leading in 29 constituencies.

Like all the state polls since he assumed power in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi had helmed the BJP's adrenaline-charged campaign in Karnataka, despite the party having declared B S Yeddyurappa its chief ministerial candidate, while Congress president Rahul Gandhi had spearheaded the campaign of his party.

Modi had launched a blitzkrieg on May 1, addressing a number of rallies, in his bid to wrest the key southern state, which Shah had dubbed as the party's "gateway to the south", from the Congress.

The prime minister had addressed at least three rallies every day when he was in Karnataka, or else, interacted with the workers of the BJP's different frontal organisations through the "Namo" app.

Though development was a part of the political discourse, it was overtaken by a slanging match between the two parties over corruption.

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The Delhi Commission for Women has sought a status report, including details of arrests made, from the police in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was found near Shanti Van area here.

The body of the woman, in her 20s, was found in central Delhi yesterday and the police were also suspecting sexual assault, though an autopsy was yet to be carried out.

The DCW, in its notice, issued to Daryaganj police has sought to know if guards were manning the park where her body was found, and how the deceased and her killer obtained entry into the park at night.

The women's panel also asked if CCTV cameras were installed in and around the park and if the the family of the girl has been identified.

"If yes, the commission would request a meeting with them in order to support them," the notice said.

The DCW has asked the police to submit the details to it by May 19.

The police were informed that a woman, with head injuries, was lying unconscious. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared brought dead.

The woman is yet to be identified. It is suspected that she was hit with a stone on her head and effort was also made to distort her face, the police had said.

It is suspected that the woman was a vagabond and lived nearby.

Police are questioning other vagabonds in the area to get some clue about the killer and also to establish the identity of the woman. It has been suspected that she was killed at night and her body was dumped there.

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In a mega exercise, the Delhi PWD will carry out an audit of all the government buildings constructed by it to find out their accessibility to differently-abled persons in the national capital.

The public works department has set a deadline of auditing buildings by June 30, once the audit is completed, an excercise would be undertaken to make them differently-abled friendly.

The PWD carries out construction of the Delhi government buildings, including offices, hospitals, schools, among others.

According to the minutes of the meeting held last week, all the buildings and roads built by the state PWD in the city will be made accessible for differently-abled persons following the Supreme Court and high court directions.

The Rights of Persons with Disability Act, 2016, mandates all private and government institutions and establishments to ensure barrier-free spaces and services for differently-abled persons.

Last week, the disability division of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had sought data from various departments of the Delhi government and local bodies as regards how many public buildings and places under their jurisdiction were differently-abled-friendly.

"All buildings are to be audited for providing full accessibility to differently-abled persons. All the superintending engineers should ensure that tenders for the same have been called and audit is completed by June 30 along with preparations of estimates for the same," stated the minutes.

It stated that the work for making buildings and roads



fully accessible should be completed by the end of this year in compliance of the orders of the Supreme Court and high court.

"All the chief engineers will monitor the progress in this regard on weekly/fortnightly basis," it also stated.

At a sensitisation meeting of all the stakeholders to make Delhi a model accessible city, the disability division of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment had asked the government departments and local bodies to come up with a roadmap and allocate funds for the purpose at the earliest.

In Delhi, 23 buildings were identified for making them accessible to differently-abled persons and the Centre has so far released funds for 19 of those, based on proposals from the Delhi government.

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Egypt's state security prosecutor has ordered a prominent activist under investigation for alleged "fake news" be detained for 15 days, his lawyer said.

Shadi Ghazali Harb, one of the youth leaders of the 2011 revolution, faces charges of "spreading fake and joining a terrorist entity because of his posts on Facebook and Twitter", Abdul Rahman Haridi, who attended the interrogation, told AFP yesterday.

Harb, a surgeon, was one of the leaders of the Youth of the January 25 Revolution movement that emerged from the 2011 revolt that toppled longtime president Hosni Mubarak.

He was also a leader of the Al-Dustur party, from which he resigned in 2013.

"The prosecution did not specify what terrorist entity it is referring to, but it mentioned a number of other activists... including Amal Fathi," who was arrested Friday after publishing a video on Facebook criticising Egyptian institutions and sexual harassment.

Harb's interrogation was set to continue on Wednesday (today), his lawyer said.

Human rights organisations have accused President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, re-elected in March with over 97 per cent of the vote, of seeking to silence opponents.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today used a Latin phrase, made famous by William Shakespeare in "Julius Caesar" to connote betrayal, to express his surprise over the election results in Karnataka.

"Et tu #Karnataka", Omar tweeted as the trends of counting of votes showed BJP emerging as the single largest party in the state assembly elections with the possibility of getting a simple majority.

'Et tu' is a Latin phrase meaning "even you". In the play, Roman dictator Julius Caesar's last words are "Et tu Brute, Then fall Caesar" as he is assassinated by his friend Marcus Junius Brutus and other conspirators.

Omar was also quick to chide Congress leaders for blaming EVMs for its imminent defeat in the polls.

"Please save this tweet for future reference. If I win it was all my charm & hard work. If I lose it's all down to those blasted EVMs," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.

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- Female journalists in Japan said today that they were teaming up to fight sexual harassment in the media, believed to be widespread in a country where the #MeToo movement has been slow to take off.

A total of 86 women journalists have come together to form the Women in Media Network Japan (WiMN) to expose harassment and abuse, said Yoshiko Hayashi, a freelancer who formerly worked at the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun.

"Unfortunately, discrimination against women and sexual harassment still exist among the people and entities we cover," she said, reading a statement from the group on its establishment.

"Many women in journalism felt it was difficult to raise their voices out of embarrassment and fears that it would destroy the relationship with their contacts," she added.

"We were the people whose voices were unheard." The issue hit the headlines recently after the finance ministry admitted its top bureaucrat harassed a female reporter in an incident believed to be the tip of iceberg.

The reporter, with Japan's TV Asahi, blew the whistle and Hayashi said the group had been encouraged by her refusal to suffer in silence.

"We are resolved that now is the time to eradicate sexual harassment and any other human rights infringement," Hayashi said.

The ministry came under fire for its handling of the allegations against Junichi Fukuda, who stepped down over the reporter's claim but continues to deny wrongdoing.

His retirement package was eventually reduced as a punishment, but when reports of Fukuda's alleged misconduct first emerged in a weekly magazine, Finance Minister Taro Aso appeared to dismiss them, saying he had discussed the issue with his top bureaucrat and had no plans to investigate.

An uproar over the claims ensued, and the ministry was forced to backtrack, though it earned additional criticism for calling on affected women to come forward to its lawyers.

TV Asahi, one of the nation's major networks, publicly acknowledged one of its reporters was the victim and that her boss had failed to act when she initially complained about the harassment.

Aso has voiced his concern over "Fukuda's human rights" in the midst of accusations and said there is no such criminal charge as sexual harassment.

He has also said that the bureaucrat fell victim to a "honey trap" by the female reporter though he later retracted the remark.

The scandal and the ministry's perceived mishandling of the allegations have provoked a public outcry leading some to suggest the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment was finally impacting Japan.

It has also provided an additional headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose government is already under fire over two cronyism scandals, one of which involves the scrubbing of documents by the finance ministry.

Abe has made increasing female participation in the workforce a key plank of his economic policies, as Japan struggles with a labour shortage.

Japan ranked bottom among G7 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest "Global Gender Gap Report", coming 114th worldwide.

It scored poorly on women's participation in the economy



and political involvement.

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A woman from Gir Somnath district of Gujarat today wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, seeking help for bringing back her fisherman husband who is in a Pakistani prison and is suffering from cancer.

Rudiben Chauhan (32), resident of Paldi in Una tehsil, told PTI that her husband Danabhai Chauhan (35) has been languishing in a jail in the neighbouring country for over a year.

Chauhan andfive other fishermen from Gujarat were apprehended by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency near the Jakhau port in Kutch district on May 3, 2017 for allegedly entering the Pakistani waters. Their boat, "Sagar Sonu", was also seized.

Speaking to PTI, Rudiben Chauhan said her husband called his nephew from a hospital in Pakistan three days ago, and said he was suffering from cancer and he must return to India for better treatment.

"My husband said he does not want to die in Pakistani jail," she said.

The couple has four daughters and a son.

In her letter to Swaraj, Rudiben said it was the responsibility of thejail authorities in Pakistan to inform the family about her husband's disease, but they failed to do so.

Nor did she receive any communication from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian High Commission about her husband's condition, she said.

"I seek your help for doing the needful," Chauhan wrote to Swaraj.

Since her husband was captured by the Pakistani authorities she is working as a labourer to feed her children, the eldest of whom is 12 years old and the youngest is one and a half years old, she said.

"I earn Rs 100 a day which is not enough to feed my children," she wrote in the letter.

Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani, who hails from Gir Somnath district, and Veljibhai Masani, vice president of the Gujarat Fishermen's Association (GFA), told PTI that they too have written separate letters to the External Affairs Minister, requesting her to bring back Chauhan in view of his health.

According to the GFA, 415 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani jails at present for allegedly crossing the international maritime border illegally.

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Four cadres of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland Khaplang (NSCN-K) were arrested from Meghalayas West Jaintia Hills district, police said today.

Forty-year-old Gaising Maringmei, a self-styled 'revenue' secretary of the NSCN-K was picked up on Sunday evening from Khliehtyrshi village in the district and later arrested, Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem told PTI.

Gaising's arrest led to the arrest of two other members of the militant group from their hideout in the village, the Syiem said.

The fourth NSCN member who has been acting as a courier for the outfit was arrested later in the night from a hotel in the state capital here, the SP said.

Cash Rs 2 lakh, multiple SIM cards, mobile phones and other documents and extortion notes of NSCN-K were seized from their respective places of hiding, the Syiem said.

According to the SP, the NSCN-K was carrying out extortion activities in the coal rich Jaintia hills region to procure arms and ammunition.

After his arrest, Gaising revealed that a private firm, which is having construction works in Manipur had recently paid Rs 25 Lakhs as ransom money to him, Syiem said.

Out of the ransom money, his wife had taken Rs 13 lakh to Imphal on May 13. She was arrested and the cash was seized by Manipur police who intercepted the bus, acting on the information provided by the Meghalaya police, the SP said.

The four arrested NSCN militants were produced before a court which has remanded them to police custody for four days.

The NSCN militants were charged with waging war against the country and under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, police said.

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Fresh protests were expected today a day after Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict's bloodiest day in years.

Palestinians today mark the Nakba, or "catastrophe," commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

It comes a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned.

Most of the 59 Gazans who died Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza's health ministry said.

The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said.

At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

Senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya vowed protests in Gaza would continue on Tuesday.

Hamas's armed wing and other militant groups "will not prolong their silence over the crimes of the occupation", he said.

In the West Bank, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas declared a general strike on Tuesday after accusing Israel of "massacres".

On Monday, tens of thousands had gathered near the border in protest while smaller numbers of stone-throwing Palestinians approached the fence and sought to break through, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.

The death toll led to strong condemnation from rights groups and concern from a range of countries.

But the United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe into the violence, diplomats at the United Nations said.

Despite the violence, the embassy inauguration went on as planned in Jerusalem, attended by a Washington delegation that included US President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides.

Trump addressed the gathering by video.

"Our greatest hope is for peace," he said, despite the Palestinian anger the move has provoked.

Israel's military said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in the protests and clashes.

It said its aircraft had targeted 11 Hamas sites and tanks fired at "two terror posts belonging to Hamas", accusing the Palestinian Islamist movement of opening fire towards Israeli forces.

Israel says its action is necessary to stop infiltrations of the border fence and claims that Hamas, which runs the blockaded Gaza Strip, uses the protests as cover to carry out violence.

The White House also blamed Hamas for the violence.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the "violence of the Israeli armed forces against the protesters" as several countries urged restraint.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt acknowledged "Israel's right to defend its borders" but also said "the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning".

"We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said "we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life".

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide." Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel "for consultations," while South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel "until further notice".

At least 113 Palestinians have been killed in a campaign of protests along the Gaza border since March 30, the vast majority by Israeli snipers during clashes.

Only one Israeli soldier has been reported wounded during that time.

On Monday, the army said "many rioters" tried to breach the border fence and "approximately 10 explosive devices and several firebombs were used to target the security fence and (Israeli) troops". It said shots were also fired at the soldiers.

The embassy inauguration followed Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

International consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides, but Trump broke with that to global outrage.

He has argued that it helps make peace possible by taking Jerusalem "off the table", but many have noted he has not announced any concessions in return from Israel.

Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move was also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

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Unfazed by the prospect of Israel being dragged to the International Criminal Court following the death of 59 Palestinians in Gaza in violent clashes with Israeli forces, a top Israeli minister has said that her country is not worried as it "operates by international law".

Palestinian leadership has accused Israel of a "massacre" in yesterday's deadly riots and many countries have condemned Israel's reaction to the protests as excessive.

Asked during an interview if Israel should be worried about lawsuits at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that the troops had done "nothing illegal" in the face of demonstrators' violence.

"Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are acting very very well, acting by the open-fire protocols and it is all within the boundaries of judiciary and law," Shaked told Army Radio.

"Security forces are doing a very good job and containing events," she said adding, "Hamas is sacrificing its people for political purposes, but the IDF can handle the situation. I hope they got the message yesterday and things don't get out of control".

She even went on to the extent of saying that if Israel wanted "the Gaza border to be completely quiet, there is no choice but to conquer the Strip", but promptly added, "I don't think that should be done at this time".

The right-wing politician also played down mounting international criticism saying, "It is unpleasant, but we have a lot of experience, and we can deal with it".

Several other Israeli leaders and legislators also defended Israel's conduct and placed the blame for yesterday's death toll, the highest since 2014 Operation Protective Edge, squarely on the shoulders of Palestinians.

Ultra-nationalist Defence Minister, Avigdor Liberman, said Israelis' celebration in Tel Aviv last night of the recent Eurovision win was a prime example of the differences between Israeli and Palestinian mindsets.

"Yesterday tens of thousands of Israelis gathered at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for a musical performance," he tweeted.

"In Gaza, on the other hand, thousands gathered to infiltrate Israel to commit acts of terror. That's the difference between Israel's culture of life and Hamas's culture of death in Gaza," Lieberman said.

Israeli forces were gearing up today for a second straight day of Palestinian protests and the prospect that they may spread while Gazans prepared to bury their dead.

May 15 is observed by the Palestinians as the Nakba day, or the day of catastrophe commemorating the displacement of Palestinian Arabs during the 1948 war with Israel, and was expected to be the culmination of seven weeks of ongoing protests at the Gaza Strip border fence.

Israel has blamed Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since June 2007 when it ousted rival Fatah faction in a bloody struggle, for the deadly violence saying the terror group encouraged and led the protests that included attacks on Israeli troops and attempts to breach the border fence.

Likud lawmaker Avi Dichter, chairman of the Knesset's (Israeli parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he believed protests had not yet reached their peak.

"We are not seeing things winding down," he told Army Radio. "Nakba Day will be the climax", Dichter emphasised adding, We can't allow a wave of riled up people breaching the fence.

Israel's left-wing Meretz party, however, called for restraint and did not condone Israel's actions on the border.

Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi echoed the Palestinian Authority in his condemnation of the Israeli military action calling it a "massacre" of unarmed people.

Tibi rejected Israel's accusations that Palestinians were attacking troops and trying to commit terror acts as a spin.

"Even if five people had crossed the fence, they could have been arrested," he said.

Several countries have condemned the escalating violence, questioning disproportionate use of force by Israel while urging Hamas to refrain from violence.

The EU called for "utmost restraint" by all sides. As per local media reports, South Africa and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors from Israel, with Ankara accusing Jerusalem of "genocide".

The United States has blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of the violence.

The council is due to hold an emergency meeting on the violence today at the request of Kuwait.

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Nearly 1,000 villagers today attended a 'mahapanchayat' called by the Gujjar community in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district to discuss the outcome of a meeting their leaders had held with the state government over their demand for 5 per cent reservation within the OBC quota.

Last night, representatives of the Gujjar community had held a meeting with Rajasthan ministers in Jaipur over the quota demand. State Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore told reporters that the discussion was "positive".

Himmat Singh, Gujjar Sangharsh Samiti spokesperson, last night said the outcome of the meeting would be presented before the community at the mahapanchayat and they will decided the future course of action at the meeting.

Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla arrived in Adda village, where the mahapanchayat is being held, and is likely to address it, Deputy SP Bayana (Bharatpur) Himashu Sharma said.

After holding discussions with the community members at the meeting, Bainsla may announce his next move this evening.

Apart from the mahapanchayat, the Gujjar community is holding two separate meetings, including in Marauli village by Bainsala supporters. The other meeting has been organised by a faction of the group.

Sharma said elaborate security arrangements have been put in place in the entire district in view of the mahapanchayat.

The police control room said the elaborate security arrangement have been put in place for the safety of the public property.

The Gujjar community demands 5 per cent reservation under backward category. Presently, the community has 1 per cent reservation within the legal limit of 50 per cent quota.

In October last year, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a bill to raise the OBC reservation from 21 to 26 per cent to provide 5 per cent quota to Gujjars and other castes.

However, the high court stayed the bill as it would have increased the reservation beyond the legal limit of 50 per cent. Later, the Supreme Court too directed the Rajasthan government not to exceed the 50-per cent reservation limit.

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Afghan aircraft today bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire.

The attack -- the first major assault targeting a city since the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive -- began around midnight, with the militants capturing one urban district and parts of another, said local provincial council member Jamila Amini.

"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions," she told AFP Tuesday from inside Farah.

Afghan officials said police special forces from Kandahar and commandos from Herat had also been deployed.

"(The Taliban) will fail," vowed interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish, who said both Afghan and foreign air forces were taking part in the fighting.

There was no immediate confirmation from NATO's mission in Kabul. Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said at least 10 insurgents and two Afghan security force members had been killed so far.

"The situation is under control and will change by the end of the day," he said.

But inside the city residents reported clashes were continuing. "The situation is very bad," Satar Hissaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP.

"Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said.

"NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban." Another provincial council member, Dadullah Qani, confirmed Hissaini's comments, the sound of gunfire and explosions audible as he spoke to an AFP reporter by telephone.

The noise has "filled the city", said one resident who gave his name as Bilal, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS.

At least some militants have been hiding in residential houses, making it difficult for Afghan forces to use heavy weapons, Farah governor Abdul Basir Salangi told Ariana News, adding: "But still we are taking back positions one by one".

The insurgents released a statement warning residents to stay inside their homes and "stay calm". They have also been posting images on social media they claim shows them inside the city.

Many radio and television channels in the province have stopped broadcasting, fearing for their employees' lives, according to media watchdog Nai.

The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture from the government.

Farah is a poppy-growing province in an isolated region of Afghanistan. There are plans for a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline to traverse it, a project the Taliban have pledged to cooperate with.

But it has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017 insurgents tried three times to overrun the capital, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

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Iceland's budget transatlantic airline Wow Air today announced the launch of its services from Delhi to multiple destinations in North America and Europe via Reykjavik from December this year.

The airline also said that it is offering an introductory basic fare of Rs 13,499 to the Keflavik airport in Iceland's capital and from there to other destinations in North America and Europe.

The one way fair under the 'Wow basic' includes all taxes but excludes meal and check in baggage, which will be charged separately.

"While the Wow basic introductory fare will be priced at Rs 13,499 with taxes, the 'Wow premium' fares at the other end will be priced from Rs 46,599 onwards including taxes," the airline's founder and chief executive officer Skull Mogensen said. The other two fare options are 'Wow plus' and 'Wow comfy'.

Wow Air, which would be flying an Airbus A330 Neo to India and operate five days a week, currently serves 39 destinations across Europe and North America including London, Paris, New York, Toronto, Baltimore, San Francisco and Chicago.

Passengers travelling to the US will have a stop over at Reykjavik -- acting as a hub for the airline -- and then take a Wow flight to the US.

According to the airline's website, travelling to New York with a couple of hours stop-over at Reykjavik, would take about 20 hours.

"The airline will have five direct flights a week between New Delhi and Keflavik airport that will connect to multiple destinations in North America and Europe," Mogensen told reporters here, adding that in due course they will offer daily services and operate from other Indian destinations.

Iceland falls on the regular route taken by carriers who fly out of India to the US and flying via Reykjavik would be the shortest one-stop flight, the airline said.

Mogensen said he was optimistic about the success of the airline in India.

About 20,000 Indians travel to North America on a daily basis and they will have more choice of travel. Besides, 80 per cent of them travel with a stop over, he said.

In response to a question, Mogensen said the fare could go up depending upon factors, "though the high cannot be three to five times".

Further, he said the "fares can absorb the rising crude oil prices unless it breaches the USD 100 mark".

The website showed the basic fare at Rs 24,999 for a ticket on December 7 and Rs 54,499 in the premium segment, reflecting the increased demand since the announcement by the airline.

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An Indian fisherman lodged in a Pakistani jail is suffering from cancer, his family said here today while requesting the government to ensure his return home so that he does not die in the neighbouring country.

Rudiben Chauhan, a resident of Paldi area of Gir Somnath district of Gujarat, told PTI that her 35-year-old husband Danabhai Chauhan has been languishing in the Pakistani jail for over a year.

Chauhan andfive other fishermen from Gujarat were apprehended by the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency near the Jakhau port in Kutch district on May 3, 2017 for allegedly entering the Pakistani waters. Their boat, "Sagar Sonu", was also seized.

Rudiben said her husband called his nephew from a hospital in Pakistan three days ago, and said he was suffering from cancer and he must return to India for better treatment.

"My husband said he does not want to die in the Pakistani jail," the 32-year-old woman said.

The couple has four daughters and a son.

Rudiben today wrote a letter to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, saying it was the responsibility of thejail authorities in Pakistan to inform the family about her husband's ailment but they failed to do so.

Nor did she receive any communication from the Ministry of External Affairs or the Indian High Commission in Pakistan about her husband's condition, she wrote.

"I seek your help for doing the needful," Chauhan said in her letter to Swaraj.

Ever since her husband was captured by the Pakistani authorities, she has been working as a labourer to feed her children, the eldest of whom is 12 years old and the youngest is one and a half years old, she said.

"I earn Rs 100 a day which is not enough to feed my children," she wrote.

Rajya Sabha member Parimal Nathwani, who hails from Gir Somnath district, and Veljibhai Masani, vice president of the Gujarat Fishermen's Association (GFA), told PTI that they too have written separate letters to the External Affairs Minister, requesting her to bring back Chauhan in view of his health.

According to the GFA, 415 Indian fishermen are in Pakistani jails after being caught for allegedly crossing the international maritime border illegally.

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Iran said today that Israeli officials should be tried as war criminals over the "brutal massacre" of Gazan protesters the previous day.

"The killing of children, women and defenceless people of Palestine and the occupation of Palestinian lands has become the main strategy of the Zionists over the 70 years of occupation," said foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi on the ministry's website.

He called on the international community to take "immediate action" and try Israeli leaders as "war criminals in international courts".

At least 60 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured by Israeli forces on Monday as they protested along the Gaza border against the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

President Hassan Rouhani criticised the embassy move along with last week's decision by the US to walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran.

"History will judge that both of these decisions by the American government have been very wrong," he told reporters, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

"The main result of this wrong decision is Washington's isolation in global public opinion," he added.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani added that recent US policy decisions were undermining international institutions.

"All these cases show that America intends to destroy the international institution of the United Nations," he told parliament on Tuesday.

"It is driving the international scene to a kind of security chaos," he added. The US blocked a UN resolution on Monday calling for an international investigation into the Gaza killings.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced "a day of great shame".

"Israeli regime massacres countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in the world's largest open air prison," he wrote on Twitter.

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Defending the Israeli Army's



action along the Gaza border which left 59 Palestinians dead, Israel's Ambassador to India, Daniel Carmon today said the protests were an attempt by Hamas to breach the border and take Israeli soldiers hostage.

Israeli forces killed 59 Palestinians during clashes and protests along the Gaza border yesterday against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem in the conflict's bloodiest day in years.

Speaking to reporters here, Carmon also lashed out at Iran, saying it was planning the "next holocaust".

He said his country had alerted the international community about the possibility of such a situation.

Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and many of those killed were Hamas operatives, he claimed.

"We have a complicated situation in our region and this is not new. One of the factors for instability is the Gaza strip on the south, reigned by a terrorist organisation called Hamas. In our north, (there is) another terrorist organisation Hezbollah, supported by Iran and by Syria," the envoy said.

"What Hamas had decided to do a few weeks ago, we have been advising the world ahead of time....Look what is happening. Something should be done about it. But nothing was done," he said.

Carmon was here to take part in an interactive session on 'India and Israel: A multifaceted strategic partnership'.

"Some called them peaceful demonstrators. But they were not peaceful. They were incited. Their aim was to breach the border...to cut the border fence and come in thousands. There were instructions by Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers," he said.

"They were asked (by Hamas) to not kill the soldiers. They were asked to catch them (the soldiers), as they would need them for negotiations for hostage swap," he said.

"We, as a responsible country which safeguards the territorial integrity and security of the citizens, could not accept this situation. We have advised the world months in advance that we will be witnessing this," the Israeli envoy said.

Carmon claimed that a large number of Hamas operatives were among the demonstrators, and "some of those were killed".

He termed Iran as a "big problem" in Israel's neighbourhood.

"We have three big problems. Iran, Iran and Iran. It promotes terrorism and destabilisation. Iran is preparing for next holocaust," the envoy said.

The nuclear deal with Iran -- which the US has now junked -- was a bad deal, he said.

On the shifting of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Carmon said the city had been the capital of Israel for many years as "international leaders, when in Israel, hold talks with the government in Jerusalem".

He also hoped that other countries would follow the US's lead and shift their embassies to Jerusalem.

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Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao today said he will step down from the post by September end and it was a "difficult decision" to make after being at the helm of affairs for about a decade.

Colao was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the UK-based group in July 2008-- almost a year after Vodafone brand was launched in India.

He constantly kept close watch on India business from his global position.

"I will step down as CEO... It is a difficult decision to step down as CEO from a company where you have been for 10 years," Colao said.

In a statement, Vodafone said: "Effective 1 October 2018, Vittorio Colao will be succeeded by Group Chief Financial Officer Nick Read."



Colao has been very vocal on policy and industry issues arising out of India including high spectrum cost, tariff war, legal tussle with Indian government and regulator.

The 56-year old Italian origin CEO inherited Rs 22,100 crore tax dispute between Vodafone and Indian government for a deal between Hutchinson Essar and Vodafone in 2007 that paved entry of the British telecom operator in India.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of India ruled in favour of Vodafone but government made amendment in tax regime same year and served notice to the British firm again.

Vodafone has challenged the tax notice under Netherlands-India Bilateral Investment Treaty and the matter is currently arbitration.

Colao regime took major decision to merge Vodafone India with Aditya Birla Group firm Idea Cellular for sustenance of the two debt-ridden firm amid intense tariff war in India.

"We have reshaped India completely," Colao said.

By the time Colao moves steps down from his position, Vodafone India would have reduced its exposure in India with merger in to a joint venture with Aditya Birla Group.

Vodafone said that over the last ten years, he has overseen a strategic reshaping of the group, exiting minority shareholdings to focus on controlled and co-controlled assets while growing mobile customer numbers from 269 million to 536 million (plus 19.7 million broadband customers) over 25 countries, including significant businesses in India, Egypt, Turkey and across Africa, Vodafone said.

Read was appointed the group's CFO and joined the Vodafone Group Plc Board in April 2014.

He was previously the Group's Chief Executive for the Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific region and served as a board member of a number of Vodafone's emerging markets subsidiaries including Vodacom Group and Vodafone India.

Read joined Vodafone in 2001 as Vodafone UK Finance Director before being appointed Vodafone UK Chief Commercial Officer then Vodafone UK Chief Executive.

Prior to joining Vodafone, Nick Read held senior global finance positions with United Business Media Plc and Federal Express Worldwide.

"At the date of the Group's Annual General Meeting on 27 July 2018, Deputy CFO Margherita Della Valle will succeed Nick Read as Group Chief Financial Officer and will join the Board, and Nick Read will become Group Chief Executive-Designate," Vodafone said.

Valle was appointed Deputy Group Chief Financial Officer in 2015. She was previously Group Chief Financial Controller, Chief Financial Officer for the Europe region, and Chief Financial Officer for Vodafone Italy.

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our gratitude to Vittorio for an outstanding tenure. I would also add that the appointment of Nick and Margherita serves as a testament to the strength and depth of the Vodafone senior leadership team that Vittorio has assembled and led over the last decade," Vodafone Group Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said.

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In a setback to Google India, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has upheld a tax demand on the search engine's remittances of advertisement revenue to Google Ireland Ltd.

The Bangalore bench of ITAT, in a 331-page order, upheld the tax department's contention that such payments are royalty and therefore subject to withholding tax.

Google India said it will challenge the ruling in the High Court.

The company had filed an appeal in the ITAT against "characterization of the payment made by it to Google Ireland Ltd in respect of the purchase of advertisement space for resale to the advertisers in India under the Google AdWords programme distribution agreements".

For the assessment year 2012-13, the tax department had found Rs 1,114.91 crore to have been credited to Google Ireland Ltd (GIL) without deduction of tax at source. And so, it issued a tax demand of Rs 258.84 crore.

In its submissions, Google India Ltd said it was a mere non-exclusive distributor/reseller of AdWords programme to the advertisers in the country. Distribution fee payable to GIL on the distribution of AdWords in India was not in relation to any 'transfer of any right' or 'right to use' any patent/invention and so cannot be taxed as royalty.

ITAT, however, said Google India had "access to patent, technical know-how, IPRs, trademark, the process, derivative works, brand features, etc., of the GIL".

"Therefore the payments of advertisement fees made by the assessee (Google India) after retaining a particular part of it to GIL is not the payment simpliciter towards the purchase of AdWord space which may be treated as business profit in the hands of the recipient but it is a payment of royalty," it ruled.

It went on to rule that the payment made by Google India to GIL is a payment of royalty and is an income deemed to accrue or arise in India.

A Google spokesperson said: "We comply with all tax laws in India and pay all applicable taxes. We will file an appeal in the High Court as this ruling is an inaccurate representation of our business operations in India. The order is also a clear departure from previous judgments on the issues and is not in line with India's double taxation avoidance agreement."



The ITAT held that payments aggregating to Rs 1,457 crore made by Google India to Google Ireland between 2007-08 and 2012-13 are taxable as royalty.

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The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has found that 20 proposed national waterways are technically not feasible, a report said.

These include five in Tamil Nadu, four in West Bengal, two each in Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra and one each in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa besides one jointly in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

"IWAI which has conducted a study on the feasibility of national waterways has found that 20 national waterways are technically not feasible," a shipping ministry report has said.

An expenditure to the tune of Rs 98 lakh was spent on the studies on these, it said.

However, it said that national waterways is an alternative mode of transportation and could ease burden from roads and rail, and Jal Marg Vikas Project could play an important role in providing supplementary mode of transportation.

Fuel consumption per tonne km is to the tune of Rs 1.16 in case of waterways, Rs 1.60 in case of railways and Rs 3.24 in case of roads, it said.

The IWAI develops and regulates inland waterways for shipping and navigation.

The authority primarily undertakes projects for development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant received from the ministry of shipping.

India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.

The government has earlier approved the Rs 5,369 crore Jal Vikas Marg Project (JVMP) for enhanced navigation on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of National Waterway-1 (NW-1).

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today hailed the joint initiative launched by FTII Pune and DIPR to conduct skill development courses in television production and filmmaking for the state's youth.

The chief minister assured full support of the state government for carrying forward this initiative, an official spokesperson said after a meeting between Mufti and Director Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Bhupendra Kainthola.

The state government will provide whatever support is needed to carry forward this innovative and creative initiative, Mufti told Kainthola.

Thanking Kainthola for sending his faculty from Pune to impart training to the youth, the chief minister showed keen interest in having a regional centre of the FTII in J-K in view of the interest of local youth in filmmaking and television production.

She said the state government will take up the matter regarding setting up of FTII regional centre in J-K with the Union minister for Information and Broadcasting.

The chief minister said such training programmes would not only help the state groom professionals in the field of TV production and filmmaking, but also open up vast career opportunities for the local youth in the related field.

Kainthola briefed the chief minister about the initiatives taken by the FTII Pune in collaboration with the Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), J-K to organise a series of specialised training courses for media professionals in the state to harness their creative talent.

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An abortive escape bid was made today by two Maoists lodged in a jail near here who tried to flee by exploding a crude bomb inside the prison van while on their way back from a court, a senior official said.

Sikandar and Sonu - both associated with the naxal outfit PLFI - were among a group of inmates of the Beur Central Jail, who were produced before a city court.

During return, a crude bomb was exploded inside the prison van while it was crossing the Dasaratha bypass, a few kilometres from the jail, Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna, Manu Maharaj told reporters.

He said "the explosives were provided to these naxals at the court premises. Another crude bomb and a country made pistol was recovered from the vehicle after it was parked inside the jail premises".

"It was a low-intensity explosive device and nobody was injured in the blast. While a detailed investigation into the incident is on, it appears that the explosives and firearm had been provided to the Maoists at the court by their associates to facilitate their escape", Maharaj said.

"However, our alert driver and other personnel escorting the prisoners did not lose their nerve and went on driving, giving no chance to the inmates to flee", he said.

He also said it would be investigated as to how bombs and pistol was handed over to prisoners who were escorted by police personnel.

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The commissioner for metro rail safety has given the mandatory approval to start passenger services on the 25.6-km-long section between Janakpuri West and Kalkaji Mandir, which will soon be thrown open for public, an official said today.

"The commissioner for metro rail safety has given the mandatory approval for the start of passenger operations for Janakpuri West-Kalkaji Mandir, subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions and stipulations," a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation official said.

The Magenta Line section has 16 stations, including two inter-change stations Hauz Khas (with Yellow Line) and Janakpuri West (with Blue Line).

The Magenta Line would reduce the travel time between west Delhi and south Delhi, Gurugram, Faridbad and Noida considerably. For instance, travelling between Hauz Khas and Janakpuri West at present requires an inter-change from Rajiv Chowk that takes nearly 55 minutes, but after the opening of the Magenta Line the journey would take less than 30 minutes.

"The exact date of opening of this corridor will be intimated after compliance of the same by DMRC," the official added.

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Jet Airways today denied in the Delhi High Court that two of its pilots, suspended by the aviation regulator for allowing unauthorised entry into the cockpit during a flight, had undertaken flight duties during the period of suspension.

The airline also told a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar that the period of suspension of the two pilots is over now.

The submissions were made during the brief hearing of a plea alleging that Jet Airways had cleared the two suspended pilots for flight duties in contravention of the order of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The court listed the matter for further hearing on May 22.

A journalist, Rajneesh Kapur, has made the claims in his application and alleged that one of the pilots had also undertaken a flight during the period of his suspension.

The plea, filed through advocate Nikhil Borwankar, has also questioned the appointment of the VP (Operations), alleging that his nomination to the post had not been confirmed by the DGCA.

It has also alleged that the Senior Vice President of Operations, a foreign national, was appointed to the post without any security clearance and it was he who had nominated the VP (Operations).

The application was filed in Kapur's main petition in which he has alleged that Jet Airways was flouting national and international flight safety regulations by allowing unauthorised persons to travel overseas by "masquerading" as crew on a "general declaration".

The petition has claimed that the general declaration, which is a declaration of the passengers, air crew and cargo, being ferried on an international flight by the flight operator, allowed people "to avoid obtaining a visa and pass undetected into foreign territory".

In support of his allegation, the petitioner has cited a January 2018 incident in which a Jet Airways cabin crew member was arrested by the Department of Revenue Intelligence for possessing contraband foreign currency worth over Rs three crore.

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Full-service carrier on Tuesday offered fares starting as low as Rs 967 for the flights which it plans to operate from next month.

The had on Monday announced the commencement of its operations under the government's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from June 14 onwards, with the first flight to be operated on the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna sector.

had bagged four routes in the second round of bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various operators.

Besides Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna, the will also fly on the New Delhi-Nashik, Nagpur-Allahabad- and Lucknow-Bareilly- routes.

The fares for the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna flight under the scheme will be Rs 967, while the flights on the Patna-Allahabad-Patna route will cost Rs 1,216, said in a release today.

Similarly, the ticket price for a trip on the Nagpur-Allahabad- route has been pegged at Rs 1,690, while the Indore-Allahabad- flight will cost Rs 1,914, the release added.

The fare for a Delhi-Nashik- flight will be Rs 2,665, it said.

With at least half of the seats in the flights are offered at subsidised rates, the participating carriers get a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) - an amount shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

To fund the scheme, the civil ministry is collecting a levy of Rs 5,000 per departure from airlines operating in major routes, including and

The government had in March 2017 awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines for launching flights under the Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

Under the scheme, the fares have been kept at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour journey.
"This Is Us" actor Justin Hartley has claimed he was sexually harassed by a female fan in a restaurant.

The actor, who stars as Kevin Pearson on the NBC drama, told GoodHousekeeping.com that he was out for dinner in a Chicago restaurant with friends when a woman began kissing him without his consent.

"I'm not afraid to say this, because I think she should be ashamed of herself," Hartley, 41, told the outlet.

"This woman who I don't know, a stranger to me recognised me and started screaming, going crazy," said Hartley. "She ran over and started kissing me."



The actor said he tried to stop the woman and asked her to take a step back, but she persisted.

''I said, 'You do not walk up to people that you do not know and put your mouth on their face. If I did that to you, I would be in prison. Please do not do that. And not that I'm trying to teach you life lessons, but I feel like this is a really good one for you. Don't do that to anybody ever again.' ''



After the alleged encounter, Hartley said "everything calmed down" until she came up to him again and asked for a photo.

''I said, 'I'm good.' I'm usually really good with photos, but I'm, like, 'I'm not taking photos with you after you sexually harassed me. I'm good without a photo.'



''As she was leaving, she was, like, 'Justin Hartley is a jerk,' but not really jerk -- something more foul. I was, like, 'You've got to be kidding me.'," he said.

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The election results in Karnataka proved once again that people of this country favour the "together with all, development for all" mantra of the BJP over the "casteist and divisive politics" of the Congress , Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das said today.

The CM attributed the party's "tremendous performance" in Karnataka assembly polls to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah and the people of the state.

"The political pundits and the opposition parties had said that Karnataka assembly elections would be the semifinal test ahead of the finals in 2019 Lok Sabha polls. And the results today just proved that the Congress' anti-people and anti-development polices have been rejected by the people," Das said.

The BJP's pro-people schemes and development-oriented policies, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have won the hearts of 125 crore citizens of the country, Das said.

"When the BJP formed the government at the Centre in 2014, the party had eight states and now it is edging towards forming government in the 21st state," the chief minister said.

The "vijay rath of vikas" has traversed across north India, entered North-east states and now reached the doors of the south through Karnataka, he claimed.

When told that Karnataka is still waiting for a clear mandate, Das said he had firm belief that the BJP would form the government in the southern state.

"The Congress, at some point of time, was the biggest party of the country. Back then, the party had Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Mahatma Gandhi as leaders. Today it has become a party of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra. This dynastic of the Congress did not find favour with the public," he added.

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With the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka, its leaders described today's Assembly poll results as an endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda and claimed that the people had rejected the divisive, toxic and negative of the Congress.

According to Election Commission (EC) figures at 3 pm, the BJP had won 57 seats and was leading in 47 segments, well on course to emerge as the single largest party in the southern state. The ruling Congress had won 29 seats and was leading in 49 constituencies.

Buoyed by the emerging picture, Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad took a swipe at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, saying someone was dreaming of becoming the prime minister, a reference to Gandhi's statement during the Karnataka poll campaign that he was ready for the top post if his party won the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Prasad's cabinet colleague, Nirmala Sitharaman, said it was a historic day for the BJP and the results were an endorsement of Modi's development agenda.

The people had rejected the divisive, toxic and negative of the Congress, she added.

Another Union minister, Nitin Gadkari, hailed the BJP's performance in the southern state and said the results and trends available till now virtually proved that the saffron party's "Congress-free India" slogan was turning out to be true.

"We had been talking about a Congress-free India. The Karnataka poll results are virtually proving that. The Congress is not in power in any of the key states, barring Punjab. The condition of the Congress is such that it is opposing (the BJP) for the sake of opposing," he added.

Stating that the poll results underlined the faith of the people in Modi's leadership and the BJP's ideology, Prasad exuded confidence that the party would retain power at the Centre after the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Prakash Javadekar, another Union minister who was also the BJP in-charge for the Karnataka election, said the saffron party performed better than the Congress as it was a party of the masses, while the latter was a party of dynasts.

"This is a victory of Modi and party president Amit Shah's strategy," he added.

Polling for the 222 of the 224 Assembly seats in Karnataka was held on May 12.

Polling for the R R Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in the Jayanagar seat, following the death of the BJP candidate.

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Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today congratulated the BJP for its "stellar performance" in Karnataka assembly elections.

"Hearty congratulations to @BJP4India for their stellar performance in Karnataka," Mehbooba said in a tweet.

The BJP appeared headed for a simple majority in the Karnataka Assembly, with its candidates leading in 115 constituencies, leaving the ruling Congress way behind, according to the latest trends available for 220 of the state's 222 seats where polling was held.

Polling for R R Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

In the outgoing Assembly, the Congress had 122 seats, BJP and JD(S) 40 each, and smaller parties and independents 22.

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Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala is likely to be guided by Supreme Court verdicts which say that a party with the largest number of MLAs should be invited to form the government in the event of a fractured election result, jurists said today.

However, a differing opinion is emerging amongst some as to how to determine the party with the maximum MLAs -- whether it is the single largest party or a combination of parties.

Former Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, senior advocates Rakesh Dwivedi, Ajit Kumar Sinha and Rajeev Dhavan, retired Supreme Court judge P B Sawant and constitutional expert Govind Goyal were of the view that it was a "premature" stage to think what the Governor will do, but he has a choice either inviting the single largest party or the combination which has more number of MLAs.

While Rohatgi said it was a settled law that the Governor must call the single largest party, or the BJP here, to form government, Sawant was of the view that there was nothing in the constitutional scheme that would come in the way of the Congress-JD(S) combine forming the government.

Differing with them, Dwivedi and Goel said it was a "premature" stage for the Governor to take a call and, for all observers, it is a "wait and watch" game until the Election Commission announces the final outcome.

Dhavan said the correct way is to call the single largest party first and, if it fails to prove its numbers, then the Governor may go for the coalition option.

Referring to Goa and Manipur polls, Dhavan said a mistake was committed in these two states as the single largest party, the Congress, was not invited to form the government.

His view was shared by Goel who said that as per the constitutional convention, the single largest party should be invited for government formation but there have been a few aberrations in the past like in Manipur and Goa.

He said the Governor should invite the single largest party to explore whether they want to form the government or not, and if they refuse, he would be entitled to request Congress to explore opportunity.

Elaborating further, Dwivedi said after the final outcome, the arithmetic will be clear for the Governor to "apply his conscience" and either invite the single largest party or the combination, whichever will be in a position to provide a stable government in the state.

Emphasising on the stability factor, senior advocate and BJP spokesperson Aman Sinha drew the attention of S R Bommai (1994) and Rameshwar Prasad judgements of the apex court, which clearly stated that the Governor was obliged to invite the party which can provide stable and sustainable government.

He said in the present scenario, only the BJP was in a position to provide a stable and



sustainable governance and since BJP was emerging as a single largest party with a few short of majority, it is a clear indication that voters in Karnataka have opted for BJP.

Goel, however, said the Bommai judgement had little relevance in the present scenario as it dealt with the imposition of President's Rule in Karnataka without giving the then ruling party the opportunity to go for the floor test.

He said the Rameshwar Prasad judgement of 2005 has some relevance in the present context as the then Governor in Bihar did not invite the single largest pre-poll alliance partner to form government and recommended imposition of President's Rule on the ground that there was a possibility of horse-trading to form the government.

Sawant said from the legal point of view, "it seems that JD (S) and Congress will be called by the Governor to form the government as their number is more than BJP alone. But they have to prove the number on the floor. The number game clearly shows there are not many parties. To run the government, in my opinion, JD (S) and Congress will be called."



On the contrary, Rohatgi said, "Here (in Karnataka) it is the BJP which is leading by a huge margin. The Governor is bound to invite the BJP. For formation of government, the Governor has to give a reasonable time to the party, probably a week, and then majority has to be proved on the floor of the House."All legal experts were, however, unanimous that the Karnataka verdict has thrown open a test for the Governor to apply his conscience and discretion in taking a decision.

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An Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) has indicted Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar in a case linked to the bloodbath in the city on May 12, 2007.

Besides Akhtar, who belongs to the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), the ATC yesterday indicted several others in the case, 11 years after the incident.

Nearly 50 people were killed and over 100 injured in attacks on rallies by different political parties and the legal fraternity who had attempted to go to the airport to welcome deposed chief justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on May 12 during military ruler General Pervez Musharraf's tenure.

Nine hours after reaching Karachi and being stranded at the airport as violence and anarchy broke out in the city, Chaudhry was forced to fly back to Islamabad.

Akhtar, who was the provincial home adviser to the chief minister at the time, appeared before the ATC and pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

The court directed the prosecution to produce its witnesses in the next hearing, Dawn reported.

The Karachi mayor and at least 18 others are out on bail in the case while 16 others are absconding. Only one of those charged today is in jail.

Akhtar told the media after the hearing that since becoming mayor, some 40 cases had been lodged against him, with as many as 20 first information reports filed against him in one day.

The hearing of the case will resume on June 23.

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The Karnataka Assembly election results threw up an unexpected suspense today, as a simple majority tantalisingly eluded BJP and the Congress quickly proclaimed support to third-placed JD(S) to keep the saffron party out of power.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP, the single largest winner of seats, to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly.

Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12.

Both sides rushed to meet Vala, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power.

In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But as all the trends became known, it appeared the party will fall a few seats short of the 112 needed to form the government.

"We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told India Today TV. "In the morning, it looked like the BJP will have enough to form the government, and on the basis of that BJP started celebrating also. Meanwhile, we fared well. JD(S) did not fare that well. And later, when the JD(S) and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it," he said.

Azad's comments summed up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 general elections at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country. Karnataka was the only major non-BJP ruled state, and the party offices had reverberated with jubilation in the morning when initial trends put it ahead.

Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the national capital.

The swift political manoeuvring by Congress in reaching out to JD(S) headed showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJP's clever moves.

"We have all together discussed and decided this.... This is the opinion of the All India Congress party. Congress will support JD(S) because there is a hung Assembly situation here as no party has been given clear majority by the people," outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Siddaramaiah, who handed over his resignation to Vala, said:"In a democracy we will have to accept people's verdict, we have accepted it. Our decision is to support JD(S). It is our unanimous decision."



However, BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa accused Congress of trying to win power unfairly. He said he would stake claim to form the government.

A sombre-looking Yeddyurappa said the people of Karnataka had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel".

"The Congress is trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door. People of Karnataka will never accept this," he said.

After a high voter turnout, the Election Commission announced that the Congress had won 37.9 per cent of votes as against BJP's 36.2 per cent. JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, got 18.4 per cent votes. Gowda's son H D Kumaraswamy is its chief ministerial candidate.

Soon after Congress declared its support to JD(S), Kumaraswamy wrote to the governor informing him that he had accepted the offer to be the chief minister.

"This is to submit to your good self that I have accepted the support extended by the Indian National Congress (I) party for forming the government. In this regard, I seek your appointment today evening between 5.30 pm to 6.00 pm," Kumaraswamy said in the letter released to the media.

According to the latest results declared by the Election Commission, Congress has won 74 seats and is leading in four, while JD(S) has won 37. If Congress wins the remaining four, the combine will have 115 seats, enough for a majority. BJP has won 97 and is leading in seven, for a total of 104. Mayawati's BSP, a JD(S) ally, and KPJP have won one seat each.

Yeddyurappa said he too would meet the governor in the evening to stake claim to form the government.

"I have taken an appointment with Governor, because we are the single largest party, so they must give the opportunity to form the government," Yeddyurappa told reporters. "Myself, (union minister) Ananth Kumar and all our leaders ... we are going to meet governor," he said.

The usual practice is for the governor to call the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government, and in the event of a hung Assembly, asks him to prove the majority on the floor of the House.

Since the Congress and JD(S) did not have a pre-poll alliance, it remains to be seen if he invites Kumaraswamy to form the government.

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A group of Kashmiri Pandit migrants today protested the "attachment" of a senior bureaucrat for issuing a controversial notice seeking details of members of the community visiting the Kheer Bhawani temple for an annual fair.

Dozens of protesters representing different organisations assembled outside the office of relief commissioner at the Canal road in the city and demanded rescinding of the attachment order against the "honest officer".

Deputy Commissioner Relief (Migrants) Kuldeep Krishen Sidha was attached yesterday after the Mehbooba Mufti government revoked a controversial notice which sought details of Kashmiri Pandits visiting Kheer Bhawani temple for an annual fair.

"We have ordered an inquiry into how this notice was issued without the knowledge of any officer in the department, including the minister. The officer who issued the notice had been relieved from the department," Minister for Relief, Rehabilitation, Reconstruction and Disaster Management, Javaid Mustafa Mir, had said yesterday.

The protesters accused the government of acting in haste and said the notice was issued to ensure better facilities for the pilgrims and there was nothing wrong in it.

"It is unfortunate that the government acted in haste and made an honest officer scapegoat. He issued the notice for ensuring better facilities for the pilgrims intending to visit the Kheer Bhawani," said one of the protesters, Rakesh Kaul.

He claimed that the government acted at the behest of certain Delhi-based Kashmiri Pandit leaders who try to create confusion in the community for their vested interests.

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Hailing the BJP's impressive performance in Karnataka Assembly polls, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said today that the party has been marching ahead since 1996 and today nearly three-quarter of the country is ruled by it and its allies.

"If we look at the history of the BJP and the strength it has gained today, Congress never gained such strength in its history," Khattar claimed, addressing party workers at the BJP office in Panchkula after returning from a two-nation tour.

He said the BJP and its allies are governing 21 states.

"Since 1996, the party has been marching forward and today 70 per cent of the states are ruled by the BJP and its allies," he said.

The BJP today emerged the single-largest party after the results of Karnataka polls were declared but fell short of a majority. The Congress offered support to the third-placed JD(S) to form the government to keep the BJP out of power.

However, the suspense in Karnataka continues as it was still not clear who will form the next government.

Taking a dig at the Congress, Khattar said: "The Congress should now change its name to Punjab-Puducherry-Parivar Party because it has been shrunk to only 2.5 per cent of the population. Till the time Congress is under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the party can never succeed."



Lauding the prime minister's leadership, he said Narendra Modi's "vision of a Congress-free India" is being realised.

Khattar said the BJP should maintain this zeal, enthusiasm and faith, and with this trust, "we should get ready for the Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections scheduled to be held in May and October 2019 (respectively)."



Referring to the INLD and the BSP recently entering into an alliance for next year's Lok Sabha and Haryana Assembly polls, he said: "The era of alliance has come to an end and the alliance struck by them is unnatural and has no meaning."Touching upon his nine-day foreign visit, he said India enjoyed unique identity in countries such as Israel and the UK.

"Meetings and discussions were held with NRIs there. Foreign investors and businessmen have been invited to invest in Haryana," he said.

He said the people of Israel have made a lot of progress in agriculture and Haryana will adopt their technology.

"Israel is keen to assist in the fields of technology, investment, defence and farming," he said.

He said in case of a road accident in Israel, medical facility reaches within minutes. "For this, a control room has been set up where such calls are received and assistance is provided in 90 seconds. This system would be implemented in Haryana," he added.

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The provisional bail of RJD president Lalu Prasad, who returned to Ranchi jail yesterday after his three-day parole ended, could not be processed today by the special CBI court as the order did not reach the court.

The Jharkhand High Court last week granted six-week provisional bail to Prasad on medical grounds in the fodder scam cases he has been convicted in.

Authorities at the Birsa Mundal jail in Ranchi had separately given him a three-day parole on May 10 to attend his elder son Tej Pratap Yadav's wedding on May 12 in Patna. Travel time was not included in the parole duration and Prasad returned to the prison yesterday, a day after his parole ended.

The HC order has not reached the trial court, which would issue the release order after completing formalities, Prasad's lawyer Prabhat Kumar said.

The special CBI court is a morning court which ends at 12.30pm, while the HC is a day court, he said.

"We hope the HC order reaches the special CBI court later during the day so that we can fulfil the formalities for getting Prasad's release order," the lawyer said.

RJD general-secretary and Prasad's close aide Bhola Yadav, camping in Ranchi and waiting for the release order, said Prasad will have to wait for another day.

Prasad's lawyer said they needed to fill the bail bond and deposit two sureties of Rs 50,000 to get the release order from the trial court on the basis of the high court judgment.

He said the bail in the three fodder scam cases would be effective from the day he is released from jail.

Prasad, 69, suffers from diabetes, blood pressure, kidney problems and other ailments.

Bhola Yadav said after getting the release order Prasad would return to Patna. From there he would go to Delhi, Mumbai and other places for specialised treatment.

The RJD supremo has been in jail since December 23 after being convicted in the Deoghar treasury case and sentenced to jail for three-and-a-half years. He was later convicted in the Chaibasa treasury case and sent to prison for five years and the Dumka treasury case and sentenced for 14 years.

The over Rs 900-crore fodder scam cases are related to the illegal withdrawal of money from government treasury by the animal husbandry department in undivided Bihar in the 1990s when Prasad was the chief minister.

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The Delhi High Court today sought to know the genesis of Look Out Circular (LOC), saying it deprives a person of his liberty and violates the fundamental right.

"Assist me on the genesis of LOC. Because by issuing an LOC, you deprive a person of his liberty which is a violation of a fundamental right," Justice Rajiv Shakdher orally said.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Mehmood Pracha, an advocate, seeking quashing of an LOC issued against him by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to prevent him from travelling to Iraq in 2014 to carry out relief work and imposition of a Rs 10 crore penalty on the agency for its action.

The court asked the government's counsel to do more research on LOC and said if LOC has to be issued for an emergency situation, a law has to be there for it.

Central government counsel Manik Dogra said as there was no restriction on the overseas travel of Pracha, nothing remains in the matter.

Pracha said he suffered for four years for no reason and sought that the LOC against him be quashed.

The petitioner also challenged the Home Ministry's 2010 office memorandum on issuing Look-Out Circulars on the ground that it "does not flow from any enacted law".

According to the petition, Pracha came to know about the LOC only when he and five other delegates were on their way to Iraq on November 24, 2014, but were stopped from boarding their flight and an endorsement 'offloaded' was made on their passports.

The six were detained for several hours at the airport and the airport police station and their passports were impounded, the petition read.

Their passports were later suspended - an order that was eventually withdrawn on February 17, 2015, it said.

They had intended to travel to Iraq to discuss the proposed humanitarian mission, for which they had received support of many volunteers, the petitioner claimed.

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India has asked the UN to make a clear distinction between regular and illegal migrants who cannot be treated at par with legal immigrants, who contribute significantly to the economic and cultural fabric of their host and origin countries.

India's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Tanmaya Lal said that Mahatma Gandhi, who studied, worked and lived in South Africa and England for considerable periods of time, was among the most well-known international migrants who contributed hugely to our collective progress.

Addressing a conference on the Global Compact on migration in the UN General Assembly yesterday, he said that most nation states and societies have been built upon waves of migration over the past several centuries, but today it has become a "complex" and "divisive" issue.

"We are talking about the regular or legal migrants here. Regrettably, we find that the current discourse on this Global Compact is not only coloured negatively in the contexts of ongoing large movement of refugees in certain parts of the world and the uneven impact of economic globalisation, but also the context of the phenomenon of illegal migration in some countries," he said.

Lal said that it was unfortunate, since this negative narrative was not at all helpful and, in fact, hurts the genuine interests and concerns of regular, legal migrants.

"But the ongoing contributions by them to both, their host and origin countries, were well-documented but risks being ignored," he told the Intergovernmental Conference and its Preparatory Process to adopt a Global Compact for safe and regular migration.

He said "undoubtedly" there is a small percentage of illegal or undocumented migrants across countries and in many instances, such illegal migration is based on criminal networks engaged in human trafficking.

Lal called on the international community to step up cooperation among agencies to control this international challenge from such criminal networks.

"We fully agree that the basic human rights of this category of migrants, especially the more vulnerable sections such as women and children, must be respected and protected and that they should have access to due process of law.

"However, at the same time, it needs to be stressed and made clear that this category of migrants cannot be treated at par under national laws with the legal migrants, he said.

Lal warned that any attempts to "blur any sort of distinction" of legal status between regular and the numerically far fewer irregular migrants can only disadvantage the larger interests of regular migrants and even incentivise irregular migration.

Stressing that a humane treatment of irregular migrants was essential, he said, it was also important to not let the focus on regular migrants and their contributions be diluted in the Global Compact that the UN nations are working on.

Lal pointed out that the current draft Global Compact provides much greater attention than necessary to the discussion on what rights the irregular migrants should be entitled to.

"It must, instead, focus more on how to facilitate regular migration. This needs to be corrected. We strongly urge the co-facilitators to rework and rearrange the narrative in the draft Global Compact to highlight the overwhelming positive contribution of international migration upfront in the document and be provided adequate space in the text, he said.

He said that the Global Compact negotiations are taking place against a difficult backdrop of large movements of refugees fleeing armed conflicts in different parts of the world.

They come at a time when there is a growing "angst" among sections of people in many developed economies who are unable to adapt effectively to the uneven impacts of integration of economies, and the rapid pace of technological change leading to changes in various economic sectors, he said.

"Both these situations have contributed to a rise in nationalist sentiments in many parts of the world, especially the developed economies, that is feeding a certain anti-immigrant narrative.

"This negative sentiment has, unfortunately, clouded the deliberations on this Global Compact. We need to change this narrative, especially at the UN,"



Lal also added that nations recognize hundreds of examples of foreign-born scientists, inventors, businesspersons, artistes, sportspersons, authors, academics, doctors and political leaders who have made an indelible mark not only on societies where they lived but globally.

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The Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, battling Maoist insurgency for long, will be on the aviation map of the country from June 15 when Air Odisha begins services from Visakhapatnam to district headquarters of Jagdalpur and Raipur.

Jagdalpur was one of the four cities in Chhattisgarh to get an airport under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) of the Centre.

Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey has informed the Chhattisgarh government about the air services connectivity to Jagdalpur from June 15, sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry said.

The development assumes significance as the operation of the airport promises to give a big boost to the local economy of the region with air connectivity.

"The district has been fighting the insurgents for long. There has been a long standing demand from the locals for air connectivity which would finally be realised," said an official of the Civil Aviation Ministry, informing about beginning of the air service.

The regional connectivity scheme will link Bastar aerially with Raipur which is well connected to different cities in the country.

According to the Air Odisha website, the flight from Jagdalpur to Raipur will leave at 11.05 AM and reach the state capital at 11.55 AM. Likewise, the flight between Jagdalpur and Visakhapatnam will leave at 9.10 AM and reach at 9.50 AM. Both the sectors will be serviced six days a week.

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A government-run hospital in Assam has ruled out circumcision of a standard two boy, who was allegedly forced to undergo the procedure inside a toilet of his school in Hailakandi district, said a government release today.

Silchar Medical College and Hospital has ruled out circumcision of the minor school boy, said a government release today.

Registrar of surgery of Silchar Medical College and Hospital, where he is under treatment, in a medical report said that "No external cut wounds present in the penis and it is not a matter of circumcision," the release quoted.

The boy is a student of Sishu Mangal Vidyapith under Katlicherra education block, it said.

Superintendent of S K Roy Civil Hospital in Hailakandi, where the boy was admitted before being referred to Silchar Medical College and Hospital, had also stated that there was no evidence of cut by any sharp weapon in the private part of the boy as alleged by some quarters.

A section of the media had said that the boy belonged to the majority community and was forcefully circumcised inside a toilet in the school premises during school hours on May 7.

As soon as the reports appeared, the police swung into action and registered a case under Sections 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 506 (criminal intimidation), 294 (indulging in obscene act in any public place) 34(criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention) of IPC and sections of Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

Hailakandi superintendent of police Mohneesh Mishra said investigation is on to find out what actually happened on the day of the incident.

A magisterial probe into the alleged circumcision has been ordered by Hailakandi district administration. It directed the Katlicherra executive magistrate James Aind to conduct a thorough inquiry into the matter and submit a report at the earliest, the release said.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today thanked voters in Karnataka for "steadfastly supporting" the BJP's development agenda and making it the single largest party.

"I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP's development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka (state party unit) karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party," he said in a tweet.

According to the latest results declared by the Election Commission, the BJP has won 97 and is leading in seven, for a total of 104. The Congress has won 74 seats and is leading in four, while JD has won 37 out of the total 222 seats.

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Senior leaders J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan will attend a meeting of the newly-elected BJP MLAs in Bengaluru tomorrow as the party's central observers.

The decision to send the two leaders to Bengaluru was taken by the BJP parliamentary board today.

"J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan will attend the meeting of newly-elected MLAs of the party at 11 am tomorrow in Bengaluru. They would be the central observers," BJP media in-charge Anil Baluni told reporters.

With the BJP appearing to be falling short of a majority after the results of the Karnataka assembly polls were declared, the party today rushed its three senior leaders to the state to talk with possible allies to cobble up the numbers required to form the next government in the state.

The Congress has announced it will support the third-placed JD(S) in forming the government in Karnataka.

Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan, Prakash Javadekar and J P Nadda left for Bengaluru after meeting BJP chief Amit Shah in New Delhi this afternoon.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was also present at Shah's residence.

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The (NCLT) today approved Tata Steel's bid for debt-ridden

The tribunal also dismissed a plea filed by the employees of opposing Tata Steel's bid and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

The bench comprising NCLT President Justice M M Kumar and S K Mohapatra also dismissed the plea of engineering and construction major L&T seeking higher priority in recovery of loan and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

L&T, which is an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, had sought higher priority in recovery of debt in the resolution process at par with the financial creditors.

The tribunal also rejected Bhushan Energy's plea to continue its power purchase agreement with

The order was pronounced in court today and detailed judgement is awaited.

Earlier on April 11, the principal bench of the tribunal had reserved its order after hearing all the sides.
A 35-year-old Nigerian, who allegedly cheated a city resident of Rs 2.22 lakh in a matrimonial fraud, was arrested, a police official said today.

A police team arrested Osazee Russ Ediagbonya in New Delhi and brought him here two days ago, the official said.

Ediagbonya duped the victim, who had posted his profile on a matrimonial website, by sending him a proposal by posing himself as a woman named Biya Babar, a medical practitioner, working in the US, he said.

Through whatsapp, the accused informed the victim that she would come to India on March 14 to meet him, the official said.

On March 14, the victim received a call from a person claiming to be a customs officer working in the New Delhi airport and told him that Dr Biya has been caught carrying half a million USD, he said.

Then, another person, impersonating as an accounts officer asked the victim to deposit the money towards customs clearance for which he transferred Rs 2.22 lakh to the bank account numbers provided by the Nigerian, he said.

Later, the victim realised that he has been cheated and lodged a complaint following which he was arrested, he said.

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A CBI court today issued a non-bailable warrant against former Uttar Pradesh minister Babu Singh Kushwaha in connection with the National Rural Health Mission scam case.

Special judge Rajesh Chaudhary ordered the CBI to arrest Kushwaha at the earliest and scheduled the next hearing in the case on May 29, Senior Prosecuting Officer B K Singh said.

The case pertains to alleged irregularities in the supply of 515 "first referral unit" kits and 2,050 "intra-uterine" device kids worth Rs 31.59 crore under the NRHM in 2009-10.

The CBI had earlier charge-sheeted the then family welfare minister, Kushwaha, and then principal secretary of the department Pradeep Shukla for their alleged involvement in the irregularities.

Shukla and Kushwaha, through their counsel, today moved an application before the court seeking exemption from personal appearance.

The court gave relief to Shukla and issued a non- bailable warrant against Kushwaha as he had been giving a miss to the hearings for long, Singh said.

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Odisha and Andhra Pradesh will jointly launch anti-Maoist operations to flush out the rebels from the state, Director General of Police R P Sharma today said.

After returning from Visakhapatnam where he held a meeting with his counterpart in Andhra Pradesh, Sharma said the meeting laid emphasis on coordination between the two states during operations against Left Wing Extremists.

Last year, the two states had jointly conducted a one-off operation against the Maoists in the cut off area of Malkangiri district, known to be a Maoist stronghold.

We have decided at the meeting to undertake joint operations in Odisha-Andhra Pradesh border," Sharma said.

Yesterday, before leaving for Visakhapatnam, Sharma had told reporters that the Odisha police would intensify inteligence-based operations against the Maoists.

Sharma had said the state will also coordinate more closely with other states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand to come down heavily on the Maoists.

He also said efforts are on to further strengthen the intelligence network in Koraput, Nuapada, Malkangiri, Kalahandi and Rayagada districts where Maoists pose challange to the state government.

Two days back, the Odisha Police had gunned down at least seven Maoists in separate operations in Bolangir and Kandhamal districts.

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The on Tuesday directed realty firm Ltd to deposit Rs 50 million more within four weeks to refund to the home-buyers who have taken loan from banks and opted out of its building project in area of

A bench comprising and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud considered the submission of lawyer Gaurav Agrawal, who is assisting it as an amicus curiae, that the money to the tune of Rs 104 million, which was lying with the apex court registry, should be utilised to pay back the home buyers in its Emerald Towers project comprising two 40-storey residential buildings.

"It is submitted by Gaurav Agrawal, amicus curiae, that the amount lying in deposit may be released in favour of the home-buyers subject to the undertaking by them that they will pay to the and get the original documents released, so that the same can be given back to the appellant-developer.

"In view of the aforesaid, it is directed that the home-buyers shall file affidavits before the Registry of this court to the effect that they shall pay the amount to the concerned bank(s) from which they have availed loan and submit the documents with Agrawal, who in turn, shall give them back to ...the appellant-developer," the bench said.

The bench considered the submission of Shoeb Alam, one of the counsel for the hassled customers, that the refund be termed as compensation, otherwise the recipients would be levied income tax on the refund. The court accepted the plea.

"The home-buyers who are agreeable to the said amount may indicate to Gaurav Agrawal, so that the amount can be disbursed and the controversy can be put to rest. Needless to say, the amount that shall be disbursed, shall be treated as compensation," the bench said.

The court considered the amicus' statement that the firm be asked to deposit Rs 50 millon more with the registry so that he can proceed with "the calculation and apprise the developer with regard to the further differential sum required to be deposited as per the present status report."



"Accordingly, it is directed that the appellant developer shall deposit a sum of Rs 50 million by June 20 before the Registry of this court," it said and fixed the plea for further hearing in second week of July.

Earlier, the court had directed to deposit Rs 100 million more with its registry to pay interest to the home-buyers who have opted out of its Emerald Towers project.

It was submitted by the company that its plea against the order be heard in order to put at rest the dispute over whether the towers were legal or should be razed.

Some home-buyers have got refund of their principal amount from the apex court registry, Agrawal had said, adding that some others have got refund of the principal amount "minus the Return on Investment (ROI) from the registry".

The court had said the home-buyers, who are taking the benefit of refund with interest, "shall return the title-deeds and documents to the petitioner developer, including the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the bank, if any" in the presence of the amicus curiae.

The court, in August last year, had asked to deposit Rs 100 million for refunding principal money to the investors who want to opt out of its Emerald Towers project.

The bench is hearing pleas against the Allahabad High Court's April 11, 2014 verdict ordering demolition of the two 40-storey residential twin towers--Apex and Ceyane--in and directing Supertech to refund money to home-buyers with 14 per cent interest in three months. The towers have 857 apartments, of which about 600 flats have already been sold.
A potentially fatal viral infection that affects pigs can readily find its way into human cells, say scientists, raising concerns about the potential for outbreaks that threaten our health.

Researchers at Ohio State University in the US and Utrecht University in the Netherlands collaborated to better understand the new virus and its potential reach.

The study, published in the in the journal PNAS, is the first to point to possible transmission of this virus between species.

Porcine deltacoronavirus was first identified in 2012 in pigs in China, but it was not associated with disease.

It was first detected in the US in 2014 during a diarrhea outbreak in Ohio pigs and has since been detected in various countries. Young, infected pigs experience acute diarrhea and vomiting. The disease can be fatal.

As of yet, no human cases have been documented, but scientists are concerned about the possibility.

"Before it was found in pigs including in the Ohio outbreak it had only been found in various birds," said Linda Saif, a professor in Ohio State University in the US.

"We're very concerned about emerging coronaviruses and worry about the harm they can do to animals and their potential to jump to humans," said Saif.

Emergence of the new virus is especially worrisome to veterinary and public-health experts because of its similarity to the life-threating viruses responsible for SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) and MERS (Middle East respiratory syndrome) outbreaks.

The potential for a virus to jump from one species to another is highly dependent on its ability to bind to receptors on the cells of the animal or human, said Scott Kenney, an assistant professor at Ohio State University.

"A receptor is like a lock in the door. If the virus can pick the lock, it can get into the cell and potentially infect the host," he said.

The study looked at a particular cellular receptor called aminopeptidase N that the researchers suspected might be involved.

"We know from other coronaviruses that these receptors on the cells are used and that they're found in the respiratory and digestive tracts of a number of different animals," Kenney said.

"Now we know that this new virus could go into cells of different species, including humans," he added.

For now, the only known infection in humans and other species is in the laboratory, using cultured cells.

The study confirmed that the virus could bind to human cells, and to cells from cats and chickens.

"This doesn't prove that this virus can infect and cause disease in these other species, but that's something we obviously want to know," Saif said.

The next step in understanding this virus and its potential for human infection will be a study looking for antibodies in the blood that would serve as evidence that the pig virus has already infected people.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit out at the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal over violence during the panchayat elections in the state, saying democracy was "murdered" for narrow political interests.

Addressing BJP workers at the party headquaters here following the Karnataka verdict, he said the people should think seriously about the violence in West Bengal yesterday.

"The way democracy was murdered... from (filing of) nominations to polling, democracy had no place," he said.

Modi claimed that efforts were made to ensure that "opposition candidates are unable to file their nominations so that ruling party members are elected unopposed".

"Ballot boxes were found in a pond... innocent party workers, not only of the BJP but of other parties too, were killed," he said.

Modi told the gathering that once the people of Bengal led the nation, but blood was spilled yesterday to further political interests.

"I don't talk of who wins or loses, but democracy was wounded... All parties, the civil society and the judiciary will have to play an active role... My concern is democracy, and I am not here to blame any political party," he said.

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A former director of diamantaire Nirav Modi's company today moved the Delhi High Court seeking quashing of a Look Out Circular (LOC) issued against him after lodging of an FIR by the CBI in the PNB fraud case.

The high court sought response of the CBI on the plea by Sanjay Rishi, an Overseas Citizen of India residing in the United States, seeking direction to the authorities to withdraw the LOC.

Justice Rajiv Shakdher issued notice to the CBI and SFIO, which is also conducting an investigation into the matter, and listed the matter for further hearing on July 25.

Rishi, president of American Express for South Asia, was appointed as a non-executive independent director of Nirav Modi's Firestar International Ltd on December 6, 2016 and he resigned from the post on February 7, this year. He said he did not take part in the day to day affairs of the company.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra, appearing for Rishi, submitted that an FIR was lodged on March 4 for the alleged offences of cheating, criminal conspiracy under the IPC and the provisions of the Corruption Act and when summonses were issued to him, he voluntarily came to India and joined the CBI investigation.

The counsel argued that Rishi was not being allowed to leave the country due to continuation of the LOC and his work was being hampered in the US.

The plea was opposed by CBI advocate Rajdipa Behura who said the investigation was going on and if Rishi is allowed to go to the US and he does not return, the probe will be stalled.

She said keeping in mind the magnitude of the offence, he cannot be allowed to leave the country as the probe was at an initial stage.

The CBI counsel also took a preliminary objection to the petition and said all the three FIRs in the matter were registered in Mumbai and the LOC was opened in Mumbai, so the appropriate court would be in Mumbai and not Delhi. She said the request to issue LOC was made to the Ministry of Home Affairs by an SP of CBI.

Rebutting the submission on jurisdiction issue, Rishi's counsel said he was detained at Delhi airport and the CBI director, who is the authorised person for issuing LOC, sits in Delhi so the jurisdiction is here.

He said he was ready to cooperate in the investigation and would come to India as and when asked and he was not running away as his wife and parents reside here and he has two houses in Delhi and Gurgaon.

Rishi, in his plea, said he was detained at the IGI airport on his arrival on March 15 and was asked by the CBI to appear before it at Mumbai the next day.

He said details of the LOC have not been given to him, and due to the LOC, he has not been able to return to USA and such restrictions on his travel are wholly unwarranted and unjustified and in absolute violation of fundamental rights.

The March 4 FIR alleged that directors, chief finance officer and finance officer of Firestar International Ltd, Firestar Diamond International Pvt Ltd, other directors/ promoters, company officials and unknown public servants of Punjab National Bank entered into a criminal conspiracy, pursuant to which PNB, Mumbai was allegedly cheated to the tune of Rs 321.88 crore over the period 2013-17.

Billionaire Nirav Modi, his uncle Choksi and others are being investigated by multiple probe agencies after the scam came to light in January following a complaint by the PNB that they had allegedly cheated the nationalised bank to the tune of Rs 11,400 crore, with the purported involvement of a few employees of the bank.

The ED has registered the money laundering case against Modi, his firms and others on the basis of a CBI FIR.

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The police failed to prevent and contain the violence that was witnessed in Aurangabad last week, resulting in the death of two persons and injuries to 60 people, a top official of Maharashtra police admitted today.

Additional Director General of Police Bipin Bihari, after reviewing the situation in the city located in the Marathwada region, said the police had failed to take action against the rioters.

He said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed by Aurangabad's Acting Commissioner of Police Milind Bharambe to probe the role of the police officials during the riots.

On May 11, Aurangabad, located about 350 kms from Mumbai, witnessed clashes between groups of two communities over illegal water connections.

The violence left a 65-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy dead and around 60 others, including a dozen policemen, injured. Several shops and scores of vehicles were also torched.

Bharambe will conduct an inquiry into the allegations against a city police inspector for not preventing the violence and ignoring complaints about it, Bihari told reporters here.

A nine-minute video, which has gone viral, purportedly shows some police personnel walking with rioters during the violence.

"An SIT has been constituted to inquire into the viral video showing a policeman shaking hands with a rioter before he and his accomplices start torching vehicles. Strict action will be taken against those found guilty," Bharambe told reporters here yesterday.

Notably, the 17-year-old boy was killed allegedly in police firing in the Nawabpura area on that day.

Later, another video surfaced purportedly showing Shiv Sena MP from Aurangabad, Chandrakant Khaire, with some rioters.

Meanwhile, the situation in the riot-hit city of central Maharashtra today remained tensed but under control.

Internet services were restored this morning and prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of the CrPC were revoked in the central Maharashtra city, another police official said.

The police have registered six cases in which nearly 3,000 unidentified people were booked for offences like arson, rioting and damaging public property, he said.

The situation became tense in the Shivaji Nagar area this afternoon when the police went to apprehend Shiv Sena leader Rajendra Janjal on charges of rioting.

Besides the local police, seven State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) battalions were deployed in the violence-affected areas, the official said.

The clashes between groups of two communities started in Moti Karanja area around 10 pm on May 11 and spread to Gandhi Nagar, Raja Bazaar, Shah Ganj and Sarafa localities, a police official had earlier said.

Tension was brewing in Moti Karanja area over the preceding days as the municipal corporation was carrying out a drive against illegal water connections, according to sources in Aurangabad.

It got a communal colour when an illegal water connection at a place of worship in the area was removed, the sources said.

The violence appeared to be pre-planned as shops were targeted selectively in some areas, a senior police officer said.

District Magistrate Uday Chaudhari yesterday said that 'panchnama' of the incident would be completed in two to three days.

The report on the estimated loss of property would be submitted to the government, he said.

The Shiv Sena yesterday dubbed the riots as a "communal" and "pre-planned" act of violence.

The BJP's bickering ally also rapped the state Home department, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, over the security lapses and failing to appoint a police commissioner for the city, which is considered a "highly sensitive" area.

AIMIM MLA Imtiaz Jalil said, "The video clips made by citizens are a proof of who are behind the riots. The rioters are themselves asking the police to take action against others who have faced losses. All those who are guilty should be punished."



He demanded that Fadnavis should take action, but was not very hopeful of it.

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A policeman was killed in a militant attack at Bijbehara town in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir today, an official said.

"Militants fired at a police vehicle in Bijbehara and the cops retaliated. In the attack, one policeman sustained injuries," a police spokesman said.

The injured policeman, identified as Bilal Ahmad, later succumbed to injuries, he said.

The area has been cordoned off and a search operation underway to track down the assailants, he added.

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Amid the China-US tussle over trade tariffs, Chinese President Xi Jinping has given a key diplomatic role to his close ally and Vice-President Wang Qishan, who carried out a massive anti-graft campaign in the last five years.

Wang, 69, has been made member of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission headed by Xi.

Wang, who is valued for his "firefighting skills", would play a leading role in foreign affairs after he left his previous post spearheading the party's anti-corruption drive, Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today.

Earlier reports said Xi may send Wang, who reportedly enjoy close rapport with several US officials, to Washington to take part in the trade talks along with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He.

Wang has already been meeting top foreign dignitaries visiting Beijing.

He had met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj last month when she visited Beijing to attend the Foreign Ministers meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).

At the Central Foreign Affairs Commission meeting, Xi highlighted the current uncertainty in international affairs and stressed that the foreign affairs commission will play a leading role in China's diplomacy.

Xi has already elevated the role of diplomacy during his second five tenure starting in March this year. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been elevated to become State Councillor, a top diplomatic posting in China. The previous State Councillor, Yang Jiechi, has become member of the powerful politburo of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC).

The first meeting of the commission was held amid Liu's visit to the United States for a second round of trade negotiations.

The dialogue seems to be making headway as US President Donald Trump in a tweet during the weekend said he is working along with Xi to help Chinese telephone firm ZTE to get back into business.

"President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done," he said.

Today, he defended his decision with another tweet saying that "ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi."



The US Commerce Department last month blocked ZTE, a major supplier of telecom networks and smartphones, from importing American components for seven years. The US accused ZTE of misleading American regulators over sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

China had protested over the action against ZTE at trade talks in Beijing. By cutting off access to US suppliers of essential components such as microchips, the ban threatens ZTE's existence, the company has said.

China yesterday welcomed Trump's comments to reconsider the decision.

The two countries are trying to avert a trade war after Trump has begun pressuring China to reduce the USD 375 billion bilateral trade deficit. He has been calling on China to reduce the trade deficit by USD 100 billion with in a month and USD 200 billion by 2020 failing which he would impose tariffs on Chinese products.

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President Ram Nath Kovind today inaugurated an integrated centre for crisis management (ICCM) at the iconic Bhabha Atomic Research Centre here that will help the nation respond more effectively to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies.

The new facility will monitor radiological data from a network of 504 radiation sensors across the country.

Addressing the gathering of atomic scientists at the premier nuclear research facility, Kovind, who also remotely inaugurated three other nuclear facilities of the department of atomic energy, said, "Scientists and the technological community are the real nation- builders, and I salute you."



Among the other facilities that were inaugurated today include a metal fuel pin fabrication facility jointly developed by BARC and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research at Kalpakkam, near Chennai, that can increase plutonium production in fast breeder reactors.

The third facility in Hyderabad will help develop high-power electron beam melting furnace for nuclear and strategic applications. This technology is jointly developed by the scientists of BARC and the Nuclear Fuel Complex.

Kovind also inaugurated an integrated enriched boron tri-fluoride gas generation facility developed by the Heavy-water Board in Odisha that will be used in neutron detectors.

That apart, the president launched a multi-leaf collimator system developed by BARC that will enable gamma radiation to be exposed only on cancer-affected organs.

"What is less known to the common people is the work that all of you do for using nuclear technology in the areas of healthcare, food and agriculture, water management and environmental protection.

"Research in nuclear medicine is widely used both for diagnostic as well as therapeutic purposes. This system will enhance the effectiveness of treatment of tumours," he said.

The Department of Atomic Energy also presented a high-yielding dwarf variety of Dubraj mutant rice (Trombay Chhattisgarh Dubraj Mutant-1) to the president. This is the 43rd high-yielding crop variety developed by BARC.

"We've some of the best scientific minds in this gathering and your minds must use the power and potential of science to solve the problems of the country and contribute towards realising economic growth along with social justice and equity," Kovind said.

He also called for increasing nuclear power generation by establishing a robust nuclear energy programme using the country's vast thorium deposits.

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Priyanka Chopra today announced her fourth production venture in Marathi language, titled "Paani".

The 35-year-old actor, who is backing the film under her production banner Purple Pebble Pictures, took to Twitter to share the

The film, to be directed Adinath Kothare, is based on a "true story" and explores the contemporary water crisis.

"This is what I had envisioned when starting @PurplePebblePic... A platform for good stories and new talent. #Paani is special because it's based on a true story and deals with a very topical issue.

"Welcome aboard @adinathkothare and team... Let's create something special together! #Marathi," Priyanka tweeted.

The production house also shared that the shooting of the movie is expected to begin soon.

"We're happy to share that our fourth Marathi project, 'Paani', will begin shooting soon! It's an inspirational tale based on a true story, directed by @adinathkothare. Stay tuned..." the tweet read.

They also shared a motion poster of the film.

Priyanka has earlier produced National Award-winning "Ventilator", "Kay Re Rascalaa" and "Firebrand" in Marathi.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a truck across a new bridge linking mainland Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea today, triggering a fierce reaction from Kiev.

Russian state television showed Putin dressed in jeans and a casual jacket sit behind the wheel of a construction truck with workers to drive 19 kilometres across the bridge, which links the Taman peninsula in southern Russia to Ukraine's Crimea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

"I want to sincerely congratulate you with this remarkable, festive and, in the full sense of the word, historic day," Putin told workers upon arrival on the Crimean side of the bridge.

"In different historical eras, even under the tsar, people were dreaming of building this bridge," Putin told cheering workers.

He was referring to Russia's last tsar, Nicholas II, who first proposed such a bridge, but the outbreak of World War I prevented it going ahead.

Another unsuccessful attempt was made in the 1930s under Joseph Stalin.

During World War II the occupying Nazis also began building a bridge but abandoned the project.

The Russian leader, who was re-elected for a fourth Kremlin term in March extending his long rule, pledged to build more of "such projects" across Russia. The Crimean Bridge overtakes Lisbon's Vasco da Gama Bridge as the longest in Europe.

Built at a cost of 228 billion rubles (USD 3.7 billion), the new structure connects the southern Krasnodar region with the Crimean city of Kerch, spanning a strait between the Black and Azov seas.

Ukraine, which along with most of the international community has not recognised Russia's annexation of Crimea, condemned the project which was personally championed by Putin.

"The Russian occupying powers, which have temporarily occupied Crimea, are continuing to act outside international law," Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman told AFP in an interview.

Ukraine has also previously complained that the construction has damaged the environment and that larger ships will be unable to get through to its ports on the Azov Sea.

The European Union also criticised what it called a fresh assault on Ukraine's territorial integrity.

"This constitutes another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia," said a statement by a spokesperson for the office of the European Union's foreign policy service, which said the bloc continues to refuse to recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's security service raided the offices of Russian state media in Kiev and detained one local journalist on suspicions of treason, moves the chief editor of Russia's RT television suggested were linked to the bridge opening.

The chief editor of the Kremlin-funded channel, Margarita Simonyan, wrote on Twitter that "Kiev decided to take revenge on us for the Crimean Bridge," after the raids on the offices of RIA Novosti state agency, which is part of the same media group as RT.

European Union and US sanctions have targeted those involved in building the bridge, principally Putin's close ally, businessman Arkady Rotenberg, whose company Stroygazmontazh won the construction contract.

The annexation of the peninsula in 2014 was condemned by Kiev and the West as an illegal land grab but applauded in Russia.

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Russia's new weapons, including an array of new nuclear systems, will ensure the country's security for decades to come, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with top military brass.

Speaking in Sochi, Putin said yesterday that the new systems unveiled this year will significantly increase Russia's military capabilities and "ensure a strategic balance for decades."



The Russian leader presented an array of new nuclear weapons in March that he said can't be intercepted. They include a new heavy intercontinental ballistic missile; a nuclear-powered global range cruise missile; and an underwater drone designed to strike coastal facilities with a heavy nuclear weapon.

Putin said at yesterday's meeting that the development of the weapons would remain a high priority.

He also mentioned other weapons systems, including the prospective S-500 air defence system that is meant to be precise and powerful enough to hit targets in space.

Putin said the strategic nuclear forces should receive new batches of Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles to replace the older Topol ICBMs. Also in the pipeline are modernised Tu-160 and Tu-95 strategic bombers equipped with long-range cruise missiles and the new Borei-class nuclear submarines armed with ICBMs.

The navy, Putin said, will commission more warships armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that the military tested during the war in Syria.

The Russian president said the army will receive a range of new armoured vehicles, including the new Armata main battle tanks.

The Kremlin has made military modernisation a top priority as Russia-West ties plummeted to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and other disputes.

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Gujjar leaders today announced they will begin an agitation from May 23 for five per cent reservation in government jobs and education institutions in Rajasthan.

The agitation will begin from Pilukapura in Bharatpur district, Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, which held a mahapanchayat' of the community today in the district's Adda village, said.

The announcement came after a Samiti delegation held a meeting last night in Jaipur with a group of ministers on the reservation demand.

Today, Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti head Kirori Singh Bainsla discussed that meeting with other community leaders in Adda before making the announcement.

"People in our community are not happy with the government. Bainsla discussed the outcome of the meeting with the people to seek their response," Himmat Singh, the organisation's spokesperson, said.

Bainsla told reporters in Adda that he was not satisfied with last night's meeting the delegation had with the ministers.

He said he will not back out of the agitation if his community did not get its rights. The community faces injustice throughout the country and the agitation will begin if the government fails to address the issue, her said.

Apart from the mahapanchayat in Adda village, two other Gujjar meetings were held in the district.

A meeting at Marauli village was organised by a Gujjar group backing Bainsla, and the other at Tonta Baba ka Sthan where rival leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused Bainsla of misleading the community for several years.

We will form a 51-member and will put pressure on the government to fulfil its promise to give five per cent reservation to Gujjars and other castes and include this in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, Bidhuri, who leads the Akhil Bhartiya Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said.

Tight security arrangements were made in Bharatpur ahead of the Gujjar mahapanchayat. The police said arrangements were in place for the security of public property including railway tracks.

The Gujjars in Rajasthan already get one per cent reservation in the 'most backward' category but are demanding a five per cent quota under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) slab.

Last October, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a bill to raise OBC reservation from 21 to 26 per cent to create a new category within it for Gujjars and some other castes.

However, the high court stayed the bill as it would have increased the reservation to 54 per cent.

Later, the Supreme Court also directed the state government not to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limit.

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Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the progress of various developmental projects in the Union Territories, including Delhi and Chandigarh, and asked officials to expedite the completion of pending projects.

A ministry spokesperson said among the projects reviewed were smart cities mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), nutritious food supply to women and children, provision of drinking water and electricity, Swachh Bharat mission, improvement in shipping and road connectivity, and tourism projects.

Senior officials from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, NCT of Delhi, Lakshadweep and Puducherry briefed the home minister on the status of various developmental projects being implemented in their respective UTs.

Singh appreciated the progress achieved in implementation of various projects aimed at improving the ease of living of people.

He exhorted the officials to persevere for completion of the pending projects at the earliest keeping in view the specific requirements and constraints of each UT, the ministry spokesperson said.

Minister of state for home Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba and senior officials of the home ministry attended the meeting.

The UTs are administered in accordance with Constitutional provisions by the home ministry which is the nodal ministry for all matters of UTs relating to legislation, finance and budget, services and appointment of Lt. Governors and Administrators.

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Farooq Devadiwala, allegedly the recruiter of a terror suspect arrested in Mumbai last week, has been detained by the law enforcement agencies in the United Arab Emirates, a senior police official said here today.

Faizal Hassan Mirza, a distant relative of Devadiwala, was arrested on May 11 for allegedly plotting attacks in Mumbai, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The action against Devadiwala followed Mirza's arrest, the official said.

When asked if Devadiwala would be deported to India, the official said it was a "distinct possibility".

UAE officials are questioning Devadiwala about his alleged role in recruiting people and sending them to terror training camps in Pakistan, he said.

Devadiwala is suspected to have links with fugitive gangster Dawood Ibrahim's close aide Chhota Shakil, and is wanted in terror-related cases in Mumbai, the official added.

Devadiwala allegedly recruited Mirza to work for an outfit backed by the Islamic State group and carry out terror activities in Mumbai, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, he said.

Mirza allegedly planned to assassinate prominent people and target crowded places by carrying out suicide bombings, the official said.

Devadiwala arranged tickets for Mirza to visit Sharjah and arranged his travel further on a Dubai-Nairobi flight, which had a transit halt at Karachi in Pakistan, the official said.

Mirza was asked to deplane at the Karachi airport, from where he was sent to a terror training camp, the official said.

He was arrested on Friday by the Maharashtra ATS in a joint operation with Kolkata Police's Special Task Force and Mumbai Police.

After returning to Mumbai, Mirza was awaiting orders from his handlers to carry out attacks, police had said.

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A special NIA court here sentenced 18 SIMI members, including its leader Safdar Nagori, to seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) today, after they were found guilty of organising an arms training camp for the members of the banned outfit in Kerala in 2007.

Special NIA court Judge Kauser Edappagath also sentenced the convicts to varying terms of imprisonment under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosive Substances Act (ESA) and section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They were sentenced to one-year RI under section 10 and five-year RI under section 38 of the UAPA, seven-year RI under section 4 of the ESA and seven-year RI under section 120-B, IPC.

Of the convicts, 13 were also found guilty under section 20 of the UAPA (punishment for being a member of a terrorist organisation/gang) and sentenced to seven years of RI.

The court imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh each on the 13 convicts found guilty under various sections, including section 20 of the UAPA.

A fine of Rs 50,000 each was slapped on the remaining five, who were found guilty under other sections.

The judge said the sentences would run concurrently and set-offs would be allowed.

Fourteen of the convicts, who have been in judicial custody for more than seven years, will get the benefit of set-off allowed by the court, a defence lawyer said.

Under section 428 of the CrPc, the period of detention undergone by an accused during investigation or trial will be set off against the period of his imprisonment.

The court had yesterday acquitted 17 others in the case.

The case was registered by the Kerala police against members of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for organising an arms training camp at Thangalpara in Wagamon in December, 2007.

According to the chargesheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the participants at the "secret training camp" had engaged themselves in physical training, firing practice, training in explosives, motorcycle racing, rope climbing, besides classes on "jihad" in India.

The court had rejected the NIA's charges against the accused under IPC sections 122 (collecting arms with intention of waging war against the Government of India), 124-A (attempts to spread disaffection towards the government) and 153-A (spread enmity between communities).

Besides Nagori (48), the others sentenced today were -- Saduli, P A Shibily, Mohammed Ansar and Abdul Sathar (all from Kerala); Hafeez Hussain, Mohammed Sami Bagevadi, Nadeem Sayeed, Dr H A Asadulla, Shakeel Ahammed and Mirza Ahmed Baig (Karnataka); Aamil Parwaz and Kamaruddin Nagori (Madhya Pradesh); Mufti Abul Bashar (Uttar Pradesh); Danish and Manzar Imam (Jharkhand); Mohammed Abu Faisal Khan (Maharashtra); and Alam Jeb Afridi (Gujarat).

Saduli, Hafeez Hussain, Safdar Nagori, P A Shibily, Mohammed Ansar, Abdul Sathar, Aamil Parwaz, Nadeem Sayeed, Dr H A Asadulla, Kamaruddin Nagori, Shakeel Ahammed, Mirza Ahmed Baig and Manzar Imam were also found guilty under section 20 of the UAPA.

Nagori, the founder member of the SIMI, is believed to have been radicalised after the Babri Masjid demolition in December, 1992.

Son of a policeman from Madhya Pradesh, his name had first surfaced in the police records in 1998 for alleged anti-national activities.

He continued playing "hide and seek" with the police till his arrest in Madhya Pradesh in 2008.

SIMI was banned in 2001 as a terror outfit for being "suppliers" of cadres to insurgent groups such as the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami to carry out terror activities in India and Afghanistan.

The case was originally registered at Mundakayam on June 21, 2008 and the probe was handed over to the NIA in January, 2010.

The first chargesheet was filed in 2011, followed by supplementary chargesheets in 2013 and 2015, against 38 people.

The trial had commenced in January last year and 33 accused, lodged in prisons in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bhopal and Bengaluru, were produced through video-conference, while two were produced in person.

One chargesheeted accused, Wasik Billa, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, is absconding, while another, Mehboob of Madhya Pradesh, was killed by the police in an encounter in Bhopal in October, 2016.

Another accused, Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tawqeer, a resident of Mumbai, was arrested in the case recently.

The prosecution had examined 77 witnesses, through whom 252 documents and 43 material objects got exhibited, while the defence had examined three witnesses during the trial.

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Sameer Bhujbal, the nephew of senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, today urged the Bombay High Court to grant him interim bail in a money laundering case on the grounds of parity with his uncle, who was given relief on May 4.

Chhagan Bhujbal and Sameer Bhujbal were arrested in 2016 after ED claimed that the former and his associates allegedly misused their office and caused financial loss to the government



Sameer Bhujbal's lawyer Vikram Chaudhary told a vacation bench of the high court that since the "main accused" in the case, Chhagan Bhujbal, had recently been granted bail by the court, he too must at least be granted an interim bail.

Chaudhary told the bench led by Justice V L Achilya that the maximum punishment under the Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) Act was seven years and he had already been in custody for over two years.

"The probe in the case is complete, and I deserve to be granted bail on the primary ground that the main accused (Chhagan Bhujbal) has already been granted bail in the case. This same court granted him bail and its order can be the basis for my bail," Sameer Bhujbal said.

Sameer Bhujbal, his uncle and former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal, and 51 others were charged by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in 2016 for various offences, including alleged corruption in the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi.

While Chhagan Bhujbal was granted bail on May 4 this year by another bench of the high court, a vacation bench presided by Justice Bharati Dangre had refused to grant any interim relief to Sameer Bhujbal last week.

Advocate Chaudhary argued today that of the 53 accused in the case, Sameer Bhujbal was the only one still in custody.

The court has now kept the case for a detailed hearing on May 17.

According to the ED, Sameer Bhujbal and Chhagan Bhujbal had awarded contracts related to construction and development works, including one for the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, to a particular firm, in return for kickbacks for himself and his family.

As per the ED, Chhagan Bhujbal, during his term as the state PWD minister, and Sameer Bhujbal used to channel such money to illegal companies owned by them.

Chhagan Bhujbal, 70, had approached the high court in January this year seeking bail on the grounds that his custody was not required anymore as the charge sheet was already filed and citing his ill-health.

While granting him bail, Justice P N Deshmukh had cited Chhagan Bhujbal's old age, and also the fact that he had cooperated with the ED probe.

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Markets regulator Sebi today disposed of allegations of fraudulent trading against Madhukar Chimanlal Sheth in the shares of Videocon Industries.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had conducted an investigation in the shares of Videocon Industries for the period from May 1, 2006 to March 31, 2008 to examine any possible violation of capital market norms by certain entities including Sheth.

It was alleged that Sheth, by executing self-trades, had violated the provisions of PFUTP (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices) Regulations.

In self-trades, the same entity is both the buyer and the seller. As such these trades do not represent a real change in beneficial ownership of the securities.

Following the probe, the regulator had initiated adjudication proceedings against Sheth.

"In the instant proceedings, considering the volume of self-trades executed by noticee (Sheth) vis-a-vis the market volume and its trading volume on the dates of self-trades, I note that the contribution of self-trades to market traded volumes is minuscule and therefore cannot be said to have created artificial volume," Sebi Adjudicating Officer B J Dilip said.

Dilip also said the charge of self-trades executed by Sheth in terms of artificial volumes "does not get established".

Accordingly, Dilip disposed of the adjudication proceedings initiated against Sheth.

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Separatists today called for a protest march to Lal Chowk on Saturday against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's scheduled visit to the Jammu and Kashmir.

Prime Minister will address the sixth convocation ceremony of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Jammu this week.

The separatists, under the banner of Joint Resistance Leadership (JRL) comprising Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik, appealed the people to march towards Lal Chowk on 19 May to register their peaceful protest against the Prime Minister's visit to the state, a spokesman of the amalgam said.

The decision to call for a protest march was taken at a meeting of the separatist leaders at the residence of Geelani today, the spokesman said.

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The Delhi Police has filed a charge sheet in a kidnapping case in which a five-year-old boy was brazenly abducted from a school bus on the eve of Republic Day from Shahdara.

The boy was rescued after an encounter between the police and the kidnappers on February 6 at Shalimar City in Ghaziabad's Sahibabad area.

Of the four accused, Ravi (25) was killed in the encounter, while Pankaj was arrested. Nitin Sharma, another accused, was arrested on February 6, and Anshul Malhotra, his accomplice, after the boy was rescued.

They had demanded a ransom of Rs 60 lakh for the child's release, according to the charge sheet.

Nitin used to make the ransom calls in the voice of a woman to mislead investigators, police said.

The charge sheet was filed before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ajay Garg in the Karkardooma Court earlier this month and the accused were booked for kidnapping, attempt to murder, theft, wrongful restraint and under provisions of the Arms Act.

The charge sheet mentions that Malhotra, who happens to be a friend of Nitin, had supplied arms to them.

Pankaj and Ravi had allegedly kidnapped the boy from the school bus on January 25 near IBHAAS on the Mandoli Road on the directions of Nitin. They had also shot at bus driver Naresh Thapa, it stated.

The 43-page charge sheet lists 81 witnesses and the evidence include stolen mobile phones that were used by the accused to make the ransom calls and send a Whatsapp video of the boy saying "I love you" to his father.

Other evidence include footage taken from CCTV cameras on the route from where the boy was kidnapped.

The charge sheet also mentions that Nitin used to make ransom calls in the voice of a female to create an impression that a woman had planned the entire episode and throw the police off-track.

Nitin's voice samples have been sent for forensic examination and a report is awaited, it said.

The operation to rescue the child was called 'C-River' as the accused had demanded that the ransom money be delivered at the Cross River mall in Shahdara.

Vihaan Gupta, the son of a wholesale businessman, was kidnapped by Nitin who knew that his father had recently struck a business deal of Rs 37 lakh, police said.

The accused had decided to kidnap the boy to make quick money, they said.

The case was transferred to the Crime Branch on January 28 on the instructions of the Commissioner of Police.

The Crime Branch formed a team led by Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) G Ram Gopal Naik. It tracked the area in Sahibabad where the alleged kidnappers were holed up.

Nitin was arrested from Seemapuri on February 5 when he was returning from a marriage party, the charge sheet stated.

The police were keeping a tab on his movements and had even entered the wedding venue posing as guests, it said.

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says she has often "walked away" from big films due to her adherence to schedules, something she hopes changes soon.

In a video media interaction from Cannes, where she walked the red carpet for L'Oreal Paris for the 15th year, the actor said she should have been more "fierce".

"The fact that I have been very school girlish in my choices, I was very good at keeping with schedules... I have walked away from some very big films and acting opportunities because I was being very sincere to schedules," she said.

"Now, when I look back I feel I should have been more fierce and aggressive with wanting films and roles, and allowing the schedules to figure out themselves, as I see a lot of my colleagues worked over the years."



Aishwarya does not regret her approach as she believes there are so many stories to be told and enough work in films to do.

"When I took a break with Aaradhya and even now, I get asked, 'Why don't we see more of you?' Yes, I want to do more films. I have been a little easy on my time planning.

"I have happily played mummy to Aaradhya and thrown work around here and there. Even now when I am offered a good script, I feel like doing but then I think, 'Let me take one more holiday this month. I will do the next one (film)'. I think this attitude needs to change."



This year, Aishwarya's name came up for three projects - "Jasmine" and the remakes of "Woh Kaun Thi" and "Raat Aur Din".

Director Shree Narayan Singh, who made "Toilet Ek Prem Katha", has written "Jasmine" and is expected to co-produce it with KriArj's Prerna Arora.

"When I heard 'Jasmine', I asked them to take it for a rewrite. So, it depends on what they do with it. It got announced before I even heard it. (When) I heard it, I requested for a rewrite. Let's see where that goes," she said.

Aishwarya has also been rumoured to greenlit two other KriArj projects - the remakes of Nargis Dutt's "Raat Aur Din" (1967) and Sadhana-starrer "Woh Kaun Thi" (1964).

"'Woh Kaun Thi' and 'Raat Aur Din' were fabulous ideas but I need to come back and hear the team out on how they want to make them and probably then make the announcements.

"The originals were great ideas, but I need to see how the two directors make them for the current audience. Once that's set on the paper, we will go for it," the actor said.

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He was thrown out of the JD(S) in 2005 for anti-party activities following his sharp differences with its leadership over H D Kumaraswamy's growing clout in the party.

Twelve years down the line, Siddaramaiah, the 69- year-old leader from the backward Kuruba community, today offered Karnataka's chief ministership to his political foe Kumaraswamy whose party finished a poor third with barely 37 seats in its kitty.

Siddaramaiah suffered a humiliating defeat in Chamundeshwari where he lost to G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) by over 36,000 votes, but managed to win Badami by a slender margin of 1696 votes against BJP's B Sreeramulu, a sitting saffron party MP and close aide of the controversial Reddy brothers.

Despite being considered an "outsider" by a section of the Karnataka Congress for his socialist roots, Siddaramaiah became the first chief minister since Devraj Urs (1972-77) to complete a full five-year term in office.

Born into a poor farming family in Siddaramanahundi village in 1948, Siddaramaiah, the second of five siblings, did not have formal education initially, and joined school in the 5th grade.

Overcoming adversity, he did his BSc and obtained a degree in law. He practised law and even taught it for a while in Mysuru.

Siddaramaiah, who goes by the single name, joined under the influence of Nanjunda Swamy, a farmer leader who campaigned against agricultural patenting by multinational corporations.

He made his debut in the Assembly in 1983 from Chamundeshwari constituency on a Lok Dal ticket. He later joined the Janata Dal.

Admired for his canny political sense and his rustic, down to earth characteristics, Siddaramaiah climbed up the ladder in the Janata Dal, and served as minister in the party's governments. He also served as deputy chief minister twice.

A 7-term legislator, Siddaramaiah followed his mentor H D Deve Gowda after the Janata Dal split and the former prime minister formed the JD(S).

Siddaramaiah later floated his own party-- All India Progressive Janata Dal--following his expulsion from the JD (S). He had irreconcilable differences with Deve Gowda over the growing influence of his son H D Kumaraswamy in the party.

The expulsion came when Siddaramaiah started actively particiating in the AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) movement. Castes and communities constituting the AHINDA were considered the bedrock of the Congress's support base in Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah later merged his party with the Congress.

In the 2006 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah contested from Chamundeshwari on Congress ticket and won by a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against the JD(S) candidate. However, he had exacted a sweet revenge.

He was appointed chairman of the publicity committee of the Congress in the 2008 Assembly polls, which the BJP won. He was then appointed the Leader of the Opposition, a reflection of his growing clout in the Congress.

The BJP's stint in power was marred by intra-party feuds and allegations of corruption.

When the BJP lost the 2013 polls, Siddaramaiah was appointed the chief minister.

Known for taking bold decisions, Siddaramaiah decided to celebrate 'Tipu Jayanti', a move denounced by the BJP as "appeasement politics". His government also took the controversial decision of recommending religious minority status for the influential Lingayat community in the run up to the polls.

He launched a plethora of populist schemes like the Annabhagya for free distribution of rice, Ksheeradhare under which subsidy was given for milk, Vidyasiri that made available hostel facilities for students, and many others.

The Siddaramaiah government also substantially raised the budgetary allocations for Dalits.

These populist measures were expected to effectively insulate Siddaramaiah against allegations of corruption as Modi mounted an aggressive assault, calling him a "Seedha rupaiah government" and "10 per cent commission government".

Apparently, the charges did stick.

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Sonam Kapoor looked resplendent as she sashayed down the Cannes red carpet in a Ralph and Russo lehenga-inspired outfit complimenting her bridal glow and the wedding mehendi.

The 32-year-old actor, who tied the knot with longtime beau Anand Ahuja on May 8, picked her favourite designers from London for her first red carpet appearance at this year's festival.

The off-white outfit was a combination of a lehenga skirt paired with a blouse topped with intricate silver embellishments all over. She completed her look with a pair of Chopard diamond studs and braided her hair using a traditional parandi.

Earlier, Sonam stepped out in a Mother of Pearl black-and-white polka-dotted maxi-dress, paired with boots. She also sported a floral Delpozo dress for an auction dinner.

Apart from Sonam, veteran Hollywood actor Jane Fonda also chose an ivory gown for her red-carpet appearance. She paired her Valentino Couture creation with Chopard jewels and Sarah Flint pumps.

Pakistani actor Mahira Khan also appeared at the red carpet wearing a Alberta Ferretti gown. She left her hair in loose waves and teamed her look with jewels from Chopard.

Sonam and Mahira, who walked the red carpet for international cosmetics brand L'Oreal Paris, shared some candid moments post the event.

The cosmetic brand shared a picture of the actors in which Sonam is planting a kiss on Mahira's head.

Bollywood stars Deepika Padukone and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also attended the festival as L'Oreal Paris ambassadors.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The bypoll to the sole Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland on May 28 will witness a straight fight between the ruling NDPP and the opposition NPF, Returning Officer M Patton has said.

As Tokheho Yepthomi of the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and C Apok Jamir of the Naga People's Front (NPF) did not withdraw nomination till the expiry of the official time last evening, only these two candidates were in fray, Patton told PTI yesterday.

The bypoll to the Lok Sabha seat in Nagaland has been necessitated following the resignation of Neiphiu Rio.

Rio had resigned from the Lok Sabha in February this year, to contest the Nagaland Assembly election.

Rio, who is now the chief minister, had won unopposed from the Northern Angami-II seat in Kohima district.

Veteran politician Yepthomi is also the consensus candidate of the partners in the Peoples Democratic Alliance (PDA) government.

PDA comprises NDPP (18), BJP (12), NPP (2) and JD(U) and Independent (one each)



The opposition NPF, with 26 legislators, has nominated former Rajya Sabha MP and ex-MLA, C Apok Jamir.

At a meeting with the candidates yesterday, the returning officer urged them and the respective political parties to strictly adhere to the Model Code of Conduct, which has been in force since the announcement of the polls on April 26 last.

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National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) today approved Tata Steel's bid of Rs 32,500 crore, along with 12.27 per cent equity to creditors, for the debt ridden Bhushan Steel Ltd (BSL).

The tribunal accepted the plan filed by BSL's resolution professional (RP), which was approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC) lead by SBI, after finding Tata Steel as the highest bidder.

"The application filed by the RP for accepting the resolution plan approved by the CoC submitted by resolution applicant Tata Steel Ltd is accepted," said a two member bench comprising NCLT President Justice M M Kumar and S K Mohapatra.

The tribunal also gave approval for the appointment of a monitoring agency for the deal.

NCLT, in its 85-page order, has also directed BSL's ex-management to cooperate with the monitoring agency during the implementation of the resolution plan and granted it liberty to approach it during the process.

"Liberty is grated to the monitoring agency to apply for any further direction against the ex-management, its directors or any other officers, if such necessity arrives," said NCLT.

BSL had a debt of Rs 56,080 crore from 53 financial creditors and Rs 2,846 crore from 751 operational creditors, which also include workmen, employee and statutory creditors. It had a liquidation value of Rs 14,541 crore.

The CoC had selected Tata Steel, which had offered Rs 32,500 crore as upfront payment along with 12.27 per cent equity in BSL to the creditors.

However, this was challenged by some BSL employees contending that Tata Steel was not eligible under section 29 (A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which was dismissed by NCLT.

The tribunal said the plea "filed by Bhushan employees is also dismissed with cost of Rs 1 lakh to be paid by Rahul Sengupta personally. The cost be deposited in the account of corporate debtor (BSL)".

The resolution plan retrieves about 67 per cent of the NPAs or bad loans and takes care of the existing employees by continuing their employment and also provide for payment of their back wages, the tribunal observed.

"We also find that when a resolution plan is submitted and the rights of employees are protected by such a plan then raising objections by the employees is a self-defeating proposition," NCLT observed, adding that "It is not permissible to tinker with the resolution plan which protect the rights of employees and there can not be any possible grievance."



The tribunal also dismissed the plea of engineering and construction major L&T, an operational creditor of BSL, which had requested for a higher preference in recovery of debt on par with the financial creditors of the corporate debtor.

The application "filed by Larsen & Tubro Ltd is dismissed with cost of Rs 1 lakh," said NCLT adding that "the cost be deposited in the account of BSL".

NCLT said that it was well settled that any supplier of goods and service would fall within the meaning of expression operational creditor and "claims made by L&T would amount to rewriting the provisions of the statue, which is an impossible proposition.

Moreover the tribunal also observed that there was "no documents placed on record showing any creation of charge or security warranting a view that the L&T should be regarded as a secured creditor".

The tribunal dismissed the plea of Bhushan Energy Ltd to continue its power purchase agreement (PPA) with BSL. Tata Steel, in its resolution plan submitted, had asked to disconitnue PPA terming it as onerous.

"The objection raised by the BEL are rejected and it is held that claim made by BEL us wholly frivolus and can not be sustained," said NCLT.

On April 11, the principal bench of the tribunal had reserved its order after hearing all the sides.

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India's largest IT services firm TCS today said it has expanded operations in Arkansas, US with over 200 employees joining the company as part of the Transamerica deal.

In January, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had signed a deal worth over USD 2 billion with Transamerica to administer the latter's life insurance, annuity, supplemental health insurance, and workplace voluntary benefits products, and manage the administration of more than 10 million policies.

"TCS will occupy several floors of the 1,400 Centerview building in downtown Little Rock, as part of a multi-year agreement with Transamerica...More than 200 former Transamerica employees now work for TCS at this Little Rock facility," TCS said in a statement.

This was a part of the efforts by the Mumbai-based company to recruit and protect more than 2,200 Transamerica jobs across the US in multiple locations.

The Little Rock office is a new US business centre for TCS, adding to its existing office in Bentonville, Arkansas that hosts more than 150 employees.

TCS said it has invested nearly USD 3 billion in the US over the past three years and has been among the top two IT services job creators in America.

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The Telangana government proposes to introduce a new insurance scheme for the benefit of farmers.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who held discussions with ministers and officials on the proposed scheme today, said the family should get an insurance amount of Rs five lakh in the event of the farmer's death.

"The CM said whatever might be the reason, when the farmer dies the family should immediately get Rs 5,00,000 as Insurance amount," a release from Rao's office said.

The scheme is proposed to be implemented through LIC.

Rao asked Principal Secretary (Agriculture) and Principal Secretary (Finance) to hold discussions with LIC officers to finalise modalities for the proposed scheme, it said.

"The CM has asked Principal Secretary for Agriculture and Principal Secretary Finance to have a detailed discussion with Life Insurance Corporation officers for fixing the rate and for finalising other modalities," the release said.

Rao said the government should pay the premium on behalf of the farmers.

Budgetary allocation would be made for the purpose, it said.

"The CM said that the premium amount will be budgeted amount and hence it is assured payment," it said.

The state government has recently introduced an investment support scheme for farmers, providing Rs 8,000 per acre, per annum to all farmers.

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Three naxals, one of them carrying a cash reward on his head, were arrested from two places in Chhattisgarh, while two other rebels surrendered in Bijapur district in the state today, police said.

Two cadres identified as Kunjam Anda (35) and Hemla Lakhma (31) were arrested from the forest of Timapur village under Basaguda police station limits when a team of local police was out on area domination operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

Cordex wire, electric wire, batteries, couple of detonators and Maoist literature were recovered from their possession, he said.

Of them, Anda, who was active as a member of the military platoon no 10 of Maoists, was allegedly involved in the Burkapal attack in Sukma, wherein 25 CRPF personnel were killed in April last year, he said.

"He was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head," the SP said.

"Besides, the duo was also allegedly among those who had attacked two policemen with sharp weapons and looted one Insas rifle and one AK 47 rifle from them in Basaguda weekly market in December 2014," he added.

During their interrogation, the duo revealed that they were tasked with conducting a recee of security forces in the weekly market and planning attacks on police teams, he said.

In a separate operation, a naxal identified as Avlam Sukku (25) was arrested from the forest near Gadamali road under Jangla police station area by local police, he said.

Besides, two rebels- Balram Pungati (22) and Budhu Kursam (26)- both carrying cash reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their head, today turned themselves in before Garg.

The surrendered cadres in their statement cited disappointment with the "hollow" ideology of Maoists and violence.

"They were also impressed with the provisions of the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state government," the SP said.

A cash of Rs 10,000 was also given to each of the surrendered rebels as encouragement money, he said adding that all of them will be facilitated as per the surrender and rehabilitation policy.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Following are the top stories from the northern region at 5 pm



NEWDELHI LGD6 SC-LD SIDHU



New Delhi: The Supreme Court today convicted Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for voluntarily causing hurt to a 65-year-old man but spared him a jail term in the 1988 road rage case.

CHANDIGARH DES7 PB-SIDHU-AMARINDER



Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today hailed the Supreme Court's verdict which spared state Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu a jail term in a 1988 road rage case.

CHANDIGARH DES4 PB-SIDHU



Chandigarh: Hours after Supreme Court spared him a jail term in a 1988 road rage case, Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today said that the Almighty has always helped him tide over difficult circumstances.

JAIPUR DES9 RJ-LD GUJJARS



Jaipur: Nearly 1,000 villagers today attended a 'mahapanchayat' called by the Gujjar community in Rajasthan's Bharatpur district to discuss the outcome of a meeting their leaders had held with the state government over their demand for 5 per cent reservation within the OBC quota.

JAMMU DEL2 JK-FIRING



Jammu: A Border Security Force jawan was killed in ceasefire violation by Pakistani army along the International Border (IB) in Samba district of Jammu and Kashmir, a senior BSF official said today.

KASGANJ DEL10 UP-CM-CHOPPER Kasganj (UP): In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was today forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school here.

NEWDELHI DEL8 THUNDERSTORMS-EXPERTS



(Recasting overnight story)



New Delhi: Something is unusual about the summer this year, weather experts say.

JAMMU DES11 JK-PM-CONVOCATION



Jammu: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the sixth convocation ceremony of the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology in Jammu this week, Vice Chancellor Pradeep Kumar Sharma said today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today warned coalition partner Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) that stern action would be taken if they continued to cause public sufferings by holding agitations across the state over the appointment of the chairmen to the Block Advisory Committees (BACs).

The IPFT is a partner of the BJP in the coalition government in Tripura that came to power in March, putting an end to the 25-year rule of the Left Front in the north-eastern state.

"They (IPFT) were cautioned many times against causing such public sufferings, but they are not listening. If they continue to cause public sufferings, nobody will be spared," Deb, who is also the home minister of the state, told reporters here.

The BJP and the IPFT, a tribal party, have so far failed to suppress their disagreements over the nomination of the BAC chairmen, prompting the latter to resort to agitations in various parts of the state.

Sources in the IPFT said their grievance was that they could not get the BAC chairperson of their choice at many places.

The BACs monitor the implementation of developmental schemes of the government at the grassroot level.

A five-member, state-level coordination committee of the BJP and the IPFT, which was formed last week to ensure a better coordination within the government, had recently released a list of 28 BAC chairmen.

The list has become a bone of contention between the ruling allies as disagreements over it have been reported from various districts.

The BJP had secured 35 seats, while the IPFT had bagged eight in the March election for the 60-member Tripura Assembly.

Assistant Inspector General of Police (Law and Order) Smriti Ranjan Das said IPFT activists blocked National Highway 8 at Shakbari and Sachirambari in South Tripura district for about two hours today.

However, the police managed to get them to withdraw the blockade following long persuasions and there was no untoward incident, he told PTI.

A group of IPFT activists, including women, had gheraoed the Lefunga block office in West Tripura district yesterday, demanding a leader of the outfit as the BAC chairman in the area, instead of someone from the BJP.

According to Superintendent of Police (West Tripura) Ajit Pratap Singh, 750 people, including 150 women, had gathered around the Lefunga block office yesterday, but were persuaded to disperse in the evening.

IPFT supporters had also gheraoed the Champahower police station in Khowai district, around 70 kms from here, yesterday. Superintendent of Police (Khowai) Krishnendu Chakravertty said nearly 350 people had gheraoed the police station and tried to damage its outer fence, demanding the release of arrested tribal leaders.

"The mob was turning unruly, but things were brought under control subsequently. They tried to damage the outer fence, but there was no major damage," Chakravertty said.

Reacting to the issue, state BJP vice-president Pratima Bhowmik said the advisory board of a state-level coordination committee, comprising BJP and IPFT leaders, had decided on the names of the BAC chairmen.

"There are 41 blocks in the state. We have announced the names of 28 BAC chairmen. Of them, 18 have been nominated from the BJP and 10 from the IPFT. The list was announced as per the mutual agreement with the IPFT and it was signed by IPFT general secretary Mevar Kumar Jamatia and me," she said.

When contacted, state BJP secretary Rajib Bhattacharya, who is also a member of the coordination committee, said a meeting would soon be convened to discuss the issues of conflict between the two ruling constituents and announce the names of the remaining 13 BAC chairmen.

However, Jamatia, who is the tribal welfare minister in the Biplab Deb cabinet, said further meetings would be held with the BJP regarding the nomination of BAC chairmen.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat today described the BJP's impressive poll performance in Karnataka as the triumph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development model.

Rawat joined in the celebrations at the BJP's state office after the results of the Karnataka assembly polls were announced.

"Modi has presented a model of development before the world. Today, India is the fastest growing economy leaving behind countries like China and France. In the last four years, there has not been a single allegation of corruption against the government."



"Apart from being a recognition of all this, the BJP's impressive poll performance is an indication of what is going to happen in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls," he said.

He also attributed the impressive poll performance to party president Amit Shah's electoral strategies. "It reinforces his reputation as a great strategist," he said.

A host of party leaders, including pradesh BJP president Ajay Bhatt, Haridwar MP Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, pradesh party general secretary Naresh Bansal and spokesman Munna Singh Chauhan, offered sweets to each other.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump discussed today ongoing negotiations to revamp the North American Free Trade Agreement, with the White House highlighting the "importance" of reaching a quick conclusion.

While Trudeau's office mentioned the "progress" made, and the "possibility of bringing the negotiations to a prompt conclusion," the US side was more direct. "President Trump underscored the importance of quickly concluding an agreement," the White House said in a statement.

The pair also discussed the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada, Trudeau's office said.

Canada, Mexico and the US are renegotiating their 24-year-old free trade pact -- a process triggered last year by Trump, who called the deal a "disaster" that has destroyed US jobs.

He has repeatedly threatened to leave the pact if a satisfactory deal is not reached. If the agreement is not finalized by Friday, he will have to decide whether to keep the current agreement until talks can resume next year, or try to submit a partial deal to Congress.

The NAFTA revision is vital for another reason: the exemptions for Canada and Mexico from steep US tariffs on steel imports expire June 1.

Unless officials agree on terms covering steel and aluminum, the tariffs would take effect.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump visited his wife, Melania, in the hospital today as she continues to recover after a kidney procedure.

Trump said earlier that the first lady is "doing really well" and that he expected her back at the White House before the end of the week. He arrived by helicopter at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre outside Washington today.

He also visited on Monday after doctors performed the "embolization" procedure.

"Melania is doing really well. She's watching us right now," Trump said today as he spoke at an annual tribute to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

"And I want to thank the incredible doctors. ... They did a fantastic job," Trump added.

At the Capitol later, where he joined Republican senators at their weekly lunch, Trump reiterated that his wife is "really doing well."



Trump had tweeted yesterday that his wife "will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days." Her spokeswoman had said in a statement Monday that the first lady was likely to remain hospitalised for "the duration of the week." The White House said the procedure was "successful" but withheld details of the first lady's condition, citing her privacy.

Two urologists who have no personal knowledge of Mrs. Trump's condition said the most likely explanation for the embolization procedure is a type of noncancerous kidney tumour called an angiomyolipoma.

They're not common but tend to occur in middle-aged women and can cause problematic bleeding if they become large enough, said Dr. Keith Kowalczyk of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Mrs. Trump is 48.

The "treatment of choice" is to cut off the blood supply to shrink the growth, said Dr. Lambros Stamatakis of MedStar Washington Hospital Centre. Doctors do that with an embolization snaking a catheter into the blood vessels of the kidney to find the right one and block it.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Turkey today told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave after Ankara reacted with outrage to the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli troops on the Gaza border, in the worst crisis since a 2016 reconciliation deal.

Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry and told to "return to his country for a period of time", said a foreign ministry official, who asked not to be named.

The official said that this was also in line with Turkey recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations.

Naeh had been in his post only since December 2016 after a reconciliation deal earlier that year ended a dispute over the May 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos that saw ties downgraded for over half a decade.

That deal was strongly backed by the United States, which was keen to see Israel make up with one of its very few key Muslim partners.

Ankara has reacted with fury to the killing on Monday of 60 Palestinians in clashes and protests, on the same day as the US formally moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently on a visit to Britain, had on Monday stepped up his rhetoric, accusing Israel of of "state terror" and "genocide" over the killings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then hit back at Erdogan, saying that as a leading supporter of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas "there's no doubt he's an expert on terror and slaughter."



While Turkey under Erdogan has never completely severed ties with Israel, the Turkish strongman has also never shied away from the strongest criticism.

He famously walked out of a January 2009 debate in Davos with then Israeli president Shimon Peres, complaining he was not given enough time to respond and repeatedly saying "one minute".

Turkey on Tuesday began observing three days national mourning declared by Erdogan for the Palestinian dead, with flags flying at half mast and cultural events cancelled. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel and said Ankara was calling an extraordinary summit of the world's main pan-Islamic body, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Friday.

"The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre," he added.

Cavusoglu held telephone talks with around a dozen counterparts from the Islamic world.

They included the foreign ministers of Jordan, Indonesia and Iran as well as the OIC secretary general Yousef bin Ahmad al-Othaimeen, foreign ministry sources said. Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and last year hosted an OIC summit in Istanbul to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The summit declared East Jerusalem -- which the international community regards as annexed by Israel -- "as the capital of the State of Palestine" and urged the world to follow suit.

Yildirim said that after the summit at 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) a giant rally would be held at the vast Yenikapi meeting area in Istanbul under the slogan of "Stop the Oppression" to express solidarity with the Palestinians. Hundreds of people also held protests for a second day in Istanbul and Ankara against Israel's actions with slogans including "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine", AFP correspondents said.

The demonstrations in Turkey passed off peacefully, although one man was arrested in Ankara for throwing eggs and stones at the residence of the Israeli ambassador. In Istanbul, demonstrators held placards with the slogan "the world is bigger than five", in reference to Erdogan's repeated complaints about the power of the UN Security Council.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two people allegedly involved in the rape and killing of a 64-year-old woman in West Bengal have been arrested from the city's Colaba area, police said. '



Subhankar Sikdar (35) and Govind Sarkar (28) were arrested near Regal Cinema in Colaba on Friday, police said.

Police said that, on May 7, the two had entered into an argument with the victim in Cooper's Camp area of Ranaghat subdivision in West Bengal's Nadia district.

The two assaulted the 64-year-old woman and rendered her unconscious following which the two accused allegedly raped her, police said.

When the victim regained consciousness and cried out for help, Sikdar and Sarkar strangled her to death, police said.

"After killing her, the two fled to Mumbai on May 10," said Sukhlal Varpe, Senior Inspector of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station.

He added that the two were produced before a court which remanded them in police custody, Varpe said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A portion of an under construction flyover near the railway station here collapsed today and several people were feared trapped under the debris, police said.

The incident occurred post-noon, officials said adding rescue teams were rushed to the spot. Senior police and administration officers also reached the site of the incident.

"It is feared that several people are buried under the rubble," an official said.

Some vehicles were also crushed in the incident, they added.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident while Deputy Chief Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya is reaching there, an official spokesperson said in Lucknow.

The chief minister has directed the district administration and PWD officials to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations.

Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh said NRDF teams were reaching the spot besides police personnel.

Local administration was providing emergency services with medical and other teams carrying out rescue work.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath



was today forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school here.

The chief minister was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow.

"Yes, the chief minister is safe," he told PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problems it was forced to land on a field a kilometer away.

The chief minister reached here this morning on a day's visit to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered in Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed the developmental works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate.

Meanwhile, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI, "The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States today blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," read a draft of the statement, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability," read the text.

In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes and more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded.

They erupted before Israeli officials and a White House delegation including President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka formally opened the embassy in Jerusalem, and the bloodshed continued throughout the day.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

"The Security Council expresses its grave concern regarding recent developments in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the context of the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and the tragic loss of civilian lives," the draft statement read.

"The Security Council calls upon all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm," it said.

"The Security Council calls on all States not to undertake any steps that further aggravate the situation, including any unilateral and unlawful measures undermining the prospects of peace." It also said that any decisions and actions "which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect" -- a reference to the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

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The United States today condemned the inauguration by Vladimir Putin of a bridge linking Crimea to mainland Russia as an attempt to solidify Moscow's "unlawful seizure" of the Ukrainian territory.

"Russia's construction of the bridge serves as a reminder of Russia's ongoing willingness to flout international law," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.

The US rebuke came after Russia's president drove a truck across the Kerch Strait bridge, which links the Taman peninsula in southern Russia to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

Reasserting that "Crimea is part of Ukraine," Nauert said "the United States condemns Russia's construction and partial opening" of the bridge, carried out "without the permission of the government of Ukraine." "The bridge represents not only an attempt by Russia to solidify its unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea, but also impedes navigation by limiting the size of ships that can transit the Kerch Strait," she said.

Nauert reaffirmed the US commitment to "Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," warning that all Crimea-related American sanctions "will remain in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine.

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A US diplomat, who killed a Pakistani motorcyclist in a road accident last month, has left the country amidst controversy over his immunity from prosecution.

Defence attache Colonel Joseph Hall killed a motorbike rider and injured another on April 7 in Islamabad after jumping a red signal. A case was registered but he was never formally arrested due to diplomatic immunity.

The government reportedly took the decision after the US government assured that Colonel Hall will be tried under US laws, the diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by Dawn

The diplomat has since left for Afghanistan on a special flight.

The US Embassy in Islamabad also confirmed that the US diplomat has left Pakistan, the report said.

Diplomatic sources further confirmed that Colonel Hall was a US diplomat who held absolute immunity as per the Vienna Convention of 1972 and the privileges Pakistan extends to diplomats.

Relatives of the victims had asked the government to prosecute Colonel Hall for murder. The Islamabad High Court ruled on Friday that Hall's immunity was not absolute and ordered the government to add his name to the list that bars anyone from leaving Pakistan.

Washington refused to withdraw the immunity of the diplomat but promised to hold him accountable under its domestic laws, the sources said.

After the assurance, Hall was allowed to leave yesterday and apparently flew to Afghanistan initially to go to America, according to sources.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A senior US diplomat, who killed a Pakistani motorcyclist in a road accident here and triggered a controversy, has left the country after Washington apprently assured Islamabad that he would be tried under US laws.

The overnight development comes days after Pakistan sent back an American plane, delaying the return of Defence attache Colonel Joseph Hall to the US amidst the controversy over his immunity from prosecution, media reports said today.

Hall had killed a 22-year-old motorcyclist and injured another on April 7 in Islamabad after jumping a red signal.

Hall was let go by the Islamabad police in line with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 which gives diplomat immunity from criminal prosecution. However, a first information report of the incident was registered.

The incident has increased political tension between the countries.

Relations between Washington and Islamabad have been strained since US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit" and criticised Islamabad for providing safe havens to terror groups.

The Pakistan government reportedly took the decision to allow Hall to leave the country after the US government assured that Colonel Hall will be tried under US laws, diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by Dawn

The diplomat left for Afghanistan last night on a special flight, the report said.

The US Embassy in Islamabad also confirmed that the US diplomat has left Pakistan, the report said.

Diplomatic sources further confirmed that Colonel Hall was a US diplomat who held absolute immunity as per the Vienna Convention of 1972 and the privileges Pakistan extends to diplomats.

Geo TV reported that police had handed over all record related to Colonel Hall to US officials.

Relatives of the victims had asked the government to prosecute Colonel Hall for murder. The Islamabad High Court ruled on Friday that Hall's immunity was not absolute and ordered the government to add his name to the list that bars anyone from leaving Pakistan.

Washington refused to withdraw the immunity of the diplomat but promised to hold him accountable under its domestic laws, Dawn quoted the sources as saying.

After the assurance, Hall was allowed to leave yesterday and apparently flew to Afghanistan initially on his way back to America, the sources said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US-India Business Council (USIBC), a premier business advocacy organisation, today named Ambika Sharma as its India head.

Prior to her appointment as USIBC India head, Sharma was the Director General for International at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

As the USIBC's Managing Director of India operations, Sharma will be responsible for overseeing and guiding its growth strategy in India, an official statement said.

The USIBC has offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, and Sharma will join the organisation on June 15.

"We are thrilled to welcome Ambika to USIBC," USIBC president Nisha Biswal said.

She is a global leader with deep experience using strategic partnerships to in drive economic ties between India and the world, she said.

"Ambika's leadership comes at a key time, as American investors are bullish on India and the US-India growth story. She is an excellent addition to our already strong team," Biswal said.

Sharma said that India's strong institutional reforms to improve its business climate, coupled with the country's significance within the Indo-Pacific region and on the world stage, is encouraging global investors to deepen their ties in the market.

Formed in 1975 at the request of the US and Indian governments, USIBC is the premier business advocacy organization, comprised of 350 top-tier US and Indian companies advancing US-India commercial ties.

The Washington DC-based organisation is the largest bilateral trade association in the United States, with a global presence in New York, San Francisco, New Delhi, and Mumbai.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the deaths in a flyover collapse in Varanasi today.

At least 12 people died in the incident that occurred in the afternoon. Many are feared trapped in the debris.

Modi said the Uttar Pradesh government was monitoring the situation. Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of the prime minister.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," he tweeted.

In another tweet, he said he had spoken with UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. "The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected."



Naidu too condoled the deaths in the incident in a tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Home Minister Rajnath Singh took stock of the situation in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi district where at least 18 people were killed when an under-construction bridge collapsed this afternoon.

Singh also expressed deep anguish over the tragedy.

"HM also spoke to the district magistrate of Varanasi who has apprised him of the incident. The @NDRFHQ teams have been rushed to the spot for rescue operations," the home minister's office tweeted.

Singh also conveyed his condolences to the families of the deceased and prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured.

Seven teams of the NDRF, each comprising 45 personnel, have rushed to the spot for rescue operation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Vedanta Resources today said it has appointed Deshnee Naidoo as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) - Africa Base Metals.

The appointment, the company said, is in line with its commitments to enhance African operations.

"Vedanta Resources today announced the appointment of Ms Deshnee Naidoo, as the CEO - Africa Base Metals. Ms Naidoo's appointment signals the Vedanta group's ongoing commitment to enhancing its African operations, and will seek to identify and drive synergies across these operations ... in line with the group's vision of business with purpose," the company said in a statement.

Naidoo will combine the leadership of Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) in Zambia and Vedanta Zinc International (VZI) in South Africa and Namibia, as well as Copper Mines of Tasmania, it said.

In this role she will also assume responsibility of Chief Executive Officer, KCM, it said adding that the appointment coincides with the departure of Steven Din, KCM's current CEO, who will leave Vedanta group this July.

Naidoo joined Vedanta Resources in 2014 with over 20 years' experience in the resources industry, including platinum, thermal coal and manganese.

Prior to joining the Vedanta Group, she was Chief Financial Officer of Anglo American Thermal Coal, South Africa.

As CEO of VZI she has led the development of the USD 400 million Gamsberg Project, which will come into production in mid-2018, as well as the development of the Pit 112 Project at Skorpion Zinc, the statement said.

Chairman of Vedanta Resources, Anil Agarwal commented, "Deshnee has successfully brought on new production at Gamsberg and won the respect and confidence of the teams that she leads. I'm delighted that we have a woman leader from Africa at the helm of our African operations. We have strong ambitions for our business in Africa and Deshnee is committed to deliver on these".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
People from a number of villages in the district have formed a "Sarva Khap Panchayat" and called for a "boycott" of those who object to offering of namaz in the open.

The group was formed in the wake of Hindu outfits disrupting offering of namaz at public spots in Gurgaon recently.

Members of the khap panchayat have called for "boycott of forces responsible for communal flare-ups" in the city.

They have also called a "mahapanchayat" in Jharsa village on May 27 to identify those disturbing peace.

We have called a mahapanchayat to identify those responsible for communal tension in the district and boycott them," said Mahendera Singh Thakran, the president of the Sarva Khap Panchayat.

Thakran said preventing people of a particular community from offering prayers cannot be justified.

"There are other ways to register objection after consultation with the administration and the police," he said.

"They way the members of Hindu organisations are forcibly stopping namaz and shouting slogans is actually disturbing," Thakran added.

Members of a Hindu outfit had prevented namaz being offered in the open at a number of places in Gurgaon last Friday after similar disruptions on April 20 and 27.

The Gurgaon police had arrested six people on the charge of disrupting namaz on a field in Sector 53 on April 20.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The West Bengal Pollution Control Board has set up 75 air quality monitoring stations in the state to check air quality level and combat pollution, a top official said today.

WBPCB Chairman Kalyan Rudra said that of the 75 air quality monitoring stations, 17 alone were located in Kolkata where pollution levels have risen sharply.

Rudra said the move was aimed at identifying pollution sources which can be fine-tuned as per priority to ensure an ambient air quality.

The WBPCB had 48 air monitoring stations all over the state in 2011, a senior official said adding the state-run pollution control body had increased the number substantially to bring all the zones under its network.

Rubbishing allegations that almost all the air monitoring stations of WBPCB were either outdated or defunct, Rudra said that among the 17 monitoring stations in the city, 15 are being operated manually while two are automated. One of the two stations is under renovation and is expected to be functional in a month.

To a query about reports of lack of devices equipped to measure PM 2.5, the WBPCB chief said among the air monitoring stations, four can measure PM 2.5 (particulate matter 2.5) while the rest can measure PM 10 (particulate matter 10).

Particles less than 2.5 PM (micrometres) are called PM 2.5. They are approximately 1/30th of the average width of human hair and is generally described as fine particles. PM 10 on the other hand is particulate matter 10 micrometres or less in diametre, an official explained.

On reports about air quality level having reached critical levels in the city, he said air quality is also governed by meteorological factors on which not much can be done during extreme weather conditions.

"Kolkata is certainly not among the top polluted cities in the world," he said.

Rudra said the WBPCB has collaborated with National Engineering Research Institute to figure out the source of pollutants in Kolkata Metropolitan Area as part of the effort to create an ambient for the citizens.

Recently, the draft of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) came out with a list of 100 "non-attainment cities" not having met the requisite air quality standards which included Kolkata.

Countering Rudra's claims, auto-emission expert and envirnmentalist S M Ghosh said, The situation is alarming and at least 40 more automatic air quality monitoring devices are badly needed for Kolkata.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan believes society needs to get rid of the prejudice that women, who like dressing up, lack substance.

The actor said that one must also not assume that a woman who does not prefer applying makeup lacks in colour.

"We as women need to stop judging each other. If you apply makeup that doesn't mean you don't have brains. It doesn't mean you lack in substance. It does not meant that you are not sensitive or compassionate," she said in a media interaction over video from Cannes.

The actor walked the red carpet at Cannes for cosmetic giant L'Oreal Paris for the 15th year.

"At the same time, if you choose not to use make up, it doesn't mean you are a disinterested person or a person lacking in colour. Or that you are brainy just because you don't put make up. Or that you are too serious and not a fun-loving person," the actor added.

Aishwarya said that when it came to grooming, society needed to break free from these "pre-conceived notions".

At the French Riviera, 82 women had protested against the gender inequity in the film industry, led by the Competition jury chairperson Cate Blanchett and Agnes Varda.

Eighty-two, incidentally, is the number of films by female directors which have premiered in competition at Cannes this year, as compared to 1,645 made by male directors.

"We witnessed such an incredible moment with 82 women from the cinema together on the red carpet, representing all of us.

"I wish I was called but that's the number they wanted in order to represent the comparison between the number of female directors and 1600 male directors whose films are being shown at Cannes. We, as women want, that number to change," Aishwarya said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi today thanked the people of Karnataka who voted for the party, saying it will fight for them.

He also praised the party workers and leaders for their dedication and hard work in the Karnataka assembly elections.

"A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you.

"Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication and untiring hard work in support of the party," he said on Twitter.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party but fell short of simple majority. The Congress and the JD(S) jointly staked claim to form the government. The BJP has also staked its claim separately after the keenly-contested election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's bankruptcy court on Tuesday admitted a plea filed by Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson against Reliance Communications, potentially derailing the Indian firm's plans to sell assets to lighten its debt load.Ericsson, which signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage Reliance Communications' nationwide network, is seeking 11.55 billion rupees ($170.21 million) from the company and two of its subsidiaries.A lawyer for RCom, as the company is widely known, said it would appeal.($1 = 67.8575 Indian rupees) (Reporting by Sankalp Phartiyal; writing by Abhirup ...
By Devika Krishna Kumar, Libby George and Florence TanNEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil futures prices have soared past three-year highs, OPEC's deal has cut millions of barrels of inventory worldwide and investors are betting in record numbers that prices could rocket past $80 and even hit $90 a barrel this year. But physical markets for oil shipments tell a different story. Spot crude prices are at their steepest discounts to futures prices in years due to weak demand from refiners in China and a backlog of cargoes in Europe. Sellers are struggling to find buyers for West African, ...
By Tina Bellon(Reuters) - A trial for a lawsuit alleging that Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder was responsible for the death of a woman due to her exposure to cancer-causing asbestos began in South Carolina on Monday in the latest case against the healthcare conglomerate and a supplier over their talc-based products.J&J said that its widely-used baby powder never contained asbestos, a known carcinogen linked to mesothelioma.The case also names as a defendant a local unit of Rite Aid , one of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, which allegedly sold the baby powder used by the woman.The case ...
By Zeba Siddiqui(Reuters) - India's second-largest drugmaker Lupin Ltd said on Wednesday it expected pressure on drug prices in the United States, which has hit its profits, to ease this year as larger rivals reduce their exposure there.Last week, Teva Pharmaceutical, the world's largest generic drugs maker, said it planned to cut back some of the products it sells in the U.S. market.Lupin Chief Executive Vinita Gupta said she hoped Teva's move would create space for to rival Indian drugmakers like Lupin to grow. "We do believe the worst is over," Gupta said on a post-earnings media call on ...
By David ShepardsonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk told employees on Monday the company was undergoing a "thorough reorganisation" as it contends with production problems, senior staff departures and recent crashes involving its electric cars.In his email to staff, Musk said Tesla was "flattening the management structure to improve communication," combining functions and trimming activities "not vital to the success of our mission" in the reorganization.The company confirmed the contents of the email, which was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal.Tesla is at a ...
SoftBank Group Corp Chief Executive Masayoshi Son, founder of the world's largest private equity fund, said on Tuesday a second Vision Fund would be set up in the near future, with funds from investors in the first venture or institutions. Son's reputation as a visionary investor has attracted more than $93 billion to his technology investment vehicle, as of last May, with a second Vision Fund potentially further upending the world of dealmaking. "Vision Fund 2 will definitely come," Son told a conference in Tokyo. He said the fund would not be launched in the ...
iStock/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) -- Two Amazon customers are complaining that they were charged outrageous prices to ship everyday household paper products.



Georgia resident Barabara Carroll told ABC Atlanta affiliate WSB-TV that she was charged $7,000 after placing an order for toilet paper in March.



Carroll is a building manager who takes care of janitorial needs, and she placed an order for three boxes of toilet paper to be delivered to her home, she told WSB-TV. When she checked her bank statement days later, she noticed a charged for more than $7,500, she said.



Carroll then checked her order history on the site, which stated that the three cases of toilet paper cost $88.17, but the shipping was a whopping $7,455, she told WSB-TV.



Though she was shocked, Carroll figured Amazon's customer service would take care of the mix-up.



"After I screamed, I thought, 'Oh this is not a problem, this is Amazon, and Amazon will take care of it,'" she said.



However, Amazon did not refund her the money because Carroll purchased the toilet paper from a third-party seller, Carroll told WSB-TV.



"The hardest part is that Amazon doesnt stand behind their third-party sellers," she said.



A Tennessee couple told CBS Nashville affiliate WTVF that they bought paper plates just before Christmas for $24 and didn't notice until months later that they were charged more than $1,000 for expedited shipping.



Lorie Galloway said she is an Amazon Prime member and doesn't "order anything unless it's free shipping."



Galloway was charged $1,080 to ship one package of paper plates, she said.



When Galloway called Amazon, the customer service representative was floored at the high charge for the plates, which were shipped to Tennessee from Atlanta.



Amazon opened an investigation into the case, but later told Galloway that she was not overcharged for the transaction, WFTV reported.



"If it would have said a thousand and something dollars, I would have noticed that," Galloway told the station.



Amazon told Galloway that the seller was dismissed after similarly charging other customers, according to WFTV. Galloway disputed the charge with her credit card company but said she recently received word that she would be refunded.



Galloway said she's disappointed in the service she received from Amazon and will re-think whether to order from there again.



"If they are not going to take care of their customers, why should I order from them again?" she told WFTV.



In a statement, Amazon said it "is constantly innovating and improving our customer experience. If customers have concerns or feedback, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
By Tom Lasseter, Duff Wilson, Thomas Wilson and Paritosh BansalTOKYO/NEUCHATEL, Switzerland (Reuters) - In seeking regulatory approval for a new smoking device called iQOS, Philip Morris International Inc is claiming the electronic gadget is less likely to cause disease than traditional cigarettes. But the iQOS holds another, less obvious advantage over regular smokes: the ability to harvest personal data about users' smoking habits.The tobacco giant is already building a database of iQOS customers who register with the company. And it has developed a software application that could take ...
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon: The CPP confirms its non-participation in the parade of 20th May 2018.

The Cameroon People's Party reaffirms, as in 2016 and 2017, its non-participation in the parade of 20th May 2018. The members and supporters of the CPP will celebrate national unity by organizing meetings and gatherings to enable Cameroonians reflect on the true meaning of national unity and the best way to build it in the current context.

By renewing this decision of non-participation in the parade of May 20, 2018, the CPP remains firm and constant on the reasons invoked in 2016 as well as in 2017. Notably:

1. Our unjustified and illegal exclusion since 2011 from the parade in Yaounde. The numerous impediments to the participation of our members both in Douala and in other cities of the country in 2012. In this instance, we had affirmed that there is only one CPP! It is not possible to accept that we will march in some cities and not in Yaounde, the capital.

2. Our protest against the multiple violations of the fundamental rights and freedoms of Cameroonians. In particular, members of opposition parties and civil society activists. Real unity is not possible while arbitrarily depriving part of the population of their fundamental rights.

3. Our protest against the management by the Government of Paul Biya of the Boko Haram crisis. By managing only the security aspects of this crisis, without addressing the root causes of poverty, marginalization and the lag in development in this part of the country, this government once again fed the sense of exclusion and division between the Grand North and the rest of the country. National unity is not possible when the basic problems of citizens do not find solutions.

4. Our protest against the management by the Government of Paul Biya of the Anglophone crisis which continues to get worse. By putting an end to dialogue, arresting activists, committing violent atrocities and limiting its responses to this crisis solely to repressive and security measures, the Government has created the conditions for a deepening civil war in the North West and South West regions today . This permanently damages the sense of belonging of certain populations to the Republic of Cameroon and is causing significant trauma in thousands of Cameroonian families.

Given the deep crises in our country and the stalemate in which Cameroonians find themselves, the Cameroon People's Party believes it is beyond urgent to implement a political transition to rebuild the state in Cameroon. This democratic political transition is the only realistic and desirable horizon for our country. It will enable us to:

1. Resolve the problems of our colonial past.

2. Redefine the relationship between the citizen and the state.

3. Redefine the form of the state.

4. Reform the Army and other law enforcement agencies (Police and Gendarmerie).

5. Redefine key systems and institutions.

6. Address the issue of the return of humanitarian and political refugees as well as that of amnesty for political prisoners.

7. Elect, after these reforms, truly legitimate leaders.

To achieve this democratic revolution, the CPP reiterates its willingness to work in synergy with other Cameroonian citizens/patriots, members or not of political organizations and civil society.

It is time to focus on the highest interests of the nation rather than individual interests or partisan approaches. The challenges facing our country are great and they demand of us greatness.

For the Cameroon People's Party

Kah Walla

National President
GHS BAFUT Archives

The Cameroon government through respective ministries of basic and secondary education has ordered authorities of schools shutdown on the wake of attacks from Ambazonia fighters to reopen them without delay.

The decision was taken by the Regional delegates of the ministries in the North West region. In a joint Press release, the delegates noted that most of the schools have done so or planning to do so without consulting competent authorities.

The release partially reads, It has been brought to our notice that some education agencies have closed their doors for the 2017/2018 academic year or are planning to close before the official closing dates without consultations with Education and Administrative authorities in the region.

The two delegates have told both private and Confessional schools to respect the rules put in place citing a Ministerial Oreder of July 7, 2017, article 32 which states that, Pupils and students who are not involved in official examinations shall go on holidays on Friday June 8, 2018 at noon.

The call is coming after several schools started folding up due to security threats on the lives of students, teachers and Principals.

A school Principal of Saint Bedes College Ashing Kom was recently abducted, GHS Bafut visited by Ambazonia fighters while PSS Bafut was also a target.

Students of PSS Bafut have all gone back home following these threats.

Even though the delegates are forcing the schools to reopen, an assurance of absolute security has not been made as the schools are not in a fixed situation.
| BY Ricki Green |

Publicis Media has today announced that Publicis Media ANZ chief operating officer, Chris Nolan (left), will leave the agency group at the end of May.

Nolan has been with the agency since 2005, joining Starcom Mediavest Group (SMG) as managing director of the Melbourne office before being promoted to CEO of SMG group and then becoming COO of Publicis Media ANZ in 2016.

Says Gerry Boyle, CEO, Publicis Media APAC: I would like to thank Chris for his commitment and leadership contribution to Publicis Media in Australia over the last two years. He has helped drive Publicis Media into a position of strength and we will continue to build on this proposition and capability for the future. We wish him well in his future endeavours.

Nolan is looking to new career opportunities and will be working with Publicis Media ANZ CEO, Matt James, to transition his responsibilities in the coming month. The COO role will not be replaced.
| BY Ricki Green |

Visual, live action, animation, mixed media, and CG director Simon Robson (pictured left with EP Cathy Rechichi) has joined The OTTO Empire for exclusive representation.

Since landing in Sydney in 2010, Robson has created TVCs for clients including Specsavers, Telstra, Taubmans, The Iconic, Coca-Cola, MasterCard, Kmart, Mount Franklin and Kia Motors.

A multi award winning, BAFTA nominated director, Robson spent the first part of his career carving a name for himself in London, working on global campaigns for Mars, Nike, Save the Children and Adidas. During his time in London, Robson was invited to direct the animation for British documentary maker Chris Atkins explosive polemic Talking Liberties (2006), which was nominated for a BAFTA in 2007.

Since then, Robson has been working commercially, and is now permanently based in Sydney where he has been working on projects for agencies and brands both nationally and internationally.

His broad experience in filmmaking has seen Robson invited as a guest speaker at renowned design and animation events around the world, including F5, OFFF and SPAA conferences and Robsons work has been recognized globally, including two Promax World Golds and D&AD Pencils.

Robson is available for commercial work immediately and is comfortably settled into OTTOs Sydney HQ in Darlinghurst.
| BY Kim Shaw |

CB Exclusive  While not confirmed by the agency, Campaign Brief believes that Gary McCreadie (left), who parted from Ugly last week, is set to take over from Richard Morgan as executive creative director of 303 MullenLowe, Sydney.

McCreadies appointment has not been confirmed by the agency, only that a new ECD will be announced later this month.

Morgan (above right), has been in the ECD role since February 2013. Says Morgan: Im immensely proud of my role in building 303 MullenLowe into a credentialed national agency of over 120 people  and having raised its creative profile. Its been an amazing journey and Ive loved every minute, but equally it feels like the right time to embark on my next challenge. There are some key projects in the pipeline that I will continue to consult on and finish up.

Under his leadership, 303 MullenLowe has significantly expanded its creative department and client portfolio, which now includes Audi, TK Maxx, Budget Direct, Unilever and Harley Davidson, among many others.

Ive enjoyed being part of a team that has built a truly integrated agency offering and being able to demonstrate how our creativity and effectiveness is enhanced by having media thinking, data analytics and technologists all in house. It all adds to delivering an unfair share of attention across diverse platforms.

Before 303 MullenLowe, Morgans previous roles included being creative director at Holler, a seven year stint at BMF and three years at AMV London.

He has also won multiple industry awards including Gold, Silver and Bronze at Cannes, Silver at D&AD, Gold at the One Show, British Television Awards, Caples, ECHO, London International, Silvers at Clio, six silvers and 12 bronze at AWARD.

Says Nick Cleaver, CEO of 303 MullenLowe Australia: Sadly Richard has made a decision to move on. Hes made a fantastic contribution to the growth of our agency over the last five years and hes been an invaluable member of our leadership team. As sad as we are to see him go, were excited to see what he does next  hes a true talent and a passionate leader, and we wish him all the very best in his next endeavours.

Adds Jon McKie, chief strategy officer: Richs contribution to the evolution of 303 has been immense, but on top of shaping a strong and diverse creative department, he also happens to be one of the nicest blokes in advertising  hell be dearly missed when he leaves.

McCreadie arrived in Sydney in September 2014 to join Whybin\TBWA, direct from BBH London, where he was joint global creative director on Axe/Lynx, the agencys largest and most creatively awarded account.
| BY Kim Shaw |

Branding design agency Principals has appointed Pip Ireland as its Melbourne creative director.

Ireland, who has been freelancing with the agency for the past six months, has previously held roles at Designworks in New Zealand and Melbourne as well as Moon Communications in Sydney.

Says Simon Wright, executive creative director: Weve gotten to know Pip as a freelancer and she has demonstrated fantastic capability. And now weve convinced her to come on board in a full-time capacity. Were really lucky to have her leading the design team in Melbourne.

Says Ireland: With a passionate and motivated team that values culture and imagination, Principals is creating some of the best strategic and creative work in Australia. Its great to be part of an agency that is working with big brands and recognised leaders as well as brands that are purpose driven/social change organisations.

Irelands appointment coincides with two promotions across the wider agency with Andrew Thompson stepping up to the role of design director while James Welch has moved into the role of creative director. The promotions follow two new additions to the agency with Jarrod Porter and Alex Nirenovic joining in the roles of digital designer and web developer respectively.
| BY Kim Shaw |

Publicis Media has announced the launch of 6 Second Video, a new product that focuses on concise, compelling brand stories to cater for decreasing consumer attention spans.

These 6-second videos can be effectively used to build frequency and repetition, while 15- and 30-second videos are used for reach and storytelling. A recent Google study on its bumper ads found that 9 out of 10 short videos drove ad recall, while 61% lifted brand awareness.

The 6 Second Video proprietary product will be available across all platforms in Australia and New Zealand, including Facebook, Google and Publicis Media Precision.

The consumption of video is growing exponentially and now sits at five hours and eight minutes watched daily, with consumer video traffic on the web predicted to reach 80% by next year*. The implication is that brands can be impacted simply by video length, with video views peaking on average at less than three seconds with an average viewing time of five seconds.

Measurement too, has changed and now quantifies a viewing experience at three to five seconds, which is considered the industry benchmark for social media success.

Says Publicis Media ANZ Head of Content, Patrick Whitnall (pictured): We believe that 2018 will be the turning point towards more snackable, bite sized video content and while many media owners are championing short form video, few are creating for it. 6 Second Video will specialise in creating and repurposing short form video to help our clients drive brand equity and conversion.

Short form video, that features a laser-focused, concise story, can play a unique role in both brand creative and effectiveness. Our new product will establish a consumer connection earlier using our greater understanding of production approaches  such as live action, motion design or cinemagraphs  to make optimal use of the six-second timeframe. We will also specifically design video for mobile first, which achieves greater click-throughs and engagement.

Says Facebook ANZ managing director, William Easton: As mobile devices become an ever increasing part of peoples every day lives, its never been more important for brands to understand how viewing habits and behaviours are changing. There is a real art to storytelling on mobile, driven by the content people choose to watch, the way they engage and the actions they take. We couldnt be more excited to be working with Publicis Media on their mobile first initiative which will deliver some excellent best practices across the industry.

Whitnall leads the Content practice at Publicis Media that was built for the experience economy. It creates, crafts and curates content that delivers a valuable brand experience, with complete content stories that are audience-centric and platform-native. Content is optimised through more inspired use of data.

6 Second Video will work closely with Publicis Medias agencies  Starcom, Zenith, Spark Foundry, Blue 449 and Performics  to help clients create and execute creatively dynamic and effective short-form video.
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Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 1:07PM

Globalstar Canada has launched the SPOT X 2-way Satellite Messenger combines proven S.O.S. emergency notification technology with new 2-way text messaging functionality, an onboard backlit keyboard and illuminated display, which will make connectivity in remote regions easier and more effective than ever before. The device is priced at $349 CAD and is shipping this month.

SPOT X 2-way satellite messenger. The new standalone, portable and lightweight device features 2-way messaging capabilities, an onboard backlit keyboard, GPS location tracking, social media linking and direct communication with emergency services.

Earlier this year, we surveyed more than 800 current SPOT users across Canada, and the overwhelming majority (more than 75%) told us that when beyond cellular, 2-way communications is an important feature in a satellite communications device," said Jim Mandala, Vice President, Globalstar Canada Satellite Co. "SPOT X, the next generation in satellite communication devices, addresses the need to reliably stay in touch while providing a vital line of 2-way communications. SPOT is a trusted technology which has been used to initiate more than 1,800 rescues in Canada, and is relied upon by tens of thousands of recreational and business customers for safety and peace of mind beyond cellular. SPOT X will make connectivity in remote regions easier and more effective than ever before.

SPOT X is the latest addition to the award-winning SPOT family of products, providing affordable, off-the-grid messaging and tracking for hundreds of thousands of outdoor enthusiasts. Through a direct connection to the GEOS International Emergency Coordination Center, SPOT has triggered nearly 6,000 rescues around the globe within the last ten years.

With SPOT X, users can better communicate during their adventures with 2-way satellite messaging to keep in touch with family and friends, or if necessary, emergency personnel. Lone workers can check-in and provide detailed status of their situation when working in the wilderness or at remote jobsites. SPOT X provides users with a unique, personal mobile number that allows either party to initiate conversations at any time.
Over the past five years, the Sanibel-Captiva Rotary Club has challenged The Sanibel Schools eighth graders to write an essay using the clubs Four-Way Test as the foundation of the composition.

More than 35 students submitted an essay this year. The club reported that it was a difficult task choosing the top three, plus an honorable mention, from all the well-written submissions.

The Four-Way Test of the things Rotarians think, say and do, is a 24-word code of ethics:

 Is it the truth?

 Is it fair to all concern?

 Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

 Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The students were challenged to consider a problem or conflict faced by teenagers or young people in their age group, perhaps a dilemma they have faced personally or an issue facing their community, school, team, club or friends. Their essays were to describe how they could apply one of the Four-Way Test principles to address or resolve the conflicts.

Language arts teacher Paula Bolado worked with the students, which the club expressed its gratitude for. It reported that the grammar, deep thought and writing form of the students was at a high level.

Anna Wells took first place and was presented with a $100 check. Her essay on peer pressure stood out for its insight into the influence others have on the actions and decisions of todays students. She discussed how one solution to peer pressure is stay close to your true friends and not get involved in things that can put one in danger.

Second place went to Johnny Jensen, who received a $50 check. His essay was on school shootings. Johnny explained the fear that students have today going to school and the dilemma of upholding Second Amendment rights while banning assault weapons.

Mason Macalka won third place, receiving a $25 check. Writing about school walkouts, he applied the fourth principle and made a case that it may not be beneficial to all concerned if everyone walked out.

Honorable mention went to Kayala Nette for her essay on the struggles teens face in todays world.

The club also thanked the school, Principal Chuck Vilardi and the students who participated.
Joeys Custard on Sanibel welcomed nine girls from Sanibel-Captiva Girl Scout Troop 485 for an important life lesson in operating a business on May 12.

With the training provided, the girls earned their scouting Business Owners badge.

Co-owner Joey Almeida closed the shop for the morning in order to give undivided attention to the aspiring small business owners. He expressed delight in joining with the Scouts on the project.

I am happiest when I am with the kids, Almeida said. I get to share what I know and, at the same time, watch the children grow. I love encouraging kids to be their best selves and to learn that they can have fun doing it.

He began his business in 2016 at the age 23.

Joey is a wonderful model for our scouts, Scout Troop co-leader Chryss Allen said of choosing Joeys Custard for the project. He grew up on the island and went to The Sanibel School, just like our girls. He is young and successful, and Joeys Custard is a popular hangout with our scouts.

Started by Allen two years ago, the troop consists of fourth- and fifth-graders from the school.

Inspiring our girls to be entrepreneurs is important, she said. They will understand the hard work and the rewards of small business ownership in this community.

Volunteer Anna Howard, who was on hand to help, remarked on the values that scouting instills.

The Girl Scouts teaches girls to help each other and to take pride in country and in service, she said. The organization pushes for environmental sustainability, which is so important to our island home.

Debi Almeida, shop co-owner and Almeidas mother, raised four children on the island.

I am delighted to have this opportunity to give back to the island, she said. Making a connection with the business community is important for these maturing children. They learn the behind-the-scenes work that can make or break a business.

The girls began their morning by readying the shop as it opens for business each day. They learned about operating the various food preparation stations, including coffee, shakes and smoothies, cones, cups and scoops, sandwiches and breakfast. As a final project, each of the scouts prepared a sundae.

Volunteer Cindy Lopez grew up in the Girl Scouts.

Nine years of scouting have helped me to pursue my professional goals with confidence. I am now studying to be a medical professional, she said. Scouting showed me that my dreams are attainable. Its wonderful that Joeys Custard is helping these girls along the path toward success.

For information on the Girl Scouts, contact Allen at chryssallen@gmail.com.
Photo: Dave Ogilvie

Firefighters responded to a small grass fire in West Kelowna just after 2 p.m. Monday.

The fire started beside Wolfe Road, in a wooded residential area.

Crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly.

Investigators are on scene trying to determine its cause.
Photo: The Canadian Press

Federal Green Leader Elizabeth May and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart have been charged in connection with their participation in an anti-pipeline protest in Burnaby in March.

The politicians have been charged with criminal contempt of court, the B.C. Prosecution Service announced Monday.

Stewart pleaded guilty to the charge and was handed a $500 fine.

He intends to step down as MP and run for mayor of Vancouver.

He and May were arrested March 23 during a protest against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion outside a Kinder Morgan terminal in Burnaby.

"The commitment to build a pipeline in 2018 when we're in climate crisis is a crime against future generations and I will not be part of it," May told reporters at the time.

May has not commented on the charge.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed

A recent small claims decision highlights a common misunderstanding about our rights. And that ICBC doesnt jump to clear up the confusion.

I feel for the claimant, Frank. He went step by step through the process outlined by ICBC to deal with a fault assessment he didnt agree with. And when he thought he was at the end of the process, he was set back almost to the beginning.

The small claims decision, Kristen v. ICBC, 2018 BCPC 106, doesnt tell the story about what happened in the collision. Who knows, maybe the ICBC claims adjuster got it right.

Some of you might assume that ICBC always gets it right when assigning fault. Please dont. They regularly get it wrong.

Its not their fault when they get it wrong. How can they assess who to believe when they are hearing different stories from the drivers and witnesses? And they are not lawyers, so they are not equipped to handle nuances in the law.

Their web site gives instructions for what to do if you think the adjuster got it wrong.

Step one is to talk to your adjusters manager. I have no idea how effective that might be.

Step two is to ask for a Claims Assessment Review. The web site explains the process. A written application must be received by ICBC within 60 days of ICBCs fault assessment letter. A decision is apparently made by an independent decision maker based on your written submissions and the ICBC file material.

No surprise if justice doesnt flow from that process either. You are unable to tell your story and present your case, except in writing, and there is no mechanism for examining and cross examining the drivers and witnesses. And what about the legal nuances?

So then theres Step two. These are the instructions on the web site:

Dispute your claim in court

If after a Claims Assessment Review youre still not satisfied, you can dispute the fault assessment in small claims court. If a judge makes a decision in your favour and changes a fault decision, we will adjust your fault assessment to match the ruling.

Frank went through those steps. On Oct. 20, 2017, he commenced a Small Claims Court lawsuit by filing a Notice of Claim. He named ICBC as the Defendant and sought a finding that the other driver, not him, was 100 per cent at fault.

ICBC filed a reply and the matter was set for a trial to occur on April 13, 2018. Frank came ready to present his case. No one appeared for ICBC.

It should have been an easy trial, with only Franks version of events before the court. Can you imagine Franks disappointment when he learned that he wasnt going to be able to tell his story that day because of a technicality?

The technicality is that Franks claim is not really against ICBC for making a bad decision, it is a claim against the other driver for causing the crash.

This is the same as every personal injury claim. The claim is not against ICBC, it is against the offending driver.

ICBC steps in to defend every case on behalf of the other driver because they are that drivers liability insurance company. So yes, you will be fighting ICBC either way, but the only way to get justice is by going through the other driver.

Why doesnt ICBC explain this on their web page?

Why didnt ICBC alert Frank to the technicality at the get-go?

Perhaps they might like to comment.

The judge kindly chose not to dismiss Franks claim, but gave him permission to amend the Notice of Claim to name the other driver. That saves Frank from having to pay another filing fee, but it still leaves him back at the very beginning of the Small Claims process.

Are you facing an ICBC fault finding that you disagree with? It can be worth it to take them to task. Make sure you name the other driver, as was properly done inTough v. I.C.B.C. and Gannon, 2010 BCPC 307, a David and Goliath story Ive written about previously where a 100 per cent fault finding against young Mr. Tough was reversed by the Court.

I also recommend that you consult with a lawyer along the way. Small Claims Court exists to allow unrepresented parties to achieve justice without having to pay the incredibly high cost of legal services, but, of course, you will be up against an ICBC lawyer at the trial, and you clearly cannot count on ICBC help you out.

There are inexpensive ways to get help here and there and one is through a service offered through The Canadian Bar Association called the Lawyer Referral Service. For $25 plus taxes, you can have an up to 30 minute consultation with a lawyer.
Photo: rideapart.com

Braap, braaaap, braaaaaaaaaap, chug, chug, chug, chug. Yes, it's motorcycle season again.

Time for all of us "cagers" to start complaining about the noise and riders to complain about nearly being driven over by drivers who failed to see them.



Having to put up with the unnecessary noise is a valid annoyance, but having to put up with riding like you have a target pinned on you is something that prevented me from becoming a rider.

My experience investigating collisions reinforced that a rider must drive defensively at all times and even then, this may not be safe enough.



Learn to Drive Smart, our provincial driving manual, devotes about one page to sharing the road with motorcyclists, currently starting at page 88. The section begins with the advice that more than half of motorcycle collisions result in injury or death.

That's one way of saying that the rider is a vulnerable road user that has nothing to protect themselves with in a collision other than a helmet and protective clothing.



Why don't we see motorcycles in traffic? One explanation may be inattentional blindness. Simply put, we don't devote sufficient attention to motorcycles when they are there to be seen.



Fully half of the advice in Learn to Drive Smart teaches the driver to actively look for motorcycles, especially at intersections. The specific caution involves left turns being made by the driver or the rider.



I would add lane changes to this. Motorcycles a more difficult to see because of their size. A careful check of your blind spot is mandatory before you change lanes.



Sorry, mate, I didn't see you is not a justification for collisions. As many as eight out of 10 motorcycle crashes may be caused by drivers who do not see motorcycles according to this tongue-in-cheek video from the Norwegian Motorcycle Union.



Most of the remainder of the information explains safety margins, something that many drivers and riders give little thought to. Appropriate side margins, following distances and passing space all provide time for everyone involved to recognize and react to traffic events. Too little space means too little time.



While we're on the topic of space, drivers may not realize that motorcycles can stop more quickly than four wheelers. Increase your following distance when you find yourself behind a motorcycle in traffic.



Finally, we're left with the topic of communication. Drivers must realize that riders do not pick the centre of the lane and stay there.

According to Learn to Ride Smart, another of our provincial driving manuals, a typical driving lane is divided into thirds, left, center and right. Riders choose the position that results in maximum space, visibility and traction, depending on the ever changing circumstances.



Unlike a four-wheeled vehicle, a rider moving to the left or right side of the lane may not be an indication of the rider's intention to turn. Watch for signals and make eye contract to insure that you recognize the rider's intent.



Like some drivers, some riders are happy to do what is convenient instead of what they are supposed to. Currently, lane splitting and riding a motorcycle on the shoulder is illegal here in B.C. That doesn't mean it isn't done and careful scanning strategies will help any driver to avoid trouble.

Story URL: https://www.drivesmartbc.ca/motorcycles/its-motorcycle-season-again
Photo: CTV

A Squamish Nation hereditary chief wants to be the next mayor of Vancouver.

Ian Campbell announced his bid Monday to become the city's first Indigenous mayor.

Campbell is seeking the nod from Vision Vancouver, outgoing Mayor Gregor Robertson's party.

Today, I stand before you as a unifier, a bridge-builder, to offer a new and better path forward, Campbell said Monday.

I will not rest until people who work hard and play by the rules can afford to live in Vancouver again, he said.

Homelessness in the Downtown Eastside is another of his priorities.

The 44-year-old started working for the Squamish Nation in 1999 as a cultural ambassador and negotiator. He also serves on the nations elected council.

Also running for mayor are: Green Party Coun. Adriane Carr, independent Jean Swanson, Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie, Non-Partisan Association Coun. Hector Bremner and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Langford Fire Rescue

Flicked cigarette butts are already causing fires this spring in the Victoria area.

Langford Fire Rescue responded to three fires likely caused by cigarettes just this past weekend, prompting the department to post signs at the locations.

Fire Capt. Lance Caven told CTV it's concerning they are already seeing preventable fires, adding the danger will only get worse as summer heats up.

"The nice weather's here to stay, and it's only going to get drier," he said.

Carelessly discarding a cigarette can land smokers a fine of up to $1,150, the department warns.

 with files from CTV Vancouver Island
Photo: Chantelle Deacon Flooding of BX Creek in Vernon threatened nearby homes

As the interior continues to hold its collective breath and wait for the flood waters to subside, Vernon's mayor sighs in disappointment.

Last week at the Southern Interior Local Government Association (SILGA) convention in Revelstoke, the Vernon delegation tried to bring forward a late resolution designed to help during times of natural disasters  ie, flooding.

The resolution didn't even make the floor.

Essentially, the resolution was asking that the Union of BC Municipalities approach the provincial government and ask that sufficient staff and financial support be in place ahead of predictable disasters, so that mitigation work can be done to lessen the impact of the disaster.

"There seems to be a disconnect between the province and municipalities," says Vernon Mayor Akbal Mund. "For example last year our creeks' had issues, so we put in a request to do some creek mitigation, which we did not receive until we actually had an issue this year."

Ideally, the mayor believes the supports should be in place before the issue arises.

"We should be receiving those within a couple of months, so we can actually do the mitigation when the flows are low."

The City of Vernon stated in its resolution "some natural disasters, such as flooding, can be reasonably predicted in advance of the actual disaster, and municipalities require Provincial and Federal approvals and financial support to mitigate potential impact."

The mayor shares the views of many Vernonites who live next to waterways, in that, with proper mitigation, flooding threats can minimize.

"I personally liken this to the major fires we had in 2003 in the area. The cause of those fires is the fuel that was never mitigated throughout the acreages that lit up," he says. "This flooding is not going to go away until we get into those creek beds and do something about all the sediment that has built up over the past 25 years."

Mitigation work, like dredging a creek bed, comes at a cost but Mund believes the cost now outweighs any future cost of dealing with the aftermath of a natural disaster.

"The cost of doing that versus the cost to the province now trying to clean up after the floods is probably tenfold. Proactive behaviour instead of reactive behaviour usually works out in your favour not only in cost but for all those people who have been flooded out this year."

Mund can't say for certain why the resolution was denied but says it is not dead in the water, yet.

They will try and bring it up again at the UBCM convention in September.

"Hopefully we get the full support of the Interior communities for that because we didn't get it at SILGA, which is disappointing. But my fear now is that the coastal communities don't feel flood situations like we do up here, and we won't get the support at the UBCM for this."

"It's the process time between asking for us to go in and do mitigation and getting the province to pay for it and the time we actually get it. It is too long. If we had been in there doing all the mitigation beforehand maybe we wouldn't have any flooding."
Photo: Google Maps

Repairs to the Casa Loma boat launch, damaged during last years flooding, will be undertaken this week.

The private West Kelowna facility will be closed while work is underway.

The launch, also known as the John Dupuis boat launch, is located on Casa Loma Road. Repairs include removal of sediment and repairs to the weir and launch surface.

The launch will reopen to the public once repairs are complete, hopefully in time for the long weekend, the city says.

The Gellatly Road boat launch is open for public use.
Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III, along with a bipartisan group of Attorneys General, sued Purdue Pharma today for its unlawful marketing and promotion of OxyContin and other drugs and its role in causing and prolonging the opioid epidemic in Tennessee.

The states lawsuit, filed in Knox County Circuit Court, alleges Purdue violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, violated its 2007 settlement with the state, and created a statewide public nuisance by interfering with the health of Tennesseans and the commercial marketplace.

Attorney General Slatery said, Our office has conducted an extensive investigation into Purdues highly aggressive marketing practices and other unlawful conduct. We believe Purdues conduct has been unconscionable, and we intend to hold the company accountable. Three Tennesseans are dying each day from opioid-related overdoses, and we are committed to the hard work that needs to be done to address this tragedy.

The allegations in the States approximately 270-page complaint demonstrate how Purdue helped to cause one of the most devastating public health crises in Tennessees history. The lawsuit lays out, in stark detail, how Purdue violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act by making numerous unlawful marketing claims about its narcotics, including misleading claims about the safety of the drugs and their benefits to consumers. Public reports previously disclosed that OxyContin prescriptions were for such large quantities that they were unlikely to be consumed by a single person, there were hours-long wait times at doctor offices, and there were drug deals outside doctor offices. The complaint shows that Purdue knew patients were dying from overdoses and that its drugs were being illegally sold to non-patients. Yet, Purdue promoted OxyContin and other narcotics to some of its top prescribers in Tennessee despite these many red flags and targeted our most vulnerable citizens.

The Attorney General requested that the complaint be filed under a temporary seal because Purdue previously claimed that information produced to the State during its investigation is confidential. The order signed by the judge would allow the seal to expire in 10 daysunless Purdue takes action to extend it. The Attorney General believes the complaint should be made available to the public and efforts to keep it under seal will only dilute Purdues accountability for its conduct.

Tennessee leads a multi-state group of attorneys general who are investigating certain manufacturers and distributors and, while not a party, voluntarily engaging in settlement discussions in connection with the federal opioid multidistrict litigation pending in Cleveland, Oh. The Attorney Generals Office continues to work toward a global resolution that will provide comprehensive injunctive relief as well as statewide remediation to assist with prevention, treatment, and education in every communityparticularly those hardest hit by this opioid epidemic. We remain hopeful about reaching an early resolution, but, as evidenced by todays action against Purdue, we will not hesitate to file suit if it is in the States best interest, said Attorney General Slatery.
Chesterfield signs no-cost deal to add solar panels to 17 facilities The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors recently approved the first-ever rooftop solar power program for government facilities and school buildings throughout the county. Included in the first wave of the...

Yes, experts say expectant mothers should get vaccinated Misinformation surrounding COVID-19 vaccines and womens reproductive health quickly spread after the first shots became available last December. Since then, common myths that COVID-19 vaccines cause infertility, miscarriages and birthing...
Voice of the People Audio Article Native son Tom Smiths history of East Chesterton (Chesterton Tribune 9-30-21 Commentary) was interesting and a poignant tribute to his five-generations back ancestors, the Morgans, who traveled from West Virginia and Ohio to settle here in 1833  to raise a family, to farm and...

Voice of the People Audio Article This summer the Times of NW Indiana again suggested in an editorial that Dunes Action had been in opposition to the renovation of the State Park Pavilion. We never did. In fact, most of us had been waiting for it for decades. They did not...

Guest Commentary Audio Article This is a short history of the Morgan family farm before the possible development of the remaining 49 acres east of Chesterton. Jesse and Jane Morgan arrived in Northwest Indiana in 1833 after traveling through Ohio, northern Indiana, stopping off in LaPorte County for a...

Echoes of the Past Audio Article 10 Years Ago Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2011  Bethlehem Lutheran Church will host a wellness screening event. . . CHS girls soccer team beats LaPorte 5-0 and clinches a share of the DAC title. Scoring goals are Rosie Biehl (2), Hannah Kollar (2), and Sam...
Related initially considered taller, single-tower designs for the site. But the developer didnt want the architecture to be dictated by the huge hole. Instead of trying to bastardize the design to fit what was in place, we said were going to take the most beautiful buildings we can design and well see what we can utilize from the Spire foundation, Bailey said.
The appetite for bitcoin and other digital currencies has grown exponentially in recent years as they've gained legitimacy across the world. And while digital currency is still not widely used or understood by many average consumers, Chicago's two main exchanges, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange, became the first traditional exchanges to trade the financial products late last year, lending credibility to bitcoin and its lesser-known digital brethren.
"I would expect law schools to continue to rely on an admissions test as a fundamental piece of their admissions policies, and likely the LSAT would be the test of choice in the foreseeable future," Barry Currier, managing director of ABA Accreditation said in a statement. "But the use of tests other than the LSAT, including the GRE, may add to the group of individuals who wish to study law, and that might be a positive development."
After Trump's Sunday tweet, White House officials spent much of the next 24 hours attempting to walk back his statement, saying ZTE's fate would ultimately be left up to a review by Ross. And Monday afternoon, Ross insisted in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., that ZTE would not be a factor in the trade talks, saying, "Our position has been that that's an enforcement action separate from trade."
Idonije paid a little more than $720,000 in October 2015 for the newly built, six-room Near North Side row home, which has 2 baths and is on the site of the former Cabrini-Green public housing development. The two-level end unit has a large rooftop deck and an attached two-car garage.
Rooneys new unit has east-facing views of Lake Michigan and Millennium Park. Located in a building that was constructed in 2005, the condo has hardwood floors and crown moldings throughout, custom shades, built-ins in the second bedroom, closet interiors by Closet Works, a master suite with a walk-in closet, and an open kitchen with 42-inch cabinets, granite countertops, a tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances.
Birdseye's experiments with freezing were not altruistic, as Kurlansky noted in his book. American inventors expected to make money  lots of money, hopefully  on their projects. Birdseye struggled in the beginning as he set out to develop a viable commercial freezing process. His first tools were later famously described as an electric fan, ice cakes and salt brine, costing about $7. His first frozen foods company, Birdseye Seafoods, began in 1923 but ran out of money shortly thereafter, Kurlansky wrote. His second venture, General Seafoods Corp., was sold to Postum Cereal Co. and Goldman Sachs Trading Corp. in 1929, along with Birdseye's patents related to the freezing process, for about $23.5 million, according to Kurlansky. He was set for life but remained becomingly modest about his success.
Also theres a new droid, a winning know-it-all voiced brilliantly by Phoebe Waller-Bridge. She/it is probably the best same but different flourish in all of Solo, reminiscent of droids past, inevitably, but very much welcome. Ehrenreichs signed up for two more Solo movies, should the grosses cooperate. Theyll probably cooperate. As sure as the taillights on one of the gliders in the first big chase resemble the Ford Galaxie 500 from the rear, Howards efficient, confident, slightly square direction does the job. Its his best film in a decade. At times, working with a small army of digital wizards, he seems to be channeling the spirit of the car-crash pileups of Grand Theft Auto. Only this time, the vehicles really move.
There was set up the Samsung BodyTom, a device that surrounds the imaging donut with screens and wheels and signs on either side reading Nor for Human Use. It was only about 20 feet away as the crow flies, but to do it as the sleeping rhino travels meant going out through the animals yard and around and back in through the doors of the hall.
For Bessie (who died in 1995 at 104) and her sister Sadie (who died in 1999 at 109) were but one generation removed from slavery times. Although highly educated members of the Harlem elite, the sisters as young people knew former slaves and thus could describe in detail these former slaves' experiences following their emancipation. They met Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. In fact, much of the gentle sisterly conflict in Emily Mann's dramatic adaptation of Hearth's book revolves around the gentle Sadie's affection for the ways of the former, versus the feistier Bessie's preference for the more radical ideas of the latter. The Delany sisters knew America before Jim Crow took hold, suffered through the pain it delivered and outlived its cruel existence  with decades of life to spare. When Martin Luther King was shot, they already were what society considers old ladies.
Set within a single day, "Spring" focuses on a road trip that also becomes a mental journey to the past. (That structure may be a tip of the hat to Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries"; the late director is a minor character in the book's backstory.) Knausgaard travels with his infant daughter from the family home in Skane, in southern Sweden, to see his wife in Helsingborg, about an hour away. We do not immediately know why his wife is there, but life has clearly become messy. Knausgaard recently had to visit Child Protective Services. "We as a family," he notes dryly, "had approached the zone where third parties had the right to get involved." He lets us know, too, he has a bad temper - "There's a reason why it's called the nuclear family" - and that, during a trip to a bathroom this very morning, he passed blood.
The number of cases of sexually transmitted diseases in California reached a record high last year and officials are particularly concerned by a spike in stillbirths due to congenital syphilis, state health authorities said Monday.



More than 300,000 cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in 2017, a 45 percent increase from five years ago, according to data released by the California Department of Public Health.



Chlamydia and gonorrhea are most common among people under 30, the report said. Rates of chlamydia are highest among young women, while men account for the majority of syphilis and gonorrhea cases.



If left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain. Syphilis can result in blindness, hearing loss and neurologic problems.



The figure that caused the greatest alarm for researchers and administrators was 30 stillbirths resulting from congenital syphilis statewide  the highest number reported since 1995, the CDPH said. Los Angeles County alone saw congenital syphilis cases jump from eight in 2013 to 47 last year.



"For California to have a steady increase in congenital syphilis is shameful," said Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles. He pointed to nations such as Cuba, Thailand and Belarus that have nearly eliminated the life-threatening infection seen in infants.



"We've known how to control syphilis since early 1900s. Seeing it come back like this is a sign of failure of the public health safety net," Klausner said.



Klausner placed much of the blame for the overall STD spike on what he called the "decimation" of public health infrastructure since the 2008 financial crisis. Funding slashed a decade ago hasn't been restored, leading to continued closing of clinics and collapse of education programs about risks and treatment options.



Dr. Heidi Bauer, chief of the state health department's STD Control Branch, agreed that budget issues are part of the problem. She estimated that about $20 million in state and federal money is allocated yearly to fighting STDs  a small number in a state with nearly 40 million residents.



Bauer also suggested the rise in STDs may be a symptom of more general problems in areas such as the economically hard-hit San Joaquin Valley where people are struggling with poverty, substance abuse, mental health issues and homelessness.



She also partially blamed the funneling of patients away from public health services toward primary care physicians under the Affordable Care Act.



"For sexual health, primary care wasn't the most effective method," Bauer said. Someone who depended on public clinics for STD screening and treatment may not want to discuss it with their doctor, or may not have a doctor at all, she said.



The health department is spearheading a "multi-pronged" effort to educate the public about the risks and get the word out to medical providers about the latest advances in screening and treatment, Bauer said.



Officials are also increasing efforts to follow up on cases, especially those involving pregnant women with syphilis, she said.



Experts agreed that sex education in schools and programs in the community raising awareness and having a public discussion about the often stigmatized conditions.



"While there are advocates and champions for cancer, nobody is out there saying, 'I have gonorrhea and these are the best ways to treat it.' There's no one out there being a champion for these conditions," said Klausner.



The health department's director, Dr. Karen Smith, urged sexually active people to use condoms and get tested regularly. Many STDs can be cured with antibiotics if attacked quickly.



Rates for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis have been rising nationally for several years. More than two million new cases of all three infections were reported in the United States in 2016  the most ever, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . CDC numbers for 2017 won't be available until later this year.



Twitter @WeberCM
A marriage is a contract between two people  an agreement rooted in love and loyalty and a commitment to keep returning to those values even when bills mount and nerves fray and jobs go poof and life, in general, refuses to cooperate with the vision you both had.
The remaining 111.5 million U.S. visitors were overwhelmingly here for vacation, as opposed to work. Some 83 percent were leisure travelers, the category that saw the most growth. The other 17 percent were here on business. The Illinois Office of Tourism gets its domestic visitor numbers from the travel research firm DK Shifflet and international visitor numbers from Tourism Economics.
Cruisers looking to break out of the Caribbean/Mediterranean rut might want to take a look at an interesting itinerary from Holland America Line. The Sept. 3, 2019, cruise is a long one  24 nights  and covers a wealth of bucket-trip destinations. Sailing round-trip from Boston, the MS Rotterdam will visit Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, Greenland and Iceland. Those same highlights will be hit on the way back, but in different ports. So, for instance, on the outbound stop in Newfoundland, port will be made in Corner Brook, which has access to Gros Morne National Park. Inbound there will be port calls in the capital city of St. John and the French archipelago off the south coast that contains Saint Pierre and Miquelon. In Greenland, two villages are visited, along with a day of cruising through Prince Christian Sound on the lookout for icebergs. Iceland gets four days on the itinerary, including Akureyri on the north coast, providing access to scenic sights like the Godafoss waterfall and two days in the capital city, Reykjavik. An oceanview cabin is priced from $4,399 per person, double occupancy, plus taxes and fees of $535  not bad for a cruise of this length. Info: http://tinyurl.com/ycjp48o7
For those willing to pay more than the price of admission, an internal elevator would transport them from the observatory to the thrill ride, a mechanical-lift contraption called the Sky Summit. Its steel arms would lift a glass-sheathed cab with room for about 20 people nearly 30 feet above the roof, then lower the cab over Aon's edge, holding it there for about 30 seconds as the floor changed from opaque to transparent to reveal views of Millennium Park far below. Next, the cab would bring everybody back to Aon's rooftop, presumably glad to be alive. The engineers assure me it's a tried-and-true system. (Pass the Valium.)
One piece of advice he was given, he said, was, "Never lie. You don't have to. Not because you're morally superior to somebody who might, but because the credibility you have will erode much more quickly  to the detriment of the president, to the White House, to the administration and to the country  if you get caught in an untruth. That doesn't mean every word I ever said was accurate. But when I found out, or my colleagues found out, after the fact that I had said something that turned out not to be true, unknowingly, we rushed to correct it and were mortified."
The boy was seated in a vehicle at a gas station in the 11800 block of South Morgan in the West Pullman neighborhood around 4 p.m. Monday when the driver got into an argument with someone who pulled out a gun and fired shots. The gunfire struck the rear windshield of the vehicle and glass injured his right eye.
Use of force. The department's recently revised use-of-force policy needs to be overhauled and more training provided for officers in de-escalation strategies. Officers should play a reduced role in public schools, responding to schools only when necessary to address a "real and immediate physical threat"  and not intervene in the school's internal disciplinary process. Officers should not use Tasers in schools, on people who are handcuffed or restrained, on children, the elderly, pregnant women or on people in apparent medical distress.
During the trial, the two female former students of Hubly's testified that they viewed him as a trusted friend who would often guide them and talk to them about their lives. They both said that on separate occasions in 2016 while home on breaks from college, they went to Hubly's home, he gave them alcoholic drinks and made unwanted advances toward them. One said he put his hand down her shirt and the other said he forcibly kissed and groped her.
In a settlement in December 2016 with the Better Government Association, which also had sued the city, the mayors office released emails that had resided on Emanuels personal cellphones and his non-city email account that pertained to the transaction of city business. At the same time, the city also released emails about public business in response to the Tribunes prior requests. Emanuel, however, turned over no text messages, which the Tribunes lawsuit had requested.
One gun sold outside Louisville in December 2016 was used just four months later in an armed carjacking in west suburban Westchester, according to the complaint. Another, purchased in May 2017, was found within three months on a man arrested for pointing the gun at someone during a verbal altercation on the street. Other weapons tied to the trafficking scheme quickly turned up during narcotics investigations, court-authorized searches or hidden under car seats during traffic stops, according to the charges.
Judge Stephanie Miller prohibited him from contacting anyone under the age of 18. Ramos has a 14-year-old son, and any contact with him will need to be in the presence of another adult, the judge said. She also barred him from any internet use.
Under the proposal, it would be illegal for retailers to sell guns without being certified by the state. To qualify, stores must first be licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Then, they would have to submit a copy of that license to the Illinois State Police, along with an affidavit declaring it remains valid.
"And the notion that somehow this is not a presidential library because the actual papers will be in New York but both digitize them and have them here in Chicago, to me not only is frivolous, but means the people that filed this don't understand the 21st century," he added. "The good news is, the presidential papers will be in two places but there will be only one library, here in Chicago."
Michael Avenatti leaves federal court in New York on April 16, 2018. Avenatti, a lawyer for an adult film star who is suing President Donald Trump, uses Twitter and TV appearances to his advantage. (Victor J. Blue / Bloomberg)
"It's all about air pressure, which varies depending on location. At sea level, atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch), Thomas Anthony, director of the University of Southern California's aviation security program, told the Verge. But at an airplane's cruising altitude, about 33,000 feet, it drops to about 4 psi. That is why the higher you go, the more difficult it is to breathe. The air gets thinner. It's the reason climbers on Mount Everest must carry oxygen with them.
President Donald Trump, right, chats with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Nov. 9, 2017, in Beijing. (Andy Wong / AP)
It called the two-week Max Thunder drills, which began Monday and reportedly include about 100 aircraft, an "intended military provocation" and an "apparent challenge" to an April summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, when the leaders met on their border in their countries' third summit talks since their formal division in 1948. KCNA said the U.S. aircraft mobilized for the drills include nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and stealth F-22 fighter jets, two of the U.S. military assets it has previously said are aimed at launching nuclear strikes on the North.
Trump made a rare showing of public empathy near the end of his speech by bringing onstage the elderly mother and other loved ones of a slain police officer from his native New York City. Officer Miosotis Familia died in July 2017 after being shot in the head by a man who authorities say fired into a parked police vehicle in the Bronx. The alleged killer of the mother of three was later fatally shot by police.
"Friends of the Parks has always said that we welcome the Obama Presidential Center to Chicago's South Side but disagree with the choice to locate it on public parkland rather than vacant land across the street from Washington Park," Juanita Irizarry, executive director of Friends of the Parks, said in a statement Monday. "While we are not involved with this lawsuit in any way, it is an indication of the fact the Friends of the Parks is not alone in our concern about Chicago's parks being seen as sites for real estate development."
"George was a Notre Dame guy, and you didn't have to be around him very long before you realized he was very proud of his Notre Dame connections," said retired Wheaton College President Duane Litfin. "He was not a Wheaton grad himself, but he stepped in as a Wheaton board member and became true-blue Wheaton. He was very effective in supporting the college and was an excellent boardsman. He was what you wanted from a trustee  he was able to work with others, he was wise, he was meticulous, he had legal expertise and he was great in committee work."
This maxim is useful to recall, especially when one is being assailed by TV addicts who lament the untimely demise of cult TV series such as "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So-Called Life." The reason they went off the air so quickly shouldn't be taken as a personal affront. They were simply better at generating passionate fans than huge ratings.
This gauzy version of youth politics, born in the romanticization of the 1960s, is near and dear to Hollywood, academia and Democrats alike. When Howard Dean, as pure an example of a baby boomer liberal as there is, seemed poised to win his partys 2004 presidential nomination, he recalled what it was like in 1969, the year he turned 21 (and I was born). It was a time of great hope, Dean said. Medicare had passed. Head Start had passed. The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. He went on: We felt like we were all in it together, that we all had responsibility for this country.
That said, let's also note that many of the demonstrators were peaceful. They came to protest what they call the nakba, or catastrophe: the creation of the state of Israel 70 years ago. They came to reassert their "right of return" to what is now Israel. They came to express their despair  as generations of Palestinians have. And they came to denounce the U.S. embassy switch.
Economic development. The Obama team says it will work with civic leaders, politicians and businesses to craft a plan for the South Side. Key to that effort will be a nonprofit group led by Arne Duncan, Obama's former education secretary. But that group was formed nearly a year ago, and has yet to explain its goals, action plans or timetables. The Obama camp says economic growth for the South Side and the rest of the city will top $3 billion over the decade after the center opens. Whether from the foundation or Duncan's group, the city needs to hear more about how that $3 billion will be achieved, and how South Side businesses will be woven into the plan.
Now comes Rauner, facing two political challenges: his governor's race against Democrat J.B. Pritzker and his need to re-establish bona fides with disgruntled conservative Republicans. Maybe he hopes to attract some Democratic voters with elements of his hydra-headed rewrite, such as the waiting period for all firearms purchases. Meanwhile, the death penalty idea looks like a paean to conservatives. Rauner narrowly defeated a primary challenge from the right by Jeanne Ives, and he may never win those Republicans back on the issue of opposition to abortion, given his support for expanded abortion funding. So he'll get tough on crime. That message will look good on a downstate billboard.
Instead of economic hardship, University of Pennsylvania political scientist Diana Mutz writes in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, after analyzing data from 2012 and 2016, "it was about dominant groups that felt threatened by change and a candidate who took advantage of that trend." For those voters, Trump's "Make America Great Again" theme called up visions of a comforting past, whether it ever actually existed or not.
The information is being transferred from the Election Commission to the County Clerk's office for the eventuality of the clerk's office handling elections in Aurora. The Election Commission has done that in the Kane County section of Aurora since 1933, later adding in seven precincts in Will County and three in Kendall County as the city expanded into those counties.
After the swearing-in, Smith's large family was brought forward for a picture and then Smith went through the rows of people in the village board room thanking each supporter individually.
Hes not only been published in top journals, the history professor has authored three books. And in 2013 he began working on a fourth that focuses on giving voice to past immigrants to this country. His research, he told me, has taken him into the lives of hundreds of English, Irish, German, Spanish and other European immigrants through their diaries, letters, journals and memoirs; as well as more than 160 narratives of enslaved Africans.
Mike Mendoza will line up on Columbus Drive with 35,000 other runners for the start of the Chicago Marathon. If all goes to plan, the former Marine will cross the finish line then head straight to OHare, hop on a flight to Boston and race 26.2 more miles the next morning.
As for crime, Walter said the commission looked at the McDonalds location in the unincorporated area at Mockingbird Lane and Route 83, and while they did find numerous police criminal complaint calls to the restaurant, they could not determine whether calls occurred there because of the McDonalds or because of another store nearby. That McDonalds will close once the Burr Ridge location is completed.
"The Calumet City Police Department is aware of this fact and is working closely with the schools to increase presence during school arrival and dismissal times," Paraday wrote. "We have contacted the Illinois Department of Corrections ... to express our concerns about his residence being in such close proximity to our school. We will continue to update you on this situation as more information becomes available."
"Our contest highlights local entrepreneurs like Robin by giving them a platform to build their business and introduce new ideas, products or services to the community," said Sandy Martinez, marketing director at Chicago Ridge Mall. "We're excited to celebrate Le' Tresses grand opening this June and look forward to supporting Robin and her amazing business throughout the summer."
If the measure passes, the sales tax would go into effect in July 2019 and the village could begin to see increased tax revenues that fall, he said. The added tax would not apply to titled goods, such as vehicles, boats and trailers, or groceries and drugs.
"All of you got here by really being honest, with great integrity," Bartlett Principal Mike Demovsky said. "You have such a great responsibility. Please stay in the light, don't go down the dark path  it's not a Jedi reference, I swear to you. Please make the world a better place, because you all have the power to do it."
After the hearing, Reid said he had been prepared to ask the judge for a bench trial regarding the turning without signaling charge. He said that if the judge would have watched dash camera video of the traffic stop, she would have seen that he did use his turn signal properly.
Earlier this school year, Foster said she chaperoned a field trip to the Morton Arboretum that another teacher planned. Math happened to be on the trip. The two of them took a photo together and sent it to Math's sister, Foster said.
That is not the type of district and not the type of leadership we would like to have, and it is certainly not consistent with our strategic plan and the type of culture and climate that we would like to have in our buildings, he said. The idea that the answer is to just throw everybody out and start over just doesnt make sense to me. It doesnt resonate. While I understand it may be politically popular, it doesnt fit my definition of best practices.
"My corporate board responsibilities and volunteer work outside of Moraine Township have become more significant in the last year," explained Plouche in an email. "I can no longer give as much time to the role of Assessor, and I feel it's best if I help transition that work to someone who can give the role the time it deserves."
Although he could have received up to five years in prison, a judge sentenced Adams to 30 days of periodic imprisonment, citing his lack of a prior criminal record and other factors that had been argued in mitigation. Adams was also required to serve 30 months of probation, pay $10,000 in fines, attend counseling, perform 200 hours of community service and was required to register as a sex offender.
Im deeply grateful to the community for the interest, said Chapman, an author of five books, including one that tells the story of her mother feeling Nazi Germany at the age of 12 as an unaccompanied minor. Thats the beauty of a small town, that they can celebrate residents who have made some contributions.
Because of his connection to the development, Chirico said he will recuse himself from discussions about the zoning and requested variances and will not vote on it should it come before the Naperville City Council.
Information will also be available regarding the variety of programs and services available in the community related to seniors and mental health. Tours of the senior services building, as well as light refreshments, will be provided. Seniors are invited to stay and dine in the senior lunch program, starting at 11:30 a.m., at a cost of $1.50.
This summer, plans call for expanding Maine South's cafeteria by enclosing the outdoor patio area between the lunchroom and the rear hallway. At Maine East, the existing cafeteria will be expanded through the removal of a wall that separates it from the faculty cafeteria, and at Maine West, dishwashing equipment will be relocated, Kalou said.
Maloney said he views Park Ridge's omission from the Fly Quiet Committee  which was recently expanded from nine members to 11  as a "personal" one, in part due to the city's opposition of the Fly Quiet Plan, which he said would not address the fact that Park Ridge as a whole will always be impacted by nighttime rotations.
"We have a large number of Eagle Scouts in this town and the projects and the good work they do are all over town," Maloney said. "But I can think of nothing more important than the work this young man took on to honor law enforcement: Those who serve and those who have passed away in the line of duty."
Around 5:30 a.m. Monday, an officer saw a sport utility vehicle drop Pizzuto off at his residence. He would not answer the door for police but came out after negotiators contacted him on his cellphone. A search warrant revealed the box for the gun located by the K-9, "along with wet dirty clothing matching the description of the clothes worn by the offender in the pursuit," the documents said.
That caused a chain reaction involving three other vehicles, and a fifth vehicle was sideswiped and went off the road into a water-filled ditch off the outer shoulder, where it was submerged in water, police said.
Prosecutors alleged Kelly and Jason Cochran had made a pact on their wedding night that if one of them were unfaithful, they'd have to kill their lover. Cochran, however, claimed during her trial in Michigan that there was no definite pact, and she "didn't take it seriously."
"I came here to learn a new trade, and I felt like it was something out of the norm for me. I've never volunteered before," the Gary resident and Lowe's cashier said at the site on May 9. But most of all, Johnson added, she wanted to be an inspiration to her 7-month-old daughter, who might read about her mother's contribution in the newspaper one day.
Starting Jan. 1, 2017, Hammond criminal cases started being filed in the county courts, with infraction cases following suit on July 1, 2017, according to the ordinance. The ordinance also said ordinance violations would be filed in line with the unsafe building law, according to the text, and the city clerk would accept small claims, plenary cases, collection cases and eviction filings.
Explore the crescent moon at the Thomas Conway Observatory as the Calumet Astronomical Society hosts an open house from 8:30-10:30 p.m Saturday at 19160 Chase St., Lowell. Members of the Society will have their telescopes and binoculars set up on the observing patio to take visitors on a tour of the night sky. In addition, the observatory will be open and visitors will have an opportunity to take a look through the eyepiece of its 16-inch telescope. Inclement weather or cloudy sky conditions could cause this event to be canceled with little advanced warning. Visit the CAS website, www.casonline.org, for a status update before heading to the observatory.
Sheriff Oscar Martinez requested the investigation after a woman filed an excessive force complaint to Gary police stemming from a disturbance call May 9 in Gary in which she was arrested, said.
I know the Schlapps. They are nice people, when not engaged in demagoguery. They live in the Washington area, as I do; they recently purchased a $3 million home, as I certainly did not. Both have advanced college degrees. Matt Schlapp was a top lobbyist for Koch Industries before taking over at the ACU. The couple also founded their own public relations and lobbying firm. How are they anything but "elite," according to the false dichotomy they espouse? Why are they any more qualified to speak for ostensibly "real" Americans than the journalists they haughtily deride, virtually all of whom are far less affluent?
Paul Ryan reportedly warned the House Chaplain to "stay out of politics, Padre," but then when he fired him (and later reconsidered) Republicans accused Democrats of making the issue "political." It's almost laughable. Ryan, who was supposed to be the savior of the GOP, has turned out to be a colossal failure in every conceivable way.
Under sentencing laws, Felker, who has been out on bond since October 2016, could be eligible for release in about two years. He would then be placed on two years of parole and be required to register as a sex offender.
About 650 people gave their preferences from six names, including a hyphenated name, according to a May 6 bulletin on the St. Philip the Apostle website. There also were several write-in suggestions. Divine Mercy received the highest number of preferences from members of both churches, according to the bulletin.
The bell rings blue: Central tops Centennial in 121st Bell Game

The Central High School football team dominated the Bell Game 42-0 over Centennial at Dutch Clark Stadium in the 121st meeting between the programs
A bronze figure by Yu Zuokun depicts the Peking Opera character Zhao Yun, a military general who lived in the Three Kingdoms period (220-280). [Photo provided to China Daily]

Much of Yu Zuokun's perception of the world stems from a childhood spent watching Peking Opera shows at an outdoor theater, an experience that has heavily influenced his artistic expression since Yu began his career as a sculptor a decade ago.

This is evident at Yu's solo show, being held at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing, where dozens of bronze figures depicting characters from traditional Chinese operasincluding well-known figures such as Guan Yu from the Three Kingdom Period (220-280), one of the best-known generals in China's history, and Yang Guifei, regarded as one of the four beauties of ancient China and the beloved consort of an emperor in the Tang Dynasty (618-907)are on display. Adding to the theme, the sculptures are placed against a backdrop as if they are performing on a stage.

Yu creates his sculptures by employing xieyi, a technique promoted by ink painters in ancient China to draw the spirit of things instead of depicting all the details to make it real.

"Xieyi style gives Yu's sculptures a feeling of contemporary art," says Zeng Hui, curator of the show and a longtime friend of the artist.

Zeng notes Peking Opera bears much that style in its performance. For instance, opera performers waving whips in hand mean they are riding a galloping horse, while several actors standing in a line represents a whole army.

Yu's work simplifies the face of each sculpture, depicting the figure without eyes, noses or mouths, leaving the viewer free to imagine the character's ideal features in their mind, adds Zeng.

The Xiamen-based artist uses clay to mold all his sculptures by hand, a process, he says, records the time, because he has to add pieces of clay one by one, leaving his fingerprint on each.

Yu was born in a village in Ningde in Fujian province. His fascination with clay comes from his memory of not wearing shoes as a child and feeling the earth directly. He used to follow farming cattle across the fields and he was captivated by the animal tracks in the mud.
Monday marked the start in Beijing of the Third China's Academy Award of Cultural Industries (CAACI), an annual award series set up by the Communication University of China (CUC) and other well-known universities to recognize cultural accomplishments.



"This year's event will be open to the whole world and involve foreign judges. We also welcome candidates from foreign countries," said Professor Fan Zhou, the chief planner of the CAACI and the dean of CUC's Culture Development Institute.

The event is co-sponsored by 18 well-known Chinese universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, as well as a number of foreign institutions, such as the University of Chicago and Royal Holloway, University of London. Scholars from the United States, U.K., Russia and Australia will also contribute to the event, he said.
The Chinese company CITIC Construction and the largest Belarusian bank Belarusbank have created a Chinese-Belarusian investment fund.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed a decree on the creation of the fund, the presidential press service said on Monday.

The statutory fund will be formed in the amount of 1 million U.S. dollars. The founders are CITIC Construction (60 percent) and Belarusbank (40 percent).

The fund will invest in Belarusian enterprises in exchange for their shares or bonds. The fund will attract money for investment in the Belarusian economy in foreign and domestic markets through the placement of shares and bonds of its own issue.

It is planned that projects worth US$50 million will be implemented in the next 2 years.

The foundation is created for a period of 10 years. To ensure the flow of capital to Belarus and the creation of attractive financing conditions, the decree provides for a number of tax privileges and preferences in the areas of currency regulation and circulation of securities.
Fortune 500 corporation Cummins Inc., headquartered in the U.S. state of Indiana, announced it would form a 50:50 joint venture with China's Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. Ltd., local media on Monday quoted a press release of the U.S. company as saying.

The joint venture is formed after Cummins purchased Navistar's 50 percent equity of the JAC-Navistar Diesel Engine Company, the Inside Indiana Business website reported.

"Cummins and JAC share similar values. ... By strengthening our relationship, we can focus on becoming more competitive in our markets by developing and offering high-quality, clean and fuel-efficient products," Steve Chapman, Cummins Group Vice President for China and Russia, said in the press release.

The new joint venture will continue its operations at the manufacturing facility in Hefei, capital of east China's Anhui province.

Cummins currently supplies light-duty, mid-range and heavy-duty engines to JAC Motors for its domestic market in China as well as its global operations.

"By integrating our equipment expertise with Cummins' world-class technological and power train capabilities, we are confident we have the right formula in place for tremendous success," said Xiang Xingchu, general manager of JAC Motors.

Chinese market contributed US$5.56 billion in sales for Cummins in 2017, growing 38 percent from the previous year. It is one of the largest and fastest growing overseas market for Cummins.

The company also maintains cooperation with a number of other Chinese manufacturers, including those based in the country's central and western parts.
You are here: Business

A Chinese consortium comprising the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) on Monday signed an agreement with Bangladesh's Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to acquire 25 percent stake in the country's premier bourse and became its strategic investor.



The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) recently approved DSE's proposal to sell 25 percent of its stake to the Chinese consortium.

The BSEC approved the DSE's strategic partnership, fixing each of 450,944,125 shares at a price of 21 taka (0.25 U.S. dollars), the regulator said on its website.

DSE's hunt for a strategic partner came as it turned into a demutualized stock exchange on Nov. 21, 2013.

SZSE and SSE received DSE's tender invitation in July 2017.

A DSE official told Xinhua earlier that in consideration of all the aspects, the proposal of the Chinese consortium was the best offer in terms of value and technical support.

The bidding process also involved Indian, U.S. and Turkish exchanges.

According to a statement released by the Shenzhen bourse, the Chinese consortium's bid to become strategic partner of DSE would support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperation along the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

It said the Chinese bourses would cooperate with DSE on trading technology, market and product development.

Founded in 1954, DSE is Bangladesh's premier bourse and had 303 listed companies with a market capitalization of 44 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2017.
Gu'an New Industry City has been listed among 60 UN sustainable development Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) cases at an international forum on people-first PPP hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in Geneva, Switzerland from May 7 to 9.

Among the five enlisted Chinese cases, the Gu'an PPP project is the only one which features comprehensive urban development.

The three-day forum, themed "Scaling up: Meeting the challenges of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through people-first Public-Private Partnerships," brings together almost 300 delegates from the government, international organizations, PPP consultancies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), law firms as well as academic and financial institutions from 70 countries and regions.

"A good PPP project must be beneficial to all stakeholders," said Xu Chengbin, vice director of the Research Center of China International Engineering Consulting Corp. (CIEEC). "The Gu'an project, which combines overall development with professional operations and city-industry integration, not only benefits the local people but also advances sustainable development."

Thus, the project coincides with the people-first principle for successful PPP models, noted Xu who is also an expert in drafting PPP international standards at UNECE.

Gu'an New Industry City is located 50 kilometers south from the center of Beijing. Before the project started in 2002, it had a population of 380,000 and was one of the poorest counties in Hebei province with a per capita GDP of around US$1,000.

Today, the county's population has climbed to 500,000 with a per capita GDP exceeding US$7,300 and is among the top 3 most competitive counties in the province.

Bruno de Cazalet, member of the UNECE PPP Business Advisory Board (BAB), recognized that the Gu'an New Industry City is a magnificent PPP project.

Back in April 2016, Geoffrey Hamilton, chief of the PPP programme at UNECE, said that the Gu'an New Industry City is aligned with the UN's goal of poverty reduction and common prosperity. During his inspection tour to the new city, Hamilton recognized the project's role in improving local education and healthcare and said that the new city is a model of people-first sustainable development.

China Fortune Land Development Co.Ltd (CFLD), the developer and operator behind the Gu'an project, has explored the PPP model that deals with planning and design, land consolidation, infrastructure development, public facilities construction, industrial development and city operation to improve the overall competitiveness and attractiveness of relatively small towns.

Today, the Gu'an model has been widely replicated. New Industry Cities built by CFLD have been established across 13 provinces in China and extended to six other countries.
President Xi Jinping has called for enhanced cooperation in science and technology between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the mainland, vowing support for the region to become an international center of innovative technologies and for HKSAR scientists to contribute to national strength building in this regard.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made an important instruction and ordered timely actions to be taken in response to a letter written to him by 24 HKSAR-based academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) in June 2017.

In the letter, the academicians expressed their strong intensions to make contributions to the motherland and enthusiasm to boost scientific and technological innovation.

In accordance with Xi's instruction, related government departments have acted fast, and sci-tech cooperation between the mainland and the HKSAR has been pushed forward in an orderly manner.




Experts warn that air pollution is rising from vehicles and kicked-up dust in Beijing, as the city published its list of major air polluting sources on Monday.





Currently, mobile sources, including automobiles, boats and planes, are the largest contributor for locally generated PM2.5 particulate matter that poses health dangers.





Last year, 45 percent of PM2.5 in the capital came from motorized vehicles. Diesel powered trucks stood out as the worst polluters of the bunch, the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau said.





Its conclusions were drawn based on data from the Beijing Municipal Environmental Monitoring Center, together with Peking and Tsinghua universities and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The source analysis will help environmental authorities know how to prioritize their air pollution control work, the bureau said.





It's the second time that an air pollution source analysis has been done in Beijing. The last one was completed in 2013, but vehicles were the only items measured in the mobile sources category because of inadequate monitoring and analysis capabilities at the time. China had only started PM2.5 monitoring, said Liu Baoxian, deputy head of the municipal monitoring center.





The 2013 analysis found that internal combustion engines contributed to about 31 percent of the PM2.5 in the capital. "Pollutants from vehicles have decreased at a slower rate than PM2.5 concentrations overall in Beijing in recent years, meaning engine emissions are becoming a greater contributor by proportion," Liu said.





The research has also found dust-kicked up from roads and construction sites, for example-to be on the rise. The proportion of its PM2.5 contribution increased from 14.3 percent in 2013 to 16 percent last year. The research found, however, that the contribution from coal consumption decreased from about 22 percent to only 3 percent thanks to the shift in the region from bulk coal to clean energy sources for winter heating.





Locally generated pollutants were a major contributor to air pollution in Beijing last year. The average density of PM2.5 in the city was 58 micrograms per cubic meter in 2017, and on average about 34 percent of that was transported from other regions, Liu said.





The worse the air pollution in Beijing is, the bigger the contribution from outside pollutants, the latest research found. When the capital has been hit with heavy pollution, the proportion from outside pollutants went up by about 55 to 75 percent.





Wang Shuxiao, director of Tsinghua University's Institute of Air Pollution and Control, said China has long been thinking about conducting regular analysis of air pollution sources, but the idea is hindered by inadequate capabilities of local environmental authorities.





She said regular analysis will probably be kicked off soon in the 28 major cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei province cluster.




Karl Marx, father of communism, continues to inspire people to create an egalitarian society almost 135 years after he left this mortal world. On the occasion of his birth bicentenary on May 5, 2018 his followers from across the globe remembered him with veneration and discussed his great thoughts on solving the economic crisis triggered by freewheeling corporate-led capitalism in the 21st century.



Marx gave the world the most rational yet explosive theory  scientific socialism  to end the gross inequalities and injustice in society. He lent a voice to the voiceless that the proletariats are capable of destroying the exploitative capitalist system to usher in an equal, democratic and ecologically-friendly world.

At the heart of Marxism lies the epochal call to bring an end to all forms of exploitation of humans by humans. Despite some setbacks, Marxism guides the communists, progressives and nationalists to liberate their nations from the yoke of domestic reactionaries and colonial rulers.

Dialectical materialism, class struggle and dictatorship of the proletariat form the basis of classical Marxism. The Communist Manifesto and Das Capital diagnose the ills of capitalism that emerged in the 19th century and offered intellectual weaponry for the working class to engineer the ultimate socialist revolution.

Nonetheless, towards the end of his eventful life, Marx had begun to pin faith on peaceful means of change  elections and parliament  for the transition from capitalism to socialism.

Marxist philosophy gained enormous traction with the onset of the economic crisis in 2008 that debunked the myth that neoliberalism is the final stage of the ideological evolution of mankind. The people's growing curiosity about Marxism reaffirms its relevance and verity in the 21st century.

"Like a spectacular sunrise, the Marxist theory illuminated the path of humanity's exploration of the rule of history, and humanity's search for their own liberation," said Chinese President Xi Jinping, who heads the world's largest party, the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi said Marx is the greatest thinker of modern times and has hugely impacted China.

"The CPC has combined the fundamental principles of Marxism with the reality of Chinese revolution and construction, transforming the Chinese nation from the sick man of East Asia' to one who has stood up, by uniting and leading the people through long-term struggle," CPC General Secretary Xi told a grand gathering recently organized in Beijing to mark Marx's birth anniversary.

The CPC has officially adopted the Xi Jinping Thought, the Chinese version of Marxism that embraces its core tenets based on the Chinese socio-economic and cultural conditions to transform it into an advanced, prosperous and egalitarian nation by the middle of this century.

Unlike the Soviet Union, China successfully experimented with Marxism for its liberation and socialist reconstruction. Chairman Mao Zedong and paramount leader Deng Xiaoping uniquely orchestrated political and economic revolution in China after China was humiliated and vitiated by the centuries-long colonial rule and foreign aggression.

Xi has stood for fair and just globalization, democratization of international institutions and rules, ecological preservation of the planet and protection of the rights and sovereignty of small nations.

In Xi Jinping Thought, one can trace both the revolutionary spirit of Mao and the reformist zeal of Deng. Today President Xi leads China into a new era of socialist building that seeks to spread the dividends of socialism beyond its national border.

As Xi said, Marxism is an open-ended scientific theory and has the ability to reinvent itself as per the historical necessity. "There is no sole, unchangeable pattern for socialism," Xi said, urging the Party officials to read Marxism to understand history and society.

Meanwhile, showing its ideological and emotional affinity with Marx's birthplace in Trier in the western part of Germany, China donated a larger than life statue of Marx on his bicentennial. The 5.5-meter tall bronze statue, made by Chinese artist Wu Weishan, was unveiled in front of Marx's family home in Trier amidst a special function, coinciding with his birthday on May 5.

In Nepal where the people have shown an unprecedented craze for Marxism, Marx's birthday was observed with a variety of functions. The Karl Marx Bicentennial Celebrations Committee is conducting orientation classes for 10,000 youths on Marxism to spread his ideas to the grassroots as the country, under the majority communist government, has thrown itself into socialist reconstruction following the promulgation of the new constitution and the historic three-tier elections last year.

Ritu Raj Subedi is an associate editor of The Rising Nepal.





Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
 Flash

At least nine people were killed in a stampede in Bangladesh's Chittagong district, about 242 km southeast of capital Dhaka, as they crowded outside a donor's house Monday morning to receive traditional food for Iftar, the evening meal when Muslims break their fast, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, police said.
 Flash

Global terrorist group Islamic State (IS) has been involved in a series of suicide bombings in Indonesia recently, National Police Chief General Tito Karnavian said on Monday.

The police chief revealed that the suicide attackers in three churches and the police headquarters in Surabaya, provincial capital of East Java on Sunday and Monday respectively, and the clash between militant prisoners and police last week, were members of Jemaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT) and Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) which are affiliated with the IS.

The official said the strikes were retaliation of the JAT and the JAD against the arrests of scores of top leaders of the two groups.

Maman Abdurrahman and Jainal Ansari, two top leaders of the JAD, have been detained and under legal process, Karnavian said.
 Flash

Palestinians clash with Israeli troops near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 14, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

Two Palestinians died Tuesday of wounds they sustained during the anti-Israel protests along the Gaza-Israel border on Monday, bringing the death toll to 61, medical sources said.

A 16-year-old boy and a 30-year-old man died of their wounds at hospitals, Spokesman of Health Ministry in Gaza, Ashraf al-Qedra, said in a statement.

This brings the death toll of Monday's bloody clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers to 61, including eight children and one infant.

At least 110 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire since late March during the protests held to demand the return of Palestinian refugees to their homes in Israel and protest the U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December last year.

The rally on Monday came in response to the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the holy city the Palestinians want its eastern part as the capital of their future state.
China Aviation Daily | May 14, 2018

ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu addressed government and industry safety experts in Bucharest earlier last week when she helped to launch the UN aviation agency's Europe, Middle East and Africa Cybersecurity in Civil Aviation Summit.

"In an industry as interconnected as air transport, we cannot lose sight of the fact that a single cyber incident will likely impact multiple companies and stakeholders," Dr. Liu emphasized. "Almost daily, new and more sophisticated digital processes are coming online with impacts on the efficient management of our network, and the ability of airline and airport operators to serve their customers."

Highlighting that recent insurance sector assessments have identified the combined threats from cyber-crime, IT failure, and database breaches as their number-three global business risk for 2017, Dr. Liu noted that ICAO is presently hard at work on a policy and strategy to address cybersecurity in civil aviation, and that the Organization's new Global Aviation Security Plan will greatly facilitate the

global coordination and information sharing so fundamental to successfully addressing these threats.

She added that several updates to ICAO's guidance materials had already been completed, and that it was ICAO's view "that the secure and resilient exchange of information required to cope with the needs of evolving aviation activities can be enabled through a trust framework."

"This would consist of coordinated standards, procedures, methods and agreements for the digital exchange of information between ground-ground, air-ground, and air-air systems, as well as to regulate an identity system," Dr. Liu added. "These provisions in turn will support the ongoing implementation of Performance-based Navigation (PBN), Aeronautical Information Management (AIM), Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM), or any other current or projected air transport capability requiring the digital exchange of information between systems in a secure environment."

Dr. Liu also stressed that cyber-related topics will be front and centre at ICAO's Second High-Level Conference on Aviation Security at its Montreal Headquarters this autumn, and that related communications needs for remotely-piloted and unmanned aircraft systems, high-altitude and outer-space operations, and other emerging issues, were also being addressed in this context.

The Bucharest event featured a series of table top exercises on airport cybersecurity, jointly organized by Airports Council International (ACI) in conjunction with ICAO and the governments of Romania and Finland.

Local university students were also in attendance in Bucharest to participate in an associated aviation youth event. They engaged and interacted in two panels which focused on the themes of "Building a National Next Generation of Aviation Professionals (NGAP) Strategy", and "Cybersecurity and the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals".

While on mission in Bucharest, Dr. Liu met with the President of Romania's Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Liviu Dragnea. He reiterated Romania's strong support for ICAO's priorities and activities, and agreed that the two sides should work together toward deeper cooperation in the future. The President also stressed that Romania's government would continue to target needed investments for transport and aviation development priorities.

Dr. Liu also had the opportunity to meet with Ms. Viorica Dancila, the Prime Minister of Romania. During their talks, PM Dancila agreed with the ICAO Secretary General to making the aviation sector a priority for infrastructure development to support the government's endeavours to increase tourism and trade growth, and she also briefed Dr. Liu on Romania's historic contributions to civil aviation and aeronautical design, and expressed her hope that more Romanian experts could contribute to ICAO's current priorities for civil aviation.

The Secretary General also met with Romania's Minister of Transport, Mr. Lucian Sova, the Director General of Romania's Civil Aviation Authority, Mr. Armand Petrescu, and with the Chair of the Defence Committee of Romania's Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Dorin Caprar, where she discussed a wide range of issues related to aviation.

Throughout these meetings she was accompanied by ICAO's Deputy Director, Safety, Mr. Catalin Radu, Deputy Director, Security and Facilitation, Mr. Sylvain Lefoyer, as well as ICAO's Western and Central African Regional Director, Mr. Mam Sait Jallow, its Eastern and Southern African Regional Director, Mr. Barry Kashambo, and the ICAO Middle East Regional Director, Mr. Mohamed Rahma.

Contributed by ICAO




BEIJING - Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will sign a document for cooperation framework on cross-border animal disease control during the SCO summit in June.

A two-day meeting which concluded on Sunday in Xi'an, capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, created the cooperation framework and launched a monitoring platform for cross-border animal disease risk analysis and warnings among SCO member countries, according to an online statement from the General Administration of Customs.

Policy communication will be enhanced and a cooperation scheme will be established to better safeguard human health and food safety, and facilitate the trade of animal-related products within the world's most populous regional organization.

The SCO accounts for over 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass, nearly half of the world's population and over 20 percent of global GDP. Its eight member states are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India, and Pakistan.

This year's SCO summit will be held in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong province.
Justin Bieber's Mom, Shares her Heartbreaking Testimony at Light The Fire Again Contact: Christ for all Nations, CfaN , 407-854-4400, srodriguez@cfan.org





Pattie Mallette is Justin Bieber's mom.



She told the crowd at the packed Attwell Center (the very sight of the 1994 outpouring) that, as a new and unmarried believer she became pregnant with Justin. She felt deep shame and was sure that her pregnancy would end her acceptance at the church. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.



Instead, her mentors and the church kept their arms wide open with grace. As she relayed to the Arnotts, "You taught them to love me where I was at. I remember coming here in 1994 when I was staying at a pregnancy home. I remember the church leaders praying over me and prophesying that I was going to birth revival When Justin was born I had him dedicated to Jesus."



As Justin's platform as an artist has grown, he's begun to use his fame to point his audience to Jesus. During Pattie's testimony, John Arnott pointed out that Justin tweets about the love of Jesus to his 106+ million twitter followers. Pattie confirmed this and noted that, "He (Justin) came to Catch The Fire at 12 before he became 'Justin Bieber.' I remember the 20-somethings picked him up as a sign to upholding the next generation and they marched him around the room. And, they had no idea what God was going to do."



She goes on to say, "This has been a full circle for us." She recalled travailing in the Spirit during one of the Toronto Blessing services. She was moved by the Holy Spirit to ask God to "take back the arts." Now, God has put their family at the center of the music industry and said, "Now God's saying, you guys have done it your way long enough. Now it's My turn. Move over and I'm going to show you how it's done. And now He's put all of these people (Christians) at the top and He's saying, 'Shine for Me!' ... And He's bringing revival!"



John Arnott capped the segment by observing, "I believe young guys like Justin Bieber are going to bring this generation back to God like never before. We want to pass God's fire onto the next generation. I think the Church missed it with Elvis. He loved Jesus, but the pressures of the music industry are formidable. We need to get behind these guys, even when they make mistakes, we must welcome them back with open arms."



Certainly, the need is great, time is short and Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and the CfAN team are beyond happy to see Christ proclaimed from any and every arena of society. We pray Justin and Pattie continue to see God's favor as they stand up for the truth of Christ's redeeming love.



About Christ For All Nations

CfaN is a non-denominational missions organization aimed at taking the Gospel message to the world. Christ for all Nations is primarily known for its historic crusades in Africa and recently surpassed a historic milestone of over 78 million documented decisions for Jesus Christ at major events in Africa and other parts of the world. CfaN has offices in countries around the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States. ORLANDO, Fla., May 15, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- The 2018 Light The Fire Again (LFTA) gathering in Toronto, Canada pulled together an unprecedented line up of leaders from revivals of the recent past: John Kilpatrick, Claudio Freidzon, Lou Engle and many, many more. But, one on-stage guest stood out less for her involvement in one of those moves of God and more for the unique fruit that came out it: a Christ-following pop star.Pattie Mallette is Justin Bieber's mom. As she testified at Light the Fire again 2018 , she gave her life to Jesus in Toronto hospital room after a failed attempt to take her own life. The Christian couple who took her under their wing were themselves discipled by none other than John and Carol Arnott, the leaders of the Toronto Blessing.She told the crowd at the packed Attwell Center (the very sight of the 1994 outpouring) that, as a new and unmarried believer she became pregnant with Justin. She felt deep shame and was sure that her pregnancy would end her acceptance at the church. Nothing could have been farther from the truth.Instead, her mentors and the church kept their arms wide open with grace. As she relayed to the Arnotts, "You taught them to love me where I was at. I remember coming here in 1994 when I was staying at a pregnancy home. I remember the church leaders praying over me and prophesying that I was going to birth revival When Justin was born I had him dedicated to Jesus."As Justin's platform as an artist has grown, he's begun to use his fame to point his audience to Jesus. During Pattie's testimony, John Arnott pointed out that Justin tweets about the love of Jesus to his 106+ million twitter followers. Pattie confirmed this and noted that, "He (Justin) came to Catch The Fire at 12 before he became 'Justin Bieber.' I remember the 20-somethings picked him up as a sign to upholding the next generation and they marched him around the room. And, they had no idea what God was going to do."She goes on to say, "This has been a full circle for us." She recalled travailing in the Spirit during one of the Toronto Blessing services. She was moved by the Holy Spirit to ask God to "take back the arts." Now, God has put their family at the center of the music industry and said, "Now God's saying, you guys have done it your way long enough. Now it's My turn. Move over and I'm going to show you how it's done. And now He's put all of these people (Christians) at the top and He's saying, 'Shine for Me!' ... And He's bringing revival!"John Arnott capped the segment by observing, "I believe young guys like Justin Bieber are going to bring this generation back to God like never before. We want to pass God's fire onto the next generation. I think the Church missed it with Elvis. He loved Jesus, but the pressures of the music industry are formidable. We need to get behind these guys, even when they make mistakes, we must welcome them back with open arms."Certainly, the need is great, time is short and Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and the CfAN team are beyond happy to see Christ proclaimed from any and every arena of society. We pray Justin and Pattie continue to see God's favor as they stand up for the truth of Christ's redeeming love. For Registration for the Light the Fire Again 2019 click here About Christ For All NationsCfaN is a non-denominational missions organization aimed at taking the Gospel message to the world. Christ for all Nations is primarily known for its historic crusades in Africa and recently surpassed a historic milestone of over 78 million documented decisions for Jesus Christ at major events in Africa and other parts of the world. CfaN has offices in countries around the world including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Africa, United Kingdom and the United States.

To learn more about Christ for all Nations, visit CfaN online at

To learn more about Christ for all Nations, visit CfaN online at www.cfan.org , or email srodriguez@cfan.org or call 407.854.4400.

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AKRON, Ohio - The city of Akron plans to boost a summer reading program for children and offer it in conjunction with an existing food program for kids 18 and younger.

The city has offered free breakfast and lunch for many years for kids who lose access to healthy meals during the summer.

This year, the city will contract with Akron Public Schools to provide the meals rather than use an outside vendor.

The move was intended to improve both the food and the service, said Akron Public Schools Executive Director of Business Affairs Debra Foulk.

"Kids will find food they like and are used to, which will increase numbers," she said. "We're super excited."

The meals program is funded through a $370,000 Ohio Department of Education grant. Meals will be served at 50 sites around the city, with 15 of them at the school district's community learning centers.

Akron's Summer Reading Program will not take place at all the sites with food service. It will be open to all Akron children under 18 - not just those who attend public schools, officials said.

On Monday, Akron City Council approved a $10,000 budget for the reading program, which is double last year's budget when the program served almost 170 kids.

The money will come from $40,000 budgeted for the My Neighborhood Akron program and will pay for data collection and a program coordinator, said At-large Councilman Jeff Fusco.

Fusco sponsored the reading program legislation with At-large Council members Veronica Sims and Linda Omobien, and Ward 1 Councilman Rick Swirsky.

"This program is near and dear to my heart," Fusco said. "We're going to super-size it."

This year the program will serve children in all 10 Akron wards, and the hope is to double the number of students served, he said.

The number of sites will increase from six to 12, with nine of them at community learning centers where the lunch program is held, said Akron Recreation Bureau Manager Brittany Schmoekel. Children can participate in both programs at those sites.

Data collected by the Summit Education Initiative shows the reading program has had a positive effect on third- through fifth-grade participants, who are kept from the so-called "summer slide," in which they forget what they've learned during the school year, Schmoekel said.

"It's like it's morphed and getting better and better every year," Fusco told City Council's Parks and Recreation Committee members.

And wrapping it around the CLC's food program is a good idea, he said.

"This is really unique," Foulk said. "It's going to be fun to put together."

In its first two years, the reading program was powered by volunteers. Last summer, 50 retirees, teachers and residents volunteered to help the kids read.

This year could require double that number and volunteers will be required to undergo a background check and training, which can be taken online, Schmoekel said.

Fusco, who said he is volunteering two days per week for nine weeks, challenged other City Council members to do the same.

To volunteer for the program. call the Akron Recreation Bureau at 330-375-2804. For reading program locations, visit the city website.

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AKRON, Ohio - Mayor Dan Horrigan, Bounce CEO Doug Weintraub and Bounce Board Chair Deb Hoover donned hard hats on Monday to take a sledgehammer to a wall at Akron's center of innovation, kicking off construction.

The Welty Building Co. will manage construction of 27,000 square-feet of Bounce's first floor, adding a new entryway, office space, a co-working area, a maker space, a cafe and meeting areas, conference rooms and an e-sports lab for the University of Akron. Hasenstab Architects of Akron will design the space.

It makes sense that Bounce is situated in the former B.F. Goodrich Building on Main Street, where millions of tires were made over the years, Horrigan said. As a young entrepreneur, B.F. Goodrich came to Akron from New York to start the tire company, helping put Akron on the map as the Rubber Capital of the World.

"We are literally standing on the backs of giants who have done this before," Horrigan said." We have a long and rich history of innovation in this city that goes back to 1870."

Bounce, which evolved from the former Akron Global Business Accelerator, serves entrepreneurs and small startup companies. The space is being expanded to offer maker- and co-working space, while training, mentoring and classes will be open to the community.

Bounce is designed to attract not only entrepreneurs and inventors, but also businesses, investors, schools, corporate executives, students and residents interested in using innovation to create jobs of the future.

"The City of Akron is ready to assist, mentor and support its innovators, makers, founders and inventors," Horrigan said.

Weintraub was brought on board in March to serve as CEO of the innovation hub. He was a founding member and chairman of Cleveland's nonprofit Jumpstart Inc., which works to build and support startups.

Weintraub announced the addition of a new company joining Bounce this summer, whose founders launched a startup at the Global Business Accelerator in 2004.

Knotice, launched by Akronites Brian Deagan and Bill Landers, was a data management and digital marketing company that was sold to IgnitionOne in 2014. Now, the pair is launching a new startup, CompanionLabs, from a space on the 9th floor of Bounce.

"We want to see the area do well and with the energy that's being injected into this space, we just want to be a part of it," Deagan said.

Employing about 300 people, Bounce is now at about 65 percent capacity. It encompasses 300,000 square-feet of office, lab and manufacturing space over nine floors. Of the current 52 tenants, 45 participate in the incubator program.

The Bit Factory, which is focused on software, internet-connected hardware, mobile apps and gaming, serves 19 companies working off-site.

The site's renovation is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

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AKRON, Ohio - Expansion of the University of Akron College of Business Administration is underway, boosting academic offerings for students while strengthening the school's connection to downtown Akron.

Plans for the 15,000 square-foot, $5.2 million Professional Development Center were unveiled to educators, students, donors and community leaders at a groundbreaking on Tuesday.

The project will extend the existing business college northward, helping elevate the stature of University Avenue as the main entrance to the university and a vibrant corridor into town.

College of Business Administration Dean Ravi Krovi said the amenities created in the expansion will underscore the school's promise to ensure students are connected and career ready when they graduate. The university's business college is designed to provide students with academic quality, experiential learning and professional development, he said.

Akron's College of Business Administration is one of 183 out of 16,000 business schools in the world that have earned a double accreditation for both business and accounting from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

"That's a stamp on the quality of our faculty; it's a stamp on the quality of our academic programs; it's also a stamp on the quality of our graduates," he said.

The school's existing centers and labs offer real-world settings to enable students to role-play business negotiations, work with real-time financial databases, and employ product concept testing facilities.

The new Professional Development Center, designed by CBLH Design of Cleveland, will expand those capabilities, and include a business communications lab, presentation studios, a business analytics lab, internship offices, and a study abroad center, said Stephen Myers, UA's interim chief of planning and facilities.

Several of the labs are designed to work together, with shared office suites, Myers said. On the second floor a large board room will feature an expansive glass wall facing University Avenue. An 88-person corporate classroom will include movable tables and chairs, while seating and gathering spaces with large east-facing windows outside the rooms were also included.

The exterior of the building expansion, is intended to create a sense of place, Myers said. The university's focus has been from the core of campus outward to University Avenue and connecting into town.

Now, the goal is to frame the entrance to the university with the expanded business college, the National Inventors Hall of Fame across the street, and the nearby School of Law, which was completed last year, he said.

Summit Metro Parks, finishing the 3rd phase of the Freedom Trail, has installed a nearly trailhead at Mill and Lincoln streets. The trail will soon connect from there to the north side of the College of Business Administration, so a bike-rack section will be built there, near an outdoor activities area, Myer said.

Margo Sommerville, president of Akron City Council, told attendees the city, the university and the college of business have had a strong partnership since Buchtel Hall was originally built.

She likened the relationship to "an enriching community cycle," in which residents who attend the university graduate and go on to help advance and lead the community. University research leads to the creation of new businesses and revitalizes industries, which in turn allows people to put down roots in Akron and start families.

Downtown Akron Partnership President and CEO Suzie Graham, said the expansion of the business college deepens the partnership between the university and downtown, which already involves connecting students with businesses.

"A strong bond between town and gown serves a mutual benefit as a vibrant cultural draw, a resource for talent and opportunity, and as a connection between academia, research and our corporate and small business sectors," she said.

The expansion is expected to be completed by spring 2019, and ready for summer and fall classes.

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BEACHWOOD, Ohio -- There are still votes to be counted in the May 8 election that had Beachwood City Schools' Issue 2 go down by just eight votes.

"We see 171 absentee ballots that were postmarked before the election that weren't counted," said Superintendent Robert Hardis. "Our interest is in making sure every Beachwood voter has their voice heard, if they followed the election rules."

A Cuyahoga County Board of Elections official told cleveland.com that the final, official count of absentee and provisional ballots will be known May 29. A provisional ballot is used to record a vote if a voter's eligibility is in question, and the voter would not otherwise be permitted to vote at his or her polling place.

If the difference in the official vote count is one-half percent or less when taking into account every Issue 2 voter, then a recount will automatically take place.

Hardis and school board President Michael Zawatsky both said that if Issue 2 isn't approved, Beachwood will try again in November -- and will once more combine both a bond issue and operating levy.

On May 8, the district attempted to pass a combined 8.7-mill levy. On the ballot, Issue 2 combined a bond issue and an operating levy.

The bond issue would have allowed for the school district to demolish the 62-year-old Hilltop and Bryden elementary schools, then combine them at the campus of Fairmount School, 24601 Fairmount Blvd.

In order to accommodate the students from both schools, Fairmount School and its grounds would have to undergo substantial renovation. The project's cost was estimated at $38.8 million.

Meanwhile, the district had not sought to pass an operating levy in 13 years. Most school districts seek an increase in operating funds from voters every three to five years.

On May 8, the unofficial count had 3,998 residents voting, with 2,003 (50.1 percent) in opposition to Issue 2 and 1,995 (49.9 percent) in favor.

Zawatsky said that by next school year, Beachwood Schools will have $3.5 million less in state funding than it does today. Those state cuts include a reduction of $1 million that the district is now required to pay for the education of students with special needs. The district pays for those students' education, even if they attend a private school.

For a home valued at $250,000, the 8.7 mills would amount to an increase of $43 per month for operating. The increase for the bond issue would be $20 per month.

"What I'm seeing is that we need to educate the community," Zawatsky said. "We had multiple presentations, but unfortunately, there's a misconception about the bond side.

"Both are critical. There are advantages to combining them," he said.

Hardis explained that, if the operating levy were to pass and the bond levy fail, the district would face increasing costs to repair and maintain the major building systems at Bryden and Hilltop schools.

"We would likely need to utilize general fund dollars on the upkeep of these 62-year-old buildings and, as a result, would accelerate the need to return to the voters again for increased operating revenue -- a vicious cycle," Hardis said. "In addition, if we cannot consolidate elementary buildings, we cannot save $500,000 annually through becoming more operationally efficient. Again, this would accelerate the need for additional operating revenue."

Hardis went on to say that if the bond levy were to pass and the operating levy fail, the district would have the funds to replace Bryden and Hilltop schools, but would need to make significant cuts to the programs and services the district offers, including those the new building at Fairmount has been designed to support.

"These would likely include the fine and performing arts, science and engineering labs, and more," he said. "This would be a wasteful and illogical way to spend taxpayers' dollars.

"It would also be unlikely that we could complete the Hilltop Community Recreational Park repurposing (planned for the Hilltop site if Issue 2 passed), nor the much-needed renovations to the natatorium," he said.

On election night, Bruce Bream, of Beachwood Community Connection -- a political action committee that opposed Issue 2 -- said that if the issue had been split in two, he would have voted for the operating portion, but not the bond issue. Bream and others believe Bryden and Hilltop can be refurbished.

Zawatsky said of Bryden and Hilltop: "They may look good from the outside, but both schools are nearing the end of their life expectancy and we can't Band-Aid them anymore. The boilers are over 60 years old, and their life expectancy was 50 years.

"You'd love to just replace them, but to put in a modern heating system, you'd have to tear up the walls, and then make the buildings ADA compliant. It would take a large amount of money to fix these two schools.

"This wasn't a flippant decision (to combine the bond issue and operating levy)," he said. "It wasn't five weeks or five months of studying this. I've been studying this for five years. I still think this is the best for the community.

"We want to make sure the community understands why we're doing this."

If Issue 2 does end up failing, Hardis said: "My recommendation would be to combine both issues in November. Both (the bond issue and operating levy) are needed by the district right now. They are interconnected.

"Nothing will change between now and November that would make those needs change. None of the variables are changing.

"State cuts are taking away $3.5 million every year moving forward. It is only a matter of time before massive expenditures become necessary in order to repair major building systems at Bryden and Hilltop.

"Our buildings are old and getting older."

Hardis added that a planned special meeting of the city's Planning & Zoning Commission scheduled for May 17, in which the schools' plans for the Fairmount Property were to be discussed, will not be held due to the unsettled May 8 election results.
BRUNSWICK, Ohio -- City Council will hold a special meeting May 22 to vote on two time-sensitive road project bids. This followed project updates May 14 from city Service Director Paul Barnett and Engineer Matt Jones.

Barnett said his department has assured Ohio Department of Transportation officials that City Council will have made a decision by May 23 on legislation regarding the $10.5 million, ODOT-led North Carpenter Road reconstruction, from Boston Road to Clover Drive.

"The base bid came in at $10.5 million, so we did good on that," Barnett said. "But that does not include Grafton Road. The alternate bid for Grafton is $925,000, and we want to do that."

The South Carpenter Road portion of the project includes full concrete installation, with curbs and storm sewers, from the end of the existing concrete roadway on South Carpenter. That work also includes two turn lanes at the Grafton Road intersection.

The Grafton alternate bid calls for full reconstruction of Grafton, with two additional turn lanes at the South Carpenter intersection.

Barnett said delaying the Grafton work will "take two years of misery and make it three years."

He added, however, that the city is currently $91,000 short of its $3.2 million local match. Finance Director Todd Fischer is expected to provide council with proposed adjustments to the budget in order to accommodate this expenditure.

"It's a matter of jockeying some things around," Barnett said.

The South Carpenter project is expected to start in late 2018, with completion expected in the fall of 2020, Barnett said.

The major portion of the work, he added, will be taking place in the spring of 2019 and 2020.

Council will also see legislation at the May 22 special meeting to award a contract for road work on Laurel Road. Barnett said the city has received 10 bids on the Laurel Road project. Bids for that estimated $1.15 million project are being opened May 16.

Salt buy

Council also voted to partner with ODOT on its winter road salt contract for the 2018-2019 season.

Barnett said the city still has 2,000 tons of road salt on hand after using 6,000 tons during the 2017-2018 winter season. He added that the city exercised its option to purchase an additional 10 percent of its ordered amount of salt last year, in anticipation of the $30-per-ton price increasing after the hard 2017-2018 winter.

Allowing that trying to outthink winter weather in Northeast Ohio can be tricky, Barnett said he expects the city to come out ahead financially in the long run, with prices possibly increasing to as much as $38 per ton this year.

The city will purchase 4,500 tons of road salt this year through the ODOT program.

Hot tub project up in the air

City Council rejected its first and only bid to replace the hot tub in the Brunswick Recreation Center pool area, following a motion from Recreation Director John Piepsny.

Piepsny said it is unclear what his department's next move will be with regard to the hot tub.

"I have been in conversations with the city manager to come up with a plan of action," Piepsny said. "The first time we went out for bids, we didn't receive a single bid. This time, the bid came in well above budget and did not include the hot tub."

Piepsny added that his department has seen a notable drop in bids for construction projects recently.

"We used to get a lot of bids for construction projects, but recently we have only been getting one or two (per project)," he said.

Additional police camera approved

Council approved a $5,000 request from Police Chief Brian Ohlin to add one mobile video camera to the department's previously approved $50,000 contract with Safety Vision to upgrade the entire fleet.

Fischer explained that when a K9 unit was added recently, it required the department to keep an older cruiser in the fleet.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - Families who paid hundreds or even thousands of dollars for upcoming student trips through now-shuttered Discovery Tours should contact their banks immediately to dispute the payments.

Thousands of families across Ohio made deposits or paid for trips in full for their children before Mayfield-based Discovery Tours filed for bankruptcy protection last week.

Families who made their payments to Discovery Tours via credit card may be in better shape than those who paid by debit card or check.

Consumers who make upfront payments for services or products with a credit card have automatic protection under federal law if those services or goods aren't received. The Fair Credit Billing Act law provides consumers the right to dispute "charges for goods and services you didn't accept or that weren't delivered as agreed," the Federal Trade Commission explains.

If you haven't yet paid the credit card billing for money charged by Discovery Tours and you dispute the charges, you don't have to pay your credit card bill while the matter is being investigated by your credit card company. If you already paid the bill, you still have a right to dispute the charges and get that money credited back to your account.

The Ohio Attorney General's Office filed a lawsuit against Discovery Tours on Friday, but consumers "should seek a refund for services not provided" as soon as possible, said Dan Tierney, spokesman for the AG's office.

"Credit cards do offer more protection than debit cards when disputing charges for services not received," Tierney said. Regardless of how they paid, consumers should contact their banks to discuss filing disputes to get refunds, he said.

According to complaints filed with the state again Discovery, families paid in a variety of ways: credit cards, debit cards, personal checks, pre-paid debit cards and cash.

At KeyBank, the largest bank operating in Greater Cleveland, the company will try to help customers, spokeswoman Drez Jennings said.

"We certainly sympathize with all families affected by this unfortunate situation and who haven't been able to recoup costs," Jennings said. "We want to do everything we can to help our clients, following guidelines provided by regulators and by MasterCard. We will be glad to work with clients who want to file disputes regarding transactions made on credit or debit cards.

"Clients who paid by check can place a stop payment on any uncashed checks," she added. "Clients whose checks were cashed will need to contact the merchant directly."

The merchant, in this case, isn't responding to phone calls and there's no one at the company's closed offices.

Representatives from Huntington and PNC -- this region's second- and third-largest banks -- did not comment on what their customers should do.

In its bankruptcy filing on May 7, Discovery Tours listed 5,600 people owed "trip deposits," some for less than $200, while others are owed about $900. Many families have told the AG's office that they paid Discovery Tours more than $1,000. Some entities, representing groups, paid $20,000 or $95,000 or more.

Students in school districts throughout Greater Cleveland and all of the way to Cincinnati are affected. The company offered trips to destinations including New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C. In one case, Discovery Tours canceled a trip to Washington, D.C., for more than 500 Mentor eighth graders on the eve of their departure. Families paid a total of more than $230,000 for the trip. The money is missing.

To dispute a payment made by credit card, you can -- under the Fair Credit Billing Act -- invoke your rights for charges for up to 60 days after you received the credit card statement containing the charges in question. Say you made a payment on Feb. 28 on your credit card, and the statement billing period cut off March 20, and you received your statement March 23. You'd have until May 22 for your bank to receive your dispute.

You must file your dispute in writing by contacting your credit card issuer at the address given for "billing inquiries," not the address for sending payments. In some cases, you can dispute the charge online if you have online account access; just make sure you have a written confirmation that the dispute has been filed and received.

The credit card company must acknowledge your dispute within 30 days of receiving it, and can take up to two billing cycles to resolve the issue, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Consumers may have more success from disputing the charges with their bank than waiting for the matter to wind through bankruptcy court, particularly since there may be no money left over to refund families or pay other creditors. In its bankruptcy filing, Discovery Tours said it has about $1.4 million in assets but owes about $3.9 million.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said in the lawsuit that the company violated Ohio's Consumer Sales Practices Act by promising services and not delivering, and also by operating in a financially risky manner. The AG's office investigated and found Discovery Tours continued to accept money from schools and family even after it knew, or should have known, it wouldn't be able to provide the trips for the students.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A federal judge ruled that Ohio prisons staff may not force a murderer who practices Rastafarianism to cut his dreadlocks.

Deon Glenn, a Trumbull Correctional Institution inmate, said he wore his hair in dreadlocks without incident until September 2016. That's when prison staff told him that he would have to cut his hair to comply with Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Protection policies that banned hairstyle and did not allow for a religious exemption.

Glenn, who has practiced Rastafarianism since 2012, refused based on his religious views.

Guards disciplined him and placed him in solitary confinement where he could not sleep for several days. He finally acquiesced and had his dreadlocks cut to avoid more discipline. He filed suit in February, arguing that the policy violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

Chief U.S. District Patricia Gaughan agreed in a ruling Monday and barred the prisons system from enforcing its grooming policies against Glenn. Her ruling does not apply to other inmates who did not sue. Gaughan said judges must evaluate each case on a case-by-case basis.

(You can read the full ruling here or at the bottom of this story.)

Gaughan's ruling relied largely on a U.S. Supreme Court case that involved a Muslim prison inmate who was not allowed to grow his beard. The case made clear that prison systems must make religious accommodations for inmates and, if they need to intrude, must find the least restrictive way to do so.

Since Ohio's policy includes a blanket ban on dreadlocks and no way to apply for a religious exemption, the policy violates the law, Gaughan wrote. She wrote that other state prison systems and the Federal Bureau of Prisons either allow inmates to have dreadlocks or provide a way to apply for a religious accommodation.

The Ohio prisons system did not prove that Glenn's hair was not able to be searched for contraband or posed a safety risk, according to Gaughan.

"The Court is mindful of the difficulties faced by prison staff and is aware that prisons are unique institutions with serious safety concerns," Gaughan wrote. "Nor does the Court mean to suggest that defendants cannot ban unsearchable hair. The problem defendants now face, however, is that the policies before the Court are not so drafted."

Glenn, 29, is serving a sentence of up to life for firing at a group of teenagers, killing one and hitting another in the leg in 2007.

He is represented by three interns at the Milton A. Kramer Law Clinic Center at Case Western Reserve University's law school.

Avidan Cover, a law professor who supervises students at the clinic, said a problematic part of the Ohio prison system's policy is that inmates can't apply for a religious accommodation. He said the prisons system could easily fix the policy to address security concerns in a way that would be allowed by the law.

"As far as I can tell, they've dug in their heels and won't change the policy," Cover said.

Prisons department spokeswoman JoEllen Smith declined to comment.

The law school is also representing Cecil Koger, another killer who filed suit in November with similar claims. His lawsuit is pending in front of U.S. District Judge Benita Pearson in Youngstown.

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SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- City Council began Monday its examination of proposed legislation that would protect the city after commercial buildings are closed to business and go on to remain vacant for long periods of time.

The city's Planning & Zoning Commission recently recommended the so-called "dark store" ordinance to council. The commission had been discussing crafting such an ordinance, off and on, since 2011.

While the ordinance is largely pointed toward "big box" retailers, it is also hoped it will give the city relief when smaller stores close.

Council took no action on the legislation Monday and promises to look at it more. In the meantime, it discussed the legislation's components.

The legislation attempts to define what a vacant commercial building is, and allows for an escalating fee to be charged to owners of vacant commercial buildings.

"I'm not aware of any cities around here that have something like this, so it would be a unique ordinance to South Euclid," Economic Development Director Michael Love said.

Love said that the need for such an ordinance was created as big box retailers began opening in the city. The biggest such retailer is Walmart, which opened its more than 100,000-square-foot store at Oakwood Commons, off Warrensville Center Road, in 2013.

Councilman at-large Marty Gelfand told his colleagues during a council Zoning & Planning Committee meeting Monday that he is particularly wary of Walmart one day leaving its South Euclid building.

"Walmart has a reputation of closing when it doesn't need its building anymore," Gelfand said. An example of Gelfand's concern took place in Cleveland Heights, when Walmart closed its Severance Town Center store to build a new store nearby -- in South Euclid.

Community Services Director Keith Benjamin said big box retailers typically have a lifespan of 15 to 25 years. They then often leave and build somewhere else.

"That's what's going to happen (in South Euclid) when Walmart decides that there's greener pastures somewhere else," Gelfand said.

The way the proposed ordinance is currently worded, it covers only buildings to be built in the future and of at least 8,000 square feet.

"We've got a problem now; we've got Walmart," Gelfand said before urging that council find a way to make the ordinance pertain to existing buildings.

Currently, when a home or commercial building becomes vacant in South Euclid, according to legislation passed in 2010, the building's owner must register the building as vacant. With that registration, the owner is charged a fee of $200 per year that the building is vacant.

Under the proposed legislation, that registration fee would still be charged, as would an additional fee. The additional fee would be 5 cents per square foot of a vacant commercial building in its first year of vacancy, 10 cents per square foot in its second year, 20 cents in its third year and 30 cents per square foot in its fourth year and every year after.

Love said he believes the charge could be helpful in motivating owners to more quickly to find a new tenant, rather than allow their buildings to sit vacant.

Council is also discussing how buildings of lesser than big box size could be guided by the proposed ordinance.

The proposed ordinance, when dealing with several storefronts that may be located within one building, states that the building would be considered vacant if 50 percent or more of the building's floor space is unoccupied.

As an example, the former Alesci's foods building, 4333 Mayfield Road, is made up of two storefronts. The smaller of the two storefronts in the nearly 11,000-square-foot building is occupied by Federated Auto Parts. The building, however, could still be considered vacant because the former Alesci's side -- at more than 8,000 square feet -- is still vacant.

The same vacancy description would hold for an entire shopping center (defined as being made up of three buildings or more) if more than 50 percent of the shopping center is vacated.

There are some instances, however, where more than one owner owns buildings within a shopping center.

The council committee will continue its discussion of the dark store ordinance at a meeting not yet scheduled.

Alcohol sales at gas stations

At its regular meeting Monday, council unanimously approved legislation that permits alcohol sales at gas stations.

Alcohol, of course, has been sold at South Euclid's and other cities' gas stations for years.

Benjamin said that South Euclid council passed an ordinance many years ago prohibiting such sales, when it was uncommon for gas stations to sell alcohol.

Councilman at-large Jason Russell noted that the state of Ohio allows such sales, and that state law trumps local law, making South Euclid's ordinance ineffective.

"This is basically housekeeping, a matter of paperwork," Ward 4 Councilwoman Jane Goodman said of the new ordinance repealing the old ordinance.

Being more efficient

Council's Finance Committee on Monday heard a presentation from the Chicago company Leopardo, which provides cities with guaranteed energy savings.

Leopardo did a study of City Hall and the city's operations and came up with ways to save the city money in the areas of lighting -- its buildings, parks and streets; leasing vehicles; alternative fuels for city vehicles; controls, such as thermostats; HVAC systems; and on the new roof needed at City Hall.

The firm told council it could save South Euclid $308,000 annually. Over 20 years, the savings would top $6.2 million. The city's investment during those 20 years would be about $2.98 million.

Finance Committee Chairman and Ward 2 Councilman Joe Frank said that the city is considering all its options to save money.

Two weeks ago, council heard a presentation from the San Francisco company Tanko Lighting, which told council it could save the city $8.4 million in street lighting costs over 20 years.
NEW PHILADELPHIA, Ohio -- Two men are facing charges after a video shows them torturing a baby opossum with a blow torch, police say.

New Philadelphia Police Chief Michael Goodwin says in a statement that Justin Brill, 18, is charged with cruelty to animals and Brent Vickers Jr., 21, is charged with complicity.

Goodwin says he received a copy of a video shown on Facebook live showing two men with several baby opossums.

"The video seems to show that they had no idea what kind of animals these were," Goodwin says in the statement.

He says the video shows the men using a butane torch to burn one of the baby animals. It's unknown if the animal survived.

Brill is being held in jail on a $125,000 bond while Vickers will appear in court Thursday.

"These kind of actions cannot go unanswered," Goodwin says.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 13-year-old boy suffered head injuries during an attempted kidnapping early Tuesday, according to police.

The incident happened about 5:30 a.m. near a BP gas station on Fulton Road and Denison Avenue.

The boy was taken to MetroHealth with cuts to his head, according to police. Police have not released any information on the circumstances surrounding the incident.

A police spokesperson said the suspects left before police arrived, but did not give descriptions or say how many suspects were involved in the incident.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County officials on Tuesday announced changes to the Department of Children and Family Services to address safety concerns stemming from a 4-year-old girl's death.

The five-pronged plan is intended to address concerns raised after Aniya Day-Garrett died March 11 in Euclid. The girl's mother and the mother's boyfriend are charged with aggravated murder in her death.

Children and Family Services investigated three reports about Aniya in 2017, but officials did not find cause to remove her from her mother's home before she died, a Cuyahoga County spokeswoman said.

Officials on Tuesday announced five changes to Children and Family Services, which are intended to improve procedures and increase safety, Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish said in a news release.

They include:

Creating a Customer Relationship Management program to take social service complaints or concerns by phone, email or in-person.

Asking Cuyahoga County council members to create an advisory board, comprised of eight to 10 residents, to provide feedback about Children and Family Services.

Assigning a sheriff's deputy to assist in Children and Family Services investigations.

Increasing the number of social workers at Children and Family Services.

Embarking on a "listening tour" to get feedback from residents. It will kick off May 29, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at Friendly Inn at 2386 Unwin Road in Cleveland.

Budish previously appointed an independent panel to review Children and Family Services' handling of Aniya's case. The panel is expected to present its findings in the coming weeks, Budish said in the news release.

"This tragedy is truly heartbreaking," Budish said Tuesday in his statement. "No child in danger should fall through the cracks."

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office determined that Aniya died after she suffered a stroke caused by blunt impacts to the head. She had scald marks on her feet and legs, a large bruise near her left eye and a cut on her face when she died, according to a police report.

Aniya's mother, Sierra R. Day, and her boyfriend, Deonte L. Lewis, are charged with aggravated murder in her death. They remain in custody on $1 million bond.

Aniya's relatives said they contacted Children and Family Services to report bruises on the girl's body. Aniya's father was among the activists who protested outside the agency after she died.

Earlier this month, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services revoked the licenses of two daycares Aniya attended for failing to report all suspicions of her being abused or neglected.

The daycares have 30 days to request a hearing for the revocation, an ODJFS spokeswoman said in an email. They are allowed to remain open while their licenses are in the process of being revoked, the spokeswoman added.

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UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio - John Carroll University is using a $10 million donation from the Boler family to transform the Boler School of Business into a college, allowing the university to create new programs and hire new faculty.

Officials say that the change accommodates growth at the private Catholic university.

The Boler school , which has just over 11,000 alumni, was named the Boler School of Business in 1996, after John Boler, who was a 1956 alumnus, and his wife Mary Jo.

John Boler served as a trustee for more than 25 years, and the family gave more than $16 million dollars over the years to the university.

The new Boler College establishes an accounting and information science school, as well as a school dedicated to leadership and social innovation.Dean Alan Miciak said faculty numbers - currently about 38 full-time -- could expand by 10 percent.

The new school of Accountancy and Information Science will build on one of what Miciak called one of the Boler School's cornerstones - accounting. The school boasts high pass rates for the state public accountancy exams. It ranks 23rd nationally for first-time takers out of more than 300 institutions.

By adding information sciences to the school, Miciak said John Carroll is responding to a need in the accounting industry to hire employees who can handle data analytics and work with information technology.

The other new school, the school of Leadership and Social Innovation, will offer outreach programs to tackle economic inclusion and business creation. This could include work with nonprofit partners, underprivileged neighborhoods and schools.

"What we see in the student population, particularly this generation of Millennials and Generation Z, is that there's a different mindset among students today on how they view the role of business in society," he said. "They're just as interested in the purpose of the company as they are profitability."

Existing buildings and technology will likely see improvements with the Bolers' gift. This could include new labs for capital markets and finance and data analytics.
TOLEDO, Ohio -- A pastor accused of having sex with two minor girls has pleaded guilty to several charges, according to federal prosecutors.

Kenneth Butler, 38, is one of three Toledo-area pastors accused of involvement in a child sex-trafficking scheme.

Butler is expected to spend 17 1/2 years in prison after pleading guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy to sex traffic children, two counts of sex trafficking of children and one count of obstruction of a sex trafficking investigation, prosecutors say.

"This defendant has admitted to crimes that include preying on a foster child who was previously the victim of sexual abuse, and he committed these crimes in a house of worship," U.S. Attorney Justin E. Herdman says in a news release. "Butler may hold himself out to the community as a pastor, but in the eyes of the law he is a criminal who pays money to sexually assault children."

Butler is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Two other pastors, Anthony Haynes and Cordell Jenkins, have been indicted for their roles in the sex trafficking conspiracy and are awaiting trial.

According to prosecutors, Butler had sex with two female minors between 2015 and March 2017. In late 2015, Butler and Haynes had sex with one of the females in Haynes' office at the now-closed Greater Life Christian Center in Toledo, prosecutors say.

In 2016, Butler gave the same girl a ride to a job interview, then brought her back to University Bible Fellowship church, where Haynes and Butler again had sex with the girl.

Prosecutors list several other instances where Butler had sex with the underage girl, saying he once gave her $30 to have her hair done after having sex.

Butler had sex with a second juvenile girl in 2016 at the Greater Life Christian Center and on other occasions, and at least once gave her $20. He told both girls to lie to federal investigators about the encounters, prosecutors say.

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TALLMADGE, Ohio -- A recovery counselor faces sexual abuse charges for assaulting two women who were patients at an Akron rehabilitation center, authorities said.

Todd Matthews, 42, is charged with sexual battery, the Summit County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Tuesday.

Matthews worked as a recovery counselor at Oriana House in Akron, sheriff's office inspector Bill Holland said.

One woman told investigators that Matthews drove her to a parking lot on May 4 in Tallmadge and sexually assaulted her in his vehicle, the sheriff's office said.

She notified authorities about the abuse on May 8. Matthews was arrested the next the day, officials said.

A second woman later told deputies she had sex with Matthews in April while she stayed at the Oriana House, investigators said.

Oriana House is an independent, non-profit community corrections and chemical dependency treatment agency that has worked with the city and Summit County corrections agencies since 1981.

Christiana Deibel, a spokeswoman for Oriana House, said Matthews has been suspended and his employment will be evaluated at the end of criminal investigation. She added Oriana House officials are cooperating with investigators.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Potomac Coalition, an organization cryptically named in the latest subpoena served Monday by corruption investigators on Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish's administration, has been involved politically in Ohio.

The Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan research group, reports on its opensecrets.org website that the Washington, D.C.-based coalition gave $10,000 to the Ohio Voter Fund Political Action Committee in 2016.

Opensecrets.org describes the Ohio Voter Fund as a "Democrat/Liberal" political action committee based in Columbus.

The Potomac Coalition, meanwhile, was described in an October, 2014 article in the Washington Business Journal as an "African-American organization that advocates for national urban economic issues."

Among other documents, the subpoena served Monday by corruption investigators sought the coalition's email communications with Ted Carter, the county's chief economic development and business officer.

The subpoena specifically asks for email communications that Carter and a former administrative assistant, Julie Gresko, had with the email address "POTOMACCOALITON@GMAIL.COM," as well as email addresses, "MHDCHI@YAHOO.COM" and "RONLESTER711@AOL.COM." The latter is the contact for Lester & Associates, a market research firm located in Upper Marlboro, Md., a suburb of Washington, D.C.

Carter, who a county spokeswoman said remained on the job Tuesday, has not responded to requests for comment.

Cleveland.com spoke with Ron Lester of Lester & Associates by phone on Monday. He said he knows Carter, but that he had no idea why his email address would be part of a subpoena seeking communications involving Carter or Gresko.

Lester & Associates touts itself on its website as being expert "in understanding the nuances of African-American voters and consumers." It has provided services to current and former members of Congress, government agencies, political organizations, major corporations and U.S. mayors, including Cleveland's Frank Jackson, according to the website.

Lester said many of the members of the Potomac Coalition worked on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and that he and Carter have been members of the coalition.

Glenn Ivey, an attorney and member of the coalition, said he has been hired to represent the coalition in connection with the investigation, but otherwise declined to comment.

Carter was hired by Cuyahoga County in January of 2016 at $190,000 a year. He began working on issues related to delinquent loans that had been made by the county. but council members grew concerned after Carter was unable to answer questions about the status of more than 200 delinquent loans.

Previously, Carter had been executive director of the Office of Economic Development for Jacksonville, Fla., and before that executive managing director for CBRE Group Inc. of Washington, D.C.

It's not clear from the subpoena why investigators are interested in the emails of Carter and Gresko. Prosecutors have not spoken publicly about the investigation.

Monday's subpoena is the eleventh served on the county by investigators in the Prosecutor's Office this year. Previous subpoenas have sought information related to IT administrators Scot Rourke and Emily McNeeley, both of whom are unpaid leaving pending the investigation, and to Sharon Sobol Jordan, Budish's former chief of staff.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Regional Transit Authority board voted unanimously today, May 15, 2018, to send the results of an investigation of the board's former president to higher agencies: the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Ohio auditor and Ohio Ethics Commission.

Members said they investigated George Dixon III's admitted use of RTA health insurance for some years without paying the required premiums. Dixon resigned in March at their request after 26 years as a trustee and 24 years as president. He is a former grocer and restaurateur, having owned the popular Lancer's on Carnegie Avenue.

More details are expected at a 4 p.m. press conference.

Dixon also resigned last month from the board of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission, where he'd served since 2001 as the appointee of governors. No timetable has been announced for Gov. John Kasich to name his replacement.

The RTA board voted on the investigation after discussing it privately for about three hours Monday and another three today. Ralph Cascarilla, managing partner of the local Walter/Haverfeld law firm, helped with the investigation.

Dixon did not return a call for comment today or previous calls since leaving RTA. The investigation began after an employee reportedly came forward about Dixon's insurance.

The board also voted unanimously today to deny RTA insurance to trustees. Dixon had been the only trustee using it.

Meanwhile, the board gained a new member today. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson appointed Kelley Britt to take Dixon's seat on the board. Her term ends March 1, 2020, but members are often reappointed.

Since 2013, Britt has been a senior program and transit planner for the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, specializing in rail transit federally funded programs for senior citizens and people with disabilities. She is the daughter of Patricia Britt, clerk of Cleveland City Council.

For the second month in a row, the board postponed its yearly election of officers, this time until June 19. Two members are seeking the presidency: Dennis Clough, Westlake's mayor, an RTA trustee since 1999 and RTA's vice president since 2011; and Valarie McCall, Mayor Jackson's chief of government and international affairs and an RTA trustee since 2006. McCall is also seeking the vice presidency as an alternative.

Both McCall and Dixon have chaired the American Public Transportation Association.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - RTA officials said this afternoon that former President George Dixon III owes the agency more than $1.1 million for unpaid healthcare premiums, undeserved health benefits, personal cell calls on an RTA phone and interest.

They said that Dixon, a trustee for 26 years and president for 24, persuaded some "lower echelon" staff members to keep him insured despite overdue premiums and official warnings. The leaders said a new finance director reported the problem to higher-ups.

The RTA board voted today, May 15, 2018, to pass the findings of its recent investigation to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Ohio auditor and Ohio Ethics Commission. They also voted to bar trustees from using RTA health insurance from now on. Dixon had been the only covered member.

A 4 p.m. press conference featured outside counsel Ralph Cascarilla, managing partner of Walter | Haverfeld; internal auditor Anthony Garofoli, and trustee Georgine Welo, mayor of South Euclid.

The officials said they have rejected an offer from Dixon to gradually repay the overdue premiums, worth about $141,000. They hope also to collect an estimated $970,000 in medical, dental and vision benefits.

"We will do whatever it takes," said Welo. "Mr. Dixon abused the public trust for personal benefit."

Dixon's problems surfaced at a tough time for RTA. The authority's revenue and state funding have fallen in recent years, and officials have talked about seeking their first hike in local taxes since RTA's founding in the 1970s.

Officials at the press conference said they could trace Dixon's insurance records back only to 2003. From that year until this, Dixon made occasional payments toward his premiums but never enough to be eligible for benefits. They said some of his recent checks were rejected by his bank for insufficient funds.

Dixon did not return a call today for comment or other calls in recent weeks since March, when board members say he resigned at their request. He also resigned last month from the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission after 17 years there.

Officials leading the investigation said Dixon had an RTA cell phone for the past 10 years and failed to reimburse the authority for personal calls as required. They said he used up slightly more than half of RTA's contracted minutes in several years, forcing the agency to pay for more. They said they had not yet determined the resulting cost.

Dixon is a former grocer and restaurateur. He owned the historic Lancer steakhouse on Carnegie Avenue.

The board gained a new member today in Kelley Britt, appointed by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson to fill Dixon's seat. Britt is a transit planner at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency and the daughter of Patricia Britt, clerk of City Council.

The board today postponed its yearly election of officers. Vice President Dennis Clough, Westlake's mayor, is seeking the presidency, and so is Valarie McCall, Cleveland's chief of government and international affairs.

Welo said the board is looking into rotating its officers and committee chairpeople more often than during Dixon's long reign. The staff has also installed new safeguards against abuse.

Said Welo, "Never again will anybody have 24 years of power to abuse the system and take away the trust of the residents of Cuyahoga County."
WASHINGTON - On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate will vote on whether to reinstate Obama-era "net neutrality" rules that were intended to give consumers equal access to material on the Internet and block internet services from giving preferential treatment to favored content providers.

The rules that the Federal Communications Commission agreed to overturn before Christmas prohibit internet service providers from blocking or slowing down service delivery to particular websites, or charging extra fees for faster, higher quality streaming.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said the 2015 rules needed to go because compliance difficulties were stifling innovation and making it harder for smaller internet providers - particularly those who serve rural and low-income areas - to build and maintain high-speed internet networks. Telecommunications giants like AT&T and Verizon agreed with him.

But critics of the decision said it would let companies like Verizon - which owns Yahoo and AOL - to favor their own content providers by making it harder or more expensive for customers to connect with competitors. The new rules would let Internet providers steer traffic to favored websites, as long as they disclose that practice.

As Michael Cheah, general counsel at the video site Vimeo, told CNNMoney, the point of the rules is "allowing consumers to pick the winners and losers and not [having] the cable companies make those decisions for them."

Internet providers back the FCC's latest move. The head of the USTelecom trade group calls the effort to reverse it "neither pro-consumer nor pro-innovation." Verizon says the 2015 rules were an outdated approach "based on monopoly train and telephone regulation from previous centuries" that was "unnecessary and out of step with today's dynamic and competitive internet."

When we spoke with Congressman Tim Ryan last year, he explalined how the FCC's repeal of net neutrality will hurt small businesses pic.twitter.com/7tTNQgcODb  Business Insider (@businessinsider) May 10, 2018

"It undermined investment and innovation, and posed a significant threat to the internet's continued ability to grow and evolve to meet consumers' needs," said a statement from Verizon senior vice president Kathy Grillo.

Without congressional action to overturn the FCC's decision, the old net neutrality rules expire June 11. A group of U.S. Senators, including Ohio Democrat Sherrod Brown, is trying to keep that from happening by using the Congressional Review Act to reverse the FCC's action. But accomplishing that goal will be a tall hill to climb.

What is the Congressional Review Act?

Established in 1996, the Congressional Review Act allows Congress to overturn regulations issued by executive agencies. To do it, they must submit a disapproval resolution within 60 days after Congress receives the rule, excluding days when the legislature isn't in session. Majorities in the Senate and House must agree with the reversal, and the president must sign the bill. A presidential veto of a disapproval resolution can extend the waiting period before the regulation's enactment while Congress weighs an overrule.

How likely is Congress to reverse the FCC's action?

Backers of returning to the old rules include all 49 Democrats in the U.S. Senate, as well as Republican Susan Collins. They believe they can win if Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain is unable to vote because he is ill, or if they can pick up another GOP vote or two.

Even if the measure passes the Senate, there's no guarantee that the GOP-controlled House of Representatives will allow a vote. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump supports the FCC's effort to roll back burdensome regulations, as well as a "free and fair Internet." When asked if he'd sign a repeal measure, she said "We'll keep you posted when we have a specific policy announcement on that front."

What does the FCC say about it?

Pai says that reversing the 2015 rules will "restore Internet freedom" by returning to the legal framework that governed the Internet for most of its existence. He says "light touch" regulation encouraged the private sector to invest in infrastructure that made America's Internet economy "the envy of the world," and broadband network investment declined by more than five percent after the Obama era rules were implemented.

"When there's less investment, that means fewer next-generation networks are built," he said in a November speech. "And that means more Americans are left on the wrong side of the digital divide."

He says Internet companies like Twitter that have criticized the proposal are "part of the problem" when it comes to an open Internet, contending that they "routinely block or discriminate against content they don't like." He said Twitter "appears to have a double standard when it comes to suspending or de-verifying conservative users' accounts as opposed to those of liberal users," that other companies use opaque algorithms to decide what content users see, and some online platforms secretly edit certain users' comments.

"These companies want to place much tougher regulations on broadband providers than they are willing to have placed upon themselves," said Pai. "They may cloak their advocacy in the public interest, but the real interest of these Internet giants is in using the regulatory process to cement their dominance in the Internet economy."

If the new approach goes through, Pai said there would still be regulation of the Internet.

"We are not giving anybody a free pass," he said "We are simply shifting from one-size-fits-all preemptive regulation to targeted enforcement based on actual market failure or anti-competitive conduct."

Where do Ohio members of Congress stand?

Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has been a vocal critic of the new FCC policy, arguing that reinstating the net neutrality rules is "vital to protecting free speech, consumer choice, and access to public information." Ohio's GOP Sen. Rob Portman hasn't yet taken a public position, and advocates of the Obama-era net neutrality rules see him as a potential backer. In the House, opponents of the FCC policy include Niles-area Democrat Tim Ryan, who described it as "a glaring example of the Republican Party siding with multinational corporations and big business over the interests of the American people."

But Bowling Green GOP Rep. Bob Latta backs the FCC's move. While he says he firmly believes in net neutrality principles, he believes it's unnecessary "to use Depression-era regulations and a heavy-handed government approach to achieve them." He says the FCC's decision restored "the light touch rules that governed the Internet for decades and helped usher in massive investment and innovation in the technology sector."

If Congress doesn't act, will the new policy go into effect?

Whether or not Congress acts, a group of 22 states including New York, Pennsylvania and Kentucky have filed suit to stop the change. And governors of several states including New York, New Jersey and Montana have signed executive orders requiring Internet providers that do business in their states to abide by net neutrality principles.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former City Councilman Joe Cimperman is accused of improperly voting for 16 ordinances that awarded contracts to his wife's employer, though records show that the design company was not named in 15 of the ordinances.

Cimperman also is accused of improperly voting for 10 ordinances that awarded contracts to the design company while he served on the company's board of trustees, though the company was not named in three of the ordinances.

And he sponsored or co-sponsored six of the 26 ordinances, records show. The other 20 were sponsored by other council members or were ordinances requested by the administrations of the mayors who were in office at the time.

Cleveland.com reviewed the ordinances and related contracts in anticipation of today's court hearing, where a judge is expected to decide whether to accept a plea agreement between Cimperman and Cuyahoga County prosecutors.

The agreement calls for Cimperman to plead guilty to 26 misdemeanor charges of having an unlawful interest in a public contract and to pay a $10,000 fine. All of the contracts went to ParkWorks or its successor, LAND Studios, a design and consulting firm that specializes in creating public spaces.

Cimperman has said he takes responsibility for his actions. But the respected former councilman has supporters who publicly and privately question whether he knowingly broke the law or simply didn't know what he was voting for.

Could council members not know what they are voting for?

They probably would be embarrassed to say so publicly, but the answer is yes.

During council's Monday night meetings, the clerk reads every piece of pending legislation, one after another, interrupting the recitation only to take roll-call votes.

Council members occasionally talk among themselves or with constituents while the clerk is reading. That activity pauses only when City Council President Kevin Kelley makes them return to their seats to cast a vote of 'Yea' or 'Nay.'

Related coverage:

Here's a recap of Cimperman's plea, sentencing hearing

Cleveland leaders gush with praise for Cimperman ahead of guilty plea

See our previous coverage of the ethics investigation

The legislation is put to a vote in batches, with several ordinances decided together. Most votes are unanimous.

By the end of any meeting, only the clerk and council president are likely to know all of the ordinances that have passed.

Why would an ordinance not name a company getting a contract?

The city charter requires legislation to name a company only if the contract exceeds $50,000.

In some cases, the administration may already have requested outside proposals for work and decided who it wants to hire. But for smaller contracts, the name won't necessarily appear in legislation.

In other cases, including for larger contracts, the administration may not have chosen a contractor but is simply asking for authorization to spend the money. It then can put the work out for bid.

ParkWorks or LAND Studios were named in just eight of the 26 ordinances related to the charges against Cimperman.

Does the city have a system for identifying potential conflicts?

No. But Michael Benza, a senior instructor of law at Case Western Reserve University's School of Law, suggests that such a system would be helpful.

In the private sector, many businesses have someone who watches out for potential conflicts that could lead to problems for the business, Benza said in an interview with cleveland.com.

"You're always checking this kind of thing before you take on a client," he said. "People have spouses. People have families who work. Assuming nobody is trying to be corrupt, you don't want any appearance [of improper conflicts].

Such a screening mechanism would have prevented the problems Cimperman now faces, he said. "Being a member of a local nonprofit in the community while you're an elected official is not unusual," he added.

Mayor Frank Jackson's administration declined to discuss the issue. But City Council President Kevin Kelley questioned whether such a screening system would be workable.

"It would be difficult [for the city Law Department] to know every person's family situation," Kelley said.

The responsibility falls on each council member to know exactly what they are voting for, Kelley and Benza said.

"The member is the one who is ultimately responsible," Benza said.

What does Cimperman say?

Cimperman's lawyer, Roger Synenberg, speaking for his client after an initial court appearance April 27, said Cimperman did not derive a personal benefit from his actions and that all of his votes were cast in an open process.

The benefits were realized by ParkWorks, he said.

The unlawful interest stemmed from the times Cimperman voted for ParkWorks contracts while serving on the ParkWorks board and from the times he voted for ParkWorks contracts after he married Nora Romanoff, who worked for the firm as a senior project manager and remains as associated director of LAND Studios.

Synenberg asserted that Cimperman acted without knowledge of the consequences of his votes.

"At the time, of course, he was not aware that what he was doing was likely to lead to these type of charges," Synenberg said. "But he acknowledges that now and has recognized now that he lacked due diligence in knowing that he should have done it differently."

Editor's note: A source obtained the documents used in this story through a public records request to the city. The city has yet to respond to a request for the same documents that cleveland.com filed on April 27.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio - A dispute between the Cleveland school district and the state over how much the state will pay for school construction has put part of the district's $200 million building plan on hold and threatens to slice some promised schools out of the project.

Schools that are already under construction or about to start work, like the new John F. Kennedy High School and new West Side high school near Ohio City, will still go ahead as planned.

But the district will soon hold a new round of community meetings to discuss adjusting plans for future construction. Some schools that were promised by the district as part of 2014's $200 million school construction bond campaign could be axed unless the district and state reach agreement.

The district has just started discussing the dispute with staff and parents and will announce meetings soon, probably later this week.

Officials have hesitated to say how may planned schools could be affected, noting that costs keep changing.

At the center of the dispute is how much construction can cost in Cleveland compared to the rest of the state. District CEO Eric Gordon says it costs 12 to 16 percent more to build in Cleveland than in other cities. The state, though, says it can only justify paying about 8 percent more, leaving a gap the district would have to pay.

If the district pays those extra costs without the state paying its two thirds, Gordon said, bond money will vanish much faster than planned.

Gordon views the state's cap on costs as a major change from previous years, when the state agreed to pay for all approved parts of a school, regardless of how much more than state guidelines it ended up costing.

Capping costs, he said, ignores extra costs of building on small properties in a city, Cleveland's high percentage of disabled students who need more room for proper care, and rapidly-rising costs as Cleveland's construction market heats up.

"The state has decided that they will no longer pay their full two-thirds and that is unacceptable," Gordon told residents at a community meeting in Lee-Harvard last week.

Gordon also says Cleveland students deserve the extra help from the state as a matter of equity in education.

"Children in the poorest city in the state are not getting the facilities they deserve and taxpayers supported because of this seemingly arbitrary change in practice," he told The Plain Dealer.

Officials of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, the state panel that oversees construction projects the state helps pay for, took issue with Gordon's view of their debate.

"I'm kind of surprised," said OFCC spokesman Rick Savors, who flatly denied that the panel had made any change in policy.

He said the OFCC always negotiates with districts to bring projects in at a budget it can support, so some debate is normal. And he said the state went to great lengths to adjust costs for Cleveland.

The state normally adjusts construction costs from a statewide base by calculating costs for multi-county regions in the state. The OFCC went a step further, Savors said, and added an adjustment for Cuyahoga County. Then it took another step - the only time it has for any city - by adding a small increase for Cleveland itself for the schools now under construction or about to start.

"We actually drilled down and looked at specific smaller areas in order to provide additional funding to the district," Savors said.

Melanie Drerup, the OFCC's chief of planning, said some costs in the district's building plans "gave us pause" because they were higher than other cities.

Both the district and OFCC skirted a major cost factor until pressed - use of union labor, which brings higher wages and higher costs.

Though the district points to how schools were funded over a 17-year history of construction, many of those years came when the head of the OFCC was an appointee of former Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat, who wanted districts to have agreements with unions when building.

That practice came under fire in 2010 for adding to the state's costs. Gov. John Kasich and the Republican-dominated legislature have also taken a harsher look at union costs. Though efforts to block union wages on state projects have failed, they have been an undercurrent in state politics.

The district and OFCC have also collided over union costs on previous projects, Gordon said, but the district still used primarily union labor because schools were built using federal bonds that required it.

"We have made an effort to pay prevailing wage - to pay people a good wage for doing a good job," Gordon said.

In addition, the district signed on to Mayor Frank Jackson's 2013 "Community Benefits Agreement," which calls for more use of local and minority skilled workers and more union involvement in projects.

OFCC officials said they have no official stance on union wage costs and is careful not to criticize paying higher wages. But its position draws a hard line that will not cover any cost overruns because of them.

"Our mantra has been that the budget is the budget," Savors said. "If a district wants to pay prevailing wage, that was their prerogative, but they still had to stay within the budget."

Gordon said the district and state have disputed the costs quietly over the last year and a half, even taking its case to top staff of Kasich, who allowed some adjustments for construction on Segment 7 - projects underway or about to start. But they won't agree to future ones to close the gap.

Those discussions over 18 months also delayed some Segment 7 projects.

Segment 7 projects that are proceeding as planned include: Fullerton, Syline/Sunbeam, Waverly, Rainey Harper, Eliot/Young, H.B. Booker, and O.H. Perry elementary schools, plus the JFK and new West Side high schools.

Gordon said he won't start work on Segment 8 or 9, the next two phases of work, while costs are unresolved.

"It's not my responsibility to concede that the state walks away from its share," he said.

Those include the Bolton, Case, Marion Sterling, Marion Seltzer, Joseph Gallagher, Douglas MacArthur, and Valley View elementary schools, along with Lincoln-West High School, in Segment 8.

Segment 9 schools include Clark, Denison, Iowa-Maple. Michael R. White, and Tremont Montessori elementary schools.

The Bond Accountability Commission, the city's oversight panel that reviews the constriction work, also recommends re-evaluating the building schedule the district set before the bond went to voters. It has raised issues about the district spending bond money faster than planned, as well as how changes in school design might require changes in plans.

"While existing funding - or lack thereof- is a critical factor, equally compelling is whether issues that existed in 2014, when the plan was modified, actually apply to current conditions: neighborhood growth, student enrollment, academic planning, and cost of construction," the commission wrote in a recent report.
NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- City officials want to put their feet down on continual summer yard sales, which they say distract drivers and annoy neighbors.

A proposed ordinance would restrict residential front-yard sales to Thursdays through Sundays. It would also require items for sale to stay at least 35 feet from the street and at least 10 feet from side property lines.

"Right now, we don't have regulations on these yard and garage sales, and no city permits are required," said Council President Larry Antoskiewicz, a co-sponsor of the ordinance. "Unfortunately, we have some residents who have elected to throw all kinds of things on their front lawns for the entire summer, almost like they're permanently in business."

Councilman Dan Langshaw, another co-sponsor of the legislation, agreed.

"My goal is simply to clean things up in our city and to give our Building Department a tool to address this kind of property blight and safety issue," Langshaw told cleveland.com in an email. "No one wants to see piles of junk, bird cages, car parts and things scavenged out of the trash as they drive though our city."

Council has referred the ordinance to its Building and Building Codes Committee, which was scheduled to review the legislation during its May 15 meeting.

Langshaw said council has been discussing yard sales for more than a year. Complaints of blight have come from neighbors of residents hosting perpetual yard sales, some on main roads. In some cases, residents have left for-sale items in their yards for years without removing them.

"We had someone at State and Edgerton (roads) and it was almost like a house sale all summer," Antoskiewicz said. "A lot of the stuff you see is not even saleable."

Other communities have laws that regulate yard and garage sales, but North Royalton does not. The city's building department asked council for legislation that would allow the administration to address the issue.

The proposed ordinance would not require residents to register for yard sales or pay a fee, nor would it limit the number of yard sales residents can have each year, as in some communities.

The ordinance would restrict yard sales -- whether in the back yard, front yard or in garages -- to between 8 a.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Sunday. Outside of those hours, residents must put everything away.

"We're trying to match what other communities are doing, and most people have yard and garage sales Thursday to Sunday," Antoskiewicz said.

Under the proposed ordinance, anyone found in violation would be fined a maximum of $100 for each offense, with a separate offense for each day the illegal yard sale continues.

"Hopefully, these guidelines strike a nice balance between the sellers being able to turn no-longer-needed items into a little spending money and neighbors and community members who could feel the for-sale items give too much of a commercial feel to the neighborhood," said Councilman

, the third co-sponsor of the ordinance.
(Credit: Gryphon Auction Group)

Selling off ECOT

CLEVELAND, Ohio  Nows your time to buy a piece of the trouble-ridden charter school, the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.

ECOT closed this year after the state determined the online school received $80 million more taxpayer dollars than it should have. The school is fighting paying the money back in the Ohio Supreme Court.

The school's office building, furnishings, equipment and tools are now being auctioned off, according to Gryphon Auction Group. The sale runs through June 12. You can purchase a memento of the now infamous Ohio school at ecotauction.com. Or you could buy the entire ECOT office space at ecotcre.com.

Much of what ECOT is auctioning off makes sense: school supplies like crayons, pencils, binders and school books. The inventory also includes desks, chairs and other office essentials. And then there are some unusual items, including a foosball table, Barbie dolls and even bone fragments.

Scroll through to see photos of the ECOT building as it was when the school occupied the space. You can also see a selection of the items the school is auctioning off.

By Mary Kilpatrick, cleveland.com

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(Credit: Gryphon Auction Group)

The ECOT office

ECOT's office sits on 26 acres in Columbus, according to an auction description. It's 138,457 square feet and furnished with swanky decor. The space features modern furniture, fancy light fixtures, posh rugs and art, high-end bathroom finishes and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. The space was built in 1977 as the Southland Mall. It later served as a Bob Evans test kitchen before ECOT acquired the property. Under ECOT, the property underwent "an extensive renovation," according to the auction description. The building served as the school's office, and offered space for classrooms, training and production.

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Lobby

ECOT featured what appears to be an impressive, open concept lobby.

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Lobby seating

If you have a use for this strange bench from ECOT's lobby, it could be yours. The highest bid is currently $42.50.

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Lobby chair

This lobby chair is silver and oddly shaped. The highest bid so far is $20.

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ECOT sign

Want to always remember ECOT? You can with this banner. It's currently going for $29.50.

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ECOT pens

Looking to remember ECOT with sometime small? You can buy a box of pens with the school's logo.

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Coat rack

Do you have a use for a small tree-shaped coat rack from ECOT's lobby? It could be yours. The highest bid is currently $10.50.

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Big Mouth Billy Bass

Remember this annoying singing fish plaque? You can buy it from ECOT.

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Conference room

This meeting space in ECOT features a modern rug, art on the walls and a tufted sofa in the corner.

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Conference room

This appears to be a closer look at the tufted sofa and chair, art and iridescent accent wall from the previous photo.

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Sofa

This gray sofa is currently going for $70.50

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Decorative knicknacks

If you need some decorative vases and a bowl to liven up your living room, you can buy some at the ECOT auction.

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Conference room

A fairly boring looking conference room appears to lead into the more high-end meeting space. Notice the trendy barn doors leading into the space.

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Bathroom

This bathroom in ECOT feature a stone accent wall, hexagon tiles and rustic vanity.

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Bathroom

Another bathroom at ECOT features modern flooring and tile.

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Outdoor space

An outdoor space appears to feature raised beds for planting.

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Desk space

Rows of empty cubicles at ECOT's offices feature more run of the mill office decor.

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Meeting rooms

Trendy glass barn doors open to meeting rooms with a flat screen television and high top tables.

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Poster

A framed poster shows a golf course captioned with the word : "Risk," and a quote from Winston Churchill: "Great success always comes at the risk of enormous failure." The poster is currently going for $1.

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Crayons

Need to buy some colors? You can buy some from ECOT.

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Photo studio

ECOT featured what appears to be a photo studio.

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Camera

A high-end camera is currently going for $470.

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Auditorium

ECOT also featured a large auditorium, with a big projector.

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Board room

A board room features a long wooden table, and white chairs.

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Sitting area

A sitting area features lantern light fixtures.

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Office space

Another more run of the mill work space.

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Wet floor signs

Many lawmakers say ECOT slipped up. You could own five "caution wet floor" signs from the troubled charter school. Highest bid is currently $3.50.

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Flat screen television

A flat screen television is currently going for $305.

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Bone fragments and artifacts

This box may look like it contains rain ponchos. But it's full of bone fragments and artifacts. In other words, the skeletons in ECOT's closet are for sale, and the highest bid so far is $20.50.

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Barbie dolls

If you're looking for some new toys for your kids, ECOT has some Barbie dolls for sale.

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Foosball table

A foosball table for sale at ECOT. The highest bid is currently $56.

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3-D printer

A 3-D printer is currently going for $50.50.

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Live plant

ECOT is selling off its office plants. This one is going for $8 currently.

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Soapbox derby car

Looking to enter a soapbox derby? ECOT is auctioning off this car, and it's currently going for $38.50.

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Grill

Need a grill? You can buy one from ECOT.

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Games

Need some new board games? You can buy some from ECOT.

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Basketballs

You can shoot some hoops with basketballs from ECOT.

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Microscope

If you want to give ECOT a closer look, you could buy this microscope at their auction.

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Vending machine

If you're looking to expand your snacking, you can buy a vending machine from ECOT.

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Welding enclosure

If you're looking to take up welding, you can buy this welding enclosure from ECOT.

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Truck

If you're in the market for a new truck, you can buy one from ECOT.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Former Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, who abruptly resigned last month amid an FBI inquiry into his international travel habits, on Tuesday disclosed being reimbursed for more than $43,000 in travel expenses last year while he was in the state legislature.

More than half of the travel Rosenberger disclosed came from two campaign accounts -- Rosenberger's campaign committee paid for just less than $13,700 for his travel, while the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee, the campaign arm for Ohio House Republicans, paid for another $10,900 in travel.

Another $18,400 came from a variety of other groups. Columbus 2020, a Central Ohio economic development nonprofit, paid for $10,900 in travel, which a spokeswoman said went to charter a private plane to fly Rosenberger from Boston to Columbus, and then back again, to take Rosenberger to a Columbus meeting in August between state officials and a manufacturing company considering building a factory there. GOPAC, a conservative advocacy organization that sponsored an August trip Rosenberger took to London, paid for another $3,600. Two lobbyists for auto title loan company Select Management Resources traveled with Rosenberger on that trip, which sources have said caught the interest of the FBI. The FBI does not confirm or deny investigations.

David Axelrod, a Columbus attorney whom Rosenberger hired in April after learning of the FBI inquiry, said Tuesday: "The trips were all perfectly lawful. They were properly reported. And he remains confident in his ultimate vindication."

Axelrod added the FBI still has not confirmed to him the existence of the investigation, much less reached out to Rosenberger to seek additional information.

The routine disclosures were filed Tuesday with the Joint Legislative Ethics Commission, a state legislative watchdog agency. They were made against the backdrop of an ongoing process to find Rosenberger's successor. Republican lawmakers were meeting Tuesday to pick a short-term replacement, while a pitched political battle for a more long-term hold on the job is ongoing. Besides apparently causing potential legal problems, Rosenberger's travel also has been a source of private frustration for some House Republicans.

(Scroll down to view the full disclosure, of click here for a PDF.)

The $10,900 Columbus 2020 paid was to fly Rosenberger in July 2017 to a meeting between Ohio officials and representatives of Foxconn, the Chinese electronics manufacturer, according to Columbus 2020 spokeswoman Irene Alvarez.

The Foxconn officials, who were searching for a location to build a new factory, visited Central Ohio on short notice as part of their site-selection process. Rosenberger was in Boston. So Columbus 2020, the Central Ohio affiliate for JobsOhio, the state's economic development nonprofit, paid to charter a private plane to fly him to a potentially pivotal meeting, which included Foxconn's chairman and other state and federal elected officials.

"The speaker was already engaged in a commitment out of state, but understanding the impact of the project, he was willing to return," Alvarez said in an email. "We facilitated ground transportation and a private aircraft to ensure we'd have the speaker present in Columbus for the required meeting, while also allowing for his immediate return to previous commitments out of state."

Foxconn ended up selecting Wisconsin as the site for its factory.

Rosenberger also disclosed on Tuesday that the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonpartisan professional association, paid for $2,500 in travel -- the group held a conference in Boston in August 2017 which Rosenberger attended -- while Rosenberger reported receiving $423 in travel expenses from Clinton County businessman Bret Dixon, and another $56 from Cleveland Film Commission President Ivan Schwarz. Both Dixon and Schwarz accompanied Rosenberger and a top staffer on an August 2017 trip to California. The trek was hastily organized after Rosenberger received information, which turned out to be false, that Disney was considering building a studio outside Cincinnati.

The $43,000 in travel was a considerable amount of money compared to Rosenberger's overall income. His only reported income was his state salary, which paid him $100,800, plus less than $1,000 in interest from his savings account. He did not report owning any real estate, although he continued to list as a creditor an LLC associated with Ginni Ragan, a major Republican donor who reportedly rented to him a luxury condo in downtown Columbus.

Rosenberger resigned in April, about seven months before he was to leave office due to term limits, following reports that he had hired Axelrod, a Columbus criminal defense attorney, after he said he learned the FBI was "asking questions about things [he] may have been involved in." He has not responded to media inquiries since his resignation, and he didn't respond to a message seeking comment on Tuesday.

Rosenberger also disclosed receiving $708 in gifts from five different organizations which lobby the state legislature, including a $420 commemorative axe from the Ohio Association of Professional Fire Fighters. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gave him an award valued at $116. He disclosed receiving gifts from another 25 individuals or organizations, including Ragan and State Rep. Nathan Manning, who traveled with Rosenberger during the August 2017 trip to London.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Former Vice President Joe Biden announced Tuesday his endorsement for Democrat Richard Cordray in the Ohio governor's race in the first show of support from former President Barack Obama's administration.

Cordray is closely linked to the previous president, serving as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau under Obama. Many of Cordray's initial campaign staff members were closely linked to Biden, fueling speculation an endorsement was imminent.

"Rich was tough, and he delivered, ultimately getting $12 billion returned to 30 million Americans," Biden said in a statement. "As Governor, Rich will make sure every kid in Ohio has a chance to get a good education, he'll protect Medicaid expansion, and he'll make sure that economic opportunity and good jobs are available across Ohio. He will be an advocate for working families, and that is why I'm looking forward to helping him win."

The endorsement could be the first of many to come from the Obama administration -- including Obama himself, who won Ohio twice. A spokesman for Cordray declined to comment on if an endorsement from Obama was forthcoming.

Biden's announcement comes just days after Republican President Donald Trump endorsed Cordray's opponent, Attorney General Mike DeWine, in the race. Biden is very popular among Democrats and should boost fundraising for Cordray, which he'll need to counter DeWine's ability to raise money.

Biden, who is often discussed as a potential presidential candidate in 2020, is just the latest national figure to show a keen interest in the election between Cordray and DeWine. Republicans see Ohio as key to holding control over the national political landscape while Democrats view the Buckeye State as their way to reconnect with white, blue-collar voters.
Chris Redfern, a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, represented Erie and Ottawa counties in the Ohio House until 2015.

MARBLEHEAD, Ohio -- As FirstEnergy Corp. meets with shareholders today at its annual general meeting in Akron, the company faces a time of reckoning. Its recent management decisions have caused billions of dollars in losses - but the question is, who will pay? Ohio's ratepayers, the company's shareholders, or the corporate managers responsible for bad decisions?

It's been apparent for several years that FirstEnergy has management issues. When many of its competitors were turning towards cheaper natural gas and renewables such as wind and solar, FirstEnergy doubled down on more costly coal and nuclear power. By agreeing to acquire Allegheny Energy in 2010, FirstEnergy took on a staggering debt load and an aging fleet of coal plants -- just as cheap natural gas began driving prices down dramatically.

Since then, FirstEnergy has stuck stubbornly by its outdated business plan. Indeed, even as its coal and nuclear plants became increasingly unprofitable, and its main subsidiary headed for bankruptcy, the company's response has been shockingly inadequate: seek government aid for its struggling coal and nuclear plants. FirstEnergy has persisted in this strategy of seeking bailouts even as its attempts were repeatedly rebuffed.

Last year, after the state legislature and Gov. John Kasich refused to shovel money at the company, FirstEnergy turned to the feds. The Trump administration -- which has a policy of trying to revive coal power -- rejected its first two requests for relief, but now FirstEnergy's competitive subsidiary is trying for a third time to convince federal regulators to grant a massive handout from taxpayers to cover the consequences of its bad decisions.

As shareholders head into the meeting today, they should be aware that FirstEnergy has spent large sums of their money lobbying for a federal bailout, even while First Energy Solutions has declared bankruptcy. It is clear to energy experts and financial analysts that FirstEnergy is seeking federal aid not for reasons of national security and "grid resiliency," as it claims, but because it wants taxpayers and ratepayers to rescue it from years of bad business decisions.

Indeed, a study by PJM Interconnection, the electrical transmission system to which FE belongs, concluded that FirstEnergy's three nuclear plants could all be retired without threatening grid reliability.

The outcome for ratepayers is bad either way: a choice between closed plants and lost jobs, or higher electricity rates to pay for government-ordered subsidies to keep unprofitable plants open.

Shareholders also would take a hit, having suffered through three years of dismal returns and an estimated charge to FirstEnergy of at least $2.4 billion from the FirstEnergy Solutions bankruptcy.

FirstEnergy's quixotic and expensive quest for a government bailout is just the latest evidence of its shortsightedness, as well as of the persistent lack of a forward-looking business plan that considers the realities of the rapidly evolving marketplace.

In recent years, that landscape has changed significantly. Utilities face accelerating declines in consumer demand due to greater energy efficiency, as well as increased reliance on wind and solar power. This is not a theory to be opposed or blocked; it's the hard reality of an increasingly competitive marketplace. Modern utilities across the country are adapting. Will FirstEnergy's shareholders pressure it to make a different choice?

At today's meeting, shareholders will be asked to re-elect FirstEnergy's slate of directors and to cast an advisory vote on executive pay levels, including a $13.9 million pay package for CEO Chuck Jones.

These shareholders should ask themselves: Do current directors deserve another term, given the board's dismal record of overseeing management? Do shareholders agree with the lavish pay policies for FirstEnergy's top executives, which seem to be a generous reward for failures that others will pay for? Shouldn't FirstEnergy be adding new directors with the know-how needed to guide the company into an era with new market, environmental and technological realities?

The company's current head-in-the-sand path is a losing proposition for shareholders and ratepayers alike. Ohio can't afford this type of investment; let's hope FirstEnergy shareholders see it that way, too.

Chris Redfern, a former chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party, served in the Ohio House representing Erie and Ottawa counties from 1999 to 2009 and from 2013 until 2015. He now owns Rocky Point Winery in Marblehead.

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PARMA, Ohio -- A Parma father is charged with aggravated murder in the death of his 1-year-old son.

Jason J. Shorter, 41, is charged in the death of his son Nicholas L. Shorter, who appeared to have been stabbed in the chest before he died Saturday at University Hospitals Parma Medical Center, police said.

The father had self-inflicted cuts on his arms when he went to the Parma Police Department late Saturday and told officers he wanted to "turn himself in for a crime," police said.

Officers found Nicholas unresponsive with an apparent stab wound in the trunk of his father's car, in the parking lot outside the police department. The child died after paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment.

Jason Shorter was also taken to the hospital for treatment. He remained there under armed guard Tuesday morning, police said.

His first appearance in Parma Municipal Court has not been scheduled.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office called Nicholas' death a suspected homicide, but has not released a cause of death.

Investigators have not said where or when the child was harmed.

To comment on this story, visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments page.
PARMA HEIGHTS, Ohio -- City Council has approved the city's new three-year police contract with the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association. Retroactively, the deal calls for no raise for 2017, a 2 percent increase in 2018 and a 1 percent increase in 2019.

The approved contract was awarded by an arbitrator.

Representing Parma Heights in the Ohio Patrolmen's Benevolent Association talks was Jeremy Iosue, an attorney with Harvey Abens Iosue Co.

"I think the negotiations went pretty well," Iosue said. "It was slightly higher than what we were looking to do, and probably significantly lower than what the union was looking to do. I would say it is below average for a contract settlement."

Cleveland.com was unable to reach City Council President Marie Gallo for comment.

Once negotiations between the two entities reached an impasse, the matter went to binding arbitration. The arbitrator decided the three-year contract, which included an overall 3 percent increase.

"The city is not doing spectacularly financially, but well enough to stay afloat," Iosue said. "This is probably in line with the city's financial situation. A 3 percent increase over three years obviously is below average. The average rate now is closer to 7 percent."

While normally arbitration includes a non-binding fact-finding portion, Iosue said the Parma Heights police contract stipulates that an impasse goes directly to binding conciliation.

"It takes out a step in the process, which also adds more cost to pay the arbitrator and attorneys," Iosue said.

As for the city's financial issues, Mayor Michael P. Byrne said every negotiation is extremely important.

"We're a bedroom community, and our base revenues are off income tax, so every negotiation is extremely difficult when you're not bringing in more revenue than expenditures," Byrne said.

"This is something that's gone on since I was on council. We just have these challenges every cycle, and we do the best we can."
SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio -- City Council heard Monday from residents about the preliminary findings on a traffic study of intersections surrounding the Van Aken District, with more than $500,000 worth of traffic improvements proposed.

This came prior to council's approval of a $78,250 safety upgrade to the "high-crash area" at Lee Road and Van Aken Boulevard, where 35 accidents were recorded in 2015-16, as well as one the previous year in which a Jeep landed in the Gimme Java coffee shop.

City Planning Director Joyce Braverman noted that one problem point -- Chalfant Road, running diagonally off Lee-Van Aken behind the police station -- will remain two-way.

However, Chalfant will be "right-in, right-out only," noted HNTB Senior Project Manager Matthew Wahl, eliminating the wide right turns currently allowed from northbound Lee Road.

One of the biggest concerns voiced from residents and some council members on Monday (May 14) involve a crossing that did not make the list of improvements, at least yet: the intersection at Lynnfield Road and Chagrin Boulevard.

There, a signal was already removed prior to the reconfiguration of the six-legged intersection at Chagrin and Warrensville Center Road, when state officials said the light at Chagrin-Lynnfield was "unwarranted," based on traffic counts.

Last summer, the city hired TMS Engineers and HNTB Corp. for a $123,000 study that revisited the Chagrin-Lynnfield intersection, among others.

The latest study says that while the evening peak hour comes close to warranting a new traffic signal, the intersection should instead "continue to be monitored, particularly once the Van Aken District development is open."

Councilman Tres Roeder pointed out that, as it stands now, "students feel they cannot safely get across the street, and while it may be 'analytically safe,' it's difficult to explain that to parents."

With the cost of a traffic signal in the range of $150,000 to $200,000, resident Stuart Simms asked about going with a cheaper pedestrian-activated flashing yellow light, as well as changing the timing on the light at Avalon Road and Chagrin to improve traffic flow.

A similar signal was installed along the Lake-to-Lakes trail connector at East 127th Street to cross Fairhill Road, but council members noted that this has proven to be confusing for some motorists.

Even in the absence of a traffic light at Lynnfield, Sussex Community Association President Caroline Barni urged city officials to "do something, rather than nothing," saying that traffic-calming measures need to be in place if a walkable mixed-use district is truly going to be achieved.



Council also heard from Joanna Ganning, who was appointed Monday to serve on the City Planning Commission, filling the vacancy created when David Weiss was appointed to succeed Mayor Earl Leiken when he stepped down midway through his third term.

As interim mayor, Weiss will continue to serve on the Planning Commission, while Ganning will become the first woman on the panel since Judy Rawson was mayor.

Ganning's concerns involve the intersection at Warrensville Center and South Woodland roads, where $125,000 is proposed for "long-term improvements" that would include getting rid of the north crosswalk.

"The median trail (along Shaker Boulevard) is a wonderful asset," Ganning said. "But as a runner, getting across Warrensville-Center Road is already a barrier. And if one of two ways of crossing was removed, it would make it that much harder."

Some residents in attendance did like the proposal to make Somerset Drive one-way inbound from Warrensville Center, although that's an initial proposal that will require more community meetings, city officials noted.



Resident Sara Schiavoni also called the intersection of Warrensville and South Woodland a "disaster," adding that changes "need to be done really thoughtfully and really soon."

Resident Austin McGuan would like to see the process expedited, adding that the intersection of Lee and South Woodland roads should also be addressed.

More than $300,000 in improvements are proposed for the intersections of eastbound Shaker Boulevard ($130,400) and Shaker westbound ($183,200), with Wahl calling the latter "an engineer's nightmare."



Proposed plans on Shaker westbound and Warrensville call for closing South Park Boulevard and Chesterton Road, providing a two-way connection and allowing "free flow" from Shaker Boulevard.

As for Warrensville and Shaker eastbound, the HNTB proposal calls for closing Falmouth Road and providing a two-way connection there, which Schiavoni believes is a good idea for eliminating cut-through traffic.

During council's work session, Braverman also explained the prolonged "one-lane, one-direction" traffic on Farnsleigh Road between Van Aken and Warrensville.

This included an aerial shot showing 11 different projects all going on along Farnsleigh, making it impossible to open up to two-way traffic at this point.

"We're trying hard to do as much as we can, simultaneously," Weiss said. "If it was a 'green field' site, the construction work would be easier, rather than working with existing infrastructure."

Simms requested more updates and timelines, with city officials saying that the first office building remains scheduled to open next month, with retail in early August, and the first apartment building opening in mid- to late August.

"But I get more questions about when Mitchell's ice cream is opening than anything else," Weiss said, as Braverman noted that construction of the shop is under way, with the building already being framed in.
Mission

The mission of College of the Ozarks is to provide the advantages of a Christian education for youth of both sexes, especially those found worthy, but who are without sufficient means to procure such training.

Vision

The vision of College of the Ozarks is to develop citizens of Christ-like character who are well-educated, hard-working, and patriotic.
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Global Diabetic Food Market - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

Global Diabetic Food Market: By Application (Baked Products, Dairy Products, Confectionary, Ice Creams and Jellies, Snacks, Others), and Geography - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

Global diabetic food market was valued at US $ XX Mn and expected to grow at XX% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over 2018 to 2024.

Market Outline: Diabetic Food Market

Diabetic food contains lesser amount of sugar and carbohydrate. It enables maintain the blood glucose levels. Many types of diabetic food, which includes low-calorie sweeteners and beverages. The diabetic food is intended for diabetic patients as well as people with symptoms of diabetes which help in the prevention.

Market Dynamics: Diabetic Food Market

Increase in the prevalence of diabetes is expected to enhance the revenue of diabetic food market. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), diabetic population increased from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014, prevalence from 4.7% in 1980 to 8.5% in 2014. Growing health concerns among the patient population is another factor driving the growth of the market. The rising awareness among the people regarding the low calorie diabetic food, increased R&D on diabetic food, surge in focus on promotional or marketing activities are expected to offer lucrative opportunities over the forecast period. The soaring weight issues among the people is driving the growth of the diabetic food market. The increase in the adoption of the alternative sweeteners with natural sweeteners is expected to fuel the growth of diabetic food market. However, the high cost of the products is expected to hamper the growth of the market. The stringent government regulations regarding food and safety are major bottlenecks for the growth of market.

Free sample of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/diabetic-food-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx

Market Scope: Diabetic Food Market

The Diabetic food market is segmented based on the application.

Based on the application, the market is segmented into the following:

 Baked Products

 Dairy Products

 Confectionary

 Ice Creams and Jellies

 Snacks

 Others

Free TOC of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/diabetic-food-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu

Regional Analysis: Diabetic Food Market

Geographically, the global diabetic food market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America diabetic food market is the largest market owing to its higher prevalence of diabetes and obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 100 million U.S adults are living with diabetes and another 84.1 million have prediabetes. As per the CDC report, diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2015. The U.S. diabetic food market accounted for largest share in North America diabetic food market. The Europe diabetic food market holds the second largest share. The Asia Pacific diabetic food market is expected to grow exponentially in the forthcoming years due to increased health consciousness among the people.

Need more information about this report @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/diabetic-food-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3

Competition Assessment: Diabetic Food Market

Some of the players in the global diabetic food market include:

 Mars Incorporated (U.S.)

 Fifty 50 Foods Inc. (UK)

 Nestle S.A (Switzerland)

 Pepsico Inc. (U.S)

 Unilever Plc (Netherlands)

 Cadbury Plc. (UK)

 Kellogg Co (U.S.)

Notable Market Developments: Diabetic Food Market

 In June 2017, Zydus Wellness Announces National Launch of Sugar Free Green in India.

Get access to full summary @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/diabetic-food-market/

About Precision Business Insights

Precision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.

Contact to Precision Business Insights,

Kemp House,

152  160 City Road,

London EC1V 2NX

Email: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.com

Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553

Website @https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com
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Meta Title:

Global Legionella Testing Market - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

Title:

Global Legionella Testing Market: By Application Type (Water Testing, IVD Testing), By Product (Kits and Reagents), By Distribution Channel (Hospitals, Diagnostic Labs, Others), and Geography - Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2013 to 2017 and Forecast 2018 to 2024

Global legionella testing market was valued at US $ XX Mn and expected to grow at XX% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) over 2018 to 2024.

Market Outline: Legionella Testing Market

Legionella is a bacteria, causes a serious form of pneumonia, known as Legionnaires disease. This legionella can be tested using the legionella testing kits, which detects the presence of bacteria. The affects the lower respiratory tract. Legionella bacteria also causes Pontiac fever, with flu-like symptoms. The legionnaires disease and the Pontiac fever are generally referred to as legionellosis. The legionella bacteria is naturally found in environment, stagnant water and warm water. The infection occurs when the individual inhales these airborne water droplets which are contaminated with the legionella bacteria.

Market Dynamics: Legionella Testing Market

Increase in the prevalence of bacterial infections is expected to drive the growth of legionella testing market. The growing geriatric population who are more affected with the legionella infection owing to weak immune system is witnessing the growth of market. As per the World Health Organization (WHO) report, about 524 million ageing people are diagnosed with Legionella in 2010, which would be projected to reach 2 billion by the year 2050. The effect of disease can also be found in children which is another factor boosting the growth of the legionella testing market. However, the high cost involved in the treatment procedure is likely to hamper the growth of the market. The stringent government regulations is another factor hindering the growth of the legionella testing market.

Free sample of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/legionella-testing-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx

Market Scope: Legionella Testing Market

Legionella testing market is segmented based on the application, products and distribution channel.

Based on the application, the market is segmented into the following:

 Water Testing

o DFA Stain

o PCR

o Microbial Culture

o Others

 IVD Testing

o Urine Antigen Test

o DFA Stain

o Blood Culture

o Others

Based on the product, the market is segmented into the following:

 Kits and Reagents

Based on the distribution channel, the market is segmented into the following:

 Hospitals

 Diagnostic Labs

 Others

Free TOC of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/legionella-testing-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu

Regional Analysis: Legionella Testing Market

Geographically, global legionella testing market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. North America legionella testing market is expected to dominant the global Legionella testing market owing to increase in the prevalence of legionella infection. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 6,100 cases reported in the U.S.in 2016. Europe Legionella market anticipated to expand at significant CAGR over the forecast period, owing to its higher awareness levels regarding the legionellosis, and government initiatives towards legionella testing on a quarterly basis. The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at unprecedented rates over the forecasted period.

Need more information about this report @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/legionella-testing-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3

Competition Assessment: Legionella Testing Market

Some of the players in the global legionella testing market include:

 Merck Millipore (U.S)

 Abbott laboratories (U.S)

 Becton, Dickinson & Co. (U.S)

 Beckman Coulter, Inc. (U.S)

 Idexx Laboratories (U.S)

 Alere, Inc. (U.S)

 Thermo Fischer Scientific, Inc. (U.S)

 IDEXX (U.S)

Notable Market Developments: Legionella Testing Market

 In July 2016, IDEXX has released Legiolert, the easiest culture method for the confirmed detection of Legionella pneumophila in drinking water.

Get access to full summary @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/legionella-testing-market/

About Precision Business Insights

Precision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.

Contact to Precision Business Insights,

Kemp House,

152  160 City Road,

London EC1V 2NX

Email: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.com

Toll Free (US):+1-866-598-1553

Website @https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com
When Lorna Jane Clarkson started her women's activewear brand with her husband Bill in 1990, only a handful of labels were competing for the market.

They were global giants - Nike, Adidas, Puma and Reebok.

'At the time everyone thought I was crazy to go up against such well-established brands,' she tells FEMAIL.

'But I knew that my vision was different - I wanted to build a new category and that was activewear.'

Scroll down for video

Activewear designer Lorna Jane Clarkson (pictured) said her brand thrived on a supportive community full of like-minded women

The now 53-year-old, who is reportedly worth an estimated $500 million, began designed and sewing gym gear for friends while she was a fitness instructor.

Demand increased and in 1990 she opened the first Lorna Jane retail store in Brisbane.

'We were the first to design and focus on active living and it has been our concept of women putting on their activewear in the morning and just being more active in their everyday life that has seen women all over the world start to wear their activewear beyond their workouts,' she said.

'Women wear activewear because it allows them to get more done in their busy day but it has also become a statement about who they are and what they value  when they wear their activewear they are telling the world that they care about their fitness and their health.

'It's cool to be fit and healthy right now and more and more women want to be a part of that.'

When Lorna Jane Clarkson started her women's activewear brand with her husband Bill (both pictured) in 1990, there was only a handful of labels on the market

In the past 28 years, the Lorna Jane brand has grown from strength to strength.

There are now more than 200 Lorna Jane stores across Australia and the United States, as well as stockists in Europe, the UK, Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

'I think the activewear industry is not just taking off in Australia it's taking off everywhere,' says Lorna.

'We sell activewear all over the world and we've seen a very clear lifestyle shift towards dressing down - with activewear being a huge part of that.'

'We are also becoming more health conscious and time-poor so it makes sense to choose clothes that you can wear from your workout straight into your everyday life.'

'Ath-leisure and activewear are continuing to out-perform when compared to traditional women's fashion brands,' says the entrepreneur

Lorna has established herself as the 'activewear queen' both here and overseas. She has more than 200 Lorna Jane stores across Australia and the United States, as well as stockists in Europe, the UK, Africa, Asia and the Middle East

However, operating a global business isn't without its challenges.

'In the beginning it was trying to convince the industry that 'activewear' was actually a new category - and that women would start to wear their activewear instead of traditional fashion,' she says.

'Twenty-eight years later it seems so commonplace to wear your activewear everywhere but in the beginning people actually thought I was crazy.'

'I think that the fashion and retail industries are talking the activewear category up,' she says.

'Ath-leisure and activewear are continuing to out-perform when compared to traditional women's fashion brands - so new designers and even more established lifestyle brands see it as an opportunity to expand their business by entering the category.'

Lorna (pictured) is focused on global expansion, where her brand is seeing massive growth

But that doesn't phase Lorna who has established herself as the 'activewear queen' both here and overseas.

'Global expansion is high on the agenda for us right now,' she says.

'The USA business in continuing to grow with new sites planned for New York and Palm Desert.

'We are building e-commerce sites in new countries every month and we have just opened physical sites in New Zealand and Canada.'

The brand is also seeing a 200 per cent growth rate in China.

'I think it will continue to grow as more and more people realise the importance of good health and the role it plays in their overall success in life.'
There's nothing more frustrating than coming home to cook a delicious meal in mind, only to find your half-eaten food has expired.

But if you use your freezer effectively, it can save you time and money.

Here, Australian supermarket giant Woolworths have rounded up the 10 surprising foods you never knew you could preserve in the fridge.

There's nothing more frustrating than coming home to cook a delicious meal in mind, only to find your half-eaten food has expired (stock image)

Raw, chopped or minced onions in lidded containers can be kept up to six months in the freezer - while you can save eggs before they go rotten but cracking them into ice-cube trays

1. Onions

Raw, chopped or minced onions in lidded containers can be kept up to six months in the freezer - and are super handy to add to your cooking when you're in a rush.

Frozen chopped up onions are perfect to add to soups, casseroles or pasta sauce.

To prepare a big batch, freeze them on flat trays before transferring to a container as soon as they are frozen through. This way they won't stick together and will thaw quickly when you need them.

2. Eggs

Most of us can admit of throwing away eggs after the use-by date.

But you can save them from going rotten by cracking eggs into an ice-cube tray to freeze as is or whisk them and freeze in small batches.

You can even add a handful of chopped parsley or chives to freeze along with the eggs - perfect for an omelette or as a coating for chicken schnitzel.

Raw eggs will keep in the freezer for up to 12 months, simply thaw in the fridge then use immediately.

Pizza cheese such as mozzarella can be frozen for up to six months and grated without thawing - while you can freeze your half-used coconut milk to use for smoothies and curries later

3. Cheese

Let's face it, we've all found mould building up in our cheese.

But you can freeze them before they go off. Pizza cheese such as mozzarella can be frozen for up to six months and grated without thawing.

Perfect to use straight from your freezer to your pasta sauce, pizza topping or soups.

4. Coconut milk

Most of us are guilty of throwing away half-used coconut milk tins after using just the recommended amount listed in a recipe.

But there's a clever way to freeze the leftover liquid - perfect for curries or blended into smoothies.

Simply pour the rest into a small, sealable container or an ice-cube tray and freeze for up to three months.

We all know about the frozen vegetables you can buy from the supermarket. But if you do end up with fresh greens, there's a way of preserving them so they taste just as good as fresh

5. Green vegetables

We all know about the frozen vegetables you can buy from the supermarket. But if you do end up with fresh greens, there's a way of preserving them so they taste just as good as fresh.

Blanching keeps veggies green and appetising when frozen. Steam or simmer beans, asparagus and spinach until bright green but still crisp. Cool under cold running water to stop the cooking process then drain well (squeeze excess liquid from leafy greens).

You can freeze vegetables in containers for up to six months - perfect for stir-fries, soups and casseroles.

6. Bacon

Freeze bacon for up to three months in foil-wrapped packages of two to four rashers.

They are perfect for cooking up a last-minute carbonara or fried rice. Just simply chop them up straight from the freezer - and there's no need to defrost.

Freeze bacon for up to three months while surprisingly, , you can freeze nuts well in sealed containers for up to six months

7. Nuts

Surprisingly, you can freeze nuts well in sealed containers for up to six months.

You can even toast nuts, pine nuts and slivered almonds, before freezing, too. You can also roast chestnuts, peel them before freezing for a delicious snack - just simply pop them in the microwave first for a few seconds to defrost.

8. School lunches

Many of us have all stored bread in the freezer to prevent them from going mouldy. To speed up the lunch prep, you can freeze complete sandwiches or bread rolls.

They thaw quickly on the bench - but remember to avoid highly perishable vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes because they do go soggy after freezing.

You can freeze the liquid directly in its plastic bottle but make sure you use a bit first because milk can expand when frozen

You can freeze complete sandwiches or bread rolls for school or work - while feezing flour in an air-tight container is a great way of keeping it fresh indefinitely

9. Milk

Astonishingly, milk can freeze up to six months.

You can freeze the liquid directly in its plastic bottle but make sure you use a bit first because milk can expand when frozen.

Another way of freezing them for later is pouring them into ice-cube trays - perfect to add to smoothies, soups or even cool down your coffee.

10. Flour

Finally, another ingredient you probably would never think to freeze is flour.

Freezing flour in an air-tight container is a great way of keeping it fresh indefinitely, especially for whole grain flours, which have a shorter shelf life than refined flour.

Bonus: it keeps pests out of your flour, too!

To prevent changes to the texture of your baked goods, bring the frozen flour to room temperature before using it in your baking. Spreading it out on a baking tray will speed up this process.
Those tuning into their favourite radio station today may have been surprised to hear some royally familiar voices.

Princes William and Harry joined together for a minute-long message which was broadcast simultaneously by hundreds of UK radio stations at 10.59am today.

The message was voiced by Lady Gaga, Dame Judi Dench, David Harewood and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill as well as the royals, who are all lending their voice to raise awareness of mental health.

'All of us have moments in life when its tough. Whether you listen to Prince to get out of your head or if youre an actual prince,' Lady Gaga told listeners.

The broadcast, which is designed to encourage more people to talk openly about their mental health, includes The Duke of Cambridge saying: 'Just starting a conversation on mental health can make all the difference, when you talk about something you have less reason to fear it'.

Prince Harry adds: 'If you do have the courage to speak about it, you really can make things better'.

The Duke of Cambridge (pictured at BBC Radio 1 in April 2017) will voice a message to raise awareness of mental health for UK radio stations alongside other influential stars

Joining him is brother Prince Harry (pictured at Radio 4 in 2017) with the royal brothers encouraging those suffering from mental health issues to 'speak out'

In an historic first and reaching one of radio's biggest ever collective audiences, the minute of simultaneous programming unites stations all over the UK from national networks to smaller local stations and community stations.

Spearheaded by Radiocentre and Radio Academy and executed by content agency Somethin' Else, the Mental Health Awareness minute, which falls in Mental Health Awareness Week, is supported by the Royal Foundation's Heads Together which was launched to change the national conversation on mental health and tackle the stigma that prevents people from getting the help they need.

Siobhan Kenny, Chief Executive at Radiocentre, said: 'Radio is coming together in a UK first today to shine a light on the important issue of mental health.

'Radio is unique in being both fantastically intimate and yet part of a shared experience.

Lady Gaga (pictured) also voiced the message alongside Dame Judi Dench, David Harewood and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill

Dame Judi Dench joined the broadcast, which was played simultaneously by hundreds of UK radio stations at 10.59am today

'As well as providing company and fun, radio can be an important lifeline for listeners. It is therefore an obvious choice for us all to come together to talk about the things that matter most in our lives.'

Somethin' Else Managing Director Steve Ackerman said: 'Somethin' Else is delighted to be working with Radiocentre on the creative and production of this exciting moment in radio history.

'We are pleased that the power of audio is being used to such fantastic effect and confident that what we've produced will get people talking.'

Roger Cutsforth, Chief Executive at The Radio Academy, said: 'We have a responsibility to recognise the unique place we in radio occupy in people's lives.

'This poignant moment of reflection, a first in UK radio, is a wonderful opportunity to help us improve how we support each other emotionally.'
If you've been thinking about splurging on an overseas holiday - or are just looking to escape the Aussie winter - now is the time to book.

With Click Frenzy's annual sale set to launch online at 7pm tonight for 24-hours, a host of travel companies have put forth their best deals to take you to Canada, Sri Lanka, Alaska and Norfolk Island.

Many of the deals come in a package form meaning you won't have to worry about finding accommodation or things to do after you've purchased the initial flights.

With Click Frenzy's annual sale set to launch online at 7pm tonight, a host of travel companies have put forth their best deals to take you to Canada, Sri Lanka, Bali and Norfolk Island

And they also offer a deposit for each of the deals so you don't have to pay the full fare upfront.

Webjet is offering a 14-day Canada and Alaska tour with flights for $3,999 with only a $499 deposit required at the time of purchase.

With a $699 deposit you can buy a 9-day African tour for $3,999.

Webjet is offering a 14-day Canada (pictured) and Alaska tour with flights for $3,999 with only a $499 deposit required at the time of purchase

With a $699 deposit you can buy a 9-day African tour for $3,999 (pictured)

If you're looking for a cultural experience, you could try the 11-day Sri Lanka tour with return flights, five star accommodation and in-depth sightseeing for $2,999 per person.

However, the deposit to book is just $499.

A flight to luxurious Norfolk Island from Sydney or Brisbane will cost $219 per person one way - and would be the perfect mid-year break.

If you're looking for a cultural experience, you could try the 11-day Sri Lanka (pictured) tour with return flights, five star accommodation and in-depth sightseeing for $2,999 per person

A flight to luxurious Norfolk Island (pictured) from Sydney or Brisbane will cost $219 per person one way - and would be the perfect mid-year break

Air New Zealand is similarly giving customers 35 per cent off featured hotels.

The deals from Travel Online are also appealing with a selection of bundles available.

Shoppers can visit the Shangri-La Fijian Resort & Spa for six nights, with return flights from Sydney, transfers, a buffet breakfast daily, babysitting and late check out for $1,290 per person.

Alternatively, buyers could purchase the slightly cheaper option at $1,199, which includes a stay at Padma Resort Legian for seven nights, return Flights from Perth, transfers, a free room upgrade, buffet breakfast daily and late check out.
A female mayor who was harassed at her home by a mystery sexist critic has turned the attempted insult into a campaign empowering women in her community.

Jenny Thompson Halverson, the mayor of West St. Paul, Minnesota, was about to head out for her morning run when she was greeted by a strange sight just outside her front door.

There on the ground was a pink box of Carefree menstrual pads, topped with a bow to look like a present. Jenny knew exactly what it meant.

Making a stand: Jenny Thompson Halverson, who serves as the first female mayor of West St. Paul, Minnesota, is responding to sexist harassment with positivity

'Unnerving': Jenny discovered a box of pads outside her door after a heated City Council meeting where gender equality was discussed

The mystery 'gift' appeared overnight following a city council meeting where four members of the council blocked Jenny's appointment of Samantha Green to the Planning Commission following a heated debate about gender equality.

One particular member, John Bellows, openly questioned whether Samantha was being put forward for the position based on her experience or based on her gender.

According to City Pages, he argued that the appointee would be replacing an existing member of the council, a man, who John claimed was being 'discounted apparently on the basis of gender.'

He pointed out that two other planning appointees up for consideration were also women.

However, he also backtracked, saying that he didn't mean to 'suggest that the individuals involved are not perfectly qualified.'

Similar sight: Samantha Green, who Jenny had been blocked from nominating to the Planning Commission, also found a box of tissues outside her home

Hitting out: Jenny had been in a heated debate with another council member who questioned her decision to add another woman to the Planning Commission

After the contentious meeting, Samantha also received a disturbing visit to her home. There was a pound at the door at night that went answered, but when morning came she found a box of tissues on her door step, also with a bow on top.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, Samantha said: 'I laughed at the sheer pettiness of it. I have been a percentage of unrepresented my whole life. But I felt like I couldnt complain about it, unless I was doing something about it.'

Both women decided that they wouldn't take the harassment lying down, and instead started a campaign in response.

The West Saint Paul Pad Drive was on Facebook and Crowdrise within hours, inviting people to donate money and boxes of feminine hygiene products for the benefit of those less fortunate.

Paying it back: In response to the 'intimidation tactic', the two women started the drive

After Samantha talked to a representative of local social-services organization Neighbors, Inc, she learned that there is a desperate need for feminine products.

'It broke my heart to learn they had to ration donations of pads and tampons, and then to know that the women receiving partial boxes would have to ration them even further,' Samantha explained.

The Crowdrise campaign has already taken in $2,380 worth of donations ahead of the drive, which is due to take place at this evening's council meeting.

Speaking to Fox9 about the response so far, Jenny, who is the first female mayor for the town, gushed: 'Ive been the only one there for nearly six years and to finally feel this community stand up and get in engaged, its amazing its wonderful.'
We all know that sitting at a desk for eight plus hours a day isn't good for our health.

But there are measures you can take to ensure you stay toned, fit and healthy at work - all in the time you'd normally spend answering emails or inputting data.

Former personal trainer credited with making David Beckham bendy, Shona Vertue, recently took a look at the five-minute desk yoga sequence to help you tone up in the office and shed kilos.

Before you reach for that third cup of coffee, the Sydney-born PT recommends you give this a go.

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Former personal trainer credited with making David Beckham bendy, Shona Vertue (pictured), recently took a look at the five-minute desk yoga sequence to help you tone up in the office

Before you reach for that third cup of coffee, Shona (pictured) recommends you set aside just five minutes for a simple desk yoga sequence

First things first, Shona said you need to remember to set aside time for the desk yoga sequence:

'Set a reminder on your phone that goes off at regular intervals within the day,' she wrote on her blog. 'Alternatively, if you know that you'll be stuck at your desk for a few hours, set a timer every 45 minutes to enter the break zone.'

The break zone, she explained, is based on countless studies which have found that the human brain can usually only maintain focus for around 45 minutes, before it needs a short break.

When you enter it, instead of going for a cup of coffee or reaching for your smartphone, simply follow eight simple yoga steps - which take around five minutes to complete.

'Set a reminder on your phone that goes off at regular intervals within the day,' she (pictured) wrote on her blog

The first step, for the Sydney-born PT (pictured), is you simply close your eyes and take three deep breaths - making sure you take three seconds to inhale and three seconds to exhale

Step one

For Shona, the first stage of your desk yoga sequence is to close your eyes and take three deep breaths - making sure you take three seconds to inhale and three seconds to exhale.

SHONA VERTUE'S DAY ON A PLATE * 2-3 litres of water. * Three meals consisting of a 'sh*tload of vegetables and some kind of protein (usually eggs)'. * One protein smoothie 'using my favourite plant-based protein powder. * Creme brulee ('if my soul needs some nourishment'). Advertisement

'The breath is very closely linked to the state of your nervous system, so keeping a calm and rhythmic breath can help to relax your body while awakening the mind,' she said.

Step two

While your eyes are still closed, take your head towards the left, keeping your chest lifted - and allow the opposite shoulder to pull gently away.

Shona recommends you picture breathing into the side of the neck to 'create a sense of expansiveness'. Then, repeat on the right hand side.

Step three

Interlace your fingers behind your head and lift your sternum to the sky, without dropping your head too far backwards.

Shona also shares on her YouTube channel an 18-minute sequence (pictured), which encompasses more complex moves

Step four

For a stretch that you might get in a typical yoga class, place your right hand on the outside of your left leg for a seated side stretch.

'Raise the left arm, turn your head towards your armpit and lean to the right. Rather than compressing the right side, think about lengthening the left,' Shona wrote.

As before, finish this by repeating on the other side.

Shona - whose impressive combination of resistance (pictured), yoga and cardio has earned her a legion of fans - said even things like yawning can be beneficial

Creating a feeling of expansiveness in your chest is a good way to instantly feel more calm and relaxed (pictured)

Step five

Step five is as simple as taking a seated twist to both the left and right.

Shona advises you keep your chest lifted as you do this.

Step six

While you might not imagine it, Shona said yawning is in fact really good for you.

'It helps the brain to reset, in fact when you yawn, you're actually stimulating a neural area of the brain that plays a significant role in being more conscious and alert.'

Interlace your fingers and stretch them towards the sky; hold for several seconds - Shona (pictured) recommends

SHONA VERTUE'S WEEK OF WORKOUTS * Daily meditation before she caffeinates. * Weight lifting four times a week. * High intensity cardio twice a week. * Short sequence of yoga or gymnastics each night before bed. Advertisement

Step seven

Interlace your fingers and stretch them towards the sky. Hold for several seconds.

Step eight

Roll your ankles and wiggle your toes - you might not think it does much, but according to Shona, this stimulates the blood pooling at the toes and creates good energy.

If you have a bit more time and a spare office at your disposal, Shona recommends you try her 18-minute sequence shared on YouTube.

To read more from Shona Vertue, visit her website here. You can also follow her on Instagram here.
Australia's wedding gift to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been revealed - as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull hints the second present will be 'very Australian'.

As the world eagerly waits for the highly-anticipated wedding of the year, the royal couple have asked guests and well-wishers to make charitable donations rather than buy a present when they tie the knot on May 19.

And 9 News reported the Australian Government will make a donation to one of the couple's favourite charities - the Invictus Games, to be held in Sydney in October.

Australia's wedding gift to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been revealed

The pair are expected to visit the Sydney Games - an international adaptive multi-sport event for wounded servicemen and women.

The publication reported that the government will offer two different gifts - one being the donation and the second is said to be a smaller present.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Turnbull dropped a hint that the wedding present was going to be 'very Australian'.

'We've got a wedding gift for Harry and Meghan,' Mr Turnbull told Melbourne radio 3AW, four days before the pair marry at Windsor.

'We can't reveal yet. It is very Australian and it appeals to their interests.'

The present will not be revealed until the day of the wedding.

Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull dropped a hint that the wedding present was going to be 'very Australian'

For Prince William and Kate Middleton's 2011 wedding, Australia made a donation of $25,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

The country gifted Prince Charles and Princess Diana 20 sterling silver platters in a box lined with blue silk velvet.

And when the future Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh tied the knot in 1947, the Queensland government sent the royal couple 500 cases of tinned pineapples.

The gift may seem unusual now - but at the time, the fruits were appreciated by Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip because of the post World War II food shortage.

Meanwhile, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed the country will donate $5,000 on behalf of Prince Harry and Ms Markle to Pillars, a NZ charity supporting children of prisoners.

'The couple were happy that their wedding will be acknowledged in New Zealand by a donation to Pillars, which provides fantastic support to a group of very vulnerable children,' Ms Ardern said.

'The wedding this weekend also coincides with the 30th anniversary of Pillars.'
Australian families spend $13,900 on groceries per household every year.

Michael and Sabrina Maiorano spend more than double that at $37,000, with their tribe of four munching through $650 worth of supplies from the supermarket every week.

They freely admit that purchasing homebrand items made them shudder in horror and buying pre-seasoned meats was adding to their total bill.

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Michael and Sabrina Maiorano (pictured) spend more than double that at $37,000, with their tribe of four munching through $650 worth of supplies from the supermarket every week

So in a bid to curb their spending celebrity chef Ben O'Donoghue and journalist Leila McKinnon raided the family pantry on Eat Well For Less and made some deductions.

With a few easy swaps and by encouraging them to shop around for the best deals, they were able to save an incredible $17,000 over the course of the year.

MAKE A DIY CRUMBED CHICKEN

The Maiorano family were spending $20 buying two 400g packets of pre-crumbed chicken each week. But by spending a much more reasonable $11.20 a week on regular chicken breasts, and crumbing them at home with bread and other herbs the family can save $670 a year.

The easiest recipe involves combining breadcrumbs, lemon rind, parmesan, parsley and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly coat chicken in seasoned flour, shaking off excess, then dip in egg, then the breadcrumb mixture, before pressing the crumbs on gently.

In total it only adds an extra 10 minutes to your dinner routine.

The Maiorano family were spending $20 buying two 400g packets of pre-crumbed chicken each week (pictured)

MAKE A SNACK PACK AT HOME

An easy school lunchbox snack has always been the humble Kraft cheese and cracker combination.

But instead of purchasing the ready made treat, which can cost upwards of $6.50, you should instead by cheese slices and crackers separately, combining them in a tupperware container for school.

This will save up to $290 a year.

An easy school lunchbox snack has always been the humble Kraft cheese and cracker combination

MAKE YOUR OWN YOGHURT TREATS

Small pots of yoghurt like Jalna and Yoplait, while convenient, add up in price over time.

The Maiorano family were spending $1,248 on Chobani flip yoghurts a year by sending them to school with their two daughters.

Chobani is so well liked because it includes a layer of 'flavouring', like strawberry or blueberry in it, that can be mixed through the greek yoghurt.

But by buying a one kilo tub of a generic brand and adding fresh or frozen fruit to it you'll save $780 a year.

The Maiorano family were spending $1,248 on Chobani flip yoghurts a year by sending them to school with their two daughters

Chobani is so well liked because it includes a layer of 'flavouring', like strawberry or blueberry in it, that can be mixed through the greek yoghurt

BUY HOMEBRAND

While Kellogg's Cornflakes are irresistibly tasty, you can purchase the same kind of cereal from Aldi and save yourself 60c per packet.

Just by purchasing cheaper beer or your cuts of meat from the deli section, rather than pre-packaged, will also save you upwards of $1,560 a year.

The key is to shop at more than one supermarket so you're making the most of each brand's sales.

Eat Well For Less debuts tonight on Channel Nine at 7.30pm.
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A photographer has captured mothers wiping snotty noses, trying - and failing - to pee in peace and even breastfeeding while cooking to show just how difficult looking after young children can be.

Giedre Gomes, from Cedar Lake in Indiana, shot the remarkably honest series of photographs to mark Mother's Day in the US, because she wanted to show that parenthood isn't 'all rainbows and unicorns'.

The photographs, in both colour and black-and-white, feature images that parents and carers everywhere might relate to.

There's being jumped on at silly-o-clock because children have woken up with the sun.

Or trying to prevent chaos in supermarkets as tiny terrors wreak havoc... and then the days that are so nerve-shredding that a glug of wine while sat on the toilet doesn't seem like a terrible idea.

Jump for my love! An exhausted-looking mother protects her face from an energetic dawn wake-up call from this pre-schooler and their brother

Feed... and feed! A mother is seen nursing her toddler while also preparing supper for the family, as an older brother looks on

The photos were shot by Gomes to coincide with Mother's Day in the US, which was marked last weekend

The bathroom offers no solace from toddlers: two bare-bottomed tots wander around - after discarding their nappy and pants - while their mother uses the toilet

And suddenly two doesn't seem so bad! A third child arrives in the bathroom while Gomes snaps away

Welcome to purgatory: A mother frantically tries to stop a little girl from sending her son hurtling down the aisle in a plastic truck

Green should never be seen: A mother wipes her toddler's running nose with her t-shirt

Gomes explains why she was inspired to get clicking to Bored Panda. She says: 'I absolutely love being a mom, its the best job in the world. I am a mom of two boys and love them to pieces, but motherhood is not always all rainbows and butterflies.'

She says that she hopes the series of candid snaps will remind people that while motherhood is a magical journey, it's also about 'learning how to do everything with one hand while carrying a baby in another'.

In an accompanying message, the mother-of-two writes: 'Motherhood is not remembering what its like to get a full nights sleep, wiping more poop than you ever thought youd see in your life.

'Motherhood is no longer having privacy, never peeing or showering in peace. Motherhood is using your shirt to wipe runny noses and dirty faces.'

And when they finally nod off, they find a way of using your head as a footstool...

Treble trouble! This mother holds out a protective hand as she tries to stop her youngest from launching herself from the sofa

Self-help books and wine: how a desperate mother employs key devices to keep her blood pressure down

Gomes continued: 'Motherhood is learning how to do everything with one hand while carrying a baby in another. Motherhood is waking up with a little butt or foot in your face. Motherhood is breastfeeding whenever wherever. Motherhood is yoga pants and bad hair day. Motherhood is no longer shopping alone.

'Motherhood is having a filthy car all the time. Motherhood is not being able to call in sick because its a 24/7 job without a paycheck and the list goes on.

'But in the end, I wouldnt have it any other way. Being a mom means being completely and totally overwhelmed by love, joy, responsibility, and selflessness.'

Lifting the lid on motherhood: I used to go on nights out, now I retreat to the toilet with a bottle of wine and a smartphone

Two steps forwards, one step back: A mother vacuums the carpet, while her children make a whole lot of mess again

Nowhere to hide: A mother of two boys tries - and fails - to take a shower in peace

And even if you lock the door, they'll find a way to disturb the peace. Right: And on the long lists of jobs, chief entertainer is up there
An 'incredibly powerful' open letter to Ireland's pro-life campaigners is circulating online as the country prepares for an historic referendum on whether to legalise abortion.

Irish citizens will be asked to vote on May 25th on whether to repeal the 8th amendment to the constitution, which makes abortion illegal in all but extraordinary circumstances.

The anonymous letter, shared on Twitter by writer and Repeal campaigner Laura Cunningham calls on No voters to 'sit with a woman experiencing a crisis today', instead of 'making posters about the horrors of abortions'.

Voters on either side of the divide - an incredibly emotional debate for many in the Catholic country, which has some of Europe's strictest abortion laws - are ramping up their efforts as the vote draws closer.

Those in the Repeal camp point to the thousands of Irish women forced to travel overseas in order to seek a termination - including victims of rape and children.

No voters maintain that abortion is tantamount to 'murder'.

The letter, composed by an anonymous member of the Yes campaign, was circulating on Twitter as the historic vote on legalising abortion in Ireland draws closer

The anonymous letter to No campaigners, shared on Twitter on Monday, asks: 'While you are out campaigning for all the potential lives that could be lost after May 25th, what are you doing for the women forced onto planes, boats, and to lock themselves in their bedrooms TODAY?'

It goes on to call on No voters to place themselves in the shoes of a pregnant Junior Cert [the Irish equivalent to GCSE exams] schoolgirl, domestic abuse victim, destitute single mother, or a woman who is herself too ill to survive labour.

'Until you are willing to help those in a crisis with real, practical and sustained support, get off your high horse and support women in the hardest decision they will ever make,' it says.

Irish voters will be asked to have their say on whether to legalise abortion in the country in a referendum on May 25th

The letter has been shared hundreds of times online.

WHAT IS THE EIGHTH AMENDMENT? The Eighth Amendment of Ireland's constitution is a provision that renders abortion illegal other than in exceptional circumstances. The provision, inserted in 1983, enshrines the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child. In a referendum in May, Irish citizens will be asked whether they want to repeal the Eighth Amendment and to instead enable parliament to set the laws. If the public votes to repeal the constitutional provision, the Irish Government intends to table legislation that would permit women to abort within 12 weeks of pregnancy. Advertisement

On May 25th the Irish people will vote on whether the contentious amendment, which gives the mother and unborn an equal right to life, should be replaced with wording that hands responsibility for setting the country's abortion laws to politicians.

If the public votes to repeal, the Irish government will table legislation that would permit women to legally abort within 12 weeks of pregnancy.

The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said today there will not be a second referendum on repealing the 8th should the country vote against the change on Friday.

According to the Irish Times, Mr Varadkar encouraged voters to support repealing the amendment, but said he would accept the outcome of the referendum.

'I am a democrat and I have to accept the outcome of a referendum and elections,' he said.

According to the Prime Minister, a No vote would mean women who access abortion pills could face 14 years in prison.

The Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has encouraged the nation to support repealing the 8th amendment
Germaine Greer has insisted the royal family did not have 'any intention' of allowing Meghan Markle's father to attend his daughter's wedding on Saturday.

During an appearance on ITV's Good Morning Britain, the 79-year-old outspoken feminist suggested Thomas Markle took the fall for Kensington Palace, and pulled out of walking the 36-year-old down the aisle.

And she controversially claimed Prince Phillip could 'scuttle' Prince Harry's marriage to his US actress bride, and said the Duke of Edinburgh 'drove Diana mad'.

Mr Markle had been set to fly to the UK ahead of the May 19th nuptials, but the troubled 73-year-old now wants to stay in Mexico following reports that he colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures in the run-up to the wedding and claims to have suffered a heart attack.

Germaine Greer appeared on Good Morning Britain where she said she believes the royal family had no intention of allowing Thomas Markle to walk his daughter down the aisle

It's been reported that Meghan has pleaded with her father (pictured with his daughter as a teenager) to still attend the wedding on Saturday

Germaine also controversially claimed Prince Phillip could 'scuttle' Prince Harry 's marriage to his US actress bride

Germaine said: 'I very much doubt the firm, the palace, thinks it's a disaster because I dont think the [royal family] had any intention of him at the wedding in the first place.

'Their problem was if he was seen to be excluded, the British public would react. So he had to exclude himself.'

GMB presenter Susanna Reid questioned Germaine's theory: 'You don't think that he's done this deliberately to get himself uninvited, do you?'

'I don't know what he's done, frankly, at this point,' Germaine responded.

'They're so good at disinformation and they had a problem. They have a problem with the family, which is so dysfunctional.'

Germaine also made bold claims against Prince Philip, claiming that he 'drove Diana mad'.

What is the Duke of Edinburgh up to?' she questioned, before suggesting, 'He could really scuttle this whole deal.'

GMB presenter Susanna Reid questioned Germaine's theory: 'You don't think that he's done this deliberately to get himself uninvited, do you?'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are getting married on Saturday, but things have not been going well

Meghan had made a previous request for her mother Doria Ragland to walk her down the aisle but it had apparently been ignored according to Germaine

To which presenter Piers Morgan asked: 'What do you mean?'

Germaine continued: 'I cant say because it would be treason. He might choose to drink the Brompton cocktail... He is ill, we havent seen him.

Susanna added that there had been photos of Phillip and the Queen recently looking 'loved up'.

But Germaine asked: Did you believe all of this?

Germaine went on to say that Meghan had already had to sacrifice her job and blog to be with Harry and that her only role will be 'playing second fiddle to Kate'.

The author then added that Meghan had already made a request to have her mother Doria to walk her down the aisle, but had been ignored.

Preparation has been in full flow for Meghan and Harry's May 19th wedding in Windsor, but it's been hit with disaster after disaster.

Germaine also claimed that Prince Philip, pictured with Harry, Meghan, William, and Kate on Christmas Day, 'drove Diana mad', before raising questions about his recent health

Friends have said the bride-to-be was distraught after troubled Thomas Markle, 73, said he wanted to save her further embarrassment, following reports that he colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures in the run-up to the wedding.

A friend of Miss Markle, 36, and her fiance, Prince Harry, told the Mail that she was standing by her father and pleaded for understanding, saying he was 'not in a good place'.

The couple issued an unprecedented official statement through Kensington Palace in the wake of the crisis.

A spokesman said: 'This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.'
Gweneth Lee, 47, from Chelsea, London have slept with over 100 married men

A woman who claims she has had sex with more than one hundred married men - and says it helped to save their relationships - has provoked anger on This Morning.

Gweneth Lee, 47, a financial consultant, from Chelsea, London, meets up with her lovers on website Illicit Encounters, and claims the men are always in long, sexless marriages.

Speaking to Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield on Tuesday's show, Gweneth said more than one of her sex partners have said it has rejuvenated their relationships and created more 'relaxed' relationships with their wives.

Viewers weren't convinced by her story, and took to Twitter to call her a 'homewrecker'.

Gweneth Lee, 47, a financial consultant, from Chelsea, London, has slept with over 100 married men

Gweneth, a former model, believes men come to her because their relationships with their wives has changed, and work, children and repetitive sex has made them seek sex from someone else.

Despite the fact that her partners are married, she doesn't feel any guilt about sleeping with another woman's partner.

She said: 'More than one man I've been with has said ''Having an affair with you has made our who life so much more relaxed.''

'It's taken the pressure off the wife who, maybe after 25, 30 years of marriage, they're not into him anymore and he only has sex with his wife on his birthday, Christmas or their wedding anniversary, and she's miserable doing it, she just doesn't want to do it anymore.'

She claims her affairs with married men have saved their marriages because it helps their relationships become more relaxed

Viewers weren't convinced by her story, and took to Twitter to call her a 'homewrecker'

She continued: 'Marriage is very challenging, you can be with the most wonderful loving person but after 25 years you've hung from the chandeliers you've done all the crazy stuff and its hard to keep it spicy and exciting.'

Viewers were shocked by her dating habits, with many saying they wouldn't thank her for sleeping with their husbands.

One tweeted: 'How can this woman be happy with the fact she's sleeping with other women's husbands? Not something to be proud of love, you're a home wrecker.'

'So basically you're a professional home wrecker, enabling men to cheat on their wives. Deplorable woman,' another posted.

Many tweeted that they wouldn't be thanking her if she slept with their husbands

A third wrote: 'Trust me love, my other half wouldn't thank me for getting you involved. Hideous.'

'Yeah ok love, I bet you've wrecked a lot more more families that you've apparently ''saved'',' a fourth said.

When Holly asked her about her feelings about the possibility of breaking a family and upsetting any children the couples might have, she said she still wouldn't feel any guilt.

Gweneth explained: 'Their wife and their kids is their business my family is my business. Anybody who is in a relationship decides what they share and they don't share with the person they're involved with.'

Gweneth explained that the men are always in sexless marriages and often their wives know about it

She joined the dating website IllicitEncounters.com ten years ago after the death of her oil executive husband Robert from cancer, and meets all of her partners on there

She has met most of the men through IllicitEncounters.com, a dating website which specialises in matching up people who are already married. Most of the men on the site are wealthy businessmen with an average income of 52,000 a year.

Gweneth said she jets all over the world meeting middle aged lovers from the site and often has two or three on the go at the same time.

She joined the dating website ten years ago after the death of her oil executive husband Robert from cancer.
Women are turning to natural methods like yoga, acupuncture and massage to fall pregnant.

Ruth Tobin, an Adelaide woman, was desperate to have a baby after trying unsuccessfully for two years.

The mother turned to yoga and massage, and after just three sessions fell pregnant, 7 News reported.

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Ruth tobin (pictured) fell pregnant after trying for two years when she turned to yoga and massage

Ms Tobin is now mother to 11-month old Marley, and she couldn't be more excited.

'Going the holistic approach felt very relaxed,' she said.

An Adelaide obstetrician recommended natural therapies including acupuncture could help women going through the stress of infertility.

Experts revealed holistic approaches including acupuncture could help women going through the stress of infertility

'Sometimes a little bit of help can go a long way,' Dr Anneliese Perkins told the network.

Therapist Nadia Parisi told 7 News holistic approaches increase the chances of a successful IVF by 'reducing stress and improving hormonal balances'.

'We need to know the cause of why IVF is failing, why aren't we conceiving naturally these days,' she told the network.

Holistic therapy in pregnancy considers the impact of the mind and spirit, and the physical body, on pregnancy in women.
A woman living in a small town in America was left gobsmacked to discover that she is related to Meghan Markle.

Gilland Ragland Few, who lives in Henry County, Georgia, was surprised with the news that she was a third cousin twice removed of Prince Harry's fiancee, according to claims made in a new documentary.

She even shares a surname with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, who is said to be giving her away at the wedding.

Gilland said she was 'holding back tears' when she found out, and vowed to tell her great grandchildren she was related to royalty.

In Channel 4 programme Meet The Markles, which airs at 10pm tonight, YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg travels around America hoping to blag an invite to the wedding on May 19.

Gilland Ragland Few, who lives in Henry County, Georgia, is the third cousin twice removed of Meghan Markle

Amelia meets local historian Dorothy Tuck, who tracks down Gilland's connection to the bride-to-be from their shared ancestor Stephen Ragland, Meghan's four times great grandfather on her mother's side.

After revealing nothing more than that she has a famous relative, the duo went to Gilland's house to spill the news.

Dorothy said: 'Amelia has come to me and she's asked me to do some research on a very special person. This person is intelligent, distinguished and talented.

'You probably wont pick up the newspaper very ,many days without reading about this person. Gilland, you are related to Meghan Markle.'

Gilland has a shared ancestor with Meghan through Stephen Ragland, Meghan's four times great grandfather on her mother's side

She even shares a surname with Meghan's mother Doria Ragland, who is tipped to be giving her away

Gilland was visibly shocked, and seemed to be think the news was a practical joke.

She said: 'No! Are you serious?'

She became visibly emotional and had to cover her eyes to stop herself from crying on camera.

Gilland continued: 'I'm about to cry for real. I'm really trying to hold back the tears, seriously. I don't know what to say.

'This will be something that I can even pass on to my great grandchildren.'

The documentary also reveals that Meghan is related to a Jack the Ripper suspect.

Gilland said she was 'fighting back tears' and vows to tell her great grandchildren they are related to royalty

In Channel 4 documentary Meet the Markles, YouTuber Amelia Dimoldenberg travels around America hoping to blag an invite to the wedding on May 19

Meghan Markle is a distant relative of Dr H.H. Holmes, an American serial killer some believe could be Whitechapel murderer Jack the Ripper

Those who believe Holmes could be the Ripper point out the similarities between him and sketches of suspects from the time

She is said to be distant relative of Dr H.H. Holmes, a man dubbed 'America's first serial killer', who some suspect may have carried out the Whitechapel murders.

The claims are made by another of H.H. Holmes' descendants, US lawyer Jeff Mudgett, who has led investigations into the killer.

Holmes killed his victims at his 'murder trap' hotel in Englewood near Chicago. He admitted to killing 27 people, though some suspect he was to blame for 200 deaths.

Mr Mudgett, who is Holmes' great, great, great grandson, says handwriting analysis and details from the investigation into the Ripper suggest Holmes carried out the infamous murders during a trip to London.

Ancestral studies carried out by Mr Mudgett now suggest Meghan Markle is also related to the serial killer.

Meet the Markles airs tonight at 10pm on Channel 4
It comes as speculation mounts Meghan's mother Doria will walk her down aisle

Speculation is mounting that Meghan's mother Doria Ragland will now walk her down the aisle, after her father Thomas Markle suddenly withdrew from the wedding.

But if Prince Harry's fiancee is given away by her mother at St George's Chapel on Saturday, it wouldn't be the first time it has happened - as Queen Victoria walked two of her daughters down the aisle.

Victoria walked her third daughter and fifth child Princess Helena down the aisle as she wed Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein in 1866, five years after the death of Prince Albert.

The ceremony was held at the Private Chapel at Windsor Castle, with Victoria wearing her black mourning dress and white widow's cap, accessorised with diamonds.

The monarch also gave away her youngest child Princess Beatrice at St Mildred's Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight in 1885.

Queen Victoria walked youngest daughter Princess Beatrice (pictured with husband Prince Henry of Battenberg on her wedding day) down the aisle in 1885

The monarch wore black in memory of her husband Prince Albert, who died 24 years earlier

She again wore black in memory of her husband Prince Albert who had died 24 years earlier, although her outfit is believed to have been encrusted with diamonds.

Prince Albert actually only managed to see one of his children marry before his death in 1861, the wedding of eldest daughter Victoria, the Princess Royal, to Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia.

The royal precedent set by Victoria at her daughters' weddings means that it is likely that Meghan's mother Doria will give her way at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, on Saturday,

Meghan's father Thomas has reportedly given Meghan's mother Doria his blessing to walk their daughter down the aisle in his place.

Queen Victoria also walked her third daughter Princess Helena (above) down the aisle on her wedding day in 1866, five years after Albert's death

Commenting on the reports, royal historian Victoria Howard told the BBC: 'I think it would be a lovely touch for Meghan's mother Doria to walk her down the aisle, because they are very close

'It would be unusual but it wouldn't be an unprecedented move. Queen Victoria walked two of her daughters down the aisle, because Prince Albert wasn't around.'

'So an unusual move, but definitely not unheard of.'

Meghan is said to have pleaded with her father to change his mind after he apparently pulled out of Saturday's wedding because of the faked photographs row.

It comes as speculation mounts that Meghan's mother Doria Ragland will walk her down the aisle on Saturday

Meghan's father Thomas is said to have given his blessing for Doria to take his place, after suddenly withdrawing from the wedding

Who will give Meghan away after her father changed his mind? Doria Ragland - 4/6 Prince Charles - 2/1 Prince William - 5/1 Meghan Walks Solo down the Aisle 5/1 Thomas Markle 10/1 Gabriel Macht 14/1 Prince Philip 20/1 Prince Harry 33/1 Kate Middleton 100/1 Advertisement

But the troubled 73-year-old wants to stay in Mexico following reports that he colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures in the run-up to the wedding and claims to have suffered a heart attack.

Doria is about to fly into the UK from Los Angeles to support her daughter and is now the clear favourite to walk her down the aisle in her father's absence.

Prince Charles is 2/1 with the bookies to step in while Prince William is 5/1 to take Meghan into St George's before starting his duties as Harry's best man.

There have also been a flurry of bets on Meghan walking down the aisle alone.

Kensington Palace had previously announced that Meghan would arrive at Windsor Castle by car with Doria, with father Thomas originally planned to walk his daughter down the aisle.

Queen Victoria (dressed in black) has set a royal precedent after giving away daughter Princess Helena when she married Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein

Victoria (pictured with daughter Beatrice) wore her black mourning dress with her white widow cap at the weddings of both Beatrice and Helena
Royal wedding watchers can now effectively raid Meghan Markle's make-up bag ahead of her wedding this weekend.

The 36-year-old actress' former make-up artist Lydia F. Sellers has revealed some of Meghan favorite beauty products, which range from a $20 blending sponge to a $162 face mask.

Speaking to Today, Lydia discussed Meghan's preference for having a 'fresh, glowing complexion,' and also shared her predictions for the star's wedding beauty look.

What she uses: Meghan Markle's favorite beauty products have been revealed by her former make-up artist

Flawless face: Her former makeup artist, Lydia F. Sellers, said they used to blend Giorgio Armani foundation with Charlotte Tilbury primer

The eyes have it: She likes Tom Ford Cream Eye Shadow, $46, for her lids

'No matter the occasion, Meghan always favors a fresh, glowing complexion,' Lydia said. 'I love her confidence, and we always wanted to let her natural assets  like her perfect skin and freckles!  take center stage.'

That means keeping her skin looking fabulous is a top priority. Lydia said that while they worked together, Meghan liked Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask, $162, for prepping the face for make-up.

Then she spritzes on some Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist, $48, which tones the skin and preps for foundation.

Lydia said she likes to mix some Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow Primer, $55, with Meghan's go-to Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, $64, which creates a 'pearlescent, healthy glow'  and it's all applied with a $20 Beauty Blender sponge.

She calls the sponge 'the perfect tool to sheer out foundation and ensure Meghan's freckles were popping!'  since Meghan likes to look natural and doesn't want to hide her freckles.

Other favorites are a RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38, and MAC Eye Kohl Pencil in Teddy, $18.

History: Lydia worked with the former Suits star, 36, for two years

Natural woman: She said that 'no matter the occasion, Meghan always favors a fresh, glowing complexion'

Lash love: For eyes, she likes to layer on Iconic London Boom Mascara, $30 (left), and uses MAC Eye Kohl Pencil in Teddy, $18 (right)

'Meghan has gorgeous eyes, and generally goes for a smoldering, sultry look: subdued by day, and played up for evening,' Lydia added.

Finally, she likes Tom Ford Cream Eye Shadow, $46, layered-on Iconic London Boom Mascara, $30, and Fresh SUGAR Tinted Lip Treatment, $24 which creates a natural-looking lip to balance out a bolder eye.

Though Lydia no longer works with Meghan, she does have some ideas about what her make-up will look like on Saturday as she walks down the aisle.

'I expect Meghan will go for classic, timeless makeup on the big day. Fresh, dewy skin to show off her freckles and an elegant daytime smokey eye, offset with a sheer, pink lip. She may wear her hair up in a loose, low bun with a few tendrils framing her face,' she said.

No matter what she chooses, it seems that Meghan won't be hiring a pro to get her camera-ready. According to Express, the bride is having friends to it instead.

'She's got two friends doing it for her from America. Theyre not professionals  just close friends of hers,' a source said. 'They are coming to stay at Windsor Castle ahead of the wedding, where they will be put up in the staff accommodation.'

Her hair, though, will be getting the pro treatment, according to The Sun  care of Amal Clooney's hairstylist, Miguel Perez.

Splurge and save: A big splurge is Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask, $162, for prepping the face for make-up (left), but she saves on Fresh SUGAR Tinted Lip Treatment, $24 (right)

'I love her confidence, and we always wanted to let her natural assets  like her perfect skin and freckles!  take center stage,' Lydia added

Glow: This RMS Beauty Living Luminizer, $38, is a favorite as well

All about the skin: She also uses a $20 Beauty Blender (left) and Tatcha Dewy Skin Mist, $48, which tones the skin and preps for foundation (right)

Of course, as an actress, much more has been written about Meghan's beauty go-tos than those of her sister-in-law-to-be Kate's, since the subject has popped up in interviews for years.

In 2016, Meghan herself told Beauty Banter about some other products she swears by, including Laura Mercier's Illuminating Primer, $38.

'I dont wear foundation unless Im filming, so this is what I put on everyday after moisturizer to give my skin a dewy glow,' Meghan said.

'Even if I have no makeup on, I am likely to apply concealer and a bit of shimmer in the corners of my eye,' she added, saying she liked YSL's Touche Eclat Concealer, $38.

Other products she named include NARS' Orgasm blush, $30, Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap in lavender and almond, $14, and Biore's Cleaning Cloths, $8.

'Theyre great to keep in the car and on your nightstand when you have those horribly lazy nights that the thought of getting up to actually wash your face seems unbearable,' she said.

She also said she uses Nivea's Q10 Skin Firming Hydration Body Lotion 'religiously.'

'Its honestly my favorite lotion on the market, its so affordable, and makes my skin look and feel amazing. I would buy a case of this at a time if I could find it,' she said.

The wait is almost over! Meghan is set to marry Prince Harry in London on Saturday

Prediction: Lydia thinks the star will pick 'fresh, dewy skin to show off her freckles and an elegant daytime smokey eye, offset with a sheer, pink lip'

Back in 2014, Meghan also described her low-key routine to Allure, saying: 'My routine is very simple  I call it the five-minute face. It's just Touche Eclat, curled lashes, mascara, Chap Stick, and a little bit of blush.

'That is my favorite kind of look. If I'm going to amp it up for night, then I use M.A.C. Teddy eyeliner, which is a really beautiful brown that has some gold in it.'

Meanwhile, make-up artist Lydia has also been speaking quite a bit about Meghan in recent months, telling Refinery29 about Meghan's insistence on showing her freckles.

'Every time I'd do her makeup, she'd say, "Can we just make sure my freckles are peeking through? I don't want a ton of foundation." It was more about the amount of product that went on her skin and keeping it really fresh and dewy, rather than caking it on.'

Lydia revealed the product that gave Meghan the desired effect was Armani Luminous Silk Foundation, applied with a beauty blender.

She also remarked that the star hasn't changed her look since quitting acting to take up her role as a full-time royal.

'She'll throw her hair back in a low bun and it actually looks like she's done it herself, and it's beautiful and chic because she's so confident,' she said.

Leave 'em! The former actress has previously revealed how having her freckles airbrushed out of photos is her pet peeve

'Ethnically ambiguous': Meghan has also discussed how being biracial has confused casting directors, and how magazines want to airbrush out her freckles

Meghan has previously revealed how her 'pet peeve' is having her skin tone lightened and her freckles airbrushed out of photos.

Speaking to Allure magazine before she quit acting, she opened up about the difficulties she faced in the industry due to her 'ethnically ambiguous' appearance.

Speaking of casting directors attitudes to her, she said: 'Was I Latina? Sephardic? "Exotic Caucasian"?' she said. 'Add the freckles to the mix and it created quite the conundrum.'

Meghan was born to an African-American mother and Caucasian father, and gave advice to her 'freckle-faced friends out there' who might be struggling to embrace their identity.

She suggested that they heed advice she received from her father: A face without freckles is a night without stars.'
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall today attended a reunion service for the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association at St Martin-in-the-Fields in London's Trafalgar Square.

Some of the bravest of the brave who have won the UK's highest awards for gallantry have been remembered at a special service.

There were 20 recipients of the Victoria Cross or the George Cross, along with widows and families of those who have posthumously received the honours, at the tribute.

Camilla, 70, looked her stylish best in a formal cream jacket with an elegant embroidered trim.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall today attended a reunion service for the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association to honour the 'bravest of the brave'

The elite group of invited guests included Johnson Beharry (pictured), who in 2005 became the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross since 1965

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall attended a reunion service for the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association at St Martin-in-the-Fields

However, the piece de resistance was of course her oversize straw hat decorated with a band of dramatic ostrich feathers.

The Prince, 69, is President of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, and wore ten of his medals to the event today.

His military accolades range from medals commemorating his mother's reign on the throne, to personal military service awards and he wore all of his badges with pride.

The couple were joined Metropolitan Police Commissioner joined the service of remembrance and rededication where hymns were sung and prayers for world peace, the Queen, country and Commonwealth, were said.

Camilla looked splendid in an all-cream ensemble showcasing an enormous hat decorated with ostrich feathers

Prince Charles appeared particularly keen to catch up with one member of the association and was seen rushing up the steps to greet him

Major Dominic Troulan, 55, was attending after he was awarded the George Cross in 2017 for repeatedly risking his life to save about 200 people during a deadly Kenyan terrorist attack.

The retired officer, who served for two decades in the special forces, returned a dozen times to the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi in 2013 to search for survivors and lead them to safety, after al-Shabab extremists stormed the centre armed with machine guns and grenades.

Mr Troulan described his debut appearance, including meeting the other attendees and chatting with Charles, as an 'out of body experience, humbling and fascinating'.

He said: 'Nobody talks about their actions but there is a camaraderie that I can see. They are great friends. I am very proud to be here and have been welcomed along with my family.'

Mr Troulan said the 'humbling' thing for him was the many ordinary people who stepped in to help as the nightmare unfolded at the shopping mall.

He said: 'This medal is not just about me, it is about lots of other people.'

The nation's military and civilian heroes are remembered at the service, which is held every two years to reflect on sacrifices made in the service of others.

The old pals enjoyed a joke together before heading into the chapel for Tuesday's service

The Prince of Wales later hosted a tea party at St James's Palace where the group posed for a souvenir photo

The Last Post and Reveille were also performed during the solemn event, which supports the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association.

The elite group of invited guests included Johnson Beharry, who in 2005 became the first living recipient of the Victoria Cross since 1965.

The private, from 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, was awarded the honour for two separate acts of outstanding gallantry to rescue his comrades in Iraq in 2004. He suffered serious head injuries.

The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest military decoration awarded for valour 'in the face of the enemy' to members of the armed forces.

The George Cross (GC) is the highest civil decoration and is awarded to those who have displayed the greatest heroism or the most conspicuous courage whilst in extreme danger.

The Prince of Wales, who has been president of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association since 2003, later hosted a tea party at St James's Palace for the veterans and their families.

They all posed for a group portrait which they will each receive as a keepsake.

The royal couple spent time meeting members of the clergy who had assembled outside to welcome the pair

The Prince is President of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association, and wore ten of his medals to the event today

The royal couple arrived at Kensington Palace on Monday via helicopter ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan's nuptials on Saturday.

Charles and Camilla will stay in close proximity to Harry and Meghan's cottage in the grounds of the palace in the run up to Saturday.

Just hours later the Duchess of Cornwall took part in her first engagement since returning to London.

The 70-year-old royal attended the NHS heroes awards at the London Hilton Park Lane accompanied by old friend Paul O Grady.

The event coincides with the 70th anniversary of the NHS and will recognise the heroism of both professionals and members of the public.
A flight attendant hand delivered a new mom her breast milk at her home after she left it underneath a seat on the plane.

Rachel Braverman, 37, from New Jersey took a trip with her husband and three of their four children to Disney World in Florida the week before Mother's Day.

The family left the youngest, a four-month-old son named Brent, at home, but Braverman continued to pump during the trip to have enough milk for him when they got back. The new mom was left in tears after she realized she forgot the milk underneath the seat of her United Airlines return flight.

Upset: Rachel Braverman broke down crying after she realized she left a bag full of breast milk on her flight home from Disney World

Kind: Jeffrey Nowotny, a United Airlines flight attendant, discovered the breast milk on the next flight and hand delivered it to the mother-of-four's home in New Jersey

Grateful: Braverman expressed her gratitude on Facebook after the flight attendant went above and beyond to return her 100 ounce bag of breast milk

'I literally started crying,' Braverman told Today about when she discovered the 100 ounce bag of milk was missing.

She had been careful to store the milk at an appropriate temperature and placed it underneath the seat in front of her for safe keeping.

Jeffrey Nowotny, a flight attendant, was notified by another passenger about the breast milk left underneath the seat when the plane was leaving Newark Airport for Miami, Florida.

At first, he tried to convince the pilot to bring the plane back to the gate so he could get the milk back to the mom.

But that wasn't possible, so instead he quickly but the bag on ice until the plane landed in Miami.

Once Nowotny landed, he was able to contact the mom with the help of agents at the airport.

Smiles: Braverman was returning home with her husband and three of her four children after they took a trip to Disney World

Newborn: Brent, who is four-months-old, stayed behind while the family went on the trip. But Braverman made sure to pump so she would have a lot of milk for him when she got back

Sweet: Braverman said she broke down in tears once she realized she forgot the milk. But Nowotny saved the day by delivering it to her after midnight on Mother's Day

Braverman received a text message that read: 'I think I have something that belongs to you from your flight, please call or text me.'

The flight attendant had a return flight back to Newark and offered to deliver the breast milk himself once he landed.

The mother-of-four was shocked he was offering to hand deliver the milk and asked if he was sure he wanted to go out of his way to bring it.

'It's Mother's Day!' Nowotny replied. 'Don't even worry about it. I'm just happy to help.'

Braverman expressed her graditude towards the kindhearted flight attendant in a Facebook post Monday.

All smiles: Included in Braverman's Facebook post was three pictures of Brent. She wanted to show the flight attendant how grateful they were about his act of kindness

Thankful: 'That is above and beyond customer service, that is just an act of kindness,' Braverman said in her post online

The post read: 'The Jeffrey Nowotny, the United flight attendant who has yet to meet me, but found my bag full of breast milk on a plane yesterday, kept it on ice all afternoon, tracked me down, and HAND DELIVERED it to my house after midnight last night... you are one of a kind!

'That is above and beyond customer service, that is just an act of kindness. Thank you for my mother's day miracle. And thank you from this happy milky face.'

Braverman included three pictures of her smiling four-month-old in the post to show the flight attendant who he also helped by delivering the breast milk.

'Who does that?' Braverman said to Today. 'He never even met me! He wasn't on my flight  he was on the crew that came on after me!'

But Nowotny explained he had brothers and sisters with children, so he would hope someone would extend the same courtesy to them.
A teen who didn't go to her prom because her boyfriend moved to Europe decided to prank all her classmates by dressing up as a sloth and photobombing their pictures instead.

Brianna Ludlum, 18, from South Carolina, and her boyfriend Saulo Hernandez started dating in September 2016 but in August 2017, he moved to the Netherlands to attend Twente University.

And while the couple continued their relationship long-distance, having movie dates on Facetime, when it came to her prom, Brianna didn't want to go solo so her roommate's mom came up with an alternative plan involving a sloth costume.

Alternative style: Brianna Ludlum, 18, from South Carolina attended her prom dressed as a sloth after her boyfriend Saulo moved away and she didn't want to attend the dance alone

Photobomb: The sloth-loving teen decided to prank her classmates by photobombing their pictures dressed in the sloth costume Saulo bought for her before he moved away

Playtime: Brianna shared that her suitemate's mom suggested she should wear the costume in pictures as a joke but 'somehow it just became an actual thing'

'I was in the costume that morning to be warm, and my suitemate's mom saw me and thought me wearing it to pictures would be funny. We joked about it a lot, and somehow it just became an actual thing,' she told Bored Panda.

As she went to Saulo's senior prom the year before, Brianna's brother Cameron also shared that she considered that night her own prom.

Brianna added: 'A lot of people told me I would feel that I was missing out, but I really didn't,' Brianna confessed. 'I treated my junior prom with Saulo as my senior prom, so I was content. I had attended other dances throughout the year, but the memories of Saulo and I there would bum me out a bit, and I didn't want that [again].'

Brianna has loved sloths since the 8th grade after she watched a documentary on them.

'I saw a documentary on sloths that had many interesting facts about them, and they're just really cute animals,' Brianna said.

Prom queen: As she went to Saulo's senior prom the year before, Brianna' shared that she considered that night her own prom

Separated: Brianna started dating her boyfriend Saulo Hernandez in September 2016 but in August 2017, he moved to the Netherlands to attend Twente University

Going the distance: The couple are currently in a long-distance relationship and use Facetime to stay in contact

'I like to show people clips of documentaries and know little facts about them that I like to share.'

And when Saulo saw how much she loved the mammals, he gifted her with the sloth costume she can be seen wearing in the pictures.

Cameron documented his sister's prank on his Twitter account and shared a series of tweets showing Brianna photobombing her classmates while wearing her sloth costume.

In one picture, Brianna can be seen pretending to climb a tree as two girls pose in their classic prom dresses.

While in another shot Brianna was captured on all-fours, crawling towards a group of girls who were posing for their shots.
A father-of-five whose family survives on just 167 a week has scrimped and saved in order to replace the engagement ring that his fiance lost.

Mike Holland, forked out 650 to replace the ring for his fiance Lindsey who had misplaced the ring a couple of years ago.

Lindsay had been working as a nursing assistant and lost her ring while wearing her scrubs and Mike hasnt been able to afford to replace it.

But the Lindsay, who appear in the latest episode of Channel 5's Rich House Poor House, is reduced to tears when Mike surprises her with stunning new rock.

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Mike Holland replaces his fiance Lindsay's lost ring in Wednesday night's episode of Rich House Poor House

Lindsay lost her 650 ring a few years ago while she was working as a healthcare assistant and the couple hadn't been able to afford it since

The episode sees the couple and their children swap homes and budgets with the Page family who have a budget of 3,421 a week, 20 times more than the Hollands.

Following his week of living the high life Mike celebrates by taking the family out for a Champagne afternoon tea.

Mike sneakily hides the replacement ring underneath a cloche before getting down on one knee to pop the question.

Mike and Lindsey first met as college students in 2004. 14 years later, they are still together, and have three children: 11-year-old James, Faith, 10, and one-year-old Aria.

Mike and Lindsey, who are both graduates, have been engaged since 2005 but do not know when they will ever be in a financial position where they can start saving for a wedding day.

Mike, Lindsay and their three children 11-year-old James, Faith, 10, and one-year-old Aria live on a budget of 167 a week

The family of five have never taken the children overseas and the last holiday they enjoyed together was a weekend at Chessington World of Adventures in 2013

The Holland family, who are in the bottom 10 per cent of the UK's wealth, live in a three-bedroom, end-of-terrace council house in Hartlepool, seven doors down from dad Mikes parents and on the street where he was born.

Mike now works as an administration clerk for a major supermarket chain, while Lindsey is now a full-time mum following her career as a healthcare assistant.

The Hollands have a weekly budget, after housing and essential bills have been deducted, of 167.

The size of their budget means that any family activities must be inexpensive  for example, they enjoy trips to the nearby beach, where they enjoy fish and chips and the penny arcades - they have never taken the children overseas and the last holiday they enjoyed together was a weekend at Chessington World of Adventures in 2013.

The Hollands swap places homes and budgets with Sarah and Tony Page and their two children two children Oliver (10) and Daisy (8)

The family (pictured outside their eight-bedroom home outside Leeds) at have a budget of 3,421 a week, 20 times more than the Hollands

The couple admitted they were looking forward to stepping into top 10 per cent shoes for a week as they believe it will give them the spark and inspiration they need to aim higher.

At the opposite end of the scale are Sarah and Tony Page and their two children two children Oliver (10) and Daisy (8) who give up their luxury lifestyle for a taste of the Hollands'.

Despite coming from humble beginning Tony now earns is in the top ten per cent of Britain's wealthiest people.

For much of his career, Tony held a series of senior executive positions at major retail companies. He is now the director of his own company which helps companies out of challenging situations.

Since having children, Sarah has focused on managing the familys property portfolio. She was previously a teacher specialising in economics and business studies.

Because of the nature of his work, Tony is often away from home during the working week and enjoy holidays to luxury destinations. In the past year theyve been to Sardinia, Dubrovnik, Dubai, Singapore and the Alps.

They have a weekly budget, after bills and housing costs, of 3,421. As well as holidays, the Pages spend their money on a wealth of activities, such as parties, meals out, and trips to the cinema and theatre.

Tony and Sarah know what its like to live on a tight budget even if its been a long time since they did so. They would like their children to experience something more akin to their parents childhoods.

Rich House Poor House is on Wednesday, Channel 5 at 9pm.
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As the nation prepares for Prince Harry's nuptials to Meghan Markle on May 19, the Daily Mail is counting down the days by reflecting on the best loved royal nuptials.

In Wednesday's paper we share the original Daily Mail reports of Princess Margaret's wedding to Lord Snowdon on May 7, 1960.

Princess Margaret flashes a coy smile as she makes her way to Westminster Abbey to marry Lord Snowdon

HONEYMOON AHOY! ROSE PETALS AND BOOMING SIRENS ON THREE-HOUR SEND-OFF DOWN THE THAMES

By Vincent Mulchrone

Honeymoon bound down the Thames last night, Britannia answered the shore stations customary inquiry Whither bound with the jaunty signal of British seadogs of old: Destination unknown  high seas.

Then, as she turned into the open seas, the royal yacht closed her radio to all but official messages  and Princess Margaret and her husband were at last alone.

They waved goodbye to London as Britannia cleared Tower Bridge  and the Princess, in one of her first wifely acts, flicked confetti from Mr Armstrong-Joness dark blue suit.

Londoners farewell to Honeymooners. Londoners gathered in King Edward Memorial Park, Shadwell, wave farewell to the Royal yacht Britannia as she passes down Thames bearing Princess Margaret and Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones on their honeymoon cruise to the West Indies

But London, as though unwilling to see them go, stretched out her leavetaking the length of the river. For almost three hours the historic, unlovely Thames came alive again as the royal river  a flag-fringed, cheering stream over which sirens boomed out a blessing in the form of the Morse letters M.A.

WEDDING DAY FACT Two scares disrupted the quiet of Westminster Abbey early yesterday. A caller to Scotland Yard at 3am said: A bomb has been placed in the Abbey. Car-loads of police searched, but found nothing. Meanwhile, the fire brigade were called out to reports of smoke in a fifth-floor window of nearby Westminster Abbey Choir School  but it turned out to be steam and flickering candles lit by the school matron Miss R Hodgson, who was taking a bath. Advertisement

A cheeky tugboat under Tower Bridge started it. A French merchantman took it up. A Dutchman passed it on, then two British colliers. Ocean liners and Liberian tubs joined the chorus. Sailors from Calcutta and republicans from Eire yanked on cords until the air about Britannia was hazy with siren steam.

The great blasts of sound, echoing from the walls of warehouses, soap factories and cement works, thundered around Britannia, sending gulls and pigeons wheeling into the sky.

And, laughing and waving, the two figures on the bridge seemed to exult in this, the noisiest, earthiest, almost spontaneous outburst of affection in a day of high emotion.

This royal processional way was packed with pinafored housewives on grimy wharves, sweat-stained dockers waving from high warehouse doors, and children sending up piping cheers from pleasure boats.

Far from the flowers and bunting of Westminster, the people of the river formed a frieze of cheering goodwill on jetties, coal heaps and the outfall sewers of Londons drainage system.

They waved from pylons and cranes, and raised glasses of ale and stout from the balconies of riverside pubs.

Princess Margaret waves to the onlookers when she left with her husband Antony Armstrong Jones to join the Royal Yacht Britannia for start of their Honeymoon

Having changed out of her wedding dress an ever-glamorous Margaret opted for an all-blue ensemble for her departure

The yacht progressed down the Thames, through Tower Bridge, to a chorus of siren steam from fellow ships

As dusk fell, all that could be seen from the river banks was Princess Margarets going-away outfit and the dim figure of Mr Armstrong-Jones. Several times they stepped off the bridge, but returned again and again to the rail as another dock brought back the sirens boom and the peoples cheers.

Britannia; her sailors lining the main deck, pith-helmeted Marines drawn up on the upper deck, was a regal sight as the Princesss standard was hoisted at the mainmast just before she began her journey. The time: 5.25pm, a good 15 minutes behind schedule. Two tugs darted in quickly to take Britannias lines. The gleaming ship looked magnificent, sleek and royal in the late afternoon haze.

London Bridge, the environs of Tower Bridge, and every available toe and hand-hold on the wharves and jetties on both sides of the river had its quota of flag-waving, cheering people. London Bridge was a solid mass split up the middle by a thin red line of buses. All the drabness which is Londons dockland had become gay and alive this fine summer evening.

Everything that floated was draped with bunting  even dirty old tugs had dug out flags to wave farewell to the happy couple.

Four police launches and two tugs fussed busily around Britannia for some minutes before black smoke puffed out from the cream-coloured raked funnel, and she prepared to move.

AMERICANS CAME TO SCOFF BUT LEFT CHEERING The best years of their lives began today for HRH Princess Margaret and her husband, Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones. There were no flaws, no hitches during the ceremony which flowed smoothly along in brilliant colour and pageantry in Westminster Abbey. This was a wonderful day for the Princess and her husband. Neither looked nervous. Only the Queen herself was grave, looking almost anxiously towards the main entrance of Westminster Abbey awaiting the arrival of her younger sister. It would be untrue to say there have not been some unpleasant reports about this marriage in the American and continental newspapers. Today, all that was forgotten. This was a triumph not only for the bride and bridegroom, but for the British people who have taken the couple to their hearts. Here is a love match between Princess and commoner, sealed and solemnised in one of our most historic shrines. Everyone was represented in the Abbey. Boy Scouts; Sea Scouts in shorts; choirboys wearing white carnations in their cassocks; bishops in bright red; nuns in midnight black; generals in scarlet uniforms; lovely women in outrageous hats; ushers; messenger boys  and several hundred reporters. The Americans were there in force. Some had come to scoff and sneer. They left to cheer. We do these things well. Now, you do not expect from me some descriptive piece about the sun shining through the strained glass windows  although it did. What I want to tell you is that this was a family day. A great day for a lovely daughter who has known her heart ache, going to the altar with the man she loves. It is as simple as that. When Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones stood before the Archbishop of Canterbury  the same archbishop who gave her such solemn advice in the past  the great and glorious, the mighty and wealthy of the land, were assembled around them. The couple were honoured, they were pleased, but I do not think they gave great thought to the glittering assembly. They had no eyes except for each other. Advertisement

Up came the mooring chains and at 5.38pm she was off, trailing an ever-widening herringbone wake.

With the Princesss first wave the siren symphony began. The Spanish cargo ship Monte Urquiola kept up her deep-throated braying so long that the Royal Marines band playing on the upper deck might just as well not have bothered. I doubt if the Princess could have heard the music, let alone we on the shore. Between siren blasts, the sweeter sound of church bells rolled up river.

As Britannia left Tower Bridge behind, the waterfronts of Millwall, Wapping and Silvertown came alive. Little-used bunting fluttered from salt-stained coasters.

A gang of small boys, who had fought a day-long battle with lightermen to gain a prohibited vantage point, suddenly burst from beneath a tarpaulin and waved cheekily at the yacht towering above them.

The five oclock sirens had long sounded, but dockers, lightermen, and sailors stuck to their vantage points as Britannia, all agleam amid the working ships, sailed the historic royal reaches of the river. They cheered and whistled through their fingers from the wharves of Deptford, where Elizabeth I knighted Drake in the Golden Hind.

On the Isle of Dogs, they crowded to the very waters edge. On the opposite shore they packed the pier at Greenwich, birthplace of Tudor monarchs.

Here, Cutty Sark, last of the windjammers, flew the signal Happy Voyage. An old woman, misty-eyed on the pier, cried God bless you as she waved.

Mr Armstrong-Jones had a special wave for his old East End friends and neighbours at Rotherhithe as Britannia slipped down river past the converted public house that used to be his studio.

People from the shabby street who used to drink with him in the Angel crowded in hundreds to the waterfront to watch. And as the royal yacht steamed past his old studio at the Little Midshipman, they began waving and shouting.

Riverboats hooted and ship builders on repair work beat their hammers in the traditional dockyard celebration. Mr Armstrong-Jones glanced to his left and saw the timbered riverside window of his old studio  hung with a Union Jack and Red Ensign  and old friends waving madly.

Quickly, he turned to Princess Margaret. Together they turned and waved. Then, as the ship drew level, they raced to the starboard side of the observation deck, just below Britannias bridge.

Flourishing their hands high in the air excitedly, they stayed saluting for three minutes  as the crowds on the other side of the river looked in vain for the couple.

Then the Princess suddenly remembered that they should be seen by all and ran back to the middle of the observation bridge.

Britannias speed was up to about 15 knots as she breasted the flood of cheers and sirens at Tilbury.

Sea cadets lined Tilbury landing stage and sent three cheers winging across the water. Many thanks, replied Britannia.

Every craft on the river was dressed in a brave splash of colour under the darkening sky. Girls of a Sea Rangers unit ran up the flag message: Good luck God Speed.

Just before midnight Britannia was in the open sea, her speed reduced to six knots by poor visibility.

The royal couple were still waving, still smiling, still  one might guess  very moved at the great flood of affection which kept pace with them along the river.

TONY WAVED AND THE CROWD BURST INTO 'FOR HE'S A JOLLY GOOD FELLOW'

By Michael Brown

Balcony scene at Buckingham Palace  but with a difference. The Queen gives pride of place to the newlyweds, as a cheering crowd of 100,000 in The Mall calls for Tony.

As he stood on the Palace balcony, the Royal Family about him, plain Mr Antony Armstrong-Jones suddenly stole the show.

He stood there shyly, almost awkwardly, as the crowd surged in a solid dust- kicking cavalcade to press against the railings below.

Look of love! Anthony Armstrong-Jones and Princess Margaret exchange joyful smiles after the ceremony

Royal wave! Princess Margaret acknowledges well-wishers ad the family gathers on the balcony at Buckingham Palace

They cheered the smiling Princess, they roared for the Queen, there was an affectionate burst of enthusiasm for the Prince of Wales, who started waving furiously on his own.

Tony stood there apparently uncertain what to do. Then, through binoculars, I saw Princess Margaret turn laughingly to her husband and say something. He raised his arm  and the cheers thundered in reply.

The Princess lightly touched his hand and spoke again. And Mr Armstrong-Jones waved a second time. This time, the crowd burst into For Hes A Jolly Good Fellow.

He waved again  and back came the roars. He was a Londoner, a commoner, alone among the crowned and titled  and the carefree, generous crowd were showing it approved.

All around, people were talking of him in the way they do of Prince Philip. Bet he wishes he could take a picture from up there . . .

Everyone around seemed to want to talk about him  the girls said he looked dashing and much better looking than his pictures.

For the hordes of revellers who decided to make an evening of it, it was fiesta night in the West End on the warmest night of the year  61 degrees at 11pm.

Sightseers were still roaming the streets up to midnight, and The Mall was lively with milling crowds reluctant to go home.

They were rewarded at 11.35pm when the car carrying the Queen, Prince Philip, and Queen Ingrid of Denmark back from Clarence House drove through the gates of Buckingham Palace.

The royal party had dined with the Queen Mother. When their car set out at 8.30pm, a crowd of several thousand blocked the carriageway in front of the Palace gates.

Soon after their return, the Palace floodlighting was switched off and sightseers began to disperse.

Huge crowds filled The Mall and police with loudspeakers kept traffic moving in one direction from Trafalgar Square around the Victoria Monument and along Constitution Hill.

ROYAL WITH A TOUCH OF MONTE CARLO

By Eve Perrick

By our stiff necks you will recognise us, the lucky thousand who were in Westminster Abbey yesterday. Because at this, surely the gayest and most glamorous of royal weddings, there was so much to see.

And what there was to see was happening on four sides at once and also being relayed on closed-circuit television sets.

Hence the brand-new fashionable complaint  Royal Wedding Neck. But, my goodness, it was worth it.

I have been to highly publicised weddings before. I was outside the Abbey when the Queen married Prince Philip. I saw Prince Rainier of Monaco marry film star Grace Kelly. The unique quality of yesterdays semi-State occasion was that it combined the best elements of both.

It was a right royal affair, of course. But it was, at the same time, a warm, friendly, sparkling, and not at all staid, get-together of well-known personalities from so many walks of life.

Altar bound: Bride Princess Margaret is accompanied by her brother-in-law Prince Philip as she makes her way down the aisle

The Queen the Queen Mother, and Princess Anne arrive at Westminster Abbey for a final rehearsal for the wedding

The sunshine helped. It added the Monte Carlo gala touch. Before the ceremony, we stood outside on the Abbey lawns in our wedding finery complimenting each other on how splendid we all looked. We did, too.

There were several couturiers among the assembly  Belinda Bellville and John Cavanagh, as well as the royal dressmaker, Norman Hartnell  and all agreed it was one of the best-dressed weddings they had ever attended.

The informal forgathering on the grass was more than ever appreciated when the time came to take our places inside.

For there did seem to be a somewhat rigid demarcation line between  if you will pardon the expression, I use it only because it strikes me as apt  the Gentlemen and the Players.

Under Players, I classify the actors and other creative artists, all of whom were ushered through the Poets Corner door. That way came Mr Noel Coward, looking more royal than any duke.

In Poets Corner were placed Mr Armstrong-Joness former girlfriend Miss Jacqui Chan, the actress Miss Anna Massey (wearing the brightest hued outfit of them all, a livid lime green which set off her red hair), Sir Michael and Lady Redgrave, and Mr Peter Hall with wife Leslie Caron.

However, Dame Margot Fonteyn, as an Ambassadors wife, entered through the West Side, reserved for the bride, groom, the Royal Family, their personal guests, Cabinet Ministers and top-ranking diplomats.

Joyce Grenfell, as a niece of the Duchess of Gloucester and a long-standing friend of the Queen Mother, also rated next-best treatment. She used the North Door. So did the only poet present  Mr John Betjeman.

The North Transept Aisle could almost have been dubbed Reunion Clubhouse for the ex-members of the Margaret Set. The Dalkeiths (Lady Dalkeith, one of many who chose a coffee-and-cream colour scheme, was my choice as the most beautiful woman in the Abbey, barring the bride, of course), the Porchesters, the Colin Tennants.

Lord Blandford sat next to his father, making a pair of womanless Marlboroughs (the Duchess is ill, the Blandfords have separated).

Sir Anthony and Lady Eden (in a blue tulle sombrero) next to Lady Violet Bonham Carter and Lord and Lady Attlee brought a slightly political atmosphere with them which helped to break up the too solid ranks of ex-debbery.

Centre of attraction and attention, inevitably, was the altar, where I was intrigued to note two handsome black-and-gold chairs had been placed on either side of what looked like a miniature throne of red-velvet upholstered gilt.

Now that's what you call a crown ma'am! L-R: Frank Jacobs adds the finishing touches to the cake, decorator Jack Duthie carries a coronet and porter Harry Broughton with a gift of fruit

THE GROOM'S MOTHER AND TWO STEPMOTHERS Yesterday's wedding started something in the way of mothers-in-law. It is not unusual, today, to find the bride or bridegrooms mother and stepmother at a wedding. But one mother and two stepmothers is certainly a record for a fashionable wedding  as far as I know. And it shows the trend for friendliness after divorce in society circles. There was Lady Rosse  mother of the bridegroom  certainly one of the belles of the wedding. There was Mrs Carol Lopez, his first stepmother; along with the present Mrs Jenifer Armstrong-Jones, his second stepmother. And not only were the three wives present  but their husbands came too. It was all very, very friendly indeed. Pictured, L-R: The groom's stepmother number one, Mrs Carol Lopez, mother Lady Rosse, and stepmother number two Jennifer Armstrong Jones Advertisement

However, as it turned out, Prince Philip sat on the throne between the Queen and the Queen Mother.

Id say he deserved the place of honour. Princess Margaret was for the most part, completely cool, calm and collected. But there were a few anxious moments  and at those times Philip showed himself to be a veritable Rock of Gibraltar.

At the entrance to the Abbey, the Princess had to wait several minutes, with the TV cameras full on her, before starting that walk down the aisle.

The strain was beginning to show. Immediately, the man who was to give her away took the strain. He made a joke and laughed. The Princess wanted to laugh, too, but was frightened to move her head in case her veil became disarranged. Philip made a joke of that as well. The tension passed.

The Abbey guests saw only a radiant bride able to put a slightly nervous bridegroom at his ease.

About this bridegroom, now. I feel it timely that his correct height should be recorded somewhere and here and now is as good a place as any.

Mr Armstrong-Jones stands 5ft 7in in his socks.

Yesterday, even though the Princess was wearing a piled top-knotted hairdo plus a heavy tiara (and probably high heels as well), her groom still managed to look down on her from a height which allowed him a couple of inches to spare.

A few people near me seemed surprised at this and commented upon it. Most observations about him, though, were directed at his boyish appearance, which belied his 30 years and his brilliantly cut suit of clothes.

Formal morning coats, I know, can be great equalisers, but yesterday it was interesting to note that the sponge-bag checked pants of the guests in Poets Corner were tailored a trifle tighter than the trousers worn on the north and west sides of the Abbey.

And while were on the subject of mens fashions, Prince Philips very large, very pink carnation (where all the other gentlemen sported white or red ones) was the subject of much speculation and even more admiration.

It provided that unexpected, unorthodox, but delightfully colourful touch which was so much a feature of the wedding of Princess Margaret to Mr Tony Armstrong-Jones on May 6, 1960.

WHAT STYLISH SISTERS! HER MAJESTY DAZZLED IN BRILLIANT TURQUOISE

It was the most fashionable wedding of the year. Not only because it was royal, but because it was an opportunity for the Queen and the Royal Family to wear clothes that are worn at no other function.

There is the long regal dress  not an evening dress but one that is suitable for wearing in the daytime in the bright spring sunshine, and one that can be worn with a hat. No easy problem for the designers.

The most outstanding thing about the Queens dress, hat and gloves was the colour  a brilliant shade of turquoise the colour of a warm Mediterranean sea.

It was a simple dress  no furs, no elaborate embroidery, no appliqued flowers, just blue faille and lace. It was a simple head-dress  no huge feathered hat, but a couple of simple roses mounted on a veil.

Regal in blue: The Queen's perfect outfit  a brilliant shade of turquoise the colour of a warm Mediterranean sea

And no mountains of jewellery, just pearls and diamonds to set off the wonderfully clear colour of her dress. What made the Queen choose this simple dress with its full skirt, its tailored belt, its short bolero?

It was an ideal dress for the Queens figure  the belt showed off her waist; the full skirt gave her extra dignity; the three-quarter sleeves showed off her ruched gloves and diamond bracelet.

The Queen Mother, however, was more traditionally dressed, except that her stole was cut like a tunic to show off the new long, long gloves that everyone will be wearing this year. And instead of fox furs, she chose a pale honey mink to set off the white and gold of her lame dress.

And probably the most noticeable thing about the Queen Mother yesterday was she was wearing a hat that we have come to look for on every big occasion. Just like her mother-in-law, Queen Mary, she has found what suits her  and sticks to it.

MARGARET'S DRESS: IDEAL FOR A 1960s FAIRYTALE

The handclasp firm, the tread purposeful . . . thats how they left the Abbey. This was the Princess and the Commoner fused into a union with a pageantry and pomp even the sun could not resist.

This was it  the 1960 fairy story that left the Cold War, H-bombs, rockets and a ghastly scientific world just smiles and heartbeats behind.

And this was the wedding dress in which she looked, every inch, the Princess Rose  and put a radiant smile on the face of the nation.

I have never seen more elegance, such perfect taste. The small figure rendered more beautiful in Norman Hartnells graceful, uncluttered line.

Breathtaking: The princess' wedding gown that put a radiant smile on the face of the nation

The head-dress was a triumph of proportion. The Princesss own hair is too short to have held that deep tiara and veil with safety.

Hairdresser Rene lent to beauty the artifice of fashion. A small chignon of hair, exactly matching the Princesss, filled the centre of the tiara, rising slightly above it.

It was an artifice of genius; it took courage to wear, courage that came but naturally to a Princess in love.

And the bridal veil . . . short at the sides and of very light tulle edged with organza, unusual because it was beautifully graduated to fall from short sides to the full train; unusual because it was fastened to fall from the base of the diamond tiara and no attempt was made to cover the top of the head at all.

So she looked exquisitely beautiful as we had expected, but more beautiful than we had the right to expect.

The Princess and her husband left the Abbey for the balcony, the cheers, the change into going-away clothes, the drive to the Britannia.

It was truly a glorious royal wedding, and, perhaps, the most glamorous ever.

This special edition was created from original reports from the Daily Mail of May 7, 1960
Thrifty diners will be thrilled to know that there's a clever hack to get a quick bite to eat on the high street without spending a penny.

All you need is your phone and a friendly smile to secure your feast at chains such as KFC, All Bar One, Krispy Kreme and Pret.

TV chef Simon Rimmer revealed on last night's Channel 4's Tricks Of The Restaurant Trade that all shoppers need to do is register to each individual app and you can seal the deal.

Here Femail reveals what diners can get for free...

TV chef Simon Rimmer explained how hungry customers can get their hands on free food and not have to spend a penny

Fast-food chain KFC offers its loyal fans free chicken if they sign up to a loyalty reward scheme

KFC

Customers can sign up to KFC's Colonel Chicken Club, where they will receive stamps on every purchase above 3.

If you scan your card or app when placing your order you can even get two stamps for every purchase over 15 - this means free food and drinks on your third, seventh and eleventh chicken stamp.

When you register, KFC gives you three stamps just for signing up on the app which equals enough for two hot wings - for free.

KRISPY KREME

Fans of Krispy Kreme can secure themselves a free glazed doughnut just by registering for their mailing list.

In the Channel 4 programme, Simon entered his details and hailed a cab to his nearest store and had a barcode scanned to claim his.

Krispy Kreme also offers regular rewards for loyal customers including birthday treats

ALL BAR ONE

All Bar One has around 50 chains in the UK and now whenever you're feeling thirsty you can pop in and bag yourself a free drink.

Sign up to the app and they will give you a 5 voucher, which you can redeem against a drink of the same price in store.

You have to simply flash a winning smile and be friendly towards employees to be in with a chance of securing a free item - but it's not guaranteed

PRET

Pret doesn't specifically offer anything immediately free - you have to have nine stamps on your loyalty card before you can claim back a drink.

But it's well known that their employees have an allowance to give away free food and drink, but it's completely at random and down to them.

They have a rough budget of 5 a day to dole out free items so that winning smile could go a long way.

Tricks of the Restaurant Trade is available to watch on Channel 4's All4 platform
Children can be fussy eaters but these colourful emoji and cartoon-inspired lunches would get even the pickiest young diners finishing every last mouthful.

They are the work of illustrator, designer and cartoon artist Kokoro Kimura, who makes the adorable packed lunches for her three-year-old son Kenzo Kimura Srensen.

Kokoro, of Aarhus, Denmark, shares her brightly coloured Japanese-inspired bento boxes on her blog Fun Kawaii, where they have been hailed as some of the world's best packed lunches.

From sandwiches cut into poo emoji shapes to sushi shaped like characters such as Dory from Finding Nemo, the lunches look impressive but can take Kokoro just 10 minutes to complete.

Cartoonist Kokoro Kimura with her son Kenzo Kimura Srensen, for whom she makes the colourful lunches

Kokoro makes fun lunches for her son that she shapes into cartoon characters or emojis such as her son's favourite 'poo' emoji

She also shapes sandwiches to look like beloved children's cartoon character Peppa Pig

Artistic Kokoro, who is from Tokyo, Japan but now lives in Denmark with her Danish husband and their son, started making the incredibly-detailed lunches for her son to take to nursery a year ago.

She makes the incredibly detailed snacks including Hello Kitty shaped sushi, cheese sandwiches shaped like Pokemon and Finding Nemo noodles and fish.

The colourful dishes take her between ten to 40 minutes each to construct, and she admits she's 'hooked' to the Japanese 'Charaben' trend in which parents make cute lunches that look like characters for their children.

Designer Kokoro makes the pack lunches to encourage Kenzo to eat new foods and stop him becoming picky, and said his friends gather around to check out his meals.

Kokoro says her son really loves the poo emoji so she makes cookies shaped like it (left) and even makes her own paper bags for her son's lunch (right)

This Pokemon-themed lunch features characters such as Pikachu and Squirtle

This lunch is minion themed with the minions made out of pieces of fruit and seaweed

His favourite is poo emoji sandwiches and cookies - which his mum puts in homemade 'poo' bags.

She also turns strawberries into rings he can wear, oranges into jewel covered cupcakes and Peppa Pigs from real ham.

Arty Kokoro from Aarhus, Denmark, said: 'It was a huge success - he loved it, his classmates loved it and even his teachers. They took his bento and walked around the classroom to show other kids.

'I was hooked. I wasn't sure if Japanese fun bento lunches would be accepted or whether people would think it was strange, so I was a bit nervous.

'I didn't want my son to be picked on for being different. But everybody said 'wow'.

This princess lunch made using sandwich meat and sushi bites filled with creamy tuna is adorable

Kokoro has also made a My Little Pony lunch featuring one of the characters made out of ham and bread

The lunches are adorable but are still healthy, even when themed around a cartoon character such as Hello Kitty (left). They often feature cute sandwiches and fruit and vegetables

This style of 'charaben' lunch is popular in Japan and involves parents making lunches into cute characters such as Dory from Finding Nemo which uses blue noodles (left). Kokoro uses her Japanese upbringing to make the cute lunches for her son

Another Pokemon themed lunch features a Pikachu made out of cheese, and tuna sushi bites, as well as pieces of fruit and corn

She added: 'I make them one or two times a week and it's actually for his afternoon snacks.

'I wanted to help my son to be curious of good food, and help him eat all sorts of food. I don't want him to become bad picky eater when he grows up so I wanted to teach him to think 'food is fun and tasty'.

'Kids are very visual. They really appreciate when food looks fun and pretty. My son, he laughs or smiles when he opens the box. It's a pure pleasure to see kids smile.'

Charaben is a style of elaborately arranged bento - Japanese boxed lunches - which feature food decorated to look like characters.

Kokoro top tips for making her creations are to use cookie cutters, and she even makes her own to speed up her morning routine.

She recommends including as many different coloured foods as possible.

She added: 'Some parents ask me 'oh my gosh that must take a long time to make' but parents spend time to their own hobbies like yoga or knitting.

'Well, I make bento - it's my hobby.'
Advertisement

Royal wedding fever has taken over the world but now some cheeky pranksters have poked fun at the media circus surrounding the big day by launching a range of distinctly unofficial commemorative plates.

The satirical crockery offers some tongue-in-cheek comments on the upcoming nuptials on May 19 at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, from Meghan Markle's acting to the date clash with the FA Cup.

Featuring slogans such as 'I'd rather marry Will,' and 'Wish I'd watched the FA Cup,' the plates have been described as 'commemorative memorabilia for tough times'.

The cheeky set of plates have been launched to celebrate the royal wedding on May 19. One states that 'I'd rather marry Will' (left). Another, presumably for football fans, pokes fun at the date clash with the FA Cup (right)

The crockery has been designed by London company KK Outlet, which says it wanted to raise a smile and 'poke fun' at the happy couple.

A spokesman for KK Outlet said: 'Trump, Brexit, North Korea, Novichok, the climate crisis and Ant & Dec without Ant. What we need is a Royal Wedding to put the bad news behind us at least for a day.'

One plate features a picture of the Queen with Ms Markle's face superimposed over it, while another gives the wedding a mocking two-and-a-half star review, describing it as 'Boring plot with a few moving moments'.

Another simply reads 'I'd rather marry Will'. Elsewhere, a pessimistic plate states 'I Give It A Year', while another announces the day as a 'Brexit-Free Zone'.

KK Outlet says the plates are 'Royal crockery to raise a smile, poke fun at the happy couple, facepalm the decision to hold the wedding on FA Cup Final day and celebrate a Brexit-free day.'

One of the tongue-in-cheek plates pessimistically brandishes the slogan: 'I give it a year' (left). Another declares the day a 'Brexit-free zone' on which the UK's decision to leave the EU cannot be mentioned (right)

One of the plates cheekily gives the wedding a review of two and a half stars, describing it as having a 'boring plot with a few moving moments' (left). Another brandishes the H&M logo as Harry and Meghan share the same initials (right)

One of the plates imagines a text conversation between Harry, William, Kate and even the Queen and Prince Philip after Harry breaks the news of his engagement - with Philip not approving the match (left). Another lists check boxes of what the plate commemorates - with empty boxes next to 'kids' and 'divorce' (right)

One plate imagines the happy couple's wedding menu - listing hilarious British and American options such as 'swan' and 'Twinkies' (left). Another features Harry and Meghan's lower faces with the message above reading: 'Chin Chin' (right)
A plant-based 'steak' that is said to look and taste just like real meat will soon be available at a major supermarket.

The steak, which is made of wheat and soy, will launch at 400 Tesco stores across the UK from May 21 as the country sees a boom in popularity for veganism and flexitarian lifestyles.

The product has been made by Dutch manufacturer Vivera, which describes it as 'barely distinguishable from real steak' in taste, texture and smell.

Can you tell that this steak isn't beef? The new plant-based 'steak' is made entirely from wheat and soy

It comes after British supermarkets have reported a surge in sales of vegan food, with the Vegan Society saying that more than half of adults are adopting plant-based 'buying behaviours'.

The number of vegans in the UK has also increased by up to four times in the last 10 years.

The new plant-based steak is thought to be the first realistic steak lookalike product to launch in a mainstream UK supermarket. It is not known yet how much it will cost.

A spokesman for Vivera said: 'Vivera announces that it, as the first company in the world, will bring the 100 percent plant-based steak to market. Vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians will be able to enjoy this ground-breaking product.

The new steak will go on sale at 400 Tesco stores across the UK

'Vivera has already started production and expects to produce several million pieces in 2018.'

The 'steak' will first launch in the UK before arriving in the Netherlands, Germany, France and Italy in the second half of 2018.

Gert Jan Gombert of Vivera told Plant Based News: 'A large group of vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians has been very interested in such a product for years. With the breakthrough of its market introduction and large-scale production, a large group of consumers can enjoy this very tasty plant-based product.

'The smell, taste and bite can hardly be distinguished from real steak and we are convinced that this product will meet a large need of consumers.

'It is very important that we eat less meat, both for our own health, animal welfare and for our planet. Innovative and high-quality plant-based products can make a significant contribution here.'

Tesco has made strides in bringing plant-based food to the mass market this year after launching its Wicked Kitchen vegan range in January, developed in collaboration with chefs Derek and Chad Sarno.

Bringing these products to the mass market means this will be a big year for veganism, Derek Sarno told Plant Based News.

He added: 'This is the year that we will see a major shift in food service offerings. The commitment and stance Tesco has taken...is just amazing!

'Accessibility will no longer be a barrier for anyone wanting to embrace a healthier and more compassionate way of eating that actually tastes amazing and isn't just boring and bland. This is here to stay and, and it's far beyond a trend. This is a very exciting year ahead and there's lots more to follow.'
Nurses should not be referred to as sisters or matrons because it puts men off joining the profession, it was claimed yesterday.

The language used within nursing was outdated and very female, a union boss warned.

Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said the NHS needed more male nurses but men were being discouraged from choosing it as a career.

She called for more Charlies to join  a reference to male nurse Charlie Fairhead in long-running BBC soap Casualty.

Janet Davies, chief executive of the Royal College of Nursing, said the NHS needed more male nurses but men were being discouraged from choosing it as a career. She called for more Charlies to join  a reference to male nurse Charlie Fairhead in Casualty

Miss Davies even suggested there should be nursing fancy dress costumes for boys as well as girls to eradicate gender-specific roles. The diverse role of nursing should be championed, promoting its place in prisons and mental health services as well as in hospitals, to banish the image that it is womans work, she said.

But calls for a targeted campaign to attract more male nurses were rebuffed by RCN members at the unions annual congress in Belfast yesterday over fears it would discriminate against women.

Members dismissed offering men incentives, arguing that they already occupy more than half of the top nursing roles despite making up just a tenth of the workforce.

Speaking after the vote, Miss Davies said it was important to lose the stereotype that only women make good nurses.

Terms such as ward sister and matron were probably outdated, she said, adding that they had already been scrapped in some parts of the UK.

We still use the word ward sister because there was a vote on that at some point, she said. But theyre not called ward sisters in Scotland, everyone is called a charge nurse regardless of your sex and thats another good debate  Lots of the language in nursing generally is very female but we do have matrons who are men.

But thats another whole debate because there are some men who dont mind being called matron. Otherwise you get male matron and then its discriminatory. Campaigners say that men are an untapped resource that could help to fill the 38,000 current vacancies.

Health bosses claim society perpetuates images that frequently portray and readily accept nursing as a role carried out by women and one that men simply do not fit into. Men account for only 74,580 of the UKs 690,000 registered nurses.

Nurses should not be referred to as sisters or matrons because it puts men off joining the profession, it was claimed yesterday

Miss Davies called for TV producers to change public perceptions by creating more male nurse characters like Charlie Fairhead in Casualty.

We need more Charlies but shown in lots of places, in the community, in different settings  I think that would help, she said. They did have a guy who was a nurse in EastEnders a few years ago. We need more of that to help change the publics perspective. We need more realistic interpretations of what nurses do, especially in those sorts of soap operas.

Weve moved a long way in terms of childcare for instance  we have many more fathers that are taking over the role of caring for children and thats become quite accepted. But its those nurturing and caring roles generally [that] are typically seen as a female-type role. Were moving quite a long way in that but with nursing is still a bit of a hang up. People often refer to she.

Some hospitals in England have already abolished the job title sister.

Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly NHS Trust and Birmingham Womens Hospital changed the title to ward manager to acknowledge the fact that men also carry out the role. But last night critics said it was nonsense to suggest these titles would stop men from applying for nursing jobs.

Conservative MP Peter Bone said: I really dont think this is putting anyone off. I dont think this political correctness helps anyone. Most patients like to see sisters and matrons in hospital. I dont see why males cant be called this.

When people are trying to get better, they just want to be reassured, and having sisters and matrons on wards does this.

Joyce Robins, of Patient Concern, said: How ever you look at it, its always going to be a job that appeals more to women. It is changing a bit but I dont think it will happen overnight.

The NHS is struggling to recruit and retain nurses. Hospitals are spending around 2.4billion a year on agency and temporary staff because of shortages, research has estimated.

Last year, for the first time, more midwives and nurses left the NHS than joined it. The number leaving has risen by more than half in four years.
Asthma sufferers from the wealthiest backgrounds are a fifth more likely to be killed by the disease than those from the poorest, a major study has revealed.

For those aged five to 44, the death rate among the most affluent households was 19 per cent higher than the poorest.

One explanation is that wealthier people are more susceptible to a deadlier form of asthma, known as brittle asthma, which takes hold suddenly.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and St George's, University of London, analysed 14,800 deaths from asthma (stock image)

This form of asthma has been linked to higher rates of allergies which also tend to be more common in affluent households due to better hygiene.

Normally death rates from illnesses are highest in the most deprived households.

About 5.4 million Britons are treated for asthma, which kills an average of three people a day in the UK. Rates of the condition increased significantly from the 1950s to the 1990s, and while they seem to have declined slightly since, figures from the Asthma UK charity show that death rates have increased by a quarter in the past five years.

For the latest study, researchers from the University of Edinburgh and St George's, University of London, analysed 14,800 deaths from asthma in England between 2005 and 2015. Patients were divided up into five groups based on the affluence of their household.

The authors, whose study is published in the BMJ, wrote: 'One speculative explanation is that in more affluent areas there is a higher prevalence of a less predictable (more 'brittle') form of asthma which occasionally progresses rapidly to a fatal outcome despite apparently adequate long-term symptomatic control.

'These results should be monitored in England and, where possible, tested in other countries using existing international studies.'

The study found that the trend was reversed for adults aged 45 to 74, and death rates were higher for poor patients (stock image)

Dr Samantha Walker, director of research at Asthma UK, said: 'It is concerning and unexpected that younger people in England who are wealthy have a higher risk of dying from the condition than those who are poor.

'It could be due to a lack of awareness about the seriousness of asthma. For example, one in six people with asthma do not realise it is fatal.'

She added: 'We also know anecdotally, that many people with asthma don't take their preventative medicine or miss out on their yearly asthma review with their GP or asthma nurse.

'More research needs to be done to fully understand the relationship between someone's socio-economic status and how their asthma might affect them.'

The study found that the trend was reversed for adults aged 45 to 74, and death rates were higher for poor patients.
If you want to cut back on your cabernet consumption, try a smaller glass.

A study has found that drinkers given small glasses consume up to 40 per cent less than those sipping from medium-sized ones.

Rather than making more trips to the bar or reaching for extra top-ups, those with smaller glasses simply end up drinking less over the course of an evening, the researchers said.

While pubs are required by licensing conditions to offer 125ml glasses of wine, critics say this is not obvious in some bars, where the default is often to serve a glass as large as 250ml.

Wine drinkers do not make more trips to the bar to make up for having a smaller glass, meaning their alcohol intake is reduced, a study by researchers at the University of Liverpool found

Researchers at the University of Liverpool wanted to find out what happened when drinkers were given a 125ml measure instead. They discovered that, over three hours in a bar, those given small glasses of wine cut their drinking by at least a third.

They added that drinkers do not seem to compensate for the smaller sizes by making more trips to the bar or reaching for more refills over the course of an evening. The same results were seen when drinkers were served two-thirds of a pint of lager or cider rather than a full pint. Those given smaller measurements of alcohol while watching television also drank up to 22 per cent less.

The British researchers conducted the study of almost 300 people following evidence that diners given smaller portions of food go on to eat less. Dr Inge Kersbergen, who led the study published in the journal Addiction, said: The typical serving size of beer in the UK  a pint  is larger than many other countries, and the size of wine servings in UK bars and restaurants has increased in recent decades, so there is room for serving sizes to be reduced without making them unrealistically small.

Reducing the standard serving size of alcohol in bars and restaurants may be an effective way to reduce alcohol consumption at the population level and improve public health.

Experts say glasses have increased in size since the 1990s as wine appreciation has grown and large glasses are considered important for the aromas and flavours to emerge.

In the latest study, researchers asked 164 people to one of four quiz nights in the citys Ship & Mitre bar, where they were sold small or medium-sized servings of alcohol.

Those people offered only small glasses of wine or two-thirds of a pint of lager or cider ended up drinking less over three hours than those given a medium wine glass or a pint.

They drank 39.6 per cent less alcohol, which worked out at 32.4 per cent when their gender and normal drinking habits were taken into account.

Wine drinkers are being encouraged to sip from a smaller glass after a study over alcohol intake

In a similar experiment, 114 people were invited into a laboratory with a sofa and television and offered regular drinks or reduced measures which were 25 per cent smaller.

Over an hour, those given smaller amounts drank 20.7 per cent to 22.3 per cent less alcohol.

Based on the results, the authors calculate that reducing the standard serving size of wine, beer and cider buy a quarter in bars and restaurants would lead to 1,400 fewer deaths and 73,000 fewer hospital admissions every year.

Dr Eric Robinson of the University of Liverpool said: Our research showed that people do not seem to compensate for the smaller servings by ordering more drinks on a single night and it seems unlikely that any further compensation would happen, but future research is needed to find out if people may compensate in other ways, such as drinking more often or getting stronger drinks.

Dr James Nicholls of Alcohol Research UK said: Pubs and bars have to offer a range of wine glass sizes by law but these are not always visibly promoted. As with takeaway food, the marketing pressure is always to go large.

I dont think anyone wants to ban the traditional pint, and consumers would certainly balk at the prospect.

However, there are lots of opportunities for selling drinks in smaller servings and it would be good to see more innovation in this area.
An 18-year-old girl with a life-threatening tumour covering one side of her face has been abandoned by her father after he became ashamed of her disfigurement.

The growth has left Salibunnisa, from the north Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, blind in one eye, as well as in excruciating pain every day.

Salibunnisa, who suffers from neurofibromatosis, is now forced to rely on her mother Mehrunissa, 40, who works multiple jobs just to make ends meet.

Unable to take the cruel torments of bullies, Salibunnisa dropped out of school, saying: 'People stare at me, say harsh words to me. The girls in my neighborhood ignore me because I don't look pretty.'

Doctors claim surgery is too risky, yet the teenager is facing loosing sight in her other eye unless she receives urgent treatment.

Salibunnisa, who lives as a recluse, said: 'I want to get my surgery done even if it costs my life. I am fed up with everything. I wish I could look normal.'

After receiving no financial help from the Government, Salibunnisa and her family are appealing to the public to assist them in funding her surgery.

Scroll down for video

Salibunnisa's life-threatening facial tumour means she is cruelly branded a 'witch' by locals

Her own father abandoned her after being ashamed of his daughter's disfigurement

'I want to get my surgery even if it costs my life'

Speaking of how others treat her, Salibunnisa said: 'I was bullied by fellow students at school. They would call me a ghost. Everyone made fun of me.

'After some time, I couldn't take it anymore and decided to drop out of school. But I never stopped my studies.'

Aside from the emotional strain, Salibunissa's tumours also cause her agonising physical pain.

She said: 'They hurt while bathing, wearing clothes, cleaning utensils, eating and cooking.

'When I watch TV, tears well up in my eye.'

Despite all everything she has endured, Salibunnisa still has positive hopes for the future.

She said: 'I am completely blinded in one eye. But I am going to continue my studies come what may.

'If I get some help with the treatment, I would like to complete my formal studies. I want to become a teacher.'

Unable to take the cruel torments of bullies, Salibunnisa dropped out of school

As well as affecting her emotionally, she says her condition even makes washing painful

Hiding from the 'cruel world' Salibunnisa spends most of her time in an enclosed room

Salibunnisa has becomes so desperate she is willing to have life-threatening surgery

'Please help me, I don't want to die like this'

Speaking of how surgeons refuse to operate on her daughter, Mehrunnisa, who works at a brick kiln, tearfully said: 'She is my only child. I can see her dying a slow death.

'Who would take care of her once I am gone? I want her to start looking like normal girls of her age.'

Doctors have told the family the entire treatment cost will come to around Rs 800,000 (8,700).

Mehrunnisa said: 'I am working overtime to organise the funds, well aware of the fact I won't be able to put together such a massive some in my entire lifetime.'

A crowd-funding campaign has been set up on Ketto, which is India's version of GoFundMe, to help raise money for Salibunissa's treatment.

Mehrunnisa has tried seeking assistance from Government authorities and politicians, however, no one has extended a helping hand so far.

Salibunnisa, who believes she will one day have treatment, said: 'Once the surgery is done and I start to look like other girls, I want to apply makeup, dress up well and go out to face the world.

'I hate to sit inside in this enclosed room. Please help me, I don't want to get blinded in the other eye, too, and die like this.'

According to her mother, once Salibunissa's tumours are removed she will be free to live the life of a normal young woman.

Mehrunissa said: 'People mock her and call her a ghost.

'I try not to take her out often to save her from this cruel world.

'I want her to get married like other girls and lead a happy life'.

WHAT IS NEUROFIBROMATOSIS? Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a common genetic condition that affects one in 3,000 people in the UK to some extent. It's caused by a genetic mutation that affects nerve tissue growth. Around half of cases are inherited from a parent and the other half occur spontaneously. Early symptoms include flat brown birthmarks, and lumps and bumps in unusual places. It is also associated with mild learning difficulties, although most people with NF1 are otherwise healthy and live to a normal life expectancy. There is no cure, however, surgery can be performed to remove the benign growths. Source: The Neuro Foundation Advertisement

Abandoned by her father

Mehrunissa claims her daughter's disfigurement came about after a charlatan doctor injected Salibunnisa in the eye as a baby.

She said: 'When Salibunnisa was just 6 months old, my husband took us to stay with my in-laws.

'It was there she got an eye infection that initially looked like a cyst.

'My husband took her to a nearby quack who injected her in the eye, since then my daughter's face started developing tumours.'

Mehrunissa claims the injection caused her daughter's cyst to grow into a large tumour that dominated the right side of her face.

Ashamed by his daughter's appearance, Mehrunnisa's husband has since established a life with his new family.

She said: 'After abandoning my daughter and me, he happily took another woman in his life and fathered four children from her.

'But he never cared to check if we are dead or alive.'

Tumours are 'ruining her organs'

Dr Ravishankar Thakur, a medical practitioner at a state-run facility at Singrauli, said: 'The patient's tumours are ruining her organs and could be life-threatening if not treated.

'She is suffering from neurofibromatosis that makes changes in the chromosome, disturbing the cell growth and leading to the uncontrolled growth of the tumours.

'I would advise them to seek an expert opinion from a surgeon and get her treated as soon as possible.'

Donate towards Salibunnisa's treatment here.

Optimistic about the future, she dreams of one day wearing make-up and feeling attractive
In seeking regulatory approval for a new smoking device called iQOS, Philip Morris International Inc is claiming the electronic gadget is less likely to cause disease than traditional cigarettes.

But the iQOS holds another, less obvious advantage over regular smokes: the ability to harvest personal data about users' smoking habits.

The tobacco giant is already building a database of iQOS customers who register with the company.

And it has developed a software application that could take things a step further.

The initiative, if allowed by regulators, could extract information about a user's smoking routine from the device and use it for marketing purposes when the user plugs their device into a USB to charge, said a former project manager at the company who tested the software in Japan.

That data would include the number of puffs and average consumption per day, said Shiro Masaoka, who worked at Philip Morris in Japan from 2012 to 2016.

The iQOS device is equipped with two microcontroller chips, one of which could store information

This diagram, from a patent filed by a Philip Morris subsidiary, explains how information might be communicated from a device like iQOS

What is an e-cigarette and how is it different to smoking tobacco? An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) is a device that allows users to inhale nicotine by heating a vapour from a solution that contain nicotine, propylene and flavourings. As there is no burning involved, there is no smoke like a traditional cigarette. But while they have been branded as carrying a lower risk than cigarettes, an increasing swell of studies is showing health dangers. E-cigarettes do not produce tar or carbon monoxide, but the vapor does contain some harmful chemicals. Nicotine is the highly addictive chemical which makes it difficult for smokers to quit. Nearly three million people in Britain use e-cigarettes, and more than nine million Americans. TYPES: 1. Standard e-cigarette Battery-powered device containing nicotine e-liquid. It vaporizes flavored nicotine liquid. 2. Juul Very similar to normal e-cigarettes but with sleeker design and a higher concentration of nicotine. Thanks to its 'nicotine salts', manufacturers claim one pod delivers the amount of nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. It is composed of an e-cigarette (battery and temperature control), and a pod of e-liquid which is inserted at the end. The liquid contains nicotine, chemicals and flavorings. Like other vaping devices, it vaporizes the e-liquid. 3. IQOS by Philip Morris Pen-shaped, charged like an iPod. Vaporizes tobacco. It is known as a 'heat not burn' smokeless device, heating tobacco but not burning it (at 350C compared to 600C as normal cigarettes do). The company claims this method lowers users' exposure to carcinogen from burning tobacco. Advertisement

Asked about Masaoka's comments, Philip Morris said the software in the device that controls temperature and duration of use 'is not used for marketing purposes whatsoever.'

A Canadian firm that specializes in reverse-engineering tech devices says the iQOS is equipped with two microcontroller chips, including one that, with modifications to the device, could support the storing of usage information that could then be transmitted back to Philip Morris.

From the product description of the chips used, the data could include details like the number of puffs by a user and how many times a person smoked the device in a given day, according to Ottawa-based TechInsights Inc, which examined the iQOS' innards for Reuters.

The firm's inspection included the hardware and components; it did not test the functionality of the device's software.

Reuters is publishing TechInsights' teardown report as part of a searchable repository, The Philip Morris Files, which includes internal company documents.

Presented with the TechInsights findings, Philip Morris said in a statement: 'No data information from the device is linked to a specific consumer, only the device.'

A patent filed by a Philip Morris subsidiary in 2009 suggests how communication with the smoker would work.

It describes an iQOS-like device as having 'an interface for establishing a communications link for uploading data to and downloading data from an Internet-enabled host.'

Gregory Connolly, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied iQOS technology and patents, said Philip Morris' ability to gather user data could give the device remarkable power.

'What they're going to have is a mega database of how Americans smoke,' he said. 'Then they'll be able to reprogram the current puffing delivery pattern of the iQOS to one that may be more reinforcing and with a higher addiction potential.'

Told about those comments, Philip Morris referred to remarks in January by its vice president for scientific and public communications, Moira Gilchrist.

'I can reassure that there's no technology in there that's intended to manipulate in any way what is delivered from iQOS,' Gilchrist told a panel of scientific advisers for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The only time the company extracts data from the device, Philip Morris says, is when trying to figure out why there's been a malfunction.

'CAPTURE DATA'

Gilchrist told the FDA panel that iQOS delivers roughly the same level of nicotine as a standard cigarette. Philip Morris says the device's nicotine delivery cannot be altered.

Gilchrist did say, though, that the company is able to 'capture data,' such as the number of puffs taken on an iQOS, but doesn't do so unless it's necessary to examine a device that has a technical problem. The number of puffs by a user and smoking time per tobacco insert are automatically regulated by the device, she said.

The company says that by heating tobacco instead of burning it, the iQOS significantly reduces a user's exposure to the levels of carcinogens and other toxic substances found in a regular cigarette. As a result, the company claims, the device 'is likely to reduce the risk of smoking related diseases.'

Philip Morris says an iQOS user gets about the same level of nicotine from the device as they would from a regular cigarette

The iQOS system uses cigarette-like inserts containing tobacco, branded in some markets as HeatSticks. They slide into a pen-size holder, equipped with a heating component called a 'blade.' The device comes with a USB cord, and has Bluetooth wireless communication availability in some markets.

What theyre going to have is a mega database of how Americans smoke Gregory Connolly, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston

Philip Morris says iQOS is for smokers who would otherwise not quit. It is applying to the FDA for permission to market the device in America as being less harmful than cigarettes.

The panel of advisers at the FDA hearing in January voted its approval of a finding that scientific studies show switching completely from cigarettes to iQOS significantly reduces a smoker's exposure to harmful chemicals.

But it also found that Philip Morris had not demonstrated that the reduction is 'reasonably likely' to result in a 'measurable and substantial' reduction in disease and/or death.

A Reuters investigation published in December identified shortcomings in the training and professionalism of some of the lead investigators in the clinical trials that underpin the tobacco giant's application to the FDA.

Former Philip Morris employees and contractors described irregularities in those studies. Reuters did not find any evidence that the outcome of the experiments was manipulated or falsified.

Philip Morris said in a statement to Reuters that 'all studies were conducted by suitably qualified and trained Principal Investigators,' researchers who oversee a clinical trial.

PATENTS FILED

In a letter in February, which mentioned Reuters' findings, a group of 10 U.S. senators asked FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to 'avoid rushing' the approval of products such as iQOS 'without requiring strong evidence that any such product will reduce the risk of disease, result in a large number of smokers quitting, and not increase youth tobacco use.'

Shoppers gather in an iQOS store in Tokyo. Philip Morris is building a database of consumers of its new smoking device, including those who register in stores

'Recommending e-cigarettes is irresponsible': Doctor warns the devices are linked to health woes Recommending e-cigarettes for smokers to help them give up the notoriously bad habit is 'irresponsible', an expert today argued. Professor Kenneth Johnson, from the School of Epidemiology and Public Health at University of Ottawa, said the devices can have the opposite effect. The gadgets have been subject to huge controversy recently, due to worrying links between heart and lung damage and vaping. But Professor Johnson argued against the decision in a powerful article in the British Medical Journal today. He wrote: 'They [tobacco companies] have a long history of aggressively using their economic and political power to profit at the expense of public health. 'British American Tobacco has big plans for expanding the recreational nicotine market with e-cigarettes - and cessation is not part of the game plan.' Professor Johnson added: 'Recommending e-cigarettes for smoking cessation, as currently promoted and used, is irresponsible.' Advertisement

The company has filed a series of patents related to electronic smoking devices.

One such patent published in 2016 describes a mouthpiece with a sensor to measure the amount of nicotine byproduct in a user's saliva and allows for remote adjustments to the device.

Such changes would allow for the monitoring and controlling of the 'maximum threshold' for the amount of nicotine that a user receives, according to the patent.

In a statement in December, Philip Morris said that patent 'is not used in any of our products and we have no plans for it in the foreseeable future.'

At the January meeting of the FDA advisory panel, Gilchrist was quizzed on how the company is using Bluetooth, which provides for greater connectivity with iQOS users. She replied that it is used to remind consumers, for instance, when they have to clean their device or re-order HeatSticks so they didn't run out and have to revert to regular cigarettes.

'You know, for example, a message may come up: 'Hey, you haven't used your iQOS device today,'' Gilchrist said. 'Have you stopped smoking, or is it because you've gone back to combustible cigarettes?'

In Japan, which has more permissive tobacco marketing laws than many countries, Philip Morris is collecting user information through registrations for the device.

At a flagship boutique in Tokyo's fashionable Harajuku district, where the word iQOS stretches down the side of a glass-encased building, customers were offered a discount on buying the device in exchange for signing up on the company's iQOS website.

The company offered incentives on the website for people to register, including the iQOS discount. In doing so, potential customers were asked to enter a list of smoking preferences as well as the user ID for their Instagram social media account.

Philip Morris said in a statement that it does so 'to ensure that these consumers can follow the iQOS Instagram account, which is closed and limited to age-verified consumers registered in the Philip Morris Japan iQOS consumer database.'

An internal Philip Morris handbook dated 2016 discussed approaches to social media. It gave examples of possible Facebook posts aimed at customers. 'Did you know?' one suggested post reads. 'Our newest version of iQOS can be connected to an app that'll help you adjust to the product much quicker. Take it for a spin and learn more.'
Three more travellers have become infected with 'super gonorrhoea', which is resistant to antibiotics, scientists have revealed.

They picked up the sexually transmitted infection (STI) while having unprotected sex as they toured through south-east Asia.

Between February and March this year one person in the UK and two in Australia failed to respond to the go-to antibiotic treatment for gonorrhoea, according to a report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

This comes after a fourth super-gonorrhoea sufferer caught the 'world's worst' case of the STI and was only cured last month after taking a last-ditch antibiotic.

The Englishman also caught the STI in south-east Asia after having a one-night stand, despite having a girlfriend back home.

After chlamydia, gonorrhoea is the most common STI in Europe, with 75,000 cases being reported in 2016.

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned last year that incurable gonorrhoea is on the rise due to oral sex and a decline in condom use as HIV fears lessen.

Three people infected with 'extensively drug-resistant' gonorrhoea threaten the global control of the sexually-transmitted infection, scientists warn (stock image)

WORLD'S WORST CASE OF GONORRHOEA WAS CURED WITH A LAST-DITCH ANTIBIOTIC An Englishman who caught the 'world's worst' case of super-gonorrhoea was cured in April 2018 with a last-ditch antibiotic. In the first recorded case worldwide, the unidentified man caught a version of the sexually transmitted infection (STI) that was resistant to two crucial drugs. Health officials revealed he caught it from a one-night stand with a woman during his travels to south east Asia earlier this year - despite having a girlfriend in the UK. Public Health England (PHE) issued a warning over the the STI, which is resistant to ceftriaxone and azithromycin - the two drugs recommended for gonorrhoea. In a statement, the Government agency revealed the man - whose location has also been withheld - was cured with the antibiotics ertapenem. Dr Gwenda Hughes, head of STIs at PHE, said: 'We are pleased to report the case of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea has been successfully treated. 'Investigations have also revealed there has been no further spread of this infection within the UK.' Dr Hughes did warn that 'we expect to see further cases of multi-drug resistant gonorrhoea in the future'. World Health Organization (WHO) experts raised fears two years ago the STI, once known as the 'clap', could become immune to antibiotics in a 'matter of years'. The WHO recommends patients are given ceftriaxone and azithromycin to combat gonorrhoea, the third most common STI in Britain. Officials said: 'This is the first global report of high-level azithromycin resistant N. gonorrhoeae which is also resistant to ceftriaxone.' Advertisement

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF GONORRHOEA? More than 35,000 people a year are infected with gonorrhoea in England, including record numbers of baby boomers. Only chlamydia and genital warts are more prevalent. Figures show 78 million people worldwide contract gonorrhoea, which can often go symptomless for weeks, each year. Symptoms usually strike within two weeks of infection - but can stay hidden for many months. In women, symptoms of gonorrhoea can include: an unusual vaginal discharge, which may be thin or watery and green or yellow in colour

pain or a burning sensation when passing urine

pain or tenderness in the lower abdominal area (this is less common)

bleeding between periods, heavier periods and bleeding after sex (this is less common) In men, symptoms of gonorrhoea can include: an unusual discharge from the tip of the penis, which may be white, yellow or green

pain or a burning sensation when urinating

inflammation (swelling) of the foreskin

pain or tenderness in the testicles (this is rare) Source: NHS Choices Advertisement

Patients failed to respond to standard drugs

The three patients failed to respond to the intramuscular antibiotic ceftriaxone and the oral drug azithromycin, which are the first-line treatments recommended by the WHO.

The researchers fear these people may spread the highly-resistant gonorrhoea strain if they have unprotected sex with others.

The infection may then be spread further if people are aware they carry gonorrhoea, which often has no symptoms.

People can reduce their risk of infection by using condoms during sex.

Infected patients should be promptly treated, educated on the importance of safe sex and encouraged to tell their partners they need testing, the scientists add in their online report.

Throats are 'silent reservoirs' for gonorrhoea

This comes after a scientist stated last August that throats act as a 'silent reservoir' for gonnorrhoea, which is driving the drug-resistance crisis.

Drug-resistant gonorrhoea can spread from an infected person's throat during oral sex without them even knowing they have the STI, she said.

Dr Emilie Alirol, head of the STIs programme at the Global Antibiotics Research and Development Partnership, Geneva, said: 'The throat infections act as a silent reservoir.

'Transmission is very efficient from someone who has gonorrhea in their throat to their partner via oral sex,' NY Times reported.

Gonorrhoea infections in the throat are frequently overlooked due to the bacteria typically residing there in smaller numbers than in the genitals.

Oral infections are also difficult to treat due to antibiotics working in the bloodstream and there being few blood vessels in the throat.

Untreated, oral gonorrhoea can spread to the genitals, causing pelvic and testicular pain in men, and putting women at risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, ectopic pregnancies and even infertility.

Dr Alirol said: 'Women will bear a very high burden if we start having an increasing number of untreatable gonorrhea cases.'
Doctors are prescribing less medication to American children, but prescriptions for drugs to treat behavioral conditions like ADHD continue to rise, a new study reveals.

The best news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's report is that fewer antibiotics are being prescribed to children.

Overuse of antibiotics is fueling antibiotic resistance, and the drugs are often prescribed for viral infections that they cannot treat any way.

Yet rates of prescriptions for amphetamines - non-addictive stimulants - to have continued on their upward trend, likely as a result of pressure from parents and schools, experts suggest.

Overall, 11 percent less medication was prescribed to people under the age of 19 between 1999 and 2014.

American doctors are prescribing 11 percent fewer drugs to children, but rates of prescriptions for ADHD medications continue to rise, likely due to pressure from parents and schools

But that big picture figure, based on data on 38,277 children, does not tell the complete story of children's medication in the US.

Within that data, 'some of these trends likely signal potential improvements in the care of children, others may suggest little progress has been made, and yet others are difficult to interpret with certainty,' wrote Dr Gary Freed in an editorial accompanying the new study.

Dr Freed, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School cautioned that there are still conditions that are over-medicated, as well as some that are under-diagnosed and treated, like hypertension.

In recent years, alarm has been spreading over the development of antibiotic resistant activity.

Once bacteria is exposed to antibiotics, it can morph such that the treatment is no longer a good biological match for the pathogen, making it 'resistant.'

This bacteria can spread from person to person, meaning that populations can become resistant to the treatments designed to treat common illnesses.

There are many different types of antibiotics - some that target very specific types of bacteria and others that wipe out a 'broad spectrum' of bugs - but the more they are prescribed, the better bacteria gets at beating them.

It is particularly importantly, then, for children to not be over-prescribed the drugs when they have their whole lives ahead of them to develop resistance.

WHAT IS ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE? Antibiotics have been doled out unnecessarily by GPs and hospital staff for decades, fueling once harmless bacteria to become superbugs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has previously warned if nothing is done the world is heading for a 'post-antibiotic' era. It claimed common infections, such as chlamydia, will become killers without immediate solutions to the growing crisis. Bacteria can become drug resistant when people take incorrect doses of antibiotics or if they are given out unnecessarily. Former chief medical officer Dame Sally Davies claimed in 2016 that the threat of antibiotic resistance is as severe as terrorism. Figures estimate that superbugs will kill 10 million people each year by 2050, with patients succumbing to once harmless bugs. Around 700,000 people already die yearly due to drug-resistant infections including tuberculosis (TB), HIV and malaria across the world. Concerns have repeatedly been raised that medicine will be taken back to the 'dark ages' if antibiotics are rendered ineffective in the coming years. In addition to existing drugs becoming less effective, there have only been one or two new antibiotics developed in the last 30 years. In September, the WHO warned antibiotics are 'running out' as a report found a 'serious lack' of new drugs in the development pipeline. Without antibiotics, C-sections, cancer treatments and hip replacements will become incredibly 'risky', it was said at the time. Advertisement

But when worried parents come to a doctor with a sick child, physicians are stuck between a rock and a hard place.

No one wants to turn away concerned parents and sniffling kids empty-handed, but the prescription for an antibiotic they hand over may in fact do more harm than good if the illness is actually a viral infection.

And most of them are: for example, more than 90 percent of sinus infections are caused by viruses, so antibiotics are useless against them any way.

So rates of prescriptions for these drugs being cut in half in recent years is good news for children and the world over but trends in psychiatric drugs are more worrisome.

Prescriptions for ADHD medications have risen by nearly 30 percent since 1999, according to the new report.

Particularly worrisome, wrote Dr Freed, was the increase in amphetamines prescribed to young children, between six and 11 years old.

'Historically, clinicians have been hesitant to use such medications for children at the lower end of this age range because of the difficulties in diagnosing this condition at younger ages and concern about the effect of stimulants on growth and blood pressure,' Dr Freed wrote.

'However, clinicians are under increasing pressure from parents and schools to diagnose and treat patients with behavioral conduct disorders and ADHD.

'Additional pressure may come from some parents with concerns regarding their childs school performance, increasingly at younger ages and earlier grade levels.'

Dr Freed's concern that these drugs could raise young children's blood pressures is especially salient as the childhood obesity epidemic continues to plague young Americans.

As obesity raises rates of high blood pressure among children, prescriptions for hypertension drugs among children have been on the rise as well.

The new report revealed that prescriptions for these medications went from 0.2 percent in 1999 to 0.8 percent in 2014 - a 300 percent increase.

This, Dr Freed wrote, 'may be an indication of improved care. However, the increase could also reflect a greater prevalence of hypertension from 1999-2014 as a result of increasing obesity in the adolescent age group.'
For years, Katelin Buchanan never believed she would be a mother.

She and her husband tried to get pregnant for close to three-and-a-half years but suffered five miscarriages and went through unsuccessful and exhausting rounds of in vitro fertilization.

After coming close to giving up, Buchanan's best friend since childhood, Erica Huston-Elem, stepped up and offered to be a gestational carrier.

In March, Huston-Elem finally fulfilled Buchanan's dream of motherhood, giving birth to a boy and a girl.

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Erica Huston-Elem (far right) performed the incredible and served as a surrogate for her best friend, Katelin Buchanan (second from left), giving birth to twins - a boy and a girl - in March

Huston-Elem and Buchanan (left, undated, and right, 2017) have been life-long best friends. Huston-Elem offered to be a surrogate for Buchanan as far back as 2015

Buchanan, 33, described in a blog post that she and her husband, Patrick, began trying to get pregnant in September 2013.

After trying for several months without success, the California couple went to a local fertility clinic and began intrauterine insemination (IUI) procedures, which involves placing sperm inside a woman's uterus to aide fertilization.

IUI procedures increase the number of sperm that reach the fallopian tubes and therefore increase the chance of fertilization.

However, after three tries to no avail, the Buchanans moved on to in vitro fertilization (IVF), hoping for a greater chance of success.

In the IVF process, an egg is fertilized by sperm in a test tube or a laboratory dish before being transferred to the uterus.

Several rounds amounted to no success. During her first try, Buchanan suffered a chemical pregnancy, a very early miscarriage which occurs before the fifth week of gestation.

It is believed to affect as many as 75 percent of all pregnancies because most women who have had one never realize they have conceived.

The second try resulted in a nine-week miscarriage. The couple later discovered the baby had Down Syndrome, which increases the chance of miscarriage at 50 percent in the first trimester.

The third round of IVF resulted in an ectopic pregnancy, in which the egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus.

A fourth try developed into an anembryonic pregnancy, or a blighted ovum, in which a fertilized egg implants in the uterus but doesn't develop into an embryo.

Buchanan (right, with Huston-Elem) tried for several years to get pregnant naturally as well as undergoing intrauterine insemination procedures and in vitro fertilization procedures

After her fifth miscarriage in January 2017, Buchanan's obstetrician-gynecologist told her that her uterine lining was insufficient to carry a baby to term and suggested she use a surrogate (Pictured, Huston-Elem, left, and Buchanan, right)

After her fifth miscarriage in January 2017, Buchanan's obstetrician-gynecologist told her that her uterine lining was insufficient to carry a baby to term and suggested she use a surrogate.

The idea wasn't a new one. In 2015, Buchanan's best friend, 34-year-old Huston-Elem, who lives in Virginia, had offered to be her surrogate.

Their mothers were best friends, with Buchanan's mother even serving as Huston-Elem's godmother. They grew up together, witnessing each other's graduations, weddings and other major life events.

'The moment I realized I could do something more to actually help her and volunteer to carry her babies for her was something I felt very passionate about. I told her: "I'd be more than willing to do it for you",' Huston-Elem told PEOPLE.

'Over a number of years, there was a lot of loss and heartache on her part. For me, as her best friend, watching her go through that and feeling completely helpless, it was a really difficult situation.'

Buchanan finally took up Huston-Elem (pictured, on table) on her offer, knowing her best friend could carry a baby because she already had two children

After two tries at an embryo transfer, Huston-Elem (left, with Buchanan) fell pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl and, on March 20, she gave birth at 35 weeks

Although she initially refused, Buchanan finally took up Huston-Elem on her offer, knowing her best friend could carry a baby because she already had two children, an eight-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy.

The first embryo transfer resulted in a miscarriage and, while Buchanan was ready to explore adoption, Huston-Elem urged her to try one more time.

This time, it worked. Huston-Elem fell pregnant with twins, a boy and a girl in July 2017 and, on March 20, she gave birth at 35 weeks.

Buchanan and her husband were in the delivery room to welcome Oliver Daniel and Poppy Elizabeth into the world.

The twins remained in a Virginia hospital for weeks but Buchanan was able to take them to their California home in May

'All of this was so worth it to see [Buchanan] as a mother. She has wanted this for so long and it's so natural to her,' Huston-Elem (left, with Buchanan) said

'The mood in the room was so happy,' Huston-Elem said. 'When those twins came out and they got handed to Katelin and her husband, it was honestly one of the best moments of my life. It was so wonderful. It was like: "Okay, mission accomplished!"'

The twins remained in a Virginia hospital for weeks, but Buchanan was finally able to take them to their California home in May.

'All of this was so worth it to see [Buchanan] as a mother. She has wanted this for so long and it's so natural to her,' Huston-Elem told PEOPLE. 'Seeing her happy...has just been the greatest joy of my life.'
Millions of women battling cystitis may be making it worse by taking ibuprofen for the symptoms.

Taking the common painkiller can make a urinary tract infection last three days longer and risks a kidney infection, a study has found.

More than half of women suffer a UTI such as cystitis during their lifetime, with one in five facing the misery of recurrent infections.

After doubt was cast last week on cranberry juices ability to tackle the problem, evidence now suggests ibuprofen is the wrong approach.

The study of almost 400 women by the University of Oslo found women given the over-the-counter drug without antibiotics took longer to get better.

They were around half as likely to have recovered by day four of the illness.

More than half of British women suffer from a urinary tract infection such as cystitis during their lifetime, and the condition is the second most common reason GPs prescribe antibiotics

Among the 181 given ibuprofen, seven developed a kidney infection and five were hospitalised.

It is believed antibiotics can cut a bladder infection short and provide quick relief from the symptoms, which include pain, fatigue and an urgent need to urinate.

But the advice on the NHS Choices website is still that it is possible to treat the symptoms at home, taking ibuprofen while drinking lots of water.

'We cannot recommend ibuprofen alone'

The authors of the latest study, led by Ingvild Vik at the University of Oslo, say many women given ibuprofen do see their symptoms clear up without further treatment.

But they add: Until we can identify those women in need of antibiotic treatment to prevent complications, we cannot recommend ibuprofen alone to women with uncomplicated UTIs.

Urinary tract infections are the second most common reason that GPs prescribe antibiotics.

However previous studies have suggested up to two-thirds of female sufferers could recover without the powerful drugs by taking ibuprofen instead.

To test this, researchers split 383 women aged 18 to 60 into two groups and gave them either ibuprofen or the common antibiotic pivmecillinam.

The drugs were hidden in red capsules of the same weight and taken three times a day for three days.

Some women taking ibuprofen developed more serious infections

Only 39 per cent of women taking the painkiller were better by day four, compared to 74 per cent of those taking the antibiotic.

Within a fortnight, more than two in five women given ibuprofen had gone back to the doctor still in pain, compared to fewer than 10 per cent of the group on antibiotics.

What is cystitis? Cystitis is inflammation of the bladder, usually caused by a bladder infection. It's a common type of urinary tract infection (UTI), particularly in women, and is usually more of a nuisance than a cause for serious concern. Mild cases will often get better by themselves within a few days. However, some people experience episodes of cystitis frequently and may need regular or long-term treatment. There's also a chance that cystitis could lead to a more serious kidney infection in some cases, so it's important to seek medical advice if your symptoms don't improve. Source: NHS Direct Advertisement

Furthermore, 12 of the women taking ibuprofen developed a more serious upper urinary tract infection, causing fever and pain in their side.

No patients taking antibiotics developed kidney infections, but seven of those given painkillers did.

It comes a week after health watchdog NICE ruled there is no evidence that cranberry juice works to tackle urinary infections, although it did say antibiotic prescriptions should be reduced.

Antibiotics are best but women with milder symptoms can 'wait and see'

The latest study did find more than half of patients treated with ibuprofen got better without antibiotics but express concern over possible side effects.

The study, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, concludes: Antibiotic treatment is the best treatment we have for uncomplicated UTI.

Dr Ingvild Vik, who led the study, said: Given the fact that a few patients developed a more serious infection, we cannot recommend treatment with ibuprofen alone to women with uncomplicated UTI.

However, a large amount of women did get well without antibiotic treatment, and we believe that for women with milder symptoms a wait-and-see strategy can be discussed.

These women should then be instructed to drink a lot of fluids and start taking antibiotics if she doesnt recover within a few days or if her symptoms worsen.'
Clark Jacobs, nicknamed 'Superman,' was nearly killed by falling from his bed.

He loved everything about being in college, from studying mechanical engineering right down to sleeping in a bed lofted over his desk and closet at his Kappa Sigma fraternity house.

A 20-year-old college sophomore at Georgia Tech University, Clark was 6'5" with a solid build. Nothing about him looked fragile or breakable.

Clark had no memory of it, but he had fallen seven feet from his lofted bed one night in January 2015, bashing his head against the linoleum floor below and resulting in a traumatic brain injury (TBI), he told Daily Mail Online.

For the last two years, Clark has spent countless hours in physical, speech and cognitive therapy relearning everything he lost after a fall from bed left him with a traumatic brain injury

Clark's roommates told his parents that he had spent the night before periodically vomiting - which must have started just after his fall.

In the morning, Clark had a sore neck, the worst headache of his life, accompanied by a small bump on the back of his head.

His mother, Mariellen, drove to the campus from Marietta, Georgia and insisted on taking her son to the emergency room, where doctors discovered that Clark had fractured his skull.

Clark's doctors figured that he must have fallen hard from the bed, as the skull fracture he was left with looked like one that took significant force to inflict, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

I couldn't walk or talk. Now I can do those things all the time!

Falling from bed sounds like nightmare of parents of young children, but in fact young adults between 18 and 21 suffer bed-related injuries just as frequently as 13- to 16-year-olds, according to Rail Against the Danger, the nonprofit Clark and his family founded.

In fact, a shocking 450 people die each year from falling from bed, and another 36,000 people under 21 get injured in bed-falls.

Clark was one of those thousands, and his case was dire.

He has had to relearn every skill and ability he spent the previous 20 years acquiring in the span of just two years thanks to a TBI that could have easily been prevented.

There was also a blood clot creeping upward in Clark's neck when he reached the hospital.

The doctors decided he would need to stay in the hospital so they could keep an eye on him.

After the brain surgery that saved his life, Clark had to have a feeding tube and a ventilator as his body recovered from the trauma he had endured

Clark was not getting better. In fact, two days later another brain scan revealed the 20-year-old was having a stroke, and bleeding out into his brain.

The only chance to save his life would be to operate, immediately - and he might not even survive that.

Surgeons drilled a section of Clark's skull free to relieve the pressure from his swelling brain in a three-hour procedure.

He made it through the operation, but the damage to Clark's brain had been devastating.

There were few signs left of Clark himself, just a young man seeming to sleep for weeks, then months, in the hospital as he wasted away to 130lbs - less than half the average weight of someone his height.

His fall had predominantly damaged Clark's cerebellum, which is the brain's hub for coordination, controlling voluntary muscle movements and balance.

Sometimes referred to as the 'little brain,' the cerebellum plays a role in a wide variety of mental functions, including cognition, speech and emotional responses.

Clark's fall and subsequent stroke had thoroughly shaken his cerebellum, and every function that goes along with it.

During the months Clark was in bed, the 6'5" 20-year-old's weight dropped to just 130lbs

Days full of therapy and the taxing process of his brain healing left Clark constantly exhausted

Every traumatic brain injury is completely unique, and there was no telling what Clark's future would look like.

Clark spent four-and-a-half months in a coma, with a feeding tube and machine to help him breath.

He should have been in the prime of his life. Instead, Clark was practically a vegetable.

But the time and recovery did wonders for Clark. Small movements became huge sources of hope for his family as they rallied around him at the Shepherd Center in Buckhead, Georgia.

When I started to walk, it felt so wrong and so right at the same time. It was something that felt so foreign, but I also knew I'd been able to walk in the past

He managed to give a thumb's up, then to rip one of the many plastic tubes running from his body to the medical equipment in the room out. His thrashing meant Clark was still in there.

Once he was stable enough, surgeons operated on Clark again, replacing the piece of bone, called a skull flap, that they had removed months before to make room for his brain's swelling.

Remarkably, after that surgery Clark started to perk up more noticeably. Before, even when his body would move or thrash, the actions did not appear to register on his face.

After the operation, that changed almost immediately. Clark looked around the room, following movements.

Clark was often confined to a wheelchair and helmet as he regained his balance

As Clark got stronger in physical therapy (left), he started to have better stamina and awareness of his world as well (right)

Once he was able to move home, Clark's family set up a hospital bed - with rails - downstairs in their home in Marietta, Georgia

Next expressions came back. Clark could smile, a signal to his family that he might be the same person he had been before the fall, but words were a long way off for him.

For Clark, the entire period falls into the 'black holes' in his memory, he told Daily Mail Online.

He knows now, though, and even marvels that 'I couldn't walk or talk. Now I can do those things all the time!'

Getting there was a monumental struggle, however.

Clark endured eight grueling months of day-in day-out occupational, physical and speech therapy to get him back on his feet again.

School is way tougher now, for two reasons that make each other worse: my short term memory is really poor and I'm fatigued all the time

Of the staff at Shepherd Center, he says: 'They kicked my butt more than I would wish, but...Oh my god they are amazing.'

They taught Clark to walk, talk and function independently again.

Though parts of Clark's memory will never come back to him, he recalls the strangeness of experiencing old habits as if they were new.

'When I started to walk, it felt so wrong and so right at the same time,' he says.

'It was something that felt so foreign, but I also knew I'd been able to walk in the past, so it was familiar at the same time.'

Clark was staying with his parents while he went through 'months and months of horrible, horrific therapy.'

Grateful though he was to them for all of their support and much-needed care, living with them, too, felt like a strange regression for Clark.

'When I was home, my daily routine was just eat, sleep and therapy,' Clark says, 'there was not spending time with friends, nothing like that, no pleasure at all,' he says.

It took Clark countless hours of work and rest to be strong enough to live on his own, but on August 21 2017 - a day he says he will never forget - he returned to Georgia Tech.

Mariellen pointed to the large brick house where Clark's journey through a brain injury had begun, a year-and-a-half before.

Slowly but surely, Clark became increasingly mobile and independent, graduating to a wheelchair (left). Now, the 23-year-old is strong enough to stand and live on his own (right)

'Look Clark, what's that on the front of the house?' she said to him.

Hung on the front of the fraternity house was an enormous banner: 'Welcome home, brother,' it read.

Hist first two semesters back to school have been difficult, but worth every second for Clark.

'School is way tougher now, for two reasons that make each other worse: my short term memory is really poor and I'm fatigued all the time,' he says.

'The school part is worse, but the life part is so much better. It's freaking great, just being back in the house, on campus.'

We all experience fatigue, but not the way that victims of TBIs do.

Both learning and healing are extraordinarily taxing to the brain, which, when damaged, is not operating at optimal efficiency any way.

As he continues to recover, Clark will likely feel increasingly energetic, but until then, he keeps unusual hours for a college student, typically going to bed between 8pm and 9pm and waking around three or four in the morning.

But Clark isn't letting that stop him. In fact, he's even made a mission out of his injury, advocating for bed rails on lofted beds to prevent life-changing injuries like his.

Right now, he is on track to graduate in December 2019, with a degree in mechanical engineering.

'I'd say I'm doing pretty well, for what happened. I'll be a very old graduate, but I have every reason to be,' Clark says proudly.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has voted to decriminalise cannabis for medical use.

It will lobby governments across the UK after a resolution at its annual general meeting of members in Belfast was passed.

The UK Government's position is that, as a Class B drug, cannabis is subject to strict restrictions and cannot be prescribed, administered or supplied to the public.

RCN member Catherine Gault from Northern Ireland told the RCN Congress: 'There is strong enough evidence to support the use of cannabis to treat pain.

'It would not be a recreational drug for me, it would add quality to my life.'

The Welsh Assembly and a number of the minor political parties have shown an appetite for a change in cannabis law, which is legalised in some European countries and US states

She has an underlying medical condition and said she risked developing pain which could no longer be treated by the NHS.

The resolution was proposed by the Suffolk branch and endorsed by members of the general meeting.

Over 40 countries, including Italy, Finland, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany and half of the United States have decriminalised cannabis in some form.

Tincture (a solution) of cannabis was medicinally available in the UK until implementation of the Misuse of Drugs Act by UK Government in 1973.

Political pushes for change in cannabis law

Attempts have since been made to change existing policy in the UK, including a recent petition presented to the Prime Minister, but none have been successful.

THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THC AND CBD Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are both derived from the cannabis plant. Together, they are part of the cannabinoid group of compounds found in hashish, hash oil, and most strains of marijuana. THC is the psychoactive compound responsible for the euphoric, 'high' feeling often associated with marijuana. THC interacts with CB1 receptors in the central nervous system and brain and creates the sensations of euphoria and anxiety. CBD does not fit these receptors well, and actually decreases the effects of THC, and is not psychoactive. CBD is thought to help reduce anxiety and inflammation. Advertisement

According to the RCN, the Conservative and Labour parties officially oppose the legalisation of cannabis for any purpose, while the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats support a change in law.

In 2017 the MS Society took the position that there is enough evidence to support medicinal use of cannabis to treat pain, when other treatments have not worked.

A range of polls demonstrate that there is support for change.

In Wales, Newport MP Paul Flynn proposed a private member's Bill in October 2017 to allow the production, supply, possession and use of cannabis and cannabis resin for medicinal purposes, and for connected purposes.

On January 18 2018, 31 Welsh Assembly Members supported calls for the Welsh Government to lobby their UK counterparts to support the use of cannabis for medical use.

Two voted against and 18 abstained.

In Scotland, in February 2018 Scottish Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs wrote to former UK home secretary Amber Rudd calling for a UK-wide review of the use of medicinal cannabis.

The proposers of Tuesday's resolution said: 'The RCN must join these voices and support the complete decriminalisation of cannabis for medicinal use.'
One-quarter of Americans spend almost all day indoors, a new survey has revealed.

Researchers warn that an 'indoor generation' is being born that spends as much as 90 percent of its time inside.

And it's not just elderly or disabled who stay indoors but men, women and children who travel to and from school or work, only going outside during their commute.

Spending so much time inside, however, could have a detrimental effect on both your physical and mental health, impacting your sleep patterns, your alertness levels and even your mood.

New research has found that one-quarter of Americans spend almost all day indoors, between 21 and 24 hours per day

'From the year 1800 to 2000, weve gone from 90 percent of people working outside to less than 20 percent,' said Dr Russell Foster, Head of the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology at Oxford University.

'In a very short space of time, weve gone from being an outdoor species to spending most of our time in dim, dark caves.'

YouGov, which conducted the survey on behalf of VELUX, a window manufacturing company, held approximately 16,000 online interviews with people in 14 countries across Europe and North America.

The survey asked people several questions including how much time they spend indoors. About 82 percent of respondents said they spend less than 21 hours indoors each day, and 62 percent believed they spend less than 18 hours inside.

In reality, 75 percent of Americans spend less than 21 hours inside with 55 percent spending less than 18 hours indoors.

The breakdown is as follows:

0-14 hours indoors: 34 percent

15-18 hours indoors: 21 percent

19-20 hours indoors: 20 percent

21-24 hours indoors: 25 percent

According to the researchers, these statistics are cause for concern. One reason is because the air indoors tends to be more polluted than outdoors, even in large urban cities by up to 10 times as much.

This comes from pollutants emanating from cleaning products, plastics, cooking, and burning candles to name a few.

Numerous studies have found that these toxins irritate the eyes, nose, throat, lungs and can induce coughs and other respiratory illnesses.

According to the World Health Organization, indoor air pollution kills 4.3 million people around the globe every year.

Spending so much time inside, however, could have a detrimental effect on both your physical and mental health, impacting your sleep patterns, your alertness levels and even your mood

'We are increasingly turning into a generation of indoor people where the only time we get daylight and fresh air mid-week is on the commute to work or school,' said Peter Foldbjerg, the head of daylight energy and indoor climate at VELUX, in a statement.

'Modern life can often involve an early start to the day, race to work where we spend eight to ten hours inside an office and then straight home, or sometimes making a stop off for groceries or for a quick workout inside a damp and sweaty fitness center.'

EXPLAINED: HOW THE CIRCADIAN RHYTHM WORKS In a healthy person, cortisol levels peak at around 8am, which wakes us up (in theory), and drop to their lowest at 3am the next day, before rising back to its peak five hours later. Ideally, this 8am peak will be triggered by exposure to sunlight, if not an alarm. When it does, the adrenal glands and brain will start pumping adrenalin. By mid-morning, the cortisol levels start dropping, while the adrenalin (for energy) and serotonin (a mood stabilizer) keep pumping. At midday, metabolism and core body temperature ramp up, getting us hungry and ready to eat. After noon, cortisol levels start their steady decline. Metabolism slows down and tiredness sets in. Gradually the serotonin turns into melatonin, which induces sleepiness. Our blood sugar levels decrease, and at 3am, when we are in the middle of our sleep, cortisol levels hit a 24-hour low. Advertisement

Getting more daylight could also help you sleep better at night.

Daylight is used by the human circadian clock to regulate circadian rhythms and production of serotonin and melatonin, which manage sleep, moods and energy.

Last year, a study was conducted by the Lighting Research Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, on how daylight exposure affects sleep.

The study found that workers who are exposed to sunlight or bright indoor lights during the morning hours sleep better at night and tend to feel less depressed and stressed than those who don't get much morning light.

In turn, not getting good quality sleep has been linked to health problems, including issues with mood, thinking, metabolism and the immune system.

Kathrine Westermann, media relations manager at VELUX, told Daily Mail Online that there a number of things people can do to get more daylight and improve the quality of air indoors.

'You want to ensure that you spend at least 30 minutes outdoors everyday and, if you can't get outdoors, sit close to a window. Light increases your alertness compared to darkness,' she said.

'Also, air out your home or your office between three to four times a day so you're getting rid of any allergens or pollutants that could affect your health.'
Watch it: Vulnerable pensioners are being tricked into buying expensive jewellery and handing it over to criminals

Vulnerable pensioners are being tricked into buying expensive jewellery and handing it over to criminals posing as policemen in a terrifying new scam.

In one case seen by Money Mail, a 79-year-old man lost more than 50,000 after fraudsters fooled him into buying two Rolex watches, which they then collected from his home in Lincolnshire.

The criminals had convinced the man he was helping with a police investigation into counterfeit jewellery, and had promised him the money would be reimbursed.

The victim's bank, Santander, initially refused to cover his losses because he had authorised the payments  but refunded 25,000 after Money Mail intervened.

The Rolex scam is the latest version of a ruse known as 'courier fraud'. Con artists typically pose as a bank or the police to convince victims their account has been compromised.

The bank customer is told that in order to safeguard their money, they must withdraw a large amount of cash and give this to a courier who will be sent to their home.

Sometimes they are told to give their bank card and PIN to the courier instead. There were 911 reports of courier fraud between October 2015 and September 2017, according to figures from the City of London Police.

But experts warn the true number of victims could be even higher as many people are too embarrassed to come forward.

The majority of incidents involved victims handing over cash and bank cards. But police say they are now hearing from people who have been tricked into buying expensive jewellery and watches.

Henry Peters, a retired Post Office and shop owner from Lincolnshire, lost most of his life savings after being called out of the blue in March by a trickster claiming to be from Scotland Yard.

The caller told him someone had tried to use his Santander bank card to buy a 500 laptop in London, but that the bank had blocked the transaction after suspecting it was fraudulent.

After Henry confirmed he had not made the purchase, the caller said he was now going to transfer him to someone in the fraud squad, as they needed his help with an investigation.

Alert Over Fake Energy Bill Scam Warning: EDF customers have been targeted in a bill scam Energy customers are being asked to pay fake fuel bills in scam emails that claim to come from EDF. In one case, seen by Money Mail, a reader who used to be an EDF customer was asked to pay 2,978. The fraudulent email demands prompt payment and encourages the reader to click on a link to view the invoice. The sender appears to be EDF Energy  but in fact the message comes from an unrelated Yahoo email address operated by con artists. If you receive the fake bill, do NOT click on this link. An EDF spokesman says: We never request customers personal information or seek to take payments through email. There is advice on our website to help identify fraudulent contact.

A fake police inspector, who called himself Sergeant Woodley, came on the line and said he had reason to believe that a local jewellery store was selling counterfeit Rolex watches and asked if Henry would be willing to help bring the culprits to justice.

Keen to help protect innocent shoppers, Henry agreed and was told he needed to visit a jewellery store around 30 miles from where he lived and purchase a Rolex watch costing about 25,000.

The conman suggested he invent a back-story before buying such an expensive piece of jewellery  such as telling the shopkeeper it was a present for his grandson's graduation.

He was also warned to keep his mobile on him because he might need to call Santander to confirm the unusual payment if his card was declined.

Henry was assured that the 25,550 would be put back in his account immediately. Once he had the watch, Henry was told, he should call Sergeant Woodley and read out the serial number and model number of the watch.

When he did this, the fake police officer told him the watch was a counterfeit and that he would send a courier to Henry's home to collect it. Henry says: 'The inspector inferred that someone in the jewellery shop was involved and said they had been making frequent trips to China.

Confidence trick: The Rolex scam is a type of crime known as Courier fraud in which con artists typically pose as a bank or the police to convince victims their account has been compromised

'The whole time I was in the store I kept looking around at people, genuinely worried that they were buying fraudulent goods without realising.'

After buying the watch, Henry received a call to say the funds had been put back in his account.

He called the bank to make sure. He says he got the impression that the money had been returned, although Santander says Henry did not ask specifically about the balance of his account.

The fraudsters then sent a courier to his bungalow, where he lives alone, late that night to collect the watch.

The next day he received another call from the supposed Sergeant Woodley thanking him for his co-operation and asking if he would do them 'a massive favour' by buying another watch. So Henry went back to the jewellers.

To avoid raising suspicion, he told the shop staff that his son had seen the watch and given his father the money to buy one for himself as well.

After paying 25,050 for the watch, Henry called in the serial number, as before, and was told that it, too, was a counterfeit.

The fraudsters sent a courier that day for the watch and told him the money would be back in his account within 24 hours. But when Henry checked his balance the next day he discovered 50,600 was missing.

He immediately called Scotland Yard which could find no trace of a Sergeant Woodley. When he rang his bank, Santander said they couldn't cover his loss because he had made the purchases.

And because he no longer had the Rolex watches, he couldn't get a refund from the shop.

This scam may sound far-fetched, but criminals such as the fake Sergeant Woodley can be convincing. James Daley, of Fairer Finance, says: 'These scams are incredibly sophisticated and the perpetrators are very persuasive. Even the most switched-on of people can be caught out.

'Pensioners are often targeted because they are more likely to have money in the bank and are at home to answer the phone call. They can also be more trusting.'

Henry, who has two sons in their 40s and whose name Money Mail has changed to protect his identity, says: 'I feel like the biggest fool on earth. I can't believe I told all those lies to the jewellery store, thinking I was helping Rolex and their customers.'

A spokesman for Santander says: 'When Mr Peters contacted Santander after purchasing the first watch, the limited information he provided did not raise suspicion with our call handlers.

'But on review, we consider that the call could have been handled better. Taking account of this, we have decided to reimburse Mr Johnson for the second payment as a gesture of goodwill.'

Inspector Jo Reeves, head of cyber crime for Lincolnshire Police, says: 'As part of our investigation we have been completing work with jewellers and Rolex, the watch maker, to ensure that should these watches appear for sale, we are made aware.'

After alerting Rolex to the scam, the firm refused to comment on the case, saying only that it was sorry it had happened.

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
Thousands of car owners are being shackled by a Transport for London loophole that's forcing them to pay fines for traffic offences they haven't committed.

Motorists are being hit with Penalty Charge Notices of 130 - reduced to 65 in paid within a fortnight - that are issued for incorrectly entering cross-hatch yellow box junctions even if they weren't driving the car at the time.

An investigation by motoring title Honest John found that TfL is using a clause created in 2003 to chase owners of vehicles, rather than their drivers, for payment of fines relating to traffic contraventions on the capital's Red Routes.

Yellow box rip-off: An investigation by motoring title Honest John has found that TfL is using a loophole to pursue owners for fines issued for yellow box junction infringements even if someone else was driving the car

As part of decriminalisation measures included in the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003, TfL was granted the powers to pursue registered keepers of vehicles found to be causing obstructions on the capital's roads.

This was principally targeted at enforcing fines for parking infringements that had gone unpaid, which are a civil rather than criminal offence.

The act ultimately gives TfL the right to chase the registered owner of the car for parking fines that hadn't been paid by rule-breaking drivers who were at the wheel at the time of the infringement.

However, the inclusion of additional traffic offences - including entering box junctions and bus lanes - has given the Metropolitan Police Service free rein to chase owners for these violations too.

A special service agreement with TfL using traffic wardens, manned and unmanned cameras and Police Community Support Officers is being utilised to enforce these regulations in yellow boxes, bus lanes and all red routes, Honest John said.

And because these contraventions aren't considered to be criminal offences, the standard legal process in the UK does not apply.

That means an innocent car owner being pursued for the charge has no right to defend themselves in court.

And if they don't cough up for the fine it could end up with a County Court Judgement or recovery action from bailiffs.

As part of decriminalisation measures included in the London Local Authorities and Transport for London Act 2003, TfL was granted the powers to pursue registered keepers of vehicles found to be causing obstructions on the capital's roads

According to a report by BBC Inside Out in 2016, one yellow box camera in Fulham raised over 2.4 million from fines in a single year, while over 100 million in penalties had been collected by yellow box junction-monitoring cameras in the capital since 2004.

Craig Cheetham received a PCN for a yellow box infringement on Euston Road in the Borough of Westminster despite being in Wales at the time of the offence.

Yellow box junction rules You may enter a yellow box junction when your exit is clear and there is enough space on the other side of the junction for your vehicle to clear the box completely without stopping. You can stop in a yellow box junction when turning right if you are prevented from turning by oncoming traffic, or by other vehicles waiting to turn right. Do not simply follow the vehicle in front as it may stop and prevent your exit and don't let other drivers pressure you to enter the box when a clear exit is not available. Source: Transport for London

But despite the fact he wasn't driving the car and could prove he was in a different part of the UK, TfL is continuing with proceedings to recover the charges, which have risen from 65 to 195 after his appeal was rejected.

He said: 'My car was on loan to a friend whose own is currently off the road.

'He was visiting London for work and pulled into a box junction to allow an ambulance across the junction.

'Not only are TfL adamant that, while an ambulance clearly drove through the box junction by its own admission, a traffic obstruction occurred, and as it was my car that ventured into the yellow box, it's me that has to pay the fine  even though I was in Wales at the time of the alleged transgression.

'How can this be deemed a legal recovery process when, unlike a speed camera fine, there's no option to nominate the driver of the car?

'And furthermore, how can moving out of the way for an ambulance be considered an offence?'

In its reply to Craig's appeal, TfL said: 'We have noted that you were not the driver of the vehicle on the date and at the time the contravention was observed.

'However, under the London Local Authorities Act 1990 to 2003, it is the registered keeper of the vehicle who is liable for any charges incurred by the vehicle.

'As the DVLA has confirmed you were the registered keeper of the car at the time of the contravention we are satisfied that you are the person liable for payment of this penalty charge notice.'

More than 100 million in penalties has been collected by yellow box junction-monitoring cameras in the capital since 2004, according to a recent report by the BBC

You MUST NOT enter box junctions until your exit lane is clear. You can enter the box and wait when you want to turn right and are only stopped from doing so by oncoming traffic. At signalled roundabouts you MUST NOT enter the box unless you can get across it without stopping. pic.twitter.com/dIHbtJflFG  The Highway Code (@HighwayCodeGB) May 12, 2018

According to the TfL's own website, it states: We issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCN) to deter drivers from breaking the rules and causing a traffic jam. We don't simply issue PCNs to raise revenue - we enforce the rules to help keep the traffic moving.'

However, Honest John managing editor, Daniel Powell, argued that this doesn't seem to be the case in these instances.

'Whilst nobody would argue against why yellow boxes exist, using them as an excuse to extract cash from innocent motorists isn't what the Transport for London Act was created for,' he said.

Craig has since sent his appeal to 'London Tribunals' based in Nottingham for adjudication, while the original PCN was issued from a central office in Darlington, Co. Durham  both companies employed by TfL to carry out administrative duties despite not being based in the capital.

However, if the adjudication fails, as expected, he will have 28 days to pay the fine or face action from bailiffs, who would be given the right to remove property to the value of the fine plus any fees from his home, despite the fact he has proof he wasn't driving the car.

Honest John TfL were approached for comment on more than one occasion while this story was being prepared but have yet to respond.
A friend and I travelled to Antigua with Virgin Holidays and chose to fly Premium Economy so we would have more legroom.

On the morning of our return journey, we received a text saying that the flight was cancelled and that we had been booked on a BA flight instead.

But when we arrived at the airport, we were told that there were no premium seats available.

Later, we received a letter from the Virgin rep saying we would be refunded 75 per cent of our fare home.

I thought this would be straightforward, but Virgin Holidays said it was waiting for information from Virgin Atlantic.

After several more phone calls, we were finally offered a refund of 75.10 each  far less than what was originally promised.

Mrs J. C., Dorset.

Air rage: Virgin Holidays failed to properly refund a premium economy customer when they cancelled his flight and switched him onto a BA jet instead

You began chasing your money in early October, soon after returning from your holiday. Three months later, in mid-January, you wrote to me.

I sent your letter to Virgin Holidays and spent several more weeks poking and prodding with very little response.

I began to wonder if it was hoping that if it ignored us for long enough we might go away  not what one might expect from the Virgin brand.

Then, finally, at the beginning of this month, I heard back. Apparently, there was some miscommunication between Virgin Holidays and Virgin Atlantic.

As per the letter you were sent, customers who are downgraded are entitled to a 75 per cent refund of the fare and taxes.

So, since the overall cost of your return leg was 194.50 plus 149.30 tax, your refund should be 257.85 each.

In total, you and your friend are entitled to 515.70, rather than the 150.20 you were offered. Virgin has agreed to refund the difference.

You Have Your Say Every week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some of the best from our report on whether the rollout of smart energy meters is a good or bad thing: There is no logic to the concerns over gas explosions and fires. Surely the same could happen with an old-style meter. Smart or dumb shouldnt make a difference if a meter is fitted properly. T. L., London. We are thinking of installing a smart meter in our holiday let. It would be really useful to get automatic meter readings when we are not there and have an idea of how much gas and electricity is being used by guests. W. G., London. I think its unfair that we all have to pay for smart meters through our tariffs whether we want to have one fitted or not. If Im sure that I dont want one, why should I be forced to fund other peoples preferences? S. K., Great Yarmouth. I believe if something isnt broken, dont fix it. Im very concerned about smart meters and think theyre the thin edge of the wedge. Once installed, providers could charge more for using energy at different times of the day. This will ultimately penalise working people who can only put on a wash in the evenings or at weekends. E. R., Sunderland. Concerns over hacking and health sound far-fetched to me. Its like contactless cards again; at first people are wary of new technology, but give it a few years and everyone will be using it. H. S., Bristol. I take issue with the way companies constantly push them on customers. A. L., Woking. Smart meters serve a purpose for families with teenagers who play video games night and day, or people who leave on lights and heating. But many people are able to manage their energy usage easily without. T. B., Uxbridge.

In late winter during a bad storm, the wind lifted my garage roof and dislodged block work, which landed on my car causing damage to the paintwork.

I arranged for the repair via my insurer, Direct Line, but now my premium has increased by 200. I am confused because I thought I had no-claims protection.

I called and was told the no-claims protection is for the discount and not the premium.

Direct Line agreed to change the record of the incident from accident to weather damage and says it paid out 1,900 including labour. But the garage told me it did not put any parts into the car, and the bill it sent was for 1,029.

Mrs A. F., Essex.

This business of premiums rising despite people having a protected no-claims bonus is a perennial gripe.

Insurance firms argue customers are protecting only the discount they get on the initial premium.

However, it is clear customers regard it as something quite different and believe they are protecting the premium itself.

It is something both the insurance industry and regulator need to look at because, whether deliberately or inadvertently, customers are being misled.

Direct Line confirmed to me that no-claims discount protection does not stop the premium changing when the company alters its view of the risk because the claim has been made.

Why it should feel the risk involved in insuring your car has increased after an accident caused by high winds is beyond me.

Surely, if anything, the risk would drop after the owner of the building has had it repaired.

Direct Line further says the garage provided you with incorrect figures. After first costing the repair with no new parts, the garage contacted the insurer for authorisation to use parts which were required after all.

But Direct Line has admitted the figure is still incorrect and it will adjust this.

However, it says your premium has been affected only by the fact that you have made a claim, not by the final figure. In other words, your only option is to tough it out and seek cheaper cover next year.

>Find out more about how to cut your premiums, read our ten top tips to cheaper car insurance guide

Straight To The Point I receive a 2,000-a-year war pension as I was injured while serving in the Forces. Is it taxable? T. P., London. War pensions are not taxable. However, regular Forces pensions are taxed at normal income-tax rates. *** My carer topped up my EE mobile phone with 25 credit at the local Co-op two months ago, but Ive just tried it and theres no money left and the phone has been blocked. Can you help?

G. L., Essex. EE cant explain what went wrong and says your account is still active. It apologises for the confusion and has credited your account with 25 as a goodwill gesture. *** I held a large number of shares in Woolworths Group plc when it went under. Clearing out old paperwork, I have found my certificates and would like to know if these are worth keeping. Is there any chance of them being worth anything, or should I just destroy them? N. R., Essex. Woolworths was finally dissolved in 2015 and, as a shareholder, you would have been on the share register and contacted  numerous times, no doubt  about anything you were owed. I asked Tim Cockerill, of stockbroker Rowan Dartington, if there is anything you can do now. He says: Sadly, the certificates no longer hold any value. You could chuck them out  or another idea might be to frame and keep them as your own slice of British retail history. *** My insurance company moved me into rented accommodation between August 2014 and February 2015 while work was carried out on my home. Since then, Scottish Power has sent me bills ranging from 800 to 2,600 and I cant seem to resolve the matter. J. F., Milngavie, Scotland. Your case was referred to the Energy Ombudsman, which asked Scottish Power to provide the opening and closing meter readings it had used to calculate your bill for that seven-month period. These readings confirm that you owe slightly more than 2,000. Scottish Power has set up a payment plan of 43 a month for the next four years to clear the debt.

Our main property is worth around 700,000. If we leave it to our two children soon, can we/they avoid inheritance tax?

As we understand it (assuming a standard rate of 40 per cent) they would have to pay 280,000 IHT. Can we avoid this?

Mr and Mrs E. M., Berks.

Such a simple question. So many implications! There is no way to give a complete answer based on the information you have provided  your wording implies you have another home tucked up your sleeve.

But first the basic facts. Each of you has a 325,000 IHT-free allowance, known as the nil-rate band, making a total of 650,000.

In addition, there is the main residence allowance, currently 125,000 each, which brings you to a total of 900,000 of IHT-free assets, assuming your main residence is left to your children (or other direct descendants).

This allowance reaches 175,000 in April 2020, so as long as one of you survives, you could leave 1 million of assets free of IHT.

Your question implies your assets are greater than this. Perhaps you are considering giving your home to your children and continuing to live in it? In that case, you would be considered to retain an interest in the home, so it could trigger IHT and capital gains tax implications.

Clever dodges using trusts were stamped out by Gordon Brown when he was chancellor.

If you gave the home to them now, moved out and had no further interest in it, then it should drop out of your estate completely after seven years.

If you both die before seven years is up, the first 650,000 would be set against your nil-rate bands, assuming the house is jointly owned. If you die after three years, the tax on the top 50,000 would reduce each year from an initial 20,000 to zero.

Again, there could be capital gains tax implications  and you would have lost control of a valuable asset. I urge you strongly to take professional advice from an accountant or a solicitor specialising in estate planning.
Will fitting solar panels help you cope with the energy crisis? Research claims it could add 1,800 to the value of your home... ... but do the sums before committing
Vodafone chief executive Vittorio Colao will step down in October after more than ten years at the helm of the telecoms giant.

Coloa, who became chief executive in July 2008, will be replaced by group chief financial officer Nick Read.

The company made the announcement today along its final results and comes just a week after Colao sealed a 16.1billion deal to buy US cable giant Liberty Global's operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.

Vodafone shares fell 3.4 per cent on the news to 200.04p.

Standing down: Vodafone boss Vittorio Colao

Vodafone chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said Colao had been 'an exemplary leader and strategic visionary' who had overseen 'a dramatic transformation' of the company.

'Vittorio will leave as his legacy a company of great integrity with strong inclusive values that is exceptionally well-positioned for the decade ahead,' he added.

Colao said the group's 'strategic transformation is nearing completion', but said Vodafone was 'starting to write a new chapter'.

News of his departure come as Vodafone posted a 2.2 per cent decline in full-year revenues to 45.6billion (40.1billion), but operating profits rose to 4.3billion (3.8billion).

Underlying earnings - the company's preferred profit measure - rose 12 per cent on an organic basis to 14.7billion , ahead of the company's guidance of 10 per cent organic growth.

Free cash flow rose by 34 per cent to 5.4billion, in line with the group's guidance.

Vodafone increased the final dividend 2 per cent to 10.23 eurocents, giving a total dividend of 15.07 eurocents.

Colao's successor, Mr Read, will be replaced by deputy chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle on July 27, which is the date of Vodafone's annual shareholder meeting.

George Salmon, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: 'Vodafone is making reasonable underlying progress. Investors cant complain too much when costs are heading down and underlying revenues are going up.

However, the main story is the direction of travel. Vodafone is stepping away from more exotic emerging market growth by demerging its Indian business, while simultaneously bolstering exposure to Europe through an 18.4billion deal to buy European assets from Liberty Global. That ensures the Vodafone Nick Read will take over looks very different to the one led by Vittorio Colao just a year or so ago.

'At present, this looks to be no bad thing. The Liberty deal will come with significant cost reduction and cross-selling opportunities, and opens up new growth opportunities in Central and Eastern Europe. All the while, broad-based growth across Italy, Germany and Spain means Vodafones existing European markets look healthier.'
A body piercer charged with alleged genital mutilation of a 33-year-old woman could spend up to 21 years behind bars if found guilty of the crime.

Brendan Russell, 37, from Terrigal on the NSW Central Coast faced court on Tuesday charged with prohibition of genital mutilation.

It is alleged he used a branding iron to 'burn off part of' the woman's genitals, after she approached him for a modification at a tattoo studio in Newcastle in 2016.

Brendan Russell, 37, from the NSW Central Coast, faced court on Tuesdaywith prohibition of genital mutilation, after a former customer went to police

This picture shows 'finger painting' done in a clients' blood after some scarification work

Russell, pictured cutting a client, could face 21 years in jail if found guilty of genital mutilation

In his decision to bail Russell after his arrest police said in court documents that Russell had lived with his partner and friends in Terrigal for the past two years.

Snr Const McBride said Russell had made no admissions but 'the (mutilation) offence is of serious nature and has caused permanent injury to the victim'.

Russell did not enter a plea in court, and the matter was adjourned until July 20.

A Department of Health spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia 'it is an offence to carry out female genital mutilation unless carried out for a health purpose by a medical practitioner or other authorised professional'.

'It is an offence for a person who is not a registered medical practitioner to hold themselves out as a medical practitioner.'

There is no suggestion Russell, who owns a tattoo and body modification studio in Erina Fair, claimed to be a doctor during the alleged incident.

'Extreme body modification procedures carry serious risks, including infection and blood borne virus transmission,' the spokesperson said.

A Department of Health spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia 'it is an offence to carry out female genital mutilation unless carried out for a health purpose by a medical practitioner or other authorised professional'

Russell pictured using a branding iron on his own face to make two lines for 'two special people'

Court documents allege that Russell 'used a branding iron' to burn off part of a woman's genitals - (Russell pictured burning a design into a client's face)

Russell was charged over the alleged incident following a lengthy police investigation. His current studio in Terrigal was raided as he was being arrested.

The studio where the alleged mutilation occurred was also raided.

The alleged genital mutilation took place between January 1 and December 31 in 2016, according to court documents.

The woman was allegedly unhappy and embarrassed over the outcome of the procedure and complained.

Branding irons heat up to just over 1000C.

Police are also investigating a number of other formal complaints against the 'body modification artist'

They are used in hospitals and for scarification, and create an instant third-degree burn.

Police are also investigating a number of other formal complaints against the 'body modification artist'.

As part of his bail conditions, Russell is not allowed to do any body modifications or train anyone in any procedures. He must stay at home between 8pm and 6am and has to report to police everyday.

As part of his bail conditions, Russell is not allowed to do any body modifications or train anyone in any procedures. He must stay at home between 8pm and 6am and has to report to police everyday

Pictured, nipples removed by Russell in a modification which was filmed and put online

Russell's arrest and subsequent charge comes just weeks after a general warning against subdermal implants was issued by the NSW Healthcare Complaints Commission.

The health warning does not mention Russell or his business, Transition, in Erina Fair.

'The NSW Health Care Complaints Commission is concerned about complaints regarding surgical procedures involving the insertion of subdermal implants for 'extreme' body modification purposes and the risks to the health and safety of consumers undergoing these procedures,' the warning read.

The risks of body modifications done by members of the 'skin penetration industry' include infection and nerve damage, according to the health watch dog.

Russell's arrest and subsequent charge comes just weeks after a general warning against subdermal implants was issued by the NSW Healthcare Complaints Commission

As the body modification industry is not yet legislated there are not many rules for operators to follow.

They must comply with infection control standards of the health act and notify the council when setting up the business.

But, unlike tattoo artists and body piercers, body modifiers don't need to have their clients sign a consent form prior to working on them.

As the body modification industry is not yet legislated there are not many rules for operators to follow - one client with Russell

The health warning was issued following a number of complaints to the commission about businesses in NSW following the insertion of these implants.

The health warning does not mention Russell or his business, Transition, in Erina Fair.

According to Russell's social media posts he did undertake sterilisation training online.

Police confirmed 'several' other former customers of Mr Russell had also made complaints, which are being investigated.

Russell has only been charged with the one offence.

A belly-button removal procedure done by Russell and posted online
Twitter users have been outraged after bizarre footage emerged on social media showing a Orthodox bishop violently baptising a baby in water.

In the clip the bishop swings the naked child by its arms and repeatedly dunks him in the baptismal font.

The clergyman dips the boy in the basin three times before handing him back to the parents who seem totally unfazed.

The bishop swings the naked child by its arms and repeatedly dunks him in the baptismal font

It is believed the clip was filmed in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, at a Orthodox church.

Many online commentators have criticised the bishop's rough approach.

On Twitter, Zita London wrote: 'Oh my I bet this baby is left brain dead.'

The clergyman dips the boy in the basin three times before handing him back to his unfazed parents

It is believed the footage was filmed in Ayia Napa, Cyprus, at a Orthodox church

It is tradition for Orthodox churches to perform 'forceful' baptisms because it is seen as a solution to the declining birth rate

Another user posted: 'Omg that's the most violent baptism?! I've ever seen?!'

User @myaaa_tyn wrote: 'Baptism?? More like attempted murder.'

Mildred Tuhaise commented: 'But this sort of baptism. Aaaah. It's actually Roughism.'

Last year, a similar video emerged of a baby being violently dunked in water in a church in Georgia.
The black bear that mauled a five-year-old girl in has been shot and killed, according to Colorado wildlife officials.

An autopsy has been conducted on the 127-pound, two-year-old male bear that attacked Kimberly Cyr outside of her East Orchard Mesa home early Sunday morning.

The girl's mother's screams have been credited for saving Kimberly's life as they scared the animal away while it dragged her daughter.

Kimberly received 77 stitched on her back and leg but is in good condition and recovering at the hospital.

In this photograph provided by the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife, the paw of a bear believed to have mauled a young child is examined after being shot and killed Monday

St Mary's Medical Center surgeon Charles Breaux, center, talks on Monday sharing that Kimberly Cyr, five, is in good condition and received 77 stitches on her back side

Officials said they killed the bear in a semi-rural, unincorporated area near the city of Grand Junction, about 240miles west of Denver.

The attack led officials to renew their call for residents to secure food sources and use bear-proof trash cans.

The girl's mother told state wildlife officers that her daughter went outside around 2.30 a.m. after hearing noises she thought might be coming from her dog.

She said she heard screaming and found Kimberly being dragged by a large black bear. The mother told authorities that the bear dropped the girl after she yelled at it.

'Before the sun rose on the morning of Mother's Day, she truly exemplified the love and courage of what it takes to be a mother and, because of those actions, her child is here today,' said J.T. Romatzke, regional manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Pediatric surgeon Charles Breaux Jr told reporters Sunday that the bear apparently bit the girl on her back side but she didn't have any injuries to her brain or organs or suffer any fractures.

He said she received 77 external stitches and more internally at St. Mary's Medical Center.

Doctors expect the girl to 'mend very well,' though they will continue to monitor her to make sure she does not develop any infections or rabies, hospital spokeswoman Teri Cavanagh said Monday.

In 911 recordings released Monday, the girl's father, Duane Cyr, calmly says 'she's just missing a chunk out of her back, a couple spots in her leg.'

The male bear suspected in the attack was shot by wildlife officers Sunday night as it was walking up to a home about a half-mile away from where the girl was attacked.

Three traps were set to catch the bear, but officers killed it before the animal entered one.

An autopsy has been conducted on the 127-pound, two-year-old male bear that attacked Kimberly Cyr outside of her East Orchard Mesa home early Sunday morning

Colorado has an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 bears, a population that's considered robust in a state of 5.7 million people that also attracts many tourists.

Every year, there are cases of hungry bears getting into cars and sometimes buildings to find food, especially during periods of drought.

Wildlife officials stress black bears are not out to hunt people but that conflicts, including attacks, can happen once bears get access to easy, calorie-rich human food and return for more.

Another bear was spotted about a half-mile from the girl's home a week ago, Romatzke said.

The area is nestled between the Gunnison and Colorado rivers, which provide corridors for migrating wildlife.

Wildlife officers are confident the bear they killed is the same one that attacked the girl based on its appearance and behavior, but authorities won't know for sure until its body is analyzed.

Results are expected within about a week.

The traps will remain in place in the meantime and state and federal wildlife officers, with the help of dogs, will keep searching the area for signs of additional bears.
An Iowa mother of a newborn girl, who was struck by a softball, was able to hold her daughter for the first time on Mother's Day after doctors revealed the infant may have brain damage.

On Sunday, Kassy Hovenga, held her eight-week-old baby, McKenna Hovenga, for the first time since the incident on May 2.

'Kassy got a wonderful Mother's Day present today! She was able to hold McKenna for the first time in ten days!' a post on the Healing for McKenna Facebook page said.

Kassy Hovenga, the mother of newborn McKenna Hovenga (both pictured), of Iowa, who was struck in the head by a softball, was able to hold her daughter for the first time on Mother's Day

Eight-week-old McKenna (pictured) may have suffered brain damage after she was struck by a softball on May 2

McKenna was struck by an overthrown softball at her father's game in Shell Rock, about 95 miles northeast of Des Moines.

She was being held by her mother, Kassy, when the softball hit her.

McKenna was airlifted to St Mary's Hospital at Mayo Clinic for skull fractures and two brain bleeds.

Mayo Clinic physicians in Rochester, Minnesota, have been balancing various medications as they treat McKenna, whose skull was fractured.

According to a You Caring fundraising page, 'McKenna is currently intubated and has a feeding tube'.

The You Caring fundraiser has raised more than $62,000 that will go toward McKenna's medical expenses.

A post on the Healing for McKenna Facebook page said doctors have pinpointed her seizures to two areas of the brain that appear to have been damaged. Those areas are ones that are related to motor skills and development.

The doctors are currently working to stabilize her seizures. The extent of any damage remains unclear.

According to a You Caring fundraising page, 'McKenna is currently intubated and has a feeding tube'. The You Caring fundraiser has raised more than $62,000

A post on the Healing for McKenna Facebook page said doctors have pinpointed her seizures to two areas of the brain that appear to have been damaged
The wife of the suspected shooter in the Margaret River massacre feared for her husband's mental state and revealed there were 'difficulties at home' in the chilling last conversation she had with her neighbour.

Peter Miles, 61, is believed to have shot dead his partner Cynda, 58, their daughter Katrina, 35, and his four grandchildren, aged eight to 13, before turning the gun on himself at the family property in Osmington, Western Australia, on Friday.

Retired academic Felicity Haynes, who lives near the Miles' home, said there were telltale signs the family was emotionally struggling in the lead-up to Australia's worst mass shooting in more than 20 years.

'I had spoken to Cynda just last week and I said ''you're looking tired, is everything OK?'' She said: ''Oh, there are a few difficulties at home',' Ms Haynes told the ABC's 730 program.

Peter Miles is believed to have shot dead his partner Cynda (left) their daughter Katrina and his four grandchildren (pictured), aged eight to 13, before turning the gun on himself at the family property in Osmington, Western Australia, on Friday

Cynda Miles (left) told her neighbour Felicity Haynes (right) there had been 'difficulties at home' in the lead up to the shooting

Katrina Miles, 35, and her four children Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10, and eight-year-old Kayden were killed

'I didn't want to push. I mean, if she doesn't want to tell me she doesn't want to tell me. But clearly Peter was becoming less rational and that was a worry to her.

'I knew that Peter had been depressed for some time, he's had a difficult life and there have been deaths in the family that really upset him.'

One of Mr Miles' sons is understood to have committed suicide many years ago, while his other son is in hospital with major kidney problems.

Another neighbour, Neil Garnett, said it seemed Mr Miles had been planning the massacre, but was clearly not thinking straight.

Cynda Miles (pictured) feared for her husband's mental state in the lead up to the massacre, according to her neighbour

The scene where police discovered the bodies of four children and three adults on Friday

Another neighbour said it seemed Mr Miles (centre front with his family) had been planning the massacre but was clearly not thinking straight

'He wasn't some maniac going mad, randomly killing people. It was just a very sad story,' he said.

Police said it will be weeks before the shooter is confirmed, but the children's devastated father Aaron Cockman has pointed the finger squarely at Mr Miles.

'He's just gone ''right... I can't live anymore, so this is it for me. But I need to take out everyone with me because that will fix the whole problem'',' he said on Sunday.

'And he's fixed the whole problem.'

Police said it will be weeks before the shooter is confirmed, but the children's devastated father Aaron Cockman (pictured) has pointed the finger squarely at Mr Miles

Peter Miles (second from left in a blue tie) is pictured with Cynda (second from right, back), their daughter Katrina (left in red dress) and her children

Mr Cockman claimed the apparent murder-suicide was 'totally' Peter's decision and speculated about the pressure that had mounted on him in the lead-up to the tragedy

Mr Cockman had been embroiled in a bitter dispute with Katrina about access to the children, who were home-schooled.

He blamed Peter and Cynda for the tension and said they 'cut me off from my kids'.

'I used to drive around town just hoping to see them - but that anger I felt is gone. If it wasn't for Kat's parents... I would still be with her. I miss her so much, let alone the kids,' Mr Cockman said.

He claimed the apparent murder-suicide was 'totally' Peter's decision and speculated about the pressure that had mounted on him in the lead-up to the tragedy.

Mr Cockman blamed Peter and Cynda (pictured) for the tension between himself and his estranged wife

Cynda recently posted an advertisement for her husband's farm maintenance business on Facebook

Police and television crews are pictured at the scene of the supected murder-suicide

'Peter didn't snap. He's thought this through. I think he's been thinking this through for a long time,' he said.

Mr Cockman has begun making plans to lay to rest his four children - Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Arye, 10, and Kadyn Cockman, eight.

Police removed the bodies from the property, Forever Dreaming Farm, on the weekend.

It is expected the funeral will be up to two weeks away as the investigation continues.

Meanwhile, as the media presence in the town begins to shrink, locals are coming to the local community centre to take advantage of special counselling services.

Forensic teams are pictured at the scene of Friday after the seven bodies were discovered

This image shows the kitchen of the remote farm where a mass-murder suicide was discovered early Friday morning

Extra psychology support services are also being offered to shocked students and teachers at local schools.

'I think it's important to acknowledge it has happened,' WA Department of Education school psychology service manager Chris Gostelow said on Monday.

'Also you need to reassure kids that this is an extremely rare event - it's not the sort of event that happens all the time, thankfully, and that they are safe.

'They're safe at school and they're safe at home.'

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Osmington community consists of dirt roads similar to the dusty track at the sustainable farm (pictured) where seven bodies were found

Locals pay their respects to the dead family and lay flowers at a Margaret River tribute site
A man who was found dead outside a Centrelink branch had been slumped on the pavement for hours as residents walked past him without calling police.

His body lay on Maude Street in Shepparton, 200km north of Melbourne, overnight before a local resident reported it about 7.20am Monday.

A couple living nearby said they noticed the man, 48, on Sunday night but failed to call triple-zero because they feared for their own safety, The Age reported.

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A man's body lay on Maude Street in Shepparton (pictured), 200km north of Melbourne, overnight and wasn't reported until 7.20am Monday despite several residents walking past him

Another Maude Street resident said they first saw the man lying outside the Centrelink at 9.30pm but didn't suspect he was dead.

'My wife saw him, he was in a sitting up position then up against the wall. That was at 9.30pm, then I got up with the dog at 2am and he was still there ... horizontal then,' Garth Wright told the publication.

'We thought it was someone sleeping.'

Mr Wright, aged in his 70s, said he didn't know 'what the situation' was and felt it was too unsafe to go and help.

'In this day and age, unfortunately we don't go to people's aid like we used to. It's too big a risk,' he said.

Detective Acting Sergeant Paul Shortis said on Monday afternoon that the man is believed to have arrived outside the Centrelink at 8.15pm.

He added that 'a number of witnesses' have since contacted to police to say they saw the man, who they thought was asleep.

A couple living nearby said they noticed the man, 48, outside the Centrelink (pictured) on Sunday night but failed to call triple-zero because they feared for their own safety

A Victoria Police spokesman told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that the death is still being treated as suspicious, pending the results of a post mortem examination.

Investigators have reviewed security camera footage from the Centrelink, which remained closed throughout Monday morning.

Police were hopeful on Monday that footage from CCTV cameras in the town's city centre would shed light on the circumstances surrounding the man's death.

A total of 19 cameras were installed in Shepparton's city centre in 2014 as part of a campaign to provide a safer community.

Images from outside the Centrelink on Monday morning showed police cordoning off Maude Street, between Ashenden and Sobraon Streets, as they established a crime scene.

Both the road and the Centrelink branch weren't re-opened until about midday.
An enraged neighbour who overheard a moment of 'afternoon delight' when she was walking her grandchild down the street has left a note complaining that the 'performance' was too loud.

Sunshine Coast resident Ali Cashat claimed to have received the note from an anonymous grandmother who lived nearby.

'This is a little embarrassing, however we thought it wise to bring it to your attention,' the note said.

The note left by the neighbour after Ali Cashat's house sitter enjoyed a loud moment of 'afternoon delight'

'Last weekend whilst taking my granddaughter to the beach we had the misfortune of walking past your property at an unfortunate moment.'

'It was very difficult to explain to my young granddaughter the noises coming from your bedroom at the side of your house next to the path.'

'Whilst not wanting to infringe on your privacy, I think it would be best practice to close the windows to prevent a repeat performance.'

'Yours respectfully...'

Ms Cashat, who lives in the house, posted the letter to social media declaring it was an unfortunate case of mistaken identity, and that a house sitter was responsible for the 'afternoon delight'.

'A recent case of mistaken identity has wrongfully accused the homeowners of a very vocal 'performance' in their home during the daytime,' she wrote.

Ms Cashat, who lives in the house, posted the letter to social media declaring it was an unfortunate case of mistaken identity

'Unfortunately they were overseas at the time. The house sitter has admitted to the 'afternoon delight'.'

'The homeowners wish to express their sincere embarrassment over the false accusation as they've been married way too long to partake in such activities and with such gusto before sunset.'

The note has caused a heated debate online over if the actions of the house sitter were inappropriate.

Many people argued that it was not the house sitter but the neighbour who needed to calm down.

The note has caused a heated debate online over if the actions of the house sitter were inappropriate

'Are we still living in the arch ages? Jeez if i walked past and heard that with one of my children i would explain how its much better to hear someone being affectionate then domestic violence or yelling!' one wrote.

'Probably the neighbour should try some afternoon delight themselves and loosen up LOL,' another added.

But not everyone agreed, some argued that the couple should have been quieter.

'Yes it's ok to do whatever you want in your own bedroom and home, as long as it's not spilling out onto the footpath where it impacts others,' one wrote.
A grandmother stabbed to death at a late-night gathering with friends reportedly died in the arms of her attacker before the man fled and self-harmed.

Karen Ashcroft, 52, was with friends at a property on Alma Street in Maryborough, Melbourne's north-west, in the early hours of Monday when she was fatally stabbed.

Friends at the party said she was packing her things to leave about 4am when she was stabbed in the chest.

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Police have arrested a 39-year-old man (pictured) following the stabbing death of a grandmother at an apartment block

'She just walked towards him a couple of steps and he caught her, and she died in his arms,' Kim Bairns told Nine News.

Ms Bairns said she tried to save her friend by performing CPR but she was 'already gone'.

Paramedics were called to the Maryborough home but the 52-year-old died at the scene.

Residents said they tried to stop the attacker from leaving but he escaped before police arrived.

The alleged attacker reportedly self-harmed after fleeing the home.

The police launched a manhunt for the attacker who was arrested and taken into police custody on Monday night.

The police have not yet laid any charges.

Paramedics were called to the Maryborough home (pictured_ but the 52-year-old died at the scene

Homicide Squad detectives are continuing their investigation into the incident

A 39-year-old man will be interviewed by Homicide Detectives when he recovers from his injuries, Nine News reported.

Residents of the victim described her as a 'caring' woman who would 'give the shirt off her back'.

'I feel so bad for her children right now, they are grieving so badly,' Ms Bairns said.

Residents said the 52-year-old grandmother had a loving family and even cared for foster children.

The police urged anyone with information to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A wealthy private schoolboy has admitted raping a 15-year-old girl in the bushes at a Mardi Gras themed house party while a friend filmed.

The attack took place at a party attended by over 100 people at a home in Sydney's affluent Eastern Suburbs last year.

Court documents state the victim arrived with a group of friends in an Uber, and quickly consumed several cans of Vodka Smirnoff Double Black.

A private schoolboy (pictured) has admitted raping a 15-year-old girl in the bushes at a Mardi Gras themed house party while a friend filmed

The 15-year-old then went missing, and was found by her friends being sexually assaulted by the boy in a dark bushy area, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The vile attack left the victim unable to attend class afterwards due to emotional trauma.

Police later discovered the boy, then a student at an exclusive private school, used Facebook to send a 13-second video of the assault to a fellow student.

The boy pleaded guilty in Surry Hills Children's Court, according to documents released by Magistrate Sue Duncombe.

He pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated sexual intercourse of a person under the age of 16 and one count of disseminating child abuse material.

'At the time of the relevant act the complainant was not able to freely and voluntarily agree to sexual intercourse due to her intoxication,' the court documents stated.

Court documents state the victim arrived with a group of friends in a Uber, and quickly consumed several cans of Vodka Smirnoff Double Black (stock image)

'The prosecution accepts that it cannot establish to the requisite standard that the offender had the requisite knowledge of the fact.

'However the offender knew that the complainant was intoxicated and took advantage of the complainant's intoxication in order to commit the offence.'

The court documents state the girl and her friends arrived at the party at 7:30pm and at 8.20pm her friends began to search for her.

They found her on her back, passing in and out of consciousness while being raped by the boy as another male filmed the act.

After the girls arrived they managed to kick the boy off and stop the assault.

The court documents state the victim was deeply affected by the attack and had to be pulled out of classes three times as a result.

Magistrate Duncombe will consider statements from the defence and the police prosecutor at a sentencing hearing in August.
A teenage girl has been sexually assaulted by a boy on a bicycle as she walked home from school, police say.

The 17-year-old was walking along Spinifex Street in Point Cook, south of Melbourne, about 5.30pm on February 28 when police say she was approached by the boy.

The boy then sexually assaulted her before riding away, Victoria Police said.

Victoria Police have released CCTV images of a boy on a bicycle (pictured) who they believe may be able to assist them with their inquiries

Victoria police released CCTV footage on Tuesday of a young man riding a bicycle who they believe may be able to assist with their inquiries.

'The boy is perceived to be aged in his mid-teens, and was wearing khaki shorts, a blue hooded jumper and Converse shoes,' police said.

Anyone with information about the boy's identity or the alleged assault is urged to call Crime Stoppers.
A man has fronted court for killing a koala he found on the side of the road and mounting it on his wall.

The court was told on April 27 that the man found the animal on the side of the road on French Island, Victoria, and shot it with a .22 rifle before taking it to his house where he stuffed it himself before hanging it on his wall.

Wildlife officers discovered the animal during a raid on the man's property at Kilmore, about one hour north of Melbourne, in June 2017.

A Victorian man has fronted court over killing a koala he found on the side of the road and mounting it on his wall (file picture)

When interviewed and asked why he killed the koala the man said it was 'something to do,' according to Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning spokesperson Greg Chant who recounted the case.

'We take these matters very seriously and it's disturbing that somebody would kill a native animal in these circumstances,' Mr Chant said in a statement on Monday

French Island, which is 70 per cent National Park, is well known as a habitat for the animals having the world's densest population of disease free koalas.

The island is also surrounded on the mainland by wildlife conservation parks.

The man denied charges in court but a magistrate found him guilty of illegally destroying and possessing wildlife, in a breach of the Wildlife Act.

He was placed on a good behaviour bond, with a condition that he make a $1000 contribution to a court charity fund.
Australians in Bali are under increasing threat from child suicide bombers, a secret intelligence report warns.

ISIS fighters have flooded Indonesia, with more than 1,100 returning to the area after spending time in the Middle East.

Urgent reports were provided to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton by secret intelligence agents after suicide bombers attacked three churches in Surabaya, the Australian reported.

The intelligence said the indoctrination of children who are then organised to carry out suicide bombings was 'horrific'.

This is the family who committed the church suicide bombings on Sunday at Surabaya

At least seven people were killed outside Surabaya police station on Monday in an attack (pictured) that came the day after thirteen were killed in suicide bombings

CCTV captured the moment the bomb detonated outside the station about 11.50am Monday

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (centre) condemned the attacks as an act of 'barbarity' and expressed his condolences to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation

A young family of ISIS supporters carried out the attacks at the three churches, killing 14 people. The family included two girls aged nine and 12 years old.

Mr Turnbull said increased security would be introduced at airports as a result.

Body scans will be carried out on 94 per cent of passengers. while advanced X-ray and bomb-detection technology would be used on travellers' bags.

Just hours after the intelligence briefings were provided to Australian leaders, another attack was carried out at a police station - again by a family with young children.

An eight-year-old girl survived after her family detonated bombs outside a police station, killing seven people.

It was the latest suspected Islamic terrorist attack to coincide with the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, as security agents fear the attacks may signal the escalation of terrorism in the region.

Police said four officers and six civilians were injured and suspected it was carried out by Islamist extremists linked to Jemaah Ansurat Daulah, which was formed in 2015 by ISIS sympathisers.

'Clearly it's a suicide bombing,' East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told a media briefing on Monday which the ABC attended.

'We can't be open [about] all details yet because we are still identifying victims at the scene and the crime scene is being handled.'

The 3,224 Australians now holidaying in Indonesia, mainly in Bali, have been warned of a heightened risk of terrorist attacks after a spate of suicide bombings ripped through Christian churches and police headquarters in Surabaya.

The explosion killed at least seven people, although the full extent of casualties remains unclear. (Officers pictured standing guard at police headquarters in Surabaya)

The East Javanese city, Indonesia's biggest metropolis outside Jakarta, was reeling after a car bomb exploded at a police headquarters on Monday, after a family of six blew themselves up on Sunday, killing 13 and wounding 40 Christians attending services at three churches.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan begins on Tuesday, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel advisory urged people to 'pay close attention to your personal security at all times'.

'Exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia, including in Bali, Surabaya and Jakarta, because of the high threat of terrorist attack,' it said on its Smart Traveller website on Monday.

'Australians are reminded of the heightened risk of further attacks in the lead-up to and during Ramadan (mid-May to mid-June 2018).'

More than one million Australians travel to Indonesia every year, mainly to the popular resort island of Bali, where Australians were killed in terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005.

An estimated 10,000 Australians live in Bali alone all-year round.

Indonesia is also the second most popular overseas holiday destination for Australians, after New Zealand, with more than 1.2 million Australians visiting its northern neighbour in 2016.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull condemned the attacks as an act of 'barbarity' and expressed his condolences to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

'Our heart goes out to all of the victims of those attacks and the people of Indonesia know that they have our utmost solidarity in the battle against terrorism,' he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

'It almost beggars belief; the brutality, the barbarity, the inhumanity, the blasphemy of these terrorists.'

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said it was an act of evil.

'This threat is not going away and Australia stands absolutely united with a very, very crucial friend in Indonesia to make sure we can work with the president and ... the Indonesian government to keep their people safe,' Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

A day earlier, suicide bombers from the same family killed at least 13 people and wounded 41 in attacks on Christians attending Sunday morning services at three churches

'Evil has prevailed in recent hours.'

A day earlier, suicide bombers from the same family killed at least 13 people and wounded 41 in attacks on Christians attending Sunday morning services at three churches.

All six family members were killed in the attacks and at least 41 people were injured, in acts that Indonesia's president condemned as 'barbaric'.

All six family members were killed in the attacks and at least 41 people were injured. Pictured: Officers load a body bag into an ambulance at the site of an attack

The bombings were the worst to target churches in Indonesia since a series of attacks on Christmas Eve in 2000 killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100.

National police chief Tito Karnavian said that the father exploded a car bomb, two sons aged 18 and 16 used a motorcycle for their attack, and the mother was with daughters aged 12 and nine for her attack.

Mr Karnavian said the family had returned to Indonesia from Syria, where until recently, the Islamic State group controlled significant territory.

The extremist group claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (centre left) visited the scenes of the attacks and described them as 'cowardly actions' that were 'very barbaric and beyond the limit of humanity'

The bombings were the worst to target churches in Indonesia since a series of attacks on Christmas Eve in 2000 killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100. Pictured: Officers remove wreckages of burnt out motorcycles

Mr Widodo with officials at the scene of a suicide attack outside the Central Pantekosta church in Surabaya

The first attack struck the Santa Maria Roman Catholic Church in Surabaya, police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told reporters.

That blast was followed by a second explosion minutes later at the Christian Church of Diponegoro and a third at the city's Pantekosta Church.

Three unexploded homemade bombs - two at the Pantekosta church and one at the Diponegoro church - were detonated by a bomb squad.

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo visited the scenes of the attacks and described them as 'cowardly actions' that were 'very barbaric and beyond the limit of humanity'.

A fourth attack occurred on Sunday evening outside the gates of nearby Taman Police station in Sidoarjo, East Java.

A police spokesperson confirmed a bomb was detonated, although there have been no reports of casualties since the blast.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd said the terrorist attacks were a 'sobering reminder' of the new danger posed by Islamic State fighters returning from Syria and Iraq.

'Significant threat to Australians and westerners in SEA (South East Asia) region,' he tweeted.

Three unexploded homemade bombs - two at the Pantekosta church and one at the Diponegoro church - were detonated by a bomb squad. Pictured: Anti-terror policemen stand guard following one of the attacks
A flight from Orlando to Grand Rapids was delayed when an allegedly drunk male passenger stole a demonstration life jacket and tried to flush it down the toilet.

The bizarre incident took place on Monday, delaying an Allegiant flight 682 that was scheduled to take off at 8:30am.

But the man wasn't able to pull off his prank as the pilot refused to move the plane until the life jacket was returned for the safety demo.

Despite being described as intoxicated, Allegiant Airlines says that the passenger was not and clarified that the vest was found in the restroom, but not in the toilet.

After the vest went missing, flight attendants spoke on the intercom, urging whoever took the jacket to 'ring the call button and return it immediately'.

'He snagged the flight attendant's life jacket, the one they use for the demo, and went into the restroom and put it into the toilet,' passenger Erin Bruce said to Click Orlando.

'They notified us the life jacket was in the restroom in the toilet, it was soiled, and they had to wait for someone to bring them a fresh one to do the demo,' she added.

Bruce said that passengers became annoyed with the delay, as the flight was already set back due to weather, and the plane captain turned the aircraft around to get a new vest, according Click Orlando.

Bruce believes the man turned himself in.

Despite the delays, the passengers and cabin crew were able to bond over the search for the life vest culprit.

'We were all, like, bonding and saying #lifejacketbandit,' Bruce said.

Eventually the passenger believed to have taken the life jacket was removed by flight attendants and Sanford airport police.

He was escorted away 'because he appeared to be intoxicated and they wanted to keep an eye on him', Bruce said.

File image of an Allegiant Airlines plane pictured above at a Las Vegas, Nevada airport

Sanford police said the man was not arrested and Allegiant rebooked him onto a later flight as they could not prove he was the one that took the life jacket.

Flight 682 eventually made it to Grand Rapids, Michigan an hour and a half late.

Allegiant Airlines said to DailyMail that the man in question was not.

'As far as we know, the passenger was not intoxicated, and no life vest was flushed down the lavatory toilet. The life vest did go missing, and was later found in the restroom  but not in the toilet. The passenger referenced was removed from the flight to answer some questions, and was rebooked on a later flight. We have no reason to believe this passenger moved the vest,' a spokesperson for the airline said.

'The flight was delayed a bit initially due to weather, and then further while the crew retrieved a new demonstration vest,' the airline added.
When David Miliband returned to the domestic political scene yesterday, it was in the faintly comical surroundings of a rice factory, on a platform surrounded by shiny blue sacks of Tildas finest. It looked a bit like a glam-rock stage from a Slade concert 40 years ago.

Miliband and his pals, Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan, were certainly playing some old tunes about Europe, claiming Britain is being held to ransom by Brexiteers, and promising to campaign for MPs to water down the EU Withdrawal Bill when it returns to the Commons.

But if the sight of them looking like a superannuated pop trio with a microphone each was bizarre, there was one conspicuous absentee who stopped them being a not-so-fab four: Milibands political mentor, Tony Blair.

Toxic

The truth is, its the influence of the former prime minister that lies behind this anti-democratic cross-party roadshow.

From his Central London office, Blair the puppet master has been holding court with Labour MPs dismayed by the partys continually changing, confused stance on Brexit.

Blair, who also fanned the flames of rebellion in the House of Lords, encouraged Miliband to speak out. He talks regularly to the man he once nurtured for the Labour leadership.

Though the egotist Blair would prefer to be at the front of house, leading the challenge to the Government, a well-informed observer says: Hes self-aware enough to know his presence would be a distraction, which is why he egged on David. The revelation that Blair is involved behind the scenes will be a gift for Tory and Labour Brexiteers, who regard him as toxic.

David Miliband, 52, is 'taking time off from his 400,000-a-year job running the International Rescue charity in New York to portray himself as the lost voice of the British people'

Former Lib Dem leader Clegg, who has been trying to carve out a public role since he lost his Commons seat last year, has been spotted at Blairs office, too.

Nicky Morgan, meanwhile, is an increasingly isolated figure in the Tory Parliamentary party, and susceptible to flattery by the likes of Miliband  who has been living in New York for five years since leaving in a huff after his younger brother, Ed, beat him to the Labour leadership.

Despite his comfortable self-imposed exile, his political ambition is as strong as ever.

Yesterday, his slightly nasal tones could be heard in a prime slot offered to him by the BBC to promote his views on Brexit.

On Radio 4s Today programme, he announced like some venerable political seer that if Britain capitulates over the customs union and fails to establish control of our borders and our trade deals, there would be an enormous sigh of relief in Europe. Which presumably he would regard as a happy outcome. We mustnt upset Brussels, after all.

Many listeners would have concluded that a man who gives up his seat in Parliament and takes a huge salary abroad has no right to pontificate on our political future. Will voters really welcome him back to the country he abandoned?

They will point to the irony in Miliband, 52, taking time off from his 400,000-a-year job running the International Rescue charity in New York to portray himself as the lost voice of the British people.

His former constituency, South Shields, is in the South Tyneside area, which voted 68 per cent Leave in the referendum  not that listening to the people comes naturally to a man more used to hobnobbing with liberal darlings such as George Clooney and Hillary Clinton.

Tony Blair is behind the BRexit bashing comeback of former British foreign secretary David Miliband, Andrew Pierce writes

How piquant that Miliband Major has resurfaced just as his former role as foreign secretary is under the microscope. It was only last Thursday that Theresa May apologised over the Blair governments involvement in the torture of a Libyan dissident by the Gaddafi regime in Tripoli.

Miliband, who became foreign secretary three years later in 2007, has been accused of lying over what he knew about extraordinary rendition (the euphemism for the kidnap and torture of terror suspects overseen by the CIA) in an attempt to keep the New Labour government off the hook. Funny how he didnt mention that at yesterdays carefully stage-managed launch.

Undoubtedly, his appearance with Nick Clegg and Nicky Morgan will fuel speculation that he is planning to revive his political career.

One reason why he left Britain was the falling-out with his brother. Relations became so poor that he failed to invite Ed to his 50th birthday party in London in 2015.

But, intriguingly, David has now buried the hatchet with Ed. A friend of the family told me this week: They will never be as close as they were, but they are talking again. They have young children and want the children to get together.

Attention

While Miliband has made a success of his new life in the U.S., he was bitterly disappointed that his friend Hillary Clinton failed to become the Democratic president. There was even talk of a big job under Clinton in the American government, but the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House has forced Miliband to turn his attention to British politics once more.

A return to these shores would offer tempting career prospects for Milibands wife, Louise Shackelton, a concert violinist. Last autumn, the celebrated conductor Sir Simon Rattle returned to Britain after more than a decade at the helm of the Berlin Philharmonic. He is now director of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO). Despite living in New York, Ms Shackelton has played with the LSO in London since Rattles return, and there would be a permanent post if she wanted it. A complicating factor if the Milibands returned to Britain is that their young sons are happily settled in schools in New York.

However, there is a break clause this year in Milibands contract with International Rescue. That means the reaction to yesterdays performance  among the public and from MPs  may have a major bearing on whether he has a future in British politics.

While he is seen by Blairite MPs as his partys lost leader, Miliband knows the chances of making a successful second bid for the leadership are challenging, to say the least.

Former foreign secretary David Miliband, former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg and Conservative ex-cabinet minister Nicky Morgan are launching anti-Brexit drive

Saviour

The majority of Labours 500,000 members, who have the final say over the leadership, are followers of Jeremy Corbyn and his hard-Left politics, which means it might even be difficult for David Miliband to be selected for a safe Labour seat. The Corbynista roots already run deep, and they loathe Blairites almost as much as they hate Tories.

But what if Miliband is not interested in leading Labour: what if he has ambitions to set up a new centrist party instead? It might appeal to his Remoaner chum Clegg, who is increasingly out of step with the Lib Dems since the collapse of the coalition, and to Tory malcontents such as Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry, who were both sacked by Mrs May.

The creation of a new party is, in fact, the brainchild of a businessman named Simon Franks, who is reportedly putting up 50 million to make it a reality, having made his fortune renting out DVDs. He has called it Project One Movement for the UK.

Does Miliband see himself as the saviour of British politics, riding in on his white charger to plant his flag in the centre ground? Watch this space.

Whether British voters will welcome the return of the king across the water is rather less certain.
The driver of a Tesla electric car had the vehicle's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode engaged when she slammed into the back of a Utah fire truck over the weekend, in the latest crash involving a car with self-driving features.

The 28-year-old female driver of the car told police in suburban Salt Lake City that the system was switched on and that she had been looking at her phone before the Friday evening crash.

Tesla's Autopilot system uses radar, cameras with 360-degree visibility and sensors to detect nearby cars and objects. It's built so cars can automatically change lanes, steer, park and brake to help avoid collisions.

The auto company markets the system as the 'future of driving' but warns drivers to remain alert while using Autopilot and not to rely on it to entirely avoid accidents. Police reiterated that warning Monday.

A Tesla sedan with a semi-autonomous Autopilot feature has rear-ended a fire department truck at 60 mph (97 kph) apparently without braking before impact

The crash, in which the Tesla driver was injured, comes as federal safety agencies investigate the performance of Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system

A Tesla spokesperson did not comment following the disclosure about the use of the feature.

On Twitter, co-founder Elon Musk said it was 'super messed up' that the incident was garnering public attention, while thousands of accidents involving traditional automobiles 'get almost no coverage.'

South Jordan police said the Tesla Model S was going 60 mph when it slammed into the back of a fire truck stopped at a red light. The car appeared not to brake before impact, police said.

The driver, whom police have not named, was taken to a hospital with a broken foot. The driver of the fire truck suffered whiplash and was not taken to a hospital.

'What's actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60 mph and the driver only broke an ankle,' Musk tweeted. 'An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death.'

On Twitter, co-founder Elon Musk (above) said it was 'super messed up' that the incident was garnering public attention

The crash, in which the Tesla driver was injured, comes as federal safety agencies investigate the performance of Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system

The Tesla's air bags were activated in the crash, South Jordan police Sgt. Samuel Winkler said Saturday. The wreckage is seen above

The National Transportation Safety Board has not opened an investigation into the crash, spokesman Keith Holloway said, though it could decide to do so.

It is the second time a Tesla has struck a stationary fire truck this year.

In January, a Model S that was reportedly on Autopilot hit a fire engine parked on the highway shoulder in Culver City, California. The driver refused treatment at the scene and the NTSB is investigating that crash.

Over the past two months, federal officials have opened investigations into at least two other crashes involving Tesla vehicles. Both were fatal.

Last week, the NTSB opened a probe into an incident in which a Model S caught fire after crashing into a wall in Florida.

Two 18-year-olds were trapped in the vehicle and died in the flames. The agency has said it does not expect the semi-autonomous system to be a focus of that investigation.

Tesla's Autopilot system uses cameras, radar and computers to keep speed, change lanes and automatically stop vehicles. The aftermath of the crash, above

The NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are also looking into the performance of the company's Autopilot system in the March crash of a Tesla Model X on a California highway. The driver in that incident died.

In March, an Arizona pedestrian was killed by a self-driving Uber car, in the first death of its kind. A driver was behind the wheel of the test vehicle in that case but failed to halt in time.

The investigation into the crash in Utah is ongoing, police said.

The driver of the Tesla may face charges for failing to maintain the safety of her vehicle, which would be a traffic infraction, according to police spokesman Sgt. Samuel Winkler.
Two women have suffered leg and pelvic injuries after their car hit a power pole in southwest Sydney.

The driver Samantha Bryant, 24, and her passenger, Eden Williams, 19, were trapped after the crash in Moorebank about 9pm on Sunday.

It took emergency crews over two hours to free the women from the wreckage.

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Samantha Bryant, 24, (pictured) and passenger, Eden Williams, 19, were in a horror crash

They were taken to hospital in serious but stable condition.

Police are investigating if Ms Bryant was street racing when she lost control of the Holden Commodore.

CCTV footage obtained by 9 News show the car travelling well above the 70km/h speed limit.

Some witnesses said they believe the vehicle was travelling at 200km/h seconds before the accident.

Police are investigating how the crash occurred but have not yet laid any charges.

Meanwhile a 28-year-old man escaped unscathed when he lost control of his car and hit a power pole in the lower North Shore suburb of Artarmon late on Sunday night.

Police are investigating if Ms Bryant was street racing when she lost control of the Holden Commodore (car pictured on a different day)
A Southern Baptist preacher who once said Jews were 'going to hell,' called Mormonism 'a cult' and Catholicism 'the genius of Satan,' led the prayer in Jerusalem Monday in honor of the new US embassy.

Robert Jeffress, chosen by the Trump administration to deliver the litany, praised the president for his work in helping unite the United States and Israel.

'Father, as we come to dedicate this embassy, in the city of Jerusalem, the city that you named as the capital of Israel 3,000 years ago, we want to thank you for the tremendous leadership of our great President Donald J. Trump,' the minister said in part.

'Without President Trump's determination, resolve, courage, we would not be here today.

'I believe I speak for every one of us when we say we thank you every day that you have given us a president who boldly stands on the right side of history - but more importantly - stands on the right side of you, oh God, when it comes to Israel.'

The Dallas-based evangelist noted the 'courageous leadership' of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was seen sitting in the audience next to White House advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

Southern Baptist preacher Robert Jeffress delivered the opening prayer Monday in Jerusalem in honor of the new US embassy. The prayer came on the 70th anniversary of Israel and also the day of deadly protests

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat next to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner during the prayer

Jeffress said on Twitter: 'I was honored to deliver the opening prayer at the historic dedication of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem today'

Jeffress said further: 'We are equally grateful for the skillful work of our Ambassador David Friedman, who so effectively represents our United States policy, and always standing by and supporting our most reliable ally and friend in the Middle East.'

The prayer was followed with that of Reverend John Charles Hagee, who founded the Christians United for Israel foundation as well as San Antonio-based Cornerstone Church.

Just hours prior to the ceremony, that took place on the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding, at least 58 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces as part of deadly protests.

The attacks happened along the Gaza border and Israel, Palestinian officials said. More than 2,000 others were wounded.

Officials called Monday the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Israeli and Palestinian protesters wave signs and chant outside the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem Monday May 14, 2018. Israeli soldiers shot and killed dozens Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border on Monday

Palestinians set tires on fire in response to Israeli forces' intervention during a protest, organized to mark 70th anniversary of Nakba, also known as Day of the Catastrophe in 1948

Palestinians use slingshot to throw rocks in response to Israeli forces' intervention during a protest that left at least 58 dead and thousands of others wounded

Palestinian protesters carry an injured man who was shot by Israeli troops during the deadly protests at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel

A man reacts as bodies of Palestinians killed during a protest on the border with Israel lay in the morgue

Also Monday, former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who is himself a Mormon, led the chorus of criticism against 'religious bigot' Jeffress, who passionately said the opening prayer shortly after the deadly protests.

In a tweet Sunday night, the former Massachusetts governor, who is now running for a Senate seat from Utah, criticized Jeffress for his remarks about Jews, Mormons and Islam.

Romney said, 'Robert Jeffress says 'you can't be saved by being a Jew,' and 'Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.' He's said the same about Islam.'

The liberal group Media Matters reports on its website that Jeffress made the remarks cited by Romney in a 2011 speech at the conservative Values Voter Summit.

Jeffress responded in a tweet of his own by defending his view that 'salvation is through faith in Christ alone.'

Jeffress (above) is a Dallas-based Southern Baptist pastor who once called Mormonism 'a cult,' said Jews were 'going to hell,' and that Catholicism was 'the genius of Satan.' He was picked by the Trump administration to lead the prayer for the new US embassy in Jerusalem

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney (seen above at last week's Met Gala in New York), who is himself a Mormon, is leading the chorus of criticism against Jeffress, whom the Senate candidate from Utah is referring to as 'a religious bigot'

In a tweet Sunday night, the former Massachusetts governor criticized Jeffress for his remarks about Jews, Mormons and Islam

Jeffress responded in a tweet of his own by defending his view that 'salvation is through faith in Christ alone'

'Historic Christianity has taught for 2,000 years that salvation is through faith in Christ alone.

'The fact that I, along with tens of millions of evangelical Christians around the world, continue to espouse that belief, is neither bigoted nor newsworthy,' Jeffress said in the tweet.

The role of Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, a Southern Baptist megachurch, underlines the significance of the Jerusalem event as an appeal to Christian conservatives, part of President Donald Trump's base of supporters.

The outrage over Jeffress comes amidst a backlash against the Trump administration's embrace of an Israeli cleric who also made racist remarks about black people.

White House advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump reportedly received a blessing from a rabbi who previously compared black people to monkeys

A US delegation in Jerusalem includes Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, both White House aides. She posted a picture of the couple on Twitter with Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara as she thanked the Israeli Prime Minister for his hospitality at a welcome reception

Jared and Ivanka also received a blessing from Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzchok Yosef (photo by Shloimy Cohen) pic.twitter.com/PEvyE9pTM7  Jacob Kornbluh (@jacobkornbluh) May 13, 2018

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump had received a blessing in Jerusalem on Sunday from Israel's Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, who once compared black people to monkeys.

Yosef was condemned by the Anti-Defamation League earlier this year for making the crude remarks.

During a sermon in March, the rabbi discussed how to properly say a blessing The Forward reports.

Yosef used the Hebrew word 'kushi,' which although it was used in the Bible is now considered a derogatory term for black people.

The blessing was given by Sephardic Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef

'You can't make the blessing on every 'kushi' you see  in America you see one every five minutes, so you make it only on a person with a white father and mother,' he said, according to the Times of Israel.

'How do would you know? Let's say you know! So they had a monkey as a son, a son like this, so you say the blessing on him.'

The Anti-Defamation League said that the remarks were 'utterly unacceptable', but Yosef's office defended the remarks by stating he was 'merely citing the Talmud', which is a set of Jewish laws which states that the same blessing is recited upon seeing an elephant, a monkey or an ape.

It's not the first time that Yosef has attracted criticism for his comments with a history of questionable remarks.

In the past few years, he implied that secular women behave like animals because of their immodest dress and claimed 2016 that according to Jewish law, non-Jews were forbidden from living in Israel.

Kushner and Trump have been in Israel as part of the American delegation celebrating the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) spoke at a reception welcoming the US delegation attended by both Ivanka and Jared

Senior adviser Jared Kushner was presented with a menorah for as a memento of his visit

Images of President Trump flashed across the screen at the event for the Friends Of Zion group

They landed in Israel Sunday morning ahead of the US Embassy opening in the capital.

The White House advisers attended the inauguration ceremony, along with other Washington delegates, including US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

President Trump was not in attendance.

Both Ivanka and Jared were seen embracing Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu shortly after their arrival.

Jared Kushner stood among other members of the U.S. delegation as they were welcomed

Ivanka and Jared were seen arriving to a reception for the US delegation. She posted this photo on Instagram

Ivanka posted several photos of her and Jared after touching down sharing a video of her waving at at camera after they landed.

'Great to join the friends of Zion for an amazing evening commemorating the dedication of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel,' she wrote.

Israel launched celebrations on Sunday for the US Embassy's relocation to Jerusalem, a move whose break with world consensus was underscored by the absence of most envoys to the country from a reception hosted by Netanyahu.

Monday's slated opening of the new embassy follows Trump's recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The decision he said fulfilled decades of policy pledges in Washington and formalized realities on the ground.
15 years ago, Sadie Nicholas managed the in-house press office for High Street tour operator Thomas Cook, which has owned the Club 18-30 brand since 1998

On a steamy night in August 2003, the streets of Magaluf were filled with swathes of drunken, semi-clad men and women in their late teens and early 20s.

Inside the bars, more groups of sunburned party- goers danced provocatively on table tops, downing vodka shots, hellbent on oblivion  and casual sex at the end of the night.

At the heart of the mayhem were holiday reps, jeering them on and 'masterminding' various drinking games designed to get them even more plastered. Revellers licked squirty cream off each other's chests, passed courgettes from mouth to mouth, and burst balloons by purposely clashing groins. No one seemed even remotely embarrassed or ashamed.

Meanwhile, down on the beach there was sex, and lots of it  involving both the reps and their young guests.

Welcome to a Club 18-30 holiday in its heyday, fulfilling the promise of its many famous advertising slogans, including: 'It's not all sex, sex, sex. There's a bit of sun and sea as well.'

At its peak in the late Nineties and early Noughties, the company owned a 65 per cent share of the youth travel market, herded more than 110,000 passengers a year to party resorts around Europe, and spawned a no-holds-barred cult ITV docu-show, Club Reps, which followed its reps in the Greek resort of Faliraki, on Rhodes.

Famously, that same summer, five club reps were photographed indulging in a lewd sexual act on the beach in Kavos, Corfu.

Despite subsequent sackings and suspensions to satisfy public outcry, both from locals and officials on Corfu and in the UK, behind closed doors at Club 18-30 HQ there was no such thing as bad publicity.

After all, sex, booze and general debauchery were its USP, and precisely what those who signed up to a Club 18-30 trip coveted most. In fact, far from damaging business, that notorious episode in Kavos led to an increase in bookings.

At its peak in the late Nineties and early Noughties, the company owned a 65 per cent share of the youth travel market

How do I know all of this? Well, 15 years ago, I managed the in-house press office for High Street tour operator Thomas Cook, which has owned the Club 18-30 brand since 1998.

Over two years, I got to visit many of the brand's key resorts and was more privy than most to the tawdry drunken behaviour that was its trademark. If it all got a little too out of hand, even for the liking of the head honchos  as with the Kavos incident  it was my job to try to brush the controversy under the nearest beach towel.

Back then, I couldn't see an end to it. It felt like an out-of-control party where no one would leave. Every year, when I thought human behaviour couldn't sink any lower, it found a new low.

Wind forward 20 years, though, and it seems  finally  that it might be drawing to a welcome end. Nowadays, rather like its original generation of customers, Club 18-30 is way past its prime.

Thomas Cook herded more than 110,000 passengers a year to party resorts around Europe

Interest in the brand has waned, and it was no surprise when this week it was announced Thomas Cook is understood to be making plans to offload the brand. So what has brought about this change in tastes? Apparently, it's down to advances in technology. The current generation of 18 to 34-year-olds prefer their holidays to ooze a certain urban cool  which they can show off to their friends back home on Instagram.

Camera phones and social media didn't exist in Club's debauched heyday; what happened on holiday stayed on holiday, and even the most revolting behaviour could  eventually  be hushed up and forgotten. Blushing over your holiday snaps in Boots was as close to public 'outing' as it got.

Nowadays, as many young people have found, any minor infringement has a habit of appearing on social media, and being extremely difficult to erase  ruining reputations, relationships and even job prospects in an instant.

Consequently, holidays have evolved into picture-perfect Instagram 'stories', taken against holiday backdrops designed to incite envy in friends and strangers alike.

The trip pawned a no-holds-barred cult ITV docu-show, Club Reps, which followed its reps in the Greek resort of Faliraki, on Rhodes

In fact, a report published earlier this month revealed that more than half of 18 to 25-year-olds say social media is a major factor when picking a holiday hotel.

Still, it would be naive to think that, beyond the carefully crafted gloss of their photos on social media, young people don't also go off with their friends, get sloshed and have holiday romances. Of course they do. I have a four-year-old son whom I fully expect will one day  once he's mastered his doggy paddle without armbands, of course  head off on a lads' holiday with his friends. It's a rite of passage for young people which I hope never loses its thrill.

It's just that the appalling behaviour which used to be commonplace no longer holds the badge of honour it once did  for which mothers everywhere, including me, are truly grateful.

Yet, far from writing this from some sort of moral high ground, I'm guilty as charged of having had my own dalliances during my university years with the very down- market resorts in which 18-30 made its name, including Magaluf, Kavos and Benidorm.

The appalling behaviour which used to be commonplace no longer holds the badge of honour it once did

Although my friends and I would have recoiled at the idea of signing up for an 18-30 holiday, we certainly danced on the tables, spent more on cocktails than accommodation, and partied till dawn.

Club 18-30 was founded as a cheap way for young people to get away and have some fun.

It started out in 1965 when it took a group of 580 young holidaymakers to Spain's Costa Brava.

Founded by the Horizon group, it was originally developed as a way for the company to fill seats on unpopular night flights to the Mediterranean.

But the difference between my own girls' holidays and the ones I was subsequently privy to during my time at Thomas Cook was that there was a dark underbelly to many of Club 18-30's misdemeanours that went beyond the innocent foibles of youth.

And that is why I won't be mourning its passing.

You could bet your flip-flops that the brand would be in the thick of whatever shameful melee made the headlines back then (and there were hundreds of them), be it a mass brawl on the streets of Faliraki, with holidaymakers flashing their breasts at locals, or up to 100 girls a day requesting the morning-after pill in Malia, Crete, as was the case in 2003.

Founded by the Horizon group, it was originally developed as a way for the company to fill seats on unpopular night flights to the Mediterranean

Worse still, I learned that there were frequently devastating consequences to guests' drunken behaviour, and that serious injury and death  almost always linked to alcohol consumption were simply part and parcel of the summer season. The balcony falls are the incidents that stand out most in my memory.

I still shudder to remember the report that landed in my inbox of a young man on holiday with 18-30 in Magaluf who'd drunk way too much then attempted to jump from the balcony of his apartment into the swimming pool.

He missed, landed on the tiled poolside, shattered almost every bone in his body and  last I heard  was expected to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

Meanwhile, in San Antonio, Ibiza's main party resort, a Newcastle University under- graduate on an 18-30 break with his brother and a friend fell to his death from a hotel roof after partying.

Two holidaymakers also died when they were hit by cars crossing the road outside the resort's famous clubs. There were reps who died in drunken incidents, too  one young girl slipped, fell and hit her head in her apartment, dying from her injuries before she was discovered by a friend.

Inevitably, I also received the official reports of countless incidents of 18-30 customers being seriously injured or killed in moped accidents, often drunk and without helmets, although, to be fair, the reps always advised against hiring them.

But in the early Noughties it was Faliraki in Rhodes that made most of the headlines as Britons wreaked havoc there, shameful behaviour that many believed was fuelled by the ITV documentary that followed the 18-30 reps in the resort.

Doctors in the A&E department of the island's main hospital recall his staff had been pushed to the edge by the relentless drunken behaviour of young Britons

If the reps could behave with such disregard for the island, the locals or their guests, why shouldn't they do the same?

There were constant incidents where police were called to arrest holidaymakers brawling, having sex on the beach day and night, and pushing the local casualty department to breaking point with drink-fuelled injuries.

I spoke to a doctor in the A&E department of the island's main hospital for this newspaper some years ago, and he recalled that his staff had been pushed to the edge by the relentless drunken behaviour of young Britons. Where booze was concerned, though, it was the reps who probably had most to answer for.

After all, alcohol was a lucrative cash cow for 18-30, and formed the basis of most of the excursions they sold to earn commission.

It was common knowledge in the industry that many male reps would sleep with female guests as a means of getting them to go on more excursions. And for young girls away from their parents for the first time, bedding a holiday rep was seen as a coup.

And it was an open secret that the reps would compete among themselves to see who could have sex with the most holidaymakers, knowing they'd be on a plane back to Blighty before long.

Still, Club 18-30 bosses would probably say that the brand has had a good run for its money, while wafting away the devastating trail of unwanted pregnancies, rape claims and tragic deaths it leaves in its 53-year wake.

But for every person who looks back nostalgically at the hedonism of their own experience of Club 18-30 in its heyday, there will be many more who will be relieved that the brand appears to be on the verge of being all partied out.

The squirty cream and courgettes that symbolised the debauched holidays of a generation of teens and twentysomethings may yet be laid to rest.
Suicide prevention group Lifeline has cancelled a domestic violence forum featuring hardline feminist Clementine Ford after a petition against her appearance attracted almost 14,000 signatures.

A change.org petition, set up last month, argued her previous tweets saying 'kill all men' and 'all men must die' made her unsuitable to address the 'Recognise, Respond, Refer' event in Melbourne on May 29.

A Lifeline spokesman Alan Woodward said the event, which was to be moderated by former Ten newsreader and Australian #MeToo campaigner Tracey Spicer, was cancelled because they regarded it as 'divisive'.

'The decision was made following feedback we had received and our assessment the event had drawn strong views,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday morning.

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Suicide prevention group Lifeline has cancelled an event featuring hardline feminist Clementine Ford after a petition against her appearance attracted almost 14,000 signatures

A change.org petition, set up last month, argued her previous tweets saying 'kill all men' made her unsuitable to address the 'Recognise, Respond, Refer' event in Melbourne on May 29

'We felt we couldn't proceed in the spirit of open discussion as intended.'

Mr Woodward said the 'nature of the views expressed' in the petition had made the forum untenable, but he stressed the cancellation was not related to Ms Ford's previous tweets.

'Lifeline does not want to do anything that could create division in the community,' he said.

'It was more the response within the wider community that led us to cancel the event, not any views expressed by the speaker.'

Lifeline spokesman Alan Woodward said the event, which was to be moderated by Australian #MeToo campaigner Tracey Spicer, was cancelled because they regarded it as 'divisive'

Adam Smith's campaign against Ms Ford's appearance at the Lifeline event had amassed 13,917 signatures by Tuesday morning, three weeks after his petition went live.

'It is extremely important that they remain distant from the hateful comments previously made very loudly and consistently by Ms Ford,' it said.

'She MUST be removed from the speaking lineup for the protection of the very people you are funded to support.'

Petition author Adam Smith had included screen shots of the Fairfax Media columnist's inflammatory tweets and argued she was synonymous with the hashtag, '#killallmen'.

'Lifeline is a service that is crucial to people experiencing high levels of emotional distress, many of them suicidal over bullying experiences,' he said.

Adam Smith's campaign against Clementine Ford's appearance at the Lifeline event had amassed 13,917 signatures by Tuesday morning, three weeks after his petition went live

Petition author Adam Smith included screen shots of Clementine Ford's inflammatory tweets and argued she was synonymous with the hashtag, '#killallmen'

In October 2015, Clementine Ford tweeted 'kill all men' after a woman suggested on Twitter her 'blind hatred of males' made it hypocritical of her to be an advocate of equal rights.

One woman questioned how Lifeline could give her a platform, considering many men with mental health problems relied on the service.

'It's hard enough for men to call a helpline to talk about how they are feeling,' she said on the Facebook page of former Labor leader Mark Latham.

'Now I feel men may not utilise this important lifeline for them.'

Petition author Adam Smith had included screen shots of the Fairfax Media columnist's inflammatory tweets and argued she was synonymous with the hashtag, '#killallmen'

Last month, Lifeline said it did not necessarily agree with Clementine Ford's views on men.

'It is common place for a range of views and perspectives to occur in a discussion panel,' it told Daily Mail Australia.

'Lifeline does not necessarily agree with any particular panel member or commentator's views.'

Clementine Ford said in April she had 'addressed the intention behind these statements numerous times'.

'If we lived in a world where women were murdering men en masse and men genuinely had reason to fear they might be murdered in their beds by a gang of marauding feminists, I would agree with your concern,' she told Daily Mail Australia on Monday.

'As it is is, we live in a world where it's women who are being murdered by men at a minimum rate of one a week in this country, not to mention the countless circumstances of sexual violence, physical harassment and ongoing domestic violence perpetrated against women.'

The author of 'Fight Like A Girl' has also previously tweeted 'I bathe in male tears' and last year wrote 'Have you killed any men today? And if not, why not?' in a book signed for a fan.
A man who confessed to killing his mother nine years after she disappeared told police he had snapped after the 46-year-old 'pushed him too far one day.'

Daniel Paul Heazlewood, 31, was initially charged with murder over the 2009 death of his mother Linda Sidon, but last week pleaded guilty to the downgraded charge of manslaughter at Brisbane Supreme Court.

On Monday, he was sentenced to a maximum eight years behind bars for her manslaughter and a total of 11 years and six months for that and other charges, including five drug offences.

However, due to time served, Heazlewood will be eligible for parole in July 2019.

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Daniel Heazlewood, 31, is pictured being interviewed by police over his mother's disappearance after he was arrested in 2015

Ms Sidon's body has never been found, despite her son assisting police with their search

Heazlewood was arrested in 2015 after police had put surveillance on him as a suspect in his mother's disappearance.

A surveillance device capture Heazlewood talking about his mother as he was driving to Numinbah Valley, where it was revealed later he had buried her.

'She just pushed me too far one day, so I killed her,' he could be heard saying.

After her death, Heazlewood allegedly told a friend how he felt about his mother.

'I hate her. I can't stand the b****,' he allegedly said.

While being interviewed by police after his arrest, Heazlewood told detectives his mother had come into his room brandishing a steak knife and started to verbally abuse him.

He said she would abuse him about the fact he was still living at home, and that he had jumped up and grabbed her wrist before they both ended up on the floor.

'We were on the ground but I grabbed her wrist and then we struggled, I don't know if I was saying anything,' he said.

'And then somehow we fell and I was in the frame of my bedroom, and then her head was on my chest and we were both facing the roof and I had her wrist and I had my forearm around her neck and we were struggling and I had pressure on there [her neck].

'And I don't think it was very long and then she wasn't moving.'

Heazlewood said he then 'scooted' away from her and went into the lounge room for a while before going back and moving her body to her bed. A 'day or two' later he decided to check on her and found she wasn't breathing.

Daniel Heazlewood pleaded guilty over the death of his mother, Linda Sidon (pictured) and was sentenced to 11 years by the Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday

'So then I sat around the house for another while wondering what to do, I remember at some point I went to Bunnings and I bought a shovel and a bag of lime, I remember hearing from a movie lime does something,' he said.

He said he then wrapped her in a blanket before moving her to the boot of her own car.

'Then that night I drove to pine creek road, and then I left the car and went into the bush a bit and dug a hole,' he said.

'And then I went back to the car and I remember trying to carry her, I couldn't, I kept dry reaching and vomiting when I tried to put her on my shoulder so I just dragged her.'

He said he dumped her body in the hole he had dug, covered it with lime and dirt and left.

Prior to his arrest Heazlewood also told his friend he thought his mother was an ugly b****, a waste of space and said he hoped she got hit by a bus, the Gold Coast Bulletin reported.

That same year, Heazlewood allegedly told a housemate that his mother was a bogan, c*** and whore,' the Daily Telegraph reported.

Supreme Court Justice David Boddice described Heazlewood's actions as 'disgraceful' and 'reprehensible' and said he clearly had a hatred and disdain for his mother.

'It seems to me that you held a genuine hatred for your mother and never regretted her demise,' he said.

Heazlewood (pictured) was arrested in Brisbane in 2015 over the 2009 disappearance his mother

Ms Sidon's older sister Pauline Sidon described her sister as 'beautiful' and 'charismatic' when she fronted court on Monday.

'Her future had a chance to be bright  she was robbed of future happiness, how someone can live with that lie for six years is beyond my comprehension,' she said in a victim impact statement.

She said her parents sadly passed away before they could find out what happened to their beloved daughter.

'To know their daughter had been [killed] by their grandson would have broken their hearts and souls,' she said.

Ms Sidon - a New Zealand-born part-time cleaner who had a history of anxiety, anorexia and depression - had originally been thought to have committed suicide.

Ms Sidon's body has never been found.
A restaurant owner has been left fuming after he was fined $672 for placing a sign advertising his $10 big breakfast out the front of his business.

Axis Restaurant and Bar owner Brian Marhaba said he was forced to place the sign outside his business in Gold Coast, Queensland, when the council installed pergolas which blocked his shopfront.

'We had our signage on our structures before now. We put our signs back out there and we cop a fine,' he told Nine News this week.

Axis Restaurant and Bar owner Brian Marhaba said he was forced to place the sign outside his Gold Coast, Queensland, business when the council installed pergolas which blocked his shopfront

Gold Coast councillor Paul Taylor said the fine was standard for placing advertisement outside a shop front.

'You put markings out there and it could look a hell of a mess you know. Or it could be good,' he said.

Mr Taylor said the council was looking into the situation.

The Gold Coast Council confirmed to Daily Mail Australia it fined the restaurant for the signage.

'We had our signage on our structures before now. We put our signs back out there and we cop a fine,' Brian Marhaba said

'City Officers have undertaken an investigation which resulted in appropriate action being taken,' a council spokeswoman said.

'The City has a range of enforcement options available to ensure that signage is appropriately constructed, located and does not pose a safety risk.'

Axis Restaurant and Bar's Mr Marhaba feared his establishment would be next to shut up shop due to declining business.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Mr Marhaba for further comment but he did not reply before publishing.

Gold Coast councillor Paul Taylor said the fine was standard for placing advertisement outside a shop front

A string of bars and restaurants at Broadbeach at the Gold Coast have been forced to close their doors this month.

Onyx Bar owner Lauren Hyland said her bar never recovered after road works stunted business in 2016.

She also claimed business was hindered, not helped by the Commonwealth Games because loyal locals steered clear of the area.
Donald Adey (pictured) says that he has no intention of giving up either role, which come with annual taxpayer-funded allowances totalling almost 14,500

When most local politicians stand for election, they promise voters they will throw themselves into tackling local issues.

But one councillor has decided to take a more distant approach to his duties  by moving 400 miles away from his ward to a Scottish town.

Donald Adey says that despite now living in Cupar, Fife  a seven-hour drive from the village of Trumpington which he represents  he can resolve local issues via the internet and telephone.

The independent councillor is facing growing pressure to step down from both Cambridge City Council and Cambridgeshire County Council amid concerns that he is unable to properly represent his 9,000 constituents.

But the 66-year-old former Lib Dem says that he has no intention of giving up either role, which come with annual taxpayer-funded allowances totalling almost 14,500.

Mr Adey, who arrived in Cupar three months ago with his husband, Ray Carlos, said he moved because of Brexit and 'Right-wing' attitudes in England.

He said: 'I am quite confident I can well cover the needs of the constituents there by using the internet, phone, Skype and such things.

'I'm not the only councillor that lives outside Cambridgeshire. I think one even spends most of their time in Singapore. I decided to move away primarily because of Brexit and the Right-wing nature of England.

'I will now stand as independent because it's fairer than wearing a party label.'

Praising his new home in Fife, he said: 'People in Cupar give you the time of day and say hello as you walk past.'

In the 2016 EU referendum, only 26 per cent of people in the Cambridge City Council district voted to leave, whilst Cambridgeshire as a whole voted narrowly in favour of leaving the EU. In his new home of Fife, 41 per cent of people voted for Brexit.

Mr Adey added: 'Cambridge is lovely. I know the issues that are bubbling away there quite well. Moving away from the area doesn't alter that knowledge level. I have been doing case work from here already.'

He has been criticised by councillors from the Lib Dems who said that they were considering removing the whip from him before he quit.'

Lucy Nethsingha, Lib Dem leader on Cambridgeshire County Council, said: 'He has gone before he was pushed.

Last night, Mr Adey said he was 'presently in Cambridge on both council and family business' but declined to comment any further.
Insects, goats, and hedgehogs can no longer be brought on American Airlines flights as emotional support animals.

But have no fear if you've got a miniature horse - they are still in the clear.

Ferrets, spiders, and non-household birds like chickens and hawks also won't be permitted to fly.

American Airlines has also banned unclean animals or animals that have an odor.

The airline explained that the animals had been banned because they pose a public health or safety risk.

Insects, goats, and hedgehogs can no longer be brought on American Airlines flights as emotional support animals - but miniature horses are still in the clear

American Airlines announced the revised guidelines on Monday, revealing those who want bring animals on board now have to file paperwork 48 hours before their flight.

Passengers, who have always needed to provide a letter from a mental health professional, could previously fill out paperwork on the day of their flight or even at the airport before take-off.

The airline said it also plans to be stricter about contacting these professionals to verify the letters.

American Airlines will now also require all service animals to be kept on a leash or harness throughout the flight.

Ferrets, spiders, and non-household birds like chickens and hawks also won't be permitted to fly (pictured is a turkey service animal)

American Airlines announced the revised guidelines on Monday (pictured is an emotional support hedgehog)

American Airlines will now also require all service animals to be kept on a leash or harness throughout the flight (Pictured is a kangaroo service animal)

The airline now has the right to forbid an animal from traveling if it shows 'severely aggressive behavior', according to Pix 11.

'We support the rights of customers, from veterans to people with disabilities, with legitimate needs for a trained service or support animal,' American Airlines said in a statement.

'Unfortunately, untrained animals can lead to safety issues for our team, our customers and working dogs onboard our aircraft.'

American Airlines' new guidelines will go into effect on July 1.

The airline's changes come just a week after United Airlines revealed it was banning nearly 50 dog breeds and four cat breeds from traveling in cargo.

Any pet that is not an approved breed of dog or cat must now be able to fit into a cabin-approved container to fly.

American Airlines' new support animal guidelines will go into effect on July 1 (pictured is a service animal peacock)

The new guidelines come after United was consumed in controversy when a 10-month-old French Bulldog died after being stashed in the overhead bin on a flight in March.

Both United and Delta issued guidelines tightening the rules on emotional support animals earlier this year.

Delta said that all passengers attempting to board with a service animal would have to show proof, 48 hours in advance, that the animal is in good health and has been vaccinated.

Both airlines also started requiring that passengers with service animals sign a form that their animal is well-behaved, in addition to providing a letter signed by a doctor or licensed mental health professional that certifies they needs a comfort animal.

The airline's changes come just a week after United Airlines revealed it was banning nearly 50 dog breeds and four cat breeds from traveling in cargo (file image)

United are now selling pet crates in appropriate sizes for aircraft cabin storage (file image)

United has also partnered with American Humane to ensure the way animals are being transported on the airline is safe and kind.

Many of the other new changes are weather-related and focused on not exposing pets to extreme heat.

Animals will no longer be transported in cargo to India or Australia at any time, and cannot be taken to or from Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Phoenix, or Tuscon between May 1 and September 30.

The airline is also now selling carriers on their website to ensure passengers arrive with their pets correctly stored to stay in the aircraft cabin.

In March, a french bulldog died after a United staff member allegedly told a passenger to put her dog in the overhead locker (pictured)

Jan Krems, United Airlines' vice president of cargo, said the airline chose American Humane for their policy revamp due to a long history of excellence, and hinted more changes were to come.

'We look forward to a long-term collaboration and appreciate their expertise in helping us further improve our service on an ongoing and continual basis,' she said.

'As we continue our review process to ensure that we are always doing what's right, we are committed to making significant improvements in our program and adhering to the best practices of animal comfort, well-being and travel on behalf of our customers and their pets.'

In March, a United Airlines flight attendant allegedly told a passenger to put her 10-month-old pup into the overhead compartment for the duration of the three-hour flight.

Kokito, the puppy, was dead when the plane landed in LaGuardia airport.
An economist and company director has accused an ABC panel of sexism live on air after she was unable to voice her opinion on tax reforms.

Judith Sloan attempted to interrupt her fellow panellist Ben Oquist during a debate on the ABC's Q&A on Monday night.

Mr Oquist, the boss of the Australia Institute think tank, tried seven times to continue his argument about an 'unfair' federal Budget over Ms Sloan's protests, while host Tony Jones told her to wait her turn.

Ms Sloan eventually gave up, saying: 'I haven't had much of a go. I guess because I'm a woman.'

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Economist Judith Sloan (pictured) attempted to interrupt her fellow panellist Ben Oquist during a debate on ABC's Q&A on Monday night, before eventually giving up and saying: 'I guess because I'm a woman'

Mr Oquist, a former chief-of-staff to past Greens leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne, was arguing that the nation's tax system was being made 'less progressive', which Ms Sloan - who is also a columnist for The Australian - disagreed with.

'No, no, no, no, no it's not, Ben,' Ms Sloan said, as Mr Oquist attempted to make a comparison with the Howard Government.

The pair continued to attempt to present their respective stats, before Mr Jones intervened.

'Hang on, you're talking over the top of each other. We'll have to stop that,' Mr Jones said, before turning to Ms Sloan.

Mr Oquist (pictured) tried seven times to continue his argument about an 'unfair' federal Budget over Ms Sloan's protests

Host Tony Jones (pictured) intervened and told Ms Sloan that she had to wait her turn

'We'll come back to you in a moment,' he told her.

Ms Sloan, a board director of shopping mall group Westfield, pointed to the show's host and said she 'hadn't had much of a go', before saying it was because she is a woman.

The response drew gasps from the audience and a shocked reaction from Australia Institute director Mr Oquist, who said: 'I'm sorry, I missed that.'

'Well, you would ... you've had a good go, Ben,' Ms Sloan replied to roars of audience laughter.

Earlier in the program, Mr Oquist repeatedly interrupted Ms Sloan as she gave her opinion on the Budget.

Ms Sloan (pictured) pointed to the show's host and said she 'hadn't had much of a go', before saying it was because she is a woman

She was interrupted by him again as she described how 'fiscal drag' worst affected women.

Ms Sloan later engaged in a lively debate with shadow treasurer Chris Bowen as he discussed his party's proposed tax reforms.

She told him that his policy was 'good for rich people', who would receive full benefit from their proposed cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits.

She added: 'I'm glad you like those really rich people ... That's great, because those struggling, self-funded retirees are just a bit above the aged pension entitlement and miss out.'

Daily Mail Australia has contacted the ABC for comment.
Social media giants Twitter and Instagram were yesterday accused of playing with peoples lives for continuing to host pages advertising deadly counterfeit Xanax.

Children and teenagers are being targeted online by dealers purporting to sell the anti-anxiety drug which has been glamorised in American rap music.

But many are actually peddling home-made substances using raw materials bought in from countries such as China.

The British arm of the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, which supplies Xanax in the US where it is routinely prescribed, said boric acid, floor polish, rat poison, pesticides and lead paint have been found in counterfeit pills.

Xanax can be highly dangerous for children and is not available on the NHS here in the UK

Xanax is not prescribed on the NHS but can be obtained in the UK on a private prescription. Increasingly, young people are taking it with alcohol to relax at parties or are self-medicating with it ahead of exams.

But side-effects can include memory loss and breathing difficulties. The drug  a Class C controlled substance from the benzodiazepine family  also causes withdrawal symptoms which can include depression and suicidal thoughts.

Labour MP Bambos Charalambous called on the Government to clamp down on social media pages selling Xanax. Yesterday it emerged Twitter failed to remove any of 16 posts and pages advertising Xanax when they were flagged as inappropriate by the BBC recently. Instagram removed seven of ten posts within two weeks but left one online until approached for a comment.

Mr Charalambous said social media giants have to be more proactive. His comments came after the Daily Mail found Instagram pages within seconds yesterday that promised to sell the drug to buyers in Britain. A Twitter account found by the Mail also included links to a website which purported to sell cocaine and heroin alongside Xanax.

Children and teenagers are being targeted by drug dealers on social media sites like Twitter and Instagram

Mr Charalambous said: If something is reported on social media then it needs to be looked at immediately. They cant wait two weeks or even one.

We could be playing with peoples lives. A lot of these drugs are not pure which makes them even more dangerous. If they continue to be sold then somebody could die.

Instagram yesterday removed two accounts selling Xanax when they were flagged by the Mail. Instagram said: As soon as we are made aware of violating content we work quickly to remove it.

Twitter said content that violates its rules will be actioned by our dedicated support teams. It added that users could block key words  such as Xanax  so the content is not displayed.

The Mail revealed earlier this month that pharmacy-grade Xanax was being openly sold on social media. It followed a Mail investigation reporting how rogue pharmacists and wholesalers were exploiting the growing market for Xanax by selling the drug on to street dealers.
Internet giants have an ethical responsibility to prevent hostile states such as Russia spreading a torrent of lies online, the head of MI5 said yesterday.

In his first speech on foreign soil, Andrew Parker told EU security leaders in Berlin that bare-faced lying had become the default mode of the Russian state.

He said there was a great deal more that could be done with internet providers to stop the exploitation of the web. MI5s director-general said Europe faced sustained hostile activity from states including Russia, which was the chief protagonist.

Last October Mr Parker said he wanted internet companies to do more to stop extremists

He said: Age-old attempts at covert influence and propaganda have been supercharged in online disinformation, which can be churned out at massive scale and little cost. The aim is to sow doubt by flat denials of the truth, to dilute truth with falsehood, divert attention to fake stories, and do all they can to divide alliances.

Bare-faced lying seems to be the default mode, coupled with ridicule of critics.

In his first remarks since the Salisbury attack on March 4, he added: The Russian states now well-practised doctrine of blending media manipulation, social media disinformation and distortion with new and old forms of espionage, high levels of cyber attacks, military force and criminal thuggery is what is meant these days by the label hybrid threats.

'Russias state media and representatives spread at least 30 different so-called explanations of the Salisbury poisonings in their efforts to mislead the world and their own people, he said.

One media survey found that two-thirds of social media output at the peak of the Salisbury story came from Russian government-controlled accounts.

Andrew Parker, MI5s director-general, was giving his first speech on foreign soil at the conference in Berlin

Last October, Mr Parker said he wanted internet companies to do more to stop extremists using the safe spaces on the web to learn bomb-making techniques.

Yesterdays keynote speech was the first time he has called on web giants to do more to tackle lies spread on the internet by hostile states.

We are committed to working with them as they look to fulfil their ethical responsibility to prevent terrorist, hostile state and criminal exploitation of internet carried services: shining a light on terrorists and paedophiles; taking down bomb making instructions; warning the authorities about attempts to acquire explosives precursors.

This matters and there is much more to do, he added.
A tradesman has armed himself with a knife and a metal pole and said he is 'ready to kill' after his wife was terrorised in an attempted home invasion.

A masked thug was caught on CCTV camera trying to bash down the door of Bruno Serantoni's home in Avondale Heights, north-west Melbourne.

Mr Serantoni's wife Emily was inside at the time, and the furious tradesman said he is prepared to use lethal force to protect his family and home if necessary.

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A tradesman (pictured) has armed himself with a knife and a metal pole and said he is 'ready to kill' after his wife was terrorised in an attempted home invasion

Mr Serantoni has put a large knife and a metal pole by the door, and would '100 per cent' be prepared to use them to kill an intruder, he told A Current Affair.

'Hopefully the police catch you before I do,' the tradesman said in a message for the man who terrified his wife.

'I'm not going to live in fear'.

Mrs Serantoni said she screamed and called Triple Zero as the man hurled himself against the door of the couple's home.

'I thought he's going to get in, he's determined, he will get in, I'm going to get hurt here,' she said.

Shocking CCTV footage shows the would-be home invader get out of a gold Volvo SUV and run into the door in an attempt to force his way in.

A masked thug (pictured) was caught on CCTV camera trying to bash down the door of Bruno Serantoni's home in Avondale Heights, north-west Melbourne

After a number of failed attempts the man gets back in the car which drives away, and police can be seen arriving a short time later.

The traumatised couple claim the police took almost half an hour to respond, but Victoria Police said officers arrived 10 minutes after being dispatched.

'Uniform members from Avondale Heights were dispatched by ESTA at 12:09pm and arrived at the property at 12:20:54,' a police spokesperson said.

'En route to the house, as a courtesy, one of the senior constables called the victim to see if she was okay and advised [her] police would be there shortly.'

Police are seeking two males they believe can assist them with enquiries, including the driver of the gold Volvo of unknown registration.

The other man is described as Caucasian in appearance, aged in his late teens to early twenties.

He was wearing grey tracksuit pants and a grey hooded jumper with 'Super Dry' on the back in white writing.

The police investigation is ongoing.
A man has received a lewd message from an Uber driver asking for sexual favours after the trip had finished.

The man, who was in Perth when the incident happened, shared a screenshot of the message on social media that asked him if he was interested in hooking up.

In the screenshot the first notification was the automated messaged asking to rate his driver.

The text messaged that the backpacker received after getting out of his Uber ride

'Thanks for riding with Mark. Please rate your trip' it reads. But below the notification, Mark has sent him an unwanted sexual advance.

The message reads: 'If you like giving blow jobs' before ending with what supposedly is the drivers number.'

The man blanked out his contact details before posting the picture to Instagram.

'Just when you think it's been a chill kinda day...' he captioned the screenshot.

Many of his friends commented that he should report the unsolicited offer to Uber.

'I don't even... Report the grot,' one wrote.

It is unclear if the man reported the incident to Uber but a spokesperson for the company has told Daily Mail Australia that their guidelines promote respect relationships.

The company has recently come under fire for the misconduct of its drivers recently

'Our community guidelines call for both riders and drivers to always treat each other with respect.'

'When any incidents are reported to Uber, our 24/7 safety support team will review the feedback and take appropriate action, which can include removing access to the Uber app.'

Uber has recently come under fire for the conduct of its drivers and only yesterday a man was charged for allegedly indecently assaulting a woman in his vehicle before following her into her apartment in Sydney's south.

Police alleged that the 21-year-old woman was indecently assaulted by the driver who also made inappropriate comments during the trip.

He then allegedly followed the woman inside of the building and assaulted her again before she was able to escape.

The company has recently been criticised for forcing women in the United States who say they were sexually assaulted by drivers to resolve their claims privately rather than in the courts.

Court records revealed that the company argued that female passengers who speak up about being raped in an Uber must individually settle their cases through arbitration, a private process that often results in confidentiality agreements.
A 'desert walker' has captured spine-tingling footage of thousands of flies swarming around a camel.

Andrew Harper, from Australia, said he has been desert trekking for decades as a solo explorer or as a leader of commercial camel expeditions with the Outback Camel Company.

With more than 20 years experience, Mr Harper said he was astounded by the volume of flies he encountered on a recent hike.

Andrew Harper is an Australian desert explorer who recently captured astonishing footage of thousands of flies swarming around a camel (camel pictured)

'Wot flies? Ain't seen them this thick for years,' he wrote on his Instagram account.

Footage shows a camel loaded with trekking bags and gear.

However, the camel is also covered in a dense blanket of flies.

'[I]t's got nothing to do with the camels, it's just a normal bush occurrence that happens out here when conditions are right,' wrote Mr Harper, who has travelled over 15,000kms across Australia's nine major deserts.

Mr Harper (pictured here with a llama) is an avid explorer who has worked with camel groups since 1995, trekking across Australian deserts

On Australia Day 2015, Mr Harper (pictured) was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for his services to environmental science, research and adventure tourism

Mr Harper said he has worked with camels for over 20 years, after first encountering them while backpacking in Morocco in his early 20s.

In the mid to late 1990s, Mr Harper said he crossed the Simpson desert four times with the help of a camel. He then tackled the Gibson desert, Great Victoria desert and the Nullarbor Plain.

Mr Harper has been honoured by the Australian government for his environmental work. On Australia Day 2015, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM), for his services to environmental science, research and adventure tourism.
Right-wing 'patriots' have planned a protest outside a church during Ramadan in reaction to its support of a controversial Anzac Day message.

The Anglican Parish of Gosford, north of Sydney endorsed Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied's tweet calling for people to remember Manus and Nauru on Anzac Day.

'Lest we forget Manus and Nauru.' a sign outside the church read on April 25.

Right-wing 'patriots' have planned a protest outside a church during Ramadan in reaction to its support of a controversial Anzac Day message (Father Rod Bower pictured)

Father Rod Bower of the Gosford church told Daily Mail Australia he was sent a screenshot of a message detailing a planned protest

The Anglican Parish of Gosford, north of Sydney endorsed Muslim activist Yassmin Abdel-Magied's tweet calling for people to remember Manus and Nauru on Anzac Day

A member of a right-wing Facebook group is organising a protest outside the church during Ramadan in reaction to the sign.

'Anyone who is keen to do some activism against this Father Rod f**kwit on the Central Coast message me,' a woman posted.

'He disrespected our Anzacs by putting [Abdel-Magied's] message from last year on his billboard recently.

'Once [his] Ramadan sign goes up any day now we will give him a good serve of patriotism.'

Father Rod Bower of the Gosford church told Daily Mail Australia he was sent a screenshot of the message.

'I decided to put a bit of light there, and they might be less likely to do something when they're exposed,' he said.

'He disrespected our Anzacs by putting [Abdel-Magied's] message from last year on his billboard recently,' the protest organiser said (Yassmin Abdel-Magied pictured)

Father Bower said he was threatened with a similar protest in Newcastle last week but nothing eventuated (Gosford Anglican Church pictured)

Father Bower said he was threatened with a similar protest in Newcastle last week but nothing eventuated.

'If they want to stand across the road and wave their Nazi placards or whatever they want to do then that's up to them.'

He said they had informed the police of the pending protest, but he doesn't believe the actions of 'keyboard warriors' have any effect on the views of the church.

'If we think there's something around we might be more security conscious... but no it doesn't have any effect.'

Father Bower tweeted a screenshot of the woman's post on Tuesday morning.

'One thing I have learnt about evil is that it is not only stupid it is also predictable,' he said.

The scheduled protest comes after a threat was sent to Father Bower apparently by an army veteran

The 55-year-old said his Anzac Day message outside the parish was 'the most meaningful way to honour their sacrifice'.

He tweeted that his message about asylum seekers on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea and Nauru was his way of opposing 'tyranny in all its forms and expressions', using the hashtag, #lestweforgetManus' to express social media solidarity with Yassmin Abdel-Magied.

'Lest. We. Forget (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine),' Ms Abdel-Magied posted in 2017.

In April, the Sudanese-born former ABC presenter, 27, called on her supporters to tweet '#lestweforgetManus'.

Her call was heeded by people on social media, including Father Bower.

The scheduled protest comes after a threat was sent to Father Bower apparently by an army veteran.

The controversial minister reposted the man's threat, which read: 'I'll set that church on fire'.

The controversial minister reposted the man's threat, which read: 'I'll set that church on fire'

'This is the first time a member of the Australian Defence Force has threatened to burn our church down,' Father Bower wrote on Facebook.

'We have had other occasional threats of arson, always from the extreme right of our nationals political spectrum.

'Ironically, the threats come from the very same people who warn that Muslims will 'burn your churches down'.

'A Muslim has in reality, never threatened me in any way.'
Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols will have a new team handle her financial affairs, a LA County judge has decided.

Nichols, 85, who played the original Lieutenant Uhura, will have four fiduciaries control her finances through August, following a court filing by her son.

Earlier this month Nichols' son Kyle Johnson said his mother suffers from dementia and is being taken advantage of by 'certain individuals', according to TMZ.

The 66-year-old, who is her only child, said his mother's condition is making her 'susceptible to undue influence.'

Four fiduciaries will take over Star Trek star Nichelle Nichols' finances following a court filing by her son, who said she was being taken advantage of as she suffers from dementia

A LA County judge has granted her son's, Kyle Johnson, 66, filing. Four trustees will take over her finances through August, when a subsequent court hearing will take place (pictured above is Michelle Nichols and her son in 1979)

'Certain individuals have unduly exerted themselves into Ms. Nichols' life to her detriment,' he claimed in the court documents.

Nichols has consented to the appointment of her conservators, according to court documents obtained by TMZ.

Come August there will be another court hearing, which the court hopes Nichols can attend.

She was out of state when the judge made the decision.

While Nichols' health is reportedly deteriorating quickly, she has not stopped working.

On Sunday she made an appearance at Northern FanCon in Prince George, British Columbia where she did a Q&A dishing on her role as Lt. Uhura.

She has released one movie this year, White Orchid, and will perform in at least two others this year.

In an interview with CNN just last week, the acclaimed actress said she was still passionate about her work - especially her fans.

'The people first,' she said. 'The people that came to see you, the people that literally put you there.'

'It's like a destination that you know is gonna happen and you just kinda lean back and enjoy it.

'You know, step on in baby. I like what I do, I love what I do.'

Despite reportedly suffering acute short term memory loss, Ms Nichols is still hard at work (pictured left in 1984 and right in 2018)
Primary school students have returned to class after they were reportedly forced to hide in cupboards as police searched for a 'person of interest' spotted in the area.

A Queensland Police spokesman confirmed Mackay's Beaconsfield State School was placed into lockdown for more than an hour amid a heavy police presence.

The spokesman told Daily Mail Australia police were looking for a man who was seen 'in and around' the school grounds.

A source told The Daily Mercury terrified students were forced to hide in cupboards as the search unfolded.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman confirmed officers are currently at the scene near Beaconsfield State School in Mackay (stock image)

The school confirmed the incident in a Facebook post and commended its students for their behaviour.

'There was an incident earlier today at Beaconsfield State School which required the school to be put in a precautionary lockdown,' the post read.

'Police were called and thoroughly investigated the matter and deemed the situation safe for school to resume.

'Throughout the whole incident all staff and students were safe. We would like to commend the behaviour of all the students throughout this incident.'

The school confirmed the incident in a Facebook post and commended its students for their behaviour

A spokesman for the Department of Education said the safety of staff and students was its highest priority.

'Police were immediately called and attended the school. The lockdown was lifted at approximately 11:25am once the incident was resolved.

'Police are investigating the matter. Parents will be notified of the lockdown by normal school processes.

'No further information can be provided due to student privacy reasons.'

No one was taken into custody in relation to the incident.
Trinity Grammar School said Dr Michael Davies (pictured) tendered his resignation

The headmaster of an esteemed private school who was in charge when his popular deputy principal was fired by the school's council after he cut a student's hair has resigned.

Trinity Grammar School announced on Tuesday morning that Dr Michael Davies had tendered his resignation letter, saying he came to the decision after deep discussion with his family.

It is understood teaching and support staff at the school were informed of the decision at a hastily called meeting at 8am on Tuesday morning.

'Having successfully resolved some complex matters over recent weeks, I am now content that our hard work in recent weeks has helped the school return to a position where students and staff are enjoying the normal rhythm of school life,' Dr Davies said.

Deputy principal, Rohan Brown (left) was sacked by the school board in early March following an incident in which he gave a boy a haircut on school photo day (pictured)

Dr Davies had earlier been the subject of a no confidence vote by teachers, with 55 per cent voting against him, and he was also the subject of a town hall meeting, attended by about 1000 members of the school community, where concerns were raised over his leadership of the school.

The school has endured a turbulent three months after the deputy principal, Rohan Brown, was sacked by the school board in early March following an incident in which he gave a boy a haircut on school photo day.

Students, teachers and parents all showed support for Mr Brown, who had been with the school for three decades.

Students, teachers, and parents all showed support for Mr Brown (left), who had been with the school for three decades

A protest over the dismissal was held by students and an open letter disapproving the decision was signed by 50 former captains and vice captains.

Mr Brown was reinstated in April following an independent review conducted by a retired federal judge.

Parent Jo Slater told the Herald Sun the she was 'delighted by the news.'

'The boys are very pleased and we are all looking forward to continuing the year without distractions,' she said.

A stand in headmaster has been appointed for between six to eighteen months while a permanent replacement is sought.

'We have accepted Michael's resignation but are sorry to see him leave,' Council chairman Robert Utter said in the statement announcing Dr Davies resignation.

'On behalf of School Council, I wish Michael and his family all the very best and thank them for their service to and care for our school community,' he said.

Students were among those who spoke up in their disapproval of the sacking of Rohan Brown
North Korea has reportedly begun to dismantle a key nuclear test site just weeks before ruler Kim Jong-un is due to meet President Donald Trump for a historic summit.

Satellite images examined by American researchers appear to show building demolitions, removal of railways, and overturned mining carts at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea.

The researchers are relying on commercial satellite imagery from May 7, according to the 38 North web site.

The site analyzed images which show significant changes that have been made at the location which are consistent with decommissioning.

'Between April 20 and May 7, 2018, the probable engineering office building and a possible instrumentation shed located just outside the North Portal (where the last five underground nuclear tests have been conducted) were razed along with at least two smaller buildings or sheds,' according to 38 North.

 Slide me  Satellite images examined by American researchers appear to show building demolitions, removal of railways, and overturned mining carts at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea

 Slide me  The site analyzed images which show significant changes that have been made at the location which are consistent with decommissioning

 Slide me  The above before-and-after images show the removal of rail lines, buildings, and sheds

 Slide me  The above before-and-after image shows an office building removed, a building roof partially removed, and other facilities that were taken down

 Slide me  The above images show the main administrative support area, which has been largely left intact

 Slide me  The above images show how a number of structures in the command center have been taken down

One large truck is observed on the access road from the tunnel area to the Command Center

No personnel or significant activity is observed at the barracks area

North Korea had previously scheduled the dismantlement of Punggye-ri for sometime between May 23 and 25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the country's state media reported on Saturday a month ahead of the historic summit

The Punggye-ri site inside Mt Mantap in North Korea has been subjected to five different bombs. Political enigma and North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un announced the decommissioning of Punggye-ri earlier this year

'Part of the roof was removed from the probable compressor building that evidently provided ventilation to the tunnel system under Mt. Mantap.

'A possible air line, which connected that building to the North Portal, may have also been removed.'

North Korea had previously scheduled the dismantlement of Punggye-ri for sometime between May 23 and 25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the country's state media reported on Saturday a month ahead of the historic summit.

The official Korean Central New Agency said dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test ground would involve collapsing all of its tunnels with explosions, blocking its entrances, and removing all observation facilities, research buildings and security posts.

Kim Jong-un, right, met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, left, ahead of his planned nuclear summit with Donald Trump in Singapore next month

'The Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground ... in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test,' KCNA said.

Trump and Kim will hold talks in Singapore on June 12, the first-ever meeting between a sitting U.S. president and a North Korean leader.

Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that North Korea can look forward to 'a future brimming with peace and prosperity' if it agrees to quickly give up its nuclear weapons.

Trump welcomed the North Korean announcement.

'North Korea has announced that they will dismantle Nuclear Test Site this month, ahead of the big Summit Meeting on June 12th,' he tweeted. 'Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture! Thank you, a very smart and gracious gesture!'

South Korea's presidential office echoed the sentiment on Sunday, saying it shows Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearize through actions beyond words.

However, in spite of its pledge to stop testing, North Korea has given no indication it is willing to go beyond statements of broad conceptual support for denuclearization by unilaterally abandoning a nuclear weapons program its ruling family has seen as crucial to its survival.

Did Kim promise to end missile launches because his test site was ALREADY out of action? Kim Jong-un only agreed to freeze his missile tests because his underground nuclear test site has collapsed, Chinese experts suggested. The dictator announced on Saturday he would halt nuke trials and intercontinental missile launches and also vowed to dismantle the atomic facility at Punggye-ri in the country's north east to 'transparently guarantee' the end of testing. But the surprise announcement comes after reports last year of major earthquakes and landslides in the mountainous area in the wake of five test blasts carried out by the secretive state in recent years. The dictator announced on Saturday he would halt nuke trials and intercontinental missile launches. But doubt now surrounds the honesty of this claim after evidence revealed the test site was already damaged, including by landslides depicted on this map According to the South China Morning Post, two groups of Chinese experts say the military facility has collapsed 'putting China and other nearby nations at unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure'. One of the experts said this could be the real reason behind Kim Jong-un's decision to end his missile and nuclear trials. The tyrant had claimed that the freeze was because he had now successfully developed the country's arsenal, including miniaturizing warheads to fit them on to rockets. But Wen Lianxing, from the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, and his researchers have concluded that a major collapse took place at Kim's atomic site after the country's sixth nuclear test in September. At the time, Japan estimated that the blast was measured at 120 kilotons, eight times the size of the US device that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. Satellite images appeared to show multiple landslides in the wake of the hydrogen bomb blast, with green mountains reduced to muddy hillsides. Weeks later, unverified reports emerged that up to 200 workers may have been killed during the construction of a new tunnel at the site. Three small earthquakes then hit nearby regions, it is claimed. A map showing the atomic facility at Punggye-ri and piles of dumped material that show the construction of a tunnel, where dozens of workers are thought to have died after the structure collapsed Advertisement

In announcing the plan to shut Punggye-ri last month, Kim said North Korea no longer needed to conduct tests because it had completed its goal of developing nuclear weapons.

KCNA said journalists, including from the United States and South Korea, would be invited to cover the event, to 'show in a transparent manner the dismantlement of the northern nuclear test ground to be carried out'. The exact date of the closure will depend on weather conditions, the agency said.

To accommodate the traveling journalists, North Korea said various measures would be taken including 'opening territorial air space'.

South Korean officials said in April that North Korea also planned to invite experts from the United States and South Korea for the Punggye-ri shutdown, but KCNA made no mention of this.

Last month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in had asked the United Nations to help verify the shutdown.

South Korea's deputy nuclear envoy Jeong Yeon-doo will visit the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna this week to discuss the 'complete denuclearization of North Korea' the foreign ministry said on Sunday.

Donald Trump and Melania welcomed three Americans imprisoned in North Korea back to America to cheers and applause last week

All of North Korea's six known nuclear bomb tests have taken place at Punggye-ri, in the northeastern of North Korea where a system of tunnels have been dug under Mount Mantap.

According to Chinese academic reports, North Korea's most recent nuclear test in September of what Pyongyang said was a hydrogen bomb, was so large it triggered a collapse inside the mountain, rendering the entire site unusable for future tests.

But U.S. intelligence officials have said it remains usable and could be reactivated 'in a relatively short period of time' if it was closed.

Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at California's Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said in a blog post this week that recent satellite images had shown the removal of some buildings from the site.

On Saturday, he told Reuters that closure of Punggye-ri did not mean much in terms of disarmament, given that the United States, for example, stopped nuclear testing in 1992.

'It would, however, require North Korea to clear out the test tunnels and rebuild any infrastructure that might be removed  or dig new tunnels at the site or elsewhere. So, it's a good confidence building measure, but not necessarily a sign of irreversible disarmament.'
Government officials are turning to traditional land owners for 'spiritual and cultural' advice on water usage.

The New South Wales Government issued a tender to aboriginal businesses to consult on the Murray Darling Basin Water Management Plan.

A NSW Government spokesman told Daily Mail Australia there needed to be consideration given to Aboriginal valules.

New South Wales Government issued a tender to aboriginal businesses to consult on the Murray Darling Basin Water Management Plan (aerial view of a portion of the Murray Darling basin in NSW)

The government will spend taxpayer money to establish a 10 business-large panel.

The spokesman said the government was consulting with Australia's first people because they could best advise on traditional land values.

The Basin plan is a coordinated approach to water management across New South Wales, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland, according to the official website.

The project will focus on efficiently managing dwindling water resources.

Paroo River, the last remaining free-flowing river in the northern Murray-Darling Basin, The river is of cultural and spiritual significance to the traditional Aboriginal owners of the Paroo River country: the Baakandji and Budjiti people

The Commonwealth Water Act ensures all plans 'take account of Aboriginal people's water dependent cultural values and uses'.

The tender document said 'following face-to-face meetings, (first nations) will provide written summaries of values information collated into broad themes such as spiritual and cultural outcomes', The Daily Telegraph reported.

The government will hold information sessions as soon as Wednesday.

The government developed the Aboriginal Water Trust because there was concern about the previous lack of consultation with the Aboriginal community.

The Commonwealth Water Act ensures all plans 'take account of Aboriginal people's water dependent cultural values and uses' (Aboriginal guide tours with group)

The spokesman for the NSW Government said it had 'an obligation under the Murray Darling Basin Plan to consult with a range of stakeholders on the delivery of 22 Water Resource Plans for surface and groundwater areas in various parts of the state'.

'NSW supports Commonwealth measures to improve Basin Plan outcomes for First Nations people and its on this basis we are seeking contractors to engage and consult with Traditional Owners and First Nations people on the Water Resource Plans,' he said.

'NSW is seeking to build strong relationships with First Nations people and improve First Nations people's participation in water planning in NSW into the future.'
A mother who assaulted a paramedic has run from court after being spared jail.

Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20, had the jail sentences they received for assaulting paramedic Paul Judd in 2016 quashed on appeal by Victoria County Court judge Barbara Cotterell on Tuesday.

Warren and Underwood were originally sentenced to six months and four months respectively, but Judge Cotterell said special reasons linked to their difficult childhoods and young families mean the minimum six-month term should not apply.

Warren ran from court on Tuesday after her sentence was quashed.

Two women, including Caris Underwood (left), who admitted to viciously assaulting a paramedic don't want to go jail because they've had difficult lives

Underwood (pictured) was sentenced to four months jail in December

Amanda Warren (pictured) on Thursday appeared before Victoria's County Court

Warren ran from court in Melbourne after her prison sentence was quashed

The women admitted punching and kicking Paul Judd as he and another paramedic tried to treat a patient in Reservoir.

Lawyers for both women say the pair had tough childhoods but have started to turn their lives around since their drunken assault.

They both pleaded guilty last year to intentionally causing injury, while Warren has also admitted to criminally damaging the ambulance by ramming it with a car.

Mr Judd broke his foot in the violent attack and has required multiple surgeries since.

The experienced ambulance worker has not been able to return to work since the violent attack in April 2016.

Unless there are 'special reasons', Victorian laws introduced in 2014 demand a mandatory minimum jail term of six months for anyone who intentionally injures an emergency worker.

Defence lawyers for Underwood (left) and Warren previously argued special circumstances were present and the pair should avoid jail
'I am not broken': Slain mother Katrina Miles (above, with children) penned a wrenching poem about her personal life in 2014

The mother slain with her four autistic children in Australia's worst massacre since Port Arthur penned a disturbing poem about her personal life.

Katrina Miles, 35, was murdered in her cottage with her four children Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10, and Kadyn, eight, some time after 4am on Friday morning.

Ms Miles's father, Peter Miles, 61, is believed to have shot his family including wife Cynda, 58, before killing himself at his Osmington, Western Australia home.

It can now be revealed that Katrina penned an emotional 67-stanza poem where she declared 'I am not broken' and spoke of 'the shame behind our doors'.

'I am strong, I am fragile,' Ms Miles said in the piece which was published on her behalf by her mother, Cynda, in 2014.

A happier time: Cynda Haynes with grandchildren Rylan, 9, and Kadyn, 5, Arye, 8, and Taye, 11, and friends Felicity Haynes and Karen Majer, several years ago. Credit: Westpix

Deadly relationship: Grandfather Peter Miles is believed to have killed his daughter, Katrnia (red dress) and her four autistic children, including Rylan and Kadyn (front row)

Grieving locals embraced outside a makeshift Margaret River memorial at the weekend following the worst mass shooting since the 1996 Port Arthur killing

Cynda's body was found in the living room of the Osmington home. After conversations with police, her son-in-law said he believed she was killed after the grandchildren

Ms Miles wrote of asking God to save her from a situation and spoke of her worries about losing her children.

'My children, my children, my children,' she said in one passage. 'They are not lost, they are not lost! And so nor am me.'

Friends said the poem drove them to tears. 'That made me cry. You are such a beautiful woman.'

Cynda Miles told concerned mates to 'send love across the way' to her daughter.

Ms Miles did not identify who she was speaking about. The full poem cannot be re-published for legal reasons.

The murders of Ms Miles and her family is the second worst mass killing in Australian history since 35 people were killed at Port Arthur, Tasmania, in April 1996.

Police say their investigation into the killing is continuing but they are not looking for any murder suspects.

Investigators are focused on Peter Miles. Three guns belonging to Miles were found on the property.

'MOTHER OF THE YEAR': A TRIBUTE FROM FOR KATRINA MILES 'I actually nominated (Katrina Miles, above) for mother of the year' Cathy Bushy, who worked with Ms Miles, supplied this written statement about Katrina Miles to Daily Mail Australia. It has been lightly edited: 'Katrina was the most amazing mother I have had the pleasure of being associated with through my role as an Education Assistant. 'That is how I met her and her family. 'I quickly became a family friend who regularly shared celebrations which involved the whole family. Peter, Cynda, the children and Kat. 'The house was filled with lovely art the children had done, yummy home cooked scones and cakes and we would all sit around the table laughing, talking about the latest animals that were being fostered. Baby chickens, ducks, piglets, puppies . 'Katrina would always be so proud of the schoolwork they were producing. 'The time Kat put into the lesson plans, excursions, projects was exceptional she could easily of been a Special Education teacher with her knowledge and understanding of the learning process. 'I actually nominated her for Mother of the Year in the past. The loss of a beautiful family.' Advertisement

Years before the tragedy: Rylan, 12, Kadyn, 8, Ayre,10, Cynda, 58, Peter, 61, Taye, 13, and mother Katrina

Cynda Miles spent her final day alive teaching others how to make 'boomerang bags', a passion of the avid environmentalist

At the weekend, a family member explained the version of events he was told unfolded at Osmington on Friday morning.

The relative said Peter Miles 'went across and shot the kids and Kat first'.

He then 'came back and shot Cynda in the living room.

'Cynda probably got up, heard the gunshots, she was in the living room. He's come back, shot her.'

Mr Miles' body was found on the balcony, a gun between his legs.

'He (Peter) has thought this through,' the relative said.

Police forensics officers are seen above on the sprawling 30-acre property the family called home

'He has not snapped.

'He has thought, 'Right, I can't kill myself, I can't live any more so this is it for me but I need to take out everyone with me because that will fix the whole problem'.'

Peter Miles recently learned his son, Neil, had a kidney problem.

Another of the couples' son had died by suicide years before.

Family are planning a funeral. The South-West Homeschooling Network (Ms Miles's children having been homeschooled) is raising funds on GoFundMe.
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The White House has restored an incendiary line to its official transcript of Jared Kushner's speech Monday during a ceremony opening the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Israel's capital city.

Kushner suggested the terror group Hamas was responsible for bloodshed in Gaza that raged while speech after speech wore on. By day's end Israeli Defense Forces snipers had shot and killed 58 people.

'As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution,' Donald Trump's son-in-law told the crowd as his wife Ivanka looked on.

Two hours later, however, a White House aide gave television reporters a transcript that omitted that line. An MSNBC journalist caused a firestorm overnight by tweeting about the discrepancy.

DailyMail.com requested an official transcript from the National Security Council on Tuesday morning. It arrived complete and intact. It's still not clear why it was missing, and what led to it being re-inserted.

It would have been impossible for the White House to hide Kushner's words, which were broadcast worldwide.

An NSC spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that 'an incomplete version of his remarks were initially distributed to the pool. An amended version of the remarks was later provided.'

News outlets reporting on the NBC scoop didn't note that the White House had corrected its mistake on Monday, sending an 'amended' version to the same journalists who received the first one.

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Jared Kushner criticized Palestinians who were protesting the official opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday and called them 'part of the problem'  but his remarks were left out of a White House transcript circulated to television reporters; the National Security Council corrected its error hours later, and had a restored version available on Tuesday

The National Security Council's official transcript of Jared Kushner's speech on Monday (left) wasn't missing the aggressive language about Hamas that a White House aide omitted (right, in the space before the second paragraph) when it was sent to TV reporters after his remarks

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blasted Hamas on Tuesday for inciting violence among Palestinians: 'They light Molotov cocktails, attached to kites, on fire, and attempt to fly them into Israel to cause as much destruction as possible'

Kushner's sentiment was echoed by White House Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah on Monday. He told reporters during an afternoon briefing that 'Hamas is responsible for these tragic deaths. ... Their rather cynical exploitation of the situation is what's leading to these deaths. And we want them to stop.'

'This is a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt,' Shah said later of Palestinian groups portraying Israel as the aggressor. 'I think the Israeli government has spent weeks trying to handle this without violence.'

Tuesday at the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley noted press reports of Hamas soldiers trying to start fires on the other side of the Israeli border.

'They light Molotov cocktails, attached to kites, on fire, and attempt to fly them into Israel to cause as much destruction as possible,' Haley said.

'When asked yesterday why he put a swastika on his burning kite, the terrorist responded: "The Jews go crazy when you mention Hitler".'

Speaking of the one-sided bloodshed, Haley claimed Hamas was 'pleased with the results' and that 'no country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.'

Israeli snipers have killed scores of Palestinians and wounded thousands more as 35,000 protesters rallied against the US Embassy opening overseen by Kushner and Ivanka on Monday.

A 14-year-old was among 52 shot dead along the Gaza border on what is already the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

Kushner's remarks blaming the Palestinian protesters came as 58 were shot dead along the Gaza border in the single deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 2014. Pictured is a young child overcome by tear gas

The festivities in Jerusalem were a stark contrast to the bloodshed on the Gaza border (right) where dozens of protesters were killed by Israeli snipers. Ivanka Trump (left) is pictured unveiling engraved stonework carrying her father's name on the wall at the embassy on Monday

Ivanka and Kushner joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the opening of the embassy on Monday afternoon

At least 2,4000 Palestinians were injured during the protests on Monday. Crowds are seen sprinting away from tear gas during a clash with Israeli security forces east of Jabalia near the Gaza border

At least 2,400 more have been injured with hundreds of them by live bullets, according to Gaza officials.

The Palestinian government has accused Israel of committing a 'terrible massacre' and Amnesty International called the bloodshed an 'abhorrent violation' of human rights.

But Kushner's controversial remarks were in line with the White House, as Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah blamed Hamas for the violence in Israel on Monday.

Shah said he did not believe that the violence would undermine the United States' positioning on a peace agreement and went so far as to call the deaths a 'propaganda attempt' by Hamas and Palestine.

'The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response,' he asserted.

Shah also demanded that Hamas stop its 'cynical exploitation of the situation' that has led to the deaths.

The president's spokesman said that embassy opening is 'about following through on what the President promised and believes'.

'I think we've. for decades you know, walked on eggshells, pretending that Jerusalem isn't the capital of Israel when it obviously is. And this is just a recognition of reality,' he said.

A protester screams in agony as he is picked up by fellow Palestinians during deadly clashes along the Gaza border. The death toll continued to climb on Monday as anger mounted over the US embassy opening in Jerusalem

Shah added that the 'peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time, and it can be evaluated on its merits.

'We don't think it will impact the peace plan,' he said of the deaths in Gaza.

Trump tossed aside decades of precedent when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December - a decision that sparked global outcry, Palestinian anger, and exuberant praise from Israelis.

On Monday Russia said it feared that the embassy opening would increase tension in the Middle East, while Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan warned that the US had forfeited its role as a mediator in the region and was now 'part of the problem rather than the solution'.

As deadly clashes continued, Trump said in a video address aired at the opening that the embassy has been a 'long time coming' and that the US had 'failed to acknowledge the obvious' for many years.

Trump also said his 'greatest hope' is for peace and that he 'remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement'.

A medic tries to hold an injured man's mouth open as they take him away from the clashes in a stretcher on Monday afternoon

A severely injured man is carried. Israel's armed forces had warned anyone approaching the fence would be risking their lives

A wounded Palestinian women is carried from the border fence with Israel as mass demonstrations continue following the decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the international community must bring those responsible to justice.

'Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now,' Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein wrote in a message carried on the UN Human Rights Twitter account.

'The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int'l community needs to ensure justice for victims.'

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump for making 'history' on Monday.

'Today, the embassy of the most powerful nation on earth, our greatest ally, the United States of America, today its embassy opened here,' Netanyahu said. 'We are in Jerusalem, and we are here to stay.'

'Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises.'

Netanyahu made a reference to the conflict on the Gaza border as he said in his speech that 'our brave soldiers are protecting the borders of Israel as we speak, we salute them all'.

Israel's prime minister said Jerusalem will always be the 'eternal, undivided' capital of Israel' and called the anniversary of the nation's founding a 'glorious' day.

Ivanka and Jared look on as the ceremony to inaugurate the US embassy in Jerusalem begins on Monday afternoon

Netanyahu (pictured) said Jerusalem will always be the 'eternal, undivided' capital of Israel during his remarks on Monday

The embassy opening coincides with the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

Trump in December announced that he would follow through on the pledge to move the embassy that US presidential candidates have repeatedly made and then reneged on.

Presidents have typically signed a waiver every six months to skirt the requirement. Trump signed it his first year in office.

After a process that was expected to take up to four years, the US said it would outfit a consulate in Jerusalem as an embassy while a new one is constructed.

The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and have strongly objected to Trump's move.

Palestinians throw themselves to the ground as tear gas is hurled towards them during fierce clashes on Monday

The protest in Gaza was to be the biggest yet in a weekslong campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory

The announcement and the opening of the embassy sparked new chaos in Jerusalem, which the Israelis and Palestinians both claim as a holy site.

As the ceremony took place on Monday, the Israeli army revealed that warplanes had struck a Hamas facility in Gaza during bloody protests.

The military said it carried out five airstrikes after militants exchanged fire on three separate occasions with soldiers.

The shooting in the southern Gaza town of Rafah came as the army said an Israeli aircraft had bombed a Hamas military post in the northern Gaza Strip after Israeli troops came under fire. No Israeli casualties were reported.

Israelis began celebrating on Sunday, as tens of thousands of marched in Jerusalem, some holding American flags, to mark Jerusalem Day.

Israel's military said 'approximately 10,000 violent rioters are currently assembled in a number of locations along the Gaza Strip border and thousands more are gathered by the tents approximately half a kilometre away from the security fence'

Israeli soldiers walk amidst smoke from a fire in a wheat field near the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza Strip on Monday

The annual event is an Israeli celebration of the 'reunification' of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War.

Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognized by the international community.

Beyond the disputed nature of Jerusalem, the date of the embassy move is also key. May 14 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel.

The following day, Palestinians mark the 'Nakba' - or catastrophe - commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Palestinian protests are planned on both days.

US President Donald Trump made the decision, which tossed aside decades of precedent, in December as he recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital

Around 1,000 police officers were being positioned around the embassy for the inauguration. Israel's army said it was almost doubling the number of troops surrounding Gaza and in the occupied West Bank

The date of the inauguration is deeply symbolic to both Israelis and Palestinians. The US said it chose the day to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment
Tony Abbott has called for Australia to move its Israel embassy to Jerusalem as violent protests in Gaza left 58 people dead.

The former prime minister suggested Australia should copy Donald Trump and move its diplomats from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the United States opened its new diplomatic mission.

'The U.S. embassy is now in West Jerusalem, which has been Israel's capital for nearly 70 years,' Mr Abbott tweeted on Tuesday.

'Australia should consider following Trump's move.'

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Mr Turnbull, whose Sydney electorate of Wentworth has more Jews than Anglicans, made the declaration an hour after Tony Abbott tweeted that Australia should copy Donald Trump

Malcolm Turnbull (right) and Tony Abbott have gone to war over the Middle East, contradicting each other over Jerusalem as violent protests erupt over the U.S. moving its Israel embassy

However, his bitter Liberal Party successor Malcolm Turnbull shot down his call, as violent demonstrations against the U.S. relocating its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem left 58 Palestinians dead and wounded another 2,700 people.

'Our embassy will remain where it is and where it has been since it was established,' Mr Turnbull told reporters on Tuesday.

'We've got no plans to move our embassy  because we've taken the view as indeed most countries have that it's more conducive to the peace process to keep the embassies in Tel Aviv.'

Mr Turnbull, whose wealthy Sydney eastern suburbs electorate of Wentworth has more Jews than Anglicans, made the declaration an hour after Tony Abbott tweeted that Australia should copy Donald Trump's lead.

The prime minister (centre) shot down his bitter Liberal Party rival's call for Australia to copy Donald Trump and move its diplomats from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

The present and former PMs of Australia went to war as violent protests erupted on the Gaza border with Israel, as the United States opened its new Jerusalem embassy on Tuesday.

Israeli forces shot and killed 57 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border, while just a few kilometres away in Israel, the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In addition, a baby died from tear gas inhalation, the Gaza Health Ministry said, bringing the overall death toll to 58.

The demonstrations against the U.S. relocating its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem have left 58 Palestinians dead and wounded another 2,700 people

Israeli forces shot and killed 57 Palestinians during mass on the Gaza, while just a few kilometres away in Israel, the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new embassy in Jerusalem (Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner pictured)

President Trump's move was condemned by the United Nations in December in a resolution which Australia abstained from voting on.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry said it disagreed with Malcolm Turnbull and his Foreign Minister's position of keeping Australia's Israel embassy in Tel Aviv.

'Israel has no better friends than Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday.

'Nevertheless we respectfully disagree with their view that re-locating the Australian Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as the U.S. has done, would harm the prospects for peace.'

The move of President Trump (pictured with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu) was condemned by the United Nations in December in a resolution which Australia abstained from voting on

Jerusalem has been Israel's centre of government since it became a nation in 1948, with the Knesset parliament, ministerial offices, the Supreme Court and the residences of the prime minister and the president in the holy city.

The ECAJ argued West Jerusalem was not a part of the so-called 'occupied' territory in the city's east, captured by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day war.

It added a U.S. embassy there would not curtail two-state solution negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

However, the United Nations in December passed a resolution which said moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem 'risked igniting a religious war across the already turbulent Middle East and even beyond'.

Jerusalem is a 5,000-year-old holy city of religious significance for Jews, Christians and Muslims, with Palestinians arguing it is their homeland.
Tziporah Malkah has opened up on the moment she assaulted her ex-boyfriend and three police officers after taking a 'perfect storm' of alcohol and prescription drugs.

The 44-year-old, formerly known as Kate Fischer, said she consumed antidepressants, gin and tonic and Stilnox before she 'cat-scratched' then boyfriend Guy Vasey in January.

She pleaded guilty to the charge in a South Australian court this month and received a $1,200 fine without a recorded conviction.

The ex-fiancee of James Packer said this week she was ashamed by the attack, which came during an argument about marijuana and a sick cat.

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Tziporah Malkah (left) said this week she took antidepressants, gin and tonic and Stilnox before she 'cat-scratched' ex-boyfriend Guy Vasey in January

The ex-fiancee of James Packer (pictured) said this week she was ashamed by the attack, which came during an argument about marijuana and a sick cat

'I pulled open the bottle of milk, poured it all over his (Mr Vasey) McDonald's and swished it around, and then just in my frustration I cat-scratched him on the face,' Malkah told A Current Affair.

'I was like: "What have I done?" I was very, very ashamed and very, very sorry.'

She revealed she had been friends with Mr Vasey as a teenager, before reconnecting with him on Facebook 29 years later.

Prior to her relationship with Mr Vasey, Malkah had hoped for years that she would rekindle with her billionaire ex James Packer.

'It took me about eight years to get over it. I fantasised for years about us getting back together,' Malkah told the program.

She added that 'everybody hated' her when she dated Packer because she was 'young, pretty, vivacious' and engaged to 'the son of the richest man in the country'.

Malkah pleaded guilty to the charge in a South Australian court this month and received a $1,200 fine without a recorded conviction

'I was like: "What have I done?" I was very, very ashamed and very, very sorry,' Malkah (pictured) said

Malkah (pictured in 1994) revealed she had been friends with Mr Vasey as a teenager, before reconnecting with him on Facebook 29 years later

Last week, Malkah was allowed to walk free from Victor Harbor Magistrates Court, south of Adelaide, where she faced a media pack who asked her if she 'has a problem with police'.

She lashed out at a reporter, telling her: 'I have a problem with you,' before leaving in the back seat of a taxi.

Prior to her comments, she briefly told reporters she was pleased with the magistrate's decision to not record a conviction.

'I think I got off fairly ... it was a really good outcome today, and I'd like to thank you all for coming to share my joy,' Malkah said.

She also revealed she was 'sorry' and had written a letter of apology, which was released by Magistrate Brian Nitschke last week, Adelaide Now reported.

Prior to her relationship with Mr Vasey, Malkah had hoped for years that she would rekindle with her billionaire ex James Packer (pictured with Malkah, formerly Kate Fischer, in 1998)

She added that 'everybody hated' her when she dated Packer because she was 'young, pretty, vivacious' and engaged to 'the son of the richest man in the country'

Last week, Malkah (left) was allowed to walk free from Victor Harbor Magistrates Court, south of Adelaide, where she faced a media pack who asked her if she 'has a problem with police'

She lashed out at a reporter, telling her: 'I have a problem with you,' before leaving in the back seat of a taxi

Malkah wrote in the letter that she had hit 'an all-time low' when she drunkenly assaulted her ex-boyfriend.

'I am very sorry for my offences before the court, and the first thing I need to say is that I am embarrassed, ashamed and make absolutely sure there is no repeat behaviour,' Malkah wrote.

She described her actions as 'idiotic' and said she was rebuilding her life in Sydney 'on stronger foundations and faith'.

Malkah added that she will be abstaining from alcohol after her actions.
Robert Mueller's past ties to a Russian oligarch who is now a witness in the special counsel's probe are raising questions of a possible conflict of interest.

On Monday, new details emerged about then-FBI Director Mueller's 2009 deal with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska to help rescue ex-agent hostage Robert Levinson from Iran, as recounted in a column by John Solomon for The Hill.

Now Deripaska's ties to Paul Manafort have brought him under the scrutiny of Mueller's investigators, raising the possibility of a conflict of interest and renewing ethical scrutiny on the millions the oligarch spent assisting the FBI in 2009.

The strange saga dates back to 2007, when Levinson, a retired agent for the FBI and DEA, disappeared on Iran's Kish Island while he was supposedly investigating cigarette smuggling - but was reportedly on a secret CIA mission.

New details have emerged about then-FBI Director Mueller's (left) 2009 deal with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska (right) to help rescue a former agent held hostage in Iran

Though Iran has never admitted it, Levinson was believed to be held in a secret government prison there after his disappearance.

In mid-2008, FBI agents met with Deripaska in a Paris hotel to ask for his assistance in negotiating with Iran for Levinson's release, the New York Times reported several years later.

Andrew McCabe, the recently-fired FBI deputy director who was deeply involved in the Russian election meddling probe, was one of Deripaska's early FBI contacts, sources told Solomon.

The Russian oligarch's participation was crucial, as he had close business ties in Iran, and US laws might make it illegal for the FBI or any US citizen to spend any money in Iran.

Deripaska, an aluminum magnate, offered to put his millions into a rescue operation. In return, he reportedly wanted the FBI to smooth the path for lifting travel restrictions that prohibited him from entering the US.

Deripaska's lawyer told Solomon that the Russian ultimately spent $25million assembling a private search and rescue team working with Iranian contacts.

Mueller, then leading the FBI, would have been well aware of the deal. 'I kept Director Mueller and Deputy Director [John] Pistole informed of the various efforts and operations,' Robyn Gritz, the retired agent who supervised the Levinson case in 2009, told Solomon. 'We tried to turn over every stone we could to rescue Bob.'

Andrew McCabe, (above) the recently-fired FBI deputy director who was deeply involved in the Russian election meddling probe, was reportedly one of Deripaska's early FBI contacts

By several accounts, the State Department, then under Hillary Clinton, blocked a deal for Levinson's return from going through. 'We tried to turn over every stone we could to rescue Bob, but every time we started to get close, the State Department seemed to always get in the way,' Gritz said.

'Deripaska's efforts came very close to success,' David McGee, a former federal prosecutor who represents Levinson's family, told Solomon.

'We were told at one point that the terms of Levinson's release had been agreed to by Iran and the US and included a statement by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pointing a finger away from Iran. At the last minute, Secretary Clinton decided not to make the agreed-on statement,' McGee said.

Muellers spokesman declined to comment to Solomon, as did McCabe and the State Department.

Levinson remains missing to this day. He was last seen alive in 2011, in photos that showed him wearing an orange jumpsuit.

The FBI ended the operation cooperating with Deripaska the same year.

Levinson remains missing to this day. He was last seen alive in 2011, in a set of photos including this one that showed him wearing an orange jumpsuit

Fast forward to 2016, when Deripaska resurfaced as a potential witness in the Russian election meddling probe.

Now granted entry to the US on a diplomatic passport, though he doesnt work for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Deripaska says he was startled awake by FBI agents in his New York hotel room two months before the 2016 election.

They wanted to ask him about the claims in British ex-spy Christopher Steele's 'dirty dossier', which alleged links between Donald Trump's campaign and the Russian government.

'Deripaska laughed but realized, despite the joviality, that they were serious,' his American lawyer Adam Waldman told Solomon.

'So he told them in his informed opinion the idea they were proposing was false. "You are trying to create something out of nothing," he told them.'

Later, Mueller's probe uncovered evidence that Paul Manafort, then Trump's campaign chairman, made overtures to offer Deripaska 'private briefings' on the campaign, the Washington Post reported. The oligarch says he never got the message about briefings, and there's no indication such a meeting took place.

Manafort and Deripaska have longstanding business ties. Deripaska sued Manafort in January, alleging he was defrauded in a 2007 investing deal.

In 2016, FBI agents burst into Deripaska's (above) hotel room in New York to quiz him on the claims in the 'dirty dossier'. He recalls laughing, thinking they were joking at first

Anastasia Vashukevich, a call girl who was once Deripaska's mistress, has claimed from behind bars in a Thai jail that she had key evidence proving he was involved in election interference

In February, video surfaced of Deripaska on a private yacht with Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Sergei Eduardovich Prikhodko.

A Russian opposition leader claimed that the video showed that Deripaska was a conduit between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

Belarussian escort Anastasia Vashukevich, Deripaska's former mistress who was seen in the yacht video, made the shocking claim from behind bars in a Thai prison that she had incriminating information on Deripaska.

'Deripaska had a plan about elections,' she told the New York Times. Vashukevich remains jailed on prostitution charges in Thailand and has not publicly elaborated on her claims.

Stunningly, Deripaska was never named in Mueller's indictment of Manafort, on tax fraud charges unrelated to the election. Manafort has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is vigorously contesting the case.

Now some are wondering if Mueller's dealing's with Deripaska on the Levinson hostage case create a conflict of interest, since the oligarch is presumably a key witness in the special counsel's probe into alleged 'links' between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

'The real question becomes whether it was proper to leave [Deripaska] out of the Manafort indictment, and whether that omission was to avoid the kind of transparency that is really required by the law,' attorney Alan Dershowitz told Solomon.
Maria Smith's body was found by her husband inside their Sydney unit on April 22, 1974

A $1million reward is on the table in a renewed push to solve the murder of a young teacher who was raped and strangled in her home 44 years ago.

The body of newlywed Maria Smith was found by her husband in the bedroom of their unit in Randwick in Sydney's east on April 22, 1974.

The 20-year-old was 'horribly murdered', according to the head of the NSW homicide squad Detective Superintendent Scott Cook.

'She was bound, gagged and sexually assaulted before being strangled,' he said in Sydney on Tuesday.

The massive reward, which will be paid for information that leads to a conviction, is on offer as NSW Police revisit hundreds of cold cases from the past four decades under a new system of 'revolving review'.

'We're at a particular point in the investigation where an appeal like this will have its greatest value,' Det Supt Cook said.

The 20-year-old teacher (pictured) was found dead just eight weeks after her wedding

Ms Smith's brother Peter McGuinn, who was 22 at the time, said her death had a huge impact on his family

It is 'imperative' police speak with not only Ms Smith's former colleagues at the Malabar RSL but anybody who lived in her building at 14-20 St Marks Road, Randwick, in early 1974 - regardless of whether they've previously been interviewed.

Det Supt Cook described their lines of inquiry as 'very positive'. Ms Smith's husband Steve is not a suspect.

Ms Smith's brother Peter McGuinn, who was 22 at the time, said her death had a huge impact on his family and many relatives became overly cautious about safety.

'Our family was just in total shock,' he said. 'We had people around us to support us, but it was a bloody nightmare.'

Ms Smith is pictured with her father in an undated painting supplied by New South Wales Police

Police want to speak with anybody who lived in her building at 14-20 St Marks Road, Randwick, in early 1974

Mr McGuinn remembers his sister, a talented skier, as 'a very reserved person, but at the same time outgoing'.

He was encouraged by the reward, saying every few days or months his sister came into his mind.

'You never put a tragedy like this to bed.'

It is only the second time in the state's history a $1 million reward has been offered, matching the same sum that remains available in the case of missing toddler William Tyrrell.

Ms Smith (left and right) was 'horribly murdered', according to the head of the NSW homicide squad Detective Superintendent Scott Cook

Ms Smith, a talented skier, is remembered by her family as 'a very reserved person, but at the same time outgoing'

It's also the first time the reward has been offered under a new system where the recommendation for incentive is made by investigators rather than a committee, following a review last year prompted largely by the case of Matthew Leveson.

Police Minister Troy Grant said the rewards had nothing to do with the value of the lives of victims.

'It is a monetary figure that is determined by the investigating police that will best assist them to bring answers and give families closure,' he said.
Australian authorities would be 'complicit in mass murder' if they ignored evidence that the MH370 pilot deliberately crashed the plane, an expert claims.

Mike Keane, a former easyJet chief pilot and Royal Air Force intelligence officer, said the ATSB should change its 'ghost flight' theory of what happened to the missing jet.

Captain Keane believes MH370 was hijacked by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah and intentionally flown outside the search area.

If the Australian Transport Safety Bureau deliberately ignored evidence contradicting its MH370 (pictured) theory it would be complicit in mass murder, a pilot has claimed

Mike Keane, a former easyJet chief pilot and Royal Air Force intelligence officer, said the ATSB (pictured examining MH370 debris) should change its 'ghost flight' theory of what happened to the missing jet

Captain Keane's comments come after the launch of a book by Larry Vance (pictured), a Canadian air crash investigator with a similar theory on the crash

His theory conflicts with the 'ghost flight' theory, which maintains the pilots lost consciousness and the plane flew on autopilot until running out of fuel.

'You may recall my observation of 'complicity to a crime' if the ATSB cling to their version of events when they have knowledge to the contrary,' he told The Australian.

'Put bluntly, the MH370 'crash' is undoubtedly a crime of the unlawful killing of 238 innocent people.

'The Australian government has also been remiss, they should have put pressure on the ATSB to listen, and act, on professional advice from the aviation community.'

Captain Keane's comments came after several other experts determined that Zaharie downed the plane on purpose, and the chance of an accident was 'one in a trillion'.

One of them, Senior Boeing 777 pilot and instructor Simon Hardy, said the pilot flew over his hometown of Penang, Malaysia, for an 'emotional goodbye' on the way.

The MH370 pilot captain made an unexplained and strange turn to fly over his hometown of Penang

He said the plane 'dipping its wing' over Penag was explained by Zaharie wanting to look out the window at the city one last time.

Mr Hardy also said Zaharie avoided detection by floying along the border between Malaysia and Thailand, crossing in and out of each other's airspace.

'So both of the controllers aren't bothered about this mysterious aircraft. Cause it's 'oh, it's gone. It's not in our space anymore',' he told Australia's 60 Minutes.

The transponder also went off in that time, and the plane turned sharply and headed south for the next six hours.

Larry Vance, a Canadian air crash investigator, said Zaharie was killing himself and took the plane to where it would 'disappear' to cover that up.

'I think the general public can take comfort in the fact that there is a growing consensus on the plane's final moments,' he said on 60 Minutes.

'Unfortunately, he was [also] killing everybody else on board, and he did it deliberately,' he said.

Captain Keane believes MH370 was hijacked by pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah (pictured) and intentionally flown outside the search area

Authorities combing through the Indian Ocean for remains of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have discovered two huge structures (pictured) on the sea floor

'He was taking it to a predestination, some place that he had planned to take it, and he flew that six hours to get it there.'

Mr Vance believed the plane was on the bottom of the ocean in just a few pieces with the fuselage in one piece with the left wing still on.

The investigator published the book MH370: Mystery Solved that puts forward a his theory on the crash in more detail.

Mr Vance wrote the discovery of the right-wing flaperon from MH370 on Reunion Island proves the impact could not have occurred at high speed.

Accusing the ATSB of incompetence, Mr Vance said if the evidence was suppressed it would amount to 'intentional deception'.

Mr Vance's book outlines his forensic examination of the crash, which he believes proves the plane was ditched in a controlled manner.

The Seabed Constructor (pictured), a vessel leased by US underwater survey group Ocean Infinity, is still searching for the wreckage of the missing plane

In its October 2017 report, the ATSB wrote: 'The reasons for the loss of MH370 cannot be established with certainty until the aircraft is found.

'It is almost inconceivable ... for a large commercial aircraft to be missing and for the world not to know with certainty what became of the aircraft and those on board.'

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, vanished in March 2014 with 227 passengers, including six Australians, on board.

The Seabed Constructor, a vessel leased by US underwater survey group Ocean Infinity, is still searching for the wreckage of the missing plane.
A man who took police on a wild chase with his girlfriend and their children in the car after sexually assaulting a sleeping women has avoided a harsher penalty.

Damien Keith Hall, 26, is awaiting sentencing from the Adelaide District Court for offences, including false imprisonment and threatening to kill or endanger the life of a person, The Advertiser reported.

Court prosecutor Lucy Boord said any criminal offender who is found guilty of three or more serious offences can receive harsher sentences, but claimed Hall did not qualify because offences during his stand-off with police count as one.

Damien Keith Hall, 26, (pictured) who took police on a wild chase with his girlfriend and her children in the car

In November of 2016, Hall went to the home of his former girlfriend while brandishing a fake gun and forced her and their children into his car, threatening her neighbour as he did so

'He effectively has two strikes now and, on commission of any other serious offence, it will be mandatory to declare him a serious repeat offender,' she said.

In November of 2016, Hall went to the home of his former girlfriend while brandishing a fake gun and forced her and their two children, aged three and seven months, into his car - threatening her neighbour as he did so.

A police pursuit followed and officers eventually cornered Hall at the Rundle Mall in Adelaide. An officer fired a single shot, which brought the chase to an end.

A police pursuit followed and once officers had Hall cornered at the Rundle Mall in Adelaide he tried to threaten them with his fake gun, an officer fired a single shot which brought the chase to an end

That police chase came one year after Hall indecently assaulted a sleeping women, for which he had already pleaded guilty for.

Hall was initially facing a 20 year sentence for the police chase, 8 years for the indecent assault and another 18 years for siege offences.

Miss Boord said the three or four serious offences Hall committed during the chase and siege amounted to 'a single occurrence'. Hall is deemed only a two time offender.

Hall's defence lawyer, Yan Robson, told the court his client suffered from drug addiction and was under the influence during each offence. He also told the court his client was in fear while in police custody.

Hall's defence lawyer, Yan Robson, told the court his client suffered from drug addiction and was under the influence during each offence, he also told the court his client was in fear while in police custody

'After his arrest he was held at the City Watch House where, unfortunately and perhaps understandably, he was in fear of the police officers who were going about their business,' she said.

Miss Yan also said her client had taken the time to write letters of apology to each of his victims and acknowledged the 'suffering theyve endured at his own hands'.

She said her client had intentions of becoming more community-minded upon his release by helping to teach people 'what not to do with their life' so they could avoid ending up in the same place as him.

'He seeks to stop the cycle, acknowledge his wrongdoing and, significantly, try to ensure his own children dont suffer the same sort of experiences that he has she said.

Hall will return to the Adelaide District Court next week for sentencing.
Three people who went missing with a self-styled spiritual leader in mysterious circumstances could still be alive, a coroner has concluded.

Gary Felton, 45, who went by the alias Simon Kadwell, his 27-year-old girlfriend Chantelle McDougall, their five-year-old daughter Leela and friend Tony Popic, 40, left their Nannup property in Western Australia in July 2007 and their families have not heard from them since.

Their rented house, 260km south of Perth, was spotless, valuable furnishings had been left behind and a note written by Ms McDougall claimed they had gone to Brazil.

Self-style spiritual leader Gary Felton (right) his 27-year-old girlfriend Chantelle McDougall (left), their daughter Leela, 5, and friend Tony Popic, left their Nannup property in July 2007

The inquest heard British-born self-described spiritual leader Gary Felton had travelled extensively and published books about his so-called spiritual pilgrimage

In findings released on Tuesday, Coroner Barry King concluded he had not found it had been established beyond all reasonable doubt that any of the four were dead.

An inquest in December heard England-born Felton travelled extensively in the 1990s under his new identity on a spiritual pilgrimage, then published books devoted to his beliefs including Servers of the Divine Plan.

The West Australian coroner said he skimmed through some of the books by Gary Felton, the spiritual leader, which used language 'grandiose and replete with hyperbole and unsupported assertions, some of which appeared bizarre'.

Felton lived off the charity of others, the income from his books or the earnings of his spouses, including Ms McDougall, who became his partner around 2000.

In findings released on Tuesday, Coroner Barry King concluded he had not found it had been established beyond all reasonable doubt that any of the four were dead (Chantelle McDougall and daughter Leela pictured)

Three years later, they moved from Perth to the country because they liked the isolation.

Mr King said there was uncorroborated and vague evidence indicating Felton's past may have involved stealing money as part of criminal activity, which could explain his reclusiveness and part of his motivation for disappearing.

He spent a lot of time on the internet and slept through much of the day, and eventually told an online follower he planned a suicide pact.

Three people who went missing from rural Western Australia with a self-styled spiritual leader in mysterious circumstances could still be alive, a coroner has concluded (how Leela aged five in 2007 may look today)

Ms McDougall's mother recalled he once asked her which planet she was from and genuinely believed people came from outer space to Earth.

The inquest heard he had also complained the electromagnetic field given off by the transformer at the Nannup property was making him sick, and he said he wanted to move away, mentioning Brazil.

The group gave away their animals and sold their cars before vanishing.

Months after their disappearance, prison workers found a woman's t-shirt in remote bushland near Northcliffe and it was seized by police but never forensically examined.

Other investigative opportunities were not followed up, Mr King said.

Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.

Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
Bali tourists are being told to exercise a high degree of caution in the holiday destination following a wave of deadly terror attacks.

Travel advice, issued by the Australian Government, has warned tourists there is a heightened risk of terror attacks in Indonesia during the month of Ramadan, which started on Tuesday.

Travellers have been told attacks could happen 'anywhere, anytime' during the Muslim fasting month, as highlighted by a young family of ISIS supporters who killed more than a dozen people in suicide bombings at Christian churches on Sunday.

The 3,224 Australians now holidaying in Indonesia, mainly in Bali, have been told to follow the government's official travel advice and to remain vigilant.

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Bali tourists are being told to exercise a high degree of caution especially during Ramadan following a wave of deadly terror attacks

Suicide bombers killed at least 13 people and wounded 41 in attacks on Christians attending morning services at three churches on Sunday

The Australian Government warns travellers to be alert in places of worship during the period of 'religious significance', as they have been targeted and could be again.

Tourists should also consider the level of security provided at venues when planning activities, it warned.

'Terrorists have previously attacked or planned to attack airports and airlines, bars and nightclubs, cafes, clubs, including sporting clubs, cinemas and theatres, international hotels, nightclubs, places of worship, restaurants, tourist areas and attractions, tour buses and tour groups,' the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) wrote in its advice.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull (centre) condemned the attacks as an act of 'barbarity' and expressed his condolences to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation

The family (pictured) who police say committed the church suicide bombings on Sunday

Travellers have also been warned that Western-branded venues, business areas, and places frequented by foreigners are also under a high threat of attack.

DFAT said terror suspects remain at large in Indonesia and 'may seek' Western tourists as targets.

'Extremists in Indonesia may carry out small-scale violent attacks with little or no warning. Groups linked to or inspired by conflict in Iraq and Syria have anti-Western motivations,' it wrote.

The UK Government issued its own travel advice to British tourists, urging them to monitor local media reports and follow the advice of local authorities.

More than one million Australians travel to Indonesia every year. The Australian Government warns travellers to be alert in places of worship in Indonesia during the period of 'religious significance', as they have been targeted and could be again

It said terror attacks 'are very likely' in Indonesia, particularly from Islamist extremists.

The government added: 'Terrorist groups continue to plan attacks and have the capacity and intent to carry out these attacks at anytime and anywhere in the country.'

The travel advice comes as Australians in Bali were warned they are under increasing threat from child suicide bombers, according to a secret intelligence report.

ISIS fighters have flooded Indonesia, with more than 1100 returning to the area after spending time in the Middle East.

Urgent reports were provided to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton by secret intelligence agents after suicide bombers attacked three churches in Surabaya, The Australian reported.

The intelligence said the indoctrination of children, who are then organised to carry out suicide bombings, was 'horrific'.

At least seven people were killed outside Surabaya police station on Monday in an attack (pictured) that came the day after thirteen were killed in suicide bombings

CCTV captured the moment the bomb detonated outside the station about 11.50am Monday

A young family of ISIS supporters carried out the attacks at the three churches, killing 14 people. The family included two girls aged nine and 12 years old.

Mr Turnbull said increased security would be introduced at airports as a result.

Body scans will be carried out on 94 per cent of passengers. while advanced X-ray and bomb-detection technology would be used on travellers' bags.

Just hours after the intelligence briefings were provided to Australian leaders, another attack was carried out at a police station - again by a family with young children.

The explosion killed at least seven people, although the full extent of casualties remains unclear. (Officers pictured standing guard at police headquarters in Surabaya)

An eight-year-old girl survived after her family detonated bombs outside a police station, killing seven people.

It was the latest suspected Islamic terrorist attack to coincide with the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, as security agents fear the attacks may signal the escalation of terrorism in the region.

Police said four officers and six civilians were injured and suspected it was carried out by Islamist extremists linked to Jemaah Ansurat Daulah, which was formed in 2015 by ISIS sympathisers.

'Clearly it's a suicide bombing,' East Java police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told a media briefing on Monday which the ABC attended.

All six family members were killed in the attacks and at least 41 people were injured. Officers (pictured) load a body bag into an ambulance at the site of an attack

President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo (centre left) visited the scenes of the attacks and described them as 'cowardly actions' that were 'very barbaric and beyond the limit of humanity'

The bombings were the worst to target churches in Indonesia since a series of attacks on Christmas Eve in 2000 killed 15 people and wounded nearly 100. Officers (pictured) remove wreckages of burnt out motorcycles

'We can't be open [about] all details yet because we are still identifying victims at the scene and the crime scene is being handled.'

Australians have been warned of a heightened risk of terrorist attacks after a spate of suicide bombings ripped through Christian churches and police headquarters in Surabaya.

The East Javanese city, Indonesia's biggest metropolis outside Jakarta, was reeling after a car bomb exploded at a police headquarters on Monday, after a family of six blew themselves up on Sunday, killing 14 and wounding 40 Christians attending services at three churches.

More than one million Australians travel to Indonesia every year, mainly to the popular resort island of Bali, where Australians were killed in terrorist attacks in 2002 and 2005.

Mr Widodo with officials at the scene of a suicide attack outside the Central Pantekosta church in Surabaya

Three unexploded homemade bombs - two at the Pantekosta church and one at the Diponegoro church - were detonated by a bomb squad. Anti-terror policemen (pictured) stand guard following one of the attacks

Officers carry a body bag at one of the sites of an attack in Surabaya on Sunday morning

An estimated 10,000 Australians live in Bali alone all-year round.

Indonesia is also the second most popular overseas holiday destination for Australians, after New Zealand, with more than 1.2 million Australians visiting its northern neighbour in 2016.

Mr Turnbull condemned the attacks as an act of 'barbarity' and expressed his condolences to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority nation.

'Our heart goes out to all of the victims of those attacks and the people of Indonesia know that they have our utmost solidarity in the battle against terrorism,' he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

'It almost beggars belief; the brutality, the barbarity, the inhumanity, the blasphemy of these terrorists.'

Meanwhile, Mr Dutton said it was an act of evil.

'This threat is not going away and Australia stands absolutely united with a very, very crucial friend in Indonesia to make sure we can work with the president and ... the Indonesian government to keep their people safe,' Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra on Monday.

'Evil has prevailed in recent hours.'
Meghan Markle's father claims he has not spoken to his daughter since pulling out of her wedding and says he is 'popping Valium' after suffering chest pains.

Thomas Markle says he suffered a heart attack six days ago and is feeling unwell again after his shock deal with a paparazzi photographer was revealed.

The 73-year-old will reportedly no longer fly to London because he wanted to save Meghan further embarrassment after it emerged he 'staged' wedding-related photo shoots for cash.

Last night he told TMZ Meghan's mother Doria Ragland would be a 'good choice' to walk her down the aisle at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday.

His daughter and Harry are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind but Mr Markle has claimed his daughter is yet to speak to him.

In an extraordinary interview he called out his eldest daughter, Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, who has repeated attacked the star and yesterday claimed she was 'to blame' for her father's 'posed' photos.

The father of the bride told TMZ: 'I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter.'

Meghan Markle's father Thomas has not spoken to his daughter (together in 2000) since pulling out of her wedding and is 'popping Valium' after suffering chest pains in the wake of his paparazzi deal

Two days after his heart attack, Thomas was seen at a McDonald's drive-thru were he purchased a Happy Meal and a cold drink

Thomas then went to a KFC hours after he stopped by McDonald's on Thursday (above)

Harry and Meghan are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind with just four days until their wedding

Mr Markle is said to have suffered a heart attack last week and more chest pains yesterday.

Mr Markle (pictured last week) is said to have suffered a heart attack last week and more chest pains yesterday

But DailyMail.com revealed yesterday that that Meghan's father did not seek medical attention on the day of his heart attack, and was instead inside his clifftop home in Rosarito the entire day.

Two days later he was seen grabbing two Happy Meals and a frosted beverage at a McDonald's drive-thru before later stopping at KFC and emerging with a bag packed with food.

On Monday night Markle told TMZ that he was said to be considering a trip to hospital after suffering new chest pains but it is not clear if he went.

His eldest daughter Samantha told Good Morning Britain today: 'He was really having heart pains and suffering a heart attack, it was an unbelievable amount of stress. They were stabilising him'.

When asked about pics of him eating fast food after hospital visit, she said: 'It depends whether or not it was precipitated by stress or high cholesterol. If its stress, eating chicken isnt a problem.

'As far as whether or not he had a heart attack, people have had heart attacks they didnt know they had. He was given the option of Mexico to be flown to LA but he was scared of flying because of the media'.

Thomas agreed to pose for a photographer browsing the internet for pictures of his daughter and Harry

Thomas was then seen in a series of photos getting fitted for his wedding suit

Photographer Jeff Rayner, camera slung over his shoulder, arrives at the Omega internet cafe at 9.50am on March 27 with Thomas Markle as his deal was revealed

Thomas, 73, says that money was not a motivating factor for the photo scandal and he had instead hoped to recast his image in the wake of previously unflattering paparazzi pictures (Meghan and Prince Harry above last month)

Kensington Palace are said to have been completely blindsided by his decision not to walk his daughter down the aisle and had not been informed of Thomas' change of heart prior to the publication of his TMZ interview.

'There's no way he is not going': Thomas Markle's grandson believes Meghan's father will change his mind about pulling out of royal wedding Thomas Markle's grandson says his grandfather is 'broken' but expects he will attend Saturday's Windsor wedding. Meghan's father has thrown the event into chaos after pulling out at the last minute. Mr Markle says he had a heart attack and is suffering chest pains. He says he will not walk her down the aisle to save her further 'embarrassment'. But his grandson Tyler Dooley, 25, has spoken to him and believes he could change his mind. He told The Sun: 'There is no way he is not going to go to that wedding. That is his daughter and she loves him more than anything in the world. 'He had a pretty big health scare. He said he plans to get the care and help he needs after the wedding which told me that he was going'. Advertisement

A friend of Miss Markle, 36, and Prince Harry, 33, told the Mail she was standing by her father and pleaded for understanding, saying he was 'not in a good place'.

The friend said: 'This is not what she wants. She obviously wants her dad there. And the idea of contemplating him not being there now is not something that she wants to have to do.

'She and Prince Harry are begging for people to give him some space. They have been saying this for weeks, while trying to offer him support and help. He is clearly feeling under immense pressure. The concern for him is real and genuine.

'He is a proud man who wants to be a father and not be taken care of, but it's quite difficult. Everyone needs to pause and think what this is doing to them and, more importantly, to him. It is a really worrying, scary situation. The couple have been doing everything they can to help him.'

Her fiance is said to be distraught. The friend said: 'He is devastated. He feels like this is another thing in the wake of him... the problems he causes. He feels that anyone who gets associated with his life  this is the price they have to pay.

'He wants to protect her and this is really difficult for him to swallow.'

The couple issued an unprecedented official statement through Kensington Palace last night.

A spokesman said: 'This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.'

Last night US gossip website TMZ claimed to have spoken 'on the record' to Miss Markle's father, who confirmed he had worked with the freelance photographer to set up images of him being measured for his wedding suit and searching online for articles about his daughter.

He said he did it to 'rehabilitate' his image but had been left looking 'stupid and hammy'  and would not be travelling to the UK to give her away in order to spare her further embarrassment.

Kensington Palace was clearly broadsided by the claims as aides had insisted on Sunday that Mr Markle would be by his daughter's side at Windsor Castle this weekend.

TMZ further claimed that Mr Markle  a former award-winning Hollywood lighting director who lives a reclusive life in Mexico and has yet to meet his future son-in-law  confirmed he had been offered money by US-based freelance photographer Jeff Rayner.

But he insisted the 'deal' was not 'principally' about money. Instead, he wanted to 'rehabilitate' his image after pictures had been published of him looking overweight and dishevelled.

Meghan will now only have her mother Doria by her side as she prepares for the big day and Thomas said she should walk her down the aisle

The website wrote: 'He says since his daughter started dating Prince Harry he's been offered anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 for interviews and he's turned all of them down. Thomas says the paparazzi agency approached him, offered him money  though nowhere near the reported $100,000  and he figured there was no harm in it and it would help recast his image. He says he was just going along with the paparazzi agency, which he now deeply regrets.'

The website continued: 'Meghan's father will not be walking her down the aisle on Saturday... he isn't going to the wedding at all because of the fallout over selling photos of himself.'

Mr Markle also told the website that he had suffered a heart attack six days ago but checked himself out of the hospital so he could attend the wedding.

There was no independent confirmation that Mr Markle had been ill, however.

Indeed, six days ago from yesterday he was seen leaving his home in the beachside community of Rosarito, Mexico, and driving to San Diego, just over the US border.

According to reports, he stopped for a few hours' sleep and then carried onto LA where he was photographed putting a pot of flowers on the doorstep of his ex-wife, Doria Ragland  Miss Markle's mother.

To add to the confusion, Mr Markle's daughter, Meghan's estranged half-sister Samantha, yesterday claimed that she was 'the culprit' behind the humiliating photograph debacle.

In a bizarre intervention, Samantha said she had advised her father to co-operate with the photographer to show himself  and, strangely, the Royal Family  in a 'positive' light. She also insisted his motive hadn't been money.

One source told the Mail last night that Mr Markle was 'very unwell', adding: 'He is under significant stress. There is genuine concern about his safety. His health and safety are paramount [to Meghan]. He is under a huge amount of pressure.'

If Miss Markle's father is not at the wedding, it is believed Miss Ragland will walk her down the aisle.

'Happy Father's Day daddy. Im still your buckaroo, and to this day your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world,' wrote Meghan in a 2016 message to Thomas

Nosey: 'Thanks for my work ethic, my love of Busby Berkeley films & club sandwiches, for teaching me the importance of handwritten thank you notes, and for giving me that signature Markle nose. I love you,' Meghan said to her father in an Instagram post

Tough time: Thomas Jr had previously told DailyMail.com that his father was struggling ahead of the big weeding.
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UN Ambassador Nikki Haley blamed Hamas for the violence that exploded in Gaza for a second day, and said Israeli soldiers had acted with 'restraint.'

Haley said at the UN Tuesday: 'I ask my colleagues here in the Security Council: Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border?' Haley said Tuesday.

'No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.'

She spoke after a second day of violent protests in Gaza, where Israeli forces once again fired on Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also defended his nation's forces, a day after the Trump administration staged an elaborate party for the opening of a new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

'I don't know of any army that would do anything differently if you had to protect your border against people who say, 'We're going to destroy you, and we're going to flood into your country,'' Netanyahu told CBS. 'You try other means. You try all sorts of means. You try non-lethal means, and they don't work, so you're left with bad choices.

'It's a bad deal, and then you try and you go for below the knee, and sometimes it doesn't work, and unfortunately these things are avoidable. If Hamas had not pushed them there, then nothing would happen. Hamas holds responsibility for doing this, and they're deliberately doing it.'

Palestinians burnt images of Donald Trump as a day of violent protests on the Gaza strip left a one person dead.

The demonstrations spread to the West Bank, where Palestinians burnt tires and clashed with Israeli troops.

The US ambassador to the UN insisted ally Israel has acted with restraint in the face of provocation from Hamas.

The latest death came as thousands of Palestinians gathered to bury their dead after 60 people were killed 'including a baby who breathed in tear gas' during protests over the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.

The violence continued today amid reports a 51-year-old, named as Nasser Ghorab had been hit by Israeli fire east of Bureij in the central Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian demonstrator kicks burning tires, during clashes with Israeli troops at a checkpoint near Nablus

Israeli soldiers chase Palestinian protesters as smoke billows from burning tyres near Nablus

Demonstrators burn pictures of Donald Trump in southern Gaza, at the border with Israel

Palestinians and Israelis also clashed in the city of Bethlehem on the West Bank. Some protesters used slingshots to hurl stones at Israeli troops

A Palestinian protester throwing rocks at Israeli troops in Nablus as the violence spread from Gaza

This afternoon, the US ambassador to the United Nations told an emergency Security Council meeting on the violence in Gaza that ally Israel had acted with restraint in the face of provocation from Hamas.

'No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has,' Nikki Haley told the Security Council. 'In fact the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained,' she said.

Among the dead yesterday was a Palestinian baby named as Leila al-Ghandour who, her family claim, died as a result of inhaling tear gas in a camp a few hundred yards from the border.

The eight-month-old's mother Mariam, 17, said she had left the baby with her young brothers when she went to a dental appointment. But when the infant started crying uncontrollably, one of the boys mistakenly took her to a protest encampment near the broder believing Mariam was there.

Eventually he found his own mother in the camp and, although they only stayed a few minutes, the area was targeted by tear gas, the distraught family claimed. They fled from the scene but by the time they had reached hospital, the baby had died, they said.

Yesterday's violence has sparked international alarm British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warning 'there has got to be restraint in the use of live rounds' and Russia saying the deaths have prompted their 'deepest concern'. The UN, meanwhile, said it now 'seems anyone is liable to be shot dead' in Gaza.

A demonstrator with a Palestinian flag in one hand and a slingshot in the other in front of burning tyres in Bethlehem

A Palestinian ambulance emerges form a cloud of tear gas in Bethlehem

Tear gas fired by Israeli troops billows around the feet the Palestinians throwing rocks in Nablus

Palestinians running from Israeli forces in the foreground in Nablus as protests about the relocation of the US embassy continued

A Palestinian man hurls a stone during clashes with Israeli forces on Tuesday near the border fence with Israel east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip

A wounded Palestinian demonstrator is evacuated during a protest marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip today

Near the kibbutz of Nir Oz on the border with the southern Gaza strip, tear gas canisters are launched across the border through smoke from burning tires

This afternoon, the US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told an emergency Security Council meeting on the violence in Gaza, that ally Israel had acted with restraint in the face of provocation from Hamas

Palestinian protestors carry a wounded comrade during near the border fence with Israel east of Jabalia in the central Gaza Strip today

There were renewed clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers today - this time in Beit El, near Ramallah

A drone unleashes a series of tear gas canisters as Israeli forces attempt to clear protesters in Huzaa village of Khan Yunis

Protests continued on the Gaza border today though they were far fewer in number. A man is pictured shielding his eyes from tear gas

Drones have been used increasingly by Israeli forces to drop tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters. This was the scene in Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip

A Palestinian demonstrator holds a sling during a protest marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba, near the Jewish settlement of Beit El, near Ramallah, in the West Bank today

On a tense day in the region, Israeli soldiers could be seen taking position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the West Bank city of Hebron

This Palestinian protester used a sling shot to hurl back a tear gas canister after it was launched towards him by Israeli troops

Caught in the crossfire: Medics escort a wounded photojournalist from the conflict zone in Bethlehem, West Bank

Israeli border police take up positions during clashes Beit El, near Ramallah, West Bank. Violent scenes unfolded during a Palestinian protest marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba

Palestinian female medics tend to an injured colleague during clashes near the border with Israel, east of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, on Thursday

Monday was the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

But Israel's ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, defended yesterday's use of force claiming it was 'measured', 'surgical' and that the 'goal' of Hamas was 'to kill Israeli citizens'.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We didn't want to see this violence in Gaza and we did everything we could to avoid it. We dropped leaflets urging people not to attack the border, we used social media, we used radio and television broadcasts, we didn't want to see this violence.

He denied it was a case of protesters 'throwing the odd rock', adding that 'you have got people charging the border fence with wire cutters, with explosives, with molotov cocktails, with other weapons.

'Their goal is clear and Hamas has articulated the goal. The leader of Hamas here [Yahya] Sinwar said our goal is to breach the border, to get inside Israel and to kill Israeli citizens. He said openly we want to tear out their hearts.'

Regev added: 'I reject that this was somehow a spontaneous protest. If people want to protest against Israel inside Gaza, of course they can do so ... but we are talking about people storming the border with the idea to damage the border fence to come into Israel and hurt our people on our side of the frontier.

Family members said Laila al-Ghandour (pictured) was in a tent camp a few hundred yards inside the border east of Gaza 'when the Israelis fired lots of tear gas'

'The people of Gaza live a very difficult life. But that's because they live in a prison controlled by Hamas  a theocratic authoritarian regime that instead of investing its energy and resources into building a better life for the people of Gaza, invests its efforts in a Holy War against Israel.

'We used live fire in only a very measured way in a very surgical way and only when there is no alternative.

'You had some 40,000 people yesterday involved in violent riots on our border. There were continuous attempts to storm the border and breach the border. We have to protect our people. If we allow the Hamas terrorists to enter Israel we will have dead Israelis. We must protect our border.'

Earlier, the U.N. human rights office condemned Monday's 'appalling deadly violence' by Israeli security forces in Gaza and said it was extremely worried about what might happen later on Tuesday, while calling for an independent investigation.

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva that Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.

In a series of tweets this morning, the office added: 'UN Human Rights condemns the appalling, deadly violence in #Gaza yesterday during which 60 Palestinians were killed and almost 1,360 demonstrators were injured with live ammunition by Israeli security forces.

'The rules on the use of force under int'l law have been repeated many times but appear to be ignored again and again. It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders, & at almost any point up to 700m from the fence.

The mother of the eight-month-old Palestinian baby is comforted as she weeps during her daughter's funeral in Gaza City today

Palestinians are preparing to bury their dead today after 60 people were killed by Israeli forces 'including a baby who breathed in tear gas'. There are claims that a Palestinian baby named as Leila al-Ghandour died as a result of inhaling tear gas during clashes. Harrowing pictures have emerged of distraught family members cradling the baby's body

Palestinians rallied in Gaza on Tuesday for the funerals of scores of people killed by Israeli troops a day earlier, while on the Gaza-Israel border, Israeli forces took up positions to deal with the expected final day of a Palestinian protest campaign

Mourners are pictured carrying the body of Palestinian Ahmed al-Adini, 30, who was killed by Israeli troops during clashes on the Gaza border yesterday

Grieving relatives are gearing up for a day of funerals after what was the deadliest single day in the Israeli -Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas. Relatives of one of the dead sit around his body ahead of a day of funerals in the enclave

Last night, Palestinians held a funeral for a wheelchair-bound protester named as Fady abu Salah (pictured)

Thick black smoke billowed from burning tires as Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas. About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 were demonstrating in the Palestinian city of Ramallah

'...extremely worried about what may happen today - an emotional day on all sides - and in the weeks ahead. We urge maximum restraint. Enough is enough.'

As international anger mounted today, Turkey told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave the country.

Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the foreign ministry and told to 'return to his country for a period of time'. Turkey has also recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations, said the official, who asked not to be named.

This morning, Palestinians clashed with Israeli troops in the West Bank with thick black smoke seen billowing from burning tires. Palestinians threw stones at Israeli troops, who responded with tear gas.

About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 were demonstrating in the Palestinian city of Ramallah.

Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, who was killed during clashes in Gaza on Monday

Hundreds attended a funeral service for eight-month-old Laila al-Ghandour, who was killed during the clashes yesterday

The bodies of the dead were carried through the streets as thousands mourned those killed in clashes on the Gaza border yesterday

Palestinian leaders have called Monday's events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation

The death toll rose to 60 overnight after an eight-month-old baby died from tear gas that her family said she inhaled at a protest camp on Monday. More than 2,200 Palestinians were also injured by gunfire or tear gas

Palestinians are marking the anniversary Tuesday of what they call their 'nakba,' or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military, which remains on high alert today, says its aircraft have struck a number of Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in response to mass border protests.

The military said it struck 11 'terror targets' in a Hamas military compound. Tanks targeted another two Hamas posts in the Gaza Strip.

It said protesters used 10 explosive devices and firebombs against troops and that shots were fired at soldiers positioned along the border. While there was no breach of the border fence, the military said many protesters attempted to enter Israel.

At least five protests sites have been established since demonstrations began on March 30, most of them with both frontline areas and places for families further back.

Flashpoint: Israeli forces have fired tear gas after reports of protests on the Gaza side of the border this morning

Palestinians collect tyres to be burnt during a protest marking the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border in the southern Gaza Strip today

Palestinian mourners carry the body of Muhammed Dividar, killed during clashes in Gaza on Monday, during his funeral at Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza City

Khaled Batch, the head of the grassroots organizing committee of the protests, says Tuesday will be a day for funerals, suggesting there were no plans for border marches. Grieving relatives are pictured at the funeral of one of the men killed in the clashes yesterday

The world witnessed scenes of jarring contrast on Monday. Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during mass protests along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

Palestinians see the eastern part of the city as their capital.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near the border fence, with smaller numbers seeking to breach it. Israeli forces on the border used tear gas and sniper fire on the crowds.

UN general secretary Antonio Guterres said in a tweet today that he was 'profoundly alarmed and concerned by the sharp escalation of violence and the number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests' and urged restraint on both sides.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirims said Muslim countries should review their ties with Israel and called for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday. It has been one of the most vocal critics of the violence in Gaza, as well as the U.S. move to open its embassy in Jerusalem, which sparked the Palestinian protests.

Khaled Batch, the head of the grassroots organizing committee of the protests, says Tuesday will be a day for funerals, suggesting there were no plans for border marches.

The Islamic militant Hamas, which rules the territory, had initially said mass border protests would continue today.

Israeli media reported some tents where protesters have been gathering have been taken down at the border.

The world witnessed scenes of jarring contrast on Monday. Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during mass protests along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem

Al Jazeera journalist narrowly avoids being SHOT by a sniper and hit by a drone-fired tear gas grenade An Al Jazeera journalist narrowly avoided being shot by a sniper and hit be a tear gas grenade as she was reporting at the deadly Gaza protests. Dramatic video shows the network's international correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid ducking for cover in front of the camera as a bullet whistled past her. The journalist, who was wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, posted a second video on her Twitter feed showing tear gas canisters dropping from the sky and landing within yards of television crews. Footage shows the canisters dropping from a drone and thudding into the ground, sending reporters diving for cover and leaving them coughing and gasping for air. In messages posted along with the video, Abdel-Hamid wrote: 'Targeting journalists won't make the Gaza problem go away 'This happened while away from the fence and no one around us was throwing stones or doing anything else... people were sitting, watching from afar while trying to keep safe. But there was nowhere to be safe, neither by the fence or away from it.' She then posted the video of her pretty sure elites snipers know what and where they are targeting This happened too - pretty sure elites snipers know what and where they are targeting pic.twitter.com/faRx8GxcKd  Hoda Abdel-Hamid (@HodaAH) May 15, 2018 Dramatic footage has emerged showing the moment an Al Jazeera journalist narrowly avoided being shot by a sniper Video shows the network's international correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid ducking for cover in front of the camera as a bullet whistled past her The journalist, who was wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, posted a second video on her Twitter feed showing tear gas canisters dropping from the sky and landing within yards of television crews This happened too - pretty sure elites snipers know what and where they are targeting pic.twitter.com/faRx8GxcKd  Hoda Abdel-Hamid (@HodaAH) May 15, 2018 Advertisement

The high casualty toll in Gaza revived international criticism of Israel's use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, while the opening of the embassy, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the Mideast 'deal of the century.'

The U.N. Security Council planned to meet on Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it was not clear what might come out of the session.

Two U.N. diplomats said members couldn't reach unanimous agreement on issuing a proposed statement, circulated by Kuwait, that would have expressed 'outrage and sorrow' over the killings and sought an independent investigation.

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were supposed to be private.

Israel has defended its actions, saying troops were defending its border. It also accused Hamas militants of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.

In recent days, there have been negotiations between Egypt and Hamas leaders summoned to Cairo, presumably on a possible easing of Gaza's decade-long border blockade in exchange for ending the protests.

Israel and Egypt imposed the blockade in 2007, after Hamas seized the territory from forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The protests on the Israel-Gaza border have been taking place in recent days. In a picture taken on March 11, Saber al-Ashkar, 29, hurls rocks at Israeli forces

Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near the border fence, with smaller numbers seeking to breach it. Israeli forces on the border used tear gas and sniper fire on the crowds

The day of bloodshed came as America opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, months after US President Donald Trump recognised the city as Israel's capital. Trump's daughter Ivanka is pictured at the ceremony alongside US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

Since late March, Hamas has led weekly border protests aimed at breaking the blockade.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the 'violence of the Israeli armed forces against the protesters' as several countries urged restraint.

Britain's minister for the Middle East, Alistair Burt acknowledged 'Israel's right to defend its borders' but also said 'the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning'.

'We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint,' he said.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said 'we expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life'.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of 'state terror' and 'genocide.'

Turkey also said it was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel 'for consultations,' while South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel 'until further notice'.
The ISIS commander behind the brutal execution of a Jordanian pilot who was burned to death in a cage in 2015 is among the four senior ISIS leaders captured last week in Iraq.

Saddam al-Jamal is one of the most senior ISIS commanders to be detained so far and was tipped as a future leader of the death cult.

He gained a reputation for brutality as an ISIS commander with a taste for personally beheading prisoners.

Caught: Saddam al-Jamal is one of the most senior ISIS commanders to be captured so far and was responsible for the brutal execution of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh in 2015

The Jordanian security services believe he masterminded the brutal killing of downed pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh in 2015.

Al-Kasasbeh was a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot who was shot down in Raqqa, Syria, in December 2014.

A few weeks later, ISIS released a video online showing the 26-year-old being burned alive in a cage - in images that shocked the world.

Al-Jamal has been accused of a series of atrocities, including taking part in a massacre in the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor in 2014 which killed 700 members of a tribe that rose up against ISIS.

He had previously been a commander in the Free Syrian Army and then leader of a western-allied 'moderate' Islamist group called Ahfab al-Rasoul.

Murdered by ISIS: Muath Al-Kasasbeh, 26, was a Royal Jordanian Air Force pilot who was shot down in Raqqa, Syria in December, 2014, and later executed by ISIS

The video that shocked the world showed the Jordanian pilot being burned alive in a cage

Al-Jamal is said to have ordered the execution of children, sometimes in front of their parents.

In 2014, Iraqi officials claimed that al-Jamal had murdered an entire family after the parents prevented the daughter from marrying him.

Gruesome images released on social media show him gleefully posing with a collection of charred severed heads.

He was one of four leaders of ISIS captured by Iraqi security forces after they were lured from Syria to Iraq with fake Telegram messages.

Iraqi officials used the mobile phone of already captured ISIS lieutenant Ismail al-Eithawi to send instructions via the app for the four other leaders to come to Iraq, where they were seized.

Saddam Omar Hussein al-Jamal ,was one of four leaders of ISIS captured after they were lured from Syria to Iraq with fake Telegram messages last week

Iraqi state television broadcast images of four of the men arrested in the operation, including Saddam Al-Jamal, alongside Omar Al-Karbouli, Essam Al-Zawbai and Mohamed Al-Qadeer

Investigators used a phone belonging to Ismail Alwan al-Ethawi (pictured in an Iraqi government release) to send a Telegram message luring the four other commanders to Syria

Field commanders Mohamed al-Qadeer and Omar Shehab El-Karboul are seen on Iraqi television

ISIS field commander Issam Abdel Kader al-Zawba'i pictured in the Iraqi National Intelligence Service news release

One of the captured men is a top aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (pictured preaching in 2016)

The encrypted app was officially named by ISIS as one of its favoured mobile messaging services in 2015 and has been regularly used by the terror group for private communication and to spread propaganda.

Al-Eithawi, who also uses the alias Abu Zaid al-Iraqi, was captured in February by Turkish intelligence and handed over to the Iraqis.

Eithawi was a direct aide to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, responsible for fund transfers to the group's bank accounts in different countries.

Apart from al-Eithawi and al-Jamal, the operation captured three field commanders: Syrian Mohamed al-Qadeer and two Iraqis, Omar al-Karbouli and Essam al-Zawbai.
This is the hilarious moment a couple have very different reactions as they face their greatest fear - being vertically catapulted nearly 500 feet high at 100 miles per hour.

Slingshot Kissimmee, a fun fair near Orlando, Florida shared a video of 'Mike and Christine' on the fairground ride to their Facebook page, and it has since racked up more than four million views due to the couple's startling reactions.

Christine sits there and screams the whole way, while partner Mike freezes in terror.

The pair are clearly frightened as the ride begins 'oh my god' Mike repeats and Christine adds 'I'm shaking' nervously.

'Oh my god it's so scary' Mike continues as Christine squeals in anticipation.

As the ride is launched, Christine immediately breaks out into a high pitched scream but Mike doesn't move at all.

The clip continues as Mike sits back wide-mouthed, apparently completely unable to move.

As Mike is frozen, Christine adds 'oh my god, Mike, Micheal, oh my god' apparently unaware her partner is in shock.

She then begins to tap his hand and adds 'Mike, what are you doing?' before he breaks his trance and breaks out in laughter.

Christine then jokes 'I'm going to kill you. That was my worst nightmare'.

But the couple seem unfazed afterwards. 'That was a good one' Mike jokes, as the pair both erupt into laughter while being lowered down. 'She was so scared' he adds.

The very different reactions: Mike (right) freezes in fear while Christine (left) squeals in terror

The pair are clearly frightened as the ride begins 'oh my god' Mike repeats and Christine adds 'I'm shaking' nervously

Relief: The couple are let down after the terrifying ride

After the pair visited the fun fair on April 8, 'Slingshot Kissimmee' posted the footage of their ride online which has since racked up 4.4 million views, and 58 thousand shares.

Thousands of people have commented expressing their joy at the video.

Patricia Stephens said 'This video is funny as hell , that face priceless'

Jamie Hayes Jones added 'Im wondering if only dogs could hear him screaming'

Debra Manzanares posted 'If your ever wondering what a face looks like when someone says "I got scared to death" well he just showed us...I think he just died for a minute'.
The Brexit war Cabinet remain in a bitter deadlock over Theresa May's customs plans after a crunch meeting.

Senior ministers are at war over whether to back the PM's customs partnership model with the EU or go for a looser 'maximum facilitation' option.

And after debating the two proposals for an house and a half today they have still yet to come to a deicion - as the crucial EU June summit inches nearer.

Labour is hoping to pile further Brexit pressure on the PM by tabling a parliamentary motion to try to force her to publish secret Brexit documents.

They will table a 'humble address' to force a binding on vote to try to make minsters publish papers prepared for senior ministers detailing the relative merits of the two customs options.

Boris Johnson is leading the charge against the PM's preferred option of a customs partnership with the EU, publicly branding the plan 'crazy' and pushing for an alternative 'maximum facilitation' plan.

While Business Secretary Greg Clark and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley are the main Cabinet ministers backing the partnership model.

Theresa May (pictured today meeting members of the Invictus games in central London) held talks with groups of Tory backbenchers to try to win them over to her vision of future ties with the EU

Theresa May (pictured today in central London meeting members f the UK's Invictus games team) crossed swords with leading Brexiteer and backbench Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg at yesterday's meeting

Brexiteers David Davis (pictured left) and Boris Johnson (pictured right) arrived for Cabinet this morning, where ministers are expected to clash over the UK's future customs arrangement with the EU after Brexit

Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured left) and new Home Secretary Sajid Javid (pictured right) both arrive for the crunch talks in Downing Street today. As a former Remainer now sympathetic to the Brexit cause, Mr Javid's opinion is crucial in the talks

Keir Starmer, Labour's Shadow Brexit Secretary, said: 'The Government's Brexit strategy is in complete and utter deadlock.

'Nearly two years on from the referendum ministers have still yet to agree what our future customs and trading relationship with Europe will look like after Brexit.

'Instead, the Prime Minister has wasted months pursing her two fatally flawed customs options and presiding over a Government that is too busy arguing with itself to negotiate for Britain.

Ex head of the civil service says May's customs plans are 'undeliverable' Theresa May's government is 'heading at full steam towards an undeliverable goal' in its Brexit customs plans by 2020, the ex head of the UK civil service has said. Lord Kerslake warned that civil servants were being hamstrung by ministerial indecision and unworkable customs plans. He said: 'We haven't sorted out a deliverable version of the 'end state' of Brexit because there isn't a deliverable version. 'The deliverable version isn't acceptable to a significant chunk of Conservative MPs.' He added to Business Insider: 'The biggest single issue has been the inability of ministers to firm up what the policy is. 'Talk privately to anyone involved [and] the thing they say is most difficult to handle has been the indecisiveness of the May government. 'And I think it's greatly challenging for preparedness.' Advertisement

'There is a majority in Parliament, business and the trade union movement that supports Labour's call for a comprehensive customs union with the EU after Brexit.

'If Theresa May is too weak to take that decision, then she should give Parliament the information to let it decide.'

The PM's attempts to strike a compromise by dividing her senior minsters into Brexit sub committees last night to thrash out the issues also reportedly ended in failure.

While she also clashed with Jacob Rees-Mogg over the Irish border issue last night as she mounted a desperate bid to win over MPs to her Brexit plans.

The PM and the senior Brexiteer crossed swords after all backbenchers were summoned to Downing Street for briefings on the government's rival customs blueprints.

The meetings were called as Mrs May struggles to defuse the mounting Tory civil war on Brexit - with her Cabinet at daggers drawn on the shape of future trade.

Ministers are at war over the two customs proposals. The customs partnership - Mrs May's preferred option - would see the UK collect tariffs on behalf of the EU and then pay them back.

The second maximum facilitation , or 'Max Fac' option, would see technology used to help ease trade with the EU for 'trusted traders' which backers hope will cut the need for border controls.

But whips also fear she has no chance of getting the Brexiteers' 'Maximum Facilitation' proposal through the Commons.

That would rely on technology and trusted trade schemes to keep trade fluid and avoid a hard Irish border.

Meanwhile, at least a dozen Tory Remainer rebels are threatening to side with Labour in a looming vote on whether to stay in the customs union - something Mrs May has repeatedly ruled out.

There are growing signs of EU frustration about the impasse.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley (pictured left) and Business Secretary Greg Clark (pictured right) arrived in No10 this morning for cabinet. The two ministers are leading the call for a customs partnership to be thrashed out with the EU post Brexit

At a meeting attended by Mr Rees-Mogg (pictured), Mr Mrs May was said to have 'slapped him down very hard' for suggesting Britain could merely refuse to enforce a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic if there is no deal with the EU

The bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier jibed last night that there had only been a 'little progress', and suggested Britain was acting more like a country at the beginning of an accession process than one that had a plan to leave.

At a meeting attended by Mr Rees-Mogg last night, Mr Mrs May was said to have 'slapped him down very hard' for suggesting Britain could merely refuse to enforce a border between Northern Ireland and the Republic if there is no deal with the EU.

The premier is said to have responded that EU rules would oblige the bloc to construct infrastructure even if the UK did not.

And she warned against actions that would cause fury from moderate nationalists.

One Tory who was in the room told The Times: 'She slapped him down very hard. Everyone thinks he knows what he's on about but she got him on facts.

'She was absolutely firm and passionate about the Irish position. I got a sense she realises what really matters.'

Mr Rees-Mogg has insisted his exchanges with the PM were 'very cordial'.

But in an article for the Daily Telegraph today, he urged her to act with more 'firmness and tenacity'.

He accused the EU of treating Britain with 'disdain' and using the Irish border issue to undermine Brexit.

If Brussels or Dublin 'insist upon rejecting all the practical approaches that we propose' the UK 'will simply have to leave with no deal', he insisted.

Sources at the presentations yesterday said No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell admitted that plans for a customs partnership - which was the Prime Minister's preferred option - could deter foreign firms wanting to do business with the UK.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier jibed last night that there had only been a 'little progress', and suggested Britain was acting more like a country at the beginning of an accession process than one that had a plan to leave

The complex scheme, described as 'blue sky thinking' by Brexit Secretary David Davis, would see the UK collecting EU import tariffs at the border and passing them to Brussels.

While firms would be able to claim rebates in cases where the UK set lower tariffs, Mr Barwell is said to have conceded that the administrative burden could be offputting for some businesses.

But he is also said to have warned MPs of problems with the so-called 'Max Fac' alternative.

MPs were told it would not fully solve problems surrounding the Irish border, where the PM has ruled out checkpoints and cameras.

Yesterday's meetings were offered to all Conservative MPs, as Mrs May tries to reassure all sides of the party that she is trying to act in the national interest.

After introductory comments from the Prime Minister, Mr Barwell set out the pros and cons of the customs partnership and Max Fac options, shown side by side 'like a price comparison website', according to one MP who attended.

Damian Green said he believed the 'Maximum Facilitation' blueprint would emerge victorious (file picture)

Mr Barwell said neither option would work 'in its current form' but that two Cabinet working groups were refining them in the hope of finding a solution.

The Brexit War Cabinet is meeting again later as work continues to try and break the deadlock. But backbenchers have been told not to expect any breakthroughs at this stage, as the working groups are expected to take weeks to draw up revised proposals.

Jeremy Hunt delivered an extraordinary rebuke to Boris Johnson yesterday for publicly branding the customers partnership idea 'crazy' - suggesting the Foreign Secretary should 'belt up' and focus on working with colleagues on a compromise.

He accused Mr Johnson of handing Brussels a negotiating advantage by revealing divisions.

Pro-Brexit ministers fear that the customs partnership would lead to the UK staying in the customs union by the back door, wrecking hopes of Britain forging its own trade policy.

Mrs May's former deputy Damian Green suggested she was likely to side with Cabinet Brexiteers but could insist on a longer transition before new arrangements come into effect.

But her official spokesman said there were 'no plans' to extend the customs transition beyond the end of 2020.

What are the options on the table for a customs deal with the EU?

With time ticking away on the Brexit negotiations, the Cabinet is still at daggers drawn on the shape for future trade relations with the EU.

The government has set out two potential options for a customs system after the UK leaves the bloc.

But despite a series of tense showdowns at Theresa May's Brexit 'War Cabinet' ministers continue to be deadlocked over what to do.

Meanwhile, Brussels has dismissed both the ideas - and warned that negotiations could stall altogether unless there is progress by a key summit next month.

Despite a series of tense showdowns at Theresa May's 'War Cabinet' (pictured in February) ministers continue to be deadlocked over what to do

OPTION 1 - CUSTOMS PARTNERSHIP

Under the so-called 'hybrid model', the UK would collect EU import tariffs on behalf of Brussels.

Britain would be responsible for tracking the origin and final destination of goods coming into the country from outside the EU. The government would also have to ensure all products meet the bloc's standards.

Firms selling directly into the UK market would pay the tariff levels set by Brussels - but would then get a rebate if Britain's tariffs are lower.

Supporters of the hybrid plan in Cabinet - including Theresa May, Philip Hammond and Greg Clark - say keeping duties aligned up front would avoid the need for physical customs borders between the UK and EU.

As a result it could solve the thorny issue over creating a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Mrs May has been advised by the chief whip that the hybrid option could be the only way of securing a majority in parliament for a Brexit deal.

But Brexiteers regard the proposal as unworkable and cumbersome - and they were joined by Sajid Javid and Gavin Williamson in criticising it at a tense 'War Cabinet' meeting last week.

There are fears the experimental system will either collapse and cause chaos, or prevent the UK from being able to negotiate free trade deals around the world after Brexit.

Mrs May has instructed official to go away and revise the ideas. Eurosceptics are braced for her to bring back the plan with only 'cosmetic' changes, and try to 'peel off' Mr Javid and Mr Williamson from the core group of Brexiteers.

They are also ready for Mrs May to attempt to bypass the 'War Cabinet' altogether and put the issue before the whole Cabinet - where she has more allies.

OPTION 2 - MAXIMUM FACILITATION

The 'Max Fac' option accepts that there will be greater friction at Britain's borders with the EU.

But it would aim to minimise the issues using technology and mutual recognition.

Goods could be electronically tracked and pre-cleared by tax authorities on each side.

Shipping firms could also be given 'trusted trader' status so they can move goods freely, and only pay tariffs when they are delivered to the destination country.

Companies would also be trusted to ensure they were meeting the relevant UK and EU standards on products.

Senior ministers such as Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Liam Fox believe this is the only workable option.

But Remain minded Tories such as Mr Clark insist it will harm trade and cost jobs in the UK.

They also warn that it will require more physical infrastructure on the Irish border - potentially breaching the Good Friday Agreement. It is far from clear whether the government would be able to force anything through parliament that implied a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

The EU has dismissed the idea that 'Max Fac' could prevent checks on the Irish border as 'magical thinking'.
A naked man rampaged up and down the aisles on an Alaska Airlines flight before being detained and locked in the toilet by crew.

Former Alaska state lawmaker Johnny Ellis tweeted about the incident from inside the plane headed from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska.

He said the nude passenger ran from the front of the plane to the back, yelling and waving, before the aircraft took off.

A naked man ran up and down the aisles yelling on an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to Anchorage, Alaska (file image)

Alaska Airlines spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said in a statement Monday night that Alaska Airlines flight 107 from Seattle landed without incident in Anchorage.

Egan says shortly before the descent into Anchorage a disruptive male passenger was detained. She says he was removed by law enforcement after the plane parked at the gate and was then transported to a local hospital.

She didn't say whether the man was clothed or what led to the incident.

Mr Ellis tweeted: 'WOW. On my flight from Seattle to Anchorage, a completely naked man ran from the front of the plane to the back, yelling and waving.

Former Alaska state lawmaker Johnny Ellis tweeted about the incident from inside the plane

He speculated the passenger was either on drugs or alcohol - or having a psychotic breakdown

'Two big guys, maybe one Air Marshall, tackled him and locked him in the bathroom. Some fear and distress at passengers.

'I waited for a wheelchair and was next to last off the plane.

'Police boarded to take naked guy away. We thought [he was on] drugs not booze.

'May have been psychotic break since some said guy who chased and tackled him [said he] was actually his father. Flight attendants were debriefing.

'The Captain was extra nice to passengers.
Queensland's population passed the 5 million mark on Tuesday, as Australia closes in on reaching 25 million people.

The Queensland Government Statistician's Office recorded that milestone shortly after 5pm on Tuesday.

However, the population of the entire state of Queensland is still less than Sydney's population, which surpassed the five-million mark in June 2016.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics put the national population at 24,935,389 people on Tuesday.

With the 25 million mark being less than 65,000 people away, Australia is set to hit that milestone next month.

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Australia's population is set to surpass the 25 million milestone next month with a new addition every one minute and 24 seconds (Sydney Opera House pictured)

With the 25 million mark being less than 65,000 people away, Australia is set to hit that milestone in June (Melbourne's Federation Square pictured)

Australia reached the 24 million level in February 2016, overtook the 23 million mark in April 2013 and hit 20 million in 2003, with one addition now estimated every one minute and 24 seconds.

The nation's population has multiplied by five since the First World War 100 years ago.

The 25 million benchmark is set to be reached as debate continues about Australia's historically-high immigration pace.

The national population benchmark is set to be reached only a day after Queensland record its five-millionth resident (Surfer's Paradise on the Gold Coast pictured)

Australia's permanent net immigration rate stands at 190,000 however with humanitarian visas added, the total rate exceeds 200,000 a year.

The immigration intake averaged 70,000 per annum during the 20th century and was still at that level during the late 1990s before exploding from the time of the Howard government onward.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and millionaire businessman Dick Smith have both called for Australia to return to that immigration rate.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) and millionaire businessman Dick Smith have both called for Australia to return to the 1990s immigration rate of 70,000 a year

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton (left with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull) also reportedly lost a cabinet battle to pare back immigration to 170,000 a year

Net annual immigration levels climbed above 100,000 in 2002 and have been above the 200,000 mark since 2012, when skilled migration, family reunions and humanitarian visas were factored in.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has rebuffed former prime minister Tony Abbott's call for permanent immigration levels to be trimmed from 190,000 to 110,000 a year.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton also reportedly lost a cabinet battle to pare back immigration to 170,000 a year.
These are the horrific wounds suffered by a fisherman who was airlifted to a hospital after he was bitten on the leg by a close relative of the Great White shark on a fishing boat off the coast of Cornwall.

Max Berryman, 21, who is said to have experienced a 10-inch shark bite down his leg muscle, was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by a coastguard rescue helicopter on Sunday morning.

The young angler, from Penzance, suffered leg injuries when a porbeagle shark was brought on deck in the trawler's nets and the crew was attempting to release it back into the water.

But the young fisherman is just happy that the wounds aren't any nearer to his groin.

Max said: 'It had me in its jaws and couldve had my privates off.'

These are the horrific wounds suffered by a fisherman who was airlifted to a hospital after he was bitten on the leg by a close relative of the Great White shark

Max Berryman, 21, (pictured) was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by a coastguard rescue helicopter after he was bit by a shark on Sunday morning

Berryman suffered leg injuries (pictured) when the porbeagle shark was brought on deck in the trawler's nets and the crew was attempting to release it back into the water

He added that the shark landed on the floor of the boat right next to him and was thrashing around wildly before tearing his clothes to shreds.

The 21-year-old said: There was blood everywhere. The shark had bitten straight through my oils, straight through my jeans and into my right leg. Its teeth had cut through everything.

Blood was pouring down my leg and the pain was so intense. I was in absolute agony,' he told the Sun.

The fishing boat where the shark attack occurred was on the Govenek of Ladram, which was featured on Channel Four's documentary 'The Catch' in 2015.

The extent of the Berryman's injuries and his condition are currently unknown, as he is still being treated in hospital.

Coastguard Alex Grieg said Berryman received horror injuries, saying: 'I've never come across anything like this before.

'The casualty had four or five significant cuts below his knee. One was ten inches in length. The cuts were down to the muscle.'

The 21-year-old has been part of the crew on the 'Govenek of Ladram' for around two years.

A year ago, he had been pictured with another porbeagle that got caught in the nets.

The photographer Tony Fitzsimmons, who spent a week with the crew said: 'This particular shark also got caught in the net.

'They are not fishing for this, it is mainly for hake around here, but it is just one of those things that happens. I am assuming the one that bit him was much bigger than this one.

'In all the four months I have been at sea on various vessels I have only come across this porbeagle shark and a blue shark.

'It is not a common occurrence at all and is just one of those freak things that have happened.

'This particular crew were a great team, Max was the youngest but they were all a fantastic bunch and knew what they were doing. They all had each other's backs.

'Max is in hospital and I only spoke to him briefly and all he said was just make sure you use a good picture of me.'

Paramedic Julian Williams was lowered to the boat to rescue the man and praised the quick actions of the crew for treating the wounds

The HM Coastguard praised the 'quick thinking' of the fishing crew for sterilising and dressing the wound as they waited for help to arrive

The fishing boat where the shark attacked occurred on Govenek of Ladram, which was featured on Channel Four's documentary 'The Catch' in 2015

Shark attacks and sightings in British waters The first reported shark attack in British waters came in June 2017. Rich Thomson, 30, was swimming off the coast of Devon when the three-foot beast grabbed his thigh and started thrashing wildly. The teacher bashed the fish, thought to be a smooth hound, on the head and it swam away. The terrifying encounter left him with extensive bruising and his hand 'cut to pieces'. Experts said it was the first incident involving a surfer in British waters, and one of only a handful of attacks in the past 100 years. The incident with the fisherman is not considered a shark attack because it happened out of water. There have been numerous sightings over the past five years of sharks in UK waters. Already this month, a video surfaced of a 25ft long basking shark off the coast of Eastbourne. In April, a monster porbeagle shark weighing 22 stone and measuring eight-foot long was reeled in off the Devon coast. Late last month, a kayaker saw a shark swimming just feet from her vessel in waters off of Cornwall. Also in April, an amateur photographer snapped a picture of a 'shark's fin' close to the Welsh coast. In March, mystery surrounded a terrifying creature spotted off the Devon coast which a photographer claimed was a monster sized shark. Advertisement

Sunday's incident comes as it is feared a monster great white shark is prowling the British coastline after two dead dolphins were found washed up on a beach.

The half-eaten corpses were discovered at Great Yarmouth in Norfolk over the weekend, the latest in a number of mysterious attacks in recent years.

The discovery has raised fears the man-eater could be lurking near beaches set to be packed with holidaymakers by the summer.

Local resident Stephen McHugh, 24, said of the possibility of the great white lurking in waters: 'It's pretty frightening - it can't be a coincidence that something out there keeps attacking and eating seals, dolphins and porpoises.

'If it is a Great White, let's hope it doesn't come into the warmer shallow water close to the shore when people are on the beaches in the summer.

'Great Whites can live for decades so it could have been out there for years, and if it's found a mate, they could be starting a family. It doesn't bear thinking about.'

The incident on the vessel Govenek of Ladram happened about 110 miles off Land's End, coastguards said, and the rescue helicopter was sent from Newquay, Cornwall.

It's believed Berryman was bitten by a porbeagle shark, which is a cousin of the great white shark.

The massive creatures can be nine feet long and weigh more than 500Ibs or 36 stone. It is one of the most common types of sharks to be spotted by British fishermen.

The HM Coastguard praised the 'quick thinking' of the fishing crew for sterilising and dressing the wound as they waited for help to arrive.

Paramedic Julian Williams was lowered to the boat to rescue the man and praised the quick actions of the crew for treating the wounds.

He said: 'The crew had done a really good job of dressing the wounds before we arrived which meant that we were able to save time getting the casualty to Treliske hospital.'

'We understand that the porbeagle shark was on the deck when the incident happened but as the crew were attempting to put it back in the sea one of the fisherman was bitten in the process.'

Pictured: File photo of a porbeagle shark, a cousin of the Great White, that was reeled in off the Devon coast in April

In April, a monster female porbeagle shark (left and right) was caught off Hartland Point on the north coast by John Kruppa and Dan Hawkins on April 22

Alex Grieg, Senior Maritime Operations Officer for HM Coastguard added: 'Thanks to the efforts of the crew onboard and their swift actions in treating the wounds and contacting us, we were able to arrange the evacuation of the crew member promptly and get him to hospital.

'We understand the fisherman is still in hospital and wish him a speedy recovery.'

The fishing boat where the shark attacked occurred Govenek of Ladram was featured on Channel Four's documentary 'The Catch' in 2015.

The programme followed the crew deep-sea fishing to give viewers an insight into the reality of life at sea.

Only a few shark attacks of uncertain provenance have been attributed to the porbeagle.

The International Shark Attack File attributes three bites to this species - one provoked and non fatal - and two on boats.

One older anecdote tells of a fisherman who provoked a porbeagle into leaping from the water and tearing his clothes.

In April, a monster female porbeagle shark weighing 22 stone and measuring eight-foot long was reeled in off the Devon coast.

The creature was caught off Hartland Point on the north coast by John Kruppa and Dan Hawkins on April 22.
Consultant gynaecologist Dr Iftekhar Ahmed, 51, is accused of sexually motivated conduct while working at Princess Royal Health Centre in West Yorkshire

A senior doctor wiggled his tongue at a patient, asked if she liked 'licking' and suggested she bring sex toys to his surgery as he quizzed her about her love life, a medical tribunal heard on Tuesday.

Consultant gynaecologist Dr Iftekhar Ahmed, 51, posed a series of inappropriate questions to the woman, including what sexual positions she used with her partner and whether she used vibrators and other sexual aids, it was said.

During two consultations about safe sex at a community clinic, Ahmed also allegedly asked the patient if she watched pornography and even offered to download some on her laptop. He reportedly asked if she would bring the sex aids to the clinic so he could 'look at them'.

In the second encounter the married father-of two-asked about a new sex toy then allegedly conducted an intimate inspection of the woman's private parts without her consent and without offering her a chaperone.

It was also claimed he watched the patient undress and failed to offer her anything to cover her lower body later urging the woman not to tell anyone saying he would 'be in trouble'.

The woman known as Patient A, was said to have felt 'afraid, shocked, disgusted and vulnerable' by her treatment at the Princess Royal Health Centre in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire.

The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service in Manchester was told the woman in her 40s had initially gone to the clinic for advice about sexual health in August 2013.

The married father-of two- allegedly conducted an intimate inspection of the woman's private parts without her consent and without offering her a chaperone

The incidents happened in August 2013 and January 2015 at community clinic, Princess Royal Health Centre in West Yorkshire (pictured)

Lawyer for the General Medical Council Mrs Emma Gilsenan said: 'He was working as a specialist doctor in obstetrics and gynaecology and worked in sexual health and urinary medicine.

'These were a course of two consultations with Patient A but Dr Ahmed asked her inappropriate questions about her private life which were not clinically indicated. He asked her what sexual positions occurred between Patient A and her partner.

'He asked her what sex toys she used and whether she liked 'licking' or words to that effect. After asking her this he began pulling his tongue out. He asked her whether she feels like having sex after an intimate examination was undertaken. He asked her if she liked pornography, and if she watched it. He also told her he could install pornography on her laptop at home.

'He asked her if he could come over to her address and install pornography on her laptop.'

The second consultation occurred in January 2015 during which Ahmed, of Alwoodley, Leeds, carried out two intimate examinations of Patient A.

A medical tribunal hearing was held on Tuesday, but Ahmed from Bangladesh was not there. He has since moved away from the UK - it is believed he currently lives in the U.S.

Mrs Gilsenan added: 'He touched the inside of her thighs and during the intimate examinations, he did not provide cover to her lower body, and watched her whilst she undressed.

'He then accessed her medical records to obtain her telephone number and telephoned her on one or more occasions. Dr Ahmed asked her more inappropriate questions about her private life, and installing pornography. There was a request from Dr Ahmed in relation to what was discussed during the consultation. He told her he would 'be in trouble'.

'There's an allegation he touched her without her consent and his actions were sexually motivated. Patient A in her witness statement says she was not offered a chaperone during the first examination. She claims he watched her whilst she got undressed.

'She felt afraid, shocked, disgusted and vulnerable. She was worried about speaking about it because he was an authority figure.

'This was a breach of trust. Dr Ahmed accepts undertaking intimate examinations with Patient A. He accepts asking questions in relation to sexual positions and toys, but claims they were clinically indicated and denies asking her to bring sex toys to the next consultation.

'He accepts he asks questions about her sex life, saying this was clinically motivated. He accepts he was asking about 'licking' claiming it was clinically motivated. He denies sexually motivated conduct. He accepts he stuck his tongue out at her and wiggled it.

'But he denies performing an intimate inspection of her without her consent, he denies watching her undress. He accepts he asked her about watching pornography. He accepts accessing her medical records to obtain her telephone number.

'He denies telling her he could attend her home to install pornography. He accepts telling her not to tell anyone, he accepts questioning her about sex toys and pornography and not recording it in her medical records.'

The woman, known as Patient A, told the tribunal: 'There was no misunderstanding, I knew exactly what he meant when he asked me these things'

But Patient A told the tribunal: 'There was no misunderstanding, I knew exactly what he meant when he asked me these things. I asked him if he had any free condoms and he got this package for me.

'Then he looked around in his office to check nobody was there and then straight away asked if I watched pornography. I wanted to say something but I didn't know what he would do. I just said yes. I was very confused and disgusted in myself.

'He said he could come to my house and download porn onto my laptop. I just wanted to get out, get my medication and my treatment. I didn't know why he kept asking me this. He did say: 'I'm just going to examine you, if that's okay with you'. I just said yes.

'He pulled the curtain across halfway and stood at the curtain and watched me undress. He just stood there and stared at me. This was an awkward situation, he just asked me to take my clothes off. He then told me to get on the bed and I did, I just said OK.

'After the first examination he asked me if I would like a chaperone and she came in this time and stood next to me. He acted as if the first examination next happened. This again was awkward for me. The assistant came in and asked me if I was okay, I must have looked terrified.

'His behaviour was not professional. He asked me if I liked the examination and asked me if I liked having sex.

'I wasn't comfortable seeing the same doctor both times, I wanted to see a different doctor but I didn't think they would let me. I felt that he shouldn't be asking me these questions.'

The hearing was told Ahmed from Bangladesh - who is not legally represented - was alerted to the tribunal but he has since moved away from the UK, it is believed he currently lives in America with his family.

The hearing, which is being held in his absence, continues.
This is the shocking moment two mothers attacked each other outside a school in a row over a parking space.

The women clashed outside the Maronite College of the Holy Family in Harris Park, western Sydney on Monday afternoon.

Mobile phone footage shows other mothers and even a nun pile in to separate the pair who were so feisty police had to be called.

By the time officers arrived, the women had calmed down. No arrests were made, reported 9 News.

The Principal wrote a statement chiding the parents involved on the Catholic school's Facebook page.

It said: 'As the Principal of MCHF I wish to express my great disappointment at the incident that unfolded this afternoon in full public view.

'The behaviour of a number of parents was extremely inappropriate and they will be addressed accordingly.

This is the shocking moment two mothers attacked each other outside a school in a row over a parking space. In this image one is restrained by another woman

She added: 'I apologise for any young children who had to witness such rude and violent behaviour from adults. I thank those who tried to defuse the situation which escalated out of hand and to the point where police had to intervene.

'I will emphasise that this behaviour is not tolerated at MCHF. The College has always and will continue to teach its students that respect is always of utmost importance.

'It is a real shame that a handful of parents fail to put this ideal into practice.'
Males from two marsupial species are at risk of being endangered due to suicidal mating habits featuring intense 14-hour sex sessions.

The two species, tiny black-tailed dusky antechinus and silver-headed antechinus could be close to extinction, Australian scientists warn.

'I've seen them stumbling around during the day still looking for mates, bleeding from various parts of their body and their hair have fallen out,' Queensland University of Technology mammalogist Andrew Baker told AFP.

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Males from two marsupial species, tiny black-tailed dusky antechinus and silver-headed antechinus (pictured), are at risk of being endangered due to suicidal mating habits featuring intense 14-hour sex sessions

The endangered marsupials are found in high-altitude wetlands in Queensland (pictured)

I've seen them stumbling around during the day still looking for mates, bleeding from various parts of their body and their hair have fallen out

The annual two-week mating period at the end of winter puts a lot of stress on the male marsupials, according to Mr Baker.

'They are very frantic and try and get from one mate to another and the mating itself can last hours, so it's very tiring,' Mr Baker said.

The production of excessive levels of testosterone from a lot of sex as well as fighting off rivals leads to the destruction of their organs, AFP reports.

The annual two-week mating period at the end of winter puts a lot of stress on the male marsupials, according to mammalogist Andrew Baker (pictured)

What are silver-headed antechinus Small carnivorous marsupials

Found in Queensland's national parks (Bulburin, Kroombit Tops and Blackdown)

Small species at 9-12cm in length

Little is know about the species as they were only discovered in April 2013

Females have a lifespan of two years while males often die before their 1st birthday Source: Fitzroy Basin Association Advertisement

'They're honestly like the walking dead towards the end,' Baker said.

The poor males are only expected to live for half the amount of time than their female counterparts.

While females have a lifespan of about two years, the males often die before their first birthday.

The endangered marsupials are found in high-altitude wetlands in Queensland.

Both marsupial species have been added to Australia's most endangered list.

The strain on the male marsupials during mating period as well as climate change could lead to their extinction.

The endangered species' population has decreased ten times in the last few years, Mr Baker said.

The endangered marsupials are found in Queensland's national parks (pictured) including Bulburin, Kroombit Tops and Blackdown
O2 has apologised to a Muslim family after they were sent SIM cards addressed to 'Mr Getout OfEngland' and 'Mr Isis Terroriste' through the post.

The British-Iraqi family, who live in Wembley, north London, received two separate letters addressed to them with a racist message last August.

But because the family, who wish to remain anonymous, hadn't ordered new SIM cards they presumed the letters were junk mail and only noticed them recently.

Now the family have voiced their disgust at the 'saddening' incident and O2 has said it is 'appalled' by the hate mail and apologised to them.

A north London Muslim family received two O2 SIM cards in the post that had a racist message. The letters were addressed to 'Mr Getout OfEngland'. They voiced their disgust at the 'saddening' incident

The letters were revealed on Victoria Derbyshire's BBC show on Tuesday.

The family said they were 'shaken' by the mail, and said in a statement: 'We are really saddened to come across these letters, especially having a younger child in the house, who we don't want to grow up witnessing such hateful language.

'It's even sadder to think that such hate speech has become normalised despite living in such an uniquely, multicultural and diverse city like London.'

Miss Sura Jawad, a friend of the family and a lawyer, appeared on the morning show and said: 'I was completely horrified by it.

'I was talking to the family who received it, and [a member of the family] kind of mentioned it to me in passing, like look what I got in the mail, can you believe this?'

'He almost had a defeatist mentality, ''what can you do, these kind of things happen.'''

O2 has said it is 'appalled' by the hate mail and apologised to the family, promising to correct policies that allowed the letters to go out unnoticed

O2 said the SIM card postage is handled by a third party, which has an automated system.

The phone company said it will work with the partner company to review the entire process.

In a statement, an O2 spokesperson said: 'We have a rigorous data cleansing process in place to prevent any of our free products being sent to addresses with obscenities or offensive names and so this is a rare occurrence.

'We are shocked by the letters that have been received and apologise to the family involved.

'If they decide to report this case, we will work closely with the police as part of their investigation.'
A sister has shared heartbreaking photos of her tragic sibling dying in hospital after suffering a seizure when she took a lethal cocktail of drugs.

These images show a 'golden' student who loved helping others as she lay dying in hospital after a cocktail of drugs caused a seizure at home as her partner cooked dinner in the next room.

Lucy White, 24, died after a toxic mix of cocaine and powerful prescription drugs caused a seizure that starved her brain of oxygen for more than 40 minutes.

Sister Stacey Jordan, 28, rushed to Lucy's bedside after receiving a call in the middle of the night to find the student being kept alive with wires and tubes.

A sister has shared heartbreaking photos of her tragic sibling Lucy White dying in hospital (pictured) after suffering a seizure when she took a lethal cocktail of drugs

Lucy White, 24, died after a toxic mix of cocaine and powerful prescription drugs caused a seizure that starved her brain of oxygen for more than 40 minutes

Sister Stacey Jordan (shown right, in 2017) rushed to Lucy's bedside after receiving a call in the middle of the night to find the student being kept alive with wires and tubes

Stacey shared heart-wrenching images of the criminology student after suffering brain stem death as a warning to others about the dangers of drugs.

The post went viral with more than 200,000 likes and shares as Stacey bravely told the world her sister, who had previously volunteered for drugs charities, was dead and had donated her organs on May 7.

She included pictures of a letter Lucy had written last summer in which she thanked her big sister for always being there and vowed to 'repay her one day - I hope'.

Stacey said: 'Anyone would say she was like a sunshine - her hair was bright blonde, and she was always smiling.

'She used to be terrified of getting into trouble. She didn't even drink that much.

'I can't believe it. She tried to make a difference in everyone's life, she helped everybody - and she was just happy.

Stacey shared pictures of a letter Lucy had written last summer in which she thanked her big sister for always being there

On the second side of the letter, Lucy said she hoped that she could 'repay her one day - I hope'

Stacey bravely told the world her sister, who had previously volunteered for drugs charities (shown right), was dead and had donated her organs on May 7

'I hate what has happened so much. She was clever, and she had everything going for her until, obviously, she didn't.'

Lucy, who was studying criminology at the University of the West of England, was a dedicated top-mark student looking forward to getting her degree in the summer.

She loved helping people and had volunteered with the Bristol Drugs Project to help recovering addicts get clean.

But after getting involved with the 'wrong crowd' and finding herself dabbling in drugs, she suddenly dropped out of university and lost contact with many of her closest friends and family in January.

Stacey claims doctors told her tests confirmed Lucy had taken cocaine and powerful prescription drug pregabalin when she suffered a seizure.

She collapsed at home while partner Ian O'Donoghue was cooking a pie in the next room, who called the ambulance and started CPR.

Lucy (pictured last year), who was studying criminology, was a dedicated top-mark student looking forward to getting her degree in the summer

The two siblings are pictured together on a holiday in 2017. Stacey claims doctors told her tests confirmed Lucy had taken cocaine and powerful prescription drug pregabalin

Despite being rushed to intensive care at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, Lucy died four days later.

Stacey, a security officer, said: 'I got a call in the middle of the night and it was just my nan screaming down the phone saying "It's Lucy, it's Lucy, she's nearly died".

'When I got there, the doctor said a 24-year-old doesn't just collapse and have a seizure for no reason, she must have taken something.

'The doctors first said that she's going to be severely brain damaged, and then they said they thought she was brain stem dead.

'Once you're brain stem dead there's no reversal from that, there's no getting better, it's just that.

'When the tests confirmed it, I wanted to spend the last of her time here with her on my own.

'I just sat by her bedside and held her hand.'

According to Stacey, Lucy (left) fell in with the wrong crowd in May 2017 when peer pressure, anxiety and loneliness during the summer drove her to cocaine

Despite being rushed to intensive care at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, Lucy died four days later (the sisters are pictured at Butlin's in 2017)

According to Stacey, Lucy fell in with the wrong crowd in May 2017 when peer pressure, anxiety and loneliness during the summer drove her to cocaine and her life spun out of control.

Stacey, from Bristol, said: 'I got a message from her ex-boyfriend who told me she had started taking drugs and he was really worried about her.

'Lucy and I were about to go on holiday together, so I decided to wait until we were there to confront her.

'I hadn't seen her in a while - obviously she didn't want me to see her - and she looked like an absolute mess.

'She had lost so much weight and she was so skinny. She usually has her eyebrows, lashes and nails done, but she didn't look right.

'I just said to her 'I know everything, you need to tell me now' and she started crying and couldn't breathe.

'She said she was sorry that she didn't tell me, and I was furious, but I basically said 'I'm going to help you, but you've got to help yourself'.

Stacey has since released a balloon with Lucy's name and the words 'love you x' into the sky in a devastating final goodbye to her baby sister (pictured together in 2005)

'I told her I'd help her get clean but that she had to stay away from the people taking drugs.'

Lucy moved in with her sister for the summer, got a new job working security at a local nightclub and kicked the drugs.

But she hadn't been able to break contact with the people who had introduced her to drugs and, living alone again, she fell into her old habits after Christmas.

Despite the drugs in her system, it was decided Lucy, who had selflessly agreed to be an organ donor before her seizure, could give her liver, kidneys and pancreas to help others live.

Stacey has since released a balloon with Lucy's name and the words 'love you x' into the sky in a devastating final goodbye to her baby sister.

Ian, 36, said: 'Lucy was the love of my life. The girl was absolutely beautiful, inside and out.

'She wasn't one to say a bad word about anyone. I am heartbroken.'
Horrifying images have been released showing a previously picturesque shoreline ruined by mountains of garbage.

Bottles everywhere, buckets, plastic wrappers and even sleeping bags were left at Greta Beach on the Australian territory.

The beach boasts beautiful waters breaking over picturesque rocks on the Indian ocean, south of Indonesia.

Horrifying images have been released showing the shocking mess left on a beautiful Christmas Island beach. Greta Beach on the Australian Territory beach is pictured.

Local volunteers, students from Christmas Island High School, and WA Government organisations had cleaned up the litter only days earlier.

The images were posted to Instagram by marine debris removal organisation Tangaroa Blue.

'Pretty confronting arriving at Greta Beach on Christmas Island on Thursday morning',' the organisation posted.

Local volunteers, students from Christmas Island High School, and WA Government organisations had cleaned up the litter only days earlier

'We removed 800kg from this 70m beach on Monday and it didn't look like we had even been there two days later.

Tangaroa Blue foundation speculated onshore winds from Indonesia may have contributed to the rubbish on the beach.

The volunteers were forced to again take to the beach to remove as much debris as possible.

The beach is a tourist attraction with beautiful waters breaking over picturesque rocks on the Indian ocean, south of Indonesia.

'So for the second time this week we pulled off more than 700kg of marine debris made up primarily of single use products originating from Indonesia from Greta Beach,'the organisation posted.

'Big effort team.'

Social media users congratulated the group for their efforts cleaning up.

'Thank you for cleaning up the mess of progress,' one person said.

'Unfortunately this is a common scene on many Pacific and Indian Ocean island beaches.'
Seattle will tax large corporations $275 per employee and use the money to fight homelessness after a new bill was voted into law.

From next year any firm earning more than $20million per year will be asked to pay up with Amazon - which employs 45,000 people - shouldering the largest burden.

The tech company had threatened to withdraw investment in a new skyscraper under the original bill, which called for a $500 per head tax.

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Seattle councilors have approved a bill that will force large corporations to pay $275 per employee every year, with the money going to tackle homelessness

Mayor Jenny Durkan threatened to veto that bill amid stiff opposition from building unions and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce before it was watered down, the Seattle Times reports.

Following the change, Amazon has said it will now continue construction on the new building but is still considering whether to lease space in a second tower.

The firm had been expecting to house 7,000 employees in the two spaces.

City coffers are expected to receive around $48million per year under the new proposal, down from $80million under the original.

Councillors say they plan to spend two thirds of the new money on affordable housing, building 591 units over the course of five years, and the other third on emergency shelters, trash pickup, and raises for service workers.

Overall, around three percent of Seattle businesses will be hit by the tax, which is set to last for five years.

Seattle has the third largest homeless population of anywhere in the US and saw 169 people die on the streets last year, driven in part by rising house prices amid the technology boom

After that, councillors will have to vote again on whether or not to renew it.

Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener said: 'We are disappointed by todays City Council decision to introduce a tax on jobs.'

Other major companies to be hit include Starbucks, which accused the council of wasting millions of dollars it already spends each year trying to tackle homelessness.

The city spent $68 million on homelessness last year, according to NBC.

A survey taken last year showed Seattle has around 11,600 homeless on its streets and that one in 16 schoolchildren are without permanent shelter.

The city has the third-largest number of homeless people anywhere in the US, with 169 people dying out on the streets in the last year alone.

The city declared a state of emergency over homelessness in 2015.

Rising house prices driven by Seattle's rapid economic boom has exacerbated the problem, with many blaming large firms for rising inequality.
An Instagram star who was broadcasting live was joined on air by a man jailed for 12 years for possession of a firearm.

Yusuf Ademola, 27, spent 17 minutes on the line to Aliyah Maria Bee as she was streaming to more than 700 fans - despite being held in Pentonville prison.

Ademola showed off his designer watch, gold jewellery, Playstation and even expensive trainers using an illicit mobile phone.

Yusuf Ademola, left, was jailed for 12 years in December for possession of a sawn-off shotgun with intent to endanger life. Ademola broadcast live from prison, right, using Instagram

Ademola is serving his 12-year jail term in HMP Pentonville in north London, pictured

Aliya Maria Bee reacted with surprise when she discovered Ademola was in a prison cell

Prisoners in UK jails are not allowed to possess their own personal handsets.

During the call with Aliyah Maria Bee, Ademola boasted of his 'comfortable' lifestyle while in prison.

Ms Bee, who has 112,000 followers on her Instagram channel, claimed Ademola's cell looked 'bigger than most people's uni dorms'.

According to the Daily Telegraph, one of Ademola's relatives said: 'He hated living here and was happy to go to jail. People in this country don't have compassion for his situation.'

Ademola described his cell as HMP Cribs. During the video, Ms Bee claimed: 'You're living the deam. This is the pengest jail I've ever seen.'

During the video, Ademola provides viewers with a tour of his cell and introduces his cell mate.

Among the items Ademola claims to own is a Playstation 5 - which has not been officially been revealed by Sony.

The criminal held his phone outside the window of his cell to show the north London skyline at night.

A prison spokesman said: 'This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the content is being removed from social media. Anyone who breaks prison rules faces more time behind bars.'

The Metropolitan Police arrested Ademola, from east London after they recovered a sawn-off shotgun and two rounds of ammunition from a house.

Ademola pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm, but denied the more serious charge of possession with intent to endanger life.

He was found guilty following a four-day trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

His co-accused Jessica Soares, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm.

Police raided her house after she returned in a cab from Ademola's home carrying the gun.

Phone evidence showed Soares had been willing to hold the gun for Ademola.

At the time of the offence on March 27, Ademola was on licence from prison having served part of a five-year jail term for possession of a firearm.

Ademola's latest 12-year jail term is not due to start until July - when his current licence expires.

At the time of his arrest in March 2017, Ademola was on licence having been released from jail early for an earlier weapons possession conviction

Speaking at the time of his sentencing, DC Gareth Starr of the Met's Trident and Area Crime Command said: 'Firearms have no place on London's streets, and today's sentence reflects the seriousness with which firearms offences are viewed in the eyes of the law.

'Ademola was on licence from prison after being jailed for the same offence and he clearly did not learn his lesson. Soares, out of some misguided sense of loyalty, agreed to hold this dangerous weapon and she has now received a criminal conviction for the costly gamble she took.'

Detective Inspector Steve Meechan, of the Met's Trident and Area Crime Command, said: 'Tackling gun crime remains a key priority of the Met and Trident officers will continue to target those who choose to store such dangerous weapons.'
A former underworld figure has offered to lead detectives to the location of ten buried bodies because he doesn't want to take the secrets to his grave.

Charlie Quinlan has revealed he wants immunity in return for the secrets he has kept for the last 15 years.

The 55-year-old told 7 News he would give police the 'exact location' of 10 bodies including Sidney Collins - notorious Outlaws Motorcycle Club boss who was murdered by Mark 'Chopper' Read in 2002.

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Former underworld figure Charlie Quinlan (pictured) has offered to lead detectives to 10 bodies because he doesn't want to take the secrets to his grave

The dying former underworld figure said it would be a relief for him because the deadly secrets had been eating at him for years.

'The families are the main ones but it'd be a big relief for me,' he said from a hospital bed.

Quinlan, who remained silent on any involvement in the killings, told the network Collins was buried at Tabulam, north of New South Wales, while the other nine bodies were near Crookwell, near Wollongong.

Two retired police officers are believed to be among the 10 buried bodies.

The 55-year-old, who is believed to have strong ties with notorious criminals, said he wanted immunity from prosecution as well as a letter of assistance for his brother and another man in jail.

Chopper Read claimed in a final interview before his death in 2013 with 60 Minutes that he murdered Collins after the former bikie told on him to police for shooting him 'in the guts'.

Mark 'Chopper' Read (left) claimed to kill Sidney Collins (right) in 2002 and Quinlan now claims Collins is buried in Tabulam while the other nine bodies are near Crookwell, NSW

Read claimed he caught up with Collins, who is believed to have had a business called Russian Angels and had a wife who lived in Russia, at a casino before turning the gun on him.

'I hopped in his car, going back to his place, bang, bang, bang. I shot him the last time with his gun,' Read claimed.

Despite Quinlan claiming to know the exact spot Collins was buried in 2002, no deal has yet been made between detectives and the former underworld figure.
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Vladimir Putin has opened Europe's longest and most controversial bridge, providing the first road connection between the Russian mainland and the annexed Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Russian President said he was confident people would love the Kerch Strait bridge, after he led a convoy of trucks across it during the opening ceremony today.

The opening ceremony had seen a massive security effort spearheaded by the Russian FSB security service, amid fears of attacks from Ukrainian nationalists.

Putin takes the wheel: Russian President Vladimir Putin drives the first vehicle in a convoy of trucks crossing the new bridge linking the Russian mainland with the annexed Crimean peninsula

Over we go: President Putin can be seen in behind the wheel on the right, as the convoy of construction machines passed over the new bridge

The new bridge will end the reliance on sea transport for food and other vital supplies to Crimea because Ukraine blocked land routes. In length, it exceeds the Vasco da Gama bridge in Portugal

Putin boasted that the 12-mile crossing was a dream of both the Russian Tsars and Communist leader Joseph Stalin, but has only happened under his rule.

The road towards finishing the 2.75 billion link has been all but straight, as it led to a wave of sanctions from the EU and US.

Ukraine has slammed the construction of the bridge by the 'the occupation forces', which has now been finished some four years after Russia annexed the peninsula.

After Putin's final inspection today, the first regular traffic will cross the Crimea Bridge at 5.30 am tomorrow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin steps down after driving a truck to officially open the much-anticipated bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula

Making a point: Putin boasted that the bridge between Russia and Crimea had been a dream of both the Russian Tsars and Communist leader Joseph Stalin, but has only happened under his rule

Putin's big bridge: The new bridge links Russia and Crimea and is 12 miles long

The bridge spans a treacherous strait between the Black and Azov seas, and gives a key link to the Russian mainland. But Ukraine has slammed its construction by the 'the Russian occupation forces'

Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov warned: 'We are constantly expecting provocations from Ukraine but believe me, we are highly ready to resist any attacks'

Heavy vehicles were driven across the bridge to test everything was ready for Putin, although approach highways are not yet complete. After the strongman's inspection today, the first regular traffic will cross the Crimea Bridge at 5.30 am tomorrow

This photo taken on March 14, 2018, shows the construction site of the road-and-rail Crimean Bridge over the Kerch Strait. The Russian President is set to unveil the bridge linking southern Russia to the Crimean peninsula, annexed from Ukraine, and a highly symbolic project which he has personally championed

A distant view of Kerch Strait Bridge. The Russian leader claimed it is 'a unique structure not just for our country but I think that in the whole world there are few similar'

The bridge under construction. The bridge will cope with 40,000 cars a day, travelling on four lanes between the mainland and Crimea, which is a popular Russian holiday destination

Above: The structure is surrounded by mist. A massive security spearheaded by the FSB security service is in place on and near the so-called Ponte Putin amid fears of attacks from Ukrainian nationalists during the official opening

A range of vehicles were test-driven across the structure, to ensure it complied with specifications. Ships will be able to pass through a 115 ft arch high in the deepest part of the strait

The bridge spans a treacherous strait between the Black and Azov seas, and gives a key link to the Russian mainland. A rail crossing is due to be completed late next year.

Putin has already boasted of the 'mighty' bridge: 'This is a project that they tried to achieve back under the tsar

'Then in the 1930s they tried to do it  they also couldn't. And they tried later  nothing worked out. But we managed it. That's great.'

He claimed it is 'a unique structure not just for our country but I think that in the whole world there are few similar'.

Heavy vehicles were driven across the bridge to test everything was ready for Putin, although approach highways are not yet complete.

A view of the Kerch Strait Bridge, measuring 19 km (11.8 miles) in length and linking Crimea's Kerch Peninsula to mainland Russia. It was completed six months ahead of schedule in difficult conditions

A blog from cat Mostik  who has become famous after living with the construction team  said: 'I will open the bridge along with the builders and the president. And from 16 May you can drive yourself.'

However, there is Russian concern over security.

Crimean leader Sergey Aksyonov warned: 'We are constantly expecting provocations from Ukraine but believe me, we are highly ready to resist any attacks.'

He vowed: 'The professional readiness of the FSB, police, and Russian National Guards is high.

'Nothing can be excluded with this kind of power in Kiev.

Test drive: A man drives over the new Kerch Strait Bridge, ahead of its official opening by Vladimir Putin. Heavy vehicles were driven across the bridge to test everything was ready for Putin, although approach highways are not yet complete. The Kremlin leader has boasted that the 12-mile crossing was a dream of the tsars and Stalin, but has only happened under his rule

'They are fully dependent on Americans, they do not think about consequences for Ukraine.

'At first they said that there won't be any Crimean bridge, now they are talking some nonsense that they will block the movement on the bridge.'

Ukrainian businessman Lenur Islyamov called for all cars using the bridge to be logged and for sanctions to be imposed on each driver.

'I do not know how to do it but I am convinced that if Ukraine cannot stop the movement on the bridge, at least all transport should be registered that goes from Russia to occupied Crimea.

'Everyone must be located, name-by-name.

'They are no different from any others who are illegally cross the border between countries.'

The bridge will cope with 40,000 cars a day, travelling on four lanes between the mainland and Crimea, which is a popular Russian holiday destination.

The bridge's resident cat Mostik has become famous after living with the construction team

Mostik monitoring the construction work. The bridge will cope with 40,000 cars a a day on four lanes between the mainland and Crimea which is a popular Russian holiday destination

On the prowl: The famous Mostik checks out his turf ahead of the official opening of the 2.75 billion link

Top speed is 56mph (90kph). Ships will be able to pass through a 115 ft arch high in the deepest part of the strait.

The bridge will end the reliance on sea transport for food and other vital supplies to Crimea because Ukraine blocked land routes.

'The Crimean Bridge team consists of over 10,000 workers and engineers,' said Rotenberg.

It was completed six months ahead of schedule 'in difficult natural conditions,' he added.

In length, it exceeds the Vasco da Gama bridge in Portugal, which is over 10 miles (17km) long.
The iconic telescope used by British naval hero Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar is being sold at auction for the first time.

The heirloom was presented to Nelson's cabin boy, William 'Cookie' Cook, after he was wounded fighting alongside his master who was killed. It was passed down in his family and is being sold by one of his descendants.

The piece of naval history is expected to reach up to 8,000. A bucket that used to belong to Lord Nelson is being sold alongside it and is thought to fetch about 3,000.

The telescope used by Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 when he was killed

Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson from 'Drake's Drum and Other Songs of the Sea' by Henry Newbolt

Hansons valuer Jim Spencer poses with Nelson's telescope with is expected to fetch 8,000

Audrey Burns, 88, a descendant of William 'Cookie' Cook, Lord Nelson's cabin boy

The cabin boy, William 'Cookie' Cook, was 10 years old when he was appointed the legendary officer's personal servant and slept in his room at night.

He would rub ointment into the stump of the arm that Nelson lost in a battle in the Canary Islands in 1797 and he would also lace his master's breeches in the morning.

Cook was sent to Australia in 1819 after stealing lead and eventually the item passed into the hands of one of his last surviving descendants, Audrey Burns, 88, who has decided to sell it as she has 'no-one to leave it to'.

The iconic telescope has been brought from Australia to Britain to be sold.

According to Mrs Burns, Lord Nelson may have also used her ancestor for sexual favours. 'The sad truth is that poor young boys were used for sex on those ships,' she said.

'Many a child suffered serious injury and were thrown overboard. It was whispered in our family that Cookie was abused. Lord Horatio Nelson may well have been called a paedophile today.'

The telescope, which was used on HMS Victory in 1805, splits into four parts and is understood to be in excellent condition. According to legend, Lord Nelson held it to his blind eye when given a signal to retreat so he could continue fighting.

Jim Spencer, a valuer at Hansons Auctioneers which is selling the item on 2 June, said: 'The story of the telescope is quite astonishing and we do know items like this are highly sought after.

'Last December we sold shoe buckles worn by Nelson for 5,000 and we have sold Nelson letters, penned during the Napoleonic wars, for thousands of pounds.

'However, this object is particularly iconic. There are several paintings of Nelson looking out to sea with his telescope. It is so rich in history it sends a shiver down my spine to hold it.'

A bucket belonging to Lord Nelson is selling alongside the telescope and may fetch 3,000

Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte, 1758  1805

HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship during the battle of Trafalgar, 21st October, 1805

The telescope is in four parts and is understood to be in excellent condition

Mrs Burns, who lives in Southport, Queensland, with husband Bill, a retired master builder, explained how her family came to own the telescope.

'My great, great, great grandfather was William Thomas 'Cookie' Cook. He was the cabin boy and personal servant to Lord Nelson and Captain Hardy of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and was present during the great battle,' she said.

'He was hurt on the deck where Nelson fell mortally wounded and was given Nelson's telescope by Captain Hardy in recognition of his service.'

In 1881, Sydney newspaper The Bulletin interviewed the former cabin boy who said: 'I was one of the boys who escaped with only a slight wound, just over the right temple A fellow, one of the rascals that did for Nelson, up aloft in a Frenchman shot me.'

Paintings of the death of Nelson show a cabin boy, his head swathed in bandages, who is thought to be Cook.

Mrs Burns said: 'This telescope has been in my family since 1805, passed down through the generations and eventually handed down to me.

'I grew up listening to stories of the great Battle of Trafalgar from my grandmother, Caroline, who was Cookie's great grand-daughter, and her brother Randall, both of whom heard them from their nan, Cookie's daughter.'

William Cook was born in Gloucestershire on October 27, 1795 and joined the navy at the age of eight.

'He ended up aboard HMS Defiance and then HMS Victory where he became a cabin boy to Lord Nelson and the captain of the Victory, Captain Thomas Hardy, when he was 10,' said Audrey.

'Nana Caroline told me about Cookie sleeping in a coffin in Nelson's cabin, which I dismissed. But then I read that Nelson kept a coffin in his cabin as he had a fear of being thrown overboard if he was killed in action.

'When he died they wrapped him in a nightshirt and flag, which Cookie said was later ripped up and distributed. He got a piece of flag and I remember seeing it in a box my dad had but, when he died, my mum burned it. A tragic loss.'

According to Gloucester Records Office, on July 13, 1819, William Cook was convicted of having 'feloniously stolen a quantity of lead'.

He was sentenced to seven years transportation and ended up in Sydney in 1820, taking Nelson's telescope and bucket with him.

In 2006, the telescope and bucket were placed on display at Sydney International Boat Show. Twelve years later, Audrey has decided to part with the heirlooms.

'I have no one to leave the telescope and bucket to,' she said. 'My daughter is not interested. When my dad died my mum burned a whole treasure trove of stuff, including bits of the flag from the Victory.

'I'm worried that if nothing is done these genuine bits of history will be lost or destroyed.'

The items will be sold on July 2 by Hansons Auctioneers. For more details, visit hansonsauctioneers.co.uk
Meghan Markle's father has said her mother should walk her down the aisle instead after he pulled out of the wedding at the last minute.

Thomas Markle believes his ex-wife Doria Ragland would be a 'good choice' to give their daughter away at St George's Chapel, Windsor, after his shock decision not to fly to the UK.

Meghan is said to have pleaded with her father to change his mind after he apparently pulled out of Saturday's wedding because of the faked photographs row.

But the troubled 73-year-old wants to stay in Mexico following reports that he colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures in the run-up to the wedding and claims to have suffered a heart attack.

Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, whose father has partially her for his illness, said today: 'I spoke to him early in the morning and he was quite depressed'.

Doria is about to fly into the UK from Los Angeles to support her daughter and is now the clear favourite to walk her down the aisle in her father's absence.

Prince Charles is 2/1 with the bookies to step in while Prince William is 5/1 to take Meghan into St George's before starting his duties as Harry's best man.

There have also been a flurry of bets on Meghan walking down the aisle alone.

Doria, pictured with her daughter in March 2015 has now emerged as the front runner to walk her down the aisle on Saturday

Meghan Markle (pictured left) pleaded with her father Thomas Markle (pictured right) to walk her down the aisle after he apparently pulled out of Saturday's wedding

Mr Markle said that he did not want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family (Meghan and her father circa 2000)

Doria, (left, with her daughter) has been keeping a low profile ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding (the couple, pictured right)

Friends said the bride-to-be was distraught after troubled Thomas Markle, 73, said he wanted to save her further embarrassment, following reports that he colluded with a paparazzi photographer to stage a series of pictures in the run-up to the wedding.

Who will give Meghan away after her father changed his mind? Doria Ragland - 4/6 Prince Charles - 2/1 Prince William - 5/1 Meghan Walks Solo down the Aisle 5/1 Thomas Markle 10/1 Gabriel Macht 14/1 Prince Philip 20/1 Prince Harry 33/1 Kate Middleton 100/1 Advertisement

Last night he told TMZ Meghan's mother should be the person to do it.

Doria has been keeping a low profile over recent weeks in the run up to Saturday's nuptials, and has been photographed out and about near her home in Los Angeles.

So far there has been no official announcement on who will now be walking Meghan down the aisle.

But according to TMZ Thomas believes Doria, who enjoys a close relationship with her daughter, should now be the one to give her away.

The yoga instructor and social worker has been described by Meghan as a 'free spirited clinical therapist' and she has been seen alongside Meghan at a number of public events.

Prince Harry, who has described her as 'amazing' flew Doria out to Toronto to join Meghan and himself at the Invictus Games last year.

Royal experts said at the time that Harry's decision to invite Meghan's mum to join them at the closing ceremony of his Invictus Games was 'hugely significant.'

Doria was already expected to have an 'important role' during the ceremony. It is thought she will ride with Meghan in the car to the chapel in Windsor Castle.

She is also expected to meet the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla and Prince William and his wife Kate before the big day.

Thomas, 73, said money was not a motivating factor and had instead hoped to recast his image in the wake of previously unflattering paparazzi pictures (Meghan and Prince Harry last month)

Thomas is seen on surveillance video entering an internet cafe with photographer Jeff Rayner to set up staged photos

Meghan wouldn't be the first to be given away by a woman at a royal wedding If Meghan Markle's mother does walk her down the aisle it won't be the first time it has happened. Queen Victoria gave away her youngest child Princess Beatrice at St Mildred's Church, Whippingham on the Isle of Wight in 1885. She wore black to remember her husband Prince Albert who had died 24 years earlier, although her outfit is believed to have been encrusted with diamonds. Royal historian Victoria Howard told the BBC: 'I think it would be a lovely touch for Meghan's mother Doria to walk her down the aisle. 'It would be unusual but it wouldn't be an unprecedented move. Queen Victoria walked two of her daughters down the aisle'. Advertisement

A friend of Miss Markle, 36, and her fiance, Prince Harry, told the Mail that she was standing by her father and pleaded for understanding, saying he was 'not in a good place'.

The friend said: 'This is not what she wants. She obviously wants her dad there. And the idea of contemplating him not being there now is not something that she wants to have to do.

'She and Prince Harry are begging for people to give him some space. They have been saying this for weeks, while trying to offer him support and help. He is clearly feeling under immense pressure. The concern for him is real and genuine.

'He is a proud man who wants to be a father and not be taken care of, but it's quite difficult. Everyone needs to pause and think what this is doing to them and, more importantly, to him. It is a really worrying, scary situation. The couple have been doing everything they can to help him.'

Harry, 33, is said to be distraught and could try to get Thomas to change his mind.

The friend said: 'Harry feels guilty that this has happened to someone he loves because they are in a relationship with him.

'He is devastated. He feels like this is another thing in the wake of him... the problems he causes. He feels that anyone who gets associated with his life  this is the price they have to pay.

'He wants to protect her and this is really difficult for him to swallow.'

Meghan will now be accompanied by only mother at the wedding (Doria Ragland with Prince Harry and Meghan in September)

'There's no way he is not going': Thomas Markle's grandson believes Meghan's father will change his mind about pulling out of royal wedding Thomas Markle's grandson says his grandfather is 'broken' but expects he will attend Saturday's Windsor wedding. Meghan's father has thrown the event into chaos after pulling out at the last minute. Mr Markle says he had a heart attack and is suffering chest pains. He says he will not walk her down the aisle to save her further 'embarrassment'. But his grandson Tyler Dooley, 25, has spoken to him and believes he could change his mind. He told The Sun: 'There is no way he is not going to go to that wedding. That is his daughter and she loves him more than anything in the world. 'He had a pretty big health scare. He said he plans to get the care and help he needs after the wedding which told me that he was going'. Advertisement

The couple issued an unprecedented official statement through Kensington Palace in the wake of the crisis.

A spokesman said: 'This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.'

US gossip website TMZ claimed to have spoken 'on the record' to Miss Markle's father, who confirmed he had worked with the freelance photographer to set up images of him being measured for his wedding suit and searching online for articles about his daughter.

He said he did it to 'rehabilitate' his image but had been left looking 'stupid and hammy'  and would not be travelling to the UK to give her away in order to spare her further embarrassment.

Kensington Palace was clearly broadsided by the claims as aides had insisted on Sunday that Mr Markle would be by his daughter's side at Windsor Castle this weekend. TMZ further claimed that Mr Markle  a former award-winning Hollywood lighting director who lives a reclusive life in Mexico and has yet to meet his future son-in-law  confirmed he had been offered money by US-based freelance photographer Jeff Rayner.

But he insisted the 'deal' was not 'principally' about money. Instead, he wanted to 'rehabilitate' his image after pictures had been published of him looking overweight and dishevelled.

Thomas Jr previously told DailyMail.com his father was 'struggling' ahead of the wedding

HOW MEGHAN'S BIG DAY WAS UPENDED: TIMELINE TO THOMAS MARKLE'S DECISION TO STAY AWAY TUESDAY MAY 8: On Monday May 14, Thomas Markle Sr claims he suffered a heart attack six days ago - making it either Tuesday or Wednesday May 8 or 9. He claims he checked himself out of hospital in order to attend the royal wedding. Markle Sr was at his home from Sunday 7 onwards and was not seen leaving it at any time WEDNESDAY MAY 9: Markle leaves his Mexican home at 8.30pm. He checks into the Rodeway Inn in San Ysidro, just across the U.S. border, and shops at a nearby 7-11. He is seen purchasing Gas X medication, a milkshake and a bottle of Heineken THURSDAY MAY 10: At 4.10am Markle drives 135 miles to his property in Los Feliz. He picks up mail at UPS before stopping in to CVS to buy his former wife Doria Ragland, Meghans mother, a card and returning home. He is later photographed purchasing two Happy Meals and a creamy drink at a McDonalds drive-thru. He also bought a large pot of flowers for his estranged wife from a Home Depot Later that afternoon, he is pictured dropping off the flowers and card at Doria Ragland's home. He is then pictured picking up KFC close to the Mexico border as he returns to his Mexico home FRIDAY MAY 11: Markle remains in his Mexico home SATURDAY MAY 12: Markle remains in his Mexico home SUNDAY MAY 13: The Mail on Sunday reveals that Markle has been staging paparazzi photos of himself in the run up to the royal wedding - the photos have raised north of $110,000. Markle remains in his Mexico home MONDAY May 14: Markle announces he will not attend his daughter's wedding or walk her down the aisle. According to TMZ, he admitted to staging paparazzi photos in the run up to the wedding. Sources say Kensington Palace was blindsided by the decision. In a statement they say is is a deeply personal matter for Ms Markle Advertisement

The website wrote: 'He says since his daughter started dating Prince Harry he's been offered anywhere between $50,000 and $100,000 for interviews and he's turned all of them down.

'Thomas says the paparazzi agency approached him, offered him money  though nowhere near the reported $100,000  and he figured there was no harm in it and it would help recast his image.

'He admits the pics look 'stupid and hammy'. He says he was just going along with the paparazzi agency, which he now deeply regrets.'

The website continued: 'Meghan's father will not be walking her down the aisle on Saturday... he isn't going to the wedding at all because of the fallout over selling photos of himself.'

Mr Markle also told the website that he had suffered a heart attack six days ago but checked himself out of the hospital so he could attend the wedding.

There was no independent confirmation that Mr Markle had been ill, however.

Indeed, last week he was seen leaving his home in the beachside community of Rosarito, Mexico, and driving to San Diego, just over the US border.

According to reports, he stopped for a few hours' sleep and then carried onto LA where he was photographed putting a pot of flowers on the doorstep of his ex-wife, Doria Ragland  Miss Markle's mother.

To add to the confusion, Mr Markle's daughter, Meghan's estranged half-sister Samantha, claimed that she was 'the culprit' behind the humiliating photograph debacle.

In a bizarre intervention, Samantha said she had advised her father to co-operate with the photographer to show himself  and, strangely, the Royal Family  in a 'positive' light. She also insisted his motive hadn't been money.

One source told the Mail that Mr Markle was 'very unwell', adding: 'He is under significant stress.

'There is genuine concern about his safety. His health and safety are paramount [to Meghan]. He is under a huge amount of pressure.'

If Miss Markle's father is not at the wedding, it is believed Miss Ragland will walk her down the aisle.

Thomas Markle admitted to staging paparazzi photos (pictured) with an agency for money

Meghan Markle's father 'claims he has not spoken to his daughter since pulling out of wedding after suffering fresh chest pains following heart attack' Meghan Markle's father claims he has not spoken to his daughter since pulling out of her wedding and says he is 'popping Valium' after suffering chest pains. Thomas Markle says he suffered a heart attack six days ago and is feeling unwell again after his shock deal with a paparazzi photographer was revealed. The 73-year-old will reportedly no longer fly to London because he wanted to save Meghan further embarrassment after it emerged he 'staged' wedding-related photo shoots for cash. Last night he told TMZ Meghan's mother Doria Ragland would be a 'good choice' to walk her down the aisle at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday. His daughter and Harry are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind but Mr Markle has claimed his daughter is yet to speak to him. Two days after his heart attack, Thomas was seen at a McDonald's drive-thru were he purchased a Happy Meal and a cold drink Thomas then went to a KFC hours after he stopped by McDonald's on Thursday (above) In an extraordinary interview he called out his eldest daughter, Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, who has repeated attacked the star and yesterday claimed she was 'to blame' for her father's 'posed' photos. The father of the bride told TMZ: 'I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter.' Mr Markle is said to have suffered a heart attack last week and more chest pains yesterday. But DailyMail.com revealed yesterday that that Meghan's father did not seek medical attention on the day of his heart attack, and was instead inside his clifftop home in Rosarito the entire day. Two days later he was seen grabbing two Happy Meals and a frosted beverage at a McDonald's drive-thru before later stopping at KFC and emerging with a bag packed with food. On Monday night Markle told TMZ that he was said to be considering a trip to hospital after suffering new chest pains but it is not clear if he went. Kensington Palace are said to have bee completely blindsided by his decision not to walk his daughter down the aisle and had not been informed of Thomas' change of heart prior to the publication of his TMZ interview. Advertisement

Piers Morgan brands Meghan Markle's half-sister a 'little vulture' after she took the blame for her father's staged paparazzi photos - as she says she hopes he will still go to royal wedding

Piers Morgan today called Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister a 'little vulture' and accused her grabbing money by 'trashing' the Suits star for years.

Samantha Markle appeared on Good Morning Britain and was accused of 'trading off her very tenuous connection' with Meghan, who she hasn't seen for ten years.

In an explosive exchange Mr Morgan asked her: 'How much money have you made from trashing Meghan Markle? to which Samantha replied: 'Not very much'.

Ms Markle said she had encouraged her father to do a deal with paparazzi claiming he had been treated 'shabbily' by the media.

But Piers went on the offensive and said: 'There's no bigger media vulture in this wedding than you. You are doing a book called the 'Diary of princess pushy's sister'.

Samantha replied that a 'book cannot be judged by its cover or by its title'.

Piers Morgan today called Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister Samantha (right) a 'little vulture' and accused her grabbing money by trashing the Suits star for years

Samantha Markle, pictured with her famous half-sister in 2008, has said it's her fault their father agreed to appear in staged photos on the eve of the royal wedding

She also confirmed that her father has pulled out of Saturday's wedding but she hopes he will change his mind.

She said: 'I spoke to him early in the morning and he was quite depressed'.

When asked if he might change his mind she said: 'I hope so. I wanted to see him go [to the wedding]. I don't know as of today what he's plans are but I want him to go. Clearly the priority is whether it's safe for him to do that.

Yesterday claimed that she was 'the culprit' behind the embarrassing 'faked' photographs of their father taken in the run-up to this week's royal wedding.

Samantha, Thomas Markle's daughter by his first marriage, said she advised him to co-operate with a US-based paparazzo photographer in order to show himself - and, strangely, the royal family - in a 'positive' light and insisted his motive hadn't been money.

But she could not confirm whether Mr Markle had actually accepted any payment for his collusion for the stunt. Mr Markle later told TMZ he had.

Ms Markle told GMB: 'He was unfairly present in the media as shabby, I think photographer looked for the most unflattering photographs.

'My father has really suffered at the hands of the media. I think a person has a right to say 'enough is enough, I wasn't to be shown how I really am'.

But Piers hit back and said he was a 'grown man who knew what he was doing'.

He said: 'You say this is all the media's fault, because the media has been treating him in shabby way, viewers will look at the way you've treated you sister Meghan and think that you treated her in a shabby way

'You've spent the last two years criticising her, you called her narcissistic, selfish, that Hollywood has changed her and that Prince Harry shouldn't marry her, yet you have the gall to blame media vultures.

'You've made loads of money off the back of a tenuous link to Meghan Markle, who you've spoken to once in 10 years. You've been trashing her for two years you vulture'.

Samantha said she had not used those words to describe Meghan and Piers said 'we have all the transcripts'.

Harry and Meghan are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind with just four days until their wedding

Yesterday she confirmed photographs taken of an apparently unwitting Mr Markle getting fitted up for his wedding suit and browsing pictures of his daughter on the internet had actually been taken in collaboration with a professional photographer, despite Kensington Palace issuing strongly worded requests for the media to protect his privacy.

Speaking from her home in Florida to ITV's Loose Women programme in London, his eldest daughter, Samantha, said: 'I have to say I am entirely the culprit. As we know the media can take very unflattering photographs of people on their casual days and blow it way out of proportion.

'I said, you know, [to him] the world has no idea you're getting in shape, doing healthy things.

'They don't photograph you buying vegetables and PH water. They photograph you as unflattering ways as they can.

'So I said, really you need to show the world that you're getting in shape and doing great healthy things. So I suggested it.

'There's a lot of scrutiny that it was money motivated, it was not. It was my suggestion that to benefit him and to benefit the royal family that everyone looked good and they depict you as you are - in shape and doing healthy things.'

Asked if she could categorically say he did not receive money for the photographs, Samantha floundered slightly, saying: 'I don't believe so and that was not the motive. I have no idea but if he did I'm going to assume it was a pittance. They don't pay that much. It was really so that the world could see him doing the healthy things he enjoys doing.'

Asked whether she could understand how embarrassing the revelations were for Kensington Palace and her sister, particularly given their stance on protecting his privacy, she conceded that it would be 'awkward' but felt that his treatment by the media had been 'unjust' and 'somehow we could spin it...'

She also tweeted: 'The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money'

Despite posting a string of vitriolic tweets attacking her younger sister, Samantha also insisted that she was not bitter about Meghan's decision not to invite her to Saturday's wedding. The pair haven't actually seen each other for around a decade.

Here come the in-laws! Meghan's nephews and their mother touch down in London with 13 SUITCASES ahead of royal wedding TV special - despite 'NOT being invited' to the event itself

There has been much speculation as to which members of Meghan's family will be attending her nuptials to Prince Harry in Windsor ion Saturday.

And while her father has confirmed he will not attend it looks as though her nephews Tyler and Thomas Dooley along with their mother, Meghan's sister-in-law, Tracy Dooley seem determined to take part in the big day.

Despite previously revealing they hadn't received an invite to the royal wedding the trio were seen making their way to the arrivals gate at the London airport on Monday.

The family have been enlisted as 'special correspondents' for Good Morning Britain and are expected to report from Windsor, though are thought not to be attending the ceremony.

Meghan's sister-in-law Tracy Dooley was pictured arriving at Heathrow airport on Monday

She was joined by her sons and Meghan's nephews Tyler (pictured) and Thomas Dooley

Armed with no less than 13 suitcases the family, including Tyler's girlfriend Sandra Bazan (left) made their way out of the international airport having flown in from their home in Oregon

Armed with no less than 13 suitcases the family cut a casual figure as they made their way out of the international airport having flown in from their home in Oregon.

A cheerful Tracy could even be seen flashing a peace sign to photographers as she made her way from security.

And it's clear that the family couldn't be happier about making the trip across the pond; shortly after arriving in London, Tyler began posting image from London on his Facebook page, sharing snaps of a few landmarks, as well as an image showing the interior of his hotel room.

The family is thought to be staying at the H10 hotel in Waterloo, where rooms are available for as little as 70, or $93, per night. The hotel is located just a short distance from Waterloo station, and is an hour's driving distance from St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Meghan and Harry are due to tie the knot.

Along with the images - which also showed the outside of another nearby landmark, the Imperial War Museum, seemingly captured from the back of a car - Tyler also shared an update about his travels with his Facebook friends, writing: 'Just touched down in London!!! Man what a journey so far. Were safe and sound!'

The images were met with a warm response from Tyler's Facebook friends, with many urging him to 'have a blast', while others reminded Meghan's nephew to 'take pics'.

Others, however, weren't quite so clued into the reason for the family's journey to London, with one person questioning, 'There for the wedding or other biz [sic]?'

They have of course previously appeared on the ITV show, when they claimed to have been snubbed from the wedding list.

A cheerful Tracy could even be seen flashing a peace sign to photographers as she made her way from security

The family are expected to make an appearance on Good Morning Britain this week

In March Tracy and Tyler appeared via live video link from Oregon, and admitted that while they were still hopeful that invitations might be en route, it was looking extremely unlikely.

Tyler said on the show: Weve not got anything yet. At this point, who knows? This all goes back to Meghan, its her day and her happiness.

Tracy - who was married to Meghan's half brother Thomas Markle Jr, is mother to Tyler and his brother Thomas, who Meghan used to babysit for as a child - added: I dont think we are getting invitations, but that is fine, we are so proud of her.

She said that while she herself hadn't seen the royal bride-to-be in some 20 years, the family still has a close relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, who she said was 'sure' to give Meghan away when she marries Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on May 19.

'What a journey so far!' Shortly after arriving in London, Tyler began sharing images of the trip on his Facebook page

Making memories: Tyler's mother Tracy also posted a few images to her Facebook page, including a snap of the London Eye (left) and Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament (right)

Sightseeing: He posted two pictures of local landmarks, including the Imperial War Museum (left), and some red brick houses

It was announced that Tracey and Tyler will be flying over to the UK to be a part of Good Morning Britain's coverage of the Royal wedding.

The family's arrival in London comes just as Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Snr., confirmed that he would not be attending his daughter's wedding in the wake of the scandal surrounding his staged paparazzi photos.

The 73-year-old had been set to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday, but told TMZ on Monday that he will no longer be travelling to London, after The Mail on Sunday revealed that he had worked with photographers to stage images for money.

Thomas said that he did not want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter on her big day.

Meghan Markle's Suits co-star Jacinda Barrett has been spotted in London just five days before the royal wedding. Pictured: Jacinda and her son Luca outside Buckingham Palace yesterday

This comes as reports suggest that Prince Harry's cousin, Lady Ameila Windsor (pictured) has been left off the guest list

He also revealed that he suffered a heart attack just six days ago.

The Dooleys aren't the first Americans to hit UK soil ahead of the wedding with some of Meghan's friends spotted in London.

Jacinda Barrett, who had a recurring role on Suits from 2012 until 2013, and also is married to Meghan's former co-star Gabriel Macht, has touched down in London.

The 45-year-old actress confirmed her arrival with a heart-warming snap, which she posted to Instagram on Sunday.

In the picture the actress can be seen receiving a kiss from her four-year-old son Luca outside Buckingham Palace.

Captioning the picture she wrote: 'Kissing in front of the Queen.' She then added the hashtag #buckinghampalace, before dedicating the sweet snap to her own mother in light of Mother's Day (US).

Jacinda is believed to be travelling with husband Gabriel Macht, who starred opposite Meghan in Suits for all seven seasons that she appeared in the show.

A surprising absentee is Prince Harry's cousin, Lady Ameila Windsor who is also reported to have been left off the guest list.

According to The Sun, the 22-year-old and her older sister Marina, 25 will not be attending the ceremony at Windsor Castle.

A friend told the newspaper: 'They were a little surprised not to be invited as they were looking forward to going.

'Amelia is creating quite a name for herself with her modelling and Instagram posts.

'Perhaps Harry just wanted to keep the family invited to a small number or maybe he didn't want anyone upstaging the bride.'

Windsor beefs up security with anti-terror bollards while 4,500 yards of bunting is unveiled across the town as the countdown continues four days before royal wedding

Security around Windsor Castle has been ramped up as preparations for the royal wedding continue with just four days to go.

Specialist teams spent the night constructing anti-vehicle barriers before tens of thousands of spectators flock to the Berkshire town.

Workers installed the huge metal and concrete barricades which protect against possible terrorist vehicle attacks.

Police have already been rifling through bins, searching drains and manhole covers with sniffer dogs in the run up to Saturday's event.

Specialist teams spent the night constructing anti-vehicle barriers in Windsor city centre

The huge yellow metal barricades was installed in the town centre overnight

Workers installed the huge metal and concrete barricades which protect against possible terrorist vehicle attacks

Teams worked overnight to install the extra safety measures before tens of thousands of people descend on the town on Saturday

Windsor already had a number of anti-vehicle barriers in place, erected around the popular tourist destination following the Westminster terror attack in March last year

Photographs taken overnight showed extra security measures being put in place as the threat of a terror attack remains 'high.'

Windsor already had a number of anti-vehicle barriers in place, erected around the popular tourist destination following the Westminster terror attack in March last year.

But more barricades are being built as security remains tight ahead of the ceremony.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead revealed today that as preparations continue nearly 4,500 yards of bunting made up of the red white and blue of the union flag is criss-crossing along the processional route.

Harry and Meghan will travel past hordes of cheering supporters after the wedding at 1pm, in an open carriage procession.

Windsor Council revealed today that as preparations continue nearly 4,500 yards of bunting made up of the red white and blue of the union flag

The bunting criss-crosses along the processional route where Harry and Meghan will meet royal fans following the wedding ceremony

The council also said pedestrian footways have undergone 'significant' repairs, and areas have been 'pigeon proofed.'

Also spotted on the streets of Windsor are a number of rough sleepers.

Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding.

But a spokesman for the council said today that they are 'not removing residents from Windsor' but it is still unclear what will happen on the day of the wedding.

Preparations have been continuing overnight to prepare the town for tens of thousands of spectators

Police were also seen rifling through bins, searching drains and manhole covers with sniffer dogs

Also spotted on the streets of Windsor are a number of rough sleepers Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding.

Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding

Some 2,300 metres of fencing will be used for queues across the busiest stations on routes to Windsor

A statement said: 'The council is not removing residents from Windsor and as per our normal support processes has engaged with residents who are homeless and offered them support and emergency accommodation.'

Spectators planning to attend the wedding have been advised to begin their journeys as early as 4am to see Prince Harry and Meghan tie the knot.

A 'sizeable queuing system' will be in place for Great Western Railway's service between Slough and Windsor and Eton Central - the nearest station to the event.

Some 2,300 metres of fencing will be used for queues across the busiest stations on routes to Windsor.

Armed police were already on the streets of Windsor today at the Changing of the Guard ceremony

The metal barriers have been erected on a number of streets to control the crowds

Royal wedding revellers will face airport-style security checks while metal barriers to deter vehicle attacks will be in place around Windsor.

Other security measures include a huge network of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and CCTV.

Thames Valley Police said the public should feel reassured rather than alarmed by the measures for the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Fans have already begun to stake out the best viewing spots in the Berkshire town.

Well-wishers have already started to deck the streets in all their Union Jack glory near where the royal wedding will take place.

Residents are also getting into the full spirit of the event with pubs decorating their windows with royal memorabilia.

Onlookers have reported a party feel in the town well in advance of the wedding, with tourists from around the world arriving daily by train and walking through the royal shopping arcade to the castle.

Could these be Meghan's blooms? HUGE order of flowers leaves royal florist Philippa Craddock's London depot as the final wedding preparations get under way

The Royal wedding is just four days away, and it appears Harry and Meghan's bespoke floral display has already been transported to the venue.

A large van was seen loading a huge delivery of flowers from the London depot of royal florist Philippa Craddock, who has been hand-picked to deck out St. George's Chapel as well as the two lavish receptions at Windsor Castle this weekend.

The flowers, most of which appeared to be synthetic, included large bunches of pink roses and white blossoms.

Wedding preparations? A large van was seen loading blooms from the London depot of royal florist Philippa Craddock, who has been hand-picked to deck out St. George's Chapel

Well, it is a wedding! The flowers, which appeared to be synthetic, included large bunches of pink roses and white blossoms

The countdown is on! There are just four days to go before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot, and their florist appears to be making last-minute preparations for the floral display

By royal appointment: It was revealed in March that trendy Philippa Craddock (pictured) had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their nuptials

Ensuring the precious cargo arrived safely, the floristry team enlisted the help of event support and logistics company PollenCrew to help with the delivery on Monday.

Staff were also seen loading a large ornamental vase onto the van alongside dozens of plastic buckets and metal ladders - no doubt to help reach the high, fan-vaulted ceilings of St. George's Chapel.

A vehicle from Event Concept - who specialise in 'event management, conceptual design and technical production to create engaging experiences of every scale' - was also spotted outside the depot on Monday.

The events company is responsible for organising glitzy showbiz parties for the likes of Esquire, BAFTA and the Royal Chelsea Flower Show.

It was revealed in March that trendy London florist Philippa Craddock had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their May 19 nuptials.

Kensington Palace officially announced the news via a series of tweets describing in detail how society favourite Craddock was chosen for the hotly-contested role.

The decadent floral displays in St. George's Chapel will be created using locally sourced foliage, they said, much of which will be taken from the gardens and parkland of The Crown Estate and Windsor Great Park.

A sneak peak at the decor? Staff were also seen packaging up a large ornamental vase along with dozens of florist buckets

Philippa Craddock was hand-picked by the couple to decorate the two receptions, at the wedding of Harry and Meghan this weekend

Not taking any chances: Ensuring the precious cargo arrived safely, the floristry team enlisted the help of event support and logistics company PollenCrew

Royal seal of approval: It was revealed in March that Philippa Craddock had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their May 19 nuptials

The palace revealed: 'Where possible, Philippa will use flowers and plants that are in season and blooming naturally in May, including branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.'

'The Royal Parks will supply some pollinator-friendly plants from their wildflower meadows that will be incorporated into the floral designs.

'These plants provide a great habitat for bees & help to nurture and sustain entire ecosystems by promoting a healthy & biodiverse environment.'

Described by Tatler as 'a floral mastermind', Philippa claims to be able to create any bride's dream from 'a secret garden in a palace' to 'an outdoor botanical romance'.

The displays in St George's Chapel will feature foliage from Windsor Great Park, including beech, birch and hornbeam branches, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.

The self-taught florist has a studio in Fulham and a shop in department store Selfridges. Speaking about being chosen for the Royal Wedding on May 19, she said: 'I am excited and honoured. The process has been highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun.'

MailOnline has contacted Phillippa Craddock for more information.

By royal appointment: Kensington Palace officially announced the news via a series of tweets describing in detail how society favourite Craddock was chosen for the coveted role

Staff were seen packing up a large ornamental vase alongside dozens of plastic buckets and metal ladders - no doubt to help reach the vast, fan-vaulted ceilings of St. George's Chapel

The van was filled to the brim with plastic buckets and metal ladders before onlookers saw it leave London and head west 'towards Windsor' on Monday

Finishing touches: The huge flower delivery took place just five days before the royal wedding will take place at St. George's Chapel Windsor on May 19

A van from Event Concept - who specialise in 'event management, conceptual design and technical production to create engaging experiences of every scale' - was also spotted

Revealed: Harry and Meghan will stay at separate 1,500-a-night hotels before the wedding with her at former stately home linked to the Profumo affair and him the polo club where pair shared first public kiss

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will spend the night before their wedding at separate luxury hotels close to Windsor Castle in rooms costing up to 1,500-a-night, it was revealed today.

Prince Harry will stay at the luxurious Coworth Park in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on Friday, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei's Dorchester hotel group.

The venue is a 15 minute drive from St George's Chapel and Prince William will also stay the night to support his brother, Kensington Palace has said, but is not known if Kate and their three children will also be there.

The duke and prince play regularly on Coworth Park's world class polo grounds, which are managed by Guards Polo Club, and last year Meghan watched her then boyfriend play on the pitch.

Meghan will stay at Cliveden House Hotel, on the National Trust's Cliveden Estate, with her mother Doria, where rooms including the aptly named Prince of Wales suite can cost 1,500-a-night.

Prince Harry will stay at the Dorchester Collection's Coworth Park (pictured) in Sunningdale, Berkshire, on Friday, which is owned by the Sultan of Brunei

Harry and his brother will enjoy sumptuously furnished bedrooms like this on the night before walking down the aisle

Meghan will stay at Cliveden House Hotel (pictured), on the National Trust's Cliveden Estate, with her mother Doria. It was owned by Lord Astor and his family until it was bought by investors in 2012

Cliveden House hotel in Taplow, Berkshire, can cost 445-a-night for a Club Room like this one but suites cost 1,500

Cliveden famously hosted the 1961 summer party where John Profumo would meet Christine Keeler and launch the affair that almost destroyed Harold Macmillan's Tory government.

Its gardens still has the same outdoor pool where Christine was sunbathing when the Secretary of State for War first saw her - and it is still known as 'The Profumo Pool'.

She will then make the 25 minute journey to Windsor. Her father Thomas had been expected to be with her before yesterday's bombshell revelation that he would not attend the wedding.

The Cliveden House website describes how the hotel has hosted 'powerful personalities, debaucherous parties and scandalous affairs' for more than 350 years.

Cliveden proudly describes how the hotel has hosted 'powerful personalities, debaucherous parties and scandalous affairs' for more than 350 years

Its grand grounds includes the outdoor pool where Profumo met Keeler and started a brief affair that cost him his reputation and career and enjoys beautiful views of the Berkshire countryside

Christine Keeler shown at the pool where she was sunbathing when the Secretary of State for War first saw her. It has been refurbished and is still known as 'The Profumo Pool'

The pool is pictured today at the Cliveden House Hotel, on the National Trust's Cliveden Estate, where Meghan will stay

Former Secretary of State for War John Profumo is pictured with his film star wife Valerie Hobson, who stood by him after his resignation from the Conservative government in 1963 over his affair with Christine Keeler

It was built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress.

What was the Profumo affair and how was it linked to the Cliveden House Hotel? The Profumo affair had it all - sex, lies and espionage. It broke at the height of the Cold War, when spying was rife and the threat of war was imminent with the outbreak of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Here we look back at how the scandal unfolded: April 1960: At the height of the Cold War, Christine Keeler, having left her home in Wraysbury, Berks, heads for London and begins working at Murray's Cabaret Club in Soho. It is there that she meets Dr Stephen Ward, a London osteopath. Within weeks she had moved into his Bayswater flat. She soon meets Mandy Rice-Davies at Murray's and the pair become party companions. July 1961: Ward introduces 19-year-old Keeler to Secretary of State for War, John Profumo, while at a party thrown by Lord and Lady Astor at their stately home in Cliveden at Taplow, Bucks. Keeler and Profumo embark on an affair lasting only a few weeks. At the same time, she becomes involved in an affair with Commander Eugene Ivanov, a Soviet naval attache at the Russian Embassy in London. March 1963: After months of speculation among MPs, Profumo is forced to face the Commons, where he says: 'There was no impropriety whatever in my acquaintance with Miss Keeler and I have made the statement because of what was said yesterday in the House by three honourable members whose remarks were protected by privilege.' June 5, 1963: Profumo resigns his Cabinet post after admitting lying to the House of Commons about the nature of his relationship with Keeler. December 1963: Keeler is found guilty of perjury in a related trial and imprisoned for nine months. Advertisement

The privately owned Grade 1 listed stately home is surrounded by 376 acres of National Trust grounds.

Coworth Park in Ascot describes itself as the 'scenic route to five-star bliss,' so it would appear Harry could be having a sedate night before his wedding.

The hotel's website adds: 'Coworth Park offers idyllic relaxation in many guises, from a rural detox to an indulgent, romantic escape.

'Here you'll find an experience to refresh every sense within our welcoming oasis of calm.'

The accommodation once featured in the popular TV talent show X Factor, and William and Harry are likely to know the hotel well as the royal brothers play on its polo grounds every year.

Judge Cheryl Cole, who was joined by Will.i.am from Black Eye Peas, was filmed at the 70-bed hotel when selecting the females to go through to the live finals in 2010.

The duke and prince play regularly on Coworth Park's world class polo grounds, which are managed by Guards Polo Club, and last year Meghan watched her then boyfriend play on the pitch.

The restaurants and bars of Coworth Park will be closed to the public from May 17 to May 21. Both hotels said rooms were unavailable online for this weekend, but it is unclear if any members of the public are staying or will be allowed to book.

MailOnline has contacted Coworth Park and Cliveden House for clarification and comment.

Today it emerged the couple will will attend a garden party marking the Prince of Wales' 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration - just days after their wedding - delaying their honeymoon.

Harry and Ms Markle will join Charles and Camilla at the event on Tuesday May 22 at Buckingham Palace.

Clarence House said: 'The event will celebrate The Prince of Wales' Patronages and Military affiliations as well as others involved in charities supported by The Prince.'

A number of cadets and emergency services personnel who were first responders after the bombing at the Manchester Arena on May 22 2017 will also attend the garden party.

Prince William (pictured left) will also stay the night to support his brother, Kensington Palace has said. As Harry's love affair with Meghan emerged the prince was seen kissing her between parked cars surrounding a polo pitch at Coworth (right)

Coworth Park in Sunningdale, Berkshire, is owned by the Sultan of Brunei and is considered one the world's most luxurious hotels

Rooms come with giant bath tubs with views of the rolling countryside, including this grand copper roll top

Harry could relax in this candle-filled room with giant 'Love' during the stay but the hotel says they will not reveal what room he will sleep in

How do Harry and Meghan's hotels compare? Five-star Coworth Park and Cliveden House go head-to-head Coworth Park Marquee room: The Mansion House Premium Suite Room facilities: Minibar, fresh flowers, bottle of chilled Laurent-Perrier champagne on arrival, copper roll-top bathtub, Bang & Olufsen television and polo field views. Price: From 1,200 - 1,500 a night Spa: Complete with atmospheric indoor pool, private sun terrace and spacious eucalyptus-infused steam room Breakfast: Full English with Coworth Park sausages, Baron Bigod and bacon toasted croissant, grilled Manx kippers, waffles with caramelised banana and Scottish oat porridge. Extras: Polo at Coworth Park and the Equestrian Centre are both open to hotel and non-hotel guests. Owner: Coworth Park is owned by the Sultan of Brunei's Dorchester hotel group. History: William and Harry play regularly on Coworth Park's world class polo grounds, which are managed by Guards Polo Club, and last year Meghan watched her then boyfriend play on the pitch. Cliveden House Marquee room: The Prince of Wales suite Room facilities: Decorated with antiques and original works of art, handmade king size bed, views over the Parterre and access to the honesty bar. Price: Around 1,500 a night Spa: Bespoke body treatments, acupressure and anti-ageing techniques, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, squash courts, gymnasium and hot tubs Breakfast: Full English breakfast in the Andre Garrett restaurant Extras: Boat picnics on the Thames, Champagne cruises and flotilla lunches. Owner: Cliveden House is a privately-owned Grade I listed stately home. It was built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham as a gift to his mistress History: Cliveden famously hosted the 1961 summer party where John Profumo would meet Christine Keeler and launch the affair that almost destroyed Harold Macmillan's Tory government. Advertisement

It will be Harry and Ms Markle's first official engagement as a married couple.

The couple spent their final weekend together before the big day at a hideaway cottage in the Cotswolds.

The pair hunkered down at the four-bedroom lodge, which is nestled in a wooded areas of the north Oxfordshire countryside.

Refurbishments have been made to make the leased-out love nest fit for purpose, with motion alarms and cameras set up in the surrounding area.

It is believed that Meghan, 36, is a particular fan of the secret retreat and the picturesque views the couple can see from the kitchen's large window.

A source told The Sun: 'The run-up to the wedding has been quite stressful for them and they just wanted to get away and relax before the big day.

'They like to escape to the country for the weekend and the cottage is just perfect for them.

'It's very private, has a vast open-plan kitchen and dining area for Meghan to cook in and lots of large windows for the stunning views.'

So if poor Mr Markle isn't going to give Meghan away, who will?

by Richard Kay

There will be nothing but sympathy for Thomas Markle today. Certainly that will be the main emotion as the shock of his reported decision to pull out of the royal wedding and not give his daughter away at Windsor on Saturday is absorbed.

Ever since Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry first emerged to near universal delight, her father has conducted himself with a quiet dignity; unfamiliar with the relentless spotlight of publicity, he has been content to largely remain in the background.

Samantha Markle claimed it was her idea for Thomas Markle to be photographed in a series of royal wedding shots to show him and the royal family in a positive light

Other members of his family  his son and daughter by his first marriage for example  have seized the opportunity to speak of their younger half-sibling, often thoughtlessly and sometimes with cruelty.

Tom Markle did none of these things. But then, as the finishing line at St George's Chapel where he was due to walk Meghan up the aisle was visible, he chose to enter into a reckless arrangement that appears to have had shattering consequences.

At the weekend, it was reported that he had staged paparazzi photographs in exchange for money  though that was not his principal motive. He had, naively it must be said, hoped that choreographed pictures might rebalance the image the world had of him as some sort of bumbling semi-recluse.

Instead the outcome has been one of humiliation for him.

Samantha Markle said it was her idea for Thomas Markle to be photographed in a series of royal wedding shoots where he lives in Mexico

Queen's stamps of approval Stamps featuring Harry and Meghan are going on sale to celebrate the wedding. The Royal Mail has produced a special set of four stamps showing two of the couple's engagement portraits and bearing Saturday's date. The images for the souvenir miniature sheet were taken by New York-based photographer Alexi Lubomirski at Frogmore House in Windsor in December. Lubomirski, who has described the couple as being 'so deliciously in love', has also been chosen as their official wedding photographer. The stamps will be released on Saturday morning. Harry and Meghan personally approved the set, while the Queen had the final say. The 1st class stamp shows the couple at Frogmore House where they will have their evening reception. The 1.55 stamp is a more informal black and white image showing Meghan with her arm through Harry's as they walk through the grounds. She is wearing a gown by Ralph & Russo who are reported to have been chosen to make her wedding dress. Advertisement

So it must have been with an unbearably heavy heart that he made his sudden and totally unexpected announcement. He is reported to have said that he cannot embarrass the Royal Family or his beloved daughter on her wedding day and that the solution is to stay away.

But his decision to do so will strike a chord with people everywhere. Weddings are so often fraught affairs, even royal

ones. Days before she married Prince Charles, Lady Diana Spencer wanted to back out  only to be told by her sisters that it was too late because her face was already on the souvenir tea towels.

Even so, Mr Markle's absence will cast an unfortunate and inevitably regrettable pall over this weekend's ceremony. Some will doubtless say that this sad outcome is of his own making.

But that would gratuitously misunderstand the intentions of a basically honourable man.

In fact, as tragic as it is for Meghan to be robbed of the reassuring presence of her father on Saturday, the overriding feeling is sorrow for the man himself.

For here is a man who suddenly found himself thrust into an alien world. An award-winning former Hollywood lighting director, but out of his depth when it came to handling publicity.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will marry on Saturday, May 19, in Windsor

He is not the first person to be seduced into a cosy arrangement with unscrupulous photographers. It is a well-practised gimmick among celebrities to have apparently spontaneous pictures taken in which they have conspired  and then shared the proceeds of the deception.

Quite why Mr Markle decided to enter into such an arrangement is impossible to know.

On TV yesterday his elder daughter Samantha  when not lamenting her own absence from the wedding (she hasn't been invited)  was suggesting that she had put her father up to it, to paint him in a positive light.

A noble enough sentiment, but in reality a doomed exercise that has left her father looking foolish, hurt and no longer participating on Saturday.

But that brings us to another vexed question. Who on earth is going to give Meghan away?

From the moment Prince Harry acknowledged that he was in a relationship with Tom Markle's beautiful daughter, the world has tuned in.

Her mixed-race background, her struggle to make it as an actress and her championing of the kind of causes Harry's late mother pioneered all caught our attention.

And with that, the focus inevitably fell on her family. A broken home and the striving of her parents to give her the best chance in life were compelling aspects of her story.

Maybe Mr Markle, living 'off grid' in a run-down neighbourhood of a Mexican border town, felt he could manage expectations by living low.

The demeaning contribution of his son Thomas Jr cannot have helped. In a letter to Prince Harry just a few weeks ago, he described his sister as a 'jaded, shallow, conceited woman' who would make a 'joke of the Royal Family.'

Yet with breath-taking nonchalance he followed that up a couple of days ago by writing that it was 'not too late' for him and other family members to receive an invitation to the wedding. Sitting in his small flat on the outskirts of Tijuana, Tom Markle senior cannot have failed to have taken this all on board.

Tomorrow night he should have been settling into a room at Windsor Castle. A valet would have unpacked his bag, laundered his clothes and drawn his bath. He would have taken tea with the Queen and met his daughter's future father-in-law Prince Charles.

Instead, on the day he would have had the eyes of the world on him walking as proud as can be to give his daughter's hand in marriage in the majesty of St George's Chapel, he will be 5,000 miles away.

Unless he has a change of heart. Nothing would please Harry, the Royal Family or Meghan more than for him to be there. The world would like it too.

Royally embarrassing: How Meghan Markle's relatives have shown her up ahead of her big day Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle has announced he will not be walking his daughter down the aisle after admitting he staged paparazzi photos for cash And he is not the first relative to have left the actress red-faced HALF BROTHER: THOMAS MARKLE JR Meghan's estranged half-brother also named Thomas, 51, was arrested on January 12 for holding a gun to his girlfriend's head. The Oregon window fitter later admitted to having a drinking problem and said he was 'seeking help' He has repeatedly put himself back into the public light during his sister's engagement. Oh brother: Thomas Markle Jr has repeatedly embarrassed Meghan penning two open letters over the royal wedding On May 2, he provided In Touch magazine with a letter slamming his Suits actress sister and even telling Prince Harry to back out of the ceremony 'As more time passes to your royal wedding, it became very clear that this is the biggest mistake in royal wedding history, ' he wrote 'It's not to [sic] late, Meghan Markle is obviously not the right woman for you.' He also called his half-sister 'jaded, shallow and conceited' and accused her of using their father until he was 'bankrupt' from 'paying her way' On Friday, he penned another letter. Markle Jr lightened his tone and pleaded for an invite to the ceremony. 'Meg I know that I'm not perfect, nor is anyone else in our family, as I'm sure you have read by now,' he wrote. 'But good, bad, or perfect, we're the only family that you have. It does hurt my feelings not getting invited to your wedding, along with the rest of the family. 'But it's not too late to send me an invite along with your entire family. We should all be there to show our love and support on your wedding day because that's what families do. Not to mention, how long it's been since we all seen and have gotten together, that would be very nice.' The family: Thomas Markle's ex wife and her sons will appear on British TV to provide commentary despite having lost contact with Meghan years ago On Monday, Markle Jr's ex-wife Tracy Dooley and her two sons Tyler and Thomas arrived in london despite not being invited to the wedding The relatives have been invited to be 'special correspondent's for Good Morning Britain. Despite admitting they haven't seen Meghan for 20 years, they said they were supporting her and 'so proud of her' in an interview with the breakfast show last month HALF SISTER: SAMANTHA GRANT Thomas Markle Sr's eldest daughter Samantha Grant, 53, has been outspoken on Meghan ever since her half-sister's relationship with Prince Harry was revealed. Big sis: Samantha Grant nee Markle has been outspoken on social media about the royal wedding and has also written a memoir entitled Diary of a Princess Pushy's Sister On Monday, she took responsibility for advising her father to stage the photos which have led to his embarrassment and decision to avoid his younger daughter's wedding Speaking on British television, she said: 'I'm entirely the culprit. I suggested it to benefit him and the royal family'. She also tweeted the official Kensington Palace Twitter account and said: 'The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money'. However, this isn't the first time Samantha has hit headlines . The Multiple Sclerosis sufferer, who is wheelchair-bound, previously called on Prince Harry to 'man up' and accused the Queen's grandson of rank hypocrisy in offering 'shout outs about humanitarianism' while allowing 'Meg to ignore the Markles'. 'Someone must point out that the 'Emperor is not wearing any clothes',' the 53-year-old raged. She has penned a memoir entitled: The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister Advertisement
Jeremy Corbyn is facing a Labour rebellion on the EU single market after he killed off hopes that he will back the UK staying in it after Brexit.

Labour Remainers have been urging him to adopt the Norway-style soft Brexit option with David Miliband returning to UK politics after five years away to make the case.

But at a tense meeting with his MPs last night, Mr Corbyn appeared to kill off their hopes he will back staying in the European Economic Area because he does not want the UK to be a 'rule taker' after Brexit.

Labour MP and Brexiteer John Mann emerged from the meeting and said: 'EEA is dead after that.

Jeremy Corbyn (pictured in parliament yesterday) is said to have told his MPs he does not want the UK to have to continue to swallow EU rules after Brexit and have no say in drawing them up

'MPs in Leave areas have gone back to their constituencies and spoken to their voters, who have told them they don't want it.

'Even MPs who have not spoken out before and who have not voted in any way that you would define as Brexit before spoke out, and that strengthens Jeremy's hand.'

A row over what Labour should push for a Brexit negotiations dominated the weekly meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party last night.

Many Remain backing backbenchers have been mounting a campaign blitz to nudge the Labour leader into backing membership of the EEA.

The so-called Norway option would keep the UK in the EU single market - but this could leave Britain having to take rules decided by Brussels without having a say on them.

It may also mean Britain has to continue to accept free movement from the EU post Brexit.

Mr Miliband returned to frontline British politics yesterday after five years away to call for Mr Corbyn to change tack and back EEA membership.

And over 20 Labour MPs quizzed Mr Corbyn on his stance on the crunch issue at last night's meeting, according to reports.

MPs Hilary Benn, chairman of the Brexit select committee, wanted to know if Labour would back the House of Lords amendments to keep the UK in the EEA or a single market.

But the Labour leader knocked down models which would leave Britain having to swallow rules drawn up in Brussels which the country has no say over.

His spokesman said: 'The EEA packages packages currently in existence do not meet the priorities that we have set out and that the Norway option is not appropriate and will not work for the kind of Brexit we want to see.

David Miliband (pictured, yesterday, at a rice factory in Essex) returned to UK politics after five years away join arch Remainers Nicky Morgan (pictured) and Nick Clegg (pictured) to urge the UK to stay in the EU single market after bBexit

'We supported an abstention in the House of Lords over the EEA amendment and we set out what our priorities are - and that will guide whatever we do in Parliament overall.

'You've seen what happened in relation to the EEA amendment in the Lords and although we wouldn't talk about whipping arrangements and wouldn't get to them until the amendment is on the table, I think our approach is pretty clear.'

But Remainers insisted Mr Corbyn had not taken the option off the table.

Labour MP and former shadow chancellor Chris Leslie said Mr Corbyn had told the meeting 'we should keep our options open', while saying he didn't like the EEA because it led to 'rule-taking'.

'There's still some room for him to reconsider,' Leslie told HuffPost.

The meeting dealt a major blow to Remainers who have bene pushing the leadership to radically change its stance on Brexit.

And it sets the stage for a Labour Commons rebellion when the Brexit Bill returns to the House of Commons and the Lords amendments will be voted on.
A Queensland man has been criticised for handling a potentially dangerous snake and posting it to Facebook.

The amateur wrangler was slammed on social media for picking up the venomous reptile.

Wyatt McDonald was photographed holding the snake at a Townsville property.

A Queensland man has been criticised for handling a potentially dangerous snake and posting it to Facebook

The image was later posted on the Facebook group Townsville Snake Catcher.

Mr McDonald was shown holding the brown-coloured reptile with a stick and his hand.

His friend, Alex Bowden posted the image on to the group and captioned as 'just wondering what kind of snake this is?'

The responses varied from users scolding him for picking up the native while others commended his handling.

The image posted to Facebook saw Mr McDonald holding the brown tree snake wrapped around a stick at a Townsville property

'If you don't know why are you touching it?' A Facebook user said on the post.

'One that should be left alone. And people wonder why they get bitten,' another said.

The snake was confirmed as a brown tree snake, a mildly venomous snake found on the eastern and northern coast of Australia.

Mr McDonald's handling of the brown tree snake was commended by one snake expert on the Facebook post.

'I've just treated it as venomous until I knew. He is handling it OK for an unknown snake,' they commented on the post.
A sexual predator who took part in one of Australia's worst gang rapes has refused to apologise for his heinous crimes, saying: 'Mate what am I sorry about? I've done my time.'

Belal Hajeid was part of the 'Skaf' gang of teenagers aged 15 to 19 who raped young women in parks and public toilets in the build-up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

In June 2002, he was sentenced for 10 offences in one of the gang's attacks on two female teenagers. He served 14 years in jail before being released on parole.

Belal Hajeid was part of the 'Skaf' gang of teenagers aged 15 to 19 who raped young women in parks and public toilets in the build up to the 2000 Sydney Olympics

Now 36, Hajeid, of Lebanese descent, is working in maintenance for a council in Sydney's inner west.

A Current Affair tracked him down and asked if he wanted to apologise to the woman whose life he destroyed - but he refused more than 12 times.

Unaware of the irony, he told reporter Steve Marshall: 'You know what you are, you're the lowest of all kind. You're lower than scum.'

Hajeid was ordered to pay his victim $100,000 compensation but talked this down to $6,000 in a tribunal by claiming he was too poor to pay.

Asked by A Current Affair if he could afford to pay more, he said 'of course.'

In June 2002, Hajeid (pictured aged 19) was sentenced for 10 offences in the gang's attack on two female teenagers. He served 14 years in jail before being released on parole

After the attacks, which were racially motivated, judge Michael Finnane described the offences as 'worse than murder'.

One of the victims was raped 25 times by 14 men at Bankstown, west Sydney during a six-hour ordeal in which the attackers subjected her to racist taunts.

Nine of the rapists were found guilty and sentenced to an unprecedented total of more than 240 years. Five of the rapists were never caught.
A outdoors-loving father-of-two died just days after being bitten by a tick in his back yard.

Jeff Naticchia, 50, went to the doctors last July with fever-like symptoms but was told he had a kidney infection and prescribed antibiotics.

Four days after his hospital visit the telecommunications worker died, leaving behind his wife and two children.

Jeff Naticchia, 50, died from babesiosis after being bitten by a tick in his Pennsylvania back yard

The father-of-two leaves behind his wife Crissy, 51, and their children Nicole and Max

Mr Naticchia loved the outdoors and spent his weekends fishing (left) or hiking (right, pictured with his son Max)

Tick bites were common for Mr Naticchia who lived near woodlands in Pennsylvania with his family.

It turns out the father-of-two had contracted babesiosis, a malaria-like disease, from the parasite bite.

His wife Crissy, 51, is now attempting to raise awareness of parasitic infections.

Project manager Crissy, who was married to Jeff for 23 years, said: 'He was active, healthy and getting in shape and then suddenly he developed a fever.

What is Babesiosis? Babesiosis is a malaria-like illness caused by a tick bite. It's caused by microscopic parasites called Babesia microti which infects red blood cells. Symptoms include a fever, chills, sweats and headaches and nausea. It is often misdiagnosed or goes unnoticed completely because it can only be detected by looking at a blood sample under a microscope. It can be life-threatening for people without a spleen, or who have a weakened immune system. Advertisement

'He liked to do everything - hiking, canoeing, keeping fit.

'I have known him 26 years and he had only been sick twice, so it was a big deal. He was never sick.

'He didn't have any other symptoms except sweating.

'After a few days he sought medical help and was told he had a kidney infection. He took antibiotics but he still didn't feel 100 per cent.

'We were supposed to be going away for the weekend but he still felt so bad that we went to the hospital. He was completely yellow. He looked like Homer Simpson.

'They ran all kinds of tests but he was getting worse.

'I didn't even think he could be because of a tick bite. We live near a park and there are deer in the back yard so we were always getting bitten.

Mrs Naticchia (pictured together) is now attempting to raise awareness of parasitic infections

The father-of-two was described as 'He was active, healthy and someone who loved 'hiking, canoeing and keeping fit'

'It didn't cross our minds. In fact, we had recently been to Costa Rica and I thought he may have been bitten there. I didn't think it could have come from our own backyard.

'He was only 50-years-old. It makes me so angry that he died like this because it was such a senseless thing.

'Jeff had his spleen removed when he was younger and this made the bite so dangerous.

His wife (pictured) said: 'He was only 50-years-old. It makes me so angry that he died like this because it was such a senseless thing'

Family man: Mr Naticchia pictured with wife Crissy and daughter Nicole

'My husband was all about his family - he did everything for us.

'We were just in shock. I had to go home, wake my children up and tell them their dad had died. We thought he had been getting better.

'We are now just trying to get by and raise awareness so that people don't have to go through what we did.'
The widow of the man who was driving the car during the crash that killed Paul Walker has settled her lawsuit against Porsche, it has been reported.

Kristine Rodas, who was married to auto racing shop owner Roger Rodas, had accused the German car manufacturer of producing faulty mechanics.

Roger and Fast and Furious star Walker died when the 2005 Carrera GT spun out of control on a city street in Valencia, near Los Angeles, and burst into flames after hitting a power pole and several trees.

Kristine Rodas (right), who was married to auto racing shop owner Roger Rodas (left), had accused the German car manufacturer of producing faulty mechanics

Roger and Fast and Furious star Walker (pictured) died when the 2005 Carrera GT spun out of control on a city street in Valencia, near Los Angeles, and burst into flames after hitting a power pole and several trees

Walker, who was 40, and Rodas, 38, both died at the scene of the crash over Thanksgiving weekend in November 2013.

According to court files seen by The Blast, Rodas filed a notice on Friday explaining her suit has now been 'settled in its entirety', meaning the case can be concluded.

The Porsche was going between 80 and 93 mph in a 45 mph zone when it careened off the road.

It is not the first time Kristine has sued Porsche - she filed a suit for wrongful death/product liability not long after her husband's death.

But her argument that the car was ill-equipped to handle side impact was deemed moot, since the fatal force came from the front when it hit the lamppost - as her own expert confirmed.

US District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez also rejected the front impact argument because 'Rodas' fatal injuries occurred when he actually was hurled into Paul Walker.'

He also held that Rodas' lawyers had not presented evidence demonstrating the crash was caused by a defective suspension.

But Kristine filed an appeal that was set to be heard next month.

The case, however, has now been settled - though the details are not yet known.

Last year, Walker's daughter Meadow settled her wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche.

Walker, who was 40, and Rodas, 38, both died at the scene of the crash over Thanksgiving weekend in November 2013. Pictured: A memorial for Walker at the scene following his death

Last year, Walker's daughter Meadow (pictured) settled her wrongful death lawsuit against Porsche

Meadow sued Porsche in 2015 claiming that her actor father was trapped by a faulty seatbelt and burned alive while in the passenger seat of a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT.

The lawsuit also alleged that Porsche knew the Carrera GT had a history of 'instability and control issues'.

Meadow previously was awarded $10.1 million in a 2016 settlement from the estate of Roger Rodas.

Court documents also showed that Paul's father, Paul William Walker III, also settled his own lawsuit against Porsche.
A prison pharmacist who bombarded an inmate with X-rated texts praising his huge manhood has been struck off.

Jennifer Harrison, 38, promised the prisoner she would be waiting at the gates of HMP Lindholme in Doncaster when he was released.

The convict, referred to only as patient A, received 105 sexts from Harrison in just nine days, the disciplinary hearing was told.

Jennifer Harrison, pictured, bombarded a prisoner with text messages of a sexual nature while she was working as a pharmacist's technician at HMP Lindoholme in Doncaster

Prison pharmacist technician Jennifer Harrison was struck off by regulators

Harrison, who was employed by the prison to hand out medicine, said she wanted to see the inmate completely starkers.

She also told her incarcerated lover: No matter what Im gonna be at that gate waiting for u. Take u home new life fresh start.

Harrison even told the inmate: Hey it says cystitis can occur after sex. Soooo I blame your f****** huge manhood for my discomfort. What u got to say about that.

When their relationship came to light she was interviewed at South Yorkshire Police Station, but no charges were brought.

Harrison claimed she had been groomed by the inmate and had been involved in a controlling relationship with a different partner.

She has since stopped working as a pharmacist technician and was not represented at the hearing.

Harrison was found guilty of engaging in a personal relationship with an inmate and sending him inappropriate messages.

The General Pharmaceutical Council misconduct panel ruled that her conduct was sexually motivated and ordered she be struck off.

Panel chairman Christopher Gibson QC, said: Ms Harrison agrees she first knew patient A and she admits that he gave her a phone number.

She accepts that she kept it and she used it to send him text messages. She admits that she knew prisoners could not have phones. She agrees that she had broken her position of trust.

There is no doubt that she sent the text messages. She accepted that she had sent them and the number which she had sent them to was patient As. It was clear beyond doubt that her conduct was sexual.

Harrison sent 105 text messages to the inmate between December 5 and December 14 2015.

In one sent on December 10 she said: Strong passionate kisses make my knees buckle.

Later that day she said: Loveve you so much. SOOOOOOO much ffs xxxxxxxxxxx.

The panel found all the allegations proven and ordering Harrison be struck off Mr Gibson added: It seems to us that the picture is Ms Harrison deliberately kept a phone number when she should have reported it.

Then, that she made use of it and embarked on a sexually motivated relationship with this man. It is clear from the texts she was sending she was actively pursuing the relationship.

On the basis of the information before us, we cannot see any evidence that Ms Harrison has reflected on the seriousness of what she has done.

It the circumstances it seems to us that the seriousness of the misconduct taken together with her lack of remorse or insight, means that her behaviour is incompatible with staying on the register.

Our order is that her name is to be removed from the register.
A woman who went to Thailand seeking breast implants has opened up about the trauma and permanent damage she suffered after her botched surgery.

Lee Cameron, 48, booked a breast augmentation procedure in Thailand last August through a cosmetic tourism agency.

The Melbourne woman thought she'd come back home with new breast implants and a saving of more than $20,000 by getting her procedure done overseas.

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(File photo) A woman who went to Thailand seeking breast implants has opened up about the trauma and permanent damage she suffered after her botched surgery

Ms Cameron paid $7,000 for her surgery in Thailand and said the same procedure would cost her $27,000 in Australia.

Yet Ms Cameron was horrified when the bandages were unraveled after her operation.

'I'm permanently disfigured,' she told 9 News.

Lee Cameron contracted an infection (pictured) and her nipples were a lot higher than they should've been after her botched breast surgery

Ms Cameron (pictured) paid $7,000 for her surgery in Thailand and said the same procedure would cost her $27,000 in Australia

Ms Cameron said she had big 'open wounds' and used her hand to show the size of them being about 10cm wide.

She also contracted an infection and her nipples were a lot higher than they should've been.

Ms Cameron was shocked when the Thai doctor told her, "That's okay, you're old. They're going to drop."

Ms Cameron (pictured), 48, said she had big 'open wounds' after her surgery. She used her hand hand to show the size of them being about 10cm wide

Dr Perotti (pictured) said she once saw a woman who lost a nipple from a botched surgery

Dr Olivia Perotti from Western Health says she has had many patients who has required breast reconstructions after their botched overseas surgeries.

'I saw a woman who lost a nipple,' she said.

Cosmetic tourism is a booming $300 million-dollar industry with thousands of Australians travelling overseas to undergo surgery.

More than 15,000 Australians travelling overseas - mainly to Southeast Asia - for cosmetic surgery each year,' according to a statement made by the Royal Australian College of Surgeons (RACS).

Often patients are promised the world, but its the unknowns that are scary

In a media statement made by RACS, Dr Perotti said: 'Often patients are promised the world, but its the unknowns that are scary.

'What are the surgeons qualifications? Is the anaesthetist safe and qualified? Are the surgical instruments sterilised? Does the hospital adhere to WHO guidelines for surgical safety?' she said.

A woman who went to Thailand seeking breast implants has opened up about the trauma and permanent damage she suffered after her botched surgery

The Thai hospital (pictured) where Ms Cameron had her breast implant surgery

In a media statement made by RACS, Dr Perotti said: 'What are the surgeons qualifications? Is the anaesthetist safe and qualified? Are the surgical instruments sterilised?'
A former mafia boss and his associate have gone on trial accused of murdering a club owner more than 20 years ago over fears he was a police informant.

Francis 'Cadillac Frank' Salemme, 84, and Paul Weadick, 62, are accused of killing Steven DiSarro in 1993 before burying his body behind a mill in Rhode Island.

The pair were brought in after William Ricci, the mill's owner who also has links to organized crime, was arrested when 1,400 marijuana plants were found inside.

Francis 'Cadillac Frank' Salemme, 84 (left and right), and Paul Weadick, 62, have gone on trial accused of murdering club owner Steven DiSarro in 1993

Salemme, former head of the Patriarca crime family, is accused of ordering DiSarro's death after he was approached by police and asked for information

Facing federal charges, Ricci told police to start digging out back which led to the discovery of DiSarro's skeletal remains, the Washington Post reports.

At the time of his death, DiSarro was the owner of a Boston nightclub called The Channel in which Salemme had an interest.

Shortly before he was killed, police had told DiSarro he was about to be indicted and that he should cooperate with them against Salemme and his son, Francis Jr.

Salemme, a convicted mafia hit-man, was head of the Patriarca crime family in New England and - together with James 'Whitey' Bulger - ran the Boston underworld.

After being approached by police DiSarro was summoned to a sit-down meeting with Salemme which left him 'extremely distraught', the Boston Herald reports.

He was so frightened left behind a note to his infant son saying it might be 'some time' before he saw him again, the contents of which will be revealed during the trial.

It was at that meeting, prosecutors say, that DiSarro was strangled to death by Francis Jr as Weadick held his feet off the ground and Salemme watched.

DiSarro was strangled to death in 1993 by Salemme's son - Francis Jr - while Weadick held his feet off the floor and Salemme watched, prosecutors say

Francis Jr (far left), DiSarro (second left) and Salemme (right, gesturing) are pictured together leaving a Brooklyn restaurant in 1990

Pamela DiSarro, wife of murdered Steven, leaves court on May 9 after appearing as the government's first witness against Salemme

Francis Jr is not on trial because he died in 1995.

The prosecution's star witness is Bulger's former top lieutenant, Stephen 'The Rifleman' Flemmi, who said he walked in on the killing as it was taking place.

He later spoke with Salemme who confirmed they had killed DiSarro and will testify to that fact, prosecutors say.

As part of the trial, jurors have been shown the home where the alleged killing took place and the mill where the body was discovered.

Salemme was charged in 1995 with participating in eight murders and agreed to plead guilty in 1999 to racketeering and extortion.

He began cooperating with authorities that year in an investigation into the FBI's corrupt relationship with Bulger and Flemmi, in particular agent John Connolly.

In exchange for his cooperation, Salemme's sentence was reduced, and he entered the witness protection program.

Prosecutors say Connolly tipped off Bulger and Salemme to their impending indictment, allowing Bulger to flee in 1994 and remain a fugitive until 2011.

Salemme is pictured in 1972 being arrested in Boston for the murder of Wimpy Bennett

In return for testifying against Connolly, Salemme was granted witness protection and had been living in Atlanta until DiSarro's body was uncovered.

After learning that the body had been found he fled, and was eventually tracked to Connecticut where he was found with a car full of clothes and cash.

Defense lawyers say that Flemmi, who is serving a life sentence for 10 murders, cannot not be trusted.

Steven Boozang, Salemme's lawyer, said Salemme has consistently denied killing DiSarro despite the potential to get a 'free pass' by cooperating with investigators.

'Just because he's done bad things doesn't mean he's done this,' Boozang said.

SAlemme also pleaded guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice and admitted to lying to authorities when he said he another former Mafia leader may have been involved in DiSarro's killing.

Salemme's appearance is now a long way from his days as a feared mob boss.

On his first day in court he wore a baggy gray suit with his thinning gray hair slicked back, and looked frail as he walked from a wheelchair to meet his lawyers.

The trial began on Wednesday last week and testimony resumed on Monday.

Both Salemme and Weadick deny any involvement in the killing. The trial continues.
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Britain is in for yet another scorching May Bank Holiday after the record-breaking weekender was enjoyed at the start of the month.

Last weekend, temperatures in some parts of the country skyrocketed to 84F (28.7C), and experts predict that more sunshine in store before the second Bank Holiday this month, which falls on May 28.

Parts of the UK sizzled in 75F (24C) heat during Tuesday - making the country as hot as Spain - but a weather roller coaster will ride through the country this week, with rain set for the north today.

Patchy rain or drizzle will affect northern England and Wales and a cooler day can be expected through Wednesday, though many places will be dry with some spells of sunshine.

Yesterday's sweltering 75F (24C) heat beat Spain's temperatures, as holiday hot spots such as Barcelona and Ibiza had a mild day at 64F (18C). Temperatures are expected to dip to 59F (15C) today and slowly increase throughout the week.

The burst of heat follows last weekend's record-setting May Bank Holiday, as temperatures skyrocketed to 84F (28.7C), and experts predict the late May Bank Holiday will also be a scorcher. Pictured: The River Cam, Cambridge on Tuesday

A passerby takes a photo of wisteria growing on Mary Maggs shop in Broadway, Worcestershire on Tuesday as decorations celebrated the upcoming Royal Wedding in the sunshine

Britain sizzled in 75F (24C) heat yesterday making the UK as hot as Spain, but the country is set for a roller coaster of weather this week

People enjoy the sunshine on the beach in Brighton, East Sussex on Tuesday afternoon, as the country braces itself for a roller-coaster week of weather

Most of southern England basked in sunshine on Tuesday, but Northern Ireland and Scotland had overcast skies with bursts of light rain. Pictured: A couple walk towards the Seven Sisters cliffs from Seaford Head yesterday morning in Seaford

People walk up the Seven Sisters cliffs from the beach below on Tuesday during the warm weather but parts of the country will be hit with rain this evening

Most of England enjoyed a dry Tuesday but patchy rain or drizzle will affect northern parts of England and Wales overnight. Pictured: Cows grazing in the Seven Sisters Country Park in Seaford on Tuesday

An elderly woman with a walking stick looks out to sea while enjoying the mini-heatwave on Tuesday in Eastbourne

An elderly man fishes off the beach in front of the Eastbourne Pier on Tuesday afternoon in Eastbourne but the UK is set for a roller-coaster week of weather

Today, a band of clouds is likely to affect southern and central areas of England, along with Wales, giving a few areas of rain, but there will be some sunshine tomorrow.

It will be cool on Thursday but dry, with highs of 61F (16C). On Friday, the forecast looks to be largely bright and dry, with some reasonable sunny spells. The high is 61F (16C). However, clouds will edge into the north-west later in the day with possible drizzle.

Wisteria growing on the Castle Hotel in Taunton, Somerset on Tuesday. The recent sunny spell has triggered the blooming of Britain's favourite lilac coloured plant

Two young women punting on the River Cam in Cambridge on Tuesday afternoon as the UK basked under a temporary heatwave that put Spain to shame

Pictured: Weather map of Tuesday morning (left) and the forecast for Tuesday late afternoon (right)

Despite the heatwave at 75F (24C), temperatures are expected to dip to 59F (15C) on Wednesday and slowly increase throughout the week. Pictured: Women sunbathing on a beach in in Brighton, East Sussex, on Tuesday afternoon

In good news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, forecasters claim the 'weather gods will be smiling' on them as they walk down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor on Saturday with temperatures expected to hit 73F (23C).

The warm spell is expected to hold out until Monday at 72F (22C) and continue throughout next week.

Forecaster Bonnie Diamond said some 'puffs of light, fluffy cloud' may form in the late morning and early afternoon as temperatures soar but not enough to completely block out the sun on Saturday for the royal wedding.

She said: 'We are expecting it to be fine and dry. There could be a little bit of mist early on but that will burn off relatively quickly.

'The main uncertainty is cloud cover, with fair weather cloud developing through the afternoon - it's temperature driven.'

Thought to be the longest single vine in the UK, Wisteria blooms at Wickham Park Farm in Essex on Tuesday as the county was bathed in sunshine like much of southern England

The warm weather is back as tourists and families enjoy punting on the River Cam, Cambridge on the lovely day before the weather takes a change later this week

Friends sit and enjoy the hot weather this after noon near the River Cam in Cambridge, left, as a man played guitar while sitting outside in the city

People can be seen enjoying the hot weather on the River Cam in Cambridge on Tuesday as warm spells continue into next week after some initial roller-coaster temperatures

She continued: 'At the moment the average temperature looks like 19C to 20C (68F) but up to 23C is possible.

'The amount of sunshine and cloud cover will determine whether we get those upper temperatures.'

Most of the UK is expected to share in the fine and dry weather but there is a chance of some rain as it become cloudier and breezier in far north-western parts.

Bookmakers Ladbrokes make it an odds-on chance that highs of at least 25C (77F) will be reached on Saturday, while they offer odds of 9/4 the wedding day will be the hottest day of 2018 so far.

To do so, the mercury would need to rise higher than the 29.1C (84.3F) it reached on April 19.

Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said yesterday: 'It's going to be quite a bit warmer than usual [today], with a repeat performance on Tuesday and possible highs of 77F (25C) in Hampshire.'

Bookmakers Ladbrokes make it an odds-on chance that highs of at least 25C (77F) will be reached on Saturday, while they offer odds of 9/4 the wedding day will be the hottest day of 2018 so far. Pictured: Young women in Cambridge on Tuesday

People can be seen enjoying the hot weather on the River Cam in Cambridge on Tuesday

A man tans in the 75F (24C) weather at St James' Park on Tuesday afternoon, enjoying the warm day before temperatures dip to 59F (15C) on Wednesday

Two people rest in the sunshine on the beach in front of the Eastbourne Pier on Tuesday afternoon

An ice cream trucks rolls through The Downs in Bristol on Tuesday morning, as temperatures are expected to reach 75F (24C)

The sweltering 75F (24C) heat slightly beats out Spain, as hot spots such as Barcelona and Ibiza are enjoying a mild 64F (18C) day. Both runners and dog-walkers made the most of the sweltering conditions in Bristol (pictured)

'High pressure across the UK will produce 'home grown heat' that will warm up large parts of the country.

'It looks like it will turn warmer from the weekend of the royal wedding onwards. Warm air is expected to come up from the near continent, with warmer-than-average conditions likely for the UK as a whole.'

The British weather has in the past marred major royal events. In June 2012, the Queen and Prince Philip were left shivering in pouring rain as they sailed down the Thames in a flotilla marking the monarch's Diamond Jubilee.

But Mr Burkill said: 'Saturday looks pleasant for the wedding, with dry and bright conditions most likely.'

He added: 'The week ahead will see a lot of fine weather, and that is likely to continue for the royal wedding.

'Early indications are for Saturday in Windsor to be dry and bright with highs around 18C (64F), a touch above the 17C average.

This Tuesday could see 25C (77F) in the South, before highs return to normal on Wednesday and then edge upwards again on Saturday.'

Britain is set to sizzle in 75F (24C) heat today making the UK as hot as Spain. Pictured: Two people enjoying the weather while on a drive in Bristol today

Experts predict the late May Bank Holiday in two weeks will also be a scorcher. Pictured: A man cycling in Bristol

Tourists and Londoners enjoyed the warm and sunny weather in St James' Park on Tuesday

On Friday, it will be largely bright and dry, with some reasonable sunny spells. The high is 61F (16C). However, clouds will edge into the north-west later with possible drizzle. Pictured: A woman in London on Tuesday

Pictured: People enjoying the warm weather on The Downs in Bristol on Tuesday

Pictured: Wisteria blooms in the tranquil Stoke Poges Memorial garden in Buckinhamshire
Sweden needs to hire 124,000 new public sector workers by 2025 to keep up with the country's growing - and ageing - population, a new report warns.

The Swedish work force is estimated to increase by 207,000 in the next seven years, of which 60 per cent would need to enter the public sector in order to maintain the welfare state.

Sweden is known to have one of the highest taxes in the West, with its population benefiting from national healthcare, free primary and university education and heavily subsidized care for the elderly.

Public sector crisis: The Swedish public sector needs another 124,000 workers by 2025 in order to maintain its welfare state as its population ages

The public sector is the biggest employer in Sweden, however, due to the projected demographic changes in the country, it now requires more workers.

The annual report from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) found that the lack of public sector workers will eventually put the country's world-famous welfare state at risk.

To keep the current level of service provision, the Swedish public sector needs an additional 124,000 workers by 2025.

This would mean 60 per cent of the total workforce increase - estimated at 207,000 people.

At the moment, around 30 per cent of those entering the workforce do so into the public sector - a figure which has remained largely unchanged for the past ten years.

No pain, no gain: Sweden has high taxes, but as a result its population benefits from national healthcare, free primary and university education and heavily subsidized care for the elderly

As a result, SKL writes in its report, the goal of 124,000 new public sector workers in the next seven years is 'not realistic'. 'Instead, productivity in the public sector - as in the private sector - must increase.'

SKL chairman Lena Micko says: 'The public sector will need to recruit, but we also need new working methods where we utilise the possibilities of technology to ease workload and make staff more effective.

'Making working full time the norm, and having a longer working life could also decrease the need for more co-workers,' she adds.

SKL writes in the report that an increase of funds is necessary to be able to sustain the current welfare state, which it suggests could be sourced from increased taxes.

As Sweden is going to the polls in September, suggestions of raising already high taxes could prove controversial.

The main issues during the election campaign are expected to be health care, education and immigration, with the far-right Sweden Democrats yet again on the rise following the country's record immigration figures.

Sweden has registered around 400,000 asylum requests since 2012, or one for every 25 inhabitants - the highest in Europe.
A man and a woman have been left with critical burns after a plane crashed and went up in flames at a regional airport.

The light plane crashed about 7pm Tuesday and left the two passengers aged in their 40s with serious burns to their head and hands.

The small four seater plan crashed at Orange, central New South Wales, where two people were airlifted to Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.

A man and a woman have been left with critical burns after a plane crashed at a regional airport at about 7pm Tuesday (pictured)

The light plane crashed and caught fire, leaving two passengers aged in their 40s with serious burns to their head and hands

'A light aircraft with two occupants was allegedly practicing taking off and landing procedures subsequently they had a crash landing which resulted in a fire,' NSW Ambulance Inspector Jason Speight told media.

Inspector Speight said the pair suffered serious burns and 'suspected fractures' to their legs, arm and scalp.

'They were both conscious when removed ... the female was more injured,' he said.

'It's a sad day for the family.'

Canobolas Zone NSW Rural Fire Service said brigades were on scene shortly after seeing a 'light plane come down at Orange Airport' which caused it to catch fire.

Two ambulance helicopters arrived at the scene after the plane caught fire as well as a number of emergency crews.

The exact cause of the crash is unknown.
A five-year-old albino girl has been snatched and beheaded after a ritual murder for her body parts, which are deemed magical in Mali.

Armed men abducted Djeneba Diarra from her family's home in Fana village, 78 miles north of Mali's capital, Bamako, as the child.

Police said she was sleeping in the courtyard with her mother and her sister when kidnappers struck.

The girl's mother at first tried to pursue the kidnappers, who scaled a wall with her child, but then turned back to protect her second daughter, also an albino.

A five-year-old albino girl has been snatched and beheaded after a ritual murder for her body parts which are deemed magical in Mali. File picture shows Malian soldiers

'We searched for the little girl everywhere. We found her body beside a mosque, but she had no head,' said a village teacher, Oumar Diakite.

Blaming a lack of security for the killing, angry local residents on Sunday partially burned down the paramilitary police headquarters in Fana, according to several witnesses.

'We demand justice. Her head was taken. This is a ritual crime,' activist Mamadou Sissoko told AFP after going to the scene.

Sissoko, the general secretary of the Federation of Associations of Persons with Albinism in West Africa (FAPAO), pointed out the link between crimes against albinos and political events, ahead of Mali's presidential election on July 29.

'Every time there are elections, we become prey for people who want to make ritual sacrifices. This is not the first time this has happened in Fana,' he said. 'The state needs to take up its responsibilities.'

An albino legend on the international stage, Malian musician Salif Keita has for years campaigned for the protection of albinos, who are both stigmatised and hunted for ritual purposes in many African countries, including Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe as well as in West Africa.

One of Mali's leading musicians, Salif Keita, seen here with his daugher Nanty, is a campaigner against anti-albino prejudice and crime

Dozens of albinos are attacked and killed every year by people prepared to hack off their limbs to use in rituals aimed at bringing wealth, success and good fortune.

Albinism is a genetic hereditary disorder that causes a partial or total absence of pigmentation in the skin, the hair and the eyes, so that sufferers have a bleached look.

Apart from discrimination, albinos are also exposed to problems of eyesight and a heightened risk of skin cancer. In Africa, protective suntan creams are hard to find and expensive.
Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney has been hailed for her commencement speech at Vanderbilt University in Nashville where she appeared to take aim at President Donald Trump and his failure at defending the rights of a free press.

After being given the schools Nicols-Chancellors Medal, Amal also stressed that courage is needed now more than ever and she discussed equality and the struggles of the media in addition to women and the LGBTQ community.

International human rights lawyer Amal Clooney seen here speaking during Senior Day activities at Vanderbilt University in May 2018

Courage, as they say, is contagious. People who have had the courage to change their societies - in India, in South Africa, in the United States - inspire each other and create rights for future generations. But when I look at the world today, I see that courage is needed more than ever, Amal said.

Who is Amal Clooney?

Born Amal Alamuddin on February 3, 1978, in Beirut, Lebanon, her family left the country during the Lebanese Civil War in the 1980s and lived in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.

After attending school in Buckinghamshire, Amal graduated with a BA in Oxford Universitys equivalent to the LLB, Jurisprudence.

In 2001, she started studying for her LLM at New York University School of Law, where she worked in the office of Sonia Sotomayor, a judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Amal was admitted to the Bar in New York a year later and in England & Wales in 2010, making her qualified to practice law in both the US and the UK.

In this picture, Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with actor George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney at the Federal Chancellery to talk about refugee policy and Germany's commitment to the International Rescue Committee in 2016

After working at Sullivan & Cromwell for three years for clients such as Enron and Arthur Andersen and completing her judicial clerkship at the International Court of Justice, she was later based in The Hague.

Here, she worked in the Office of the Prosecutor at the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon and at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

On her return to London in 2010, she became a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and was appointed to a number of United Nations commissions such as adviser to Special Envoy Kofi Annan on Syria.

Amal has also been involved in cases that represented Cambodia, Julian Assange and the King of Bahrain.

She also took on a few teaching roles at Columbia Law School and will teach a human rights class as a co-professor with Sarah H. Cleveland in spring 2018.

The media seen here surrounding Canadian Al-Jazeera English journalist Mohammed Fahmy with his lawyer Amal Clooney and the Canadian ambassador to Egypt Troy Lulashnyk before his verdict in a courtroom in Cairo, Egypt in 2015

Amal Clooneys human rights cases

In 2014, Amal Clooney represented Canadian Al Jazeera journalist Mohamed Fahmy, who was being held in Egypt and was later sentenced to three years in prison. In this year, Amal also declined a UN commission.

She was then hired to repatriate the ancient Greek Elgin Marbles, but she was later dismissed as their brief after legal proceedings were halted.

Amal then began work on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and alongside Geoffrey Robertson QC, represented the state against the Turkish politician and leader of the left-wing nationalist Patriotic Party, Dogu Perincek.

In 2015, she filed a case against the government of the Philippines for the detention of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was a sitting congresswoman at the time. Amal was also part of the legal team working in defense of the former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed.

In the same year, Amal also started working on the case that was reopened by the Irish government on the former Prime Minister Edward Heaths policies and the alleged interrogation methods used during Operation Demetrius, a British Army mission during the Troubles.

The next year, Amal represented Azerbaijani journalist Khadija Ismayilova, whose investigative work had resulted in imprisonment and later spoke at the United Nations to discuss her decision to handle former ISIS sex slave Nadia Murad.

British lawyer Amal Clooney seen here listening to Former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed during a press conference in London in 2016

George and Amal Clooney

George Clooney met Amal at a charity dinner in September 2013 as the actors father Nick Clooney explained in People.

[My wife] Nina and I were actually the ones who answered the door when Amal came in, She introduced herself to us and we talked.

'She was obviously very charming, gorgeous and so clearly accomplished, but by the time we had supper that night, it was clear there was a kindness to her and an inclusiveness.

Nick continued: I really think by the time that first [meeting] was over, his and her fates were sealed, both of them. She was so remarkable and he was so remarkable around her. The couple made their first public appearance in London a month later.

They were then seen holding hands at a White House screening of Georges film The Monuments Men in February 2013 and they went on their first holiday together.

George Clooney and his wife Amal Clooney seen arriving for the screening of Money Monster during the 69th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes in 2016

George proposed to Amal on April 22, 2013, at his home in California and the seven-carat emerald cut diamond engagement ring is thought to be worth over $750,000 (553,000).

Despite never announcing their engagement, they attended Bonos birthday party after the proposal and George invited her mother to his home in Lake Cuomo, Italy.

On September 27, 2014, George and Amal Clooney married in Italy and welcomed A-list guests such as Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Anna Wintour and Bill Murray. They later had a civil ceremony in Venice.

Amal Clooney twins

Amal and George confirmed they were expecting twins in February 2017 after she debuted her baby bump at the Cesar Awards in Paris.

The twins were born on June 6, 2017 and were named Ella and Alexander Clooney.

Amal Clooney Met Gala 2018

Co-chair of the Met Gala 2018, Amal Clooney turned heads with her silver bustier gown which had a floral train of at least four feet long, designed by Brit Richard Quinn.

Amal Clooney's Vanderbilt speech

In her commencement speech to the class of 2018 Vanderbilt University graduates, Amal Clooney appeared to be referencing Trump and his failure to defend the rights of a free press.

At a time when more journalists are in prison around the world than in any time in the last three decades - and even here at home, [where] the media is under attack from the White House - we need courage.

And at a time when our politicians try to conflate the term refugee and terrorist and make us fear one another, we need courage.

'Character traits like persistence, ambition, inquisitiveness and grit that will determine your success. However, the thing that will define you as a person is your courage. That is the virtue on which all others depend.

'We need young people with the courage to say this is our world now and there's going to be some changes.

Be courageous. Challenge orthodoxy. Stand up for what you believe in. When you are in your rocking chair talking to your grandchildren many years from now, be sure you have a good story to tell.'

Amal Clooney net worth

Amal Clooneys net worth has accumulated to approximately $10 million (7.4m), according to Celebrity Net Worth.

George Clooney net worth

George Clooney's net worth is approximately $500 million (368m).
An Al Jazeera journalist narrowly avoided being shot by a sniper and hit by a drone-fired tear gas grenade as she was reporting at the deadly Gaza protests.

Dramatic video shows the network's international correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid ducking for cover in front of the camera as a bullet whistled past her.

The journalist, who was wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, posted a second video on her Twitter feed showing tear gas canisters dropping from the sky and landing within yards of television crews.

Dramatic footage has emerged showing the moment an Al Jazeera English journalist narrowly avoided being shot by a sniper

Video shows the network's international correspondent Hoda Abdel-Hamid ducking for cover in front of the camera as a bullet whistled past her

The journalist, who was wearing a helmet and bullet-proof vest, posted a second video on her Twitter feed showing tear gas canisters dropping from the sky and landing within yards of television crews

Footage shows the canisters dropping from a drone and thudding into the ground, sending reporters diving for cover and leaving them coughing and gasping for air.

In messages posted along with the video, Abdel-Hamid wrote: 'Targeting journalists won't make the Gaza problem go away

'This happened while away from the fence and no one around us was throwing stones or doing anything else... people were sitting, watching from afar while trying to keep safe. But there was nowhere to be safe, neither by the fence or away from it.'

She is now being treated following her ordeal, according to Al Jazeera English.

About 60 people were killed in yesterday's clashes and more than 2,000 were injured as huge protests took place over the opening of America's new embassy in Jerusalem.

Footage shows the canisters dropping from a drone and thudding into the ground, sending reporters diving for cover and leaving them coughing and gasping for air

Monday's violence on the border was the bloodiest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict. Palestinians rallied in Gaza today for the funerals of those killed.

Palestinian leaders have called Monday's events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation.

Israel has said it is acting in self-defence to defend its borders and communities. Its main ally the United States has backed that stance, with both saying that Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the coastal enclave, instigated the violence.
A pervert climbed through an eight-year-old girl's window and assaulted her in her bed in the dead of night.

The man broke into the girl's home in Kingsford, east Sydney between 1.30am and 4.30am on Monday.

He climbed on to her bed and indecently touched her before leaving.

An eight-year-old girl was indecently assaulted by a 50-year-old home invader after he broke into her room as she slept in her bed. Pictured: Kingsford, east Sydney

The girl reported the incident to her mother who contacted police. She was not physically injured in the incident.

Detectives from Eastern Beaches Police Area Command are investigating the incident and have obtained a statement from the girl.

The man has been described as about 50 years old, with an Australian or English accent, and he was wearing a dark hooded jumper.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The parents of a five-year-old girl who was attacked by a black bear this weekend were surprisingly calm as they called 911 to report the mauling.

Kimberly Cyr was attacked by a black bear outside her East Orchard Mesa, Colorado home around 2:30am on Sunday.

While previous reports stated that Kimberly was attacked when she went outside to investigate a noise that she believed to be the family dog, in the 911 call, her dad says the five-year-old girl was camping outside alone.

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In this photograph provided by the Colorado Department of Parks and Wildlife, the paw of a bear believed to have mauled a young child is examined after being shot and killed Monday

Her parents also repeatedly decline the dispatchers offer to send an ambulance, even though the bear was still in the backyard when they called police.

Kimberly's dad says he can get her into the car safely since he has a gun to arm himself against the bear.

In the call, he said his daughter wasn't bleeding heavily, but had been bitten in the butt and leg.

'She's just missing a chunk out of her back, a couple spots in her leg,' he says.

TRANSCRIPT OF BEAR ATTACK 911 CALL Two clips from the Cyr family's 12-minute 911 call have been released. Below is a transcript of the two clips Dispatcher: Tell me exactly what happened. Mom: Um, my daughter was just attacked by a small brown bear. Dispatcher: Ok. Are you guys safe now? Mom: uh, yeah. I had to chase it through the yard. Dispatcher: Ok, do you guys want us to send you an ambulance? Mom: Um...[asks someone away from the phone] Do we need an ambulance? Sobs heard Mom: No, he'll get her there. Dispatcher: We're gonna have a deputy go out and check that area. Where did you last see the bear at? Mom: Um, my backyard. Dad: I just went to the back door, and it came up to the back door. Dispatcher: Ok, so it's still outside? Dad: Yup. Dispatcher: Ok. Dispatcher: Are you guys gonna be safely able to exit, sir, because I don't want you to take her to the hospital if you're not going to be able to go outside? Dad: I mean I can go out if I take a gun out. Dispatcher: Ok. Dad: I mean, I've got a .22 that I could shoot a round off in the air. Dispatcher: Right, I mean, you definitely don't want to shoot at it with that, I understand. Dispatcher: And what part of the body was injured? Dad: Her butt. Her back. He picked her up by the butt. Dispatcher: He picked her up by her butt. Ok, do you think with his mouth or paws? Dad: With his mouth. Dispatcher: Ok, ok. Do you have any other children sir? Dad: Yes, I've got two other kids of ours and then we have a few grandkids here. Dispatcher: Gotcha, were they all outside or just her? Dad: Just her. She's the only girl. All the rest are boys. Dispatcher: Oh my goodness. So she was out camping by herself? Dad: Yes. Advertisement

Her mother described how she had to chase the bear away in order to get it to drop her daughter.

Kimberly's father drove her to St. Mary's Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado where she underwent a three-hour surgery to repair soft tissue injuries caused by the bear's teeth.

Dr. Charles Breaux, a pediatric surgeon at the hospital, told ABC News that Kimberly has hundreds of stitches but no fractures and is expected to 'mend very well'. Doctors will continue to monitor so she doesn't develop any infections or rabies, a hospital spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the black bear believed to have been behind the attack has been shot and killed.

Officials said they killed the bear Sunday night in a semi-rural area about a half-mile from where the girl was attacked. Three traps were set to catch the bear, but officers killed it before the animal entered one.

St Mary's Medical Center surgeon Charles Breaux, center, talks on Monday sharing that Kimberly Cyr, five, is in good condition and received 77 stitches on her back side

An autopsy has been conducted on the 127-pound, two-year-old male bear that attacked Kimberly Cyr outside of her East Orchard Mesa home early Sunday morning. Above, a stock image of a black bear in Canada

The attack led officials to renew their call for residents to secure food sources and use bear-proof trash cans.

Wildlife officers are confident the bear they killed is the same one that attacked the girl based on its appearance and behavior, but authorities won't know for sure until its body is analyzed.

Results are expected within about a week.

The traps will remain in place in the meantime and state and federal wildlife officers, with the help of dogs, will keep searching the area for signs of additional bears.

Colorado has an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 bears, a population that's considered robust in a state of 5.7 million people that also attracts many tourists.

Every year, there are cases of hungry bears getting into cars and sometimes buildings to find food, especially during periods of drought.

Wildlife officials stress black bears are not out to hunt people but that conflicts, including attacks, can happen once bears get access to easy, calorie-rich human food and return for more.

Another bear was spotted about a half-mile from the girl's home a week ago, Romatzke said.

The area is nestled between the Gunnison and Colorado rivers, which provide corridors for migrating wildlife.
The makers of Tabasco have released a $35 limited edition sauce to celebrate the company's 150th anniversary.

McIlhenny Company has introduced the 'Tabasco Diamond Reserve Sauce' which comes in a flashy, miniature champagne bottle.

It's made from tabasco peppers on Avery Island that are mashed with salt and aged for 15 years then blended with sparkling white wine vinegar.

'Tabasco Diamond Reserve Sauce' comes in a flashy, miniature champagne bottle and costs $35

The sauce promises 'exceptional complexity, while maintaining the signature flavor and vibrancy for which Tabasco Sauce is celebrated'.

Tony Simmons, CEO of McIlhenny Company, said: 'We have reached this milestone anniversary thanks to our devoted fans who have championed Tabasco Sauce in kitchens and at dining tables, in restaurants and in handbags from Avery Louisiana to every corner of the world.

'We're excited to share our newest sauce and look forward to seeing the dishes and drinks that are created using it. Here's to the next 150 years of great flavor.'
The daughter of a murdered Victorian woman will appear as a witness to testify against her father.

Borce Ristevski, 54, was charged with killing his wife Karen who went missing from their north-west Melbourne home in June 2016.

The 47-year-old's body was found eight months later under a fallen tree at Mount Macedon Regional Park in central Victoria.

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Sarah Ristevski, 22, (pictured) will appear as a witness to testify against her own father

According to the Herald Sun, their daughter Sarah Ristevski will appear as a prosecution witness in the murder case against her father.

The 22-year-old lived with her parents at their Avondale Heights home when her mother went missing.

Police released CCTV footage months later revealing Mrs Ristevski's Mercedes-Benz SLK coupe driving towards the park on the day she disappeared.

Borce Ristevski, 54, (right) was charged with killing his wife Karen who went missing from their north-west Melbourne home in June 2016

Police pulled information from the phones of Mr and Mrs Ristevski after the woman vanished, and both phones were found to have connected with transmission towers on the Calder Freeway.

Police believe Mrs Ristevski's body may have been in the vehicle shown in the CCTV footage.

A family friend claimed the couple were 'great' and dismissed earlier rumours she was having an affair with her ice-addicted step son.

Karen Ristevski, 47, (pictured right) was found eight months later under a fallen tree at Mount Macedon Regional Park in central Victoria

'They were obviously in love. It was the picture-perfect family, even my own parents admired their family.'

Mr Ristevski's lawyers are attempting to file a suppression order to the Melbourne Magistrates'Court.

The application states it would be necessary for a 'fair trial' and reporting was 'deliberately toxic' after charged were laid against him.
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These fascinating photos reveal how America's first band of special forces had to be trained by hardened British commandos in the Scottish Highlands during the Second World War.

US President Franklin D Roosevelt feared his troops lacked combat experience as they entered the global conflict in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941.

He established a 'hit and run' group to be trained by the British elite commandos who had launched successful raids against the German held Lofoten Islands in Norway.

Members of the US 1st Ranger Battalion were sent to Scotland to undergo commando training in June 1942

As part of their training, the men of the battalion, pictured here wearing British uniforms, regularly underwent 20-mile speed marches to build up their basic fitness as well as their stamina

The Rangers were joined on their training exercises by US photographer Phil Stern who followed them to Scotland

Five hundred men were recruited to be part of the 1st Ranger Battalion who began exercises at the British Commando Training Depot in Achnacarry in the Highlands on June 28, 1942.

For the next three months, the recruits were subjected to gruelling training at various bases including Dundee and Corker Hill, west of Glasgow.

They were woken by bagpipes and then ordered to do 20 mile speed marches, cliff climbing, barbed wire obstacle courses and hand to hand fighting.

The photos were taken by acclaimed photographer Phil Stern who was assigned to the US Army Rangers during the conflict.

The Rangers had to scale a 20-foot high Commando obstacle as part of their intensive training in Scotland

Much of the Commando training involved hand-to-hand combat as well as training with live ammunition

President Roosevelt wanted to ensure his elite troops had been trained in harsh conditions to prepare them for battle

They feature in a new book, Snapdragon, which celebrates Stern's body of work both in the theatre of war and later in Hollywood where he snapped Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra.

One photo shows a group of bare chested Rangers carrying logs, while another captures troops wading in full equipment through an icy stream.

There are photos of Rangers scaling a 20ft high wooden structure during an obstacle course and the group marching through the picturesque Scottish countryside.

To test the resolve of the Rangers, British commandos would shout insults at them, calling them 'lousy Americans', 'ice cream guzzlers' and 'Coca Cola hounds'.

But they received a far friendlier welcome when they stayed with Scottish families in Dundee who cooked them meals and took them down the local pubs.

One image shows a Ranger clutching a guitar as he walks past tents along a mud filled path.

Rangers were expected to cross rivers wearing their full battle kit during the intensive training designed by Commandos

These Rangers charge towards Stern's camera during a light-hearted moment at Corker Hill, near Dundee in 1942

This Ranger is crouching beside several infantry weapons including heavy machine guns, rifles, grenades and pistols

Another reveals a packed chapel service as the troops enjoyed a welcome respite from the physical challenges.

After completing their training in Scotland, the Rangers were sent to North Africa where they participated in the landings in Algeria and the fighting in Tunisia in 1943.

Stern followed them and took many photos showing both the heat of battle and troops recuperating away from the front line.

In total, 1.4 million American troops were posted around the UK, from Scotland to Cornwall, in preparation for D-Day.

Many of them visited London and one photo shows an American soldier adopting a silly pose while stood next to a 'danger, unexploded bomb' sign in Westminster.

They could be found in large number frequenting local pubs and dance clubs, with one popular hang out, The American Red Cross Club near Piccadilly Circus, serving waffles, hamburgers, doughnuts and Coca Cola 24 hours a day.

Stern, from Philadelphia, died aged 95 in 2014 and his war-time memoirs and photos have been published in a new book which is released later this month.

The Rangers were led by Colonel William Orlando Darby, pictured, who was known to fight alongside his men in battle

Among the many skills developed by the Ranger force was the ability to climb rocks as well as fight at night

His co-author Liesl Brander, 50, a journalist who completed the book after Stern's death, said: 'Rangers were subjected to some of the most gruelling training shelled out during World War Two.

'There were 20-mile speed marches, cliff climbing, bayonet and barbed wire obstacle courses, a death slide across a raging river and instruction in the art of guerrilla warfare, from hand-to-hand fighting to demolitions and night fighting.

'Later they would be subjected to amphibious training with live ammunition and grenades.

'Reveille by bagpipe, which the Rangers hated worse than bugles, announced the start of the day, and the Brits would constantly taunt the Rangers with what now seem like rather tame verbal heckles.

'Unlike other war photographers on assignment with various news outlets, Stern was a bonafied member of an elite army unit, allowing him unrestricted access to the front lines, training and behind the scenes of a regular G.I.

'His photographs reveal a visual timeline of a fresh-faced, enthusiastic G.I, grinning from ear to ear, to a hardened veteran who has seen the depravity of war.

'When he passed away I took up the reins on finishing his war-time memoir as per his wishes.'

Snapdragon, The World War Two Exploits of Darby's Ranger and Combat Photographer, by Phil Stern and Liesl Brander, is published by Osprey on May 31 and costs 20.

After completing their training, the Rangers were entitled to sew the special battalion badge onto their uniforms

All Rangers carried rifles to make it more difficult for enemy snipers to identify and kill any officers

Only one quarter of the 2,000 men who volunteered to undergo Ranger training were selected in 1942

Part of the intensive training involved learning how to move across terrain in a stealthy fashion while at night
An ex-lover of a man accused of murdering his wife claims he was asked 'if he could kill' after they had sex the first time.

John Chardon will now face trial after the Brisbane Court heard a string of allegations in a five-day committal hearing in Brisbane.

Magistrate Penelope Hay ruled on Tuesday there was enough evidence for his case to be tried before a Supreme Court jury.

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Novy (pictured) was last seen at her Upper Coomera home on February 6, 2013, but her body has never been found.

The Gold Coast businessman is accused of shooting his wife in the back of the head and dumping her body at sea in February 2013, three years before he was charged.

Filipino man Marshall Bari Aguilor claimed Chardon asked him if he could kill after the pair had sex for the first time at a hotel in the Philippines.

'I was stunned but I didn't show him that expression. I just controlled myself,' he said.

Aguilor said he asked Chardon who he wanted to kill.

'He said, 'My wife',' he told the court.

John Chardon (pictured) will face trial after a string of explosive allegations heard in court

Aguilor said Chardon told him he wanted Novy dead because she wanted a divorce and as a result she would get half his business.

'He said ... 'I know she has a boyfriend. It is not fair that half of what I have founded and worked for can go to this boyfriend and he becomes instantly rich',' he told the court.

Aguilor claimed he was also asked if he could help Chardon find three hit men, who he would pay $US10,000 each, 'to do the job for Novy.

The court heard he was paid 30,000 pesos, the equivalent of about $750, to find the hit men but never did.

Marshall Bari Aguilor, pictured, leaving the Brisbane Magistrates Court in Brisbane on Tuesday after giving evidence in court

Aguilor also claimed he met Chardon 'many times' over the years. The last time was in January 2013, two weeks before Novy disappeared.

Earlier in the committal hearing, convicted conman Peter Foster alleged Chardon made a jailhouse confession, while the pair shared a cell in 2015, that he shot his wife in the back of the head.

He had not been charged with his wife's murder at that point and was incarcerated on other offences.

Foster claimed Chardon had a breakdown on the night of March 31, 2015, where he admitted shooting her with a handgun and a 'crude' homemade silencer.

Foster alleged in his police statement that Chardon said he took her body to the Southport Seaway when the tide was going out, punctured her stomach and attached weights.

Chardon allegedly told Foster that because Novy was so small, she would have 'shot out of the seaway like a submarine torpedo'.

Foster and Aguilor were forced to deny they were motivated to help with the case because of a $250,000 reward.

Defence barrister Tony Kimmins also repeatedly questioned the pair about their ability to lie.

Novy was last seen at her Upper Coomera home on February 6, 2013, but her body has never been found.

Chardon entered a plea of not guilty on Tuesday afternoon.

He will go on trial at a date to be set.
An Oklahoma mother is on the run after allegedly setting her house on fire, stabbing her 11-year-old daughter multiple times and then kidnapping her seven-year-old daughter.

Police are searching for mother-of-three Taheerah Ahmad after she fled her home in Tulsa on Monday following the stabbing frenzy.

The 39-year-old is believed to be on the run with her youngest daughter Hafsa Hayle.

Ahmad had allegedly bound and gagged her three daughters by duct taping their hands and stuffing socks in their mouths.

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Police are searching for mother-of-three Taheerah Ahmad (left) after she fled her home in Tulsa on Monday with her seven-year-old daughter Hafsa Hayle (right)

She then began stabbing her 11-year-old daughter repeatedly, according to KTUL.

The youngest daughter managed to help her nine-year-old sister escape so she could run to a nearby house for help.

By the time police arrived at the home, Ahmad had already fled with her youngest daughter.

Police found the kitchen on fire and the 11-year-old suffering multiple stab wounds. . Footage shot by Fox23 shows fire crews and police inspecting the one-story family home.

Police found the kitchen on fire and the 11-year-old suffering multiple stab wounds

Ahmad, 39, (pictured above) had allegedly bound and gagged her three daughters by duct taping their hands and stuffing socks in their mouths

An Amber Alert says Ahmad may be driving a black Lexus RX300 SUV with paper tags, a 2011 Ford Escape or a navy blue Ford sedan

The injured girl remains in a critical condition in hospital and authorities say she was stabbed so many times they were unable to count the exact number of wounds.

An Amber Alert has been issued for the missing girl. The alert says Ahmad may be driving a black Lexus RX300 SUV with paper tags, a 2011 Ford Escape or a navy blue Ford sedan.

Police said it was unclear where Ahmad may be headed but that she had lived in Tennessee and Texas in the past.

Ahmad may be suffering from mental health or drug related issues, according to police.
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Theresa May spoke out against the 'troubling situation in Gaza' and called for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians in the worst clashes in the region for years.

The Prime Minister said the probe should look into why the Israelis used life fire against Palestinians as they demonstrated near the border.

And it should also look into whether the militant group Hamas infiltrated the protests to stoke violence and discord, she said.

She made the comments at a joint press conference with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who earlier today tore into the US and Israel over the 'horrible massacre'.

Speaking at the press conference, Mrs May said: 'The loss of life we have seen is tragic and extremely concerning...it is disruptive to peace efforts and we urge all sides to show restraint.

'There is an urgent need to establish the facts of what happened yesterday by having an independent investigation (which should look at) the use of live fire and the role of Hamas.'

Speaking in No 10 before the talks, Earlier, Mr Erdogan also spoke out against the violence unleashed yesterday.

Theresa May spoke out against the 'troubling situation in Gaza' and called for an independent investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians in the worst clashes in the region for years at a joint press conference today with President Erdogan

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked Israel and the US after dozens of Palestinians - many unarmed - were killed by Israeli sniper fire during protests yesterday and today, as he sat next to Theresa May in Downing Street today (pictured)

Theresa May is meeting with Turkish President Erdogan today where the pair will discuss their partnership on security matters

The Prime Minister literally rolled out the red carpet for Mr Erdogan's visit to Downing Street today where the pair are having bilateral talks

He said: 'While we are focusing our talks on the Syria issue, yesterday unfortunately significant incidents have unfolded in Palestine after the US decided to move their embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

'We are facing significant challenges and there are a lot of martyrs. There are more than 2,000 wounded and more than 50 casualties.

'Unfortunately while Israel was busy undertaking this horrible massacre, unfortunately the United States paved the way for this and laid the foundations.'

Speaking at the press conference later, he branded Israel an 'occupant power' and accuse them to 'waging terrorism'.

He added: 'The international community should mobilise to stop this oppression, once and for all.'

He also criticised Donald Trump for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem - opening it yesterday in a move many said piled fuel on the boiling tensions in the region.

Dozens have been killed in angry clashes at the Gaza border with Israel over the past 48 hours as Palestinians march against the blockade imposed on them.

The first day of protests came on the same day the US opened its new embassy in Jerusalem - sparking huge controversy ad ending the long abided-by decision of Western powers to station their diplomats in Tel Aviv in order not to antagonise the conflict.

Anti-Erdogan protesters clashed with police outside Downing Street today (pictured) as they tore into ministers for hosting the Turkish president as he locks up political opponents and human rights campaigners at home.

Pro-Kurdish groups raised concerns about human rights abuses by Mr Erdogan's government and urged Mrs May to distance herself from the Turkish leader

The angry scenes erupted just hours before Theresa May is due to hold talks with President Erdogan at Downing Street

Many dozens of protesters gathered in Whitehall today (pictured) to vent their fury at the Turkish leader's visit

Demonstrators hold placards as they protest against Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan outside the entrance to Downing Street amid a heavy police presence

As the protests raged President Erdogan was granted the honour of holding a private meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace today

President Erdogan's wife Emine also met with the Queen. They were granted the audience despite criticisms from human rights campaigners that he used the failed military coup against him in 2016 to launch and unfair and autocratic crackdown on his critics

The Turkish president has been given the red carpet treatment for his three day visit - given private audiences with the Queen at Buckingham Palace and Prince Charles at Clarence House.

But his presence has sparked angry protests by his critics who clashed with police outside Downing Street today as they demonstrated against President Erdogan's purge of political opponents in Turkey.

Why is Theresa May defying protesters to host President Erdogan in London? Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is visiting London. Here we look at the controversy surrounding the trip. Why are protests being held over the visit? Turkey's president has faced intense criticism after purging opponents in the wake of the failed 2016 coup. Around 120,000 public servants have been sacked and at least 50,000 people detained, including lawyers, police officers and academics. What about critics in the media? Analysis by the Stockholm Centre for Freedom, a human rights organisation run by journalists, found 254 journalists and media workers were in jail in Turkey, as of May 8. Turkey is now ranked 157 out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders' 2018 World Press Freedom Index. Why is No 10 keen for him to come? Downing Street says the visit is an opportunity for Britain and Turkey to demonstrate their close relationship and Theresa May will be particularly keen to foster good links as the UK prepares to quit the European Union. It comes 16 months after the Prime Minister met the president in Ankara, where they agreed a 100 million defence deal to help develop fighter jets for the Turkish air force. Is this all about Brexit then? Theresa May's political opponents believe it is. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said the Government 'appears to have substituted diplomacy for sycophancy in its pursuit of Brexit'. Advertisement

Scotland Yard said six men, aged between 17 and 54, were arrested during the anti-Erdogan clashes in Whitehall today.

Critics have accused the PM cosying up to a totalitarian leader for economic as he imposes a crackdown on political opponents, journalists and human rights campaigners in Turkey in the wake of the failed military coup against him in 2016.

Mrs May condemned last years failed coup in Turkey.

But in a pointed reference to claims about repression and abuse of human rights, she added: It is important that in the defence of democracy Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend.

Today noisy protests erupted outside Downing Street with demonstrators chanting 'Turkish state, fascist state' through a public address system.

They waved banners opposite the gates to Downing Street branding Mr Erdogan a terrorist.

Pro-Kurdish groups raised concerns about human rights abuses by Mr Erdogan's government and urged Mrs May to distance herself from the Turkish leader.

Mr Erdogan has been accused or purging opponents, sacking thousands of officials and jailing critics and journalists.

Britain is rolling out the red carpet for the Turkish leader, who is due to meet the Queen during his time in the country.

Downing Street insisted Mrs May will raise human rights issues during the talks, which are expected to be followed by a press conference.

'Our close relationship with Turkey allows us to have frank discussions,' the Prime Minister's official spokesman said.

'You can expect the Prime Minister to raise human rights.

'We have always been clear that we want Turkey to uphold its international obligations including respect for freedom of expression and political freedoms.

'It is also an opportunity for the United Kingdom and Turkey to build on our close co-operation on counter-terrorism, migration, regional stability, trade and in other vital areas.

'They have a close working relationship and there are many areas of shared interest which they look forward to discussing.'

Kurdish woman Meryl, 27, from London  who did not want to give her surname for fear of reprisals when she visits Turkey  was among scores of pro-Kurdish protesters outside Downing Street ahead of Mr Erdogan's arrival.

'He is literally killing humans  Kurdish children, babies, every human being,' she said,

'There are no human rights for Kurds in Turkey. If you are Kurdish, you get killed, you get raped.'

She said her message to Mrs May was: 'Stop supporting Turkey. I'm sure she clearly sees there is a war in Turkey and civilians  not terrorists  are getting killed.'

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Prince Charles at his official residence Clarence House this morning (pictured together) - while the angry scenes erupted in nearby Whitehall

The two men smiled and posed for the cameras as they met for talks at the royal residence today - but Mr Erdogan is facing heavy criticisms from human rights campaigners over his crackdown of political opponents in Turkey

Fellow protester Fero Firat said: 'Erdogan is very authoritarian and he wants to be one man ruling every aspect of life in Turkey.

'Since 2015 he has killed over 1,000 civilians in the Kurdish region.

'Theresa May is selling weapons to Turkey and he is here, probably for that reason.

'Our demand for the Prime Minister in the UK is not to sell weapons to Erdogan because he is using them against civilians.'

Further down Whitehall, separated by a large police presence, a small counter-demonstration of Erdogan supporters waved Turkish flags.

Among the groups protesting against Mr Erdogan's visit were Reporters Without Borders, the Cartoonists Rights Network International and the Index on Censorship.

A Palestinian man hurls a stone during clashes with Israeli forces on May 15, 2018 near the border fence with Israel today as the region suffers its most deadly protests in years

A Palestinian protester tends to an injured comrade during clashes near the border with Israel today. Critics of the US say Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem antagonised the already tense situation

Around 250 journalists and media workers are in jail in Turkey.

Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK's Director, said: 'This visit is an opportunity for Theresa May to show the President that human rights and a thriving civil society in Turkey are a priority for the UK.

'Under the cloak of a state of emergency, the Turkish authorities have deliberately set about dismantling civil society, locking up human rights defenders, shutting down organisations and creating a suffocating climate of fear.

'Turkey must lift the current state of emergency and other such draconian measures before there is no independent, critical civil society left.

'This should include the release of human rights defenders, including our Amnesty colleague Taner Klc, who has been held for almost a year without a shred of evidence.'
Christy Ann Churchwell, 35, was at a play at Friendswood Junior High School on Thursday night when others reported that she was causing a disturbance

A Texas mother is accused of kicking a police officer while under the influence of alcohol and flooding a jail cell.

Christy Ann Churchwell, 35, was watching a play at Friendswood Junior High School on Thursday night when others began complaining about the ruckus she was making.

On Facebook, she appears to have a son and daughter.

Churchwell, a Friendswood, Texas, native, was said to have been loud and intoxicated during the play's performance, KHOU reports.

A police officer on the scene asked the woman to leave and had to assist Churchwell in exiting the auditorium.

The officer quickly smelled alcohol on the woman's breath.

Once outside, police state that Churchwell balled her fist up and lunged at the officer.

The woman was arrested for public intoxication and further inquiry by police yielded the discovery of eight 75mL bottles of vodka in Churchwell's purse.

Seven of the eight bottles were empty, as well.

A police officer quickly noticed that she was intoxicated and tried to remove her from the school (pictured) but she grew irate

On her Facebook, she appears to have a son and a daughter and had been at the school to see one of her children perform in the play

She was charged with public intoxication and assaulting an officer and another charge of false alarm or report and criminal mischief

As the officer walked the woman to his car, Churchwell is said to have pulled away from the officer before berating him and kicking him in the leg.

Churchwell received an additional charge of assaulting a police officer.

While incarcerated, Churchwll was said to have set off the sprinkler system in her jail cell.

While behind bars, she caused the sprinkler to go off and then caused the jail cell to flood

The fire alarm went off and the cell proceeded to flood causing evacuation measures and emergency protocol to be taken.

The jail suffered heavy damage and Churchwell was given another charge of false alarm or report and criminal mischief.

Her bond was set at $7,500.
This is the moment a brave pharmacist fought off three female robbers by wrestling a gun from one of them after being sprayed with Mace.

Mba Kalu was working at his store in DeKalb County, Georgia, at 3.30pm on April 24 when one of the woman approached and asked for a prescription but instead pulled out a handgun.

A second woman then showered Kalu with the pepper spray, but the medic kept his composure and managed to grab the weapon from the other robber before the pair ran off with a third accomplice.

Mba Kalu was working at his store in DeKalb County, Georgia, at 3.30pm on April 24 when one of the woman approached and asked for a prescription but instead pulled out a handgun

'I was helping [one of the women] because she said she wanted a prescription,' Kalu told WSBTV.

'I was just waiting for her to pull the prescription out, and instead of her prescription, she pulled out a gun. So, I just had to react.'

The women drove off in a silver older-model car with damage to the right front fender and panel, police said.

Kalu's daughter was in the pharmacy at the time so he felt compelled to fight back.

A second woman then sprayed Kalu with Mace, but the medic kept his composure and reached out to grab the second woman's weapon

Kalu turned around to avoid the spray before pulling the handgun out of one of the robbers' hands

'That was priority on my mind. I just had to do what I had to do to protect everybody,' he said.

Although Kalu only opened the store in June this is already the second attempted robbery he has faced, the first being in December when three masked came in with guns.

He blamed the spate of crimes on opioid abuse and said he would now keep his door locked, install bulletproof glass and buy a gun.
A 17-month-old girl has died nearly two weeks after she and her identical twin sister sneaked out of their home and wound up in the backyard pool.

Maya and Makayla were playing in the living room of their Moreno Valley, California home the afternoon of April 29 when their parents, Jeremiah Edwards and Erika Alvarado, nodded off to sleep.

While their parents were napping, the twins pushed a window screen down and escaped the home, wandering into the backyard.

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A 17-month-old girl is dead and her twin sister in critical conditions after they sneaked out of their home and wound up in the backyard pool

Makayla and Maya were found unconscious in their pool (above) on April 29

Maya died on May 12, the same day that her sister Makayla (pictured above with their mom) woke up from a coma

When the couple woke up 15 minutes later, they found the girls gone, even though all the doors in the house were locked.

Eventually, Alvardo went to the backyard to look for the girls and found Maya unconscious in the pool. She told KTLA that she immediately 'jumped in' and 'grabbed her' daughter, while her husband found Makayla in the shallow end of the pool.

The two began CPR on the girls, even though neither had a pulse.

At the time, Riverside County Sheriff's Corporal Rafael Victoria was patrolling the area and heard the parents' screams for help. He ran to their aid, called for backup and helped continue CPR until paramedics could arrive on the scene.

The twins' parents, Jeremiah Edwards and Erika Alvarado, are pictured above outside the hospital where one of their daughters continues to recover

The couple's home is seen above on the day of the accident last month

According to social media, the couple appear to have an older daughter

The twins were eventually transferred to Loma Linda University Children's Hospital, where they were medically sedated. Doctors told the parents that they had sustained extensive brain damage.

Unfortunately, Maya succumbed to her injuries on May 12, the same day that her twin emerged from a coma. Maya's heart was donated to a four-month-old who needed a transplant, and her father looks forward to meeting that child one day.

Alvarado and Edwards are finding it hard to grieve because they are still staying strong for their other daughter, who remains in critical condition.

Maya's heart was donated to a four-month-old who needed a transplant. The twins are pictured above

The family's pool was unfenced, which they never thought was necessary since they didn't think their kids could get out to the pool if the doors were closed. The twins pictured above in their Halloween costumes

The family's pool was unfenced, which they never thought was necessary since they didn't think their kids could get out to the pool if the doors were closed. They hope their tragedy can serve as a lesson for others.

'We just never thought that they would escape through there. Every accident could be prevent, we just pray that families can take from this and implement whatever they can,' Alvarado said.

According to social media, the couple appear to have another older daughter.

A GoFundMe has been started to help the family with medical bills. As of Tuesday morning, the fund had raised more than $32,000 of its $50,000 goal.
A new collection of some of America's most memorable mugshots has been compiled.

Among the snaps are some very poorly maintained teeth, questionable hairstyles and ill-advised poses.

One man who features, Alan Dale Lee, was held on drugs charges - and subsequently nicknamed 'Dracula' by cops in Florida because of his strange three-tooth smile.

Another shot shows Michael Whitington looking unusually happy considering he had just been arrested for robbing a bank in Denver.

Noel D Dawson Jr, meanwhile, pulled an indecipherably odd face after being arrested on charges of chasing a family member with a hatchet in Toledo, Ohio.

A new collection of some of America's most memorable mugshots has been compiled. Michael Whitington (left) was photographed by cops looking unusually happy considering he had just been arrested for robbing a bank in Denver. Noel D Dawson Jr (right), meanwhile, pulled an indecipherably odd face after being arrested on charges of chasing a family member with a hatchet in Toledo, Ohio

Alan Dale Lee (left), was held on drugs charges - and subsequently nicknamed 'Dracula' by cops in Florida because of his strange three-tooth smile.

City of Moulton Police Department in Alabama released this image but could not find the photographed man's name or alleged crime. A cop decided to upload it as a joke

The identities of these two individuals remain a mystery. But they go together like yin and yang - with the man on right apparently delighted with proceedings and the woman on the left not overly pleased

This gentleman has a winning smile, memorable eyes and fascinating ears - it's just a shame he was being photographed by cops

While many people might have thought the mullet had gone completely out of fashion, that is not quite true

Michael Shoemaker was arrested in Glade Valley, Maryland after being accused of shooting at his son

The man on the left was arrested in Arizona for a failure to pay fines. He was photographed sticking his tongue out at Maricopa County Sheriff's Office. The gentleman on the right, meanwhile, is sporting a superlative mullet

Luther Smith, was arrested in Florida for aggravated battery and sports a light wispy moustache

The individual on the right seems to have proved to everyone why he always wears his cap. The man on the left has certainly seen better days

James Owings, pictured, was arrested in Oregon for driving with a suspended license

Homeless man Ray Comer was accused of strangling his pet dachshund in South Daytona, Florida, in 2015

These two gentleman have at least two things in common: They were both were arrested by cops, and they have both have utterly bizarre hair

This bearded fellow decided to draw attention to his eyes in this spooky mugshot

No, not Medusa. Just a man with exceedingly messy hair being photographed by cops after his arrest

Floyd Bebee, from Florida, was arrested and later convicted for burglary and theft. He was added to the mugshot hall of fame because of his 'Git-R-Dun' tattoo on his forehead
First lady Melania Trump is 'doing really well,' the president wrote online Tuesday following a visit to her in the hospital the day before.

And he publicly thanked her medical team at the beginning of a speech to law enforcement officers during an annual memorial service to honor fallen heroes.

'Melania is in the hospital doing really well. She's watching us right now,' Donald Trump said.

'And I want to thank the incredible doctors. Walter Reed Medical Center. They did a fantastic job. So thank you. She sends her love.'

Trump traveled by helicopter to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center late afternoon Monday and visited his wife hours after she underwent a kidney procedure.

President Trump on Tuesday thanked the 'incredible doctors' who operated Monday on the first lady at Walter Reed Medical Center

Trump was speaking at an annual memorial service for law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty

He said she will be leaving the hospital in two or three days  a time frame consistent with what her office said Monday when it announced she would remain under observation through the week.

'Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!' Trump wrote on Twitter.

He had earlier used the medium to say she was in 'good spirits' after a 'successful procedure.'

President Trump flew to Walter Reed to visit his wife for a second day in a row Tuesday

Melania underwent an embolization procedure, likely to remove a cyst from her kidney. Her office said it was benign, or non-cancerous.

The first lady's office announced the first lady had the procedure Monday. President Trump was at the White House Monday when her surgery occurred.

The president flew via Marine One Monday afternoon to visit the flagship military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland  avoiding a movement that otherwise might have snarled Washington D.C.'s traffic at rush hour.

President Trump tweeted Tuesday that the first lady is 'doing really well' following a medical procedure to treat kidney problems at Walter Reed National Medical Center

First Lady Melania Trump underwent surgery at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in a kidney procedure, her office announced Monday

He spent about an hour there, before returning to the White House via motorcade while a powerful thunderstorm approached the region.

Trump tweeted about the visit while he was en route. 'Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!'

Past medical procedures by first ladies while in the White House Nancy Reagan: Got a mastectomy in 1987 as treatment for breast cancer Rosalynn Carter: Surgery to remove a lump from her breast in 1977. The tumor was benign. Betty Ford: Had a mastectomy in 1974 Source: CNN Advertisement

The president spent about an hour at the hospital, then traveled back to the White House via motorcade due to a powerful thunderstorm that was making its way through the Washington, D.C. area.

The procedure should have the first lady in the hospital through the week  an extended stay that could speak to the seriousness of the needed time for recovery and monitoring.

Her office provided no update on her condition beyond its original statement.

The president didn't respond to questions as he approached the presidential helicopter en route to the military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

Under such a procedure, doctors block a flood vessel in order to stop blood flow to a specific area and stop a patient from bleeding.

'This morning, First Lady Melania Trump underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition,' according to a statement from her communications director, Stephanie Grisham.

President Donald trump departs from the South Lawn of the White House on May 14, 2018, as he travels to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland

Trump tweeted about his visit to see the first lady en route

'The procedure was successful and there were no complications. Mrs. Trump is at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and will likely remain there for the duration of the week,' her communications director Stephanie Grisham said in the statement.

'The First Lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere,' she said, in reference to her recently launched campaign.

The first lady is 48 years old.

The statement was released after the surgery was completed.

A senior administration official told ABC News Trump spoke to his wife before the procedure and talked to her doctor afterward.

Melania Trump unveiled her campaign to try to help children last week

First lady Melania Trump (L) arrives in the East Room to deliver remarks during the White House Opioid Summit March 1, 2018 in Washington, DC

First lady Melania Trump and her son Barron Trump look at the Wisconsin-grown Christmas Tree at the North Portico as it makes its way the Blue Room for display at the White House in Washington, DC on Monday, Nov. 20, 2017

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center is seen after US President Donald Trump arrived for his annual physical in Bethesda, Maryland, January 12, 2018

President Donald Trump arrives on Marine One at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., Monday, May 14, 2018

President Donald J. Trump arrives aboard Marine One at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 14 May 2018, to visit US first lady Melania Trump after she had kidney surgery

EXPLAINED: THE KIDNEY EMBOLIZATION SURGERY MELANIA TRUMP UNDERWENT by Natalie Rahhal, health correspondent, and Mia de Graaf, health editor A kidney embolization is a simple procedure done to intentionally block off a blood vessel in the kidney. 'Embolization is a minimally invasive procedure to stop blood flow to parts of an organ (in this case kidney),' Dr Jamin Brahmbhatt, a urologist at Orlando Health, explains. 'It can be used to treat malignant and benign lesions.' WHY IS IT DONE? An embolization is often used as a first-line treatment for any kind of gastrointestinal bleeding, but it can also be preventative. It can be performed on any organ that has a growth or blood vessel clump. There are typically two scenarios for performing a kidney embolization: Preventative: to cut off a tumor's blood supply and shrink, or control a cyst it before it can rupture Emergency: to stem bleeding of a ruptured cyst on the organ There are three things on which kidney embolizations are peformed: To shrink a cancerous tumor by cutting off the blood supply To shrink a benign cyst (i.e. a angiomyolipoma) by cutting the blood supply To fix an arterial vessel malformation (a clump of blood vessels) Angiomyolipomas are benign growths. They disproportionately affect women. Eighty percent of them are spontaneous, while 20 percent of them are genetic Melania Trump's operation was reportedly for a 'benign' kidney condition. Dr Brahmbhatt believes it was like an angiomyolipoma. These growths disproportionately affect women (four times more than men), and 80 percent of them are spontaneous (compared to 20 percent which are genetic). Surgery is only recommended if it grows too big. 'If they're under four centimeters, we just monitor it,' Dr Brahmbhatt explained. 'But if it goes over four centimeters, the risk of it rupturing goes up way high, so that's when we suggest treatment.' HOW IS IT DONE? Typically, a patient is given sedation and the entire procedure is done through an X-ray view. The doctor makes a small incision near the groin, and guides very long, skinny tube, called a catheter, through a blood vessel toward the kidney. There, an 'agent' or chemical that causes the blood to clot is injected, cutting off the flow of blood to through that particular vessel. The entire procedure commonly takes up to three hours and hospital stays afterwards vary. HOW IS THE RECOVERY? 'After embolization patients often have nausea, vomiting, fever, and pain that could last a few days,' Dr Brahmbhatt said. 'These procedures are fairly low risk but still require close follow-up.' Embolizations are minor operations, with relatively low risks of complications or side effects. In very rare cases, patients may have a bad reaction to the dye used in the procedure. More commonly, some have discomfort or minor bleeding after an embolization, and as such they are monitored over night. Some people develop fever, weakness and nausea, a temporary condition called 'post-embolization syndrome,' that usually subsides within a few days. Advertisement

According to CNN, she is the first first lady to have such a serious operation since Nancy Reagan had a mastectomy in 1987 while her husband was in office.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta spoke about the procedure on CNN as the news first broke. He had been on air already to talk about former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's treatment for pancreatic cancer at Johns Hopkins University on Monday.

'[It's] unclear exactly what she had done. An embolization procedure is typically done for cancer, although it's very clear in this statement that this was a benign condition,' said Gupta.

'That's how they've framed it. So it doesn't sound like it's any type of cancer,' he added.

'Sometimes thyroids, or cysts, or something like that, can be treated as well [through embolization],' Gupta said.

The statement from Trump's office did not describe what exactly was being treated on her kidney, whether a cyst or some kind of non-cancerous tumor.

First Lady, Nancy and U.S. President Ronald Reagan, look at flowers received from well-wishers on October 19th, 1987 at the Bethesda Naval Hospital

President and Mrs. Ford return to the President's Suite at the Bethesda Naval Hospital, following the First Lady's breast cancer surgery

The statement did not spell out whether she underwent surgery or merely the procedure, which relies on catheters used to try to stem blood flow.

The news comes just a week after the first lady took on a high-profile role by announcing the initiatives she would carry on in her post. She said she wanted to focus on children's health, opioid abuse, and preventing bullying online.

A kidney embolization is a simple procedure done to intentionally block off a blood vessel in the kidney.

The White House offered no updates to the president's schedule even as the first lady's office confirmed he would be visiting soon.

Under an embolization, typically, a patient is given local anesthesia and the entire procedure is done through an X-ray view.

The surgeon makes a small incision near the groin, and guides very long, skinny tube, called a catheter, through a blood vessel toward the kidney.

There, an 'agent' or chemical that causes the blood to clot is injected, cutting off the flow of blood to through that particular vessel.

Kidney embolizations are generally performed when a patient is having kidney bleeding either from trauma, a tumor, or another medical condition.

Melania Trump's operation was reportedly for a 'benign' kidney condition.

The entire procedure takes up to three hours and hospital stays afterwards vary.
Three Army officers 'had a total disregard for the safety' when they organised a live firing exercise in which a soldier was fatally shot in the head, a court martial heard.

Michael Maguire, of the Royal Irish Regiment, was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire at the Castlemartin centre in Pembrokeshire in May 2012.

Nigel Lickley, prosecuting, told the trial how Rgr Maguire and his fellow soldiers were in a safe area of the firing range when they came under fire from their own troops half a mile away.

Targets had been set up outside safe zones of fire, which meant Rgr Maguire was in their line of fire.

Ranger Maguire, from County Cork, Ireland, was shot in the forehead and killed, having joined the battalion in May 2010 and served in Afghanistan.

Ranger Michael Maguire (pictured), of the 1st Batallion, The Royal Irish Regiment, was taking part in a live ammunitions training exercise when he was fatally struck in the head

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, is accused of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Rgr Maguire through his failure to set up and supervise a safe exercise.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 45, and Warrant Officer Stuart Pankhurst, 40, are both accused of negligently performing a duty.

Mr Lickley said: 'All three men played a part in causing this catastrophe in different ways. The common sense of the situation is you do not point guns at people.

'You do not design, permit or allow an activity that allows machine guns to fire directly in line with your men, men that you know are there, men that you might be able to see, if not the vehicles that are with them.'

Mr Lickley said Price was accused of negligence by failing to attend a recce of the range when preparing a Range Action Safety Plan (Rasp), that he placed targets too close together and he failed to 'deconflict' the two exercises.

Speaking at Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, he added: 'Crucially, he allowed firing to take place beyond the permitted arcs of fire.'

Nigel Lickley, prosecuting, told the trial how soldiers were firing at those on the nearby range, who were about 1,000 feet away and would have been visible

He added: 'Such was the total disregard for the safety of his men that a public beach 3km away and anyone on it was put at risk of being hit, such was the range of the weapons being used, the SA80 (assault rifle) and the general purpose machine gun (GPMG).

'It's fortunate there were not more casualties.'

Mr Lickley said that Bell, the senior planning officer, was accused of failing to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Price and failed to supervise or support him.

He said that Pankhurst, who was supervising the exercise involving Rgr Maguire on Range 10A, was accused of failing to 'express any caution or concern' despite having attended the recce and having knowledge of the extent of the adjacent shooting on Range 10B.

All three defendants deny the charges and the trial, which is expected to last about six weeks, continues.

The panel of seven senior officers trying the case are set to make a site visit to the firing range later.
A Pennsylvania teacher was gunned down on Mother's Day just months after being suspended from her job following a leaked police report stating that officers had found her in a steamed-up parked car with a 17-year-old boy.

Rachael DelTondo, 32, was standing on her mother's Buchanan Street driveway, in Aliquippa, Beaver County, on Sunday when she was killed in a hail of gunfire. She died at the scene.

'I counted six shots that I heard,' a neighbor, Fred Poore, told CBS News.

Rachael DelTondo, 32, (pictured) was standing on her mother's Buchanan Street driveway, in Aliquippa, Beaver County, on Sunday when she was killed in a hail of gunfire

The death has stunned neighbors in the quiet neighborhood and police are hunting for clues to the identity of the killer.

DelTondo's death comes just six months after the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School teacher was suspended from her job over a leaked police report.

School officials and members of the media received an anonymous email in October 2017, containing the 2016 Aliquippa police incident report which implied she inappropriately met with a 17-year-old boy, Times Online reported.

The report stated that officers were on patrol at around 1.50am on February 6, 2016, when they saw a car parked near the old Aliquippa Hospital.

DelTondo's death comes just six months after the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School teacher was suspended from her job over a leaked police report

DelTondo's (pictured with a partner in 2015) engagement was called off a few months after she was caught in a steamed up car with a teenage boy

Police noted that 'the windows were steamed over and the engine was not running.'

Inside was DelTondo and the teen.

DelTondo reportedly told officers at the time that she was talking with a 'former student.'

However, School CEO Brian Hayden said records show the teen was never a registered student at PA Cyber. Cops later found text messages and Snapchat messages which revealed the pair had a 'relationship.'

During the confrontation with officers, DelTondo reportedly told police that she and the teen were 'friends' and that they were 'just talking' because he was 'upset'.

She also said 'she didn't want her fiance to know that she was here parked because he would get mad.'

No charges were brought against DelTondo over the incident, and police drove the teen home that evening. The report was not public knowledge until the anonymous email was sent in October last year.

The school announced they were suspending her the following month.

The leak prompted a state police investigation of the Aliquippa Police - which DelTondo complied with.

Police at the scene where DelTondo was gunned down outside her family home

The 32-year-old died at the scene and her death has been ruled a homicide

Brian Hayden, chief executive officer of the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, has today released a statement after learning of DelTondo's death.

'We were saddened this morning to learn of the tragic death of Rachel DelTondo, apparently the result of a violent incident in the City of Aliquippa.

'We have no additional information beyond what is being reported by local media. We express our sympathy to her family, friends, and coworkers. Ms. DelTondo was employed by PA Cyber but on a paid suspension.'

Earlier last year, DelTondo was in the press over a dispute with a bridal shop over her wedding dress.

The teacher was planning a big, elaborate with her Italian-American family, which included a $10,000, custom-made dress from a New York designer, CBS Local reported.

But the wedding was called off expectantly - a few months after DelTondo was caught with the teen, but before the report was made public.

The family, who had already put down a $4,600 non-refundable deposit, told the salon they would like to pay the balance and receive the dress so they could sell it, but said the designer never delivered the gown and refused to refund their deposit.

Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School(pictured) suspended her after shool officials and members of the media received an anonymous email in October 2017, containing the 2016 Aliquippa police incident report which implied she inappropriately met with a 17-year-old boy

Today, family, neighbors and friends are struggling to come to terms with her sudden death

Eventually, they took the salon to court and got a local investigative reporter involved to pressure the wedding dress maker into doing the right thing. By early 2017, they finally received a check in the mail.

Today, family, neighbors and friends are struggling to come to terms with her sudden death.

'I don't know why that happened. I really don't,' said Dan Casper, a neighbor, who described the 32-year-old as a 'beautiful lady, friendly, knew everybody, talked to everybody.'

DelTondo had just returned from getting ice cream on Sunday evening when she was shot dead.

The Beaver County Coroner's Office has ruled DelTondo's death a homicide.
Father charged: Gregory St Andre, 37, has been charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly fathering his daughter's son

A Michigan man has been charged with sexual assault for allegedly having sex and fathering a child with his own 20-year-old daughter.

Gregory St Andre, 37, appeared in court on Monday to face two criminal counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

St Andre was arrested in Warren. Michigan, last week, but his aunt claims the abuse had been going on for a prolonged period of time.

'We've been through this for years, Michelle Truszkowski told Fox 2. It's just madness. Its tearing our whole family apart.'

Police first learned of the suspected incest when St Andres wife  and the alleged victims own mother - contacted the authorities in late February, shortly after the 20-year-old woman gave birth to a son.

When questioned by police, St Andre claimed that he never had sex with his daughter, but he also did not deny being the biological father of her baby boy.

Broken marriage: St Andre and his now-estranged wife (right) have five children together; the woman's has now filed for divorce

His version of events: St Andre (pictured left and right with his other children) claimed he gave his 20-year-old daughter a cup of his semen, but he did not know what she did with the fluid

The 37-year-old suspect claimed that he 'willingly' supplied a cup of his semen to his daughter, but he said he did not know what she did with the bodily fluid.

St Andres estranged wife told police she and other relatives had suspected sexual abuse for over five years but claimed that police failed to act and they could not get help for the daughter.

St Andre's Facebook page suggests that he has five other children. Earlier this year, he described himself as being in a 'complicated relationship.'

The mans spouse, who has now filed for divorce, told police that her husband had violated a no-contact order by repeatedly contacting his daughter through Snapchat and calling her boyfriend.

During Monday's hearing, a judge set St Andre's bond at $60,000 and barred him for having any contact with his 20-year-old daughter, reported The Detroit News.

The suspect is due back in court on June 26 for a pre-trial hearing.
President Donald Trump's campaign rallies are about more than whipping up crowds, generating headlines, and attacking the media: they're also a giant data-gathering operation.

Trump's reelection campaign is planning to double the size of its hefty online database of potential supporters  by partly harvesting millions of cell phone numbers through his raucous campaign events.

The Trump campaign adopted the practice of requiring attendees to hand over their cell numbers each time they RSVP to a Trump rally  helping it build a trove of information that has grown to 18 million cell numbers and email addresses.

The campaign only lets people claim two tickets per cell number, further boosting the totals, and makes them mandatory for an RSVP.

President Donald Trump is using his campaign rallies to build a huge file of his supporters

For example, the RSVP for a May, 2016 event in Billings, Montana told would-be attendees they would receive a confirmation to attend through a text message to their phone. 'You will not be registered until you verify by phone,' they were told.

'By entering your mobile number you are agreeing to receive periodic text messages from Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. Message data rates may apply, rally-goers were advised, although they could text 'STOP' to opt-out.

Guests and supporters could also click a box to subscribe to a list or get updates.

It is a tactic also employed by Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama amassed a huge data file by scooping up cell numbers at his campaign rallies.

Trump's new campaign chair Brad Parscale told Axios he wants to double the list of cell and email information, to 30 or 40 million by Election Day  about half the 63 million votes he got in 2016.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale wants to build a file with 30 to 40 million phone numbers or email addresses

WE'LL CALL YOU RIGHT BACK: Rally attendees must turn over cell numbers to claim their tickets. The campaign follows up with messages to build support and raise funds

DATA RATES MAY APPLY: The Trump campaign was requiring rally attendees to hand over their cell numbers back in 2016, as they did in this email for a Montana event in May of that year

Parscale, who served as the Trump campaign's digital director in 2016, boasted: 'We're crushing it in prospecting.'

He is focusing on digital innovation for the campaign  though to win, Trump will also have to threat the Electoral College needle that allowed him to carry Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin.

According to Axios, the campaign considers Minnesota and Colorado to be possible pick-up opportunities. Hillary Clinton won the state by 1.5 percentage points. Trump's approval rating in Colorado was just 37 per cent in January, with 59 per cent disapproval, according to a Gallup survey, although his overall numbers have improved since then.

He plans to spend $1 million per month through 2018 building the list and prospecting data.
The father of a seven-year-old boy killed in plane crash in Ireland dug through the wreckage with his bare hands in a desperate bid to save his son.

Kris Kacprzak had parachuted out of the plane with 15 other skydivers just moments before it crashed in Co. Offaly.

He then raced to the crash site from where he landed, nearly a mile away, and dug frantically to try to free his son, Kacper.

Eyewitnesses said the plane nose-dived and there was a terrible roar as it crashed straight down like a torpedo into the soft bog in Co. Offaly on Sunday afternoon, killing young Kacper Kacprzak, pictured, and the pilot

A GoFundMe fundraising page has been set up following the deaths of Kacper Kacprzac and pilot Neil Bowditch (pictured together)

Kris made the jump from the plane and by the time he had landed this dreadful tragedy was unfolding, a source close to the Irish Parachute Club said. Kris dug with his bare hands during the recovery operation as we battled to save them.

Eyewitnesses said the plane just nose-dived after flying low and there was a terrible roar as it crashed straight down like a torpedo into the soft bog in Co. Offaly on Sunday afternoon, killing young Kacper and the pilot.

It crashed just moments after 16 parachutists had jumped out during what has been described as a routine Sunday jump from Clonbullogue Parachute Club.

Tragic Kacper had been allowed to accompany his father up on the flight as a weekend treat. Sources close to the Irish Parachute Club yesterday described the boy and his father as best friends.

Its a terrible tragedy to hit the club and our deepest condolences go to the family at this time. There was harrowing scenes late into the evening on Sunday. Kris made the jump from the plane and by the time he had landed this dreadful tragedy was unfolding.

Kris is something of a skydive enthusiast and Kacper loved his father. He loved planes and I have no doubt as he grew up would have loved to be up their with his dad. Kris dug with his bare hands during the recovery operation as we battled to save them, a source close to the club revealed.

The pilot was a very well respected and experienced pilot from the UK. We have no idea what could have happened but it is very much a tragedy for both families and for us as a wider community, added the source.

The body of Kacper and the pilot were recovered from the wreckage later on Sunday night and taken for post-mortems to the Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

The plane had taken off from the Clonbullogue Airfield, near Edenderry, shortly before 2.30pm.

Offaly Councillor Eddie Fitzpatrick said the pilot had been hired by the Irish Parachute Club since their own plane was being serviced.

The club said it was deeply saddened and confirmed the aircraft had been operating on its behalf. It thanked the emergency services and investigators.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit examined the scene yesterday.

Its understood Kacper and his family have been living in Ireland for several years and were based in the Dublin area.

Kris is widely known in the parachute/sky-diving community and those who knew little Kacper said he was a bubbly and very lovable child.

The pilot, believed to be from the UK, and Kacper, a local boy, were on board when the plane went down in bog land in Co Offaly on Sunday afternoon

Kacper was always with his daddy wherever he went. They had a special bond and both loved planes. The little guy always loved to go up in the planes... who wouldnt at that age? Its just so sad that Kris had to witness such a devastating scene, a close friend said.

Cllr Fitzpatrick told the Irish Daily Mail that the airfield had a long-established reputation for parachuting and brought great joy to those involved.

This is a dreadful tragedy to hit the area and I cannot recall anything like this happening here before. Its desperately sad, he added.

The young boy had his whole life ahead of him. What started out as a fun day for any young boy to get a trip in a plane with his father has ended in such deep sadness. I would like to offer my sincere condolences to both families.

Air accident officials have launched an investigation into what may have happened to cause the light aircraft to go down.

Yesterday, gardai and investigators remained at the crash site. Although the wreckage was not visible from the roadside, it is believed that the plane sunk down into the wet bogland when it crashed, which made the recovery difficult on Sunday night.

Local man Jimmy Slattery witnessed the crash while out walking his dog on Sunday evening.

It came vertically down, there was no wavering or anything, he told RTEs Nine OClock News. The engine was roaring.

When it got near tree line I could see the tail move a bit. I heard a thump then.

Mr Slattery is understood to have assisted in the search and recovery operation.

Edenderry-based Councillor Noel Cribbin said the community was still in a state of shock at news of the deaths.

The aircraft had taken off from Clonbullogue airfield at around 2.25pm, while the crash happened a few miles away in bog land near Edenderry

The Parachute Club is over 20 years in Edenderry and run to the highest standards, he said.

Nothing like this has ever happened, its just a deep tragedy for both families, he added.

A Garda spokesman said there were 16 parachutists on board.

'All 16 made their jump from the craft, however witnesses then saw the aircraft crash shortly afterwards,' he added.

'There were two people on board, the pilot and a seven-year-old boy.'

Cllr Fitzpatrick said the airfield had a long established reputation for parachuting.

'People would be over there all the time, especially at weekends in the summer, a lot of people parachuting and a lot of fundraising jumpers,' he said.

'It's a great shock to hear of an accident like that happening.'

Fellow Offaly councillor Noel Cribbin said: 'This is a big shock to the area.

'These flights have been happening for the last 20 years and this is the first time I've heard of a plane going down.'

A fundraising page has been set up by heartbroken fellow members of the Irish Parachute Club in the wake of the tragedy.

Allaiouti Hassan has raised more than 23,000 (20,560) in aid of Kacper and the pilot on the GoFundMe page.

On it, he wrote: We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy, a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot.

This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident.

'I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyones heart.

Please everyone lets support their families at this tragic time. Every donation counts, no amount is too small or too big. Lets show these families what they mean to us all. Please feel free to share this gofundme page with all your family and friends.
Nicole Bass, 26, had her flat in Dartford, Kent burglarised last June. The Ex On The Beach star was returning from a Las Vegas holiday when she found her flat ransacked

Ex On The Beach star Nicole Bass returned home from partying in Las Vegas to find burglars had ransacked her home - and chopped the heads off her stuffed animals.

The former TOWIE star was distraught when she came home from holiday last June only to find her flat trashed - and her valuables and car stolen.

Maidstone Crown Court heard on Tuesday that heads were cut off the 26-year-old's teddy bears, and paint and food were thrown around the flat in Dartford, Kent.

The reality star said she believed the burglars were tipped off that she wasn't home after posting several photos of herself partying in Sin City.

The court heard that the stunning brunette arrived at her rented flat only to find there had been 'gratuitous ransacking'.

Nicole told the court: 'I was just completely baffled. I was thinking: Where has my car gone?

'My flat was trashed. It wasn't just as if they burgled my flat, they had absolutely violated it.

'There was paint everywhere and all my teddies had their heads chopped off or ripped off.

'My whole flat was vandalised. It wasn't like someone had burgled it and left. They had completely ruined everything I had worked hard for for seven years.'

The court heard Nicole posted a photo of herself in Las Vegas on her Instagram page, which at that time she estimated the number of followers being about 320,000. Pictured: Nicole on vacation in Las Vegas last June

Nicholas Cato, 31, of Brockley, south London, and Jayd Gordon, 30, of Catford, south east London, deny burglary and theft of the car.

The jury was told by Judge Philip St John-Stevens at the start of the trial that they should disregard anything they had read or seen.

He said: 'It is right that the individual is to some extent in the public limelight. There will be some public interest in it.

'I am not going to describe how that individual is in public life. It may well be you will read something about it later on in the press.'

Maidstone Crown Court was told after finding her car missing, Nicole saw her door was smashed in. She went to get help as she feared the intruders might still be inside.

A neighbour went with her into the flat and Nicole found it was 'a complete mess'.

Property including designer clothes, a Rolex watch and Pandora jewellery were also missing.

Maidstone Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Nicole had her valuables and car stolen. Jayd Gordon, 30, (pictured) of south east London, denied burglary and theft of the car. Nicholas Cato, 31, of south London, also denied the charges

Prosecutor Nina Ellin said: 'Clothes were strewn everywhere. Paint had been thrown all over the bedroom, including the bed, walls and dressing room. On the bed, the heads of soft toys had been cut off.'

Miss Ellin continued: 'In the kitchen, all the cupboards had been emptied and food was thrown all over the floor.

'The sofa had been turned over in the living room and things had been thrown about.'

Nicole claims she had several items stolen, including Valentino heels, and expensive jackets from Stone Island, Canada Goose and Moncler.

Earrings, watches and other jewellery were also missing, including a cross necklace given to her by her mother when she was a baby.

The court heard Nicole posted a photo of herself in Las Vegas on her Instagram page, which at that time she estimated the number of followers was 320,000.

Nicole's trip was due to be longer but it was cut short when she hurt her knee and returned home.

Nicole claims she had several items stolen, including Valentino heels, and expensive jackets from Stone Island, Canada Goose and Moncler. Pictured: Nicole on Ex On The Beach

Miss Ellin said: 'She posted a photograph of herself while away on holiday.

'The Crown suggests this burglary was professionally planned and targeted at her while she was not there. That fact would have been known to those involved.'

During cross-examination by Cato's barrister Dominic Bell, Nicole agreed she thought she had been deliberately targeted because of her 'celebrity status'.

Nicole was able to identify the clothing seen in the images on Cato's phone as hers, but told the court it was 'just a small fraction' of what was stolen.

She lived alone at the flat but property belonging to her brother and her then boyfriend was also stolen, as well as a jar containing 600 to 700 in loose change.

The court heard Jayd Gordon had a number of coins on him when arrested, which he said came from a boot fair.
Major Australian charities have been caught misusing donation money and spending it on Liberal party events.

RSL New South Wales and RSL LifeCare were caught by investigators from the Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC).

Compliance actions against the two RSL charities found they had significant failures.

Major Australian charities have been caught misusing donation money and spending it on Liberal party events

The Returned Services League (RSL) is a support organisation to help men and women who have served in the Defence Force.

The investigation in to the RSL, which began in 2016 found evidence the generous donations were misused by the bosses from the charity.

ACNC Assistant Commissioner, David Locke said both charities failed their duties and were caught after in-depth organisations lead by the commission.

'We commenced our investigations into these charities in 2016, and they remained open to ensure the findings of the NSW State Government's Bergin Inquiry were taken into account,' he said.

RSL New South Wales and RSL LifeCare were caught by investigators from the Not-For-Profits Commission (ACNC)

By August 2017, substantial evidence was found detailing the use of the donations and the lack of communication about the use by the charity bosses.

The Assistant Commissioner noted the relationship of the community and Australia's RSL clubs detailing their support for decades.

'Charities associated with the RSL movement have provided services and support to servicemen and women, and their families,' Mr Locke said.

The investigation began after disgraced former RSL president Don Rowe (pictured) misused RSL funds

He said: 'However, they cannot do this important work without the support of their members and donors'.

RSL LifeCare used funds to attend functions linked to the Liberal party.

Both NSW RSL and RSL LifeCare has committed to 15 measures to improve transparency and financial management.

The investigation began after disgraced former RSL president Don Rowe misused RSL funds.

Mr Rowe spent $450,000 on a corporate credit card over six years including $213,000 in cash withdrawals.
A nine-foot shark weighing in at 28 stone was caught in British waters today off the coast of Devon.

Fishermen battled for more than an hour to reel in the massive porbeagle near Hartland Point.

It was caught by Steve Saxby, 67, of south Molton, Devon, on a chartered fishing trip.

Skipper Dan Hawkins said the giant fish was then carefully released back into the wild.

Fishermen battled for more than an hour to reel in the massive porbeagle near Hartland Point, Devon

The shark, pictured, was caught by Steve Saxby, 67, of south Molton, Devon, on a chartered fishing trip on a boat skippered by Dan Hawkins.

It is the second monster shark caught in a few weeks aboard charters run by Mr Hawkins. A 300Ilb specimen was caught in late April.

And fisherman Max Berryman is recovering after suffering deep leg wounds from a porbeagle which bit him after being dragged aboard a fishing vessel on Sunday.

Porbeagles can grow up to 12ft long and weigh up to 600lbs.

Despite its size, fearsome teeth and relation to the Great White, porbeagles are shy creatures and not considered a threat to humans.

The shark, which took an hour to reel in, was carefully released back into the wild

Some experts believe porbeagles and blue sharks are migrating to UK waters because there is not enough food for them in the over-fished Atlantic.

The porbeagle shark - Lamna nasus in Latin - is classed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as critically endangered in the north east Atlantic.

In 2012 Graeme Pullen and Wayne Comben, from Hampshire, caught what is thought to be the biggest shark caught off Britain - a porbeagle - off the coast of Boscastle, Cornwall.

They estimated the female shark to be 10ft long and weighing 550lbs.

For any fish to be officially recognised as the biggest, rules stipulate it must be killed and weighed on shore.

Max Berryman, pictured holding a porbeagle shark similar to the one that attacked him, suffered a 10-inch shark bite on his leg

It comes just days after a fisherman was airlifted to hospital when he was bitten by a Porbeagle on a fishing boat off the coast of Cornwall.

Max Berryman, 21, suffered a 10-inch shark bite down his leg muscle, was taken to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro by a coastguard rescue helicopter on Sunday morning.

The young angler, from Penzance, suffered leg injuries when a porbeagle shark was brought on deck in the trawler's nets and the crew was attempting to release it back into the water.

He said: 'It had me in its jaws and couldve had my privates off.'

What is a porbeagle shark and is it dangerous? Porbeagle sharks come from the family of Lamnidae sharks and can be found in the the North Atlantic Ocean. They can grow up to 12ft long and weigh up to 600lbs (43-stone) The shark has been spotted all around the UK in deep waters, usually several miles offshore in the summer time where it hunts mackerel herring and squid. Porbeagle sharks come from the family of Lamnidae sharks and can be found in the the North Atlantic Ocean There have been sightings of the shark off Scotland, Devon and South Shields in recent years. The porbeagle is also found around the coasts of North Africa, in the Mediterranean and around Australia and New Zealand. The gigantic shark can reach more than eight-foot in length and can weigh up to 22 stone. Despite being related to the great white shark the porbeagle is not known to be dangerous. Aggressive fishing rates and slow population has resulted in the shark numbers dramatically dwindling. There are three recorded shark attacks involving porbeagles, two involving boats and another which did not result in serious injury. Advertisement

He added that the shark landed on the floor of the boat right next to him and was thrashing around wildly before tearing his clothes to shreds.

The 21-year-old said: There was blood everywhere. The shark had bitten straight through my oils, straight through my jeans and into my right leg. Its teeth had cut through everything.

Blood was pouring down my leg and the pain was so intense. I was in absolute agony,' he told the Sun.

The fishing boat where the shark attack occurred was on the Govenek of Ladram, which was featured on Channel Four's documentary 'The Catch' in 2015.

Coastguard Alex Grieg said Berryman received horror injuries, saying: 'I've never come across anything like this before.

'The casualty had four or five significant cuts below his knee. One was ten inches in length. The cuts were down to the muscle.'


North Korea plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, its ambassador told the United Nations today.

This comes just hours after satellite images appeared to show that the dictatorship has begun to dismantle a key nuclear test site in north-east North Korea.

Pyongyang has pledged dismantle the test site some time between May 23 and May 25 in order to uphold its pledge to cease tests, its state media reported on Saturday.

New rules: Kim Jong-Un's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, has today announced North Korea's intentions to work towards a complete international ban on nuclear weapons tests

Earlier today, North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song announced the country's intentions to work towards a complete ban on tests.

'DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests,' Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.

Han told the UN assembly that his country aimed to make more 'efforts to achieve the development of intra-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of the war on the Korean peninsula.'

'It will make sincere efforts... to establish a durable lasting peace mechanism' with its neighbour to the south, he said, urging the international community to 'extend its active support in encouraging and promoting the current positive climate.'

 Slide me  Satellite images examined by American researchers appear to show building demolitions, removal of railways, and overturned mining carts at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea

 Slide me  The above before-and-after image shows an office building removed, a building roof partially removed, and other facilities that were taken down

 Slide me  The above images show how a number of structures in the command center have been taken down

The new satellite images from the North Korea's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, appear to show building demolitions, removal of railways, and overturned mining carts.

The researchers are relying on commercial satellite imagery from May 7, according to the 38 North web site.

The site analyzed images which show significant changes that have been made at the location which are consistent with decommissioning.

'Between April 20 and May 7, 2018, the probable engineering office building and a possible instrumentation shed located just outside the North Portal (where the last five underground nuclear tests have been conducted) were razed along with at least two smaller buildings or sheds,' according to 38 North.

No personnel or significant activity is observed at the barracks area

His comment came amid a recent whirlwind of diplomacy and outreach by the long isolated regime, and ahead of a historic summit next month between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Kim last month announced that his country would halt its own nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, which was widely hailed as an important step towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But Pyongyang has yet to rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the international UN treaty aiming to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, which it withdrew from in 2003.

It is also one of eight countries with nuclear test capacity, including the United States, China and Iran, which have so far failed to either sign or ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, blocking it from taking effect.
The ex-wife of a slain sheriff's deputy who was killed in the line of duty has accused his new partner of duping their children out of money that was raised on their behalf after his death to keep it all for herself.

Deputy Mark Burbridge was shot dead by an inmate trying to escape in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in May 2017.

He and a colleague had just transported inmate Wesley Williams Correa-Carmenaty back to county jail from court, where he had been sentenced to 45 years behind bars, when he shot them with a stolen gun that he got off another deputy.

Kelsey, 23, Kaleb, 15, and Karely, 14, at the funeral of their father, slain Iowa sheriff's deputy Mark Burbridge, last May. The children's mother say they have been denied access to $160,000 raised by well-wishers after their father's death by their stepmother

Mark Burbridge, 43, was shot dead by an escaped inmate last May

Correa-Carmenaty then hijacked a prison van and later stole a Nissan before he was caught.

In the wake of the cop's death, his colleagues set up The Mark Burbridge Memorial Fund to benefit his children, Kelsey, 23, Kaleb, 15, and Karley, 14, his and his second wife Jessica, 40.

But a year after his death, the children's mother, Burbridge's first wife Sarah, has claimed that Jessica is withholding the $160,000 that was raised.

She is suing Jessica and Pottawattamie County claiming it gave the cop's second wife control of the account which she has now closed.

When police announced it last year, they said it was designed to 'assist fallen Pottawattamie County Sheriffs Deputy Mark Burbridges wife and three children.'

They asked for donations through PayPal or at a bank in Council Bluffs.

Jessica did not deny refusing the children the money from the fund when she responded to the lawsuit.

Instead, she claimed that they are the beneficiaries of a $400,000 life insurance policy, $171,000 from the Department of Justice and $8,000 from the Homicide Survivors Group.

Burbridge's second wife Jessica (left) closed the account without giving his children any of the money, according to his first wife, Sarah (right)

Burbridge is pictured with his second wife Jessica. She claims she has done enough to help the children by arranging for them to receive payouts from her late husband's life insurance policies which they are the beneficiaries of

Another life insurance policy, worth $25,000, is being fought over by the man's first and second wives and his mother.

Burbridge had worked for the sheriff's department for 12 years when he was killed.

It is not clear when he and his first wife divorced, but he and Jessica were together for at least two years before his death. His first wife is also remarried.

Kelsey, Kaleb and Karley all spoke at his 2017 funeral and gave heartwarming tributes to him.

Burbridge with Kelsey when she was a child. She is not his biological daughter but he raised her

Kelsey is pictured speaking at her late stepfather's funeral with half-siblings Kaleb and Karley behind her

'The man you know as Deputy Mark Burbridge, a hero and a friend, was our dad.

'Though he wasn't my dad by blood, he walked into my life when I was four. He stepped up to be the man I needed.

'We love you so, so much Dad,' Kelsey said.

His two younger children gave shorter speeches during which they both told how much they loved him.

Burbridge was laid to rest at a well-attended funeral in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in May 2017
A Trump supporter says he was harassed by a dozen employees at a Cheesecake Factory for wearing a MAGA hat.

Eugenior Joseph, 22, told his story to The Daily Wire, which spoke to other witnesses and viewed bystander videos to confirm his account.

Joseph says he was harassed while dining with his girlfriend's family at the Cheesecake Factory at the Dadeland Mall in Miami, Florida on Sunday, for Mother's Day.

Eugenior Joseph, 22 (pictured left), says he was harassed by about a dozen employees at a Cheesecake Factory in Miami, Florida on Sunday for wearing a MAGA hat

It all started when one female employee came over to his table, and noticed him wearing a MAGA hat.

One witness says the employee then signaled for some of her co-workers to come over, and pointed out the hat.

'Her finger was literally on top of his head, we were all looking at her like "what is happening?"' one witness told The Daily Wire. 'She was pointing at him, calling her other coworkers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat.'

Cheesecake Factory released a statement apologizing for the incident and saying 'no guest should ever feel unwelcomed in one of our restaurants'

Witnesses say about a dozen employees gathered around the table, and started chanting for Joseph to be thrown out.

'So then all the employees started standing there, saying things out loud, like, "I'm going to knock his head in so hard his hat's going to come off,"' the witness said.

The abuse continued even after Joseph went to the bathroom.

'I got up and went to the restroom, my girlfriend followed me, and as we were walking back, a group of [the employees] came out from the back and they just started clapping and yelling, and just screaming things at me,' Joseph said.

He says one of the employees even threatened to get into a fight with him.

'He got behind me and another coworker came by and they were staring at each other and he fist bumped him and then he started looking at me, balling his fists, smacking his fists, trying to scare me,' Joseph added.

His girlfriend, Izabella Victores, wrote on Facebook about how the confrontation was especially troubling for her elderly grandmother and little sister.

'All of these threats and aggressions were done in front of my 80-year-old grandmother and 8-year-old sister who were terrified. This was supposed to be a simple mother's day celebration, and instead we were threatened and harassed by an entire restaurant of employees,' she wrote.

The incident happened when Joseph, right, was sitting down for a meal with his girlfriend's, left, family

As the family got up to leave, they say the manager followed them out and said that some of the employees had admitted to their actions and were sent home.

Police officers met them outside the restaurant and made a report, but didn't file any charges, according to multiple witnesses who spoke with the Daily Wire.

Cheesecake Factory has since released a letter of apology.

'No guest should ever feel unwelcomed in one of our restaurants and we are taking this matter very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, we immediately apologized to the guests in person. We are conducting an investigation and will take the appropriate corrective action,' the company's statement reads.

Joseph says he is new to politics and bought the Trump hat because he thinks he's 'a really good president'.
A former Big Brother contestant attacked eight people in a drunken rage at a wine tasting event on the day of her called-off wedding.

Rita Lazzarotto, who was an intruder on the 2005 series of the reality show, savaged fellow wine tasters at The Briars in Mount Martha, Melbourne on August 27 last year.

The 41-year-old scratched, elbowed, punched and even wrestled her victims after drowning her sorrows.

Rita Lazzarotto (pictured in the 2005 series of Big Brother) savaged fellow wine tasters at the Briars in Mount Martha, Melbourne on August 27 last year

The 41-year-old (pictured outside court on Tuesday) scratched, elbowed, punched and even wrestled her victims after drowning her sorrows

She even tried to gouge one man's eyes out when he tried to restrain her.

Lazzarotto then put another man in a headlock and bit his hand, Frankston Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.

She said she 'kicked off' after she saw a woman filming her when she was being escorted from the premises for being too drunk.

The nurse pleaded guilty to eight counts of assault and recklessly causing injury.

She was sentenced to a six-month good behaviour bond and has promised to never drink again, reported Seven News.

Lazzarotto said outside court: 'Sorry for the events of the day and the people that I hurt, I was going through a very hard and traumatic time in my life. I'm just so sorry.'

The nurse (pictured in 2005) pleaded guilty to eight counts of assault and recklessly causing injury
An accused double-murderer has been found dead in his Queensland prison cell early Tuesday morning.

Russell Williams was charged earlier this year over two alleged murders committed 25 years ago.

According to the Observer, his body was discovered by staff at the Capricornia Correctional Centre around 5am.

Russell Williams, 51, was charged over the alleged murders of Robert Grayson (right) and Derek Van Der Poel (left), who police believe were killed in 1993

The 51-year-old was linked to the disappearance and suspected murders of Robert Grayson and Derek Van Der Poel in Gladstone in the early 1990s.

After a cold case breakthrough, police commenced Operation Gaze in September 1994 - one month after Mr Grayson, 26 at the time, was reported missing and just days after Mr Van Der Poel, 23 at the time, was reported missing.

Both men had last been seen alive in the Kroombit Tops National Park in May of 1993.

The pair are believed to have been 'crop sitters', who were watching over a marijuana plantation in the area.

Police will allege in court the two men were crop sitters watching a marijuana plantation in the Kroombit Tops National Park and Williams believed they were stealing

Williams has been charged with two counts of murder and drug production.

According to the paper, Williams was facing life imprisonment after murdering his former partner in 1996.

Detective Inspector Darrin Shadlow told reporters Williams had been a person of interest for 'quite some time', and was known to police.

He said Queensland police were still searching for others involved.

The bodies of the two men were never discovered despite three recent searches at the Kroombit Tops National Park.

William's death has been reported as not suspicious and his next of kin have been informed.
A woman has claimed she fought off a home invasion by grabbing an AK-47 out of a man's hands.

Cops in Altamonte Springs, Florida said Angel Delgado Santiago, 30, and Jorge Montanez, 17, stormed the apartment early on Saturday before fleeing the scene.

They said the woman - who has asked to be called by her nickname, 'Trigger' - claimed to have disarmed one of the men after he pointed a rifle at her and her 13-year-old son's face.

Cops in Altamonte Springs, Florida said Angel Delgado Santiago (pictured), 30, and Jorge Montanez, 17, stormed the apartment early on Saturday before fleeing the scene

She told WFTV she 'went blank' during the ordeal, but still found the strength to snatch the weapon and remove its magazine.

'I had no feeling,' Trigger said. 'I wasn't scared. I wasn't brave. I was just - it's go time. Do or die.'

Trigger said her ex-wife was also in the room and she felt a need to protect her as well as her son.

After the confrontation, the man and boy fled in a car, cops said, with the duo reportedly reaching speeds of 70mph.

They were pursued by cops and later arrested, with a handgun and rifle being found in the back.

Trigger, so called because of her gun collection, said she left her own firearm in her car.

'When I seen the barrel of the gun, I swear it felt like a movie,' she said of her terrifying encounter.

She explained the man holding the rifle 'started getting nervous' so she 'just disarmed it'.

Trigger said her ex-wife was also in the room and she felt a need to protect her as well as her son. Pictured: Montanez

There was a struggle over the gun, she added, before the duo fled.

They also fired shots at her ex-wife, she said, but none of the bullets landed.

'They just didn't know I was going to fight back,' she said. 'That's what they didn't know.'

Santiago and Montanez have been charged with home invasion and attempted murder.
A video shows a rat desperately trying to escape the jaws of an albino alligator during feeding time at a amusement park in Wisconsin.

The footage was recorded by a family who visited Alligator Alley in Wisconsin Dells on May 14.

In the video, a white rodent is seen walking along the back of the alligator, which then tries to throw it into the water.

In the video, a white rodent is seen walking along the back of the alligator, which then tries to throw it into the water

Once the rat (top center) hits the water, the alligator goes after it, but somehow the rat manages to squirm away and narrowly escapes to safety on a rock in the enclosure

The alligator starts to stalk its prey as it swims over to the rock and waits patiently for the perfect moment to attack. But an employee of Alligator Alley pushes the rat back into the water (right)

The alligator is seen moving around in an attempt to get the critter off its back.

Once the rat hits the water, the alligator goes after it, but somehow the rat manages to squirm away and narrowly escapes to safety on a rock in the enclosure.

The alligator starts to stalk its prey as it swims over to the rock and waits patiently for the perfect moment to attack.

An employee of Alligator Alley is then seen pushing the rat back into the water. The rat, determined to live, quickly swims back toward the rock and climbs to safety again.

Out of harms reach for a second time, the rat sits on the rock until the employee pushes it back into the water again.

This time, the employee picks the rat up and throws it toward the gator's mouth.

Eventually, the employee picks the rat up (left) and throws it toward the gator's mouth. The alligator traps the rat and slowly devours it

Alligator Alley Adventures allows visitors to have face-to-face encounters with alligators. Some of the amusement park's reptiles are pictured

Visitors can also see snakes, snapping turtles, crocodiles and amphibians at Alligator Alley

And still, the rat manages to swim out of harms way, but only temporarily.

Eventually, the alligator traps the rat and slowly devours it. At one point the rat's tail can be seen hanging out of the predator's mouth.

According to a family member who posted the video, they were visiting the amusement park for a birthday celebration.

'I was not having the best birthday because of barely going to any attractions in Wisconsin Dells that I was promised like deer park, top secret, etc. So to make up for that we went to Alligator Alley as our last attraction on our vacation,' the person wrote.

'After walking halfway around the place I saw people gathering in a crowd and that's when I got out my phone and filmed this extraordinary video,' they added.

Alligator Alley Adventures allows visitors to have face-to-face encounters with alligators, snakes, snapping turtles, crocodiles and amphibians.
A decision by a court to revoke the jail sentences handed to two women who injured a paramedic in a drunken assault has been slammed by ambulance workers.

Ambulance vehicles were pictured in Victoria plastered with protest graffiti after the decision was handed down.

The jail sentences originally given to Amanda Warren, 33, and Caris Underwood, 20 were reversed on appeal in the Victorian County Court on Tuesday.

The women were originally sentenced to jail sentences of six months and four months after pleading guilty to causing injury.

Ambulance workers have protested against a decision by a court to quash the jail sentences handed to two women who injured a paramedic

Ambulance Employees Australian Union secretary Steve McGhie expressed his frustration with the decision in an interview with 3AW Drive.

'I'm quite disgusted with the outcome,' he said.

Victorian laws introduced in 2014 demand a mandatory minimum jail term of six months for anyone who intentionally injures an emergency worker, unless there are special circumstances.

Victim Paul Judd was 'gutted' by the decision, according to Fairfax media, and he said: 'I just feel that justice hasn't been done.'

The jail sentence handed to Caris Underwood, 20 (pictured left) and Amanda Warren, 33, right, was revoked on appeal in the Victorian County Court on Tuesday

Fair Go paramedic posted photos of ambulance vehicles displaying the message in pink and white writing: 'It's not OK to assault paramedics'.

'Paramedic after Paramedic, Crew after Crew, branch after branch, we all stand in defiance to today's ruling,' the organisation posted on social media.

An #itsneverok hashtag went viral social media on Tuesday as ambulance officers and the community expressed their support for the paramedics.

The debate even turned political, with Victorian Liberal leader Matthew Guy labelling the decision 'a disgrace' in a Twitter post.

'A complete failure of the Victorian justice system,' he said.

Fair Go paramedic posted photos of ambulance vehicles displaying the message in pink writing: 'it's not OK to assault paramedics'.

The women admitted punching and kicking Mr Judd as he and another paramedic tried to treat a patient in Reservoir.

Lawyers for both women say the pair had tough childhoods but have started to turn their lives around since their drunken assault.

They both pleaded guilty last year to intentionally causing injury, while Warren has also admitted to criminally damaging the ambulance by ramming it with a car.

Ambulance Employees Australian Union secretary Steve McGhie said he was 'disgusted' with the outcome

Mr Judd broke his foot in the violent attack and has required multiple surgeries since.

The experienced ambulance worker has not been able to return to work since the violent attack in April 2016.

Fair Go paramedic was started by a former ambulance officer who worked with the service for 37 years.
The Home Office is examining dozens of cases where Windrush immigrants might have been wrongly deported, Sajid Javid said today.

Mr Javid revealed that 63 long-term British residents could have been kicked out of the country - and admitted that the true figure could be even higher.

The blunders have emerged as part of an urgent review launched amid a public outcry over the treatment of Windrush people.

Sajid Javid told MPs that 63 long-term British residents could have been kicked out of the country - and admitted that the true figure could be even higher

Thousands arrived in UK from the Commonwealth between the 1940s and 1970s, and have often worked and paid tax in the UK for decades.

But they have become caught up in a crackdown on illegal immigration launched by Theresa May.

What is the Windrush scandal and how did the fiasco develop? June 22, 1948 - The Empire Windrush passenger ship docked at Tilbury from Jamaica. The 492 passengers were temporarily housed near Brixton in London. Over the following decades some 500,000 came to the UK. Many arrived on their parents' passports and were not formally naturalised as British citizens. 1973 - A new immigration Act comes into force putting the onus on individuals to prove they have previously been resident in the UK. 2010 - The Home Office destroyed thousands of landing card slips recording Windrush immigrants arrival dates in the UK. The move came despite staff warnings that the move would make it harder to check the records of older Caribbean-born residents experiencing residency difficulties, it was claimed 2014 - A protection that exempted Commonwealth residents from enforced removal was removed under a new law. Theresa May was Home Secretary at the time. Under a crackdown on illegals, Windrush immigrants are obliged to provide proof they were resident in the UK before 1973. July 2016 - Mrs May becomes Prime Minister. April 2018 - Allegations that Windrush immigrants are being threatened with deportation break. Theresa May issued a grovelling apology to Caribbean leaders after major backlash April 29 - Amber Rudd resigns after inadvertently misleading Parliament by wrongly claiming there were no deportation targets Advertisement

Many have found themselves unable to meet demands for detailed documentation, and been denied medical treatment and threatened with removal.

Officials are trawling through 8,000 records dating back to 2002 following fears that people who had been in the country lawfully for decades may have been forced to leave.

Giving evidence to the Home Affairs committee this afternoon, Mr Javid - who became Home Secretary last month after the resignation of Amber Rudd - disclosed that the exercise has so far found 63 people who may have arrived in the UK from the Caribbean before 1973 and have been removed or deported.

Of that number, 32 were foreign national offenders, while 31 were people subject to 'administrative' removals.

Mr Javid emphasised that the figures were not final and could be subject to change.

He said: 'I've asked officials to be absolutely certain and thorough and check over every record and make sure.'

In a letter to the committee, Mr Javid also disclosed that more than 500 Windrush immigrants had now received documents confirming their residency rights.

'To date, the helpline has taken over 11,500 calls, of which over 4,482 were identified as possible Windrush cases and referred to taskforce caseworkers,' he wrote.

'These caseworkers phoned the individuals back for an in-depth conversation and as a result over 1,482 appointments have been booked, resulting in 526 people receiving documents which confirm their status.

'The Home Office is not being prescriptive regarding the evidence of residency  either in respect of how many pieces of evidence are sufficient or what type of evidence should be provided.

'Instead I have ensured that the process is simple enough to prevent anyone applying needing legal advice, and this is kept under review.'
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A couple who survived the deadly white supremacist car attack during clashes in Charlottesville last summer finally got to tie the knot on Saturday.

Marcus Martin, who was pictured mid-air in a powerful photo taken when the Dodge Challenger struck on August 12, married his fiancee Marissa Blair in Gordonsville, Virginia, during an outdoor ceremony paid for by well-wishers.

Martin, 26, pushed Blair, 27, out of the way when the car struck. He suffered a broken leg while the couple's friend, 32-year-old paralegal and fellow anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer, was killed.

Scroll down for video.

Marcus Martin, who was pictured mid-air in a powerful photo taken when the Dodge Challenger struck on August 12, married his fiancee Marissa Blair in Gordonsville, Virginia, during an outdoor ceremony on Saturday paid for by well-wishers

Martin, 26, pushed Blair, 27, (seen at their wedding) out of the way when the car struck. He suffered a broken leg while the couple's friend, 32-year-old paralegal and fellow anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer, was killed

Blair unveils her dress in front of sobbing bridesmaids during Saturday's ceremony, which was paid for by well-wishers and attended by dozens of friends and family

Wedding planner Christina Moore contacted the couple after hearing they had delayed their wedding after Heyer's death. She teamed up with 30 vendors to carry out the ceremony free of charge. Pictured: Blair poses in her dress

'He always said he would do any and everything to protect me and he proved it,' Blair told NBC29.

'It proves hate won't win and it proves that there are more good people in the world than there are bad and that love will win.'

Wedding planner Christina Moore from Bella Giornata Events & Designs contacted the couple, who had delayed their wedding after Heyer's death.

She teamed up with 30 vendors to carry out the ceremony free of charge.

Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, led tributes to her daughter by releasing a butterfly in her memory, while attendees wore purple, her favorite color.

The wedding was covered by videographer Floyd Joynes of Katie & Floyd Studios with M Harris Studios taking the pictures.

The couple walk down the grassy aisle with purple flowers on either side as a tribute to Heyer, their friend who died at Charlottesville

The couple (pictured on Saturday) were demonstrating against thousands of white supremacists who had massed in the Virginia town to protest against the decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Martin and Blair kiss after exchanging their vows in front of a trellis decked with purple flowers in honor of their late friend

Blair said the wedding proved 'hate won't win and it proves that there are more good people in the world than there are bad and that love will win'

The bridesmaids pose together for a photo before the ceremony on Saturday, which took place in Gordonsville, Virginia

Last year, Blair spoke exclusively to Dailymail.com about the moment Martin saved her life as they protested against the Unite the Right rally.

The couple were demonstrating against thousands of white supremacists who had massed in the Virginia town to protest against the decision to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

'We were saying, 'Whose streets? Our streets!' and just having a good time,' she said. 'We were right at the intersection, deciding to go right or left. We went left.

'We hear a commotion from the top of the street. It happened so fast. I felt myself shoved out of the way. [Martin] had pushed me out of the way.

All donations gathered at the wedding (where the happy bride and groom are pictured dancing) will be donated to the Heather Heyer Foundation

The ceremony proved emotional at points for the couple, who wanted to use it as an opportunity to remember their late friend

The outdoor setting proved a beautiful backdrop to the ceremony, which was supported by donations from 30 different donors

The reception dress was donated by Annalise Bridal in Richmond while other items including the wedding cake were also provided by well-wishers

'It was so fast. All he could think was to push me. He saved me then he was under the car. I checked myself and then immediately thought, where's Marcus?

'I started looking where the car had hit people. I saw his hat had blood all over it but he wasn't there. I found him with no blood on him.

'We were taken to the hospital and I overheard someone say that the heavyset woman who they were doing CPR on had died.

'I started asking around but I knew that it was my friend Heather. She had been standing right in front of Marcus.'

Blair continued: 'It was senseless. People said we were wrong for being there but it was that guy [driver] who was wrong. Why would anyone think that it's okay to do this? He rammed into us.'

James Alex Fields Jr., the man police say drove the car that killed Heyer and injured Martin, has been charged with murder.

Martin, 26, pushed Blair, 27, out of the way when the car struck. He suffered a broken leg while the couple's friend, 32-year-old paralegal and fellow anti-fascist protester Heather Heyer, was killed

Blair and Martin (left on August 16) chose to remember Heyer (right, undated photo) by making her favorite color purple the theme of the wedding
MSPs at Holyrood (headed by SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon, pictured) have formally refused to grant consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill by 93 votes to 30

The Scottish Parliament today voted down crucial Brexit-related legislation - sparking fears of a constitutional crisis.

MSPs at Holyrood have formally refused to grant consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill by 93 votes to 30.

It is the first time the devolved Parliament has withdrawn its stamp of approval for legislation coming from Westminster.

They blocked the crucial legislation from being passed amid a row whether powers returned to the UK from the EU should be handed to Edinburgh or London.

Despite the vote, Scottish Brexit Minister Mike Russell has vowed this will 'not be the end of the process'.

The two Governments aim to settle their long-running dispute over where powers returning to the UK post-Brexit should be held.

If no deal between Edinburgh and London can be reached, Westminster has the option of introducing the Withdrawal Bill against the wishes of the Scottish Parliament.

But it has never been forced to overrule Holyrood before, and such a move could spark a constitutional crisis.

What happens next now the consent motion has been rejected? The decision by the Scottish Parliament to refuse to give its consent to the Brexit Bill is a powerful, but largely symbolic, gesture. It has never been done before by the devolved Parliament in Holyrood. Theresa May has the power to force the Bill through without getting the consent of Scotland. But it would be politically unpopular and fuel the SNP's arguments that Westminster is ignoring the concerns of Scots and pursuing an English hard Brexit. UK ministers are likely to continue their negotiations with their Scottish counterparts and hope to come up with a deal and put the vote to MSPs again. Advertisement

With consent having been refused, Mr Russell will now write to Theresa May's de facto deputy, David Lidington.

He will call on him come to Scotland and hear 'hear the concerns of all parties and to discuss with the Scottish Government and the UK Government any new ideas from any of the parties'.

SNP, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs all voted against consent, with only the Scottish Conservatives arguing the changes that have already been made to the Bill go far enough to protect devolution.

Scottish Government ministers however fear the legislation, as it currently stands, could see Holyrood's powers constrained for up to seven years after the UK quits the EU and are demanding changes before they will give it the go ahead.

While Mr Lidington has said he is 'open to suggestions that would improve the Bill' the UK Government has repeatedly refused to drop clause 15 - which was formerly clause 11 - from the legislation.

Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard has been calling for cross party talks to resolve the dispute.

He said: 'This means that the vote on consent for the Withdrawal Bill at Holyrood today need not be the final word on this matter - there is still time to fix this mess.'

But Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said: 'It's profoundly regrettable that we don't have a deal in Scotland to allow us to move on.

'The blame for that lies entirely with the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon has refused to compromise.

'It's not in Scotland's interests that the SNP prefers picking fights to making a deal.'
President Trump consoled the 90-year-old mother of New York City police officer who died in the line of duty last year after she was fatally shot by a deranged individual.

Trump gave the officer's mother, Adrianna Valoy, a long hug, kissing her on the cheek and forehead and asking the audience for more applause, after an impromptu invitation for Detective Miosotis Familia's relatives to join him on stage at a memorial service for slain police.

'We must end the attacks on our police and we must end them right now,' he said in remarks at the Capitol Hill event. 'We believe, criminals who kill our police should get the death penalty. Bring it forth.'

President Trump consoled the 90-year-old mother of New York City police officer who died in the line of duty last year after she was fatally shot by a mentally-deranged individual

Trump gave the officer's mother, Adrianna Valoy, a long hug, then held her hand while he escorted her to the podium

The elderly woman kept holding onto Trump, even as he let go of her grasp, and held back onto him as he finished his speech

He told Familia's mother and children, 'She's right now, right there, and she's looking down, and she's so proud of you. She's so proud of you. And you are great'

Trump is seen holding the hand Familia's 12-year-old son, Peter Vega, at the event

New York City Police officer Vincent Maher, hugs Genesis Villella, the daughter of slain police officer Miosotis Familia, who was killed in the line of duty, as President Donald Trump speaks about her, at the 37th Annual National Peace Officers' Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol

Trump, who led a law and order campaign, railed against 'ambush attacks' on police at the event, calling the development 'one of the most alarming crimes.'

He told attendees of the event that coincided with National Police Week, 'We must show appreciation and gratitude and respect for those who police our streets and patrol our communities.'

Detective Famalia was shot and killed while sitting in her squad car in the Bronx on July 5

Detective Familia was a 'proud member' of the New York Police Department, he said, asking where 'that great family' of hers was in the audience.

'Great family,' Trump again said offering them a round of applause. 'Thank you so much, Can you come up here? Come up here, please? Come on, I'd like to have this family New York Police Department, close to my heart.'

Trump shook hands with the deceased's three children - Genesis Villella, Peter Vega and sister Deliah - before greeting the detective's mom.

The elderly woman kept holding onto Trump, even as he let go of her grasp, talking to him in comments that were not audible to the audience.

He led her to the podium and said, 'So I promised that I wouldn't tell you that she's 90-years-old, but you know what, she is really something right?

'You look like 55, maybe, 55?' he teased, still holding her hand. 'Boy I tell you what, you got up those stairs better than I did. Thank you sweetheart.'

'Special, special people', Trump said of the Famalia family during the memorial service

He led her the elderly woman to the podium and said, 'So I promised that I wouldn't tell you that she's 90-years-old, but you know what, she is really something right?'

President Trump said of the shooting in his hometown that 'the attack, because she was so incredible was just looked upon so horribly'

The president said he wasn't planning to Familia's family on stage but saw them in the audience and wanted them by his side because they represent an important value

'You look like 55, maybe, 55?' Trump teased Famalia's mom. 'Boy I tell you what, you got up those stairs better than I did. Thank you sweetheart'

He let go to shake officer Vincent Maher's hand.

Maher identified himself as Familia's patrol partner and presented Trump with a challenge coin in honor of the fallen detective.

'Rough,' Trump told him. 'Fantastic person.'

Familia's mother thanked Trump in Spanish for as he passed the mic to Maher, asking him to 'say how great she was' to the audience.

Maher said that his partner 'volunteered to leave a cushy job, to come back to patrol' after an injury and had only been back on patrol for two weeks when she died.

'She may have been lost that night, but she saved a lot of lives in turn,' the officer who was with her that night said. 'She was an incredible person, and she is missed by the family.'

Pointing to her mother and children, Maher said: 'This family is, forget, it their incredible.'

'These are special people,' the president said during the tribute to Familia, who was shot while sitting in her squad car in the Bronx at the start of her shift on July 5.

Famalia was the first New York police woman to die in the line of duty since 9/11.

Her death prompted the Tunnel to Towers Foundation raise $492,000 for Familia's children. The New York Daily News contributed another $263,000. Skyview in the Hudson, where the school-age children now live with their older sister, chipped in $125,000.

Villella was only 20 years old when she postponed her degree to take care of her younger brother and sister in their mother's absence.

ABC 7 in New York reported that the donations were enough to pay the mortgage, maintenance fees and property taxes on the co-op where they live for years.

Trump, who led a law and order campaign, railed against 'ambush attacks' on police at the event, calling the development 'one of the most alarming crimes.' He's seen here at the memorial service standing next to Vice President Mike Pence

'These are special people. They're just special, special people', he said of Familia's son, two daughters and her mother. 'And I want to tell you that last year just a few hours after the city of New York celebrated the Fourth of July, Detective Familia was on duty in her vehicle not far from Yankee stadium.

'Big Yankee fan, you're all Yankee fans,' he said to the grieving family. 'She was ambushed by a man for the simple reason that she was a member of the police department.

President Trump said of the shooting in his hometown that 'the attack, because she was so incredible was just looked upon so horribly.

'Her family, when people met the family, they saw what an incredible person she was,' Trump said.

The president said he wasn't planning to Familia's family on stage but saw them in the audience and wanted them by his side because they represent an important value.

'She loved the department. She loved being a police officer. She loved her job. She was respected by everybody. They told me all about her,' Trump said. 'She was respected by everybody.'

To all the families who lost a loved one in the line of duty, he asked them to please stand for a round of applause.

He told Familia's mother and children, 'She's right now, right there, and she's looking down, and she's so proud of you. She's so proud of you. And you are great.'

They made a motion to leave but he told the family to 'stay' and 'we'll go down together.'

'OK?' he said. 'I'm almost finished.'

To all the families who lost a loved one, he asked them to please stand as he concluded his remarks, telling them that the memory of their loved ones 'will endure forever.'

'Thanks again to all of our wonderful police, our sheriffs and all of law enforcement and law enforcement officers. You're incredible people,' he said. 'You are the finest. You are the greatest. You are our heroes. God bless you. God bless our fallen heroes. God bless their families, and God bless America.'
Police digging for the remains of up to seven Michigan girls who have been missing for decades abruptly stopped the search on Tuesday in suburban Detroit.

The closely watched multi-day effort was suspended while police decide whether to search elsewhere in Michigan or resume the excavation in roughly the same area.

Warren Mayor James Fouts said the timeout could last a week.

Authorities repeatedly have said they are confident they will solve the cold cases, raising the hopes of anxious family members who are desperate to learn what happened to their loved ones.

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Machinery sits idle in a field in Macomb Township, Michigan, on Tuesday after police ended a weeklong excavation in search of the remains of seven missing girls

In a frame from video, police used heavy equipment to dig for the remains on Monday

The search at the remote property in Warren, north of Detroit, began last week as authorities searched for the remains of 12-year-old Kimberly King who was last seen in the area in 1979. Her sister, Konnie Beyma (right) says she is 'disappointed' Kimberly's body was not found

'I'm disappointed, obviously, there was not a recovery,' said Konnie Beyma, whose sister, Kimberly King, disappeared in 1979 at age 12. 'Based on information from law enforcement, I was beginning to believe we were close to resolution.'

Police tape was taken down and three heavy machines sat idle on Tuesday.

'They decided to stop and evaluate,' said Fouts, whose police department is leading the investigation.

The search at a remote property in Macomb Township, 30 miles northeast of downtown Detroit, got under way last Monday. The site is roughly 25 acres of woods and open fields, not far from a residential neighborhood. Crews have clawed at just a portion.

Fouts said police will decide whether to dig again at the same site or take the search elsewhere in Macomb County or to northern Michigan. He didn't disclose what investigators might know about those other locations.

Police were inspired to dig after talking to a prisoner, Arthur Ream, 59, who is serving a life sentence for slaying 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki. The girl's remains were found in 2008 near the same woods.

Police fear the remote area where they believe Kimberly's remains are is also the burial site for up to six other teenage girls

Police have only mentioned the names of three other girls who could possibly be buried at the site: Kellie Brownlee, 17, from Novi, in 1982; Kim Larrow, from Canton in 1981; and Nadine O'Dell, 16, from Taylor, in 1982

Detectives questioned convicted child killer Arthur Nelson Ream, 59, in prison about Kimberly's disappearance. They say he boasted to prisoners that he killed several other girls

Ream was interviewed after fellow prisoners said he boasted about killing four to six other girls. Police said he failed a lie-detector test.

Beyma, who was at the site Monday, said she wants to find her sister's remains and bury them at a family grave in Kentucky.

Warren Police Commissioner Bill Dwyer told reporters last week that authorities 'do have probable cause to believe' the area in Macomb Township 'is a gravesite'.

Kimberly King was reported missing from the area back in September 1979 while she was staying with her grandparents.

Police have only mentioned the names of three other girls who could possibly be buried at the site: Kellie Brownlee, 17, from Novi, in 1982; Kim Larrow, from Canton in 1981; and Nadine O'Dell, 16, from Taylor, in 1982.

Ream's only confirmed victim, Cindy Zarzycki, disappeared in 1986 when Ream tricked the 13-year-old into meeting him at a local Dairy Queen after he told her he was planning a surprise birthday for his son. Zarzycki had been dating Ream's son at the time of her disappearance.

Officials believe the bodies of four other teen girls may also be buried on the property and they fear they could be victims of convicted child murderer Arthur Nelson Ream

The FBI and other agencies restarted the work at a site about 30 miles northeast of downtown Detroit in Macomb Township last Wednesday

Investigators set up their equipment under tents before beginning their work at the dig site on May 9

Investigators huddle before they travel across a huge field to dig for human remains

Ream was convicted of first-degree murder in her slaying.

At the time of his conviction for Zarzycki's killing, he already was serving a 15-year sentence on an unrelated molestation charge involving a 14-year-old girl.

He later was temporarily released from prison to lead police to Zarzycki's body.

He told investigators that Zarzycki's body was buried near a creek.

Ream also drew a map of the site and spent about an hour at the search scene with authorities before leading police to where he buried her body in a shallow grave.

Police said Reams had a sick obsession with young girls.
Donald Trump's selection to lead the CIA is virtually guaranteed to pass her confirmation test in the U.S. Senate, following a thumbs-up from the Intelligence Committee's top Democrat.

Gina Haspel, the spy agency's acting director and former deputy under now-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, wrote Sen. Mark Warner Monday to say that the CIA's past program of enhanced interrogation applied to terrorism suspects  now widely regarded as torture  'is not one the CIA should have undertaken.'

Warner said Tuesday that he asked Haspel to put her beliefs in writing, and added that he plans to vote 'yes' when her nomination comes up for considering on Wednesday.

'I'm going to support Gina Haspel's nomination to be Director of the CIA. I also respect my colleagues who have made a different decision,' Warner said in a statement.

CIA nominee Gina Haspel says she thinks it was a mistake to apply 'enhanced interrogation'  torture  to terror suspects

Haspel wrote Monday to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (left) and copied Chairman Richard Burr (right), but refused to say her predecessors who green-lighted torture were wrong

The Virginia Democrat underscored that he was worried about having a CIA chief who might bend to the will of a reckless president who decided to green-light waterboarding or other forms of torture.

'I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral  like a return to torture,' he said of Donald Trump.

Haspel would be the first woman to run the CIA. Her maneuvering with Warner came as the Trump administration worked overtime to attract support for her.

Her moment in the harsh glare of politics has generated a renewed public debate about the practical value of torture, which Trump touted as a certainty during his 2016 campaign.

'Torture works,' the president said on at least six occasions as he ran for the White House. He specifically mocked Democrats' concerns about waterboarding, saying it was a 'minor form' of torture and that the U.S. 'should go much stronger.'

But Haspel wrote that she has 'learned the hard lessons since 9/11.'

'With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken.'

Haspel's letter also declares that 'valuable intelligence' has been collected in the past through enhanced interrogation techniques

Waterboarding involves restraining a suspect, placing a cloth over his face and pouring water on his head to simulate drowning

Haspel's letter came after Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona urged colleagues to reject the nominee over her past role in the CIA's 'enhanced interrogations.'

While she said she now disagrees with the operations, she declined to take issue with her predecessors' decisions  and said the torture sometimes produced useful information.

'I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected,' she said, while conceding that 'the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world.'

Haspel also admitted that the CIA should have kept Congress better informed of its methods all along.

'[I]t was a mistake not to brief the entire Committee at the beginning,' she wrote. 'Both the Committee and the Agency shared the goal of obtaining the critical intelligence needed to thwart another attack.'

U.S. Capitol Police officers removed a protester from the Senate Intelligence Committee's hearing room last week as she shouted at Haspel

The question of what to do about the CIA's history of torturing suspected terrorists hung over Haspel's hearing

'CIA needs to have consensus from members of the oversight committees who make decisions on behalf of the American people as their elected representatives on activities that can't be made public.'

The Intelligence Committee will vote Wednesday in secret, as is the usual custom.

When Haspel's nomination reaches the floor of the Senate for a full vote, she will likely prevail although the margin will be narrow.

Republicans John McCain and Rand Paul have announced their opposition to her. But McCain, who is battling brain cancer, is not expected to come to Washington to cast his ballot.

Three Democrats have acceded to the White House, however.

U.S. Army military policemen are shown in 2005 patting down suspected terrorists at the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, Iraq  a place where people in military custody were often tortured

In addition to Warner, Joe Donnelly of Indiana said Saturday that he made his decision after 'a tough, frank and extensive discussion' with Haspel.

West Virginia's Joe Manchin had earlier thrown his lot in with her.

Both of those Democrats are considered to be among the most vulnerable Senate incumbents in the November election.

Republicans hold a 51-49 Senate majority, making for a 51-48 vote with McCain recovering from surgery.
A cyclist is being sought as part of a police investigation in to an alleged sexual assault of a 17-year-old girl in Melbournes southwest three months ago.

Wyndham Crime Investigation Unit detectives have released CCTV images of a young man riding a bike through a residential area in Point Cook on February 28 this year.

Wyndham Crime Investigation Unit detectives have released CCTV images of this young man, riding a bike through a residential area in Point Cook, Victoria

The police would like to speak with the cyclist, to assist with their enquiries. Anyone who knows him is asked to contact Crime Stoppers

Acting Sergeant Alistair Parsons said the unit had been told a 17-year-old Point Cook girl was walking home from school at about 5.30pm when the alleged assault occurred.

While walking on Spinifex Street, she was approached from behind by an unknown cyclist, who sexually assaulted her before riding off.

Detectives have released CCTV images of a male on a bicycle who they believe may be able to assist with their enquiries.

He is possibly aged in his mid-teens, and was wearing khaki shorts, a blue hooded jumper and Converse shoes.

Anyone who is able to identify the person in the image, or has any other information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report online, via www.crimestoppersvic.com.au




A federal judge ruled that the NRA must name anonymous plaintiffs fighting a gun control law introduced in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting.

The NRA had filed a lawsuit against Florida lawmakers after they approved gun legislation that would raise the age to buy guns to 21 years old.

But they wanted to keep the names of the plaintiffs secret, claiming they could face abuse.

A federal judge ruled that the NRA must name anonymous plaintiffs fighting a gun control law introduced in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting

District Judge Mark Walker told the court he'd like to help them, but his hands were tied by precedent, Fox News reports.

Incredibly, he gave the example of the 'vitriol' and 'harassment' faced by the brave young Parkland shooting survivors, from gun lovers, conservatives and right-wingers, as a reason why the gun activists should be protected.

'If it were entirely up to this court, the court would not hesitate to grant the NRA's motion,' Walker wrote in his ruling.

'One need only look to the harassment suffered by some of the Parkland shooting survivors to appreciate the vitriol that has infected public discourse about the Second Amendment. And this court has no doubt the harassment goes both ways.'

District Judge Mark Walker told the court he'd like to help them, and gave the example of the 'vitriol' and 'harassment' that gun lovers, conservatives and right-wingers had imposed on the brave young Parkland shooting victims (such as David Hogg, pictured)

Conservative commentator Laura Ingraham mocked gun control activist and Parkland shooting survivor Hogg on Twitter after he argued for new laws

Marion Hammer, a former president of the NRA and a Florida lobbyist, said the NRA was 'very disappointed' in the judge's decision not to keep the name of the two 19-year-old defendants private, adding it was too soon to decide what it was doing next.

'We're trying to shield these young adults from some of the most evil, hateful stuff you can imagine,' Hammer said in an email.'

'Individuals should be able to stand up for their rights and beliefs in the Second Amendment without having to expose themselves to harassment and bullying.'

There have been greater calls for gun controls after a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, killing 17 and leaving 15 wounded.

Brave teen and shooting survivor David Hogg has lead calls for boycotts of corporations and politicians who continue to support the NRA.

Students were brought out of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School after the shooting by the former student

Flowers, candles and mementos sit outside one of the makeshift memorials at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 27, two weeks after 17 people were killed in a shooting

But he, and his fellow survivors, have faced a furious backlash, with some reporting threats and online bullying.

Even conservative commentator Laura Ingraham mocked gun control activist and Parkland shooting survivor Hogg on Twitter, writing that he'd been rejected from four colleges over his GPA, prompting Hogg to urge a boycott of Ingrahams TV advertisers.

Although Ingraham has since apologized to Hogg, the Parkland student has rejected it and continues to push for stricter gun control laws in the United States.
A Mexican woman living in Texas has been charged with voter fraud after prosecutors said she illegally cast ballots in three different presidential elections, including in 2016.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on Monday announced that his office will prosecute Laura Garza who was indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on two counts of election fraud related to the November 2016 presidential election in Harris County.

Garza, described as a non-US citizen from Mexico, is charged with voter impersonation and ineligible voting, both second-degree felonies. If convicted, she faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

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Illegal voter: Laura Garza, a Mexican national living in Texas, has been indicted by a grand jury on two counts of voter impersonation and ineligible voting, punishable by up to 20 years in prison

A joint investigation carried out by Paxtons office and the Texas Department of Public Safety has determined that Garza obtained documents to steal the identity of a US citizen and illegally register to vote in Harris County, according to a statement from the Attorney General's Office.

She is accused of illegally voting in 2004, 2012 and most recently in November 2016.

'This case demonstrates my offices commitment to protecting the integrity of elections,' Paxton said. 'We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard the electoral process in Texas.'

Garzas case came to light when a citizen attempted to obtain a US Passport, only to discover that Garza had already done so using the womans identity.

The US State Department later referred Garzas case to the Criminal Investigations Division of the Department of Public Safety, which ultimately handed it over to the Office of the Attorney General for an election fraud investigation.

The case against Garza is being prosecuted by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

President Donald Trump has long been making unsubstantiated claims that as many as three million people voted illegally in the last election, as a way to explain how his opponent, Hillary Clinton, won the popular vote but lost the race.

Multiple studies have shown that while in-person voter fraud is not unheard of, it is exceedingly rare in the US.

In Texas, there were only 60 criminal convictions for offenses related to voter fraud out of 65 million ballots cast between 2005-2017, according to data compiled by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation.
Dr Heath J. Sommer is accused of ordering female patients who had been sexually abused while deployed overseas to have sex with him as part of 'exposure therapy'

An Air Force psychologist hired to help abused veterans has been charged with sexually assaulting his patients, leaving them 'even more traumatized'.

Dr Heath J. Sommer is accused of ordering female patients who had been sexually abused on overseas deployments to have sex with him in a perverted form of 'exposure therapy' while working for Travis Air Force Base in northern California.

Exposure therapy sees doctors ask patients suffering from PTSD and other anxiety disorders to relive part of their traumatic experience in a safe environment as a way of overcoming it.

Sommer will stand trial on three felony sexual assault charges after he allegedly targeted female service members in 2014 and 2015 while working at the base's David Grant Medical Center. Sommer has pleaded not guilty.

One alleged victim who was raped in Afghanistan in 2002, said that after three therapy sessions Sommer asked her to come over to his house.

There Sommer claimed he would treat the soldier by making her recreate every aspect of her 2002 sexual assault, the Daily Republic reported.

Sommer, who is now charged with three felony counts of sexual assault, allegedly carried out his crimes while working at Travis Air Force Base in northern California

After she recalled eating badly cooked goat meat in a dirty room before her assault, Sommer allegedly made her put dirt from his backyard into her mouth and then consume a leftover Chinese takeaway.

Recommending a 'positive and loving' sexual experience, Sommer then had sex with her while his wife stayed downstairs, she said.

They had sex a further nine times during further 'therapy' sessions, it is alleged.

Another victim claimed Sommer's 'exposure therapy' involved him standing up, unzipping his pants and receiving oral sex from her.

Many of these victims were war veterans diagnosed with PTSD due to various forms of trauma, sexual and non-sexual, while active duty in the U.S. Air Force,' prosecutors told NBC affiliate KNTV.

Sommer was booked into Stanton Correctional Facility on May 3, where his bail is set at $750,000

'As their therapist, the defendant was in a position of power. While some victims were strong enough to stand up to the defendant and refuse his advances, others weren't.

'Those victims, especially the victims of sexual assault, are now even more traumatized due to the defendant's actions.'

Travis Air Force Base Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Tonya Racasner said: 'There is zero-tolerance for sexual assault across the Air Force.

'Base administration is working w/ local authorities to make sure that all the victims in this case are taken care of. The suspect is a civilian contractor who worked for the Air Force.'

Sommer was booked into Stanton Correctional Facility on May 3, where his bail is set at $750,000.

A telephone message for his attorney, Thomas Maas, seeking comment was not immediately returned.

Travis Air Force officials say they are encouraging victims to continue to come forward and hope the Sommer case does not deter them from seeking help.

"We know this is an on-going issue worldwide, and not just in the Air Force," Racasner said. "We just feel for us, it's all about educating folks, and ensuring individuals are being effectively taken care of."

Air Force officials said military investigators are working with the Fairfield police on the Sommer case.

Sommer also faces four charges of sexual battery filed after his 2016 arrest by Fairfield police. He remains in jail with bail set at $750,000.
President Donald Trump met with Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch but no one brought up their ailing colleague John McCain despite an ongoing spat over a White House aide's comment about the Arizona Republican.

Republicans gave several reasons why the topic didn't come up  including that Trump spoke for almost all of the meeting, just taking two or three questions.

'We kind of ran out of time,' said Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana. 'I don't know that I would have even if I'd have had the time. We wanted to hear from the president and he spoke and covered an enormous array of topics,' he said.

It was the first meeting between Republicans and Trump since White House aide Kelly Sadler remarked on McCain's opposition to CIA director nominee Gina Haspel by saying it didn't matter because 'he's dying anyway.'

Senate Republicans say Trump spoke through most of their meeting and just two or three of them asked questions

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chair of the conference, also cited the timing as the reason nobody stood up for McCain in the meeting.

'The president talked most of the time,' Thune told DailyMail.com. 'We had a couple questions at the end. But it was mostly the economy and foreign policy.'

Nor did senators raise other hot topics  such as the rule of law and Trump's attacks on special counsel Robert Mueller, the Stormy Daniels scandal, or the FBI raid on longtime Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.

'There were only two questions. We let the president talk. There might've been two, maybe three,' said Kennedy.

The senators all spoke on the second floor of the Capitol, in hallways McCain has strode for years, where in addition to representing Arizona he has made a career of occasionally provoking his own party and presidents of both parties on issues he holds dear.

Senators say no one brought up Sen. John McCain, who is battling terminal brain cancer

Trump instead talked about North Korea, Iran, trade, and other issues, with discussions on the upcoming midterm elections where he introduced the GOP candidate in Indiana.

'He talked mostly and he talked about a lot of his accomplishments. A lot of other things. He had a lot of humor,' said Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama.

President Donald Trump, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., left, updates reporters on the condition of first lady Melania Trump as they walk to a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, May 15, 2018

President Donald Trump, right, speaks while walking with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, before attending the weekly Senate luncheons on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018

'I'm not afraid of the president. I like the president,' Kennedy told DailyMail.com. 'I mean he can't eat me and he can't kill me. I'm not afraid of anybody that can't eat me or kill me.'

Kennedy wouldn't even criticize the food that was served. 'We had some kind of mystery meat  I mean it was good,' he backtracked. 'But it was a cross between meat and bacon. And we had chicken. And we had salad.'

The White House has refused to publicly apologize, nor has Sadler, although she called McCain's family members after the remark. Instead, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders and her subordinates have gone after whoever leaked the comment out of a closed White House meeting. Trump has also gone after leakers on Twitter since the incident.

Trump met with Republicans after attending a memorial to police officers

The only people who asked Trump about McCain, who is at home in Arizona dealing with his cancer treatments and the effects, were reporters gathered outside, although the president ignored questions.

Even as Trump avoided the issue, two Senate Democrats, Mark Warner of Virginia and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, announced they would support Haspel's nomination.

McCain announced from Arizona after Haspel's confirmation hearing that he would oppose her, citing her role running a secret CIA prison in Thailand after Sep. 11th.

'Ms. Haspel's role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge torture's immorality is disqualifying,' McCain said.
North Korea's government says it is considering calling off a planned nuclear summit between dictator Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Kim's regime said through state-run news agency KCNA that ongoing 'Max Thunder' joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea are actually a 'rehearsal for invasion' of the North.

'The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities,' KCNA said.

The White House made no immediate moves to slow down preparations for the summit on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders simply said: 'We are aware of the South Korean media report. The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.'

North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un's government threatened on Wednesday (local time) to call off a planned nuclear summit with President Donald Trump (right)

This photo from 2017 shows a vehicle carrying what appears to be an intercontinental ballistic missile during a military parade at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea

President Trump last week greeted three Americans who were released from North Korea as they returned in the wee hours of the morning to an air case in suburban Maryland

President Trump ignored reporters asking for an update twice on Tuesday as he came and went from the White House to Walter Reed hospital, where his wife was recovering from a benign kidney surgery.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency had earlier reported that Pyongyang also canceled high-level talks with Seoul, scheduled for later in the day.

The North Koreans cited the military drills as the reason.

The meeting was to happen in the border town of Panmunjom, as a followup to Kim's April meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Moon Jae-In.

The Trump administration has appeared to be making progress in recent weeks toward a new diplomatic framework with the hermit kingdom.

Tempers had cooled following months of belligerence on both sides  Trump called Kim 'Little Rocket Man' and Kim responded by branding him a 'mentally deranged U.S. dotard.'

Last week Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang on a mission to retrieve three Americans held prisoner in the communist nation.

He returned a day later with Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Tony Kim on board his government jet. Trump, eager to reap the PR benefit of a public splash, went to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland at 2:00 in the morning to greet them personally.

The prisoner release was seen as a first step toward the planned summit, which Trump announced last week would take place June 12 in Singapore.

The North Korean statement got a jump on the U.S State Department

U.S.-KOR Combine Force take part in an annual best warrior competition at U.S. military base Camp Casey in Dongducheon, South Korea, on 12 April 2018

'We have no information on that,' said spokeswoman Heather Nauert, NBC reported. 'Let's not get ahead of ourselves. We need to verify it.'

The snag comes after North Korea began dismantling a key nuclear test site just weeks before Kim due to meet Trump for what would be historic summit.

Satellite images examined by American researchers appear to show building demolitions, removal of railways, and overturned mining carts at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site in North Korea.

The researchers are relying on commercial satellite imagery from May 7, according to the 38 North web site.

The site analyzed images which show significant changes that have been made at the location which are consistent with decommissioning.

Critics have argued that the cite already is in need of decommissioning, making its decommissioning less of a concession than it might otherwise seem.

'Between April 20 and May 7, 2018, the probable engineering office building and a possible instrumentation shed located just outside the North Portal (where the last five underground nuclear tests have been conducted) were razed along with at least two smaller buildings or sheds,' according to 38 North.

Meanwhile, the hermetic nation plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, its ambassador told the United Nations today.

Pyongyang has pledged dismantle the test site some time between May 23 and May 25 in order to uphold its pledge to cease tests, its state media reported on Saturday.

No personnel or significant activity is observed at the barracks area

Earlier today, North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song announced the country's intentions to work towards a complete ban on tests.

'DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests,' Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.

Han told the UN assembly that his country aimed to make more 'efforts to achieve the development of intra-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of the war on the Korean peninsula.'

'It will make sincere efforts... to establish a durable lasting peace mechanism' with its neighbour to the south, he said, urging the international community to 'extend its active support in encouraging and promoting the current positive climate.'

The military exercises that apparently provoked the North Korean side are known as 'Maximum Thunder.' The drill involves F-15 and F-16 aircraft numbering more than 80, NBC News reported.

The annual drill has regularly been a thorn in the side of the North Koreans. U.S. military officials say it is needed to practice the kind of cooperation that would be necessary in any real live military situation on the heavily-armed Korean peninsula.

It includes both air-to-air and air-to ground mission practice.
A man, who suffered severe burns on most of his body after he caught on fire while pumping gas in Georgia, died on Monday.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was pumping gas around 12pm on April 25 at a Texaco when the incident occurred.

Witnesses said they couldn't see exactly what happened because the man caught on fire so quickly.

A man, who suffered severe burns on most of his body after he caught on fire while pumping gas in Georgia, died on Monday. The man was seen paying for gas (left) before walking outside to pump gas into his vehicle on April 25

The man, whose identity has not been released, was pumping gas around 12pm at a Texaco (pictured) in Atlanta when the incident occurred. Witnesses said they couldn't see exactly what happened because the man caught on fire so quickly

'Fire was all over his body,' witness Amos Terry told WSB-TV shortly after the fire.

'I just seen him running across, running across the lot there.'

A few witnesses said they rushed over to help the man remove his clothes before firefighters from the Atlanta Fire Department extinguished the fire and turned off the gas pumps at the gas station.

First responders treated the victim's burns and rushed him to a local hospital.

The man remained in critical condition with burns over 80 per cent of his body until Monday when he succumbed to his injuries.

Chamberlain Nkombou, the gas station manager, told the station at the time that the victim came into the store and bought a lighter and $5 dollars worth of gas.

Surveillance video shows the man (pictured) running in the parking lot as flames engulf his body

A few witnesses (left, on the surveillance video) said they rushed over to help the man remove his clothes before firefighters from the Atlanta Fire Department extinguished the fire and turned off the gas pumps at the gas station

'He went out and, less than three seconds, he started shouting, 'I'm on fire. I'm on fire. I'm on fire,'' Nkombou said. 'It burned off his clothes off of him, and his skin was hanging on him.'

Nkombou said the man had pumped just 72 cents worth of gas before he caught on fire.

Surveillance video shows the man running in the parking lot as flames engulf his body.

Atlanta Fire Sgt Cortez Stafford told 11 Alive: 'We've seen fires start with static electricity, and capers can catch on fire.

'Obviously, you smell gas when you're pumping, and those vapors are flammable.'

'There's a possibility of it being an accident. There's a possibility of it being any other thing,' Stafford said.

Stafford said there were no obvious signs of cigarettes or any other flammable materials other than the gas.

Authorities are still investigating what caused the fire and have not released any more information.

Fire officials said there were no obvious signs of cigarettes or any other flammable materials other than the gas. Pictured is the melted nozzle from the pump the man used
Dean Lowe faces a life sentence after killing his girlfriend, disposing of her body and trying to claim she had left him

A killer who chopped up his besotted girlfriend's body and dumped it in wheelie bins was jailed for a minimum of 28 years yesterday.

Sick Dean Lowe also flushed away parts of her body down a toilet and told police he had made her teeth into a necklace.

Drug taker Lowe was convicted last week of the murder of 32 year old Kirby Noden whose body has never been found.

He killed her by smashing her with a rock from a beach and a metal pole in the bedroom of their flat in Marazion, west Cornwall,

He murdered her last January but spent four months living in the blood soaked flat.

Yesterday Mrs Justice May told him: 'By all accounts Kirby was besotted with you, following wherever you went, doing whatever you asked her to do.

'When she messaged one of your cousins about a form of marriage ceremony that you and she had undertaken on a beach, she described you as the love of her life.

'You on the other hand spoke of her as 'that skanky bitch'.

'It was Kirby who went out and did the shopping, got the cash, found accommodation for you both; you sat in your basement flat watching TV and taking, on your own account, whatever drugs you could get.

Loew murdered Ms Noden (pictured) last January but spent four months living in the blood soaked flat

'On the occasions when you could not afford any more drugs you would blood let, sometimes as much as two pints, for the headrush.'

The judge said Lowe killed mum of three Kirby with a rock that was left smashed in five pieces and a metal pole with three protruding screws which he 'used to finish her off'.

She said no-one knew whether he killed her in one continuous attack 'whether it was the work of minutes, or of hours, even days, for long long she was conscious with blows raining down on her'.

The judge said: 'You have not said and there is no body to reveal the extent of your deadly abuse.

'Whatever the time frame this was a pitiless attack on someone who had done nothing but love you devotedly.'

And she said when Kirby was dead, Lowe ate, slept, watched TV and took drugs next to her bloody corpse for several days before he chopped up her body and dumped it in wheelie bins and down a toilet.

She jailed him for life and said he must serve at least 28 years behind bars before parole is even considered.

Prosecutor Paul Dunkels QC told Truro Crown Court during 33 year old Lowe's trial: 'Her blood was splattered around the bedroom from the attack upon her and it soaked into the mattress where her body had been laying and it was on the weapons he had used to murder her.

'No one other than the defendant knew what had happened to Kirby Noden for five months until May of last year when the defendant began to send text messages to members of his family in Cheshire that there had been a body on the floor of the flat which he had cut up and put into bins and down the toilet.

The judge said Lowe, let and right, killed mum of three Kirby with a rock that was left smashed in five pieces and a metal pole with three protruding screws which he 'used to finish her off'.

'They contacted the police and when the police went to the flat the defendant showed that officer the blood and admitted to the police officer he had killed Kirby Noden and disposed of her body.

'The defendant attacked her with a rock that fractured into pieces with the force of the blows.

'For four months he lived in the flat in the state that it was. Living in the midst of what he had done must have been gruesome.'

Lowe texted a cousin: 'She's dead and has been chopped up and put down the toilet and in the bins down the road.

Police built a case against Lowe based on the amount of blood found in the flat and on his lover's jumper

Police documents show the location of the flat, near St Michael's Mount in southern Cornwall

'Either I'm getting set up it I've murdered Kirby. I had a black out, hazy memory and woke up with a body on the floor. It took me a week to get rid of the body, it was horrible'

Mr Dunkels said when police went to the flat, Lowe said 'he must have killed her and cut her up' adding: 'He also said he had made a necklace out of Kirby's teeth.'

But when Lowe have evidence during the three week trial, he claimed she is alive and living in South Africa working as a missionary.

He claimed to have had a call from her while on remand in Exeter jail saying she told him: 'You've got life in jail and I've got a new life out here.'

He told his barrister Anna Vigars QC that both Kirby and he had a blood letting habit.

He said they both did this and the flat and rarely cleaned up after the letting which he said was 'like drinking a pint of vodka'.

Lowe and Miss Noden had known each other as children in Cheshire as both their fathers were friends.

Lowe denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after nine and half hours of deliberations.
He is known for making the most radical fertility treatments a reality.

Dr John Zhang created the first 'three-parent baby', using DNA from his mother and father, as well as a tiny segment from a donor to avoid inheriting a life-threatening disease.

He also helped a 49-year-old woman to become the oldest to give birth to her own biological child in 2009.

Now, the so-called 'rebel' based in New York City claims that he soon hopes to break another record: helping a 60-year-old woman to carry her own baby to term.

According to a FDA-issued warning letter, Congress prohibited the genetic editing of heritable traits in human embryos in 2015. Zhang didn't have the necessary approvals to conduct his research, they asserted

Dr Zhang, founder of the New Hope Fertility Clinic and biotech start-up Darwin Life in Manhattan, was born in Hangzhou, China and attended the Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China.

He went on to get his PhD at the University of Cambridge and did his obstetrics and gynecology residency at the New York University School of Medicine.

Now aged 55, and the father of three children, he is going rogue, in the view of some of his peers.

Dr John Zhang has been revolutionizing the fertility world with his production of a 'three-parent' baby

He has been revolutionizing the fertility world with his various attempts at achieving the impossible.

The biggest breakthrough in his work came last year with the so-called 'three-parent baby', when he helped a Jordanian couple to conceive a healthy baby, after losing six children to the genetic disease Leigh syndrome, a fatal neurological condition.

Dr Zhang transferred a genetically 'abnormal' embryo - known for having the wrong number of chromosomes and considered nonviable - to the woman who was able to give birth to a healthy baby girl.

Dr Zhang extracted the woman's nuclear DNA.

He then placed the DNA into a healthy donor egg and fertilized it with sperm from the woman's husband. They were able to give birth to a baby boy who did not have the Leigh syndrome.

'If there is a gene which causes a problem, it would be washed out through natural evolution. Eventually, these kind of babies are not going to be born. That is how nature selects,' Dr Zhang said.

'But if we can alter the gene, why can't we alter it?'

He was soon dubbed the 'fertility rebel' by the journal Nature and the world of fertility medicine.

'He's way out there in terms of research,' said Monica Halem, the woman who gave birth in her late 40s, told the Washington Post.

'He's not afraid to try certain things, and that's what we need in fertility right now.'

Zhang extracted the woman's nuclear DNA, responsible for things such as physical appearance and other major traits. He then placed the DNA into a healthy donor egg and fertilized it with sperm from the woman's husband. They were able to give birth to a baby boy who did not have the Leigh syndrome

Dr Zhang fought back at the FDA's issues with his work: he insisted that, while he did create the three-parent embryo in the US, he performed the operation in Mexico

When Zhang started his treatments for older women, he quickly ran into issues with the Food and Drug Administration.

In August, the FDA ordered Zhang to stop marketing the technology, sequentially ending the two companies' work.

According to a FDA-issued warning letter, Congress prohibited the genetic editing of heritable traits in human embryos in 2015.

Dr Zhang didn't have the necessary approvals to conduct his research, they asserted.

He insisted that wasn't strictly true: while he did create the three-parent embryo in the US, he performed the operation in Mexico.

Still, the FDA claimed 'such human subject research cannot legally be performed in the United States. Nor is exportation permitted.'

Dr Zhang's companies decided to overhaul their marketing materials and vowed that they wouldn't offer the service.

An FDA spokeswoman also confirmed that the issue had been resolved.

New Hope and Darwin Life 'worked closely with and will continue to work within the FDA guidelines,' spokesman Geoffrey Hawes added.

The spokesman did note, however, that the procedure was still being allowed in Britain, Ukraine and China. Hawes also detailed that researchers would push for other nations 'to allow further research in this field.'

'My personal opinion is very simple,' Dr Zhang said.

'Any technology will eventually benefit mankind and should be allowed. Look at history: People were against antibiotics, general anesthesia, vaccines.'
Boular was pictured on CCTV outside MI6's HQ, the court heard

A teenager accused of planning an ISIS-directed terrorist attack with her mother and older sister, conducted surveillance of the MI6 building, while under surveillance herself, a court has heard.

Safaa Boular, now 18, from Vauxhall, South London, denies plotting Britain's first all-female terrorist attack, under instructions from Syria, which she dubbed the 'Madhatters Tea Party',

She lived with her mother and younger sister in a block of flats opposite the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), known as MI6.

Boular thought the building was occupied by the domestic Security Service, MI5, and had installed a series of security applications on her phone, on the advice of a group calling themselves the Cyber Caliphate, the Old Bailey heard.

But she was stopped as she returned from a family holiday in Morocco and police examined the phone and discovered that she was planning to marry a British jihadist with ISIS called Naweed Hussain.

Safaa Boular was put under surveillance and undercover officers saw her apparently taking pictures of the MI6 building

The jury was told that Boular could be seen in CCTV footage taken from inside the MI6 building dressed in a black hijab with her faced covered

She told police that she planned to marry him over Skype, using her mother's laptop, and then go with her mother to collect her GCSE results and manufacture an argument in order to run off to Syria.

Boular admitted that she had made between 300 and 400 ISIS 'friends' on Instagram and was speaking to Hussain for up to 12 hours a day on Kik and Telegram.

In the last of a series of interviews with officers between August and November 2016, Boular told them: 'Now that I'm away from talking to these people, I've noticed that there's other things that I have to prioritise, in my deen, in my religion, you know, being kind to your neighbour and stuff like that.'

The officer told her: 'OK, maybe you're all grown up then...perhaps.'

Nevertheless, when she was released on bail, Boular was put under surveillance, and on December 11 2016, undercover officers saw her leaving her block of flats at St George's Wharf and walking through the underpass to the Vauxhall Cross building.

There they saw her holding her mobile phone at chest height and apparently taking a photograph of the building.

She was seen again doing the same thing 17 minutes later at 1.40pm.

CCTV was examined from inside the building, in which Boular could be seen in a black hijab with face covered, grey robe and black slippers.

A camera labeled 'Cam 14, ice cream parlour' and another labeled 'Cam 50, bridge ped walkway' showed her walking through under the pass at 1.26pm and returning a minute later, with the phone in her hand and walking up the steps to the embankment.

Boular's phone was found to have a still image of her with a gloved hand, and clenched fist, in front of the MI6 building (pictured), prosecutors say

Police raided the family home the next day, and seized a Samsung Galaxy J3 from the settee in the lounge.

On the phone they found a still image taken on her phone at 1.27pm the day before, which showed her with a gloved hand, clenching a fist, in front of the MI6 building.

There was also an image from December 2 2016 of a poppy and an armed man with the words: 'She fell in love with a Mujahid.'

Boular was eventually charged with attempting to join the fighting in Syria, but she allegedly passed the mission on to her mother and sister from inside prison.

Her sister Rizlaine, 22, and her mother, Mina Dich, 44 have admitted prpearing acts of terrorism.

Boular denies the same charges and the case continues.
A Texas perfumer and co-founder of a Renaissance festival was crushed to death by her car while performing a routine oil change on her own over the weekend.

According to police in Fort Worth, Stephanie Vinson, 35, was lying beneath her elevated car on Saturday afternoon when the vehicle slipped off the jack and fell on top of her.

Vinson, who was a recent transplant form Amarillo, was rushed to John Peter Smith Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries early Sunday morning.

Freak accident: Stephanie Vinson (pictured) was changing the oil on her car in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday when the vehicle slipped off the jack and landed on top of her

Creative: Stephanie and her sister, Kristin (left), were co-founders of Sherwood Forest Faire, a seasonal Renaissance festival near Austin, Texas

The Vinsons operated a store at the festival selling costumes, jewelry and beauty products

Her grieving sister told Fort Worth Star-Telegram that Stephanie had relocated to the city a year ago to care for their grandparents.

Kristin Vinson also said she is hopeful that others will learn from this tragedy and always make sure to have another person present when working with heavy machinery, or potentially dangerous equipment.

A 2007 graduate of Texas State University, Stephanie had been making and selling her own line of natural perfumes through Etsy for a dozen years.

A 2007 graduate of Texas State University, Stephanie (left and right) had been making and selling her own line of natural perfumes for 12 years

In 2009, Stephanie and Kristin Vinson launched a seasonal Renaissance festival called Sherwood Forest Faire near Austin, where the two operated a store together selling costumes and beauty products.

She's an all-around creative. She loved to paint, to make jewelry, to create graphics for online use, and of course to blend oils to create amazing scents, Kristin Vinson said.

Jimmy Peace, who worked as a photographer at Sherwood Forest Faire, on Monday shared more than a dozen photos of Stephanie taken since 2014 and described his late friend as a golden ray of sunshine in all our lives, always happy and always made us happy,..... her spirit will be with us always...

A funeral for Stephanie will take place on Saturday in Fort Worth, followed by a burial ceremony at Henson Cemetery.
Meghan Markle texted her father 'I love you' just hours before he revealed he is to undergo heart surgery  meaning he is unable attend his daughter's wedding.

As the bride-to-be desperately tried to get beleaguered Thomas Markle on a plane to Britain, the 73-year-old said he had returned to hospital after suffering chest pains.

Mr Markle, who was revealed to have staged photographs with a paparazzi agency for cash, claimed last week that he had suffered a heart attack.

He now says it had caused 'significant damage' that requires surgery, reports TMZ.

It comes after he U-turned on his decision not to attend his daughter's wedding earlier today.

Meghan Markle's father has today changed his mind and said he does now want to attend her wedding to Prince Harry  if doctors will allow him to fly to England

Meghan Markle pleaded with her father Thomas Markle (together right) to walk her down the aisle after he pulled out of her wedding to Prince Harry

Before changing his mind, Mr Markle said he believed his ex-wife Doria Ragland would be a 'good choice' to give their daughter away at St George's Chapel, Windsor. Pictured: Doria pictured with her daughter in March 2015

He had said he did 'not want to embarrass the Royal Family or his daughter'.

Mr Markle said he is due to undergo surgery tomorrow at 7.30am, telling TMZ: 'They [doctors] will go in and clear blockage, repair damage and put a stent where it is needed.'

Earlier, he revealed that Meghan sent him an emotional text message in which she said told him she loved him and was concerned for his health.

Mr Markle said that Meghan harbours no ill feelings toward him making a deal with a paparazzi agency to stage photos of him preparing for a wedding.

One shot appeared to show him being fitted for a suit while another was set up to look as if he was browsing a news story about Meghan and Prince Harry.

The deal was exposed after CCTV footage emerged showing Mr Markle posing for pictures with the paparazzo.

When asked what the Queen thought about his money grab, Mr Markle laughed and said: 'I don't think the Queen is thinking about what I'm doing.'

A spokesman for Kensington Palace said: 'This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding.

Thomas Markle admitted to staging paparazzi photos (pictured) with an agency for money

Thomas is seen on surveillance video entering an internet cafe with photographer Jeff Rayner to set up staged photos

Two days after his heart attack, Thomas was seen at a McDonald's drive-thru where he purchased two Happy Meals and a milkshake

Thomas then went to a KFC hours after he stopped by McDonald's on Thursday (above)

Mr Markle said that he did not want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family (Meghan and her father circa 2000)

'She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.'

But he today changed his mind saying he does want to attend  if doctors allow him to fly to England.

Mr Markle said: 'I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle.

'Of course I'd walk her down the aisle. This is a historic moment. I'd like to be a part of history.'

He also revealed he was back in hospital with chest pains, and doctors were performing a number of tests on him.

Doctors are said to have told him his heart was 'seriously damaged' after suffering a heart attack a week ago.

Mr Markle said he has been pleading with doctors to release him from hospital by Wednesday, but doesn't know if they will clear him in time.

He also criticised his eldest daughter Samantha, who revealed she was the one to convince her father to set up the staged photographs.

Mr Markle said Samantha has no real relationship with Meghan and knows nothing of her relationship with Prince Harry.

He had suggested that his ex-wife Doria Ragland as a 'good choice' to give their daughter away at St George's Chapel, Windsor.

Mr Markle said Samantha has no real relationship with Meghan and knows nothing of her relationship with Prince Harry. Pictured: Mr Markle with Meghan during her teenage years

The 73-year-old said Meghan tried calling him on Monday, but he wasn't near his phone. She later sent a text saying she loved him and was concerned about his health. Pictured: The father and daughter in her teenage years

Doria, (left, with her daughter) has been keeping a low profile ahead of Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding (the couple, pictured right)

Ms Ragland is set to fly into Britain from Los Angeles and would be the clear favourite to walk her down the aisle if Mr Markle was not able to attend.

Samantha, Meghan's half-sister, sad today: 'I spoke to him early this morning and he was quite depressed.'

However, there has been no official announcement on who will be walking Meghan down the aisle.

A friend of Miss Markle, 36, and her fiance, Prince Harry, told the Mail that she was standing by her father and pleaded for understanding, saying he was 'not in a good place'.

The friend said: 'This is not what she wants. She obviously wants her dad there. And the idea of contemplating him not being there now is not something that she wants to have to do.

'She and Prince Harry are begging for people to give him some space. They have been saying this for weeks, while trying to offer him support and help.

'He is clearly feeling under immense pressure. The concern for him is real and genuine.

'He is a proud man who wants to be a father and not be taken care of, but it's quite difficult.

'Everyone needs to pause and think what this is doing to them and, more importantly, to him. It is a really worrying, scary situation. The couple have been doing everything they can to help him.'

Harry, 33, is said to be distraught and could try to get Thomas to change his mind.

The friend said: 'Harry feels guilty that this has happened to someone he loves because they are in a relationship with him.

'He is devastated. He feels like this is another thing in the wake of him... the problems he causes. He feels that anyone who gets associated with his life  this is the price they have to pay.

'He wants to protect her and this is really difficult for him to swallow.'

Meghan Markle's father 'claims he has not spoken to his daughter since pulling out of wedding after suffering fresh chest pains following heart attack' Meghan Markle's father claims he has not spoken to his daughter since pulling out of her wedding and says he is 'popping Valium' after suffering chest pains. Thomas Markle says he suffered a heart attack six days ago and is feeling unwell again after his shock deal with a paparazzi photographer was revealed. The 73-year-old will reportedly no longer fly to London because he wanted to save Meghan further embarrassment after it emerged he 'staged' wedding-related photo shoots for cash. Last night he told TMZ Meghan's mother Doria Ragland would be a 'good choice' to walk her down the aisle at St George's Chapel, Windsor, on Saturday. His daughter and Harry are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind but Mr Markle has claimed his daughter is yet to speak to him. Two days after his heart attack, Thomas was seen at a McDonald's drive-thru where he purchased two Happy Meals and a milkshake Thomas then went to a KFC hours after he stopped by McDonald's on Thursday (above) In an extraordinary interview he called out his eldest daughter, Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, who has repeatedly attacked the star and yesterday claimed she was 'to blame' for her father's 'posed' photos. The father of the bride told TMZ: 'I've been popping Valium for the pain, especially when I hear about my oldest daughter.' Mr Markle is said to have suffered a heart attack last week and more chest pains yesterday. But DailyMail.com revealed yesterday that Meghan's father did not seek medical attention on the day of his heart attack, and was instead inside his clifftop home in Rosarito the entire day. Two days later he was seen grabbing two Happy Meals and a frosted beverage at a McDonald's drive-thru before later stopping at KFC and emerging with a bag packed with food. On Monday night Markle told TMZ that he was said to be considering a trip to hospital after suffering new chest pains but it is not clear if he went. Kensington Palace are said to have been completely blindsided by his decision not to walk his daughter down the aisle and had not been informed of Thomas' change of heart prior to the publication of his TMZ interview. Advertisement

Piers Morgan brands Meghan Markle's half-sister a 'little vulture' after she took the blame for her father's staged paparazzi photos - as she says she hopes he will still go to royal wedding

Piers Morgan today called Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister a 'little vulture' and accused her grabbing money by 'trashing' the Suits star for years.

Samantha Markle appeared on Good Morning Britain and was accused of 'trading off her very tenuous connection' with Meghan, who she hasn't seen for ten years.

In an explosive exchange Mr Morgan asked her: 'How much money have you made from trashing Meghan Markle? to which Samantha replied: 'Not very much'.

Ms Markle said she had encouraged her father to do a deal with paparazzi claiming he had been treated 'shabbily' by the media.

But Piers went on the offensive and said: 'There's no bigger media vulture in this wedding than you. You are doing a book called the 'Diary of princess pushy's sister'.

Samantha replied that a 'book cannot be judged by its cover or by its title'.

Piers Morgan today called Meghan Markle's estranged half-sister Samantha (right) a 'little vulture' and accused her grabbing money by trashing the Suits star for years

Samantha Markle, pictured with her famous half-sister in 2008, has said it's her fault their father agreed to appear in staged photos on the eve of the royal wedding

She also confirmed that her father has pulled out of Saturday's wedding but she hopes he will change his mind.

She said: 'I spoke to him early in the morning and he was quite depressed'.

When asked if he might change his mind she said: 'I hope so. I wanted to see him go [to the wedding].

'I don't know as of today what his plans are but I want him to go. Clearly the priority is whether it's safe for him to do that.'

Yesterday the sister claimed she was 'the culprit' behind the embarrassing 'faked' photographs of their father taken in the run-up to this week's royal wedding.

Samantha, Thomas Markle's daughter by his first marriage, said she advised him to co-operate with a US-based paparazzo photographer in order to show himself - and, strangely, the royal family - in a 'positive' light and insisted his motive had not been money.

But she could not confirm whether Mr Markle had actually accepted any payment for his collusion for the stunt. Mr Markle later told TMZ he had.

Ms Markle told GMB: 'He was unfairly present in the media as shabby, I think photographer looked for the most unflattering photographs.

'My father has really suffered at the hands of the media. I think a person has a right to say "enough is enough, I want to be shown how I really am".'

But Piers hit back and said he was a 'grown man who knew what he was doing'.

He said: 'You say this is all the media's fault, because the media has been treating him in shabby way, viewers will look at the way you've treated you sister Meghan and think that you treated her in a shabby way.

'You've spent the last two years criticising her, you called her narcissistic, selfish, that Hollywood has changed her and that Prince Harry shouldn't marry her, yet you have the gall to blame media vultures.

'You've made loads of money off the back of a tenuous link to Meghan Markle, who you've spoken to once in 10 years. You've been trashing her for two years you vulture'.

Samantha said she had not used those words to describe Meghan and Piers said 'we have all the transcripts'.

Harry and Meghan are said to be heartbroken by his decision and will try to change his mind with just four days until their wedding

Yesterday she confirmed photographs taken of an apparently unwitting Mr Markle getting fitted up for his wedding suit and browsing pictures of his daughter on the internet had actually been taken in collaboration with a professional photographer, despite Kensington Palace issuing strongly worded requests for the media to protect his privacy.

Speaking from her home in Florida to ITV's Loose Women programme in London, his eldest daughter, Samantha, said: 'I have to say I am entirely the culprit.

'As we know the media can take very unflattering photographs of people on their casual days and blow it way out of proportion.

'I said, you know, [to him] the world has no idea you're getting in shape, doing healthy things.

'They don't photograph you buying vegetables and PH water. They photograph you as unflattering ways as they can.

'So I said, really you need to show the world that you're getting in shape and doing great healthy things. So I suggested it.

'There's a lot of scrutiny that it was money motivated, it was not. It was my suggestion that to benefit him and to benefit the royal family that everyone looked good and they depict you as you are - in shape and doing healthy things.'

Asked if she could categorically say he did not receive money for the photographs, Samantha floundered slightly, saying: 'I don't believe so and that was not the motive. I have no idea but if he did I'm going to assume it was a pittance.

'They don't pay that much. It was really so that the world could see him doing the healthy things he enjoys doing.'

Asked whether she could understand how embarrassing the revelations were for Kensington Palace and her sister, particularly given their stance on protecting his privacy, she conceded that it would be 'awkward' but felt that his treatment by the media had been 'unjust' and 'somehow we could spin it...'

She also tweeted: 'The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault. The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family.

'We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money'

Despite posting a string of vitriolic tweets attacking her younger sister, Samantha also insisted that she was not bitter about Meghan's decision not to invite her to Saturday's wedding.

The pair haven't actually seen each other for around a decade.

Here come the in-laws! Meghan's nephews and their mother touch down in London with 13 SUITCASES ahead of royal wedding TV special - despite 'NOT being invited' to the event itself

There has been much speculation as to which members of Meghan's family will be attending her nuptials to Prince Harry in Windsor ion Saturday.

And while her father has confirmed he will not attend it looks as though her nephews Tyler and Thomas Dooley along with their mother, Meghan's sister-in-law, Tracy Dooley seem determined to take part in the big day.

Despite previously revealing they hadn't received an invite to the royal wedding the trio were seen making their way to the arrivals gate at the London airport on Monday.

The family have been enlisted as 'special correspondents' for Good Morning Britain and are expected to report from Windsor, though are thought not to be attending the ceremony.

Meghan's sister-in-law Tracy Dooley was pictured arriving at Heathrow airport on Monday

She was joined by her sons and Meghan's nephews Tyler (pictured) and Thomas Dooley

Armed with no less than 13 suitcases the family, including Tyler's girlfriend Sandra Bazan (left) made their way out of the international airport having flown in from their home in Oregon

Armed with no less than 13 suitcases the family cut a casual figure as they made their way out of the international airport having flown in from their home in Oregon.

A cheerful Tracy could even be seen flashing a peace sign to photographers as she made her way from security.

And it's clear that the family couldn't be happier about making the trip across the pond; shortly after arriving in London, Tyler began posting image from London on his Facebook page, sharing snaps of a few landmarks, as well as an image showing the interior of his hotel room.

The family is thought to be staying at the H10 hotel in Waterloo, where rooms are available for as little as 70, or $93, per night. The hotel is located just a short distance from Waterloo station, and is an hour's driving distance from St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where Meghan and Harry are due to tie the knot.

Along with the images - which also showed the outside of another nearby landmark, the Imperial War Museum, seemingly captured from the back of a car - Tyler also shared an update about his travels with his Facebook friends, writing: 'Just touched down in London!!! Man what a journey so far. We're safe and sound!'

The images were met with a warm response from Tyler's Facebook friends, with many urging him to 'have a blast', while others reminded Meghan's nephew to 'take pics'.

Others, however, weren't quite so clued into the reason for the family's journey to London, with one person questioning, 'There for the wedding or other biz [sic]?'

The family are expected to make an appearance on Good Morning Britain this week

A cheerful Tracy could even be seen flashing a peace sign to photographers as she made her way from security

They have of course previously appeared on the ITV show, when they claimed to have been snubbed from the wedding list.

In March Tracy and Tyler appeared via live video link from Oregon, and admitted that while they were still hopeful that invitations might be en route, it was looking extremely unlikely.

Tyler said on the show: 'We've not got anything yet. At this point, who knows? This all goes back to Meghan, it's her day and her happiness.'

Tracy - who was married to Meghan's half brother Thomas Markle Jr, is mother to Tyler and his brother Thomas, who Meghan used to babysit for as a child - added: 'I don't think we are getting invitations, but that is fine, we are so proud of her.'

A cheerful Tracy could even be seen flashing a peace sign to photographers as she made her way from security

She said that while she herself hadn't seen the royal bride-to-be in some 20 years, the family still has a close relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, who she said was 'sure' to give Meghan away when she marries Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on May 19.

It was announced that Tracey and Tyler will be flying over to the UK to be a part of Good Morning Britain's coverage of the Royal wedding.

The family's arrival in London comes just as Meghan's father, Thomas Markle Snr., confirmed that he would not be attending his daughter's wedding in the wake of the scandal surrounding his staged paparazzi photos.

The 73-year-old had been set to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday, but told TMZ on Monday that he will no longer be travelling to London, after The Mail on Sunday revealed that he had worked with photographers to stage images for money.

'What a journey so far!' Shortly after arriving in London, Tyler began sharing images of the trip on his Facebook page

Making memories: Tyler's mother Tracy also posted a few images to her Facebook page, including a snap of the London Eye (left) and Victoria Tower at the Houses of Parliament (right)

Sightseeing: He posted two pictures of local landmarks, including the Imperial War Museum (left), and some red brick houses

Meghan Markle's Suits co-star Jacinda Barrett has been spotted in London just five days before the royal wedding. Pictured: Jacinda and her son Luca outside Buckingham Palace yesterday

Mr Markle said that he did not want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter on her big day.

He also revealed that he suffered a heart attack just six days ago.

The Dooleys aren't the first Americans to hit UK soil ahead of the wedding with some of Meghan's friends spotted in London.

Jacinda Barrett, who had a recurring role on Suits from 2012 until 2013, and also is married to Meghan's former co-star Gabriel Macht, has touched down in London.

The 45-year-old actress confirmed her arrival with a heart-warming snap, which she posted to Instagram on Sunday.

This comes as reports suggest that Prince Harry's cousin, Lady Ameila Windsor (pictured) has been left off the guest list

In the picture the actress can be seen receiving a kiss from her four-year-old son Luca outside Buckingham Palace.

Captioning the picture she wrote: 'Kissing in front of the Queen.' She then added the hashtag #buckinghampalace, before dedicating the sweet snap to her own mother in light of Mother's Day (US).

Jacinda is believed to be travelling with husband Gabriel Macht, who starred opposite Meghan in Suits for all seven seasons that she appeared in the show.

A surprising absentee is Prince Harry's cousin, Lady Ameila Windsor who is also reported to have been left off the guest list.

According to The Sun, the 22-year-old and her older sister Marina, 25 will not be attending the ceremony at Windsor Castle.

A friend told the newspaper: 'They were a little surprised not to be invited as they were looking forward to going.

'Amelia is creating quite a name for herself with her modelling and Instagram posts.

'Perhaps Harry just wanted to keep the family invited to a small number or maybe he didn't want anyone upstaging the bride.'

Windsor beefs up security with anti-terror bollards while 4,500 yards of bunting is unveiled across the town as the countdown continues four days before royal wedding

Security around Windsor Castle has been ramped up as preparations for the royal wedding continue with just four days to go.

Specialist teams spent the night constructing anti-vehicle barriers before tens of thousands of spectators flock to the Berkshire town.

Workers installed the huge metal and concrete barricades which protect against possible terrorist vehicle attacks.

Police have already been rifling through bins, searching drains and manhole covers with sniffer dogs in the run up to Saturday's event.

Specialist teams spent the night constructing anti-vehicle barriers in Windsor city centre

Workers installed the huge metal and concrete barricades which protect against possible terrorist vehicle attacks

The huge yellow metal barricades was installed in the town centre overnight

Photographs taken overnight showed extra security measures being put in place as the threat of a terror attack remains 'high.'

Windsor already had a number of anti-vehicle barriers in place, erected around the popular tourist destination following the Westminster terror attack in March last year.

But more barricades are being built as security remains tight ahead of the ceremony.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead revealed today that as preparations continue nearly 4,500 yards of bunting made up of the red white and blue of the union flag is criss-crossing along the processional route.

Harry and Meghan will travel past hordes of cheering supporters after the wedding at 1pm, in an open carriage procession.

The council also said pedestrian footways have undergone 'significant' repairs, and areas have been 'pigeon proofed.'

Windsor already had a number of anti-vehicle barriers in place, erected around the popular tourist destination following the Westminster terror attack in March last year

Teams worked overnight to install the extra safety measures before tens of thousands of people descend on the town on Saturday

Windsor Council revealed today that as preparations continue nearly 4,500 yards of bunting made up of the red white and blue of the union flag

The bunting criss-crosses along the processional route where Harry and Meghan will meet royal fans following the wedding ceremony

Preparations have been continuing overnight to prepare the town for tens of thousands of spectators

Police were also seen rifling through bins, searching drains and manhole covers with sniffer dogs

Also spotted on the streets of Windsor are a number of rough sleepers.

Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding.

But a spokesman for the council said today that they are 'not removing residents from Windsor' but it is still unclear what will happen on the day of the wedding.

A statement said: 'The council is not removing residents from Windsor and as per our normal support processes has engaged with residents who are homeless and offered them support and emergency accommodation.'

Spectators planning to attend the wedding have been advised to begin their journeys as early as 4am to see Prince Harry and Meghan tie the knot.

A 'sizeable queuing system' will be in place for Great Western Railway's service between Slough and Windsor and Eton Central - the nearest station to the event.

Also spotted on the streets of Windsor are a number of rough sleepers Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding.

Four months ago council leader Simon Dudley demanded police use legal powers to remove them before the wedding

Some 2,300 metres of fencing will be used for queues across the busiest stations on routes to Windsor

Armed police were already on the streets of Windsor today at the Changing of the Guard ceremony

The metal barriers have been erected on a number of streets to control the crowds

Some 2,300 metres of fencing will be used for queues across the busiest stations on routes to Windsor.

Royal wedding revellers will face airport-style security checks while metal barriers to deter vehicle attacks will be in place around Windsor.

Other security measures include a huge network of automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology and CCTV.

Thames Valley Police said the public should feel reassured rather than alarmed by the measures for the wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.

Fans have already begun to stake out the best viewing spots in the Berkshire town.

Well-wishers have already started to deck the streets in all their Union Jack glory near where the royal wedding will take place.

Residents are also getting into the full spirit of the event with pubs decorating their windows with royal memorabilia.

Onlookers have reported a party feel in the town well in advance of the wedding, with tourists from around the world arriving daily by train and walking through the royal shopping arcade to the castle.

Could these be Meghan's blooms? HUGE order of flowers leaves royal florist Philippa Craddock's London depot as the final wedding preparations get under way

The Royal wedding is just days away, and it appears Harry and Meghan's bespoke floral display has already been transported to the venue.

A large van was seen loading a huge delivery of flowers from the London depot of royal florist Philippa Craddock, who has been hand-picked to deck out St. George's Chapel as well as the two lavish receptions at Windsor Castle this weekend.

The flowers, most of which appeared to be synthetic, included large bunches of pink roses and white blossoms.

Ensuring the precious cargo arrived safely, the floristry team enlisted the help of event support and logistics company PollenCrew to help with the delivery on Monday.

Wedding preparations? A large van was seen loading blooms from the London depot of royal florist Philippa Craddock, who has been hand-picked to deck out St. George's Chapel

Well, it is a wedding! The flowers, which appeared to be synthetic, included large bunches of pink roses and white blossoms

The countdown is on! There are just four days to go before Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot, and their florist appears to be making last-minute preparations for the floral display

By royal appointment: It was revealed in March that trendy Philippa Craddock (pictured) had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their nuptials

Staff were also seen loading a large ornamental vase onto the van alongside dozens of plastic buckets and metal ladders - no doubt to help reach the high, fan-vaulted ceilings of St. George's Chapel.

A vehicle from Event Concept - who specialise in 'event management, conceptual design and technical production to create engaging experiences of every scale' - was also spotted outside the depot on Monday.

The events company is responsible for organising glitzy showbiz parties for the likes of Esquire, BAFTA and the Royal Chelsea Flower Show.

It was revealed in March that trendy London florist Philippa Craddock had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their May 19 nuptials.

Kensington Palace officially announced the news via a series of tweets describing in detail how society favourite Craddock was chosen for the hotly-contested role.

A sneak peak at the decor? Staff were also seen packaging up a large ornamental vase along with dozens of florist buckets

Philippa Craddock was hand-picked by the couple to decorate the two receptions, at the wedding of Harry and Meghan this weekend

Not taking any chances: Ensuring the precious cargo arrived safely, the floristry team enlisted the help of event support and logistics company PollenCrew

Royal seal of approval: It was revealed in March that Philippa Craddock had been hand-picked by the couple to deck out Windsor in stunning blooms for their May 19 nuptials

By royal appointment: Kensington Palace officially announced the news via a series of tweets describing in detail how society favourite Craddock was chosen for the coveted role

Staff were seen packing up a large ornamental vase alongside dozens of plastic buckets and metal ladders - no doubt to help reach the vast, fan-vaulted ceilings of St. George's Chapel

The van was filled to the brim with plastic buckets and metal ladders before onlookers saw it leave London and head west 'towards Windsor' on Monday

Finishing touches: The huge flower delivery took place just five days before the royal wedding will take place at St. George's Chapel Windsor on May 19

The decadent floral displays in St. George's Chapel will be created using locally sourced foliage, they said, much of which will be taken from the gardens and parkland of The Crown Estate and Windsor Great Park.

The palace revealed: 'Where possible, Philippa will use flowers and plants that are in season and blooming naturally in May, including branches of beech, birch and hornbeam, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.'

'The Royal Parks will supply some pollinator-friendly plants from their wildflower meadows that will be incorporated into the floral designs.

'These plants provide a great habitat for bees & help to nurture and sustain entire ecosystems by promoting a healthy & biodiverse environment.'

Described by Tatler as 'a floral mastermind', Philippa claims to be able to create any bride's dream from 'a secret garden in a palace' to 'an outdoor botanical romance'.

A van from Event Concept - who specialise in 'event management, conceptual design and technical production to create engaging experiences of every scale' - was also spotted

The displays in St George's Chapel will feature foliage from Windsor Great Park, including beech, birch and hornbeam branches, as well as white garden roses, peonies and foxgloves.

The self-taught florist has a studio in Fulham and a shop in department store Selfridges. Speaking about being chosen for the Royal Wedding on May 19, she said: 'I am excited and honoured. The process has been highly collaborative, free-flowing, creative and fun.'

MailOnline has contacted Phillippa Craddock for more information.
A court heard that the girl's shouts for him to stop could be heard from inside the next door room

A student at a prestigious music college violently raped a young woman in his hall of residence, a court has heard.

Adam Jordan, 24, allegedly sent the 21-year-old a message on Facebook afterwards saying: I have done something beyond terrible and I dont expect you to forgive me whatsoever.

Jordan, a student at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, is accused of raping her after being in a bad mood because another woman he liked now had a boyfriend, and the alleged victim had turned down his offer to go out with him.

Her shouts for him to stop could be heard in the next room but although she was crying her protests did not seem to register with him, the court heard.

The pair had earlier been drinking together in the bar at the college and then went back to his room where he had two cans of lager and she had a bottle of Peroni, Manchester Crown Court was told.

They had had sex on previous occasions, and after watching a YouTube video undressed each other and had consensual sex, Rachel Shenton, prosecuting, said.

However, he continued to have sex with her against her wishes, changing the situation from what was a consensual episode to something that wasnt, she told the court.

Adam Jordan, 24, allegedly sent the 21-year-old victim a message straight after the incident

The alleged victim told police Jordan had had a bad day and seemed agitated, p***** off.

After they got to his room on the evening of January 31 last year he downed the two cans of lager which seemed to get him quickly drunk, she said. I was tipsy but I remember everything, she added.

The woman said they started kissing and began having sex which was OK, but it then started to get rough.

She told police his grip was quite strong and he felt quite heavy and I couldnt move much, adding: I asked him pretty quickly to stop.

Asked what he did she replied: He did not say anything, it was a bit like he couldnt hear me. I was quite scared.

Jordan then suddenly stopped and went for a shower. She pretended to be asleep when he returned and they remained in his room until they left in the morning.

The pair had earlier been drinking together in the bar at the college and then went back to his room

The court heard that a few days later he invited the woman to his room to talk and asked how many people she had told.

She said Jordan seemed upset that she had told a friend and he asked if she had any marks and she told him she did not. She went on: He said he did not remember and apologised. Miss Shenton told the court that when the womans friend spoke to Jordan she called him a disgrace and he allegedly replied: I know.

The prosecutor said the day after the incident Jordan admitted to the rape, saying: I feel f****** terrible about it.

Miss Shenton said there were subsequent Facebook messages. In one to the alleged victim, Jordan said: I have done something beyond terrible and I dont expect you to forgive me whatsoever. She later went to the police.

Jordan, of Atherton, Greater Manchester, denies rape.

The trial continues.
A dramatic police standoff has unfolded at an abandoned multi-story building after two men allegedly tried to steal copper and piping from the property.

The alleged thieves, aged 33 and 41, refused to come down from the roof of the disused block in the Adelaide suburb of Unley on Tuesday night.

'To the two men in the building, this is the police,' a female negotiator was heard yelling at the men from the ground below.

'The building is surrounded. There are police dogs in the building and there's a police helicopter above. Your escape is futile. Come down in a safe manner.'

Two men (one pictured) refused to come down from the roof of the building after allegedly trying to steal copper and piping from the property

One suspect was heard telling officers they were at the property to visit a homeless friend who was squatting there.

As police continued to try to coax the men down, they scaled the building and walked dangerously close to the edge.

When officers entered the lower floors of the property, one of the men gave himself up and said: 'I don't want to make a deal about nothing,' The Advertiser reported.

Fire crews used on extendable ladder to reach the man, who was brought to the ground and arrested.

As police continued to try to coax the men down, they scaled the building and walked dangerously close to the edge

One suspect was heard telling officers they were at the property to visit a homeless friend who was squatting there

The other suspect hid inside the roof for another hour before he was found by police, who used capsicum spray to detain him.

The pair will face numerous charges including aggravated serious criminal trespass, property damage and theft, police said.

Both men are both expected to appear in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
Authorities are looking for the next of kin of seven children who were badly injured and became orphans on Friday when their family car overturned.

The group had been traveling on Interstate 8 near Plaster City in a 1999 Ford Expedition that was pulling a loaded trailer when the 42-year-old man driving the vehicle lost control.

The flipped violently, several times, and all nine people inside the vehicle were said to have been riding without their seat belt.

The group had been traveling on Interstate 8 near Plaster City in a 1999 Ford Expedition that was pulling a loaded trailer when the SUV flipped violently

Both the 42-year-old man and his 31-year-old wife were killed on impact and their seven children were immediately ejected from the SUV

Both the man and his 31-year-old woman partner were killed on impact and their seven children were immediately ejected from the SUV, KSWB reported.

The children, ages one to 12 years old, suffered minor and severe injuries.

Three had to be taken to the El Centro Regional Medical Center while one went to Riverside University Hospital, another to Loma Lina and two more to Rady Children's Hospital.

All are expected to make a recovery.

Wellman Simmons, the manager of the families California Silver Crest Apartments, believed that the SUV was not prepared to make its journey

The family was said to have been living in a homeless tent shelter in Golden Hill before moving into the unit right before Christmas

Wellman Simmons, the manager of the families California Silver Crest Apartments, believed that the SUV was not prepared to make its journey.

'They had two bald tires and the trailer was too low in the front,' he said.

Simmons also shared that the family had been visited by Child Protective Services just a few days prior, but they were unable to get a hold of the family.

The family was said to have been living in a homeless tent shelter in Golden Hill before moving into the unit right before Christmas.

'The children were well-behaved. They were all going to school, they played with all the children,' Simmons said to 10News.

One of the kids reportedly told Simmons that the family had moved 10 times and that 'she was tired of it.'

Simmons shared that the family had been asked to leave the complex but he couldn't disclose why.

The names of the parents and children have not been disclosed.
A Good Samaritan turned in an adorable pup they found on the side of the road, only to find out it was actually a coyote.

The coyote was found on the side of a busy road in Bartlett, Illinois on Thursday morning and turned into the Bartlett Police Department.

Officers tweeted about the 'cute puppy', and then revealed its true identity.

A Good Samaritan turned in an adorable pup they found on the side of the road in Bartlett, Illinois - only to find out it was actually a young female coyote

'Actually, the puppy turned out to be a coyote!' the tweet read.

'He was quite the attraction at the PD before he was brought to our friends at Willowbrook Wildlife.'

Authorities believe the young coyote may have been separated from its litter, according to the Daily Herald.

Officers took the coyote to the rehabilitation center, which treats and cares for wild animals that have been injured or orphaned.

The adorable pup was turned into the Bartlett Police Department. Officers tweeted about the 'cute puppy', and then revealed its true identity as a coyote

It was later discovered that the coyote pup was actually female.

The young coyote was dehydrated and has since received fluids, food, and care, according to NBC Chicago.

A spokesman for Willowbrook Wildlife said it will be watching the coyote's progress over the week.

'If she progresses nicely and we don't find any other issues...we will most likely transfer her to another rehabber who has young pups close to her size.'
Ten American Airlines workers have been arrested for putting 66kgs of fake drugs onto flights out of Dallas's Fort Worth airport as part of an undercover FBI sting.

According to prosecutors in Texas, the men transported the drugs in suitcases and backpacks from August 2016 to February this year.

The alleged scheme had been in place since at least August 2016. As part of it, they agreed to smuggle drugs for the undercover agents in exchange for $1500 per kilo that was transported.

To get past security, the men arranged to have the drugs put on planes and bypassed security measures for mules, their indictment claims.

The drugs were sent on planes to North Carolina, New Jersey and Arizona where they were picked up by FBI agents at the other end of the route.

Ten American Airlines workers have been charged with smuggling drugs out of Dallas Fort Worth Airport on eight different commercial flights. (file image above)

The men charged are; Nelson Pabon, 47, Jean Loui Vargas-Malave, 28, Juan Camacho Melendez, aka 'Kendo Kaponi' and 'Anthony,' 22, Ruben Benitez-Matienzo, 45, Jose Luis Gaston-Rolon, 24, Joshua Israel Pagan Zapata, 21, Domingo Villafane Martinez, III, 30, Luis Javier Collazo Rosado, aka 'Luisito,' 21, Michael LNU, and Cristian David Cruz-Rodriguez, 23.

Between September 2016 and February 2018, the men shipped a total of 66kg on eight different flights.

Most were sent to Newark, New Jersey, one was sent to Charlotte, North Carolina and another was sent to Phoenix, Arizona.

The men also agreed to ship C-4 explosives along with drugs, but they were never sent.

An airline spokesman told DailyMail.com on Tuesday afternoon: 'At American and Envoy Air, we have an unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our customers and team members.

'We take this matter very seriously and are cooperating with law enforcement during their investigation.'

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All of the men have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, they added.

All of the men were arrested on Monday and the indictment against them was unsealed the following day.

The men will all make their initial appearances in the next week.

'We have zero tolerance for employees who seek to undermine and evade the security protocols at airports.

'Smugglers are constantly seeking new ways to move illegal contraband across the country and we will do whatever necessary to thwart these criminals at every turn.

'Working together with federal and local law enforcement partners, we continue to prioritize efforts to help mitigate the insider threat to aviation security,' US Attorney for the North District of Texas, Erin Nealy Cox, said in a statement announcing their arrest.

Charles Cinquemani, the chief of airport police at Dallas Fort Worth, added: 'There will always be people who attempt to access the airport for illegal activities, but we will remain vigilant by investing in security and collaboratively sharing information and resources with the FBI, TSA, Customs and Border Protection and other federal, state and local agencies.'
Julian Assange speaking on the balcony of the Ecuadorian embassy in London

Ecuador has spent at least 3.7 million on an intelligence operation to protect Julian Assange after he fled to the country's London embassy to avoid sex crime charges in Sweden.

The Wikileaks founder has been living at the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over the allegations, which he always denied.

Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.

It has now emerged that an operation initially called 'Operation Guest' and later 'Operation Hotel', along with other intelligence activity, ran up an average cost of at least $66,000 (48,885) a month.

The operation had the approval of the then Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, and the then foreign minister, Ricardo Patino.

From June 2012 to the end of August 2013, Operation Hotel alone cost Ecuador $972,889 (720,130), documents belonging to the country's intelligence agency, known as Senain, reveal, The Guardian reported.

The Ecuadorians also rented a flat round the corner from the embassy to monitor activity there

Assange's daily activities and changing moods, his interactions with embassy staff, his legal team and other visitors were monitored by security personnel and recorded in minute detail.

Soon after Assange arrived at the embassy counter-espionage effort began when a team secretly installed CCTV cameras in the Ecuadorian embassy.

The cameras covered the entrance lobby, a meeting room and the mini-balcony from which Assange would periodically address supporters

Everyone who came in and out, was filmed and the cameras also kept watch on the street.

According to The Guardian, the security team oversaw Assange's contacts from a control room, consulting with him about anyone wanting to visit.

If he agreed, guests were allowed and they were met in the foyer, went through a security check, and handed over their passports and mobile phones.

Details such as passport numbers, nationalities and the purposes of the visits were recorded.

The intelligence operation was conducted with the knowledge of the then Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa

The Guardian also claimed these visitor logs could also provide clues about the source of leaked emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee published by Wikileaks.

An international security company was contracted to secretly film and monitor all activity in the embassy, whose bill was $55,000 (40,000) a month, paid from a 'special expenses' government budget, the documents reveal.

A team was installed at a 2,800-a-month flat round the corner from the Knightsbridge embassy to provide round-the-clock security.

The then Ecuadorian ambassador to the UK, Juan Falconi Puig, only found out about the operation when the embassy was presented with a council tax bill for the property.

Plans were also hatched should the British authorities try to enter the embassy and seize Assange, according to documents seen by The Guardian dated August 2012.

They included smuggling Assange out in a diplomatic vehicle or appointing him as Ecuador's United Nations representative so he could have diplomatic immunity in order to attend UN meetings.
Shyster bosses at failed construction giant Carillion were too busy stuffing their mouths with gold to take proper care of the company, a devastating report has found.

Directors are to blame for the collapse of the government contractor, which wildly pursued growth and misrepresented its finances, according to an excoriating MPs report.

The business and work and pensions select committees also questioned whether directors of the firm were involved in wrongful trading. Former chairman Philip Green was mocked for interpreting his role as that of cheerleader-in-chief, while ex-finance chief Richard Adam came under fire as the architect of the firms aggressive accounting policies.

Former chairman Philip Green (left) was mocked for interpreting his role as that of cheerleader-in-chief, while ex-finance chief Richard Adam (right) came under fire as the architect of the firms aggressive accounting policies

The damning inquiry report also slams the feeble response of regulators supposed to keep tabs on the company, and calls for major regulatory reform. In the report, based on interviews and evidence from Carillion directors, shareholders, banks and regulators, the committees:

Accuse the firm of running an unsustainable dash for cash on the back of mounting debt;

Claim Carillions accounts were systematically manipulated to make optimistic assessments of revenue, in defiance of internal controls;

Say KPMG was complicit in directors increasingly fantastical figures as it failed to be sceptical during its 19 years as auditor during which it earned 29 million;

Accuse Carillion of treating suppliers with contempt by quibbling over bills and paying late;

Say key regulators the Financial Reporting Council and the Pensions Regulator were united in their feebleness and timidity.

The MPs warned that the fate of Carillion, which employed 58,000 people around the world, could be repeated soon. Work and pensions committee chairman Frank Field said the board were too busy stuffing their mouths with gold to show any concern for the welfare of their workforce or their pensioners.

He added: This is a disgraceful example of how much of our capitalism is allowed to operate, waved through by a cosy club of auditors, conflicted at every turn.

Government urgently needs to come to Parliament with radical reforms to our creaking system of corporate accountability. British industry is too important to be left in the hands of the likes of the shysters at the top of Carillion.

Carillion collapsed into compulsory liquidation in January 15 with debts of more than 5 billion, including a pensions deficit of nearly 1 billion and with only 29 million cash in the bank.

More than 2,200 workers have been made redundant in the UKs biggest corporate failure in more than a decade. Many of Carillions 30,000 suppliers are expected to get back a fraction of the 2 billion thought to be owed, while the 27,000 members of the pension scheme will also be paid less.

The collapse has come under particular scrutiny because of the firms rapid deterioration from March last year, when its accounts were signed off with a clean bill of health by KPMG. By July, it had written off 854 million, causing shares to nose-dive.

MPs found the firms failure to turn a profit from key contracts was masked for a long time by a continuing stream of new work, and by accounting practices that precluded an accurate assessment of the state of these contracts.

They said Richard Howson, 49, who was boss of the firm from 2012 until July 2017, was part of the problem, not the solution

They paid out ever-increasing dividends, creating the impression of a healthy and successful company, MPs found. The firm went into freefall after an announcement owning up to its problems to the stock market in July, slashing its value from more than 2 billion to 90 million in a few months.

Fiasco almost cost me my home Andy Bradley was forced to lay off ten employees Days after Carillion went bust, Andy Bradley was forced to lay off ten employees amid fears the business he had nurtured for 20 years would collapse. The 58-year-old managing director of horticultural services company Flora-tec in Cambridge even considered selling his family home to cover the costs he faced. His company, which had branches in Hertfordshire, Surrey, Birmingham, Chester and Leeds, was owed more than 800,000 by the Wolverhampton-based construction contractor for landscaping work. Although Mr Bradleys business is stabilising he is still hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket and said Carillion executives should be held to account over the scandal. He said: Weve managed to trade out of the losses of Carillion and weve actually been recruiting some people back into the business. Some of them are people that we had laid off and some of them are new people. Were in a much better place. Its a scandal and they need to be held to account. When businesses like that appear to fall into the hands of people who dont act in the best interest of shareholders or the supply chain, lessons need to be learned. I just try hard not to think about the money now. Advertisement

MPs said board members did not give the impression that they were acutely conscious of the wide range of legal duties they had.

They said Richard Howson, 49, who was boss of the firm from 2012 until July 2017, was part of the problem, not the solution.

They added: His misguided self-assurance obscured an apparent lack of interest in, or understanding of, essential detail, or any recognition that Carillion was a business crying out for challenge and reform. They described Mr Adam, 60, finance director between 2007 and 2016, as the dominant personality in the finance department, noting how he got out at the right time and sold all his shares before the price collapsed. They praised his ultimate successor Emma Mercer, saying she had been willing to speak the truth.

MPs said ex-chairman Mr Green, 65, interpreted his role as to be an unquestioning optimist, an outlook he maintained in a delusional, upbeat assessment of the companys prospects only days before it began its public decline.

Mr Howson and Mr Adam have rejected appeals to give back bonuses they received from the firm. Mr Howson earned 1.5 million during 2016 including a 245,000 bonus while Mr Adam was paid 1 million including a 140,000 bonus. The inquiry said bosses sought to blame everyone but themselves for the destruction that they caused.

Mr Green said much of the report did not accurately reflect the true picture, adding: The board always sought to make decisions on the best available information and with the best professional advice; furthermore we always strived to act in the interests of the company and all its stakeholders.
Every bride finds the final days in the run-up to her wedding rather fraught. It doesnt matter how meticulous the planning has been, something always goes awry.

That said, poor Meghan Markle seems to be having more than her fair share of pre-wedding stress. At a time when all she should be thinking about are last-minute finishing touches, she and Prince Harry are having to deal with a full-blown family crisis.

At the time I write, its uncertain whether Meghans father  73-year-old Thomas  will fly to the UK for Saturdays royal wedding following revelations that he accepted money from a paparazzo to stage a series of cheesy pictures.

After his conduct was exposed, the poor man  who is clearly not in the best of health  was so mortified he decided to pull out of giving his daughter away on her big day. Last night he appeared to have had a change of heart.

Meghan is naturally distraught at the prospect of not having her father walk her down the aisle; and Harry, we are told, is fuming, blaming himself  and the media  for the inevitable pressures brought about by association with royalty.

If it were me, Id be tempted to call the whole damn circus off and just tie the knot quietly in private, well away from the cameras. Too late now, of course  but why they didnt just do that in the first place is slightly baffling.

Prince Harry's fiancee Meghan Markle, pictured as a child with her father Thomas who has been at the centre of a scandal over staged pictures

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had asked Meghan's father to walk her down the aisle, but he staged photos of himself looking longingly at this engagement picture in an internet cafe in Mexico

After all, as a couple Harry and Meghan seem so determined to defy convention and royal protocol that you might have thought a big meringue wedding would have been the last thing on their minds. Especially since its Meghans second time around.

As for Harry, bearing in mind what he said in 2016 about wanting to protect Meghan and her family from the attention that comes with the Royal Family, surely it would have been the easiest thing in the world to use their wellbeing as an excuse for keeping the whole thing low key.

But that is not how Meghan and Harry have chosen to play it. On the contrary: their nuptials  and all the carefully managed publicity in the run-up  seem to have been engineered to garner as much attention as possible for the couple, who have cast themselves as the hip face of the modern Royal Family.

Even their stylish official engagement pictures, shot in the grounds of Kensington Palace with Meghan in a 56,000 couture dress, would not have looked out of place in Vogue. Not to say there is anything wrong with that approach; just that it is not exactly the behaviour of a couple who are keen to avoid the limelight.

Given all that, and the amount of effort that seems to have gone into managing the public relations of the occasion, it seems curious that the situation with Meghans father should have been left to drift to the point where it is now a serious crisis.

Thomas Snr is said to be deeply concerned he would cause 'embarrassment' to his daughter Meghan and the royals if he walks her down the aisle

Or to put it bluntly, knowing that the wedding was going to be such a huge and lavish affair, and knowing that Thomas Markle was going to play a key part on the day, why didnt someone senior at the Palace take the situation in hand?

As the Mail reported on Saturday, Mr Markle has been leading a sad and solitary life in a seedy, murder-plagued town just across the Mexican border.

Rarely emerging from his dilapidated bungalow during daylight, he has few friends and seems to live off chicken tacos and six-packs of beer.

Diana, Princess of Wales with her second son Prince Harry carrying a plate of strawberries

When I read that report, two questions sprung to mind.

First  and forgive my impertinence  I couldnt help but wonder whether, given the fact shell never have to worry about money again, Meghan might not have been tempted to find her father a more salubrious place to live.

Second, with the wedding only a week away, what on earth was he still doing there?

Why wasnt he already in the UK, attending rehearsals, being talked through what to expect and getting to know the social landscape?

Meghan Markle with her father, Thomas Markle when she was younger. There is no major doubt over whether he will walk his daughter down the aisle at St George's Chapel in Windsor

He could have met his soon-to-be son-in-law, whom we are told he has only ever spoken to on the phone. Or even the Queen and Prince Philip who, lets not forget, welcomed Michael and Carole Middleton to a break the ice lunch eight days before Kate and Williams wedding.

Father/daughter relationships are complicated at the best of times  and Mr Markle is clearly a proud man  so its understandable Meghan may have felt reluctant to confront the situation.

But she doesnt need to. That is  or should have been  the job of the Royal Household.

The Queen herself is said to be furious about whats happening  and who can blame her. Because whatever else may be going on behind the scenes, its abundantly clear that royal officials have seriously dropped the ball.

Why no one had the sense to dispatch a trusted aide from Kensington Palace out to Mexico the moment the engagement was announced is beyond me.

Surely it would have been a matter of simple courtesy, not to mention expediency, to meet Thomas and start preparing him for the biggest day of his life.

It doesnt take a genius to see that there is an abyss between the family Meghan was born into and the one she is marrying into. And that is a good thing  indeed, its part of the joy of this union.

But while Meghan is clearly at ease with her new cultural and social status, the same cannot be said of those she has left behind.

Given that Harry and Meghan are so passionate about mental health, you would have thought the potential strain that being at the centre of such a global event could place on her father would have been a concern to them.

Actress Meghan is believed to have texted her father and asked him to come to the wedding after claims he would not make it

And yet instead of dealing with the situation like grown-ups and taking positive steps to build bridges, the Palace seems to have done what it so often does in tricky situations: buried its head in the sand.

Perhaps Im being unfair. Perhaps overtures were made, but rejected. It certainly doesnt help that Meghans parents are divorced  reportedly not even speaking  but then many of us who arrange weddings have similarly tricky relatives to deal with.

I hesitate to say it, but this is where Harrys late mother, Princess Diana, would really have come into her own. She would have understood exactly the difficulty a man like Meghans father faces in coming to terms with his daughters marriage to a Prince.

She would have seen this coming, stepped in, held his hand, made him feel welcome  no matter what. Diana had her defects, but in terms of emotional intelligence and kindness towards others you couldnt fault her.

Who could forget the touching sight of her guiding her own father, Earl Spencer, who had suffered a stroke a few years previously, to the altar at her own wedding?

Yet amid all the turmoil, there is one consolation: long term, none of it really matters.

What determines the success or failure of any marriage is not the event itself, but the months and years that follow it and the love two people have for each other. And that depends on no one but Harry and Meghan themselves.
Be prepared during take-off and landing:

Take off and landing are the two most likely times for a plane to get into trouble, specifically, the three minutes after take-off and the eight minutes before landing.

There are several things that you can do during this time to make sure that you are best prepared for trouble.

The simplest of these are staying sober and awake! Often people like to celebrate a holiday with a few drinks at the airport bar before boarding, but this will not help if you need to be alert in an emergency, the same applies to sneaking in a nap as soon as you get into your seat.

Passengers should always try to stay awake during take-off and landing (picture posed by a model)

Once in your seat, avoid the temptation to remove your shoes - if the plane suddenly gets into trouble, it will be very difficult to put them back on before evacuation.

Shoes can be removed once the plane has finished take-off and should be put on before landing starts.

Women should also avoid high heels when flying.

Read the safety card and listen to the cabin crew demonstration:

No matter how many times you have flown before, it is advisable to listen to the safety demonstrations - in case of an emergency, what you think you remember can easily be forgotten in the heat of the moment and speed is of the essence.

Just to highlight the importance of speed during an emergency, airfarewatchdog recently revealed that passengers have just 15 seconds to put on an air mask before the brain starts to be affected by lack of oxygen.

The site said in an article: 'You might only have 15 or 20 seconds in the event of a cabin decompression, during which all oxygen would be sucked out of the plane, before youd experience confusion and a euphoric stoned state, at which point you might forget everything you heard during the safety demo.

'In 30 to 45 seconds you'd probably pass out. So its important to act quickly.'

The website also revealed that passengers can even forget how to remove their seat belt when panicked and tend to try and release it in the same way that they would in a car.

Look for the emergency doors:

In case of an emergency landing there is likely to be no light on in the plane and it may also be filled with smoke is there is a fire.

For this reason, it is always a good idea to check where the emergency doors are in advance.

It is always important to locate your nearest emergency door when on a plane

According to aviation safety expert Professor Ed Galea from the University of Greenwich, it is also a good idea to count the number of seat rows from your seat to the nearest exit.

He told the BBC: 'I count the seat rows from my seating position to the exit.

'So in the event of smoke or if emergency lighting fails and it's very dark, I know the number of seat rows and I can feel my way to an exit. By counting the seat backs I'll know when I've reached the exit row.'

Without you even knowing it, your eyes are being accustomed in case of smoke and bad lighting during take-off and landing when the lights are dimmed by cabin crew.

If you are lucky enough to be sitting next to the emergency exit, make sure that you are strong enough to open and throw the door if something happens - according to airfarewatchdog, on a Boeing 737 the emergency door weighs 40lbs.

Time is of the essence:

In a real emergency, there is extremely little time for passengers to make a safe escape - 90 to 120 seconds to be precise.

In the instance of a fire, there may be even less time as the smoke will choke passengers - it only takes three lungfuls of toxic fumes for a person to become unconscious.

According to The Telegraph, during the 'golden period' of 90 seconds, passengers should: 'Move fast. Listen to flight attendants, get to an exit fast, check quickly that it is viable, inside and out, then get out and move as far from the plane as fast as possible.'

Leave your bags behind:

Because time is of the essence, the last thing passengers should do in an emergency is waste time by rooting around in the overhead cabins for their personal possessions - not only will you block the alleyway for others but you are risking your own life.

On top of this, it is inadvisable to take any bags with you while using the emergency inflatable slides.

According to Patrick Smith from the blog AskThePilot: 'Those slides are extremely steep. They are not designed for convenience; they are designed to empty a plane of its occupants as rapidly as possible.

'Youll be coming down from two stories high in the case of a 777, at a very rapid clip, with others doing the same in front of you and right behind you.
An elderly man has been caught on camera hitting his granddaughter after she reportedly did not let him cut the queue at a bubble tea shop in China.

The grandfather's behaviour has sparked a public outrage after a video showing him hitting the girl emerged on Chinese social media.

The man had reportedly attempted to force his way past the crowd in the shop to pay for their drinks.

Video footage then shows the grandfather repeatedly hitting the back of the girl's head while yelling at her in front of customers at a bubble tea shop in Zhejiang province

After the cashier refused to serve them first, the girl insisted on lining up and waiting for their turn.

However, the grandfather took it as a sign of disrespect and believed the girl was misbehaving.

Video footage then shows the grandfather repeatedly hitting the back of the girl's head while yelling at her in front of customers in the crowded bubble tea shop in Yiwu city, Zhejiang province.

He then yanked the girl away from the cashier and violently dragged her to the side.

'The grandfather insisted that jumping the queue would save them a lot of time,' a store worker at the bubble tea shop told Kan Kan news.

The violent grandfather then drags his granddaughter to the side after hitting her in the shop

'But the granddaughter refused and kept arguing with him,' he said. 'He then started hitting the poor girl angrily.'

Witnesses then tried to persuade the cashier to let the pair get their drinks first.

The incident has sparked an outcry online, with net users criticising the grandfather for being completely unreasonable and a horrible caretaker.

'How are you supposed to set a good example for your grandchildren when you are behaving like that?' one questioned.

'He should be embarrassed that his granddaughter know more manners than him!' said another.
A Welsh scientist has called previous theories surrounding Stonehenge 'mythology,' and has made a radical new claim that the stones were moved 500,000 years ago by a glacier.

Brian John believes he has solved the mystery of how massive bluestones moved 140 miles west to the south of England from a quarry in Wales where they are believed to have originated.

A popular theory is that humans carried or dragged the stones 5,000 years ago, but it has never been discovered how Stone Age people achieved such a feat.

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A Welsh scientist has called previous theories surrounding Stonehenge 'mythology' and has made a radical new claim that the stones were moved from Wales 500,000 years ago by a glacier

According to John, the evidence supports a scenario in which the bluestones were carried to the site by a glacier, 500,000 years ago.

His theory would also answer the question of why the ancient builders of Stonehenge believed the stones to have such a spiritual significance that they were worth the effort to transport.

According to John's new book The Stonehenge Bluestones, the stones did not have a deep meaning to ancient Britons. Instead, they were just there.

'Over the past 50 years there has been a drift, in Stonehenge studies, from science toward mythology. This has been driven partly by constant media demands for new and spectacular stories about the monument,' John told British media this week.

In the book, John argues that a glacier carved its way across Wales thousands of years ago.

He believes the ice picked up bluestones along the way and eventually dropped them on the Salisbury Plain after the ice melted.

In 2015, John helped write a report arguing that what was believed to be evidence of neolithic quarrying of bluestones in Wales was actually an 'entirely natural' process.

'This has been driven partly by constant media demands for new and spectacular stories about the monument, and partly by the archaeological emphasis on impact,' he said.

The mystery of why Stonehenge was built on the unremarkable chalk plateau of Salisbury Plain may have finally been solved. A scientist claims the bluestones were transported 140 miles by a glacier

John argues that a glacier carved its way across Wales thousands of years ago. He believes the ice picked up bluestones along the way and eventually dropped them on the Salisbury Plain after the ice melted

'So we see an obsession with narrative at the expense of evidence, and a host of newly manufactured myths which are even more wacky than the old ones. It's time for a cool reassessment.'

Stonehenge is made up of two types of stone: the bluestones that make up the smaller ring, as well as the sarsen trilithons are that make up the outer ring of the circle.

Sarsen is a layer of sandstone that formed millions of years ago above the chalk layer on Salisbury Plain.

During the various ice ages, permafrost repeatedly froze and thawed this chalk layer, shattering the sarsen.

Over millennia, these stones sank below the surface, leaving a few fragmented rocks jutting out.

STONEHENGE'S CONSTRUCTION REQUIRED GREAT INGENUITY Stonehenge was built thousands of years before machinery was invented. The heavy rocks weigh upwards of several tonnes each. Some of the stones are believed to have originated from a quarry in Wales, some 140 miles (225km) away from the Wiltshire monument. To do this would have required a high degree of ingenuity, and experts believe the ancient engineers used a pulley system over a shifting conveyor-belt of logs. Historians now think that the ring of stones was built in several different stages, with the first completed around 5,000 years ago by Neolithic Britons who used primitive tools, possibly made from deer antlers. Modern scientists now widely believe that Stonehenge was created by several different tribes over time. After the Neolithic Britons - likely natives of the British Isles - started the construction, it was continued centuries later by their descendants. Over time, the descendants developed a more communal way of life and better tools which helped in the erection of the stones. Bones, tools and other artefacts found on the site seem to support this hypothesis. Advertisement

These stones, of varying sizes, can be found across Salisbury Plain and the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire, as well as in Kent and in smaller quantities in Berkshire, Essex, Oxfordshire, Dorset and Hampshire.

Stonehenge is one of the most prominent prehistoric monuments in Britain.

The monument that can be seen today is the final stage of a project that spanned 1,500 years.

Stonehenge was donated to the nation's heritage collection in 1918 by owners Cecil and Mary Chubb.

Mr Chubb had bought the then-neglected monument on impulse at an auction three years earlier having been sent there by his wife to bid for a set of dining room chairs.
Maria Reiche, the German mathematician renowned for her investigative work into the Nazca Lines, has been honoured in the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018.

Also known as the Lady of the Lines, Maria was obsessed with solving the mystery of Perus archaeological site and her work is being celebrated on what would have been her 115th birthday.

She was also devoted to the preservation and protection of the Nazca Lines and shielded the figures from people and vehicles with just a household broom. But who was Maria Reiche?

Who was Maria Reiche?

Born May 15, 1903 in Dresden, Germany, Maria Reiche went on to study mathematics at Dresden Technical University and from 1932, worked as a nanny and teacher in a German consul based in Cusco, Peru.

Maria enjoyed her time in the country, even though she lost a finger to gangrene after accidentally stabbing herself with a cactus.

In 1939, she became a teacher in Lima and during World War II, she remained in Peru and later met Amy Meredith, an American expat who became her partner.

During this time, she was introduced to the Nazca Lines when flying over the desert and after being struck by their wonder, became an assistant to American historian Paul Kosok from New York.

This picture shows the Panamerican Highway cutting through the geometric shapes of the Nazca Lines near Nazca in southern Peru

After visiting the 140 square mile site, Maria became transfixed by the landscape and described it as a huge blackboard where giant hands have drawn clear and precise geometric designs.

Maria began camping in the desert and became an object of curiosity: The locals either thought I was a spy or completely mad. Once a drunk threatened me with a stone, so I took out my sextant and pointed it at him.

He ran off screaming, and the next day the local papers ran the story of a mad and armed German spy in their midst.

Reiche and Kosok studied the Nazca Lines throughout the 1940s and found that the lines mapped out the signs of the zodiac and roughly marked an early astronomical calendar.

In 1949, Maria published a book, The Mystery of the Pampas, in which she discussed her theory that the giant money geoglyph was the Nazca interpretation of the Great Bear constellation and that its movement was used to determine time and predict rain.

This photograph shows what archaeologists have dubbed The Royal Family and are thought to represent figures that were of a water cult

Dedicated to her work, Maria measured almost 1000 lines and discovered that the Nazca Lines were markers for the summer solstice and with the help of the Peruvian Air Force, discovered that they also represented 18 different kinds of animals and birds.

Her book debunked the theory popularised by Swiss conspiracist Erich von Daniken that they were made by aliens.

Maria, who had found that the Nazca Lines served a ceremonial purpose, attempted to preserve them and prevented vehicles from driving over them until UNESCO offered protected status.

Maria spent her final days living in a hotel, was granted Peruvian citizenship in 1992 and published her complete findings, Contributions to Geometry and Astronomy in Ancient Peru, a year later. She died of ovarian cancer in June 8, 1998.

Illustrated by Guille Comin, the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018 celebrates Maria Reiche on what would have been her 115th birthday and portrays her as a lone woman sitting on a ladder with a sextant, compass and broom

What are the Nazca lines?

The Nazca Lines are geoglyphs located in the Nazca Desert in southern Peru and the largest reach up to 370m long.

Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994, many believe that they were created by the Nazca culture between 500 BC and 500 AD.

The designs were made by removing the natural red pebbles in the ground and uncovering the white ground underneath to create a pattern.

Maria Reiche Google Doodle

Illustrated by Guille Comin, the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018 celebrates Maria Reiche on what would have been her 115th birthday and portrays her as a lone woman sitting on a ladder with a sextant, compass and broom.

Maria Reiche, the German mathematician renowned for her investigative work into the Nazca Lines, has been honoured in the Google Doodle for May 15, 2018

Google Doodles mark events around the world with illustrations on the Google homepage and is incorporated into the Google logo.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin marked their visit to the 1998 Burning Man Festival with the first ever Doodle.

Now, team of illustrators, designers, animators and artists work on the Google Doodles and the logos are hyperlinked to a page that provides more information about the cultural event celebrated.

Recent Google Doodles include Chantal Akerman, Mrinalini Sarabhai and US Teacher Appreciation Week.
Three million Facebook users had their most intimate details exposed, it has emerged, as a new data protection scandal hits the social network.

A popular personality app failed to provide adequate protection to the 'anonymous' data of participants, the latest of a string of security breaches.

The quiz, called myPersonality, collected highly sensitive data - including psychometric test results that reveal how neurotic or extrovert an individual may be.

Investigators found the information was poorly protected for four years and gaining access to it was relatively easy.

The myPersonality app has now been suspended as one of 200 Facebook has removed from its social network.

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Three million of Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook users had intimate details exposed as a new data protection scandal has hit the social media platform. The quiz, called myPersonality, is an app which collected highly sensitive data, including psychometric test results (stock image)

Run by the University of Cambridge, the myPersonality site was founded in 2007 and allowed users to take real psychometric tests and obtain their results instantly.

The leaked information gave access to the 'Big Five' personality scores of 3.1 million users, according to a report from New Scientist, who broke the news.

These have been defined as openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and neuroticism - sometimes abbreviated to OCEAN.

'This type of data is very powerful and there is real potential for misuse,' Chris Sumner at the Online Privacy Foundation told New Scientist.

More than six million people took part in the study overall, and 40 per cent of these participants decided to share their Facebook profile information with the researchers.

According to the University of Cambridge's website for the myPersonality database, this resulted in 'one of the largest social science research databases in history.

'This data was anonymised and samples of it were shared with registered academic collaborators around the world through the myPersonality project,' according to the site.

As a result of the leak, 22 million status updates from over 150,000 users could be seen.

It also showed personal data such as age, gender and relationship status from 4.3 million people.

HAVE YOU BEEN USING A ROGUE APP? Facebook said it will ban the apps involved and notify the public using the same tool on its online help centre that told users if their information had been shared with Cambridge Analytica. To check if you have been affected, click here. Advertisement

Questions have been raised over the robustness of the anonymisation technique employed by the personality quiz.

After completing the test, each user was ascribed a unique ID which brought together all their information.

This included age, gender, location, status updates and the results of the personality quiz.

With all the information tied to one ID, finding the name of the person and demolishing anonymity could easily be achieved.

'You could re-identify someone online from a status update, gender and date,' said Pam Dixon at the World Privacy Forum.

The database's website is now offline, and so are the men involved in the scandal.

David Stillwell and Michal Kosinski of the University of Cambridge's The Psychometrics Centre were in charge of the database.

Alexandr Kogan, an individual mired by the Cambridge Analytica fallout, was part of the project until 2014.

David Stillwell has removed his Twitter and website in light of the investigation.

The Information Commissioner's Office says they are 'aware' of the incident and are making enquiries.

The leaked information gave access to the 'Big Five' personality scores of 3.1 million users. Questions have been raised over the robustness of the anonymisation technique employed by the myPersonality quiz (pictured)

The database was a huge academic success, enabling the publication of 45 scientific papers.

Security flaws, however, rendered the project a data protection catastrophe.

Access to the database was restricted and people had to register as a collaborator. This resulted in 280 people from 150 institutions formally accessing it.

These included universities and companies such as Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo.

Many others were supposedly turned down for a variety of reasons.

David Stillwell (left) and Michal Kosinski (middle) of the University of Cambridge's The Psychometrics Centre were in charge of the database. Alexandr Kogan (right), an individual mired by the Cambridge Analytica fallout, was part of the project until 2014

Cambridge Analytica approached the myPersonality database via the formal avenues and was allegedly declined on the grounds of political aspirations.

However, it transpires that a formally rejection was easily circumnavigated as, for the last four years, a working username and password has been available online.

New Scientists reports that this log in information could be found from a single web search.

This means anyone could have accessed the database, with names and deeply personal information, in less than a minute.

Code-sharing site GitHub is publicly available and was where the credentials were found.

They have now been removed from the site.

On April 7 facebook suspended myPersonality from the platform, pending an investigation.

WHAT IS THE CAMBRIDGE ANALYTICA SCANDAL? Communications firm Cambridge Analytica has offices in London, New York, Washington, as well as Brazil and Malaysia. The company boasts it can 'find your voters and move them to action' through data-driven campaigns and a team that includes data scientists and behavioural psychologists. 'Within the United States alone, we have played a pivotal role in winning presidential races as well as congressional and state elections,' with data on more than 230 million American voters, Cambridge Analytica claims on its website. The company profited from a feature that meant apps could ask for permission to access your own data as well as the data of all your Facebook friends. The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix (pictured), after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump This meant the company was able to mine the information of 87 million Facebook users even though just 270,000 people gave them permission to do so. This was designed to help them create software that can predict and influence voters' choices at the ballot box. The data firm suspended its chief executive, Alexander Nix, after recordings emerged of him making a series of controversial claims, including boasts that Cambridge Analytica had a pivotal role in the election of Donald Trump. This information is said to have been used to help the Brexit campaign in the UK. Advertisement

'We are currently investigating the app, and if myPersonality refuses to cooperate or fails our audit, we will ban it,' said Ime Archibong, Facebook's vice president of Product Partnerships.

'If at any time a username and password for any files that were supposed to be restricted were made public, it would be a consequential and serious issue,' sa Pam Dixon.

'Not only is it a bad security practice, it is a profound ethical violation to allow strangers to access files.'

This astounding revelation comes on the back of Facebook suspending around 200 apps as part of its investigation into misuse of personal data on the social network.

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg promised an audit of apps that may have accessed 'large amounts of data' on the site.

As a result of the leak, 22 million status updates from over 150,000 users could be seen. It also showed personal data such as age, gender and relationship status from 4.3 million people

The investigation is ongoing but the site has confirmed hundreds of apps have so far been suspended, pending further analysis of their behaviour.

The audit will identify apps that had access to large amounts of information prior to a 2014 Facebook policy change and then investigate those whose behaviour raises concerns, Facebook said.

Writing in a blog post updating on the investigation, Facebook's vice president of product partnerships Ime Archibong said: 'We have large teams of internal and external experts working hard to investigate these apps as quickly as possible.

'To date, thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended  pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data.'

Mr Archibong said where evidence of data misuse is found, Facebook will ban the apps involved and notify the public using the same tool on its online help centre that told users if their information had been shared with Cambridge Analytica.

'There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people's Facebook data  and it will take time,' Mr Archibong said.

'We are investing heavily to make sure this investigation is as thorough and timely as possible.

'We will keep you updated on our progress.'

The investigation is one of a series of responses from Facebook following the data scandal, with new tools having also been rolled out to users to provide clearer access app permissions and privacy settings.

However, the social network is facing continued questions from lawmakers in the UK and US, and Mr Zuckerberg has been threatened with a formal summons to appear before a parliamentary inquiry into fake news after a recent testimony by chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer was labelled 'unsatisfactory' after he failed to answer a number of questions from MPs.
Robots could take the jobs of one in three working aged men by 2050, according to a new study that describes its findings as 'catastrophic'.

Unskilled, low-wage jobs of men between 25 and 54 will be the first to be replaced, says the Washington-based think tank behind the report.

The rate of unemployment in the US could reach 50 per cent for individuals of a certain demographic such as young African American males, researchers warned.

Last year a report found that as many as 800 million workers could be replaced by machines in just 13 years.

Such statistics make worrying news for workers around the world whose jobs may be at similar risk from the rise of intelligent machines.

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Robots could take the jobs of one in three working aged men by 2050, according to a new study that has described its findings as 'catastrophic' (stock image)

Jobs that don't require advanced education will be the first to be replaced by automation, say the Brookings Institution.

'Schools need to change their curriculum so that students have the skills needed in the 21st century economy', Darrell West, vice president of the think tank and author of 'The Future of Work: Robots, AI and Automation' told Market Watch.

Already 12 per cent of US working aged men are unemployed and that number could triple in the next 30 years.

'That, my friends, is a catastrophe,' Mr West added.

In his new book, Mr West quotes Andrew Puzder, former CEO of Hardee's parent company CKE.

He comments that digital devices are 'always polite, they always upsell, they never take a vacation, they never show up late, there's never a slip-and-fall, or an age, sex or race discrimination case.'

Just last week a report revealed that five robots had replaced seven employees at a Swiss bank in order to speed up workflow.

The robots were able to do the same work as a human employee but could work 24/7 without a break, making them overall more effective.

The pilot project at St. Galler Kantonalbank (SGKB) went so well the bank has decided to take on more robots at the end of this month.

Unskilled, low-wage jobs of men between 25 and 54 will be the first to be replaced, according to a study published by a Washington-based think tank (stock image)

Managing director of Nuremberg-based IT consultant Roboyo GmbH said the question of automation is currently a 'huge topic' in financial services.

He said his company is working with banks, insurers and leasing companies who want to save time and money.

A study by GFT Technologies SE in 2017 found that technologies and artificial intelligence could revolutionise the financial sector.

Researchers carried out a survey of 285 professionals from retail banks in eight countries.

They found 94 per cent of participants said artificial intelligence directly added value to their company.
Facebook is still struggling to curb the spread of spam, hate speech, violence and terrorism on its site.

In its first quarterly Community Standards Enforcement Report, Facebook disclosed that it disabled 1.3 billion 'fake accounts' over the past two quarters, many of which had 'the intent of spreading spam or conducting illicit activities such as scams'.

The tech giant also revealed millions of standards violations that occurred in the last six months leading up to March.

This includes inappropriate content like vilification, graphic violence, adult nudity and sexual activity, terrorist propaganda, spam and fake accounts.

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Facebook released its first quarterly Community Standards Enforcement Report on Tuesday, saying its AI detection technology continues to improve, but has struggled with hate speech

Facebook acknowledged that its artificial intelligence detection technology 'still doesn't work that well,' particularly when it comes to hate speech, and that it needs to be checked by human moderators.

'It's important to stress that this is very much a work in progress and we will likely change our methodology as we learn more about what's important and what works,' said Guy Rosen, vice president of Product Management at Facebook, in a statement.

'...We have a lot of work still to do to prevent abuse', he added.

WHAT KINDS OF POSTS AND PHOTOS HAS FACEBOOK TAKEN ACTION AGAINST? Facebook published its first quarterly Community Standards Enforcement Report on Tuesday. In it, the firm detailed how its artificial intelligence tools have succeeded - and at times failed - at effectively removing violating content from the platform. Here are the kinds of content it disabled in the last six months leading up to March: Violence Q4 2017: 1.2m pieces of content -- 72% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 3.4m pieces -- 86% flagged automatically Hate Speech Q4 2017: 1.6m pieces -- 24% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 2.5m pieces -- 38% flagged automatically Porn Q4 2017: 21m pieces -- 94% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 21m pieces -- 96% flagged automatically Terrorist Propaganda Q4 2017: 1.1m pieces -- 97% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 1.9m pieces -- 99.5% flagged automatically Spam Q4 2017: 727m pieces -- 99.8% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 836m pieces -- 99.7% flagged automatically Fake accounts Q4 2017: 694m pieces -- 99% flagged automatically Q1 2018: 583m pieces -- 99% flagged automatically Advertisement

The firm has said previously that it plans to hire thousands more human moderators to 'make Facebook safer for everyone'.

Facebook moderated 2.5 million posts for violating hate speech rules, but only 38% of these were flagged by automation, which fails to interpret nuances like counter speech, self-referential comments or sarcasm.

It took down or applied warning labels to 3.4 million pieces of violent content in the last six months -- a 183% increase from the final quarter of 2017.

Facebook said in a blog post that most of the action it takes to remove bad actors on its site is tied to spam and fake accounts. The firm disabled 1.3 billion spam accounts during the period

Almost 86% of violent content was found by the firm's technology before it was reported by users.

The increase in violent content may be tied to a flare up in global conflict, such as recent violence in Syria, Alex Schultz, Facebook's vice president of data analytics, told reporters at a press briefing.

'Often when there's real bad stuff in the world, lots of that stuff makes it on to Facebook,' Schultz explained.

Facebook moderated 2.5 million posts for violating hate speech rules, but only 38% of these were flagged by AI, which fails to interpret nuances like counter speech or sarcasm

Facebook has faced fierce criticism from governments and rights groups for failing to do enough to stem hate speech and prevent the service from being used to promote terrorism, stir sectarian conflict and broadcast acts including murder and suicide.

It uses both software and an army of moderators to take down text, pictures and videos that violate its rules.

Rosen said technology like artificial intelligence is still years from effectively detecting most bad content because context is so important.

'Technology needs large amounts of training data to recognize meaningful patterns of behavior, which we often lack in less widely used languages,' Rosen said.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg (pictured) has pledged to hire more human moderators to take down content that spreads hate speech, propaganda or terrorism

However, Facebook's AI technology has significantly improved in its ability to spot and remove fake accounts before the public interacts with them.

In the last six months, the firm's AI tools found 98.5% of the fake accounts shut down by Facebook, while discovering 100% of spam.

More than a quarter of the human race accesses Facebook, as it now counts two billion monthly users.

Under pressure from several governments, Facebook has been beefing up its moderator ranks and hopes to reach 20,000 by the end of 2018.

'Whether it's spam, porn or fake accounts, we're up against sophisticated adversaries who continually change tactics to circumvent our controls,' Rosen said.

The update marks the first Community Standards report since Facebook was hit with a massive data privacy scandal earlier this year.

Three million Facebook users had intimate details exposed as a new data protection scandal has hit the social media platform. The quiz, called myPersonality, is an app which collected highly sensitive data, including psychometric test results

It was revealed in March that Cambridge Analytica, a research firm with ties to the Trump campaign, harvested as many as 87 million users' data without their knowledge.

On monday, it was revealed that three million Facebook users had their most intimate details exposed.

A popular personality app failed to provide adequate protection to the 'anonymous' data of participants, the latest of a string of security breaches.

The quiz, called myPersonality, collected highly sensitive data - including psychometric test results that reveal how neurotic or extrovert an individual may be.

Investigators found the information was poorly protected for four years and gaining access to it was relatively easy.

The myPersonality app has now been suspended as one of 200 Facebook has removed from its social network.
It may sound like a scene from a horror movie, but two surgeons in China are developing a technique for the world's first human head transplant.

Italian scientist Sergio Canavero and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren plan to deliver a jolt of electricity to a body with bolts attaching its head to its neck.

They say the technique could let patients with spinal cord injuries and paralysis to walk again.

The pair recently sparked outrage when they claimed to have performed trial surgeries on two cadavers.

During an 18-hour procedure, Chinese surgeons showed it is possible to successfully reconnect the spine, nerves and blood vessels of a severed head, they said.

Many in the scientific community branded the experiment as having negligible scientific or medical merit and questioned the project's ethics.

One Oxford University neuroscientist said attempting a live head transplant would be 'nothing short of criminal'.

In a new interview, Professor Ren, 56, insists although their new project is 'controversial', it is necessary to save people with 'working brains whose bodies have died'.

That includes sufferers of neuromuscular degenerative diseases, multiple organ failure and end-stage cancer, he said.

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Two surgeons in China are developing a technique for the world's first human head transplant. Italian scientist Sergio Canavero and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren (pictured) plan to deliver a jolt of electricity to a body with bolts attaching its head to its neck

Italian professor Sergio Canavero (pictured) claimed that professor Ren had successfully carried out the world's first human head transplant on a corpse in November. Many in the scientific community said the announcement was 'fake news'

'We have shown that with this technique, spinal perfusion is possible,' Professor Ren told CNBC.

The project's current focus is on people with paralysis and spinal cord injuries resulting from accidents or other causes, he added.

'These patients don't currently have good strategies, their mortality is very very high. So I try to translate this technique to benefit these patients,' Professor Ren said.

'That is my main strategy in the future.'

Professor Ren is a US-educated surgeon from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in north-west China's Heilongjiang Province.

Professor Ren (pictured with professor Canavero) insists although the project is 'controversial', it is necessary to save people with 'working brains whose bodies have died'

WHAT DO SCIENTISTS THINK OF PROFESSOR CANAVERO AND HIS HEAD TRANSPLANT RESEARCH? Italian scientist Professor Sergio Canavero is attempting to develop a technique to transfer someone's head onto another person's body. Following his announcement in November that he had experimented on cadavers, criticism poured in from the scientific community. Dr James Fildes, NHS principal research scientist at the University Hospital of South Manchester's Transplant Centre, said: 'Unless Canavero or Ren provide real evidence that they can perform a head, or more appropriately, a whole body transplant on a large animal that recovers sufficient function to improve quality of life, this entire project is morally wrong. 'Perhaps far more worryingly, this endeavour appears to revolve around immortality, but in each case a body is needed for the transplant, and therefore a human needs to die as part of the process. 'Where does Canavero propose to get the donor body from if the goal is to tackle the laws of nature? 'Has Canavero considered how he will tackle acute rejection of the constituent parts of the head? 'What will rejection of the skin, muscles, eyes, and brain manifest as? I hope this is not just egotistical pseudoscience.' Dr Jan Schnupp, professor of neuroscience at the University of Oxford, added: 'I find it inconceivable that ethics committees in any reputable research or clinical institutions would give a green light to living human head transplants in the foreseeable future. 'Indeed, attempting such a thing given the current state of the art would be nothing short of criminal. 'As a neuroscientist, I would really quite like the general public to be reassured that neither I nor any of my colleagues think that beheading people for extremely long shot experiments is acceptable. It is not.' Advertisement

His partner Professor Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, has been talking up human head transplantation for decades.

The pair have presented little scientific evidence for their plan, but claim to have conducted several successful trials on mice, rats and a dog, all of whom reportedly survived the surgery and regained some motor function.

Professor Canavero maintains that, following trials on cadavers, surgeries on living humans are 'imminent.'

The procedure involves keeping a severed head alive at extremely cold temperatures while two pumps provide it with continual flows of blood and oxygen.

Italian professor Sergio Canavero (file photo) announced in November that experts successfully reconnected the spine, nerves and blood vessels of the severed head of a cadaver in an 18-hour operation

While Professor Ren's (pictured) work in animals is 'pretty good science,' the technique is not translatable to humans, according to Dr Mark Hardy, an expert on immunosuppresion and a pioneering transplant surgeon at Columbia University

Surgeons will use an adhesive called polyethylene glycol to connect the volunteer's head with the spinal cord of the donor's body, which will remain in a coma for a month while new nerve networks rebuild.

But while Professor Ren's work in animals is 'pretty good science,' the technique is not translatable to humans, according to Dr Mark Hardy, an expert on immunosuppresion and a pioneering transplant surgeon at Columbia University.

He told CNBC that polyethylene glycol is toxic to humans, though 'there are other ways' of potentially reattaching the spinal cord.

Dr Hardy added head transplants may be possible 'sometime in the next 10 to 12 years.'

HOW DO SCIENTISTS IN CHINA PLAN TO PERFORM A HUMAN HEAD TRANSPLANT? It may sound like a scene from a horror movie, but two surgeons in China are developing a technique for the world's first human head transplant. Italian scientist Sergio Canavero and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren plan to deliver a jolt of electricity to a body with bolts attaching its head to its neck. Professor Ren is a US-educated surgeon from The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in north-west China's Heilongjiang Province. His partner Professor Canavero, director of the Turin Advanced Neuromodulation Group, has been talking up human head transplantation for decades. The pair have presented little scientific evidence for their plan, but claim to have conducted several successful trials on mice, rats and a dog, all of whom reportedly survived the surgery and regained some motor function. Professor Canavero maintains that, following trials on cadavers, surgeries on living humans are 'imminent.' The procedure involves keeping a severed head alive at extremely cold temperatures while two pumps provide it with continual flows of blood and oxygen. Surgeons will use an adhesive called polyethylene glycol to connect the volunteer's head with the spinal cord of the donor's body, which will remain in a coma for a month while new nerve networks rebuild. Advertisement

Following Professor Canavero's announcement in November that his team had experimented on cadavers, criticism poured in from the scientific community.

Dr James Fildes, NHS principal research scientist at the University Hospital of South Manchester's Transplant Centre, said: 'Unless Canavero or Ren provide real evidence that they can perform a head, or more appropriately, a whole body transplant on a large animal that recovers sufficient function to improve quality of life, this entire project is morally wrong.

'Perhaps far more worryingly, this endeavour appears to revolve around immortality, but in each case a body is needed for the transplant, and therefore a human needs to die as part of the process.

'Where does Canavero propose to get the donor body from if the goal is to tackle the laws of nature?

'Has Canavero considered how he will tackle acute rejection of the constituent parts of the head?

'What will rejection of the skin, muscles, eyes, and brain manifest as? I hope this is not just egotistical pseudoscience.'

In May 2017, scientists carried out a head transplant on a rat in a practise run for controversial human experiment. In the disturbing experiment, researchers in China affixed the heads of smaller, 'donor' rats onto the backs of larger rats, that lived an average of just 36 hours

Dr Jan Schnupp, professor of neuroscience at the University of Oxford, added: 'I find it inconceivable that ethics committees in any reputable research or clinical institutions would give a green light to living human head transplants in the foreseeable future.

'Indeed, attempting such a thing given the current state of the art would be nothing short of criminal.

'As a neuroscientist, I would really quite like the general public to be reassured that neither I nor any of my colleagues think that beheading people for extremely long shot experiments is acceptable. It is not.'

Also in November the researchers claimed his team they had successfully conducted a head transplant experiment on a dog.

During the surgery the team resolved long-standing problems with the re-growth of spinal tissue - one of many complex hurdles to a successful head transplant.

Professor Ren (pictured with professor Canavero) claimed to have found a solution to help with the re-growth of the spine using a chemical compound, called polyethylene glycol

Professor Ren claimed that the dog's spine was completed cut during the experiment, and his team successfully re-connected it with the spine in the new head using a chemical compound, called polyethylene glycol.

He claimed that the dog could start to walk two weeks after the operation and run two months after the operation.

One year later, the result of the experiment appeared 'very good', although Professor Ren admitted the animal's walking and other movements were jerky.

He suggested the experiment could pave the way for human head transplants, but experts have raised doubts.

Professor Ren and his team have carried out similar procedure on a mouse.
Some couples may claim love at first sight is real but scientists would beg to differ.

Researchers have revealed the success of a relationship is defined by the sexual chemistry between a couple the first time they sleep together.

A study of 800 people found that couples who have great sex the first time they sleep together were more likely to go the distance than those who don't.

This is because partners who enjoy their first time are more motivated to turn these experiences into long-term relationships, researchers said.

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Research has found that the real indicator of true love lies in the bedroom, revealing that the first sexual performance is pivotal to long-term relationship success (file photo)

The scientists from the University of California, Davis, found that all relationships are almost identical in their early stages.

They found that they only diverge once the relationship becomes intimate.

In the first study of its kind, lead author Professor Paul Eastwick and his team looked at relationships from the beginning to the end.

The psychologists found it takes a while for differences to emerge between two people.

When these differences appeared, it was sex which determined whether the couple ended up married or broke up.

Professor Eastwick said: 'Long term and short term trajectories typically pull apart after you have known someone for weeks or months.

'In the beginning, there is no strong evidence people can tell whether a given relationship will be long term and serious or short term and casual.'

The study recruited more than 800 people across a wide range of ages using a new technique known as 'relationship reconstruction'.

This involved them recollecting the events and experiences they had in their past relationships.

It seems that sexual prowess is the defining moment that will determine if a relationship will end in a fling or marriage (stock)

This included both short and long-term relationships. Researchers tracked them from the very beginning.

This differs from the standard approach, which starts studying people once they are already dating.

Professor Eastwick said: 'Some of the most interesting moments in these relationships happen after you meet the person face-to-face, but before anything sexual has happened.

'You wonder 'is this going somewhere?' or 'How much am I into this person?

'It is somewhere around this point that short term and long term relationships start to diverge, and historically, we have very little data on this particular period of time.'

WHAT IS LOVE? The science of love is somewhat of a mystery to many, but scientists have attempted to scientifically define the phenomena. Many studies from various different institutions has found that there are certain neurological and biochemical clues that come with falling in love. Numerous brain regions, particularly those associated with reward and motivation, are activated by the thought or presence of a romantic partner. These include the hippocampus, hypothalamus, and anterior cingulated cortex regions of the brain. It is thought that by firing up these areas of the brain, it can help to lower a person's walls. These areas, when activated, serve to inhibit defensive behaviour, reduce anxiety and increase trust in a new romantic partner. Biochemical responses to love include oxytocin and vasopressin which are produced by the hypothalamus and released by the pituaitary gland. This gland is associated with many chemicals which have a range of functions in the human body. These chemicals serve to increase the most intense stages of love. They can also stimulate the release of dopamine in the brain, a chemical associated with happiness. Advertisement

The researchers found romantic interest rises at the same rate in both types.

But at some point, it tends to plateau and decline in short term relationships while in those that end up long term it continues to increase.

Professor Eastwick added: 'People would hook up with some partners for the first time and think "wow, this is pretty good."

'People tried to turn those experiences into long term relationships. Others sparked more of a 'meh' reaction. Those were the short term ones.'

The study offers a new twist on the distinction between the stable, long term partner and the exciting, short term lover.

In real life, people may end up in short term relationships when they are 'just a little' attracted to the other person - enough to keep having sex, but maybe not for very long.

Long term relationships may be the ones that start especially exciting and sexy, and grow into something stable and lasting.

The study was published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
Plans to clear 2,000 hectares of forest in Queensland have been approved by government officials, despite potentially devastating effects on the Great Barrier Reef.

Lobby groups have warned that destruction of the forest could poison the neighbouring Reef and cause widespread environmental harm.

If plans go ahead it could result in serious soil pollution and a marked decline in water quality.

The announcement comes just after the government pledged AUD $500m ($375m/ 278m) to protect the Reef.

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Lobby groups have warned that destruction of the forest could poison the neighbouring Reef (stock image) and cause widespread environmental harm. If plans go ahead it could result in serious soil pollution and a marked decline in water quality

A draft report from the Department of Environment has recommended clearances at Kingvale Station in northern Queensland should get the green light.

The forest, which consists mainly of eucalyptus forest and swampland, is owned by Scott Harris, who wants to clear it to make way for other farming activities.

Mr Scott's land leads on to a river system that contains seagrass beds - a key component of the reef, writes the Independent.

The Environment minister Josh Frydenberg has the final say on the proposals.

Lobby groups say that destruction of this forest would significantly worsen the water quality.

Campaign manager for the Wilderness Society's Queensland campaign Gemma Plesman told the Canberra Times the clearing 'must be rejected'.

She described the proposals as 'incredibly risky'.

'Over the past four years Queensland has cleared one million hectares of native vegetation because the former Newman Government axed important environment protections', she said.

A draft report from the Department of Environment has recommended clearances at Kingvale Station in northern Queensland should get the green light

The Great Barrier Reef has undergone unprecedented bleaching over the past two years, devastating more than two-thirds of the reef, experts say (stock image)

A spokesperson for Mr Frydenberg told the publication the draft report 'proposed strict conditions and mitigation measures informed by expert scientific advice'.

All feedback will be considered by the department as it finalises its recommendation, he said.

The World Heritage-listed site, which attracts millions of tourists each year, is reeling from significant bouts of coral bleaching due to warming sea temperatures linked to climate change.

With its heavy use of coal-fired power and relatively small population, Australia is considered one of the world's worst per capita greenhouse gas polluters, with advocates urging Canberra to do more to protect the environment.

The reef is also under threat from predatory coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish, as well as farming run off.

In March this year it was revealed that a floating sun shield 50,000 times thinner than a human hair could protect the Reef from degradation

Scientists have been buoyed by test results of an ultra-fine biodegradable film made of calcium carbonate that has been shown to protect the reef. Pictured are live coral in sun shield trials in Townsville, northern Queensland

In March this year it was revealed that a floating sun shield 50,000 times thinner than a human hair could protect the Reef from degradation.

Scientists have been buoyed by test results of an ultra-fine biodegradable film made of calcium carbonate that has been shown to protect the reef.

The world-famous site has undergone unprecedented bleaching over the past two years, which has devastated more than two-thirds of it, experts say.

'It's designed to sit on the surface of the water above the corals, rather than directly on the corals, to provide an effective barrier against the sun,' Great Barrier Reef Foundation managing director Anna Marsden said.

'It (the project) created an opportunity to test the idea that by reducing the amount of sunlight from reaching the corals in the first place, we can prevent them from becoming stressed which leads to bleaching'.
While it's well-established that coffee can be good for you, new research has found that serving coffee at a meeting can focus group discussion, boost involvement, and leave members feeling better about their own and others' participation.

A new study from the Graduate School of Management at the University of California, Davis has examined the effects of caffeine on group performance.

Decades of coffee research have explored its effects on the individual, but this study is the first on the effects on performance in group tasks.

A new study has examined the effects of caffeine on group performance. They found that coffee can focus group discussion, boost involvement and leave members feeling better about their own and others' participation

'If you look at where coffee's being consumed, a significant amount happens in group settings,' said Rao Unnava, dean of the management school and co-author of the study with Vasu Unnava, an adjunct assistant professor at the school and his wife.

The researchers conducted two separate studies of 70 undergraduates at a large Midwestern university.

In the first experiment, small groups had coffee together about 30 minutes before discussing an article about the Occupy movement and making recommendations about the topic's inclusion in a competition for discussion topics in graduate school.

Other groups had their coffee after the discussion.

Participants who had the coffee before the discussion rated their groups' and their own performance more positively.

In order to determine if the results came from the caffeine, or rather the simple act of consuming a beverage together, the second experiment gave some groups caffeinated coffee and some decaf.

The groups who had the caffeinated coffee rated their own participation and their attitude toward group members more positively than those who had the decaffeinated coffee.

HOW IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU? Drinking three coffees a day could help you live longer, research has found

Drinking four cups of coffee a day almost halves the risk of deadly mouth cancer

Research found that those who had a cup of coffee one hour before a work-out could exercise for longer

Coffee helps you lose weight because it contains several substances that can affect your metabolism

It is a natural painkiller, especially espresso

It helps headaches. The combination of aspirin and caffeine has been found to relieve pain better than aspirin alone

Research has demonstrated that coffee drinking may help reduce cognitive decline and dementia

Drinking more coffee may help stave off liver cancer, a study found Advertisement

They also expressed more of a willingness to work with the group again and a higher level of alertness.

Additionally, coding of audio recordings from the discussions showed that the groups that had caffeinated coffee generated more statements relevant to the topic.

The researchers determined that the increased level of alertness resulting from the caffeine as the mechanism for the positive effects, rather than the caffeine itself.

'Coffee With Co-workers: Role of Caffeine on Evaluations of the Self and Others in Group Settings,' is the first research study by management school professors to be published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, an international scientific journal.
The germ that causes strep throat is also responsible for the devastating flesh-eating disease, known as necrotizing fasciitis, which affects as many as 200,000 people worldwide each year.

The bacterium, Streptococcus pyogenes, emits a toxin that causes excruciating pain. As it does this, it burrows deep under the skin and eats into connective tissue and muscle.

It is known for being hard to diagnose and can quickly become fatal.

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New research from Harvard Medical School has discovered that 'flesh-eating' bacteria actually hijacks a victim's pain receptors for their own benefit. Pictured: The bacterium, Streptococcus pyogenes

New research from Harvard Medical School has discovered that S. pyogenes hijacks neurons and exploits the normal communication that occurs between the nervous and immune systems during injury or infection, essentially 'thriving' off its hosts pain.

'Necrotizing fasciitis is a devastating condition that remains extremely challenging to treat and has a mortality rate that's unacceptably high,' said study senior investigator Isaac Chiu, assistant professor of microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard Medical School.

'Our findings reveal a surprising new role of neurons in the development of this disease and point to promising countermeasures that warrant further exploration.'

By experimenting on mice, the researchers realized the bacteria produced a toxin called streptolysin S (SLS) that caused pain-sensing neurons to fire, causing agony for the host.

As many as three in 10 humans who get the disease die.

The scientists also discovered that the toxin emitted a peptide that disrupted communication with the immune system, essentially preventing the body from fighting back against the infection.

This stopped immune cells from releasing an enzyme that would kill the invasive bacteria, like bleach would. It also left the bacteria free to multiply and continue eating through healthy tissue.

'Effectively, this neuronal signal silences the alarm system that normally calls on the body's infection fighters to curb infection,' Chiu said.

The absence of inflammation-inducing white blood cells at the site infection, the researchers say, may explain why, in the early stages of necrotizing fasciitis, patients tend to experience intense pain but without the heavy swelling, redness and overall inflammation that develop when the defense system rushes to the wound.

WHAT IS FLESH-EATING BACTERIA? Necrotizing fasciitis is a bacterial infection that quickly kills surrounding tissue. S. pyogenes hijacks neurons and exploits the normal communication that occurs between the nervous and immune system Once the bacteria enters the body, it can spread to the muscles, nerves, fat and blood cells around the infected site causing damage. Death can occur if it is not stopped quickly enough. Symptoms: Pain or soreness

Swelling near wound

Ulcers, blisters or black spots

Fever

Chills

Fatigue

Vomiting Treatment: Strong antibiotics are imperative to treating the disease and are typically administrated through an IV. Surgery is recommended when the antibiotics are unable to reach the tissue that has already been infected. This happens when the bacteria has prevented blood flow to those areas. If any of the infection is left in the body after surgery, it can cause organ failure and the patient will die. Advertisement

The researchers theorized that by blocking the neuron's signals, the immune system could fight off the bacteria, thus creating a potential treatment for S. pyogenes infections.

They injected mice with the bacteria, as well as the protein botulinum neurotoxin A, used in Botox, which works by blocking nerve signals. One group of mice got the Botox injection a week before the S. pyogenes, the other immediately after.

The mice only developed minor wounds that never progressed to a full-blown disease, regardless of when the rodents received the nerve-blocking agent.

In a third group, the mice received a Botox injection two days after the bacterial injection, when they had already developed a wound.

The injection essentially stopped the disease in its tracks and prevented further damage.

In the last experiment, the scientists used another compound which blocked the release of the neurotransmitter that disrupted the immune system.

The immune cells were able to rapidly respond and prevent the spread of necrotizing fasciitis.

The study has shown how important neurons are in the spread of flesh-eating bacteria, as well as offer a potential solution to treating the disease.

'Our findings provide a striking example of how closely intertwined the nervous and immune systems are and how intricate their interaction can be in the setting of infection,' Chiu said in the statement.

'Our study also underscores the therapeutic potential of modulating one system to affect the other as a way to treat infection.'
Tesla just smashed the Guinness World Record for towing.

Elon Musk's electric car company shared a video on Tuesday of a Tesla Model X P100D towing a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Melbourne Airport in Australia.

The minute-long video shows the electric SUV dragging the 287,000lb aircraft about 1,000 feet down the taxiway.

That was enough to smash the Guinness World Record for heaviest tow by electric production passenger vehicle.

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The Dreamliner, which can weigh up to 560,000lbs with fuel, is more than triple the Model X's recommended tow limit of about 5,500 lbs, according to Australian airline Qantas, which supplied the Dreamliner.

Qantas seems to have commissioned the video as part of a publicity stunt to show off its relationship with the carmaker.

A Tesla Model S went head-to-head in a race with one of Qantas' Boeing 737-800 airplanes in 2016.

The airline also uses Tesla wall chargers at four airports in Australia.

Qantas said the latest stunt was part of a move to highlight its sustainability efforts, adding that it uses electric aircraft tugs at airports in Sydney and Canberra to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Qantas has been feeling the heat after the International Council on Clean Transportation highlighted its poor emissions record, finding that it pollutes more than any other transpacific airline.

Elon Musk's electric car company shared a video on Tuesday of a Tesla Model X P100D towing a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner at Melbourne Airport in Australia

The Dreamliner is more than triple the Model X's (pictured) recommended tow limit of about 5,500 lbs, according to Australian airline Qantas, which supplied the Dreamliner

The Model X is known for its impressive torque and has been put to the test before.

Earlier this year, Tesla released a video of the SUV hauling rail cars carrying 125 tons of debris.

Adding another layer to the stunt, Musk said the debris was generated by his tunneling firm, the Boring Company.

Specifically, it was dug out by the Boring Company's robot, Godot.

Musk is clearly fond of conducting stunts with Teslas, Boring Company-branded flamethrowers and pledging to create an 'intergalactic media empire'.

The minute-long video shows the electric SUV dragging the 287,000lb aircraft about 1,000 feet down the taxiway. Pictured is a view from the backseat of the Tesla SUV

In perhaps one of the best stunts so far, the billionaire tech mogul sent his cherry red Tesla Roadster into space as the payload of SpaceX's history-making Falcon Heavy megarocket.

Sitting in the passenger seat of his Roadster was a dummy astronaut aptly named 'Starman'.

The billionaire shared a final photo on Wednesday, February 7, of the Roadster that he launched into space just a day earlier.

Musk's photo showed the car in an elliptical orbit around the sun with an increasingly distant crescent Earth in the background.

'Last pic of Starman in Roadster enroute [sic] to Mars orbit and then the Asteroid Belt,' he wrote on Instagram.
It wasn't just the lack of oxygen which left me breathless on a recent expedition to Mount Everest, but the stunning out-of-this-world scenery also left my mouth agape.

En route to smash the world record for the world's highest dinner party at 7,050m - which as previously reported, was a successful mission - we traversed one of the most beautiful strips of land I've ever seen.

The so-called Magic Highway on the Tibetan side of Mount Everest is a magnificent moraine - a tongue-like ridge of jumbled rock and sediment - with two strips of glacier slinking their way down its side.

As you spend several hours traversing the rocky path from intermediate base camp (5,800m) to advanced base camp (6,440m) you find yourself wandering through the most insane winter wonderland with giant ice pinnacles jutting from the ground and frozen snow caves glistening a rainbow of blue.

The Magic Highway, or East Rongbuk Glacier, and the surrounding valley was famously explored by British climber George Mallory while searching for possible routes to the summit of Mount Everest during the first British Everest reconnaissance expedition of 1921. It is now a well-trodden path by hopeful summiters.

While the gruelling uphill trudge from camp to camp took more than five hours, our trip along the spellbinding Magic Highway certainly helped ease the pain and we stopped several time for some snacks and to soak up the scenery. Scroll down to see some of the shots taken en route...
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It was the grand castle where Henry VIII spent his honeymoon with his second wife Anne Boleyn.

And holidaymakers who want to live like a medieval king or queen can stay at England's only Tudor Castle hotel, Thornbury Castle.

Nestled away in leafy Thornbury in South Gloucestershire, guests are transported back in time for 219 per night.

The grand Thornbury Castle in South Gloucestershire, which is now England's only Tudor castle hotel where guests can stay

The stunning Grade-I listed pile dates back as far as the 10th century and is made up of 27 en-suite bedrooms including the room which was occupied by the royal couple.

Inside the castle, all the rooms have retained their medieval features including stone walls, carved ceilings and tapestries.

Many of the bedrooms have four-poster beds with lavish velvet furnishings and paintings from the middle ages hanging on the walls.

The hotel's kitchen is headed up by chef Andrew Chan who serves a range of traditional fare and the restaurant has been awarded two AA rosettes.

One of the deluxe bedchambers inside the castle. The stunning Grade-I listed pile dates back as far as the 10th century and is made up of 27 en-suite bedrooms

Another one of the bedrooms, which boasts a four-poster bed. Thornbury Castle has an amazing history, and the earliest account of its existence is in the time of King Athelstan

Thornbury Castle has an amazing history, and the earliest account of its existence is in the time of King Athelstan, the grandson of King Alfred the Great.

At the start of the 15th century, Humphrey Stafford acquired the castle and was created the first Duke of Buckingham in 1444.

After his death at the Battle of Northampton in 1460, the property fell into the hands of his son, Henry Stafford, the second Duke of Buckingham who helped Richard III claim the throne and was made Constable of England as a reward.

However, in 1483 after being summoned to visit King, he instead started to gather troops in Wales with the intention of leading them across the Severn.

Inside the castle, all the rooms have retained their medieval features including stone walls, carved ceilings and tapestries

One of the rooms, which is named the Duke's bedchamber. At the start of the 15th century, Humphrey Stafford acquired the castle and was created the first Duke of Buckingham in 1444

The uprising was unsuccessful, and the Duke had to seek refuge but was soon captured thanks to a 1,000 bounty on his head and he was beheaded in Salisbury without trial.

However, after Henry VII came to the throne, the land and titles of the castle were restored to Edward Stafford, who became the third Duke of Buckingham.

Until this point Thornbury was a mere manor but the third Duke obtained a license to castellate it and, in 1508, started to build the present castle.

But despite the Duke of Buckingham standing in high favour as one of the most affluent and honoured noblemen in the country, at the time of Henry VIII coming to the throne things quickly turned sour.

After his death at the Battle of Northampton in 1460, the property fell into the hands of his son, Henry Stafford, the second Duke of Buckingham

Mary Tudor also spent many years at the property, returning it to the descendants of the Duke upon her death in 1554

It is believed that the Duke wanted to claim the throne as the great-grandson of Edward IIIs youngest son, Thomas of Woodstock.

He believed he stood heir to the crown and that Mary Tudors succession should have been denied.

When Henry VIII caught wind of the rumours and upon the Dukes return from France, he was arrested and taken to London, where he was found guilty of high treason and executed on Tower Hill.

Henry then claimed the castle and, for 33 years, it remained in the Royal household.

One of the traditional large fireplaces in the castle, which also hosted lavish glamorous parties with Sophia Loren and Laurence Olivier among the guests

It is known to have been visited by Henry and Anne Boleyn before Mary Tudor spent many years at the property, returning it to the descendants of the Duke upon her death in 1558.

In more recent years, the castle was known for hosting lavish glamorous parties with Sophia Loren and Laurence Olivier among the guests.

For more information see the listing on secretescapes.com.
The eyes of the world will be watching Prince Harry and Meghan Markle walk down the aisle of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle after marrying on Saturday.

But at 36,000 feet, a crew all named either Harry and Meghan will be walking up and down the aisle of a different kind - on a British Airways jet serving drinks to passengers celebrating the royal wedding.

The airline has revealed that its BA93 service from London Heathrow to Toronto on Saturday will be staffed by two Harrys, seven Megans and one Meghan. At the controls will be Senior First Office Harry Blake.

A British Airways flight will celebrate Britain's royal wedding on Saturday by flying to Canada with crew who are all named Harry or Meghan

The flight's destination of the Canadian city is where actress Meghan used to live while filming Suits and is where she made her first public appearance with her royal husband-to-be.

BA customer service manager Megan Horsley will lead the onboard crew and said the specially-staffed flight was a fitting homage but admitted it would have its drawbacks.

She explained: 'I've flown with another Megan once or twice before, but never seven so we might have to all call each other by our surnames during this very special flight.

'Harry and Meghans relationship started across the Atlantic so it seemed fitting for all of us to take-off to Toronto on their special day.'

British Airways said the flight from London Heathrow to Toronto, the city where Markle used to live and where the pair made their first public appearance together, will be staffed by two Harrys, seven Megans and one Meghan, and flown by Senior First Officer Harry Blake

BA's special flight will depart from Heathrow at 1.10pm, an hour after the couple say I do at Windsor Castle, just seven miles from the airport.

Extra champagne will be loaded on to the flight and the Royal Crew will give every customer on board a personal bottle of Castelnau Blanc du Blanc to enjoy alongside an individual celebratory wedding cake.

BA also said any passengers named Harry, Meghan or Megan flying on Saturday will be allowed to use its first-class lounge at Heathrow's Terminal 5 and all customers on the day will be given lemon and elderflower Victoria sponges, the same flavour as the royal couple's wedding cake.

BA's special flight will depart from Heathrow at 1.10pm, an hour after the couple say I Do at Windsor Castle, just seven miles from the airport

Wedding highlights will also be available to watch on flights from Sunday, BA said, as well as Suits, the TV series where Markle made her name, and documentaries on the couple and Windsor Castle.

Earlier this month British Airways launched a new three-per-week service to Toronto from Gatwick which is the airlines first flight to Canada from the London airport.

Companies like BA are seeking a slice of the action as wedding fever builds ahead of the big day, when thousands of royal fans are expected to descend on Windsor.
The Caribbean lost over $700million in tourism revenue after several islands were lashed by hurricanes last year, a new report has revealed.

In September, parts of the region were devastated by the hurricanes Irma and Maria, which were the fiercest ever recorded.

And now it has been revealed that in the aftermath, the area attracted almost one million fewer visitors costing the island economies millions of dollars.

The Caribbean lost over $700million in tourism revenue after several islands were lashed by hurricanes last year, a new report has revealed. Pictured is a bay in St Barts

The report, by the London-based World Travel and Tourism Council, said: 'The hurricane season resulted in an estimated (loss) in 2017 of 826,100 visitors to the Caribbean, compared to pre-hurricane forecasts.'

'Those tourists could have spent $741million and sustained more than 11,000 jobs.

With their turquoise waters and coral reefs, Caribbean island destinations rely heavily on tourism.

It provides 15.2 per cent of the region's gross domestic product and sustains 14 per cent of its labour force, according to the report.

The devastation on Orient Bat on the French Caribbean island of Saint Martin after it was struck by Hurricane Irma

Irma and Maria left a trail of destruction in Barbuda, St Martin/Sint Maarten, pictured, St Barts, Anguilla, Cuba and Dominica

Worldwide, the average contribution of tourism to GDP is 10.4 per cent.

Irma and Maria left a trail of destruction in Barbuda, St Martin/Sint Maarten, St Barts, Anguilla, Cuba, Dominica and the US territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Barbuda, Dominica and Puerto Rico were among the worst hit and are still recovering.

But the loss of tourism in the Caribbean also affected islands that were not hit directly by the hurricanes.

Buildings are flattened in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in Tortola, the largest of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean

That is because there is 'a misconception on the part of the public that the entire Caribbean was hit by storms,' the report added.

But, 'more than two thirds of the destinations in the Caribbean were not physically affected.'

The recovery of the tourism sector to pre-hurricane levels could take four years, the group warned.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and stretches through November 30.
Its been the backdrop for Hollywood blockbusters such as Gladiator and Midnight Express.

Now Valletta has the chance to showcase Maltas charms to even bigger audiences as its this years European Capital of Culture and millions have been spent renovating its ancient attractions.

We stayed at the stylish Phoenicia Hotel close to the city gates with magnificent views of Europes smallest capital.

Just capital: Broadcaster John Stapleton with his wife Lynn in the streets of Malta

It is just a short walk from Republic Street, the main artery of Vallettas 500-year-old roads and alleyways, most lined by beautiful, honey-coloured, Baroque-style buildings.

At one end stands the old Opera House, bombed during the Second World War and now restored as an open-air theatre. Nearby is Cordina cafe, serving coffee since 1837.

But its the citys really ancient history that fascinates the most.

Valletta is like an open-air museum. Its finest building is the Auberge de Castille, once the 16th Century home of the Knights who founded the island, now the offices of Maltas Prime Minister.

A pink light looms over the waters of Valletta harbour

Ornate: The stunning interiors of the St Johns Co-Cathedral with lashings of gold and marble

St Johns Co-Cathedral is unexceptional from the outside, but inside it is the most ornate and spectacular place of worship. Awash with gold leaf, its marble floor houses the brilliantly preserved and colourful tombstones of the islands founding fathers.

On its walls are classic works of art such as Caravaggios portrait of St John the Baptist and his bloody demise.

We took the short ferry ride across Vallettas Grand Harbour to the three fortified cities of Cospicua, Vittoriosa and Senglea. Towering over them sits Fort St Angelo, an iconic symbol of Maltas defiance of various foes.

Always a strategically important island, the fort played a crucial role in thwarting two attempted invasions, the first from the Ottoman empire in the 16th Century.

Refined style: One of the dining rooms at the Phoenicia hotel in Valetta

The second came during the Second World War when, with the help of the RAF and the Royal Navy, Malta beat off German and Italian bombers.

Its been restored to its former glory and it is worth the walk up the hill if only for the spectacular view it offers. Valletta wasnt always Maltas capital. Until the Middle Ages Mdina enjoyed that privilege.

A 20-minute drive from Valletta, it has a population of 300 and is known as the Silent City, partly because no cars are allowed there. First occupied by the Phoenicians around 700BC it is meticulously preserved, with a cathedral, dungeons and a museum.

And its not just Maltas past that has been re-invigorated. Its night life has too. Vallettas Strait Street has been transformed into an area of trendy restaurants and bars. There are hundreds in this lively city. And with the special events planned for year of culture, it will get even livelier.
Reports surfaced in November that David 'Kochie' Koch would be leaving Channel Seven's breakfast program, Sunrise.

And now, the network has finally address speculation on whether the 62-year-old will be replaced by weekend counterpart, Basil Zempilas, 46.

On Monday, TV Tonight reported that the network's head of publicity unequivocally denied Kochie will leave the show.

Is Kochie being replaced? Channel Seven has finally addressed rumours David Koch could be getting the boot from its breakfast program in favour of Perth-based presenter, Basil Zempilas

'[It's] 100% wrong,' Susan Wood, who heads the publicity department told the publication.

In the statement, the TV executive rubbished a recent story in Melbourne's the Herald Sun, which speculated Kochie could be getting the shift.

The article stated: 'As of next January, Zempalis will inherit David Koch's weekday role as co-host of Seven's breakfast program Sunrise.'

'100% wrong': The network's head of publicity, Susan Wood, gave an unequivocal denial about the morning show host possibly getting the chop. Pictured here with co-host Sam Armytage

Kochie, who started in financial reporting, has become a well-known face on the breakfast TV throne, after he first started with the show in 2002.

And with the high-profile departure of Andrew O'Keefe from Weekend Sunrise in December, the rumour mill started on Kochie

Perth-based Basil replaced Andrew by joining co-host Monique Wright on Weekend Sunrise, and it has been reported he is a 'favourite' of network bosses.

Basil is also thought to rate well wit east coast audiences as well.

Replacement? Basil, 46, is reportedly a favourite of network executives and he rates well with Western Australia audiences. Pictured here with Natalie Barr and Samantha Armytage

In November, it was reported by the Sydney Morning Herald that veteran financial journalist Kochie had ambitions to scale down to a four-day working week.

It's believed his demands for a $1 million annual pay packet prompted speculation the network could search for a fresh face.

Outside of Basil, it's believed the other front runners were handsome Network 10 presenter Matt Doran and 60 Minutes reporter Michael Usher.
Spike Lee premiered his new movie BlacKkKlansman at the Cannes Film festival Monday night to rapturous applause.

The director was given a six-minute standing ovation for the based on a true story film about how a rookie African-American police officer infiltrated the Klu Klux Klan in the 1970s in Colorado.

John David Washington stars as the protagonist Ron Stallworth who comes up with the idea and Adam Driver is the white Jewish cop he recruits to help him.

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Hit: Spike Lee premiered his new movie BlacKkKlansman at the Cannes Film Festival Monday night to rapturous applause and a six-minute standing ovation. He's pictured at a festival event

The first trailer for the movie was also released Monday.

It sets the scene as Stallworth arrives at the Colorado Springs police station where he's hired as the force's first black officer.

One day he sees an ad in the local newspaper about how people can find out more information about the Klu Klux Klan and he calls the number.

The first trailer for the based-on-a-true-story movie was also released Monday and stars John David Washington as protagonist Ron Stallworth

The film is about how Stallworth, a rookie African-American police officer, infiltrated the Klu Klux Klan in Colorado in the 1970s

Adam Driver is the white Jewish cop Flip he recruits to help him

Stallworth passes himself off over the phone as a stereotypical white man who hates black people and is invited to join the Klan

He passes himself off over the phone as a stereotypical white man who hates black people and is invited to join the Klan.

He then sends his colleague Flip to meet with the Klansmen and infiltrate the organization.

Stallworth also finds himself so accepted that he ends up having phone conversations with Grand Wizard David Duke, played by Topher Grace, who doesn't suspect at all that he is actually conversing with an African-American.

He then sends his colleague Flip to meet with the Klansmen and infiltrate the organization

Flip is accepted into the white supremacist organization

Stallworth finds himself so accepted that he ends up having phone conversations with Grand Wizard David Duke, played by Topher Grace, who doesn't suspect at all that he is actually conversing with an African-American.

The film juxtaposes the rise of the Black Power movement alongside the white supremacist rhetoric of the KKK.

Lee produced the film along with Get Out's Jordan Peele and Jason Blum.

The filmmaker walked the red carpet wearing brass knuckles from Do the Right Thing, which said 'love' on one hand and 'hate' on the other.

He was joined by cast members Washington, Driver, Grace, Damaris Lewis, Jasper Paakkonen, Laura Harrier and Corey Hawkins.

BlacKkKlansman opens in theatres on August 10.

The film juxtaposes the rise of the Black Power movement alongside the white supremacist rhetoric of the KKK

Lee produced the film along with Get Out's Jordan Peele and Jason Blum

Lee was joined at the film's premiere at Cannes on Monday night by Driver, Laura harrier and Washington

The filmmaker walked the red carpet wearing brass knuckles from Do the Right Thing, which said 'love' on one hand and 'hate' on the other
Sunrise co-host Samantha Armytage arrived in London over the weekend ahead of Sunrise's coverage of the Royal Wedding.

And the bubbly TV presenter was certainly in a romantic mood on Monday, when she visited a souvenir shop and tried on a cheap engagement ring.

After spotting the budget sparkler, which was inspired by Meghan Markle's estimated $460,000 ring from Prince Harry, the 41-year-old insisted on trying it on.

'I do!' Beaming Sam Armytage tried on an engagement ring inspired by Meghan Markle's diamond sparkler while getting into the wedding spirit in London ahead of Sunrise's coverage

'I do, Ajmal,' the singleton joked while the shopkeeper handed her a ring box.

A beaming Sam took a moment to enjoy the shiny accessory, which fit her wedding finger perfectly.

The Channel Seven personality flashed the ring at the camera and, at one point, gazed down at her hand to relish in the moment.

Feeling the love! 'I do, Ajmal,' the singleton joked as the shopkeeper handed her a ring box

Cheap version: The costume jewellery is a cheap knockoff of Meghan Markle's diamond ring from Prince Harry

Earlier, Sam was seen shopping for regular household items before she was distracted by a sign about engagement rings.

'"Meghan and Harry engagement ring available". Oh, where do you get that from?' she said.

'Is this exactly the same as [Meghan Markle's] engagement ring, Ajmal? How much is this one?'

Good fit: A beaming Sam took a moment to enjoy the shiny accessory, which fit her wedding finger perfectly

After learning that the piece retails for less than $20 Australian dollars, Sam insisted on trying it on.

'Is it real diamonds?... 20 carat diamond for 9.99,' she laughed. 'That is a good price!'

Sam will cover the Royal Wedding in London this week alongside her Sunrise co-hosts, including Edwina Bartholomew.

Blinding! Meghan Markle's ring is estimated to be worth $460,000 AUD

In 2014, she revealed her hopes of walking down the aisle one day.

'Marriage is something I would like to do. I want to have children, but the guy has to be someone who can hold his own,' she told Sunday Life magazine.

'He needs to be kind. I have dated some very unkind men recently and I have stayed with these men because I thought I needed to be married. I don't think like that any more.'
She has been thrust into the spotlight through her relationship with perennial A-lister Ben Affleck.

But Lindsay Shookus still finds it funny to be considered a 'public figure.'

The 37-year-old Saturday Night Live producer opened up about her personal life and career in the upcoming June issue of Elle magazine.

Stunning: Lindsay Shookus opened up about her personal life and career in the upcoming June issue of Elle magazine

According to writer Emma Rosenblum, she did not want to discuss her relationship with the 45-year-old Oscar-winner.

Lindsay told her: 'My entire career has been behind the camera, and thats definitely where Im most comfortable. Im a producer, Im a mom, a friend.'

As she smoothly deflected from talking about Ben, she did mention that for someone so used to not being in front of the cameras it is interesting to be thrust in the public spotlight.

'Being considered a public figure honestly makes me laugh': The 37-year-old SNL producer - pictured with Ben Affleck in January - did not want to discuss her relationship with the 45-year-old Oscar-winner

She explained: 'Being considered a public figure honestly makes me laugh'

Along with the article was a snap taken by Allie Holloway of Lindsay exiting the stage where SNL is filmed.

She could be seen looking fashionable in a beige trencoat over a sleeveless white top, navy suspenders with matching trousers as she was styled by Anatolli Smith.

Ben and Jennifer Garner had been married for 10 years before announcing their intention to divorce in June 2015 a day after their 10th wedding anniversary.

It was followed by the actual filing of documents in April 2017.

Months later the Suicide Squad actor made his first public appearance with Lindsay in London in July 2017.

Just us: Lindsay and the actor have been seen out together since July 2017, as they are pictured in LA back in November

Ben and Jen had went public with their separation amid allegations that the Pearl Harbor actor had reportedly been cheating on his wife with the family's nanny, Christine Ouzounian.

The Gone Girl star has yet to finalize his divorce from Garner, with whom he has three children: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

The SNL producer's divorce from Late Night With Seth Meyers producer Kevin Miller has also not been finalized. The pair share a four-year-old daughter.

Lindsay will be featured in the June issue of Elle magazine which hits newsstands on May 22.
Carla Bruni joked that she'd discovered her 'hidden daughter' on Sunday night, after a chance meeting with lookalike Bella Hadid.

The 50-year-old former catwalk queen met the model-of-the-moment, 21, at the Fashion For Relief event during Cannes Film Festival and couldn't get over their resemblance.

Sharing a picture of their first meeting on Instagram, Carla marvelled: 'Do I have a hidden daughter?' before taking the fashionista.

So similar! Carla Bruni (left) and Bella Hadid (right) looked like long-lost sisters on Sunday evening, when they came face to face at the Fashion For Relief dinner during Cannes Film Festival

Bella - who is the model daughter of Yolanda and Mohammed Hadid - seemed to share all the same features as long-lost twin Carla.

From their similar shoulder-length brown haircuts to their straight noses and pursed lips, the duo could hardly be told apart.

Bella has also following in the Italian-French star's footsteps by carving out a career in modelling.

My hidden daughter? Carla shared a strikingly similar selfie that captured their likeness and asked, 'Do I have a hidden daughter?'

Still only 21, she is currently one of the most in-demand campaign and catwalk stars, regularly working with such brands as Dior, Moschino and Balmain.

Carla's heyday was around the same age in 1987, when she was signed to City Models at 19.

She subsequently worked with designers and fashion houses such as Givenchy, Paco Rabanne, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano and Yves Saint-Laurent.

Old pals: Carla used to model with Naomi Campbell (left), who has not yet retired from the catwalk

Modelling chums: While Carla has moved away from modelling, Naomi is still a driving force

While modeling, Carla was also known for dating Eric Clapton and Rolling Stones rocker Mick Jagger.

And even though Bella has found herself on the same socialite circuit as Carla once was, she insisted this week that she is not a party girl.

The 21-year-old model - who is believed to have rekindled her relationship with The Weeknd - insists she'd rather stay at home on a Saturday night than go out with friends because her work means she has to spend so much time in busy environments.

Lookalikes: Bella (left, on the catwalk) is the daughter of Yolanda and Mohammed Hadid, yet she has followed a very similar path to Carla (right, in 1996)

Catwalk queen: Currently the model of the moment, Bella is around the same age that Carla began her career

Interviewed by her sister, Gigi Hadid, for America's Harper's Bazaar magazine, she said: 'People think I'm such a party girl, but that's a thing of the past. I can't wait to just sit on the couch this weekend!

'Now that our careers have gotten to the heights that they have and our job is to be around people all day and go to parties, the last thing I want to do on a Saturday night is go out.

'I just want to be around people who love me. Like, you and I play video games, watch movies, paint pottery - all the stupid s**t we used to do back in our childhood before we became Gigi and Bella.'
Iain Lee has revealed that he was sexually abused as a child by a Scout leader.

The 44-year-old radio personality added that he believes the abuse triggered his depression and even caused him to consider suicide, after grappling with the ordeal since the age of 8.

The I'm A Celebrity alum makes the shocking admission while appearing on Channel 5s Me and My Mental Health documentary, which airs on Thursday, and explained that his abuse has 'weighed' on him for 35 years.

Brave: Iain Lee has bravely revealed that he was sexually abused as a child by a Scout Master (Pictured with I'm A Celebrity pal Shappi Khorsandi)

He said: 'A lot of my depression comes around self-loathing, shame and guilt. How do I say this? There was a bit of sexual abuse that went on as a kid. A scout master and stuff, which kind of weighed heavily on me.

'It is the most horrendous messed-up scenario, it was humiliating and it was shameful, and I remember getting home to my mum and dad and never telling them. I never told them.

He added: 'I think it certainly played a part in my depression, what happened to me at the age of eight. I can see that as the starting point for it. Because up until then the memories I do have are generally quite happy.

'Now I feel embarrassed and ashamed talking about it, it was 35 years ago.'

Honest: The 44-year-old radio personality added that he believes the abuse triggered his depression and even caused him to consider suicide while grappling with the assault he dealt with during his childhood

Having never told his parents about the abuse, the comedian, who stars on the show opposite Trisha Goddard, Adam Deacon and MP Kevan Jones, revealed that staying silent forced him to contemplate taking his own life.

He began: 'I was out walking the dog and we were in these woods and I just thought, "F***, this is really off the beaten track, I could get a bit of rope. I could hang myself here and no-one would find me for ages."

'And I really allowed myself to go off into this fantasy.' MailOnline have contacted Iain Lee's rep for comment.

His honest admission comes after he revealed earlier this month that he contemplated suicide on Twitter after alleged trolling from broadcaster Jon Gaunt.

Social media cleanse: His honest admission comes after he revealed earlier this month that he contemplated suicide on Twitter after alleged trolling from broadcaster Jon Gaunt

The radio personality lashed out at the journalist in reaction to a series of now-deleted posts, as he claimed his life had been made 'an absolute misery', however rounded out his message by wishing Gaunt's family well.

In his posts, he penned: 'The gall of someone who has threatened me, blackmailed me, mocked my mental health, tried to get me the sack - getting in touch indirectly to ask me to go easy.

'Im a decent bloke so I will. But sweet Jesus man, have a look at yourself. An apology would be a start.'

He then added in response to a now-deleted message: '@jongaunt of course Ill do as you ask. Hadnt crossed that line anyway. Youve got a nerve though son. After everything you put me through I should tell you exactly where to go.

Hitting back: In his posts, he penned: '@jongaunt of course Ill do as you ask. Hadnt crossed that line anyway. Youve got a nerve though son. After everything you put me through I should tell you exactly where to go' (Jon Gaunt, pictured on This Morning in 2012)

'Im a decent bloke though. I wish, as Ive always done, you and your family peace.'

Responding to the message, Jon penned: 'Iain why have you put this in the public domain? You could DM me this is extremely serious, as serious as when you went to court. My family are in real danger please dm me.'

Iain retorted: 'Im not going to mate. You dont dictate my narrative Im afraid. I hadnt crossed that line you asked. I havent referred to the specifics. Im simply saying, youve got a f**king nerve after what you put me through. Once again, peace.'

Iain finally added: 'I anticipate another call from Nick asking me to go easy. I have done.never mentioned what you asked me to stop mentioning.

'You made my life an absolute misery. At my lowest ebb of your trolling, I considered, briefly, suicide. So no. I will not DM you. I wish you and yours peace.'

The reference to court appeared to allude his 2011 battle with a parish councillor, known as 'Mr Good Evening', who bombarded him with hate messages over the phone, email and Twitter.

Samuel Wilkins, an Ofcom worker and village councillor in Whyteleafe, Surrey, was jailed after he subjected the comedian and his producer to a 16-month campaign of abuse and nuisance calls.

Mr Wilkins, then-33, who was also a children's charity trustee, sent Twitter messages calling Lee an 'ugly c**t' and a 'pathetic little p***k' and even made remarks about the DJ's young son.

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90, visit a local Samaritans branch or click here for details.

For confidential support for adults who suffered any type of abuse in childhood call NAPAC on 0808 801 0331, free from landlines and mobiles, or click here for details
Sunrise's Sam Armytage took a swipe at rival Today's Karl Stefanovic in a very awkward phone call on Monday.

The Channel Seven star called the Today show 'second rate' and said she has 'never watched it' before laughing off 'rubbish' feud rumours.

Karl called Sam to 'clear up' reports of a feud during an interview with Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Tuesday and she wasted no time taking the cheeky dig.

Awkward! Sunrise's Sam Armytage took a swipe at rival Today's Karl Stefanovic in a very awkward phone call on Monday. Pictured together at the 2017 Logies

'It's Carlos... Karl... you might know me from such shows as the Today show Australia,' the Channel Nine star told Sam.

She sniped: 'I've never watched it, heard it's a bit second rate.'

Karl responded: 'It is a bit second rate, just not in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne... I'm only joking.'

Taking a dig: Karl called Sam to 'clear up' feud reports during an interview with Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Tuesday and she wasted no time taking a dig

While the TV rivals insisted they were just joking, prior to the phone call Karl told Fitzy and Wippa that he 'can't stand' the Sunrise cast.

'I have run into Sam and Edwina,' he said of seeing them on his way to London to cover the Royal Wedding.

'I can't stand them, I can't stand looking at them.'

'I've never watched the Today show': Sam told Karl that the Today show is 'a bit second rate'

'I can't stand them': Karl joked about his run in with the Sunrise cast on his way to London

He added that it was all for laughs. 'I want it on the record that there's no drama between us.'

On Saturday, Sam and her Sunrise colleague Edwina Bartholomew were pictured looking visibly annoyed as they arrived at Heathrow airport ahead of Royal Wedding coverage.

Sam and Eddie had reportedly just learned rival media outlets are staying in the same hotel in St Pancras.

Masterminds: Fitzy (C) and Wippa (L) asked Karl to call Sam as part of a prank

The Daily Telegraph reported on Monday that Georgie [Gardner] had 'awkwardly greeted' the Channel Seven breakfast news crew upon running into them.

Ratings figures from March show Today enjoyed a rare metro ratings victory over Sunrise on Monday 19th March, according to News Corp.

During that time, interest in Married At First Sight was peaking and rumours of behind-the-scenes drama between Karl and Georgie were making headlines.

Approximately 259,000 viewers watched Today in the five capital cities compared to Sunrise's 257,000 viewers that day.
He boasted about being upgraded to First Class during his 23-hour flight from Sydney to London ahead of his reporting duties for the Royal Wedding.

But Karl Stefanovic appears to have missed out on star treatment at London's Pullman Hotel, as he has bemoaned about being left without a minibar.

The 43-year-old complained to Nova's Fitzy and Wippa on Tuesday, telling the radio duo: 'Everyone else has got a minibar, except me!'

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'Everyone else has got a minibar, except me!' Today's Karl Stefanovic bemoans the lack of bar fridge in his hotel room as he covers the Royal Wedding in London

On the Pullman London St Pancras website it lists a mini bar as one of the many items all rooms and suites are fitted with.

Radio host Ryan 'Fitzy' Fitzgerald had asked if Karl had been heating out to bars or pubs in the area after his reporting duties wrapped each day.

'There's nowhere to go at midnight, which I think Channel Nine has done deliberately for me... and I have no mini bar!' Karl responded.

'I think Channel Nine has done deliberately for me': Karl joked about bars and pubs not being open after his duties ending around midnight

Fitzy, who is believed to also be staying in the same hotel, was shocked by the admission: 'Are you serious? Have they done that purposely?'

'Well, I don't know, but everyone else has got a mini bar, except me!' Karl quipped with a light-hearted chuckle.

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Channel Nine for comment.

Before he spoke about his missing minibar, Karl bragged about being given special treatment en route to London.

'You can't help good PR, and I've been getting a lot of PR and that leads to upgrades,' he laughed, confirming his upgrade to First Class on the long-haul flight.

'I've been getting a lot of PR and that leads to upgrades': Before he spoke about his missing minibar, Karl bragged about being given special treatment en route to London with a First Class upgrade on his long-haul flight

Karl has previously admitted to a 'drunk' appearance on the popular breakfast program when he reported on the Logies in 2009.

In a 2014 interview, Karl admitted he had gone out and gotten 'smashed' the night before he appeared flushed, was heard slurring his words and frequently giggling on the show's episode.

'I remember seeing it on Today Tonight and going "Oh God." I really was drunk, or at least I certainly looked and sounded drunk,' he said at the time.

Karl is in London to report on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wedding on Saturday, May 19.
Network Ten is standing by Ali Oetjen after she was sensationally accused of cheating on her ex-boyfriend Grant Kemp.

And the soon-to-be Bachelorette, 32, appeared to have a lot on her mind on Tuesday, when she went for a solitary stroll in Adelaide Park Lands.

The former Bachelor In Paradise star looked rather downcast on her early morning walk and tried to keep a low profile in dark sunglasses.

Glum? Controversial Bachelorette Ali Oetjen looked downcast on an early morning stroll in Adelaide on Tuesday - as Network Ten stands by her despite Grant Kemp's cheating claims

Ali, who works in the sales department for Mix 102.3, dressed casually in a red longsleeve top and loose-fitting cropped pants.

She finished off her look with black sneakers and clutched an iPhone as she walked.

The sighting follows a rather stressful few days for Ali, who was accused last Monday of cheating on her ex-boyfriend.

Is everything OK? The soon-to-be Bachelorette, 32, appeared to have a lot on her mind as she went for a solitary stroll in Adelaide Park Lands

Grant Kemp, 29, claimed to New Idea that Ali had been unfaithful while staying with him in Los Angeles around two months ago.

The US firefighter alleged that he and Ali had returned to his home with several other friends after visiting a nightclub.

That night, at around 2:15am, he briefly left the house to greet other guests, as he lives in a gated community, and was gone for just 'five minutes'.

Trying to clear her head? Ali cut a solitary figure after a difficult few weeks

Keeping casual: Ali, who works in the sales department for Mix 102.3 in Adelaide, dressed casually in a red longsleeve top and loose-fitting cropped pants

He returned to the house with a friend, Sabrina Jaragosky-Hicks, and claimed they both walked in on Ali hooking up with a male house guest.

'She went to a hotel and I guess she left the next night,' Grant added.

A Network Ten spokesperson later said The Bachelorette was still going ahead with Ali in the lead role, adding: 'She is very happy to have the opportunity to find love'.

Taking it in her stride? The sighting follows a rather stressful few days for Ali, who was accused last Monday of cheating on her ex-boyfriend Grant Kemp
Ellie Gonsalves is fast becoming a star on the rise.

And the model-turned actress certainly turned heads as she arrived at the MacGraw Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week show in Sydney on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old went braless and flaunted her bronzed cleavage in a very low-cut pink pantsuit.

Taking the plunge! Ellie Gonsalves, 27, flaunted her cleavage in a low-cut pink pantsuit, as she led the star arrivals at MacGraw's Fashion Week show, in Sydney on Tuesday

Ellie showed off her sensational figure as she posed for photos at the grounds of a picturesque Darling Point residence.

The brunette opted for a plunging pink pantsuit that drew attention to her delicate decolletage, cleavage and slender legs.

Ellie accessorised with a metallic clutch and styled her cropped locks in a deep side part.

Bold: The brunette opted for a plunging pink pantsuit that drew attention to her delicate decolletage and cleavage

Details: Ellie accessorised with a metallic clutch and styled her cropped locks in a deep side part

The social media star added a slick of white polish to her talons, and finished off the look with a matte complexion, bold brows, a smoky eye and a nude colour on her plump pout.

Ellie posed for photos with The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich and Rebecca Harding.

Anna, 31, made a statement in an emerald green two-piece, that offered a glimpse of her taut torso.

Beauty: The social media star added a slick of white polish to her talons, and finished off the look with a matte complexion, bold brows, a smoky eye and a nude colour on her plump pout

Perfect from every angle: The model-turned actress turned her back for the camera, offering a look at her stunning side profile

Familiar faces: Ellie posed for photos with The Bachelor's Anna Heinrich and Rebecca Harding

Black pointy-toe heels elongated her frame while a black cape was draped over her toned shoulders.

Rebecca, 26, cut a chic figure in a white lace smock dress with black panel detailing, accessorised with black ankle boots and a box bag.

Meanwhile, Victoria Lee, 27, looked dainty in a white thigh-skimming frock with puffy sleeves, which she teamed with black patent pointy-toe ankle boots and a statement shoulder bag.

Differing looks: Anna, 31, opted for an emerald green two-piece, while Rebecca, 26, opted for a white smock dress with black panels

Stylish: Victoria Lee, 27, looked dainty in a white thigh-skimming frock with puffy sleeves

Coordinating style: The David Jones ambassador paired the look with black patent pointy-toe ankle boots and a statement shoulder bag

She's a natural: The blonde beauty styled her semi-straight locks in a centre part and opted for a minimal makeup palette

E! Australia host Ksenija Lukich, 28, opted for a navy frock with bell sleeves and a bird motif, teamed with black ankle boots and cat eye sunglasses.

While Isabella Manfredi, 27, showed off her edgy style in a white high-neck blouse, lightwash skinny-leg jeans, black glitter knee-high boots and a heart emblazoned clutch.

A-list guests viewed the outdoor runway show, where models were seen in ensembles that brought to mind a romantic and whimsical feel.

Quirky: E! Australia host Ksenija Lukich, 28, opted for a navy frock with bell sleeves and a bird motif

Accessories: The presenter teamed the look with a statement clutch and cat eye sunglasses

Edgy: Isabella Manfredi, 27, showed off her edgy style in a white high-neck blouse, lightwash skinny-leg jeans and black glitter knee-high boots

Silk, lace and semi-sheer fabrics featured with a predominantly pastel-hued colour palette.

On Monday, Ellie opened and closed the Swim show at Fashion Week, and revealed to The Courier Mail that she hasn't always been confident with her curves.

She told the publication: 'I definitely struggled with my body growing up.'

The future's bright: The brunette held onto a love heart emblazoned clutch and shielded her eyes behind designer sunglasses
They will ring in their 18th wedding anniversary in November.

And Catherine Zeta-Jones, 48, walked hand-in-hand with her 74-year-old husband Michael Douglas when they stepped out Monday night.

The pair swung by the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan to attend a charity event for the Robin Hood Foundation, which aims to help New York's poor.

Just a number?: Catherine Zeta-Jones, 48, walked hand-in-hand with her 74-year-old husband Michael Douglas when they attended a Robin Hood Foundation event in New York on Monday

Catherine, who hoofed up a storm for her Oscar-winning performance in Chicago, played up her chiseled frame in a glinting cocktail dress.

Though mostly black, it featured a bit of white-trimmed frilly drapery running down the front of its right side, complementing her jeweled earrings.

The actress, who is less than a decade older than Michael's firstborn child, balanced on platform heels and carried a black clutch to the event.

Michael wore a black suit, white pocket square and white dress shirt, adding a splash of color with a burgundy tie and slipping on black shoes.

VIP: The son of 101-year-old Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas was glimpsed inside the event schmoozing with none other than Bill and Melinda Gates

The son of 101-year-old Hollywood icon Kirk Douglas was glimpsed inside the event schmoozing with none other than Bill and Melinda Gates.

Journalist Susan Braudy accused Michael of having sexually harassed her while she was working for his production company in the 1980s. The claims include that he masturbated in front of her without her consent, per The Hollywood Reporter.

He denied the allegations before The Hollywood Reporter ran them in January, and Catherine called his statement 'honest, open and transparent' on The View.

Fabulous: Catherine, who hoofed up a storm for her Oscar-winning performance in Chicago, played up her chiseled frame in a glinting cocktail dress

Michael, who once told the Guardian cunnilingus gave him the HPV that resulted in his throat cancer, married his first wife Diandra Luker in 1977.

She gave birth to his son Cameron Douglas in 1978 and filed in 1995 for a divorce that was only finalized in 2000, while Michael and Catherine were an item.

Catherine and Michael welcomed their son Dylan in August 2000 and married at the iconic Plaza Hotel on 5th Avenue that November.

On the go: Michael wore a black suit, white pocket square and white dress shirt, adding a splash of color with a burgundy tie and slipping on black shoes

Their daughter Carys, whom Catherine was heavily pregnant with when she danced at the Oscars and accepted her trophy for Chicago, arrived in April 2003.

Monday night's charity event also played host to Catherine's competitor - Jennifer Lopez, who showed off one of her statuesque legs in a split gown.

Catherine and Jennifer were both cat as 'Cocaine Godmother' Griselda Blanco in TV movies - the former for a Lifetime release last year, the latter for an upcoming HBO project.

When you got it: Monday night's charity event also played host to Catherine's competitor - Jennifer Lopez, who showed off one of her statuesque legs in a split gown
Nothing appears to be off limits for Married At First Sight star-turned-comedian Ryan Gallagher, who is currently touring his stand-up show 'Looking For Love'.

But while Ryan's bawdy jokes mainly focus on his former castmates, the Maroubra-based tradesman is also not afraid of using self-deprecating humor.

According to News Corp, the 29-year-old admitted during a performance at the University of Sydney's Manning Bar that he lost his virginity to a prostitute.

'That's true... unfortunately': During a recent stand-up show, Married At First Sight's Ryan Gallagher revealed he lost his virginity to a 36-year-old prostitute when he was just 14

'I was 14 and she was 36,' he told the crowd over the weekend, before clarifying that the woman in question was a 'hooker'.

'Thats actually true, unfortunately,' he added.

While he poked fun of himself on-stage at the student bar, Ryan's other material seemed to centre around his MAFS co-stars - in particular his 'ex-wife' Davina Rankin.

She's not laughing! While he poked fun of himself on-stage at the student bar, Ryan's other material seemed to centre around his MAFS co-stars - in particular his 'ex-wife' Davina Rankin

Low blow: Ryan reportedly compared Davina to the animal protagonist from the 1995 children's movie Babe and made other quips about her physical appearance

Ryan reportedly compared Davina to the animal protagonist from the 1995 children's movie Babe and made other quips about her physical appearance.

Davina, 27, told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that all the women from the show are 'disgusted' by his behaviour, and claimed Australia is 'finally seeing the real Ryan'.

The Instagram model decided to speak out after Ryan's claimed he slept with MAFS co-star Ashley Irvin after the cameras stopped rolling.

'Couldnt f**king care less': New Corp also reported that Ryan claimed he 'couldn't f**king care less' that he no longer speaks to Sarah Roza (left) and Nasser Sultan (right)

New Corp also reported that Ryan claimed he 'couldn't f**king care less' that he no longer speaks to Sarah Roza and Nasser Sultan.

He also described Troy Delmege as 'f**king crackers' and mocked Dean Wells' aspiring hip hop career.

Furthermore, it was claimed Ryan revealed graphic details about fellow TV groom Telv Williams' anatomy onstage.
Anna Heinrich rarely puts a foot wrong when she attends exclusive fashion events .

But the former Bachelor star, 31, opted for a very unusual ensemble while at Australian Fashion Week on Tuesday.

She arrived at the Macgraw runway show in Sydney wearing a green sequinned crop top and skirt.

Lean in green! Anna Heinrich flaunted her toned tummy in a BIZARRE sequin crop top and skirt ensemble while attending Australian Fashion Week in Sydney on Tuesday

The midriff-baring top showcased Anna's toned tummy, however it appeared to be rather ill-fitting, particularly across her chest and collar area.

It also featured long bell sleeves which added a theatrical touch to her outfit.

She completed her quirky daytime look with black high heels.

Trim and toned: The midriff-baring top showcased Anna's toned tummy, however it appeared to be rather ill-fitting, particularly across her chest and collar area

Anna styled her blonde hair in a low ponytail, and her makeup consisted of pink cheeks, a nude lip, kohl rimmed eyes and lashes of mascara.

She also posed for photos alongside Rebecca Harding and Ellie Gonsalves.

The criminal lawyer previously attended a Fashion Week event alongside Luciana Barroso, the wife of actor Matt Damon.

Here come the girls! Anna posed for photos alongside Rebecca Harding and Ellie Gonsalves

The women were pictured front row at the Jets swimwear runway show on Monday.

Luciana opted for a boho look with a burnt orange, off-the-shoulder dress, while Anna turned heads in an all-black power suit.

Aside from Fashion Week events, Anna is currently in the final preparation stages for her wedding to Tim Robards later this year.
Terri Irwin had a big smile on her face as she was greeted by her burly bodyguard Mick at Brisbane International Airport on Thursday.

Travelling with her son Robert and daughter Bindi, the Australia Zoo matriarch appeared to share a joke with the security guard after the family touch down following a trip to Los Angeles.

Her pal Mick met with the clan at the airport's arrival area and walked them safely to their the car.

The man making Terri smile! Australia Zoo matriarch Irwin beams as she is greeted by her burly security guard after arriving in Brisbane airport with her daughter Bindi and son Robert

He appeared to have a great rapport with the family, with the group spotted having an animated conversation.

At one point Robert also laughed at a joke as they made their way across the airport parking lot.

Friends: Bodyguard Mick appeared to have a great rapport with the family, with the group spotted having an animated conversation

Lots of laughs: At one point Robert laughed at a joke as they made their way across the airport parking lot

Casual: The family wore casual ensembles for their long flight

Having a laugh: They appeared to laugh at a hilarious joke as they made their way across the airport parking lot

Good on you, Robert! Doting son Robert pushed some of the family's luggage

Meanwhile Bindi and her boyfriend Chandler kept a low profile as they followed the trio from behind with their own luggage cart.

Mick helped the clan pack their belongings into a Lexus four-wheel drive, before driving them back to Australia Zoo.

The family's arrival in Brisbane comes after they recently unveiled Steve Irwin's star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Low key: Terri carried a backpack containing her carry-on belongings

Happy to be home: Meanwhile Bindi and her boyfriend Chandler kept a low profile as they followed the trio from behind with their own luggage cart

Special moment: Their arrival in Brisbane comes after they recently unveiled Steve Irwin's star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame

It was an incredibly emotional and happy moment for the family as they remembered the great work and legacy left by the late Wildlife Warrior during the ceremony.

In her speech, Bindi teared up as she paid tribute to her father, saying: 'I never in my wildest dreams imagined this would come true.'

'Together we will continue to fight for everything Dad worked so hard for.'

'He was the best and most incredible conservationist, but also the best dad,' her brother Robert added during his own speech.

Helping hand: Mick helped the family pack their belongings into a Lexus four-wheel drive

Chauffeur: He drove the family back to Australia Zoo

It is the 2635th star to be placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Celebrity chef Curtis Stone, Rove McManus and Beau Bridges were among the guests.

Steve, 44, died on September 4, 2006 while filming on the Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas when a stingray struck him with a barb to the heart.
Former child star Sarah Monahan previously criticised Cate Blanchett for thanking her agent, Robin Gardiner - who was her abuser Robert Hughes' wife - during a 2014 Oscars speech.

And the former Hey Dad! star has again lashed out at the Hollywood actress, for her involvement in the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns.

In an opinion piece published by News Corp on Tuesday, the 41-year-old criticised the Oscar winner and others who Sarah claims are only involved in Hollywood's anti-harassment movement 'because it's trendy.'

'Not buying it': Sarah Monahan (L) has criticised Cate Blanchett (R) for her involvement in the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns. Cate is pictured during the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 14

'[#Metoo] is led by women who are only there now because it's trendy,' she wrote.

'Who only really feel it's OK now because there's power in numbers, but had no desire to speak up back in the day when it was a career killer.'

Last week, Cannes jury president Cate led 82 women on the Cannes red carpet in a silent protest over the lack of female directors at the film festival.

Abuse: Sarah (pictured centre, front) was among countless victims who suffered Robert Hughes' (left, front) sexual abuse on the set of Hey Dad!, which airing in 1987

In response, Sydney-born Sarah wrote: 'I'm not buying Cate Blanchett being the one to lead the charge here,' before citing the actress' previous comments about Roman Polanski and Woody Allen.

Sarah's grievances with Cate stem from her 2014 Best Lead Actress Oscars speech, after she won the award for her role in Blue Jasmine, which was directed by Woody.

During the speech, Cate thanked her agent Robyn Gardiner, who is the wife of Sarah's abuser, Robert Hughes.

Polanski and Allen have both been separately accused of abuse, but both have denied the respective allegations.

Cate has denied keeping quiet about these accusations and previously told CNNs Amanpour she was unaware of the extent of claims while working alongside him.

'I dont think Ive stayed silent at all,' she said in March. 'At the time that I worked with Woody Allen. I knew nothing of the allegations.'

Controversy: During Cate's 2014 Oscars speech, she thanked her agent Robyn Gardiner (pictured), who is the wife of Srah's abuser, Robert Hughes. Thje couple are pictured arriving at the Downing Centre court in Sydney, on March 31, 2014. At the time, he pleaded not guilty to 11 charges relating to the sexual and indecent assault of five girls

The same month, Cate also spoke out about the role of social media in deciding guilt of high-profile men such as Woody Allen.

'If these allegations need to be re examined, that in my understanding they've been through court, then I'm wholeheartedly in the support of that. Social media's fantastic about raising awareness about issues but it's not the judge in jury,' she said of the case.

Sarah was among countless victims who suffered Hughes' sexual abuse on the set of Hey Dad!, which began airing in 1987.

'It terrifies me that the women who have decided to step up and take over the campaign are the same women who ignored the problem in the past. (Meryl Streep, Penelope Cruz, Natalie Portman all supported Polanski),' she wrote.

She also suggested that while women's empowerment campaigns are necessary, silent protests like the one in Cannes over the weekend are ineffective.

Silent protest: Last week, Cannes jury president Cate led 82 women on the Cannes red carpet in a silent protest over the lack of female directors at the film festival

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Cate for comment.

Earlier this month, Cate accused disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinsten of inappropriate behaviour.

'I think he really primarily preyed, like most predators, on the vulnerable,' she told Variety.

'I mean I got a bad feeling from him. He would often say to me, 'We're not friends.''

Harvey responded to the claims in a statement released by his spokesperson.

'Mr Weinstein and Ms Blanchett worked on eight films together, from early on in the The Talented Mr Ripley to her first Oscar for her role in The Aviator and her additional Academy nominations,' the statement read.

'Mr Weinstein believes there were never any personal or even professional disagreements between the two.'
He revealed to Daily Mail Australia earlier this month that he was about to take his relationship with girlfriend Laura Byrne to the next level.

And on Tuesday, Matthew 'Matty J' Johnson showered his lady love with affection at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney.

The Sydney-based marketing manager, 30, placed his hand on Laura's stomach as he pulled her in close for a romantic smooch.

All smiles! Matty J places hand on girlfriend Laura Byrne's stomach as he pulls her in for loved-up smooch at Sydney Fashion Week... following the Bachelor couple's exciting news

The loved-up duo were all smiles, after announcing they have decided to move in together next month.

Laura, 31, cosied up to her Bachelor beau at the star-studded event and happily locked lips with Matty J in front of photographers and passersby.

Closing their eyes for the kiss, the pair appeared in their own world as they savored the sweet moment together.

Pucker up! Laura, 31, cosied up to her Bachelor beau at the star-studded event and happily locked lips with Matty J in front of photographers and passersby

Svelte stunner! Laura showed off her slender figure in cream trousers, nude heels and a form-fitting blue jacket

Laura showed off her slender figure in cream trousers, nude heels and a form-fitting blue jacket.

She also sported jewellery and a clutch from her own label ToniMay, as Matty J also appeared to accessorise with menswear rings from the brand.

Styling her shoulder-length locks in relaxed waves, Laura kept to a minimal makeup palette, consisting of a dewy complexion, groomed brows, lashings of mascara and a nude lip.

Meanwhile, Matty looked suave in a grey suit with a skinny tie and purple button-up dress shirt.

Proud pair! Laura sported jewellery and a clutch from her own label ToniMay, as Matty J also appeared to accessorise with menswear rings from the brand

He teamed the dapper ensemble with a pair of round-lens shades, leather dress shoes and a wool plaid coat.

Laura and Matty J fell in love on his season of The Bachelor in 2017 after he had his heartbroken during Bacheloette Georgia Love's season.

They lovebirds recently returned to Sydney from a romantic escape in Bali, as they prepare to celebrate their one-year anniversary as a couple next week.

Strike a pose! Matty looked suave in a grey suit with a skinny tie and purple button-up dress shirt as he pouted for the cameras

Looking smart! Matty teamed his dapper ensemble with a pair of round-lens shades, leather dress shoes and a wool plaid coat

Earlier this month at the Paddington store launch of Laura's jewellery label ToniMay, Matty J gleamed with joy when he told Daily Mail Australia: 'Shes moving into my house!'

The hunk revealed he will be taking his relationship with Laura to the next level in June when she moves into his Bondi abode.

'Its a nice little bit to look forward to, we were always umming and ahhing if I would move to Rushcutters Bay or she would move to Bondi and the way its worked out, we decided Bondi,' Matty J said.

Coming with Laura will be her adorable three-legged rescue dog Buster, with Matty J hopeful to help the pup combat his fear of the ocean.
Many have attributed Masterchef's return to ratings success to the show's clear focus on drama-free, family-friendly television.

So it's little surprise that social media blunders such as the one that occurred on Tuesday would be treated with utmost importance.

A seemingly innocent image featuring the show's three judges holding salads was quickly deleted from Matt Preston's Twitter on Tuesday - their actions were fine, but something on the wall behind them clearly wasn't.

Can you spot the VERY rude hidden message in this photo of MasterChef judges Matt Preston, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan?

In a post captioned 'Judges lunch #virtuous #masterchefau' Matt, George Calombaris and Gary Mehigan were pictured looking disappointed with their healthy lunch.

Likely not as disappointed as the faces they pulled when discovering they'd been standing in front of a sign that read 'Room Of Bulls**t Conversations.'

The small, laminated A4 notice could be seen just right of Matt's shoulder and immediately left of George's head.

It's unclear exactly what room the judging trio were standing in, but the sign was almost certainly to blame for the post's swift deletion.

All good? A seemingly innocent image featuring the show's three judges holding salads was quickly deleted from Matt Preston's Twitter - their actions were fine, but something on the wall behind them clearly wasn't

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Channel 10 for comment.

Masterchef has fared impressively in the ratings so far this season, routinely beating out Seven's House Rules and Nine's The Voice.

On social media, fans have praised the program's notable shift away from drama, with a focus on the quality of food on offer.

Whoops! The post was swiftly deleted, likely after the judges discovered they were standing in front of a sign that read 'Room Of BullS**t Conversations'

The culturally diverse casting has also been applauded by fans.

After losing the ratings battle with The Voice upon its premiere last Monday, Masterchef followed up with victories on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday the 14th of May, the show once again reigned supreme over The Voice, but did narrowly lose to Seven's special two-part series 'Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You.'

On a quiet TV night overall, Masterchef claimed 723,000 metro viewers, while Delta Goodrem's Newton-John biopic registered 735,000.
Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan certainly looks to be enjoying his newfound fame.

And now the 50-year-old has been pictured mingling with Kyle Sandilands' girlfriend Imogen Anthony at Sydney's Mercedes-Benz Australian Fashion Week.

The reality star cut a casual figure as he posed for photos with the glamour model on Tuesday.

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Unlikely friends! Married At First Sight's Nasser Sultan, 50, mingled with Kyle Sandilands' girlfriend Imogen Anthony [R], 27, at Fashion Week on Tuesday

Nasser opted for a blue polka dot button-up shirt for the event, teamed with lightwash jeans and a purple jacket.

The self-confessed beauty afficionado accessorised with narrow-frame reflective sunglasses and black and white Puma sneakers.

Nasser's brows were well-groomed and his skin was primped to perfection.

Cool and casual: Nasser opted for a blue polka dot button-up shirt, lightwash jeans, a purple jacket and black and white Puma sneakers

The Channel Nine personality was in high spirits as he posed for photos with Imogen and other female beauties.

Meanwhile, Imogen, 27, made a statement in a lime green halterneck frock that featured a daring thigh split.

The aspiring fashion designer teamed the look with black latex thigh-high boots, a black faux-fur jacket, white narrow-frame reflective sunglasses and a silver lip ring.

Ready for his close-up: Nasser was later seen posing with another blonde beauty inside Sydney's Carriageworks

Beauty look: The Channel Nine personality drew attention to well-groomed brows and a silky smooth complexion

Imogen's platinum locks were styled in a low ponytail with several strands left out.

Last month, Nasser took to Instagram giving fans an insight into how he keeps his complexion silky smooth.

'Welcome back to Nasser's beauty blog,' Nasser began his video demonstration. 'If you want skin as great as me this is what you need to do.'

Insight: Last month, Nasser took to Instagram giving fans an insight into how he keeps his complexion silky smooth

The video then cut to Nasser reclining, while his face was adorned with a beauty mask and his eyes were covered with cucumber slices.

'Cucumber for the eyes, mask for the face,' he explained. 'Apply that every couple of days and you'll look fabulous.'

Nasser's followers were quick to respond, thanking the Egyptian personal trainer for his handy hints.
Naomi Campbell stole the spotlight for the second time in one night on Monday evening as new movie BlacKkKlansman was honoured with a star-studded after-party at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival.

The supermodel looked typically glamourous after making an entrance ahead of the late night celebration on behalf of Spike Lees latest offering, a crime-comedy based on the true story of an African-American detective who infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan.

Opting for a tasteful sequinned evening gown with a plunging front, Naomi, 47, caught the eye while mingling with her fellow guests.

Looking good: Naomi Campbell stole the spotlight for the second time in one night on Monday evening as new movie BlacKkKlansman was honoured with a star-studded after-party at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival

The model added to her look with a stylish black choker, while matching stiletto heels rounded things off.

Earlier that night Naomi proved she still has the capacity to take centre stage after arriving on the Cannes Croisette in a stunning dress from French fashion house Poiret.

The catwalk veteran left very little to the imagination as she flaunted her figure in a see-through mesh bodice, with sparkling sequins covering up her modesty.

Striking: The supermodel looked typically glamourous after making an entrance ahead of the late night celebration on behalf of Spike Lees latest offering

Elegant: Opting for a tasteful sequinned evening gown with a plunging front, Naomi, 47, caught the eye

Naomi combined her saucy string bodice with a silky teal overlay dress with an ornate gold bow, as her minuscule waist was defined by a metallic belt.

The model wasn't afraid of taking fashion risks for her red carpet moment, slipping into a pair of quirky black and yellow heels with a unique square heel.

She posed with her signature sultry pout as shimmering white and emerald accessories and a black choker necklace polished off her stunning ensemble.

Star-studded: The event was also attended by Donald Glover, who rocked a jazzy printed shirt for the occasion

Date night: The actor-cum-singer also made a rare outing with his partner Michelle at the bash

Metallic magic: Laura Harrier, who plays Patrice in the acclaimed new flick, stunned in a silver mini dress

Bevy of beauties: Angolan model Maria Borges [R] and Cindy Bruna [L] also graced the event

The London native swept back her dark chocolate tresses into a low ponytail, while glossy nude make-up accentuated her natural beauty.

Her glamorous outing comes after the fashion favourite sent fans wild as she hinted at retirement during Cannes' Fashion For Relief event on Sunday.

Naomi stunned with her revelation, admitting at the charity event: I dont know if I can walk much longer, its been 32 years.'

Family affair: Tonya Lewis Lee shared a snap with son Jackson outside of the event

The man of the hour: Spike Lee rocked up to the event in odd trainers after receiving a standing ovation for his latest masterpiece

Dare to bare: Model Cindy opted for an eccentric - and very revealing - ensemble for the occasion

Glittered with celebs: Chris Tucker was sharp-suited for the bash in a dapper gold blazer

The runway queen went on to discuss passing on the baton to her younger counterparts: But its an honour to walk Id love for it to be carried on by the younger generation and for me to sit in the audience and watch.

Naomi has been a fixture in the fashion industry since she was 16 when she graced the cover of Elle magazine in 1986.

Over the decades, the supermodel has appeared on more than 500 covers of glossy magazines as well as working with fashion powerhouses from Chanel to Prada.

High spirits: Naomi beamed as she signed autographs for fans following the film's premiere earlier that evening

Popular: Naomi proved she still has the capacity to take centre stage on Monday evening

Let's go: The model greeted onlookers as she departed the Cannes Croisette following her latest appearance in the south of France

The striking stunner was the first black model to grace the cover of TIME magazine, British Vogue, French Vogue and Russia Vogue.

However, despite her reputation as one of the world's most beautiful women, Naomi recently admitted she has always been 'self-conscious' of her body.

The star - whose model looks are as prevalent as ever - revealed her figure insecurities when speaking to GMB hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid about celebrities stripping off and posting nude selfies on social media last month.

Saucy style: earlier that night Naomi displayed her flawless physique in a scanty see-through bodice at the film's red carpet premiere

Head-turning: The supermodel left very little to the imagination as she flaunted her enviable figure in a see-through mesh bodice, with sparkling sequins covering up her modesty

Stealing the show: Naomi combined her saucy string bodice with a silky teal overlay dress with an ornate gold bow as her minuscule waist was defined by a metallic belt

Risk taker: The catwalk icon wasn't afraid of taking fashion risks for her red carpet moment, slipping into a pair of quirky black and yellow heels with a unique square heel

All that glitters: Naomi posed with her signature sultry pout as shimmering white and emerald accessories and a black choker necklace polished off her stunning ensemble

Shimmering: The London native swept back her dark chocolate tresses into a low ponytail, while glossy nude make-up accentuated her natural beauty

Asked for her standpoint on the craze, which is popular with stars including Kim Kardashian and Emily Ratajkowski, she confessed: 'That's them. That's what they want to do.

'I can't do it. I've always been self-conscious of my body. When I first got to New York, if I wore something tight, I would wrap a cardigan around me to hide my back.'

When a shocked Susanna told Naomi her revelation would come as a surprise to many of the women watching at home, the modelling icon added: 'That's how I've always felt. It took me years for me to feel comfortable doing lingerie.'

The end in sight? Her glamorous outing comes after the fashion favourite sent fans wild as she hinted at retirement during Canne's Fashion For Relief event on Sunday

Making an exit? Naomi stunned with her revelation, admitting at the charity event: I dont know if I can walk much longer, its been 32 years'

Passing the torch: The runway queen went on to discuss her younger counterparts: Id love for it to be carried on by the younger generation and for me to sit in the audience and watch

Iconic: The striking stunner was the first black model to grace the cover of TIME magazine, British Vogue, French Vogue and Russia Vogue
Nasser Sultan didn't come close to finding love on Married At First Sight.

And while the 51-year-old's pursuit of romance appears to be on hold, his appearance at Sydney Fashion Week on Tuesday proved he's having no problems finding platonic affection.

The reality star was the belle of the ball at the Blair Archibald runway show held at Carriageworks, where he cuddled up to a new mystery woman.

Soaking up the spotlight! MAFS' Nasser Sultan debuts a tattooed mystery woman at Sydney Fashion Week... and he looks in his element as he rubs shoulders with celebs

After rubbing shoulders with the likes of Imogen Anthony, Nasser was seen putting on a friendly display with a tattooed blonde woman.

By now, the reality star knows that praise at fashion shows isn't simply earned based on the company you keep - the clothes you wear are equally important.

The over 50s personal trainer nailed it on that front too, going all out with a purple over-shirt, blue button-down top and ripped denim jeans.

Taking a leaf out of the cool, calm and collected celebrity playbook, he was also frequently seen wearing sunglasses inside.

Belle of the ball! The reality star was the belle of the ball at the Blair Archibald runway show held at Carriageworks

His guest made a statement in a black halterneck top, which featured cut-out portions above both hips.

Her arm and shoulder tattoos were on display in one event snap that saw her joining Nasser in an obligatory side-profile pose.

Statement! His guest made a statement in a black halterneck top, which featured cut-out portions above both hips

The nature of Nasser's relationship with the woman remains unknown.

Elsewhere, the Married At First Sight fan favourite looked in his element alongside the always elaborately dressed Imogen.

The 27-year-old made a statement in a lime green halterneck frock that featured a daring thigh split.

The aspiring fashion designer teamed the look with black latex thigh-high boots, a black faux-fur jacket, white narrow-frame reflective sunglasses and a silver lip ring.
They celebrated their wedding on Friday, tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Queensland.

And now former competitive swimmer Lisa Curry and her Elvis impersonator husband, Mark Tabone, are honeymooning in India.

Lisa - who on Tuesday also celebrated her 56th birthday - took to Instagram to share some snaps from their trip.

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They're a picture of newlywed bliss! Lisa Curry (left), 56, and Elvis impersonator husband Mark Tabone (right) honeymoon in India after tying the knot in an intimate ceremony in Queensland

Lisa shared images of herself with a birthday cake as she and Mark celebrated the occasion.

'Wedding, Mother's Day, honeymoon and birthday all in a few days,' Lisa began her post.

'Thank you my gorgeous husband, I'm being very spoilt.'

Birthday girl! Lisa shared images of herself with a birthday cake as she and Mark celebrated the occasion

Make a wish! Lisa was pictured blowing out candles in one happy photograph

In one snap, Mark had his arm around Lisa as they posed with staff members at a restaurant in Delhi.

Lisa also shared a photo from the streets of India, saying how much she was enjoying the country.

'If you've never been to India, you should...amazing place and beautiful people,' Lisa wrote.

Just married: Lisa and Mark married in an intimate ceremony on Friday at their $1.125 million Sunshine Coast property, with guests including Keira Maguire and Tegan Martin

Meanwhile, Mark shared a shot of himself kissing Lisa on the cheek on his Instagram.

'A very happy honeymoon birthday to my beautiful wife,' Mark wrote.

Lisa and Mark married in an intimate ceremony on Friday at their $1.125 million Sunshine Coast property, with guests including Keira Maguire and Tegan Martin.

It's believed they were invited after they appeared together on Channel Ten reality show, I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here, last year.

New love: In 2015, Lisa and Mark first confirmed their relationship. Lisa was previously married to former Ironman, Grant Kenny, 54, from 1986 to 2017

On the day, Lisa stunned in a sequinned pink dress, while guests were instructed to wear all-white.

In 2015, Lisa and Mark first confirmed their relationship.

Lisa was previously married to former Ironman, Grant Kenny, 54, from 1986 to 2017.
There is yet to be a Cannes red carpet she hasn't dominated.

And Bella Hadid once again stole the show as she attended the BlacKkKlansman premiere at the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival on Monday night.

The 21-year-old supermodel was sure to turn heads as she posed for the sea of photographers at the star-studded event - just days after revealing she felt insecure about having a 'crooked smile'.

Metallic magic: Bella Hadid once again stole the show as she attended the BlacKkKlansman premiere at the 71st Annual Cannes Film Festival on Monday night

Bella's show-stopping beaded gown hugged her slender frame and accentuated her pert posterior as she sashayed down the red carpet during the cinematic event, which received a 10 minute standing ovation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The raven-haired beauty continued to dazzle in the chic number as she accessorised with a number of thick diamond bangles and statement drop earrings.

She showcased the dazzling jewellery with aplomb while she styled her glossy tresses into a sleek bun and worked a glamorous beauty look, equipped with a berry lip and smokey eye.

Flawless: The 21-year-old model was sure to turn heads as she posed for photographers at the star-studded event - after revealing she felt insecure about her 'crooked smile'

Gorgeous: Bella's show-stopping beaded gown hugged her slender frame and accentuated her pert posterior as she sashayed down the red carpet during the cinematic event

Her confident display came just days after she told InStyle that she was once insecure about her dazzling smile.

She told the publication: 'I was always really self-conscious of myself and I didn't like my smile, I thought I had a crooked smile my whole life.

'When I started modeling, it was such an intense force that I guess I just didn't smile and I didn't want to, and then it became a thing that I didnt smile.

Stunning: The raven-haired beauty continued to dazzle in the chic number as she accessorised with a number of thick diamond bangles and statement drop earrings

'That's a thing of the past!': Despite being a frequent fixture on the Cannes party scene, Bella recently told Harper's Bazaar that she much prefers quiet evenings at home

'I just wasn't really feeling well and I didnt like my smile.'

Despite being a frequent fixture on the Cannes party scene, Bella also told Harper's Bazaar this week that she much prefers quiet evenings at home.

Speaking to her model sister Gigi, she confessed: 'People think Im such a party girl, but thats a thing of the past. I cant wait to just sit on the couch this weekend!

'Now that our careers have gotten to the heights that they have and our job is to be around people all day and go to parties, the last thing I want to do on a Saturday night is go out. I just want to be around people who love me.'

And Bella admitted there's another reason why fans rarely see her smile when gracing the covers of magazines and fronting fashion campaigns.

She said: 'People always say I have the same facial expressions. But what they dont realize is that for a long time I looked that way because photographers on set would direct me to look bored or very nonchalant. But it isnt necessarily the way I really am.'
They tied the knot in June of last year after nearly two years together.

And Duncan Bannatyne, 69, couldn't keep his eyes off his 38-year-old wife Nigora Whitehorn on Monday, as they attended the NHS Heroes Awards together in London's Hilton Hotel.

The millionaire businessman kept a close arm on his spouse as they were seen arriving at the star-studded awards event, with Nigora putting on a sparkling display in a gold sequinned gown.

Loved-up: Duncan Bannatyne, 69, looked happier than ever on Monday night as he attended the NHS Heroes Awards in London with wife Nigora Whitehorn, 38

Nigora - who was born in Uzbekistan - put on a stunning display in the floor-length golden gown adorned with sequins, as the plunging neckline perfectly showed off her ample cleavage.

The stunning beauty had her honeyed tresses styled into a curled updo, accessorising her dress with red pointed-toe heels and a green box clutch.

Meanwhile Duncan - who is 31 years Nigora's senior - was typically dapper in a grey two-piece suit and maroon tie as the pair joined the star-studded lineup at the event honouring the everyday heroes working in the NHS.

Gorgeous: The Uzbekistan-born sparkled in a beautiful gold sequinned gown as she arrived her husband's side, while the multimillionaire businessman looked dapper in a grey suit

Thrilled: Duncan and Nigora - who is 31 years his junior - put on a beaming display at the awards event, after tying the knot in June of last year

This is multimillionaire Duncan's third marriage after previously tying the knot with Gail Brodie and Joanne McCue, in 1987 and 2006 respectively.

He also has four children with his first wife Gail and two with his second wife Joanna, while Nigora also has a 15-year-old daughter from a previousl relationship.

Recently one of Duncan's oldest children Abi made the shock revelation that she was lucky to be alive, after mistaking deadly sepsis for a hangover, only revealing the news to her father days after she was rushed to hospital.

Abi, from Middlesbrough, is now speaking about her ordeal in a bid to raise awareness of sepsis and help others recognise the signs, saying: 'It was a really frightening experience and I dread to think the outcome if I had not listened,' she said. 'It could have been a lot worse.'

Hometime: Following an evening honouring the NHS Duncan and Nigora were seen heading home in the back of a taxi

Happy: Nigora looked stunning in her gold gown, accessorising with red pointed-toe shoes and a green box clutch bag, styling her dark hair into a curled updo

Since tying the knot again last summer, Duncan has openly spoken about his plans to have more children in the future, with Nigora saying on This Morning last year: 'Of course we want children together. Well be planning the future family. I would like to have at least two boys.

'I cant wait to be a dad again,' Duncan added to the conversation, before Nigoria relayed the reason why she wants to expand her family with Duncan: 'Hes an amazing father. I'm proud of how he is with my daughter.

'She adores Duncan and couldnt ask for better stepfather. Hes going to be an amazing father to my future children.'
Her mother Victoria Beckham, was in one of the most famous pop bands of all the - The Spice Girls - and it looks like her daughter could be following in her footsteps.

The six-year-old appeared in a short video clip on Victoria's Instagram on Tuesday, where she could be seen happily singing on her way to school.

Harper belted out the words to A Million Dreams, from Hugh Jackman's latest movie, The Greatest Showman.

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Sweet: Victoria Beckham shared a clip of her daughter Harper singing A Million Dreams from The Greatest Showman as she went to school on Tuesday

Bond: Victoria and Harper are clearly very close and her Instagram page often features pictures of her youngest child

She was clad in her purple summer school dress and wore a matching purple blazer, wearing her long brunette locks in plaited pigtails.

Only the back of her head could be seen as she walked out of the family home, while humming the tune, with her mother filming the sweet moment.

Lyrics to the song include: 'A million dreams is all it's gonna take/A million dreams for the world we're gonna make.

Happy Harper: She was clad in her purple summer school dress and wore a matching purple blazer, wearing her long brunette locks in plaited pigtails

'There's a house we can build/Every room inside is filled/With things from far away/The special things I compile/Each one there to make you smile/On a rainy day.'

Victoria captioned the clip with the words: 'Happy Harper x kisses,' alongside a host of heart emojis.

The Greatest Showman celebrates the birth of showbusiness, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.

Iconic: The Greatest Showman celebrates the birth of showbusiness, and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation

Also starring Zac Efron, Michelle Williams and Zendaya, the show has proven to be a real hit.

Harper is not the only person who loves to sing in her family. Her big brother, Cruz, 13, is something of a pop star in the making.

He regularly likes to perform his own pop covers on social media and has signed with Justin Bieber's manager.
She hinted at a reunion with her on-off beau following his release from prison earlier this month.

And Lauren Goodger has added further fuel to the fire of reconciliation as she confirmed she did reunite with her jailbird ex Joey Morrisson during his temporary release from prison, in her latest column for Now Magazine.

Keeping fans guessing over the nature of their relationship, the 31-year-old former TOWIE star gushed about her former flame, saying it was 'lovely' to see him as he gears up for his release.

Reunited: Lauren Goodger has added further fuel to the fire of reconciliation as she confirmed she did reunite with her jailbird ex Joey Morrisson during his temporary release from prison, in her latest column for Now Magazine

Jailed: Morrisson was convicted of a string of offences back in 2010, including possession of a firearm, kidnapping, blackmail and actual bodily harm

She said: 'After a long sentence like that, they don't just boot you out LOL'

'I've kept it off my social media because I want to enjoy it

'Yes he was out and it was lovely to see him, of course!'

Morrisson was convicted of a string of offences back in 2010, including possession of a firearm, kidnapping, blackmail and actual bodily harm.

Smitten: Keeping fans guessing over the nature of their relationship, the 31-year-old former TOWIE star gushed about her former flame, saying it was 'lovely' to see him as he gears up for his release

He was sentenced to 16 years at HMP Highpoint South prison.

His sister Charlotte first shared news of his release, posting a snap of her shopping with her brother in Milton Keynes.

The Instagram post was captioned: 'Words can't explain the feeling of my brother home after 9 years... love you always my joey'.

Lauren enjoyed a short-lived romance with Morrisson and called it quits after 15 months together in September 2017.

However she has since confessed they are in touch.

The Essex resident appeared on Loose Women in September to set things straight regarding her crumbled dalliance with her ex-boyfriend Joey.

'He was meant to come out, last year, in November and things were great,' she explained to the panel, 'But where things got set back, it put strain on us. I couldn't wait no more. It was too much pressure.'

However, in November, Lauren hinted at spending time with the family as she told Closer: 'We're still mates. There's no bad blood. I'm still mates with Joey and his family and I see them all the time.'

Last month, the TOWIE star was seen with personalised number plates adorned with her incarcerated lover's name while she focused her Now Magazine column on her widely-discussed romance too.

Putting to bed rumours in their romance, Lauren seemed keen to set the record straight as she awaited his release from his lengthy prison spell.

Glamour: She said: 'After a long sentence like that, they don't just boot you out LOL,I've kept it off my social media because I want to enjoy it'

In the column, she wrote: 'Joey and I are still in touch, which I have never denied. For now, he is focused on coming out and after such a long time I was to protect him so I'm not discussing him or our situation. People have to respect that.

'The number plate thing seems like a big deal but it's not. They were ordered ages ago and not being used so I decided to put them on my new car to save him from being fined for not using them and - let's be honest - it's a wicked plate!'

Meanwhile, Lauren took to Instagram on Monday to slam claims her rumoured boyfriend was on the dating app Bumble.

She typed: 'Joey is not on any dating apps these fakes were set up a long time ago and there is also one on Tinder! Thanks for the info but we already knew thanks to the kind people who showed me.'
It was one of Made In Chelsea's rockiest romances, finally coming to an end last year.

And despite plenty of teary encounters since, Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson have kept away from each other, with the latter leaving the show entirely and the former moving on with new girl Habbs.

Until now, that is.

Awks: Sam Thompson and Tiffany Watson attended the SAME wedding at the weekend

Over the weekend, the exes attended the same wedding, where Tiffany, 24, was a bridesmaid, and Sam, 25, appeared to be an usher.

Mutual pals with the bride and groom, Tiffany was seen in social media snaps in a satin pink gown, getting ready with the other ladies before the ceremony and celebrating afterwards.

Sam - who had previously documented the Las Vegas stag do, who he was on with the groom, other ushers and MIC co-star Harry Baron - was snapped with the men, looking dapper in their suits and larking around in the sunshine on the lawns.

The wedding was held at country estate Coworth Park, and also saw the likes of former MIC stars Tina Stinnes and Lonan O'Herlihy in attendance.

Wedding party: Tiffany was seen in social media snaps, getting ready with the other ladies before the ceremony and celebrating afterwards

Stags: Sam had previously documented the Las Vegas stag do, who he was on with the groom, other ushers and MIC co-star Harry Baron [second L]

Keeping them apart: No photos emerged of Sam and Tiff in the same place, at the same time, yet they must have been, both being in the wedding party

No photos emerged of Sam and Tiff in the same place, at the same time, yet they must have been, both being in the wedding party.

Sam revealed two months ago to The Sun how he 'doesn't speak' to his ex flame, despite her continuing to be 'a part of my life'.

'Tiff is a part of my past. We've gone down different paths. We don't speak,' he explained.

Whether their paths happened to cross at the weekend remains a mystery.

Larking around: Harry and Sam were snapped with the men, looking dapper in their suits and larking around in the sunshine on the lawns

Moving on: Sam has since started seeing new MIC girl Habbs

The beginning of the end for Tiff and Sam came when they agreed last summer to take a Ross and Rachel-style break.

Sam went to Ibiza, while Tiff traveled elsewhere, before joining him. By this point, however, they both had strayed.

While they were technically allowed to do this, the pair couldn't move past it, and they have since split for good.

Sam's attempts to get back onto the dating scene on E4's Celebs Go Dating weren't particularly fruitful, yet he has now begun romancing Habbs on MIC - real name Sophie Habboo.

Tina Twirler: On/Off MIC star Tina Stinnes was in attendance too

Posh PT: The wedding was held at country estate Coworth Park, and also saw the likes of former MIC star Lonan O'Herlihy in attendance

Not talking: Despite plenty of teary encounters since, Sam and Tiffany have kept away from each other

Blonde beauty Tiff reflected recently on having to share her private life with Sam on MIC and admitted everything boiled over between the two in 2016 during a trip to the Maldives when she had to tell him she had slept with someone else.

Speaking to The Sun on Sunday, the reality star recently revealed she found it 'stressful' to play out that part of her relationship on TV after she was faced with having another cast member reveal her lie to Sam when she wanted to protect him.

She told the publication: 'I said we just kissed when actually we slept together. I had told one of the other cast members and she was going to tell him, so I had no choice but to admit what happened.

'I flew back to London sitting next to Sam and he wouldnt talk to me for the whole 22-hour flight. They didnt film that part but the whole thing was very stressful.

Change of scene: Tiff left MIC to concentrate on her new vegan restaurant venture with sister Lucy

'I was in love with Sam, we even discussed getting married, and being on TV put pressure on the relationship. There were some things I didnt want to film because I wanted to protect him, but I knew I had to.'

It's not the first time the couple have called it quits in their three year on-off relationship.

Tiff had eyes for Sam since she first joined the show in 2014, but briefly split a year later, before being reunited at the beginning of 2016.
Tziporah Malkah has opened up about her past relationship with billionaire James Packer in a sensational interview with A Current Affair.

The 44-year-old, formerly known as Kate Fischer, said that it took her almost a decade to get over the casino mogul and admitted to fantasising 'for years' about rekindling their romance.

'I was heartbroken,' she said of the split. 'I was very smitten with him, I was in love with him.'

'I fantasised for years about us getting back together': Tziporah Malkah reveals the REAL reason she called off her wedding to James Packer as she opens up about her shocking downfall

She continued: 'It took me about eight years to get over it... I fantasised for years about us getting back together.'

Tziporah said that it was James' work commitments that caused her to call off their two-year engagement, with the former model bluntly admitting: 'He was under so much pressure from work and I just refused to marry a credit card.'

The pair dated for about five years in the '90s, before calling it quits in 1998.

'It took me about eight years to get over it,' the 44-year-old admitted about her heart

The fallen star also made a bizarre revelation about throwing pieces of jewellery from her ex-boyfriends into the ocean.

She admitted that she did this as a 'cathartic' exercise after returning to Australia in 2011 following a long stint in Los Angeles.

'I did the whole walk from here [Bondi Beach] to Clovelly one night with one of my cousins,' she explained.

'I didn't want to marry a credit card': The pair dated for about five years in the '90s, before calling it quits in 1998

Top of the world: At her peak, Tziporah (formerly known as Kate Fischer) was one of Australia's most famous models and TV personalities

'And at separate points that meant something to me I'd throw a piece of jewellery out into the ocean.'

The bombshell quickly clarified: 'It wasn't just jewels from one person... I've had a few boyfriends.

'It was cathartic to me... from the earth they came, from the earth they shall return.'

'From the earth they came, from the earth they shall return': The fallen star also revealed that she threw jewellery from her exes into the ocean as part of a 'cathartic' exercise

Tziporah also spoke about the moment she assaulted her ex-boyfriend and three police officers after taking a 'perfect storm' of alcohol and prescription drugs.

The 44-year-old said she consumed antidepressants, gin and tonic and Stilnox before she 'cat-scratched' then boyfriend Guy Vasey in January.

She pleaded guilty to the charge in a South Australian court this month and received a $1,200 fine without a recorded conviction.

Guilty: Tziporah pleaded guilty to assault in a South Australian court this month and received a $1,200 fine without a recorded conviction

The starlet said she was ashamed by the attack, which came during an argument about marijuana and a sick cat.

'I pulled open the bottle of milk, poured it all over his (Mr Vasey) McDonald's and swished it around, and then just in my frustration I cat-scratched him on the face,' Malkah told A Current Affair.

'I was like: "What have I done?" I was very, very ashamed and very, very sorry.'

Tziporah finished by stating that she's since found a 'new purpose' raising money for the homeless and victims of domestic violence.
It's not long until Jasmine Yarbrough and Sylvia Jeffreys can call themselves in-laws.

And Sylvia, 32, did the sisterly thing by proudly supporting 34-year-old Jasmine at her Mara & Mine event during day three of Mercedez-Benz Fashion Week in Sydney.

Looking effortlessly chic in her casual attire, the Today host donned a figure-hugging pair of black leggings teamed with an oversized white T-shirt with an asymmetric frill.

Chic! Sylvia Jeffreys donned a figure-hugging pair of black leggings teamed with an oversized white t-shirt and a denim jacket

Sylvia topped off her outfit with a washed-out denim jacket while she promoted Jasmine's label by modelling a pair of her shoes.

Supermodel Cat McNeil, 34, also flew in from New York for the soiree because she's one of the label's biggest muses.

In fact, Jasmine revealed to Tuesday's Herald Sun that the Aussie's tattoos inspired the duo's shoe designs.

Intricate inkings! Cat McNeil's scorpion tattoo - which features mid-way up her back - inspired Jasmine and Tamara's shoe design

Footwear muse! Cat showed off her grungy style in a tailored suit and unbuttoned shirt at the Fashion Week event

Showing off her grungy style, Cat wore some tailored trousers, a black blazer and a monochrome patterned shirt which she left unbuttoned down to her navel.

The catwalk star posed for snaps with Jasmine and her business partner Tamara Ingham - whom she co-founded the shoewear line with back in 2013.

Fellow fashionista Tahnee Atkinson also showed her face at the Mara & Mine showing.

Represent! Tahnee Atkinson (pictured) promoted the shoe brand by wearing the Scorpio Satin Mules - which were inspired by Cat McNeil's back tattoo

The 26-year-old - who is best known for winning Australia's Next Top Model - oozed confidence in a silky red slip dress.

Tahnee shrugged a sporty bomber jacket over her shoulders and represented the brand by wearing a pair of Mara & Mine's Scorpio Satin Mules.

And TV presenter Ksenija Lukich stood out from the crowd in a scarlet two-piece suit.

Lady in red: TV presenter Ksenija Lukich (pictured) stood out from the crowd in a scarlet two-piece suit

The 28-year-old, who is the face of E! Australia, showcased her slim physique in the flared trousers, which featured a slit up the middle, black crop top and tailored jacket.

Meanwhile Christian Wilkins - the son of Channel Nine's Richard Wilkins - put on a show-stopping display in a nipple-bearing outfit.

The aspiring actor turned heads in a sheer shirt with a golden twinge, which he coupled with a dark pair of trousers and off-white sneakers.
They recently arrived in the UK so that they could cover the Royal Wedding for Sunrise.

But Samantha Armytage, 41, and Natalie Barr, 50, don't seem to have got used to the British weather yet, as they tried to keep warm after completing their shoot.

Wrapping up in blankets that they 'stole from the hotel', the pair beamed as they posed for a photo, with Natalie commenting that her 'WA roots' meant she couldn't get used to the cold nights.

Wrapping up warm: Sunrise presenters Natalie Barr and Samantha Armytage wore blankets in London as they braved the colder climate to cover the Royal Wedding on Tuesday

Both Samantha and Natalie looked glam for the evening, as they finished reporting back to the studio about the highly-anticipated Royal nuptials.

Samantha looked professional as she wore a black coat over her monochrome shirt, and she pulled her blonde tresses up into a tight ponytail.

Although Natalie was wearing the blanket, she still didn't seem to be warm enough as she also pulled on a black scarf for that extra boost of heat.

Busy: The morning show team have been hard at work covering the upcoming marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, and they even had the chance to interview the Royal couple

Styling her brunette locks in loose waves and with a side parting, the presenter brushed on dark eyeliner and a slick of pink lipstick to highlight her pretty features.

Explaining why they had to use the blankets, Natalie wrote in the caption: 'Day 2: About last night.. Springtime in London = sunny days and nights colder than my WA roots are used to!! #TVglamour #westolethemfromthehotel'

Samantha also shared her own fun snap of the pair in blankets, as she wrote on the photo 'post show wrap' and included an emoji of a snowman.

Frozen: Samantha also shared her own fun snap of the pair in blankets, as she wrote on the photo 'post show wrap' and included an emoji of a snowman

The morning show team will be keeping Australians up-to-date with the latest news as Prince Harry prepares to tie the knot with Meghan Markle.

And the pair have been hard at work covering the special event, which takes place on Saturday, as they travelled across the capital to get coverage.

Samantha also had the chance to interview the Royal couple themselves on Monday, and she was all smiles as the trio filmed in front of Buckingham Palace.
It was recently revealed that her business is set to make 60 workers redundant after new investors ordered a root-and-branch review of the company, which lost 8.5 million last year.

But Victoria Beckham was on the lookout for somebody to fill a very serious role this month, as the star put out job ads for a new personal assistant to the CEO.

The demanding job application reiterated that it's imperative applicants are able to keep confidential information under wraps as the chosen one will be charged with tasks such as 'ensuring non-disclosure agreements are signed by third parties'.

She's hiring: Victoria Beckham was on the lookout for somebody to fill a very serious role this month, as the star put out job ads for a new personal assistant to the CEO

The successful candidate will also be given an insight into all of Victoria's financial and business dealings, which would explain why the job ad also specifies applicants 'exercise a high level of discretion and confidentiality at all times while maintaining good relationships'.

The personal assistant will also work closely with the CEO, former Chloe chairman Ralph Toledano, and other members of the senior management team to oversee expenses and credit card bills.

Victoria's new hiring comes after The Mail On Sunday revealed the star will slash her workforce after management consultants acting for backers Neo Investment Partners dismissed Victoria Beckham Ltds business model as unfeasible.

'Exercise a high level of discretion at all times': The demanding job application reiterated that it's imperative applicants are able to keep confidential information under wraps

It's claimed workers are furious after being told a third of them are being axed, especially as Victoria was absent when the bombshell was delivered.

The former Spice Girl was paid 700,000 by the company last year, despite its disastrous financial performance.

Victorias label, VB Ltd, is based in Battersea, South London, where her new personal assistant will be based, though her brand also boast shops in London and Hong Kong.

Slashing the workforce: It was recently revealed that Victoria's business is set to make 60 workers redundant after new investors ordered a root-and-branch review of the company

A source close to the company revealed last month: She hasnt handled this well, and the staff are raging. She is blaming the consultants, rather than thinking it is her fault.

'The fact is, she doesnt know what shes doing and thats why the backers have decided to act. The anger is mounting also because the staff know how much she pays herself.

A spokesman confirmed the redundancies, saying: The board has been focusing on returning the company to profitability.

'The structure is being reviewed to the right size, in line with its financial targets, in consultation with its staff.
Holly Willoughby could barely contain her excitement on Tuesday's This Morning, as she interviewed the star of her 'favourite show' Outlander Sam Heughan.

The 37-year-old beamed with delight as she chatted to the 38-year-old Scottish hunk, with co-host Philip Schofield grabbing a snap of the pair live during the show.

Sam appeared on the ITV daytime mainstay to talk about the Highland-set series following ahead of its fourth series later this year, with Holly gushing how much she had fallen for the show's 'incredible' love story.

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Hunky: Holly Willoughby could barely contain her excitement on Tuesday's This Morning, as she interviewed the star of her 'favourite show' Outlander Sam Heughan

Sam appeared on This Morning to chat about his role in the US series following its third season finale, which tells the story of World War II nurse Claire Randall who is transported back in time to 18th Century Scotland, where she falls in love with Highland warrior Jamie Fraser.

Holly meanwhile admitted that she had been introduced to the show - based on the Diana Gabaldon book series - by a friend and gushed: 'It wasn't on my radar but the story is so incredible, their love story it's amazing.'

Speaking about the show and what's to come next Sam said: 'It's timeless, Diana Gabaldon she's now writing the tenth book and she's sold millions, This whole world she's created is fantastic.'

Delighted: Holly could barely contain her excitement as she posed for a photo with Sam after the interview

Heartthrob: Sam has won an army of fans as the highland warrior Jamie Fraser, following the show's success both in the UK and the US

He added: 'We ended in America in Georgia and Season 4 is about them establishing a home in America, it's the new world, it's about America in its infancy, and of course the course of true love never did run smooth, but it's all good for a while.

'Jamie sends his wife back through the stones with their unborn child, so maybe they do come back to him I'm so excited.'

Sam also revealed he is about to film the end of the show's fourth season to air in November, and fans were also delighted by news last week that two more seasons had also been commissioned.

Hunky: Sam appeared on the ITV daytime favourite to talk about the show's upcoming fourth series, leaving Holly giddy with excitement

Thrilled: The actor teased the show's move to America for its upcoming fourth seasons, with the show already commissioned for a further two seasons

Ahead of the show's shift from Scotland to the States, Sam admitted he was ready for filming to head across the Atlantic, but in reality the series is filmed just outside Glasgow.

While Outlander has made a huge splash in the US on its home network Starz, Sam also admitted it has taken him family some time to grasp the enormity of his fame back in the UK.

He said: 'I don't think they do my mum's very proud, and she always sends me newspaper clippings, like in the Gazette, and I send her great big Hollywood billboards of the show, but she doesn't quite get it yet.'

Superstar: And despite the show's colossal success, Sam revealed his family haven't quite grasped his fame over in the US

Fangirl: Scotland-born Sam shared a whisky with Holly and Phil as they chatted about the show, with Holly gushing that she found the series' love story 'incredible'

Outlander fans will also be no stranger to seeing characters Jamie and Claire in a racy clinch or two, and Sam confessed he thinks the crew tire of seeing him arrive on set shirtless for the steamy scenes.

He said: 'I spend a lot of time with not much on. The crew are always happy now to see me when I've got clothes on. I think they're bored now to be honest.'

And with their sizzling on-screen chemistry, Sam admitted that he is never surprised by fans theories that he is dating co-star Caitriona Balfe, saying: 'They certainly when we first started thought we were together but it's just because we work intimately together.'

Beloved: Holly even got a snap with Sam after the interview, which Phillip immediately shared on Twitter

Leading man: Sam is also set to appear in The Spy Who Dumped Me Later This Year, alongside Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon

Sam's next big role will be in the comedic romp The Spy Who Dumped Me, alongside Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon, set for release in August.

Speaking about his role in the film Sam teased: 'I just saw it yesterday actually we had a private screening, I was really pleased.

'I play Sebastian Henshaw who's possibly a spy, couldn't tell you, it's a wonderful movie and I'm not that rubbish in it.'

Outlander airs on More4 and Amazon Prime in the UK.

Gorgeous: Holly was effortlessly chic in a brown polka dot dress as she filmed a fashion segment outside Television Centre on Tuesday

Stylish: The star showed off her lovely tan in the brown halterneck frock as she chatted to fashion expert Gok Wan

Cosy: Covering up in a camel mac, the presenting beauty got a quick touch-up ahead of presenting the segment

Blazing hot: Shading her face from the sun, Holly teamed her look with nude strapped heels as she presented the outside segment
They are hitting all the red carpets during the Cannes Film Festival.

But Kristen Stewart made time to celebrate her stunning girlfriend Stella Maxwell's 28th birthday with an intimate dinner at Fred L'escalier restaurant on Monday.

Seductively, the Victoria's Secret Angel leaned in to share a smooch and whisper sweet nothings to the gorgeous actress as they lingered outside the plush venue.

Stealing a smooch: Kristen Stewart and Stella Maxwell leaned in for a kiss during model's 28th birthday intimate dinner in Cannes on Monday

The lovebirds were spellbound as they cherished the private moments of affection  away from the prying eyes of the A-list stars descending on the Cannes scene.

Twilight star Kristen rested her hand on her model ladylove's lower back where her bare skin was exposed thanks to her scanty crop top and short blazer.

Unable to keep her hands off her girlfriend all night, the actress was also seen affectionately touching Stella's elbow.

Going strong: The lovebirds were spellbound as they cherished the private moments of affection  away from the prying eyes of the A-list stars descending on the Cannes scene

Sexy moment: Twilight star Kristen rested her hand on her model ladylove's lower back where her bare skin was exposed thanks to her scanty crop top and short blazer

Intimate: Unable to keep her hands off her girlfriend all night, the actress was also seen affectionately touching Stella's elbow

Cute: Although they were enjoying the company of their pals, Stella and Kristen slipped away for a few private moments of their own

Clearly excited about their night, Kristen was spotted snapping a slew of photographs of their bottles of wine and glasses when she stole a minute alone.

Victoria's Secret Angel model Elsa Hosk and Andreja Pejic joined the gorgeous ladies for their special birthday celebrations.

Although they were enjoying the company of their pals, Stella and Kristen slipped away for a few private moments of their own.

What are friends for? Victoria's Secret Angel model Elsa Hosk and Andreja Pejic joined the gorgeous ladies for their special birthday celebrations

Girlfriend goals: Clearly excited about their night, Kristen was spotted snapping a slew of photographs of their bottles of wine and glasses when she stole a minute alone

Bonding time: Elsa made pleasant chit chat with Kristen as the Twilight star checked out her photographs from the bash

The couple are both residing in Cannes for the star-studded festival  Kristen is on jury duties while Stella attends to her modelling duties on the red carpet.

Although they haven't made an official red carpet appearance together this year in Cannes, the lovers have been squeezing cosy lunch dates into their busy schedules.

Stella and Kristen have gone from strength to strength since their romance was made public by pictures of the lovers smooching in the back of a cab in Milan.

Together: Although they were enjoying the company of their pals, Stella and Kristen slipped away for a few private moments of their own

Keep it private: Despite their blossoming romance only being public since early last year, they were first romantically linked to one another back in 2016

Team: The couple are both residing in Cannes for the star-studded festival  Kristen is on jury duties while Stella attends to her modelling duties on the red carpet

Top of the crops: Kristen slipped into a striped tee and baggy trousers as she wandered through Cannes on Tuesday

Despite their blossoming romance only being public since early last year, they were first romantically linked to one another back in 2016.

It is no wonder Stella caught the eye of the Twilight star as she is a well established lingerie model for Victoria Secret.

The golden-haired model has been walking the catwalk for the sexy brand since she was first given her wings in 2015.

True love? It is no wonder Stella caught the eye of the Twilight star as she is a well established lingerie model for Victoria Secret

Modelling: The golden-haired model has been walking the catwalk for the sexy brand since she was first given her wings in 2015

Busy schedules: They are hitting all the red carpets during the Cannes Film Festival

Public: Stella and Kristen have gone from strength to strength since their romance was made public by pictures of the lovers smooching in the back of a cab in Milan

Having a great time! The group mingled while Kristen snapped pictures
She works hard to maintain her phenomenal figure.

And Suki Waterhouse showed off the results of her hard work as she flashed her abs in a skimpy crop top on Tuesday.

Soaking up the Los Angeles sunshine, the 26-year-old model looked casual yet chic as she met up with friends in the city.

Top of the crops! She works hard to maintain her phenomenal figure. And Suki Waterhouse showed off the results of her hard work as she flashed her abs in a skimpy crop top on Tuesday

Going braless for the outing, Suki donned a skimpy white crop top layered beneath a short sleeved blouse that she shrugged off the shoulder.

With her toned stomach on display, the pretty blonde also donned a pair of loose fitting black jeans that she teamed with a $1200 pair of Burberry Aster Eyelet Combat Boots.

Showcasing her natural beauty by baring a neutral make-up palette, the model-turned-actress finished off the look by securing her golden locks with a scarlet clip.

On the move: Soaking up the Los Angeles sunshine, the 26-year-old model looked casual yet chic as she met up with friends in the city

Suki was no doubt making the most of her downtime after spending months filming biographical crime-drama film Billionaire Boys Club.

In recently released scenes from the upcoming movie, Suki was seen flaunting her model physique as she seductively stripped down to her underwear.

Meanwhile, co-star Emma Roberts looked unrecognisable as she transformed into Joe Hunt's love interest, Sydney in scenes from the upcoming movie.

The actress, 27, put on a racy display as she dressed as Pris from Blade Runner, wearing a mesh crop top, complete with a studded choker necklace.

As seen on screen: Suki was no doubt making the most of her downtime after spending months filming biographical crime-drama film Billionaire Boys Club

Racy display: Suki's co-star Emma Roberts looked unrecognisable as she transformed into Joe Hunt's love interest, Sydney in scenes from the upcoming movie

Emma seemed to draw the attention of two men in her skin-flashing ensemble, protecting her modesty with strategically placed black tape.

Smoking on a cigarette, the actress added to the edgy ensemble with a leopard print jacket and finger-less gloves.

Sporting graphic black eye make-up and a choppy blonde wig, the American beauty looked dramatically different from another scene, in which she appeared to be having a ferocious argument with her love interest.

Skin-flashing: The actress, 27, put on a racy display as she sported Pris from Blade Runner's costume, wearing a mesh crop top complete with a studded choker necklace

Making an entrance: The American beauty sported graphic black eye make-up and a choppy blonde wig as she made her way to the party

Suki, who plays Quintana, switched things up from her usual blonde hairdo, donning a bright pink wig in one scene where she attempts to lure the affections her boyfriend Dean Karny.

Stripping off her plush fluffy jacket, the star flaunted her toned physique and black lingerie as she seductively gazed into the crook's eyes.

In another scene, the leggy model performed in a sultry Santa Claus costume at a Christmas bash.

The film, which will be released later this year, is based on the real-life Billionaire Boys Club from the 1980's, where group leader Joe Hunt (played by Ansel Elgort) led a group of wealthy boys in Angeles come up with a plan to get-rich-quick with a Ponzi scheme.

However, the plan ends badly for all involved when Hunt and Pittman end up murdering investor and con-man, Ron Levin- who had allegedly swindled the group out of $4million.

Flirty: Suki switched things up from her usual blonde hairdo, donning a bright pink wig in one scene where she attempts to lure the affections her boyfriend Dean Karny

Putting on a show: In another scene, the leggy model can be seen performing in a sultry Santa Claus costume at a Christmas bash

Rebellious: Smoking on a cigarette, the actress added to the edgy ensemble with a leopard print jacket and fingerless gloves

When authorities began to investigate the murders, Dean Karny, (Taron Egerton) the club's second-in-command and Hunt's best friend, turned state's evidence in return for immunity from prosecution.

Hunt and club-security director Jim Pittman are later charged with the murder of Ron Levin, with the gangster leader being the only person in California's legal history to represent himself in a capital case and not receive the death penalty.

Along with Billionaire Boys Club, Emma has three other projects in the pipeline, s Little Italy, Paradise Hills, and In A Relationship.
Matt Preston is used to dishing out critiques as one of MasterChef Australia's judges.

But on Tuesday, the famous food critic was the one being judged after viewers flooded social media to mock his purple suit.

MasterChef fans compared the 54-year-old to a number of iconic purple figures, including McDonald's mascot Grimace and Barney the Dinosaur.

Hilarious: MasterChef Australia fans mocked Matt Preston's purple ensemble on Tuesday

'Matt has a Barney vibe going on tonight,' tweeted one user.

Another remarked: 'Maccas called, they want their Grimace suit back!'

The hilarious comments didn't stop there, with some fans bringing Batman into the equation.

Purple: MasterChef fans compared the 54-year-old to a number of iconic purple figures, including Grimace the McDonald's mascot and Barney the Dinosaur

'McDonald's called, they want their Grimace suit back!' remarked one funny fan

'Is Matt trying to channel Batman villains with all these purple suits?' one fan questioned.

'Did Matt beat up the Ribena CEO to get that suit?' asked another.

Masterchef has fared impressively in the ratings so far this season, routinely beating out Seven's House Rules and Nine's The Voice.

Barney, is that you? Matt was likened to children's entertainer Barney the Dinosaur

'Stop bagging out Matt Preston's purple suit!' One viewer defended the star

'Is Matt trying to channel Batman villains with all these purple suits?' asked another fan

On social media, fans have praised the program's notable shift away from drama, with a focus on the quality of food on offer.

The culturally diverse casting has also been applauded by fans.

After losing the ratings battle with The Voice upon its premiere last Monday, Masterchef followed up with victories on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
Transgender Big Brother star Rebekah Shelton has sparked concern after revealing her cocaine relapse on Twitter.

Taking to the site on Monday night, the 32-year-old shared a shocking photograph of herself lying on a surgery bed - with her breast fully exposed - captioned: 'I'm on the end of the road.'

The worrying social media activity, which has now been deleted, comes just four months after she became victim of a cruel hoax by hackers - who claimed she had passed away to her 22,000 followers.

'I'm on the end of the road': Transgender Big Brother star Rebekah Shelton has sparked concern after revealing her cocaine relapse with a shocking hospital snap on Twitter

The Brazilian looks dazed in the photo, as she lay on what appears to be a hospital bed in just her tracksuit bottoms and bra.

With her hair unkempt and her hands held limply at her side, the star did not seem to notice her bra has slipped down to reveal her chest in the snap, which she shared with her followers.

The post was captioned: 'I'm on the end of the road', before it was swiftly deleted the following day.

'I'm a very weak person': While she has deleted the photo, a post detailing her relapse still remains (above)

Cruel: Her social media posts come four months after she was declared dead, as part of a cruel hoax by online hackers

However, a second worrying message still remains on her page, which perhaps explains the confusing snap by reading: 'Im a very weak person. I had a relapse on cocaine. Im disappointed with myself, lonely and lost.'

Her social media posts come four months after she was declared dead, as part of a cruel hoax by online hackers.

A statement posted from her verified account read: 'We're sorry to inform everyone of the sad news that our wonderful and lovely Rebekah died unexpectedly on Wednesday night. We ask that you respect the family's privacy at this time.'

Not true: She later confirmed she had been hacked with a furious post, and claimed her billionaire lover's wife wrote it after discovering their affair

She later posted a video to tell her fans she had been 'hacked', and claimed her billionaire lover's wife wrote it after discovering their affair.

A source close to the star's family told MailOnline her relatives thought she had actually died and were 'grieving', but that some suspected it was a publicity stunt.

Rebekah then wrote furiously: 'I'm not dead!!!!!! Please stop spreading this news!!!!! My lawyer is already working on this and this person who wants to spoil my happiness is going to pay for it!!!!!'

She discussed the traumatic incident on The Jeremy Kyle Show in March, and revealed the hack 'damaged' her mental state.

Horrendous: She discussed the traumatic incident on The Jeremy Kyle Show in March, and revealed the hack was 'damaging emotionally'

She explained: 'I woke up to many messages on my phone from people saying I was an angel.

'They said, "Rest in peace and now you problems are finished, and I thought am I dead?" It was very damaging emotionally.'

She also denied that the whole thing had been a PR stunt, adding: 'I dont want to be arrogant but who are the people saying I was faking this news? I dont know.'

Rebekah was born Rodrigo Lopes, but began living as a woman in 2012 and underwent a sex change two years later.
She has taken the Cannes Film Festival by storm since jetting in last week.

And Michelle Rodriguez enjoyed a well-earned break from the glitz and glamour of the international film festival as she enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool at the prestigious Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc hotel in Antibes, France on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old actress was every inch the superstar as she flaunted her toned frame in a skimpy string bikini while diving into the pool.

Glamorous: Michelle Rodriguez enjoyed a well-earned break from the glitz and glamour of the international film festival as she enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool at the prestigious Hotel Du Cap-Eden-Roc hotel in Antibes, France on Tuesday

Making a splash: The 39-year-old actress was every inch the superstar as she flaunted her toned frame in a skimpy string bikini while diving into the pool

The navy and white patterned bikini top struggled to keep her ample assets in place, revealing her underboob while also showing off her envy-inducing abs and slender waist.

A pair of matching tie-side bottoms rested low on her hips, flaunting her toned legs and peachy posterior as she took a poolside shower.

The Resident Evil star showcased her naturally radiant complexion by going make-up free for the occasion before joining a handsome male companion in the crystal clear waters.

Busty: The navy and white patterned bikini top struggled to keep her ample assets in place, revealing her underboob while also showing off her envy-inducing abs and slender waist

Cheeky: A pair of matching tie-side bottoms rested low on her hips, flaunting her toned legs and peachy posterior as she took a poolside shower

Pert: The Fast and The Furious star flashed her pert assets in the ill-fitting bikini top

Sun-soaked: The brunette beauty was enjoying some downtime from her hectic Cannes schedule

Envy-inducing: Michelle was every inch the bikini babe in her skimpy string two piece

Animated: Michelle pulled some energetic poses in the pool as she adjusted to the temperature

Breathtaking: The star wore some interesting leather fingerless gloves for her dip

The star slipped on leather fingerless gloves for her dip and was seen pulling a series of animated expressions as she frolicked in the pool.

She was also seen appearing to hug her male pal before floating on her back in the sunshine.

Her appearance at the festival marks the 16th time she has attended the event in her 39 years.

Natural beauty: The actress showcased her flawless complexion as she prepared for her swim

Serene: Michelle looked relaxed as she enjoyed a brief dip in the pool

Goddess: Michelle exuded confidence as she floated serenely on her back

Who's that? The ex of Cara Delevingne chatted to a hunky male companion in the pool

Close: The star looked comfortable as she chatted to her hunky pal at the pool

Close: Michelle was seen getting very close to her pal in the pool

Kicking back: Michelle appeared to be inspecting her gloves as she sunbathed

Sunsoaked: The duo enjoyed a moment of relaxation in the pool

On Sunday she showed off her toned physique in a shimmering silver-pink metallic Grecian-inspired gown, while she wore her dark tresses down in tousled waves.

She walked the red carpet with her friend, model Jordan Barrett, 22, and the genetically blessed duo were in great spirits as they laughed and joked on the red carpet.

Fashion For Relief is a charity founded by supermodel Naomi Campbell back in 2005 and this year the gala is raising money for Save The Children and the Time's Up movement.

Basking: Michelle closed her eyes as she luxuriated in the sun

Happy: The star looked content as she chatted with her handsome pal

Affectionate: Michelle's pal appeared to give her an embrace from behind

Cheeky display: Michelle flashed a hint of her peachy posterior in the tiny bottoms

Chilled: Michelle showed off her toned arms as she relaxed in the pool

Chatty: Michelle flaunted her honed midriff as she took a refreshing shower

Contemplative: The star looked at her gloves as she kicked back in the sun

Downtime: The pair looked deep in conversation by the pool

Pool chic: Michelle bobbed about leisurely as she kicked back

Busty: The star flashed her cleavage as she relaxed in the pool

Chilled: Supermodel Naomi, 47, was also seen enjoying the perks of her celebrity lifestyle as she sat down for an alfresco lunch with friends

Happy: The youthful catwalk queen looked sensational in a vibrant orange and fuschia pink dress which cinched in at her slender waist and flashed a hint of her toned legs

Chic: The star slipped on some hexagonal sunglasses for her lunch date

Waving it up: Naomi looked delighted as she waved at fans from the balcony

After their swim Michelle was spotted on her hotel balcony cutting a glamorous figure in a sexy black ensemble.

Supermodel Naomi, 47, was also seen enjoying the perks of her celebrity lifestyle as she sat down for an alfresco lunch with friends.

The youthful catwalk queen looked sensational in a vibrant orange and fuschia pink dress which cinched in at her slender waist and flashed a hint of her toned legs.

Her brunette tresses were styled sleek and straight parted in the middle while a light dusting of make-up enhanced her stunning features.

Glowing: The style sensation looked relaxed as she chatted with friends over lunch

Smile: Naomi couldn't keep the smile off her face as she chatted with friends

Chic: The star looked effortlessly chic as she soaked up the sun at the restaurant

Looking good: Naomi looked radiant as she chatted with friends at the lavish restaurant

Fun times: The star looked happy as she spoke with friends at the lunch

Refreshed: The star looked undeniably chic for her lunch date

Work it: Naomi and a pal looked enthralled by their picturesque surroundings

Alfresco: Naomi was enjoying a break from her hectic schedule

Views: The star cut a chic figure as she relaxed on the balcony

Animated: Naomi looked delighted as she spoke with some male pals

Glamour: Naomi was centre of attention as she stood over the table and chatted

Fun in the sun: The modelling sensation was firmly in holiday mode as she chatted
Black KkKlansman

Rating:

Ron Stallworth was an undercover detective in the Colorado Springs police department in the Seventies, who by successfully infiltrating the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, unhooded a band of violent racists. It took some doing because Stallworth was black.

Spike Lees new film, which tells this intriguing true story and is probably best described as an angry comedy, was given a reception at the Cannes Film Festival last night that in truth was more respectful than rapturous.

Lee has never been known for the subtlety of his film-making and his righteous contempt for the racial intolerance that still scars the United States, while understandable enough, undermines his narrative.

Stallworth infiltrates the KKK by proclaiming himself a raging anti-Semite while talking to the Klan's leader on the phone

Even though the film is set more than 40 years ago, the man conspicuously in Lees crosshairs is President Donald Trump. His slogans about making America great again and putting America first are echoed throughout the movie, and were greeted each time with a ripple of appreciative laughter from the Cannes audience.

Significantly, Black KkKlansman begins with a cameo by Alec Baldwin, Trumps most famous impersonator, as a white supremacist making a propaganda film.

Stallworth (played by John David Washington, Denzels boy) is the first African-American cop on the Colorado Springs force. Not only must he deal with plenty of institutionalised racism from his fellow officers, but his first undercover operation is to spy on the civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael (Corey Hawkins), in town to exhort black students to rise up against racial injustice.

If it werent a true story, Lee and his screenwriters might have worked harder to make all this seem real - the merry band of bigots seem too stupid to be properly threatening

Awkwardly, he falls for the pretty student president, Patrice (Laura Harrier), almost blowing his cover by asking her not to refer to cops as 'pigs'.

Soon, however, Ron gets a chance to mount an operation that will leave him less conflicted. He makes telephone contact with the KKK, identifying himself with lots of use of the N-word as a kindred spirit.

He also proclaims himself a raging anti-Semite, which leads to another crashing irony, because the white detective detailed to be his physical incarnation at Klan gatherings is a Jew, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver).

Here, though, is yet another irony; if it werent a true story, Lee and his screenwriters might have worked harder to make all this seem real. There is a certain amount of tension when Flip, posing as Ron, meets the merry band of bigots, but they all seem too stupid to be properly threatening.

The white detective detailed to be Stallworth's physical incarnation at Klan gatherings is a Jew, Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver, pictured right)

The most perceptive of a very dim lot is Felix (Jasper Paakkonen), who thinks Flip might be Jewish and orders him to take a lie-detector test. Nonetheless, its easy enough to wonder why any of these idiots (with Paul Walter Hauser more or less reprising his numbskull act from I, Tonya), warrant an undercover investigation.

Even the KKKs national leader, its so-called Grand Wizard, David Duke (Topher Grace), is duped on the phone by Stallworth, but he too comes across as feeble and impressionable, not even a tinpot Hitler.

Lee wants to have his cake and eat it, yet subverts his own film by ridiculing the KKK one minute and trying to make them seem like a dangerously volatile enemy the next.

Even the KKKs national leader, its so-called Grand Wizard, David Duke (Topher Grace, pictured), is duped on the phone and comes across as feeble

Lee (pictured today at Cannes) wants to have his cake and eat it, yet subverts his own film by ridiculing the KKK one minute and trying to make them seem like a dangerously volatile enemy the next

It comes as a surprise when suddenly theyre plotting a bombing campaign. Until then, for all their practise on firing ranges with cut-out black men as targets, youd think that dog dirt through mailboxes might be the extent of their threat.

Lees own prejudices further trip him up with the representation of a virulently racist cop on the Colorado Springs force. It simply defies credibility that this man, who has undermined Ron from the day he joined, would not tip off the KKK.

Get Out was a much more ingenious satire on modern racism, writes Brian Viner (pictured: Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington in the film produced by Jordan Peele)

Still, with all these caveats, Black KkKlansman tells a story well worth knowing. And its nice to see the venerable Harry Belafonte playing a veteran civil rights campaigner, albeit in a heavy-handed passage of action in which Lee cuts between the black activists looking on in horror at clips of DW Griffiths technically accomplished but infamously racist 1915 film The Birth of a Nation, and the KKK men watching in delight.

If only someone had advised the director to use a lighter touch, for instance his co-producer Jordan Peele, whose own 2017 film Get Out was a much more ingenious, wittier satire on modern US racism. Alas, Lee is a law unto himself, even though he of all people should know that the law is not always right.
They tied the knot three years ago, and went on to welcome their son Monty in January 2017.

And Geri and Christian Horner proved to be as loved-up as ever on Tuesday, as they celebrated their wedding anniversary with a country lunch.

The former Spice Girl, 45, kept things casual in grey jeans as she and her husband, 44, arrived at a pub in Yattendon to spend a romantic afternoon together.

Three years later: Geri and Christian Horner proved to be as loved-up as ever on Tuesday, as they celebrated their wedding anniversary with a country lunch

Sweet: The former Spice Girl, 45, kept things casual in grey jeans as she and her husband, 44, arrived at a pub in Yattendon to spend a romantic afternoon together

The pop star dressed down for their low-key lunch in a plain black thin knit and grey skinny jeans, which clung to her slim figure all the way down.

She kept comfortable in brown Chelsea boots despite the warm weather, but embraced the British sunshine in retro rectangular sunglasses.

Never without a hint of glamour however, she accessorised with a vibrant yellow handbag for a pop of colour.

Sweet: The pair proved to be more besotted than ever as they headed for their anniversary lunch hand-in-hand

Still going strong: The couple have been dating since 2014, and went on to marry at St Mary's Church in Bedfordshire in May the following year

Styling her hair into loose waves and sporting minimal make-up, the redhead drew attention to her radiant complexion and beaming smile as she headed to the pub to meet her husband.

Christian meanwhile, who is the Team Principal of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, opted for a smarter blue shirt and chino combination.

Layering a linen blazer on top, the motorsport expert finished his look with matching Ray Ban shades as he met Geri for a country lunch in the sunshine.

Casual: The pop star dressed down for their low-key lunch in a plain black thin knit and grey skinny jeans, which clung to her slim figure all the way down

Happy: Styling her hair into loose waves and sporting minimal make-up, the redhead drew attention to her radiant complexion and beaming smile as she headed to the pub

Cutting the mustard: Never without a hint of glamour however, she accessorised with a vibrant yellow handbag for a pop of colour

Country living: Geri was later spotted browsing at a local farm shop

Delighted: Geri beamed from ear to ear as she met her husband for celebrations

The pair later took to their respective social media pages to commemorate the occasion with throwback snaps of their wedding.

Geri stunned in her white lace gown as she walked back down the aisle arm-in-arm with her new husband in her shot, which she captioned: 'Happy anniversary! @christianhorner 3 years! I love you.'

Christian then followed suit by posting an image of the pair beaming ear to ear at their reception, with the words: 'Happy Wedding Anniversary to my beautiful wife @therealgerihalliwell. Cant believe its 3 years since this amazing day.'

The couple have been dating since 2014, and went on to marry at St Mary's Church in Bedfordshire in May the following year.

Following suit: Christian meanwhile arrived in a smarter blue shirt and chino combination

Relxaed: Layering a linen blazer on top, the motorsport expert finished his look with matching Ray Ban shades as he met Geri for a country lunch in the sunshine

Life of luxury: As the Team Principal of the Red Bull Racing Formula One team, it is no wonder Christian arrived at lunch in one of his many swanky cars

Onto the next: The pair then headed home together to continue celebrations with their son Monty, Geri's daughter Bluebell and Christian's daughter Olivia

Geri - who already has 11-year-old Bluebell from a past relationship and is step-mother to her husband's daughter Olivia - went on to welcome son Monty with Christian in January 2017.

The former Spice Girl announced she was expecting her son at the age of 43, and has been open about how lucky she feels to have conceived later in life.

Speaking on This Morning shortly after Monty's birth, she said: 'I feel incredibly grateful, Im in my 40s and my personal life getting here was not straight forward.

'I had some dodgy boyfriends and then suddenly life has blessed me with a wonderful husband and I already had a beautiful daughter, to then have another child... Im so grateful.

'I dont know if when youre older, youre more in the moment appreciating it - but I go around saying, "Look at my baby!"'

The pair live together at their Oxfordshire pile, and often share intimate snaps of their relaxed, country lifestyle on social media.
She's gone from being Australia's first Bachelorette, to starring in the beloved soap Home And Away.

But Sam Frost took a day off from filming and enjoyed a foray into fashion while attending the Thurley show at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old - who now plays Jasmine Delaney on the long-running Channel Seven drama - showed off her striking style sense in an intricate tasselled dress.

Fringe benefits! Sam Frost turns heads in a tasselled blue minidress as she shows off her fashion prowess at the Thurley show in Sydney

The sapphire blue number featured flesh-flashing cut-outs and a plunging neckline, while allowing the soap star to flaunt her bronzed pins.

Sam accessorised with a dark jacket slung over her shoulders and added a little height to her look with a pair of strappy black heels.

The Victoria-born star kept her make-up look natural but added a pop of colour with candy-coloured lip gloss.

Blues the hue! The 29-year-old - who now plays Jasmine Delaney on Home and Away - showed off her striking style sense in an intricate tassled dress

Taking to Instagram to share a snap of herself from the fashionable event, she gushed: 'Absolutely Stunning Show.'

But Sam wasn't the only famous face in the crowd.

Former Olympic swimming duo Michael Klim and Leisel Jones colour-coordinated in matching black outfits.

'What does one wear to Fashion Week when one is not terribly fashionable?': Olympic swimmers Michael Klim and Leisel Jones both wore black to the event... but Leisel admitted her dress was three years old

Leisel - who recently confirmed her engagement to partner Damon Martin via Instagram - looked elegant in a form-fitting outfit while brandishing her sparkler on her left ring finger.

Taking to Instagram Stories earlier in the day, the 32-year-old fretted over what to wear to the chic event.

'What does one wear to Fashion Week when one is not terribly fashionable?' she wondered aloud, before adding the caption: 'Can I wear my dog walking clothes?'

Strike a pose! Instagram model Ellie Gonsalves flashed a hint of cleavage in the frilly gown, which she teamed with a classic pointy black heel

Then she got real about her beauty routine in a candid video from the venue.

'Hey. So, 20 minutes for hair and make-up, a three-year old dress, no nails, no spray tan... but we still look amazing!' Leisel said.

Social media star Ellie Gonsalves also attended the Thurley show, wearing a flirty mini-dress to show off her long legs.

The 27-year-old flashed a hint of cleavage in the frilly jacquard gown, which she teamed with a classic pointy black heel.
Dawson's Creek alum Katie Holmes treated herself to a little retail therapy by shopping at the Bleecker Street boutique of New York designer Ulla Johnson in Manhattan on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old actress looked casual cool in a white T-shirt tucked into a blue-denim A-line skirt, white unlaced ballet flats, and a brown-and-beige TOD'S SS/18 'Soft Sella' bag.

The Logan Lucky star - who boasts 1.5M social media followers - later shared an Instagram snap of a small rose bouquet.

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Dawson's Creek alum: Katie Holmes treated herself to a little retail therapy by shopping at the Bleecker Street boutique of New York designer Ulla Johnson in Manhattan on Tuesday

Casual cool: The 39-year-old actress wore a white T-shirt tucked into a blue-denim A-line skirt, white unlaced ballet flats, and a brown-and-beige TOD'S SS/18 'Soft Sella' bag

Missing from Katie's side on Tuesday was her 12-year-old daughter Suri, who worryingly hasn't been pictured with her father Tom Cruise since 2012.

For the last five years, Holmes has been romantically linked to her 55-year-old ex-husband's Collateral co-star Jamie Foxx, and they were last pictured leaving Carbone separately in Manhattan on May 1.

The Ohio-born beauty was reportedly banned from publicly dating anyone for five years due to a clause in her 2012 divorce settlement with the three-time Oscar nominee.

'Jamie and Katie's relationship is not a secret but they both like to keep it under the radar,' a Foxx source told People.

'#spring': The Logan Lucky star - who boasts 1.5M social media followers - later shared an Instagram snap of a small rose bouquet

Love of her life: Missing from Katie's side on Tuesday was her 12-year-old daughter Suri, who worryingly hasn't been pictured with her father Tom Cruise since 2012 (pictured March 4)

Coy couple: For the last five years, Holmes has been romantically linked to her 55-year-old ex-husband's Collateral co-star Jamie Foxx, and they were last pictured leaving Carbone separately in Manhattan on May 1 (pictured January 27)

'Family affair!' On Monday, the 50-year-old Oscar winner promoted the second season of Beat Shazam - premiering May 29 - alongside his new co-host, daughter Corinne (L), at the Fox Network Upfront in Central Park

'They have nothing to hide, but Jamie especially, is very low-key about his life in general, and rarely talks about it...Jamie will always go out of his way to stay discreet. That is his way, and it works for him. If they could stay secret forever, Jamie would be happy.'

On Monday, the 50-year-old Oscar winner promoted the second season of Beat Shazam - premiering May 29 - alongside his new co-host, daughter Corinne, at the Fox Network Upfront in Central Park.

The Baby Driver action star (born Eric Bishop) had the 24-year-old Golden Globe ambassador with his ex-partner Connie Kline and he also has an eight-year-old daughter Annalise with ex-partner Kristin Grannis.

Holmes will next play herself attending the Met Gala in Gary Ross' star-studded, feminist heist flick Ocean's 8, which hits US theaters June 7 and UK theaters June 22.
Snooki is a big fan of New Girl star Zooey Deschanel.

And the reality star shared her feelings by posting a love note online, writing: 'Zooey, You're really hot. I'm a huge fan and wish we had wine together. Stay sexy b***h!'

After finding the message backstage when the pair both visited Larry King live, Zooey shared it to Instagram, writing: 'Got an nice note from Snooki while at #larrykingnow today. Thanks Snooki. Right back at ya.'

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Call me! Zooey Deschanel thanked Snooki for calling her 'hot' when she appeared on James Corden's chatshow on Monday night... but said she needs her number so they can drink wine

The note: Zooey received this letter from Snooki when they were both on Larry King

She later talked about the note on James Corden, saying it was a little confusing.

'So much about this letter is so interesting to me,' the Elf star explained on Monday night. 'The way she expresses herself is so unique.'

She then said the Jersey Shore star's letter didn't quite make sense: 'She wishes something in the past that didn't happen, but she doesn't express wanting it to happen in the future.'

And Zooey said that while she didn't have Snooki's number: 'There's a possibility we could have wine together, sure.'

A little confusing: Zooey discussed the note on James Corden, with fellow guest John Mulaney

Zooey is currently busy doing the chat show rounds, as she talks about the end of her seven-seasons on New Girl.

The show will finish on Tuesday night in the U.S., with the airing of a double episode.

Zooey plays the main character Jess in the long-running hit.

Selfie time! The trio snapped a picture together on the sofa

If she does get together with Snooki the two are sure to have plenty to chat about.

Besides their mutual enjoyment of a glass of wine, they are both mothers of two.

Zooey and husband Jacob Pechenik welcomed son Charlie Wolf in September, joining two-year-old big sister Elsie Otter.

Meanwhile Snooki, 30, has five-year-old Lorenzo and three-year-old Giovanna with husband Jionni LaValle.
She's set to give birth to her first child, a son, any day now.

And soaking up the last moments before her new arrival, Eva Longoria has showcased her incredible pregnancy glow on the new cover of Iris Covet Book.

Wearing a golden chiffon gown, the 43-year-old was pictured floating on her back in a swimming pool.

Radiant: Soaking up the last moments before her new arrival, Eva Longoria has showcased her incredible pregnancy glow on the new cover of Iris Covet Book

Almost nude: The TV star looked almost naked in the wet, sheer gown

With a low v-neck, Eva's ample cleavage was on display.

The beauty accessorised with unique drop earrings and had her brunette locks styled out into mermaid waves.

The former Desperate Housewives star flaunted her radiant complexion with bronzed cheeks and a nude lip.

Her first Mother's Day! Cradling her bump, she merely donned a sheer black shirt and pair of underwear

Daring: Eva looked radiant in pretty pink satin lingerie

Poolside beauty: She looked flawless sitting poolside in a chic black suit

Sharing the shot on Instagram, she wrote: 'So excited to be features on the @iriscovetbook Summer Issue. Had such an amazing time doing this shoot with my baby boy. Hope ya'll enjoy!'

On Sunday, Eva shared another shot from the pregnancy shoot.

Cradling her bump, she merely donned a sheer black shirt and pair of underwear.

All that front: Her pert cleavage was on full display

Coy: Eva gave a come hither look into the camera

'You guys it's my first Mother's Day!!! Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mommies out there! May you be appreciated all year round for the hard work you do.'

After dating for two-and-a-half years, husband Jose Baston proposed to Eva during a December trip to Dubai in 2015.

The pair wed in a Mexican celebration in May 2016 before confirming at the end of last year that they were expecting their first child, a baby boy.
He's been plagued with dating rumors since announcing his single status in September 2017.

And Josh Duhamel was spotted with a mysterious blonde while out to lunch in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.

The 45-year-old actor took a break from his meal to smoke a cigarette with the woman, amid rumors his split with ex-wife Fergie 'isn't as amicable as they are trying to make it sound,' according to OK! magazine.

Afternoon delight: Josh Duhamel was spotted with a mysterious blonde while out to lunch in Los Angeles on Monday

Josh was dressed casually for the rendezvous, sporting a grey T-shirt paired with forest green trousers.

He walked through the city streets wearing a pair of sturdy brown boots, with a navy blue hat covering his shaggy, salt-and-pepper hair.

Duhamel and the mystery woman took a break from their meal to light up cigarettes outside of the restaurant.

Light it up: The 45-year-old actor took a break from his meal to smoke a cigarette with the woman, amid rumors his split with ex-wife Fergie 'isn't as amicable as they are trying to make it sound,' according to OK! magazine

Out and about: Josh was dressed casually for the rendezvous, sporting a grey T-shirt paired with forest green trousers

She was spotted wearing grey skinny jeans and a matching tank top, while carrying a bevy of bags across one arm.

The Transformers actor appeared to be immersed in a tense phone call as he sat on the stoop outside of the eatery.

Josh and his estranged wife Fergie announced they had split in September 2017 and later admitted they were seeking a divorce after eight years of marriage.

Puff puff: Duhamel and the mystery woman took a break from their meal to light up cigarettes outside of the restaurant

Tough times? The Transformers actor appeared to be immersed in a tense phone call as he sat on the stoop outside of the eatery

While at the time, the pair said they still had 'a good relationship', sources report that Fergie may be fighting for more custody of their four-year-old son Axl.

'Josh wants full custody, but if he's got women constantly coming and going from his bachelor pad, she may just push for full custody,' an insider said.

Josh reportedly 'won't accept visitation. He'll no doubt hold firm on splitting time with Axl fifty-fifty,' the source added. 'And if things do get uglier, he'll do whatever it takes to ensure he maintains his relationship with his son.'
They became close while working on Big Little Lies together.

So castmates Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon made sure to enjoy some bonding time with series newcomer Meryl Streep, seen together at the exclusive Soho house in Malibu Monday.

The ladies made it a group affair, also joined by friends and coworkers Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley.

Dinner date! Meryl Streep met up with her Big Little Lies castmates Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley at Soho house in Malibu on Monday, spending some quality time together amidst shoots for the HBO hit

Though everyone was dressed down for the casual lunch meeting, all of the starlets looked their chicest.

Oscar winner Meryl was polished in a silk scarp and blazer, keeping her hair in a low ponytail and wearing smart glasses.

Southern belle Reese Witherspoon was typically smiley, keeping things comfortable in a pair of wide-legged jeans with ruffles at the hem.

Nicole was a wonder in white, keeping makeup free and tying her strawberry blonde tresses up in a bun while wearing a crisp blouse.

Simply stylish: Nicole appeared a wonder in white, keeping makeup free and tying her strawberry blonde tresses up in a bun while wearing a crisp blouse

Southern belle! Reese was typically smiley, keeping things comfortable in a pair of wide-legged jeans with ruffles at the hem

Zoe wore a dark hoodie dressed up with a bit of jewelry, while Shailene sported a similar look, also showing off her freshly cropped bangs from the Met Gala.

Meanwhile, Laura Dern went for a well-tailored look in a sharp grey blazer.

Back in April Meryl was snapped on shore of the Sausalito, California, looking very different in a mousy brown bob wig while shooting the premium cable series.

In January HBO announced that it had inked the Academy Award-winning actress to portray Mary Louise Wright, Celeste Wright's (Nicole Kidman) mother-in-law on the Emmy-winning show.

It-Girl cool: Zoe wore a dark hoodie dressed up with a bit of jewelry

Blazer-ing trails! Laura Dern went for a well-tailored look in a sharp grey blazer while Shailene showed off her freshly cropped bangs from the Met Gala

In the storyline, Streep's character is drawn to the Northern California community 'searching for answers' in the wake of the death of her son Perry Wright (Alexander Skarsgard), as she's 'concerned for the well-being of her grandchildren,' according to the network.

Celeste will enter the second season 'adrift, but determined to fight for her family and find the woman she once was,' according to HBO, as she's 'reeling from her husband Perry's death.'

Series fans will have to be patient for its return, which is anticipated sometime in 2019.
John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston turned the premiere of their new film Gotti into a family affair, as they walked the red carpet with their two children on Tuesday.

The glamorous couple stood alongside their daughter Ella Bleu and son Benjamin, marking their first appearance as a family in Cannes Film Festival.

The Grease icon looked dapper in a sharp black velvet tuxedo as he led his family past awaiting cameras with a smile.

The Travolta family: John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston turned the Gotti premier into a family affair as they walked the red carpet with their two children on Tuesday

Travolta proudly presented his family on the red carpet ahead of the screening in which he takes on the lead role, no doubt happy to have them by his side.

The 64-year-old's swept back salt-and-pepper hair and beard gave him a more distinguished look, as he stood proudly next to his wife and daughter.

His wife Kelly, who he is co-starring in new film Gotti, was breathtaking in a strapless busty gown.

The actress donned an embellished dress which was belted around the middle in velvet, accentuating her sensational figure.

The glamorous couple stood alongside their daughter Ella Bleu and son Benjamin as they strolled along marking their first appearance as a family in Cannes

Sophisticated: The Grease icon looked dapper in a sharp black velvet as he led his family past awaiting paparazzi ahead of the screening

Kelly, who held the hand of her youngest child, added a touch more sparkle to her outfit with a pair of statement earrings.

Opting for a similar style, Ella, 18, also donned a dramatic tulle frock, which was adorned with a bold monochrome pattern.

The striking beauty covered her floor-length gown with a cropped black cardigan while working the red carpet.

Ella, who is herself a budding actress, wore her raven locks loose, and again taking inspiration from her mother, added glitz with a pair of earrings.

Happy couple: His wife Kelly, who he is co-staring in new film Gotti alongside, was breathtaking in a strapless busty gown

Couple goals: The pair looked incredibly loved-up as Kelly looped her arm through John's at the star-studded bash

All good! John showed he was having a good time when he flashed two thumbs up to waiting cameras while he strolled down the red carpet

The best time! Kelly and Ella Bleu looped their arms through John's as they posed up a storm on the red carpet for Gotti

Also looking stylish for the event was the Travolta's son Ben, who was making his first outing on the red carpet at the age of seven.

Travolta has previously described his son Ben as 'the glue' that held the family together following the tragic loss of their other son Jett, who died aged 16 in 2009.

Ben, who was born three years later in November 2012, gave the Travolta's the ability to 're-bond after a tremendous loss', Travolta has previously claimed.

Jett died after unexpectedly suffering a seizure during a family holiday in the Bahamas in 2009.

During an 1994 interview his father said: 'I can't imagine what life would be like without Jett.

Star appearance: The actress donned an embellished dress which was belted around the middle in velvet, accentuating her sensational figure as she larked around on stage

'After he was born and cleaned up, I held him for hours while Kelly slept. When they came to take him away for various tests, I said, 'No, you can't see him today. You'll have to do it another day. I went a little nutsy.'

Five years after his loss Travolta revealed that losing Jett was the 'worst thing that ever happened to him', reports Closer.

He said that he didn't know if he was going to make it and he no longer found life interesting.

Heartbreaking: Travolta has previously described his son Ben as 'the glue' that held the family together following the tragic loss of their other son Jett (left), who died aged 16 in 2009 (before his death, picture undated)

Family photo: Jett died after unexpectedly suffering a seizure during a family holiday in the Bahamas in 2009 (undated pictured)

This is the fifth time the couple have teamed up on-screen, previously starring in The Experts (1989), Battlefield Earth (2000), Old Dogs (2009), and From Paris With Love (2010).

The crime drama covers the life of the infamous leader of the Gambino crime family and was directed by Entourage's Kevin Connolly.

The film is a family affair for the Travolta family with daughter Ella Bleu, 18, starring as Gotti's daughter Angel Gotti.

Rounding out the cast include Stacey Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince and William DeMeo.

Tragic loss: Ben, who was born 3 years later in November 2012, gave the Travolta's the ability to 're-bond after a tremendous loss', Travolta has previously claimed

In December it was announced Lionsgate had dropped the John Gotti biopic just 10 days before the movie's scheduled released date.

It's not Travolta's first time commandeering a high-profile role based on a real person, as in 2016, he portrayed attorney Robert Shapiro in The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

Gotti is slated to hit theaters June 15.
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It is one of most important events in cinematography- with a coveted invite saved for the creme da la creme of the showbusiness world.

And Shanina Shaik led the model glamour as she took to the red carpet for the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story for Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday.

The Australian model, 27, turned heads as she slipped into a plunging yellow chiffon gown while Lais Ribeiro, Toni Garrn, Alessandra Ambrosio and Sara Sampaio all worked their magic while walking down the famous Palais des Festivals et des Congres.

Model glamour: Shanina Shaik turned heads while (L-R) Lais Ribeiro, Toni Garrn, Alessandra Ambrosio all worked their magic for the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story for Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday

Sweeping in at the waist, Shanina flaunted her incredible figure in the backless gown, showing off plenty of cleavage with its low-cut neckline.

Adorned with silver beads, the Victoria's Secret Angel dazzled on the red carpet, brushing her raven locks, which were styled in Hollywood curls, off her shoulders.

Shanina complemented the look with a bronzed smoky eye, contoured cheeks and nude lip by Charlotte Tilbury, while opting for decadent silver earrings to tie-in with the metallic embellishment on the dress.

Angelic: Sara Sampaio donned a semi-sheer feather gown which came complete with a matching cape

Vision in yellow: Sweeping in at the waist, Shanina flaunted her incredible figure in the backless gown as she showed off plenty of cleavage with its low-cut neckline

Posing up a storm: Adorned with silver beads, the Victoria's Secret Angel dazzled on the red carpet, brushing her raven locks, which were styled in Hollywood curls, off her shoulders

Wow factor: Meanwhile, fellow Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra stunned in a black beaded gown, which showed off her model frame with its sultry thigh-high split

Sultry: The dress, which featured a daring front split with a scalloped edge, skimmed over her lithe figure and followed her with a modest train

Sheer delight: She showcased her bodice underneath a shimmering sheer gown at the premiere

Meanwhile, fellow Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra stunned in a black beaded gown, which showed off her model frame with its sultry thigh-high split.

Not afraid to make a statement, the 37-year-old oozed glamour in the figure-hugging gown as she posed up a storm on the red carpet.

Adding a boost to her statuesque frame with a pair a black strappy sandals, Alessandra tied the risque ensemble together with corkscrew curls and a slick of mauve lipstick.

Working her magic: Not afraid to make a statement, the 37-year-old oozed glamour in the figure-hugging gown as she posed up a storm on the red carpet

Sea-inspired: Lais looked like a golden goddess as she slipped into a plunging mermaid green metallic gown

Glittering beauty: Toni Garrn opted for a semi-sheer silver beaded dress for the premiere which showed off her tremendous pins with a thigh-split

Eye-catching: The model paired the look with pointed silver stilettos and diamond tear-drop earrings which complemented the intricacy of the dress

Lais looked like a golden goddess as she slipped into a plunging mermaid green metallic gown, while Toni opted for a semi-sheer silver beaded dress for the premiere which showed off her tremendous pins with a thigh-split.

Lais ensured all eyes were on her ample assets with the perilously low neckline which went right down to her navel, while the fishtail design of the gown made the most of her toned figure.

She slicked her brunette locks back into an elegant bun and accentuated her radiant complexion with gold smoky eye, blush-swept cheeks and a matte pink lip.

Stunning: The Calvin Klein star slicked her honey blonde locks back over her shoulders and opted for a soft-focused make-up look to ensure her eye-catching gown took centre stage

Meanwhile, Sara Sampaio made sure to command attention in semi-sheer feather gown which flaunted her assets with a keyhole plunge.

The feathered detailing was prominent all the way down her arms and throughout the rest of her look, which boasted a slight train.

The soaring split exhibited her envy-inducing, lean legs which were boosted with strappy silver heels.

Sara oozed old school Hollywood glamour, wearing her glossy brunette locks in statement waves and lived up to her beauty icon status with a vampy plum lip and a heavy dose of mascara.

She accessorised with statement drop silver earrings as she worked her modelling prowess on the red carpet.

Stylish: Sara Sampaio turned heads in a figure-hugging white dress which boasted a thigh high split and was laden with feathery detailing

Pins on parade: The soaring split exhibited her envy-inducing, lean legs which were boosted with strappy silver heels

Stunning: Sara oozed old school Hollywood glamour, wearing her glossy brunette locks in statement waves

She's got front! Sara made sure to command attention in the sensational number which flaunted her assets with the keyhole plunge

Racy display: Izabel Goulart oozed sex appeal as she flashed her toned abs and long limns in a black mesh and PVC crop top and matching skirt

Making a statement: The skimpy crop top featured a criss cross and choker design while the skintight skirt hugged her shapely derriere

Chic: Doutzen Kroes kept things understated in a tailored black suit and pointed court shoes

Understated: She complemented her stylish look with silver earrings and showed off her natural beauty with deftly touches of make-up

Wow: Winnie Harlow, 23, arrived in style at the red carpet for the Solo: A Star Wars Story premiere

Enviable figure: The backless number flaunted the rest of her physique and cinched in her waist

Head turner: Winnie worked her model magic on the red carpet, flaunting her figure in the sexy number which boasted an excessive plunge down the middle to tease her assets

Model magic: Georgia Fowler (L) and Daniela Lopez also showed off their figures, taking to the red carpet in slinky gowns

Solo: A Star Wars Story is directed by Ron Howard, who took over after original helmers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller departed over 'creative differences'; they will retain an executive producers credit.

Press for the film describes the plot, saying: 'Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga's most unlikely heroes.

It is the latest spin-off/standalone in the lucrative sci-fi franchise which was given a new lease of life in 2012 when Lucas Film was purchased by Disney for a little over $4billion.

Since then two parts of a sequel trilogy  The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi  have been released, as well as the stand-alone prequel Rogue One, with many more unnamed projects planned.

Solo: A Star Wars Story hits UK theatres on May 24, and in the US the following day.
They had a nasty fight a week ago where he called her a 'hoe' and she accused him of doing cocaine.

But Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley are back together, according to a Tuesday report from UsWeekly.

And the Jersey Shore stars are doing it for the sake of their new baby, daughter Ariana Sky.

Putting that fight behind them: Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley are back together, according to a Tuesday report from UsWeekly

Looking out for the little one: And the Jersey Shore stars are doing it for the sake of their new baby, daughter Ariana Sky

There were several hints that the two were back on.

Not only were they seen together on Saturday at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas where he wore a shirt that said 'No Regrets.'

But on Monday he took to his Instagram Stories to share two videos Harley and one-month-old daughter Ariana Sky sleeping.

Happy again: They seen together on Saturday at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas where he wore a shirt that said 'No Regrets'

'Sounds like a bear having a orgasm,' he wrote before adding that he's always told that he snores. And that wasn't all, with Ronnie also referring Jen to a dog. 'I feel like she's the dog,' he captioned on one video.

The fight they had last week was so vicious that it gained national attention.

'Note to self, can't turn a natural born HOE, into a HOUSE WIFE, if u find them in the gutter than leave them in the gutter,' began Ronnie.

Firing back on Instagram Stories, Jen wrote: 'Can't turn a coke head into a father! Yeahhh Buddy!'

Can't contain himself: On Monday he took to social media again to share videos of the new mother snoring

What will Jen say? 'I feel like she's the dog,' he captioned on one video

But the public humiliation didn't stop there with Ronnie progressing to poll his 1.3 million audience.

'If your significant other keeps sex videos of their ex, shouldn't they show enough respect to delete them, esp after being in a new relationship for over a year?'

But the public fight escalated further the following day when an intense Instagram LIVE video led to a physical altercation.

In the clip Ronnie dared Jen to zoom into his phone, which he claims contained explicit content of her, before the two appeared to tussle over the phone.

An Insider later told In Touch Ronnie was pushing for a paternity test.

They started dating shortly after he split from his Khloe Kardashian's best friend Malika Haqq in February 2017.
He has been accused of sexual assault by four women.

And Ed Westwick was seen taking some time to himself as he enjoyed a solo getaway to Tulum, Mexico on Tuesday.

The former Gossip Girl actor, 30, went shirtless as he frolicked in the water before laying down on the beach to top up his tan.

Relaxing: Ed Westwick, 30, was seen taking some time to himself in light of sexual assault allegations, as he enjoyed a solo getaway to Tulum, Mexico on Tuesday

Ed exhibited his inkings as he cooled himself off in the ocean before heading back to dry land to sun himself.

His getaway comes amid allegations of sexual assault - which he has previously claimed in a tweet were not true.

Los Angeles district attorney confirmed last month that prosecutors are considering bringing charges against Ed in two cases.

The prosecutors office said that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has handed over a second file on the British actor.

Solo getaway: The former Gossip Girl actor went shirtless as he frolicked in the water before laying down on the beach to top up his tan

Allegations: His getaway comes amid allegations of sexual assault - which he has previously claimed in a tweet were not true

Ed was forced to deny a public allegation of rape as multiple women accused him of sexual assault in the Me Too movement ignited by Harvey Weinsteins downfall.

Most recently, fashion stylist Haley Camille Freedman, 23, made an official complaint against Ed to the LAPD regarding an alleged attack in 2014.

The stylist and former art director of magazine Kat & Bare claims Ed repeatedly raped her and held her captive for two days at his Hollywood mansion.

Haley is the fourth woman to accuse the star of rape and abuse.

Consequences: Los Angeles district attorney confirmed last month that prosecutors are considering bringing charges against Ed in two cases

Ed is yet to comment on Haley's allegations, but he issued a statement protesting his innocence last year after actresses Aurelie Wynn and Rachel Eck also shared their stories online.

'I have never forced myself in any manner, on any woman,' he said at the time. 'I certainly have never committed rape I am co-operating with the authorities so that they can clear my name as soon as possible.'

In a move echoing the removal of Kevin Spacey from All The Money In The World, the BBC recently scrubbed Ed from its adaptation of Agatha Christies Ordeal By Innocence.

Accusations: Ed was forced to deny a public allegation of rape as multiple women accused him of sexual assault in the Me Too movement ignited by Harvey Weinsteins downfall

Actor Christian Cooke replaced Ed, originally from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, in re-shoots for the series which also starred Bill Nighy and Anna Chancellor.

Meanwhile, Ed's girlfriend Jessica Serfaty has remained defiant in support of him ever since he was swept up in a flurry of allegations about sexual harassment.

Recently, the mode shared an affectionate snap of them kissing as she revealed she was missing him.

By his side: Ed's girlfriend Jessica Serfaty has remained defiant in support of him ever since he was swept up in a flurry of allegations about sexual harassment
Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Baltierra denied rumors that she and her stepbrother-turned-husband of two years, Tyler, were headed for a divorce on social media Tuesday.

'[We're] not getting a divorce,' the 26-year-old reality star - who boasts 5M followers - wrote on Instagram.

'Couples go through ups and downs that's normal life. We are a solid couple that will work through anything life throws at us!'

'[We're] not getting a divorce' :Teen Mom's Catelynn Lowell Baltierra denied rumors that she and her stepbrother-turned-husband of two years, Tyler, were headed for a divorce on social media Tuesday (pictured April 10)

The Michigan native's father David told Radar Online on Tuesday that she and their three-year-old daughter Novalee 'Nova' spent Mother's Day in Florida with her sister.

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Reunited producer/creator - who remained silent on the matter - was in Texas visiting his father Butch, who used to be married to Catelynn's mother.

The high school sweethearts have been through a lot this year with Catelynn's third rehab stint on January 17 to overcome a recent miscarriage and other childhood trauma.

The 26-year-old reality star wrote on Instagram: 'Couples go through ups and downs that's normal life. We are a solid couple that will work through anything life throws at us!'

'Great day today!' The Michigan native's father David told Radar Online on Tuesday that she and their three-year-old daughter Novalee 'Nova' spent Mother's Day in Florida with her sister (pictured April 24)

Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Reunited producer/creator - who remained silent on the matter - was in Texas visiting his father Butch, who's reportedly married to Catelynn's mother (pictured April 24)

Tyler has also been open about seeing a therapist for bipolar disorder, depression, and suicidal thoughts.

The Tierra Reign clothing company CEOs' eldest daughter Carolynn aka 'Carly' - turning 9 this Friday - was adopted by a couple called Brandon & Theresa Davis.

Following their Unseen Moments Special on April 30, MTV has yet to announce whether or not the network is renewing Teen Mom OG for an eighth season.

He's bipolar: The high school sweethearts have been through a lot this year with Catelynn's third rehab stint on January 17 to overcome a recent miscarriage and other childhood trauma (pictured in 2015)
She's known for her sensational fashion displays on the red carpet.

And Lara Stone, 34, was no different on Tuesday night as she arrived to Nobu Hotel Shoreditch for a star-studded traditional Japanese sake ceremony and cocktail reception in a show-stopping ensemble.

The Dutch model highlighted her slender frame in a form-fitting black midi dress that showcased her never-ending pins with a daring thigh-high slit at the hotel's official launch party.

Work it: Lara Stone, 34, was no different on Tuesday night as she arrived to Nobu Hotel Shoreditch for a star-studded traditional Japanese sake ceremony and cocktail reception in a show-stopping ensemble

Model behaviour: The Dutch model highlighted her slender frame in a form-fitting black midi dress that showcased her never-ending pins with a daring thigh-high slit

Drawing attention to her lean limbs, Lara's choice of cocktail attire featured flirty feather detailing along the slit in aqua blue which made sure to make her legs the main attraction.

Her slinky spaghetti strapped look accentuated her ample cleavage while she posed for photos outside the chic venue.

Adding inches to her statuesque frame, the fashion star slipped on a pair of strappy black leather heels and accessorised with a matching clutch.

Lara frame her striking facial features by styling her trademark blonde locks off her face and into a sleek bun.

Mane attraction: Lara frame her striking facial features by styling her trademark blonde locks off her face and into a sleek bun

Socialising: The striking model posed with Nobu's co-owner Robert De Niro as she sipped on a refreshing beverage

Firm friends: The pair were later spotted catching up on the sofa

Slinky: Drawing attention to her lean limbs, Lara's choice of cocktail attire featured flirty feather detailing along the slit in aqua blue which made sure to make her legs the main attraction while she posed for a photo with Chef Nobu Matsuhisa

Also attending the soiree was fellow model Abbey Clancy, 32, who looked sensational in a figure-hugging black dress.

Following Lara leg-flashing lead, the Liverpool native's flirty number featured daring hip high silhouette which elongated her slender pins and showcased her strappy heels.

The blonde beauty, who recently welcomed a baby boy in January, teamed her sultry ensemble with a cropped tuxedo-style blazer with silk lapels.

She kept to her usual glamorous ways sporting a bronzed smokey eye and worked her hair into a tousled style for the bash.

Catching up: Lara chatted away to the acclaimed chef

Helping hand: The ex-wife of David Walliams clung to a pal for support as she left the launch party

Good time: The star appeared to have had a good night as she flashed a smile upon leaving the venue

Busty display: Lara flashed a hint of cleavage as she stepped into her taxi

Tired: Lara looked bleary-eyed as she sat in a taxi with her friend

Heading home: Lara looked relieved to be in the comfort of the awaiting car

Flaunt it: Also attending the soiree was fellow model Abbey Clancy, who looked sensational in a figure-hugging black dress

Chic: The blonde beauty, who recently welcomed a baby boy in January, teamed her sultry ensemble with a cropped tuxedo-style blazer with silk lapels

Snap happy: Following Lara leg-flashing lead, the Liverpool native's flirty number featured daring hip high silhouette which elongated her slender pins and showcased her strappy heels while she took a number of snaps

Night out: Abbey Clancy took a night off from mummy duties as she attended the launch with her mum Karen

Good genes: Abbey previously spoke about her mother's age-defying looks, saying 'she looks like she could be my sister, shes a goddess'

Letting her hair down: The model left the bash looking a little bleary-eyed, with her mother walking behind her

Tired: Following the bash, the Britain's Next Top Model star looked bleary-eyed and ready for bed as she stumbled into a taxi

Celebrating: Laura Jackson (L) and Camille Charriere appeared in high spirits at they posed inside the hotel

Socialites: Bee Beardsworth (L) and Zaina Miuccia also made an appearance

Making an appearance: David Conrad and Juliet Rylance posed arm in arm at the launch

Meanwhile, former MIC star Jess Woodley showcased her eclectic style as she arrived to Nobu Hotel Shoreditch.

The 23-year-old reality star upped the fashion ante for the occasion as she opted to go braless for the trendy soiree, which was hosted by Nobu's co-founders.

The blonde beauty's choice of white crop top accentuated her ample cleavage and flashed her taut stomach as she posed for photos outside the hotel, which opened last year.

Skirting around: Sinead Harnett arrived to the bash in a thigh-grazing mini

Stepping out: Will Poulter (L) and Morgan Watkins stopped by the soiree

New 'do: Actor Will looked distinctly different as he sported a peroxide blond 'do

Dapper: Homeland actor David Harewood looked cut in white chinos and a blue patterned shirt

Jess offset her torso-hugging look with a long, oversized red blazer, which appeared to be inspired by the eighties.

She teamed the head-turning look with a pair of high-waisted mom jeans and white Buffalo platform runners to round off her sartorial appearance.

The former MIC star, who now works as creative director for London-based label Rose Collective, completed her ensemble by donning a oval-shaped shades and working her peroxide blonde locks into a messy top knot with a red gingham scrunchy.

Stepping out: Jess Woodley showcased her eclectic style as she arrived to Nobu Hotel Shoreditch

She can stomach it: The blonde beauty's choice of white crop top accentuated her ample cleavage and flashed her taut stomach as she posed for photos outside the hotel, which opened last year

Work it: The 23-year-old reality star upped the fashion ante for the occasion as she opted to go braless for the trendy soiree, which was hosted by Nobu's co-founders

Heading home: The reality star linked arms with a pal as she left the bash

Night owl: Jess toted a huge black bag and decided to keep on her sunglasses despite leaving the hotel in the early hours of Wednesday morning

Making an appearance: Nobu co-founder Robert De Niro was at the star-studded soiree

Having the fun: The acclaimed actor appeared to be in jovial spirits as he played the drums

Open: Robert and chef Nobu Matsuhisa break open a sake barrel to celebrate the opening

Star-studded: Doctor Who's Peter Capaldi also made an appearance

Bold and bright: Beauty mogul Maria Hatzistefanis turned heads in a tangerine-coloured pencil skirt and matching Nike crop top

Sexy: Singer Alice Chater put on a very sultry display in all-black ensemble

Party time: Fellow singer Sinead Hartnett draped a distressed denim jacket over one shoulder

Earlier in the day, co-founder and acclaimed actor Robert De Niro, 74, attended a press conference at his restaurant brands latest opening in London.

The Hollywood star was flanked by chef Nobu Matsuhisa, 69, and fellow founder Meir Teper as well as Trevor Horwell.

Chef Nobu set up his first restaurant with the Oscar-winning actor and film director Meir in 1993 after Di Niro perused him for four years to open a venture with him

Their latest venture was created after the trio were inundated with requests to put their restaurant in hotels and apartment complexes around the globe.

The 146-a-night Nobu Hotel Shoreditch is the brands eighth hotel opening, following in the footsteps of their other establishments in Marbella, Palo Alto, Ibiza, Malibu, Manila, Las Vegas and Miami.

Chit chat: Earlier in the day, co-founder and acclaimed actor Robert De Niro, 74, attended a press conference at his restaurant brands latest opening in London

Celebrations: (L-R) Meir Teper, Robert De Niro, Nobuyuki Matsuhisa and Trevor Horwell attend the Nobu Hotel London Shoreditch official launch press conference

Circle of trust: Lara rubbed shoulders with Robert inside the swanky venue throughout the fun-filled evening

Good fun! The pair were joined by Nobu Matsuhisa as they sat comfortably on the plush sofas inside Nobu, among a whole host of stars

Cosy! Robert wrapped his arm around Lara, touching her arm in an affectionate fashion

What an evening! The duo enjoyed catching up over their martinis while they chilled out on the sofas

Leggy lady: Lara showcased her long legs in her thigh-split dress and heels as she joined the smart-casual Robert
She's spent the last week sunning it up with beau James 'Arg' Argent in Tenerife.

And Gemma Collins got back into the swing of things with TOWIE pals Chloe Sims and Georgia Kousoulou as they filmed scenes for the latest series in Essex on Tuesday.

The reality star, 37, didn't quite dress the part for a spontaneous jog, opting for a chic leopard print blouse and white skinny jeans as she tried to keep up with Chloe in her running gear.

Stepping it up: Gemma Collins, 37, went for a quick run in her trademark glamorous duds as she filmed TOWIE scenes with Chloe Sims (L) and Georgia Kousoulou (R) in Essex on Tuesday

Gemma - who later shared that the gang enjoyed a BBQ in the sunshine via her Instagram stories - sped up to a run in a pair of pink and gold flip flops.

While perhaps too overdressed for a bit of light exercise, the TV favourite did put on a high-fashion display with her designer clutch bag and sophisticated black shades.

Gemma paraded her post-getaway tan during the sunny stroll, and decided on a fresh-faced make-up look.

On the run: Gemma sped up to a run in a pair of pink and gold flip flops

Ramp it up: While perhaps too overdressed for a bit of light exercise, the TV fan favourite did put on high-fashion display with her designer clutch bag and sophisticated black shades

Sun-kissed: Gemma paraded her post-getaway tan during the sunny stroll, and decided on a fresh-faced make-up look

Meanwhile, Chloe looked far more prepared for the energetic outburst in a casual white hoodie over grey leggings.

Injecting her own pop of colour with cobalt blue trainers, the salon owner cracked a huge smile as the trio broke out into a quick run.

Chloe swept her blonde locks back into a low ponytail while dramatic make-up amplified her sporty ensemble.

Ready for it: Meanwhile, Chloe looked far more prepared for the energetic outburst in a casual white hoodie over grey leggings

Smiles: Injecting her own pop of colour with cobalt blue trainers, the salon owner cracked a huge smile as the trio broke out into a quick run

Having fun: Gemma cracked a huge smile as she flipped back her trademark blonde tresses with her chic sunglasses

Gym bunny: Chloe (L) swept her blonde locks back into a low pony tail while dramatic make-up amplified her sporty ensemble.

Pal Georgia - who brought along her Pomeranian pup Monkey along for the casual excursion, also looked the part in her slouchy white T-shirt and simple black leggings.

Draping an edgy leather jacket over her shoulders, the brunette beauty donned a pair of trainers and wrapped a grey hoodie around her waist.

Still keeping it glam with a chic black shoulder bag, Georgia swept up her golden locks into a messy ponytail as she concentrated on Monkey's dose of daily exercise.

Furry friend: Pal Georgia - who brought along her Pomeranian pup Monkey along for the excursion, also looked the part in her slouchy white T-shirt and simple black leggings

Sunning it up: There were no holiday blues for Gemma who continued to lap up the sunshine during their casual stroll through the Essex countryside

The reality TV trio collapsed into giggles as they picked up the pace, before stopping at a near-by bench for a quick breather.

Gemma's girls' day out in Essex comes after she packed on the PDA with boyfriend Arg during their romantic trip to Tenerife.

Flaunting their love with a saucy Instagram snap of the couple getting cosy in a swimming pool, Gemma captioned the photo: 'Weve had the most amazing holiday I love you so much @real_arg #specialmemoriesmade.'

Gal pals: Draping an edgy leather jacket over her shoulders, Georgia donned a pair of trainers and wrapped a grey hoodie around her waist.

Playing around: Still keeping it glam with a chic black shoulder bag, Georgia swept up her golden locks into a messy ponytail as she concentrated on Monkey's dose of daily exercise

It is the couple's first break away together since they put a title back on their historic romance in March.

While still in the midst of filming for the ITV smash hit show, Gemma also appeared to reveal that she is set to appear on Celebrity Apprentice.

The TV personality shared a snap of business magnate Alan, while stating: 'This will be Hilarious.'

Showing off the tan: Gemma looked incredibly bronzed following her tropical getaway

Out with friends: Gemma later later shared that the gang enjoyed a BBQ in the sunshine via her Instagram stories

According to The Sun, the outspoken star is a 'top choice' for the spin-off show - set to return to screens next year.

An insider revealed: 'Gemmas scared of Alan Sugar and doesnt want to be made to look like a fool but she is considering it.'

Speaking on the revival series, a source told the Daily Star: 'It feels like the right time to bring it back. Its been 10 years since it last aired, but The Apprentice is still a popular show with a strong format.

'Top brass at the BBC all agreed it would be great to have the celeb version back on screen.'
Georgia Fowler's dress at the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night was simply out of this world.

The New Zealand-born model, 25, looked absolutely stunning in a semi-sheer, bejewelled frock that left little to the imagination.

Georgia, who's rumoured to have dated Harry Styles in 2015, put on a daring display on the red carpet as she posed alongside 'bad boy' model Jordan Barrett.

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Daring display! Georgia Fowler went braless in a sheer bejewelled dress while cuddling up to Jordan Barrett at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story on Tuesday

Georgia decided to go braless under her dazzling full-length dress, which offered a glimpse of her black underwear.

The hundreds of jewels embedded throughout the design sparkled as the Victoria's Secret beauty posed for photographers.

Ensuring all the attention stayed on her glistening outfit, Georgia kept her makeup look simple and styled her hair in a vertical updo.

Out of this world! Georgia decided to go braless under her dazzling full-length dress, which offered a glimpse of her black underwear

Dazzling! Georgia, who's rumoured to have dated Harry Styles in 2015 and inspired his song Kiwi, posed on the Cannes red carpet alongside 'bad boy' Australian model Jordan Barrett

The glamorous brunette, who is said to have inspired Harry Styles' 2017 song Kiwi, completed her dramatic look with a statement necklace.

Meanwhile, Australian model Jordan looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo as he pulled his finest 'Blue Steel' pose for the cameras.

In November, Georgia addressed speculation that Kiwi was about her rumoured fling with Harry during an interview on The Morning Show.

She's a sparkler! The hundreds of jewels embedded throughout the dress sparkled as the Victoria's Secret beauty posed for photographers

All the details: The glamorous brunette completed her Cannes look with a statement necklace

Professional poser: Australian male model Jordan looked dapper in a classic black tuxedo as he pulled his finest 'Blue Steel' pose for the cameras

'I don't really know anything about it,' she replied. 'Definitely don't have a baby... that's what the song is all about.'

Georgia added: 'I think it's highly unlikely.'

Whispers of a romance between Georgia and the former One Direction star, 24, began in October 2015 after she posted Snapchat videos of them together.

'I think it's highly unlikely': In November, Georgia addressed speculation that Kiwi was about her rumoured 2015 fling with Harry Styles during an interview on The Morning Show
She is a long-standing fan of French fashion house Chanel.

And so Kaya Scodelario was there to support Karl Lagerfeld in his venture into beauty on Tuesday, at the launch of a new ModelCo make-up collaboration.

The British beauty flew out to Paris to be among guests celebrating the new line at the Hotel D'Evreux.

Glamorous: Kaya Scodelario attended the Karl Lagerfeld & ModelCo make-up launch in Paris on Tuesday evening

The Skins actress - who has been on the front row for multiple Chanel fashion shows - looked particularly glamorous in a navy blue minidress.

The garment featured cutaway criss-cross details across her bust and down her legs as it framed her petite figure.

Kaya's classic blue dress was also edgy with a one shoulder design and she paired it with metallic heels.

Showcasing her shape: The dress featured a cutout design across her bust and hips

Kaya joined guests including French model Caroline Daur, who looked typically chic in checks.

German designer Karl has launch an 18-item collection with Australian cosmetics line ModelCo.

The launch is the first time Kaya has been pictured at an official event since speaking about her contribution to the campaign #MeToo.

Kiss and make-up: Karl Lagerfeld has launched his own line of make-up with ModelCo

Last October, the Maze Runner actress bravely shared her own story of sexual harassment in a bid to raise awareness of the recent campaign.

She took to Twitter to say: 'It's taken me 13 years to say #MeToo. He is still protected by 'family members' in Brazil. They've told lies to papers to try to silence me.'

'No more,' she added. 'I want to thank every single person who has spoken out about sexual assault/harassment recently.'

In February, she called the confession the 'hardest thing I have ever done in my life... apart from labour'.

In attendance: Caroline Daur was one of the guests at Tuesday night's launch

'I was fortunate to have the support of my husband and friends,' she told The Big Issue.

'And also, being a mum, I knew I didn't want that person to have power over me anymore. I wanted to be strong for my son, so he would grow up seeing that women could be powerful and that we won't hide in the shadows.

She added: 'But it was definitely the scariest thing I have ever done. Apart from labour. Labour was worse.'

Kaya, who is married to actor Benjamin Walker, is mum to a 15-month-old son after giving birth to her first child in December 2016.
She dazzled in a show-stopping Roberto Cavalli look while attending the premiere of Solo: A Star Wars Story earlier in the evening.

And now Alessandra Ambrosio swapped Cannes' Palais des Festivals for Villa des Oliviers as she arrived in a plunging ensemble for the de Grisogono party alongside Winnie Harlow in Cap d'Antibes on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old model stunned in the perilously low look which grazed her navel and featured racy cutout detailing around her hips.

Show-stopper: Alessandra Ambrosio swapped Cannes' Palais des Festivals for Villa des Oliviers as she arrived in a plunging ensemble for the de Grisogono party in Cap d'Antibes on Tuesday

Red hot: Canadian model Winnie Harlow stunned also at the star-studded event

The Brazilian model's black red carpet look boasted intricate crystal beading around her hips which did little to deter eyes away from her saucy neckline at the event which saw guests sipping on glasses of Perrier-Jouet champagne.

Alessandra's daring ensemble boasted sheer chiffon sleeves which offset her raunchy thigh high slit that highlighted her lean limbs.

Helping elongate her pins, she sported a pair of metallic silver heels and accessorised with a glittering diamond necklace.

Switching up her hairstyle, the fashion star worked her tresses into a centre parting and voluminous curl compared to her Hollywood wave earlier in the evening.

Dare to bare: The 37-year-old model stunned in the perilously low look which grazed her navel and featured racy cutout detailing around her hips

Quick change: The former Victoria's Secret model appeared at the Palais des Festivals earlier in the evening for the Solo: A Star Wars Story showcase in a flattering sequinned gown by Roberto Cavalli

Beauty: Switching up her hairstyle, the fashion star worked her tresses into a centre parting and voluminous curl compared to her Hollywood wave earlier in the evening

Work it: The Brazilian model's black red carpet look boasted intricate crystal beading around her hips which did little to deter eyes away from her saucy neckline at the event which saw guests sipping on glasses of Perrier-Jouet champagne.

After turning out for the BlacKkKlansman premiere on Monday, the former Victoria's Secret model returned to the Palais des Festivals on Tuesday for the Solo: A Star Wars Story showcase.

Once again, the model looked phenomenal as she channeled old school Hollywood glamour in a flattering sequinned gown and voluminous retro curls.

Alessandra brought her signature sex appeal to the red carpet, flashing a skimpy bodice beneath her sheer gown.

The dress, which featured a daring front split with a scalloped edge, skimmed over her lithe figure and followed her along the red carpet with a modest train.

Helping hand: Founder of De Grisogono Fawaz Gruosi helped Alessandra with her long train

Stepping out: Alessandra giggled as she attempted to make her way up the carpet

Setting pulses racing: Alessandra's daring ensemble boasted sheer chiffon sleeves which offset her raunchy thigh high slit that highlighted her lean limbs

Striking: Ahead of the event, Alessandra was seen at the terrace cafe of the Martinez Hotel in Cannes

She's got front! The busty beauty proved to be preoccupied on the phone

Chilling: Alessandra looked like a vision as she enjoyed a conversation

Loving life: Alessandra proved to be in her element during the fun activities

Red hot: Winnie swapped out of her silver gown from earlier and into a vibrant red gown

Intricate: The look featured a dazzling beaded bodice which highlighted her slender frame

Red hot: The North American teamed her look with a silver metallic heel

The garment plunged on the cleavage with a criss-cross design, while her feminine hairstyle softened the provocative look with a mass of curls around her nape.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is directed by Ron Howard, who took over after original helmers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller departed over 'creative differences'; they will retain an executive producers credit.

Press for the film describes the plot, saying: 'Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga's most unlikely heroes.

Worlds away: Winnie looked sensational in a vibrant red gown which was worlds away from her silver creation at the same cinematic event earlier in the evening

Striking: She worked the room in her head-turning garment

Picture perfect: She posed for photos with Cindy Bruni

Striking: Winnie showcased her slender pins in the striking ensemble

Fashion fiends: The duo posed for photos with Fawaz at the event

Hitting the right notes: Winnie posed with Pharrell Williams' muse Mette Towley

Metallice mus: The dancer caught up with Chris Tucker in a striking metallic silver overcoat

Walk this way: She teamed the look with a pair of gold pointed heels

It is the latest spin-off/standalone in the lucrative sci-fi franchise which was given a new lease of life in 2012 when Lucas Film was purchased by Disney for a little over $4billion.

Since then two parts of a sequel trilogy  The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi  have been released, as well as the stand-alone prequel Rogue One, with many more unnamed projects planned.

While Alessandra does not appear in the film, she has kept busy lately, appearing on the May cover of Vogue Brazil.

Strike a pose: Victoria smoldered down the camera

A vision in white: Victoria Silvstedt attended the soiree in a daring white gown

Mane attraction: She complemented her sultry ensemble by working her trademark blonde tresses into a messy tousled ponytail

Style star: Nicole Scherzinger donned a semi-sheer look for the party

Busty: Clinging to her ample curves, the glamorous frock nipped in Nicole's tiny waist with a silk belt, while the intricate lace revealed a black body underneath

Sultry: Oozing sex appeal, the classically trained songstress complemented the look with understated black strappy sandals, ensuring all eyes were drawn to her eye-popping cleavage

Seductive: She styled her glossy raven tresses in a sleek ponytail and amped up the glamour with black eye-liner, flushed cheeks and a vampy red lip

Pretty in purple: MIC star Sophie Hermann's look was spot on as usual as she posed in a puffy shoulderless violet top and velvet black skirt

Having fun: The star playfully sat on Fawaz Gruosi's lap at the star-studded party

Star-studded: Paris Hilton (L) and Nicole posed for photos inside the party

All that glitters: Paris slipped into a purple gown for the evening festivities

Date night: Paris and her fiance Chris Zylka attended the evening together

The former Victoria's Secret Angel has two children with her ex fiance Jamie Mazur: daughter Anja, nine, and son Noah, six.

Meanwhile, Winnie looked sensational in a vibrant red gown which was worlds away from her silver creation at the same cinematic event earlier in the evening.

The stylish ensemble featured a dazzling beaded bodice which highlighted her slender frame and another thigh-high slit which accentuated her slender pins.

Locking lips: The pair couldn't resist sharing a smooch

Mwah! The loved-up couple only had eyes for each other as they smooched at the glitzy event hosted by the jewellers on Tuesday evening

Wow: The heiress wore her blonde locks in a straight, sleek style while adding yet more sparkle to her dazzling ensemble, with a diamond watch and her jaw-dropping engagement ring

Red carpet ready: The socialite's show stopping dress glittered in purple hues as she posed dramatically at the swanky event

Dream team: Paris and Chris were also joined by Mohammed Al Turki, Alessandra Ambrosio and Jordan Barrett as they worked the red carpet

Catching up: Chris Tucker, Saba Yussouf and Paris caught up at the event

Slinky: Michelle Rodriguez slipped into a slinky burgundy gown

Wrapped up: She teamed the sultry ensemble with a black cropped jacket

Having fun: Michelle pulled a number of funny faces as she posed for photos

Eye-catching: Lala Rudge dazzled in a stylish pink halterneck dress

Model behaviour: Toni Garrn and Jordan Barrett posed for photos together on the carpet

Skin-flashing: Toni's skin-flashing look featured a daring cutout panel which flashed her torso

Elsewhere, Paris Hilton and her fiance Chris Zylka put on an intimate display during the de Grisogono party in Cannes.

The loved-up couple only had eyes for each other as they smooched at the glitzy event, hosted by the jewellers.

Paris, 37, turned heads in an extremely low-cut gown which was also split up to her thigh, putting her lithe limbs firmly on display.

The socialite's show stopping dress glittered in purple hues as she posed dramatically at the swanky event.

Stunning: Kimberley Garner donned a monochrome ensemble for the red carpet event

Wow: The daringly low-cut dress teased at her assets before showcasing her tiny midriff thanks to the semi-sheer detailing

Mane attraction: The reality star turned swimwear designer scraped her blonde locks back into a loose ponytail

Work it! The blonde bombshell looked in her element as she made her way into the bash where she continued to pose for photographers

'I was a young blonde girl with a soft voice': Kimberley recently revealed how she used to pretend to be the intern when she first started in business as nobody took her seriously

Not one to blend into the background, Paris teamed her dress with a fluffy blue boa and a pair of bejewelled stilettos.

The heiress wore her blonde locks in a straight, sleek style while adding yet more sparkle to her dazzling ensemble, with a diamond watch and her jaw-dropping engagement ring.

Her beau Chris kept his look sharp in a black suit with satin lapels, however the actor added a splash of colour to his outfit in the form of some red shoe laces.

Dare to bare: Rose Bertram slipped into a daring beaded metallic look

Red carpet arrivals: Charlotte Carroll (L) and Daphne Groeneveld sparkled on the carpet

Sleek: Maria Borges slipped on a slinky navy number

Work it: Lady Monika Bacardi (L) and Elola Krasner worked their eclectic looks

Suit you: Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini looked suave at the soiree

Slick: Andrea Iervolino also attended the de Grisogono party

Fun times: Jewellery designer Fawaz Gruosi was seen cosying up to singer Nicole Scherzinger, Winnie and French model Cindy Bruna

Busty: Cindy showed off her ample cleavage in a sexy all-white look as she attended the bash with Winnie and Mohammed

Best of friends: Cindy showed off her trim physique in a matching white jacket and trousers with strapped bronze heels

Sweet: Cuddling up to Winnie, the duo beamed as they attended the star-studded bash together

Standout: The model duo towered over Fawaz as they attended the latest lavish Cannes bash

Dramatic: Winnie also posed with US actor Chris Tucker (second right) as they partied up a storm at the evening

Close pals: Winnie also shared a sweet embrace with music video star Mette Towley, who was rocking a monochrome matching printed suit

Covered-up: The model hid her party look under an oversized silver cape coat, teamed with gold boots with a side heel
She and husband Alec Baldwin have baby number four on the way.

And Hilaria Baldwin, 34, was all aglow while attending the Disney ABC Upfront presentation with her actor husband, 60, on Tuesday.

The yogi, looked elegant-as-ever in a clingy black dress which hugged her bump at the affair, which she announced was her 'Last event before baby is born,' on Instagram.

Bumping along nicely! Hilaria Baldwin looked glowing Tuesday night at the ABC Upfront in NYC, where the pregnant beauty accompanied hubby Alec in a skintight black dress

'Last event before baby is born!!! Ill miss these beautiful dresses...but squeezing into them at this point...not so much #wegotthis2018,' Mrs. Baldwin joked.

Though she complained about her wardrobe getting too snug, Hilaria looked like a perfect 10 at the television showcase.

Tying together her outfit with simple black heels and diamond studs, the mom appeared timelessly chic.

The striking Spaniard styled her hair into loose curls while playing up her natural beauty with a hint of eyeliner, rouge and nude lipstick.

Last hurrah! 'Last event before baby is born!!! Ill miss these beautiful dresses...but squeezing into them at this point...not so much #wegotthis2018,' Mrs. Baldwin joked in an Instagram of her look

I only have eyes for you! Though the couple have been together since 2011, it didn't look like any of their feelings had faded as Alec looked at his love adoringly

Besides her husband Alec looked suave in a dark blue suit jacked worn with a crisp black polo and matching slacks.

The 30 Rock favorite spiked up the front of his salt and pepper locks for a bit of style, leaving a hint of five-o-clock shadow along his jaw.

Though the couple have been together since 2011, it didn't look like any of their feelings had faded as Alec looked at his love adoringly.

The Baldwins left their little ones Carmen, four, Rafael, two, and Leo, one, at home.

Can't go wrong: The yogi, looked elegant-as-ever in a clingy black dress during the event

Makeup your mind! The striking Spaniard styled her hair into loose curls while playing up her natural beauty with a hint of eyeliner, rouge and nude lipstick

Speaking to People late last year, the mom-to-be revealed that the newest addition was planned.

'We [Hilaria and Alec] were like, "Oh, should we have another kid?". We were like, "You know what? Let's try something different - let's try",' she said.

'With the other ones, it's not like, "Oh my God, how did this happen?" But this is the only one we planned.'
The wife of Olympian Geoff Huegill has been charged with shoplifting after allegedly stealing a pair of expensive leather pants from a store in northern NSW on Mother's Day.

Sydney-based socialite Sara Huegill was arrested on Sunday afternoon by mounted police in Byron Bay, a NSW Police spokeswoman told AAP on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old is accused of stealing a pair of $2500 leather Bassike pants from the Island Luxe store, News Corp Australia said.

Huegill was issued a field court attendance notice for shoplifting and is due to appear at Byron Bay Local Court on June 7.

The alleged stolen property has been returned to the store, police said.
Two more people have been charged after a man was shot in the leg at a home in regional Victoria in February.

A Hastings man, 37, and a Broome man, 30, who was extradited from WA in April, are charged over the Morwell shooting of a 32-year-old local man, police said on Tuesday.

The men are charged with intentionally causing serious injury and aggravated home invasion, and have been remanded to appear at Latrobe Magistrates' Court at a later date.

Two men and a woman already charged over the February 23 shooting will front the same court on May 31.
The partial ban on fracking in South Australia will remain, with Premier Steven Marshall telling energy chiefs of the need for a "social licence" for the controversial process.

Mr Marshall told the Australian Petroleum and Production and Exploration Association's annual conference in Adelaide on Tuesday that the moratorium in the state's southeast reflects community concerns.

He said his government did not want to see the same levels of acrimony in SA as those in Victoria and wanted the gas sector to grow, but with a "secure social licence to operate".
Victorian gambling taxes are close to tipping the $2 billion mark for the first time, a parliamentary committee has been told.

Reason Party MP Fiona Patten questioned Treasurer Tim Pallas on the figures, which will come to about $1.87 billion in the 2017/18 financial year.

Mr Pallas said it was expected to increase about 1.6 per cent a year, "but it's increasing at a lesser level than the general background revenue it terms of the state," he told a hearing on Tuesday.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may be a very modern couple but the pair has chosen a 15th-century gothic church, steeped in history, as their wedding venue.

The medieval St George's Chapel is set in the Lower Ward of the Queen's beloved Windsor Castle, which sits just over 30km to the west of London.

The chapel offers royal couples a more intimate wedding venue but one that is still appropriately grand and has been a favourite of ruling monarch's families in its 500-year history.

In 2005, the chapel hosted a service of prayer and dedication after Prince Charles married long-term love Camilla Parker-Bowles in a civil ceremony.

It was also chosen by the Queen's youngest son Prince Edward for his marriage to Sophie Rhys-Jones, now the Countess of Wessex, in 1999 and by the Princess Royal's son Peter Phillips when he wed Autumn Kelly in 2008.

In total, 15 royal weddings have taken place within the hallowed walls of St George's - including that of Queen Victoria's eldest son the future King Edward VII to Princess Alexandra of Denmark in 1863.

The chapel is also the burial place of the infamous King Henry VIII as well as a number of Britain's other royals.

Harry and Markle's May 19 wedding won't be the only royal nuptials hosted by St George's in 2018, with the prince's cousin Princess Eugenie also set to marry her fiance Jack Brooksbank there on October 12.
Prince Harry may be marrying an American Hollywood princess but unlike his ancestors theirs is a love match rather than a political one.

For centuries members of England's royal family were strategically married off to European royals with the aim of cementing allegiances, mainly to help avoid war but also to reap economic benefits.

Love simply wasn't a factor.

"Through the medieval period, any time a country wanted an alliance with another they would offer a prince or princess as a way of symbolising or cementing the alliance," royal historian and author Dr Anna Whitelock told AAP.

"It was as important as any diplomatic treaty. You had to have a marriage."

And the younger a betrothal could be secured the better.

Back in 1518, King Henry VIII betrothed his two-year-old daughter, the future Queen Mary I, to Francois, the Dauphin of France, who was just a few months old.

The match was agreed after long-time enemies France and England signed a peace treaty.

While officials decided the betrothal would only be binding if the couple consented to it when they were older, the plan was dumped in 1521 when Henry decided it would be better for Mary to marry her cousin, Roman Emperor Charles V.

"That was pretty standard," said Dr Whitelock, author of Mary Tudor: England's First Queen.

"That's what you were for if you were a princess, you were there to be married off."

Mary ultimately ended up choosing her own husband when in 1554, a year after she took the throne, she wed Philip II of Spain.

Mary's mother, Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, was also a toddler when she was betrothed to England's King Henry VII's son Prince Arthur in the late 1480s.

But while they married when she was 16 in 1501, he died five months later and she was betrothed to her husband's younger brother, who as Henry VIII became one of England's most famous kings.

Marrying your cousin was also common, with Queen Victoria's union with her first cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, one of the most famous examples.

However, their match was most definitely based on love, with the famously devoted couple producing nine children after they wed in 1840.

Likewise for Queen Elizabeth II who last year celebrated 70 years of marriage to her third cousin Philip, a prince of both Greece and Denmark.

But married life hasn't agreed with three of their four children.

Prince Charles famously divorced Diana, Princess of Wales in 1996 after their fairytale marriage imploded, while his younger sister Princess Anne divorced Captain Mark Phillips in 1992 after 19 years together.

Their younger brother Prince Andrew's decade-long marriage to Sarah Ferguson also collapsed in 1996 following a series of scandals that included the Duchess of York having her toes sucked by her financial advisor John Bryan.

For Prince Charles' eldest son Prince William, his marriage to a middle-class woman from middle England, Catherine Middleton, appears strong with the couple having recently welcomed the arrival of their third child, Prince Louis.

Like William, Prince Harry has chosen to marry a commoner, American actress Meghan Markle - something unthinkable hundreds of years ago.

"The thing people love about Harry and Meghan is that they seem very at ease with each other and they aren't shy about displaying their affection for each other and now that's very much part of what people want to see as part of an authentic royal match," Dr Whitelock said.

Harry's marriage to an bi-racial American divorcee is also being interpreted by some as a move by the royal family towards being more inclusive and diverse.

"But I think people need to be careful not to read into it that there's been a sort of massive shift in the British monarchy in what's now acceptable and permissible," Dr Whitelock said.

"I think if Harry had wanted to marry Meghan in his early 20s when he was seen as a tearaway prince it would have been a different question.

"But also it's because he's not going to inherit the throne, so it's less of a radical departure than people think."

What was way too radical was when the Queen's uncle King Edward VIII wanted to marry the twice-divorced American socialite Wallis Simpson.

Edward was forced to abdicate in 1936 because Church of England officials didn't want him to marry Mrs Simpson because her former two husbands were still alive.

The couple did marry a year later, by which time Edward's brother King George VI, the current Queen's father, was on the throne.

With that scandal long gone, Dr Whitelock believes the royal family is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

And while Harry's union with Meghan is not one based on diplomacy, Dr Whitelock believes the couple could exert some "soft" political power, particularly in Commonwealth countries, which Harry has said he is keen to focus on.

"The kind of injection of energy and attention for the Commonwealth from Harry and Meghan is really smart and it gives them a role that's distinct from Kate and William," she said.

"So while it's not a political alliance as such, I think that they will be used in a kind of political with a small 'p' way if nothing else to sure up the position of the British monarchy."
A fairytale frock and a clutch of royals is probably all Prince Harry's wedding will have in common with the monumental nuptials of his parents, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer.

The "wedding of the century" in 1981 drew a global TV audience of 750 million, with two million people turning out on the streets of London to cheer the future king and his young bride.

People gasped as Diana stepped out of her glass carriage onto the red carpet lining the steps of St Paul's, her father Earl Spencer proudly by her side.

Her stunning ivory silk taffeta and antique lace gown with its 7.6m train, puffy sleeves and frilly neckline had been carefully kept under wraps until that moment despite intense media interest in the lead up to the wedding.

Inside St Paul's Cathedral waiting to witness the historic event were 3500 guests, including the biggest gathering of European crowned heads and foreign royals.

At the time, and for all the world knew, Diana was a true fairytale princess with a charmed life ahead of her - an aristocratic young woman of just 20 marrying the most eligible bachelor on the planet.

Robert Runcie, the archbishop of Canterbury who presided over the couple's wedding, told the congregation: "Here is the stuff of which fairytales are made".

India Hicks, who as a 13-year-old was one of Diana's five bridesmaids, remembers the historic day as one when two families came together and how "everybody was just wanting it (the marriage) to work and just believing in it".

"That wedding is so weighted in history for all sorts of reasons, the enormity of it, the fairytale-ness of it, nobody knew what was going on underneath," she told E!News in March this year.

"It was so much bigger than I imagined it to be. When I look back, and I think, 'Oh my God' my head (is on) a piece of a jigsaw puzzle now.' That's kind of weird. I rode in a horse-drawn golden carriage; my life is so different now. It was amazing but, no, I didn't appreciate the enormity of the occasion back then."

Prince Harry is taking a dramatically different approach for his wedding to American actress Meghan Markle on Saturday.

The couple have opted for the much more low key venue of St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where just 600 guests will witness them exchange their vows.

And while his nearest and dearest royal relatives, including the Queen, will watch on the rest of the pews won't be filled with heads of state and politicians.

Those lucky enough to score an invite also don't have to worry about what to buy as a gift as Harry and Meghan have asked for donations to be made to seven specific charities instead.

By contrast, 6000 presents were sent to Charles and Diana, including 20 handcrafted silver platters presented in a box of made from Australian blackwood.

But by choosing to have their wedding at Windsor, Harry and Meghan will miss out on carrying on the tradition started by his parents - and adopted by brother Prince William and Kate Middleton when they wed in 2011 - of sharing a romantic wedding day kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

Kensington Palace has been at pains to stress that the day "will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters and values of the bride and groom".

But as hard as Harry's tries make his wedding as different as possible to that of his parents, memories of Charles and Diana's iconic event will doubtlessly come flooding back for some.

"There's no doubt Charles and Diana's wedding was one of the biggest of all times," royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AAP.

"But it was a fairytale turned nightmare.

"Harry and Meghan's wedding is seen as being indicative of the enormous changes that have taken place within the royal family.

"The fact that the royal family is so inclusive, the fact that Meghan is a divorcee, the fact that she is biracial, the fact she's a former actress and she's going to continue to be an activist."

While everything appeared joyous on Diana's wedding day, years later she sensationally revealed a troubling picture of what was going on behind the scenes.

In Andrew Morton's biography of the Princess of Wales, Diana Her True Story, she told of how she was bulimic, shed plenty of tears and argued with Charles in the days before the wedding, mainly about his continuing attachment to Camilla Parker Bowles.

"So, walking down the aisle I spotted Camilla, pale grey veiled pillbox hat, saw it all, her son Tom standing on a chair," she told Morton.

"Got out (of St Paul's), was a wonderful feeling, everybody hurraying, everybody happy because they thought we were happy and there was the big question mark in my mind.

"I realised I had taken on an enormous role but had no idea what I was going into - but no idea."

Unlike newlyweds in fairytales, Charles and Diana didn't live happily ever after.

While they celebrated the birth of their sons, William in 1982 and Harry two years later, they finalised their divorce in 1996, just 12 months before Diana died in a Paris car crash.
A former Australian ambassador to China believes Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has made a mess of Canberra's relationship with Beijing and should be sacked.

Ties with China have soured in the past year and Beijing is especially cranky about Australia's foreign interference laws.

No Australian government ministers have visited the Chinese mainland this year and none were invited to the Boao Forum, a major conference in April held on the island of Hainan.

A former Australian ambassador to China says Julie Bishop (pictured) should be sacked

Former envoy Geoff Raby (pictured) said Ms Bishop has angered China and made a mess

Former envoy Geoff Raby said Ms Bishop has angered China by making 'the most strident public comments on the South China Sea of any foreign minister' and delivering a 'bizarre' speech that claimed China was unfit for regional leadership.

'If the role China is now playing to resolve tensions on the Korean Peninsula and possibly removing North Korea's nuclear capability is not leadership, it is difficult to find another word to describe it,' Dr Raby wrote in an opinion piece published in The Australian Financial Review.

He argued the prime minister needed to replace the foreign minister with someone better equipped for the demands of the job, adding Ms Bishop had not visited China in more than two years.

'Australia ... needs a foreign minister who is steeped in history and geopolitics, who lives and breathes the issues and who has a grasp of the profound challenges Australia faces in the rapidly evolving new world order being shaped, in large measure by China,' he said.

Dr Raby pointed to Ms Bishop's cabinet colleagues Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt as alternatives because they both previously worked in former foreign minister Alexander Downer's office.

The hostilities between Bishop and Raby have been covered in China's tabloid Global Times paper, promoting claims that the foreign minister be sacked.

Ties with China have soured in the past year and Beijing is especially cranky about Australia's foreign interference laws (pictured is Julie Bishop)

In an editorial on page three, Bishop's response to the 'harsh accusation' was included in which she labelled Raby 'profoundly ignorant,' The Age reported.

More than 2,600 Chinese readers commented or forwarded comments on the article, penning mostly negative responses.

'Like a koala's sharp claws, from time to time it wants to hurt people,' wrote one person.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull defended Ms Bishop, saying he was disappointed by the commentary.

Australian Governor General Major-General Michael Jeffery (centre), accompanied by Australia's ambassador to China Geoff Raby (left)

'It's utterly wrong. Julie Bishop is doing an outstanding job,' he told reporters in Melbourne.

'Every time she goes out on the world stage, she makes Australians proud. She's a formidable foreign minister, a great diplomat, and a great colleague.'

Labor's foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong was also sympathetic to Ms Bishop's plight saying Mr Turnbull had failed to sufficiently support her.

'I think we've seen a lengthy period where she has been openly undermined by colleagues,' Senator Wong told Sky News, singling out Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

Senator Wong said Ms Bishop needed to focus on Australia's challenging relations with China.

'The commentary today reflects a building concern about the relationship,' she said.
Almost half of Australian voters are actively considering or have already given up on the major political parties, new Labor research has found.

Labor strategist Bruce Hawker will outline the study in a public lecture to the NSW Society of Labor Lawyers in Sydney on Tuesday night.

Mr Hawker commissioned the Online Research Unit survey of 527 adults in April, after becoming concerned about populist political movements worldwide.

"To me, Australian populism isn't so much a response to a cataclysmic event," he will say.

"It's more like metal fatigue - the slow reactive process of breaking down resistance until something gives."

The poll found 47 per cent of Australian voters fell into one of three categories: previously supported a major party but a "fair chance" they will vote for someone else; planning on supporting a minor party, including the Greens; and not tied to supporting any one party.

Of this group, almost a third were unemployed, most were aged 30-59 and two-thirds lived in a major city.

Their top four issues were cost-of-living, health/Medicare, housing affordability and jobs.

Mr Hawker said there were some strongly held views about the state of politics among the group of disenfranchised voters.

The most commonly-held belief was the need for a "strong leader who will govern for everyone", with which 87 per cent of voters agreed.

Eighty-one per cent believed the rich were getting richer while others were being left behind, while 78 per cent said the Labor and Liberal parties were "failing Australia".

Most wanted the government to spend more on health, pensions and education, while being highly critical of big business.

Asked what it would take to draw them back to a major party, the voters most highly rated "acting first in the interests of the broad public", "greater vision and leadership" and "more honesty and accountability".

Mr Hawker suggested three solutions, the first of which was for parties to provide strong leaders who speak their minds.

"I think that Labor can renew its engagement with many of the disconnected voters ... by turning their attention much more heavily towards local issues," he said.

"(And) we must always avoid the temptation to ignore, demonise or patronise any part of society."

Mr Hawker's speech will be given in honour of the late Labor minister and judge Frank Walker, whose reforms were "aimed at improving the lot of the men, women and children in our society who are least able to defend themselves".
John Chardon's Filipino lover claims the alleged murderer asked him if he could kill after the pair had sex for the first time.

Marshall Bari Aguilor is giving evidence in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in the committal hearing for Chardon, who is accused of murdering his wife Novy in 2013.

He claimed he met the Gold Coast businessman through an Asian online dating website when he was trying to help his female friend meet men.

Aguilor said the accused killer paid for him to travel to the Filipino town of Cebu to meet up with him.

The pair had met previously when his friend had arranged to meet Chardon, but he gave evidence that she didn't like him.

Aguilor told the court the pair went to bed together at the Marriott Hotel soon after he had checked in.

"After that he asked me if I can kill," he said on Tuesday .

"I was stunned but I didn't show him that expression; I just controlled myself."

Aguilor said he asked Chardon who he wanted to kill.

"He said 'my wife'," he told the court.

The Filipino said he asked the businessman why he wanted her dead.

He claimed Chardon said it was because Novy wanted a divorce and once that happened she would get half of his business.

Aguilor said he was also asked if he could help Chardon find three hit men, who he would pay $US10,000 each "to do the job for Novy".

The court heard he was paid 30,000 pesos, the equivalent of about $750, to find the hit men, but never did.

Aguilor also claimed he met Chardon "many times" over the years, but the last occurred in January 2013, two weeks before Novy disappeared.

Novy was last seen soon on February 6, but her body has never been found despite an extensive search and a $250,000 reward.

The committal hearing continues.
Labor's Susan Lamb has finally dumped her British citizenship months after being told it made her ineligible to sit in parliament.

The Brisbane-based Longman MP can now run in her seat's by-election, which can't be held until June 23 at the earliest.

Georgina Downer, the South Australian Liberal candidate for Mayo, also revealed she renounced her British citizenship in September last year.

"Susan Lamb is eligible beyond any doubt to run in the by-election of Longman and she will be an excellent flag-bearer," Labor leader Bill Shorten told reporters in Brisbane on Tuesday.

She faces a tough contest to regain the seat, which she held with a wafer-thin margin of 0.8 per cent.

Ms Lamb was told last year she would likely have to resign, but she held on until last week when the High Court ruled ACT Labor senator Katy Gallagher ineligible due to her British citizenship.

Labor MPs Justine Keay, Josh Wilson and Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie also resigned, while Labor frontbencher Tim Hammond quit for family reasons, triggering a total of five by-elections.

Ms Downer is running in Mayo against Ms Sharkie, after losing several Liberal preselections in Victoria.

"I'd like to be an example to people that you can come back and have a fantastic life here," Ms Downer told reporters.

Her opponent Ms Sharkie may not get help from her former party leader Nick Xenophon, who she said was taking time out to look after himself.

"If Nick wants to come up and help he knows where my tiny little campaign office is," Ms Sharkie told reporters.

South Australia's Liberals are also considering a move to dump one of their two women in the Senate, with Anne Ruston and Lucy Gichui potentially being pushed down the ticket.

Senator Ruston was confident the 250 preselectors who choose the Senate voting order would make a "wise" decision.

"I'm looking forward to going out and speaking to the preselectors," Senator Ruston told reporters.

"I'm sure that Lucy will be doing exactly the same thing.

"She's a marvellous person, but she also brings a great deal of diversity to our parliament."

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected suggestions his party was sexist, after assistant minister Jane Prentice was booted out of her own seat in favour of her former staffer Julian Simmonds.

"The Liberal party is a grassroots political organisation and the pre-selections are determined by the membership," Mr Turnbull told Melbourne radio 3AW on Tuesday.

The five by-elections have still not been officially called, with Speaker Tony Smith still consulting over dates.
The Liberal party's decision to not bother fighting for the federal seat of Perth has unsurprisingly drawn criticism from Labor but also from within.

State director Sam Calabrese told members on the weekend the Liberals would instead focus on contesting the by-election for the state seat of Darling Range, vacated by disgraced Labor-turned-independent Barry Urban.

Federal Liberal ministers Julie Bishop and Mathias Corman have backed the decision, writing off Perth as a Labor stronghold.

On Tuesday, federal Labor MP Matt Keogh took aim at the prime minister, saying he was "running away".

"If Malcolm Turnbull was serious about making Western Australia a priority, he and his Liberals would be fielding candidates in the by-election coming up in just a few weeks," Mr Keogh said.

Outspoken former Liberal state premier Colin Barnett said it was "the wrong decision" not to contest Perth and he was "very disappointed".

"How can a major party not contest a capital city and a seat that's been held by the Liberals previously?" he told ABC radio on Monday.

Mr Barnett believes keeping the party's powder dry for next year's federal election is a poor argument.

WA Liberal Senator Dean Smith has also labelled the decision "nonsense", saying the Liberals were giving Labor a free kick.

The Liberals could reclaim Darling Range, which the party held for more than 50 years before Mr Urban won with a 5.8 per cent margin in Labor's historic victory last year.
A former firefighter accused of a string of Sydney bombings and murders in the 1980s allegedly told his ex-wife a Family Court judge "won't be there much longer" weeks before he was shot dead.

Opening the crown case on Tuesday, prosecutor Ken McKay said when the ex-wife asked if the judge was going on holidays, Leonard John Warwick replied: "No, he won't be there at all."

The crimes involved extreme, targeted violence, the prosecutor told Justice Peter Garling, who is hearing the trial without a jury.

They took place when Warwick's Family Court matters were proceeding and the victims had intervened in the dispute with his ex-wife, he said.

Warwick, 71, has pleaded not guilty in the NSW Supreme Court to four murders - including the shooting deaths of his brother-in-law and a judge - and 20 other offences relating to seven events which occurred between February 1980 and July 1985.

He was involved in a long-running Family Court dispute which ended in 1986 and "inextricably linked" him to the seven events and provided him with a motive, the crown alleges.

Warwick is charged with the 1980 shooting murders of his brother-in-law Stephen Blanchard and Justice David Opas; the bombing of Justice Richard Gee's home and of the Family Court building in Parramatta in 1984; and, in the same year, the bombing of the home of Justice Ray Watson in which his wife Pearl was killed.

His ex-wife's solicitor was allegedly the target of a car bomb.

Warwick in 1985 allegedly set off a bomb that ripped apart a Jehovah's Witnesses hall, killing Graham Wyke and injuring 13 people, part of the congregation offering support to his ex-wife Andrea Blanchard.

In his brief defence opening, lawyer Alan Conolly described his client as "a lover not a murderer". He said the crown evidence was "flimsy".

"There was not one scintilla of evidence against this man except some DNA which the defence will say has been very poorly cared for," Mr Conolly said.

Mr McKay said the body of Warwick's brother-in-law was found in a creek in a national park days after he went missing.

He had been shot in the head while 11 bricks were roped around his waist - bricks which were similar to those found at Warwick's home.

Justice Opas had made orders and comments which Warwick would have regarded as being adverse to his case, the prosecutor said.

Warwick allegedly told his ex-wife: "You don't have to worry about him anymore. He won't be there much longer."

The judge was shot dead in the courtyard of his home with a .22 calibre rifle which was the same type used to kill Mr Blanchard, Mr McKay said.

Justice Gee replaced Justice Opas in hearing the case and a bomb exploded at the front of his house early one morning. It destroyed the building.

Justice Watson had been about to leave for work when his wife opened the door and was killed by an explosive.

Mr McKay said Warwick's father had worked at a colliery using explosives and detonators for decades while the accused had been in the army from 1967 to 1969.

The trial will continue on July 9.
Israeli soldiers walk amidst smoke from a fire in a wheat field near the Kibbutz of Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza Strip

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of "state terror" and "genocide" after Israeli forces killed at least 55 Palestinians on the Gaza border.

In one of his most vehement broadsides ever against the Jewish state, Erdogan also announced three days of national mourning over the deaths, as well as a giant protest in Istanbul on Friday.

Thousands had earlier marched through central Istanbul to denounce the bloodshed as the US moved its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in defiance of widespread outrage in the Islamic world.

"Israel is wreaking state terror. Israel is a terror state," Erdogan told Turkish students in London in a speech broadcast by state television.

"What Israel has done is a genocide. I condemn this humanitarian drama, the genocide, from whichever side it comes, Israel or America," he added.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag told reporters in Ankara that Turkey was recalling its ambassadors to the United States and Israel "for consultations".

Bozdag also said Turkey was calling an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Friday, but did not give details over its format.

Violent clashes erupted along Gaza's border as the US opened its Israel embassy in Jerusalem in a ceremony attended by a White House delegation and Israeli officials.

Protesters march along the Istikilal avenue in Istanbul during a demonstration against US President's decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Erdogan and other Turkish officials have repeatedly condemned the US decision to move the embassy, warning it risked inflaming tensions.

The Turkish president announced he was calling a "giant meeting" on Friday to protest Israel's actions at the vast Yenikapi area in Istanbul, which has capacity for more than a million people.

Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and last year held a summit of Islamic countries to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

However Turkey also maintains full trade and diplomatic links with the Jewish state after a 2016 reconciliation deal ended a dispute over the deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos.

Ankara earlier on Monday accused the US of sharing responsibility with Israel over the deaths in Gaza.

"The United States, unfortunately, took its place without complaint alongside the Israeli government in this massacre of civilians and became a party to this crime against humanity," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.
US President Donald Trump is livid about leaks from his White House

US President Donald Trump vowed to root out "leakers" inside his White House Monday, describing them as "traitors and cowards" in a furious tweet after a series of embarrassing revelations.

"The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible," Trump claimed, before seemingly acknowledging they are in fact real.

"With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!"

For almost a week, the White House has been roiled by revelations that an aide said Senator John McCain's opposition to a presidential nominee did not matter because "he's dying anyway."

McCain, 81, who was held prisoner and tortured during the Vietnam War, is battling brain cancer.

Several officials publicly said that White House communications aide Kelly Sadler made the remarks in a staff meeting.

The White House has said the matter has been dealt with internally.
Palestinians clash with with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel

The United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," read a draft of the statement, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability," read the text.

In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes and more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded.

They erupted before Israeli officials and a White House delegation including President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka formally opened the embassy in Jerusalem, and the bloodshed continued throughout the day.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

"The Security Council expresses its grave concern regarding recent developments in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the context of the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and the tragic loss of civilian lives," the draft statement read.

"The Security Council calls upon all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm," it said.

"The Security Council calls on all States not to undertake any steps that further aggravate the situation, including any unilateral and unlawful measures undermining the prospects of peace."

It also said that any decisions and actions "which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect" -- a reference to the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson says Iranian behavior in the Gulf is entering a "period of uncertainty," after President Donald Trump's decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal

Iranian behavior in the Gulf is entering a "period of uncertainty," the head of the US Navy said Monday following President Donald Trump's decision to quit the Iran nuclear deal.

US officials have in recent months credited the Iranian military for stopping years of "unsafe and unprofessional" interactions that had included Iranian vessels zooming within a close distance of US warships.

But on May 8, Trump yanked America from the Iran nuclear deal, leading to questions about how Tehran will react.

"It's a period of uncertainty that we are entering into," Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson said.

"We certainly have to remain alert, even more alert than usual to just be open to any kind of response or new development or something like that."

He noted that so far, there had been no change in Iranian behavior.

"The interactions there continue to be professional and safe," he said.

Last year and in 2016, the US Navy complained repeatedly about the behavior of Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels, which would often shadow and steer toward US ships.

In at least one incident, US sailors had to fire flares and warning shots before the Iranians turned away.

Richardson spoke to reporters during a daylong visit to the USS George H.W. Bush, which was conducting exercises with an embedded crew of more than 300 French sailors and pilots about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the coast of Virginia.

The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is currently undergoing maintenance, so its Rafale pilots and crew are keeping current on their flight hours and training by working with the Bush.
US envoy Nikki Haley wants the United Nations Security Council to take rapid action on the Rohingya crisis, which has seen over 700,000 people driven from their homes in Myanmar

US envoy Nikki Haley called Monday for the United Nations Security Council to take rapid action on the Rohingya crisis, which has seen over 700,000 people driven from their homes in Myanmar.

"The active involvement of the Security Council is essential to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis," Haley said.

"We have unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, and we must use them," she said, without specifying if she meant sanctions.

Haley said the council should "move quickly to adopt a resolution," while acknowledging the inherent challenges as "some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons."

She was apparently referring to China, which has resisted a British-led push at the council to increase pressure on Myanmar to try those responsible for attacks on the Rohingya.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh since August to escape a bloody military crackdown.

The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes.
Ross says he wants Beijing to change policies that harm US companies, including forced technology transfers and lack of protection for American know-how

President Donald Trump's trade team faces a crunch week as they juggle talks on multiple sensitive issues representing hundreds of billions in trade amid pressing deadlines.

High-stakes negotiations will take place with China, the European Union and Washington's two North American Free Trade Agreement partners.

And while the talks have been going on for weeks and months, key deadlines are fast approaching -- critically for NAFTA.

- NAFTA deadline -

Officials have been working furiously to update the 24-year-old trade pact that Trump called "a horrible, horrible disaster for this country."

Trump spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday and discussed bringing the talks to quick conclusion, officials from both countries said.

But outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week he would need a written agreement for the US Congress to approve a revamped trade pact this year, while Republicans still control the legislature -- something that could change in November's midterm elections.

The talks are hung up on Washington's demands to increase the US-made components in vehicles that receive duty-free status in NAFTA and the clock is running out.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said those and other issues remained a "work in progress" but the trade ministers from Canada and Mexico who were in Washington last week stressed they would not be pressured to reach a deal.

The NAFTA revision is vital for another reason: the exemptions for Canada and Mexico from the steep US tariffs on steel imports expire June 1.

Unless officials agree on terms covering steel and aluminum, the tariffs would take effect.

Ross said the tariffs decision would depend on how the talks progressed but added this was "unforecastable at the moment."

- EU steel quotas? -

The EU also faces the same June 1 deadline when the tariff exemptions expire. Ross said he would speak with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem on Tuesday.

"I hope to get a reasonable conclusion," Ross said, but "if not they will go into effect."

He said other countries, like South Korea, had agreed to export quotas that would have the same effect as tariffs but so far European officials "haven't agreed to anything."

The EU continues to insist that as key allies they should be granted a permanent exemption and Brussels says it refuses to negotiate under a tariff threat.

But Ross said he had spoken to his EU counterpart eight or 10 times since the metals tariffs were first announced in March.

- China and ZTE -

Also on Tuesday, Vice Premier Liu He -- considered President Xi Jinping's right-hand man on economic issues -- will head a Chinese delegation to Washington.

The officials will try to find a way to head off a major trade battle after the US threatened tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports, while Beijing has targeted $50 billion in US goods in the dispute over China's failure to protect intellectual property rights.

"The gap remains wide," Ross said, but he added he remained hopeful the strong personal relationship between Trump and Xi would "facilitate an agreement, just as it seems to be doing with regard to North Korea."

Ross said his aim was for Beijing to change policies that harm US companies, including forced technology transfers and lack of protection for American know-how.

But he said it is likely Chinese officials also would raise the issue of telecoms giant ZTE, the company that was forced to cease operations after it was cut off from US technology products for violating US sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

Although he said "our position has been that that's an enforcement action separate from trade," Ross said he was exploring "alternative remedies... very, very promptly," after Trump intervened in the case.

ZTE was fined $1.2 billion in March 2017, but last month it was hit with a steeper sanction, prohibiting US companies from supplying the firm with needed parts amid revelations the company lied multiple times and failed to take actions against employees responsible for sanctions violations.

But President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Twitter on Sunday, offering to intercede to prevent the company from shutting down.

"President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast," Trump tweeted.
North Korea has promised to 'completely destory' the nuclear test site

Satellite photos indicate North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear test site ahead of a historic summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, a US monitor said Tuesday.

In a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul, North Korea said at the weekend it will "completely" destroy the Punggye-ri test site, in a ceremony scheduled between May 23-25 in front of invited foreign media.

But no observers from international atomic monitoring agencies have been invited, raising concerns over the openness of the process.

Punggye-ri, in the northeast of the country, has been the site of all six of the North's nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb.

North Korea pledged to close the testing ground after Kim last month declared the country's nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex.

The respected 38 North website said Tuesday that satellite images dated May 7 showed "the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well under way".

Several key operational buildings as well as smaller sheds had been razed and rails connecting the tunnels to their waste piles were removed, the monitoring group said.

North Korea missile and nuclear sites

Excavation of a new tunnel has also been halted since late March, it added.

Images showed preparatory work for the destruction ceremony had also begun, including a newly positioned foundation among the waste piles believed to have been built for the invited journalists.

"It is conceivably for a future camera position to record the closure of the West Portal," the group said.

However no tunnel entrances appear to have been permanently closed and some main buildings are still intact, it added, saying the destruction of those facilities was likely to be carried out in front of the foreign media.

Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and Trump which will be held in Singapore on June 12.

Kim's latest diplomatic overture has seen him hold a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in and travel twice in less than two months to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The two Koreas are due to meet for a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures from their summit last month, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Washington is seeking the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation" of the North and stresses that verification will be key.

But sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal, which includes missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Satellite photos from last month showed signs of construction at the North's Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The purpose of the new buildings at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre was unknown, 38 North has said, with "no observable signs that initial reactor operations are imminent".

North Korea blew up a cooling tower at the nuclear facility in 2007 following a deal with the US, but soon restarted the reactor.
Ghana is the first country on the continent to introduce the large-scale use of a new "third generation insecticide" against mosquitoes, which have developed a resistance to other chemicals

Bismark Owusu moves food and bowls from a bedroom and covers clothes and furniture with a large sheet before mixing a mosquito-killing chemical with water in his spray pack.

He then puts on head-to-toe safety gear, straps the pack to his back and methodically sprays the walls, windows and corners of the room.

Owusu's visit to Domeabra, a small community in the Obuasi area of the Ashanti region in central Ghana, is his latest stop in the country's fight against malaria.

The death of two of his friends from the disease spurs him on. "Why wouldn't I help if others are dying? I am here today helping to eradicate this deadly malaria," he told AFP.

Malaria, which is spread to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, is one of the world's deadliest diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries across the world in 2016 and 445,000 deaths.

Most of those cases and deaths -- about 90 percent -- were in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana, which is home to some 28 million people, there were 4.8 million cases and 599 deaths last year, a marked drop from the 2,200 who died in 2011.

But with global concern that the fight against malaria has reached a plateau, African governments and development agencies are looking at new ways to step up the fight.

That includes preventative measures such as distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and developing a vaccine against the disease but also indoor spraying.

Ghana is the first on the continent to introduce the large-scale use of a new "third generation insecticide" against mosquitoes, which have developed a resistance to other chemicals.

- 'Intelligent insects' -

In Ghana, there were 4.8 million cases of malaria and 599 deaths last year

As Ghana's rainy season approaches, when malaria cases increase, Owusu and his colleagues at the non-profit organisation AGALMal are working flat out.

The organisation grew out of a social initiative by global mining firm AngloGold Ashanti and has a laboratory in the grounds of an old mining site in Obuasi.

There, tiny mosquito pupae dart around in water in a white plastic container in a lab.

Soon they will transform into mosquitoes and be studied by scientists. Technologist Paul Osei-Bonsu said chemical resistance was a major issue for the spraying programme.

If a population of mosquitoes is sprayed and just one survives and reproduces, the resistance will be passed on, he explained.

"If you use the same spray over time you will have 90 percent of the population not dying," he added.

Programme director Samuel Asiedu says mosquitoes are "intelligent insects", so the new chemical -- SumiShield 50WG -- should be more effective when rotated with others.

In 2006, after the first two years of the indoor spraying, the hospital in Obuasi saw a 75-percent decrease in malaria cases.

That led to the programme being expanded with additional support from global health initiative Unitaid and the Global Fund partnership.

Currently, the indoor spraying programme targets the homes of 1.2 million people.

"We are anticipating other chemicals to come on board by the end of the year so we can be rotating the use of chemicals to prevent resistance development," said Asiedu.

Unitaid project director David McGuire said he hoped the scheme "will convince donors and national governments to increase their investment in this life-saving intervention".

- 'Peace of mind' -

Keziah Malm, who manages the national malaria control programme at the Ghana Health Service, says the new WHO-approved spray is considered safe and has been tested internationally and locally.

The non-profit organisation AGALMal are working flat out to spray homes before Ghana's rainy season arrives and malaria cases increase

It will be used in Obuasi and Ghana's far north -- all of the Upper West region and three districts in the Upper East -- which are high-risk zones for malaria.

Local communities still need to be convinced about the benefits of having their homes sprayed. But Asiedu says only a handful of people refuse.

Sprayers themselves also speak to households about the work and the risks to health from the disease, which can lead to severe illness and death if not treated within 24 hours.

"If I go to the whole house and someone does not want it I have to sit the person and let them know the importance of the spraying because malaria kills," said Owusu.

"It's very important we all understand that malaria is a killer. We have to eradicate it and kick it out of Obuasi and the nation as a whole."

During the course of his work, he's found everyone has a story about the disease.

"I sprayed a full house and the owner was telling me her son died some years go from malaria. He would be 18 years today. She was crying bitterly," he added.

Children under five and pregnant women are considered most vulnerable to malaria.

Seamstress Victoria Awuah lives in an eight-room house some 30 minutes from the lab.

She is seven months pregnant and doesn't need much persuasion to have her room sprayed.

"The spraying really helps. It helps us so that we don't get sick, give us peace of mind and rid this area of all these insects," she added.
A charity report in 2016 found a total of 246 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, and nearly 1,000 in Melilla, both Spanish enclaves in North Africa

At 14 years old, Ismail said he is "ready for anything" as he tries to board a boat for Europe and leave his Moroccan homeland behind.

While waiting to fulfil his dream, Ismail ambles around the port of Ceuta -- a Spanish enclave in Morocco -- wandering the streets like dozens of other children.

"At home, there's no future," said the teenager, slouched on the pavement dressed in a sweatshirt and beanie hat.

Originally from Tangier in northern Morocco, Ismail said he grew up in a poor family and left school aged 12.

With the permission of his mother, who prays for him to reach Europe, he travelled the 100 kilometres (60 miles) to Ceuta and two months ago climbed the border fence at dawn.

Recounting his story surrounded by around a dozen youths, he described himself as "addicted to hashish" as his companions bickered over sharing a joint.

A frail looking boy, the youngest of the group, acted as lookout in the ongoing game of hide and seek with Spain's Civil Guard police force.

In order to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish enclave, migrants must first scale the barbed wire fences which mark the only land borders between Europe and Africa.

Those under 18 are hoping to benefit from European legislation which gives them greater protection than adult migrants -- and limits the chances of their being deported.

The regulations are enforced to varying degrees within the European Union and, after years of migrants travelling across the sea, the rules are becoming increasingly restrictive.

- Dreams or destitution -

But Ismail will not be deterred and sees his future in the Spanish capital, following in the footsteps of one of his neighbours.

"He lives in Madrid, a really beautiful city," Ismail said passionately, describing his own wish to "become a mechanic, buy a car and a house".

Like the dozens of young migrants in Ceuta, realising his dreams entails clinging onto the underside of a vehicle boarding a ship for the port of Algeciras in southern Spain.

After making the 40-minute sea crossing, they continue their journey on land towards their final destination -- be it Madrid, Paris, or elsewhere.

But whether originating from Sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco or Algeria, child and adult migrants frequently find themselves destitute.

In order to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish enclave, migrants must first scale the barbed wire fences which mark the only land borders between Europe and Africa.

The charity Save the Children recently raised concerns about "the vulnerability of these boy migrants, who find themselves alone on the streets of Ceuta, exposed to all types of danger".

In 2016 the organisation found a total of 246 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, and nearly 1,000 in Melilla.

The group of young hopefuls in Ceuta survive by sleeping in cars and scrounging cigarettes and food.

Research association Migreurop last month denounced "police violence" against the young migrants on both sides of the border, calling on Spain and Morocco to "respect the rights of child migrants".

- 'Make a life' -

Their perilous attempts to cling onto trucks going through the port are high-risk, with Ismail saying one of his friends was "killed intentionally" last month when he was run over.

"Look, they want to finish with us," he said angrily, as truck drivers went full-speed at the sight of the approaching boys.

Despite hostility from drivers and the authorities, one young woman arrived to offer the group some rare support.

"She works for an association where you can go to shower, get online or watch films," said Nabil, the eldest of the group.

Originally from the Moroccan capital Rabat, where he grew up in a working class neighbourhood, the 20-year-old passes himself off as a minor.

Despite tales of success reaching the youths from Europe, the reality for young migrants is often far from the dreams held at the portside.

Those who have gone before them are frequently left exploited and isolated, with dozens of young Moroccans resorting to petty theft to survive on the streets of Paris.

They remain wary of authorities and often refuse help, prompting the resentment of locals.

But the young migrants in Ceuta are determined to continue along their uncertain path, with Nabil aiming to reach Germany.

To "make a life for myself and see what Morocco looks like from the outside," he said.
Syrian children browse merchandise as they attend the government-sponsored "Ghouta Shopping Festival" on May 13, 2018

Ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, a market in Syria's ravaged Douma is drawing hundreds who can finally afford food, cleaning supplies, and toys after years of siege.

Sponsored by Syria's ministry of trade, the four-day market opened on Sunday in a vast courtyard in Douma, the main town in the onetime opposition bastion of Eastern Ghouta near the capital.

Regime forces recaptured Ghouta last month after a ferocious offensive that displaced tens of thousands, both to government-controlled zones around Damascus and to opposition-held parts of northern Syria.

Those who stayed are trying to piece their lives together, and many from Douma and the surrounding towns headed to the market on Sunday to buy goods for their damaged homes.

A boy holds a toy gun during a visit on May 13, 2018 to a government-sponsored market in Douma, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus

Crowds of men, women, and children streamed into the maze of stalls offering detergent, strained yoghurt, and instant coffee, among other goods.

Umm Mohammad, a 50-year-old shopper, peered at the price tag on a can of processed meat before putting it back on the shelf.

"My kitchen in Douma was empty, but several days ago I started fixing it up and preparing it to be full of all kinds of things," she told AFP.

She sported a full-body black robe and face veil and was already carrying bags weighed down with food.

"I'm going to rush home to my children after buying them butter and halawa," she said, referring to a crumbly, sesame-based sweet.

The goods at the market cost just a fraction of what they did months ago, when a five-year siege made food, medicine, and other basic goods either hard to find or too expensive.

- 'Impossible to pay' -

Syrians attend a government-sponsored market in Douma on May 13, 2018 ahead of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan

As the stocks at storefronts dwindled over the years, Ghouta's 400,000 residents were left relying on rare deliveries of humanitarian aid or products smuggled in through tunnels.

"I haven't seen this in years," said Hassan Saryoul, a 42-year-old resident, holding up a box of paper napkins.

"Napkins were like drugs -- virtually banned. A kilo of sugar cost 22,000 Syrian pounds (around $50) but now it's around 500 pounds," he told AFP.

He was already carrying bags in both hands and struggling to manoeuvre around the masses of shoppers: "If I could carry even more things, I would have."

Nearly 40 companies are displaying their wares at the "Goodness in Ghouta" market. It is the second such government-backed effort in Ghouta in recent weeks, after a similar market in the nearby town of Kafr Batna.

Syria's minister of trade and consumer protection Abdullah al-Gharabi told reporters a total of six such markets would be organised throughout Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of fasting which begins late Tuesday.

Ghouta fell to rebels in 2012 and was placed under a crippling siege the following year.

With help from its ally Russia, Syria's government recaptured Ghouta one month ago through a blend of military pressure and population transfer deals.

Raed Zabadina pulled bottles of laundry detergent, bleach, and shampoo from the shelves behind him and packed them into bags for impatient customers.

"It's natural there'd be so many customers in the cleaning section. A big box of detergent costs 500 Syrian pounds here, while a small box in the past would cost 3,000 pounds," he told AFP.

"This amount was just impossible for people to pay."

Mohammad al-Hafi, 31, was also barely able to catch his breath behind a booth selling City Cafe, the ubiquitous brand of Syrian instant coffee.

"I had to shut the door because of the crowds. People here are buying much more because of how desperately they need food and other goods," Hafi told AFP as he jotted down sales numbers.

Just outside the market, Douma remains devastated, with mangled cars rusting outside crumbling buildings and rubble still littering the dusty streets.

Syrian flags, portraits of a beaming President Bashar al-Assad, and brightly coloured posters advertising the pop-up flea market were plastered all over the gutted concrete residences.
Gap has apologised for what it says was the "unintentional" mistake of producing a T-shirt that shows mainland China but omits Taiwan

US clothing retailer Gap has apologised to China over a T-shirt with a map showing the mainland but omitting Taiwan, becoming the latest foreign firm to run afoul of Beijing's policy on the self-ruling island.

China, which considers Taiwan a rebel province awaiting reunification, has taken airlines, hotels and other companies to task in recent months for listing the island as a separate country on their websites.

The Gap shirt, which was sold in overseas markets, features a map of China, but Taiwan does not appear to the southeast of the country, according to a photo of the company's online store posted on the Twitter account of the official People's Daily newspaper.

The state-run Global Times newspaper said the map also omitted South Tibet and the South China Sea, and that it had prompted hundreds of people to complain on Gap's official account on China's Weibo microblogging website.

The US company issued its apology on Weibo late Monday, saying it "respects the integrity of China's sovereignty and territory".

"We are terribly sorry for this unintentional mistake. We are doing internal checks to correct the mistake as soon as possible," Gap said.

"We have removed the product from the Chinese market and destroyed them all."

The company said it strictly abides by Chinese law and will devote itself to greater scrutiny to avoid similar errors in the future.

The Global Times quoted Gap as saying that the T-shirt had not been released in China.

US hotel chain Marriott, Spanish clothing giant Zara and a slew of airlines have faced China's wrath for not classifying Taiwan as part of China on their websites.

The White House hit back at the push earlier this month, calling the demands placed on airlines "Orwellian nonsense".

The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration had sent a notice to 36 foreign airlines, including a number of US carriers, on April 25, asking them to comply with Beijing's standards, according to the White House.

In January, Australia's Qantas Airways changed its website classification of Taiwan and Hong Kong from separate countries to Chinese territories, blaming its earlier approach on an "oversight".

Taiwan has been self-ruled since splitting from the mainland after a 1949 civil war, maintaining its own government, military and independent foreign policy.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second from left, meets with his French, German and British counterparts and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, left, in Brussels

The European Union on Tuesday launched work on a nine-point economic plan to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive after the abrupt withdrawal of the United States.

Europe is scrambling to come up with ways to persuade Iran to stick with the landmark 2015 agreement despite US President Donald Trump ditching it a week ago.

Tehran has warned it is prepared to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment "without any restrictions" unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain the economic benefits it gained from the nuclear agreement despite Washington reimposing sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany -- the three European signatories to pact -- in Brussels on the last leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour that also took in Russia and China, the two other signatory nations.

Mogherini said EU experts were aiming to come up with concrete proposals in the coming weeks on nine key issues including ensuring Iran could sell its oil and gas products and have access to international finance.

"I believe it's a good start. We're not there, we're beginning the process," Zarif told reporters after the talks.

But he warned that Tehran expected to see progress towards the guarantees it wants "within the next few weeks".

Mogherini acknowledged the enormous challenge of finding a way around US sanctions punishing businesses trading with Iran, which apply all around the world.

"We know it's a difficult task but we are detemined to do it and we have started to work to put in place measures that help ensure this happens," she told reporters.

EU experts have already started work on measures to get round US sanctions on Iran, Mogherini said.

Their efforts focus on nine key areas including maintaining economic ties with Iran, continuing Iran's ability to sell oil and gas products and protecting EU companies doing business in Iran.

The EU is also looking at how it could develop special financing vehicles for doing business with Iran.

- 'Respect the deal' -

The European Union insists the deal is working, pointing to repeated UN inspections verifying the Islamic republic's compliance with its side of the bargain.

EU leaders aim to show a united front on preserving the Iran deal when they meet for a pre-summit dinner in Sofia on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

"I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it," Tusk said in a letter to the leaders on the eve of the summit.

European firms, especially those from France and Germany, rushed to invest in Iran following the 2015 accord, under which Tehran agreed to freeze its nuclear programme in return for an end to punishing international sanctions.

German exports to Iran totalled nearly 3.0 billion euros in 2017, while French exports soared from 562 million euros in 2015 to 1.5 billion in 2017 and oil giant Total has pledged to invest some $5 billion in the South Pars gas field.

- 'No illusion' -

When he quit the deal last week, US President Donald Trump gave businesses a maximum of six months to wind up operations in Iran or face swingeing penalties under American sanctions.

"We have to be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extra-territoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to business," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

French President Emmanuel Macron held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, and the Kremlin said they had "confirmed Russia and France's commitment to make the deal work".

Washington has long complained that the nuclear deal does nothing to stop Iran's ballistic missile programme or its interference in conflicts across the Middle East from Syria to Yemen.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behaviour" and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners.

But Mogherini cast doubt on the idea on Tuesday, saying the deal "doesn't need to be changed, modified or have any addition".

"We're not talking about annexes or modifications of the agreement at all, we're talking about setting up concrete measures" to preserve the deal, Mogherini said.
The high court found that former president Ma Ying-jeou had attempted to damage the 'character and rights' of opposition lawmaker Ker Chien-ming

A Taiwanese court Tuesday found former president Ma Ying-jeou guilty in a political leaks case, his first conviction in a raft of lawsuits brought against him since he stepped down two years ago.

Ma was sentenced to four months in prison for violating the communication security and surveillance act, said the high court, overturning a previous not guilty verdict from a lower court.

The former president said Tuesday he will appeal the sentence and remains free.

Ma was also convicted of breaching the personal data protection act and of "using his presidential power not for executing presidential legal duties", the court added.

Under Taiwanese law any sentence under six months can be paid off with a fine.

The high court found that Ma had attempted to damage the "character and rights" of opposition lawmaker Ker Chien-ming when he leaked confidential information about an ongoing probe associated with Ker.

Investigators had been accused of tapping Ker's phone to acquire the information.

The information that he obtained through his office "should have been kept secret", a statement from the court said.

The leaks controversy sparked a political storm in 2013 and saw two top officials resign, while thousands of protesters took to the streets to demand Ma step down.

The DPP, then in opposition, compared the probe to the Watergate scandal in the United States.

The probe revolved around information gained from surveillance on Ker which implicated the then parliamentary speaker, a rival of Ma, in influence peddling.

Ma was not present when the verdict was announced. He had maintained his innocence throughout the trial and accused the prosecution of basing their case on flimsy evidence and speculation.

Ma's office said he "deeply regrets" the verdict and that it had failed to take into consideration "that a president needs to fulfil his commitment to the constitution and his duties to the country".

Last year, the ex-president was cleared of defamation charges and leaking confidential information by the Taipei district court in two separate cases also relating to the 2013 judicial probe into the parliamentary speaker.

While still in office Ma was protected by political immunity.

But since he stepped down as leader in May 2016 the 67-year-old has been hit with a string of corruption and other allegations.

Ma's Beijing-friendly Kuomintang (KMT) party held power from 2008 to 2016, before it was trounced by Tsai Ing-wen and her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

Ma was the third ex-president in Taiwan to be indicted on criminal charges.

His predecessor Chen Shui-bian was serving a 20-year sentence for corruption when he was freed on medical parole in 2015.

Lee Teng-hui was charged with embezzling state funds during his 1988-2000 presidency, but was acquitted.
Working elephants are widely used in the rough terrain of Kachin state, including by rebel groups fighting Myanmar's army.

Mahouts and their elephants help sick, young and elderly villagers displaced by conflict cross a chest-deep river in Myanmar's remote Kachin state, where thousands of people recently completed a trek through dense jungle to safety.

The people of Awng Lawt in Kachin state were forced from their homes by escalating fighting between rebels from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Myanmar's military earlier this year.

It is a grinding conflict that plays out away from the more prominent global headlines generated by violence in the country's west, where the army has driven out some 700,000 Rohingya Muslims since August to fierce international condemnation.

For three days, the villagers took shelter in their paddy fields as the sound of gunfire and fighter jets came ever closer.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in Myanmar's Kachin state

But as shells started to fall among their homes, village leaders ordered an evacuation to IDP camps dozens of kilometres away.

The slowest and most vulnerable could only manage to hack through the jungle undergrowth for three or four hours a day.

On May 2, after nearly a month and with food running out, they reached the river where some local elephant owners came to their aid.

Remarkable footage shows Kachin villagers in bright traditional headdresses hoisting youngsters onto the backs of several of the giant creatures to cross the waterway.

"We had some elderly, sick and blind people," said one villager, preferring not to give his name. "So we asked the mahouts for help to carry those people."

Working elephants are widely used in the rough terrain of Kachin state, including by rebel groups fighting Myanmar's army, which is equipped with helicopters and fighter jets.

Most of the villagers are now in camps but, as the fighting rages, they do not know how long it will be before they can return home.

Myanmar has been mired in almost continuous conflict with ethnic insurgent groups for more than 70 years.

More than 100,000 people have been displaced by the violence in and around Kachin state, according to the latest UN figures.
In India, getting a job as a maid or home help can help lift some women out of extreme poverty

As a child, Rohena Gera never understood why her family's live-in nanny, the "woman she loved like a second mother" was kept at arm's length by her Indian family.

"I didn't understand why this person who took care of me, who I loved... was so separate."

In a country where millions of servants sleep on the floor of the homes they work in, the idea that a "master" might fall for the meek low-caste woman who is there to cook and scrub for him seemed "inconceivable", she said.

But that is the premise of Gera's new film, "Sir", an upstairs-downstairs love story of a kind she says has never been seen in an Indian movie.

That the maid is a widow -- whose lives can be severely circumscribed in India -- adds another layer of taboo to the tenderly told tale which premiered at the Cannes film festival Monday.

Young property developer Ashwin and his maid Ratna may live "under the same roof but they are in completely different worlds," said Gera.

"They do not even speak the same language," with him coming from the English-speaking Mumbai elite and her a poor villager.

Even if by some miracle he married her, his family and friends might object to sharing a table with her.

Nor would she "be able to sit on a sofa with his sister", Gera told AFP.

- Class and caste system -

In "Sir", an upstairs-downstairs love story, Ratna the maid is played by rising Indian star Tillotama Shome

"Indian society is pretty rigid. It not so much the caste system as class these days which plays out as caste... And we accept it. No one is doing anything actively to challenge it."

The director saw the divide more starkly when she returned from college in the US. "You see these dramatic inequalities but I didn't know what to do about it.

"I couldn't be holier than thou because I am part of the problem," Gera admitted.

So rather than making "some preachy story or tell people what to think", instead she spun a subtly revealing study of thwarted love.

It is more Bergman than Bollywood, but as Gera joked, "it does have two dance numbers".

"As you get older, you begin to realise how love operates, how we allow ourselves to love who we love," he said.

"They are both victims in a way. He is in his gilded cage of privilege but he can't live his dreams."

Ratna the maid, played by rising star Tillotama Shome, is in some ways freer than him, Gera claimed, fired by a fierce determination to make the best of her circumstances.

"People not familiar with India might think, 'Oh my god, she sleeps on the floor in this little tiny room," but in Indian terms she is in a relatively privileged situation for a maid, the director insisted.

- 'Widows seen as cursed' -

"She is earning money and she has her dreams. She is not judging where she sleeps. It is not so different to what happened in England and Europe a few generations ago."

Following those dreams as a widow sets her apart in a country where patriarchal attitudes have become more entrenched under the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party.

Widows are still seen as cursed or bringers of bad luck by some, Gera said.

"They are denied a lot of joy and from wearing certain colours... Even in the supposedly progressive cities I have friends whose mothers lost their husbands in their forties and they never really moved on. You can't date in India if you are a widow and you have a child.

"For a widow to have desire is seen as preposterous."

But in the film Ratna -- who has been brought up to be docile and deferential, anticipating her employer's every whim -- manages not just to free herself but also her master, without losing her dignity.

"I don't know how people will take that," said Gera, who hopes the film will be seen widely in India.

"I think it will make some people extremely uncomfortable, which isn't a bad thing. But I think it will give others hope," she said.

With two Indian women directors selected for Cannes for the first time ever this year, Indian indie cinema seems to be on the up.

"It is a good year for Indian women at a very bad time for Indian women," Gera said dryly. "Our voices need to be heard."
An activist shouts anti-China slogans during a rally in 2016 marking the anniversary of a 1974 naval battle between China and then-South Vietnamese troops over the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea

A photo of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts depicting Beijing's claims to the disputed South China Sea has sparked online anger in Vietnam, prompting calls for the visitors to be deported.

The shirts featured a map of China and its so-called nine-dash line -- the sea boundary found on some 1940s-era maps which Beijing says proves its claim to most of the waterway, despite partial claims from Vietnam and other nations.

The territorial dispute is a hot-button issue in Vietnam, which has a turbulent history of conflict with its powerhouse neighbour.

The visitors arrived in southern Cam Ranh airport on Sunday night and were stopped by security at the immigration desk, an airport police officer confirmed to AFP.

"We asked them to take the T-shirts off before allowing them to leave the airport," said the officer, without providing his name because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Photos of the tourists in their nationalist attire made the rounds on social media -- with the nine-dash line crossed out with an "X".

Some netizens said the tourists were not welcome in Vietnam.

"Immediately deport them and ban them permanently from coming to Vietnam," Facebook user Nguyen Ngoc Hieu posted.

Another, Quan Hai, wrote: "We must be determined, not allowing anyone passing through our border gates if the passports, T-shirts or anything else with the dash-line maps."

Vietnam and China have long sparred over the resource-rich sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands and installed airstrips and military equipment.

This is not the first time the dispute has trickled into the tourism sector.

A Chinese passport featuring a map of Beijing's sea claims was defaced in 2016 by a border agent in Ho Chi Minh City's airport with an unfriendly welcome note reading "Fuck you".

Border officials in tourist hotspots Danang and Phu Quoc island have also reportedly refused to issue visa stamps in Chinese passports with maps of the nine-dash line.

More than four million Chinese visitors came to Vietnam last year -- over 30 percent of all foreign guests -- and Chinese tourists are a major cash cow.

Some guides say this can put them in a spot, especially when visitors dispute Hanoi's version of historical events.

"We don't like the Chinese tourists but they bring us profits, so we cannot resist them," Hung, a Hanoi-based tour operator, told AFP, using only his first name.

A group of guides petitioned authorities in Danang last year, complaining that unlicensed Chinese guides were leading tours with their own interpretation of history -- and sea claims.

Hung said guides have to push back.

"We are Vietnamese, we can't let them distort the truth about our homeland and our history."
The trial of top Pope aide Cardinal George Pell for alleged historic sexual offences could be held in secret after prosecutors sought a blanket ban on media coverage

The trial of top Papal aide Cardinal George Pell for alleged historic sexual offences could be held in secret after prosecutors on Tuesday sought a blanket ban on media coverage.

Pell's case returns to the Victoria County Court in Melbourne on Wednesday, when trial dates are expected to be set and the judge is due to rule on the media ban.

Pell will be the highest-ranked Catholic to face a jury after being committed to stand trial a fortnight ago. He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

But reporting could be off-limits after prosecutors applied for an order to suppress "any report of the whole or any part of these proceedings and any information derived from this proceeding and any court documents associated with this proceeding".

The application was made to "prevent a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the proper administration of justice", amid concerns the 76-year-old may not get a fair trial due to the intense publicity surrounding the case.

It also seeks a media blackout on the number of complainants, the number of charges and the nature of the charges.

Their exact details remain confidential, other than that they involve "multiple charges and multiple complainants" dating from the 1970s and 1990s.

At a hearing earlier this month, Pell's barrister Robert Richter argued that because the charges related to different locations and were 20 years apart, they should be split and heard in two trials.

Pell, a former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop, who has been on leave from the Vatican, was one of Pope Francis's most trusted aides -- handpicked by him in 2014 to make the Church's finances more transparent.

It cemented a meteoric rise by the Australian, who was Archbishop of Melbourne and then Sydney before being named to the Vatican's powerful College of Cardinals at the behest of Pope John Paul II in 2003.
Mahathir vows no deals with his predecessor

Malaysia's 92-year-old new leader Mahathir Mohamad said he expects to stay as prime minister for up to two years and vowed not to cut any deals to keep his predecessor out of jail for alleged corruption.

Mahathir told the Wall Street Journal he would be in power for one to two years -- before an expected handover to former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is expected to be released on Wednesday after three years in jail on a sodomy conviction.

Mahathir -- who ruled Malaysia from 1981-2003 -- came out of retirement to oust scandal-tainted former premier Najib Razak in an astonishing election turnaround last week.

Mahathir was asked in an interview by video link whether a deal could be cut with Najib, who is alleged to have overseen the looting of government investment fund 1MDB.

"No deal," Mahathir said in the interview, conducted for a business forum organised by the newspaper in Tokyo.

Billions of dollars are believed to have been siphoned off from the fund, with most reportedly disappearing overseas, while $681 million also mysteriously appeared in Najib's personal bank accounts in 2013.

"We are now in process of getting into details of matters he suppressed in his time," Mahathir said of Najib.

Without a deal to help recover the funds, Najib faces the likelihood of prosecution and possible criminal charges. Mahathir has ordered him barred from leaving the country.

Anwar, whose sodomy conviction is believed by supporters to have been concocted by Najib to derail the opposition, is expected to be pardoned by the country's king on Wednesday and released.

Mahathir has previously said he expects to stay in charge for a period of time, partly to ensure a smooth transition, but has already signalled he would eventually yield to Anwar.
Yoshiko Hayashi says many female journalists in Japan find it difficult to discuss their experiences of discrimination and sexual harassment

Female journalists in Japan said Tuesday they were teaming up to fight sexual harassment in the media, believed to be widespread in a country where the #MeToo movement has been slow to take off.

A total of 86 women journalists have come together to form the Women in Media Network Japan (WiMN) to expose harassment and abuse, said Yoshiko Hayashi, a freelancer who formerly worked at the mass-circulation Asahi Shimbun.

"Unfortunately, discrimination against women and sexual harassment still exist among the people and entities we cover," she said, reading a statement from the group on its establishment.

"Many women in journalism felt it difficult to raise their voice out of embarrassment and fears that it would destroy the relationship with their contacts," she added.

"We were the people whose voices were unheard."

The issue hit the headlines recently after the finance ministry admitted its top bureaucrat harassed a female reporter in an incident believed to be the tip of iceberg.

The reporter, with Japan's TV Asahi, blew the whistle and Hayashi said the group had been encouraged by her refusal to suffer in silence.

"We are resolved that now is the time to eradicate sexual harassment and any other human rights infringement," Hayashi said.

Japan now faces a "watershed" moment on ending harassment, she said, noting many of the group's members were staying anonymous to avoid criticism and embarrassment as their abusers were still in the workplace in some cases.

Claims from the members included being kissed, groped, forced to dance cheek-to-cheek and being propositioned for sex, among others.

"Male bosses protect men who sexually harass their subordinates -- this is rampant in Japanese society," a journalist in her thirties said.

"In 20 years as a reporter, I have been subject to various sexual harassments but I never told any of them to any one," added another.

"I couldn't tell my family either as they had opposed my being a reporter... How many more years or how many more decades do we continue to bear this curse? Let's end it now," said a third.

The finance ministry came under fire for its handling of the allegations against Junichi Fukuda, who stepped down over the reporter's claim but continues to deny wrongdoing.

Japan's top finance bureaucrat Junichi Fukuda has denied sexually harassing a TV reporter in a case that has galvanised women working in the industry

His retirement package was eventually reduced as a punishment. But when reports of Fukuda's alleged misconduct first emerged in a weekly magazine, Finance Minister Taro Aso appeared to dismiss them, saying he had discussed the issue with his top bureaucrat and had no plans to investigate.

An uproar ensued and the ministry was forced to backtrack, though it earned additional criticism for calling on affected women to come forward to its lawyers.

TV Asahi, one of the nation's major networks, publicly acknowledged one of its reporters was the victim and that her boss had failed to act when she initially complained about the harassment.

Aso has voiced his concern over "Fukuda's human rights" in the midst of accusations and said there is no such criminal charge as sexual harassment.

He has also said that the bureaucrat fell victim to a "honey trap" by the female reporter, though he later retracted the remark.

- 'Gender gap' -

Chie Matsumoto, a freelancer who represents WiMN with Hayashi, said female journalists were compelled to stay quiet if they wanted to be seen as "good journalists".

But the scandal and the ministry's perceived mishandling of the allegations have provoked a public outcry, leading some to suggest the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment was finally impacting Japan.

It has also provided an additional headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose government is already under fire over two cronyism scandals -- one of which involves the scrubbing of documents by the finance ministry.

Abe has made increasing female participation in the workforce a key plank of his economic policies as Japan struggles with a labour shortage.

Japan ranked bottom among G7 countries in the World Economic Forum's latest "Global Gender Gap Report", coming 114th worldwide.

It scored poorly on women's participation in the economy and political involvement.
Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (L) in the Chinese city of Dalian earlier in May

A North Korean delegation has visited Beijing to learn about China's experience in economic reform and opening up, the foreign ministry said Tuesday, the latest diplomatic outreach by the isolated regime.

The Cold War-era allies have stepped up contacts in recent weeks as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un prepares for a historic summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

China said Pak Thae Song, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, visited Beijing on Monday at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party.

"This visit is a concrete example of the important consensus between (Communist Party) General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing, confirming media reports about the trip.

The delegation came to "learn about the achievements of China's domestic economic development and reform and opening-up process, and promote an exchange of experience between the two parties on governance issues," Lu said.

Analysts have said Kim's promise last month to build "socialist economic construction" could herald more Chinese-style economic reforms, which transformed the communist-led country into the world's second largest economy.

Kim used the phrase when he declared that his regime had completed the development of its nuclear arsenal and no more atomic or missile tests were needed.

The delegation visited Beijing a week after Kim met Xi in China's northeastern port city of Dalian -- his second trip to China in less than two months.

Pyongyang and Beijing are seeking to mend frayed ties as a diplomatic thaw in the region intensifies.

Relations fell to a new low in the past year as Beijing, angered by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, supported a series of United Nations sanctions against its ally.

But Beijing is keen to avoid being sidelined in the wake of Kim's historic summit last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and ahead of his Trump summit.

Experts say Kim needs to maintain good relations with his country's main patron as the Trump meeting looms.

Kim, who picked Beijing to make his maiden official trip abroad in March, has also invited Xi to visit North Korea.
Syrian government forces head towards jihadist positions in the Hajar al-Aswad district on the southern outskirts of Damascus

Syrian regime forces on Tuesday retook a neighbourhood south of Damascus from the Islamic State group, slicing off yet another part of the jihadist holdout, a monitoring group said.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad has since April 19 waged a fierce air and ground assault against the final IS-held pocket of the capital.

"The Syrian regime has seized control of the entire district of Hajar al-Aswad," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Fighting for Hajar al-Aswad had been particularly bloody, Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Since the assault began in April, 221 pro-government fighters and 189 IS jihadists have been killed -- nearly half of them in Hajar al-Aswad alone.

IS remains in control of the nearby district of Tadamun and 70 percent of the adjacent district of Yarmuk, a sprawling Palestinian camp.

"If the regime continues to advance on the ground, IS will be surrounded and will be forced to negotiate an evacuation deal," Abdel Rahman said.

Such deals have allowed the government to recapture swathes of territory across Syria.

Around 160,000 Palestinian refugees once lived in Yarmuk, as well as Syrians. Just a few hundred people remain there now.

IS declared an Islamic "caliphate" in 2014 that included territory across Syria's north, centre and east -- but it now controls no more than five percent of the country.

Besides Yarmuk, it holds some desert territory in Syria's centre and east.

More than 350,000 people have been killed since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011.
Mariam al-Ghandour pictured on May 15, 2018 holding baby Leila, who according to Gaza's health ministry died of tear gas inhalation during clashes Monday on the Gaza border

In her final embrace, Mariam al-Ghandour hugs the tiny body of her daughter Leila tight, tears rolling down her face.

"The Israelis killed her," she sobbed.

The health ministry in Gaza say baby Leila, only eight months old, died after inhaling tear gas along the border with Israel on Monday as major protests escalated into the bloodiest day in years, with at least 60 Palestinians killed.

The family prefers to focus on who fired the gas rather than the series of decisions that led to a baby being a few hundred metres (yards) from the Israeli border during the protests and clashes.

Leila is an outlier -- 13 years younger than any of the other victims and one of only two females.

The vast majority have been killed by live ammunition fired by Israeli snipers but Leila was caught up in a cloud of tear gas, only temporarily painful for adults but potentially more dangerous for infants.

Mariam, herself only 17, explained that she had a dentist appointment "so I left Leila with my brothers at home".

"My little brother took her and went to the border," she said.

At the back of the room, 11-year-old Ammar sobs uncontrollably as he looks at the corpse.

He says he mistakenly thought his sister was at the border with his mother and other family members.

"So I took her with me on the bus."

He added: "I feel I am the reason (for her death)."

- 'I could barely breathe' -

Palestinians run for cover from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the Gaza border on May 14, 2018

Close to the border he eventually found his mother Heyam and handed Leila over to her. They stayed only a few minutes, Heyam insisted, before tear gas rained down on them.

"I could barely breathe," she said. "We got away from the gas and gave Leila to my sister and went looking for two other children so we could leave.

"She drank juice but was crying a lot. Then she went silent. I thought she was sleeping."

It was only when they got off the bus that they noticed her skin had turned blue.

"I rushed to the hospital. They told me she had been dead more than an hour," Heyam said.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near the border fence on Monday, with smaller numbers seeking to breach it and clashes erupting.

Israeli forces on the border used tear gas and sniper fire in response.

At least 60 Palestinians were killed throughout the course of the day. Another was killed on Tuesday, taking to 115 those who have died since protests broke out on March 30. Only one Israeli soldier has been reported wounded.

Israel has faced international criticism over the use of live fire, but defends soldiers' actions as necessary to guard the border.

Israeli leaders allege Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, is seeking to use the protests as cover to carry out violence.

Monday's protests were against the opening of the controversial US embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, which had angered Palestinians who see the eastern part of the city as their capital.
Mary's Place is a temporary shelter for homeless women and their families in Seattle

The City Council in Seattle, home to Amazon, Starbucks and other major companies, has passed an ordinance that would tax businesses in a bid to fight homelessness.

The legislation, passed on Monday by a 9-0 vote, would impose an annual tax of $275 per full-time employee on companies with revenue of more than $20 million.

The council had initially planned a tax of $500 per year per employee but Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan had threatened to veto the legislation.

According to the council, the tax will generate $47 million a year and affect nearly 600 businesses -- about three percent of the total in the city, the largest in Washington state.

The tax will end in December 2023.

"Our goal is to have a successful and vibrant business community -- one of the best in the country -- and at the same time, assist our most vulnerable and strategically invest in affordable housing," council president Bruce Harrell said in a statement.

"This tax contributes toward the long-term solution of affordable housing, while giving immediate attention and resources to fund shelter services, so those living on the streets tonight can find a dry, warm and safe place to stay," said council member Sally Bagshaw.

Former Seattle mayor Edward Murray declared a "state of emergency" on homelessness in 2015, a year which saw 45 homeless people die on Seattle streets.

According to The Seattle Times, there were more than 11,600 homeless people in King County in 2017, putting Seattle in the top 10 US cities in terms of numbers of homeless.

The newspaper quoted Amazon spokesman Drew Herdener as expressing disappointment with the City Council's move.

"We are disappointed by today's City Council decision to introduce a tax on jobs," Herdener said.

"We remain very apprehensive about the future created by the council's hostile approach and rhetoric toward larger businesses, which forces us to question our growth here," the Amazon spokesman said.

Amazon employs an estimated 45,000 people in Seattle and is currently searching the country for a second headquarters.
Air conditioners on a building in Moscow, part of a worldwide demand for cooling systems that is expected to tripple over the next 30 years

The worldwide demand for air conditioning is expected to triple over the next 30 years, making the pursuit of energy-efficient cooling systems a top priority, the International Energy Agency said Tuesday.

Some 1.6 billion buildings worldwide have AC today, a number that will grow to 5.6 billion by 2050, "which amounts to 10 new ACs sold every second for the next 30 years," according to the IEA report.

The amount of power needed to meet this anticipated surge in indoor cooling will equal the combined electricity capacity of the United States, the European Union and Japan today, it said.

The problem is that energy efficiency among AC units varies widely. Those sold in Europe and Japan tend to be at least 25 percent more efficient than units sold in the United States and China.

"Growing electricity demand for air conditioning is one of the most critical blind spots in today's energy debate," said Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of the IEA.

"With rising incomes, air conditioner ownership will skyrocket, especially in the emerging world," Birol added.

"It is essential that efficiency performance for ACs be prioritized. Standards for the bulk of these new ACs are much lower than where they should be."

India is expected to be one of the countries with the biggest increase in AC in the coming decades.

AC in India currently accounts for 10 percent of that nation's electricity use, but could reach 45 percent in 2050, said the report.

The IEA warned that "large investments in new power plants to meet peak power demand at night" are needed, and that solar PV technology will not be enough.

"Setting higher efficiency standards for cooling is one of the easiest steps governments can take to reduce the need for new power plants, and allow them at the same time to cut emissions and reduce costs," said Birol.

Mandatory energy performance standards could cut energy growth from AC demand in half, and save as much as $2.9 trillion in investment, fuel and operating costs, said the IEA.

AC is common in nations like Japan, South Korea, the United States, Saudi Arabia and China.

But just eight percent of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest parts of the world have indoor cooling.

The IEA report forecasts that two-thirds of homes worldwide could have an air conditioner by 2050.
North Korea's missiles are regularly paraded in the capital Pyongyang but estimates of its arsenal vary

North Korea plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, it told the United Nations disarmament body Tuesday.

"DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests," North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.

His comment came amid a recent whirlwind of diplomacy and outreach by the long isolated regime.

Dialogue brokered by Seoul has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12.

Kim last month announced that his country would halt its own nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, which was widely hailed as an important step towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But Pyongyang has yet to rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it withdrew from in 2003.

It is also one of eight countries with nuclear test capacity, including the United States, China and Iran, which have so far failed to either sign or ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, blocking it from taking effect.

Han, who made no reference to the treaties, told the UN assembly that his country aimed to make more "efforts to achieve the development of intra-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of the war on the Korean peninsula."

"It will make sincere efforts... to establish a durable lasting peace mechanism" with its neighbour to the south, he said, urging the international community to "extend its active support in encouraging and promoting the current positive climate."

- 'Historic opportunity' -

US ambassador Robert Wood meanwhile told the same forum that his country "welcomes the professed commitment by North Korea to end nuclear tests and missile launches and the shut-down of its nuclear test site."

The United States, he said, was looking forward to the June 12 summit between Kim and Trump, who only a few short months ago were swapping insults and both openly threatening devastating direct action.

Trump last year threatened North Korea with "fire and fury".

Wood described the summit as "a historic opportunity to achieve peace on the Korean peninsula."

"We hope North Korea will seize the moment and take the bold steps necessary to lead North Korea to a peaceful and prosperous future."

The recent diplomatic frenzy comes after tensions on and around the peninsula had been mounting for years as Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes attracted increasingly strict sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US, EU, South Korea and others.

Asked about the continued threats of sanctions from Washington, Han warned Tuesday that they were "a dangerous attempt to ruin the hard-won atmosphere of dialogue."
Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry and told to 'return to his country for a period of time'

Turkey on Tuesday told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave after Ankara reacted with outrage to the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli troops on the Gaza border, in the worst crisis since a 2016 reconciliation deal.

Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry and told to "return to his country for a period of time", said a foreign ministry official, who asked not to be named.

The official said that this was also in line with Turkey recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations.

Naeh had been in his post only since December 2016 after a reconciliation deal earlier that year ended a dispute over the May 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos that saw ties downgraded for over half a decade.

That deal was strongly backed by the United States, which was keen to see Israel make up with one of its very few key Muslim partners.

Ankara has reacted with fury to the killing on Monday of 60 Palestinians in clashes and protests, on the same day as the US formally moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently on a visit to Britain, had on Monday stepped up his rhetoric, accusing Israel of of "state terror" and "genocide" over the killings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then hit back at Erdogan, saying that as a leading supporter of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas "there's no doubt he's an expert on terror and slaughter."

While Turkey under Erdogan has never completely severed ties with Israel, the Turkish strongman has also never shied away from the strongest criticism.

He famously walked out of a January 2009 debate in Davos with then Israeli president Shimon Peres, complaining he was not given enough time to respond and repeatedly saying "one minute".

- 'Move as one' -

Turkey on Tuesday began observing three days national mourning declared by Erdogan for the Palestinian dead, with flags flying at half mast and cultural events cancelled.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel and said Ankara was calling an extraordinary summit of the world's main pan-Islamic body, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Friday.

"The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre," he added.

A Turkish flag flies at half-mast from the Maiden Tower in Istanbul

Cavusoglu held telephone talks with around a dozen counterparts from the Islamic world.

They included the foreign ministers of Jordan, Indonesia and Iran as well as the OIC secretary general Yousef bin Ahmad al-Othaimeen, foreign ministry sources said.

Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and last year hosted an OIC summit in Istanbul to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The summit declared East Jerusalem -- which the international community regards as annexed by Israel -- "as the capital of the State of Palestine" and urged the world to follow suit.

- 'Stop oppression' -

Yildirim said that after the summit at 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) a giant rally would be held at the vast Yenikapi meeting area in Istanbul under the slogan of "Stop the Oppression" to express solidarity with the Palestinians.

Hundreds of people also held protests for a second day in Istanbul and Ankara against Israel's actions with slogans including "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine", AFP correspondents said.

The demonstrations in Turkey passed off peacefully, although one man was arrested in Ankara for throwing eggs and stones at the residence of the Israeli ambassador.

In Istanbul, demonstrators held placards with the slogan "the world is bigger than five", in reference to Erdogan's repeated complaints about the power of the UN Security Council.
France's PSA is now in the firing line of US sanctions against Iran

The United States will re-establish sanctions against Iran progressively, kicking off with the automobile and civil aviation sectors, a source close to the French government said on Tuesday.

Energy and finance will follow, with companies facing punishment if they continue to do business with Iran, after US President Donald Trump withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

August 6 will see the re-introduction of auto and civil aviation sanctions, according to the source.

Sanctions in the energy sector, covering oil, gas and petro-chemicals, will follow on November 4.

"There will be the obligation to reduce imports of Iranian crude oil and, in more general terms, sanctions on any commercial operations and transactions of the (energy) sector with Iran," the source said.

On the same day, sanctions will be extended to the financial sector with "a ban on transactions with a certain number of major financial actors, including the central bank" and on the use of messaging systems such as the international banking system Swift, the source said.

Attributions of so-called "General Licence H" allowing subsidiaries of US companies to deal with Iran will be revoked, the source said.

Washington has given companies 90 to 180 days to wind up contracts with Iran and banned them from signing new ones, under threat of sanctions.
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A federal lawsuit is seeking to block the construction of the Obama presidential center on Chicago parkland, posing a challenge for the future library and museum dedicated to the nation's first African-American president.

The lawsuit by a local park preservation group objects to the transfer of a historic public park for use by Barack Obama's foundation to build a complex in the Midwestern city -- one of a network of presidential libraries throughout the country.

Chicago has a system of public parks that are protected by law from private use and development. A similar legal challenge doomed a planned museum on another parcel of publicly-owned land in Chicago by Star Wars creator George Lucas.

The local group Protect Our Parks filed the federal lawsuit Monday, seeking to prevent the transfer of Jackson Park -- created for the 1893 World's Fair -- to the foundation preparing to build The Obama Presidential Center.

Because The Center is not planning to house original documents from the Obama presidency, instead opting for digital access to those documents which will be housed elsewhere, the lawsuit alleges the planned structure serves no significant public purpose.

"Although that original purpose of an official Presidential Library no longer exists," the lawsuit complaint says, "Defendants continue to forge ahead to advance a totally different private nongovernmental project on public parkland."

A Chicago city official responded by accusing the park preservation group of standing "in the way of progress" for impoverished communities in the south side of the city, where Obama first entered politics.

"The Obama Presidential Center is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest hundreds of millions of dollars that will create good jobs on the South Side," city spokesman Grant Klinzman said in a statement.

A nationwide network of 15 presidential libraries maintain the archives of various US administrations in partnership with the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Obama Center, like several of the other institutions, plans to include replicas of the Oval Office and other elements from the Obama White House, as well as featuring Obama's history-making path to the presidency.

The former president has said he wants the complex to be a meeting point for local communities, as well as a training ground for future leaders.
The United States has slapped sanctions on the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Valiollah Seif (R), seen in this August 15, 2017 photograph with Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Massoud Karbasiyanat

The United States slapped sanctions Tuesday on Valiollah Seif, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, accusing him of helping the country's Revolutionary Guard Corps transfer millions of dollars to Lebanon's Hezbollah.

In the second move in a week taking aim at the money networks of the Revolutionary Guards, or IRGC, the US Treasury also blacklisted a second central bank official, Iraq's Al-Bilad Islamic Bank and its top two executives, and a liaison between IRGC and Hezbollah, which Washington has designated an international terrorist group.

The Treasury said Seif covertly moved "hundreds of millions of dollars" to Hezbollah from IRGC via Al-Bilad Islamic Bank.

Tuesday's action seeks to cut off what the US called a "critical" banking network for Iran, and deny those blacklisted access to the global financial system.

"The United States will not permit Iran's increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system," said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

"The global community must remain vigilant against Iran's deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies."

On Thursday, the Treasury announced sanctions against a "large scale" currency exchange network serving the Revolutionary Guards, hitting six individuals and three companies at the center of the network.

At the time, the US singled out the Central Bank of Iran as "complicit" in the operation, foreshadowing Tuesday's action.

The move against Seif came one week after President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iran nuclear accord and signalled plans to ratchet up pressure on the Iranian economy, and especially on the economic power of the Revolutionary Guards.

A European official said that some senior figures in the US administration were pushing for a "North Korea scenario" in Iran, in reference to the drastic sanctions imposed on the North Korean regime which Washington believes helped push the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, into halting missile and nuclear testing and agreeing to renewed negotiations.

The blacklisted head of Iraqs Al-Bilad Islamic Bank was named as Aras Habib, who ran in last weekend's general elections as a candidate on the slate of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, whose government has been supported by the United States and the international community. He is expected to gain a seat in the newly elected assembly.
Recent comments from ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and a burgeoning rights civil rights movement by the country's ethnic Pashtuns, have increasingly targeted the security establishment

Rights activists in Pakistan are facing "a targeted campaign of digital attacks", Amnesty International said Tuesday, the latest warning about the rising threat to campaigners in the country.

Attackers have used elaborate schemes to steal data and install spyware on Pakistani activists' electronic devices, the watchdog said in a report.

The study -- entitled "Human Rights Under Surveillance" -- is based on the experience of four activists out of a dozen cases investigated by Amnesty, the report's co-author Sherif Elsayed-Ali told AFP.

One campaigner, Diep Saeeda, said she suffered sustained harassment by hackers after calling for the release of activist Raza Khan, who fellow campaigners say was abducted from the eastern city of Lahore in December.

Saeeda told Amnesty that after she started campaigning for Khan's release, she was lured by a hacker posing as an activist on Facebook into revealing her email address.

She was then sent emails disguised as messages from government departments containing malicious links aimed at stealing her passwords and data.

"Every time I open an email I am now scared. It's getting so bad I am actually not able to carry out my work," Saeeda told the organisation.

Amnesty documented a series of similar methods used to try to contaminate activists' computers and phones with malicious software, some of which was created by "a network of individuals and companies based in Pakistan".

The watchdog said it was unable to identify the entity orchestrating the attacks, but demanded that Pakistani authorities order an "independent and effective" probe.

"It is already extremely dangerous to be a human rights defender in Pakistan and it is alarming to see how attacks on their work are moving online," said Elsayed-Ali in a statement.

Human rights activists and journalists are frequent targets of harassment and enforced disappearances across Pakistan, including those critical of the state.

Criticism of Pakistan's powerful military is largely seen as a red line that few in the country dare to cross.

However, a burgeoning rights civil rights movement by the country's ethnic Pashtuns and recent comments from ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif have increasingly targeted the security establishment.

Military officials have denied any involvement in the disappearances of rights activists.
A section of the Varanasi flyover, which was still under construction, collapsed onto the street, crushing buses and cars, a witness said

At least 18 people died Tuesday after a flyover collapsed in northern India, crushing vehicles and passengers under tonnes of concrete, a rescue official said.

Rescue workers rushed to the site in Varanasi city where an unknown number of people were still feared trapped under the debris, in the latest of a string of deadly construction accidents in India.

"Eighteen bodies have been recovered so far by our teams. Seven teams of the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) are engaged in rescue operation which is underway," an official in the disaster control room told AFP.

TV footage showed mangled vehicles trapped under heavy cement girders with huge crowds gathered around.

A witness said a section of the flyover, which was still under construction, collapsed onto the street, crushing buses and cars.

"I was near the flyover when it collapsed. At least four cars, an auto-rickshaw and a minibus were crushed under it," the witness told reporters in Varanasi, a city in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Enforcement of safety rules in India is weak and substandard materials are often used in construction.

In 2016, some 26 people died in eastern Kolkata city after a 100-metre section of a flyover crashed down onto the street.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who won parliamentary elections in Varanasi, said he was extremely saddened by the loss of lives in his constituency.

"The UP (Uttar Pradesh) government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," he tweeted.

The state government has set up a three-member panel to investigate the deadly collapse.
Robert Jesty and Bethan Davies were released unharmed

The management of DR Congo's Virunga Park announced on Tuesday that it has temporarily halted tourist activities after the murder of a guard and the kidnapping of two British holidaymakers.

"The Virunga National Park has decided to suspend tourist visits until Monday, June 4 because of the security incident that occurred on Friday, May 11, 2018," a statement said.

On Friday a Congolese park guard was killed in an attack before two British tourists -- Robert Jesty and Bethan Davies -- and their Congolese driver were kidnapped.

The three were freed after two days. The UK pair were unharmed, while the driver was injured.

Joel Wengamulay, spokesman for the park, said: "We are strengthening our security measures before resuming tourism activities on June 4, 2018."

One of the most important conservation sites in the world, Virunga Park covers 7,800 square kilometres (3,000 miles) along a swathe of eastern DR Congo abutting the border with Uganda and Rwanda. It also covers most of Lake Edward and the Ishasha river valley.

Established in 1925, Virunga is home to about a quarter of the world's population of critically endangered mountain gorillas, as well as to eastern lowland gorillas, chimpanzees, okapis, lions, elephants and hippos.

But it is located in DR Congo's North Kivu province, where armed groups are fighting for control of territorial and natural resources, and poaching is a major threat.

Eight eco-guards at Virunga Park have died in the line of duty since the beginning of the year.
US ambassador to Israel David Friedman listens as Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem on May 14

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas Tuesday of deliberately putting children in the line of fire amid an outcry over the Israeli army's killing of dozens of Palestinians along the Gaza border.

The Israeli premier told US television that troops were left with no choice but to use lethal force during protests against Monday's opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem, and responsibility for the deaths lay entirely with the Islamist movement.

"They (Hamas) are pushing civilians -- women, children -- into the line of fire with a view of getting casualties," Netanyahu told the CBS network.

"We've tried to minimize casualties, they are trying to incur casualties in order to put pressure on Israel which is horrible," he added.

"These things are avoidable. If Hamas had not pushed them there nothing would happen. Hamas holds responsibility for doing this and they're deliberately doing it."

A string of foreign governments have voiced alarm about the use of live fire against the protesters, with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing the Jewish state of "state terror."

But Netanyahu said other countries would have done the same to prevent its borders being breached.

"I don't know of any army that would do anything differently, if you had to protect your border against people who say 'we are going to destroy you and we are going to flood into your country,'" he said.

"You try other means, you try all sort of means, you try non-lethal means and they don't work so you are left with bad choices, it's a bad deal. You go for below the knee and sometimes it doesn't work unfortunately."

Palestinians carry away an injured protester who was shot with a live bullet in his leg during clashes with Israeli forces east of Gaza City on May 15, 2018, amidst protests marking 70th anniversary of Nakba -- also known as Day of the Catastrophe

The US government has also placed the blame for the bloodshed with Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip and does not recognize Israel's right to exist.

Speaking at the UN on Tuesday, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said Hamas would have been "pleased with the results from yesterday" when 60 Gazans were killed, including a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16.

"The Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy," she told an emergency meeting of the Security Council.
A student was killed and 18 police injured Tuesday in clashes in Saint-Louis, northern Senegal, as students demanded payment of their grants, the Senegalese interior minister said.

The scuffles broke out at the University of Saint-Louis, leaving "20 wounded, including 18 gendarmes," Ali Ngouye Ndiaye told private station Radio Future Media.

"Unfortunately, a student died as a result of this incident," he added.

The second-year student was shot dead, student sources told AFP, adding "more than 20" were injured. The victim's age was not given.

"We regret this incident," the interior minister said, adding: "The (students') claim was primarily a grants problem."

Lacking their grants, they wanted to "eat without paying the bill" in the university restaurants, which prompted the authorities to appeal to the police, he said.

The minister said he expected an inquiry to be held and promised the grants would be paid.

After the death was announced, angry students ransacked an administrative building of the university, an AFP journalist saw. Debris was strewn across the ground, windows were smashed and doors had been kicked in.

Two university employees told AFP that they could not access the site on Tuesday because of the violence.

Student demonstrations are common in Senegal but rarely result in deaths.
Meghan Markle's relationship with her father has not always been plain sailing

Thomas Markle, who has rocked Britain's royal family with a "will he, won't he" drama over his attendance at daughter Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry, is a shy recluse, thrust into the limelight against his wishes.

The 73-year-old initially said he was too unwell and embarrassed to walk his daughter down the aisle on Saturday, according to US celebrity news site TMZ, after allegedly staging photos of himself for money and suffering a heart attack amid the ensuing furor.

The former Hollywood lighting director appeared to change his mind, however, later telling TMZ that he wanted to get the all-clear from doctors to attend the ceremony at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Markle, known as Tom, has emerged as a central figure in the story of Meghan's romance with the youngest son of Prince Charles and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

An Emmy-winning TV specialist of Dutch-Irish descent, he is among thousands of expatriates enjoying retired life in Baja California, in northwestern Mexico.

Described as "reclusive," Markle is a regular patron of the taco shops and grocery stores of Rosarito, his beach resort home just south of the US border, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

But his quiet existence as an unremarkable retiree has been upended by his daughter's romance and he has found himself unprepared for the onslaught from paparazzi desperate for rare pictures of the shy pensioner.

The 36-year-old bride-to-be remains close with both of her parents, who divorced three decades ago, as she was a six-year-old growing up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills.

But the relationship with her father hasn't always been plain sailing.

- Dignified silence -

Around the turn of the century, the future royal was filmed as an aspiring teen actress by childhood friend Ninaki Priddy discussing her relationship with her father.

"We aren't going to go there," she says on the video -- posted to YouTube last year -- as they approach Tom's Los Angeles home, before adding: "We aren't on the best of terms."

There has been a detente in the intervening years, however, with Markle publicly expressing her love for her father in an Instagram message in 2016 and declaring, "Your hugs are still the very best in the whole wide world."

Markle's introduction to Hollywood came thanks to her father, who would bring her daily to the set of ABC's "General Hospital" and Fox sit-com "Married... with Children."

He reportedly put his daughter through Hollywood's most exclusive schools and the private Northwestern University in Illinois after winning $750,000 in the state lottery in 1990.

Until recently he maintained a dignified silence, refusing interviews from journalists descending on his tranquil gated oceanfront enclave, where neighbors describe him as "extremely laid back," the Union-Tribune reported.

- 'Very unpretentious' -

"He seems very nice, very unpretentious, it doesn't matter to him if you're rich or if you're poor," Israel Gonzalez, who owns the taco store next to Markle's home, told the Union-Tribune.

"Just imagine, that one day he'll be the father-in-law of the British prince, and he interacts with us."

There was speculation when the wedding was first announced that Thomas Markle would be left off the guest list after the American star barred estranged half-siblings Tom and Samantha, her father's children from a previous marriage.

The younger Tom sent Prince Harry a letter to call off the "fake fairytale wedding," arguing that his half-sister was "obviously not the right woman" for the royal.

Belittling Markle as "a below C average Hollywood actress" playing the part of princess, he accused her of draining their father's money until he went bankrupt in 2016.

Samantha admitted on Monday it was her idea for her father to take part in the paparazzi shots that made headlines worldwide.

Tom was accused of secretly working with a Los Angeles photographer on several staged shoots, showing him looking at news reports about the wedding, working out and getting fitted for a suit.

Samantha told British chat show Loose Women that she had suggested the photo shoot in order to portray him to the world in a more positive light.

"I have to say I am entirely the culprit," she said.
The US Supreme Court has previously been hostile to "heartbeat" abortion limit laws

Abortion rights activists filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the most restrictive ban on the procedure in the United States, the so-called "heartbeat" abortion limit enacted into law in Iowa earlier this month.

The ban, approved by the state's Republican-controlled legislature and signed into law May 4, bars abortions when a fetal heartbeat is present.

The law, which includes an exception for medical emergencies, rape or incest, takes effect July 1.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and abortion provider Planned Parenthood filed a lawsuit in Iowa state court to block it.

"This abortion ban is beyond extreme," Rita Bettis of the ACLU Iowa chapter said in a statement. "No federal or state court has upheld such a dangerous law."

Abortion foes hope the Iowa ban will provoke a legal battle that goes all the way to the US Supreme Court in hopes of expanding abortion restrictions nationwide.

"I understand and anticipate that this will likely be challenged in court," Republican Governor Kim Reynolds said in a statement after the signing.

"However, this is bigger than just a law. This is about life. I am not going to back down from who I am or what I believe in," she said.

Opponents of the ban argue the law is too restrictive and could remove abortion as an option even before a woman knows she is pregnant.

"This law must not go into effect," Jill Meadows of Iowa's Planned Parenthood said in a statement.

"The evidence is clear that in places where abortion is banned or heavily restricted, some individuals desperate to end an unwanted pregnancy resort to unsafe methods," she said.

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, a Democrat, refused to defend the law in court, saying it would "undermine rights and protections for women."

A conservative law firm may be appointed to defend the law on the state's behalf.

The US Supreme Court has previously been hostile to heartbeat laws.

In 2016, the high court rejected appeals by both North Dakota and Arkansas to preserve similar abortion restrictions, which had been struck down by lower courts.
CIA director nominee Gina Haspel, a 30-year covert agent, appeared likely to win confirmation for the post after a key Democrat came out in support of her nomination

Gina Haspel appeared destined to become President Donald Trump's next CIA director after the espionage veteran placated a key Senate Democrat on Tuesday by acknowledging she regretted the agency's past use of harsh interrogation techniques.

Haspel, who faces a vote Wednesday in the Senate Intelligence Committee ahead of a full floor vote, has now locked in the backing of at least four Democrats, more than likely enough to win confirmation in the 100-member chamber.

The intelligence panel's top Democrat, Mark Warner, said he has been persuaded that Haspel, who was in the spotlight over her role in overseeing the torture of terror suspects during the Bush administration, would not allow such interrogation techniques under her watch.

"I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the president if ordered to do something illegal or immoral -- like a return to torture," Warner said in a statement announcing his support.

Haspel, age 61 and a 30-year CIA veteran, has been the agency's acting director since Mike Pompeo was sworn in as secretary of state at the end of April.

She was extensively questioned during her Senate confirmation hearing last week about her role in 2002 in charge of a secret CIA prison in Thailand.

Detainees suspected of belonging to Al-Qaeda, including Abu Zubaydah, were frequently tortured, including through the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding.

During tense exchanges in that hearing she declined to specifically acknowledge torture's immorality, but in a Tuesday letter to Warner she made her position clearer.

"With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken," she wrote.

"As director, I would refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and ethical values."

Three other Democrats -- Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly, and Heidi Heitkamp, each running for re-election this year in states won by Trump in 2016 -- have come out in favor of Haspel, allowing her to overcome any potential remaining opposition.

Republicans hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, but two in their party remain opposed to her confirmation: senators Rand Paul and John McCain -- who was tortured while being held prisoner in North Vietnam.

With the handful of Democrats behind her, it would take at least three more Republican defectors to sink her nomination.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second from left, meets with his French, German and British counterparts and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, left, in Brussels

Iran's foreign minister on Tuesday hailed talks with the EU to try to find a way to rescue the Iran nuclear deal after the US pulled out as a "good start".

"I believe it's a good start. We're not there, we're beginning the process," Mohammad Javad Zarif told reporters after meeting his French, British and German counterparts in Brussels.

The three European signatories to the landmark 2015 deal are leading international efforts to preserve it after US President Donald Trump withdrew and reimposed sanctions lifted under the accord.

Tehran has said it wants guarantees that the economic benefits the deal brought will continue if it is to stick with it and Zarif warned he expected to see progress "within the next few weeks".

The EU has said it will stick to the deal as long as Iran does, but the Islamic republic has warned it is ready to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment if it is not satisfied.

The deal, painstakingly negotiated over more than a decade, lifted punishing economic sanctions on Iran in return for it abandoning its nuclear ambitions.

Trump cast the agreement into jeopardy a week ago when he abruptly pulled the US out.
A female Soldier of the Uganda People's Defense Force (UPDF) attends a special event in Uganda in April before her contingent started its service with the UN-backed African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)

A UN-backed peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which faces attacks by an Al-Qaeda affiliate, received unanimous Security Council backing Tuesday until July 31.

The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), with about 21,600 troops, operates with the approval of the UN and relies on international funding.

By extending AMISOM's mandate to the end of July, the United Nations Security Council allowed for a review of recommendations expected in a "joint assessment" report on Somalia to be presented by June 15.

In its resolution, the Security Council recalled that it authorized the African Union to reduce AMISOM to roughly 20,600 personnel by October 30, after 1,000 troops were pulled out last year.

There are plans for a full withdrawal of foreign troops by December 2020, but heads of state and ministers from the main troop contributors -- including Burundi, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda -- in March warned the timeframe for the drawdown was "not realistic and would lead to a reversal of the gains made by AMISOM."

The mission was deployed in 2007 to defend the internationally-backed government against attacks by the Shabaab, a Somali-led Al-Qaeda affiliate.

The Shabaab was blamed for the country's worst ever attack, in which a truck bombing left more than 500 dead in October last year.

Experts describe the bloated and largely ineffective Somali army as a collection of clan militias, with various international militaries providing poorly-coordinated training to different units.

The Shabaab lost its foothold in Mogadishu in 2011 but has continued its fight.
A young Congolese girl runs through a camp for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) on March 20, 2018 in Kalemie, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Conflict forced nearly 12 million people to flee within their own country last year, the highest level of such internal displacement in 10 years, international monitors said Wednesday.

A total of 11.8 million people were uprooted from their homes and displaced internally in 2017 -- nearly double the 6.9 million who suffered the same fate a year earlier, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

This "is the highest number that we have recorded in a decade," IDMC chief Alexandra Bilak told reporters in Geneva.

The newly displaced bring the total number of people living in internal displacement due to conflict close to 40 million worldwide, the study said.

"The staggering number of people forced to flee from their homes due to conflict and violence must serve as an eye-opener to us all," NRC chief Jan Egeland said in a statement

The report found that 76 percent of those newly displaced last year were concentrated in just 10 countries, with Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq alone accounting for more than half.

Syria for instance saw another 2.9 million people displaced last year, many of them for a second or third time, bringing the total number of people internally displaced in the war-ravaged country to around 6.8 million.

Yemen, which previously topped the list, no longer figures even among the top-ten, but Bilak stressed that was due to lacking access and data and that the situation in the conflict-torn country remained dire.

Bilak warned that the total number of deplaced people around the world could be far higher than calculated, pointing out that there was a lack of information about the destiny of some 8.5 million people who had been reported to have returned home or been relocated.

"We don't have any credible information that might indicate that these people have returned to a sustainable situation," she said.

- 80,000 displaced daily -

The report also said that 18.8 million people across 135 countries were displaced last year by natural disasters like floods, storms and cyclones.

Combined with those who fled conflicts, nearly 31 million people were thus freshly displaced inside their own country last year -- the equivalent of more than 80,000 a day.

In terms of disaster-related displacement, the worst affected countries were China, the Philippines, Cuba and the United States.

The three major Atlantic hurricanes last year, Harvey, Irma and Maria, alone displaced around three million people.

While countries maintain statistics on people who remain displaced by conflict, long-term data for people displaced by natural disasters generally does not exist, Bilak said.

"There is a huge knowledge gap for us when it comes to disaster-related displacement," she said.

For Puerto Rico, for instance, data shows that some 86,000 people were forced out of their homes by Hurricane Maria last year, but there is no information on how many are still displaced.

In light of the massive destruction on the US territory, "we can only assume that many people out of those 86,000 ... are still displaced today," Bilak said.
Twitter says it is taking a new approach in the battle against online trolls, focusing on behavior of some users in addition to content

Twitter said Tuesday it was stepping up its long-running battle against online trolls, trying to find offenders by looking at "behavioral signals."

The new approach looks at behavioral patterns of users in addition to the content of the tweets, allowing Twitter to find and mute online bullies and trolls.

Even if the offending tweets are not a violation of Twitter policy, they may be hidden from users if they are deemed to "distort" the conversation, Twitter said.

The announcement is the latest "safety" initiative by Twitter, which is seeking to filter out offensive speech while remaining an open platform.

Twitter already uses artificial intelligence and machine learning in this effort but the latest initiative aims to do more by focusing on the actions of certain users in addition to the content.

"Our ultimate goal is to encourage more free and open conversation," chief executive Jack Dorsey said.

"To do that we need to significantly reduce the ability to game and skew our systems. Looking at behavior, not content, is the best way to do that."

A Twitter blog post said the move aims at "troll-like behavior" which targets certain users and tweets with derisive responses.

"Some troll-like behavior is fun, good and humorous. What we're talking about today are troll-like behaviors that distort and detract from the public conversation on Twitter," said the blog from Twitter executives Del Harvey and David Gasca.

"Some of these accounts and tweets violate our policies, and, in those cases, we take action on them. Others don't but are behaving in ways that distort the conversation."

Harvey and Gasca said the challenge has been to address "disruptive behaviors that do not violate our policies but negatively impact the health of the conversation."

The new approach does not wait for people who use Twitter to report potential issues.

"There are many new signals we're taking in, most of which are not visible externally," the blog post said.

"Just a few examples include if an account has not confirmed their email address, if the same person signs up for multiple accounts simultaneously, accounts that repeatedly tweet and mention accounts that don't follow them, or behavior that might indicate a coordinated attack."

In some cases, if the content is not a violation of Twitter policies, it will not be deleted but only shown when a user clicks on "show more replies."

"The result is that people contributing to the healthy conversation will be more visible in conversations and search," Harvey and Gasca wrote.

Twitter said its tests of this approach shows a four percent drop in abuse reports from search and eight percent fewer abuse reports from conversations.
ROME (AP) - Arrest warrants have been issued for five workers at a hotel in the Italian resort of Sorrento for the gang rape and drugging of a British tourist.

Prosecutor Alessandro Pennasilico said in a statement Monday that the investigation was aided by DNA testing ordered by police in Kent, England, where the 50-year-old victim had lodged a complaint about the October 2016 attack after she left Italy.

Italian news agency ANSA said investigators got a break when the woman recalled the tattoo that one of her attackers had on his neck. It added that investigators seized the cell phones of male personnel at the hotel and discovered that the suspects had chatted about the attack and exchanged photos taken of the woman while she was being raped.
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - An accord between the city and Polish Americans announced Monday is likely to settle a trans-Atlantic dispute over plans to uproot a memorial that some call heroic and tragic but others complain is too gruesome for a family setting.

The bronze statue depicting a Polish soldier gagged, bound and impaled in the back with a bayonet in the 1940 Soviet massacre will be moved to a new location on the Hudson River, sparing it from storage and an uncertain fate.

Nevertheless, the development angered some members of the local Polish community who said it will desecrate the remains of the soldiers it is meant to honor.

FILE - In this May 4, 2018, file photo, buildings in Lower Manhattan provide a backdrop to a statue dedicated to the victims of the Katyn massacre of 1940, in Jersey City, N.J. Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop and local Polish groups announced late Saturday that they have reached an agreement on relocating the Katyn Memorial. Details on the deal will be announced during a news conference Monday, May 14. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Polish consul general Maciej Golubiewski and members of a committee that curates the Katyn Memorial announced the agreement to catcalls and shouted epithets from a group of about three dozen protesters at City Hall.

The statue sits in a plaza at Exchange Place, next to a commuter rail stop and directly across the river from lower Manhattan. The new site is about a block south, where the statue would line up more directly with the 1 World Trade Center building.

Fulop had initially indicated he was considering putting the statue in storage while the Exchange Place plaza was being redeveloped and then making a decision to return it there or move it elsewhere. Under the agreement announced Monday, the Polish consul would be given the property for the new site for free under a 99-year lease.

"Our intentions were never to be disrespectful to the Polish community," Fulop said. "Most people have probably walked by the monument for the last several years and probably didn't appreciate the significance of what it meant. Certainly in the last two weeks, through the advocacy of the Polish community, that has changed. The goal of this is to give it the proper respect it is due, and at the same energize the waterfront."

Opponents have accused Fulop of pandering to developers and of not soliciting opinions from the Polish community. Slawek Platta, a New York-based lawyer leading the protest against the move, said the monument contains remains and ashes of some of those who died in the massacre.

"Those souls of people buried there are a curse to the mayor for his actions," Platta said. "We cannot let political games take over history."

Fulop said it would cost roughly $250,000 to relocate the statue, and that the city would work with the Polish chamber of commerce in the U.S. to raise the money. The city council still has to sign off on the plan.

The memorial commemorates the 1940 Soviet massacre of tens of thousands of Polish officers with shots to the back of the head. It stands on a granite base containing soil from the Katyn Forest, where many victims were buried on the western edge of Russia.

Created by Polish-American monument sculptor Andrzej Pitynski, the statue has been a fixture since 1991.

The plans to remove the statue have also been a top news story in Poland, where many feel that it is revenge for the passage this year of a Polish law that makes it a crime to blame Poland for any of the Holocaust crimes committed by Nazi Germany.

After Polish Senate Speaker Stanislaw Karczewski criticized the plan to move the statue, Fulop had tweeted that Karczewski is a Holocaust denier and "a known anti-Semite." Karczewski called the comments "offensive" and "entirely untrue."

Fulop's maternal grandparents were Holocaust survivors. His grandmother was deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland, where more than 1 million people were murdered, mostly Jews. His grandfather spent time in a labor camp.

Karczewski said Monday he was pleased to hear the matter has been resolved. He also addressed reports that Fulop plans to visit Poland with his wife in the last week of June, a trip that would include a stop at Auschwitz.

"I am glad to hear that the person who has made unfounded and unfair statements about the Speaker of the Polish Senate and about all Poles has shown a change in the direction of the course of thinking, although without making an apology," Karczewski told reporters. "I am pleased with that change and with the plans for visiting Poland and the Nazi German death camp of Auschwitz."

___

Associated Press writers Bruce Shipkowski in Trenton, New Jersey, and Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Trump administration is downplaying concerns about a possible low participation in the 2020 Census over the addition of a citizenship question for the first time in 70 years.

"61 million families have already been exposed to the question and the sky has not fallen," Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Monday. "So I don't think the sky will fall when we add it to the census itself in 2020."

The question has been asked every year in the American Community Survey, which is sent to fewer than 3 percent of U.S. households.

The Justice Department requested early this year that the Census Bureau reinstate a citizenship question to provide more detailed data that the department could use to more effectively enforce the Voting Rights Act.

Democrats are overwhelmingly opposed to including the citizenship question, saying it will depress the count in communities with large immigrant populations.

Ross said his office plans to spend $500 million in advertisement explaining the data cannot be used for immigration enforcement or purposes different than the compilation of census statistics.

Ross also said during a conference held at the National Press Club that the citizenship question will be the last in a questionnaire printed in both English and Spanish to make it easier to whoever feels uncomfortable answering it.

Ross mentioned that the Census Bureau will have instructional material available in 12 languages and a multilingual call center, and it is currently trying to get the cooperation of community organizations to explain to people why it is important to participate.

Ross said the Department of Homeland Security and various government agencies are helping the Census Bureau on the cyber security front in order to protect the data against intrusion.

"People do not need to worry that their privacy will be abused by the census," he said.

___

Reach Luis Alonso Lugo at http://www.twitter.com/luisalonsolugo
GRETNA, La. (AP) - A black suspect who tussled with white deputies as they detained him in a suburb of New Orleans last week died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, a coroner said Monday.

The death of Keeven Robinson, 22, has been classified as a homicide based on the preliminary autopsy results, which indicate traumatic neck injuries "consistent with compressional asphyxia," said Jefferson Parish Coroner Gerry Cvitanovich (sih-TAN'-uh-vich). He said complete results, including toxicology reports and examination of microscopic evidence from Robinson's lungs, will take weeks.

"That said, I don't want to delay disclosure regarding the direction in which we're heading from Mr. Robinson's family, the sheriff's department or the media," Cvitanovich said. He added that he had shared the preliminary findings with Robinson's mother prior to his joint news conference with Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto.

Kiwanda Robinson, center, mother of Keeven Robinson, holds family friends Madysen Johnson, right, and her sister Morgan Johnson, at the start of a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Lopinto said Cvitanovich told him of the autopsy report Saturday. He said the four deputies involved in the arrest have been read their rights and are cooperating in an investigation that involves his office, state police and the FBI. All have been placed on administrative duty.

"I understand that this investigation will be under a microscope," Lopinto said.

Hester Hilliard, an attorney for Robinson's family, said the sheriff and coroner have acted with "professionalism and transparency." However, she also said the family would like to see an agency other than the sheriff's office lead the investigation.

New Orleans news outlets reported that more than 100 people took part in a Monday night march to honor Robinson near the scene of his death, in Metairie. Social media video showed some carrying signs. One read "Enough is Enough." Another said "Justice for Keeven."

Some marchers were heard singing "Amazing Grace."

Lopinto declined to immediately identify the deputies. He confirmed they are white. Robinson was black.

"There's no doubt they used force," Lopinto said. "It's whether the force was excessive."

Lopinto said it was too early to conclude whether a choke hold was used. Officers are not expressly forbidden under department policy to use choke holds, but they aren't trained in them either.

"From a policy standpoint, we don't train somebody to hit someone with a brick," Lopinto told reporters. "But if you're fighting for your life and a brick's there, you hit someone with a brick."

Among those attending the news conference was Gaylor Spiller of the Jefferson Parish chapter of the NAACP. She said the organization was supporting Robinson's family and keeping an eye on the case.

She credited Lopinto and Cvitanovich for being open about the autopsy results and the investigation. "We're here to support all sides," Spiller said. "I just want the truth."

News outlets in New Orleans previously cited authorities as saying that Robinson, under surveillance by narcotics agents, drove away from a gas station Thursday morning when he saw agents approaching. He abandoned his car after crashing into two vehicles, then ran from deputies. They caught and handcuffed him in the backyard of a home, the reports said.

Lopinto said Monday that Robinson was unarmed when he was detained. He said there was a gun in Robinson's car and that he had heroin on him.

So far, no video has surfaced. The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office doesn't use body cameras. Even if it did, Lopinto said, the deputies involved were undercover detectives.

"Undercover narcotics agents would not have a body camera strapped to their chests," he said.

Kiwanda Robinson, center, mother of Keeven Robinson, is comforted during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Beverly Martin, godmother of Keeven Robinson, cries during a solidarity march for Robinson in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kiwanda Robinson, second from left, mother of Keeven Robinson, is comforted during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kiwanda Robinson, seated, mother of Keeven Robinson, is comforted during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kiwanda Robinson, center, mother of Keeven Robinson, is comforted during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

People march during a solidarity march for Keeven Robinson in Jefferson Parish, La.,Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Organizer John Henderson speaks at the start of a solidarity march for Keeven Robinson in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Kiwanda Robinson, left, mother of Keeven Robinson, is comforted during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

The deceased's SUV is seen at right as deputies investigate after a man died after a narcotics investigation resulted in a brief chase and arrest in Metairie,La. Thursday, May 10, 2018, Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joe Lopinto said. The man, identified by people close to his family as Keeven Robinson, fled as deputies attempted to make an arrest at a Shell station in the area, Lopinto said. After crashing into multiple JPSO vehicles, Robinson fled on foot, jumping several fences before he was arrested in the backyard of a home near the intersection of Labarre Place and Jefferson Highway after a brief struggle. (Matthew Hinton /The Advocate via AP)

Madysen Johnson, right touches her sister Morgan Johnson, both family friends of Keeven Robinson, during a solidarity march for Keeven in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson, who is black and died in a struggle with white deputies a week earlier, died of asphyxiation and there was evidence of pressure on his neck, the coroner in the New Orleans suburb said Monday. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

Gaylor Spiller, president of the Jefferson Parish chapter of the NAACP, speaks after Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich stated that the death of Keeven Robinson was by homicide by asphyxia with bruising to the neck at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Headquarters in Harvey, La. Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson died after a vehicle pursuit, crash, and fleeing on foot by jumping over a fence and the ensuing struggle with undercover narcotics Jefferson Parish Sheriff Deputies on Thursday in Jefferson. (Matthew Hinton /The Advocate via AP)

Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, right, listens during a press conference where he said that Keeven Robinson's death was by homicide by asphyxia with bruising to the neck at the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Headquarters in Harvey, La. Monday, May 14, 2018. Robinson died after a vehicle pursuit, crash, and fleeing on foot by jumping over a fence and the ensuing struggle with undercover narcotics Jefferson Parish Sheriff Deputies on Thursday in Jefferson. Sheriff Joe Lopinto speaks at left. (Matthew Hinton /The Advocate via AP)
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A North Dakota man convicted of threatening the state's Democratic U.S. senator, Heidi Heitkamp, has been sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

A jury in December 2017 found Kevin Olson, of Fargo, guilty of a threatening communication. Authorities say Olson sent an email to Heitkamp's office in December 2016 threatening to shoot her in the head.

Court documents show that Olson admitted he sent the email but refused to answer questions about it. He told investigators that he owned firearms.

Olson faced five years in prison. A sentencing memorandum by prosecutors called Olson a "very dangerous person" and asked for a sentence on the high end of the guideline range.

Olson argued for a sentence of probation or home confinement and community service.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - An animal rights activist's "TAMU Rules!" comment hardly stood out on Texas A&M University's Facebook page. Then she tried a more attention-grabbing post, one that described dog research in a campus lab as "torture."

A lawsuit filed Monday alleges the university hid the "torture" comment from its half-million Facebook followers. In the suit, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals accuses Texas A&M, one of the largest public universities in the U.S., of weeding out posts containing words associated with the group's protests over animal research.

While the lawsuit is the latest escalation in a long-running PETA campaign against animal research at Texas A&M, free speech experts say the case has broader relevance amid ongoing battles over the First Amendment and social media. President Donald Trump has been sued over blocking his critics on Twitter, and Maryland's governor settled a lawsuit in April that accused him of censoring constituents by blocking Facebook followers and deleting comments.

Texas A&M declined comment, citing the lawsuit. But PETA claims it began noticing last year that some of its posts stopped appearing on Texas A&M's Facebook page depending on the content.

The group said it eventually discovered about a dozen words Texas A&M was blocking from posts or comments on its page, including "PETA," ''dog," ''abuse" and "testing."

"What they can't do is create this forum where private individuals are permitted to speak and then limit that viewpoint," said David Greene, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a California-based digital rights group that is representing PETA in the lawsuit.

Since 2016, PETA has protested medical research at Texas A&M involving dogs with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disease that also affects children. In February, Texas A&M issued a statement defending the research, saying it is helping unravel potential cures and that the dogs are "treated with great care and tenderness."

The statement criticized PETA without mentioning the organization directly. "It saddens us that without full knowledge - of what we are doing, how the dogs are treated, and how close we are to an effective treatment - groups have taken a rigid position and are using slander that adversely affects the opinion of those who don't know all of the facts," the university said.

Katie Fallow, an attorney with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said "viewpoint discrimination is the cardinal sin of the First Amendment." But she said courts also take context into consideration and would look to see if the university was applying a neutral standard.

"If the purpose is for people to speak, the primary rule is that government may not exclude people from that," she said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim, who played a key role in helping to secure last week's election victory and has become a prime minister-in-waiting.

Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday after obtaining a royal pardon, but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad.

Mahathir, who became the world's oldest elected leader at 92 in the elections and previously served as prime minister for 22 years until 2003, has agreed to hand the baton to Anwar.

FILE - In this June 13, 2017, file photo, former Deputy Prime Minister and opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, center, smiles as he arrive at court house in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad (AP Photo, File)

He said Tuesday that he will run the country for "one to two years" to fix Malaysia's financial problems, creating uncertainty about how the two will work together in the interim.

Once a high flyer in the ruling party, Anwar was convicted of homosexual sodomy - and an additional charge of corruption - in 1998 amid a power struggle with Mahathir, at the peak of his authoritarian run in power. The firebrand politician was convicted of sodomy a second time in 2015, this time as his opposition alliance was making gains on the long-ruling coalition.

Anwar and his supporters have long denied the sodomy allegations, saying they were concocted to crush him and his political allies.

Yet rather than give up, Anwar worked from his prison cell to forge a new opposition alliance by ending the two-decade feud with Mahathir - a gamble that paid off when the alliance won the May 9 polls and ended the National Front's 60-year grip on power.

After he was sworn in last week as Malaysia's seventh prime minister, Mahathir said the king indicated he would give Anwar a full pardon that will allow him to immediately run for office. Anwar's prison sentence ends June 8, but without a royal pardon he would be barred from politics for five years.

His daughter, lawmaker Nurul Izzah Anwar, said the Pardons Board will meet on Wednesday, after which Anwar is expected to be released. She said the full pardon for her father, who is now in a hospital recovering from shoulder surgery, was sought due to a "miscarriage of justice."

"The pardon timing is fast, and this speaks to the recognition that his conviction was unjust," said Bridget Welsh, a political science professor at the John Cabot University in Rome. "It is also the recognition that the people have spoken and the royalty are responding to these issues. Mahathir is keeping to his deal."

Before he can become prime minister, Anwar must first contest a by-election to become a member of parliament. His wife, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who heads Anwar's party, is currently the new deputy prime minister. Wan Azizah has said time is need for the country's "healing process" after the first transition of power in six decades, and that Anwar needs to recover fully from recent surgery before jumping back to politics.

Analysts say tensions in the new government are possible due to the dominance of the two leaders - Mahathir is the chairman of the alliance and Anwar is its de facto leader.

Cracks have already emerged, with officials from Anwar's party alleging that Mahathir bulldozed the announcement of three top Cabinet posts. Mahathir on Saturday named the finance, home affairs and defense ministers, who are leaders in his four-party alliance. He was initially supposed to name 10 ministers but appeared to have been stalled by horse-trading over positions.

The two leaders played down the rift after a meeting Saturday at the hospital where Anwar was recovering from surgery. In a statement Sunday, Anwar reiterated his party's support for Mahathir's leadership but called for decisions to be made jointly.

Mahathir said it would be difficult to achieve consensus and any decisions will be based on the voice of the majority. On Monday, he said he would meet party leaders again to discuss the Cabinet formation but reiterated in clear terms that as prime minister, he will make the final decision, a statement that could make his relationship with Anwar uneasy.

"The Anwar and Mahathir relationship will be a challenge to navigate as trust, ambition and priorities will be likely problem areas," said Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert who was in Malaysia to monitor the polls.

A popular Islamic student leader, Anwar joined the ruling Malay party in 1982, a year after Mahathir became prime minister. He quickly rose up the ranks, becoming finance minister in 1991 and deputy prime minister two years later. Anwar became Mahathir's heir apparent, but they fell out during the 1998 Asian financial crisis and Anwar was sacked.

He refused to go quietly, leading tens of thousands of demonstrators in street rallies in Kuala Lumpur demanding reforms before being arrested. He was later produced in court with a black eye from a beating by the police chief. That black eye has become the logo of his People's Justice Party.

Anwar was freed in 2004 and cleared of the sodomy charges after Mahathir retired. He led an opposition alliance to major gains in the last two elections, winning the popular vote in 2013.

But in 2015, Anwar was imprisoned again after new allegations of sodomizing an aide that he and his supporters said were a government plot to crush the opposition.

"They want to end Anwar's political career, but they underestimated the wrath of the people," Anwar said at the time. "Authoritarian leaders always believe the best way to deal with dissidents is to jail them, but throughout history, it has always backfired."

His opposition alliance broke up after its Islamist ally left. It regrouped as the Alliance of Hope, but it was Mahathir's political comeback and his embrace by Anwar's party that helped seal the opposition's victory.

Mahathir was spurred out of retirement by a corruption scandal at 1MDB, a state fund that is being investigated by the U.S. and several other countries after associates of defeated Prime Minister Najib Razak allegedly stole and laundered $4.5 billion from it. The fund was set up by Najib in 2009 to promote economic development but accumulated billions in debt.

FILE- In this Nov. 7, 2014, file photo, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, smiling as he waits for the final hearing of his sodomy conviction in Putrajaya, Malaysia. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

FILE- In this Jan. 3, 2012, file photo, Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim leaves after a press conference at his party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Lai Seng Sin, File)

FILE - In this Nov. 12, 1999, file photo, Malaysian ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim raises his fist as his wife Wan Azizah, right, and his daughter Nurul Izzah acknowledge cheering before Anwar leaves the Federal High Court in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - In this Sept 9, 1998, file photo, ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim chats with his family members before giving a speech in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)

FILE - In this June 20, 1998, file photo, Anwar Ibrahim,left,stand next to Malaysia Prima Minister Mahathir Mohamad during the 1998 UMNO Annual Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an extraordinary comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. Anwar, 70, is expected to walk free Wednesday, May 16, 2018, after obtaining a royal pardon but his expected return to politics could cause tensions in the new government led by his former foe, Mahathir Mohamad. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

FILE - In this Sept 20, 1998, file photo, ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim addresses a gathering of more than 35,000 Malaysians, prior to his arrest and trial on a variety of corruption and sexual misconduct charges at the National Mosque in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 17, 1997, file photo, Malaysian Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim speech for Malaysia Economy Budget at the Parliament House in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's historic change of government paves the way for an comeback for jailed opposition icon Anwar, who played a key role in helping to secure the election victory and has become a prime minister in waiting.(AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts cruised to victory Tuesday in the Republican primary for governor, setting himself up for a general election where he'll be a heavy favorite in the GOP-dominated state.

Ricketts easily fended off medical marijuana activist Krystal Gabel in the Republican race. He'll face state Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha, who defeated fellow Democrats Tyler Davis and Vanessa Ward in the statewide primary.

In an interview, Ricketts pointed to Nebraska's low unemployment rate and pledged his push to lower property taxes. Despite his party's statewide advantage, he said he'll continue to campaign aggressively.

FILE - In this Jan. 8, 2018, file photo, state Sen. Bob Krist, of Omaha, speaks during debate in the Legislative Chamber in Lincoln, Neb. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is touting his conservative credentials on the national stage as he prepares for re-election. He faces fellow Republican Krystal Gabel in the Tuesday, May 15 primary. The Democratic primary field is composed of Krist, university instructor Tyler Davis and community activist Vanessa Ward, all of Omaha. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

"We've been growing Nebraska, and we've got a great record to run on," he said.

Krist started positioning himself for the general election even before the primary voting ended. On Wednesday, the retired Air Force pilot will kick off a statewide flying tour across the state with his running mate, state Sen. Lynne Walz, who joined the ticket last month.

Krist pledged Tuesday night to invest more in the state's K-12 public schools, change the tax system to benefit working people, fix lingering problems in the state prison system and work collaboratively with Nebraska lawmakers.

"It's time for new leadership, a new sheriff in town, and I'm that guy," he said in an interview.

Ricketts spent the last few months touting his conservative credentials on the national stage. He made recent appearances at the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Texas, where he stressed his support for gun rights, and at President Donald Trump's White House, where he and other Midwestern officials emphasized the importance of agricultural trade in farm states.

The Democratic candidates spent much of their time criticizing the governor and his policies. Krist knocked Ricketts for his recent state budget cuts to the University of Nebraska and his financial contributions to conservative allies who are running for the Legislature.

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Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban launched attacks from multiple directions on a city in western Afghanistan early Tuesday, killing and wounding at least six security forces, officials said.

Fared Bakhtawer, head of the Farah provincial council, said the insurgents overran several security checkpoints in the provincial capital of the same name and that heavy fighting was underway. He said casualties were high among security forces, but couldn't provide a precise number.

"Security checkpoints around the city have collapsed into the hands of the Taliban, causing high casualties among security forces," he said.

Samihullah Samim, a lawmaker from Farah, said parts of the city are under Taliban control, with heavy fighting underway just 300 meters (yards) from the governor's residence. He said if the Taliban gain a foothold then fighters from neighboring provinces would flood into the city. Farah borders Helmand province, where the Taliban control several districts.

"If the security forces can't take control of the whole city by the end of the day, then it will be very difficult to take control of the city anytime soon," he said.

Local reporters said the city was empty and shops, schools and government offices were closed as people hid inside their homes.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said at least six security forces were killed and 12 others, including the deputy provincial police chief, were wounded in the fighting.

He said commando units and other reinforcements had been sent in, with the support of Afghan warplanes. "There is no danger of Farah city collapsing into the hands of Taliban," he said.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat the Taliban in recent years, as the insurgents have seized several districts across the country. The U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, but still provide support.

NATO said in a statement Tuesday that A-10 close support fighter jets were circling Farah, which it said remains under government control.

"The Afghan security forces are bringing their full capabilities, consisting of Army, Police, Commandos and Air Force, to bear on the situation," it said, adding that U.S. forces "stand firm beside our Afghan partners and will continue to reinforce this Afghan-led offensive."

Farah province has seen heavy fighting in recent months, with local officials and tribal elders requesting addition forces from the already overstretched army and police.

The Taliban claimed the assault on Farah in statement to media, saying they had attacked from multiple directions.
DETROIT (AP) - As turmoil spreads through the Middle East, American Jews and Muslims have been forming alliances to build trust and seek solidarity in more ambitious ways than in the past, a sharp contrast to the violence engulfing their homelands this week.

Muslims and Jews have dispatched members into mosques and synagogues to learn about each other's faiths, made a joint trip to tour civil rights sites in the South and formed partnerships involving CEOs of major corporations. Leaders of the groups said the challenging world events have provided impetus for the outreach efforts, including violence in Gaza, the Trump administration's moving of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the travel ban from mostly Muslim countries and deepening concern about hate crimes.

"If there's ever a time to talk, it's now," said the executive director for the Los Angeles-based group NewGround, Aziza Hasan.

Members of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom group walk across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom brings together Jewish and Muslim women interested in learning about one another. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

NewGround has provided leadership training programs for several hundred professionals from the two communities. One recent event was a backyard supper in Los Angeles at which guests discussed their religions' approach to death - what rituals are involved, how the grieving process unfolds. Participants were moved by similarities in the traditions of their two faiths.

"Some people were on the verge of tears as they dug into it," said Hasan.

Perhaps most high-powered of the outreach initiatives is the Muslim Jewish Advisory Council, which started out two years ago working to expand hate-crime legislation. Now, the council - an unprecedented interfaith team of business, political and religious leaders - is launching an initiative sending Jewish members into mosques and Muslims into synagogues to speak and listen in ways that break down walls between them.

Farooq Kathwari, the council co-chair and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors, said the violence along Gaza's border with Israel - where dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops' gunfire on Monday - poses a test for the outreach project.

"We have to double our efforts to stay together," said Kathwari. "I hope and pray that this crisis does turn into an opportunity for peace."

Another ambitious national group is the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom, which brings together Jewish and Muslim women interested in learning about one another. Founded in 2010, it now has more than 2,700 members in roughly 150 chapters spanning 27 states. Seeking new insights into combatting bigotry, several dozen of the women traveled to Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee in April, visiting sites commemorating the Civil Rights movement.

"We want to learn how to speak out against hate," said co-founder Sheryl Olitzky, who is Jewish.

The other co-founder, Atiya Aftab, is an attorney who teaches Islamic law at Rutgers University. She described the bloodshed in Gaza as heartbreaking, yet said it would motivate the group's efforts.

"As people of faith we pray that we continue to see God's love and humanity in each other," she said.

For those seeking to build bridges, there have been some inspiring examples. In Germany, more than 2,000 people - Jews and Muslims among them - donned Jewish skullcaps and took to the streets recently to protest an anti-Semitic attack in Berlin in which a Syrian asylum-seeker is a suspect. In the U.S., Muslim communities in Philadelphia and St. Louis raised funds last year to help restore vandalized Jewish cemeteries.

The Muslim Jewish Advisory Council hopes its new outreach efforts will benefit from goodwill generated by its support for federal legislation that would boost penalties for threats of violence against religious institutions. The measure passed the House in December by a vote of 402-2, and council officials expect it to pass the Senate by a similar margin.

The council hopes to expand its influence with a growing number of regional affiliates, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Miami and, soon, Detroit. Stanley Bergman, the CEO of Henry Schein Inc. and the council's other co-chair along with Kathwari, said those groups can help defuse "prejudice on both sides" through events and conversations specific to local concerns.

The council took shape in 2016; Bergman believes a key factor was that numerous corporate executives overcame wariness about engaging in such an interfaith effort. Now, he said, "you're finding a lot more leaders of business talking about respect and choosing civil words."

The joint efforts come as many Muslims say President Donald Trump's words and policies, such as the travel ban, lead to increased threats and attacks. The Council on American-Islamic Relations said last month that "Trump's xenophobic rhetoric" has "provided a veneer of legitimacy to bigotry," and contributed to a 15 percent jump last year in reported anti-Muslim hate crimes and other acts of bias.

The advisory council's leaders avoid direct criticism of Trump, arguing that instances of bias crimes have been rising for a while and polarization precedes him.

"Our president has his way, which at times works, but a negative impact can be that it also divides people. What we have to do is ... move forward, but also unite people," Kathwari said.

The Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom also approaches politically charged issues with caution.

Aware that some attempts at interfaith engagement have floundered over differences on Israeli-Palestinian politics, the Sisterhood's manual advises its chapters to avoid dialogue on that subject "until trust and respect has been established within the chapter members." Last week, with worsening tensions in the Mideast, the Sisterhood convened a special meeting last of its chapter leaders to provide training on how to address the conflict.

Both co-founders say the Sisterhood's mission has taken on extra urgency during Trump's presidency.

Since the election, Olitzky contends, there has been a "demonstrable increase in anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim acts of hate" that has served to bring the Jewish and Muslim communities together in new ways.

Muqtedar Khan, a professor of political science and international relations at the University of Delaware, believes social and political conditions are conducive to greater solidarity between the two faiths.

Politically, he expects both communities will play increasingly vital roles in the Democratic Party while viewing the Trump-led Republican Party as hostile to minorities. Socially, he sees the younger generation of American Jews and Muslims as more likely than their elders to be allies.

One example: IfNotNow, a group of youthful Jewish activists opposed to Israel's treatment of Palestinians, has been coordinating some of its protest activity with American Muslims for Palestine.

"They have common ground in seeking social justice in America," Khan said.

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Crary reported from New York.

Members of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom group walk across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. Seeking new insights into combatting bigotry, several dozen members of the group traveled to Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee in April, visiting sites commemorating the Civil Rights movement. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Members of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom group listen to guide Joanne Bland, foreground, at the Brown Chapel during the "Journeys for the Soul" civil rights historical tour through Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. Seeking new insights into combatting bigotry, several dozen members of the group traveled to Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee in April, visiting sites commemorating the Civil Rights movement. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Heba Maksoud, center, of New Jersey, and Dr. Ken Sonnenschein, talk with guide Joanne Bland outside the Brown Chapel during the "Journeys for the Soul" civil rights historical tour through Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom member Arshia Burney, of Virginia, left, holds hands with Joanne Bland, right, of Selma, Ala., near the Brown Chapel during the "Journeys for the Soul" civil rights historical tour through Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

Heba Maksoud, of New Jersey, listens to stories with a group called the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom as they visit the McRae Learning Center in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. Founded in 2010, the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom now has more than 2,700 members in roughly 150 chapters spanning 27 states. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

A member of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom group wears politically-themed buttons during a visit to the McRae Learning Center in Selma, Ala., on Tuesday, April, 24, 2018. Aware that some attempts at interfaith engagement have floundered over differences on Israeli/Palestinian politics, the Sisterhood's manual advises its chapters to avoid dialogue on that subject "until trust and respect has been established within the chapter members." (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
BEIJING (AP) - Former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday on charges of leaking classified information, in a case that underscores differences between pro-China and pro-independence forces on the self-governing island.

The charges against Ma relate to testimony allegedly disclosed to him illegally in 2013 when he was president and facing challenges from opponents in the legislature.

Ma can appeal the sentence, which is also commutable to a fine.

FILE - In this March 23, 2016 file photo, former Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou holds a press conference after an international media tour of Taiwan's Taiping island, also known as Itu Aba, in the Spratly archipelago, south of Taiwan. Former Taiwanese President Ma was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday, May 15, 2018, on charges of leaking classified information, in a case that underscores differences between pro-China and pro-independence forces on the self-governing island. (AP Photo/Tassanee Vejpongsa, File)

China embraced Ma's pro-China Nationalist Party government, but has shunned that of his independence-leaning successor, Tsai Ing-wen, head of the Democratic Progressive Party.

Ma had originally been found not guilty of the charges last August, but prosecutors appealed the verdict.

The charges against Ma arose from a 2013 lawsuit brought by Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Ker Chien-ming, who accused the ex-president of leaking information from a wiretapped conversation.

Ma met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2015 in what was seen as a watershed moment for relations between the Communist Party and the Nationalists who had fled to Taiwan amid civil war in 1949.
MOSCOW (AP) - Ukraine's state security agency raided offices of two Russian state-owned media outlets in the Ukrainian capital Tuesday and leveled treason accusations against a journalist, a move that drew sharp criticism from the top trans-Atlantic security and rights group.

Ukraine's domestic security agency, the SBU, said the raids of the Kiev offices of the RIA Novosti news agency and RT television were part of its investigation into Russian media outlets being "used as tools in a hybrid war against Ukraine."

The agency said the head of RIA Novosti's Ukrainian office, Kirill Vyshinskiy, was detained for alleged treason, a crime that carries a prison term of up to 15 years upon conviction.

Relations between Moscow and Kiev soured in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea and threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian government has long blamed Russian state media for fanning the flames of the war in the east, which so far has killed more than 10,000 people.

Moscow angrily protested Tuesday's raids. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denounced the Ukrainian action as an "unacceptable" attack on freedom of speech and urged the West to condemn it "without any double standards."

Harlem Desir, a media freedom representative at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a top security and rights group, expressed "serious concern" about the raids.

"The fight against propaganda must not fall short of international standards and should not represent disproportionate interference in media activities," Desir said in a statement. "OSCE participating states have committed to facilitating the conditions under which journalists from one participating state exercise their profession in another participating state."

In Washington, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the United States shared concern about Russian propaganda, but noted that Ukraine must take care to ensure it abides by the law, including international human rights law.

The raids came several hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to southern Russia to attend the opening ceremony of a bridge linking Russia and the Crimean peninsula.
BRUSSELS (AP) - Major European powers and Tehran committed Tuesday to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump's determination to kill it off.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that salvage efforts focused on economic, business and banking issues could produce "practical solutions in the next few weeks"

"There was awareness of the urgency," Mogherini said after the meeting in Brussels.

From left, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson pose for a photo during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

"If I can use the metaphor that some raised around the table, we all have a relative in intensive care and we all want to get him or her out of intensive care as soon as possible," she said.

Germany, France and Britain all are signatories of the 2015 deal, which was meant to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The U.S. pulled out of the pact last week and promised to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran.

Mogherini said "expert talks" on relevant financial and economic issues such as banking transactions and oil would begin soon and the deputy foreign ministers from the three European nations and Iran would meet in Vienna next week.

"We reaffirmed together our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere," she said.

Said Iran's Zarif: "We are on the right track. A lot depends on what we can do within the next few weeks."

The steps forward underscored the EU's hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to security.

"It won't be easy, that's clear to all of us. But if we want to stay in this agreement and ensure that Iran stays in this agreement and abides to the terms of the agreement, then we need to talk about this," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

At the same time, the European diplomats wanted to show they weren't gullible and wouldn't drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in the Syria conflict.

"I want to stress we are under no illusion about the stuff Iran gets up to in the region, in the Middle East. We have no illusions about Iran's disruptive behavior, but we think we can tackle those in other ways," British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said.

Mogherini agreed at the end of a long day of diplomatic meetings.

"As you know very well, we have many other disagreements," she said. But, she added, "with the nuclear deal in place we have better chances to address any other issues we have to address with Iran."

Trump's withdrawal from the deal has imperiled not only the accord, but the threat of sanctions could trickle down to European companies doing business with Iran.

"We have to accept, be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extraterritoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to businesses," Johnson said.

The European Commission has been examining measures to counter the introduction of any U.S. sanctions that could harm European businesses. The commission is expected to unveil them to EU leaders at a summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.

Among them is the possible use of an EU "blocking regulation" which would, in essence, ban European companies from respecting American sanctions when the sanctions might damage EU interests, notably trade and the movement of capital.

The regulation, which has been brandished as a threat in the past but never used, was drawn up more than 20 years ago and would have to be revised.

It is unclear how well the measure could be enforced, given that big multinationals are likely to be doing more business in the U.S. than they are in Iran and may be unwilling to compromise that market access.

The EU's energy commissioner is also traveling this week to Iran to discuss strengthening European energy support to Iran.

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Jill Lawless in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Frank Jordans in Berlin, contributed to this report.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, center, leaves after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, looks at Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, second right, during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrives prior to a meeting of the E-3 and Iran at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Thierry Monasse, Pool Photo via AP)

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, right, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif prior to a meeting of the E-3 and Iran at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Thierry Monasse, Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, second right, speaks with the media after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif leaves the meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson addresses reporters prior to meet German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, center, arrives prior to a meeting of the E-3 and Iran at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Thierry Monasse, Pool Photo via AP)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, center, leaves after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, speaks with the media after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini at the Europa building in Brussels on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

From left, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif walk, during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrives for a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, left sits next to European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif leaves the meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - Danish prosecutors say the appeals case against Danish submarine inventor Peter Madsen, who has only appealed against the life sentence, will take place in September.

The prosecutors said Tuesday that the appeal will take place from Sept. 5 at the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen.

Madsen's defense lawyer has said Madsen still denies murdering Kim Wall.

Madsen was found guilty April 25 of murder, sexual assault and the dismembering of Wall. The Copenhagen City Court ruled unanimously that Madsen, 47, had lured Wall, 30, onto his home-made submarine with the promise of an interview she had been trying to get for months.
He surprised analysts when he was elected to succeed Benedict XVI in 2013 at the age of 76, and just five years on, Pope Francis has admitted to pondering his retirement.

Francis spoke about when it might be the right time to 'take leave' of his flock during this morning's homily.

His comment came while reflecting on St. Paul discerning when to leave his flock in the care of others, a decision Francis said all bishops must make.

Pope Francis, flanked by Bishop Angelo De Donatis, delivered a speech during a meeting with the Roman diocese, at the Vatican Basilica of St. John at the Lateran, in Rome, on Monday

Pope Francis, 81, has spoken in a homily about when it might be the right time to 'take leave' of his flock

He said: 'When I read this, I think about myself, because I'm a bishop and I'll have to take my leave.'

Francis has previously said that retired Pope Benedict XVI 'opened a door' to future popes by resigning.

Although the 81-year-old pope has said he does not envisage a long papacy, he has not yet revealed when, or whether, he plans to retire.

The Vatican has not released the full text from his homily.

Francis may have also been referring to Chilean bishops implicated in a sex abuse cover-up scandal.

He is currently holding a series of closed-door meetings with the Bishops of Chile to formulate a response to the abuse crisis that has rocked the Church in the South American country.

Thirty-four Chilean bishops were summoned to the Vatican over the cover-up which could result in a purge of Chile's Catholic hierarchy.

'We feel pain and shame,' Fernando Ramos, an auxiliary bishop of Santiago, told a news conference ahead of the three days of closed-door meetings.

The scandal has devastated the credibility of the Church in the once staunchly Catholic country. It has also hurt the pope's own image because this year he strongly defended a bishop accused in the alleged cover-up before reversing his position.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Gonzalez of the city of San Bernardo said he could not rule out some of the tainted bishops resigning or being sacked, as many Chileans have demanded.

'It does not depend on us. Each person must decide this together with the pope,' he said.

Representatives of the Chilean bishops conference Luis Fernando Ramos Perez, left, and Juan Ignacio Gonzalez, met with reporters at the Vatican on Monday. Thirty-four Chilean bishops have been summoned to the Vatican over a cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy

One of the key bishops in the crisis is Juan Barros, whom the pope appointed to the southern city of Osorno in 2015 despite allegations that he had covered up sexual abuse of minors by his mentor, Father Fernando Karadima. Barros has said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

Luis Badilla, a Rome-based Chilean commentator for the Vatican-affiliated blog 'Il Sismografo', called for 'exemplary and educational decisions' by the pope to put the Chilean Church back on course.

During his trip to Chile in January, the pope said he had no proof against Barros, believed he was innocent, and that accusations against him were 'slander' until proven otherwise.

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other Church members. He produced a 2,300-page report that will be discussed at the Vatican meetings.

Victims have also accused other bishops of either covering up the abuse by Karadima, of delaying investigations, or of discrediting victims in the media and demonizing them in private conversations and emails.

Last month, Francis held four days of meetings with Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, three men abused by Karadima when they were teenagers in Santiago.

They said in a statement afterwards that they had been 'treated as enemies' by Chilean Church leaders for 10 years.

Karadima, who trained some of the bishops for the priesthood decades ago, was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s.

He never faced civilian justice because of the statute of limitations. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, Karadima has always denied the allegations.

At the pre-meeting news conference, Gonzalez said he had met many victims and knew the three who met the pope last month.

One of the victims, Cruz, later tweeted: 'I've never seen him before in my life. The truth according to the bishops of Chile is very different from what we all have lived.'

In a stern statement last Saturday, the Vatican indicated that the pope intended to be tough.

It spoke of 'cover-ups and grave omissions regarding the victims' and said the meetings would seek to determine 'collective and individual responsibility for these devastating wounds'.

In a homily at his daily morning Mass on Tuesday, without specifically mentioning Chile, Francis said every bishop should know 'when itas time to take his leave and step down'.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Swedish doctor who had been imprisoned in his native Ethiopia on charges of corruption and terrorism has been freed.

Fikru Maru told Swedish broadcaster SVT on Tuesday that "it's great to be out in the fresh air." State-owned media last week reported that Ethiopia had dropped the charges.

"I will come home to Sweden, I promise. I don't know exactly when it will be," he told SVT by telephone. The broadcaster said he was on his way to the Swedish Embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom welcomed the release, saying the ministry had been working on the case "intensively for several years."

Fikru was arrested in 2013 after a years-long dispute over equipment for his cardiology clinic in Addis Ababa. The terrorism charge came years later when he and others were accused of starting a deadly fire in the prison where they were held.

Ethiopia has released several thousand inmates, including prominent opposition figures and journalists, since former Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn promised in January to free members of political parties after more than a year of anti-government protests.

The East African nation is the continent's second most populous country and a key security ally of the West but often has been accused by rights groups and activists of having a heavy-handed approach to dissent.
CANNES, France (AP) - In a passionate, expletive-ridden monologue at the Cannes Film Festival, director Spike Lee lambasted Donald Trump for the U.S. president's response to last year's violent white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lee spoke to reporters Tuesday after his "BlacKkKlansman" premiered Monday night at Cannes to a rousing standing ovation.

The 1979-set film, loosely based on a true story, is about black police detective Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington, Denzel's son) and a Jewish detective (Adam Driver) who together infiltrated a Ku Klux Klan cell in Colorado. Topher Grace plays former KKK leader David Duke.

Director Spike Lee pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

The 61-year-old filmmaker said that following the violence in Charlottesville, the U.S. president had the opportunity to denounce the Ku Klux Klan and the alt-right. But Trump instead chose to say there was "blame on both sides" in the unrest between the neo-Nazi groups and counter-protesters.

He said Trump - whom he refused to call by name - had "a chance to say we are about love and not hate," and sharply criticized him for not denouncing the KKK.

"It was a defining moment and he could have said to the United States and the world that we're better than that," said Lee.

"BlacKkKlansman," produced by Jordan Peele (director of "Get Out"), concludes by connecting the period tale with today. It ends with actual footage from Charlottesville, as well as Trump's televised response. The final image is an upside-down American flag that fades to black and white.

Focus Features will release the film in August, on the year anniversary of Charlottesville.

Having already wrapped the film, Lee added the Charlottesville coda after the unrest last summer.

"Right away, I knew that this had to be the coda for the film, but I had to do something first," said Lee. Before inserting footage of the car that plowed through crowds in Virginia, killing counter-protester Heather Heyer, Lee said he telephoned Heyer's mother.

"I was not going to put that murder scene in the film without her blessing," said Lee.

Lee called Charlottesville an "ugly, ugly, ugly blemish on America," but he also repeatedly stressed to the international Cannes media that the racism depicted in "BlacKkKlansman" isn't unique to the United States.

"This right -wing (expletive) is not just America. It's all over the world. And we have to wake up," said Lee. "We can't be silent. It's not black, white, or brown. It's everybody. We all live on this planet, and this guy in the White House has the nuclear code. I go to bed thinking about it."

At the premiere Monday, Lee was outfitted in a shiny purple-and-orange tuxedo and wore one ring declaring "love" on one hand, and "hate" on the other, paying homage to the jewelry won by the character Radio Raheem in his previous film "Do the Right Thing." He bounced into the premiere at the Palais announcing: "Brooklyn's in the house!"

Lee has frequently debuted films at Cannes, including "Do the Right Thing" in 1989.

He hopes "BlacKkKlansman" ''shakes people from their slumber."

"I know it in my heart," said Lee. "We're on the right side of history with this film."

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actor John David Washington, from left, director Spike Lee, and Adam Driver pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actors Laura Harrier, from left, Topher Grace, and director Spike Lee pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 14, 2018. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actors John David Washington, from left, Damaris Lewis, Jasper Paakkonen, Laura Harrier, Topher Grace, director Spike Lee, actors Adam Driver, and Corey Hawkins pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 14, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee, from right, actors Adam Driver, Laura Harrier and John David Washington pose for photographers upon arrival at the premiere of the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Monday, May 14, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actor John David Washington poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actress Damaris Lewis poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actors Corey Hawkins, John David Washington, Topher Grace, Adam Driver, back, director Spike Lee, actors Laura Harrier, Jasper Paakkonen and Damaris Lewis pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actor Topher Grace poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actress Damaris Lewis poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actress Laura Harrier poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actress Damaris Lewis poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actors Damaris Lewis, from left, Jasper Paakkonen, Laura Harrier, Adam Driver, director Spike Lee, actors Topher Grace, John David Washington and Corey Hawkins pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actress Laura Harrier poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actor Jasper Paakkonen poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actor Jasper Paakkonen poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Actor Jasper Paakkonen poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actress Damaris Lewis poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)

Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actress Laura Harrier poses for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

Actor John David Washington, from left, director Spike Lee, and Adam Driver pose for photographers during a photo call for the film 'BlacKkKlansman' at the 71st international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (Photo by Arthur Mola/Invision/AP)
CAIRO (AP) - Egyptian police have detained an activist known for his harsh criticism of the government on charges including insulting President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, a rights lawyer said Tuesday.

Prosecutors summoned Shady el-Ghazaly Harb for an investigation into accusations of disseminating false news and insulting the president, among other charges, his wife Fatima told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The prosecutors set his bail at 50,000 Egyptian pounds, or about $2,810, late Monday. It has been paid but authorities have refused to let him return home, she said.

Rights lawyer Doaa Moustafa said prosecutors have ordered Harb held for 15 days pending investigation, and that he also faces charges of joining an outlawed group. He has been added to a case that involves another activist, Amal Fathy, and a young comedian, Shady Abu Zaid, both of whom are also detained.

Shady el-Ghazaly Harb was one of the young leaders behind the 2011 uprising that toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

Freedoms won during the uprising have rapidly eroded since el-Sissi led the military overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist who was freely elected but proved divisive, in 2013.

Since then, authorities have waged a wide-scale crackdown on dissent, jailing thousands of people, mainly Islamists but also several prominent secular activists, including many of those behind the 2011 uprising. The government has banned unauthorized protests and blocked hundreds of websites, including many operated by independent journalists and rights groups.

The government has defended such measures, saying it is trying to restore stability, revive the economy and defeat an Islamic State-led insurgency based in the Sinai Peninsula.

Also on Tuesday, an Egyptian court handed out sentences - ranging from five to ten years - to five defendants in prison on terror-related charges that include killing a Coptic Christian in 2010. The Cairo Criminal Court said the defendants had set up a militant group that aimed to attack security personnel, tourists and the country's Christian minority.

Egypt has been battling Islamic militants for years, but the insurgency gained strength after Morsi's overthrow. The militants have focused their attacks on security forces and Christians.

In February, Egypt launched a massive security operation against militants in Sinai as well as parts of Egypt's Nile Delta and the Western Desert, along the porous border with Libya.
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - The foundation of billionaire philanthropist George Soros said Tuesday that it is relocating its headquarters to Berlin from Budapest in the wake of what it called an "increasingly repressive" environment in Hungary.

The Open Society Foundations, or OSF, said the move is because of the Hungarian government's plan to "impose further restrictions on non-governmental organizations through what it has branded its 'Stop Soros' package of legislation."

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has accused the 87-year-old Soros of being part of a strategy to flood Europe with migrants and of meddling in domestic affairs - something Soros and his organization say isn't true.

FILE - This Thursday, April 27, 2017 file photo shows George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundation, before the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. The foundation of billionaire philanthropist George Soros said Tuesday, May 15, 2018 that it is relocating its headquarters to Berlin from Budapest in the wake of what it called an "increasingly repressive" environment in Hungary. (Olivier Hoslet, EPA Pool via AP, File)

Orban was re-elected last month to a third consecutive term during a campaign that was based heavily on demonizing migrants and blaming Soros and organizations supported by his Open Society Foundations. Orban now plans a package of laws dubbed "Stop Soros" that would greatly restrict non-governmental groups working with refugees and asylum-seekers.

Patrick Gaspard, the OSF's president, said the government has "denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union."

Csaba Csontos, spokesman for the foundation in Budapest, told The Associated Press that the Hungarian government had carried out a "smear campaign" that "misinterpreted deliberately and distorted the views of our founder."

Csontos said that even though the international hub would move, local work would continue in Hungary.

"We will remain committed to the Hungarian civic society, and we will continue our supporting role for the Hungarian civil society, NGOs, local communities, as we did during the last three decades," Csontos said.

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs accused the Soros foundation of "fleeing from transparency."

"They don't want the public to know exactly what they are engaged in and in what way and thanks to what financing they are supporting immigration," Kovacs told the AP in a statement.

"They want to create an immigrant continent and an immigrant country, but the Hungarian government and Hungarian laws are preventing them from doing so. For this reason they are fleeing abroad to avoid Hungarian law and will continue to apply pressure from there," Kovacs added.

Many critics have described Orban's campaign against Soros, a Hungarian-born Holocaust survivor, as anti-Semitic.

Another Budapest-based institution founded and funded by Soros, the Central European University, said it wasn't affected by OSF's decision - even though its fate also hangs in the balance.
CHESTER, Ill. (AP) - A man has pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in the death of a southern Illinois police officer who crashed during a 2016 high-speed chase.

Thirty-five-year-old Jason Stoker of Chester entered the plea Monday before a bench trial was scheduled to begin. With the plea agreement, charges including murder and aggravated fleeing are being dropped. Stoker faces three to 14 years in prison when sentenced Aug. 16.

Chester Officer James Brockmeyer crashed his patrol car while pursuing Stoker. Authorities say Stoker was blamed for the death because he didn't comply with the officer's orders and was driving at a high speed. The 22-year-old officer also was a volunteer firefighter.

Stoker last week was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison in a case involving the sale of methamphetamine in Randolph County.
MIAMI (AP) - Court records say an Alaska man charged with killing five people and wounding six in a shooting rampage at a Florida airport has been found mentally competent and is scheduled to plead guilty later this month.

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing Monday that 28-year-old Esteban Santiago was recently evaluated by a psychologist. The findings are that Santiago understands the court proceedings and is able to assist in his case. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic.

Santiago is set to plead guilty May 23 in exchange for a life prison sentence. Prosecutors announced earlier this month they would not seek the death penalty.

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2017, file photo, Esteban Santiago, center, is led from the Broward County jail for an arraignment in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Court records say Santiago charged with killing five people and wounding six in a shooting rampage at a Florida airport has been found mentally competent and is scheduled to plead guilty later in May 2018. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing late Monday, Monday, May 14, 2018, that Santiago was recently evaluated by a psychologist. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

The 28-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, man is charged in a 22-count indictment in the January 2017 shooting in a baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - A United Nations official says two peacekeepers from Benin have gone missing in Tanganyika province in Congo's southeast.

U.N. Congo mission spokeswoman Florence Marchal says the two went missing Friday in Nyunzu territory after 13 peacekeepers went on a mission from Kongolo town to Kalemie town. She says the U.N. is searching for the two peacekeepers.

The vice-governor of Tanganyika, Ali Omar Simukinje, confirms that two peacekeepers have gone missing in an area where Mai Mai and other militias operate.

Eastern Congo has long been home to a myriad of armed groups that compete over the region's rich mineral wealth. Kidnappings for ransom are common.
MACOMB TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Police looking for the remains of up to seven girls who have been missing for decades stopped digging Tuesday in suburban Detroit, suspending a multi-day effort while they decide whether to search elsewhere in Michigan or resume the excavation in roughly the same area.

Authorities repeatedly have said they're confident they will solve the cold cases, raising the hopes of anxious family members who are desperate to learn what happened to their loved ones. The timeout could last a week, Warren Mayor James Fouts told The Associated Press.

"I'm disappointed, obviously, there was not a recovery," said Konnie Beyma, whose sister, Kimberly King, disappeared in 1979 at age 12. "Based on information from law enforcement, I was beginning to believe we were close to resolution."

Machinery sits idle in a field in Macomb Township, Mich., Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Crews have stopped digging up an area in suburban Detroit where police have said they hoped to find the remains of up to seven missing girls. Warren Mayor James Fouts told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the weeklong excavation on the outskirts of a subdivision in Macomb Township has ended. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Police tape was taken down and three heavy machines were silent Tuesday.

"They decided to stop and evaluate," said Fouts, whose police department is leading the investigation.

The search began a week ago in Macomb County's Macomb Township, 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of downtown Detroit. The site is roughly 25 acres (100,000 sq. meters) of woods and open fields, not far from a residential neighborhood. Crews have clawed at just a portion.

Fouts said police will decide whether to dig again at the same site or take the search elsewhere in Macomb County or to northern Michigan. He didn't disclose what investigators might know about those locations.

Police were inspired to dig after talking to a prisoner, Arthur Ream, who was locked up in 2008 for slaying a 13-year-old girl. Cindy Zarzycki's remains were found a decade ago near the same woods. Ream was interviewed after fellow prisoners said he boasted about killing four to six other people. Police said he failed a lie-detector test.

Ream has declined to speak to reporters by phone, according to the Michigan Corrections Department.

Beyma, who was at the site Monday, said she wants to find her sister's remains and bury them at a family grave in Kentucky.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - A Finnish prosecutor has demanded that a Moroccan asylum-seeker is sentenced to life for two terror-related murders and an attempt to murder eight others during a stabbing attack in southwestern Finland last year.

Abderrahman Bouanane, an alleged sympathizer of the Islamic State group, was shot in the thigh by police after the Aug. 18 stabbing rampage in Turku. He has pleaded guilty in Finland's first terror trial, but denies he intended to commit a terrorist act as prosecutors allege.

Prosecutor Hannu Koistinen said Tuesday that the victims "were tools so the defendant could meet IS's target of spreading fear in Europe."

His defense lawyer admits Bouanane, who listened quietly in the makeshift courtroom inside a prison, had been radicalized but didn't plan the attack.

A verdict is expected June 15.
BRUSSELS (AP) - The Latest on the Iran nuclear deal (all times local):

10:10 p.m.

The European Union's foreign policy chief says a meeting of the foreign ministers of France, Britain, Germany and Iran has yielded a blueprint for further talks to salvage the Iran nuclear deal after the United States pulled out.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, walks by Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

Federica Mogherini said the ministers shared a willingness to "arrive at practical solutions" for keeping the 2015 deal going despite the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to abandon the agreement.

Mogherini says "there was awareness of the urgency" and the four ministers agreed to find some solutions within weeks.

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4 p.m.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged that the Iran nuclear deal "certainly has weaknesses" but says it should be preserved.

Merkel said in a speech to a labor union congress in Berlin that President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the 2015 agreement marked "a shift in German-American, in European-American relations."

She added: "Britain, France and Germany were of the opinion that the agreement against Iran's nuclear armament is an agreement that certainly has weaknesses, but an agreement we should stand by."

Merkel said the Europeans aren't "blind" to threats posed by Iran's activities in Syria to Israel, for example. "But we still think that, with the agreement, we would have better preconditions to speak with Iran about further agreements than by unilaterally canceling an agreement that was unanimously approved and endorsed in the U.N. Security Council."

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1:15 p.m.

Major European powers have sought to keep Iran in a landmark international nuclear agreement after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the pact and promised tough economic sanctions against Tehran.

In one of a series of meetings, foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany - signatories of the 2015 deal to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons - were to hold talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, amid concerns that the sanctions will also damage European business interests.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said before the meeting in Brussels that "the U.K. and our European partners continue to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully committed to upholding it."

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10:20 a.m.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has met with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as the Europeans seek to keep the Iran nuclear agreement.

Zarif said little to reporters Tuesday but suggested he wanted to discuss the deaths of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza as well as the nuclear deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from last week.

He was due to hold talks later in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany.

The EU hopes to convince Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear pact.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, right, sits next to France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, left sits next to European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrives for a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas arrives for a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, talks, during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

From left, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson pose for a photo during a meeting of the foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany with the Iran Foreign Minister and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, at the Europa building in Brussels, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Major European powers sought Tuesday to keep Iran committed to a deal to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb despite deep misgivings about Tehran's Middle East politics and President Donald Trump's vehement opposition. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)
SEBRING, Fla. (AP) - A Florida sheriff's deputy who was killed while responding to a dispute over a cat is being laid to rest.

The funeral procession for Highlands County Sheriff's Deputy William Gentry began Tuesday morning in the central Florida city of Sebring.

News outlets report the nearby Polk County Sheriff's Office will cover Highlands County during the service for Gentry so his colleagues can attend the funeral.

The 40-year-old deputy joined the force in 2005. He responded to a dispute between neighbors over a cat that had been shot May 6. Officials say Gentry was shot when he approached the front door of 69-year-old Joseph Edward Ables.

Ables is charged with first-degree murder.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) - About 70 law enforcement officers welcomed the five-year-old son of a slain police officer to a western Indiana school as he returned to class for the first time since his father was killed in a shootout.

Dakota Pitts asked his mother if one of his father's friends could drive him for his first day back.

WTHI-TV reports Dakota got that special ride and when he arrived Monday morning at Sullivan Elementary School he was greeted by about 70 Terre Haute police officers and Vigo County Sheriff's deputies lining the school's entrance.

He was presented with a SWAT team shirt and badge during his arrival.

Dakota's dad, Terre Haute police Officer Rob Pitts, was killed May 4.

Kelli Jones, Rob Pitts' sister, says Dakota knows "his dad was a hero."

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Information from: WTHI-TV, http://www.wthitv.com/
TIRANA, Albania (AP) - Albanian police report that 17 suspects have been arrested for allegedly being part of an international crime ring that issues fake identity documents to help people enter United States, Canada and Britain illegally.

A national police statement published Tuesday said authorities raided four workshops in Albania where counterfeit visas, passports and documents from European Union countries were produced. Police also seized cash and said the people detained were paid at least 20,000 euros ($24,000.) Seven workshops also were found in Greece.

Albanian citizens are allowed to travel to EU member countries without visas, but require visas to go to the U.S., Canada and Britain.

Police say 41 suspects in Albania, Greece and other countries have been arrested since an investigation of the document crime ring started two years ago.
BEIRUT (AP) - Lebanese authorities have detained a Palestinian human rights activist after he was summoned to a security agency in Beirut, an international rights group said Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch said Ghassan Abdallah, director of the Palestinian Human Rights Organization, or PHRO, was detained after being summoned to the General Security Directorate early Monday and was held incommunicado for more than 24 hours.

It quoted his lawyer as saying that Abdallah has since been transferred to Military Intelligence. It said Abdallah was able to make a telephone call and has access to medication. Authorities have not clarified the basis of his detention or allowed him to speak with his lawyer, Human Rights Watch said.

Palestinians living in Lebanon chant slogans as they hold Palestinian and Lebanese flags during a rally to mark the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe -- the uprooting of hundreds of thousands in the Mideast war over Israel's 1948 creation, in the Beaufort Castle near the border with Israel, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Lebanese officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

PHRO said no reason was given by authorities for Abdallah's detention, adding that since he was summoned he only called his mother. It added that Abdallah holds Lebanese and Canadian citizenship, and is one of its founding members.

The organization campaigns for the rights of Palestinians living in Lebanon and documents violations.

About 175,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in Lebanon, most of them in the country's 12 refugee camps. The refugees fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war around its creation.

Palestinians in Lebanon held demonstrations Tuesday to mark the 70th anniversary of the "nakba," or catastrophe, their term for the mass uprooting.

The influx of the Palestinians upset Lebanon's fragile sectarian balance, and Palestinian militancy was a key factor behind the 1975-1990 civil war. Palestinians do not have Lebanese citizenship and face restrictions in owning property and in employment, including in the banking sector.

It was not immediately clear if Abdallah's detention was linked to the Palestinians' mass protests in Gaza.

Palestinians living in Lebanon hold Palestinian and Lebanese flags during a rally to mark the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe -- the uprooting of hundreds of thousands in the Mideast war over Israel's 1948 creation, in the Beaufort Castle near the border with Israel, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he opposes plans for a massive trash incinerator in the Finger Lakes region.

The Democrat announced his opposition to the project on Tuesday as opponents rallied in Albany.

Cuomo says the proposal is inappropriate for one of the state's most environmentally sensitive areas. He says he's confident a state siting board will reject the proposal.

Winemakers, farmers, residents and local officials have long called on Cuomo's administration to disallow the incinerator, which is proposed for the town of Romulus.

They say the facility would undermine efforts to make the Finger Lakes a destination for tourism and sustainable agriculture.

The Rochester-based company behind the proposal, Circular enerG LLC, has said the incinerator would create clean energy by burning trash that otherwise would be landfilled.
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Arkansas authorities are searching for the man accused of killing an Italian tourist after he was mistakenly released from prison two months ago.

A judge issued a new arrest warrant Friday for Andre Jackson, who was released from prison in March after completing a sentence for a separate crime, KATV-TV reported . He's charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery in the death of Carlo Marigliano, who was found fatally shot in Little Rock in July.

Marigliano's cousin said prosecutors alerted his family of the mistake on Friday, and they feel like they have to relive the death all over again.

FILE - This file photo provided by the Little Rock Police Department shows Andre Jackson. Arkansas authorities are searching for Jackson, accused of killing an Italian tourist in July, after he was mistakenly released from prison March 16, 2018, after completing a sentence for a separate crime. The Arkansas Department of Correction says law enforcement didn't file a detainer prohibiting Jackson's release. (Little Rock Police Department via AP, File)

"I'm amazed something like this would happen," said Gianni Sulmonte, who lives in Maryland. "If you were charged this way, you may not be able to bond out. But this guy, he just got woken up first thing in the morning and probably walked right out wondering, 'What the heck just happened to me?'"

Marigliano was traveling with friends in the U.S. last year before leaving the group to visit other areas on his way to Arizona, according to his family. He was killed near an apartment complex in Little Rock, according to police.

Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said the department checked for other convictions or warrants, but nothing turned up before Jackson was released from prison on March 16.

Pulaski County sheriff's officials said there should have been a detainer on Jackson, and it's unclear where in the process mistakes were made.

Jackson was due in court on Monday for a hearing on a mental health evaluation that was never completed. Jackson was ordered to undergo a forensic evaluation in January, "however he failed to show for his scheduled appointment," according to an April 11 letter from the Arkansas State Hospital.

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Information from: KATV-TV, http://www.katv.com/
MEXICO CITY (AP) - A radio news host was shot to death Tuesday in southern Mexico, bringing to at least 32 the number of Mexican journalists killed the past 5 years.

Fernando Valenzuela, the chief prosecutor of the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, said radio host Juan Carlos Huerta was killed in his car by gunmen traveling in another vehicle.

The attackers pulled up to Huerta's car, then ran into the vehicle, forcing him to stop. A man got out and shot Huerta before fleeing. Two .45-caliber shell casings were found at the scene.

The killing did not seem to be random or robbery-related, Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nunez said.

"They apparently went to execute him," said the governor, who described Huerta as a friend.

The attack occurred as Huerta left his home in Villahermosa, the Tabasco state capital.

Mexico's National Human Rights Commission and the Inter-American Press Society condemned the killing. The latter noted that the murder occurred on the one-year anniversary of the killing of internationally-recognized Mexican journalist Javier Valdez.

The Inter-American Press Society said that Huerta was the director of the radio show "Panorama without Reservations" and anchored a television newscast in Tabasco state.

Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists.
An 800-pound zoo animal rammed its way out of its enclosure and ran around a Rhode Island zoo for an hour on Tuesday before being sedated and captured.

One animal keeper and one veterinary intern were treated on the scene for minor injuries.

The takin escaped just after 9 a.m. at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence.

It was captured by trained zoo staff about an hour later, before the zoo opened for visitors.

A 800-pound takin named Har-Lee, pictured, is shown at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence, Rhode Island. Har-Lee escaped his enclosure Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The horned animal was captured before the zoo opened. One animal keeper and one veterinary intern were treated on the scene for minor injuries

It was captured by trained zoo staff about an hour later, before the zoo opened for visitors

The massive (363 kilogram) animal is described as a 'goat-antelope.'

The horned animal named Har-Lee lives alone in his enclosure in the middle of the zoo and has never escaped before, said zoo spokeswoman Diane Nahabedian.

He's fine, but is being monitored, Nahabedian said. The enclosure is being evaluated to ensure he can't escape and he's safe, she added.

It started when a veterinary team approached the takin for a routine hoof procedure.

The alarming incident happened just after 9 a.m. at the Roger Williams Park Zoo in Providence

Har-Lee was sedated and taken back to an enclosure after he escaped

The animal charged the heavy reinforced doors multiple times, finally breaking through onto zoo grounds.

Har-Lee was sedated and taken back to an enclosure.

If the zoo was open at the time, visitors would've been ushered by security into buildings, Nahabedian said.

On a typical Tuesday when school groups are visiting, the zoo could have a couple thousand visitors, she added.

Takins are native to the eastern Himalayas. Har-Lee arrived at the zoo in 2012.
NORTHPORT, Ala. (AP) - Federal investigators say a pilot mismanaged his fuel supply, leading to "fuel starvation" of both engines of a plane that crashed in Alabama in 2016, killing all six people aboard.

The twin-engine Piper struck trees near the Tuscaloosa suburb of Northport as it attempted an emergency landing Aug. 14, 2016.

The National Transportation Safety Board says in a new report that it's likely the pilot failed to switch the fuel selectors to tanks that contained fuel while in flight.

Authorities say the six people killed had taken off from Kissimmee, Florida, and were flying to Oxford, Mississippi, where they were from. They were identified as dentists Jason Farese and Lea Farese; dentist Michael Perry and his wife, Kim Perry, a nurse practitioner at the University of Mississippi; and dentist Austin Poole and his wife, Angie Poole.
OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso (AP) - A security ministry spokesman says assailants have shot dead the prefect of Oursi in Burkina Faso's Sahel region.

Jean Paul Badoum told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Patrice Kabore's home was burned and the suspected extremists laid the prefect's body out front. Oursi is in Ouadalan province in the north near the Mali border, where attacks by extremist groups have increased in the past year.

The prefect is the first government representative to be killed since extremists began pushing more aggressively into Burkina Faso's Sahel and western regions in the past year.

Another security official says the prefect had been threatened by extremists several times before Monday night's attack. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press.
WILLEMSTAD, Curacao (AP) - A lawyer for a subsidiary of Houston-based ConocoPhillips said a court in the Dutch Antilles has authorized it to seize $1.94 billion worth of assets held on Bonaire island by Venezuela's state oil company, PDVSA.

Houston-based Conoco is seeking to recover $2 billion in a dispute over expropriation of its oil projects by Venezuela's economically struggling socialist government. The lawyer spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

The seizure of the oil storage terminal on Bonaire follows a similar ruling in recent days allowing Conoco to seize $636 million worth of assets on the nearby island of Curacao.

The dispute with Conoco threatens to disrupt Venezuela's already-depressed oil exports and costs thousands of jobs in the Dutch Caribbean.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Authorities in Puerto Rico say they found cocaine worth an estimated $15.6 million on a fishing boat off the southwestern coast of the U.S. island territory.

U.S. Border Patrol against and Puerto Rican police searched the boat after stopping it off the town of Cabo Rojo. On board they found more than 1,300 pounds (601 kilograms) of cocaine.

The Border Patrol said in a statement Tuesday that authorities arrested two men from the Dominican Republic who were on board the 28-foot boat.

The Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic has long been used as a smuggling route for migrants and drugs.
PEKIN, Ill. (AP) - The family of one of the four people killed in a shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, is suing the suspected gunman's father, accusing the Illinois man of negligence.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that the family of victim Joe Perez filed a lawsuit Monday in Tazewell County, Illinois, the home of Jeffrey Reinking. Reinking's son, Travis Reinking, also lived there before moving to Nashville.

Police say Travis Reinking had displayed signs of mental illness before his Illinois gun card was revoked last summer. His guns were transferred to his father, but police say the father returned them to his son at some point.

Investigators say one of the guns, an AR-15, was used in the April 22 attack at a Waffle House.

Through his lawyer, Jeffrey Reinking declined to comment Tuesday.

Travis Reinking is charged with murder.

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This story was corrected earlier to fix the name of the (Peoria) Journal Star, which was incorrectly referred to as the Peoria Star.
NEW YORK (AP) - Two of three judges hearing an appeal of a London imam's terrorism conviction were critical Tuesday of the way an American jury was told about his earlier convictions in England for soliciting murder.

The judges - Paul G. Gardephe and Reena Raggi - commented as they heard arguments in an appeal by Mustafa Kamel Mustafa to a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Mustafa was convicted in Manhattan federal court in 2014 of supporting terrorist organizations by ensuring there were satellite communications for kidnappers during a 1998 attack on tourists in Yemen, of supporting plans to open an al-Qaida training camp in Bly, Oregon, and sending someone to an Afghanistan training camp. Four hostages were killed in Yemen.

Mustafa, who was extradited to the United States from England in 2012, is serving a life sentence. In the 1990s, he led London's Finsbury Park Mosque, reportedly attended by Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui and shoe bomber Richard Reid. Mustafa denied meeting them. At trial, he was referred to by his alias, Abu Hamza al-Masri.

On appeal, defense attorney Sam Schmidt did not deny that his client spewed hateful speech that was "anti-Jewish, anti-West and anti-American." But he said Mustafa did not urge those who attended training camps in Afghanistan to do so with the intent to carry out acts of terrorism.

He found the appeals judges most receptive when he argued that the jurors were improperly told that Mustafa had been convicted in Great Britain on solicitation-to-murder charges. Mustafa was convicted in early 2006 in London Central Criminal Court and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Gardephe, a district court judge temporarily sitting on the appeals court, questioned Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian McGinley at length about whether the U.S. jury was ever told that solicitation to murder has a different meaning in the United Kingdom than in the United States.

He noted that Mustafa's conviction in England related to hate-speech charges rather than an effort to directly solicit anyone to commit murder, which is the more common meaning in U.S. courtrooms.

"Why wasn't it important for the jury to understand that?" Gardephe asked.

McGinley said it was "somewhat clear to the jury" that Mustafa's convictions in the United Kingdom related to his speech rather than killings. And he said Mustafa opened the door to mention of his United Kingdom convictions by misleadingly implying during his testimony that he was in custody there solely on the U.S. charges and by portraying himself as a peacemaker.

Raggi said it seemed there was "nothing to prevent the jury from thinking" the charges related to murder.

If the judges conclude jurors were told about the convictions improperly, it is unclear whether they would order a new trial. They could decide that it would not have affected the verdict and allow the conviction and sentence to stand. Historically, the 2nd Circuit has upheld the outcome of terrorism trials.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - People wrongfully convicted in Kansas will qualify to collect $65,000 for each year they were incarcerated under a bill the governor signed into law Tuesday.

At a signing ceremony at the Mount Zion Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Gov. Jeff Colyer turned to Lamonte McIntyre and Floyd Bledsoe, two of the three Kansas men who were most recently released after being wrongfully convicted of killings.

"I want to say to Lamont McIntyre, to Floyd Bledsoe, to Richard Jones, we believe in you, we apologize to you ... we will make it right," Colyer said. Jones didn't attend.

Under the law, those who are wrongfully convicted and whose convictions are overturned will be eligible for $65,000 per year they spent behind bars. They also would qualify for nearly a year of free health insurance, financial assistance for higher education, and various social services, including counseling.

Previously, Kansas' wrongfully convicted had to fight for compensation, either by suing the state or by filing a claim with the Legislature that would be voted on as if it were a bill. The wrongfully convicted will still be able to sue the state, but any compensation they've already received under the new system would be deducted from what they were awarded in the lawsuit.

Michele Feldman, a legislative strategist with the Innocence Project, called Kansas' new compensation system "a gold standard."

"There's a lot of shortcomings in laws throughout the country and Kansas really learned what to avoid when they created this law," said Feldman, whose group worked with legislators in crafting the law.

Wrongful conviction laws in neighboring states are flawed, she said. Nebraska has a $500,000 cap on compensation and Missouri only awards compensation if a guilty verdict is overturned by DNA evidence, which does not happen in most cases.

McIntyre, who was released from prison in October after serving 23 years for a 1994 double homicide he didn't commit, said he was excited by the change. His lawyer, Cheryl Pilate, said the law is an important first step but that there's still "a long way to go to achieve real justice." She vowed to continue investigating the "troubling misconduct" that led to McIntyre's imprisonment.

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Follow Mitchell Willetts on Twitter: https://twitter.com/
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's CIA nominee, Gina Haspel (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

The top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee says he will vote to confirm Gina Haspel to be the next CIA director. Sen. Mark Warner's decision strengthens the likelihood that she will be confirmed by the Senate in coming days.

In this May 9, 2018 photo, CIA nominee Gina Haspel testifies during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington. In a letter Tuesday to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Haspel says she would "refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and ethical values." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Warner's announcement came after Haspel wrote him to say the CIA should never have run a harsh detention and interrogation program after 9/11. Her written comments went farther than ones she made at her confirmation hearing.

Warner, of Virginia, is the third Democrat to say he'll vote for Haspel. The other two are Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

Most Republicans are expected to back Haspel, although Sen. John McCain is ailing and unlikely to vote on the nomination and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky has announced his opposition.

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12:28 p.m.

President Donald Trump's pick to head the CIA says the agency's enhanced interrogation program "is not one the CIA should have undertaken."

Gina Haspel's comments came in a letter Tuesday to senators as the Trump administration works to shore up support for her confirmation amid an intensifying public debate over torture.

Haspel wrote that she has "learned the hard lessons since 9/11." She says, "With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken."

Haspel's letter comes after Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona urged colleagues to reject the nominee over her past role in CIA interrogations.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A Jim Crow-era law that lets divided juries decide criminal cases in Louisiana could be relegated to the history books in November.

The state Senate on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment that would bring Louisiana in line with nearly the rest of the nation in requiring that a jury reach a unanimous verdict before convicting a person. The proposal, once seen as a long shot, is now heading to a public vote.

"This is the moment for people to declare what they want the world to know about Louisiana," said Angela Allen-Bell, an associate professor at Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge. "This is a historic moment, and people need to understand that we have a role to play in writing the next chapter of history."

Currently, serious felony trials in Louisiana, including some murder cases, can be resolved when 10 out of 12 jurors agree on a person's guilt. Even Oregon, the only other state in the country to allow split verdicts in felony cases, requires a unanimous verdict in murder trials.

Sen. J.P. Morrell, a New Orleans Democrat who sponsored the bill, traced the split-jury policy back to a constitutional convention in 1898 and said it was part of longstanding efforts to maintain white supremacy after the Civil War. He previously described the law as "the vestigial tail of some prehistoric creature that we need to just chop off."

Still, the bill faced opposition from some district attorneys, who often hold sway over lawmakers. They argued that it is sometimes hard to get all 12 jurors to agree and said that there's no data to show that the current system results in injustice. One district attorney, in a statement that drew swift backlash, told lawmakers that the policy's roots in white supremacy aren't a reason to change anything.

It is hard to tell how many people have been imprisoned in Louisiana on split decisions, as not all prosecutors in the state maintain information on how juries vote. Though an analysis from The New Orleans Advocate newspaper of felony trials over six years showed that 40 percent of 993 convictions came from split juries.

Last month, the proposal cleared the Senate with one vote more than the two-thirds needed to pass a constitutional amendment. But as the bill moved forward, an unlikely coalition in the GOP-controlled legislature was formed as conservative lawmakers and groups began to get behind the measure.

The president of the powerful Christian organization Louisiana Family Forum published a blog post supporting the proposal. "LFF is often opposed philosophically to Sen J.P. Morrell's bills, however, on this issue, he is correct to right the mistake enacted 138 years ago," wrote Gene Mills. Rep. Sherman Mack, an influential Republican who chairs a criminal justice committee, carried the bill for Morrell in the House and told his counterparts to approve it because it was the right thing to do. The proposal passed the House by a wide margin Monday.

"Very seldom do we have something of this magnitude, this historic, that has enjoyed such bipartisan support," Morrell said Tuesday as the Senate, approving minor tweaks to the bill, gave it final passage by a vote of 28-7.

Ed Tarpley, a former district attorney who lobbied hard in favor of the bill, said the state is on the verge of righting a wrong that's existed for far too long.

"This sends a monumental message to the entire nation that Louisiana is on the right track," he said.

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Senate Bill 243: www.legis.la.gov
WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - A man accused of shooting five co-workers at a granite company in Maryland was convicted Tuesday of attempted manslaughter in the later shooting of a man in Delaware.

A New Castle County jury found Radee Prince, 38, guilty of attempted manslaughter, reckless endangering, resisting arrest, carrying a concealed weapon and two counts of possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

Prince had been charged with attempted murder in the October shooting of Wilmington businessman Jason Baul, but the jury opted to convict him on the lesser charge of attempted manslaughter. Prince testified that he feared Baul, with whom he had several run-ins, and said the shooting was in self-defense.

FILE - This photo provided by the Maryland State Police shows Radee Labeeb Prince. A jury on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, convicted Prince of attempted manslaughter, reckless endangering and other crimes in the October shooting of Wilmington businessman Jason Baul. Prince faces at least eight years in prison.. (Maryland State Police via AP)

A judge set an Aug. 31 sentencing date for Prince, who faces at least eight years in prison and a maximum of 89 years behind bars.

Three of Prince's co-workers were mortally wounded in the Oct. 18 shooting at Advanced Granite Solutions in Harford County, Maryland, before Prince drove to a used car lot in Wilmington and shot Baul. He was captured in Delaware after a 10-hour manhunt.

Prince will be tried later in Maryland on charges including three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

Authorities have said Prince gathered several co-workers around him at the Maryland countertop manufacturing firm, telling them he wanted to talk to them, then opened fire without warning.

Bayarsaikhan Tudev, 53, of Virginia; Jose Hidalgo Romero, 34, of Aberdeen, Maryland; and Enis Mrvoljak, 48, of Dundalk, Maryland, were killed. Jose Roberto Flores Gillen, 37, and Enoc Sosa, 38, were wounded.

Investigators have not disclosed a specific motive for the shootings, but co-workers and acquaintances said Prince had a violent temper and difficulty in getting along with others.

In February 2017, eight months before the shootings, the owner of another Harford County business, JPS Marble and Granite, sought a restraining order against Prince after firing him for punching a co-worker and threatening other employees.

Tudev's widow told The Associated Press that her husband was so concerned about Prince's temper that he brought it up in church prayer sessions.

Prince has an extensive criminal record that includes 42 arrests and 15 felony convictions in Delaware. He was charged with offensive touching in 2014 after putting a co-worker in a chokehold, but that case was dismissed. In 2016, he was arrested for allegedly assaulting Baul, but those charges were dropped.

The shooting rampage set off an intense manhunt along the Interstate 95 Northeast corridor, with the FBI assisting state and local authorities.

Prince was arrested in Glasgow, 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of Wilmington, after a tip led authorities to his vehicle. He was spotted nearby and discarded a handgun when he saw police had recognized him. He was captured after a brief foot pursuit.

Authorities have not said how Prince, who was prohibited from having a gun, obtained the .380 caliber pistol believed to be used in the shootings.

Prince was tried first in the state where he was arrested, in part because Delaware criminal sentencing law does not provide for parole, so a sentence there would have more certainty, authorities in both states said.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - Two Minnesota law enforcement agencies have pulled out of a training class that has been criticized after it was revealed that the suburban police officer who shot and killed black motorist Philando Castile in 2016 had attended the training as part of his continuing education.

The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office and the Minneapolis Police Department have said they won't send officers to BulletProof training, formerly called BulletProof Warrior, which is planned at the Mall of America this week. Ramsey County, which now polices the suburb where Castile was killed, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Monday that it pulled 10 deputies from the training.

The Minneapolis Police Department - which originally said it was sending two training supervisors and five core trainers to assess the training and see if it fit with department values - changed course Tuesday and also said it was pulling out.

FILE - In this July 25, 2016, file photo, a memorial including a photo of Philando Castile, center, on the gate to the governor's residence where protesters demonstrated in St. Paul, Minn., against the July 6 shooting death of Castile by St. Anthony police Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights, Minn. Two Minnesota law enforcement agencies have pulled out of a training class that was criticized after the 2016 shooting of Castile. (AP Photo/Jim Mone, File)

"While we hold the safety of our community members and our officers in the highest regard, our policing model is built on a community of trust," Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said in a statement. "We do not want to attend any training that could, in any way, shake the foundation of trust."

The company behind the program says it teaches communication techniques, but critics say the training is fear-based. A protest of the training is planned for Wednesday.

The training was questioned by community members after Castile's killing. Former St. Anthony Officer Jeronimo Yanez attended the training in 2014, two years before he shot Castile during a traffic stop after Castile told the officer he was armed. Castile's girlfriend was in the car and streamed the shooting's gruesome aftermath on Facebook. Yanez was acquitted of manslaughter and other charges last year and left the police department.

Promotional materials for the seminar that Yanez attended said it taught students how to "utilize their 'Warrior Spirit' in a practical way so they can WIN hostile confrontations on the street." Information now on the company's website says the two-day training is designed to prepare students "psychologically, emotionally, and tactically" and that officers will "learn how their attitudes and personal perspectives could mean the difference between life and death in both violent confrontations and living as a law enforcement officer on and off the job."

The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office now provides policing in Falcon Heights, the suburb where Castile was killed. Chief Deputy Steve Frazer said Monday that he pulled deputies from the BulletProof training after receiving an inquiry from KSTP-TV.

"What it came down for me was a very easy decision because we've worked very hard in the last year and a half with the people in Falcon Heights and the other cities we police to talk about having relationships and doing things a different way and this training is hurtful to some in those communities," Frazer said.

St. Paul police stopped hosting BulletProof training when Todd Axtell became police chief in June 2016 because "it did not fit with our department values," police spokesman Steve Linders said. The Anoka County sheriff's office is sending five deputies to the training. The Mall of America was also sending some security staff members.

Jim Glennon, owner of Calibre Press, which puts on the training, said the course deals with communication during times of extreme stress. It involves showing videos, including video of officers making mistakes with discussion about how those can be avoided. Dash camera footage from Yanez's squad car is included.

"We come to no definitive conclusion," Glennon said of Yanez's case. He added that they tell attendees Yanez was found not guilty, "but we also break it down and often I'll get four or five different opinions about how the traffic stop could have been handled, should have been handled."

Michelle Gross, president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said she and other groups are urging the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training to remove the program from its list of approved continuing-education credits for officers.

The training fits the Peace Officer Standards and Training board's criteria. Board executive director Nathan Gove said individual agencies can decide what's best for their communities and departments.

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Information from: St. Paul Pioneer Press, http://www.twincities.com
Special counsel Robert Mueller was working within his authority when he brought charges against President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, a federal judge in Washington ruled Tuesday.

The decision was a setback for Paul Manafort in his defense against charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Manafort had argued that Mueller had exceeded his authority because the case was unrelated to Russian election interference.

But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson disagreed.

Blow: Paul Manafort was told his attempt to get the case in Washington D.C. dismissed had failed in a 37-page ruling

Approved: 'The Special Counsel would have been remiss to ignore such an obvious potential link between the Trump campaign and the Russian government,' Judge Amy Berman Jackson said

Citing Manafort's years of work in Ukraine, his prominent role on the Trump campaign and his publicized connections to Russian figures, Jackson said it was 'logical and appropriate' for Mueller's team to scrutinize Manafort as part of their investigation into Russian election meddling and possible coordination with Trump associates.

'Given what was being said publicly, the Special Counsel would have been remiss to ignore such an obvious potential link between the Trump campaign and the Russian government,' Jackson wrote.

In her 37-page ruling, Jackson went through a point-by-point rejection of Manafort's other arguments, including his contention that Mueller had been given a 'blank check' to investigate anything 'he may stumble across.'

Jackson said Justice Department regulations allow for a 'broad grant of authority.' And regardless, she wrote, it was clear that Mueller had been specifically authorized to investigate not only Manafort's possible links to Russia but also his Ukrainian business.

She cited an August 2017 memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein that prosecutors had filed in the case. The memo, which came months before Manafort's indictment, shows Rosenstein specifically authorized Mueller to investigate Manafort's Ukrainian work and related financial crimes.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for the special counsel's office, declined to comment.

Jackson had previously thrown out a civil case Manafort brought challenging Mueller's authority. Her decision Tuesday allows one of two criminal cases against Manafort to proceed.

In addition to the Washington indictment, Manafort also faces charges in Virginia of bank fraud and tax evasion. The Virginia indictment accuses him of hiding tens of millions of dollars he earned advising pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine from 2006 through 2015. It also accuses him of fraudulently obtaining millions in loans from financial institutions including while he worked for the Trump campaign.

None of the charges against Manafort involve crimes related to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. Manafort has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Manafort has filed a similar motion to dismiss his charges in Virginia. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III has yet to rule on it. Ellis had previously grilled Mueller's team on whether the case was within his mandate and questioned whether they brought the case to get Manafort to testify against Trump.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Craft brewers in a froth over a North Carolina law requiring beer-makers to hand over substantial control of their product to an outside company on Tuesday sought communications involving one of the state's most powerful political interest groups.

Lawyers representing two Charlotte craft breweries filed court documents demanding documents and communications including emails between state legislators, lobbyists and beer wholesalers. Olde Mecklenburg Brewery and Noda Brewing Co. also are seeking state alcohol commission records describing agreements between wholesalers and major brewers.

The brewery owners sued the state after they and other beer-makers failed for years to change a law that forces brewers to hand over distribution to another company if they ever sell about enough beer in a year to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool.

The Charlotte breweries claim in their suit that the law is unconstitutional because once they've sold more than 25,000 barrels in a year, they're required to give up pricing and sales control of their products to middlemen for virtually as long as their beers are brewed. Brewers hitting that cap must sell everything to a wholesaler, which then sells to stores or taverns.

The moves come after a state Superior Court judge, Allen Baddour, last week refused to dismiss the lawsuit.

While many states have similar self-distribution limits, states like Colorado and Washington that have spawned large and well-known craft brewers have caps that are much higher.

The head of one failed North Carolina craft brewery contends the law gives wholesalers the power to decide which brands succeed.

Beer Army Combat Brewery, started by a former Marine at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune, suffered at the whim of a distributor that decided to punish the start-up for also signing a second distributor to sell its IPAs and ales outside North Carolina, founder Dustin Canestorp said in a sworn affidavit filed as part of the lawsuit.

In a similar dispute with any business other than a distributor, Beer Army would have simply terminated its contract and "the parties would have gone their separate ways," Canestorp said.

"Under North Carolina law, however, the relationship between a brewery and a distributor is different" because the beer-maker must buy back distribution rights at a price the distributor sets, Canestorp said. His brewery closed in 2015 after a two-year run.

North Carolina's three-tier system of beer sales was created after Prohibition in the 1930s, in part to keep big breweries from limiting competition and consumer choice by locking up distribution. Since then, major breweries and in-state wholesalers have grown vastly bigger through consolidation.

The law positions distributors to serve the growing craft beer market while overall beer sales have been flat for a generation. A new generation of brewers innovating with hops, malt and unexpected flavors like basil have been growing. Craft beer had 12 percent of the U.S. beer market in 2016, according to the Brewers Association, a Colorado-based trade group.

North Carolina's wholesaling law ensures taxes on beer are collected effectively and alcoholic beverages are sold only according to law, North Carolina Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association Executive Director Tim Kent said.

"We think that current law is sound and responsible policy that maintains safeguards and accountability, and we are confident that upon a thorough legal review the court will come to the same conclusion," Kent said.

A spokeswoman for state Attorney General Josh Stein, whose office is tasked with defending the law, said Baddour's ruling is being reviewed.

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Follow Emery P. Dalesio on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emerydalesio. His work can be found at https://apnews.com/search/emery%20dalesio
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general is opening an investigation into Administrator Scott Pruitt's use of multiple email accounts.

Inspector General Arthur Elkins said in a letter released Tuesday that his office will review the matter, the latest in a series of federal investigations of Pruitt's travel, security and spending and other issues.

The request for the email investigation came from Democratic Sens. Tom Carper of Delaware and Jeffrey Merkley of Oregon. Carper released a copy of the IG's response.

FILE - In this April 26, 2018 file photo, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt listen to questions as he testifies before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Pruitt demanded and received unprecedented around-the-clock armed security protection on his very first day at the agency. EPA's internal watchdog disclosed new details on Monday about the pricey security arrangements taken to protect Pruitt in letters sent to two Democratic senators. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The senators asked the IG to review whether Pruitt was complying with federal law and EPA policy when using multiple email accounts and whether all accounts are searched when responding to Freedom of Information Act requests.

EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox said Tuesday that the agency does not comment on matters before the inspector general. He referred to a previous statement that EPA has three emails accounts for Pruitt, two used by staff for maintaining his calendar and public correspondence and the third for Pruitt himself.

"When we receive a FOIA request all accounts are searched before we respond to the FOIA request," he said.

A House committee and the Government Accountability Office also are conducting investigations and audits related to Pruitt's actions as EPA chief.

Last month, the Republican chairman of a Senate oversight committee, Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, issued a letter asking Pruitt to disclose all his email addresses and affirm that all were being searched in response to Freedom of Information Act requests.
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - A popular science center that has attracted traveling exhibits to Maine's largest city is closing its doors.

The Portland Press Herald reports the Portland Science Center is shutting down after nearly three years on the city's waterfront. The center has featured exhibits about subjects such as sharks, pirates and the Titanic.

The owner of the building where the center had been located says the center's Massachusetts owner, the Gold Group, has opted out of its lease. The center's last exhibit was "Planet Shark," which opened in February and closed this month.

The center was a for-profit business that hosted about two exhibits a year.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Three North Carolina law enforcement officers were indicted Tuesday in the beating of a pedestrian who said that he still needs surgery for an eye injury suffered in the arrest last month.

A Wake County grand jury issued the indictments against two state troopers and a deputy sheriff.

The Highway Patrol issued a statement saying troopers Michael G. Blake and Tabithia L. Davis were charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and willfully failing to discharge duties.

The Wake County Sheriff's Office confirmed that Master Deputy Cameron Broadwell, a canine handler, was also indicted. The sheriff referred questions about the charges to the district attorney.

Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman didn't respond to an email asking about the indictments.

The deputy and troopers were involved in the arrest of Kyron Hinton in Raleigh in early April while he was crossing a street in Raleigh.

Hinton said at a news conference Tuesday that he needs surgery because the beating broke his eye socket. He also said he has scars from where he was bitten by a law enforcement dog.

Hinton said police video of the arrest, which hasn't been made public, is graphic.

"When you see the actual video footage, it's worse than a horror movie," he said.

Initially, Hinton was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting officers and attacking a law enforcement dog, according to arrest records. The charges were later dropped.

The three law enforcement officers have been place on administrative duty. It wasn't clear if they had lawyers.

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison issued a statement saying: "I have full confidence in our judicial system and look forward to this being resolved in court."

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Follow Drew at www.twitter.com/JonathanLDrew
PHOENIX (AP) - A sizeable portion of the trial that sent Jodi Arias to prison for life in the 2008 death of her former boyfriend was shrouded in secrecy.

A white-noise machine was turned on regularly during Arias' sentencing retrial three years ago to keep spectators from hearing what lawyers argued as they huddled around the judge's bench. At other times, the public wasn't allowed in the courtroom, like when a judge let a skittish witness testify behind closed doors without revealing that the person in question was Arias.

Now, Arias is seeking more secrecy: Her lawyers asked the Arizona Court of Appeals on Friday to bar the public from having access to the opening brief in her appeal.

FILE - This undated file booking photo provided by the Arizona Department of Corrections shows Jodi Arias. Arias, who is serving a life sentence for a murder conviction in the 2008 death of her former boyfriend Travis Alexander, is asking a court to bar the public from viewing the opening brief in the appeal of her conviction. (Arizona Department of Corrections via AP, file)

"The contents of the opening brief may endanger some members of the public, given the continuing interest in this case by the public and the media," her lawyers wrote, without explaining what the peril was and who would be affected by the public release of the brief.

Peg Green, an attorney representing Arias, didn't immediately respond Tuesday to an email seeking elaboration on her bid to keep the brief private.

Mia Garcia, a spokeswoman for the Arizona attorney general's office, which is now handling the Arias case, said the agency is opposing Arias' request.

Arias is serving a life sentence for her first-degree murder conviction in the 2008 death of Travis Alexander at his home in Mesa.

Prosecutors said Arias attacked Alexander in a jealous rage after he wanted to end their affair and planned a trip to Mexico with another woman. Arias has acknowledged killing Alexander but claimed it was self-defense after he attacked her.

The guilt phase of Arias' trial ended in 2013 with jurors convicting her but deadlocking on punishment. A second sentencing trial began in late 2014 and stretched into early 2015, also resulting in a jury deadlock. That required Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens to sentence Arias to prison for life.

The case was marked by secrecy after the first trial, which turned into a media circus as salacious and violent details about Arias and Alexander were broadcast live around the world.

Despite her reservations about testifying during the sentencing retrial, Arias had actively courted the spotlight since she was arrested in 2008. She did interviews on TV's "48 Hours" and "Inside Edition" after her arrest and was on the witness stand for several weeks during the trial in which she was found guilty of murder.

She also did a series of media interviews after she was convicted.

In the sentencing retrial, Stephens repeatedly held secret hearings and kicked members of the public out of the courtroom as the first witness called in Arias' defense took the stand.

At the time, the judge didn't reveal the witness' identity, saying only that the decision to close the courtroom was difficult but necessary because the witness wouldn't otherwise testify in public.

A month later, the Arizona Court of Appeals threw out Stephens' ruling that let the unidentified witness testify in a closed courtroom. Eventually, it was revealed that the person testifying in private was Arias.

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Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://bit.ly/2GGWEPO.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A California judge on Tuesday threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia said lawmakers acted illegally in passing the law during a special session devoted to other topics, said lawyers for supporters and opponents. He did not address the legal issue of whether it was proper to allow people to take their own lives, and gave the state attorney general five days to appeal.

Attorney General Xavier Becerra's office did not respond to calls and emails seeking comment.

File - In this Sept. 24, 2015 file photo, supporters of a measure to allow the terminally ill to end their own life march at the Capitol while calling on California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign the bill in Sacramento, Calif. A California judge on Tuesday, May15, 2018, threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

The Life Legal Defense Foundation, American Academy of Medical Ethics and several physicians challenged the law, which allows adults to obtain a prescription for life-ending drugs if a doctor has determined they have six months or less to live. The plaintiffs say the law lacks safeguards to protect against abuse.

California health officials reported that 111 terminally ill people took drugs to end their lives in the first six months after the law went into effect June 9, 2016, and made the option legal in the nation's most populous state. Oregon was the first to provide the option in 1997. It also is allowed in Washington, Vermont, Colorado, Hawaii and Washington D.C.

Compassion & Choices, a national organization that advocated for the law, estimated that in its first year 504 Californians requested prescriptions for medical aid in dying, but had no further update Tuesday. The next report on how many people took the drugs is due in July.

"Our supporters, they've frankly expressed shock at this outcome. They're disappointed that this end of life option could be taken away," said John Kappos, an attorney representing Compassion & Choices.

Alexandra Snyder, an attorney and executive director of Life Legal Defense Foundation, said the judge ruled that lawmakers effectively "hijacked" a special legislative session that was called to address access to medical care and used it to pass their bill.

"Access to health care has no relationship to assisted suicide," she said, saying it set a dangerous precedent that undermines the legislative process.

Opponents have argued that hastening death is morally wrong, puts terminally ill patients at risk for coerced death by loved ones and could become a way out for people who are uninsured or fearful of high medical bills.

Democratic Sen. Bill Monning of Carmel, who carried the original legislation, said the bill was properly considered in the special session and followed "every rule of transparency and openness." Lawmakers could try to pass it again if the law ultimately is rejected by the courts, he said.

So far, he said, there has been "not a single report of malfeasance or problems."

Kelly Davis' 41-year-old sister, Betsy Davis, was one of the first to use the law as she was dying of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, that slowly robbed her of her ability to use her muscles including to swallow and communicate. She held a two-day party in Ojai to celebrate the end of her life with about two-dozen friends, giving away her possessions and ordering her favorite foods.

"I keep thinking of all the people who are facing a terminal illness and they're considering the use of this law, and they're in limbo right now and this right might be taken away from them," Davis said. "It gave her back control of her life, it let her die on her own terms and if this had happened leading up to her death or when she thought she'd be able to use the law, she would have been devastated."

The state's attorney general's office said in court papers that medical professionals have the right to refuse to prescribe and dispense the drugs. Under the law, the terminally ill person must be able to self-administer the drugs.

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Associated Press writer Julie Watson contributed to this story from San Diego.

FILE - In this Sept. 24, 2015, file photo, Dan Diaz holds a photo of his late wife, Brittany Maynard, taken on their wedding day, during a rally calling for California Gov. Jerry Brown to sign right-to-die legislation at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. A California judge on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature. Maynard moved to Oregon from California to legally end her life in 2014. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)

FILE - In this March 25, 2015, file photo, a portrait of Brittany Maynard sits on the dais of the Senate Health Committee as lawmakers heard testimony on proposed legislation allowing doctors to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ill patients, at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. A California judge on Tuesday, May15, 2018, threw out a 2016 state law allowing the terminally ill to end their lives, ruling it was unconstitutionally approved by the Legislature. Maynard moved to Oregon from California to legally end her life in 2014. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
Israeli forces have killed at least 18 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border, casting a cloud over the inauguration of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

It is the deadliest single day of protests since the Palestinians began staging weekly border demonstrations on March 30 in an attempt to break an Israeli-Egyptian blockade.

Protesters set tyres on fire, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, while the Israeli military accused protesters of trying to break through the border fence and plant a bomb. They also claimed troops had come under fire.

(PA Graphics)

By mid-afternoon, at least 18 Palestinians  including a 14-year-old boy  were killed, while more than 500 were wounded by Israeli gunfire, Palestinian health officials said.

In the West Bank, several thousand people gathered in the centre of Ramallah, while hundreds marched to the Qalandiya crossing on the outskirts of Jerusalem, where protesters threw stones at Israeli troops.

The protest in Gaza is the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory. The march was also directed at the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem later.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, a key campaign promise of US president Donald Trump, has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Palestinian protesters hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest on the border (AP)

A great day for Israel! Mr Trump tweeted earlier on Monday.

The showdown between Israels military and Gazas Hamas rulers along the volatile border is the culmination of a campaign, fuelled by despair among Gazas two million people, to break the decade-old border blockade of the territory imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Since weekly border marches began in late March, 60 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 2,300 were wounded by Israeli army fire.

Hamas leaders have suggested a border breach is possible on Monday, while Israel has warned it would prevent protesters from breaking through the barrier at any cost.

Most of the casualties were in the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah. Israeli forces were firing volleys of tear gas to disperse the crowds, and the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard. Sirens were constantly wailing as the wounded were evacuated on stretchers to nearby ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

Israelis wave national flags outside the Old Citys Damascus Gate (AP)

The timing of Mondays events is deeply symbolic to both Israelis and Palestinians.

The US said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israels establishment.

But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their nakba, or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israels independence.

A majority of Gazas two million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the Great March of Return to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

Mr Trumps decision to go forward with a campaign promise to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was welcomed by Israel and condemned by the Palestinians.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognised by the international community. The Palestinians seek the citys eastern half as the capital of a future state.

Palestinian protesters carry an injured man who was shot by Israeli troops (AP)

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has cut ties with the Trump administration and declared it unfit to remain in its role as the sole mediator in peace talks.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mr Trumps bold decision in upending decades of US policy by recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital. Its the right thing to do, a smiling Mr Netanyahu told a jubilant crowd at a reception in Jerusalem late on Sunday.

Although Mr Trump has said his declaration does not set the final borders of the city, his recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital has been perceived by both Israel and the Palestinians as taking Israels side in the most sensitive issue in their conflict.

Russias deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov described the relocation as short-sighted, and blamed the escalation around Gaza on the US. Meanwhile, the Cairo-based Arab League called on the international community to oppose what it considers an unjust decision and the ongoing Israeli occupation of the city.

It called the relocation a blatant attack on the feelings of Arabs and Muslims and a grave violation of the rules of international law that would destabilise the region.

Mondays opening will be attended by Mr Trumps daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who both serve as White House advisers. Mr Kushner leads the Trump Middle East team.
Stamps featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are going on sale to celebrate the royal wedding.

The Royal Mail has produced a special set of four stamps showing two of Harry and the American stars romantic, intimate engagement portraits.

The images for the souvenir miniature sheet were taken by New York-based photographer Alexi Lubomirski at Frogmore House in Windsor in December.

The set of four royal wedding stamps (Royal Mail/PA)

Lubomirski, who has described the couple as being so deliciously in love, has also been chosen by Harry and Ms Markle as their official wedding photographer.

The stamps will be released on the morning of the wedding, which takes place this Saturday at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.

Harry and Ms Markle personally approved the set, as did the princes grandmother, the Queen, who had the final say.

The 1st class stamp shows the couple sitting together holding hands on the steps of Frogmore House, where they will have their evening reception.

Royal Mail stamps celebrating the royal wedding (Royal Mail/PA)

The 1.55 stamp is a more informal black-and-white image showing Ms Markle with her arm through Harrys as she gently holds his hand while they walk happily through the grounds.

In both pictures, the former actress is wearing a sheer bodiced couture gown by Ralph & Russo, who are reported to have been chosen by Ms Markle to make her wedding dress.

The stamps feature the date of the wedding 19.05.2018 and the Queens traditional profile in the top right-hand corner.

Philip Parker, the Royal Mails stamp strategy manager, said: We sent a mock-up and the couple approved our selection.

We wanted to use the black-and-white image, which is the slightly more informal picture, because we felt it gave a nice balance to the two images.

He added: Every new stamp is approved by Her Majesty and so we obtained the approval of Prince Harry and Ms Meghan Markle, but then also submitted to Buckingham Palace for approval of the whole sheet.

The Queen gave the stamps final approval (Steve Parsons/PA)

The presentation of the miniature set, which costs 4.44, features Harrys official title with the words The Royal Wedding HRH Prince Henry of Wales & Ms Meghan Markle, as well as a translation into Welsh.

Royal Mail is expecting the set to sell well, just like the stamps released for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges wedding.

It is common for us to mark major royal events. In 2011, the royal wedding issue was exceptionally popular, Mr Parker said.

Other commemorative products include a keepsake First Day Cover for 5.75, a presentation pack with illustrated brochure plus stamps for 4.95, and a coin cover featuring the new stamps and the Royal Mints royal wedding coin for 19.95.

The presentation pack commemorative brochure (Royal Mail/PA)

The royal wedding stamps and coin souvenir pack (Royal Mail/PA)

The stamps and range of commemorative items can be pre-ordered from www.royalmail.com/royalwedding2018 and will be available from 7,000 Post Offices nationwide from May 19.
A British mother jailed in Iran on spying claims 'is being used as a bargaining chip', her husband has claimed after revealed she now faces being sent back to court on a fresh charge.

Relations between Iran and the West have nose-dived in recent weeks after US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of a nuclear deal and said he would reimpose sanctions on the country.

Richard Ratcliffe fears the case against his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who was arrested in 2016 while on holiday with her daughter Gabriella, is being reopened as part of the diplomatic fall-out.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, pictured with her husband and daughter, is in prison in Iran on widely-questioned spying charges. Her husband fears she is being used as a 'bargaining chip'

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is preparing to meet his French and German counterparts and EU high representative Federica Mogherini for talks on Iran in Brussels.

Mr Johnson is also expected to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over the now-threatened accord.

Mr Radcliffe said his wife could be taken back to court 'within a week or so' on a resurrected charge of spreading propaganda against the regime.

It comes after members of her family visited prosecutors for an update on her case, according to Mr Ratcliffe, who says she is being used as a 'bargaining chip'.

He said she told him of the development in a 5.30am phone call on May 14, and added: 'I have no clue why they have started all this nonsense again. They know Boris is coming.

'Please take me out of this, please. My parents have had enough. I want my daughter back. She needs both of us. So tell the world. Enough of this nonsense.'

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the 'soft toppling' of Iran's government while traveling with her young daughter

Foreign ministers from the UK, Germany, France and Iran will meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss the faltering nuclear deal. Pictured: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian

Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a visit to show her baby daughter Gabriella to her parents.

The 39-year-old mother, from Hampstead, north London, is serving a five-year sentence over allegations, which she denies, of plotting to overthrow the Tehran government.

Her husband has urged Boris Johnson to raise her case at a meeting with an Iranian minister

She said in a statement released through the campaign to free her: 'Sometimes when I come back from the visit with Gabriella, after saying goodbye to her, I feel like I cannot live without her, I want to go back and hold her.

'She kisses me so hard. It is hard to say goodbye to her. She blows kisses all the way as she goes up the stairs, and everyone stands there watching.

'After the news of a new court case again, yesterday was one of those days. I kept thinking, how did I survive without her for 26 months?'

Mr Ratcliffe said: 'The UK needs to do better by British Iranians  at the moment it is failing to protect them.

'UK policy is not making it safe for British citizens. Iranian policy is not making it safe for Iranian citizens.'

He urged Mr Johnson to have 'Nazanin and the cases of all the other British citizens taken at the top of his priority list' during his meetings in Brussels.

He said: 'A deal that protects people is one that can work. Failure to make it safe for people to be free from being held arbitrarily, free to visit their families in peace, will make any deal impossible to sustain. Governments should not downplay the significance of this fact.

'We hope the Foreign Secretary visits Iran as soon as possible, for the safety of all British citizens. We hope this time a way can be found for him not to return again empty-handed.'
Jose Mourinhos Manchester United meet a Chelsea side led by Antonio Conte in Saturdays FA Cup final.

Here Press Association Sport looks at the two managers.

Cup of solace

Jose Mourinho led Manchester United to Europa League glory lats season (Mike Egerton/Empics)

Rarely have either of these managers experienced trophyless seasons. Conte won the Premier League title in his first season in England. Mourinho has 20-something trophies  the exact number depends on Community Shields, which the Portuguese adds and others subtract  from his long and successful career. The FA Cup is the pairs last remaining chance of silverware this campaign.

Relationship

The pair had a heated exchange at Stamford Bridge last season (John Walton/PA)

There is no love lost between Mourinho and Conte, the Portugueses permanent successor as Chelsea boss. The pair have engaged in a lengthy feud since the Italians arrival at Stamford Bridge. It began in earnest when Mourinho accused Conte of being disrespectful as United were beaten 4-0 at Stamford Bridge. And it ignited as the FA Cup began in January, with the insults growing in their intensity and becoming ever more personal. A ceasefire may only be temporary.

Recent history

Alvaro Moratas header secured Chelsea victory at Stamford Bridge earlier this season (Adam Davy/PA)

Chelsea have won three of the five clashes since the start of the 2016-17 season, when Mourinho and Conte took up their posts. But the momentum appears to be shifting to United, who won 2-1 at Old Trafford in February. Contes exit at the end of this season appears to be something of a formality, at times acknowledged by the players performances. And United are beginning to learn from Mourinho how to win the big games.

Tactics

Jose Mourinhos tactics have been questioned at times (Martin Rickett/PA)

The attacking verve United are renowned for has not always been present since Sir Alex Fergusons departure in 2013. Mourinho, ever the pragmatist, seems to struggle with the scrutiny his tactics have faced. His approach is more cautious than Contes. Although the Italian has also adjusted to a defensive mindset at times this season. Both sides are dangerous on the counter attack and that might result in an open contest.

The future?

Antonio Contes Chelsea future is in doubt (David Davies/PA)

Contes position has been the subject of speculation all season. But he negotiated successive losses to Bournemouth and Watford and continued, despite the league season coming to a limp conclusion. It appears a parting of the ways is inevitable. Mourinho hopes he is building a dynasty at Old Trafford. He needs style, substance and silverware to prove it.
US clothing retailer Gap has apologised for selling T-shirts bearing what it says was an erroneous map of China that did not include self-ruled Taiwan, in the latest example of corporate kowtowing to Beijing.

In a post on Chinas Weibo microblogging platform late on Monday, the company said it had discovered that some T-shirts sold overseas had an erroneous design of Chinas map.

We are truly sorry about this unintentional mistake, Gap said, promising to carry out more rigorous reviews in the future.

A Gap shop sign in central London (Nick Ansell/PA)

Gap took action after photos began circulating on Chinese social media of a T-shirt with a map that did not include Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.

The map also appeared to leave out southern Tibet and the disputed South China Sea, the state-owned Global Times said, adding that it drew hundreds of complaints on Weibo.

The company also said all the shirts in China have been recalled and destroyed.

It was unclear if the shirts in all of Gaps markets worldwide would also be destroyed. Company representatives at Gaps Shanghai office could not immediately be reached for comment.

The photos were taken at a Gap shop in Canadas Niagara region, Chinas state-owned Global Times said.

It said the Gap China headquarters in Shanghai told it: The T-shirt in question has not been released in China.

Gap is the latest of several companies that have apologised for perceived slights to Chinas sovereignty.

Delta Air Lines, hotel operator Marriott, and fashion brand Zara are among businesses that have said sorry to China for referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet as countries on websites or promotional material.

Mercedes-Benz apologised for quoting the Dalai Lama on social media. The Tibetan spiritual leader is reviled by Beijing.

The US has started pushing back against Beijing, with the White House condemning Chinas efforts to control how American airlines refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as Orwellian nonsense.
Vodafone has announced chief executive Vittorio Colao will step down on October 1 after more than 10 years at the helm of the mobile phone giant.

Mr Coloa, who took on the role in July 2008, will be succeeded by group chief financial officer Nick Read, who will become chief executive designate from July 27.

Mr Read will be replaced by deputy chief financial officer Margherita Della Valle on July 27, which is the date of Vodafones annual shareholder meeting.

Shares fell 3% after the news.

Mr Colao said it had been a real privilege to lead the group through a decade of massive strategic transformation.

He said the groups strategic transformation is nearing completion, but said Vodafone was starting to write a new chapter.

Its a new chapter that will take five years and beyond to be written and its right to start with a new dedicated management team.

News of the changeover at the top came as Vodafones full year results revealed it swung out of the red with bottom line profits of 2.8 billion euros (2.5 billion) against losses of 6.1 billion euros (5.4 billion) the previous year, when it was knocked by a mammoth hit on its Indian arm.

The group reported a 15.4% rise in annual earnings to 4.3 billion euros (3.8 billion) for the year to March 31 despite revenues falling 2.2% to 45.6 billion euros (40.1 billion).

Vodafone chairman Gerard Kleisterlee (Vodafone/PA)

Vodafone group chairman Gerard Kleisterlee praised Mr Colaos outstanding tenure at the top of the FTSE 100 firm.

He said: He has been an exemplary leader and strategic visionary who has overseen a dramatic transformation of Vodafone into a global pacesetter in converged communications, ready for the Gigabit future.

Vittorio will leave as his legacy a company of great integrity with strong inclusive values that is exceptionally well-positioned for the decade ahead.

Mr Colaos successor takes on the top job at a time of change for the group, which has just struck an 18.4 billion euro (16.2 billion) deal that will see it snap up a raft of Liberty Global assets across Europe.

It announced the takeover last week to buy operations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania  helping it become the leading next generation network owner in Europe with a total reach of 110 million homes and businesses, including wholesale arrangements.

Mr Colao said Mr Read and Ms Della Valle were were the best people to take the group into its next stage, adding that the management team he has created would be his real legacy.

Mr Kleisterlee added: Nick has been the co-architect of the groups strategy together with Vittorio, combining extensive international operational and commercial leadership with world-class financial acumen.

I am confident Vodafone will benefit greatly from his experience, insight and wisdom in his new role as group chief executive.

Vodafones results showed underlying earnings  the companys preferred profit measure  rose 12% on an organic basis to 14.7 billion euros, ahead of the companys guidance of 10% organic growth.

The group said it expects underlying earnings to grow organically by between 1% and 5% in the new financial year.
Members of Meghan Markles extended family have arrived in London ahead of the royal wedding.

Ms Markles sister-in-law Tracy Dooley was pictured at Heathrow Airport with sons Tyler and Thomas.

Ms Dooley, who was married to the former actresss half-brother, has previously told ITVs Good Morning Britain she had not received an invitation to the ceremony at Windsor Castle on Saturday, admitting she had not seen Ms Markle for 20 years.

Meghan Markle

Her arrival in the UK comes amid speculation that Ms Markles father, Thomas Markle, has pulled out of attending her marriage to Prince Harry, having been due to walk her down the aisle.

The Dooleys took to Facebook to announce their presence in the capital on Monday evening.

Ms Dooley posted pictures of landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster and the London Eye, writing: Were here! Yay!

Her son Tyler uploaded an image of the Imperial War Museum, as well as a photograph of the inside of a hotel room.

Just touched down in London!!! Man what a journey so far, he wrote. Were safe and sound!
London has seen an appalling escalation in killings, robberies and burglary, figures show.

Data released by the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee showed that there were 157 homicides in 2017/18, a 44% rise from 109 the previous year.

The number of youth homicides also rose by 30%, from 26 in 2016/17 to 34 in 2017/18.

(Kirsty OConnor/PA)

Questions for the Met at Police and Crime Committee meeting at 10am today about violent crime upsurge Q and A - What steps are being taken to reduce the levels of violent crime? #AssemblyPolice https://t.co/JNsRElLGc2 pic.twitter.com/NzDpdh8vQS  London Assembly (@LondonAssembly) May 15, 2018

Personal robbery was up from 22,479 to 30,609, a rise of 36%, while burglary of a dwelling went from 43,424 to 58,050, a leap of 33%.

Committee chairman Steve OConnell said: The unacceptable rise in the most heinous crimes such as murder, street robbery and burglaries is deeply troubling.

The Mayor of London and the Met need to take urgent practical steps to address these crimes, all of which are a third up from this time last year. Our committee will be asking what steps are being taken to keep Londoners safe and reverse this appalling escalation in crime.

Nationally, the most recent data released by the Office for National Statistics showed a rise of 9% in homicides in the 2017 calendar year, up by 54 to a total of 653, when cases linked to the Hillsborough disaster and last years terror attacks were excluded.

In the overall category of violence against the person, there were 1.3 million crimes logged, a rise of a fifth on the number in 2016.

Police forces logged 39,598 offences involving a knife or sharp instrument in 2017, a 22% increase compared with the previous year, and the highest number registered since comparable records started in 2010.

Firearms-related offences were also up, by 11%, to 6,604 recorded crimes.
Thousands of euro have been raised to support the families of two victims of a light aircraft crash in Ireland.

Seven-year-old Kacper Kacprzak, from Dublin, died on Sunday alongside British pilot Neil Bowditch.

Kacpers father, a parachutist, had made a scheduled jump from the plane minutes earlier with 15 others, local councillors said.

A fund raising effort has been launched for two victims of a light aircraft crash in Ireland. Niall Carson/PA.

The prayers & thoughts of @KANDLEi are very much with the community of Clonbullogue this morning in the aftermath of the very tragic plane crash last evening @CathNewsIreland pic.twitter.com/PNMxT1ibIu  Bishop Denis Nulty (@BishopDNulty) May 14, 2018

A Gofundme.com fundraiser has been set up to help the families of the victims.

The pilot was known by the nickname Billy at the parachute club and was experienced.

Fund organiser Allaiouti Hassan said: We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy, a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot.

This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident.

I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyones heart.

He appealed for donations for the families.

The plane went down on bog land in Co Offaly in the Irish midlands on Sunday afternoon.

The club said it was deeply saddened and confirmed the aircraft had been operating on its behalf.

It thanked the emergency services and investigators.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit examined the scene on Monday.

The bodies were recovered from the wreckage on Sunday night and taken for post-mortem examinations at Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

The aircraft had taken off from Clonbullogue airfield at around 2.25pm. The crash happened a few kilometres away near Edenderry.
Campaigners have claimed a No vote in Irelands abortion referendum will protect unborn children with Down syndrome  despite Government assurances that disability will not be grounds to end pregnancy.

The Love Both campaign, which is calling for people to vote against repealing the eighth amendment on May 25, launched a video on Tuesday featuring 23-year-old Conor ODowd, who has Down syndrome.

The launch came after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was wrong for the group to use children with the condition in campaign posters.

He said the posters, which have also been criticised by Minister for Health Simon Harris, were an attempt to muddy the waters and it was clear in proposed legislation that disability would not be grounds for an abortion.

I am voting Yes for all the women in my life; my mum, my sisters, my female friends and colleagues. Any woman can face a difficult & deeply personal crisis in her life & should be able to access the compassionate care she needs here at home. #WhoNeedsYourYes #Together4Yes  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 14, 2018

But Cora Sherlock, from the Love Both campaign, said: Yesterday Simon Harris said that the Government specifically excluded disability as a grounds for abortion in the proposed legislation, but this is not correct.

The reality is that there is no such exclusion in the bill, specific or otherwise.

The campaign video shows Mr ODowd, from Co Louth, saying: I love my life. Please save babies with Down syndrome.

Ms Sherlock said: Conor is just one of the people with Down syndrome who have come forward in the last few weeks to speak out against the Governments abortion proposals.

Mr ODowd was at a campaign press conference at Buswells Hotel in Dublin with his mother Audrey and Monica Haderean, who found out her baby Cris had Down syndrome while she was pregnant.

Ms Haderean said: You get no support in hospital, you are just pushed to terminate the pregnancy. They will make arrangements for you to travel to England.

Simon Harris, centre, at the launch of Doctors for Yes in Dublin (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Varadkar and Mr Harris joined other ministers to canvass for the Yes vote in Dublin on Tuesday morning.

Mr Varadkar said: When we amended our constitution back in 1983 to outlaw abortion people thought thats what it would do but it hasnt.

In reality, nine or 10 women every day travel to the United Kingdom to end their pregnancies, and increasingly women are buying pills over the internet and taking them at home, so that is actually quite a dangerous situation  and we believe that we should face up to the reality of abortion and provide for it in our own country but with the necessary restrictions.

Campaigners from Women Hurt, a group of women who regret having abortions, held an event on Grafton Street in Dublin on Tuesday afternoon.

Group co-founder Bernadette Goulding said she terminated a pregnancy while living in England.

She said: Initially there was relief, but it was short-lived. I became depressed, anxious, panic stricken and suicidal.

I had nightmares, continuous nightmares about my aborted child. I was grieving for my baby, I was not grieving for a bunch of cells.

Campaigners for both Yes and No votes also gathered outside Leinster House, where pro-choice demonstrators attempted to cover anti-abortion placards by holding up white and rainbow coloured flags.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has told MPs that the UK will consider imposing sanctions on Russian gas post Brexit.

European Union sanctions on Russia currently exclude oil and gas, but Mr Johnson said he would consider all possibilities once the UK takes back control of our sanctions policy.

Mr Johnson made the comments in response to a Commons question from Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, who urged a tougher stance.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (PA)

What can we do about Russia? We could ban their gas imports and produce more of our own? pic.twitter.com/mrqmmPgYyw  Kevin Hollinrake MP (@kevinhollinrake) March 14, 2018

The Thirsk and Malton MP said: Despite the fact oil and gas exports make up 70% of Russias international trade, these are not currently covered under the EU sanction regime due to the high reliance of the EU on Russian gas exports.

After our exit from the European Union, will this be a sensible extra measure that we might take that might assist with our diplomatic efforts?

Mr Johnson responded: We will of course consider all possibilities once we exit the European Union and take back control of our sanctions policy.

Tory former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale later raised concern about the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Central and Western Europe.

As with Russias existing Nord Stream pipeline, the route bypasses not only Ukraine, but also the Baltic states and Poland  and is seen as a political project rather than an economic one.

Mr Whittingdale said: Does he share the widespread concern about the proposed Russian gas pipe line Nord Stream 2.

Does he agree that there appears to be no economic justification for this, but it is instead a political project designed to increase European dependence on Russian gas and to weaken Ukraine and will he press that point on our allies, particularly Germany and Denmark?

Mr Johnson responded: I can assure him that we in the UK Government are well aware of the deep controversy surrounding Nord Stream 2 and we raise it not just in Ukraine but of course with our European friends and partners.
Boris Johnson said peaceful Gaza protests have been exploited by extremists but urged Israel to show restraint in using live fire after violence claimed scores of lives.

The Foreign Secretary issued the plea in the Commons as he insisted the UK remains committed to a two-state Israel-Palestine solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

Middle East minister Alistair Burt added the UK has so far received no information to suggest that UK-supplied equipment has been used against protesters, amid calls from opposition MPs to suspend arms sales to Israel.

He also said the tragedies should be used as an opportunity for a springboard to peace.

Mark Regev, Israels Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Yui Mok/PA)

Israeli forces used live fire in a measured and surgical way, according to Israels ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev.

He also claimed Israel did everything we could to avoid the bloodshed at the border with Gaza, which saw soldiers open fire on protesters.

The diplomat insisted that the protests were organised by militant group Hamas with an aim to breach the border, to get inside Israel and to kill Israeli citizens.

On Monday, Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during protests along the border  while a few miles away a ceremony was taking place in Jerusalem for the opening of the controversial new US embassy.

On Tuesday, Palestinians were observing a general strike to mourn those killed in the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war.

Organisers said the day would be set aside for funerals and that turnout for any new protests on the border with Israel would be low.

Extremely saddened by loss of life in Gaza today. Concerned peaceful protests are being exploited by extremist elements. Urge restraint in use of live fire. Violence is destructive to peace efforts. UK remains committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital.  Rt Hon Alistair Burt (@AlistairBurtUK) May 14, 2018

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson told MPs: I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in Gaza where peaceful protests are being exploited by extremists.

I urge Israel to show restraint in the use of live fire and I take this opportunity to repeat the UKs commitment to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

Labour MP Richard Burden said the Government had written to him to say it did not collect data on the use of equipment after sale when he challenged them to investigate how sniper rifles and other weapons exported under licences from the UK to Israel were used.

He said: Doesnt that answer mean the Government hasnt the first idea whether UK weapons are being used to shoot demonstrators in Gaza, and what does it take for the UK to enforce its own arms export criteria and stop arms sales to Israel?

Mr Burt said a proper risk assessment takes place before sales are considered, adding: Since the start of the recent difficulties in Gaza we have looked at all existent licences in relation to Israel and our sense at the moment is weve no information to suggest that UK-supplied equipment has been used against protesters.

Thornberry [Lab]: Can I ask him to draft a statement... The investigation must be a start to bring urgent pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza #gaza  Simple Politics (@easypoliticsUK) May 15, 2018

UK ministers discussed the situation in Gaza at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet where Theresa May urged both sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence.

In a statement, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said the Government was extremely concerned by the scale of the violence, describing the loss of life and injuries to the Palestinians as tragic.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: We cannot turn a blind eye to such wanton disregard for international law. That is why Labour is committed to reviewing UK arms sales to Israel while these violations continue.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry added to MPs that there had been an apparent calculated and deliberate policy to kill and maim unarmed protesters, who posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border.

She said: Many of them shot in the back. Many of them shot hundreds of metres from the border, and many of them children.

Mr Regev earlier told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We use live fire only in a very measured way, in a very surgical way and only when there is no alternative.

He added: If we allow the Hamas terrorists to enter Israel, we will have dead Israelis. We must protect our border.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said: If, as Israels ambassador claims, yesterdays action was measured and surgical then Id hate to see what he thinks unmeasured and indiscriminate looks like.

Tory former minister Andrew Percy urged Mr Burt to continue to differentiate between protesters and between those who have used children as shields at the border, and those who have gone to the border with the sole intention of breaching it to kill innocent civilians.

Fellow Conservative Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) said: We have seen Hamas officials actively encouraging protesters to be martyrs, bussing rioters to the border for them to sling Molotov cocktails and fire bombs across it to tear down fencing.

He asked if Mr Burt shared his concern that Hamas are using civilians as a cover to incite violence.

The minister replied: The horror with which people might be prepared to encourage more blood in order to demonstrate a political point is very real in the area  if there is anything we can do, we have to break into that as those who have done in other areas of conflict.
A murder investigation has been launched into the disappearance of a father who vanished more than five years ago.

Robert Duff was last seen on January 12 2013, when he failed to arrive at a celebration for his daughters 18th birthday.

Despite a lengthy missing persons inquiry police now believe he was killed that night.

A murder investigation has been launched after Robert Duffs disappearance (Metropolitan Police/PA)

Murder investigation launched after new information emerges concerning missing man - Robert Duff, 41, has not been seen or heard from since 12 January 2013 https://t.co/uWBFZ2nXcH pic.twitter.com/kGWehnTHEX  Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) May 15, 2018

Searches are being carried out in open spaces near where he was last seen, including in Waterlow Park, Highgate, north London, with police divers scouring ponds, and at a flat in nearby Bredgar Road.

Mr Duffs mother Helen Duff said: Roberts disappearance has always been forefront in our minds, and although we have always suspected that he may have come to some harm, there has always been the hope that he would return to us one day.

Since hearing that this is now a murder investigation, that hope has been taken away from us and as a family we are devastated.

Our only wish now is that Robert is returned to us so we can grieve together.

The breakthrough in the case came after a television appeal on ITV London Tonight in January, which led a new witness to come forward.

At the end of February the case was passed to Scotland Yards murder squad.

Detective Chief Inspector Luke Marks said that Mr Duff was involved in a fight with two men on the night he died.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of murder on Monday and released pending investigation.

Mr Marks said: It has been over five years since Roberts family have seen or heard from him. Every day they have had to carry on without knowing what happened to him.

I am making an appeal to the public once again, to come forward and help us complete the missing pieces of the puzzle.

I urge anyone who saw or heard from Robert Duff on January 12 2013 to come forward and share what they know; it may seem like nothing to you, but it might be the information we need.

Mr Duff had been to the flat in Bredgar Road on the night he died, and several people were there.

His bank card and mobile phone remain missing.

Describing the 42-year-old as a well-known and likeable character in the local area, Mr Marks said there was no obvious motive for someone to cause him harm.

The fight on the night he died appears to have been spontaneous, he said.

Mr Duff was friends with a woman called Lana Purcell who is also believed to have been murdered, but police are not linking the two cases.

Anyone with information can call police on 020 8358 0200.

Mrs Duff, 65, and her granddaughter Stephanie said that on the day he disappeared they knew instantly that he had come to harm.

His mother said: We knew that was out of character for him, especially for an occasion like that, his daughters 18th birthday, he would contact us. We knew straightaway something wasnt right.

Stephanie, 23, said the family had tried to get the message out there but it was difficult because people go missing every day.

She said they still cannot grieve because they do not know where the father-of-twos body is.

Its a horrible feeling knowing that hes been murdered and hes out there somewhere and weve got no control over that.

I hate that feeling knowing that hes out there somewhere now, alone, after what happened to him. I always said Id never give up and Id find him, and I will.

They believe that people know what happened to him and need to do the decent thing and come forward.

Mrs Duff said: At least if we knew where he was then we could lay him to rest and we could start the grieving process.

Theres been a wall of silence around this from the beginning when Robert went missing, and I think its about time now that people stop protecting people and come forward and do the right thing.

Addressing her fathers killers Stephanie, who had her first baby six weeks ago, said: Theyre better off coming forward because we wont ever stop until we find out and find my dad.

After this time those people who did murder my dad must have thought it was forgotten about.

So they need to remember you will get found out in the end. I want them to know that, theyre better off coming forward now.
Anti-monarchy campaigners are inviting Britons to snub the royal wedding as a new poll suggests the majority are not interested in Prince Harry and Meghan Markles big day.

While royalists are gearing up to celebrate on Saturday, Republic will host a republican convention in central London as the couple tie the knot in Windsor.

A YouGov poll commissioned by the pressure group found 66% of the 1,615 people asked said they were not very interested or not interested at all in the ceremony, while 60% planned on having a normal weekend.

Other findings showed 57% of those surveyed thought the royals should pay the full cost of the wedding, including funds spent on policing and security.

Our @YouGov poll shows most people will have a normal weekend (60%) or will be working on Saturday (10%) during the #RoyalWedding https://t.co/F7pNET3rkJ  Republic (@RepublicStaff) May 15, 2018

Organisers are encouraging those who did not get an invitation to the ceremony to buy tickets to their convention, at 15 for members and 18 for non-members.

Campaigners from Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden are expected to attend, with speakers to include Labour MP Emma Dent Coad and the SNPs Tommy Sheppard MP.

Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said: We chose the day before they did. When they announced the royal wedding we decided to keep it.

Its an opportunity to highlight the alternative and to point out the problems with the monarchy.

In the past, we have held street parties and protests, but the whole tone of this wedding seems different, so we thought its time to do something different.

Emma Dent Coad is due to speak at a republican conference on the wedding day (Yui Mok/PA)

Mr Smith said campaigners from around Europe would be setting out their case for getting rid of the monarchy.

We are reaching out to the people who agree with us and saying theres an active movement to get involved with, but also want to make sure theres an alternative voice and that the royalists dont think the whole country agree with them, he added.

The group campaigns for the abolition of the monarchy and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.

Last month it called for reassurances from Thames Valley Police that peaceful protests would not be obstructed on the wedding day.

But Mr Smith said Republic had never planned to protest, and was simply seeking to ensure the rights of people who did wish to demonstrate were protected.

The convention of the Alliance of European Republic Movements will be held at the St Bride Foundation on Saturday afternoon.

Other smaller alternative events are being advertised on Facebook, including an anti-royal wedding piss up in Gateshead.
Ireland came up short in their bid to pull off a miracle in Malahide as they were beaten by five wickets in their enthralling inaugural Test with Pakistan.

Hopes of an unlikely home victory were raised on the final day when the tourists, chasing 160, crashed to 14 for three, yet half-centurions Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam helped Pakistan home ahead of their meeting with England at Lords next week.

The result had appeared to be a foregone conclusion on Sunday when Pakistan made Ireland follow-on due to their 180-run lead, but Kevin OBriens century guided the hosts to 339 second time around.

The dream debut victory is denied, but what a Test!



Half-centuries from @ImamUlHaq12 (74*) and @babarazam258 (59) guide Pakistan to recover from 14/3 and reach 160 to beat Ireland by 5 wickets at Malahide.#IREvPAK scorecard  https://t.co/DtyJMHlrpi pic.twitter.com/QnQdoa49cZ  ICC (@ICC) May 15, 2018

That knock ended on 118 to his first ball on Tuesday and despite further fireworks early in Pakistans innings, Ireland were unable to record what would have been only the fourth win in Test history for a side following on.

As Pakistan warmed up on the final morning, they could hear Daniel Powters Bad Day playing, but if it was meant to be psychological warfare it did not work as Mohammad Abbas took the final three Irish wickets within 40 minutes.

OBrien, who had been pivotal to Irelands fightback on Monday, fell to his first ball of the day chasing a wider delivery and nicking to slip.

Ireland lost their final three wickets early on Tuesday (Niall Carson/PA)

Boyd Rankin and Tyrone Kane soon followed, both bowled by Abbas, who returned five for 66 in the innings, and nine for 110 in the match, as Ireland added just 20 to their overnight score.

The 160 target was still enough to make the chase intriguing and the drama grew once Tim Murtagh and Rankin made early inroads.

Azhar Alis tactic of dancing down to Murtagh proved short-lived as a shaped delivery did for him and he edged through to first slip from the innings fourth ball.

Ireland had reduced Pakistan to 14 for three (Niall Carson/PA)

Pakistan then slipped to 13 for two for the second time in the match when Haris Sohail attempted one drive too many and picked out Ed Joyce at gully off Rankin.

And when Murtagh struck again, bowling Asad Shafiq through the gate, Ireland sensed a stunning success.

Only England in 1894 and 1981, and India in 2001, had even won a Test after following on, and no country had won their inaugural fixture in the longest format since Australia won the first ever Test in 1877.

The 11th Test nations optimism began to dissipate with Imam and Azam at the crease, though the former was fortunate an edge dropped short off Murtagh and the latter was almost undone by a Rankin yorker.

Imam, in particular, looked at ease and was scampering between the wickets  a trait his uncle Inzamam-ul-Haq was not renowned for during his career  as Pakistan reached lunch 52 for three, needing 108 more.

Ireland could not afford any missed opportunities and Andrew Balbirnie, who got a pair with the bat, endured another moment to forget at third slip when he put down Azam from his first ball faced in the second session.

Pakistan cross the 100 mark. We need something special. After 27 overs, they're 108/3. They need 52 for victory. We still need seven wickets.#IREvPAK #BackingGreen pic.twitter.com/xsYKMSsCFO  Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) May 15, 2018

With the threat of rain to come later in the day, Pakistan sensed the need to accelerate against attacking Irish fields and Imam soon moved to his maiden 50 before Azam progressed to his fifth.

Balbirnie at least had some reason to remember this match fondly when his throw back to Stuart Thompson at the non-strikers end ran out Azam on 59.

Thompson then pinned Sarfraz Ahmed in front but Pakistan got over the line prior to tea, with Imam unbeaten on 74.
The Trump administration is designating the head of Irans central bank as a terrorist and hitting him with sanctions intended to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.

The Treasury Department accuses Valiollah Seif of helping transfer millions of dollars to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Seif is the governor of the Iranian central bank. He is being named a specially designated global terrorist, along with another senior official, Ali Tarzali, who works in the central banks international division.

The US says it is also imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif (Niall Carson/PA)

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Seif covertly funnelled money from the Irans Revolutionary Guards through al-Bilad Islamic Bank in Iraq to help Hezbollah.

The Iraqi bank and its chairman is also being punished with sanctions.

The US says it is also imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif.

That means anyone who does business with him could be cut off from the US financial system.

The move comes as Donald Trumps administration, after deeming the 2015 nuclear deal insufficiently tough on Iran, seeks to construct a global coalition to place enough pressure on Tehran that it comes back to the negotiating table to strike a better deal.

The sanctions targeting Irans central bank executives are some of the first actions by Mr Trumps administration since pulling out of the deal to start ramping up that economic pressure.

The United States will not permit Irans increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system, Mr Mnuchin said.

The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies.

The exact ramifications of the sanctions for Irans economy were not immediately clear.

The US said that the sanctions did not extend to Irans central bank itself.

Still, the US said it was imposing so-called secondary sanctions on the Iranian bank officials, which could significantly increase Irans isolation from the global financial system.

Typically, when the US punishes individuals with sanctions, it prohibits Americans or US companies from doing business with them.

Secondary sanctions also apply to non-Americans and non-US companies. That means that anyone, in any country, who does business with Seif or Tarzali could themselves be punished with sanctions, cutting them off from the US financial system.

Seif, as the central banks governor, has helped guide Irans economy through the web of sanctions in place on that country.

In the aftermath of the 2015 deal, in which nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted, he was a prominent voice complaining that Iran was still being kept out of the global financial system and not receiving the economic benefits it was promised in exchange for curtailing its nuclear programme.

The Treasury said that Seif undermined the central banks credibility by routing millions of dollars from the Quds Force, the expeditionary unit of Irans hard-line Revolutionary Guards, to al-Bilad Islamic Bank, which is based in Iraq.

Those funds were then used to enrich and support the violent and radical agenda of Hezbollah, the Treasury said.

Al-Bilad Islamic Bank and its chief executive and chairman, Aras Habib, were also hit with US sanctions, as was Muhammad Qasir, who the Treasury said is a Hezbollah official who has been a critical conduit for transferring funds to Hezbollah from the Revolutionary Guards.

Lebanons Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite guerrilla force that is also a prominent political player in Lebanon, has long helped carry out Irans foreign policy objectives in the Arabic-speaking world.

Most recently, the US has been concerned about the role that Hezbollah fighters are playing in Syria to help prop up President Bashar Assad.

Hezbollah fought a war with Israel in 2006, and Israeli officials have been deeply concerned about the prospect of another confrontation.
Southampton chairman Ralph Krueger believes Mark Hughes has proven the perfect fit, with negotiations well under way to extend the managers St Marys stay beyond the summer.

Saints looked bound for relegation as a sense of drift and complacency crept in around a club lauded in recent years for the way they have constantly rebuilt.

Hughes was brought in to stave off relegation in March after floundering Mauricio Pellegrino was fired, managing just that as Southampton finished in 17th spot.

Mark Hughes is in talks to extend his Southampton stay (John Walton/PA)

The Welshman only penned short-term deal but chairman Krueger has been impressed by his work and talks to keep him are going on.

The decision to go with Mark in the time frame that we had to meet him and to bring him in was very tight, but everything since theyve been here has been natural and the fit has been perfect, he told Press Association Sport.

Krueger admitted the club had underappreciated the negative storm they were in until early February.

Weve gone a completely different direction when you look at him (compared to four successive foreign managers), he said.

But it just feels like the right hire at the right time for the club, and also I feel it was the right fit for them and with their experience, too.

So, were in really good conversation. We began these conversations last week and they continue here, and we will build on them.

Thats all I can say to that right now, but we are in good conversation.

It appears a case of when rather if Hughes signs a new deal at a club who have pledged to learn from this seasons mistakes.

Krueger is keeping the ticket from last Tuesdays crucial 1-0 win at Swansea on his desk to remind him of this late let off and plans are afoot to kick on next season.

Pre-season will take the club to China  home of the Gao family, who became owners last August  and Krueger knows a balance is needed between keeping the best players and not allowing unhappy individuals to throw off the dressing room.

Last summer Saints dug in their heels to keep Virgil van Dijk but the wantaway defender, like so many before him, moved to Liverpool in January.

Krueger concedes there was an issue with the dressing room that we created through some of decision-making over the last years, which was down to club strategy as well as player recruitment and management.

We want to have a dressing room of players who want to be here, Krueger said. Thats the most important thing.

We put (Pellegrino) in a pretty tough space and we take responsibility for that.

But we needed to make that stand and I think it was an important stand to take and well learn and grow from that.

But I think we also have to get back to the Southampton way of having a locker room full of players that want to be here, whatever that ambition is.

And if somebody ends up being in a Champions League final like Sadio Mane, we should be proud of that and should see it as an accomplishment.

And I think thats something well get back to.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has voted for a referendum on the final Brexit deal.

The resolution at the groups annual meeting in Belfast was passed by 364 votes to 163.

It had been proposed by the bodys Greater Glasgow group and mandated the organisation to lobby the Government on the issue.

The RCN remained neutral in 2016 when the first Brexit referendum was passed and one member at Tuesdays meeting argued it should have remained so.

But the vote makes it the first major trade union to support a second referendum.

The call came from the bodys Greater Glasgow group (Peter Byrne/PA)

RCN chief executive Janet Davies said consultation with the RCNs wider membership could be required before it would formally adopt such a position.

It is clear this is about knowing what it is.

I think it is good that we are involved in it as a College.

We are dealing with quite a lot of questions and issues and I am really pleased that people have decided to debate it.

She said since the Leave vote, nurses were not coming to the UK from Europe in the numbers that they were.

It is not about in or out. It is about a deal and whichever way you look at that, whatever your politics is, then it is not quite as contentious.

We dont want to alienate our own membership, we are a membership organisation.

MPs will get a meaningful vote in the House of Commons on Prime Minister Theresa Mays terms negotiated for leaving the EU.

Neither the Conservatives nor Labour back carrying out another poll.

The UK is due to leave the EU in March 2019, irrespective of whether MPs back or reject the terms of the deal negotiated by the Government.

The RCN debate was held in Northern Ireland, which shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland and it is one of the most vexed issues facing Brexit negotiators.

The RCNs UK steward Kevin Bell said: No-one from the North of Ireland was facilitated to speak.

We are the most affected part of the UK when Brexit comes in.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has used a meeting with Theresa May to accuse Israel and the United States of roles in a horrible massacre in Gaza.

Seated next to Mrs May in Downing Street ahead of talks with the Prime Minister, he said many martyrs had been created in Mondays deadly clash, in which 58 Palestinians were killed by Israeli snipers.

And he accused the US, Britains closest ally, of laying the foundations for the carnage by moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem.

After Mrs May had said their talks would focus on trade, Syria and defence, Mr Erdogan said: While we are focusing our talks on the Syria issue, yesterday, unfortunately, significant incidents have unfolded in Palestine after the US decided to move their embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions.



He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey.



Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) May 15, 2018

We are facing significant challenges and there are a lot of martyrs. There are more than 2,000 wounded and more than 50 casualties.

Unfortunately, while Israel was busy undertaking this horrible massacre, unfortunately the United States paved the way for this and laid the foundations.

The embassy opening on Monday took place around 60 miles from where the protesters were killed.

US president Donald Trump had approved the change after becoming president and the ceremony was attended by his daughter and adviser Ivanka.

The two leaders will hold talks on issues including Syria (Victoria Jones/PA)

Mr Erdogan had earlier walked into Downing Street from the Foreign Office, avoiding noisy protests in Whitehall against his visit to Britain.

The Prime Minister shook hands and posed for photographs with Mr Erdogan outside No 10 as demonstrators opposed to his authoritarian rule audibly shouted slogans and waved placards on Whitehall.

He had earlier visited Buckingham Palace for an audience with the Queen, on the last day of a three-day visit to Britain.

Critics had accused the Prime Minister of cosying up to a totalitarian leader for economic reasons as she prepared to host him at No 10.

Demonstrators chanted Turkish state, fascist state through a public address system and waved banners opposite the gates to Downing Street branding Mr Erdogan a terrorist.

Pro-Kurdish groups raised concerns about human rights abuses by Mr Erdogans government and urged Mrs May to distance herself from the Turkish leader, who has been accused or purging opponents, sacking thousands of officials and jailing critics and journalists.

Downing Street insisted Mrs May will raise human rights issues during the talks.

Mr Erdogan earlier met the Queen (John Stillwell/PA)

Inside No 10, Mrs May did not mention Gaza, focusing on trade, defence and Syria.

Speaking via an interpreter she told the Turkish leader: Im sure we will be talking about the growing trade relationship between Turkey and the UK.

And we will also, Im sure, talk about our defence cooperation and our cooperation on security matters.

And of course, Turkey and the UK play an important role in regional security.

Im sure we will also want to talk about Syria and our cooperative work in defeating Daesh (Islamic State). I think these shared interests are a sign of the significant relationship between Turkey and the UK.
Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border in Gaza, health officials said.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli militarys use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

Medics treat Palestinian children suffering from teargas inhalation during a protest near Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip (Dusan Vranic/AP)

On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The health ministry said the two fresh deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel claimed it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions.



He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey.



Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) May 15, 2018

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country.

The move came after the Turkish foreign ministry temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest over Mondays killings and the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has the blood of Palestinians on his hands.

Mr Netanyahu retorted in a statement: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.

Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors at the United Nations have accused each others countries of violating international law.

The envoys spoke at a UN Security Council meeting which ended without any joint statement or action.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour addressed the council: How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? When are you going to act?

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told the council: You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer.

Protesters attend a rally on Whitehall in central London after more than 60 Palestinians were killed and about 2,000 injured by Israeli forces (Victoria Jones/PA)

Monday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 cross-border war with Israel, and was part of a high-stakes campaign by the Islamic militant Hamas to break a decade-long border blockade.

The Gaza health ministry, which provided the toll from Mondays violence, said a nine-month-old girl died from tear gas exposure, but medical officials later cast doubt on that claim, saying the infant had a pre-existing medical condition.

In jarring contrast to the Gaza bloodshed, the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for a new US embassy in contested Jerusalem at the same time on Monday, just several dozen miles away.

The juxtaposition of violence on the Gaza border and festivities attended by a Trump administration delegation  captured on split screens in TV broadcasts around the world  briefly drew attention to the plight of Gaza and its two million people.

Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (AP)

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the deal of the century.

The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

The high casualty toll revived international criticism of Israels open-fire policies.

Rights groups have said the use of potentially lethal force against protesters who pose no immediate threat to soldiers lives is unlawful.

The military has said presumably less lethal rubber-coated steel pellets are not effective in keeping demonstrators from the fence.

Germany, Belgium and Ireland called for an investigation of the violence.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Charles Michel called the Israeli actions unacceptable violence and said there was a clear lack of proportionality.

A Palestinian woman reacts to teargas fired by Israeli troops in Gaza (AP)

Mr Michel said the violence and killings would be moved onto the calendar of the European Union summit in Sofia on Wednesday and Thursday.

German spokesman Steffen Seibert said the violence concerns us greatly, but also accused Hamas of cynically escalating the unrest.

Irelands foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express shock and dismay.

China called on Israel to exercise restraint. On Monday, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice.

The UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters from its border with Gaza, suggesting its forces should instead arrest those who reach the fence.

The UNs Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, told the Security Council there is no justification for the killing. He called on Israel to recalibrate its use of force and to use lethal force only as a last resort.

He also urged Hamas not to use protests as cover to plant bombs and create provocations.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the session given deep divisions between most of the world and the US, Israels close ally.

US ambassador Nikki Haley said no member would act with more restraint than Israel has in its confrontation with Palestinians at the Gaza border.
Prime Minister Theresa May has described the loss of life in Gaza protests as tragic and extremely concerning and urged Israel to show restraint.

Mrs May called for an independent and transparent investigation into the incident. While accepting that Israel had the right to defend its borders, she said its use of live ammunition was deeply troubling.

Some 59 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,500 injured when Israeli troops opened fire at protesters approaching the border fence on Monday.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (back, centre) joins protesters at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP)

Amid growing international condemnation, Israel insisted it had the right to defend its border against a possible mass breach and accused the militant Hamas movement of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.

The tragic scenes overshadowed Mrs Mays meeting at 10 Downing Street with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Mr Erdogan has called an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Friday to discuss the Gaza violence.

Speaking alongside Mrs May as the talks began, Mr Erdogan accused the United States of laying the foundations for the horrible massacre by fulfilling President Donald Trumps promise to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Theresa May greets Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 10 Downing Street (Victoria Jones/PA)

In a press conference following their meeting, Mrs May said the situation in Gaza and the West Bank was troubling.

The loss of life we have seen is tragic and extremely concerning, she said. Such violence is destructive to peace efforts and we call on all sides to show restraint.

There is an urgent need to establish the facts of what happened yesterday through an independent and transparent investigation, including why such a volume of live fire was used and what role Hamas played in events.

Palestinians have the right to protest, but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements are seeking to hijack legitimate protests to further their own objectives.

While we do not question the right of Israel to defend its borders, the use of live fire and the resulting loss of life is deeply troubling. We urge Israel to show restraint.

It is in everyones interests for peace and stability to prevail in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Protesters in Istanbul voice anger about the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem (AP)

President Erdogan said the Israeli ambassador to Ankara had been expelled on Tuesday afternoon and its own ambassador to Tel Aviv has been recalled for instructions from the government.

He added: I think they (Israel) are on the brink of making a decision about the Turkish ambassador in Jerusalem. If that decision gets implemented in an unfortunate fashion we will impose possible sanctions.

Mr Erdogan said the US decision to move its embassy was not only a violation of United Nations resolutions and international law, but also a step away from the countrys role as a mediator in the Middle East peace process.

Instead, the US introduced itself as contributing to the conflict, he said.

Citing widespread opposition in the UN to the embassy move, Mr Erdogan said: The US claims to be powerful. You are powerful, but you are not right. History will not forgive you. This is the fact that we will observe in the future.

Israel will not be forgiven. Thats what we are going to witness in the future too. It all boils down to the fact of making a choice  are we going to side with the strong or side with those who are right?

In the House of Commons, Middle East minister Alistair Burt said that Britain did not back the US embassy move.

We have made our view clear on the embassy, he told MPs. We didnt agree with it but its a reality now, it wont be our position and we will continue to work for peace in the region.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry told the Commons: What makes yesterdays events all the worse is that they didnt come as a result of some accidental over-reaction to one days protest, but as the result of a culmination of six weeks, an apparently calculated and deliberate policy to kill and maim unarmed protesters, who posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border.
Boris Johnson has held talks with his French and German counterparts as they work to save the Iran nuclear deal after the US decided to withdraw from the agreement.

The Foreign Secretary had said Britain continues to believe that the Iran nuclear deal has value as he arrived in Brussels for EU-hosted talks.

The talks were followed by a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an intensive diplomatic effort to shore up agreement over the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Speaking on behalf of all parties after the meeting, the EUs foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters it and the E3  the UK, Germany and France, had agreed to deepen our dialogue at all levels.

Boris Johnson will meet Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (Jonathan Brady/PA)

She told reporters there had been some good exchanges, adding; I would say all-in-all it was a positive meeting.

It allowed us to agree on a common set of lines of actions and measures to put in place on which we will start working tomorrow.

Mr Johnson left Brussels without speaking to reporters.

Arriving earlier on Tuesday in the Belgian capital, he said: We think it (the JCPOA) has value, we continue to believe in it even though America has decided to walk away.

So we will be looking at a package of measures that we may be able to devise as Europeans to encourage the Iranians to stay in the deal.

We are under no illusions about the stuff Iran gets up to in the region, in the Middle East.

We have no illusions about Irans disruptive behaviour, but we think we can tackle those in other ways outside the JCPOA.

Deeply regret US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. UK remains strongly committed to the JCPoA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it. Await more detail on US plan.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 8, 2018

The meeting was held amid fears that European companies may face reprisals from the US for breaching American sanctions by continuing to operate in Iran.

Mr Johnson said before the meeting: We will be looking at all the ways we can come up with to protect legitimate UK and European businesses who may want to trade with Iran, who do want to trade and have great plans to do that.

But we have to accept, we have to be realistic, about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extra-territoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to business  that doesnt mean there arent some things we can do.

Mr Johnson held talks with French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian in London on Monday and said Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Paris on the need to preserve the JCPOA, which removed sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran giving up its military nuclear programme.

The pair were joined by German foreign minister Heiko Maas in Brussels.

Mr Zarif told reporters as he left that the meetings had been a good start, adding: I believe we are on the right track, now a lot depends on what we can do within the next two weeks.
Plans for a UK trial of the brother of the Manchester Arena suicide bomber are under way as extradition proceedings remain ongoing, say police.

The head of the North West Counter Terrorism Unit, Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson of Greater Manchester Police, would not be drawn on the progress of the extradition application made more than six months ago to Libya where Hashem Abedi is currently in custody.

Investigative update on the Manchester Arena attack: pic.twitter.com/q9P2ZniGAn  Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) May 16, 2018

But as a team of about 100 investigators continue to work full-time on the live murder investigation, Mr Jackson told reporters: We are preparing for a trial.

Both brothers travelled to Libya in April 2017, before Salman, 22, returned alone before carrying out the attack on May 22 which left 22 dead and hundreds injured.

Hashem Abedi, 21, is understood to be currently held by a militia group in Libya.

A warrant for his arrest in relation to questioning over allegations of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy to cause an explosion was also issued before the extradition request was handed to Libya on November 1 last year.

CCTV image issued by Greater Manchester Police of Salman Abedi on the night he carried out the Manchester Arena terror attack (GMP/PA)

Mr Jackson told reporters that it was really difficult to provide any further detail of the extradition process.

He said: Firstly we must respect the Libyan legal process and we are very grateful to them for considering our request.

Secondly, it is vital that the court process is respected in this country and especially the right to a fair trial.

It is because of this that we cannot comment on any specific detail of the case.

Floral tributes to victims of the Manchester bombing (Ben Birchall/PA)

When we can say more, we will of course do so.

In the meantime we will continue to gather evidence, searching for as much detail about what happened and evidence of anyone responsible whilst supporting the families, many of whom are going through unimaginable pain.

Part of the ongoing inquiry was an extensive search of 11,000 tonnes of rubbish at a landfill site in Bury which finished last week and failed to uncover any trace of a large blue suitcase which the bomber was seen on CCTV pulling in Manchester city centre on May 22, although not believed to have been used in the explosion.

Mr Jackson said they had now established that more than 800 people suffered physical and psychological injuries from the bombing.

He said: Over the past year the investigation team has worked hard to support those affected and we are consistently moved by the grace and dignity they show in trying to repair their lives.

Of course for many the loss is too great for them to ever make a full recovery from this terrible event.

He said the dedicated team of 100 officers continue to piece together evidence as they interview witnesses, painstakingly watch thousands of hours of CCTV and analyse forensic material in an investigation which has cost, so far, about 4 million.

More than 2,000 witness statements have been taken along with the seizure of more than 13,000 exhibits and the examination of 16 terabytes of data.

Manchester Arena was the scene of the attack by Salman Abedi (Peter Byrne/PA)

Police have previously said they do not think Salman Abedi was part of a wider network but believe others were involved in the planning of the attack and named Hashem as a suspect.

Salman Abedis bomb has been described as substantial in size, and he had put it inside a tin with the shrapnel, nuts and bolts, placed around it.

He detonated the device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert with 353 people, including 175 children, around him in the foyer of the venue.

The Abedi family, originally from Libya, fled during the Gaddafi dictatorship with his father returning to fight with opposition forces when the uprising began in 2011.

An extradition agreement between the UK and Libya had been agreed in 2009 but since the overthrow of Gaddafi the country has been split into warring factions with the United Nations-backed, internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) struggling to assert control over swathes of the country in the hands of dozens of different militias including Isis-affiliated groups.
ISTANBUL, May 14 (Reuters) - Turkey has called for an emergency meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the government spokesman said on Monday, after Israeli forces killed of dozens of protesters in Gaza.

Ankara wants the meeting of the 57-member-state body to be held on Friday, spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

On the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since the Gaza conflict in 2014, Israeli troops shot dead 55 Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of the U.S. move and the violence in Gaza, with the government declaring three days of mourning for those killed.

President Tayyip Erdogan described the actions of the Israeli forces as a "genocide" and Israel as a "terrorist state".

"No matter from what side, whether from the United States or Israel, I curse this humanitarian plight, this genocide," he said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said the United States was an accomplice in a crime against humanity.

"Unfortunately, the U.S. has arrogantly stood by the Israeli administration which kills civilians and has partnered in this crime against humanity," he told reporters in Ankara.

"This provocation will only worsen the problems in the region and cause a deeper mark in the Israeli-Palestinian relationship, and will make peace in the region more difficult," Yildirim added.

He said U.S. President Donald Trump was attempting to distract attention from domestic problems by moving the embassy, "trying to hide the fire inside by setting fires outside".

Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 55 protesters were killed and more than 2,700 injured either by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

In Istanbul around 2,000 people marched down the main Istiklal Street, carrying banners saying "Jerusalem belongs to Muslims" and "Murderer Israel, get out of Palestine".

Erdogan promised to hold a rally in support of Palestinians in Istanbul on Friday following the OIC summit.

Earlier on Monday, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the U.S. decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem had encouraged Israeli forces to kill dozens of Palestinian protesters.

"We curse the massacre carried out by Israeli security forces, encouraged by this step, on the Palestinians participating in peaceful demonstrations," its statement said. (Reporting by Daren Butler, Ece Toksabay and Ali Kucukgocmen Editing by Dominic Evans and Toby Chopra)
By Kevin Mwanza

NAIROBI, May 14 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A Kenyan court on Monday rejected a plea for a change to the laws on how property should be split in divorce cases, a ruling activists said was a blow for women's rights in the country.

Kenya's High Court dismissed a 2016 petition from the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA), an advocacy group that had argued the Marriage Properties Act was unconstitutional because it entitled each partner only to what they contributed.

The constitution states that married couples are entitled to equal rights and the group argued that the law unfairly impacted women, who were more likely to suffer financially from a marriage break-up.

In its ruling the court said that changing the law would "open the door for a party to get into marriage and walk out of it in the event of divorce with more than they deserve".

In response, FIDA head Josephine Mong'are said it was a "sad day for Kenyans".

"Every year millions of women in Kenya still find themselves fighting to hold onto their property after a divorce or the death of their husband," she said in a statement.

Less than seven percent of title deeds are held by women alone or jointly with men in Kenya, according to a 2014 survey by the United Nations Conference on Trade.

Land is usually passed on to sons, making it hard for women to secure rights except through their husbands. Women and their children are often evicted if the husband dies or they divorce.

Less than two percent of title deeds issued in Kenya since 2013 went to women, according to the Kenya Land Alliance, an advocacy network. (Reporting by Kevin Mwanza, Editing by Claire Cozens. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
By Antonio De la Jara

SANTIAGO, May 14 (Reuters) - Chile's government on Monday announced the creation of an office to slash red tape for large investment projects as President Sebastian Pinera seeks to boost economic and job growth in the world's top copper producer.

Center-right Pinera said he would create an executive Office of Large Sustainable Projects dedicated to reducing excess bureaucracy faced by investors in the South American nation, which scores poorly on regulatory complexity at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

"We have a portfolio of projects that are stalled or paralyzed for an array of reasons... No country can give itself that luxury, and even less so one that aspires to development without poverty," Pinera said.

Growth slowed sharply in Chile under Pinera's predecessor, Michelle Bachelet, as sluggish copper prices hit the country's mining sector and business leaders blamed the center-left Bachelet's social and labor reforms for stoking uncertainty in Latin America's most stable economy.

In July S&P downgraded Chile's debt for the first time since the 1990s.

Pinera, who took office in March following an election campaign in which he promised to re-ignite growth, said the new office would serve as a one-stop-shop for investors to help coordinate permitting among government agencies.

Mega projects like the Alto Maipo hydroelectric complex near Santiago and the $2.5 billion Dominga copper and iron mine proposal have become symbols in recent years of the increasing difficulties of doing business in what remains one of Latin America's most open economies.

In addition to the new government agency, Pinera presented a separate bill to Chile's Congress to digitize municipal permitting, create dedicated environmental staff to attend investors seeking permits for large projects and overhaul the registry that documents mining concessions for easier reference.

(Reporting by Antonio de la Jara, writing by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Dan Grebler)
MANAGUA, May 14 (Reuters) - The Nicaraguan government has invited the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to visit the country for a fact-finding mission, the Washington-based agency said on Monday, after deadly protests against President Daniel Ortega.

The anti-government protests began in mid-April following a controversial social security overhaul and have left dozens dead, mostly students.

Protesters have also called for the resignation of Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla accused of seeking to establish a family dynasty in the Central American country.

Luis Almagro, the head of the Organization of American States, which includes the IACHR, posted a letter on his Twitter account from Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada inviting the body to visit the country.

The letter did not specify when the visit would take place.

The IACHR is a leading human rights organization that has tackled issues of torture, killings and disappearances in North, Central and South America for nearly 60 years.

(Reporting by Oswaldo Rivas; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Dan Grebler)
REUTERS, 14th MAY, 2018- The Catalan parliament voted in a hard-line separatist as leader on Monday, heralding an end to seven months of direct rule from Madrid but also more political uncertainty in a region that retains a mandate to seek a split from Spain.



The election of Quim Torra as regional leader will allow the wealthy region to run its own affairs for the first time since October, when Madrid imposed direct rule after sacking the previous administration after it declared independence.



It should also lead to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy securing the backing he needs from regional parties to implement much-delayed central government budget plans. But it is unlikely to ease tensions between Madrid and Barcelona.



The deeply-divided Catalan parliament voted 66 in favor, 65 against and 4 abstentions for the election of Torra, a former lawyer and publisher with little political experience.
More foreign investors may be confronted by corruption dilemma

The recent incident where President Maithripala Sirisenas Chief of Staff, Dr I.H.K. Mahanama and Chairman of the State Timber Corporation P. Dissanayake were arrested and remanded on the charges of soliciting a bribe of Rs. 20 million from an Indian investor, not only made headlines but has become the talking point within many sections of the society. The businessman, who had purchased a block of land at the Kantale Sugar Factory, had wanted to purchase machinery and building space to commence operating the factory.

Then, the suspects had allegedly solicited a bribe of Rs.540 million from the businessman promising that they would provide him with the approval needed to obtain the machinery and building space for the purpose. However, after negotiations were held between the two parties, it was said to have decided to reduce this bribe to Rs.100 million. The two officials were to receive a bribe of Rs. 100 million, but they were allegedly caught red-handed while accepting Rs. 20 million as an advance payment.

The investor has said in a statement to the Bribery Commission that Dr. Mahanama again demanded US $ 3 million in May 2017. The payment was to be made at the car park of a restaurant in Wattala. On September 2017, State Timber Corporation Chairman P. Dissanayake also allegedly approached the investor and demanded a bribe during a meeting at a luxury hotel

The alleged incident can be viewed in two ways. One is that the Good Governance is plagued by bribery or corruption. The other is the question as to how these types of actions would adversely affect investors who wish to invest in Sri Lanka?

A query also needs to be raised as to how these types of suspected unscrupulous state officials like Mahanama and Dissanayake managed to survive while serving in top administrative ranks.

Lets first start with the history of Mahanama allegedly attempting to take a bribe from the Kantale sugar investor.

Long history of attempted extortion

The proposal to recommence the operations at the Kantale Sugar Factory was first brought forward in 2006 during the Mahinda Rajapaksa regime. Subsequently, international bids were called for in 2010 to find a suitable investor for the project.

One of the most powerful secretaries under the Rajapaksa administration attempted to ensure that an investor, who was the third in the list, was suitable to receive the tender. The tender was given to him. Due to the controversy which transpired after details were exposed, the deal was shelved.

On February 14, 2015, a month after the Good Governance assumed power, the approval to recommence operations at the Kantale Sugar Factory was given. This was to be one of the first large scale Foreign Direct Investments under the administration. The selected investor received the green light by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) and by the Cabinet on June 17, 2015. Accordingly, an agreement was signed between M G Sugars Lanka (Pvt) Ltd and the Board of Investment (BOI). One of the conditions of the agreement was that MG Sugar must deposit US $ 10 million with the Sri Lankan Government and on August 08, 2015 the company met the requirement.

However, the Ministry of Lands kept on delaying what was to be done on its part. It placed many hurdles to prevent the investment from taking place. Dr I.H.K. Mahanama, who was the then secretary to the Ministry of Lands, said to have informed the investor that he could prevent the delays from the AGs Department and that nothing could be done without his approval.

The Minister of Lands at that time was M. K. A. D. S. Gunawardana. He represented Trincomalee District and wanted to develop Kantale, which is a part of Trincomalee District. However, the Minister, who passed away on January 2016, was replaced by John Amaratunga, who had a lot on his plate. Taking advantage of the lack of interest on the part of the Minister, Dr. Mahanama has allegedly administrated the Ministry according to his wishes.

He is said to have informed the investor that he needed US $ 3 million to ensure that the deal went through. However, at this point the investor had in fact deposited US $ 10 million with the Government.

The head of the BOI then was Upul Jayasuriya. He had said that although he approved investments, the Secretary to the Ministry of Lands, Dr. Mahanama and Secretary to the Ministry of Power, Suren Batagoda placed constant obstacles, which delayed the investments. After this revelation, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Minister of Development Strategies and International Trade, Malik Samarawickrama made life difficult for Jayasuriya, which eventually led to his resignation.

The investor has said in a statement to the Bribery Commission that Dr. Mahanama again demanded US $ 3 million in May 2017. The payment was to be made at the car park of a restaurant in Wattala. According to the statement, on September 2017, State Timber Corporation Chairman P. Dissanayake also has allegedly approached the investor and demanded a bribe during a meeting at a luxury hotel. Between October 2017 and February 2018 Mahanama and Dissanayake had demanded a bribe from the investor on four separate occasions and threatened that they wouldnt allow the project to take place unless the bribe is paid (The meeting place was the chairmans office at State Timber Cooperation).

At this point Mahanama had allegedly threatened the investor that unless he received his bribe, he would retake the land earmarked for sugar cane planting. By this time, the investor had brought his British and South African partners to Sri Lanka.

Bribery Commission approached

Thinking that he had no other choice, the investor approached the Bribery Commission in February 2018. According to what has been revealed, Dr. Mahanama is said to have told the investor that he had to take a bribe because he would have no income after his retirement. Mahanama has claimed that he had planned to construct a building near the University of Kelaniya and rent it out.

Dissanayake, was also the Secretary to former President Chandrika Kumarakunga.

However, the irony was that the two men didnt know that the investor had already lodged a complaint with the Bribery Commission following the initial threats and accordingly, the Bribery Commission officials had been keeping an eye on this case for a while.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights (CHR) and Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Keerthi Tennakoon, said that he had received information regarding this case in early 2016 and had exposed this on various occasions using the platform of Anti Corruption Front and the Centre for Human Rights.

CHR Executive Director Tennakoon said that this Indian national is a businessman who had been working in Sri Lanka since 1994 and was well connected.



Negative impact on investors

There is a negative impact on investors who wish to invest in Sri Lanka following the news of this incident. Tennakoon said that this incident is a huge blow on investors who are hoping to invest in Sri Lanka.

Now, investors would not think twice, but thrice before they arrive in Sri Lanka. They would show little interest to invest in Sri Lanka. It is not easy to restore credibility once lost. Hence, the Government should look into this matter seriously and not be hesitant to take effective steps to win the hearts of investors, Tennakoon opined.

He said that the Indian businessman is receiving deaths threats and he is not safe at this stage. Therefore, the BOI should take strict measure for his safety.

Good name tarnished-Dr.Mahanamahewa

Meanwhile, Colombo University Law Faculty Senior Lecturer and Former Human Rights Commissioner Dr. Prathiba Mahanamahewa told Daily Mirror that this incident had tarnished the good name of the country.

This is an action of contravention. This act would have direct impact on the investors. Both the President and Prime Minister have kept Sri Lanka on false pedestal during their official visits to foreign countries and extended invitations to these officials to invest in Sri Lanka, showcasing the island as a peaceful country. But now according to what has transpired, the investors are in a two minds whether to come to Sri Lanka. This would vastly affect the countrys economy, Dr. Mahanamahewa warned.

When thinking about as to how these alleged state officials survived while serving in top ranks, it seems that the Government has been maintaining a zero-tolerance policy with regard to bribery cases. If the Government had carried out formal investigations against such alleged individuals, these types of wrongdoings would have been nipped in the bud, Dr. Mahanamahewa added.

He added that the setting up of High Courts would not be sufficient in order to solve cases like these and added that the Protection of Victims of Crime and Witnesses Act should be amended.

He further suggested that if bribery is to be eradicated from the society, the seeds for such a purpose should be strewn at the school level. He said that students must be educated regarding the gravity of a bribe.

Culprits associated with bribery cases should be blacklisted and exposed to the general public, he added.

Now, investors would not think twice, but thrice before they arrive in Sri Lanka. They would show little interest to invest in Sri Lanka.

Governments stance on the issue

Nobody likes to apply cinder on his or her face. It is certain that no one in the Government dares to criticize the incidents that occur within the regime. But lets see what the Governments stance on this is.

Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Minister of Public Administration and Management and Law and Order Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that this is an incident which had showed that the law is applicable to anybody.

Unlike the previous regime, our Government is treating everyone equally irrespective of position and possession. The ambition of this Government is to form a country which is against bribery and corruption, Madduma Bandara said.

During the previous regime, if anybody went against the Rajapaksas, he or she was abducted or killed. No investigations were carried out against the alleged officials then. But, we have been able to conduct a transparent investigation into this recent incident and bring the wrongdoers to book, Minister Madduma Bandara affirmed.

Repeated complaints against Mahanama

The point to consider is how Mahanama became the Chief of Staff of the President when there were allegations levelled against him. A number of other organisations and I have repeatedly complained against Mahanama and raised concerns about his behaviour. However, despite all this, he was appointed as the Presidents Chief of Staff. I have also raised concerns about seven other state officials, but there have been no investigations against them. This makes the public desperate in watching the activities of the Government. These happenings can only benefit the Rajapaksas, Executive Director of Centre for Human Rights (CHR) and Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Keerthi Tennakoon said.

We have been so democratic that we were able to bring even Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry in connection with the alleged bond scam that took place in the Central Bank, the Minister added. These types of questionable actions cant be accepted. The culprits should be perpetrated under the law following a proper investigation. At the same time, the Government must be commended for taking the initiative to unearth these incidents and act independently, in a democratic manner. On the other hand, the Government should take remedial measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
US, (rt.com), 14 May, 2018 - The man picked to lead a prayer at Donald Trumps much-vaunted opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, is a militant Baptist preacher, known, among other things, for calling Islams Prophet Muhammad a bloodthirsty warlord.



As if Mondays relocation of the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem needed more controversy, the priest picked to lead a prayer at the unveiling ceremony is Dr. Robert Jeffress, a megachurch Baptist preacher from Dallas and long-time supporter of Donald Trump.



Jeffress, who is also a Fox News contributor, announced that he was picked for the occasion in an recent interview with Fox&Friends. Non-Baptist Christian denominations havent escaped Jeffress castigations either. He once compared the Catholic Church to a cultwhich was the result of the corruption of an early Christian church by a Babylonian mystery religion. He attributed its rise to none other than the genius of Satan.



He also complained about how the consumer mentality of the church betrays its core beliefs for the sake of luring more people. The pastor argued that if one abides by the Bible, every other religion in the world is wrong  including Judaism.
Pradeep Edward - President, SLIM

The National Sales Congress (NASCO) 2018, organized by Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), has gained national repute as a pinnacle event for sales personnel across all sectors. SLIM is proud to announce that the NASCO 2018 entry kit can now be downloaded at www.nasco.lk. Applications must be reached before 25th May, 2018. Applicants can call Dimithra on 0703463171 for further details. As the premier event dedicated to recognize the efforts and performance of sales personnel, NASCO is eagerly awaited by Sri Lankas sales professionals who rush to enter the keenly contested NASCO awards in a bid to revel in the spotlight of national attention from their peers, since it is the only national level event to recognize and reward the performance and potential of the sales force in the country.

The NASCO awards have gained prestige and today a corporates success is determined by how many NASCO winners it has amongst its employees! Considered a rare achievement, every company jostles to enter its key sales personnel in the awards. NASCO 2018 is widely expected to attract a record number of entries. In order to make this event inclusive in nature, NASCO invites entries from companies regardless of their size as the awards are judged on the sales persons strategy and quality. Whats more, English is not mandatory at the judging, and Sinhala and Tamil speaking sales personnel can also compete for the coveted NASCO awards.

The judging for NASCO awards is uncompromising in its high expectations from true sales professionals and the judging panel comprises veterans across diverse industries. Companies need not fear entering their sales personnel because judging is carried out by judges who are not in the same industry as the candidate, thereby posing no risk of exposing strategic information. The immediate superior of a shortlisted candidate can even be present for the candidate interview process.

Manthika Ranasinghe - Project Chairman, SLIM NASCO 2018

NASCO has met with repeated success year after year, with 110 companies from 22 industries taking part in the previous years edition, counting 550 entries in total. The immense value that a win at NASCO adds to the winner's resume and career advancement prospects explains its popularity.

Moreover, NASCO offers an enhanced awards ceremony experience because it not only empowers participants to benchmark themselves against the best of the best amongst sales professionals, but it also offers a free workshop after the grand finale, wherein SLIM makes recommendations to them about their weak areas identified during the judging and how to correct them.

SLIM has revealed that participants can look forward to some exciting changes to the format. A new category has been added above the Territory Manager category while the judging process has been changed according to the current context. A reclassification has also been done of Industry and Business categories.

As the National Body of Marketing, SLIM has been at the forefront of fostering marketing knowledge and best practices in the country. Organized for the 17th consecutive year, NASCO awards are being presented in 22 diverse business sectors under which categories territory managers, sales executives/sales supervisors and front-liners are recognised. In addition to Gold, Silver and Bronze awards, best female sales personnel are also recognised under each category.

In recent years, true sales professionals are scarce as the profession seemed to have has lost its attraction for young school leavers and graduates. As a result, managers from other professions who don't have hands on experience and knowledge in sales, take on the position of sales management which is not healthy for the future of the sales profession.

SLIM NASCO fights to instill importance and recognition in the sales profession. A national level competition with participation from different industries has continuously improved the standard of the individuals. Hence, this competition has made a positive impact on the corporate sector. The sectors for nominations are: Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Financial Services & Banking, Industrial, Media, Consumer Durables, Telecommunication, Fashion & Clothing, Healthcare, Modern Retail, Travel & Leisure, Insurance, Alcohol & Tobacco, and Corporate Selling.
The police headquarters in Indonesias second largest city was attacked Monday by suspected militants who detonated explosives on a motorcycle.



CCTV footage shows a car and two motorcycles approaching a security checkpoint at the police complex. Then explosives from one of the motorbikes with at least two people aboard it detonates.

Surabaya police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera said civilians and police were victims of the attack but did not immediately announce a death or injury toll.



The attack came a day after members of one family killed at least eight people in suicide bombings at three churches in Surabaya.



Police say the family that carried out Sundays suicide bombings had returned to Indonesia from Syria and included girls aged nine and 12. All six members of the family died. A witness described the womans attack at the Diponegoro church, saying she was carrying two bags when she arrived.



At first officers blocked them in front of the churchyard, but the woman ignored them and forced her way inside. Suddenly she hugged a civilian then (the bomb) exploded, said the witness, a security guard who identified himself as Antonius.



Separately on Sunday, three members of another family were killed when homemade bombs exploded at an apartment in Sidoarjo, a town bordering Surabaya, according to the police.

Indonesias president condemned Sundays attacks as barbaric.



ISIS claimed responsibility for the church attacks in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

Indonesia, (Daily Mail), 14 May 2018 -
The Police today released a picture of a 50-year-old woman, who was wanted over an alleged financial fraud of Rs. 15 million.

Police Spokesman SP Ruwan Gunasekera said the woman had been evading arrest over the fraud, in which cheques issued by her to several shop owners had not been honoured.

The woman has been operating a boutique dress shop in Mount Lavinia and had issued the cheques after buying dress items from various businessmen.

SP Gunasekera said at least 24 complaints had been lodged to the Mount Lavinia Police and the Mount Lavinia Special Crimes Investigation Unit against the woman in connection with Rs. 8.6 million financial frauds.

The Mount Lavinia Magistrates Court had issued an arrest warrant on the suspect woman.

The Police said the CID had also filed a case in the Panadura Magistrate's Court against the woman, over a fraud of Rs. 6.9 million in 2017.

The woman, Dona Sithara Geethani Kaluarachchi, who holds NIC number 687611799V has been residing at No. 06, Uyana Road, Moratuwa and No. 194/31, Thalgahahena Road, Kesbewa.

The Police request the general public to inform the Mount Lavinia Special Crimes Investigation Unit via 0112-2729621 or the Mount Lavinia HQI on 071-8591664, if they had information on the woman.(Darshana Sanjeewa)
The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) said that it had restored the power interruption in the Colombo area a short while ago.

Energy Ministry Secretary Dr Suren Batagoda said as he was informed by the CEB engineers, it was identified by them as a software malfunction.

However, after five hours, the power was restored in the Pannipitiya, Dehiwela, Sri Jayewardenepura and Ratmalana areas.

Power was interrupted in Pannipitiya, Dehiwela, Sri Jayewardenepura and Ratmalana this morning due to the tripping of Pannipitiya - Biyagama 220 kV transmission line at about 7.20 a.m.
Grand Prize Winner - Mr. M.P.S. Marasinghe with Mr. Rajeev De Silva, Chief Operating Officer, Siyapatha Finance PLC

Siyapatha Finance PLC successfully conducted the Siyapatha Bonanza award ceremony recently. The event was graced by Mr. Rajeev De Silva, the Chief Operating Officer of Siyapatha Finance PLC and other officials of the organization, twenty-one lucky customers walked away with amazingprizes as promised by Siyapatha Finance PLC.

The Siyapatha Bonanza was initiated as a means of rewarding Siyapatha Leasing and Gold Financing customers and is a much-awaited event in the organizations calendar. The winners were selected from a list of customers who obtained Leasing facilities and Gold Loan Facilities during the promotional period announced.

The grand prizewinner in the Leasing category,Mr. M. P. S. Marasinghe, found himself driving home in a brand-new Renault KWID. In the Gold Loan category, a winner was selected from each of Siyapatha Finances branches. These lucky winners were presented with extremely valuable 22k gold coins. They are, Mr. I.M. Rifasi - Ampara, Mr. M. Aswer - Anuradhapura, Ms. A.I. Shalika - Avissawella,Ms. Y. I Haleema - Batticoloa, Ms. M. D. Madara - Gampaha, Mr. A. Hameedu  Kalmunai, Mr.Nimal Silva  Kalutara, Ms.Kandaiya Yureka  Kandy, Ms.Raja Shashikala  Kegalle, Ms.Jasintha Malani  Kuliyapitiya, Mr. G. G. Chandana  Kurunegala Metro, Mr.Amal Indika  Matara, Ms. K.M.S. Priyangani  Negombo, Mr. S. Muralidharan  Nugegoda, Mr.Jayantha Seneviratne  Nuwara-Eliya, Mr. A.Paandiraja  Ratnapura, Ms.S. Hulasimani - Sainthamarthu, Ms.M.S Wahitha  Trincomalee, Mr. S. Thivaraghan  Vavuniya and Mr. M.Muniyandi  Wellawatte.

Siyapatha Bonanza winners

At Siyapatha Finance our primary objective is to ensure that our customers receive the highest standard of service with best value for their engagement with us. I believe that the success of Siyapatha Finance has always been rooted in our customers. Thus, it gives me great pleasure to see the Siyapatha Bonanza end on such a high note. I am confident that the Siyapatha Bonanza will contribute towards long term customer engagement and improvecustomer loyalty with the company, stated Mr. Saman Herath the Managing Director of Siyapatha Finance PLC.

I am very grateful to Siyapatha Finance for organizing such an event. I think it was my luckiest day when I walked into Siyapatha Finance. Today Im the proud owner of a Renalt KWID as well.It has indeed increased my wealth, said Mr. M. P. S. Marasinghe beaming with gratitude.

The Siyapatha Bonanza was well organized. I would like to thank Siyapatha Finance for my prize and express my loyalty to the organization, said Ms. Jasintha Malani from Kuliyapitiya excitedly.

Siyapatha Finance is the fully owned subsidiary of the Sampath Bank Group. The Company offers wide range of services including Leasing, Gold Finance, Factoring, Business loans, Personal loans and Fixed Deposit servicesto the nation. Siyapatha Finance has indelibly marked her professional image in all the aspects of business and recently celebrated over 13 years of the organizations progressive journey in the Sri Lankan Financial industry. Siyapatha Financehas its presence felt in the main cities of the country including the North and East with a network of 26 Branches island wide.

Grand Prize Winner - Mr. M.P.S. Marasinghe with Mr. Rajeev De Silva, Chief Operating Officer and other Management staff of Siyapatha Finance PLC
THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF TRAVEL SKETCHES ON THE SOUTH OF SRI LANKA

Photos by Uditha Devapriya

In Beruwala and Aluthgama there is hardly anything by way of cultural sites to spot out and write on

That is why Karandeniya is closer at heart to Ambalangoda than most other places in Ambalangoda

ON the E01 theres nothing to look forward to: No people to look at and talk with, no photographs to take and savour

Fusion of newness and oldness can be spotted out even in the road leading to the Karandeniya Raja Maha Viharaya

From Piliyandala (where I live) to Matara, there is about 130 kilometres, the fastest route to take being the Southern Expressway (which will take you about two hours, or even less).



But the Expressway has its limits: it hasnt been built beyond Matara, not properly anyway, and in those two hours, the only sights youre exposed to on either side are newly refurbished homes, impersonal hills, and banal buildings.



Theres nothing to look forward to: No people to look at and talk with, no photographs to take and savour. Nothing beats the exhilaration of a ride through Galle Road.

When you pass the Kalutara Bodhiya, and then cross the much celebrated Benthara Paalama, remembering that famous saying about not trusting anyone who resides beyond it, you feel as though youre entering a different world. Thats because the South is exactly that: a different world.



In Beruwala and Aluthgama there is hardly anything by way of cultural sites to spot out and write on, but you are overwhelmed by the architectural diversity, including that most Muslim of all architectural motifs, the trellis. (Tilak Samarawickrema, when I talked with him about the presence of the trellis in many of Lester James Periess movies, including Gamperaliya and Golu Hadawatha, contended that it was alien to Sinhala culture.)



It is when you go beyond Benthota that the tourist sites crop up: one by one, hotels and restaurants fill up both sides of the road until you reach a point where you cant escape them.



Because of Benthota, perhaps, Induruwa, Ahungalle, and Balapitiya too are covered with resorts and spas, eateries, and whatnot, until you reach Ambalangoda, which is where the people, the sights, the sounds, and the flavours take on a distinctly Southern character. It is in Ambalangoda, I feel, that the South becomes the South.



The new has cohabited with the old in Ambalangoda. Especially away from Galle Road, towards Karandeniya, where the roads become more constricted the further you drive inward, you feel that the people you talk with to ask for directions have accepted the inevitability of the new without foregoing on the old.



Even in the way they speak, with their regard for emphasis and their drawn-out dialect, they are SPECIFIC. But those who associate Ambalangoda with the mask (and Ambalangoda still houses a veritable design culture) often forget that masks are hardly endemic to Sri Lanka and that the cultural roots of these places go deeper and are to be found more in the temples and the people who reside near them. It has been said of the people of Karandeniya, especially, that they are not afraid of talking straight if they feel they have to. But even with this, they are not afraid of encountering the new.



The fact is that the people of Karandeniya, who are more characteristic, I think, of Ambalangoda than city dwellers, produce one of the largest percentages of migrant workers from any region in the country. It is a statistic that has been forgotten, but that statistic has been all but completely acknowledged through the years.

That is why Karandeniya is closer at heart to Ambalangoda than most other places in Ambalangoda.



This fusion of newness and oldness can be spotted out even in the road leading to the Karandeniya Raja Maha Viharaya. Recently refurbished, the temple is graced by a long road that goes uphill and is flanked on both sides by a long stretch of one of the most Sri Lankan of all universally consumed exports, cinnamon trees.

The Galagoda Shailatharama Viharaya, as its referred to in travel books, houses the largest reclining Buddhist statue in South Asia. While my mother tells me that she counted 109 one foot tiles from one corner to the other, in reality, it runs up to 115 feet or 35 metres, not much until you consider the fact that the reclining statue at the Gal Viharaya in Polonnaruwa is about 45 feet or 15 metres. The temple, reflecting the Ambalangoda which exists outside Karandeniya, is both old and new.

Now more than 800 years old, it is a little older than, say, the Thotagamuwa Raja Maha Viharaya in Telwatte, Galle, and it traces its origins to the Dambadeniya Period, though the statue looks like it is made of cement.



The person responsible for much of the temple would have been the then Chief Minister of the King, Devapathiraja, who was responsible also for many of the temples which exist along the coastal belt of the South and after whom a school was named in Rathgama (the school my grandfather attended).



Incidentally, the road leading to the temple hadnt been there before; what had existed were 208 arduous steps, which had proved to be too much of a hardship for the people in the area. The road had been a brainchild of a former Chief Incumbent, the Venerable Somananda Thera, while the chamber had been refurbished under his stewardship as well.



(Though the record of its being the largest such in South Asia has been confirmed by local scholars, there is another reclining statue which boasts of being the largest such in the low country, which includes Ambalangoda, and that is to be found in the Indrasararamaya, near the Sabaragamuwa region, around 30 kilometres from Colombo in Aruggoda.)



Around the statue are various other excerpts and snapshots from the life, not only of the Gautama Buddha but also the other Buddhas, who have been carefully marked and labelled in a long tableau on the other side of the shrine room. In one corner of the outer chamber of the room you come across Elara and his soldiers, and on the other, you come across Dutugemunu; its like they are about to meet each other, for their final encounter, and the Buddhas in-between are onlookers, overtly confirming a fusion of Sinhalese culture and Buddhist legends and iconography which is so often to be found in a Sri Lankan temple, though not quite so graphically.

And if these statues appear to be new, and not in need of being refurbished, that has a lot to do with the fact that about a century ago, a well-off villager in Karandeniya named Lyonis oversaw the renovation of them all.



There are obviously more stories which the ardent traveller can associate with the temple at Karandeniya, but for reasons Ive touched on before, they tend to be missed. In that sense, we have to be grateful to Somananda Thera, who was dispatched to the Viharaya in 2000.



Someone told me that it was a recently built temple, but thats because Somananda Thera transformed it over the years into a modern place of worship, renovating those parts most susceptible to decay, while also compromising on the archaic-ness of the budu medura. (At one point, the builders, misunderstanding the Theras instructions, covered the floor in cement.)



The newness of the structure is in one sense the newness of Karandeniya and its residents. Moreover, before Somananda Theras arrival, the entire place had reeked of bat droppings and, worse, wanton neglect.



The Archaeological Department, owing to certain understandable reasons, had not checked into preserving it properly. Thanks to the Theras efforts, however, it flourished, and its historical importance, particularly its association with the Dambadeniya Period (The reign of the Parakramabahu the Second) and Devapathiraja, began to merit more than a cursory mention.



It is from 2004 and 2005, right after the tsunami, that interest in it seems to have soared. Today, travel writers and even bloggers have written on the Shailatharama Viharaya when they visit Ambalangoda, once they are done with the masks and the puppets.



With hardly any habitation around the temple, Karandeniya nevertheless seems to have graduated from being in the outskirts of Ambalangoda to a veritable all-but-in-name tourist spot.



And though theres nothing much by way of accommodations outside the city, as travel bloggers have made it clear, there are enough and more residents around these outskirts who are more than willing to take in tourists and visitors for a reasonable fee.



The people of Ambalangoda, rather like the people of the South and also of much of Sri Lanka in general, are friendly, but they are also straight talkers, and I witnessed this kind of straight talking while chatting with common everyday folk in the area.



On route to Matara, the quintessential cultural hub of the South after Galle, I was taken aback by the vocal distinctness which still exists in this region; although we have been assailed and continue to be assailed by modernity, we still speak in the dialect of the region we hail from, even if we hide that dialect when were in another region and especially when were in Colombo. In that sense the most characteristic characteristic of the resident of Ambalangoda is his dialect; he tends to drag what hes saying, preferring to speak slowly, almost lazily, even when hes loud or when the situation calls for quickness of speech.



As for the masks and puppets and the artefacts of cultural commercialisation, well, they deserve to be written on too, even though they have been written on by others. But I leave that for a later essay. For now, my travelogue in Ambalangoda ends in Karandeniya.
Sri Lankans may follow what happened in Malaysia where Dr. Mahathir Mohamad was elected as the country's Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority at the recent general elections by defeating the incumbent government, the joint opposition (JO) said today.

JO member G.L. Peiris said former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has done a tremendous service to the country just like Dr. Mohamad.

They are both respected statesmen. People in Malaysia ousted their corruption-riddled government. When given the opportunity at an election, Sri Lankans too will oust the incumbent government. People's power will, in an avalanche-like down pour, sweep away this inefficient and corrupt government, he said.

Prof. Peiris said the governments inefficiency and lawlessness had paved the way for the underworld to raise its head.

Someone is being killed everyday and the latest killing occurred a couple of days ago in Trincomalee where a man was shot dead. About 37 people had been killed in this manner during the past month, he said. (Lahiru Pothmulla)

Video by Buddhi
Beer, wine, liquor, and whiskey carry the label alcohol. In some countries, consuming alcohol is illegal. In others, it is a widespread practice. The consumption of alcohol carries a risk of adverse health and social consequences related to its intoxicating, toxic and dependence-producing properties.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 2.5 million deaths are caused annually due to the consumption of liquor. That number is equivalent to nearly 4% of global fatalities. Besides, alcohol is associated with more than 200 diseases and conditions and is a major risk factor for Non-Communicable Diseases.

According to the latest Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors Survey Sri Lanka 2015, 34.8% males consume alcohol. 42.3% of those who consume alcohol fall into the age category of 30-44 years while 42.7% of the males who consume alcohol fall into the age category of 45-59.

Only 0.5% of the females consume alcohol. The great majority (93.9%) of the current male drinkers is estimated to be consuming low end level alcohol and only 3.5% is consuming high end level alcohol. It is estimated that 5.5% of those in the adult group were drinking daily and this group comprised only males. More than two thirds (69.9%) of the group was estimated to drink 1 to 3 days a month or less.

Alcohol invades the island

Alcohol has become abundantly available in Sri Lanka over the past three decades with the liberalization of trade and open economy policies adopted since 1977. This has led to some sections of the population being open to greater risk of alcohol-related harm. These include the low income, unemployed, or partially employed rural and urban working population who are mainly addicted to consuming of illicit alcohol.

Speaking with the , Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion at Rajarata University of Sri Lanka, Dr. Manoj Fernando said alcohol consumption in Sri Lanka is on the rise. He said that Sri Lanka is consequently the second highest alcohol consuming country among South Asian countries.

Alcohol is mostly used in urban areas and mainly consumed by adults. One third (34.8%) of the males are alcohol users, while 40.2% are lifetime abstainers. A great majority (96.5%) of females are lifetime abstainers, Dr. Fernando said.

He stressed that the Governments decision to reduce the tax on beer by 40% and

simplify the issuance and rate structure of liquor retail licenses, would further increase beer consumption by 22.5% within next two years and eventually the total alcohol consumption would also increase.

Therefore he suggested that multiple approaches need to be taken by the authorities in order to control the alcohol consumption and overcome this liquor menace. He added that the Government should aim more at discouraging the production of liquor than trying to reduce the consumption of alcohol.

The global average for alcohol consumption is approximately 6.2 liters per person per year. Belarus has the highest level of alcohol consumption in the world, with an average of 17.5 liters of pure alcohol consumed per capita annually.

One of the factors that seems to contribute to a higher than average level of alcohol consumption is the absence of public health campaigns that educate people about the negative consequences of consuming alcohol. Other factors include depressed economies, high poverty rates and cultural attitudes.

Why production of alcohol should be controlled

Speaking with the , Alcohol and Drug Information Center (ADIC) CEO Pubudu Sumanasekera highlighted that Sri Lankas alcohol industry was trying to manipulate the Government policies on alcohol and adjust them according to their wishes.

The matter is that the policies and laws pertaining to alcohol that are placed before the alcohol manufactures are taken for granted without being taken into consideration. That is the way the issue has transpired. If the Government controls the production and the distribution of alcohol in an efficient manner, the issue of consumption of liquor can be addressed with ease, Sumanasekera opined.

As we have observed, the alcohol industry of Sri Lanka is trying to take over the controlling of policies by the Government instead of carrying them out. If this continues, protecting Sri Lanka from this alcohol hazard will remain a dream, he added.

He suggested that the alcohol industry should work in collaboration with the Government in view of finding better solutions to end the excessive consumption of alcohol in Sri Lanka.

How about the tax reduction on beer

The 2018 Budget reduced excise taxes on strong beer by 40% and raised taxes on hard liquor by 2%. The Budget also introduced a nation building tax of 2% on all alcoholic beverage sales with effect from April this year. Different people comment differently on the decision taken by the Government. Some seem to be positive whereas others seem to be negative. Thus, it is essential to talk on this topic using different perspectives.

With the latest tax revisions, barring further changes, the market share for beer in Sri Lanka, as calculated by Fitch, is expected to increase by 24%-25% in the medium term, posting an average volume growth of 22% over 2017-2019.

Sumanasekera said that the proposals of the Budget 2018 to decrease the tax on beer by 40% and to issue licenses to sell alcohol with a new strategy, would bring tragedy to the country.

He said that although the reduction of tax on beer was done in view of promoting the tourism industry and discouraging the consumption of moonshine (Kasippu), it would not in anyway contribute to the efforts in attracting foreigners nor reducing the consumption of moonshine.

The introduction of a new flexible procedure to issue license would provide more room for anyone to start a liquor shop and consequently the consumption of alcohol would rapidly rise in Sri Lanka. We cannot fathom as to why the Finance Minister has made such proposals to which the consent wasnt received from both President and the Minister of Health, said Sumanasekera.

He further said that the system of monopoly in the tobacco industry in Sri Lanka might change with permission given to new tobacco companies to import liquor from abroad with the easy access of possessing licenses.

Meanwhile Dr. Fernando criticized the Governments decision to revise the opening hours of all liquor stores. Although President Sirisena abolished the gazette notification pertaining to the opening hours of all liquor stores, the decision itself by the Ministry of Finance was stupid.

Overcoming this menace

The current alcohol use among males has increased in comparison to the prevalence observed in 2008 (34.8% in 2015 and 26.0% in 2008).This is an alarming issue and it is necessary to voice the need to evaluate the current strategies and policies in view of implementing an accelerated programme.

It is estimated that 16.8% of males adults had indulged in binge drinking (six or more drinks on a single occasion and at least once during a month) compared to only 0.1 % of the females who binge drink. This underscores the need to adapt the current programmes to address these critical issues.

National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) Chairman Dr. Palitha Abeykoon told the that the per capita consumption of liquor in Sri Lanka is 3.5 litres per year and added that it is comparatively higher than other countries.

It is appropriate to decrease or discourage the supply of alcohol by imposing higher taxes on the production of alcohol related beverages. On the other hand, the general public should be educated with regard to the consequences of consuming alcohol.

The awareness programmes should be commenced from school level and should continue from village to village. Special attention should be paid to prevent the youth and needy people from getting addicted to alcohol.

In conclusion, it is vital to realize the fact that the consumption of alcohol only drags us to the end of life and exposes us to harmful consequences. At the same time, the consumption of alcohol not only deteriorates your life, but also causes trouble to teetotalers. For example when a father returns home drunk daily and shouts at the members of the family, it would cause mental stress and irritation to the others. Likewise, those who dont consume alcohol would suffer at the hands of alcohol users. Therefore Sri Lankans should rethink of the use of alcohol and its repercussions and create an anti-alcohol society in Sri Lanka.
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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  The head of the Alaska LNG project said he's done trying to convince skeptics that the project is real and continuing to move forward.

Alaska Gasline Development Corp. President Keith Meyer told the audience at a public meeting in Anchorage last week that he's done preaching to the non-believers, Alaska's Energy Desk reported Thursday.





. . .
In September of 2017, Drexel University's College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) launched a major strategic initiative to grow the number of women students across the College. The Women in Computing Initiative is centered on the recruitment and retention of women in undergraduate majors, with the expressed goal of increasing women students in CCI by 50% in five years. To achieve this objective, CCI is poised to lead a cadre of partners at this seminal moment in the history of technology and education.Former women's lacrosse player Denise Elbert, has been chosen as the fourth Spotlight Female Student Athlete for the Women in Computing Initiative. Denise was a member of the women's lacrosse team and graduated from Drexel in 1985 with a bachelor of science in computer science. Her skills learned while a Dragon are a major contribution to her successful career. Out of college she started working at Johns Hopkins University in the Applied Physics Laboratory. While at Johns Hopkins she worked on projects involving submarine and space data analysis. She spent 10 years at the Applied Physics Laboratory before moving back to New Jersey to start a new journey at Lockheed Martin.Denise has been with Lockheed Martin since 1995 in the Software Engineering Department. The team skills and leadership she obtained as part of the women's lacrosse team were recognized when she was honored with the Unsung Hero Award. These skills helped her excel while working on the aegis program and many other naval software projects. She has been recognized for her accomplishments by her peers and the Vice President of the Software Engineering department. Denise has worked with many Drexel graduates throughout her career and is proud to be an Alumnae of Drexel and CCI.As one of the major and most comprehensive Information Technology (now Computing Security & Technology) programs in the country, Drexel University's College of Computing & Informatics (CCI) is uniquely positioned to provide a sustainable and scalable solution to the persistent lack of women in computing. CCI features a rich portfolio of academic programs in computer science, software engineering, data science, information systems, information science and cyber security with a large, dedicated, world-class faculty. Situated in an industrial and technological hub and the 5th largest city in the nation, Drexel offers tremendous opportunities for students in computing and informatics. For more information on the Women in Computing Campaign please visit http://drexel.edu/cci/resources/women-in-computing/
Follow your dreams. It may sound like a cliche, but thats exactly what this successful mother and business owner did.

Skye Anderton had a dream of owning her own business when she was just fifteen. Jewellery was her passion, a passion that eventually drove her to start a successful jewellery brand. She formed Ruby Olive four years ago, spearheading a jewellery and accessories brand that now distributes to over 100 retail stores around Australia and directly to customers online.

I started designing jewellery and handbags and selling them at local markets when I was 18, Skye tells Dynamic Business. That was my first taste of having my own business; it was very local, very small. I decided that I really wanted to expand it, but I didnt have the skills or experience.

She moved to London with her husband, her boyfriend at the time, at 22. The intended one-year stay turned to eight, a period of time that enabled Anderton to earn experience in the business industry. She became a buyer for a large retailer, working with a budget of over eight million pounds.

Before long, Skye and her husband decided to return to Australia to start a family, but not before going on a trip to Africa.

It was actually in the Serengeti that I pretty much made my business plan. While camping, using scrap pieces of paper and a little diary, I started writing down all the things I wanted to do. I didnt know what I was going to call it, didnt know how it was going to evolve, I just knew that I really wanted to start when I got back.

While Ruby Olive has grown successfully over the last four years, allowing Skye to spearhead Lola & Gem Jewellery on the side, she admits that it hasnt been easy. Many of the issues, she says, come from the lack of support that can arise when starting a business.

Everyone used to say to me that I wouldnt earn any money in the first year. A lot of people didnt think I was serious about what I was doing. They saw me as a student that left at 22 to go the UK and was now back starting a business. They thought it was just a bit of a hobby, Skye says.

I made a profit after the first year. It wasnt a huge profit, lets be honest. But I thought if I could make a profit after the first year then Id have some room to move.

Not only has Ruby Olive seen growth in size and revenue, Skye herself is receiving recognition as an entrepreneur and woman in business. Skye has been nominated in the Young Business Womens Award category at this years Telstra Business Womens Awards, an accolade that Skye calls humbling.

Ive never really thought about going for awards or accolades. Im just so passionate about what I do, so for some to call me an entrepreneur  and for an organisation I respect to nominate me  I just felt truly humbled. Im quite excited.

Skye says that while there are prejudices surrounding women in business, being a woman and a mother of two brings up separate issues.

A lot of people dont take mums seriously, she says. I have two children, and I think a lot of people assume that mums have stay-at-home jobs or just hobby-type jobs. Thats fabulous for mums that choose to do that, but I have come up against negativity about being a woman and a mother.

Skye makes sure to point out that there are positive aspects of being a woman in the business industry, referring to the support of other business women.

The positive thing about being a woman in business is that theres an amazing community that is incredibly supportive. I think women genuinely want to help other women in business. Many of these women have children, and its empowering to know that you can have both. You can have a successful business and be a successful mother.

Taking care of her family and managing two businesses ensures that Skye is incredibly busy, but dont assume that being this busy is in any way a bad thing.

Its a constant juggle. Its certainly not easy, but it is very rewarding, she says. I dont think Ive ever worked so much in my entire life as I have in the last three years of being a mum and a business owner, but I dont think Ive ever been quite as happy. Im the happiest Ive ever been in my life.
The Guangzhou Port will be a crucial part of the world-class shipping hub of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the city strives to build the Guangzhou Free Trade Port by 2020, according to an action plan recently released by the municipal government.

According to the Three-Year Action Plan on Building the Guangzhou International Shipping Hub (2018-2020), the southern Chinese city will focus on developing water tourism and the water leisure industry. It will formulate a medium and long term plan for the cruise ship industry, striving to build a national cruise tourism development experimental zone. The city will also encourage overseas cruise companies to open more routes in Guangzhou and provide more tourism resources in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Guangzhou will also strengthen its efforts to develop the yacht leisure industry and build first-rate water tourism brands with global influence. It will work hard to promote the free travel of yachts between Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao and improve the entry and exit management of yachts to ensure that they can enter Guangzhou visa-free for 15 days.

The action plan also revealed Guangzhou's determination to build the Guangzhou Free Trade Port and become more open to the outside world. It will strive to increase its clearance efficiency and build "digital checkpoints", ensuring that the customs clearance services at Nansha Port are available around the clock.

By 2020, Guangzhou will have invested 100 billion yuan ($15.8 billion) in its port and shipping projects and the port will be able to process an additional 30 million tons of cargo and 5 million TEUs. By that time, the cargo-handling capacity of Guangzhou Port will stand at 650 million tons, with containers making up over 60 percent of the total. There will be 120 international cargo ship routes operating between Guangzhou and the world and the city's total number of enterprises in the port and shipping industry will reach 60,000.

In the future, Guangzhou will also enhance multimodal shipping, building sea-air transport channels and railway-water transport hubs. The city will increase efforts to build fast channels connecting Nansha Port with Guangzhou's neighboring cities and cut down expressway costs for logistics companies.

Containers are discharged from cargo ships at Guangzhou Port. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]






By CAL Watchdog , May 13 , 2018





California regulators on Wednesday approved a first-in-the-nation plan to mandate the installation of solar panels on all new homes beginning in 2020.





The move was approved with a 5-0 vote by the California Energy Commission, in what supporters of solar energy are hailing as a monumental moment.

Read More:



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By The Hill , May 13 , 2018





Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said in an interview aired Sunday that President Trump's tweets and tough rhetoric caught the attention of North Korea.





"I think the president's tough talk and the willingness of the Chinese and the Russians to agree to the toughest sanctions we've ever really applied to North Korea certainly increased the pressure on the North Koreans to come to the table," Gates told CBS's Margaret Brennan on "Face the Nation" ahead of a planned summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. "So, I think that's an important piece of it."

Read More:



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Saudi Arabia condemned Israel without mentioning Jerusalem

Saudi Arabia condemned on Monday Israeli forces targeting of Palestinian civilians by maintaining its silence over the inauguration of the controversial US embassy in Jerusalem.

Saudi Arabia condemned the "targeting of unarmed Palestinians" in a statement from its Foreign Ministry while Qatar decried "the brutal massacre and systematic killing committed by the Israeli occupation forces."

US EMBASSY IN JERUSALEM WASN'T MENTIONED

"Saudi Arabia strongly condemns the Israeli occupation forces' gunfire against unarmed Palestinian civilians which has left dozens of dead and wounded" a Saudi foreign ministry spokesperson said.In the statement, it wasnt mentioned the opening of the controversial US embassy in Jerusalem, which also took place on Monday.

Saudi Arabia and Israel have no formal diplomatic relations, but their ties have improved recently as the two close ranks with the US against their shared enemy, Iran.

At least 58 Palestinians have been martyred and over 2.700 others injured by Israeli army forces deployed along the Gaza border, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Lethal Weapon star Damon Wayans is wading into the drama over the controversial firing of his former co-star, Clayne Crawford.

The actor shared incriminating evidence with his Twitter followers.

Setting The Record Straight

Crawford was fired from the hit Fox cop drama and replaced with American Pie actor Seann William Scott in the heels of its third season renewal.

Wayans, who is returning, took to social media to weigh in on the ongoing issues surrounding Crawford and his shock departure from the show.

He shared a graphic video on Twitter, showing an incident on the set during an episode of the show directed by Crawford.

The footage shows Wayans, who plays Roger Murtaugh, getting hit in the back of the head by some flying shrapnel. He ducks and then grabs his head, in obvious pain.

@ClayneCrawford Now that the fate of the show is solidified.. Id like to address the TWITTER outrage with this video and image to follow. #directedby pic.twitter.com/ONDVAWjjQu  Damon Wayans (@DamonkWayans) May 15, 2018

Wayans included a message to Lethal Weapon viewers who are unhappy about Crawford's firing. Given Crawford's alleged bad behavior, Wayans states that the move is justified.

An Emotional Terrorist

The actor later shared a graphic photo of the resulting cut on his head, with a trickle of blood clearly visible, the implication being that safety on-set wasn't a priority for Crawford.

A subsequent tweet suggested that multiple injuries occurred while his former co-star was in charge, for which Wayans and other cast and crew members received no apologies from Crawford.

Wayans later shared an image of a sticker describing Crawford as an emotional terrorist. The actor also punched someone in the mouth with a bottle, Wayans added. He claims there is a file full of documented incidents.

The hit cop show, a spinoff of the Mel Gibson-Danny Glover buddy cop movie of the same name, was renewed on Sunday with Scott stepping in to replace Crawford. He will likely play the brother to Crawford's character, Riggs.

A Pattern Of Bad Behavior

Crawford received multiple reprimands for his behavior, but he did not change his conduct. Warner Bros. confirmed his dismissal in a short statement.

The actor, a relative unknown prior to his casting as Riggs, apologized online but blamed unsafe working conditions as the reason he lost his temper on set.

"I absolutely love, respect and care for my crew and cast, and would never intentionally jeopardize so many jobs. I am incredibly sorry if my passion for doing good work has ever made anyone feel less than comfortable on our set, or feel less than celebrated for their efforts," he wrote.

His bad behavior left the future of the show, a major hit for Fox, up in the air. Crawford congratulated the cast and crew of Lethal Weapon on social media on Sunday on the third season renewal.
In March 2017, the four most powerful Jihadi organizations in the Sahel, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Ansar al-Din, Al-Mourabitoun and Katibat Macina, merged together and formed the Jamaa Nusrat al-Islam wa al-Muslimin (JNIM), also known as Group in Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), under the leadership of Iyad Ag Ghali. This unification means an end of their division into multiple factions, which has long characterized the Jihadi organizations in this region, and a birth of what can be considered a terrorist super-group and one of the most powerful Al-Qaeda affiliates so far.

The creation of the GSIM is especially dangerous, since the Sahelian region consists of weak states that are unable to suppress the Jihadi threat. Libya, which still is a collapsed state, is considered a safe haven for Jihadi organizations, in spite of the presence of the international forces. Even more dangerous is the presence of an affiliate of the Islamic State, the Islamic State in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) led by Abu Walid al-Sahrawi, an organization which, although on the surface appearing to be the main rival of the GSIM, has been following a strategy of rapprochement with Iyad Ag Ghali.

France and its regional allies in the Sahel, namely Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, have responded to this mounting threat by creating the so-called G5 Sahel whose main purpose is to install a better cooperation between its members in order to counter this rise of the Jihadi threat. However, after one year of existence, G5 Sahel has proved largely ineffective, while at the same time the Jihadi organizations have multiplied their attacks all over the region and strengthened their presence.

The G5 Sahel is a relatively new organization based on negotiations between the European Union states, mainly France, with its members focusing on fighting terrorism and illegal immigration. According to several observers, the organization currently suffers from a lack of funding. The financial needs of this group are quite demanding, especially when we factor in the poverty and weakness of its states. The international community is simply tired of financing an additional initiative after years, which yielded very few results at a very high cost.

Another problem is the refusal of the major regional powers, especially Algeria, to join the organization or to intervene militarily in the region. Algiers simply does not believe that this initiative will solve the problems. Instead, it calls for dialogues with non-Jihadi organizations of the region to satisfy the legitimate demands from the local populations as well as the strengthening of state capacities, namely control of the borders, security services, economic development etc. With regards to any possible military intervention in the Sahel, Algiers has repeatedly made it very clear that, due to constitutional, historical and doctrinal reasons, the Algerian army will not conduct any operation outside of its borders. This means that Algeria is ready to collaborate as long as it doesnt have to commit to any military action.

Ever since the end of 2017 or early 2018, the defeat of ISIS in the Middle East has led to a shift in power in the Sahel region. Indeed, many point to the risk posed by the return of the North African fighters from the Middle East, warning that some of these individuals may join the GSIM or ISGS in Libya and train the jihadi organizations there.

In fact, there have been rumors lately of a rapprochement between the GSIM and the ISGS and also that a meeting has already taken place between Sahrawi and Iyad Ag Ghali. While a unification of these two organizations  GSIM or ISGS  seems highly unlikely, mainly due to their ideological differences, a possible collaboration is not really off the cards. Despite the efforts of the G5 to strengthen its hand, the results on the ground remain extremely poor and the states of the region are still unable to counter the Jihadi threat.

The Transmutation of Jihadi Organizations in the Sahel and the Regional Security Architecture  Research Paper by Djallil Lounnas  Barcelona Centre for International Affairs / CIDOB.

(The Research Paper can be downloaded here)
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke about a moral commitment to Europe in his speech while accepting the Charlemagne Prize during an award ceremony in Aachen, Germany, on 10 May. In his speech, Mr. Macron was emphasizing the need for unity, courage and action as well as the rational imperatives that would set a moral path for the future of the EU. He drew on German philosopher Immanuel Kant when talking about the unconditional moral laws and universal maxims applying to everyone.

The Charlemagne Prize is an award for work done in the service of European unification and, referring to the resurrection of the European dream, President Macron pointed out that the dream of a united Europe has been cast in doubt  It is up to us to decide whether we let it live or leave it to die. Mr. Macrons first imperative is the need for choice, in order to ensure European sovereignty. We want to choose for ourselves, we are the guardians of multilateralism, he said.

Aachens mayor Marcel Philipp welcomed the French President in the city and praised him for providing the most momentum for Europe while stressing the need for a commitment to Europe especially among young people. We need to commit to Europe, not saying anything is unacceptable, said Mr. Philipp. German Chancellor Merkel also welcomed President Macron and in her speech, she focused on democracy while calling for a common migration policy, a progress on the banking and monetary union as well as the establishment of a European university. Speaking of foreign policy, Ms. Merkel said that Europe has to take its fate into its own hands. It is its duty!
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Celebrity Fight Night(WASHINGTON) -- Smokey Robinson and the Miracles recorded hits like Shop Around, I Second That Emotion, and Tears of a Clown. But those classic tunes don't enjoy the same copyright protections as songs recorded after 1972 and digital streaming services and stations aren't required pay royalties for playing the music.



"Those happen to be some of the biggest records Ive ever been associated with and to not be paid because they were prior to 1972 is ludicrous as far as Im concerned," Robinson told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. "A lot of work went into making those songs, not just from the artists, but from the musicians, the writers, the producers and people who were involved in making them and they deserve to be compensated."



He said musicians that recorded before February 15, 1972, which is when federal copyright protections kick in, deserve the same compensation as those that recorded after that date.



The 78-year-old Robinson was on Capitol Hill testifying in favor of the Music Modernization Act, a bill that would change music licensing rules to fit with the digital era.



The bill would create a new system for digital music that would change how digital music companies obtain a license for songs and ensure songwriters are paid royalties, add copyright protection for recordings made prior to 1972, and establish a way for producers, mixers, and engineers who worked on recordings to apply for a share of the royalties. The House passed a similar measure last month.



I know a lot of musicians and producers and writers who are, who have fallen on hard times, and who could really use that money," Robinson told the committee.



Legendary artists Dionne Warwick, Mary Wilson and Darlene Love were also in the audience for the hearing.



Senators on both sides of the aisle gushed over Robinsons appearance  posting photos of themselves with him on social media.



Those Motown hits were literally the soundtrack of my life and they inspired me and lifted me up, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said. The day we get to say I love you back and forth to Smokey Robinson in a Judiciary Committee hearing is a very good day.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Refugee flows through Greece has picked up again, UNHCR data showed. Last month alone, almost 3,000 people entered the country via land, most of them coming from Syria and Iraq. The UN agency assumes that the increase in arrivals is the result of the latest tensions in the Greek-Turkish relations. Greece moreover suspects that Turkish border guards might have started to care less about the crossings into Greece with the aim to put pressure on Athens and Brussels about the EUs indefinite postponement of visa liberalization for Turkish citizens. To address the new migratory pressure, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency  or Frontex  is ready to support the land border between Greece and Turkey.

Between January and April this year, a total of 7,300 people entered Greece, compared to 4,761 arrivals counted last year, the International Organization for Migration data (IOM) reported. Since the beginning of this year, the IOM reported almost 19,000 arrivals to Europe compared to around 44,600 during the same period last year. In 2016, during the peak of the migration crisis, more than 172,000 refugees arrived in Greece, while in 2015 that number was as high as 872,519.

Currently, more than 13,500 refugees are housed in three Greek islands in temporary facilities with the capacity for only 5,500 people. Over-concentration of people creates complex situations that are hard to describe, Christiana Kalogirou, the Governor of the North Aegean Region, said. For three years now, in the North Aegean islands, weve been experiencing all the consequences, both in our everyday life and in our wider economic activity. Consequences that day by day become structural and make the management of the situation even more difficult, she explained.
Paris faced another act of terror in which a French national of Chechen origin stabbed one person to death and wounded four others near the Palais Garnier, the Parisian ballet and opera house in an opulent neighborhood packed with bars and restaurants. Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim region on the south of Russia, has been a major source of foreign fighters for the Islamic State and other Jihadist organizations. Western security officials have been concerned about the radicalization among Chechens living in the United States and Europe.

French investigators are treating the assault as a terrorist attack. Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said the perpetrator yelled Allahu Akbar!  God is great  in Arabic before the stabbing. Police shot and killed the attacker shortly after the assault started. Police also said that the man had previously been blacklisted as a potential risk in one of Frances security databases, where the government keeps records of those who express sympathy for radical Islam.

France has been mired by terrorist attacks and thus put on high alert since the January 2015 terrorist attack at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo. In November 2015, Jihadist militants killed 130 people in and around Paris in what was one of the worst terrorist attacks in European history. The Opera House stabbing is another in a series of attacks in which perpetrators planned their assaults by themselves, which makes it difficult for authorities to prevent violent acts committed by suspected radicals. France once again pays the price of blood but wont give an inch to the enemies of liberty, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.
The United States yesterday (14 May) opened its relocated embassy in Jerusalem to fulfill the promise of Donald Trump to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem despite fierce criticism from European and Arab leaders. Critics are worried that the decision will only dial up tensions and hamper any future peace negotiations. Palestinians are now refusing to meet the Trump administration, saying they do not see the United States as the main broker of peace negotiations anymore.

In defiance to this reaction, the White House said it would move forward with its still-secret road map to secure what Donald Trump called the ultimate deal for the Middle East peace process. The peace process is most decidedly not dead, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo commented, adding that were hard at work on it. We hope we can achieve a successful outcome there as well. Washington claims that recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital is only recognizing the reality on the ground. Israels parliament, the Knesset, is located in Jerusalem but the international community doesnt recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The opening gala of the event was boycotted by most European Union ambassadors in Israel. About 30 of the 86 ambassadors in Israel accepted the invitation to the Foreign Ministry but only four EU countries took part in the ceremony  Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Romania. European foreign ministries slammed the embassy relocation saying the decision violates international law and is overall unwise. The embassy move did not initially spark much violence but it has now triggered protests in the Gaza Strip where as many as 61 Palestinians have died in clashes with Israeli armed forces.
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Electricity Tariffs - EAC recently removed one of the meters used for my previous off-peak tariff . They have revised their tariff structuring so you have 01, 02 (with off-peak) and 08 for disadvantaged people. They obviously thought that no one wiould go for the 2-meters off-peak option (with very resticted off-peak hours, miniscule reduction in off-peak rate)! They must have "lost their shirt" in previuos years! Check the tariffs on their website.
Hi ,



Thanks "twowheelsgood" for your suggestion.

I had referred few prospectus and i found UOWD the best among them. In University of Wollongong in Dubai , they offer many other courses too. After referring all top colleges and courses offered , i will finalize.



If anyone have any suggestion regarding this university please share..



Thank You.
Hello everyone,



This is my first post, so I hope it's in the right place!



Our family are intending to move to Dubai next year for work.



We have 2 children aged 8 and 6.



I've heard from a UK Expat friend living in Dubai that Primary schooling is good but he wouldn't recommend the Secondary schooling. He is coming back to the UK when his kids reach Secondary school age to have them schooled here.



I would appreciate your views and experiences with the standards of Primary and Secondary schools in Dubai vs. the UK.



To clarify, I am talking about private British schools.



Many thanks in advance,



Mehmet
Thanks Bevdeforges, this was really helpful. I think I may need to see for myself as you suggested, maybe rent a car for a weekend and walk around these neighborhoods could be a good ideaOne remaining question, regarding maternelle schools, is there any of these neighborhoods you would suggest for a 3yo boy (going to 4yo in November) who can only understand Portuguese (and some minimal English, like numbers and colors, due to some cartoons we present him since early)? I mean, I want my boy to learn French as soon as possible, but I imagine his integration will not be easy since he does not understand a single word in French. How should I select the neighborhood using "integration easiness" asa criteria? Or, instead, should I not be concerned on this?In addition, my wife speaks very little French, she studied it for one year on Alliance Francaise here in Brazil. In the first moment, she is going to study French, as she wants in the future to do a professional MSc to be able to work as an audiologist in France. Are there any good French courses nearby in Essonne for expats, either in public or private institutions, where she can study? How much does these cost?Thanks in advance!
ezhejiang.gov.cn

The first Exposition on China Indigenous Brand is held in Shanghai from May 10 to 12. [Photo/cztv.com]

A total of 35 enterprises from Zhejiang province showcased their latest technologies and products at the Exposition on China Indigenous Brand in Shanghai from May 10 to 12.

The Zhejiang delegation, made up of 30 renowned homegrown companies and five innovative ones with great development potential, included the e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Hikvision Digital Technology, the silk products manufacturer Wensli Group and SUPCON, a leading provider of automation and information technology, products and solutions.

At the expo, Alibaba displayed an intelligent dressing mirror which was able to present a virtualized model after fetching body data with its camera. It enabled people to try on different clothes within a short time.

At Wensli Group's booth, a staff member called Li Yujie introduced the most advanced printing technology in the world and displayed a silk scarf with different patterns on both sides.

"Behind the scarf, there's a management system which combines big data and intelligent manufacturing," Li said, adding that some world-class brands such as Louis Vuitton are keen to cooperate with the group.

During the three-day exposition, Zhejiang also organized four themed activities with a series of interactive games to showcase the province's latest achievements in the information sector, intelligent manufacturing, profound culture and future technologies.

The China Indigenous Brand Exposition was co-hosted by seven national ministries and commissions, and the Shanghai government. It was the first expo of its kind in China and was a key event for China Brand Day which falls on May 10 every year. It was aimed at promoting the status and influence of China's indigenous brands by displaying their achievements.

Visitors to the Exposition on China Indigenous Brand in Shanghai look into the dressing mirror developed by Zhejiang-based Alibaba Group. [Photo/cztv.com]

A staff member from Zhejiang's famous silk products maker Wensli Group showcases a silk scarf made with the most advanced printing technology at the expo in Shanghai on May 10. [Photo/cztv.com]
Failte Ireland Holds Customer Experience Summit for 200 Businesses

Wowing visitors with unforgettable experiences and delivering world-class customer care to increase business are the themes of Failte Irelands Wow Visitors: Win Business Customer Experience Summit held this morning (15th May) at the Guinness Storehouse. Representatives from over 200 tourism businesses heard from a panel of international and national experts on the latest in international visitor trends and how exceptional customer service can provide a competitive edge for tourism businesses.Chief Executive of Failte Ireland, Paul Kelly, said that the conference was organised as part of the Agencys strategy to support the tourism industry with ongoing professional business development and training. He added:Todays event is aimed at providing tourism businesses with the latest trends and insights from the marketplace that they can incorporate into their business. As we face Brexit and other competitive challenges, it becomes more important than ever to develop those extraordinary, brilliant and unforgettable experiences that visitors want. Ireland as a destination is certainly able to compete in delivering memorable experiences to visitors and today we are looking to bolster what we can offer.Speakers at the conference included: Daniel Levine, Founding Director of New York-based trends consultancy Avant-Guide, and global editor of WikiTrends who discussed the current major trends in travel and tourism and how social media influences business success. (Watch video clip HERE ). Eric Cosset, Director Park Operations, Product Integration and Development at Disneyland Resort, Paris provided an overview of how Disneyland Paris became a world-renowned model for customer experience and service excellence. Paul Carty, General Manager of the Guinness Storehouse, spoke about consistently delivering memorable experiences and how to improve performance. (Watch video clip HERE ). Niamh OShea, General Manager of the Killarney Park Hotel, highlighted how delivering exceptional customer experiences links directly to results. (Watch video clip HERE ).Failte Ireland brought together this panel of international and national experts to provide the latest in international visitor trends and to help tourism businesses use these insights to become more innovative, relevant and profitable. The Irish tourism industry is playing a vital economic role with over 235,000 people employed in the sector and with visitors spending 7.2 billion last year.Speaking at todays conference, panellist Daniel Levine emphasised that:"Change in tourism is happening faster than ever and businesses need to be able to adapt. Using todays visitor and consumer trends can create tomorrows solutions.Speaking about the conference, Michael Lennon, President of the Irish Hotels Federations said that he was delighted to attend the Customer Experience Summit and the issues of customer focus and putting the visitor at the centre of everything a business does are vital for the continued success of the hospitality and hotel industry.The entire tourism sector, whether resorts, destinations, accommodation or activity providers, are in it together. By developing our local networks and sharing what works with each other, we can ensure continued growth and success. To do so, we must however remain authentic and true to the business. In many ways, we are all cast members with storytelling at the core of building those very memorable and enjoyable experiences for visitors.Also attending was Will Lynch, General Manager at the Coolmine Equestrian Centre, who added:I found the content of the conference really beneficial especially as we head into the busy season as I feel that it will help me to refocus my efforts. It was great also to hear from the experts on the top trends in the tourism and travel sector.Insights and topics covered today included: Visitors want easy experiences: Best modern practice is to make the entire customer journey accessible, convenient and seamless. Visitors want to share their experiences: Helping visitors to connect can help towards business success. The power of face-to-face encounters: Investing in and empowering employees can ensure better engagement with visitors. Trends are all about responding to change: Stay aware of what your customers are saying and the use of technology can be greatly beneficial and progress should be embraced. Visitors want transparency: Show the story behind your visitor experience and take a fresh look at what you do.The tourism sector needs to continuously identify factors that can set Ireland apart and allow it to excel in the provision of customer service and to differentiate itself from its international competition. Todays meeting emphasised that if visitors leave having enjoyed excellent and memorable experiences they are more likely to return and indeed make recommendations for others to visit.

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Canadas Farm Progress Show is proud to introduce the 2nd annual Empowering Women Conference on Friday, June 22

By Sarah Grandy, Farms.com

Empowering women will be a special focus of this years Canadas Farm Progress Show, an annual gathering of producers, manufactures and buyers that highlights the latest innovations in dryland farming.

This years event features the second annual Empowering Women Conference, an extremely popular show-within-the-show that aims to help women enhance their family lives, communities, careers and the industry as a whole.

Last years Empowering Women Conference sold out, said Shirley Janeczko, manager of Canadas Farm Progress Show. So, we thought we would continue with the same message for all the females that attend our show. Our survey indicates that 40 per cent of the attendees are female, so its definitely a demographic that we want to reach out to and ensure that they have added value for when they come to the show.

Women fill vital roles throughout the agriculture

Women fill vital roles throughout the agriculture industry, serving as partners, decision makers and on production lines. There is a growing awareness of womens essential contributions and the show is a great way to spread the word.

I think its time to recognize the growing number of women in this industry, said Janeczko. Women are no longer just on the farm, in the house taking care of the kids. Theyre partners, theyre working on the farm and theyre involved in their farming business. They are key decision makers, and its time that they are recognized and celebrated for that.

Janeczko grew up on a farm in Saskatchewan and has always had an interest in agriculture. She has been planning Canadas Farm Progress Show for the last 12 years. She carefully selected four women to speak during the Empowering Women Conference and believes they have powerful messages for women all over the world.

Val Michaud

Val Michaud was born and raised on a farm in the small community of Gravelbourg, Sask., and is no stranger to agriculture.

In 2011, the entrepreneur took ownership of Gravelbourg Mustard and also appeared on the popular show Dragons Den in December 2017.

Im very grateful for the responses that Ive been getting from other people about the product, said Michaud. I know myself that its a great product, but its just so rewarding to hear that confirmation from others that they love the product just as much as I do.

Michaud started out with just four recipes and has grown the line to nine different types of mustard, three different types of dry formulated mustard, and a salad dressing.

Seventy-five to 80 per cent of mustard grown in Canada is grown here in Saskatchewan, and 40 to 50 [per cent] of the worlds [mustard] is grown here in Saskatchewan. Im proud to be keeping that resource here in Saskatchewan, said Michaud.

Michaud hopes to inspire other women at the conference to face their fears and pursue their dreams, even if they seem unreachable.

If I can be some sort of inspiration to anyone that would be great, said Michaud. Im looking forward to talking to women and making sure their dreams are recognizedwhile empowering them somehow and telling them that there really isnt much that we cant accomplish.

The conference will also provide women with an hour of networking, where they can interact with the speakers while enjoying wine and cheese, courtesy of Willow Park and Sask Milk.

I believe the speakers I have lined up have a very, very powerful message for our audience on how to be empowered, concluded Janeczko.

The Empowering Women Conference will take place on June 22, 2018, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., in the Mosaic Stadium in the prestigious AGT lounge. Tickets are $35, and the purchase price includes admission to Canadas Farm Progress Show.

Lesley Kelly

From her snack food company to her blog and podcast to the marketing side of things, Lesley Kelly is all about agriculture. I love the industry, she said. I think its one of the best industries out there, and its because of our people. Our people are our greatest assets.

Kelly was raised on a 6,000-acre farm in in Watrous, Sask. Her family farmed canola, wheat, lentils, flax, oats and canary seed. A few years back, Kelly created a blog with the vision of building community and creating conversation around agriculture. High Heels in Canola Fields has provided her opportunities to venture out into more writing, photography and podcastingall about agriculture.

Our industry is diverse, broad, and also deep and rich, said Kelly. We are in so many amazing things, whether its food, fuel, or so much more. Thats why I love agriculture. Im continuously learning.

Kelly will be speaking about mental health in agriculture and how it has affected her familys journey. Right now, some of the people in our industry are hurting, she said. We can all have a very large impact to help change the culture in ag[riculture]. We can just do a few simple things to have a major positive impact on mental health.

Kelly hopes to inspire attendees to take care of those suffering with mental health, and also encourage women to follow their dreams and pursue a career in agriculture.

I had no idea of the amount of careers there were in agriculture, or how broad you could go, said Kelly. A career in agriculture can range from technology, science and animal health, to crops, marketing communications and accounting.

Kelly was president of the Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian Agri-Marketing Association (CAMA); part of the Do More Agriculture Foundation; and has always held a position in agriculture marketing.

In my spare time I try to promote the industry to consumers where I can, said Kelly.

Kelly has a powerful message to everyone attending the conference: Follow your heart and passions and the rest will follow.

Melissa Coomber-Bendsten

Melissa Coomber-Bendsten is the CEO of YWCA Regina, and has been working in the community for the last 20 years. Coomber-Bendsten recently began working with women and families who are dealing with homelessness and domestic violence.

The connection for me with agriculture is about rural women who have experienced violence or who find themselves potentially homeless because of that violence, she said. Its such an isolating thing that, more often than not, it means that women lose their community and lose their support.

Saskatchewan has the highest rate of intimate partner violence in all the provinces, and that has continued year after year, added Coomber-Bendsten. When I think about why is that happening, or what does that look like, I realize that part of it is that we dont have an understanding that its even occurring.

Coomber-Bendsten said that people within these communities often dont realize the amount of domestic violence that takes place. She hopes to raise awareness about the issue and empower women to come together as community members to help alleviate some of the isolation around the issue.

The stats show us that police calls for domestics happen throughout all jurisdictions equally. There are no hotspots in the province. This is an equal distribution. So, I think its really important for people to know that it is in their community and it is happening at an alarming rate and increasing, said Coomber-Bendsten.

I think that my message is about the importance of taking responsibility for our community and acknowledging the connections that women have for one another and the kind of support systems they can be for one another, she added. When we acknowledge those things, I think we can ensure that it is a place that everybody is safe.

Coomber-Bendsten hopes to inform women from all over how to help those dealing with domestic violence. She said many people are unsure how to help, and she hopes to change that.

Barbara Stegemann

Well-known author and entrepreneur Barbara Stegemann is this years keynote speaker. Stegemann was featured on the CBC reality show Dragons Den for her empowerment book: 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen. She is empowering women all over the world to follow their dreams.

Barbara is known as one of the top game-changers in the history of Dragons Den, said Janeczko. She has a great story. Shes also been named one of Canadas top 100 most powerful women. So, were pretty excited to have her as our keynote speaker.

The Empowering Women Conference will be held on Friday, June 22, as part of Canadas Farm Progress Show at the AGT Lounge, Mosaic Stadium, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. The Price is $35 + fees (includes one-day admission to Canadas Farm Progress Show, and wine and cheese during the conference).

To purchase tickets, visit https://www.ticketmaster.ca/Empowering-Women-Conference-tickets/artist/2488044.

Click here to see more...
Launching the Agrotron 6 Series Maxi-Vision RC-Shift tractor at a dealer conference in Melbourne, Deutz-Fahr, general manager Australia, Doug Robinson, said the expanded Agrotron range was designed for the Australian market.

This enables us to meet all expectations on specifications with a high end, competitively priced tractor, he said.

Power Farming Group (PFG) has been the Australian distributor of Deutz-Fahr machinery for seven years.

PFG Australia, Deutz-Fahr product manager, Anthony Darveniza said the tractor was one of 12 six-cylinder models, new to Australia.

The new six-cylinder line-up consists of a 6G Power-Vision series and a 6 Maxi-Vision series, he said.

The Power-Vision is a more simplified version without the bells and whistles.

While the Maxi-Vision is a higher specification tractor.

Mr Darveniza said the launch of the Maxi-Vision RC-Shift also celebrated a new transmission offering.

The RC-shift is a mechanical power-shift gearbox with full automation, he said.

It has six power-shift gears and five ranges, all of which are done automatically, matched to load on the tractor and operation speed.

Mr Darveniza said the RC-Shift was very similar to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) but more mechanically minded.

This gives you a better price-point for the transmission, so it is better value.

Mr Darveniza said it would depend on the farmers individual operational needs and preferences which series was more suitable for their requirements.

We have a full range of tractors, from mechanical transmission to the high specification RC-Shift as well as our variable, he said.

The new six-cylinder line-up ranges from 105 to 168 kilowatts (141 to 226 horsepower).

Mr Darveniza said a defining feature of the Agrotron series is an engine which is AdBlue and diesel particulate filter free.

We have no emission regulation in Australia for agricultural tractors equipment, he said.

The factory has removed all the emission standard technology off the tractors.

We are not de-specifying the the engine, it is still the latest engine.

You dont have to add AdBlue, so you dont have issues arising from that.

The tractor also wont run as hot, as you dont have a diesel particulate filter.

Deutz-Fahr, export manager, Matteo Oreni said the tractors were produced in a 42,000 square metre factory in Germany, considered to be the most modern tractor factory in the world.
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We are dedicated to providing the reliable, local journalism you have come to expect. We are committed to serving you with renewed energy and growing resources. Let the Fauquier Times be your community companion throughout 2021, and for many years to come.
Lindsay Shookus finds it "strange" being in the spotlight now she is dating Hollywood star Ben Affleck.

Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus

The 37-year-old television producer was thrust into the public eye and in front of the camera when she started dating the 'Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice' star and she admits it makes her "laugh" to think she is considered to be a public figure.

She told the June issue of Elle magazine: "It's strange to me. My entire career has been behind the camera, and that's definitely where I'm most comfortable. I'm a producer, I'm a mom, a friend. Being considered a public figure honestly makes me laugh."

Ben started dating Lindsay following his split from his wife Jennifer Garner but they mainly keep their relationship as private.

Insisting the pair are "very much still together", a source shared: "They are very much still together. They're not rushing anything [but] enjoy each others company and are in a committed relationship."

Ben introduced his new beau to former flame Jennifer late last year.

An insider said at the time: "Ben and Lindsay looked so happy to finally be making their relationship legit with Jen. They've had to tiptoe around and Jen has resisted having the kids hang out with Lindsay. Ben was dressed up and seemed to really want to make a good impression on Jen - like how clean and healthy he looks. Lindsay looked a little nervous but was getting support from Ben."

It is thought the pair met in London over the summer, where Ben was working, and have enjoyed a number of dates together, including seeing Sam Mendes' play 'Ferryman' in the English capital.

A source said: "They are in the early stages [of their relationship]. It's more than a summer fling. They are having fun and care for each other. It's early and they are taking it slow."
Charlotte Crosby has revealed she lives with "death anxiety" which causes her to have an irrational fear of losing her life.

Charlotte Crosby

The 27-year-old reality star is widely known for her party-loving lifestyle, but Charlotte has now opened up about her battle with the condition, revealing her irrational fear of death is the "worst thing in the world" and has a negative effect on her life.

She shared: "I get this thing called death anxiety where I think I'm going to die. I'm so worried because I'm scared about dying and it's the worst thing in the world, I feel my heart pumping through my chest and feel like my whole body is empty because I'm so scared about dying. It's been going on since I was little."

Former 'Geordie Shore' star Charlotte also revealed that when she gets an anxiety attack she sometimes is left struggling to breathe.

And in the most extreme instances, Charlotte fears she will die.

Speaking to Heat magazine after pledging her support for the publication's 'Where's Your Head At?' - a campaign aiming to get a mental health first aider in every workplace or college - explained: "I don't know if it's anxiety or a panic attack because I suddenly feel like I can't breathe and sometimes I get so bad I feel like I'm going to die. I do also get times when I feel anxious but when I have something bad it's almost like a panic attack."

However, Charlotte has recently developed some mechanisms to help her cope with anxiety.

She said: "Because anxiety or a panic attack is in your head I think the best way to try and tackle it is to tell yourself something that is going to make yourself feel better... as soon as I get through that door and see me mam it will all be OK and I will feel safe, and that made me feel much better. But I had to tell myself that over and over again until I believe it."
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Ambienta, a Milan, Italy-based pan-European environmental growth investor, has closed its third fund, at 635m.

Ambienta III, which surpassed its original 500m target, received capital commitments from close to 50 global investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, fund of funds, banks and foundations.

Approximately 75% of the investor base came from continental Europe, 15% from the UK and 10% from the United States.

Led by Nino Tronchetti Provera, Managing Partner, Ambienta is an independent fund dedicated to private equity investments in companies underpinned by sustainable megatrends, notably resource efficiency and pollution control, combining financial returns with significant and quantifiable environmental impact.

With offices in Milan, Dusseldorf and London, to date the firm has invested in 26 companies in eight European countries with revenues across over 100 geographies.

FinSMEs

14/05/2018
AnyDesk, a Stuttgart, Germanybased remote desktop offering for todays workforce, raised a 6.5m Series A funding round.

The round was led by EQT Ventures with participation from angel investors Chris Hitchen and existing investor Andreas Burike.

The company intends to use the funds for product innovation and growth of its tech and sales teams.

Co-founded by Philipp Weiser, Olaf Liebe and Andreas Mahler, AnyDesk provides a remote desktop app featuring proprietary video codec for graphical user interfaces. As a result, users can experience higher quality video and sound, and image transmission optimized for low-bandwidth scenarios.

The company has already over 7,000 customers.

FinSMEs

15/05/2018
FE, a Woking, UK-based data, analytics and software vendor focused on the UK and Australian retail investment funds markets, received an investment from Hg.

The investment will be made from the Mercury 2 Fund.

The amount of the deal  whose completion is subject to regulatory approval  was not disclosed.

Founded by Michael Holland and Craig Wilson and led by Neil Bradford, FE is a provider of investment data, research and software to the financial services industry in the UK and operates a proprietary database of complete retail funds data with global coverage and history, built up over 20 years. It is used by hundreds of thousands of investors, advisers, asset managers and platforms.

FinSMEs

14/05/2018
Genoox, a Palo Alto, CA- based genomic analysis company, closed a $6m funding round.

The round was led by Triventures, joined by Inimiti Capital and Glilot Capital Partners. In conjunction with the funding, Dr. Peter Fitzgerald, Triventures co-founder and managing partner, and Genoox board member.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach to more medical facilities in U.S.

Led by Amir Trabelsi, co-founder and CEO, Genoox provides a cloud-based genomic analysis platform that allows doctors, clinicians and researchers to analyze and act on genetic sequencing results by applying various clinical applications.

The company serves such customers as medical centers and research facilities, including the Center for Genetic Medicine Research at Childrens National Medical Center and the University of Michigan. In April, Genoox partnered with Bionano Genomics to create an integrated platform that enhances the detection of disease-causing structural variants in DNA.

FinSMEs

15/05/2018
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HMD Global is all set to introduce Nokia X6, a new mid-range smartphone in the new X series in China tomorrow, May 16th. Name of the smartphone was confirmed recently, and the specifications of the smartphone were revealed by TENAA certification. Now the price and complete specifications of the phone have been revealed by early listing by online retailer Suning.

This also confirms 16-megapixel rear camera along with a 5-megapixel secondary rear camera, and it even has EIS. It has a 16-megapixel front camera with AI selfies with background blur, stickers and a 3060mAh battery with support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging that can charge from 0 to 50% in 30 minutes.

Nokia X6 rumored specifications

5.8-inch (2280  1080 pixels) Full HD+ display with 19:9 aspect ratio

1.8GHz Octa-Core Snapdragon 636 14nm Mobile Platform with Adreno 509 GPU

3GB LPDDR4 RAM with 32GB internal storage, 4GB / 6GB LPDDR4 RAM with 64GB internal storage, expandable memory up to 128GB with microSD

Hybrid Dual SIM (nano + nano / microSD)

Android 8.1 (Oreo)

16MP rear camera with LED flash, EIS, 5MP secondary rear camera

16MP front-facing camera

Fingerprint sensor

3.5 mm headphone jack

Dimensions: 147.270.987.99; Weight: 151g

4G VoLTE, WiFi 802.11 ac (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5, GPS + GLONASS

3060mAh (typical) / 3000mAh (minimum) battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging

The Nokia X6 is expected to come in Blue, Black and Silver colors and is said to be priced at 1499 yuan (US$ 236 / Rs. 15,980 approx.) for the 4GB RAM with 64GB storage version. We should know the price of all the versions when it goes official tomorrow. This will take on the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Asus Zenfone Max Pro M1, but we will have to wait to find out if the company is planning to launch the smartphone in India.

Source | Via
The Supreme Court said Monday that people who borrow rental cars from friends or family are generally entitled to the same protections against police searches as the authorized driver.

The justices ruled unanimously that as a general rule someone who is "in otherwise lawful possession and control of a rental car" has a reasonable expectation of privacy in the car even if the rental agreement doesn't list the person as an authorized driver. That means police can't generally search the car unless they have a warrant or what's called "probable cause" to believe a crime has been committed.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the court, noted there "may be countless innocuous reasons why an unauthorized driver might get behind the wheel of a rental car and drive it," including that the renter is drowsy or drunk and that the renter and a friend "think it is safer for the friend to drive them to their destination."

The Trump administration had argued that anyone driving a rental car but not listed on a rental agreement does not have an expectation of privacy in the car. That would mean that police who pulled over a rental car with an unauthorized driver could search the car without the person's consent. The Supreme Court rejected the government's argument, saying it "rests on too restrictive a view" of protections in the Fourth Amendment.

Attorneys arguing for protections for unauthorized drivers had noted that 115 million car rentals take place annually in the United States. They said that if the government won, police would have an incentive to pull over a rental car driver who commits a traffic violation because police would know they could search the car if the driver isn't on the rental agreement.

The case the justices ruled in dates to 2014 and involves Terrence Byrd, who was driving a car rented by his fiance when a state trooper pulled him over on a Pennsylvania highway for an alleged minor traffic violation. He acted nervous during the stop and told troopers he had a marijuana cigarette in the car. Officers eventually decided to search the car.

Because the rental agreement didn't authorize Byrd to drive the car, troopers told him they didn't need his consent for the search. And when troopers opened the trunk, they found body armor and about 2,500 little bags of heroin. Byrd later acknowledged he planned to sell the drugs for roughly $7,000, and a court sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

It's unclear whether the justices' ruling will ultimately help Byrd. In the ruling Monday, they sent his case back to a lower court to consider whether troopers had probable cause to believe Byrd's vehicle contained evidence of a crime, which would have permitted the search in any event.

The court also asked the lower court to consider the government's argument that Byrd knew he couldn't have rented the car because of his criminal record and used his fiance to rent the car instead in a calculated plan to mislead the rental company and aid him in committing a crime. The question is whether that would make Byrd "no better situated than a car thief," who would not have an expectation of privacy in a stolen car.
A political analyst with CNN came under fire Tuesday after tweeting out a graphic depicting President Trump in crosshairs.

The commentator, Chris Cillizza, tweeted out a GIF with the visual just before 9 a.m., along with the caption Donald Trump, pointing to heavens to commemorate police officers killed in the line of duty.

He quickly deleted the tweet -- but not before Twitter users were able to grab some screenshots.

Cillizza explained later that the image was unintentional, the result of a default setting in a program he'd used to generate the graphic.

CNN said the following in a statement to Fox News: Chris has already addressed this issue publicly. The image in question is a framing mark used in film and video production to frame a shot. Nothing more. A producer who created the motion graphic inadvertently left that frame in the GIF. When it came to our attention, the tweet containing the GIF was deleted and replaced with explanation. There is nothing more to say.

The since-deleted tweet was in reference to Trump having spoken at the annual National Peace Officers Memorial Service in Washington on Tuesday.
Former President George H.W. Bush snagged a private performance Tuesday from the cast and crew of the popular musical, "Hamilton," who paid him a visit in Texas.

Bush shared photos on social media of the HamFam at his Houston-based office, including one smiling group shot with the 93-year-old. Another showed him listening as the Broadway performers appeared to belt out a song.

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL, SPOKESMAN SAYS

A complete joy to welcome the HamFam  the cast and crew of @HamiltonMusical  to our Houston office for a special performance I will never forget, Bush tweeted. History never sounded so powerful.

The visit came after the 41st U.S. president was released from the hospital earlier this month after contracting an infection that spread to his blood, according to his spokesman.

BARBARA BUSHS HEROIC ACT SAVED MY LIFE NEARLY 60 YEARS AGO, TEXAS WOMAN SAYS

President @GeorgeHWBush was discharged from @MethodistHosp after treatment for an infection, a previous tweet from spokesman Jim McGrath said. His doctors report he is doing well and is happy to return home.

Bush was admitted to Houston Methodist Hospital on April 22, one day after the funeral of his wife, former first lady Barbara Bush. She died April 17 at age 92.
Throughout his lifetime, James Stewart was always grateful for his Hollywood success and made sure to keep his fans in mind.

The American actor, who performed in about 80 films and earned every major award for his craft, passed away in 1997 at age 89 from a blood clot in his lung.

VINTAGE HOLLYWOOD FLASHBACK: THE GOLDEN GLOBES IN THE '50S, '60S & '70S

James Bawden, a former TV columnist for the Toronto Star, recently co-authored a book titled You Aint Heard Nothin Yet, which chronicles his numerous interviews with some of Hollywoods top stars from the golden era of filmmaking.

Bawden first interviewed the screen icon with the famously nasal, slightly stammering speech in 1971, when Stewart was promoting his first TV series, the NBC sitcom The James Stewart Show. That encounter would lead to two more interviews before Stewarts death.

Bawden told Fox News Stewart always appreciated the support he received from fans and never ignored their feedback if they felt he had made a mistake.

He did a movie with Otto Preminger [1959s Anatomy of a Murder] where a whole trial scene revolved around a womans underpants, said Bawden. He said, I got an Oscar nomination for that, but boy, did I hear from my fan base. They thought it was very, very risque and asked me not to do that kind of material anymore. And I didnt. Maybe I made a mistake.

But Stewart would be best recognized for many other portrayals, including 1939s Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1940s The Philadelphia Story and 1946s Its a Wonderful Life, just to name a few. However, Bawden insisted the lesson Stewarts audience taught the actor stayed with him over the years.

He was very protective of the image that had been created for him, he explained. In fact, he turned down the lead in 1981s On Golden Pond because he said, I dont think my fan base wants to see me as a senile old kook. His best friend Henry Fonda, he took the part and won an Oscar for it.

But the one role audiences were surprised Stewart didnt take on was that of politician.

Its funny, when Ronald Reagan became president, [Warner Bros. Studio president] Jack Warner said, Thats all wrong. It should be James Stewart for president. He was approached several times to become a senator for California.

"He was very, very right wing. One of his sons died in the Vietnam War. And he was really aghast at the student demonstrations in the 1960s James Stewart did a number of combat missions in World War II. He believed in a powerful military. Always.

Stewart was a proud patriot who wasnt afraid to put Hollywood on hold to protect Americas freedom. According to The Jimmy Stewart Museum, Stewart was initially turned down by the army after he was drafted for being underweight.

He went home, ate everything he could that was fattening and went back and enlisted in the Army Air Corps, the museum shared. He passed the physical with an ounce to spare.

The New York Times reported Stewart was inducted in March 1941, nine months before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He was assigned to the Second Combat Wing of the Eighth Air Force in England where he was the operations officer, chief of staff and squadron commander.

The newspaper added he led 20 bombing missions over Germany and remained in the Air Force Reserve when the war ended. In 1959, the Senate approved his promotion to brigadier general, which made him the highest-ranking entertainer in the American military. Stewart would retire from the Reserve in 1968.

Still, Stewart told Bawden he had no interest in tackling the public arena.

Well, Ron [Reagan] had a successful start as governor of California and before that, he was president of the Screen Actors Guild, said Stewart. Im trying to think of an example of a politician who tried acting and lasted. Cant off-hand. Maybe theyre all actors? But no, I never wanted to become a politician.

While Stewart would spend his later years as a leading spokesman for conservative causes and a frequent campaigner for the Republican Party, he also stayed busy working. His last role was voicing the character Wylie in the 1991 animated film An American Tail: Fievel Goes West.

Bawden claimed Stewarts only wife, American actress and model Gloria Hatrick McLean, died in his arms in 1994 after suffering from cancer.

He still remembers the Hollywood star as a very devoted Presbyterian who went to church every Sunday and always remained thankful for all the opportunities Hollywood had given him to pursue acting.

At one point in his career, Johnny Carson asked the screen legend how he wanted to be remembered. His answer was simple.

Id like to be remembered as a man who believed in hard work and decent values, as one who believed in the love of country, love of family, love of community, love of God," said Stewart.
Runway model Lady Amelia Windsor, who is 37th in line to the throne, was reportedly not invited to the wedding of her cousin Prince Harry to American actress Meghan Markle  but another red-hot cousin has a spot secured for the royal event of the year.

Lady Kitty Spencer, the niece of Prince Harrys late mother Princess Diana, is reportedly attending the high-profile nuptials Saturday at Windsor Castle.

MEGHAN MARKLE STILL WANTS HER FATHER TO ATTEND THE ROYAL WEDDING

Kensington Palace did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment.

Like Lady Windsor, dubbed the worlds hottest royal by the press, Spencer has stirred headlines for her head-turning looks.

Back in February, Spencer, who is signed with Storm Management, walked the runway for Dolce & Gabbanas Secret & Diamonds show, along with other royals, wearing a tiara.

Storm Management is recognized in the fashion world for discovering British "it" girls Kate Moss and Cara Delevinge, as well as signing Windsor.

However, the 27-year-old, who is a member of British aristocracy, is not in line to the throne.

Windsor, on the other hand, is the third cousin of Harry and granddaughter of the Duke of Kent, who is Queen Elizabeth IIs cousin.

A friend of Windsors told The Sun the royal was a little surprised she wasnt invited to the wedding.

Amelia is creating quite a name for herself with her modeling and Instagram posts, said the pal. Perhaps Harry just wanted to keep the family invited to a small number or maybe he didnt want anyone upstaging the bride.

Back in April, Vanity Fair reported Prince Harry wanted to make sure his mother wasnt forgotten on May 19. The magazine learned he invited the entire Spencer clan to the big day, including Spencer and her father, Earl Charles Spencer, Dianas younger brother.

Harry has always kept in close touch with the Spencers and they have all received invitations, claimed a family friend. Harry gets on well with his aunts and uncle and they have met Meghan. His cousins all have the golden ticket  an invite to the ceremony and reception and the evening party.

The magazine noted Spencer has a special bond with her cousin. The top model, who lives in London, often partied with Harry in his 20s and is also friends with his ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.

Spencer will also be joined by her younger siblings Louis Spencer, Viscount Althorp, as well as Lady Amelia Spencer and Lady Eliza Spencer.

Harry and Markle have invited 600 guests to their wedding and just 200 guests to the evening reception.

According to Storm Management, Spencer is the daughter of former fashion model Victoria Lockwood, who was born in England but was raised in South Africa, where she studied psychology and English literature. She then pursued her education in Florence, where she studied art history and Italian.

In the U.K., Spencer completed her Master's in luxury brand management at Regents University and undertook a consultancy at The Financial Times.

Spencer has also kept busy in the fashion world. In addition to being spotted at shows and posing in photo spreads, she was also the star of Dolce and Gabbanas Spring/Summer 2018 campaign.

Despite her budding career as a sought-after model, Spencer told Vanity Fair in 2016 she wanted to make a name for herself beyond being Dianas niece.

I was so young [when Diana was alive], she explained. There are only a few memories, but special memories and happy memories, and Im so lucky to have those.

And just like her cousin, Spencer has also dedicated her time to philanthropy. Storm Management also noted Spencer is an ambassador and trustee for the military charity Give Us Time and Centrepoint, which supports young homeless people by helping them find work.

This role gives me the opportunity to express the utter respect I have for the men and women who serve this country in the armed forces, she said about her work with Give Us Time. For military personnel, the family network is the all-important backdrop to their professional lives.

 In my opinion, our service personnel and their families truly represent what is best about the United Kingdom. I am in awe of their strength and commitment to our country. I believe it is our individual responsibility to not only understand their challenges and sacrifices, but to take action and help where we can.

In late 2017, Spencer told UKs Times she isnt fazed by the media scrutiny and even listed old Hollywood stars Sophia Loren and Marilyn Monroe as idols.

Throughout childhood and life, Ive had bigger curveballs thrown at me, things that matter more, she said. Ive had plenty of people tell me to lose weight, or change this or that, but I just dont worry I cant be bothered to feel competitive with other women. Its a waste of my energy.

And as Harry gears up for his wedding, the press have wondered if his cousin would also find love.

She told the Times, Ive never dated anyone English, so I need to work on that. None of my ex-boyfriends were English and none of them were right for me, so maybe an English guy is the one.

Still, she seemed perfectly content with her life these days.

I love the balance Ive got now, she said. Of all the years of my life, this has been the happiest.
Meghan Markles father caused a stir when he stated he would not be attending his daughters wedding to Prince Harry as planned, and the rumors surrounding the Markle family are creating a buzz among Londoners, many of whom feel the father of the bride is being treated unfairly by the public.

Sanjana Varjhese, a university student, told Fox News she thinks the pressure being put on Thomas Markle ahead of the wedding has reached a tipping point.

There shouldnt be this much intense media scrutiny on people who have done nothing... I think [her family] have been subject to a lot of scrutiny... Theres been a lot of digging into her family and I dont think its been fair. I think its quite horrible, she said.

The drama with the Suits stars father all began when the Markle patriarch seemingly arranged to have paparazzi pictures snapped that showed him preparing for the May 19 wedding at Windsor Castle. After reports surfaced that claimed he was paid for the images, Markle revealed in a media report he had a heart attack and would no longer be attending the royal wedding. On Tuesday, TMZ reported he would undergo heart surgery and skip the wedding, despite earlier reports that same day that claimed he wished to attend.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have asked the media to give her family space.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding," Kensington Palace told Fox News in a statement Monday. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

Some Brits think Thomas Markle has faced unfair criticism. Jack Schneider told Fox News he believes royal handlers should have worked to train the Markle family for the type of media exposure headed their way.

I pity the guy, he said. This guy has been bombarded under all this pressure.

He noted that Thomas Markle has lived a secluded life in Mexico and was likely unprepared for the rush of interest that came when his daughter with Doria Radlan became engaged to Englands most eligible bachelor. The American actress parents divorced in 1988.

Maria, 60, who declined to give her last name, said Meghan Markles half-siblings, Samantha Grant and Thomas Markle Jr. have caused more trouble than their father.

I really think that its a disgrace, definitely. I really think that they have taken advantage of the situation and have embarrassed Meghan, she said. [What's] worse [than] having a few pictures that were posed is what the sister is doing...

Referencing the media interviews the siblings have given and Grants tell-all about Meghan, she added, The sister and the brother are making stuff up I would never buy that book.

Locals told us despite the drama, Markle should walk his daughter down the aisle if it turns out he is able to.

Of course I think he should come. Its his daughters wedding, said Schneider.

Maria, of Chelsea, agreed.

The bottom line to me -- whether he took money [for the paparazzi photos] or not -- is did she have a close relationship with her father? And did she want him to walk her down the aisle? If she really wants it and she has a good relationship with her dad he should come and walk her down the aisle [if he can] whether he got paid for the pictures or not.

Varjhese said simply, If it matters to her if [her father walks her down the aisle] thats something she is dealing with privately. I dont think if affects anyone besides her.


Meghan Markles mom has quit her job at a Los Angeles mental health clinic days before the royal wedding, to pursue her dream of opening her own practice, according to a report.

Doria [Ragland] is no longer working at the mental health clinic  It was Dorias decision to leave, a source told Us Weekly. She has talked about starting her own private practice, focusing on working with elderly patients.

Markle, 36, has previously gushed about her yoga-teacher and social-worker mom.

We can just have so much fun together, and yet, Ill still find so much solace in her support, Markle wrote in an essay titled Ten Women Who Changed My Life for Glamour last summer. That duality coexists the same way it would in a best friend.

News of Ragland, 61, quitting her job came the same day that Markles dad, Thomas, announced he wouldnt be walking his daughter down the aisle after being caught staging photos with a paparazzo.

The Suits stars mom and her father divorced when she was 6 years old.

Prince Harry, 33, has described his future mother-in-law as amazing to the BBC and flew her out to Toronto to join him and Meghan at the Invictus Games last year.

The mother of the bride is expected to have an important role during the May 19 ceremony and it is thought shell ride with Meghan in the car to St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle, according to the Daily Mail. Shes also expected to meet Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, and Prince William and his wife, Kate, before the nuptials.

Markle and her mom will spend the night before the wedding at Cliveden House, an Italian-style mansion that became a luxury hotel in 1985, where rooms can cost up to $2,000 a night.

This story originally appeared in the New York Post.
American actress Meghan Markle should expect plenty of surprises on her May 19 wedding to Britain's Prince Harry.

TMZ reported that several members of Markle's extended family including her nephew, Tyler Dooley, his brother, Thomas, and their mother Tracy, who was married to Markle's half-brother Thomas Markle Jr., were spotted arriving at London's Heathrow airport on Monday morning.

Though the extended family members are not invited to the actual wedding ceremony, they will work as correspondents for the May 19 ceremony on "Good Morning Britain."

Markle's family members arriving in London ahead of the big day comes after the news that her father, Thomas, decided to back out of walking his daughter down the aisle on Saturday.

Markle's dad reportedly decided not to attend the wedding after he suffered a heart attack a few days ago and admitted that he participated in staged paparazzi photos.

Markle's half-sister, Samantha Grant, took the blame for the staged paparazzi shots of her father.

She revealed on Twitter Monday that she came up with the idea to have their father photographed in Mexico, where he lives.

"The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault," Grant tweeted Monday morning. "The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family."

Following the scandal, Kensington Palace released a statement requesting "understanding and respect" for her Markle's father.

Though the statement did not confirm TMZ's report that Thomas had decided not to attend the wedding on Saturday in Windsor, England.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding," read the statement. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation."

And while Markle may have put her "Suits" days behind her, that hasn't stopped a few of her former cast mates for supporting the soon-to-be royal on her big day.

Us Weekly reported on Monday that some of Markle's former "Suits" cast members have arrived in Europe ahead of the May 19 wedding celebration.

Jacinda Barrett, the wife of Markle's "Suits" co-star, Gabriel Macht, shared an image of her and her son on Mother's Day in front of Buckingham Palace.

The mother of the "Suits" leading man wrote, "Kissing in front of the Queen. #buckinghampalace Happy Mothers Day to my Mum and all the extraordinary Mums around the world and to my angels for all of it."

Prior to her Mother's Day post, Barrett shared another image of herself trying on dresses with the caption, "Getting ready to fly to Europe, got places to go and people to see, but still deciding what to wear."

Also on Mother's day, "Suits" star Sarah Rafferty, who played Macht's on-screen love interest, Donna Paulsen, shared a photo of herself in Paris with the caption, "Dear Paris, Im pleased to introduce you to my littlest one. She likes sweets. Im confident youll show her a good time."
Director Lars von Trier returned to the Cannes Film Festival on Monday after a seven-year ban for controversial Hitler comments, but his new serial killer thriller failed to win over the audience.

Von Triers The House that Jack Built stars Matt Dillon as a serial killer who views his crimes as works of art, according to The Hollywood Reporter. However, Von Triers movie prompted more than 100 moviegoers to leave the theater before it was over because of the sadistic scenes, The Guardian reported.

Ive never seen anything like this at a film festival. More than 100 people have walked out of Lars von Triers The House That Jack Built, which depicts the mutilation of women and children, Variety New York Bureau Chief Ramin Setoodeh wrote on Twitter. Its disgusting one woman said on her way out.

One viewer was left shocked by the scene where Dillon mutilates children.

He mutilates Riley Keough, he mutilates children... and we are all there in formal dress expected to watch it? the viewer told Vultures Kyle Buchanan.

Those who did stick it out gave the movie a six-minute standing ovation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Trailers for the film were released following its debut at Cannes.

Von Trier is no stranger to controversy.

The Danish directors 2009 film Antichrist starring William Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg was hailed in Denmark as a grotesque masterpiece when he shocked audiences with a mutilation scene featuring scissors and unsimulated sex scenes. Four people were said to have fainted during its premiere, The Guardian reported.

Von Trier was banned from the Cannes Film Festival for seven years after he said he sympathized with Hitler during his 2011 press conference for his film Melancholia, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

For a long time I thought I was a Jew and I was happy to be a Jew, he said. Then I met [Jewish director] Susanne Bier and I wasnt so happy. But then I found out I was actually a Nazi. My family were German. And that also gave me some pleasure. What can I say? I understand HitlerI sympathize with him a bit.

Von Trier's Tuesday appearance in Cannes was his first in seven years.
The New York Daily News slammed Ivanka Trump as Daddys Little Ghoul in a Tuesday cover story mocking the first daughter as seemingly oblivious for attending the U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem.

The cover ridiculed Ivanka for being all smiles at the embassy opening while deadly clashes occurred in Gaza and even referred to her as a deplorable in a tweet promoting the derogatory cover.

Attacking the spouses and children of politicians has long been considered off limits, but Ivankas role in the administration creates gray area for the first daughter.

The actual story being promoted with the offensive cover doesnt even back up the ghoul remark; the article is a straight-news story that doesnt mention Ivanka until the fourth paragraph when it simply names members of the Trump administration who attended the opening.

But that didnt stop the paper from using an image of Ivanka next to a bloody child, who was apparently hurt during the protests. The Daily News cover headline isnt backed up by any journalism whatsoever, and she isnt mentioned on the editorial page, either. The only thing inside the paper that coincides with the sleazy cover is a single photo caption noting that Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, celebrated the embassy opening while protests occurred in Gaza.

The online version of the story that accompanied the deplorable tweet hardly mentioned the first daughter and didnt include the over-the-top, anti-Trump images that appear in the hard copy. This essentially proves that the paper sensationalized Ivankas role in the protest in order to sell newspapers to its fan base of Trump critics.

Political commentator Britt McHenry told Fox News that the cover is reprehensible and calling Ivanka a ghoul lacks any sort of decency.

Its the same principle at work we saw with Michelle Wolf after the White House Correspondents Dinner. The message is clear: Its never OK to denigrate or make fun of women unless they are conservative or vote Republican. Then its comedy or journalism, McHenry said. Not only is the headline bad, but its unethical journalism to super impose her next to the Gaza protests and mislead readers into thinking she was responsible for it.

Conservative commentator Carmine Sabia told Fox News that the Daily News has no shame and doesnt even make an attempt to appear unbiased or impartial.

This cover was disgusting on another level, Sabia said. It is a journalistic abortion.

President Trumps decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem sparked outrage among Palestinians, who seek East Jerusalem as a future capital.

At least 58 people were killed during a chaotic scene at the Gaza border where Palestinians protested the U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem on Monday, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Despite the backlash, Trump supporters consider the embassy opening one of the administrations major achievements.

The Daily News has been overwhelmingly anti-Trump since the former reality star entered the world of politics. The tabloid called Trump voters mindless zombies and categorized Trump a Dead Clown Walking when he failed to win the Iowa caucus in 2016.

The seldom-read paper, which sells for $1.50, has also featured a cartoon of Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty, referred to him as stupid, depicted him with clown-like face paint and a variety of other insults.

Conservative strategist Chris Barron called it a new low for any media outlet and slammed the paper for hypocrisy.

What is so ironic and pathetic is that the media -- in their never-ending quest to destroy the President -- has become everything they claim to hate about Trump, Barron told Fox News. I dont ever want to hear anyone in the media complain about a Trump tweet or bemoan this isnt normal as long as the media itself acts in such an insanely abhorrent manner.

New low for any media outlet.  Chris Barron

McHenry said that she isnt a fan of the Daily News because of its obvious left-wing bias, but noted there are good reporters who still work there.

Its a shame that this reflects on all of them, she said.
As Britains Prince Harry gears up for his high-profile marriage to American actress Meghan Markle on May 19, his beloved mother Princess Diana comes to mind.

The much-adored royal died in 1997 from a car crash in Paris at age 36. Her youngest son was just 12 at the time.

One person who still treasures their memories of the Princess of Wales is her friend Marie Sutton, who first met Diana in 1983 during afternoon tea in Australia.

There werent many people invited, so that was an exciting day, Sutton recently recalled to the Womans Day podcast. She was very shy and relied on her PR team and a lady in waiting. However, everyone wanted her and not [then-husband] Charles. I remember her being very tall and having this great smile. She had the X-factor.'"

Sutton revealed it didnt take long for the two women to develop a friendship. After their first meeting, Sutton asked Diana to return to Australia and be a guest speaker at a Victor Chang fundraiser ball.

I got a letter asking me who I thought would be a good guest speaker for the ball and I happened to say, Princess Diana, said Sutton. Well, I dont think anyone believed me.

However, the shy princess would shock Sutton when she personally called her friend to not only thank her for the invitation but to also confirm her attendance.

Since then, Sutton and Diana became very close. And it didnt take long for Diana to open up about her marriage to Prince Charles.

She went a week before they were married without talking to him, claimed Sutton. I dont think they had anything in common. She was young, and he was a historian.

"She was fun loving, very, very strong, and very rebellious. She hated being told what to do. She wanted that normal existence, but she was never going to get it. She was the mother of the future king.

Sutton insisted Diana would become visibly shaken just from describing her marital woes.

I always changed the subject to the boys when she got upset, said Sutton. I can remember saying these words, I would go to any lengths for my boys, and she would. She adored them.

When asked what Diana would have really thought of Harry marrying someone like Markle, Sutton didnt hesitate to share her response.

She would have been happy with whoever they married, said Sutton. She wanted both sons to be happy. She would have been more stringent on [Prince] Williams choice, because of his role. She had different ways with both of the boys.

"She brought up William ready for his future role, whereas with [Prince] Harry, he was the fun child and she had a special place in her heart for him. Harry was just a naughty boy and you can see from his behavior after his mother died, and he was behind that coffin  it was too hard for any boy his age.

Markle has stirred headlines recently for allegedly trying to emulate Diana, whos still celebrated as a tireless humanitarian. However, Dianas biographer Andrew Morton told Fox News back in April its far from an act.

What surprised me the most was how she, very early on, became an activist, he explained. At the age of 10, she was organizing protests against the Gulf War, for example. How she wrote to Procter & Gamble to complain about their sexist advertising and in doing so, they changed their advertising.

She felt like she could make a change She was far more than an activist. This was somebody who was involved in demonstrations [at school] and writing messages of complaint to companies Meghan helped pursue petitions. I think all that unites the two women is the fact that both had a moral compass.

Morton also described how Markle would stand up for other young girls being bullied in school.

She would be the one who stepped in, he said. And people remembered that. Those who were bullied remembered that. It was Meghan who was there, stepped in and was a role model. People say she wants to be the new Diana, [but] she actually wants to be the new Meghan.
Stephen King found himself in hot water for a tweet many felt was insensitive about first lady Melania Trump's recent surgery.

The first lady underwent surgery Monday morning for a benign kidney condition and is expected to remain hospitalized for "the duration of the week."

The famous author tweeted shortly after the White House's announcement.

"Not to be snarky, but Melania can probably use a weeks rest from Blabbermouth Don," King tweeted. "Sounds heavenly to me."

The outspoken liberal was immediately met with angry Twitter followers who felt his tweet was inappropriate considering the serious nature of Melania's surgery.

"Where is the civility?" one user asked.

Another said, "Cruel, shame!"

"How disgraceful," another person tweeted.

How disgraceful  Dr.Theresa Phillips (@TheresaPhilips) May 15, 2018 You know, I've been a fan of yours since I was in high school and read Christine for the first time. Now, I just feel sorry for you; so full of hate and for what?  Cindy Frazier (@lilred68) May 15, 2018

Late night host Jimmy Fallon made a similar joke during his opening monologue on Monday night. He joked that when Melania's doctor told her she could go home "she was like, 'No pressure, make sure.'"

The White House has not offered any additional information about the first lady's condition, citing her privacy. Vice President Mike Pence, however, described the procedure as "long planned" during a speech Monday night in Washington.

The first lady was last seen in public on Wednesday at a White House event where she and the president honored military mothers and spouses for Mother's Day. She later accompanied Trump to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland to welcome home three Americans who had been detained in North Korea.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tom Wolfe, the author of such legendary novels as "Bonfire of the Vanities," "The Right Stuff" and "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test," died Monday after being hospitalized for an infection, his agent told the Wall Street Journal. He was 88.

Wolfes agent Lynn Nesbit told The Wall Street Journal he died of pneumonia in a New York hospital on Monday.

Wolfe is credited with being the founder of New Journalism. He insisted the only way to tell a great story was to go out and report it. His hyperbolic, stylized writing work was a gleeful fusillade of exclamation points, italics and improbable words.

One of the lines in "The Bonfire of the Vanities," for example, reads: "They go, 'Hehhehheh ... unnnnhhhh-hunhhh...'"

An ingenious phrase maker, Wolfe helped brand such expressions as "radical chic" for rich liberals' fascination with revolutionaries; and the "Me" generation, defining the self-absorbed baby boomers of the 1970s.

Among his acclaimed books were The Right Stuff and A Man in Full." His best-known work, "The Bonfire of the Vanities," a satire of Manhattan-style power and justice became one of the best-selling books of the 1980s.

The Bonfire of the Vanities" was adapted into a movie in 1990 starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith. "The Right Stuff" was also adapted into a film in 1983 starring Dennis Quaid and Ed Harris.

Wolfe was born in Richmond, Va., and had an unsuccessful pitching tryout with the New York Giants before heading to Yale University, from which he earned a Ph.D. in American studies. He wrote for publications such as the Washington Post and the New York Herald-Tribune.

He was known for wearing his signature white suit. Wolfe lived a private life in Manhattan with his wife Sheila Wolfe, the former art director for Harpers magazine. The two wed in 1978 when he was 48 years old and have two children, Alexandra and Thomas.

Condolences poured in from public figures, celebrities and writers following the news of Wolfe's death.

Director Kevin Smith tweeted he was a "big fan of Tom Wolfe's 'Bonfire of the Vanities' and I've seen 'The Right Stuff' fifty times. This man's work improved my vocabulary and captured my imagination. Fare the well, Wordsmith."

Author The Orchid Thief author Susan Orlean tweeted her condolences.

Tom Wolfe has died. His work changed my life and convinced me to write nonfiction. Fare thee well, Tom.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The lyrics to the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" theme song  in a way  translated to actor Will Smith's life at the time he joined the iconic cast, the actor revealed in a vlog posted to his YouTube page last week.

According to Smith, "an ex-girlfriend, Arsenio Hall, Quincy Jones and flowing libations all led to the creation" of the hit '90s TV sitcom.

Smith was just a teenager when he and DJ Jazzy Jeff released their smash album "Parents Just Don't Understand." The pair won a Grammy, the album went triple platinum and "The Fresh Prince" rapper then spent his money on luxury items such as cars, motorcycles and designer labels.

Their next album, however, was not so successful. In fact, Smith described it as a "flop."

"It went, like, double plastic," Smith recalled in his YouTube video, which has garned more than 2.1 million views as of Tuesday evening.

The failure came as a shock to Smith, who had spent most of his cash already. When Tax Day rolled around, he missed the filing deadline.

"I didn't forget, but I didn't pay the IRS. In my mind, I wasn't trying to avoid paying taxes ... I was just like damn they need their money," Smith said. "Being famous and broke is a sh---y combination."

So, Smith said his former girlfriend urged him to go to "The Arsenio Hall Show," and that's exactly what he did.

I met a dude named Benny Medina. Benny Medina is the real-life Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Smith said. I meet Benny and he pitches me the idea for this show, and Im like, you know, Im not an actor.

In December 1989, Smith agreed to meet Medina's co-producer Quincy Jones. Jones complimented Smith's work and asked what is rap name was.

"They call me 'The Fresh Prince,'" Smith said.

He replied, "Alright good, that's what we're going to call the show."

Jones asked everyone to move the furniture out of a room in his home and a crowd of celebrities cleared the way so Smith could do an impromptu audition for the part.

"You could take 10 minutes, right now, and you could change your life forever," Jones said.

After Smith's performance, the room roared with applause and a contract was created right then and there.

"So, we had the lawyers draw up something ... We took the picture and we signed the basic deal for 'The Fresh Prince' and three months later, we were shooting the pilot," Smith said. "And that's the story of how I became the 'Prince of Bel-Air.'"
Furious attendees of an all-you-can-eat pizza festival are giving organizers a pizza their mind after the event failed to sufficiently deliver the promised goods.

On May 12, flatbread lovers at the Notting Hill Pizza Festival in London were dismayed to be left waiting for hours after an oven broke, BBC reports.

Guests had forked over $20 in entry fees for unlimited amounts of pizza" through the two-day long event from luxury lifestyle experiences organizer Bellmonte Life, according to Grub Street. They evidently werent impressed with the decorative Italian flags, balloons and complimentary drinks, either, as they soon spoke out to both the media and on social media.

PATRONS OUTRAGED OVER CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT BANNING 'LOUD' CHILDREN

"When we arrived at the festival we were immediately surprised by the long queues for pizza at each stall, 24-year-old Tim Swabey told BBC. When he at last did receive some pizza, Swabey said it "looked like something that had already passed through a cat's digestive system.

"I'm definitely annoyed, it was clearly very badly thought through," attendee Alex White agreed. After getting just two slices in an hour and a half period, the 28-year-old left the festival for a pizza restaurant and later called the event a disaster and joke on Twitter.

"6 hours later the same, will request a refund," another chimed in.

"AVOID AT ALL COSTS," another wrote.

For their part, Bellmont Life later apologized for the unfortunate events that transpired with an open letter on the social platform, citing overzealous appetites as a factor in the issue.

WOMAN FIRED FOR SERVING LAXATIVE BROWNIES AT CO-WORKER'S GOING-AWAY PARTY

"Despite the best efforts of our team preparing the pizzas in the smaller ovens, the flow of pizzas was slower than intended. In contrast to claims that there were not enough pizzas, this was not the case, organizers wrote. Our team was hard at work to ensure that everyone was able to sample pizzas. However, it was unfortunate that the queues grew due to some overzealous appetites, preventing others to be able to enjoy the food."

Though the company did not immediately return Fox News request for comment, they did offer all Notting Hill Pizza Festival attendees a complimentary VIP ticket to their July BBQ festival, as per the letter.

Meanwhile, at least one attendee has reported an issue getting in contact with them.

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To follow up on the Notting Hill Pizza Festival, the organisers at @bellmontelife have been ignoring NUMEROUS requests for refunds by instead apologising and BLOCKING people who paid into their scam and complained. Real thin-skinned scam artists here. How can I legally sue them? they mused.

Oddly, this is not the first time a pizza festival has been slammed for a certified pizza shortage. In September 2017, a New York pizza festival was slammed as a 'scam' as attendees were left hungry and furious after shelling out $75 for tiny, cold pizzas and waiting hours in a shady parking lot.
The Cheesecake Factory is investigating an incident at one of its Miami locations after a black customer claims he was verbally attacked by staff over his Make America Great Again hat, The Daily Wire reports.

Eugenior Joseph, 22, was reportedly dining with his girlfriends family at the Dadeland Mall location of the restaurant on Mothers Day. His MAGA hat allegedly drew the attention of a female staff member, who gathered her co-workers to confront him, a witness told the site. The witness further claimed about a dozen of those employees circled his table, pointing fingers.

"So then all the employees started standing there, saying things out loud, like, 'I'm going to knock his head in so hard his hat's going to come off," the source said.

PATRONS OUTRAGED OVER CALIFORNIA RESTAURANT BANNING 'LOUD' CHILDREN

Other witnesses for The Daily Wire said some employees used the n-word in reference to Joseph when speaking among themselves, while another brandished his fists.

Joseph himself told The Daily Wire that one employee stood behind him, "balling his fists, smacking his fists, trying to scare me."

At one point, Joseph claims he and his girlfriend got up to use the restroom and, upon exiting, were greeted by the employees, who were clapping and yelling, and just screaming things at me.

The kitchen staff also allegedly booed him as he walked by.

Joseph and his girlfriends family eventually left the restaurant, only to run into police waiting outside, the report says. It is unclear who called the police to the restaurant. Witnesses say the officers did not file any charges against the restaurant or employees.

The Daily Wire claims to have viewed footage and photographs that confirm the witnesses' reports. The site also says the footage shows one young girl crying inside the restaurant, as well as Joseph's girlfriend's family speaking with multiple police officers who arrived at the restaurant.

The Cheesecake Factory has since released a statement regarding the incident.

"No guest should ever feel unwelcome in one of our restaurants and we are taking this matter very seriously," reads a statement obtained by Fox News. "Upon learning of this incident, we immediately apologized to the guests in person. The individuals involved in the incident have been suspended pending the results of our investigation."

The Cheesecake Factory also issued the same statement in a Twitter response to Ann Coulter.

EX-CHIPOTLE MANAGER, ACCUSED OF STEALING $626, AWARDED NEARLY $8 MILLION

News of the Miami incident follows similar allegations of patrons at dining or drinking establishments facing harassment over their MAGA hats. In January 2017, Philadelphia native Greg Piatek claims he was refused service and removed from a New York City bar for wearing his MAGA hat. Meanwhile, the bar  called The Happiest Hour  maintained that Piatek was never removed from the establishment, and actually left a $36 tip upon leaving of his own accord.

A judge in Manhattan later ruled that the bar would be within its right to refuse service based on political differences, as the law does not protect against such discrimination.
Last month, when Wheel of Fortune contestant Jonny Knowles of North Carolina allegedly said Flamingo instead of Flamenco, he cost himself $7,100 and a trip to Spain  which celebrity chef Jose Andres is trying to rectify.

TV CHEF JAMES MARTIN RESPONDS TO ANNOYED CUSTOMER'S TWEET OVER BAD AIRPORT BURGER

The James Beard Award-winning chef reached out to the dejected game show contestant on Twitter Monday offering a free trip to Spain for Knowles and a guest.

Jonny of @WheelofFortune listen sorry for the $ boy! But In Spain we have Flamenco, same name for the dance and the bird! So listen we are just celebrating 25 years of my Spanish tapas place @jaleo and we want to send you+1 to Spain for a week, plane+hotel+meals @spain yes?

In the episode  which aired April 9  Knowles flub went viral. On Good Morning America Knowles said while Pat Sajak came over to explain the situation, Knowles started to worry he had become that guy.

Im that guy now. Im the Wheel of Fortune fail. Im going to be all over Twitter and YouTube and Facebook and stuff, he told the morning show.

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Knowles has not yet responded to the chefs generous offer.

However, he may want to do so soon, because there are many on Twitter who are offering to take his place.
Tennessee whisky brand George Dickel is joining forces with another southern staple  Tabasco  for a spicy twist they are calling a Hot Dickel.

George Dickel Tennessee Whisky teamed up with McIlhenny Companys Tabasco pepper sauce, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, to create the bold new flavor for summer.

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY AND WILD TURKEY TEAM UP TO LAUNCH NEW WHISKEY FLAVOR

"Both brands have such a rich history, and we're proud to collaborate with our friends at McIlhenny Company to marry their unique flavor with our quality Tennessee whisky," said Jeff Parrott, Director of American Whisk(e)y Development at Diageo.

According to the press release, the 70-proof liquor is given its kick by being rested for three days in barrels that are used to age tabasco peppers. The whisky is then blended with a distilled Tabasco sauce essence for a fiery finish.

The zesty George Dickel Tabasco Brand Barrel Finish hits shelves in May, but has already earned fans. The new blend took home the Gold Medal at the 2018 San Francisco World Spirits Competition last month.

However, the peppery booze isnt for the faint of heart as the brand suggests to take it as a shot with an ice chaser  or pickle juice chaser or celery salt rim to help cut the burn.

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For those spice lovers, the whisky is rolling out nationwide this month and will run you $24.99 for a 750 mL bottle, but 50 mL and 1 L bottles will also be available.
This Saturday, treat yourself to a couple of royal cocktails inspired by Great Britains newest royal couple.

Allen Katz, the co-founder of the New York Distilling Company, offered up some new twists on classic cocktails in honor of Saturday's nuptials. Katz adeptly named his first cocktail "The American Princess," too, in which he appropriately adds American flourishes to the iconically British gin and tonic cocktail.

PIC: DUNKIN' DONUTS CELEBRATING HARRY AND MEGHAN'S LOVE WITH SPECIAL DOUGHNUT

What are some of these flourishes? "I use Perrys Tot Gin, named after the legendary U.S. Naval Commodore Matthew Perry, and add half-an-ounce of Cocci Americano, an aperitif wine, to gussy up an otherwise very simple gin and tonic, Katz quips.

Katzs next creation is his play on the Old Fashioned. My 'Still Old Fashioned' cocktail is essentially an homage to the steeped-in-tradition aspect of all things British royalty  in this case, a special royal wedding.

So how does Katz flip the whiskey tradition on its head? He uses gin.

Watch the full interview with Katz above to learn how to recreate the American Princess and Still Old Fashioned at home, then keep reading for the complete recipes, as well as some additional royal-inspired cocktails.

The American Princess

1.5 ounces Perrys Tot Navy Strength Gin

.50 ounces Cocchi Americano

3 ounces Fever Tree Bitter Lemon Tonic

Pour ingredients over ice in a Collins glass. Garnish with a broad lemon twist. Serve with a straw.

700-Songs Gimlet

1.5 ounces Perrys Tot Navy Strength Gin

.75 ounces fresh lime juice

.50 ounces simple syrup

.25 ounces cinnamon Syrup

5 drops Bittermens Hellfire Shrub

Shake ingredients over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

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Bramble Royale

1 ounce Dorothy Parker New York Gin

1 ounce Black Dirt Applejack

.75 ounces fresh lemon juice

.75 ounce simple syrup

6 fresh blackberries

Chilled prosecco

Muddle 5 blackberries at the base of a cocktail shaker. Add remaining ingredients and shake vigorously with ice. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over crushed ice. Top with 1 ounce chilled prosecco and garnish with one blackberry. Serve with a short straw.

Still Old Fashioned

2 ounces Dorothy Parker New York Gin

1 barspoon Campari

2 barspoons demerara sugar (or simple syrup)

2 dashes Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters

Short pinch of sea salt

Twist of lemon

In an old-fashioned glass, muddle the lemon peel with everything but the gin. Add the gin and ice and stir until well-mixed.
A woman from Colorado appears to have a pretty good reason to be upset over Oreos newest flavor. And no, its not because of their taste.

Taylor Young, of Lone Tree, is claiming she suggested the cookies newest Cherry Cola variety during Oreos My Cookie Creation contest last May, only to see them hit shelves months later, with no word that she had won the contest, KMGH reported.

DRISCOLL'S IS PACKAGING JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'S 'BRASPBERRY' FRUIT

Furthermore, Youngs idea was reportedly acknowledged in a package sent to her by Mondelez International, the company that owns Oreo, just a few months after she submitted her suggestion.

In June 2017, Young even tweeted out photos of the package Mondelez International sent to her, which contained a two-pack of her Cherry Cola-flavored Oreos and a note thanking her for the idea.

Dear Taylor Young, thanks for sending us your idea, reads a note pictured in Youngs tweet. Thought it was so delicious, we turned it into this one-of-a-kind creation just for you. Straight from the wonder vault. Enjoy!

I, from what I can tell, was the first person to tweet that idea," Young told KMGH, adding that she contacted the company in December after seeing Cherry Cola Oreos were being mass-produced.

I reached out to them and I said, 'I'm seeing that my cookie won."

Oreo, however, didnt see it that way.

ENTENMANN'S HIRING 'CHIEF DOUGHNUT OFFICER'

According to Young, the company claimed Cherry Cola Oreos were already in development before she suggested them.

As Grubstreet notes, this response is especially odd seeing as Cherry Cola Oreos were reportedly selected as one of the three winning Oreo Creations seemingly chosen in December, meaning that Oreo declared one of its own flavors as a winning submission.

A representative from Mondelez, meanwhile, said in a statement obtained by Fox News that multiple people had already suggested "Cherry Cola" as a flavor, so they based their choice on more than just the suggestion, but also the creativity behind each entry.

"As expected, many consumers submitted the same flavor suggestions, including 'cherry cola,' but did so in different and creative ways. Knowing that this would happen, the winning submission was based on more than just identifying the flavor (as this Denver Colorado entrant has done), but also on the creative way in which the entrant presented the flavor along with other details about the flavor creation, as outlined in the official rules," the statement reads.

The company added that they developed the Cherry Cola Oreo samples  like the ones sent to Young  based on the suggestions of several fans, and sent them out to "surprise and delight" the many people who submitted the idea.

"In order to surprise and delight fans throughout the program, we created more than 300 samples to send to fans who submitted flavors to us as part of the promotion. This was separate from the finalist selection and intended simply to surprise and thank some of our fans for participating (as stated in the contest rules), and did not indicate that they were a winner. In fact, several fans received 'cherry cola' samples following their submission of that flavor.

"We did select one cherry cola submission as a winner in this contest, and that entrant has been notified."

The original rules of the contest also stipulated that each finalist would earn the creator $25,000, while one grand-prize winner would earn $500,000.

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Young has since revealed on Twitter that she has become aware of an April 30 press release which names the finalists  and lists Eden F. of Winnetka, Calif., and not her, as the person who suggested Cherry Cola  but she says she finds it fishy" that no one provided her that information before.



I do still find it a little fishy that neither Oreo, Nabisco, Mondelez, nor HelloWorld were able to provide me with answers better than: We had planned to release the flavor prior to the launch of the My OREO Creation Contest, she wrote on Twitter.
A video of a teenager getting an up-close view of a bear while hunting in Alberta, Canada, has gone viral.

Fourteen-year-old Davin Grunrow was sitting in a lookout post in a tree while hunting with a family friend, Mark White, Global News reported.

In the video, Grunrow is seen sitting in the perch when a curious cub climbs right up next to him to investigate the scene. White stayed still in the next tree over as he shot the video with his phone.

DEAD GOOSE FALLS FROM SKY, KNOCKS HUNTER UNCONSCIOUS IN 'FREAKY ACCIDENT'

While the bear might have spooked others, the teen remained calm and completely immobile as it poked around before returning to its mother and sibling, the news outlet reported.

We always know, when we go in the stand, if the bear comes up the tree, stay calm, White, who has hunted for 45 years, told Global News on Monday. Show respect.

To make it even more impressive, this was Grunrows first bear hunting experience. He knew exactly what to do during the precarious situation, experts say.

It was something that could have gone terribly wrong, but didnt, White said to Global News.

He learned everything that night that I could possibly teach him, he added.

The video, which White posted on Facebook, has been viewed over 1.4 million times, with people praising Grunrow for his composed demeanor and several admitting they would have been terrified in that situation.

Good on ya for staying so still, one commenter wrote on 780 Outdoors reposting of the video, which has garnered 57,000 views.

Great camo! another said.

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White, who accompanied Grunrow and Grunrows sister for the hunt, said the group stayed and watched the bears a while longer once the cub crawled down the tree.

White told the publication there were other bears in the area at the time, but did not say if the crew killed any during the hunt.
This year, thousands of people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. While it might not be the most common cancer out there, it is one of the most deadly, and cancer patients will need courage and a sound medical team to help them through it.

Thankfully, experts are still committed to furthering their research on this tough cancer.

Last year, a medical team from the University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust decided to analyze the most common treatment for pancreatic cancer: surgery. Their goal was simple.

BEWARE OF DRINKING ALCOHOL

Lead researcher Keith Roberts and his team worked with several UK hospitals to speed up the time between the cancers diagnosis and its necessary surgery. Because pancreatic cancer is so dangerous, the researchers hope to improve survival rates by acting quickly.

During the trial, the researchers focused on speeding up the process for 32 patients, whittling down the waiting period from two months to two weeks. In doing so, they bypassed a procedure for jaundiced patients that supposedly reduces the risk of post-surgery complications, according to BBC News.

Despite overlooking this precaution, doctors were able to successfully remove the tumors from 31 out of the 32 patients. While the researchers are encouraged by these results, they will have to wait several years to see if their quick action will have any long-term effects.

Recognizing Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer happens when cells in your pancreas cause DNA mutations. While normal cells might die from natural body defenses or common treatment, these mutations can cause the cells to keep living and growing. Eventually, a tumor will form, often causing complications to the bowels and digestive system.

HARVEY HEALTH RISKS: OFFICIALS ON HIGH ALERT AMID MASSIVE FLOODING

According to the American Cancer Society, over 50,000 Americans will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2017. Of these, a little over 40,000 will die from it.

Why arent more people surviving this cancer? In many cases, patients are diagnosed at a late stage when the cancer has already spread. For this reason, its especially important to identify any changes in your body early on and talk them over with your doctor.

Here are a few signs to watch for:

Unexplained weight loss

Loss of appetite

Depression

Persistent fatigue

Pain in the upper abdomen that radiates to the back

New case of diabetes

Blood clots

Jaundice (yellowing of the skin)

Unfortunately, obvious symptoms dont always occur in the beginning stages of the cancer. Overall, pancreatic cancer has a rare incidence rate, but you may have an increased risk with certain factors.

These risk factors include a family history of pancreatic cancer, pancreatitis, diabetes, smoking, obesity and old age. In any of these cases, you may want to consider screening as a precaution.

Getting Treatment

If youve been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, you will need to talk through your options with your doctor. Based on the new research, you may improve your condition by opting for surgery as quickly as possible. However, treatment will vary based on your age, overall health, and the progression of the cancer.

Surgery

If youre opting for surgery, you should understand the road ahead. Depending on how big the cancer is, your doctor may only need to remove the tumor itself.

NEW BREAKTHROUGH IN UNDERSTANDING CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME

If the cancer has grown significantly or spread, you may need a bypass surgery or partial removal of the pancreas. While these procedures are invasive, surgery may give you the best chance of curing the cancer.

2. The Whipple Procedure

This procedure is actually another surgery used on eligible patients. In this treatment, the surgeon will actually remove the head of the pancreas and may also remove other affected areas nearby. Then, the surgeon will re-attach the remaining portions to allow for normal digestion.

3. Chemotherapy/Radiation

Again, the type of chemotherapy used will depend on the location and size of the cancer. Often, doctors will use this treatment to shrink the tumor before surgery. If the cancer has only spread to one or two surrounding organs, he may use radiation or a combination of the treatments.

While pancreatic cancer does prove difficult to cure, medical experts are actively researching new treatments. At best, you should talk with your doctor about speeding up the time between your diagnosis and your treatment. Then, stay dedicated to your treatment and health, taking care of yourself both mentally and physically along the way.

This article first appeared on AskDrManny.com.
A 15-year-old girl in Illinois who suffered third-degree burns after a fire pit exploded was unable to attend her high schools prom on Saturday. So, her friends decided to bring prom to her instead.

Korryn Bachner was one of 12 people who were injured after a teenage boy poured gasoline on a backyard fire pit, which caused an explosion. The incident occured at a party on April 28.

While the past few weeks have been difficult, to say the least, Bachner was still able to enjoy prom -- albeit from her Lombard basement, her mother, Ellen, told Fox News on Tuesday.

It was different, but she got to wear her dress and jewelry and take pictures with her friends, Ellen said, adding that Bachners close friend, Jonathan, decorated the basement as a surprise. He wanted to make the night as special as possible for the teen, who suffered burns to her face and hands.

"Having all my friends support helps a lot, gets my mind off things," Bachner told ABC 7.

The teens recovery has been slow, Ellen said, but its going in the right direction -- every day we see improvement."

Aside from a few short outings and doctors appointments, Bachner is homebound. But the 15-year-old is handling it better than I ever would have expected, Ellen said. Shes a trooper and resilient; shes not curled up in a ball crying everyday.

While Bachner is expected to make a full recovery, there is a chance she will have to undergo surgery. However, her doctors want to hold off until they know for sure that her body wont heal itself, Ellen said.

The incident has left at least one of the victims, 16-year-old Autumn Hamilton, in critical condition. Hamilton, who suffered second and third degree burns to more than 40 percent of her body, was on life support at one point, according to her GoFundMe page. Hamilton is one of Bachner's best friends, her mother said.

The boy who poured the gasoline on the fire also suffered serious injuries. While police are still investigating the incident, they believe it was an accident with no malicious intent. As of now, no charges have been filed.

He is suffering the same way as the others, Ellen said, adding that her daughter and the other victims were at the wrong place at the wrong time.

You dont wish this on anybody, she added.
California reached a record high in the number of sexually transmitted disease cases last year, with the state seeing an overall 45 percent spike in the number of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis cases over the past five years.

According to the state report, officials are most concerned about an uptick in the number of stillbirths due to congenital syphilis.

The data, which was compiled by the California Department of Public Health, revealed chlamydia and gonorrhea to be most rampant among people under 30, with rates of chlamydia highest among young women. Men accounted for the majority of syphilis and gonorrhea cases.

"While there are advocates and champions for cancer, nobody is out there saying, I have gonorrhea and these are the best ways to treat it,'"  Dr. Jeffrey Klausner

If left untreated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can result in infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain, while syphilis can cause blindness, hearing loss and neurologic issues. With more than 300,000 cases of all three diseases reported in the state in 2017, researchers counted 30 stillbirths resulting from congenital syphilis.

For California to have a steady increase in congenital syphilis is shameful, Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, a professor of medicine at University of California, Los Angeles, told the Associated Press. Weve known how to control syphilis since early 1900s. Seeing it come back like this is a sign of failure of the public health safety net.

CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY WORKERS FACE 'BUCKETS OF HUMAN FECES,' NEEDLES AS HOMELESS CRISIS WORSENS

Officials were quick to point to a lack of public sex education and health programs in the community.

While there are advocates and champions for cancer, nobody is out there saying, I have gonorrhea and these are the best ways to treat it, Klausner told the Associated Press. Theres no one out there being a champion for these conditions.

The health department's chief of the division of communicable disease control also placed blame on social media.

"It makes it easier for people to meet people they don't already know to have sex," Dr. James Watt told the San Francisco Chronicle. "The internet allows for broadening of sexual networks, and the broader that gets the more opportunity you have for sexually transmitted diseases to spread."

The health department is now planning a greater public effort to spread awareness about the dangers of STDs and how to protect against them, but the head of the states STD Control Branch said budget issues have played a role in the uptick of cases.

Dr. Heidi Bauer estimated that about $20 million in state and federal money is allocated annually to fighting STDs. With a state population of nearly 40 million, Bauer said it isnt enough, especially in areas struggling with poverty, substance abuse, mental health issues and homelessness.

HOMELESS ENCAMPMENTS INCREASINGLY AFFECTING CALIFORNIA TRAIN TRAFFIC

The state's homeless population of more than 130,000 people accounts for about 25 percent of the nationwide total, with clean up efforts associated with the communities topping $10 million in 2016-17. Maintenance crews have been tasked with cleaning up feces, urine, needles and other dangerous materials as the cities grapple with how to handle the surge of homelessness.

In April, the health department reported a slowdown in the number of reported hepatitis A cases that was plaguing the homeless community since a 2016 outbreak began in San Diego County. It had spread to Santa Cruz, Los Angeles and Monterey counties, killing 21 people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
As royal wedding fever grows, speculation over Meghan Markle's gown is running rampant. Will she wear a lace princess ballgown like Kate? Will she draw inspiration from the glamour of her Hollywood background? Or will she borrow something from Diana's wedding day style?

Well, according to a survey of 2,000 American women, Markles fellow Americans are predicting a fairly traditional look for their homegrown princess-to-be.

Asked what they believed will be the gowns style, the top pick for the silhouette is ballgown, while most also predict a V-shaped neckline. Long, fitted sleeves and a natural waistline are also Americans' best guesses for the royal wedding dress.

PICS: LEGOLAND RESPONDS TO CRITICISM OVER MEGHAN MARKLE LIKENESS

Rumors have been circulating over who will design Markles dress, as well. Speculation in the media is leaning toward Ralph & Russo, who designed the dress Markle wore for her engagement photos, and the research, which was conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, ranked Ralph & Russo as number three.

It turns out more Americans think that Victoria Beckham or Alexander McQueen are likely to make Markles dress instead.

More than a third of Americans believe that Markle will pay tribute to her American heritage with some aspect of the dress  be it the designer or the style  while another 40 percent think she will take some direct influence from royal weddings past.

Over half of respondents guess that Markle will incorporate something from her husband-to-bes late mother Princess Dianas wedding day look for her own, while 17 percent think that she might draw her inspiration from Kate Middletons dress.

Josie Daga, founder of PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com, added that Markle's dress could influence upcoming fashions in a big way.

Kate Middletons wedding gown style had an immediate global influence on wedding dress trends. Given Meghan Markles American roots and Hollywood background, we expect that her gown could have an even larger impact on dress trends.

PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com saw a 450 percent [increase] in searches for gowns like Kate Middletons within hours of her gown's debut. Since [our] gowns are available with no salon wait time, we predict well see brides searching  immediately to replicate Meghans style."

MISS BUMBUM, THE ANNUAL BRAZILIAN BIKINI CONTEST, FACES BACKLASH OVER TRANSGENDER CONTESTANTS

But, while women might have their own idea of what Meghan should be sporting on her big day, they have some different style standards for themselves  a fact revealed when they were asked to choose the look of their own wedding gown for if they were walking down the aisle this year.

The most popular silhouette among American brides is currently the fit and flare, followed by their pick for Meghan: the ballgown. As for the sleeves, the most popular style is to do away with them entirely and wear strapless. Long sleeves and bell sleeves are tied for second most popular, however.

Some are even throwing tradition to the wind, with 14 percent saying they would go with a tea length or even shorter skirt on their wedding gown.

And this isnt the only tradition that many women are thinking of leaving behind. Only 61 percent of millennial brides are following the tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Other traditions that young brides don't feel compelled to adhere to are throwing the bouquet and tossing a garter (just 47 percent want to), wearing a veil (48 percent) and waiting until the ceremony to see the groom (55 percent).

Interestingly, some traditions are more likely to be kept up by millennial brides than women getting hitched at a later age. Forty-three percent of millennials think the dress needs to stay under wraps before the big day, as opposed to just 36 percent of those over 45.

Younger brides, too, are more likely to be looking to Meghan Markle for dress inspiration than those over 45 (19 percent compared to 10 percent). In fact, millennial brides are nearly three times more likely to take inspiration from royal weddings in general.

Nearly two-thirds of women agree that Meghan Markles wedding dress is bound to have an impact on bridal gowns for years to come, explains Josie Daga, founder of PreOwnedWeddingDresses.com. Between that and the pure romance of Meghan and Harrys love story, its no surprise we all cant stop speculating on the dress.

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Of the women who have already taken a walk down the aisle, two out of five admit that there are things they would have changed about their wedding day looking back. Of those ladies, more than a third (38 percent) say they would have worn a different dress.

The venue (36 percent), the number of guests (28 percent) and their wedding hairstyle (25 percent) were other aspects that former brides wish they could have done differently.
It was a memorable marriage proposal, if not for the reasons the groom-to-be intended.

One 3-year-old Michigan boy has gone viral for urinating during his mothers marriage proposal in a scene that the future bride says has since stolen the show.

On May 12, Kevin Przytula popped the question to girlfriend Allyssa Anter before the Ring of Friendship sculpture in Bay City. Little did they know, Anters son, Owen, had plans of his own.

In the start of the 40-second video captured by Pryztulas 11-year-old daughter, Kayleigh, Owen can be heard chiming, I want to pee outside, while hopping around on the statue's low wall.

DONALD TRUMP JR. GAVE DAUGHTER A PUPPY FOR HER BIRTHDAY

I love you with all my heart, I want you to have this ring, Pryztula says as he gets down on one knee. Are you serious?! Anter exclaims in blissful surprise.

Meanwhile, Kayleigh begins to giggle hysterically as the youngster starts to pee.

Oh my God, you guys," she alerts the shocked pair.

UK BANK MANAGER 'MISS TANK' IS AWARD-WINNING BODYBUILDER IN OFF-HOURS

"I just started laughing, this is what Owen does. The potty training is still a work in progress; it's only been a month, so he thinks is really cool to pee outside," Anter later told WNEM 5.

"This is our everyday life, that's what we deal with on a daily basis," Przytula agreed.

Though Facebook has since deleted the video that the lovebirds shared online, Przytula said it had over 56,000 views and roughly 300 shares. They later shared the funny moment to YouTube in a clip which has since been viewed over 532,000 times.

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When Americans hear the words demonstrators and protests many of us think of non-violent marches, sit-ins and boycotts led by people like Mohandas Gandhi in India and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in our own country.

As Dr. King wrote in 1957, the nonviolent resister does not seek to humiliate or defeat the opponent but to win his friendship and understanding.

But when the terrorist group Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, talks about demonstrators and protests it is describing organized mayhem and incitement to violence. This is what took place Monday and to a lesser extent Tuesday as Hamas urged Palestinians to attack and cut through the security fence separating Gaza from Israel.

A toxic co-mingling of violent Hamas terrorists and other armed people hid among Palestinians gathered at the security fence  including peaceful protestors and children being used as human shields.

Most of the tens of thousands of Palestinians at the fence were not engaging in violence. But enough were  as they tried to tear down parts of the fence  that the Israeli troops had no choice but to open fire.

Clearly, if the Israeli forces intended to inflict maximum casualties, thousands of Palestinians would have died, rather than the 60 reported by Hamas.

As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the Security Council on Tuesday, Israel acted with great restraint to hold Palestinian casualties to the absolute minimum.

I ask my colleagues here in the Security Council: Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? Haley said. No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.

Israels U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon asked a similar question at the Security Council meeting called to discuss the Gaza violence.

What would you do, each one of you, if a violent mob of tens of thousands were threatening your sovereign borders? Danon asked. What would you do if your people were faced with terror attacks day in and day out? You must not give in to the cycle of death the Palestinians have created. You must call out lies when you see them.

The Palestinians seeking to get through the border fence and enter Israel are not like the desperate people from Latin America seeking to cross the U.S. border with Mexico to get jobs and build better lives in America. Instead, they are seeking to enter Israel to commit violent acts and kill Jews. Its as if Al Qaeda, ISIS and the Taliban all massed forces on the U.S.-Mexico border and rushed forward to invade the U.S.

The Washington Post quoted 23-year-old Mohammed Mansoura, who was one of those attempting to get through the security fence Monday as saying: We are excited to storm and get inside. When asked what he would do inside Israel, he told the Post: Whatever is possible, to kill, throw stones.

The Post report continued: Two other young men carried large knives and said they wanted to kill Jews on the other side of the fence.

So the so-called Marches of Return of Palestinians seeking to enter Israel have been neither peaceful nor about rights  unless you mean the right of armed mobs to invade Israel, attack Jews and work towards the destruction of Israel.

Over the last few weeks, demonstrations have turned into riots and grown increasingly violent as attackers have attempted to burst into Israeli territory.

On Monday, the 70th anniversary of the State of Israel and the day the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem, Hamas got exactly what it wanted and planned for  a reported 60 dead and 2,700 injured, ensuring the world would denounce the massacre.



In truth, Hamas is doing everything it can to get as many Palestinians killed and wounded as possible along the Gaza-Israel border, to feed its propaganda machine and get sympathy around the world.

Hamas records shootings, deaths, and funeral to go viral on social media and be carried on TV around the world. Families who cooperate with Hamas get $3,000 for every dead Palestinian.

The accompanying orchestrated cacophony of anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiment across the globe dutifully depicts Israelis as Nazi-like murderers gunning down nonviolent protesters and portrays the Jewish state as pursuing ethnic cleansing against a heroic, outnumbered, neighbor. These are lies with no basis in fact.

In fact, all of the media manipulation, all the cynical crocodile tears cannot wash away the truth  it is Hamas, not Israel, with blood on its hands.

Yet no matter how outrageous their actions, Palestinians can always count on the United Nations, the governments of many nations, and assorted nongovernmental organizations to give them a moral free pass.

Who is really responsible for the deaths and injuries of so many Palestinians? Why is there a border fence in the first place? Why have the building materials destined to rebuild civilian homes in Gaza been stolen so Hamas can build terror tunnels to send terrorists into Israel to murder Jews?

Such questions are always deflected with one answer: Its all Israels fault.

And Hamas is rewarded for its brutal policies by anti-Israel diplomatic moves by Turkey and South Africa and cynical calls to sanction Israel  never the Palestinians  at the U.N.

Only strong U.S support will thwart anti-Israel resolutions the condemn Israel for doing what every nation on Earth does: defending its borders and its citizens. Thankfully, President Trump and Ambassador Haley are providing this support.
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America has finally kept a long-held promise to move its embassy to Jerusalem  70 years to the day that Israel declared its statehood.

I have twice introduced bipartisan resolutions in Congress recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and, consistent with U.S. practice in other countries, calling for locating our embassy to the sacred city.

President Trumps bold action is symbolic of the strengthening U.S.-Israeli relationship under his leadership. More importantly, it signals to the rest of the world that we stand with Israel at a time when the Jewish state is under attack from Iran.

Relocating our embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on Monday ended a 19-year battle that began with the passage of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.

National security concerns were used for almost 20 years by American presidents as an out from doing the right thing and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. For the eight years of the Obama presidency, Americans and the rest of the world watched as we led from behind.

The 1995 law required our embassy to move by May 31, 1999. But for almost 20 years, presidents routinely invoked a six-month waiver provision contained in the law that delayed relocating the embassy to Jerusalem because of national security concerns.

Last December, President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital and ordered the U.S. Embassy to be moved there.

After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, President Trump said in December. It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.

Since 2015, I have sought to build bipartisan momentum for moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. I introduced bipartisan resolutions in the 114th and 115th Congresses to raise awareness of the issue and draw congressional support.

The reasons for moving our embassy are two-fold. First, it was required by the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act. Second, it has been American policy to place our embassy in the capital city of every country where we have a diplomatic presence. Israel should be no different.

Further, there is yet another argument for moving our embassy to Jerusalem. The threat from Iran is growing as the terrorist nation spreads its evil tentacles throughout the Middle East, as evidenced by the rocket attack it conducted against Israel from Syria recently.

The flawed nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration made this threat possible. The deal emboldened Iran by placing it on a path to a nuclear weapon, lifting economic sanctions and giving the terrorist nation access to billions of dollars in its frozen assets.

President Obama viewed Irans Death to America chants as an invitation to negotiate, while President Trump saw them as a threat. By announcing Americas withdrawal from the nuclear deal the week before moving our embassy to Jerusalem, President Trump sent an unmistakable signal to friends and foes that America will be undeterred in its commitment to the Jewish state.

Americas stale policy regarding Jerusalem yielded little in the way of tangible results in the Arab-Israeli conflict for years.

National security concerns were used for almost 20 years by American presidents as an out from doing the right thing and moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. For the eight years of the Obama presidency, Americans and the rest of the world watched as we led from behind.

Leading from the front under President Trump looks much different and is far more effective.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell praised ailing Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., as a "genuine American hero" Monday in describing a weekend visit the Kentucky Republican paid to McCain and his wife at their Arizona home over the weekend.

In an address on the Senate floor, McConnell said he, McCain and McCain's wife, Cindy, "had a chance to sit on the back porch and reminisce about our friendship and all we had shared over the last 30 years."

"I told him we miss him," McConnell added. "I was confident I was speaking for everybody in the Senate in conveying our deepest respects for him and all he's done for the county in his extraordinary life."

MCCAIN HOLDS 'SKYWALKER' PRESENCE OVER CAPITOL HILL, DESPITE ILLNESS

McCain has not cast a vote on the Senate floor since December of last year due to his brain cancer diagnosis. However, McConnell noted that his colleague "doesn't have a relaxed bone in his body. And he still has plenty to say about work, I assure you."

McConnell did not reference a remark by White House communications aide Kelly Sadler, who said McCain's opposition to President Trump's nomination of Gina Haspel to run the CIA "doesn't matter [because] he's dying anyway."

Numerous lawmakers have called on the White House to apologize, including Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, who told the The Associated Press on Monday: "The person who said it should apologize. It's totally inappropriate."

Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Thune of South Dakota said the White House could have handled the incident better.

"The smart thing to do would have been five days ago to just nip it in the bud and come out and apologize for it," he said.

White House officials have condemned the leak of the private conversation, and some have expressed their support for Sadler.

White House spokesman Raj Shah said Monday that Sadler had been "dealt with internally," but did not say how.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The son of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.), who is currently pursing his own quest for political office, has showcased some of the trademark criticism for the Democratic Party associated with his father's failed 2016 presidential bid.

Levi Sanders didn't hold back in dissecting the reasons why the Democratic Party came up short in 2016 while discussing his own candidacy with the Independent.

The younger Sanders, the Democratic socialist senator's only biological son and a candidate for Congress in New Hampshire, blasted the Democratic Party for failing to make inroads with working-class voters, claiming the party has done a "poor job" of boosting morale.

"The Democratic Party has done a very poor job of bolstering peoples confidence and self-esteem, and that has significant consequences when it comes to reaching out to low-income and working-class people," Sanders said.

The candidate also offered a strong rebuke of the party's 2016 presidential nominee, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Sanders said Clinton's "deplorable" comments where she claimed that half of Trump's supporters were part of a "basket of deplorables" that are sexist, homophobic, and xenophobicwere not constructive in appealing to working-class voters.

"When Hillary Clinton used the word deplorable, that had a significant effect on so many people," Sanders said. "They basically said We understand that Donald Trump is not a nice guy, but he is one of us. Yes, I know Im a billionaire, but Im like your weird uncle. Im not politically correct and Im not judging you and thats the key.'"

Click for more from The Washington Free Beacon.
Don Blankenship isn't going away quietly, despite losing last week's bid for the GOP nomination in West Virginia's Senate race.

Now, the former coal mining CEO who spent a year in jail in connection with the fatal 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster is apparently vowing to do what he can to undermine his party's nominee. And he's still pushing out videos going after Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, making clear he's not done agitating the establishment.

Blankenship adviser Greg Thomas gave a cryptic warning last week about his candidate's plans on the local radio show, "Talkline with Hoppy Kercheval."

He said Blankenship will not support primary winner Patrick Morrisey, and: "I think the one thing he is going to make sure doesn't happen is that Patrick Morrisey does not become a U.S. senator."

Thomas noted that Blankenship publicly stated for weeks that he would not back Morrisey if he became the nominee, and said he's a man of his word. He said Blankenship is "researching and evaluating his options" and will be "making a decision soon."

The threat opens the door to interference -- of some kind -- from within the GOP in the high-stakes Senate race. Whether it's enough to worry Republican strategists in their bid to unseat Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin remains to be seen.

West Virginia Republican Party leader Melody Potter on Monday declined a Fox News request for comment. However, she told West Virginia's Metro News that she was optimistic about primary wounds quickly healing and everybody backing the effort to oust Manchin.

I have a lot of faith that when everyone gets rested up  that theyre going to get behind us, because they know the best way to defeat Joe Manchin is to support Patrick Morrisey, she said. We all know it was a very bloody primary.  Greg and Mr. Blankenship both have worked within the Republican Party for several years and have done a lot.

Blankenship had mounted an outsider campaign that made the three-way race unexpectedly close in the final weeks.

Thomas claimed the bid was derailed by outside money from Washington Republicans and a tweet from President Trump telling West Virginians to vote for Morrisey, the state attorney general, or GOP Rep. Evan Jenkins.

Mountain Families PAC, a super PAC aligned with the Republican establishment, spent more than $1.3 million to upend Blankenships bid, fearing hed lose in a general election. And the biggest outside spender was Democrat-aligned super PAC Duty & Country, which targeted Jenkins and Morrisey, in an apparent attempt to usher Blankenship into the November race.

Blankenship, who finished third, spent more than $2.8 million on a campaign that included attacks on McConnell, the chambers top Republican, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Blankenship was the CEO of the company that owned the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia where an explosion in 2010 killed 29 miners. Blankenship was sent to jail on a misdemeanor charge of health and mine-safety violations.

His former campaign could not be reached Monday for comment.

While Blankenship has yet to say personally what he might do, if anything, to undermine the nominee in November, hes certainly not finished with McConnell.

On Saturday, Blankenship posted a video on his Facebook page that criticized McConnell for gloating about Blankenships loss and mocking the Cocaine Mitch nickname the coal baron assigned him.

Blankenship, during the campaign, latched onto a 2014 news report purporting that a cargo ship belonging to McConnell's Taiwanese in-laws was found to have cocaine on board.

After Blankenship's loss, the McConnell team tweeted a "Narcos"-themed picture of the senator surrounded in cocaine powder by the caption Thanks for playing Don.

The video Blankenship posted over the weekend includes a graphic of a shipping vessel and McConnell playing in a sandbox with the narrators saying, Mitch is laughing, but were not.  And as for Mitch thanking Don Blankenship for playing in what Mitch considers his Senate sandbox, Dons not finished playing in it yet.

Thomas, in last week's radio interview, continued to blame McConnell for the loss, pointing to reports that the Kentucky Republican urged Trump to make the anti-Blankenship tweet.

To be sure, McConnell and Trump were looking to avoid a situation like the one last year in Alabama where controversial GOP candidate Roy Moore won a special GOP election primary, then lost the GOP-held seat to Democrats in the general election.

Neither Morriseys campaign nor the National Republican Senatorial Committee has returned a call seeking comment about the Blankenship factor going forward.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, has multiple times brought articles to impeach President Trump to the House floor.

Each effort to impeach the president has failed, and he hasnt garnered support from some top lawmakers in his party, including House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. But Green said he isnt giving up, contending that Trump is the quintessential person that impeachment was designed for.

The House overwhelmingly rejected Greens impeachment resolutions in December and January.

What does impeachment mean?

Congress has the ability to remove a sitting president from office before his term is finished  an authority granted by the Constitution.

Along with the president and vice president, all civil officers in the U.S. can be removed from office if they are impeached and convicted of bribery, treason or other high crimes and misdemeanors, according to the Constitution.

How does impeachment work?

Article One of the Constitution grants the House of Representatives the sole power of impeachment; the Senate has the sole authority to try all impeachments. If the president is being tried, the Chief Justice should preside over the trial.

The House must vote, requiring a simple majority, to adopt the articles of impeachment. Before a vote, the House Judiciary Committee  or another special committee  may investigate the articles.

The House is able to vote to impeach even if the committee does not recommend doing so.

Should that vote be reached, then the House will appoint members  called managers  to act as prosecutors as the proceedings then go to trial in the Senate. The president is able to have defense attorneys.

The Senate would need a two-thirds majority in order to find the president guilty. Should that happen, the president would be removed from office and the vice president would take the president's place.

Have other presidents been impeached?

Only two U.S. presidents have been impeached  and neither were removed from office.

Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.

While the proceeding began against former President Richard Nixon, he was not actually impeached. Nixon was the only president to resign from office.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal judge ruled Tuesday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has the authority to prosecute Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Trumps presidential campaign.

The ruling is in response to a civil case brought by Manafort, who has argued Mueller exceeded his authority because the case against him was unrelated to Russian election interference.

Manaforts civil case will be dismissed, United States District Judge Amy Berman Jackson wrote in the order. And his concerns regarding the Special Counsels investigation will be taken up in the criminal case.

Manafort is facing criminal charges of charges of money-laundering conspiracy, false statements and acting as an unregistered foreign agent. Jackson refused to dismiss that criminal case.

Jackson sided with prosecutors who had produced an August 2017 memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. The memo showed Rosenstein authorized Mueller to investigate Manafort's Ukrainian work and related financial crimes.

Jackson previously had thrown out a civil case Manafort brought challenging Mueller's authority.

The decision allows one of two criminal cases against Manafort to proceed.

Paul Manafort maintains his innocence and looks forward to prevailing in this matter," said Jason Maloni, a Manafort spokesman.

In addition to the Washington indictment, Manafort also faces charges in Virginia of bank fraud and tax evasion. The Virginia indictment accuses him of hiding tens of millions of dollars he earned advising pro-Russia politicians in Ukraine from 2006 through 2015. It also accuses him of fraudulently obtaining millions in loans from financial institutions including while he worked for the Trump campaign.

FEDERAL JUDGE ACCUSES MUELLER'S TEAM OF LYING

None of the charges relate to allegations of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates, the main thrust of Mueller's public appointment order. Manafort has pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.

Manafort has filed a similar motion to dismiss his charges in Virginia. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III has yet to rule on it. Ellis previously had grilled Mueller's team on whether the case was within his mandate and questioned whether they brought the case to get Manafort to testify against Trump.

Fox News Alex Pappas and Jake Gibson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Mexican woman has been charged in Texas with voter fraud after prosecutors said she illegally voted in the 2016 presidential election.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said his office will prosecute Laura Janeth Garza, a 37-year-old Mexican national who lives in Houston, after a grand jury indicted her May 10 on charges of voter impersonation and ineligible voting.

Both charges are second-degree felonies. If convicted, Garza faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to Fox 4 News in Dallas-Ft. Worth.

This case demonstrates my offices commitment to protecting the integrity of elections, Paxton said in a statement. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard the electoral process in Texas.

According to the attorney generals office, Garza is accused of voting illegally in Harris County in November 2016, as well as in elections in 2004 and 2012.

Paxton said a joint investigation with the Texas Department of Public Safety determined that Garza obtained documents to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally register to vote.

Law enforcement became aware of Garza after a U.S. citizen attempted to obtain a passport, but discovered Garza had already done so using her identity, Paxton said. The State Department referred Garzas case to Texas Department of Public Safety, which then handed it over to Paxtons office for prosecution.

President Trump has long claimed widespread voting fraud took place in the 2016 election, an assertion that has not been substantiated.

"It's not a conspiracy theory, folks," Trump said at an event in West Virginia last month, claiming millions voted illegally in 2016.
Gov. Eric Greitens said he will resign this week following a report that an affair he had was at times violent and non-consensual and allegations of misuse of a charity donor list.

"The time has come, though, to tend to those who have been wounded and to care for those who need us most," Greitens, a Republican, said on May 29. "So for the moment, let us walk off the battlefield with our heads held high."

Greitens' last day in office will be June 1. His resignation allows him to avoid the potentially dubious distinction of becoming the first Missouri governor ever impeached.

Earlier in May, prosecutors dropped the felony invasion-of-privacy charges against Greitens but said they planned to re-file the case. After he resigned, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said her office is dropping another charge of computer data tampering, related to allegations that he misused a charity donor list.

Missouri lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had been asking Greitens to step down ever since the sexual misconduct scandal surfaced. He's been accused of taking and transmitting a non-consensual -- partially nude -- photo of a woman with whom he was having the affair.

Heres a look at the allegations and what the Republican governor has said about it.

Why was Greitens on trial?

Greitens was indicted in February on a felony invasion-of-privacy charge. He was booked at the St. Louis Justice Center before he was released on his own recognizance, according to a circuit attorney spokeswoman.

The charges came after a man secretly recorded his wife admitting to having an extramarital affair with Greitens in March 2015. In the recording, she alleged that Greitens took a photo of her when she was partially nude without her permission and threatened to release photos of her if she told anyone about the affair, KMOV-TV reported.

The couple, not publicly identified, have since divorced.

Greitens admitted to the affair in February in a joint statement with his wife, Sheena. He said he'd made a deeply personal mistake before he was elected, and that the family had dealt with this together honestly and privately.

However, his attorney told KMOV-TV that there was no blackmail.

In a Facebook post, Greitens slammed the reckless liberal prosecutor who uses her office to score political points. He said that while he'd made a personal mistake before becoming governor, he did not commit a crime.

If convicted, Greitens could have face up to four years in prison. He has declined to directly answer questions about whether he took the photo.

What was in the accusers testimony?

WARNING: GRAPHIC DETAILS BELOW

A Missouri House investigative committee was assembled shortly after Greitens was indicted on the felony charge.

After speaking to the accuser and other witnesses, it released a report  signed by five Republicans and two Democrats  that included a sensitive-content warning. The lawmakers said they found the woman to be an overall credible witness.

The meeting

The woman said she met Greitens in 2013 when he became a client at the hair salon where she worked, according to the report. She said that she developed a crush on Greitens, but when she saw him in the salon in March 2015, he moved his hand up her leg all the way up to [her] crotch without her consent."

Sexy workout

Later that month, she said Greitens asked her to come to his house when his wife was out of town. She said he did not want to be seen in public with her because he was running for office.

At his house, she testified that Greitens told her he thought she hadnt been treated good in so long and wanted her to exercise. She said for whatever reason, I trusted him.

Greitens then gave her mens pajama pants and a mans white T-shirt with a slit at the top and instructed her to change into them, she said. After she changed, she claimed he told her he was going to teach her how to do a proper pull-up. She said she thought this is going to be some sort of sexy workout.

I still really thought he was perfect, the woman testified, adding that Greitens knew she had not cheated on her husband in the past, and she didnt want to do anything physical with him. So I think I was just confused, kind of shocked. And I was curious enough  he likes me this much that he has something planned for our workout?

The photo

When the two got to the basement, the woman alleged, Greitens taped her hands to the pull-up rings and blindfolded her. She said the items he used were already on a workout bench nearby.

He then spit water into her mouth, telling her she needed to be hydrated, she testified. She said it was his way of trying to kiss her, but she did not want to be kissed.

Greitens began to kiss her, and he tore off the white shirt, she testified. During this time, he was also pull[ing] down [her] pants, but she did not give consent, she said.

[T]hen I hear him kind of, like, step back  take a step back and I hear  I can hear like a, like a cell phone  like a picture, and I can see a flash through the blindfold, she added.

Greitens said: Youre not going to mention my name. Dont even mention my name to anybody at all, because if you do, Im going to take these pictures, and Im going to put them everywhere I can. They are going to be everywhere, and then everyone will know what a little whore you are, she testified.

She alleged he spanked her after she didnt respond.

I was definitely fearful. I was so embarrassed and ashamed, because I really felt like a whore because I had let him get me in this position before weve even kissed. I felt really used, she said.

A photo has not been obtained by lawmakers on the committee nor by the prosecutor in the criminal case.

The aftermath

As she was trying to leave, Greitens gave her a hug and laid her on the floor while she wept, the woman testified. On the floor, the woman testified, she performed oral sex on Greitens because she felt that she had no other choice if she were going to get out of the basement, according to the report.

She said Greitens didnt prevent her from leaving after that, but she forgot her keys at the house. When she went back to get them, she said she confronted Greitens about the picture.

You have to understand, Im running for office, and people will get me and I have to have some sort of thing to protect myself, she claimed he told her.

The woman testified that Greitens told her he had deleted the photo, but that she didnt believe him.

How has Greitens responded?

Greitens has called the accusations a political witch hunt.

He did not testify before the House committee and said the report was one-sided tabloid, trash gossip that was produced in a secret room.

He also highlighted a comment the woman made during a deposition in his criminal case in which she was asked if she saw what she believed to be a phone used to take the photo. A court filing from Greitens attorneys quoted her as saying, I havent talked about it because I dont know if its because Im remembering it through a dream or I  Im not sure, but yes, I feel like I saw it after that happened.

Additionally, Sheena claimed in a letter to the Missouri lawmakers investigating the allegations that she was stalked by the accusers ex-husband, The Washington Examiner reported.

When I didnt respond to his anonymous emails, he sent me a letter, Sheena said. When a letter to me didnt produce the desired response, he contacted my parents. When letters didnt satisfy him, he made his accusations public on Twitter. And finally, when targeting our family on social media didnt fulfill his agenda, he secretly recorded his wife admitting to the affair and began shopping the audio tape to news outlets.

How have lawmakers responded?

House Speaker Todd Richardson called the woman's testimony beyond disturbing and defended the integrity of the investigation. He said, Let me be very clear about this: This is not a witch hunt, and the committee had no political agenda.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on Greitens to resign. They include the states Republican Attorney Gen. Josh Hawley, who is also a U.S. Senate candidate.

The conduct the report details is certainly impeachable, in my judgment, and the House is well within its rights to proceed on that front, Hawley said in a statement. But the people of Missouri should not be put through that ordeal. Governor Greitens should resign immediately.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she read the House investigators report and believes it is clearly time to put the interests of the people of Missouri first in calling for Greitens to resign.

This is a sad chapter in our history that should never have come to pass, Missouri Rep. Ann Wagner, a Republican, said on social media. The transcripts paint the picture of a vulnerable woman and a man who preyed on that vulnerability. I am disgusted, disheartened and I believe Governor Greitens is unfit to lead our state.

State Rep. Jean Evans also called on Greitens to resign, saying, Violence against women is always wrong.

State Senate Majority Leader Mike Kehoe is the highest-ranking member of the legislature to call on Greitens to resign. He said the governor has lost the "moral authority and the ability to lead," KMBC-TV reported.

What is Greitens background?

A onetime Navy SEAL, Greitens assumed office in January 2017. He beat Democrat and former Attorney General Chris Koster.

Hawley is also investigating The Mission Continues, a veterans charity founded by Greitens, as it relates to the state's consumer protection and charitable registration and reporting laws. That probe came after media reports alleged Greitens' campaign had obtained and used a charity donor list in 2015 as it ramped up fundraising for his gubernatorial bid.

Greitens married Sheena in August 2011, and the pair have two children. He was married once before, but it ended in divorce in 2003, according to The Kansas City Star.

Fox News Samuel Chamberlain and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal judge ruled Sunday that anonymous teenage plaintiffs helping to challenge Florida's sweeping anti-gun law must identify themselves publicly, even as he acknowledged the order would probably expose them to intense leftist "vitriol" and "harassment."

In a surprising turn, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker even suggested that he personally wanted to side with the NRA, which wants to shield the young plaintiffs' identities, but said his hands were ultimately tied by court precedent.

"If it were entirely up to this court, the court would not hesitate to grant the NRA's motion," Walker wrote in his ruling. "One need only look to the harassment suffered by some of the Parkland shooting survivors to appreciate the vitriol that has infected public discourse about the Second Amendment. And this court has no doubt the harassment goes both ways."

The NRA filed the lawsuit on Second Amendment grounds soon after Florida lawmakers approved gun legislation that would raise the age to buy guns to 21 years old. The age restriction is one part of a larger anti-gun bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott in the wake of the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 dead.

THIESSEN: CORPORATE BOYCOTTS OF NRA ARE REALLY BOYCOTTS OF UPSTANDING AMERICANS

Citing the harassment of one of its top Florida officials who was subjecting to threatening and profanity-laced emails and phone calls, attorneys for the NRA wanted to include a 19-year-old woman as a plaintiff in the lawsuit but wanted to keep her name confidential and instead identify her as Jane Doe.

The NRA also sought to include testimony from another 19-year-old man as well. The move was challenged by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The NRA has been in the crosshairs of anti-gun activists for the past several months, with Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg leading boycotts of corporations and politicians who refuse to summarily cut ties with the organization.

Anti-gun rhetoric has markedly intensified as well. Earlier this year, a Florida billboard calling the NRA a terrorist organization" was funded by a former White House staffer for President Bill Clinton. That criticism was echoed in March by Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy, who said the NRA has "in essence become a terrorist organization."

NRA BREAKS 15-YEAR FUNDRAISING RECORDS, FILINGS SHOW

Marion Hammer, a former president of the NRA and its top Florida lobbyist, said the NRA was "very disappointed" in the judge's decision, but said that it was "too soon" to know what steps the organization would take next.

"We're trying to shield these young adults from some of the most evil, hateful stuff you can imagine," Hammer said in an email. "... Individuals should be able to stand up for their rights and beliefs in the Second Amendment without having to expose themselves to harassment and bullying."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Pennsylvania primaries Tuesday will set the stage for a political battle royal that could determine whether Democrats achieve their goal of sweeping Republicans out of power in the House.

The partys bid to take over the House this fall is largely focused on the Keystone State, where a more-favorable congressional map coupled with a wave of Republican retirements has given Democrats a unique opening.

In a closely watched case, Pennsylvanias congressional districts were redrawn when the state Supreme Court in January invalidated the map created by the states GOP-controlled legislature. Further, five of Pennsylvania's 13 Republican House members have either quit or are not running again, helping create seven chamber vacancies this cycle.

A batch of victories in the states 18 House races this year would indeed help Democrats in their bid to win a total 23 seats and take control of the House. However, the overload of open seats has resulted in several over-sized Democratic primary fields, sparking the kind of infighting that could leave candidates damaged in their general election races.

Democrats see some of their best chances in seats held by GOP Reps. Ryan Costello, whos retiring, and Patrick Meehan, who resigned in April amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Both seats are in suburban Philadelphia, where Democrats think they can recapture voters who went for President Trump in 2016.

Costello, in announcing his retirement in March, acknowledged that his redrawn, more Democratic-leaning district was a factor. But he also suggested he was tired of a political climate fueled by Trump controversies.

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report puts the seat it in its likely Democrat category. However, 10 Democrats are competing Tuesday for that seat.

The other three House Republicans not seeking re-election are Reps. Bill Schuster; Lou Barletta, whos running for Senate; and Charlie Dent, a moderate in an eastern-Pennsylvania district that Trump won but that Democrats also are hoping to flip.

Trumps narrow victory in battleground Pennsylvania marked the first time a Republican presidential nominee won the state in nearly three decades.

Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, as expected, won in populous urban centers like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. But Trump won the state by posting big numbers in traditionally conservative, rural areas and limiting Clintons success in the suburbs.

Still, GOP House incumbents, particularly those in districts Trump won, are sticking with the presidents agenda of cutting taxes and growing the economy.

With the Trump administration, weve seen everything take off in every major way, GOP Rep. Mike Kelly, whos seeking reelection in his northwestern Pennsylvania district, said Tuesday on Fox & Friends. When you come to this area, you can see it.

Democrats were emboldened about their chances in Pennsylvania earlier this year when candidate Conor Lamb, running on a populist message, won an open, GOP-held House seat in a district that included suburban Pittsburgh and that Trump won by nearly 20 percentage points.

However, whether Democratic midterm candidates can replicate that winning strategy remains unclear, especially with tough primaries that could force them to the left.

In the Democrats bid to take GOP freshman Rep. Brian Fitzpatricks suburban Philadelphia seat, for example, primary voters must pick between millionaire Scott Wallace, who could self-fund his way to victory, and Rachel Reddick -- among a 2018 wave of female and ex-military candidates.

However, Wallace, who moved home to Pennsylvania from Maryland after reportedly being recruited to run, is being tagged a carpetbagger. And Reddick is taking heat for being a registered Republican until 2016.

Reddick, a former Navy officer, has largely focused on a Main Street platform that includes health care, better schools and good-paying jobs.

She has also addressed the issue of the party change. When I saw Democrats needed a candidate in Bucks County, I knew I had to step up, she says in a recent online campaign ad. I wont be afraid to stand up to Donald Trump.

The Cook report has the November race in its toss-up categories.

Meanwhile, Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone, who lost to Conor Lamb earlier this year, is fighting for a comeback in the redrawn 14th district. The district now favors Republicans, and analysts believe Saccone has a strong chance at winning.

Six Democrats also are competing Tuesday to win in Dents Allentown-area district, redrawn to exclude some of the more Republican-leaning areas in the central part of the state.

Among the candidates are attorney Susan Wild, whos endorsed by Emilys List; minister Greg Edwards, backed by Democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; and John Morganelli, a district attorney who appears to be among the front-runners.

The race, like several in Orange County, Calif., has seen allegations that Washington Democrats had asked low-tier candidates to drop out.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Newly-installed Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday said he is lifting the departments hiring freeze, a policy put into place by his predecessor that irked State Department employees.

Today, I am lifting the Department's hiring freeze on foreign Service and civil service and authorizing the Department of State to hire to current funding levels, Pompeo wrote in a letter to employees obtained by Fox News.

Pompeo added, This will give our domestic bureaus and missions overseas the flexibility to fill positions that are essential to promoting the department's mission and the United States' foreign policy goals worldwide on behalf of the American people.

State Deparment sources have repeatedly cited former Secretary Rex Tillersons hiring freeze as among their top complaints with the previous leadership. Tillerson was fired by President Trump in March.

Pompeo was confirmed as secretary of state last month.

POMPEO SIGNALS TRUMP SEEKING LONG-TERM AGREEMENT WITH NORTH KOREA'S KIM

The department's workforce is our most valuable asset, Pompeo wrote in his letter. We need our men and women on the ground, executing American diplomacy with great vigor and energy, and representing our great nation. By resuming hiring of the most gifted and qualified individuals, we will ensure that we have the right people with the right skills working to advance our U.S. national interests and executing the department's mission in an increasingly complicated and challenging world.

Since becoming secretary of state, Pompeo made a high-profile trip to North Korea, where he met with leader Kim Jong Un to discuss next months summit with Trump. During that trip, he also helped secure the release of three Americans who had been held captive in the country.

Fox News' Rich Edson and Nick Kalman contributed to this report.
The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that an attorney for a criminal defendant cannot go against his client's wish to maintain his innocence in court, even when the lawyer tries to avoid a death sentence.

The justices voted 6-3 in favor of Louisiana death row inmate Robert McCoy, who disagreed with his lawyer's acknowledgment that he murdered his estranged wifes son, mother and step-father in 2008.

Larry English, the lawyer, claimed the evidence of McCoy's guilt was overwhelming. He said he was trying to limit his clients sentencing to life in prison and pleaded on his behalf. Despite the lawyer's efforts, the jurors still sentenced McCoy to death.

The issue of a lawyer conceding guilt on behalf of a client, while the accused person remains committed to his innocence, occasionally arises in capital cases. In such situations, jurors have to decide separately whether the accused person is guilty and come up with a sentence.

Louisiana's Supreme Court had been the highest state court to let a lawyer concede guilt in the face of a client's objections.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg issued the opinion of the court, saying McCoy must be tried again.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to choose the objective of his defense and to insist that his counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsels experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty, Ginsburg wrote.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissenting opinion, which Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch joined, saying that while McCoy's lawyer admitted his client was guilty of murdering the people, he didn't admit the client's guilt of first-degree murder.

English strenuously argued that petitioner was not guilty of first-degree murder because he lacked the intent required for the offense, Alito wrote. So the Courts newly discovered fundamental right simply does not apply to the real facts of this case.

He added that the evidence implicated McCoy in the killings. "If petitioner is retried, it will be interesting to see what petitioner's current counsel...will do," Alito said.

Among the evidence was a gun found in McCoy's vehicle at the time of his arrest, which was linked to cartridge casings found at the scene of the killings in Louisiana.

McCoy said in his testimony that he was innocent and that a drug trafficking ring led by law enforcement officers framed him for the murders.

His lawyer argued that McCoy was in a fragile mental condition and he lacked intent to kill, a requirement for a jury to sentence a person to death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Trump administration designated the head of Irans central bank a terrorist Tuesday, slapping on sanctions intended to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.

The Treasury Department named Valiollah Seif a specially designated global terrorist who is being accused of helping transfer millions of dollars to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. Seif is the governor of the Iranian central bank.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Seif covertly funneled money from Irans Revolutionary Guards through al-Bliad Islamic Bank in Iraq to help Hezbollah. The Iraqi bank and its chairman also are being punished with sanctions.

"It is appalling, but not surprising, that Irans senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, and it undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor, Mnuchin said in a statement Tuesday. The United States will not permit Irans increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system. The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies.

The U.S. also said it is imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif, meaning anyone who does business with him could be cut off from the U.S. financial system.

President Trump last week pulled out of the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement. The 2015 pact lifted most U.S. and international sanctions against the country, in exchange for Iran agreeing to restrictions on its nuclear program making it impossible to produce a bomb, along with rigorous inspections  terms generally set for 10-15 years.

At the heart of the Iran deal was a giant fiction, that a murderous regime desired only a peaceful, nuclear energy program, Trump said Tuesday. Today, we have definitive proof that this Iranian promise was a lie.

The Treasury Department said a restoration of some sanctions will go into effect after a 90-day countdown, with the rest kicking in after a 180-day wind-down period. Once sanctions are re-imposed, the U.S. effectively would be out of the deal.

During his speech announcing the U.S. withdrawal, Trump called Iran the leading state sponsor of terror.

It exports dangerous missiles, fuels conflicts across the Middle East, and supports terrorist proxies and militias, such as Hezbollah, Hamas, the Taliban and Al Qaeda, he said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump on Tuesday blasted what he estimated to be a $10 million Russian Witch Hunt as the special counsel probe approaches the one-year mark, claiming it's found no Collusion and is not hurting his poll numbers.

Can you believe that with all of the made up, unsourced stories I get from the Fake News Media, together with the $10,000,000 Russian Witch Hunt (there is no Collusion), I now have my best Poll Numbers in a year. Much of the Media may be corrupt, but the People truly get it! Trump tweeted.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment on where the $10 million figure came from. However, Trumps 2019 budget plan projected that Special Counsel Robert Muellers team would keep spending at a rate of about $10 million per fiscal year.

A spokesman in Muellers office told Fox News only that the most recent statement of expenditures for the investigation was posted in December. That statement showed the investigation, during the May-September 2017 period, cost taxpayers nearly $7 million. The sum included $3.2 million in direct investigation expenses covering things like pay, supplies and rent; $1.7 million for salary and benefits; and $3.5 million for indirect expenses, covering costs like agents working on raids or interviews and other government contractors. Muellers office said those expenses would have been incurred irrespective of the existence of the SCO.

Muellers office told Fox News the next statement of expenditures would run through March 31. It is expected to be released by next month.

TRUMP'S RISING APPROVAL RATING SCRAMBLES DEMS' MIDTERM STRATEGY

As for Trump's poll numbers, the presidents approval ratings trended upward last week, though a majority still disapproves of his job performance. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Trump's approval rating reached its highest in 14 months, with 44 percent approving of his job performance and 52 percent disapproving. The 8-point gap is the smallest since March 2017.

Fox News most recent polling shows Trump with a 44 percent approval rating, with 53 percent disapproving. Thats an improvement from October, when just 38 percent approved and 57 percent disapproved.

Mueller was appointed almost one year agoon May 17, 2017by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, following the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions due to his involvement with the Trump campaign.

The president has stressed, over and over again, that there is no collusion.

Fox News' Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
A 6-foot alligator surprised one Florida homeowner after she came across the reptile in her garage on Monday.

The gator likely made its way into the garage after Katherine Purnell backed her car out and went inside her Longwood home to put some items away.

When she returned, Purnell spotted the gator creeping half way onto their rug, sitting right next to the workout equipment in their garage, as if it belonged there, FOX35 reported.

Purnell said she and her family made noise to scare the gator out of the garage, but not before it hissed and showed its teeth.

It was a shock. I didnt expect it, so when I saw its mouth open and hissing, I screamed, she said, telling FOX35 that the gator was just as scared as we were.

The alligator eventually made its way out of the garage and into nearby brush. Still, Purnell said this was the first time she and her family had ever encountered a gator this close up.

It was a big boy, said Purnell.
Beachgoers in Great Yarmouth, England, are afraid to take a dip in the waters off the British coast after half-eaten dolphins washed ashore over the weekend. Locals fear a "monster" great white shark is to blame.

The first dolphin carcass was discovered early Saturday on Yarmouth's Pleasure beach, according to The Sun. A day later, another mangled dolphin washed ashore.

"It's pretty frightening - it can't be a coincidence that something out there keeps attacking and eating seals, dolphins and porpoises," resident Stephen McHugh, 24, told the British newspaper.

Based on the bite marks, residents believe it's the work of a great white shark  but wildlife officials aren't so sure.

GREAT WHITE SHARK HILTON, 1,326-POUND REAL LIFE 'JAWS,' SPOTTED OFF GULF COAST

While there is no reason why great whites should not be found in British waters (e.g. water temperature, prey availability - seals, large fish), to-date there is no concrete evidence to support their presence," John Richardson, conservation officer for The Shark Trust, told The Sun.

I would speculate that the first was a live stranding given the condition when it came in and what and where it is. Hopefully the post-mortem will shed more light on it," Institute of Zoology project manager Rob Deaville added.

There are many predatory sharks present in British waters, including thresher, basking, porbeagle and whitetip sharks. A great white shark, however, is not on the list.

But Richard Peirce, chairman of the Shark Trust, told the BBC in August 2011 that it was only "a matter of time" before the giant creatures made their way to the U.K.

GIANT GREAT WHITE SHARK CAUGHT ON CAMERA CIRCLING MAN'S BOAT: 'IT WAS LIKE A MOVIE'

"Great whites are highly nomadic in movement around the north Atlantic so it's reasonable to say there's a good chance they may stray into British waters," Peirce said.

A fisherman claimed to have spotted a great white off Cornwall in the 1970s, and three more reported seeing the shark on three separate occasions in 1999, the BBC reports.

"The closest capture of a great white was off La Rochelle (in western France) about 200 nautical miles from UK shores which is no distance to them," Peirce explained.

If it does turn out to be a great white shark, residents hope it steers clear of crowded beaches.

"If it is a great white, let's hope it doesn't come into the warmer shallow water close to the shore when people are on the beaches in the summer," McHugh told The Sun.

Great white sharks can grow up to 20-feet long and weigh up to 2.5 tons, making them the largest predatory fish to roam the sea, according to National Geographic. But they're not as lethal as you might imagine.

"Of the 100-plus annual shark attacks worldwide, fully one-third to one-half are attributable to great whites," National Geographic reports. "However, most of these are not fatal, and new research finds that great whites, who are naturally curious, are 'sample biting' then releasing their victims rather than preying on humans."
A new study strongly suggests that at least some memories are stored in genetic code, and that genetic code can act like memory soup. Suck it out of one animal and stick the code in a second animal, and that second animal can remember things that only the first animal knew.

That might sound like science fiction or remind some readers of debunked ideas from decades past. But it's serious science: In a new study, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) extracted RNA, a genetic messenger molecule, from one snail and implanted it in another snail. Then, for good measure, they dribbled that same RNA over a bundle of loose neurons in a petri dish. In both experiments, the recipient  either the snail or the petri-neurons  remembered something the donor snail had experienced.

The memory was simple, the kind of thing even a snail's reflex-based, brainless nervous system can hold onto: the shock of an electric zap in the butt. [10 Things You Didn't Know About The Brain]

When Aplysia californica sea snails get zapped in the tail, they send signals through their simple nervous systems: Retract the parapodia!

At that signal, the little fleshy flaps hanging from their little snail bellies retract.

Shock a snail often enough, and it will remember that it's been getting zapped a lot lately, and its parapodia will retract for longer and longer periods of time. That's a simple behavior based on a simple memory. And in the new paper, published today (May 14) in the journal eNeuro, the UCLA scientists showed that they can suck that memory out of one snail in the form of RNA and stick it in another.

"All [that the recipients] were exposed to was RNA from a trained animal [a snail with the zap memory] or an untrained animal, or in some cases, just the chemical we used to deliver the RNA," said David Glanzman, said lead study author David Glanzman, a neuroscientist and integrative biologist at UCLA.

When the RNA came from a snail that hadn't been zapped, the memory recipients acted "naive," retracting their parapodia only briefly after a zap, as if no more zaps were coming. But when snails were exposed to the RNA from a snail that had been zapped, they retracted their parapodia for longer periods after zaps.

"This is important, because it says it's not just [any implanted RNA] that is producing widespread excitability in neurons," Glanzman told Live Science.

Instead, snails with RNA from other snails that had been shocked  and from only those snails  acted just like they had received those initial "teaching" tail shocks themselves.

Glanzman and his colleagues were able to see the effect on an even more basic level in their bundle of snail neurons in a petri dish. When the researchers bathed the neurons in RNA from a trained snail for 24 hours, then doused the cells in the chemical messenger that means "butt zap!" (in snails, that chemical is serotonin), the neural cells fired wildly, telling their nonexistent parapodia to retract.

When the neurons were bathed in RNA from untrained snails, the nerve cells' reactions were shorter and less intense.

A long-simmering debate

"This paper describes potentially transformative findings on whether memory could be transplanted through transcriptome [genetic] transfer," said Sathya Puthanveettil, a neuroscientist at the Scripps Research Institute in California who studies memory, but who was not involved in the study.

There's been a long-simmering debate in neuroscience about whether the essential units of memory are stored primarily in the "transcriptome" (the long molecules inside cells also used to record genes) or the "connectome" (the network of links between nerve cells).

The transcriptome was more popular in the 20th century, when scientists tried and failed to hunt down "memory RNA" in cruder experiments that broadly resembled Glanzman's. Eventually, however, that idea fell into disfavor, and more and more research and funding turned toward the connectome. Today, there are several active attempts to map the connectome in humans, and certain researchers even suggest that the connectome could be used to preserve human memories after death  though this has yet to be proven.

But connectome studies  including the mapping of the entire connectome of the worm Caenorhabditis elegans have failed to produce conclusive, predictive evidence of the stuff of memory, and so some scientists have looked less favorably on that work as well.

Indeed, Glanzman is something of a partisan in that debate, and he said he sees his experiment as evidence for his side.

"In my opinion, we're spending way too much time and money studying synaptic connections, and way not enough money studying these RNA-based changes and epigenetics," or changes in how cells interact with their genetic code, he said.

This apparent demonstration of the stuff of memory in snails represents a powerful argument for that cause. Still, it's important to keep in mind that this is just one experiment.

"At the moment, we do not have much mechanistic insight about how this memory transfer is achieved," Puthanveettil told Live Science. "We would need more confirmatory experiments to validate these findings in other models."

In other words, scientists don't know at all how this transfer happened, and it's possible there's something going on in this experiment they don't understand.

Right now, there's a lot more work to be done before scientists can say they've found the stuff of memory. Importantly, the type of memory transferred here, the sensitization of a reflex, is among the most basic that exists.

Glanzman said the next step in this research is to attempt similar feats of memory transfer involving more-complex kinds of memories in more-complex animals, like mice.

Originally published on Live Science.
Apple CEO Tim Cook blasted President Trump over his approach to trade and tariffs with China, as concerns over a potential trade war between the world's two largest economies continue to rise, a new interview reveals.

During a Bloomberg Television interview with David Rubenstein set to air next month, Cook said the two nations need to work together, rather than go at it alone.

He said he expressed his views to the president during a meeting last month.

IPHONE BATTERY DEAD AGAIN? 7 SURPRISING WAYS YOU'RE DRAINING YOUR POWER

Its true, undoubtedly true, that not everyone has been advantaged from that  in either country  and weve got to work on that, Cook said, according to Bloomberg. But I felt that tariffs were not the right approach there, and I showed him some more analytical kinds of things to demonstrate why.

During the meeting, which was tweeted about by the president, Cook also discussed issues such as fixing the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

Cook, 57, said that the U.S. is "only one ruling away from a catastrophic case there" and urged Trump to work with lawmakers to come up with a solution for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, colloquially known as DREAMers.

APPLE REPORTEDLY HITS BACK AT APPS THAT ARE SNOOPING ON YOU

Trade war abating?

On Tuesday morning, Trump took to Twitter to discuss that trade negotiations with China were ongoing.

"Trade negotiations are continuing with China," Trump wrote. "They have been making hundreds of billions of dollars a year from the U.S., for many years. Stay tuned!"

The threat of a full-scale trade war appears to be waning, even if the two sides are "very far apart," U.S. Ambassador to China Terry Branstad said on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

In recent days, Trump has tweeted about reinstating access to Chinese telecom giant ZTE.

"President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast," Trump tweeted on May 13. "Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"

He followed that up on May 14, saying that ZTE buys many of its parts from American companies and is part of a larger deal being negotiated with China.

"ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies," Trump added. "This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi."

ZTE said last week that it would cease major operations in the U.S. after the country announced punitive measures against it for not complying with a settlement and violating sanctions that were set on Iran and North Korea.

FLORIDA MOM SAYS APPLE WATCH SAVED TEEN'S LIFE, SPARKS RESPONSE FROM TIM COOK

Important for Apple

The outcome of any trade talks is of utmost importance to Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple, which generates a significant portion of its revenue from China.

In its most recent quarter, Apple generated $13 billion in revenue from Greater China, up 21 percent year-over-year, the strongest growth rate Apple has seen there in two-and-a-half years. On the company's conference call with investors, Cook said the growth in China was aided by the iPhone X, Apple's $999 smartphone and its wearable business.

While Apple gets a lot of revenue from China, its relationship with the world's most populated country goes even further.

Apple uses Foxconn Technology, the largest private employer in China, to assemble many of its products, including the iPhone. In the past, both Apple and Foxconn have come under intense criticism for labor practices in the country, but Apple has worked with its partners to improve these practices.

In its 2018 progress report, the company outlined the progress it has made and the challenges that lie ahead.

The Bloomberg interview comes after Cook, 57, spoke to investors earlier this month and said he was optimistic that the two sides could work out their differences.

"I think my own view is that China and the U.S. have this unavoidable mutuality where China only wins if the U.S. wins and the U.S. only wins if China wins and the world only wins if China and the U.S. win," Cook said when asked if the threat of a trade war between the world's two largest economies could impact the company's business. "And so I think there's lots of things that bind the countries together and I'm actually very optimistic."

Cook added history has shown that "countries that embrace openness and diversity do much, much better than the ones that are closed."

He ended his response by saying: "I'm a big believer that the two countries together can both win and grow the pie, not just allocate it differently. And so that's our focus, and I'm optimistic that  I don't know every play by play that will happen, but over time, I think that view will prevail."



Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
A group of Kentucky middle schoolers have won a prestigious award for developing an ingenious device that lets first responders to safely collect hazardous needles left behind by opioid and other drug users.

The students from Ashland Middle School in Ashland, KY., are one of the national winners of Samsungs Solve for Tomorrow contest, which promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM).

Aubree Hay, a 7th grader at Ashland Middle School is one of the students that worked on the project. In our area, we have a very big opioid crisis and theres a problem with people leaving around syringes, she told Fox News. Local police officers, she added, have been getting hurt dealing with the syringes.

GOOGLE TAPS TECH TO BATTLE OPIOID CRISIS

When the schools public resource officer explained the extent of the problem, the students decided to harness technology to find a solution.

Hay and her classmates started work on the device last October. After an initial design phase, they used 3D printing to create the hollow molded plastic box. One side of the rectangular box consists of plastic teeth, enabling a first responder pick up any discarded needles without exposing them to the sharp tip.

The prototype was completed in February. Such was the level of interest in the device that local law enforcement asked the students to make a version that could fit into an evidence beaker. The middle schoolers duly created a cylindrical prototype that could potentially fit into a police evidence bag.

FACEBOOK, COCAINE, OPIOIDS: HOW ADDICTIVE IS THE SOCIAL NETWORK?

The students, who are aged 11 to 14, entered their project in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow contest, winning $150,000 of technology for their school. They were also named Community Choice Award winners, which will bring a further $20,000 of technology to Ashland Middle School.

Our hard work paid off! said Hay.

Ann Woo, senior director of corporate citizenship at Samsung Electronics America, told Fox News that the judges were impressed by the students understanding of a challenging issue and their desire to help first responders in their community. What we thought was really so amazing was their ingenuity, their ability to prototype and create different designs, she said.

The students will be meeting with lawmakers Senator Mitch McConnell (R.-KY), Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), and Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) in Washington D.C. on Wednesday.

This is not the first time that technology has been used in the battle against Americas opioid crisis.

For National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 28 Google worked with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to develop a Google Maps tool to help people get rid of medicines they no longer need.

The two other national winners of the Samsung competition were Cavallini Middle School in Upper Saddle River, N.J., which developed a helmet concussion sensor and Thomas Jefferson Middle School in Winston-Salem, N.C., which built a smart flood gate system.

Follow James Rogers on Twitter @jamesjrogers
This is a rush transcript from "Special Report with Bret Baier," May 14, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's government. Today we follow through on this recognition and open our embassy in the historic and sacred land of Jerusalem.

ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: President Trump, by recognizing history have you made history. We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay.

JARED KUSHNER, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: Israel is a sovereign nation with the right to determine its own capital, the same right that is enjoyed by every other country in the world.

SAEB EREKAT, PALESTINIAN NEGOTIATOR: We also witnessed today a ceremony of the prime minister of Israel and the administration of President Trump burying the peace price, burying the two-state solution, killing the hope in the minds of the people of the Middle East as a whole for the possibility of peace.

(END VIDEO CLIPS)

BRET BAIER, ANCHOR: It was a campaign promise and it has been delivered. The U.S. embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Other countries have followed suit or are in the process of doing that. The United States is the first one, but Guatemala this week, Paraguay, Honduras, Romania has a proposal to move its embassy, would be the first EU member to do so very soon. Democrats supporting this. Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, saying "In a long overdue move we have moved our embassy to Jerusalem. Every nation should have the right to choose its capital. I sponsored legislation to do this two decades ago, and I applaud President Trump for doing so."

Obviously there were other people who had a real problem with it, including many Palestinians who took to the streets today. Some 40,000 Palestinian staged demonstrations along the border. More than 50 people were killed in the rioting there, 2,300 wounded, and some of the Arab street weighing in on all of that today as well.

Let's bring in our panel: Steve Hayes, editor in chief for The Weekly Standard; Mara Liasson, national political correspondent for National Public Radio; Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at The Federalist, and we welcome former National Security Council spokesman Michael Anton.

Michael, let me start with you. This was the plan for a long time. Has it gone as planned, do you think?

MICHAEL ANTON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESMAN: It's more than a campaign promise. First of all, this is U.S. law for, I think, 23 years, passed in 1995. And this is one of the things, I just want to point out, that I think drives middle America, the average American crazy about Washington. Congress passes a law with overwhelming bipartisan support, puts a waiver provision in it so the will of the people through their elected representatives is that this should happen. And every six months every president waives it, waives it, waives it, and it never happens. It's a kind of theater in a way.

And then a president finally fulfills the terms of the law, and you saw this, yes, he's got some support, but a lot of his domestic political critics level all kinds of accusations at him when I thought as the terms of the law this was bipartisan consensus for two decades.

BAIER: So on the bigger picture, Mara, on the Middle East peace process and where this goes, what does this do to that?

MARA LIASSON, NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: Well, I think that's the big question, kind of now what? It's not unlike getting out of the Iran deal. OK, now what are you going to do next? The Middle East peace proposal from the Trump administration has yet to be unveiled. As you heard the Palestinian leader, they are not inclined to enter talks now they feel the United States is no longer an honest broker. It's just totally on Israel's side.

So I think now the ball is in the president's court. And he has to come up with the next steps for Middle East peace if that's what he wants. If he just wanted to fulfill a campaign promise, he has certainly done that.

BAIER: Mollie?

MOLLIE HEMINGWAY, THE FEDERALIST: I think it is awful to see what we saw, the loss of life with so many Palestinians being killed. And The Washington Post had reported that they were told, that Hamas had told them that Israel was not manning these sites on the border and it was causing people to rush, and then they was found that they were manned. That is a very sad to see and it's not fun to watch.

It is also true, though, that I think that this could, in the long term, lead to a greater chance for peace. We have the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. And it is important that everyone acknowledge that, and it's time for Palestinians to acknowledge that, and that dealing with reality is a good way to get move forward towards a peace agreement which people hope for.

BAIER: Steve?

STEVE HAYES, THE WEEKLY STANDARD: There are other things taking place behind the scenes around the subterranean level that suggest that there is some move toward peace. When you talk about the talks that are happening out of public eye between Israel and the Saudis, or the support, the common values on the Iran deal between Israel and the Saudis, Israel and UAE, the Bahrainis stepping up and speaking out in favor of the withdrawal of the Iran deal. I think you're seeing these moves. This gets a lot of headline particularly because of the loss of life, but there are other indications that are much more positive.

And this is something that Donald Trump campaigned on. This something that he said. I think Mike is exactly right. This is something that you had presidents of both parties saying for literally decades, and they didn't do it. He did it.

BAIER: The equation of pulling out of the Iran deal, then moving the embassy, and those two things together, how do they interchange? How do they interlock? How do they affect each other?

ANTON: Well, I think that -- first of all I just want to follow up on a point that Steve made there. I think when you missed an opportunity, I don't think this -- it's really the Palestinians that are missing the opportunity. It's really the Palestinians that need to come back to the table. That's what's important here.

If the Palestinians, if Mahmoud Abbas would just come back and talk to this administration, talk to this president and sit down, I think he would fight an incredible willingness and eagerness to get a deal done. I have heard President Trump talk about this so many times. There's an old saying that goes around Washington, people who have dealt with this issue, that the Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. And that's what they are doing now.

I think it's also interesting that what you are seeing is a lot of this is coming out of Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas and run by Hamas, right, and you are not seeing this intensity come outs of the West Bank. This is clearly being ginned up for political purposes. And the White House is so concerned. Look, what's only a couple weeks ago that the White House hosted a conference on the future of Gaza and how to improve its infrastructure and improve the lives of the people. Got the Gulf Arab states to show up and pledge some aid. These are states that don't like to talk to one another in some respects because of the dispute in the Gulf and don't like to be in the same room with Israeli representatives, and they were all there. I think that was another positive and hopeful sign if only the Palestinians would embrace the possibilities that I think President Trump is opening up for them.

BAIER: I guess the question is, does the Arab street change now because of the different relationship with the Trump administration and the Gulf states as far as how they react to both things, the Iran deal and this move?

HEMINGWAY: There is, it does seem a reshaping in the Middle East from what we had seen in the previous administration with an effort to make Iran more dominant and the -- but I think it remains to be seen how they respond.

BAIER: Mara?

LIASSON: I come back to this question, if the United States is going to be the leader and is going to put forward a peace plan it needs to do that. The Palestinians will come to the table if they see a good plan where there is something in it for them. Right now they don't know what it is.

HAYES: For years, Middle East peace has been used as something to block progress in other areas in the region. The foreign policy establishment says you have to solve Middle East peace first, and then you can address threats from Iraq, you can address jihadism, you can address Iran, you can address all these other things. I think this sends a message pretty clearly that's not going to be an obstacle anymore. Take that, set to the side, and deal with threats like Iran on a realistic basis.

BAIER: So it changes the paradigm, it changes the starting point?

HAYES: Brit said it earlier in the show. You are dealing with reality here. This is a more realistic look at the way that the Middle East is unfolding.

BAIER: Final word.

ANTON: One thing, too, is keep in mind that Iran is a big supporter of Hamas. A lot of the wealth that Iran is able to take in because of the Iran deal on frozen assets and then the wealth that they were able to generate by being allowed to do business with countries that used to sanction them, they are spending that to destabilize the Middle East and fund terror. They're funneling in to Hamas and other groups like this. And hopefully with the U.S. out of the Iran deal, perhaps some new sanctions and some other secondary sanctions going back into effect, some of that resource funnel gets choked off, gets reduced, and Iran doesn't have the resources, or it has fewer resources to spread mayhem, chaos, and violence the way it has been doing.

BAIER: We will see.

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From the publisher: No one understands the Make America Great Again effort with more insight and more experience than former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich.

Gingrich was an ally of President Ronald Reagan during his 1980 Lets Make America Great Again campaign. In 1994, Newt was the architect of the Contract with America and the campaign that ended 40 years of Democratic control in the House of Representatives. As a friend and supporter of President Donald Trump, Gingrich authored the #1 New York Times bestseller Understanding Trump, which explained the 2016 election and the early Trump presidency in ways no one else could.

In Trumps America: The Truth About Our Nations Great Comeback, Gingrich describes our countrys tremendous turnaround under President Donald Trumps leadership  and confronts the desperate efforts by the elites in academia, the media, and the Washington establishment to undermine and distort his achievements.
The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight on Monday was sucked halfway out of the cockpit window after the window blew out, Reuters reported, citing local reports.

The flight was reportedly at 32,000 feetabout a half hour into the flight-- when Captain Liu Chaunjian said he heard a loud noise in the cockpit. He told a local paper that there was no warning sign.

Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang, he reportedly said. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window.

WATCH: SOUTHWEST PLANE LOSES PRESSURE MIDFLIGHT: IT WAS A 'SCARY SITUATION'

He described a harrowing scene. He said anything that was not screwed down was floating in the air.

I couldnt hear the radio, he said. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges.

The co-pilot was wearing a seatbelt and was pulled back in, suffering only minor injuries, the report said. None of the 119 passengers on the Airbus A319 to Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, were injured.

Airbus has assigned a team to investigate, Chinese authorities said.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the airline, a primarily regional carrier, has a good safety record. China Southern Airlines further stated that a "mechanical failure" was to blame for the incident, though they did not elaborate to WSJ. The aircraft itself is believed to be seven years old.

SEE IT: PLANE CARRYING 222 CRASHES INTO JET ON RUNWAY, SLICES OFF TAIL

Recently, Southwest pilot Tammie Jo Shults was credited with landing a plane after an engine exploded in midair, shattering a window and blowing one passenger partially out of the plane.

The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, was later declared dead at a Pennsylvania hospital.
As the notorious live export ship, the Al Shuwaikh, began to make its way towards Fremantle Port, a crowd of many hundreds of West Australians gathered on the waterfront. United by compassion, they called for justice  and an end to live export cruelty.

This was the latest of many snap-rallies that have been held since a brave crew member filmed the devastating scenes on-board Australian live export ships that continue to horrify countless people around the world.

As revealed in that shocking footage across five routine shipments, the length of the journey from Australia to the Middle East, combined with the extreme changes in temperature at this time of year, creates a perfect storm of suffering for the animals on board. Sheep were seen trampled, crushed, covered with excrement, left to die slow and painful deaths  even cooking alive in their own skin.

The Australian Veterinarian Association has publically recommended that all live sheep exports between May and October be stopped  due to the predictable and unavoidable increased risk of heat stress.

However, Emanuel Exports is forging ahead with its plans to send some 60,000+ sheep on the Al Shuwaikh straight into the heart of the blistering Middle Eastern summer.

With the government regulator manifestly failing in its duty to protect these animals from live export cruelty, once again, it's up to us  and every caring Aussie  to keep the pressure up.

There are politicians right now who are wavering with the power of our voices. They are on the cusp of standing with us. They now know the true horrors of live export, and their consciences are calling them to take a stand against this cruelty. And every letter you send, every email, phone call, and every meeting with them, is supporting more politicians than ever before to speak up for the animals.

Our united persistence and determination to hold these exporters to account is what will win this fight for the animals  and banish live export to a shameful chapter in Australia's history.

Keep the pressure on!

Every day that animals are suffering on ships is a day that politicians need to hear from YOU! Here are 2 powerful actions you can take to stay strong and stay loud for the sheep:

1. Email your Federal MP

Ask them: 'Why are sheep still being loaded onto these ships of shame?'

2. Contact your MP again

This critical follow-up action will keep the call to end live export cruelty front of mind (and flooding politicians inboxes!)

3. Bonus action!

Sign up for our special Live Export Daily Action team. We'll send you a reminder each morning with a critical task you can complete for the sheep, in five minutes or less.
An Alaska Airlines flight scheduled to fly from Los Angeles to New York was forced to make an emergency landing in Philadelphia over concerns raised by an oil pressure warning, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.

Alaska Airlines 1420 landed safely at Philadelphia International Airport at 8:53 a.m. today after the crew shut down an engine due to an oil pressure warning indication, reads a statement issued by the FAA.

The flight originated at Los Angeles International Airport and was headed to John F. Kennedy International Airport when it diverted."

NTSB RELEASES PHOTOS OF SOUTHWEST PLANE INVOLVED IN FATAL ACCIDENT

A representative for the Philadelphia International Airport confirmed to Fox News that the plane landed safely on Tuesday morning. No injuries were reported.

The FAA said it will investigate the incident.

The Philadelphia International Airport was also the site of Southwest Flight 1380's emergency landing in April, after one engine blew apart on a flight from New York to Dallas. Schrapnel from the engine had also pieced a window, causing a passenger to be partially blown out of the aircraft. The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, was later declared dead at a Pennsylvania hospital.

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The National Transportation Safety Bureau subsequently determined the cause of the incident to be a faulty fan blade breaking off due to "metal fatigue."
American Airlines reportedly announced new guidelines that restrict what passengers can pass off as emotional support animal.

Sorry, hedgehogs and goatsyoure out.

The new rules take effect on July 1. The Chicago Tribune reported that passengers will have to submit documentation 48 hours before their scheduled departure and a mental health professional must sign off.

The list of animals banned include amphibians, goats, hedgehogs, insects, nonhousehold birds and animals with tusks, horns or hooves, according to the paper.

Passengers with trained service animals will not be impact by the protocol changes. Miniature horses trained to be service animals will still be allowed to fly, the paper reported.

American spokesman Ross Feinstein told the paper the airline sought feedback from disability advocate groups before announcing the new measures.

United and Delta Air Lines announced similar policy changes earlier this year, which tightened their regulations on emotion support animals by requiring passengers to provide special documentation for service animals trying to board a flight.

While federal regulation requires airlines to permit service animals to accompany passengers with disabilities in their seat, there has been a growing number of concern about the type of animals passengers have been bringing on board  including comfort turkeys and gliding possums.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced new legislation in April to correlate the definition of a service animal under the Air Carriers Access Act with that of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The move would create criminal penalties for those misrepresenting their animal as a trained service animal, in addition to requiring federal agencies to lay out behavioral guidelines for service animals working on an aircraft.

Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) is proposing an amendment calling on the U.S. Transportation Department to clarify existing policies.

Fox News' Michelle Gant and Janine Puhak contributed to this report.
A Michigan man charged with incest and sexual assault, is also accused of fathering a child with a family member.

Gregory St. Andre, 37, is charged with two counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct after he was found to be the father of his daughter's child.

St. Andre is accused of sexually abusing the now-20-year-old and getting her pregnant. He faced a judge in Mount Clemens on Monday.

"She has a son by the defendant. What is she supposed to do?" her aunt, Michelle Truszkowski, said. "Its just madness. It's tearing our whole family apart."

Warren police say the mother of St. Andre's daughter came to Warren police in February after the 20-year-old gave birth to a baby boy. The family says they suspected abuse long before February.

"We've been through this for years. It started years ago," Truszkowski said.

St. Andre's wife, who is filing for divorce, says she and other relatives suspected abuse for over five years but were unable to get the attention of law enforcement and unable to get her daughter help.

Read more from Fox 2 Detroit.
Two dogs who were missing for 10 days in the chaos of volcano evacuations in Hawaii were pulled to safety on Sunday morning after the animals were "surrounded by lava," rescuers said.

Carol Hosley, the owner of the dogs named Brus and Little Dude, was evacuating from her apartment in Leilani Estates when the two dogs ran off in fear, Hawaii News Now reported.

Hosley and Aloha Ilio Rescue, the local nonprofit from which the pups were adopted six months ago, searched for the dogs  Brus, a jack russell terrier-pug mix, and Little Dude, a terrier mix  for more than a week as volcanic fissures continue to open up on Hawaii's Big Island.

"We've been looking for him for 10 days," Daylynn Kyles, president of Aloha Ilio Dog Rescue, told the news outlet. "We've just kept going back, and going back."

NASA ASTRONAUT SNAPS STUNNING PHOTO OF HAWAII VOLCANO ERUPTING FROM SPACE

Kyles, along with two friends, discovered the two dogs on Sunday in lower Puna, the rescue group wrote on Facebook.

The animal rescuers crawled through grass to the fence line to get to the dogs, which were covered in red ant bites, according to Hawaii News Now.

"We just knew this dog was probably just terrified, he was truly stuck, he couldn't get out," Kyles said. The group later learned they were near the 17th fissure, which opened over the weekend and, as of Monday, is still active.

The dogs' owner said she was "thrilled to death" her furry friends were rescued, telling the news outlet: "The other stuff is stuff, but I got the dogs."

Brus and Little Dude are currently staying with Aloha Ilio Rescue while Hosley looks for a place to stay amid the ongoing volcanic activity.
A New York mother was arrested Monday night in connection to the death of her 1-year-old child who overdosed on prescription painkillers last year, according to police.

Leila Wade, 39, of Staten Island, was arrested after her daughter died after taking one of her prescription drugs, The New York Daily News reported. She faces manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide charges.

Bianca Abdul, the infant, was found dead on March 20, 2017. She was found in her playpen, according to the paper. The infants death was ruled a homicide in October by the city medical examiners office, determining she died of a fatal concoction of morphine and diazepam.

Wade allegedly told authorities that her daughter hit her head several days before her the incident, but seemed fine. She later told The Staten Island Advance that she was worried Bianca might have gotten ahold of her prescription drugs.

"That amount for a 15-pound baby, you're going to sleep," she told the newspaper. "You're going to sleep with no pain ... there's no crying out. It's immediate."

Wades other 12-year-old daughter has since been removed from the home and placed in foster care, The Daily News reported.
Adrian Calabano, 23, left his native Philippines to fill a void of teachers in a Nevada suburb. He said he sold his car to pay for his flight and hefty administrative fees so he could get a salary several times higher than he would receive in his homeland.

But his salary is still lower than an average American teacher. He was hired to teach sixth grade special education class at Greenspun Junior High School in Henderson, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas.

My salary is much better than what I receive and get from the Philippines, he told Fox News.

As debate over low teacher salaries makes its way across the country  there have been statewide protests in at least four states the past two months  this little-known U.S. program for foreign teachers is growing.

U.S. school districts are increasingly hiring teachers from abroad to fill a dearth of teacher in school districts across the country. They are brought in through a cultural exchange visa program offered by the U.S. State Department. Known as the J-1 visa, it is the ticket for teachers abroad to come to the U.S. and teach American students.

But the program has come under heavy criticism by educators who feel it is depressing already low teacher wages and displacing America educators who would earn higher wages.

Because the foreign teacher is working on a visa considered a cultural exchange, the district does not have to offer them the perks and benefits a regular teacher would get. States increasingly using the program to hire teachers include Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, and Nevada.

There were 2,867 J-1 visa holders placed in U.S. schools in 2017, up from about 1,197 in 2010, according to the U.S. State Department. The J-1 visa is temporary, lasting about two to three years.

Critics say the foreign teachers dont hold the same credentials as local educators and are a legal loophole for districts to pay even lower teacher salaries. Plus, critics say, its not solving the overall issue  teacher shortages.

"It's just putting a Band-aid on a huge gaping wound, said Michelle Kim, a spokesperson for the Clark County Education Association, the local teacher's union. What kind of message is the district sending? They can solve the issue if they were to prioritize and compensate educators that they have.

Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, the largest union for educators in the country, said the visas are not in the best interest of teachers. She calls the program an abuse of an exchange program.

Every classroom in America needs a well-supported, well-trained, well-paid educator helping students learn and thrive, Weingarten said. Teachers fight every day for the resources to do their job, and we fight for and with them  that includes solving shortages by improving wages and working conditions and giving teachers the professional respect, voice and latitude they need to succeed.

Calabano acknowledges that he and his other fellow Filipino colleagues have come under criticism.

Ive heard some complaints from my other Filipino teachers, I mean, from my friends, that some American teachers, they think were incompetent, especially in speaking English, he said. For some parents, Ive heard some of my friends, they told me that some parents are hard to deal with. Im not sure if its because of their kids or if it relates to our country.

Supporters say the foreign teachers are filling a critical need  and it benefits everyone who takes part in the program.

Its a mutually beneficial program that brings experienced foreign teachers with specialized training and education into American classrooms, said James Bell, president of Alliance Abroad, which sponsors many foreign teachers. U.S. children receive bilingual teaching experiences, learn about other cultures and countries, and benefit from the teachers expertise in areas such as special education, STEM education and foreign language.

This is all taking place among a fraught political background as U.S. teachers are solidifying their political might. This year, thousands of educators have organized walkouts of their classrooms, temporarily paralyzed school districts and amassed in multitudes at their state capitols to demand higher wages, more school resources and to renegotiate their pensions and benefits.

States like Oklahoma, Kentucky, Arizona, and West Virginia have, for the most part, conceded to teachers pleas, avoiding protracted battles between legislators and unions by agreeing to give educators raises and investing more tax dollars in schools.

And, amid all this democratic noise, every state in the country for the 2017-2018 school year was experiencing a teacher shortage, according to the Learning Policy Institute, an education think tank that compiles such data.

In Clark County, Nev., Calabano and about 80 Filipinos were hired by the Clark County School District to teach special education. As the fifth largest district in the nation, it employs approximately 18,000 teachers.

For Calabano and those teachers wanting to come here, the visa application process is lengthy, costly, and has a number of requirements.

Would-be visa holders need to have a sufficient level of proficiency in English and are required to have been a teacher and must have been teaching in their country of origin for at least two years. Many nonprofits work in tandem and sponsor applicants for a fee to help them get recruited to teach in U.S. schools.

The J-1 visa goes beyond teachers, also including au pairs, camp counselors and foreign exchange students, professors or researchers.

For some school districts, it is a critical lifeline for districts dealing with severe teacher shortages.

The district uses the J-1 Visa program as part of its recruiting program. Due to the extreme shortage of teachers in Arizona and the United States, we work on every aspect of recruiting to obtain teachers but it is virtually impossible to fill the number of teachers needed with candidates who are U.S. citizens. This is a temporary, legal way for the district to hire teachers and provides a cultural diversity our schools need and want, said Nedda Shafir, a spokesperson for the Pendergast Elementary School District in Phoenix.

Shafir disputes the notion that her district is prioritizing international teachers over U.S. citizens. Since 2015, around 50 foreign teachers have been hired out 500. Shafir said the hires take place not instead of, but in addition to, American hires.

Once the visa expires, the foreign teacher musts return home. They cannot request to return to the U.S. for two years.

Calabano said he has learned a lot and wishes he could extend the visa.

For me I want to stay, but Im required to go back to the Philippines, for a certain time, he said. Long term, if I can get a working visa, I would love that.
Four juveniles were arrested in connection with a tainted batch of cupcakes that were brought to a Connecticut school last year, police said Monday.

Two boys and two girls were charged with conspiracy to commit fourth-degree sexual assault, fourth-degree sexual assault and second-degree breach of peace, FOX61 reported. Winchester police said the names of the juveniles werent released because of their age. All of them reportedly gave themselves up to police.

The case was presented to the prosecuting authorities after an extensive forensic examination of the cupcake and DNA comparisons of the suspect juveniles, police said.

Police said last June that they were investigating after it was believed that cupcakes brought to Gilbert School were tainted with bodily fluids, according to WFSB-TV. A student told the station that two batches of the cupcakes were served before school started and that fellow students and a teacher were targeted.

"They were made for certain kids and they were given on a day where they were handing out and certain people got certain ones," Kelsey Owens, a former student, told WFSB-TV.

A concerned parent told FOX61 the students pretended that the cupcakes were baked out of the kindness of their hearts.

Then, during lunch, they bragged about putting bodily fluids into the cupcakes to a small group of friends at lunch. They expected their friends to find it funny, but reactions apparently backfired, the parent said.

Police said the substance put into the cupcakes wasnt dangerous and no students fell ill because of it.
An Arizona high school on Friday apologized for publishing a senior quote that read, The South will rise again, The Republic reported.

Vista Grande High School said the quote was erased in yearbooks that have not been distributed to students, about 90 percent. The report said the quote appeared on the schools Facebook page. The Facebook page has been since deleted.

The quote appeared under the students photo. The paper did not identify the student, who is a minor. It was unclear if the student is facing disciplinary action for the quote.
Police are searching for the remains of a mother of two from New Hampshire who lived on the same street as the Allenstown serial killer when she disappeared in 1980.

Officials in Manchester were joined by FBI agents in a wooded area on the western side of the city on Monday as they searched for any evidence or remains in the disappearance of Denise Ann Daneault, who was just 25 when she went missing after a night out with friends.

Its a big area back there and some challenging terrain, homicide prosecutor Jeffery Strelzin told The (New Hampshire) Union Leader, adding that the case is officially a missing person case, but foul play is a possibility.

Authorities searched the area in November 2017 after receiving an anonymous tip. It's unclear what prompted the renewed search this week.

At the time of her disappearance, Daneault was living on the same street as serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen, who died in prison in 2010 after being convicted of killing his common-law wife in Richmond, Calif. in 2002.

Rasmussen is believed to have killed as many as seven people. Investigators believe he may have also killed Daneault.

I didnt say we ruled him out. We dont see a connection at this point, Strelzin said.

Rasmussen was arrested in November 2002, several months after the body of his wife, Eunsoon Jun, was found buried in her basement. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Police now believe he also killed a former girlfriend, Denise Beaudin, in the early 1980s while they were living in Manchester, N.H.

NH HOME OF WOMAN MISSING 35 YEARS IS EYED IN NEW SEARCH

In Thanksgiving 1981, Rasmussen, Beaudin, who was 23 at the time, and her a 6-month-old daughter, disappeared. No missing persons report was ever filed.

Though they were living in New Hampshire, authorities believe Rasmussen killed Beaudin somewhere in California and later abandoned her little girl in a nearby trailer park.

Boston 25 reported last year that Beaudins daughter, Lisa, only had shadowy memories of her life as a baby and recently decided to find out more about her past through DNA. This led to the discovery that Beaudin was her mother.

Beaudins remains have not been found.

The discovery that Beaudin was the childs mother led police to Rasmussen. DNA tests later showed that he is also the father of a child found stuffed inside barrels in Allenstown. The body of an adult woman and two other children were also discovered in separate searches in 1985 and 2000.

Investigators have not yet identified the victims, who are not biologically related to Rasmussen.

Boston 25 reported last year that Rasmussens victim in California and all the four victims in Allenstown died of blunt force trauma. His common-law wife and the oldest child in Allenstown were both dismembered.

Authorities have said all of the victims found in Allenstown were wrapped in material and electrical wire that came from Carol Cable, where Beaudin worked at the time.

WOMAN REMEMBERS SUSPECTED KILLER'S TEARS OVER DEAD WIFE

Investigators say Rasmussens case was unique.

"What distinguishes Rasmussen from most serial killers, is that he targeted people with whom he had a relationship," criminologist Jack Levin told Boston 25 earlier month. "Most serial killers would never do that; it's the last thing they would do. Instead, they focus on complete strangers."
Bike Share Shakeup

continued

The local Clean Energy Coalition launched ArborBike in 2014 with a $600,000 federal grant to build the system and $600,000 from the U-M to underwrite operating costs for three years. But as it came time to kick off ArborBike's fourth full season, CEC executive director Sean Reed says, it became clear that no single sponsor was going to replace the U. Amassing multiple smaller sponsorships would have required hiring a fundraiser, which wasn't feasible for the small nonprofit.



Ultimately, Reed says, "the buck stopped with me in terms of our organizational capacity to pull this off," and CEC withdrew from managing the system. The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is now preparing a request for proposals from potential new operators.



AAATA business services manager Chris Simmons says ArborBike can cover its $250,000 annual baseline budget this year with contributions from founding partners AAATA, U-M, and the city, plus $50,000 from the Downtown Development Authority. Longer term, Simmons says, the goal is for a system that's "self-supporting on user fees and other marketing efforts."



AAATA hopes that a new operator will bring national--perhaps even international--expertise. As community relations manager Mary Stasiak notes, there have been "some real major advances in operating bike-share services" since ArborBike launched.
An intoxicated Texas mother had a night she may want to forget after being thrown out of a school play, kicking a police officer while handcuffed and flooding her jail cell, police said.

Christy Ann Churchwells allegedly turbulent Thursday began around 8 p.m. at her childs school play in Friendswood Junior High School auditorium, CHRON reported.

Witnesses told police Churchwell became loud and disruptive during the performance. When a police officer asked the 35 year old to step outside, the mother stumbled and allegedly reeked of alcohol.

Churchwell tried to punch the officer before she was arrested on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge, police said. She then allegedly kicked the officer in the leg.

The mothers tirade continued while behind bars when she purposefully set off the fire sprinkler in her jail cell, officials said.

Officers said they found eight travel-sized vodka bottles  seven of which were empty  on Churchwell.

Churchwell was charged with assaulting a peace officer, public intoxication and filing a false report or alarm.
A former police lieutenant in Louisiana has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor sexual battery after being accused of inappropriate physical contact with women he commanded.

Caddo Parish district attorney's spokesman John Andrew Prime says 48-year-old Stephen Wayne Plunkett of Bossier City pleaded guilty Monday.

Plunkett got a suspended 18-month sentence. As part of 18 months of active probation, Plunkett must also complete a sexual offender counseling and treatment program and an anger management program. He also must stay out of law enforcement and away from both the department and the three women.

Prime says the women agreed to the plea arrangement.

Plunkett worked for Shreveport police from May 1991 to December 2017, when he was put on paid departmental leave. He was later allowed to retire.
Is it even an official disaster if you didn't document it on social media?

As residents awaited a possible major eruption at Kilauea volcanos summit on Hawaiis Big Island, authorities have had to issue precautions -- especially to people who want to take a selfie by the rivers of molten lava.

Alan Richmond, spokesman for the Hawaii Police Department, told Fox News on Monday its a frustrating scenario.

Weve got the road blocks up in the area, and about 100 National Guard on site that are supposed to be doing security, Richmond said. We have put out alerts that remind people that if they arent supposed to be in the area, they shouldnt be there.

Richmond, however, acknowledged that some residents who were given placards to allow them back into their homes during daylight hours might have handed off the cards to others looking for a lava close-up.

HAWAII VOLCANO EMITTING DANGEROUS LEVELS OF SULFUR DIOXIDE, RESIDENTS COMPLAIN OF ASHFALL

Demian Barrios calls himself a lava chaser. In a Facebook Live stream Sunday, Barrios was filming in the Puna district of Hawaii, where a 17th fissure opened up early Sunday morning.

His videos on social media show rocks and blobs of hot lava hurling into the air.

Barrios didn't share his exact location while filming the video to those who asked on Facebook, but called the experience "absolutely mind blowing."

Its really something that makes me feel alive, Barrios told TIME about lava chasing. Theres an overwhelming sense of power and respect and love that you feel standing there being able to see that. Its almost addictive.

Authorities say the volcano has produced nearly 20 active lava fissures.

Robert Hughes, the owner of Aloha Junction Bed and Breakfast in Volcano, told CBS News that although hes received tons of cancellations he suspects hell soon hear from adventurers and photographers who want to see the eruption up close.

Im not too worried about it because Ive lived here so long and Ive seen it go through lots of different episodes, said Hughes, who has lived in his village for 45 years.

Lava this weekend spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighborhood on Hawaiis Big Island not far from the Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents opened over the past week.

LAVA FROM HAWAII VOLCANO NEARS AN EVACUATION ROUTE

Nearby resident Richard Schott, 34, watched from a police checkpoint as the eruption churned just over a ridgeline and behind some trees.

Ive actually seen rocks fly over the tree line, and I can feel it in my body, Schott said. Its like a nuclear reaction or something.

Overall, nearly 2,000 people have been told to evacuate since May 3, when the volcano first erupted, and lava has destroyed more than two dozen homes.

Fox News Barnini Chakraborty and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The family of one of the four people killed in a shooting at a Waffle House restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee, is suing the suspected gunman's father, accusing the Illinois man of negligence.

The (Peoria) Journal Star reports that the family of victim Joe Perez filed a lawsuit Monday in Tazewell County, Illinois, the home of Jeffrey Reinking. Reinking's son, Travis Reinking, also lived there before moving to Nashville.

Police say Travis Reinking had displayed signs of mental illness before his Illinois gun card was revoked last summer. His guns were transferred to his father, but police say the father returned them to his son at some point.

Investigators say one of the guns, an AR-15, was used in the April 22 attack at a Waffle House.

Through his lawyer, Jeffrey Reinking declined to comment Tuesday.

Travis Reinking is charged with murder.

___

This story was corrected earlier to fix the name of the (Peoria) Journal Star, which was incorrectly referred to as the Peoria Star.
Arkansas authorities are searching for the man accused of killing an Italian tourist after he was mistakenly released from prison two months ago.

A judge issued a new arrest warrant Friday for Andre Jackson, who was released from prison in March after completing a sentence for a separate crime, KATV-TV reported . He's charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery in the death of Carlo Marigliano, who was found fatally shot in Little Rock in July.

Marigliano's cousin said prosecutors alerted his family of the mistake on Friday, and they feel like they have to relive the death all over again.

"I'm amazed something like this would happen," said Gianni Sulmonte, who lives in Maryland. "If you were charged this way, you may not be able to bond out. But this guy, he just got woken up first thing in the morning and probably walked right out wondering, 'What the heck just happened to me?'"

Marigliano was traveling with friends in the U.S. last year before leaving the group to visit other areas on his way to Arizona, according to his family. He was killed near an apartment complex in Little Rock, according to police.

Arkansas Department of Correction spokesman Solomon Graves said the department checked for other convictions or warrants, but nothing turned up before Jackson was released from prison on March 16.

Pulaski County sheriff's officials said there should have been a detainer on Jackson, and it's unclear where in the process mistakes were made.

Jackson was due in court on Monday for a hearing on a mental health evaluation that was never completed. Jackson was ordered to undergo a forensic evaluation in January, "however he failed to show for his scheduled appointment," according to an April 11 letter from the Arkansas State Hospital.

___

Information from: KATV-TV, http://www.katv.com/
An Oklahoma mother of three who allegedly bound and gagged her daughters and stabbed the eldest repeatedly -- before setting their house on fire  has been taken into custody. Her 7-year-old daughter who was missing with her was also found safe.

Tulsa police announced early Tuesday afternoon that Taheerah Ahmad was arrested, nearly 18 hours after she fled her home with her 7-year-old daughter, Hasfa Hayle  who also goes by Hafsa Hussein. They were found in downtown Tulsa.

Officials said Ahmad tied up her three daughters  ages 7, 9, and 11  sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Monday night.

At some point, her two youngest daughters were able to escape their home  just as Ahmad started stabbing her eldest child repeatedly, police told the Tulsa World.

The 9-year-old girl fled to a nearby residence, where some of her extended family live, and called for help.

Tulsa police Officer Jeanne MacKenzie told the newspaper when authorities arrived they found the 11-year-old was stabbed so many times that officers and EMSA on the scene couldnt even count them. The girl was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

Authorities said they also discovered the kitchen was on fire. Its unclear how the incident started.

The 9-year-old child told police the girls' mother had duct taped their hands and stuffed their mouths with socks before stabbing her sister.

Sometime after the two children were able to escape, Ahmad is believed to have snatched her 7-year-old daughter and fled the scene.

An Amber Alert was issued for the 7-year-old girl. MacKenzie said there was no known history of child abuse or domestic violence.
A Michigan couple had sex charges against them dismissed Friday after their attorney reportedly revealed witnesses were pressured into keeping up with their false stories.

Anuj Chopra, 43, was charged with human trafficking after being accused of offering money to two teen boys to film them having sex, according to MLive.com. Leslie Chopra, 43, was accused of sending sexually explicit messages and a selfie in lingerie to minors, according to the outlet.

Damian Nunzio, the couples attorney, said the alleged victim and the witnesses were threatened with jail time by police if they didnt keep up with the story, according to WZZM 13. He reportedly obtained 85,000 text messages that he said proved the couple was innocent.

"Clearly, after the cases went to court, the alleged victim and witnesses were pressured into keeping with their false stories so that they wouldn't get in trouble," Nunzio said in a statement. "They were merely acting as confederates to save their own hides. They never thought that [the defense] would get the text messages and unearth the scheme.

The Chopras were investigated by police after being falsely accused of sending nude photos to a Hudsonville High School student in 2016, Nunzio said. In October 2017, police then executed a search warrant at the couples home and seized computers and cell phones but failed to find any evidence that they sent nude photos to students, he said.

In November 2017, three Hudsonville students began to spend time with the Chopras and their daughter. The students turned out to be the alleged victim and witnesses in the case, according to WZZM 13. Nunzio said they were the ones who were pressured to maintain their false story.

Its unclear whether any charges will be brought against those students.
A Michigan woman was arrested Friday after her boyfriend was found shot to death inside their home, police said.

Marita Talley, 34, of Pontiac, called police saying her boyfriend was dead on the couch, the Oakland County Sheriffs Office said. Talley shared the home with 36-year-old William Bell, police said.

Talley admitted to shooting and killing her boyfriend when she was on the phone with authorities and waited on the porch to be arrested, according to FOX2 Detroit.

Bells family said that Talley had a history of criminal activity.

She has arrest records in several states, aliases with different names, Bells aunt told FOX2 Detroit.

Talley met Bell two years ago when she said she was homeless and he gave her a place to stay, the station reported. The family reportedly grew suspicious of Talley.

"When I met her I got the vibe the devil was all up on her," Bell's aunt told the station. "She was evil.

Bells family said that the couple broke up about a week ago. Bells father said Talley even said her goodbyes.

"When I met her I got the vibe the devil was all up on her."  William Bell's aunt

"We were all sitting at the table and she said this is the last time I am going to see you guys," he said. "She gave us a hug and everything."

Talley is set to be arraigned Tuesday.
A man in North Carolina was arrested and charged with murder Monday after he allegedly ran over a 16-year-old who took his cell phone.

David Wendell Dixon, 27, ran over and killed 16-year-old Monterio Devon Whitehead after the teen tried to run off with Dixons cell phone, the Fuquay-Varina Police said in a statement online.

The incident, which occurred around 2 a.m. on Monday, the police department said, started when Whitehead approached Dixon, who was in his car in a Walmart parking lot. At the time, Whitehead was accompanied by two other males, who police have not yet identified.

Whitehead asked Dixon if he could use his cell phone, to which Dixon said yes, according to police. During the exchange, however, the teen took Dixons phone and attempted to run away.

Thats when Dixon took off, chasing Whitehead through the Walmart parking lot, then to a nearby Home Depot parking lot. He then drove over a curb, which separated the Home Depot parking lot from a homeowners property. As he drove through a tree line and down a hill, Dixon struck and ran over the 16-year-old, police said.

A resident called police, who later found Whiteheads body in a residents driveway. Dixon was at the scene when they arrived, the Fuquay-Varina Police Department said.

Dixon was taken into custody and charged with murder, according to his jail record. He is held without bond at the Wake County Detention Facility.

Police are still investigating the incident.
Court records say an Alaska man charged with killing five people and wounding six in a shooting rampage at a Florida airport has been found mentally competent and is scheduled to plead guilty later this month.

Federal prosecutors said in a court filing Monday that 28-year-old Esteban Santiago was recently evaluated by a psychologist. The findings are that Santiago understands the court proceedings and is able to assist in his case. He has been diagnosed as schizophrenic.

Santiago is set to plead guilty May 23 in exchange for a life prison sentence. Prosecutors announced earlier this month they would not seek the death penalty.

The 28-year-old Anchorage, Alaska, man is charged in a 22-count indictment in the January 2017 shooting in a baggage claim area at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
Bike Share Shakeup

Where are ArborBikes?

by Patrick Dunn

From the May, 2018 issue

The sturdy blue bikes normally reappear around the end of April. This year, though, they're still parked in a local storage facility. Meanwhile, supporters are scrambling to find a business model that will enable the system to survive in a rapidly changing market.



The local Clean Energy Coalition launched ArborBike in 2014 with a $600,000 federal grant to build the system and $600,000 from the U-M to underwrite operating costs for three years. But as it came time to kick off ArborBike's fourth full season, CEC executive director Sean Reed says, it became clear that no single sponsor was going to replace the U. Amassing multiple smaller sponsorships would have required hiring a fundraiser, which wasn't feasible for the small nonprofit.



Ultimately, Reed says, "the buck stopped with me in terms of our organizational capacity to pull this off," and CEC withdrew from managing the system. The Ann Arbor Area Transportation Authority is now preparing a request for proposals from potential new operators.



AAATA business services manager Chris Simmons says ArborBike can cover its $250,000 annual baseline budget this year with contributions from founding partners AAATA, U-M, and the city, plus $50,000 from the Downtown Development Authority. Longer term, Simmons says, the goal is for a system that's "self-supporting on user fees and other marketing efforts."



AAATA hopes that a new operator will bring national--perhaps even international--expertise. As community relations manager Mary Stasiak notes, there have been "some real major advances in operating bike-share services" since ArborBike launched.



In the last few years, bike sharing has become a global business. Led by Chinese companies Ofo and Mobike, new players are moving aggressively into the U.S. with "dockless" systems. Unlocked using a mobile app and left anywhere, they're rendering stationary dock-style systems like ArborBike's obsolete.



"Over the course of the past year, I have been contacted by most every dockless bike-share company currently operating in the U.S.," Reed says. Simmons says the ArborBike partners hope to see a system that combines

...continued below...

those companies' "outside expert analysis" with "our local connections and our local expertise."Reed says a new operator that added dockless bikes to ArborBike's existing stations would be "exciting," but it may not square with the new players' business model. The dockless systems, he says, are "very lean operationally and administratively ... I don't believe they see a significant need for highly involved local partnerships. It's largely an 'if you place it on the sidewalk, they will ride' type of platform."And new players might not find ArborBike all that attractive. "The ArborBike program, although effective, did not find a way to be financially self-sustaining," notes city transportation manager Eli Cooper. The number of rides slumped from 17,691 in 2016 to 13,260 in 2017--a decline Reed blames on a software glitch that caused some stations to repeatedly shut down.Though ArborBike has a license to place its docks in the public right-of-way, Cooper says, that wouldn't "preclude any other vendor from coming in." But a dockless system would face logistical challenges, notably the difficulty of "balancing" bike inventory across town.While ArborBike users frequently rode from North Campus to Central Campus or downtown, Cooper says, very few were "willing to pedal them back up the hill." ArborBike trucked the bikes back to campus.Dockless companies have largely ignored the balancing problem, leaving drifts of abandoned bikes in Chinese cities. Cooper says Ann Arbor already has begun "preliminary investigations" into developing a "regulatory regime" for any dockless systems that come here, primarily in the interest of preventing that kind of public nuisance.[Originally published in May, 2018.]
Scot Peterson, a former deputy with the Broward County Sheriff's Office, has reportedly started to receive a hefty pension  three months after he retired amid the aftermath of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Peterson, a 33-year law enforcement veteran, was the resource deputy stationed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on Feb. 14 when 17 people were killed by gunfire.

As one of the largest mass shootings in modern U.S. history unfolded, Peterson never entered the building where alleged gunman Nikolas Cruz was opening fire and instead took up a position outside the building that was under attack.

Peterson, 55, was widely criticized for his actions and Broward Sheriff Scott Israel opened an internal investigation. The deputy resigned and retired on Feb. 23, "rather than face possible termination."

Peterson, the Sun-Sentinel reported, has received a monthly state pension of $8,702.35 since April. He was paid $101,879.03 last year, according to the news outlet, which cited sheriff's office records.

The former deputy stood by his actions after the shooting. His lawyer said in a statement at the time that "the allegations that Mr. Peterson was a coward and that his performance, under the circumstances, failed to meet the standards of police officers are patently untrue."

Peterson hasn't been criminally charged in relation to the shooting, but his pension benefits could possibly be forefeited, according to the Sentinel, pending a Florida state inquiry into how police responded to the shooting.

Peterson was named in a wrongful death suit last month by Andrew Pollack, father of shooting victim Meadow, who tweeted the former cop "let those children and teachers die."
A suspended Pennsylvania school teacher was gunned down while standing on her mothers driveway on Mothers Day, police said.

Rachael DelTondo, 33, was returning from an ice cream shop Sunday night when she was struck by a hail of bullets on the driveway outside her familys Aliquippa home, KDKA reported. Her death was ruled a homicide.

I counted six shots that I heard, Fred Poore, a neighbor, told KDKA about the shooting. Several neighbors said they heard up to 12 gunshots.

DelTondo died of multiple gunshot wounds to the torso. Police are hunting for the suspect, but authorities have released no description as of Tuesday. Officials said they are looking at a cellphone for information.

Its unclear what prompted the deadly shooting.

DelTondo was an elementary school teacher at Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, an online public school in Midland, until she was suspended in October 2017, Brian Hayden, the school's CEO, told Fox News. The school issued the suspension after school officials received an anonymous email about a former police report filed involving DelTondo and an underage boy that was not a student at Pennsylvania Cyber.

Hayden said the school reported the incident to authorities under Pennsylvania law and placed DelTondo on paid suspension.

"We were saddened to learn of the tragic death of Rachel DelTondo, apparently the result of a violent incident in the City of Aliquippa. We have no additional information beyond what is being reported by local media," Hayden said in a statement. "We express our sympathy to her family and coworkers and will support them in any way possible in the weeks and months ahead as they mourn her passing."

DelTondo had been teaching at Pennsylvania Cyber for nearly 10 years.

A mother of a former Aliquippa High School student also told WPXI about an incident involving DelTondo and the woman's then-16-year-old son. A police report from 2016 said the two were found in a "steamed-up" parked car around 2 a.m. She had told police the boy had called her because "he was upset and needed someone to take to." She insisted they were friends and that she didn't want her fiance to know about the meeting.

The report said no charges were filed in the incident.

The 33-year-old was supposed to get married prior to her suspension. The wedding was ultimately scrapped, KDKA reported.
Authorities in Wisconsin have commended a high school prank which involved a supposed car accident.

Cumberland police posted images on Facebook Monday, which seemed to show a car smashing into Cumberland High School.

Hats off to the Cumberland High School Class of 2018 on your senior prank, authorities wrote. Congratulation Class of 2018 on one of best senior pranks that Cumberland High School has seen.

School property wasnt damaged by the stunt -- which was pulled off with black tarp, bricks, a junk car and tape.

"Students positioned an old junker strewn with loose bricks in front of what appeared to be a gaping black hole in the building's side, just outside the principal's office," the Cumberland School District said. "It wasn't actually a hole, though. Using tape and a black tarp, the students created the illusion of damage, making it look like the car crashed into the side of the building."

CALIFORNIA MAN CAUGHT BREAKDANCING ON VIDEO AFTER BREAKING INTO BUILDING, POLICE SAY

The police departments Facebook post has been shared more than 1,700 times as of Tuesday night.

In the comments section, a few people praised the police for their take on the situation.

Hats off to Cumberland PD for having a sense of humor! People are too serious these days . Great prank! Sometimes things are just funny! Laugh people! one person said.

So creative! Great job at pulling off an artistic and safe senior prank! Way to go Cumberland P.D. for being supportive!!! another commenter echoed.

A different person thanked the department for supporting our CHS Seniors in their prank! The students worked hard to keep it clean, safe and fun!

This is will be hard to beat [sic], authorities replied.
About seven decades after he dropped out of high school, a 94-year-old World War II veteran will walk the stage of Leominster High School in Massachusetts to finally receive his diploma.

Roland Martineau, a Navy veteran from Leominster, Mass., never finished high school. His mother died when he was 6 and his father split soon afterward. Martineaus grandparents could not afford to keep sending him to school, so he dropped out and joined the workforce.

He got married and then joined the Navy, serving in the Pacific.

We went looking for trouble. We found it, he joked to Boston 25 recently. And we took care of it.

NATION'S OLDEST WWII VETERAN, RICHARD OVERTON, TURNS 112: 'HE'S A CRACKERJACK'

When he returned from war, Martineau became a welder. He wanted to finish school but did not have the opportunity to do so.

The decorated sea bee went on to live a long life. He has four sons, 17 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild on the way.

He recently told his longtime barber, Donna Salvi, that never getting his diploma was his biggest regret.

Hes just an easy person to love. He reminds me of my father, who wouldve been about his age right now, she told Boston 25.

NJ BURIAL SITE FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN CIVIL WAR VETERANS IN DISREPAIR

Salvi, and her boyfriend, Leominster firefighter Bobby Penning, made it their mission to help him achieve his dream.

I went to the vets  the veterans center of Leominster, and then I went to the mayors office, then I went to the school department, Penning said.

NORTH CAROLINA WWII VETERAN CELEBRATES 100TH BIRTHDAY: 'HE IS EXTRAORDINARY'

It was going to be a surprise, but a bout of pneumonia in which Martineau felt he was not going to leave the hospital changed plans.

We said, Pepe, you have a really big surprise coming up, you have to hang on, Wendy Albert, Martineaus granddaughter, told Boston 25.

Martineaus health soon improved.

VIETNAM VETERAN'S REMAINS IDENTIFIED AFTER NEARLY 47 YEARS MISSING

On June 2, Martineau will finally receive his high school diploma, nearly 70 years in the making.

"He says: 'I can't wait to get my hair cut the day before graduation," Salvi said.
The captain of doomed Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 selected a route that would effectively render the plane invisible on radar in order to commit suicide, experts said Sunday.

The suspicion that MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was attempting suicide was agreed upon, aviation experts said in a panel discussion on 9 News Australia.

"He was killing himself; unfortunately, he was killing everybody else on board, and he did it deliberately," Larry Vance, a former senior investigator with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said.

Shah somehow managed to cut all communication systems and then dip in and out of Malaysian and Thai airspace and eventually went over his own hometown, Penang, Boeing 777 pilot and instructor Simon Hardy said.

It did the job because we know, as a fact, that the military did not come and intercept the aircraft, Hardy said, adding that he believed someone was in control of the plane until the end.

The experts argued that Shah flew the plane another 115 miles than originally thought, with Vance pointing to the piece of evidence that was recovered on a French island off Africa. Officials had previously said that the theory of the plane nosediving into the water was the likely ending scenario for the airliner.

"The front of it would be pressed in and hollow. The water would invade inside and it would just explode from the inside. So this piece would not even exist, he said.

Most of the wreckage from the airliner has never been found and bodies have never been recovered.

The flight disappeared March 8, 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing with 239 people on board. No transmissions were received from the aircraft after its first 38 minutes in the air. Officials believe the plane crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

In a similar incident, EgyptAir Flight 990 crashed off the coast of Massachusetts in October 1999 on its way to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York from Cairo. Audio captured by the co-pilot heard pilot Gameel Al-Batouti say 11 times in Arabic, I rely on God.

Two years later, the National Transportation Safety Board determined that Al-Batouti had been suicidal and purposely crashed the plane while the first pilot was out of the cockpit. Egyptian Civil Aviation Agency adamantly denied the NTSBs findings, saying that their report was flawed and biased, according to Politico.

The doomed Germanwings Flight 9525, which crashed into the French Alps in 2015, was also determined to be a suicide-by-pilot. Officials determined co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, who had previously been treated for suicidal tendencies, descended the airliner into the mountains on purpose.

The plane was heading to Dusseldorf Airport in Germany from Spain.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Prosecutors in Bahrain say a court has revoked the citizenship of 115 people in a mass terrorism trial amid a years-long crackdown on all dissent in the island kingdom.

Prosecutors said in a statement Tuesday the decision came in a trial targeting members of a suspected terror group in the small island nation off the coast of Saudi Arabia.

The statement said 53 defendants received life sentences, while dozens of others faced prison time. It said 23 defendants were acquitted.

Bahraini officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment for more information.

Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet and a new British naval base, has seen activists, politicians and others targeted in the crackdown.
A Swedish doctor who had been imprisoned in his native Ethiopia on charges of corruption and terrorism has been freed.

Fikru Maru tells Swedish broadcaster SVT that "it's great to be out in the fresh air." State-owned media last week reported that Ethiopia had dropped the charges.

Daughter Emy Maru, who paid daily visits to her father in the capital, Addis Ababa, told SVT on Tuesday that "I have just met with Dad. He has been freed."

It is not immediately clear when Maru will return to Sweden. He was arrested in 2013 after a years-long dispute over equipment for his cardiology clinic in Addis Ababa.

The terrorism charge came years later when he and others were accused of starting a deadly fire in the prison where they were held.
Our struggle is to bring social, political, and economic justice to our nation. This is an effort of the Chicano/Mexican American Digital History Project. https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has met with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini as the Europeans seek to keep the Iran nuclear agreement.

Zarif said little to reporters Tuesday but suggested he wanted to discuss the deaths of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza as well as the nuclear deal, which U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from last week.

He was due to hold talks later in Brussels with the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany.

The EU hopes to convince Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear pact.
North Korea announced it has canceled a high-level summit with South Korea and is threatening to cancel its meeting with the United States over American military drills with South Korea, Yonhap News reported Tuesday, citing KCNA.

KCNA, North Korea's state media outlet, claimed that the military drills were a rehearsal for a potential invasion of the country.

"This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," KCNA said, according to Yonhap News. "The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities."

A meeting between President Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un is also in jeopardy, according to Yonhap News. Trump announced last week that the "highly anticipated meeting" with Kim would take place in Singapore on June 12.

State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert said during a Tuesday briefing that they had not received any "formal or even informal notification of anything," and are continuing to plan the summit.

"I will say that Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises. They're exercises that are legal, and they're planned well, well in advance," Nauert said. "We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month."

She also added that the exercises are "certainly not provocative."

U.S. B-52 bombers, however, may not particpate in a U.S.-based air drill, according to a Yonhap News report.

A statement from Press Secretary Sarah Sanders Tuesday said the White House was "aware of the South Korean media report" and that the U.S. "will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies."

A source from the National Security Council told Fox News earlier that the White House didn't yet know what to make of North Korea's statements, adding "this is the way they operate."

The U.S. and North Korea have been making good progress toward talks about Kim giving up his nuclear program, according to the source. And while they said it's possible that North Korea could be thinking about derailing the summit, at the moment, "we don't think so," the source said.

Wednesday's meeting between officials from North and South Korea was expected to be a follow-up to the historic summit held in late April between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

The pair last month discussed the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.

The canceled meeting was reportedly going to be held on the south side of Panmunjom.

South Korea called North Korea's decision to cancel the meeting "regrettable," and demanded a quick return to talks, according to The Associated Press.

The Pentagon confirmed that the joint military training was already underway and "has not changed."

"Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. military forces are currently engaged in the recurring, annual ROK-U.S. spring exercises, to include exercises Foal Eagle 2018 and Max Thunder 2018," the statement from Department of Defense Spokesperson Col. Rob Manning told Fox News.

"The purpose of the training is to enhance the ROK-U.S. Allilance's ability to defend the ROK and enhance interoperability and readiness," the statement said. "While we will not discuss specifics, the defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed."

The military exercises began on Friday and included roughly 100 warplanes such as F-22 radar-evading fighters, B-52 bombers and F-15K jets, Yonhap reported.

The Pentagon has previously said that the annual joint military exercises with South Korea would continue despite the recent thaw in tensions between the U.S. and the rogue nation.

Kim recently told South Korean representatives that "he could understand why the joint exercises must resume in April on the same scale as before," South Korean national security adviser Chung Eui-yong told The New York Times.

The North's military was also reportedly informed of the planned drills.

Fox News' John Roberts, Lucas Tomlinson, Serafin Gomez, Nicole Darrah, Judson Berger and Paulina Dedaj, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.
Clashes between Israeli troops and Palestinians flared up Tuesday in the West Bank for the second consecutive day, as protesters burned tires and lobbed stones at Israeli troops, who fired tear gas at demonstrators.

Palestinian health officials said two people have been killed so far in Tuesday's clashes. About 200 Palestinians were protesting in the biblical city of Bethlehem while another 100 demonstrated in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, according to the Associated Press. The protests come a day after thousands gathered and 58 were killed trying to breach the Gaza border during protests that coincided with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Organizers claim the protests are meant to bust a decade-old blockade on the territory, but Israel says Hamas  the terrorist organization that controls Gaza -- is using the demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks. The countrys military says at least 24 of those killed Monday were members of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad groups, with a "documented terror background".

It said eight Hamas operatives in one incident attempted to breach the border fence using Palestinian civilians as cover. It added that they threw grenades and shot at troops who had rushed to the scene, and that its troops returned fire and killed the militants.



Israeli Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis said Hamas was egging on the protesters, even bribing them by offering "$100 per family that comes" and threatening those who didn't attend with being labeled "collaborators," the Times of Israel reported.



Palestinians Tuesday are marking the anniversary of what they call their "nakba," or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

Thousands also attended funeral rallies in the southern Gaza Strip for those killed the day before.

"With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs," the Jerusalem Post reported mourners in Khan Younis chanted. Many of those gathered were seen waving Palestinian flags and a few called for revenge.

Gaza health officials, meanwhile, casted doubt on initial claims that a 9-month-old baby died from Israeli tear gas fired during Mondays protests.

A medical doctor told the Associated Press Tuesday the baby, Layla Ghaben, had a pre-existing medical condition and that he did not believe her death was caused by tear gas -- even though the Gaza Health Ministry counted her among those killed on Monday. The doctor spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to disclose medical information to the media.

Citing figures from the Health Ministry and a group of aid agencies, WHO official Mahmoud Daher told the Associated Press Tuesday that 2,771 people were wounded in Monday's unrest. Of those, 1,360 were wounded by live fire, 400 from shrapnel and 980 from gas inhalation. He said the majority of those wounded by live fire were struck in their lower limbs.

Daher added that nearly 1,800 of the wounded sought hospital care, putting additional pressure on Gaza's already stressed hospitals, which endure equipment and medicine shortages and face power cuts like the rest of the territory.

"It is really massive in terms of numbers," he said.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley told the U.N. Security Council Tuesday -- which is meeting to discuss the violence -- that no member "would act with more restraint than Israel has" in its confrontation with Palestinians at the Gaza border.

She said the violence Monday had nothing to do with the opening of a U.S. embassy in contested Jerusalem. She says the Islamic militant Hamas extremist that rules Gaza has been inciting violence there for years.

On the other side of the Gaza border fence Tuesday, in Israel, residents were told to go about their daily business but to be prepared for any instructions from officials, the Times of Israel reported.

The newspaper said Israels army started amassing around 2,000 soldiers there ahead of this weeks protests.

This is unprecedented in terms of the level of violence, compared to previous weeks, Manelis said Monday following the violence, adding that he expects the protests to continue for several more days this week.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An international human rights group says at least 29 children disappeared in the custody of Sri Lanka's military after surrendering with their ethnic rebel parents at the end of the island nation's civil war.

The South Africa-based International Truth and Justice Project said Tuesday that it has 280 names of people who surrendered to the military on or about the final day of the fighting nine years ago.

It said some of the names could be duplicated because of nicknames used by the ethnic Tamil rebels, but many are backed up with photographs.

It listed the names of 29 children, many of them under age 5.

Sri Lanka's government has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing during the war.
A Russian state-owned news agency says its office in the Ukrainian capital has been raided and that at least one of its correspondents has been detained for questioning.

RIA Novosti said on Tuesday that Ukrainian intelligence officers stormed its office in Kiev and that it has been unable to get in touch with its correspondents there since.

Ukrainian security agency SBU said in a statement that it is investigating "a network of media outlets" controlled by the Russian government which are "used as tools in a hybrid war against Ukraine."

Relations between Moscow and Kiev soured in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea and threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. More than 10,000 people have died in the long-simmering conflict in the industrial east.
Left-wing billionaire George Soros Open Society Foundations announced Tuesday that it is pulling out of Hungary -- a month after Prime Minister Viktor Orbans party comfortably won national elections after campaigning to crack down on Soros groups.



Citing the repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the international organization said it is moving its offices from Budapest to Berlin, Germany. It pointed specifically to the Stop Soros package of legislation being pushed by Orban -- who has repeatedly clashed with the Budapest-born Soros and accused him of leading a "mercenary army."



The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union, Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations and a former Obama White House political affairs director, said in a statement.

The so-called Stop Soros package of laws is only the latest in a series of such attempts. It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference.



Orban said this week that the Stop Soros package, which he had proposed before the election, would be submitted to Parliament as soon as the new Hungarian government was formed.



We shall deliver on what we promised, he said in response to a question in Warsaw, Poland.



According to Reuters, the package would include mandatory registration of non-government organizations that the government says support[s] illegal immigration. The package would reportedly include a 25 percent tax on foreign donations that NGOs collect, and such groups may also be hit by restraining orders to stop them going near Hungarian borders.



Orbans Fidesz Party won a supermajority in Parliament after it focused its re-election campaign in particular on the topic of mass migration, handing Orban a fourth term in office.



Hungary was on the frontlines of the initial European migration crisis in 2015, and Orban has been one of Europes loudest opponents of mass migration since. He sparked outrage from the European Union and human rights group when his government implemented strict border controls and built a fence at its border.



We leave it to the voters but this is a very clear question that should be decided, whether they would like to have a Hungarian Hungary or a Hungary occupied by migrants, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Fox News ahead of the election.



Orban has accused the Hungarian-American Soros of supporting anti-Orban forces and promoting an open-borders ideology.

"Lets not fool ourselves," Orban said in March, according to Bloomberg. "The real foes we need to fight arent anemic little opposition parties, but an international network organized into an empire.

Soros has used his financial muscle for years to push left-wing causes across the globe. In Davos, Switzerland in January, Soros said his Open Society Foundations is funding more institutions in the U.S. to ensure a Democratic victory in November.

It was revealed in February that he had pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into a UK group that looked to thwart the implementation of the 2016 decision to leave the European Union.



After the election last month, Orban accused Soros group of mobilizing inordinate amounts of money and said he was confident that the group would not accept the election result.



Over the past two years, the Hungarian government has spent more than 100 million euros in public funds on a campaign to spread lies about the Foundations and their partners, the statement from Open Society Foundations said.

The governments hate campaign has included propaganda posters and billboards, invoking anti-Semitic imagery from World War II, and a supposed national consultation attacking George Soros, founder and chair of the Open Society Foundations, and Hungarian human rights groups.



The group said it has funded milk for schoolchildren, provided hospital equipment and helped the countrys poorest and most vulnerable.



But last month, amid initial reports that Open Society Foundations may relocate, Orban said in a radio interview: I am not going to shed crocodile tears, our listeners will perhaps understand why.


An ISIS leader who was one of five terrorists captured in Iraq last week was reportedly behind the execution of a Jordanian pilot who was burned alive in a cage in 2015.

Saddam al-Jamal is believed to be the mastermind behind the harrowing execution of Jordanian pilot Muath Al-Kaseasbeh, who was shot down and captured in Syria in December 2014 and was seen being burned alive in a cage months later, The Daily Mail reported Tuesday, citing Jordanian authorities.

The video, which Jordan said was authentic, showed al-Kaseasbeh standing in a cage with a line of fuel leading to him, which then ignited, causing him to burst into flames. ISIS previously sought to trade Al-Kaseasbeh for Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi woman who is in a Jordanian prison for her role in a 2005 suicide bomb attack that killed 60 people in Amman.

Al-Jamal was the most prominent ISIS militant captured in a cross-border raid last week. The arrests were a significant blow to [ISIS], coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillion said.

Islamic State militants poured into Iraq in the summer of 2014, taking control of nearly a third of the county and at the height of its power, their so-called caliphate stretched from the edges of Aleppo in Syria to north of Baghdad.

The heyday of ISIS in the Middle East is long over. Al-Jamal said in a video released by Iraqs intelligence agency that the group was in a bad state, according to The Wall Street Journal.

There are many divisions and internal struggles within the organization, he said. Many of the fighters have lost the will to fight.

Al-Jamal has been accused of being one of the most notorious killers in the Middle East.

He has been accused of taking part in a 2014 massacre in Syria that killed 700 members of a tribe that tried to stand up to ISIS and Iraqi officials believe he slaughtered an entire family that sought to stop their daughter from marrying him, according to Metro UK.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
I don't know how many young women come to this blog or how many are parents of teenage or young adult women, but here are some safety tips from Kelsey's Army:

T

I

P

S

1. Trust your instincts - If something feels wrong then something probably is wrong.2. Know your surroundings - know who and what is around you.3. Always have a plan for where you would go and what you would do if a situation arises.4. Be willing to make a scene in order to be noticed.5. Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back.Remember the acronym TIPS:ake Chargenform others of your whereaboutsrepare for any situationurvival Mentality (role play situations so you will respond should they happen)For more information, go to Kelsey's Army
The Turkish president on Monday condemned the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza describing Israeli violence against Palestinian protests as a genocide, Anadolu reported.

May 15, 2018, 09:55 Erdogan accuses Israel of 'genocide' after Palestinian deaths on Gaza border

STEPANAKERT, MAY 15, ARTSAKHPRESS:At least 55 Palestinian demonstrators have been martyred Monday -- and hundreds more injured -- by Israeli army forces deployed along the Gaza border, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Israel is a terrorist state, said Erdogan, speaking to scholarship students in London. We will continue to stand with Palestinian people with determination.

We will not allow today to be the day Muslim world loses Jerusalem, he said, condemning the humanitarian tragedy, this genocide, no matter where it comes from, either Israel or the United States.

The Turkish president added that a big rally would be held in Istanbul on Friday over the violence in Gaza.

President Erdogan also said that the Turkish Red Crescent would deliver humanitarian aid to hospitals in Gaza.
On May 16, in accordance with the arrangement reached with the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, the OSCE Mission will conduct a planned monitoring of the ceasefire regime on the Line of Contact between the armed forces of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, to the north from Kuropatkino settlement of the Martuni region, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry told ArtsakhPress.

May 15, 2018, 10:41 OSCE to conduct monitoring at Artsakh-Azerbaijan line of contact

STEPANAKERT, MAY 15, ARTSAKHPRESS:From the positions of the Defense Army of the Republic of Artsakh, the monitoring will be conducted by Field Assistants to the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office (CiO) Ghenadie Petrica (Moldova) and Ognjen Jovic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), as well as Personal Assistant to the CiO Personal Representative Simon Tiller (Great Britain).

The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their readiness to assist in conducting the monitoring and to ensure the security of the OSCE Mission members.
On 15 May Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan received head of the General Staff of the Republic of Armenia Armed forces Movses Hakobyan.

May 15, 2018, 12:28 Artsakh President receives head of General Staff of Armenia Armed forces

STEPANAKERT, MAY 15, ARTSAKHPRESS:Issues related to the army building and cooperation between the two Armenian states in this sphere were on the agenda of the meeting, attended by Artsakh Republic defense minister Levon Mnatsakanyan, Presidential Office informed ArtsakhPress.
Farmland could be abandoned in the Scottish Highlands and Islands because of the challenges posed by Brexit, warns a report.

Scottish farmers and crofting communities are likely to face major upheaval because of the UKs decision to leave the European Union, says the study.

The report looks at the likely effects of different Brexit scenarios on the economy, local communities, wildlife, the environment and sectors such as tourism.

See also: 9 recommendations to help improve landlord-tenant relations

It concludes that existing trends such as declining agricultural activity, land abandonment and a shrinking agricultural workforce could all be accelerated by Brexit.

These trends will have negative effects on environmental land management  as well as on sectors such as food and drink and tourism, it suggests.

Targeted support

Future policy and funding will need to respond to these challenges and reflect the distinctive needs and contributions of the region, says the study.

The report was commissioned by the Highlands and Islands Agriculture Support Group (HIASG), which comprises five local authority councils and RSPB Scotland.

It is calling on the Scottish government to ensure that future farming, land management and rural development policy after Brexit is properly targeted to support local communities.

HIASG chairman Douglas Irvine, who is also economic development manager for Shetland Islands Council, said the government should give farmers and crofters time to adapt to change.

Vulnerable

This report is a wake-up call and shows how important farming and crofting is to the economy, people and environment of the Highlands and Islands, but also how vulnerable it is, he said.

The challenges faced here look set to increase rather than diminish.

The work was carried out by consultants Andrew Moxey of Pareto Consulting and Steven Thomson of Scotlands Rural College (SRUC).

It was presented at an event in Ediburgh attended by Scotlands rural cabinet secretary Fergus Ewing on Monday (14 May).

Mr Ewing said the report highlighted the distinctive challenges of farming in the Highlands and Islands, both in terms of the land and those available to work it.

Biggest challenge

It confirms what I have been saying ever since the Brexit referendum  that Brexit is going to be the biggest challenge that the industry and rural communities has faced for generations.

It is therefore vital that the special circumstances of the Highlands and Islands are not ignored, and that their unique social, economic and environmental conditions remain supported.

Just over two-thirds of Scotlands high nature value farmland is located in the Highlands and Islands region, where agriculture is mainly extensive, small-scale farming and croft-based.

Tourism

The region has a high share of sites designated for their national and international environmental importance  making it a destination for tourists as well as wildlife.

Vicki Swales, head of land use policy for RSPB Scotland, said traditional farming and crofting practices had helped to create a region of enormous environmental importance.

The Scottish government should ensure that the environmental land management carried out by farmers and crofters was properly supported and rewarded.

A recent public poll showed overwhelming support for farmers being paid for managing their land in ways that were good for wildlife, water quality and the environment, said Ms Swales.

She added: The Highlands and Islands are well placed to benefit from such an approach.
News

Cruise parking suit sent back to maritime commission

JENNIFER REYNOLDS/ The Daily News file photo Workers guide passengers to private parking lots off Harborside Drive. A federal commission has ordered the Port of Galveston to pay reparations to parking lot operators for imposing unfair tariffs on the businesses.An appeals court has sent a long-running lawsuit over port fees on private parking lots back to the Federal Maritime Commission.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has complicated matters for the Port of Galveston in a longstanding lawsuit several owners of cruise passenger parking lots filed against the public docks in 2014.

At issue is what the port charges owners of private parking lots to shuttle passengers to cruise-ship terminals. The court Friday remanded the case back to the Federal Maritime Commission more than a year after the commission originally ruled in favor of the port.

The Federal Maritime Commission accepted that the petitioners shuttle buses were treated differently than taxis and limos, Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh said. But the commission then strangely concluded that petitioners were not injured by being charged more. The commissions conclusion is not sustainable.

In June of 2014, EZ Cruise Parking, Lighthouse Parking and Dolphin Parking made a federal case of the ports decision to impose a 261 percent increase in the fee it charges them to shuttle customers to and from cruise-ship terminals, filing a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Galveston.

Three days earlier, the same group had filed a complaint with the Federal Maritime Commission, accusing the port of imposing excessive tariffs that werent reasonably related to the value of services rendered by the port. They also asserted the port violated the Shipping Act of 1984 by charging them a flat rate per parking space, while continuing to charge access fees for other commercial passenger vehicles using the terminals.

Despite the case being remanded back to the commission, this week attorneys representing the public docks said the ruling was only delaying the inevitable.

The case was remanded so the commission could make more findings on certain aspects and will do so in the next few months, said Anthony Brown, the ports attorney.

We remain hopeful that the FMC will issue a new decision in the ports favor, incorporating the new findings, within that time frame, Brown said.

Gerald Morrissey, an attorney representing the parking lot owners, declined to comment Monday.

The appeals court is looking for the Federal Maritime Commission to consider why the port treats the parking lot owners differently from taxi companies, Brown said.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission in January 2017 upheld a December 2015 ruling by Administrative Law Judge Clay C. Guthridge on claims by the private lot owners that the port violated U.S. Code 41106, which forbids a marine operator from unreasonably refusing to negotiate. Guthridge ruled the claims unsubstantiated and dismissed them with prejudice, meaning they cant be brought up again.

The lot companies appealed to the full commission.

Disputes between the port and the private parking lots have been going on for years. With the addition of Carnival Vista in 2018, about 650,000 cruise-ship passengers will travel to the island yearly, mostly by car. Some leave their cars at hotels, while others use various lots near the cruise terminals along Harborside Drive. The port controls 2,560 parking spots; competing private firms own more than 1,000 and several operators are negotiating deals for more.

The port has long argued private parking lots, which are profiting from a public investment in cruise-ship terminals, should help shoulder some of the costs.

In 2003, when private lots began proliferating on the island, the port began charging access fees on vans and shuttles each time they dropped passengers off at a terminal.

After outcry from hoteliers and lot owners, the port in 2006 changed the fee structure, assessing $8 a month per parking space on private lot owners. Hotels would pay $10 a trip.

In May of 2014, the Wharves Board of Trustees, which governs the port, raised the per-space charge on private lot owners to $28.88, a 261 percent increase. Access fees on hotel shuttles rose to $20 a trip. That rate hike triggered the lawsuits.

In September 2014, board members voted 5-1 to rescind the per-space increases and to start charging lot owners on a per-trip basis. The new fee structure would levy a $30 charge for each trip into the port for commercial vehicles, courtesy vehicles, shuttles and limousines with seating capacity of 15 people or more. Vehicles with a seating capacity of less than 15 would be charged $20 per trip.

The lawsuit against the wharves board continued despite that vote.

The port may recover more than half the $500,000 or so it has paid in legal expenses. Guthridge ruled that based on recent Shipping Act amendments, the port may recover attorneys fees incurred after December 2014, which is about $284,000.

The private parking lot owners filed the companion case in the U.S. District Court for injunctive relief. They wanted to continue paying the old rate while they awaited a legal ruling, because the Federal Maritime Commission could offer only limited remedies, Hulse Wagner, an attorney previously representing the port, said in an earlier interview with The Daily News.

As the lawsuit played out, the private parking lot owners continued to pay $8 per space under the old rules and put the balance of $20.88 in a court registry. Meanwhile, the port has tracked access fee charges since September 2014 against the private parking lot owners.

The case in the U.S. District Court is suspended, pending the closure of the case with the Federal Maritime Commission.
The delegation of the Munich University of Federal Armed Forces paid a study visit to the National Defense Research University of the defense ministry of Armenia, the NDRU informed.

May 15, 2018, 14:45 Munich University delegation visits Armenias National Defense Research University

STEPANAKERT, MAY 15, ARTSAKHPRESS:Lieutenant General Hayk Kotanjian, Founding Head, NDRU, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, introduced the guests the activities of the University at the Conference Hall, briefed in detail on the research (Institute for National Strategic Studies  INSS) and the educational (National Institute for Strategic Defense Security Education  NISDSE) components of the NDRU. As Professor Kotanjian stated, the educational process in the University evolved via the leading Western research universities and institutes model, as well as with the account of the Russian think tanks practice, i.e., transferring the products of the academic-applied research as knowledge to the auditorium.

At the meeting Colonel Suren Davtyan, Head, NISDSEDeputy Head in Education, NDRU, briefed on the educational activity of the University. Benyamin Poghosyan, Head, INSSDeputy Head, NDRU, PhD in History, described the guests the security dynamics in the South Caucasus and neighboring region. Vahram Petrosyan, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Regional Strategic Analysis, INSS, NDRU, PhD in History, provided with the analysis of the Kurdish factor in the region. The research conducted in the IT and cyberspace security by the INSS Center for National Security Policy and Information-Communication Technologies was introduced by Arman Grigorian, Head of the center, PhD in Engineering. He in particular noted the NDRU-elaborated projects of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and that of adapting and implementing in Armenia the Chief Information Officer (CIO) system.

With the reports completed, the guests addressed questions to the NDRU specialists about Armenias balanced foreign policy, the prospectives of the Karabakh conflict regulation, relations between Armenia and Iran, Armenias integration possibilities into Chinas One Belt-One Road initiative, as well as the latest domestic political developments. The guests emphasized the role that the NDRU plays as a platform for strategic dialogue in academic-expert format between Armenias ally and partner states in terms of the evolving conflict between the RF and the West.

At the end of the meeting members of the Munich University emphasized their eagerness to develop cooperation between the two universities.




[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE GUJARAT, INDIA (MAY 14, 2018) - Zatun  a multi award-winning game developer and game art studio for major brands such as Disney, Marvel and Ubisoft  is thrilled to announce today that Sniper Rust VR, one of the first sharpshooting experiences for the Oculus Rift, will be available this Summer for Windows PC via Steam and the Oculus store. Compatible with the Oculus Rift virtual reality system and Oculus Touch controllers, Sniper Rust VR is a heart-pounding and immersive shooter that puts players directly behind the scope of a skilled marksman. Prevent the rise of a dangerous insurgency in a thrilling virtual reality game complete with real-world effects, realistic weapons and challenging threats! Sniper Rust VR is an 18-level, globe-trotting adventure set against an armed militia uprising across international borders. In the single-player campaign, you play as an elite marksman employed by a covert agency, called upon to put your sniping skills to the test. As you navigate your way through four diverse, photorealistic environments, face off against unique enemy AI including undercover snipers, air assaults and other hidden traps! Keep your eyes on the prize and your aim steady! Key Features: Cutting-Edge Weaponry - Stalk your prey with a plethora of lethal firearms, locked and loaded with special functions suited for specific occasions. Available weapons include real world guns like the DSR-50 and SVD sniper rifle, as well as the MaC-7, which was inspired by the CheyTac M200, and the Scout Rifle-inspired DG-5000. Death-Dealing Enemy Troops and Vehicular Combatants - Diverse enemy classes make every playable mission a challenge: be wary of well-concealed snipers, air/group assaults and traps behind enemy lines. Immersive Virtual Reality Experience - With numerous uniquely designed, photorealistic environments to explore  including ports, forests, mountains, deserts and even ancient temples  youll feel like youre truly part of Sniper Rust VRs virtual world! Although with multiple, varied objectives to complete on your adventure, therell hardly be time to take in the sights. Action-Packed Soundtrack - Intense orchestral sounds composed by John Leonard French are the perfect accompaniment for the games thrilling, edge-of-your-seat action sequences. Check out the Sniper Rust VR Launch Trailer here: [YouTube] uberstrategist.link/SNIPERRVR-YT [Download] uberstrategist.link/SNIPERRVR-DL A brand new demo for Sniper Rust VR, complete with a full level to play and shooting range mode, is available on Steam and the Oculus store now. To download the demo, visit: Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/710740/Sniper_Rust_VR

Oculus store: https://www.oculus.com/experiences/rift/1786072758117223 Sniper Rust VR follows on the heels of Zatuns recent announcement of its free-to-play sharpshooter Sniper 3D Rust for iOS and Android devices. In Sniper 3D Rust, players most prove themselves as skilled marksman by waging war against a variety of targets ranging from armed militia to waves of the undead. Sniper 3D Rust is available for download now at the App Store and Google Play. For more information about Sniper Rust VR, please visit http://zatun.com/games/sniper-rust-vr. About Zatun Zatun is an award-winning 2D and 3D game studio offering premium quality game art and development to publishers and game developers worldwide since 2007. Staffed by a multi-talented and diverse team, they are experienced in production across different genres and game platforms, including console, PC, mobile (iOS and Android) and VR. Zatun has collaborated on more than 200 leading game titles with over 300 clients, ranging from huge AAA developers to small indie studios. For more information, please visit http://zatun.com. ### PRESS CONTACT CJ Melendez or Lisa Mior UberStrategist Inc. +1 (646) 844-8388 [email protected]
Eligible Long Beach residents can get the booster shot at five clinics in the city. The city has recorded 64,217 total cases since the pandemic began, as of Thursday.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

In an interview with Levyj Bereg, the prelate expressed his support for the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Most Ukrainian bishops and faithful also appear to back autocephaly. The prelate is critical of the Moscow Patriarchates subordination to Putin: "they are probably already discussing his possible coronation as czar of all the Russias".

(AsiaNews)  Support for the complete separation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church from Moscow is not limited to politicians seeking a religious reason for the conflict with the countrys big neighbour. Some bishops associated with the Russian patriarchate also seem favourable to the Tomos of autocephaly by Constantinople, this according to Metropolitan Alexander (Drabinko) of Pereiaslav-Khmelnytskyi and Vishnevoe.

Metropolitan Alexander, 40, has held his diocese for 10 years, and is the vicar of the metropolis of Kyiv led by Onufriy (Berezovsky), head of the Ukrainian Church loyal to Moscow. For some years he was also a member of the Permanent Council of the Synod of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church (Mezhsobornoe Prisutstvie) and represents the young generation of Orthodox bishops in Ukraine.

On 10 May, in an interview with the magazine Levyj Bereg, he said in no uncertain terms that "regardless of the final decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, I want to openly support the idea of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Church".

When asked about differences with Onufriy, who is ostensibly against independence, Alexander noted that "my opinion is in fact not against that of the Ukrainian Church in general, nor that of its leadership, to the extent that no official position as been expressed on the matter.

He reiterated that he is not "against" anyone, but in favour of the reunification of the different parts and souls of the countrys Orthodox community so as to go beyond the "schism" that has existed since the 1990s. In doing so, the Ukrainian Church could re-establish its full status as a local Church, "sister in equal rights" within the family of Orthodox Churches in the world.

Whilst criticising the interference of Ukraines president and parliament, who are dealing with the issue in a "non-canonical" manner, for him the real question is what Ukrainian Orthodox want. Autocephaly has been in fact the common orientation since 1991, right after the end of Soviet oppression and before the break by Metropolitan Filaret (Denysenko), the self-appointed "patriarch" of the Autonomous Church of Kyiv.

At that time, all Ukrainian bishops (including Onufriy, then metropolitan of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna) turned to Moscow, and the then new patriarch Alexy II, to demand exactly autocephaly, a request that was repeated at the synod of Kharkiv in 1992. It was Moscows refusal that led to the decision by Filarets and some bishops to break away. According to Alexander, "we have never talked about going beyond this request."

The statement by the young metropolitan seems to be an unofficial way of expressing the will of the bishops without committing Onufriy himself, whilst at the same time challenging the Moscow synod. For Alexander, the opinions expressed are "logical and constructive. The aim is not to provoke more schism, nor confuse or incite people". The responsibility for excesses and false interpretations lies with those individuals who support them.

Whilst waiting for Constantinople to rule on the matter, Alexander's proposal calls for a Synod of all the bishops of the Ukrainian Church, under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Onufriy, to hear the opinions of its members, and determine whether they coincide with what most of the clergy and faithful want, namely autocephaly.

To settle the matter, non-conflictual canonical solutions could be put on the table, bringing in "schismatic" Orthodox. This would also do justice to the initiatives of President Poroshenko, who "as head of state, must guarantee equal rights to all believers", overcoming conflicts and mutual accusations. Solving ecclesiastical divisions, says Drabinko, "is also a problem of national security".

With respect to the Moscow Patriarchate, Alexander points to its total dependence on President Putin, noting that "they are probably already discussing his possible coronation as czar of all the Russias". However, the ideology that supports him, that of the Russian world" subordinate to Moscow even outside the borders of Russia, is not acceptable to Ukrainians. Conversely, we could talk about a spiritual gathering of all Eastern Slavic Orthodox, children of the baptism of Kyiv in 988, without any political or imperial demands from "big brother" nor mutual acts of aggression.
Office relocation : Haribo is leaving Kessenich  almost

Kessenich Sub-tenants are shortly moving into the Haribo group company building. However, the golden bear is not leaving Kessenich completely.

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What is Kessenich without the smell of liquorice? When Hans Riegel set up his first production site in a courtyard on Bergstrae, the smell had not yet filled the streets of south Bonn. The trained confectioner slowly built up his business to be internationally renowned. Despite the relocation of the head office to Grafschaft at the end of April, a part of Haribo is to remain in Bonn.

Hans Riegel started his sweet production equipped with a copper kettle, a sack full of sugar and a marble slab. On 13 December 1920, the trained confectioner registered his company in the commercial register as Hans-Riegel-Bonn, from which he derived the acronym Haribo. He delivered his first sweets, such as the dancing bear, to kiosks by bicycle. His wife Gertrud supported him as the first employee. Ten years after it was founded, the company had already grown significantly  around 160 employees worked for Riegel. The entrepreneur therefore expanded his companys headquarters in Kessenich. The current factorys main building was built between 1930 and 1933.

Part of Haribo will stay in Kessenich

During the war years, the company had to reduce production because of a lack of raw materials. After the early death of Hans Riegel at the age of 52, his wife continued to run the business until their sons, Paul and Hans, returned from being prisoners of war and joined the business. In the meantime, up to 1350 employees worked in Kessenich.

With the relocation to Grafschaft, the company may have moved its headquarters to Rhineland-Palatinate but a part of Haribo remains in Kessenich. Part of the production will continue to take place in the golden bears home town and the production buildings and plant administration will therefore remain. The headquarters, the central warehouse and modern production lines will be set up in the Rhineland-Palatinate district of Grafschaft. The administration building, constructed in the 1960s on Hans-Riegel-Strae, will therefore no longer be needed. The company has already found a tenant for the property. The Berufsgenossenschaft Handel und Warenlogistik (BGHW) will use the around 4000 square metres of office space in future. BGHW wants to move in at the start of next year and the lease is fixed for the next 15 years.

But something is also happening a few kilometres further south. A new building for the Bad Godesberg police station is being developed on the Haribo site on Friesdorfer Strae. Officials are expected to start working there in 2020. A new building is also under construction for the factory outlet.

Original text: Sabrina Bauer.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has come out against a proposed $365 million waste-to-energy facility in the town of Romulus, Seneca County.

Cuomo released a statement Tuesday calling the plans for a trash incinerator "not consistent with my administration's goals for protecting our public health, our environment and our thriving agriculture-based economy in the Finger Lakes."

Circular enerG wants to build the 180-foot-tall incinerator at the former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus. The incinerator would burn trash that is hauled to the site and produce energy.

A state siting board that normally reviews power plant projects will be tasked with reviewing the proposal and determining whether it should go forward.

Company officials view the project as an alternative to landfills  another hot-button issue in the Finger Lakes region. But opponents question the potential environment impact of the project. An estimated 2,600 tons of trash a day would be brought to the trash incinerator for it to be burned and transformed into energy.

Cuomo said importing the trash into the Finger Lakes, which he called "one of the state's most environmentally sensitive areas," is "simply not appropriate."
Arizona has some serious mountain ranges and buttes, and within then many odd mysteries.





South Mountain: The ancient site of HoHoKam tribes who made glyphs on the rocks often portraying UFOs and strange anthropomorphic creatures was also the site of the viewing of the Phoenix Lights UFO event (above this mountain). There is also the mystery castle (above) that has a rather romantic and quirky history.

Superstition Mountains: In 1845, the first man found gold in this mountain range. Several came out with gold including one called the Dutchman, but many dozens have gone in and never come back out again. The Apache said the gold was protected and to this day locals look up at those mountains with admiration and fear, knowing they contain gold, but knowing it also could mean the end of a man. Also the area has had reported time shifts and dimensional shifts as well as a past that included pygmies guarding the mountains. Some have perpetuated a legend about an opening and a spiral stairway that leads into a subterranean land of Reptoids. There is also the ancient Sinagua tribe In 1845, the first man found gold in this mountain range. Several came out with gold including one called the Dutchman, but many dozens have gone in and never come back out again. The Apache said the gold was protected and to this day locals look up at those mountains with admiration and fear, knowing they contain gold, but knowing it also could mean the end of a man. Also the area has had reported time shifts and dimensional shifts as well as a past that included pygmies guarding the mountains. Some have perpetuated a legend about an opening and a spiral stairway that leads into a subterranean land of Reptoids. There is also the ancient Sinagua tribe Circlestone Medicine Wheel





It is believed that the Circlestone might have marked solstices and equinoxes. Of course, as always, lots of UFO reports.





Estrella Mountains: This mountain range is known for a very large amount of UFO sightings. Some folks call them the "Estrella Lights." They are also located strategically between Barry Goldwater Range and Luke Air Force Base, so you draw your own conclusions, but admittedly this mountain range has a very odd feel to it. Some just have odd "mojo" and this is both gorgeous to look at and unsettling when you get near.

Camelback Mountain: An orthodontist taught himself the art of stone cutting just so he could build a castle on the side of Camelback Mountain. It ended up making him lose a wife, 2 girlfriends and all his money. Now, that was a man possessed! My son and a friend toured the abandoned castle years ago. No one would buy it. Lots of looters had gone in and broken the place apart, but what remained was a fortress defying anyone to take it down completely.

Apache Leap: Apache Leap near the town of Superior. Up on a rock ledge up high over the town an Apache group lived and was able to watch the comings and goings of troops and citizens below. They had apparently not secured one path up and they were found. Many of their tribe killed and the remainder ran to the west, leaping to their deaths off the cliff.

White Mountains: This beautiful mountain range in Arizona is known for its Bigfoot sightings and supposedly the Tribal Police have more official police reports of Bigfoot sightings documented than any other US police department. Native legends tell of skinwalkers or people practicing bad medicine and shapeshifting and causing havoc.

Mogollon Rim: The Mogollon Rim in Central Arizona runs about 200 miles and up to 8000 feet and one can still walk around the top of it and find fossils lying on the ground, but it is also known for something called the "Mogollon Monster" by some locals, but is reportedly the Bigfoot of the area.

Sedona Vortexes: This magical red-rocked land has 4 vortexes or supposed energy areas where leylines converge and the earth creates healing energy. I admit to visiting them and they absolutely do have something to them. As well, many believe that there suspicious underground bases in Sedona. The Airport Mountain has a vortex where it is said that earth energies converge and create an amazing and healing power.

Grand Canyon: There are a lot of legends here but the most popular one is that an explorer found a cave within that held an Egyptian tomb. It doesn't help that many paths in the Grand Canyon have Egyptian names and there are portions no one is allowed in, raising speculation.

Jerome the Mining Town: At 5200 feet, this old retired mining town is not only a precarious drive up, but once there, you learn it's chock full of ghosts! This haunted mining town is a great destination and the Jerome Grand is probably the hub of it as the old retired hospital turned hotel. It is a quirky artist colony of sorts now, but the haunted feel is always present.

Apache-Sitgreaves Forest: This is the forested mountainside where logger Travis Walton was abducted by a UFO in a famous case with an awesome movie done about it called Fire in the Sky.

Bradshaw Mountains: An historic location and very beautiful, but also carries a legend of an underground military base and UFO visitations. In fact, the Bradshaw Ranch reportedly had similar events to the infamous Skinwalker Ranch and details can be found in the book " An historic location and very beautiful, but also carries a legend of an underground military base and UFO visitations. In fact, the Bradshaw Ranch reportedly had similar events to the infamous Skinwalker Ranch and details can be found in the book " Merging Dimensions

Casa Grande Mountain: This location is said to have a black shadowy mist that makes a person feel very uneasy. Some have reported voices and shadow people in this location, as well.









Mt. Lemmon Observatory: This astronomical observatory in the Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson. This is an infrared observatory at 9000 ft.





Is it our geology that makes our beautiful mountains the thing of legends and weirdness or is there something just odd about Arizona's Mountains? Honestly, having lived here most of my life, I do think there is an odd chemistry about this place.
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kacylee at 15-05-2018 08:07 AM (3 years ago) (f)

Two Nigerian citizens, both of whom reside in Houston, have been ordered to federal prison for perpetuating a wire fraud scheme involving various internet scams, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Idowu Olugbenga Temetan aka David Cole, 30, and Adeltilewa Olamigoke Afolabi Ikuejuyone aka Kuffour Duval, 36, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Temetan also admitted to one count of passport forgery.



Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake handed Temetan a 51-month sentence, while Ikuejuyone received a 45-month sentence yesterday. Both defendants were also held jointly and severally liable to pay $187,422.60 in restitution. As both are not U.S. citizens, each are expected to face deportation proceedings following their sentences.



At Ikuejuyones sentencing, the court heard testimony from a relative of one of the victims who testified about the emotional and financial toll the defendants criminal actions had taken on their family. During Temetans sentencing hearing today, he acknowledged his mistakes and apologized to the victims for his actions. In handing down the sentences, the court noted the defendants engaged in a series of actions over an extended length of time to defraud multiple victims.

Two Nigerian citizens, both of whom reside in Houston, have been ordered to federal prison for perpetuating a wire fraud scheme involving various internet scams, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Idowu Olugbenga Temetan aka David Cole, 30, and Adeltilewa Olamigoke Afolabi Ikuejuyone aka Kuffour Duval, 36, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Temetan also admitted to one count of passport forgery.Today, U.S. District Judge Sim Lake handed Temetan a 51-month sentence, while Ikuejuyone received a 45-month sentence yesterday. Both defendants were also held jointly and severally liable to pay $187,422.60 in restitution. As both are not U.S. citizens, each are expected to face deportation proceedings following their sentences.At Ikuejuyones sentencing, the court heard testimony from a relative of one of the victims who testified about the emotional and financial toll the defendants criminal actions had taken on their family. During Temetans sentencing hearing today, he acknowledged his mistakes and apologized to the victims for his actions. In handing down the sentences, the court noted the defendants engaged in a series of actions over an extended length of time to defraud multiple victims.

From October 2013 until March 2014, Temetan and Ikuejuyone used counterfeit passports to open bank accounts in the greater Houston area. The passports contained photographs of Temetan and Ikuejuyone but utilized the aliases of David Cole and Kuffour Duval, respectively. Both Temetan and Ikuejuyone then worked with others to lure victims into sending money into various bank accounts under their sole ownership and control. These funds were obtained through a variety of internet scams, including lottery scams and business investment scams. Checks or wire transfers were then sent from the victims bank accounts to accounts Temetan and Ikuejuyone controlled. Temetan, Ikuejuyone and their co-conspirators would then use the counterfeit passports to retrieve the fraudulently obtained funds.



Law enforcement has been able to trace at least $4 million to victims, some of whom who reside in Houston, that have been affected by this scheme. The conspiracy resulted in the defrauding of one elderly victim of $3 million alone. After authorities identified this victim, they were able to trace the accounts into which the monies were being deposited.







Temetan and Ikuejuyone will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.



The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie N. Searle and Rick Bennett prosecuted the case. From October 2013 until March 2014, Temetan and Ikuejuyone used counterfeit passports to open bank accounts in the greater Houston area. The passports contained photographs of Temetan and Ikuejuyone but utilized the aliases of David Cole and Kuffour Duval, respectively. Both Temetan and Ikuejuyone then worked with others to lure victims into sending money into various bank accounts under their sole ownership and control. These funds were obtained through a variety of internet scams, including lottery scams and business investment scams. Checks or wire transfers were then sent from the victims bank accounts to accounts Temetan and Ikuejuyone controlled. Temetan, Ikuejuyone and their co-conspirators would then use the counterfeit passports to retrieve the fraudulently obtained funds.Law enforcement has been able to trace at least $4 million to victims, some of whom who reside in Houston, that have been affected by this scheme. The conspiracy resulted in the defrauding of one elderly victim of $3 million alone. After authorities identified this victim, they were able to trace the accounts into which the monies were being deposited.Temetan and Ikuejuyone will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie N. Searle and Rick Bennett prosecuted the case.

Post Reply I have been reporting for several years now and I am very interested in visual news reportage with strong inclusion of photos and video multimedia. Posted: at 15-05-2018 08:07 AM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero
clarajancita at 15-05-2018 11:24 AM (3 years ago) (f)

The life of a young Nigerian man has been cut short by unknown gunmen in far away South Africa, after he was reportedly shot death while his car was stolen.



A Facebook user identified as Taiwo Saheed Amoo, has taken to the social networking platform to post a photo of a Nigerian man while revealing that he was shot dead in the streets of South Africa.

The life of a young Nigerian man has been cut short by unknown gunmen in far away South Africa, after he was reportedly shot death while his car was stolen.A Facebook user identified as Taiwo Saheed Amoo, has taken to the social networking platform to post a photo of a Nigerian man while revealing that he was shot dead in the streets of South Africa.

He posted the photo and wrote; He posted the photo and wrote; Quote "Sad new again gone to soon brother he was shot last night by unknown guys at hazy view mpumalanga nelspruit they even collect his car only God know what story behind this gentle man killing rest in peace my dear brother #Chidi."



Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 15-05-2018 11:24 AM (3 years ago) | Hero
PROVIDENCE, R.I., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Smithfield Foods, Inc. and BJs Wholesale Club joined forces to donate more than 38,000 pounds of protein to The Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Smithfields contribution was part of the companys 2018 Helping Hungry Homes donation tour. Now in the programs 10th year, Helping Hungry Homes is Smithfields signature hunger-relief initiative focused on alleviating hunger and helping Americans become more food secure. The donation, equivalent to more than 154,000 servings, will help families fight hunger across Rhode Island.



At The Rhode Island Community Food Bank, our mission is to improve the quality of life for all Rhode Islanders by advancing solutions to resolve hunger, said Andrew Schiff, CEO of The Rhode Island Community Food Bank. This large-scale protein donation from Smithfield Foods is greatly appreciated and will help the food-insecure individuals in our community.

Smithfield and BJs representatives presented the donation to The Rhode Island Community Food Bank at an event at the food bank this morning. Members of all three organizations discussed food insecurity in the local community and the significance of this donation in helping the nearly one in eight individuals who face hunger each day in Rhode Island.

This is the 21st large scale protein donation made by Smithfield to food banks across the country during its 2018 Helping Hungry Homes tour. Since the programs inception in 2008, Smithfield has provided more than 100 million servings of protein to food banks, disaster relief efforts, and community outreach programs nationwide.

By partnering with organizations such as The Rhode Island Community Food Bank and BJs Wholesale Club we will make progress towards eliminating food insecurity for our neighbors in need, said Dennis Pittman, senior director of hunger relief for Smithfield Foods. We are hopeful that this donation will inspire others to support this cause and their local community.

For more information about Smithfield Foods Helping Hungry Homes initiative and a list of upcoming donation events, visit helpinghungryhomes.com.

About Smithfield Foods

Smithfield Foods is a $15 billion global food company and the world's largest pork processor and hog producer. In the United States, the company is also the leader in numerous packaged meats categories with popular brands including Smithfield, Eckrich, Nathan's Famous, Farmland, Armour, Farmer John, Kretschmar, John Morrell, Cook's, Gwaltney, Carando, Margherita, Curly's, Healthy Ones, Morliny, Krakus and Berlinki. Smithfield Foods is committed to providing good food in a responsible way and maintains robust animal care, community involvement, employee safety, environmental and food safety and quality programs. For more information, visit www.smithfieldfoods.com.

About The Rhode Island Community Food Bank

The Rhode Island Community Food Bank distributes food to 57,000 struggling Rhode Islanders each month through a statewide network of 155 member agencies including food pantries, meal sites, shelters, youth programs and senior centers. The Food Bank solicits food donations from the public and from the food industry, including supermarkets, food manufacturers and growers. To keep up with the high demand for food assistance, the Food Bank also acquires food at low cost from wholesalers. This year, the Food Bank distributed 9.5 million pounds of food. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nations largest domestic hunger-relief organization. For more information, visit www.rifoodbank.org.

About BJs Wholesale Club

Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's is the leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 215 clubs and 134 BJ's Gas locations in 16 states. BJ's provides a one-stop shopping destination filled with top-quality, leading brands, including its exclusive Wellsley Farms and Berkley Jensen brands, along with USDA Choice meats, premium produce and delicious organics, many in supermarket sizes. BJ's is also the only major membership warehouse club to accept all manufacturers' coupons.

Visit www.BJs.com, and for exclusive content find us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.

BJ's is wholly owned by affiliates of Leonard Green & Partners, CVC Capital Partners and its management team.

Media Contacts:

Dalton Agency for Smithfield

Jana Beasley

(904) 534-8568

jbeasley@daltonagency.com The Rhode Island Community Food Bank

Hugh C. Minor IV

(401) 230-1674

hminor@rifoodbank.org BJs Wholesale Club

Jennie Hardin

(774) 512-6978

jhardin@bjs.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/ac3ac983-48e7-4f19-ad54-7a6041f3f706
PORT BYRON  Dr. Werner Flier DDS, of Port Byron, passed away at home on Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

He was born in North Tonawanda, N.Y. to Leonard and Ida Flier, immigrants from Germany. He graduated from Clarence High School, attended Cornell University, and continued on to graduate from the University at Buffalo School of Dentistry. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Air Force at Loring AFB in Northern Maine.

He met his wife, Carlene Skuse while in Buffalo and she joined him in Maine. They enjoyed the outdoors and he built his first boat.

After leaving the service, he entered practice of general dentistry in Port Byron, ideally situated to pursue his love of fishing and hunting; as well as dentistry.

For 58 years, he provided dental care to thousands of patients in rural Cayuga County. He embraced farming and the rural community.

He is survived by his wife, Carlene; son Leonard; daughter, Janet Flier Sundquist; four grandchildren, and sister, Betty Flier Fries.

Calling hours will take place from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, at Audioun Funeral Home, Port Byron. Services and burial will be held in western New York at the convenience of family.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Port Byron Food Pantry, the First United Methodist Church Port Byron, or the Port Byron Library.
I noticed Andrew Dennison, in his recent letter to the editor, does not cite Canadians losing their home or declaring bankruptcies because of the high cost of medical treatment. Instead, he repeats the often-anecdotal stories of long waiting times often forcing Canadians to come to the states for medical treatments. Actually, most Canadians are tourists encountering medical problems. Mr. Dennison argues against single payer because the Canadian program does not cover prescriptions, dental care and eye care. Apparently, he is ignorant that the New York Health Act covers these items and much more.

Specifically, the New York Health Act covers comprehensive care including primary, preventive, specialists, hospital, mental health, reproductive health care, as well as, dental, vision, hearing, prescription drugs, lab tests, medical supplies, and transportation services. Costs will be covered through additional progressive taxes: The poorest pay nothing, while those making $200,000 or more pay the most. Also, taxpayers will not have to bear the costs that health insurers spend on advertising, lobbying and of the outlandish compensation for insurance companys CEOs. Under the New York Health Act, doctors will be able to concentrate on providing quality health care to their patients. And New Yorkers will not have to choose between food or prescriptions.
Governments around the nation are working to design the best vaccine policies that keep both their employees and their residents safe. Although the latest data shows a variety of polarizing perspectives, there are clear emerging best practices that leading governments are following to put trust first: creating policies that are flexible and provide a range of options, and being in tune with the needs and sentiments of their employees so that they are able to be dynamic and accommodate the rapidly changing situation.
In February, Congress made a bipartisan deal that avoided a government shutdown and raised spending limits for defense and non-defense programs. The deal's immediate budget implications grabbed most of the headlines at the time, but tucked into the legislative package was the biggest change in almost 40 years in how child welfare is funded.Months later, states and localities are still trying to figure out what the new Family First Prevention Services Act means for them and whether they have enough time to comply with it.Under the new law, the federal government will offer unprecedented support for keeping families together. In the past, the federal government would only reimburse states for child welfare services that were delivered after children were removed from their homes. Starting in October 2019, states can also be reimbursed for services that keep children safely at home with their families.For the first time, a pot of money formally known as Title IV-E funds will be available to states for targeting parents and caretakers of children being considered for foster care. The feds will reimburse states for up to 12 months of evidence-based programs aimed at keeping families together, which often include mental health services, substance abuse treatment and in-home parenting classes.The shift toward early intervention and treatment is "something that states have wanted to see for a long time," says Tracy Wareing Evans, executive director of the American Public Human Services Association, a group that includes child welfare administrators.But there is at least one provision in Family First that some state officials have expressed concern about.To pay for the new prevention services, Congress is trying to shift money away from group homes. Generally speaking, the federal government will stop reimbursing states for placing children in group homes for more than two weeks unless they are a "qualified residential treatment program" for children with mental health or behavioral needs. The law also places new requirements on these group homes, such as accreditation by an independent body and licensed clinical staff on site.The intent of the provision is to limit group homes to children with severe behavioral or mental health needs and ensure that most kids either remain with their families, get placed with a relative or live with a foster family.In practice though, some states will struggle to place children in a family-like setting because there is a nationwide shortage of foster families, according to research by the Chronicle of Social Change, a nonprofit news site that covers child welfare and other youth policy issues.In recent years, the number of children in foster care increased by 11 percent from 2012 to 2017 while at least 25 states saw their foster beds decrease during that time."You dont just go out and create a whole new set of foster homes that you havent had available before," says Carl Ayers, the family services director for Virginia's Department of Social Services.But adding to the supply of foster homes doesn't appear to be the goal for federal officials."In the long run, I dont think we will solve the problems in foster care by finding more beds for children to sleep in," said Jerry Milner, the acting commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, in an interview with the Chronicle of Social Change last November. "We need to resolve the problems that lead to the increased need for foster care placement."In the meantime, Sheila Poole, acting commissioner of New York's Office of Children and Family Services, says the new rules for group homes will "significantly reduce a states flexibility to determine the most appropriate placement and the likelihood of receiving sufficient federal funding for youth in care."If group homes don't or can't meet the new requirements, states may have to consider using their own funds -- without federal reimbursement -- to care for children and youth who have nowhere else to go.States are expected to either comply with Family First or seek a two-year delay by October 2019. However, many states may lobby for a third option: Currently, 25 states, plus D.C. have waivers that grant them greater flexibility in how they use federal child welfare funds. In exchange for the flexibility, they accept a cap on their reimbursement amounts.In some cases, waiver jurisdictions were already getting reimbursed for prevention services and those services included things that aren't going to reimbursed under Family First, such as rent and transportation assistance."For those waiver jurisdictions, they see this as overly prescriptive, and they worry about losing money," says Daniel Heimpel, president of Fostering Media Connections, which publishes the Chronicle of Social Change. "Family First is like a New Deal-era intrusion of the federal government's desires into local jurisdictions. No local leader really likes that."Before the Family First law passed, the National Association of Counties (NACo) urged Congress to extend those waivers through 2024. Instead, they are set to expire in October 2019. NACo is currently in talks with officials in New York City, Los Angeles County, Colorado and Ohio about getting Congress to extend the waivers, according to Eryn Hurley, an associate legislative director there.States are still awaiting federal guidance on the law's details. It's unknown at this point, for instance, which prevention programs would satisfy the law's new evidence-based standards."There are a ton of unanswered questions," says Ayers."For some states that dont require accreditation or don't have evidence-based practices, its going to be a huge shift, which is the intent of the bill," says Michelle Sanborn, president of the National Organization of State Associations for Children, which represents foster care providers. She predicts most states will request a two-year delay for the group home provisions."I dont think anybody is opposed to the idea and we welcome the challenge of getting to the goal of the bill," Sanborn says. "Its just a matter of the getting there."
Prosecutors dismissed a criminal charge against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens after a judge ruled Monday that his lawyers could potentially call Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner as a witness.The Circuit Attorney's Office said it would refile the felony invasion of privacy charge through a special prosecutor or by Gardner assigning it to one of her assistants.Lawyers for the governor said they do not think the charge will be refiled."The real reason why this case was dismissed was there was no evidence," said defense attorney Jim Bennett.Greitens and his attorneys lauded the move as a "great victory" as they spoke to media on the courthouse steps Monday afternoon."Today prosecutors dropped the false charges against me," Greitens said in brief remarks. "This is a great victory and it has been a long time coming. This experience has been humbling, and I have emerged from it a changed man."He apologized to his family, friends and the people of Missouri."I am tremendously grateful for the extreme courage of family, friends and people of faith who have all recognized that in time comes the truth," the governor said. "We have a great mission before us. At this time I'd ask people of goodwill to come together so that all of us can continue to do good together. Thank you guys, and God bless you."Reporters shouted questions at the governor, asking about the possible refiling of charges and whether he had taken a photo of his mistress, as alleged in the charge that was dropped."I'm going to be with my family right now," Greitens said before walking away.Prosecutors announced they were dropping the charge about 4:40 p.m. Monday, after about 40 minutes of whispered conferences among lawyers and multiple trips to the chambers of Circuit Judge Rex Burlison. After the final trip, Greitens and his lawyers were smiling.The move follows several secret filings in state court and the Missouri Court of Appeals over the last several days, and a motion to dismiss filed Monday afternoon.A spokeswoman for Gardner said the case would be refiled. Gardner left the courtroom just before 5 p.m. She did not answer questions.Gardner spokeswoman Susan Ryan said in a statement that Burlison's "unprecedented" order "places the Circuit Attorney in the impossible position of being a witness, subject to cross-examination within the offer of proof by her own subordinates."But St. Louis University law professor John Ammann said Gardner did not have to dismiss the charge. Because she could not be a prosecutor and witness in the same case, she could have simply let other prosecutors take over, he said.And defense lawyers said Gardner was only facing questions under oath. Burlison would have had to decide whether her testimony would be admitted in the trial.Prosecutors have less than a month to refile the case under the statute of limitations. Defense lawyers vowed to challenge any attempt to do so, saying the dismissal was due to misconduct by Gardner and should therefore not qualify for more time to refile.Greitens was indicted in February on a charge that he took a nude photo of a woman, his hairdresser, without her consent. In a conversation with her ex-husband, which he surreptitiously recorded, the woman said the affair began at Greitens' St. Louis home in March 2015, when Greitens taped her to exercise equipment, blindfolded her and took a picture of her partially nude. When she got upset, she told her ex-husband, Greitens said he had deleted the photo.During the encounter, she said, Greitens told her: "You're never going to mention my name, otherwise there will be pictures of (you) everywhere."Defense lawyers wanted to call Gardner because for weeks they have accused her of misconduct. They said she allowed a former lead investigator in the case to commit perjury.The statement from prosecutors called the tactic part of "a scorched-earth legal and media strategy" that included attacks on "the intentions, character and integrity of every person involved in investigating the Governor's behavior including Missouri House Committee members, the Attorney General, the Circuit Attorney and her team, his victim, her family and those who have called for his resignation," Ryan's statement said.The defense has accused investigator William Don Tisaby of putting "words in the mouth" of witnesses and removing information favorable to Greitens from reports. He said in a sworn statement that he didn't take notes during his interviews, but was caught on video taking notes. Tisaby asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in a second deposition, and Burlison had seemed unwilling to allow the defense to call him. Prosecutors have said Tisaby was used only to locate and interview a few witnesses, and they never planned to call him at trial.The stunning move came on third day of jury selection for Greitens' trial, which was expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday. And it followed the announcement by defense lawyers that investigators were unable to find data or photographic evidence to bolster their case in Greitens' phone, email or Apple iCloud account. There also was no evidence that a photo had been deleted on the day Greitens' relationship with his hairdresser first became sexual, in 2015, before he publicly announced his run for governor.The defense filed a new motion to dismiss the charge Monday.A special master reviewed 16,833 images and 610 videos extracted from Greitens' cellphone and "found none that were associated with" the woman, the motion said.A forensic examiner found no evidence that any picture taken on March 21, 2015, was deleted, the motion said. That's the day Greitens and the woman had a sexual encounter, and she claims he took a picture while she was bound and nude or semi-nude.The motion says that the woman never saw a smart phone, a camera or the picture that was purportedly taken. Even if a picture was taken, the motion says "it could have been of the floor, of the ceiling, or of (the woman's) feet."Defense lawyer Jim Martin said after the dismissal that prosecutors searched every phone, email and cloud storage account and found no evidence of the photo.Greitens still faces a felony charge of computer tampering for allegedly taking without permission a donor list from a charity he co-founded. Prosecutors have already sought a special prosecutor in that case, but Burlison has not yet ruled on their motion.In Jefferson City, legislative leaders said they would continue their investigation of the governor. Lawmakers have scheduled a special session to begin Friday that could lead to Greitens' impeachment."We owe it to Missourians to have a fair and thorough investigation of the facts," House leaders said in a statement.Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe, R-Jefferson City, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Monday's decision in St. Louis wouldn't affect the legislative investigation."There are unfortunately a lot of disturbing allegations surfacing besides the original allegation," Kehoe said. "When the committee is ready, they will present what they found to the full House and they will make a decision based on the facts, and not from what you may or may not be seeing in St. Louis."
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday proposed reinstating the death penalty in Illinois for mass killers and people who slay law enforcement officers, injecting the idea into his re-election campaign by rewriting a gun control bill and sending it back to lawmakers.Death penalty objectors and the governor's political opponents including Senate President John Cullerton immediately accused Rauner of using capital punishment as a "political tool" to help his re-election. And it faces long odds in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly, which banned capital punishment outright earlier this decade.The Republican governor needs to cobble together support from conservatives and moderates ahead of the November election. Democrats have sent him a few gun-related measures in recent months, including one to license firearm stores that he vetoed shortly before the March primary election."I don't believe that this is anything other than very good policy, widely supported by the people of Illinois and I think by elected representatives, and I think it's the right thing to do to pass this," Rauner said Monday.The governor was facing a deadline to act on a proposal to create a 72-hour "cooling-off" period to buy an assault weapon. Under current law, the waiting period to purchase military-style weapons including AR-15s is 24 hours. It's 72 hours to buy a handgun. Rauner said he believes the 72-hour rule should apply to all gun purchases and that "if someone is potentially a dangerous person and they have violent acts in mind, that extra two days could make the difference between life and death."Instead of signing or vetoing that bill, Rauner used his amendatory veto powers to add proposals, including the death penalty provision and a ban on bump stocks. His rewrite shows favor both to gun control measures pushed by liberals and moderates, and tough-on-crime policies sought by conservatives. But none of it can become law without a fresh round of votes by the lawmakers.Rauner wants to create a category of homicide called "death penalty murder," which could apply to adults who kill police officers or more than one person. Guilt must be determined "beyond all doubt," rather than the standard "reasonable doubt" requirement, according to his veto message. Rauner said at a Chicago news conference Monday that people in those cases "deserve to have their life taken."Rauner said he also wants a "complete ban" on the sale and possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks, devices designed to make guns fire more rapidly. He wants courts to have the ability to remove guns from people who are deemed dangerous, and for judges and prosecutors to be required to explain decisions on plea agreements that result in the release of habitual gun offenders. And he wants local communities to redirect sales tax money to fund the hiring of mental health workers for schools.Lawmakers can either accept his changes or override Rauner, putting just the 72-hour waiting period in place. If they do neither, the bill dies. A spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan said the governor's changes were under review and that it would be up to the sponsor of the bill to decide how to proceed. Cullerton was more direct."The death penalty should never be used as a political tool to advance one's agenda. Doing so is in large part why we had so many problems and overturned convictions. That's why we had bipartisan support to abolish capital punishment," Cullerton said.And the bill's sponsor didn't appear likely to accept the governor's changes."He hijacked my bill and put politics ahead of policy," Democratic state Rep. Jonathan Carroll of Northbrook said. He said he had not been consulted about the governor's proposed changes and was still reviewing them."I think that it was very telling that there was not one Democrat there," Carroll said of the news conference, which was held at an Illinois State Police facility in Chicago. "It would have been nice if, as the original sponsor, if I would have been invited to have conversations about this bill or even to the press conference today to talk about this bill."The death penalty provision could become part of election-year campaigning as Rauner seeks to court conservatives who abandoned him during the primary and held him to a narrow victory over state Rep. Jeanne Ives of Wheaton. The governor's campaign sent out a news release shortly after he made his announcement, and Democratic candidate J.B. Pritzker criticized him at an appearance in Springfield."Why is he doing it out of the blue?" Pritzker said of the proposal. "It's because it's all politics to him. It isn't about policy. He's trading policy to do politics in the election."The idea has the support of many conservative lawmakers and the law enforcement community."I think if you kill a police officer, I think, and you're found guilty, I think that's absolutely an appropriate remedy for something like that," said Chicago police First Deputy Superintendent Anthony Riccio, the second in command at CPD. "Look, we get murders all the time and every murder is important. But there's something particularly heinous about killing a policeman or shooting at a policeman, the people who are out there to protect all of us, basically."Asked Monday why police officers had been singled out and the proposal didn't include other public servants like firefighters and teachers, Rauner said he was "very open to considering protections like this for additional victims."The death penalty has historically been controversial in Illinois, and its end was an incremental process that came over the course of a decade.In 2000, Republican Gov. George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois, citing a spate of cases in which death row inmates were exonerated and saying the justice system was too plagued by error to be certain that the state would not kill an innocent person. Three years later, Ryan -- who later went to federal prison after his corruption case -- commuted the sentences of all death row inmates to prison terms.Then in 2011, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill abolishing the death penalty.Responding to Rauner's announcement Monday, Chicago attorney Thomas Sullivan -- who co-chaired Ryan's commission on capital punishment -- called the proposal a "lousy idea." The death penalty, he said, is expensive and time-consuming, and does not deter crime."It doesn't reduce crime, as you can see from the statistics," he said. "We're better off without it."And the Catholic Conference of Illinois said it was "distressed and alarmed" by the idea and said the idea of raising the burden of proof for such punishments was "simply parsing words.""You cannot teach killing is wrong by killing," the group said. "We are all God's children, and our first -- and primary -- right to life must always be protected and unconditional."Former Cook County State's Attorney Richard Devine believes the death penalty is appropriate in certain cases, but he said it would be "troublesome" to use the "beyond all doubt" standard, rather than the more common "beyond a reasonable doubt" standard."It strikes me as more campaign rhetoric than anything else," he said.If Illinois were to return to executing people, the state would be cutting against the national trend. Executions in the U.S. rose to a peak of 98 in 1999 but have dropped steadily since then, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, which has criticized the way the death penalty is implemented. There were 23 executions nationwide last year, and states have struggled to secure the drugs used for lethal injections. Thirty-one states and the federal government allow for the death penalty.Illinois executed 12 people, including serial killer John Wayne Gacy, between 1990 and 1999. The last person executed in Illinois was Andrew Kokoraleis, who was executed by injection in 1999 for murdering and dismembering a 21-year-old woman from Elmhurst.Democrats will attempt on Tuesday to steer the gun-violence discussion back toward gun control by unveiling a revamped version of a new state licensing system for gun shops. Rauner vetoed an earlier version of that legislation in March.
Since the fatal shooting of 17 people at a South Florida high school, five states -- Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Rhode Island and Vermont -- have passed laws that allow authorities to temporarily take away guns from a person who has shown a pattern of violence.While most legislative proposals to address gun violence stall, the "red flag" laws, as they are known, have passed with bipartisan support and the collaboration of activists on both sides of the gun control debate. The momentum for these laws comes after investigations revealed that the shooters often showed warning signs that they would commit violence.Nine states now have such laws on the books and dozens of others are considering such proposals.The most recent law came in Delaware, where Gov. John Carney on April 30 signed the Beau Biden Gun Violence Prevention Act into law. It allows mental health professionals to report potentially dangerous people and have their guns seized through a court order.The bill failed in 2013 but now, in the aftermath of the carnage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, it passed the General Assembly unanimously."We had meetings where the Delaware Coalition Against Gun Violence met with members of the local NRA," said state Rep. David Bentz. "We sat in a room and talked about the bill. They seemed sincere in their efforts."Delaware lawmakers are expected to pass a second bill similar to most red flag laws, which allow family members and law enforcement officials to petition a court to seize guns from people who exhibit warning signs of harm -- to themselves or others. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan signed such a bill into law in April."I think that we were able to craft a really effective law here in Maryland because it was a huge cooperative effort, between all organizations," Jen Pauliukonis, president of the Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence said.Under red flag laws, guns are taken from a person temporarily; how long the guns are withheld varies from state to state. Such laws in California and Florida, for example, allow firearms to be removed for up to a year.The laws address a concern from law enforcement -- how to take action when a crime has not yet been committed, said William Rosen, deputy legal director for Everytown for Gun Safety. "The red flag law steps into that gap," he said.In March, the National Rifle Assn. surprised gun rights advocates and gun-control proponents by expressing support for red flag laws."We need to stop dangerous people before they act. So, Congress should provide funding for states to adapt risk protection orders," Chris Cox, executive director for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said in a YouTube video.The NRA's stance felt like a betrayal to some. "The key point for red flag laws is that someone can be accused and have their guns confiscated. It is an anti-American proposal," said Dudley Brown, president of the National Assn. for Gun Rights.Red flag laws amount to a "removal of due process," he said. "They think you might do something bad, so they're going to take away your civil rights."A nationwide study by Everytown for Gun Safety showed that 42% of the time, the suspect in mass shootings showed warning signs prior to the incident.An anonymous caller told the FBI about Nikolas Cruz's disturbing behavior patterns one month before the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School. In a statement, the FBI said the caller told authorities about "Cruz's gun ownership, desire to kill people, erratic behavior, and disturbing social media posts." The FBI had admitted that the proper protocols were not taken for the caller's concerns on Cruz.Proponents of red flag laws note that before a court order can be executed, there must be evidence of a history of violence, or documented threats of committing harm to themselves or others."Making one threat doesn't count as convincing evidence," said Jennifer Lynch, board member of Oregon Alliance for Gun Safety. "The statute requires multiple, provable evidence for the cops to come in."Red flag laws ask the court to consider, among other things, a person's documented history of violence or attempted violence, unlawful use of controlled substances or deadly weapons and recent purchases of deadly weapons.After a person's guns are taken, he or she has time to have the order rescinded. Each state allows a window for the petitioner to have a court date and argue for their guns back.Before a red flag law passed in Rhode Island in April, civil libertarians there wanted significant amendments to address concerns about due process. Steven Brown, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union chapter in Rhode Island, said there should be "a significant danger of imminent harm" before a petition could be made.A mandatory mental health evaluation was also removed from Rhode Island's law because it was "promoting a person's mental health as the basis for issuing these orders," Brown said. "There are many criteria a judge is supposed to consider, regardless of mental health or illness."In some states, earlier efforts to pass red flag bills failed. Such legislation died in Oregon in 2016. That winter, James Tylka bought a 9-millimeter handgun on Christmas Eve to kill his wife, Katelynn Armand-Tylka. He also shot an Oregon state trooper, who survived. Tylka was later shot multiple times by police and also had a self-inflicted gun wound. He died.Armand-Tylka had planned to file a restraining order against Tylka, who had a documented history of domestic violence, including text messages threatening her life. A red flag law later passed and since it went into effect in Oregon on Jan. 1, the state has had 19 orders filed in 15 counties, according to Phillip Lemman with the Oregon Judicial Department.Mental health professionals believe red flag laws balance public safety with personal rights by focusing on behavior, not mental health diagnosis."It isn't just about mental illness. It's about the person's history and capacity to be a responsible gun owner," said Dominic Sisti, director of the Scattergood Program for Applied Ethics of Behavioral Healthcare.If the standards for a red flag weren't as high, it would be a greater concern. "I think that's totally reasonable. If an individual is in crisis, it seems like common sense to me that [person] shouldn't have firearms," Sisti said."With any kind of public policy, there has to be a balance," said Kristin Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "These [red flag] laws strike that right balance."
Description

GIS  15 May, 2018: The World Trade Organisations Regional Trade Policy Course (WTO-RTPC), aimed at enhancing the human and institutional capacity of its members so that they can take full advantage of their participation in the rules-based multilateral system and enforce their rights and obligations, was launched yesterday at the Burrenchobay Lecture Theatre, University of Mauritius (UoM), in Reduit.

In his address, the Director, International Trade Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr Sunil Boodhoo, emphasised the importance of trade and also the necessity to understand the role with regards to the contribution of the WTO in ensuring the creation of favourable conditions at the international level for trade to evolve.

According to Dr Boodhoo, the world as well as the WTO are facing numerous challenges more specifically in the trade arena and one such challenge pertains to the process of disintegration. International trade will thrive when we move away from disintegration towards that of integration as only then will the best conditions be created and it is crucial to work collaboratively to achieve this objective, he pointed out.

Moreover, the Director observed that while there is the challenge pertaining to the disintegration process at international level, the African continent is giving a lesson to the world when it comes to integration and the development of trade. Never before, he said, has a whole continent set as an objective to create a single market. This, he emphasised, is presently happening through the establishment of the Continental Free Trade Area which is a very ambitious agreement signed on the 21st March 2018 by the whole continent.

Africa, indicated Dr Boodhoo, is moving the integration process forward through that single market and the framework agreement has been signed and what is left now is to negotiate some of the specifics such as rules of origin, market access and we are moving very positively in the right direction.

For his part, Mr Mustapha Sekate, Economics Affairs Officer, WTO, said that the WTO places great importance on training and technical assistance activities. Members of the organisation and in particular developing and least developing economies place great value and emphasis on the development and reinforcement of their human resources capacities, he stated.

The WTO, highlighted Mr Sekate, is a member-driven organisation and Governments have to be prepared to articulate and defend their interests and legitimate expectations and can do so only when their Trade Policy Officials are knowledgeable about the multilateral trading system and well-versed in trade policy matters. It is in that context that the RTPC plays a significant role in building the capacity of Trade Policy Officials of the African-English speaking region to enable them to adequately promote and defend the interests of this region, he added.

In his speech, the Vice-Chancellor, UoM, Professor Dhanjay Jhurry, stated that interactions between academia, the public and international organisations are required as the problems we are confronted with are complex in nature. In fact, these problems are connected to a multiplicity of rules and procedures, economic perspectives and legal issues, he said. However, what is more important in addition to knowledge, is the need for competencies and practical skills, he emphasised.

RTPC Mauritius 2018

It is organised by the WTO in collaboration with the UoMs Faculty of Law and Management following a selection process to identify a partner institution for the course.

Thirty-one delegates of English-speaking African members and observers of the WTO are participating, from 14 May to 6 July 2018, in the first ever RTPC organised in Mauritius. Participating countries are: Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Seychelles, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The objectives are to: deepen participants understanding of the functioning of the WTO and its rules and procedures; develop capacity to find relevant information and documents on WTO-related issues including the use of the WTO legal texts; and, enhance understanding of regional perspectives on trade policy and development.

WTO-RTPC

The course has been recently run in several countries around the world including Thailand, Ecuador, Kazakhstan and the last editions for the African-English speaking members were held in Botswana.

The WTO-RTPC fits within the WTOs Trade Related Technical Assistance activities, and is an eight-week course organised by the WTO in partnership with regional institutions. The course is co-delivered by Officials from the WTO Secretariat, trade policy specialists and academic experts from the region.
Description

GIS  15 May 2018: The Observatory for Parenthood for the Republic of Mauritius - a collaborative platform for the exchange of information among parenthood supporting stakeholders across the country - was inaugurated this morning at the National Women Entrepreneur Development Centre, in Phoenix. This event marks the International Day of Families which is observed every year on 15 May.

The Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus, proceeded with the inauguration ceremony which was followed by the launch of an exhibition on the welfare of families. Around 10 exhibitors are participating mainly NGOs and public sector organisations such as CEDEM, SOS Village and Family Welfare Protection Unit.

In her address Mrs Jadoo-Jaunbocus recalled that the family unit is an essential vehicle through which social, cultural and moral values are transmitted and preserved. The role of families across the world is important as it helps in bringing a sense of stability in any country, she said. It is necessary to provide support to families to raise their children and the Ministry has a major role in elaborating policies to ensure the welfare of families and that is why the Observatory for Parenthood has been set up, she added.

According to the Minister parents require particular attention, time and preparation to take up the responsibility of parenthood. There are a lot of support systems that exist across the world to help parents in this field and therefore it is essential to support parents in Mauritius to face challenges related to parenthood and future issues that may crop up, she said.

Referring to the Parenthood Observatory, Mrs Jadoo-Jaunbocus pointed out that this system will bring together all stakeholders working on issues related to the welfare of families and parenthood to develop a common strategy to better assist families and parents across Mauritius. The exchanges will enable the formulation of adequate policies in the future in the field of parenthood and family welfare, she pointed out. A website will also be created to offer a database comprising services and activities pertaining to family welfare.

Parenthood Observatory

It will enable exchange of ideas and research documents and create networks to promote best practices related to parenthood. The Caisse dAllocation Familiale of Reunion Island has provided technical assistance in the setting up of the Observatory in Mauritius.

A steering committee, comprising representatives of public sector organisations, academia and civil society, has been set up to define modalities and functioning of the Observatory.

It is expected that on the long run the Parenthood Observatory will become a hub in the Indian Ocean region.

International Day of Families

This day provides an opportunity to promote awareness of issues relating to families and to increase the knowledge of the social, economic and demographic processes affecting families.

The 2018 theme is Families and inclusive societies.
Description

GIS  15 May, 2018: A workshop of the Communication Regulators Association of Southern Africa (CRASA), focusing on the theme ' Women in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) - Bridging the Gender Gap and Reaching the Unserved opened this morning at Le Meridien Hotel in Pointe Aux Piments.

A second workshop underpinned by the similar concept of promoting Universal Access and democratising access to ICTs will be held on 16 May 2018. The two workshops are organised at the initiative of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority in collaboration with the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation.

In her keynote address, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Dr Rooba Yanembal Moorghen, highlighted that Government strives to have a connected community for which various initiatives to improve internet provision and telecommunications have been undertaken across the island, in Rodrigues and in Agalega shortly. She further pointed out that mobile penetration stands at 144% and Fibre To The Home is a reality across the island with 100% coverage and in this regard since September 2017, Mauritius occupies the 8th position worldwide. Moreover, she added that the Universal Service is a policy designed to ensure that telecommunication services central to social and economic integration are available to everyone at affordable prices.

The Permanent Secretary emphasised that gender gaps and imbalance do arise in the use and access to ICT and that it is critical to bridge these so that women partake equally to the socioeconomic growth of the country. She added that technology has certainly transformed the nature of various jobs that has increased job ventures and brought forth more advantages in particular for women who have multiple roles in the society.

Mrs Moorghen further pointed out that in Mauritius, equal opportunity is provided across all spheres of the society and Government ensures that both genders are exposed to technology. The education curriculum in particular, she said, is geared towards introducing ICT so that school leavers are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to fit in the digital landscape. With the aim to further bridge the gender divide, ICT awareness courses are provided in Womens associations, social welfare centres and women centres across the Island, she added.

On her part, the Head of Electronic Communications of CRASA, Mrs Bridget Linzie said that the digital gap between men and women is widening and the divide is reinforcing socioeconomic inequalities. According to her, there are various challenges in relation to the unequal access and use of ICT that should be addressed to enable women to contribute and drive the economy.

As for the Knowledge Manager of Connected Women- GSNA, Ms Mariana Lopez, she observed that the world is increasingly connected and the number of mobile phone users is ever increasing. However, she said, there is a significant gender gap in mobile phone ownership and usage by women which is hindering their empowerment. She emphasised that ICT access gaps should be bridged and instead connectivity should be leveraged to empower women.

The workshop

The event brought together delegates of CRASA from Africa and local stakeholders. The workshops will examine a range of innovations in both regulations and technologies that will bring affordable access to all, in particular the underserved and those residing in rural areas . They will also explore business models that have succeeded in other parts of the world in addressing connectivity gaps.
Ben Miller is the associate editor of data and business for Government Technology. His reporting experience includes breaking news, business, community features and technical subjects. He holds a Bachelors degree in journalism from the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and lives in Sacramento, Calif.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- BMW obtained two license plates for the ICV (intelligent-connected vehicle) road test from Shanghai municipal government on May 14, becoming the first multinational automaker that is allowed to test ICV on roads, according to official WeChat account of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information.

Reportedly, the tested vehicles from BMW are two BMW 7-Series models, which have been upgraded in line with China's road conditions. The two tested vehicles had undergone one-month testing and qualification inspection in National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (ShangHai) Pilot Zone with an overall passing rate over 99%.

BMW revealed that the company will increase the tested vehicles to 7 by the end of 2018 so as to ensure the driving safety through sufficient vehicle tests (including computer simulations and practical road tests). BMW has currently accumulated nearly 30,000-kilometer road testing and around 200,000-kilometer computer simulations.

The premium vehicle manufacturer has possessed over 10-year R&D experience in autonomous driving area and has achieved breakthroughs in many core technologies. In 2016, BMW joined hands with Intel and Mobileye to co-build the industry's first open autonomous driving R&D platform. Then by the second half of 2017, the company has launched 40 autonomous tested vehicles in total worldwide. Moreover, BMW's autonomous driving R&D center was officially put into operation in April this year.

Since SAIC Motor and NIO were given the first three road test licenses from Shanghai municipal government on March 1, the two automakers have carried out nearly 40-day road tests with cumulative testing mileage up to 6,040km and testing time of around 263 hours.
Seven months ago, Brook Conner joined another enterprise as a C-level IT executive. But this time, his organization isnt interested in turning a profit.The former chief information security officer for Estee Lauder Companies joined the Hawaii Department of Education as CIO and assistant superintendent. He sat down last week withto discuss the five-year technology plan unveiled by the Department of Education and its Office of Technology Services in March.Hawaii, unlike other states in the nation, operates as one massive school district, rather than a state comprised of hundreds of school districts. Hawaiis Department of Education, Conner says, is on par with the size of a Fortune 500 company with 45,000 full-time and part-time employees and 180,000 students spread across 259 schools.Under the five-year technology plan, capabilities are a key component and are grouped into three broad categories: playground, instructional and enterprise. And within these broad categories, Conner said approximately 20 capabilities have been identified that need state-of-the-art, cost-effective solutions.For example, the playground category includes capabilities relating to lesson plans, project portfolios and personal learning, while instructional encompasses tracking student programs, and federal and state information sharing. The enterprise category includes such capabilities as network, identity, and device management, financial management, and human resources management.Hawaiis DOE is currently running a number of these capabilities in its schools already, Conner notes, but the department needs to assess them and ask whether each one is running well  is it patched, automated, and does it maintain good security? A second characteristic the capabilities will be evaluated on is whether the technology can be upgraded, so the agency does not get saddled with legacy systems it cannot innovate on, Conner said. And the last characteristic these capabilities will be evaluated on is whether it is improving the lives or academic work of the students.Every technological improvement made will undergo an evaluation, as part of the final piece of the technology plan, Conner said. The DOE plans to tackle it through these steps, he added.
When you look at the state of national politics and government here in the United States, it reinforces the quote, "Good government is boring." Committee hearings, testimony, different perspectives being presented, honest disagreements on policy, and then compromise  and movement forward. Boring! On our national scene, there is way too much excitement to have today's events be called "good government."The "Good government is boring" quote comes from aarticle (a long one) onI grew up in Illinois and was happy and proud to hail from that state. Since leaving for the military and now being a full-time resident in Washington state, I've followed the politics of Illinois from afar. In Illinois, things have gone downhill in a bad way with a succession of governors driven more by corruption than service. I figure they should name a wing of some federal prison after one of them. However, it generally takes more than one person to ruin a state or nation. Others become complicit by not having moral courage to speak up and speak out against things that are wrong. If they are legislators, they vote with the majority of their party and for things that will get them re-elected.Just last night, I had a conversation with my daughter who is a working business professional. We talked about her role in advising her superiors on what needs to be done and providing her best advice  even if they don't want to hear it. More people need to have the courage to do the same, in and out of government.
(TNS)  JEFFERSON CITY, MO.  Gov. Eric Greitens used an app that erases text messages to communicate with his taxpayer-funded staff, although he denies any suggestion that doing so violated Missouris open records laws.The revelation comes in response to a lawsuit filed in December by two St. Louis attorneys over Greitens and his senior government staff using Confide, an app that allows someone to send a text message that automatically erases after it is read.Confide also prevents anyone from saving, forwarding, printing or taking a screenshot of the text, raising concerns among government transparency advocates that the app could be used to subvert the states open records laws.In response to a series of questions from the attorneys suing Greitens, the governors lawyers admitted in court filings that prior to Jan. 17, 2018, Greitens occasionally used Confide to communicate with members of the Office of Governor about scheduling in a manner that was consistent with the requirements of the Open Records Law.While the governor refused to either confirm or deny that he still uses Confide, Greitens attorneys wrote that after Jan. 17, 2018, any communications made using Confide did not concern public business.Jan. 17 was when the governor's office implemented a new record retention policy to specifically prohibit staff from using Confide to conduct public business.The governors attorneys wrote that Greitens has only ever used the application in a way that the law allows.Greitens admits that he understood members of his staff used Confide to communicate with each other, but is not aware of any use of Confide in the Office of the Governor that was inconsistent with the requirements of the Open Records Law.Greitens denies he used Confide to communicate with government officials outside his office, with lobbyists, or to discuss pending legislation or policies of the governors office.The governor also denies that he instructed staff to use or download Confide.Greitens would neither admit nor deny that he used Confide to communicate with political donors, nonprofits, political action committees or staff of the president or vice presidents office.The governor also refused to admit or deny that he used Confide to communicate with a list of people associated with his campaign's obtaining the donor list of a veterans charity called The Mission Continues. The use of the charitys donor list is the subject of felony computer tampering charges in St. Louis.The governors attorneys argued that any communications with these groups or individuals would not involve public business and is therefore irrelevant to the lawsuit."It's not up to the governor to decide whether the governor broke the law," said Mark Pedroli, one of the attorneys suing Greitens. "That's the decision of the judge or jury."Pointing to the several dozen times Greitens answered the written questions with the answer, "we neither admit nor deny," Pedroli said he would seek to obtain a "court order compelling him to answer."Greitens explanation of how he used Confide lines up with a handful of his senior staff who were interviewed by the attorney generals office . Greitens staff said Confide was used to discuss their government jobs, but described the nature of their Confide communications as consisting entirely of non-substantive matters such as logistics and scheduling.All told, 12 senior members of Greitens staff have admitted they had Confide accounts associated with their personal cellphones. Greitens also has an account under the user name "Er Robert."first reported in early December that Greitens and his senior staff were using Confide. The revelation sparked an investigation by Attorney General Josh Hawley into whether Confide was being used to destroy public records.The attorney generals investigation concluded in March, determining that there was no evidence of wrongdoing  in part because the app itself ensured there was no evidence.Hawley has defended the probe but admitted it was hampered by the fact that his office doesnt have subpoena power in Sunshine Law investigations. He vowed to reopen the Confide inquiry if lawmakers grant his office subpoena power.Greitens said in his response to plaintiffs questions that to the best of his knowledge, he first downloaded Confide sometime in 2016.Eight of Greitens senior staff members were interviewed by the attorney generals office and admitted they had Confide accounts associated with their personal cellphone: chief of staff Mike Roche, chief operating officer Drew Erdmann, policy director Will Scharf, director of management and budget Jennae Neustadt, deputy chief of staff Nick Maddux, deputy policy director Logan Spena, general counsel Lucinda Luektemeyer and special counsel Sarah Madden.The attorney general's office did not interview four other staff members who had Confide accounts associated with their personal cellphones: deputy legislative director Brad Green, deputy legislative director Jeff Earl, legislative and policy adviser Todd Scott, and press secretary Parker Briden.The attorney general's office also didnt interview Greitens.
(TNS)  WENATCHEE, Wash.  New cryptocurrency operations in Chelan County are on hold for at least another three months.Chelan County PUDs five-member board on Monday voted unanimously to maintain until Aug. 6 the emergency moratorium on new high-density load hookups put in place March 19.The idea is to give staff time to figure out how best to handle the gold rush for high-density electrical service that followed the spike in digital currency values last fall.The decision Monday followed more than two hours of public testimony on both sides of the issue. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts spoke to the potential benefits and business opportunities.Denton Meier, one of the new owners of the old Jones & Jones Funeral Home on Chelan Avenue in Wenatchee, said his company is hoping to have a cryptocurrency operation in the basement. The heat generated from the computer equipment would be used to heat the building and the parking lot in the winter.Skeptics, though, questioned everything from the ethics of virtual currency to the environmental and system impacts of the blockchain technology that uses specialized computer equipment and requires a large, steady stream of electricity.In the end, logistics held sway.Its clear we dont have a path forward at this point. We need more time to consider moving forward with some type of high density, cryptocurrency load, PUD Commissioner Garry Arseneault said. Lets give staff a reasonable length of time to get their arms around a very complicated, very technical issue that we previously had no knowledge of and no experience of. We are blazing a path here. There are commissions throughout the state and companies across the United States who are watching. We want to get this right. I am in favor of extending the moratorium, not so we can find a way to say no but so we can find a path forward.PUD Commissioner Steve McKenna agreed the issue is not about the merits of Bitcoin.Im not in the business as a commissioner to determine who brings their business here and who doesnt, he said. Its my job to uphold the mission of this organization, to provide sustainable, reliable utility service that enhances the quality of life of this county. This tidal wave has hit us so fast and so hard that I dont see how we can provide sustainable, reliable utility services and move as rapidly as people want. The flood gate opened and it hit us on the side of the face. Its not to say that its good or bad, but I feel were required to provide the time to make sure we do this well.General Manager Steve Wright said the staff has learned a ton in the past three months.Were trying to figure out if we can turn this into lemonade. Is there something here that can enhance the quality of life for people in Chelan County and get best value for the most people for the longest period of time. Its possible, he said.
HONOLULU, Hawaii  Hawaiis Big Island is bracing for the potential that its Kilauea volcano will explode this week, as the 18th lava-spewing fissure cracked open Sunday, compounding the challenges the states IT department faces in ensuring communication systems remain up and running.Hawaiis Office of Enterprise Technology Services is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring communication between state, federal, county and city agencies are up and running as the volcanos fissures break open in unpredictable locations, Todd Nacapuy, chief information officer of Hawaii, toldlate last week when the fissure count stood at 15.The Big Island was hit with a double whammy nearly two weeks ago  a 6.9 magnitude earthquake on May 4 and the Kilauea volcanic event that forced the evacuation of 1,700 residents in the Leilani Estates area about 35 miles from Hilo, ABC News reported . Since then, 36 structures have been destroyed including 26 homes, as lava snaked through the area following the exploding fissures. Hawaii Gov. David Ige declared a state of emergency following the volcanic eruption and on Friday received a Presidential Disaster Declaration from President Trump.Meanwhile, geologists are warning that the volcano could potentially explode as early as this week, sending boulders the size of cars as far as a half mile from the summit and distributing the toxic sulfer dioxide gas as far as a 12-mile radius, according toHawaiis communication challenges may be similar to those faced by other state government agencies in a natural disaster, but the type of double whammy natural disaster the state is managing is rare. Nonetheless, other government agencies may find some lessons learned about coordinating the movement of residents when the exact location of where disaster will hit is unknown.
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- German luxury vehicle brand BMW officially opened a R&D center in Beijing on May 15. This is the third BMW's R&D center in China, also the company's largest R&D center aside from its German headquarter.

BMW currently owns three R&D centers in China, including the Beijing center, the Shanghai center and the Shenyang center. Based on a clear division of roles and responsibilities, the Beijing center will be responsible for the strategies formulation, consumer demands management, vehicle testing and verification as well as the product localization R&D. Shanghai center is mainly in charge of the technological innovation, innovative design research and the application of digitalization. Moreover, the Shenyang center, in the vicinity of a power battery center, focuses on NEV (new energy vehicles) development, production vehicle qualification control, etc.

Reportedly, the Beijing R&D center, covering an area of over 26,000 square meters, involves an investment of RMB 200 million in total. It will be dedicated to the verification and on-line diagnosis of whole series of BMW's models, including NEVs, hybrid vehicles, intelligent vehicles and the next-generation high-efficiency engines, and the R&D of core parts in NEV and self-driving area.

On May 14, BMW obtained two license plates for the ICV (intelligent-connected vehicle) road test from Shanghai municipal government, becoming the first multinational automaker that is allowed to test ICV on roads, according to official WeChat account of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information.
Global Bioenergies will lead a consortium including Sekab, Graanul Invest, Neste Engineering Solutions, Repsol, Peab Asfalt, SkyNRG, Ajinomoto Eurolysine, IPSB, TechnipFMC and Linz University in a 3-year project (called REWOFUEL) to demonstrate the production of isobutene-derived gasoline and jetfuel from wood residuals.

Global Bioenergies will combine its isobutene process with technologies developed by Sekab and Neste Engineering Solutions. The aim is to convert currently poorly valorized softwood residues into second-generation renewable isobutene for subsequent conversion into gasoline and jetfuel.

The program covers a total budget of 19.7 million (US$24 million). Non-refundable grants totalling 13.9 million (US$17 million) will be provided by the European Union, with the remainder being contributed by the participants. Global Bioenergies will be the coordinator of the project, and receive funding amounting to 5.7 million (US$7 million). Additionally REWOFUEL will be supported by companies including Air France and Safran.

The project sets the foundations of a first-of-a-kind biorefinery converting residual wood to high performances drop-in renewable gasoline and jetfuel. With an estimated forestry residues potential of about 145 million tons per year, the European Union has the potential to support the deployment of hundreds of such biorefineries.

We are thrilled by the opportunity to be part of industrial consortia which focus on softwood residue streams valorisation in novel value chains and end-use markets. We believe it to be important to kick-start the biomaterials market with high sustainability standards, as it will add strong value to the softwood residues on long term basis. Peep Pitk, Head of R&D at Graanul Invest

The 11 project partners coming from 8 EU-member States have signed an agreement with INEA which manages the Secure, Clean and Efficient Energy societal challenge of the Horizon 2020 program. INEAs mission is to support the Commission, project promoters and stakeholders by providing expertise and high quality of program management.

The project was selected under the name REWOFUEL (N792104), in the frame of the European HORIZON 2020 program for research and innovation. The objective is to demonstrate the new value chain at cubic meter scale by combining the technologies and know-how of participants as follows:

Residual softwood supply and processing by Graanul Invest AS (Estonia)

Softwood conversion to hydrolysates by Sekab, using its CelluAPP technology (Sweden)

Hydrolysates fermentation to bio-isobutene by Global Bioenergies (France and Germany)

Bio-isobutene conversion to fuel components by Neste Engineering Solutions (Finland)

Preliminary engineering of a wood-to-isobutene plant and overall integration with a fuel conversion unit by TechnipFMC and IPSB (France)

Evaluation of Gasoline applications by Repsol (Spain)

Evaluation of Jetfuel application by SkyNRG (Netherlands)

Valorization of the lignin side stream by Peab Asfalt (Sweden)

Valorisation of proteins from the dried killed residual biomass by Ajinomoto Eurolysine (France)

Assessment of the sustainability and environmental benefits by the Energy Institute at the University of Linz (Austria)

Jonas Markusson, Innovation Manager of SEKAB observed that the REWOFUEL project has the potential to become an alternative value chain to existing biofuels and to create new uses of European residual forestry resources. All parts of the processthe extraction of sugars from wood, the conversion to bio-isobutene, lignin-based chemicals and the production of gasoline and jefuelare well developed and are all cutting edge, he noted.

We are very excited in tailoring our next generation NExETHERS and NExOCTANE technologies to wood-derived bio-isobutene in order to demonstrate the production of sustainable 100 % renewable fuel components. We regard this project as a great opportunity for showing how a genuinely synergistic European partnership can bring to the market drop-in high performance fuel components derived from forestry residue materials. Marita Niemela, CTO at Neste Engineering Solutions
In Egypt, if a person inflicts premeditated harm, kills civilians or army personnel, or detonates explosives around government buildings or barracks, all with the aim of causing mayhem to Egyptians, that person is immediately labelled a terrorist. No other explanation is deemed necessary.

It doesnt really matter to authorities if that person comes from within Egypt or from across the border, if he is an Egyptian or a Timbuktuan. Also, authorities dont cite him by colour, ethnicity, gender, religion or any other classification. A terrorist he is and a terrorist he remains.

Now this should not be the exception but the norm. Any person who causes intentional demise to others, especially if his act aims at harming as many victims as possible, should be viewed as a terrorist, or shouldnt he?

On April 23rd, in Toronto, Canada, Alek Minassian rented a van, and, over a two kilometer stretch, jumped the sidewalk and rammed into as many predominately women pedestrians as possible. Once caught, Minassian was charged with 10 counts of murder and 14 counts of attempted murder. To me this tragedy has the hallmarks of a terrorist attack.

Very soon afterwards, to calm the shattered nerves and absorb the shock, Torontos Chief of Police said that, while the incident appeared to be a deliberate act, there was no evidence of terrorism. The Canadian Public Safety Minister confirmed the same thought, that the deadly attack doesnt pose a threat to national security.

The speed by which the incident was deemed something other than a terrorist attack is disturbing. So when exactly does a tragedy of such magnitude be considered terrorism? And how do authorities around the world categorize such incidents?

So, lets, first of all, define the term terrorism. A simple form of the definition is, the use or threat of serious violence to advance a cause.

Still, hundreds of definitions for the term exist, and, because it may mean one thing to one group and a completely different thing to another, a worldwide consensus on the term terrorism is unavailable. But terrorism comes from the word terror, i.e., to create panic, to frighten, or to terrorize. So why are some crimes labelled terrorist attacks and others not? Well, it all boils down to whether the attacker had an ulterior motive, a cause, or not.

If an attack is committed by a mentally sick person, the incident remains a tragedy, but when it is committed with the intention of advancing a cause, it is labelled a terrorist attack. And if the key to this argument is in the phrase to advance a cause, then it really doesnt matter if the cause is a religious, political, or sociocultural one.

So, in the Toronto tragedy, was the attacker driven by a cause or was he simply mentally unstable?

Early investigations tell us that Minassian is a misogynist, a woman hater, possibly associated with an online group: Incel, coined from the phrase involuntarily celibate. It is a phrase used by men who feel rejected by women and then would try to get back at them. Incel is a platform for radicalized angry men to spew their hatred against women.

Just before the attack, Minassian posted a cryptic message on Facebook that, in simple terms, hailed Incel, demeaned and threatened women, and cheered another mass killer. If the above information on Minassian is confirmed, he is an out-and-out terrorist, for he had a cause he wanted to advance.

True Incel is not an organized militant group, but an online radicalization platform can become a real threat as it motivates decrepit followers to listen to the voices in their own heads and act on the rage within them.

These platforms may not be as menacing as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, or other terrorist groups, but all, including Incel, prey on the weak and vulnerable and have them commit brutal acts against others.

My fear is some acts of violence are labeled terrorism only if the attacker is dark-skinned and Muslim. A particular racial profile determines if the attack would be labelled a terrorist attack or something else; the name, skin colour, ethnic background, and nationality decide.

In 2015, Dylan Roof, an American White Supremacist, killed nine blacks as they prayed in a church in Charleston, South Carolina, all African American. It was clearly a race driven act and was motivated by an ideological agenda. And yet he was never charged with terrorism.

Roof said his motive for the killings was to start a race war. If this isnt a terrorist act, I dont know what is, and yet, he was convicted of hate crimes but never charged with terrorism.

Had Dylan Roof yelled Allahu Akbar as he killed these worshippers, would it have been called a terrorist attack?

Had Alek Minassian been called Aly Abdullah, would the Canadian Public Safety Minister have considered the attack a national security threat? Would Torontonians have been asked to remain alert and vigilant, better yet, told to stay home? And rest assured, it wouldve captured more publicity and snowballed by leaps and bounds.

How do we clarify the naming? Where do we draw the line?

Some dont really care what the act is called, for it truly boils down to, in many of those horrific incidents, dozens having their lives cut short, and their families crushed by the loss.

But I must disagree; I would rather call a spade a spade. As the stereotypical terrorist is defined and the unconventional one remains unidentified, Arabs and Muslims suffer the most. Its a bias they have to live with, their image tarnished for ever. They are bound to receive the short end of the stickretaliatory hate crimes.

Whether it is labelled terrorism or not, as long as folks like Alek Minassian roam any streets anywhere in the world, I worry about the motives that behold them and allow them to act on the rage within themselves. I worry about them as much as I worry about any terrorist.
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Its Suntory shortage time. Photo: Suntory

Jack Daniels may soon become a more regular part of your bar tab, like it or not. A supply shortage in Japan is causing some of the countrys most venerated whiskeys to call it quits indefinitely. Suntory announced today that it would be ending sales of both its Hakushu 12 single-malt and Hibiki 17 blended whiskey in the coming months. That confirms a report yesterday by luxury-spirits writer George Koutsakis, who said hed heard the popular 17-year Hibiki will be removed from the core range in September, and that production will stop. Japanese media now add that Suntory is doing away with Hakushu 12 as well, and that its done for much sooner  next month.

Even if youre not a big-time Japanese-whiskey obsessive, Hibiki 17 might ring a bell: Its what Bill Murrays character hoists during that painful Lost in Translation ad where he tries to say the line, For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.

For connoisseurs, its somewhat devastating news. Another whiskey, Hibiki 21, is a five-time Worlds Best Blended Whisky winner, and as the distillerys most famous expression, its not going anywhere  but bottles also rarely cost less than $300. This leaves the 17-year as Hibikis only aged whiskey that doesnt require you to take out a loan, and now its going away.

This is the downside of the Japanese whiskey boom: Sales have gotten turbocharged over the last decade, which at first was a good thing. Distillers also started winning every major international award. (Domestically, there was even a TV drama series in 2014 called Massan, which told the story of Masataka Taketsuru, an influential mid-century Japanese whiskey master who started the renowned Nikka distillery. The show proved popular  and before long, all of Nikkas aged single malts had run out.)

Two years ago, Suntorys CEO said he feared that Japans imminent whiskey shortages could last a decade. One reason is because when the 2000s began  critical years for supplying todays aged spirits  nobody was drinking Japanese whiskey, so distilleries didnt age enough for what, it turns out, would be needed to satisfy demand 15 years later. Given how popular their products have gotten, their best option is to cap how much of the dwindling supplies they bottle.

Brian Ashcraft, a writer for Kotaku whos just finished a book on Japans whiskey boom, points out that life could be toughest for Nikka. The 2014 boom really cleaned out their maturation cellars, he explains, and since Nikkas distillation stills are powered by hand, increasing production is difficult. It could take Nikka even longer to recover from this sudden popularity spike, Ashcraft warns.

Suntory tells Japanese media that its planning to increase capacity as best as it can, but for now, no one can say when either Hakushu 12 or Hibiki 17 will be back on shelves. So for the near future, looks like whiskey lovers will have to make it a different kind of Suntory time.
Halewood's Stewart Hainsworth confirms sale plans

By Jo Gilbert

Halewood Wines & Spirits has confirmed it is exploring potential sale options as the business expands internationally.

Stewart Hainsworth, CEO of the Merseyside-based drinks manufacturer and distributor, said this morning that financial advisory group Rothschild has been appointed to explore strategic options for the shareholders of Halewood Wines & Spirits.

This is an exciting time for the business, which our management team have been working towards for three years. We have refocused the business on artisanal spirits and craft beers, which has driven a significant upturn in profit, he said.

This follows the news at the beginning of May that Halewood had called time on its ten-year relationship with Chinese brewer Tsingtao, as part of a renewed vision to become an international specialist in artisanal spirits and craft beers, while revealing a new spirits focus for its agency business.

The new plans hinge on the success of brands like Whitley Neill abroad.

The gin, which is currently the number one premium gin brand by volume in UK supermarkets is being replicated internationally, Hainsworth added, and has recently broken into the US market.

Halewoods discussions with Rothschild are a natural progression of the new strategy I brought to the business, Hainsworth said.

This follows investment in equipment, acquisitions and marketing support in the UK.

Investment in craft distilleries and breweries include The City of London Distillery, Sadlers Ales and Hawkshead Brewery, and have enabled the distributor to provide premium products with strong regional brands.

The change to Halewoods line-up at the beginning of the month also included the addition of Centenario Internacional Rum to its UK portfolio.

Halewood will now be responsible for importing and distributing Centenario Internacional Rum, including the Costa Rica producers 7, 9 and 12-year-old expressions, as well its solera 25 and 30 variants.

Halewood finished by saying further updates about a potential sale would be shared in due course.








Monday, May 14, 2018 State encouraged building in risky lava zone

By Grassroot Institute @ 8:22 PM :: 4510 Views :: Hawaii County State encouraged building in risky lava zone Grassroot Institute president says ongoing disaster could have been avoided From Grassroot Institute HAWAII ISLAND (May 14, 2018) >> Hawaiis state government encouraged building near the active portion of Kilauea volcano, where homes now are being destroyed by flowing lava, according to research from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, whose president said this disaster was avoidable.



Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., said, This destruction of local homes could have been prevented if the government had paid attention to the private insurance market, which refused to insure anyone in the area currently destroyed by lava.



In the 1990s, the town of Kalapana was destroyed by lava, and soon afterward, private insurance companies, after suffering millions of dollars in losses, stopped insuring land in Lava Zones 1 and 2. The next year, lawmakers created the Hawaii Property Insurance Association (HPIA) to insure homes in areas where lava risk was high.



The law requires private insurance companies to pool their money to subsidize the expense of offering insurance in high-risk lava zones.



This resulted in a boom in the housing market below the active Kilauea volcano.



By 2008, there were more than 2,400 HPIA policies in the area, providing more than $700 million worth of insurance to the highest-risk lava zones on Hawaii Island.



Todays hazard could have been avoided if Hawaii leaders paid more attention when private insurance companies said the area was too risky to insure, Akina said. Lawmakers put people in danger by offering the government-created insurance that encouraged people to build there, ignoring the signals from the private insurance companies that said it was too dangerous.



HPIA describes itself as a nonprofit association, created to provide basic property insurance for persons unable to purchase homeowners coverage in the private market due to the ongoing volcanic eruption in Lava Zones 1 and 2 on the Island of Hawaii.



Its members are all licensed insurers that write property and casualty insurance in Hawaii, each required to be a member of the HPIA as a condition of their authority to transact business in the state. Together they participate in the writings, expenses, profits and losses of the HPIA, in proportion to their market share of property and casualty insurance written in Hawaii, according to the association.



HPIAs website notes that there is no public funding or taxpayers monies involved in its operations, but certainly any losses incurred by the HPIA members are passed along to their broader base of Hawaii customers, resulting in an indirect tax.



The cost for this tragedy goes far beyond the monetary costs of the government-created insurance, Akina said. It also extends to the families who are now seeing their homes go up in fire and smoke.



He added, Government officials in Hawaii should let the private market for insurance work in providing signals to local families about where it is simply too dangerous to build. ### Related: How State Government fanned flames of volcano disaster

Hawaii Property Insurance Association Still Selling insurance in Lava Zone

HRS 171-93: Law Allows Swap of Lava-Covered Lots for State Property in Zone 3

2008: Red Hot Lava Menaces Old-boy Scam
Polands PGE shelves nuclear power plans in favour of offshore wind

PGE, Polands largest power group, has decided to abandon its leading role in building the countrys first nuclear power plant and will instead focus investment on offshore wind energy. According to Reuters, state-owned refiner PKN Orlen could take over PGEs stake in the nuclear project, while the latter concentrates on a $10bn offshore wind power development.

Stock image

The move into renewables and nuclear represents a major change in Polish energy policy. Up until now, the country has relied on coal for around 80% of its energy but this made the country one of the EUs major polluters.



Unnamed sources told the news agency PGE could not fund both projects, and cheap technology had swung the decision in favour of wind. PGE could still play a smaller role in the nuclear project which has been delayed and still needs government approval.



A proposed law is currently before the Polish parliament aiming at facilitating the construction of wind farms. If the law is passed, several other large wind farm projects could also proceed.

Polenergia has said it would like to build a wind farm in the Baltic by 2022. PKN Orlen is also considering building one.



In January, PGEs renewable energy unit PGE Energia Odnawialna started a two-year wind measurement operation for the planned 1GW offshore wind farm project. The project site is located some 32km from Leba in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea.



PGE said in March that it wants to build offshore windfarms with a capacity of 2.5 gigawatts (GW) by 2030.



Analysts and investors say that offshore wind farms are the easiest and fastest way for Poland to fill the expected capacity gap from coal and reduce CO2 emissions in line with EUs 2030 targets.



The decision to open up the offshore power industry could also draw in outside investors. Statoil said in April it would join Polenergias offshore project which has drawn interest from other international wind companies.



The Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA) estimates that offshore windfarms with a total capacity of 6 GW would help create around 77,000 new jobs and add around 60 billion zlotys to economic growth.



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A COMMUNITY art project launched by Leander Club in Henley seems to have captured peoples imagination.

In February, the rowing club launched Hip Hip Hooray to mark its bicentenary year and gave out 200 papier-mache hippos to artists, schools and community groups to decorate however they liked.

A hippo has been part of the Leander logo since the mid-1800s.

To date, all but a handful of hippos have been returned and what a of lot of creative effort has gone into transforming them.

Many children took a traditional approach, paintingtheir hippos in traditional colours with accessories akin to their natural habitat.

However, many others used a degree of interpretation.

Artist Linda Saul called her creation King of the River, as the hippopotamus amphibius is known.

She says: When I got my hippo to decorate I was fixated by the big gaping jaw.

Aware of the reputation the hippo has for attacking boats, of which I have personal experience, I had the idea of inserting a single rowing scull in the mouth.

The red, white and blue bunting is a reference to the contribution that Leander has made to Team GB Olympic medal hauls and was inspired by photos of the open-top bus tour after the 2012 Olympics.

Pete Reed, a triple Olympic champion and a Royal Navy lieutenant, made a self-portrait by painting a naval uniform on his hippo and attaching three gold medals to represents his achievements at the Beijing Games in 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016.

Mini Monkie, Henleys social media star, turned his hippo into a brightly coloured aeroplane.

He says: Mini Monkie loves bananas, so obviously pink hippo with yellow bananas for my design. A flying hippo to celebrate both Leanders 200th and the RAF 100th anniversaries.

Henley Music Schools hippo, called Coriolanus, is covered in sheet music and plays Brahms when you pull a trombone on a pull-string.

Another hippo is covered with pages from the Henley Standard.

Caroline Mulcahy, the clubs house manager, says: We are really happy with how Hip Hip Hooray has been embraced by the community and have been overwhelmed by the responses.

We have had hippos covered in all sorts of things, such as feathers, glitter and lots of pink paint.

Some artists have taken it very seriously and pollyfilled their hippos and sanded them down to make them really smooth. Valley Road Primary School thought about the famous local people, such as Debbie McGee and her late husband Paul Daniels, and decorated their hippo to reflect them.

The hippos will be going on display at the River & Rowing Museum on Tuesday, May 22 for the day with free entry. That evening Leander will preview its exhibition, The First 200 Years, which documents the clubs history, and will run from May 23 to July 16.

The figures will also be used in this years regatta window display competition in which shops decorate their windows to a theme and its hoped to create a sort of arts trail between the participating businesses.

Later, some of the hippos will be auctioned, including a gold one which will be signed by five-time Olympic champion Sir Steve Redgrave, chairman of Henley Royal Regatta.

The proceeds will go to the Kafue River & Rowing Centre in Zambia, which promises to deliver benefits in clean water, education and wildlife, including hippos, on the Zambezi river.
SIX students at the Oratory School in Woodcote have been disciplined after they were photographed in the school grounds wearing blackface make-up and dressed as slaves.

Three of the group, who were white, wore the costumes and shackles of cotton pickers in the American South and were accompanied by three black classmates, who wore white make-up and dressed as slave masters with toy guns. One appeared to be wearing a white hood and robes.

The photo was taken on the independent Catholic boys schools front lawn shortly after its annual leavers photos were taken. After posing for a formal shot, students then changed into fancy dress for an informal one.

Headmaster Joseph Smith, who was present, dismissed the five boys and would not let them appear but it is understood they returned later in the day.

They appeared alongside three other boys dressed in sexually suggestive outfits, another dressed as male genitalia and a fifth dressed as a nurse. The photo was uploaded to Instagram with the caption: revolt.

A spokesman said the school was not aware the photo had been taken and did not consent to it.

He said: We are extremely shocked and saddened that this has happened and apologise unreservedly for the offence caused. We are dealing with this matter internally and we have punished the pupils as part of our disciplinary process.

The Oratory School unequivocally condemns racist imagery of any sort. We are a diverse and inclusive community and will strengthen our tutorial programme to ensure that it is understood by all our pupils that such representations are utterly unacceptable.
Former leading New Zealand publisher and bookseller, and widely experienced judge of both the Commonwealth Writers Prize and the Montana New Zealand Book Awards, talks about what he is currently reading, what impresses him and what doesn't, along with chat about the international English language book scene, and links to sites of interest to booklovers.
For seven years Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren, who would become world-famous for her Pippi Longstocking books, kept notes on a world gone mad.

In 1939 a 32-year-old secretary, mother, and aspiring author living in Stockholm with her family began keeping personal journals, augmented with pasted-in newspaper clippings, that she would maintain through the end of World War II. Her name was Astrid Lindgren, and amid the convulsive tensions of the war the fearless, freedom-loving character of Pippi Longstockingwho would come to be adored by children the world overemerged. Lindgrens diaries, stored for decades under a wicker laundry basket in her home in Sweden, chronicle the daily realities and horrors of the war and the maturation of one of the worlds most beloved writers.

Lindgrens books have been translated into 97 languages and have sold some 150 million copies worldwide. Following her death in 2002, the Swedish government instituted the worlds largest monetary award for childrens literature in her memory.

Lindgrens diaries, posthumously published in Sweden to international acclaim, were recently translated into English. The following entries, excerpted from the 17 slim volumes Lindgren filled over seven years, trace her attempts to make sense of a horrific conflict.

1939

1 SEPTEMBER. Oh! War broke out today. Nobody could believe it.

The Germans bombarded several Polish cities early this morning and are forging their way into Poland from all directions. Ive managed to restrain myself from any hoarding until now, but today I laid in a little cocoa, a little tea, and small amount of soap and a few other things.

A terrible despondency weighs on everything and everyone. The radio churns out news reports all day long. Lots of our men are being called up. Theres a ban on private motoring, too. God help our poor planet in the grip of this madness!

2 SEPTEMBER. People look pretty much as usual, only a bit more gloomy. Everybody talks about the war all the time, even people who dont know each other.

3 OCTOBER. There can be no doubt that Germany is waging war on us, the neutral countries. All our ships in the North Sea are being captured and sunk. Theyve got spies in the ports checking up on cargoes and destinations, and were not the only neutral country whose ships are being sunk. I cant see what they hope to achieve.

Lots of people are now unemployed as a result of the crisis. Its a shame nobodys shot Hitler.

1940

9 FEBRUARY. What a world, what an existence! Reading the papers is a depressing pastime. Bombs and machine guns hounding women and children in Finland, the oceans full of mines and submarines, neutral sailors dying, or at best being rescued in the nick of time after days and nights of privation on some wretched raft, the behind-the-scenes tragedy of the Polish population (nobodys supposed to know whats happening, but some things get into the papers anyway), special sections on trams for the German master race, the Poles not allowed out after 8 in the evening, and so on. The Germans talk about their harsh but just treatment of the Polesso then we know. What hatred it will generate! In the end the world will be so full of hate that it chokes us.

10 MAY. In the whole of Northern Europe Sweden is now the only nation that is neither currently at war, nor has been. But it could be our turn next.

Germany is like some malevolent monster that emerges from its cave at regular intervals to pounce on a fresh victim. There has to be something wrong with a people that finds itself pitted against the rest of humanity every 20 years or so.

25 MAY. Our blackout was lifted yesterday, for the time being. In Britain theyve more or less imposed a dictatorship. The British are finally starting to realize its a matter of life and death.

5 JUNE. Churchill made a speech in the House of Commons, admitting that the Allies had suffered huge losses of equipment. But at least most of the British Expeditionary Force managed to get back across the Channel in one piece. In the nick of time.

Dunkirk has fallen and the last Allied soldier has left the bloodiest battlefield in world history to an occupying enemy.

21 SEPTEMBER. The air war continues and is horrendous! Ten thousand civilians killed by air bombardments in London alone, Churchill said in a speech the other day.

On the 15th of the month I started my secret defense work, which is so secret that I darent even write about it here. Ive been in the job for a week. And its become completely clear to me that, as things stand, theres no country in Europe left so untouched by the impact of the war as here, in spite of a considerable rise in prices, rationing, and increased unemployment.

13 OCTOBER. Words cant express how pitiful it is to read letters every day containing desperate pleas from the poor Jews for visas and entry permits to one country or another. They roam the globe, forever rootless and homeless, from what I can understand. So many are writing just at the moment with New Year wishes, enquiring after relations who have settled in Buenos Aires or died when a bomb hit Tel Aviv.

And it feels strange to read letters from people who are writing about women and children they know personally who have been killed in bombing raids. As long as youre only reading about it in the paper you can sort of avoid believing it, but when you read in a letter that both Jacquess children were killed in the occupation of Luxembourg or something like that, it suddenly brings it home, quite terrifyingly.

1941

9 FEBRUARY. What will Germany do? The whole world is in suspense, waiting for the invasion attempt on Britain, which everyone thinks must come this spring. And when it happenswell, then the fate of the world will be decided in a day, a few hours. And then Ill even bring myself to listen to the news, something I long since gave up doing on a daily basis.

21 MARCH. Britain has suffered its most intensive bombing yet, these past few nights, and this is seen as a prelude to the long-anticipated total invasion. Thousands of fatalities. The Germans say theyre going to reduce England to a heap of rubble.

11 DECEMBER. At work today I also saw some awful pictures of Finnish children who had been carried off to Russia and had now come back. I havent seen anything as horrifically emaciated and deformed since the days of the World War, sorry, I mean the First World War. But this is how all the children of Europe will look by the end of it all.

1942

5 SEPTEMBER. The war is three years old and I have not celebrated its birthday. Weve all found our attitude to the war gradually changing. We used to talk about it all the time; now we see it as a necessary evil, to be thought of and talked about as little as possible.

1943

29 JANUARY. Today the Nazis marked the 10th anniversary of their coming to powerwithout a speech from Hitler.[Hermann] Goring made one instead, more than an hour late. Imagine having the gall to stand up and tell the poor, tormented German people that the past 10 years have demonstrated the innate power of our world view and the blessings it is able to bestow. I wonder what the German people really think and feel, faced with the blessings of National Socialism. A deadly war killing the flower of youth; the hatred and loathing of virtually all other nations; want and misery; horrific assaults on defenseless people; concerted brutalization and deculturing of its citizens, especially young people; torture, both mental and physical, of the populations of occupied countries; the informer system; the demolition of family life; the destruction of religion; euthanasia for the incurably ill and mentally deficient; the reduction of love to a matter of basic procreation; the news blackout shielding them from the rest of the world andunless all the signs are deceptivetotal breakdown of the German people in the not-too-distant future. Its simply impossible for many Germans not to have realized how royally duped theyve been by their Fuhrer and other leaders.

26 JULY. On the radio this morning we heard the really sensational news: Mussolini has been dismissed by [King] Victor Emmanuel and Marshal [Pietro] Badoglio has been appointed his successor. Hey ho! Tiddley pom and fiddle-de-dee! The hydra of Fascism has lost its head.They say hes ill, stomach cancer, and if anybody deserves stomach cancer, it has to be him.

So that was Benito Mussolini! Could it be Hitler next please?

11 NOVEMBER. The First World War ended 25 years ago today. Does anyone hold a minutes silence any more, like they used to between the wars? I dont think so. And all the little unknown soldiers around the world, buried with such pomp and splendor, is there anybody who remembers them? Or are they forgotten on a day like today in favor of all the unknown soldiers confronted daily and hourly with [the realities of] life at the various fronts. Dear Lord Jesus, cant it be over soon?

1944

6 JUNE. INVASIONfinally! Allied troops, with support from the air, have landed in northwestern France. Thousands of troopships and thousands of planes crossed the Channel early this morning.

1945

29 APRIL. This Sunday morning, when we were woken by the sound of the rain gushing in the gutters, the huge headline in the paper read:

the germans surrender!

Germany surrendersfinally! Why not earlier, before the whole of Germany was reduced to a pile of rubble and so many children aged 1012 were sent to their deaths?

1 MAY. This is a historic moment. Hitlers dead. Hitler is dead. Mussolinis dead, too.

7 MAY. Its VE Day! The wars over! The wars over! THE WAR IS OVER!

Oh, oh, now its over, all the torture and concentration camps and bombing raids and Ausradierung [eradication] of cities, and perhaps battered humanity can have a little rest. Germany and the Germans are hatedbut one cant hate all Germans, one can only pity them.

The war is overits the only thing that matters at the moment.

The war is over!

8 MAY. Its one historic moment after another. I just heard Winston Churchill inform the world of the unconditional surrender of all German forces in Europe and announce that we can finally celebrate VE Day, Victory in Europe Day. He made the announcement with the radio microphone used by [Neville] Chamberlain to declare war on Germany in September 1939.

Good old Winston, hes really the one who won the war.

Hostilities will end at one minute after midnight, Churchill said. How must it feel to that vigorous old man of over 70 to announce that to the British Empire? He spoke like a man in his prime, in resounding tones, and I liked him more than ever. Then they played God Save the King and its surging majesty almost made me cry.

20 NOVEMBER. I just heard a live transmission from Nuremberg. I heard all those butchers stand there and declare themselves nicht schuldig [not guilty]. [Hans] Frankthe butcher of Poland, [Julius] Streicher, persecutor of Jews, GOring, [Rudolph] Hess, the whole lot were as innocent as lambs and assured the court of the fact in steady voices.

NEW YEARS EVE. So another New Year is almost upon us! They come round so quickly.

Nineteen forty-five brought two remarkable things. Peace after the Second World War and the atom bomb. I wonder what the future will have to say about the atom bomb, and whether it will mark a whole new era in human existence, or not. MHQ

Excerpted from War Diaries, 19391945, by Astrid Lindgren, translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death (Yale University Press, 2016).

This article appears in the Summer 2018 issue (Vol. 30, No. 4) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: Wartime Diarist
The Adams Museum tells the story of Wild Bill.

The summer of 1876 was fateful for the Black Hills mining camp of Deadwood (in Dakota Territory, now South Dakota). Its most famous visitor, gambler and former lawman Wild Bill Hickok, was shot in the back of the head by John (Jack) McCall while playing poker in the Number 10 Saloon.

But a year later, in 1877, a lesser-known arrival would further etch young Deadwoods most turbulent days into the American memory William Emery Adams. Soon after arriving in the rowdy camp, W.E. Adams learned that selling to the miners and prospectors was more profitable than joining their hardworking fraternity. In 1879 he opened the Adams Brothers Banner Grocery at 629 Main St. with his brother James.

On December 22, 1880, W.E. married Alice Mae Burnham; they had two daughters, Lucile and Helen. W.E. was devoted to his family and the community of Deadwood, serving six terms as mayor and staying active in community affairs. He was fortunate to see his daughters survive the childhood diseases that claimed so many children in his day. Daughter Lucile married in 1909, but died in Detroit in 1912. Helen Adams married in 1915, and her mother, Alice, traveled to Pasadena, Calif., for the birth of Helens first child in 1925. Alice had been suffering from cancer for some time, and she died on June 6 of that year. Devastated by the loss of her mother, Helen went into labor and died the following day. Her newborn died soon afterward and was literally buried in her mothers arms. Instead of celebrating the new addition to his family, W.E. Adams lost his entire family in just two horrific days.

Rather then allowing the tragedy to destroy him, W.E. remarried in 1927, and in 1930 he built the Adams Museum to honor two of his great loveshis lost family and his fellow Deadwood pioneers. W.E. died in 1934.

Old W.E. would be proud of the professional staff at the Adams Museum and House. The museum, at 54 Sherman St., is the oldest history museum in the Black Hills. The house, an elegant Victorian mansion built in 1892 and purchased by W.E. and Alice Adams for $8,500 in 1920, is at 22 Van Buren Ave. A nonprofit organization, the Adams Museum & House Inc., oversees the operation.

Every person employed at the Adams Museum is passionate about the history of the Black Hillsfrom the formation of the region millions of years ago to the present, says director Mary Kopco, who once inventoried antiques at the White House. Our staff includes professionals who are trained as historians, curators, artists, archivists, educators and archaeologists. The staff revels in telling the stories of the legendary characters and the thousands of people who transformed the former gold mining camp into a thriving city. Our curators enjoy the challenge of collecting, caring for and making accessible to the public thousands of artifacts that are engaging, inspiring and informative.

Thanks to Wild Bill Hickok, W.E. Adams and the fine staff of the Adams Museum, the story of Deadwood will long be remembered and celebrated across the nation.

Originally published in the April 2008 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
The debate continues over where his bones belong.

The 16-year-old boy caught the horse for his father along the Grand River and was bringing it home on the frosty morning of December 15, 1890, before the first glimmer of daylight. As he passed the cabin of his famous uncle, a large party of Standing Rock Agency Indian police rode up to the cabin. The boy hid in some bushes. He could not see much, but he heard voices, the cries of his two aunts married to his uncle, then shouts, gunfire and cries of pain. The boy ran to find his father. He worried for his aunts and uncle.

The boy returned with his father to the cabin to find his uncle, seven supporters of his uncle and four Indian police dead. His uncle was Tatanka Iyotake, the great Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota (Sioux) military and spiritual leader.

James McLaughlin, Standing Rock agent, had sent the Indian police to arrest Sitting Bull and bring him to Fort Yates one way or another. Two troops of cavalry, a Gatling gun and a Hotchkiss gun under the command of Captain Edward G. Fechet were close by if needed. McLaughlin believed Sitting Bull was a leader of the new Ghost Dance movement that looked for the return of the old way of life and the departure of the white man. The whites feared the dance would lead to a Sioux uprising.

Captain Fechet and his troops arrived at the cabin, ending the fighting. The agency police threw Sitting Bulls body into a wagon and then laid his dead comrades on top. The cavalry and police escorted the body wagon north to Fort Yates, crossing the new border bisecting the Standing Rock Reservation and dividing the newly established states of North and South Dakota. Soldiers wrapped Sitting Bulls body in canvas and placed it in a wooden coffin. They buried him in the military cemetery, with no service. Four military prisoners dug the grave and covered the coffin with soil; only agent McLaughlin and three officers watched.

Sixty-three years later, in 1953, the 16-year-old boy was now an old man. Clarence Grey Eagle waited in the North Dakota Department of Health offices in Bismarck. With him were interpreter Ray Claymore and Walter Tuntland, George Walters and Ray Miles, three businessmen from Mobridge, S.D., who had formed the Dakota Memorial Association.

Grey Eagle thought about the disrespectful way the police and soldiers had handled his uncles body. For years, he had asked that the grave site be improved, but no action was taken. Now the Dakota Memorial Association was working with him to provide a proper burial site and erect a monument.

The North Dakota state officials were taking a long time. Grey Eagle had workers at the grave site ready to dig.

It angered Grey Eagle that people had tampered with Sitting Bulls remains. According to J.F. Waggoner, who had helped construct the coffin, the soldiers had poured quicklime into it. One rumor had it that they had not buried Sitting Bulls body, but had dissected it. Another rumor held that the remains had been dug up and reburied at a secret location. Two boys claimed they had dug into the grave and removed two bones.

Later, the remains were dug up, placed in a wooden box, and reburied in the same spot with a thin slab of concrete poured over the top. The federal government closed the fort in 1903, and removed all military graves, leaving Sitting Bull behind. No one cared for the grave. No one erected a headstone. North Dakotans promises to do something came to naught. It was time for Grey Eagle to do something.

Sitting Bulls three granddaughters, Nancy Kicking Bear, Sarah Little Spotted Horse and Angeline Spotted Horse LaPointe, gave Grey Eagle power of attorney to exhume and reinter the remains at a site still on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, across the Missouri River from Mobridge.

Nancy Kicking Bear asked the famous sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve a bust of her grandfather for the proposed grave site. Ziolkowski was busy carving an entire mountain in the Black Hills in the likeness of Crazy Horse for the Lakota people. But he said yes to Nancy Kicking Bear. He examined the North Dakota grave site and was disgusted by its poor condition. He met with Grey Eagle and the Mobridge people and picked a lonely, windswept bluff overlooking the Missouri River as the site for the monument. Ziolkowski then selected a largepiece of granite from Crazy Horse Mountain and began carving Sitting Bulls likeness.

Grey Eagle continued to wait in the North Dakota state offices. Finally, state historian Russell Reid and state health officer Dr. R.O. Saxvik met with Grey Eagle and told him he could not take Sitting Bulls remains since Sitting Bull was an important historical figure. They would consider his request at a later date.

News got out about the proposed reburial. A war in the press raged between North and South Dakota. Then Rapid City, S.D., began to work toward bringing the remains there. Even Montana floated the idea to move Sitting Bulls remains to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, where Sitting Bull had played a part in the victory over the 7th Cavalry.

After further research, Grey Eagle and his friends determined that since Sitting Bull was on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation and was buried on federal property, North Dakota had no jurisdiction. The Interior Department responded to Grey Eagles request to move Sitting Bulls remains, stating that as far as the federal government was concerned the disinterment and removal was up to the next of kin, the three grandchildren.

Grey Eagle and the Mobridge men believed they had the legal right to remove the remains, but did not want to cause an incident with North Dakotans during the removal. On the night of Wednesday, April 8, 1953, they drove in a snowstorm to Fort Yates.

With the help of Charles Spencer, the Standing Rock superintendent, they removed the concrete slab, dug until they reached the bones, carefully removed the larger bones and sifted the soil for the small bones. Al Miles, a mortician registered in both North and South Dakota, witnessed the exhumation. They filled in the hole and returned to South Dakota along the west bank of the Missouri River. They had a grave waiting for Sitting Bulls remains, placed the bone box in a steel casket, lowered it into the grave and buried it under 20 tons of concrete.

North Dakotans soon heard about what happened. South Dakota Ghouls Steal Sitting Bulls Bones headlined the Bismarck Tribune. I was tired of the white mans red tape and delays, Grey Eagle explained through his interpreter to Bob Lee, staff writer for the Rapid City Journal, North Dakota had done nothing to honor our great leader and they were trying to keep his own people from obtaining a memorial for him. So we went and got him.

North Dakota wanted the bones back but at the same time claimed that the South Dakotans missed the grave and got someone elses bones or only some of the bones. The battle would rage for years.

On Saturday, April 11, 1953, more than 62 years after his death, a memorial service was held for Sitting Bull, attended by a large crowd of Lakotas and others, including Sitting Bulls three granddaughters and Grey Eagle. That August 26, Korczak Ziolkowski brought the twicelifesize bust to the grave site and supervised its erection on top of a granite pedestal bearing the engraving:

Tatanka Iyotake

Sitting Bull

1831-1890

On September 2, 1953, Sitting Bulls relatives helped dedicate the monument.

Later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dammed the Missouri River, creating the Oahe Reservoir. This massive inland sea produced stability problems with the bridge from Mobridge to the west side of the river and the monument. The Corps had to reroute the bridge traffic upriver, isolating the Sitting Bull monument.

The site deteriorated; vandals chipped the nose, broke the pipe and scratched away at the inscription. They littered the grounds with trash. In 2005 Bryan Defender of McLaughlin and Rhett Albers of Mobridge bought the 40-acre property where Sitting Bulls bones rest. They have established the nonprofit Sitting Bull Monument Foundation to raise funds for the restoration of the burial site. The federal government has placed the site on its National Register of Historic Places. Defender and Albers have cleaned up the area, and brought in electricity for nighttime lighting. With sculptor Monique Ziolkowski, Korczaks daughter, they are working to restore the monument. The Standing Rock Sioux plan to make the site more accessible and build a Lakota cultural center nearby. Meanwhile, the North Dakota grave site has been restored and a marker is located there.

It doesnt really matter where the bones are, Albers says. The monument is a tribute to Sitting Bull. Many Lakota consider the South Dakota site holy, leaving sage and items to honor Sitting Bull. Some of Sitting Bulls remains may still be at Fort Yates while the rest lie under the monument along the Missouri River. But some descendants want to move Sitting Bulls bones to the Little Bighorn Battlefield, on the Crow Reservation in Montana. They believe the U.S. Park Service can better honor Sitting Bull there.

In 1881 Sitting Bull crossed the border from his Canadian exile and announced: I now wish to be allowed to live this side of the line or the other, as I see fit. I wish to continue my old life of hunting, but would like to be allowed to trade on both sides of the line. This is my country, and I dont wish to be compelled to give it up. He is not known to have ever said anything about where he wished to be buried.

Originally published in the June 2008 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
The release date for the Beastie Boys memoir, which will chronicle the history of the beloved hip-hop trio, has been given a release date.

The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys, Michael Diamond ADROCK and Adam Mike D Horowitz, will detail the groups meteoric rise from teenage punks to cultural icons.

The memoir - simply entitled Beastie Boys Book - will consist of not only humour-filled narratives, but also rare photos, original illustrations, a cookbook by chef Roy Choi, a graphic novel, a Beastie Boys map of New York along with much more.

Im not sure if you remember, but a while ago we said we were gonna write a book about our band. Well, its almost done and its coming out soon. This is what its gonna look like. Kinda nice, right?

Pre-order it today at: https://t.co/GzF9zWlEJi

or: https://t.co/QLIZI2Imeu pic.twitter.com/KtkJNe1ZcM  Beastie Boys (@beastieboys) May 15, 2018

Beastie Boys core line-up also included Adam MCA Yauch, who died of cancer in 2012 aged 47. Formed in 1983, the group fused punk-rock with hip-hop to become one of the most original and instantly recognisable rap groups of all time.

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Their albums Licensed to Ill, Ill Communication, Hello Nasty and To the 5 Boroughs reached No 1 in the US, and they have sold more than 50 million albums worldwide.

The publish date for the memoir has been announced as 1 November through Faber, available as both an eBook and in hardback.
Opponents of the 8th Amendment have been battling for over 34 years to remove from the constitution a deeply insulting and paternalistic clause that equates the rights of a woman with those of an embryo. The hope is that honesty, reason and gentle persuasion can win the day. Oh, and a soupcon of home truths...

Ireland. May 2018.

As Irish citizens of voting age, we have an extraordinary opportunity to make history, when we go to the polls in less than two weeks time, to vote to remove (or not to remove) the 8th Amendment from the constitution of Ireland.

The fascinating truth is that many of the people who will be voting on May 25 have no idea just how bad things were here, or the forces that were at work, when the first abortion referendum took place in 1983 and the 8th Amendment was railroaded into the Irish constitution. But that is what happened.

Since then, this country has been on a truly extraordinary journey. We have gone from being a narrow, closed, conservative, parochial, brutally authoritarian society, in which the horribly negative and destructive views of the Roman Catholic Church in relation to sex and sexuality were imposed on everyone, to being a liberal, open, tolerant place that is in many respects the envy of progressive societies all over the world. That is a big statement to make. It also happens to be true. That change did not happen by chance. On the contrary, every step forward had to be fought for, often at great cost to the individuals and groups involved. It was a long and arduous battle, which took its toll. And every step forward was resisted, often viciously, entirely without scruples and with limitless hypocrisy, by the same people who are now telling everyone to vote No in the upcoming referendum.

We have, I can assure you, been in these trenches before.

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HYPOCRITICAL POSTURING

Up to 1983, Ireland was run, in effect, as a single-religion, theocratic State, with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church claiming a right to have a direct say in every major decision that was being taken by politicians, and by State agencies. That insidious, presumptuous sense of entitlement was also claimed covertly by its more sinister foot-soldiers. The God Squad were everywhere. They connived and plotted; and their stamp was impregnated into every aspect of how the State was run.

(As the recent controversy over the ownership and control of the National Maternity Hospital confirmed, they are still at it. They really do not know when to let go).

Even as late as the 1980s, most politicians lived in such petrifying fear of what might happen to them at the next election, if they refused to play ball, that the State danced like a puppet to the self-serving tunes played by the Bishops and the Clergy. The great ideals of the Republic had been suborned. We were Romes lackeys.

Women were treated as third or fourth class citizens, ground under the heels of the patriarchy, its monolithic power buttressed by the rampant collusion between Church and State. And children, for all the shoddy rhetoric that was spouted about the importance of the family, were treated abysmally: bullied, beaten, conscripted into the so called faith, filled with fear and then told what to do. And as for women who conceived outside of marriage? They were considered dirt and could be spat on and treated as such. Which they were.

To anyone of a remotely critical or sensitive disposition, it was all deeply unseemly, and profoundly wrong in so many ways. And the effect all of this had on the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people was enormously damaging. But the Church had successfully wormed its way into every aspect of public life. It exerted its power and prestige with a ruthlessness that was frequently nasty and treacherous. Google Eileen Flynn, pregnant, teacher, if you want to know more. It ruled in schools, and you could either put up or shut up if you didnt like it.

(They havent given up their leech-like grip in education yet. And our politicians have not had the guts to take them on properly. But that is for a different day).

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This was how much they loved and cared about children, and women: they threw Eileen Flynn, a pregnant, unmarried mother-to-be, out of her job as a teacher, and denounced her from the pulpit. And if time, the European courts and the litany of grotesque sex abuse scandals had not caught up with them, they would still be doing the same thing to women today. The prevailing ideology  inspired by the Vatican  was that sex outside marriage was sinful, shameful and wrong. Entirely against the will of the Church, contraception was available  but only if it was prescribed by a doctor and bought from a pharmacy. In fact, the influence of the Catholic Church was so pervasive that many doctors refused to prescribe contraceptives. Many pharmacists refused to stock them. If you were unmarried and lived in a small town and wanted a sex life, frankly, you were fucked.

We are coming to abortion. But there is a little more to say yet. Catholic Church dogma was that every sexual act should have in it the possibility of a child being conceived. And that was rammed down peoples throats in Ireland, to the greatest extent possible, no matter what your beliefs might have been. The Church demanded then that its horribly atrophied values, and its dictats, be imposed on everyone: on Protestants, Jews, atheists, agnostics, humanists, followers of Wicca, Hindus, Muslims and the rest.

And make no mistake: for all the softly, softly talk and the understanding whispers and God be with yous, this is still what they are after. This is why the priests and the bishops are actively campaigning for a No vote.

Had Ireland not joined the EU, in terms of sexual mores, the likelihood is that we would still be about as advanced as Afghanistan, under the Taliban, without the mass murders. Those fighting for contraceptive rights had to go to the European courts to have those rights vindicated. Roman Catholic vested interests and social conservatives, opposed them every step of the way.

That wasnt the half of it. Male homosexuality was illegal. If women were oppressed, the treatment of gays was even more extreme: they were sixth class citizens, forced to live their lives on the margins, carrying the cross of their sexual preferences in secrecy and shame. Gay bashing was common  and it was implicitly condoned by a Church that despised gays, and hated what they represented and what they did in bed together; and by a State which bowed its crooked knee to Rome and turned its gay citizens into non-persons.

Again, it was the European Court of Justice, which forced us to legalise homosexuality. Make no mistake: despite their current hypocritical posturing, if it were up to the Catholic Church in Ireland, homosexuality would still be illegal. And gays could go and fuck themselves. And even that would be a sin.

FREE TO CHOOSE

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Meanwhile, behind closed doors, the appalling abuse of children and teenagers  male and female  was enabled and carried out by the institutions of both Church and State. Its Fathers, Brothers and Sisters may have been at the heart of much of it, but the only thing that mattered to the institutional church, and its hierarchy, in relation to the noxious virus of paedophilia and child abuse, which wounded so many in Ireland, was that the Church or its Orders should not in any way be drawn into scandal as a result.

It didnt matter how badly children were hurt, or in some cases psychologically maimed, or how often, over a sustained period of time. The church was more important. That was how they thought. And that is how they acted. They dissembled. They covered-up. They lied. They put more and more children at risk by moving sick priests around. They didnt give a shit. The institution came first.

I could go on. But, with the referendum looming, time is precious: the crucial thing is that we must see the continuity. We must not forget. Because the same ideology is at work here, its proponents clamouring deceitfully and hypocritically for people to vote against Repeal. As ever, they knowingly lie. They distort the truth. They bend the figures. They try to whip up fear and paranoia.

The people calling for a No vote are exactly the same censorious, authoritarian, one size fits all bullies who tried to suck the joy out of life for everyone in Ireland, at every opportunity, over the past 100 years.

Are we going to allow them to once again assert their vindictive control over women lives and their bodies? Are we going to allow them to continue with the crazed fiction that an embryos life is equal to that of a woman who half an hour ago became pregnant  as is specifically and categorically asserted as a legal certainty, in the unholy mess that is the 8th Amendment?

Are we going to accept that this is true even if a woman is pregnant as a result of rape?

We cannot undo the past. But how cruel and heartless and domineering and authoritarian and controlling are we going to be from now on?

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Are we going to insist that this is true, even where a womans life is at risk if a pregnancy is allowed to continue, as happened in so many cases since the amendment was inserted, a toxin masquerading as a remedy, into our constitution, with ultimately devastating consequences?

Are we going to continue to allow the same bullies to hold the threat of a 14 year jail sentence over women who source abortion pills? Or women who use them?

Are we going to allow them to continue to force 3,500 Irish women every year to travel to the UK to secure a termination  including those women (and their partners) who are unfortunate enough to have to face the fact that the child that was wanted and sought and celebrated has a fatal foetal abnormality?

Are we even going to insist that a pregnancy that occurs as a result of incest, and sexual abuse, has to be brought to term, unless the woman who is the victim of this appalling human tragedy (and, of course, crime) is lucky enough to have the resources, and the support, to enable her to travel for a termination? Or commits suicide?

In all conscience, good people cannot do this. They cannot allow dogma or ideology  especially the ideology of a totally cynical and discredited organisation  to triumph at the expense of women. Good people cannot want to force women to become incubators against their will. Good people cannot force those women, who have been told that the foetus in their womb is doomed, to carry those pregnancies through the rest of nine months, against their will.

Good people cannot do any of this. They should not do any of this. And I believe that they dont want to and wont want to. But if they vote no, that is what they will achieve.

Good people  or people who try to be good, like most of us  will want to make the right choice. They will vote Yes for compassion. For choice. For personal autonomy. For care. For love.

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For not making crude and impersonal judgements. For not forcing people to do what they cannot or desperately dont want to do. For not trampling on peoples already emotionally fragile souls by making them have to bring home the small coffins carrying their dead babies in the hold of a plane  and collect them off the baggage carousel.

In their own lives, these good people will have the right to say no to abortion themselves. If they are directly involved in a crisis pregnancy, then they will be free to choose, or to help their partner to choose, not to have an abortion. That will be up to them. No one would want it any other way. Ever.

TIME TO MAKE HISTORY

But these good people will, I believe, vote Yes because they really do understand that their friends, neighbours, colleagues and sisters are also entitled to the right to make their own conscientious choices; because they know that the truth can sometimes be hard  but that it is better to be honest and open about, and to take responsibility as a society for, it.

That no one wants abortion, but that it is sometimes necessary. That it is a fact of life for thousands of Irish women every year. That it is cowardly, and flagrantly hypocritical, for us to insist on exporting our abortions to the UK and elsewhere. That it is wrong to go on hurting women, and their families by making them travel when there is no need. That the abortion pill has changed things completely. That more and more women will have unsupervised abortions if the 8th Amendment is not voted out as it should be. That to threaten to jail women for 14 years for the use of a pill is utterly and irredeemably barbaric. Yes, that it is like what the Taliban would do.

That the best way to reduce the number of abortions Irish women have is through proper sex education and access to contraception. That enlightenment is the way forward, not obscurantism.

Good people will put reason and generosity and kindness ahead of ideology, negativity and control. They will vote Yes.

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Good people will recognise: I cannot vote with the institution, nor with its nasty reactionary apparatchiks, who through all of our recent history opposed every single progressive step in relation to sex and sexuality, who wanted to shut people down and repress them, and oppress them, and to keep us locked in that moment when womens role was to do what men told them and gays could fuck off to a different country if they wanted to have sex, or partners, or get married.

All of this is as it was writ. It happened.

Good people will vote Yes. I believe they will. And I believe there are more of them  more ordinary citizens, who try to be good, that is  and that the Repeal vote will prevail. But believing is not enough right now. As we go to press, it seems that there is a narrow majority in favour of Repeal. What remains of the campaign is like the battle to establish sexual and reproductive freedom in Ireland, telescoped into a mere fortnight. All of those small, incremental victories are in some way at stake. As with the long and onerous struggle to get to where we are now, on the cusp of great change, every potential Yes vote must be fought for. In the end, this Referendum might come down to a few hundred ballots.

For anyone who believes in a better, fairer and more equal Ireland, in which we trust women and treat them with care and compassion, it it vital to put in the sustained work, the canvassing and the gentle persuasion required to ensure that as many as possible of the current dont knows shift to Yes.

And also to ensure that every possible Yes gets to the polling stations.

Ireland. May 2018. Its been a long way from September 1983 to here. We have the opportunity to make history. The time is now.
With just than two weeks to go to the referendum on repealing the eighth amendment, Labour TD Jan OSullivan has said it is important that voters "keep womens health at the forefront of their minds".

Deputy OSullivan said: This day two weeks people right across the country will be heading to their local polling stations to have their say on the eighth amendment of the Constitution, some for the very first time.

Over the past two weeks, Ireland has been shaken to its core by the cervical cancer scandal, with women everywhere feeling let down by our health system.

The distress and anxiety that these revelations have caused to the women involved can never be measured and there are no words to describe how they and their families must be feeling."

In her passionate plea, she added: Women right across Ireland deserve so much better than what our health service has delivered to date, and this should be borne in mind when voters head to the ballot boxes in two weeks time.

We now have a once in a generation opportunity to have our say on the eighth amendment, and take womens healthcare out of the constitution where it should never have been put in the first place.

By voting Yes on May 25th, we can ensure that women receive the proper healthcare they need at what can be for many, a very vulnerable time in their lives.

By voting Yes on May 25th, we can tell the women of Ireland that they deserve to be shown compassion in a crisis.

By voting Yes on May 25th we can stop forcing women to travel abroad, away from the care of their doctors, or to use medication ordered online, alone and afraid in their bathrooms.

She concluded: Its time for Ireland to do the right thing for womens health and vote to repeal the eight amendment on May 25th.
They'll be giving their epic new album, The Blue Hour, a live airing in the Bord Gais Energy Theatre.

The extremely good news for Suede fans is that Brett, Richard, Simon and Mat have announced a Sunday October 14 visit to Dublin's Bord Gais Energy Theatre, with tickets going on general sale this Friday.

The evergreen Britpoppers will be plugging their new album, The Blue Hour, which drops before it on September 21.

"The Blue Hour is the time of day when the light is fading and night is closing in," we're told. "The songs hint at a narrative but never quite reveal it and never quite explain. But as with any Suede album, its always about the songwriting. The band, the passion and the noise: The Blue Hour."

The follow up to 2016's much-lauded Night Thoughts, it was again written as a continuous piece, although there are fourteen distinct, thematically linked songs on the record.

With the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra pitching in, it's a sumptuous affair produced by veteran studio man Alan Moulder, and featuring: 'As One', 'Wastelands', 'Mistress', 'Beyond The Outskirts', 'Chalk Circles', 'Cold Hands', 'Life Is Golden', 'Roadkill', 'Tides', 'Dont Be Afraid If Nobody Loves You', 'Dead Bird', 'All The Wild Places', 'The Invisibles' and 'Flytipping'.

No gasoline, but plenty of urban alienation, beauty among the decay, outsider romance and all the other Suede tropes we've come to know and thoroughly love.

It gets better



Suedes shows in Amsterdam and Copenhagen (both nights) are now sold out!



In light of which we are excited to announce more European dates.

Pre-sale starts: 9AM BST on Wed 16th May

General sale starts: 9am BST on Fri 18th May



Tickets: https://t.co/LZzwAkceWA pic.twitter.com/cSWBb16cFe  Suede HQ (@suedeHQ) May 14, 2018
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Is Troy Carter Leaving Spotify Over New Hate Content Policy?

Troy Carter, Spotifys global head of creator services, is rumored to be leaving the company, according to multiple sources. Carter is apparently upset over how the music streamer handled partial censorship of music by R. Kelly and XXXTentacion and the implementation of a new ""Hate Content and Hateful Conduct" policy.

Carter reportedly pushed back against Spotify's effort to "determine values" and argued for a more measured and less public approach.

This week Spotify instituted the new policy and internal content monitoring tool, Spotify AudioWatch. The effort will draw on alerts from groups fighting hate content, including The Southern Poverty Law Center, The Anti-Defamation League, Color Of Change, Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), GLAAD, Muslim Advocates, and the International Network Against Cyber Hate.

"We do not tolerate hate content on Spotify  content that expressly and principally promotes, advocates, or incites hatred or violence against a group or individual based on characteristics, including, race, religion, gender identity, sex, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, veteran status, or disability," the company said in a statement.

A Spotify representative "emphatically denied" to Variety that Carter is leaving the company; and he apparently was at his desk yesterday. But rumors that Carter is exiting persist; and the difficulties of fairly policing morality have just begun to surface for Spotify.

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TIDAL Referred To Norwegian Police Over Beyonce, Kanye West Streaming Manipulation

Norwegian performing rights organization Tono has asked local police to investigate TIDAL, after a reports that the music streamer falsified hundreds of millions of plays of the music of Beyonce and Kanye West.

Tono, which represents 30,000 rights holders, found that claims of streaming manipulation by TIDAL were "strong" and "apparently credible," as they filed a complaint with the Norwegian police.

"We have to protect the interests of the rights holders for whom we work, but we also believe that a complaint is in the interest of Tidal which says the data has been stolen and manipulated," Tono director Cato Strom said in a statement.

Despite having between one and three million subscribers, TIDAL reported massive early streams for Beyonce and Kanye West.after the released new projects. In May of 2016 , Kanye West's "Pablo" streamed 250 million times in just 10 days on TIDAL, and Beyonces "Lemonade" streamed 306 million times in 15 days, according to TIDAL in their reports to music charts and trade magazines.

The extra plays were reportedly added to the accounts of real TIDAL users. " I love Beyonce, but 11 hours?," law student and TIDAL users Tiare Faatea told the newspaper.

Because payments are calculated as a percentage of total revenue, payments to other artists would be smaller because of inflated stats and payments for Beyonce and Kanye West.

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The concept is to build 18 greenhouses for marijuana cultivators and generate power through a solar field.

Marijuana Greenhouses Eyed For Lanesborough's Gray Raven Farm



Developer Rob Wolf wanted the board's support for the project before he began the permitting process. LANESBOROUGH, Mass.  A developer is looking to build 18 greenhouses on Gray Raven Farm for marijuana cultivators to lease.

Rob Wolf, a managing member of New England Agriculture Technologies, presented a plan to the Board of Selectmen on Monday to build the greenhouses up to state regulations for cannabis cultivation, surround them with a solar field, and then lease the spaces to commercial growers.

"We're envisioning about 18 greenhouses there which will generate a fairly substantial amount of revenue," Wolf said.

Wolf hasn't started the permitting process quite yet but is expected to soon. He first wanted to see if the Board of Selectmen would support such an effort. The project would take up about five to seven acres of farmland. The company would buy the portion of the farm's property and manage the facilities, including providing the required security.

"We're going to be back in front of you with a specific plan," Wolf said.

Wolf said his company works with greenhouse companies in California to design the facilities, including the HVAC, monitoring, and water systems specifically for marijuana growth.

"This is robust facilities because they have to be," Wolf said.

The farm is owned by Dan and Sharon Bergeron, who said they have no interest in having a retail establishment there at this moment -- which mitigates concerns the Board of Selectmen had about traffic. Further, the Bergerons voiced favor for growing organically, which alleviates concern about any type of water runoff into the environment.

In other business, the Selectmen are trying to figure out what to do with 19 acres it owns on Prospect Street. The town purchased the parcel in 2007 for $225,000 with plans to develop senior housing.

"We did some conceptual drawings at the time," said Elton Ogden, of Berkshire Housing Development. "There was going to be a senior center and in the neighborhood of 40 housing units."

But then state and federal resources dried up. The property has been in the town's hands, undeveloped, since. More recently, the town marketed the property for a solar development. Ameresco looked to do a solar field there but ultimately that plan fizzled out.

Town officials have cited the desire for more senior housing and now back at the start when it comes to the Prospect Street property, the Selectmen wanted to chat with Ogden again to see if that was still a possibility.

"It is a better environment than it was when we went through this exercise," Ogden said but saying there still isn't a lot of money for new housing development.

He said the federal government did provide a boost to the budget for senior housing, but Ogden doesn't know yet if that will be more focused on renovating to the existing homes or new applications. The state has also put some priority on senior housing as well and Ogden said on a property in Great Barrington, Berkshire Housing was able to get funds to build a 31-unit addition. So, it is possible.

But, Ogden said it is still isn't a lot of funds available so while possible, it is probably unlikely at this point. Ogden continued to suggest the Berkshire Mall may be a better location. The mall has been struggling with tenants and thoughts have kicked around the town of developing some of that space into senior housing.

"It may be more competitive to do a proposal as part of an economic development project where housing was one component," he said.

Mark Siegars of the Baker Hill Road District doesn't think the mall is the right place. He said subsidized housing provides much less in return than any other type of commercial use. He doesn't want to see the town take such a large commercial parcel off the tax rolls.

"This is the largest industrially zoned property in Berkshire County and everybody is talking about putting housing on it, which is the least valuable use in the long run," Siegars said, urging the Selectmen to keep the senior housing idea focused on the Prospect Street parcel.



Elton Ogden told the Selectmen that some federal and state money is now available for senior housing, but not a lot. The Prospect Street project is not likely to receive funding soon. Town Manager Paul Sieloff added that the town already owns the Prospect Street parcel, so that would reduce the cost to build. On the other hand, Selectman Robert Ericson said the Prospect Street parcel isn't connected to municipal sewer, so the town would have to extend that system before such a development could even be possible.

While the town remains focused on senior housing, Ogden said he's been recently pushing towns to work together on a regional plan. He said the trick with a small town like Lanesborough is the demand. Lanesborough would likely build the senior housing facility and it would be rented by many people who have been living in neighboring towns.

At the same time, Cheshire is working on a senior housing project and Ogden suggests the smaller communities work regionally instead of only focusing on their own senior citizens.

The town is also looking to crack down on the Skyline Country Club for late-night shenanigans. Police Chief Timothy Sorrell had come to the board in February with concerns of late-night issues. A fight had broken out during a 40th birthday party and when police arrived, those in attendance took off from the scene. And that wasn't the first fight there. At the time, Sorrell reviewed the police logs and saw a number of calls and even had a call in which someone was trying to steal a car.

Chairman John Goerlach followed that meeting up with a phone call to the owner to let him know that the number of issues was growing. On the night of April 27, however, gunshots were reported from the country club. Sorrell said when officers arrived, a car was speeding out of there, heading toward Pittsfield. The officer reported it to Pittsfield Police who stopped the vehicle and found .45 caliber rounds in it.

Around the same time, police arrested a drunk driver leaving the Skyline and fielded noise complaints, all around 1:30 on an early Saturday morning.

"It looks like it is being run as more than a nightclub than anything," Sorrell said.

The chief doesn't think the issue is so much on the owners, but on those who are renting the facility to hold events. He said the individual renting the Skyline now had originally held similar events at the troubled Chameleons in Pittsfield. Nonetheless, the Selectmen are now going to ask the Skyline's ownership to appear at the next meeting and there is a chance the Selectmen may reduce the liquor license hours or even suspend the license as the board has done with similar violations at businesses in the past.
Southern Vermont College students cheered at the school's 91st Commencement on Saturday, May 12. The College recognized 84 degree candidates and 2 certificate program recipients. Led by bagpiper and drummer, graduates process down Greystone Lawn from the historic Everett Mansion on Saturday. Led by bagpiper and drummer, Southern Vermont College students process down Greystone Lawn from the historic Everett Mansion on Saturday, May 12, for the College's 91st Commencement exercises. PreviousNext

Southern Vermont College Holds 91st Commencement



Nicholas T. Pinchuk, CEO of Snap-on, gives the keynote address on Saturday. BENNINGTON, Vt.  Southern Vermont College recognized 84 degree candidates and 2 certificate recipients at its 91st commencement exercises on Saturday, May 12, on the Greystone Lawn of the Everett Mansion.

An honorary degree of humane letters was awarded to Nicholas T. Pinchuk, chairman and chief executive officer of Snap-on Inc. and formerly president of global refrigeration operations for Carrier Corp., a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp.

Pinchuk is a leader on workforce development and technical education and careers. Recognizing his role in the formation of the nation's technical education agenda, the Career and Technical Education Foundation named him the National Business Leader of the Year in 2011. SkillsUSA named him Champion of the Year in 2012, recognizing his extensive support for the growth of a skilled American workforce. Pinchuk addressed the graduates as commencement speaker.

President David Evans, in his welcoming remarks to the graduates, said, "This is a day of joy, a rite of passage that marks your very significant achievement and milestone from which you should draw great strength. You have done good work. You will do more good work. We are counting on you."

Two selected student class speakers offered sentiments about their experience at SVC in remarks to their classmates: Queenie Lyka Garrison of North Bennington and Sharlyne Mary Marte of New York City.

"America is about the pursuit of happiness, you are charged with leading and pursuing," Pinchuk told the graduates. "I'm going to advise you to communicate and to be curious. This time is your time. People are looking at you. The world is watching. You have an impact on the future, but you have an impact now."

He continued in saying, "All of you are the leaders of the many. You're going to move to a place where the goals are bigger than yourself. The more you focus on something the stronger you will be."

He said they will see change and that they should do something about it.

The college recognized 83 bachelor's degree candidates, one associate's degree candidate, and two College Steps certificate recipients. The baccalaureate degree valedictorian was Queenie Lyka Garrison of North Bennington and the baccalaureate degree salutatorian was Torrey Kurtzner of Bennington.

Assistant professor Lynda Sinkiewich of The Hunter Division of Humanities was elected by her peers to deliver farewell remarks from the faculty.

Three traditional awards were presented to graduating students. The William A. Glasser Award, honoring a student for achieving outstanding personal and academic growth while at the college, was given to Melissa Noelle Mascari of Wilton, N.Y. The Lynda Curry Memorial Award, honoring the graduate who best exemplifies the fulfillment of the college's mission, was given to Sharlyne Mary Marte of New York City. The Edward H. Everett Award, acknowledging numerous contributions to the Southern Vermont College community, was presented to Bridget Cain of Newark, Del.

Graduates Chyenne Deja Daley of Bronx, N.Y.; Tanisha K. Wright of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Benyamin Zvi Wurmfeld of Nassau, N.Y.; and Mikaela Marie Zemaitis of Watertown, Conn., were recognized for publishing their first novel through the Shires Press Publishing Program, a four-semester curriculum offered through SVC's Hunter Division of Humanities and a partnership with Northshire Bookstore.
Princeton University graduate Yogesh Goyal (center) has been named to the inaugural class of Schmidt Science Fellows. The Indian American post-doctoral researcher will be applying computational approaches to single-cell biology and phenomena that biologists call rare events. (Princeton.edu photo)
Visitors cross the bridge over the Kundal Shahi Waterfall in Kashmir. The bridge collapsed May 13, killing at least two. Students from a medical college in eastern Punjab were visiting the Kundal Shahi picnic point and taking pictures from bridge when it collapsed. (YouTube screengrab)
Russian President Vladimir Putin (right) shakes hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in Saint Petersburg June 1, 2017. Modi and Putin will hold an informal summit May 21 in Sochi, amid U.S. sanctions against Russia. (Dmitry Lovetsky/AFP/Getty Images)
The 'Kingmaker' Is Back - Muqtada Al-Sadr Wins The Election In Iraq

By Moon Of Alabama

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - On Saturday the people of Iraq voted for a new parliament.

The surprising winner is the Sairoon coalition of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and the Communist Party of Iraq. According to the preliminary results it gained 54 parliament seats. There are a total of 320 seats in the Iraqi parliament and complicate multiparty coalitions are necessary to gain a majority and to elect a new Prime Minister.

The Fatah Coalition headed by Hadi al-Amiri came in second with 47 seats. The Nasr coalition of the current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi is third with 42 seats. The party of former premier Maliki is lagging behind with 25 seats.

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Two, three or four of the larger blocks will have to find a coalition agreement that will also accommodate dozens of smaller parties with two or three parliament seats.

For outsiders Iraqi politics can be somewhat surprising. The female candidate of the Communist Party in the Shia holy city of Najaf, Suhad al-Khateeb, wears a Hijab. She is a scion of the Marjaiyya (religious establishment) family Saleem Adel. The Communist Party is allied with rabble rouser Moqtada al-Sadr. She won her parliament seat.

Muntaza Al Zaidi (vid), the Iraqi journalist who in 2008 threw his shoes at George W. Bush (vid) also won a seat.

This was the first election after the war against ISIS in Iraq has been won. It was feared that ISIS underground cells would interrupt the election by attacking candidates or voting locales but nothing significant happened.

With only 44.5% of the people voting the participation was abysmal. The last elections had participation rates above 60%. One reason might have been the generic election campaigns of the establishment parties. They lacked arguments on issues and policies. Fortunately sectarianism played only a small role with some Shia candidates winning large shares of Sunni votes and vice versa.

The low participation rates favored those parties and personalities with a large direct following. These "whale parties" will now have to make further coalition deals. It is quite possible that Prime Minister Abadi, who's party lost significantly, will stay in his office and lead a new coalition government in which he has less say. Muqtada al-Sadr will be the one who decides that.

The forty-four year old Muqtada al-Sadr is the son of a Grand Ayatollah who was assassinated under Saddam Hussein. The traditional political base of the al-Sadres is in the poor of Baghdad. Sadr city in Baghdad is named after his father. Muqtada and his followers in the Mahdi Army viciously fought the U.S. occupiers as well as sectarian Sunni gangs. In 2006 the U.S. planned to kill him and al-Sadr fled to Iran. U.S. media called him "anti-American" but Sadr is simply an Iraqi nationalist. He settled in Qom and tried to acquire higher theological credentials. Academically he was said to be a rather dim bulb and his studies went nowhere. He still lacks higher clerical credentials. Al-Sadr is disliked by the Iranian government and clerics as an unreliable and unthankful maniac.

During the U.S. occupation of Iraq we wrote quite a bit about Muqtada. Commentators at Moon of Alabama nicknamed him Mookie.

Over the last ten years Muqtada took the non-sectarian position traditionally associated with his father. He criticized the corruption of the political class but mostly from the sideline. Muqtada has lately partnered with the Iraqi communists and with secular candidates. His coalition campaigned on an anti-establishment note. His regained significance might help to clean up the patronage policies and corruption that long paralyzed Iraqi politics.

Muqtada has good contacts with the Saudis. His meeting with the Saudi Clown Prince Mohamad bin-Salman in July 2017 took place in an airport conference room. It lacked the usual gold and glitter of Saudi royalty. One wonders which side proposed the low drama location.

The Saudis will likely find, like everyone else before them, that Muqtada is uncontrollable. After this election neither the Saudis nor Iran nor the U.S. will have much political influence in Iraq. While Iran has strong economic and religious ties with Iraq its political meddling is much despised. The U.S. is seen as manipulative. Everyone believes that it created ISIS and Al-Qaeda and most Iraqis want all U.S. troops to leave.

Iraq has many serious problems. The economy is in bad shape. As the Turks build more and more upstream dams water in Iraq is getting scarce. The Kurds are not loyal to the Iraqi state. They think of vengeance after Baghdad took Kirkuk back from them. The Islamic State will try to come back. U.S. threats and machinations against Iran will make Iraqi foreign policy more complicate.

After the crushing experience of the last two and a half decades the people of Iraq truly deserve peace and a government that cares about their needs. Muqtada al-Sadr's strong position will help to form a less corrupt and more technocratic government that actually solves problems.

The next Iraqi government will try to keep Iraq out of the U.S.-Iran conflict. That will likely be in vain.

This article was originally published by "

Moon Of Alabama

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Killing Gaza

By Chris Hedges

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - WASHINGTON, D.C.Israels blockade of Gazawhere trapped Palestinians for the past seven weeks have held nonviolent protests along the border fence with Israel, resulting in scores of dead and some 6,000 wounded by Israeli troopsis one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters. Yet the horror that is Gaza, where 2 million people live under an Israeli siege without adequate food, housing, work, water and electricity, where the Israeli military routinely uses indiscriminate and disproportionate violence to wound and murder, and where almost no one can escape, is rarely documented. Max Blumenthal and Dan Cohens powerful new film, Killing Gaza, offers an unflinching and moving portrait of a people largely abandoned by the outside world, struggling to endure.

Killing Gaza will be released Tuesday, to coincide with what Palestinians call Nakba Daynakba means catastrophe in Arabiccommemorating the 70th anniversary of the forced removal of some 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 by the Haganah, Jewish paramilitary forces, from their homes in modern-day Israel. The release of the documentary also coincides with the Trump administrations opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Because of Nakba Day and the anger over the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem, this week is expected to be one of the bloodiest of the seven-week-long protest that Palestinians call the Great Return March. Killing Gaza illustrates why Palestinians, with little left to lose, are rising up by the thousands and risking their lives to return to their ancestral homes70 percent of those in Gaza are refugees or the descendants of refugeesand be treated like human beings.

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Cohen and Blumenthal, who is the author of the book  Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel,  one of the best accounts of modern Israel, began filming the documentary Aug. 15, 2014. Palestinian militias, armed with little more than light weapons, had just faced Israeli tanks, artillery, fighter jets, infantry units and missiles in a 51-day Israeli assault that left 2,314 Palestinians dead and 17,125 injured. Some 500,000 Palestinians were displaced and about 100,000 homes were destroyed or damaged. The 2014 assault, perhaps better described as a massacre, was one of eight massacres that Israel has carried out since 2004 against the 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, over half of whom are children. Israel, which refers to these periodic military assaults as  mowing the lawn , seeks to make existence in Gaza so difficult that mere survival consumes most of the average Palestinians time, resources and energy.

The film begins in the Shujaiyya neighborhood, reduced to mounds of rubble by the Israelis. The wanton destruction of whole neighborhoods was, as documented by the film, accompanied by the shooting of unarmed civilians by Israeli snipers and other soldiers of that nation.

Much of the destruction took place in the course of a few hours on July 23, Blumenthal, who narrates the film, says as destroyed buildings appear on the screen, block after block. The invading Israeli forces found themselves under ferocious fire from local resistance forces, enduring unexpectedly high casualties. As the Israeli infantry fled in full retreat, they called in an artillery and air assault, killing at least 120 Palestinian civilians and obliterated thousands of homes.

The film includes a brief clip of young Israelis in Tel Aviv celebrating the assault on Gaza, a reminder that toxic racism and militarism infect Israeli society.

Die! Die! Bye! laughing teenage girls shout at the celebration in Tel Aviv. Bye, Palestine!

Fucking Arabs! Fuck Muhammad! a young man yells.

Gaza is a graveyard! Gaza is a graveyard! Ole, ole, ole, ole, the crowd in Tel Aviv sings as it dances in jubilation. There is no school tomorrow! There are no children left in Gaza!

Terrified Palestinian families huddled inside their homes as Israel dropped more than 100 one-ton bombs and fired thousands of high-explosive artillery shells into Shujaiyya. Those who tried to escape in the face of the advancing Israelis often were gunned down with their hands in the air, and the bodies were left to rot in the scorching heat for days.

I was inside when they started bulldozing my house, Nasser Shamaly, a Shujaiyya resident, says in the film. They took down the wall and started shooting into the house. So I put my hands on my head and surrendered myself to the officer. This wasnt just any soldier. He was the officer of the group! He didnt say a word. He just shot me. I fell down and started crawling to get away from them.

Shamaly, who hid wounded in his house for four days, was fortunate. His 23-year-old cousin, Salem Shamaly, who led a group of volunteers from the International Solidarity Movement to dig bodies out of the ruins in Shujaiyya, was not.

On the offensives 14th day, July 20th, 2014, four other activists and I went to the Shujaiyya neighborhood, which Israel had bombed for days, to accompany rescue teams in the rubble during the two-hour cease-fire, Joe Catron, one of the members of the International Solidarity Movement rescue team, says in the film. A young Palestinian, whose name we later learned was Salem Shamaly, asked us to go with him to his house, where he hoped to find his family. It sounds ridiculous now, but at the time we thought the cease-fire would make it safe.

As we crossed an alley with a clear line of sight to Israeli positions by the separation barrier, a gunshot from their direction struck the ground between us. We scattered into two groups, sheltered behind buildings on either side. After a pause, Salem stepped into the alley, hoping to lead his group to our side, but was struck by another bullet. He fell to the ground.

The film shows Shamaly wounded on the ground, barely able to move and crying out in pain.

As he lay on his back, two more rounds hit him, Catron continued. He stopped moving. The gunfire kept us from reaching him. The Israeli artillery began flying overhead and striking the buildings behind us. We were forced to retreat, leaving him. We only learned his name two days later, when his mother, father, sister and cousin recognized him in a video I had tweeted.

We couldnt retrieve his body for seven days, Um Salem, the mother, says in the film. His body was in the sun for seven days.

Waseem Shamaly, Salems brother, who appears to be about 8 years old, is shown with his eyes swollen from crying. He would take care of us, like our father, the boy says. Even at night, he would get us whatever we wanted. He used to buy us everything. Whatever we wished for, he would buy it. There was nothing he wouldnt buy for us. He used to take us to hang out. Hed take us out with him just to kill our boredom a little.

Waseem wipes his eyes.

Now he is gone, he continues weakly. There is nobody to take us out and buy us treats.

This boy hasnt been able to handle losing his brother, says the father, Khalil Shamaly. He couldnt handle the news, seeing the way his brother died. He is in shock. It gets to the point where he goes lifeless. He collapses. When I pick him up he tells me his dying wishes. His dying wishes! As if he is leaving us. He is so young. But he gives us his dying wishes. If it werent for Gods mercy, I would have lost him too.

Destroyed cities and shattered homes can be rebuilt if the resources are there, Blumenthal says. But what about the survivors? How can they heal the scars imposed on their psyches? The youth of Gaza has grown up through three wars, each more devastating than the last. At least 90 percent of adolescents in Gaza suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. With mental health services pushed to the brink, these unseen scars may never heal.

The film turns to the town of Khuzaa, a farming community with 20,000 people, which was systematically blown up by Israel after three Israeli soldiers were killed in fighting with the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the ruling Hamas government in Gaza. The film shows a video from inside an Israeli tank as soldiers wait for explosives to bring down buildings in the town, including the mosque. When the explosions occur, the Israeli soldiers cheer and shout, Long live the state of Israel!

Starting Tuesday, May 15, Killing Gaza can be seen at Vimeo On Demand.

We were shocked to see so many bodies in the streets, Ahmed Awwad, a volunteer with the Palestinian Red Crescent , says in the film about Khuzaa. Many were decomposing. We wanted to deal with it, but we didnt know how. Once, when the Israelis let us in with our ambulance, we found about 10 corpses from different areas, scattered. As you approached a body, of course there is the odor, and there are worms. Hold it like this, and flesh comes off. Lift an arm and it pulls right off. We didnt know what to do. There was nothing we could do. We had to stop. It would have been easier just to bury them. But we figured families would want the bodies. Bulldozers eventually loaded the bodies in trucks. We couldnt pick up these bodies on our own. Most were executions, like an old lady at her front door. There was a young man, another man, and a little kid. The scenes, to be honest, were very ugly.

The Rjeila family, including 16-year-old Ghadeer, who was physically disabled, attempts to escape the shelling. As a brother frantically pushes Ghadeer in her wheelchair (the scene, like several others in the film, is reconstructed through animation), the Israelis open fire. The brother is wounded. Ghadeer is killed.

The camera pans slowly through demolished houses containing blackened human remains. Walls and floors are smeared with blood.

Ahmed Awwad, a Palestinian Red Crescent volunteer, describes what happened after he and other volunteers finally receive permission from Israeli forces to retrieve bodies from Khuzaa. They find a man tied to a tree and shot in both legs. One of the volunteers, Mohammed al-Abadla, gets out of a vehicle and approaches the tree. When he switches on his flashlight, which the Israelis had instructed him to do, he is shot in heart and killed.

For 51 days, Israel bombarded Gaza with the full might of its artillery, Blumenthal says. According to the Israeli militarys estimates, 23,410 artillery shells and 2.9 million bullets were fired into Gaza during the war.

Thats one and a half bullets for every man, woman and child in the Gaza Strip.

There is footage of Israeli soldiers in an artillery unit writing messages, including Happy Birthday to Me, on shells being lobbed into Gaza. The soldiers laugh and eat sushi as they pound Palestinian neighborhoods with explosives.

Rafah is a city in Gaza on the border of Egypt. The film makes it clear that Egypt, through its sealing of Gazas southern border, is complicit in the blockade. Rafah was one of the first cities targeted by the Israelis. When Israeli troops took over buildings, they also kidnapped Palestinians and used them as human shields there and elsewhere, forcing them to stand at windows as the soldiers fired from behind.

They blindfolded and handcuffed me and took me inside, Mahmoud Abu Said says in the film. They told me to come with them and put a M16 to my back. There were maybe six of them. They dropped their equipment and began searching. They started hitting me against the wall. And then sicced their dogs on me while I was handcuffed.

They put me here, he says, standing in front of a window, and stood behind me. Israeli soldiers placed me here while they stood behind me shooting. They took me to that window and that window too. Then they hit me against the wall and pushed me down. They put a mattress here, he says, showing holes punched through the wall at floor level, and sat down to shoot through these holes.

You see that car? asks Suleiman Zghreibv, referring to a hunk of twisted metal that lies next to the ruins of his house. He drove it, he says of his 22-year-old son, who was executed by the Israelis. This is the car we used to make our living. It wasnt for personal use. It was a taxi. I cant describe the suffering. What can I say? Words cant express the pain. We have suffered and resisted for so long. Weve been suffering our whole lives. Weve suffered for the past 60 years because of Israel. War after war after war. Bombing after bombing after bombing. You build a house. They destroy it. You raise a child. They kill him. Whatever they dothe United States, Israel, the whole world, well keep resisting until the last one of us dies.

Israel intentionally targeted power plants, schools, medical clinics, apartment complexes, whole villages. Robert Piper, the United Nations Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid and Development Activities, said in 2017 that Gaza had a long time ago passed the  unlivability threshold . Youth unemployment is at 60 percent. Suicide is epidemic. Traditional social structures and mores are fracturing, with divorce rising from 2 percent to 40 percent and girls and women increasingly being prostituted, something once seen only rarely in Gaza. Seventy percent of the 2 million Gazans survive on humanitarian aid packages of sugar, rice, milk and cooking oil. The U.N. estimates that 97 percent of Gazas water is contaminated. Israels destruction of Gazas sewage treatment plant means raw sewage is pumped into the sea, contaminating the beach, one of the very few respites for a trapped population. The Israelis did not even spare Gazas little zoo, slaughtering some 45 animals in the 2014 assault.

I liked the monkeys best, says a forlorn Ali Qasem, who worked at the zoo. We laughed with them the most. We would laugh and play with them. They would take food right from your hand. Theyd respond the most. There is a heavy feeling of sorrow. I used to spend 18 hours a day here. I was here all the time. Id go home for five or six hours, then come back. I worked here as a volunteer. A few volunteers built this place little by little. We were excited to finish and invite visitors for free. To me, it was like humans were killed. Its not OK because they were animals. Its as if they were human beings, people we know. We used to bring them food from our homes.

The film shows Palestinians, who have received little reconstruction aid despite pledges by international donors, camping out amid the ruins of homes, gathered around small fires for heat and light. Moeen Abu Kheysi, 54, gives a tour of the smashed house he had spent his life constructing for his family. He stops when he comes upon his 3-month-old grandson, Wadie. His face lights up in delight.

Months passed and the cold rains of winter gave way to baking heat of spring, Blumenthal says. In Shujaiyya, the Abu Kheysi family was still living in remnants of their home, but without their newest member. Born during the war, little Wadie did not make it through the harsh winter.

He was born during the war and he died during the war, well after the war, a female member of the family explains. He lived in a room without a wall. We covered the wall with tin sheets. We moved, but then we got kicked out. We couldnt make rent. [We] had to come back, cover the wall and live here. Then the baby froze to death. It was very cold.

One day it suddenly became very cold, Wadies mother says. Wadie woke up at 9 in the morning. I started playing with him, gave him a bottle. Suddenly, he was shivering from the cold. I tried to warm him up but it wasnt working.

She begins to weep.

There wasnt even time to get to the hospital, she says. He stopped breathing before they left the house. His heart stopped beating instantly. His father started running in the street with him. He fainted when they yelled, The baby is dead! The babys uncle took over and carried him. He looked everywhere for a taxi but couldnt find one. We couldnt give him first aid ourselves. They finally found a car. They did all they could at the hospital, but he never woke up. He was dead. What can I say? We remember him all the time. I cant get him off my mind. Its as if I lost a piece of my heart. His sisters want to sleep in his cradle and wear his clothes. This one always asks to wear her brothers clothes. We cant forget him.

Grandpa! Wadies small sister cries out. Mama is crying again.
America's Jerusalem Embassy for Mass Murder, Occupation and Wider War

By Finian Cunningham

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - How obscenely ironic. Embassies traditionally symbolize diplomacy and peace. The opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem was occasioned by a grotesque baptism of murder of Palestinians, heralding wider war in the Middle East.

Not only that, but on the very anniversary of one of the most shameful episodes of ethnic cleansing and dispossession over the past century  the 1948 Nakba or Catastrophe for Palestinians  the US government is brazenly siding with the heirs of that historic violence, the Israeli state.

Trump's wholesale abandonment of any shame in endorsing Israeli violations against Arab historic rights is an incitement to regional conflagration.

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It's hard to express the horror. Israeli snipers shooting unarmed Palestinian protesters in Gaza, while some 100 kilometers away in Jerusalem, US dignitaries and evangelical pastors were blessing the opening of Washington's new embassy as 'God's work'.

Terrible massacre: Israel kills 41, injures 1,700 Gaza protesters as US embassy opens in Jerusalem https://t.co/jJMQCyByxd #Nakba70 pic.twitter.com/AZZP89QuYk  RT (@RT_com) May 14, 2018

US President Donald Trump's policy in the Middle East, if you could call it "policy", has descended into absolute lunacy. No wonder, most European states stayed away from the US reception for unveiling its new diplomatic center.

Trump's reckless disregard for Palestinian-Israeli peace is plunging the region into a blood bath. This week's incendiary snub to Palestinians and the wider Arab region followed his tearing up of US obligations to the Iran nuclear accord. That violation of an international treaty has left diplomats from Europe, Russia, China and Iran scrambling to salvage a deal, which if it falls apart will unleash more instability and even war in the Middle East.

When Trump announced in December the moving of his country's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem it was roundly rebuked at the United Nations. The move violates decades of international consensus that Jerusalem should be a shared capital between Palestinians and Israelis pending the outcome of peace negotiations.

Trump said his decision was merely a "reflection of reality". Cynically, it marks US acquiescence to illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory.

To be fair, Washington's decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem was made over 20 years ago in 1995. Presidents Clinton, GW Bush and Obama opted to delay the actual move, claiming that such a move depended on progress in peace talks. Trump has now put into action legislation that was already on the books.

But what his declaration signifies is the jettisoning of any pretense by the US of being an "honest broker" between Israelis and Palestinians. Palestinian leaders now refuse to even engage with US officials, such is their disgust.

Paradoxically, Trump is helping to clarify the situation. The US is openly backing Israeli conquest of Palestinian territory and oppression of Palestinians. Washington is now transparently complicit in criminal Israeli policy rather than hiding behind a facade of mediation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump this week for "making Israel great again". With typical chutzpah, Netanyahu urged other nations to follow suit, absurdly claiming that by relocating their embassies from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem they would facilitate peace.

The perverse logic, as proven already by the US policy, is that any chance of peace between Palestinians and Israelis is being utterly destroyed.

The hellish conditions that Palestinians are subjected to under relentless Israeli occupation are driving them to the desperate act of lining up in their thousands under the fire of Israeli snipers.

Over the past six weeks since Gaza's population began the "Great Return March" some 50 unarmed protesters have been murdered by Israeli live fire. On the day of the US Embassy opening, dozens of more civilians were shot dead, within hours of the Jerusalem ceremony.

Israeli commanders have openly admitted that a shoot-to-kill tactic is being used whereby soldiers are even targeting children who dare to approach a separation barrier on Gaza's eastern border with Israeli-held territory.

The Gaza protests were organized by ordinary Palestinians to highlight their desperate plea against a barbaric occupation and prevention of residents returning to their historic homes, including in Jerusalem. Some 70 per cent of Gaza's population are descended from refugees who were displaced by Israeli settlers in the 1948 pogroms and later in the 1967 War.

Under Israeli siege, which the UN has described as illegal, Gazans are prevented from moving out of the coastal strip. Some two million people  half of whom are under 18 years old  subsist in unlivable conditions. Over 90 per cent of Gaza's water supply is contaminated, electricity is available for only a few hours per day, fisherman are prevented from going beyond a few miles from the shore where human sewage runs directly into the sea.

As American historian Norman Finkelstein points out , Gaza is being tormented by military occupation, an inhuman blockade, massacres conducted with impunity by Israeli military, and children being poisoned. It is this context of genocide in which the recent protests are taking place.

Those protests were organized to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declared foundation on May 14, 1948. The next day, May 15, is what the Palestinians and many supporters around the world prefer to focus on  the Catastrophe.

Trump's decision to open the US Embassy in Jerusalem this week could not be more provocative and criminally insane.

It truly is a shockingly callous display of US support for seven decades of barbaric oppression against Palestinians and the wider Arab region.

Jerusalem is seen as a holy site for Muslims and Christians. Washington's acquiescing to Israel's declaration of the city as "undivided capital" of the Jewish Israeli state is an outrageous blow to hundreds of millions of people from other faiths. As well as a vandalistic swipe at world opinion based on ordinary principles of justice, morality and compassion towards the long-suffering Palestinian people.

Europe bears a heavy responsibility for the plight of Palestinians. After Hamas won the parliamentary elections in 2006, the EU and the US both moved to sanction the new Hamas government owing to its refusal to recognize the state of Israel. The Israeli siege on Gaza has thus been perpetrated with the complicity of the EU and the US, albeit the latter appearing more brazenly complicit under Trump.

European governments may be discomfited by Trump's strident contempt for Palestinian rights and international law. But they have contributed to the present deterioration in the Middle East by pandering towards Washington's policies of sponsoring Israeli occupation, as well as sponsoring reactionary Arab client regimes like Saudi Arabia, and fomenting illegal wars and regime-change operations.

Trump's impetuousness and ignorance  no doubt encouraged by multi-million-dollar donations from rich Jewish Americans like Sheldon Adelson  has set the US on a collision course with the Arab masses from his insolent indifference to their rights. As if that could not be any more combustible, Trump is pushing the same Israeli-Saudi despot agenda of hostility towards Iran, as evinced by the nuclear accord sabotage.

Europe has for too long tied itself to the shipwreck that is US policy in the Middle East. Surely, European governments must realize by now that if explosive violence and conflict is to be avoided in the Middle East, they must abandon the US shipwreck and begin asserting an independent foreign policy.

A genuine peace process advocating for long-neglected Palestinian rights, and repudiating US attempts to collapse the Iran nuclear accord are two immediate matters for the Europeans to claw back some sanity and respect  before it's too late.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.
Switzerland - A Once-in-a-Lifetime Chance to Spreading Positive Banking News to the World

By Peter Koenig

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Its called Vollgeld Initiative  in German, meaning more or less Referendum for Sovereign Money. What is Sovereign Money?  Its money produced only by the Central Bank, by the Sovereign, the government, represented by its central bank. Money created in accordance with the needs of the economy, as contrasted to the profit and greed motives of the banking oligarchy  wat it is today; money creation at will, by private banking.

The people of Switzerland are called to vote on 10 June 2018 whether they want to stop the unlimited, unrestrained money-making by the Swiss private banking system, and to return to the olden days, when money was made and controlled only by the Central Bank; and this not just in Switzerland, but in most countries around the globe. Switzerland is one of the few sovereign countries within the OECD, and possibly worldwide, that has the Right of Referendum written into her Constitution. With 100,000 valid signatures anybody can raise a referendum to amend or abolish a law, or to create a new one.  This is a huge privilege to Right a Wrong.

Most Swiss and probably most westerners in general dont even know that the loan or mortgage they get from their bank is no longer backed by the banks capital and deposits. How could they? Instead of being told the truth, they are being lied to, even by their own party and politicians. And that in the case of Switzerland, by nobody less than the CEO of the UBS, the largest Swiss bank. Just watch this short video (in German and Italian  2 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m5ifQV4aIg .

Lying is a felony, hence Mr. Sergio Ermotti, CEO of UBS, should be prosecuted. Unlikely to happen, though. What Mr. Ermotti in essence says in this interview is that loans are backed by deposits. This is directly contradicted by the Swiss National Bank and the German Bundesbank (Central Bank). They say that today about 90% of all the money is accounting money, created by loans the banks make to enterprises and private citizens. Pretending that banks use deposits to make loans, is not true. The latter part was specifically expressed by the German Bundesbank.  So, how come Mr. Ermotti, CEO of UBS, wouldnt know that?

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Switzerland, fully embedded in the globalized western banking system, absorbed by it, has a chance to tell the world that the only way to control and get on top of the cycle of financial and economic crises is to reign-in the bottom-less money production  the debt-interest-profit driven banking system, a Ponzi scheme that cannot survive (financing debt with more debt); the abhorrent uncontrollable debt-profit cycle that has brought misery to humanity  just look at Greece. With money production controlled by the respective central banks, for example, in France and in Germany, the senseless indebting of Greece by German and French banks would not have been possible, in which case the troikas (ECB, European Commission and IMF) so-called bail-outs, or rescue packages, would not have been possible either. Hence no doubling of Greeces debt  and Greece would be well on her way to recovery.

The point is that these too-big-to-fail banks have become also too big to control, and of course they do not want to be controlled. They have the (political) power to shed off any control. They want to continue creating debt, lending money not for economic development, but for profit of their shareholders. Banking for development has stopped a long time ago. The only banking for development is public banking, and that is almost non-existent  so far  in the west; except for North Dakota and soon New Jersey  and a number of other US States are considering public banking as a means of bringing back the true sense of banking  i.e. for economic development. But with the current FED-Wall Street bulldozers onslaught on the world, they are fighting against windmills  but even windmills are fallible.

By and large, in the west its corporate banking for profit. And thanks to the publics ignorance and disinterest, deregulation took place behind our backs.

Did you know for example, that to become a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a nation has to deregulate its banks  to put them on a platter at disposal of the globalized banking sharks?  Probably you didnt. Such decisions are never publicized.

Again, the Swiss with a Yes vote on 10 June could change this for themselves and send a signal to the rest of the world  suggesting to take back their financial, economic and monetary sovereignty  cutting the link to globalized usury banking that enslaves the poor in favor of the rich. Literally.

Will Switzerland seize this unique opportunity to broadcast this powerful message to the (western) world? Saying in the clearest voice possible  enough is enough, we are going back to regulating our banking system, through new-old legislation and through the only institution that really has the Constitutional power to create money  the Swiss National Bank?

The Swiss, an enormous influence in international banking  good or bad  could become a trail blazer for a new economic model, to demonstrate how ell well an economy can run without following the global trend of unlimited money supply  which serves only the banks by indebting the nations and the people. They could put a halt to the seemingly out-of-control economic rollercoaster that brings only misery to people, unemployment, broken homes and businesses, decimated social safety nets, pensions health plans  they, the Swiss could put an end to it and become an economically and financially independent nation with a healthy economy for the wellbeing of the people  not of the banks.

Will they? Will they grasp this once in a lifetime opportunity to break loose from the banking stranglehold?

The Swiss people are the most indebted of the G20, with 127.5% of private debt as compared to GDP in September 2017. The trend is on the rise. The United States, where deregulation started in the 1990s under President Clinton before it became globalized, was number seven with 78.5% in September 2017.  According to an OECD 2015 report, mortgages account for 120% of GDP, by far the largest proportion of all OECD countries.  Do the Swiss know that?  Some probably do, but the majority most likely does not. Ever-so-often the Swiss National Bank (Central Bank) issues a routine warning about private and particular mortgage debt  as it is an ever-raising risk for highly indebted families. An economic crisis, loss of a job  and a family fails to meet mortgage payments  bingo, foreclosure. The same as in 2008, 2009 and going on.

Well, do you know that in Switzerland first mortgages do not have to be amortized? In fact, banks encourage you not to repay your mortgage, but just keep paying interest. Many mortgages are passed on with the related real estate from generation to generation. So, you never really own your house. The bank does. And the bank earns the money on your house, as well as calls the final shots on what is to happen with your real property, in case it is being sold.

Free money  as it could also be called, is money made indiscriminately without backing. It has many negative effects  the risk factor, as mentioned before  and the bubble effect on the housing market which in turn increases the risk for houseowners, because sooner or later bubbles burst. The only winners are the banks.

Why can the banks just make mortgage loans without requesting amortization?  Because they are afloat with money. Because, of course, they just make money with loans  the 90% which are not central bank made money. And the more loans they have outstanding, the more interest they earn. They earn money for doing absolutely nothing. For a mouse-click. Interest accumulates on its own. And debt is todays foremost tool to enslave people, nations, entire continents.

This is what the Swiss could change by accepting this referendum, by Voting YES to Vollgeld. It would refrain banks from creating money and return the responsibility to the central bank, where it is to be located according to the Swiss Constitution. It would force banks to be more prudent in issuing mortgages and personal debt  it would provide for a more stable economy and for a financially less vulnerable personal life. It would gradually take some air out of the real estate bubble  a healthy feature for any society.

Again, are the Swiss going to vote for what is best for them?  Probably not.  But why not?  Because they are subjected to an enormous anti Sovereign Money campaign by the banking and finance sector, by the built-in lobby. Yes, built-in, because in Switzerland Parliamentarians have the right to represent as many corporations, banking and otherwise, in their Boards of Directors, as they please. Yes  this is another special feature of Switzerland, also unique among OECD countries.  How many Swiss are aware of this?

Is it therefore a surprise that the Swiss are being utterly brainwashed to vote against their own interest?  As they have done so often in the past  and frequently to the utter surprise of neighboring countries.

In addition  and this is where another feature of the Swiss Un-Democracy enters: The Swiss Federal Council, the Swiss Executive, takes for itself the privilege and right  I have no clue from where, it is nowhere written in the Constitution  to issue sort of an edict before every national vote or referendum  advising the people how they should vote. With a public that oozes of comfort, where consistently less than 50% go to the polls, largely because of disinterest, such a proclamation has a huge impact.

In this case, the Swiss Government, its Executive, has already and already for a while repeatedly advised its populace to vote no to the Vollgeld Initiative. And surprisingly every major party goes along with it, including the socialists and other left-leaning parties. Either they are brainwashed to the core by propaganda repeated at nauseam, indoctrinating the people how bad accepting the Vollgeld Initiative would be. How bad can be owning your Sovereign Money?  Can you imagine?  How much lie must go into such fake marketing?

Or could it be that the Swiss are no longer ruled by Bern, nor has the Swiss Central Bank much to say about Swiss monetary policy, but they may be ruled by an international and globalized banking cartel that puts so much pressure on the Swiss government, that it could almost be interpreted as blackmail?  Why otherwise, would intelligent people advise and vote against their own and proper interests?

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My dear Swiss compatriots, this is the chance of your lifetime. Do yourself a favor by voting YES to the Vollgeld Initiative. Not only will you do yourself and the Swiss economy a favor, by bringing the latter back to sovereign control, you would most certainly make world-headlines and, who knows, inspire the peoples of other countries, who are sick and tired of their enslavement by banks, to request that their Central Banks alone can make money  in the amount that corresponds to the needs of their economies  no longer according to the profit-and-greed requirements of the globalized banking oligarchy.

Peter Koenig is an economist and geopolitical analyst. He is also a water resources and environmental specialist. He worked for over 30 years with the World Bank and the World Health Organization around the world in the fields of environment and water. He lectures at universities in the US, Europe and South America. He writes regularly for Global Research; ICH; RT; Sputnik; PressTV; The 21st Century; TeleSUR; The Vineyard of The Saker Blog; and other internet sites. He is the author of Implosion  An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed  fiction based on facts and on 30 years of World Bank experience around the globe. He is also a co-author of The World Order and Revolution!  Essays from the Resistance .

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May 14, 2018 "

Information Clearing House

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The United States has done it again: reneged on a signed agreement. President Donald Trump has drop kicked the Iran Nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA).

The examples of US government chicanery are myriad. In 1972, American president Richard Nixon and his Soviet counterpart Leonid Brezhnev agreed on an Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty that limited strategic defense systems. In December 2001, president George W Bush gave notice of US intent to withdraw from the ABM treaty. When Nixon signed, the USSR was a military superpower. Russia was still economically crippled, recovering from the collapse of the USSR and communism, when Bush opted out. The result was, according to Russia , the development of sophisticated next-gen hypersonic and nuclear weapons.

In 1994, US ambassador Robert Gallucci and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea vice-minister Kang Sok-ju signed the Framework Agreement. That agreement stipulated that the DPRK cease operation and construction of nuclear reactors that were part of a covert nuclear weapons program. In exchange the US would construct two proliferation-resistant nuclear power reactors for the DPRK and supply it with heavy fuel oil pending completion of the reactors. In January 2002, Bush calls the DPRK a part of the axis of evil. In April 2002, Bush stated he would not certify the DPRKs compliance with the Agreed Framework. In November 2002, the US announces a halt to fuel shipments to the DPRK. In December 2002, the DPRK announced it would restart the nuclear facilities and later orders the IAEA inspectors out of the country. In January 2003, the DPRK left the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Today, the DPRK is a nuclear-weapons state with ICBM capability.

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In 2015, Iran reached a deal with the P5+1 group of world powers (the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany) to limit its nuclear program and permit international inspections in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions against the country. Iran has always been found in compliance with the agreement; nevertheless, Trump predictably pulled out of the JCPOA.

It was predictable given the USs longstanding history of treaty breaking, starting with the Indigenous nations who were dispossessed by the European settler-colonists. It was predictable given Trumps fetishism with Israel, whose prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been an unrelenting warmonger against Iran. It is predictable given the team that Trump assembled. For example, Trumps national security advisor John Bolton, an anti-Iran deal hawk, was George W Bushs undersecretary of state for arms control and international security when the Agreed Framework was killed. This outcome was favored by Bolton who wrote , This was the hammer I had been looking for to shatter the Agreed Framework.

The Washington Post speculates that this may mean war. Yes, it may well, and Israel has seized upon Trumps announcement to attack Iranian troops in Syria.

Iran says it will stay in the JCPOA. What about the rest of the P5+1? Surely Russia and China will not take part in a continuance of sanctions against Iran. Europe seems disposed to honor the deal as well. That the US could sanction its NATO and European partners is dubious, and such sanctions wouldnt work. As the US threatened trade war against China revealed, tariffs imposed by one side can also be imposed by the other side.

The Destructiveness of Disinformation and Sanctions

That economic sanctions could debilitate a countrys economy is clear. As such economic sanctions are often considered an act of war.

Ahmad Noroozi, international PR manager for Execution of Imam Khomeinis Order (EIKO), laments the effects of sanctions: The sanctions have had hard impacts on Iranian civilians despite the claims of targeting Irans government. The sanctions lifted under the JCPOA, are coming back into motion again under different pretexts. Every now and then, a new organization in Iran comes under the light to step up pressures on the country.

Noroozi says EIKO is normally under attack even though: The organizations mission is to help the poor families of Iran and doing charity works.

Reuters, however, claims EIKO is a slushfund for the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Noroozi points out that EIKO has always been subject to disinformation campaigns .

Disinformation has been a staple of US imperialism. The are several examples of false flags/disinformation, ranging from the Gulf of Tonkin missile attack; the phantom WMD in Iraq; the alleged Skripal Novichok poisoning affair attributed to Russia, without a shred of evidence presented (and plenty of refutations of the British government claims); and the recent chemical attack in Douma, Syria, staged by the White Helmets. Such disinformation is often used as a casus belli and many people wind up murdered as a result.

That the sanctions would harm the citizenry  even children  is of negligible concern to the US. The then-US ambassador to the United Nations, Madeleine Albright, quipped that the death of half-a-million Iraqi children was a price worth paying to achieve US policy objectives.
Is Putins Strategy Finally Beginning To Work?





By Paul Craig Roberts

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - I have explained Russian President Valdimir Putins Christian practice of turning the other cheek to Western provocations as a strategy to convey to Europe that Russia is reasonable but Washington is not and that Russia is not a threat to European interests and sovereignty but Washington is. By accommodating Israel and withdrawing from the multi-nation Iran nuclear-nonprolifertion agreement, US President Donald Trump might have brought success to Putins strategy.

Washingtons three main European vassal states, Britain, France, and Germany have objected to Trumps unilateral action. Trump is of the opinion that the multi-nation agreement depends only on Washington. If Washington renounces the agreement, that is the end of the agreement. It doesnt matter what the other parties to the agreement want. Consequently, Trump intends to reimpose the previous sanctions against doing business with Iran and to impose additional new sanctions. If Britain, France, and Germany continue with the business contracts that have been made with Iran, Washington will sanction its vassal states as well and prohibit activities of British, French, and German countries in the US. Clearly, Washington thinks that Europes profits in the US exceed what can be made in Iran and will fall in line with Washingtons decision, as the vassal states have done in the past.

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And they might. But this time there is a backlash. Whether it will go beyond strong words to a break with Washington remains to be seen. Trumps neoconservative pro-Israel National Security Advisor John Bolton has ordered European companies to cancel their business deals in Iran. Trumps ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has ordered German companies to immediately wind down their business operations in Iran. The bullying of Europe and blatant US disregard of European interests and sovereignty has made Europes long vassalage suddenly all too apparent and uncomfortable.

Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously a loyal Washington puppet, said that Europe can no longer trust Washington and must take its destiny into its own hands. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/merkel-europe-can-no-longer-rely-on-us-protection/ar-AAx4AwV

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Washingtons leadership had failed and it was time for the EU to take over the leadership role and to replace the United States. Various French, German, and British government ministers have echoed these sentiments.

The cover story of the German news magazine Der Spiegal, Goodbye Europe, has Trump giving Europe the middle finger. https://www.rt.com/news/426550-spiegel-trump-cover-iran/ The magazine declares that it is Time for Europe to Join the Resistance.

Although European politicians have been well paid for their vassalage, they might now be finding it an unworthy and uncomfortable burden.

Whereas I respect the virtue of Putins refusal to reply to provocation with provocation, I have expressed concern that Putins easy acceptance of provocations will encourage more provocations that will increase in intensity until war or Russian surrender become the only options, whereas if the Russian government took a more aggressive position against the provocations, it would bring the danger and cost of the provocations home to the Europeans whose compliance with Washington enables the provocations. Now it seems that perhaps Trump himself has taught that lesson to the Europeans.

Russia has spent several years helping the Syrian Army clear Syria of the terrorists that Washington sent to overthrow the Syrian government. However, despite the Russian/Syrian alliance, Israel continues illegal military attacks on Syria. These attacks could be stopped if Russia would provide Syria with the S-300 air defense system.

Israel and the US do not want Russia to sell the S-300 air defense system to Syria, because Israel wants to continue to attack Syria and the US wants Syria to continue to be attacked. Otherwise, Washington would call Israel off.

Several years ago before Washington sent its Islamist proxy troops to attack Syria, Russia agreed to sell Syria an advanced air defense system, but gave in to Washington and Israel and did not deliver the system. Now again in the wake of Netanyahus visit to Russia we hear from Putins aide Vladimir Kozhim that Russia is continuing to withhold modern air defenses from Syria.

Perhaps Putin believes he has to do this in order not to give Washington an issue that could be used to pull Europe back in line with Washingtons policy of aggression. Nevertheless, for those who do not see it this way, it makes Russia again look weak and unwilling to defend an ally.

If Putin believes that he will have any influence on Netanyahu in terms of selling peace agreements with Syria and Iran, the Russian government has no understanding of Israels intent or Washingtons 17 years of war in the Middle East.

I hope Putins strategy works. If it doesnt, he will have to change his stance toward provocations or they will lead to war.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order .

- See Also-

Independent Syrian Observatory for Human Rights receives nearly 200k from UK  Peter Hitchens

Russia Backs off Syria S-300 Missile Supplies After Netanyahu Visits Top Putin aide: No talk of delivering S-300 air defense system to Syria
Will Congress Authorize Indefinite Detention of Americans?

By Marjorie Cohn

May 14, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Under the guise of exercising supervisory power over the presidents ability to use military force, Congress is considering writing Donald Trump a blank check to indefinitely detain US citizens with no criminal charges. Alarmingly, this legislation could permit the president to lock up Americans who dissent against US military policy.

The bill that risks conveying this power to the president is the broad new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), S.J.Res.59 , that is pending in Congress. Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and Democratic committee member Tim Kaine (Virginia) introduced the bipartisan bill on April 16, and it has four additional co-sponsors.

This proposed 2018 AUMF would replace the 2001 AUMF that Congress gave George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks. Although the 2001 AUMF authorized the president to use all necessary and appropriate force only against individuals and groups responsible for the 9/11 attacks, three presidents have relied on it to justify at least 37 military operations in 14 countries, many of them unrelated to 9/11.

But the 2018 AUMF would codify presidential power to make war whenever and wherever he chooses.

S.J.Res.59 allows the president to use all necessary and appropriate force against Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia, al-Qaeda, ISIS (also known as Daesh), the Taliban and their associated forces anywhere in the world, without limitation.

Associated forces is defined as any organization, person, or force, other than a sovereign nation, that the President determines has entered the fight alongside and is a co-belligerent with al Qaeda, the Taliban, or ISIS, in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.

However, the bill contains no definition of co-belligerent. A president may conceivably claim that a US citizen who writes, speaks out or demonstrates against US military action is a co-belligerent and lock him or her up indefinitely without charge.

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Under the new AUMF, the president could tell Congress he wants to use force against additional countries or associated forces that are not listed in the bill. It would put the burden on Congress to say no by a two-thirds vote, a virtually impossible margin to achieve in the current political climate.

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights  a treaty the United States has ratified, making it part of US law under the Constitutions Supremacy Clause  forbids arbitrary detention without charge.

Supreme Court Hasnt Sanctioned Indefinite Detention for US Citizens

Nevertheless, in the 2004 case of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court upheld the enemy combatant designation of US citizen Yaser Hamdi, who had been apprehended in Afghanistan in 2001. But the Court limited its holding to people fighting against US forces in Afghanistan, and did not include the broader war on terrorism.

The Court also stated that US citizens held as enemy combatants must be provided due process to contest the factual basis for their detention before a neutral decision maker.

Justice Sandra Day OConnor wrote for the Courts plurality, We have long since made clear that a state of war is not a blank check for the President when it comes to the rights of the Nations citizens, adding, even the war power does not remove constitutional limitations safeguarding essential liberties.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether a US citizen who is apprehended in the United States can be detained indefinitely. It declined to decide the case of Jose Padilla, who was arrested at Chicagos OHare International Airport in 2002 and held in military custody as an enemy combatant by the Bush administration, relying on the 2001 AUMF. The Court ruled that Padillas habeas corpus petition was mistakenly filed in New York instead of South Carolina.

Criminal charges were eventually brought against Padilla in 2005. He had been held in isolation for more than three years and tortured while in custody.

Padilla was tried and convicted in 2007 of conspiracy charges and providing material support to terrorism, and sentenced to 17 years imprisonment. In 2014, his sentence was increased to 21 years. Meanwhile, the Fourth Circuit and the Second Circuit US Courts of Appeal came to opposite conclusions about whether an American citizen apprehended on US soil could be held indefinitely as an enemy combatant.

John Doe is another American citizen detained by the US government. In September 2017, the US-Saudi citizen was named an enemy combatant for allegedly fighting for ISIS and has been held in military custody in Iraq ever since. Although the 2001 AUMF never mentioned ISIS, the government used it as a basis to detain Doe. In April, the Department of Defense attempted to transfer Doe to Saudi Arabia and avoid a judicial ruling in the case, but a federal judge in Doe v. Mattis blocked the move.

It is not clear how passage of the proposed 2018 AUMF would affect Does case.

Does Defense Authorization Act Permit Indefinite Detention?

There is a 1971 US statute that says, No citizen shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress. An AUMF is an Act of Congress.

Another Act of Congress is the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 (NDAA). Relying on the 2001 AUMF, the 2012 NDAA purported to codify the presidents authority to hold US citizens in military custody indefinitely.

Section 1021 of the NDAA says, Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.

When he signed the NDAA, Barack Obama declared in a signing statement that section 1021 does not limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force, pledging that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens.

Obamas statement implied that while a president does have the power to indefinitely detain Americans, he chose not to exercise that power.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) supported the NDAA, stating that it would basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield, adding that people could be held without charge by the military, American citizen or not.

Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, Chris Hedges and other journalists and human rights activists sued the US government, claiming the 2012 NDAA would have a chilling effect on their freedom of speech because they could be arrested. A federal district court judge found section 1021(b)(2) unconstitutional and issued a permanent injunction prohibiting the government from relying on it.

But the Second Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the injunction in 2013, stating that section 1021 of the NDAA has no bearing on the governments authority to detain American citizen plaintiffs because Section 1021 simply says nothing about the governments authority to detain citizens.

The 2018 AUMF Might Be Used to Indefinitely Detain Americans

Nothing in the 2018 AUMF would prevent the president from adding an American organization or individual to the list set forth in the bill, according to Christopher Anders of the ACLU.

The 2018 AUMF has no expiration date. Every four years, the president would be required to give Congress a proposal to repeal, modify or maintain the authorization. Once again, it puts the onus on Congress, by a two-thirds majority, to take contrary action.

S.J.Res.59 may not make it to the floor of the Senate and/or the House. Congress has thus far resisted enacting a new AUMF that could be seen in any way to limit the presidents military authority.

Ironically, however, the enactment of this new 2018 AUMF could both enshrine the presidents unlimited power to wage war and also provide the president with a basis for indefinitely detaining US citizens in military custody without criminal charges.

If this bill were to pass, it would imperil our right to speak out and challenge whatever military adventures the president decides to undertake.

Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law where she taught from 1991-2016, and a former president of the National Lawyers Guild. She lectures, writes, and provides commentary for local, regional, national and international media outlets. Visit her website: MarjorieCohn.com . Follow her on Twitter: @MarjorieCohn.

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White House Removes Jared Kushner's comments that Gaza protesters are 'part of the problem'

Jared Kushner hit out at the Palestinian protesters during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem

Specifically touched on the protests occurring Monday, in which 52 were killed and 2,400 were injured

Kushner went on to say that 'those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution'

But his remarks were omitted when the White House released a transcript of his speech on Monday afternoon

Israeli snipers have killed scores of protesters near the Gaza border with more than two thousand injured

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - As more than 50 Palestinian protesters were shot and killed by Israel security forces on Monday, Jared Kushner declared them 'part of the problem'.

Kushner was speaking at the official opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem when he hit out at thousands of protesters, who were injured on what was the single deadliest day in the Israeli -Palestinian conflict since 2014.

'As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution,' Donald Trump's son-in-law told the crowd as his wife Ivanka looked on.

But Kushner's remarks went briefly under the radar as the White House omitted the line from his remarks in the official transcript.

Kushner hit out at the Palestinians who were protesting the official opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem on Monday and called them 'part of the problem' - but his remarks were left off the official White House transcript

A side-by-side comparison of Kushner's speech (left) and the White House transcript (right), first tweeted by Ayman Mohyeldin, shows that Kushner's remarks about the protesters was omitted from the official transcript

A side-by-side comparison of Kushner's speech and the White House transcript, first tweeted by Ayman Mohyeldin, shows that Kushner's remarks about the protesters had completely disappeared.



The White House transcript included Kushner's preceding comments, in which he said Monday's 'celebration' of the embassy 'do not reflect the departure from our strong commitment to a lasting peace'.



But the transcript completely scrapped Kushner's comment about the protesters and instead jumped to his claim that the United States 'is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way we can'.



'We believe that it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give so that all people can live in peace, safe from danger, free from fear, and able to pursue their dreams,' he added.



Israeli snipers have killed scores of Palestinians and wounded thousands more as 35,000 protesters rallied against the US Embassy opening overseen by Kushner and Ivanka on Monday.



A 14-year-old was among 52 shot dead along the Gaza border on what is already the deadliest single day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 war between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.

At least 2,400 more have been injured with hundreds of them by live bullets, according to Gaza officials.

The Palestinian government has accused Israel of committing a 'terrible massacre' and Amnesty International called the bloodshed an 'abhorrent violation' of human rights.

But Kushner's controversial remarks were in line with the White House, as Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah blamed Hamas for the violence in Israel on Monday.

Shah said he did not believe that the violence would undermine the United States' positioning on a peace agreement and went so far as to call the deaths a 'propaganda attempt' by Hamas and Palestine.

'The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response,' he asserted.

Shah also demanded that Hamas stop its 'cynical exploitation of the situation' that has led to the deaths.

The president's spokesman said that embassy opening is 'about following through on what the President promised and believes'.

'I think we've. for decades you know, walked on eggshells, pretending that Jerusalem isn't the capital of Israel when it obviously is. And this is just a recognition of reality,' he said.

Shah added that the 'peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time, and it can be evaluated on its merits. 'We don't think it will impact the peace plan,' he said of the deaths in Gaza. Trump tossed aside decades of precedent when he recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December - a decision that sparked global outcry, Palestinian anger, and exuberant praise from Israelis. On Monday Russia said it feared that the embassy opening would increase tension in the Middle East, while Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan warned that the US had forfeited its role as a mediator in the region and was now 'part of the problem rather than the solution'. As deadly clashes continued, Trump said in a video address aired at the opening that the embassy has been a 'long time coming' and that the US had 'failed to acknowledge the obvious' for many years. Trump also said his 'greatest hope' is for peace and that he 'remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement'.



he UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the international community must bring those responsible to justice.

'Shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in #Gaza must stop now,' Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein wrote in a message carried on the UN Human Rights Twitter account.

'The right to life must be respected. Those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account. The int'l community needs to ensure justice for victims.'

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Trump for making 'history' on Monday.

This article was originally published by " Daily Mail " -

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US 'blocks UN motion' calling for investigation into Israeli killing of Gaza protesters:

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Can Michael Hayden Be This Blinded By Hate?





Ex-NSA chief says Americans have been conned by Russia and Trump and should look to intel community for salvation.



By Peter Van Buren

May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Former NSA and CIA head Michael Haydens new book The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies wants to be the manifesto behind an intelligence community coup. It ends up reading like outtakes from Dr. Strangelove .

Trump cannot discern truth from falsehood, Hayden says, and is the product of too much fact-free thinking, especially on social media (computational propaganda where people can publish without credentials) where lies are deployed by the Russians to destroy the United States. Instead Hayden calls for artificial intelligence and a media truth-rating system to purify our discourse and help defend it against inauthentic stimulation.

Hayden believes in the fragility of civilization as clearly as he believes there is a FOX/Trump/RT alliance in place to exploit it. Under Trump, post-truth is pre-fascism, and to abandon facts is to abandon freedom. Hayden claims Trump has a glandular aversion to even thinking about how Russia has been actively seeking to damage the fabric of American democracy.

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Salvation, it would seem, depends on the intelligence community. Hayden makes clear, ominously quoting conversations with anonymous IC officers, that no one else is protecting America from these online threats to our precious bodily fluids . He warns that the structures we rely on to prevent civil war and societal collapse are under stress. The IC on the other hand pursues Enlightenment values [and] is essential not just to American safety but to American liberty.

Hayden recalls how he reminded a lad fresh to the IC to protect yourself. And above all protect the institution. American still needs it. He has a bit of advice about the CIA: We are accustomed to relying on their truth to protect us from foreign enemies. Now we may need their truth to save us from ourselves. The relationship between Trump and the IC, Hayden threatens, is contentious, divisive, and unpredictable in these uncharted waters for the Republic.

Simply put, Haydens book is blowing 10 dog whistles at once. Arise ye patriots of Langley and Fort Meade!

Yet for all his emphasis on truth, Hayden is curiously lax in presenting actual evidence of the apocalypse. You are left to believe because Hayden says you must: paternalism at its best. Plus, to disbelieve is to side with Putin. The best we get are executive summary-like statements along the lines of There is clear evidence of what I would call convergence, the convergence of a mutually reinforcing swirl of Presidential tweets and statements, Russian influenced social media, alt right websites and talk radio, Russian white press like RT and even mainstream U.S. media like Fox News.

With that established, Hayden informs us that when the IC tried to warn Trump of the Russian plot, he rejected a fact-based intel assessmentbecause it was inconsistent with a preexisting world view or because it was politically inconvenient, the stuff of ideological authoritarianism not pragmatic democracy. Comrade, er, Candidate Trump, says Hayden matter-of-factly, did sound a lot like Vladimir Putin. The two men, he declaims, are Russian soulmates.

Hayden figures that if youve read this far into his polemic, he might as well just splurge the rest of his notes on you. Trump is uninformed, lazy, dishonest, off the charts, rejects the premise objective reality even existed. Hes fueled by Russian money (no evidence of this is presented in the book, Hayden says, because its hidden in the tax returns, as if Line 42 on Trumps 1040 would read Putin Black Funds $5 mil, and the IRS, which does have the returns, overlooked that). Trump is an unwitting agent of Putin, which Hayden tells us in Russian is polezni durak , so you can see he knows his Cold War lingo. We hear how Wikileaks worked with the Russkies, how Trump Jr. worked with the Russkies, how the Russkies wormed their way into Tower so they could see the Big Board, how the whole brouhaha over #TakeAKnee was Russian meddling, and how Jill Stein existed to bleed off votes from Clintonevery Mueller fan-fiction trope tumbling from the pages like crumbs left over from an earlier reader.

Thats why The Assault on Intelligence: American National Security in an Age of Lies reads like as a polemic. But it also fails as a book.

There are pages of filler, jumbled blog post-like chapters about substate actors and global tectonics. Hayden writes in a recognizable style that might be called Bad Military, where everything must eventually be tied to some Big Idea, preferably with classical references Googled-up to add gravitas.

So it is not enough for Hayden to state Trump is a liar. He has to blame Trump for usurping the entire body of Western thought: We are in a post-truth world, a world in which decisions are far more based upon emotion and preference. And thats an overturning of the Western way of thought since the Enlightenment. Bad things are Hobbesian; good things Jeffersonian, Madisonian, or Hamiltonian. People Hayden agrees with get adjectival modifiers before their names: the perceptive scholar ____, the iconic journalist ____, the legendary case officer ____. It makes for tiresome reading, like its Sunday night edging 4 a.m. and you still have nine undergrad papers on the causes of the Civil War to grade.

Hayden is openly contemptuous of the American people, seeing them as brutes who need to be led around, either by the Russians, as he sees it now, or by the IC, as he wishes it to be. Proof of how dumb we are? Hayden cites a poll showing 83 percent of Republicans and 27 percent of Democrats dont believe the IC analysis that Russia meddled in the 2016 election when they damn well should. Further proof? Russian bots at work on Twitter influencing conservative minds by using the hashtags #God and #Benghazi.

In our odd times, Hayden is a Hero of the Resistance. Seemingly forgotten is that, as head of the NSA, he implemented blanket surveillance of American citizens in a rape of the Fourth Amendment, itself a product of the Enlightenment, justifying his unconstitutional actions with a mishmash of post-truth platitudes and still-secret legal findings. Hayden also supported torture during the War on Terror, but whatever.

This book-length swipe right for the IC leaves out the slam dunk work those agencies did on Iraqs weapons of mass destruction. Any concern about political motives inside the IC is swept away as baseless. Gina Haspel , who oversaw the torture program, is an inspired choice to head CIA. Hayden writes for the rubes, proclaiming that the IC produces facts when in reality even good intel can only be assessments and ambiguous conclusions.

That people so readily overlook Haydens sins simply because he rolls off snark against Trump speaks to our naivete. That men like Hayden retain their security clearances while serving as authors and paid commentators to outlets like CNN speaks to how deep the roots of the Deep State reach. That some troubled Jack D. Ripper squirreled inside the IC might take this pablum seriously is frightening.

Peter Van Buren, a 24-year State Department veteran, is the author of We Meant Well : How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People and Hoopers War : A Novel of WWII Japan. Follow him on Twitter @WeMeantWell .

The American Conservative

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U.S. Media Whitewashes Gaza Massacre



As Israel killed more than 50 Palestinians in cold blood protesting the American embassy move on Monday, U.S. corporate media failed to accurately report what happened in Gaza, once again meekly protecting the government line, argues Joe Lauria.



By Joe Lauria

May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - T ypical of the mindset of corporate media reporting on what happened in Gaza on Monday as Israeli soldiers killed more than 50 protesting Palestinians, is this tweet from CNN. It says: Death toll rises to at least 52 people during clashes along the border fence between Israel and Gaza, Palestinian officials say. More than 2,400 people have been injured. CNNs new slogan is #FactsFirst.

Adam Johnson, who writes for the media watchdog Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, responded to CNN with a tweet of his own:

 This ones got it all:

death toll rises  no one was killed and no one specific party did the killing, the death toll just mysteriously rises

clashes  launders all power asymmetry

2,400 people have been injured  all 2,400 are Palestinian but lets go with people.

Craig Murray, a former British ambassador to Uzbekistan, said on his blog that he did a Google News search for the word massacre and found not one reference to Gaza.

A New York Times headline on Monday said: Dozens of Palestinians have died in protests as the U.S. prepares to open its Jerusalem Embassy. Journalist Glenn Greenwald responded: Most western media outlets have become quite skilled  through years of practice  at writing headlines and describing Israeli massacres using the passive tense so as to hide the culprit. But the all-time champion has long been, and remains, the New York Times. #HaveDied .

[Perhaps because of pressure from Greenwald and others, the Times on Monday night changed its headline to Israel Kills Dozens at Gaza Border as U.S. Embassy Opens in Jerusalem.]

Yet another CNN headline simply read: Dozens die in Gaza. Journalist Max Blumenthal responded: Maybe they were old. Perhaps they were very sick. They just up and died! Who will solve the mystery behind these deaths?

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Blumenthal later offered a possible solution to the mystery: According to the White House, Khhamas launched 41 protesters into unsuspecting Israeli bullets.

Projecting

Deflecting blame from Israel is one thing. But projecting it onto the victim is quite another. Israels UN Ambassador Danny Danon on Monday called for the U.N. Security Council to, Condemn Hamas for their war crimes, because every casualty on the border is a direct victim of Hamas.

He said in a statement released by Israels U.N. mission:

Condemn Hamas for the war crimes they commit. Not only does Hamas incite tens of thousands of Palestinians to breach the border and hurt Israeli civilians, but Hamas also deliberately endangers Palestinian civilians. The murder of Israeli civilians or deaths of the people of Gaza  each one of them is a desirable outcome for Hamas. Every casualty on the border is a victim of Hamas war crimes, every death is a result of Hamas terror activity, and these casualties are solely Hamas responsibility.

Thats one way to wash the Israeli governments (blood-soaked) hands of the matter. Especially if you fear Israel will be accused of war crimes itself for its actions on Monday. Danon mentioned breaching the border. But it is virtually impossible to get in or out of Gaza without Israeli permission. Burning kites lofted over the barrier that pens in nearly two million Gazans subject to an internationally unrecognized economic blockade, supposedly constitutes breaching, in Danons mind.

He would do well to consider the words of Moshe Dayan, one of the Israels Founding Fathers, who said in 1956:

What cause have we to complain about their fierce hatred to us? For eight years now, they sit in their refugee camps in Gaza, and before their eyes we turn into our homestead the land and villages in which they and their forefathers have lived. He went on: We are a generation of settlers, and without the steel helmet and gun barrel, we shall not be able to plant a tree or build a house. . . . Let us not be afraid to see the hatred that accompanies and consumes the lives of hundreds of thousands of Arabs who sit all around us and wait for the moment when their hands will be able to reach our blood.

So on the day, 61 years later, when the United States declared Jerusalem/Al Quds as the capital of Israel by moving its embassy there, rather than leaving its status to negotiation, people still trapped in Gaza protested at the gate fencing them in while Israeli military snipers picked off more than 50 of them and wounded thousands more for protesting their entrapment.

U.S. Parrots Israel, Media Parrots U.S.

Danons position was callously promoted by the White House on Monday. Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah was asked several times to condemn Israels military response. We believe Hamas is responsible for these tragic deaths, he said. Their rather cynical exploitation of the situation is whats leading to these deaths and we want it stopped. He later blamed Hamas for a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt.

Unsurprisingly, Congress also lined up behind the Jewish State, mostly ignoring what went on in Gaza.

At the ceremony opening the embassy, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, called Monday a monumental day in United States-Israel relations. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who was among four senators and 10 members of the House of Representatives present, incredulously said moving the embassy furthers the chances of peace in the Middle East by demonstrating that Americas support for Israel is unconditional and will not be bullied by global media opinion.

Back in Washington, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, proclaimed: Every nation should have the right to choose its capital. I sponsored legislation to do this two decades ago, and I applaud President Trump for doing it.

Ajamu Baraka, the Green Party vice presidential candidate in 2016, tweeted:  Where are the democrats condemning the slaughter in Gaza? If this was Assad they would be joining the republicans calling for military action pretending like they cared for Arab life.

Handful of Democrats Speak Out

Bernie Sanders of Vermont mildly criticized Israels murderous response.  Hamas violence does not justify Israel firing on unarmed protesters, he said. The United States must play an aggressive role in bringing Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and the international community together to address Gazas humanitarian crisis and stop this escalating violence.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, was more critical: Its just heartbreaking. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is desperate. Instead of cutting aid, the Trump administration must restore our leadership role and do what it can to alleviate the Palestinians suffering. The location of the embassy is a final-status issue that should have been resolved as part of peace negotiations where both sides benefit, not just one side. Israel will only know true security when it is at peace with its neighbors.

Representative Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, tweeted: Todays @USEmbassyIsrael opening in Jerusalem & killing of dozens of Gaza protesters advances @netanyahu agenda of occupation & oppression of Palestinians. @realDonaldTrump policies are fueling conflict, abandoning diplomatic efforts to achieve peace.

Pressure to support Israel on The Hill is infamously intense. But what is the medias excuse for being afraid to simply report facts, such as that Israeli soldiers killed Palestinians on Monday. They didnt just simply die.

Just because U.S. government figures are apologists for Israel, does not mean the media must be too. But that would require the U.S. having an independent mainstream media.

When control of powerful mainstream communications breeds self-aggrandizement and adherence to a line pushed for so long because it got you where you are in the pecking order of media culture, it seems virtually impossible to shift gears and take another look at what you are reporting.

Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News and a former correspondent for The Wall Street Journal, Boston Globe, Sunday Times of London and numerous other newspapers. He can be reached at joelauria@consortiumnews.com and followed on Twitter @unjoe .

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Norman Finkelstein on Israels Murderous Assault on Nonviolent Protesters in Gaza Watch - Real News - Broadcast Gazas non-violent protest, "The Great March of Return" threatens not Israel, but its occupation. Posted May 15, 2018 Finkelstein: Wheres the Solidarity for Gaza? (2/3) In part two, Norman Finkelstein says that while Palestinian protesters in Gaza have bravely resisted their ghettoization under merciless Israeli fire, international solidarity is falling short Will Gaza March End in Israels Worst Killings Yet? (3/3) Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter ===== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. We ask that you treat others with respect. Take a moment to read the following - Comment Policy - What Or Who is Information Clearing House and Purpose and Intent of this website: It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section.
Which Countries Attended Opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem

By Al Jazeera

Correction: 15/05/2018: An earlier version of this article stated that diplomats from Nigeria, Thailand and Vietnam attended the inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. This was incorrect, as is now reflected below.



May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Thirty-two countries attend US ceremony to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem, says Israel's foreign ministry.

The United States has formally opened its embassy in Jerusalem amid deadly protests in the Gaza Strip.

The move on Monday followed a December 2017 decision by US President Donald Trump to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and relocate the US mission there from Tel Aviv.

Trump's controversial declaration was widely condemned by the international community, with the United Nations General Assembly rejecting by a huge majority the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

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Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would pre-judge any such deal.

Israel's foreign ministry said all 86 countries with diplomatic missions in Israel were invited to the embassy opening, and 33 confirmed attendance. However, the Nigerian and Thai representatives did not attend.

Here is a breakdown of the countries that attended the ceremony: Albania Angola Austria Cameroon Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo Ivory Coast Czech Republic Dominican Republic El Salvador Ethiopia Georgia Guatemala Honduras Hungary Kenya Myanmar Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Romania Rwanda Serbia South Sudan Tanzania Ukraine Zambia SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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Was There Ever an Iranian Nuclear Weapons Program?





A review of the evidence points to Israeli and MEK disinformation, not an open-and-shut case.



By Gareth Porter

May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Donald Trumps decision to pull out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which has set the stage for another Iran crisis, has opened a new round of domestic political struggle, as Democrats in Congress, the anti-Trump television networks, and the tattered remains of the old anti-war movement try to push back.

But that effort has a fatal weakness at its core. It concedes to Trump and opponents of the Iran deal an effective argument: that the Iranians have been lying when they say theyve never had a covert nuclear weapons program. The theme of Irans duplicity has been the emotional core of the assault on the JCPOA. It is no accident that the title and consistent theme of Benjamin Netanyahus melodramatic YouTube slideshow was Iran lied.

As I detail in my investigative history of the Iran nuclear issue, the Obama administration itself fell for a false narrative about a secret Iranian nuclear weapons program allegedly in operation from 2001 to 2003. After Netanyahus April 30 show, former secretary of state John Kerry tweeted: Every detail PM Netanyahu presented yesterday was every reason the world came together to apply years of sanctions and negotiate the Iran nuclear agreementbecause the threat was real and had to be stopped.

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But a far more effective counter would have been the truththat the long-accepted accusation about Irans covert nuclear weapons program is the product of an elaborate disinformation operation based on documents forged by Mossad, Israels foreign intelligence agency.

In mid-2004, the CIA acquired a massive set of documents that were said to have come from a secret Iranian nuclear weapons research program. Bush administration officials leaked a sensational story to selected news outlets about the intelligence find, describing to the New York Times what that newspaper described as Iranian drawings trying to develop a compact warhead to fit atop its Shahab missile. The same story of Iran mating a nuclear weapon to its longer-range ballistic missile was given to the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal .

But both the real provenance of the apparently incriminating documents and specific details about the documents themselves indicate that they are fraudulent. A major clue about the papers true origins was made public in November 2004, when Karsten Voigt, the coordinator for German-North American cooperation in the German Foreign Office, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal warning that the documents had been provided by an Iranian dissident group, and that the United States and Europe shouldnt let their Iran policy be influenced by single-source headlines.

Voigt was clearly suggesting that the mysterious documents had come from the Iranian regime-hating MEK (Mujahideen-e-Khalq)not from someone in the purported Iranian arms program. But no one in the corporate media universe followed up with Voigt, and it was not until 2013, three years after hed retired from the Foreign Office, that he agreed to give this writer the story behind his warning.

Voigt recalled how senior officials of the Bundesnachtrichtendienst, or BND, the German foreign intelligence agency, had told him just days before the Wall Street Journal interview that they were upset Secretary of State Colin Powell had referred publicly to evidence that Iran had tried to design a new missile to carry a nuclear weapon. Voigt explained that the documents to which Powell was alluding had been turned over to the BND by an Iranian who had been a sometime sourcebut not a BND spy, contrary to later accounts in the Wall Street Journal and Der Spiegel .

In fact, he said, the BND did not regard the source as trustworthy, because they knew he was a member of the MEK, the exiled armed Iranian opposition group. The MEK is listed by the State Department as a terrorist organization because of its assassination of U.S. officers during the Shahs regime and its bombings of public events after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. The MEK also carried out special operations for Saddam Husseins regime in Iraq against domestic opposition during the Iran-Iraq war, and after that had been used by Israels Mossad to launder information that it wanted to make public but didnt want attributed to Israel, according to two Israeli journalists . The MEK had pinpointed the location of Irans Natanz enrichment facility in August 2002. But it had gotten the satellite intelligence from Mossad, as Seymour Hersh reported in his 2005 book Chain of Command .

Two years before Voigts conversation with BND officials, then-BND director August Hanning personally warned CIA director George Tenet to be cautious about using the testimony of the infamous Iraq Curveball source regarding Iraqi bioweapons because it could not be independently confirmed. Other BND analysts said that Curveball was unreliable. Powell had nevertheless used the information in his infamous United Nations speech justifying the coming invasion of Iraq in March 2003.

Two years later, BND officials were afraid history was about to be repeated in Iran. Germany had just joined France and Britain in reaching an accord with Tehran, which was aimed at averting a U.S. move to take the Iran file out of the IAEA and create a new crisis at the UN Security Council over the issue of the nuclear program.

But it wasnt just the provenance of the MEK documents that was suspect. Their authenticity was never clearly established by the CIA, which could not rule out the possibility of falsification, according to the Washington Post . Mohamed ElBaradei, then director-general of the IAEA, was put under heavy political pressure by a U.S.-led coalition to publish a report endorsing those documents as evidence against Iran. But Elbaradei responded to the pressure by declaring in an October 2009 interview, The IAEA is not making any judgment at all whether Iran even had weaponization studies before because there is a major question of authenticity of the documents.

Benjamin Netanyahu gave the public its first view of the documents on which the Bush administration had heavily relied to sway Elbaradei, showing in his slideshow a surprisingly crude schematic drawing of a Shahab-3 missile reentry vehicle with a circle representing a nuclear weapon. What is important to note about that image is that the shape of the reentry vehicle is the dunce cap shape of the original missile that Iran had acquired from North Korea in the mid-1990s. As early as 2000, the CIAs national intelligence officer on Iranian missiles testified that Iran had already begun redesigning the Shahab-3 missile for better performance. But the outside world was in the dark about what the redesign would look like until the new missile was given its first test flight in August 2004. That test revealed that the redesigned reentry vehicle had a tri-conic or baby bottle shape.

However, the 36-page document of which the image shown by Netanyahu was a part, called Implementation of Mass Properties of Shahab-3 Missile Warhead with New Payload, was dated March-April 2003long after the redesign of the reentry vehicle had taken placeas the IAEAs May 2008 report shows on page two of its annex. The inescapable conclusion is that the authors of those drawings were not working for a project of the Iranian Defense Ministry but for a foreign intelligence agency, which guessed wrongly that the shape of Irans missile would not change fundamentally.

Lastly,* we have Project 5, another alleged project listed in the Iranian weapons program documents, supposedly involving uranium ore mining and conversion of uranium ore for enrichment. One of the sub-projects, designated Project 5.15, was for ore concentration. But when the IAEA accessed the original documents from Iran in response to its questions, it found that the contract for a Project 5.15 for ore concentration had been signed not by a secret nuclear weapons project but by the civilian Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, which was in fact responsible for all activities relating to Iranian uranium ore mines. Furthermore, the IAEA found that the project document had been signed in August 1999two years before the start date of the alleged secret nuclear weapons research project. When this writer confronted former IAEA Deputy Director Olli Heinonen about the contradiction, he admitted that he could not explain it.

The Israeli role in the creation of evidence of Irans nuclear weapons ambitions didnt end with the papers delivered by the MEK. In 2008-09, Israel turned over more alleged Iranian documents to the IAEA, including a report on experiments with multi-point initiation of a nuclear explosion, which Netanyahu emphasized in his recent YouTube presentation. The IAEA and the U.S.-led coalition of states that dominated it of course refused to identify the member state that had provided those documents, but ElBaradei revealed in his memoirs that the state was indeed Israel.

The historical impact of the Israelis getting U.S. national security, political, and media elites to accept that these fabrications represented genuine evidence of Irans nuclear duplicity can hardly be understated. It has unquestionably been one of historys most successfuland longest runningdisinformation campaigns. But it worked without a hitch, because of the readiness of those elites to believe without question anything that was consistent with their perceived interests in continued enmity toward Iran.

* Editors Note 5/14: The story was republished with additional information by the author.
Home Search ICH The United States Is a Country That Tortures People



We will do it again if you scare us enough.



By Charles P. Pierce May 15, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The children of the Senate Intelligence Committee certainly were treated to some ripping yarns on Wednesday, when Gina Haspel came to tell them the scary bedtime stories that qualify her to run the CIA. We had shadow warriors, and far-flung outposts, brush passes, dead drops, and dusty alleys, and dark moonless nights. If the hearing had gone on 10 minutes longer, John le Carres attorneys might have dropped in with an intellectual property action. Then, of course, they all went into executive session, where they could all talk about the really cool, really super-secret spy stuff that the rest of us cant know about, but are obligated to pay for. And, ultimately, there was one basic message to come out of this hearing to the world. The United States is a country that tortures people. It is also a country that arranges for other countries to torture people. We did in back in the Bush administration and well do it again, if you scare us deeply enough and there are enough hack lawyers in the Department of Justice and the White House Counsels office to draft memos to cover our asses. The United States is a country that tortures people, and well do it again, under the right circumstances. Wed just rather it not make the papers, is all. Are You Tired Of The Lies And Non-Stop Propaganda? Get Your FREE Daily Newsletter Haspel, it is said by the very serious people who think serious thoughts on television, did very well. She pledged that the CIA would never go back to torturing people again, a worthless promise under any president, but particularly under this one. Who is going to stop them next time? The same people who failed to stop them the last time? It is to laugh. The statement was also stunningly beside the point. The question was about torture that weve already inflicted, and that she was intimately involved in. She made sure we all knew the Khalid Sheikh Muhammad was a very bad man who killed a Wall Street Journal reporter who was an American. (Curiously, she never mentioned Daniel Pearls name.) KSM came up every time the questions about torture came too close to being about actual torture, the subtext being, of course, that there are people who deserve to be tortured, even though we dont torture anyone anymore, and we never will, and we can depend on Gina Haspel and Donald Trump for that. Im convinced. The problem with torture is not that it is inefficient, though it is. The problem with torture is that it is a violation of moral and ethical codes to which this country abided literally since its founding. (George Washington didnt forbid the torture of British captives because torture doesnt work. He did so because it was wrong.) This simple formulation got lost in all the spy novel underbrush, and Haspels endless repetition of how it was bad, and well never do it again, but, while were on the subject, let me tell you how bad the people we tortured really were, and how many lives we saved by waterboarding someone over 100 times. That was the basic pitch and yaw of the whole morning. Her presentation was logically absurd and morally preposterous, but people listened and nodded along as though what she was saying made perfect sense. But it didnt, as this exchange with Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, made clear. REED: If one of your operatives was captured, and subjected to waterboarding, would you consider that to be moral since, perhaps, the other entity did not have legal restrictions, and good tradecraft, as you appeared to do when you were involved in it previously? HASPEL: Senator, I dont believe the terrorists follow any guidelines or civilized norms, or the law. CIA follows the law. (I know youre gasping with laughter right now, so let me take this opportunity to point out that, during this colloquy, Ray McGovern, a former CIA analyst and now an activist, was hauled out of the committee room for hollering questions at the witness. We continue.) REED: You seem to be saying you were not following civilized norms and the law and anything else when you were conducting those self-same activities, if thats the analogy youre going to draw. HASPEL: Senator, Im sorry, can you repeat that? REED: Very simple. You have an operations officer whos being waterboarded. Ive asked you very simply, would you consider that to be immoral, and something that should never be done, condoned, in any way, shape or form? Your response seems to be that civilized nations dont do it, but that uncivilized nations, or uncivilized groups, do it. (Here, Senator Tom Cotton, the bobble-throated slapdick from Arkansas, jumped in uninvited. He was not hauled away by the Capitol Police, but he was lanced with a baleful glare from his colleague from Rhode Island. Later, Cotton would interrupt remarks by Senator Mark Warner of Virginia. Neither was he hauled away then. He was just as much a nuisance as McGovern was.) REED: This civilized nation was doing it until it was outlawed by this Congress. HASPEL: Senator, I would never obviously support inhumane treatment of any CIA officers. Weve lost CIA officers overseas to terrorists. I just gave an example. Khalid Sheikh Muhammad personally killed a Wall Street Journal correspondent and filmed that. I dont think theres any comparison between CIA officers serving their country adhering to US law, and terrorists who, by their very definition, are not following anybodys law. A few things. First of all, we filmed our torture, too, but those videos were destroyed. Gina Haspel supervised the destruction of some of them and, if you think her answer to Reed was lame, you should go back and see the tap-dance she does on that issue. Second, she only answered half of Reeds question before ducking behind Daniel Pearls corpse to hide from the rest of it. Third, by her very answer, she is saying that, if the United States tortures people, it is somehow a morally superior act to random butchery, because we have compliant lawyers drawing government salaries far from the black sites of Poland and Thailand. What distinguishes us morally from butchers in the desert is that our government used to employ John Yoo. Glorious. This article was originally published by " Esquire " - ===== Join the Discussion It is not necessary for ICH readers to register before placing a comment. We ask that you treat others with respect. Take a moment to read the following - Comment Policy - What Or Who is Information Clearing House and Purpose and Intent of this website: It is unacceptable to slander, smear or engage in personal attacks on authors of articles posted on ICH. Those engaging in that behavior will be banned from the comment section. Search Information Clearing House === Click Here To Support Information Clearing House Your support has kept ICH free on the Web since 2002. Click for Spanish , German , Dutch , Danish , French , translation- Note- Translation may take a moment to load.
A Nigerian woman has decried the behaviour of her husband who starves her emotionally and sexually and is also physically abusive towards her.

The woman who hails from Anambra state, Nigeria, went to the humanitarian group Due Process Advocate, DPA to seek help as regards her predicament.

She stated that her husband beats her, even when shes pregnant, cheats on her, and never makes love to her except she begs for it.

She said: I have to beg him before he make love to me. Sometimes he give me half chop and complain tiredness. I will endure because I am from poor family.

The mother-of-five said he also intimidates her such that she cant talk back at him  she went on to say that he dates married women within their neighborhood, even women in their compound and in their street.

He doesnt try to hide it and goes as far as answering their calls in her presence. But she cant confront him because that will only result in more beatings.

Having endured these, she now wants to leave the marriage but doesnt know how to proceed, especially as the man only paid her bride price and they never had a traditional, court or church marriage.

Below are screenshots of the message she sent to DPA:

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Nigerias major opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP has said President Muhammadu Buhari travelling abroad to seek medical help is the height of insensitivity. According to the party, Buhari abandoning Nigerians in dire need of medical attention without any form of intervention and embarking on medical tourism in London with our common patrimony is wrong.

See what they wrote

Is it not the height of insensitivity that while Nigerians in dire need of medical attention are languishing, President Buhari @MBuhari abandoned them without any form of intervention and embarked on medical tourism in London with our common patrimony? @theresa_may pic.twitter.com/vF2M7hPZzf  Official PDP Nigeria (@OfficialPDPNig) May 15, 2018

PDP further stated that President Buhari added salt to injury by not addressing the problem, upon his arrival, but chose to organize and attend a political rally in Jigawa state.
Retd. Gen. TY Danjuma shook the country in March 2018, when he accused the Armed Forces of colluding with bandits to kill Nigerians, urging people to rise up and defend themselves. The former minister of defense said this at the maiden convocation of the Taraba State University in Jalingo where he was conferred with an honorary Doctor of Science degree.

Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Maguu to the shock of many Nigerians wore a Buhari re-election campaign material.

Magu, who has come under fire is naturally expected to be non-partisan as required by public service rules was seen in recent interview wearing a Buhari lapel pin. Reacting to the situation, Reno Omokri, a former aide of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has said TY Danjuma has been vindicated.

On March 24, 2018, Lt Gen TY Danjuma (rtd) said the security services are not neutral. The next day, the Buhari admin attacked him in a most disrespectful manner. But with Ibrahim Magus action of wearing President Buharis re-election lapel pin, hasnt Danjuma been vindicated?  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) May 15, 2018

The author further asked that President Buhari replaces Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of the EFCC in order to restore faith in Nigerias civil service as punishment and serve as deterrence to other civil servants with a similar streak.

I hereby call on President Buhari to restore faith in Nigerias civil service and its security and military forces by immediately replacing Ibrahim Magu as the acting Chairman of the EFCC and imposing punitive measures on him to deter other civil servants with a similar streak.  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) May 15, 2018

The unfortunate body language understood by appointees in buhari's GOVT is that they re working for buhari and not Nigeria  Agbi Jatau (@AgbiJatau) May 15, 2018
The Nation

Dont spare our leaders, Soyinka tells EFCC Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies not to spare corrupt leaders.

Punch

The lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Senator Magnus Abe, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the affairs of the All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, alleging that the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, is dividing the party.

Vanguard

THE Senate yesterday said that as an institution, it will respect the ruling of the court by allowing the suspended Senator Ovie Omo- Agege, APC, Delta Central resume plenary today.

The Sun

Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, has warned Army personnel to steer clear from politics, especially as 2019 elections draw near.

Thisday

Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has disclosed that if elected president of Nigeria in 2019, he will run a lean government, a policy he said would be part of the restructuring of the country.

Daily Times

Barely 24 hours after he emerged the All Progressives Congress, (APC) flag bearer for the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti state, Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has commenced reconciliatory move with his co-contestants.

Guardian

Unknown gunmen in the early hours of Sunday attacked a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) helipad in Igbodene, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, killing an airman and making away with his rifle.

Daily Trust

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has expressed optimism that President Muhammadu Buhari will win the 2019 general elections.

Tribune

Environment rights groups, civil society organisations, and labour unions, under the Our Water Our Right Coalition has expressed misgivings on the recent visit of World Bank Executive Directors to Nigeria, saying the visit is just a whitewash to consolidate plans for wholesale privatisation of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday as a part of his 2 days working visit to Jigawa state visited some local governments and also commissioned some projects.

One of Buharis aide, Bashir Ahmad took to social media to brag about the crowd that came out to welcome the president. The Media aide shared some photos of the large crowd on Twitter and wrote:

This is 1 out of 27 LGs in Jigawa State, this is Hadejia LG/Emirate and all the good people there come out to welcome President @ MBuhari today. He was there to flag-off the Ministry of Water Resources Irrigation Project. # PMBinJigawa

A lot of Nigerians who were obviously unimpressed with the information, took turns to slam him. See what they wrote

This is the lazy nigeria he talked about? with #500 each they wil go and buy tramadol and go home happy. this is what buhari and co has turn the youth in the north into  Joel attah friaday (@joelattah31) May 14, 2018

Let him come & pull this kind of crowd here at apapa iganmu local government here in Lagos, whether dem no go stone am. Mtcheeeeww!!!   Abiodun balogun (@dakaballo) May 14, 2018

No wonder the north is so backward in everything. All these almajiris can follow anything because they lack independent mind to thinks straight.  OCHAI (@Samuelochai) May 14, 2018
Paul Okoye of the defunct Psquare group has taken to his IG page to narrate how someone who has been insulting him on social media turned a new leaf by begging him (Paul)for school fees.

Paul captioned the post ;  This is not karma  Na karma senior brother 

The words on the photo read ;
President Buhari was accompanied by Jigawa State Governor, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar during the inauguration of Jigawa State Social Intervention center today!

See photo below:

Meanwhile, the President, who has declared his intention to run for the 2019 Presidency has said that he has done in three years more than PDP did during their 16 years of Misrule.

The president, according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Malam Garba Shehu, said this at the palace of the Emir of Dutse, Alhaji Nuhu Muhammadu Sanusi, during his two-day visit to Jigawa State.

On arrival in Jigawa State, the President began his engagements at Auyo, near Hadejia, where he inaugurated the expansion of an irrigation scheme and paid a visit to the Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje.

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According to the Federal Government of Nigeria, $320m stolen funds by former late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, would be spent on the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme of the administration to support the poor. The statement was made on Monday at the Eighth Commonwealth Conference of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, representing Buhari.

The GFAR saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and the Government of Switzerland for the return of an additional $320m of the Sani Abacha loot. Included in that agreement is the commitment that the funds would be invested in one of Nigerias flagship social investment programmes, the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable households in our country.

Here is how some Nigerians reacted to the statement

General Sani Abacha Never Stole  @MBuhari, 9 June 2008 I will use $320m Abacha loot to help the Poor  @NGRPresident @MBuhari, 14 May 2018. pic.twitter.com/UkD8sQ6gah  Uncle Rolex. (@Rahmond___babs) May 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/SugarLi85448615/status/996357340541661185

He's technically right. Abacha did not still, he looted. Stealing is committed by poor and ordinary people. Men like Abacha and other politicians either LOOT, MISAPPROPRIATE, EMBEZZLE, MISMANAGE & SIPHON funds. You insult their office if you say they steal.  Michael (@ojalatan1) May 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/Udoh_D/status/996090412594024449

Since President Buhari said Abacha DID NOT loot, why should his government accept the $500 million Abacha loot that the USA is returning to Nigeria? Why is it that Buhari does not believe his former boss Abacha looted but keeps on accusing an innocent Jonathan of looting?  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) May 9, 2018

When I come across things like this I can but weep for my country.

Firstly, same Buhari who said that Abacha never stole is now planning on sharing the recorvered loot on almajiris and Ramadan feeding of the poor.

Secondly, I dare ask on accountability. How do we identify https://t.co/zvnhU5vb7g  Hugo Briggs (@MACBRIGGS) May 15, 2018

https://twitter.com/bolaNLee_c/status/996303717384245248
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SMITHS FALLS, ON - May 15, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Canopy Growth Corporation ("Canopy Growth" or the "Company") (TSX: WEED) announced it has applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE").

The Company currently anticipates that, subject to the receipt of all required approvals, its common shares will begin trading on the NYSE before the end of May 2018. In advance of listing on the NYSE, Canopy Growth will file a Form 40-F Registration Statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The listing of the Company's common shares on the NYSE remains subject to the approval of the NYSE and the satisfaction of all applicable listing and regulatory requirements.

Canopy Growth's common shares will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "CGC" and will continue to trade on the TSX under the ticker symbol "WEED". A trading date will be made public once all regulatory formalities are satisfied.

In announcing the application to list on a U.S. stock exchange, Canopy Growth's Chairman & CEO, Bruce Linton, commented: "Since becoming the first regulated cannabis producer to list their shares in North America in 2014 our team has focused on building credibility through consistent execution. Once finalized, listing our shares on the NYSE will represent a continuation of our upward trajectory as we build the global cannabis industry."

Here's to Future Growth.

About Canopy Growth Corporation

Canopy Growth is a world-leading diversified cannabis and hemp company, offering distinct brands and curated cannabis varieties in dried, oil and Softgel capsule forms. From product and process innovation to market execution, Canopy Growth is driven by a passion for leadership and a commitment to building a world-class cannabis company one product, site and country at a time.

Canopy Growth has established partnerships with leading sector names including cannabis icon Snoop Dogg, breeding legends DNA Genetics and Green House seeds, and Fortune 500 alcohol leader Constellation Brands, to name but a few. Canopy Growth operates eight cannabis production sites with over 2.4 million square feet of production capacity, including over 500,000 square feet of GMP-certified production space. The Company has operations in seven countries across four continents. The Company is proudly dedicated to educating healthcare practitioners, conducting robust clinical research, and furthering the public's understanding of cannabis, and through its partly owned subsidiary, Canopy Health Innovations, has devoted millions of dollars toward cutting edge, commercializable research and IP development. Through partly owned subsidiary Canopy Rivers Corporation, the Company is providing resources and investment to new market entrants and building a portfolio of stable investments in the sector. From our historic public listing to our continued international expansion, pride in advancing shareholder value through leadership is engrained in all we do at Canopy Growth. For more information visit www.canopygrowth.com.

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth or its subsidiaries to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained in this news release. Examples of such statements include statements with respect to the timing, receipt of regulatory approval for, and listing of the Company's common shares on a U.S. stock exchange, the filing of a Form 40-F Registration Statement as well as statements relating to future trading liquidity and our future shareholder base. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks associated with the receipt of all regulatory approvals for listing of the Company's common shares on a U.S. stock exchange; and such risks contained in the Company's annual information form dated June 28, 2017 and filed with Canadian securities regulators available on the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The forward-looking information included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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May 14, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) A potential Russian backlash to U.S. sanctions could be a boon to U.S. uranium producers.

Russian legislators have drafted a law to restrict various materials that are exported to the U.S. as a response to American federal government actions it found "unfriendly." The U.S. Congress passed legislation imposing various sanctions on Russia in response to allegations of election influencing and other behaviors. The recently drafted Russian material restrictions may be in retaliation for passing the Countering American Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

One of these materials Russia may restrict is uranium. The U.S. currently imports most of its uranium which is used for fuel in nuclear power plants to generate electricity. About 14% of uranium used in America comes from Russia currently. Another 25% or so comes from Kazakhstan, which was part of the former Soviet Union. Most of the remaining uranium comes from Canada and Australia.

Uranium fuel is an essential part of the American energy mix because nuclear power produces about 20% of US electricity.

Stock Catalyst Report uranium expert Mike Alkin explained, "[the U.S. imports] half of their uranium from Russian and Russia-friendly countries. They import 95 percent, but half of that is Russian, Russian friendly. At the tensions that are right now it takes one sanction against Russia for uranium not to come in, and I think it's a huge risk."

The announcements made about Russia's potential uranium export restriction to the U.S. didn't have much effect on the spot price of U3O8.

If Russia does restrict uranium exports to the United States, that could be bullish for the price of uranium as well as for uranium companies.

Shares of Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR:TSX; UUUU:NYSE.American), the largest producer of energy in the U.S., and Ur-Energy Inc. (URG:NYSE.MKT; URE:TSX), another U.S. uranium producer, have increased roughly 15% since the release of the news.

Energy Fuels has the White Mesa Mill in Utah, the Nichols Ranch Processing Facility in Wyoming, and the Alta Mesa Project in Texas, providing both conventional and in-situ recovery uranium mining.

Ur-Energy operates the Lost Creek in-situ recovery uranium facility in Wyoming and owns the Shirley Basin and Lucky Mc mine sites, also in Wyoming.

One active explorer is Skyharbour Resources Ltd. (SYH:TSX.V). The company has three on-going exploration programs and another junior explorer is optioning a fourth property in the Athabasca Basin in Canada.

In addition to potential Russian action, another catalyst for the price of uranium could be a limit on the amount of uranium imports to the United States. Energy Fuels and Ur-Energy have submitted a Section 232 petition to the Department of Commerce asking for relief from overseas uranium imports that threaten national security.

Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Economic Policy Thomas Duesterberg wrote in support of the petition in Forbes on April 26, noting, "A viable U.S. uranium mining industry is needed to meet both defense requirements in the future and guard against becoming reliant on Russian and Russian-affiliated suppliers."

Disclosure:

1) Jake Richardson compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Energy Fuels Inc. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article.

More Info:

This news is published on the Investorideas.com Newswire - a global digital news source for investors and business leaders

Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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Toronto, Ontario - May 15, 2018 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) Royal Road Minerals Limited (TSXV: RYR) ("Royal Road" or the "Company") is pleased to announce initial deep auger soil sample results from its newly identified Caribe prospect in the Golden Triangle region of northeastern Nicaragua.

The Caribe prospect forms a part of the Company's 50-50 Strategic-Alliance agreement (see press release; September 6, 2017) with Hemco (a subsidiary of Colombia's Grupo Mineros S.A. MINEROS:CB) and is located in the highly prospective Golden Triangle of northeastern Nicaragua (Figure 1), a region characterized by epithermal style gold veins, skarn and porphyry-style mines that have combined to produce in excess of an estimated 8 million ounces of gold since the early 1900's. Hemco own and operate the Bonanza gold mine in the Golden Triangle and manage an innovative toll-treatment program which processes mineralized material from artisanal operations throughout the region. Royal Road Minerals is operator of the Strategic Alliance.

Royal Road's exploration team discovered the Caribe prospect during reconnaissance follow-up of airborne geophysical anomalies in February of 2018. Topographically the prospect area is relatively planar, outcrop is limited to creek exposures and there is no previous record of mineralization in the area. Initial grab sampling of strongly weathered, argillic-altered and variably-brecciated felsic volcanic float material returned anomalous gold with associated anomalous values in molybdenum and arsenic. Follow-up deep auger soil sampling was then conducted using a 3-meter long hand-auger to access the residual soil horizon located below the organic and saprolitic layers. Soil-sampling to-date has identified a strongly anomalous area of gold geochemistry (range 20 to 983ppb, mean 149ppb gold) of 600 by 400 meters in area which remains open to the north and east (see Figure 1). Additionally, 18 small 1 meter square and 2 to 3 meter deep shafts were dug in order to expose bed-rock, assist mapping and collect channel and grab rock-chip samples. The highest grab rock-chip sample collected from these shafts to-date returned 3.5 grams per tonne gold (range 0.01 to 3.536 grams per tonne gold; note grab samples are selective samples and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the property) from quartz-veinlet stockwork hosted in strongly oxidized rhyodacite with potassium feldspar alteration.

Figure 1

Shaft and float mapping reveal that gold mineralization is associated predominantly with stringer-style veinlets hosted in strongly argillic-altered felsic volcanic rocks located in the immediate roof and/or adjacent to dioritic intrusive rocks. Due to intense weathering the preservation of hypogene assemblages is highly localized, but where observed, suggests that hydrothermal alteration is represented by strongly pervasive chlorite, locally pervasive epidote and microcrystalline-quartz-rich stringers with associated potassic feldspar and pyrite.

Royal Road is currently extending the deep auger soil sampling at Caribe towards the north and east and is planning a ground magnetic and radiometric survey to assist in interpretation and drill-targeting.

"Early signs from the newly-discovered Caribe prospect suggest that it has the size-potential we are seeking," said Dr Tim Coughlin, Royal Road's President and CEO. "Given the paucity of outcrop, depth of saprolite and intensity of weathering, it is still too early to speculate on mineralization-style and underlying gold grades. However, the extension to the deep auger soil grid and the planned ground geophysical survey should aid our understanding significantly. It is worth noting that Caribe is one of several projects the exploration team is currently developing in Nicaragua which includes further targets in the Golden Triangle and the Los Andes porphyry project in the west."

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed and verified by Dr. Tim Coughlin, BSc (Geology), MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD (Structural Geology), FAusIMM, President and CEO of Royal Road Minerals Ltd and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Royal Road Minerals employees are instructed to follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. More information can be found on Royal Road Minerals web site at www.royalroadminerals.com.

Cautionary statement:

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") including e statements relating to the Alliance and those describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, or with respect to the Alliance, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to, those related to the Alliance, Hemco, and the Company's plans exploration plans.

The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Alliance and the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and, in part, on information provided to the Company by Hemco, and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Timothy Coughlin

President and Chief Executive Officer

USA-Canada toll free 1800 6389205

+44 (0)1534 887166

+44 (0)7797 742800

info@royalroadminerals.com

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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Apple and Samsung have been in and out of the courtroom, on opposite sides of the arguments, for years now, with the longstanding patent infringement case seemingly going on forever.

And now the two companies are back at it again with a renewed damages trial kicking off today. This is a retrial, in which it will be determined just how much, if anything, Samsung has to pay for infringing on a variety of Apple patents in years prior. Samsung was officially found guilty back in 2012, but it has taken six years, and growing lawyer fees, to determine just how much money Samsung should have to pay Apple as a result of that decision.

Apple has stated in the past that it believes the damages rewarded should be based on the full value of the iPhone, while Samsung continues to argue that it should only have to pay a lesser amount than the total value of the iPhone.

Yesterday the case saw 74 candidates get whittled down to just eight jurors that were determined to be unbiased. Today, opening statements were held, and part of that was Greg Joswiak, who stated that Apple was built upon a specific central theme of design, and that Apples co-founder and former CEO, Steve Jobs, built that philosophy of design into the very DNA of Apple.

Joswiak also added that, with the iPhone, the company was risking everything that was making the company successful back then. He added that Apple was betting the company on the success of the flagship smartphone:

Joswiak: With the #iPhone, "we were really risking everything that was making Apple successful at the timeWe really were betting the company." #appsung  Mike Swift (@Swiftstories) May 15, 2018

There has been a lot of back-and-forth up to this point. As mentioned above, Samsung was found guilty of patent infringement back in 2012. At the time, Samsung was ordered to pay $1 billion to Apple, but that was later reduced to $584 million. It wouldnt be until 2015 that Samsung actually agreed to pay that much, even as it worked to get the number reduced even further. Which is why the two companies are in a retrial right now, as it has been left up to Apple with the burden of proof to retain any amount of damages paid by Samsung.

As it stands right now, Apple is currently arguing for the full payout of $1 billion from Samsung.

Our Take

Ill be happy when this court case is finally settled, one way or another. Apple is going to get some money in this, but I cant help but think theres no way itll get that $1 billion. But crazier things have happened.
Indiana University Northwest invites teens from underrepresented minority groups to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at a free STEM Summer Camp from July 30 through August 1.

High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors will learn how exciting a STEM career can be through hands-on activities and experiments in biology, chemistry, computer information systems, informatics, math, and geology.

The camp takes place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., July 30 through August 1 on the campus. Materials and lunch are provided.

Last years camp was a roaring success with 45 students participating in Chess, the Chemistry of Smells, the Biology of Smells, Mystery Architecture, and Computer Coding, said Bhaskara Kopparty, director of the STEM Summer Camp. This is a tremendous opportunity for students looking to pursue these fields because the activities are led by faculty members who are current in their fields of research and dedicated to providing excellent STEM education.

Kopparty said there is a shortage of underrepresented minority students pursuing STEM fields. The camp, made possible by the National Science Foundations Louis Stokes for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, is designed to address that shortage and boost the number of STEM graduates.

To learn more, call 219-980-6740. Or, email lsampiun@iun.edu. To register, visit iun.edu/StemCamp2018. The registration deadline is July 22.

About the Summer Camp

The camp is made possible by an award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of the award is to significantly increase the number of historically underrepresented minorities receiving baccalaureate degrees in STEM.

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) is leading the $4.8 million Indiana STEM Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) initiative. The alliance is comprised of six institutions across Indiana, Ball State University, Indiana University Bloomington, Indiana University Northwest, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University South Bend, and Ivy Tech Community College, Indianapolis.

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program is designed to substantially increase the quantity and quality of students, especially underrepresented students, who study STEM disciplines. LSAMP offers identified STEM majors who qualify the opportunity to receive a stipend while conducting research in their major.
Today

Some clouds in the morning will give way to mainly sunny skies for the afternoon. High 86F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight

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Can anyone explain what it is that Facebook is accused of? Articles like this are ridiculous, not once does it say what they are "targeting children" with ...

3 days ago
 Reuters Backgrounder on Jerusalem Misleads on Holy Sites | Main | Are Gaza Gunmen "Protesters"? NY Times Refuses to Say 

May 15, 2018

Bahrain Says Israel Has a Right to Self-Defense, and the Media Shrugs



The foreign minister of the Arab nation of Bahrain, Sheikh Khalid al-Khaalifa declared on May 10, 2018 that Israel has a right to defend itself. The remarks, which came after an Iranian-Israeli confrontation in Syria, mark a sharp break with the past, in which Arab countries condemned the Jewish nations use of self-defense. Nonetheless, many major U.S. news outlets did not cover the story.

On Twitter, Al-Khalifa proclaimed:? As long as Iran has breached the status quo in the region and invaded countries with its forces and missiles, any state in the region, including Israel, is entitled to defend itself by destroying sources of danger.?

Multiple U.S. news organizations failed to note al-Khalifas comments, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, USA Today, and The Baltimore Sun, among others. Several outlets, however, did note the historical significance of the comments, including The Times of Israel (Bahrain backs Israeli strikes on Iranian targets in Syria?), The Jerusalem Post (Bahrain and Israel: Quo Vadis??), the Algemeiner (Bahrain: Israel is Entitled to Defend Itself?)even the Beirut Daily Star.

As CAMERA has detailed (Wheres the Coverage? Bahrain Foils Terror Plot,? Jan. 11, 2016), Bahrain has frequently found itself attacked and subverted by the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has sought to manipulate the Gulf nations sizable Shiite Muslim population. Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed terror group, has been involved in several plots to overthrow the Bahraini government. Top regime apparatchiks in Tehran routinely assert that Bahrain belongs to Iran, as the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has documented (see, for example Editor Close to Khamenei Says Bahrain Belongs to Iran,? March 11, 2018).

Bahrain is but one of several Arab nations, including, most notably, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which have lessened their antipathy towards Israel in the face of Iranian imperialism and aggression.

Yet, some pundits and reporters are prone to asserting that Israel is increasingly isolated? or losing global influence.? However, recent eventseven when underreportedprove otherwise.

Posted by SD at May 15, 2018 11:26 AM

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 CNN Arabic Calls Western Wall 'Al Buraq' | Main | Reuters Backgrounder on Jerusalem Misleads on Holy Sites 

May 15, 2018

AFP Captions Call Jerusalem Parade Participants Settlers

Numerous Agence France-Presse photo captions generalized all participants in Sunday's Jerusalem Flag Parade as "settlers," despite the fact that the crowd hailed from across Israel, within the Green Line, as well as outside. A sampling of the misleading captions follows:

Isreali [sic] nationalist settlers wave their national flags in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on May 13, 2018, as they celebrate the Jerusalem Day with the dome of the Rock in the background. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the "reunification" of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

Israeli youths hold their national flags in Jerusalem on May 13, 2018, as Israeli nationalist settlers celebrate the Jerusalem Day in the Old City. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the "reunification" of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. Thomas COEX/AFP

An Israeli man confronts a Palestinian woman at Damascus gate in Jerusalem on May 13, 2018, as Israeli nationalist settlers celebrate the Jerusalem Day in the Old City. For Israelis, Sunday is Jerusalem Day, an annual celebration of the "reunification" of the city following the 1967 Six-Day War. Menahem Kahana/AFP

CAMERA yesterday contacted AFP to request a correction. The wire agency has yet to clarify.

Posted by TS at May 15, 2018 03:01 AM

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Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] Philip Luther on Monday called [AI report] the use of force by Israeli military against protestors along the border of Gaza and Israel as wilful killings constituting war crimes.

There have been numerous reports of Palestinians being killed and injured as a result of the force used by Israeli military.

According to Luther, the events that have unfolded at the border are:

another horrific example of the Israeli military using excessive force and live ammunition in a totally deplorable way. This is a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be wilful killings constituting war crimes.

The use of force by Israeli military may violate international law, which proposes that use of firearms are only be used to protect against an imminent threat of death or serious injury.

Luther further asserted that the acts of violence against protesters are further evidence of Israeli authorities need to limit military action to protect civilians and the need for an arms embargo [AI report].

In April the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad Al Hussein similarly urged [JURIST report] the Israeli government to address its militarys use of excessive deadly force against Palestinian civilians
Federal judge Mark Walker for the US District Court of the Northern District of Florida [official website] denied [order, PDF] the request by the National Rifle Association (NRA) [advocacy website] on Sunday to use pseudonyms for teenagers involved in the legal challenge against new Florida gun laws.

In March, the Florida legislature passed new restrictions [text, PDF] to purchasing a firearm, including raising the age limit from 18 to 21 years. The NRA quickly filed a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the changes as a violation of the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

The NRA asks the judge last month to keep the identities of two 19-year-old teenagers involved in the case as John Doe or Jane Doe to avoid harsh ramifications by the public.

Despite sympathizing with the likely possibility of harassment, Walker says precedent binds him to deny the request. He stated that if it were entirely up to this court, the court would not hesitate to grant the NRAs motion, but former cases insist that pseudonyms can only be used in exceptional cases.

The judge gave the NRA until May 21 to add the real names or remove them from the lawsuit.
The US Supreme Court [official website] unanimously ruled [opinion, PDF] on Monday in Byrd v. US [SCOTUSblog materials] that a driver who is in control or possession of a vehicle, but not listed on the rental agreement, still has a reasonable expectation of privacy, as provided under the Fourth Amendment [text].

The case arose after in 2014 Terrence Byrd had pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of heroin and a bulletproof vest after being pulled over by Pennsylvania state troopers for a traffic violation. Police searched the vehicle after finding he was not an authorized driver and had prior drug and weapons conviction. Byrd argued that the search violated his Fourth Amendment right to be protected from unreasonable searches and seizures by lack of consent and therefore the evidence should be suppressed. A federal judge however found there was no violation of his constitutional rights.

The ruling overturns the US States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit [official website], which upheld [opinion, PDF] the search of the vehicle, which had been rented by Byrds girlfriend, finding that he had no standing to challenge the search.

In an opinion by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court held,

Though new, the fact pattern here continues a well-traveled path in this Courts Fourth Amendment jurisprudence. Those cases support the proposition, and the Court now holds, that the mere fact that a driver in lawful possession or control of a rental car is not listed on the rental agreement will not defeat his or her otherwise reasonable expectation of privacy.

The court left open for remand two arguments by the government: whether one who intentionally uses a third party to procure a rental by a fraudulent scheme for the purpose of committing a crime is no better situated than a car thief, thereby having no expectation of privacy, and whether probable cause justified the search in any event.
The US Supreme Court [official website] ruled [opinion, PDF] unanimously Monday in US v. Sanchez-Gomez [SCOTUSblog materials] that defendants constitutional objection to shackling was not saved from mootness because the defendants sought class-like relief in a functional class action' nor because the challenged practice was capable of repetition yet evading review.'

A policy adopted by the US District Court for the Southern District of California [official website] allows marshals to produce all in-custody pretrial defendants for non-jury proceedings in full five-point restraints, where a defendants feet are shackled together and a waist chain connects to tightly restrain their cuffed hands. Four defendants challenged the constitutional validity of the policy on behalf of themselves and other similarly situated defendants. The district court denied their case, and while awaiting appeal, the four prosecutions were resolved either by dismissal or guilty plea. The issue then became whether the resolutions rendered their claim moot because it lacked live controversy.

The plaintiffs relied on the holdings in Gerstein v. Pugh and Sosna v. Iowa [opinions], which established that because unnamed class members are still dependent on the court for a decision in a class action, there is a live controversy even when the named plaintiffs claim becomes moot. Thecourt held that in the case at hand, though, that there was no requisite class certification and that the plaintiffs plea for relief for all in-custody defendants did not create a functional class action.

The plaintiffs also challenged the issue of mootness on the grounds that there is a reasonable expectation that the same complaining party will be subjected to the same action again because two of the defendants, who had been charged with unlawfully entering the US, have and would commit the same crime, as would others due to the crimes high rate of recidivism. The court differentiated the case at hand from those the plaintiffs citing, Honig, California Superintendent of Public Instruction v. Doe et al and Turner v. Rogers et al [opinions, PDF], two cases where the named plantiffs could not prevent themselves from transgressing and avoid recurrence of the challenged conduct for reasons beyond their control. In the this instance, the court pointed out, the plaintiffs are able to comply with the law, regardless of their incentives to do otherwise.

The court concluded by stating that those who still wish to challenge the Southern District of Californias shackling policy do not lack an avenue for relief. Additionally, because the case is moot, the court took no position on the question at issue.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- The Environmental Protection Agency has named Jackson County Administrator Brian Fulton to its Local Government Advisory Committee they announced on Tuesday.

Fulton is one of 33 individuals nationwide selected to help the EPA develop strong partnerships with local governments to provide more efficient and effective environmental protection at the community, state and federal level.

He has also been appointed to the Small Community Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS), which helps EPA develop robust partnerships with small communities to address environmental and public health issues.

Fulton will serve as Vice Chair of the subcommittee.

"EPA's efforts to protect public health and the environment are most effective when the Agency works cooperatively with state and local governments," said EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. "I look forward to working with the committee members on important environmental issues while developing stronger and more robust partnerships across states, tribes, and local communities."

Because of the role Fulton played during Hurricane Katrina and other disasters that have struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast, he was chosen to serve on the committee because of how valuable his contributions were, according to EPA Region 4 Administrator Trey Glenn.

"County Administrator Fulton brings a wealth of experience in working with local, state, and federal partners," he said. "His leadership, exemplified by his efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, will be an asset to this committee."

Congressman Steven Palazzo issued a congratulatory statement in support of Pruitt's appointment of Fulton.

"I commend Administrator Pruitt on his decision to appoint Mr. Fulton to the Local Government Advisory Committee. He is a strong leader and advocate for environmental issues, both locally and nationally. As I told Administrator Pruitt when I nominated Mr. Fulton, he is well-versed in private-public partnerships, coalition building, and implementation of federal, state, and local environmental regulatory programs and economic development. For those reasons and many more, Mr. Fulton will serve as an asset to the committee, and to the Administration at large."

Fulton said he appreciates the appointment and said his experience should serve him well in this new position.

"As a representative of a county that has a diverse mixture of industrial development, urban and rural components and eco-tourism, I understand the challenges communities face in balancing environmental protection while improving quality of life and encouraging economic growth," he said.

"I am honored to serve on this committee and look forward to being part of its collaborative effort to help find solutions to these challenges and ensure communities across America remain both viable and sustainable," Fulton said.
HATTIESBURG, Mississippi -- A 32-year-old Gautier man will spend the next five years in a federal prison after his conviction for possession with intent to distribute heroin, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

Jermaine Antonio Newell was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett last week to five years in a federal prison, followed by five years of post-release supervision, and a $5,000 fine.

According to court documents, in November 2017 U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents executed three search warrants at three different locations associated with Newell. The warrants were obtained on the basis of information from online drug transactions provided to the DEA that evidence of drug trafficking would be found at those locations.

During a search of a property in Soso, Miss., a Jones County deputy saw Newell drive by in a van and begin throwing bags from the van's window, among them a bag containing 951 of heroin, with an estimated street value of $200,000.

Newell was stopped and arrested. He later admitted to possession the heroin with intent to distribute it.

The traffic stop and search of the properties also uncovered roughly 220 pounds of high-grade marijuana, over 100 ecstasy pills, cocaine, other various pills, a digital scale, and approximately $11,000 in cash.

In exchange for Newell's guilty plea on the heroin charge, prosecutors dropped charges related to possession of marijuana and ecstasy.

Had Newell been convicted on all charges, he faced up to 40 years in prison and a fine up to $5 million.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, the Jones County Sheriff's Office, and the Ellisville Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathlyn R. Van Buskirk.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- An 18-year-old Ocean Springs resident is in custody after police say he beat and robbed another man outside a local convenience store.

Ocean Springs Police Capt. Chuck Jackson said police received a call late Saturday night of a robbery outside the Government Street Quick Stop. The victim told responding officers he entered the store and was confronted by a black male subject -- later identified as Zishon Darrcel Hunt of 2300 Westbrook St. in Ocean Springs.

As the victim left the store, he was attacked by Hunt, who knocked the victim to the ground and began to repeatedly punch and kick the victim while demanding money.

Hunt was arrested at his residence Sunday after officers found him hiding in a closet to avoid arrest. He has been charged with robbery and is in the Ocean Springs Municipal Jail awaiting his initial court appearance before Municipal Judge Matthew Mestayer.

Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Ocean Springs Police Department at 228-875-2211.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- Two men were arrested early Saturday morning after an altercation at a downtown Ocean Springs nightclub during which a shot was fired, although no one was injured.

According to Ocean Springs Police Capt. Chuck Jackson, officers responded to a report of a shot fired at the Boots & Spurs club on Bellande Avenue just before 3 a.m. Saturday.

When they arrived, officers saw a large crowd outside the club and were directed to a location in the parking lot, where they found one suspect, Matthew Smith, who told police he had been in an altercation with another man -- identified as Larry Ratliff III -- who fired a round from an undisclosed firearm.

The altercation apparently started when club security escorted another man from inside the bar and Smith attempted to intervene. Boots & Spurs security then escorted Smith and another individual from the business, after which they were confronted by Ratliff.

Investigators say the one shot was likely fired into the ground, possibly by accident during the altercation between Ratliff and Smith. No one was injured.

The 25-year-old Ratliff, of Ocean Springs, was arrested and charged with brandishing a firearm. The 27-year-old Smith, of Vancleave, was charged with public drunk.

Anyone with additional information on this incident is asked to call the Ocean Springs Police Department at 228-875-2211.
In the midst of celebrating LGBTQ Pride the U.S. Supreme Court rained on our virtual parade by ruling in favor of the Catholic Social Serv...
GRANTS PASS, Ore. -- Marijuana products in dispensaries could get pricier. That's because the Grants Pass City Council is thinking about adding a three percent tax to all marijuana products sold in stores. The tax would only affect three dispensaries in Grants Pass since only three technically fall in city limits. This is not the first time marijuana products in Grants Pass dispensaries would see a tax. In fact, the Grants Pass City Attorney said there used to be a 10 percent tax on those products a few years ago. That's until the state changed the law.

The State legislature enacted new legislation that said local governments could not have a local tax on marijuana other than a tax of up to 3% and it must be enacted by voters," City Attorney, Mark Bartholomew said.

Right now, if you were to walk into a Grants Pass dispensary and buy something, customers would pay a 17 percent state tax. The Grants Pass City Council is discussing whether or not to add an additional three percent tax. Bartholomew said this tax could bring in thousands of dollars a year.

"The numbers are proprietary since they would directly reflect on business volume. However, we think it would be in order of about $15,000-$25,000 per retail store," Bartholomew said.

That comes out to between $45,000 and $75,000. Justin Shier is the co-owner of Forward Cannabis. He's all for a tax.

"I think it is good thing. I think with the stigma that's associated with cannabis the city kind of went out on a limb to let us operate here and I think that was in hopes to provide a positive impact on the community. I think within cannabis we are helping a lot of people but I think this is a better way in a more official capacity to provide for the community and I'm all for it," Shier added.

Ryan Stickler with Southern Oregon Cannabis Connection said customers don't want to pay more for their marijuana. He thinks if people knew what that money would fund, then they would support it.

"I think if you made it more tangible for people to see where exactly that money is going and see something actually change. Its easy to have a broken road and until someone is going to have it fixed with said money and not see that broken road fixed. But if you see that broken road fixed and there's no potholes, than that's tangible," Stickler added.

Bartholomew said the city council would determine if those funds would go somewhere specific or to a general fund. If City Council decides to impose a tax, voters would be the ones to ultimately vote on for or against a tax in the November 2018 election.
Teachers who say that they have students with behavior regulation challenges are always on the lookout for programs they can use to support their students, and a new survey finds that teachers learn about those programs through their own research about a third of the time.

But those teachers, who educate children with disabilities such as autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also dont like being left to their own devices to find evidence-based practices, the survey found. They would prefer much more formal professional development than they get now.

Those were among findings from research shared at the 2018 International Society for Autism Research meeting, held earlier this month in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The unpublished survey and analysis of responses was led by Lauren Kenworthy, the director of the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Childrens National Health System in Washington D.C. It is not a nationally representative sample of educators, but Kenworthy said the findings offer useful information about the challenges of getting evidence-based practices into the hands of the educators who need them.

There is this enormous promise and potential and unused, untapped opportunity in public schools to help this growing set of kids, Kenworthy said in an interview. Theyre typically placed in mainstream classrooms, they do have verbal ability that enables them to be in those settings, they have grade-appropriate academic skills, but they are still lacking in fundamental skills that would help them be successful.

The survey included 227 educators from around the country, most of them located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Of those, 88 percent worked in public schools, and 68 percent were in schools that qualified for Title I funding for low-income students.

Educators were asked what kind of evidence-based programs they were using. But when the researchers looked into those programs, they found that few actually met the standards of having published scientific findings that they improve behavior or executive functioning skills.

Educators also reported that in addition to looking up programs on their own, about half the time they learn about new interventions through in-service training. Twelve percent of the time they learn about new practices through informal networks and 8 percent of the time, through formal professional development.

But when asked how they would like to learn about new interventions, educators said that they preferred formal training or in-service programs. They felt that only 8 percent of their information on new practices should come from programs they looked up on their own.

I would hope to empower the educators to see these data, and see they as a group are wanting and asking for more mentioring and formalized training than theyre gettingand they deserve that, Kenworthy said. Theres a group of people out there who are generally committed to doing evidence-based support, and feel like theyre doing too much of it on their own.

The survey also included responses from parents of children with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Seventeen percent of those parents said they had attended an school-based training program, but the majority of respondents, 85 percent, said they wanted schools to give them more information so that they could support school-based interventions.

Teachers, we are out there, said Yetta Myrick, a co-author of the report and the community outreach coordinator for the center for autism spectrum disorders. She is also the mother of a teenager with autism. Theres an idea that parents are disengaged. Parents are there to partner with you.

Image by Getty
About 40 school districts across North Carolinaincluding the states largestwill close Wednesday as thousands of teachers are set to rally for a nearly $10,000 pay raise over four years and more school funding.

Teachers across the state will head to Raleigh, the state capital, to attend the March for Students and Rally for Respect, which coincides with the state legislatures first day back in session. Droves of teachers had requested personal leave for the day, forcing school districts to cancel classes. North Carolina is the fifth state this spring to see such widespread teacher activism.

See also: The Faces of the Teacher Revolt

The state teachers union, the North Carolina Association of Educators, released its legislative priorities earlier this week . Those include bringing North Carolinas per-pupil spending and average teacher pay to the national average in four years, as well as adding 500 additional school nurses, social workers, and counselors to public schools. The union is advocating for no corporate tax cuts until per-pupil spending and teacher pay reach the national average.

In North Carolina, the average teacher salary is $49,970, according to the National Education Association . The national average is $59,660. The NCAE estimates that the states per-pupil spending is about $2,400 behind the national average.

Teachers in the state have already been met with some resistance: State Superintendent Mark Johnson has said he does not condone the protest, as closing schools affects not only students, but also parents, hourly workers who work at our schools, and also other teachers who might not be taking part in that day.

And one Republican state lawmaker had some harsh words for teachers participating in the protest , saying teachers union thugs are behind it.

The hypocrisy is that they say they are supporting the students. One less day of instruction does not help students, Rep. Mark Brody wrote on his Facebook page. Teaching our children that it is OK to not show up for work does not set a good example.

Legislative leaders have said public education spending has already increased by nearly $2 billion since 2011, and that the state budget includes a fifth consecutive raise for teachers next school year.

Teachers in other states who walked out of their classrooms this spring did see some legislative victories: The state legislatures in Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Arizona all passed teacher pay raises, and teachers in Colorado and Kentucky saw some concessions on controversial changes to their pensions.

See also: The Teachers Are Winning. What Does It Mean for the Profession?

Meanwhile, teachers in a Colorado town just concluded a five-day strikethe states first official strike in nearly 25 years . (Teachers across the state had forced school closures earlier in the year by protesting at the state Capitol, but they werent striking against a school board.) The Pueblo teachers union voted to accept a deal that includes a 2 percent cost-of-living raise for this school year, retroactive from January, and a 2.5 percent raise next school year. The union had originally been seeking a 2 percent raise for the full 2017-18 school year.

Image: People gather outside the North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh during a protest in 2014. Protesters called for a host of repeals on Republican-written laws, including teacher pay and unemployment insurance. Gerry Broome/AP-File
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- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."
MASON CITY, Iowa  A Manly woman gets probation for a stolen check.

Emily Elizabeth Buttshaw, 36, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation after pleading guilty to one count of forgery. Authorities say she stole a check from a Mason City business and made it out to herself for $500.

Buttshaw is still scheduled to stand trial on June 27 for possession of methamphetamine in Worth County.
ALBERT LEA, Minn.  A former Mason City man is pleading guilty to a child porn charge.

Isaiah Jon Homan, 22 and now living in Montevideo, was arrested in November 2016 in Freeborn County and charged with use of a minor in a sexual performance and solicitation of a child to engage in sexual conduct. Authorities say he used a cell phone to send naked pictures of himself to a 14-year-old girl and received naked photos from her.

On Monday his trial was scheduled to finally begin but Homan entered a plea of guilty to use of minor in a sexual performance. His sentencing is set for July 9.
UPDATE: As of 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Erie is listed in critical condition at St. Mary's Hospital.

LANSING, Minn.  One person suffered life-threatening injuries in a pickup/truck collision Monday afternoon.

The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened around 4:11 pm at the intersection of Highway 218 and 270th Street, west of Lansing. The westbound car driven by Jazmin Claudia Portillo, 18 of Austin, pulled out in front of the southbound truck driven by Burton Jay Iversen, 79 of Austin.

The State Patrol says Portillo suffered a non-life threatening injury and was taken to Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. A passenger in her car, Megan Marie Erie, 17 of Austin, was transported to St. Marys Hospital with a life-threatening injury. Iversen was unharmed.

All three were wearing their seat belts.

The Mower County Sheriffs Office, Austin Fire Department, and Gold Cross Ambulance assisted at the scene.
MASON CITY, Iowa - KIMT was there as Mason City Police arrested a man who has been wanted since December. The arrest of Andrew Lukes happened just before 6:00 p.m. Monday at the intersection of State Street and Delaware Avenue.

Lukes is facing a number of new charges as police found drugs on him during the arrest. Originally wanted for a probation violation, Lukes is now also facing interference with official acts, possession with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa - In Floyd County, the sheriff's office over the past two years has spent more than 2,000 hours and traveled more than 80,000 fitting a bill worth $96,000, all because not enough beds are available still for those needing mental health help.

These are individuals that need long term beds the state is still short over 400 long term beds, Deputy Brian Tiedemann with the Floyd County Sheriffs Office said.

Tiedemann is feeling like hes driving more these days than a being a deputy.

It's not like it just happened. This has been, we've had the issue for the last three or four years and its getting worse, Tiedemann said.

Tiedemann is referring to those who are being committed, a process when two people feeling their loved one needs mental health help. That someone is then ordered by a judge to be picked up the sheriff's office and evaluated at the hospital. If further evaluation is needed, going to a hospital to stay longer isn't really an option Tiedemann says so they're travelling Council Bluffs nearly four hours away.

When asked do you need more deputies or more beds

More beds. Its one of those things if we as law enforcement officers are stilling at the local emergency room on a committal for 72 hours especially for the small agencies you don't have a lot of patrol happening in your rural counties, Tiedemann said.

When asked now that Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa is building a new mental health center with a total of 34 beds will that help? Tiedemann along with the sheriff say a 100 beds yes, less than 50 won't even make a dent in the issue
CHARLES CITY, Iowa - Judy Hughes tells her story of living through Charles City's deadly tornado in ninth grade, 50 years ago, like it was yesterday.

I remember the humidity being so great that it was hard to breathe, Hughes said.

What happened all those years ago still affects her now. When her family rushed to her grandfather's home just north of town where neighborhoods were completely flattened.

The only thing left standing was the refrigerator, inside the refrigerator was not moved, all food was there. The fish he caught that day he planned on having for supper was still on his plate Hughes said.

Photos are to be shown for all the public to see at Floyd County's Historical Museum, taken by residents and media then, showing the devastation Mother Nature can bring at any time.

I'm very respectful of the weather when they, Im not afraid when they go to the basement I go to the basement. If the sirens go off here I go to the basement and take my radio, Hughes said.

Hughes says she never heard a siren saying they weren't around then. It wasn't until the 1970's when sirens originally used to warn of nuclear attacks were asked to be used for tornado warnings. The scale we measure tornados with has also drastically changed--we now used the enhanced fujita scale which measures damage versus the old scale measuring wind.

Respect your weather man, its so much easier to go to the basement spend 15 minutes down there and come back up and be fine, just take precautions, Hughes said.
AUSTIN, Minn.  A man seen leaving the scene of a garage fire is pleading not guilty to abducting a woman.

Joseph Henry Mallan, 34 of Austin, is charged with kidnapping, escape from custody, domestic assault, false imprisonment, and fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle.

Austin police were sent to Mallans home in the 700 block of 11th Avenue SW at around 2 am on April 13 after the Department of Corrections received a tamper alert from the electronic home monitoring bracelet Mallan had been ordered to wear after a previous conviction. Officers say Mallan was not there and they were told by his family that Mallan could be with his girlfriend. Police then went to her home but say she was not there and her car was gone. Officers say a witness told them the woman had gone to Mallans home to retrieve some property.

Authorities put out an alert for the woman and a warrant for Mallans arrest.

Mallans home monitoring bracelet was found in the 800 block of 11th Avenue SW and police traced the missing womans cell phone to the area around the 2900 block of 29th Avenue SW. However, the phone could not be found.

An officer returned to the area around 4 am to continue looking for the phone and noticed a car that was either stopped or moving very slowing at an intersection. The officer says it matched the description of the missing womans car. The officer says as he turned around, the car took off at a high rate of speed and that started a chase that hit speeds of up to 80 miles per hour.

The pursuit continued until the vehicle slowed in the 400 block of 11th Avenue SW and police say Mallan got out and ran away through backyards. The missing woman was found in the passenger seat.

Police say the woman told them when she went to Mallans home, he cut off his monitoring bracelet with a knife and ordered her to get into her vehicle. According to court documents, the woman says Mallan took her phone, drove them into the country, and yelled at her about their relationship.

The womans phone was also eventually located.

Austin police and fire were then called around 2:48 pm to a garage fire at the home where Mallan lived. Authorities say they were told Mallan has been seen leaving the garage before the fire started.

Mallan was eventually arrested on April 15 after he was discharged from Mayo Clinic Health System in Austin. Police say Mallan went there on April 14 and said he was suffering from a drug overdose.

Mallan has entered a not guilty plea to all charges against him and his trial is scheduled to begin on August 13.
Call Accounting Can Help with GDPR Compliance

Its almost time for graduation, as well as for GDPR. But while many students are wrapping things up with their finals, U.S. companies are still getting schooled on the importance of the upcoming European Union regulation. In a recent article for The Irish Times, Karlin Lillington said most U.S. companies are still not prepared for the EUs General Data Protection Regulation, which takes effect May 25.

The U.S. attitude has always been dismissive towards EU privacy and data protections, writes Lillington. Ive sat through countless sessions at events in the U.S. where EU protections that were supposed to be observed already under the former principles of Safe Harbour data transfer, and later its current replacement Privacy Shield, were discussed with, at best, mild annoyance and too often, belittling contempt.

This is is why Ive always doubted that many U.S. organisations took either seriously, she added. And I know from talking to individuals who know the position at first hand, that, in practice, many havent.

The goal of GDPR is to standardize data protection regulations across the EU.

Cited as an even bigger compliance challenge than MiFID II by some politicians, GDPR is arguably the biggest overhaul of data protection rules in two decades, according to a Thomson Reuters (News - Alert) report. Thomson Reuters forecasts that the penalties for non-compliance will likely be severe.

Some suggest that call accounting solutions can help organizations address GDPR compliance. For example, just last month ISI announced that this solution has received certification from the European Union and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

 ISI (News - Alert) Telemanagement is now certified under the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework explained Laura Huska, ISIs Director of Privacy and Information Security. In todays environment, information privacy and security are of paramount importance to our customers. As a custodian of our customers data, we take privacy and security very seriously. Privacy Shield, combined with our HIPAA and SSAE 16 Type II certifications provides our customers with assurance that their data will remain private and secure.

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Edited by Maurice Nagle
FAIRFIELD, Calif. (AP)  A Northern California woman denied that she or her husband abused their 10 children after authorities said the kids suffered puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun.

The children, ages 4 months to 12 years, were removed from their home March 31 after Ina Rogers contacted authorities to report that her oldest child was missing, police in Fairfield said Monday.

Officers went to the home 46 miles (74 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco and found filthy conditions, Lt. Greg Hurlbut said.

"Officers located unsafe and unsanitary living conditions including garbage and spoiled food on the floor, animal and human feces and a large amount of debris making areas of the house unpassable," he said.

Authorities described injuries to the children, including some that appeared to have been caused by someone shooting a pellet gun.

The father, 29-year-old Jonathan Allen, was arrested Friday after the children were interviewed. He has pleaded not to seven counts of torture and nine counts of felony child abuse and was being held on $5.2 million bail.

The children did not require medical attention when they were removed, but stories about abuse came out gradually over the past six weeks and eight of the children told professionals about incidents dating back several years, authorities said.

Sharon Henry, chief deputy district attorney for Solano County, said she was "horrified" by the statements from the children and that torture was carried out in the house "for sadistic purposes." She declined to elaborate.

"It literally breaks your heart, and you're outraged by how a parent or anyone could commit those acts," Henry said.

Rogers, 30, was arrested on suspicion of neglect last month and released after posting $10,000 bail.

She denied Monday her husband had abused the children.

"There's no broken bones, there is no major scars, nothing," Rogers told reporters in front of her house. "My kids get bumped and bruised and scratched because they're kids but that's it."

Rogers gave journalists a tour of the house, a four-bedroom home with scuffed walls and animal feces in the bathroom.

Rogers said the children slept in one bedroom because they were close; cots were stored in a bedroom closet. The other rooms were used as a master bedroom, playroom and meditation room.

On the day the children were removed, the house was messy because she had just torn it apart looking for her missing son, who was angry because his parents had taken away his tablet computer, Rogers said.

Rogers said she feels the family is being judged for having so many children and choosing to home-school them.

She and her husband both came from broken homes and they wanted a large family, Rogers said.

Child protection officials made one prior visit to the home several years ago, Rogers said. She did not say why.

Rogers said she works the graveyard shift as an EKG technician at a heart monitoring company and her husband is a tattoo artist.

Aleida Quartman, 23, who described herself as Rogers' co-worker, said the mother spoiled her children.

The messy house was just life with children, cats, a dog and fish, Quartman said.

"She told me she's never lived alone and now that her kids are gone and her husband is gone, she's just a mess," Quartman said.

Peggy Allen, the mother of Jonathan Allen, said she had talked to Rogers about the importance of keeping a clean house.

She is estranged from her son and he has kept his family away from the children, she said.

"We're a Christian family and Jonathan has not been raised that way," she said.

Neighbor Larry Magnaye said he had no idea there were 10 children living in the house across the street.

The parents would wave when leaving the driveway, but he never saw the children in the yard or heard them playing in the backyard pool.

"It's a pretty big house," Magnaye said. "But I don't know how you can keep it quiet when you have 10 kids. I can't keep it quiet with one, two you know?"
MASON CITY, Iowa- Bringing an ID to vote is something election officials in Cerro Gordo County have been encouraging for the last couple of years. Lloyd Vollmers, a volunteer himself, said it wasnt a requirement, but it did make their job easier and allow them to be more accurate.

He said Cerro Gordo County was one of the first counties to roll the voter ID process out; then the state followed suit.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said those who live in nursing homes are not required to have a license because local party officials are the once who handle the absentee ballots. He also said that those who are serving overseas have an extended voting periods.

A majority of the voters are familiar with it already, said Vollmers. Some of the voters we just have to explain it to them and walk them through it.

Pate says this year is just a soft roll out of the plan meaning if voters forget their IDs they can still vote after filling out an affidavit.
MASON CITY, Iowa - Iowans could soon see more money back into their paychecks.

A tax cut bill that is estimated to save $2.8 billion in income taxes is currently awaiting Governor Kim Reynolds' signature.

For a typical family of four, an estimated $7 would be saved through these cuts, and middle-class families could see anywhere between $86 and $257 in cuts by next year.

For Des Moines resident Brenda Shelton, the extra money coming back will help with her two sons' college educations, as well as 401K plans.

"It would be helpful for any of that, helpful for any monthly expenses, college coming up...," Shelton says.

Despite a seemingly low return amount, Shelton says it's worth it in the long run.

"I think it is fabulous, for everyone in Iowa, and any surrounding state that would do so. A dollar's a dollar and everything helps," Shelton adds.

Some of the cuts will take effect next year, though some benefits like allowing teachers to deduct classroom expenses will start sooner. However, because of the cuts, the state's budget will shrink by 4% by 2021.
Rochester, Minn.- We caught up with Rabbi David Greene, a scholar at Chabad Lubavitch in Rochester. He tells us that despite the criticism from some this is a way for the people of Jewish faith finally get some truth.

Rabbi Greene tells KIMT News 3 that Jerusalem was a spiritual capitol for Jewish people and that they pray for Jerusalem three times a day.

Its as a moment to be able to reestablish their relationship and connection to Jerusalem and what Jerusalem means to them, said the Rabbi.

Previous Story

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AZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP)  Israeli soldiers shot and killed at least 43 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border on Monday. It was the deadliest day there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war and cast a shadow over Israel's festive inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In a show of anger fueled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. Later on Monday, Israeli forces fired from tanks, sending protesters fleeing to take cover.

The military said its troops came under fire in some areas, and said protesters tried to break through the border fence. It said troops shot and killed three Palestinians trying to plant a bomb.

President Donald Trump said in a video message played at the embassy inauguration  which took place just 70 kilometers (45 kilometers) from the bloodshed on the Gaza border  that he remains committed to "facilitating a lasting peace agreement" between Israelis and Palestinians.

"A great day for Israel!" Trump tweeted earlier Monday.

However, Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move by the Arab world raised new doubts about Trump's ambitions to broker what he once said would be the Mideast "deal of the century."

By late afternoon, at least 43 Palestinians, including five minors, were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said. One of the minors was identified as a girl.

At least 772 protesters were wounded, including 86 in serious or critical condition.

At the embassy ceremony in Jerusalem, Trump son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser Jared Kushner placed the blame on the Gaza protesters.

"As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution," he said.

Kushner and Trump daughter Ivanka led a high-powered American delegation that also included the treasury secretary and four Republican senators.

The new embassy will temporarily operate from an existing U.S. consulate, until a decision has been made on a permanent location.

In Gaza, the Hamas-led protest was meant to be the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory. The Israeli military estimated a turnout of about 40,000, saying this fell short of what Hamas had hoped for.

The march was also directed at the inauguration of the embassy.

Moving the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  a key Trump campaign promise  infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

Monday marked the biggest showdown in years between Israel's military and Gaza's Hamas rulers along the volatile border. The sides have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war  their third in a decade.

The protest was the culmination of a campaign, led by Hamas and fueled by despair among Gaza's 2 million people, to break the blockade of the territory imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Since weekly border marches began in late March, 85 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded by Israeli army fire. Hamas said four members, including three security men, were among the dead Monday.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests against Israel will continue "until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved."

"Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem will be a disaster for the American administration and a black day in the history of the American people because they are partners with the occupation and its aggression against the Palestinian people," he added.

Throughout the day, sirens wailed as the wounded were carried to nearby ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army had set up additional "layers" of security in and around communities near the border to defend Israeli civilians. He said there already had been several "significant attempts" to break through the fence. The army said aircraft targeted a Hamas post in northern Gaza after Israeli troops came under fire.

The timing of Monday's events was deeply symbolic to Israel and the Palestinians.

The U.S. said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment.

But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

A majority of Gaza's 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the "Great March of Return" to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

Protester Mohammed Hamami, a 40-year-old civil servant, attended the march with his mother and five children. "Today we are here to send a message to Israel and its allies that we will never give up on our land," he said.

Clouds of black smoke from burning tires rose into the air. Protesters have used the thick smoke as cover against Israeli snipers perched on high sand berms on the other side of the border. The army accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to plan or carry out attacks.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the city's eastern half as the capital of a future state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut ties with the Trump administration and declared it unfit to mediate peace talks.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said Monday that Trump had violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance and that his administration is "based on lies."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly praised Trump's decision to upend decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Although Trump has said his declaration does not set the final borders of the city, it is seen by both Israel and the Palestinians as taking Israel's side in the most sensitive issue in their conflict.

Only two countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, have said they will follow suit. Most of the world maintains embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the Jerusalem issue must first be resolved.

__

Ben Zion reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Karin Laub in Amman, Jordan contributed to this report.
MASON CITY, Iowa- Some will tell you behavioral services, as well as medical and dental services are in short supply in North Iowa. That is why a non-profit is opening a new facility to fill in those cracks.

Ranae Kruckenberg, CEO for the Fort Dodge Community Health Center, was getting the word out Monday about the services they plan to offer. She spoke to a group of local health care providers including the Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health, Prairie Ridge Integrated Health as well as community members.

Kruckenberg said she has been wanting to open a non-profit clinic in Mason City for the last five years because she said there is a medical gap that needs to be filled.

Mason city is a large city in Cerro Gordo County, she said. Cerro Gordo County has around 14,000 underserved patients so thats our primary focus. The area doesnt have the resources that it needs. We can fill that void.

Kruckenberg said they will plan to employee around 14 people at first and expand as needed. The facility is expected to open this fall.
GARNER, Iowa  A trial has been set for a man accused of setting fire to a house with people inside.

Dontau Tahrel Smith, 43 of Garner, pleaded not guilty Monday to one count of 1st degree arson.

Authorities say Smith started a small fire at the bottom of the stairs in his home after an argument with a roommate on April 14. The roommate told law enforcement that Smith talked about burning them while they sleep.

Smiths trial is scheduled to begin on July 11 in Hancock County District Court.
David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Monday that none of the contentious issues in a new NAFTA trade deal appear to have been resolved, diminishing chances of meeting a Thursday deadline to notify U.S. lawmakers of an agreement.

If the notification is not sent by May 17, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress likely would not have enough time to approve an update to the North American Free Trade Agreement before a newly elected Congress takes over in January.

Even under the negotiating law known as fast track, trade deals require lengthy notification periods before they can be signed by the president and considered by lawmakers. Congress has fewer legislative days this year due to mid-term elections in November.

Speaking at the National Press Club on Monday, Ross said he did not believe any of the big hot topics were resolved, including rules of origin for autos, labor issues, U.S. demands for a five-year sunset provision and major changes to dispute settlement systems.

The big topics like that are still a work in progress. And those are very complex issues, particularly rules of origin, so eventually it will come down to every comma, every semicolon, everything before we can figure out if its something thats workable, said Ross.

NAFTA trade ministers failed in intensive talks last week to reach consensus on the all-important auto content rules, agreeing instead to resume negotiations soon. A deal on autos is considered crucial for the rest of a NAFTA update to fall into place.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Monday and discussed the possibility of bringing the NAFTA talks to a prompt conclusion, Trudeaus office said.

There are no definite plans for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to meet this week with Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo or Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, although negotiating teams from the three countries are still meeting.

The ball is in their court, one Mexican government official said of the Americans when asked about next steps for the NAFTA talks.

Freeland declined to answer questions on NAFTA on Monday at a meeting in Mexico City on the political and economic upheaval in Venezuela.

A spokesman for Freeland said there were no immediate plans for her to travel to Washington, but added that could change.

A USTR spokeswoman, asked if the three ministers would meet again this week, said: We have no announcements at this time.

Ross, who is not directly involved in the negotiations, alluded to the idea that talks could still be in progress on June 1, when a U.S. steel and aluminum tariff exemption for Canada and Mexico expires. Lighthizer has linked negotiations on permanent exemptions for the two countries to a deal on NAFTA.

Ross said he doubted that the tariff exemptions would be extended on a monthly basis except in cases where the United States was in continuous negotiations.

For example, Canada and Mexico also have the postponement until June 1. So depending on where we are on NAFTA on June 1, the president will decide whether or not to extend their situation, Ross said. So its unforecastable at the moment.

Reporting by David Lawder in Washington, David Ljunggren in Ottawa and Dave Graham in Mexico City, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien


* Delay raises risk of deal failure, says analyst

* Layoffs pose hurdle to South African approval

* Shares in Lonmin, Sibanye fall (Updates with Sibanye-Stillwater quote)

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Tuesday it would examine whether a takeover of miner Lonmin by South Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater would reduce competition.

The 285 million pound ($386 million) deal, which would create the world's No.2 platinum producer, faces several hurdles including Lonmin's shrinking cash balance, a stronger rand and competition approval in South Africa.

By 1130 GMT, Lonmin shares had slipped 3.4 percent in London, while Sibanye's were down 4.9 percent in Johannesburg.

Precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater made an all-share offer for London-listed Lonmin in December.

The companies said at the time that the transaction was subject to approval from shareholders and competition clearance in Britain, South Africa and possibly the European Union.

Cash-strapped Lonmin is the world's third-largest platinum producer and Sibanye-Stillwater is the fourth-largest.

A Lonmin spokeswoman said notification was filed to the South African Competition Commission on March 13, followed by the CMA on May 11.

Sibanye was not immediately available for comment.

"The longer the delay, the greater the potential for transaction failure, since the likelier it would be that Lonmin would be in net debt," Shore Capital analyst Yuen Low said.

"Even supposing the CMA approved the transaction, there could be delays to transaction," Low said.

Sibanye has said it will not recommend the transaction to shareholders if Lonmin fails to retain a positive cash balance by the time the deal is scheduled to close in the second half of the year.

Sibanye, which has made a string of acquisitions in recent years, would cut loss-making production after the acquisition, the chief financial officer of Sibanye's U.S region said.

"If we've got ounces that aren't covering their costs they will be taken out... we have to do that. We can't let our shareholders absorb those kind of expenses," Justin Froneman told the Bloomberg Intelligence Precious Metals Forum in London.

Lonmin and Sibanye have projected that 12,600 jobs would be cut at Lonmin in the next three years as expensive production is wound down.

Layoffs are a central issue for competition approval in South Africa, where unemployment runs at about 28 percent.

If the merger were delayed or blocked it could place all Lonmin's 33,000 jobs at risk, Lonmin Chief Executive Ben Magara said on Monday in a results presentation.

Sibanye and Lonmin have an in-principle agreement to discuss asset acquisitions should the deal not conclude, they said.

Blocking the deal would also trigger Lonmin's debt covenants and require the platinum miner to pay $150 million in 20 days.

Credit waivers were granted by Lonmin's lenders in January and prevented the miner from defaulting but it still faces liquidity challenges, its finance head said.

Sibanye said on Tuesday that the South African central bank approved the transaction.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Lamborghini costs about 23 bitcoins, which might not seem like much, unless you owned the cryptocurrency in December, in which case you could have bought one of the $200,000 luxury cars for just 10 of them.

Such was the conversation at Consensus, a three-day crypto event happening in Midtown Manhattan this week. Lamborghinis lined the entrance for a publicity stunt on Monday, while people inside waited on long registration lines while discussing bitcoin prices and evangelizing blockchain, the technology that stands behind most digital currencies.

"This is like the Glastonbury of crypto," said attendee Shane Brett, likening the event to a large music festival held in Britain.

A lucky few snatched invites to an afterparty featuring rapper Snoop Dogg, who is a fan of bitcoin. Crypto enthusiast Jack Dorsey, who is chief executive of Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) and Square Inc (SQ.N), will give a keynote presentation on Wednesday.

A Lamborghini is seen outside Consensus, a three-day crypto event in Midtown Manhattan, New York, U.S., May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Anna Irrera

Event organizer CoinDesk estimated that 7,700 attendees paid between $1,300 and $3,000 per ticket, a much bigger crowd than the 2,700 entrepreneurs, investors and enthusiasts who went to Consensus last year.

"It's packed; it's amazing," Frideric Prandecki, co-founder and CEO of Las Vegas-based Bob's Repair, told Reuters at the event. His startup, which is building a blockchain-based website that lets users find handymen online, raised money by issuing its own cryptocurrency.

Like many others at the event, Prandecki was sanguine about the future for virtual currencies, which are essentially pieces of code not backed by any government or hard asset.

"This is just the beginning of a revolution," he said.

The event comes after a chaotic year for cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin's price hit almost $20,000 in December, more than 10 times what it was worth only five months earlier. Since then it has plunged to roughly $8,700.

Even so, startups have raised millions of dollars from strangers online by issuing new types of cryptocurrencies with little evidence they can deliver on promises of reinventing industries through blockchain.

To some attendees the event and excitement was reminiscent of pre-financial crisis Wall Street.

"When I started in hedge funds it was very specialized, then in 2005 it exploded," said Brett, who runs a company called Gecko Governance, which advises the industry on compliance matters. "It kind of reminds of that period there when people were making tons of money. But it finished in 2008."

Reporting by Anna Irrera; Editing by Lauren Tara LaCapra and Meredith Mazzilli
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon: Two mandrills rescued in Ambam

A man was arrested in Ambam for unlawful possession of two mandrills which he had kept in a cage at his residence. The arrest was carried out by wildlife officials of the Ntem Valley Divisional Delegation of Forestry and Wildlife with the collaboration of the gendarmerie. The mandrills were found in a poor state and held in uncomfortable cages. A wildlife law enforcement support body called LAGA provided technical assistance during the operation.

The 46-year-old man who is believed to be a businessman and manager of a local hotel was planning to sell the mandrills before he was stopped short following his arrest. Prior investigations have proven that he had a female mandrill in his keeping and recently added a male to the female. When the team arrived the home of the suspect, they found his wife who indicated where the husband was and he was informed of the reasons why the team was around. He was then apprehended and taken to the gendarmerie brigade where legal proceedings were carried out.

According to sources close to the matter that requested anonymity, the suspect who was just about to be crowned a quarter head in the town was paradoxically given assurances by one eco-guard who told him that keeping the animal was not a problem. This bolstered him and he intended to keep the two mandrills so that he could get them copulate and reproduce more mandrills so that he could start a mandrill business. He seemed to know many people within the locality as he used to freely go around with the mandrill tied to rope and this unusual behaviour went unattended to until he was arrested. The mandrills have been transported to the Mefou Ape Sanctuary for treatment and lifetime support.

Mandrills are seriously poached for bushmeat and are totally protected by the wildlife law. They are listed in class A and considered to be the highest class of protection provided by the law. Mandrillsarent afraid to come close to human increasing their risk of gettingkilled.They resemble baboons but have very colourful faces and exist principally in the southern parts of the country. They live mainly in rainforests in groups that may range from a few dozens tohundreds. Mandrills feed generally on fruits, tree backs and insects but have been found to consume eggs, young ones of other monkey species and can hunt young antelopes for food also. Strong measures need to be taken to enable the beautiful species to continue to survive in the wild and these measures should target areas like Ambam where primate trafficking is recurrent.

Last January, a chimpanzee was rescued in the same townby the wildlife officials who are bent onimpeding illegal trafficking in primates which seem to be on the rise. Ambam is considered to be a hotspot for trafficking in the country and the authorities need to work very hard and collaboratively to be able to tackle the growing problems of traffickingin the town and its environs.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said it was suspending high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for later in the day on Wednesday due to U.S.-South Korean military exercises that it said went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency also cast doubt on whether next month's summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump could go ahead as planned, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

"This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," Yonhap quoted KCNA as saying.

"The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities."

Wednesday's meeting was due to focus on plans to implement a declaration that emerged from an April 27 inter-Korea summit in the border village of Panmunjom, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearization," the South's unification ministry, which handles ties with the North, said on Tuesday.

KCNA called the U.S.-South Korean "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, a "provocation" and said Pyongyang had no choice but to suspend the talks.

Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Steve Orlofsky
Chattanooga Christian School's Musical Theatre department won three awards on Saturday, in its first year of participating in the Spotlight Awards, a regional theatre competition based out of Nashville.

CCS won Best Set, Best Ensemble, and the highest honor of Best Show, based on their production of "Meet Me in St. Louis" in March.

Out of 25 other schools from Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga, CCS was nominated for seven of the 27 awards (14 individual and 13 school).
The Tennessee Fish and Wildlife Commission will set the 2018-19 and 2019-20 hunting and trapping seasons at its May 17-18 meeting. The meeting will be held at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agencys Ray Bell Region II Building.

Thursdays committee meetings will begin at 1 p.m. The regular commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. on Friday.

TWRA staff presented its recommendations for the next two years at the April TFWC meeting in Nashville.

Various changes were recommended on wildlife management areas, public hunting areas, and national wildlife refuges.

One of the notable proposals by TWRA Wildlife and Forestry Division staff was a change in the definition of an antlered deer. The agency made a recommendation to return to a previous definition of an antlered deer. If approved by the commission, a deer with antlers less than three inches in length would once again be categorized as antlerless and not count toward a hunters buck bag limit.

In 2016, the commission changed the definition of what qualified as an antlered deer to having any antler protruding above the hairline. Among reasons given for returning to the old definition were comments received by TWRA from hunters expressing a desire to return to the three-inch regulations.

The agency is recommending the addition of language to the proclamation to prohibit unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) for use in hunting any wildlife, and to prohibit the use of any cervid urine, except synthetic, for hunting. A change in the rules for big game check-in will be proposed to allow for electronic check-in of bears unless otherwise prohibited such as special refuge hunts.

During Thursdays committee meeting, TWRA Region III manager John Mayer will be honored. He is retiring this summer after 34 years of service.
ML Healthcare welcomes Alexie McIntyre as the regional director of Client Development to the team of marketing experts covering the Southeast region. Ms. McIntyre will advise physicians, attorneys, and legal teams on how to better serve their clients using medical funding.

ML Healthcare is a medical funding company that addresses the critical gap that occurs when an injury victim does not have sufficient access to healthcare. ML Healthcare gives injured clients access to a network of skilled, carefully screened health care providers so they can receive treatment right away instead of waiting on their settlements. Likewise, ML Healthcare makes it possible for these health care providers to treat more patients that ordinarily could not afford their medical services.

We are increasingly focused on expanding to several territories in the southeast region, said Trey Carnes, vice president and in-house counsel at ML Healthcare. With the regions strong healthcare and legal communities, along with Alexies understanding and experience in collaborating with them, were excited to expand our resources as we continue to provide quality care for our patients.

Ms. McIntyre joins ML Healthcare with experience as a full-service marketer and a legal marketer who has extensive orthopedic training. Prior to joining ML Healthcare, Ms. McIntyre worked for Southside Creative as a project manager for the agencys portfolio of clients. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Ms. McIntyre also serves on the board for several nonprofits in the Chattanooga area.
Through a continuing partnership with Crabtree Farms, Chattanoogas community-focused sustainable farm and agricultural resource, EPB will provide space in the heart of the citys Innovation District for a Pop-Up Farm Stand to support the growing interest in fresh, sustainable, locally-grown food.

The Pop-Up Farm Stand will be inside an EPB branded tent at the corner of Market Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, in front of EPBs downtown headquarters building, on select days through the first week in June.



Crabtree is excited to provide downtown Chattanooga with a Pop-Up Farm Stand, said Avery Patten of Crabtree Farms. The stand offers a fun way for folks to access local sustainably grown vegetables and celebrate the beginning of the summer harvest season.



As more people choose to call downtown Chattanooga home, EPB is excited to support our partnership with Crabtree Farms to feed the growing appetite for healthier food choices, said EPB Director of Community and Environmental Stewardship Elizabeth Hammitt. Local, sustainable farming enhances our economy, environmental stewardship and quality of life, which are at the heart of EPBs mission.



The Pop-Up Farm Stand will support access to locally grown, sustainable produce from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., when thousands of Chattanoogans enjoy their midday breaks outdoors on these days:



 Thursday, May 17



 Thursday, May 24

 Thursday, May 31

 Thursday, June 7

Cash, cards or EBT payments are accepted. In addition to fresh produce selections, Crabtree Farms representatives will be available to share information about sustainable farming and healthier food choices.
Artist Hwang Young-sung stands in front of his painting "Silence of Oxen" (1985) on view at the Hyundai Hwarang in central Seoul. / Courtesy of Hyundai Hwarang



By Kwon Mee-yoo



Artists find inspiration in everyday objects people often neglect.



Veteran artist Hwang Young-sung holds a solo exhibition titled "Silence of the Oxen" at Hyundai Hwarang in central Seoul. The exhibit encompasses the artist's oeuvre from the 1970s, centering on his abstract experiments with the ox, a familiar animal to Koreans.



Hwang, 77, unravels nostalgic memories of oxen through a variety of colors and abstract forms. Back then, indigenous subjects were avoided, but instead of evading the idea, Hwang explored the formativeness of oxen through achromatic colors.



"Oxen are particular to Koreans as we literally live with them. When I grew up, we had a barn attached to the house," Hwang said. "I started to paint oxen, thinking of them as part of my family and soon the tale of oxen became my story."



Initiated from his "grey era" works from the 1970s, the "Silence of the Oxen" series feature black and white oxen.



"The white is made up of all colors of light, while the black is all pigments of colors combined. The black ox encompasses all potential and subconscious stories of me and us," Hwang said.



The "Family Story" and "Village Story" series showcase the artist's interest in humanity and diverse ways of life. Traveling around the world in the 1990s, the artist expanded the concept of family though all humankind and animals, reflecting his philosophical enlightenment of understanding on life and human nature.



"Hansi," or Chinese poetry, series is a result from Hwang's recent experimentation for his exhibit at the Shanghai Himalayas Museum in China in 2015. The artist borrowed famous poems such as "Bring in the Wine" by Li Bai and "Flowers Blooming on the Mountains" by Kim So-wol and configured the letters in figurative form.



The exhibit runs through May 27. For more information, visit hyundaihwarang.com or call 02-2287-3591.





"Between The Fresh No.90-s" (2018) by Park Jong-pil / Courtesy of Park Ryu Sook Gallery
By Yoon Ja-young





Korea Electric Power Corp. CEO Kim Jong-kap
By Kim Yoo-chul



The government plans to soften its cryptocurrency policy, after financial policymakers from the world's top 20 economies agreed to acknowledge cryptocurrencies as "financial assets" and opened the door to regulating the booming industry at a later stage.



A "tentative" agreement would be a major headache for Korea's top financial regulators and tax agency because they've classified cryptocurrencies as non-financial products or assets due to their speculative nature. It seems apparent Korea will take on the issue by focusing more on its positive aspects.



Financial policymakers of G-20 nations have set a July deadline for the first step toward "unified regulations" of cryptocurrencies. One reason for the move by the G-20 is that they see cryptocurrencies as "too small to jeopardize" financial markets. The combined market value of cryptocurrencies is less than 1 percent of the global GDP.



Korea also agreed to apply to cryptocurrencies the standards of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body formed to fight money laundering and terrorist financing.










Gosorisool bottles used as vases at the Jeju Saemju brewery in Aewol, Jeju Island. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young



By Yun Suh-young



JEJU -- The island of Jeju, off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula, is in a festive mood this week with an abundance of food and wine as the annual Jeju Food and Wine Festival is underway from May 10 to 19. Into its third year, the festival is now settled as one of the major yearly events held on the island, attracting tourists and locals to enjoy the food and drinks it has to offer.



Only keen travelers will notice, however, that there is something special about the drinks served at the restaurants, when visiting those that are participating in the Gourmet Week as part of the festival.



For instance, when visiting Shinehanmo, a restaurant specializing in tofu dishes, there will be locally brewed Jeju Wit Ale available as a signature drink while Nangpoon Bapsang, a traditional Korean fine dining restaurant, will pair traditional liquor such as Gosorisool or Omegisool (sool means liquor in Korean) -- all locally distilled on Jeju -- with their food.



It's not only that these drinks are locally made on the island that makes them special -- what's more fascinating is that travelers, if they wish, are able to visit the breweries where they are made and even experience making it on their own.





Potato pancake "ssam" (roll) served with traditional liquor at Nangpoon Bapsang in Aewol, Jeju Island. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young



Drinks with a story



At Nangpoon Bapsang, where only course menu is available, customers can choose if they want to pair traditional drinks with it. When they do, each dish comes with a local pairing.



When this reporter visited, it was during the festival period so the restaurant had a special festival menu for the week. Although the regular menu comes with pairing, the special menu was also available with paired drinks upon request.



The drinks come in the order of strength -- starting with lighter ones with lower alcohol percentage and ending with the strongest and heaviest drinks.



After the first appetizer, a relatively light drink of 11 degrees alcohol, Nimome was served followed by Omegisool, at 13 percent.



"We were the first restaurant to serve Nimome when it was launched last year and it was very well received. It's fresh even without carbonic acid. It's popular among women. This one is called Hanbadang, which is makgeolli (rice wine) made with Jeju rice. The alcohol percentage is higher than other makgeollis," said Yang Yong-jin, son of master Kim Ji-soon who owns and runs Nangpoon Bapsang. Kim was officially dubbed "local food master of Jeju" by the provincial government in 2010.



"Nimome goes well with salad and lighter food and is used as an aperitif drink. Makgeolli goes well with jeon (pancakes)."



The food came likewise -- in the order of light to heavy -- starting with seaweed salad, buckwheat rice porridge, potato pancake, sauteed mackerel and herbs, pork with pureed soybean, seaweed soup and abalone mixed with rice and ending with hallabong (Jeju mandarin) jelly and shindari (rice drink).



Nimome, which means "In Your Heart" in the Jeju dialect, is fermented mandarin rice wine made from rice and mandarin skin, developed by a local winery called Jeju Saemju. Omegisool is local liquor made from omegitteok (omegi rice cake) and yeast. Omegi is glutinous millet that used to be abundantly produced on Jeju Island.



"These are Omegisool and Nokko's Tears. The latter has a legend to it. There is a mountain called Soowolbong on Jeju and in the middle of a cliff, there's a place where water drips. Siblings called Soowol and Nokko were climbing that mountain to get herbs for their sick mother when Soowol fell and died. Nokko cried and was frozen there. So this drink, which is made from acanthopanax from that mountain, came to be called Nokko's Tears. Everybody likes this one because it's herby but very mild," said Yang.



"Gosorisool goes well with heavy food. And this one is called Hwangchiljoo made from the roots of a tree called Hwangchil."



Gosorisool is liquor distilled from Omegisool and aged for a long period of time. Although made from the same initial ingredients, Gosorisool, being distilled liquor, has higher alcohol percentage of between 29 and 40 percent.



Having visited Jeju Saemju before heading to eat at Nangpoon Bapsang, the pairings all made sense and the explanations were easily understandable. Jeju Saemju is the local distillery where some of the liquors served at Nangpoon Bapsang are produced.





Kim Suk-hee, CEO of Jeju Saemju, pours drinks for tasting at her distillery in Aewol, Jeju Island. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young



Jeju soju distillery



All of Jeju's famous restaurants are tucked away in little alleys that are hard to find even with navigation. Jeju Saemju was also on what looked like an off-road in the town of Aewol. But one big liquor bottle-shaped stone tower caught our eye.



Stepping into the office of the Jeju Saemju distillery, we were greeted by its founder and CEO Kim Suk-hee, an energetic female figure who has run the place for over a decade.



"We have four different types of liquor produced here. Six months later we'll have a new line added to the existing four. We currently have Nimome, Gosori, Omegi and Seuri," she said.



Gosorisool is, simply put, Jeju soju. The word gosori is Jeju dialect referring to the special bottle to pour soju.



"Gosorisool is intangible cultural asset no. 11 and omegisool is no. 3. These two are the traditional Jeju liquors. Jeju used to be abundant with glutinous millet but not anymore. Farmers don't grow it anymore so it's five times the price of rice. As a result, I reduced the amount of millet in the liquor and the taste became softer," said Kim.



"It should be called Jeju soju like Gaeseong soju in North Korea, but the name comes from the tool that is used for pouring soju. So Jeju's traditional liquor became gosorisool."



Ironically, although the local drink is widely available on Jeju, the liquor is mostly consumed in Seoul and other metropolitan cities on the mainland.



"Jeju islanders find it expensive. They are not yet up to that culture of drinking good liquor with good food. Koreans think they should get drunk when they drink so this is expensive for that purpose. But if they shift their mindset and drink pleasantly, this is affordable (around 13,000 won). I don't know why people eat good food but not drink good sool," said Kim.



"People in Seoul seem to be pairing good alcohol with food these days. A good sign is that Jeju people began to drink our products from a year ago."



Kim's distillery was designated as "Visiting Distillery" by the agriculture ministry in 2014 as an effort by the central government to encourage tours. It was since then that this business took off.



"Government recognition helped a lot. I started back in 2005 but I had a hard time making money. I poured everything in but still people didn't know about or recognize traditional liquor. Only one out of a hundred would acknowledge the good taste. It was only in 2014 that the business started operating in the black," she said.



Visitors here can purchase liquor at almost one third of the price at restaurants and also experience making cocktails with omegisool and gosorisool as a base liquor and also make "shindari," a yogurt-like drink fermented with rice and yeast.



"We get about seven to eight individual groups visiting us every day -- mostly tourists from the mainland or foreigners. I don't receive group tours because I can't handle that," said Kim.





The beer making process is explained on the wall as light projection at Jeju Beer brewery in Hanlim, Jeju Island. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young



Local beer brewery



At Shinehanmo, which serves an array of tofu dishes, all of the food went quite well with the light and sour Jeju Wit Ale. But initially, the drink was crafted to be paired best with Jeju's most famous ingredient -- black pork.



"We thought a lot about which food would go best with our beer and we thought of black pork. Food pairing also applies to beer," said Kim Hyun-kee, tour manager at Jeju Beer during a tour offered at the brewery located in Hanlim.



The beer, according to the company, also pairs well with greasy fish such as mackerel and yellowtail fish sashimi as well as gogi guksu, a local Jeju meat noodle.



"The standard of good taste is very subjective so we decided to focus on creating good beer. That had to start with the ingredients. On Jeju we have clean water, and organically-grown mandarins which we use for flavor. We also have great recipe from Brooklyn Brewery's James Beard Award winning brewmaster Garrett Oliver who has 30 years of knowhow. We've collaborated with him and several other brewers with over 15 years of experience," said Kim, during the 40 minute tour.



When entering the transparent glass building, visitors are guided to the third floor reception where they gather for a tour held every hour. During the peak season, the brewery offers tours every 30 minutes.



When the pre-registered group is gathered, a tour guide takes the group to the second floor where the beer tour begins. It starts with a brief introduction about the ingredients that go into beer making -- water, yeast, hop, and malt -- and the beer making process is neatly summed up by a light projection on a wall.



"First we grind the wheat. Then we put it in a tank and mix in the water. When it warms up, sugar is extracted. Then it goes through a filtering process and hops are added and the mix is boiled to extract flavor. Finally it goes into a fermentation tank where it matures. For wit ale which we produce now, this takes two weeks," said Kim.





The fermentation tank at Jeju Beer where the last stage of beer making is complete. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young



The next section was about the Jeju Beer brand and the third section had different types of beer produced in the world categorized in graphics on the wall. Opposite the wall was transparent glass that showed the brew house where the wort is made. The fourth section had a lab where various ingredients were displayed to be seen, smelled and touched.



"These are all the ingredients we're experimenting with for the next beer," said Kim, holding up bottles with coriander seeds and mango powder.





The lab at Jeju Beer where various ingredients are displayed for visitors to see, touch and smell. These are ingredients the beer company is currently experimenting with for its next brand. / Korea Times photo by Yun Suh-young
By Kim Jae-kyoung







SINGAPORE  U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are likely to reach a deal at their June meeting in Singapore, according to a noted political scientist on international relations, Tuesday.







He believes if the two leaders walk away from Singapore without a deal, they would be worse off than if there had been no summit as it will reduce options to a potential conflict.







Douglas Webber

"I don't think the two sides would have agreed to a summit without being fairly certain they will reach an accord," Douglas Webber, professor of Political Science at INSEAD, said in an interview.







"Both would stand to lose now from a failure. The difficult issues will concern the sequencing of their mutual concessions."







His view came after Trump announced last Thursday he would meet Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 to discuss the North's denuclearization.







He thinks the main purpose of Kim coming to Singapore is to polish his international image and earn a security guarantee for his regime so he will not want to denuclearize before the U.S. has granted him the concessions he seeks.







"I am sure Kim will appreciate the boost in his international diplomatic and political prestige that his meeting the U.S. president will bring," he said.







"He will be looking especially for an easing, if not abolition, of existing economic sanctions on North Korea, a security guarantee from the U.S., and conceivably a reduction of the U.S. military presence in South Korea."







Webber, whose field is foreign policy and regional political integration in East Asia and the Asia Pacific, said the key issue at the Singapore summit is verification, citing Pyongyang's history of broken promises.







North Korea signed an agreement not to develop nuclear weapons in the 1990s but it reneged on its commitments then.







"Given this precedent, the U.S. will certainly insist on an agreement that minimizes North Korea's scope to defect from it," he said.







Webber, also a Robert Schuman fellow at the European University Institute, said the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord may also make Kim more nervous about signing an accord than he would have been otherwise.







"Both sides have reason to distrust each other. So it is by no means certain that, if an accord is reached, it will stand the test of time," he said.







From his perspective, another factor that may influence Kim's bargaining tactics is China's stance.







He pointed out that if Kim agrees to denuclearize, China, the invisible third party at the table, will likely support his insistence on a rapid dismantlement of economic sanctions on North Korea.







"China does not like North Korea having nuclear weapons, but they want it to be stable and not collapse," he said.







"China also does not want the South-led unification and a unified Korea ending up in a security alliance with the U.S."







Asked why Singapore was chosen as the venue for the historic summit, he said, "Singapore is a neutral venue and has diplomatic ties to both the U.S. and North Korea."







He added, "It is safe and secure and has a good track record of staging international summits, including notably, a few years ago, the first meeting of the Chinese and Taiwanese heads of state."








By Oh Young-jin





Is North Korea's Kim Jong-un going down the path of the last Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev? The two have converged a lot so far, but of course we know about the end of Gorbachev's story, while Kim's remains open-ended.



Gorbachev had pushed for glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) and was hailed for it by western media, but his effort ended up hastening the demise of the Soviet empire, which rivaled the U.S. and ruled the half the world ideologically.



Kim Jong-un, the third dictator in the North's quasi-communist dynasty (sounds like an oxymoron), is catching the world off guard with his bold attempt to open up his reclusive kingdom. He recently declared that becoming a nuclear weapon state, one of the North's two goals -- under the "Byeongjin doctrine" -- has been achieved, enabling him to focus on the other -- economic development.



So Kim has started on a bold path as Gorbachev did.



There are many interpretations about Gorbachev's role in the Soviet collapse.



One is he made a fatal mistake in giving away the store, thinking he could pull off the Soviet turnaround. That confidence derived from his close association with leaders of the West -- U.S. President Ronald Reagan, West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.





Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet president, with U.S. President Ronald Reagan before the collapse of the Soviet Union. / Wikipedia
Pyongyang citizens ride public bikes provided by the city's Ryomyong. / From Choson Sinbo



By Jung Da-min



Is North Korea closer to the "normal" way of life enjoyed by the outside world than has been portrayed? Or is it unique to the North's capital of Pyongyang?



A public city bike rental system Ryomyong was launched in January, according to the Choson Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper based in Tokyo.



The outlet recently reported 16 Korean-Japanese delegates visiting Pyongyang rode bikes on Gwangbok Street in early May, the first time for foreign tourists to ride the public bikes. There are currently five bike stations along Gwangbok Street.



"We started the bike rental service to meet the demand of citizens of Pyongyang while promoting their health, as well as to protect the ecological environment of the city," said Rah Gwang-chul, head of the Pyongyang bike rental management office.



According to Rah, there have been many requests by Pyongyang citizens for more rental stations.



Pyongyang's public bike rental service is similar to Seoul's system, Ttareungyi. One difference is that Ryomyong does not have mobile passes available through an application.



Users can buy Ryomyong bike cards at each bike station through electronic payment cards called "Jeonseong." Users then put the card on the card reader to get it recognized.



After that, they just have to enter their passwords on the input device installed on the bike rack. Users pay for the duration of the ride when they return the bike. The service is available from 6 a.m. to midnight.



Pyongyang is a bicycle-friendly city.





Users can buy the bike card (below left) to rent Pyongyang's public bikes at each Ryomyong station (top). Pyongyang has over 100 bike lanes. / From DPRK Today (top), Choson Sinbo (below)
By Kim Rahn



North Korea has begun the dismantlement of its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri, the closure of which it plans to disclose to foreign media, satellite imagery showed Tuesday.



According to 38 North, a U.S. website monitoring Pyongyang, the imagery taken May 7 showed "definitive evidence" that the dismantlement was "already well underway."



"Several key operational support buildings, located just outside the north, west and south portals, have been razed since our last analysis (April 20)," it said.



Some rails for mining carts and several sheds around the site have been removed, while some carts have been disassembled, according to the imagery.



But larger buildings around the facilities and the entrances to tunnels remain intact.












NK bestseller reprinted amid 2 Koreas' ties in smooth sailing



By Park Jin-hai



In a capitalist society, there are various reasons for divorce. Money, domestic violence and unfaithful spouses are some of the most common triggers of family breakups, while celebrities or high-profile couples who don't want their private lives to be exposed to the public simply put it down to "irreconcilable differences."



What if the couples live in a dictatorial state? What would be their main reasons to end or decades of marriage life?



A North Korean bestseller "Friend" says there are no major differences in the causes of divorce between a capitalist society and the reclusive regime that is North Korea.



"Please help me end my marriage," deplores a 33-year-old woman to a local people's court judge overseeing the divorce cases in the novel written by Paek Nam-ryong. The estranged wife, who has a son, claims "disharmony" with her husband and "different lifestyles" are the reasons for their marital problems.



The novel, beginning with story of the divorce court, might sound lackluster, but it becomes a totally different story in that the author is a North Korean and he worked on the 1988 best seller based on true stories in the reclusive state.



The book was first introduced to South Korean readers in 1992 after a South Korean publisher released it. It gave them many surprises as they don't have deep knowledge about what's going on inside the regime, including marriage, divorce and other family relationships.



Equally shocking is that the divorce claim has been filed by a female spouse, a factory worker-turned-signer. She complained that her blue-collar worker husband is not ambitious enough to make efforts to climb the social ladder or seek educational attainment. In North Korea, divorce can be filed for not such grand reasons as life-threatening domestic violence or the spouse's adultery in a country where the family is said to be the basic "cell" of society and divorce is a social ill that poses a threat to making a united nation.



Riding on the amicable mood on the peninsula, in the wake of the historic inter-Korean summit last month, Paek's novel has been republished in South Korea this year amid the summit of the leaders of the two Koreas earlier this month.



"In North Korea as well, popular writers are those who write romances and something down-to-earth and close to the everyday life of people," said novelist Jeong Do-sang, who visited Pyongyang several times as part of an exchanges of authors agreed by the June 15 joint declaration after the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. "When I met North Korean authors in 2005, they showed great interest in South Korean readers. In the mood of rapprochement between Seoul and Pyongyang, the republication of the novel could open the gate for more discussions on North Korean literature."



The book's story revolves around a married couple's divorce process and the judge who visits the couple and their friends and struggles to resolve the case in the best interest of the couple's son. In so doing, it reflects on the regime's legal procedure and judicial system.



"While a judge usually handles a divorce issue by going through papers in the South, the North Korean judge in the book acts more like a friend who agonizes over how to minimize the fallout of the divorce and reduce pain for the child," said Jeong.

The novel, showing a clear departure from the ideology-heavy novels, became so popular when it was published in the late 1980s and it was adapted to a TV series on the Korean Central Television in 2001. Its French translation, "Des Amis," was published in 2011, the first French-translated North Korean novel.



The novel's author Paek, born in 1949 in Hamheung in South Hamgyong Province, worked in a machinery factory for 10 years, before entering Kim Il-sung University. He debuted in 1979 as a novelist.



When the novel was first introduced in South Korea in 1992, it was published without a proper copyright agreement. This time publisher Asia Literature signed a deal with the Seoul-based Foundation of Inter-Korea Cooperation, which retains the right to negotiate copyright issues for North Korean books.

Four more North Korean novels including Paek's "60 Years Later," and "A Hymn of Youth" by Nam Dae-hyeon will be published this month.


Sarah Dinell. / Courtesy of Yeompo Elementary School



By Park Si-soo



Parents of a late American English teacher have promised to donate 10 million won ($9,300) to Yeompo Elementary School in Ulsan in memory of their daughter, the school said Monday. They also donated nearly 300 English books to help create a better English learning environment.



Sarah Dinell, 24, died in a car accident in November 2016, when she was working at the school as a native English teacher.



The parents made the donation as an "extension of Dinell's love and passion for English education," school official said.





Students and teachers with books donated by Dinell's parents at Yeompo Elementary School in Ulsan, Monday. / Courtesy of Yeompo Elementary School
During my 34-year legal career, I have had the privilege to practice and to appear before Chattanooga City Council and before Chattanooga City Court Judge Sherry Paty, who has served on the bench for 17 years. Over the years, I have watched our City Council consistently demonstrate both strong leadership and a sincere focus on doing what is best for our city. Accordingly, I trust ... (click for more)

Hooray for the Saturday Funnies! Every week we gather the funnies we find on the Internet and produce our weekly laughs. Please understand they are not written nor originate here; it is rather a collection of what we find or is shared by our readers. If you come across any funnies that we worthy and tasteful for a general audience, please share them us at royexum@aol.com . ... (click for more)
Dokdo / Korea Times file



South Korea urged Japan on Tuesday to retract its repeated territorial claim over Dokdo, a pair of rocky outcroppings in the East Sea, saying it will only impede efforts to move forward bilateral ties.



It was a reminder of longstanding diplomatic rifts between the neighboring countries despite a call for firm unity among regional powers to handle Pyongyang's recent peace overtures.



In a statement, South Korea's foreign ministry denounced the description of sovereignty over Dokdo in Japan's yearly foreign policy document, known as the Diplomatic Bluebook, reported to the Cabinet earlier in the day.



The ministry lodged a strong complaint against the Japanese government's "unjustifiable" claim over the ownership of Dokdo, which is effectively controlled by Seoul.



"The Japanese government will have to recognize that reiterating the unjustifiable and preposterous assertion about Dokdo won't be of help at all to the establishment of forward-looking South Korea-Japan relations,' the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.



It stressed that Japan's move will have no effect on South Korea's firm territorial sovereignty as clarified by history, geography and international law.



"The government will deal resolutely with any of Japan's provocations related to Dokdo," it said.



The ministry will soon summon Koichi Mizushima, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, to lodge a formal protest, a government source said.



In the diplomatic paper, Japan also refused to accept "East Sea" as the name to describe the body of water lying between the two sides.



Unlike the 2017 version, it left out the expression that South Korea is "the most important neighbor" to share strategic interests with Japan.



It represents an apparent departure from the Shinzo Abe administration's friendly gestures toward Seoul in dealing with the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago.



In talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Abe requested Seoul's support for Tokyo's efforts to resolve the matter.



South Korea wants its eastern waters to be called the East Sea in international maps and documents.



Japan's naming of the sea has become better known globally as a legacy of its colonial rule of Korea from 1910-45, it points out.



As a realistic alternative, the government has long campaigned for the simultaneous use of the South Korean and Japanese names. (Yonhap)
By Kim Hyun-bin



The Supreme Court upheld a three-year prison sentence imposed on Choi Soon-sil, a close confidant of former President Park Geun-hye, for exerting inappropriate influence to enroll her daughter at Ewha Womans University.



"She disregarded law and order, violated principal and regulations," the court said Tuesday.



Choi was found guilty of colluding with officials from Ewha Womans University to get her 22-year-old daughter Chung Yoo-ra special treatment in the school's admissions process.



She and several Ewha officials including then-university President Choi Kyung-hee were indicted in 2016 on charges of obstruction of duty.



Choi used her ties with the former president to demand her daughter's professors give grades for papers she never submitted and exams she never took.



Last June, a lower court found Choi guilty verdict, stating there was "too much wrongdoing to consider her actions were solely out of love for her child," and sentenced her to three years in prison.



In November, a higher court upheld the prison term, citing she ignored the law and legal procedures.

The Supreme Court also upheld two-year jail terms for the disgraced former Ewha president and a professor, Kim Kyoung-sook, for their involvement.



Choi, who has been detained over a massive corruption scandal, will remain in a detention center until her other trials are concluded.

In February, a lower court sentenced her to 20 years in prison with a fine of 18 billion won ($16.9 million) and the forfeiture of 7.29 billion won, for bribery, abuse of power and coercion.



The ruling came 450 days after she was indicted on 18 counts of corruption in November 2016.



"Choi's actions have shaken societal order, causing great confusion and leading to the unprecedented impeachment of a president," the judge said. "Her meddling in state affairs has angered citizens, but she has shown no signs of remorse and consistently denied the charges. Severe punishment is unavoidable."



Using her ties with the former president, Choi forced 50 conglomerates to pay a combined 77.4 billion won to two nonprofit foundations she ran _ K-Sports and Mir foundations _ and other affiliated organizations.



In April, former President Park Geun-hye was sentenced to 24 years in prison and fined 18 billion won.

The Seoul Central District Court convicted Park on 16 of 18 charges including abuse of power, bribery, coercion and the mishandling of state secrets.




Koichi Mizushima, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, leaves the foreign ministry building after being summoned by the ministry's Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau for Japan's claims to Dokdo in its foreign policy documents for 2018. / Yonhap



By Kim Bo-eun



South Korea's foreign ministry on Tuesday condemned Japan for repeating claims to Korea's easternmost islets of Dokdo in its foreign policy documents for 2018.



Japan's foreign ministry submitted its "Diplomatic Bluebook" containing such claims to the Cabinet the same day. The move comes at a time when South Korea and the U.S. are seeking closer cooperation with Japan ahead of crucial talks over denuclearizing North Korea.



The document claimed "Takeshima" as Japan's inherent territory and that "South Korea is illegally occupying" the islets.



Referring to South Korea's East Sea, the document also stated "The 'Sea of Japan' is the only name that has been established according to international law."



Last year the document referred to Korea as "the most important neighboring state with which (Japan) shares its strategic interests," but this sentence was deleted in this year's publication.



In addition, the document urged Korea to follow through with a bilateral deal reached in 2015 on compensating Korean victims of Japan's sexual slavery during World War II. Korea has taken issue with the deal, because it was made behind closed doors without hearing the voices of the victims.



Korea's foreign ministry released a statement denouncing Japan's claims, and summoned Koichi Mizushima, minister at the Japanese Embassy in Seoul.



"We strongly protest against Japan repeating its territorial claims of our inherent territory Dokdo, and strongly urge it to withdraw the claims," the ministry said in the statement.



It added "The Japanese government should take into account that repeating its unjust claims for Dokdo does not in any way help establish future relations between South Korea and Japan."



"The ministry's Northeast Asian Affairs Bureau summoned the minister from the Japanese Embassy in Seoul, and protested against the documents that contained unjust claims for Dokdo, the sex slave issue and the East sea, and called for immediate withdrawal of the these parts in the document" ministry spokesman Noh Kyu-duk said in a briefing.



"We made it clear that we cannot accept Japan's unjust claim for the name of the East Sea, and stressed the East Sea is the name of the waters that we have used for over 2,000 years."


Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon delivers an address at the National Assembly, Tuesday, to detail spending plans included in the government's extra budget bill. / Yonhap



By Choi Ha-young



Ruling and opposition parties confirmed, Tuesday, to draw up a bill for an independent investigation into a high-profile opinion-rigging scandal centered on a confidant of President Moon Jae-in.



The parties also agreed to start negotiations over the government's extra budget bill worth 4 trillion won ($3.72 billion).



These bills, if inter-party talks go smoothly, will be passed at a plenary National Assembly session on May 18.



The agreements came after weeks of bitter confrontations over the opposition demand for a special probe into the opinion-rigging scandal. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) finally agreed to this, but there could be a new round of partisan wrangling over the scope of the investigation.



The opposition side agreed not to specify President Moon and his confidant Kim Kyoung-soo  a former DPK lawmaker who is running for a gubernatorial election in South Gyeongsang Province  in the envisioned bill.



The opposition parties had demanded a wide-ranging investigation of Kim and other DPK members  and even President Moon  ahead of the mayoral and gubernatorial elections in June. The DPK had rejected the move saying it "disobeys the presidential election," which has led to a 42-day paralysis of the Assembly, coupled with a hunger strike by Liberty Korea Party (LKP) floor leader Kim Sung-tae.



Still, the investigation is likely to bring further conflict as the elections near. LKP floor leader Kim Sung-tae vowed "investigation without sanctuary," in a party meeting Tuesday. If the special prosecutor tries to search Cheong Wa Dae or question Kim Kyoung-soo, this could lead to fallout for the ruling camp.



"Even though the President and the DPK were removed from the title of the bill, the investigation will not rule out incidents that would be newly found as the investigation develops," Kim Sung-tae noted.



The parties agreed to get recommendations of four lawyers from the Korean Bar Association. Afterward, three Assembly negotiation groups  the LKP, the Bareun Mirae Party and the members group for Peace and Justice  will pick two of them. Then, President Moon is supposed to choose a special prosecutor who is in charge of forming a team.



At the May 18 plenary session, the parties are also supposed to pass the extra budget bill. As the first step in doing so, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon gave his administrative policy speech, Tuesday.



"The frustrations among young people are growing, due to high unemployment," Lee said in the speech. "The youth unemployment rate stands at 11.6 percent, and it is assumed almost 25 percent are jobless."



The budget bill also aims to boost the sluggish economies of southern industrial areas such as Gunsan of North Jeolla Province and Tongyeong of South Gyeongsang Province. "Along with shutdowns of shipyards and car manufacturing factories, the unemployment rate has more than doubled," Lee noted.



To meet the deadline of the passage, lawmakers are quickening their steps on a legislative review on the bill. Right after Lee's speech, the Assembly summoned the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. Other committees are expected to have meetings over the weekend.


By Lee Min-hyung







Three foreign aerospace firms  Boeing, Saab and Airbus  are expected to bid for Korea's lucrative maritime patrol aircraft project.







In February, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) unveiled its plan to sign a deal with an overseas aircraft manufacturer to introduce next-generation maritime patrol aircraft by 2020.







The project is worth 1.9 trillion won ($1.76 billion). Boeing has presented its P-8A Poseidon as a candidate model for the project, while Saab from Sweden is competing with its Swordfish long-range maritime patrol aircraft.







Airbus Defense and Space (DS) also expressed its willingness Tuesday to join the bidding process with its C295 Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA), a multi-role aircraft derived from the C295 military purpose transport aircraft.







"If the government adopts an open tender process for the project, we are willing to compete with other aircraft manufacturers," an Airbus spokesman said.







The company also plans to promote the new patrol aircraft on Thursday in Seoul by holding a press conference.







Initially, DAPA considered introducing the P-8A under the Foreign Military Sales program with the U.S. defense department. But the defense acquisition unit is opening the possibility to have a competitive bidding for the project.







DAPA plans to hold a meeting as early as this month to decide the form of the contract for the project.







The Republic of Korea Navy currently uses the P-3 patrol aircraft. But in a defense acquisition meeting in February, the defense ministry and DAPA decided to adopt new surveillance aircraft that offer a longer flight duration and heavier weapons payload.







Boeing's P-8A can fly at a maximum speed of 907 kilometers per hour. The aircraft is derived from Boeing 737 jet airliner.







To compete against Boeing, Saab mulls transferring its high-tech radar technology for Korea's KF-X fighter jet development project.


By Lee Min-hyung



A ranking North Korean delegation has visited China in an apparent move to draw a roadmap for its economic development after the historic summit between Pyongyang and Washington next month.



"The delegation  led by Park Thae-song, vice chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee  arrived in Beijing on Monday," the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said Tuesday. The news agency did not report on the delegation members or their purpose of the Beijing visit.



This came about a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the Chinese port city of Dalian to enhance what the regime calls the "strategic partnership."



The latest Beijing visit by the delegation is seen as the regime's efforts to draw blueprints for its future economic development following the first-ever summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for June 12.



The Park-led delegation is known to have visited Zhongguancun, better known as Chinese Silicon Valley, as part of an on-site inspection of Beijing's technology hub.



The delegation's China visit is also interpreted as a move for the regime to show its determination to stop pushing for its decades-long closed economy stance and be open for business across the globe.



Pyongyang is on track to turn itself into a "normal state" by pledging to stop its nuclear armament and open dialogues with its long-time enemies, such as Seoul and Washington. Last week, the North pledged to dismantle its nuclear test site in Punggye-ri sometime between May 23 and 25, in an apparent bid to show its strong willingness for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.



But as Kim Jong-un seeks to sign a grand nuclear bargain with his U.S. counterpart during the upcoming summit, critics say the young dictator is apparently displaying his nation's close alliance with China to take advantage of the latter's political influence ahead of his meeting with Trump.



This is not the first time that a North Korean delegation has visited China for a similar reason.



In August 2010, then-North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il, visited China to seek political and economic partnerships. Two months later, the regime also dispatched a group of 12 high-ranking North Koreans in a delegation to China.



Park is a lesser-known North Korean ranking official who started working at the regime's state-run media in September 2012. He has since been promoted to the vice chairmanship of the North's ruling party.


By Baek Byung-yeul







Lotte Chemical is suffering problems from Malaysian affiliate, petrochemical unit Lotte Chemical Titan, as the latter is struggling with plant operations.







Industry watchers said Wednesday that the affiliate is experiencing operational setbacks at it polyethylene production facility in Malaysia, causing almost 10 billion won in depreciation and repair costs







Lotte Chemical has invested 300 billion won in expanding polyethylene production there since 2015 and the plant is estimated to have a production capacity of 810,000 tons, up 13 percent from the previous capacity of 720,000 tons.







Lotte Chemical Titan is involved in the manufacturing and sales of petrochemical products including ethylene, polyethylene and polypropylene in Malaysia. Lotte bought Malaysia's largest chemical producer for 1.5 trillion won.







Cho Hyun-ryul, an analyst at Samsung Securities said the operation rate at the facility was at 83 percent in the second quarter, dropping from 86 percent in the first.







Lotte Chemical Titan recorded a first quarter net profit of 71.9 billion won, the analyst said, missing a forecast of 91.4 billion won.







The lagging performance of the affiliate also negatively affected parent company, Lotte Chemical.







Lotte Chemical posted a net profit of 662 billion won in the first quarter. This still makes the company the country's leading petrochemical company, but it is 18.8 percent down from 814.8 billion won in the first quarter of last year.







The company said the lower-than-expected first quarter result was driven mainly by poor product margins. The company saw a higher naphtha cost in February due to increased oil prices that rose sharply by over $5 per barrel.







Lotte Chemical listed its Malaysian unit on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange last July and raised about 1 trillion won in fresh funding.


By Javier Solana





AACHEN, Germany  With the decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement  formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)  U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has demonstrated, yet again, that it is determined to destroy major global structures and agreements. The decision will be a massive blow to the 2015 deal, putting the entire world at risk.



The JCPOA  the result of years of difficult negotiations  was agreed by seven countries and the European Union, and unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. Yet Trump has decided unilaterally to impose "the highest level of economic sanction" on Iran and on "any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons."



Now, companies and banks from countries that have lived up to their commitments under the JCPOA stand to suffer considerably, as a result of their legitimate business ties with Iran. In other words, the country that is breaking its promises has decided to punish those that have kept theirs.



The JCPOA can still be salvaged. All of the other parties to the agreement have already reaffirmed their commitment to it. But the EU, in particular, must step up to take responsibility for ensuring that the JCPOA survives. While transatlantic relations are a high priority, so is defending multilateralism  and all of its milestones  from reckless and unjustifiable attacks. This is all the more true when those attacks aim not to put "America first," but to put Trump first.



Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA has come at a particularly sensitive moment for international relations. For one thing, nuclear proliferation remains at the top of the agenda on the Korean Peninsula. While some positive steps have lately been taken, the Trump administration, with its incoherent policy approach, may yet squander this opportunity.



On April 27, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to discuss a formal peace agreement to end the Korean War. The Moon-Kim meeting was a prelude to another extraordinary summit, between Kim and Trump, which will take place on June 12.



The first-ever meeting between a North Korean leader and a sitting U.S. president reflects the significant progress that has been made in the space of just a few months. Lest we forget, 2018 began with Kim and Trump exchanging threats for the umpteenth time, and with Trump going so far as to boast about the size of his "nuclear button."



Since then, however, the U.S. has relied on diplomacy rather than bombast in handling the North Korean nuclear threat  an approach that has enabled recent progress. And yet, just as newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was flying to North Korea to meet Kim for a second time, Trump reverted to his antagonistic modus operandi with regard to Iran.



Negotiating with Kim was always going to be extremely challenging, especially given that North Korea, unlike Iran, already possesses nuclear weapons. With America's diplomatic credibility now undermined by Trump's violation of the JCPOA, that job will be all the more difficult.



Trump tends to express himself in terms of national interests, sovereignty, military capacities, and economic supremacy. Yet his fixation with Iran has little to do with realpolitik. Rather, it is in keeping with his systematic rejection of all policies associated with his predecessor, President Barack Obama. Beyond that, his JCPOA withdrawal is meant to please Trump's two favorite allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia and Israel  the first two countries he visited as president.



Indeed, when Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's crown prince, visited the White House in March, Trump quickly dispensed with the thorny question of the Saudi-led war in Yemen by denouncing Iranian support for the Houthi rebels. Rather than take the diplomatic initiative to end the fighting and restore stability in Yemen, the Trump administration has continued to fan the flames of an ongoing Saudi-Iranian proxy war that is causing untold suffering and roiling the region.



Similarly, this week the U.S. will move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump's announcement of the move in December already generated great unease in the Muslim world (though Iran's protests were more aggressive than Saudi Arabia's).



The fact that the embassy will be opened precisely on the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence will only intensify the controversy. On the following day, Palestinians will mark the Nakba ("catastrophe"), commemorating the mass displacement of the Palestinian population that resulted from the establishment of the state of Israel.



To be sure, the U.S.'s alliances with Saudi Arabia and Israel are not new. But Trump has abandoned the previous administration's more moderate approach, and thus risks opening a Pandora's box in the Middle East. Hawks in both countries are now emboldened, as evidenced by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's eccentric attempt to discredit the JCPOA. The same holds true for Iran, where Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA plays directly into the hands of hard-liners.



The current state of affairs does not bode well for the situation in Syria, where all of the region's powers have a stake. Israeli and Iranian forces have already clashed in southern Syria, and Netanyahu's government is now threatening further action in response to reports that Russia may furnish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with S-300 anti-aircraft missiles.



Trump's abrogation of the JCPOA will almost certainly fuel the downward spiral of confrontation in the Middle East, while further complicating matters on the Korean Peninsula. More broadly, Trump's decision could have serious implications for global nuclear nonproliferation efforts, which now face the prospect of backsliding. The stakes in the weeks and months to come could not be higher.





Javier Solana was EU high representative for foreign and security policy, secretary-general of NATO, and foreign minister of Spain. He is currently president of the ESADE Center for Global Economy and Geopolitics and distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).


By Andrew Hammond





U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asserted Sunday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's vow to destroy his nation's key nuclear testing site "is a good first step" in preparations for the landmark June 12 Singapore summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim. With positive mood music currently surrounding the Trump-Kim session, North Korea offers the potential to become the U.S. president's first big foreign policy win.







Any final, comprehensive deal between Washington and Pyongyang is possibly years away. Yet, it is already clear that it would be a remarkable achievement if Trump were to help preside over "denuclearization" of the Korean Peninsula; help seal a peace treaty between the North and the South to supplement the armistice ending the 1950-53 Korea War; and in the process de-escalate tensions in the world's last Cold War-era frontier.







Should Kim ultimately decide to abandon North Korea's nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and security guarantees, the reason why this would  potentially  be so central to Trump's eventual foreign policy legacy is that almost a year and a half into office, the president's international actions have been much more defined by the dismantling of policies of previous presidents, especially Barack Obama, rather than building something new. He has, for instance, last week withdrew U.S. participation from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the U.S., China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany.







Prior to that decision he scrapped U.S. involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal with key allies in Asia-Pacific and the Americas; withdraw Washington from the Paris climate change deal agreed to by over 170 nations; and launched a review of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which may yet collapse in 2018. The first three of these initiatives (Iran, TPP and Paris) were Obama-era signature policies, and Trump has also partially rolled back other key measures from the previous administration, including the Cuba liberalization policy.







Yet, for all this diplomatic action, thus far the new administration has failed to forge any clear, coherent and comprehensive new Trump doctrine, centered around his "America first" vision. When Trump moved into the White House, he promised a radical platform that could have reshaped U.S. foreign and trade policy more radically than at any point since the beginning of the Cold War  the time that Harry Truman helped build a consensus around U.S. global leadership.







To be sure, Trump has made some moves to shift away from this postwar orthodoxy  pursued by both Democratic and Republican presidents  such as building U.S.-led alliances to expand the liberal democratic order. But in practice, much of the last year and a half has also been characterized by policy incoherence and U-turns on issues such as military action in 2017 and 2018 in Syria  a departure from Trump's 2016 campaign rhetoric; and whether key international alliances like NATO are "obsolete" or "not obsolete."







These flip-flops reflect not just the ad-hoc nature of the new president's style of governing, and his contrarian character, but also the divisions within his team on key foreign policy issues. Take the example of the Paris climate deal, Iran nuclear agreement, and TPP, where then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was just one of the senior members of his team urging Trump to remain in the accords rather than leaving them.







Yet, as the president enters mid-2018, he now appears to have in place foreign policy personnel much more aligned to his political instincts. Former CIA Director Pompeo has replaced Tillerson as secretary of state, and the conservative hawk John Bolton has taken over as national security adviser from the more pragmatic General H.R McMaster.







This changing of the guard could be very important to Trump, almost 18 months into office, in the context of the fact that his political window of opportunity to put an enduring stamp on U.S. foreign policy may soon narrow rapidly  unless he wins a second term in 2020.







With this in mind, he and his new team will now seek to double down on other foreign policy priorities, including the ambition to do the "deal of the century" in the Middle East with Israel and the Palestinians (which will become more complicated by the U.S. president's decision to move the U.S. Embassy this week to Jerusalem); and forge renegotiated economic relationships with key countries such as Japan and China which are seen by the president as less one-sided and detrimental to the United States.







It is also to be hoped that Trump's new team will prove better foils than Tillerson and McMaster were for the president's ad-hoc style of governing, which regularly exposes his lack of experience and knowledge of international issues. If so, this will help serve as a compass for the White House in helping navigate the significant uncertainties of international affairs in 2018 and beyond.







Taken overall, the historic potential opportunity offered by the denuclearization negotiations with North Korea could become a central part of Trump's foreign policy legacy. However, in this high-stakes gamble for glory, the president could yet emulate many others who have failed to bring a sustained, peaceful diplomatic outcome to one of the key international challenges facing the United States.











Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics. Contact him at andrewkorea@outlook.com
By Shlomo Ben-Ami





TEL AVIV  President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran was not his first departure from a key international agreement. From the Trans-Pacific Partnership to the Paris climate accord, tearing up multilateral frameworks has become a Trump specialty.







But even by Trump's standards, exiting the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the Iran deal is formally known, is a bridge too far. The move is already being compared to President George W. Bush's ill-fated attempt to reshape the Middle East through wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.







Like Bush's military misadventures, Trump's approach to the region carries enormous risks, not least because it has buried whatever was left of the transatlantic alliance in the chasm separating America's power politics and Europe's emphasis on diplomacy.







Trump's move is not just about curbing Iran's weapons of mass destruction. Rather, his objective is regime change, something he apparently hopes to achieve by draining the Islamic Republic's economic and strategic resources. By reinstating sanctions, Trump is all but begging the Iranian people  who will bear the brunt of the sanctions' pain  to rise up against their government.







Trump's abrogation of the JCPOA has left Iran with two options, neither of them good. The first is to renegotiate the agreement with the remaining signatories  China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the European Union.







Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has already hinted at this possibility, but his ability to deliver could be limited when sanctions return. Forced to choose, European companies would sacrifice business in Iran to maintain access to the American market. And, as Iran's economy falters, Iranians will seek to apportion blame.







The second option is no better. Iran's reformists could capitulate to hard-liners, scrap the JCPOA altogether, resume nuclear activities, and accelerate the country's ballistic missile program. This would all but guarantee that Israel would launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear installations  with America's blessing, if not complicity.







At that point, Iran would feel free to redeploy its proxies against Israel, starting with Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon. And this could lead to a broader conflagration involving other U.S. allies in the region, including the Saudis and other Sunni Arab powers.







Unfortunately, the outcome to avoid is the very one that Israel's leadership seems keen to bring about. Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu accused Iran of cheating on the nuclear deal. At the time, Netanyahu's bizarre presentation  in English, no less  met with derision in the West. Now it looks like a prelude.







In fact, the Netanyahu-Trump tag team  which is largely responsible for the scuttling of the nuclear deal  is an explosive alliance of two narcissists who have allowed dysfunctional domestic politics to dictate their international behavior. In Trump's case, the goal seems to be systematic deconstruction of President Barack Obama's legacy, for no other reason than to be true to his electoral campaign (which, in a sense, has never ended).







Netanyahu, meanwhile, is enamored of his carefully honed image as the savior of the Jewish people from a second Holocaust. With his own political fortunes clouded by legal troubles that could lead to his indictment, warmongering has become a strategy to win re-election.







In fact, support for Trump in Israel reached a record high after his decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, and following Israel's massive military strike against Iranian targets in Syria. Netanyahu's tactics also conveniently distract international attention from the Palestinian problem, which is coming to a head again.







Israel has the strongest military in the Middle East, but Netanyahu must not be allowed to use it for his own political gain. Israel last fought an interstate war in 1973, and the trauma of that fight still lingers.







Moreover, military strength alone has done little to safeguard the country's borders. The "Begin Doctrine," Israel's preventive-strike strategy for maintaining a regional monopoly on nuclear weapons, has not led to fewer rocket attacks from Israel's Iranian-backed foes.







Only robust international diplomacy can halt the Middle East's slide toward nuclear proliferation. Even without the U.S., the JCPOA's remaining signatories can salvage the agreement's central tenets by supporting Iran's moderate leaders in mitigating the effects of new sanctions. The deal's remaining supporters can also help defuse the crisis on Israel's northern border, where Israeli and Iranian forces are already engaging each other directly.







In order to reach a new deal that ensures Iran's continued denuclearization, puts its ballistic missile program under surveillance, and encourages a less hostile foreign policy, both sanctions and regime change must be taken off the table. Trump will most likely hear the same message from his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, ahead of the two leaders' planned summit in June.







The irony, of course, is that this is exactly the type of "grand bargain" Iran proposed to the Bush administration in May 2003. Bush rejected the offer, vowing never to talk with a member of the "axis of evil." As Vice President Dick Cheney put it in reference to North Korea  another member of that fanciful "axis"  Americans "don't negotiate with evil; we defeat it."







But by trading diplomacy for saber-rattling, the Bush administration slammed the door on a solution with Iran. Today, as Trump embraces the same tactics, it's hard to fathom how the outcome will be any different.











Shlomo Ben-Ami, a former Israeli foreign minister, is vice president of the Toledo International Center for Peace. He is the author of "Scars of War, Wounds of Peace: The Israeli-Arab Tragedy." Copyright belongs to Project Syndicate ( www.project-syndicate.org ).
Korea should prepare for worst-case scenario



U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that he might slap heavy import duties on imported motor vehicles, including Korean cars.



Meeting with the senior executives of 10 major automakers at the White House last Friday, President Trump urged them to "build more vehicles in the United States." He then reportedly hinted at imposing a 20-percent tariff on imported cars as well as toughening emissions standards.



It would be premature to conclude Trump's remarks at the government-industry meeting as the official position of the U.S. government. That does not mean, however, Korean automakers can remain complacent, given most of the U.S. leader's trade warnings have become a reality, as seen by the punitive duties on steel imports.



Some trade experts here predict Washington may apply national security standards to auto imports as it did on foreign steel products, to avoid controversy over violating World Trade Organization rules.



If and when such concerns are materialized, the nation's auto industry is highly likely to face its biggest crisis. Domestic automakers have already been going downhill, hit by a rigid labor-management culture and the high-cost, low-efficiency structure.



Korea's auto production dwindled from 4.65 million vehicles in 2011 to 4.11 million last year. If a considerable share of the 600,000 cars that have been exported to America turns into local production, the domestic output is sure to drop further. That, in turn, will make a noticeable dent in the number of decent jobs in this country. A rapid relocation of the auto manufacturing base abroad may also shake the foundation of the domestic auto parts and component industry.



To head off such a scenario, Korea needs to make pre-emptive moves before the U.S. threats turn into reality. The Moon Jae-in administration ought to activate a government-civic task force to persuade the U.S. Congress to create a favorable environment for Korea. Also necessary is forming a joint front with other auto exporting nations, such as Germany and Japan.



Korea's autoworkers for their part have to face up to this reality. This is time for both unions and management to think of ways to enhance productivity. For now, that seems to be the only way to maintain existing jobs.




Parties fail to present necessary policies



The June 13 local elections for choosing mayors, governors, chiefs of local councils and education superintendants who will serve for the next four years are less than a month away.



The elections are getting scant attention from the public as they have been overshadowed by summits aiming for North Korea's denuclearization. The leaders of the two Koreas held a third inter-Korean summit, April 27, while a U.S.-North Korea summit will take place June 12, just one day before the elections. President Moon Jae-in will also hold a summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, May 22. Korean voters will be highly focused on the results of the upcoming Singapore meeting between Trump and North Korean Kim Jong-un rather than the local elections.



Despite the low interest among the public, the rival parties have a responsibility toward voters to present policies to promote the regional economy, create more jobs and improve the quality of life. But so far, they have avoided the responsibility and have instead been preoccupied with attacking each other on issues that have little to do with improving the people's livelihoods.



Leaders of the ruling and opposition parties have been trading barbs over the recent National Assembly deadlock caused by the online opinion-rigging case involving a blogger who is allegedly linked to ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) former lawmaker Kim Kyoung-soo, a close aide of President Moon. Kim is running for governor of South Gyeongsang Province despite the scandal.



DPK Chairwoman Rep. Choo Mi-ae criticized Rep. Kim Sung-tae, the floor leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), for his hunger strike calling for a special counsel investigation into the case. The ruling party leader slammed Kim's party for hampering the peoples' livelihoods by not doing anything. Kim also attacked her with crass words and blamed her for the National Assembly confrontation.



LKP leader Hong Joon-pyo has also lashed out at the ruling party for "engulfing the local elections with an inter-Korean peace show." About the U.S.-North Korea summit taking place a day before the elections, Hong said the Moon administration and North Korea must have begged the U.S. for it to be arranged as such. Such an irrational exchange of words will only trigger more Assembly tension and alienate voters.



It's time for the parties to focus on issues that matter to voters. The parties should keep in mind that local elections should be a competition of ideas and policies for more jobs, more welfare and more stability and happiness.




By Lee Seong-hyon





The world hasn't resolved the conundrum of why Kim Jong-un came out from his cave to declare a willingness for denuclearization after menacingly developing and improving his country's nuclear capability for years after he took power in late 2011.



Discussions in Seoul so far have centered around three views in terms of affirming the interpretation that Kim is serious about trading his nuclear weapons for the North's economy and diplomatic recognition.



First is a historical view. North Korea has devised its own strategy for achieving the so-called "survival and development in the 21st century" in accordance with the rapidly changing international environment since the collapse of the Soviet Union. This view is espoused by my colleague, Dr. Paik Hak-soon, who has been analyzing North Korea for more than 30 years.



In particular, as China's influence has over the years expanded in the region, North Korea also wanted to preserve and strengthen its independence with a "balancing strategy" by pulling the U.S. into nuclear geopolitics and using Washington as a countering force against Beijing. North Korea has also wanted to improve relations with the U.S. to speed-dial economic development by opening up to the outside world and seek economic cooperation with the international community.



Under such a strategy, Kim Yong-sun, North Korea's director for international affairs of the Workers' Party, held a high-level meeting with the U.S. Department of State's undersecretary for political affairs Arnold Kantor in January 1992 in New York. Kim at that time expressed a desire to sign a peace treaty, and normalize relations, thereby achieving peaceful coexistence between North Korea and the U.S.



Such a North Korean policy goal has never changed. It is still the case today, according to this view. That means North Korea cannot give up on its efforts to "improve its relationship with the U.S." as a primary diplomatic mandate, given Pyongyang's geopolitical and strategic necessity.



Trump happens to be the first U.S. president who is willing to sit down with North Korea bilaterally in their 25 years of nuclear negotiations. Kim Jong-un therefore is willing to abandon his nuclear weapons through a grand bargain with Trump in exchange for the U.S.'s dropping its hostile policy toward North Korea, conclude a peace treaty, and denuclearize the entire Korean Peninsula (the non-nuclear weaponization of the Korean Peninsula).



In other words, Kim's charm offensive toward the U.S. can be interpreted in congruence with North Korea's decades-long goal that would try to ensure both its security and economic development, a policy that it has continually pursued since the collapse of the Soviet Union. North Korea's declaration that it has mastered a credible nuclear deterrence against the U.S. can be seen as a "conduit" to induce Washington to sit down at the negotiation table.



Second is the "nukes versus economy" paradox. Kim desires to improve his country's economy. The problem is that unless he denuclearizes, he cannot do so due to sanctions. Pompeo said that Washington will agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if the country agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program, a move that would create economic prosperity that "will rival" South Korea. As a rational choice, Kim can opt for denuclearization if it is more "lucrative" than going nuclear.



The third has to do with Kim's young age. Kim is 34. He wants to be around for the next 50 years or more, if he can. It's quite likely that he wants to rule the country for that period as well. However, he doesn't want to rule an impoverished nuclear country for the next 50 years. That will be just a continuation of what North Korea is today with a hobbled economy.



These three narratives are not mutually exclusive. The 12 hours of the inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom, televised worldwide, was a moment of "rediscovering" the North Korean leader. From the common perception of thinking of him as an abnormal leader in an abnormal country, his behavior and words were too shocking, if not unexpected. Many observers were not equipped with the necessary information and conceptual acceleration, which would necessitate them to change their pre-existing frame of analysis. Thus, they concluded, Kim was playing.



However, remarks from those who met Kim personally, including U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, establish some grounds to the proposition that North Korea under Kim III may be different, this time. Pompeo said the U.S. has an "unprecedented opportunity" to change the historical course of the Korean Peninsula. Perhaps Pompeo saw something.





Lee Seong-hyon (sunnybbsfs@gmail.com), Ph.D., is a research fellow at the Sejong Institute.


By Hwang Jae-ho





On May 4, a week after the Inter-Korean Summit, President Moon Jae-in and President Xi Jinping finally held their first phone conversation. No one knows whether Moon had tried to phone earlier, but the result was quite pleasing because both agreed on close cooperation during the process of "Declaration of the end of war" and "Peace Treaty."
SKT, KT, LG Uplus cry out over introduction of universal fare



By Jun Ji-hye



Concerns are deepening over excessive government regulation of mobile carriers after a state committee on Friday approved a bill drawn up by the government to introduce a "universal fare plan."



Following the approval by the Regulatory Reform Committee, the bill to revise the Telecommunications Business Act will be submitted to the National Assembly for a vote after going through deliberation at the Ministry of Government Legislation and a Cabinet meeting.



The Ministry of Science and ICT plans to submit a final bill to the Assembly by June, according to officials.



The controversial proposal is designed to impose a duty on the top mobile carrier to operate a flat-rate payment system offering 200 minutes of voice calls and 1 gigabyte of data in about the 20,000 won ($19) price range. The top mobile carrier in the nation is SK Telecom.



The bill also states that an ICT minister reexamines the top mobile carrier's universal fare plan every two years.



Once SK Telecom operates such a fare plan, its two competitors _ KT and LG Uplus _ will have no choice but to release similar fare plans.



The ICT ministry said the bill is to reduce the burden of households' mobile costs in accordance with President Moon Jae-in's core election pledges.



But those working for telecommunications companies claimed that the bill will bring about excessive government control in private firms' businesses, which will drag down their investment. They also said the three telecom companies' operating profits could be reduced by about 60 percent once the universal fare plan is introduced.



"We are concerned that the government's intervention in a private firm's decision on rate systems will decrease desire for competition in the market and future investment," a SK official said, Monday.



The official said it was also regrettable that the firm's ongoing efforts to reduce mobile costs for households had not been considered in the committee meeting, noting that SK Telecom has lowered its charges for the vulnerable and for senior citizens.



"We expect the National Assembly to conduct a rational discussion about the bill," he said.



Prof. Kim Do-hoon of Kyunghee University raised a question over a populist approach, claiming the government is pushing to introduce the controversial plan although there already have been alternatives for cheaper mobile costs, such as an "altteul" phone.



"The universal fare plan may be effective but can be seen as a populist policy," he said.



The Altteul phone service is operated by a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), offering wireless services at a lower price for consumers by renting the necessary infrastructure from telecom carriers.



The professor said the universal fare plan will result in lowering the level of services for consumers in the long term.



Altteul phone service operators are also protesting against the government move out of concerns that large companies could invade field of their business.



For their part, brokerages expect the committee's approval of the controversial fare to exert a negative impact on stock prices of telecom companies in the short term.



"There is also the possibility for the bill to be pending at the National Assembly for a long time if lawmakers hold differing opinions," said Kim Joon-seop, an analyst from KB Securities.




By Lee Suh-yoon



Government officials' exclusive transportation arrangements with Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have come under fire. This comes amid mounting public anger against Korean Air's chaebol owners for alleged assault and "gapjil"  unjust bullying by people in superior positions  on employees.



"Public officials should be banned from using Korean Air for official overseas trips to make chaebol owners pay for their conduct," read one public petition posted on the Cheong Wa Dae website last week.



The exclusive flight contract, called the government transportation request (GTR), was signed between the government and Korean Air in 1980 with the aim of bolstering the local airline industry. Asiana Airlines, Korean Air's biggest domestic competitor, was included in the GTR system in 1990. The contract has been automatically renewed every three years for the past 38 years now.



Under GTR arrangements, Korean Air enjoys a near monopoly over the market for air travel by government employees. According the Korea Transport Institute (KOTI), around 210,000 government officials booked 180 billion won ($170 million) worth of GTR flights with Korean Air between 2010 and 2014. Asiana Airlines, on the other hand, made only a quarter of that revenue in GTR tickets in the same period.



After allegations that Cho Hyun-min, a former Korean Air senior vice president and the sister of the famous "nut rage" perpetrator Cho Hyun-ah  threw water in the face of an PR agency manager surfaced last month, the Cheong Wa Dae website has been flooded with hundreds of petitions calling for accountability from Hanjin Group, the family-run chaebol that owns Korean Air.



One petition accused the GTR arrangement of "wasting taxpayer's money to non-discounted prices set by Korean Air". The petition also pointed out low-cost domestic carriers are left out of the current GTR system.



"Why does the government's protection of the domestic airline industry only extend to Korean Air?" the petition read.



According Ministry of Personnel Management data released by independent Rep. Lee Yong-ho, a GTR-booked Korean Air flight between Incheon and New York during off-season is three times more expensive than a normal one. This is a big price difference, even when accounting for the fact GTR tickets do not charge a cancellation fee and allow for easier acquisition or change of seats.



Under the GTR, government officials who want to book business trip flights with airlines other than Korean Air or Asiana Airlines must submit relevant paperwork, a hassle that deters most government officials from booking cheaper flights.



Hundreds of Korean Air and Hanjin Group employees and citizens staged their second candlelit protest Saturday, denouncing gapjil management practices and calling for the expulsion of Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho and his family from top management. Cho Yang-ho has already stepped down from his co-CEO position at Jin Air, a budget airline also owned by Hanjin Group.



In light of recent events, local media reports say there are ongoing discussions between relevant ministries on how to reform the GTR system before the current contract expires in November.


Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae speaks in a press conference on the company's e-commerce strategy at Lotte Hotel in downtown Seoul, Tuesday. / Courtesy of Lotte Shopping



Shinsegae's blueprint obviously unnerved its rival



By Park Jae-hyuk



Lotte did not seem to be well prepared for enhancing its competitiveness in the e-commerce market.



During a press conference on its online strategy, Tuesday, the nation's fifth-largest conglomerate could not come up with specific measures for its new goal.



The offline retail powerhouse has apparently rushed to launch its online business division, in order to counteract its rival Shinsegae's plan to establish a corporation its integrated e-commerce business this year.



Shinsegae Group plans to list the new corporation on the stock market, after merging Shinsegae Department Store's online business division with E-mart's.



According to the nation's 10th-largest conglomerate, the group attracted 1 trillion won ($929 million) in investments from two foreign asset management companies  Affinity Equity Partners and BRV Capital Management.



"The integrated e-commerce corporation's public offering will benefit the foreign asset management companies," Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin said earlier this year.



Against this backdrop, Lotte Shopping announced last week it would merge with Lotte.com.



The company said it will invest 3 trillion won in the online business over the next five years, so as to post 20 trillion won in its online sales and become No. 1 in the domestic e-commerce market.



Lotte's eight e-commerce channels have yet to have significant influences on the market in terms of their sales.



While consumers have turned away from Lotte.com lacking differentiated features, Shinsegae's SSG.com has gained popularity with the country's online shoppers, posting 2 trillion won in sales last year.



Lotte Shopping CEO Kang Hee-tae admitted his company has lagged behind Shinsegae in the e-commerce market, but he said the larger number of Lotte customers and its offline stores will help his company seize the market supremacy in the future.



The CEO also cast a negative outlook for its rival's plans to build a large logistics center for its online business.



However, Lotte has yet to attract any foreign capital for the company's new initiative, unlike Shinsegae.



"The group will invest 1.5 trillion won in the new business, and Lotte Shopping can raise an additional 1.5 trillion won," he said. "Many foreign investors we met during our overseas investor relations also said they are considering investing in the integrated e-commerce division."



Critics say the company's plan is unrealistic, given its liquidity has been worsened over poor performances in both domestic and overseas markets in recent days.



Lotte plans to launch the integrated e-commerce platform after 2020.



Amid the fierce competition in the country's e-commerce market, most players  except eBay-owned Gmarket and Auction  have suffered lingering losses.



Some market observers expect the e-commerce giant Amazon will enter the Korean market in the near future.



Kang admitted his company has been concerned about Amazon, but added the U.S. company might not secure a dominant position in the Korean market, citing its failure in the Chinese market.


Home plus headquarters in Gangseo-gu, southwestern Seoul / Korea Times file





By Park Jae-hyuk







Home plus employees have been protesting the company's decision not to give annual bonuses this year.







The discount chain cited its worsening profitability last year as a reason for the recent decision.







"We failed to achieve our goal last year, and performed worse than a year earlier, so management decided not to give out bonuses this year," Home plus CEO Lim Il-soon said in an email to company employees last week. "To appreciate your efforts last year, however, the company decided to give a special incentive to all the employees instead."







Each Home plus employee reportedly received an incentive of 300,000 won ($280).







Home plus workers, each of whom had received a minimum 3.5 million won bonus under the ownership of Tesco, have protested the company's decision, complaining about MBK Partners which has continued to reduce the amount of the bonus.







Home plus had been granting annual bonuses to its employees for the past two decades.







After Tesco sold Home plus to MBK Partners in 2015, the discount chain posted a 9.1 billion won operating loss, due to bonuses to its employees.







When the retailer posted 309 billion won in operating profit in 2016, the bonus accounted for 11 percent of each employee's annual salary.







Home plus will unveil its performance for last year within this month.







During a press conference in March, Lim said the company's business volume reached 10.4 trillion won last year.







Industry officials expect Home plus did not make losses last year, even if its operating profit may be lower than a year earlier.







They regarded the recent labor cost decision as MBK Partners' attempt to cut spending on Home plus.







MBK Partners will also close the Home plus Donggimhae branch in South Gyeongsang Province and sell Bucheon Jungdong branch in Gyeonggi Province this year, following the sale of Gangseo branch in Seoul to JR Asset Management last year.







In 2016, it sold five Home plus stores to Ryukyung PSG Asset Management.







An MBK Partners spokesman said the company took the measures for asset securitization, denying rumors that the private equity firm will retrieve its investments in Home plus.


A relative of Palestinian Ahmed al-Rantisi, who was killed during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border, is consoled at a hospital in the northern Gaza Strip May 14, 2018. / REUTERS



In a jarring contrast, Israeli forces shot and killed at least 55 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,200 during mass protests Monday along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the U.S. held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.



It was by far the deadliest day of cross-border violence since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, and further dimmed the already bleak prospects for President Donald Trump's hoped-for peace plan.



Throughout the day, Gaza protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism for using excessive force against unarmed protesters, said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.





A demonstrator holds a Palestinian flag outside the Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles, California, USA, 14 May 2018. / EPA





A Palestinian protester hurls stones at Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, Monday, May 14, 2018. / AP





Protesters hold Palestinian and Turkish flags and shout slogans against Israel during a demonstration in Istanbul, Turkey, 14 May 2018. / EPA



Monday's protests culminated more than a month of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade. But the U.S. Embassy move, bitterly opposed by the Palestinians, added further fuel.



There was barely any mention of the Gaza violence at Monday's lavish inauguration ceremony for the new embassy, an upgraded consular building located just 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials joined an American delegation of Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.



Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser, headlined the U.S. delegation with his wife and fellow White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and four Republican senators. Republican super-donor Sheldon Adelson was also present, and evangelical pastors Robert Jeffress and John Hagee delivered blessings.



''A great day for Israel!'' Trump tweeted earlier Monday.



In a videotaped address, Trump said the embassy move, a key campaign promise, recognizes the ''plain reality'' that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Yet he added the United States ''remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement.''



But Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move in the Arab world raised new doubts about Trump's ambitions to broker what he called the ''deal of the century.'' More than a year after taking office, Trump's Mideast team has yet to produce a long-promised peace plan.



Trump says recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital acknowledges the reality that Israel's government is located there as well as the ancient Jewish connection to the city. He insists the decision has no impact on future negotiations on the city's final borders.



But to both Israel and the Palestinians, the American gesture is widely seen as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their longstanding conflict.



''What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history,'' Netanyahu told the inauguration ceremony.



''You can only build peace on truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state,'' he added.





U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, right, and U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin during the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, Monday, May 14, 2018. / AP





A plaque commemorates the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, Monday, May 14, 2018. / AP





US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (L) waves as Israeli Prime Minister Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) applauds during the opening ceremony at the US consulate that will act as the new US embassy in the Jewish neighborhood of Arnona, in Jerusalem, Israel, 14 May 2018. / EPA
ANGOLA  A man accused of shooting his wife in their Angola home last year has been found competent to stand trial.

Monday in Steuben Circuit Court, Judge Allen Wheat said Samuel Albert Ford, 85, of Angola, will be tried for attempted murder. His public defender Benjamin Nordmann had requested psychiatric review with the intent of potentially using the insanity defense.

Ford was taken from Steuben County Jail to meet with doctors in February and March, according to court documents. The Bowen Center filed a competency evaluation with the court May 2.

The results of the evaluations indicated Ford is able to understand the charges pending against him and is able to assist Nordmann in his defense.

Ford is charged with attempted murder, a Level 1 felony punishable by up to 40 years in prison, for allegedly shooting his wife three times in their Angola home.

Angola Police and Steuben County Sheriffs deputies responded to the scene in the 1500 block of Henney Street shortly before 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 31. They found an 81-year-old woman sitting on a chair inside the house, bleeding from her head, neck and face, say court documents. Investigators reportedly found a .380-caliber handgun on the kitchen counter and blood nearby.

A pretrial conference is set for July 16 at 1 p.m. If Ford does not plead guilty, a jury trial is set for Aug. 8-10 in Circuit Court.
Paris police say they tried to pull over Quar'Montre Wallace and Wesley Neal for a traffic stop when they sped away.

During a 15-minute pursuit, police saw someone in the car toss a bag of pills out the window, then saw Markeith Wallace pick up the bag off the street and run away.

Quar'Montre Wallace and Neal were charged with evading arrest and drug possession, for those they tossed and those found on them later.

Markeith Wallace is charged with tampering with evidence.
China on Monday issued its first road test license to a foreign automobile firm granting BMW China Services Ltd. permission to test its self-driving vehicles.

The Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology said on Monday that the license was issued based on a third-party appraisal.

A self driving BMW concept car is on display at the 2017 CES show in Las Vegas Nevada. [File photo: IC]

BMW applied for the license to test its 7 series luxury sedans, which have completed a one-month test of AI-assisted self-driving and Internet-linked functions at the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Shanghai) Pilot Zone. The appraisal confirmed that the model achieved a 99-percent pass rate for the test. The commission issued the country's first three road test licenses to smart car manufacturers in March, making road tests of self-driving vehicles legal. Shanghai-based SAIC Motor received two of the licenses and electric vehicle start-up Nio got the other one.

The licenses allow the operators to use a 5.6-km section of public road in Shanghai's Jiading District to test their smart cars.

The commission said the two companies have accumulated 6,040 km of road tests during the past 40 days. No accidents involving testing vehicles have occurred and the tests have not disrupted traffic.

BMW currently has a team of 60 professionals based in Shanghai developing self-driving technology.
Milan, May 15 - Italian executive Vittorio Colao is stepping down as CEO of Vodafone after 10 years at the helm, the telecommunications giant announced in a statement on Tuesday. He will be replaced by CFO Nick Read. "It was my decision," Colao told analysts. "We are writing a new chapter in our story and it's a very healthy to have a team dedicated to this. "I am very happy that the board has chosen Nick (Read as my successor). He's an exceptional person".
Brussels, May 15 - European Home Affairs and Migration Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos said Tuesday that he hopes Italy's policy on asylum seekers does not change when the new government in Rome takes office. "Let's hope that there are no changes on the migratory policy line," Avramopoulos said when asked about Italy. The Commissioner said Italy deserved praise for the way it has addressed the Mediterranean migrant crisis while stressing that it was one of the countries to have received most support from Brussels. Italy, along with Greece, has taken the brunt of the Mediterranean migrant crisis and has been credited with saving Europe's honour for its efforts to save lives at sea. The flow of migrants from North Africa has fallen significantly after the outgoing government reached an agreement with Libya to support the efforts of its coast guard against human traffickers. Human rights groups have criticised this agreement, saying it means asylum seekers are being sent back to abuse and torture. The League, which is in talks with the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S) on forming a new government in Rome, has called for the adoption of a harder line on migrants. Governo: Ue, speriamo non cambi politica migratoria ++ Avramopoulos, Italia lodevole per quanto ha fatto BRUXELLES BRUXELLES, 15 MAG - "Speriamo" che col nuovo governo in Italia "non ci siano cambiamenti sulla linea della politica migratoria". Cosi il commissario europeo alla Migrazione Dimitris Avramopoulos ha risposto ad una domanda. Avramopoulos e tornato anche a lodare l'Italia per quanto fatto, ricordando, tra l'altro, che il Paese e tra gli Stati che hanno il maggior sostegno da Bruxelles. (ANSAmed) - BRUSSELS, MAY 15 - The EU Commission for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos on Tuesday said time is running up and member States should hurry in finding a common stance on a revised Dublin Regulation. The commissioner made the remarks at an event organized by the European network on migrations. Talking about the reform of the Dublin Regulation, Avramopoulos said the ''European Parliament has already expressed a common position and is beside the Commission. The time has also come for countries'' to find an agreement, said the commissioner. ''This doesn't solve everything but it is part of the solution''. A meeting of ambassadors of the 28 (Coreper) on Tuesday will again examine the proposal launched by the Bulgarian rotating presidency that is trying to reach an agreement by the end of June.
Rome, May 15 - All 500 workers at Whirlpool's Brazilian fridge compressor unit Embraco's closed plant near Turin will be saved by new projects from two firms, Industry Minister Carlo Calenda said Tuesday. On the future of the plant at Riva di Chieri, he said, "today the unions were presented with the projects from the two firms who will invest in the ex-Embraco re-employing all the workers with the same rights and the same compensations, without any support of public money," he said. He said the parties would meet "next Friday at the Turin industrialists' union to understand the details of the projects, it is a good operation and it has ended up well". Embraco is moving its production to Slovakia.
Rome, May 15 - Centre-left Democratic Party (PD) caretaker leader Maurizio Martina said Tuesday prospective government partners M5S and the League "can't waste any more time, and must clearly say their government hypothesis has failed". PD Lower House Whip Graziiano Delrio added that "we hope that, if they keep wasting time, parties should reconsider president (Sergio Mattarella's) proposal (for a 'truce' government), which is the only serious one on the table. Delrio added: "if the government is born our opposition will be very serious". Mattarella proposed a truce government to make some moves including a new electoral law and bring the country to fresh elections at around the end of the year.
Rome, May 15 - Foreign media took a pessimistic view of political developments in Italy on Tuesday as the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) and right-wing League resumed talks on the possible formation of a new government after getting more time for negotiations from President Sergio Mattarella on Monday. The Financial Times focused on the "odd couple" that risks splitting up over Europe, examining the differences between M5S leader Luigi Di Maio and League chief Matteo Salvini. The breaking point could be their respective attitudes towards Brussels, the paper said. However, "with European elections around the corner in 2019, neither Mr Salvini nor Mr Di Maio will want to be caught off guard by making too many concessions to their partner. But for now, the new populist duo of Italian politics was savouring the taste of power," concluded the Financial Times. French progressive newspaper Liberation opened with "Five Star-League, the contract of mistrust" highlighting the almost insurmountable differences in the programmes and political priorities of the two parties. Further, once the 'contract' has been drawn up they "will have to agree on the name of the future premier and on the list of ministers," the paper added, pointing out the Mattarella will not agree to being a "mere notary". German conservative paper Die Welt was even more pessimistic. "A populist government in Italy would be the sixth blow to the foundations" of the EU after it failed to give itself a constitution, the crisis in the Eurozone, failure to adequately handle the refugee crisis, Brexit and rebellion by the so-called Visegrad countries. "(This blow) could be fatal," the paper added. London's Daily Telegraph bucked the trend, taking a more optimistic line. "Investors should back Italy's fresh thinking," ran a headline on Tuesday. "As a strange, populist coalition of the League and the Five Star Movement prepares to take power in Italy, we will hear a lot about how the markets are about to punish the country for its recklessness and how investors will avoid it like the plague. (...) But hold on. The conventional wisdom may well turn out to be 100pc wrong," the paper wrote. "Because while some of the coalition's ideas are bonkers, some are also pretty good; and because populist governments are so far delivering very good returns for investors," it continued. One good proposal, said the paper, is the single flat tax of 15%. "If it went ahead, that would be one of the boldest experiments in tax reform that any major economy has ever tried," the Telegraph concluded.
China is seriously concerned about the violent clashes in the Gaza Strip and has called on both Israel and Palestine to exercise restraint, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang [Photo: fmprc.gov.cn]

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel on Monday to protest against the United States relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Over 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 injured in violent clashes with Israeli forces.



Spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing that China is seriously concerned about the confrontations that caused mass casualties and opposes violent action targeting civilians.

"We have called on both Israel and Palestine, especially the Israeli side, to keep restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions," Lu said.

The issue of Jerusalem's status and ownership is highly complicated and sensitive, Lu said. "The Chinese side holds that in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, peace talks between Palestine and Israel should be resumed as soon as possible and the final status of Jerusalem should be settled through dialogues."

China supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and supports the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

China stands ready to work with relevant parties of the international community to make contributions to the final proper settlement of the Palestine issue.
Two Federal Reserve nominees on Tuesday slammed Wells Fargo & Co., for its consumer abuses and indicated that they would have to see significant improvements before voting to lift a cap on the San Francisco banks growth.

Just based upon the news accounts, which of course is all I have to go on, the activities of Wells Fargo in this domain are egregious and unacceptable and I was as shocked as anyone to read about it in the newspaper, said economist Richard Clarida, the nominee to be vice chairman of the Fed, at a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

If I am confirmed and this matter came before me, as it looks like it would, I would certainly individually want to be absolutely convinced that appropriate steps had been taken and could be verified, he said in response to questioning from Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

The other of President Trumps Fed nominees at the confirmation hearing, Kansas banking regulator Michelle Bowman, said she concurred with Claridas answer.

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The actions of Wells Fargo were absolutely inappropriate and I would certainly want to make sure that any concerns are addressed by the bank prior to any discussion, she said.

Tester had asked them for assurances that they would not support releasing Wells Fargo from the growth cap until they significantly change the way they do business.

In February, the Fed board voted unanimously to order Wells Fargo to cap its growth at the $1.95 trillion in assets reached at the end of last year and to improve its corporate governance in response to the creation of millions of unauthorized customer accounts and other consumer abuses.

The consent order required Wells Fargos board of directors to submit written plans to improve its oversight and risk management, which it did last month. An independent review by a third-party firm must be completed by Sept. 30 to determine how Wells Fargo is implementing the plans.

Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell said last week in a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) that Wells Fargo would have to receive a formal vote from the Fed board before the growth restriction was lifted.

At a March hearing, Warren had objected when Powell said the decision would be made by Fed staff in consultation with the board. Warren pressed Powell to hold a vote so Congress and the public could hold the Fed accountable when it decides whether to lift the stiff penalty it placed on the San Francisco banking giant.

Wells Fargo Chief Executive Timothy Sloan told investors at a conference last week that he expected the growth cap would probably continue into 2019.

Requiring a Fed vote would make it harder for Wells Fargo to get the cap lifted, cutting into the banks profits.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman declined to comment on Tuesday.

Clarida is a respected economics professor at Columbia University as well as global strategic advisor at Newport Beach-based bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co., known as Pimco. He has Washington experience, having served as assistant Treasury secretary for economic policy from 2002-03 and senior staff economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisors from 1986-87.

On Tuesday, former Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and three well-known economic policymakers wrote a letter to committee leaders endorsing Claridas nomination.

Each of us has known Dr. Clarida for many years and has high regard for his academic work and professional qualifications, said the letter from Bernanke, former Fed vice chairmen Stanley Fischer and Alan Blinder, and Martin Feldstein, former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors.

But at Tuesdays hearing, Warren was critical of what she said was Claridas lack of experience on regulation. She pushed him to commit that he wouldnt vote to reduce the amount of capital held by the largest banks amid a deregulatory push by the Trump administration.

Clarida declined, but said he would try to make sure any reduction in regulations didnt erode the gains in financial stability caused in part by tougher rules put in place by the 2010 Dodd-Frank act.

I do think there are opportunities to tailor regulations appropriately but an equal priority is preserving the substantial gains and resiliency and stability of our financial system, he said.

Bowman has been the Kansas state bank commissioner since 2017. She was an executive at Kansas-based Farmers & Drovers Bank, which her great-great grandfather helped charter. She also has worked as a congressional staffer in Washington, as well as at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

She is nominated for the seat on the Fed board reserved for someone with community banking experience.

There are four vacancies on the seven-member Fed board. Another nominee, Carnegie Mellon University economist Marvin Goodfriend, is awaiting a full Senate vote after the Banking Committee narrowly approved his nomination 13-12 in February.

His nomination appears in trouble because Democrats uniformly oppose him as too conservative and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a Fed critic, also has said he would vote against confirmation because of some of Goodfriends past positions.

Shares of Wells Fargo gained 26 cents on Tuesday to $54.75.

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera

UPDATES:

2:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Wells Fargos closing stock price and the banks statement that it would decline comment.

This article was originally published at 9:35 a.m.
A federal judge struck down the city of Oaklands ban prohibiting companies from transporting coal through a proposed export terminal that U.S. miners see as a key link to overseas markets.

The ban  enacted by the city in 2014  violates a development agreement, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria ruled Tuesday, siding with a developer who wants to use the proposed marine terminal to transport coal from Utah to Asia.

Chhabria said the City Council did not have enough evidence that the coal operations would pose a substantial threat to health or safety.

As demand for coal in the U.S. declines, miners depend increasingly on overseas markets. Meanwhile, Oakland is among several terminal locations in California and the Pacific Northwest that environmentalists have pushed to close to miners in an effort to keep U.S. coal off the international market. Reversing the ban could increase exports by as much as 19%, according to the Sierra Club.

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Access to growing world markets for our coal reserves could be greatly enhanced  as well as the employment it would support throughout the supply chain  if we had the infrastructure befitting a global economic power, Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Assn., said in an email.

The legal dispute hinged on whether the coal ban violated an agreement between the city and a company developing a bulk loading terminal near the citys port. The developer, Oakland Bulk & Oversized Terminal LLC, argued the city had no substantial evidence that shipping coal through the terminal would endanger the health of workers or surrounding communities.

On the primary question presented by this lawsuit, Oakland is wrong, Chhabria wrote.

City leaders approved the rail and marine terminal in 2013 as part of a makeover of a former Army base. But they voted to ban shipments of coal and petroleum coke, a solid derived from oil refining.

The $250-million terminal is in west Oakland, a historically African American neighborhood that is among the poorest and most polluted in the region.

Even without the ban at the Oakland terminal, miners may still face obstacles trying to ship coal through the West Coast, according to Jeremy Sussman, an analyst at Clarksons Platou Securities.

Most realists have come to the conclusion that West Coast states such as California, Washington and Oregon simply arent going to allow a lot of coal exports now or in the future, he said in an email.

In 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation banning state transportation funding for new coal export terminals.

The Associated Press was used in compiling this report.
President Trump may be about to do Qualcomm Inc. another huge favor.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted that he was working with his Chinese counterpart to ensure that ZTE Corp. doesnt go under, weeks after the U.S. Commerce Department banned sales of key technologies to the Chinese maker of telecommunications gear.

The move signaled a calming of the tensions over trade between the worlds two biggest economies. By Monday morning, Chinese regulators restarted their review of San Diego-based Qualcomms $44-billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV. It comes not a moment too soon.

NXP has set a July 25 deadline for completion of the deal, originally announced in October 2016. In the meantime, uncertainty about the Dutch chipmakers future has enabled rivals to gobble up market share.

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The identification and security business  which includes chips for bank cards and mobile payment products  is a case in point. Sales in the industry, which has a relatively short order turnaround, are declining. But NXP has borne the brunt, with revenue there falling 29% to $523 million last year. Meanwhile, rival Infineon Technologies AGs business enjoyed a slight increase in sales over the same period.

That augurs particularly badly for the automotive market, where NXP is the market leader. A slew of carmakers aim to deploy partially autonomous cars in 2020 or 2021, meaning they are probably ordering the necessary components from suppliers about now.

Qualcomm will most likely have to offer concessions such as technology licensing or unit divestments to secure the NXP deal. Uncertainty around that process will also be an opportunity for Infineon, STMicroelectronics NV, Texas Instruments Inc. and others to grab customers for sensor components, as well as the infotainment systems that will get more use in driverless cars.

Its increasingly clear that Qualcomm needs NXP, which has a range of products for connected cars and factories. Qualcomm is dependent on smartphones for the lions share of its chip sales, and its money-spinning licensing business is facing pressure from a lawsuit spearheaded by Apple Inc., its biggest customer. It has also abandoned efforts to diversify by trying to loosen Intel Corp.'s dominant grip on the lucrative market for data-center servers.

If the deal were to fall apart, Qualcomm could turn to Xilinx Inc., Analog Devices Inc. or Microchip Technology Inc. The path for NXP is much less clear. It would pocket a $2-billion breakup fee, money which could boost a share repurchase program. But without Qualcomms distribution channels and willingness to invest heavily in research and development, NXP would be left in a far weaker strategic position.

Qualcomms share price rose 2.7% to $56.74 on the news. NXPs stock price jumped 12% to $110.74.

Trump stepped in before to kill Broadcom Ltd.'s unsolicited takeover bid for Qualcomm, with the San Diego firm outspending Broadcom hundredfold on Washington lobbying in the lead up to that decision. If China does approve the NXP deal, Trump will once again have done the companies a huge favor.

Webb is a columnist for Bloomberg.
A Palestinian protester burns tires during clashes with Israeli troops in Gaza, on May 14, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

A day of violent confrontations between Palestinian protestors and Israeli soldiers in the eastern Gaza Strip next to the border with Israel has reportedly left at least 55 Palestinians dead and close to 28-hundred others hurt.

This is prompting a new response by the international community.

CRI's Yu Yang has more.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Permanent Observer to the United Nations, is condemning the latest violence, calling the Israeli actions an atrocity.

"We condemn in the strongest term this atrocity by the Israeli occupying forces using this massive firepower against civilians who have the right to demonstrate peacefully and they have been demonstrating peacefully."

The United Nations Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting to address the escalating violence.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is calling on Israel to minimize the use of live fire at the border.

Farhan Haq, the deputy spokesperson for the U.N. Secretary-General, urges both sides to exercise restraint.

"The Secretary-General said that Israel must calibrate its use of force and minimized the use of live fire. Lethal force should be used only as a last resort under imminent threat of death or serious injury. And he added that Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations must keep protesters away from the Gaza fence and prevent all violent actions, provocations and attempts to breach the fence."

The statement from the UN chief has also issued another call for the creation of a two-state solution "with Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace, each with its capital in Jerusalem."

The statement on Jerusalem has come on the same day the US government officially opened its new embassy in the city following its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Palestinian protesters use slingshots to hurl stones at Israeli troops during clashes in Gaza, on May 14, 2018. [Photo: Xinhua]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has criticised the relocation, noting the status of Jerusalem should be left to negotiation, rather than unilateral action.

"We are confident that one can't revise unilaterally the agreements that were documented by the international community. And these agreements say that all of the final decisions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict  and the status of Jerusalem, the fate of Jerusalem is one of the most important issues (of this conflict)  can only be decided through a direct dialogue between the Israeli and the Palestinian authorities."

The relocation of the US embassy has prompted Palestinian officials to suggest the US no longer has the ability to be an impartial broker of peace in the region.

Despite this, U.S. President Donald Trump says U.S. remains "fully committed" to pursuing a Mideast peace deal.

"As I said in December, our greatest hope is for peace. The United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement and we continue to support the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites including at the Temple Mount, also known as Haram Al- Sharif."

Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv was one of Trump's key campaign promises.

But the move has infuriated the Palestinians, who have intended to make east Jerusalem as the captial of a negotiated two-state solution.

Monday's protests in Gaza mark the biggest showdown in years between Israel's military and Hamas supporters along the volatile border.

While there have been violent protests in the lead-up to Monday's wide-scale demonstration, the two sides had largely been observing a cease-fire since the 2014  their third in a decade.




Cooking dinner one night in March, Mark Frizzell sliced his pinkie finger while peeling a butternut squash and couldnt stop the bleeding.

The 51-year-old businessman headed to the emergency room at Sutter Healths California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. Sutter charged $1,555 for the 10 minutes it treated him, including $55 for a gel bandage and $487 for a tetanus shot.

It was ridiculous, Frizzell said. Health insurance costs are through the roof because of things like this.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra couldnt agree more. The states top cop is suing Sutter, accusing one of the nations biggest health systems of systematically overcharging patients and illegally driving out competition in Northern California.

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For years, economists and researchers have warned of the dangers posed by large health systems across the country that are gobbling up hospitals, surgery centers and physicians offices  enabling them to limit competition and hike prices.

Becerras suit amounts to a giant test case with the potential for national repercussions. If California prevails and is able to tame prices at Northern Californias most powerful, dominant health system, regulators and politicians in other states are likely to follow.

A major court ruling in California could be a deterrent to other hospital systems, said Ge Bai, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins University who has researched hospital prices nationwide. Were getting to a tipping point where the nation cannot afford these out-of-control prices.

Reflecting that sense of public desperation, Sutter faces two other major suits  from employers and consumers  which are wending their way through the courts, both alleging anticompetitive conduct and inflated pricing. Meanwhile, California lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban some contracting practices used by large health systems to corner markets.

Sutter, a nonprofit chain, is pushing back hard, denying anticompetitive behavior and accusing Becerra in court papers of a sweeping and unprecedented effort to intrude into private contracting. Recognizing the broader implications of the suit, both the American Hospital Assn. and its California counterpart asked to file amicus briefs in support of Sutter.

In his 49-page complaint, Becerra cited a recent study finding that, on average, an inpatient procedure in Northern California costs 70% more than one in Southern California. He said there was no justification for that difference and stopped just short of dropping an expletive to make his point.

This is a big F deal, Becerra declared at his March 30 news conference to unveil the lawsuit. In an interview last week, he said, We dont believe its fair to allow consolidation to end up artificially driving up prices. This anticompetitive behavior is not only bad for consumers, its bad for the state and for businesses.

To lessen Sutters market power, the states lawsuit seeks to force Sutter to negotiate reimbursements separately for each of its hospitals  precluding an all or nothing approach  and to bar Sutter employees from sharing the details of those negotiations across its facilities. Becerra said Sutter has required insurers and employers to contract with its facilities systemwide or face excessively high out-of-network rates.

Overall, Sutter has 24 hospitals, 36 surgery centers and more than 5,500 physicians in its network. The system boasts more than $12 billion in annual revenue and posted net income of $958 million last year.

(Los Angeles Times )

(Los Angeles Times )

The companys heft in the marketplace is one reason Northern California is the most expensive place in the country to have a baby, according to a 2016 report. A cesarean delivery in Sacramento, where Sutter is based, cost $27,067, nearly double what it costs in Los Angeles and New York.

For years, doctors and consumers have also accused Sutter of cutting hospital beds and critical services in rural communities to maximize revenue. Patients are the ones getting hurt, says Dr. Greg Duncan, an orthopedic surgeon and former board member at Sutter Coast Hospital in Crescent City, Calif.

Sutter says that patients across Northern California have plenty of providers to choose from and that it has held its average rate increases to health plans to less than 3% annually since 2012. It also says it does not require all facilities to be included in every contract  that insurers have excluded parts of its system from their networks.

As for emergency room patients such as Frizzell, Sutter says its charges reflect the cost of maintaining services round-the-clock and that for some patients urgent-care centers are a less-costly option.

The California attorney generals lawsuit gets the facts wrong, Sutter said in a statement. Our integrated network of high-quality doctors and care centers aims to provide better, more efficient care  and has proven to help lower costs.

Regulators in other states also have sought to block deals they view as potentially harmful.

In North Carolina, for instance, the states attorney general and treasurer expressed concerns about a proposed merger between the University of North Carolina Health Care system and Charlotte-based Atrium Health. The two dropped their bid in March. The combined system would have had roughly $14 billion in revenue and more than 50 hospitals.

Antitrust experts say states can deliver a meaningful counterpunch to healthcare monopolies, but they warn that these cases arent easy to win and it could be too little, too late in some markets.

How do you unscramble the egg? said Zack Cooper, an assistant professor of economics and health policy at Yale University. There arent a lot of great solutions.

California authorities took their time sounding the alarm over Sutter  a fact Sutter is now using against the state in court.

The state attorney generals office, under the leadership of Democrat Kamala Harris, now a U.S. senator, started investigating Sutter seven years ago with a 2011 subpoena, court documents show. Sutter said the investigation appeared to go dormant in March 2015, just as Harris began ramping up her Senate campaign.

Becerra, a Democrat and former member of Congress, was appointed to replace Harris last year. He took over the investigation and sued Sutter on March 29. His aggressive action comes as he prepares for a June 5 primary against three opponents.

Sutter faces a separate class-action suit in San Francisco state court, spearheaded by a health plan covering unionized grocery workers and representing more than 2,000 employer-funded health plans. The plaintiffs are seeking to recoup $700 million for alleged overcharges plus damages of $1.4 billion if Sutter is found liable for antitrust violations.

Sutter also has been sued in federal court by five consumers who blame the health system for inflating their insurance premiums and copays. The plaintiffs are seeking class-action status.

San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Curtis E.A. Karnow granted Becerras request to consolidate his case with the grocery workers suit, which is slated for trial in June 2019.

The judge sanctioned Sutter in November after finding that Sutter was grossly reckless in intentionally destroying 192 boxes of evidence that were relevant to antitrust issues. As a result, Karnow said, he will consider issuing jury instructions that are adverse to Sutter.

In a note to employees, Sutter Chief Executive Sarah Krevans said she deeply regretted the situation but mistakes do happen.

In an April 27 court filing, Sutters lawyers criticized the state for piggybacking onto the grocery workers case. The government sat on its hands for seven years, exposing the public to the alleged anticompetitive conduct. Rather than driving the agenda, the attorney general seeks to ride coattails.

Outside court, California legislators are taking aim at all or nothing contracting terms used by Sutter and other hospital chains. The proposed law stalled last year amid opposition from the hospital industry. But consumer and labor groups are seeking to revive it this year.

In the meantime, Frizzell said he will probably wind up at one of Sutters hospitals again despite his disgust over his ER bill.

Most of the hospitals here are Sutter, he said. Its difficult to avoid them.

Terhune is a senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent publication of the Kaiser Family Foundation. KHN Senior Correspondent Anna Gorman contributed to this report.

cterhune@kff.org
President Trumps stunning change in stance toward a Chinese telecom-equipment maker that his administration recently sanctioned drew widespread rebuke Monday, even as it seemed to increase the likelihood that the U.S. and China could soon pull back from the brink of a trade war.

Chinas top economic official, Vice Premier Liu He, is expected to arrive in Washington on Tuesday for several days of meetings with senior Trump administration officials. And Trumps tweet Sunday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are working together to help save ZTE could be a sign that Trump is looking for a potential deal to avert massive tariffs threatened by both sides.

The Trump administration in April banned U.S. companies from selling parts to ZTE for violating a previous settlement over illegal shipments to Iran, penalties so crippling that they were endangering the big Shenzhen companys survival. Critics of Chinas mercantilist policies had applauded the sanctions, and saw them as an indication of the seriousness with which the administration was pursuing change in Beijing.

Trumps about-face on ZTE apparently surprised his own officials, and it was all the more remarkable because the president, advocate of the America first policy, tweeted as a reason that too many jobs in China [would be] lost.

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Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, called Trumps tweet on ZTE indefensible, given that the company had been found breaking U.S. laws and was considered by many to be a security threat to the U.S.

Other analysts warned that the president would pay a heavy political price for inexplicably backing away from his get-tough-on-China policy.

Rhetorically this is a big change, said Derek Scissors, a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in China. In terms of actions, he said, Trumps highest-impact strike against China thus far was in fact the ZTE penalty, which now looks to be coming off.

I dont think right now we can believe the president is willing to sustain any cost to take on the Chinese, he said.

Michael Wessel, a longtime member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, tweeted that ZTE had already been told how to stay in business. Abide by U.S. laws. Theyve broken the rules twice. Bad sign for upcoming trade talks and potential willingness of administration to settle for small steps.

Trump, apparently reacting to the criticisms, including from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, on Monday suggested that the softening toward ZTE was motivated by a desire to avoid harming American interests. ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi.

For American retailers and other businesses worried about tariffs and disruptions to trade and their supply chains, Trumps pledge to help ZTE and the continuing talks between the two sides were seen as a favorable development.

It gives us cause for optimism, said David French, senior vice president of government relations at the National Retail Federation, which along with dozens of other business interests are appearing at a hearing starting Tuesday on the Trump administrations proposed tariffs against China.

Chinese officials had responded to the penalties against ZTE by holding up San Diego-based Qualcomms application to acquire NXP Semiconductors. But offering its own step to ease tensions, Beijing said it would restart the review of the purchase request.

Scissors and other analysts said Trump may have backed away because of growing pressure from U.S. farmers, who already were finding more obstacles exporting into the big Chinese market.

There was also speculation that Trumps step may have been in exchange for Beijings support for the president as he gears up to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore.

China has long been Pyongyangs biggest benefactor, and its recent tightening of trade with North Korea, at Trumps behest, is thought to have played a part in Kims agreement to meet Trump to discuss a denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Trump has repeatedly said that he would cut China slack on trade if it helped him on North Korea.

At the same time, since the start of the year the Trump administration has moved toward taking hard-line actions to shrink the large U.S. trade deficit and blunt Beijings policies that are harming U.S. innovation and intellectual property rights. Trump has threatened stiff tariffs on $150 billion of Chinese goods, and his administration is also preparing restrictions on Chinese investments. Beijing has vowed to retaliate in commensurate measure, and was particularly troubled by the sanctions against ZTE.

Trumps change in tune on ZTE also marked a significant shift from just two weeks earlier when his high-level delegation, led by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin, presented a list of unusually tough demands to Liu and others during meetings in Beijing. They made little progress as both sides appeared to talk past each other.

Easing up on ZTE probably makes it more likely that there will be an outcome that avoids tariffs, said Nicholas Lardy, a China economy expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, although he added that there are now so many moving pieces that it is hard to be confident about anything, at least from the outside.

Whether planned or not, Trump has kept trading partners and others off-balance, with tweets and sudden policy pronouncements. And the ZTE tweet on Sunday may have topped them all as it left most everyone scratching their heads about the administrations objectives on China.

What this is, is just another example of a very undisciplined policy process, so that every action isnt necessarily well thought out, said David M. Lampton, director of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington. Rather, he said, its a spontaneous kind of combustion in the mind of one admittedly important actor, namely the president.

He and other experts expect that the Chinese delegation in Washington this week will make some concessions, including those previously offered, such as a cut in auto import tariffs, opening up markets in services and other steps to reduce the U.S. trade deficit. But no one is expecting Beijing to abandon its industrial policies such as subsidies and market protections for key industries that some in the Trump administration want to tear down.

The bottom line, Lampton said, what is the Trump administration prepared to accept? Under what circumstances will it declare victory?

The latest from Washington 

More stories from Don Lee 

don.lee@latimes.com

Follow me at @dleelatimes
Westwood resident Steve Simich was taking a generic anti-cholesterol pill. One day he got curious about where it came from. It didnt say on the label.

Simich, 57, asked the pharmacist at his local Rite-Aid. She looked it up and said the country of origin was India.

That made me angry and a little disgusted, Simich told me. They should disclose that. I asked the pharmacist to switch me to a name-brand version made in the United States.

Now he takes Crestor, sold by the pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca.

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What Simich may not realize, though, is that while AstraZeneca has offices and facilities here in the U.S., the active ingredient for Crestor, rosuvastatin calcium, comes from abroad.

A company spokeswoman said AstraZeneca obtains the ingredient from suppliers in Britain, Belgium and Switzerland. Most makers of generic alternatives to Crestor, meanwhile, get their rosuvastatin calcium from India and China.

Simichs experience speaks not just to the fact that prescription drugs, and their ingredients, come from all over the world, but also to the huge challenge consumers face in making informed decisions about the meds they take.

And thats apparently deliberate.

The pharmaceutical industry does not want you to know where its drugs are from, said Rohit Deshpande, a marketing professor at Harvard Business School who has studied country-of-origin branding.

The moment people find out that these products largely come from China and India, they want to know why theyre not cheaper, he told me. The industrys motivation in hiding this is to maintain very high prices.

On Friday, President Trump outlined steps he said would result in lower drug prices. Under this administration, Trump declared, we are putting American patients first.

In fact, the measures he presented were so half-hearted that the stocks of major drug companies immediately went higher.

Peter Magnusson, an associate professor of international business at the University of Alabama, said research clearly shows that consumers are influenced by labels that disclose a products origins.

If presented with an American-made and a Chinese-made version of the same drug, he said, most U.S. consumers wouldnt hesitate to select the American pill. Rightly or wrongly, Magnusson said, consumers trust rich-country stuff more than they trust developing-country stuff.

I wrote on Friday about a highly deceptive campaign from the Partnership for Safe Medicines, a U.S. drug-industry-backed group that seeks to prevent Americans from importing cheaper meds from abroad.

The organization has come out with ads that misleadingly claim Canada is an untrustworthy source of drugs, with some meds containing antifreeze, drywall, even road paint.

This got me thinking about pharmaceutical countries of origin. My subsequent chat with Simich only increased my curiosity.

Why is it so hard to find out where drugs come from, especially when nearly all other consumer products, from clothing to cars, have their country of origin prominently disclosed?

One reason is because the supply chain for drugs is very complex. Active and inactive ingredients might come from dozens of suppliers in multiple countries, and each of those suppliers in turn might have facilities around the world.

Thats why the Food and Drug Administration generally defines a drugs country of origin as the final stop in the manufacturing process  where the ingredients were combined or the final touches put in place.

Under FDA rules, drug companies are required to disclose only the name and business address of the manufacturer. A U.S.-based pharmaceutical plant, therefore, would not have to reveal that its active ingredients come from China.

The U.S. Customs Service, on the other hand, considers a drugs country of origin to be the last place that resulted in a substantial transformation. Typically, that means the source of the drugs main active ingredient.

Even so, its often impossible to get a fix on any aspect of the supply chain or manufacturing process. Take a look in your own medicine cabinet. More than likely, not one prescription drug has a country of origin on the label.

The Tariff Act of 1930 requires that every foreign good be labeled in such manner as to indicate to an ultimate purchaser in the United States the English name of the country of origin of the article. But there are several key exceptions to this law.

No such labels are required for articles that are incapable of being marked, articles which are crude substances and articles to be processed in the United States by the importer.

Michael Chattalas, a professor of marketing and international business at Monmouth University in New Jersey, said drug companies interpret these exceptions as applying to the myriad components of prescription meds  and no one in Washington is saying otherwise.

It could be argued that it makes no difference if a drugs country of origin is disclosed.

Frances Richmond, chairwoman of the Department of Regulatory and Quality Sciences at USCs School of Pharmacy, told me that because all facets of the supply chain must meet strict FDA safety standards, it shouldnt matter to consumers where drugs or their ingredients originate.

But she acknowledged that some drug companies probably dont want people knowing that 80% of active ingredients  yes, 80%  come from China and India.

Theres an effort to contain the cost of drugs, and thats why these things are outsourced to other manufacturers, Richmond said. Its the way of the world.

Perhaps, but that doesnt mean obfuscation should be the norm. Apple is based in California, but its iPhones are made in China  and are clearly labeled as such.

When you pick up a package of cereal, you can see the major ingredients and where it was made, said Harvards Deshpande. This isnt the case with prescription drugs, he said, because the industrys lobbyists are too powerful.

The drug industry has spent nearly $4 billion on lobbying over the last 20 years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. No other U.S. industry comes close.

As a reasonable person, I understand that Richmond is correct when she observes that our drug supply is amazingly safe.

But I also agree with Simich. As a consumer, I feel I have a right to know where the things I buy come from, without a lot of trickery. This seems particularly pertinent in the case of prescription drugs, which can play a life-or-death role for millions of people.

If you go to AstraZenecas Crestor website, youll find safety information about the drug but you wont learn where it was made, or where its active ingredient comes from.

I think Deshpande is right when he says that if Americans knew where their pills, or much of whats in them, come from, theyd be shocked by the absurdly high prices being charged.

Thats why the pharmaceutical industry is keeping such information to itself.

Thats why, if Trump was serious about tackling runaway drug prices, hed make companies clearly disclose countries of origin.

The perfect conversation starter, you could say.

David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
Ellen Reid identifies herself as composer and sound artist on her website. Those arent two separate or distinct aspects of her work, even though she creates site-specific pieces as well as writing for standard concert situations.

What has made Reid such a beguiling composer, and one who suits Los Angeles so well, is that pretty much whatever she does and wherever she does it, space, to misquote Sun Ra, is ever the place.



For the record: An earlier version of this article said librettist Sarah LaBrie grew up in Houstons oil boom of the 1970s. LaBrie did grow up in Houston, but after the 70s.

As Reids prominence rises, and its currently soaring as the citys most prestigious musical institutions line up to commission her, the worry might be that sonic space becomes constricted with the need to fit in. Still, in Petrichor, a recent new piece for Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, she made Royce Hall feel uncannily like a rain forest through instrumental magic alone.

With dreams of the new world, her oratorio for the Los Angeles Master Chorale, which had its premiere Sunday night at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Reid showed less interest in specific sonic transformation than in imagining space and time. Her subject is vast. Working with a writer and a researcher, she set out to examine American westward expansion through the examples of three cities in epochs of optimistic boom  Memphis in 1890, 1950 and 2016, Houston in 1970 and Los Angeles 2018.

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There is biographical significance in that Reid is from Oak Ridge, a small town in Tennessee, and her librettist, Sarah LaBrie, grew up in Houston. Reid and LaBrie traveled with an anthropologist, Sayd Randle, to interview a variety of people who could help understand prosperity and its consequences in a journey to find a larger narrative.

Its the American psyche, one futurist told the women, and that became the first line in LaBries libretto. Its the drive of our forefathers, another interviewee noted about the great movement westward.

Reids score is wildly inventive, leaving little question about what all the fuss over her music is about. She has a special feel for the chorus, which here is reduced to 32 voices, including five soloists. The 14-member instrumental ensemble was the experimental chamber group wild Up, with whom Reid has a long connection.

Grant Gershon conducted with a flexibility that made it seem as though Reid could do absolutely anything. The Memphis section ranged from soulful folk song to New Orleans jazz to a section in which American hymn took on the character of Arvo Parts Eastern European spiritualism. The topic was Robert Church, who went from slave to millionaire at the end of 19th century but whose legacy was later stamped out in the citys racially insensitive modernization.

In dreams, Houston makes oil money to the tunes of electronic funk. The Gulf region gets fat with the sounds of big band jazz. But it cared little about the fate of oil rig workers or the environment, a golden era represented in golden harmonies, sung a cappella, a drone that proves surprisingly somber.

In L.A., its the race to the future. Elon Musk. Rockets. Sopranos, with the help of a flute, are remarkably reminiscent of buoyant early electronic music. A sanguine sax solo blasts to Mars. Space, cinematically rousing, is our next frontier.

This is a lot of territory to cover in 45 minutes and necessarily fragmentary. That meant Reids usual luxurious sound environments tended to be tantalizingly hinted at, as she engagingly reacted to the moment. The moment had to matter.

Unfortunately the earnestness of the text, and the project itself, made that difficult. It is possible  as John Adams and Peter Sellars have shown, and Julia Wolfe in her oratorio, Anthracite Fields  to create profound musical expression around documentary material. Some of the librettos historical lines, especially from Memphis, really do sing, but too often there is conventional wisdom. When we get to L.A., its basically TED talk.

Further holding the work back was the amplification. Reid and her sound designer, Nicolas Tipp, did almost the opposite of what the composer accomplished at Royce. Instead of making a confined space seem to open up, they lessened Disneys dimensionality, focusing the ear on only semi-dimenstional speakers.

What the evening did have, however, was the ambiance of a committed performance that captured the sheer exhilaration of Reids music. Gershon wasnt about to let anything stand in Reids way. He paired dreams with Terry Rileys In C, knowing that this is music that lives in a world of its own.

It was an odd performance. Chorus members mingled in groups on stage and around the hall. The instruments were spread about. The room remained brightly lighted. The whole thing had the character of a grooving performance by the Village People, the 1970s disco group.

Riley may have envisioned less purposeful interactions and more distinct individuality of the performers, who work their way independently but not insensitively through 53 melodic fragments repeated at individual will. But it is hard to resist choristers dancing in the aisles or Gershon happily banging out the pulse on the piano.

The performance lasted a little over an hour. Like dreams, it felt much shorter, a sure way beyond criticism to judge any works effectiveness.

mark.swed@latimes.com
Cannes notebook: The wonderful, improbable Palme dOr triumph of Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters

Director Hirokazu Koreeda winner of the Palme dOr award for Shoplifters. (Andreas Rentz / Getty Images)

On the last day of every Cannes Film Festival, word begins to leak out about which filmmakers from the competition have been called back for the closing-night awards ceremony.

Many of us already knew, going into Saturday nights show, that Pawel Pawlikowskis Cold War, Alice Rohrwachers Happy as Lazzaro, Spike Lees BlacKkKlansman, Nadine Labakis Capernaum and Hirokazu Kore-edas Shoplifters were certain to go home with awards, though which film would win what remained a mystery.

Festival juries are notoriously difficult to predict, but several other critics shared my hunch that the Palme dOr, the festivals top prize, would go to either Capernaum or BlacKkKlansman. Both were among the most enthusiastically touted films in the competition, and they offered the jury a chance to anoint either Labaki, a Lebanese director who had just launched herself into the big leagues, or Lee, a veteran American auteur who had famously (and angrily) lost the Palme nearly 30 years ago for Do the Right Thing. Would they go with the striking new talent or the overdue veteran?

In the end, they chose the overdue veteran, though not the one some of us were expecting. In a development as startling as it was altogether marvelous, the jury president, Cate Blanchett, announced that the Palme dOr had gone to Kore-edas Shoplifters, one of the quietest, loveliest and most emotionally enduring films in the competition.

Did anyone see this coming? To judge by his genially shell-shocked reaction, Kore-eda himself certainly didnt.

Read more on this years winners
Over a warm spring weekend, a group of academics, Midwestern students and New Yorkers gathered here to talk about a groundbreaking Missouri playwright who took the small-town themes of his troubled, gay youth and turned them into powerful onstage depictions of characters striving against the status quo.

Theater buffs would immediately guess Tennessee Williams. But they would be wrong. The playwright these theater artists and academics were gathered to discuss was the other troubled, gay Missouri playwright who leveraged his early difficulties into powerful stage depictions: Lanford Wilson.

Wilson and Williams shared not only the experience of growing up in Missouri but also a professional collaboration and a friendship. They connected early in Wilsons career for a project that took them on a road trip through the American South.

Williams was born in Mississippi and moved to St. Louis when he was a young boy. He bombed out of ROTC at the University of Missouri, where he wrote his first known play and short story and tried to study journalism before his father pulled him out of school and put him to work at a shoe factory in St. Louis.

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Wilson was born in Lebanon, Mo., and as soon as he was able to get away, he escaped to first San Diego and then Chicago before landing in New York City. There he cofounded the groundbreaking Circle Repertory Company and helped drive the off-Broadway scene that championed the work of new American plays.

Both Tennessee and Lanford wrote a lot about outsiders, says theater director Marshall Mason, who closely worked closely with Wilson for 42 years, staging his plays at Circle Rep from the 1970s into the 1990s.

The director also worked with Williams, and he sees strong similarities as well as distinct differences between the two. Both playwrights channeled the pain of their heartland youth into settings of marginalization, violence and despair, and both created memorable characters struggling against these forces.

But Wilson, Mason said, wrote more eloquently about America than any playwright of his generation. I dont think Tennessee did that, you see. He didnt write about America. He didnt get at the fabric of America, which is what Lanford really got at.

Wilson is best known for his trilogy of plays depicting the Talley family. It includes Fifth of July, set at a Missouri farmhouse, for which Swoosie Kurtz won a Tony in 1981, and Talleys Folly, which earned Wilson the 1980 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Jeff Daniels and William Hurt also originated roles in Wilsons first productions with Circle Rep. Meanwhile, Wilsons Burn This, which starred John Malkovich in the original 1987 Circle Rep production at L.A.s Mark Taper Forum, is scheduled for a 2018-19 Broadway season revival starring Adam Driver.

Wilson conference

Mason and former Circle Rep artists, academics and students were gathered in Columbia for a conference on Missouri Self-Taught: Lanford Wilson and the American Drama in a place from which the playwright couldnt escape fast enough.

Its more than he hated it and he left, said Henry Schvey, a drama professor at Washington University in St. Louis. He hated it, but he needed it.

The same was true of Williams. Speaking of the famed playwrights St. Louis, Schvey said, He carried it  like Joyce carried Dublin  with him.

Schvey added that because both playwrights tapped into the bleakness of their Missouri experiences, celebratory conversations and gatherings like this are still somewhat rare in the state.

We dont talk about Williams in St. Louis, he said, wryly. Hes like the rude guest who left early and didnt enjoy the meal. Nevertheless, the third edition of a festival honoring Williams is playing out in the theater community in St. Louis through May 19. But Schvey added that the event was much smaller than the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival, for instance, now in its 32nd year.

Wilsons fans at the University of Missouri conference pointed out that no matter where the two writers set their plays, they loved their marginalized, struggling characters striving to find their place in often suffocating surroundings. Think of A Streetcar Named Desires Stanley. Schvey said Williams based that character and his imploding frustrations on an experience in that St. Louis factory.

During a lunch break at the conference, actress Tanya Berezin and playwright Mary Sue Price talked about their long and fruitful relationship with Wilson.

Berezin cofounded Circle Repertory Company with Wilson and Mason in 1969, and the playwright created several roles for her. She described herself as a Jewish girl from Philly who had always found resonance in the people and places of Wilsons world.

Berezin and Price found it both a pleasure and something of a shock to see their collaborations and friendships with Wilson, who died in 2011, become the subject of academic scrutiny. The two exchanged memories about Lanford  nearly everyone at the conference referred to Wilson by his first name  and the artists and community at Circle Rep.

ners cooked by Price, and play-reading weekends at

Both women kept coming back to not only the strength of Wilsons character portrayals but also to a belief that his voices  the unheard, marginalized voices that go against the status quo  are more important to be heard now than ever.

Price, a Missourian herself, creates work about rural and small-town places and people. She called the heartland a really scary place.

Its still a scary place, she said. And it needs to be written about. And not made fun of.

Wilson wrote about other places and people too. He dramatized dancers, artists, prostitutes and down-and-outs living on the margins of New York City. But whether the setting is a Missouri farmhouse in Fifth of July, the rundown hotel of The Hot L Baltimore or the New York City loft in Burn This, his characters are multi-dimensional and striving  words used repeatedly at the Missouri conference.

Lanford wrote characters that were so rich and wonderful, said Mason. You have to go all the way to Chekhov to find another writer who wrote such rich characters.

University of Missouri theater professor David Crespy said the themes these playwrights tackled havent changed. For a recent production in Columbia of Wilsons The Rimers of Eldritch, a play that depicts family and community violence and its after-effects in a small town, Crespy cast a diverse ensemble that included Latino, Bosnian and black students. He said this new generation of students, many of them young, diverse Missourians, share experiences like Wilsons.

This place, added Crespy, gesturing to the stage set and its re-creation of Wilsons Eldritch, speaks to these kids.  A lot of these kids grew up in rural places in Missouri. Those sensibilities, those whisperings, those secrets that small towns keep are still very much there.

Crespy named such contemporary playwrights as Lisa Loomer, Sheila Callaghan and Lynn Nottage, with her Pulitzer-winning Sweat, as artists mining the voices and struggles of small-town Americans in their work.

I think small-town America is very much on the mind of playwrights who are looking at this phenomenon of people voting from this lack of opportunity, this place where all the jobs have gone away, he noted. People are going, How in the hell did Trump get elected?

The answer might be in the multiple dimensions of the people who can best be portrayed and encountered through art. This was a common theme emerging from those at the conference.

Theyre still displayed as fully realized, complicated human beings, who are not deplorables, Crespy said. Theyre people who are struggling through very tough times, who make wrong choices and do very hurtful things. But theyre trying to make the best of what theyve been given.

.

Sitting near his quiet Eldritch set  a scene with front porches and a church pulpit  Crespy said the reason to pay attention to Wilsons characters is because they arent just voices inhabiting other towns. Eldritch is a mythical everytown, Crespy said.

Mason echoed that idea in another way. I dont consider Lanford a Midwestern playwright, he said. I consider him an American playwright.

Asked what he hoped new audiences might take away from the planned Broadway revival of Burn This next season, Mason said: His great love of humanity is the primary thing.

calendar@latimes.com
Spike Lee was relaxing on Marthas Vineyard when the now-infamous Ku Klux Klan rally in Charlottesville, Va., turned deadly last summer. He had only just finished his latest film, BlacKkKlansman, a 70s caper based on the real-life tale of an African American cop who infiltrated the KKK with his Jewish partner on the police force.

But watching the news out of Charlottesville unfold on CNN -- and learning that 32-year-old Heather Heyer had been killed after being run over by a car during the ensuing riots -- Lee knew he had to change the end of BlacKkKlansman. He quickly got the telephone number of Susan Bro, Heyers mother, and asked for her permission to use the real-life footage of the incident as a coda to his film, which debuted to strong reviews and a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday night.

Once I got the permission, I said  everybody else: That  scene is staying in the  movie, Lee told an audience of journalists at a news conference here, launching into a passionate, expletive-laden monologue. Because that was a murder. And we have a guy in the White House -- Im not gonna say his  name -- whose defining moment -- not just for Americans, for the world -- that  did not denounce the  Klan, the alt right, and those Nazi .

Lee, seething with anger, spoke extemporaneously for roughly five minutes, noting how the United States was built upon the genocide of native people and slavery. (As my Brooklyn brother Jay-Z would say: Facts.) But racism and this right-wing   is a global issue, the filmmaker said -- especially when Trump has the nuclear code.

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I go to bed every night thinking about it, said Lee, adding that he saw that very attache case containing that vital information when he hosted a benefit for President Obama. So this film, to me, is a wake-up call. And I know in my heart -- I dont care what the critics say, or anybody else -- we are on the right side of history with this film.

Lee then asked the crowd to excuse him for his profanity, explaining that the administration made him wanna curse.

The majority of the questions at the news conference were directed toward Lee  so many that he had to plead the audience to make some inquiries of his cast, including John David Washington, Adam Driver and Topher Grace.

John David Washington, left, director Spike Lee and actor Adam Driver attend the photo call for BlacKkKlansman. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images )

READ MORE: Lars von Triers The House That Jack Built and Spike Lees BlacKkKlansman make for a night of provocation in Cannes 

Grace, who plays former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke in the movie, said he prepared for the role by listening to the controversial leaders radio show. Still, he struggled with some of his characters behavior. One day, he said, Lee requested he perform a Nazi salute and scream White power! -- something that wasnt in the script.

I rarely get affected  but I was in a really bad place, said the actor, who is in another film playing in Cannes competition, Under the Silver Lake. And Spike came over and spent some time with me and said: Dont worry. Whatever Im asking you to do is in service of a message [your character] agrees with. There are zero other directors other than Spike that I would play this role for.

Lee learned about the story of Ron Stallworth, the black cop on the Colorado Springs, Colo., police force, through Jordan Peele, who produced the film. At first, Lee said, he thought the entire story sounded like that Dave Chappelle skit and was shocked to learn it was true.

The movie is filled with hateful slurs against blacks and Jews -- a choice Lee said he made purposefully so that the hate could be verbalized. A journalist brought up how the filmmaker criticized Quentin Tarantino for using the n-word so frequently in 1997s Jackie Brown.

This has nothing to do with QT -- youre bringing up ancient history, Lee said dismissively. That is not important. This world is crazy. Who gives a  what Quentin and I had? Thats inconsequential. That amounts to a hill of beans with whats happening in this world today.

I hope this film shakes people from their slumber, he continued, explaining that the movie will be released in August on the one-year anniversary of Charlottesville. The purpose of this film was to spark discussion....We know the difference between right and wrong, and when you see wrong staring you dead in the face and youre like, Mums the word, youre helping the other people, in my opinion.

amy.kaufman@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @AmyKinLA
It was a high time at the No Name restaurant on Fairfax Avenue Thursday night, complete with cups full of THC-infused Chex-style trail mix on the bar, Beboes slim, gold vaporizers tucked into wine glasses at each place setting and herbaceous candles emblazoned with the word cannabis flickering like freshly lighted joints across the moss-covered dinner tables.

The event was ostensibly to celebrate the High Notes collaboration that packages a Malin+Goetz Cannabis candle and a La Ligne ringer tee with the words Sticky Icky embroidered in green over the left breast. But because that had actually rolled out to retail back on the 4/20 weed holiday, the evening appeared to be as much about the two New York-based brands celebrating Californias new legal weed scene as the limited-edition joint effort itself.

I actually think its weird that this kind of thing isnt happening more  that people arent having dinners that are centered around smoking weed, La Ligne co-founder Molly Howard said at the May 10 dinner. Why is it normal that you have a bar at your fashion party but you dont have weed?

Howard, formerly head of business development for Rag & Bone, launched the luxury line-laden and stripe-splashed womens label with Vogue alumnae Meredith Melling and Valerie Macaulay just two years ago, but the seeds of the cannabis-themed collaboration were actually planted back in college  the University of Pennsylvania, to be precise  when she first crossed paths with Rachel Lavipour, who currently serves as the director of business development for the Malin+Goetz skincare brand. (Did they get high together back in those Ivy League days? Yes  more or less, Lavipour said.)

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Why is it normal that you have a bar at your fashion party but you dont have weed? Molly Howard, co-founder of La Ligne

I reached out to Molly because I saw what she was doing with La Ligne and I thought it was pretty sick, Lavipour said. They had these beautiful designs, [and] everyone was talking about them. And I saw so much synergy with Malin+Goetz [because the line] was so clean and minimalist and cool. So I reached out to them, literally a year ago, and said, Do you guys want to collaborate?

Howard pointed to Cannabis Candle (it achieves its earthy-meets-patchouli-by-way-of-citrus scent wholly using non-weed ingredients), which has been in the Malin+Goetz mix for about a decade. We liked the fact that they were talking about cannabis  and had that candle  a long time ago before it was really trendy, she said. So I thought it would be a good opportunity for us to come together and celebrate that.

Howard wasnt alone in that assessment, judging by the high-profile guests from L.A.s fashion flock  and beyond  who turned out for the barn-burner of a Thursday evening. Spotted among the well-heeled were jewelry designer Jennifer Meyer, Haney designer Mary Alice Haney, the Elder Statesmans Greg Chait, stylist Jessica de Ruiter, designer Jenni Kayne and Beboe brand co-founder Clement Kwan. Other bold-faced names who turned out to show their stripes included Jason Sudeikis, Michelle Monaghan and sisters Erin and Sara Foster.

Malin+Goetz X La Ligne High Notes T-shirt and candle collaboration ($190), available at www.malinandgoetz.com.

adam.tschorn@latimes.com

For more musings on cannabis culture and commerce, follow me at @ARTschorn.
From a New York coffee transplant serving up matte black lattes to pasta at a L.A. favorite, heres whats happening in the Los Angeles food and drink world:

Coffee time: Ockhyeon Byeon quickly made a name for himself at his Round K coffee shop in New York City serving matte black lattes (they are actually black). Fast forward three years later, and hes just opened a shop in Mid-Wilshire, hidden inside Pasquales Shoe Repair on San Vicente Boulevard (walk through the shop, out the back door, hang a right and look for the black door). This is where youll find those matte black lattes, made with almond milk and turned jet black by the addition of coconut ash. The shop also serves Byeons signature cappuccino, made by dropping an egg yolk into hot espresso and whisking the two together. Then he adds a layer of freshly whipped cream. In addition to the coffee drinks, theres a small selection of breakfast-friendly food: croissants topped with espresso-steamed eggs, spicy kimchi and bacon; eggs with kimchi butter, pickled cucumber, avocado and whole grain toast. 5616 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 852-3027, www.roundk.com.

Bring on the carbs

Bolognese from Joans on Third. Both the Los Angeles and Studio City locations have added pasta to the menu. (Jenn Harris / Los Angeles Times )

Most of us stop in at the Joans on Third on 3rd Street, or the location in Studio City, to grab lunch, a snack, ice cream and some cheese and wine for that dinner party later. Owner Joan McNamara knows this, but shed like you to stay a little longer. In an attempt to bring in the dinner crowd, McNamara recently introduced fresh pasta and sauces to both Joans locations. She enlisted the help of Dominick DiBartolomeo of Domenicos Foods, the popular farmers market stand known for its pasta, tapenades and pestos, to make the fresh pasta. Hes supplying the restaurants with pappardelle, penne and linguine. McNamara is making the sauces for the pasta, including bolognese, arrabiata and mushroom cream. You can mix and match your pasta and sauces to create your favorite combination. The bowls of pasta are available to eat in the restaurants, or you can buy all the components separately and cook them at home. I saw it as a need for families who dont know what they want to eat, or dont have time to make reservations, said McNamara on a recent visit. Its easy, families can sit down and eat dinner or take it home to cook themselves. 8350 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, (323) 655-2285 | 12059 Ventura Place, Studio City, (818) 201-3900, joansonthird.com.

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Brunching

The pork chop with a fried egg on the new brunch menu at Heres Looking at You in Koreatown. (Shelley Som )

Two years after opening Heres Looking at You in Koreatown, chef Jonathan Whitener is introducing brunch. Whitener, who cooked with Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo at Animal, launched his new brunch menu on Mothers Day. Whitener continues to champion a fusing of flavors with the new brunch menu, with influences from the Meditteranean, Mexico and Asia. Highlights include cured salmon with charred avocado and labneh; okonomiyaki with bacon, cabbage and bonito; pork chop milanesa with tomatillo and fried eggs; coconut waffles with koji, blueberries and ume; stracciatella with pepitas, yuzu kosho and perilla. Brunch is available from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. 3901 W. 6th St., Los Angeles, (213) 568-3573, www.hereslookingatyoula.com.

Weho French

The bar at Barbette, a new French bistro and bar in West Hollywood. (Rob Stark )

Partners Sean MacPherson and Jared Meisler, the duo behind the Pikey, Roger Room, Jones and Bar Lubitsch, have opened a new bar and restaurant in West Hollywood called Barbette. The French-inspired restaurant is located in the former Tinto Tapas Espana space. Executive chef Robert Flaherty, who has cooked at April Bloomfields the Spotted Pig and White Gold Butchers in New York, is preparing a menu that is primarily vegetarian and gluten-free, with socca and tahini yogurt; leeks and Little Gem salad with a cured egg; and warm greens with kale, olive oil, garlic and chiles. Theres also steak frites; and moules mariniere with bread. Bartender Brittney Olsen is serving variations on classic French cocktails and general manager and sommelier Jen Avina curated a list of varietals from both France and California. 7511 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 850-8888, www.barbettebarandbistro.com.

Downtown Eve

A portion of the dining room at Eve American Bistro, the new restaurant at the Mayfair Hotel in downtown L.A. (Tanveer Badal )

When the Mayfair Hotel reopens in downtown L.A. this June, it will have a new restaurant called Eve American Bistro. The restaurant name was inspired by the main character from Raymond Chandlers short story Ill Be Waiting. The hotel, which was established in 1926, has undergone a complete redesign that includes Eve American Bistro and M Bar cocktail lounge. If you catch a glimpse of executive chef Scott Commings in the kitchen and think he looks familiar, that might be because the chef, who grew up on a Wisconsin dairy farm, is the winner of season 12 of the Fox show Hells Kitchen. At Eve, Commings plans to have a customizable raw bar and serve rotisserie duck, lamb, chicken and pork belly. The restaurant will open for dinner and eventually expand its hours to include lunch and brunch service. 1256 W. 7th St., Los Angeles, (213) 632-1200, www.mayfairla.com.

jenn.harris@latimes.com

Instagram: @Jenn_Harris_
Fentanyl, a potent opioid already responsible for thousands of deaths nationwide, is increasingly showing up in drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine in California, officials say.

The white powder, a lethal substance 50 times stronger than heroin, is sometimes mixed into other opioids to produce a stronger high. Now its presence in non-opioids has public health experts worried that California may be staring down a new dimension of the deadly epidemic.

Officials suspect that three men who died in downtown Los Angeles late last month had snorted cocaine laced with fentanyl, an incident that has further galvanized fentanyl fears.

We dont know whether this is an anomaly, or whether its a bellwether of something thats about to hit, said UCLA professor Steve Shoptaw, who studies substance abuse.

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Although California has avoided the worst of the opioid epidemic, the drug market here is dominated by stimulants, he said  the very drugs that have just started to be mixed with fentanyl.

Indeed, fentanyl deaths in California tripled between 2016 and 2017, according to the state health department.

Fentanyl, which can kill even in small doses, is dangerous for experienced opioid users, and even more so for people with no tolerance for opioids. Experts say they dont know whether dealers are purposely or accidentally tainting drugs with fentanyl, but that its a concern regardless.

We need to think of fentanyl being used with a wide range of drugs, said Jane C. Maxwell, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies substance abuse. Were so concerned about heroin and fentanyl, people arent really looking at other uses of fentanyl and other problems that might occur.

About 11:30 p.m. on April 25, Maynor Garcias phone buzzed with a text from his older brother, Gabriel Dirzo.

Dirzo wanted to know whether Garcia would host a birthday barbecue for him the following month.

Yeah bro no problem, Garcia texted back.

The two had hung out the day before with Garcias young daughters and vowed to spend more time together.

Hours later, Dirzo was found dead in his apartment in downtown Los Angeles, along with two other men. Police identified them as Gilbert Valenzuela Jr., 41, of Los Angeles and Robert Ramirez, 36, of Alhambra.

That night, the men had been drinking and eventually began doing what they believed was cocaine, according to reports from the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Officials suspect the men died because the cocaine was actually fentanyl, or was cocaine laced with fentanyl, said Dr. Gary Tsai, medical director of the county health departments substance abuse prevention and control division.

Cocaine, while it can be life-threatening, generally doesnt result in instantaneous overdose deaths like that, Tsai said.

Cocaine, while it can be life-threatening, generally doesnt result in instantaneous overdose deaths like that. Dr. Gary Tsai

Toxicology tests that provide an exact cause of death could take up to two months, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroners office.

Fentanyl has been prescribed as a painkiller for cancer patients since the 1960s. But an illicit version is being manufactured and can be easily mixed with other drugs without being noticed.

Several people in San Francisco have recently died from consuming fentanyl with methamphetamine, counterfeit Xanax or crack cocaine. There have been reports elsewhere of fentanyl in the rave drug MDMA.

We arent seeing the volume or the impact that  is happening on the East Coast, but we know that could change, said Rachael Kagan, spokeswoman for San Franciscos Department of Public Health. Were really on high alert.

California has the seventh lowest drug-overdose death rate in the nation, in part because of the type of heroin sold here, experts say.

Black tar heroin is sold west of the Mississippi, whereas the kind most commonly sold in the East is a white powder. Black tar heroin is harder to mix with fentanyl and therefore less likely to cause overdoses and deaths, experts say, but that advantage could fade as fentanyl shows up in other substances.

In the last year in Southern California and the Central Coast, federal agents have repeatedly made seizures of cocaine with fentanyl, methamphetamine with fentanyl and ketamine with fentanyl, according to Timothy Massino, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles.

This is a fairly new phenomenon in this area, he said.

Some experts believe dealers are adding fentanyl to their product to give it an edge or are trying to pass fentanyl off as another drug because its cheaper to manufacture.

Regardless, the presence of fentanyl in cocaine and methamphetamines could expose a new group of people to opioids. Americans are much more likely to have tried cocaine or meth  about 16% and 7% have in their lifetime, respectively  than heroin, which about 2% have tried, according to data from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Given the concerns about fentanyl, the California public health department is providing needle exchanges with test strips that people can use to test their drugs for fentanyl.

At Venice Family Clinic Common Ground, which offers a needle exchange, users have reported that theyve detected fentanyl in meth and cocaine, director Arron Barba said. People cant tell whats in the drugs theyre buying, and its clear fentanyl is increasingly part of the equation, she said.

Theres no quality control, and theres no government to step in and say you cant do that, Barba said. I think its only going to get worse.

Tsai, of the county health department, said Saturday that the county will send out an alert soon about rising fentanyl deaths. In Los Angeles County, fentanyl overdose numbers increased from about 45 in 2015 to more than 60 in 2016 and were even higher in 2017, he said, without specifying a figure because it is preliminary.

In general, though, Tsai and other experts said that while fentanyl is a real, growing threat, its not at the top of Californias health problems.

In fact, some said they felt the danger of fentanyl contamination had been exaggerated. The increase in reported fentanyl deaths could be in part due to increased testing for fentanyl in recent years, they say. Plus, toxicology reports that find fentanyl in someones blood doesnt mean that the person wasnt aware they took the drug, they said.

Fentanyl is a drug of choice for some people and it has been for years, said Paul Harkin, harm reduction programs manager at Glide, a clinic in the Tenderloin neighborhood in San Francisco.

Others said that people might purposely mix drugs, or might take fentanyl after taking an upper like methamphetamine to help them go to sleep.

Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a UC San Francisco professor who studies heroin usage, said he thinks the trend of fentanyl showing up in stimulants is just accidental contamination  the first batch of coke to go in the blender after the heroin was in the blender.

Garcia, thinking about his brothers death, said he welcomed more information about fentanyl.

I wish there could be something like awareness, like Hey, if youre going to party in downtown L.A., be careful if you get offered any type of drugs,  said Garcia, 27. Im not encouraging people to do cocaine, but people do, and then those people that do it ... need to understand that it could be lethal.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla
More Californians were diagnosed with chlamydia, gonorrhea or syphilis in 2017 than ever before, marking the third year in a row that the states sexually transmitted disease cases hit a record high, officials said.

The trend is mirrored nationwide, where STDs have been rising for five years. Experts blame the increases on falling condom use, fewer public health clinics and people having more sexual partners linked to dating apps.

STDs are preventable by consistently using condoms, and many STDs can be cured with antibiotics, California Department of Public Health Director Dr. Karen Smith said in a statement. Regular testing and treatment are very important for people who are sexually active, even for people who have no symptoms. Most people infected with an STD do not know it.

More than 300,000 people in the state were diagnosed with syphilis, gonorrhea or chlamydia last year, a 45% increase compared to five years ago, state officials said.

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Officials said they were especially concerned that as the number of women with syphilis has jumped, so has the number of babies born with syphilis passed from their mothers. Congenital syphilis, as it is known, can cause stillbirths or permanent disabilities.

Since 2013, the number of babies in California born with congenital syphilis has more than quadrupled  to 278 last year. There were more babies born with congenital syphilis in California in 2017 than there have been since 1995, according to state data.

There were 47 babies born with congenital syphilis in Los Angeles County alone last year.

Of the states 58 counties, Los Angeles County had the third-highest rate of gonorrhea, the eighth-highest rate of chlamydia and the ninth-highest rate of primary and secondary syphilis. The county had the 14th-highest rate of congenital syphilis.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla
For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time.

Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients.

The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies.

UPDATE: Former students recount decades of disturbing behavior by USC gynecologist 

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In recent years, some colleagues feared that he was targeting the universitys growing population of Chinese students, who often had a limited understanding of the English language and American medical norms.

Still, Tyndall was allowed to continue practicing. It was not until 2016, when a frustrated nurse went to the campus rape crisis center, that he was suspended.

An internal USC investigation determined that Tyndalls behavior during pelvic exams was outside the scope of current medical practice and amounted to sexual harassment of students. But in a secret deal last summer, top administrators allowed Tyndall to resign quietly with a financial payout.

The university did not inform Tyndalls patients. Nor did USC report him at the time to the Medical Board of California, the agency responsible for protecting the public from problem doctors.

USC told The Times in a statement that it was under no legal obligation to report Tyndall. The statement said that in hindsight, USC should have reported him. The university said it belatedly filed a complaint with the medical board March 9 after a request by Tyndall to be reinstated. It was about a month after Times reporters began questioning university employees about Tyndall.

President C.L. Max Nikias sent a letter to the campus community Tuesday morning in advance of the publication of this story. Nikias noted that he had two daughters who attended USC and called Tyndalls conduct a profound breach of trust.

On behalf of the university, I sincerely apologize to any student who may have visited the student health center and did not receive the respectful care each individual deserves, Nikias wrote.

In interviews with The Times, Tyndall, 71, insisted that he had done nothing wrong. He said he performed exams that were extremely thorough, but always appropriate.

Im there to protect the health of Trojan women, Tyndall said.

This story is based on interviews with more than 20 current and former USC employees. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing patient confidentiality laws and the potential of a negative effect on their careers. The Times also reviewed more than 100 pages of documents related to complaints against Tyndall and his response.

USC hired Tyndall in 1989 after his residency at Kaiser Permanente on Sunset Boulevard. He told people he had selected the job over higher paying opportunities to work with the bright, sophisticated women of what he often called the Stanford of the South. Even the license plate on his Acura declared his dedication to the job: It read COEDDOC, according to DMV records.

In the exam room, he was accompanied by a female nurse or medical assistant known as a chaperone  a practice embraced by many male gynecologists. In the years after he started, some chaperones became alarmed about the frequency with which he used a camera during pelvic exams, according to Tyndall and three colleagues with firsthand knowledge of the concerns.

Gynecologists can have legitimate reasons to take pictures, including research, teaching and soliciting second opinions from colleagues. Tyndalls chaperones in the 1990s questioned his motivations, the sources said. One chaperone recalled him taking multiple pictures of hundreds of patients genitals, while another said she witnessed 50 to 100 patients photographed.

Bernadette Kosterlitzky, a clinic nurse from 1992 to 2013, said that after a chaperone alerted administrators to the camera, then-Executive Director Dr. Lawrence Neinstein ordered it removed.

It was stopped as soon as it came to light, said Kosterlitzky, who ran the clinics oversight committee.

Neinstein died in 2016.

Tyndall said he photographed patients cervixes and external genitals only with their permission and for valid reasons. In some cases, he said, he wanted to allay students fears that they had genital warts. In others, he wanted to document cervical exams in case a patient later filed a lawsuit accusing him of missing a cancer diagnosis.

He said the images were magnified and not sexual, but acknowledged chaperones were suspicious.

It seemed to be causing too much controversy so I sent [the camera] to storage, he said.

Students also spoke up. In the early 2000s, at least three patients submitted letters complaining about inappropriate touching and remarks, according to a member of the clinic oversight committee who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The letters, the source said, were read aloud during monthly committee meetings.

After the third time that an alarming letter about Tyndall was read aloud, the committee member said, he confronted Neinstein.

I said, Larry, this is unusual to get so many of these letters. Something needs to be done, he recalled. The source provided university records that corroborate his account.

Tyndall said he was never told of the complaints. Its unclear what action Neinstein took, if any. USC said last week it had no information about the committee letters and that the deceased executive director had handled patient complaints independently.

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USC disclosed Tuesday that a recent review of Neinsteins files found eight complaints against the gynecologist from 2000 to 2014. Some concerned racially insensitive remarks. Tyndall was accused at various times in his tenure of making insulting comments about African Americans and Latinos. Tyndall could not be reached to respond to these allegations.

Other reports in Neinsteins file were about Tyndalls patient care.

Several of the complaints were concerning enough that it is not clear today why the former health center director permitted Tyndall to remain in his position, the university said in a summary of the investigation into the physician.

Engemann Student Health Center opened in 2013. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

Five years ago, the clinic moved into a brand-new building, named for a university trustee and her husband. But in the Engemann Student Health Center, the troubling questions about Tyndall only intensified.

Within months of the grand opening, chaperones observed behavior in the exam room that unsettled them, according to interviews with current and former employees as well as internal communications and notes reviewed by The Times.

Chaperones were concerned about what Tyndall described as a full body scan for unusual moles. They said Tyndall frequently had women lie naked on the exam table while he slowly inspected every part of their body, down to the area between their buttocks.

While he worked, he made comments that the nursing staff found unseemly. He described patients skin as flawless, creamy or beautiful, according to multiple people who witnessed the exams or were told about them. They said he remarked on students perky breasts.

They stand right up there, dont they? one recalled him telling a patient.

Multiple witnesses to the exams told The Times that many patients were silent and did not complain.

Some of them had never had a gynecological exam before, said one longtime chaperone. She and other clinic staffers said his behavior was often trained on international students from Asia.

They are so innocent, a lot of them. And they are going to do what you say, the chaperone said.

In a memo to The Times, Tyndall said the body scans were to look for skin cancer and other conditions that warranted referral to a dermatologist. In interviews, he said a patient once asked him if her breasts were perky, and he used the word only in response to her query. Some of the other comments reported by the chaperones were misinterpreted, he said.

Multiple experts said a womans annual gynecological visit could include a discussion of skin problems, but said meticulous inspections of a patients nude body would be highly unusual if not inappropriate. They also said a physician should confine his comments to medical observations.

You are looking for moles, not the individual impressions of the attractiveness of body parts, said Frank W. Ling, the former president of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and co-author of a medical school textbook on the field.

In the spring of 2013, eight chaperones reported concerns about Tyndall to their supervisor, veteran nurse Cindy Gilbert. She went to Neinstein, the clinics executive director, and the head of clinic nursing, Tammie Akiyoshi. Gilbert said Neinstein told her that he had talked to Tyndall about his behavior in the past.

Akiyoshi, now the clinics executive director, did not respond to interview requests.

Neinstein referred the complaints to the universitys Office of Equity and Diversity, which investigates sexual misconduct and racial and gender discrimination. An investigator interviewed seven employees and a patient, according to USC. Tyndall, Gilbert and multiple chaperones who complained said they were never informed of the probe or questioned by the investigator.

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Gretchen Dahlinger Means, the current executive director of OED, said none of those interviewed accused Tyndall of inappropriate touching or mentioned body scans or comments about breasts. She said one patient described him as creepy and a staff member recalled overhearing him tell a patient, You are pretty enough to be a model. Others, she said, had complimentary things to say about him.

The investigation concluded there was no violation of school policy.

There was no there there, Means said.

Neinstein informed Tyndall in the fall of 2013 that Gilbert had complained about him. In an interview, he said he felt blindsided and upset by what he viewed as false allegations. The only action Neinstein took as a result of the investigation was barring the gynecologist from locking the door of his office when with patients, according to Tyndall, Gilbert and others who worked with them.

Rattled by the accusations, Tyndall said he concluded his bosses didnt understand how much students liked him and launched a campaign to collect positive feedback. As some students left their appointments, he handed them a letter.

You indicated that you were very happy with the womens health care that you received today..., read a copy obtained by The Times. Engemanns managers greatly enjoy receiving favorable comments about Engemann and its clinicians.

The letter provided the email addresses of clinic administrators and suggested patients blind copy Tyndall on any messages.

In interviews, Tyndall said he and his supervisors received scores of glowing emails from students. He provided copies of some letters to The Times with the authors names redacted.

A student in USCs public policy program wrote in 2014 that she had seen four gynecologists before Tyndall, and he was the first not to cause her pain.

He explained exactly what he wants to do during the examination and how he does it, she wrote.

A first-year student in 2014 said she was nervous about her appointment  the first made without her parents help. Tyndall, she wrote, made her feel extremely informed and well cared for.

Many patients pleased with their visits were Chinese nationals, Tyndall said. USC has aggressively wooed international students in recent years. The largest contingent is from China with about 5,400 students enrolled in 2017.

During consultations in his office, Tyndall tried to connect with these students, he said. He ordered a map of China and encouraged women to point out their home province. He kept a bamboo plant, the traditional Chinese symbol of longevity and vitality, on a shelf above his desk, and recalled how some patients liked to take pictures of it. He sometimes showed off a photo of his Filipina wife and shared details of their relationship, according to two former patients.

The word got out. A lot of [Chinese] patients would say, My friend recommended you, Tyndall said in an interview.

As he courted these patients, Tyndalls co-workers were becoming increasingly disturbed by his behavior in the exam room. On top of the conduct they had already reported, chaperones began discussing the way Tyndall used his fingers during the pelvic exam for many young women.

In the final stage of the exam, gynecologists often assess the uterus for lumps and other abnormalities by inserting two fingers inside a patient while pressing on her lower abdomen.

What troubled chaperones was Tyndalls use of his fingers at the start of the exam. Before inserting a speculum, the metal duck-billed device that spreads open the walls of the vagina and enables the doctor to view the cervix, he would voice concern that the speculum might not fit.

He would put one finger in and say, Oh, I think it will fit. Lets put two fingers in, said a chaperone who worked with Tyndall for years. Four people familiar with Tyndalls exams said that while he spoke, he was moving his fingers in and out of the patients.

They said he made nearly identical statements to hundreds of women as he probed them: My, what a tight muscle you have. You must be a runner.

The chaperone who worked with Tyndall for years said she witnessed at least 70 such exams and remembered thinking the physician would eventually become embarrassed about repeating the same words to student after student.

He never was, she said.

During some exams, Tyndall made explicit reference to sexual intercourse while his fingers were inside patients, according to five people who heard the remarks or were told about them.

He would tell young ladies their hymens are intact. Dont worry about it, your boyfriends gonna love it, a chaperone recalled.

In interviews, Tyndall defended his routine use of fingers at the start of the pelvic exam, saying it served legitimate medical purposes. He said the method enabled him to identify women with vaginismus, a condition in which vaginal muscles involuntarily spasm, making pelvic exams particularly painful. Tyndall also said he sought to assess the health of pelvic floor muscles.

The medical assistants know patients are smiling and that I never cause pain, he said.

Dr. Sangeeta Mahajan, a national expert in pelvic pain, said she had never heard of a gynecologist moving his fingers in and out of a patient to gauge whether a speculum would fit and called the practice very odd and creepy.

Mahajan, the chief of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, said inserting fingers before the speculum was not a reliable way of identifying vaginismus.

Dr. Louise King, an assistant professor of gynecology at Harvard Medical School, said she found Tyndalls explanation not standard. She said that pelvic floor muscles do not typically pose problems for young women and are not examined unless a patient reports pain there.

It wouldnt be something a general gynecologist would do by rote, King said.

At Engemanns first-floor walk-in clinic, a nurse said that she spoke to at least five women in 2013 and 2014 who refused to be scheduled with Tyndall despite having gynecological problems that needed immediate attention.

Some said they felt like he was inappropriately touching them, that it didnt feel like a normal exam, the nurse said. They felt like they were violated.

She told her immediate supervisor and later Akiyoshi, the head of nursing, who said they would look into it, she recalled.

A patient who filed a complaint against the gynecologist told The Times, I was weirded out. The former student spoke on the condition of anonymity but agreed to be photographed. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

One clinician who recounted unsolicited complaints from at least three students from 2013 to 2016 said, Patients complained they would never see him again.

The clinician gave the students the email address for Neinstein or another administrator and encouraged them to put their complaints in writing. It is unclear if they did.

A Chinese graduate student who saw Tyndall in 2016 told The Times she found it unprofessional when he pointed out a picture of his wife during their initial consultation. The student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said she decided to go forward with an exam that day after looking at the diplomas on his wall and reminding herself, Hes a real doctor.

He placed his fingers inside her at the start of the exam, saying he was determining if the speculum would fit. She said she tried not to overthink what was happening. Of the visit with Tyndall, she said, I was not comfortable, but that was the only choice I had.

When she returned for test results another day, a nurse told her that Tyndall wanted her to remove all her clothes for an exam, she said. As she waited for him naked, she began to have doubts.

Its not right. Why do I have to take off all my clothes? she recalled thinking. She dressed and told a female clinic employee she wanted to see another doctor.

She said there were a lot of complaints about Tyndall, the student recalled.

Told of the womans account of being asked to disrobe for test results, Tyndall said: No. Impossible. Never happened. He speculated he was being set up by clinic staff.

Another student, an undergraduate from the Middle East, said that when she went to get a prescription for birth control, Tyndall appeared fixated on her heritage and virginity. She told him she wasnt religious, but he was not deterred, said the student, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

He offered me a little baggie of blood I could pop on my wedding night so my husband would think I was a virgin, she said. I was weirded out, but I was in a rush to get birth control.

She said Tyndalls pelvic exam was brief and she did not recall if he used his fingers before the speculum. While her friends got yearlong birth control prescriptions from other clinics, Tyndall approved only a two-month supply, she said.

On a return visit to renew the prescription, he posed questions about her first sexual experience in a way she found prurient.

He asked how many times wed tried and if it hurt because I was tight, she said.

He continued providing her short-term prescriptions that required her to revisit the clinic. On one occasion in 2016, she wept when a clinic staffer tried to take her blood pressure.

I told her I was feeling pressured  and just wanted my prescription, she said.

The nurse who took down her complaint said she was not the first, the student said.

Tyndall called the womans account so bizarre and denied making the comments she alleged.

Chaperones gave their supervisor, Gilbert, the names of women who seemed particularly shaken by Tyndalls exams. Gilbert said she contacted patients and explained how to make a written complaint against the doctor. Some did, but others indicated they just wanted to find another gynecologist and forget about the experience, she said.

Gilbert volunteered to assist Tyndall to see his exams firsthand and said she witnessed at least a dozen pelvic exams she felt were inappropriate. In one case, she said, Tyndall removed an intrauterine device from a patient and then asked the young woman if he could keep the used birth-control device, which was covered in blood and tissue.

The girl just looked so confused, Gilbert said.

Multiple experts said they had never heard of such a request and knew of no medical reason a doctor would retain an IUD.

Tyndall did not respond to questions about the IUD.

Chaperones forwarded some complaints about Tyndall to Sandra Villafan, who had replaced Kosterlitzky in 2013 as the clinics head of quality and safety. In response to queries from The Times about Tyndall, Villafan said she had relayed any student and staff concerns to clinic administrators and university leadership.

Interviews and investigations were conducted in a timely manner but I was not privy to the conclusions or details of them, Villafan, now at Stanford Universitys student health center, wrote in an email.

Gilbert said she went to Akiyoshi, Neinstein and other clinic administrators repeatedly from 2014 to 2016. They seemed uninterested, she said.

Tyndall continued seeing patients  as many as 16 a day. The frustration among chaperones was profound. Gilbert recalled one longtime medical assistant at the clinic emerging from Tyndalls exam room in tears.

USC alumna Chelsea Wu was among the patients of gynecologist George Tyndall. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times )

She felt so strongly that it was wrong and that it could easily be any of our daughters, Gilbert said.

Another chaperone said: A chorus of people were saying theres something inappropriate about this guy.

Increasingly, Gilbert said, she struggled with the feeling that she was letting down everyone around her  patients, chaperones and the university itself.

It became clear he wasnt going to stop, Gilbert said. Some things you can ignore. Some things you cant.

In June 2016, Gilbert went to USCs rape crisis center, known as Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services, and spoke to Executive Director Ekta Kumar.

We all feel the same. We cant get anyone to act on it, Gilbert recalled telling Kumar.

She said Kumar, a psychologist, seemed astonished and used the word abuse in response to her description of Tyndalls conduct. She said Kumar promised to take the matter higher at USC.

Kumar, who left the university last year, declined to comment, saying all her work at USC was confidential.

A few days later, Gilbert and other staffers noticed a swarm of tiny flies on the second floor of the clinic, multiple employees said. Eventually they traced the infestation to Room 215  Tyndalls office.

The gynecologist was on vacation so Gilbert and other employees unlocked his door to look for the source of the insects. They eventually located a sack of rotten fruit under Tyndalls desk. While searching, they stumbled upon a box in a cabinet containing images of patients genitals.

The slides and photographs were shot in the old clinic in 1990 and 1991 and some were labeled with identifying patient information, according to Tyndall and others who saw the photos or were told about them. A senior clinic administrator confiscated the box.

In the wake of Gilberts report to the rape crisis center and the discovery of the images, university officials moved rapidly.

A human resources staffer phoned Tyndall on a Sunday and told him not to return to the clinic. He continued to receive his salary, but was banned from campus. In subsequent meetings, USC lawyers told him they had launched two investigations  one into the photos and another into the complaints of students and staff. Lawyers for USC interviewed Tyndall on several occasions and he steadfastly defended his practices. Chaperones were just as adamant in criticizing his medical treatment in their interviews with investigators.

One chaperone was asked how she would react if Tyndall returned to the clinic. The woman said she was prepared to go to the police, according to three people with knowledge of the conversation.

USC said in the summary it released Tuesday that at some point in the investigation school officials consulted a gynecology expert who stated that Tyndalls use of fingers in pelvic exams could be considered an acceptable practice. The school said it did not have consent to disclose the identity of the expert.

Ultimately USC brought in a Colorado-based consulting firm, MDReview, and a gynecologist from Kansas to interview Engemann staff and Tyndall. The firm found that Tyndall had exhibited unprofessional and inappropriate behavior and that his pelvic exams were outside current standards of care, USC said in a statement.

Laura LaCorte, the universitys compliance chief, said in an interview that her review of the photos found no federal or state privacy violations. Most images lacked identifiable patient information, but a small collection were labeled with names that were not possible to accurately trace, the university said. LaCorte said the images were purely clinical and there was nothing sexual about them.

The university consulted with two criminal attorneys about whether Tyndalls pelvic exams constituted a crime, but both lawyers determined there was no criminal activity to report, school officials said.

We did not have a victim to talk to about what had occurred, said Means, the OED director and a former sex crimes prosecutor.

Administrators sent a patient survey to 2,500 students  male and female  treated at Engemann in the spring of 2016. A quarter of the recipients were patients of Tyndall. The university declined to provide a copy of the questions to The Times.

USC said it received less than two dozen responses and of those, only two provided negative feedback about Tyndall and both were unrelated to the conduct of his gynecological exams.

In January 2017, Tyndall was called to a conference room in a building on the edge of campus and presented with a four-page letter informing him that he had violated university policy on sexual harassment.

The letter included MDReviews findings about his pelvic exams.

I was shocked, he recalled. He vowed to appeal and pressed university officials to let him access his office where he had documents.

Then in May, Ainsley Carry, the vice president of student affairs, summoned Tyndall to a meeting, he said. A powerful figure at USC, Carry presided over Greek life, student government, the rape crisis center and student health. He reported directly to Provost Michael Quick.

Carry told Tyndall he was slated for termination. What happened next is in dispute.

Ainsley Carry, USCs vice president of student affairs, told Dr. George Tyndall at a May 2017 meeting that he was slated for termination. Tyndall later resigned quietly with a financial payout. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times )

Tyndall said Carry proposed an alternative to firing. If Tyndall agreed to resign, he would be given a severance and the conclusion of the investigation would be changed to no finding, the physician recalled Carry saying.

Tyndall said he inquired what would happen if he refused the deal.

I asked, Are you going to report that to the medical board? And he said, Probably, Tyndall recalled.

Carry called Tyndalls account of the conversation false in a statement through a USC spokeswoman.

USC would never offer to change OED findings. Those findings stand today and remain in his file, Carry said.

The university said Tyndall threatened to sue USC for age and gender discrimination and rather than engage in protracted litigation they sought a settlement.

Tyndall said he initially refused Carrys settlement offer and remained committed to appealing. But USC continued to urge him to take the deal, he said. The universitys deputy general counsel, Stacy Rummel Bratcher, met with him and Carry twice that spring. At the second meeting, Tyndall said, they handed him a separation agreement and said he had 21 days to sign or face termination.

Tyndall said he had done nothing wrong, but felt like he had no choice. He signed the document minutes before the deadline, he said. The terms prevented him from disclosing the amount USC paid him. It also barred him from returning to the clinic, he said.

Bratcher declined to comment through a USC spokeswoman.

Tyndalls resignation was effective June 30, 2017. Clinic staffers were not told. A few weeks later, they watched as his belongings were removed from his office. A terse email in October informed colleagues only that Tyndall was no longer with the University of Southern California.

State law requires hospitals and many clinics to notify the medical board in a variety of circumstances where they suspend, discipline or terminate the privileges of physicians. These reports automatically trigger state investigations into a doctors license and hospital leaders face steep fines for failing to report.

USC said the law didnt apply in Tyndalls case because the university itself wasnt governed by the rules for hospitals and clinics and the complaints against the gynecologist were made as a human resources matter. The university also said Tyndall had told school officials that he was going to retire from practice.

In hindsight, while not legally obligated, USC now believes it should have filed a consumer complaint with the Medical Board earlier in 2017 when Tyndall resigned, the university said in a statement.

USC said in a statement that it does not believe Tyndall should be allowed to treat patients and said the university is re-evaluating its process on reporting physicians. Last week, after The Times sent administrators detailed questions about Tyndall, school administrators contacted the Los Angeles County district attorneys office and later the Los Angeles Police Department. The outcome of those conversations is not clear.

By the time Tyndall resigned, Gilbert had also left USC. She said she had been promised a promotion and even given business cards with the new title. But she said that in the wake of her report to the rape crisis center, administrators rescinded the promotion. Some clinic managers stopped talking to her, she said. She and many co-workers interpreted it as retaliation for speaking out about Tyndall. She resigned in June 2017.

USC disputed Gilberts account and denied retaliating against her.

In a series of interviews this spring, Tyndall portrayed himself as a victim. At one point, he offered a theory that chaperones reported him because they had trouble reaching orgasm and were jealous of young patients with tighter pelvic muscles.

After speaking for more than 10 hours, Tyndall cut off communication with The Times and said he was mulling over a lawsuit against USC that might force administrators to reinstate him at Engemann.

When I am on my deathbed, he said, I want to think there are thousands and thousands of Trojan women out there whose health I made a difference in.

Tyndall renewed his California medical license in January. He has said he intends to work well into his 80s.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com | Twitter: @latimesharriet

matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @MattHjourno

paul.pringle@latimes.com | Twitter: @PringleLATimes
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USCs handling of complaints about campus gynecologist is being investigated by federal government By Harriet Ryan The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into how the University of Southern California handled misconduct complaints against a campus gynecologist, the latest fallout in a scandal that has prompted the resignation of USCs president, two law enforcement investigations and dozens of lawsuits. In revealing the inquiry by the departments Office of Civil Rights, officials rebuked USC for what they alleged was improper withholding of information about Dr. George Tyndall during a previous federal investigation. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been criticized for taking a less vigorous approach to examining sexual misconduct than predecessors, called for a systemic examination of USC and urged administrators to fully cooperate. Read More Facebook

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Judge to sentence woman and her boyfriend for the murder of an 8-year-old that led to L.A. child welfare reforms By Marisa Gerber A woman and her boyfriend are expected to be sentenced Thursday for the torture and murder of an 8-year-old boy whose killing in 2013 provoked public outrage, prompted sweeping reform of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system, and led to unprecedented criminal charges against social workers who handled the childs case. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the death of her son, Gabriel. A jury decided last year that her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 37, should be executed. When paramedics arrived at the boys Palmdale home in May 2013, Gabriel had slipped out of consciousness. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burned skin, missing teeth and BB pellets embedded in his groin. A paramedic would later testify that every inch of the boys small body had been abused. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unifieds spending out of step with similar school systems, task force says By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school district is out of step with similar school systems, spending more on teachers pay and health benefits and less on activities that could enhance student learning, according to a new report by an outside task force. The L.A. Unified School District Advisory Task Force did not make specific recommendations, but instead posed a series of questions it said the district needs to answer to make sure its funding is aimed at providing a full opportunity for all students to succeed. What were trying to say is: Lets put the data on the table. Lets look at the truth. Lets be transparent and here are the numbers, said task force member Renata Simril. This is not to say that  we should cut teachers salaries. Read More Facebook

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Top USC medical school official feared dean was doing drugs and alerted administration, he testifies By Paul Pringle A former vice dean of USCs Keck School of Medicine testified Tuesday that he feared the schools then-dean, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, could be doing drugs and expressed concerns about his general well-being to the universitys No. 2 administrator before Puliafito abruptly left his job in 2016. Dr. Henri Fords testimony at a hearing of the state Medical Board marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafitos possible drug use before he stepped down. A Times investigation in 2017 found Puliafito led a secret second life of using illegal drugs with a circle of young criminals and addicts. Puliafito testified about his behavior at the hearing Tuesday, saying he took drugs with one young woman on a weekly basis. Ford said that he decided to alert USC Provost Michael Quick after receiving reports in early 2016 that Puliafito was partying in hotels with people of questionable reputation, and that he came to worry about his mental stability. Read More Facebook

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Why L.A. Unified may face financial crisis even with a giant surplus this year By Jessica Calefati With more than half a billion dollars socked away for next school year, the Los Angeles Unified School District hardly seems just two years from financial ruin. Its a scenario that is especially tough to swallow if youre a low-wage worker seeking a raise or a teacher who wants smaller classes. But budget documents show that todays $548-million surplus cannot be sustained  and that even basic services face steep, seemingly unavoidable cuts because of massive problems barreling the districts way. Theres a disconnect between the rosy short-term picture and what we know is coming, said board member Kelly Gonez. Read More Facebook

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We have failed: Top USC officials try to reassure students amid gynecologist scandal By Joy Resmovits Top administrators at USC are reaching out to students in the wake of misconduct allegations against the universitys longtime gynecologist, acknowledging failings and vowing reforms as they try to address growing outrage over the revelations. Several USC deans have sent out messages trying to reassure students and faculty that the university is committed to changing. We have failed, wrote Jack H. Knott, dean of USCs Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a May 24 letter. What happened is antithetical to everything we know is right. Read More Facebook

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Rick Caruso is named chair of USCs trustees, vows swift investigation of gynecologist scandal By Thomas Curwen The University of Southern Californias board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. In his first act as chairman, Caruso announced that the white-shoe L.A. law firm OMelveny & Myers would conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the gynecologists conduct and reporting failures at the clinic. He set an ambitious timeline for the review, pledging it would conclude before students return for the fall semester. Read More Facebook

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UC Berkeley students persistence helps win more liberal rules for in-state tuition By Teresa Watanabe Ifechukwu Okeke thought shed be a shoo-in for in-state tuition when she was admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2016. She had moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2012 to go to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. By the time she got her acceptance to transfer to UC to study molecular and cell biology, she had lived in California four years. She had a California drivers license, bank account and rental records as proof. UC Berkeley, however, ruled she was a nonresident  which meant she would have to pay nearly $27,000 more. Read More Facebook

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State medical board calls former County-USC doctor a sexual predator, suspends his license By Matt Hamilton A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a sexual predator who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Read More Facebook

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Global California 2030' aims to get more students learning more languages By Joy Resmovits Tom Torlakson (Andrew Seng / Associated Press) Outgoing state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced a new statewide effort to encourage students to learn more languages. Called Global California 2030, its goal is to help more students become fluent in multiple tongues. Torlakson said that by 2030, he wants half of the states 6.2 million K-12 students to participate in classes or programs that lead to proficiency in two or more languages. By 2040, he wants three out of four students to be proficient enough to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy. Torlakson announced the initiative at Cahuenga Elementary School, which offers a dual-language immersion program in English and Korean. Californias public school students speak more than 60 languages at home, and 40% come to school with knowledge of a language other than English. Torlakson called his plan a call to action that invites parents, legislators, educators and community members to pool resources to expand language offerings in schools and get more bilingual teachers trained. He said the state already is working with Mexico and Spain to expand a teacher-exchange program. Fluency, the plan argues, can help students succeed economically  and language acquisition can help their overall critical thinking. The initiative builds on Proposition 58, a ballot initiative passed in 2016 that undid an earlier requirement that English learners be taught in English-immersion classes unless their parents signed waivers. Torlakson recently visited Mexico and met with that countrys education secretary. They later signed a pact to increase collaboration, particularly in language education. This [Global California 2030] is great follow-through on Toms part and very important, Patricia Gandara, a UCLA education professor who hosted the Mexico meeting, said in an email. It hands over a plan to move forward in an area in which California has a unique advantage, but must seize the opportunity. Facebook

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Jury convicts man of murder in 2015 slaying of UCLA student found inside her burning apartment By Marisa Gerber A jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2015 slaying of a UCLA student found dead inside her burning apartment  a gruesome stabbing case that led to a fierce rebuke of the police response amid concerns that the killing could have been prevented. The panel deliberated for about six hours before finding Alberto Medina, 24, guilty of murder, arson, burglary and animal cruelty. On Sept. 21, 2015, firefighters found the charred body of Andrea DelVesco inside her apartment after responding to the complex a block from campus. The 21-year-old student  an Austin, Texas, native known to her sorority sisters as a fearless giver who befriended others with ease  was stabbed at least 19 times, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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LAPD begins sweeping criminal probe of former USC gynecologist while urging patients to come forward By Adam Elmahrek The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating 52 complaints of misconduct filed by former patients of USCs longtime campus gynecologist as detectives launch a sweeping criminal probe into the scandal that has rocked the university. LAPD detectives also made an appeal for other patients who feel mistreated to come forward, noting that thousands of students were examined by Dr. George Tyndall during his nearly 30-year career at USC. More than 410 people have contacted a university hotline about the physician since The Times revealed the allegations this month. Tyndalls behavior and practices appear to go beyond the norms of the medical profession and gynecological examinations, said Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala. We sincerely realize that victims may have difficulty recounting such details to investigators. We are empathetic and ready to listen. Read More Facebook

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At L.A.'s only school for the deaf, parents want leaders who speak the same language By Anna M. Phillips Ever since her son was 6 months old, Juliet Hidalgo has been bringing him to the Marlton School, a low-slung building in Baldwin Hills that for generations has been a second home for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Los Angeles. Marlton staff taught Hidalgos brother and sister, both of whom are deaf. The school was where her deaf son learned to make the signs for milk and food. Hidalgo had planned to enroll her daughter, taking advantage of a popular program that allows hearing children to learn American Sign Language alongside their deaf siblings. But after more than a decade of involvement, she and other family members are considering withdrawing their children. They are not alone. Read More Facebook

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Fueled by unlimited donations, independent groups play their biggest role yet in a California primary for governor By Ryan Menezes An unprecedented amount of money from wealthy donors, unions and corporations is flowing into the California governors race, giving independent groups  unrestricted by contribution limits  a greater say in picking the states chief executive than ever before. The groups have already spent more than $26 million through Thursday, the most ever spent by noncandidate committees in a gubernatorial primary, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance reports. California elections have always been expensive, and the future is even more expensive, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former state Republican leader. The stakes are very real. Read More Facebook

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2 hurt in Indiana middle school shooting; suspect in custody, authorities say By Associated Press Authorities say two victims in a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis school are being taken to a hospital and the lone suspect is in custody. Bryant Orem, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, said in a news release that the victims in Friday mornings attack at Noblesville West Middle School are being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and their families have been notified. He says no other information is available about the victims. Orem said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and was taken into custody. No additional information about the suspect was made public. Read More Facebook

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For new L.A. schools chief Austin Beutner, some key unions are giving no honeymoon period By Howard Blume In the less than two weeks since Austin Beutner took charge of Los Angeles schools, unions representing teachers and administrators have staged a job action and a protest. Theyve made it clear that they will not give the new superintendent the traditional honeymoon period, and they are bashing him for his wealth and lack of experience running either a school or a school district. Beutner is a billionaire investment banker with zero qualifications, local teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl told members in a phone alert urging them to participate in a Thursday afternoon rally in Grand Park. The board is saying that billionaires who made their money blowing institutions up and making money off it know best  not the education professionals who have dedicated our careers to working with students. Read More Facebook

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Pressure grows on Board of Trustees amid USC gynecologist scandal By Paul Pringle USCs large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. So far, the trustees to whom Nikias reports have expressed sympathy for the women who have come forward and launched an independent investigation while also publicly backing the president. Read More Facebook

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UC regents approve leaner budget for Janet Napolitano By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents on Thursday unanimously approved a leaner, more transparent budget for President Janet Napolitano, moving to address political criticism over the systems central office operations. The $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 reflects spending cuts of 2%, including reductions in staffing, travel and such systemwide programs as public service law fellowships, carbon neutrality and food security. Napolitano shifted $30 million to campuses for housing needs and $10 million to UC Riverside to support its five-year-old medical school. She also permanently redirected $8.5 million annually to help enroll more California students, as required by the state. Read More Facebook

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USCs Academic Senate calls on university president to resign after a series of scandals By Matt Hamilton The body that represents USCs faculty called on President C.L. Max Nikias to resign Wednesday in the wake of relevations that the universitys longtime gynecologist faced years of accusations of misconduct by students and colleagues at the campus health clinic. The Academic Senate took the vote late Wednesday afternoon after a fiery town hall meeting attended by more than 100 faculty members, many of whom voiced outrage over Nikias and the Board of Trustees leadership. The vote came a day after the trustees executive committee stood firmly behind Nikias, saying it has full confidence in his leadership, ethics and values. At the town hall meeting, Senate President Paul Rosenbloom said he did not think Nikias or Provost Michael Quick committed wrongdoing but that the university president deserved criticism for a lack of transparency. Read More Facebook

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Californias public universities on the way to getting a big longed-for boost in funding By Teresa Watanabe The University of California and California State University systems are poised to get major funding boosts that will help them enroll thousands of additional state students and eliminate the need for tuition increases in the coming school year. A key Assembly budget panel on Wednesday approved $117.5 million in new funds for the UC. A Senate panel approved a similar sum last week. The same committees recently approved even more funding for the Cal State system. Read More Facebook

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UC regents to scrutinize Janet Napolitanos office budget in a step toward stronger oversight By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Regents will vote on the proposed $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 during their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday, at UC San Francisco. They also will discuss state funding, financial aid, online education and transfer student policies. Board Chairman George Kieffer said regents are stepping up to exert stronger oversight of the presidents office after a blistering state audit last year found financial problems including an unreported $175 million budget reserve. Read More Facebook

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State legislative panels approve major funding boost for Cal State By Teresa Watanabe Cal State students protest against a tuition increase outside the chancellors office (Irfan Khan) After months of intensive lobbying, Cal State University has convinced two key legislative panels to approve funding to enroll nearly 11,000 more students, hire more faculty and expand housing aid to those without shelter this fall. An Assembly budget panel on Tuesday approved $215.7 million more for Cal State, adding to Gov. Jerry Browns proposed $92.1 million general fund increase. A Senate budget panel approved a similar increase last week. The extra funding  which went beyond Cal States own request to the Legislature of $171 million  is still subject to final budget negotiations with Brown. But the actions by the Senate and Assembly panels amount to a demand from Democrats that the governor hike higher education spending. Cal State University is the workhorse undergraduate university serving hundreds of thousands of Californians, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. We need more graduates for the California workforce and higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White hailed the actions, but said it was too soon to celebrate. The CSU has a singular focus on helping students earn high-quality degrees sooner, and the entire university community has rallied to reinforce that message to our states lawmakers, he said in a statement. The actions taken thus far by the Assembly and Senate are promising and show that our message is being received, but there is still work to be done. Funding for the University of California was not taken up Tuesday as originally scheduled. McCarty would not comment on sticking points but said he was confident that a resolution would be reached this week. Were looking to provide resources above whats in the governors budget, but negotiations are ongoing, he said in an interview. State per-student funding is not what it once was, leaving both Cal State and the UC in a tough financial squeeze. Both systems raised tuition last year after a six-year freeze on higher costs. For this year, Cal State had asked for funding to enroll an additional 3,621 students, but both the Senate and Assembly panels approved three times that amount. Cal State, the largest public university system in the nation, turned away 32,000 eligible students last year because its campuses werent able to accommodate them. The panels asked that at least $50 million of the extra funding be used to hire more tenure-track faculty to help boost graduation rates. The Assembly panel also approved one-time funding of $5 million to ease hunger on campuses and $14 million for rapid rehousing pilot projects at three campuses, offering needy students rental support and short-term case management. Other items approved include $5 million to support the CSU Long Beach Shark Labs research on sharks and beach safety and $2 million for equal employment opportunity practices. This post has been updated to include comments from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White. Facebook

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Faculty members call for USC president to step down: He has lost the moral authority to lead By Matt Hamilton Two hundred USC professors on Tuesday demanded the resignation of university President C. L. Max Nikias, saying he had lost the moral authority to lead in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct. Read More Facebook

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Gun battle, negotiations lasted 15 minutes before Texas school shooter was apprehended, sheriff says By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Minutes after a school shooter opened fire in an art class last week, killing 10 people and wounding 13, including a local police officer, fellow officers returned fire in a protracted gun battle before isolating the suspect, the local sheriff said Monday. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset praised first responders as well as Santa Fe Police Officer John Barnes, who was working as a resource officer at the school the day of the shooting. Their actions, he said, prevented the attack from spreading to other classrooms and potentially claiming additional victims. As officials continue to probe last Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School, students are worried about returning to the scene of the attack when classes resume next week. Read More Facebook

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6 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist By Richard Winton Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior. One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states. The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist. Read More Facebook

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Fatalities reported in Texas high school shooting; suspect arrested, officials say By Associated Press Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning. Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports. The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldnt immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect has been arrested and secured. Read More Facebook

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This student followed the new L.A. schools chief on his first-day tour L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner is greeted by Van Nuys High School principal Yolanda Gardea. (Melissa Barales-Lopez) Melissa Barales-Lopez, a senior at Garfield High School followed Supt. Austin Beutner on his first day on the job, as he toured a variety of programs around the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heres what she took from the experience. LAUSD students and staff alike are looking for a personal champion, someone who will address and improve the difficulties afflicting their education.  What LAUSD students need is someone whos willing to listen and learn, someone who can understand the current issues affecting their schools and act to efficiently amend them, someone who can unlock the full potential of LAUSD students and enable them to reach their goals. During the entirety of his first day, superintendent Austin Beutner did indeed demonstrate a willingness to learn. Posing questions to teachers and students, Beutner engaged with the student communities he encountered to gain a better comprehension of the minutiae and nuances that distinguish each school inside an overwhelmingly large district. From inquiries about Grand View Boulevard Elementary Schools dual language program to questions regarding the services of LAUSDs after-school program, Beyond the Bell, Beutner revealed he has a lot to learn about the system. But, Beutner also showcased a willingness to tackle challenges head-on on his first day. Read More Facebook

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USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations By Matt Hamilton For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous with distinctive jet black hair, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time. Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients. The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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On his first day as L.A. schools chief, Beutner plans a day of visits across the district By Howard Blume L.A. Unifieds new superintendent, Austin Beutner, will kick off his first day of work on Tuesday with a choreographed tour of the nations second-largest school district, from the San Fernando Valley to Carson. His day is scheduled to begin at 5:15 a.m. at a school bus depot and end more than 12 hours later at a parent meeting at Garfield High School. Along the way, Beutner is expected to be joined by school district administrators, L.A. Unified board members and the vice president of the union that represents school bus drivers. Though he will be covering a lot of ground, Beutners tour has him skipping Tuesdays school board meeting, when board members are expected to discuss labor negotiations in closed session. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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Why a handful of rich charter school supporters are spending millions to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as governor By Ryan Menezes California voters have seen a barrage of sunny television ads in recent weeks touting former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosas record on finances, crime and education, aired by Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018. But the group is, in fact, largely funded by a handful of wealthy charter-school supporters. Together they have spent more than $13 million in less than a month to boost Villaraigosas chances in the June 5 primary  at a time when his fundraising and poll numbers are lagging. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, jump-started the group with a $7-million check, by far the largest donation to support any candidate in the election. Their efforts are part of a broader proxy war among Democrats between teachers unions  longtime stalwarts of the party  and those who argue that the groups have failed low-income and minority schoolchildren. Read More Facebook

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Talking schools with L.A. Unifieds new superintendent By Anna M. Phillips Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ( Incoming L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner talks to students at Belmont High School.) Austin Beutner, who officially starts Tuesday as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is taking on a famously difficult job at a particularly difficult time. The school board is divided and did not back him unanimously. The nations second-largest school district has deep-seated problems, including declining enrollment, lagging academic achievement and rising pension and healthcare costs that eat away at its budget. The 58-year-old former investment banker and former L.A. Times publisher has years of experience in the financial world but none as an educator. Earlier this week, he sat down with the Times education team to discuss the challenges facing the district, which has about 60,000 employees and 500,000 students in traditional public schools. He did not talk about his plans  saying repeatedly, stay tuned  but he spoke in broad terms about his mindset in approaching the tough decisions ahead. Read More Facebook

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Suspect detained, authorities search campus after reports of armed man at Palmdale high school By James Queally One person has been detained after a report of an armed man at a Palmdale high school sparked a massive law enforcement response Friday morning. The suspect was spotted at 7:05 a.m. on the campus of Highland High School in Palmdale, according to Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. The person was detained in a nearby parking lot, according to Nishida, who did not know whether that person was an adult or juvenile. Deputies at the scene are clearing the school methodically, and students will be transported home via school buses once the campus is deemed safe, Nishida said. Read More Facebook

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The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodians disenchantment led to a political awakening By Robin Abcarian Its the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the universitys unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Photos from other UC campuses this week have shown big crowds of striking service workers  members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  marching and chanting pro-labor slogans as they try to force the University of California back to the negotiating table. But here, at UC Merced, whose handful of big buildings rise from a flat expanse of farmland, the picket line is tiny, maybe two dozen workers and a few students. Its not a big-city-style show of force. Then again, a union sympathizer is banging relentlessly on a snare drum, so its noisier than youd expect. Read More Facebook

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Ref Rodriguez resigns from teacher credentialing commission By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez appears during a court appearance. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned from the states Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which oversees the integrity and quality of Californias teachers. Rodriguez faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. Separately, his former employer, a charter school organization, has accused him of improperly authorizing checks to a nonprofit under his control. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. Rodriguezs resignation from the state body was effective May 4, days after he cast a crucial vote as part of a narrow majority that voted to authorize contract negotiations with Austin Beutner to become superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. Beutners first official day on the job is Tuesday. Rodriguez remains in his $125,000-a-year position on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The mission of the state body is to ensure integrity, relevance, and high quality in the preparation, certification, and discipline of Californias teachers. Critics had questioned Rodriguezs continued service on the commission, given that teachers can be suspended from work if they face criminal charges. They also can lose their jobs for lapses in personal behavior, such as excessive drinking, with the potential to affect their performance. Police in Pasadena arrested Rodriguez on a Friday afternoon in March for public drunkenness. He was not charged in the incident and has apologized. The state commission reviews teacher discipline cases and can take action to remove a teachers credential to work in a California classroom. The commission has 15 members. Rodriguezs departure was disclosed in a one-sentence announcement on the agencys website. Facebook

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School board members request for restraining order against blogger is rejected By Priscella Vega An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a school board members petition for a permanent restraining order against a Huntington Beach blogger. Attorney Jeffrey W. Shields filed the petition on behalf of Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin, 46, who alleged in court documents that Charles Keeler Johnson, 56, has threatened her on social media and at school board meetings, causing her to fear for my own safety and for that of my immediate family members. Johnson, who goes by Chuck and publishes HBSledgehammer.com, said the trustee tried to stifle his freedom of speech. He also contended that Clayton-Tarvin took his blog posts and Facebook comments too seriously and out of context, saying anyone who is afraid of metaphors has serious issues. Read More Facebook

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Deal with workers averts one-day strike that could have shut down L.A. schools By Howard Blume Los Angeles school district and union officials announced a contract agreement Tuesday night that averted a one-day strike planned for next week. The pact, which runs through June 2020, removes one labor problem from the desk of incoming Supt. Austin Beutner  whose first day on the job would have coincided with the strike. Plenty of other challenges remain. Read More Facebook

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UC labor strike expands with show of support from more unions By Teresa Watanabe Fong Chuu is a registered nurse who has assisted with countless liver transplants, kidney surgeries and gastric bypasses during 34 years at UCLA. Working with her are scrub technicians who sterilize equipment, hand medical instruments to the surgeon and dress patient wounds. They are a team, Chuu says, which is why she walked off her job Tuesday in support of those technicians and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The 25,000 member AFSCME local, the University of Californias largest employee union, launched a three-day strike Monday. Read More Facebook

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We are humans too: Voices of UCLAs striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians By Joy Resmovits Demonstrators parade in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) This week, thousands of UC employees are staging a three-day strike for better pay and working conditions. On Monday, more than 20,000 custodians, cooks, lab technicians, nurse aides and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 walked off their jobs. By Tuesday, two more unions joined in sympathy strikes. The union and UC reached a bargaining impasse last year. The university has said it wont meet the workers demands. The strikers said they wanted better pay, more equity in the allocation of work, stable healthcare premiums and an end to the universitys use of contract workers. These are their stories. Read More Facebook

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Massive UC workers strike disrupts dining, classes and medical services By Joy Resmovits A massive labor strike across the University of California on Monday forced medical centers to reschedule more than 12,000 surgeries, cancer treatments and appointments, and campuses to cancel some classes and limit dining services. More than 20,000 members of UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, walked off their jobs on the first day of a three-day strike. They include custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Two altercations involving protesters and people driving near the rallies were reported at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA, police took a man into custody Monday after he drove his vehicle into a crowd, hitting three staff members. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, said Lt. Kevin Kilgore of the UCLA Police Department. Read More Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris to skip UC Berkeley commencement in support of striking workers By Teresa Watanabe Sen. Kamala Harris (Chris Dekmas) California Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeleys commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike over wages and health benefits. Due to the ongoing labor dispute, Sen. Harris regretfully cannot attend and speak at this years commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley, said a statement from Harris office issued Monday. She wishes the graduates and their families a joyous commencement weekend and success for the future. They are bright young leaders and our country is counting on them. UCs largest employee union, the 25,000-member American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 3299, launched a three-day strike Monday and had earlier called for a speakers boycott. The union and university reached a bargaining impasse last year and subsequent mediation efforts have failed to produce an agreement. The union is asking for a multiyear contract with a 6% annual pay increase while the university is offering 3% annual increases over four years. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address instead, the university announced. About 5,800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony Saturday. Facebook

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School mural depicting Trumps bloody, severed head sparks controversy By Gary Warth A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody, severed head of President Trump on a spear sparked a controversy that prompted officials to cover it and issue a response distancing themselves from the work. The statement also said the artist will alter the painting. We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our schools philosophy of non-violence, read the statement from MAAC Community Charter School director Tommy Ramirez. We have been in communication with the artist  who has agreed to modify the artwork  to better align with the schools philosophy. Read More Facebook

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New blackface incident at Cal Poly prompts calls for state investigation By Kim Christensen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo officials have asked the state attorney generals office to investigate after a new photo of a white student in blackface surfaced on a fraternity groups private Snapchat. I am outraged, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said in a video address Friday to the campus. These vile and absolutely unacceptable acts cannot continue. We must not allow these acts to define us as an institution. Armstrong said the latest photo was intended to imitate an incident last month in which a white member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity was photographed at a party wearing blackface. Read More Facebook

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More than 50,000 UC workers set to strike this week but campuses will remain open By Teresa Watanabe More than 50,000 workers across the University of California are set to strike this week, causing potential disruptions to surgery schedules, food preparation and campus maintenance. The systems 10 campuses and five medical centers are to remain open, with classes scheduled as planned. UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, plans to begin a three-day strike Monday involving 25,000 workers, including custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Read More Facebook

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New L.A. schools chief Beutner pledges to listen, learn and take action By Howard Blume New Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner proved Wednesday that hes a quick learner even without an education background. Like countless public officials before him, he appeared at an important event  his first speech and news conference  with a photogenic background of students. His message  that he would put those students first  seemed heartfelt if hardly original. Nor was it a huge surprise that he pledged to push cooperatively but unflinchingly to improve the districts academic performance and stabilize its finances. As an introduction, Beutner, a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street, offered little flash, but that was partly the point. Read More Facebook

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In a school lockdown, one student takes stock of the stressful scene (Phalaen Chang) At the beginning of lunch one day late last month, Duarte High School, Northview Middle School, and California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley were advised by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to go into lockdown mode due to police activity in the immediate area. Phalaen Chang, a junior at the California School of the Arts, wrote a series of notes on her iPhone while she sat in a room with her classmates. By the time the lockdown ended an hour later, she wrote, she knew which of her friends would hold open the door for others, be the ones calming others down, be the ones barricading the doors. She knew that all of them have the potential to be such strong people. Read More Facebook

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Tale as old as time: L.A. Unified superintendent pick follows a historical pattern of outside-the-box choices By Joy Resmovits Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, superintendent from 2006-2008. (L.A. Times file photo) L.A. Unified has long gone back and forth between picking insiders and outsiders to run the nations second largest school district. The choice of Austin Beutner, announced Tuesday, places the district squarely back in the outsider camp  months after a consummate insider, Supt. Michelle King, announced that she had cancer and would not return to the job. Check out this timeline of former L.A. superintendents to see how the school board members have changed their minds, sometimes favoring leaders who come from the world of education and sometimes executives from elsewhere, recruited to shock the system into change. At one point, the district hired someone from the military  retired Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, who served as superintendent from 2006-2008. In hiring Brewer, board members had opted for a non-educator  largely because they sought a fresh thinker, unwedded to the bureaucracy, unafraid to make bold, even unorthodox moves, reads a 2008 Times story. Facebook

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Austin Beutner named superintendent of Los Angeles schools By Howard Blume Austin Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, on Tuesday was named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system. His selection was the biggest move yet by a Los Angeles school board majority elected with major support from charter school advocates. The decision came after lengthy public testimony, most of it in support of the other remaining finalist, interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian, who is well known within the school system. Beutner, 58, has no background leading a school or school district. Less than 2 years ago, a school board with a very different balance of power named Michelle King, a former teacher who rose through the district throughout her career, to L.A. Unifieds top job. Read More Facebook

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Hearing delay gives both sides more time in Ref Rodriguezs potential trial By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez and his attorneys will have more time to prepare their defense against charges of political money laundering, a judge ruled Monday. The preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin May 9, but that date will now be pushed back to July 23 per the ruling from L.A. Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board poised to name Beutner as superintendent By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is poised to select philanthropist and former investment banker Austin Beutner to be the next superintendent of the nations second-largest school system. Barring a last-minute development, the only mystery is whether Beutner emerges with four or five votes from the boards seven members. Terms of his contract already have been under discussion, according to sources close to the process who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. The selection of Beutner, 58, who has no experience managing a school or a school district, would be a signal that the board majority that took control nearly a year ago wants to rely on business management skills instead of insider educational expertise. Read More Facebook

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Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado continue national debate on money for schools By Michael Livingston Following the lead of teachers who walked off the job in other states in recent weeks, thousands of teachers and their supporters took to the streets in Arizona and Colorado for the second day in a row to demand better pay and more funding for education. Read More Facebook

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Three decades before the #MeToo movement, UC San Diego led the way against sexual assault By Teresa Watanabe When Nancy Wahlig first started her fight against sexual assault, one company was marketing a capsule for women to stash in their bras and then smash to release a vile odor. Because of the very nature of society, the only person who can prevent rape is the woman herself, read a 1981 advertisement for the Repulse rape deterrent. Ideas about how to prevent sexual violence have come a long way since then, and Wahlig has helped lead that evolution on college campuses. In 1988, she started UC San Diegos Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), the first stand-alone program at the University of California. Today, she remains the systems most senior specialist. Read More Facebook

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Andres Alonso withdraws from consideration for L.A. schools job By Howard Blume Andres Alonso, believed to be one of three remaining finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has withdrawn from consideration. The remaining known candidates in the confidential search are former investment banker Austin Beutner and interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of Alonso, the former Baltimore schools chief, seems to solidify the front-runner status of Beutner, who also was a former L.A. Times publisher and a Los Angeles deputy mayor. He held each of those positions for about a year. Read More Facebook

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Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children By Karen Kaplan The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. Thats up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Facebook

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UC shelves tuition increase for now, in hopes of getting more state funding By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. Read More Facebook

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A chemical spill, unchecked eyewash stations, poor training: Audit details Cal States lax lab safety By Joy Resmovits In May 2016, two bottles tumbled off a poorly supported shelf and broke, leading to a chemical spill in a Sacramento State University lab. The liquid got onto one students legs and soaked anothers feet. Five employees cleaned up the mess, even though no one knew for sure what it was and whether it was dangerous. They called fellow employee Kim Harrington, their union representative, to let her know what happened. Read More Facebook

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After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome By Hailey Branson-Potts Aaliyah Ramos was walking through the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus last year when a prospective student approached her. Ramos was the only black person, the young woman said, that she and her mother had seen that day. They asked about the quality of education and the diversity of the student body. Ramos, a mechanical engineering student, didnt want to sugarcoat the truth: Cal Poly long has been predominantly white. But she told the young woman  who also was black  that she didnt want to discourage her from applying, because that wouldnt help with diversity at a school where only 0.7% of students are African American  the lowest percentage of any university in the California State system. Read More Facebook

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El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills wins the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon By Carlos Lozano El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills has won the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon, officials said. The winner was announced early Saturday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. More than 600 students from the U.S., Canada, China and the United Kingdom gathered there over the last three days to compete in the 37th annual U.S. Academic Decathlon. Congratulations to El Camino Real Charter High School for another impressive victory, said Vivian Ekchian, interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Your academic stamina and competitive spirit to win is remarkable. The entire L.A. Unified family is so proud of you. Read More Facebook

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Anticipation mounts as L.A. school board meets over superintendent selection By Howard Blume L.A. schools superintendent candidate Andres Alonso got an endorsement Friday, but Austin Beutner and Vivian Ekchian also have supporters. (Elizabeth Malby) The Los Angeles Board of Education is reconvening in closed session Friday at noon as anticipation mounts about the choice of the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. The presumed front-runner is former investment banker and philanthropist Austin Beutner, but interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former Baltimore Supt. Andres Alonso also are in the running. Most district insiders appear to be rooting for Ekchian, who has spent her entire career in education within the school system. After her 10 years as a teacher, her roles have included head of human resources, chief labor negotiator and regional administrator for campuses in the west San Fernando Valley. Shes managed the district since September, when then-Supt. Michelle King went on medical leave and chose Ekchian to fill in for her. King, who is battling cancer, never returned and announced her retirement in January. Numerous influential civic leaders have urged  and pressured  the board to select Beutner. Also lending their weight have been advocates for charter schools, which are independently operated, growing in number and competing for students with district-operated campuses. Four of the seven board members  enough to control the outcome  were elected with major financial support from charter supporters. Beutner has two ongoing connections with the L.A. Unified School District. The first is his leadership of an outside task force that is making recommendations on how to improve the school system. The second is his charity, Vision to Learn, which supplies glasses to low-income students. The charity and the school system are in a dispute at the moment over who is responsible for delays in providing services to students as part of a $6 million contract, half of which is paid for by L.A. Unified. Unlike Ekchian and Buetner, Alonso, who currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has no deep-seated local constituency, but the prospect of his selection has generated some excitement. While in Baltimore, Alonso was recognized for pushing for progress at low-performing schools, and for being willing to take strong action. While in Baltimore, he also weathered a test-score cheating scandal and occasionally rocky relations with the teachers union. But by the time he resigned, after six years, he and union leaders seemed to be working together without rancor. Leaders of some community groups have split from the pro-Beutner camp. They worry that Beutners approach to confronting the districts financial problems could shut out their voices or involve severe economic cutbacks that would undermine programs that are helping students. Some prefer Ekchian; some Alonso. Theyve been reluctant to speak out publicly because theyll have to work with whoever is selected, but they have tried to get the ear of board members. On Friday morning, one leader of a community group decided to come out in favor of Alonso. L.A. Unified has the opportunity to bring in an instructional leader of color with a history of success, said Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, which works on behalf of low-income students and families in South Los Angeles. If we have a shot at that, we should go for it  because its in the best interests of our kids and of our community. Retana said his statement was not meant to criticize Beutner or Ekchian but to alert board members that there also is community support for Alonso. Facebook

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Cal State leader shelves proposed tuition hike: Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk By Joy Resmovits Cal State, the nations largest public university system, will no longer consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year, Chancellor Timothy P. White announced Friday. The decision is a bet that Sacramento will come through in the end. If Cal State loses that bet, it could mean cuts to campus programs. White said in an interview that Californias economy is strong enough that families should not be shouldering the burden of higher college costs. Read More Facebook

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L.A. students to participate in national walkout activities on Friday By Joy Resmovits (Los Angeles Times) Students are taking to the streets again Friday to protest gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. Starting at 10 a.m., students at many schools will spend 13 seconds honoring the 13 people  12 students and one teacher  killed on that day in Littleton, Colo. After that, theyll participate in a host of different activities. Within L.A. Unified, one school is having an open-mic event for students to talk about school violence, and lawmakers are visiting campuses to hear students thoughts. According to a central hub for organizing the protests  written by the students of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut  the walkouts are intended to drive the political change necessary to curb school violence. The day is also a time for students to interact on an elevated platform they have never had before, the site states. It is a day of discourse and thoughtful sharing. Bringing together communities and students to get a national discussion rolling. Organizers have suggested using the event to convey the importance of curbing gun violence to legislators. They are encouraging students to push legislation that would ban assault weapons and tighten up rules around who can buy guns and how. Over 2,500 schools nationwide are expected to participate. In L.A., some students  at campuses including Eagle Rock High School, the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Bravo Medical Magnet  plan to walk out. Students from various schools expect to join area marches, including those in Santa Monica and Huntington Park. Other schools are hosting career days and voter registration drives. At 1 p.m., students plan to start a rally in front of L.A. Unified headquarters. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that 12 teachers and one student were killed in the Columbine shooting. The opposite is true: twelve students and one teacher died. Facebook

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Stabbing of popular student devastates South El Monte High School; teen friend suspected in slaying By Sonali Kohli When administrators at South El Monte High School called Jeremy Sanchezs parents to say he never showed up for class Wednesday, his father began to worry. It was unusual for the 17-year-old junior to miss school, so his father filed a missing persons report and assembled two of Jeremys close friends to look for the popular student-athlete. Their search took them to a scenic stretch of the San Gabriel River Trail, where one of the friends  a 16-year-old boy  made a tragic discovery. Among the bushes in the riverbed near Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive was Jeremys body, punctured with stab wounds, according to Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Read More Facebook

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Racist fliers spark outrage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo By Alene Tchekmedyian Soon after Neal MacDougall arrived on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus Tuesday, the professor noticed university police standing outside a restroom near his office. A racial slur against African Americans had been scrawled in red marker on a stall wall. Later, he discovered a series of racist fliers pinned up next to his door. Someone had also slashed posters hed hung outside his office supporting students in the country illegally. The discovery was the latest controversy on the prestigious campus  which the president said is less than 55% white  that MacDougall said demonstrates a culture of racism at the university. Last week, photographs emerged of white fraternity members, including one in blackface, flashing gang signs. Read More Facebook

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The superintendent waiting game, paying for L.A.'s College Promise, Princetons slave history: Whats new in education By Joy Resmovits Acting LAUSD superintendent Vivian Ekchian is a finalist for the permanent job. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In and around Los Angeles: The L.A. Unified school board spent 10 hours interviewing and discussing candidates for superintendent. When they adjourned after 10 p.m., they said they would reconvene on Friday. Who is paying for Mayor Eric Garcettis much-touted College Promise, a program that promises two years of community college for LAUSD grads? In California: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would boost K-12 education funding for black students. When the cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest rate of child poverty. Nationwide: The families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never occurred. Princeton will name two spaces  an arch and a garden  after slaves who lived or worked on the campus. Facebook

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L.A. school board meets privately with finalists and debates choice for school district leader By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education adjourned late Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours interviewing candidates and trying to reach a decision on who would be the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. When the meeting finally recessed at 10:11 p.m., a spokesman announced only that the school board would reconvene Friday at noon. Going into the days meetings, there were apparently four finalists, according to sources who could not be named because they were unauthorized to speak. Read More Facebook

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Two Sandy Hook families sue Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never happened By David Altimari Families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits in Texas against controversial radio host Alex Jones for continually claiming the massacre never happened. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son Noah Pozner died in the massacre, filed separate lawsuits late Monday in Travis County, Texas. The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them crisis actors and insisting the shooting was a false flag operation; they also claim Jones accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones followers. Read More Facebook

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Beutner emerges as a top pick for L.A. schools superintendent amid last-minute jockeying By Howard Blume Austin Beutner has emerged as a leading contender to run the Los Angeles school district, with backers saying he is smart enough and tough enough to confront its financial and academic struggles. Though he does not have a background in education, the former investment banker has in the last year examined some of the districts intractable problems, serving as co-chair of an outside task force with the support of then-Supt. Michelle King. Sources inside and outside the school district said Beutner appears to have more support on the seven-member board than other finalists, and his name could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Challenge at Chicago school construction site: Watch for 38,000 unmarked graves By Nereida Moreno A 15-year effort to build a school in Chicagos Dunning neighborhood is underway with an unusual complication: Construction workers are taking careful steps to avoid disturbing human remains that may lie beneath the soil. The $70-million school is to be built on the grounds of a former Cook County Poor House, where an estimated 38,000 people were buried in unmarked graves. Among the dead are residents who were too poor to afford funeral costs, unclaimed bodies and patients from the countys insane asylum. There can be and there have been bodies found all over the place, said Barry Fleig, a genealogist and cemetery researcher who began investigating the site in 1989. Its a spooky, scary place. Read More Facebook

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Oklahoma teacher walkout winds down despite lawmakers failure to meet demands By Washington Post Oklahomas largest teachers union has announced an end to a walkout that has drawn thousands of educators out of classrooms and to the state Capitol demanding greater investment in the states schools, which have endured the nations steepest funding cuts. The announcement Thursday from the Oklahoma Education Assn. does not necessarily end the protests at the Capitol, as teachers not affiliated with the union vowed to stay longer. Instead of a walkout, the union and school districts across the state have said they plan to send delegations of teachers to Oklahoma City to keep the pressure on lawmakers. Teachers and their supporters have also promised to push education issues to the forefront of November elections, when the state chooses a new governor. As school districts begin to reopen, the protests may lose steam. The Legislature is not in session Friday, and observers are waiting to see what happens Monday, when lawmakers return. Read More Facebook

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Most Californians are worried about school shooting threats and oppose arming teachers, survey finds By Joy Resmovits Hamilton High School student Aiyana Dabriel holds a sign during a March 14 walkout in support of the Parkland shooting victims. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Most Californians are worried that a school shooting like the one that occurred in Parkland, Fla., in February could shed blood closer to home, a new survey found. Some 73% percent of adults and 82% of public school parents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about school shootings. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,704 adults in the state by phone just after the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. Latino and black respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about school violence than white or Asian respondents, the institute found. Two-thirds of adults and public school parents said they opposed letting more educators carry weapons in school. The response differed across party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 69% of independents voicing their opposition, while 60% percent of Republicans said they would support a measure to arm educators. The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2% in either direction, also asked Californians about school funding, educational issues in the governors race and the impact of immigration enforcement on students. You can find the full results here. Facebook

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Californias largest virtual charter school network agrees to contract with its teachers By Anna M. Phillips Nearly four years after teachers at Californias largest online charter school voted to unionize, they have reached a deal to increase pay and create job protections, according to a spokesman for the California Teachers Assn. The contract, which is still tentative and subject to ratification, is a victory for the teachers union. Although charter schools are publicly funded, most are privately managed and their employees arent protected by labor contracts. Under the terms of the contract  the result of years of negotiation and legal wrangling  approximately 500 teachers working for California Virtual Academies will no longer be at-will employees who can be dismissed for almost any reason. Their average salary will rise to just over $45,000, according to union estimates, a figure that remains far below the norm for traditional public school teachers. Still, it is an improvement over the previous average of $38,000. The accord also places a limit on the number of students each teacher is responsible for monitoring in online homeroom classes. Were very satisfied with the gains we made, said teacher Brianna Carroll, president of California Virtual Educators United. I think were going to see some extraordinary changes in our schools. According to Carroll, teachers at California Virtual Academies  better known as CAVA  had grown frustrated with the organizations foot-dragging and were making preparations to go on strike when CAVAs leadership agreed to the deal. CAVA and K12, the Virginia-based for-profit company linked to its schools, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for comment. The network currently operates nine virtual charter schools across California. In 2016, the charter network agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction. The state attorney generals office had also accused K12 of controlling the charters for its own financial benefit. Neither CAVA nor K12 admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. A year later, the state imposed a $2-million fine on CAVA after an audit found that it had misspent public funds. The network disputed the findings. Facebook

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School board approves a new formula for funding high-need schools By Sonali Kohli L.A. schools will soon get more money if they are located in neighborhoods with such problems as high levels of gun violence and asthma. The Los Angeles Unified school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new formula to determine how to dole out some funding to schools, based not only on the characteristics of the student populations but on the traumas that affect the communities around campuses. The new formula will be applied to $25 million in funding next fiscal year and about $263 million annually in future years  a small part of the districts $7.5 billion annual budget. Read More Facebook

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Protesters demand Ref Rodriguez resignation outside school board meeting By Sonali Kohli Students, parents, teachers and UTLA marching outside the board meeting chanting "Ref resign" pic.twitter.com/W0LRWZSIXY  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 A few dozen parents, students and teachers marched outside the Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting Tuesday, some calling for board member Ref Rodriguez to resign the week after news broke that he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena bar and restaurant. Rodriguez was not cited or charged in that incident, but was held for more than five and a half hours before being released. The school board member faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. He is accused of getting more than two dozen people people to donate to his campaign for his school board seat with the understanding that he would reimburse them. He stepped down from his post as school board president after he was charged last fall, but he did not give up his seat on the board. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May. He cant give his full focus to our students, said Rebecca LaFond, a Highland Park parent whose three children marched with her as she chanted, Ref resign. One daughter marched in front of her, using a drum stick to hit the bottom of a gallon-size empty water jug. Our kids deserve someone who has the utmost ethical standards representing them, LaFond said. The protests continued into the board meeting, where some addressed Rodriguez directly, calling on him to step down during public comment portions of the meeting. Rodriguez, through his chief of staff, declined to comment. Some parents outside the board meeting did not know about the charges against Rodriguez but came out to protest the possibility of sharing their school campuses with charter schools. Protesters also oppose colocation  not all of the parents are here to ask Ref Rodriguez to step down pic.twitter.com/1Co8zQ9zSi  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 Cynthia Martinez said her son, who goes to Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights, has been bullied in the past by students from a charter school sharing the campus. She said she didnt know who Rodriguez was. Some parents and teachers are worried about losing computer labs, robotics rooms and fitness centers if they are required to share their campus with charter schools, said Ilse Escobar, a parent community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. The issues of Rodriguez and colocation are related, Escobar said. Rodriguez is part of a majority on the school board elected with financial backing from charter school supporters, and many parents, she said, feel that the school board is compromised if he is a part of it. Staff reporter Howard Blume contributed to this post. Facebook

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Delaine Eastin tries to gain momentum in the California governors race, one voter at a time By Seema Mehta Delaine Eastin was a sophomore in high school when a drama teacher urged her to try out for a part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. She hesitated until he told her: This is a metaphor for your whole life. If you never try out, you will never get the part. Eastin auditioned and won the role. Decades later, the advice sticks with the former state schools chief, this time in her unlikely run for governor. Despite calls for more women in leadership roles in state politics following sexual misconduct allegations in Sacramento, Eastin has been largely overlooked in the race, lagging far behind her Democratic rivals in fundraising and the polls. Read More Facebook

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Arizona high court rejects in-state tuition for DACA recipients By Associated Press Young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by President Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous ruling will affect at least 2,000 students attending the states largest community college district and hundreds more at other colleges and the states three public universities. The Maricopa County Community Colleges District and state universities said they would begin raising tuition immediately for the coming school year. Read More Facebook

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New York high school students injured when bus strikes overpass By Associated Press A charter bus carrying teenagers returning from a spring break trip Sunday night struck a bridge overpass on Long Island, seriously injuring six passengers and mangling the entire length of the top of the bus. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview, according to New York State Police. One of the six injured passengers had very serious injuries, said State Police Maj. David Candelaria. Thirty-seven other passengers suffered minor injuries. Read More Facebook

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Some good news for California in national student test scores By Joy Resmovits National test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders were generally flat from 2015, but eighth-grade reading scores showed some improvement. Every two years, the nations fourth- and eighth-graders are tested in math and reading  and newly released results from last years tests give California at least a little reason to be pleased. The 2017 results  out Monday night  were mostly flat nationwide compared with 2015, though the average score in eighth-grade reading went up. But while that improvement largely came from the increased scores of the highest-performing students, California eighth-graders showed some reading progress from the lowest levels to the highest. Read More Facebook

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Under state control, Inglewood school districts financial picture worsened By Anna M. Phillips When Eugenio Villa agreed to return to the Inglewood schools for a second tour last summer, he knew the district remained one of Californias most troubled. Inglewood Unified had been nearly insolvent when it was taken over by the state Department of Education in 2012. Six years later, its enrollment was still declining. Its school buildings were tired  some edging into decrepitude. Its test scores and graduation rates were still below the state average. And the public was out of patience. Still, Villa, who had signed back on as the districts chief business official, was shocked at what he found when he arrived in June 2017. Two years earlier, he had left the school system on what he thought was firm ground. Read More Facebook

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Charter school group drops two lawsuits against L.A. Unified By Howard Blume A charter schools advocacy group last week announced that it would end two long-running lawsuits in which it was seeking more classroom space and construction money from the Los Angeles school district. The decision, the California Charter Schools Assn. said, reflects better relations between charter schools and the L.A. Unified School District. But the move also suggests that the litigation, which already contributed to significant gains for area charters, was unlikely to produce much more. It takes time, money and effort to litigate, said Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the charter group. Maybe its better to see if we can find the time and opportunity for collaboration. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez is arrested on suspicion of public intoxication By Richard Winton Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez was arrested recently on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena restaurant, the latest trouble for an elected official who faces political money-laundering charges. Pasadena police took Rodriguez into custody on March 16, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Officers arrested Rodriguez at about 4:30 p.m. at the Yard House restaurant and bar at the Paseo Mall and held him in jail for more than five-and-a-half hours. Rodriguez was ultimately released without being cited or charged, Derderian told The Times. Other details about the arrest were not available, she 
Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students?

In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system.

Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing.

The public university systems budget will be a major topic for Cal States trustees this week when they meet at the chancellors office in Long Beach.

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Browns initial budget proposal included a $92-million increase for Cal State, $171 million below what trustees asked for. The governor didnt increase that number in his revised budget, released Friday.

He did, however, propose a one-time allocation of $100 million to go toward Cal States long-deferred facilities maintenance.

Chancellor Timothy P. White argues that the overall outlay is not enough, especially given the states $8.8-billion projected surplus  most of which Brown wants the state to save to be prepared for the next downturn.

Without sufficient funding from the state, the university will face adverse consequences including the slowing of recent advances in student achievement, White said in a statement Friday.

Cal State has absorbed many students since the recession, when California slashed nearly one-third of its support. And while funding has been gradually restored in recent years, university administrators say, it hasnt kept up with current needs.

The system had asked the governor for $15 million a year specifically to pay for deferred maintenance  with the rest of the state funding to go toward such priorities as hiring more staff to serve the growing student body and working to boost graduation rates.

Overall, Cal State calculates that it has a $2-billion maintenance backlog. Top priorities on a long list include retrofitting Cal State LAs administration building for earthquake protection and replacing a science building in San Francisco.

The system also is under pressure to accommodate more students, and officials say they need more funding to be able to do so. Last fall, about 32,000 eligible applicants were turned away because of overbooked programs and classes.

Earlier this year, trustees were considering a tuition hike  which would have been the second one in a row after a six-year freeze.

In April, White shelved the increase, arguing that the economy was strong enough now that students should not be asked to increase their financial burdens. The hope was that Sacramento would come through with more money.

Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk, White said when he announced the gambit.

Brown has repeatedly voiced his thinking that Cal State and the University of California should learn to live within their means rather than keep demanding more money.

In the explanation of his revised budget, the governor noted that a tuition hike would increase the amount of money the state would have to pay for the Cal Grant and Middle Class Scholarship financial aid programs. He proposed updating budget language so that if Cal State  or the University of California  does raise tuition, the state will be able to take the extra money it has to spend out of the money it has earmarked for the public university system. (Cal State officials said Monday theres no chance the system will raise tuition this year.)

The final budget is due in June. Until then, White said, the trustees will continue to push for more funding in Sacramento.

He has the support of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount), who released a statement saying that the Assembly has listened  and heard  as students, faculty and staff at Cal State and the University of California have made the case for funding to stabilize tuition rates, address rising costs, and enroll more California students.

White said in an April interview that inadequate additional funding could force him to make cuts in the chancellors office and enroll fewer students. It could also mean fewer course options for those students who did enroll.

Joy.Resmovits@LATimes.com

@Joy_Resmovits
The Los Angeles Unified School District introduced itself Tuesday to a new superintendent who, unlike his predecessor, didnt rise up through its ranks.

Austin Beutner, who has never run a school or a school district, is quick to acknowledge that he has much to learn. He kicked off his first official day of work with a 12-stop, 13-hour cram course, which took him to the San Fernando Valley and Harbor City, to Mar Vista, South L.A. and East L.A.

Along the way, he visited an afterschool program, an automotive training program and a center that coaches young parents.

If there was a takeaway that district officials wanted, it was that L.A. Unified is much more than its problems and is doing an impressive job educating many children in an astonishing variety of ways.

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This is a reminder of why we do the work, Beutner said after the final stop at Garfield High School, where he watched an orientation for hundreds of incoming ninth graders and their parents. You could not help but be inspired today.

Beutner is a philanthropist and former investment banker who also served as first deputy mayor of Los Angeles and as publisher of the L.A. Times. His very presence in the school system hierarchy is a signal that the Board of Education  and influential civic leaders  want to see sweeping changes.

Beutner is expected to confront not just the districts lagging test scores but to apply his business savvy to its precarious financial situation. He made it clear Tuesday that he understood that the good-news tour was only a partial picture.

You always start with what youre proud of and the community should be proud, he said. But stay tuned. I [also] will take a tour and see things that are a challenge. And were going to work on those, too.

His day began at 5 a.m. at a Sun Valley yard housing 300 school buses. There, driver Maria Carrillo, a district parent, walked the new superintendent through her daily 20-minute safety check.

She checked lug nuts, tire treads and more than three dozen lights. She opened the luggage compartments to look for emergency supplies and lifted the hood to examine fan belts and oil levels.

Beutner was impressed: I just get in the car and make sure my wife didnt leave a soft drink from the day before.

As at every stop to come, he had many questions. Training for bus drivers, he learned, includes CPR, in case there is a medical emergency.

Tanya Walters, another driver who looked on and provided some answers, said she was encouraged despite Beutners lack of school-system experience.

Sometimes its not what you have behind you but that you have an open mind to learn said Walters, an officer in the union that represents bus drivers. Hes willing to walk with the people who do the job on a day-to-day basis.

On Tuesday, the effort to make an impression went two ways, and Beutner never lost his poise or curiosity.

It sounds like hes very interested in what we do, the routines, and wanting to learn more, said third-grade teacher Danielle Tognozzi, who met the new superintendent when he stopped by her class at Napa Street Elementary in Northridge to meet students and watch them have breakfast in the classroom.

One stop that Beutner asked to have included was the automotive training program at Van Nuys High School. Instructor Joe Agruso said it took him more than a decade to build it into an apprenticeship and enrichment program that enrolls 135 students. Van Nuys, Agruso said, is one of only eight campuses in L.A. Unified with an automotive program, though there used to be many more.

Julia Melero, a 17-year-old junior, already has a job at a local dealership. On a specially outfitted computer, she showed Beutner how a hybrid engine works.

As Beutner was leaving, Agruso made a pitch for expanding such career technical programs  which used to be known as vocational classes  in the school system. Beutner said its something he wants to do.

Other stops included Grand View Elementary in Mar Vista, where students learn in Spanish and English and become fully bilingual.

At an early childhood center in Reseda, Beutner toured an infant program with a dual purpose: to provide needed parenting guidance and to give young parents enough time off from their babies to complete high school.

In South L.A. Beutner watched as sixth graders in uniform at the all-male Boys Academic Leadership Academy chanted, as they do daily, I am the master of my fate.

At the Maywood Center for Enriched Studies, which serves grades six through 12, Beutner learned that each student gets a Chromebook to take home  and that a corporate donor has provided all the high schoolers with hot spots to make sure they have access to the internet at home. He also learned that this campus has a waiting list.

While there, he gamely grabbed a cafeteria meal and consumed half a barbecue pork sandwich. He also chatted about the NBA playoffs with a table of students, and called over the principal to point out two ninth graders who said they wanted to start a book club.

At Narbonne High in Harbor City, he took off his jacket and took a few swings of batting practice. He didnt embarrass himself.

At least I got one out of the infield, he said afterward, a little excited and a little relieved.

Beutner has so far left his critics and supporters guessing as to his broader agenda for the district.

One theme emerged: Beutner wants to add more offerings for students, despite the financial challenges. Throughout the day, he saw an array of programs meant to connect with specific types of students. The point, he said, is to keep students engaged and build their confidence.

For me, it was music, he said. I could perform in front of people long before I could speak in front of them.

New LAUSD Supt. Austin Beutner visits a classroom at Napa Street Elementary School as breakfast is served to students Tuesday, his first day on the job. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles TImes )

anna.phillips@latimes.com

Twitter: @annamphillips

UPDATES:

9:35 p.m.: This article was updated with more details of Beutners visits to schools.

1 p.m.: This article was updated with Beutner visiting schools in the San Fernando Valley.

8:25 a.m.: This article has been updated with Beutners visit to a bus depot.

12:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with additional stops on Beutners tour, at an automotive training program, an early education center and an elementary school.

This article was originally published at 5 a.m.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to increase spending to address homelessness by $143 million in 2018-19  the second year of money flowing from the Measure H sales tax increase that voters approved last year.

The new budget calls for $402 million in spending on programs that include homelessness prevention, rent subsidies, outreach, preservation of affordable housing, employment services and shelters.

Most of the increase was anticipated last year when the supervisors adopted a tentative three-year budget that assumed less would be spent in the first two years as new programs got up to speed.

Revisions adopted Tuesday add nearly $28 million to that tentative budget. Highlighting the growing emphasis on temporary shelter to serve people living on the streets while more permanent housing is being built, most of the increase was designated for emergency shelter beds.

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About $5 million would go to shelter construction and $18.32 million to operating new beds. The addition would raise total spending on shelters to $93 million and support 1,267 additional beds over the 2018-19 fiscal year, according to a summary of the budget included in the motion.

Funds allocated from other Measure H programs and county health departments would raise the number of new emergency beds to 3,250.

Though the new spending plan does not specifically designate funds for Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcettis recent shelter initiative, those could be included, said Phil Ansell, director of the countys homeless initiative.

A portion of the increased Measure H funding for interim housing could be used for operating costs for the new shelters which the city of Los Angeles is seeking to establish, Ansell said.

Garcetti has asked for $20 million in the new city budget to construct 1,500 shelter beds that would be operated with county funds.

The other main spending categories approved Tuesday were $73 million for rapid rehousing programs, designed to transition people quickly into permanent housing, $49 million for rent subsidies and $30 million for outreach.

Before the vote, all five supervisors assembled on the steps of the Hall of Administration to give an assessment of what Measure H funding accomplished in its first year.

We are making some headway, board Chairwoman Sheila Kuehl said. We have a long way to go. But what we are going to share with you today is really encouraging.

In the nine months since the sales tax increase kicked in, Kuehl said, thousands of individuals and families in every part of L.A County have already been helped through the expansion of outreach, shelter, rapid rehousing and supportive housing as well as benefits advocacy for homeless disabled adults.

Supervisor Hilda Solis said that more than 5,200 families and individuals secured permanent housing funded by Measure H. Also, Solis said, more than 10,000 people entered crisis or bridge housing and contracts had been awarded for 302 new shelter beds.

Later, the supervisors voted unanimously to approve the new budget without change.

In a separate action, the supervisors unanimously approved a motion directing the county and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority to fund an additional outreach team to work weekends in the San Gabriel Valley and to develop a plan for reserving interim housing and motel vouchers for people brought in through that outreach.

The need to serve our homeless is not 9-to-5, five days a week. Its 24 hours, all day, all week, said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, the measures co-sponsor.

The measure also called for county staff to report in 60 days on how to expand access to homeless services across the county outside normal business hours.

Aside from the added funds for shelters, the new budget makes only minor adjustments to the tentative plan adopted last year.

That could change next year, Ansell said.

The county will develop a final plan for Measure H spending in 2019-20 based on experience and outcomes as of that time and the level of funding available, Ansell said.

The initial three-year plan was crafted loosely to the $355 million in projected annual revenue from the Measure H sales tax hike. Its still too soon to gauge the actual revenue, which could exceed or fall short of the estimate.

The increase to the plan in the second year is being covered with unspent funds from the first years budget and a $5-million shift from the fiscal year 2019-20 budget.

But the projected growth next year to $431 million would exceed the projected revenue.

That shortfall would have to be made up with any unspent funds from the first two years or increased revenue from the sales tax hike or other sources.

doug.smith@latimes.com

@LATDoug
A Riverside County judge overturned Californias physician-assisted suicide law on Tuesday, giving the state attorney general five days to file an appeal to keep the law in place.

Californias law, which allows terminally ill patients to request lethal medications from their doctors, has been the subject of a fierce and emotional debate since it was approved in 2015. The state was the fifth in the nation to legalize the practice.

Superior Court Judge Daniel A. Ottolia said Tuesday that the California Legislature violated the law by passing the End of Life Option Act during a special session dedicated to healthcare issues, according to the plaintiffs in the case as well as advocates for the law.

Were very happy with the decision today, said Alexandra Snyder, head of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, one of the groups that filed the lawsuit. We will now wait and see what the attorney general does.

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In a statement emailed to The Times, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said: We strongly disagree with this ruling and the state is seeking expedited review in the Court of Appeal.

Californias law allows patients with less than six months to live to request end-of-life drugs from their doctors, a practice that has been allowed in Oregon for more than 20 years. Now, nearly 1 in 5 Americans live in a state where physician-assisted suicide is legal, according to advocacy group Compassion and Choices.

In the first six months Californias law was in effect, more than 100 people made use of it to end their lives. Fifty-nine percent of them had cancer, according to state data.

John C. Kappos, an attorney representing Compassion and Choices, which advocated for the law, said he believes the passage of the law was constitutional because aid in dying is a healthcare issue.

Ultimately, we are confident an appeals court will rule the Legislature duly passed the End of Life Option Act and reinstate this perfectly valid law, which the strong majority of Californians support, he said in a statement.

He cited a 2015 survey conducted by UC Berkeley that found that 76% of Californians supported allowing terminally ill patients to take their own lives.

Harry Nelson, a healthcare attorney in Los Angeles, said he thinks its unlikely the law will be overturned permanently. He said that even if the courts decision stands, the Legislature would probably be able to reinstate the law with whatever changes the court deems necessary.

I think this is a short-term victory for people who object on religious principles to the availability of this option, said Nelson, who represents several doctors who have written prescriptions under the law.

He said Ottolias decision to give Becerra five days to file an emergency appeal was aggressive.

It basically leaves the attorney generals office with a really narrow window to do everything they need to do to get the court of appeals to intervene and uphold and continue the law, he said.

The push for physician-assisted suicide in California came after Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old Californian with brain cancer, moved to Oregon to take advantage of its end-of-life law.

When Gov. Jerry Brown signed the law, he said he was unsure what he would want in such a situation but imagined it would be a comfort to be able to consider the options afforded by this bill. And I wouldnt deny that right to others.

Dan Diaz, Maynards husband, who advocated for the law on her behalf, said in a statement that he would once again focus all my efforts to convince Gov. Brown, the attorney general and the courts to keep this law in effect.

Writing the lethal prescriptions is voluntary for doctors and medical facilities in California, and some, including all Catholic and church-affiliated hospitals, have not allowed their physicians to prescribe such medicines. Californias data from the laws first six months show that 173 physicians wrote the 191 prescriptions statewide.

The suit was originally filed on the day the law took effect two years ago. That day, a judge denied a temporary restraining order that would have stopped the law from being enacted.

This ruling affirms that assisted suicide advocates circumvented the legislative process, Matt Valliere, executive director of the New York-based Patients Rights Action Fund, which opposes legalizing physician-assisted suicide, said in a statement. It represents a tremendous blow to the assisted suicide legalization movement and puts state legislatures on notice regarding the political trickery of groups like Compassion and Choices.

Ottolia read his ruling in court Tuesday morning and will not release the written document for five days, said David Gutknecht, deputy executive officer of administration for the Riverside Countys Superior Court. Court logs confirm that the judge granted a motion Tuesday morning.

Matt Fairchild, who has skin cancer that has spread to his brain, said he hoped the law is not ultimately overturned. He does not qualify for the law because doctors estimate he has more than six months to live, but he said he wants the option if his condition worsens.

Its something that I want in my toolbox, said Fairchild, 48, of Burbank.

He said it seemed unfair that a court could make such a big decision for someone who is sick, and perhaps suffering. Its going to affect the way a person in California takes their last breath, Fairchild said.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

UPDATES:

6:15 p.m.: This article was updated with additional reaction.

4:45 p.m.: This article was updated with reaction from the attorney general.

3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with reaction, background and additional details from the ruling.

This article was originally published at 2:50 p.m.
Developers, businesses and homeowners in Los Angeles who are required by the city to replace or plant trees can instead apply to pay a fee to get out of the obligation under a new levy system approved Tuesday by the City Council.

The City Council voted 13 to 1 to create the new fee, which officials say will raise money to fund tree planting in nearby areas. Backers say that several other cities, including San Francisco, have similar fees to pay for trees.

Several groups opposed Tuesdays vote, urging the city to create a comprehensive urban forest plan before passing the fee, including a determination of what types of species of trees are needed in Los Angeles and in what neighborhoods.

Without structure, the money collected by in-lieu fees is subject to mismanagement by city officials, said Jacky Surber, a landscape designer who spoke at a news event organized by the Coalition to Preserve L.A. before Tuesdays council hearing.

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Paul Krekorian, the only council member to vote against the new fee, also said the city needs a master plan to manage its trees. He questioned the disparity in the fee system, which will charge large developers $2,612 for a tree and smaller developers and homeowners $267.

City Councilman Bob Blumenfield, who chairs the Public Works and Gang Reduction Committee, said he would like to see a higher fee on the low end, but led his colleagues in voting for the plan. He said he supports the program because it addresses problems with the citys tree replanting efforts.

Developers and homeowners typically are required to plant two trees for every one tree removed in the public right of way, while separate city regulations require developers to plant multiple trees at some multi-unit projects.

Under existing city regulations, developers and homeowners can buy a tree and send it to the citys Bureau of Street Services to satisfy their replanting obligation. But in some cases, those trees are dying in the Bureau of Street Services yards before they can be replanted, Blumenfield said.

The city also receives species of trees that arent appropriate, officials said.

The fee is supported by business groups, including the Central City Assn. of Los Angeles. Shane Phillips, the groups director of public policy, said at a city hearing on the fee earlier this year that its difficult to plant trees on smaller lots that have large buildings.

This actually will allow for a more rational approach to tree planting, where we can actually plan and plant entire corridors, rather than having trees planted just where development happens to take place and leaving everywhere else kind of blank, Phillips said.

Its unclear how much money the fee will bring in. A city report released earlier this year estimated that about $618,060 could be raised over about eight or nine months.

Each applicant must get a determination from the city that its not feasible to plant trees on the site, Blumenfields office said. The councilman said the citys priority is to replant on site, rather than accept the fee.

The City Council must also approve the locations for those trees that are planted using the in-lieu fees under an amendment added to the ordinance. The ordinance must also return to the council for a second vote.

dakota.smith@latimes.com

Twitter: @dakotacdsmith
A 14-year-old has been charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting at a Palmdale high school last week.

The boy was charged with two counts of attempted murder, six counts of assault with an assault weapon and one count of possessing a firearm in a school zone, according to Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorneys office.

The teenager, who denied the charges, had recently transferred out of Highland High School but returned to the campus on May 11 with a rifle and fired about 10 rounds, at least some from a bathroom, authorities said.

One student, a 15-year-old boy, was wounded. He is expected to fully recover, authorities said.

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The shooting sparked widespread panic and drew a massive law enforcement response to the school, where students were advised to shelter in place as the campus went on lockdown. Several students texted and tweeted that they could hear gunfire, urging others to stay away.

The 14-year-olds next court date is for a pretrial hearing on June 28.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia
A group of current and former members of the Los Angeles City Council  all of them Latino  has endorsed Deputy Chief Robert Arcos bid to become police chief, calling him the right leader at the right time for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Councilman Gil Cedillo and four former lawmakers sent Mayor Eric Garcetti a letter Friday praising Arcos as accessible, reform-minded and a passionate advocate for all the diverse communities that make up the city of Los Angeles.

At a moment when the Trump administration has declared war on our immigrant communities, Deputy Chief Arcos has the experience and expertise to be the leader that our community needs, the group wrote.

The letter was signed by former council members Richard Alatorre, Mike Hernandez, Ed Reyes and Gloria Molina, who also served on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. It is one of several efforts underway to influence the mayor as he decides who will replace Chief Charlie Beck, who is stepping down after nine years.

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Arcos, who heads the LAPDs Central Bureau, is competing against Assistant Chief Michel Moore, who oversees the departments patrol operations, and San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, who spent 27 years at the LAPD. All three have advocates who have been speaking on their behalf.

If selected by Garcetti, Arcos would be the LAPDs first Latino police chief. Scott is African American; Moore, who was one of three finalists for police chief in 2009, is listed as Hispanic on department rosters because his father is Basque.

Cedillo, who represents neighborhoods stretching from Westlake to Lincoln Heights and Highland Park, said the selection of Arcos would build trust between the department and communities of color. His hiring would also send a message to the citys Mexican American residents, and immigrants in general, that they are valued and that they are respected, the councilman said.

Bobbys story is so much like every Mexican Americans story in the city, he said. For every kid thats grown up in an imperfect life, he represents the success of playing by the rules, working hard, doing the right thing.

Garcetti interviewed the three finalists Friday, an aide to the mayor said. The mayor had no comment on the lobbying effort in favor of Arcos.

Cedillo and the four former council members sent their letter a few days after Arcos picked up a similar endorsement from the Mexican American Bar Assn. of Los Angeles County.

Denisse O. Gastelum, the groups president, said her organization views Arcos as the strongest candidate to address such issues as homelessness, mental illness and the fear of law enforcement felt by some Angelenos in the wake of Trumps election.

Gastelum said her group interviewed three of the five finalists and found that Arcos was the most candid about the need to confront the large number of fatal officer-involved shootings at the LAPD.

Still, another Latino legal group has lined up behind a different finalist. The Mexican American Bar Assn. Political Action Committee, which is not affiliated with Gastelums group, sent a letter to Garcetti last month saying Moore has the most experience for the job.

Raymond Eshaghian, who serves on the PAC board, said Moore has been a longtime champion of accountability at the LAPD and played a pivotal role in the departments effort to outfit officers with body cameras. We feel that he is the most qualified to replace Chief Beck, he said.

Supporters of Scott also have been working to influence Garcettis decision on the next chief. On Monday, a group of religious and community leaders held a news conference to urge Garcetti to select the San Francisco chief, saying he is the candidate with the deepest knowledge of South Los Angeles  a region of the city that has had a troubled history with the Police Department.

At the LAPD, Scott was deputy chief of the South Bureau and helped to oversee reforms required by the federal consent decree. Appearing at Holman United Methodist Church, members of the group said he has the cultural competency to run the agency.

Hes a bridge builder in a variety of ways, said the Rev. Kelvin Sauls, senior pastor at Holman United Methodist Church. Hes one who understands community policing. Hes one who understands the different segments of the city.

Times staff writer Cindy Chang contributed to this report.

david.zahniser@latimes.com

Twitter: @DavidZahniser
When recreational marijuana use was legalized in California, it presented an opportunity to reduce or expunge convictions for possession crimes that made it harder for some people to get ahead in life.

Since then, some counties have worked to address those convictions, taking on the lengthy bureaucratic process so that people would not have to wade through the legal world on their own.

San Francisco led the charge, announcing in January that the district attorneys office would retroactively apply the new marijuana law to prior convictions dating as far back as 1975. But for prosecutors, the chance to change those convictions also came with a challenge: It required a lot of resources to plow through thousands of cases.

On Tuesday, Dist. Atty. George Gascon announced what he believes to be the solution. San Francisco is working with a nonprofit organization to create a program that would automatically clear eligible convictions under Californias new marijuana legalization law.

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The program, created by Code for America, will allow the district attorneys office to use new technology to determine eligibility for record clearance under state law, automatically fill out the required forms and generate a completed motion in PDF format. The district attorneys office can then file the completed motion with the court.

When the government uses 20th century tools to tackle 21st century problems, its the public that pays the price, Gascon said. Were really talking about providing people a second chance.

Under Proposition 64, nearly 5,000 felony marijuana convictions in San Francisco will be reviewed, recalled and resentenced, and more than 3,000 misdemeanors that were sentenced prior to the propositions passage will be dismissed and sealed, the district attorneys office said.

Proposition 64 legalizes, among other things, the possession and purchase of up to an ounce of marijuana and allows individuals to grow up to six plants for personal use. The measure also allows people convicted of marijuana possession crimes eliminated by the new law to petition the courts to have those convictions expunged from their records as long as the person does not pose a risk to public safety.

People also can petition to have some crimes reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor, including possession of more than an ounce of marijuana by a person who is 18 or older.

The new program will clear peoples records of crimes that can be barriers to employment and housing, the district attorney said. Lack of access to employment and housing drive recidivism, Gascon said, adding that he hopes the partnership will inspire other prosecutors who have cited resource constraints to follow suit.

In February, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey said petitioning through the courts would be faster for people seeking relief than waiting for her office to review the case files. The same month, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to develop a plan to help make it easier for people to reduce or clear minor pot convictions.

The Los Angeles County district attorneys office estimates there have been 40,000 felony convictions involving pot-related offenses since 1993. It is unclear how many of those people are eligible for relief or how many have petitioned for it.

Although drug use in this country has not been limited to people of color in California, minorities  particularly African Americans and Latinos  have been arrested and jailed for marijuana offenses at much higher rates than white people, Gascon said. Many of those affected are poor, he added, or lack the resources needed to change their criminal records on their own.

Its about leveling the playing field, he said. Justice is supposed to be about fairness and equity.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, the district attorney said that he understands that some people may be hesitant to support the program.

If we are able to reduce some of the areas that preclude people from getting housing and employment  that will improve the public safety picture for all of us, he said.

The district attorneys office said Gascon and Code for America began exploring the possibility of automating the process in February, after recognizing how resource intensive it was to wipe out or reduce convictions.

Some 962 motions to dismiss a misdemeanor marijuana conviction have been prepared, 528 have been submitted to the San Francisco Superior Court and 428 have been granted, the district attorneys office said, but felony convictions take longer because they require an analysis of rap sheets in order to determine eligibility.

Code for America plans to expand the pilot program to other California counties with the target of clearing 250,000 convictions by 2019. The organization has previously delved into the realm of criminal justice: In 2016, it created Clear My Record, an online application that connects people with lawyers to clear criminal records across California.

By reimagining existing government systems through technology and user-centered design, we can help governments rethink incarceration, reduce recidivism, and restore opportunity, Code for America Executive Director Jennifer Pahlka said in a statement.

The program, she said, will demonstrate that our institutions can deliver on the promise voters intended when they passed propositions like Proposition 64.

sarah.parvini@latimes.com

For more California news follow me on Twitter: @sarahparvini

UPDATES:

11:50 a.m.: This article was updated with additional information from a news conference.

This article was originally published at 11 a.m.
A Santa Ana medical center has been declared safe, after a lockdown Tuesday morning following a report of a man with a gun, police said.

Santa Ana police received a call from the Orange County Global Medical Center at 8:15 a.m., stating that a call had been received from an internal network line that there was an armed man in the hospital.

They said, I have a gun, and they hung up the phone, said Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin.

After a search of the building, no one was found with a gun and there were no injuries reported, Valentin said. The medical center was declared safe shortly after 11 a.m.

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We are continuing to follow up on the origination of the call, who might be involved, Valentin said. Im very proud of the immediate response, the unified presence with the site security here.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

UPDATES:

12:20 p.m.: This article was updated with details of the medical center being declared safe.

This article was originally published at 9:40 a.m.
For years during the long U.S. occupation of Iraq, Muqtada Sadr was an intractable foe, blamed by the Pentagon for hundreds of deaths of American service members, as well as atrocities against Iraqi civilians.

But his surprise lead in Iraqs parliamentary election may force American officials into a new, unfamiliar relationship with a onetime foe, who rode to victory on a platform that called for attacking Iraqs endemic corruption and ousting Iran, in addition to the U.S. military, from Iraq.

By any account, Sadrs possible role as kingmaker after the weekend election will complicate the U.S. military mission, which now consists largely of training and mine-clearing in parts of the country that have been wrested back from the Islamic State militants.

Asked Tuesday whether he was upset by Sadrs victory, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis ignored the question.

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The Iraqi people had an election. Its a democratic process at a time when people, many people, doubted that Iraq could take charge of themselves. So we will wait and see the results  the final results of the election, said Mattis, who commanded Marines as a general in Iraqs Anbar province during some of the most violent years of the Iraq war.

And we stand with the Iraqi peoples decisions.

His comments echoed similar noncommittal statements across the administration, including the State Department and National Security Council.

We are very well aware of Muqtada al-Sadr and his background and his positions now, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said when asked about concerns over Sadrs victory.

Some U.S. officials believe that Sadr, a 44-year-old Shiite cleric, is now less virulently anti-American than he was in 2003, when his militia, the Mahdi Army, battled forces of the U.S.-led coalition, set off bombs and attacked Sunni communities.

In one significant departure from his past, Sadr has been openly critical of Iran, and even made a recent trip to Saudi Arabia, archrival of Tehran.

That could mean that an Iraqi government with Sadr in it will not necessarily disrupt Iraqi cooperation with the Pentagon against Islamic State.

Any unease on the U.S. side, several analysts said, is likely to be counterbalanced by Sadrs call for shrinking Irans influence in Baghdads Shiite-dominated government  another longtime U.S. goal. Sadr has called for both the U.S. and Iran, which also sent advisors and assistance in the fight against the Islamic State, to leave Iraq.

Will there be less willingness to cooperate with the U.S.? Maybe, Douglas Ollivant, a former National Security Council official in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, said.

But that will be more than offset by the pushback against the Iranians, added Ollivant, who served in Baghdad as an Army officer during the surge of U.S. troops in 2007.

What Sadrs role will be in any new government remains to be seen. In Iraqs convoluted parliamentary system, his Sairoon coalition led the vote but did not win a majority that would have allowed it to rule alone. A minimum of two weeks of negotiation and horse-trading among the factions now begin. In the end, Sadr might even find himself on the outs.

Failure to form a functional government after the vote, analysts warned, could lead to political paralysis that would impede any efforts at reform, long a U.S.-backed project, and could leave a vacuum where more pro-Iranian politicians would step in to take charge.

In the meantime, U.S. officials are reacting cautiously as they await final official results of the vote, in which nearly 7,000 candidates vied for 329 parliamentary seats.

Iraqs Prime Minister Haider Abadi, who was the preferred U.S. candidate in the election, had been widely regarded as the favorite. His campaign capitalized on the military victories against Islamic State, but his party is holding at third place.

Abadis party could be a likely coalition partner for Sadr. If the Kurdish faction is added to that, American officials believe, the result could be favorable to U.S. interests.

Joining Abadi in a poor showing was Nouri Maliki, the former prime minister whose pro-Iranian stance has long frustrated U.S. military advisors in Iraq. U.S. officials say Malikis closeness to Iran contributed to the rise of Islamic State, a largely Sunni movement that gained strength from Sunni grievances about their treatment under his government.

During the height of the U.S. military presence in Iraq more than decade ago, Sadr was a formidable and often underestimated American foe whose call for ending the U.S. occupation proved a powerful rallying cry for Iraqs Shiite poor.

Militias loyal to the Iraqi cleric fought bloody battles against U.S. troops in Sadr City, a Baghdad slum controlled by his supporters.

But following the end of the large-scale U.S. presence in Iraq in 2011, Sadrs public criticism of the U.S. eased. He remained restrained even after the U.S. sent troops back in 2014.

Once the U.S. was no longer an occupying power, he no longer had that much of a problem with the U.S., said Ollivant, a fellow at the New America Foundation, a Washington think tank.

With the American presence reduced in numbers  the Pentagon is drawing down U.S. force levels, which reached 5,200 at the high point of the fight against Islamic State  Sadr turned to his first hatred, Iran, and cast himself as an ardent nationalist, shunning any occupiers.

Nonetheless, memories of often brutal battles against Sadrs supporters have not faded among U.S. soldiers, and Pentagon officials say privately that they still distrust him.

He is a corrupt leader of gangs, Mark Hertling, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general, said in a tweet Tuesday.

Hertling recalled fighting Sadr in 2003-4 in Baghdad and in the southern cities of Kut and Najaf as the Iraqi government debated arresting him for murder of his rivals and then again as he fomented anarchy in Baghdad in 2008.

Other military officials said they held out hope that Abadi, with his strong U.S. backing, will somehow be able to assemble a coalition that enables him to stay on as prime minister.

Its not the best outcome, but we remain hopeful, said one official, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss internal assessment.

Iraqi Shiites historically have chafed at Irans influence and refused to import the theocratic-style rule of their neighbor. Sadrs powerful father, the late Mohammed Sadeq Sadr, was a fiercely nationalistic cleric who promoted the Shiites identity as Iraqis and Arabs.

In addition, if Sadr and his supporters hope to make any headway against endemic corruption, as he pledged to do during the campaign, they will need the backing of the U.S. to get help from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international institutions. Iraq has suffered chronic power shortages and insecurity for 15 years and needs an estimated $88 billion to rebuild areas destroyed in the four-year war against Islamic State.

Despite the complications and numerous moving parts, Iraqs change in government could provide U.S. policymakers with an opportunity to set right the chaos and suffering of the last years, some analysts said.

The U.S. must do everything it can to convince as many of those who are elected that it will support a strong and independent Iraq  rather than try to create a client state, Anthony Cordesman, an expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an analysis he wrote for the think tank, and that it will help any elements of the new government that actively seek reform, recovery and development.

Nauert of the State Department said, We have a good relationship ... with the government of Iraq and we believe that we will continue to do that.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

For more on international affairs, follow @TracyKWilkinson on Twitter

david.cloud@latimes.com

Twitter: @davidcloudLAT
After a threat by the worlds richest man that he might reconsider investing in Seattle, a divided City Council came together this week and unanimously approved a new tax on high-grossing corporations  but at about half the amount originally proposed.

Both sides  the city, personified by socialist Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, and the corporations, represented by Jeff Bezos, the multibillionaire founder of retail giant Amazon  could claim some measure of victory in the reduced tax.

A council chamber packed mostly with rowdy, shouting supporters of the tax erupted in cheers and sign waving Monday once the 9-0 vote was recorded.

The result is a new tax of $275 per employee per year on companies grossing at least $20 million per year. It replaces what had been a proposed $500-per-head tax.

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Mayor Jenny Durkan, who received a $350,000 campaign donation from Amazon through a Chamber of Commerce committee, had threatened to veto the higher tax.

About 3% of Seattle businesses will end up paying the tax, which will be used to help the poor and the homeless. The tax will sunset after five years but can be renewed by the council in 2023.

Pedestrians and cyclists pass the Amazon Spheres in Seattle on May 7. (Ted S. Warren / Associated Press )

Amazon emerged as the taxs main target after the company announced it would temporarily halt work on a new skyscraper it was building in Seattle and reconsider a separate plan to move into another tower as well.

The company, which has headquarters in Seattle and employs about 45,000 workers here, never said it was flexing its muscle as the citys largest company. But many who follow politics in the Emerald City had little doubt about the intent.

Sawant said Amazons decision to halt construction was a not-too-subtle message to the city that Seattles biggest employer was willing to invest elsewhere and amounted to extortion.

Amazon is already planning to build a second headquarters in another U.S. or Canadian location, offering a $5-billion investment and up to 50,000 jobs in return for free property, tax breaks and whatever else the winning city is willing to part with. Amazon recently reported first-quarter earnings of $51 billion.

Yet, Sawant said after Mondays vote that the downsized tax, which would raise close to $50 million annually to build more affordable housing and aid the homeless, was still a win for the citys poor.

The city does not have a revenue problem  it has a spending efficiency problem. Drew Herdener, Amazon vice president

However, Amazon Vice President Drew Herdener indicated that hard feelings linger.

We are disappointed by todays city council decision to introduce a tax on jobs, he said in a statement. While we have resumed construction planning we remain very apprehensive about the future created by the councils hostile approach and rhetoric toward larger businesses, which forces us to question our growth here

The city does not have a revenue problem  it has a spending efficiency problem. We are highly uncertain whether the city councils anti-business positions or its spending inefficiency will change for the better.

Starbucks Corp., another of the 300 businesses that will have to pay the job tax, seconded that.

This city continues to spend without reforming and fail without accountability, while ignoring the plight of hundreds of children sleeping outside, John Kelly, the coffee giants senior vice president of global public affairs, said in a statement.

If they cannot provide a warm meal and safe bed to a 5-year-old child, no one believes they will be able to make housing affordable or address opiate addiction. This City pays more attention to the desires of the owners of illegally parked RVs than families seeking emergency shelter.

Speakers told the council Monday that the city continues to fall short of full transparency in tracking how it has spent as much as a billion dollars on homeless issues in recent years. They demanded accountability and audits.

All that, said one speaker, and the best youve come up with is to put people in tiny boxes.

After the vote, the mayor tweeted that she would indeed sign the measure into law.

We have a lot of work to do move aprox 4000 people off the streets and into safer places, Durkan tweeted.

I am also focused on accountability and transparency in how this new revenue is invested and how we are using taxpayer dollars. I have heard Seattle residents loud and clear that they are concerned about whether our City is investing wisely, efficiently, and responsibly, she wrote in another tweet.

Anderson is a special correspondent.
At least 55 Palestinians dead in the Gaza Strip, 2,700 wounded. Is anyone surprised by this turn of events? If you are, you shouldnt be.

It was inevitable. The peace process is moribund, and with it the hopes of the approximately 2 million people crammed into this narrow strip of land along the Mediterranean between Israel and Egypt. According to Alexandra Zavis in Mondays Times, much of the water in Gaza today is undrinkable. Most homes get only a few hours of electricity each day. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Half the population is unemployed. Every few years theres a new round of violence, usually involving rockets fired by militants into Israel, followed by a devastating Israeli counter-assault.

So what surprise is there that Palestinians in Gaza are without hope, fantasizing about a homeland theyve never seen, willing to cross the border fence and face down better-armed Israeli soldiers in futile protest?

Of course the Israelis are right that theres been violence at the recent protests; the photos of the rock throwers and the fiery kite fliers are pretty unequivocal. But the Palestinians counter, correctly, that the vast majority of the demonstrators are peaceful  and besides, dont people whove lived under occupation for 50 years have a right to protest? But there is no occupation, comes the predictable retort  Israeli soldiers and settlers were pulled out of Gaza years ago. To which the Palestinians respond: Israel didnt really leave Gaza; it still controls the ingress and egress of people and goods, thanks to a punishing blockade imposed in 2007.

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Whats needed today is not blame, but renewed effort to bring the parties back to the table to negotiate a just peace.

And so it continues. The cycle of blame stretches back past the Hamas takeover of Gaza, past two intifadas, past 1973, past 1967, past 1956. Original sin, in the eyes of the Palestinians, is the establishment of Israel on Palestinian land 70 years ago Monday; to the Israelis, its the unwillingness of the Palestinians to recognize that fledgling country.

Whats needed today is renewed effort to bring the parties back to the table to negotiate a just peace that creates two secure, independent, sovereign states living side by side.

Unfortunately, its hard to see how that happens without the assistance of the United States. And this week, with its reckless, provocative and one-sided relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem  thus conceding Israeli sovereignty over that much-disputed city  the Trump administration further undermined its claim to be an honest broker. Thats another step backward in the search for peace.

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Theres a reason why the right to assistance by counsel in criminal cases is part of the Bill of Rights and why the Supreme Court has held that a lawyers performance can be so ineffective than it can compromise that constitutional right.

But the fact that defendants are entitled to effective legal representation doesnt mean that a lawyer gets to make the big, substantive decisions on behalf of his client. For instance, a lawyer should not be able to tell a jury that his client committed a crime when that client is determined to maintain his innocence  even if the lawyer thinks a guilty plea would be the defendants best legal strategy.

On Monday, the Supreme Court made that clear when it rightly ruled that, however well-intentioned, such defiance by a defense lawyer violates the 6th Amendment.

The 6-3 decision opens the way for a new trial for Robert McCoy, who was sentenced to death in Louisiana after being convicted of the 2008 murders of the mother, stepfather and son of his estranged wife. Over McCoys vociferous objections, his lawyer, Larry English, told the jury that the evidence was unambiguous and that my client committed three murders.

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A lawyer should not be able to tell a jury that his client committed a crime when that client is determined to maintain his innocence.

English hoped that, by making these admissions, he would have an easier task convincing the jury that McCoy was guilty only of second-degree murder  because the defendants mental state made it impossible for him to form the intent necessary for first-degree murder. That outcome would have spared McCoy the death penalty.

This strategy, which seemed to be based on a misreading of Louisiana law, failed spectacularly. McCoy was convicted of all three murders, and received three death sentences.

In reversing the Louisiana Supreme Court, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the 6th Amendments guarantee of a right to have the assistance of counsel for his defense has traditionally not been read to give an attorney complete control over the defense.

To gain assistance, Ginsburg wrote, a defendant need not surrender control entirely to counsel. She drew a distinction between the broad objectives of a defense, which are the clients to decide, and strategic choices about how best to achieve a clients objectives, which are the province of the lawyer.

Counsel may reasonably assess a concession of guilt as best suited to avoiding the death penalty, as English did in this case, Ginsburg said. But the client may not share that objective. He may wish to avoid, above all else, the opprobrium that comes with admitting he killed family members. Or he may hold life in prison not worth living and prefer to risk death for any hope, however small, of exoneration.

McCoy maintains his innocence. Thanks to the Supreme Court, he will now be represented by lawyers who wont contradict him.

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The conventional image of baby boomer political rebellion features a young left-wing activist organizing, protesting or otherwise agitating, ideally with Buffalo Springfields For What Its Worth playing in the background: Theres something happening here / What it is aint exactly clear

This gauzy version of youth politics, born in the romanticization of the 1960s, is near and dear to Hollywood, academia and Democrats alike. When Howard Dean, as pure an example of a baby boomer liberal as there is, seemed poised to win his partys presidential nomination in 2003, he recalled what it was like in 1969, the year he turned 21 (and I was born). It was a time of great hope, Dean said. Medicare had passed. Head Start had passed. The Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. He went on: We felt like we were all in it together, that we all had responsibility for this country.

Deans nostalgia erased memories of race riots, antiwar protests, domestic terrorism and the aftermath of various political assassinations, including what were then the recent murders of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. As the historian Steven Hayward notes in his book The Age of Reagan, in the first six months of 1969, there were nearly a hundred bombings, attempted bombings, or acts of arson on college campuses.

Also left out of this conventional narrative: conservative youth politics. Young Americans for Freedom, the group that groomed and galvanized a generation of conservative leaders, issued its manifesto  the Sharon Statement  on Sept. 11, 1960. The left-wing group Students for a Democratic Society released its far more famous Port Huron Statement two years later.

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Young people understand that some of the things old people see as political correctness arent necessarily the product of a Marxist virus.

SDS was the more successful organization, culturally if not politically. This was in part because SDS had the sympathy of the press, but also because it had the more exciting story. They werent merely rebels; they were in revolt against their own side. The SDSers had a radically different view of politics than older liberals.

Meanwhile, the young conservatives took their marching orders from the grown-ups, like William F. Buckley and M. Stanton Evans. The Sharon Statement derived its name from the location of YAFs first meeting: Buckleys home in Sharon, Conn. The manifesto, written by Evans, clocked in at 370 words. The Port Huron Statement rambled on for more than 50 pages.

This disparity can be explained both philosophically and sociologically. The young conservatives hailed from more blue-collar backgrounds, and they self-consciously aligned themselves with eternal truths and the wisdom of the ancients. The young liberals, who tended to be the children of elites, sought to reinvent the wheel, rejecting not just the ancients but also the generation that came before them.

Ever since, young conservatives have been inclined to take cues from their elders. But that seems to be changing.

In the current issue of the Weekly Standard, Ben Shapiro has a fascinating essay on the profound divide between young and old on the right. Older conservatives are almost unanimous in their support of Donald Trumps presidency. Meanwhile, a staggering 82% of Republican and Republican-leaning 18- to 24-year-olds want Trump to be challenged for the nomination in 2020, while 74% of Republicans over 65 dont. Sizable majorities of GOP voters between the ages of 24 and 44 also want a primary challenge.

Shapiro argues persuasively that young conservatives care about character and values, while older ones have largely abandoned such concerns, preferring solid policy victories and perceived wins in the war on political correctness.

What explains the opposing visions? Part of it, Shapiro writes, is the usual tendency of young people to gravitate toward libertarianism and idealism.

But theres another reason: Young people understand that some of the things old people see as political correctness arent necessarily the product of a Marxist virus that somehow escaped a laboratory at Berkeley. Some of it reflects an attempt to craft decent manners in the increasingly diverse and egalitarian society that young people actually live in.

It may be time to play some Buffalo Springfield, because there is something happening here. As the pollster Kristen Soltis Anderson notes, also in the Standard, the GOP has a grave problem with younger voters in part because it is almost wholly dependent on white voters, and white Americans represent an ever-shrinking slice of the youth vote, which will only become more important as the baby boomers throw off this mortal coil.

If the GOP has any hope of winning over non-conservative younger voters, it will be because young conservatives continue to break with their traditional role as dutiful soldiers for their movements elders.

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com

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To the editor: Apportioning blame is not useful, and I certainly dont write to endorse every action the Israelis have taken, but its important to take a look at the first principles of each party to this intractable conflict, and I think theres a clear difference. (At least 52 Palestinians are dead and 2,400 wounded in Gaza. If youre surprised, you shouldnt be, editorial, May 15)

Hamas runs the Gaza Strip, and the group is committed to the destruction of Israel. Full stop.

Say what you want about Israel, but the country has made peace with Arab Muslim neighbors in the past. The elephant thats sat in the room since 1948 is the basic legitimacy of the state of Israel. A few of Israels neighbors have choked down Israels existence and moved forward.

Gaza, its government and its people have not accepted that Israels existence is anything other than a temporary offense that must be obliterated. There is no path to peace when your counterpart demands you commit suicide.

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Until that mindset changes, Gaza will be an active menace and existential threat on Israels border.

Branden Frankel, Encino

..

To the editor: Peace in the Middle East will never be achieved with the likes of President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in power. The trust that must be achieved on both sides and the recognition of wrongs done cannot be forced by hard-liners.

Trump and Netanyahu are fomenting terrorism. Their foolhardiness is making a breeding ground for the young and frustrated youth of Gaza to act out in the only way they may think they can: by becoming terrorists for their cause.

The complexities abound. The world understands the plight of those in Gaza and the very real vigilance Israel must maintain against terrorist attacks and the ever-present hatred by a frustrated, hopeless people.

The responsibility for lives lost, shattered or maimed must be placed on the feet of Trump and Netanyahu. It is they who threw the very hard work of diplomacy away.

Diane Welch, Cypress

..

To the editor: Although I deeply believe in a strong Israel with Jerusalem as its capital, I wonder how desperate people must be to charge a wire fence, with the other side shooting live ammunition.

Rabbi Marc Dworkin, Long Beach

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To the editor: An entrenched minority says climate change is cyclical and not anthropogenic. Even if you agree with that, there are cogent, compelling reasons for California to require all new single-family homes to have solar panels. (Of course California should require solar panels on new homes, Editorial, May 11)

Owners of houses that generate their own electricity can take care of themselves much better after a major natural disaster, when first responders and the utilities are overwhelmed. Renewable energy creates jobs that happen to be less dangerous than those in fossil fuel extraction and refinement.

Also, California can generate revenue by becoming an exporter of clean fuel. And I have yet to hear of our soldiers going overseas to ensure that we get enough sunlight.

Although the costs of new homes will go up, the state could mitigate that through the support of favorable financing. Already, solar installations are exempt from property-tax assessment, yet they add to a houses market value.

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Van Ajemian, Montebello

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To the editor: While the reduction in fossil fuel use is important, forcing all new homes to have solar panels could be the wrong step. A better approach would be the fee-and-dividend plan, which would reduce fossil carbon use without stating how the changes come.

Each person or business would be free to find the best way to provide needed energy at the lowest cost. In many cases, improved passive solar design and insulation might reduce fossil carbon use more than solar panels. Also, solar water heaters could be a better choice for some.

Kadence Martin, Huntington Beach

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To the editor: It is foolhardy of the state to require new homes be built with solar panels when we currently dont have enough storage facilities to hold the solar power we already produce.

Last year, we paid Arizona to take the excess solar energy we generated. Yes, paid! It is the typical cart pulling the horse.

I can only imagine how delighted Arizona residents will be once this regulation takes effect in California and were once again paying them to take all that solar energy.

Karen Mack, Costa Mesa

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To the editor: I wish the California Energy Commission would approve a similar mandate for commercial properties.Get in a plane and you can see lots of choice real estate atop warehouses, manufacturing facilities, office buildings and so forth just waiting for panels.

Chuck Petithomme, Burbank

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Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

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Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

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U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

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Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

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He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

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Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

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It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

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New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

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Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

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U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

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Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

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Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

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Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

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Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

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Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

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Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

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Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

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James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

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Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

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Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

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Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

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Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

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Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

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Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

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Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

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Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

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Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

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Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

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Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

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Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

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Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

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Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

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Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

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Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

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GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

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Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

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Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

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Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

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Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

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CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

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Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

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Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

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ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

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Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

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Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

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Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

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Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt m
Gina Haspel, President Trumps nominee to run the CIA, is on track to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate after key Democrats announced their support on Tuesday.

Her nomination has been deeply controversial because she once ran a secret prison in Thailand where detainees were waterboarded after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. That chapter in her 33-year career remains shrouded in mystery because officials have refused to declassify more information about it.

But Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) and Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said Tuesday that they would vote for her.

Warners support came after Haspel sent him a letter in which she said that the CIAs secret prison network had been a mistake from the start.

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With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken, Haspel wrote.

That statement went a step further than Haspel had been willing to go in her confirmation hearing, in which she pledged to never revive the interrogation program.

After the hearing, two Democrats, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana), had announced they would back Haspel. Two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and John McCain of Arizona, have said they oppose her.

Republicans have only a 51-49 majority in the Senate. With Paul and McCain opposing Haspel, Democratic support became crucial to her confirmation.

Gina Haspel testifies during her confirmation hearing May 9 before the Senate Intelligence Committee. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press )

Now, the support from five Democrats means Haspel likely has the votes she needs. She would be the first woman to head the spy agency, as well as the first operations officer to rise through the ranks to the agencys top spot in decades.

Its unclear when the Senate will hold the vote.

Haspel faced an uncertain path to confirmation two months ago when Trump announced her as his nominee to replace Mike Pompeo, the former Republican congressman who is now secretary of State.

Although she received strong support from the intelligence community, including former CIA directors who served under presidents from both political parties, Haspels role in the interrogation program led to an outcry from human rights activists and many Democrats.

In announcing his backing, Warner said he believed she would be a capable director.

Over the last year Ive had the opportunity to work with Ms. Haspel in her role as Deputy Director, and I have always found her to be professional and forthright with the Intelligence Committee, Warner said in a statement.

Most importantly, I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral  like a return to torture.

Follow the latest news of the Trump administration on Essential Washington 

Heitkamp said Haspel had assured her that torture would never be used in the future.

While I trust her word, I will also verify, helping to ensure Congress conducts robust oversight of the CIA under her leadership, she said in a statement.

Californias senators, both Democrats, remain opposed to Haspel.

The United States must send a message to the world that we hold ourselves to a higher standard than our enemies, said a statement from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the former chair of the Intelligence Committee, who spearheaded a critical 2014 report on the agencys interrogation program.

Sen. Kamala Harris tweeted that supporting Haspel would send the wrong signal to the CIA workforce, the American people, and countries abroad about our values.

McCain, a steadfast critic of torture who suffered abuse as a prisoner during the Vietnam War, announced his opposition to Haspel after her confirmation hearing, when she declined to say whether the CIAs past practices were immoral. Hes been fighting cancer at home in Arizona, and its unclear whether he will be able to return to Capitol Hill to cast a vote.

I believe Gina Haspel is a patriot who loves our country and has devoted her professional life to its service and defense, he said in a statement. However, Ms. Haspels role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge tortures immorality is disqualifying.

chris.megerian@latimes.com

Twitter: @chrismegerian

UPDATES:

2:30 p.m.: This article was updated with another Democrats statement of support for Gina Haspel.

This article was originally published at 12:25 p.m.
Every time black dust blows through the windswept Moapa River Indian Reservation about an hours drive from Las Vegas, residents grow more unnerved.

This tribal community of just 225 has seen more than its share of sickness. Tribal council member Vickie Simmons watched her brother, a former coal plant worker, die at age 31 from cardiomyopathy, the same thing that killed a fellow young plant worker down the street. Nearby, two babies in houses alongside each other were born with brain defects. One died at age 2, the other has had multiple surgeries.



For the record: An earlier version of this report misspelled Pocahontas as Pocahantas.

In February, Simmons said, a series of infections took the life of the tribes chairman, who had been fighting to force the cleanup of what he and others contended was discarded toxic ash blowing from the recently shuttered coal plant a few hundred yards away. He was 44.

So the Trump administrations move to scrap federal rules mandating a thorough cleanup of such ash landed in the community like a slap in the face, Simmons said.

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People should not be this sick, said Simmons, who, like others in the community rejects assurances by plant owners that the black dust is unrelated to the facility closed last year. We are way out here in this rural place. Their thinking seems to be that if nobody is seeing it, it is not happening.

The latest from Washington 

The halting of the coal ash rule comes amid a flurry of early actions by the administration that have tribes on edge. Relationships between tribes and the federal government have always been strained. But some tribal leaders say they are shocked by how little regard this administration has shown, particularly as its agenda of advancing fossil fuel interests collides with efforts to restore Native American lands and rights.

It feels as though we are going backwards, said Sarah Harris, a member of the Mohegan Tribal Council in Connecticut and a former high level Indian Affairs staffer at the Interior Department. This is not how it works with most administrations. I cant think of another time in recent history that the relationship has been this bad.

The National Congress of American Indians, the largest bipartisan advocacy group for tribes, has repeatedly rebuked or expressed alarm with the administration. It calls President Trumps plan to eviscerate the 1.35-million-acre Bears Ears National Monument, which is filled with sacred sites, a threat to tribal communities and their freedom to practice religion. It accuses the administration of illegally ignoring the concerns of tribes in its rush to greenlight the Dakota Access oil pipeline. It watched the administration disregard its strenuous opposition to allowing states to force work requirements on Medicaid recipients living in sovereign Indian communities, a move that flouts decades of established law.

The Medicaid move puts at risk other laws protecting Native American rights because it creates a precedent of refusing to recognize that tribes are sovereign political entities empowered to make the same decisions as other state and local governments in how programs are administered, said Kevin Washburn, who headed Indian Affairs under the Obama administration. Are they going to apply this theory to other federal programs? Washburn said. The fundamental conception of Indian law is being questioned by this policy.

Trumps withdrawal from the Paris agreement on climate change drew its own round of condemnation, as dozens of native villages in Alaska face permanent evacuation because of rising seas. Even the package of tax cuts Trump championed was a slight, as it included none of the provisions the alliance of tribes had sought.

And in the short time Trump has been in office, the National Congress of American Indians has twice found itself having to issue public rebukes of the president for his racially charged mocking of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), whom Trump calls Pocahontas. One episode took place as World War II veterans of Navajo ancestry were being honored at the White House. Behind them was a giant portrait of former President Andrew Jackson, seen as one of historys most brutal oppressors of Native Americans.

Trumps relationship with Native Americans was tense long before he arrived at the White House. Testifying before Congress in 1993, he accused Native American competitors of fabricating their ancestry and serving as a front for the mafia. He offered no evidence. They dont look like Indians to me, he said of Native Americans competing against his troubled Atlantic City casinos.

Yet not all tribes are at odds with this administration. For those that have built their economies around fossil fuel industries, Trumps push to roll back regulations is welcome. The administration is working with tribal leaders trying to keep open the hulking Navajo Generating Station coal plant near Page, Ariz., and it wants to lift a myriad of environmental and workplace rules that add to the cost of mining and drilling.

Vast amounts of deposits of coal and other resources have, in a way, been taken out of your hands, Trump said at a roundtable with tribal leaders last June. Were going to have that changed. Were going to put it back in your hands. When the media was not in the room, according to a report in Axios, the president advised tribal leaders frustrated by restrictions on drilling to ignore those rules and drill anyway.

If I were the leader of an oil or gas tribe, I would be excited about where this administration might go, said Bryan Newland, chairman of the Bay Mills Indian Community in Michigan who was a policy advisor on Native American affairs to the Obama administration. If I were in their shoes, I would say this administration can be helpful. But to make them the centerpiece of an Indian affairs policy leaves a lot of people on the outside looking in.

Few of the countrys 573 tribes are engaged in drilling and mining. Many have grown frustrated by this administrations neglect of its broader obligations to tribes. Among their biggest grievances is that the return of hundreds of thousands of acres of land to tribal control  which had been proceeding apace under the last administration  has come to a near halt.

A reorganization plan being pursued at the Department of the Interior, some tribal officials complain, has only created more challenges for tribes. We have an administration streamlining and eliminating regulations in many areas, but it seems to be taking the opposite approach with respect to Indian tribes, said Newland. They are adding layers of red tape, making it difficult for us to carry out our basic functions as local governments.

Some of it has been caused by management neglect. Seventeen months into the Trump presidency, for example, there is still no permanent assistant secretary for Indian Affairs at Interior.

An appointee leading economic development and policy programs for tribes was given the job despite his work as a consultant orchestrating a $20-million federal loan guarantee that government investigators said never should have been made. The official then used his position in the administration to pressure government employees to reverse their decision not to pay out the guarantee, according to the Interior Departments Office of Inspector General. He resigned while investigators were probing the ethics complaints against him.

The Trump nominee to lead the Indian Health Service withdrew following news reports alleging he vastly inflated his resume.

More stories from Evan Halper 

At the Moapa River Indian Reservation, tribal members just want the coal plant cleaned up. They are demanding restoration of a 2015 cleanup rule meant to prevent a repeat of recent tragic coal ash spills that have left behind dangerously polluted air and water.

The rule was a major victory for the tribe, after years of crusading for cleanups at a coal plant in its backyard that expanded four times over its 52-year life. In 1999, it was the target of what was then the biggest-ever fine from the Environmental Protection Agency for pollution violations.

Other tribes are also affected by the annual disposal of 100 million tons of coal ash, which is contaminated with arsenic, mercury, lead and radium. The administration says rolling back the rule would give states the flexibility to manage the cleanups in the most appropriate and effective ways for local communities, and would save utilities $100 million.

Simmons is among the many tribal leaders and environmentalists who worry the cost of weakening the rule will be much higher.

I just cant believe this is happening in America, she said.

evan.halper@latimes.com

Twitter: @evanhalper

UPDATES:

7:20 a.m.: This story was updated with an additional quote from Bryan Newland.

This story was originally published at 3 a.m.
It was an iconic image: Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, longtime partners and lesbian activists, embracing after being wed in San Francisco City Hall. The first same-sex couple in the country to receive a marriage license was joined by city officials and advocates choked with emotion  but not the man who set their nuptials in motion, Gavin Newsom.

Instead, the then-San Francisco mayor was purposefully absent, sitting in his office and anxiously awaiting word that the ceremony had been performed before a court could interfere.



For the record: An article in the May 15 Section A about Gavin Newsom and his issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples said the U.S. Supreme Court marriage equality ruling was issued five years ago. The decision was handed down in June 2015.

Newsoms decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples  just a month into his term  was at once slapdash and choreographed. Almost immediately it spun out of his control. What was meant to be a short-lived act of civil disobedience on Feb. 12, 2004, turned into a 29-day saga during which more than 4,000 couples wed, catapulting Newsom into the national fray.

The move drew rebukes from social conservatives and prominent Democrats, including gay rights icons and Newsoms political mentors. The fallout rippled into the 2004 presidential election and the successful 2008 campaign for Proposition 8, which banned gay marriages in California.

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Now, five years since the U.S. Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land, Newsom has made his decision a central selling point in his campaign for governor. In one television ad, he appears with Lyon  whose spouse died in 2008  reminiscing with a photo album.

Would Newsom as governor take the same risks? I hope so, he said in an interview this month. Im an idealist ... I embrace that.

There was no hint that gay marriage would be anywhere on Newsoms agenda when he ran for mayor in 2003. A county supervisor since 1997, he was seen as the conservative candidate  for San Francisco, at least.

Nationally, the issue was gaining prominence. A Massachusetts court case was laying the groundwork to force that state to legally recognize same-sex marriage. In his 2004 State of the Union, President George W. Bush lambasted activist judges for redefining marriage. He threatened to back a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman.

Newsom, who listened to the address from the House of Representatives gallery as a guest of Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), has said that was the moment he knew he had to do something.

Soon after he told his chief of staff, Steve Kawa, who is gay, that he intended to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In a municipal quirk  as mayor of San Francisco, both a city and a county  he had authority to do so.

Kawa said his reaction was stunned silence. He and others among Newsoms senior staff initially had reservations.

As lieutenant governor, Gavin Newsom has had few duties  and he skipped many of them 

People felt like this could really do him harm, said Joyce Newstat, then Newsoms policy director. This could really hold back his own ability to accomplish what he wanted to accomplish as mayor. It would destroy his political career.

The hesitation was shared by prominent gay rights activists. Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said her first reaction was fear. In a call with Kawa, she said she appreciated Newsoms support, but noted Bushs speech. We just barely won in Massachusetts. These wins are very fragile, Kendell said she told the chief of staff. She ultimately came around.

In the course of days, the ceremony was carefully orchestrated. The officiant would be Mabel Teng, the assessor-recorder whose core job was to maintain marriage licenses. Newsom would not be present, to avoid accusations of injecting politics into the proceedings. And the first couple would be Martin and Lyon, who at the time had been together more than 50 years.

Phyllis Lyon, left, and Del Martin, longtime lesbian activists, embrace after their marriage at City Hall in San Francisco on Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004. (Liz Mangelsdorf /San Francisco Chronicle )

Newsom and his allies assumed the courts would shut them down immediately. California voters had passed Proposition 22 in 2000, which said only marriages between a man and a woman would be valid in the state.

But the courts declined to intervene for nearly a month. The image of Lyon and Martin soon gave way to the scene of a line of hopeful couples wrapped around San Francisco City Hall, undeterred by protesters.

Gay rights advocates said the pictures of relatable, ebullient couples instantly humanized the debate over marriage equality.

Newsom eventually officiated a handful of marriages, including Kawas and Newstats respective ceremonies with their partners.

Opponents of same-sex marriage said Newsom was flagrantly ignoring the will of Californians.

Mayor Newsom lied when he swore to uphold the law, Randy Thomasson, who runs Save California, a socially conservative group, said in an interview. When he raised his right hand, it was almost like he was giving one finger, figuratively, to the people.

High-stakes California governors race debate gets testy as personal and political attacks fly 

The California Supreme Court halted the weddings on March 11, and the court later nullified those marriages that had been performed. Newsom was chastised for not following the law as written; one justice said he had created a mess.

But by then Newsom had become an unlikely face for marriage equality; news stories from the time emphasized that he was straight and married. Kendell said it was precisely because Newsom did not have a reputation as an outspoken liberal that he was able to make his decision.

This move by Newsom played against type, she said. People did not expect this Irish Catholic, straight ... middle-of-the-road moderate to do something so audacious.

The mayors growing national stature as a gay rights warrior irked some who long had worked for the cause.

I really think he stood on the shoulders of a lot of people who had suffered and died, said Tom Ammiano, a former supervisor and assemblyman who is gay. It really wasnt all about him, but he made it all about him.

Republicans predictably made Newsom their foe, and Democrats cringed at how his move might energize social conservatives to vote against them in the 2004 presidential election.

Former Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who is gay, said Newsom had imperiled the strategy in Massachusetts  to show that allowing same-sex marriage in one state would not be disruptive  before the right was pursued elsewhere.

It troubled me as an example of the kind of politics that puts the interest of the political actor ahead of the cause, Frank said.

Newsom now dismisses that criticism as purely political arguments.

If they told me it was the wrong thing to do because it was the wrong thing to do, then I wouldve listened to that argument, he said. They never said that. They said it was too much, too soon, too fast. Thats not going to convince me.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a mentor of Newsoms, said at the time he was partly to blame for John Kerrys presidential loss. Newsom said the criticism was heavy, but he understood the thinking behind it. They repaired their relationship, he said, tongue slightly in cheek, the old-fashioned way  by never discussing it.

Now, Feinstein said, she believes history has proven that Gavin Newsom made the right decision, a very bold decision, which paved the way for marriage equality.

The California Supreme Court ultimately struck down the states gay marriage ban in 2008, prompting a triumphant Newsom to declare that marriage equality would happen whether you like it or not. The backers of Proposition 8, which sought to amend the state Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage, capitalized on those comments in a campaign ad.

That ad and Proposition 8s success once again put Newsom on the defensive for harming the cause he had so forcefully backed. The ban set in place by Proposition 8 remained in effect until 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it and, in a separate ruling, found that same-sex couples could marry nationwide.

Newsom said he has no regrets about his decision. But he said he sees the experience now with a different set of eyes, with more effort toward thinking through the intended and the unintended.

On such an emotional issue  such a raw issue dividing families, not least my own, down the middle  its about what the system can absorb, Newsom said. I think about that now differently, absolutely.

melanie.mason@latimes.com

Follow @melmason on Twitter for the latest on California politics.
A spacecraft wouldnt recognize evidence of a lunar geyser if that geyser hit it in the face. Luckily, the scientists on the ground did.

Researchers using 21-year-old data from NASAs Galileo spacecraft have found evidence of a plume of material coming from the surface of Jupiters icy moon Europa. The discovery offers a new line of evidence for an ocean beneath its frozen crust and a promising path forward in the search for extraterrestrial life.

The results show that old data from long-gone spacecraft hold a lot of secrets we havent yet uncovered, said Lori Glaze, acting director of NASAs Planetary Science Division.

If humans are to look for life on other worlds, one of the first places scientists say they want to probe is cold, distant Europa. One of the four large moons circling our solar systems biggest planet, Europas frigid shell is thought to hide a global ocean that may hold twice as much water as Earth.

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That ocean is kept warm (relative to local standards) and liquid thanks to energy from enormous tidal forces, as the moon is squeezed and stretched largely by Jupiters gravitational pull. With enough heat and life-friendly chemicals, such an ocean could potentially host the kinds of microbes that are found in the depths of Earths oceans.

Saturns much smaller moon Enceladus is also thought to have a sizable, potentially habitable ocean  an idea bolstered by the plumes of water vapor and ice that NASAs Cassini spacecraft spotted shooting out from the surface in 2005.

Europa seemed quiet by comparison until 2012, when NASAs Hubble Space Telescope spotted chemical hints of water molecules near the southern pole. If confirmed, these icy geysers would provide a sample of the subsurface ocean. But researchers debated whether the data truly revealed the presence of such plumes.

A breakthrough came thanks to a presentation that Melissa McGrath of the SETI Institute gave about the locations of potential plumes from Hubble images.

As he listened to her talk, lead author Xianzhe Jia, a space physicist at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, came to a realization: One of those possible plume spots lay near a region visited by NASAs Galileo spacecraft, which explored the Jovian system from 1995 to 2003. Perhaps additional evidence of a plume was hidden in the dead satellites decades-old data.

That is the moment that really, I think, led us to realize that we had to go back to look at Galileo data, Jia said.

The researchers looked at Galileo data from a December 1997 flyby, when the spacecraft swooped to just 124 miles above Europas surface.

Having already studied Enceladus, scientists knew that these kinds of plumes in space could affect the magnetic field and plasma environment, Jia said. So he ran simulations taking into account the apparent plume dimensions from Hubble as well as the magnetometer and plasma wave data from Galileo.

The team found that as the spacecraft made its close approach to Europas surface, the magnetic field went wild and the plasma density shot up  an indication that the spacecraft was actually passing through a plume.

These results provide strong independent evidence of the presence of plumes at Europa, the study authors wrote.

This discovery could inform plans for NASAs Europa Clipper mission once it reaches the Jovian satellite, said Elizabeth Turtle, a research scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., who was not involved in the study.

Turtle leads the imaging system for Clipper, planned for launch as early as 2022. The spacecrafts instruments are tailored to sample the ice and dust particles coming from such plumes in order to determine whether the moon really could be friendly to microbial life.

Though the new plume findings in all likelihood wont affect the instrument design, they might influence the path the spacecraft takes and the plumes it targets, the researchers said.

The habitability of Europa is one of the big questions that we want to understand, Turtle said.

amina.khan@latimes.com

Follow @aminawrite on Twitter for more science news and like Los Angeles Times Science & Health on Facebook.

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There is no denying that Californias healthcare system needs reform. Skyrocketing costs are impacting governments, businesses and people.

That has left everyone to deal with fallout. Sacramento needs to act, but changes to our healthcare system demand a thoughtful approach.



For the record: An earlier version of this article misstated Matthew Harpers assembly district.

Democrats in Sacramento have introduced a bill that falls woefully short of that standard. Their radical proposal to have a board of political appointees set prices for almost all healthcare services seems designed to grab headlines rather than improving healthcare. While it may sound appealing for a government commission to limit prices, a basic understanding of economics tells us that it is not a good idea.

Thanks to high taxes, a poor legal climate and the rising cost of doing business, California is facing a doctor shortage. Fewer medical students want to practice here and current physicians are leaving the state or retiring. California needs more than 8,200 more primary care physicians in the next 12 years. According to the law of supply and demand, when there are too few doctors the cost of medical treatment will go up.

A recent study by UC San Francisco researchers, done at the request of the state Assembly, found that California needs to encourage doctors to specialize in primary care and practice in underserved areas. Rather than address the studys recommendations, the plan from Capitol Democrats will actually worsen the doctor shortage. If California starts dictating how much doctors are allowed to charge for their services, it will instantly become the least attractive state in the nation to practice medicine.

If Democrats really want to get healthcare right, they might consider working with healthcare providers to find a solution. Sadly, that was not the case with their proposal. It was written with almost no input from doctors, hospitals or insurers. The authors disdain for healthcare providers was made clear by their decision to block anyone working in the industry from sitting on the price-setting commission. While an amendment to the bill did away with that ban, it is telling that the bills supporters didnt think some of the most knowledgeable healthcare experts deserve a seat at the table.

California needs to address the rising cost of healthcare. Our current system is failing patients and providers. That is not OK. A real solution will take input from all stakeholders, fix the doctor shortage and lower costs. California deserves better than an ill-conceived attempt to set prices without addressing any of the underlying problems.

MATTHEW HARPER represents the 74th District in the state Assembly.
Costa Mesa police said they are investigating an incident involving the mayor of West Covina after officers alleged they found controlled substance items at a Costa Mesa hotel this month.

Officers responding to a medical-aid call in the 2000 block of Newport Boulevard shortly after midnight May 4 found two people, one of whom was West Covina Mayor Michael Herman Spence, 51, police said.

Costa Mesa police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said Tuesday that officers found controlled substance items at the scene, but authorities did not elaborate.

No one has been arrested in connection with the incident.

Since this is an active police investigation to be submitted to the Orange County district attorney, we are not going to release any further information at this time, Fyad said.

Spence, who was elected to the West Covina City Council in 2013, told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune on Monday that he has not abused any drugs or alcohol since he was cited on suspicion of driving under the influence in 2016.

He declined to discuss the May 4 incident when reached by email Tuesday but offered a brief statement saying, I dont want the negative reaction to my addiction to prevent people from calling 911 or seeking treatment.

West Covina City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow declined to comment Tuesday.

Spence, who was appointed mayor  a largely ceremonial role  last year, told the Tribune that in early May he had been riding public transportation to the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Costa Mesa.

He returned to his room from dinner and was preparing to exercise at the hotel gym when he fell unconscious. He woke up surrounded by people and was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, according to the paper.

Spence pleaded guilty in 2016 to a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a crash in June that year that put him in a hospital with serious injuries. Authorities said he had methamphetamine in his system when his rental car slammed into a utility pole.

He was sentenced in December 2016 to three years probation and was ordered to complete a three-month alcohol and drug education program, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

Since the 2016 incident, Spence has spoken openly about his issues with alcohol and drugs, according to published reports.

Los Angeles Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
The YWCA Glendales 21st annual Legacy Luncheon recently honored women who serve the Glendale and Burbank communities and raised the most money ever  $50,000.

That success was because of an increase in attendance and sponsors, said Tara Peterson, the organizations executive director.

Since it was founded in 1929, the YWCA Glendales purpose has been to provide women and girls the opportunity to realize their potential.

The organizations domestic violence program is celebrating 40 years in the community, and it continues to empower individuals and families to break the cycle of violence and achieve self-sufficiency.

Proceeds from the Legacy Luncheon benefit the domestic violence program, a residential program that serves more than 2,000 women, children and families each year providing shelter, advocacy, legal help, child care, housing support, counseling and peer support.

There are also programs that teach about domestic violence and what is a healthy and safe relationship.

The YWCA Glendales annual operating budget of just over $2 million is supported largely by government and foundation funding, so the YWCA administrators look for additional support of more than $180,000 annually from the community to sustain the work it does in Glendale and surrounding communities, said Sylvia Chinn, associate director.

Master of ceremonies was actress Sundra Oakley, who read the biographies of the Heart & Excellence honorees.

Carol Ann Burton is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist who practiced from 1988 to 2005 at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, Glendale Memorial Hospital and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.

She is also an associate professor at Keck USC Medical School.

She has served on the YWCA Glendales board of directors and is a member of Soroptimist International of Glendale and the Philanthropic Educational Organization, which both support the education of women.

Marilyn Kay Butler grew up in Glendale and spent time in a Y-sponsored service club. She is a longtime member of the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center Guild.

She has been a member of the Associates of Family Service of Los Angeles, which provides counseling and assistance to families in need.

She is also a member of Las Candelas, which helps to improve the lives of vulnerable children, and the Philanthropic Educational Organization.

Sona A. Tatiyants is a lawyer and founder of Lynk Law, Inc., a law firm that helps families and businesses with estate planning.

As a law student, Tatiyants interned at the YWCA Glendale and volunteered there after she took the bar exam. She and her colleagues co-founded the Exchange L.A., a networking group with a nonprofit component, she said.

The Western Diocese of the Armenian Church  Agape Circle also received the Heart of Excellence Award. It is a volunteer and philanthropic group that provides direct support to community organizations that strive to alleviate human suffering.

The Agape Circle recently refurbished the computer room at the YWCA Glendale.

A highlight of the luncheon was the announcement of the first recipient of the Camis Courage Memorial Scholarship. The $1,000 scholarship is funded by Cameron Burtons parents, honoree Burton and her husband, Alasdair Burton.

The recipient was Amira Chowdhury, who was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and immigrated to the United States in 2012.

She has volunteered and served as a campaign manager, head staffer and organizer in election campaigns on city, state and national levels.

She will attend the University of Pennsylvania in the fall, pursuing a triple major in philosophy, international affairs and political science.

Serving on the luncheon committee were chair Allison Fuller, Suzonne Slaughter, board president, Ani Adjemian, Richard Bennett, Ilena Blicker, Wendy Grove, Jane Karageorge and Seda Khojayan.

More than 250 people attended.

JOYCE RUDOLPH can be reached at rudolphjoyce10@gmail.com.
The swinging, psychedelic and groovy vibes of the 1960s are back in downtown Glendale and Americas favorite international spy and man of mystery is emceeing the party, baby. Yeah.

Richard Halpern, an Austin Powers impersonator, along with his go-go dancers and Fembots, are entertaining crowds at Electric Pussycat, the former space of 103 Lounge on East Broadway.

The two-story venue opened last month, and it is inspired by the London nightclub featured in the first Austin Powers film.

The decor of the approximately 3,200-square-foot space includes lava lamps, murals of laser sharks and Mini-Me as well as neon lights, disco balls, love beads, flashing lights, swirl patterns, candy colors and a Volkswagen Bug cut in half to house the DJ booth.

Theres nothing like this, said Zach Neil, co-owner. We came here for Glendale. A large portion of our customers come from Glendale. We dont want to make you drive a half an hour [to Hollywood], so this is something you can go do.

Neil is a pop-up restaurant and bar entrepreneur, who opened the Anchorman-themed bar called Stay Classy in New York City, the Star Wars-themed the Dark Side Bar and Beetle House, both in Hollywood.

His business partners who own some bars in Hollywood, Freddy Braidy and Spencer Kushner, were looking to create something fictitious with Electric Pussycat.

Coming to L.A. from New York, these were great guys to get involved with, Neil said.

Neil visited the space on Broadway last July, and it looked like it had been vacant for a while, he said.

I love Burbank and Glendale, he said. Its like Pleasantville for me. I said, Id like to open something here.

Starting with Stay Classy, Neil said his business model has been promoting themes he already follows and enjoys in cinema and music, adding that he recently got the licensing approval for a Spinal Tap-themed bar.

I wanted to bring something great to life from something I love, he said.

Electric Pussycat offers a food-and-drink menu that plays on the Austin Powers films.

The Foxy Lady sandwich is a big mover, Neil said, as it is essentially a grilled cheese bar. It is fontina, brie and sliced Granny Smith apples with salted caramel drizzle, Texas toast and garlic honey butter.

Another popular food item is the Odd Job, which is Asian-infused shiitake mushrooms cooked in homemade teriyaki.

For drinks, Neil said the boozy milkshakes are really over the top, such as its Pop-Tart milkshake. Popular drinks also include the Cryogenic Freezer and Man of Mystery.

On the restaurants opening night, Neil said they ran out of everything.

People were calling, saying they had an amazing time, and loved the bartenders and waitresses, he said.

On a Saturday night earlier this month, general manager Dan McDonald slid down the pole next to the DJ booth and greeted guests before 10 p.m. as the place continued to fill up.

Patrons ranging in age from early 20s to 60s were inside.

McDonald had worked at the Dark Side Bar and TCL Chinese Theatre before coming to Electric Pussycat.

People keep saying Glendale needs something like this, he said. I wanted to create, at best, a shadow of what these bars used to be. We want to be a time capsule to the 1960s.

McDonald added that he has plans to add more Austin Powers props  such as the time warp machine  to the space, as well as other attractions on the first floor.

The ubiquitous character of the hour, Austin Powers, came out shortly after 9 p.m. with his go-go dancers to entertain the crowd with various hits.

Halpern has performed as Powers in Hollywood and New York City, and the Electric Pussycat owners sought out his talents.

Its a nice crowd, Halpern said, who performs on Saturdays at the club. Mini-Me comes on Friday.

Electric Pussycat is open Wednesday through Sunday, 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

For more information, visit electriccatla.com/.

Matt Sanderson is a contributing writer for Times Community News.
Italys two leading anti-establishment parties are attempting to cobble together their far-flung agendas and form a new government, an effort that if successful would make it the first populist government in western Europe.

The anti-establishment Five Star Movement, founded by a comedian hoping to overturn Italys ruling class, and the anti-migrant League, which rails against the European Union and immigrants, emerged from three days of talks Monday to say they still needed more time to resolve their differences.

We are moving fast, but given that we are writing a government program for the next five years, we have asked for a few more days, said Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio, 31, after a meeting with Italys President Sergio Mattarella, who is overseeing the negotiations.

Another stumbling block will probably be Five Stars insistence on putting the proposed new government to an online vote.

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Di Maios counterpart, League leader Matteo Salvini, 45, was less positive, warning that if the two sides failed to progress, we will say goodbye, adding that Italy would then face new elections.

European leaders have watched with trepidation as the two parties try to pull together a government following two months of political paralysis after the March 4 elections ended with a hung parliament and stinging defeats for the countrys centrist parties, which have dominated politics in Italy for years.

Promising to overturn EU rules on spending limits in order to fund huge tax cuts and increase benefits for the unemployed, Five Star and the League appealed to voters fed up with Brussels-enforced austerity rules that have coincided with a grueling economic downturn.

If they can pull it off  and Mattarella said Monday that he was willing to grant the two parties more time to agree on their program  a Five Star-League government will show that analysts were perhaps too quick to write off populism after the victory in France last year of moderate Emmanuel Macron over Marine Le Pen, a strident nationalist.

Founded by comic Beppe Grillo in 2009 to shake up Italys political caste and promote digital democracy through online referendums, Five Star took nearly 33% of the vote in March, becoming Italys biggest party, though falling short of a majority.

One secret of Five Stars success has been to avoid being tagged as either right or left wing. It has drawn support from both ends of the political spectrum, creating a surreal political marriage  such as seeing hunting activists and environmentalists mingle at rallies.

After the election, Five Star started talks with the hard right League, which took 17% of the vote thanks largely to vigorous campaigning by Salvini against immigrants and Brussels bureaucrats.

When negotiations between the two began, Five Star said it would not do business with Salvini unless he removed his electoral ally Silvio Berlusconi, the former center-right prime minister who was mired in both a sex and business scandal. Rather than stand in the way, Berlusconi stepped aside.

Now, the two sides need to find common ground. The League wants deep tax cuts; Five Star hopes to provide more funds for the jobless.

Economists have warned that trying to achieve such far-flung goals could paralyze Italys efforts to reduce its already huge debt, second only to Greece in Europe.

The Leagues aggressive anti-immigrant stance is also proving to be a sticking point.

The League and Five Star positions are rather distant, admitted Salvini, who has called for a large scale expulsion of immigrants in the country illegally. An estimated 600,000 immigrants have arrived in Italy in the last four years, many by boat.

Salvini said the two parties also differed on government infrastructure programs and reform of the justice system.

The two leaders have agreed that neither will be prime minister and have drafted a shortlist of possible candidates, including an economist and a law professor.

Di Maio said they were deliberately writing the government program before handing out top jobs, to prove their policies were more important than personalities. But one analyst warned that too could be a recipe for disaster.

The prime minister they pick will be the most important figure in the government, yet he will have had nothing to do with writing its program? said Roberto DAlimonte, a politics professor at Romes LUISS university.

Their policies are one long shopping list, and once in power they will face spending constraints, he said. I dont see them lasting more than six months.

Kington is a special correspondent.
Muqtada Sadr, the populist Iraqi cleric, has been many things: militia leader, America basher, corruption fighter.

Now he may have a new role: kingmaker.

The alliance he leads appeared headed for victory in Iraqs sweeping parliamentary elections, according to results released late Monday by the countrys Independent High Electoral Commission.

That would give Sadr a key part in choosing the next prime minister.

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His Sairoon alliance, which was backed by communist and leftist groups, was well ahead of both the Fatah bloc, made up of Shiite Muslim paramilitary factions loyal to militia leader Hadi Ameri, and the Nasr coalition, which is headed by U.S.-backed Prime Minister Haider Abadi and was widely viewed as the favorite.

Vote tallies were complete in all but two provinces, according to the commission.

Results from the Kurdish-dominated provinces of Dahuk as well as Kirkuk, a regular tinderbox, were still in dispute, amid accusations of wide-scale voter fraud.

Sairoons lead breathes new life into Sadrs long-running, ever-changing political career.

As the scion of a Shiite religious family, he was thrust into the limelight after his brothers and his father, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq Sadr, were slain in 1999, apparently at the behest of then-President Saddam Hussein.

After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, he became a figure of resistance and called on his Shiite militia, known as the Mahdi Army, to attack American troops. In the ferocious sectarian bloodletting that followed, his cadres engaged in horrific killing sprees against Sunni Muslims.

But in later years he espoused an anti-corruption message and railed against both American and Iranian stewardship of the country. USA out, Iran out, became a refrain for his followers.

His political rivals running the country largely sidelined him and his followers.

Sadr, 44, has staunchly refused to meet with any U.S. officials.

Muqtada Sadr has no issue with [U.S.-led] reconstruction projects, said Sheik Salah Obeidi, a spokesman for Sadrs movement. But for the management of Iraqi affairs to fall under American authority, this is rejected.

Sadr has sometimes been called a chameleon for his ability to read popular sentiment and adapt. It was his anti-corruption message that seemed to resonate most with ordinary Iraqis and laid the groundwork for his political comeback.

Citizens have become so fed up with politicians that two years ago they filled Tahrir Square in the capital to protest, smashing through Baghdads hallowed Green Zone and storming parliament.

They have suffered through endemic power shortages and chronic insecurity for the last 15 years as many officials have grown rich. Iraq ranks 168 out of 180 countries in Transparency Internationals Corruption Index and needs $88 billion to rebuild areas destroyed in the difficult four-year war against the militant group Islamic State.

Sadr did not run for office, and most of the candidates in his alliance had never been in power.

This alliance was the opposite of all the other political blocs. They were built by leaders with political interests, said Jassem Hilfi, a 58-year-old member of the Iraqi Communist Party. This was built by the masses, a protest movement against corruption.

In his gray suit, open shirt and no tie, Hilfi bore little resemblance to Obeidi, who wears a robe and turban. Their message, however, was the same.

Battling corruption is not a slogan for election. It is a program, Obeidi said. We seek to apply this so as to improve the situation in Iraq. To stay as we were is not good for us, and a government without change is a failure for us.

The alliance had no specific personality that says I must be prime minister and no one else, he said.

The door is open to all candidates. That gives us the ability to negotiate for the program we seek, not for a person to be premier.

The winning bloc has the opportunity to form the government but must secure the agreement of other groups in parliament to do so. It can also name the prime minister. Since Husseins 2003 ouster, that job has gone only to members of the countrys Shiite majority.

Previous elections were followed by acrimony, as parliamentary factions jockeyed for the chance to name the prime minister as well as control of various ministries and other government departments.

Both Obeidi and Hilfi said their alliance espoused a technocratic program and plans to move away from the sectarian allocations common in past governments.

The results represent a disappointing turn for Abadi, the prime minister. The understated, British-educated engineer had come to power after his predecessor, Nouri Maliki, was widely blamed for inflaming sectarian grievances that helped Islamic State seize a third of the country, including its second-largest city, Mosul.

Abadi led the country in defeating Islamic State. His coalition was the only one to field candidates in every part of the country. The group won in Mosul but placed fifth in Baghdad.

The elections were the fourth since 2003 and the first since the defeat of Islamic State. Nearly 7,000 candidates from 320 parties, blocs and tickets competed for the 329 parliamentary seats.

The most common choice was to not vote at all. Polling stations across the country were largely empty Saturday, as authorities and top religious figures tried to persuade a disenchanted electorate to turn out for the vote.

Just under 45% of the countrys 24 million eligible voters did so  the lowest turnout since 2005.

Ultimately this election was an indictment of the status quo, said Renad Mansour, an Iraq researcher at the Chatham House think tank in London.

Abadi had paid the highest price for voter apathy, Mansour said: Sadr had a base, whereas Abadi didnt. His centrist messaging wasnt very appealing to those disillusioned voters.

Bulos is a special correspondent.

Twitter: @nabihbulos
Deadly new clashes erupted Tuesday in the Gaza Strip as thousands of Palestinians staged angry funeral processions for dozens of demonstrators killed a day earlier by Israeli troops. Israel, meanwhile, weathered growing international criticism over the violence.

The latest confrontations came as Palestinians commemorated their mass displacement 70 years ago following the creation of Israel. Palestinian officials reported at least two more fatalities near Gazas frontier with Israel, pushing the death toll for Monday and Tuesday to 64. Israels military also said scattered clashes broke out in the West Bank.

Mondays outbreak of lethal violence in Gaza coincided with Israeli rejoicing over the Trump administrations symbolic inauguration of a new U.S. Embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem. The embassy festivities added fuel to the 7-week-old Gaza demonstrations denouncing a more than decade-long blockade of the crowded enclave and demanding a Palestinian return to ancestral homes in Israel.

Israel insisted anew that it used live fire in response to a deadly threat posed by Palestinians seeking to breach the border fence between Israel and Gaza. It said at least 24 of those killed Monday were militants.

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At the United Nations on Tuesday, Trumps ambassador to the world body, Nikki Haley, staunchly defended Israel, telling the Security Council that no member would act with more restraint than Israel has in the ongoing Gaza border confrontation.

In the West Bank on Tuesday, the Israeli military said 1,300 Palestinians participated in what it described as violent riots at 18 locations and said protesters burned tires and hurled rocks and firebombs at security forces. The military said that in the aftermath of Mondays border confrontation, its aircraft hit more than a dozen sites in Gaza that it described as terror targets.

As is traditional on May 15, Palestinians on Tuesday observed what they call the Nakba, or catastrophe, of 70 years ago, when hundreds of thousands fled or were forced from their homes in what is now Israel. Shops and businesses were shuttered in Gaza City and in Ramallah, the Palestinian administrative capital in the West Bank.

In Ramallah, piercing sirens wailed for a minute and 10 seconds  a second for each year  to commemorate the anniversary, bringing traffic in some areas to a standstill.

Many Palestinian motorists clambered from their pulled-over cars to stand at attention  a mirror of the momentary standstill on the Israeli side for Memorial Day and when the Holocaust is commemorated. Shops and businesses in Ramallah were closed for a general strike, and much of the normally bustling town was silent and deserted.

The Trump administration and Israel have placed the blame for Mondays violence  the worst since a 2014 conflict between Israel and Gaza  squarely on Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls the seaside enclave.

Protesters scatter from tear gas during a border protest in Bureij, Gaza. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times )

In justifying its use of deadly force, Israel has cited firebombs thrown by protesters and flaming kites being flown across the frontier. The military said that at least 400 protesters gathered Tuesday on the Gaza side of the border fence and that several Palestinians were apprehended as they tried to breach a fence in the north of Gaza.

In Gazas Bureij refugee camp, Palestinian men fired automatic weapons at an Israeli drone hovering overhead. Hundreds of men huddled behind a sand berm before pushing into an open field to fling rocks and other projectiles toward Israeli forces, some using a door-less refrigerator as a shield. They burned tires in an attempt to obscure themselves from the view of Israeli troops.

Gazas Ministry of Health reported two Palestinian deaths from Israeli fire at a protest site east of the camp.

Farther south, Israeli drones unleashed volleys of tear gas to drive back protesters from the security barriers. Many of the protesters clipped empty tear gas canisters to their belts like badges of honor.

In a message released Tuesday, Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh denounced the massacre in Gaza and vowed to expand the confrontation with Israel. Meanwhile, diplomatic condemnation of Israel mounted.

In Geneva, U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville denounced what he called the appalling deadly violence by Israeli forces. Ireland summoned the Israeli ambassador to urge restraint.

Turkey declared three days of official mourning, lowering flags to half-staff in a salute to slain Palestinians. With Turkey having temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest, Israel on Tuesday asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to temporarily leave.

And the embassy-opening ceremony drew new criticism from Muslim-majority Malaysia, which said the move would hamper peace efforts.

A broad international consensus holds that Jerusalems fate must be settled through negotiations because both Israel and the Palestinians claim it as their capital, and almost all countries keep embassies in Tel Aviv, not in the holy city.

Mondays casualties in Gaza included an infant girl whose death initially was attributed to tear-gas inhalation. Hundreds marched in her funeral procession Tuesday.

A doctor at the hospital where she was treated later blamed her death on a preexisting heart condition. But the Ministry of Health and the family, while acknowledging the babys prior medical issue, said tear gas was a contributing factor.

Times staff writers Zavis and King reported from Gaza City and Amsterdam, respectively, and special correspondent Tarnopolsky from Ramallah. Special correspondent Hana Salah in Gaza City and Times photographer Marcus Yam in the Bureij refugee camp contributed to this report.

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

Twitter: @alexzavis

laura.king@latimes.com

Twitter: @LauraKingLAT

UPDATES:

1:10 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details of the fighting along the Israel-Gaza border.

10:45 a.m.: This article was updated throughout with two new fatalities in Gaza, clashes in West Bank and the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. defending Israel in the Security Council.

This article was originally published at 7:25 a.m.
Radio journalist Juan Carlos Huerta had just pulled out of his subdivision in Mexicos Tabasco state Tuesday morning when a truck rammed into his car and then stopped in the road, blocking his path.

A blaze of bullets shattered the windows of Huertas silver BMW sedan. By the time the truck sped off, Huerta was slumped behind the steering wheel, dead.

They went to execute him, Tabasco Gov. Arturo Nunez Jimenez said at a news conference, dispelling initial speculation that the shooting may have been a botched robbery. He said the motive was unclear and no suspects had been identified. Huerta, a well-known media figure who hosted a radio program called Without Reservations, was at least the fourth journalist killed this year in Mexico. His death on the outskirts of the city of Villahermosa shocked Mexicos journalism community, which on Tuesday was marking the first anniversary of the slaying of prize-winning journalist Javier Valdez.

A sidewalk memorial Monday in Nuevo Leon state pays tribute to Mexican journalist Javier Valdez on the first anniversary of his slaying. On Tuesday, yet another journalist, Juan Carlos Huerta, was killed in Mexico. (Julio Cesar Aguilar / AFP/Getty Images )

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Valdez, who had reported extensively on criminal groups, was shot dead on a busy road in broad daylight in the city of Culiacan. The killing stunned many in Mexico because of his high profile, and it prompted international calls that Mexico do more to protect journalists. Valdez was one of 11 Mexican journalists slain in 2017.

Federal authorities arrested a suspect in the Valdez case in April, a rare step in a country where most homicides, including those of journalists, go unpunished. Still, press freedom groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists have pushed investigators to do more, saying the suspect who was arrested was probably a low-level assassin and not the mastermind of the attack..

Jan-Albert Hootsen of the Committee to Protect Journalists on Tuesday called on Mexican authorities to thoroughly investigate the Huerta case. Hootsen, who was in Culiacan to mark the anniversary of Valdezs death, said his group had begun an investigation into whether the attack on Huerta was tied to his journalistic work.

In Mexico, journalists face threats from criminal groups but also public officials, who were responsible for nearly half of the 1,986 attacks on reporters since 2012, according to Article 19, a press freedom group. Dozens have been forced to flee the country or enter into government protection programs.

In recent months, Huerta had devoted much of his coverage to Tabascos gubernatorial election and Mexicos presidential election, both set for July 1. Campaign season has been marred by violence across the country: At least 93 political candidates, office holders or political party leaders have been slain in the last eight months, according to Etellekt, a security consultancy based in Mexico City.

Huertas killing prompted responses from several of Mexicos presidential candidates on Twitter.

Ricardo Anaya, of the National Action Party, tweeted his condolences to Huertas family and highlighted that during the six-year-term of current President Enrique Pena Nieto, at least 37 people have been killed for the exercise of their journalistic work.

All attacks on a journalist are attacks on freedom of expression, tweeted independent candidate Margarita Zavala.

Tabasco authorities vowed to bring Huertas killer or killers to justice.

Fernando Valenzuela, the chief prosecutor in Tabasco, said in a statement that investigators were combing the state in search of the assailants truck and that Huertas family members have been placed under government protection.

Valenzuela added that it was not just the journalism community that was harmed by Huertas death, but also his radio listeners and viewers  and society in general.

Journalist Juan Carlos Huerta was killed as he pulled out of the subdivision where he lived in Villahermosa, Tabasco. (EPA/Shutterstock )

Cecilia Sanchez in the Times Mexico City bureau contributed to this report.

kate.linthicum@latimes.com

Twitter: @katelinthicum

UPDATES:

4 p.m.: This article was updated with details on the killing and with comments from public officials.

This article was originally published at 12:20 p.m.
After weeks of warming relations, North Korea on Tuesday abruptly postponed scheduled talks with South Korea to protest U.S.-South Korean military exercises, but the Trump administration downplayed the development, saying it was continuing to plan for next months summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a statement, North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency denounced the exercises, which began Friday, as a deliberate military provocation designed to disrupt the favorably developing situation on the Korean peninsula.

The air force exercises were an undisguised challenge to the joint declaration that Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed last month in Panmunjom, the so-called truce village in the demilitarized zone between North and South, the North Korean statement said.

The U.S. will have to think twice about the fate of the DPRK-U.S. summit, the statement said, using the initials of North Koreas official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

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Whether the statement reflected a serious change of course on Kims part or just a temporary shift in rhetoric remained unclear.

Get the latest news from the nations capital on Essential Washington >> 

The North has criticized U.S.-South Korea military exercises for years, often in far more bellicose language than it used in Tuesdays statement. But its complaints have remained muted in recent months.

In the past, the North has used the exercises to justify additional ballistic missile tests and provocative behavior, said Timothy Rich, an associate professor of political science at Western Kentucky University whose work focuses on East Asia.

I could certainly see this as a negotiation strategy on North Koreas part to paint the U.S. and South Korea as acting against good faith, he said. The challenge now is to determine what North Korea wants to return to the table or if this was a planned umbrage to deliberately slow down dialogue.

Scott Snyder, a senior fellow for Korea studies and director of the program on U.S.-Korea policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said North Koreas decision to play hard to get ahead of the summit shouldnt be a surprise.

North Korean behavior is reverting to form, he said. There will be threats to pull the plug on both sides before Kim and Trump actually meet.

Relations may also have been inflamed by Thae Yong Ho, a top North Korean diplomat who defected in 2016 and has been making the media rounds in Seoul in advance of his new book. He gave a talk at the National Assembly last week in which he speculated about Kims plans for the Norths economy, among other things.

The North Korean statement accused the South of allowing human scum to brazenly hurl mud at the dignity of the supreme leadership of the DPRK  in front of the building of the National Assembly.

The statement came the day the North and South were expected to hold another round of talks at Panmunjom. That meeting was indefinitely postponed by the North, according to South Koreas Unification Ministry.

The negotiators were to include Kim Jeong-ryeol, the Souths vice transportation minister, and Kim Yun Hyok, the Norths minister of railways, suggesting the two sides might explore ways to improve cross-border travel.

Other negotiators were to include officials on both sides with responsibility for unification issues and sports. The two countries have been exploring opportunities for combined sports participation, perhaps at the upcoming Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, that would be modeled after the joint hockey team they fielded at the recent Winter Olympics.

Trump administration officials brushed aside the Norths comments, noting that Pyongyang had not made any direct comment to the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo when he traveled to North Korea this month and met with Kim to prepare for the scheduled June 12 summit in Singapore.

The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently and continue to coordinate closely with our allies, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said when asked about the North Korean statement.

Trumps nominee for CIA director wins key Democratic support, virtually assuring her confirmation 

At the State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the military exercises should not be problematic for North Korea, nor a surprise.

What we have to go on is what Kim Jong Un had said before, that he understands and appreciates the importance to the United States of having these joint exercises, Nauert said. Weve received no formal or even informal notification of anything.

She said plans for the summit continued.

The joint air force drills, called Operation Max Thunder, are scheduled to last two weeks.

At the Pentagon, officials defended the exercises.

While we will not discuss specifics, the defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed, spokesman Col. Robert Manning said.

Lauter reported from Washington and special correspondent Stiles from Seoul. Staff Writer Tracy Wilkinson in Washington contributed to this report.

David.Lauter@latimes.com

For more on Politics and Policy, follow me @DavidLauter

UPDATES:

4:59 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with staff reporting, quotes and analysis.

This article was originally posted at 12:35 p.m.
Former Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou was sentenced Tuesday to four months in prison on charges he leaked classified information, making him the islands second consecutive leader to face prison time and the third to be tried for a crime after leaving office.

The common fate of Taiwans former presidents points to soft spots in the legal system of a relatively young democracy, political scholars say. Judges come under pressure from Taiwans two major political camps, some analysts say, and Taiwanese increasingly demand that politicians be punished for graft that was once tolerated.

Things are not yet institutionalized. Were a developed country, but a lot of matters are still up to human beings, and in the legal system thats all the more obvious, said Huang Kwei-bo, international affairs college vice dean at National Chengchi University in Taipei. Weve got a lot of distance to cover. Superficially we are a full-fledged democracy but inside its not yet.

The Taiwan High Court overturned an August district court verdict that found Ma not guilty of helping to leak classified information. Prosecutors had charged him with giving information in 2013 from a wiretap to his cabinet premier at the time, Jiang Yi-huah. A former government prosecutor authorized the wiretap to probe the suspected influence-peddling of justice officials by the former president of parliament.

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The court found objective facts to support overturning the original verdict Tuesday and did not consider anyones political views, spokesperson Wu Wei-ya said. She said the judge gave Ma a sentence of four months, lower than the maximum of three years in prison, because he was guilty, but of a light crime.

He should have a deep [legal] understanding and experience, Wu said. What he leaked out was rather limited and done orally rather than a whole document in writing.

Ma served as president from 2008 to 2016, when he stepped down because of term limits. The 67-year-old law scholar and former justice minister  also an advocate of stronger ties with Taiwans political rival China  had campaigned for president on pledges to turn Taiwan into a model for clean government.

Mas predecessor Chen Shui-bian received a 19-year prison sentence in 2010 for crimes related to bribery and graft. The following year prosecutors charged former President Lee Teng-hui with embezzling state funds. Lee went to trial but was cleared. He was Taiwans first directly elected president and served for 12 years ending in 2000.

Chen and current President Tsai Ing-wen are backed by the same party. Ma and Lee ran with Taiwans chief opposition party.

Mas spokesperson Hsu Chiao-hsin said in a statement Tuesday the ex-president planned to appeal to the very end and that the disclosure of information in 2013 was something a responsible president should do.

Courts may feel a mandate from the Taiwanese people as they expect more honesty from their leaders now with the growth in democracy, said Jens Damm, associate professor in the Graduate Institute of Taiwan Studies at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan. Taiwan democratized in 1987 after four decades of authoritarian rule.

Corruption was for a long time socially accepted, that everybody does it, Damm said. Then things changed, and it has led to people being charged and going to prison. People have been educated that this is not right.

Political figures now may accuse courts in Taiwan of favoring their opponents when verdicts go against them, said Raymond Wu, managing director of Taipei-based political risk consultancy e-telligence. Chen, for example, had maintained he was innocent and called himself the target of a political plot.

Some supporters of Ma also questioned Tuesday whether the court had evidence.

Judicial independence should be one of the last frontiers in terms of defending fairness and equality in any democracy, Raymond Wu said. If parties accuse the judiciary as always being biased or prejudicial, thats not helping judicial independence.

Jennings is a special correspondent.
Turkeys government on Tuesday expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest over Israels killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters in Gaza, a Turkish foreign ministry official said.

The Turkish decision marked one of the strongest international responses after Mondays deadly confrontations along the border fence separating Israel and Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade. At least 60 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured, Gaza officials said.

Turkey maintains diplomatic ties with Israel, but relations have been severely strained in recent years over issues including the treatment of Palestinians.

In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-operated passenger vessel, the Mavi Marmara, that was on a course to breach Israels naval blockade of Gaza. The raid killed nine activists.

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On Monday, thousands of Turks attended a protest in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Turkish officials announced that Turkeys ambassadors to Tel Aviv and Washington were being recalled for consultations in protest at the Gaza killings.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking during a trip to Britain, called the Gaza killings a genocide.

They are not committing this genocide for the first time, he said, adding that the killings have shown the ugly face of Israel.

Reacting on Twitter, Israels prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest he not preach morality to us.

Even as Turkeys tensions with Israel deepen, the response from some Arab governments toward Israel  including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain  has become more muted in recent years. Gulf states have seen their interests converge more closely with Israel over their shared worries over Irans reach in the region.
(CNN)  Chadwick Boseman, the man behind the Black Panther mask, gave a stirring graduation speech at Howard University this weekend, ending his words of wisdom with the iconic "Wakanda Forever" salute.

"Howard Forever," the actor said, crossing his fists before a cheering crowd at his alma mater. Boseman, 40, graduated in 2000 from the historically black university in Washington, D.C.

During his speech Saturday, he urged students to pursue life with passion and to fight for justice and equality. This year, students at the university protested a financial aid scandal and campaigned for more affordable tuition and campus housing.

Boseman told students that he, too, fought what he thought were problems at the university when he attended. He called Howard a "magical place ... where the dynamics of positive and negative seem to exist in extremes."

"You love the university enough to struggle with it," he said. "Now you have to continue to do that ... Everything that you fought for was not for yourself. It was for those who come after."

The actor told the crowd about his early days acting on soap operas, saying he was fired from one unnamed production after he questioned what he felt was its stereotypical portrayal of black characters.

Such struggles, he told graduates, are not obstacles but rather keys to meaningful success.

"The struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose," said the actor, whose movie "Black Panther" has earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide. "Press on with pride and press on with purpose."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15)  Justice Department's panel of prosecutors ordered former President Benigno Aquino III to appear in the next hearing over the Dengvaxia controversy.

DOJ Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Rossane Balauag on Tuesday gave Aquino, former Health Secretary Janette Garin, and ex-Budget Chief Butch Abad, and other respondents until June 4 to personally submit their counter affidavits.

Other officials of the Health Department, Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur, and Zuellig Pharma were also named as respondents.

They are facing charges ranging from violation of the anti-graft and procurement laws, technical malversation, criminal negligence for buying and carrying out a nationwide immunization program, to putting at risk the health of over 800,000 children.

Meanwhile, a separate panel of prosecutors is handling the complaints filed by parents of the alleged victims of the controversial dengue vaccine. They will be assisted by the Public Attorney's Office. Among the respondents in the torture and reckless imprudence resulting in homicide complaint are Garin and Health Secretary Francisco Duque.
A 54-year-old man from Telford, Pennsylvania, faces a variety of charges after a chase and drunken-driving crash Sunday night in Upper Saucon Township, Pennsylvania State Police report.

Township police just before 8 p.m. tried to pull over a vehicle driven by Tyrone Tucker "for several traffic violations," state police said.

But Tucker took off "at a high rate of speed" before losing control of the vehicle at Route 309 and North Main Street, police said. The vehicle hit a concrete median, went airborne and struck the driver's side of a Ford Explorer carrying a mother and two children, police said.

Tucker's vehicle rolled over before stopping in a grassy area, police said.

Troopers found a 5-year-old not wearing a seat belt in the rear of Tucker's vehicle, police said. Tucker and the child were helped from the vehicle, police said.

"The child was retrieved for safe keeping and medical attention," police said.

When authorities went to arrest Tucker, he struggled with three officers before being taken into custody, police said.

There were no serious injuries in the crash, police said.

Tucker was arraigned at 8:40 a.m. Monday before District Judge Daniel C. Trexler on charges of DUI, endangering the welfare of children, four counts of recklessly endangering another person, resisting arrest, fleeing, driving an unregistered vehicle, driving while suspended DUI related, driving without insurance and several traffic-related offenses, records show.

He was sent to Lehigh County jail in lieu of $75,000 bail, records show. He remained behind bars on Tuesday morning, records show.

Court papers did not list an attorney for Tucker.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Letters recently sent to voters listing their voting records and the voting records of their neighbors aren't coming from a government agency, warns a local state representative.

Pennsylvania state Rep. Doyle Heffley. (Courtesy photo | For lehighvalleylive.com)

The representative, who called the letters an effort to "bully" voters into going to the polls, vowed to find out the source of the letters.

The letters from the Pennsylvania State Voter Program/Pennsylvania State Voter Report show each recipient's recent voting record and those of their neighbors, according to a news release from Carbon County state Rep. Dolye Heffley.

"Many residents, including my wife, recently received letters in the mail from the Pennsylvania State Voter Report listing the voting records of themselves, neighbors and friends," Heffley wrote in a news release. "Though these letters appear to be from a state agency, they are not. These letters did not come from my office or any other state agency. Similar letters have been sent to residents of Indiana, Alaska and Pennsylvania in the past."

WFMZ said the letters come from Indiana.

The envelopes included the phrase "important taxpayer information enclosed."

Their purpose isn't clear, although it appears to be an effort to "shame" potential voters into coming out to the polls in a primary that traditionally has low turnout.

Heffley said he has turned to the state Attorney General's Office to investigate the letters. He said voters during Tuesday's primary election shouldn't be "bullied" into going to the polls.

"The letters recently sent to residents of Carbon County are nothing more than bullying tactics and have no place in our democracy," Heffley, a Republican, said. "While whether someone voted in past elections is a matter of public record, I don't believe these records should be used, as is the apparent case with these letters, to shame someone into voting.

"The listed return address on envelopes in which the letters were sent is a post office box in Harrisburg and does not list the sender's name or names. It is cowardly to hide behind a post office box and an official-sounding name to intimidate voters."

Web searches don't turn up much about the group under the stated names.

State Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Northampton, said his office was able to show the group was not affiliated with the state, but didn't discover anything further.

The letter admits the shaming effort.

"Why do so many people fail to vote?" the letter asks. "We've been talking about the problem for years, but it only seems to get worse. This year, we're taking a new approach. We're sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicize who does and does not vote."

A chart is provided showing, in one case, 10 Williams Township residents, and how they voted in three previous elections, although the date on the spring 2016 primary shows the wrong month -- it was in April, not March.

"We intend to mail you an updated chart," after the 2018 primary, the mystery group said. "You and your friends, your neighbors, and other people will all know who voted and who did not vote. Do your civic duty -- vote!"

There is some thought this is an effort to increase turnout of Democrats, since the quest to overturn control of Congress will require higher turnout than normal in the November general election. But it could be an effort to do the same for Republicans, who, being the party in power, are traditionally less likely to go to the polls.

Freeman said the letters he's been shown mostly target Democrats.

But it's just not a smart idea, he said.

He called the effort "counterproductive" and said it's likely turning off voters because it feels like an invasion of privacy.

One-on-one contact is a far better way to inspire voters to go to the polls, the long-time representative from Easton said just after voting Tuesday morning on College Hill.

Because voting records are public -- whether someone voted, not how they voted -- the "unfortunate" effort likely is legal, Freeman said.

Heffley wants to put that to the test.

"That is why I contacted the state attorney general's office to look into this matter to see if any laws were broken," he said.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Pennsylvania voters going to the polls Tuesday expressed their preferences for the U.S. Senate and House, governor, state legislators and state party committee members. But not judges. This is an off-year for judicial elections.

Even when state judicial races are in full swing, however, a lot of otherwise informed voters have little or no idea who's running. That's one reason many people -- including five former Pennsylvania governors -- think the state should switch to merit selection of judges. Another reason is the incidence of corruption in the appellate courts.

Under merit selection, applicants for state Supreme, Superior and Commonwealth courts would be reviewed by a panel of bipartisan people, lawyer and nonlawyers, which would make recommendations for appointment by the governor and confirmation by the state Senate.

Appointing judges wouldn't remove politics from the process, but it would end candidates seeking campaign cash from from special interests, and guessing games in the voting booth.

Supporters of judicial elections say letting the voters decide is still better, arguing that appointment places partisan preference in the hands of the governor and the majority party in the Legislature.

Changing the system would require a state constitutional amendment. One thing wouldn't change: County judges and magisterial judges would still be elected by local voters.

What do you think? Is appointing judges, as New Jersey and most other states do, a better way to get a qualified judiciary? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.
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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15)  President Rodrigo Duterte explained Tuesday that he chose to skip voting during the first barangay elections under his administration for "purely political" reasons.

"Lahat 'yung tumakbo kaibigan ko. Almost all were my supporters during the last election and they would never believe na nagboto ako o hindi sa kanila so tingin ko the better option is just skip the voting. Ayokong magduda sila. To erase the suspicion," he said during his early morning visit to the wake of former Senate President Edgardo Angara at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig.

[Translation: All the candidates are my friends. Almost all were my supporters during the last election, so I thought the better option was to skip the voting. I didn't want them to question my decision so I had to erase the suspicion.]

He added he was also busy working the entire day, monitoring the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan polls.

"Busy ako, nagmomonitor ako ng elections, 'yun ang totoo," he said.

The President was supposed to cast his ballot Monday at the Daniel Aguinaldo High School in Matina, Davao City on Monday. The old wooden chair that then-presidential candidate Duterte used when he cast his vote during the 2016 presidential elections was even brought out from its glass case to be used again, but he failed to show up.
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Safecharge International cues up replacement for chairman with new appointment 15-05-2018 11:34



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The beginning of the school year when you got to show off your new duds, new cars, new looks!

Sports! Playing, cheering, watching high school athletics.

The arts: Dramatic arts, musical groups and shows, graphic arts groups, debate, etc.

The prom! No dancing the night away or punch bowl antics.

The daily interactions. Just being with the group, hanging with friends and classmates.

Access to college recruiters and advisors  its harder to line up higher education.

Walking onstage to get a diploma while all the family is watching with everyone elses family.

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15)  President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered two assistant secretaries from the Departments of Justice and Public Works to resign over corruption allegations, his spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Harry Roque said DOJ Assistant Secretary Moslemen Macarambon Sr and DPWH Assistant Secretary Tingagun A. Umpa were asked to submit their resignation letters or face the chopping block.

"The President has advised two assistant secretaries to tender their resignations or face termination for corruption," he told a media briefing.

An investigation conducted by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission against Macarambon allegedly found he has been in cahoots with suspected smugglers of gold and jewelry and "regularly intervening" in smuggling cases at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Roque said.

"Siya ang sumusundo sa smugglers (sa NAIA) para hindi dumaan sa Immigration," Roque told CNN Philippines after the briefing.

DOJ Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed Macarambon has filed his resignation following Duterte's order.

"It's a reiteration of the president's policy. Mere whiff of corruption affects trust and confidence. He had tendered his resignation before Apr 30," he said in a text message.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Spokesperson said Umpa was investigated by the DPWH. Its findings allegedly show that the assistant secretary has been asking for percentages from contractors in the ARMM area.

"Napatunayan po na nangungumisyon," Roque said.

Macarambon formerly served as Commission on Elections commissioner and a former regional trial court judge in Iligan City.

Umpa was appointed by Duterte in January as Asec for Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Operations and Special Mindanao Projects. He is also an alternate representative for Task Force Bangon Marawi's "Bangon Marawi Selection Committee."

Roque said the investigation findings against the two Duterte appointees have already been turned over to the Ombudsman.

One of Duterte's campaign promises was to eradicate corruption in government, and he has said he would fire officials at the "first whiff of corruption."
Culture / Art Republik

May 15, 2018 | By Art Republik

Phare Ponleu Selpak is an arts school in Battambang, Cambodia, founded by Bandaul Srey, Det Khuon, Lao Lon, Sareth Svay, and Vutha Tor. When I ask Svay what it means to be a co-founder, he says, To be a founder of Phare means to be a founder of contemporary art in Cambodia. This is a bold statement, but is it a baseless claim?

In 2013, the late Molyvann Vann, former Minister of Culture was quoted in the now defunct newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, saying, Phnom Penh has been saved by the Japanese cooperation JICA, and Angkor Wat in Siem Reap has been saved by UNESCO with France and Japan. Vanns statement refers to the city urbanisation and the preservation of Cambodian cultural heritage, but it also touches on the larger and more complex picture of the reconstruction of Cambodia today: the protuberant role of non-governmental agencies, for better or worse, in developing the nation-state.

The 1991 Paris Peace Accord, which officially marked the end of warring conflict and Vietnamese occupation over Cambodia, not only reinstated peace and cleared the path for the repatriation of Cambodian refugees, but also provided pretext for an influx of non-governmental agencies into the state-building network. In the process of filling in the gap, where there was a lack of governmental attention, these agencies became active. The activeness is also true, to a significant extent, in a socio-cultural orbit: the advancing and reviving of Cambodian arts, as well as the development of contemporary art.

Remaining in its state of infancy, the contemporary art scene is flourishing with a number of artists receiving international recognition, including Svay himself  against the backdrop of the underdeveloped art ecosystem and infrastructure. There is a lack of art educational institutions, exhibition and performance venues, public funding, an art market, literary resources, and platforms for public and critical discourse and discussion such as arts journal and newspaper. The continued bourgeoning of the countrys creative impulse is in large part due to the efforts of non-governmental agencies such as the Reyum Institute, French Institute, Cambodian Living Arts, JavaArts, Bophana Centre, SaSa Bassac, and Phare.

Meaning Brightness of the Art, Phare Ponleu Selpak has its roots in Battambang, a city in the northwest that was established in 1994. It is now an interdisciplinary arts school offering courses in both performing arts (circus, theatre, music, and dance), and visual and applied arts (animation, graphic design, drawing and painting). The school also houses a kindergarten, a childrens development centre, and a state educational programme (primary to high school). In total, Phare welcomes approximately one thousand students daily.

Vutha Tor, a co-founder and an artist himself, notes that it is his teacher, French national Veronique Decrop, who united the co-founders of Phare. She established the centre to provide us with a shelter and a platform, where we, the children of refugees, could develop our skills and achieve our dreams, says Tor.

Tor is referring to the art therapy classes that Decrop offered to Phares future founders at the Site Two refugee camp on the Cambodian-Thai border between 1986 and 1992. She left a lasting legacy. In a special issue of Udaya, Journal of Khmer Study in 2014, Decrop was quoted to have said: After passing the torch to the local team composed of my former students from the camps, and after nine years abroad, I returned to Cambodia. The centre had grown, developed, its activities had multiplied, and the artistic output was strong. It was like a big beating heart, attracting hope and energy, shining upon the community and beyond.

Phare has been instrumental in developing the arts scene in Cambodia. The school has offered opportunities to its students, and some of them are now practicing artists, and contributing to the society through their works and exhibitions says Svay. Here, I believe Svay refers to artists such as Robit Pen, Cheanich Nov, Sokuntevy Oeur, Pheary Heak, to name a few, and also theatre and circus performers. Famous for its modern-theatrical circus performances, Phare and its circus are major tourist attractions in Battambang and Siem Reap.

At the same time, discussion of Cambodias contemporary art scene has been focused on consecrating Phnom Penh as an epicentre and in doing so, removing Phare and its home, Battambang, from the art radar. Khoun, a co-founder and performing arts director, argues, We can say it is the presence of Phare that keeps the reputation of Battambang as a cultural centre. However, Tor contends, I dont want to brag about our province, for we cant say without Phare there is no art since the province has always been a creative one, but our presence must push it a little further.

While it is difficult to measure the importance of Phare to the Cambodian contemporary art scene, there is no doubt that it has made steady and significant contributions to developing it and will continue to do so for years to come.

More information at phareps.org.

This article was written by Reaksmey Yean-George for Art Republik 18.

This is part of Better Together, a series of conversations about how people have banded together in innovative ways to create, exhibit, teach, discuss and archive art in Southeast Asia, brought to you by ART REPUBLIK both online and in print.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15)  Newly-elected barangay officials allegedly linked to illegal drugs aren't off the hook just yet even if they won in the polls.

In a press briefing on Tuesday, Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said they would gather evidence against officials on their narco-list who may have won the elections.

"Kung meron tayong makuha na ebidensya laban sa kanila, talagang kailangan mag-conduct tayo ng case build-up or intelligence build-up against these people," said Albayalde. "Hindi naman porke nanalo sila, ay excused na sila kung talagang involved sila dito sa illegal na droga."

[Translation: If we get evidence against them, we really have to conduct a case or intelligence build-up against these people. If they are really involved in illegal drugs, they aren't excused just because they won the elections.]

The statement comes after the much-awaited barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections on Monday. Officials said the polls were "generally peaceful," with no failure of elections.

Two weeks before the elections, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency released to the public over 200 names of barangay officials allegedly involved in illegal drugs. While the PDEA said it was a "validated" list, it also admitted then that it lacked the material evidence to actually file cases against some officials.

Interior Assistant Secretary Jonathan Malaya told CNN Philippines' The Source on Tuesday that most drug-linked officials lost their seats this year. He cited barangays in Malabon, Paranaque, and Pasay.

"We're happy that a lot of the people who have been identified as drug-linked have not been elected," said Malaya. "We have a new set of leaders now who are hopefully cleaner and more distanced from drug operations."

However, PDEA's narco-list is also contested. Its release was slammed by Human Rights Watch and some senators, including Senate Committee on Public Order Chair Ping Lacson. Lacson said the publicization of the unverified list was "dumb and cruel."

Vote buyers apprehended

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez disclosed that there were still reports of vote-buying. Police said nine suspects were apprehended this year.

"We are going to be pursuing cases against them rather aggressively," Jimenez told CNN Philippines.

He also affirmed that out of 33 suspected election-related deaths since April 14, at least 13 were verified linked to the polls. Two of the victims killed by shooting were candidates.

Police also validated seven of 57 reported violent incidents nationwide as election-related.

"We made some apprehensions, but not in all cases. They're all under investigation right now," said Jimenez.

CNN Philippines correspondent Gerg Cahiles contributed to this report.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 15)  President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday revealed Chinese President Xi Jinping swore to protect him from moves that will result in his removal from office.

"The assurances of Xi Jinping were very encouraging...'We will not allow you to be taken out from your office, and we will not allow the Philippines to go to the dogs,'" Duterte said. "Siguro kasi freely elected leader naman ako, it could be a very justified statement."

The two leaders met at the Boao Forum for Asia last month, affirming the diplomatic relationship between Philippines and China amid territorial disputes.

Duterte delivered the speech aboard the BRP Davao Del Sur, docked at Casiguran Bay in Aurora, to lead the send-off for 50 Filipino scientists who will conduct research on the Benham Rise.

"'Well we just restored our relationship. I think it's a new era for us and if I may beg you not to bring this up forcefully because there will be a time when we'll be discussing it.'" Duterte said, once again citing Xi on the South China Sea issue.

"We are not giving up our rights. We are still insisting until now to the point they are now willing ang sabi ni Xi JinpingThey are now offering for a joint exploration and development," he added.

The Philippines said it will take diplomatic action over these recent military moves and island building of the Chinese government. So far, however, Duterte has not raised an international arbitral ruling invalidating Beijing's vast claims in the South China Sea although he has promised to do so during his term.

On March 2017, Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano filed an impeachment case against Duterte over the alleged extrajudicial killings due to his war against illegal drugs. The House Committee on Justice unanimously voted to junk the complaint.

Alejano then filed a supplemental impeachment complaint over Duterte's "failure to assert the country's exclusive sovereign rights and maritime rights and territorial claims" over Benham Rise, Panatag Shoal, and the rest of the South China Sea.
SPRINGFIELD -- DevelopSpringfield has sold the former Gardner Memorial AME Zion Church building and 1.3 acres of land at at 90 Carew St. to local developer Fran Cataldo, who has plans for medical offices.

Cataldo said Monday that he hasn't made a final decision yet as to the fate of the church building itself. The structure occupies a small sliver of the property at Carew and Dwight streets. But he said the church building will likely be torn down as part of his project.

DevelopSpringfield Corp. sold 90 Carew St. to Cataldo's 1492 Redevelopment LLC for $335,000 on April 30, according to documents on file with the Hampden County Registry of Deeds. Cataldo, known as part of C& W Realty, is doing this project outside of C&W, he said.

"I know that DevelopSpringfield did some work on the building," Cataldo said. "But the condition if the building is very poor. And if you think about the demands that a tenant would have when it comes to medical office space and the deterioration of that building it would be very hard to make it work."

Cataldo said 90 Carew Street is an ideal location for medical offices because it is less than a mile from Springfield's three hospitals: Mercy Medical Center, Baystate Medical Center and Shriner's Hospital for Children.

He praised DevelopSpringfield's efforts buying both the church and the surrounding five parcels of land to make a space big enough to be the site of a new building. He said DevelopSpringfield also cleaned some environmental contamination from the property.

DevelopSpringfield is a nonprofit public-private entity backed with money from government and from private donors including MassMutual. It's mission is to take over properties where no for-profit developer would invest and remove barriers for redevelopment or do the project itself.

Examples include demolishing the old River Inn on State Street, a site it sold to Pride Stores in December for $500,000.

DevelopSpringfield itself restored the historic historic Merrick-Phelps House, at 83 Maple St. that once belonged to the inventor of the Monkey Wrench. It's now working to restore the former Springfield Female Seminary next door.

Nicholas Fyntrilakis, chairman of the DevelopSpringfield board of directors wrote in an email Monday that Cataldo's project is a positive project for the neighborhood.

"It aligns well with our mission as we took an underutilized property, assembled adjacent parcels to expand development options, performed site preparation and sold it to a responsible developer who will bring the property on to the tax rolls and stimulate economic development," he said.

The church at 90 Carew St. was first built in 1885 as the Carew Street Chapel of Springfield's First Baptist Church, according to the website Historic Buildings of Massachusetts. It later became the Carew Street Baptist Church and was enlarged in 1890 and rebuilt following a fire in 1905.

The predominantly black Gardner Memorial Bought the Queen Anne-style building in 1948, according to documents on file at the Registry of Deeds.

Gardner Memorial left in 2013 or 2012, said the Rev. Sam Saylor, pastor. The congregation is now located at the former Mt. Zion Baptist Church building at 368 Bay St.

Saylor said he's interested in possibly recovering a cornerstone installed in Carew Street building, one that dates back to 1923 and that the congregation apparently moved to Carew Street with the Gardner Memorial congregation.

DevelopSpringfield is still awaiting financing to restart its Springfield Innovation Center Project on Bridge Street.
Two legacy Wynn Resorts directors are out.

Wynn Resorts announced Monday that Director John J. Hagenbuch will not stand for re-election to the board of directors. Robert J. Miller also offered his resignation.

The news comes days before the annual meeting of shareholders on Wednesday and following a campaign by Elaine Wynn.

In a statement Monday, Wynn Resorts thanked Hagenbuch for his "many contributions" to the company during his more than five years of service. Both he and the company called a campaign to remove him from the board a "distraction."

"I do not want my candidacy to detract from the important progress we have made throughout the organization, including the ongoing refreshment process this Board has initiated," Hagenbuch said in a statement Monday.

Miller served on the board for over a decade. His term was slated to end in 2020.

Wynn, ex-wife of Steve Wynn, with whom she founded the company, released a letter to shareholders this month in her vote campaign against Hagenbuch.

In the letter, she expressed continued concern about the potential sale of the Boston-area casino project and the composition of the board of directors.

"I am concerned that the longstanding legacy directors cannot exercise objective judgment on our behalf going forward, in light of the regulatory and media scrutiny of their past decision-making," Wynn wrote in her letter to shareholders. "In particular, I am troubled by the potential conflict of interest between the protection of their personal and professional reputations and their responsibilities to the Company and that this conflict could lead to business decisions that are not in the interests of the shareholders."

With their resignations, six of the 10 Wynn directors serving on the board since the start of 2018 have announced their leave. In April, the board elected three new female directors, seeking more representation of women following an explosive report detailing decades of sexual harassment allegations against Steve Wynn.

Following the report in the Wall Street Journal, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission opened an investigation into the suitability of Wynn Resorts to hold the sole eastern Massachusetts casino license.

"Some members of the current board are directly implicated by the Massachusetts regulatory investigation," Wynn alleged in her letter. "I do not know what the Commission will conclude, but I believe that the legacy directors would prefer that their actions not be scrutinized by the gaming officials."
Fentanyl, a potent opioid already responsible for thousands of deaths nationwide, is increasingly showing up in drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine in California, officials say.

The white powder, a lethal substance 50 times stronger than heroin, is sometimes mixed into other opioids to produce a stronger high. Now its presence in non-opioids has public health experts worried that California may be staring down a new dimension of the deadly epidemic.

Officials suspect that three men who died in downtown Los Angeles late last month had snorted cocaine laced with fentanyl, an incident that has further galvanized fentanyl fears.

"We don't know whether this is an anomaly, or whether it's a bellwether of something that's about to hit," said UCLA professor Steve Shoptaw, who studies substance abuse.

Although California has avoided the worst of the opioid epidemic, the drug market here is dominated by stimulants, he saidthe very drugs that have just started to be mixed with fentanyl.

Indeed, fentanyl deaths in California tripled between 2016 and 2017, according to the state health department.

Fentanyl, which can kill even in small doses, is dangerous for experienced opioid users, and even more so for people with no tolerance for opioids. Experts say they don't know whether dealers are purposely or accidentally tainting drugs with fentanyl, but that it's a concern regardless.

"We need to think of fentanyl being used with a wide range of drugs," said Jane C. Maxwell, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who studies substance abuse. "We're so concerned about heroin and fentanyl, people aren't really looking at other uses of fentanyl and other problems that might occur."

***

About 11:30 p.m. on April 25, Maynor Garcia's phone buzzed with a text from his older brother, Gabriel Dirzo.

Dirzo wanted to know whether Garcia would host a birthday barbecue for him the following month.

"Yeah bro no problem," Garcia texted back.

The two had hung out the day before with Garcia's young daughters and vowed to spend more time together.

Hours later, Dirzo was found dead in his apartment in downtown Los Angeles, along with two other men. Police identified them as Gilbert Valenzuela Jr., 41, of Los Angeles and Robert Ramirez, 36, of Alhambra.

That night, the men had been drinking and eventually began doing what they believed was cocaine, according to reports from the L.A. County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

Officials suspect the men died because the cocaine was actually fentanyl, or was cocaine laced with fentanyl, said Dr. Gary Tsai, medical director of the county health department's substance abuse prevention and control division.

"Cocaine, while it can be life-threatening, generally doesn't result in instantaneous overdose deaths like that," Tsai said.

Toxicology tests that provide an exact cause of death could take up to two months, said Ed Winter, a spokesman for the coroner's office.

Fentanyl has been prescribed as a painkiller for cancer patients since the 1960s. But an illicit version is being manufactured and can be easily mixed with other drugs without being noticed.

Several people in San Francisco have recently died from consuming fentanyl with methamphetamine, counterfeit Xanax or crack cocaine. There have been reports elsewhere of fentanyl in the rave drug MDMA.

"We aren't seeing the volume or the impact that  is happening on the East Coast, but we know that could change," said Rachael Kagan, spokeswoman for San Francisco's Department of Public Health. "We're really on high alert."
Bill Cosby will learn in late September whether he is going to jail.

Cosby, 80, was found guilty last month of three counts of aggravated indecent assault for drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand at his home outside Philadelphia in 2004.

He faces up to 10 years for each count.

On Tuesday, Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill issued an order scheduling the TV icon's sentencing for Sept. 24-25, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Until then, Cosby remains free on a $1 million bond. He has been subject to GPS monitoring, needs permission to leave his Philadelphia-area home and is only permitted to visit his lawyers or doctors.

The judge has set aside two days for sentencing, which would seem to indicate time for victim impact statements and other remarks concerning Cosby's fate.

Before sentencing, Cosby will undergo an assessment to determine whether he should be considered a sexually violent predator. He will have to register as a sex offender.
SPRINGFIELD - Western Massachusetts diocesan Bishop Douglas Fisher "at first didn't believe it."

"I asked the person who told me to check her sources. And then I was thrilled like all Episcopalians," said Fisher of the news that broke over Mother's Day weekend.

The news is that the presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church - the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry - will deliver the sermon at the Saturday, May 19 wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and American actress Meghan Markel in Windsor, England.

Fisher called Curry, who was in Springfield in October for Christ Church Cathedral's 200th anniversary, "warm and receptive to everyone he meets."

"He has the capacity to make each person feel that they have his undivided attention," Fisher said.

"When Michael Curry preaches, the space is filled with an energy that can only come from the Holy Spirit. He has a deep and abiding love of Jesus. He has a wonderful sense of humor and a smile that spreads deep joy."

Curry is the first African-American presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. The New York-based Church is the United States body of the Anglican Communion that includes the Church of England.

The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby will officiate at the service at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. Welby baptized Markle, the Los Angeles native known to many TV viewers for her role in the USA series "Suits," ahead of her marriage to Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II.

Fisher sees Curry as a preacher whose words inspire both love and faith, as well as action for a better world.

A married father of two daughters, Curry is known for his emphasis on social justice issues and for being a long-time supporter of gay rights.

"I have known Michael since I became a bishop in 2012, but several years earlier my then teen-aged son Geoff heard him preach at a youth retreat. He returned from the retreat saying, 'Dad, I just heard the most awesome preacher,'" Fisher said.

"Michael can inspire teenagers. And couples about to be married. And all of us. He can do that because what he proclaims comes from a deep relationship to our Living God."

He added that he felt when the celebrity couple hear Curry's sermon "they will understand how their love for each other shows us God's love for the world."

"They will be inspired to live in faith, hope and love - a message that can redirect history," Fisher said.

Fisher said Curry being asked to deliver the wedding sermon holds significance for the American Church.

"Our 'branch' came out of the Church of England where we still share 'bonds of affection' with them and all in the Anglican Communion,' Fisher said.

"To have an American Episcopalian preach at a royal wedding shows we have a place of great love and respect within that Communion."

Fisher said feedback from diocesan members to Curry's participation in the royal wedding "ranged from 'this will be great fun' to pride in Michael as our leader, to seeing this as an opportunity to express our faith."

"We knew when we elected Michael as our presiding bishop that he would be a great preacher and pastor to the Episcopal Church. And we knew he would be a prophetic witness to the world," said Fisher who, as a member of the House of Bishops, participated in Curry's election in 2015.

"And we are grateful now that so many will have the opportunity to hear him preach."

Fisher suggested viewers watch the wedding, which will be broadcast live on a number of networks beginning at 4 a.m. May 19, and give an ear to Curry's sermon

"Listen in and you will be moved to live a life of mercy, compassion and hope," Fisher said.
Tom Wolfe, a pioneering journalist whose works included "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby," "The Right Stuff" and "Bonfire of the Vanities," died on Monday. He was 87.

He died of pneumonia in a New York hospital, his longtime agent and friend Lynn Nesbit told The Wall Street Journal. He is survived by his wife, Sheila, and two children.

The author of 15 books, fiction and nonfiction, Wolfe is credited with such phrases as "radical chic," "the me-decade" and "the right stuff."

The Richmond, Virginia, native started his career as a reporter with The Springfield Union, a predecessor of The Republican, in 1956.

During his 2 1/2 years in Springfield, Wolfe he covered what he would later describe as such "terribly boring" topics as mock disaster drills for a weekly wage of $46, later upped to $90.

Even though Springfield was then in an economic decline, Wolfe said, the city was "a great newspaper town" because it was a "microcosm of large cities all over the Northeast, with the same racial and ethnic composition."

Wolfe was hired by The Washington Post in 1959. Later, he wrote for New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Esquire and Harpers.

Wolfe was regarded as one of the pioneers of New Journalism - even helping to coin the current term, after publishing a 1973 essay collection of the same name that placed his work alongside the likes of Truman Capote, Joan Didion and Hunter S Thompson.

He returned to Springfield to speak at the Springfield Public Forum and Valley Press Club in 1990 following the publication of his best-seller "Bonfire of the Vanities."

He defended his techniques as a reaction to both today's fashionably minimalist novelists and the tendency of some journalists to overlook the telling detail.

"You learn a lot of bad habits writing for newspapers," Wolfe said. "You learn to take easy short cuts and go for easy humor."
A 37-year-old Cambridge woman punched an MBTA bus driver in the face Sunday after he refused to let her off the bus in the middle of the street in Boston, transit police said.

Nicole Delgado was arrested near Park Street Station on charges of assault and battery, transit police said.

The bus driver told transit police officers that Delgado demanded to be let off the bus.

"The operator explained he could not let her off in the middle of the street and the bus would be at a safe location very shortly and she could disembark at that time," transit police wrote in a news release.

When told she would have to wait, Delgado allegedly yelled at the driver, kicked the bus door while in motion and then punched the driver directly in the face.
A 74-year-old Adams man died after suffering what police are calling a "medical emergency" as he drove his car on Church Street in North Adams Sunday night. He lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a second car, the Berkshire Eagle reported.

Stanley Bednarz was pronounced dead at the North Adams campus of Berkshire Medical Center shortly after the accident. Three other people in the second vehicle were taken to the hospital with what police said were "non-life threatening" injuries.

According to investigators, Bednarz was traveling south on Church Street when he lost control of his Nissan sedan, which struck a 2008 Hyundai SUV in the opposite lane.

Drugs and alcohol were ruled out as factors, North Adams police said.

Church Street was closed for approximately five hours as the Massachusetts State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section conducted its investigation.
SOUTHWICK - The Southwick Rotary Club on Wednesday will host a free public forum on opioid use with Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi.

"Not in My Town, Not with My Kids" is a discussion on a proactive approach to the opioid epidemic at 6 p.m. in the Southwick Town Hall auditorium. Rotarian Michael Parent stressed that all area residents are encouraged to attend.

"This isn't just for Southwick residents," said Parent. "We want everyone to hear this - it's important."

Each year the Southwick Rotary Club chooses a topic of importance to the community to support, and the opioid epidemic rose to the top of the list.

"One of our members was the former fire chief and he said at one time if there were two or three overdoses in Southwick a year, that was a lot," said Parent. "Now it's more than that a month."

Parent said nearly every Rotary member was affected in some way by the epidemic and they want people to know they are not alone.

"Many parents especially think they are the lone ranger - that they're the only one suffering this problem and we want to let them know they are not alone. We, as a community, support them."

Police Chief David Ricardi said he doesn't like the word "epidemic," but that's exactly what the situation has become when it comes to opioid addiction.

"It doesn't matter if it's Southwick, Tolland, Springfield or Westfield, no matter the size of your community, everybody's affected," Ricardi said.

Southwick police officers began carrying the overdose-reversing nasal spray Narcan Jan. 29, 2016. The first overdose they responded to was Feb. 1, followed by another Feb. 5 and a third on Feb. 12.

"In 2016 we had seven saves with Narcan, and two overdose deaths," Ricardi said. "In 2017 we had seven saves and zero losses, and so far this year we've had three saves and no losses. And that's just overdoses we responded to, it doesn't include instances where a person's family member or friend had Narcan and saved their life."

Ricardi said he used to think incarceration was the answer to addiction. He now believes education saves more lives.

"We need to educate people and tell them it's not something to be ashamed of and ask for help," he said. "We can't sweep it under the rug."

In addition to speakers Wednesday, Parent said there will be a resource fair during the event with eight local organizations on-site to help provide addiction resources and support.

Parent said Cocchi is taking a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to the epidemic.

"He wants to reach out to communities and reach out to people before they end up coming to him in jail," said Parent.

Supporting Cocchi in the discussion are Ricardi, Detective Sgt. Robert Landis, School Resource Officer Michael Taggart, Superintendent of Schools Jennifer Willard, Southwick Regional School Principal Joseph Turmel, Fire Chief Russ Anderson, Select Board Chairman Douglas Moglin and recovering user Courtney Rex.

More information is available at southwickrotary.org.
President Donald Trump's prospects for brokering the Mideast peace "deal of the century" plunged ever deeper as the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem opened amid bloodshed in Gaza. The day fueled global concern that U.S. policies are tipping the broader Middle East into deeper, intractable conflict.

At the same time, Trump is winning international support for his efforts to strike a deal with nuclear-armed North Korea. But his contentious decisions in the Middle East are roiling a region where U.S. administrations have traditionally sought perhaps their biggest diplomatic prize: an elusive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

The embassy move, which Trump hailed a "great day" for Israel even as dozens of Palestinians were killed in Gaza, damaged Washington's stature as a mediator between those parties. And it's but the latest in a series of U.S. decisions that may have set off a domino effect of unpredictable consequences.

"Traditionally we've tried to play a role of fireman in the Middle East. Now we're playing the role of arsonist," said Ilan Goldenberg, a former State Department and Pentagon official who runs the Mideast program at the Center for a New American Security.

Trump's withdrawal last week from the Iran nuclear deal, against the protestations of European allies, appears to have emboldened both Israel and Iran to move more forcefully toward full-on confrontation. In Syria, Trump's eagerness to pull out U.S. troops as soon as the Islamic State group is defeated has forced a reckoning by Iran's enemies about the possibility that Tehran will fill the void.

Dan Shapiro, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, said Washington is not responsible for the fact that Iran acts as "the major source of tension and instability in the region." But he said the question is whether Trump's administration, having pulled out of the nuclear deal, has a strategy to deal with Iran in its absence.

Shapiro, who is now at the Institute for National Security Studies in Israel, said that while some U.S. allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia have celebrated the pullout, the reaction "will soon be followed by some degree of concern about whether the administration is sufficiently focused, prepared, staffed and able to devote the necessary attention when it's also managing another major foreign policy challenge in North Korea at the same time."

U.S. officials insist the administration remains committed to restarting the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process. In a speech at the embassy opening, Trump's son-in-law, senior adviser Jared Kushner, said the U.S. "is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way we can."

Left unsaid was the fact that Kushner's team has had to shelve Trump's long-awaited peace plan indefinitely amid the Palestinian uproar over the embassy move, several U.S. officials have said.

Since Trump in December recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital and announced the embassy would move, the Palestinians have effectively cut off all ties with the White House, a diplomatic chill that augurs poorly for the possibility that Trump can now introduce a plan the Palestinians would accept or deem fair.

"We're going through a rough-patch," U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said Monday on Fox News. "It'll last as long as it lasts. I can't predict, but we will be back in a position I'm confident where we'll be discussing peace."

White House spokesman Raj Shah said the peace plan will be released "at the appropriate time."

That time, by all accounts, is not now. Responding to the embassy opening, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat dismissed Washington as "no longer a partner and a broker."

"We will not sit with them," Erekat said. "They have become part of the problem not part of the solution, a big part of the problem. Trump's administration is the biggest problem."

The White House response to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians at the hands of Israeli troops on Monday during mass protests on the Israel-Gaza border won't help. The administration called the deaths "tragic" but said they were the fault of Hamas, which controls Gaza and has fomented the protests. It voiced strong support for Israel's right to self-defense.

The renewed Gaza violence has created the unsettling but real possibility that Israel -- far from enjoying a new era of peace with its neighbors -- could soon find itself fighting wars on two fronts: with the Hamas militants who run the coastal Gaza Strip, and with Iranian troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters in Syria.

Already, fallout from the embassy opening has spread far beyond Jerusalem, illustrating how in the delicate Mideast, one point of conflict often begets another.

Jordan's King Abdullah II took to Twitter to say the embassy move would have "dangerous implications" for security and "provoke Muslims and Christians."

housands gathered in Turkey to protest the move. Several nations said they were pulling their ambassadors from Israel to protest the deaths in Gaza. And Erekat announced Monday that Palestinian leadership in the West Bank had decided to file a war crimes complaint against Israel with the International Criminal Court.

"The U.S. has selected one of the most sensitive, one of the most difficult issues, to step in and put forward a position that it knows will be significantly damaging to its efforts," said Khalil Shikaki, a Palestinian pollster and head of the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

He said Trump proceeded anyway "because of internal pressures and right-wing tendencies and evangelicals and others."

"I cannot see the U.S. being an honest broker, whatsoever, as far as the Palestinian public is concerned," he added.
SPRINGFIELD -- Roberto Echevarria Jr. was sentenced Monday to 12 to 13 years in a Massachusetts state prison after a Hampden Superior Court jury found him guilty of cocaine trafficking and other crimes.

One charge of assault listed FBI Special Agent Mark Karengekis as the victim, with the dangerous weapon being a motor vehicle.

The incident happened in Holyoke on July 26, 2016.

Echevarria was found guilty of trafficking cocaine in the amount of over 200 grams, negligent operation of a motor vehicle, malicious damage to a motor vehicle, resisting arrest, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katharine Johnston in the trial before Judge Mary-Lou Rup.

Echevarria had posted $25,000 bail at his Holyoke District Court arraignment in the case.

He has had addresses in Springfield and Holyoke.
A Salem couple who recently moved to New York has been arrested and accused of severely beating their 3-year-old son, leaving him clinging to life and in critical condition.

Donald P. Bovio and Alison C. Bovio, of 25 Peterman Road, Seneca Falls, New York, were arrested Monday by the Seneca Falls Police Department and charged with assaulting their 3-year-old boy.

According to police, the boy remains on life support.

Police said Donald Bovio called 911 Saturday to report his stepson had fallen down the stairs at the couples home at the apartment complex where they live. When police arrived, the boy was unresponsive and lying on the kitchen floor.

In a phone interview Tuesday, Seneca Falls Police Chief Stuart Peenstra told MassLive doctors treating the boy determined that his injuries were inconsistent with a fall. According to The Democrat and Chronicle, the boy suffered "severe trauma" to his head and the majority of his body.

"It is the worst case of child abuse I have seen in my career. By far," Peenstra told MassLive. "The little boy is in life-threatening, critical condition."

Donald Bovio, who police say is the boy's stepfather, has a previous record in Massachusetts. Donald Bovio was charged with attempted murder after a woman accused Bovio of strangling her in Lynn in 2014.

"He started squeezing my neck tighter and tighter until I would start convulsing then he would release his grip just enough," the woman said, according to a report of the incident that ran in the The Daily Item of Lynn.

According to the report, the woman also said Bovio asked her to get a knife so he could carve a circle and star on her abdomen. Responding police said they found a superficial cut on the woman's abdomen and that she reported she escaped when Bovio went into a "trance-like state."

Bovio was convicted on two counts of assault and battery and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was on probation until March 6 of this year.

He appears to have moved to New York shortly after. Police said the Bovios said they moved to the small New York town because they had relatives in the area and that the cost of living was cheaper.

"It's a horrific scene that we had to process," Peenstra said at a press conference on Tuesday. "It's difficult to see this type of injury to a child. That's why we do everything we can to make sure justice is brought."

The couple is being held in the Seneca County Jail in lieu of $50,000 cash or a $100,000 bond. Peenstra said police are continuing their investigation and further charges may be added. The couple are scheduled to be indicted on Thursday.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is launching an investigation into whether top officials at Mount Ida College violated fiduciary obligations in their abrupt move to close the private school in Newton, Mass.

The investigation comes as Mount Ida officials have told her office that if the deal allowing UMass Amherst to acquire Mount Ida doesn't close by Wednesday, May 16, Mount Ida will be unable to make payroll and plans to file for bankruptcy.

In a statement, Healey said she is "extremely disappointed" with Mount Ida officials for their handling of the closure, which has led to faculty and staff losing their jobs, while hundreds of students scrambled to find another way to finish their college education.

"Over the past few weeks, we have worked closely with students, parents, UMass campuses, and other schools to ensure that Mount Ida students have the best possible options to pursue and complete their degrees on time," Healey said.

"We will continue to review whether Mount Ida's Board of Trustees and senior administrators violated their fiduciary duties in addressing the college's financial condition and carrying out its educational mission," she added.

The private college had 1,500 students and offered specialized programs in dental hygiene, veterinary technology, funeral services, interior design and fashion. MassLive first reported that Mount Ida and UMass were in talks on April 4.

Attorneys in Healey's office on Tuesday sent a letter to lawyers representing Mount Ida, saying the office has determined that in the proposed deal, UMass is providing sufficient value for Mount Ida's 74 acres of land and assets, as well as UMass system-wide commitments to the displaced students and families. The deal doesn't need to go through court, the Healey letter says.

But the attorneys noted that Mount Ida is closing its doors without a plan and without appropriate notice to students, faculty and staff, and state regulators.

"Your treatment of your own students is particularly upsetting and extremely unfair to them," the attorneys for Healey's office wrote.

The deal involves Mount Ida transferring real property, personal property, intellectual property assets and some small restricted assets to UMass Amherst in exchange for UMass Amherst paying off Mount Ida's liabilities.

One Mount Ida creditor plans to forgive $11.5 million, but only as part of the proposed deal. The $11.5 million won't be offered if Mount Ida files for bankruptcy, according to Healey's office.

The deal also includes a $75 million payment from UMass Amherst, bringing the total value of the deal to $86.5 million, Healey's office said.

Mount Ida officials are slated to appear before a state Senate oversight panel on Wednesday, May 16. Senate President Harriette Chandler called the deal a "hasty acquisition" while UMass President Marty Meehan has defended the proposal, saying it will offer UMass Amherst students access to internships and co-ops in Greater Boston.

This post has been updated with additional information.
A Massachusetts man has been accused of setting fire to his manager's car and stealing $800 from his employer, Peet's Coffee.

Mustafa Syed, 50, of Lexington was held on $7,500 cash bail after he was arraigned Monday in Concord District Court on charges of larceny from a building, breaking into a depository, larceny under $1,200 and burning of a motor vehicle, the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office said.

If released, Syed must wear a GPS monitoring bracelet, stay away from and have no contact with the alleged victim and stay away from Peet's Coffee in Lexington.

Lexington police were called to a parking lot on Massachusetts Avenue around 5 p.m. on May 10 for a report of a Honda Accord completely engulfed in flames.

A van also had some fire damage, authorities said.

"Officers on scene allegedly observed that the door of the Accord was open and deemed the fire suspicious," according to the district attorney's office.

Investigators checked surveillance video from area businesses showing Syed buying a lighter at CVS Pharmacy at 4:57 p.m., authorities said.

"Additional video surveillance allegedly showed the defendant entering the parking lot shortly before the fire was reported and allegedly crouching by the vehicle before it becomes engulfed in flames," the district attorney's office said.

Syed was identified as an employee of Peet's Coffee.

The day after the fire, May 11, Lexington police were called to Peet's Coffee for a report of a theft. Employees discovered $800 was missing from a safe.

Authorities say surveillance video inside the store shows Syed going into the safe on May 10.
A 3-year-old boy remains on life support with no brain activity after police say his stepfather beat him repeatedly with a belt until the child struck his head on the floor and became unconscious.

Donald Bovio and Alison Bovio, recently of Salem, Massachusetts, have been charged with assault in the first degree in Seneca Falls, New York. Court documents obtained by MassLive show police accuse Donald Bovio of beating the couple's 3-year-old son so severely it left the child unable to breath on his own and with no brain activity.

Police said Donald Bovio called 911 Saturday to report his stepson had fallen down the stairs at the Seneca Falls apartment complex where the couple had recently moved to. When police arrived, the boy was unresponsive and lying on the kitchen floor.

Police said the child was flown to Upstate Medical Center where he underwent treatment. It was there that doctors determined the injuries were not consistent with a fall and a child abuse investigation began. According to court records, the toddler has bleeding on the brain and is unresponsive.

"It is the worst case of child abuse I have seen in my career. By far," Seneca Falls Police Chief Stuart Peenstra told MassLive. "The little boy is in life-threatening, critical condition."

Peenstra said additional charges are expected to be filed when the couple is indicted on Thursday. Alison Bovio is accused of acting in concert with her husband to assault the child. Assault in the first degree in New York carries a possible 25-year prison sentence.

Donald Bovio, who police say is the boy's stepfather, has a previous record in Massachusetts. He was charged with attempted murder after a woman accused Bovio of strangling her in Lynn in 2014.

"He started squeezing my neck tighter and tighter until I would start convulsing then he would release his grip just enough," the woman said, according to a report of the incident that ran in the The Daily Item of Lynn.

According to the report, the woman also said Bovio asked her to get a knife so he could carve a circle and star on her abdomen. Responding police said they found a superficial cut on the woman's abdomen and that she reported she escaped when Bovio went into a "trance-like state."

At the time, the alleged victim told police Bovio abused her often but "this time was the worst."

He was convicted of two counts of assault and battery and one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon in 2014. He was on probation until March 6 of this year after which he appears to have moved with Alison and the couple's son to Seneca Falls. Police said the couple have family nearby in Auburn and had moved to New York to take advantage of the cheaper cost of living.

Peenstra said police are continuing to investigate the couple and that the department would announce further developments in the case. The couple are being held on $50,000 cash bail and both requested a public defender.
The first two of 13 works of art to be sold this month to benefit the cash-strapped Berkshire Museum went under the hammer at Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale on Monday night in New York.

The two pieces -- "Three Seated Women," by Henry Moore, and "Force Comique," by Francis Picabia -- combined to sell for $1.16 million.

The Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield wants to raise $55 million to stay open. The sale of up to 40 works was approved by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in April. Museum officials hope to raise the funds through the sales at Sotheby's and the private sale of Norman Rockwell's "Shuffleton's Barbershop" to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles.

"Three Seated Women" fetched $240,000, well below the pre-auction estimate of $400,000 to $600,000. The 1942 pencil, wax crayon, charcoal, wash and pen and ink on paper work was donated to the Berkshire Museum in 1992.

"Force Comique" fell in the middle of its pre-auction estimate of $800,000 to $1.2 million and sold for $920,000. The watercolor, pencil and pen and ink on paper piece was donated to the Berkshire Museum in 1965.

"Shuffleton's Barbershop" will be exhibited at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge before traveling to other museums in the state, according to the terms of a February agreement with the state attorney general's office. The piece's new owner, the Lucas Museum, was founded by George Lucas, the creator of "Star Wars," and plans to open in 2022. The sale price of the piece has not been disclosed, but it has an auction estimate of $20 million to $30 million.

The Berkshire Museum's plans to sell some of its artwork has met with strong opposition from some area residents who tried to stop the sale through protests and court action.

The following are the remaining works from the Berkshire Museum collection to be sold by Sotheby's in May:

May 16, Contemporary Art Evening Auction: Alexander Calder, "Double Arc and Sphere" (pre-auction estimate: $2 million to $3 million)

May 22, European Art: William Bouguereau, "L'Agneau Nouveau-Ne (The Newborn Lamb)" (pre-auction estimate: $1.5 million to $2 million)

May 22, European Art: William Bouguereau, "La Bourrique (The Pony-Back Ride)" (pre-auction estimate: $2 million to $3 million)

May 22, European Art: Charles Francois Daubigny, "Paysans allant aux champs (Le Matin)" (pre-auction estimate: $70,000 to $100,000)

May 22, European Art: Alberto Pasini, "Faubourg de Constantinople" (pre-auction estimate: $700,000 to $1 million)

May 22, Master Paintings: Adriaen Isenbrant, "The Flight into Egypt" (pre-auction estimate: $150,000 to $200,000)

May 22, Master Painting: Adriaen Isenbrant, "The Temptation of Adam and Eve" (pre-auction estimate: $150,000 to $200,000)

May 23, American Art: John La Farge, "Magnolia" (pre-auction estimate: $200,000 to $300,000)

May 23, American Art: Norman Rockwell, "Blacksmith's Boy - Heel and Toe (Shaftsbury Blacksmith Shop)" (pre-auction estimate: $7 million to $10 million)

May 23, American Art: Rembrandt Peale, "George Washington" (pre-auction estimate, $200,000 to $300,000)

May 23, American Art: Frederic Edwin Church, "Valley of Santa Isabel, New Granada" (pre-auction estimate, $5 million to $7 million)
SPRINGFIELD -- The City Council, in a reversal of a March vote, has granted tax incentives to the owner of the former YMCA building on Chestnut Street, providing property tax relief in conjunction with renovations of the site for market rate apartments.

The vote was 10-3 in favor of the tax incentive to SilverBrick Group LLC.

SilverBrick purchased the downtown property for $4.8 million in December, and is planning renovations estimated at $6.2 million at the property located at 122 Chestnut St., officials said.

"We greatly appreciate the approval from the City Council and are thrilled to continue the development of this project that we know will have a lasting positive impact," said Aaron Papowitz, founder and managing principal with SilverBrick.

Papowitz also thanked Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, the Assessors Department, Economic Development, Housing and other officials for their support.

The council had rejected the tax incentives in March by a vote of five in favor and seven opposed. Councilors who opposed the measure questioned the use of tax incentives for a housing development, and also raised concerns about the displacement of existing low-income residents who could not afford the higher rent.

At the time, Sarno urged the council to reconsider that vote, saying it sent a "terrible message to the business community and the development community." The tax incentive was amended and resubmitted to the council.

The tax savings is capped at a total of $150,000, spread out over a maximum of a 10-year period. Under the agreement, the tax incentives will begin July 1, 2019, and will target just the added value of the property, after renovations, not the base value, according to assessors.

The tax incentives will terminate after $150,000, or 10 years, whichever comes first, under the Tax Increment Exemption program, City Assessor Richard Allen said. In March, the proposed local tax relief was higher, at $254,000, but was adjusted lower to help meet council concerns, he said.

Popowitz said that the tax incentives were needed for the project's long-term viability. It is needed to give SilverBrick a critical opportunity to qualify for state tax credits estimated at $1.9 million, city officials said.

The renovations will target the 99 existing apartments and create an additional 15 units, SilverBrick said. The 15 additional units would not have proceeded without the incentive, Popowitz said.

SilverBrick already owns 280 apartments at SilverBrick Lofts in downtown Springfield, formerly the Morgan Square Apartments.

The Morgan Square property was purchased for $9 million in 2014, and the company had done approximately $6 million in renovations as of January, officials said.

In addition, Chicopee Mayor Richard J. Kos announced last week that Popowitz of SilverBrick had submitted new plans to renovate the largely vacant Cabotville Mill in Chicopee Center.

Councilors voting against the tax incentives were Adam Gomez, Jesse Lederman and President Orlando Ramos.

Lederman said councilors need to think of the constituents including those being displaced by the significantly higher rent. The renovations to the existing 99 units were not jeopardized by a "no" vote, he said.

Councilors E. Henry Twiggs, Kateri Walsh, Thomas Ashe and Timothy Ryan, among the supporters, all spoke of the positive impact of the renovations on the downtown, and on the effort to provide more market rate apartments downtown.

SilverBrick is "taking a risk and making an investment" in Springfield, Ryan said. The council is granting some small tax relief that allows SilverBrick access to greater funding available from the state, he said.

Twiggs spoke of the need for housing in the downtown area as more jobs come to Springfield, including the new MGM Springfield casino. SilverBrick has demonstrated its commitment to Springfield, he said.
The summer after seventh grade, a 13-year-old Southbridge girl went from a child who believed in fairytales and the love stories played out in Disney movies, to a child who understood the evil that can be in the world, she said.



It was that summer that the girl, at a sleepover with friends, started dialing random phone numbers for prank calls.



One person they ended up calling was Gregory Lewis, a 26-year-old who lived in Southbridge. He continued to contact the girl, and picked her up several times at a local park, taking her back to his home and sexually assaulting her.



"My innocence was forcefully stripped from my body," the victim, now 17, told a Worcester Superior Court judge on Tuesday as Lewis, now 30, pleaded guilty to several charges. He will now serve at least a decade in jail.

"No words will ever justify what happened," the teen continued to say in court.



In addition to charges in connection with the assault of the girl, Lewis on Tuesday also pleaded guilty to beating his stepfather. After that assault, Lewis is accused of going on a crime-spree across the country, allegedly attacking women in North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon, Indiana and Missouri.



There are outstanding warrants for Lewis' arrest in Oregon, Colorado, Virginia and North Carolina, officials from the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said Tuesday.



The victim told Lewis she was only 13 and that she did not want to have sex, according to prosecutor Courtney Sans. But Lewis undressed the victim, exposed his penis to her and touched her.



Lewis was arraigned on Aug. 6, 2014, in Dudley District Court on two counts each of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 and statutory rape of a child in connection to the sexual assault of the 13-year-old girl.



A judge ordered Lewis held on $1,000 bail, which he posted. As a condition of his release, he was ordered to wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.



But on Sept. 15, 2014, he cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet, discarding the bracelet in the yard of the 13-year-old's home.



"My family and I had to hide out in hotel rooms," she said in an impact statement. "I consider myself lucky to be alive today."



The girl said that the emotional toll on her and her family has been unimaginable, saying that on most days, she feels like a burden. MassLive does not identify victims of sexual assault.



"The thought of another person touching my skin physically makes me sick," she said. "My mom's hand rubbing my back reminds me too much of my attacker."



As a part of a plea deal, Lewis pleaded guilty to counts of indecent assault and battery on a child, indecent exposure and receiving stolen property over $250.



"I put the blame on an unknowing 13-year-old," the victim said. "Today, I know that it was not my fault."



She offered a message to Lewis: "I would like you to know that I'm stronger than I ever have been," she said. "I am no longer scared."



The girl's mother said the attack by Lewis changed the family forever.



"This man full of pure evil and arrogance raped my 13-year-old daughter," she said to the court in an impact statement. "She was 13. She enjoyed playing with toys still."



After Lewis cut off the GPS bracelet he was wearing for attacking the girl, Lewis beat his 67-year-old stepfather with a baton and handcuffed him to a pole.



Lewis went on the run in his parents' blue 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, armed with a firearm he stole from his stepfather. He committed at least six sexual assaults during a cross-country spree over a period of about six weeks in fall 2014, officials said.



"We lived in constant fear," the mother said, as the family of the victim watched Lewis' crime spree on the news. "It was reported that he was intending to kill my daughter."



For the attack on his stepfather, Lewis pleaded guilty to various charges including aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on a victim 60 and older as well as other firearm and larceny charges.



For the lead charge, Lewis was sentenced to not less than 10 years and not more than 12 years in state prison and will receive 1,293 days credit. Sentences for the lesser charges will be served concurrently.



Lewis will be on probation for two years.



After handing down the sentence to Lewis, Judge Janet Kenton Walker offered a message to the victim.



"You are a very brave person with a whole life ahead of you," she said. "I'm sure you're doing to do wonderful things with your life."



After his alleged cross-country crime-spree, Lewis was finally captured on Oct. 28, 2014, in the Village of Fort Edward, New York, which is about 50 miles northwest of Massachusetts and near the Vermont border.



A New York State Police trooper spotted Lewis driving with missing license plates, officials said at the time. When the New York officer tried to stop the car, Lewis ran off.



Shortly later, 911 calls started coming in, reporting that a car had crashed into a river in the Village of Fort Edward. Lewis was arrested.



While he was on the run, Lewis was added to the Massachusetts State Police Most Wanted List.



Officials said Lewis would arrange meetings with women working for escort services and meet them at local hotels.



Lewis typically choked the victims until they lost consciousness, then handcuffed and assaulted them, according to court records which detailed the assaults.

When Lewis was arrested in New York, witnesses said he told them that he intended to kill the 13-year-old girl he was accused of sexually assaulting.
Above all else, Tom Wolfe was fiercely independent in his thinking and his style, and it set him apart in the crowded world of literature and creative expression.

Wolfe's death at 88 Monday removes a legend of prose, and a man whose approach was copied but could never be replaced. Famous for his flamboyant use of punctuation and a founder of what came to be called "New Journalism," Wolfe actually got his start at the Springfield Union (the weekday morning editions of the Springfield Newspapers) in 1956, where he began working for $46 a week.

Wolfe worked his way up to $90 in nearly three years in Springfield, where, among other accomplishments, he angered U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy. Wolfe had been present when Kennedy spoke poorly of Southern senators, and he ran with the story, much to the ire and dismay of the man who would someday be president.

Wolfe's impact was not contained to Massachusetts for long. He will be remembered for blending the styles of novelist and non-fiction writer, and his works included "The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby," "The Right Stuff" and most famously, the 1987 classic "The Bonfire of the Vanities."

Wolfe's many talents included a knack for applying names to trends in ways that wound up defining them. "Radical Chic" and "the Me Decade" are Wolfisms that became part of the American vernacular.

Wolfe was above all else an observer who grasped the depth and meaning of trends, social shifts and human behavior. What was overlooked by others seemed obvious to him, and he articulated those conclusions in an unusually distinctive, exciting and understandable way.

"The Bonfire of the Vanities" is considered the defining novel of its era. It identified the politics and racial and social realities of the 1980s through memorable characters, but the most memorable character proved to be the author. His body of work made Wolfe a writer "who could do more things with words than anyone else" according to no less a wordsmith than the late William F. Buckley, Jr.

Wolfe's passing offers time to reflect on his impact. It is a source of pride that his professional trail began in Springfield.

But it is not just Springfield that has lost a favorite son. Anyone who appreciates brilliant expression through the written word will miss seeing the world through the unique genius of Tom Wolfe's work.
Sleep well, citizens of Massachusetts. Your law enforcement officers will probably soon no longer be allowed to have sex with people they just arrested or detained.

The Legislature is preparing to tackle a bill that would make it illegal for any municipal police officer to "engage in sexual relations" with "anyone who is under arrest, in detention, otherwise in the actual custody of said officer, or who the officer is interacting within their official capacity."

In other words, book 'em, Danno. And then go home.

One complaint we often hear is that there are too many laws. But laws are similar to that maddening custom we call political correctness. Sometimes they sound ridiculous, but they did not spring from a vacuum and they exist for a reason.

The no-sex law between police and those in custody would close a legal loophole that could allow officers to claim sex on the job was consensual. According to the legislation crafted by two Democratic state representatives, a person under arrest is "incapable of consent to sexual relations" because of the inherent power wielded by the officers.

The bill would apply to municipal police, University of Massachusetts Police, State Police, MBTA officers, and environmental police. It is already illegal for a Massachusetts correctional officer to have sex with an inmate

I must be old-fashioned. I don't even think consensual sex between an arresting officer and the arrested suspect is a good idea. Nowadays, I guess that's downright Puritanical.

What depresses me about this proposed law is not that it's not needed, but that it apparently is. Sex between a cop and an accused law-breaker would seem to be a no-brainer governed by common sense, not the Massachusetts General Laws.

That assumption would have once been considered normal, but we live in an age of "the new normal." Everything is in play. The new normal really means no normal.

The Massachusetts bill came after a report that Anna Chambers, an 18-year-old New York woman, says she was raped by two officers in the back of a police van. The officers resigned from the New York Police Department and were each charged with rape.

They do not deny the encounter. They claim it was consensual, according to a lawyer representing them.

In legal terms, that would mean it was not rape, and perhaps not even illegal, although the case caused New York to adopt a no-sex-with-the-suspects law. It was only stupid, idiotic, disgusting, vile and an abuse of the situation by men who were hired for jobs that require an above-average level of good judgment to be done well.

A Buzzfeed review of a Buffalo News database showed that at least 26 of 158 law enforcement officers charged with illegal sexual contact with a person in their custody had the charges dropped because of the consent defense.

The Chambers case will pit her word against the officers. Even if their version were true - and the court will decide that - did it occur to them that their active libidos could expose them to blackmail or other charges?

How 'bout this: it's just plain wrong. Obviously so and incredibly so. Do we always need a law on the books to tell us that?

About two-thirds of states do not specifically have a law against police engaging in sex with people in their custody. The sad statement is that any states would have to bother making a law against it at all.

Massachusetts is apparently one of those states. Former Salem police officer Brian Butler was arrested in 2016 on charges of raping a man in a police station.

The case is ongoing, but the legislators filing the bill told the Boston Globe that Butler's defense is "on the ground that the sexual activity was consensual."

It's difficult to see why the new bill wouldn't pass, but it's almost as difficult to understand why it should even be necessary. What's obvious to me, though, is evidently not obvious to everybody.

Welcome to the new normal - meaning, no normal whatsoever, but a law needed to govern every step we take and every thought we make.
In the wake of a sexual harassment scandal that brought down former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, a special committee is recommending changes to the state Senate's sexual harassment policies.

Sen. Joan Lovely, D-Salem, chairwoman of a special Senate committee to review Senate sexual harassment policies, said the recommendations "will take positive steps in advancing a workplace culture that supports victims of harassment and seeks to prevent harassment from ever taking place."

The 15-page report makes recommendations related to training, investigative procedures and extending existing policies to cover lobbyists and interns.

The nine-member legislative committee was made up of two Republicans and seven Democrats, six women and three men. They worked with an outside law firm to review the Senate's existing sexual harassment policy.

Rosenberg, D-Amherst, resigned after his husband was accused of sexual misconduct. An ethics investigation found that Rosenberg knew about at least some of his husband's inappropriate behavior toward people with business before the Senate and allowed his husband inappropriate levels of access to his Senate work.

Recommendations

The report recommends that the Senate sexual harassment policy detail more specifically what the procedures are for investigations, disciplinary action and follow-ups. Disciplinary measures should be proportional to the offense, with punishments for minor offenses including things like an apology or additional training.

The policy should clarify that harassment by a member of the Senate is considered misconduct. It should extend the policy to cover interns, and recommend, though not require, that all interns be at least 18 years old. Lobbyists with business before the Senate should also be made aware of the policy and be told to whom to report violations.

The Senate should clearly prohibit retaliation against someone who reports sexual harassment, the report recommends. It should formalize the current practice of not using nondisclosure agreements when resolving sexual harassment cases.

The Senate should require supervisors to tell human resources or Senate counsel about any sexual harassment they become aware of.

The report recommends increasing sexual harassment training from once every two years to once a year and adding online training for interns and people hired in between those trainings.

The report recommends conducting an anonymous workplace climate survey.

It recommends providing more independence and resources to the Senate's human resources office.

"The recommendations presented contain much needed clarity around our sexual harassment policies and procedures, and serve as a good road map for better practices moving forward," said Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, a member of the committee who is taking over the Senate presidency in July.

The Massachusetts House also reviewed its sexual harassment policies, in the wake of reporting by the Boston Globe that found numerous women with stories of harassment on Beacon Hill.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, called on AT&T and Novartis officials this week to provide lawmakers with various information following reports that the two companies sent payments to President Donald Trump's personal attorney while having pending business before the administration.

Warren, in letters sent to the companies' CEOs Monday, asked AT&T and Novartis to respond to a series of questions regarding their reported payments of $1.2 million and $200,000, respectively, to Michael Cohen via Essential Consultants LLC.

Arguing that the reported payments -- if accurate -- spark questions about possible corruption, the Massachusetts Democrat asked the companies to detail all the amounts and dates of any such transactions, why they considered Essential Consultants and Cohen qualified to advise them on policy matters and to confirm whether they are cooperating with federal or state law enforcement inquiries related to the firm or president's attorney, among other things.

The senator questioned why Novartis entered into a one-year agreement with Essential Consultants in February 2017 -- a contract the company said it backed out of a month later but was unable to terminate until February 2018 -- "despite Mr. Cohen's lack of experience and lack of knowledge about health care or regulatory policy."

Warren noted that "Novartis made these payments while it had numerous matters relating to health care policy before the Trump administration and Congress."

The Democrat, meanwhile, sought information on why AT&T entered into an agreement with Cohen in early 2017 -- a contract the company said it established while hiring "several consultants to help (it) understand how the president and his administration might approach a wide range of policy issues important to the company."

Warren argued that "AT&T had a significant financial interest in key administration decisions, including whether the Department of Justice would contest the proposed merger with Time Warner, whether the Federal Communications Commission would overturn net neutrality rules and whether the administration would push a tax plan that gave huge breaks to corporations like AT&T."

"Given these ongoing and significant matters, the unusual series of payments by AT&T (and Novartis) to the president's personal attorney raise obvious questions about corruption and whether (the companies,) Essential Consultants and the Trump administration were engaged in a pay-for-play operation," she wrote, asking that officials respond to their respective series of questions by May 25 "to address these concerns."

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, joined Warren in signing the two letters, while U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, signed the one sent to AT&T.

The Washington Post reported earlier this month that companies with business interests before the U.S. government hired Cohen and paid him through Essential Consultants.

Documents suggested that AT&T paid Cohen $50,000 a month for four months beginning in October 2017 -- shortly before the Justice Department filed to block the company's acquisition of Time Warner, according to the Post.

A spokesman for the company told the newspaper that AT&T engaged with Essential Consultants for insights into the new administration, but noted that it "did no legal or lobbying work" for AT&T and the contract ended in December 2017.

Warren, however, offered that "more recent sources indicate that the company paid Mr. Cohen 'as much as $600,000.'

Novartis confirmed in an early May statement that it entered into an agreement with Essential Consultants shortly after Trump's election because it believed Cohen could advise it as to how the administration may approach certain health care policy matters, including the Affordable Care Act.

"The agreement was for a fixed term of one year and paid Essential Consultants $100,000 per month. In March 2017, we met with Michael Cohen under this agreement," it said. "Following this initial meeting, we determined that he would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated related to U.S. healthcare policy matters and decided not to engage with him further. As the contract unfortunately could not be terminated at will, payments continued to be made until the contract expired by its own terms in February 2018."

Novartis noted that the contract predated Vas Narasimhan becoming the company's CEO. It added that the company has cooperated fully with requests from the Special Counsel's office.
Several towns in New Hampshire were hit by a tornado on May 4, the National Weather Service confirmed Monday.

A tornado featuring winds as strong as 100 miles per hour tore a 36-mile path through the state, from Charlestown to Webster.

The tornado snapped large trees, ripping smaller ones from the ground. Homes and vehicles in its path were left damaged.

"We heard all this crashing and snapping. Then, we were trying to find the flashlights just in case the power went off, and it just went right out. So sudden," Bradford resident Molly Spencer told WMUR.

A tree landed on a vehicle parked outside her home and within feet of propane tanks but her house was not damaged.

"It was shocking. It's still kind of crazy to think that all those trees are gone and not even a branch hit the house," she said.

Tornadoes in the spring are unusual with such severe weather more common during the summer.
ABC/Randy HolmesMetallica wrapped up a European tour over the weekend, and they'll be back again next year.

In a tour wrap-up news post, the metal legends have revealed that they plan to tour Europe again in 2019. The stadium trek is set to begin in May and run through August. Details of the tour will officially be announced in September.

Now that they're done with the 2018 European tour, Metallica will be off the road until September, when they launch a U.S. trek in Madison, Wisconsin, on September 2. That trek will last all the way into March 2019.

Metallica will be touring in continued support of their latest album, Hardwired...to Self-Destruct.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
A tornado watch has been issued for Northern Connecticut.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Hartford County, Conn. Tuesday afternoon. It will remain in effect until 4 p.m.

A warning has been issued for Berkshire County in Massachusetts. A watch has been issued following Massachusetts counties: Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester.

A possible tornado was spotted shortly after 3 p.m. Tuesday in New York, close to the Massachusetts and Connecticut state lines.

Hail measuring between one and two inches has been reported.
The Unmanned Aerial System Integration Pilot Program will give the administration insights into how it might relax drone restrictions in the future.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation will seek to gather data relevant to four areas: external systems, aircraft system technologies, training needs and processes and procedures.

http://www.govtech.com/biz/Map-FAA-Selects-10-Cities-for-Drone-Innovation-Projects.html
Want the opportunity to connect to high-speed internet affordably, easily and securely all across the Flathead Valley?

Do you believe the Flathead Valley could benefit from more economical, higher-capacity broadband services?

Then this community discussion is for you!

https://mailchi.mp/4f9bb2231fb4/keeping-you-informed?e=a3d12a888b
The Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum (AWIEF) was recently shortlisted as a finalist for the inaugural Associations Advance Africa Awards in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion (particularly of Women and Youth).

AWIEF is proud and excited to announce that, during the 2021 Africa Association Summit, AWIEF was selected as Winner of the Award!

The prestigious awards, established by African Society of Association Executives (AfSAE), recognise association programs and activities that are advancing society and improving the economy (at all levels). It is the highest recognition an association can receive for any impactful program they conduct together with their members.

It is truly a wonderful achievement and a great honour to be presented with this award. It is an everlasting reward of AWIEFs efforts, commitment, and passion towards providing socio-economic and entrepreneurial support for women and the youth and offering them the platform to sustainably grow their women-led businesses and create a positive lasting impact on the African communities.

According to AWIEF founder and CEO, Irene Ochem, This is an African award for an African organisation, underscoring the centrality of Africa in the work of AWIEF. With this recognition, we will continue our work with even more passion, commitment, and determination.

AWIEF sincerely thanks all its partners and sponsors who have generously supported its work along this interesting and exciting journey over these years.

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While many of the leading Preakness contenders are preparing for the second jewel in the Triple Crown at Churchill Downs and Belmont Park, several of them coming out of the Kentucky Derby, there is one horse likely waiting for the Belmont Stakes who is tucked away far from the action, enjoying the tranquility of Saratoga Race Course and unwinding after an eventful trip in the soggy Run for the Roses.

While most of the activity in the morning at Saratoga seems to be the constant flashes of Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown saddlecloths whizzing around the Oklahoma training track, a good deal of those the stars of tomorrow, Bill Mott has his main arsenal up at the Spa, including major stakes winners Elate, Yoshida, and Good Samaritan, the last two coming off a grade 1 victory and a grade 3 placing, respectively, at Churchill Downs on Derby weekend. Riley Mott, assistant to his father, is excited about the prospect of sending Yoshida to Royal Ascot for the group 1 Queen Anne Stakes.

But the star who has yet to win stakes is the one who offers the most intrigue at this time, and that is Hofburg, who stormed on the Derby scene late by finishing a fast-closing second in the Florida Derby in only the third start of his career, while coming off a half-length maiden score at Gulfstream Park, overcoming the disastrous 11-post.

Not much of the post-Derby talk has been about Hofburg, but those following him during the race and seeing where he was around the far turn and at the head of the stretch had to have thoughts of the Belmont Stakes watching him skipping over the mud far out in the middle of the track to finish a respectable seventh. But that is far from the story of Hofburgs Kentucky Derby.

After brushing with Lone Sailor coming of the gate, he was steered to the inside by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. Racing near the back of the pack into the backstretch, he had Lone Sailor to his inside on the rail, with Audible about three-quarters of a length ahead to his outside. But Lone Sailor and Audible came together just enough to force Hofburg to lose his position, and he now found himself three lengths behind Lone Sailor, with only two horses behind him. All he could see ahead of him were a cluster of hooves spraying back sheets of mud.

Ortiz eased him toward the rail, which he now had to himself, and his connections starting envisioning the golden Mine That Bird, Street Sense, and Super Saver dream trip along the rail. All he would need is the inviting opening those horses were fortunate enough to get.

But as he began to move up, Ortiz saw that Lone Sailor had the rail occupied and was showing no signs of giving it up, so he moved him out and began looking for room between horses. But there wasnt enough space between Lone Sailor and a tiring Mendelssohn, so Ortiz kept moving him out farther, just waiting for an inviting hole. That hole seemed to appear between Mendelssohn and Combatant at the five-sixteenths pole, but it quickly closed and Ortiz was forced to steady and keep looking. By now, Hofburg was out of the race way at the back of the pack.

Turning for home, Hofburg got bumped around by Combatant and Magnum Moon, and Ortiz finally gave up and just steered the colt to the far outside, out in the middle of the track. He knew he had no chance to win or even finish in the money, but at least this way he would have a clear run to the wire. Hofburg, although still back in 13th at the eighth pole, more than 18 lengths off the lead, leveled off and was striding out strongly through the stretch. He crossed the finish line in 7th, beaten 8 3/4 lengths (he was sixth one jump past the wire), a terrific showing for such an inexperienced colt who had to overcome a less than ideal trip stuck at the back of the pack in the slop. Among the 13 horses behind him were the winners of the Arkansas Derby, Louisiana Derby, UAE Derby, Wood Memorial, Fountain of Youth, San Felipe, Rebel, and Gotham, as well as the runners-up in the Santa Anita Derby, Wood Memorial and Louisiana Derby.

If you watch the NBC replay of the race, the camera zooms in on a close-up of Justify galloping out shortly after the wire. Watch the left part of your screen and you will see the white, green, and pink colors of Juddmonte fly into the picture and blow right past Justify, disappearing just as quickly off the right part of your screen. Yes, it was after a mile and a quarter, but Hofburg, once in the clear after all his travail, was just beginning to run.

For a horse with only three career starts to endure such an eventful trip and still be coming fast at the finish, shows a lot about the horse. According to Riley Mott, who was with the colt after the race, he cooled out in 10 minutes after returning to the barn and was none the worse for wear, shrugging it all off like a true professional.

Now here he was five days later at Saratoga, back jogging and nickering to get out to the track. Riley said the colt bounced out of the race in great shape, and after several days of jogging, in which he wanted to do more, he was back galloping on Monday.

Looking back, Riley said they knew they had something way back last August when Hofburg was beating everything they put with him in the mornings.

In Florida, I dont think any of us knew quite how good the horse was at that point, Riley said. His ceiling seems pretty high if he continues to improve. He certainly acted like our nicest 2-year-old last summer but needed some time to develop after his initial race. As far as running him in the Florida Derby off his maiden win, I think it was combination of the timing and situation of the race and the confidence we had that he was a good horse. It was fulfilling that he ran so well but it wasnt a surprise to anyone in our camp.

We were just thankful to be participating in the Kentucky Derby. It meant a lot to my dad and to everyone in the barn.

As far as having a Belmont pedigree, Hofburg is by Tapit, who has sired three of the last four Belmont winners, out of a mare by Touch Gold, who won the 1997 Belmont Stakes. He is also inbred 3x3 top and bottom to 1992 Belmont Stakes winner A.P. Indy, who is by Belmont Stakes winner Seattle Slew, out of Weekend Surprise, who is by Belmont Stakes winner Secretariat.

His tail-female family goes back four generations of the Niarchos family and before that E.P. Taylor. Fourth dam, Coup de Folie (dam of group 1 winner and leading sire Machiavellian and group 1 winner Exit to Nowhere), is a daughter of Halo (sire of two Kentucky Derby winners) and is inbred 3x3 to the blue hen producer Almahmoud, dam of Cosmah (who produced champion filly Tosmah and Halo) and Natalma (dam of Northern Dancer).

So, it will be interesting to see if Justify, like Bob Bafferts other four Kentucky Derby winners, can come back and repeat in the Preakness. If he does, watch out for Hofburg in the Belmont Stakes. He is enjoying life up in Saratoga and will be fresh and deadly when Mott sends him back down to Belmont, where he would be attempting the rare feat of trying to win the Test of the Champion in only the fifth start of his life. Just being around him for a couple of mornings is enough to make you believe if any horse can do it its this horse.

But if its not quite his time, just wait for the finished product to show up in the Travers Stakes.
UPDATE:

ANN ARBOR, MI - One person is in custody after a shooting overnight near the University of Michigan campus.

Police were called at 9:33 p.m. Monday, May 14 to the area of South State Street and North University Avenue for a reported shooting, said Ann Arbor police Detective Sgt. Craig Martin.

A 24-year-old man was arrested at the scene for shooting a 43-year-old man in the torso, Martin said. Neither person is affiliated with the university, police said.

The 43-year-old was taken to the University of Michigan hospital emergency room for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

He was in serious condition at the time, said Huron Valley Ambulance spokesman Marc Breckenridge.

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear and remains under investigation, Martin said. The two men did not know each other, police said.

Those with information on the incident are asked to contact Ann Arbor police at 734-794-6939 or email tips@a2gov.org.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Five months ago, the Ann Arbor City Council adopted an ambitious plan for a $55 million urban trail.

The project is known as the Treeline, but there's no mention of any funds to implement it in the city's proposed budget for 2018-19.

City officials say they're waiting to see if outside grant funding and private donations materialize.

In the meantime, some planning work continues, and at least one piece of the Treeline -- a tunnel to the riverfront -- is expected to be built in the next year with previously committed funds.

The City Council is expected to finalize the administration's recommended budget next week. It shows total city expenses of $390 million for the fiscal year starting July 1.

Tom Crawford, the city's chief financial officer, said no funds are specifically identified for the Treeline at this time, but having a master plan in place now allows the city to take advantage of opportunities as they arise, as well as potentially raise private funds.

Mayor Christopher Taylor and other City Council members agree with that approach.

"The Treeline trail will be a game-changing benefit for the people of Ann Arbor," Taylor said. "We've always said, however, that the construction of the Treeline will require grant awards and private funding. We will pursue these resources and, when they arise, evaluate whether and to what extent the city will participate."

The envisioned 2.75-mile trail for pedestrians and cyclists would curve through the city and along the west edge of downtown, loosely following the historic alignment of the now-buried Allen Creek and the still-in-operation Ann Arbor Railroad tracks.

The idea for the Treeline has been around for decades and for years was referred to as the Allen Creek Greenway.

City officials made the project a priority starting in 2015, setting aside roughly $200,000 to hire consultant SmithGroupJJR to help develop the master plan, a multi-year process that culminated in December 2017.

The city intends to work with the nonprofit Treeline Conservancy to make the Treeline vision a reality in the coming years.

City Administrator Howard Lazarus said last year he wanted to move quickly to implement the plan, rather than have it sit on a shelf and collect dust. He appointed Sally Hart Petersen, a former council member, to be his executive policy advisor for economic development, a volunteer role that includes helping implement the Treeline plan.

The city's tentative plan is to focus on implementing the northernmost portions of the trail first, including links to the Border-to-Border Trail along the Huron River by Argo Pond and continuing south, though different sections could be developed simultaneously.

Speaking for the city administrator, Petersen said the bulk of the money for the Treeline is expected to come from private philanthropy.

While there's not a line item for the trail in the city's budget, she said, the city's investment in the project is baked into other work.

She said the city and the Treeline Conservancy are working together to pin down costs for Phase 1, which includes the portion of the trail from the Huron River to the Kingsley Condominiums site between Kingsley and Felch streets, where the trail will run through the former Beal property after passing by the city's 721 N. Main property.

Petersen said the $55 million rough estimate for all phases of the Treeline is really a "gold standard" number.

"It's a high number and it's not necessarily the number that it's going to be," she said. "It all depends on the design features that ultimately get decided upon and there will be community input on that as well."

Though there aren't any new funds specifically for the Treeline in the city's proposed budget, the city is gearing up for a long-planned and related $7.4 million project to create a tunnel under the railroad tracks between Depot Street and the Huron River.

The tunnel project is primarily a flood-control project, but it also will create a new pathway to make it easier for pedestrians and cyclists to get to and from the Argo Pond area, and that's shown in the Treeline plan as one other way to access the riverfront in addition to a proposed bridge across North Main Street.

A mix of city, state and federal money is being used to fund the tunnel under the railroad tracks, a project that's been in the works for years and is scheduled to start later this fall.

The Downtown Development Authority is separately planning improvements along First and Ashley streets in 2020 and 2021 that are expected to include implementing elements of the Treeline plan, including protected bicycle lanes. Petersen said the city is collaborating with the DDA on the design for First and Ashley, and those design characteristics will be echoed throughout the Treeline.

Petersen also said she expects to see the Treeline identified in the next revision of the city's capital improvements plan.

Council Member Jack Eaton, D-4th Ward, said he's OK with not budgeting any additional money for the Treeline for now.

"Because we're so tight on money to begin with, I understand why we're not looking for it elsewhere in the budget," he said. "I mean, there are 100 things that we could do, including improve our roads."

Eaton said he understands the city still has some intentions to try to leverage some of its properties along the Treeline corridor, such as 415 W. Washington St., to help fund portions of the trail.

"But the humongous price tag that comes with that plan and the fact that it's not as green as it originally was makes me a little less motivated to spend general fund money on it," he said.

Council Member Graydon Krapohl, D-4th Ward, said a partnership that brings in outside funding is needed to make the Treeline viable.

"Because it's a big price tag," he agreed.

Now that there's a master plan, Krapohl said, he thinks the city is in a better position to seek outside funding.

The Treeline Conservancy is currently trying to raise donations for the project via its website. Find out how to donate.

"This visionary project will be a product of community support," the Treeline's donation page states. "The master plan is just the first step. Your contribution will lead to the construction and sustainable maintenance of a greener Ann Arbor. This urban trail is a symbol of who we are as a city. Your tax-deductible support leaves a lasting legacy for generations to enjoy, strengthening our community's commitment to nature, quality of life and one another."

Petersen said the Treeline Conservancy has been planning to hire an executive director to oversee fundraising.

She said she's not involved in the fundraising and not sure how much money has been raised so far.

Joe O'Neal, president of the Treeline Conservancy, couldn't be reached for comment.

The Treeline master plan mentions many potential funding sources, including private donations from individuals and foundations, corporate sponsorships, state and federal grants, brownfield funding, neighborhood groups, city and county millages, revenue from the sale of city property and Treeline-branded merchandise, and organizations such as the Huron River Watershed Council, YMCA, Chamber of Commerce, Ann Arbor Public Schools, University of Michigan Office of Sustainability, Sierra Club, Ford Foundation, Legacy Land Conservancy and Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

Petersen said she has no knowledge of any grant applications that have been submitted yet.

She said the city is actively looking at how to be a better steward of city-owned properties along the Treeline corridor, such as 415 W. Washington and 721 N. Main St., and figuring out how to leverage those properties to benefit the Treeline.

For years, city officials have talked about creating greenway parks on those sites, along with the city-owned lot at First and William, but there's also talk of making at least parts of them available for private redevelopment. Petersen said workforce housing for people with incomes between 60 and 120 percent of the area median income may be an option for 721 N. Main, though that idea is still preliminary.

She said the question is how to make the math work so the properties can help fund the Treeline.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A former youth pastor accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old parishioner during a mission trip has had his trial postponed a second time.

Blaine Faircloth, 34, was scheduled for trial Monday, May 14 in front of Washtenaw County Trial Court Judge David Swartz, but the trial was adjourned, according to Swartz's office.

The adjournment was at the request of the defense and related to the availability of a witness, a court official said. The prosecutor's office previously was granted an adjournment for the initial January trial date.

Faircloth is now scheduled for an Oct. 15 trial.

Faircloth is charged with two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in the case, which dates back to 2012.

Faircloth is accused of having sexual contact with a then-14-year-old girl on the way back from a church mission trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

The girl was 19 when she testified at a preliminary examination in July 2017 to an inappropriate relationship with Faircloth. She said the inappropriate contact started during a game of "truth or dare" in a Thailand hut when the youth pastor rubbed her back.

She said the two grew closer on the trip and, eventually, Faircloth touched her breasts and genitals on the train ride between Chicago and Dearborn on the way home from the trip.

Faircloth told the 14-year-old he wanted to have sex with her and the assault occurred while he showed and read her "raunchy" texts from his wife, the woman testified.

Faircloth's wife found out about the relationship after the trip and told the girl to switch churches, the teen testified.

The case is being prosecuted in Ann Arbor because of the location of the train during the alleged assault. Officials have not explained why it took so long to bring charges in the case.

Faircloth remains free on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond.
UPDATE:

ANN ARBOR, MI - A delivery driver was shot Monday night over a parking dispute outside a Walgreens near the University of Michigan, according to police.

The driver blocked the vehicle of the shooting suspect shortly before 9:33 p.m. Monday, May 14 in the area of South State Street and North University Avenue, said Ann Arbor police Detective Sgt. Craig Martin. The Walgreens is located at 317 S. State St.

An argument ensued and police believe the 24-year-old Ann Arbor man shot the 43-year-old Ohio man in the torso, Martin said.

The 43-year-old, who was hospitalized in serious condition, was up and talking on Tuesday, Martin said.

Walgreens corporate spokesperson Scott Goldberg released the following statement on behalf of the company:

"Our thoughts are with him and his family at this time. We refer you to local law enforcement for any information as this is a pending investigation."

The 24-year-old was taken into custody at the scene. Neither person is affiliated with the university, police said.

Those with information on the incident are asked to contact Ann Arbor police at 734-794-6939 or email tips@a2gov.org.

MLive reporter Kullen Logsdon contributed to this article.
STANDISH, MI -- In March, famed English dog trainer and pet behavior expert Victoria Stilwell visited a rural animal shelter nestled in a patch of woods outside Standish. Accompanied by the crew of her Animal Planet show "It's Me or the Dog," Stilwell told Arenac County Animal Control Director Catherine A. Lemunyon they had stopped by to shoot a segment on small shelters.

"At first, I was thrown," Lemunyon said about the TV crew's presence. "I didn't know the whole reason behind their filming, but I had little hints that something was up."

After shadowing Lemunyon for the day, Stilwell revealed why they were truly there -- to present her with a check for $10,000, as she had been one of five people in the country nominated for Petco Foundation's Unsung Heroes Award.

"It was a little bit shocking," Lemunyon said. "It was overwhelming and exciting."

Lemunyon has been with the shelter for 17 years this July. She began volunteering while still in high school and currently the agency's only full-time employee. She's on-call 24/7.

Lemunyon said she plans to put the $10,000 to expanding the agency's cat cages, buying a washer and dryer, adding some indoor/outdoor dog kennels, and possibly building an addition to the building.

Since 1999, the San Antonio-based Petco Foundation has invested more than $200 million in animal welfare work. The organization grants its annual Unsung Heroes Award to one honoree.

Along with the other nominees, Lemunyon is featured in a video on the Petco Foundation website. Visitors can vote for their favorite until Friday, May 25. The winner will be flown out to an awards ceremony in San Diego, California, where he or she will receive the award and an additional $25,000.

As of May 15, Lemunyon is in third place with 764 votes.

Arenac County Animal Control Director Catherine A. Lemunyon (left) with Victoria Stilwell, of Animal Planet's "It's Me or the Dog." Photo courtesy Jerri Smith from Creations in Photography.

Of the nominees, Lemunyon oversees the smallest organization from the smallest community, with others located in Kansas City, Missouri; Sherwood, Oregon; Dickinson, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia. The approximately 25- by 50-foot shelter has 18 dog kennels and 22 cat cages.

The shelter received national attention last year when a story of one of its dogs went viral. The dog, a male treeing walker coonhound named Wishbone, had been abandoned and found by a group of friends walking the Sterling Truck Trails one June afternoon. He was an emaciated 40 pounds and his face, mouth, and chest were filled with porcupine quills.

The people who spotted Wishbone gathered him up and took him to Lemunyon, who took in the wounded pup despite it being after hours. Lemunyon in turn took the dog to Arenac Bay Veterinary Services, where she and Dr. Ronald Schwab removed 300 to 400 quills, working until about 11 p.m. to do so.

After months of rehabilitation, Wishbone was adopted by a couple in Saginaw.

Lemunyon, who owns a Boston terrier and two Belgian shepherds, said she doesn't know who nominated her for the title.

"I wish I knew," she said. "I'd like to be able to thank them."
Novi has sold a nearly 10-acre property to a developer who plans to build a business and residential district catering to the city's Asian-American community.

The $50-million project dubbed "Asian Village" will include residential units, restaurants, office space, retail and lifestyle services at 42750 Grand River Ave., Novi.

A 25,000-square-foot Japanese and Korean market and food-hall will anchor the development, according to city officials. One World Market, a Japanese grocery store in Novi, will operate the space.

"I am excited about this project. Novi prides itself on many things, one of which is our celebration of diversity," Mayor Bob Gatt said in a statement.

"Creation of an Asian Village will be an extension of this strength. As home to the largest Japanese population in Michigan, it is a natural fit for our community."

Asians American make up more than 21 percent of Novi's population, according to 2017 population estimates from the United States Census Bureau.

Novi approved the sale last week of the 9.9-acre site for $3.15 million. The site is on the north side of Grand River Avenue and east of Town Center Drive, behind Walmart Supercenter and down the road from Twelve Oaks Mall.

Sakura Novi LLC. is the developer, an affiliate of Birmingham-based Robert B. Aikens and Associates, who is also proposing a $100-million downtown district in Commerce Township.

A message seeking comment was left with the developer.
FLINT, MI -- Swanson Funeral Home lost its license after disturbing allegations about how the business handled the bodies left in its care, and now it's delinquent in paying the resulting fine issued by the state.

Jeannie Vogel, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, said Swanson paid $5,000 of a $34,100 fine issued last month after the state Board of Examiners in Mortuary Science revoked the license of the funeral home and manager O'Neil D. Swanson II.

The board's April 4 action came as a result of what regulators have called deplorable, unsanitary conditions while Swanson was still in business on King Boulevard.

The business closed its doors last July after investigators said they found maggots on the floor of a garage where unrefrigerated human bodies were stacked in boxes, some for more than 90 days without having been embalmed.

In addition to the bodies, 300 boxes of cremated remains found at Swanson, some of which had been at the funeral home for more than 30 years, according to Lansing Catholic Cemeteries, which volunteered to put the ashes to rest in February at New Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Flint Township.

The Journal could not immediately reach George Drosis, an attorney that Genesee County Circuit Court records show represented Swanson in court just last year, for comment.

Vogel said when fines are six months overdue, they can be referred to the state Department of Treasury for collection.

"Additional administrative action may also be taken ... to enforce the terms of the final order, resulting in additional licensing penalties," she added in an email to The Journal.
UPDATE:

Driver cited in crash that landed Davison Township officer in hospital

DAVISON TWP, MI - A Davison Township police lieutenant is expected to be OK after his cruiser was struck by a vehicle Monday afternoon while responding to an incident in Burton.

Officers were called out around 5:30 p.m. May 14 to the intersection of Davison and Irish roads in Davison Township for a two-vehicle crash.

Davison Township police Chief Rick Freeman said multiple officers were responding to the area of the East Court Walmart store for a "pretty serious call." The call was for a shoplifter making threats, according to Burton police. The suspect was taken into custody.

A preliminary investigation has revealed a pair of Davison Township officers were traveling west on Davison and heading through the intersection with lights and sirens activated as they responded to the call.

Freeman said the first cruiser made it through the intersection without incident, but Lt. Jay Rendon was struck by a female driver heading south on Irish Road in a Chevy Malibu who "failed to yield to the lights and sirens."

"He's banged up and sore, in his own words," said Freeman of his conversation with Rendon, who was transported to Hurley Medical Center. "He's getting checked out to be sure. We're hoping he's going to be OK."

The driver of the Malibu refused medical treatment at the scene.

Michigan State Police will handle the investigation, Freeman said.

"For neutrality, we always have the state police take our crashes so that's in their hands right now," he added of the investigation.

It's the second officer-involved crash for the department in approximately six months, with the previous incident involving a cruiser that was struck from behind on Davison Road during a traffic stop that left it with $7,000 worth of damage.

The police cruiser involved in Monday's crash is the newest in the department's fleet and serves as the supervisor vehicle.

It briefly caught fire as it was being pulled onto the flatbed of a tow truck a little over an hour after the incident began.

Davison-Richfield firefighters on scene for a washdown were able to quickly put out the fire.

Richfield Township police and Davison police also responded to the scene for traffic control.

The incident remains under investigation.
FLINT, MI -- Officers are working on three scenes after a shooting Monday night left one person in critical condition.

The victim was located at Saginaw and Spencer streets by police after officers were called out around 8:30 p.m. May 14 to Saginaw and Ruth Avenue for a report of a shooting.

Flint police cruisers could be spotted at both locations, with a gold-colored Jeep surrounded by police tape at Saginaw Street and Ruth Avenue.

A third scene was set up at East Austin Avenue and Verdun Street where small, numbered cones marked off shell casings. A Michigan State Police K-9 unit combed over the area for clues along with Flint officers.

No suspect information was immediately made available from law enforcement officials.

Anyone with information on the shooting may contact Flint police at 810-237-6800 or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Flint and Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245).
GRAND TRAVERSE COUNTY, MI - Sheriff's deputies say a Traverse City woman did the right thing when she turned in a bank bag containing $3,167.

The money has been returned to a Frankfort man, who dropped it in the parking lot of Grand Traverse Mall just before he boarded a Bay Area Transportation Authority bus.

"A tremendous amount of credit needs to be given to the woman who found the money for her honesty and integrity. Where many people would be tempted to keep the money as it was a rather large sum, she did the right thing," the Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

The 25-year-old Traverse City woman turned in the bank bag on May 2. Police released limited information about the money in an effort to find its owner.

Eight days later, a 50-year-old Frankfort man contacted police. He had told a friend that he lost his bag. The friend had just read an article that money had been found.

Police conducted a "thorough investigation" to determine he was indeed the owner. Police returned the money on Monday, May 14.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - West Ottawa High School senior Isabella Correa's eyes were trained on the screen as she tentatively grasped the wire and worked it through the "patient's" body.

She would occasionally purse her lips in concentration before smiling when she was able to successfully maneuver the wire through the mannequin's endovascular system, practicing how she could help a potential patient with issues like blood clots.

Correa was one of 22 West Ottawa High School students selected from the high school's anatomy and physiology course to observe and participate in hands-on surgical simulations led by Spectrum Health personnel on Monday, May 14.

For more than two hours, students rotated through five educational stations in the Jacob and Lois Mol Cardiovascular Simulation Center at 330 Barclay Ave. NE.

Students learned about open and endovascular cardiovascular techniques including: CPR training, basic endovascular techniques, suturing and transthoracic/transesophageal echocardiograms. They also got to tour one of the hybrid operating rooms at the Meijer Heart Center.

Correa, who wants to study biochemistry, said it was a challenge taking what they had learned in the classroom and applying it to these hands-on procedures. She plans to attend Central Michigan University in fall.

She said she got to see an ultrasound of her veins and arteries and she witnessed a catheter simulation, which she enjoyed, but was much harder than she was expecting.

"That's obviously not something I would get to do in school," she said.

Dr. Robert Cuff, vascular surgeon and director of the center, said one of the goals of the center is to teach not only Spectrum Health residents but also students from West Michigan.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, causing more than 17.3 million deaths per year in 2013 globally. That number is expected to increase to more than 23.6 million by 2030, according to the American Heart Association.

In the next 20-25 years, there will be a shortage of cardiovascular specialists, Cuff said.

Cuff said the Jacob and Lois Mol Cardiovascular Simulation Center is one of the few centers to focus on cardiovascular simulation. As such, officials are hoping to attract top students looking to study in the field.

The simulation with the West Ottawa students was designed to show a wide range of opportunities for healthcare professionals under the cardiovascular umbrella.

He said educators, physicians, physician assistant's, radiology technologists and nurses are all careers offered in the cardiovascular field.

"Just trying to open up the idea that there are a lot of options out there," he said.

Bob Myers, West Ottawa High School anatomy and physiology teacher and chaperone for the trip, said students had to apply for a spot.

Students were asked to state their career goals, why this would interest them and their academic status, among other items.

He said the No. 1 deciding factor though was a strong interest in healthcare.

"My hope is that this will solidify for kids that this is, or maybe some of them will decide this is not, the route they want to go," he said.

For one student at least, who plans on being a general practioner before doing a program like Doctors Without Borders, it definitely confirmed this is something she wants to do.

"I'm really excited and actually very thankful for this opportunity just because I know it's not something other high schools are getting to experience," Correa said. "And it's definitely making me want to pursue health even more."
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology (WMCAT) received a $30,000 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grant to support its tuition-free visual arts education program for high school students.

Michigan received 19 grants totaling $1.3 million. The NEA recently announced more than $80 million was awarded in the form of 1,071 grants to programs in a wide range of categories across the country.

WMCAT's Teen Arts and Tech Program engages high schoolers in the Grand Rapids School District in the practical application of creativity through hands-on learning in arts and tech studios.

Teen artists work in its studios twice a week during the school year to elevate their voice and affect social change by applying skills in photography, video game design, illustration, fashion design, ceramics, and audio/video production.

"The variety and quality of these projects speaks to the wealth of creativity and diversity in our country," NEA Chairman Jane Chu said.

"Through the work of organizations such as the West Michigan Center for Arts and Technology in Grand Rapids, NEA funding invests in local communities, helping people celebrate the arts wherever they are."

WMCAT's grant was in the Art Works category, dedicated to funding projects that increase public engagement, promote lifelong learning, and strengthen communities through the arts.

"We are thankful to the NEA for believing in our teen arts and tech program," WMCAT President and CEO Daniel Williams said.

"This grant allows WMCAT to engage Grand Rapids Public high school students by providing them equitable access to opportunities that foster creative confidence and hands-on learning."

WMCAT describes itself as providing a culture of opportunity for people to make social and economic progress in their lives and community.

The Teen Arts and Tech Program was among 12 recognized in 2016 by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. Former First Lady Michelle Obama welcomed the winners of the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award to the White House.

The NEA awarded Ferris State University $10,000 to support an exhibition in Grand Rapids. From June 22 to Sept. 16, the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, which is part of Kendall College of Art and Design of Ferris State University, will host "Transitions: New Photography from Bangladesh."

The University of Michigan received $35,000 on behalf of the U-M Museum of Art to support its art exhibition, "Beyond Borders: Global Africa,'' and an accompanying catalogue.

The Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs/Michigan Strategic Fund was awarded the state's largest grant of $776,700 to support arts programs, services, and activities.

To see a full list of grants, visit the NEA website.
WYOMING, MI - A woman shown on surveillance video in what police called a "suspicious situation" has contacted police and said she is OK.

The incident stemmed from a domestic argument, she told Wyoming police.

She was out of town Monday, May 14, but is expected to meet with Wyoming police on Tuesday to provide a statement.

A witness reported a man pulling up to the woman on Saturday, May 12, at Wendler Avenue SW and Chicago Drive. The man got out of his pickup truck, talked with the woman, then compelled her to get into the truck. She got out but returned moments later.

The incident was captured on surveillance video. The woman contacted police after police asked the public's help in identifying those on the video in an effort to determine what happened.
DEARBORN, MI -- If you're planning to head out of town for Memorial Day weekend, be prepared for plenty of traffic on Michigan roads as AAA estimates a five percent increase in travelers in the state for the holiday weekend.

That estimate is the largest such increase in travelers in more than decade. AAA believes the increase in travelers despite rising gas prices is a sign of a stronger economy.

The company estimates more than 1.1 million people will travel via cars and another 700,000 will travel via flight. Others will also make their way out of town via train, bus or boat.

Memorial Day is Monday, May 28.
NOVI, MI - Republican candidates for the 11th Congressional District, which encompasses suburbs Northwest of Detroit, spoke on Monday about guns in schools, term limits and Sharia Law at a debate hosted by the Michigan Conservative Coalition.

The campaign was moderated by Jackie Paige of radio station WWJ and Jim Johnson of radio station WOMC.

Participants included every Republican on the primary ballot: Kerry Bentivolio, Kristine Bonds, Lena Epstein, Klint Kesto, Mike Kowall and Rocky Raczkowski. On the Democratic side Tim Greimel, Suneel Gupta, Dan Haberman, Fayrouz Saad, Nancy Skinner and Haley Stevens are running in the primary. Libertarian Leonard Schwartz will also be on the ballot.

At the Republican debate, candidates touched on several hot-button issues. On some, there seemed to be a lot of agreement. Every candidate on stage thought congresspeople should be term-limited.

Kowall, a term-limited state senator, brought up the subject while answering a question about how to get the money out of politics. He said term limits were a key part of that.

"That's how you cut the guts out of it, that's how you take the money out of it," Kowall said.

Raczkowski said he had signed a pledge supporting term limits. Every candidate, it turned out, supported the concept of term-limiting members of congress.

On other issues, their views were more divergent and more nuanced.

Asked about guns in schools, the candidates rejected a broad yes or no question on whether guns should be allowed in schools, saying the question demanded more than a one-word explanation. The moderators landed on a new question: should teachers be allowed to have guns in schools?

Bentivolio, a former educator with military training, was a strong yes.

"Not every teacher is qualified bur all you need is about four who have that training or some advance training," Bentivolio said.

Kesto, too, said qualified teachers should be allowed to have guns.

Epstein posed a question: when you drop you child off at school would you rather have a sign saying no guns allowed, or one saying there were armed individuals there who would protect the children?

Others talked about various law enforcement that could protect schools with guns. Kowall promoted his proposed private police agencies as a potential solutions, while Bonds advocated armed police officers and Raczkowski advocated school marshals.

Candidates also touched on a question about Sharia Law, a religious law associated with Islam. It's become a political issue in recent years as rumblings have gone around the legislature about trying to outlaw it.

The question, posed by Paige, tied it together with the Muslim Brotherhood, another group that's been in Michigan political talking points recently.

"Do you believe the Muslim Brotherhood has a long-term goal to implement Sharia law throughout our country and if so do we need American laws for American courts?" she asked candidates.

The most moderated answer came from Bonds.

"You can't assume anything, but I think it's important to understand that all of us have the right to pursue our happiness, and let's not start judging anyone until there is some tangible evidence and real facts to back it up," she said.

Other candidates were more direct.

Kesto said the Muslim Brotherhood's plan is probably to destroy America and American values.

"Can you say Muslim brotherhood and then be pegged as a racist? I suppose so, but that doesn't make anybody a racist," Kesto said.

Bentivolio, meanwhile, accused unnamed lawmakers of hosting unnamed "groups that are on the terrorist list" in Lansing.

The moderators directed some questions at specific candidates.

- They asked Bentivolio if he had a problem raising money. He said he'd raised $20,000, which wasn't enough, and cited people telling lobbyists in DC not to donate to him. "Why don't we just pull out our checkbooks, whoever has the most money wins?" he asked sarcastically. "Votes win elections."

- They asked Bonds if she was a one-issue candidate due to her prominent support of preventing opioid abuse and addiction. She pointed to her track record as a conservative, her pro-life stance, and her firm belief in less taxes as evidence she was a well-rounded candidate.

- They asked Kowall whether he regretted his vote to expand Medicaid. Kowall said at the time Obamacare was already considered the law of the land and the state was in tougher economic times. Pressed about whether he regretted his decision, he said, "at times." Pressed on whether he would vote for it today, Kowall said with the state's current economic condition, probably not.

Some of those in attendance wore shirts indicating their support of certain candidates. Others, like Dorian Thompson, 20, of Plymouth, were staying neutral.

"I'm friends with most of them up there," he said, indicating that he wasn't ready to pick sides.

Jackson Schleuning, 20, of Novi, said he was supporting Epstein right now. But he also wanted to come just to learn.

"I'm just a young Republican that's interested in politics," he said.

More than 200 people attended the debate. The primary election takes place on Aug. 7, 2018.
JACKSON, MI - Tiffany Lynn Reichard failed to convince an appellate court that she should be able to argue her role in a murder nine years ago in Jackson County was involuntary. Now, she is seeking to have her defense plea heard by the highest court in the state.

Attorneys representing Reichard appealed May 1 to the Michigan Supreme Court, asking the court to reverse a recent Michigan Court of Appeals ruling that said Reichard would not be allowed to argue her actions were made under duress as a defense at trial.

Reichard, 27, who remains in jail awaiting trial, is charged with one count of open murder in connection with the violent death of Matthew Cramton, 56, found stabbed to death in his home in 2009.

Her co-defendant, Michael Beatty, confessed he killed Cramton, stabbing him 91 times during a robbery. He was sentenced to life without parole in 2017.

Reichard, who was in a relationship with Beatty, is accused of aiding in the attempted robbery and helping Beatty destroy evidence of the murder, prosecutors said.

A response from the Supreme Court on if it will accept a hearing is expected by the end of May.

Reichard's attorney, Andrew Kirkpatrick, has argued responsibility for the murder rests on Beatty and that Reichard's actions were made under duress.

Reichard was 17 at the time of the incident and there is no indication she participated in the stabbing itself, records show.

Prior to her arrest in August 2016, Reichard told police she picked Beatty up from Cramton's home and he was covered in blood, records show.

She later changed her story, admitting she helped plan to rob Cramton, believing he had money and drugs.

She told investigators she parked near Cramton's home and, with the intent to rob, she was to knock on the door to get Cramton to open it so Beatty could rush in wearing a mask and demand money and drugs while she was to be a look out, court records show.

Reichard then told police after the murder she poured perfume on Beatty's clothes and burned them in a grill, records show.

Today, Reichard is lodged in the Jackson County Jail awaiting trial.

An open murder charge allows a jury to decide between a first-degree or second-degree murder conviction. If convicted of first-degree murder, Reichard will serve a mandatory life sentence without the possibility of parole. Second-degree murder is punishable by up to life with parole being possible.
GRASS LAKE TWP., MI - A long-standing white cross at Jackson County's Waterloo Recreation Area has been taken down.

Controversy surrounding the Grass Lake cross arose in March, when the Michigan Association of Civil Rights Activists sent a letter to the Department of Natural Resources to take down the religious symbol from state-owned land.

The cross is owned by the Grass Lake Ministerial Association, which voted as a group to take down the cross after meeting with DNR representatives. The Rev. Melvin Parker, the association's president, couldn't be reached for comment.

It was removed by the DNR on Monday, May 14, said John Pepin, DNR deputy public information officer.

"Basically, it came down to, there was a cross that we didn't own that was on land that we did own," Pepin said. "We worked with the people that owned the cross and they voted to support removing it to a permanent location."

Every year since 1938, churches with the Grass Lake Ministerial Association have hosted an Easter church service at the recreation area, Pepin said. The group brought a temporary cross every year until installing a permanent one in 1950.

That cross was stolen in 1968, but replaced later that year, Pepin said. It was moved to a different location at the recreation area in 1992.

"We are pleased with the DNR's action to remove the cross without further controversy," said MACRA Co-Founder Mitch Kahle in a press release. "Obviously the park manager made a mistake by issuing the permit in 1992, but the DNR's action today corrects the problem."

Easter services will continue at the space, Pepin said, through a special-use permit to the Grass Lake Ministerial Association. They will be allowed to bring a temporary cross, he added.

Since the MACRA letter in March, community group Grassroots Jackson has started an online petition to "save the Jackson cross."

The original Facebook post of the petition has more than 900 shares and representatives said more than 3,500 signatures have been collected.

"We are shocked and disappointed to learn that the historic cross on Sackrider Hill has been removed," said Grassroots Jackson volunteer Billie Dawson in a message. "Our organization is still trying to piece together the details about what transpired, and how it happened with the public having such little knowledge."

The group plans to contact the DNR, attorney general and governor to "ensure the removal was properly handled," Dawson added.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Eighteen people have been sentenced for a bank card fraud scheme that resulted in a $455,000 loss to Bank of America.

Tirrell Perry Thomas, of Kalamazoo, the leader of the scheme, was sentenced to 8 years and six months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney, U.S. Attorney Andrew Birge announced.

The scheme sought to obtain more than $780,000 from Bank of America and resulted in a loss of $455,709.

Seventeen other people were sentenced who either opened or used Bank of America accounts to accept fraudulent check deposits and then made fraudulent withdrawals at banks and casinos, were recruiters or who led and organized the scheme were sentenced.

In August 2017, a grand jury returned a 28-count indictment alleging the scheme, in which the participants used debit cards to withdraw funds from ATMs and casinos in Michigan, which had been fraudulently deposited into bank accounts in Illinois by co-conspirator Cobb. In all, 18 defendants pleaded guilty to at least one count in the indictment and one defendant was allowed to enter into a pre-trial diversion probation without pleading guilty.

The defendants sentenced include:

* Earl Lee Cobb IV, of Chicago, six years and six months in prison

* Nickolas Maurice Fry, of Kalamazoo, three years and four months in prison, plus an additional 13 months in prison for violating federal supervised release

* Jerome Datra Perry, of South Haven, one year and three months

* Josiah Nathan Preston, of Wyoming, one year and two months

* Kyle Dwayne Mosley, of Kalamazoo, one year and two months

* James Langford, of South Haven, one year and one day

* Darmesha Lakeya Gunn, of Parchment, 11 months

* Dwayne Edward Perry, of Grand Rapids, eight months

* Tiffany Danielle Sanders, of Sturgis, four months

* Elnora Snipes, of South Haven, three months

* Desiree Analiese Winfield, of Kalamazoo, two months

* Antoine Naivon Younger, of Kalamazoo, one month

* Brenda Marie Davis, of Kalamazoo, one day

* Sean Allen Haney, of Grand Rapids, three years of probation

* Kelsey Alice Thompson, of Grand Rapids, two years of probation

* Kevin Lavelle Hunter II, of Kalamazoo, two years of probation

* Crystal Kaye Pugh, of Norton Shores, two years of probation

Each defendant sentenced to prison also will have supervised release following the prison sentence. Each defendant was ordered to pay restitution for the bank ranging from $8,027 to $455,709, depending on the loss to which they contributed.
(MLive file photo)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- Four members of the Kalamazoo Nature Center Board of Trustees resigned over issues with the selection of the center's new director and chief executive officer.

Longtime director Bill Rose, who retired in April, said the board followed best practices to search for his replacement, but the four trustees who later resigned wanted to know more about candidates considered for the job. The 17-member board was only presented with a single candidate selected by a search committee made up of five trustees and a Chicago hiring firm.

A majority of the board selected Nathan Smallwood in closed session to lead the organization. The board is not subject to Michigan's Open Meetings Act, and search committee chair Becki Fulgoni did not disclose how many votes were cast in Smallwood's favor.

Binney Girdler, Rebekah Kik, Jennifer Langeland and Michelle Johnson resigned, leaving the board with 13 members and four empty seats. All four resigned members said they are unable to talk about the candidate search due to a confidentiality agreement signed with the nature center that precludes them from speaking about board business.

Smallwood could not be reached by MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette.

Fulgoni said the four trustees supported another candidate, but did not know how they learned the candidate's name. Other than Smallwood, the identities of all other candidates were not disclosed to the full board.

Langeland declined to give her opinion about Smallwood, but said she deeply values processes that bring equity to institutions.

"The idea of the level of equity or diversity or inclusion was something that came up from the four (trustees)," Fulgoni said. "The idea that the nature center would not include those ideas in everything (it does) is confusing to me, because it was front and center in requirements of the committee, part of the agenda in our meetings and part of the mandate we gave to search firm."

Chicago recruitment firm Kittleman & Associates was hired to perform the search together with five trustees on a search committee. Rose said the firm was needed to conduct a national search.

Only two CEOs have been at the helm since the nature center was founded in 1960. Fulgoni said the board relied on the Chicago firm to recommend best practices in finding its third.

"We didn't have a playbook," she said.

Fulgoni said candidate identities were concealed to protect those who were not selected from having to explain themselves to their employers.

Forty applications were received, some from internal staff and others from candidates with a doctorate degree. The search committee reviewed nine candidates and unanimously chose Smallwood as the finalist. He visited Kalamazoo several times to meet with staff.

"The line you try to balance is between confidentiality for candidates as well as providing enough information for the organization to decide," Fulgoni said. "As a committee we were given a mandate to design the process and do the process, ultimately."

She said Smallwood was seen as an experienced leader who could direct a complex organization and develop staff.

Rose said the board followed best practices for high-level governance boards. Smaller boards would be more involved in the smaller details of a search, he said, but the nature center is a large organization that delegated responsibility to the search committee.

"It becomes too late at the very end to say, 'Wait a minute, I wasn't involved; I wasn't engaged,'" Rose said. "That wasn't true. I'm not saying that everybody has to totally like the final decision, but the process was open for plenty (of) discussion ... I don't think it's helpful to have board members then wait until the very end to say, 'I don't like this.'"

Rose said turnover is common when a person at the top of an organization leaves. In this case, he felt the retiring board members were disgruntled over the chosen replacement.

For his part, Rose said Smallwood is a very talented and experienced person and said the nature center is in a "good place."

Trustees are elected by the sitting board to serve three-year terms, for a maximum of nine years.

"I enjoyed being on the board for eight-and-a-half years, and thought this was the time I needed to step down," Girdler said. "I think its a great organization and a really important resource for our community. I am not at liberty to talk about anything to do with the search."

Girdler acknowledged that leadership transitions do not always go smoothly. She said she wants to focus on her career at Kalamazoo College instead of the transition.

The late H. Lewis Batts served as a volunteer after founding the nature center in 1960, and established an endowment to partially pay the salary of the CEO after his retirement.

Rose estimated the fund to be $100,000, but the nature center will receive half that total because Smallwood does not have a doctoral degree -- a condition Batts stipulated when the endowment was established.

Rose said the smaller contribution from the endowment will not significantly affect the nature center's $3 million budget.

Smallwood has a degree in biology from Dartmouth College and two master's degrees -- in marketing and strategy and in environmental mangement, economics and policy -- from Yale University.

An avid birder and amateur naturalist from a young age, Smallwood was serving as executive director of Cope Environmental Center in Indiana before hired to work in Kalamazoo.

Smallwood served as executive director of the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center for several years after working in both development and communications roles elsewhere in the nonprofit sector. He was also a marketing and business strategy consultant.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Kalamazoo Public Schools is looking to hire teachers for the next school year.

Interested educators are invited to a teacher job fair from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, May 18, at the district's West Main Professional Development Center, 1627 W. Main St.

The district is hiring teachers for Washington Writers' Academy and the Woodward School for Technology and Research, two elementary schools that will switch to a "balanced calendar" for the 2018-2019 school year, according to news release from Kalamazoo Public Schools.

The year-round schedule will include a shorter summer break, but more frequent and longer breaks throughout the year.

The decision to keep students in the classroom throughout the year was motivated by the "summer slide," in which students lose some of their gained knowledge while at home. The "summer slide reduction pilot program" aims to fix this, the release said.

The Kalamazoo Public Schools Board of Education voted unanimously in January to change the schools' schedules after they were each slated by the state for closure because of low test scores multiple years in a row.

A complaint was filed by Kalamazoo and Saginaw schools last spring, after the state's School Reform Office threatened to close 38 schools due to the several years of low academic performance.

After Gov. Rick Snyder's administration called off the decision, KPS signed an agreement in April 2017 with the Michigan Department of Education, School Reform Office and other agencies to keep the schools open, with the state providing support to help the schools reach benchmarks.

The job fair will be a chance for the district to also hire teachers in traditional schedules at all grade levels. Those with specialties in special education, math, science, Spanish or English as a second language are in high demand in the district, the release said.

Interested teachers can bring their resume to the job fair or begin their application on the human resources website.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - Just hours after Jessica Heeringa's disappearance, it was obvious something "bad" had happened to her, the lead investigator in the case testified in the Jeffrey Willis trial Tuesday afternoon.

When a police dog lost her scent outside the gas station where a drop of blood was found and nothing had been heard from her by the early morning of the next day, Norton Shores Police Lt. Michael Kasher said he knew the "open door" call he initially responded to was far more serious.

"I basically kind of knew when I left the scene that we had a bad situation," Kasher testified.

Kasher recounted the three years he spent searching for Heeringa's killer, what he learned about Heeringa's hopes and dreams and his cautiousness when Willis was arrested for a teenager's kidnapping.

He also described the moment when he finally allowed himself to believe that Willis was the one who took Heeringa from the gas station where she worked on April 26, 2013.

Kasher is the prosecution's last witness in its murder and kidnapping case against Willis, who already is serving mandatory life in prison for the 2014 murder of jogger Rebekah Bletsch. Kasher's testimony in Muskegon County court was cut short when a juror fell ill.

Testimony will resume at 10 a.m. Wednesday and the case is expected to be in the jury's hands by the end of the day, Marietti said.

Kasher, then a detective sergeant with the police department, described the scene at the gas station when he arrived around midnight April 27, 2013, about 45 minutes after a concerned customer had called 911 to report no employee was around.

He said it was obvious the employee had been sweeping, with little piles of dirt and dust waiting to be swept into a dust pan. There were no signs of anything amiss except for a blood spot outside the station's back door and two watch-style batteries next to a battery cover, Kasher said.

A K-9 unit was summoned to the scene. After spending a couple of hours searching nearby railroad tracks, fields and a pond, the K-9 officer reported he was convinced that Heeringa's scent ended outside the station's back door -- "right where we had the blood and the cover to the laser sight," Kasher testified.

When he left at about 5 a.m. with no word from Heeringa, he knew he needed help with the investigation, Kasher said. He summoned the Michigan State Police and Muskegon County Sheriff's Office and a task force was set up. A 24/7 phone line was established to gather thousands of tips that were followed up on, often by road patrol officers working on their days off, he said.

"I honestly didn't know how big it was going to get," Kasher said.

In the end, there were about 2,200 tips that were pursued, many involving silver vans like the one witnesses had described behind the station that night, he testified.

He consulted with sheriff investigators after Rebekah Bletsch was shot and killed in June 2014, but like him they had few clues at the scene, Kasher said. At that time, he did not believe the Bletsch and Heeringa cases were connected, he said.

And then in May 2016, he received a call from a State Police detective sergeant who said a silver van was being searched in connection with the kidnapping less than a month earlier of a teenage girl in rural Muskegon County.

"'You need to come over here,'" Kasher said the sergeant told him, describing the "rape kit" found in the van.

After all he'd been through the previous three years, Kasher said he was "pessimistic" that it was the break he was hoping for. He was buoyed when a Walther P22 handgun was found in the van belonging to Jeffrey Willis because the battery cover found behind the gas station belonged to a Walther brand laser sight, he said.

When it was determined that Michelle Schnotala was the registered owner of the gun, Kasher said he knew he needed to interview her. He went to her house, and Schnotala didn't even know her gun was missing, Kasher testified. He asked if the gun had any attachments, and when she said it had a laser sight Kasher said he finally allowed himself to believe that Willis had something to do with Heeringa's disappearance.

"Then for the first time I would say in 3 years, 3 1/2 years, the focus of having real evidence tied into somebody became real for me," Kasher said.

He began attending task force meetings on the Bletsch and teen kidnapping cases, and "parallel investigations" were conducted into Willis, Kasher said. The folders on Willis' computer with information pertaining to Heeringa and her disappearance furthered his belief that Willis was the suspect he'd been searching for, Kasher said.

"I was very cautious in the investigation not to jump on the bandwagon to say 'Yup, he's our guy. Mr Willis is our guy,'" Kasher said. "I was waiting for the investigation, waiting for things to be confirmed before it started dawning on me that he was involved with (Heeringa's) disappearance."

Kasher, who appeared emotional during part of his testimony, described a diary Heeringa kept that he realized existed in January 2014. The entries were sporadic but they painted a picture of a young woman who wanted to improve herself and her life and deeply loved her young son, Kasher said. She considered her boy the best thing that happened to her, he said.

She had good days and bad days when she expressed wanting to run away, he said. But she never made any plans to actually leave and was expressing frustrations that many people feel, Kasher said.

During his investigation, Kasher said he had learned a lot about Heeringa and her struggles, so he didn't learn anything new by reading her diary other than that "she was a good writer," Kasher said.

"She ultimately was a very beautiful writer," he said. "She was a poet."
MUSKEGON, MI - A hand-written list including such items as a neck restraint, cameras, vibrators and gasoline and matches that was found discarded in a trash can was written by Jeffrey Willis, an expert testified in the Jessica Heeringa kidnapping and murder trial Tuesday morning.

The list was found folded up and discarded in a trash can in the garage of Willis' late grandfather's home, said Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Zachary Sparks. The list included several items found in Willis' van, including a tool box, needles, hook, vibrators, rope and handcuffs.

Sparks was among Muskegon County Prosecutor D.J. Hilson's final witnesses in his case against Willis, who is accused of murdering Heeringa after abducting her in April 2013 from the gas station where she worked.

The writing on the list matched Willis' handwriting, testified State Police Detective Lt. Mark Goff. He said he made that determination after comparing the writing on the list with 30 requested handwriting samples from Willis as well as known samples of his writing.

The note was divided into three sections, Sparks testified. He said one section labeled "Kit" had these items listed: "(2) handcuffs and keys, restraint bar, hood, (2) ball gags, restraint board?, tool box, locks and keys, gloves, tape and wash cloth, vibrator bullet, neck restraint, bag of rubber gloves, vibrator bag, vibrator, batteries (2), condom, French tickler, zip ties (19 small), needles (4), (7) big, hook and rope." Sparks said he thinks "big" refers to zip ties.

Another section said "small camera, big camera, small tripod?, big tripod?, gas can, matches, lube, video from house if any, crow bar," Sparks testified.

The first section was labeled "clothes" and included "underwear & her panties," "hoody," and "coat."

Defense attorney Fred D. Johnson asked Sparks if anything on the list of clothes would be inconsistent with a snowmobile trip up north, and Sparks replied "her panties." Johnson asked if he knew whether Willis' former wife would accompany him on snowmobile trips and Sparks said he did not.

Information the jury will not hear during the trial is that which Willis' cousin Kevin Bluhm allegedly told police about seeing Willis with Heeringa's body at the late grandfather's house, and helping Willis get rid of the body. Bluhm later recanted what he told police, but subsequently was convicted of lying to police and being an accessory after the fact to Heeringa's murder.

Hilson said in an earlier interview that police officer testimony about what Bluhm told them is not admissible at trial. When Bluhm was called to testify in Willis' trial for the murder of jogger Rebekah Bletsch - for which Willis was convicted - he invoked the Fifth Amendment that provides protection against self-incrimination. Hilson said he wouldn't bother calling Bluhm to testify again because he likely would do the same thing.

Michigan State Police Sgt. James MacDonald testified that cell phone records placed Willis in the vicinity of his late grandfather's home in the hour after Heeringa disappeared. He said video from area businesses showed a van matching Willis' traveling north on Grand Haven Road starting at 11 p.m. April 26, 2013. An earlier witness testified she had seen a silver van leave the station that night around 11 p.m. and turn north on Grand Haven Road.

Between 11:23 p.m. and 12:05 a.m. there were three calls between Willis' cell phone and the landline at his residence, MacDonald said. All of them involved a cell phone tower that covered the area including the late grandfather's home on Bailey Street in Norton Shores, he said. Willis' home was on South Sheridan Road in Muskegon Township.

The phone had no activity between 12:05 a.m. and 3:47 p.m. on April 27, 2013, MacDonald said, which was the day after Heeringa disappeared. That could have been because the phone was turned off, he said.
MASON COUNTY, MI - A Ludington man who was ejected from his motorcycle and suffered serious head injuries during a harrowing crash on Monday afternoon has been identified by the Mason County Sheriff's Office.

Pierre Andre Marcoux, 65, of Ludington, was taken to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital following the crash and was later flown to Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids for further treatment, said Mason County Sheriff Kim Cole.

The incident remains under investigation, Cole said. Neither drugs, alcohol or speed appear to have played a role in the crash.

Marcoux was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, Cole added.

Emergency crews were dispatched at 2:05 p.m. Monday to what was reported as a car versus motorcycle crash with serious injuries on US-10 east of Nelson Road in Pere Marquette Township.

The crash occurred when the driver of a 2009 BMW 328xi - identified as Carol Ann Wilson, 77, of Mears, Michigan - attempted to turn left into a business driveway, Cole said. Wilson had allegedly turned into the path of a 2004 Harley Davidson driven by Marcoux who was traveling eatbound on US-10.

Marcoux was ejected from his motorcycle on impact and landed on the pavement, Cole said. Marcoux suffered serious head injuries and was transported to two different hospitals to receive treatment.

Ludington police and fire, Pere Marquette Township fire and Life EMS assisted the Mason County Sheriff's Office on scene.
CARO, MI -- Residents in Tuscola County are one step closer to being able to purchase an alcoholic beverage from a liquor retailer on Sunday, and enjoy it in the comfort of their home.

Footwork, 322 sheets of petition signatures, and the determination of some business owners and residents has led to a proposal being placed on the Aug. 7 ballot, allowing Sunday liquor sales.

Tim Wingert, owner of Wingert's Food Center in Mayville, spearheaded the task of getting all of the petition signatures needed for the ballot. He and other citizens gathered nearly 4,000 signatures, said Tuscola County Clerk Jodi Fetting.

Tuscola County has a countywide ban on retail Sunday liquor sales. Customers can enjoy liquor and mixed drinks at a bar or restaurant on Sundays, but can't take any home.

Wingert said before the August election, he plans to educate people about how the liquor ban affects businesses.

The businessman said he was ignited to lead the campaign when he realized that his business misses out on two of the biggest holidays of the year -- New Year's Eve and Christmas.

"We're losing out," Wingert said.

Wingert said there will be a significant impact on businesses if the proposal passes. He estimated that he loses up to $30,000 in sales each year because of the ban.

"We're going to have to educate the voters about how important this really is, not only people who sell liquor in the county, but everyone," Wingert said. " I think it'll help business, especially your smaller businesses."

There was another attempt in 1994 to allow Sunday liquor sales, but residents voted it down.

"Its an old law, hopefully we can get it changed," Wingert said.

There are 27 active licenses stores across Tuscola County that sell liquor, According to the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
An asteroid estimated to be about the size of a city block or jumbo jet will zoom past Earth tonight at more than 28,000 mph from about 126,000 miles away.

The asteroid -- 2010 WC9 -- was discovered in late 2010, but was soon lost shortly after its discovery. Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Near Earth Object Studies, told CBC News that "asteroids this size approach about this close (to Earth) about once every decade or so, on average."

There is said to be zero danger of a collision with Earth when it passes around 6:05 p.m. Tuesday, May 15. To watch the event as it happens online, click here.

He added that this is a "fairly rare event," and that those interested could potentially view 2010 WC9 with a small telescope. While viewable with a telescope, EarthSky says that "at no time will it be visible to the eye as it sweeps past Earth."

The tracking and science website notes that this is the first time an asteroid of this size has come this close to our planet in about 300 years.

"Is this a large asteroid? No, not by any absolute measure," EarthSky reports. "But it is larger than the estimated size of the Chelyabinsk meteor, which entered Earth's atmosphere, breaking windows in six Russian cities and causing some 1,500 people to seek medical attention, in 2013."

Asteroid 2010 WC9 was first discovered on Nov. 30, 2010 by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona and then became too faint to track by Dec. 10 of that same year. It was said to be lost until astronomers spotted it again on May 8, and eventually realized it was the thought-lost 2010 WC9.

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Two meteotsunamis formed on Lake Michigan on one single day last month and thanks to a handy NOAA animation, we not only know that it happened but how they actually formed.

For those wondering exactly what a meteotsunami is, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines them as "large waves that scientists are just beginning to better understand."

Tsunamis are triggered by seismic activity while meteotsunamis are created through air-pressure changes and disturbances during "fast-moving" weather events. Some meteotsunamis have been recorded as high as 6-feet high, and have been spotted in the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, and off the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Adriatic seas.

Back on April 13 (Friday the 13th for those keeping track), NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory reports that thunderstorms created the duo of meteotsunamis. "Short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure" were said to be the specific cause that resulted in a sudden spike of water levels near Ludington.

Update: model output is here! Check out this GIF of not one, but TWO meteotsunamis that came across the lake on Friday the 13th. Red = higher water level, blue = lower. pic.twitter.com/zjTZXRquNA  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) May 11, 2018

Ludington is where NOAA says one of the meteotsunamis submerged a breakwater and water levels quickly rose by about 1.51 feet. Head about 25 miles north to Manistee, and this is where some docks were reported as damaged by the changing water levels of Lake Michigan.

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NOAA's Great Lakes-based research lab broke the formation of the two meteotsunamis down in the below animation:

You may have seen  of the meteotsunami that hit Ludington Friday. Its a big deal! Theyre rare, and its even rarer to capture photos. A seiche developed later, after the meteotsunami. But they arent the same thing! So, we present to youSEICHES VS METEOTSUNAMIS: A THREAD  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) April 18, 2018

Check out these charts of winds and pressure from that day. The meteotsunami was caused by those short, extreme bursts of wind and pressure. After the meteotsunami, you can see the slow buildup of pressure and the continued winds  those set us up for a weekend of seiche-ing. pic.twitter.com/Ta1VSy28D3  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) April 18, 2018

Heres a radar image of the meteotsunami culprit  that defined red line of storms. It happened like THAT! pic.twitter.com/jOkwLd4ONt  NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (@NOAA_GLERL) April 18, 2018

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According to the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, about 100 meteotsunamis are spotted on the Great Lakes each year but most are on the smaller size.

The Weather Channel reported that talks of meteotsunamis went into great detail at the American Geophysical Union Conference back in February. Eric Anderson, of NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said that thunderstorms are responsible for about 80 percent of meteotsunamis on the Great Lakes.

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Most of these weather events occur during the late-spring and summer months in the Great Lakes, and that the most recent deadly meteotsunami was blamed for the death of seven people on July, 4, 2003 in Sawyer, Michigan.

"Identifying a meteotsunami is a challenge because its characteristics are almost indistinguishable from a seismic tsunami," NOAA reports on its website. "It can also be confused with wind-driven storm surge or a seiche. These uncertainties make it difficult to predict a meteotsunami and warn the public of a potential event.

"However, NOAA scientists have identified atmospheric conditions that are likely to generate a meteotsunami and continue to work on ways to forecast them."

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Since its last update in mid-April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 12 more people have been infected with salmonella tied to a massive egg recall.

In all, 35 people from nine different states have been infected with the strain "Salmonella Braenderup," the CDC reports in its latest update on May 10. On April 16, the Food and Drug Administration announced that an Indiana-based farm has recalled more than 200 million eggs after it connected them to 22 cases of the strain.

The FDA said it linked the contamination to Rose Acre Farms' Hyde County, North Carolina-based farm. The company has recalled 206,749,248 eggs sold across multiple brands in Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.

"After learning that all of the people who became ill ate eggs or egg dishes, the FDA was able to trace back the source of some of the eggs to the Rose Acre Farms' Hyde County farm," the FDA reports. "FDA investigators then inspected the farm and collected samples for testing.

"FDA analysis of the samples revealed that the same strain of Salmonella Braenderup that caused the illnesses was present at the Hyde County Egg facility, tying the facility to the illnesses."

The first illness was reported on Nov. 16, 2017, and the CDC says those affected range in age from one to 90 years old with a median age of 65, and that 11 people have been hospitalized. There have been no deaths reported.

In a troubling follow up report, the FDA released details from an inspection at Rose Acre Farms claiming it found "unacceptable rodent activity" among other violations at the Indiana-based company's farm in Hyde County, North Carolina.

The inspection took place on March 26 of this year, and notes that there was a live rodent in a manure pit, another running across the upper-level floor, two dead rodents on the ground about 10-feet from the front of the house, among other discrepancies. In the report, the FDA notes that similar findings were discovered the following two days on March 27 and 28.

"There were unsanitary conditions and poor employee practices observed in the egg processing facility that create an environment that allows for the harborage, proliferation and spread of filth and pathogens throughout the facility that could cause the contamination of egg processing equipment and eggs," according to the FDA.

"Throughout the inspection we observed at least 25 flying insects throughout the egg processing facility. The insects were observed landing on food, food contact surfaces, and food production equipment."

Of those infected, 22 have said they ate shelled eggs while another 16 claim to have consumed eggs dishes at a restaurant. Virginia and New York lead the way with eight cases each, Pennsylvania has reported six, North Carolina five, South Carolina three, Florida with two, and Colorado, New Jersey and West Virginia with one each.

The FDA reports that the Hyde County farm linked to the 22 illnesses produces 2.3 million eggs each day, has 3 million laying hens and a daily on-site Department of Agriculture inspector on site. Affected eggs were sold under several different brands, which includes Great Value, Nelms, Sunshine Farms, Country Daybreak, Coburn Farms, Food Lion, Glenview and to restaurants.

Salmonella is a bacterium that can cause cramps, fever, diarrhea and other symptoms. While most recover without treatment, according to the release, the elderly and young children are most likely to suffer severe illness.

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Staff at Black Family Development (left to right): COO Kenyatta Stephens, Dr. Tripi, and CEO Alice G. Thompson

Examination room at Black Family Development

Books for patients to read or take home

For a long time, Dr. Allison Tripi knew she wanted to help children in need as a doctor. She figured she could earn her medical degree, and then volunteer her time in underserved communities. She never thought, however, that she could make an impact during one of the most critical experiences of her medical trainingher residency.As a third-year medical student at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Tripi learned about a unique opportunity to gain practical clinical experience in the inner city through Authority Health , a Detroit-based nonprofit that extends state, county, and municipal health departments to support the public health infrastructure, and provide connections between medical communities that don't usually exist.Neither a hospital nor an educational institution, Authority Health operates pediatric, family, psychiatric, and internal medicine residency programs that put medical residents directly into the community for valuable training and experience. Tripi participated in the Community Medicine Rotation (CMR), a month-long urban immersion that was part of her Pediatric Medicine Residency Program."I thought I would have to do my job, and then volunteer to work with the underserved, but the CMR opened that door so I could do both," says Tripi, who has since become a pediatrician.Tripi spends several days each month as attending physician in clinics at Focus:HOPE and Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI). Once a resident herself, she now supports and oversees the medical residents on the CMR.The CMR is one way Michigan organizations are using innovative approaches to improve child wellbeing. From providing individualized care and education right in the community where children live, to pioneering technology to alert busy emergency room physicians of suspected child abuse, physician caregivers are benefiting from unique approaches and promising tools to better care for children.Innovation in healthcare can be complex, problem-solving technology or as simple as a change of perspective. By recognizing that inner city children, who often live in poverty and lack heat, food, and transportation, won't necessarily receive health care according to a standard care model, Authority Health, through funding from the Children's Hospital of Michigan Foundation (CHMF), opened mini-clinics inside Focus:HOPE and BFDI. Here, CMR residents get to know the environments that inner city children call home.By serving Head Start kids and educating Head Start teachers at Focus:HOPE, and supporting older children and teens at BFDI, CMR residents provide nonjudgmental services to a population that often carries a level of mistrust for doctors. Program residents don't replace primary care, but work to connect children to doctors, and hope to imprint positive first impressions on the kids."When children are little, they rely on their parents for their health care, and they form opinions and biases," says Kelly Panoff, program coordinator with Authority Health. "If they are given quality health care at a high level, they will be better off physically and mentally."The families cared for at Focus:HOPE and BFDI are in extreme need, and benefit from basic care as well as plenty of health education."We are not as bound by time [as traditional physicians]," says Tripi. "So counseling is a huge part of what we do, and we provide health education sessions, along with normal physical exams."CHMF funding provided a lead testing machine that Tripi is eager to put into practice. According to studies, lead levels are on the rise among Detroit children.The month-long CMR also embeds residents in a dozen partner organizations throughout southeast Michigan where they treat patients at a free clinic in Wyandotte, serve children meals from the Salvation Army truck, and share health information and answer questions with women at Heartline Samaritas House Detroit "The core patient population is vulnerable," says Panoff. "This is a good way to take residents from all over the country who need what they don't get in their training: humanity 101."The goal is to create more empathetic doctors, and some residents, like Tripi, are forever impacted by the experience."We know our patients come from difficult environments, or are impacted by the effects of incarceration, but it's eye opening to see it firsthand," she says. "This rotation helps residents check back in, and theyre more well-rounded as a result. They learn to approach all patients without judgement, and this has the best outcome for the child, and the family, as well as for the physician."Correct diagnosis and treatment for the best possible outcome is always the goal of an emergency room physician. But in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment, its not always easy to spot abuse in the youngest of patients. That's why Dr. Usha Sethuraman, emergency room attending physician at Children's Hospital of Michigan (CHM) is working to implement an electronic alert system to help physicians use the correct tools to diagnose physical abuse in children under the age of 2.While the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has guidelines for action when a doctor suspects abuse, signs in pre-toddlers are subtle and often missed."In pediatrics, abuse is a great masquerader," says Sethuraman. "Fussiness or even fever could be secondary to blood in the brain, or a fracture somewhere that is painful to the child. But it could also indicate an ear infection or sepsis, which are more common in this age group."Nationally, nearly 80 percent of children who die from abuse are younger than 4 years old, and in Wayne County, about one in every 10 kids lived in a family that was investigated for child abuse in 2013. In Detroit, the number of confirmed child abuse or neglect cases in children 5 years and younger in 2016 was 2,636, up from 1,621 in 2012.The proposed electronic alert system would work in conjunction with CHM's existing computerized records, and ask physicians if they consider abuse when certain parameters are met, and then, if appropriate, guide the doctor through the AAP guidelines."The tool is not necessarily making the diagnosis for the physician, but offering a prompt about considering abuse," says Sethuraman. "We see more than 90,000 kids a year, and most ERs are high-stress environments where symptoms are difficult to differentiate."Provided by a grant from CHMF, the innovation was developed by Dr. Srinivasan Suresh and Dr. Rachel Berger at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh , and will be modified to work with CHM's ER procedural routines before it is implemented, ideally by this fall. If successful, the system could expand to other departments and locations.
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Education

Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.

Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.

Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:

International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.

EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.

Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale  an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s  will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets  June Homecoming: Participant  $18 per person; Sustainer  $25 per person; Benefactor  $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler  Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.

The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:

SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available  for information call 610-275-1960

Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)

SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.

Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.

Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.  4 p.m.  computers are available during those hours.

Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.

Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.

Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.

The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:

Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at

other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.

CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.

The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:

Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.

Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.

Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.

Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.

Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.

Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.

For Kids & Families

The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.

Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.

Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.

The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.

Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.

Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.

Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.

Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.

Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!

Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.

Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.

Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.

Community Events at the Ambler Y:

-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.

Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.

Health

Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.

The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.

The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.

Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.

Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.

Spring Aquatic Programs  UDHS Pool:

-Summer is just around the corner  Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.

 Shallow Water Aerobics  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.

 Adult Swim Instructions  Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR

-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.

-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday  Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.

-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.

-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.

Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.

SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.

Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.

Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:

FITNESS CLASSES

Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.

Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30  9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.

SUPPORT GROUPS

Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.

Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30  7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.

New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m.  12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30  4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.

Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.

Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.

Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.

Librarytalk

Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744

www.upperdublinlibrary.org

APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:

Storytimes: Please register in the library.

o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.

o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.

o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.

o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.

APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:

North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee

APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:

NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.

One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register  contact info above.

Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.

o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.

Meetings:

Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.

Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.

Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.

For children and teens at Blue Bell:

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.

* May 14  Despicable Me

* June 11  Alpha and Omega

* Special Events

* April  watch for date of spring/Easter events

* April 14 at 4:30 p.m.  Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.

* April 14 at 7 p.m.  Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.

* April 16 at 1 p.m.  Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.

* April 16 at 1:30 p.m.  Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?

* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.

* April 30 through May 3  Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.

* May  sign up for Science in the Summer

* June  sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children

* June  sign up for Summer Reading, all ages

For adults at Blue Bell:

* Daytime Book Discussion Group  fourth Tuesday, Jan  April at 1:30 p.m.

* April 26  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Night-time Book Discussion Group  third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.

o April 19  The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester

* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges

o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?

*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs

* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.

* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.

* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.

* Giant Book Sale, April 29  May 3

o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!

o Held during library hours.

o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.

o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.

* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series

o May 11 at 1 p.m.  Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society

* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.

* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.

* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.

* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.

*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.

* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours

* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours

* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!

Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.

* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.

* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.

* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.

* For adults:

* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.

* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net

* Special Events:

* April 14 at 1:30 p.m.  Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.

* April 19 at 7 p.m.  Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.

* April 21 at 7 p.m.  Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.

*May 2 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

*May 10  Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*May 12 at 1:30p.m.  Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.

*May 17  Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.

*June 13 at 6:30 p.m.  Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.

Meetings and Lectures

The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.

The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.

Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.

The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.

LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.

Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.

Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)

-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.

The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.

For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.

Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.

Special Events

The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.

The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.

Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.

The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.

Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.

The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.

The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.

The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.

Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.

The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.

The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.

The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.

Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.

The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.

13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.

Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.

The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.

The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.

JPRN  Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them  Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.

Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.

Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.

Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.

Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.

Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m.

Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp  Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday  Friday from 9 a.m.  4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374

Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:

-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.

Music and Theater

The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.

Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.

Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.

The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org

Religious News

The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.

Reunions

St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.

Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.

Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.

Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net

Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net

The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.

Support

New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.

PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.

The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.

Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.

Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group  every other Wednesday, 7  8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support  second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner  Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers  Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.

CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7  8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
By By:

Dr. Francis R. Souder, 85, formerly of Telford, died Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 in the skilled nursing unit of Peter Becker Community, Franconia Township. He and his wife Marion R. (Parker) Souder celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary in July.

Born in Souderton, he was a son of the late Elvin B. and Mary (Rittenhouse) Souder.

A 1938 graduate of Souderton High School, he received his undergraduate degree in 1941 from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa. Dr. Souder went on to receive his medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College in 1944 and completed his internship at Hahnemann Hospital from Oct. 1944  July, 1945.

He served with the U.S. Navy Medical Corps for 30 months in San Diego and Long Beach, Calif. during WW II and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant prior to his discharge. He entered his second tour of duty during the Korean War where he served in Panama City, Fla. as the medical officer for the Panama City Naval Air Station and the Tyndal Air Force Base.

Dr. Souder owned and operated his family practice on Main Street in Telford from 1947-1989. He served on the staff of Grand View Hospital, and as its president, and taught at the Grand View Hospital Nursing School. He was a member of the Pa. Medical Society, the Bucks County Medical Society, Diplomat American Academy of Family Practices, and served on the board of trustees at Grand View Hospital, Sellersville.

He was a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Telford, where he sang in the church choir. He was also a member of the MacCalla Lodge #596 in Souderton, the Raja Shrine, and Lehigh Consistory.

In addition to his widow, he is survived by a son, Dr. Ronald L. Souder, and his wife Susan L. of Green Lane; a daughter, Susan J. Souder, and her husband Stephan Russo of New York, N.Y.; five grandchildren: Jennifer A. Souder of Philadelphia; Emily E. Souder of Philadelphia; Kathryn A. Souder of Washington, D.C.; Noah Russo of New York, N.Y., and Rebekah Russo of New York, N.Y., and two brothers: Attorney Elvin B. Souder of Souderton and Dr. Lawrence Souder of Souderton.

Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 12 p.m. in Trinity United Church of Christ, 101 S. Main St., Telford, with calling hours following the service.

Interment will be private in Trinity UCC Cemetery Telford.

Memorial contributions may be made to Grand View Hospital, 700 Lawn Ave., Sellersville, Pa. 18960.

Arrangements are by Sadler-Suess Funeral Home, Telford.
A NIWA forecaster is describing New Zealand's winter this year as "a great marriage but not without its fights".

Chris Brandolino told Newshub while we should expect the occasional cold snap, we're not facing a harsh winter.

He said the upper North Island will have a warmer than average winter while the rest of the country maintains average winter temperatures.

This week, thanks to some low hanging air pressure, northern parts of the country have experienced unseasonably warm weather.

NIWA centres in Albany and MOTAT in Auckland have recorded record-breaking warm temperatures.

The pressure is currently moving north-westerly winds over the North Island.

However its due to move across the country, with winds changing to a south-westerly and bringing cold weather to the South Island over the next couple of days.

In the short term in the next day or two temperatures will remain above average.

Newshub.
Many individuals who have had a loved one stricken with cancer are left with a feeling of helplessnessnot being able to physically help through the life-threatening battle.

For Morgan Hill resident Nikkie Underhill, a co-event lead for the inaugural Relay For Life of South County, this struggle of not being sure how to help hit home when her friend, Jennifer Pavlcich-Murphy, was diagnosed with breast cancer and later leukemia.

Thats the reason I initially got involved with the relay, and then I decided to be a co-event lead after Jen passed away, said the 34-year-old mother of three who is a program manager at General Dynamics Mission Systems.

Pavlcich-Murphy, a instructor at Lanas Dance Studio, lost her battle with leukemia shortly after the birth of her youngest son, according to Underhill. The young mother also had been in recovery from breast cancer at the time.

To honor her friend, Underhill helped form her first relay team called Jenns Rebel Mamas, which is now in its third year participating in the local American Cancer Society fundraiser.

I think its because when you have someone you love going through cancer theres really not a lot you can do for them. You can be there and offer support but its kind of a helpless feeling, said Underhill. You can be super deflated or turn it into positive energy. For me, I turned it into positive energy and did something to help others.

This year, Morgan Hill and Gilroy organizers joined forcesat the request of the American Cancer Societyto form the first Relay For Life of South County, which is scheduled for 10am May 19 through 10am May 20 at Morgan Hill Community Park, located at 171 W. Edmundson Ave. Forty-three teams have already raised $66,841 toward a goal of $113,000.

Its a free community event. You can just show up. There are kids activities and live music, said Underhill, wanting to spread the word of the local relay continues to raise funds throughout the 24-hour event on site along with the online donations at relayforlife.org/SouthCountyCA.

While continuing to support Jens Rebel Mamas in 2018, Underhill will also be part of another Relay for Life team in honor of her mother-in-law Mary Hajdas, who died of cancer in December 2017. Along with her husband, Jim Underhill, they have formed Marys Trail Blazers. Underhills 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old boy-girl twins will also be participating for their grandma.

This year my official membership is in Marys Trail Blazers, but Ill be active in both teams, Underhill said. It makes me feel better (to be an active participant in Relay) and with something that is contributing to the fight against cancer.

The 24-hour walkathon, which is ACSs largest annual fundraiser with communities partaking in Relays for Life throughout country, will begin 10am May 19 and run until 10am May 20 at Morgan Hill Community Park, located at 171 W. Edmundson Ave. The continuous overnight event calls fo at least one member of a team to be walking the circuit at all times.

Just seeing the event coming together, I know the work I put in is for a really great cause and a really great event that is meaningful to a lot of people, Underhill said.

Underhill credited the local Relays 20-person event leadership team for making it possible, especially in the first year combining the Morgan Hill and Gilroy events into one.

Everybody really puts in a lot of work leading into the event. We have a team of people who all feel the same way and put a lot of their hearts into event as well, Underhill said. The merger has given us a lot of opportunities to pull the support that Gilroy and Morgan Hill have had for Relay into one big event together.

What: American Cancer Society Relay For Life of South County

When: 10am May 19 to 10am May 20

Where: Morgan Hill Community Park (171 W. Edmundson Ave)

How: relayforlife.org/SouthCountyCA
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Political prisoner, activist, journalist, hymn-writer, emerging think tanker, aspiring novelist, hanger on of academia, parliamentary candidate for North West Durham, Shadow Leader of the Opposition, Speedboat, proudly banned from Twitter so officially more dangerous than the Taliban, eagerly awaiting the second (or possibly third) attempt to murder me.
Taking money out of your 529 plan seems like it should be the easy part, but if you don't carefully right-size your 529 plan distributions, you may find that you owe both a penalty and extra taxes.



The key is that is that in any tax year (not academic year), you want to ensure that the amount you withdraw from the 529 college savings plan doesn't exceed your qualified education expenses. You'll need to figure in tax-free educational assistance such as scholarships and grants and also factor in the impact of credits, such as the American Opportunity Tax Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit.

Any amount you withdraw in excess of qualified expenses will be subject to taxes on the earnings portion of the withdrawal, and could incur a 10% penalty. If you figure the amount correctly, though, no tax or penalty will be due.

Know What's Covered

You'll need to calculate your qualified education expenses. We'll refer to that as QEE. But before you do that, you need to know what is and isn't covered.

Tuition and fees. (You probably figured that was covered.)

Books, supplies, and equipment. This includes the cost of any computer technology, related equipment, and/or related services such as Internet access. The technology, equipment, or services qualify if they are used primarily by the beneficiary of the plan during the years the beneficiary is enrolled at the college or university.

Room and board. This has a few important caveats. The student must be enrolled at least half time in the institution, and the room and board expenses can't exceed the greater of these two amounts:

1. The allowance for room and board that was included in the cost of attendance determined by the college or university.

2. The actual amount charged if the student is residing in housing owned or operated by the eligible educational institution.

That means off-campus housing is considered a 529-eligible expense, but only to the extent that it doesn't exceed the greater of the two aforementioned amounts. If your student is planning to live off campus, it's a good idea to call the campus housing department and confirm the qualified housing costs amount when you're calculating your QEE.

Calculate Your QEE

Per the IRS, taxes do not have to be paid on the contributed amount (as 529s are funded with aftertax dollars) and generally aren't owed on any earnings distributed from a 529 if the total distribution is less than or equal to adjusted qualified education expenses. It's important to figure this number accurately, lest you will owe taxes--and possibly a 10% penalty--on the overdistribution, or the portion of the distribution in excess of QEE. If your child receives a scholarship, the 10% penalty on a nonqualified withdrawal is waived up to the amount of the scholarship. However, you will still owe taxes on the earnings portion of the overdistribution.

Add qualified expenses: tuition and fees, books and supplies, and housing. Be sure to subtract the amount of any tax-free educational assistance. This includes tax-free scholarships and fellowship grants, veteran's assistance, the tax-free portion of the Pell Grant, employer-provided educational assistance, and any other tax-free assistance. This doesn't include gifts or inheritances.

The resulting figure is your adjusted qualified educational expense.

Here's an example: Let's say you opened a 529 college savings account in 2007 for your daughter. For simplicity's sake, let's say you funded the account with $10,000 and didn't make any further contributions. The account returned 7% per year. After 10 years of compounding, the account now has about $20,000 and half of it is principal and the other half is earnings. Your daughter will be starting college in the fall, and she has $9,000 of qualified education expenses for 2017 (match up the calendar year, not the academic year). You took a $9,000 529 distribution. Here's a closer look at how your daughter actually paid for her college expenses:



Gift from grandparents: $1,000

Partial tuition scholarship (tax-free): $1,000

529 distribution: $9,000

But you also have to reduce your daughter's total qualified education expenses by the amount of the partial tuition scholarship, because it is tax-free. Here are the adjusted qualified education expenses.

Total qualified education expenses: $9,000

Tax-free scholarship: $1,000

Adjusted qualified education expenses (AQEE): $8,000

In this case, the $9,000 529 withdrawal exceeds the amount of adjusted qualified educational expenses. So come tax time, you will owe taxes on part of the earnings portion of this overdistribution.

How to Calculate Taxes Owed on Distributions

Here's how to figure what you're on the hook for if your distribution exceeded your QEE. You will receive a Form 1099-Q from any 529 from which you received a distribution in 2017. The amount of your gross distribution (box 1) shown on each form will be divided between your earnings (box 2) and your basis, or contribution amount (box 3). Let's say that the number in box 2, our earnings, was $4,410.

Multiply the total distributed earnings shown on Form 1099-Q, box 2, by a fraction that represents the percentage of how much of your 529 distribution went to QEE. The fraction's numerator is the adjusted qualified education expenses paid during the year and the denominator is the total amount distributed during the year.

In our example: $4,410 * ($8,000/$9,000) = $3,920 tax-free earnings.

$4,410 - $3,920 = $490. You must report $490 on your 2017 taxes (filed in 2018) as the amount of distributed 529 earnings that were not used for adjusted qualified education expenses.

Figure in the American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Credit

The American Opportunity Tax Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit are two common educational tax credits. (Remember, a credit directly reduces your tax liability, while a deduction reduces your taxable income.)

The American Opportunity Tax Credit allows families of undergraduates to deduct the first $2,000 spent on qualified education expenses and 25% of the next $2,000 (up to a maximum of $2,500). The Lifetime Learning Credit provides up to a $2,000 tax credit on the first $10,000 of college expenses. This credit is available for an unlimited number of tax years, but it cannot be filed in the same year that the American Opportunity Tax Credit is filed. (Both credits have modified adjusted gross income thresholds.) Click here to read more.

If you plan to claim the Lifetime Learning Credit and the American Opportunity Tax Credit when you file your taxes, make sure you anticipate the impact it will have on your adjusted qualified education expenses when you figure your 529 withdrawal amount. You'll need to deduct the costs used to calculate the credit from your QEE.

Let's add the Lifetime Learning Credit into our example. We'll leave our 529 withdrawal amount the same, at $9,000, but we'll further reduce the adjusted QEE by subtracting the expenses used to figure the credit.

Total qualified education expenses: $9,000

Tax-free scholarship: $1,000

Expenses taken into account in figuring LLC: $4,000

Adjusted qualified education expenses: $4,000

Figure the taxable portion of the 529 withdrawal as follows: $4,410 * ($4,000/$9,000) = $1,960

$4,410 - $1,960 = $2,450. This is the amount of distributed 529 earnings not used for adjusted qualified education expenses, and therefore subject to taxes and possibly a 10% penalty.
Q: If you save money in a 529 and then your child gets a scholarship, what is the best course of action?

A: If you're in the enviable position of having diligently saved for your child's college education and he or she earns a scholarship, you can withdraw the money in the amount of the scholarship and the 10% nonqualified withdrawal penalty is waived on that amount. This might not be the best course of action because you will pay ordinary income tax on the earnings portion of your 529 balance. (The contributions were made with aftertax dollars, remember, so the amount over the contribution amount represents earned income that has not yet been taxed.)
Regardless of what anyone wants to state! Regardless of what the supreme court ruled based on made up numbers about back alley abortions to sway the judges, many of which said that weighed heavily on their decision! Conception of human life is when the egg is fertilized, the DNA transfer occurs, then it is a human life. The heart beats before most women know their pregnant, lack of a heartbeat determines life/death, it should at the VERY least determine life. I do not believe personally that a right to privacy advocates the ability to MURDER a human being. Save your SCOTUS said otherwise, I covered why many of them voted that way.
I don't want to pay for the miserable s.o.b.'s with my taxes to the tune of $186k per year.



I think they all deserve to be put into a room alone with five gay people and the door locked.



If the hate crime is against black people, then it should be five black people. If it's against women, it should be five women. . .etc.



It would stop fast enough after enough eyes were gouged out and enough testicles were ripped off.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP)  Danish prosecutors say the appeals case against Danish submarine inventor Peter Madsen, who has only appealed against the life sentence, will take place in September.

The prosecutors said Tuesday that the appeal will take place from Sept. 5 at the Eastern High Court in Copenhagen.

Madsen's defense lawyer has said Madsen still denies murdering Kim Wall.

Madsen was found guilty April 25 of murder, sexual assault and the dismembering of Wall. The Copenhagen City Court ruled unanimously that Madsen, 47, had lured Wall, 30, onto his home-made submarine with the promise of an interview she had been trying to get for months.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
BRUSSELS (AP)  Major European powers and Tehran committed Tuesday to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump's determination to kill it off.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that salvage efforts focused on economic, business and banking issues could produce "practical solutions in the next few weeks"

"There was awareness of the urgency," Mogherini said after the meeting in Brussels.

"If I can use the metaphor that some raised around the table, we all have a relative in intensive care and we all want to get him or her out of intensive care as soon as possible," she said.

Germany, France and Britain all are signatories of the 2015 deal, which was meant to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The U.S. pulled out of the pact last week and promised to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran.

Mogherini said "expert talks" on relevant financial and economic issues such as banking transactions and oil would begin soon and the deputy foreign ministers from the three European nations and Iran would meet in Vienna next week.

"We reaffirmed together our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere," she said.

Said Iran's Zarif: "We are on the right track. A lot depends on what we can do within the next few weeks."

The steps forward underscored the EU's hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to security.

"It won't be easy, that's clear to all of us. But if we want to stay in this agreement and ensure that Iran stays in this agreement and abides to the terms of the agreement, then we need to talk about this," German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

At the same time, the European diplomats wanted to show they weren't gullible and wouldn't drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in the Syria conflict.

"I want to stress we are under no illusion about the stuff Iran gets up to in the region, in the Middle East. We have no illusions about Iran's disruptive behavior, but we think we can tackle those in other ways," British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said.

Mogherini agreed at the end of a long day of diplomatic meetings.

"As you know very well, we have many other disagreements," she said. But, she added, "with the nuclear deal in place we have better chances to address any other issues we have to address with Iran."

Trump's withdrawal from the deal has imperiled not only the accord, but the threat of sanctions could trickle down to European companies doing business with Iran.

"We have to accept, be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extraterritoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to businesses," Johnson said.

The European Commission has been examining measures to counter the introduction of any U.S. sanctions that could harm European businesses. The commission is expected to unveil them to EU leaders at a summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.

Among them is the possible use of an EU "blocking regulation" which would, in essence, ban European companies from respecting American sanctions when the sanctions might damage EU interests, notably trade and the movement of capital.

The regulation, which has been brandished as a threat in the past but never used, was drawn up more than 20 years ago and would have to be revised.

It is unclear how well the measure could be enforced, given that big multinationals are likely to be doing more business in the U.S. than they are in Iran and may be unwilling to compromise that market access.

The EU's energy commissioner is also traveling this week to Iran to discuss strengthening European energy support to Iran.

___

Jill Lawless in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Frank Jordans in Berlin, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP)  Millions of Muslims around the world will begin the fasting month of Ramadan on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations, like Indonesia, declared Ramadan would not begin Wednesday based on a moon-sighting methodology. That means the month of dawn-to-dusk fasting will most likely begin Thursday.

The Ramadan fast, in which food and even water is prohibited, falls on especially long summer days this year for Muslims in the Northern Hemisphere. For Muslims who live in regions where Islam is not the dominant religion, challenging fasts are believed to come with greater blessings.

Fasting is intended to bring the faithful closer to God and remind them of those less fortunate. It is also a chance to kick addictions like caffeine and cigarettes.

During the day, Muslims must abstain from eating, drinking, sex, gossip and cursing, and are encouraged to focus on meditative acts like prayer, reading the Quran and charity. There are exceptions to fasting for children, the elderly, the sick, women who are pregnant, nursing or menstruating, and people travelling.

Muslims follow a lunar calendar, and a moon-sighting methodology can lead to different countries declaring the start of Ramadan a day or two apart. Religious authorities in Egypt and Syria both declared the fast would begin Thursday.

Traditionally, countries announce if their moon-sighting council spots the Ramadan crescent the evening before fasting begins. The kingdom's announcement was made on Saudi state TV and by other state-run media.

Fasting during Ramadan is one of the five obligatory pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith, daily prayer, annual charity and performing the hajj pilgrimage in Mecca. Many donate their annual charity, known as "zakat," during Ramadan.

In many Middle Eastern countries, the wealthy help distribute free meals for the poor, with mosques and volunteers passing out juice and food to pedestrians and anyone, Muslim or non-Muslim, in need of the aid or simply breaking their fast.

Muslims typically break their fast as the Prophet Muhammad did some 1,400 years ago, by eating sweet dates and drinking water, followed by a sunset prayer.

Ramadan is also a time of feasting with family and friends. In the Middle East, worshippers pack mosques for nightly prayers before heading home to watch Ramadan television specials.

It's common practice across many Muslim-majority nations for liquor stores and hotels to curb the sale of alcohol during Ramadan. Often, restaurants shutter their doors during the day.

In the United Arab Emirates, where foreigners outnumber locals, restaurants put up curtains out of respect to those who are fasting, and expats are encouraged not to eat in public view of those fasting.

Muslims celebrate the end of Ramadan with a three-day holiday called Eid al-Fitr.

___

Batrawy reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo and Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Why don't we admit when we are wrong? AND why are apologies becoming an endangered species?I recently read a rather old article published (Jeff Jacoby) in the Boston Globe and it hit home.Nobody likes to apologize, particularly when the world is watching. For many of us, the first instinct when our wrongdoing is exposed is to rationalize our offense, minimize the harm we caused, or put the blame somewhere else. Celebrities, politicians, and business moguls are especially notorious for non-apology apologies.I think this is a topic worth investigating since theres a lot of talk right now about whether President Trump should admit when he's wrong and when he lies. Trump is not the first person in power to be in this situation. Im sure you also see this play out all the time. Its frustrating to see our leaders play these types of avoidance games. They cause us to lose faith, with the result being that we learn not to trust them. Many voters certainly do NOT trust Donald Trump, the KING of LIES, exaggeration, and hyperbole.So, why do we avoid admitting our mistakes? I'm just as guilty as the next guy.Our knee-jerk reaction when caught is to avoid taking responsibility by:1. Blaming someone else,2. Getting defensive, or3. Rationalizing a wrongdoing with some sort of storyline we create.Unfortunately, there are those among us who have gotten into a habit of doing one or all three  consistently. Whats up with that? There's also the un-apology APOLOGY. You know the one. There's usually a .."BUT" in the apology and it doesn't ring sincere.Apologies need a big comeback if we the people want a united country. We need to grow up and find a little maturity because THAT'S the missing link.Maturity means owning up to a mistake, admitting we DID IT/SAID IT and saying something like: You were right. I was wrong and Im truly sorry for what Ive done. Truly sorry.It's not really that hard--humbling, yes. Embarrassing--probably. But the bottom line, we all need to learn to admit when we are wrong and to take responsibility appropriately.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  South Korea's Yonhap News Agency says North Korea is canceling a high-level meeting between the two countries and is threatening also to cancel a summit with the United States due to ongoing military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea.

The two Koreas were set to hold a meeting Wednesday at a border village to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks to reduce border tension and restart reunions between families separated by the Korean War.

Yonhap says North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that Wednesday's meeting was canceled and that Pyongyang was questioning whether next month's summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump can also take place as planned.

Yonhap says the two-week military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea started Friday.

A State Dept. spokesperson said the agency had no information about North Korea threatening to cancel the summit.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip -- The United Nations Security Council is set to meet Tuesday to discuss what is being called the single deadliest day in Gaza since 2014.

More than 50 Palestinians killed

Palestinians protesting opening of U.S. Embassy

RELATED: More Palestinians killed amid protests over US Embassy

About 58 Palestinians were killed while protesting the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem Monday.

While the celebration of the new U.S. Embassy being moved to Jerusalem was going on, bloodshed and death of dozens of protesters was happening not far from them on the Gaza border.

Leaders of the mass protests have suggested that Tuesday will be a day of mourning for those 58 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces.

However, that does not mean the military in Israel or Gaza will hold back.

The Israeli military says it struck 11 "terror targets" in a Hamas military compound Tuesday morning.

Tuesday also marks 70 years since the "nakba" or catastrophe, as recognized by Palestinians as the day the state of Israel was created in 1948, which lead to an uprooting of hundreds of thousands of people.

President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior Adviser Jared Kushner said the protesters were part of the problem while speaking at the embassy opening.

"As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution," Kushner said.

The U.N. Security Council is set to meet Tuesday about the heightened violence between the two.

Israel's representative to the U.N. blamed the terrorist group Hamas saying,"Not only does Hamas incite tens of thousands of Palestinians to breach the border and hurt Israeli civilians, but Hamas also deliberately endangers Palestinian civilians."

Palestinian Representative to the U.N. Riyad Mansour said opening the embassy does not promote peace.

"This is the life of the Palestinian people and those who think that opening the embassy opened doors to peace; let them really know what is happening in the Gaza Strip," stated Mansour.

Many countries have been critical of Israel's use of force on unarmed protesters. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have condemned Israel for what they describe as violent use of force against Palestinian civilians.

South Africa and Turkey have removed their ambassadors to Israel; Turkey has also withdrawn its ambassador to the U.S.

Russia, the U.K. and France say they disagree with the embassy move and Iran says the move will speed up Israel's annihilation.

U.N. Human Rights department says they urge Israel to put an end to the disproportionate use of force against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza to respect humanitarian law and to lift the blockade.
TAVARES, Fla. -- Tavares Police Department reports that one person was shot as a result of a home invasion in Rosewood Monday night.

Police say they were dispatched to the Rosewood home around 9:30 p.m. According to Tavares PD Facebook post, one of the people living in the home was shot by one of the intruders; they are currently at an area hospital.

Officers say there is one person in custody as of Monday night.

The investigation is active and ongoing. Police warned the public to avoid the area Monday night since it was an active crime scene.

No further information has been released at this time.
OCALA, Fla. -- Marion County Public School officials say they're investigating accusations that a Forest High School teacher killed an animal.

FWC, school officials investigating teacher

Teacher accused of killing 2 raccoons w/ students

Incident reportedly happened on school grounds

One parent, who didn't want to be identified, says on Monday her son came home crying after he says his teacher and other students drowned two raccoons.

"The teacher trapped them in cages, they then took the cages and he instructed the kids how to kill them, she said.

She said they raise chicken, and her son said the teacher killed the raccoons because they had eaten one of the chickens.

"They basically tortured these animals and drowned them," she said.

She says her son's teacher threatened students not to take out their phone, but says her son hid and took these pictures and a video of the incident.

Spectrum News 13 has decided not to air the graphic video.

The parent says large trash cans were filled with water as students held the cage down in the water.

"As the raccoons were trying to come up they had steel rods that they were holding the animals down with, and if they popped their heads up they held water hoses in their faces to drown them," she said.

Marion County Public School officials say the teacher is on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure during an investigation.

"What causes us great concern is that these actions supposedly took place in front of students, so thats why we're looking into it, that's why we're absolutely taking it seriously," said Kevin Christian with Marion County Public Schools.

"While law enforcement tells us the teacher did not do anything illegal, his actions before students are certainly questionable," said Christian.

The parent thinks the teacher should be fired.

"It's disgusting, it was disturbing. You dont torture animals or kill animals," she said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Officials say they're looking into it and said, "FWC officers are investigating to see the legality of the issue that occurred. The FWC takes these matters seriously."
Republicans who secured endorsements during the weekends convention will have little time to rest, as several opponents are already working on challenging for nominations during this summers primary.

Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, the GOP-endorsed candidates for governor, and Sen. Joe Markley, R-Southington, endorsed for lieutenant governor, are both looking at the potential of multiple challengers in August.

While Id welcome the relative restfulness of not having a primary, theres a way in which I think the primary will get us on our game, Markley said Monday about the likelihood of a primary.

State party Chairman JR Romano wouldnt tell candidates to back out of the race and unify around the endorsed candidates, but he also urged them to consider their viability when deciding whether to continue their campaign.

The conventions generally a good measure of support, Romano said Monday, adding the Republicans need to focus on the 80 percent of things we agree.

Other endorsed candidates for statewide office include Susan Chapman for attorney general, Kurt Miller for comptroller, and Thad Gray for treasurer.

Boughton could not be reached through a campaign spokesman for comment Monday. Hell likely have to fight off a crowded field to secure the nomination in August.

Boughton earned the endorsement by securing one vote more than 50 percent, but former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and Steve Obsitnik, of Westport, both cleared the 15-percent threshold needed to qualify for a primary.

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, who fell short of the threshold, and David Stemerman and Bob Stefanowski, two-self funded businessmen who skipped the convention, have already announced their intention of collecting petition signatures to qualify.

Markley will also likely face challenges, albeit from a smaller field. New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, who won 26.2 percent of the vote, announced on Twitter Saturday that she is On to the PRIMARY.

Markley said he also expects First Selectwoman Jayme Stevenson, who also cleared the 15-percent mark, to enter the primary race.

Markley expressed confidence in his chances, saying he thinks he can fare better in the primary than he did at the convention.

Ive been a fiscal conservative, Ive never voted for a tax increase,he said. Im a proponent of limited government, of adherence to our constitution, of our individual rights, and I think thats a strong contrast to either opponent.

Democrats were quick to criticize both endorsements, with party Chair Nick Balletto saying the fact that Joe Markley easily secured the Republican nomination with his radical right-wing rhetoric further proves that the Connecticut Republican party is the Party of Trump. Balletto also had similar criticism of Boughton and of the other GOP candidates looking to primary, continuing the Democrats strategy of attempting to tie Republican candidates to President Donald Trump.

Markley, though, said he considers Boughton a strong candidate, and that Markley could cover his back with the Republican base while he goes around the state.

msavino@record-journal.com

203-317-2266

Twitter: @reporter_savino
WATERBURY  State Democrats endorsed former Simsbury First Selectman Mary Glassman by a narrow margin over Waterbury teacher and political newcomer Jahana Hayes for the 5th congressional district seat Monday.

Glassman beat out Hayes with 173 delegates to 167 in the second round of voting.

We need to send someone who is ready to go to work for the 5th district someone with a proven record of building consensus, said Glassman, who won thanks to some late voting changes from New Britain, her former hometown.

After a first round of voting, Glassman held a slight edge over Hayes among the 340 delegates gathered at Crosby High School. Five candidates were being considered.

Other candidates seeking the nomination included New Britain Alderman Emmanuel Sanchez, Newtown Rabbi Shaul Praver, and Southport psychiatrist Roy Lubit.

Sanchez received 57 delegates in the first round of voting, meaning he cleared the 15-percent threshold needed to qualify for a primary. He then released his votes and bowed out of the race before the second round of voting.

Praver and Lubit only received one vote each, and were eliminated.

The seat became open when U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty, a Democrat, announced she wouldnt seek re-election amid scandal over her handling of complaints of abuse by her former chief of staff.

The 5th district covers 41 towns and cities from the states northwestern corner to Meriden and the Farmington Valley to the east. Larger cities include Danbury, New Britain, Meriden and part of Waterbury.

State Republicans gave former Meriden Mayor Manny Santos the nod at the GOP convention last Friday. Santos faces a primary challenge from Ruby ONeil of Southbury and possibly Richard DuPont of Watertown, according to media reports. Santos welcomed the challenge as a way to get before more voters.

The delegates and voting came from across the entire district, Santos said earlier Monday. It went really well. They went with someone who had the track record, who had been in the race for several months.

Despite losing an at-large City Council race in 2017, Santos was the mayor of a city and understands what it takes to relate to voters, said Republican state chairman JR Romano in an interview prior to the Democratic convention.

"At the end of the day, it was a close race," Romano said, adding Santos has demonstrated he can win in a Democratic-leaning city. "I think it says more that he understands average, hardworking families."

mgodin@record-journal.com

203-317-2255

Twitter: @Cconnbiz
NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP)  A 23-year-old woman has been arraigned on multiple charges in connection with the deaths of three members of a Connecticut family.

Ruth Correa could face life in prison if convicted of murder, arson and robbery charges in connection with the deaths of 56-year-old Kenneth Lindquist, 61-year-old Janet Lindquist and their 21-year-old son, Matthew.

Police found Kenneth and Janet Lindquist's bodies after a December fire at their Griswold home.

The medical examiner says the couple suffered head injuries.

Matthew Lindquist's remains were found May 5 in woods near his parents' home. Officials say he died of multiple stab wounds.

A judge Monday at her arraignment kept Correa's bail at $2.5 million.

Correa's relationship with the Lindquist family remains unclear.

Neither her public defender nor relatives commented after Monday's hearing.
WALLINGFORD  Family and friends are remembering Bill Fritz, husband of late lawmaker Mary Fritz, as a passionate educator, civic leader and caring husband.

Fritz, 78, died Sunday surrounded by family, according to his obituary. He was married to Mary Fritz for 52 years. She served 32 years as a state representative in the 90th district until she died of cancer in July 2016.

Bill Fritz worked as an industrial arts teacher in town for over 30 years and championed craftsmanship and creativity in the school system. He chaired the local Democrat Town Committee for six years.

Willie Fritz, the oldest of six children, said his dad was selfless and caring.

He would give the shirt off his back, Willie Fritz said. He was tough, for sure, and caring. He was very sensitive. You didn't see that that much, but he was sensitive.

Former Democatic Town Committee chairmen Jeffrey Knickerbocker and Vincent Avallone recalled Fritzs impact.

He had huge influence on the DTC, Knickerbocker said. He had a large part in drafting the bylaws that we currently use.

Avallone said Fritz was a guy that had very strong beliefs and opinions and he wasn't afraid to share his opinions with you regardless of your status.

He always spoke his mind. That was always something I really respected about Bill, Avallone said.

Fritz, born in Meriden, began his teaching career at Lyman Hall High School in 1961 after graduating from Central Connecticut State College. He later became head of the Industrial Arts Department at Sheehan High School, a position he held for 23 years. In retirement, Fritz was appointed to the state Board of Education by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy in 2010.

Bill advocated for the value of craftsmanship and creativity in the school system, his obituary read, and worked to help his students who were not college-bound to get the most of their high school experience.

Several guys went on to start their own business as a result of taking his class, Willie Fritz said.

Knickerbocker said Fritz used his woodworking skills to help build signs for his wifes campaigns.

While most people would have mass-produced signs, she had wooden signs that were made by Bill, Knickerbocker said.

Avallone said Fritz played an important role in his wifes political career. Mary Fritz served 16 terms as a state representative, 15 of which she won consecutively.

Im not sure everyone knew how important Bill was in Mary's success and the work he did on her campaign, Avallone said. He was an integral part of contacting voters. He made signs for her.He loved that kind of stuff, he lived for that kind of stuff.

He did it all, Willie Fritz said about his dads contributions to his mothers campaign. He organized her campaign, he ran her campaigns.

Following his wifes death in 2016, Bill Fritz helped have Yalesville Elementary School renamed, Mary G. Fritz Elementary School.

mzabierek@record-journal.com

203-317-2279

Twitter: @MatthewZabierek
Death rattle can be heard

Editor:

The experts have spoken  Lyin' Don "His Illigitimacy" was "elected" by uneducated white Christian evangelical males with the help of Putin. We know that they were " tribal" and they feared that their position in our richly diversified nation was under siege. And we also know that our electoral system was attacked by an enemy, a foreign nation and now we have invertebrate GOP leaders who enable this fake POTUS. We went from the articulate intelligent Barack Obama to a racist. I guess Darwin was wrong.

But change is coming. Thanks to the MeToo and the student anti-gun violence movements the death rattle from the far right can be heard. For years inner-city minority mothers waited every day in fear that their children may not return home. Now that fear is shared by white suburban middle-class moms who will go to the polls this November. We have had enough.

This must end. Trump continues to divide us. If he loves the NRA so much why won't he permit attendees to his rallies to carry assault weapons?

Lastly, for the record I agree with past and present members of his government such as Tillerson and Kelly. They know Trump best, he is an "idiot" and a "moron." Not my president!

Paul E. Gradwell, Meriden

Statute is often abused

Editor:

Your May 5 issue carried an article on the domestic abuse statute which was critical of remarks made by State Rep/Town Councilman Craig Fishbein. You quoted Karen Jarmoc of the Connecticut Coalition against Domestic Violence, a committed advocate for such statutes, saying that Attorney Fishbein's remarks were "enormously concerning."

Attorney Fishbein had criticized the workings of the domestic violence statute in that it is often abused with false reports of domestic violence in order to affect a pending or contemplated divorce case. You lined up a number of commentators who commented politically rather than through experience. In my experience the domestic violence statute is often abused. It is used in divorces in a way to obtain goals such as exclusive use of the family residence and as a weapon in contested divorces. I believe, therefore, that the reservations that Attorney Fishbein has with it are reasonable and that the law lacks balance.

Your article was therefore unfair to Attorney Fishbein and unlike the other people quoted in that article, he had actual hands-on experience dealing with the effects of this legislation and knows what he is talking about.

Vincent T. McManus, Wallingford

Where are our state reps?

Editor:

Back in January, 2018, I submitted an op-ed piece titled Taxing Fundamentals and cited an example of waste and abuse of Connecticut spending  $99,417 per mile of highway for administrative expenses. The national average was just $10,864. What is Connecticut doing so special administratively, that costs taxpayers over 9 times the national average?

Heres some information seldom brought up in the public debate regarding tolls: The cost per car will average between 10-20 cents per mile, depending on the time of day, (called congestion pricing), and up to 70% of the tolls will be paid by CT commuters  NOT out-of-staters! The notion of just a few tolls at our borders was just pro-toll propaganda.

We already receive $750 million/year from the feds for NOT having tolls. Current state Rep. Catherine Abercrombie has stated shes in favor of tolls and yet another plan by the DOT for further review. (The CT Legislature has already received 2 surveys so far on the topic). The 2015 report for the DOT by consultant CDM Smith said there could be as many as 121 toll gantries across Connecticut. These tolls would be all over the state on highways AND limited access highways  such as Routes 8, 7 and 2.

If a new non-elected Transportation Authority were ever authorized to run them, as proposed, politicians could say they have no control over the tolls or the fees charged in the future. Where is the accountability?

The Republican Senate put forth a balanced budget months ago and in it the STF was funded without installing tolls. What needs to be done is to reject Gov. Malloys thirty-year infrastructure spending bill of $100 billion!

Spending is the real issue and tolls are not the solution. Perhaps, stopping the financial insanity in Hartford is the solution.

Lou Arata, Meriden

Are seniors so well off?

Editor:

Unlike some apartments downtown, the plan for the old hospital is to charge seniors market rate to live there. I suppose they think seniors are far better off.

Frank Milano Jr., Meriden
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By PTI

KOLKATA: Opposition parties in West Bengal slammed the State Election Commission for "failing" to conduct the rural polls in a free and fair manner and accused the ruling TMC of letting loose a reign of terror which lead to the killing of at least 12 people during the polling today.

The Trinamool Congress has termed the allegations "baseless and concocted".

Union Minister and BJP leader Babul Supriyo tweeted, "It is for the world to see how TMC lets WB's Maa Maati Manush suffer in utter chaos. Bengal gets wounded and sheds blood every time TMC goons brutally attack the state's democracy and peace. Dreadful visuals of the Panchayat Polls prove just that."

West Bengal panchayat elections UPDATES | 14 dead in poll-related violence, Home Ministry seeks report

State BJP chief Dilip Ghosh, who along with a party delegation met Governor K N Tripathi, claimed that more than 20 people have died in violence in the rural polls.

"Democracy has ceased to exist in West Bengal. The situation is such that the state is inching towards President's Rule. We will inform the central government about the ground reality in the state," he said.

The Left Front which held a three-hour demonstration outside the SEC office here protesting the violence, said the election body had failed to provide security to the people.

Widespread violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal today left at least 12 people dead and 43 injured, as 73 per cent of the electorate turned out to cast their vote.

"This kind of violence is unprecedented. The SEC is just a puppet in the hands of the TMC-led state government. State Election commissioner A K Singh even refused to meet us," Left Front chairman Biman Bose said.

West Bengal Congress president Adhir Chowdhury said, "Democracy has been murdered by TMC in West Bengal."

However, the ruling TMC dismissed the allegations as "baseless and concocted", and said the polls have been peaceful except for a few isolated incidents.

"There have been one or two isolated incidents. The administration has taken steps in all the cases. We have seen elections during the Left Front rule when we used to witness bloodbath and death." TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said.

He lauded the SEC and the state administration for conducting a peaceful polling and accused the BJP and the CPI(M) of trying to foment trouble in various parts of the state during the polling process.

"Every death is unfortunate. But If you go by statistics, the number of deaths this time is much less than that last few (panchayat) elections," Chatterjee said.
By Express News Service

BELAGAVI: Tension prevailed in and around Belagavi after a group of miscreants started pelting stone near a prayer house at Fort Road, while celebrating the victory of their candidates in assembly elections, in Belagavi on Tuesday evening.

Karnataka poll results 2018 LIVE UPDATES: BJP chief Amit Shah says will form New India under PM Modi by 2022

According to sources, a group of youths who were celebrating the victory of their candidate all of a sudden turned violent and started pelting stones near a prayer house.

A few among them shouted slogans against Pakistan and its supporters while pelting stones.

ALSO READ | RSS cadres helped us enormously in Karnataka polls, says BJP general secretary Ram Madhav

After the news was spread in the city clashes commenced in several sensitive areas. A couple of vehicles were burnt and stones were pelted at Kasai Galli, Tengenkeri Galli, Kamat Galli, Darbar Galli and surrounding areas.

Police have rushed to the spot and are trying to control the situation.
On May 13, 2018, Sunday, Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg attended a conference on "Occupational therapy for stroke", held at Rehazenter Medical Rehabilitation Center as part of 2018 World Stroke Day (Journee mondiale de dAVC). Grand Duchess Stephanie is the patron of Bletz asbl. Bletz asbl, Rehazenter Rehabilitation Center and ALED Association hold a training course for therapists.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. Areas of patchy fog. High 84F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Considerable cloudiness. Low 67F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.
President Xi Jinping's instruction to promote technology collaboration between Hong Kong and the Mainland shows the Central Government attaches great importance to the city's technological expertise.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam made the statement when speaking to the media ahead of today's Executive Council meeting.

She said the Ministry of Science & Technology and the Ministry of Finance yesterday issued guidelines on granting science and technology funding for higher education and research institutions in Hong Kong.

It includes arrangements on cross-boundary remittance of approved project funding to Hong Kong.

The instruction's mention of giving more support to Hong Kong scientists and researchers who love the country and Hong Kong was nothing unusual, Mrs Lam said.

"In Hong Kong, we do expect whether you are a scientist or researcher, government official like myself, to love our country and love Hong Kong, so that is nothing unusual.

"I think some commentators have read too much into this term."
Having finished a six-month stay in Sanya of Hainan, China's southernmost island province, Zhang Guizhen, 69, and her husband Yang Yuhua, went back home to Harbin, the country's northernmost provincial capital, where the spring arrives in late April.

Over the past 13 years, Zhang has become accustomed to flying to Sanya in October and back to Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, the following May like a "migratory bird," just in time to spend Mother's Day with her children.

Across China, millions of old people are traveling north and south for a pleasant life all year around.

Zhang said she joined a group consisting of 100 seniors who go to the tropical island for a warm winter stay, where the average temperature remains above 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in December.

Zhang used to suffer from the freezing air in her home city, as the temperature usually falls below minus 20 degrees Celsius in winter. She was in lasting discomfort due to her arthritis flaring-up in cold weather. Thanks to the warm weather of Sanya, her swollen knees and pain have gone for good.

According to a report by the Hainan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the number of migrants to Hainan exceeds 1 million every winter, most are from northeast China, though many come from other areas.

"Sanya and Harbin are over 4,000 km apart, but for me, it's just an air ticket away," Yang said.

The migrants' retired life is conditioned by increasing incomes, improved infrastructure and better facilities. The local real estate companies in Sanya have designed senior-citizen apartments with special features for elderly care, such as emergency buttons linked to medical services.

As the long-distance settlement of medical insurance has been adopted for years, the migrants can enjoy healthcare services anywhere. Local pharmacies are also stocked with medicines for common elderly diseases such as heart attacks, hypertension and arthritis.

As additional trips between Harbin and Sanya in summer and winter surge, tourist agencies have chartered special trains for passengers to travel between the north and south every November and April.

Now that summer is approaching, Yinquan Seniors' House, which has 100-plus guest rooms in Heihe, Heilongjiang, has been booked-up by elderly people in the south attracted by the mild summer, said Wang Wenlan, manager of the house.

According to data released by Heilongjiang Department of Civil Affairs, 2.05 million old people sojourned in the province in 2017, with total expenditure reaching 14.35 billion yuan (about $2.27 billion).

"Such a tourist flow shows social change regarding the cultural tradition of being attached to one's native land in the past," said Wang Yalin, professor of sociology at Harbin Institute of Technology. "It is an inevitable trend in China that people are moving from cold industrial cities to sunny places, a phenomenon that occurred in the United States in 1950s and 1960s."

Wang Aili, deputy head of Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said the periodic migration of Chinese seniors reflected their pursuit of a better life, which is conducive to consumption, economic growth and regional cultural exchange.

"My life is as good as it can be, and I am not afraid of getting old," Zhang said.
Canada to Manning: Come

Here So We Can Deport You
(Newser)  Lars von Trier is back at the Cannes film festival, seven years after he was banned for declaring he was a Naziand the Danish director is as controversial as ever. His new serial-killer drama, The House That Jack Built, prompted more than 100 people to walk out of its Monday night debut at the festival, with some calling it "disgusting," Variety reports. The movie stars Matt Dillon as a killer who sadistically murders and dismembers women, with one victim played by Uma Thurman. The walkouts began during a scene in which the killer shoots two small children, and there was a steady stream of people leaving during later scenes. Those who remained gave von Trier a standing ovation.

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Some critics slammed the "vomitous" movie and said it should never have been made, though others defended it, arguing that anybody going to a von Trier movie about a serial killer should have known what they were in for, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. In a less controversial premiere, director Spike Lee received a 10-minute ovation after the debut of comedy-drama BlacKkKlansman, based on the true story of a black police officer who masterminded the infiltration of a KKK chapter in the 1970s. The audience erupted in applause at least six times during the screening, which had a closing sequence that the Hollywood Reporter calls "one of the most emotional finales to hit Cannes in recent memory." (Read more Cannes Film Festival stories.)
(Newser)  The ongoing eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has brought fresh attention to America's other active or potentially active volcanoesand there are more of them than many people think, including quite a few in the Lower 48 states, though eruptions aren't a major worry for states like Connecticut. According to the US Geological Survey, there are no fewer than 169 active volcanoes in the US, including around 50 in six states that have been given the highest priority for monitoring. Alaska has the most volcanoes of any state, with more than 50, many of them in the Aleutian Islands along the northern part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire."

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In the Lower 48, volcanoes are clustered in Western states including Washington, where Mount St. Helens is considered the most likely to erupt in the near future. Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming is being closely watched for volcanic activity, and there are potentially active volcanic zones in New Mexico and Colorado. Volcanoes further toward the East Coast are long extinct, but it's not unheard of for new ones to "appear completely by surprise," the Times notes. In Hawaii, meanwhile, where Kilauea continues to spew lava, authorities say bookings are down and some cruise ships have decided to stay away, costing the tourism industry around $5 million in cancellations from May to July, the AP reports. (Read more volcano stories.)
(Newser)  The clothing retailer Gap has apologized for selling T-shirts with what it says was an "erroneous" map of China, in what the AP calls the latest example of corporate kowtowing to Beijing. In a posting late Monday on China's Weibo microblogging platform, the company said it discovered that some T-shirts sold overseas "had an erroneous design of China's map"one that apparently didn't include Taiwan. "We are truly sorry about this unintentional mistake," Gap said, promising to carry out "more rigorous reviews" in the future.

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Gap took action after photos began circulating on Chinese social media of a T-shirt with a map that didn't include Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory. The map also appeared to leave out southern Tibet and disputed South China Sea islands, the state-owned Global Times said, adding that it drew hundreds of complaints on Weibo. The company also said all the shirts in China have been recalled and destroyed. It was unclear if the shirts in all of Gap's markets worldwide would also be destroyed. Company representatives at Gap's Shanghai office could not be reached immediately for comment. (New Zealand has a map problem, too.)
(Newser)  The plane reached its cruising altitude of 32,000 feet some 30 minutes into the flight, and then the trouble began, says the captain of a Sichuan Airlines flight en route from China to Tibet on Monday morning. Reuters quotes Liu Chuanjian as explaining that a booming sound was heard and the right cockpit windshield was suddenly gonealong with, nearly, the co-pilot. "Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window," Liu said. The co-pilot was wearing a seatbelt and was able to re-enter the Airbus A319, but the drama wasn't yet over. The cockpit's temperature and air pressure had plummeted, and the flight, which departed from Chongqing and was headed for Lhasa, needed to make an emergency landing in Chengdu.

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But "everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned ... and I couldn't hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges," says Liu. But he managed to land the plane, to much praise. The co-pilot suffered facial scratches and a sprained wrist, and a cabin crew member suffered a minor waist injury. As for the 119 passengers, they were unharmed but describe a few seconds of free-fall as breakfast was being served, with the plane dropping to 24,000 feet, reports the BBC. The Wall Street Journal reports an Airbus team will help investigate the incident. Reuters notes that in 1990 a pilot on a British Airways flight was also pulled partially out of the cockpit window but survived. (Read more emergency landing stories.)
(Newser)  Kristen Stewart made a statement at Cannes on Monday under the gaze of photographers on the red carpet. The 28-year-old ditched her Louboutin heels and walked into the premiere of Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman in her bare feet, reports USA Today. Stewart has previously complained about the expectation that actresses wear heels on the carpet, which flared into a "Heelgate" controversy in 2015 when a female producer was turned away from a screening.

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However, as Variety notes, Cannes does not have an actual rule stipulating that women must wear the fancy footwear. "Nobody is obligated to wear heels on the red carpet," festival director Thierry Femaux said in the wake of the 2015 controversy. "One of our agents screwed up, and we apologized right away." Still, as Stewart pointed out to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017, "People get very upset at you if you don't wear heels," adding, "If youre not asking guys to wear heels and a dress, you cannot ask me, either." (Read more Kristen Stewart stories.)
(Newser)  Satellite imagery shows North Korea has already begun dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear-test site ahead of a promise to destroy it entirely in front of international journalists. The removal of buildings and rail lines observed by 38 North on May 7 appear in line with Kim Jong Un's promise over the weekend to close the facility between May 23-25. But while some see the move as a positive step toward denuclearization, others see cause for concern. North Korea may be "sanitizing" the site, removing sensitive information about its nuclear program, before outsiders get access, nonproliferation expert Jeffrey Lewis tells the Wall Street Journal. As no nuclear experts appear to have been invited to the site's decommissioning, there are also concerns about how its inoperability will be verified.

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Though North Korea says all tunnels at the site will be collapsed in explosions, per the GuardianReuters notes the risk of spreading radioactive debrisexperts say it would be easy for the country to dig new tunnels to continue nuclear tests, especially if nuclear material is hidden underground. Raising the possibility that the explosions might be a distraction, the Journal points out North Korea blew up a cooling tower at a nuclear-enrichment facility for international media in 2008, before going on to conduct five nuclear tests. For now, though, the US appears cautiously optimistic. "A permanent and irreversible closure that can be inspected and fully accounted for is a key step in the denuclearization of [North Korea]," a State Department rep tells Reuters. "We look forward to learning additional details." (Read more North Korea stories.)
(Newser)  President Trump on Tuesday addressed his wife's kidney surgery, tweeting, "Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!" The White House on Monday said Melania Trump "underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition" earlier in the day and would likely spend the week at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. While it didn't elaborate, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta did: "When I hear benign kidney condition, most of the time, you're thinking a cyst and a cyst is basically a fluid-filled structure. ... It's not something that typically gets embolized," a procedure in which the blood flow is cut off to a body part. "Was there a cyst and something else associated with that cyst? What is it ... is the question," he continues.

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As for the "what," the chairman of urology at UCLA offers two possibilities to the Los Angeles Times: an angiomyolipoma, a benign tumor; or an arteriovenous malformation, which "involves a collection of arteries and veins that kind of group themselves together in an abnormal way," says Dr. Mark Litwin. Whatever the kidney condition, he says embolizations for them are usually outpatient procedures. "Why someone would be in a hospital for a week for this, I have no idea." A urologist speculates on that point for CNN, saying it's possible "the full lesion may not have been completely embolized and sometimes you need it done again." Or there could be "bleeding around the kidney or bleeding where you actually go through and get into your blood vessels." (Read more Melania Trump stories.)
(Newser)  Uber will give its US passengers and drivers more leeway to pursue claims of sexual misconduct, its latest attempt to shed its reputation for brushing aside bad behavior, reports the AP. The shift announced Tuesday will allow riders and drivers to file allegations of rape, sexual assault, and harassment in courts and mediation, rather than being locked into an arbitration hearing. The San Francisco company is also scrapping a policy requiring all settlements of sexual misconduct to be kept confidential, giving victims the choice of whether they want to make their allegations public. It's a conciliatory step from CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who's vowed to "do the right thing" to repair damage from previous missteps, including a wave of revelations and allegations about rampant sexual harassment at Uber and the cover-up of a massive data breach.

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The changes come a month after Uber announced it will do criminal background checks on US drivers annually and add a 911 button for emergencies. It's an effort to reassure its riders and address concerns that it hadn't done enough to keep crooks from using its service to prey on potential victims. A rep for Raliance, a coalition of groups working with Uber to prevent sexual abuse, says riders may now be more emboldened to report inappropriate behavior. By the end of the year, Uber will start to publicly report incidents of alleged sexual misconduct and "we think the numbers are going to be disturbing," its chief legal officer says. A lawyer representing at least 14 women suing Uber over sexual assault allegations applauded Tuesday's announcement but said an effort to fight class-action status for the women shows Uber is "not fully committed to meaningful change." (Read more Uber stories.)
(Newser)  STDs are booming in California, with health officials worried about a 45% increase over the last five years. In 2017, there were 218,710 reported cases of chlamydia, the highest number since 1990, representing a 9% increase over 2016. There were another 75,450 cases of gonorrhea, the highest number since 1988 and a 16% increase over 2016, and 13,605 cases of syphilis, the highest in 30 years and a 20% increase over 2016, according to a report by the California Department of Public Health. "We've been seeing increases for all three diseases for the last five or six years," department rep James Watt tells the San Francisco Chronicle, though particularly concerning is a 30% increase in stillbirths caused by congenital syphilis. There were 30 in 2017, California's highest number since 1995.

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"For California to have a steady increase in congenital syphilis is shameful," UCLA professor Jeffrey Klausner tells the AP, noting Cuba and Thailand have almost eliminated the condition. He points to the "decimation" of public health infrastructure, including the closure of clinics and sex education programs, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Watt agrees that's one factor. But "the internet allows for a broadening of sexual networks, and the broader that gets the more opportunity you have for sexually transmitted diseases to spread," he says. Other stats: African-Americans had rates of chlamydia and gonorrhea five times higher than whites; chlamydia rates were 60% higher among females than males, while males had twice as many gonorrhea cases. (The increases are part of a wider trend.)
(Newser)  Gina Haspel wouldn't come right out and say it during her public confirmation hearing last week, but in a new letter, she writes that the controversial post-9/11 detention and "enhanced" interrogation program "is not one the CIA should have undertaken." Haspel, President Trump's pick to lead the CIA, says the Bush-era program, in which waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques were used on detainees, "ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world" in the letter to Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which was obtained by CNN and can be read in full here. She added that she "won't condemn those that made these hard calls" and that the program did collect "valuable intelligence."

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Sources tell CNN Haspel has been more candid in her remarks during private meetings with senators and in her classified hearing with the Senate Intelligence Committee. At that hearing, a source says Haspel explained to senators that she did not want to appear to be criticizing her CIA colleagues in public. Haspel's background with the CIA, including running a black-site prison in Thailand in where harsh interrogations took place, has made her confirmation as CIA director complicated. The Senate Intelligence Committee will vote on her nomination Wednesday; Warner was undecided, but after the letter, he announced Tuesday he would support her confirmation, the Washington Post reports. A Senate floor vote is expected next week. Fellow Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp announced her support shortly thereafter; the Huffington Post says Haspel is now almost certain to be confirmed even if Republican Sens. Rand Paul and John McCain continue to oppose her confirmation. (Read more Gina Haspel stories.)
(Newser)  Alyssa Alhadeff and Alaina Petty, both 14, were killed in the Valentine's Day shooting at Parkland, Florida's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Now, two of their parents are running for the Broward County school board, ABC News reports. Lori Alhadeff and Ryan Petty announced Tuesday that they are running because of the massacre, in which 17 students and staff members were killed. Alhadeff said a spot on the school board is the best way she can think of to work toward improving school safety: "I [don't] want any parent to go through the anguish I went thorough or for any child to say, 'Mommy, am I going to die at school today?'" she said, per NBC News. Petty said he wants to "represent parents all over the district who deserve to have their children come home to them every afternoon."

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The parents said they also want to work toward more transparency and accountability in the district; Petty mentioned the "confusing matrix of discipline programs" that allowed the suspected school shooter to fall through the cracks despite warning signs of what was to come. Alhadeff also said discipline systems at the district need to be "revamped" because they have "gone from the complete extremesfrom over-disciplining kids to not disciplining kids, which we have now." "There is no better way to ensure that the change this school system desperately needs is achieved than to have a seat at the table," she said. "I want to do everything possible to make this school system a model that other districts will look and try to replicate." In addition to running for the school board, she and Petty said they would also continue to advocate for gun control, the Miami Herald reports. (Read more Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School stories.)
(Newser)  Treasure was found in May, not buried on a deserted island but languishing on Staten Island. The Staten Island Advance has the story of Matthew Emanuel, who hired a company to rip up his damaged arborvitae trees and replace them with bamboo. But when the trees were uprooted, a box that CBS New York reports had long been assumed by Emanuel to be a cable box or something similar turned out to be something else entirely: a safe that the New York Post describes as being "submerged in dirt." The group opened it with a pickaxe. "I thought we found buried treasure," Emanuel said: Inside were zippered bags filled with jewelry and "the most fragile dollars you could ever imagine, and almost all of them were hundreds."

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The bills he could preserve tallied $16,300; the contents' total value was $52,000. But in addition to the treasure was a clue: a Brooklyn address. Emanuel was able to connect it with a neighbor, so on Monday he went to their house to ask if they had ever been robbedwhich they had, on Dec. 26, 2011. His neighbor "was like shaking and hugging me," says Emanuel, who now has a ceramic elephant standing where the safe was found. Explains his wife, "We bought this elephant and said let's keep it there. It's a good luck spot." (This teen stumbled on treasure tied to King Bluetooth.)
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Bengaluru:

Celebrations at the Malleshwaram BJP state unit headquarters were put on hold and BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa cancelled tickets to fly to Delhi on Tuesday, blaming the Congress for contravening and reversing the popular mandate in the BJP favour.



The Congress tripped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa from becoming the chief minister by offering support to Janata Dal-Secular to form the government. Karnataka election results, or even as trends began pouring in, fast paced political developments took place across the country that brought the secular forces together to stop the BJP in Karnataka.



The results sparked off a fresh round of consultations among the Federal Front leaders who got in touch with JD-S chief HD Deve Gowda and asked him to form a government with the Congress help to stop the communal forces.

Among those who spoke with Deve Gowda included West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and BSP chief Mayawati.



What the results show is that the Congress needed to be more accommodative when it came to other secular parties and fight the 2019 general elections together to oust the BJP.



Initially it was thought that the BJP will get the majority, but when it was clear this was not happening, the Congress wrote to the governor, saying it was supporting the JD-S to form the government, said AICC incharge for Karnataka, Ghulam Nabi Azad.



Supporting the JD-S was the Plan B of the Congress in the eventuality of the Congress not being able to form the government, Azad told media persons.



For the Congress as well as the JD-S, it was a fight for survival as the Congress would have been evicted from an important state in the south and for the regional party the BJP would have gobbled it up.



Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed described the BJP as the poison and said the Congress will do everything it can to stop it in Karnataka and eject it from New Delhi in the 2019 general elections.



For the BJP it was a classic case of so near and yet so far  with nine seats short of the magic number there was no way it could form the government, given the fact that the Congress with 78 seats giving up the CM post to HD Kumaraswamy, son of JD-S chief and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.



While a dejected Yeddyurappa appeared reconciled to the ground reality that power had eluded him, but claimed a high moral victory and said, Karnataka people had rejected the Siddaramaiah government misrule lock, stock and barrel and have voted for change, responding to a clarion call given by Prime Minister Modi ji and BJP national president Amit Shah and given a mandate for Congres-free Karnataka. By peoples blessing, the BJP has emerged as the largest single party, anti-Congress wave has given considerable seats to the Janata Dal (S). Anti-incumbency is so strong that Siddaramaiah suffered a defeat in Chamundeswari.



As political developments took place thick and fast, former AICC president Sonia Gandhi deployed trusted lieutenants Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot  to seal the deal with the JD-S chief HD Deve Gowda and within no time the deal was done. First the Congress said outside support, but when this was rejected outright by Deve Gowda, the Congress agreed to join the government led by Kumaraswamy.



First, the Congress sent a letter to the Karnataka governor Vaju Bhai Wala extending support to the JD-S to form the government and the partys state unit chief G Parameswara tried to call on the governor but was sent back.



And for good measure, the Congress state unit chief also sent a formal letter to Kumaraswamy, pledging the Congress party support to him to form the government. There have been no conditions from the Congress in the support it is extending to us, said JD-S spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed said after the Congress letter of support reached the hands of Kumaraswamy.



Celebrations that ended at BJP headquarters shifted to the area outside the residence of Kumaraswamy where he gave a darshan to his cadres and supporters flashing the V sign.

BJP too stakes claim to form government

The BJP, however, was unrelenting and called on the governor to stake claim to form the government throwing the Kissa Kursi Ka in Karnataka wide open.

Clearly the Janata Dal-S and the Congress combine, a post-poll alliance, has the numbers on its side with 116 and with support of two independents is way above the magic number. But the BJP chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa staked claim to form the government since it was the largest single party, said BJP MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Sources indicated that the party had sought two days time to form the government. Yeddyurappa said that he wanted a chance to form the government and prove the majority on the floor of the house. A representation has been made to the governor with this request.

Senior BJP leaders HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar, Petroleum Minister Dharmedra Pradhan and Health Minister JP Nadda have been rushed to Bangalore by the BJP president Amit Shah to oversee the swearing in of a BJP government led by Yeddyurappa.

Sources are indicating that the first invite to form the government would go to Yeddyurappa. Several JD-S members were reportedly in touch with the BJP leadership.

Meanwhile, HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah were at the governor house to stake claim to form the government as they had the numbers.

After being upstaged in Manipur and Goa, despite winning more number of seats than the BJP, the Congress was ready with a Plan B in Karnataka. When the BJP fell short of majority, Congress leadership put its PlanB  supporting Kumaraswamy as the CM  into action to keep out the BJP and teach it a lesson.
New Delhi:

The Karnataka Assembly election results have taken a new twist as the Congress on Tuesday offered support to Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) to form the government after the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party, fell short of the majority.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was rushed to the state by the party leadership to quickly seal a deal for power in the state, said that the Congress had extended its support to the JD-S and both parties will meet Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim to form the government.

We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together, Azad said.

Earlier, Congress leader G Parameshwara said that they accepted the verdict and since they lacked numbers to form the government, they extended support to the JD-S.

We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form govt. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form a government, Parameshwara said.

JD-S accepts Congress support, Kumaraswamy seeks Governors Appointment

Meanwhile, JD-S leader HD Kumaraswamy wrote to the Governor, informing him of his decision to accept the Congresss support to form the government.

In a letter to Governor Vala, Kumaraswamy, whose party was a distant third after the BJP and the Congress, sought an appointment for the evening.

Later, a delegation of senior party leaders from the JD-S and the Congress, including Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs went to meet the Governor at the Raj Bhawan, to stake claim to form the government in the state.

Congress & JDS has 117, we need 111 to form the govt. Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JDS led govt. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them, Azad said.

BJP leaves no stones unturned to form the government

Earlier in the day, as Karnataka threw a fractured mandate, the BJPs ambitions to form the government in the state with a simple majority was crushed. However, the saffron party, which emerged as the single largest in a hung house, was leaving no stones unturned to form the government in the state.

BJPs chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa along with other senior party leaders met the Governor and staked claim to form the government.

We just met the Governor because we are the single largest party and that he allows us to prove majority in the Assembly, Yeddyurappa said.

However, the Congress argued that the BJP can't form the government as it didn't have the numbers but the Congress-JD-S alliance has enough numbers to form a government, therefore, they should be invited first.

BJP single largest party but far away from the majority mark

The BJP, which once looked set to easily cross the simple majority mark of 112, fall short of getting the magical numbers. According to the latest election commission trends, the party won 87 seats and was ahead in 17 more constituencies.

The ruling Congress won 63 seats and was leading in 15 more constituencies, whereas, the JD-S secured victory in 32 seats and was ahead in 5 more constituencies. Two independent candidates had already won while 1 more was leading against his rivals.
New Delhi:

As Karnataka appeared headed for a hung Assembly with the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party but falling short of a majority, the Congress on Tuesday sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the JD(S) in forming the government.A

Seeking to throw a spanner in the BJP's works as the party appeared tantalisingly close to the magic figure of 112, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Congress's support to the JD(S).

Emerging from a huddle with senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Siddaramaiah said,"We have decided that the Congress will extend support to the JD(S) to form the government. That's the best way to keep the BJP out (of power)."

Janata Dal (Secular) leader H D Kumaraswamy wrote to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support to form the government.

In a letter to Governor Vajubhai Vala, Kumaraswamy, whose party was a distant third after the BJP and Congress, sought an appointment for this evening.

In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, Karnataka went to polls on May 12. Since 1985, no party has retained the reins of the state.

Karnataka Election Results Live Updates:

# 7:00 PM:A A JD(S) & Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers: M Veerappa Moily, Congress

JD(S) & Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers: M Veerappa Moily, Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/LX7iqhj1U8 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

# 6:30 PM:A Congress & JDS has 117, we need 111 to form the govt. Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JDS led govt. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them : Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress

Congress & JDS has 117, we need 111 to form the govt. Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JDS led govt. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them : Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress pic.twitter.com/NUaGSQ2whV a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#05:40 PM:A Karnataka: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs went inside the Raj Bhawan.

Karnataka: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs went inside the Raj Bhawan pic.twitter.com/Mgyxsk4SOO a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#05:35 PM:A JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy arrives at Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru.

#05:30 PM:A Just now we met Governor because we are the single largest party and that he allows us to prove majority in the Assembly: BS Yeddyurappa

Just now we met Governor because we are single largest party, and that he allows us to prove majority in the Assembly: BS Yeddyurappa #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/D9RLMU9zVY a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#05:10 PM:A It is upto the understanding of the Governor who he calls to form the government. It is upto him if he wants to call the single largest party or a coalition government: Subhash Kashyap, Constitutional expert

#04:30 PM:A Iam here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Mr Nagesh & others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka: DK Shivakumar, Congress

I'm here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Mr Nagesh & others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka: DK Shivakumar, Congress #KarnatakaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/id60xaE62T a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#04:25 PM:A JD-S's HD Kumaraswamy seeks appointment from the Governor of #Karnataka this evening, writes we have accepted Congress's support to form the Government.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy seeks appointment from the Governor of #Karnataka this evening, writes we have accepted Congress's support to form the Government. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/epuCqf4m17 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#04:06 PM:A I thank the people of Karnataka for giving this mandate to the Bhartiya Janata Party. Congress is trying to come to power through back door, people will not tolerate this: BS Yeddyurappa

#04:02 PM:A The people have rejected the Congress and accepted BJP. People are moving towards "Congress Mukt" Karnataka.A Despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power:A Yeddyurappa

Despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power: BS Yeddyurappa#KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/38LclYuXz6 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#03:30 PM:A CM Siddaramaiah enters the Governor's house in Bengaluru.

#03:20 PM:A JD-S had always maintained that HD Kumaraswamy will be CM. As per results, we're doing everything to keep BJP out of power. Congress has extended its support, we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet Governor after 5.30 pm today: Danish Ali, JD-S.

#03:15 PM:A Bengaluru: A Congress delegation led by G Parameshwara, who had gone to the Governor's House, did not get entry, turned back.

#03:00 PM:A We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji & Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together: Ghulam Nabi Azad

# 02:58 PM:A We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We donat have numbers to form govt. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form govt: Congress

# 02:45 PM:A CM Siddaramaiah to meet the Governor of Karnataka today at 4 pm.

# 02:32 PM:A The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Karnataka Election Results.

The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/7Pyt9nXVRL a ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 15, 2018

# 02:10 PM:A Congress is in alliance talks with JD(S). Likely to offer CM seat to Kumaraswamy, according to News Nation sources.

# 01:50 PM:A BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes.

BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes #KarnatakaElections2018(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/obaxDpy1lP a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

# 01:36 PM:A Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback, says Karnataka Minister KJ George on Karnataka Election Results 2018.

# 12:59 PM:A Rahul bhai is a leader in the ascent. 2019 will be a different ball game, says Navjot Singh Sidhu on the Karnataka Elections Result 2018.

Rahul bhai is a leader in the ascent. 2019 will be a different ball game. The alliances are coming with him. Sidhu unke (Rahul Gandhi) saath khada rahega, jab tak mere andar lahu hai: Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Minister on Karnataka election pic.twitter.com/gg1dcbdgJJ a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

# 12:51 PM:A This is the third straight defeat of Rahul Gandhi since he became Congress President, says Rajyavardhan Rathore on Karnataka Elections Result 2018.

# 12:44 PM:A BJP Parliamentary Board to meet today at 6 pm at party headquarters in Delhi.

# 12:36 PM:A I would like to thank the people of Karnataka for this mandate. Also, credit goes to the hard work of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji, as well as state leadership, party workers and RSS cadre. BJP's southward march has begun: BJP's Ram Madhav on Karnataka Elections 2018.

# 12:23 PM:A BJP MP Subramanian Swamy burst into laughter when he was asked about Congress raising questions on EVMs during Karnataka Elections 2018.

# 12:00 PM:A Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi.



Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi #KarnatakaElectionResults pic.twitter.com/ZLsHco9eR2 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

# 11:42 AM:A People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state, says BJP Karnatak-in-charge Prakash Javadekar.

# 11:30 AM: Congress concedes defeat:A Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it, says Karnataka minister DK Shivkumar on Karnataka Elections Result 2018.

# 11:22 AM: BJP's victory celebration:A BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Delhi as trends show the party is set to win.

BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Delhi as trends show the party is set to win #KarnatakaElectionResults2018. pic.twitter.com/uOznAJ6A7E a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#10: 40 AM:A BJP crosses 112 majority mark:A The BJP today looked on course to cross the majority mark in Karnataka Assembly and the party was leading in 121 constituencies, according to trends.

#10:30 AM: Saffron surge in South India as BJP crosses majority mark. The saffron party is leading currently leading in 117 seats. The Congress is ahead in 61 seats. JD(S) gains big and the party is leading in 42 seats.

#10:25 AM:A Sensex soars over 400 points as BJP leads in Karnataka polls: Benchmark Sensex on Tuesday zoomed over 400 points in the opening trades after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the lead in Karnataka Assembly election results.

#10:23 AM:A Official Election Commission Trends: BJP takes lead on 95 seats, Congress ahead on 46, JD(S) on 37, Others 03.

#10:20 AM:A CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes.

#10:15 AM:A BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Bengaluru as trends show the party leading.

BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Bengaluru as trends show the party leading. #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/utBwcXwBme a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#10:10 AM:A Correct position will be known at 11-11.30 am. I am going to discuss it (possibility of an alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot: Mallikarjun Kharge

Correct position will be known at 11-11.30 am. I am going to discuss it( possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot.: Mallikarjun Kharge,Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/vvUqunzVA6 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#10:05 AM:A There is no question of alliance(with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats: Sadananda Gowda

There is no question of alliance(with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats: Sadananda Gowda,BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Hi4ODkOaxo a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#09:48 AM:A Official EC trends:A BJP leading on 73 seats, Congress on 40, JD(S) ahead on 25 seats, Others 03

#09:45 AM:A Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar leading over JDS's Narayana Gowda by 2729 votes from Kanakpura.

#09:40 AM:A JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Hussain by over 7000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna.

#09:30 AM: BJP inching towards majority:A In a significant development, the BJP is moving towards a clear majority. The party is currently leading in 105 seats while the Congress' lead reduced to 70 seats.

# 09:20 AM: Official EC trends: BJP leading on 58 seats,Congress leading on 27 seats, JDS on 24 and others on 3 seats

#09:15 AM: For Congress, all options open: "These are initial trends, we hope Congress will form the Govt in Karnataka and are confident of it, but yes all options (allying with JD-S) are open," says Ashok Gehlot.

#09:10 AM: As News Nation exit poll survey predicted, Karnataka moving towards a hung Assembly with BJP emerging as the single largest party and the Congress close second. JD-S is likely to play the 'kingmaker'.

#09:05 AM: As early trends show Congress trailing in Karnataka, party's senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad met JD(S) chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

#08:55 AM:A BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today, on counting day for Karnataka Elections 2018

BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today, on counting day for #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/DLeywdryR8 a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#08:50 AM: Karnataka Elections 2018 official EC trends: BJP leading in 10 seats, Congress leading in 5 seats, JD-S in 1 and others in 1

#08: 40 AM: Watch now: Fastest and accurate results of Karnataka Assembly election on News Nation.

#08:30 AM: WhileA BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading from Shikaripur seat. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing from both seats - Badami and Chamundeshwari.

#08:20 AM:A EVMs opens across counting centres in Karnataka. Visuals from a counting centre in Kalaburagi's Afzalpur.A

EVMs have been opened across counting centres in #Karnataka. Visuals from a counting centre in #Kalaburagi's Afzalpur.#KarnatakaElections pic.twitter.com/FYyQkMVWDE a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#08:15 AM:A Region-wise early trends:A

A Central Karnataka (35 seats):A BJP 2,A Cong 2, JDS+ 4, Others 0

Hyderabad Karnataka (31 seats):A BJP 2, Cong 3, JDS+ 0, Others 0

Mumbai Karnataka (50 seats):A BJP 4, Cong 5, JDS+ 1, Others 0A

Coastal Karnataka (21 seats):A BJP 2, Cong 1, JDS+ 0, Others 0

South Karnataka (55 seats):A BJP 2, Cong 4, JDS+ 0, Others 0

Greater Bengaluru (30 seats):A BJP 3, Cong 3, JDS+ 0, Others 0

# 08:10 AM: Congress ahead in early trends, BJP close second, JD(S) distant third.A

# 08:00 AM: Counting of votes for Karnataka Elections 2018 begins, postal ballots to be counted first.

# 07:50 AM:A Bellary: BJP's B Sriramalu prays ahead of counting of votes. He is contesting against CM Siddaramaiah from Badami constituency.

Bellary: BJP's B.Sriramalu prays ahead of counting of votes. He is contesting against CM Siddaramaiah from Badami constituency. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/ImhVnVJXpg a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

# 07: 40 AM: Let seniors take a call on alliance:A CongressA candidate from Varuna and son of CM SiddaramaiahA Yathindra spoke about the results and a possible tie-up with the JDS. He said, "Senior party leaders will decide on this, but we are confident and hope to form Government on our own."

# 07: 35 AM:A JDS's HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala ahead of counting of votes for Karnataka Elections 2018. Kumaraswamy is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies.

JDS's HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala ahead of counting of votes for #KarnatakaElections2018 . Kumaraswamy is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies pic.twitter.com/3usqTFsRch a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#07:30 AM: 11,000 police personnel, 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company & 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have been deployed across Bengaluru today ahead of counting of votes for Karnataka Elections 2018.

11,000 police personnel, 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company & 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have been deployed across Bengaluru today ahead of counting of votes for #KarnatakaElections2018; #Visuals from a counting center (Maharani College) pic.twitter.com/HzwPjHm4Qg a ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

#07:20 AM: Hello and welcome to the News Nation live updates. The fate of Congress' Siddaramaiah and BJP's BS Yeddyurappa will be decided today as counting of votes is being held in 38 centers spread across 33 states. Both the BJP and the Congress are claiming victory but exit polls predicted a hung Assembly. It would interestingA to see whether the Congress retains it last stronghold or the BJP makes entry to the south.

(With inputs from agencies)
New Delhi:

The makers of Star Plus popular drama Yeh Rishta Kya Keh Lata Hai are all set to introduce a major twist in the show to spice up things. The long-running show will soon witness a time leap in its storyline, a report in Tellychakkar suggested.

The creatives have churned out a masaledar plot for the viewers which will see the death of Shubham (Gaurav Wadhwa) in the show. The sudden demise of Shubham will have major implications on the life of Karthik and Naira played by Mohsin Khan and Shivangi Joshi respectively.

Shubham, who was drug-addicted, will have a confrontation with Naira and he will take a high dosage of drugs, which will ultimately lead to his death.

The Goenka family will blame their daughter-in-law for Shubhams death as she hid the truth from everyone. Naira will be thrown out of the house, resulting in KaIras separation, sources told Tellychakkar.

Another report in Indiawikimedia claimed that Naira would move to Mumbai to start a new life with her family. This tragedy will lead to the separation of Kartik and Naira. Naira who will be very much disturbed will decide to shift base along with her family. Naira will move to Mumbai along with her family to start life afresh, a source told the website.

Yeh Rishta Kya Keh Lata Hai is one of the most loved and highly-rated shows on the small screen. The daily soap is doing very well despite completing nine years.

Fans simply love Mohsin Khan and Shivangi Joshi as the adorable KaIra (a moniker given by fans).

Watch this space for more updates on the show.
New Delhi:

A jawan of Border Security Force (BSF) was martyred on Tuesday after Pakistan Army violated ceasefire along the international border in Jammus Samba sector in the late Monday night.

"A BSF jawan was injured during ceasefire violation in Samba on IB near Manguchak post of 173 Battalion at around 0120 hrs (1.20am) late Monday night," according to an intelligence officer.

The heavy firing between the two sides continued for an hour during which the jawan was hit by a stray bullet through the loophole of his picket.

The jawan, later identified as constable Devendra Singh was rushed to Military Hospital but died of his bullet injuries.

The incident came barely 24 hours after BSF noticed a suspicious movement of a group of five persons, believed to be terrorists and attempting to sneak into this side, along the IB in Hiranagar sector of nearby Kathua district, prompting a massive search operation and sounding of a high alert in Jammu.

Also Read | PoK starts evacuation plan amid LoC ceasefire violations

Army also pressed helicopters into service during the search operation which entered the second day on Tuesday, the official said.

Singh's death took the number of persons killed in over 700 incidents of Pakistani shelling along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in the state - highest this year - to 33. The deceased included 17 security personnel.

Devender Kumar, a Border Security Force (BSF) Constable, who lost his life in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Samba sector #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/nqNJAH9C3u  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Jammu and Kashmir on May 19.

There has been a lull in firing along the IB over the past three months after intense border skirmishes in January and February, which led to many casualties and forced civilians to flee their homes.

Also Read | UN chief wants Syria ceasefire 'immediately'

Earlier, on May 10, another civilian lost his life in small arms firing by Pakistani forces along the line of control (LoC) in Poonch district. The border along the IB has been witnessing he frequent ceasefire violation by Pakistan since last few months.

(With inputs from agencies)

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New Delhi:

Full-service carrier Jet Airways on Tuesday offered fares starting as low as Rs 967 for the Udan flights which it plans to start from June onwards.

The airline on Monday announced the commencement of its operations under the governments regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from 14 June onwards, with the first flight set to take off from Lucknow towards Allahabad and Patna sector.

Jet Airways had bagged four routes in the second-round bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various operators.

The airline will also fly on the Nagpur-Allahabad-Indore, Lucknow-Bareilly-Delhi and New Delhi-Nashik routes.

The fares for the flights under the Udan scheme will be Rs 967 to Rs 1,216, Jet Airways said in a release on Tuesday.

With at least half of the seats in the Udan flights are offered at a cut-off rate, the participating carriers get a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF), an amount shared between the Centre and the State concerned.

The government had in March 2017 awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines for launching flights under the Ude Desh Ka Aaam Naagarik (Udan) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity.



The fares have been kept at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour journey, under the scheme.









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Bengaluru:

The voters in Karnataka have given their verdict  a fractured verdict that though puts the Bharatiya Janata Party in the lead but short of majority and queered its pitch and robbed a chance to make Karnataka Congress-mukt, as it were.

The fractured mandate has put the ball firmly in Governor Vaju Bhai Walas court as the scene shifted to the Raj Bhavan with the two sets of contenders staking respective claims to form the government in the state. While the BJP claimed that it was the largest single party and hence had the first shot at forming the government, the Congress-Janata Dal (S) combine with a tally of 116 plus support of two independents claimed numbers to form the government.

With the appeal now pending with the Third Umpire (the governor), all eyes are now focused on the Raj Bhavan as to which of the precedents the governor would follow. The buzz in the BJP circles was that the governor was inclined to invite the largest single party to form the government and give it adequate time to prove its majority on the floor of the house.

The Congress and the Janata Dal have threatened to move the courts for justice if Yeddyurappa was invited to form the government first as it had no chance of getting the requisite numbers.

But even in that eventuality of governor giving Yeddyurappa the first shot at government formation, the Janata Dal (S) and Congress are confident that the BJP will fail the floor test as it cannot break neither the Congress nor the JD (S).

Said outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah, the BJP has tried in the past, but this time it is bound to fail. Even the two independents who are elected are supporting the Congress-JD (S) combine.

Janata Dal (S) spokesperson Javed Syed Aslam said, There is no chance of any party MLA breaking ranks and help the BJP.

Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda had even before polling had said that the BJP must be stopped at all costs. He had even said that if his son Kumaraswamy went with the BJP, as it was being suspected, he would disown him.

As feared by some political analysts, Karnataka turned in a fractured mandate, with the result none of the three contenders  the Congress, the BJP and the regional Janata Dal (S) -- were in a position to form a government on their own. The BJP though was within a striking distance, the Congress googly left it high and dry.

By late afternoon, the BJP tally stopped at 104, 9 short of the 113 majority mark in a 224 member assembly. The numbers of Congress 78 and the JD (S) 38 presented a chance to the Congress to deny the BJP the satisfaction of forming a government in Karnataka. For the BJP it was so near and yet so far.

The Congress had all but given up, but against the run of play, as it were by lunch time, the BJP appeared heading for a 120 seats tally and celebrations began in the state unit headquarters at Malleshwaram in Bangalore.

But the fast-changing trends gave a heart attack to the BJP supporters when the combined tally of the Congress and the JD (S) crossed the half way mark. It was around 2.30 pm when the former AICC president Sonia Gandhi hurled a bouncer  declaring support to Janata Dal (S) chief HD Deve Gowda in a phone call from Delhi and deputed two of the partys veterans  Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot  to seal the deal with the former Prime Minister.

The deal was to support Deve Gowdas son HD Kumaraswamy to form the government with outside support of the Congress, which was shot down. It was only after the Congress agreed to join the government that Gowda relented and accepted the offer. For a change, the Congress moved with speed, something it did not and lost out Goa to the nimble footed BJP in a somewhat similarly placed situation with the Congress becoming the largest single party in Goa Assembly. But it was cheated out there by the BJP which cobbled up a majority.

In a tit-for-tat kind of a political power play, the Congress moved in fast and sealed the deal before the BJP could even realise what had happened. It was when BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa was about to fly to Delhi to invite PM Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah for his swearing-in ceremony that the Congress bomb exploded.

He had to cancel his ticket and get down to deal with a situation that the BJP was somewhat unfamiliar and clearly short of numbers. I will discuss the issue with party leadership, Amit Shah ji and take a decision" was all that he would say when media persons pressed him about his future course of action.

On a day of fast paced developments, the JD (S) lost no time and descended upon the Raj Bhavan staking its claim to form the government. The JD (S) CM candidate was armed with a letter of support offered by the Congress party for him to become the head of the government.

It was then that as per directives of Amit Shah, Yeddyurappa and union minister H Ananthakumar reached the Raj Bhavan and staked claim to form the government, with a request to prove majority on the floor of the house.

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New Delhi:

The chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was on Tuesday forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.



Adityanath, however, landed safe and attended the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow.



Yes, the chief minister is safe, Kumar told PTI.



It was a case of major security lapse as the chopper carrying the CM was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but it was forced to land on a field a kilometer away from the school.



Adityanath is on a days visit to the place to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered at Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district. After visiting the family, he reviewed the developmental works and law and order situation in the district.



The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI.

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Cyprus:

Two foreign policy decisions by Donald Trump has dramatically ramped up tension in the Middle East and resulted in the deaths of scores of people. But does a US president really have so much power that he on his own can decide weighty matters that will inevitably impact his own country?



The answer is yes, he has. At least when it comes to these two particular decisions  the dumping of the Iran nuclear deal and the moving of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.



And Trump didnt have to resort to his favourite political instrument  the executive order -- to achieve this dramatic shift in US foreign policy.



Take the Iran nuclear deal, which after a decade of wrangling was finally signed in 2015 between the US, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and Iran. Under the fragile pact, Tehran agreed to rein in its controversial nuclear programme in return for an easing of tough economic sanctions.



Signatories to the accord had been certifying Irans compliance with the terms of the accord every six months. To pull the plug on the deal and raise the very real prospect of a resumption of Irans nuclear programme, all Trump had to do was in early May refuse to issue the certification.



Trump then went on to issue, with the flourish of his pen, an executive order reimposing sanctions on the Islamic republic. This he has the power to do without Congress approval.



Political commentators believe that Trumps decision, which makes no logical sense since it is unsupported by the other signatories and unnecessarily heightens the risk of Iranian proliferation, stems from his overriding ambition to dismantle the legacy of his predecessor, Barack Obama.



On the question of the status of Jerusalem, Obama insisted that this was a question for Israelis and Palestinians themselves to resolve.



Trump, while campaigning for the presidency, on the other hand promised that he would recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the historical city. In December, he made good his recognition promise and on the embassy relocation took place.



Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital, had warned that such a move would spark outrage and lead to fresh bloodletting. And indeed it did, with dozens of Palestinian protestors killed and thousands others injured in clashes with Israeli security forces in Gaza on  even as the embassy was being opened.



It was the bloodiest day in seven weeks of violent demonstrations on the Gaza border launched by Palestinians to protest Israels economic blockade of the territory. The violence, further inflamed by the US Embassy relocation, is not expected to abate any time soon.



Middle Eastern leaders slammed the US move as provocative while 128 countries had condemned it when Trumps decision was discussed at the United Nations in December.



The international community considers East Jerusalem occupied territory and all countries have refrained from setting up their embassies in the city, choosing Tel Aviv instead.



Key US allies Germany, Britain and France boycotted s inauguration ceremony. All three nations have also condemned Trumps decision to torpedo the Iran nuclear deal.



As with his decision on Iran, Trump didnt need the approval of the Congress to change decades-old US foreign policy. In fact, he merely allowed a 1995 law to come into effect.



The Jerusalem Embassy Act was passed by Congress in 1995 but then President Bill Clinton refused to sign it, saying it could hinder the peace process  though it nevertheless became law.



The Act demanded that the US move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem by a set deadline,but allowed the move to be put off for six months at a time as long as the president determines and reports to Congress in advance that such suspension is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States.



Since the law was passed, successive presidents have every six months informed Congress that such suspension is indeed necessary  and the embassy remained in Tel Aviv.



Until Trump decided last December to recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital and authorise the relocation of the embassy.



Trump, by killing off the Iran nuclear deal and taking Israels side on the question of Jerusalem, has waded into the turmoil roiling the Middle East. And no one or nothing can stop him, not even the powerful US Congress.
New Delhi:

Over 50 Palestinians were killed while thousands injured when Israeli forces shot the protestors along the Gaza border on Monday. The people were protesting against the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

May 14 proved to be the deadliest day of cross-border violence since the disastrous 2014 war between Israel and Gazas Hamas rulers.

Gaza protesters continued their massive agitation throughout the day and set tires ablaze and hurled firebombs and stone toward the Israeli armed forces across the border. The Israeli military, which has come under scrutiny for using excessive force and strength against unarmed protesters, said that Hamas attempted to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of protesters.

At least 55 Palestinians, including four minors and a young girl, lost their lives, the Gaza Health Ministry said. The ministry also informed that 1,204 Palestinians were injured by gunfire, including 116, who were in critical condition.

There was no mention of the Gaza violence at the inauguration ceremony of the new embassy on Monday. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and other top bureaucrats joined an American delegation of US President Donald Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.

Trumps son-in-law and chief Mid-east adviser Jared Kushner headlined the US delegation along with his wife Ivanka Trump.

(with agency inputs)

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New Delhi:

US First Lady Melania Trump has undergone surgery to treat a "benign kidney condition" and was expected to remain hospitalised for the rest of the week, the White House said on Tuesday.

An 'embolization procedure' was successfully carried out on the First Lady to treat a benign kidney conditionA on Tuesday, according to the White House.

"The procedure was successful and there were no complications," Melania's spokesperson said as quoted by the PTI.

The First Lady was treated at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre where she underwent the surgery.

President Donald Trump flew to Walter Reed to visit Melania and tweeted about his wife's well-being minutes before arriving outside the medical centre.

"Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers," Trump tweeted.

Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers! a Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

"The First Lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere," the White House said.

Vice President Mike Pence described the embolization process as 'long planned' while addressing an event celebrating Israel's independence on Monday. "Melania is already on the mend," AP quoted Pence.

Melania, who is a former model from Slovenia, is Trumpas third wife and has been married to him for 13 years. They are parents to a 12-year-old son named Barron.

The couple was hitting headlines in the recent months after Trump has been accused of paying $130,000 to a porn star in hush money to keep quiet about the allegation of doing sex with her in 2006.

Although, Trump had acknowledged the payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, he denied Daniels' allegations. Earlier in 2016, a former Playboy model had come up with her allegations of a 10-month affair with the president. Trump also denied the allegations made by American model and actress Karen McDougal.

(With inputs from agencies)

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Manama : Hundreds of jellyfish were found dead on the shores of Budaiya beach, worrying environmentalists in the Kingdom. Sources said a cluster of more than 100 jellyfish were found dead at the entire stretch of Budaiya beach.

I was at the beach spending time with my family when we saw the entire stretch was filled with dead jellyfish. We arent sure if they are poisonous, but beaches in Bahrain are already polluted enough with plastic which in turns put the life of marine organisms already in danger.

When asked, a spokesperson of the Supreme Council For the Environment (SCE) told Tribune, In the light of the communication received by the Supreme Council for the Environment on the presence of large numbers of jellyfish in the coast of Beady, the area was surveyed this morning.

It should be noted that this is a breeding season for jelly fish. Additionally, the jellyfish represent a source of economic livelihood for many fishermen as they are shipped and exported outside Bahrain. So this dead fish cant cause any negative environmental impact.

Michael Arora, technical director at Environment Arabia said, These jellyfishes are called Rhizostoma, and this breed occurs naturally in Bahraini waters. This breed normally occurs in two periods, which is spring and autumn leading up to summer, which is around now. Their timings could change based on temperature, which is pretty normal and times.
Manama : A medical committee of five members was formed to investigate the issue of discovering unidentified objects in containers of antibiotics recently at a pharmacy in the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).

It is learnt that the committee will be chaired by the head of the medical maintenance and supply division in the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital in coordination with Assistant Undersecretary of Hospitals at the Ministry of Health Walid Al Manea, the Bahrain Defence Force Hospital and the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA).

According to sources, the committee will take the task of investigating the information received by the pharmacy of SMC about the existence of antibiotic containers with unidentified objects, take samples of these objects and analyse them to find out the reality of the information.

The committee will prepare a report describing the components of these objects and clarifying if they are or are not suitable for human use. In case of being not suitable for human use, the country of origin, the producing company and its agent in the Kingdom and the importer, who purchased them, the date of arrival to the hospitals shall be determined as well as to determine their responsibilities and take the necessary action towards patients security with regard to all the controls of administrative investigation, according to law.

Members of the committee are head of the immunisation group Jalila Sayed Jawad, the head of the primary health pharmacy department, Wijdan Manizel, the senior purchasing specialist in the support services department, Nora Mubarak, the head of the pharmaceutical organisation in NHRA, Rouya Al Abbasi, and a representative of human resources management.

There were reports about the discovery of parts of insects in stocks of antibiotic called cloxacillan, which was imported from an Asian country. Reportedly, SMC withdrew all new quantities of this drug imported which was imported by a private company.
Manama : Bahraini author Mohammed Isa has been honoured with Quilly ward by the National Academy of Bestselling Authors for his Amazon bestseller The Success Blueprint, which he co-authored with legendary success guru Brian Tracy.

Mohammed is the founder and chief results officer of 3D speaking. The book is nothing but a constructive interpretation of what success should look like. It gives detailed views on various concepts in achieving goals, Mohammed told Tribune.

In this book, my contribution was on the critical subject of public speaking. I share a time-tested methodology for creating effective speeches that speak to the mind, touch the heart and tickle the funny bone of an audience. It draws expertise from my international public speaking experience.

Mohammed said the book addresses both personal as well as professional success an emphasises ways on establishing crystal clear goals that are time-bound and how to take deliberate action to achieve these goals.

There one essential condition for receiving the Quilly Award is to have a book that tops the recognised bestselling book lists in the USA and since The Success Blueprint topped two Amazon Bestselling lists, I was recognised with this award.

Further it was a once in a lifetime experience when you are recognised by a professional body represented by the National Academy of Bestselling Authors.

I felt on top of the world as the awarding ceremony took place at the Roosevelt Hollywood Hotel which is the same hotel where the Oscars Awards took place for the first time in 1927.

The awards ceremony was part of the Thought Leader Summit, where topnotch speakers gave various talks. Mohammed said the award has made him more responsible. This award has put more responsibility on my shoulders. I am intending to encourage Bahraini youngsters to have ambitious and meaningful goals in life and become instigators of positive change.

Many among the audience were surprised to know that I came from Bahrain and I am proud of myself for raising the Bahraini flag high in Hollywood. In 2014, Mohammed co-authored a book titled World Class Speaking in Action, which was also very well accepted and discussed among the readers.
Manama : Electricity and Water Affairs Minister, Dr Abdulhussain Mirza, who is now in Austria, participated in the opening session of the Vienna Forum on Sustainable Energy held at the Vienna International Conference Centre.

The minister said his participation comes in preparation for the submission of Bahrains national voluntary audit report at the high-level political forum to be held in New York in July.

Several ministers, heads of organizations and senior officials involved in renewable energy from all over the world, were present.

Dr Mirza spoke about Bahrains achievements in the renewable energy field and the progress made towards the achievement of the United Nations sustainable development goals, in particular, that of clean and sustainable energy and the steps being taken by the government to encourage nvestment in the area.

He said Bahrain had a great interest in clean energy and due to the keenness of His Majesty the King, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.

He said Bahrain has set up the Sustainable Energy Unit in cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme. It is concerned with encouraging investment in renewable energy such as solar energy since the government has set national targets of five per cent of energy use being renewable by 2015 and 10pc by 2035.

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There is division in the camp of the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in ...

There is division in the camp of the former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders who defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013.





The bloc, known then as the new PDP (nPDP), helped in dislodging the PDP from its 16-year rule in the 2015 general election.





They teamed up with the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), to form APC.





But last week, Kawu Baraje, chairman of the nPDP, listed some grievances of the group and demanded an urgent meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.





In a letter he co-signed with Olagunsoye Oyinlola, the nPDP leaders requested to meet the president within seven days.





Oyinlola resigned his membership of the APC less than 24 hours after the letter was submitted at the APC headquarters in Abuja and relinquished his position as chairman of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC).





Their letter had generated reactions across the country, with Uche Secondus, chairman of the PDP, saying his party would reach out to the aggrieved nPDP leaders.





However, things took a new turn on Monday when a splinter group of the nPDP dissociated itself from Baraje faction.





The splinter group led by Abdullahi Adamu, a senator from Nasarawa state, also refuted alleged marginalisation of nPDP members, saying the APC had been magnanimous in the distribution of positions and offices to the various blocs that coalesced to form the ruling party.





Addressing a press conference at the party secretariat in Abuja on Monday, Adamu picked holes in the petition of Baraje.





He alleged that it was filled with contradictions, arguing that the nPDP is adequately represented in the executive, legislature and judiciary.





He enumerated the key appointments of stake holders of the nPDP as follows: Bukola Saraki, senate president; Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of representatives; Adamu Aliero; chairman senate committee on customs; Aliyu Wamako, chairman, senate committee on education; Rabiu Kwankwaso, chairman, senate committee on national planning; and Danjuma Goje, chairman Senate committee on Appropriation





Andrew Uchendu, vice-chairman of a senate committee; Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state; Abdullahi Ganduje, governor Kano state; Abdulfatah Ahmed,- governor of Kwara state; Jibrilla Bindow, governor Adamawa; Atiku Bagudu, governor of Kebbi; and Baraje, whom he listed as a board chairman. Others are Abdulaziz Nyako, chairman senate committee on special duties;Andrew Uchendu, vice-chairman of a senate committee; Aminu Tambuwal, governor of Sokoto state; Abdullahi Ganduje, governor Kano state; Abdulfatah Ahmed,- governor of Kwara state; Jibrilla Bindow, governor Adamawa; Atiku Bagudu, governor of Kebbi; and Baraje, whom he listed as a board chairman.





The nPDP did not state its next line of action if the meeting with the president fail to hold.





Buhari has been silent on the petition.





FULL TEXT OF THE LETTER OF THE GROUP





14th May 2018





The National Chairman

All Progressive Congress APC

National Head Quarters

Abuja





Dear sir,





UNFOUNDED AND UNJUSTIFIED GROUND FOR CONFRONTATION WITH OUR PARTY THE APC AND GOVERNMENT BY SOME MEMBERS OF THE DEFUNCT nPDP





We received with great shock and embarrassment the news that a former acting chairman of the PDP Alhaji Kawu Baraje lead four others to deliver a letter they claimed on behalf of the nPDP which is defunct and has long dissolved into the APC during the 2013 merger. In the letter, Baraje stated that we members of the then nPDP group are being marginalized, maltreated and witch hunted

in the APC and requested for an urgent meeting with the party and Mr President within one week.





As members of the then nPDP, we are aware that the last meeting that was held by the group was in 2014. Since then, no meeting has been called. Where did Alhaji Baraje and Col Olagunsoye Oyinlola obtained the alleged resolution to write the said letter? When and where was the meeting held? Who are those that attended the meeting?





We ordinarily would have ignore such a joke but it is a dangerous joke taking too far. How can you explain that one of the two signatories to the letter Col Olagunsoye Oyinlola RTD has since left the APC for the African Democratic Party ADP after going on AWOL to the Obasanjo Coalition for Nigeria. Yet same person is asking to meet the APC leadership to Adress grievances? This clearly shows the sinister motive behind the letter which is not far from destabilizing the party at this most critical time.





In any case, the letter is full of contradictions, false assertions, misrepresentations, distortion of history and facts and in many instances outright lies. We as initiators and founding members of the defunct nPDP there fore wish to condemn and disassociate ourselves from the letter and apologise for the obvious embarrassment the letter have caused to our party and government. We wish to reaffirm our support and confidence in the party and Mr President and we do not in any way feel marginalized or maltreated as we are clearly in the league of the biggest beneficiaries of the party.





Mr chairman, for the purpose of correcting the misleading contents of the letter and setting the records straight it is pertinent that we provide some facts on some of the issues raised in the letter





CLAIM OF MARGINALISATION





Government at the federal level is not only the executive branch in isolation. It includes the legislature as well. The APC government deliberately or not has a balance of power among the various parties and groups that merged to form the APC at the federal level. While the Muhammadu Buhari lead CPC got the president, the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu lead ACN got the Vice President. We the nPDP as we then were eventually got the combination of Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives though under somewhat questionable circumstances.





All of these offices control enormous amount of patronage and instruments of reward. It is strange that we did not see any qualms when the Senate President and Speaker dispensed about 200 appointments including committee chairmen without asking for nomination from Mr President, Vice President, the APC as a party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as party leader, Baba Akande pioneer national chairman and a host of others. Is that not marginalisation? If we the nPDP did not view that as marginalisation then we do not have the moral justification to accuse the President if he appoints his ministers without seeking for our nominees.





All the key stake holders of the nPDP were accommodated as follows





Senator Bukola Saraki  Senator and Senate President

Hon Yakubu Dogara  Member of House and Speaker House of Representatives

Senator Abdullahi Adamu- Senator and Chairman Senate committee on Agriculture

Senator Adamu Aliero- Senator and Chairman Senate Commitee on Costoms

Senator Magatakarda Wamako- Senator and Chairman senate committee on education

Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso- Senator and Chairman senate committee on national planning

Senator Danjuma Goje- Senator and Chairman Senate committee on Appropriation

Senator Abdulaziz Nyako- Senator and chairman senate committee on special duties

Senator Uchendu- Senator and vice chairman

Governor Aminu Tambuwal- Governor Sokoto State

Governor Abdullahi Ganduje- Governor Kano state

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed  Governor Kwara State

Senator Jibrilla Bindow- Governor Adamawa state

Senator A Bagudu- Governor Kebbi state

Alh Kawu Baraje- Board chairman





And many others that became senators, members of the House of Representatives and many positions too numerous to mention. The only key members that were left with nothing are Governor Rotimi Amechi and Hon Dakuku Peterside who lost the Rivers state gubernatorial election and were promptly accommodate by Mr President. While Rotimi Amechi was appointed Minister of transport, Peterside became the DG NIMASA. It will be most uncharitable to down play the significant contribution and rare courage of our in group in the south south lead by Governor Amechi who were from the same zone with the then incumbent president Good luck Jonathan.





We can not hold any of the above mentioned positions whether elected and appointed or a combination of both and yet complain of marginalization. The cumulation of these positions is enough to cater for the nPDP family within the APC in the spirit of fairness and justice if each of the beneficiaries of these offices extend same spirit of patronage to the members of the defunct nPDP and the APC at large.





The case is the same at the Party level. All the party officials promoted by key nPDP stake holders are still holding their positions in the party. How can we then complain of marginalisation by the party? A simple fact sheet is as follows





Senator Danjuma Goje- National Youth leader,

Senator Wamako/ Gov Aminu Tambuwal- National vice chairman north west, Alh Inuwa Abdulkadir

Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso- National Treasurer, Alh Bala Gwargwarwa

Senator Bukola Saraki/ Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed- National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi

Governor Rotimi Amechi- National vice chairman south south

Governor Bindow- National vice chairman north East, Comrade Mustapha Salihu

Senator Abdullahi Adamu- National Vice chairman north central, Hon Zakari Ede





These party officials are involved in running the affairs of the party and contributing in decision making at various levels. In addition, other members of the nPDP holding legislative and executive positions are involved and making their contributions on government policies and decision making at various organs and levels of governance.





The APC has been very gracious to us but we must not over stretch our luck. We have concentrated in pointing accusing fingers at the President and Party and generally others while we failed to look inward and adress the greed, selfishness, witch hunt, injustice and high handedness exhibited by some leaders of the defunct nPDP in privileged positions today against our fellow members. We only remember that the nPDP ever existed when it is time to advance our personal and often selfish interest. Let us be careful not to become a cancer to any house we seek to join or gain speciality in trying to destroy every house we help to build. We must introspect and change our ways





Many members that worked so hard for the nPDP are being attacked and ridiculed by some leaders of the group. May be it is time to call a meeting of the defunct nPDP, lock ourselves in a room and tell ourselves the bitter truth. Many of us have questions to ask some of our leaders. Peharps if we had done that in the first place, there will certainly be no reason to for Alh Kawu Baraje to approach the party and even give an ultimatum. We should be more concern with using what the APC has offered us in many generous way to advance the cause of our members and the party and country at large. We have more than enough not to complain if some leaders in the nPDP will be less greedy.





We believe that the nPDP has many leaders of high integrity but we must be careful not to use the group to cover up for any individual who fall foul of the law. We must support the anti corruption stance of the government and ensure that the law takes its cause in accordance to the laws of our land without minding whose ox is gored. We will resist any attempt to smear our government through posturing or using the platform of the defunct nPDP as shield against crimes that might have been committed against the state even before the merger of the defunct nPDP and the APC and beyond.





We wish to state categorically clear that we recognize and concede the right of every member of our party the APC including members of the defunct nPDP to hold their opinion on what they desire government or the party to do for them but what they desire should only be justifiable but enforceable.





Finally, we wish to advice the party and Mr President that in an event that it decides to grant audience to the group lead by Kawu Baraje , we the Buhari supporters who are now in the majority in the defunct nPDP should be invited to the meeting as well- For it seems the petitioners no longer stand for the ideals of the defunct nPDP nor represent our collective interest and position.





We wish to thank Mr President and the party for steering the ship of state in this trying moment as well maturity he has shown in the face of several instances of attempts to intimidate, black mail, harass and embarrass the government and party by some members of the defunct nPDP for their selfish interest.





We remain resolute in our loyalty and support for our party and this government in the effort to deliver service to the Nigerian state and our people.





Yours faithfully,





His Excellency

Senator Abdullahi Adamu

Chairman





Chief Theodore Geogewill

Deputy Chairman





Hon Abdulmumin Jibrin

Secretary





CC

Muhammadu Buhari GCFR

President Federal Republic of Nigeria





His Excellency
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Nigerias anti-corruption body, the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), on Tuesday, May 15, discharged a Supreme Court judge, Sylvester Nguta, who was earlier accused and slammed with charges of non-declaration of his assets.At the time of this report, details of the ruling of the CCT were still sketchy.Justice Ngwuta had faced issues with the federal government for many months.On Tuesday, May 16, it was reported that the federal government amended the corruption charges it preferred against Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, before a Federal High Court in Abuja.The report stated that three amendments have now been done to the charges originally filed in December 2016.According to the report, shortly after the lead prosecuting counsel, Olufemi Fatunde, announced the latest development to the court, the amended charges were read to the defendant, who pleaded not guilty to all the 13 counts.
Asked if his stands on some national issues will not deny him a return to the senate Abaribe said, I fear nothing. The first thing they will say is you will not come back, but the people who will vote for me are from the South East and not from the North or inside the villa. The other thing is that they think they will investigate you and all that. Well, I dont do contract and dont engage in anything outside of my legitimate duties. You cannot hold me for engaging in fraud. EFCC cannot touch me.

Senator representing Abia South senatorial zone at the National Assembly, Chief Enyinnaya Abaribe has described the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as one that thrives on deceit and excuses and should be voted out in 2019.Abaribe, who spoke on a local radio programme in Aba, stated that the APC government has thrown Nigeria into huge debts and questioned Buharis sincerity on the anti-graft war.According to him, Buharis government came on the platform of deceit. They deceived Nigerians into thinking that they were coming as saviour and they made certain assertions that Nigerian believed.What we have are people who said, first, we are going to deal with the matter of security. Then, they couldnt deal with it. When they found out they couldnt, they turned around and said we have technically defeated Boko Haram. When they found that it couldnt happen, all of a sudden, they stage-managed a kidnap, and suddenly, they released the people.Within this period, we had the whole Benue Valley starting from Taraba to Nassarawa following the Benue River, attacked by unknown persons. People are being killed every day. The Senate has compiled a list of people who have been killed. Up to a thousand, two to three million people are away in the IDPs and we are not in a war.Our economy is suffering because of their bad policies. And once they failed, they said Nigeria was at the brink before we came. They are now telling us that within three years, we cannot undo the bad things that PDP did in 16 years.On the issue of indebtedness, Abaribe explained that the PDP government only owed 6 billion dollars in 16 years and also paid off debts incurred by previous administrations. He, however, lamented that within 3 years, the APC government has plunged Nigeria into a 16 billion dollar debt and is still taking more debt.For three years, this government has run on excuses. They have seen now that the public doesnt believe them and they are getting to their waterloo. They are going to enter a difficult election in which they will not win, so they have gone into suppression.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again called on Nigerians to handle the Naira with care, as it was a symbol of the nations id...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again called on Nigerians to handle the Naira with care, as it was a symbol of the nations identity and pride.The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Directorate, Mr Edward Adamu, reiterated this on Tuesday in Abuja at CBNs 2018 International Museum Day celebrations.He said the CBN housed the Currency Museum, which explained the evolution of money in Nigeria from the pre-colonial era to the contemporary times.He said the CBN hoped that through the activities of the Currency Museum members of the public would be better educated on how to properly handle the naira and other related matters.The Naira as a symbol of our national pride should not be sprayed or step on, should not be squeezed defaced or stained.Read Also: Banks sabotaging efforts on new naira notes, says CBNThe naira should not be sold or counterfeited.Be a role model by neatly arranging the Naira in pouches, wallets or envelopes, he said.Also, the Deputy Director, Currency Operations Department, Mr Vincent Wuranti, said the way and manner people handled the Naira affected its life span.He explained that a lot of effort was put into the design and production of the nations currency, hence the need to respect it.According to him, the different banknotes feature portraits of Nigerian heroes, agriculture, solid minerals and other things that illustrate the Nigerian culture and economy.Section 21 of the CBN Act 2007 states that the abuse of Naira such as squeezing, staining, writing, spraying and illegal sales amongst others are punishable offences.The act states that the offender must pay nothing less than N50, 000 or face a jail term of six months or both.Section 20 (4) of the CBN act 2007 provides penalty of not less than five years in jail for counterfeiting the Naira with no option of fine.
Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies ...

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies not to spare corrupt leaders.He said the nation cannot win the war against graft until justice catches up with the corruptSoyinka, who made his views known at the opening ceremony of the eighth Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, said corrupt leaders should get ready to go down in status when justice catches up with themHe said: That we have been bled dry in this nation by corrupt leadership and their agencies is nothing to reiterate. It is a given. And I took the trouble yesterday to visit the headquarters of the EFCC. I wanted to see what would be the mode of hospitality of some of our leaders who will surely, sooner or later, pass through the doors of that beautiful building.I am not a vengeful person but I think until we ensure that some of our leaders pass through those doors, this struggle against corruption in this country will not be won, will not be over.And so, I spoke to Magu and I said I want to see where the presidential wing is. I said as a human rights person, I want to make sure you treat them right when they come here and he said sorry it is an egalitarian institution and I said I would take that message back to them that they should get ready to go down a little bit in status when the time comes and justice catches up with them.The Nobel laureate said for now, the responsibility of anti-corruption agencies should be to recover the rest of Nigerias stolen funds which could be used for development.He added: For now, your responsibility I believe is to help us recover the rest of the loot which is still flying all over the continent.Soyinka also queried the status of million dollars donated to a neighbouring Head of State by the the late military head of State Gen. Sani Abacha.He said for posterity, the cash must be retrieved if it had not been done.Very specific, I said a certain sum of money was taken in a night plane to the head of state of a neighbouring country and if you can just help us recover that sum, it may be 50 per cent, given the resistance, it may be about 25 per cent and that way, it will help us not only to continue the war that existed but establish a principle that corruption is not just in one country. It is a responsibility of a collective group of people to fight it.Many, many years later, I was justified because it became an issue in that country. I think you all know the country I am talking about. They raised a panel, explanations had to be given and up till now, I dont know whether Nigeria has recovered the million dollars that was the figure.But at least, that was an issue of problem of conscience and this is exactly what I hope will emerge from this meeting.
Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central) has said that he will likely to attend todays plenary of the Senate, following the judgment of th...

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta Central) has said that he will likely to attend todays plenary of the Senate, following the judgment of the court, which declared his suspension illegal.Senator Omo-Agege told reporters at the APC secretariat in Abuja that there was no reason why he should not report to the Senate sitting having upturned his suspension.But security was yesterday beefed up at the National Assembly ahead of expected resumption of Omo-Agege.The senator, however, he was confident that the Senate and those involved in the case have been served the courts judgment.He said the judgment was not necessarily based on the merit of his case, but because the Senate suspended him while his case was pending before the court, which was an act of contempt of court.When asked if he would report for the Senate sitting today, he said: Absolutely.But he was quick to add that his reporting to the Senate would depend on the advice of his counsel.The senator said: The enrollment of the court order is being served on the Senate as we speak and I believe that it has been served on the Senate. Thereafter, I reserve the right to resume whenever I deem fit.I dont expect any resistance because that will have its own consequences. This is a court order and you must understand the basis of the courts judgment. The court rendered that judgment because it felt that they were contemptuous.My matter was in court and notwithstanding, they proceeded to purportedly suspend me. It was on that basis that the court exercises its disciplinary power to reverse the suspension and not necessarily on the merit of my case. Now, I understand that they have gone to court to ask for a stay of that judgment.For those of you who are familiar with the law, that is an equitable relief. He who comes to equity must come with clean hands. You cannot be in contempt of the court and at the same time ask the court to grant you an equitable relief of stay.In any case, it is a declaratory judgment, which is not stay-able in law, and the judge said with immediate effect. So, I dont need any other action to take my seat. So, to answer your question, I will show up any time I deem fit.There is no reason why I should not show up tomorrow. More likely, I will be in the Senate tomorrow.It was gathered that strengthening of security arrangement at the complex, especially around the Senate Chambers, is to forestall likely security breach as recorded on April 18, when some hoodlums stormed the chambers and made away with the Mace.The incident, which occurred while plenary was ongoing in the chambers was linked to Omo-Agege, who defied the suspension order on him and attended the proceedings, accompanied by some strange fellows into the chamber.News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that apart from full security detail in the red chamber yesterday, police officers were seen at the lobby leading into the chamber, a development that was unusual on a non-sitting day.Sergeants-at-Arms were also seen in clusters discussing in hush tones, and apparently perfecting the security beef-up.Some staff of the assembly, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the development was not unconnected with the expected return of Omo-Agege to the chamber today after the court judgment in his favour.They confirmed that the move was to check likely break down of law and order as experienced when the mace was forcefully taken away.(NAN)
Human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), on Tuesday asked the Federal Government to emulate the culture of obedience to courts order exhibited by the Senates compliance with the court judgment which nullified the 90-day suspension imposed by the upper legislative chamber on the Delta Central Senator, Ovie Omo-Agege.By complying with the judgment without any conditions whatsoever the Senate has demonstrated leadership by example, Falana said in a statement which he issued shortly after the news of the Senates decision to welcome Omo-Agege back to his legislative duties on Tuesday.Falana had secured the yet-to-be-obeyed December 2, 2016 judgment of the Federal High Court in Abuja which ordered the release of the leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (also known as Shiite), Sheik Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, and the clerics wife, Zeinab, from the custody of the Department of State Service.El-Zakzaky and his wife have been detained by the DSS since December 2015.Also, a former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki, has been in the detention of the same agency since December 2015 despite a later judgment of the Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States, ordering his release.Falana, on Tuesday, renewed his call for the release El-Zakzaky, the clerics wife, and Dasuki from the custody of the DSS in obedience to court orders, urging the government to emulate the Senate.Contrasting the attitudes of both the Federal Government and the Senate to court orders, Falana said the Red Chambers decision on Tuesday is highly commendable in a country where official impunity has since been institutionalised.He noted that notwithstanding that the motion for stay of execution of the judgment of the Honourable Justice Nnamdi Dimgba (of the Federal High Court in Abuja) delivered last week in the case of Senator Ovie Omo-Agege v The Senate has not been heard and determined by the Federal High Court, the Senate resolved yesterday to comply with the terms of the judgment.He said, However, the Executive branch of the Federal Government is called upon to emulate the good example of the Senate by complying with all valid and subsisting judgments of all courts in Nigeria.In particular, the Executive should, as a matter of urgency, purge itself of contempt of court by complying with the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on December 2, 2016 which directed that Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Zeinab Elzakzaky be released from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.
The Senate, Tuesday asked the Federal government to through the Federal Ministry of Water Resources ensure early completion of Osara Dam in Kogi State for the provision of adequate water for irrigated crop production and safe drinking by the people.Against this backdrop, the Senate has mandated its Committee on Water Resources to liaise with the ministry over the completion of the dam, which it said was the largest source of water in the state with the Ekuku Dam as the second largest.Resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion by Senator Ahmed Ogembe, PDP, Kogi Central and entitled, Urgent call for the speedy resuscitation of the Osara / Ekuku Dams in Kogi Central Senatorial District.Presenting the motion, Senator Ogembe told the Senate that the Osara Dam was first conceived in 1995 under the Ibrahim Babangida administration as part of the countrys public irrigation sector schemes, adding that it was meant to provide water for irrigated crop production and drinking.According to him, construction of the dam is a strategic component in the development of Nigerias Iron Ore and Steel projects in Itakpe and Ajaokuta as the Osara dam site is situated about 6km north of the National Iron Ore Mining Company, NIOMCO, Itakpe and is accessible through the Lokoja-Okene highway.Ogembe however, lamented that the construction works and the development of the necessary infrastructure for Osara dam to effectively function as an irrigation project and water supply scheme was truncated;He also bemoaned the abandonment of this laudable project impacts negatively on the socio-economic life of not just the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District, but the entire Kogi State and indeed the whole country.Senator Ogembe therefore warned that Kogi State being a gateway between the Northern and Southern Nigeria, the possibility of outbreak of diseases due to water crisis cannot be overruled.He said, Kogi State is geographically located in the heart of Nigeria. The state is well blessed with water resources being the host of the confluence, the meeting point of two great rivers, Benue and Niger.Despite this natural advantage, the lack of potable drinking water supply accurately rhymes with the anonymous sailors distress cry: Water, water everywhere, but not a single drop to drink. This perfectly describes the portable water supply situation in Kogi State.Contributing, the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmad Lawan (APC Yobe North) noted that the dam, if completed would provide additional jobs and wealth for the people of the state and the country in general.Lawan stressed that the dam is very important to the federal governments efforts at boosting agriculture not only to feed the nation, but also to enhance the living standards of its citizenry.He recalled that the present All Progressives Congress, APC led federal government had within the three years of its inauguration been able to cut rice importation by over 90 per cent, believing that it would be finally stopped by next year while the exportation of the commodity and some others would also commence.
A male suicide bomber on Tuesday killed five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, while six others were injured in Madarari area in ...

A male suicide bomber on Tuesday killed five members of the Civilian Joint Task Force, while six others were injured in Madarari area in Konduga council of Borno.Mr Ibrahim Abdulkadir, Zonal Information Officer, of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Borno, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).He told NAN in Maiduguri that the incident occurred around 1:30 pm.He said that the bomber detonated his Improvised Explosive Device (IED), at a military check point killing the victims.Malam Bello Danbatta, the spokesperson of the Civilian JTF, said he lost four of his men including the leader of the task force in Konduga.Danbatta described the loss as shocking and said that many of his members had lost their lives fighting Boko Haram.We evacuated the injured victims to the state specialist hospital for treatment he said.Meanwhile, the Nigerian Army on Tuesday said it neutralised six Boko Haram members during its clearance operations at Gashigar, Borno.Brig. Gen. Texas Chukwu, the Director Army Public Relations, who disclosed this in a statement, said some of the terrorists were wounded, while weapons were recovered during the encounter.According to him, troops also successfully cleared Gambori, Dumbawa, Damsu, Awardi, Kanaram, Laridi, Malumdi and Yaramdi villages at the fringe of Sambisa forest. (NAN)
President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday his administration is delivering on promises made with clear-cut targets. He added it was al...

President Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday his administration is delivering on promises made with clear-cut targets.He added it was also prudently managing resources through a deliberate policy to plug wastages.Speaking at the palace of the Emir of Dutse, Jigawa State, Alhaji Nuhu Muhammadu Sanusi, during a two-day visit, Buhari said the odds of initial dwindling oil prices did not discourage the government from setting targets for projects and achieving more in three years than the 16 years of Peoples Democratic Partys (PDP) misrule.He said the growing support the administration enjoys could be attributed to the understanding of Nigerians of the unpleasant realities it inherited, and the efforts to reposition the economy in spite of what the opposition keeps sponsoring in the press.The President, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, directed the Minister of Water Resources, Sulaiman Adamu, to work with the Jigawa State to alleviate the challenge of water scarcity in the state capital.The directive followed a complaint by the Emir of Dutse.On arrival in Jigawa State, the President began his engagements at Auyo, near Hadejia, where he inaugurated the expansion of an irrigation scheme and visited the Emir of Hadejia, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar Maje.Buhari, who was received by a tumultuous crowd, thanked the Emir of Hadejia and his people for always supporting him, even when he was an opposition candidate.He said his visit to Hadejia was more of homecoming, promising to give more attention to the needs of the people in the Emirate.The Emir of Dutse hailed the Federal Government for its efforts in addressing the challenges of corruption, terrorism and drug abuse.The traditional ruler requested that the Date Palm Research Centre in Dutse, under the National Oil Palm Research Institute, be moved to the Federal University.He explaimed that the research centre would be more relevant and functional in the university.Both emirs held special prayers for the President and his administration.
The Federal Government on Monday in Abuja announced that $320m stolen funds by former late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, would be spen...

The Federal Government on Monday in Abuja announced that $320m stolen funds by former late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha, would be spent on the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme of the administration to support the poor.Declaring open the Eighth Commonwealth Conference of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, Buhari, represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, said it was one condition given by the Switzerland authorities for the repatriation of the funds.Buhari said that The Global Forum on Asset Recovery, after its inaugural meeting in Washington, DC, in December 2017, had facilitated efforts toward asset recovery and return.The GFAR saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and the Government of Switzerland for the return of an additional $320m of the Sani Abacha loot.Included in that agreement is the commitment that the funds would be invested in one of Nigerias flagship social investment programmes, the Conditional Cash Transfer scheme targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable households in our country.(NAN)
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday listed six obstacles facing Nigeria and other nations seeking to repatriate looted funds and confi...

absence of a legal basis for cooperation in some countries;

differences in legal and procedural frameworks;

language barriers;

bank secrecy;

jurisdictional issues; and

lack of funding.

Osinbajo said: Dismantling the conspiracies that facilitate export of stolen assets is probably as important as the theme of this conference,

He also said developing countries lose $1trillion annually to corporate transgressions, adding that the private sectors complicity in corrupt practices is significant.In Osinbajos view, the procedures to obtain Mutual Legal Assistance to confiscate and repatriate proceeds of corruption need to be reformed.To Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland, the world is facing a Tsunami of corruption.Osinbajo and Scotland spoke at the opening of the eighth Commonwealth Regional Conference for Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Africa, hosted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.Osinbajo said the procedures for repatriation of stolen funds and proceeds of corruption are complex.He listed six major obstacles which have made the implementation of Mutual Legal Assistance among countries difficult. The challenges are:Partnering towards Assets Recovery and Return.Recovering stolen assets not only accomplishes the goal of restitution, it also serves as a potential deterrent to future corruption.Article 51 of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption states unequivocally that return of assets is a fundamental principle of the Convention, and mandates States Parties to afford one another the widest measure of cooperation and assistance in this regard. Similarly, Article 16(1) (c) of the African Union Convention for Preventing and Combating Corruption obligates States Parties to adopt such legislative measures as to enable repatriation of proceeds of corruption.The effective implementation of these Conventions depends to a considerable extent on the willingness, cooperation and the assistance of States in the areas of mutual legal assistance (MLA), law enforcement cooperation, asset recovery and return, and technical assistance. Regrettably, the procedures to obtain Mutual Legal Assistance to seize, confiscate and repatriate proceeds of corruption are often complex and problematic, and in urgent need of reform.The absence of a legal basis for cooperation in some countries, differences in legal and procedural frameworks, language barriers, bank secrecy, jurisdictional issues, a lack of funding are some of the obstacles standing in the way of effective mutual legal assistance. Im pleased to note that there is evidence of a renewed commitment to collectively identifying the most effective means of overcoming all of these existing legal and technical obstacles to asset recovery and return. Osinbajo also said developing nations had been losing $1trillion annually to corporate transgressions, adding that the private sector had been complicit in corrupt practices.The 2014 report claims that developing countries lose $1trillion annually to corporate transgressions, most of it traceable to the activities of companies with secret ownership, Osinbajo said.He went on: Another report that may enjoy a major mention here is the 2015 report of the High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa. Chaired by our guest of honour, former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the panel stated in its report that Africa had lost over $1 trillion over a 50-year period and that Africa loses more than $50 billion annually to illicit financial flows. Most of these illicit flows are perpetrated in the extractive sector and through companies with hidden ownerships.The cost of corruption therefore imposes on all African countries and governments a moral obligation to fight it with vigour and political will, by strengthening all institutions and systems involved in law enforcement as well as in promoting a culture of transparency and accountability.While public sector corruption is the usual focus, the private sectors complicity is significant, as when large multinational corporations engage in tax evasion or transfer pricing.But it is the complex web of public-private collusion and connivance that results in proceeds of corruption ending up in foreign countries and especially in their financial institutions and systems.He said anonymous corporate ownership serves as a vehicle for masking conflict of interests, corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, and even terrorism financing.Osinbajo said: If nothing else, the Panama Papers clearly illustrated the global scale and spread of this problem. So this is a global challenge and nothing less than a truly global approach will be needed to tackle it.This is why we salute the United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands and Denmark for leading the way in establishing public registers of the real, human owners of companies in their countries. We call on other G8 and G20 countries not only to follow suit but also to initiate actions to end corporate secrecy in some of their dependencies.Osinbajo explained the condition attached to the return of $320million Abacha loot to Nigeria by Switzerland.He said: The GFAR saw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and the Government of Switzerland for the return of an additional USD$320 million of the Sani Abacha loot. Included in that agreement is the commitment that the funds would be invested in one of the Nigerian Governments flagship social investment programmes  a Conditional Cash Transfer scheme targeted at the poorest and most vulnerable households in the country.The Vice President asked Heads of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth Africa to collaborate to fight corruption and asset recovery.Commonwealth Secretary-General Scotland said the world was facing a Tsunami of corruption.She said globally about $800billion to $300 trillion had been lost to money laundering globally.She said Africa loses $148billion to corruption per annum.She said: Globally, we are facing a Tsunami of Corruption. In 2015, UNODC estimated that the amount of money laundered globally each year is 2  5% of global domestic product or between $800 billion and $200 trillion.It is estimated that corruption costs the African continent over $148 billion per annum.You, the heads of anti-corruption agencies, will be seeking to meet this challenge. You are leading the fight against this Tsunami.You are the early warning mechanisms, the rapid responders, mobilisers; you put in place necessary, critical measures that enable us to build back better.I would like to share a few of the inspiring stories on how you and the continent are beginning to win the battle against corruption.Here in Nigeria, over $3billion of ill-gotten gains have been recovered.I would like to put on record my deepest admiration and gratitude for all anti-corruption agencies gathered here today, including those at the forefront of cases I have just highlighted.It is prescient that we are gathered here in Abuja at the invitation of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission of Nigeria, which under the excellent and forthright stewardship of its Acting Chair, Mr Ibrahim Magu continues to effect real change and deliver positive results.I also want to recognise and applaud the distinguished efforts of Professor Bolaji Owasanoye and his team at the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption in promoting the reform agenda of the government on the anti-corruption effort.We also owe His Excellency President Buhari immense gratitude for his wisdom and leadership.Acting EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Magu said President Muhammadu Buhari had kept his promise to fight corruption.Magu said: There are leaders of States today, who are not assertive on matters of state policy; you can hardly say with any conviction that such and such is the position held by such leaders on issues of national or international significance.You cannot however say that of President Buhari, who from the very beginning, even while he sought political office, publicly requested to be judged by his anti-corruption credentials than on any other.Very early in the life of his administration, the president declared that: The institutions of State dedicated to fighting corruption will be given independence and prosecutorial authority without political interference.I can confirm to you, Madam Secretary and my dear colleagues, that the promise has been kept.The fact that the fight against corruption is central to the administration of President Buhari is not accidental. That is what has defined the entire public lives of our first and second citizens and we are extremely lucky at this time in the life of our nation to have the most committed anti-corruption administration led by the President piloting the affairs of Nigeria.I dare say there has never been a better, more focused and committed team as far as anti-corruption is concerned, anywhere in Africa, than the current leadership in Nigeria.
Zimbabwes public sector workers have rejected an improved salary offer of 15 per cent from President Emmerson Mnangagwas government and ...

Zimbabwes public sector workers have rejected an improved salary offer of 15 per cent from President Emmerson Mnangagwas government and want wages for the lowest paid employees to more than double, the main public sector union said on Tuesday.

The government agreed on Friday to raise salaries by 10 per cent for the army, police and other civil servants from July, when Zimbabwe is expected to hold its first general election since Robert Mugabe left power in 2017.





Apex Council, the union which represents all government workers, said the governments higher offer on Monday was still below the Poverty Datum Line (PDL) used to assess whether a person is deemed poor.





Zimbabwes PDL is 591 dollars, while the lowest government worker earns 253 dollars a month.





The southern African nation already spends more than 90 per cent of its national budget on salaries and pensions, but Mnangagwa is trying hard to curb strikes by public workers before the elections, whose date he is yet to announce.





The new president, who came to power following a de facto army coup against 94-year-old Mugabe in November, has already faced public sector anger when doctors and nurses went on strike in March and April.





We would like to urge the government to improve the salary of the lowest paid to PDL, Apex Council chairperson Cecilia Alexander said.




As Theodore Vidal strode along the Seaside Heights boardwalk last weekend, he braced himself for familiar ridicule.

The Lacey High School junior was afraid his picture-perfect prom night was about to be ruined as he and his boyfriend Colin Beyers approached an area where some of their classmates were being greeted by patrons at a rooftop bar. The customers were chanting "kiss her" at the dates walking by, and Vidal was nervous how they'd respond to a gay couple.

But instead of scorn, Vidal and Beyers only got support Friday night at the Jersey Shore.

"When me and Colin walked by, they chanted 'kiss him' over and over again. We were a little hesitant about it because we were nervous, obviously, to see if something bad would be said to us," Vidal told NJ Advance Media in a phone interview on Tuesday. "Then we kissed and they all went crazy, everyone was wild and cheering, happy, so proud of us. They kept being like 'do it again!' and it felt so good. I don't even know how it felt, I've never felt like that."

The story took off when ABC producer Michael Del Moro witnessed the scene and tweeted about it. That led to a Buzzfeed article, which has spurred countless more posts all over the internet.

Tuesday marks the six-month anniversary for Vidal and Beyers, who met while playing in the Eastern Wind Symphony in Princeton. Vidal admits he was a little nervous about going to prom, having faced homophobia in the past.

But when people came up to the couple at prom, it was to offer encouragement, with everyone telling them how good they looked together and that they should win the award for cutest couple.

An amazing prom, coupled with the positive encounter on the boardwalk, has been a life-changing experience for Vidal and Beyers, who have both been flooded with Instagram messages from people thanking them for sharing their story and saying it has given them hope and encouragement to come out and be themselves as well.

"I have not stopped smiling since prom. I'm usually sad and depressed at school, people make fun of me and stuff. This has really changed. Everyone is giving me positive reinforcement, reassuring me that I am okay and it's going to get better because it does get better. This is proof obviously that it does. I feel like it's going to help a lot of people that are scared either to come out or to be themselves in public," Vidal said. "When they do, it will get better. It will be hard at first but they will fight through it and they will not be alone for it."

As if one amazing prom night wasn't enough, the couple has another coming this Friday. They'll attend Beyers' Hillsborough High School senior prom, and they're even more excited now after the events of last Friday.

"What I really want for this story is for it to go viral so other LGBTQ people can see it and be inspired. I want it to be able to help people who aren't out yet or those who are out and not supported," Beyers said. "I want it to give them hope and show them that it does get better and that you shouldn't be afraid to be who you are."

Jeremy Schneider may be reached at jschneider@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Schneider. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A drug suspect escaped police custody after being brought to court Monday and managed to elude capture for several hours before officers caught him at Newark Penn Station, authorities said.

Edwin Hernandez

Edwin Hernandez, 26, of Newark, was captured about 7 p.m. in the station, which is one of the busiest transportation hubs in New Jersey.

"While attending court today, Hernandez managed to escape police custody," Newark Public Safety Director Anthony F. Ambrose said in a statement.

Hernandez had been arrested Sunday night. He was in court on charges of selling drugs on school property, possession, resisting arrest and for several outstanding warrants, police said.

Newark police declined Tuesday to provide details of how Hernandez escaped their custody.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
One year ago, Roseland councilman Richard Leonard sparked a public furor when he helped publicize a string of racially and religiously insensitive text messages between borough officials.

Now, Leonard is facing a brewing controversy of his very own: a criminal misconduct charge.

According to the Essex County Prosecutor's office, Leonard allegedly demanded a right-of-way to property he owns in exchange for a "yes" vote on a redevelopment designation for a neighboring property.

The prosecutor's office on Tuesday charged Leonard with conspiring to commit official misconduct, a second-degree offense, according to spokesperson Katherine Carter.

Leonard made the threat in the presence of several other members of the borough council, Carter said, and later abstained from a vote on the redevelopment designation after the right-of-way issue was resolved.

Leonard, who owns Arcadia Realtors on Eagle Rock Avenue, did not immediately respond to a message requesting comment Tuesday evening. His attorney also was not immediately available to comment on the charges.

In 2017, Leonard shared a series of group text messages with the The Progress newspaper in which councilmen Thomas Tsilionis and David Jacobs made a series of racially and religiously charged jokes. In the wake of the controversy, both men indicated they planned to resign from the borough council, but later changed their minds.

Staff writer Ted Sherman and Jessica Mazzola contributed to this report.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty.

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New Jersey hospitals' longstanding problem of unnecessarily delivering babies by Cesarian-section got worse last year, a practice that puts mothers and their infants at a greater risk of complications, according to a new report released Tuesday.

New Jersey, Florida, Kentucky, New York and Texas recorded the highest number of C-section deliveries in the nation, according to the Leapfrog Group, a nonprofit organization that issues biannual report cards on hospital safety.

Of the 47 hospitals in New Jersey that deliver babies and submitted data for analysis, only nine met Leapfrog's standard of performing no more than 23.9 percent C-sections, according to the report. In last year's report, 11 hospitals met that standard.

C-sections put mothers at risk of infection and blood clots, prolong the recovery process, create chronic pelvic pain and may cause problems in future pregnancies. For infants, C-sections put them at greater risk of developing breathing problems, such as asthma, and diabetes, according to the report.

Linda Schwimmer, president and CEO of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, a research and consumer advocacy group, said the report provides critical information the public needs to know when choosing a hospital.

"At the Quality Institute, improving maternity care is an essential part of our over all mission. The Leapfrog findings show the absolute need for our work," Schwimmer said.

"New Jersey can and must do better to reduce C-section rates, which vary widely among hospitals. There are times when a C-section is needed. But, the hospital where an expectant mother delivers her baby should not be the determining factor of whether or not she has a surgical birth, Schwimmer said.

"Now is the time for hospital leadership to prioritize maternal and child health throughout New Jersey."

The warnings about unnecessary C-section deliveries are not new. The medical community has been trying for years to reduce the frequency of the procedure if it is not medically recommended.

The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit group that focuses on hospital safety has taken on the issue with health benefits consultant Castlight by issuing these periodic reports.

"Childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization among all populations and age groups," Castlight Chief Product Officer, Maeve O'Meara said in a statement.

"That alone tells us how critical it is to provide this information not just to consumers but to employers as well, who have a high stake in the care their employees receive. Employers should understand how hospitals are performing and we're pleased to partner with Leapfrog to bring this information into the sunlight."

The Leapfrog survey looked solely at births among first time mothers of single babies - not twins - that were in the conventional head-down position. The findings are based on data from calendar year or fiscal year 2017.

Christ Hospital in Jersey City reported the lowest C-section rate, at 14 percent, according to the report. CentraState Medical Center in Freehold recorded the highest C-section rates, at 42.1 percent.

"CentraState readily acknowledges our current C-section trends and we are working with our physicians and clinicians on improving processes to lower the number of c-sections performed at CentraState," Abbey Dardozzi, a hospital spokeswoman, said in an email. "We are also very proud of our low infant and maternal mortality rates."

In addition to Christ Hospital, the other hospitals that met the safety standard were:

Capital Health Medical Center, Hopewell;

Hoboken University Medical Center;

Cooper University Hospital, Camden;

Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck;

Inspira Medical Center, Elmer;

Trinitas Regional Medical Center, Elizabeth;

University Hospital, Newark;

Virtua Voorhees Hospital.

Atlantic Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City and Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center in Secaucus, which recently changed its name to Hudson Regional Hospital, did not supply data and are not included in the findings.

Health Commissioner Shereef Elnahal praised Leapfrog for focusing attention on this important public health issue.

"A number of hospitals perform quite well," Elnahal said. "Our goal is to create a maternal care quality collaborative to spread the best practices that the highest performing hospitals are achieving and make sure that as many hospitals as possible can replicate them."

The report also highlighted the need to cut down the number of early deliveries they perform, defined as delivering a baby before 39 weeks without medical necessity. Babies delivered too early are at risk of pneumonia and other respiratory diseases, and in rare cases, death.

Only two hospitals exceeded the 5 percent maximum: Hackensack University Medical Center, at 7.1 percent, and Englewood Hospital and Medical Center, at 10.3 percent.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
A West New York elementary school teacher is facing federal child pornography charges for distributing a video of a baby girl being inappropriately touched, courts records revealed.

Lizandra Rios has been placed on administrative leave from the Robert Menendez School, also known as School 3, since her May 7 arrest, school district officials said. Public records indicate Rios is a special education teacher making $73,872 a year.

According to a criminal complaint filed in New York, Rios admitted to filming a video of a child only wearing a shirt and bib being groped and massaged. A woman is heard cooing at the baby and making explicit comments at the child while she is touched in a sexual manner. The complaint does not indicate who is touching the baby.

Federal authorities discovered the video last month after searching the cell phone of a man connected to an unrelated investigation, the complaint states.

Authorities say the video was filmed in Montclair in June 2014. The video was shot using a cell phone that records show belongs to Rios. She allegedly sent the explicit video in a group chat in March 2015 with the message "don't call DYFS on me ... but this is a throwback! Lol!!!"

Rios posted a $30,000 bond and must undergo sex mental health therapy as a condition of her release, records show. She is only allowed to leave her West New York home for employment, medical and attorney appointments, and to attend pretrial services. Visits with her child are suspended, a bail disposition indicates.

The school district would only confirm a teacher was arrested when asked to comment on the allegations brought against Rios.

"While the West New York Board of Education cannot speak on personnel matters, the board can confirm that it was notified that a teacher was arrested and that the arrest was not related to the teacher's official duties in the school district," Superintendent Clara Brito Herrera said in a statement.

"In compliance with board policy, the teacher was place on administrative leave and the State Department of Education was notified."

Caitlin Mota may be reached at cmota@jjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitlin_mota. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
A second man has been charged with the murder of a 19-year-old man who was shot dead on Merseles Court in Jersey City earlier this month, authorities said.

Omar Williams, 20, is charged with murder, two counts of possession of a weapon, and two counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, for the May 2 killing of Kamal McCord, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced yesterday.

Williams, who surrendered to authorities with his attorney yesterday, is the third alleged shooter to be charged in the incident at the City Crossing apartments, which also left a 21-year-old woman injured.

Police arrested Kai Robinson, 20, in Newark on Thursday on identical charges to Williams. A third man, 24-year-old Lasaun Rose, was charged with aggravated assault and weapons offenses.

Williams is expected to make his first appearance on the charges in Criminal Justice Reform Court this afternoon. Both Robinson and Rose are being held in custody pending a detention hearing.

Rose is due back in court today while Robinson will appear tomorrow.

Sources previously told The Jersey Journal that McCord ran inside a City Crossing apartment and collapsed after being shot in the courtyard area. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The woman's injuries were not considered life-threatening, authorities said.
Authorities do not suspect Eric Prescott set out to kill Gregory Wright Jr., when he pushed him during a fight in Trenton last year.

But he did not help him out either.

Prescott, 30, was charged last week with second-degree manslaughter and endangering an injured person for the death of Wright, 27, the Mercer County Prosecutor's Office said Monday.

Gregory Wright Jr.

Police found Wright behind the wheel of his 2010 Lexus on Spring Street near Kafer Alley on the night of Nov. 28, 2017.

He was pronounced dead at a city hospital and authorities initially said they considered his death suspicious. Earlier this year, a medical examiner ruled his death a homicide following testing.

The prosecutor's office alleges Prescott and Wright got into an argument, outside of Wright's car, and Prescott pushed him.

Wright fell and hit his head and face on the street, and Prescott picked him and put him in the driver's seat.

Prescott then left the area and did not call for any medical help.

The prosecutor's office will not be seeking to detail Prescott pending trial, an office spokeswoman said.

Wright was known as "Lil Greg.

He graduated from Nottingham High School in Hamilton in 2008 and attended Mercer County Community College for performing arts. He formerly worked at Shop-Rite and Sonic, his obituary said.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A New Brunswick police officer turned down a deal over charges stemming from a bar brawl earlier this year because he doesn't believe he should be barred from being a cop.

Anthony Jones, 23, who was off-duty during the incident at the Golden Rail Tavern on Jan. 21, rejected the plea deal through his attorney Tuesday in Middlesex Superior Court, sending the case to a grand jury.

The deal from the prosecutor's office would have downgraded the aggravated assault and riot charges to a disorderly persons offense of simple assault, but Jones would be prohibited from holding any public law enforcement positions in the future.

Middlesex County Assistant Prosecutor Christine D'Elia said the 26-year-old victim is suffering from spinal injuries since the "beating" and those medical records would be presented to the grand jury.

Jones' attorney, Jeff Farmer, however, said describing the incident as a "beating" was disingenuous, arguing that the incident last only a few minutes and his client only held back an intoxicated combative, drunk man.

"If you look at the video it's clear," Farmer said.

Jones, who has been suspended without pay since early February when the charges were announced, was willing to resign from the city police but wants to be able to reapply elsewhere, according to his attorney.

With Jones rejecting the deal, the case will be present to a grand jury in early June for a potential indictment along with four others -- James Sanders III, 22, of Piscataway, Ryan Marsi, 23, of New Brunswick, Steve Karasoulis, 24, of Edison, and Bryan Williams, 22, of North Brunswick -- who were also charged in the brawl.

The four others wanted to accept the deal, their attorneys told Superior Court Judge Joseph Rea. But the prosecutor said all or none could get the deal.

"This was a beating in concert," D'Elia said.

Craig McCarthy may be reached at 732-372-2078 or at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig and on Facebook here. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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A freelance photographer remains in critical condition after he the was victim of an alleged racially-motivated beating in the parking lot of his Freehold Township apartment complex.

Jamil S. Hubbard, 25, of Sayreville, was arrested May 1 and charged with attempted murder after he sneaked up behind Jerry Wolkowitz, 55, punched him in the head and face, dragged him into the lot and ran him over with his car, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office.

Hubbard then stole Wolkowitz's car, which was found abandoned later that day in Sayreville, authorities said. Hubbard was arrested at his home by the Sayreville police, authorities said.

Hubbard faces charges of first-degree bias intimidation and a third-degree weapons charge.

Wolkowitz has been a freelance photographer for the Asbury Park Press for over 30 years, APP.com reported.

Hubbard did not know or have any previous contact with Wolkowitz before the attack, authories said. It was not clear from the Asbury Park Press story whether Wolkowitz was on assignment for the publication.

Authorities told APP.com that Hubbard targeted Wolkowitz because of his race. Hubbard is black and Wolkowitz is white, the report states.

Hubbard remained jailed at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution on Monday night.

The Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office has filed a motion to keep Hubbard in jail until his trial, which is scheduled for July 10 in Monmouth County Superior Court.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Federal health officials say that E. coli-tainted romaine lettuce could still be on store shelves, as the worst outbreak in more than a decade continues to sweep the nation.

It's still unclear whether there could be other sources causing the E. coli outbreak, which began in late March and has sickened 149 people in 29 states, including eight in New Jersey.

Federal health officials believe the outbreak is at least partly from romaine lettuce grown in the Yuma, Arizona, region.

Romaine lettuce is no longer being grown in the Yuma region, according to the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). But, the agency said in a statement last week that due to the 21-day shelf life of romaine, it could not guarantee that some romaine lettuce from the region "is no longer in the supply chain."

The FDA also said it is continuing to investigate "dozens of other fields as potential sources of the chopped romaine lettuce."

This includes at least one farm that harvested whole-head romaine lettuce, which recently sickened several people at a correctional facility in Alaska, multiple reports said.

The agency said it has "not determined where in the supply chain the contamination occurred" but is continuing to investigate all possibilities, including in the growing, harvesting, packaging and distribution chain before reaching that state.

But if so many people are continuing to get E. coli from contaminated romaine, why hasn't the federal government issued a recall?

The most severe E. coli outbreak since this one was in 2006 when more than 200 became sick and five people died from contaminated baby spinach. And, within a month, the federal government issued a recall on baby spinach products.

Bill Marler, a Seattle-based attorney specializing in food-borne disease cases for 25 years who represented most of the people who became ill during that outbreak, and all of the five people who died, said the recall greatly contributed to bringing the outbreak to a halt.

Marler, who is now representing many in the current outbreak, including a woman in New Jersey, said with illnesses still dragging on for six weeks, "you have to consider recalling all romaine products."

He also wonders if the E. coli isn't just from the farms where the romaine was harvested but whether it could be from one or more processing facilities as well.

"You're seeing illnesses in the fifth or sixth week of an outbreak, and given that it's a perishable product, that's just not what you would expect," he said. "And that tells me that you may have a contaminated processing facility."

The FDA said in its statement that it's still working to identify multiple distribution channels that can explain the nationwide outbreak that has hit all areas of the country.

The agency said it is "tracing back from multiple groupings of ill people located in diverse geographic areas."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still advising people to avoid romaine if they're unable to figure out where it came from.

But one positive note for New Jersey, at least, is that farmers in the state are getting ready to harvest this season's romaine crop, and the locally grown lettuce is expected to be in stores next week.

Produce grown in New Jersey and sold in stores will be identified by "Jersey Fresh" labeling on packages.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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UPDATE: N.J. weather: Flash flood watch issued with intense T-storms in forecast

Monday's pleasant weather could be short-lived as forecasters are calling for possible widespread damaging winds and thunderstorms for New Jersey on Tuesday.

Meteorologist John Homenuk of New York Metroweather said severe thunderstorms and potentially strong wind gusts, large hail, dangerous lightning and "even a tornado or two" could develop later in the day in Pennsylvania and Southern New York.

18z NAM simulated IR Satellite for Tuesday. Going to be a big day for severe weather, with the potential for widespread damaging winds. Keep the threat in mind and stay weather aware. #njwx #nywx #ctwx #pawx pic.twitter.com/sCWk7Mg1b9  John Homenuk (@jhomenuk) May 14, 2018

Homenuk said the weather pattern seems "more than sufficient for strong to severe thunderstorm progression" as the storm shifts southeast toward New Jersey.

The National Weather Service's forecast office in New York is also calling for potentially severe weather on Tuesday.

There is potential for severe weather on Tuesday, May 15 around the region. Here is the update concerning the severe weather and flash flooding threat. pic.twitter.com/p2sbT2M9mY  NWS New York NY (@NWSNewYorkNY) May 14, 2018

Scattered severe thunderstorms could bring damaging wind gusts Tuesday afternoon and evening, according to the National Weather Service. Flash flooding with rainfall amounts between a half-an-inch to an inch is possible.

National Weather Service forecasters say that they have moderate/high confidence in the showers and thunderstorms developing, but are uncertain how widespread the severe storms and flash flooding could be.

NY NJ PA Weather is reporting that a cold front will hit the area tomorrow afternoon and evening and bring showers and "strong to severe thunderstorms."

"The thunderstorms will be capable of intense downpours, frequent lightning, hail, and wind gusts over 40 mph," according to NY NJ PA Weather.

Volatile Weather Pattern In Place Through This Weekhttps://t.co/7oJMeEDf8R pic.twitter.com/8i0N2BlmgB  NY NJ PA Weather (@nynjpaweather) May 14, 2018

Forecasters issued a tornado watch for eight New Jersey counties on Sunday, but the storms never materialized.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Penitentiary department to pay 1,200,000 AMD to its former employee

The penitentiary department must pay 1 million 200,000 AMD to its former employee. Judge Naira Hovsepyan of Shengavit district of Yerevan's Court of Common Jurisdiction has made such a decision. The plaintiff demanded about 1 million 900,000 AMD from the penitentiary department. Former employee Edgar Hovhannisyan's attorney Arayik Papikyan told A1 + that they illegally dismissed the employee. "During his holiday, he had been called and said that he was dismissed. He said that they cannot dismiss him during his holiday, they can at least wait for him to come. When he returned from his vacation, the order had already been sent to the personnel reserve. Then wrong payments were made. Besides, they did not inform him about his dismissal 60 days before, several violations were made, and we registered 8 pages of violations," said Arayik Papikyan. The case was in court already for the second year. Judge Naira Hovsepyan, according to the attorney, had been regularly trying to find ways for the agreement and refusing the suit. It is not excluded that the respondent party will appeal the decision.
If you're the owner of a goat, insect or several other critters and you have been using them as an emotional support animal, they won't be joining you on your next American Airlines flight.

Oh, but mini horses are okay, as long they are properly trained as a service animal.

The airline revised its guidelines Monday for the emotional support and service animals it allows on its flights after it said it saw more than a 40 percent increase in the number or passengers using them from 2016 to 2017.

"We support the rights of customers, from veterans to people with disabilities, with legitimate needs for a trained service or support animal," American Airlines said in a press release. "Unfortunately, untrained animals can lead to safety issues for our team, our customers and working dogs onboard our aircraft."

Emotional support animals provide emotional, psychiatric or cognitive support for individuals with disabilities, and are allowed to fly for free with their owners if they meet certain criteria, according the American Airlines.

Beginning July 1, the airline announced that amphibians, ferrets, goats, hedgehogs, insects, reptiles, rodents, snakes, spiders and sugar gliders will not be allowed in the cabin due to "safety and/or public health risk." Non-household birds such as chickens, ducks and hawks, animals with tusks or hooves, or any animal that is "unclean/has an odor" will also not be allowed.

This means that the artist, Ventiko, who tried to bring an emotional service peacock onto a United Airlines flight earlier this year at Newark Liberty International Airport would have similar luck at American Airlines. The exotic bird, which has over 16,000 followers on Instagram, eventually made its way to Los Angeles after a cross country tour.

Shortly after the incident, United changed its support animal policy and officially banned peacocks and many of the same emotional support animals American Airlines has decided not to allow.

A United Airlines spokesperson said at the time that the airline experienced a 75 percent year-over-year increase in customers bringing emotional support animals on flights. They said the increased number of customers also brought an increase in the number of onboard incidents involving those animals.

Delta made a similar change to its policy in January after saying there was an 84 percent increase in animal incidents, including urination and biting.

The new American Airlines policy says passengers must let the airline know they are traveling with a support animal 48 hours ahead of time. They must also provide documentation that it "won't need to relieve itself or can do so in a way that doesn't create a health or sanitation issue."

Animals that are growling, biting or attempting to bite or jumping or lunging at people in the gate area will not be allowed in the cabin, the airline said.

American Airlines said it met with a number of disability groups including American Association of People with Disabilities and Paralyzed Veterans of America to get their input before changing its animal policy.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
(ABOVE: The Donald when he was espousing an America-first policy at his inauguration. He has since done a 180 and endorsed the sort of Mideast meddling he condemned during the campaign.)

I don't know how we can debate foreign policy in America when my fellow members of the mainstream media don't even know the terms of the debate.

A good example came the other day when the media reported on President Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran deal.

Many reporters and pundits wrote that this fit in with the "America first" policy Trump espoused when he was running for president. Typical was the New York Times, which reported that Trump "is finally reshaping foreign policy to reflect the 'America First' philosophy he promised during his campaign."

The writer went on to cite as examples of that philosophy his decision to pull out of the Iran deal and "the formal opening of an American Embassy in Jerusalem."

That argument is as full of holes as a block of Swiss cheese.

I use that example advisedly. Switzerland is the country that has been the most successful throughout history at advancing its own interests while avoiding the sort of "entangling alliances" that the founders warned us against.

Both the decision to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem and the decision to pull out of the Iran deal are the polar opposites of the "America first" philosophy Trump pretended to espouse when running for president.

In that campaign, Trump made an unassailable point about the abject incompetence of America politicians when it comes to sorting out the thorny problems of the Mideast.

Unfortunately, once safely in office he decided to prove his point by example.

Consider the embassy issue. Switzerland located its embassy in Tel Aviv in a spot chosen not to score political points but because it offers an unfettered view of the Mediterranean. That advanced the interests of Swiss citizens, particularly those who work there and like to go to the beach.

By comparison, Trump's decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem just got the U.S. more deeply enmeshed in a scrum our politicians clearly cannot sort out.

Now ask yourself what is the Swiss position on that six-nation deal that prevents Iran from making nuclear bombs. The Swiss favor the deal and want more trade with Iran. Iran is no more of a nuclear threat to Switzerland than it is to the United States.

Nonetheless Trump is arguing that the U.S. is somehow threatened under a monitoring regime that restricts uranium enrichment to 3.5 percent, a level at which makes it about as useful for making a bomb as a lump of lead would be.

His solution is to withdraw the monitors. Then Iran can begin enriching uranium to the 90 percent level needed to make bombs.

You can call that argument a lot of things - dumb, moronic, stupid - but you can hardly call it "America first."

Then there's the question of imposing sanctions on other nations. The Swiss don't do that sort of thing. They'll sell their watches, chocolate and army knives to any willing buyer.

As for Trump, his re-imposition of sanctions against Iran means Boeing will be forced to abandon a $20 billion deal to provide 80 planes to IranAir, the national airline. Meanwhile gas prices could soar this summer if the administration succeeds in keeping the Iranians from exporting oil.

The Swiss have existed as a nation since the Roman Empire without doing anything that counter-productive.

What do we get out of all this? Another war if National Security Adviser John Bolton has his way.

Bolton's obsession during the Bush 43 administration with imposing regime change on Mideast nations made him the poster boy for everything candidate Trump said was wrong with the so-called "neo" conservative approach to foreign policy.

Once safely in office, however, Trump abandoned the "America first" foreign policy and named the nation's leading neocon to a key foreign policy role.

As for us traditional conservatives, we consider Bolton to be deranged. Typical was a headline on the Contra Corner blog of Reagan-era budget director David Stockman: "Mothers Fear For Your Sons! Madness Incarnate Sit at the Right Ear of the Donald Almighty." (Then there's this piece by Stockman titled "The Donald's Done - the Deep State Wins Its War on America First." This is required reading.)

That may be an understatement. In 2015 Bolton penned a piece for the Wall Street Journal headlined "To Stop Iran's Bomb; Bomb Iran."

"The United States could do a thorough job of destruction, but Israel alone can do what's necessary," he wrote. "Such action should be combined with vigorous American support for Iran's opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran."

The words Bolton put in Trump's mouth last week included a nod toward regime change in Iran. But during the 2016 debates, here's the America-first position he took on that issue:

"We've spent $4 trillion trying to topple various people ... and for what? It's not like we had victory. It's a mess."

It is indeed. And unless Trump returns to the America-first stance he took in the campaign, it's only going to get worse.

PLUS - ALL CONSERVATIVES OPPOSE TRUMP ON THE IRAN DEAL: Another mistake the mainstream media make in describing these issues is to portray as "conservative" people like John Bolton who in fact have the same approach to foreign policy as Hillary Clinton.

If you think Bolton's crazy - as all conservatives do - consider that his "neo" conservative views do not differ from Hillary's when it comes to the profoundly silly idea of "liberating" people from such secular dictators as Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Bashar Assad in Syria.

During the 2016 campaign, Clinton was proposing that the U.S. set up a no-fly zone over Syria, an action that would have required shooting down Russian planes. Trump opposed this idiocy - also supported by our own Chris Christie.

This is left-wing lunacy. The Russians and the Iranians are our allies against ISIS. As for our Saudi "allies," they are conspicuous by their absence from the war against ISIS. They're too busy crushing the Houthi tribes in Yemen.

Do you even know where Yemen is? It's time to learn - at least for Trump.

If you are the sort of aspiring conservative who was deluded by Trump on the Iran deal, read some real conservative writings such as those you will find on Stockman's blog and on The American Conservative.

As for the people who want the U.S. to get into a war between the Iranians and the Saudis, they are anything but conservative.

If you doubt that, ask yourself why both Bolton and our senior senator Bob Menendez support the Mojahedin e Khalq.

This is not conservatism, at least not as it was when I was growing up.
Recently, the Trump administration initiated or proposed actions that, if implemented, could harm millions of Americans and legal immigrants. These actions may well cost numerous lives, including those of America's most medically vulnerable children. Here are just a few.

-- Initiate the congressional budget rescission process to cut $7 billion in previously authorized, unspent funds in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The reasons: to help close the expected trillion-dollar deficit accelerated by the Republicans new tax law and federal budget.

-- Raise the minimum rent for Housing and Urban Development-susidized homes by 300 percent (from $50 to $150 a month) for the poorest eligible families. The Washington Post, citing an analysis by an anti-poverty advocacy group, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, reports that the change "would put nearly 1 million children at risk of homelessness."

-- Cut food stamp (SNAP) spending by more than $20 billion over 10 years. The reason: to lower the projected budget deficits. Anti-poverty groups predict dramatic increases in hungry families, and malnourished children, some with stunted cognitive development.

-- Allow states to add substantial work requirements for Medicaid eligibility and continuation. The reasons, in my opinion: ideology and contempt for America's poorest, mentally ill, and physically disabled.

-- Deport tens of thousands of legal residents from Haiti, Honduras and El Salvador, many who have lived in America for almost two decades and raised families. This will tear families asunder and create a wicked body blow to America's moral standing.

-- Shut a U.S. Consumer Finance Protection Bureau office to protect college students from abusive loans. The reasons: ideology and lobbying by lenders. Likely consequences if these CFPB programs are ended are increases in abusive loans and college dropouts.

The only way to stop such cruelty, proposed or active, is for Americans to vote against politicians who support cruelty. I know I will.

Howard Margolis, Voorhees Township

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WASHINGTON -- Gov. Phil Murphy had a friendly audience Tuesday as he spoke to a crowd of progressive Democrats.

And he gave them stuff they could chew on, touting his plans for free community college and taking a few swipes at President Donald Trump.

Murphy said at the Center for American Progress' annual ideas conference that many jobs of the future won't require doctorates or even four-year degrees, but will require specialized skills.

"Our goal, in New Jersey, is to open the doors of opportunity wide for all residents by ensuring everyone has the skills to get one of these jobs," Murphy said. "More than anywhere else, it is at our community colleges where these skills will be learned."

Murphy has proposed free tuition for state residents at New Jersey community colleges so they can afford to get the skills they need.

"Our community colleges -- whether in New Jersey or elsewhere -- have always been where a college education can be within everyone's reach -- hence the name, 'community college.'" Murphy said. "We should not allow cost to be a barrier for anyone simply looking to strengthen their hold on a good family-supporting job."

Murphy also touted his proposal for pre-kindergarten education.

"All of this has led us to a simple, yet thought-provoking question: Who said that education should be a right for everyone between the ages of five and 18, but not before five, or after 18?" he said.

Murphy is a former trustee of the center, a Democratic-leaning research group founded by John Podesta, who later chaired Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

It was his second trip to Washington to perform on a national stage since becoming governor in January. In February, Murphy joined several other Democratic governors to highlight the differences between their policies and those of Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.

Murphy criticized Trump and the GOP Congress on Tuesday as well.

"I reject President Trump's thinking that for one person to do well, another must be left behind," Murphy said. "Until we have more enlightened leadership in both Congress and the White House, it will be up to the states to show the way. We did not ask for this challenge, but we will accept it."

Earlier, U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., delivered the keynote address. Booker is a frequent speaker at center events.

He was one of several potential 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to address the conference. Others included U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.; and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Booker's speech sounded like it could be part of a future presidential stump speech, addressing the economic anxiety felt by both inner-city poor residents and those in more rural areas who voted for Trump in an attempt to shake up a system that left them behind.

"This is a nation where every generation should do better than the one before," Booker said. "The idea of the American dream is the idea of expanding opportunities, expanding possibilities."

Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans, featuring original artwork commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune with Where Y'Art gallery. Today: Big Chief Bo Dollis.

The icon: Bo Dollis.

The legacy: At the time that Bo Dollis sewed his first suit in 1958, the Mardi Gras Indian culture in New Orleans was a violent one, with rival gangs often engaging in bloody clashes in the streets. But, armed with a powerful singing voice and a natural-born joyfulness, Dollis quickly rose to the rank of Big Chief of the Wild Magnolias Mardi Gras Indian gang, and -- with guidance from Big Chief Tootie Montana of the Yellow Pocahontas -- succeeded in emphasizing the beaded, feathered masterpieces they wore over fisticuffs. Later, he would be part of the first commercial recording of Mardi Gras Indian music, cementing his legacy as a key voice of one of the city's most treasured, and colorful, traditions.

The artist: Gabriel Flores.

The quote: "He was the modern musical face of the Mardi Gras Indian culture that broke through to the outside world. ... Bo wasn't an angry Indian. He was a joyous Indian. Bo had this joy about the whole culture. He had this joy about the fact that he was leading it, and he could sing it. That infused what he was singing." -- Jazz Fest organizer Quint Davis

Explore more of Gabriel Flores' work online at WhereYart.net and in person at the Where Y'Art gallery, 1901 Royal St.

He was born Theodore Emile Dollis on Jan. 14, 1944, and grew up in Central City.

Source: The Times-Picayune archives; staff research

More on 300 for 300:
NOLA Media Group, which operates NOLA.com and The Times-Picayune, announced a restructuring of its sales and marketing organization today that included the elimination of several jobs in the company's New Orleans, East Jefferson and St. Tammany Parish offices.

The changes "will better focus resources on our most profitable ventures and products, streamline our processes and strengthen our ability to help businesses navigate their digital futures and grow," said Alisha Owens, vice president and chief revenue officer, in an email to the staff.

No newsroom positions were eliminated in the restructuring, said Mark Lorando, editor of NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and vice president of content for NOLA Media Group.

Some new sales positions will be created as part of the restructuring, Owens said, as NMG bolsters its ability to deliver creative solutions to the economic challenges local businesses face.

"To maintain our leadership in the market, we must continuously evolve," Owens said in her email to the staff. "That process can be painful at times ... but it is necessary to reinforce our position as the premiere local media company in Louisiana, supporting one of the most iconic local news organizations in America."
Despite what must have been four sleepless nights since the death of her son, despite grinding grief of spending her first Mother's Day without him, despite learning that her son died of asphyxiation at the hands of another - a law enforcement officer - Kiwanda Robinson walked Monday night (May 14) in memory of her first and only child.

But she was not alone.

More than 250 Shrewsbury residents, family members and friends peacefully marched with Kiwanda Robinson to demand justice for Keeven Robinson, the 22-year-old who died in custody following a chase and struggle with Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office detectives. What happened to Keeven is not OK, his great aunt, Kissy Kennedy, 40, said.

"Now his mother has to visit a gravesite," she said. "We've come to speak out because our lives matter."

Earlier in the day, Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich released preliminary autopsy results that found Keeven Robinson's death was a homicide, caused by "compressional asphyxiation." Forensic pathologists found "significant traumatic injuries" to the soft tissues of his neck.

The results confirmed the Robinson family's suspicions about Keeven Robinson's final moments.

"God gave this to me already," his grandmother, Sheryl Robinson, 61, said. "It just had to be confirmed by the law."

Keeven Robinson died Thursday after he fled from detectives conducting an undercover drug investigation at a Shell service station at the corner of Jefferson Highway and Labarre Place in Shrewsbury, according to Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto.

Robinson struggled with four detectives in the backyard of a nearby residence following a short car and foot chase.

"They were in a fight with this gentleman to effect an arrest," Lopinto said of his detectives.

But once Robinson was handcuffed, authorities realized he wasn't breathing. He was pronounced dead at nearby Ochsner Medical Center.

The Sheriff's Office on Thursday said they suspected Robinson died of complications related to his long history of asthma. The department opened a joint-criminal investigation into Keeven Robinson's death with the State Police and the FBI's Civil Rights Task Force after Lopinto learned of the autopsy results. The four detectives have been reassigned to administrative duty.

On Monday evening, Keeven Robinson's father, Steven Jackson, 44, stood at the edge of a parking lot across the street from the Shell station where the pursuit began as marchers gathered before the start of their walk.

Around him, participants held signs that said, "Justice 4 Keeven," "Enuf is Enough," "Shrewsbury Stand Up," and "Stop Police Brutality."

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"You got somebody in 'cuffs, take them to jail," Jackson said. "Why do you think they're running? They're scared."

A few feet away, the march's organizer, John Henderson, spoke to the crowd about change and empowerment.

"We don't want Keeven's blood to be shed in vain," he said.

Just two blocks into the half-mile walk to Frank Lemon Playground on Causeway Boulevard, Kiwanda Robinson stopped.

Whether it was the evening's sweltering heat or the sight of the home where Keeven Robinson died, it seemed like she might not be able to go on.

Family members took up each of her arms, patted away the sweat on her brow, offered her cool water and encouragement.

"Walk for your son," one woman said, and Kiwanda Robinson pushed on.

She looked weary, but determined.

"You want to stop?" another relative asked as Kiwanda Robinson looked like she might faint from the heat, from the grief.

No, she responded with a small head shake.

Around her, supporters began to sing, "I will trust in the Lord 'till I die." Kiwanda Robinson and her family pushed on.

When they finally reached the gymnasium, marchers chanted before entering for a community meeting. Kennedy and Sheryl Robinson stood watching.

Kennedy said she has God-given confidence that the Sheriff's Office will investigate Keeven Robinson's death fairly and transparently.

"We continue to pray," she said. "They will get what they deserve because Keeven didn't deserve this."
Tammy Savoie, a retired Air Force psychologist, is taking on U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise in the Nov. 6 election. She's the fourth candidate in the 1st Louisiana Congressional District race and the only one who is not a married man with a computer science background.

In announcing her candidacy Tuesday (May 14), Savoie, a Democrat, did not disclose much in the way of policy preferences. She said she wants to "work across the aisle to increase access to affordable health care, support mothers and children, stand up for veterans and get our economy working for all families." Here is her first video:

"I'm running against the wind in a red district, but to that I say: 'Bring it on.' Looking out for Louisiana is worth every moment of this fight, and I've been training for this my entire life. Partisan bickering has brought us the most ineffective Congress ever, led by Rep. Steve Scalise."

Savoie, 58, said she grew up in Waggaman and is a single mother of one daughter. She lists an address in the Lakeshore neighborhood in New Orleans. She said she spent 15 years in the Louisiana National Guard, received her Ph.D. from Emory University in Atlanta and worked 23 years in the Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2016.

The election is scheduled Nov. 6. Savoie has not filed a campaign finance report. The other candidates are:

Jim Francis, a Democrat who lives near

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
They once talked about installing noose traps to drown the critters. Then they wanted to float rafts bearing poisoned potatoes onto the water, in hopes the unsuspecting vermin would nibble at the spiked spuds and die.

But over the past 23 years, the most efficient method of ridding Jefferson Parish's drainage canals of nutria has been paying the Sheriff's Office SWAT team to kill them. So far in 2018, the sharpshooters have bagged 178 of the rat-like creatures, an official said Tuesday (May 15), so the Parish Council is moving to extend the program for another two years.

The orange-toothed rodents have been blamed for destabilizing canal banks and nearby streets by eating grass roots and burrowing into the earth. They dig 10 to 12 feet into the banks.

With damage estimated at $6 million, the Parish Council in 1995 took up then-Sheriff Harry Lee on his offer to pick off nutria with rifles. On one night in 2002, deputies gunned down 75 of the critters.

So successful has the program been that the SWAT team doesn't venture out nutria hunting twice weekly like it used to, and the parish has spent only $37,800 of the $300,000 allowed under the current two-year contract, Drainage Director Mitch Theriot said.

"Lately we've cut back to once every other week on the West Bank," Theriot said. "On the east bank, it's scheduled once a week."

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Nutria were imported long ago to Louisiana from South America for their fur. Whether they escaped or were released into the wild -- there is some debate -- they have spread throughout the southern third of the state.

After demand for the fur peaked in 1976, they proliferated. Their remarkable reproductive rate lets females birth on average two litters of five nutria annually -- and become pregnant again by year's end. Their webbed back feet facilitate swimming, helping them inflict so much damage to coastal marshes that the government pays hunters to kill them.

In populated areas, they not only threaten drainage but have been known to munch their way across Lafreniere Park in Metairie. That's why the Parish Council on Wednesday will consider giving the Sheriff's Office a new, two-year contract capped at $150,000 to nutria control.

It's worth the money, Theriot said: "We don't see as much damage as we used to."

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
The healthcare industry's fastest-growing profession is also one of the newest.

Physician assistants, more commonly known as PAs, are among the top five fastest growing careers according the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The occupation is expected to grow by 37 percent by 2026, faster than any other career path in medicine including nurse practitioners.

Dawn Morton-Rias, a physician assistant and CEO of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), explained that as the demand for healthcare services grows, there will be more demand for PAs; trained medical professionals who are able to diagnose, develop treatment plans, prescribe medication, and counsel patients on preventative care both in the hospital, surgery centers and in out-patient settings.

"It's a profession that's booming," she said. "It's easily accessible for people who have always wanted to do something in medicine. We see a lot of retired cops, firefighters, EMT (emergency medicine technicians) coming into this profession.

The profession is relatively new, dating back to the mid-1960s when the healthcare industry was reporting a shortage of primary care physicians. At the same time, military medics were coming back from Vietnam after having served. The men had clinical training in the field but no medical classroom training. Eugene Stead Jr., the medical director of Duke University Medical Center, put together the first class of PAs, selecting four Navy Hospital Corpsmen who had received medical training during their service.

Now there are approximately 114,000 PAs in the U.S, and a little more than 1,000 in Louisiana. They are taking on a greater role in healthcare settings as concerns about doctor and nursing shortages increase, according to the NCCPA.

The Association of American Medical Colleges has projected a shortage of 61,000 to 94,700 physicians by 2025. Their report from 2016 estimates that there could be a shortfall of between 14,900 and 35,600 primary care physicians. Non-primary care specialties are expected to have a shortfall of between 37,400 and 60,300 physicians by 2025, according to the study.

Morton-Rias explained that one of the biggest differences between a PA and a medical doctor is the amount of training and education required. PA qualifications vary slightly from one state to another, but require the completion of a 27-month accredited PA program. A PA isn't required to complete an internship or residency like an MD, which makes their medical education faster. To become an MD, it typically takes up to four years to obtain an undergraduate degree, four years to obtain a medical degree, and up to seven additional years of residency training to obtain a license to practice medicine or surgery.

A PA cannot run their own practice and has to work under the supervision of an attending physician. However, an increasing number of states are granting physician assistants more autonomy to increase healthcare access amid the doctor shortage.

As a physician assistant at Ochsner Medical Center on Jefferson Highway, Emilie Thornhill Davis is trained to help diagnose and develop treatment plans, prescribe medication and provide care for patients once they are hospitalized.

Thornhill Davis said she was drawn to the occupation having grown up on Navy bases and being attended to by PAs throughout her childhood.

She has noted a shift in the role of the PA during her five years at Ochsner, where she is now the system lead in the Department of Hospital Medicine.

Although PAs are often considered primary care professionals, they are moving into other specialties, including orthopedics and emergency medicine under the supervision of a physician, she said.

"We are moving to a team-based model, to be able to see patients more effectively," she said. "In many medical settings, as healthcare demands grow, the person you will see could be a PA."

Maria Clark writes about health, doctors, patients and healthcare in Louisiana for NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and NOLA Mundo. Reach her at mclark@nola.com or 504.258.5306. Or follow her on Twitter at @MariaPClark1 .
A Slidell contractor was charged Monday (May 14) in a $22 million conspiracy to defraud First NBC Bank, the New Orleans-based lending institution that failed in April 2017. The charges also link the bank's former president to the alleged scam.

Jeffrey Dunlap, 44, owner of Phoenix Civil Contractors, is accused in a bill of information of submitting false financial statements to justify incremental increases on a line of credit that his company had with the bank, according to a news release issued Tuesday (May 15) by U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

Between March 2009 and April 2017, Dunlap had a "banking relationship" with First NBC. During that period, an unnamed bank president acted as a loan officer by reviewing and approving new loans, lines of credit and advances, Evans' office reported in the news release.

The bank president is identified in federal court documents only as "Bank President A," who founded First NBC bank and acted as its president and chief executive officer from around May 2006 to around December 2016. First NBC was founded by Ashton Ryan, who stepped down in December of 2016, according to published reports.

Ryan has not been charged with a crime.

The news release said Dunlap was directed by the bank president to submit the false financial statement as part of a conspiracy to unjustly enrich themselves and others, disguise the actual financial status of Phoenix Civil Contractors and conceal the performance of company loans.

The goal of the conspiracy was to obtain money from the bank in part so that the president and another high ranking officer could continue using Phoenix on projects that involved a company in which the bank officers had an interest.

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The fraudulent financial documents Dunlap submitted disguised his company's actual financial condition from First NBC Bank, bank regulators, investors and others. By April 28, 2017, First NBC had advanced approximately $22 million to Phoenix on the line of credit loan based on these false statements, according to the news release.

If found guilty, Dunlap could face up to 30 years in prison, a fine of more than $1 million and five years of supervised release, Evans' office reported.

This case is still under investigation by the FBI, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Inspector General and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sharan E. Lieberman and Hayden Brockett are in charge of the prosecution.

Ryan, a prominent New Orleans banker, founded First NBC Bank in 2006, attracting investment from a mix of local sources, including the Manning family and the city firefighters pension system. First NBC got involved in financing state and federal tax credits that fueled considerable recovery construction following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The surge of lending and finance activity propelled the company to more than $5 billion in assets, making it one of the state's largest banks.

But First NBC encountered trouble when federal rules changed on how banks classified tax credits when calculating their assets. Regulators eventually began to question how First NBC was estimating its value, and the bank was also involved in other questionable transactions.

On April 28, 2017, federal and state regulators announced that First NBC Bank had officially failed. All branches were closed and several reopened as part of Whitney Bank.
A Mandeville fourth-grader's artwork has won Google's top prize in Louisiana and is in the running for national honors.

At stake for Bailor Wells, a Lake Harbor Middle School student, is scholarship money and Google fame -- her artwork would be featured on the internet search engine's homepage for an entire day.

Google reps made a surprise visit to Lake Harbor recently to deliver the news to Wells during a school assembly.

Google's "Doodle 4 Google'' contest determines winners for each state in various grade groups. (Wells is in the 4th-5th grade category.) Those winners advance to another round of competition, during which people can view and vote on their artwork online until Friday (May 18).

From there a winner and four national finalists will be named. The winner will receive a $30,000 scholarship and have their artwork on Google's homepage for a day. The winner's school will receive a $50,000 tech grant. The finalists receive $5,000 scholarships and other prizes.

Wells' art, "It's a Whale's Life", was inspired by her family's trips to the beach, the St. Tammany Parish school district said in a news release.

"While playing in the waves with my toes in the sand, I always start thinking about what lies in the rest of the deep ocean," Bailor said. "The colors and marine life are so interesting to me!"
Thirteen of Louisianas 20 traditional casinos have applied to handle sports wagering  the other seven are expected to apply before the Jan. 1 deadline  and the first applicants are close to being able to start booking bets on baseball, football
A 34-foot Christian cross at a public park in Pensacola, Fla., will be the subject of a federal appeals court hearing Wednesday (May 16), the latest round in a legal battle over the constitutionality of a religious landmark that that has stood for more than seven decades.

Louisiana is one of more than a dozen states to stand behind Pensacola in its effort to keep the cross standing in Bayview Park.

The American Humanist Association and the Freedom from Religion Foundation sued Pensacola in 2016 on behalf of four residents who sought to have the cross removed. In June 2017, Senior U.S. District Court Judge Roger Vinson of the Northern District of Florida, who was nominated for the bench by President Ronald Reagan, ruled in favor of the groups and ordered the cross to come down.

In September, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, representing the city of Pensacola, appealed to the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, arguing that the cross that has been in the park in one form or another since 1941 and was not only a religious symbol but a part of the city's culture and history.

Vinson, who had made it clear he did not agree with the law he had to apply in his ruling on the case, suspended the order to remove the cross pending the appeal.

Monica Miller, the American Humanist Association's senior legal counsel, will present oral arguments for the plaintiffs Wednesday before the three-judge 11th Circuit appellate panel in Atlanta. The plaintiffs' argument is that the cross violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, according to a news release issued Tuesday by the organization.

Attorney Luke William Goodrich of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty will present Pensacola's argument for keeping the cross. The Beckett Fund describes itself as "a non-profit, public interest law firm defending the freedom of religion of people of all faiths."

The Pensacola Jaycees erected the cross in 1969. It replaced a wooden version built in the early 1940s by the National Youth Administration, a New Deal agency sponsored by the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt geared toward providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25.

Liz Murrill, director of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry's solicitor general's office, said she hopes the appeals court will side with the city of Pensacola and leave the cross where it has stood for decades. .

"Not only has it become a part of the history and culture of the city, it sits unobtrusively in a corner of a city park and compels no one to observe or participate in any religious ceremony," Murrill said. "It is my hope that the 11th Circuit will reaffirm the fundamental liberty we all retain to express faith in something higher than ourselves, even in the public square. The Supreme Court has recognized that the Establishment Clause does not compel government to purge anything and everything religious."
Governors to be appointed from PAP and ARF (video)

Appointments of newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Head of National Security Service (NSS) Arthur Vanesyan were not accepted, as their names are are interconnected with some companies. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does not worry about the talks about their names. ""If we have basis that any interconnected activity goes beyond the logic of the Velvet Revolution, then there will be concrete solutions. And now, I think, all of us, the public, the press have the opportunity to exercise full control and that control will be effective," the Prime Minister told this CivilNet today. The Prime Minister also touched upon the meetings in Sochi. "All the issues have been discussed and I am very pleased with the meetings. It was a very productive visit and I am convinced that the effectiveness of these contacts and relations will only increase in the near future." Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan will appoint governors not only from the "Civil Contract" Party, but also from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF)and the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP). Nikol Pashinyan reminded once again that there will not be a return to the old and stated that the idea the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) rearranges to make a counterrevolution is only fairy tales.
There are more serious problems - Terlemezyan's director about toilet paper action (video)

Collect of toilet paper has been carried out for Yerevan State Collage of Arts after Panos Terlemezyan. "Today, there is not dignified conditions in the toilets, our college cariies a public responsibility, the public should know what's going on in college in this regard," explains one of the participants of the action. The first action of the collection of toilet paper took place months ago at the Yerevan State University (YSU), organized by YSU "Restart" initiative, they also came to Terlemezyan Collage. According to college director Anna Mnatsakanyan, "Restart" is not competent to speak out about any issues beyond the educational institution; it can be done by the student council. "We have 770 students, how many students did you see below? If only 10 of 770 have problems, they are absolutely free to be elected as senior in their courses or members of student council." According to the director, there are many more serious issues that are worth mentioning, and this action is not aesthetically acceptable and is not suitable for the institution which carries the name of the renowned artist. The director explains that the cost of buying a toilet paper is not included in the college budget for a year, and the decision was conditioned by the behavior of the students. "For example, the baby wipes the brush with a small piece of paper and then throws that piece into the toilet. Even if after five minutes it disappears, even if we throw it into the hole, but we have toilet paper." Many students inside the college are honest and state that they do not welcome the initiative. The action participants were invited to a consultation, but the proposal has been denied.
Demonstration in support of Zhirayr Sefilyan (video)

Citizens demand justice from the Court of Appeal. In the case of Zhirayr Sefilyan and others, the appeals will be heard on May 30. However, the Court of Appeal has already decided to reject the petitions for the elimination of arrests in the proceedings. Nerses Poghosyan's wife is convinced that the judges did not get acquainted with the case materials. "The revolution did not reach the courts, prosecutor's office." Nerses Poghosyan's wife does not lose hope that the change in the political situation will have a positive impact on the judiciary. Participant of the action, Hovsep Manukyan, came from Barcelona three days ago. He has not been in Armenia for 13 years. He talks about Jirayr Sefilyan with tears. He got accounted with Jirayr Sefilyan in the battlefield. Hovsep Manukyan is here with his two friends. He will leave Armenia on Friday, but he will repeat the request from afar, too. "Review of all political prisoners' cases and a free trial! Let it be a release on signature bond, then be a trial." Let us mention that the case of Zhirayr Sefilyan and others will be heard by Ruzanna Barseghyan, the other judges are Mkhitar Papoyan and Manushak Petrosyan.
State minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo has said Ugandas youth should be helped acquire proper skills to make them competitive on job market.

We cannot overcome poverty in Uganda without empowering 80 per cent of the countrys population who are young people below 35 years. All efforts and resources shall continue to be committed towards this cause and ensure that we also invite more partners to work with government, he said.

State minister for Higher Education John Chrysostom Muyingo

Muyingo said this on May 9 during the launch of Computer Numerical Control (CNC) training project at Datamine Technical Business School in Kampala. The CNC aims at skilling the youth in computer technology.

The government through Private Sector Foundation donated Shs 769 million towards the building of the laboratory where the CNC machine will be stored, training of the trainers for the project and training of students.

The institute principal, Deo Nyanzi said the machine will be used in training students to accurately cut and shape all kind of metal, plastics and wood by using computer commands.

It has a lot of safe measures since it uses computer commands. CNC machines are electro-mechanical devices that manipulate machine shop tools using computer programming inputs, he said.

Muyingo said the government has set out a massive skilling programme for youth to help them acquire job skills and make them more productive in modern technology.

As government, we are encouraged by the efforts towards turning Datamine technical business school into a CNC technicians and operators certifying centre. In order to make our youths marketable, they need to be certified to levels that make them compete at the global scale, he said.

Gideon Badagawa, the executive director Private Sector Foundation Uganda, advised the students to respect their jobs and all people at work.

The chairman of the institutes board, Michael Mwebe, said: We appreciate the realisation of government and its local and international partners for engendering strategic partnerships in promotion of technical, business and vocational training in the country. We shall use this partnership to enhance the relevance of skilling Uganda as a key deliverable for youth in Uganda.

He said every year they graduate over 500 youths who are well exposed and oriented to the requirements of the job market.

How CNC works

Machining in general is a way to transform a stock piece of material such as a block of plastic and arrive at a finished product by means of a controlled material removal process. Similar to the other prototype development technology, CNC relies on digital instructions from a Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) or Computer Aided Design (CAD) file.

The CNC machine interprets the design as instructions for cutting prototype parts. The ability to programme computer devices to control machine tools rapidly advances shop productivity by automating the highly technical and labour intensive processes.

zuraneetah2015@gmail.com
When I attended the recent I-Growth Accelerator, I thought it would pass off as any other expo or trade fair.

The event organized by Uganda Development Bank Limited (UDB) in partnership with the Resilient Africa Network (RAN Lab), is an agricultural innovation awards whose aim is to boost commercialization of local start-ups and stimulating a culture of innovation in the agricultural sector.

Workers operating the hay and silage machine

At least 400 farmer and agribusiness groups participated but what struck me most was the Innovation Consortium, a group of at least 15 young people who invented a hybrid hay and silage machine. For their efforts, the group finished runner-up to Gudie Farm and as a result won Shs 10 million to help improve their machine.

I later caught up with Byron Ssemalago, the leader of the group at their office in Bweyogerere, Wakiso. Here, I witnessed how silage is made. They start by shredding young maize plants which arent yet ready for harvest. It can also be got after the maize has been harvested.

The stem is shredded and stored for future use. Sugar molasses are added to the silage and then covered with materials such as tarpaulin, or papers to avoid getting in contact with water. Ssemalago says this animal feed can be kept up to nine months.

On the other hand, hay is simply grass that is dried and then ground by a machine to form a powder that can be kept for as long as five years.

TRANSFORMING MACHINE

Ssemalago says they never set out to come up with such a machine. He says their background in welding inspired one of their farmer friends to conclude that they could make for him a silage machine.

He wanted to a silage machine but the one available at the market was very expensive; so, he couldnt afford it. He asked us if we can make for him one that is not very expensive, thats how we decided to give it a try, Ssemalago told The Observer.

Ssemalago says after about six months, the farmer came back and told them that he would want to have hay machine also. But as like with the silage machine, he didnt have the money for a new one. He asked whether there wasnt a way how his silage machine could be transformed to perform both functions.

With that, the group got down to work to see whether they could combine the two to save him from buying a hay machine.

Bingo!

It worked; the first of its kind to have a dual purpose. The farmer was very happy that he recommended seven of his friends. The seven come from different parts of the country with varying sizes of their farms. The size of the farm dictates the size of the machine.

COST OF THE MACHINE

Ssemalago says the machine costs Shs 4.1million without the engine. He says this is done to not only keep the cost of the machine down but also to allow the farmer to choose the type of engine they want. The engines are either bought from India, Germany, Japan or China which origin determines their price.

Byron Ssemalago

We take our clients to where these engines are sold and we explain to them how each one of them works in terms of its durability. Depending on their resources, they choose which engine to buy, Ssemalago says.

He explains that the German-made engines are the most durable but their price is almost three times that of the Chinese-made engine which is the least expensive. We dont want to sell the engines because people in Uganda want cheap things but they are always breaking down and they will say Ugandas products are fake,

Brian Atuhaire, the operations director of the group, says. A Chinese engine costs between Shs 660,000 and Shs 1.8 million while the German engine costs between Shs 1.5 million and 3.5 million depending on the size.

WHY YOU NEED THE MACHINE

Ssemalago says a farmer with at least five Friesian cows can afford buying a hay and silage machine. He says most of the framers who have bought their machines are after earning from their farms by increasing their productivity.

One farmers farm has grown so fast that now he plants about 100 acres of maize for silage, Ssemalago says. Atuhaire adds that the unreliable weather and the ever-increasing population of Uganda that keeps on shrinking the land available for agriculture has occasioned the reliance on silage and hay for assured availability of animal feed.

During the dry season, you can go to a place like Nakasongola and buy a cow which was Shs 1 million during the wet season at just Shs 200,000 during the dry season just because there is no pasture, Atuhaire says.

He adds that maize is also very good in increasing milk production. Even when the farmer decides to grow maize for corn, the maize standings after harvesting are as important as the corn itself.

This is what is done elsewhere in the world; but here we only harvest the maize that constitutes a very small percentage of the weight of the plant which means that the entire 90 percent is thrown away,

Atuhaire says they want to use the money that they won to improve on their machine such that farmers are saved the burden of buying very expensive imported machines, moreover performing only one function.

People have been importing silage and hay machines independently and they are expensive to the tune of between Shs 18 and 24 million. I think if we aggressively hit the market, people will buy it, Atuhaire says.

We want to visit framers to tell us how they want the machine to look like so that we model it according to their need. Since the machine is manufactured here and therefore we know it outside out, we will be able to improve it basing on farmers needs, he says.

WHO IS SSEMALANGO?

He holds a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering from Makerere University which he obtained in 2005. He also has a masters in renewable energy from the same university he got in 2010.

When I was at campus, I really liked being challenged; I wanted to work in research bodies; unfortunately, in Uganda we dont have so many such bodies. At first I complained about it but later together with my friends I said it wasnt helpful for us to complain all the time yet we are doing nothing about it. Thats how we came up with this idea, Ssemalago says most of Ugandas problems are not yet complex that a solution for them cant be got.

Our problems are appropriate problems; they are not complex; its a matter of being observant to come up with a solution,

On the other hand, Atuhaire holds a degree in accounting and business management from Kyambogo University.

He hopes in the next few years Ugandans will have realized the need to embrace technology if they are to benefit from agriculture. We have got calls from Rwanda and Kenya to go and try out this thing [machine] but we believe before those countries benefit from this innovation our people should do so first,

bakerbatte@observer.ug
UNAA Causes wants foods like Luwombo sold abroad

At this years festival slated for August 30 to September 3 in Washington DC, the Uganda North America Association (UNAA) Causes, wants to do things differently.

This group of Ugandans living in North America will use the upcoming annual convention to tout their native countrys products. David Muwanga, the chief executive officer of UNAA Causes, says they will use the scheduled culture and fashion shows to infuse their entrepreneurial agenda.

After last years festival, the group leaders formed an Entrepreneurship Club, which has since crystalized an investment programme.

We are seriously looking at the possibility of starting a restaurant chain offering Ugandan foods. Such a venture will not only bring revenue to our motherland but also promote the image and brand of Uganda, Muwanga explained in an interview with The Observer online.

He said some Asian and Ethiopian communities in the diaspora have successfully used such gatherings to market their native products such as traditional foods while growing the economies back home.

Ugandans in the Diaspora sent home more Shs 4 trillion in remittances by the end of last year, according to Bank of Uganda estimates.

In comparison to their Asian and Ethiopian counterparts in the diaspora, Muwanga notes that Ugandans have not bothered to do businesses that promote their country.

For instance, why dont we have any Ugandan food restaurant on the main streets of major cities in the US? You can only find Ethiopian and Indian eateries; so, we want to venture there as a group and exploit the opportunities, Muwanga said.

Founded in 2013, UNAA Causes annual convention has grown by leaps and bounds, becoming one of the most popular diaspora gatherings in North America.

Previously, such diaspora meetings have been used by politicians and national parastatals to promote their interests. However, UNAA Causes Chairman James Sserumaga says they will offer an alternative approach at this years event, with emphasis on delegates enjoying their holiday as they network.

During the three-day event, delegates will enjoy a cruise dinner, a culture and fashion show as well as live music performances from Ugandan artistes. Organisers have also lined up a tour option around Washingtons key landmarks, including the White House, National Museum of African Americans, National Mall, National Air & Space Museum, among others.

We will not have the usual long speeches from politicians and others because we want people to get value for their money, Sserumaga said.

The fashion show will feature Ugandas local designers such as Santa Anzo, Anita Beryl Ahikiriza and Fatuma Nakaziba as well as regional competitors from Rwanda and Kenya.

mugalu@observer.ug
Security minister Gen Elly Tumwiine has said he does not owe government any money since he is using Nommo Gallery like any other artist.

Tumwiine told journalists at Uganda Media Centre yesterday that claims that he owes government money is 'hot air' as the Nommo Gallery was given to artists by the former President of Uganda Milton Obote in the 1960s and the ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development now supervises it.

Gen Elly Tumwiine

I was not occupying any government facility anywhereall that is hot air. Rent is not collected by parliament. Rent if you default on rent, somebody is free to take me to court. I have been waiting for that court case so that they give me some money against the truth, Tumwiine said.

Tumwiines reactions follow speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadags order last week to the General to vacate Nommo Gallery or pay Shs 1.6 billion outstanding rent arrears accumulated since 1998.

A report to the House by the parliamentary committee on Gender, Labour and Social Development indicated that Creations Limited, a private company owned by Gen Tumwiine has been occupying Nommo Gallery since 1998 but the bush war and art-loving general has never paid rent to Uganda National Cultural Centre (UNCC).

The report presented to House by committee chairperson MP Alex Ndeezi (PWDs-Central) further indicated that efforts to have Gen Tumwiine pay rent arrears to a tune of Shs 1.6 billion (as of 2017) continued to be a nightmare. Moreover, each financial year, state funds are allocated for the maintenance of Nommo Gallery.

That prompted MPs to demand the speaker to direct Tumwine to pay rent arrears or to direct that deductions from his emoluments be effected to clear the debt on top of vacating the premises.

Kadaga promptly ordered the general to vacate the Nommo Gallery or pay the rent, warning that if the Gender ministry does not account for the money it has been receiving for maintenance of Nommo Gallery occupied by Tumwiine, the Gender ministry would not have its budget for financial year 2018/19 approved.

But Tumwiine said he has been using the facility as any artist, but not as his company and that Nommo Gallery has an independent director who is taking care of it.

In the past when the artists ran away during the political turmoil, the minister of Culture sent there an overseer who was paid little money but was surviving on earth. When I was chairman of board of trustees, we put there a director. He is the one who manages all the affairs of the Nommo Gallery not my company, not Gen Tumwiine therefore there has never been an issue of rent anywhere, Tumwiine said.

Tumwine added that parliament has no authority to collect rent but instead they should go to court to challenge his occupancy legality where he is very sure he will win the case.

namuloki16@gmail.com
The state of Somaliland, which seeks to attain international recognition has opened talks with Uganda about a consulate in Kampala.

Somaliland, a tiny country in the horn of Africa, was granted independence by the British in 1960 and shortly after joined Somalia, a former Italy colony to form the Somali republic.

The union soured in 1991 after a civil war, prompting Somaliland to declare independence from Somalia. Since then, the international community has not yet recognised it as sovereign.

Now, Somaliland intends to add Uganda to the list of countries with which it has diplomatic ties and they include; Kenya, South Africa, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Belgium, United Kingdom, France and South Sudan.

While the Somaliland community in Uganda was celebrating their 27th independence on Sunday in Kampala, a Somaliland government representative, Dr Mustapha Awil, said they were engaging Uganda to have a consulate in Kampala to ease movement of Somaliland nationals to Uganda, especially students.

We enjoy diplomatic relations with countries like Kenya, Djibouti, Ethiopia, United Kingdom and the European Union. We are engaging Uganda and we are looking forward to see that it follows suit, Awil said.

Somaliland issues passports which Uganda does not recognise according to Margaret Kafeero, the head of public diplomacy at Ugandas foreign affairs ministry. Awil said that they have written to Ugandas ministry of foreign affairs.

Kafeero said today that Im not aware of the letter but it very well could have been received. We get very many groups or communities world over that seek political recognition. Somaliland would not be an exception.

Some Somaliland students here told The Observer that to get into Uganda, they first have to go to Mogadishu, Somalia, attain a Somalia passport and then apply for a Ugandan visa.

The former minister of state for Economic Monitoring in the Office of the President, Henry Banyenzaki, who is now the director of Monitoring and Evaluation at the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) said that since the African Union had just signed the Africa Free Trade Zone agreement, Somaliland should be included.

We intend to explore all the avenues of how the issue of Somaliland can be addressed to see to it that they are recognised, Banyenzaki said.

According to the national chairman of the ruling partys entrepreneurship league, Robert Mwesigwa, who was the chief guest, recognition of Somaliland should be looked at in terms of business.

The unification of Germany started with entrepreneurs. I have been reading about the investment opportunities available in Somaliland and I think we should embrace them, Mwesigwa said.

kamogajonathan50@gmail.com
A family in Yunan Province, China, recently had to give up the pet puppy they had bought two years ago after it grew into a 250lbs black bear.

Su Yun, who lives near the city of Kunming, bought the animal two years ago, while on vacation. At the time, she thought she had paid for a Tibetan Mastiff puppy, one of the most highly-regarded dog breeds in China, and didnt much care that it was sold by a random man on the side of the road. The price was good and the puppy certainly looked like it was going to grow up to be an impressive specimen. Little did she know that the puppy would exceed all her expectations, at least in terms of size.

Photo: CGTN video screengrab

The woman recently told China News that she and her family were impressed by the puppys appetite from the very beginning, but the more he grew, the more he ate, and the more he ate, the less he looked like a dog.

The more he grew, the more like a bear he looked, Sun Yun said. I am a little scared of bears.

Photo: Tibetan Paradise/Wikimedia Commons

When her dog started walking on his hind legs, Su couldnt ignore the obvious anymore  the Tibetan Mastiff she had bought had grown into an Asian Black Bear. But she had become attached to him, so she kept him as a pet, despite the struggle to keep up with the animals seemingly insatiable appetite. The bear would apparently eat a large box of fruits and two buckets of noodles every day.

Su Yun said that she would could have coped with the high costs of raising a bear, but she recently learned that keeping large wild animals as domesticated pets was illegal, so she notified the Yiliang County Forest Public Security Bureau about her unusual pet.



The bear was sedated and taken to the Yunnan Wildlife Rescue Center for observation. After an initial inspection, staff there concluded that the animal exhibited no scars or other signs of physical violence and was in good health.
A 20-year-old man from the Japanese city of Himeji has been hailed as a modern-day ninja, after managing to live unnoticed in an elderly womans house for half a year.

The young squatters incredible run came to an end earlier this week, when his 90-year-old hosts son came to visit and cook her dinner. During his time there, the man heard some strange noises coming from the second floor of the house, and walked up the stairs to investigate. When he opened the door to one of the upstairs bedrooms, he was shocked to find a young man sleeping on a futon. Instead of losing his composure and confronting the intruder, he kept his composure, simply closing the door very slowly and going back downstairs to ask his mother if she new anything about someone else living in her house. The 90-year-old woman had no idea what her son was talking about, so the man called 110 (emergency number) to report the trespassing.

Photo: Christian Kadluba/Flick

The elderly woman and his son then casually waited for police to arrive and wake up the uninvited guest. The silent squatter was handcuffed and taken to the police station, but so far he has proven very uncooperative. He has yet to even reveal his name, let alone the reasons for his trespassing or how long he had been sleeping there.

Although police have yet to get any relevant information from the squatter, their ongoing investigation has revealed that he had first entered the 90-year-old womans home on December 12, at around 7:20 in the morning, and that he had been living there ever since.

The old woman said that she almost never goes up to second floor of her home anymore, and as for any unusual noises, she claims she never heard anything coming from upstairs. Obviously, her hearing isnt what it used to be, but the squatter must have been quiet as well. Whats really strange though is that the police found the squatters shoes at the entrance, but the woman never noticed those either.

So far, the ninja squatter has only been charged with trespassing, but that could change if the police manage to figure out what his intentions were.

The story recently went viral on Japanese social media, where most people declared themselves both impressed and creeped-out by the squatters ability to remain unnoticed. Others blamed the womans son for not visiting her more often, especially at such an advanced age, although there is no mention of this visit being the only one in the last six months. The squatter could have just been out of the house during his previous visits.

Anyway, if you have any uninhabited rooms in your house, maybe you should check them from time to time, who knows what or who you might find in there

Source: Sankei via SoraNews24
Brunswick Group is working with Abu Dhabi, which is the richest part and capital of the United Arab Emirates, to better position it on the world's stage.

The informal agreement with Abu Dhabi's General Secretariat of the Executive Council calls for a multi-market effort to understand the emirate's international reputation.

Brunswick is working to align the communications messages among various governmental entities, develop a story/narrative tailored to targeted markets and build relationship with media, including US outlets.

The effort includes running focus groups in Washington and London as well as national surveys in the US and UK.

Abu Dhabi controls about 10 percent of the globe's oil reserves and generates two-thirds of the UAE's $400B economy.

The UAE, which is composed of seven emirates, has close ties with Saudi Arabia and is key driver in the Arab boycott of Qatar for its alleged ties with Iran.
Oregon's new poet laureate, announced Tuesday, is Kim Stafford, who follows in the footsteps of his late father, William Stafford, in the position.

Kim Stafford, director of Lewis & Clark College's Northwest Writing Institute, has published a dozen books of poetry and prose. His awards and honors include creative writing fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Stewart H. Holbrook Literary Legacy Award from the Portland nonprofit Literary Arts and a Governor's Arts Award for his contributions to Oregon literature.

Gov. Kate Brown announced his two-year appointment as the state's ninth poet laureate.

"There are many ways to serve this state - among them sharing a clarity of language and passion of purpose," Brown said on Twitter. "Kim Stafford is one of our state's most generous literary teachers and I am proud to appoint him as Oregon's next Poet Laureate."

There are many ways to serve this state -- among them sharing a clarity of language and passion of purpose. Kim Stafford is one of our states most generous literary teachers and I am proud to appoint him as Oregon's next Poet Laureate. pic.twitter.com/YFF5QitlX4  Kate Brown (@KateBrownForOR) May 15, 2018

Broadway Books, 1714 N.E. Broadway, will host an informal celebration of his appointment at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 23, that will include a poetry reading.

Stafford, 68, was born in Portland and educated at the University of Oregon, where he earned a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in English and a doctorate in medieval literature. As poet laureate, he is expected to foster the art of poetry, encourage literacy and learning, address issues of humanities and heritage, and reflect on Oregon public life, according to the Oregon Poet Laureate website.

Stafford put it more succinctly Tuesday: "I'll have access to the classroom of Oregon to spread the gospel of poetry."

That's more of a mandate than his father, William Stafford, had during his 15 years as Oregon poet laureate, from 1975 to 1990. "The poet laureate then was pretty much an honorific where you read a poem to the Legislature," Kim Stafford said Tuesday. "The new idea is you travel, you meet groups, you encounter students and writers, so it's much more structured." He thinks it's an improvement, he said, adding, "Poetry to the people."

Stafford said he's expected to give at least six public readings during his tenure but plans more. "I can't imagine squandering the opportunity," he said. "Back in my 20s, I made my living by going to small rural schools and teaching poetry, so in some ways I'm circling back to places like Fort Rock, North Powder, Ukiah, Burns." He also plans to create a website that would make teaching and writing resources available statewide for the places he doesn't get to.

Stafford also said he wants to do as much listening as speaking.

"There's no shortage of international poetry on universal themes, but I'm especially interested in Oregon poetry on local themes and so this is what I want to share and this is what I want to invite people to write," he said. He hopes Oregonians will join him in talking about "their rivers, their forests, their neighborhoods, their heroes, their questions. I think of poetry as a very practical tool for understanding local life."

Stafford's appointment is effective immediately. He said he heard rumors about it starting a couple of months ago. "I've been champing at the bit to begin my service," he said.

Stafford added by email that when he told a Timberline Lodge Snowcat operator Tuesday about his appointment, "he began reciting a poem he had composed. I'm going to travel the state to meet people like that, and share the riches of poetry. I expect to learn more than I will ever teach."

He follows Elizabeth Woody in the position. In addition to his father, previous poet laureates were Peter Sears, Paulann Petersen, Lawson Fusao Inada, Ethel Romig Fuller (a former Oregonian poetry editor), Ben Hur Lampman (a former Oregonian writer and editor) and Edwin Markham.

Adam Davis, executive director of the nonprofit Oregon Humanities, which administers the poet laureate program, said Tuesday that Stafford was chosen by a 20-person selection committee that considers not only the quality of poets' work but also their ability to work with a wide range of people throughout the state.

"Kim has a generous presence and along with that an energy, an openness to people wherever they come from, a sense that he radiates of how poetry fits into and helps us kind of elevate our daily lives," Davis said. "I just think he has an understanding of how words and ideas and emotions and images matter, and he's got some real strong presence as well as a great degree of energy and commitment to this.

"He has been almost doing the work of poet laureate for a number of years," Davis added.
Oregon's total employment fell by 2,900 jobs in April, the first monthly decline since December 2016, according to state jobs data released Tuesday.

Statewide unemployment remains at a historic low, 4.1 percent, but Oregon wage growth has slowed after three years of strong gains.

Economists have been warning for months that Oregon's economy would cool as the state neared full employment. That's reduced the capacity for additional growth.

The state's economy remains relatively strong overall; Oregon added 29,600 jobs over the past 12 months  a 1.6 percent gain. Still, that's much slower than the pace three years ago when Oregon employment grew at 3.7 percent.

In a study released last week, Oregon regional labor economist Pat O'Connor found state "wage growth slowing to a grinding halt" beginning last summer. The slowdown coincided with the weakening job market, according to O'Connor, but he said Oregon's aging work force may also be a contributing factor.

"Many Baby Boomers continue to reach retirement age; retiring out of what are typically close to peak earnings years for most workers," O'Connor wrote. "At the other end of the age spectrum are young Oregonians new to the labor force. When inexperienced workers enter the labor force, they typically earn lower wages than workers with more experience."

Economists remain upbeat about Oregon's economy for the near term, though. In his biennial survey of the Portland area's economic outlook, also out Tuesday, Portland State University economist Tom Potiowsky wrote that the region is in its ninth year of expansion  one of the longest stretches on record.

Signs of slowing population growth, and a cooler housing market, are reflective of a more mature economic expansion without any immediate signs of trouble.

"As such, we see growth continuing in the Portland (area) at a slower rate but no recession on the horizon  at the very least, not in 2018," Potiowsky wrote.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699
The first known use of an attack dog to bite an inmate to get him out of his jail cell in Oregon amounts to an excessive use of force, a federal lawsuit filed Monday alleges.

The dog bit the inmate's thigh and left arm, pulled him to the ground and continued to tear at his arm inside a locked cell at the Columbia County jail in St. Helens last Aug. 1.

The six sheriff's deputies involved waited about six weeks to file any reports on the cell extraction and when they did included "false and misleading'' information that contrasted with images from body cam video, the suit alleges.

Former inmate Christopher Bartlett filed the civil rights lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Portland against Columbia County and the deputies. He seeks $500,000 in damages.

He alleges that the dog attack amounted to assault and cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment.

"The defendants knew that their conduct was wrong and conspired to 'sweep it under the rug,' and make it appear as if the attack had never happened,'' attorney Jacob Johnstun wrote in the suit.

Bartlett, who is homeless, was in custody at the time, accused of contempt of court.

The lawsuit claims that at least one of the guards was retaliating against Bartlett because he called her a disparaging name after there was a delay in providing him his lunch tray that day.

The sheriff's office had no policy governing the use of a police dog in the jail at that time, according to a grand jury convened by the Columbia County District Attorney's Office to investigate the case and jail conditions.

The grand jury urged the sheriff's office to adopt a policy, requiring the prior approval from the sheriff or other high-ranking officer to use a dog to bite an inmate in the jail, except in cases of imminent risk of injury or death.

The grand jury found that using a dog could be the best way to quell a disturbance, prevent an escape or extract a combative inmate from a cell and that the dog used against Bartlett, a Belgian Malinois, was properly trained.

District Attorney Jeff Auxier declined to prosecute any of the deputies in the case, saying he couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that they used unreasonable force to maintain order and defend themselves.

Auxier said the deputies tried to move Bartlett to a different cell in a different unit, but he refused to put his hands through the cell door's food port to be handcuffed and safely escorted out. He was warned that if he didn't come out of his cell, he would be bitten by the dog that was loudly barking outside the cell, Auxier wrote.

Bartlett's lawyer said his client was taking a nap when the dog was sent in to attack him and bit him for 20 seconds even though Bartlett wasn't resisting. Bartlett also was taken for a mental health evaluation after the dog encounter. He suffers from delusional thinking and has been diagnosed as hypomanic, according to the suit.

The sheriff's office has since adopted a written policy that allows for a dog's use of force in the jail against an inmate when necessary to protect the inmate or jail staff from serious injury.

"Our main concern is that this will set the wrong kind of precedent in Oregon and allow this kind of excessive force,'' Johnstun said. "It's completely unnecessary. There are multiple other methods to deal with a situation like this that causes a lot less harm to the inmate. We hope this kind of thing does not happen again.''

Read lawsuit here

Read Columbia County grand jury report and declination to prosecute deputies here.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
Two years after businesses spent tens of millions of dollars to defeat a corporate tax measure, they are pouring money into qualifying their own initiatives for the November ballot.

Grocery companies have raised and spent more than $2 million over the last year on paid signature gatherers, advertising and other costs to advance a proposal that would ban taxes and fees on sales of food, Initiative Petition 37.

Meanwhile, a broader group of businesses is coalescing around a proposal that would make it more difficult for lawmakers to raise revenue through taxes and fees. Supporters of Initiative Proposal 31 have raised and spent nearly $400,000 as of Monday, according to state campaign finance records.

The spending suggests businesses are serious about getting both proposals before voters in the general election and are willing to sink a large amount of cash into winning the campaigns.

Derrick DeGroot, one of the tax initiative's petitioners, is a full-time county commissioner in Klamath County who said he learned of the initiative effort "through connections in Salem." He said broadening Oregon's existing requirement for a three-fifths supermajority vote to raise revenue would force lawmakers to work "in a bipartisan way."

As an example of the need for change, DeGroot pointed to legislation passed earlier this year to increase real estate recording fees to fund affordable housing. In reality, lawmakers from both parties supported House Bill 4007, which also created tax sheltered savings accounts for first-time homebuyers, a priority for the real estate industry.

Both business-backed initiatives would amend the state Constitution, supporters therefore need to submit 117,578 valid signatures by July 6. Monday was this month's deadline for campaigns using paid circulators to submit their latest batch of signatures.

Unions are pumping money into the effort to get their corporate transparency measure on the November ballot. The advocacy group Our Oregon and an associated political action committee, both largely funded by unions, have spent more than $300,000 to qualify Initiative Petition 25 for the ballot. It would require publicly traded companies and their subsidiaries to report their federal and Oregon taxable income, tax liability, sales and other information in public filings with Secretary of State's office. Supporters have until July 6 to submit 88,184 valid signatures.

Joe Baessler, political director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said that pushing for companies to disclose their income and taxes was the logical next step after voters rejected Measure 97, the corporate tax initiative, two years ago.

"One of the things we learned during the 97 fight was there's a lot of ambiguity about how much corporations are actually paying in the state of Oregon," Baessler said. "They make the argument, 'we're taxed so much.'" But it's nearly impossible for people other than state Department of Revenue employees to know how much individual companies pay, he said.

The largest contributors to the grocery initiative are Kroger  the owner of Fred Meyer and QFC -- and Albertsons Safeway; each has spent $600,000 so far. Costco chipped in more than $500,000, according to campaign finance records.

Ron Brake, a chief petitioner on the initiative who has a long career in the grocery business, did not respond to a request for comment on Monday, so it was unclear why supporters want the prohibition against taxes on food to be retroactive to October 2017. It would prevent lawmakers and local officials from adopting not only sales taxes, but also other types of taxes such as gross receipts taxes that governments can charge based on companies' total sales. Measure 97 was a gross receipts tax, and Democrats in the Legislature proposed a smaller gross receipts tax last year.

Initiative Petition 37 would still allow state and local governments to pass taxes on sales of alcohol, marijuana and tobacco products.

-- Hillary Borrud
Oregon voters appear on track to show their lowest turnout in a primary election in at least 16 years, ballot statistics indicate.

As of 9 a.m. Monday, about 19 percent had turned in their ballots, compared with the previous low of 25 percent the Monday before the 2014 primary.

Total turnout in May 2014, Oregon's most recent non-presidential nominating election, reached just 35.5 percent.

The count of registered Oregon voters has increased each year, driven in large part by the Oregon Motor Voter law. That form of automatic voter registration took effect in January 2016 and prompted a 14 percent jump in voter registration, which may play a part in this year's lower percentage turnout.

The number of total ballots received as of Monday morning before the election is lower as well -- 495,987 compared to 527,139 in 2014.

But that may be due in part to an anomalously low count of ballots returned Friday and over the weekend and tallied by the state elections office Monday morning.

This year's count of ballots returned on Friday and over weekend was 12,527 ballots, compared to 97,200 ballots in 2014, 95,730 in 2010 and 80,879 ballots in 2006.

Debra Royal, chief of staff to the Oregon secretary of state, could not explain the discrepancy.

There are no high-profile, high-spending statewide primary contests this year. Gov. Kate Brown is expected to easily win her party's nomination, and all five members of the U.S. House of Representatives are considered shoo-ins for new terms.

In the race for Labor Commissioner, the two leading contenders have raised about $1.1 million, with Democrat Val Hoyle garnering more than twice as much campaign cash as her opponent, Republican Lou Odgen.

In Multnomah County, with the state's highest voter registration, elections office spokesman Eric Sample said that voter turnout seems to be higher than in previous years. By end of day Monday, 95,276 Multnomah voters had returned their ballots, compared to 84,801 in 2014.

Ballots are due by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

-- Corlyn Voorhees
Facebook revealed Tuesday that it removed more than half a billion fake accounts and millions of pieces of violent or obscene content during the first three months of 2018, pledging more transparency while shielding its chief executive from new public questioning about the company's business practices.

The findings, its first public look at internal moderation figures, illustrate the gargantuan task Facebook faces in cleaning up the world's largest social network, where artificial-intelligence systems and thousands of human moderators are fighting back a wave of offensive content and abuse.

"My top priorities this year are keeping people safe and developing new ways for our community to participate in governance and holding us accountable," wrote Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a post, adding: "We have a lot more work to do."

Along with fake accounts, Facebook said in its transparency report that it had removed 21 million pieces of content featuring sex or nudity, 2.5 million pieces of hate speech and almost 2 million items related to terrorism by Al Qaida and ISIS in the first quarter of 2018.

Though Facebook extolled its forcefulness in removing content, the average user may not notice any change. For every 10,000 views of content on Facebook, the company said, roughly 8 of them were removed for featuring sex or nudity in the first quarter, up from 7 views at the end of last year.

Facebook's new report, which it plans to update twice a year, comes a month after the company published its internal rules for how reviewers decide what content should be removed. The company says it has 10,000 human moderators helping to remove objectionable content and plans to double that number by the end of the year.

Facebook's report suggests its investment in AI that can help moderate objectionable content is slowly paying off. The company says more than 96 percent of the posts removed by Facebook for featuring sex, nudity or terrorism-related content were flagged by monitoring software before any users reported them. But users are still reporting the majority of hate-speech posts, or about 62 percent of them, before Facebook takes them down.

Meanwhile, Facebook's rate of squashing fake accounts is actually decreasing. The site removed 583 million fake accounts in the first quarter of the year, roughly 100 million fewer than were removed in the last quarter of 2017. The company attributed the decline to the "variability of our detection technology's ability to find and flag" fakes. A Washington Post report earlier this month found that the company's facial-recognition tool, which the company says could help spot impostor accounts, reviews only a small fraction of the site's roughly 2 billion monthly active users.

But Facebook's progress in policing what users see isn't likely to temper fresh criticism from regulators in Europe over privacy protections for its billions of users worldwide.

In the United Kingdom, Facebook this week again resisted a request from British lawmakers to testify as part of their investigation into Cambridge Analytica, a political consultancy that improperly accessed personal information about 87 million of the social site's users. Facebook said that Zuckerberg "has no plans to travel to the UK," said Damian Collins, the leader of the UK's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, in a statement Tuesday.

British lawmakers previously signaled they could soon slap Zuckerberg with a formal summons - requiring him to appear before a key committee in Parliament if he ever stepped foot in the country. But Collins said lawmakers would also be open to video testimony.

"If Mark Zuckerberg truly recognises the 'seriousness' of these issues as they say they do, we would expect that he would want to appear," he said.

--The Washington Post
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For Donald Trump, Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem Had Nothing to Do with Peace

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | May 15, 2018 |

The situation in Israel can be confusing as hell for the majority of Americans who gain their information on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict largely from online headlines, and where our educational system is either bereft or misleading on the topic. I learned about Israel for the first time from deeply Christian high school teachers, who had their own perspective, and where it concerns Israel, religion and politics gets all mixed up.

That is particularly so where it concerns Donald Trump. Most of my Jewish friends and family members are liberal. They do not like Donald Trump (in fact, 77 percent of American Jews disapprove of Donald Trump). However, its the inverse in Israel, where Donald Trump is more popular than Barack Obama was, and that might be confusing for some people who confuse progressive Jewish values in America with the more conservative Jews in Israel who  for obvious reasons  prioritize the Jewish state.

Im not going to get into the long history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I support the Jewish state while conceding that both sides have compelling claims to the land. If youre interested, I think this piece is incredibly instructive. Its written by a Jew, but he really tries to piece together the narrative from both sides.

What I want to focus on is the issue that I feel far more comfortable discussing: Donald Trumps role in Israel. Most Israelis obviously support the move of the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, according to one poll, only 16 percent of American Jews supported the move, because most Americans Jews  like the Presidents before Trump (both Democrat and Republican)  prioritize the peace and safety of the region over what is essentially a symbolic move.

Trump didnt move the embassy to make American Jews happy. He didnt do this to help the peace process, either  in fact, it will do the opposite. He did it for his evangelical base  did you note who was in attendance representing Americans interest? A Chabad Rabbi  who represents a tiny fraction of American Jews  and two evangelical pastors who literally believe that making Jerusalem the capital of Israel brings us closer to the End Times, to Armageddon.

Of all the possible theological dog-whistles to his evangelical base, the Jerusalem declaration is the biggest. Trump is reminding them that he is carrying out Gods will to these Last Days. Theyve been waiting for this, praying for this, she wrote. They want war in the Middle East. The Battle of Armageddon, at which time Jesus Christ will return to the Earth and vanquish all Gods enemies. For certain evangelicals, this is the climax of history. And Trump is taking them there. To the promised judgment, to their sure victory. The righteous will be ushered to heaven; the reprobate will be banished to hellfire.

In addition to the evangelical pastors, only Republicans were in attendance  there were zero Democrats, who represent most American Jews. This was never about them, anyway.

He also did it for the billionaire Republican donor Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul who invested $30 million in Trumps election, and who invested $70 million into the Birthright program. For spending millions and millions of dollars to get Trump elected, Adelson got a front row seat at the declaration while Israeli ministers sat in the third row. This was about settling up with Adelson, and for Adelson, it was about establishing a legacy.

Trump also did it to poke a stick in the eye of the Arab world, which his base hates. Its the same reason he tore up the Iran Nuclear Deal in cahoots with Netanyahu  because they hate Iran. Because they want to go to war against the rest of the Middle East.

I am not saying that the Arab world and Iran is innocent here. Its not like the leaders of some of the surrounding countries are great people. Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by much the world; there are theocrats and fascists all over the place; the President of Turkey is a dictatorial son of a bitch; human rights are lousy in Iran; and the Middle East is a breeding ground for some militia groups. But it would be incredibly disingenuous for anyone to believe that moving the embassy had anything do to with advancing peace in that region. Donald Trump doesnt give a shit about the peace process or the Palestinians (or Jews in America). This is about one thing for Donald Trump: Stoking and solidifying a base of evangelicals who are hostile to brown people.

 Guy on Twitter is Outraged That Captain America Would Join Antifa | The Trailer for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Looks Incredible 

Dustin is the founder and co-owner of Pajiba. You may email him here, follow him on Twitter, or listen to his weekly TV podcast, Podjiba.
Appvion Receives Court Approval of Sale to Lender Group for $340 Million, Plus Liabilities Under the terms of the executed asset purchase agreement filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the total consideration is approximately $340 million plus the assumption of substantial liabilities, including many of Appvion's contractual obligations. May 14, 2018 - Appvion, Inc. (the Company) today announced that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved the sale of substantially all of the Company's assets to a group of its lenders led by Franklin Advisers, Inc. (the Purchaser). The sale is expected to be completed by the end of May. The Purchaser submitted the previously announced stalking horse bid on February 8, 2018. Under the terms of the executed asset purchase agreement filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the total consideration is approximately $340 million plus the assumption of substantial liabilities, including many of the Company's contractual obligations. The transaction will substantially reduce Appvion's debt from approximately $585 million to less than $175 million and provide additional liquidity to fund the Company's operations. Kevin Gilligan, Chief Executive Officer of Appvion, said, We are pleased to receive the Court's approval of the sale of our company to a group of our lenders who have been long-term supporters of Appvion. Their continued investment is a vote of confidence in the future of our business. Gilligan added, Our goal when we began the Chapter 11 process was to better position Appvion to compete long-term in the evolving specialty paper market and further invest in the innovation that has always made us a market leader. Under new ownership, Appvion will have a substantially deleveraged balance sheet, enabling us to better execute our business strategy. We expect to complete the sale expeditiously and emerge as a healthier, financially-stable business that will be an even stronger partner to all of our stakeholders in the years to come. Franklin Advisers said, We at Franklin Advisers are extremely pleased to see that the Court has approved the sale to allow Appvion to emerge from bankruptcy in a healthier financial position that enables long-term stability and growth while simultaneously affording us the opportunity to continue to demonstrate our commitment to both the unionized and non-unionized employees, the Company's customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, as well as our valued clients. In addition, the Court today approved a global settlement between Appvion, the Purchaser, Franklin Advisers, the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, and holders of the Company's $250 million of second lien notes. This settlement, which does not affect the sale, will facilitate an orderly wind down of the Company's legacy liabilities and pave the way for completion of the Chapter 11 cases in an expeditious manner. The sale does not include assumption by the Purchaser of the Company's employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) or its pension plans. The ESOP will be terminated following completion of the sale and the outstanding shares of Company stock will be extinguished. The pension plans will be taken over by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a federal government agency that guarantees payment of basic pension benefits earned by millions of American workers and retirees. Appvion and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary Chapter 11 cases on October 1, 2017 to facilitate a balance sheet restructuring and better position the business for long-term growth and success. DLA Piper is serving as legal counsel to Appvion, Guggenheim is serving as the Company's investment banker, and AlixPartners is providing Chief Restructuring Officer services. O'Melveny & Myers, PJT Partners LP, and MERU are serving as advisors to Franklin Advisers on the transaction. Appvion produces thermal, carbonless, security, inkjet, digital specialty, and colored papers. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin and employing approximately 1,250 people, Appvion operates coating and converting plants there and in West Carrollton, Ohio and a pulp and paper mill in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania. For more information, visit: www.appvion.com . SOURCE: Appvion, Inc. Go to related story on PaperAge.com:

Appvion Enters into Sale Agreement with Group of Lenders for $325 Million, Plus Liabilities - Feb. 9, 2018.
Sodra Partners with KLM to Study Feasibility of Producing Biojet Fuel KLM's Biofuel Programme enables companies to ensure that sustainable biojet fuel is used for their air travel by paying a surcharge that covers the difference in price between sustainable biofuel and regular jet fuel. May 15, 2018 - Sodra has signed a letter of intent with KLM to conduct a joint feasibility study to examine the possibility of producing green jet fuel. In parallel, Sodra will become the first company in Sweden to join KLM's Corporate Biofuel Programme, with the aim of supporting growth in demand for fossil-fuel-free alternatives in the aviation sector. Air travel accounts for some 2 percent of global CO 2 emissions, said Maria Baldin, Director of Communications and Sustainability at Sodra. We are now taking two key steps forward to create sustainable alternatives to fossil-based jet fuel. The current supply of biofuel is too low and this is something we want to change. KLM's Biofuel Programme enables companies to ensure that sustainable biojet fuel is used for their air travel by paying a surcharge that covers the difference in price between sustainable biofuel and regular jet fuel. Helping to reduce CO 2 emissions is in line with our sustainability targets. Our goal is to be fossil-fuel free by 2030. We will now shoulder an even greater responsibility for our air travel, Baldin added. Henrik Brodin, Strategic Business Developer, Energy, at Sodra, noted, The greatest challenge is the absence of policy measures. Since production costs for biojet fuel are high compared with fossil fuels, there is very limited scope for growth in demand, which is needed to reduce costs. There must be a clear political strategy to address this issue. The collaboration contains a feasibility study to examine the prerequisites for producing biojet fuel from forest biomass. While Sodra and KLM are the main partners in the collaboration, many other players are also participating. It's about working together to examine the entire chain  from production to combustion  and creating a business model that enables a change in air travel, Brodin said. Sodra, with headquarters in Vaxjo, Sweden, produces market pulp, wood products and biofuels. The company operates three pulp mills in Sweden (Morrum, Monsteras and Varo.) with a total capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per year. Sodra produces both softwood and hardwood pulp  90% softwood and 10% hardwood. To learn more, please visit: www.sodra.com . SOURCE: Sodra
Benedict Cumberbatch, the British actor of Avengers: Infinity Wars fame, recently situated himself as one of Hollywood's few good men, saying in an interview that he will not accept jobs where female coworkers are paid less than he is. He said, "Equal pay and a place at the table are the central tenets of feminism. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: 'If she's not paid the same as the men, I'm not doing it.'"

(His comments are similar to those made by women in Hollywood for years. Recently, when accepting an Oscar for her role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Frances McDormand urged actors to ask for inclusion riders).

Related | What Is an Inclusion Rider?

Cumberbatch also added that his production company, SunnyMarch, considers representation in their hiring process and in the films they support. He said,"I'm proud that [business partner] Adam [Ackland] and I are the only men in our production company; our next project is a female story with a female lens about motherhood, in a time of environmental disaster. If it's centered around my name, to get investors, then we can use that attention for a raft of female projects. Half the audience is female!"

Wealthy white men don't necessarily need a standing ovation for suggesting women should perhaps be treated with respect. Still, Cumberbatch is using his position of privilege to set an important precedent. Here's hoping a couple more men in Hollywood look around and realize they might be unfairly paid more than their equally-talented coworkers and speak up about it.

Image via BFA
Talking with Charles Jeffrey about his work is not unlike those long, winding conversations you get lost in with some stranger at the after-afterparty. A few drinks in mixed with extreme sleep depravation, sentences become stories and you find yourself connecting the dots about life with no inhibition. It's all a bit scattered, but inspiring nonetheless, like you've discovered the truth in a sea of hazy, haphazard 4 a.m. thoughts.

Jeffrey, the London-bred fashion designer whose work has become synonymous with queer nightlife, operates a bit like this, thrusting all his ideas out into the world and encouraging his audience to draw their own conclusions. He thinks and speaks with no restrictions, and the result is somehow still poetic and poised, which has earned him comparisons to former fashion bad boys Alexander McQueen and John Galliano.

In his second installation for Dover Street Market New York, Jeffrey leans into this limitless approach to create HEX, a multidisciplinary in-store experience influenced by pagan symbols and rituals. Amidst the 27-year-old designer's unruly, colorful scribbles stands a giant sculpture, called the LOVERBOY yeti, which he constructed for visitors to rub like a Buddha. He says it offers "health, wealth and prosperity" to shoppers who touch his face.

PAPER sat down with Jeffrey to discuss the making of HEX, and how he's maintaining an outsider edge while catering to the luxury market with his rising brand.

Charles Jeffrey January 2018 (Photo via Getty)

I was just talking to my friend, whose brand Private Policy is deeply rooted in New York streetwear, about the difference between New York and London identity. I'm curious to know what you think coming into NYC, and your perspective on New York fashion. I've had a little taste of it more from a nightlife angle from when I first got introduced to New York. The first time I went was about 2 years ago. So I had that sort of romanticized idea from Downtown 81, Andy Warhol and late '70s. That's my favorite era, and then obviously as a voyeur of New York from Britain there's the whole Hood By Air movement  Vaquera, Eckhaus Latta, and all those people. Then when I went, I got a taste of it from a nightlife angle, and the idea of dressing up being a way of expressing yourself, which we shared in London as a way to engage in fashion design. I think it's interesting to see how we're perceived in New York City, as well. Related | Private Policy Invites You to Give a Speech During NYFW How do you think you're perceived by NYC? There's a few mentions from press with references to previous designers like [Alexander] McQueen and [John] Galliano, saying that I'm a new version of that. I guess I feel like that sort of young Brit designer. It's a big narrative to follow, but I think that's how we've been perceived. With these projects we're doing more [in the U.S.] I think it would be interesting to see how that's bounced off because there's a lot more avenues I would like to be known for.

It is interesting, people latch onto these certain things with you, like nightlife and other radical queer designers like McQueen. None of these references are negative, but it can be limiting. How do you want to be perceived? It's definitely a title I'm quite comfortable with in some ways because it's valid and authentic, like we know our brand did come from the club space. The way we try to produce our shows has the same energy as some of those previous designers. How I see my shows happening now is that it's a body of work for me as an artist, so I always like to see the show as a form of happening, which is a phrase that comes from old New York and Claes Oldenburg. In that time and era, they would make a space, and create the artwork in that space, and people were performing the work in that space; that was the proposal of it. So I see a few links to that in the workplace. I would like to push the button a bit more and in some ways doing this [Dover Street Market] installation is a good place to do that. At a certain point it is important to concentrate on doing the work and just letting people perceive it how they want to. I think it's a gift in a way to get that feedback, especially from the people that we've heard so far. Related | To The Moon and Back With Sussi What were your intentions with this DSM installation? It's the second time I've done an installation in the New York store. The first time we did it, It was more of like a big tapestry, and we just kind of stapled it to the wall and then that was it. This one is sort of an offshoot of the primal work I've been doing in my drawing and illustrations. It's sort of the work I did with the Now Gallery in Greenwich; I did an exhibition called The Come Up, which was a series of sculptures littered with illustrations, and then we did a performance in that space as well on the opening night. This was an offshoot of that and based on a lot of Celtic symbols and signs mainly from the Picts clan in the east of Scotland. They were known as paint people and used to adorn themselves in symbols and signs. My illustrations are scrolls and marks, and the interplay between all those marks together. This one [in DSM] is a LOVERBOY yeti, which is clad in all these scribbles and marks. We're almost christening it with the people who rub its face to get good luck. I always loved that idea of giving something a sort of magical feeling. I think there's something weirdly existential about it because you're choosing to give it that property and you make yourself feel like you're giving yourself good luck if you rub it. I have one in my room and I always rub its belly every morning if I can [laughs]. The space is incredibly colorful and busy and the decorations are sized to be full fantasy. It's many different mediums  it's not just on the wall. it's going to be on the rail, on boxes, on sculptures.

Illustration Courtesy of Charles Jeffrey

You mentioned the word "primal." What about that interested you as a starting point for this installation? I think when I was studying, I always tried to work in a very formulaic way because I thought that was the way you were supposed to work. It just never really worked out for me, and then I think the most successful work that I've done always comes from this very primal endeavor, where I really trust my gut a lot more. I think any sort of decision and any sort of designing comes from a very primal place. I always think it's the most effective because it doesn't feel formulaic, or overthought. It feels very pure, and there's this amazing interpretation of creativity that came from the era where gods lived in the walls. If you're a creative person, it was like something flowed to you and then it was an output of that. I think that's a really healthy way to look at it, as well. Instead of something that's dealing with my own ego and emotions, my most interesting work comes from not thinking too much  when it just is what it is.

"Instead of something that's dealing with my own ego and emotions, my most interesting work comes from not thinking too much."

I feel like everyone is so obsessed with logic and reason, right now. Do you feel what you're doing is a response to that? I think in some ways it's this kind of response to the frustration of trying to be logical. Especially at the moment, I'm trying to be a bit more puritanical and taking in as much information as I can. I've been watching videos on quantum physics; I've always been really interested in space and science, in general, but there is this really amazing YouTube channel called "In a Nutshell" that's done well. I find it all incredibly interesting and then I think to take it and put it into place with something else. So for my new collection we're going to be doing in June, I'm interested in concepts that I learned in cultural studies, and then incorporating that with primal imagery. I'm working with this knitwear artist, and now it's sort of reminded me of this logical way of thinking  the idea of the grotesque and the body. Because it does live together, it's just for peoples interpretation to make that happen and I think that's not necessarily my role as an artist to do that.

It does sound very complicated, even hearing you connect all these thoughts and ideas out loud. There is a big output of lots of things, and I do that to surround myself with people who can help connect the dots in some way. I think it will always make sense for me in a visual sense. How do you go about dabbling in the luxury fashion world and still staying connected to the marginalized communities you've always valued? There is an element of putting it effort. My day-to-day is very much based on being in the studio, looking at my team and doing the work that is required. I do gain a lot from putting the effort into going to different exhibitions and performances and cabarets. It's definitely much more of a effort now because a lot of people have grown up and moved to different places or are doing different things than we originally were connected with. For example, I went to an art show called Cream Concealer at the Flying Dutchman London, and there were about 10 people. It was really interesting to see an artist who's only like 4 or 5 years younger than I am  to see their viewpoint in the world. For me that was really inspiring to know there can still be some pockets of things going on. By putting the effort in, you can gain a lot. Related | Will Diet Prada Save Fashion From Itself? When it comes to making clothes, what is the process of maintaining that outsider point of view? At the end of the day, Dover Street Market is a luxury department store  an incredibly cool one, but still luxury. There's always a process that's a mixture between chaos and control. So I think with my type of medium, it's a primal way of making proposals or clothing or artwork, but there's always that element of refinement coming in logistically. So with Dover Street Market, I could have just given them a print out of an illustration I had done at the studio, and sent over something pre-done, but the whole idea is that there are some cleanly laid out elements but I definitely have to have my own hand on it. With this sculpture, I sent it over to get fabricated but the finishing touches are done by me. All these processes have to happen in order for LOVERBOY to be there. We do all little projects and I always think about commercializing  how price points are going to be if we're going to have to schlep on shredding. Is this going to be too expensive? There's all these conversations that are happening and you have to be creative to in order to come up with solutions. I think it's a really fun job actually to problem solve.

Charles Jeffrey LOVERBOY LFWM January 2018 (Photo via Getty)
While many view Cannes as an opportunity to showcase excellent filmmaking, or their affiliation to the hottest influencers, controversial Danish director Lars Von Trier seems to use the festival as an opportunity to one-up himself.

This was the first film that Von Trier has shown at Cannes since he joked at a Melancholia press conference in 2011 that he "understands Hitler." We were warned that the man who brought you Nymphomaniac and Melancholia's latest film, The House That Jack Built, would have paramedics on hand at the premiere of the particularly brutal feature, but it sounds as if very few audience members even made it through to the end. Why? Because the Matt Dillon-starring serial killer flick, apparently set in the 1970s in a small American town, is entirely about a homicidal maniac who considers his gratuitous torture and killing "art," with numerous allusions to America's most horrifying crimes.

Needless to say 100 people left the cinema, and the reviews have already come in thick and fast.

















The BBC 's critic was apparently all for it, writing: "I was challenged, appalled and amused by von Trier's mischievous deconstruction of the serial-killer genre, as well as being impressed by his uncompromising bravado and technical brillianceYou may be tempted to walk out of The House That Jack Built before then, but you'll definitely be talking about it afterwards."

Watch the trailer below, if you can.

Image via IFC Films


Yesterday, the United States Embassy was moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on the 70th anniversary of the creation of Israel. The move effectively recognized Jerusalem, a city that both Palestinians and Israelis feel ownership over, and that Palestinians hope to see as the capital of a Palestinian state, as the capital of Israel.

Though The United States has been leased land in Jerusalem where they could build an embassy since 1989 and Congress passed a law requiring the US to move their embassy there in 1995, every president until Trump has decided against it, since the move symbolizes an overt allyship with Israel.

While Israelis celebrate the formation of Israel, Palestinians mourn the 70th anniversary of the nabka, or catastrophe, when over 700,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes as Israel was created. Yesterday, as the US Embassy was being celebrated in Israel, thousands of Palestinians protestors at the Gaza border were wounded by Israeli forces. More than 2,700 Palestinians were injured, more than 1,350 via guns. At least 58 people were killed.

Most of the Palestinian protesters were unarmed, and the gunfire resulted in the largest number of Palestinians killed in one day since 2014.

Sabri Saidam, the Palestinian prime minister of education, said, "Today is a day of sadness. It's a manifestation of the power of America and President Trump in upsetting the Palestinian people and the people who have been awaiting the independence of Palestine for 70 years," The New York Times reports.

President Trump said via a video message that the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted that "each country must protect its borders," but also that yesterday was "a great day for peace."

The White House has also blamed Hamas via a statement by Raj Shah, who said, "Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response. And as the secretary of state said, Israel has the right to defend itself."

Photo via Getty
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Still proceeding with the Book:

British troops took Mesopotamia away from the Ottoman Turks during the First World War (1914-1918), and in 1920 they received a mandate from the League of Nations to administer the area. Losing little time, they helped the locals to set up a government in 1921, under the name of Iraq, and brought in a new ruler to serve as monarch under the title of Faisal I. (This was the same Faisal whose troops the British officer known as Lawrence of Arabia had fought in league with against the Turks during the war.) But Faisal and his government were allowed precious little freedom to govern their new nation as they saw fit; Great Britain reserved for itself authority over Iraqs economic, military, and foreign affairs. In 1932, the League of Nations finally ended the British mandate over Iraq and admitted the newly independent state to membership.

In 1958, though, a group of army officers, led by General Abdul Karim Qasim, overthrew the monarchy, wiping out the royal family and declaring Iraq a republic. It was hardly that, though. The new government ruled by decree. It reversed Iraqs traditional pro-Western stance and turned to the Communist world for economic and military assistance. (This was about the time that Nasser in Egypt was doing much the same thing.) General Qasims government was corrupt and treated the people harshly. Among other things, he dispatched the army against Kurdish separatists in the north in 1961.

In 1963, another military coup assassinated General Qasim. The new revolutionary regime, led by officers who belonged to a political party known as the Bath, promised justice and reform. There was rejoicing in the streets and among Iraqi exiles abroad. Badr Shakir al-Sayyabs poem An Ode to Revolutionary Iraq, written while he was undergoing medical treatment in London, is dramatic testimony to the high hopes that the new leaders of the country aroused in the hearts of many.

The agents of Qasim open fire upon the spring,

But all the illicit wealth they have amassed

Will melt like ice, to be again water,

Gushing along streams and brooks,

Bringing back the luster of life to the dry branches,

Restoring, without loss, all stolen from them in Qasims winter. O Iraq!

O Iraq! I can almost glimpse, across the raging seas,

At every turn, in every street and road and alley,

Beyond the ports and highways,

Smiling faces that say: The Tatars have fled,

God has returned to the mosques with the break of day,

A day on which the sun shall never set!

You are avenged on the traitors at the hands of my people in revolt.

The enemy of the people is cast down to the lowest hell The doctor hurried to my side.

Was it that he had found a cure for the disease in my body? The doctor hurried to my side and said:

What is this news from Iraq?

The army has rebelled, Qasim is dead!

What joyous, health-restoring tidings!

In my joy, I almost stood up, walked, ran,

As if cured.

Rejoice! What liberation, what release!

Rejoice! The army of the Arab nation has torn off the bonds! O my brethren in God, in blood, in Arabism, in hope,

Arise, for tyrants are laid low,

And light has dispelled the night.

Guard well the Arab revolution

That crushed the comrades, cast down the oppressors,

For Tammuz, his splendor once stolen by the traitor,[1]

Has arisen, and Iraq is reborn.[2]

Mercifully, perhaps, al-Sayyab died an early death in 1964, still in London. He never had to see what became of his hoped-for revolution.

[1] Tammuz was an ancient Mesopotamian god of vegetation, who died and was then reborn. Thus, he became a god of resurrection as well. He is mentioned in the Bible at Ezekiel 8:14.

[2] Translated in An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry, edited by Mounah A. Khouri and Hamid Algar (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975), 91-93.

Posted from Luxor, Egypt
Tehran City Council Elects New Reformist Mayor

05/14/18

Source: Radio Farda

Tehran City Council members elected Mohammad Ali Afshani as the new mayor of the Iranian capital May 13, after his predecessor resigned last month amid controversy. Afshani won by 19 votes, while his main challenger, Acting Mayor Sami'ollah Hossaini Makaram, garnered only one vote.



Mohammadali Afshani, The New Mayor Of Tehran



Afshani, 59, has served as the governor of the Fars Province and Deputy Interior Minister, both under President Hassan Rouhani.



The new mayor replaces MIT-educated Mohammad Ali Najafi, who resigned in April amid controversy over his attendance at an official International Women's Day ceremony March 8 where a group of elementary school-aged girls performed a dance as part of the festivities. Conservatives accused Najafi of impropriety because the children performed for a mixed-gender audience.



Although Najafi repeatedly maintained he was stepping down due to a recently diagnosed illness, some council members insisted that the mayor was being forced out by his political opponents and that the allegations of impropriety at the International Women's Day event were carefully crafted to embarrass him.



Najafi had accused his own predecessor, a conservative, of corruption and financial mismanagement, which Najafi's supporters say is the real reason he was pushed out.



While Najafi was under pressure to resign in early April, the outspoken deputy speaker of Iran's parliament, Ali Motahari, wrote on his Telegram channel that the mayor was "asleep in his bed" when his political opponents barged into his home and "forced him to resign."



According to Motahari, the Islamic Republic's judiciary lacks "sufficient independence" and a "segment of the regime used levers of power" to force Najafi to resign.



Tehran's prosecutor-general, mid-ranking cleric Mohammad Ja'far Montazeri, had earlier cautioned, "If this mayor is incapable of managing Tehran's municipality, who will be responsible for [his mismanagement]? As the prosecutor-general, I hold the city council members responsible."



Montazeri's comments were followed by widespread criticism from reformists, including Tehran City Council Member and former Tehran mayor Morteza Alviri, who said the prosecutor-general's remarks were against the principle of separation of powers.



Najafi resigned for the first time in mid-March, citing poor health conditions, but the City Council, suspicious the mayor had been pressured to step down, refused to accept his resignation. In April, the city council finally accepted Najafi's second resignation and launched negotiations to find a successor.



Najafi, 66, who held cabinet positions in the 1990s and in 2014, was overwhelmingly elected as Tehran's mayor last August and officially took the helm at city hall in September.



He replaced Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf, an Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) commander and former chief of police who challenged Hassan Rouhani in last May's presidential election, but dropped out midway to back another conservative candidate.



Najafi's successor Afshani was born in Iran's western province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad and is a reformist politician and member of Central Council of the "I'timad-i Melli" (National Trust) Party.



The incoming mayor has also held top posts at the Interior Ministry, Education Ministry, and a number of provincial governors' administrations, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-run Fars News reported.

In an interview with the pro-reformist daily Sharq, the incoming mayor said he would strive to build a habitable city and highlighted the need for sustainable development in managing urban affairs.



Tehran is home to 12 million people and in dire need of efficient infrastructure, utilities, decent housing, efficient public transport, and above all, responsible city management.
Aspiring National Chairman of the Progressive People's Party (PPP) Nana Ofori Owusu has lambasted the Akufo-Addo government over demands that banks should raise a whopping amount of GHC 400 million as a new capital requirement.



The Central Bank has asked the banks to raise the capital to be kept in the reserve of the Bank of Ghana in order to bail out the banks when they're at the verge of folding up.



Addressing the issue on Peace FM's Kokrokoo, Nana Ofori Owusu told host Nana Yaw Kesseh that the Central Bank's directive is "unfair" and an "attempt to burden indigenous banks" in the country.



He asked the government to review the directive to ensure that the interest and welfare of indigenous banks come first before foreign banks which, he believes, have the support of their countries to thrive in this nation.



Government must review and have a listening earHow many indigenous banks can raise this Ghc 400 million capitalization? Its not fair. Its not practical.



Nana Ofori Owusu stated emphatically that "Ghana must protect its own. How can you have a country that nationalism in terms of protecting your own people, your own assets; it doesnt take priority over anything else? How can you do thatThere must be clauses. Other countries put clauses to ensure that their indigenous banks are protected ahead of the foreign banksHow can we develop as a nation, as a people, were not thinking about ourselves, self-preservation first and we think about others? Its sickening. We must get away from this type of mindset. They must give those indigenous banks that dont have the opportunity and need time to raise the money; you must give them the time.





Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Peacefmonline.com has chanced upon a document of agreement between the Central Bank and a private company, Sibton Switch Systems Ltd, for the execution of Ghana Retail Payment System Infrastructure.



A few years ago, the Regulator requested for tenders from prospective private corporate entities to "exclusively build, own and operate" the Ghana Retail Payment System as an interoperable and integrated mobile and electronic payment clearing and settlement system.



The Bank of Ghana (BoG) subsequently contracted Sibton Switch Systems Ltd a subsidiary of Sibton Communications to act as the switch for the cross-network mobile money transactions, with additional cost implications for both consumers and the telcos.



The company was given a GHc 4.6 billion contract for the project.



The agreement between the Regulator, Bank of Ghana and Operator, Sibton Switch Systems Ltd, came into effect on Wednesday, August 24, 2016.



But in January 2017, the issue of mobile money interoperability came to the fore after some telecom operators kicked against moves by the central bank to impose on them a third-party company to implement the interoperability by petitioning the Presidency.



It turned out that the companys GHc 4.6 billion price tag was the most expensive among the companies that bid for the project.



Tender documents stumbled upon indicated that while the Sibton Switch Systems bid amounted to GHc 4.6 billion, two bids in the contract were quoted as GHc 14 million and GHc 5.4 million from Vals Intel Limited and Mericom Solutions Limited respectively.



The Sibtons Switch deal was later abandoned and the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GhIPSS) took charge of the project.



Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia, at the launch of the first phase of the mobile money interoperability system on May 10, this year, disclosed that the new interoperability system would cost the country less than $4 million, and prayed that this first step would make Ghana one of the global leaders in the interoperability payments space.



But on Monday, a former Deputy Governor of the BoG, Dr Johnson Asiama, rebuffed claims that the interoperability contract awarded under the Mahama administration was overpriced.



At a press conference in Accra, Dr Asiama stressed that the new system launched by the Vice-President, is different in scope from the original contract; hence the disparity in the contract.



Interestingly, eventhough he conceded not having seen the scope of the current system launched by the Veep, the former deputy BoG Governor insisted it might not be as comprehensive as was envisaged under the original contract.



I am out of office and I cannot say what is being done now but if I look at the details and scope of work in the original contract as stated here, it goes far beyond what was launched last week....It is like comparing antelope and an elephantI am not sure the price will be same he said.



The Central Bank awarded the contract at a value of Ghc 4.6billion, but the present administration says the project has been built at $4.5m; which is a far cry from the astonishing figure that the NDC was going to have it done for.



Click the attached link to peruse the entire contract document and financial proposals.





Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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An aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Andy Owusu, has lashed out at the National Chairman of Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) and Chairman of the Brong Ahafo Regional Poultry Farms Association, for peddling falsehood that there has been acute shortage of maize on the market.



Mr. David Ampofo, who is the Chairman of the Brong Ahafo Regional Poultry Farms Association is reported to have said he foresees his 150,000 birds dying, because there is no maize to feed them with.



He is also on record to have blamed the the Minister of Food and Agriculture Dr. Owusu Afriyie Akoto for worsening the plights of poultry farmers by ignoring their calls.



In this business, maize constitutes more than 50% of feed for birds. The rest of the meal is basically soya beans, fish and some vitamin additions.



If the price of maize keeps rising, his business will continue to sink.



"When your maize finishes all your birds will die," said the Chairman of the Brong Ahafo Regional Poultry Farms Association revealed.



But in a video posted by a maize trader from the Techiman market, the trader is heard responding to the allegation by stating that: We have maize in abundance here. This is white corn and that is yellow corn. We want buyers and we are not getting them; yet you sit at the top and you say we dont have maize in Ghana.



The purpose of his recording according as stated by him, is to counter statements by the National Chairman of Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers (GNAPF) and Chairman of the Brong Ahafo Regional Poultry Farms Association on their view on maize shortage.



Are you bent on destroying our business? he quizzes and adds that We have maize here in the Techiman market so I can hardly understand the call by those saying there is shortage on the market. The government has done nothing wrong. Just come and have a look at the maize we have stored here, he said.



VIDEO below





Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has insisted on taxing religious material imported into the country, the privately-owned Daily Monitor reported on Tuesday.



The move has been met by resistance from the two main religious groups in the country  Christians and Muslims. It follows a plan by government months back, to tax social media.



An umbrella body for religious groups, the inter-Religious Council of Uganda said even if taxes were to be imposed, the current 18% Value Added Tax (VAT) on such materials was erroneous.



These items are not meant for profit; so, it is erroneous to tax them. Prayer books are supposed to strengthen the spiritual nourishment of individuals, Joshua Kitakule, Secretary-General of the Council said.



Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) boss, Doris Akol, is on record to have said the failure to tax the religious materials over the years was an anomaly, and they were working to fix it with the latest move.



We understand that Value-Added Tax (VAT) has in the past not been paid on the said Bibles, prayer books and hymn books. This was an anomaly, she wrote in an April 19 letter to the Anglican Churchs request for tax exemption on a consignment.



The Church of Uganda (CoU) had to settle an 8.9 million shilling tax to be able to clear a consignment of over 9,000 prayer and hymn books imported from Nairobi, Kenya.



According to the Daily Monitor, nine out of every 10 Ugandans are either Christians or Muslims. Hence the proposed tax would eventually affect the prices of these religious materials. Whiles the government could raise substantial revenues from taxes on religious materials.



Mr Ramathan Mugalu, the secretary general of the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council, is quoted as calling on President Museveni to enforce a directive he made that all imported prayer materials that are not for sale should not be taxed.



This government has gone too far in its collection of taxes. How can you tax the word of God? It should instead come in to assist in publishing these materials, Mr Mugalu bemoaned.



A ministry of finance spokesperson, however, defends the move stressing that it was part of efforts to widen the countrys tax base.



It is not uncommon for URA to bring to the fold persons, items and entities within tax base. It is its mandate to implement tax collection, URA is not a monster; it is their mandate to engage with the affected entities, Jim Mugunga said.

Source: Africanews.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Kasoa District police have apprehended 35 women suspected to be engaging in prostitution at Kasoa and its environs in the Central Region.



The suspects, between the ages of 20 and 45 years, were arrested at two drinking spots (names withheld) in a swoop organised last Thursday.



When contacted, the outgoing Kasoa District Police Commander, Superintendent Stephen Kofi Ahiatafu, said the swoop was conducted to rid the area of criminal activities.



Intelligence gathered by the police has indicated that the suspected prostitutes were often used by armed robbers in their operations.



On Thursday at about 11:00 pm the personnel raided the two spots and apprehended the suspects, who are mainly from Benin, Nigeria, Liberia, Mali and some Ghanaians.



Superintendent Ahiatafu said they would be screened and the foreigners handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service to check their statuses and those who have overstayed or in the country illegally would be deported.



Meanwhile, he has cautioned women to refrain from prostitution because it is a criminal offence in Ghana.

Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The attention of the Campaign Team of Mr. Freddie Blay has been drawn to an interview Madam Mary Adda, the Programmes Manager of the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) granted to Peace FM on their Midday News of 14th May, 2018.



In the said interview, Ms. Adda mischievously and deliberately misrepresented and invented her own facts as to what Mr. Freddie Blay is supposed to have said in a couple of interviews to the effect that he has acquired 275 buses for each NPP Constituency in the country.



Mr Freddie Blay did NOT at any point in his interviews say that;

(1) He is giving the buses as gifts to the constituencies.

(2) He is by the buses seeking to influence them (delegates) to vote for him as Chairman of NPP.

(3) He is taking advantage of his incumbency as acting chairman of the party.



The Campaign Team will like to state the facts as follows;

Mr. Blay has indicated his belief in the NPP foundational principle of a property owning democracy. To actualize it, he emphasized that his MAIN objective as the next NPP National Chairman will be to empower the party and its members to own businesses and property for the party to be self-sufficient whether in government or not.



To this effect, Mr. Blay unveiled a business model to empower the various constituencies.



In this plan, Mr. Blay has through a facility acquired 275 buses for the 275 constituencies of the NPP in the country.



The various Constituency Chairmen and Secretaries are to co-sign for each constituency. The said buses are to be run commercially by any bus operator in the country, a process we are currently negotiating on.



The various constituencies will open bank accounts and pay monthly installments.



A portion of the proceeds are to be lodged into the constituency account for use by the constituencies for party activities. At the end of full payments, the buses become the property of the constituency, who are encouraged to buy new buses or invest the proceeds into other businesses to help finance the party at the constituency level.



Mr Blay will also want to assure the GII that as an astute lawyer and one who has been an active participant in Ghanas democratic venture, he is aware of the law on gifts and has no intention of flouting same.



We want to take this opportunity to spell out other policies Mr. Blay has indicated he will spearhead if he becomes National Chairman after the July, 2018 delegates conference.

a. That he will arrange for a facility to the tune of GH 100,000 Ghana Cedis each for all constituency women organizers to buy made in Ghana prints in their constituencies to help revive the print industry.



b. That he will encourage all party faithful and constituency executives to take active part in the One-District One-Factory policy, One-Village One-Dam among other entrepreneurial policies that the government is introducing.



He emphasizes that it is his vision for the NPP to be in power for 30 years and for this to be achieved, members of the NPP will have to own the projects and programs of the government since the NDC does not believe in them and will only shoot such programs down with propaganda. For Ghana to be transformed, the members of the NPP, according Mr. Blay, will have to prosper as evidence for all Ghanaians to believe and participate in our forward march.



We wish to indicate that Mr. Blay is the Acting Chairman of the NPP and until there is a new Chairman, he has the responsibility towards the party and its members.



We wish to urge Ms. Mary Adda and the Ghana Integrity Initiative to file a petition at the EOCO or CHRAJ or both if they feel strongly that Mr. Blay has engaged in any wrong doing. However, we will want to caution them not to allow themselves to be used by our opponents to do their bidding.



We will urge them to stay out of political propaganda and focus on their civil society role.



Long Live Ghana



Long Live NPP



#MAINTAINTORETAIN.



Spokesperson for Mr. Freddie Blay (Ag National Chairman NPP)

(Richard Nyamah)

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Gander Mountain is back.

Well kind of.

The outdoor retailer has reopened as Gander Outdoors. The 31,080-square-foot store at 725 Town Center Drive in West Manchester Township, York County opened for business last week.

The store will sell items for hunting, fishing, marine and water sports, camping, and shooting sports. The store will hold a grand opening celebration beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The Gander Mountain assets were purchased in bankruptcy court in May of last year. Marcus Lemonis, of CNBC's The Profit and chairman of Camping World purchased the assets and started to reopen some of the former Gander Mountain stores as Gander Outdoors. Camping World Holdings is based in Illinois. There is a Camping World store in West Hanover Township.

A Gander Mountain store in the Chambersburg area reopened as Gander Outdoors at 3285 Black Gap Road in Greene Township, Franklin County earlier this year. Gander Outdoors plans to open six stores in the state, some of which have already opened, in the Chambersburg, York, Johnstown, Dickson City, Greensburg and Muncy areas.

A Gander Mountain store on Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township closed in 2016. Giant Foods later relocated a store to that location.

--Business Buzz
By Rachel DeSantis,

New York Daily News (TNS)

In a sudden change of plans just days before the royal wedding, Meghan Markle's father will reportedly not attend the nuptials this Saturday so as not to "embarrass" his daughter after it was revealed he staged a series of paparazzi photos.

Thomas Markle, 73, told TMZ that he was set to walk Meghan down the aisle -- and had even checked himself out of the hospital after a heart attack last week to do so -- but has backed out of his duties after the scandal.

Thomas Markle is a 1962 graduate of Newport High School in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

The former television lighting director was photographed in March completing various tasks in preparation for the wedding, including thumbing through a book of British landmarks, preparing his suit for the big day, and looking at photos of his daughter and Prince Harry's engagement on the computer at a Mexican cafe.

But additional photos published by the Daily Mail last week reveal the photos were staged with the help of photographer Jeff Rayner, who trailed Markle to the cafe and arranged the shots.

The royal-in-law-to-be told TMZ he chose to hire an agency to photograph him completing the tasks in a push to help improve his image.

Markle said he'd been unhappy with the previous paparazzi shots circulating, which featured him buying beer and looking "disheveled and reclusive."

He said he decided to take matters into his own hands when a paparazzi agency approached him -- though he now says he regrets the photos, which he deemed "stupid and hammy."

Despite Markle's admission, Meghan's half-sister Samantha Markle, who has ripped her sibling apart in the press as a fame-hungry social climber who shunned her family upon achieving fame, later took responsibility for the scandal.

"I'm entirely the culprit. I said to him to show the world, 'I'm getting in shape and getting healthy,' so I suggested it to benefit him and the royal family," she told the Daily Mail Monday. "It was not money-motivated. I have no idea (if he was paid) but if he was it would have been a pittance."

Paparazzi have long been a sore subject for the royal family, as it was photographers chasing shots of Princess Diana that caused her fatal 1997 car crash.
LONDON - Will Meghan Markle's father be at her wedding this Saturday to walk his daughter down the aisle? Has the media's zoom lens of attention on Meg's Valium-popping pop been "atrocious and intrusive," as Markle's half-sister claims? Or is Markle's half-sis a little media "vulture" herself as celebrity TV personalty Piers Morgan claimed on Tuesday?

Ah, nothing like a British royal wedding.

Whether Markle's father shows at St. George's Chapel on Saturday was the subject of fevered speculation among royal obsessives on Tuesday.

Thomas Markle told the celebrity news site TMZ on Tuesday that he wanted to walk is daughter down the aisle, but wasn't sure if he could.

"Of course I'd walk her down the aisle. This is a historic moment. I'd like to be a part of history," he told the website.

Thomas Markle is a 1962 graduate of Newport High School in Perry County, Pennsylvania.

But he wasn't sure if he would be able to travel to Britain. He said he was back in the hospital following chest pains and wasn't sure if the doctors would let him out in time. He also told the website that Meghan tried calling him on Monday, but he missed the call. She then texted him saying she loved him and was concerned about his health, the website said.

His latest chat with TMZ comes after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked for "understanding" amid claims that Thomas Markle won't be attending the royal wedding.

Kensington Palace, the official residence of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, issued a statement late Monday following reports that Markle's father, who lives quietly in Mexico, had pulled out of the wedding. The statement did not confirm or deny speculation surrounding his attendance.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms. Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation," the statement said.

According to TMZ, as of Monday, Markle had decided to pull out of the wedding because he doesn't want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family. The website also claimed that he had recently suffered a minor heart attack.

Not to be scooped, the Daily Mail tabloid ran a story with the headline: Two Happy Meals and a milkshake from McDonald's and a bucket of KFC, what Meghan's dad bought two days after 'heart attack'"

TMZ said that Markle senior regretted working with a photographer and posing for pictures, which included pictures of the retiree getting measured for his wedding suit and another of him looking at pictures of his daughter and future son-in-law. The elder Markle told the website he looked "stupid and hammy."

The 73-year-old retired Hollywood lighting director told TMZ he was "popping Valium" because of chest pains brought on by "emotional upset." Markle worried he might return to the hospital soon.

The reports of a possible no-show by Markle's father were splashed across the front pages of several British newspapers on Tuesday.

Markle's half sister, Samantha Markle, said that she was the one to blame for the snaps and that they were intended to portray her father in a positive light.

"The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault," she said, according to tweets seen by the BBC. "The media was unfairly making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money."

On Tuesday, Markle's half sister tangled with host Piers Morgan on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" show.

"You say that this is all the media's fault that he's not coming to the wedding because of this," Morgan said. "Many of our viewers may have watched your activities in a year and half and noticed you have been treating your sister in a shabby way."

Samantha Markle defended her father's granting permission to be photographed. "The goal of those photographs was basically because he's feeling defenseless," she said. "A person has the right to say enough is enough."

"Yeah but here's the problem. The media have been bombarded with letters from Kensington Palace and Thomas Markle as well," claiming the press should not intrude on his privacy, Morgan said.

"Now it turns out he was actively invading his own privacy for a check from a photographer," he said.

Then the TV host lashed into Markle;s half sister for cashing in as well by publishing her tattletale book, "The Diary of Princess Pushy's Sister."

"There's no bigger media vulture than you," Morgan said. "You've been trashing her for two years, you little vulture."

Earlier this month, palace officials said that Markle's father and her mother, Doria Ragland, would arrive in Britain this week and would spend time with senior royals, including Queen Elizabeth II. Officials also said that on the day of the wedding, Markle's mother would accompany her in a car ride to Windsor Castle and that Markle's father would walk his daughter down the aisle at St. George's Chapel.
Ten children have been removed from their home in northern California, where police say they were tortured and living in "horrible" conditions.

The investigation began on March 31 after police brought a 12-year-old who was reported missing back to the house on the 2200 block of Fieldstone Court in Fairfield, California, about 46 miles northeast of San Francisco. The boy had been asleep under a bush in the yard of a nearby home, according to a police statement Monday.

Upon entering Rogers's residence, they discovered that nine of her other children, ranging in age from 4 months to 11 years, were living in "unsafe and unsanitary" squalor. The 10 children were taken into protective custody by Solano County Child Welfare services and then placed in the care of other family members.

Ten children have been removed from "horrible living conditions" in a home in Fairfield, California, police said. A further investigation "revealed a long and continuous history of severe physical and emotional abuse of the children," authorities said. https://t.co/qrIxZ69ZcP pic.twitter.com/CIMkTkhh48  NBC News (@NBCNews) May 14, 2018

The children's mother, 30-year-old Ina Rogers was arrested that evening and booked into Solano County Jail for child neglect. Then, on Friday, 29-year-old Jonathan Allen - who is the father of the majority of the children, according to Rogers - was also arrested, charged with nine counts of felony torture and six counts of felony child abuse.

Authorities on Monday for the first time detailed the disturbing conditions of the couple's home, which has shocked neighbors in the tree-lined cul-de-sac who said they did not know 10 children were living in the house. Human and animal feces, urine, garbage and rotten food littered the floor, while heaps of debris blocked off certain areas of the house, the police statement said. There, the children not only lived in filth but were victims of physical and emotional abuse. In the six weeks since their mother's March arrest, the eight older children described to authorities several incidents of intentional abuse dating back to 2014, which resulted in puncture wounds, burns, bruising and injuries consistent with being shot with a BB or airsoft gun, police said.

The children's accounts of their abuse led authorities to issue a warrant for Allen's arrest. He appeared in court Monday, where he pleaded not guilty. A judge ordered him held in lieu of a little more than $5 million bail, said Sharon Henry, chief deputy district attorney for Solano County. As the investigation continues, Henry said there's a "good chance" Rogers could face additional charges.

The alleged abuse was done with "sadistic purpose," Henry said during a news conference. "Based upon what the children stated in their interviews, we believe torture occurred in this house."

10 children removed from their home. Fairfield mom speaks to @nbcbayarea about the child neglect charges she faces. Her husband faces torture & child abuse charges. Friends are coming to their defense. Police say children lived in horrible conditions. https://t.co/z4A3dFJvxw pic.twitter.com/tAh1l109xD  Janelle Wang (@janellewang) May 14, 2018

Fairfield police Lt. Greg Hurlbut said the children are still in the custody of other family members and "seem to be improving," adding that he has not had a case in his decades as a police officer "where we charged someone with torture of their own children, if that tells you something."

Rogers could not be reached Monday evening for comments. Solano County Public defenders office did not respond immediately to request for information on legal representation for Allen.

On Monday, Rogers, who was out after posting $10,000 bail according to the Associated Press, gave reporters a tour of her four-bedroom house. She said she and her husband both came from broken homes and wanted a large family, according to the AP. Rogers said she works the graveyard shift as an EKG technician at a heart monitoring company and that Allen is a tattoo artist. The children, authorities said, were home-schooled.

She said she first got pregnant when she was 16 and that she has 11 biological children. Allen, whom Rogers met about 10 years ago, is the father of eight of those children, according to ABC 7 News.

"Not only do I have 11 children and I'm 30 years old, but I also home-school all of my children and people don't agree with that lifestyle and so I've had many people question my right to parent and I just feel like this whole situation was exploded," Rogers said, according to ABC News.

Rogers told reporters that the children chose to sleep in one bedroom because they were close, and that the other four bedrooms were used as a master bedroom, a playroom and a meditation room, according to the AP. She said she felt judged for having so many children and for choosing to home-school them. The only reason the house was messy when police arrived, she said, was because she'd torn it apart looking for her 12-year-old son. He had been angry because Allen and Rogers had tried to take away his tablet computer, Rogers said, according to the AP.

Reporters noted that during the tour, however, the house was still filthy, with scuffed walls and animal feces in the bathroom, according to the AP.

Neighbors in the cul-de-sac said they did not know how many children were living in the house as they were mostly kept out of sight, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. One neighbor, Larry Magney, who lives across the street, said Allen and Rogers moved in about a year ago.

He said Rogers approached him at the end of March about her missing son as Magney was coming home from church. He told her it was unlikely her son was in his back yard because his dog would have barked, he said, according to the Chronicle.

"She was pretty concerned, and she was like, you know, running around the neighborhood," Magney said, adding that he was "shocked" to learn that 10 children were living in the house, the Chronicle reported.

Another neighbor who lived next door, Tawnya Roth, said she had thought the couple only had three children, the Chronicle reported. She said that they had a baby when they first moved in and another baby late last year.

Rogers told reporters she was surprised that her husband was facing such serious allegations, according to the AP.

"There's no broken bones, there is no major scars, nothing," Rogers said. "My kids get bumped and bruised and scratched because they're kids but that's it."

(c) 2018, The Washington Post. Written by Marwa Eltagouri
Although she knew what was coming, Emily Specht trembled Tuesday as a Cumberland County judge sentenced her to state prison for causing an alcohol-related crash that killed a 91-year-old woman.

Her penalty, 1 to 5 years behind bars, was set when the 32-year-old Camp Hill-area resident pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle, aggravated assault and drunken driving charges in March.

Those counts are tied to a March 31, 2017 accident where police said Specht crossed the center line on North 12thStreet in Lemoyne and collided with a car in which Virginia Arter was riding.

Arter suffered a broken hip, which spawned an infection that killed her nearly six months later, Senior Assistant District Attorney John Dailey said.

Specht was too nervous to make a statement, so defense attorney Heidi Eakin read one to Judge Thomas A. Placey on her behalf.

"No one is more disappointed in me than I am," Eakin read. "I feel pain and remorse each day...I ask for forgiveness and mercy."

Specht said in her statement that she hasn't had a drop of alcohol since the crash.

"I ask for a second chance," she added. "This will be in my mind and occupy my heart for the rest of my life."

Arter's family, including her husband Patrick, listened, but didn't speak at the hearing.

Placey spoke to them, however. "What I do today is not going to act as a salve on your wounds," the judge said. "I hope you accept my apology that I can't do more."

He told Specht he believes the fatal crash was an "aberration" in her life, although there is evidence she was a veteran drinker. Her blood-alcohol level after the crash was .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit, he noted.

Her time in state prison will expose her to members of society she didn't encounter during her middle-class upbringing and studies at Cedar Cliff High School and Penn State University, Placey told Specht. "You're going to see people who didn't have your fortune, your golden spoon, so to speak," he said.

Yet he also offered her words of encouragement.

"You have to put aside your feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing and move on with your life," Placey said.
Students in Northern Lebanon School District are required to smile when walking in the hallways between classes.

Students who don't smile are told to either smile, or see a guidance counselor to discuss their problems, according to Lebanon Daily News.

Northern Lebanon High School

Parents and teachers are also telling the news agency that bullying incidents are being ignored by school administrators.

Jean Gundrum, mother of 15-year-old Julianna Gundrum, opted to pull her daughter from the school and enroll her in the district's cyberschool as a result of the policy forcing students to smile.

"If you don't (smile) you get called to the office or down to see your guidance counselor," Julianna told Lebanon Daily News. "You have to talk about your problems then. You have to or you get detention."

Several teachers told Lebanon Daily News that Assistant High School Principal Benjamin Wenger has taken it upon himself to enforce the rule, which is not a written rule within the district.

State law required schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy by Jan. 1, 2009, and the district has a written policy regarding bullying.

Gundrum also told Lebanon Daily News that her other daughter, 14-year-old Adreanna, was bullied as soon as the 2017-18 school year began, but it hasn't been addressed by school officials.

Superintendent Erik Bentzel, however, said any bullying incident that is reported in the school district is taken seriously.

"We fully investigate every report of bullying," he said. "But, we can't tell (both sets of parents) about the consequences - I can't talk to (a parent) about another (parent's) child."
Three New Jersey teenagers who were reported missing, along with about $8,000, were found in Harrisburg on Saturday, according to a report from NJ.com.

The three teens were stopped attempting to board a train, while on the way to their eventual destination of New Mexico.

The teens were reported missing last week from Bloomfield, New Jersey.

"Ulises Yance, 16, Alex Lopez, 15, and Alexa Arenas, 16, were believed headed to New Mexico, police said. Arenas was last seen Thursday and Yance and Lopez were last seen Friday morning," according to the report.

The father of one of the teens said they took about $8,000 from him before disappearing, according to the report.

No charges have been filed and the teens were returned to their homes, according to the report.
At mid-morning Monday, at a diner off Interstate 283 on the edge of Pennsylvania's capital city, Laura Ellsworth was making her final pitch to the voters.

In a the half-full dining room at the Capitol Diner, just off the appropriately Republican-named Eisenhower Boulevard, the GOP gubernatorial candidate, a clutch of campaign fliers in hand, moved from table to table.

"Hi, I'm Laura Ellsworth, and I'm running for governor of Pennsylvania," she said, pausing at one table, as silverware clinked in the background and plates scraped together. "May I give you some information about our race? The primary is tomorrow."

This couple, their meal interrupted, looked up, smiled, and took the flier that Ellsworth, a Pittsburgh attorney-turned-candidate, pressed into their hands. A few minutes earlier, Ellsworth had been grumpily rebuffed by another couple.

Live: GOP gubernatorial candidate Laura Ellsworth at the Capitol Diner Posted by PennLive.com on Monday, May 14, 2018

It was the second stop of the day for Ellsworth, who started her morning with an 8:30 a.m. meet-and-greet outside a coffee shop in Bryn Mawr, Delaware County. She was set to press on to Johnstown by mid-afternoon, and would wrap up her day with a stop at Ohio Township Park in Allegheny County.

After the money, after the commercials, after the attacks, this is still the meat-and-potatoes of campaigning, where last-minute conversations with voters might make all the difference -- a percentage point here, a percentage point there.

And it's a scene that unfolded across greater Harrisburg on Monday as Ellsworth and her two rivals, healthcare consultant Paul Mango, of Allegheny County, and York County state Sen. Scott Wagner, each made their final pitches to voters and rallied their supporters.

At the Brewhouse Grille in Lower Allen Township, Mango, joined by running-mate Diana Irey Vaughan, greeted supporters who'd gathered in the early afternoon humidity over a lunch of pulled pork sliders, french fries and chicken wings.

GOP guv candidate Paul Mango in Camp Hill Posted by PennLive.com on Monday, May 14, 2018

"This campaign has been about the people," he told the crowd. "We're the people's candidate, right? We're not the party's candidate. "People ask me, for months, 'Paul, how are you holding up?' Are you kidding me? This is the most exciting thing I've done in decades, because I have met thousands of Pennsylvanians like you."

Irey Vaughan, a veteran Washington County commissioner and one-time GOP candidate for state treasurer, was equally upbeat.

"It's been terrific," said Irey Vaughan, who began her campaign day with Mango with an 8 a.m. stop in Philadelphia. "We've been making a lot of strides."

At Dauphin County Republican headquarters in Susquehanna Township, Wagner, with running-mate Jeffrey Bartos at his side, greeted the campaign volunteers who will be working the polls on Tuesday.

GOP guv candidate Scott Wagner in Susq Twp. Posted by PennLive.com on Monday, May 14, 2018

"We have the best operation," said Bartos, of Montgomery County. "This team is so strong and so tightly focused on the mission."

Under state law, Bartos, Irey Vaughan and two other GOP candidates, will individually run for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor on Tuesday.

It's only after the primary that they'll formally join the ticket of the eventual nominee. That means that there's still some possibility of a very different ticket emerging on Wednesday.

While Mango and Ellsworth worked the state east to west, Wagner started his day in western Pennsylvania, with an 8:15 diner stop in Imperial Township, Allegheny County.

Wagner's final day itinerary would take him to Johnstown, and then Scranton, before his event in suburban Harrisburg on Monday evening.

Why all the mileage? It's all in the numbers.

According to one poll, as many as 22 percent of Republican primary voters will head into the voting booth undecided on Tuesday. The winner faces Democratic incumbent Gov. Tom Wolf, who doesn't have a primary, in November.

That's an unusually high number this close to Election Day. And despite a four-decade-old tradition of Republican primary voters breaking for the party-endorsed candidate (that's Wagner - and he holds a commanding lead), there's still just enough daylight in the polling for something weird to happen.

"I'd be really stunned if someone gets more than 30 percent [on Election Day]," veteran Franklin & Marshall College pollster G. Terry Madonna said. "Some think it's going to be very close between Wagner and Mango, given their profile."

It's also a campaign that's been unusual in its nastiness. Both Wagner and Mango have each traded accusations and charges in their own campaign commercials.

As of last week, the three campaigns had spent a combined total of $20 million, the bulk of that funded the air war between the two men. Wolf, alone was sitting on a war chest of nearly $15 million.

Ellsworth, who has struggled to raise money, stayed out of the fray, launching a largely positive biographical ad that still chided her two opponents for their belligerent tone.

"What we're finding across the state, from one end of Pennsylvania to another, we're finding that people want their problems solved," Ellsworth said in a brief interview. "They want someone to focus on getting things done for them and put to the side the vitriol, the finger-pointing, and the yelling, and just focus on getting things done."

Surveying a home stretch that was to take him back to Pittsburgh on Monday night, Mango concluded that "All the groundwork we've built is paying off. It's been a very positive experience."

Mango acknowledged the challenge of reaching the large constituency of undecided voters, but said he was hopeful that the campaign's social media outreach, coupled with television ads and press coverage would sway them to his column.

"We're expecting to win a lot of them," he said.

Wagner estimated that his campaign would have as many as 3,000 volunteers on the ground on Tuesday, an operation much larger in its size and scope than the very local state Senate campaigns that put him into office.

Wagner, a former head of the Senate Republicans' re-election wing, said he's ready for the challenge.

"I don't often have alone time," he said, reflecting on the past year on the trail. "But when I do, I think about what I'm doing. This is a very large undertaking. This is not small potatoes."

But, he added, "I'm a blue-collar guy. This is fun."
By Ashley Klingensmith

Our federal judges have an unsustainable caseload. It now takes years for civil cases to be heard. And behind every one of those cases are Americans awaiting potentially life changing decisions.

The strain on our federal courts, caused by the large amount of vacancies on the federal bench, weakens our judicial system.

Unfortunately, filling these vacancies is a lot harder than it should be. Partisanship in the U.S. Senate has prevented a number of highly qualified and well-respected jurists from serving on the federal bench.

Senators attempt to pull our judicial system to the left or right through extreme ideological litmus tests.

Often, they will stall or block the confirmation process for judges who enjoy broad support from their colleagues from across the ideological spectrum and boast impeccable credentials.

It is the constitutional role of the U.S. Senate to provide advice and consent on presidential judicial nominees to the federal bench.

If a senator chooses to against a nominee, that is his or her prerogative. But preventing a vote or a hearing from taking place, based solely on partisan leanings is wrong.

Is it any wonder why the American people's faith in our public institutions is at historic lows?

This ugliness has hit close to home with President Donald Trump's nomination of Pittsburgh attorney David J. Porter, to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.

If confirmed, Porter would serve on a federal bench that that oversees the areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

Porter has impeccable credentials, having handled hundreds of litigation matters over his long and distinguished professional career. Porter has a judicial philosophy, but he has also distinguished himself as someone with "a fair-minded temperament" and has earned the "respect from colleagues inside and outside his firm."

In fact, former President Barack Obama came close to nominating Porter for a district court position, but the nomination never took place because of intra-party infighting.

Unfortunately for Porter, Pennsylvania's own U.S. Sen. Bob Casey is opposing his nomination. The reason?

Porter is "far outside the mainstream," according to the senior senator, because his views on healthcare and labor unions differ from Casey's.

But Porter is more mainstream than the senator. He enjoys the support of a wide spectrum of community groups, including union workers, the National Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the Pittsburgh Fire Fighters Local No.1.

Until recently, Sen. Casey could have blocked Mr. Porter indefinitely, but Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, recently broke through the partisan gridlock by doing away with an outdated senatorial courtesy known as the blue slip process.

For decades, the process was a way to encourage consultation between the executive branch and the judicial nominees' home-state senators, who were given a chance to approve or disapprove of the nominee. But over time it became a political weapon used by both parties to bring the judicial nomination process to a virtual standstill.

Doing away with the blue slip process was not done, as some contend, for "short-term" gain, but to prevent our judicial nomination confirmation process from slipping more into dysfunction.

But with nearly 150 federal court vacancies and dwindling legislative days in the U.S. Senate calendar, more can be done to expedite the process including shortening the time before a nomination can come up for a full vote.

But the already difficult task will become nearly impossible if more and more senators continue tolerating the ugly breed of partisanship that allows arbitrary litmus tests to stand in the way of confirming qualified lawyers like David Porter.

Our elected officials should do the right thing by acting quickly to fill the vacancies. Casey should end this ugly game of partisan politics

Ashley Klingensmith is the Pennsylvania grassroots director at Americans for Prosperity.
A home on Woodlands Drive in Penticton where a man was killed in June 2017. It was one of three homicides last year in Penticton in which police refused to identify the victims.
Winston Blackmore, who is accused of practising polygamy in a fundamentalist religious community, arrives to hear the verdict in his trial in Cranbrook, B.C. on Monday, July 24, 2017. Arguments are set to be heard today about what punishment should be handed down to two British Columbia men convicted of having multiple wives. A B.C. Supreme Court judge found 62-year-old Winston Blackmore guilty last July of marrying two dozen women, while his co-accused, 54-year-old James Oler was found to have five wives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Ontario Liberal leader Kathleen Wynne, right, looks at a sensor which creates efficiencies for companies before making an announcement at eleven-x during a campaign stop in Waterloo, Ont., on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
A Dalhousie University sign is seen in Halifax on January 6, 2015. A young woman who was sexually assaulted by a classmate at Dalhousie University in Halifax says she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has attempted suicide twice in the past year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan
A federal proposal to enable prosecutors to suspend criminal charges against companies in certain cases of corporate wrongdoing has been quietly included in the Trudeau government's 582-page budget legislation. Businessmen cast their shadows as they walk in Toronto's financial district on Monday, Feb. 27, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
FILE - In this Oct. 22, 2015 file photo, a Bahraini woman walks past images of political prisoners plastered on a wall in Sanabis, Bahrain. Prosecutors in Bahrain said Tuesday, May 15, 2018 that a court has revoked the citizenship of 115 people in a mass terrorism trial amid a years-long crackdown on all dissent in the island kingdom. Arabic graffiti at top reads, "we will not forget you," and at bottom, "Many prisoners are not with us. May God free them." (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali, File)
Volcanic gases and ash rise from recent lava fissures near Pahoa, Hawaii on Monday, May 14, 2018. The field of hardened lava rocks in the foreground is from previous eruptions. People nixing vacations to Hawaii's Big island has cost the tourism industry millions of dollars as the top attraction, Kilauea volcano, keeps spewing lava. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
In this Aug. 20, 2017 photo, Iran's Central Bank Governor, Valiollah Seif, sits in an open session of parliament, in Tehran, Iran. The United States escalated its financial pressure on Iran Tuesday, May 15, 2018, by slapping terror sanctions on the head of its central bank and barring anyone around the world from doing business with him, underscoring President Donald Trump's hard line after his withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear accord upset European allies. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Police officers stand guard near curious onlookers during a raid on the house of the family that carried the bombing of Surabaya police headquarters, in Surabaya, Tuesday, May 15, 2018. The Indonesian family brought its 7-year-old daughter to the suicide bomb attack it launched Monday on the police headquarters in the country's second-largest city, authorities said, a day after members of another family conducted coordinated suicide bombings on three city churches that killed a number of people. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
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Pirate offense sputters in loss The downpour of rain that drenched Pirate Field in the fourth quarter was probably an accurate representation of just how Perryville football coach Brent Roth and his team felt following the game.The 

Indians have fun in shutout victory over Bayless St. Vincent football coach Tim Schumer said that his team had a lot of fun on Friday night. The Indians scored early and often, then dominated on defense as they shutout Bayless 59-0 
Exxon-Guyana agreement provides for renegotiation of terms for Associated Gas, no provision for disposal

By Kaieter News



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 14 2018 Ram says provision flies in the face of those who said it can't be done

Members of the coalition administration have said time and again, that the ExxonMobil-Guyana contract cannot be renegotiated; that there must be respect for the sanctity of contracts. But there is a provision of that same contract which flies in the face of this viewpoint.



The Production Sharing Agreement that Guyana has with ExxonMobil actually makes way for renegotiation of terms pertaining to excess Associated Gas.



This was recently pointed out by Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-Law, Chris Ram.



In this writings, the lawyer referenced Article 12.1 (c) of the oil contract to support his contention.



Ram said, Article 12.1 (c) provides that where the Contractor believes that excess Associated Gas of an Oil Field has commercial value, the Contractor is entitled, but not required, to make further investment to utilize such excess Associated Gas subject to terms at least as attractive as those established for Crude Oil in Article 11 dealing with Recoverable Contract Costs.



In any case in which the Contractor believes improved terms are necessary for the development of excess Associated Gas, the Agreement requires the Government and the three oil companies to carry out friendly negotiations in a timely manner to find a new solution to the utilization of said excess Associated Gas and reach an agreement in writing.



While conceding that such renegotiation is provided for in the Petroleum Agreement, the Chartered Accountant said that this provision flies in the face of those who insist that there can be no renegotiation.



Ram opined that those who keep repeating such banality are doing the country a great disservice.



HELP AVAILABLE



The coalition Government is still to state if it will tap into the expertise of an international group which helps countries in the successful renegotiation of contracts on a pro bono basis. The group is called, the International Senior Lawyers Project (ISLP).



Over the past 17 years, with support from law firms, foundations and government agencies, ISLP has mobilized hundreds of experienced lawyers to provide more than $100 million worth of pro bono legal assistance in support of just, accountable and inclusive development in more than 80 countries.



ISLP is also no stranger to Guyana, as it has provided support to the Attorney General's Office for the review of Guyana's Cybercrime Bill and Electronic Transactions Bill.



CALL FOR RENEGOTIATION



Local commentators have also expressed concern over the lopsided deal Guyana signed with ExxonMobil, especially when it is compared with the agreement Exxon Mobil signed onto with the African country, Ghana.



The glaring disparities between the two contracts also underscore the need for the Guyana-ExxonMobil contract to be scrutinized by Parliament, critics say.



The Ghanaian contract, for example, has an entire section dedicated to procurement laws, which ExxonMobil must follow at all times. Those provisions are in place to ensure that a significant number of the local companies are able to benefit from the nation's oil sector. On the other hand, Guyana's contract mentions nothing about procurement laws.



Given the aforementioned and other factors, locals have been calling for the contract to be renegotiated. NO PROVISION FOR DISPOSAL The Guyana-ExxonMobil agreement makes provisions for the discovery of Associated Gas, a form of natural gas which is found with deposits of petroleum. But if it is not found in commercial quantities, then the contractor and its partners may dispose of it in the most economic manner.



This finding has not only worried several local and regional environmentalists but also Chartered Accountant, Chris Ram.



Ram in his recent writings said that indeed, the Contractor may dispose of the associated gas in a manner that is consistent with good international petroleum industry practices, but the contract emphasizes that this is provided that there is no impediment to normal production of Crude Oil.



Ram, who does a weekly analysis of the Guyana-ExxonMobil contract, said that the absence of any specific language and requirement concerning environmental standards must be a cause for concern.



One economic means oil companies use to get rid of unwanted gas is gas flaring. This is a combustion device that is used to burn associated or excess gases and liquids. Gas flaring is a significant source of greenhouse gases emissions.



If this process is used, it would go against the very grain of Government's green. Also of significance is the fact that Guyana, unlike many other countries, is without a no-flaring policy. But Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman has already announced that there will be no flaring.



Ram also said that all costs and expenses incurred by the Contractor in the production, use and/or disposal of the Associated Gas of an Oil Field and those incurred in carrying out any feasibility study on the utilization of the excess Associated Gas shall be charged to the Development Cost of the Oil Field and shall be Recoverable Contract Costs.



All costs incurred by the Government for the infrastructure and handling of excess Associated Gas which are not included in an approved Development Plan shall be at the sole risk and expense of the Government and will not affect the amount of Cost Oil and Profit Oil due to Contractor, he said.



The Chartered Accountant said that once again, the provisions of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) favour the company, leaving Guyana with little to no protection for its environment. Petroleumworld.com



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Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 14 2018

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Guyana's Bureau of Standards to create certification programme for oil and gas sector

By Kaieter News



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018 The Guyana National Bureau of Standards (GNBS), in collaboration with the Energy Chamber of Trinidad and Tobago, will be engaging with oil operators and potential contractors to develop a Safe To Work (STOW) certification programme for the oil and gas sector.



According to GNBS Director, Candelle Walcott-Bostwick, the team from the Energy Chamber will visit in June to share their experience of implementing the STOW-TT Certification Programme; and to determine if a similar programme can be created locally.



Walcott-Bostwick believes the consultation with oil operators in Guyana will be useful since the agreed upon requirements will cater for Health, Safety and Environmental measures that will have to be attained by contractors before they can be certified.



Once they are STOW certified, it will give them that prequalification to be eligible for selection, Walcott-Bostwick explained.



The GNBS official said the initiative will give regulators in the local energy service sector the opportunity to collaborate and execute joint Health, Safety and Environmental (HSE) inspections to ensure full compliance by local operators.



In 2004, the STOW-TT certification programme was implemented in Trinidad, after the Energy Chamber received several complaints from its members in the energy service sector, on challenges experienced in meeting the HSE requirements. Petroleumworld.com



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Kaieteurnewsonline.com 05 15 2018

Copyright 1999-2018 Petroleumworld or respective author or news agency. All rights reserved.



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ExxonMobil's claims US$2.1B in Guyana's proyect administrative costs in 2016 alone

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell



GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018



Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, has recorded administrative costs of just over US$2.1B for 2016 alone. This was reflected in EEPGL's 2016 financial statement.

Chartered Accountant and Attorney-at-law, Christopher Ram, is in possession of the company's financial statements.



He noted that while EEPGL registered that it spent over US$2.1B for administration purposes, there has been no breakdown of how this money was spent except for the company saying that $168M was spent on legal and professional fees.



Ram pointed this out in recent writings. He noted that the total debt of Esso in 2016 was $76.8B of which approximately US$60B was incurred in 2016.



All the money that EEPGL used was secured via loans from ExxonMobil, which is EEPGL's parent company. The loans carry an interest, which Guyana has agreed to pay.



While the contract states clearly that Guyana will pay interest on all loans secured by the company, Ram said, We do not and cannot know (about the interest on these sums) because of the sparse information offered in the financial statements.



Here is what those statements say about intercompany debt: This amount represents amount due to Home Office as well as intercompany loan utilized to fund petroleum operations.



Ram said that Guyanese are left to only speculate whether the interest cost is included in the sums presented in the financial statement or if it will be added later.



He said, There is no breakdown of this huge amount. One will have to speculate whether or not any interest cost is included in this amount.

Many cases have been pointed out around the world where oil companies pad their expenses to reflect higher borrowings from their parent company. The higher the sum borrowed the more accumulated interest would have to be repaid to the parent company through cost recovery.



Guyana has agreed to pay all interest secured as long as the rate is internationally competitive. However, the country has not put any restrictions on the amount of money that can be borrowed.



The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2017, did a review of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) that Guyana and EEPGL share.

IMF then prepared a report, which it submitted to the Government of Guyana. The report, in this newspaper's possession, is titled, A Reform Agenda for Petroleum Taxation and Revenue Management.



In that report, IMF said that the the treatment of interest expenses appears to be generous.



IMF said too that the treatment of interest expenses is important because excessive or abusive use of debt can have a detrimental impact on the amount of profit oil to be shared between the government and the contractor (the evaluation section below illustrates this point).



IMF reported its understanding that in Guyana's PSAs, interest expenses, irrespective of the source of financing, are permitted to be recovered if such expenses are consistent with market rates. Moreover, interest payments are exempt from withholding taxes, providing yet another incentive for contractors to finance their costs with debt.



The IMF also noted that it is common to have limitations on interest deductibility to reasonably protect the tax base. Some countries disallow interest expenses or limit the amount of debt permitted for cost recovery purposes through caps on debt to equity ratios or earning stripping rules.



Other countries may prescribe that interest may be deductible only on borrowing to fund development costs or a maximum percentage of such costs. An example is Uganda's model PSA, which allows interest on loans (from any source) to finance development operations only up to 50 percent of the total financing requirement. Petroleumworld.com



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Trinidad & Tobago economy recovering but experts concerned about challenges ahead



By Nadaleen Singh



PORT SPAIN

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018



The T&T economy has turned around but the country is not yet out of the woods, so indicators should be continuously monitored, economist Dr Roger Hosein advised yesterday.

The senior lecturer and head of UWI's Trade and Economic Development Unit warned that celebrating recovery prematurely has consequences. He called for careful monitoring of indicators such as unemployment, rising debt levels and interest payments.

In his contribution to a panel discussion at AmCham T&T's analysis of the Mid-Year Budget Review at the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business, Mt Hope, Hosein pointed out that between 2007 and 2017 the economy grew just 0.02 per cent.

His concerns were echoed by AmCham T&T CEO Nirad Tewarie, who said T&T has not turned the corner completely in terms of an economic recovery.

He also expressed concern about the tax regime and warned that any increases in rates for businesses could tear into their competitiveness and make the country unattractive for investment.

It is also difficult to stimulate economic activity if Government is not paying its bills, Tewarie said.

The fact that Government is not paying its bills on timenot just VAT refunds, I am talking about actual billsis a challenge and it's something that we need to have addressed, he said

Tewarie called for improvements to systems and policies at Customs and Excise and elsewhere.

If you want to stimulate business activity, we need horizontal policy reforms. We need reforms in industrial relations, in labour laws, we need reforms in customs, we need tax reforms, and the things that will allow any business to do better and operate more efficiently.

Unless we are doing that, we really are in a situation of cash flow management and fighting fires, therefore we would be unable to plan for real sustainable economic growth, he said.

Tewarie also expressed concern about the ongoing deficit.

Angelique Bart, a partner at M Hamel-Smith and Company, wondered how growth could be achieved and whether it would be sustainable since the country had not experienced growth in three years.

She suggested that doubles vendors and taxi drivers be taxed and others who are not complying with tax requirements be dealt with. Overall, she said, all options should be explored before resorting to increased taxes.

Petroleumworld.com



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Hedge funds investors take profits after oil rally: Kemp

By John Kemp



LONDON

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

Hedge funds have continued to pare their bullish positions in petroleum despite the continued rise in prices and the prospect of renewed sanctions reducing exports from Iran.

The net long position of hedge funds and other money managers in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts was cut by a further 21 million barrels in the week to May 8.

The combined net long has now been reduced by a total of 55 million barrels in the three most recent weeks, according to position reports published by regulators and exchanges.

As in previous weeks, the liquidation last week was concentrated in crude, while funds' exposure to refined products was increased slightly

( tmsnrt.rs/2rFWRdl ).

Portfolio managers cut their net long position in NYMEX and ICE WTI (-9 million barrels) and Brent (-22 million barrels) for a third and fourth week respectively.

By contrast, net long positions were increased slightly in U.S. gasoline (+1 million barrels), U.S. heating oil (+7 million barrels) and European gasoil (+2 million barrels).

For all the bullish commentary around the outlook for oil prices, fund managers appear to be taking profits after a strong rally in crude oil rather than adding new positions.

Even the threat of tough sanctions on Iran's crude exports does not seem to have encouraged funds to increase their exposure to oil.

The exception is middle distillates, such as diesel and heating oil, where global consumption is growing fast, inventories are declining and the market is looking increasingly tight.

Fund positioning remains stretched, with longs outnumbering shorts by 12:1 across the whole petroleum complex and by as much as 14:1 in the case of Brent.

While fundamentals still appear supportive, higher oil prices are likely to restrain consumption growth and stimulate more supply in the second half of 2018 and into 2019.

Against this backdrop, the extremely lopsided positioning could become a significant source of downside risk if and when portfolio managers try to exit some of their positions.

As a result, most managers appear to be looking to lock in some profits after an extraordinary bull run in which oil prices have risen by 75 percent since June 2017.

Petroleumworld.com



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Swedish project of electrification of roads could slash cost of electric vehicles

By Lefteris Karagiannopoulos



OSLO

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

An electrified road in Sweden that is the first in the world to charge vehicles as they drive along is showing promise and could potentially help cut the high cost of electric cars, project backers Vattenfall and Elways told Reuters.

The state-funded project, named eRoadArlanda and costing about 50 million crowns ($5.82 million), uses a modified electric truck that moves cargo from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Postnord's nearby logistics hub to test the technology.

A electrified rail embedded in the tarmac of the 2-km-long (1.24 miles) road charges the truck automatically as it travels above it. A movable arm attached to the truck detects the rail's location in the road, and charging stops when the vehicle is overtaking or coming to a halt.

The system also calculates the vehicle's energy consumption, which enables electricity costs to be debited per vehicle and user.

Elways' chief executive Gunnar Asplund said the charging while driving would mean electric cars no longer need big batteries  which can be half the cost of an electric car  to ensure they have enough power to travel a useful distance.

The technology offers infinite range  range anxiety disappears he said. Electrified roads will allow smaller batteries and can make electric cars even cheaper than fossil fuel ones.

Asplund said the Swedish state, which is funding the project, was happy with the results so far, with the only issue  now resolved  having been dirt accumulating on the rail.

Elways has patented the electric rail technology and is part of a Swedish consortium backing the eRoadArlanda project that also includes infrastructure company NCC and utility Vattenfall, which provides power from the national grid to the rail.

Such roads will allow (electric vehicles) to move long distances without big, costly and heavy batteries, said Markus Fischer, a Vattenfall spokesman, adding that installing the arm in new cars would be cheaper than retrofitting current models.

Vattenfall said in a statement electrified roads could reduce carbon dioxide emissions from lorries, which account for about 25 percent of total road traffic emissions.

The investment cost per kilometre is estimated to be less than that of using overhead lines, as is the impact on the landscape, it added.

Testing at eRoadArlanda started in April and will last at least 12 months so that the electric truck can use it under different weather conditions.

Petroleumworld.com



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Global oil supplies strong enough to cut Iran's exports -Trump memo

By Reuters



WASHINGTON

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

Global oil supplies are plentiful enough to withstand a significant reduction in petroleum exports from Iran, according to a White House memo issued on Monday as the Trump administration prepares to reimpose sanctions on the OPEC member nation.

The memo, sent by the White House to the U.S. State Department, paves the way for U.S. efforts to curb Iranian oil exports after Washington's decision to pull out of the 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers curbing Tehran's nuclear program.

It said there is a sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through foreign financial institutions.

Prices for oil traded in London jumped to multi-year highs above $78 a barrel on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week that Washington would reimpose the sanctions on Iran.

The sanctions are aimed at forcing companies and countries around the world to reduce oil imports from the Islamic Republic.

The Trump administration has not specified how much oil it expected importers to cut, but in 2012 the administration of former President Barack Obama pushed countries to reduce imports about 18 percent to 20 percent.

Sanctions on Iran's oil exports are due to take effect after Nov. 4, allowing companies to wind down their purchases.

Under the sanctions law passed in 2011, the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the independent statistics arm of the Department of Energy, must issue reports to Congress on global oil production in countries other than Iran every two months.

The most recent EIA study, included in the agency's short-term energy outlook, showed that global production of oil outside Iran averaged 92.4 million barrels per day from February to March, compared to 91.0 million bpd from 2015 to 2017. Consumption of oil outside Iran was higher, however, averaging 96.4 million bpd compared to 93 million bpd from 2015 to 2017. ( bit.ly/2jVVhQr )

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Valero Energy expands into South America with Peru biofuels deal

By David French



NEW YORK

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

Valero Energy Corp has agreed to purchase Pure Biofuels Del Peru from private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, the companies said on Monday, marking the U.S. refiner's first infrastructure investment in South America.

Pure Biofuels Del Peru owns an approximately 1-million- barrel liquid storage terminal, a biodiesel production facility, and two refined products terminals at Callao, near Lima, and Paita in the north of the country. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Cos Cob, Connecticut-based Pegasus is exiting an investment first made in April 2012. Since then, it has increased Pure Biofuels' operational capacity to 270 million gallons in 2017 from 24 million gallons in 2012.

It was time to hand over the asset to a company such as Valero, which has the scale and expertise to continue driving growth to the next level, Alec Machiels, partner at Pegasus, told Reuters.

Valero currently has refining operations in the United States, Canada and Britain, and is one of North America's largest ethanol producers, according to its website.

Peru is heavily dependent on imports of both fuel ethanol and biodiesel to meet blending rules for gasoline and diesel, which were introduced in 2010 and 2011 respectively to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

Having closed one of two fuel ethanol production facilities in 2015, Peruvian production was forecast at around 118 million liters in 2017, versus expected demand of 182 million liters, according to a September 2017 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Peruvian imports of biodiesel were expected to fall by 33 percent to 250 million liters in 2017, after the government slapped anti-dumping tariffs on Argentina the previous year. But imports still dwarf domestic production, which only resumed in 2017 after a three-year hiatus and was expected around 60 million liters, the same report said.

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Investors see big oil moving up, but physical markets suggest caution

By Devika Krishna Kumar, Libby George, Florence Tan



NEW YORK/LONDON/SINGAPORE

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

Oil futures prices have soared past three-year highs, OPEC's deal has cut millions of barrels of inventory worldwide and investors are betting in record numbers that prices could rocket past $80 and even hit $90 a barrel this year.

But physical markets for oil shipments tell a different story. Spot crude prices are at their steepest discounts to futures prices in years due to weak demand from refiners in China and a backlog of cargoes in Europe. Sellers are struggling to find buyers for West African, Russian and Kazakh cargoes, while pipeline bottlenecks trap supply in west Texas and Canada.

The divergence is notable because traditionally, physical markets are viewed as a better gauge of short-term fundamentals. Crude traders who peddle cargoes to refineries worldwide say speculators are on shaky ground as they drive futures markets above $70 a barrel, their highest levels for three-and-a-half years, on concerns about tighter supply from Venezuela and the potential impact of U.S. sanctions on supply from Iran.

Investors have piled millions of dollars in record wagers in the options market, betting on a further rally on the back of rising geopolitical tensions, particularly in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, and the global decline in supply.

Guys who are trading futures have a view that draws are coming and big draws are coming, a U.S.-based crude trader at a global commodity merchant said, adding that demand could ramp up as global refinery maintenance ends.

Over the next few weeks, we should start to see markets globally clean up, but if that doesn't happen, I think we could be in trouble.

A RISKY BET?

Brent LCOc1, the benchmark on which two-thirds of the world's oil is priced, has surpassed $78 a barrel, the highest since November 2014. U.S. crude futures CLc1 hit a high just short of $72.

Inventories in the developed world are now just 9 million barrels above the five-year average, down from 340 million barrels above the average in January 2017, after supply cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia.

In the last few weeks, expectations that U.S. President Donald Trump would withdraw from the Iran nuclear agreement added to bullishness. Following Trump's announcement making good on that threat last week, prices surged further. Analysts estimate anywhere from 200,000 to 1 million bpd could be cut from global exports next year.

Any reduction in Iranian supply will likely exacerbate market deficits, suggesting upward pressure on pricing, wrote Greg Sharenow, PIMCO commodities portfolio manager, which sees oil surpassing $80 in the short term.

In the weeks before Trump's decision, hedge funds and others piled a record number of bets into bullish crude oil options. Traders currently hold a record 21.3 million barrels worth of options that pay off if the December Brent contract hits $90 by late October LCO9000L8. Bets that U.S. crude will hit $85 a barrel CL850G8 by mid-June are currently at a record above 14,000 contracts.

These bets are being made due to strong demand, not just fear of political destabilization, said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker with ICAP in Durham, North Carolina.

The bigger picture of demand keeping up with supply...is much more important, Shelton said.

BIG DISCONNECT

Those on the front lines of the physical market are not convinced. Traders say the surge in U.S. exports to more than 2 million bpd has saturated some markets, leaving benchmark prices ripe for a correction.

There is a huge disconnect between futures and fundamentals, a trader with a Chinese independent refiner said. I won't be surprised if prices correct by $20 a barrel.

Increased U.S. competition has dented sales of oil from Nigeria and Azerbaijan, which produce similar quality oil and compete for buyers in Europe and Latin America.

Physical prices have sunk even as benchmarks on which they are based stay buoyant. The strength of Brent crude, now trading at nearly $7 above U.S. futures WTCLc1-LCOc1, and $4 above Dubai, DUB-EFS-1M has made it hard to find buyers for grades priced off Brent.

Russian Urals hit a seven-year discount against dated Brent BFO-URL-NWE while Kazakh CPC Blend BFO-CPC crashed to its weakest since mid-2012 this month.

Separately, shipments of West African crude to Asia hit a five-month low in April due to a backlog at Chinese ports.

Clogged pipelines have hit key U.S. oil grades, including in west Texas WTC-WTM WTC-WTS, where the discount to U.S. crude is near its widest in three years.

Some are confident the world's refineries will gobble up these barrels when they finish seasonal maintenance. About 10 percent of China's refining capacity is expected to be offline through June.

For the last three, four, five months we've seen high turnarounds globally, a U.S. crude trader said, referencing maintenance works.

Once you get past that, all of a sudden (you're) looking at 3 million barrels per day of fresh crude consumption.

But whether that is enough to support Brent at $80 and above is yet to be seen.

I think it's touch and go, he added.



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Europe steps up bid to salvage Iran nuclear deal

Jason Alden/Bloomberg



U.K., French, German ministers to meet with Zarif on Tuesday. Merkel says many factors at play' in effort to save accord / In photo, Iran's Javad Zarif - Play Video : Iran to Stick With Nuclear Deal Despite U.S. Pull Out

By Patrick Donahue and Gregory Viscusi



BERLIN/PARIS

Petroleumworld 05 15 2018

European powers alarmed by Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord set out this week on an urgent search for ways to hold the deal together and avoid a further escalation of violence in the Middle East.

With Chancellor Angela Merkel warning that faith in the international order is at stake, Germany, France and the U.K. are embarking on a diplomatic mission to salvage what they can of the accord, both to keep Iran on side and to shield European companies from U.S. sanctions that threaten billions of dollars of investment.

Foreign ministers from the U.K., France and Germany are due to sit down with their Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss how to move forward. European Union leaders will then take up Iran at an informal dinner in Sofia the following day. Merkel winds up the week with a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in the Russian resort of Sochi.

Stuck Between Trump and Iran, EU Lacks Plan for Nuclear Deal

The flurry of activity between the European signatories of the 2015 accord with Iran reflects the lack of an alternative to the deal. It also points to a refusal to accept that Trump's decision on Iran, fulfilling a campaign pledge to U.S. voters, should be allowed to upend a global agreement negotiated over years and which international observers say is working.

At all levels, we are underlining the importance of preserving this agreement, Yuri Ushakov, a Kremlin foreign-policy aide, told reporters in Moscow on Friday. It has crucial significance not only for ensuring regional security, but also for stability in the world, and it's extraordinarily important in the regime of nuclear non-proliferation.

No Plan B

Trump's announcement last week that he was withdrawing from the landmark Iran deal inflamed regional tensions and threw European investments from oil to aerospace into jeopardy.

According to Iran's ambassador to Britain, Prime Minister Theresa May told Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a call Sunday that the three European foreign ministers will present Zarif with a package of initiatives to protect implementation of the accord. They aim to ensure Iran receives the economic benefit of the deal, Ambassador Hamid Baeidinejad said in a Twitter posting Monday.

France insists that while EU nations are willing to discuss issues including Iran's ballistic missile program and its destabilizing role in the Middle East, the nuclear deal must stand.

At the moment, it's the only diplomatic proposition on the table, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Parisien newspaper in an interview. There is no plan B, he said. Plan B is war. An Odoxa poll published last week said 67 percent of the French think Europe should ignore Trump and maintain its commercial ties with Iran.

The question is whether the remaining signatories -- the so-called E-3, Russia and China -- can deliver the benefits of the accord, including access to global oil markets, trade and investment, that enticed the Iranians to join the agreement. Zarif failed to win any concrete assurances to help tackle the U.S. threat of economic sanctions during talks in Beijing Sunday, and was due in Russia on Monday. China is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.

Iran Calls for Clarity Over Nuclear Deal After Talks With China

In the U.S., National Security Adviser John Bolton raised the pressure on Europe, saying that countries and companies that continue to do business with Iran could face sanctions.

Why would any business, why would the shareholders of any business, want to do business with the world's central banker of international terrorism? Bolton said Sunday on ABC's This Week.

Calls to Tehran

Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron reached out to Iran last week to urge it stick to its commitments under the accord. May added the U.K.'s voice to the push in her call with Rouhani on Sunday. The EU, which will host Tuesday's talks, said the current accord could be used as a basis for future work.

Concern -- and anger -- is growing among European governments at the uncertainty facing companies with investments in Iran. Paris-based Total SA, for example, the only Western energy major investing in Iran, has pledged $1 billion in investment in the South Pars natural gas field, and has already spent $90 million helping to develop it.

France as a matter of principle can't accept that the U.S. act like the world's economic policeman, Finance Minister Minister Bruno Le Maire told reporters on Friday. He said he spoke to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to request exceptions for French companies, a delay in implementing sanctions, and a so-called grandfather clause for companies that invested in Iran while the treaty was in place.

The only way to avoid pain from these sanctions is negotiating with the U.S., but the instruments are not easy to find, Volker Treier, deputy managing director of Germany's Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said in an interview.

Mnuchin, speaking in Israel on Monday, said the U.S. aimed to reimpose sanctions until we have a real comprehensive agreement that limits nuclear weapons, and ensures that Iran never acquires them.

Merkel said Trump's latest blow to trans-Atlantic relations, on top of his withdrawal from the Paris climate accord and trade disputes, made clear that the world's multilateral institutions are in real crisis.

If everybody simply does what they want, then that's bad news for the world, she said in the western German city of Muenster on Friday.
Experian, the credit-rating agency, classifies Delaware-based Fair Square Financials Ollo credit cards as targeted to borrowers who lack perfect credit. Fair Square says its customers are middle class. Wall Street and a former Comcast executive have pumped at least $300 million into the firm since 2016. Read more

Fair Square Financial LLC, the two-year-old, 50-worker Wilmington company that markets the Ollo credit card, says it has raised $100 million more from Orogen Group, the New York investment firm headed by former Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit; Atairos Group, headed by former Comcast chief financial officer Michael Angelakis; and others.

Fair Square, which has lent MasterCard holders about $400 million since early last year (using the Bank of Missouri's lending powers), is one of a string of software-intensive lenders and financial service firms that have sprung up in Wilmington in recent years, capitalizing on the area's concentration of credit card managers and workers.

Pandit said Ollo's "superior underwriting" and its "latest data and machine learning technology" give it an edge in lending to middle-class Americans, in competition with the handful of big banks that dominate MasterCard and Visa, the main U.S. credit card networks.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America, Barclaycard, Capital One, Citi, Discover and other card giants have operations in the Wilmington area, which 20 years ago was home to the nation's largest independent credit card lenders, the former MBNA, First USA and Advanta banks.

After the industry's consolidation and the 2008 financial crisis, card lending declined, then rebounded sharply in the mid-2010s. Card loan growth at the largest banks has slowed lately and loss rates have been rising, according to consumer banking analysts including Michael Rose at Raymond James & Associates and Sanjay Sakhrani at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Besides Pandit, the veteran hedge fund manager who headed Citi during the financial crisis of the late 2000s, Orogen's backers include Atairos, of Bryn Mawr and New York, whose previous investments include bowling-alley chain Bowlero, arena manager Spectra Experiences, and once-high-flying online discount provider Groupon. Orogen managing director Ruchi Madan and general counsel David Caplan are joining the Fair Square board as part of the deal.

The newest cash infusion was also supported by the Pine Brook investment firm. That New York firm, headed by investment bankers Howard H. Newman and William Spiegel, helped raise $200 million to start Fair Square two years ago.

Fair Square is one of the constellation of small, tech-oriented finance firms that have emerged in Delaware since the recession. Leaders hope to gain recognition for the area as a "fin tech" center for investors, engineers and lending staff, said Jeffrey Meiler, chief executive of Marlette Funding Corp., a Fairfax, Del., company that makes loans under the Best Egg brand, in a recent interview at his Concord Pike office on the highway from Wilmington to Pennsylvania.

Like Fair Square and Ollo, Marlette and Best Egg say they are targeting Americans who have middle-income jobs but may not have the perfect credit or the time to apply for traditional bank loans and lending products. Marlette is larger than Fair Square; the company employs about 120 and plans to grow to more than 200 over the next year.

Other Wilmington-area fin tech companies include small-business lender Swift Financial, a FirstRound Capital- and Sutter Hill Ventures-backed firm founded by Delaware banking-tech guru Ed Harycki and purchased last year by Silicon Valley electronic-payments leader PayPal, which has kept an office and engineering group in north Wilmington; College Ave., the private student lender founded by Sallie Mae veteran Joe DePaulo and backed by longtime Sallie Mae boss Al Lord and by Comcast Ventures; and Epic Research, the marketing advisory firm headed by First USA alumnus Jim Stewart, which counts Apple among its clients.

The firms have grown so fast that it's been a challenge to find enough young tech workers to staff up, Marlette's Meiler told me earlier this year. He estimates 30 percent of his staff commutes from Philadelphia.

Wilmington's compact downtown has suffered from cutbacks at the DuPont Co. and other major employers. Property developers led by Wilmington's Buccini brothers are building a string of new and repurposed apartment complexes in the city center and its northern suburbs, where rents are lower than in Philadelphia's hottest neighborhoods, in an attempt to attract recent grads from Drexel, the University of Delaware and other tech-oriented schools, as well as empty-nester veterans of the Wilmington credit card banks, to work at fintech firms and other emerging employers.
Well, the bullies got one thing right.

They used to taunt Richard "Tre" Jenkins by calling him "Harvard," a dig at the bookworm whose smarts made him a constant target.

And come September, that's where Jenkins will be  on a full ride.

How you like him now, bullies?

I adored the disarmingly humble 18-year-old after spending a few hours with him at Girard College, the boarding school he attends in North Philly and where he is this year's valedictorian.

For people who don't know much about the first-through-12th boarding school  and, I admit, I didn't, despite its being around since 1848  it would be easy to assume that Jenkins and other students who attend the picture-postcard place live in a 43-acre bubble.

But this is a full-scholarship school for students who come from single-parent families with limited financial resources, and as we stood on the steps of Founders Hall, its huge marble columns casting afternoon shadows around us, Jenkins talked about life beyond the stone walls that surround the school.

Jenkins' mom, Quiana McLaughlin, moved from Philadelphia when he was in elementary school partly because of the violence in their neighborhoods. She and his younger brothers recently left Philly again to North Carolina for similar reasons.

Jenkins recalled moving a lot when he was a kid, first to Tennessee and then to Florida, where his mother would pay for motels when she could and then turn to shelters when she couldn't.

He doesn't like to talk about those times; he's fiercely protective of his mother, but he concedes that his desire to go to Harvard University and find a way to combat poverty has a lot to do with his experiences as a child:

Saving half of a TV dinner in case there wasn't more food later.

Walking down one shelter's long, scary  at least to a young boy  hallway to the showers only to discover there was just cold water.

"My last memory of Florida is walking for miles on a highway with a TV that my dad had gotten me for Christmas in both my hands, while my mom pushed the stroller and some other stuff," he said.

"It was a bad time."

Through it all, books became his constant companion, starting with A Series of Unfortunate Events, which taught him words that he thrilled to incorporate into conversations but that bullies used against him.

He learned early how and when to downplay his smarts, at least in front of other kids.

But never in front of his mother, who always stressed the importance of education and who always found a way to make sure her son had what he needed for school, even if it meant tracking down free book-bag giveaways. (For the record, she never doubted for a second that he'd get into Harvard. "I was not surprised," she said.)

And never in front of friends at his second home at Mighty Writers, an organization that works with students to improve their writing.

When he stopped by the West Philly office last week to share his news, program director Khalia Robinson didn't immediately grasp the meaning behind the crimson Harvard sweatshirt he wore.

When she did, she screamed. "I was so excited."

Crazy to think that Jenkins almost didn't apply.

"There's a lot of places I didn't think possible  including Harvard," he admitted. "I don't know, I guess I just thought: I'm black. And I'm not that smart.'"

But then the email from the admissions office landed.

Now, he realizes it was a generic mail sent to many graduating seniors. But at the time, he took it as a sign. If they thought enough to send him an email, he recalled, laughing, he must have a shot.

He applied. But not before seeing if financial aid was an option. Many of the schools he got into, he couldn't afford with the limited help they offered. He was thrilled to see that Harvard pays 100 percent of tuition for students from households that earn less than $65,000 a year. (His godfather also started a GoFundMe page to give him some money through college.)

Jenkins was on a school trip in Paris on the big day. He kept refreshing the admissions office portal, barely able to breathe as he waited.

And then 

"Dear Richard,

Congratulations! I am delighted to inform you that the Committee on Admissions has admitted you to the Harvard Class of 2022."

He jumped and screamed and made all the calls, starting with his mother.

But only on the flight back did it all finally sink in. "It's been such a crazy road here," he said.

He cried.

Harvard, here he comes.
Karen Cohen, an environmental activist from Mount Laurel, utilizes a bag monster costume representing the hundreds of bags a typical American adult acquires and disposes of annually. She recently wore the costume to a Mount Laurel Green Team event at the township library. Read more

Karen Cohen hates plastic bags.

But she loves to dress up like a plastic-bag monster.

"The costume gets a lot of attention," said the longtime environmentalist, who recently wore a borrowed bag-monster getup with a matching headpiece to Cherry Hill's Earth Festival.

Imagine someone walking around in a voluminous sci-fi bridal gown or an antebellum hoop skirt concocted by a RuPaul's Drag Race contestant.

And all for a good cause!

"Some kids are afraid when they see you in it," said Cohen, 55, of Mount Laurel. "And you get a lot of stares. But so many people want to take a picture or a selfie. It helps spread the word."

The costumes are made commercially or by hand  "Make Your Own Bag Monster" videos are on YouTube  and are comprised of 500 or more single-use plastic bags, the number a typical American consumer acquires annually.

Bag monsters, like team mascots or cartoon superheroes, are colorful and entertaining.

They also also effectively dramatize the contribution ordinary people make to the problem. Or could make to a solution.

After all, my encounter with a costumed Cohen at the festival spurred me to think, and write, about this issue.

Whatever the inspiration, a handful of Jersey towns, most along the Shore, have moved to discourage retail distribution of the bags.

I do have qualms about the nanny-state aspect of having government impose fees on the bags, or ban them altogether.

But single-use bags are bad: They're flimsy, but take a remarkably persistent toll on our environment.

They add to the litter that mars so much of our landscape. They can be eaten by or entangle birds and other wildlife, sometimes with fatal results.

Bags like those I heedlessly take home from convenience stores, chain drugstores and supermarkets several times a week are not readily biodegradable and will endure for decades, if not longer.

As Mount Laurel Green Team member Sandra Carleton observed, these plastic bags "never go away."

But they certainly do blow in the wind and float in the water, as was abundantly made clear when I volunteered at a Petty's Island cleanup in April.

Even on the uninhabited island, plastic foam, bottles and bags were all over the place. Nothing like picking up litter with a trash-grabber for a couple of hours to make a columnist vow never to drink coffee from a plastic foam cup again.

"I hate plastic bags. I hate them," said Beth Bresnahan, a yoga teacher who lives in Cinnaminson.

She became involved in environmental causes 15 years ago after she moved to the township and organized an effort to clean up Pompeston Creek. As a township newcomer, she was shocked by the amount of water bottles and trash in the creek.

Similarly, social media posts about plastic litter may be contributing to awareness or even activism, said Bresnahan.

"It's the visuals," she said. "People are seeing the visuals."

On Wednesday, Cohen donned the costume and appeared at a screening of Bag It at the Mount Laurel library. The powerful 2011 documentary includes grisly footage of animal suffering  edited out in some versions for young audiences  and also features the bag monster costume.

"It behooves people to watch the film and see the impact these bags have on the environment," said Martin Levin, a semi-retired computer consultant from Mount Laurel.

"People are waking up to the fact that it's up to us. We can't depend on the government to protect us from the environment right now," Levin said. "They have another agenda. They're more concerned about benefiting corporations."

So public education is essential. And bag monsters and documentaries can be part of that.

"We can't let ignorance and stupidity rule the world," Bresnahan said. "People need to realize that when they put dog poop in a plastic bag and throw it into a storm drain on the street, it doesn't go into a sewer [system]. It goes into the creek little kids want to fish in."

Individual actions can make a difference, said Cohen, whose husband, Ed, is leader of the Sustainability Alliance of Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties.

"To me, it's an easy fix. Bring your own bags. Bring your own containers. Make it a habit," she said.

"I've trained myself, basically," said Carleton. "I carry reusable bags. I force myself to go back to the car to get them. Or I carry things out of the store without the bag."

I must admit that meeting Cohen in the billowing extrava-bagza of the costume inspired me to (at least try to) do something about my own rather profligate use of these single-use conveniences.

Which I rationalize by re-using as many as I can at least once.

But once is far from enough.

As someone with more than a little experience in how tough it can be to replace bad with good habits, I'm setting a realistic goal.

No more single-use plastic.

One bag at a time.
U.S. President's daughter Ivanka Trump and Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, arrive for the opening ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, Monday, May 14, 2018. Amid deadly clashes along the Israeli-Palestinian border, President Donald Trump's top aides and supporters on Monday celebrated the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem as a campaign promised fulfilled. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Read more

"Jerusalem celebratesand Gaza bleeds  a surreal 24 hours," read the headline in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Indeed, there was something surreal about scenes of the celebration of the U.S. embassy's move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, headed by first son-in-law Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, simultaneously with the Gaza carnage  where tens of thousands of Palestinians marched on the fence separating them from Israel and 60 were shot dead.

By surreal, I'm not just referring to the blessing of the ceremony by two U.S. evangelical pastors, John Hagee and Robert Jeffress, who have preached that Hitler was part of God's plan and that Jews will go to hell unless they convert.

The most surreal element was the willful blindness of Donald Trump in deciding, in order to please his evangelical base, to move the embassy now. The decision ensured that Kushner's long-awaited plan for Israel-Palestinian peace was dead before arrival. It also reinforced the Israeli government's short-sighted failure to address a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which practically guaranteed that Monday's bloodshed would occur.

There was good reason why previous U.S. presidents chose not to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. No one questions the location of Israel's historic capital in Jerusalem, which has been holy to Jews for millennia. But at least 38 percent of Jerusalem's population is Palestinian, as are whole neighborhoods in East Jerusalem.

The fate of Jerusalem has always been the most sensitive issue in peace talks. When the United Nations recognized Israel in 1948, it gave Jerusalem a special status; every peace plan since has called for negotiations over the final status of the city  meaning Arab neighborhoods in East Jerusalem would become the Palestinian capital, and the two sides would work out control of the holy sites.

>> READ MORE: I'm heading for Jerusalem to see impact of Trump | Trudy Rubin

By unilaterally changing this formula, Trump doomed future peace negotiations. Despite White House claims that the embassy move doesn't preclude talks over Jerusalem's boundaries, the Israeli government and right-wing parliamentarians are moving to ensure that the entire city remains in Israel's hands.

Leaks of the Kushner plan indicate that it calls for a Palestinian "capital" to be located in a West Bank suburb; Trump has said that Jerusalem is now "off the table" for talks. This is why the Palestinian Authority now refuses to accept the United States as a peace mediator.

"When you have zero hope, it makes the atmosphere more conducive to violence," says Israeli lawyer Danny Seidemann, a renowned expert on Jerusalem and founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem, an NGO that works toward resolving the Jerusalem question.

Standing with Seidemann on Mount Scopus, looking over the city, during a recent visit I saw how a ring of Jewish suburbs built around its perimeter has almost cut Jerusalem off from the Palestinian West Bank. I also saw how small enclaves of radical Jewish settlers, some funded by right-wing U.S. groups, are moving into Arab neighborhoods and aggressively trying to expand their presence at the expense of Arab residents.

"Jerusalem is more contested than ever before," Seidemann told me. "We are in an acute state of disequilibrium, which can only correct itself with political progress [on renewed peace talks] or an outbreak of violence."

The embassy move may please some Trump backers (mega-donor and right-wing Jewish activist Sheldon Adelson was at the celebration). But it ensures that Israeli-Palestinian tensions will grow worse.

Which brings us to Gaza. Trump's unquestioning embrace of Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have bolstered Netanyahu's indifference to Gaza. How else to explain the Israeli leader's failure to take any action to prevent the bloodbath this week, which was widely expected?

>> READ MORE: Why Trump's Jerusalem stance rules out his 'ultimate' Mideast deal

The White House and Kushner blamed the violence entirely on Hamas, the political movement that controls the strip and encouraged the demonstrations. But this tiny strip, around 5 by 25 miles in size and crammed with 1.8 million people, is blockaded by Israel. Its borders and exits into Israel (and one to Egypt) are shut tight, which means no exports and no work. Unemployment is around 60 percent, electricity sporadic, and 90 percent of the drinking water is not potable. Under such circumstances, with all hope of peace talks gone, why wouldn't young men rush the security fence?

Proposals to ease the humanitarian disaster in Gaza have been rejected in Jerusalem. "Netanyahu has resisted all suggestions by the defense establishment for changes in the [Gaza] status quo," I was told by Nimrod Novik, a leader of Commanders for Israel's Security (a network of 280 retired Israeli generals) and a fellow of the Israel Policy Forum. "He is concerned that his opposition on the right will seize on it to brand him 'soft on Hamas.'"

In other words, Netanyahu's domestic politics in Israel plus Trump's domestic politics have created a situation where more Palestinian violence is almost certain. Gaza conditions are dismal, and Palestinians see no hope for improvement.

At the Jerusalem ceremony, Kushner said the move would start "a journey to peace." He added, "The United States is prepared to support a peace agreement in every way we can." Given the realities in Jerusalem and Gaza, both statements were surreal.
Philadelphia's hottest protest is Tuesdays with Toomey  still protesting Trumpism and a certain junior senator from Pennsylvania long after the naysayers predicted they would have packed up their angry signs and gone home.

This place has everything  a drag queen billionaire "Rebekah Mercer" sweating in heels and a thick fur coat, and a green "Swamp Queen" lobbyist who stuffed Monopoly dollars in her canvas money bag as she channel answers to questions from the molded Big Giant Head of a faux Sen. Pat Toomey.

And on Tuesday it even had something else: Birthday cake.

It's been a year and a half (that's 78 Tuesdays, if you still believe in science, or at least math) since some dazed and disgruntled survivors of the 2016 election  keeping in touch on pro-Hillary Clinton websites like Pantsuit Nation  decided they had to find a positive outlet for their political grief. The idea they came up with  bringing their weekly concerns to the office of a Republican senator who'd been elected with what proved to be an empty promise to stand up, on occasion, to President Trump  has kept several dozen of them together through rain and snow and now this wicked hot May afternoon.

The only thing that's been missing, largely, has been  the flesh-and-blood Pat Toomey. (His staff, which met more actively with the protesters in the early weeks, now sends someone down to listen and gather any cards and messages at the end of the protests at the 2nd and Chestnut office, according to the senator's spokesman Steve Kelly, adding that the senator met with selected protesters a half-dozen times last year.) About six bored-looking members of the police Civil Affairs Unit or unformed cops paid half-attention to this remarkably non-threatening group  sprinkled liberally with retirees and disability-rights activists, about two dozen in all.

"We'll be here every single week until he"  Toomey, that is  "speaks with us or until he leaves office," Vashti Bandy, the green-skinned, blonde fright-wigged "Swamp Queen," told me, before adding quickly, "probably when he leaves office." Which  assuming he doesn't run for re-election and win  would be January 2023, which, measured in Trump Years, is eternity plus one.

I spent Primary Day at the Tuesdays with Toomey birthday-and-a-half bash because a) it was more fun, and definitely more cake, than hanging out at a polling place and b) I was trying to get a sense of where the so-called Trump Resistance is really at, on such a critical day in Pennsylvania, where the election results fueled Democratic dreams of gaining a half-dozen or so seats in the magically redistricted Keystone State. That would make us the keystone, as it were, of the Dems' bigger scheme to re-take the U.S. House in January 2019, to call "check" on creeping Trumpism, and maybe even impeach The Donald if things really go South.

Any political momentum that the Democratic primary winners feel going into November's life-or-death midterms owes a gigantic debt to people like the stalwarts of Tuesdays with Toomey, who kept the flame of progressive hope flickering during the darkest months right after Trump was elected.

In early 2017, members of Tuesdays with Toomey and a network of Resistance groups like the Indivisible chapters that popped up around the Philadelphia region educated the newly energized about Trump's travel ban, the fate of the immigrant "Dreamers," and the push to repeal Obamacare  and took to the street to demand action.

This Tuesday, the mood was lighter  less political rally than performance art, as several attendees in mock Met Gala finery mocked Toomey's wealthy campaign donors.

"It's family, it's persistent, and it's not going away," said Mike Hisey, a 55-year-old retail manager and artist, kicking off his "Rebekah Mercer" heels. (He also shows up at GOP rallies dressed as Melania Trump or Kellyanne Conway "until they kick me out.") Added Hisey: "And we educate people, and we get people to vote  but we have fun with it."

Yet, amid the laughter, there's a glass-still-half-empty feel that permeates the Trump resistance. A large sign at the rally  "Sen. Toomey, 2689 Days Without a Town Hall in Philly"  is a reminder that the senator hasn't budged on the core demand for public town meetings (though he did hold a restricted, ticketholders-only event in Bethlehem).

The idea of reminding Toomey that he ran in 2016 as a moderate who might occasionally buck Trump seems to have only pushed the senator farther right, as he spearheaded the huge tax cut that largely benefited corporations and the wealthy and is now pushing a plan to gut regulations. The dreamed-for Democratic Congress that took a stutter-step forward on Primary Day would still be seven long months away  plenty of time for Trump to stir up more Middle East chaos, separate more immigrant kids from their parents, and further erode faith in democracy.

For someone like Sylvia Metzler, a retired Philadelphia nurse practitioner who's 80 and has been protesting various injustices for a half century, time is of the essence. She stood up and told the rally about how she was arrested on Monday in Harrisburg, at an event hailing the Poor People's Campaign. "Today I had a tooth pulled," she said. "Tomorrow, I'm getting arrested again!"  at a Philadelphia march calling for an assault weapons ban.

Afterwards, I asked her if the Trump Resistance is moving fast enough to take on Trump. Her vehemence was surprising. "Hell no!" she exclaimed, "because we need more people. I don't think there's a critical mass yet, but we're building for it." Meanwhile, "I just saw in this morning's paper that Trump's approval rating is going up."

A few minutes earlier, the Tuesdays with Toomey-ers had broken into song. "Give my regards to Toomey," they sang. "I'm sure he thought we'd all go away." Their words floated toward the closed windows of the senator's office, competing for bandwidth with blare of car radios and SEPTA buses chugging down Chestnut Street.

Nevertheless, they persisted.

Note: This column was updated with information from Toomey spokesman Steve Kelly on interactions with protesters.
Tenacious D members Kyle Gass, left, and Jack Black, right, appear in 2006s Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny. Read more

This fall, Philadelphia is going to get the D. Tenacious D, that is.

Actor Jack Black and his musical cohort Kyle Gass are bringing their act to Philly's Fillmore on Nov. 8 as part of their first tour in five years. The comedy rock duo, known for hits like "Wonderboy" and "Tribute," last played Philly at Festival Pier in 2012 as part of their "Rize of the Fenix" tour.

Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday via Tenacious D's website. A pre-sale is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, which guests can access with the password "HOPE.". Tickets are priced at $50.

In addition to announcing their tour, Tenacious D also released an animated teaser video in which they claimed to be "hard at work" on a followup to 2012's Rize of the Fenix. A release date has not yet been determined, but the band said that it "probably" come out sometime this year.

Tenacious D may also be heading back to the silver screen, as Jack Black told the crowd at Atlanta's Shaky Knees Festival earlier this month. Black indicated that the band is working on a sequel to their 2006 film, The Pick of Destiny. According to Billboard, the film could be released in October.

"We've been working on it for years," Black told Kerrang! in an interview this month. "It's a post-apocalyptic musical comedy that's an animated series that no one wanted in Hollywood, but we're making it anyway."

The tour kicks off Nov. 3 in Brooklyn New York before making its way to Philadelphia on Nov. 8. Fans in Pittsburgh can expect a stop on Nov. 9, the day following the band's Philly show. The full list of dates is below:

11/3  Brooklyn, NY  Kings Theatre

11/5  Boston, MA  House of Blues

11/7  Washington, DC  The Anthem

11/8  Philadelphia, PA  The Fillmore

11/9  Pittsburgh, PA  Stage AE

11/10  Columbus, OH  Express Live! Indoor Pavilion

11/12  Detroit, MI  The Fillmore

11/13  Chicago, IL  Riviera Theatre
Flip through an issue of Penn Appetit and you might land on an interview with a local chef, a guide for navigating bakeries in Chinatown, journeys into Indonesian and Argentinian cuisine, or a recipe for "morning after beer bread," illustrated with pyramids of red Solo cups.

That's because the student-produced Penn Appetit is first and foremost a publication for University of Pennsylvania students. Designed in the style of national food magazines and illustrated with rapturous photographs of gleaming vegetables and colorful cocktails, the publication this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary with a cookbook.

Whisk, which students hope to release in the fall, will feature recipes developed and tested by a team of student chefs and pictures painstakingly styled and shot in a makeshift food studio. Recipes will include cuisine inspired by everything from Mexican street food, French pastries, and Italian classics to dishes made with flavors of chai spices and tahini.

School administrators believe Penn Appetit  which is published once a semester and which released its 22nd issue last month  is the oldest student-run food magazine in the nation. And though it was once a lesser-known group on campus, its members say that in light of the growing national interest in food, cooking, and restaurants, it's starting to attract more followers, not to mention more people who want to contribute to it.

"In the two years I've been part of it, so many more people have gained respect for what we do," said the magazine's executive director, Rachel Prokupek, a sophomore studying marketing and management at the Wharton Business School. "Our team is filled with people who are passionate about food and want to put out content that's important to them."

Beyond the print edition, Penn Appetit's website features additional items on restaurants, food trends, travel guides, and more. The magazine is funded by the student activities council, though none of that is allocated to Whisk. Jennifer Higa, culinary director, said the cookbook team was looking for grants and funding to help them self-publish. She also is exploring local fund-raising ideas, like a pop-up dinner.

The idea for the book came from a desire among some members of the Penn Appetit masthead team to incorporate more cooking into their lives. They recruited about a dozen food-focused students to start experimenting, Prokupek said, and quickly realized they had the skills to create a project that was far more sophisticated than dorm-room recipes.

"The focus is on highlighting the ability of the people in our club, but we also wanted it to be for the home cook," said Prokupek, who studied culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. "So that meant we wanted to use elevated techniques, have it look nice, be tasty, and also be accessible."

Higa, a sophomore studying graphic design who grew up in Tokyo, has long been fascinated by the connections between food and culture. In conceiving the cookbook, she said, she wanted to put together something that offers more than just a collection of recipes that anyone could look up online.

"We come from a lot of different backgrounds, and we experience so many things creatively through food," she said.

The book organizes the recipes by occasion, rather than type or style of food: lunch; a dinner party; a picnic. Higa hopes students will use it as a guide for hosting their own events.

Though Prokupek someday would like to have a career in the food business, she said other students involved with the magazine and book have no such plans  Penn Appetit is a fun outlet that has nothing to do with their majors.

"I think this shows in general that people who go to a rigorous school like this can also be creative and passionate in ways that aren't necessarily academic," she said.

For more information, visit pennappetit.com or whiskcookbook.com.
Brian F. Dolan, 45, of Fox Chase, a decorated Navy veteran and Philadelphia firefighter for the last 15 years, died Thursday, May 10, of injuries sustained in a fall from a ladder while helping a friend with a home-maintenance job.

Mr. Dolan, a skilled handyman, was at the friend's residence in the 800 block of Fanshawe Street when he fell. He died at 12:18 p.m. in the emergency room at Einstein Medical Center. The cause of death was blunt impact and the fall ruled accidental by the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office.

Mr. Dolan was a career Philadelphia firefighter who had served since 2003 with Engine 51 and then with Ladder 29, both based out of a fire station on Old York Road in Olney.

While with Engine 51, his job was mainly fire suppression, dragging hoses and knocking down flames. While with Ladder 29, he performed search-and-rescue missions and positioned ladders against buildings, said Fire Department Lt. Nicholas Lazar, who worked with him at Ladder 29. The units both fight fires, but their jobs are somewhat specialized.

But Mr. Dolan had a third skill as an emergency medical technician. "The number of EMS calls he handled probably ranged in the thousands," Lazar said. "He assisted many people in their time of need, be it a fire, sickness or illness. Everyone's worst day was the time Brian would step up."

Born and raised in the Olney section of Philadelphia, he was the son of Ernest J. Dolan and Paula M. Yost. He graduated from Northeast Preparatory High School in 1991.

He served in the Navy from 1992 to 1994 as an electrical and mechanical equipment repairman aboard the Barnstable County LST-1197, a tank landing ship. He was awarded the Southwest Asia Service Medal with a Bronze Star and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. He was honorably discharged with the rank of fireman apprentice.

As a young man, Mr. Dolan aspired to become a firefighter. "He talked about it when I met him in 1995," said his wife, Laura M. Weaver.

Mr. Dolan was "a true Philadelphian," meaning he loved the Rocky movies and was passionate about the Eagles, said his family.

"I'm glad he got to see them win the Super Bowl before he died," said his wife. "He was happy as heck. He was a true fan."

He also enjoyed spending time with family in Toms River, N.J., and Wildwood during the summer.

He was so proud of his Irish heritage that he married Weaver, whom he called his "soulmate and best friend," on St. Patrick's Day, 2001, at St. Cecilia's Parish in Fox Chase. The couple raised three children in Northeast Philadelphia.

"He would do for others," his wife said. "He would give you the shirt off his back. He used to say he had so many friends, that if he had a Facebook page, the computer would explode."

In addition to his wife, he is survived by children Brian Joseph, Gwyneth and Daniel Dolan; two brothers; a sister; and nieces and nephews.

A viewing starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 15, will be followed by a funeral service at 11 a.m. at Wetzel and Son Funeral Home, 419 Huntingdon Pike, Rockledge. The service will be conducted by Charles R. Lindsay, a Philadelphia fire chaplain and friend of Mr. Dolan's. Interment with full military honors will be at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at Washington Crossing National Cemetery, Newtown.

Memorial donations may be made to the Philadelphia Fire Fighters' and Paramedics Union, Local 22 Widow's Fund, 415 N. Fifth St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19123. Checks should be made out to Local 22 Charitable Trust.
Mayor Kenney's signature $500 million public works initiative is being threatened by a dispute over a commitment to diversify Philadelphia's building trades unions.

Kenney and the trades' leader, John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty, are clashing with City Council over the terms of an agreement to boost minority participation among the construction unions. Dougherty said he won't negotiate further with Council after having struck an accord with the mayor.

"That's the only deal they're getting from me," Dougherty said. "These agreements are perfect for trying to break the lack of inclusion in the trades."

Dougherty's remarks came as Kenney has lashed out at Council for its refusal to pass legislation that would authorize construction to begin in his 18-month plan for the first round of projects to reshape parks, libraries, and recreation centers.

"We are at risk of losing a summer of construction for facilities that are in dire need of improvements and may not be able to operate next year without them," Kenney, a Democrat, wrote in a letter Friday to Council President Darrell L. Clarke.

"The lack of progress has put the program in doubt for all Philadelphians eagerly awaiting these investments," the mayor said, noting that it had been nearly a year since Council provided initial approval for the initiative, known as Rebuild.

Kenney is also seeking Council approval for a property-tax hike to fund city schools. He is up for reelection in 2019.

Under the memorandum of understanding signed May 3 by Kenney and Dougherty with regard to Rebuild, the building and construction trades committed to adopting a goal of 40 percent minority participation and 5 percent female participation "in the building trades workforce in the Philadelphia area."

Dougherty, business manager of Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, signed the agreement on behalf of the 21 unions in the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades Council. But he's the only labor leader who signed it, and some Council members worry the document wouldn't be legally binding on other unions, said two Council sources, who asked not to be named discussing the sensitive issue.

Said one: "What we have seen was not felt to be ironclad."

Dougherty shot back: "It's an ironclad statement. These are the same people who were playing politics with the mayor because they don't want the mayor to succeed.  The mayor is the most popular elected official in the region."

"I think this Council is slowly becoming an anti-business council," he said.

Rebuild is funded by the city's 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on soda and other sweetened beverages. Kenney's administration scaled back the overall spending for the program when the mayor introduced his fiscal year 2019 budget in March.

City officials said the spending on Rebuild  as well as pre-K and community schools, which the tax is also funding  changed because the tax brought in less revenue in its first year than initially projected.

The fate of the controversial tax is uncertain; the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments Tuesday morning on the tax's legality. City officials have said that expansion of programs funded by the tax is on hold until the litigation is settled.

The Kenney administration says it is now scaling back the program in order to expedite construction. Instead of issuing bonds through an authority, the city wants to do so through general obligation borrowing. But the administration was unable to provide an estimate for what it would spend on the initiative under the new approach.

City officials also said the administration would tap $8 million that had been approved for the fiscal year 2018 capital budget. Kenney wrote in the letter that he would begin using those funds immediately, without seeking an OK from Council. The mayor would need its approval for the vast majority of the money he wants to spend.

The mayor submitted the 18-month plan for the first round of Rebuild projects to Council in November. Council held a hearing on the legislation in March and again this month.

But Council hasn't passed it.

"All of this could have been avoided if Council had a seat at the table" during negotiations with the building trades, said Councilwoman Cindy Bass.

Staff writer Laura McCrystal contributed to this article.
In this May 7 photo, First Lady Melania Trump speaks on her Be Well initiatives during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Read more

First lady Melania Trump underwent a procedure to treat a benign kidney condition Monday morning, the White House said in a statement.

Trump, 48, underwent an embolization at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The minimally invasive procedure involves injecting tiny pieces of a special material through a catheter into one or more kidney vessels to cut off part of the blood supply.

"The procedure was successful, and there were no complications," her office said.

Jerry McCauley, chief of nephrology at Thomas Jefferson University, said two relatively common kidney conditions can be diagnosed with imaging and treated with embolization: a vascular malformation or a benign mass called angiomyolipoma.

Without treatment, vascular malformations can bleed abruptly and become life-threatening, while angiomyolipomas can grow, causing pain and bleeding, explained McCauley, who is not involved in the first lady's medical care.

Embolization generally has little or no effect on the kidney function of otherwise healthy people, he said.

The first lady was last seen in public with her husband on Thursday when they greeted three Americans who were released from North Korea. The president, who remained at the White House during the procedure, tweeted that he was going to visit her around 5 p.m.

A week ago, she unveiled her formal platform, Be Best, focused on opioid addiction and two other initiatives.

Her office said she would likely remain at Walter Reed "for the duration of the week."

McCauley said most patients go home within a couple of days from an embolization, "but maybe there is an abundance of caution with the first lady."
A pedestrian passes by the entrance to South Philadelphia High School where three different divisions of the 39th District have polling places in the schools auditorium on this primary day , May 15, 2018. Read more

The results are in for Pennsylvania's 2018 primary election.

Voters registered as either Democrats or Republicans cast ballots Tuesday to nominate candidates for November's general election. Offices included governor, lieutenant governor, one U.S. Senate seat, all 18 U.S. House of Representative seats in newly drawn districts, 25 of 50 state Senate seats, and all 203 seats in the state House of Representatives.

Who will be facing whom in November

Governor: Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf will face Republican Scott Wagner.

Lieutenant Governor: Democrat John Fetterman will face Republican Jeffrey Bartos.

U.S. Senate: Democrat U.S. Sen. Robert Casey will face Republican Lou Barletta.

First Congressional District (Bucks): Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick will face Democrat Scott Wallace.

Second Congressional District (Philadelphia/Montgomery County): Democrat Rep, Brendan Boyle will face Republican David Torres.

Third Congressional District (Philadelphia): Democrat Rep. Dwight Evans will face Republican Bryan Leib.

Fourth Congressional District (Montgomery County): Democrat Madeleine Dean will face Republican Daniel David.

Fifth Congressional District Philadelphia/Delaware/Montgomery Counties): Democrat Mary Gay Scanlon will face Republican Pearl Kim.

Sixth Congressional District (Chester County): Republican Gregory Michael McCauley Sr. will face Democrat Christina Houlahan (Both were unopposed in the primary.)

Full results can be viewed at Pennsylvania's elections result website.

Here are earlier updates from Tuesday's primary:

Scott Wallace wins Democratic primary in First District

Democrat Scott Wallace, a philanthropist and grandson of former Vice President Henry Wallace, has won the Democratic primary in the First District. Wallace edged out Rachel Reddick, a mother and a veteran who was a registered Republican until 2016.

Wallace will take on incumbent U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who earlier in the evening handily won the Republican primary.

Rick Saccone loses  again

Exactly two months after having been upset in a special election in the 18th District by Democrat Conor Lamb, state Rep. Rick Saccone lost another election he was favored to win, this time in the Republican primary for the 14th District against state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler.

According to staff writer Jonathan Tamari, the GOP is almost certain to win the seat in the fall, thanks to a recently redrawn state map that makes the district more of a Republican stronghold. Reschenthaler will likely face former Ford executive Bibiana Boerio, who hopes to lead Democrats to another unlikely win in western Pennsylvania.

Scanlon wins Democratic primary in Fifth District

Mary Gay Scanlon, a Ballard Spahr lawyer and Wallingford-Swarthmore school board member, edged out former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Rich Lazer in the Democratic primary in the Fifth District. All told, there were 10 candidates vying for the chance to run against Pearl Kim, a former Pennsylvania senior deputy attorney general who ran unopposed in the Republican primary.

Fitzpatrick wins Republican primary in First District

U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick handily defeated Dean Malik, a former assistant district attorney, in the Republican primary in the First District. Fitzpatrick will take on Democrat Scott Wallace.

According to staff writer Claudia Vargas, Fitzpatrick's reelection bid in the swing district in Bucks County will be one of the most closely watched races come this fall as Democrats try to flip the U.S. House of Representatives from red to blue.

John Fetterman wins Democratic primary for lieutenant governor

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman, whom my colleague Tom Fitzgerald described as "a gruff-talking populist with a master's from Harvard," has won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, defeating both incumbent Lt. Gov. Mike Stack and Nina Ahmad, a former deputy mayor for public engagement in the Mayor Kenney's administration. According to staff writer Angela Couloumbis, Stack is the first lieutenant governor in modern Pennsylvania history to lose reelection in a primary.

Fetterman will face Lower Merion real-estate executive Jeff Bartos, who easily defeated his three Republican primary contenders.

Madeleine Dean wins Democratic primary in Fourth District

State Rep. Madeleine Dean won the Democratic primary in the Fourth District, increasing the chances that at least one woman will break into Pennsylvania's all-male delegation. Dean will face Republican Dan David, founder of an equities markets research firm called GeoInvesting. David ran unopposed in Tuesday's Republican primary in the Montgomery County district.

Philly voters approve all three ballot questions

On Tuesday, voters also approved three proposed amendments to the city charter  adding at least $500,000 to the Police Advisory Commission's annual budget, granting City Council the power to approve new members of the Philadelphia Board of Education and providing mandatory training to all city employees about sexual harassment in the workplace.

All Philadelphia voters, regardless of political party, were able to vote on the ballot questions, which amend the city charter.

Wagner wins Republican primary for governor

State Sen. Scott Wagner, of York County, has won the Republican primary for governor, edging out former health care consultant Paul Mango and Pittsburgh lawyer Laura Ellsworth in what became an acrimonious contest.

"Campaigns are tough, and this campaign was no exception," Wagner told supporters Tuesday night. "Starting tomorrow morning, I am looking forwarded to a unified Pennsylvania Republican party,"

The win sets the stage for a fall showdown with Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who ran opposed Tuesday night and, like Wagner, happens to be a millionaire from York.

Lou Barletta wins Republican primary for U.S. Senate

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, of Luzerne County, has won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, fending off State Rep. Jim Christiana of Beaver County. Barletta will challenge incumbent Sen. Bob Casey, a two-term Democrat who is unopposed in his party's primary.

Barletta was an early Trump backer in 2016 and was considered for a position in the cabinet. The president endorsed Barletta in a tweet in February, calling him "strong & smart."

Dwight Evans wins in Third District

U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans, who is seeking a second term, defeated Pastor Kevin Johnson in the Democratic primary in the Third Congressional District in Philadelphia. Evans will face Republican Brian Lieb, who ran unopposed, in November's general election.

Brendan Boyle wins in Second District

In the first local race to be called Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle won the Democratic primary in the Second Congressional District as expected, defeating former Wells Fargo regional vice president Michele Lawrence. Boyle will face Republican David Torres, who ran unopposed, in November's general election for the Philadelphia seat.

One polling place to remain open late

According to the Department of State, voting hours at the Delaware Water Gap Borough Municipal building have been extended to 10:30 p.m. The polling place serves Delaware Water Gap borough, and according to acting Secretary of State Robert Torres, the location was closed several hours due to a gas leak.

It is the only polling place in the entire state with extended hours.

Its going to be a wild night, no matter what

What to watch for as results come in

Staff writer Jonathan Tamari rounded up what to watch in Pennsylvania when results results come in this evening. What he's keeping an eye on:

Can women break through?

What impact does President Trump have?

The money vs. the military choice in the Bucks-based First District

What happens in the Fourth District, where Montco is all-but-assured of sending a home-county rep to Congress

Chaos and opportunity in the new Fifth District

The wide open Seventh District

Bernie Sanders still on the national stage

As we await the results, RAINBOW!

Storms, power outages delay ballot counts

Severe thunderstorms caused headaches for election officials in several towns throughout the state.

Power outages in several towns in Lackawanna County prevented the immediate counting of some paper ballots because scanners couldn't operate, according to the Scranton Times-Tribune.

In Cumberland County, three polling places lost power, but voting machines were still able to function thanks to battery back-ups, county spokeswoman Rachel Bryson told PennLive.com.

In Dauphin County, voting machines were running on battery backup power at several voting locations, director of elections Gerald Feaser Jr. told PennLive.com. In two polling places, power was out for about 15 minutes, then restored.

"Voters were using lights on their phone to see the ballot," Feaser said.

Democratic turnout estimated to be higher than 2014

Jonathan Tannen, an urban demographer from West Philadelphia, has created a program aimed at tracking Democratic voter turnout in real time on his Sixty Six Wards data-based blog. It depends on voters to report where they voted (ward and division), the time and what their number was.

As of 7:30 p.m., Tannen estimated that over 184,000 Democrats in Philadelphia cast ballots in Tuesday's primary. That tops the Democratic turnout in 2014, the last mid-term primary, where 165,382 Democrats voted.

Democrats far outnumber Republicans in Philadelphia. Tannen has not yet figured a way to measure GOP turnout. There are 799,000 registered Democrats and 117,000 Republicans out of a total of 1.035 million registered voters in the city.

>> READ MORE: 3 other states have primaries today, too. Here's what you need to know

Enthusiasm and acrimony

According to staff writer Vinny Vella, a steady stream of enthusiastic Democrats and Republicans cast ballots with change on their minds.

"This is the time we're going to have to come out to make up for two years ago," Scott Lohbauer, 34, a Democrat, told Vella outside the East Passyunk Community Center. "It's nice to be part of a blue wave."

"What I'm seeing going on, what's in the news about jobs being lost, it upsets me," Bob McGill, 55, said outside a fire hall in Folsom, Delaware County. "We've got to start local, if we're going to start somewhere. We need to put people in office that we think will look out for us."

Some voting booths were crowded:

Election Day ritual endures

It wouldn't be an election day without pols and power brokers sitting down at designated eateries in the city to break bread and schmooze.

Our Chris Brennan and Holly Otterbein went to the Famous Fourth Street Deli to take in the scene.

For some reason, members of Dem power John "Johnny Doc" Dougherty's the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 98 once again carried large face posters of Mayor Kenney, even though he is not running for anything. Gov. Wolf, who also got a giant face poster, is on the ballot, but since he is unopposed we can call his election here and now unless there is some mysterious and powerful write-in campaign underway.

Where you live has not changed. Your congressional district may have

This is the first election using newly redrawn congressional districts in Pennsylvania.

Here's a map to show the new lines. Look up your district and who's running here. Aren't those districts in Central Pennsylvania huge?
BUDGETS13P.(L-R) Freehold Borough Councilmen Ron Griffiths and Kevin Kane at the site of the proposed pedestrian bridge over Lake Topanemus, Freehold, NJ. Citizens voted to fund the building of the bridge through the process of participatory budgeting. Read more

The gnarled roots of centenarian trees push through concrete sidewalks throughout the neighborhoods of Freehold Borough in Monmouth County, N.J. The municipality once helped pay the costs of fixing the walkways, but scrapped the program a decade ago to save money.

Last fall, the sidewalk repair program got new life in an unusual way: Borough officials set $200,000 aside in their capital budget and asked their 12,000 residents how to spend it.

For a week in September, they let residents as young as 14 cast ballots online or by paper at the municipal building and community events. In the end, 346 people  on par with off-year election turnout  chose a new pedestrian bridge, more downtown lighting, and the sidewalk repair plan.

The exercise was the first statewide in a growing practice called participatory budgeting, in which local governments not only ask but depend on their citizens to decide how best to spend their tax dollars, usually discretionary capital funds.

"We really believe in it as a way to get people more involved and engaged in their town," said Freehold Borough Councilman Ron Griffiths. "As I've said to the council, we're not the only people with good ideas."

In recent decades, participatory budgeting has taken off, used in more than 1,500 communities worldwide to allocate spending of hundreds of millions of dollars.

New Yorkers have used participatory budgeting to fund playground and park improvements, technology upgrades at schools, and real-time arrival information at bus stops. In Chicago, residents voted to plant hundreds of trees, install benches at bus stops, resurface streets, and install artificial turf fields. And young people in Boston voted to use a $1 million annual allotment to create a "Get Hired" truck to help them apply for jobs and to install digital billboards at libraries so homeless students can find services.

Skeptics of the process question how drastically different it is than what governments already do  offering opportunities for input at public meetings or through online contact with officials  and whether municipal employees can fit more work into their schedules.

But proponents say it can be part of the solution to the pervasive problem of low turnout in elections and public meetings that too often draw the same small cadre of interested or available residents, while empowering disillusioned residents and making budgets more equitable. City leaders learn residents' priorities, which can inform policy decisions. Residents see tangible change and better understand how government works.

The system also can better reach marginalized communities, such as people of color and the homeless, because volunteers seek them out and bring the voting to them. It includes residents who cannot otherwise vote, such as teenagers, men and women with criminal records, and those immigrants who are usually ineligible.

In New Jersey, officials in other municipalities have said they may follow Freehold's lead. No Pennsylvania towns have yet signed on to the practice.

While Philadelphia hasn't adopted participatory budgeting, it is taking similar steps. Last year, officials surveyed 7,000 residents online, in print, and by phone and found that street conditions were a top priority. So this year's budget proposal  to be voted on in the next few weeks  includes more money for repaving roads.

Budget Director Anna Adams said the budget office has been considering how it can better solicit public input and hopes to unveil a new outreach program later this year.

She said the city offers a lot of budget information online, but "we haven't really given people the opportunity to weigh in."

If Philadelphia someday decides to use participatory budgeting, it would be "one component of a larger engagement process" that would include teaching residents about the trade-offs officials face when creating a budget, Adams said.

Say the city gave residents $2 million for projects, she said. "Without context about what else that $2 million could have been spent on, it's less meaningful," she said.

The heads of two groups that represent municipalities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania say that communities already offer opportunities for less formal input in the budget at public meetings and advisory committees, but that people don't come.

Rick Schuettler, executive director of the Pennsylvania Municipal League, said he doesn't see participatory budgeting happening "on any kind of widespread basis."

"People elect people; they expect them to do the job," he said.

In communities that choose participatory budgeting, officials solicit hundreds or thousands of project ideas, work with residents to develop feasible proposals, and allow them to vote on their favorite projects over several days or weeks.

When it came time for their first vote last September, residents in Freehold Borough passed up spending proposals such as free WiFi downtown, an off-leash dog park, and concrete chess tables, instead opting for "things they clearly thought they needed more than they wanted," Griffiths said.

Officials are working now to spread the word and bolster turnout. Residents will vote in September on whichever ideas they come up with in the coming months.

Chicago was the first to formalize participatory budgeting in the United States in 2009, according to the nonprofit advocacy group Participatory Budgeting Project, which gives outreach materials and technical assistance to communities.

"Often, when people think about beginning new programs, they think about looking for new resources," said Thea Crum, director of the Neighborhoods Initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago's Great Cities Institute, a partner of Participatory Budgeting Chicago. "One of the great things about PB is it really is just shifting how decisions are made about the same pot of money."

Officials in each community decide how much money to allocate and which residents can participate in determining how it is spent. Boston's program is restricted to 12- to 25-year-olds as part of an initiative to engage more young people in governance and create lifelong voters.

Leaders in municipalities across the country say the same, crediting participatory budgeting with pulling more people into local government and community service.

Liza Meiris believes it. The social studies teacher at First Philadelphia Preparatory Charter School in Frankford tried participatory budgeting this year with 7th- to 12th-grade students.

Meiris had won a $100,000, five-year grant from the National Constitution Center for a civics program and told students to choose what to do with $2,500. They campaigned for their ideas and Meiris saw their eyes "light up" at the voting stations in their school and the "I Voted" stickers.

Students chose to fund a music studio  choosing it off a ballot that also included proposals to improve the restrooms, establish hallway stations to fill water bottles, and update gym equipment.

"They were actually surprisingly on point with what the school needed," Meiris said. She plans to continue the program.

"Every school should do this. Every community should do this. Every city," she added. "I would talk to them for an hour about why they should do this and why this is the future."
Soft drink and soda bottles are displayed in a refrigerator at El Ahorro market in San Francisco, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case challenging the legality of Philadelphias tax on soda and other sweetened beverages. Read more

HARRISBURG  Is Philadelphia's tax on soda and other sweetened beverages a sneaky attempt to evade state law? Or is it a levy that the city has the authority to impose so that it can care for its residents?

Those were among the questions raised Tuesday morning as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court heard oral arguments over the city's controversial tax.

Pennsylvania's highest court must now determine whether the 1.5-cent-per-ounce levy on the distribution of sweetened beverages amounts to double taxation.

A state law known as the Sterling Act allows Philadelphia to impose taxes on items not already taxed by the state. The beverage tax is levied on distributors, but its opponents argue that it has been passed on to consumers, who already pay the state sales tax.

"The argument is that Philadelphia did this artfully to get around the Sterling Act," Justice Max Baer said. "The question is: Did they succeed?"

Other cities and interest groups across the country will pay close attention to the outcome, as Philadelphia was the first major U.S. city to pass a tax on sweetened beverages, and the American Beverage Association and other groups have poured millions of dollars into fighting it.

The tax "unlawfully duplicates the state sales tax," said Marc Sonnenfeld, a lawyer representing a group of local businesses, consumers, and trade associations.

Mark Aronchick, a lawyer representing the city, argued that the tax follows the purpose of the Sterling Act as it was intended when passed in 1932.

"It was put into place so Philadelphia could save itself and so it could take care of itself and its own tax base," Aronchick told the justices.

Six justices spent about an hour listening to arguments from both sides and asking questions. Justice Kevin M. Dougherty, a former Philadelphia judge, recused himself from the case. The court did not provide a reason for his recusal.

Justice David N. Wecht said that if the law is upheld, it could open the door to levying taxes on the distribution of any or all products in the city.

"The line is going to be politics," Aronchick answered. "Politicians don't get up every morning saying, 'Hey, what can I tax?'"

Some questions focused on a phrase in the law indicating that the tax is imposed on beverages distributed "for the purpose of retail sale in Philadelphia." Justices asked whether that indication would mean the tax duplicates the sales tax.

Aronchick argued that the tax is levied at the point of transport and distribution of beverages, and that the retail sale does not trigger the tax. For example, he said, some beverages are distributed but never sold by retailers.

Shanin Specter, a lawyer representing the group that opposes the tax, said in an email after the hearing that he found that line of questioning to be noteworthy.

"That's exactly our argument about why the tax should be voided," he said.

City officials have said some spending for programs the tax is funding  pre-K, community schools, and an initiative to improve parks, libraries, and recreation centers  has been delayed while the litigation works its way through the court system.

"The tax is a major accomplishment for this administration," Aronchick told reporters after the hearing. "They've taken care of all sorts of needs that Philadelphia has, for pre-K programs, rebuilding infrastructure. A lot of the point that I made was the importance of Philadelphia being able to take care of its own problems with its own tax base."

The tax has withstood legal challenges to date; a lawsuit was dismissed before the tax went into effect and the Commonwealth Court upheld the tax last year. Opponents of the levy appealed that decision to the Supreme Court, which announced in January that it would consider the case.

Since the beverage tax went into effect at the start of 2017, it has raised more than $96 million, including nearly $18 million so far this calendar year, according to data provided Monday by the city.

Mayor Kenney's administration also announced in March that it would downsize plans for the programs the tax funds because it had not raised as much revenue as was initially predicted. The adjustments renewed criticism of the tax, which opponents say hurts local businesses and is unsustainable. City officials have maintained that it is still providing children with much-needed city programs.

The Supreme Court did not indicate when it would issue a decision.
Multimedia artist and MacArthur Fellow Taylor Mac is bringing his mammoth 24-hour show, A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, to the Kimmel Center's Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA). He'll perform it at the Merriam Theater in two installments, the first 12 hours on June 2 and the second on June 9.

Speaking by phone from a New York sidewalk, Mac said this is "most probably the last time" the 246-song piece will be performed this way: "You can put your body through that only so many times."

And this time 24 Decades will be Philadelphianized.

"We always include local artists," Mac said, "and we give them space to do what they do. It's always a joy to see how the show changes from place to place, performers and audience alike. If this is this show's last hurrah, what better place than Philly, where so much of our history happened, and where so much is happening right now?"

Prominent among Philadelphians onstage will be drag star Dito van Reigersberg, alias Martha Graham Cracker. "I feel like Dito and I are from the same school of drag," Mac said. The minute I saw Dito perform, I was like, `There's my family.' And he's super-talented and superintelligent."

Calling from Las Vegas, where he's currently performing, van Reigersberg said, "I'm honored to be on the same stage with that guy. Seeing 24 Decades is almost like seeing Taylor sacrificing himself, he gives so much to it."

Both were eloquent on the role of drag in the piece. Drag is fun, of course, but it can also interrogate history, picking apart social pretension. "I love the music and costumes and razzle-dazzle," van Reigersberg said, "but both Taylor and I also understand that drag has got that deeper meaning."

"There's a generosity to it, an invitation," Mac said, "and in the end an empathy, a joyfulness. We have history on our backs and are trying to figure out what to do with it."

On Monday, the Kimmel Center announced other local artists for 24 Decades. They include aerial dance theater group Tangle Movement Arts, musical performance artist Cynthia Hopkins, and the Camden Sophisticated Sisters/Distinguished Brothers, a non-profit  organized as a drill team  that motivates and empowers youth.

Philly musicians include sax player Korey Riker and percussionist Doug Hirlinger, both of the Kimmel Center Jazz Residency program; trumpet player Matt Cappy; West Philadelphia Orchestra trombonist Larry Toft and tuba player Dan Nosheny; and violinist Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz, the CEO and founder of Philly Music Lab. A local ensemble of burlesque performers will also be performing, as will Mac's ensemble the Dandy Minions.
Unidentified man with what appeared to be a paint gun under the vandalized Israeli flag Tuesday afternoon on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Read more

A suspect was in custody in connection with the vandalization of the Israeli flag on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Mayor Kenney said Tuesday evening.

"Hate and anti-Semitism have no place in the City of Philadelphia. While I understand that emotions are running high and there are many viewpoints stemming from recent violence against Palestinians and other protesters in the Gaza Strip, it doesn't warrant hateful acts of vandalism," Kenney said in a statement.

"Fortunately, due to the swift work of the Philadelphia Police Department as well as concerned residents, a suspect was placed into custody shortly after this incident occurred," Kenney said.

The suspect's name was not immediately released.

Laura Frank, who handles public relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, photographed the man with a paint gun under the flag and witnessed his subsequent arrest.

Frank said a federation volunteer called around 3:30 p.m. to say the flag had been desecrated and she and some others decided to see what had happened.

When they arrived shortly before 4 p.m., they saw a man with a paint gun under the flag. Frank said she approached and started taking pictures and the man immediately dumped the gun in a trash can and ran away.

Frank said they called police. The police soon afterward arrested the man, who apparently was walking back to the area of the flag.

The incident followed protests Monday in Center City over the deaths of Palestinians in confrontations with Israeli forces and the relocation of the United States embassy to Jerusalem.

Frank said she encouraged dialogue over the controversies, but vandalizing the Israeli flag was wrong.

"It should be allowed to hang in peace," she said.

The area next to the flag is fenced off for the construction of the Philadelphia Holocaust Memorial Plaza. Since 1964, it has been the site of the the Monument to the Six Million Martyrs, the first Holocaust statue established in a United States city.
A 54-year-old man walking his mother's dog was shot and critically wounded late Monday during a possible robbery in North Philadelphia, police said.

Police said they were looking for two men in the shooting, which happened around 11 p.m. at Seventh and Wallace streets, a block north of the Edgar Allen Poe House. Investigators were checking real-time cameras in the area, police said.

The victim, who lives in Upper Darby, was visiting his mother and was taking her dog for a walk when he was shot in the neck, police said. Arriving officers found the victim unresponsive but still clutching the dog's leash.

He was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital, where was reported in critical condition.

Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene that police found coins scattered near the victim, indicating his pockets may have been rifled during a robbery.
In an extraordinary step, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office on Tuesday pointed an accusatory finger at onetime members of its own office, asserting in a court motion that police and prosecutors helped to convict a city man of murder a decade ago by "hiding" evidence that suggested he was innocent, possibly breaking the law in the process.

For the first time, prosecutors say they believe Dontia Patterson is innocent, something Patterson had maintained for 11 years behind bars. Calling Patterson's conviction "an egregious example of police and prosecutorial misconduct," the motion, signed by Anthony Voci, the office's chief of homicide, suggests that two former prosecutors may have acted in bad faith because they knew they couldn't otherwise win the case.

It also says that Patterson's case file contained information that pointed to a more likely shooter, a man murdered about two months after his arrest and just blocks from the shooting Patterson was accused of committing.

The document is likely to lead to the exoneration of Patterson, 29, and could resonate beyond his case as the most stinging rebuke yet of Philadelphia's criminal justice system by its current top prosecutor, Larry Krasner.

One of the targets of the motion's allegations, former homicide prosecutor Richard Sax, in an interview Tuesday night slammed the decision to back Patterson's exoneration as "a horrific travesty of justice." Jurors had decided he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, Sax said, and an appeal effort was denied.

Sax, a vocal critic of Krasner since the campaign trail, said he had not withheld information that could have been helpful to Patterson. He said he thought the case was being overturned in part because of bad blood between himself and the district attorney.

"To have a political [dismissal] because the district attorney really doesn't like the second of two prosecutors who tried the case is horrific," Sax said.

Krasner, a self-described reformer who took office in January, made no secret as a candidate of his disdain for what he considered a win-at-all-costs mentality among Philadelphia prosecutors. And the motion  filed by his office in Patterson's still-pending case  does not hold back in its assessment of Sax and former Assistant District Attorney Beth McCaffery, although neither is named in the document.

Patterson's prosecution, the motion says, was "illogical" and "completely lacking in integrity." Not only was Patterson improperly imprisoned, it says, but the victim's family was given a false sense of closure and the public was ill-served when the likely shooter remained on the streets until he was killed.

Sax said that the case against Patterson "was not weak" and that two witnesses identified him and a jury voted to convict him. He said Krasner's office was looking at the case "in the light most favorable to the defense," rather than applying the law properly.

"It seems like they took this opportunity to argue as hard as they could for everything that could possibly be said on behalf of the defendant," he said. "And that's not what prosecutors are supposed to do."

Patterson's conviction was vacated in February after prosecutors agreed his defense attorney was ineffective. He has been on house arrest since last month and is due back in court Wednesday, when prosecutors will ask a judge to sign off on Voci's decision to drop all remaining charges.

Patterson was accused of fatally shooting his friend Antwine Jackson, 18, on Jan. 11, 2007, outside a corner store on the 800 block of Granite Street. His first trial, in 2008  handled by McCaffery  ended in a hung jury. He was retried the following year by Sax and convicted of first-degree murder.

Attempts to reach McCaffery for comment Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

No motive for the killing was ever determined, Voci's motion says, and no physical evidence connected Patterson to the crime. The case rested largely on two eyewitnesses about 40 yards from the store, the motion says.

Voci said that information about alternate suspects was not turned over to the defense before either trial, and that prosecutors at the time also failed to disclose potentially damning information against another witness who testified at Patterson's second trial.

Deliberately withholding evidence from a defendant, the motion says, "is not law enforcement in any sense  it is a violation of the law." Courts have held that prosecutors must share all relevant evidence, even if it may be favorable to a defendant.

Although the motion does not explicitly accuse either McCaffery or Sax of intentional misconduct, it does say it was "inconceivable" that either was unaware of the exculpatory evidence, and later says, "Without concealment of exculpatory evidence, the prosecution could not win."

Sax said: "Everything that was either exculpatory or arguably exculpatory was turned over. That's without any question." He also said he felt "horrible" for Jackson's relatives. Attempts to reach them for comment Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

Hayes Hunt, Patterson's appellate attorney, said in an email Tuesday that he was grateful that prosecutors were "righting this great wrong." Hunt, of the Center City firm Cozen O'Connor, worked pro bono on the case with the Pennsylvania Innocence Project.

"Mr. Patterson's conviction for murder undermines the credibility of our criminal justice system and is Exhibit A for reform and thoughtful change in Philadelphia," Hunt said. "His prosecution was an indictment against due process and basic fairness."

Marissa Bluestine, executive director of the Pennsylvania Innocence Project, said in an interview that Patterson was "very emotional, overwhelmed" by Tuesday's news.

"He spent 11 years locked in a cell where everything was dictated for him," Bluestine said, "and he knew that he didn't belong there."
Fred Morrison, executive director of Crossmen drum corps of San Antonio, Texas talks to the horn line early Monday July 24, 2017 at Forney High School in Forney, Texas. Read more

In 2010, a Florida high school teacher named Joel Moody decided to text a student he was enamored of.

"I just want to grab you," he wrote. "Hike up your dress. Well you know the rest."

It was one of a number of sexually charged messages he sent the teen, texts egregious enough that Florida education officials stripped Moody of his teaching license.

His behavior has been less troubling to Fred Morrison, the drum and bugle corps director who hired Moody in 2012. Morrison, executive director of the Crossmen of San Antonio, Texas, has since promoted Moody to assistant director, a position that oversees scores of teens and young adults.

Morrison's decision to employ Moody has come under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks  while taking on a sense of irony.

As chairman of the board of Drum Corps International, the activity's sanctioning body, Morrison is among those leading the organization's response to a recent sexual misconduct scandal involving former Allentown corps director George Hopkins. Morrison and other drum corps leaders, in reaction to the Inquirer and Daily News investigation into Hopkins, recently met to draft new regulations to ensure member safety and repair the activity's damaged reputation.

As for the controversy at home, Morrison has been evasive. Moody's name abruptly disappeared from the staff list on Crossmen's website last month. Morrison has made no public announcement about Moody's employment and has ignored multiple interview requests.

Moody, 39, who also did not respond to repeated interview requests, last week told the director of a nearby corps he plans to be on tour this summer, per usual.

That director, Chris Magonigal, said in an interview that he was concerned about how Moody's situation was being handled.

"The best way to face this is with complete honesty and transparency," he said. "And that hasn't happened."

>> Sexual abuse in drum and bugle corps: Do you have a story?

The sexual misconduct scandal now encroaching on the Crossmen and Drum Corps International (DCI) leadership erupted last month when nine women told the Inquirer and Daily News they had been abused by Hopkins, director of the famed Cadets drum corps.

Hopkins' subsequent resignation did little to quell the growing backlash within the small but fiercely-devoted community of drum corps fans. Hundreds have taken to social media to share stories of being abused while a corps member or to call for better protections for participants.

The activity, similar to marching band, combines music, theatrics and color guard. Members of the most competitive corps range in age from 16 to 22 and travel the country for the summer performing in pursuit of the national title.

While overseen by DCI, the corps are largely autonomous. DCI has signaled change is coming. The regulations recently drafted by the DCI board have yet to be made public, but are expected to outline stringent standards all corps must meet.

It made me uncomfortable all the time

"I can't wait to see you naked. You're so beautiful."

"The things I want to do to you sometimes."

"We just keep talking as friends because I don't want to lose you. Then when things can work we can see where we're at?"

Another teacher learned of the texts from a friend of the student, the Orlando Sentinel reported at the time. Moody was placed on leave, then resigned.

The student told a district investigator that she had texted Moody for academic advice, school records show. When his messages turned inappropriate, she said, she asked him to not text anymore. Moody stopped for a time, then started up again, the investigator wrote.

Moody admitted sending the messages, calling them an "error in judgment," records show. He agreed to a five-year revocation of his educator's certificate.

Within months, Moody was working for the Teal Sound, a drum corps in Jacksonville, Fla. The now-defunct corps acknowledged it knew of Moody's history, writing in a 2011 news release that he had made "past mistakes" but that they did not "define his overall work."

"We feel that Mr. Moody has been very open and honest about the situation and that speaks volumes about his character," the corps wrote.

Moody joined the Crossmen the following year.

Two women who worked with Moody there said he often made them uncomfortable.

One, who asked to not be named because she now works for another corps, said was she hired by the Crossmen in 2016 when she was 22. She said Moody regularly made her uneasy by giving her lingering hugs, placing his hand on her shoulder or back or sitting too close to her. Moody also made comments about what she was wearing, she said, and offered compliments on her looks.

"It made me uncomfortable all the time," she said.

She said she did not consider telling Morrison or his wife, Maureen, both of whom are on the Crossmen board of directors, because she believed they already knew of and had ignored Moody's past.

"I didn't feel comfortable addressing it with them," she said.

The second woman, who also asked to not be named out of concerns for her privacy, said Moody first showed a romantic interest in her a few months after she finished marching with the Crossmen in summer 2014, the last year she was eligible. She was 22.

Moody invited her to visit him in Texas that winter, she said, and they had consensual sex while she was there. The woman said Moody told her about his history in Florida, calling what happened a "mistake."

"It was weird because it's like, obviously he likes younger girls," she said. "It went off like a tiny red flag in my head. Maybe I'm just the next thing."

The woman was hired by the Crossmen for the following tour. She said she was dating another staffer that summer and Moody singled them out for criticism, what she believes was a form of retaliation.

"I think he brought me on specifically because he knew he would have someone to have sex with during the summer," she said. "And then I got a boyfriend, so that thing he thought he had was taken away. He was really resentful."

She said she didn't consider complaining to Morrison. She said she believed he would side with Moody.

The man she was dating, who also had marched with the corps the previous summer, confirmed her recollection and said Moody's constant criticism weighed on him.

"There was no one else on staff that got talked to the way [she] and I did," he said. "As an alumni of the Crossmen, it was heartbreaking."

Joel has paid his penance

Jason Buckingham, who was on staff the summer Moody joined the Crossmen, said he and other instructors knew what had happened in Florida. Buckingham said he personally spoke with Morrison about Moody the following year, 2013, when he resigned from the organization, a decision he made in part because of his discomfort working with Moody.

"When I resigned I told the director  'I think you're taking an awful gamble with the organization with this guy,'" he said. "It seems like an unwarranted risk."

Buckingham said Morrison told him people deserve second chances.

Magonigal, founder and CEO of the Genesis drum corps in Austin, said Morrison told him the same thing when he expressed concern about Moody in 2014.

"He said . . . Joel has paid his penance. And he'd like the matter to be dropped," Magonigal recalled.

Magonigal said he was hesitant to share his concerns with a reporter for fear that he would be viewed as trying to undercut a rival. But he said he decided to speak out because he fears Morrison's decisions could have a negative impact on his and other corps  on their ability to attract members and find places to stay while on tour.

He said corps rely on schools to provide overnight facilities and practice space during the summer tour, arrangements that in recent years have been harder to secure because of potential liability. He noted that the University of Pennsylvania had already canceled a show and practice involving the Cadets in the wake of the Hopkins scandal.

More fundamentally, he said, the activity's reputation is on the line.

"If there's concerns in the broader sense of kids being safe in drum corps, [parents are] not going to send their kids," he said. "They have other things they could do with their summers."
The 2018 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists kicks off in Chongqing, May 10, 2018. [Photo/Chinaculture.org]

The 2018 Visiting Program for Young Sinologists kicked off on May 10 in Chongqing with an opening ceremony.

Attendees included Zhu Qi, deputy director of the Bureau for External Cultural Relations, Ministry of Culture and Tourism; Jiang Weining, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Culture Commission; Tang Wen, deputy director of the Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the Chongqing Municipal People's Government; and 26 Sinologists from 20 countries.

Zhu Qi gave a speech at the ceremony. "During the past five years, the program has been promoting ideological and cultural exchanges between China and other countries. It also constantly sums up useful experience and takes an innovative approach to training to create better conditions for young Sinologists coming to China," he said.
New carbon filters that removed PFOS and PFOA from a contaminated well in Horsham were installed in March. Read more

Aides to President Trump's embattled EPA administrator attempted to stop publication of a study into water contamination near military bases nationwide, including former naval bases in Bucks and Montgomery Counties, according to a published report.

The study would show that the chemicals  known as PFOA and PFOS  are dangerous to humans in much smaller quantities than the Environmental Protection Agency has previously said, Politico reported this week.

Tens of thousands of residents nationwide, including some across Philadelphia's suburbs, have had their drinking-water supplies tested based on the "safe" level the EPA set for consumption of contaminated water. Some have been drinking water laced with the chemical at the levels believed to be acceptable under the EPA standard.

When a Trump administration aide said the report would cause a "public relations nightmare," aides to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the White House sought to block the study from being made public, according to EPA emails released to the Union of Concerned Scientists under the Freedom of Information Act.

"The public, media, and congressional reaction to these numbers is going to be huge," one unidentified White House aide wrote in a January email, according to Politico. "The impact to EPA and [the Defense Department] is going to be extremely painful."

The study, conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services, still has not been published.

Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) on Tuesday said that if the Politico report is true, "the White House should stop blocking the release of this health study. People in Bucks and Montgomery Counties as well as areas across the country deserve to know the health risks their families have been exposed to."

In Bucks and Montgomery Counties, more than 70,000 residents who lived near former naval bases had tainted drinking water. More than 130 with private wells near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey were also contaminated.

All of them have had their water tested based on the EPA's current guidelines.

After the contamination was made public, the military agreed to provide filters for public drinking wells  but only if they contained levels of the chemical above the EPA advisory, which they did for some local private well owners. In Warminster, Warrington, and Horsham, the towns changed public water systems to ensure there were no chemicals in their drinking water. Switching water systems, however, caused residents' water bills to increase. And other public wells still contained lower levels of the contaminants, which residents said they feared would affect their health.

Veterans and former civilian employees of the bases  which were mostly closed before the contamination was discovered  have also expressed concern about the chemicals.

Nationwide, 564 public or private drinking water systems near military bases had contamination above the EPA advisory level as of August, the military said in a recent report.

The Department of Defense is in the process of testing nearly 400 military bases and has found contamination at dozens, as first reported by the Inquirer and Daily News in April 2017 and acknowledged publicly by the military for the first time in a March report this year.

PFOA and PFOS are not among chemicals regulated by the EPA; the agency called its OK-to-drink level a guideline. Some scientists, however, have consistently said that levels within that guideline may also be harmful to human health.

The White House referred questions about the issue to the Department of Health and Human Services, Politico said, which confirmed that the study has no scheduled release date. The EPA responded to Politico's report by saying the agency was trying to "ensure" that the response from the federal government was "uniform."
When voters enter the booth Tuesday in Philadelphia, theyll be asked: Should Philadelphia mandate all city workers receive sexual-harassment training? Read more

When voters enter the booth Tuesday in Philadelphia, they'll be asked: Should Philadelphia mandate all city workers receive sexual-harassment training?

Considering the seismic #MeToo movement's effects in every corner of the working world, that might seem to be a no-brainer. But what would that training actually look like? And would it prevent sexual harassment?

At this point, no one knows.

Experts in sexual-harassment training say it's effective at preventing sexual harassment and empowering employees to report only if designed properly. Some research shows that it can even have the opposite effect: In the worst cases, these training programs can be detrimental to reporting environments and even empower people doing the harassing.

In a bit of a Catch-22, voters won't know whether they will be paying for the effective or ineffective variety: The city's training program won't be designed "until we get the official green light from voters," said Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored legislation authorizing the ballot question.

City spokesman Mike Dunn said the administration supports the measure, and should it pass, the Office of Labor Relations will work in conjunction with the Mayor's Office and the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer to develop the program. He said those efforts will be in addition to an internal review that has been underway since last fall that is examining all current safeguards, training, and investigatory methods.

The Mayor's Office will also consider recommendations from City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, who is examining the city's sexual-harassment policies. A spokeswoman for Rhynhart said that audit, expected to be released by June, will likely include a recommendation of mandatory "high-quality" sexual-harassment training.

Currently, sexual-harassment training is required for rank-and-file city employees only when a supervisor deems it necessary. The new legislation would establish the standard as mandatory training that takes place on a basis of every one to three years.

No matter what is decided, experts roundly agree: Training isn't a fix-all, but rather should be part of a holistic approach that includes other steps such as updating policies, strictly enforcing rules, and promoting more women.

"The message of the training has to be that the city thinks this is important," said Deborah Weinstein, CEO of the Philadelphia-based Weinstein Group and a longtime trainer around sexual harassment. "The culture has to be that the policies and procedures have teeth."

Sexual-harassment training popularized in workplaces over the last 30 years has been largely ineffective in terms of preventing sexual harassment, because it was focused on "simply avoiding legal liability," according to a 2016 report from a task force charged by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Eric Meyer, a partner at the Philadelphia office of the FisherBroyles law firm, conducts antiharassment training and said effective training is most helpful for people who might be reporting it. As for the perpetrators? "People basically know what sexual harassment is," he said. That's why training sessions can be as much about establishing accountability as they are about education.

"So now it is about instilling trust in the employees that the organization has their back  that there are no free passes," Meyer said. "Whether it's the person who sits in the C-Suite or the person who cleans the C-Suite, the rules are applied the same way."

Below are 10 recommendations from experts and the EEOC when developing a sexual-harassment training regimen.

1. Conduct training in person

Sexual-harassment training programs are most effective when they're done in an interactive environment where questions are encouraged. Skip the online modules.

2. Tailor the training

Reynolds Brown said she'll advocate for customized training programs, as office employees might require different training than trade workers or police. Weinstein said it's also important that supervisors get different training than rank-and-file employees. She said supervisors "need to know that there are rules and that there are consequences." On the other hand, staffers need to be "told it is safe to come forward and complain and that there will be no retaliation," she said.

3. Keep it short and entertaining

Gina Ameci, a labor and employment attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, said training programs should be as interactive as possible. They should last just a couple of hours and "need to be entertaining."

And, she added, grab coffee and doughnuts beforehand, because if you want to keep attention high, "food is a necessary evil."

4. Focus on building trust

Meyer said that since #MeToo, he's changed his training programs to focus more on fostering trust in the upper echelons of an organization, telling managers and supervisors that sexual-harassment training is as much about building confidence and trust in them as it is about educating employees about policies.

"I tell people, 'Forget about what the law says,'" he said. "`You should be focused on what is allowed in this workplace. I'm trying to educate you about your rights, your responsibilities, and how we can have a workplace that's harassment-free.' "

5. Clarify whats OK outside of work

Meyer said training programs should also remind employees that what they do off the clock can affect their employment, particularly as it relates to social media. For example, he said, if someone posts something harassing about a coworker online at nighttime, but that person reads it at 10 a.m. the next day at work, that "just became a work problem."

6. Include civility training

In recent years, some sexual-harassment training programs have been rebranded as "workplace civility" education. In other words, these programs tell employees what to do  treat one another with respect  as opposed to what not to do. The EEOC recommends that all employers consider implementing some form of civility training into their employee education.

7. Emphasize bystander intervention

The EEOC recommends including directions for bystanders in any sexual-harassment training. Weinstein said this can include instructions on how to report behavior they see or hear about. It can also include tips for how to intervene, whether that's speaking to the perpetrator after  with a stern "that joke wasn't funny"  or simply interrupting the situation to get one party out of the interaction before it escalates, Weinstein said.

8. Include language about traditionally marginalized groups

Studies show racial and gender minorities are subjected to high rates of sexual harassment in the workplace. Meyer said it's important that sexual-harassment training programs emphasize that harassment is a form of discrimination.

9. Avoid the terms harasser and victim

These words can exacerbate gender stereotypes in the workplace, studies show.

10. Follow up

Meyer said that while sexual-harassment training should be part of training for new employees, he recommended annual training sessions.
Theresa Wright, an accountant, says she is running for Congress because "we need someone to go in there and fight for equality and fairness."

She is one of 10 Democrats campaigning for Pennsylvania's Fifth District, which is largely based in Delaware County but also includes parts of Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

Wright, 39, promises to especially keep a close eye on federal spending. "Our budget is my main priority."

We asked Wright about everything from the Second Amendment to taxes to the $15 minimum wage. Our interview with Wright is the eighth in a series of Q&As with all of the Fifth District's candidates, except for two did who did not respond to our request for an interview. It has been lightly edited for clarity.

Seven Quick Facts About Wrights Agenda:

Her plan to create jobs: Give tax incentives to small business owners that employ locally

On a $15 minimum wage: "We cannot go from $7.25 per hour to $15.00 an hour  gradually increase it"

Student loan debt: "I absolutely agree that college should be free, especially community college"

Marijuana: Supports legalization of recreational pot

National jobs guarantee: "Where are the funds going to come from?"

Super PACs: They "are basically hidden treasures.  I wouldn't support it"

The budget deficit: To reduce it, increase corporate tax rates

Why are you running for Congress? I'm running because this election is about changing the dynamic within our government so it's in line with the current generation it represents. I am an accountant and bookkeeper for 15 years and the recent tax reform really [was] a slap in the face to us, and we need someone to go in there and fight for equality and fairness. That's why I'm running.

What are the biggest accomplishments of your career? Keeping my client base afloat during the recession. That was a very difficult time for my clients, and my clients range from individuals up until corporations. There was a struggle. A lot of businesses were going out of business during the recession. That I was able to strategically place programs and budgets out to them so they could stay in line and won't go into black, so to say, for accounting purposes.

A recent report found that most Americans can't afford an $1,000 emergency. Wages have been stagnating for the middle class, and income inequality is high. What is your plan to create jobs and raise wages? There is a major push regarding raising minimum wage, but actually the only companies that take advantage of the minimum wage is the large corporations. So the Walmarts and the Targets and the Bank of America. They are the ones that pay minimum wage. The small businesses, which make up 99 percent of the economic workforce, if they're able to pay their employees more than minimum wage, they do. And in most cases, they do. They start at $10 or $8 or $12 an hour depending on the folks' revenue. So I would present legislation that would allow business owners, small business owners, to receive additional tax incentives when they employ within the community.

Does that mean you oppose a $15 minimum wage? I do not at all oppose it. However, we cannot go from $7.25 per hour to $15 an hour. That will be the demise of the small business. Even if I was to give you a short equation of typical small business that grosses about $300,000 a year, they have their cost of goods sold, whatever product they sell or service needs. That's about $114,000, so their gross profit is about $186,000, and not to mention they also have operating expenses, office space, supply in insurance, including employee insurance. Including that, to have wages at $15 an hour, for someone to have four employees. That's $116,000 a year. 

You said you don't oppose minimum wage increase. So if you have your druthers, how would you do it? To pass it today, it would be feasible for it to be $10 to $12 and then gradually increase it. That's like $4.19 for a gallon of milk, tomorrow your gallon of milk is going to cost $8.32. It'll be completely unaffordable.

Talk about your foreign policy positions. Do you see yourself an interventionist, an isolationist, none of the above, or somewhere in between? Somewhere in between. The thing about our foreign policies is it's important that we do have an alliance with our foreign allies and also with NATO, the United States is the top contributor to NATO. So they look up to us, and we also need to make sure that we're taking care of the United States. Also, I am for assisting immigrants and having them. I am for the DACA.  I'm a firm believer of being able to have a chance. And if you're here, let's find a way to get them to a full citizenship. So I'm in support of that, but it would not be my main priority because our tax system and our budget is my main priority. But as far as immigrants, I would not, or foreign policies, we stay in a neutral space with other countries.

What's your position on President Trump's strikes on Syria? Well, everything that Donald Trump is doing now is just wreaking havoc on everything anyway. So the bombing  that's something we should not have been involved in. The question is if we were going to go in and wage war, what the United States has the military capacity to protect us from any type of chemical warfare or any weapons that can be used on us.  We need to band together and boost our military resources instead of boosting our prison system.

How do you look at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and any potential solution? It's really difficult to determine that as well because we have different opinions on the lives our citizens.  I wouldn't really trying to impose their laws. If they need help, I would help them. If their enemies of ours, then I would keep them close, but still continue to tread lightly. So it's important to always be neutral and transparent while just imposing on other countries. Well, it was, I would say I would say back away from me.  I would stay neutral. I wouldn't even deal with it, because that's not our fight.

Let's say it's 2019. The Democrats have taken back control of the U.S. House, and Nancy Pelosi and Tim Ryan are running against each other for Speaker. Who do you vote for? Nancy Pelosi because I am pro-woman and we need  she's been there for 20-plus years and she understands the structure and she's done so much for our government. And so I would go with Nancy Pelosi.

John Paul Stevens, a retired U.S. Supreme Court justice, has called for the Second Amendment to be repealed. Where do you stand on that idea? I am licensed to carry. So the ban on assault weapons is something I do agree with. Now the entire Second Amendment, the right to bear arms, we have to understand that if we're going to appeal the entire Second Amendment, that should also pertain to our law enforcement as well, so don't think that's a good idea. I would [support] a ban on assault weapons, because no individual, including me, we're not not trained to maintain and carry those type of weapons, and we also need to hold our [legislators] accountable for things like that because, according to recent studies, there has been 1,600 mass shooting over the past 1,800 days.

And there's legislation involved and that has not been passed until now. Why wait so long, why we have all tragedies to push legislation? If we have legislation now, we should be pushing it. We should be promoting it. And the purpose of it is for us to be protected. So I would fight to keep assault weapons off the street and out of the hands of untrained individuals, but a complete ban on any type of weapons? That is unethical. That is not going to pass. I would support the passing of the repealing of the ban on assault weapons. 

In order to become licensed, you do have to go through a background check and just a local  it should be a national-based background check, because what if someone resides in another area, another state and there's different laws? In order to become licensed to carry, you should go through a more extensive background check, including dealing with the mental capacity of individuals as well. Because I think you would have to trace any domestic issues and things of that sort before we just issue a gun. Because It normally takes about seven days to get a license to carry.

We asked our readers to submit questions to the Fifth District congressional candidates. Here is one: Is your campaign staff unionized? No.

What is your position on Medicare-for-All, free college and a $15 minimum wage? I absolutely agree that college should be free, especially community college, up to an associate's degree. A high school diploma does not get you anywhere. You have to at least have an associate's degree to have sort of a living wage. And so I agree with free college. There is money in our budget. It's just not being allocated because we need to realign it and make sure it's strategically placed so our children can receive a quality education. Health care is another issue. It is not a  there's no reason why individuals in the United States should not have health care. There should be free health care for all.  Free Medicare for everyone, or a single payer that is affordable for everyone.

Do you agree with Nancy Pelosi, who said that Democrats can be pro-life? Or do you agree with Tom Perez, who said "every Democrat" should support abortion rights? I am pro-choice so I will have to agree with my with the fellow here because  you cannot define anyone's position.  It actually shouldn't even be a discussion in government. A woman's choice is our choice. A woman's choice is our choice. It has nothing to do with the government and how it was regulated, so I am pro-choice and agree with [Tom Perez].

What is your position on President Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum and other products? And where do you stand on free trade versus trade protectionism generally? A lot of our products that comes into the United States is usually through imports. We see that's where our Walmart and our Targets come in. There should not be any free, any free coming into the United States, that needs to be taxed. Imports and exports.

I believe [Trump] needs to go in and realign that, because of course he's in support of the big business. So the tariffs on imports, it should be increased.  On imports, yes, it should be taxed. On imports, it should be at a point where it's equally yoked  it should be equal. If we're going to have tariffs on imports, it should be tariffs on exports as well.

What is your position on the national jobs guarantee that Sen. Bernie Sanders is expected to unveil, and that others like Sen. Cory Booker have expressed support for? In order for us to even  see this is the problem with our government and how they're trying to implement. We have to start at our core, which is our tax structure. In order to create jobs, we have to have fair tax. So even to jump into this is more like a bait-and-switch to me. It's getting everybody riled up about what they're going to do when they get an office. But when they sit down and go through the budget and they go through how our people are being taxed and who's being taxed. Where's the money going to come from? This is the problem, this is my issue. When they say we're going to create jobs for everyone, well how are you going to create jobs for everyone, where you have tax rates that are not in line with the current society? Where you're taxing small businesses at 15.3 percent and you're taxing corporations or 12 percent. Where are these jobs going to come from? Because essentially these small businesses won't even be able to afford to hire employees if they raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. So I don't agree with all the bait-and-switch taxes that they're doing.

Yeah, it's a great idea. Everybody should have a job, but we need to start over. And we need to restructure our tax system, so our businesses have the means to hire individuals. The question is, where are the funds going to come from? If we're creating all these jobs, where is the money coming from to build infrastructure to create these jobs? That's the question.

Republicans passed a sweeping tax bill last year. What would your ideal tax legislation look like? First thing I would do is bring back the first-time homebuyers credit. That is one of the things that I will do. I will restore the itemized deduction. That is the bulk of our homeowners' way of reducing our tax liability.  I will actually protect the middle class through fair and equally structured tax laws, meaning if we're going to lower our tax rate, we have to lower it across the board. Also, I would reduce the alternative minimum tax. The new tax reform is going to make a lot of the middle class subject to this 26 percent of 28 percent tax. I would reduce it. We can't eliminate it because it's a $60 billion dollar a year revenue stream, but I will definitely reduce it.

What is your position on legalizing recreational marijuana? I'm for legalizing marijuana. We have never seen anyone overdose by smoking or inhaling marijuana.

Do you support impeaching President Trump? And if so, on what grounds? I would definitely support impeaching him just because of his  when you're representing a country, you're held to a higher standard. And when you talk about things about women and our part in public.  That doesn't show that you deserve to have this seat, so and just to see how you are and how you feel about individuals of color. Or other you know race or ethnicity. You should not represent the country because you're prejudiced. So we can't really base it on those to grounds, to impeach, being prejudiced. But he would find a way to make himself subject to impeachment. It's coming. Trust me. It's coming.

This is another question proposed by a reader: Should we be concerned about the size of the federal budget deficit? If we should, what specific revenue increases and/or spending decreases would you support? Yes. We have to definitely increase the corporate tax rates. He lowered it. Our revenue stream consists of  95 percent is through income tax and payroll tax. Nine percent is through corporation tax, and 1 percent is through our excise tax. That's cigarettes, alcohol and gasoline. So our excise tax  we need to go in and reevaluate that and structure as far as increasing the excise tax for alcohol, cigarettes, is the leading cause of health issues. So we could increase the excise tax and we should increase the corporate tax. We should also decrease the small business tax so then we can create more jobs.

What's your position on super PACs, and should they be involved in the congressional race? Super PACs are basically hidden treasures.  I wouldn't support it, because the purpose of an election and elected official is who's the voice for the people.  I'm not endorsed by any PACs or any super PACs. For one, they're disregarding me, period. They're not understanding that I am the true fighter for the people. I am the one that's been working in ground zero for 15 years, helping individuals and small businesses stay afloat.  So let's have an election where who has the most people behind him, not the most money. It's about the people. It's not about any particular party. It's about the voters. It's about the taxpayers  and it's about getting their voices heard.

What percentage of your staff and advisers is women and people of color? 98 percent.

This is from a reader: How would you deal with the most pressing public health issue right now  opioids and overdose deaths? Do you support safe-injection sites? No, not at all. No safe-injection sites. There are no reason why we should use a drug to help cure a drug. There are alternatives. There are plant-based alternatives that God created for us to use. There are 2.1 million people in the United States who suffer from opioids, and that is Big Pharma's problem, and it goes back to the nineties when the pharmaceutical companies. They actually reassured the medical community that patients will not become addicted to opioids. So the health care providers, they began to prescribe them at a greater rate, not even having the scientific studies in place.  So that's the problem, the FDA approved out of the 100 percent of medicines that are presented to the FDA, 95 percent of them aren't approved and 5 percent are approved and the 5 percent that are, they're deemed to be deadly 10 days later, just like Prozac.

A lot of the prescription drugs are killing us, more than our plant-based meaning drugs meaning marijuana, THC oil. That doesn't kill us, it actually helps us. So what I would is, I would open up more holistic-based treatment centers, where we're not using a drug to cure a drug.  If the drug I support holistic and plant-based alternatives.  That's what we should be using to attack the opioid epidemic, not a particular drug.

Do you have any experience in government or politics? I am not. I am first-time candidate.

So what would you say to voters who might be concerned that you won't be able to get anything done if you go to Congress, or you'll face challenges at least? I want the voters to know I beat the political machine three times over the past two months.  First time in court, pro se candidate. I beat them. The two most sought-our lawyers in election law, I beat them twice. They tried to combine my cases and I remained on the ballot. One appealed to the Supreme Court. I had to write a 30-page brief during campaign season, during tax season, during election season. I won that case. So I am the true fighter here. If no one will help me, I will figure it out. 

What is your response to voters who say, "Theresa is my favorite candidate, but I'm not sure she's going to win, so I'm going to go with my second-favorite candidate?" There's a lot of reasons why people are running for the Fifth Congressional seat, and some are so power-hungry that they're willing to abandon their public constituency and allow a Republican to take the seat. There's two candidates in this race that's doing that. Some are so power-hungry that they're willing to spend millions of dollars to buy the seat by employing individuals like me, of color, just to make it seem like they're for the people. There's another candidate like that. So my question is, why would you choose anyone other than the candidate running with the best interests of the people at heart? And when I get there, when I win, I'm going to protect the middle class. I'm going to work on the tax reform and I'm going to restore the itemized deduction. It isn't about the money. It's not about the party. It's about the people and our voice. Our voices have been silenced for so long, so anyone who would consider voting for me, understand that your voice will be heard.
Vera Dugan, 18 months, holds on tight to Bridget Huffman while she holds her son Drew Huffman, 20 months, as they all go into the voting booth together in the auditorium of South Philadelphia High School on May 15, 2018. Nazim Karacaa is holding open the blue curtain. Read more

From the union halls of South Philadelphia to the rolling hills of the city's collar counties, a steady stream of voters cast ballots in Tuesday's primary elections with change on their minds.

Democrats spoke of righting what they viewed as a national error in the 2016 presidential election. Their GOP counterparts also sounded the change theme  but with different notes.

"This is the time we're going to have to come out to make up for two years ago," Scott Lohbauer, 34, a Democrat, said outside the East Passyunk Community Center. "It's nice to be part of a blue wave."

But President Trump wasn't the sole source of frustration. Another common theme running through Democratic voters' comments was a desire for diversity. In a year when women held multiple ballot positions, voters looked to see those names become permanent fixtures.

"I'm a big proponent of not having a bloc of homogeneous people in office," said Matt Kircher, his gaze fixed on his son and daughter as they ran in the grass outside the community center on a May day that felt more like July. "I want people who aren't afraid to work with the other side."

Kircher, 37, said he personally sat down with two of the people he voted for, Elizabeth Fiedler and Molly Sheehan, hashing out the change he wishes to see in his neighborhood and beyond.

>>READ MORE : Live updates on polling places, turnout and candidates across the region

Voter attention was focused on the crowded congressional races  particularly the 10-person Democrat ticket in the Fifth District.

Official numbers won't be available for at least a few days, Robert Torres, the acting secretary of the Department of State, said Tuesday night. Historically, he added, turnout for midterm congressional elections statewide has ranged from 18 to 25 percent, and he expected this one to fall within those figures.

Turnout "doesn't appear to be very heavy," Terry Madonna, election expert at Franklin and Marshall College. As steamy as some of them have been, "congressional races typically aren't big draws," he said.

"On the Democratic side, there are some signs of enthusiasm, brought on by antipathy to President Trump, anticipation of a good general-election year for Democrats nationwide, and optimism about the composition of the new congressional districts in Pennsylvania," said Michael Hagen, a Temple University political science professor.

"On the other hand, the absence of competition at the top of the ticket has reduced the visibility of the Democratic primary," he added.

The Republicans did have a marquee race  the often acrimonious contest for the gubernatorial nomination among attorney Laura Ellsworth, businessman Paul Mango, and State Sen. Scott Wagner, all seeking to challenge Gov. Wolf in November. GOP voters also said they were looking for change.

"I want to continue to see the change in our government," said Roger Scarborough, 56, the owner of an electrical company that bears his name, who voted in Croydon, Bucks County. "More conservative, I want to get government out of everything. I'm kind of fed up with how Democrats have been behaving." He said he was seeing some progress.

So, too, was Joanne McMahon, who said she cast votes Tuesday for Tommy Tomlinson for state Senate and Wagner in the gubernatorial primary.

McMahon, 50, called Trump a "chauvinist pig" and a "misogynist." But she says she voted for him in 2016 and she believes he keeps his promises.

>>READ MORE: Is this primary election Pennsylvania's oddest ever?

Voters from both parties expressed another frustration in common: The legions of people who chose not to participate in the primary.

Lisa Hecht, 46, became a naturalized citizen two years ago, after living in Philadelphia on a green card. The native Canadian said she was moved to exercise her new constitutional right after watching so many of her peers take it for granted.

"There are issues I care about, especially immigrant reform, that I want to be given attention," she said early Tuesday as she walked out of the Francis Scott Key School, at Eighth and Wolf Streets. "I knew 2016 would be an important election, regardless of who won. And I knew once Obama left office, I would want my voice heard."

For others, primary voting was a steady habit, if not one given a little more urgency.

Bob McGill, 55, of Morton, Delaware County, parked his work truck long enough to cast a midday ballot at the fire hall in nearby Folsom.

"What I'm seeing going on, what's in the news about jobs being lost, it upsets me," he said. "We've got to start local, if we're going to start somewhere. We need to put people in office that we think will look out for us."

Not far away, in South Philly, Joe DeLullo made an early morning walk to Mastery Charter's Thomas Campus with Sonny, his white Maltese, to cast his vote.

>>READ MORE: What to watch for in Pa. primary election results

"We only have one voice, and if we don't use it, no one hears us," he said. The Democrat, 65, declined to say whom he and his loyal voting mate cast a ballot for, but said labor issues are important for him.

"I care about Social Security and how we treat the elderly," he said. "And as far as health insurance goes, there has to be a ceiling for these premiums I've been paying for my family."

DeLullo, who said he has "strongly disliked" Trump since 1985, said the president won "because too many people stayed home."

"I've always voted in primaries," said Louise Petrone, a Haverford Republican married to a "lifelong Democrat." Their marriage, she joked, proves that the parties can get along after all. "So few people vote, you can work to create your own voting bloc."

Petrone hoped her vote could help "pull the Republican Party back."

"When I was growing up, the GOP was the sensible party, but something happened and they got fanatical," Petrone, 56, said. "We like fixing roads, and we like reasonable tax policy. We're pro-business, but not at the expense of the future."
Voters in four states will decide their partys candidates in primary elections Tuesday night. Read more

Pennsylvania wasn't the only state to hold midterm primary elections Tuesday. Three other states  Idaho, Nebraska and Oregon  also voted to determine party nominees ahead of November's midterm elections.

Here are key things to know about the national picture:

>> READ MORE: Pa. primary results will resonate in national fight for control of Congress



Here's a brief run-down of what happened in the most interesting primary races from elsewhere in the country Tuesday night.

Nebraska

In the Cornhusker State, at least two race are expected to be somewhat competitive this November in the normally safe Republican stronghold.

In the Second Congressional District, which Barack Obama narrowly won in 2008 and Donald Trump narrowly won in 2016, incumbent Republican Don Bacon will take on nonprofit president Kara Eastman, who edged out former U.S. Rep. Brad Ashford in the Democratic primary by running on a progressive platform pushing for a single payer "Medicare for all" approach to health care and a $15 federal minimum wage.

As far as the Senate is concerned, incumbent Deb Fischer easily defeated four challengers in the Republican primary. Her opponent in the general election will be Lincoln City Councilwoman Jane Raybould, who also easily won the Democratic primary. President Trump offered praise of Fischer on Twitter Wednesday morning.

Despite Fischer's overwhelming advantage in fundraising, the race could potentially be competitive, according to the Cook Political Report.

Idaho

In the country's fastest-growing state, with most candidates positioning themselves as pro-Trump, the most interesting race was a surprisingly combative contest for governor won by Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who will likely become the state's first new governor in more than a decade.

As for Congress, both of Idaho's congressional seats are expected to remain in Republican hands in November. In Idaho's First Congressional District, real estate broker Russ Fulcher won the crowded Republican primary to succeed Labrador.

In Idaho's Second Congressional District, things were less interesting. Incumbent Michael Simpson, who has served since 1999, is unopposed in Tuesday's primary and expected to easily defeat Aaron Swisher, the winner of the Democratic primary, in November.

>> Read More: With 5 women's wins, Pa.'s all-male congressional delegation may be ending

Oregon

None of Oregon's five Congressional races are expected to be competitive come November. Democratic incumbents Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Peter DeFazio and Kurt Schrader easily defeated their primary opponents Tuesday night, and are overwhelming favorites to defeat their Republican challengers in the general.

The only Republican incumbent, Rep. Greg Walden, is expected to easily defeat former Phoenix City Manager Jamie McLeod-Skinner, who was the winner in the Second Congressional District's crowded Democratic primary. Walden, the chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, faced criticism within his left-leaning state for overseeing and supporting Republicans' ultimately failed efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare.

Remaining 2018 primary elections

May 22: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Texas (runoff)

June 5: California, Mississippi, Alabama, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota

June 12: Nevada, Maine, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virigina

June 19: Arkansas (runoff)

June 26: New York, Maryland, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi (runoff), South Carolina (runoff)

July 17: Alabama (runoff), North Carolina (runoff)

July 24: Georgia (runoff)

Aug. 2: Tennessee

Aug. 7: Michigan, Missouri, Kansas, Washington,

Aug. 11: Hawaii

Aug. 14: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Vermont, South Dakota (runoff)

Aug. 21: Alaska, Wyoming,

Aug. 28: Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma

Sept. 4: Massachusetts

Sept. 6: Delaware

Sept. 11: New Hampshire

Sept. 12: Rhode Island
An attack ad in a state House race is notable in how bluntly it plays on Old Philly vs. New Philly themes Read more

It wouldn't be Election Day in Philadelphia if there wasn't a last-minute negative ad on the streets.

South Philly voters recently received a pair of mailers slamming Democrat Elizabeth Fiedler, a former WHYY reporter running in a contentious four-way primary for state representative.

They said Fiedler "went district shopping" and "doesn't know us." They also said Fiedler "decided she wanted to run for office, so she moved from North Philly to a State Rep district in Center City in 2016  months later, Fiedler rented out her new house and signed a lease in South Philly."

Fiedler called the ads "false" and "said such "negative attacks stop so many great community leaders from running for office."

Fiedler's campaign said that she never lived in Center City, and that she moved to South Philly in 2014. She has lived in Philadelphia since 2003, her team said, and spent 10 years in North Philly.

Fiedler's campaign said she does rent her home.

The ads are notable in how bluntly they play on Old Philly vs. New Philly themes.

Fiedler is running in the 184th District, a rapidly gentrifying area that includes the East Passyunk Crossing and Pennsport areas. She has campaigned on Medicare-for-All, and has the support of the teachers' union and Our Revolution, a group formed out of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

The 184th's incumbent legislator, State Rep. Bill Keller, is retiring at the end of the year and supporting Jonathan "J.R." Rowan to succeed him. Rowan, a state Senate aide and ward leader, has received major financial support from the city's electricians union. Rowan's campaign has highlighted his Philly roots and his promise to continue "Bill Keller's work to expand the port."

The anti-Fiedler ads were paid for by Friends of Ward 39B, according to a disclosure on the mailers. The Democratic leader of that ward is Matthew Myers, who is Rowan's uncle as well as the brother of Michael "Ozzie" Myers, a former congressman convicted of bribery.

Myers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Rowan campaign doubled down on the message in the ad.

"There is no record of Fiedler living in South Philly before 2016, when she bought a house outside the district and then decided to rent another house 10 blocks away," said Dave Mellet, a spokesman for the Rowan team. "When she realized the district she lived in was too tough to win, she rented a new house before the paint finished drying."

Criticizing the mailers, Fiedler also touched on the Old Philly vs. New Philly trope, albeit more subtly than the ads. "My neighbors and the residents behind the thousands of South Philly doors I've knocked on say the same thing: The system isn't working for us and we're tired of politics as usual," she said.

A private poll conducted in early April showed Fiedler ahead in the 184th District primary.

Also running in the Democratic contest are attorney Tom Wyatt and former police detective Nicholas DiDonato.
Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary election comes as Democrats eye the Keystone State as a critical piece of their hopes to win control of the U.S. House this fall, with the results tonight setting the stage for what could be some of the country's toughest congressional races.

There are nomination battles in several competitive contests (mostly on the Democratic side), a potential demonstration of Trump's imprint on the Pennsylvania GOP and a test of whether Bernie Sanders can translate supporters' enthusiasm into victories for his allies.

>> READ MORE: Pa. primary election 2018: Live updates from the polls

Here are several key races and themes we will be watching as the returns come in:

Can women break through?

Democrats hope it will be the "Year of the Woman," especially in the suburbs where women have fueled a revolt against Trump. But Pennsylvania is a notoriously unfriendly place for female politicians: the state's 20-person congressional delegation is entirely male. Will that change this year? Some women are all-but assured of their party nominations, since they are running unopposed (including Democrats Chrissy Houlahan in Chester County and Republican Pearl Kim in Delaware County). In several other contests, however, including races based in Bucks, Delaware, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, Democratic women are facing tough primary competition. The winners in some of those races will be heavily favored in the fall  which means today's results could go a long way to deciding if a woman, or multiple women, will be in the state's House delegation. EMILY's List, a group that backs Democratic women, has endorsed in several Pennsylvania races, and in some cases spent heavily.

Trumps Imprint

The president takes particular pride in his 2016 victory in Pennsylvania, where he broke a long Democratic winning streak. Today may show just how much his influence has trickled down to other PA Republicans. Scott Wagner, a brash and confrontational businessman, and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, a close Trump ally who made his name as an illegal immigration hard-liner, are favored to win the GOP nominations for governor and U.S. Senate. (Trump recently recorded robocalls for Barletta, who was one of the president's most enthusiastic surrogates in 2016). Both Wagner and Barletta face challenges  from businessman Paul Mango and state Rep. Jim Christiana, respectively  but are favored. If they win, their nominations would mark a stark shift away from old methods and towards Trump. Consider that two years ago Sen. Pat Toomey refused to endorse Trump until hours before polls closed and spent millions depicting himself as an independent champion of compromise. At the time, many Republican insiders thought their best Senate nominee for 2018 might have been former U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, who had a moderate profile that served him well in Delaware County (he declined to run, and revelations of a sexual harassment settlement pushed him to retire). With today's voting, the Pennsylvania GOP may instead affirm that in style, tone and priorities, it has wrapped its arms around Trump.

First Congressional District  Money vs. the Military

Democrats have a choice to make in this Bucks County-based swing district, where they hope to unseat Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick. Scott Wallace, a liberal multi-millionaire and grandson of Henry Wallace, a vice president under Franklin D. Roosevelt, is funding his own campaign and is favored. But he faces his stiffest challenge from former Navy prosecutor Rachel Reddick, who is one of several Democrats hoping that a military background can help them appeal to moderate voters. Environmentalist Steve Bacher is running from the left. Whoever wins is likely to have a tough  but winnable  fight on their hands in the fall, assuming Fitzpatrick survives a challenge from conservative attorney Dean Malik.

Fourth Congressional District  A Return for MontCo

Montgomery County will be all-but assured of sending a home-county representative to Congress thanks to this newly drawn district (a result of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's new map). The Democratic race has drawn three high-profile candidates: state Rep. Madeleine Dean, who has racked up endorsements from high-profile party leaders; Shira Goodman, the leader of the gun control group CeaseFirePA, and former Congressman Joe Hoeffel, who represented the area years ago. Dean and Goodman have more money  and either would represent a win for suburban women  but Hoeffel's residual name recognition gives him a shot, and he says his previous congressional experience is critical in taking on the Trump administration. The winner will be heavily favored to go to Congress in the deep blue district.

>> READ MORE: Find your congressional district under Pa.'s new map and see who's running

Fifth Congressional District  Chaos and Opportunity

If any race captures the chaos of this year in Pennsylvania politics, it's this one. Through the combination of Meehan's sudden retirement and the new congressional maps, this district went from a Democratic long-shot to an almost sure gain in a matter of weeks  and drew more than a dozen contenders. Now 10 Democrats are left in a race that features an array of insiders, newcomers, DelCo hopefuls and a couple Philadelphians. Again there's a question of whether a woman can break through in a crowded field, and whether the many Delaware County residents will split the vote and open the door for Philadelphian Rich Lazer. The Democratic winner will almost certainly head to Congress in the fall, given the party's voter registration advantage. Though EMILY's List has weighed in elsewhere to help women, here, in perhaps the most competitive primary, the group was split between candidates Mary Gay Scanlon and Ashley Lunkenheimer, and so has not made an endorsement.

>> READ MORE: In-depth interviews with the candidates running in Pa.'s new Fifth District

Seventh Congressional District  Wide Open

The battle for an open seat in the Lehigh Valley has exposed some of the jagged fault lines in the Democratic party. It's the contest in this region that has the largest ideological divides, rather than simply biographical differences. Northampton District Attorney John Morganelli hopes his more moderate stances can appeal in this closely-divided swing district, home to the recently-resigned centrist Republican Charlie Dent. He can point to Democrat Conor Lamb's success in Southwestern Pennsylvania as a potential template. But his conservative stances on immigration and abortion worry much of the Democratic base. Sanders and the Congressional Black Caucus have endorsed Greg Edwards, while EMILY's List is behind Susan Wild. There's something for nearly every slice of the party here. On paper, the district looks like a competitive one in November, so the right nominee could make the difference.

Bernies Crew

Sanders is still playing on the national stage after sparking so much liberal enthusiasm in 2016, and has endorsed several candidates on the ballot today  hoping his energy can translate to potential allies. He's backing Lazer in the Fifth District primary, Edwards in the seventh and John Fetterman in the Democratic lieutenant governor race. Sanders also backed Jess King in the 11th District, where she is running unopposed. We'll see if Sanders can turn energy into tangible victories in tough races.
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc presents a gift to Sen. Lt. Gen. Suvon Luongbunmi, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Lao Peoples Army, at their meeting on May 14th (Photo: VNA)



PM Phuc highlighted the profound relationship between the two Parties, States, armies and peoples, noting that throughout history, the Vietnamese army and people have always stood side by side with their Lao counterparts in all circumstances.

Sen. Lt. Gen. Luongbunmi briefed his host about the outcomes of his talks with Sen. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang, Deputy Defence Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Vietnam Peoples Army.

The two sides reviewed cooperation in 2017 and discussed concrete cooperation orientations for this year and the time ahead, he said, elaborating that the two defence ministries worked together in all aspects last year. Notably, the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defence has actively helped the Lao army to build forces, thus greatly contributing to the socio-economic development of Laos.

The two sides have also carried out a number of joint activities to improve living standards of residents in their countries border areas, which has been strongly supported by Vietnamese and Lao people, he noted.

In the coming time, they will increase collaboration in personnel training and building the Vietnam-Laos boundary into a border of stability and comprehensive development, the officer said.

Applauding the two defence ministries cooperation, PM Phuc asked them to enhance connections to help intensify the countries friendship.

Meanwhile, he said, as Vietnam and Laos share a long borderline which mainly traverses mountainous and disadvantaged areas, the countries should step up joint activities between their armies and security forces to maintain peace, security, order and friendship along the border.

Aside from efforts to improve border residents living standards, the two armies also need to bolster ties in the fight against human trafficking and drug crimes, as well as in personnel training, he added.

The PM voiced his belief that the fine relationship between the armies will fortify the trust and all-round cooperation between the two Parties, States, and peoples while ensuring peace, stability and political security for each countrys development./.
Rhonda Washington outside her home in the Northeast. A recent change to the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8, could mean more people moving into higher opportunity neighborhoods or out to the suburbs. Read more

A newly instituted federal housing policy could make it easier for people on rental assistance to move into higher-income neighborhoods in Philadelphia and the suburbs.

Until now, the amount of money that housing authorities paid for rent was based on the average rent in a massive metropolitan area, encompassing Philadelphia, its surrounding towns, Camden and Wilmington.

So a person living in Strawberry Mansion received roughly the same as someone in Chestnut Hill or Swarthmore (about $1,266 in 2018).

Now, vouchers will be based on the market average for specific zip codes, which housing advocates envision as a pathway out of poverty for thousands of families. The new rates also make apartments  if available  more affordable in Philadelphia's pricier suburban counties.

"Philadelphia is one of those cities that is growing, virtually, block by block, so we want to make sure the rents we're paying are at the same competitive range as the market," said Kelvin Jeremiah, CEO of the Philadelphia Housing Authority. "This will remove a significant barrier so that, to the extent a family has an opportunity to rent an apartment in Fairmount or in Center City or in Chestnut Hill, they will now be given a higher subsidy to do so."

The reform, known as Small Area Fair Market Rent, affects those enrolled in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8. It was mandated in 24 metropolitan regions by HUD under President Barack Obama but lagged in court before going into effect last month.

Rhonda Washington knows the impact a significant move can have on a family. She and her three children, 16, 20 and 27, left Nicetown last year for a four-bedroom in the Northeast through a PHA mobility program. About 300 of the 19,000 families enrolled in the voucher program relocated to "higher opportunity" neighborhoods.

"We never went outside" in Nicetown, Washington said. "My kids couldn't go out for walks without being afraid of getting shot, getting into a fight." She pulled her son and daughters from public school when they were younger and enrolled them in a cyber charter so they could attend class at home.

When PHA took Washington to visit the Northeast brick rowhouse, in a development of manicured green lawns and pink magnolia trees, she was skeptical. When she saw the $1,650 rent for the four-bedroom  more than double the Nicetown cost  she sensed a scam. Washington, who works as a case manager for people with disabilities, saved up enough to double her contribution to $736; her voucher is worth $914. The family moved in last October.

The key to more stories like Washington's will be finding available spaces in those "higher opportunity" neighborhoods and landlords willing to rent to tenants with vouchers. With no new money coming in and the number of vouchers remaining the same, rental subsidies have dropped in lower-income neighborhoods to align with the market and make up for increases in more-affluent zip codes.

"People will choose to live where they want to live," Ira Goldstein of the Reinvestment Fund said. "And landlords will choose to accept a voucher or not, but one of the impediments has been landlords arguing the rents have not been high enough to make it work. This addresses that."

But some housing experts worry that the new rates could mean a decline in the availability of apartments.

"It will ultimately hurt tenants," said Walter Lapidus, owner of Anchor Realty, which manages 900 units in Philadelphia, 100 of which are funded by vouchers. "The neighborhoods that PHA wants them to move to, I don't think there will be enough landlords accepting vouchers there. And if landlords in other neighborhoods feel like they're taking a cut on the rent because of new rules, they will be more likely to not pursue Section 8 [renters]."

Lapidus said he's seen the landlords he works with renting to fewer voucher tenants over the years because of extra work involved and a strong rental market. It typically takes longer for a person with a voucher to move into a unit because of required inspections, paperwork and other red tape, he said.

Philadelphia has a law that prohibits landlords from rejecting a client solely based on source of income, but investigating and proving discrimination can be difficult.

Suburban migration?

By the numbers, the changes would make it much easier to rent in traditionally sought-after suburban towns. The payment for a two-bedroom in Blue Bell increased from $1,392 to $1,925. In Malvern, a two-bedroom voucher increases from $1,140 to $1,722.

Suburban counties typically don't have laws prohibiting discrimination based on source of income. Tenants are often responsible for first and last month's rent plus a security deposit. That expense could be prohibitive in neighborhoods where rents are high.

Moving out of county, called "porting," also comes with complications. In some cases, the housing authority where the tenant moves issues their voucher. In others, the sending-county is billed. If an agreement can't be reached, sometimes the person can't move at all.

"It's probably more likely that you'll see mobility within the city than from the city to the counties," said Goldstein, of the Reinvestment Fund. "There may be some increased interest around transit hubs."

Depending on the town, it could be less affordable to move to the suburbs. Take Delaware County, for instance, where about 500 Philadelphia families with vouchers have moved in the last two decades. In two-thirds of the county's zip codes, the rent the housing authority will pay dropped.

Lawrence Hartley, executive director of the Delaware County Housing Authority, worries what that will mean for voucher holders there. The new rates will be phased in gradually for existing tenants but people who move in neighborhoods where the rate paid has decreased could be on the hook to pay more. That would happen at the same time HUD is proposing a rent increase, he said.

Chester County, conversely, saw an increase in what the housing authority will pay in more than half of its 53 zip codes. That could mean more movement within the county, said its executive director, Dale Gravett.

"The payment standards are much higher in some areas, so a family could move to one of those areas and find affordable housing where before you could not," Gravett said. "We'll see what happens; there's a lot of uncertainty out there right now." Gravett has also heard from landlords who want to drive up rent, given the increased payments. He estimates that the authority will spend $300,000 on increases to existing leases this year.

In Montgomery County, 10 percent of voucher holders already live in the "highest opportunity" zip codes, said Joel Johnson, director of the housing authority there. He doesn't anticipate much out-of-county migration.

"People with vouchers in Philadelphia were already moving here before, and I don't think this program would increase that," Johnson said. "I think there are challenges on the ground relative to down payments and public transportation access. Some of the most expensive zip codes in Montgomery County don't have, necessarily, public transit."

For Washington, the move to the Northeast neighborhood known as Modena Park has had an immediate impact. The family takes every opportunity to go on walks around their development. Her daughter wants to enroll in 11th grade at the neighborhood school. Washington recently got a promotion, which she attributes, in part, to feeling less stressed at home.

"I didn't even know this place existed," said Washington, who grew up in South Philadelphia. "Coming home every day, it makes me want to do better. I think you have to be in a good environment in order to do better."
Helene J. Casselli, 74, of Manayunk, an internist in Roxborough who was loved by her patients for her honesty and ability to listen, died Thursday, May 10, of complications from peripheral artery disease at the VNA Hospice of Greater Philadelphia in East Falls.

Initially, Dr. Casselli set her sights on becoming a pharmacist, said her close friend and former physician Joan Hurlock. Dr. Casselli never told Hurlock why she made a career switch to internal medicine.

"She was a pharmacist first," Hurlock said. Dr. Casselli earned a bachelor of science degree in 1965, followed by a pharmacy and medical degree, all from Temple University.

Dr. Casselli served an internship and internal medicine residency at Albert Einstein Northern Division, where she decided to specialize in rheumatology, the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disease and systemic autoimmune conditions. However, she never became board-certified in the specialty.

"I think she did more general medicine," Hurlock said. "She practiced internal medicine for adults, not kids."

Dr. Casselli maintained a private practice in a medical building at 5735 Ridge Ave., Roxborough, until retiring in 2012. Hurlock said she was greatly loved by her patients and respected by her colleagues.

Three attributes set her above others, Hurlock said: "Simplicity and honesty, and she listened."

Dr. Casselli was on the medical staff of Roxborough Memorial Hospital for 35 years ending six years ago. She also was a staff physician at a clinic at 30th and Walnut Streets in West Philadelphia, where members of AFSCME District Council 33 go for medical treatment.

Born and raised in Roxborough, she attended St. Josephat's School in Manayunk, which included kindergarten. Over the years, she maintained friendships with her kindergarten friends.

"She was a very good friend," Hurlock said.

The only child of Nellie Zawislak and James Casselli, Dr. Casselli grew up in Roxborough in a home next to that of an aunt and uncle, Vicky and Raymond Kaminski.

"A lot of her childhood she spent with her beloved aunt and uncle," said Hurlock. "They all gathered at the Cassellis'."

Dr. Casselli was a 1961 graduate of John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls' High School before pursuing higher education.

Last year, she was given an award by the College of Internal Medicine for attending the group's annual continuing-education seminar in Boston for 30 consecutive years.

"She was ecstatic" to be honored, her friend said.

Although she never married or had children, Dr. Casselli served as a godmother to the children of friends, Hurlock said. She cared for her mother and aunt in her home, and once they died, she lived in the house alone, reading and enjoying visits with friends.

A visitation starting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 16, will be followed by an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Chapel in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 819 Cathedral Rd., Philadelphia. Interment is at Westminster Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd.
The Northeast Corridor spans 500 miles from Washington, D.C., to Boston and is the economic engine of the Northeast, which collectively contains around one-third of all American jobs and generates around $3 trillion in economic productivity each year. Read more

The $1.3 trillion omnibus spending package recently approved by President Trump and Congress includes much-needed infrastructure funding that could help Pennsylvania rebuild its crumbling railways. But it is now up to the Appropriations Committees in both the Senate and the House to take the next step by prioritizing more federal funding for critical repairs and upgrades along Pennsylvania's stretch of the Northeast Corridor rail system.

The corridor spans 500 miles from Washington to Boston and is the economic engine of the Northeast, which collectively contains around one-third of American jobs and generates around $3 trillion in economic productivity each year. More than 820,000 riders depend on Northeast Corridor trains every day, and thousands of businesses rely on the system to conduct commerce, which is the reason rail delays and disruptions can lead to devastating losses.

The nonpartisan Northeast Corridor Commission found that a shutdown of the system would cost the American economy more than $100 million per day. These potential damages show why the deteriorating condition of Pennsylvania's rail infrastructure is a threat to the long-term economic health and competitiveness of the nation.

Congress should be deeply concerned about the dire state of Pennsylvania's aging infrastructure, and it is why federal investment is so urgently needed. Most of the state's railways were built in the years between the Civil War and the 1930s  and that infrastructure is crumbling and cannot last much longer.

The Northeast Corridor Commission also found that it will cost at least $50 billion over the next 20 years to bring the corridor into a state of good repair up and down the line. The longer we wait, the more expensive that price tag will become.

The Appropriations Committees can begin addressing this by focusing on providing new federal funding to priority projects in Pennsylvania  all of which have a significant role to play in shoring up the system and strengthening our national economy.

For example, there is a $6.5 billion plan to modernize 30th Street Station and create 10 million square feet of transit-oriented development in surrounding areas, but it lacks the money needed to begin construction.

The list of projects in need goes on and on  but Congress has the power to tackle this economic challenge by providing the new investments needed to get the ball rolling in Pennsylvania and throughout the corridor.

Fortunately, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have begun discussing this urgent need as part of budget negotiations. All that is needed is for both houses to build on this bipartisan consensus during appropriations discussions in order to expedite vital projects such as Philadelphia's 30th Street Station plan.

Modernizing America's infrastructure is a central pillar of President Trump's economic agenda, and the funding allocated for infrastructure in the omnibus spending bill marks important progress for workers and businesses across the country. But now lawmakers on Capitol Hill must prioritize critical projects in Pennsylvania and along the entire Northeast Corridor to ensure that our national economy is competitive far into the 21st century.

Michael Friedberg is the executive director for Coalition for the Northeast Corridor.
Flight 3U8633, operated by Sichuan Airlines, prepares to conduct emergency landing after a mechanical failure in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 14, 2018. Part of the cockpit window broke as the Airbus A319 flew over Chengdu. The plane was en route from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. It was forced to divert to an alternate airport in Chengdu. All passengers are safe, although the co-pilot sustained injuries to the face and waist, and another crew member was slightly hurt during the emergency landing. After the landing on Monday morning, the airline has arranged another flight to take the passengers to Lhasa. (Xinhua/Wan Bi)

CHONGQING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese commercial flight was forced to divert to an alternate airport after a mechanical failure, authorities confirmed Monday.

Flight 3U8633, operated by Sichuan Airlines, was en route from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. It was forced to divert to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), part of the cockpit window broke as the Airbus A319 flew over Chengdu. The aircrew enacted emergency code 7700 and landed in Chengdu. All passengers are safe, although the co-pilot sustained injuries to the face and waist, and another crew member was slightly hurt during the emergency landing, according to the CAAC.

Sichuan Airlines confirmed the diversion, and said that an investigation is under way. The plane landed in Chengdu at 7:46 a.m. on Monday.

There were 119 passengers and nine crew members on board, according to the airline, which has arranged another flight to take the passengers to Lhasa.

Video footage shot by passengers showed baggage falling from overhead lockers during the emergency landing and oxygen masks dropping for use.

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[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- China appreciates the U.S. position on Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said Monday.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday on Twitter that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are working together to give ZTE "a way to get back into business, fast," and the U.S. Commerce Department has been instructed to work on the issue.

In response, Lu said China is keeping close communication with the United States on specific details and issues that the U.S. side is concerned about.

Earlier on Monday, Lu announced Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, would visit the United States from May 15 to 19 for economic and trade consultations.

Liu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chief of the Chinese side of the China-U.S. comprehensive economic dialogue, will visit at the invitation of the U.S. administration.

Liu will continue to hold consultations with the U.S. economic team headed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on economic and trade issues between the two countries, Lu said.

"China stands ready to work with the United States to promote positive and constructive results in the forthcoming consultations," he said.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
A Sonoma County, CA, Sheriff's deputy was shot Sunday morning after responding to a call from a gas station manager about his employee being armed with a BB gun and acting erratically. But it turned out that the gun was a 9mm firearm.

The deputy, working as a police officer for the city of Sonoma, suffered nonfatal wounds and was reported in stable condition Sunday night at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, reports the Press-Democrat.

Officials said Pritel drew a 9mm semiautomatic handgun and fired at one of two responding deputies.

Sonoma Police Chief Bret Sackett said the deputy was hit with a round of "snake shot," a bullet whose projectile is made up of small pellets.

The deputy was hit in various parts of his upper torso, including his hands, arms, and face near his left eye, officials said. "He appears to be in good shape and should have a full recovery," Sackett said during an interview with media at the scene.

Deputies arrested Ryan Joseph Pritel, 20, of Sonoma. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and carrying a loaded firearm in public.
Officer Kelli Smith (Photo: Montgomery PD)

A Montgomery (IL) Police officer is being praised for her life-saving efforts of a four-day old infant after police were called to save the infant, who was choking.

Last Monday, around 3:35 p.m., officers responded to a residential call. Officer Kelli Smith arrived on scene and made contact with the mother and was handed the child, who was not breathing.

Police officials say that Smith, "properly supported the infant in her arms and provided multiple pats on the back which dislodged an item which was stuck in the infants throat."

The infant then began to cry and resume normal breathing patterns. Oswego Fire paramedics arrived on-scene shortly after and continued care for the infant, WSPY reports.
Visitors take photos during the "Bridging the Gap: A Selection of Nominees of the Marcel Duchamp Prize" exhibition at Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2018. The exhibition, exhibiting the works of 10 artists selected for the Marcel Duchamp Prize, kicked off on Monday. (Xinhua/Xiao Xiao)

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The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Justices Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and BJAs VALOR officer safety initiative, awarded its National Officer Safety and Wellness Awards Monday, May 14, 2018 at the Hotel Monaco during National Police Week. These awards are presented as part of the Destination Zero program designed to highlight agency-level achievements in the areas of officer safety and wellness.

Image: NLEOMF

The primary objective of the program is to reduce causal factors that injure and kill law enforcement officers, and help officers live safer, happier, and healthier lives.Destination Zero began in 2014 with a goal to identify agencies conducting unique and innovative programs aimed at reducing risk factors and to share the design and outcomes of these programs with the entire law enforcement community. Agencies with successful programs are asked to submit details of their initiatives to be considered for an award. The information collected through this process is housed at DestinationZero.org and is readily available to anyone who wishes to review content or implement similar programs within their department or agency.

Awards are presented in the following categories:

General Officer Safety: This category features programs that directly affect officers physical safety while performing their jobs.

Officer Traffic Safety: These initiatives are designed to reduce automobile crashes and limit the risk factors of operating a motor vehicle or managing traffic. Programs that increased seatbelt use, limited distractions or reduced driving speeds are also included in this category.

Officer Wellness: Fitness programs, mental health programs and initiatives, such as peer support groups and nutrition, are included in this category.

Comprehensive Safety: Includes programs that demonstrated the most comprehensive approach and were strategically implemented into safety and wellness efforts. Agencies considered for this award had a strong overall program that was successfully marketed and innovative in its approach to gain employee participation.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are proud to announce the following 2018 Officer Safety and Wellness Award winners:

General Officer Safety: Texas A&M University Police Department

Officer Traffic Safety: Placer County (CA) Sheriffs Office

Officer Wellness: City of Bend (OR) Police Department

Comprehensive Safety: Sidney (OH) Police Department

In addition to the four winning agencies, the following finalists are also acknowledged:

General Officer Safety: Berrien County (MI) Sheriffs Office, North Richland Hills (TX) Police Department

Officer Traffic Safety: Missouri Department of Transportation, Washington County (MN) Sheriffs Office

Officer Wellness: Osceola County (FL) Sheriffs Department, Plymouth (MN) Police Department

Comprehensive Safety: Cedar Park (TX) Police Department, Glendale (AZ) Police Department, Greenfield (WI) Police Department

Following months of review and evaluation of the submitted programs, the award process selected 13 finalist agencies whose programs fell into one of the four officer safety and wellness award categories. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund convened a distinguished panel of judges to evaluate the finalist programs. A seven-member selection committee, representing nearly every type of law enforcement agency, carefully considered each finalist program and selected the award recipients for each of the four categories.

The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Bureau of Justice Assistance are grateful to all participating agencies and extend congratulations to the four winning agencies and finalists for 2018. The National Officer Safety and Wellness Awards are presented annually, and agencies are encouraged to submit details about their successful safety and wellness programs at www.DestinationZero.org.
In October 2016, three dogs in Broward County, Florida, showed symptoms of overdose after they assisted in a federal drug raid. The dogs were more lethargic than usual, and they refused water. In West Virginia, the Monongalia County Sheriffs Department has also become concerned about dogs used in drug raids. Al Kisner, the departments chief deputy, told WVNews.com that they no longer take dogs off their leads in houses that might contain fentanyl, since the dogs could chew on an object covered in the potent opioid and inadvertently overdose.

Fentanyl is 30 to 50 times more potent than heroinso deadly that just a few inhaled grains can cause an overdose. (A few human police officers have been hospitalized after accidentally inhaling puffs of the substance.) That can be a problem when sniffing is a police dogs primary mode of detective work, the Atlantic reports.

Fully trained police dogs are worth around $30,000 each, and police departments are looking for ways to protect these four-legged officers on the job. Colorado is equipping all of its police canine teams with Narcan, the overdose-reversal drug. Police in Canada are training dogs on liquid, rather than powder, fentanyl to minimize the risk of exposure during training. Maryland state police also carry Narcan for their dogs and are trained to look for excessive drooling and severe limping as symptoms of overdose. Illinois even has a law that allows for the use of ambulances to transport police dogs, if they arent needed for humans.
The Yarmouth (MA) Police Department received this wreath from the New York Yankees expressing the team's sympathies over the loss of Officer Sean Gannon. (Photo: Yarmouth PD/Facebook)

The Police Department in Yarmouth, Mass., was mourning the death of one of its officers, Sean Gannon, last month when a bouquet of flowers arrived at the station bearing a card with five unexpected words: From the New York Yankees.

Officer Gannon was shot and killed while serving a warrant in neighboring Marstons Mills, a tiny village in Cape Cod, where the Yankees are considered bitter rivals.

Im a die-hard Red Sox fan, and my first reaction was, Call the delivery guy and tell him to take them back, said Frank Frederickson, the Yarmouth police chief. I say that in jest, of course. That is a class move, and it meant a lot to us. All the guys came down and wanted to see it. They were like, Are you kidding me?

Reactions were similar at the sheriffs department in Lebanon, Ind., last month and at a home in Fargo, N.D., in 2016, and dozens of other locations from Maine to Alaska. For the past three years, the Yankees have been quietly sending flowers to the families and police departments of slain law enforcement officers across the country.

In most of the places, the immediate question was similar: Why would the Yankees send flowers to us?

The gesture grew from something the Yankees have done for decades  sending flowers to the funerals of officers killed in the New York metropolitan area. But one day in 2015, Sonny Hight, a former detective in the New York Police Department who is a Yankees vice president and the chief security officer, heard about a police officer killed in another state. Mr. Hight said he did not now remember the episode, the city or the date, only that he was moved to act.

I just thought, hey, this guy deserves to be recognized for his sacrifice, Mr. Hight told the New York Times. We should at least send some flowers acknowledging it.
Besieged Open Society Foundations to move to Berlin from Budapest

Citing an increasingly repressive political and legal environment" in Hungary, George Soross Open Society Foundations announced on Tuesday moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin. OSF is one of the worlds largest financiers of non-governmental organisations working in Hungary since 1984.

After winning his third consecutive term in a landslide last month, Prime Minister Viktor Orban seeks to complete a break with liberal democracy, and build an  illiberal democracy " - or as he has recently put it:  an old-school Christian democracy " - inspired by Turkey and Russia.He won the April parliamentary election on a fierce anti-migration campaign, also aimed at Hungarian-born financier and philanthropist George Soros, he built a border fence to keep out mostly Muslim immigrants and asylum seekers, clipped the wings of courts, increased the governments media influence and started targeting civil society groups.OSFs decision to move operations out of Budapest comes as the Hungarian government prepares to impose further restrictions on NGOs through what it has branded its Stop Soros" package of legislation.

The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union

, said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations.The so-called Stop Soros package of laws is only the latest in a series of such attempts.," he added.The legislation, invoking national security interests, would block any organization from advising or representing asylum seekers and refugees without a government license, the OSF said.The government has indicated that these new laws are intended to stop the work of leading Hungarian human rights organizations and their funders, including the Open Society Foundations. The Foundations will pursue all available legal avenues to defend the fundamental rights that are threatened by the legislation," the organisation said.77 university professors and academics from 28 countries around the world have recently stood up against the "Stop Soros" bill they say poses an "imminent existential threat" to the independent Hungarian civil society.The OSF reminded that over the past two years, the Hungarian government hason a campaign to spread lies about the Foundations and their partners.The governments hate campaign has included propaganda posters and billboards, invoking anti-Semitic imagery from World War II, and a supposed national consultation" attacking George Soros, founder and chair of the Open Society Foundations, and Hungarian human rights groups, it added.Last month, pro-government weekly Figyelo published a list of over 200 names that it claims areto topple the government. Those on the list include members of rights organisations such as Amnesty International, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International, refugee advocates, investigative journalists and faculty and officials from CEU, some of them deceased.The paper basically had no choice but to come up with such a list, after Orban said during his election campaign that his cabinet knew the names of some 2,000 members of the "Soros mercenary army," paid to "work toward bringing down the government."Those connected to Open Society have been targeted by clandestine and fraudulent recording efforts aimed at fueling the governments misleading propaganda campaign," the OSF said.The latest proposed legislation on nongovernmental organizations follows the passage of a 2017 law that imposed burdensome reporting requirements on Hungarian human rights and civil society groups receiving funding from abroad. This law has been challenged by the European Commission before the European Court of Justice as a breach of EU treaty law on the free movement of capital, and a violation of the freedom guaranteed by the EUs Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Moving operations out of Budapest will have a significant impact on the more than 100 staff based there, most of whom are engaged in international grant making

, the OSF said. Around 60% are Hungarian nationals, including several who have worked for the Open Society Foundations for more than a decade. The Foundations are taking appropriate steps regarding the safety and well-being of those affected by the office relocation." Click here for a factsheet of the OSFs work in Hungary.The OSF vowed that together with other international funders, it will continue to support the important work of civil society groups in Hungary on issues such as arts and culture, media freedom, transparency, and education and health care for all Hungarians.The Hungarian government is actually gearing up toof its Stop Soros" law, Orbans chief of staff Antal Rogan told reporters on Monday. The cabinet will seek to amend the constitution to make the legislation tougher.The plan may threaten the ruling Fidesz partys membership in the European Peoples Party, the European Parliaments biggest bloc, Bloomberg reported EPP chief Manfred Weber said pursuing NGOs and the Soros-founded Central European University (CEU) in Budapest are "red lines" Orban shouldnt cross, according to a May 10 interview in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant.Rogan brushed off the threat, saying the EPP needed Fidesz in elections for European Parliament next year.
SWAKOPMUND, Namibia, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Kerryb Puuahee, 31, is proud of breaking new ground in the male-dominated mine industry by becoming a female heavy equipment operator at a Namibian mine.

The young mother is a 330-ton haul truck operator at Husab Uranium Mine, one of China's biggest single investments in Africa. Her job entails loading ore from the pit onto the processing workshop.

"Driving this beautiful thing here is a lovely experience, which you know is something we never imagined one could do here," Puuahee said.

Puuahee said she joined the mining industry mainly because it presents more opportunities and allows one to grow quickly. Driven by this belief, she moved inland from the coastal town of Swakopmund to Arandis, which is near Husab mine, and joined the legion of job seekers when Husab mine began construction in 2013.

"Now Swakop Uranium (the company that owns Husab Uranium Mine) provides employment for a lot of people, so I think it's also a life changer for many people, especially the youth," Puuahee said.

The Husab mine is one of the biggest uranium mines in the world. Permanent employees at the mine were numbered at 1,620 by the end of 2017, in addition to 176 temporary employees and 522 contractors.

Husab became the largest employer in the country's mining industry in 2017, according to the Chamber of Mines CEO Veston Malango.

Cai Yusheng, CEO of Swakop Uranium, said more than 5,000 workers were at the construction site at peak time.

The mine's construction and operation have been credited for alleviating the employment pressure in the southern African nation, where unemployment rate reached 34 percent in 2016.

Among the praises it received was that from Namibian President Hage Geingob.

"You have impressed me with your huge investment. This is indeed a good investment. Taming the mountains and civilizing the desert. Namibia is proud to have you as our partner!" Geingob said this when visiting the mine in March 2016.

Husab mine produced its first uranium drum in December 2016. Cai said if full production is realized, the mine will process 15 million tons of ore, and has an output capacity of 6,500 tons of U3O8 a year.

Husab mine is also expected to promote Namibia's GDP growth by about 5 percent and increase the country's export volume by about 20 percent, making Namibia the third largest producer of uranium in the world, according to Cai.

The 4.8-billion-U.S.-dollar project in the Namib Desert is one of China's biggest single investments in Africa, which took four years to finish construction.

Many expectations have now been attached to the mine. Geingob, who visited the mine several times, also invited Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita there.

Lungu left a message on the scene praising the investment as "an expression of the Chinese people's commitment to Africa," while Keita was equally excited. "Long live the cooperation between the great Namibia and great China! Long live China-Africa cooperation!" said his message.

[ Editor: Xueying ]
Since the beginning of the year, Vietnamese rice exports have witnessed many positive signs. The countrys average rice export volume reached 2.16 million tonnes in the first four months of this year, bringing home US$1.1 billion, up 21.7% in volume and 37.7% in value. China remained the largest importer, accounting for 29.1% of the market share in the first three months of 2018. In the first quarter of 2018, the Indonesian market increased 378 times over the same period last year.

In addition to the 300,000 tonnes of rice that are being delivered to Indonesia by the end of July, domestic enterprises are also boosting exports of 130,000 tonnes to the Philippines. Meanwhile, the demand for rice imports from Malaysia also increased, up 3.3 times over the same period in 2017.

It can be seen that the increase of rice exports volume in the first months of 2018 was attributed to the continuous demand in many markets. Moreover, the rice exported to countries, such as the Philippines and Malaysia, is middle quality rice, so Vietnamese enterprises could fully meet their demand. The price of rice increased thanks in part to increased demand, as well as the results of the restructuring of the rice sector in the direction of reducing the middle and low quality rice segment, while increasing the high quality rice.

Previously, Vietnam mainly exported regular rice such as IR 504. Now the country has begun to export jasmine rice and sticky rice, among others. In 2017, high quality rice accounted for 81% of the rice export structure. It should also be mentioned that the reduction of the area of regular rice cultivation, leading to the decrease in rice yield is also a factor that keeps rice prices stable, sometimes with increases due to high demand.

A strong selection of the rice market in recent years has become more or less a motivation for domestic businesses to focus on improving rice quality and expanding export markets. On the other hand, when the supply of high-quality rice is abundant, meeting the demands of the markets, Vietnams rice exports will no longer depend much on traditional markets.

It is forecast that Vietnam is expected to export about 6.5 million tonnes of rice, up 700,000 tonne compared to 2017. It is necessary to maintain the growth momentum by quickly catching demand as well as market volatility. Furthermore, the structure of high-quality rice must firmly remain, with regular rice accounting for no more than 20% of exports. Once the supply of rice is controlled and the quality of rice is enhanced, it is certain that Vietnamese rice production, processing and exports will establish a firm foothold in the market.
Today the U.S. opened our new embassy in Jerusalem. It is about time: for quite a few years, Congress has resolved that Jerusalem is Israels capital, but one president after another has deferred recognizing that reality, bowing, apparently, to the international consensus that every country on Earth except Israel has the right to designate its capital. I wrote here:

The location of Israels capital is a question of fact, not opinion, and it is up to Israel. The Arabs may not like it, but Jerusalem is Israels capital: the Knesset is in Jerusalem, the Supreme Court is in Jerusalem, the Prime Ministers office and official residence are in Jerusalem, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and most other government offices are in Jerusalem. To deny that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is as silly as denying that Paris is the capital of France.

All credit to President Trump for making good, once again, on his campaign promises. Prime Minister Netanyahu was almost giddy at todays ceremony:

What a glorious day, Netanyahu told the crowd at the new embassy building in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona. Remember this moment, this is history. President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history. Today, the embassy of the most powerful country on earth, our friend and ally, the United States of America, opens in Jerusalem, he exclaimed. We have no better friends in the world, Netanyahu told the American guests. Addressing Kushner and Ivanka Trump, he said, Your presence here today is a testament to the importance of this occasion, and thanked them for their pursuit of peace.

Ivanka standing next to the plaque on the embassy wall:

It was a great day, a festive day, a day when reality triumphedat least for the momentover the ugly cloud of anti-Semitism that insists Israel must not be treated like every other nation.

Hamas tried to mar the occasion by inciting some of its benighted followers to a suicidal charge against the Israeli border. Inevitably, some of them were killed. Death follows Hamas like a bad smell. But the terrorists futile gestures did nothing to diminish the historic events that took place in Jerusalem.

UPDATE: One more thing. Note that the plaque says, Jerusalem, Israel. Well, yeah. But that too is a step forward, when compared with Trumps pusillanimous predecessor:

Earlier today, the White House released a transcript of President Obamas remarks at the memorial service for Shimon Peres, which took place at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem. Later, the White House sent out a corrected transcript that struck out the word Israel after Jerusalem.

Here is the Obama White Houses correction. The word Israel is struck out of the dateline:

Then there is the whole passport controversy, as our State Department refuses to recognize Jerusalem as a part of Israel. As in so many other areas, the swamp will resist the President as long as it can.
In the Twin Cities, a local television station uncovers a far-reaching scandal: last year, more than $100 million in cash left the Twin Cities airport in carry-on luggage, bound for the Middle East and Africa:

This story begins at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where mysterious suitcases filled with cash have become a common carry-on. On the morning of March 15, Fox 9 chased a tip about a man who was leaving the country. Sources said he took a carry-on bag through security that was packed with $1 million in cash. Travelers can do that, as long as they fill out the proper government forms. Fox 9 learned that these cloak-and-dagger scenarios now happen almost weekly at MSP. The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond. Sources said last year alone, more than $100 million in cash left MSP in carry-on luggage.

Where does the money come from, and where is it going?

It was coming from Hawalas, businesses used to courier money to countries that have no official banking system. Some immigrant communities rely on Hawalas to send funds to help impoverished relatives back home. [Former Seattle police detective Glen] Kerns discovered some of the money was being funneled to a Hawala in the region of Somalia that is controlled by the al Shabaab terrorist group.

Great. But the real scandal is where the money came from in the first placewelfare fraud:

As Kerns dug deeper, he found that some of the individuals who were sending out tens of thousands of dollars worth of remittance payments happened to be on government assistance in this country. How could they possibly come up with such big bucks to transfer back home? We had sources that told us, Its welfare fraud, its all about the daycare, said Kerns.

***

Five years ago the Fox 9 Investigators were first to report that daycare fraud was on the rise in Minnesota, exposing how some businesses were gaming the system to steal millions in government subsidies meant to help low-income families with their childcare expenses. Its a great way to make some money, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. In order for the scheme to work, the daycare centers need to sign up low income families that qualify for child care assistance funding. Surveillance videos from a case prosecuted by Hennepin County show parents checking their kids into a center, only to leave with them a few minutes later. Sometimes, no children would show up. Either way, the center would bill the state for a full day of childcare. Video from that same case shows a man handing out envelopes of what are believed to be kickback payments to parents who are in on the fraud.

Evidently welfare fraud in various forms is widespread in Minnesotas Somali immigrant community. This is, I think, generally known, but the scale of fraud disclosed here is astonishing:

We believe that theres a scope of fraud out there that we really need to get our arms around and ensure that those dollars are going to kids that really need them, Acting Commissioner for the Department of Human Services Chuck Johnson said. He told the Fox 9 Investigators his agency has 10 daycares currently under active investigation for fraud. Fox 9 has learned dozens more are considered suspicious. Search warrants obtained by the Fox 9 Investigators show each one of the suspect centers has received several million dollars in childcare assistance funds. According to public records and government sources, most are owned by Somali immigrants.

***

Sources in the Somali community told Fox 9 it is an open secret that starting a daycare center is a license to make money. The fraud is so widespread they said, that people buy shares of daycare businesses to get a cut of the huge public subsidies that are pouring in. Government insiders believe this scam is costing the state at least a hundred million dollars a year, half of all child care subsidies.

How dumb are we? Honestly, I think it is impossible to plumb the depths of our stupidity.
According to former Communist Party voter and Obama CIA Director John Brennan, the dodgy Steele Dossier played no role whatsoever in the intelligence community assessment of Russian interference in the election. Brennan so testified before Congress under oath and emphatically asserted elsewhere including an interview with Chuck Todd.

Now comes Paul Sperry to report, however, that retired National Security Agency Director Michael Rogers stated in a classified letter to Congress that the Clinton campaign-funded memos did factor into the ICA. And James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, conceded in a recent CNN interview that the assessment was based on some of the substantive content of the dossier.

Clapper is a well known liar, but I think he may have veered into the truth on this occasion, and I assess Admiral Rogers to be a straight shooter. Sperry reports, you decide (and do read the whole thing[a]ttempts to reach Clapper for comment were unsuccessful).
(Dear readerFair warning: this is a long post, so best to settle in on the couch and make sure your dogs have completed their morning walks . . .)

Okay class, everyone settle in for todays seminar and get out your textbook, Jonah Goldbergs Suicide of the West. Turn to page 316, and circle this sentence: Indeed, as much as I hold Trump in contempt, I am still compelled to admit that, if my vote would have decided the election, I probably would have voted for him.

I begin with this admission against Jonahs supposed interest to point out to his many detractors on the right that he is actually on our side. A lot of my friends are on a hair trigger with everything Jonah says or writes these days because of his relentless criticism of Trump. (For some reason most of my critical friends seem to be named Julie. A statistician will probably tell me this cant be chanceit must be a conspiracy! Though actually it is the pseudonymous Tom Doniphon who is working overtime at American Greatness to smack Jonahs book around.) The ongoing divisions over Trump are provoking complaints that, among other sins, Jonah has committed a literary appropriation (heh) of James Burnhams famous 1962 title. This is a silly charge, as Harry Jaffa first explained to me about why he wasnt bothered by the many other authors who also titled their Lincoln books A New Birth of Freedom.

Now, I have my own specific criticisms of Jonahs book; in fact I have enough nits that I can probably knit a small sweater. Yes, he has some details of Michael Antons biography wrong; yes, his handling of the Declaration of Independence is sloppy in a couple of respects (but correct on the essentials); yes, Lockeans in every corner of the ring will want to dispute his summary accounts of Lockeanism as incomplete. (The irony of the long-running disputes about Locke is that they resemble an intellectual state of nature out of which no civil society seems ever likely to arise. But thats a subject for another dayand 500 more books.) At the end of the day, as I shall try to explain, all of these nits will yield a sweater barely suitable to cover up an anorexic Barbie doll.

My chief overall complaint about Jonahaside from not coughing up those old blackmail photos of me from Vegas he keeps in a safe deposit boxis that for all of his copious pop culture references, there is a conspicuous absence of references to Blazing Saddles. Which absence, as any East Coast Straussian will tell you, obviously means that he screens Saddles every Saturday morning. As Ive paraphrased to him many times, adopting his own self-description, Whats a dazzling Upper West Side demi-Jew like you doing in a rustic setting like Washington DC?

Anyway, rather than embark on an undoubtedly frustrating and unproductive disputation over specific criticisms of Jonah and Jonahs book from my friends (or enemies), I want to set out instead by disputing a positive review of the book that I think starts out wrongheaded, out of which I think a robust general defense can be constructed that does not require frowning at my friends. Adam Keiper opens his review of Suicide of the West in the Weekly Standard in the following way:

Goldbergs book is a big, baggy, sometimes frustrating, often brilliant combination of intellectual history and political essay. He says that the original manuscript was twice as long as the final product; it certainly should have been much further pruned.

Wrong, and wrong. Its not the book thats baggy. Jonahs pants are baggy, and perhaps Keiper is coming closer to explaining Trumps famously inscrutable dig at Jonahs supposed inability to buy trousers. Its the last sentenceit certainly should have been much further prunedthat is the wrongest part of Keipers evaluation.

As Jonah has explained, the original manuscript of the book was more than twice as long as the final product, and was reduced at the request of his editors at CrownForum books (my publisher, Ill add; they were very indulgent of my preposterous notion of writing a huge two-volume political biography of the life and times of Reagan, for which extraordinary latitude Ill always be grateful). I understand why the publisher would want the book, or any book, to be shorter, and Im sure the shorter length aids overall sales, but I think the book is in fact too short. I would like to have had the longer version. Too bad we cant do books after the fashion of movies, with a writers original edition like we have a directors cut of so many movies.

Okay, yes, Im weird. For example, I much prefer the complete, unabridged four-volume version of Churchills Marlborough to the dreadful one-volume edition edited by Henry Steele Commager, who managed to be unerring in cutting out the best parts of Churchills account. (I have a theory about why Commager edited Churchill as atrociously as he did, but thats for another day, too.)

Another way of getting at the inherent defectbut necessityof short books is to ask for a show of hands for the following question: how many of you have read even one volume of Deirdre McCloskeys magisterial trilogy consisting of Bourgeois Dignity, Bourgeois Virtues, and Bourgeois Equality? Confession: I have only read a little of McCloskeys triptych, but have long been a huge fan of all of McCloskeys remarkable body of work, and agree with Jonah about McCloskeys originality and deep cross-disciplinary perception. McCloskey is one of the very few senior academics who can rightly be called a polymath of the old school. Just have a look at McCloskeys author description in her books: Distinguished Professor of Economics, History, English, and Communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She really is an Erasmus for our time.

And in fact McCloskey is one of the inspirations and sources for some of the main themes in Suicide. McCloskey set out to get at a surprising mystery: there is no consensus about what causes economic growth, or an explanation for why the industrial revolution began to take off like a rocket roughly 300 years ago after centuries of essentially no economic growth at all. (The subtitle of Bourgeois Dignity is Why Economics Cant Explain the Modern World.) The standard factors we learned in Econ 101 way back whenland, labor and capitalarent the driver, nor is technological progress. Institutions matter, yes, as does most crucially classical liberalism. But our picture of the prosperity and success of the West is getting more out of focus as time goes on.

McCloskey offers some provocative and well-argued ideas, but Jonahs shorter work casts an even wider net, and attempts to return fire against the contemporary attacks on democratic capitalism, which, in case you havent noticed, have been gaining strength lately. One large part of the reason for this is the willful nihilism of the modern left, or what Malcolm Muggeridge way back in the 1970s called The Great Liberal Death Wish. Yes, Jonah perhaps owes one of his main themesthat suicide is a choicemore to Muggeridge than Burnham, but in any case he actually explains it with explicit reference to Lincolns warning in his Lyceum Address that if America ever fails it will be on account of self-willed causessuiciderather than foreign military invasion. Lincoln underestimated the potential for the invasion of bad foreign ideasthis is a major theme of both this book and Jonahs previous exploration, Liberal Fascism, but in any case this reference alone earns some chits with this Claremonster. (One thinks immediately of Leo Strausss remark about German ideology in Natural Right and History that It would not be the first time that a nation, defeated on the battlefield, and, as it were, annihilated as a political being, has deprived its conquerors of the most sublime fruit of victory by imposing on them the yoke of its own thought.)

But our confusion over the nature and causes of the success of the West also owes to the increasing specialization of intellectual life. As I plan to explore in either a long article or short book some time soon, the proliferation of academic specializations over the last century, while generating finer and finer slices of advanced insight, has deprived us of our appreciation and perception of the whole. History and politics, for example, were once studied together in universities. Now they are completely separate disciplines, which entails great loss of depth accruing to both. Sociology is really just a branch of political science (ditto anthropology), while social psychology, which is a distinct and separate branch of psychology now, is a bastard recombination of psychology and sociology. Economics is in the process of subdividing into several distinct fields, with the main portion of the discipline looking more like just a wing of the math department, and with one new branchbehavioral economicsironically casting an imperial reach into psychology. And academic philosophy is almost wholly sidelined and isolated from the public mind in ways and for reasons that take too long to explain. (All of this intellectual subdivision, incidentally, creates a void into which the radicalized disciplines of the politicized studies departments rush in to exploit. As I say, more on this another time, though I did talk about this some in Power Line Show podcast #69, in case you missed it.)

The result is a situation in which the ambition to write broad-gauge synoptic accounts of the social order of democratic capitalism is nearly extinct. There are a few notable and partial exceptions, such as Steven Pinkers new book Enlightenment Now, offering a robust defense of Enlightenment liberalism. (And the left is fiercely attacking Pinker, who is otherwise an orthodox modern liberal, for this sin.) Jonahs book is another, except that it is much more ambitious and wide-ranging than anything else on offer today.

Samuel Johnson argued that Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed, and as such Suicide of the West is an attempt to remind us with fresh language and up-to-date cultural analysis of the reasons our democratic order is under attacka state of things that just a couple decades ago seemed impossible to conceive. The central idea of Suicideis the centrality of human nature, which the left today must fundamentally attack because it is the chief obstacle to their authoritarian dreams. Jonah frequently quotes Horace: Naturam expelles furca, tamen usque recurret. Actually, Jonah quotes Horace in English: You can expel nature with a pitchfork, but it will always came back.

One might try to make something of a contradiction out of Jonahs embrace of human nature with his parallel argument that what we today deplore as selfish tribalism is in fact the natural state of humanity, and that liberal notions of equal rightsand democratic capitalismare in fact unnatural, and are undermined precisely by its very success. Here perhaps he is restating some of the ideas worked out a generation ago by Daniel Bell, but Joseph Schumpeter is the acknowledged larger inspiration for his argument. The point is, uncivilized human nature makes our social order always prone to the same law of entropy as our physical order, and as such is the chief refutation of the easygoing historicism behind the favorite modern liberal cliche about the side of history. Civilization takes work, as much to maintain it as to create it in the first place. Or as John Stuart Mill suggested, the chief defect of Hegelian liberalism is the assumption that the progress of humanity from barbarism to civilization is an irreversible process.

By coincidence, as I was reading Jonahs book I was also brushing up on my early Churchill, and ran across a letter from 1895 in which Churchill observed of the dynamism and material bounty of American capitalism:

When we reflect that such benefits have been secured to the people not by confiscation of the property of the rich or by arbitrary taxation but simply by business enterpriseout of which the promoters themselves have made colossal fortunes, one cannot fail to be impressed with the excellence of the active system.

But, Churchill added, in terms close to Jonahs point, that American capitalism is not pretty or romantic, but great and utilitarian. And understanding the romantic rebellion against liberal democracy and capitalism is one of the major themes of Suicide of the West. Sure, this may not be exactly new, but to adapt Dr. Johnson, reminding is informing.

The resolution of the tension between our liberal institutions and the undertow of untutored human nature can be derived from the pages of Aristotles Politics (along with a large side order of the Nicomachean Ethics), but believe me, if you try to explain it this way to students, you can hear the heads dropping on desktops before you get to the second paragraph of Book I. Even Burkes resolution of this difficulty is a hard slog with students today. Better to start with the halfway house of Locke, whose individualism and defense of natural rights is easier for the modern mind to recall because there is enough residual understanding and sympathy to work with. We can have the larger argument over Lockes liberalism some other time, after we halt the advance of the left. (Though for an accessible outline of the arguments, see chapter 6 of my Patriotism Is Not Enough, Equality as a Principle and a Problem; for a deep-dive treatment, see Thomas G. Wests recent book The Political Theory of the American Founding.)

Hence the real argument Jonah has with people on the right is not primarily with Trump supporters (and here one suspects that the publisher wanted to highlight the Trump parts of the book precisely because controversy sells booksand lo, here we are!), but rather with two opposing factions of the right who unwittingly and unintentionally align themselves with the left: the side of history historicists, and anti-liberal cultural historians. If you want to reduce it to two authors, you could even say that Jonahs primary antagonists on the right are Francis Fukuyama (The End of History and the Last Man) and Patrick Deneen (Why Liberalism Failed), though we should quickly note that Fukuyama has more or less repudiated the popular understanding of his famous argument from those palmy post-Cold War days of 1991, and Deneen, while thinking that the Enlightenment liberal tradition carried the seeds of its own destruction, is no friend of either nihilism or the cultural left. Ironically Jonah cites both thinkers approvingly, and in any case his book is not the place to carry out a full disputation with either person. (Indeed, Deneens argumentIll take it up at length some other timeoverlaps with Jonahs argument in places, while differing markedly in others.)

The reason I set it up this way is best explained by a long memo I wrote to the leadership of AEI way back in 2011, which attempted to explain why were in the fix we found ourselves under Obama, a part of which ran this way:

In the early- to mid-1990s we thought we had won on the major premises of politics and policyFrancis Fukuyama told us so!such that what was needed from the likes of us was the technical work of unraveling piece-by-piece the architecture of the administrative-welfare state. The reasons for thinking this way were all around us, from the spectacular fall of the Berlin Wall to the market liberalizations proceeding apace in nearly every corner of the world to the spectacular rout of Hillarycare and the noticeable acceptance of market logic within Clintonite & Blairist liberalism. These encouraging signs were profoundly misleading. The problem with thinking you are riding a wave of history is that the wave might leave you stranded on a sandbar far from shore. Just ask Newt. . .

How did the Left get the drop on us? I have a field theory for this that is simple but hopefully not simplistic. We should not repair behind exogenous excuses about the surprise of the housing bubble/financial collapse and the extraordinary phenomenon of Obamamania. The seeds of decay and regress should have been evident long before these events. We should be honest: weour cause, our movementbecame complacent . We became too narrowly focused on policy studies to the exclusion of the sustained public argument about the principles and practices of a free society that were the predicate of policy reforms. We forgot the public part of public policy studies. . .

Who ever thought, after NAFTA for example, that the principles and arguments for free trade would require re-articulation? . . .

I dont think we ever fully appreciated, as Hayek did as far back as the 1960s, that the nature of the challenge from the Left would change profoundly going forward from that point, and become much more difficult. . . Consider, for example, this lapidary passage that I think is right on target:

The current situation has greatly altered the task of the defender of liberty and made it much more difficult. So long as the danger came from socialism of the frankly collectivist kind, it was possible to argue that the tenets of the socialists were simply false: that socialism would not achieve what the socialists wanted and that it would produce other consequences which they would not like. We cannot argue similarly against the welfare state, for this term does not designate a definite system. What goes under that name is a conglomerate of so many diverse and even contradictory elements that, while some of them may make a free society more attractive, others are incompatible with it or may at least constitute potential threats to existence.

Hence we need booksand a lot more bookslike Suicide of the West that reach a mass public with original and unconventional popular language and cross-cutting arguments. All that Trump stuff is a sideshow. . .
Taking advantage of the dogged work of Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson to procure the Strzok-Page text messages on the FBIs fake Clinton email investigation  posted online here by Senator Johnson  Andrew McCarthy goes in for a close reading.

Although McCarthys view is obscured by the voluminous redactions to the documents, he finds that the messages provide a glimpse of the true forces at work. He writes: Strzok and Page are singularly well-informed, central players in the Clinton and Trump investigations. They tell us exactly what is going on and why  or at least they would if the Justice Department had not blacked out key parts of their running conversation.

Reading through the messages for the origin of the Trump-Russia counterintelligence investigation culminating in the Mueller Switch Project, McCarthy finds Strzok quoting someone (name redacted): The White House is running this. McCarthy can go only so far: It would be interesting to know what is in the emails that apparently clarify how the Obama administration divided responsibility for running the Trump-Russia investigation. Just like it would be interesting to know what is behind all the many redactions in these texts about how and why the Trump-Russia investigation got started.

He concludes with a call for greater attention to the messages and for greater transparency. Greater transparency requires a look behind the redactions or the explanation for withholding the information. Someone wants us to remain in the dark. Late last week Senator Johnson wrote the FBI Director Wray in search of such an explanation (letter embedded below via Scribd).

2018-05-11 RHJ to FBI Director Wray (Redactions) by Scott Johnson on Scribd
President Andrzej Duda will start a four-day visit to the US on Wednesday during which he will chair a UN Security Council open debate on the role of international law in maintaining international peace and security. Andrzej Duda will be accompanied in the US by First Lady Agata Kornhauser-Duda.

The head of the President's Office, Krzysztof Szczerski, said that during the meeting President Duda is scheduled to deliver a speech in which the President is to raise a number of issues important for Poles.

"This will be a very interesting speech and I think it will include numerous issues important for Poles," said Krzysztof Szczerski.

Minister Szczerski said that some 60 countries have singed up to take part in the debate, adding that this "really will be a large gathering." "The President will also take advantage of every opportunity to hold talks on other important issues related to security, peace and about what is most important for Poland - stability in our part of the world."

The President will discuss the situation in Poland's region, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the "frozen conflicts" in Georgia and Moldova.

Andrzej Duda is also to bring up North Korean and Syrian issues, Krzysztof Szczerski said, adding that the international law was being broken in the case of both countries. "In Syria, we have the drastic example of chemical weapons use that generaly violates all norms of international relations and behaviour," the presidential aide said.

According to Krzysztof Szczerski, Andrzej Duda is unlikely to make a reference to the Israeli-Palestinian hostilities as the tensions there "are not strictly related to formal and legal issues."

Following the Thursday debate, President Duda will meet with media representatives.

Poland assumed its non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council on January 1, 2018. Its term of office will end in late December 2019. Poland's rotating presidency of the UN Security Council started on Tuesday, May 1. For the second time, Poland is likely to preside over the UN Security Council in the second half of next year.

Minister Szczerski added that President Duda decided that while in New York he will lay flowers at the Katyn Monument in Jersey City. The ceremony is planned for Wednesday. City authorities and the local Polish diaspora reached a consensus on Monday around the location of a memorial to the 1940 Katyn Forest Massacre, in which the Soviets mass-executed around 22,000 Polish POWs. The conflict around the memorial arose when city authorities announced its temporary removal from its site near the Hudson River in connection with plans to develop a park on the site. Hefty protests against moving the monument came from the city's large Polish community, as well as from Warsaw.

On the same day, Andrzej Duda is also scheduled to visit the Archives of the Polish Army Veterans Association of America and meet with representatives of Jewish organisations and representatives of the UN Eastern European Group.

The agenda of the President's Friday visit to Chicago includes a meeting with Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, a visit to the Polish Museum of America and the laying of flowers at the Katyn Monument and the Smolensk Plaque at a local cemetery. The President is also to meet with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and visit a base of the Illinois National Guard.

On Saturday, the President is scheduled to meet in Chicago with representatives of Polish circles in the US. (PAP)
The statement was made by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc while attending a ceremony celebrating the 50th anniversary of the PPA on May 14.

Addressing the event, the PM highly appreciated outstanding achievements the academy has recorded over the past five decades.

He pointed out the complex development of national security and order, with the prevalence of criminal crimes, especially organised, international, high-tech and drug crimes, and those resisting on-duty officials, along with traffic safety, social disorder and fires which have sparked public concern.

Addressing the event, the PM highly appreciated outstanding achievements the academy has recorded over the past five decades.

Given this, the police forces must be consolidated to continue becoming a pillar and reliable support of the Party and the State in protecting political security and social order and safety, contributing to creating favourable conditions for socio-economic development, and ensuring peace and happiness for people, the PM said.

On this occasion, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc presented the title of Hero of the peoples armed forces during the anti-US resistance war for national salvation to the academy.

On this occasion, the PPA also received the Labour Order, first class, of the Lao Party and State.

In his remarks, PPA Director Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Xuan Yem said as the only police training institution in Vietnam, the PPA now has more than 1,300 officials and nearly 19,000 students.

The academy has trained 150,000 officers for the police forces and served as a trust-worthy training address for criminal investigators.

In addition, the PPA has helped Laos and Cambodia train many officers and develop national centres training public security and police forces for the countries.
BEIJING, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- APCSCRM, sponsored by Innovation Association of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology, will be a high-level conference on Silicon Carbide and Related Materials in the Asia-Pacific region. To encourage the theory, technology learning and communication in the fields of wide bandgap semiconductor material growth, device preparation and packaging, as well as device module application, the conference will conduct a paper exchange and welcomes domestic and foreign universities, research institutes and enterprising institutions of wide bandgap semiconductor materials and devices, and professional and technical personnel in the field of application contribute to participate in the exchange. Selected papers presented in APCSCRM2018 will be published in Materials Express, Diamond and Related Materials, Journal of Crystal Growth, physica status solidi (a) or Materials Science Forum. Exceptional paper authors have the opportunity to give presentations in the venue.

I. Topics.

Technical papers addressing all aspects of wide-bandgap materials, power electronics, package module and system solution or application are welcome.

II. Manuscript requirements.

1. Accept English manuscripts only;

2. Original, unpublished research results, technical review, work experience summary or technical progress report;

3. The length of the paper is not limited. (General Template: download at http://www.apcscrm2018.iawbs.com, submission)

III SCI/EI index searching

Both

IV Submission instructions:

1. Submit draft via APCSCRM website (Submission Instructions: download at http://www.apcscrm2018.iawbs.com, submission)

2. Abstract submission deadline: June 15, 2018.

3. Full paper submission deadline: July 5, 2018.

4. Please pay attention to the review status of the paper (APCSCRM online submission system).

V Related costs

1. Paper fee



Including the layout fee and the review fee, which will be separately charged by the journal editorial department. Please refer to the contact information.

2. Payment method



(1) Bank transfer



Account name: Innovation Association of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology

Bank Name: BEIJING RURAL COMMERCIAL BANK CO., LTD.

Bank Address: 3F., ShiNong Building, No.9 TianRong street, DaXing District, BeiJing China

Account No: 0905000103000006397

(in the remittance note "APCSCRM+fee category + remittance unit/author's name");

(2) Online banking, WeChat or alipay online payment (the conference website has payment links)

(payment remark "APCSCRM+ fee category + remittance unit/author's name")

3. Payment before June 9, 2018 (discounts available)

Contact: Miss Li

Telephone: +86-10-6125-6850-668

Mobile: +86-189-1080-7823

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Innovation Association of Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Technology
The Vietnamese State leader lauded Laos achievements in all fields, including its political stability, economic development, improved living conditions, and enhanced position in the world arena.

He praised the Public Security Ministries of Vietnam and Laos for maintaining high-level security cooperation conferences, along with meetings, thematic conferences, and personnel training affiliation.

Highlighting the traditional solidarity of Vietnam and Laos, President Tran Dai Quang lauded the treasured support of Laos during the past struggle for independence and current national construction and defence of Vietnam.

He declared that the Party, State and Peoples Public Security Force of Vietnam see the partnership with Laos as being among the key factors to maintaining the leadership of the Party and State of Vietnam and Laos for the successful fulfillment of reform targets, ensuring a peaceful and wealthy life for the people of Vietnam and Laos.

Both President Tran Dai Quang and Kongthong Phongvichit agreed that the public security forces of the two countries should improve their coordination in implementing policies of the two Parties and States in safeguarding the national security and social order and safety in each country.

The two forces should promote their cooperation to stay active in foiling all schemes which aim to bring harm to the national security of each country and divide the solidarity of the two nations.

They concurred that the forces should deal with arising problems related to security and order of each country in a timely manner, especially those in free migration and undocumented marriage along the shared border, as well as drug trafficking across the border.

President Tran Dai Quang asked the two forces to enhance coordination in personnel training, technology, anti-terrorism, and cyber-crime, while supporting each other at regional and international forums on criminal prevention and control, especially in fighting hi-tech, environmental crimes and other non-traditional crimes.

For his part, Kongthong Phongvichit briefed his host on the partnership between public security forces of both sides, including their major plans for cooperation in future.

He affirmed that the Laos Public Security Ministry treasures the assistance of Vietnams Public Security Ministry, especially their support in material and technical equipment.

He also pledged to strengthen ties with the Vietnamese side, thus contributing to preserving the Laos-Vietnam special relations.
MUMBAI, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Orchids The International School has designed an efficient Computer course, which is a product of careful thought and abundant testing. Based on the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) concept, the complete Computer Curriculum is refined and implemented successfully at all the branches. Students will be taught app development, coding and different creative technologies to primary, secondary, and senior secondary levels with the hope of inspiring the next-generation of innovators and tech professionals in the country.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/691585/Computer_Labs_Orchids_School.jpg )



At Orchids campus, students are introduced to the Computer program called 'Scratch'- a visual programming language that can be used to program a game. The comprehensive Computer programs offered at Orchids The International School is designed specially by correlating it to day-to-day life for a proper understanding of its professional and personal use. This facilitates pupils to see various technical terms of computers in the most effective way possible. Also, the students will develop specific discipline knowledge and skills required for graduate level and other future prospects.

With the help of survey conducted at the pilot level, it was illustrated that most schools have assigned only a single period of computer science teaching only the basics. Orchids The International School has successfully taken up the idea of having 3-4 periods depending on the grade and covers programming languages as well, along with the fundamentals. In addition, students are taught to create their own web pages and write their own blogs. These computational subjects are relevant to the necessity of pursuing careers in information processing systems.

Some of the key highlights of the course are:

To simulate hands-on training with real-life scenarios

Increasing computational thinking and problem-solving ability by basic class activities and puzzles

Regular assessment after every module instead of one-time examination

Inculcate the creativity of writing

The certificate will be issued after completion of course

Asma Umar, The Principal, Orchids The International School, Bengaluru says, "Our prime focus is to keep our kids abreast with the latest software. It will assist them to be innovative leaders in the area of Computer Science and help our faculty to be recognized for quality teaching."

Dr. Madhuri Sagale, The Principal at Orchids The International School, Mumbai says, "These Computer Courses have been a really positive one. They offer a unique blend of hands-on education and fun for the students and their bright and young instructors are able to connect with our students in ways that few others can."

Farhat Ehsas, Parent, Pune, "Introduction to Computer software has increased the kids' interest in learning computers and giving kids the vital life skills required to become leaders in the technologies of tomorrow."

Meenu Devi, Teacher, Bengaluru, "At Orchids Campus, we are delivering a unique blend of technical, creative and expressive learning experiences which inspire and delight students. This course provides students with a boost of confidence in their own abilities and a launching pad for further exploration of the endless potentialities of technology and creativity."

Amit Kedia, a student at Orchids The International School, Pune, shared his experience, "This course taught me to be innovative and I was directed by some excellent instructors. It was very useful and is certainly starting to assist me with my school projects."

About Orchids The International School

The 'Orchids The International School' is facilitated with advanced infrastructure, which includes a well-equipped Computer Lab to serve each student to explore new ideas and learn through hands-on experiences. Owing to the pursuit of excellence in teaching and research, the Department of Computer Science aims to be recognized as a technological advance school. They have full-time and adjunct faculties to respond to the academic needs of the students right away. The Computer Course designed by 'Orchids The International School', is one of the acknowledged course by the students itself as they are enjoying it very comfortably and looking forward to the same.

Quick Facts

Founded in 2002

Working on 5 pillars - Academics Excellence, Safe Campus, Personal Attentions, Holistic Development, Best-in-class Infrastructure

- Academics Excellence, Safe Campus, Personal Attentions, Holistic Development, Best-in-class Infrastructure 19 International Schools

International Schools Presence across 4 Cities - Mumbai , Pune , Bengaluru and Hyderabad

- , , Bengaluru and 2,000+ Teachers

17,000+ Students



Media Contact:

Prudhvi Raj

[email protected]

+91-9513987393

Orchids The International School



SOURCE Orchids The International School
MUMBAI, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Direct line of communication that can help parents and teachers ensure the success of the students

Schools in India today are looking at ways to involve parents in the academic processes and school activities. Orchids The International School has come up with a powerful tool called the Parent Portal and App.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/690905/Orchids_International_School_Parent_App.jpg )



This tool provides a platform for parents to keep a complete track record of their ward just at a click away. The Parent Portal and App also enables the parent to be connected to their student's classroom and teachers 24/7. Involving parents actively in their students' education, the school is constantly in touch with parents for smooth functioning.

The program available in the Parent Portal and Mobile App is completely customized as per the school's set norms and conditions. Orchids The International School's portal include attendance records, grades, classroom assignments, calendars, separate message board, and a basic information of students and parents.

Following the open-door communication approach, Orchids The International School has set a benchmark for maintaining transparency between parent and school. This has helped the school to attain a huge support from the parents and it is increasing every year drastically as expected.

Because of Parent Portal and App , parents don't have to wait for their ward to give them the communication material furnished by the school to stay informed. Instead, a parent can directly get the information they want themselves right from their own computers, tablets, and mobiles directly. Information is always up-to-date and can be availed anytime at home or office through Parent Portal sign-up facility.

Some of the highlights of the Parent Portal and App Tool are:

Regular progress tracking

Maintains transparency and easy functionality

Easy for attendance and grade tracking

The Parent Portal is updated regularly

Seamless billing and full management of school administration

Easy to access

Reliable information regarding the school

Maria Normon, The Principal, Orchids The International School at JP Nagar, Bengaluru said, "With the help of customized Portal and App; we are able to keep the attendance records, grades, classroom assignments, calendar, and basic student and parent information accurately."

Poonam Kaur, Teacher, Orchids The International School, Hyderabad, said, "We are very happy with the Portal and App facility as it helps us to keep proper track of curriculum planning, timetable and behavior monitoring, followed with the flexibility to access critical data anytime, anywhere."

Neseem Shahida, Parent, Orchids The International School, Pune, said, "For working women like me, school Portal and App facility has become a lifeline, I am able to enquire about my child's progress regularly and keep myself updated about the school proceeding and upcoming activities."

About Orchids The International School

Established in the year 2002, 'Orchids The International School', is distinguished by its unique approach towards learning and its commitment to provide quality education. They are following both traditional and contemporary practices to measure student's performance at par with quality standards. The highly competent and experienced faculty is dedicatedly working to strengthen the curriculum and learning programs. This will bring out the best in every student and empower each one to excel.

Quick Facts

Founded in 2002

Working on five pillars - Academics Excellence, Safe Campus, Personal Attention, Holistic Development, Best-in-class Infrastructure

- Academics Excellence, Safe Campus, Personal Attention, Holistic Development, Best-in-class Infrastructure 19 International Schools

International Schools Presence across four c ities - Mumbai, Pune , Bengaluru and Hyderabad

- Mumbai, , Bengaluru and Hyderabad 2,000+ teachers

17,000+ students

Media Contact:

Prudhvi Raj,

[email protected],

+91-9513987393,

Orchids The International School



SOURCE Orchids The International School
MADRID, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

On May 22nd, ProColombia together with the British & Colombian Chamber of Commerce, the Colombian Embassy in London, the British Embassy in Bogota, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and its Prosperity Fund, the Department for International Trade and EY will join efforts to celebrate the Colombian Investment Roadshow in London - an event that will introduce the countrys major infrastructure projects.

This is the perfect timing for such an event since Colombia is one of the most dynamic economies in Latin America and is prepared to receive Foreign Direct Investment to allow it to complete its ambitious plan for the development of road infrastructure, transportation, hospital and healthcare facilities and urban development plans for medium-sized cities.

The Roadshow will be joined by representatives of the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI), the Colombian Development Bank (FDN), the Financiera de Desarrollo Territorial S.A. (Findeter) and national developers to announce investment opportunities for British and European sponsors, constructors and financiers. The meeting will be held at the Hilton London Tower Bridge, starting at 8:30 a.m. Attendees will be able to learn in detail about projects such as the Bogota Metro Line 1, the renovation of Bogota's Bus Rapid Transit system (Transmilenio), the first initiative of PPPs in the Colombian health sector, the Magdalena River Waterway and educational infrastructure, among others.

Agenda

8:30 am Registration

9:00 am Colombia is Open for Business, Simon Adamsdale, Chairman, British and Colombian Chamber of Commerce)

9:05 am Trade & Investment Prospects from the UK, Baroness Rona Fairhead, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion

9:15 am Current Business and Investment Outlook, Paola Garcia Barreneche, Vice President, ProColombia

9:25 am Q&A Investing Company: Sloane Energy Group, Rob Robinson, CFO.

PROJECT PRESENTATIONS

9:40 am Bogota Metro Line 1

10:10 am Hospitals in Bogota/Schools Rehabilitation Projects

10:40 am Transmilenio Bogota I Fleet Renewal, Carlos Alberto Sandoval Reyes, Vice President of Financiera de Desarollo Nacional (FDN)

11:10 am Magdalena River (TBC)

11:40 am Other Projects, Camilo Jaramillo, Structuring Vice President, Colombia's National Infrastructure Agency

12:10 pm Urban development in Second Tier Cities, Felipe Castro Arenas, Infrastructure Adviser, Colombia Prosperity Fund, Foreign & Commonwealth Office

12:30 pm Closing Remarks, Simon Adamsdale, B&CCC Chairman

SOURCE ProColombia
LONDON and TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The past six months has been a busy period for The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. A world-renowned team is being assembled to support the Institutes' core objectives to provide leadership and innovation in improving global health.

Spearheading the Institute is Dr. James Orbinski, OC, OOnt, MSc who has been named inaugural Director. Dr. Orbinski is a physician, humanitarian activist, author and leading scholar in Global Health, and was the 2016-17 Fulbright Visiting Professor at the University of California, Irvine.

Dr Orbinski has been a champion of global health and humanitarianism throughout his career. He is an internationally renowned professor, medical doctor, researcher, author, and passionate advocate. He is the former international president of Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors Without Borders during which he helped launch its Access to Essential Medicines Campaign. He has advised the UN Security Council, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. He was awarded the Meritorious Service Cross for his humanitarian leadership in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide, and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Orbinski was previously the CIGI Chair in Global Health Governance at the Balsillie School of International Affairs at Wilfrid Laurier University, Chair of Global Health at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health and full Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto.

Last Autumn, Dr Orbinski was awarded the Loyola Medal by Concordia University recognising his lifetime of accomplishment and commitment to bettering the lives of those around him. The Loyal Medal was created in 1961 by the Loyola Alumni Association as a tribute to outstanding leadership and achievements by Canadians. Orbinski is the 21st person to receive the award since the first medal was bestowed in 1963.

Dr Orbinski was also a plenary speaker at the Canadian Society for International Health's Conference under the theme, 'Leaving no one behind? Reflections for action in a changing world.'

In addition, Steven J. Hoffman, has been appointed as a Professor at the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research, and is cross-appointed to Osgoode Hall Law School. Professor Hoffman is the Director of the Global Strategy Lab and holds courtesy appointments in Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics at McMaster University and in Global Health & Population at Harvard University. He is an international lawyer licensed in both Ontario and New York who specializes in global health law, global governance and institutional design.

Professor Hoffman is one of Canada's most influential scholars in global health governance, law and policy, having served as an advisor to several national governments, the UN and the WHO. In 2016, he was appointed the Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's (CIHR's) Institute of Population and Public Health. With his appointment, York University will serve as the new administrative host of CIHR's Institute of Population and Public Health.

Aria Ilyad Ahmad has been appointed to the position of Policy Advisor at the Dahdaleh Institute. Aria recently co-authored a major paper for the World Health Organization entitled: A study on the public health and socioeconomic impact of substandard and falsified medical products, and is a PhD Candidate in Global Governance.

Byomkesh Talukder has been appointed as Planetary Health Research Fellow. Byomkesh's work will focus on modelling complex adaptive systems to assess the impact of climate change on health. His specific focus is in infectious disease, nutrition and water, flood and drought management. Byomkesh holds a PhD in Geography and Environmental Studies with a focus on Complexity Science Modelling, and a specialization in Sustainability Assessment.

Imran Syed Ali has been appointed as Global Health and Humanitarianism Research Fellow. Imran's work involves the application of water engineering, infomatics, artificial intelligence, physiology and biosensors to assess and treat contaminated water, particularly applicable in refugee settings and in indigenous communities, and holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering.

James Chriombo has been appointed as Community Scholar, Planetary Health. Based in Malawi, James will work in collaboration with Dignitas International to model the health impacts of climate change.

Tanya Fook has been appointed as Community Fellow, Integrative Health and Wellness. Based at the Dahdaleh Institute, Tanya is developing the Canadian national research agenda on integrated health and wellness, inclusive of aboriginal and inuit populations.

Rhonda Ferguson has been appointed as Global Health Law Fellow. Rhonda holds a PhD in international human rights law, and will be establishing a research agenda on global health and food security-related issues, trade rules, and social determinants of health.

Tino Kreutzer , PhD Candidate and Vanier Scholar, is working with Dr. Orbinski to define new methodologies for Rapid Health Assessment in Humanitarian Emergencies that combines use of digital and internet platforms, Big Data tools and analytics, and traditional field-based ground assessments.

Dahdaleh Institute scholars are involved with a number of Symposia in 2018, including Planetary Health and Ecology, York-Ghana Health Education, Data Science and Health, and Priorities in Global Health and Humanitarianism. Additionally, York University is hosting a national consultation with Canadian Academic Centres on Global Health Research Priorities in April 2018, at which the Dahdaleh Institute is a presenter and organizer.

The Dahdaleh Institute is currently under construction, with an occupancy expected in the summer of 2018, with staff being hired to build capacity in administrative and communications spheres.

The work of the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research has been made possible by a transformational donation of C$20 million by Victor Phillip Dahdaleh, a UK-based Canadian business leader and York alumnus, for the expansion of the university's global health initiatives. The donation is the largest by an alumnus in the university's 59-year history.

The noted philanthropist graduated almost four decades ago and recognizes the University's commitment to addressing international health challenges.

About The Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health

Six months in, the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research is developing a five-year plan to build on the Team's expertise based on five pillars:

Planetary Health

Global Health and Humanitarianism

Integrative Health and Wellness

Big Science, Health and Human Systems

Global Health Foresighting

The Dahdaleh Institute's transdisciplinary work invokes partners in Law, Engineering, Environmental Science, Education, Health and more towards developing revolutionary solutions that address global health challenges.

For further information on the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation contact: Matthew Moth on +44(0)207-593-4023 or email: matthew.moth@madano.com

For further information on the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research contact: +1-416-736-2100 x 20175 or email: dighr@yorku.ca

SOURCE The Victor Dahdaleh Foundation
Deputy PM Dam made the suggestion while hosting a reception in Hanoi on May 15 for an APICTA delegation, led by its Chairman Stan Singh, who have been on a working visit to Vietnam.

In recent years, the Vietnamese Government has mobilized different resources to foster the development and application of IT in all spheres in a bid to step up the countrys socio-economic development, improve the business environment and enhance the national competitiveness edge, he said.

The hosting of the APICTA Awards in 2019 will serve as a chance for Vietnam to introduce its IT development and facilitate partnerships between domestic businesses and international partners, Dam said.

Vietnams IT enterprises will also have an opportunity to promote and affirm the quality of their products and services at the APICTA Awards, the Deputy PM added.

Therefore, the Government of Vietnam will create optimal conditions for the Vietnam Software and IT Service Association (VINASA) and relevant agencies to well prepare for the important event, he stressed.

APICTA Chairman Stan Singh briefed Deputy PM Dam about his working session with leaders of the Ministry of Information and Communications, which focused on solutions to strengthen bilateral cooperation, foster the development and innovation of ICT in Asia Pacific and a plan to organise the APICTA Awards in Vietnam next year.

The awards are designed to honour outstanding products, software solutions, IT and startups of APICTA members.

The two sides also discussed the adding of prizes for products and solutions related to e-government, e-administration, smart city, and smart agriculture.

APICTA is an alliance of national IT organisations representing their respective economy to build, enhance a network to promote IT, promote technology innovations, capability and adoption and encourage the development of indigenous IT solutions to the global market.

The alliance now has 16 member-economies include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong (China), Indonesia, Japan, Macao (China), Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

Vietnam participated in APICTA in 2016. The VINASA brought the best Vietnamese IT products and services to the APICTA Awards two years ago. The APICTA Awards 2018 will be held in Chinas Guangzhou province in October.
At Lawrence, we understand that investing in a small liberal arts college is a big commitment for parents and students... Having the materials they need, when they need them and at an affordable price, should help our students achieve academic success. - Bob Williams, associate dean of the faculty

Lawrence University has selected Akademos as its new online bookstore provider to help students obtain significant savings on course materials. The institution, a liberal arts college and conservatory of music, serves 1,500 students each year, from nearly every state and 50 countries  all committed to a rigorous and challenging educational experience. The University will launch its new online bookstore this summer in support of its Fall Term 2018.

Seamless integration between the student information system and the Akademos Course Materials Platform (CMP)TM will allow students to see a personalized listing of the textbooks required for each of their courses, and to order materials for an entire term in less than five minutes. A wide selection across new, used, rental and eBook formats will be offered and, when using Akademos proprietary peer-to-peer Marketplace of over 100 million new and used textbooks, students will save an average of 60% off publisher list prices. Through the partnership, Lawrence students will also be able to leverage free shipping offers and Akademos proprietary LMS widget to view required course materials through Canvas.

At Lawrence, we understand that investing in a small liberal arts college is a big commitment for parents and students, said Bob Williams, associate dean of the faculty. Our partnership with Akademos will provide our students with a full online bookstore with a wide variety of high-quality course materials at far lower prices. Having the materials they need, when they need them and at an affordable price, should help our students achieve academic success.

The online bookstore will also support the Universitys faculty and administrators, who will benefit from an easy-to-use and powerful Adoption & Analytics Portal. This platform offers a step-by-step guide for course material adoptions, recommendations and adoption history, and the ability to compare real-time prices for course materials. The analytics tool will also enable faculty and the universitys leadership to track critical data, including classroom and aggregate student purchasing and bookstore utilization, that can be easily merged with the institutions student success database.

When an institution provides more affordable and accessible textbooks to its students, weve seen it drive bookstore utilization, which results in better prepared students and overall success for the institution, said John Squires, CEO, Akademos. Were excited to partner with Lawrence University, and we look forward to providing them and their students with lower course material prices and outstanding service.

About Akademos

Akademos offers customized, online bookstore services and solutions that support what's most important to institutions - from full-service virtual bookstores to unique partnerships and products supporting on-campus shops. Akademos delivers cost savings on course materials for students while providing administrators and faculty with critical control over the textbook delivery process.

Akademos offers an innovative textbook marketplace, best-in-class eCommerce platform, eLearning solutions, and a unique adoption and analytics portal. The companys comprehensive supply-chain solution and commitment to responsive personal service makes it the choice of leading institutions throughout the country.

Akademos helps institutions deliver the right course materials, at affordable prices, on time. Learn more at akademos.com.

About Lawrence University

Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
2018 Fred J. Epstein Youth Achievement Award honorees and YAA committee co-chair Stacey Hafen Listen to your heart. Take your difference and run with it.

The 2018 Fred J Epstein Youth Achievement Awards (YAA) were presented at the Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities annual benefit on Friday, April 27, 2018 at the Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, Connecticut.

The award, named for pioneering pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Fred J. Epstein, recognizes outstanding achievement by young people with learning disabilities (LD) or ADHD. Dr. Epstein credited his significant learning disabilities as a major factor in his success and became an inspiration to children with LD.

The winner of this years $1,000 award is Aja Capel from Urbana, IL. Aja is committed to spreading her love of robotics to groups under-represented in the field, particularly girls of color. Only 14, she has received a Youth Service America/Disney Be Inspired Grant, become the youngest winner of the Central Illinois Chapter NCWIT Aspiration Award, and been appointed Chief Curiosity Coordinator by the University of Illinois. Dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD, and CAPD will not interfere with her plans for a very busy summer: Aja has been awarded an AspireIT grant to run computer programming camps for girls of color and she has been offered an internship with Caterpillar, Inc.

Listen to your heart, Aja advises students with LD and ADHD. Take your difference and run with it.

Josephine Olson of Winnetka, IL, was honored with the 2018 Special Recognition Award. Dyslexia has forced me to become a strong self-advocate, she says. A senior at New Trier High School in Winnetka, she is an outstanding athlete whose boat came in first among all high schools in the country last year. She looks forward to rowing at Boston University next fall and plans to pursue a law degree, specializing in disability law.

The 2018 Junior Achievement Award was presented to Jack Quirion of Amston, CT. Starting at the age of 10, Jack successfully advocated for four pieces of dyslexia legislation in Connecticut in the past four years through his testimony before the state legislature. A freshman at the Rectory School in Pomfret, CT, Jack has received awards from the CT General Assembly and the office of Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman for his work.

Honorable Mentions were awarded to:



Sarah Benson, Forney, TX, has presented to the Texas Association of School Administrators during Dyslexia Awareness Month, in addition to regional schools, describing her own journey with dyslexia. She is currently working on a film to show what dyslexia looks like to help teachers recognize the signs and symptoms of dyslexia.

Nick Boyer, Coral Springs, FL, contends with dyslexia and disorder of written expression. He is the captain of the track and field teams and a National AP Scholar at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. Following the Parkland school shooting in March, he led a memorial run for his coach and mentor who was killed in the attack. He will attend Princeton University in the fall.

Schuyler Dubitsky, Larchmont, NY, once felt "light years behind" other students because of his ADHD and dyslexia. Now a junior in high school, he excels in honor and AP classes. He enjoys great success in judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu, taking gold medals in regional tournaments. Schuyler is also an activist in his school community, helping struggling students through a multi-year Moral Leadership Project.

Danielle Rothchild, Carmel, IN, was diagnosed with a hearing disorder at the age of 10, and later with ADHD. She is the founder and driving force behind the nonprofit, Danielle Cares for Chairs, dedicated to raising funds to provide wheelchairs to those in need. She is the recipient of a Disney Be Inspired Grant, celebrating her unyielding dedication to making a difference in the lives of others in her community.

Sophia Strang, Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, began classical voice training at 13 and started winning competitions the following year. Her self-described type-A personality and beautiful voice, along with her strength as an auditory learner, help her compensate for her dyslexia and make it possible for her to sing in Italian, German, and French. Now 16, she spent last summer training at Tanglewood Music Center.

Colin Wexler, Rye, NY, was recognized last year with the prestigious Westchester County Milly Kibrick Youth Service Award for his work at the Bread of Life Food Pantry. He set up an online business, run initially from his bedroom, that has become a major source of support for the food pantry. Colin views dyslexia as an advantage because it has fostered his unique problem-solving approaches.

Stacey Hafen, co-chair and long-time member of the YAA Selection Committee, was delighted with this years winners. We received many, many outstanding applications, she said. The committee reviewed over 140 applications from students across the US and Canada. We are thrilled to honor these remarkable young people."

About Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc.

Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, Inc. is a Westport-based nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering the parents of children with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit disorders (ADHD) via its educational programs, award-winning website and blog, and free e-newsletter at http://www.SmartKidswithLD.org. The organization also educates the public about these childrens gifts and talents. Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, Anne Ford, and Southport School Head Ben Powers are Honorary Board members. Henry Winkler, Golden Globe award-winning actor, director and author, serves as the organizations Honorary Chairman.
Independent security researchers are advising people to stop using PGP, and the media is following suit. But this is a terrible idea. Even if a malicious actor could exploit this vulnerability (which would prove to be difficult), encryption is better than no encryption.

Another security nightmare starts to unfold as a news article from Gizmodo on Monday suggested that if you use PGP or S/MIME for email encryption you should immediately disable it in your email client. Why such a dire command? A vulnerability called Efail, discovered Monday morning by a group of researchers in Europe, which exposes encrypted emails in plain text. Gizmodos advice was basically just repeating the urging from the group of EFF researchers who originally found and disclosed the vulnerability: Our advice, which mirrors that of the researchers, is to immediately disable and/or uninstall tools that automatically decrypt PGP-encrypted email. This panic in the cyber security space is something we have now become all too used to.

Independent security researchers are advising people to stop using PGP, and the media is following suit. But this is a terrible idea. Even if a malicious actor could exploit this vulnerability (which would prove to be difficult), encryption is better than no encryption. This is like saying your lock may not work, so leave your door wide open.

The researchers reported that this is a bug with PGP, but its actually not a PGP issue. The vulnerability is actually an issue with the way clients view mail. The Efail vulnerability is not a cryptographic attack against the PGP encryption protocol as the EFF researchers originally reported; its merely a common client side content rendering vulnerability. Savvy users of email clients would have already disabled scripts and other forms of active content when rendering and decrypting email.

Why Does it Matter?

-The way that Efail was presented is misleading, which brings into question the fame that is so readily and easily given to researchers who responsibly disclose vulnerabilities for the media attention. Who is validating their findings and checking their facts? Are we to believe everything we read?

ProtonMail tweeted this in response: Efail is a prime example of irresponsible disclosure. There is no responsibility in hyping the story to @EFF and mainstream media and getting an irresponsible recommendation published (disable PGP), ignoring the fact that many (Enigmail, etc) are already patched.

-Beyond the recklessness of the research group, what about the media that covered the story? Journalists need to do some diligence before they report on these types of vulnerabilities and pass on advice that ultimately pushes users away from secure communications channels.

-Despite the hype of this one, the Efail vulnerability is entirely preventable without patches and can be safely mitigated in client settings with most common PGP clients.

We all face enough legitimate cyber security issues without adding more noise here. We cant go around encouraging consumers to turn off encryption in their email. Thats just asking for a devastating 0day. Be careful what you believe.

About Synack (https://www.synack.com/)

Synack, the leader in crowdsourced security testing, provides real security to the modern enterprise. We leverage the world's most trusted ethical hackers and an industry-leading platform to find critical security issues before criminals can exploit them. Companies no longer have to choose between working with the best security talent and a lack of time, resources, or trust. Headquartered in Silicon Valley with regional offices around the world, Synack has protected over 100 global organizations by reducing companies security risk and increasing their resistance to cyber attack.
Leader Bank is pleased to announce the creation of a new deposit generation team, known as the Elevate Banking Group headed by Dorothy Zahir, along with Travis Hall.

Dorothy Zahir, Director of Elevate Banking, and Travis Hall, Vice President of Elevate Banking, have several decades of relationship management and private banking experience between the two of them. Dorothy and Travis have worked together for years, and prior to Leader Bank worked in the Bespoke Banking division at Admirals Bank, First Republic Bank, and Premier Banking at Bank of America.

We are thrilled to welcome this talented team, said Sushil Tuli, Leader Banks President and CEO. We are proud that they have chosen to work with Leader Bank, and provide these personalized services to our customers.

Elevate Banking will offer clients with high-balance deposit accounts a customized platform providing relationship management combined with Leader Banks extensive product solutions. In their new role, Ms. Zahir and Mr. Hall will offer the pinnacle of premier relationship banking.

We are very much looking forward to bringing our first-class customer service to the customers of Leader Bank, said Ms. Zahir. The extensive offerings in both personal and business banking at Leader Bank along with our one-of-a-kind concierge service will make it easy for us to meet our customers demands and work with them to find the best solutions to fit their needs.

About Leader Bank

With assets over $1.3 billion, Leader Bank is a nationally chartered bank founded in 2002 with seven full-service branches in Arlington, Belmont, Boston, Burlington, and Cambridge. Leader Bank offers a full range of personal and business banking products, including several innovative programs developed in-house through its product development team. Leader Bank is rated one of the healthiest banks in the country by DepositAccounts.com, and consistently earns the 5-Star Safety Rating from BauerFinancial, designating it as one of the strongest banks in the nation in terms of financial health. Visit Leader Banks website at http://www.leaderbank.com or any of the Banks convenient branch locations for more information. Member FDIC and Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #449250.
Phillip M. Porcelli, D.O., FACOS Spine technology and surgical techniques are improving for the better, allowing patients to undergo surgery with less anesthesia time, less post operative pain, shorter recovery time, and a faster return to life. -Dr.Phillip Porcelli

Arkansas Surgical Hospital is expanding its roster of highly-skilled spine surgeons with the addition of Phillip M. Porcelli, D.O., FACOS.

Dr. Porcelli returns to Arkansas and joins Dr. Brad A. Thomas at Little Rock Neurosurgery Clinic in conjunction with Arkansas Surgical Hospital. He specializes in spine surgery, treating the patient as a whole, not just the symptoms.

Dr. Porcelli holds Gamma Knife certification from the University of Pittsburg and is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, Congress of Neurological Surgeons, and North American Spine Society. He is a member of the American College of Osteopathic Surgeons and was one of the youngest neurosurgeons to achieve the distinction of Fellow. He is also board certified by the American Osteopathic Board of Surgery.

Believing in a conservative approach to spine problems, Dr. Porcelli utilizes numerous surgical and non-surgical therapies in his practice. He does not believe in a one size fits all approach to spine conditions.

I choose to practice spine surgery because it is innovative, challenging, and constantly evolving," said Dr. Porcelli. "It gives me a chance to improve the quality of life for my patients. I am energized by them and committed to treat each one with respect, dignity, and compassionate care Id give my family. Every patient is unique and treatment should be designed and tailored to the individual."

ABOUT ARKANSAS SURGICAL HOSPITAL

Arkansas Surgical Hospital is a leader in orthopedic and spine surgery. As a physician-owned and patient-centered hospital located in North Little Rock, Arkansas it provides excellent surgical outcomes for patients. Because the hospitals owners are surgeons, there is a disciplined focus on safety and a total commitment to the care and comfort of patients and their families.

To learn more about Arkansas Surgical Hospital, visit http://www.arksurgicalhospital.com.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArkansasSurgicalHospital

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arksurgicalhospital/
Deputy PM Minh hailed the Ambassadors efforts in promoting Vietnam  Spain ties during her first year of tenure.

Both sides have worked closely together at multilateral forums and international organisations. Spain is now Vietnams major trade partner in the European Union with two-way trade of US$ 3.1 billion last year.

The Deputy PM believed that Maria Jesus will actively partner with Vietnamese ministries and agencies to reinforce Vietnam  Spain relations as well as Vietnam  EU ties.

The host wished that the Spanish government and ambassador would take measures to push forward bilateral trade and investment, especially in clean technology, renewable energy, and environment.

The Vietnamese Foreign Ministry, ministries and agencies will create favourable conditions for the ambassador to fulfill assigned tasks, he said.

Maria Jesus, for her part, affirmed that Spain always treasures strengthening ties with Vietnam and wished to launch cooperation mechanisms to continue deepening bilateral strategic partnership.

She pledged to do her best to cultivate bilateral friendship as well as Vietnam  EU ties during her tenure.

According to her, Spanish firms are interested in Vietnamese market, focusing on renewable energy and infrastructure.

Spain will push forward the implementation of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Vietnam and the EU, the signing and ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement to open up new prospects in bilateral trade and investment in the near future.
Onset, a world leader in data loggers, today announced the company has been awarded a $65,000 workforce training grant. This project is funded by a Workforce Training Fund grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. The grant program is administered by Commonwealth Corporation for the purpose of providing resources to employers to train Massachusetts workers. The grant provides funding to train more than 100 employees at Onsets corporate headquarters on Cape Cod, MA.

Onset believes in continued investments in our most valuable resource  our employees, said Jim Towey, president of Onset. We are excited to be able to leverage this workforce training grant to help expand and increase our employees knowledge and skills.

Through the grant, Onset employees will be trained in a variety of areas, including Customer Service and Sales, Leadership and Management, and Agile Project Management. Courses will be taught by professors at both Cape Cod Community College and Bristol Community College.

ABOUT ONSET

Based on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Onset has been designing and manufacturing its data loggers and monitoring solutions since the company's founding in 1981. The companys award-winning HOBO data logger and weather station products are used around the world in a broad range of monitoring applications, from water and coastal research to indoor and outdoor environmental monitoring. Our InTemp loggers dramatically simplify the process of monitoring temperature-controlled pharmaceutical Cold Chain. Visit Onset on the web at http://www.onsetcomp.com.
The Giving Tree Grows its Own Medicine I launched The Giving Tree in 2013 with the mission to make a difference in the community. Being able to provide patients with a day of discounted medicine is the least we can do to say thank you for all the support weve had over the last five years. - Lilach Mazor Power, Managing Director

The Giving Tree Wellness Center of North Phoenix, one of Arizonas leading medical marijuana dispensaries, is celebrating their five year anniversary of serving patients Saturday, May 19th. Since opening their operations in May 2013, The Giving Tree has served over 50,000 of the states medical marijuana patients.

The Giving Tree Wellness Center has partnered with twelve different medical cannabis vendors to provide patients a day of specials, raffles and giveaways. These partnerships include top brands including Kindred Cannabis, The Clear, Baked Bros, Huxton, Kiva Confections and more. The first 300 patients who visit and make a purchase at The Giving Tree Wellness Center of North Phoenix on May 19th will receive free medicine. Free icecream will also be provided from noon to 2 pm. The event begins Saturday, May 19th at 8 am and will run until 4 pm.

I launched The Giving Tree in 2013 with the mission to make a difference in the community, said Lilach Mazor Power, the founder and managing director of The Giving Tree Wellness Center. Being able to provide patients with a day of discounted medicine is the least we can do to say thank you for all the support weve had over the last five years.

Various cannabis-focused organizations have also jumped on board to support the event. The Marijuana Industry Trade Association, Sun Valley Certification Centers, Phoenix New Times, amongst others, are sponsoring the event through various donations.

For more information or to learn more about The Giving Trees 5 Year Anniversary Celebration please visit http://www.givingtreeaz.com/5.

About The Giving Tree Wellness Center

The Giving Tree Wellness Center of North Phoenix is a leading Arizona Licensed Medical Marijuana Dispensary that began in Phoenix in May 2013. The Giving Tree staff works with medical professionals collaboratively to help certified patients access high quality medical cannabis to treat pain, nausea and other symptoms. Unlike other dispensaries, The Giving Tree Wellness Center takes a holistic approach in supporting its clients by offering a range of medical marijuana products along with alternative healing methods to promote the best quality of life possible. For more information, please visit http://www.givingtreeaz.com.
The United States Department of Justice and numerous state governments have intervened in numerous qui tam whistleblower suits, including one brought by Philadelphia based law firm McEldrew Young against INSYS Therapeutics, Inc. [1]. The suit alleges, among other things, that INSYS engaged in a nationwide illegal scheme to increase profits from Subsys, a fentanyl sublingual spray and schedule II controlled substance.

As alleged in the complaint, INSYS paid prescribing doctors kickbacks and promoted Subsys for unapproved uses despite the known dangers of over-prescribing opioids. The DOJ announced the intervention in court documents that were unsealed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on May 14, 2018.

As alleged in our complaint, INSYS and its founder, John Kapoor, and other company executives devised an illegal scheme aimed at artificially expanding the use of Subsys, said Eric L. Young, who represents one of the whistleblowers in the case. Mr. Young further noted, the governments intervention into this litigation underscores the importance of putting an end to pharmaceutical sales and marketing efforts that place profits over patients  we are pleased that the government is aggressively pursuing this matter in that regard.

As alleged in the complaint, INSYS waged a multi-pronged approach to build Subsys market share, including paying kickbacks to certain doctors and direct and affirmative misrepresentations about the drugs safety and efficacy. McEldrew Young alleged that INSYS illegal marketing of Subsys began immediately after the FDA approved Subsys in 2012 for the limited purpose of treating patients with breakthrough cancer pain. As detailed in McEldrew Youngs complaint, INSYS knowingly encouraged doctors to prescribe the opioid drug at higher doses, and more frequently than medically necessary.

McEldrew Youngs qui tam whistleblower case alleges, among other things, that the complained of alleged marketing misconduct may have led to the overdose death of New Jersey resident, Sarah Fuller. As detailed in the complaint, New Jersey physician Vivienne Matalon allegedly over-prescribed Subsys to Ms. Fuller for chronic pain, diabetes, and fibromyalgia, even though she had a history of substance abuse.

As detailed in the complaint, the FDA approved Subsys only for breakthrough cancer pain, but INSYS allegedly promoted Subsys for post-surgical pain, musculoskeletal pain, fibromyalgia, neck pain, and back pain, none of which are approved uses.

As detailed in McEldrew Youngs qui tam suit, INSYS alleged misconduct resulted in false statements and claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state funded healthcare programs.

About McEldrew Young

McEldrew Young specializes in representing whistleblowers throughout the United States and internationally in qui tam lawsuits brought under the False Claims Act. The False Claims Act allows private individuals to sue companies that are defrauding the government and to recover funds on the governments behalf. Whistleblowers may be entitled to 15 percent to 30 percent of the civil recoveries that result from the qui tam lawsuit.

[1] See U.S. ex. rel. Maria Guzman v. Insys Therapeutic, Inc., C.D.Ca., CV 13-5861 JLS (AJWx); U.S. ex rel. Doe v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., CV 14-3488 JLS (AJWx); U.S. ex. rel. Andersson v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., CV 14-9179 JLS (AJWx); U.S. ex rel. Erickson v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., CV 16-2956 JLS (AJWx); and U.S. ex. rel. Doe v. Insys Therapeutics, Inc., CV 16-7937 JLS (AJWx).
TrueMotion, the leading platform for smartphone telematics, today announced a new partnership with Intact Financial Corporation, the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America. As part of this partnership, Intact will leverage data-driven insights powered by TrueMotions patented platform to create more personalized services and enhance the driving experience for its customers across Canada.

Since the inception of our telematics program, weve seen the value UBI data delivers for customers as well as our business, said Mathieu Lamy, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Intact Financial Corporation. TrueMotions mobile platform delivers unprecedented depth and quality of driving insights, strengthening our ability to accurately measure driver behavior. We also believe this will continue to encourage good driving habits, making roads safer for everyone.

With the insights provided by TrueMotion, Intact customers can look forward to a more holistic and personalized customer experience, on top of more accurate premium pricing based on good driving behavior.

The auto insurance industry is undergoing a major shift, with carriers looking to attract new customers and deepen relationships with existing ones, said Ted Gramer, CEO, TrueMotion. Intact is visionary in its use of telematics to drive engagement. We look forward to powering their innovative digital programming.

About Intact Financial Corporation

Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with approximately $10 billion in total annual premiums. The Company has over 13,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than five million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon Insurance Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty insurance products through independent agencies, brokers, wholesalers and managing general agencies.

About TrueMotion

TrueMotion provides the world's leading smartphone-only driving data platform. Powered by machine learning, the platform can accurately determine when a person is driving, assess behaviors behind the wheel, and detect accidents. Insurers, TNCs, and fleets use TrueMotion data to fuel their pricing, claims, and loyalty programs. Eight of the top 20 US insurers and top insurers in Canada and Europe rely on TrueMotion technology. The company is based in Boston with offices in London, Milan, and Budapest. For more information, please visit http://www.goTrueMotion.com.
Mineral Gap's Ashburn presence will raise its profile among agencies and companies that prefer a site closer to the Washington, D.C., metro area, while continuing to offer the industry-leading benefits of its Wise County facility.

Mineral Gap, the 65,000-square-foot, Tier III Uptime Institute data center located in Wise, Virginia, announced today that its expanding sales operations into the Ashburn data center corridor and exploring possible locations for a new state-of- the-art facility.

"Ashburn deserves a colocation data center that offers the safety, security and resilience of our Wise County facility," observed Mark Gerard, President of DP Facilities, Inc. "Wise was our best initial location, given its reputation as 'The Safest Place on Earth'.

Mineral Gap has the distinction of being the first designed and constructed Tier III data center in the entire state of Virginia. The facility is designed to address the growing threat environment facing customers, and includes K-rated, U.S. Department of State certified anti-ram fencing, wedge barriers, a perimeter blast berm and a team of armed security personnel that is on duty 24/7.

Mineral Gap's Wise facility has been recognized for the highest standards in design, construction and operational sustainability, housing mission-critical data and business assets for a wide range of private companies and state and federal government agencies. Numerous government agencies have already chosen the facility to house critically important data and services, and Mineral Gap recently announced that its BMS, EPMS, SOC, and NOC Systems have earned Certified status for information security by HITRUSTa huge plus for healthcare-industry data managers.

Mineral Gap offers cutting-edge technologies and backup systems for connectivity, power and cooling, as well as the resiliency, capacity and reliability required to secure valuable data in the event of a man-made or natural disaster. The company's Wise County site is extremely well-positioned to take advantage of ample and reasonably priced electrical power, and an excellent climate.

While Mineral Gap's new Ashburn office will initially focus on sales and support as the company expands, company officials say they are actively looking at potential sites for land acquisition in the Ashburn area. Mineral Gap's Ashburn presence will raise its profile among agencies and companies that prefer a site closer to the Washington, D.C., metro area, while continuing to offer the industry-leading benefits of its Wise County facility.

About Mineral Gap

Mineral Gap, located on a 22-acre site in the Lonesome Pine Regional Business and Technology Park in Wise, Virginia, offers cutting-edge technologies and backup systems for connectivity, power and cooling, as well as the resiliency, capacity and reliability required to secure valuable data in the event of a man-made or natural disaster. The site is extremely well-positioned to take advantage of ample and reasonably priced electrical power, and an excellent climate.
Nebula Genomics establishes a partnership with Longenesis

15th of May, 7AM PST, San Francisco, CA  An exclusive collaboration has been announced between Nebula Genomics, a San Francisco-based company co-founded by genomics pioneer George Church that is using blockchain to build a marketplace for genomic and clinical data, and Longenesis, a Hong Kong-based partnership between Insilico Medicine and the Bitfury Group that is applying deep learning and blockchain technologies to make a platform for the exchange of healthcare data.

By allowing individuals and large data providers such as biobanks to maintain ownership of their genomic data on our platform and profit from it, Nebula Genomics seeks to incentivize generation of genomic data. In doing so, we will gather the data on a single network where it can be conveniently and securely accessed by researchers. In other words, we will make a marketplace that will create an equitable and efficient economy for genomic data. Longenesis has built a similar platform that instead focuses on longitudinal health data, so our platforms complement one another very well, said Dr. George Church, co-founder of Nebula Genomics.

Nebula Genomics, Longenesis, Bitfury and Insilico Medicine aim to create platforms that utilize blockchain technology to facilitate a more efficient and equitable market for the exchange of life data. Nebula Genomics, co-founded by Harvard Medical School professor and genomics pioneer Dr. George Church along with Harvard researchers Kamal Obbad and Dennis Grishin, is building a platform that allows individuals to have their genomes sequenced and opt to provide them to data buyers directly through a secure blockchain-based network. The platform will eventually support other types of clinical data as well.

Longenesis is a partnership between Insilico Medicine, a leading artificial intelligence company that uses deep learning for drug discovery, and the Bitfury Group, a leading full-service blockchain technology company. It is developing a platform that uses AI-integrated toolsets to store and exchange healthcare-related data such as lab test results, and has already launched the platform in alpha and piloted it for over a year.

Nebula Genomics and Longenesis share the ultimate goal of making an equitable marketplace for healthcare-related data. By working together, our shared vision of democratizing access to health data will come closer to reality. Longenesis founding team consists of leaders in data-driven drug discovery and blockchain. They have uniquely valuable experience and insight in the field of applying blockchain to healthcare and have had an operational network for over a year. For these reasons, we are pleased to announce an exclusive partnership between Nebula and Longenesis through which we will merge the Longenesis platform into the Nebula platform and work with the Longenesis team on further developing the network. With the combined expertise of our teams, we hope to solve the issues preventing efficient and equitable access to healthcare data, said Kamal Obbad, CEO and co-founder of Nebula Genomics.

The two companies have agreed to an exclusive partnership through which the Longenesis platform will be incorporated into the Nebula platform. The Longenesis developer team will assist with this development and with the continued development of the Nebula platform, with the goal of building a platform that can integrate a wide range of life data and facilitate its use by researchers.

Recent advances in science and technology already allow us to transform human life data such as blood tests and genomic data into life saving products and services. Hence life data can help extend productive longevity, improve productivity, reduce healthcare costs and contribute to economic growth. We recently proposed a model for assessing the relative value of the human life data with the multiple factors affecting the price of a data set looking at combination-, time-, timing-, relationship-value of data and a variety of value multipliers linked to the clinical outcomes. We aim to work with the brilliant Harvard team to develop the new field of microdataeconomics - the study of the value of data for drug discovery purposes and macrodataeconomics - the study of the value of data for preventive and curative personalized medicine, said Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD, CEO of Insilico Medicine and the CSO of Longenesis.

We are very happy to join forces with the Nebula Genomics team to unlock the value of data in many new and previously unimaginable ways. Today, the data is being valued for its utility to generate sales revenue or using the cost to generate the data as a base. But in the context of healthcare and preventative medicine the value of the data and the way we collect and combine it will be dramatically different. This joint effort is likely to contribute to the global economic growth, said Garry Zmudze, the co-founder and managing director of Longenesis.

For further information, images or interviews, please contact:

Contact: Qingsong Zhu, PhD

zhu@pharma.ai

Contact: Armon Rahim

arahim@nebulagenomics.io

About Insilico Medicine, Inc

Insilico Medicine, Inc. is an artificial intelligence company headquartered at the Emerging Technology Centers at the Johns Hopkins University Eastern campus in Baltimore, with R&D and management resources in Belgium, Russia, UK, Taiwan and Korea sourced through hackathons and competitions. The company and its scientists is dedicated to extending human productive longevity and transforming every step of the drug discovery and drug development process through excellence in biomarker discovery, drug development, digital medicine and aging research.

Insilico pioneered the applications of the generative adversarial networks (GANs) and reinforcement learning for generation of novel molecular structures for the diseases with a known target and with no known targets. In addition to working collaborations with the large pharmaceutical companies, the company is pursuing internal drug discovery programs in cancer, dermatological diseases, fibrosis, Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, diabetes, sarcopenia, and aging. Through a partnership with LifeExtension.com the company launched a range of nutraceutical products compounded using the advanced bioinformatics techniques and deep learning approaches. It also provides a range of consumer-facing applications including Young.AI.

In 2017, NVIDIA selected Insilico Medicine as one of the Top 5 AI companies in its potential for social impact. In 2018, the company was named one of the global top 100 AI companies by CB Insights. Brief company video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l62jlwgL3v8

http://www.Insilico.com

About Nebula Genomics

Nebula Genomics is a blockchain healthcare company based in San Francisco. It is co-founded by Harvard Medical School Professor and genomics pioneer Dr. George Church along with Harvard researchers Kamal Obbad and Dennis Grishin.

The company aims to build a marketplace for genomic and other health-related data that consists of a blockchain-based, peer-to-peer network to which individuals or data aggregators such as biobanks can upload their genomic data. They can then directly and securely connect with data buyers and receive payment for their data. The Nebula model reduces enhances protection of personal genomic data and satisfies the needs of data buyers in regards to data availability, data acquisition logistics, and resources needed for genomic big data.

http://www.nebulagenomics.io

About Longenesis

Longenesis is a result of a partnership between the leader in artificial intelligence for healthcare, Insilico Medicine and the leader in blockchain, BitFury intended to return control over life data back to the individuals. The mission of Longenesis is to improve human performance, extend life, prevent disease and make all people wealthier by developing a decentralized ecosystem for exchange and utilization of human life data using the latest advances in blockchain and artificial intelligence. The Longenesis platform has been in development since August 2017 without engaging in any crypto fundraising activities. For more information visit:

http://www.longenesis.com

About BitFury

The Bitfury Group is the leading full-service blockchain technology company and one of the largest private infrastructure providers in the blockchain ecosystem. The Bitfury Group develops and delivers both the software and the hardware solutions necessary for businesses, governments, organizations and individuals to securely move an asset across the blockchain. The expertise of the Bitfury Group ensures successful, easy, fast, secure and cost-effective connectivity to the blockchain. Bitfury is a global team of experts in technology, business, communications, security and civil society. Bitfury believes the blockchain will open new doors for global economic opportunity and prosperity, and its mission is to create and advance blockchain applications that will further promote innovation and the advancement of the peer-to peer economy.

http://www.bitfury.com
QuisLex The 2018 Bloomberg Law Leadership Forum, with its outstanding faculty, will help corporations and law firms alike deal with the rapid changes in policy from regulatory regimes worldwide that make outcomes more difficult than ever to forecast.

QuisLex, a leading legal services provider, announced today that Joe Polizzotto, Senior Vice President, Strategy & Client Services, will speak on a panel called Putting the A Team on Global Investigations at the 2018 Bloomberg Law Leadership Forum.

The panel will focus on calming anxious board members, addressing investor questions and promoting a successful outcome to an investigation by having the right team and tools in place. Joining Polizzotto on the panel will be attorneys from Morgan Stanley, UBS, Debevoise & Plimpton, and Sullivan & Cromwell. The discussion will be moderated by Charles Whitehead, Professor of Business Law and Director, Law, Technology and Entrepreneurship Program at Cornell Law School.

"Multinational companies today face numerous challenges in navigating investigations and enforcement through a volatile regulatory environment, said Polizzotto. The 2018 Bloomberg Law Leadership Forum, with its outstanding faculty, will help corporations and law firms alike deal with the rapid changes in policy from regulatory regimes worldwide that make outcomes more difficult than ever to forecast.

The Bloomberg Law Leadership Forum is the premier event for legal industry leaders to come together and understand how global economic and regulatory changes impact their business. The Forum delivers market-leading news and legal analysis, tailored for legal industry leaders. Featured speakers this year include Jay Clayton, Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the United States. The event will take place on May 23, 2018 at Bloombergs offices in Midtown Manhattan. For more information, please visit https://www.bna.com/leadership-forum/.

About QuisLex:

QuisLex is an award-winning legal services provider that specializes in managed document review, contract management, compliance services, legal spend management, and legal operations consulting. We employ operational excellence, Six Sigma based quality processes and ISO certified data security to support complex legal projects for companies and law firms. Our full-time highly trained attorneys, process experts, statisticians and linguists work closely with our clients to help reduce cost, mitigate risk and maximize efficiency. QuisLex is regularly acknowledged as a leader in the legal services industry, and is proud to be recognized by Chambers & Partners as a Band 1 Legal Process Outsourcing Provider, the New York Law Journal as a Top Managed Document Review Services Provider, and the IACCM as its Outstanding Service Provider for contract management solutions. To learn more, visit http://www.quislex.com.
We were extremely pleased to have Lummis Consulting Services on our financial diligence team. They provided a thorough quality of earnings analysis very quickly.

Lummis Consulting Services, LLC, a Houston-based M&A due diligence firm, is pleased to announce its involvement in Mountainview Partners' acquisition of TargetRecruit, LLC. Mountview Partners was formed in 2017 by two former software executives who have successfully operated and grown vertical niche software companies. The company is based in Houston, Texas.

When asked about Lummis' involvement in the deal, Jonathan Ross of Mountainview said, "We were extremely pleased to have Lummis Consulting Services on our financial diligence team. They provided a thorough quality of earnings analysis very quickly."

Founded in 2008, TargetRecruit was built to create a breakthrough in the staffing industry. It was one of the first ten companies to be incubated by Salesforce and is now an end-to-end solution for staffing and recruiting firms as well as managed service providers. Offerings of TargetRecruit include an Applicant Tracking System, a Healthcare Recruiting Solution and a Workforce Management System.

About Lummis Consulting Services

Lummis Consulting Services was formed in 2012 as a boutique forensic accounting firm specializing in M&A due diligence and business valuation. A licensed CPA firm, Lummis regularly provides confirmatory due diligence and valuation services to family-owned, middle-market companies. The firm is based in Houston, Texas.
Rabbi Rudin of Simcha Services near Boston Rabbi Steven Blane, a UJUC founder, "Rabbi Rudin's vision for her community meshes with the tenets of Jewish Universalism as espoused by the Union of Jewish Universalist Communities (UJUC)."

Rabbi Jennifer Rudin, founder of Simcha Services of Holliston, MA., has formed a new Jewish Community in MetroWest Boston. Rabbi Rudin explains that she and the New Jewish Community are committed to the unique celebration of Jewish life. Rabbi Rudins vision for the community includes asking people to [i]magine a Jewish Community that invites you to define your Judaism, that honors each persons unique religious practices, and fully embraces interfaith families. Rabbi Rudin explains that the community is committed to a fully supporting its members on their personal jewish journey. Rabbi Steven Blane, a UJUC founder, "Rabbi Rudin's vision for her community meshes with the tenets of Jewish Universalism as espoused by the Union of Jewish Universalist Communities.

On May 5th, the New Jewish Community hosted Dinner, Eureka Game Night & Havdalah Night. More than 50 people gathered to enjoy and share a shabbat meal, explore their hopes and dreams for this new Jewish Community and engage in a spirited Havdalah ceremony.

Rabbi Rudin was ordained by the Jewish Spiritual Leadership Institute (JSLI) in July of 2017 and is a member of Union for Jewish Universalist Congregations (UJUC).

In the year since her ordination, Rabbi Rudin has officiated at numerous Bnai Mitzvah services, weddings, Baby Naming ceremonies, Funerals, Shiva services, and Holiday and Shabbat celebrations.

In addition to her many duties at Simcha Services, Rabbi Rudin also serves as the Director of Curriculum and Professional Development for the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe (Vermont) where she mentors teachers and is working to transform the way Hebrew School is taught.

The UJUC is a group of progressively minded rabbis and their communities who welcome participants from all walks of life. The Union seeks to nurture the greater good by emphasizing compassion and love for all humankind through the lens of Jewish history, liturgy, rituals, traditional texts, and holidays. More information about Rabbi Rudin as well as her contact information can be found at the UJUCs website.

About Sim Shalom and UJUC

Sim Shalom is an interactive online Jewish Universalist synagogue, which is liberal in thought and traditional in liturgy. Founded by Rabbi Steve Blane, Sim Shalom provides accessible and short services every weeknight and Shabbat and additionally Sim Shalom provides online education programs, Jazz concerts, and conversion and life cycle ceremonies.

Rabbi Blane is also the founder and director of the Spiritual Leaders Institute, http://www.jsli.net, the online professional rabbinical program.

Sim Shalom and Rabbi Blane are one of the Founding communities of the Union of Jewish Universalist communities. For more information call 201-338-0165.
Fit For a Royal Honeymoon in Belize? Chaa Creek's Luxury Rainforest Villas The last time Prince Harry stayed with us he seemed to enjoy himself almost as much as we enjoyed having him

As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle prepare to exchange vows in what many observers are calling the royal wedding of the century, people the world over are already asking:

Where will the royal couple spend their honeymoon?

And while many destinations have been put forth, including Namibia, Hawaii, and the Seychelles, the people of one tiny Caribbean nation are hoping Prince Harry will take them up on an offer to return to a jungle lodge he stayed at during his grandmother's, Queen Elizabeth IIs, Diamond Jubilee  The Lodge at Chaa Creek in Belize.

Denise Duran, the Belizean eco-resorts wedding planner, said there are several reasons why Chaa Creek would be the perfect place for the royal couple to relax and unwind after the pomp and circumstance of the royal nuptials.

The last time Prince Harry stayed with us he seemed to enjoy himself almost as much as we enjoyed having him. So Chaa Creek is a place he knows and by all accounts feels comfortable at.

And, since his visit, weve added the new Ix Chel Luxury Rainforest Villas, which have definitely raised the bar in Belizean luxury accommodations. With exquisite private views, personal Jacuzzis and plunge pools overlooking the river and rainforest, and a dedicated butler to organise everything from meals to massages, its an ideal, you could even say, royal, honeymoon location, Ms Duran said.

The eco-resorts tranquil jungle setting and peaceful ambience also make Chaa Creek a compelling choice, she said.

Chaa Creek is located in the midst of a 400-acre private nature reserve, offering serenity, security and a chance to be far from the madding crowds, to use the words of another famous Englishman. The combination of pristine nature and high quality amenities that include a fine-dining restaurant and internationally recognised Hilltop Spa offers a blend of natural beauty and civilised comforts. Its really the best of both worlds.

Our 160 member Belizean staff are famous for their warm, genuine friendliness, and are accustomed to welcoming celebrities and VIP guests, meaning the royal couple can relax and let their hair down  something we imagine would be most welcome after the whirlwind wedding with all its formalities and incessant paparazzi.

Chaa Creeks trademark casual luxury is just that. We pride ourselves on offering the highest quality accommodations and amenities with unobtrusive, impeccable service. Yet people dont put on airs here. Multicultural Belize is one of the most egalitarian, democratic societies on Earth, and that was something the Prince seemed to enjoy the last time, and he very quickly won everyone over with his own friendliness, warmth and charm, Ms Duran said.

She added that Chaa Creeks farm-to-table and Maya-fusion cuisine would be another draw for the Prince, who enjoyed a poolside dinner featuring a classic Maya Kackick, a traditional dish made with turkey and roasted vegetables flavoured with chillies and local spices, and a salad of ingredients fresh from the onsite Maya organic farm.

We know from experience how honeymoons stimulate the appetite, and Im sure the dinner and hearty English breakfast the Prince so enjoyed the last time would be doubly appreciated this time around, she said.

Chaa Creeks bar staff are also primed to serve Prince Harry the one cocktail he requested, and said he enjoyed, Ms Duran said.

Theyre hoping to have a chance to recreate that perfect Mojito.

Even if the royal couple cannot make it to Belize for their honeymoon, Ms Duran said she and the staff hope that he will return with his new wife sometime in the future.

Were extending an open invitation, and, who knows? Like many couples theyll want to get away from busy schedules to spend some quality time together.

And even if its further into the future, wed remind the royal couple that family owned and operated Chaa Creek is a great place to bring children, Ms Duran smiled.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi-award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. It was recognised by National Geographic with first place honours at the 2017 World Legacy Awards held in Berlin.

ENDS
The winners received a cash prize of VND50 million (US$2,200) and, along with the runners-up, will represent Vietnam at the Asia-Pacific Robot Contest scheduled for August, in Vietnams northern city of Ninh Binh.

This is the eighth time that a team from Lac Hong University have won in a national competition and teams from the university also won the Asia-Pacific contest in 2014 and 2017.

This year, the Asia-Pacific contest is being hosted by Vietnam and is modelled on a ball throwing game known as nem con in Vietnamese, which is popular in northern provinces.

A team will gain an absolute victory if a ball is thrown by their robot through a ring and touches down on a cup.
Day Room Stay - Hotel Rooms For The Day This trip was an excellent opportunity to introduce Day Room Stay to the Chinese tourism market.

Day Room Stay, a hotel booking website specializing in day rooms, hotel rooms for the day, recently completed a sales mission to China to promote tourism in the Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood areas of South Florida, near the Port Everglades cruise port and the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

Visit Florida, along with industry partners like Day Room Stay, engaged tour operators, travel agencies and media through a series of meetings, presentations and networking events throughout China over a 2-week trip.

Day Room Stay offers international travelers an excellent alternative to waiting at the airport or cruise port by offering hotel rooms for the day. Priced at a fraction of the cost of an overnight stay in a hotel, day rooms provide guests a place to relax and unwind before commencing with the next leg of their journey. Day rooms are especially convenient for guests traveling with children, and change into destination-appropriate clothing. All day room guests receive full use of all hotel amenities such as clean linens, swimming pool, restaurants and hotel transportation.

"This trip was an excellent opportunity to introduce Day Room Stay to the Chinese tourism market," states Izzy Fintz, Founder & President of Day Room Stay. "Instead of waiting at the airport, or lugging heavy luggage around an unfamiliar city, our international guests can relax in full comfort of a hotel, enjoy great food, or even an exciting tour adventure, all while waiting for their flight."

To feature your hotel on Day Room Stay, please contact ifintz(at)dayroomstay(dot)com.

About Day Room Stay

Day Room Stay is a hotel day stay booking website specializing in day rooms, hotel rooms for the day without an overnight stay. Starting from $59.99 per room, day rooms are offered between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., any day of the week depending on availability for up to four guests per room, and can be extended to 9:00 p.m. at some participating hotels. Day rooms can accommodate up to eight guests for an additional charge. Hotels currently featured on Day Room Stay are located in close proximity to popular South Florida tourist destinations such as Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Broward Convention Center, Port Everglades cruise port, Hollywood Beaches, Hard Rock Casino and the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Day Room Stay website features a location search based on city or destination, hotel user reviews and rankings, and full booking and reservation interface. For more information on Day Room Stay, visit http://dayroomstay.com/ or follow the booking site on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. Day Room Stay currently serves the South Florida market, with plans to expand nationally in the next months.
There is a void in the private sector, meaning hospital and casino security, retail loss prevention and security for private corrections facilities. If these companies dont properly train their security personnel, they could hurt someone, or act in a way that endangers themselves and others.

Advanced Security Options (ASO), based in New Mexico, is the countrys first company exclusively focused on providing private businesses and detention centers certified, proven security training. Based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ASOs highly skilled instructors have a combined 30 years of experience working for and training state corrections, state and federal probation, parole and law enforcement.

The federal government and state agencies have established security training programs. But there is a void in the private sector, meaning hospital and casino security, retail loss prevention and security for private corrections facilities. If these companies dont properly train their security personnel, they could hurt someone, or act in a way that endangers themselves and others, says Aaron Bell, ASO founder and owner. That can lead to lawsuits. Thats why I opened Advanced Security Options. No one else is offering this type of training. And my team is more qualified than anyone else to do it.

Most ASO instructors are nationally Training for Trainers certified through the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association. This ensures that ASO uses the latest course curricula. And because they are also currently employed with state agencies, ASOs instructors are experienced in using their training in the real world.

ASO trains private security and detention personnel with certified and accredited classroom instruction and/or hands on instruction, offering more than 20 courses, including:



Communications, courtroom demeanor, ethics and professionalism, interviewing, report writing and non-verbal communication

Defensive tactics, office safety and use of force

Chemical agents, bloodborne pathogens, narcotics recognition and substance abuse

Surveillance, inmate transport, searches, and perimeter control

Crowd control, building entry, room clearing, movement/extraction, riot

Weapons

Health, CPR/first aid, physical fitness

Course descriptions, photos and videos can be found at https://www.asonm.com

Capt. Wade Ellis of the Santa Fe County (New Mexico) Corrections Department recently completed ASOs 2  week defensive tactics course. Through my career, Ive attended several trainings, including trainings with the military. Not only was [ASOs course] challenging, it was rewarding. I feel very accomplished for doing it. Anyone who is looking to better their agency, I would recommend this course very highly. The instructors were knowledgeable, professional, were able to work through different scenarios with us, and gave us options for each technique and tactic that they taught us to make it more effective.

About Advanced Security Options

Advanced Security Options, founded by Aaron Bell, provides the private security sector and detention center officers with realistic and proven training for todays world. Bell has more than 16 years of experience working for the New Mexico Corrections Department as both a corrections officer and training instructor. His prior experience includes working with probation and parole. Bell and his training expertise were featured on an A&E network special on corrections officers, Behind Bars: Rookie Year: https://www.aetv.com/shows/behind-bars-rookie-year/cast/aaron-bell. Bios of all ASO instructors can be found at http://www.asonm.com

For more information contact Aaron Bell at 505-452-7703 or info(at)asonm.com, or visit http://www.asonm.com. Follow ASO on Facebook.
Seattle to Host NewSpace Conference June 26-28 The Space Economy is a catalyst for new applications and services that will transform our relationship with our planet, creating jobs and economic growth globally.

The Space Frontier Foundation, a global non-profit organization committed to opening the space frontier to human settlement through the power of free enterprise, announced today the first line-up of speakers to be featured at NewSpace 2018 Conference on June 26-28, 2018. The annual event in its 14th year will bring together leaders from science, industry and government to explore the challenges and opportunities associated with the Space Economy that promise to transform our world.

We are at a critical time in our history where the Space Economy has become a mainstream investment opportunity and growth industry, said Jeff Feige, Chairman of the Space Frontier Foundation. The Space Economy is a catalyst for new applications and services that will transform our relationship with our planet, creating jobs and economic growth globally. We are proud to be hosting the NewSpace conference in Seattle which has proven to be a hotbed of growth and opportunity for aerospace and space.

Confirmed speakers include:



Phil McAlister - Director of Commercial Spaceflight Development, NASA

George Nield - Former Associate Administrator, FAA

Lluc Diaz - Business Incubation and Technology Transfer Officer, ESA

Joe Landon - Chairman, Space Angels

Ariane Cornell - Head of Astronaut Strategy & Sales, New Glenn Commercial Sales Director, Blue Origin

Ben Roberts - Vice President of Government Affairs, Moon Express

Livingston Holder - Partner and Co-Founder, Holder Aerospace

Salem Al Marri - Assistant Director General, UAE's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC)

Pierre Franck - Consul General, Executive Director, Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office

Deloitte Consulting will also release its preliminary report on the Space Economy based on first-person research and focus groups that will challenge the value of the space industry and introduce new metrics.

To register for the NewSpace 2018 Conference visit https://newspace.spacefrontier.org/2018/

About Space Frontier Foundation

Founded in 1988, the Space Frontier Foundation is a leading 501(c) 3 non-profit organization committed to opening the space frontier to human settlement through the power of free enterprise. The Space Frontier Foundation forges cross-industry relationships, drives public engagement and advocates governmental support through special projects, events and strategic congressional campaigns to build a thriving space economy. We are dedicated to providing an avenue for incubation and collaboration that supports entrepreneurs in the space industry. The Space Frontier Foundation is the host and organizer of the NewSpace Conference, an annual event that brings together entrepreneurs, investors, scientists, engineers and policy leaders to advance the commercial space industry. For more information, please visit http://www.spacefrontier.org
Winnebago & Volta Power Systems generator-free 2019 Travato Billions of dollars and years of lessons-learned in the automotive industry have produced a truly amazing energy storage technology, said Jack Johnson, co-founder of Volta. Its exciting to see what it can do for the RV industry. Winnebago is setting a new industry standard with the Travato.

The 2019 Travato is specifically designed to meet increased demand for off-grid capabilities, high comfort and environmental responsibility. With fast charging in under 90 minutes, the Volta energy system supplies up to 30A / 120V service with nearly 10,000Wh of capacity - enough to run standard appliances including the main air conditioner for several hours or overnight. The system charges while driving, idling, connected to shore, or through a high efficiency MPPT solar charger. A 200W solar panel comes standard.

With the 2019 Travato, Winnebago continues to invest in an environmentally-friendly approach to RVing. The Volta system is a part of the Pure3 package, which improves sustainability through power, insulation, shading and other efficiency upgrades. The energy storage system reduces greenhouse emissions and eliminates the danger of generator carbon monoxide on people and pets. By removing the need for a generator, the Travato also is among the quietest of Class B RVs, which makes for better sleep and respect for the peaceful night time atmosphere.

Increasingly, we are seeing a different kind of RV user. Todays buyers want total freedom from shore power and the ability to camp anywhere with minimum impact on the environment, said Russ Garfin, Product Manager at Winnebago Industries. We had been looking for the right technology to meet our high standards for quality and safety, and a relationship with Volta makes great sense.

Voltas storage system is unique in the RV market because its built on automotive-grade lithium ion technology. Unlike competing RV systems which use consumer-grade LFP batteries, the Travatos energy storage packs utilize NMC lithium ion chemistry, which is the same platform used for EV and PHEV drivetrains. As a result, the Travatos system is safer, more robust and built to last the lifetime of the vehicle.

Billions of dollars and years of lessons-learned in the automotive industry have produced a truly amazing energy storage technology, said Jack Johnson, co-founder of Volta. Its exciting to see what it can do for the RV industry. Winnebago is setting a new industry standard with the Travato.

We designed the Volta system to be powerful, yet easy to operate. The system is simple and can be turned on by a single button, said Bill Cavanaugh, co-founder of Volta. By designing the system to run autonomously, we were able to make very advanced technology easy for all users to operate.

The 2019 Travato is slated to roll out on dealer lots this summer. Customers can find a local dealer and learn more at winnebagoind.com.

About Volta Power Systems

Founded in 2014, Volta Power Systems provides safe, powerful and simple lithium ion energy storage solutions for small to mid-size businesses. RV, marine and specialty vehicle OEMs trust Volta to deliver leading-edge power systems that enhance the lifestyle, freedom and comfort of their end users.

For more information visit: http://www.voltaps.com

About Winnebago Industries

Winnebago Industries, Inc., headquartered in Forest City, Iowa, is a leading United States (U.S.) manufacturer of recreation vehicles (RVs), which are used primarily in leisure travel and outdoor recreation activities. The company builds quality motorhomes, travel trailers, fifth wheel products, and toy haulers under the Winnebago and Grand Design brand names. The company markets its recreation vehicles on a wholesale basis to a diversified dealer organization located throughout the U.S., and Canada.

Media Contact:

Leanne Schaeffer, Boileau Communications Management

616.786.4461, Leanne.Schaeffer(at)boileaucommunications.com

Additional images available https://voltapowersystems.com/news/press-center/
This invited keynote at the first ever WiPDA event in China further reinforces the Navitas commitment to bring the worlds most advanced power semiconductors to the region

Navitas Semiconductor announced today that Co-Founder and CTO/COO Dan Kinzer will deliver a keynote address to share the latest GaNFast power IC technology developments at the first-ever IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications (WiPDA) Asia in Xian Shanxi, China.

This inaugural WiPDA Asia conference brings a forum to China and the rest of Asia for the best minds in next-generation, wide-bandgap power semiconductor devices to share their advances. It is an excellent opportunity to show the device-level and system-level performance and robustness benefits of GaNFast power ICs, said Mr. Kinzer, We are pleased to present these advancements that are enabling a new class of high-frequency, high-efficiency & high-density power systems.

The Navitas keynote, titled GaN Power IC Performance, Reliability and System Benefits, will be at 9am on May 19th at the Cullinan Huicheng Hotel, Xian. Mr. Kinzer will discuss GaN-integrated features such as drivers, voltage regulators, level shifters, bootstrap-charging, dV/dt control, with shoot-through and ESD protection. These features not only protect the system but also cut frequency related losses so dramatically that they enable a 10x-20x increase in switching frequency with lower total losses. The resulting efficiency allows a new generation of high-density power converters to operate with minimum heatsinking and well-controlled case and external touch temperatures.

China is a very strategic region for Navitas and for the power electronics industry, explained Charles Zha, Navitas Senior Director of China Sales. We are investing aggressively in China  last month we announced our first China sales office and applications lab in Shenzhen. This invited keynote at the first ever WiPDA event in China further reinforces the Navitas commitment to bring the worlds most advanced power semiconductors to the region.

About Navitas:Navitas Semiconductor Inc

. is the worlds first and only GaN Power IC company, founded in 2014 and based in El Segundo, CA, USA. Navitas has a strong and growing team of power semiconductor industry experts with a combined 200 years of experience in materials, devices, applications, systems and marketing, plus a proven record of innovation with over 200 patents among its founders. A proprietary process design kit monolithically integrates the highest performance GaN FETs with GaN logic and GaN analog circuits. Navitas GaNFast Power ICs enable smaller, higher energy efficient and lower cost power for mobile, consumer, enterprise and new energy markets - over 35 Navitas patents are granted or pending.

About WiPDA Asia 2018:WiPDA Asia 2018

(Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications) is sponsored by IEEE Power Electronics and Electron Devices Societies and the Power Source Manufacturers Association (PSMA). WiPDA Asia provides a forum for device scientists, circuit designers, and application engineers to share technology updates, research findings, development experience, and application knowledge. WiPDA Asia 2018 is at the Cullinan Huicheng Hotel, Xian, China.

###

Navitas Semiconductor, GaNFast and the Navitas logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Navitas Semiconductor, Inc. All other brands, product names and marks are or may be trademarks or registered trademarks used to identify products or services of their respective owners.
We are proud and honored to partner with ScienceVision to distribute our precision medicine enabling platform, said BG Jones, Senior Vice President of Business Development at PierianDx.

PierianDx, the leading clinical genomics technology company that enables precision medicine, announced today that it has executed a distribution agreement with ScienceVision, a leading provider of end-to-end genomic solutions in the Asia Pacific region.

Under the partnership, ScienceVision will commercialize and distribute the PierianDx Clinical Genomics Workspace (CGW) platform for clinical genomic informatics, classification, interpretation, and clinical reporting. Hospitals, cancer centers, and genomic laboratories throughout Malaysia and Southeast Asia will now have access to PierianDxs CGW platform for clinical genomic analysis and insight.

We are proud and honored to partner with ScienceVision to distribute our precision medicine enabling platform, said BG Jones, Senior Vice President of Business Development at PierianDx. We welcome the opportunity to deliver CGW with ScienceVision to extend PierianDxs global network of customers.

ScienceVision is the leading provider of genomic solutions in the Asia Pacific region with strong partnerships with Illumina, ArcherDx, Perkin Elmer and others. The partnership with PierianDx will allow ScienceVision to offer a turnkey solution including sequencer, assay, clinical genomic analysis and reporting.

We look forward to working with PierianDx to bring their clinical genomics technology to customers in Southeast Asia. Our deep knowledge of next generation sequencing for patients makes us ideally suited to market and commercialize the PierianDx system, said Bennar Foong, General Manager at ScienceVision.

About PierianDx

Every year another 14 million people bet their lives on precision medicine. PierianDx is on a mission to make sure that bet pays off. At PierianDx we empower progressive health institutions and diagnostic laboratories to build world-class precision medicine programs. Our industry-leading molecular genomics technologies and expertise deliver the most integrated, trusted, and collaborative approach across the clinical care spectrum. From genomic sequencing and biomedical informatics in the laboratory to reporting and decision support at the patients bedside, we drive the adoption of genomics in clinical care and accelerate the fight against cancer and other diseases.

About ScienceVision

Founded in 2007, ScienceVision focuses on increasing utilization of genomic technologies by creating ecosystems that combine molecular biology, next generation sequencing, and genome informatics. By partnering with industry leaders such as Illumina, PerkinElmer, Sophia Genetics, and now PierianDx, ScienceVision catalyzes the adoption of technologies to fuel the life sciences market. A deep understanding of market requirements and the brands they represent has made ScienceVision one of the most reputable scientific solution providers in the Asia Pacific region. For more information, visit http://www.sciencevision.com.my.
The most important thing is to provide the Rohingya and the host communities access to safe water, make the newest structures safe and secure and build resilience for the coming months.

In response to the start of Bangladeshs monsoon season and the first heavy rains, the global organization Mercy Corps is helping Rohingya people from Myanmar and Bangladeshis in host communities in Coxs Bazar access clean water and reinforce their shelters against mudslides and flooding.

As part of this effort, Mercy Corps is supporting partner organizations in Bangladesh in drilling 800-foot, hand-pumped wells to draw safe drinking water and avoid contamination from overflowing latrines in camps and host communities. It is also supporting youth groups as they reinforce temporary structures while partner organizations move people to higher ground less prone to flooding and mudslides, which have already caused at least one death and injured others in the camps.

All the latrines are already full, and when the rains come, they will contaminate shallow wells, says Mercy Corps Thierry Lecoq, Bangladesh Team Leader for the agency's Strategic Response & Global Emergencies unit. Right now, you have on average one latrine for about 50 people; it should be one per 20. When latrines overflow, the risk of contracting and spreading waterborne illnesses will be much, much greater.

Since violence broke out in Myanmars northern Rakhine State in August 2017, almost 700,000 Rohingya have fled to Coxs Bazar in southeast Bangladesh. In just three months last year, the population there doubled, placing tremendous strain on the host communities and Bangladesh as a whole. UNICEF estimates at least 1.3 million Rohingyaamong them at least 703,000 childrenand the Bangladeshis hosting them are now in need of humanitarian assistance.

Adding to those challenges, Lecoq says it will be difficult for international NGOs to access the camps. And there has been a noted shortfall in international funding for the crisis for 2018. Out of $950.8 million the United Nations has requested to address the crisis, only 16.5 percent ($157.1 million) has been funded.

Even before the monsoons, Rohingya needed some 16 million liters of safe water every day, more than 100,000 emergency shelters and 50,000 latrines. Given the monsoons and their high winds, those numbers are expected to rise.

This may be the first monsoon for some people in Coxs Bazar, but it wont be the last, says Lecoq. The most important thing is to provide the Rohingya and the host communities access to safe water, make the newest structures safe and secure and build resilience for the coming months.

Join us and support Mercy Corps work in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world.
We are honored to join Mills College on its inaugural online journey, said John Katzman, CEO of Noodle Partners.

Heralding an important milestone in its 166-year history, Mills College is proud to announce the launch of its first fully online degree, the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership.

Founded in 1852, Mills defied the convention of the time by providing educational opportunities to women. Today, it is once again breaking barriers by making access to a top-ranked graduate education for all genders more flexible and accessible with the delivery of a high-quality online program.

According to recent studies, more and more students are turning to digital educational opportunities to enhance their learning and advance in their careers.

Research shows that nearly one-third of all graduate degrees are taken fully online, said Mills College Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Chinyere Oparah. No institution can afford to ignore a market of adult learners that has clearly indicated its preference for online delivery, and Im delighted to announce what will be the first of many online programs for Mills College.

Firmly cemented as a leader in the training of educators in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills plans to welcome its first online cohort in early 2019. Our innovative MA in Educational Leadership will help ensure that students of all backgrounds can experience a life-changing education that prepares them to be leaders in schools and K-12 administration across the nation, added Oparah.

Priced identically to the existing on-campus version, the online MA in Educational Leadership will offer strong value and the close, personal attention for which Mills College has long been known, albeit delivered in new and exciting modalities. Offering this online degree with sophisticated digital learning technologies will help educators communicate in a fast-changing world, said Dean of the School of Education, Diane Ketelle. "And well bring Mills to students whose busy lives make pursuing graduate education a logistical challenge.

Bringing external expertise in key functional areas like digital marketing, student recruitment, instructional design, and student support, Noodle Partners is helping Mills College build a powerful online MA in Educational Leadership that is sustainable over the long term. Its business model lowers cost while providing best-in-class service, unprecedented transparency, and agility.

We are honored to join Mills College on its inaugural online journey, said John Katzman, CEO of Noodle Partners. The need for well-trained educators has never been greater, and Im confident that Mills Colleges MA in Educational Leadership will be a big success for the College, its students, and future generations of students.

About Mills College

Located in Oakland, California, in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area, Mills College is a nationally renowned independent liberal arts college for women with graduate programs for women and men. Ranked one of the top-tier regional universities in the West by U.S. News & World Report, Mills is also recognized as one of The Best 382 Colleges in the nation by The Princeton Review. Since 1852, weve been empowering students to become creative, independent thinkers who take and inspire action. For more information, visit http://www.mills.edu.

About Noodle Partners

Founded by a team of education and technology veterans, Noodle Partners creates innovative online and hybrid programs while improving traditional classroom models. Noodle Partners has the capability to work with universities on every aspect of building a certificate or degree program that they choose  marketing, student recruitment, enrollment, curriculum design, student engagement, support services, graduate placement, and alumni engagement  and provides an exceptionally high level of fit and finish. For more information, please visit: http://www.noodle-partners.com or follow Noodle Partners on Twitter at @NoodlePartners and LinkedIn.
Beth Rossum

Haute Residence welcomes acclaimed broker, Beth Rossum to its network of top real estate professionals. As a Haute Residence partner, Rossum exclusively represents the high-end market in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A corporate broker and owner of Rossum Realty Unlimited, Rossum boasts a 30-year career that, today, rests in the high echelons of the industry. She possesses in-depth knowledge and expertise that underline her unexcelled customer services.

A graduate of the University of Nebraska and with post graduate studies at Duke University, Rossum has put her business and life experiences to good use in serving her clientele. A two-time Gubernatorial appointee to the Nevada Real Estate Commission, she has the unique qualifications needed to insure the quality, professionalism and confidentiality her high-profile clients expect.

Rossum has turned Rossum Realty Unlimited into the foremost boutique real estate company in Nevada.

About Haute Residence:

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners.

The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers, and real estate enthusiasts.

HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate, and more.

Access all of this information and more by visiting: http://www.hauteresidence.com
Dr. L. Marshall Washington Im looking forward to working with the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff as we enter into a new era of leadership and service in southwest Michigan.

During its regularly scheduled meeting on May 8, Kalamazoo Valley Community Colleges Board of Trustees approved his contract and officially appointed Dr. L. Marshall Washington as the colleges third president. His term will begin on July 1.

In making the announcement, Board Chair Jeffery W. Patton said, We are delighted that Dr. Washington has accepted our offer to come to Kalamazoo Valley. We are confident that his experiences, temperament and dedication to student success will serve our students and community very well.

Currently Washington serves as president of New River Community and Technical College in West Virginia, a position he has held since March 2013. His last day there will be June 30.

I could not be more excited about the opportunity to serve as president of Kalamazoo Valley Community College, Washington said. The college has a tremendous reputation. Following in the footsteps of Marilyn Schlack is a tall order; we are grateful for the firm foundation established during her tenure at the college. Now, Im looking forward to working with the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff as we enter into a new era of leadership and service in southwest Michigan.

Schlack, who served as Kalamazoo Valleys president for 35 years, announced her retirement in September 2017. Washington was chosen to replace her from a field of more than two dozen applicants.

Prior to New River Community and Technical College, Washington served as Vice President and CEO at the Lancaster Campus of Harrisburg Area Community College in Pennsylvania and before that as Vice President of Student Services at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, Michigan.

He is a graduate of the Lakin Institute for Mentored Leadership, the Executive Leadership Institute of the League for Innovation in the Community College, and the Future Leaders Institute-Advanced of the American Association for Community Colleges. He received the TRIO Achiever Award from the Mid-American Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel in 2009. He served on the American Association for Community Colleges Board of Directors. In addition, he currently serves on the Beckley-Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Beckley Appalachian Regional Hospital Advisory Council, United Way of Southern West Virginia Board of Directors and Region 1 Workforce Investment Board of Directors. Previously, he has served in leadership positions with Boys Scouts of America, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Harvest Worship Center, Boys and Girls Club, North Museum of Natural History and Science, SAFE Place, and the National Council on Student Development. Washington is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

Washington grew up in Columbus, Ohio where he attended public schools. While in high school on a college visit to Ohio Wesleyan University, he met his future wife, Tonja Embry Washington, who was a student there at the time. They have been married for 24 years and have three children, Lauren, 21, a junior at Marshall University, Ethan, 17, an eleventh grader and Jordan, 15, a tenth grader. Tonja Embry Washington is active in philanthropic and community initiatives throughout the local community and is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

In commenting about his leadership style, Washington said, I take great joy in life by inspiring and motivating others to reach their full potential. I challenge myself and my colleagues to take risks and to embrace unconventional approaches and solutions to achieve common goals. I look forward to joining with the Kalamazoo Valley campus community to further impact the lives of our students and families.

Kalamazoo Valley Community College was established in 1966. It serves nearly 10,000 students on four campus locations in west Michigan.

For More Information Contact

Linda Depta, Director of Marketing

269.488.4821 or ldepta(at)kvcc(dot)edu
Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza said in a short text message sent to reporters that 16 Palestinian demonstrators were killed and more than 400 wounded, with 250 injured by Israeli live gunshots in eastern Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of Palestinian demonstrators cut barbed wire of border fence between eastern Gaza Strip and Israel and managed to enter into Israel. Some of them burned tires.

The Monday (May 14) protests were organized by the National Commission of the Great Marches of Return in eastern Gaza Strip, which have been going on since March 30. Monday's rallies were also against moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The Great Marches of Return was organized to mark 70 years of the Palestinian Nakba Day or "Day of Catastrophe," which coincides with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence.
Smiles for Everyone Foundation's Volunteers at a Day of Giving

The Smiles for Everyone Foundation recently received a donation of dental supplies from Henry Schein, Inc. valued at $35,000 that will aid in delivering free dental care to people in need through the Smiles for Everyone Foundations Day of Giving program.

As part of the Community Smile Project, the Day of Giving events are free dental clinics hosted at Smile Brands Inc.'s affiliated dental offices across the country. During a Day of Giving, Smile Brands Inc.s affiliated dental providers and support staff from around the area gather at one central office to provide free dental care for low-income, underserved people around the community. So far in 2018, the Days of Giving have served over 500 individuals, delivering over $500,000 in donated dentistry.

The donation contains a range of dental products and is an initiative of Henry Schein Cares, the companys global corporate social responsibility program. The donated products will support multiple Days of Giving in 2018, which will allow the Smiles for Everyone Foundation to allocate the funds that would have been used for these supplies towards expanding programs and serving more communities in need.

The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is truly grateful for the partnership with Henry Schein and hopes to continue working together in the future to deliver Smiles for Everyone!

About Henry Schein Cares

Henry Schein Cares stands on four pillars: engaging Team Schein Members to reach their potential, ensuring accountability by extending ethical business practices to all levels within Henry Schein, promoting environmental sustainability, and expanding access to health care for underserved and at-risk communities around the world. Health care activities supported by Henry Schein Cares focus on three main areas: advancing wellness, building capacity in the delivery of health care services, and assisting in emergency preparedness and relief.

Firmly rooted in a deep commitment to social responsibility and the concept of enlightened self-interest championed by Benjamin Franklin, the philosophy behind Henry Schein Cares is a vision of doing well by doing good. Through the work of Henry Schein Cares to enhance access to care for those in need, the Company believes that it is furthering its long-term success. Helping Health Happen Blog is a platform for health care professionals to share their volunteer experiences delivering assistance to those in need globally. To read more about how Henry Schein Cares is making a difference, please visit our blog: http://www.helpinghealthhappen.org.

About the Smiles For Everyone Foundation

The Smiles for Everyone Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of delivering smiles for everyone by providing free dental care for those in need, both at home in the U.S. and around the world. Since 2011, the Smiles for Everyone Foundation has delivered over 16,000 smiles and $12.5 million in donated dentistry. The foundation currently supports programs which provide free dental care to those in need in Cambodia, Ghana, Laos, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Thailand and the United States. For more information or to make a donation, visit http://www.smilesforeveryone.org.

Contact:

Smiles for Everyone Foundation

Crystal Strait

crystal.strait(at)smilesforeveryone(dot)org

714.824.5037
Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd. of India was awarded gold in ASQ's International Team Excellence Awards process. (ITEA) has greatly improved the quality of team preparations, and results in substantial tangible and intangible benefits.

Max Life Insurance Co. Ltd, of India, was awarded gold-level status at ASQs International Team Excellence Awards for improving efficiency and cost savings.

In addition to gold-level recognition, Max Groups Max Healthcare Institute Limited, Team Life Savers, also received a bronze award. ASQ awarded silver-level status to Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co. Ltd., Virtual Rubiks Cube Team, China.

ASQ announced the winning teams at its World Conference on Quality and Improvement in Seattle. Now in its 33nd year, the International Team Excellence Awards brought together 23 entrants from eight countries to present their real-life applications of quality that made valuable improvements in areas such as customer satisfaction, waste reduction, and employee morale  all leading to improved profitability or other organizational benefits.

Max Lifes gold-level winning team used quality tools to reduce life insurance policy discrepancies from 28 percent to 13 percent, which reduced policy contract grievances by 53 percent.

Max India Limiteds Senior Director, Quality and Service Excellence, Prashant Hoskote, said ASQs ITEA process offers great support to Max Groups quality program, and sets a healthy internal competition among the Group companies.

Each of Max Groups operating companies conducts its own annual Project of the Year competition, which then culminates into a Group-level competition called Max Excellence Day. Winning teams on Max Excellence Day get nominated for the ASQ ITEA process.

(ITEA) has greatly improved the quality of team preparations, and results in substantial tangible and intangible benefits, he said.

Team Reduction in New Business Discrepancies Project Mentor, Anjali Kalaskar, commented as a quality professional, preparation for ITEA was a tremendous experience with measurable value.

Hongmei Xue, quality engineer for the Virtual Rubiks Cube Team from Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Co. Ltd., said the recognition achieved in Seattle will encourage other teams to participate in the ITEA process. Xue said their project improved efficiency, improved accuracy, and shortened automotive product development lead time.

Since 1985, thousands of teams worldwide have participated in this team recognition process. Organizations such as Alcoa, Anheuser-Busch, Bayer, Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Johnson Controls, and Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company have showcased proven results with long-term implications, resulting in collective cost savings of billions of dollars.

Next years International Team Excellence Award Process final round will be held at ASQs 2019 World Conference on Quality and Improvement, May 2022, 2019, in Fort Worth, Texas. The deadline for 2018-19 awards program intent to submit form is July 1.

For information on how to participate in the 20182019 International Team Excellence Award Process, visit asq.org/team-excellence or email itea(at)asq.org.

About ASQ

ASQ, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., USA, is a global community of people dedicated to quality who share the ideas and tools that make our world work better. With individual and organizational members in more than 140 countries, ASQ has the reputation and reach to bring together the diverse quality champions who are transforming the worlds organizations and communities to meet tomorrows critical challenges.
With access to more than 1.5 million devices in 105 countries, plus another 44 million that are under contract to go live by the end of 2018, Spire (SPI), the token that powers UpChannels mobile dApp marketplace and Android hardware wallet, and Loci (LOCI), a blockchain-based intellectual property (IP) platform, announced their plans to empower and protect inventors and entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

Loci utilizes its easy-to-use LOCIsearch to help inventors determine if their invention is novel and patentable. Loci combines its powerful search platform with a blockchain dedicated to intellectual property innovations to allow inventors to disclose patentable inventions or post abstracts to allow them to validate an innovation before going through the expensive process of patenting and development process.

Sadly, theft is rampant in emerging markets. And the targets arent just cash, theyre ideas, which can be even more valuable, especially to global corporations, explains Charlie Hulcher, Head of Technology at Spire. By cultivating and simplifying the invention process for inventors and entrepreneurs through the Loci blockchain based platform, Spire can help drive the upward economic mobility of people in these markets.

Through LOCIsearch, inventors can also mark their proof of concept with a specific date and time that is stored on the blockchain. This mark constitutes a public disclosure and grants the inventor a 12-month grace period by the US Patent and Trademark Office for the filing of a patent application. From there, the inventor can file a patent on the disclosure or make it available to be sold in Locis IP marketplace.

Spires combination of massive distribution and a clear focus on emerging markets makes them a force of nature in the crypto space, states John Wise, CEO at Loci. By providing inventors and entrepreneurs in these markets with IP safeguards, Loci can help them safely expand beyond their village or town, into the global marketplace.

About Spire:

Spire is a cryptocurrency that powers UpChannels digital currency wallets and a curated dApp (decentralized application) Marketplace for the 3 billion people in emerging markets who leapfrogged PCs, going directly to smartphones. Telecom partners preinstall free, white-labeled software on the Android smartphones they sell, creating a broad and cost-effective distribution strategy. The wallet will initially support Spires own token (SPI), along with Bitcoin.

About UpChannel:

UpChannel is the creator of UpChannel Connect, the free, white-labeled CRM platform for telecom carriers and smartphone manufacturers in emerging markets. UpChannel Connect provides in-depth analytics and reporting data that these telecoms have never had access to. This includes demographics, geographic usage, carrier information, and much more. UpChannel currently has access to 29 million smartphones in 105 countries.

About Loci:

Loci is an easier way for inventors to validate the novelty of an idea, a secure home for ideas on the blockchain, and an exclusive marketplace for the sale of intellectual property. With a blockchain-based solution, Loci plans to become the gold standard IP platform that empowers inventors and promotes the effective matchmaking of ideas, capital, and talent.

# # #

Spire Contact:

Dean Gebert

dean(at)upchannel(dot)com

Loci Contact:

Brian Hwang

brian(at)loci(dot)io
Fajita Pete's "Fajitas Delivered" Recinos said, I cant believe that day finally came. My family, team, and I are so excited to serve you our delicious fajitas, from dine-in, pick up, or delivery, and to cater your personal and office needs.

Fajita Pete's is proud to celebrate the opening of its tenth location (and second Dallas location) at 1008 W. Hebron Parkway Suite 102 Carrollton, TX 75010.

Best known for fresh-off-the-grill, mouthwatering fajitas and always made-from-scratch sides, Fajita Petes homemade Mexican food is available for catering, pickup, delivery or dine-in for lunch and evening. Fajita Petes now offers convenient online orderinga fresh new food-delivery alternative. For store hours and availability, visit http://fajitapetes.com.

Besides their renowned fajitas, Fajita Petes is excited by its new offering, Margaritas TO-GO, which Carrollton plans to add to their menu later this year.

Carrollton franchisee, Jose Recinos, is looking forward to expanding Fajita Petes partnership with local families, schools, and businesses. Opening my second Fajita Petes location has been my dream since day one, Recinos said. I cant believe that day finally came. My family, team, and I are so excited to serve you our delicious fajitas, from dine-in, pick up, or delivery, and to cater your personal and office needs.

The Carrollton store continues the rapid growth of the Houston-based chain, which now has ten locations. Opening soon will be Midtown (Houston) and College Station, with additional Texas locations this year in Spring, Cypress, Clear Lake, and League City. For a list of current locations, you can visit https://www.fajitapetes.com/locations/.

Fajita Pete's is looking for franchisees to grow their business. The Fajita Petes Franchise Program provides a unique business model, along with assistance with site selection, lease negotiations, restaurant design, construction, training and operations, as well as quality control and ongoing support through mentorship and marketing.

To apply for a Fajita Petes franchise program, visit: http://www.fajitapetes.com/franchises/.

About Fajita Pete's

Fajita Pete's is a Houston-based Mexican restaurant that offers fresh, made-from-scratch fajitas, thirst- quenching Margaritas TO-GO, and a variety of authentic dishes for delivery, pick-up, catering and dine-in. Founder Pete Mora opened his first restaurant in 2002 and soon received an overwhelming amount of catering requests from local companies. Envisioning a better way to fill a growing niche, he decided to close his profitable 5,000 sq. ft. full-service restaurant to focus on a 1,200 sq. ft. catering and delivery model that soon became Fajita Pete's. For more information, visit http://fajitapetes.com.
4600 McAuley Place The move to Blue Ash is incredibly exciting. This new space is ideal for our fast-growing team and will without a doubt foster increased technology innovation.

STACK Construction Technologies, provider of the first and only 100% cloud-based takeoff and estimating software for the construction industry, is excited to announce the upcoming opening of its new office in Blue Ash, OH. This new location, located just 20 minutes north of Cincinnati, will support the companys ongoing expansion and supply the facilities needed to sustain its growing Ohio-based sales, marketing, support, finance and development teams.

First and foremost, we owe a big thanks to the City of Mason, especially Michelle Blair, Steve Osborne and the rest of the citys staff, for all of the help and support theyve enthusiastically provided as we worked to grow our company from 3 to over 50 employees in just 4 short years, commented Philip Ogilby, Founder & CEO of STACK Construction Technologies.

The move to Blue Ash is incredibly exciting. This new space is ideal for our fast-growing team and will without a doubt foster increased technology innovation. Further, the business community and area amenities, including the new Summit Park development, will positively impact our ability to attract and retain top talent.

STACK has enjoyed nearly 5 years as a City of Mason business. The upcoming relocation to Blue Ash is a natural fit, given that the new location is just  mile from where Ogilby built his previous technology startup, iSqFt. Renovation of the new office location is underway and the team is planning to officially open the new office on Monday, July 2, 2018.
2018 Homes 4 Families Women's Empowerment Build

Homes 4 Families (H4F) hosted its tenth annual Womens Empowerment Build (WE Build) with over 350 women participating at its Veteran Enriched Neighborhood in Santa Clarita, California. Hundreds of women from all over the San Fernando, Antelope and Santa Clarita Valleys put on pink hard hats, rolled up their sleeves and helped finish the remaining 18 homes in the Veteran Enriched Neighborhood, including four women veterans  Gabby (Army), Terry (Navy, Navy Reserves), Josette (Army), and Karen (Army)  who will be moving into the homes currently under construction. The nonprofit empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class by providing them with affordable housing and holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth.

Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste and Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean were in attendance. Mayor Weste has served as Commissioner for the City Parks and Recreation Commission, Advisory Board Member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and Director of the Santa Clarita Valley Committee on Aging. Mayor Pro Tem McLean joined the Santa Clarita City Council in 2002, and has served as Mayor in 2007, 2011 and 2015.

Were always excited to bring these empowered women from the community together to collaborate on hard work and volunteer efforts to help complete our Santa Clarita Veteran Enriched Neighborhood, said Donna Deutchman, President and CEO of Homes 4 Families. In its tenth year, this build is always a special day and we were thrilled to see everyone join in.

Sponsored by Lockheed Martin, Soroptimist Santa Clarita, Anheuser Busch, Andy Gump Temporary Site Services, Coldwell Banker, A-1 Party, Jersey Mikes, Pacific Coast Civil, Mechanix Wear, PDC Healthcare, Reliable Wholesale Lumber, Meloni Hribal Tratner, Legacy, Burrtec, Williams Homes, Sams Club, Wam, LandCare, Boston Scientific, Syska Hennessy Group, Starbucks, DuctTesters, AirKing, Cedar Financial, Individual Food Services and Brinks Home Security, this years WE Build continues the tradition of bringing together, empowering and celebrating women and female veterans.

To donate or learn more, please visit http://www.homes4families.org/we-build/.

For more information on Homes 4 Families, please visit http://www.homes4families.org.

About Homes 4 Families:

Homes 4 Families empowers low-income veterans and their families to enter the middle class through affordable, full-equity homeownership and sustainable housing combined with holistic services that build resiliency, self-sufficiency and economic growth. Through its outcome-proven Enriched Neighborhood model, the nonprofit provides servicemen, servicewomen and their families with comprehensive wraparound services that equip them to succeed in civilian life, including financial education, therapeutic workshops, trauma-informed programs and veteran-to-veteran support. With more than ten years of research-backed experience and success, Homes 4 Families works closely with the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVetREN) and others to build permanent, thriving veteran communities.
Lisa Optican

Haute Residence welcomes Lisa Optican to its invitation-only network of top real estate professionals.

A Luxury Estates Director with Compass, a seasoned attorney, and a former property developer, Optican possesses an unparalleled level of real estate expertise. A Los Angeles native, she relies on her knowledge and appreciation of the subtle nuances of the city to guide her clients to the area that best resonates with their lifestyle.

Opticans sale of Marilyn Monroes former residence in Brentwood garnered her worldwide coverage and she recently helped one of her clients close on one of the most notable and widely discussed properties in the Palisades in late 2017.

About Haute Residence:

Designed as a partnership-driven luxury real estate portal, Haute Residence connects its affluent readers with top real estate professionals, while offering the latest in real estate news, showcasing the worlds most extraordinary residences on the market and sharing expert advice from its knowledgeable and experienced real estate partners.

The invitation-only luxury real estate network, which partners with just one agent in every market, unites a distinguished collective of leading real estate agents and brokers and highlights the most extravagant properties in leading markets around the globe for affluent buyers, sellers, and real estate enthusiasts.

HauteResidence.com has grown to be the number one news source for million-dollar listings, high-end residential developments, celebrity real estate, and more.

Access all of this information and more by visiting: http://www.hauteresidence.com
Kofax, Ltd. The efficiency gains from our Kofax implementation mean our team can now process six to seven invoices in the time that it used to take to process a single invoice.

Kofax, a leading supplier of software to automate and digitally transform information intensive processes, today announced the U.S. division of a leading multinational food products corporation has reduced its procure-to-pay cycle from four weeks to five days through the successful implementation of Kofax ReadSoft Process Director for SAP.

This food products company is experiencing exponential growth that was stretching its paper-based AP process to its limits. With 2,500 suppliers, they were handling 6,000 to 7,000 invoices per month and taking up to 30 days to process and pay invoices.

Citing Kofaxs strengths and solid reputation in financial process automation, they leveraged ReadSoft Process Director to embark on a highly digitized and automated accounts payable transformation, while doubling invoice volumes within months of implementation.

To speed processing and boost accuracy, the organization uses three-way matching capabilities provided by ReadSoft Process Director. The solution compares information from each invoice against the corresponding purchase order and receiving information. If inconsistencies are found, such as in quantities, prices or damaged goods, the system automatically notifies the appropriate team member so the discrepancy can be resolved before submitting the invoice for payment.

The efficiency gains from our Kofax implementation mean our team can now process six to seven invoices in the time that it used to take to process a single invoice, said a company representative. This increase in productivity has allowed us to absorb a huge rise in invoice volumes.

Kofax solutions provide this company with unprecedented visibility and control of their end to end AP automation. With full traceability of each invoice, team members can easily see when a specific invoice was received, and the amount of time spent at every stage in the processing cycle. Reminders notify users when an invoice has been awaiting action for more than the expected time, which keeps invoices steadily moving through the system. This improved visibility also helps in tracking and managing enterprise performance more effectively.

With Kofax ReadSoft solutions powering fast, accurate AP automation, this organization is keeping its supply chain running smoothly," said Reynolds C. Bish, Chief Executive Officer of Kofax. "Theyve streamlined operations, doubled invoice volumes with the same staff level, and increased supplier satisfaction.

Supporting Resources

The Outperformer's Guide to Total Financial Process Domination

The How-to-Guide for Your AP Automation Plan in SAP white paper

5 Ways to Transform Your Accounts Payable Efficiency video

About Kofax

Kofax is a leading supplier of software and solutions to automate and digitally transform human and information intensive processes across front and back office operations. These can dramatically improve customer engagement, greatly reduce operating costs, mitigate compliance risk and increase competitiveness, growth and profitability. Its broad range of software and solutions can be deployed in the cloud or on premise, and include robotic process automation, business process management, multichannel capture and other critically important capabilities. These provide a rapid return on investment to over 20,000 Kofax customers in financial services, insurance, government, healthcare, supply chain, business process outsourcing and other markets. Kofax delivers its software and solutions through its direct sales and services organization and more than 650 indirect channel partners in more than 60 countries throughout the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific. For more information, visit kofax.com.

 2018 Kofax, Inc. Kofax is a registered trademark, and First Mile and Kofax ReadSoft Process Director are trademarks of Kofax Limited.

Source: KOFAX
Weve dramatically transformed our business over the past two years. It began by recognizing we are a food company powered by technology and continued with a laser focus on our business fundamentals.

Good Eggs, the online market that delivers absurdly fresh groceries, today announces $50 million in new funding led by Benchmark, with additional participation from existing investors Index Ventures, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures, DNS Capital, Uprising and Collaborative Fund. Bill Gurley, Benchmark general partner, will join Good Eggs board of directors.

In Californias metro markets alone, the online grocery market is estimated to be a $7B+ market opportunity. Good Eggs will use the funds to quadruple their capacity in the Bay Area and expand their delivery geography. In 2019, they plan to launch operations in Southern California. The combined expansion will result in the creation of 1000+ good jobs.

Our team was deeply impressed by the operational discipline that Bentley and the team at Good Eggs have implemented to transform this business, said Bill Gurley, general partner at Benchmark. We made a study of what Good Eggs has achieved and believe the business is very well positioned to capture and scale the growing market of people who are passionate about the quality and provenance of the food they consume. Its a massive opportunity."

Over the past two years, Good Eggs has transformed from a specialty food delivery company to a primary grocer and food solutions provider. The grocery industry is striving to catch up to how people live and has spurred a grocery war amongst online and brick and mortar grocery, and meal kit companies. While many food solutions are now available to consumers -- meal kits, grocery delivery, etc. -- Good Eggs is the only company to not only provide its customers with all of these solutions but to deliver absurdly fresh products to consumers often within 48 hours of being harvested. Currently, 70% of their offerings are locally sourced.

Weve dramatically transformed our business over the past two years. It began by recognizing we are a food company powered by technology and continued with a laser focus on our business fundamentals, said Bentley Hall, Good Eggs CEO. What hasnt changed is our commitment to delivering absurdly fresh, high-quality products to our customers and making it effortless to eat well at home.

This commitment is why the company had strong support from existing investors who continue to back Good Eggs through its next chapter.

"When we first invested in Good Eggs, we bought into their compelling vision of bringing absurdly fresh farmers market produce to your home. Since then, the company has learned to tackle its challenges head-on, and developed into a thriving and sustainable business with an incredibly loyal base of customers and suppliers. Today, it's announcing a big milestone and welcoming an important investor. We couldn't be more proud of Bentley and his team for their success and dedication to the company's mission," said longtime investor and board member Danny Rimer, general partner at Index Ventures.

"Good Eggs' purpose drives its profits, and as the business grows the more they're able to fuel that purpose, said Vishal Vasishth, co-founder and managing partner of Obvious Ventures who invested in Good Eggs in 2016. Good Eggs today reminds us of revered brands like Patagonia in their early days: innovative product, 100% supply chain transparency, and extraordinary company culture. This is a special company - a beloved brand - and we are humbled to be along for the journey."

About Good Eggs

Good Eggs is a pioneering online grocer and meal kit delivery service with a mission to reinvent your food system, for good. The Bay-Area based company is the only service that combines absurdly fresh local produce, meal kits for every occasion, grocery staples, and wine, beer, and spirits to wash it down. With same-day delivery across the Bay Area, Good Eggs is the simplest way to feed your family well all week long.

Over the past two years, Good Eggs has added over 1,000 items across categories to its marketplace and expanded its delivery footprint throughout SF, East Bay, Marin, and the South Bay and Peninsula. As the company has grown, they remain steadfast in their mission. Over 70% of Good Eggs assortment is local, and every item carried must meet a strict list of sourcing standards. In addition to good food, the company provides good jobs. Every operations team member receives benefits, carries equity, and is paid 20 to 50% above industry average.

Good Eggs is privately owned. Investors include Benchmark, Index Ventures, Obvious Ventures, S2G Ventures and others. The company was awarded Best Grocery Delivery by San Francisco Magazine in 2017. For more information about Good Eggs visit https://about.goodeggs.com

For press inquiries: press(at)goodeggs(dot)com
The results are crystal clear images with exceptional temporal accuracy bringing diagnostic confidence to all imaging challenges.

Mindray, a developer of next generation ultrasound technology, is featuring a significant new upgrade for its premium Resona 7 ultrasound system at the annual Society of Pediatric Radiology (SPR) Conference being held in Nashville May 15  18, 2018. Several of the new capabilities offer a significant enhancement for ultrasound imaging of the pediatric patient including second generation contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging (CEUS) and new pediatric transducers.

Our CEUS solution offers the clinician many advantages, said Krista Acosta, senior marketing manager, Radiology for Mindray. Enabled by ZONE Sonograpy Technology (ZST+), CEUS with the Resona 7 provides clear image uniformity and enhanced tissue imaging with the contrast agent.

Mindrays second generation CEUS imaging uses both harmonic and fundamental signals to elevate contrast and temporal resolution during CEUS studies. ZST+ enables the systems Advanced Acoustic Acquisition to allow longer duration of perfusion in tissue and organ assessment during CEUS exams along with good sensitivity with low mechanical index (MI). It also makes a lower dosage of agents possible as well.

Newly designed pediatric transducers with Dynamic Pixel focusing, provide the detail at depth pediatric radiology departments need. These include the C11-3 for Neonatal head and body imaging, P10-4 for Neonatal Echocardiography and P7-3 for Pediatric Echocardiography, offering the clinician a robust new suite of pediatric transducers.

In addition, Advanced Acoustic Acquisition, a software acquisition technique that breaks with traditional line-by-line imaging and instead uses large zones to acquire 90 percent more echo data at speeds of up to 10 times faster than conventional systems, enables fast frame rates that can keep up with the restless pediatric patient. The results are crystal clear images with exceptional temporal accuracy bringing diagnostic confidence to all imaging challenges.

The continuing evolution of ZST+ offers a rich package of new diagnostic capabilities and enhancements, said Acosta. This Sapphire edition for the Resona 7 system provides further evidence of the power of Mindrays Living Technology, designed to keep our customers at the cutting-edge of ultrasound solutions while offering a superb solution for pediatric radiology imaging needs.

About Mindray

Mindray is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices worldwide. Mindray maintains its global headquarters in Shenzhen, China; North American headquarters in Mahwah, New Jersey; and multiple development facilities and offices in major international markets including an ultrasound Innovation Center in Silicon Valley. Mindray supplies a broad range of products across three primary business segments, patient monitoring and life support, in-vitro diagnostics, and medical imaging systems. For more information, please visit http://www.mindray.com

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According to media reports, at least 55 Palestinians were killed and over 2,700 wounded in Gaza  the Palestinian enclave occupied by Israel, as the Israeli army fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters assembled along the fence with Israel.

It was the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since Hamas-led demonstrations began along the border fence on March 30; and the highest number of casualties inflicted since the 2014 conflict with Israel inside Gaza.

Following reports that dozens of Palestinians have been killed, demonstrating along the border of the Gaza Strip on May 14, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to show restraint.

The Secretary-General is profoundly alarmed by the sharp escalation of violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the high number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests, said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq in a statement.

Israel security forces must exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire. Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations have a responsibility to prevent all violent actions and provocations, the statement added.

During the six-weeks of demonstrations which organizers have called the Great March of Return, thousands of Palestinians have converged at the border to protest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. Israel has accused Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militants of using the protests  involving women, children, and elderly civilians - as a pretext to infiltrate Israel and carry out terrorist attacks.

In the Monday (May 14)s march, many Palestinians were protesting the official move of the United States embassy, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour urged the council Monday to condemn the killings. Speaking to reporters, Mansour called the Israel military response a savage onslaught and an atrocity.

The council held an emergency meeting when the protests began in March. Members then urged restraint on both sides but couldnt agree on any action or joint message.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini urged utmost restraint.

Dozens of Palestinians, including children, have been killed and hundreds injured from Israeli fire today, during ongoing mass protests near the Gaza fence. We expect all to act with utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life, Mogherini said in a statement.

Israel must respect the right to peaceful protest and the principle of proportionality in the use of force. Hamas and those leading the demonstrations in Gaza must ensure that they remain strictly non-violent and must not exploit them for other means.

Former Italian foreign minister Mogherini urged both sides to return to negotiations, saying that the European Union remained committed to its role in trying to foster peace in the region.

She warned that any further escalation of an already extremely tense and complex situation would cause again further unspeakable sufferings to both peoples, and will make the perspective of peace and security even more remote.

The worlds largest body of Muslim-majority nations says it strongly rejects and condemns the White Houses deplorable action to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation said it considers the US move an illegal decision and an attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people. The organization said the move Monday also represents an affront to international peace and security.

An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed the Kingdoms strong condemnation of the targeting of unarmed Palestinian civilians by Israeli occupation forces, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries.

The source stressed the need for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to stop the violence and protect the Palestinian people, reiterating the Kingdoms steadfastness toward the Palestinian cause and restoring their legitimate rights in accordance with the resolutions of international laws and the Arab peace initiative.

Nations over the world strongly condemned the killings and called for restraint on May 14 after dozens of Palestinian protesters were killed and over 2,000 injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers along the border of Gaza.French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against Palestinian protesters, which led to a large number of Palestinian civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip on May 14 and in recent weeks.

Macron made the remarks during his phone calls with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the French presidency said in a statement.

Macron called for restraint and de-escalation and stressed the need for the protests in the coming days to remain peaceful, the French presidency said.

Macron reiterated France's disapproval of the US decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem, in the particular context of the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence and the commemoration of exile for many Palestinian families, said the statement.

"The status of Jerusalem can only be determined between the parties, in a framework negotiated under the auspices of the international community," Macron said.

The German government on May 14 expressed sharp concern about reports that dozens of Palestinians were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza while taking part in mass protests, urging Israel to refrain from using live munitions except as a last resort.

"The right to peaceful protest must also apply in Gaza," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said. "Israel has the right to defend itself and secure its (border) fence against violent intrusions, but the principle of proportionality applies."

Meanwhile, Amnesty International said the bloodshed along Gazas border with Israel is an abhorrent violation of human rights.

We are witnessing an abhorrent violation of international law and human rights in Gaza.... This must end immediately, the London-based human rights group said on Twitter.

This is a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be wilful killings constituting war crimes, Amnestys Middle East and North Africa director Philip Luther said in a separate statement.

As violence continues to spiral out of control, the Israeli authorities must immediately rein in the military to prevent the further loss of life and serious injuries.

The rising toll of deaths and injuries today only serves to highlight the urgent need for an arms embargo, Luther added.

While some protesters may have engaged in some form of violence, this still does not justify the use of live ammunition.

Head of International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) sub-delegation in Gaza, Gilan Devorn, on May 14 called for avoiding losses and casualties among Palestinians joining mass protests against Israel in eastern Gaza Strip.

"We call on all parties to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties and avoid causing losses and casualties," Devorn told a news conference at Shiffa Hospital in Gaza.
EEBA High Performance Home Summit Logo We can teach any pro how to build an energy-efficient, high-performance home. Wherever a builder is on the path, we can teach them to get to the next level. -Nancy Bakeman, EEBA Executive Director

What does the future of U.S. homebuilding look like? According to The Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA), builders who dominate their markets in the next decade will be those that can provide customers with affordable and well-designed, high-performance homes.

EEBAs High Performance Home Summit, to be held in San Diego, October 16-18, will be a clearinghouse of knowledge that builders need to succeed. This years Summit theme, Building the Future: Solutions for Healthy, Resilient and Affordable High-Performance Homes, will feature topics ranging from energy-efficiency and cutting-edge building technology, to home health, water conservation and more.

No matter where builders are on the path to energy efficiency, the Summit provides a wealth of information. We can teach any pro how to build an energy-efficient, high-performance home, says EEBA Executive Director Nancy Bakeman. Wherever a builder is on the path, we can teach them to get to the next level.

A substantial early bird registration discount is available for a limited time at http://summit.eeba.org. The site will be continuously updated with news about Summit topics and speakers. This year, one of those topics will be a new track focusing entirely on the Zero Net Energy mandate taking effect in less than two years. Were in San Diego this year, so well be right in the pathway of that march to Zero Net Energy by 2020 in California, says Gene Myers, CEO of Thrive Home Builders and President of the EEBA Board of Directors.

New at the High Performance Home Summit

In addition to the new Zero Net Energy track, the High Performance Home Summit will also offer the following new additions for 2018:



Certification Program: Starting this year, builders who complete EEBAs three most popular training classes will earn the title of EEBA Certified High Performance Builder. There will also be a shorter, two-day certification available.

Home Health: Also new to the Summit, a session on achieving WaterSense certification for your homes, as well as a dedicated educational track on indoor air quality. And, for the first time, EEBA will be hosting the Environmental Protection Agencys Indoor airPLUS Leader awards.

Showcase: This years event will also include the return of the Summit showcase expo, featuring a select number of manufacturers to display new building technologies and products of particular interest to builders.

Some of the most popular classes, including Houses That Work, will also be returning. This session offers builders training on how to build homes that are energy-efficient, durable, healthy, aesthetically pleasing and respectful to the environment  and how to make money doing it.

Built on a Foundation of Building Science

EEBA was born in 1982 when a group of building professionals assembled in Minnesota with a mission to develop criteria for more energy-efficient buildings. From the start, the organizations focus was on the budding field of building science.

EEBAs High Performance Home Summit began in 1985 as an effort to disseminate the building science knowledge the organization had curated. Since its inception, 13,000 builders, raters, analysts, and architects have attended. The Summit continues to use the principles upon which EEBA was founded to help solve tough industry issues.

One of this years most important issues, and a topic on every builders mind, promises to be Zero Net Energy.

Zero Net Energy Mandate Looming

Indeed, with Californias Title 24 less than two years away from taking effect, California builders are perhaps more keenly aware of the urgency around high-performance home building than anyone else. This mandate says that, by the year 2020, all new homes built in that state will need to produce as much energy as they consume, in part through the use of energy-efficient construction.

The California Energy Commission has put teeth behind this requirement: The builder will be issued a permit only if the home is designed to meet this requirement, and will receive a Certificate of Occupancy only if the finished home complies.

The EEBA High Performance Home Summit will address this topic at length, dedicating a learning track to the move toward Zero Net Energy.

This topic and energy efficiency in general are just as important to builders around the rest of the country as they are to their California counterparts. In fact, according to a USGBC (U.S. Green Building Council) 2018 study, there are seven states ahead of California on a list of the top 10 states for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), the worlds most widely used green building rating system.

On ENERGY STARs list, while California has about an eight percent market penetration of ENERGY STAR rated homes, states like Maryland at 38 percent and Texas at 21 percent are way ahead of the Golden State.

Its not a question of if youre going to be doing this stuff. Its a question of when. Its inevitable, says Gord Cooke, Partner with Construction Instruction Inc. and an experienced building engineer.

Strength in Numbers

In addition to the invaluable all-access badge to the most cutting-edge, building-science information available, the Summit offers something else: the opportunity to become part of a community of pros who are committed to helping one another build better homes and grow their businesses.

You cant do this by yourself. The edge comes from hearing the latest and greatest, and then talking to others to ask how it worked for them. Nobody likes to be the guinea pig, says Construction Instructions Cooke.

The High Performance Home Summit will be held at the Bahia Resort in San Diego, October 16-18. For more information, visit http://summit.eeba.org. Visitors to the site can also subscribe to EEBAs newsletter and blog. Readers looking to register will find the registration form at this direct link: https://www.eeba.org/conference-registration. Early bird Summit pricing is available through August 31. Registration continues through October 8, and is also available on-site.

For more information on the EEBA High Performance Home Summit, please visit: http://summit.eeba.org/

For a video on the High Performance Home Summit, please click here.

For more information on EEBA, visit EEBA.org.

For editorial assistance, contact Wendy Calcaterra at OReilly DePalma, 28 West Kansas Street, Suite 2C, Frankfort, IL 60423; tel.: 815.469.9100; e-mail: wendy.calcaterra@betterpr.com

Hi-res versions of photographs to accompany this release are available for immediate download by using this link: http://eeba.oreilly-depalma.com/2018/hphs-2018.shtml.

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THE ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL BUILDING ALLIANCE (EEBA) is one of the oldest and most respected residential building education organizations in the U.S.A. Our history of providing insight, collaboration and education to builders and designers seeking to construct resource-efficient, durable, healthy homes spans over 30 years.

The EEBA High Performance Home Summit presents the latest in building science, combined with real-world application and problem-solving. The Summit is for builders, raters, analysts, and architects who are committed to finding solutions for producing high-performance buildings.
Fareportal, a global travel technology company powering seven travel brands including CheapOair.com and OneTravel.com, was recently awarded a 2018 PAL Award by Philippine Airlines. This annual award recognizes the travel agencies delivering the highest sales revenue to the airline over the past year.

For three consecutive years, Fareportal has made it on to the elite list of PAL Award recipients under the global OTA category. Philippine Airlines representatives Josh Vasquez and Charisse Rodriguez presented this years award to Fareportals Senior Vice President of Supplier Relations, Tom Spagnola, at Fareportals Headquarters in New York City.

It is an honor to receive our third consecutive PAL Award from Philippine Airlines, said Spagnola. This award is representative of the continuous collaboration between the PAL and Fareportal teams over the years and we are grateful to Philippine Airlines for their continued partnership.

Philippine Airlines is the flag carrier of the Philippines and operates non-stop flights to Manila from three North American gateways including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Vancouver. Philippine Airline is a world class carrier and was recently rated a 4-star Airline by Skytrax.

Fareportal has been one of Philippine Airlines strongest global partners for the past several years, said Josh Vasquez, the New York Area Manager for Philippine Airlines. This award is our way of expressing gratitude to the whole Fareportal team for their unwavering support to PAL, and at the same time, a recognition of the two companies sharing the same quality of Buong-Pusong Alaga or whole-hearted service we both provide our customers.

With over 450 airline partnerships worldwide, it is inspiring to see the positive impact we have on our partners businesses, said Sam S. Jain, CEO and Founder at Fareportal. We are excited to continue building upon this already strong relationship with Philippine Airlines to achieve even greater success in the future.

About Fareportal

Fareportal is a travel technology company powering a next generation travel concierge service. Utilizing its innovative technology and company owned and operated global contact centers, Fareportal has built strong industry partnerships providing customers access to over 450 airlines, 1 million hotels, and hundreds of car rental companies around the globe. With a portfolio of consumer travel brands including CheapOair and OneTravel, Fareportal enables consumers to book online, on mobile apps for iOS and Android, by phone, or live chat. Fareportal provides its airline partners with access to a broad customer base that books high-yielding international travel and add-on ancillaries.

About Philippine Airlines

Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the flag carrier of the Philippines. Headquartered in Manila, PAL celebrates its 77th anniversary this year as the first commercial airline in Asia. Operating out of its hubs at Ninoy Aquino International Airport of Manila, Mactan-Cebu International Airport of Cebu, Clark International Airport and Davao International Airport with a fleet of 85 aircraft, PAL serves 33 destinations in the Philippines and over 45 destinations internationally.
First Choice Health announced today that following a successful 12-year tenure as the companys President and Chief Executive Officer, Ken Hamm has officially retired. Effective immediately, First Choice Health also announced that Jaja Okigwe, former Senior Vice President of Strategic Development for Premera Blue Cross, has been selected by the Board of Directors and hired to assume the leadership position as the companys new President and Chief Executive Officer.

With 20 years of healthcare industry experience, Okigwe brings with him a portfolio of expertise that will drive strategy and innovation for First Choice Health, playing an integral role in guiding the ownership and company through its next phase of profitable growth.

First Choice Health is well positioned to increase its impact on the marketplace and the time is now, says Clyde Walker, the newly appointed chairman of the Board of Directors. Okigwe was selected based on his history of helping major industry leaders outline and navigate a clear pathway towards customer care and profitable growth. We are confident he will help us define a future vision that honors our past while implementing plans and actions to guide us on the next path in this ever-changing healthcare landscape.

Jaja graduated from Harvard College in 1992 and received his MBA from HEC in Paris, France in 1997. He served as a Manager for Deloitte Consulting before transitioning to the McKesson Corporation, working as the Vice President of Business Development. There, he developed and launched a new indigent drug reimbursement service line in partnership with several large pharmaceutical companies, resulting in a $10 million profit within the programs first year.

In 2004, Okigwe moved on to Premera Blue Cross serving as Director of Operations, then Vice President of Special Products Development where he led the strategic planning for Stop Loss that resulted in a 20 percent increase in new business. In 2007, he assumed the role of Vice President of Strategic Development and in 2014, was promoted to Senior Vice President of that same division. He was instrumental in leading corporate strategic planning efforts across the organization, helping the company identify and support annual key initiatives and progress monitoring, while overseeing the development of Premeras innovation program and health innovation laboratory.

After Premera, I wanted to work on initiatives that had a more direct impact on peoples health, said Okigwe. What attracted me to First Choice Health is the ability I have here to make larger-scale changes that can drive growth and serve our customers far into the future. In this new role, I can help more people in so many ways and  I couldnt look away from that opportunity.

Celebrating Ken Hamms Leadership at First Choice Health

Originally joining First Choice Health in 2000, Hamm became President and CEO in 2006. Known for his forward-thinking and financial stewardship, Hamm tripled both the benefit claims administration and employee assistance program. He paved the way for First Choice Health to begin partnering effectively with owners and other health service providers in the community such as MultiCare, Connected Care and the Puget Sound High Value Network.

Ken was responsible for facilitating key partnerships and expansion efforts as well as being responsible for the companys increase in community stewardship and support, said Walker. We donated more than $500,000 in 2017 to organizations such as Childhaven, the Alliance for Education and the WSMA Foundation for Health Care Improvement. This is a testament to Kens belief in giving back to the community.

First Choice Continues to Adapt and Innovate in the Ever-Changing Health Landscape

First Choice provides a wide and growing array of products and services in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and select areas of North Dakota and South Dakota. The First Choice Health Administration offerings include custom networks, flexible plan designs, and medical management. The First Choice EAP offers counseling and referral services to complement health benefit-oriented services and serves a wide variety of clients (including employers, health insurers, and providers) in the Northwestern U.S. ranging in size from small employer groups to large organizations.

First Choice Healths ownership and governance model is unique, with a combination of individual physicians, corporate healthcare delivery system leaders and local business leaders overseeing the organization. This structure presents a valuable opportunity for strategic growth, and the key to capturing that success will be in setting an actionable strategy that leverages the solid infrastructure, core competencies and key relationships of the organization.

Jaja Okigwe is well positioned to usher in an era of change, enhancing current relationships with local and regional healthcare systems, increasing membership enrollment, and supporting the team in developing and delivering new products to the market, said Ken Hamm. He understands the market, has a breadth of experience behind him, and most importantly, his heart is in the right place.

About First Choice Health

First Choice Health, based in Seattle, Wash., is a dynamic leader in the Northwest health services community. Originating as a PPO Network in 1985, First Choice eventually grew to serve all of Washington and the Northwestern U.S., including Oregon, Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and select areas of North Dakota and South Dakota. As part of that growth, First Choice began offering third party administration, medical management and employee assistance program services. Today, First Choice has approx. 560,000 members utilizing its PPO network. The organization supports more than 80,000 lives with its third-party administration services. As a hospital and physician-owned provider who services the medium to large group regional market, First Choice continues to be well positioned to adapt to the changing healthcare landscape. With a flexible systems architecture, First Choice develops custom solutions and integrated services tailored to meet the needs of all clients. For more information, visit First Choice online at http://www.fchn.com.
Wayback Burgers We understand the importance of our franchisees and how to make our company and brand appealing to potential franchise partners interested in joining the Wayback family. - Bill Chemero

Wayback Burgers, Americas Favorite Hometown Burger Joint and one of the nations fastest growing burger franchises, was recently featured by The Wall Street Journals special May Focus on Franchising Feature.

The compelling article, entitled The Lure of Emerging Brands, discussed why specific fresh and exciting franchises, such as Wayback Burgers, are emerging and how they are contributing to local economies across the country. Wayback Burgers Executive Vice President, Bill Chemero, was interviewed alongside other C-level executives who discussed the importance of having executives who can leverage their previous franchise experience into success for the company nationwide.

In his conversation with Wall Street Journal franchising reporter, Julie Bennett, Chemero analyzed Wayback Burgers progress from when he and President and CEO John Eucalitto purchased the franchise to where it is today.

We knew that a franchise company must be built on solid systems and strong relationships with its franchisees, said Chemero, a veteran of the franchising space. The original owner sold two franchises in two years. We sold 17 units in our first year and now have 152 restaurants open with more under development.

In the article, Bennett explored the appeal of emerging brands for potential suitors weighing their options and considering established brands, too. An emerging brand presents an opportunity for greater growth compared to an established franchise that may lack territory availability. Bennett discovered Wayback Burgers is prospering in part because of the leaderships strong franchising experience.

There are several factors contributing to Wayback Burgers rapid growth, says Chemero. John and I have more than 60 combined years of experience in franchising. We understand the importance of our franchisees and how to make our company and brand appealing to potential franchise partners interested in joining the Wayback family.

Not only that, but we understand how to capitalize on cutting edge food trends that appeal to our guests; helping our franchise partners generate more in-store traffic. Were proud of what weve accomplished, and were excited about what the future has in store for everyone at Wayback!

For more information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/.

For more information about Wayback Burgers franchise opportunities, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/franchising/.

About Wayback Burgers

Founded in 1991 in Newark, DE, Wayback Burgers is a Connecticut-based fast-casual franchise with a reputation for fresh, never frozen, cooked to order burgers and thick, hand-dipped milkshakes, served in an environment that hearkens back to a simpler place and timewhen customer service meant something and everyone felt the warmth of the community.

Wayback Burgers currently operates in 29 states with over 152 locations nationally and internationally in Argentina, Brunei, Sudan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and Malaysia. Through its executed master franchise agreements, Wayback Burgers plans to open in 37 provinces/countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa, South Africa, Argentina, Brunei, Bangladesh, Ireland; Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Netherlands.

For more information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/.

For franchising information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://franchise.waybackburgers.com/.
ShelfGenie I like to be direct  a face-to-face conversation or a simple phone call  thats my preference, But part of being an effective leader is meeting your team halfway, reaching them on their level. As technology evolves, we need to evolve, too. - Andy Pittman

ShelfGenie, the nations leading custom shelving and home improvement solutions franchise, was recently featured by the Wall Street Journal in a major national story penned by renowned Work and Family columnist, Sue Shellenbarger.

The popular article, entitled The Instant Message Generation Gap, discussed how companies are embracing popular instant messaging apps for internal communications, bridging the digital divide between younger staff members and more seasoned employees. ShelfGenies CEO, Andy Pittman, was interviewed alongside other C-Suite executives who discussed challenges associated with retaining the benefits of more traditional communication tools (like phone calls and e-mails) while adapting to the new IM culture at the request of their tech (and text!)-savvy teams.

In his conversation with Shellenbarger, Pittman evaluated the pros and cons of traditional and modern forms of communication and gave his honest opinion about Slack, the IM tool ShelfGenie uses.

I like to be direct  a face-to-face conversation or a simple phone call  thats my preference, said Pittman, a successful ShelfGenie franchisee turned CEO. But part of being an effective leader is meeting your team halfway, reaching them on their level. As technology evolves, we need to evolve, too.

In the article, Shellenbarger queried leading executives about the generation gap in the workplace; a gap that can grow wider if leaders are slow to embrace the communication habits of their staff. Pittman admitted he was reluctant to use instant messaging, but later understood the benefits. And in a fun and lighthearted moment during the WSJ interview, Pittman revealed that he has stopped short of using a bitmoji, a caricature of himself, in conversations or as a profile image.

I still have a company to run, and its important that I look like Im doing just that, explained Pittman. While our employees had a lot of fun creating bitmojis for me and other executives as part of a company-wide contest, I drew the line on using them personally.

Despite the bitmoji battle, Pittman finished by saying hes grown quite fond of Slack because it makes internal communication more organized and efficient.

Slack has worked great for us at ShelfGenie because it has eliminated a ton of inbox clutter, said Pittman. Slack allows us to organize conversations by topic and ensures that all employees are only included in the conversations where they can offer value/expertise. Its proved to be a fantastic tool for us and I encourage any other hesitant senior executives to embrace an IM tool like Slack at their office.

For more information about ShelfGenie, please visit http://www.ShelfGenie.com.

For more information about ShelfGenie franchise opportunities, please visit https://shelfgeniefranchise.com/.

About ShelfGenie

ShelfGenie is the nations leading custom shelving and home improvement solutions franchise, Founded in Richmond, Virginia in 2000, ShelfGenie has grown to 160 territories in the U.S. and Canada. ShelfGenie is the first and only franchise offering high impact shelving and home improvement solutions with a purpose: to transform clients lives by designing and implementing custom home solutions that put everything within reach.

ShelfGenie designs, builds, and installs Glide-Out Shelving Systems. Our innovative shelving is custom-built to retrofit existing cabinets, resulting in perfectly placed shelves that glide in and out with just the touch of your fingers. With our system, cabinets are organized; storage is accessible, efficient and clutter-free. Glide-Out Shelving works in virtually every cabinet and pantry in the home and is beautiful and highly durable. From the kitchen to the bathroom to the garage, ShelfGenie does it all.

ShelfGenie is a home-based business model providing a niche product within a mature industry. We have highly effective tools and resources in place that allow franchisees to focus on scaling their business. Our franchise model allows the owner to focus on marketing and sales while leveraging designers, installers, and our centralized Business Support Center to handle most day-to-day activities of the business.

For more information about ShelfGenie, please visit http://www.ShelfGenie.com.

For more information about ShelfGenie franchise opportunities, please visit https://shelfgeniefranchise.com/.
Altec is focused on connecting people, processes and data to help give companies a competitive advantage, and attendees will be able to see first-hand at the conference how DocLink can help them digitally transform their businesses.

Altec, a leader in enterprise document management and process automation solutions, announced today their silver sponsorship of Aspire18, the first Velosio Annual Conference following the merger of Socius and SBS Group. Altec will be participating in two locations: May 16 in Atlanta, GA and May 23 in Columbus, OH.

Laura Lechien, Mid-Atlantic Sales Director, for Altec will be providing attendees with personalized demos of the companys industry-leading document management solution DocLink during the conference. DocLink allows users to fully utilize and enhance their ERP solutions to go paperless in any department  accounts payable, accounts receivable, human resources, legal, or across the entire enterprise. An essential tool for helping companies make a digital transformation, DocLink streamlines any business process and provides improved visibility and control to the entire document lifecycle.

Lechien comments, Were excited to be participating in this event, and in educating Velosio clients about how they can automate any document-intensive process to improve productivity not only in AP, but in AR, Sales Order, Contracts, HR and throughout the enterprise. Altec is focused on connecting people, processes and data to help give companies a competitive advantage, and attendees will be able to see first-hand at the conference how DocLink can help them digitally transform their businesses.

About Altec

Altec is a leading provider of integrated document management and process automation solutions. Its flagship product, DocLink, helps companies connect people, processes and data providing them with the ability to store, search, retrieve and send any document securely. DocLink effectively eliminates the need for paper while automating processes that improve organizational efficiency and reduce costs associated with human errors. With thousands of customers globally, Altec enjoys collaborative partnerships with Sage, Microsoft, Acumatica, Intacct, Key2Act, SAP B1, AmTech, and Epicor that deliver flexible, comprehensive solutions to adapt to an ever-changing global market. Learn more at http://www.altec-inc.com.

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#NCWITsummit "The NCWIT Summit is a fitting stage to amplify the outstanding work of cross-generational technologists, along with champions who make their valuable contributions possible." ~ NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is holding its annual NCWIT Summit on Women and IT: Where Conversations Lead to Change May 15-17, 2018, in Grapevine, Texas. At this three-day event (ncwit.org/summit), more than 725 change leaders from the NCWIT community of educators, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and social scientists convene to focus on improving inclusion and diversity in computing.

NCWIT Awards are designed to encourage excellence in change leadership, said NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders. The NCWIT Summit is a fitting stage to amplify the outstanding work of cross-generational technologists, along with champions who make their valuable contributions possible.

A summary of honorees is as follows:

The 2018 NCWIT Collegiate Award winners are Salam Daher, Alankrita Dayal, Kanchana Raja, and Joanna Rosa Rivero; honorable mentions are Katherine Avery, Tegan Brennan, Samsara Counts, Bethany Davis, Catherine Elisa Diaz, Demi Guo, Elizabeth Koning, Madolyn MacDonald, Laurel Orr, Samantha Runke, Aarti Sathyanarayana, Prachi Shah, Katherine Tang, Courtney Thurston, and Shelby Ziccardi. The Collegiate Award, sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Qualcomm, honors the outstanding computing accomplishments of undergraduate and graduate women. Conferred annually, the award recognizes technical contributions to projects that demonstrate a high level of innovation and potential impact. (aspirations.org/18CollegiateAward)

The 2018 NCWIT Harrold and Notkin Research and Graduate Mentoring Award recipient is University of Minnesota Professor of Computer Science and Engineering Dr. Maria Gini. The Harrold and Notkin Award, sponsored by the NCWIT Board of Directors, is given in memory of Mary Jean Harrold and David Notkin, in honor of their outstanding research, graduate mentoring, and diversity contributions. (ncwit.org/18HarroldNotkin)

The 2018 NCWIT Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award recipients are Dr. J. Jenny Li, Dr. Gabriela Marcu, Dr. Zoe Wood, and Dr. Lori Pollock. This award recognizes faculty for their outstanding mentorship, high-quality research opportunities, recruitment of women and minority students, and efforts to encourage and advance undergraduates in computing-related fields. (ncwit.org/urmaward)

The 2018 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) National Educator Award winner is High School Computing Instructor Jeff Solin. The National Educator Award honors educators who have demonstrated an exceptionally strong, consistent, and positive involvement in supporting female students in computer science. (aspirations.org/18NationalEdAward)

The 2018 NCWIT Academic Alliance (AA) Seed Fund recipients are Johnson County Community College, the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee, Oklahoma State University, and the University of New Hampshire. The AA Seed Fund, sponsored by Microsoft Research, awards AA members with startup funds to develop and implement initiatives for recruiting or retaining women in computing. (ncwit.org/seedfund)

The 2018 NCWIT Surging Enrollment Seed Fund recipients are the Colorado School of Mines, Michigan Technological University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Minnesota. This special call of the NCWIT AA Seed Fund supports proposals that develop and test approaches to increasing diversity of incoming computing students during an enrollment surge. (ncwit.org/SurgingSF)

The 2018 NCWIT Pioneer in Tech Award recipients are Lorinda Cherry and Evi Nemeth. This award recognizes technical women whose lifetime contributions have significantly impacted the landscape of technological innovation. Pioneer in Tech Award recipients are role models whose legacies continue to inspire generations of young women to pursue computing and make history in their own right. (ncwit.org/pioneeraward)

The 2018 Reel Women in Technology (WiT) Award honoree is Ariana Richards. The Reel WiT Award, co-presented by Google and NCWIT, recognizes the best media portrayals of leading women in technology who can serve as role models for girls and women with computing aspirations while disrupting the stereotypes of women in technology. (ncwit.org/reelwit)

View the full 2018 Summit agenda (ncwit.org/summit/agenda) for more event highlights.

Awards ceremonies and plenaries will stream live via the NCWIT website (ncwit.org/livestream) and the NCWIT Facebook page, giving change leaders for women in tech in remote locations access to these inspirational acknowledgements in real time. Videos and presentations will be available following the conclusion of the Summit (ncwit.org/summit/archives).

Wed like to give a huge thanks to our Media Partner Facebook for production and for making the livestream possible. We are also grateful to 2018 NCWIT Summit Sponsors Anchor Point, Autodesk, Johnson & Johnson, Palo Alto Networks, and PNC.

About NCWIT

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a non-profit community of more than 1,100 universities, companies, non-profits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase girls and womens meaningful participation in computing. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more at http://www.ncwit.org/summit.

NCWIT receives significant financial support from Lifetime Partner Apple; Strategic Partners NSF, Microsoft, Bank of America, Google, Intel, Merck, and AT&T; as well as from Investment Partners Avaya, Pfizer, Bloomberg, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Qualcomm, and Facebook. View all of NCWITs supporters at http://www.ncwit.org/about/supporters.
Experienced litigator, Blake Frye, recently appeared in front of the highest court in Georgia during its May 9th oral argument docket. (Joshua Patterson and Taylor Patterson v. Kevon, LLC, No: S17C1957) Fryes case involves clients who became sick after eating food allegedly prepared by the defendant at a wedding rehearsal dinner. The oral argument, which lasted approximately forty-five minutes, revolved around the use of circumstantial evidence and its impact on summary judgment rulings.

(For a video clip of Frye's argument to the Court, please click here.)

During the proceedings, Frye answered questions from multiple Justices related to the relevance of prior court rulings as well as scope of potential outcomes in his current case. Frye believes the legal issues being presented to the Court are important not only for his client, but also for the cases that will be litigated throughout Georgia courts in the future.

Some of the most complicated issues in our legal system involve the use of circumstantial evidence, said Frye. I believe the Supreme Court is taking a careful look at all the issues presented and am satisfied that our team was able to prepare and put forth a strong position for our client.

Fryes law partner and firm co-founder, Doug Kertscher, watched video footage of his colleagues argument to the Court and was impressed by the way Frye handled challenging questions from the Justices. Blake brings a powerful combination of experience, preparation, and passion to our clients cases, and performed very well in what many lawyers find to be a stressful situation, said Kertscher. We are looking forward to the final ruling in the case and seeing our clients receive justice for their injuries.

The Supreme Court of Georgia is expected to issue a ruling in the case within five months.

About Hill, Kertscher & Wharton, LLP: Nationally recognized for its representation of businesses and individuals, HKWs litigation team is known for taking cases as far as necessary to obtain justice. The firm is AV Rated by Martindale-Hubbell and is also recognized by Best Law Firms in America.
Becky Papp, Finalist for AZ Top Tech Exec Community Hero Award I am thrilled about the recognition my award nomination has brought to ChickTech. Our mission of encouraging girls to explore technology--and providing the tools and support for women to stay in technology--is key to innovation in our field, as well as our city.

Isos Technology, a leading provider of Atlassian and IT consulting services, today announced that Becky Papp, a Project Manager at the Company, was named as a finalist for the AZ Top Tech Exec Awards last Thursday night. Papp was nominated in the Community Hero category because of her involvement with ChickTech, a non-profit organization founded in 2012. ChickTech's overall mission is to engage girls and women of all ages in the technology industry.

At the awards ceremony, The Phoenix Business Journal honored the Valleys technology community in categories such as Top CEO, Top Tech Advocate, Rising Star, and more. The designated individuals were nominated by their peers and clients, and were then selected by an panel of independent judges from the business and IT field. The finalists were chosen as individuals who exemplify leadership and are key players in the growing and diverse technology ecosystem in Phoenix.

Papp founded the Phoenix chapter of ChickTech in December 2017, and currently serves as Chapter Leader. She and several of her co-workers from Isos Technology work side-by-side to fulfill ChickTech's mission of providing educational and career support to young girls and women. The Phoenix chapter strives to provide girls in K-12, in particular, with hands-on experience and opportunities in technology and STEM that they would not otherwise have.

"I am thrilled about the recognition my award nomination has brought to ChickTech," said Papp. "Our mission of encouraging girls to explore technology--and providing the tools and support for women to stay in technology--is key to innovation in our field, as well as our city. The ChickTech volunteers, and the organizations who provide sponsorship, are dedicated to giving every young woman the chance to embrace technology. It is incredibly exciting to be part of this very important movement in Phoenix."

Isos Technology has provided support to Papp by sponsoring several events and spreading the ChickTech message through various marketing channels. The Company's involvement with ChickTech fulfills their Pledge 1% commitment to Atlassian, a founding partner of the corporate philanthropy initiative.

About Isos Technology

Isos Technology is a premier Atlassian Platinum and Enterprise Solution Partner and was recently recognized as the Atlassian Partner of the Year 2017 for Jira Service Desk. We help our clients, both private and public sector, adopt the Atlassian tools for DevOps, ITSM and Agile development and business processes. Our process experts, coupled with a world class technical team, craft custom solutions, integrations and training for our clients. Isos also has a strong software development team that delivers custom solutions across a wide array of industries to help solve some of the toughest business problems. Isos is based in Tempe, Arizona with satellite offices across the US, from San Diego to Washington D.C. For more information, visit http://www.isostech.com.

About ChickTech

Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, ChickTech was founded in 2011 to engage women of all ages in the technology industry while working to create a better technology culture for all. ChickTech builds communities, empower participants to see themselves as technologists and leaders, and works one-on-one with companies to help build a more inclusive workforce. For more information please visit: http://www.chicktech.org
Innovative R&D organizations now can quickly get access to Genedata Screener and scale up the use of the software while they scale up their R&D activities.

Genedata, a leading provider of advanced software solutions for R&D, today announced that the Genedata Screener platform has become the first in-vitro screening data analysis platform for the new biotech infrastructure initiative from Amazon Web Services (AWS). AWS will unveil its cloud-based Biotech Quick Start program in a presentation at the 2018 Bio-It World Conference. In addition to being among the featured technologies in these programs, other Genedata solutions supporting the R&D workflow will be demonstrated at the Genedata Bio-IT World Conference Booth #521 (Seaport World Trade Center; May 15-17).

Genedata Screener: On-premise or in the Cloud the Platform of Choice

Pharmaceutical R&D is continually challenged by the integration, analysis and management of all types of data coming from disparate sources ranging from experimental to operational to clinical and more. The Genedata Screener platform successfully addresses these data challenges by effectively capturing, analyzing, visualizing, and managing screening data from in-vitro screening assay technologies across and beyond the enterprise. Handling data from any screening instrument and supporting even very complex and ultra-high throughput experimental set-ups, Genedata Screener is used by the majority of leading pharmaceutical companies, CROs, and academic research institutions worldwide.

Moreover, on premise or in the cloud, Genedata Screener provides a scalable infrastructure that supports the growth of early-stage biotechs as well as meeting the industrial-grade demands of multi-site/geography enterprises. The AWS Biotech Quick Start is designed to provide an enterprise-grade research environment in the cloud, based on best practices and integrated with leading life science solutions. Emerging from an AWS collaboration with Third Rock Ventures, it aims to remove operational, logistical, and data management bottlenecks with industry-leading tools that accelerate novel drug and scientific discovery.

Our successful relationship with Third Rock Ventures and AWS is an example of another milestone in our strategy to enable early-stage biotechs to benefit from our innovative software solutions, noted Dr. Othmar Pfannes, CEO of Genedata. On Biotech QuickStart, innovative R&D organizations now can quickly get access to Genedata Screener and scale up the use of the software while they scale up their R&D activities. We look forward to supporting more and more organizations to do just this by easy and flexible deployment routes.

Editorial Notes: Bio-IT World Conference Presentations

Genedata presentation:

Genedata, ChemAxon, and Titian Partner to Deliver Integration Between Registration, Sample Management and Data Analysis

John Munro, Business Account Manager/Genedata; Marcus Oxer, Senior Application Consultant/Titian Software; Norbert Sas, Head, Consultancy Services/ChemAxon

May 15 | 6:20pm  6:40pm EDT

Third Rock Ventures presentation:

A Reusable Cloud-Based Infrastructure for Growing Biotechs

Karina Chmielewski, Sr. Director, Platform Operations/Third Rock Ventures

May 16 | 11:30am 12:00pm EDT

Amazon Web Services presentation:

Biotech-in-a-Box: Turn-Key Cloud Infrastructure for Enterprise-Grade Research

Elliot Menschik, MD, PhD, Healthcare and Life Science Ventures/Amazon Web Services

May 17 | 12:50pm 1:20pm EDT

About Genedata

Genedata transforms data into intelligence with innovative software solutions and domain-specific consulting services that automate complex, large-scale experimental processes and enable organizations to maximize the ROI from their R&D. Founded in 1997, Genedata is headquartered in Switzerland and has offices in Germany, the UK, Japan, and the US. http://www.genedata.com.

Follow Genedata on LinkedIn.

Disclaimer

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties related to contract cancellations, developing risks, competitive factors, uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for products and services, development of markets for the Company's products and services. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

All product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.
Chinese President Xi Jinping [File photo: Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping said he supports Hong Kong becoming an international center for innovative science and technology.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in an instruction released on Monday.

In June, 24 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering who were working in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region wrote a letter to Xi to express their will to contribute to the country and their enthusiasm for developing innovative science and technology.

Xi attached great importance to the letter, made instructions and quickly arranged the relevant works, according to Xinhua News Agency.

In the instructions, Xi stressed promoting scientific cooperation between the SAR and the mainland.

The president also encouraged Hong Kong's scientific community to contribute to building a strong country of science and technology and fulfill national rejuvenation.

The scientific advantages of the mainland and the SAR should be fully used to develop the economy and improve people's lives, which is necessary to implement the principle of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong, Xi said.

Hong Kong has a great amount of high-quality scientific talent, he said, and they love the country and the SAR. He called them an important force for implementing the strategy of innovation-driven development and building an innovative country.

Hong Kong's scientific community has made great contributions to the development of the country and Hong Kong, Xi said.

The president attaches great importance to the problems mentioned in the letter of the academicians, saying that they must be resolved in a proper way with concrete measures.

Following Xi's instructions, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance have had meetings and collected opinions from the Hong Kong scientific community to find measures to address the problems.

The problems mentioned in the academicians' letter, including the need for increased use of national scientific project funds in Hong Kong and tariff reductions for scientific machines, have been mostly resolved.

Hong Kong-based scientists stand as a major force in the country's technological push, and should be allowed to play a more proactive part in the big story unfolding in the motherland, says Chan Ching-chuen, founding president of the World Electric Vehicles Association.

"A higher level of science-technology cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong is something inherent in the 'one country, two systems' principle. It stands as a living embodiment that the policy has been consistently enriched and developed," said Chan, who also serves as honorary professor at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Hong Kong. "The strength of Hong Kong-based scientists should be given full play," Chan added.

Joseph Sung Jao-yiu, a Hong Kong scientist and the previous vice-chancellor of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said his team is one of the first beneficiaries of the relaxed cross-border research fund. His team had been granted 990,000 yuan ($156,000) at the end of last year for his ongoing research on digestive cancers.

"President Xi's instructions open a door for Hong Kong scientists and researchers," said Sung. "It gives our research jobs flexibility. Easy interchange between Hong Kong and Guangdong province facilitates the exchanges between scientists and researchers from both sides.

"In the future, Hong Kong research teams could apply for funding directly without the necessity of partnering with mainland researchers."

Nancy Ip Yuk-yu, vice-president for research and graduate studies of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said she was moved and encouraged by Xi's latest instruction.

Ip said it reflected that the country attaches great importance to Hong Kong's scientific research, which could create favorable conditions for the SAR's development in related fields as well as facilitating more collaboration between scientists in Hong Kong and the mainland.

Ip, who is a Hong Kong academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, also thought Xi's speech proved that the SAR's capacity for scientific research has received the country's recognition, which could encourage Hong Kong scientists to be better integrated into the national development in innovation and technology.

He Shusi and Wang Yuke in Hong Kong contributed to this story.
Applications Technology (AppTek) is pleased to announce the return of Dr. Evgeny Matusov to its team as its Lead Science Architect of Machine Translation (MT). Matusov will work with Dr. Hermann Ney, Director of Science for AppTek, in leading its growing MT division, based in Aachen, Germany. In conjunction with this hire, AppTek has expanded its operations in Aachen, and has recently moved to a larger office in the historic city center near the Theaterplatz.

Most recently, Matusov held the position of Director of Machine Translation Research at eBay, where he developed machine translation and language generation models in multiple languages, powering eBays cross-border trade and structured data initiatives. Prior to that, Matusov was part of the machine translation science team at SAIC, and was recognized as an SAIC Technical Fellow for his achievements. Matusov has also previously worked at AppTek, where he led efforts to create AppTeks own MT decoder and developing MT systems for multiple language pairs. His research focuses on the leveraging of phrase translation models in hybrid neural MT systems, topic adaptation, and translation into morphologically rich languages.

AppTek is lucky to have one of the world-renowned scientists amongst its ranks with Evgeny joining our team, said Mudar Yaghi, CEO of AppTek. Evgenys world-class research capabilities and experience will be invaluable to AppTek as we continue to grow our technology.

Im excited to lead AppTeks neural MT efforts, said Matusov. I look forward to working closely with our talented team of scientists in our new Aachen office.

ABOUT APPTEK:

As a pioneer in automatic speech recognition, machine learning and artificial intelligence; AppTek partners with its customers to provide solutions focused on closed captioning and subtitling, call center content discovery and mobile intelligent voice agents. In todays hyper-connected and data-rich marketplace, enterprises are seeking to drive revenue, save costs and increase productivity. Customers rely on AppTek to solve for these issues by delivering the markets robust speech technology solutions focused on mining for business insights, ensuring compliance and delivering value across the enterprise. For more information, visit http://www.apptek.com.
Executive Director Kyle Hreben "I look forward to continuing the growth and accomplishments of this organization," - Kyle Hreben

The Village at Rockville is pleased to welcome Kyle Hreben as the Executive Director to its leadership team. Hreben will oversee day-to-day operations while continuing to support the needs of seniors.

We are thrilled to have Kyle join our team at The Village at Rockville, National Lutheran Communities & Services Chief Operating Officer Cyndi Walters said. Kyle brings multiple years of experience within the senior living industry and I know with his expertise and dedication he will be a great asset to our organization.

Committed to achieving results, Hreben brings over nine years of leadership experience in the senior living industry. Most recently, he served as Administrator of Housing, overseeing housing operations at Charles E. Smith Life Communities, in Rockville, Md. Prior to that, he held the position of Administrator at multiple senior living organizations. He was responsible for developing marketing and business plans, implementing various programs, as well as coordinating strategic preferred partnerships with major hospital networks.

Hreben is a Licensed Nursing Home Administrator in the state of Maryland, as well as certified assisted living manager. He holds a bachelors degree in communication management from the University of Dayton and is on track to graduate with a masters in business administration in the spring of 2019.

I am honored to have the opportunity to serve as Executive Director, said Hreben. I look forward to continuing the growth and accomplishments of this organization, along with continuing to build a bright future for the residents we serve.

About The Village at Rockville

The Village at RockvilleA National Lutheran Community in Rockville, Md., is a CCRC (continuing care retirement community) that offers independent living, myPotential short-term and outpatient rehabilitation, respite, long-term nursing care, hospice, assisted living and memory support. The Village at Rockville is currently expanding to include Glenmere, a luxury independent living apartment building featuring a wellness center and state-of-the-art indoor aquatics center. To learn more visit http://www.thevillageatrockville.org

About National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS)

Based in Rockville, Md., NLCS is a not-for-profit, faith-based ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas (ELCA) Delaware-Maryland, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Virginia Synods, serving people of all beliefs. With more than 125-years experience, NLCS honors, inspires and supports choice and opportunity to seniors through retirement communities, services and programs in Maryland and Virginia. Other communities, services and programs sponsored by National Lutheran include The Village at Rockville in Rockville, Md., The Legacy at North Augusta in Staunton, Va., The Village at Orchard Ridge and myPotential at Home in Winchester, Va., The Village at Providence Point in Annapolis, Md., subject to approval by the Maryland Department of Aging, and Impact1890A National Lutheran Program. For more information, visit http://www.nationallutheran.org

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After years of litigation, the Delaware Chancery and Supreme Courts have awarded TransPerfect, the worlds largest privately owned translation company, to its co-founder and CEO, Philip Shawe. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed the Chancery Courts decision approving the sale of all of TransPerfects other co-founder, Elizabeth Eltings shares in TransPerfect to Philip Shawe. Shawe founded the company in an NYU dorm room in 1992, and grew it from a two-person company to over 4,000 employees with over $600 million in annual revenue. With this latest decision, the Supreme Court upheld the Chancery Courts finding that it was in the best interest of TransPerfect and its employees for Shawe to be the sole owner and CEO of the company he helped build.

Glenn Faegenburg of The Edelsteins, Faegenburg & Brown, who represents Mr. Shawe in litigation in the New York Courts involving Ms. Elting expressed his satisfaction with the end result of the Delaware litigation stating, For the sake of the employees at TransPerfect, Im glad the court approved Mr. Shawes bid to purchase his partners shares. I am firmly convinced that Mr. Shawe is the best person to lead the talented group of people who make up this incredible company."

About The Edelsteins, Faegenburg, & Brown LLP

Known as  Best Lawyers and  Super Lawyers, NYC personal injury attorneys, The Edelsteins, Faegenburg, & Brown LLP has employed three generations of NYC personal injury attorneys for over 70 years. Working tirelessly to achieve the highest possible verdicts & settlements for our personal injury clients since 1937.

Source: The Edelsteins, Faegenburg & Brown LLP
Jeff Pedowitz As the category-defining, global leader in revenue marketing, we are delighted to be Marketos strategic go-to-market partner to serve manufacturers as they continue their journey of pioneering change through intelligent marketing solutions.

The Pedowitz Group, a global revenue marketing company, and Marketo, Inc., the leading provider of engagement marketing software and solutions, today announced a strategic go-to-market partnership. The new alliance will help to operationalize business accountability, digital transformation, and the customer experience for mid-market manufacturers to transform their marketing organizations.

The Pedowitz Group has consistently been a valuable partner, helping hundreds of Marketo customers succeed in their transformational journeys, said Ted Purcell, senior vice president and general manager, North America SMB field operations, sales management, Marketo. Their industry experience in manufacturing, combined with our Marketo Engagement Platform will help manufacturers use marketing as a differentiator to respond to and successfully compete in todays digital, customer-driven world.

Through this partnership, The Pedowitz Group and Marketo will provide software, services, campaigns, and reports that will help to increase the rate of adoption and return on investment for manufacturing marketers. With a goal of driving results and accelerated growth, the alliance combines Marketos strength serving vertical markets and The Pedowitz Groups proven track record in revenue marketing transformation.

A highlight of the partnership will be a special pricing structure that includes free implementation, expert services, and software licensing designed to maximize technology adoption and return on investment.

Jeff Pedowitz, president and chief executive officer of The Pedowitz Group said, After working with more than 150 global manufacturers, we have found a significant transformation underway. Manufacturers are rapidly adopting a customer focus, new sales models, new service models, and digital technology. As the category-defining, global leader in revenue marketing, we are delighted to be Marketos strategic go-to-market partner to serve manufacturers as they continue their journey of pioneering change through intelligent marketing solutions.

About Marketo

Marketo, Inc., offers the leading Engagement Platform that empowers marketers to create lasting relationships and grow revenue. Consistently recognized as the industry's innovation pioneer, Marketo is the trusted platform for thousands of CMOs thanks to its scalability, reliability, and openness. Marketo is headquartered in San Mateo, CA, with offices around the world, and serves as a strategic partner to large enterprise and fast-growing organizations across a wide variety of industries. To learn more about the Marketo Engagement Platform, LaunchPoint partner ecosystem, and the vast community that is the Marketing Nation, visit http://www.marketo.com.

About The Pedowitz Group  The Revenue Marketing Company

The Pedowitz Group is the leading thought leader on Revenue Marketing, helping operationalize business accountability, digital transformation and the customer experience through marketing operations. Believing marketing is the driver of customer engagement, The Pedowitz Group, is proud that its customers have won more than 50 national awards for Revenue Marketing excellence. To learn more visit http://www.pedowitzgroup.com/ or visit Revenue Marketer Blog.
Palestinian protesters clash with Israeli troops near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 14, 2018. More than 40 Palestinians, including children, were killed Monday in a day of violent clashes with Israeli forces on Israel's southern border with Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)

GAZA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A daylong of violent confrontations between hundreds of Palestinian protestors and Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel left at least 55 Palestinians killed and 2,771 injured, said medical sources.

Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the health ministry in Gaza, told reporters that Israeli army soldiers have shot dead 55 Palestinians and wounded 2,771 others, the bloodiest day since the end of the Israeli large-scale offensive waged on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.

He said that seven of the killed Palestinians on Monday are children, adding that 54 injured are in very critical condition.

"Some 1,204 were injured by live ammunition, 13 by rubber-coated metal bullets, 133 by bullets shrapnel and 837 suffered tear gas suffocation," said al-Qedra, who accused the Israeli army of committing a massacre against "defenseless people."

A general strike dominated the Gaza Strip on Monday, involving schools, universities, banks and stores, and streets were empty of traffic and pedestrians.

Tires were burned at crossroads of main streets against celebrating moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.

Buses and trucks were collecting people from the streets and neighborhoods and near the mosques, while loudspeakers of mosques called on people to join the one-million-Palestinian march. Vehicles took hundreds of participants to the areas in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel.

The Popular Front to Liberate Palestine leader Jamil Mizher told reporters "Today our people are heading to eastern Gaza Strip areas to change the history and record a significant point in their history and their struggle."

"Our people are going out to say no to all conspiracies that target our Palestinian cause, the right of return and Jerusalem. These conspiracies won't pass and our people insist on grabbing their legitimate rights from the enemy and achieve the return, the freedom and the independence," he said.

Palestinian medics and protesters carry an injured man during clashes with Israeli troops near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City, on May 14, 2018. More than 40 Palestinians, including children, were killed Monday in a day of violent clashes with Israeli forces on Israel's southern border with Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)

Head of International Committee of Red Cross sub-delegation in Gaza, Gilan Devorn, had earlier on Monday called for avoiding losses and casualties among Palestinians joining mass protests against Israel in eastern Gaza Strip.

Devorn told a news conference at Shiffa Hospital in Gaza: "We call on all parties to take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian casualties and avoid losses and casualties."

Islamic Hamas movement spokesman Hazem Qasem said earlier that "the Palestinians won't accept by all means to keep living under the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip, and they are determined to write their document of self-determination."

Top Hamas leader in Gaza Mahmoud Zahar told reporters during his participation in the rallies in southern Gaza Strip that despite the crimes of killing and wounding Palestinians, "we will carry on with our marches until our goals are achieved."

"The Israeli threats of targeting Hamas leaders and Palestinian militants reflect the terrorism that Israel is practicing against our people and an evidence of its failure to confront the Palestinian people," said Zahar.

Rallies, protests and confrontations reached its peak on Monday as part of what the Palestinians call "the Great Marche of Return" which started on March 30 and had so far left 104 killed and 12,000 injured.

"(U.S. President Donald) Trump who is moving today his country's embassy to Jerusalem without any concerns or deterrence, is the first and only responsible for the suffering of the Palestinian people's blood shedding today," said Zahar.

Representatives of the National Commission of the Great March of Return said in a news briefing in eastern Gaza city "we call on our people to keep all fronts of struggle opened against the occupation."

"We fully hold the United States and the occupation fully responsible for today's bloody massacre in Gaza. Tomorrow will be a day of grief to reward the spirits of the martyrs and we call on our populations to carry on with the marches of return without a stop," the commission said.

Khalil al-Hayyah, deputy of Hamas chief in Gaza, affirmed "the peaceful marches will continue," saying the Palestinians "who live bitterly life for 70 years will not remain silent and will not retreat until achieving their return, defeating the occupation and establishing their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital."

Related:

U.S. opens embassy in Jerusalem amid fatal Gaza clashes

The inauguration ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem started on Monday afternoon, as Israeli and U.S. officials gathered in the city amidst deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip.
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The comment came after the showbiz icon received massive backlash from some female celebrities on social media over some comments he made while congratulating Ghanaian actor, John Dumelo on his marriage.

Starr FMs Mid-Morning show host wrote on Facebook: Got me wondering why most men in the public eye settle for quiet/unknown women and not the ones all over. That could be a lesson for some of our sisters ooo. Men want women who can make a home and not be all over.

It seems this did not go down well with KOD congratulating John Dumelo. Actress Yvonne Okoro replied to KODs post condemning him for categorising an ideal woman-for-marriage.

I pray that young women would be raised to believe that they can achieve their dreams (working hard, and being KNOWN) and being also the perfect bride for some man one day, this goes for the man too, she wrote.

However, speaking on The Zone, on Monday, May 14, 2018, the fashion mogul said his comments were never intended to attack or ridicule women celebrities in any way.
Online News portal, New Dawn reported that the wife of former leader of the West African country, Charles Taylor rendered her apology on live TV.

Jewel Howard Taylor is reported to have revealed in that same live TV interview that her relationship with her boss has not been good, but added that the issues have been ironed out.

However, it is not clear why she chose to travel outside the country without his knowledge.

Africafeeds.com reported that the embattled Vice Presidents troubles with President George Weah were as a result of her frequent travels.

George Weah happens to be the 25 president of Liberia which is struggling to recover from over a decade long civil war that crippled the countrys economy.
The woman and her unnamed husband have been married for the past 24 years.

According to hivisasa.com, the woman only identified as Nyabonyi said her husband has completely abandoned her and now shares a bed with their daughter.

The man is also alleged to have said that he will not allow any man to marry his daughter.

The news portal quoted Nyabonyi as having said: "I tried to solve the matter at home but for sure I cannot hold it anymore reason I have decided to speak out. I am tired of this relationship."

READ MORE: Journalists walk out on Chief Justice for coming to event 4 hours late

The troubled woman added: "I tried to ask him to stop it but instead he threatened to take my life away."

Apparently, Nyabonyi has nobody to share her frustration with in the neighbourhood because the man is hardly known in the vicinity.

A neighbour by name, James Mbaka said: "He is a silent man who rarely talks to people, it will be hard to believe what the wife is saying."
The launch was held on Saturday, May 12, 2018, following a colourful ceremony at the Grace Temple branch of Power Victory Chapel in Accra.

Trials and sorrows are part of lifes journey but how you approach them is everything. It may sound too simply, but true. In that season of pain, sweet words of comfort help lessen the burden and makes your yolk light. But even better is the confession of conviction, just like that of the Shunamite woman whom bible scholars point to as a great woman of faith. That story forms the basis of the latest Christian literature It is well.

The book teaches in a more practical and unique way how to deal with the adversities of life. It highlights the limitations of man and relevant principles that can evoke the power of God for supernatural breakthroughs.

The second book, Keep the fire burning teaches how to maintain a burning spiritual fire as a Christian. It admonishes modern believers on how not to become victims of spiritual coldness by exposing them to some secrets. Speaking at the launch of the two books, the author, Apostle Josiah Aubin Jnr urged Christians to be steadfast.

According to him, whatever you are going through will not kill youGods got you.

The AuthorJosiah Aubin Jnr is a pastor, conference speaker, financial analyst and entrepreneur. He pastors the Grace Temple branch of Power Victory Chapel; doubles as the general secretary of the church and exercises zonal headship over four branches. He is gifted with an apostolic prophetic ministry characterised by awe evoking prophetic atmospheres coupled with intensive prayer and intercession. A seasoned and anointed minister of the gospel with deep insight Gods word.
He said the contract only cost GHS 300,000 and not what is being bandied around.

Dr. Asiama said this at a press conference in Accra to clarify the allegations surrounding the awarding of the contract under the erstwhile Mahama administration.

I wish to categorically state that the claim that the Bank of Ghana (BOG), under the previous NDC regime was to commit an amount of GHC 4.6 billion of public funds into the proposed switch to interconnect mobile money transactions is totally false and should be disregarded, he said.

We provided for that (GH300,000) for our staff to cater for expenses if, in the course of executing the project, staff have to travel somewhere to go and look at something", he added.

The previous John Mahama administration has been alleged to have inflated the MMI contract to line up pockets of former officials.

But Asiama shot down this allegation by saying "This is about the Central Bank, be rest assured that the right thing was done during the procurement face of that project. If there was any issue at all, when the new administration came in, all that he had to do was to play ball, sit with the other party and express your concerns, to try and reach some solution. If I remember, we attempted something initially.
So we can hedge against cash settlement where the government rakes in a hedge incomethe government will, therefore, reduce the taxes to correspond to the losses in income from crude oil exports, he told Accra-based Citi FM.

READ ALSO: Dr Bawumia launches Mobile Money payment interoperability system

The prices of crude oil have been increasing gradually on the international market for some weeks now.

A barrel of the commodity is being sold at seventy-seven dollars.

This is expected to increase the cost to importing countries like Ghana.

In addition, the government could implement the crude price threshold which is the politically sensitive price that the government thinks it has. Assuming the CPT is pegged at 75 dollars a barrel, the government reduces the taxes to compensate the loss of tax revenue when the price goes above 75 dollars mark, Mr. Hosi added.
Asante, who acted as a fake police officer is alleged to have taken huge sums of monies from people to secure them jobs in the police service.

READ ALSO: Police officer awarded because he has never taken a bribe in his entire career

Disclosing this to the media, the Tema Regional Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Joseph Benefo-Darkwah said the suspect was arrested by the Ashaiman Police after the he had failed to honour his promise to his victims.
An US cargo ship is seen at the Yangshan Deep-Water Port, an automated cargo wharf, in Shanghai on April 9, 2018. [Photo/VCG]

Vice-Premier Liu He will visit the United States as President Xi Jinping's special envoy from Tuesday to Saturday for economic and trade talks, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Liu will lead a delegation in talks with the US team headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin at the invitation of the US administration, said Lu Kang, the ministry's spokesman.

These will follow high-level meetings in Beijing on May 3 and 4. Both sides are expected to continue discussing issues like expansion of US exports to China, trade in services, two-way investment, the protection of intellectual property rights and the resolution of tariff and non-tariff measures, said Tu Xinquan, a trade professor at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he has instructed the Commerce Department to help China's ZTE Corp get back to business, and Lu said China appreciates the latest positive comment on ZTE. He said China has maintained close communication with the US.

ZTE, a major telecom equipment manufacturer, said last week it would suspend major operations following last month's move by Washington to ban US companies from selling certain computer chips to the Chinese company until 2025.

The US has accused ZTE of violating laws by illegally shipping US goods to Iran and breaching a deal reached last year. ZTE has appealed.

ZTE says the ban would "severely impact the survival and development" of the company, which depends on US companies to supply about a quarter of its technology components.

"I see this as a positive step and hope it will create a better atmosphere for the ongoing discussions between the two countries," said Henry Levine, a former US deputy assistant secretary of commerce. "I hope Beijing can respond with a positive step of its own and hope that both Beijing and Washington can begin a ... process where each takes positive steps and the other one responds with its own positive steps," he said.

Eswar Prasad, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former China division chief at the International Monetary Fund, said the move of the Trump administration sets the stage for a temporary de-escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.

"It bodes well for the upcoming visit by Liu He to Washington and suggests that an agreement can be reached that allows both sides to claim at least a partial victory," he said. Zhou Jin contributed to this story.
They allegedly beat up of officers present at the police station and freed four of the prisoners.

READ ALSO: Woman arrested as she tried to kidnap boy from school in Ghana

Reports say some residents of Akyeremade a fortnight ago attacked some Sisala indigenes in the area and burnt over 200 bags of their charcoal after which the case was reported to the Police.

The Police subsequently went to the area last week Tuesday and arrested four suspects namely; Akwasi Kuma, Kofi Dengal, Osei Kwadwo and Nana Asempa who is the Chief of the Town.Some residents of Akyeremade in the Sene West District of the Brong Ahafo region have invaded the district police headquarters at Kwame Danso allegedly beating up officers and freeing four suspects in custody.
The incident reportedly occurred Monday evening.

Report indicates that some unknown assailants fired at the farmer, Atta Yaw Rejoice, a woman in her early 40s, who was returning from her farm.

An 80-year-old woman, who was also hit by the bullets but survived and was rushed to St Margaret Marquette Catholic Hospital at Kpando for treatment.

The Assemblyman for the area, Raymond Chorkor who spoke to Accra-based Citi FM said residents of both town are living in fear following the incident.
He said the government had not provided any funding for the MHA for close to two years adding that it is hindering the Authority from living up to expectation.

According to him, all efforts to get the government to come to their aid have proved futile.

He added that the authority depends on benevolence of donors and other agencies.

He has called on government to commit more funds to support the activities of the Mental Health.

In an interview on Accra FM, he said "It has been two years now and we havent received any money from the government to do our work.

"At the moment, we are relying on donors, both externally and internally, and the day they will stop donating to us it means we cant work. We are using this medium to remind the government that we need money to run the affairs at the Authority.
According to him, friends and family members appointed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to serve in his government are more educated than members of Mahama.

The vociferous MP's comments come at the back of Mahama, who has described the government as 'super incompetent'.

He said the president has loaded his government with his relatives and tries to justify his every decision, although he criticised same when in opposition.

At the National Democratic Congress' (NDC) unity walk in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Rgion on Saturday, 5 May 2018, Mahama said: "One of the tags they put on us very successfully was that we were an incompetent government. I must say if you look at what this government has done so far in the one year three months, if that is what they call competence, I call it super incompetence, and, so, the government should be up and doing."

But Kennedy Agyapong in rebuttal said Mahama could not appoint his family into government because they are less educated.

"It is not Akufo-Addos fault that his family members are more educated than Mahamas family members. They are very qualified for the position they are occupying," he added.

Number of family and friends appointed so far

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo's promise not to operate a "family and friends" government when voted into power has turned out to be one of the campaign promises he has failed to deliver.

Below are the instances where Nana Addo appointed people of family or friends in his government.

The Ramadan family

The President swore-in Alhaji Ahmed Ramadan as Ghanas Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The former Peoples National Convention (PNC) Chairman, is also the father of Ghanas second lady Samira Bawumia.

Also, there is Abu Ramadan, son of Alhaji Ramadan, who is currently the deputy boss at the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO).

That makes it two members of the Ramadan family getting appointments in the Nana Addo government.

Yaw Osafo-Marfo and sons

Senior Minister Yaw Osafo-Maafo falls within the category of people whose families have had multiple persons appointed into the Nana Addo government.

The former banker has his sons also occupying top positions in the current government.

First, there is Kofi Bosompem Osafo-Marfo, who is the Deputy Director General in-charge of Investment & Development at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

Then there is Kwadwo Gyamfi Osafo Marfo, who occupies the position of Deputy Director, in-charge of Cyber Security at NCA.

Gloria Akuffo and Ken Ofori-Atta. Mike Ocquaye and his son Mike Ocquaye Junior have been appointed to serve in the government of Nana Addo.

Daniel Akuffo, junior brother of Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Gloria Akuffo, was also being endorsed to join the government as the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Shai-Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region.

Both Daniel and Gloria, are first cousins of President Akufo-Addo, from Akropong-Akuapim in the Eastern Region.

Works and Housing Minister, Atta Akyea, Minister for Roads and Highways  Kwesi Amoako Atta, Executive Secretary to the President, Nana Asante Bediatuo are reported to be friends and family members of the President.
China said Pak Thae Song, vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, visited Beijing on Monday at the invitation of the Chinese Communist Party.

"This visit is a concrete example of the important consensus between (Communist Party) General Secretary Xi Jinping and Chairman Kim Jong Un," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing, confirming media reports about the trip.

The delegation came to "learn about the achievements of China's domestic economic development and reform and opening-up process, and promote an exchange of experience between the two parties on governance issues," Lu said.

Analysts have said Kim's promise last month to build "socialist economic construction" could herald more Chinese-style economic reforms, which transformed the communist-led country into the world's second largest economy.

Kim used the phrase when he declared that his regime had completed the development of its nuclear arsenal and no more atomic or missile tests were needed.

The delegation visited Beijing a week after Kim met Xi in China's northeastern port city of Dalian -- his second trip to China in less than two months.

Pyongyang and Beijing are seeking to mend frayed ties as a diplomatic thaw in the region intensifies.

Relations fell to a new low in the past year as Beijing, angered by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, supported a series of United Nations sanctions against its ally.

But Beijing is keen to avoid being sidelined in the wake of Kim's historic summit last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and ahead of his Trump summit.

Experts say Kim needs to maintain good relations with his country's main patron as the Trump meeting looms.
But raising money for humanitarian aid in North Korea has become more challenging as Pyongyang has poured resources into its nuclear and missile programmes rather than feeding its people, and been hit with multiple rounds of UN sanctions as a result.

David Beasley, the WFP chief, said Pyongyang was granting wider access than ever before, with his organisation able to carry out 1,800 site visits last year, but it needed to allow more.

"We still need greater access, more information, more data," he told a press conference in Seoul.

"I said very clearly... you have people around the world that are concerned that the food and the money won't go to its intended consequences."

Around the world, the number of "severely hungry" people had spiked from 80 million to 124 million in the last three years, he said, while the WFP was two to three billion dollars short of its funding goals.

Without access, he said, "the chances of receiving funds necessary, or food necessary, to move the ball forward in food security is going to be a difficult game".

The UN sought $114 million in aid from donors last year for North Korea but received only $31 million, and so was able to help only 15 percent of those it targeted for food assistance.

But the WFP chief said he felt "a tremendous sense of optimism" in his meetings with North Korean officials in the hopes of "turning a new chapter in history".

Dialogue brokered by Seoul has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and President Donald Trump due in Singapore on June 12.

Experts say that North Korea needs to produce around 6.5 to 6.7 million tonnes of food to feed its population, but usually grows around one million tonnes less than that, leading to chronic shortfalls.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's 2017 report on global food security and nutrition, 10.3 million North Koreans are now considered to be undernourished -- around 41 percent of the population.
Senator Danjuma Goje, Chairman of the Senate committee on appropriation, presented the budget to the upper legislative chamber for consideration during the plenary on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

Bukola Saraki, Senate president, in a meeting with President MuhammaduBuhari last week, assured that the 2018 budget will be passed before the end of this week.

At the lower chamber, Yusuf Lasun, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, who presided over Tuesdays session said the lawmakers will consider and pass the budget on Wednesday (tomorrow) or Thursday, May 17, 2018.

We will begin the consideration tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon and pass it but if we are not able to, we will finish on Thursday.

That the house do receive the report of the committee on appropriations on a bill for an act to authorize the issue from the consolidated revenue fund of the federation, the total sum of N9,120,334,988,225 (Nine Trillion, One Hundred and Twenty Billion, Three Hundred and Thirty-Four Million, Nine Hundred and Eighty-Eight Thousand, Two Hundred and Twenty-Five Naira) only, the Senate business paper reads.

Also READ: All you need to know about 2018 budget

Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari had on November 7, 2017, submitted N8.612 trillion as the 2018 Appropriation proposal to a joint session of the National Assembly. The passage of the budget had been delayed because Ministries, Departments, and Agencies failed to submit their separate budget proposal in time.

The country pegged oil benchmark at $45 per barrel at an exchange rate of N305 to a dollar.

2018 budget details

The key parameters and assumptions for the 2018 Budget are as set out in the 2018-2020 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP). They include:

a. Benchmark oil price benchmark of US$50.5 per barrel;

b. Oil production estimate of 2.3 million barrels per day, including condensates;

c. Exchange rate of N305/US$ for 2018;

d. Real GDP growth of 3.5 percent; and
The breed of Chinese youngsters born between 2000 and 2010 has a fiercely independent streak

Students in Foshan, Guangdong Province, play rope skipping after class on Thursday. Photo: VCG

Being the loneliest, the most rebellious or globally minded, China's post-00s generation is getting more and more attention at home and abroad.

The generation, born between 2000 and 2010, also carries the expectation of what China would be, and could be in the future, as they will be the major consumers, voters and workers of China's periodic plan to "basically realize socialist modernization" from 2020 to 2035.

The adjectives they mostly choose for themselves are open-minded, confident and independent, according to a report by the China Youth Daily and the country's Internet service giant Tencent earlier in May.

In the survey, 48 percent said they will solve problems themselves, and 25.6 percent revealed they will turn to the internet.

The survey organized by the All-China Students' Federation collected information from over 12,700 questionnaires answered by post- millennials, and also from big data gathered from users of Tencent's social network platform QQ, which has up to 783 million monthly active users.

"We are not scared of being different and that's how we were raised," a 17-year-old male student surnamed Jin, told the Global Times.

Jin is the only child in his family which lives in Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province.

The teenager aspires to be a bass player in a rock band, a decision his family supports. His father decided to be a university teacher for a "more safe and reliable" life, giving up hopes of a more adventurous career at a young age.

China's millennials have developed different visions of the "good life" to their parents, UK-based Financial Times reported in April.

This generation wants something new from China, and in pursuing it they are changing China, too, the report said, adding that "a quiet revolution is under way."

On the rise

In the face of fierce academic and social competition, parents of the post-00s generation are spending more energy and time to make their children more competitive, Victoria Wang, teacher at a Shenzhen-based education company which offers English training courses to students from kindergarten to senior high school, told the Global Times.

In such a situation, the children are more informed and independent, while the pressure of competition also causes psychological problems such as depression and even suicide and makes some students become less empathetic to things unrelated to them, said Wang.

As China saw rapid social and economic progress since 2000, the society got more divided in terms of wealth and living style. The post-millennials are a vivid example of this phenomenon.

According to Liu Yanlin, a teacher at No.1 Senior High School in Xiangyun county, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, the post-00 students are more lonely than other generations.

As China does not allow all couples to have a second child until 2016, most post-00s, who are 8 to 18, grew up without siblings.

The students seldom talk to each other about their feelings, Liu told the Global Times. But children who are mostly from rural areas, are very clear that studying hard is the only way to change their life and fight for a brighter future, she added.

Another middle school teacher, Lu Luyao who teaches at a private school in Chongqing, however, disagrees.

"Compared with the post 90s, the post-00s are better at expressing their feelings, have a stronger personality, though it differs a lot among individuals," Lu told the Global Times.

The post-00s, mostly teenagers now, are more critical of authority and mainstream ideas as they grew up being encouraged to think independently, said Lu.

Though many post-00s believed they are self-centered in the Tencent survey, only 6 percent said they don't want their parents to have a second child.

The remaining 94 percent said they don't mind sharing their parents' love with another sibling, as long as they "are happy with that."

When asked to evaluate their country, around 73 percent said China, though not perfect, is making constant progress and 6.5 percent said the country is in one of its best moments in history.
He shared his thoughts, which were backed with the Quran, in Abuja at a pre-Ramadan lecture on "Muslims and Nation Building" organized jointly by Organisation of Tadhamunul Muslimeen (OTM) and The Muslim Congress (TMC), Daily Trust reports.

According to the Islamic scholar, fasting during the Holy Month is unlike the fasting done at any other time. In fact, he described it as "unique."

In his words, "Fasting is a unique Ibadaah (act of worship) that involves 13 to 14 hours of attachment to Allah. Allah says fasting is for Me and I will give rewards for it. So, every Muslim will wake up and keep vigil during Ramadan. People read Qur'an and meditate over its meaning. Servants of Allah seek repentance from all sins and vices."

What you need to know about Ramadan

The cleric, who is the Chief Imam of Al-Haramain Central Mosque, Ibadan, also discussed the significance of the entire Holy month. He urged Muslims to prepare for it in order to do it properly and reap its spiritual benefits.

He said, "We should, therefore, prepare ourselves physically for this month. One of the best forms of preparation for Ramadan is to clean ourselves inwardly and outwardly because it is not all those who fast that will get their reward in full. Our tongues must fast with us by watching speeches that we make. Your gaze must also fast by watching what you look at.

"You must ensure that you do various forms of Ibaadah. All things being equal, we must engage in Ramadan to reform ourselves and society in order to build our nation. In Ramadan, Muslims' souls will be freed. People will change their lifestyle positively. It is the month of laylatul qodr - a night said to be better than a thousand months.

"It is also the month of dua (supplication). In Ramadan, Allah is close to us because we are also close to Him. We shun evils in spite of the fact that our society is permeated by atrocities, vices, and troubles. People discipline themselves for Allah. They endure the temptations. Surely, the reward of endurance in Paradise."

ALSO READ: 5 healthy foods to include in your Ramadan food timetable

Fast Facts on Ramadan

The Holy Month is expected to start on Thursday, May 17, 2018.

Meanwhile, Alhaji Muhammad Sa'ad Abubakar III, the Sultan of and President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), is calling on Muslims to look out for the moon that ushers in the 1439 A.H Ramadan fast.

In a statement signed by Prof. Salisu Shehu, Deputy Secretary-General of the Muslim body, the sultan said: "Following the advice of the National Moon Sighting Committee, NMSC, the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1439 AH immediately after sunset on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 equivalent to 29th Sha'aban 1439 AH.

"If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, His Eminence would declare Thursday, May 17, 2017, as the first day of Ramadan. If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Friday, May 18, 2018, automatically becomes the first of Ramadan, 1439 AH."
On Friday, May 4, 2018, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) said that the 2019 elections may not hold. However, he was quick to add that this is his personal opinion and not a prophecy.

This clarification has not stopped Prof Ishaq Akintola, the director of MURIC from describing this as a "message of doom" in a public statement, according to Daily Post.

Noting that nations are not "run on prophecies and divisive messages," the press release advised Nigerians to ignore the cleric 'inflammatory statements.'

ALSO READ: Pastor Adeboye has a message for his critics

Read MURIC's reaction to Pastor Adeboye below:

"MURIC The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye last week warned that Nigeria, as it is presently constituted, may cease to exist if killings continue. He also added that 2019 elections may not hold.

"The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) rejects this message of doom. Nations are not run on prophecies and divisive messages but on industry, love, fortitude, unity, honesty, and determination.

"We recall that killings and cattle rustling did not begin yesterday. These attacks have been there since the early 60s. It was not Nigerians who were attacking themselves but cattle thieves and criminals from neighboring countries like Niger, Chad, and Mali. These invasions from other countries have continued till today due to Nigeria's porous borders. But Nigerians exploit religious rivalry and acrobatic religiosity instead of engaging in diligent investigations. We are blaming ourselves for nothing.

"Still going along the lanes of history, a few years back Nigerian Christian leaders initially accused Muslims in the country of sponsoring Boko Haram to kill Christians. All denials fell on deaf ears. Foul language was used. Provocative statements were issued. Nigerian Muslim leaders exhibited patience throughout those terrible days. Today the picture has become clearer to the Christian leaders as Boko Haram has killed more Muslims than Christians (including an Emir) and destroyed more mosques than churches.

"The truth is that both Christians and Muslims are victims of killings, though Christians may have the advantage of media support to use killings on its side as a propaganda tool. The Nigerian media hardly hype reports of Muslim deaths, nor do they report them correctly with their religious affiliation. Meanwhile, Muslims do not use their dead victims for propaganda because, as a rule, Muslims bury their dead speedily whereas Christians delay the burial of their dead and openly display them. But the fact is that the monkey is also sweating but the hair on its skin may not allow people to see it.

"Nigeria has become a land where Shakespearean lines must be actualized: "When beggars die, there are no comets seen. The heavens themselves blow forth the death of princes."

"Thus when Muslims are killed, the Nigerian media uses captions like "85 killed in Maiduguri Explosion" or "76 Die as Hoodlums Invade Zamfara Village". But when Christians are killed, the language and style change. The caption is "Fulani Herdsmen Murder 22 Christians". It is for this reason that Pastor Adeboye needs to direct his warnings at the Nigerian press, not at the government. Government is not escalating the crisis, but the press is. Their asymmetrical reportage poses great danger to peaceful coexistence in a multi-religious Nigeria.

"Pastor Adeboye should also note that things are not usually what they look like from a distance. Benue militias have been caught disguised as Fulani herdsmen. None of the hoodlums caught by the military in the ongoing operation in Benue could speak Fulani language, yet they dressed like Fulani herdsmen and carried AK47 rifles.

"Fake military camps have also been exposed in the same Middle Belt. Militiamen arrested have confessed that the Christian state governors are their sponsors. So why does Adeboye refuse to acknowledge the killing of Muslims? Who are the Benue and Taraba militiamen killing?

"We appeal to Pastor Adeboye to refrain from making inflammatory statements. The Redeemed Church Overseer should also persuade his junior priests to water down their firebrand proselytization. There is a world of difference between prayers, threats and ill will. Let us concentrate on prayers when we organize assemblies ostensibly for prayers. Let us not use such occasions to incite followers in any manner. That is criminal digression. Preachers should not just be playing to the gallery.

"As religious leaders, our influence on our followers is immense and they take our admonitions as commandments, we must, therefore, lead responsibly. Let Christian and Muslim leaders preach love, tolerance, forgiveness and, most especially, unity. We all stand to lose if there is war or if Nigeria breaks.

"Statements accusing government of lukewarm attitude to the 'killing of Christians' mislead the outside world. It paints the wrong picture and robs the Nigerian authorities of friends and allies who are willing to supply sophisticated weapons needed to stop the killings. In essence, we are cutting our noses to spite our faces. We are simply helping Boko Haram to sustain its propaganda.

"Let us, therefore, stop making sectarian, parochial and myopic public speeches. Let us support government's efforts at stopping the killings. Let us appeal to foreign governments to assist our own government at home in combating terrorists and insurgents.
Church Leaders reports that a lot of Bibles, prayer books, songbooks, as well as digital copies of the texts were forcibly taken during a Police raid in Shandong province, located in the east of the country.

The raid was carried out in five house churches by the Police who were helped by "ethnic and religious affairs bureau" officials, according to reports from the region.

Meanwhile, authorities are saying that these raids are part of an anti-pornography crackdown. However, there are reports that only religious texts were seized, leading many to believe that this is another attempt to attack Christians.

In fact, a Christian in Jining city reportedly said that police did not target local Buddhist temples but were actively "hostile" toward Christian churches.

Religious persecution against Christians in China

This is not the first time the government has seized, raided or even vandalized the homes of Chinese Christians.

In March, 2018, the authorities were caught tearing down crosses from churches. One of them was the Shangqiu Catholic Church South Cathedral in Henan Province.

Afterward, the local authorities banned Christians from all church activities.

It is important to add that Muslims are not left out of this persecution.

Christianity in China grows still

In spite of these attacks, the Chinese church continues to grow, according to a Time article. It said: Yet paradoxic, the more severe the persecution, the more people are drawn to Christianity.

Carsten Vala, chair of the political science department at Loyola University, told Time that By clamping down on it, the Communist Party has multiplied it. Protestants have arguably created the most sustained structural challenges to the Chinese Communist Partys ordering of society.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reported that the incident occurred on Monday, May 14, 2018. The heartbreaking event is reportedly a retaliation to an earlier assault which resulted in the deaths of 13 people.

The victims died following an attack on three churches, NAN reports.

"The suicide bombers rode two motorbikes up to a checkpoint outside a police station and blew themselves up," says Tito Karnavian, a police spokesperson while addressing a news conference in Indonesia.

A statement given by Frans Barung Mangera, another police rep offered assurances about the 8-year-old girl's chances of survival.

We hope the child will recover. We believe she was thrown three metres (10 ft) or so up into the air by the impact of the explosion and then fell to the ground, Mangera.

ALSO READ: How dog died while trying to stop suicide bomber in Maiduguri
She subsequently posted a photo of the said letter on Facebook with the caption: Umunnem just negodi what I saw on my table yesterday.. Umuazi kita dont have respect bikonu.. My teaching practice story.

READ MORE:

Below is the love letter the obsessed student wrote to his teacher:

Aunty Chioma,

These might sounds strange to you but I mean every word from the first time I saw you in school, it was if my brain cell stopped working.

Each time I see you it will be as if smoke is coming out of my eyes. Your beauty is killing me seriously, although am still in secondary school, I have plans on becoming a rich man.

I know you will say ama a small boy, but let me tell you when you are in love, age does not matter.

I am becoming very useless all because I keep thinking about you each time I close my eyes, I see your picture. Please consider my request and make me useful for once.

Yours in love

Pin code.

Well, this is not unprecedented. There have been stories of teachers and their students in sexual relationships and some have resulted in marriages eventually.

Probably, the only reason why this particular one has become an issue is the fact that it has been leaked.
ALSO READ: undefined

This is a case of mans inhumanity to man reported by one Chinonye Iyonetu, eight-years-old, against one Charity Iyonetu of Animal Kingdom, close to Seme Border, Lagos. The complainant alleged that the suspect is the elder sister to his father.

That sometime in 2016, the suspect came to their village, Agbaai, Nkota LGA of Imo State and brought him to Lagos after his mother abandoned him and left to an unknown place. He claimed that the suspect always maltreats him, accusing him of being a wizard.

"However, the ordeal of the little boy came to the fore when on May 9, at about 9 am, the suspect use horse whip a.k.a Koboko, to flog the complainant, inflicting injuries all over his body."

She thereafter locked him in her one-room apartment with his two hands tied behind his back and left to her shop. The complainant was crying and shouting for help which made one Peter Aluku to call the Police. When the police team arrived, they broke the door of the house and rescued the child he added.

According to Imohimi, the suspect will be charged to the Special and Sexual Offences Court once the ongoing investigation is concluded.

Decaying hand of maltreated house maid will send chills down your spine

A decaying hand of a Lagos house maid who reportedly suffered abuse while living with her boss, Mrs. Anyakaora, has presented a disturbing sight.

The victim, perceived to be around the 11 to 13 age group, was discovered with an impairment to her wrist.

This prompted a good Samaritan who found her at a supermarket to contact a human rights group in a bid to get help for the child who appeared underfed and maltreated.

On Facebook, a woman named Nzelibe Onyedika Iyke announced that Anyakaora's who lives in Ijegun, Lagos, is on the run.

However, her husband has been arrested.

"Note: Little corrections please!!! Pls Parents b careful on how u give out ur 9 months labour to Daughters of Jezebel in d name of house help/ Baby sitter.

"This little gal has been living under tortures: hard labour,poor feeding,bullying,etc with one Mrs Anyakaora.

"Tenants side,first floor back @ No 12 Dominic Street, Ijegun after Navy town Lagos state.

"D poor Girl was was sent on errand Yesterday to buy something when a good Samaritan met her in a nearby Store with a decayed,Maggot feasted fingers & intervened by getting HUMAN RIGHTS involved in d case.

"Her (Mr Anyakaora) Husband is cooling off his head in one of d Lagos state police stations now,as d wife is no where to b found.

ALSO READ: Man banished from community for brutalizing 13-yr-old son

"Mothers,kindly b guided!!! Pls Rebroadcast for d awareness of d Little Gal's family," Iyke wrote in a post shared on Monday, February 26, 2018.

Social media user who responded to the announcement expressed sympathy for the victim while directing scorn to her abusers.
The deceased was reportedly hit outside the school campus while attempting to board a vehicle. He failed to survive the accident which was facilitated by reckless driving.

A post shared on Instablog9ja's IG on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, confirmed the sad development.

ALSO READ: Lady dies after meeting Facebook boyfriend

The victim died while being transported to a hospital in the vehicle of the driver believed to be responsible for hitting him.

Final year student knocked down, killed at school gate

A final year student of Agricultural Economics Department of the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State, Obinna Chiaha, has been hit and killed by a driver at his school gate.

The incident reportedly occurred last night, Friday, April 27, 2018, while Chiaha was on his way to buy fuel.

Instablog9ja reports that the driver had been trying to overtake a trailer when he hit the deceased who was trying to cross the road.

ALSO READ: Final year student drowns 3 weeks to graduation

According to the reports, Chiaha was initially unconscious after the incident and was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, Amara Jane Hospital.

Hw was, however, later transferred to FMC, where he was confirmed dead.

The driver of the vehicle was attacked by angry students who set his car on fire before the timely intervention for security operatives.
The Daily Mail UK, had reported that Ilonze and Oluyemi formed a partnership against Nnaji, who got into an argument with Ilonze, reportedly a childhood friend and flatmate at a Brighton, East Sussex apartment, over who had the richest dad.

Things got intense on Saturday, April 7, 2018, prompting a violent assault on Nnaji who was allegedly hit with a shisha pipe.

ALSO READ: Man hires assassin to murder rich family in order to inherit wealth

Judge offers second chance to war mongers

A good representation had encouraged Judge Christine Laing QC to consider a light warning for Elvis Ilonze and Daniel Oluyemi, who were considered useful to the society.

This factor motivated the Queen's Counsel to suspend a year jail term for 18 months, with expectation on good conduct from the duo.

It was gathered that Oluyemi assisted in assaulting Prince Nnaji with a wine bottle.

"Unlike many of the people who pass through the courts you both come from, effectively, backgrounds of privilege.

"It couldn't be more childish, effectively an insult on somebody's parents - who's got the richer dad - that started this fight.

"You both appear to be incredibly immature, perhaps as a result of being cosseted in your upbringing.
One Ghanaian pastor who has gained a lot of fame from doing such bizarre things as asking his female congregants to bring their used panties to church for what he referred to as special prayers, and many other mind blowing stories is Angel Obinim.

The controversial man of God was recently seen in a viral video in which he claimed he was rebuking angel Gabriel and others.

While Pastor Obinim and others have been condemned by a section of the public for their weird so called miracles, a Zimbabwean pastor has joined the fray.

In what looked like a fetish ritual, Pastor Mboro is seen in a video that is making the rounds online apparently fondling his manhood, while his congregants enthusiastically waved their panties they had apparently removed in advance.

In the video, the man of God is also heard asking his members, do you like what I am doing? and they replied yes.

He then proceeded by further asking: Must we stop because somebody doesnt like it? and the congregants replied again no.
According to the reports, the-yet-to-be-identified man was reportedly warned of the dangers of hanging on to the moving train instead of finding a safe spot in the train to sit or stand.

ALSO READ: Earphones wearing man crushed to death by train in Oshodi

The deceased is reported to have fallen underneath the train which cut him in two by the waist.

May his soul rest in peace.

Phone addiction ends life of female NYSC member killed by train in Lagos

Debbie, a female member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), has been killed following a distraction caused by an earphone. The deceased who was crushed by a train later gave up the ghost while receiving treatment at a hospital.

The incident occurred on Thursday, March 8, 2018, while the victim was walking on a railway in Ikeja, Lagos.

ALSO READ: Hot dirty slap saves man from likely train suicide

Sounds of warning offered by observers had failed to alert Debbie who seemed fully engrossed in her operation of a mobile phone.

"We lost the corps member just now. I heard the neurosurgeon and the orthopaedic doctors said they would conduct further investigations on her. But regrettably we lost her," announces Prince Mohammed Momoh, who is the state coordinator of the NYSC.
China and Norway on Monday started their latest round of negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two countries.

The 11th round of free trade agreement negotiations between China and Norway was scheduled to be held in Oslo from Monday to Wednesday.

This is the third round of talks after the recovering of China-Norway free trade agreement negotiations in April 2017. On April 7, 2017, China and Norway signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Recovering China-Norway Free Trade Agreement Negotiation in Beijing. Since then, two rounds of China-Norway free trade agreement negotiations were held in Beijing in August and December, 2017, respectively.

China and Norway launched their free trade agreement negotiations in 2008 in order to further deepen bilateral relations and cooperation in economy and trade, promote the economic development of the two countries, and improve the living standards of the two peoples.
According to the reports, the attack took place on Thursday, May 11, 2018, in Ilawe-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

ALSO READ: Many reportedly killed as armed robbers raid 5 banks

Instablog9ja reports that the operation which reportedly lasted for over an hour, saw a policeman and a bank staff shot and killed. Another bank worker was also shot in the arm.

In the previous attack, the robbers reportedly stormed the back located close to the Alawes Palace, at about 2.45 pm.

During the operation which reportedly lasted for an hour, the robbers used dynamite to blast open the banks security door with dynamite in order to gain entrance.

According to the reports, a blue colour Toyota Camry car parked in the vicinity of the bank was also blown up in the process.

May the souls of the deceased rest in peace.

2 policemen reportedly killed in fresh bank robbery

Two policemen have reportedly been killed by armed robbers who attacked a bank in Ekiti State.

It was gathered that the armed gang raided a First Bank branch in Ifaki Ekiti on Thursday, April 19.

Details are still scanty but reports said there may be more casualties in the incident.

This is coming 14 days after at least 30 armed robbers attacked six commercial banks in Offa, Kwara state, killing at least 17 people.

The affected financial institutions are; Union Bank, Eco Bank, Guarantee Trust Bank, First Bank, Zenith Bank and Ibolo Micro Finance Bank.

The assailant also opened fire on the Owode Police station in the town leaving scores of officer dead.
Juna had pleaded guilty to the one-count charge of rape, and begged the court for leniency.

Mohammed said that the punishment would serve as a deterrent to others who might want to engage in similar acts.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr O.S Ocho, had told the court that the case was reported on Feb. 2, at the Mangu Divisional police headquarters and transferred to the States Criminal Investigative Department for further investigation.

According to him, the convict, a resident of Sabon Barki Gindiri, in Mangu, on the said date, lured the little girl with the N 2 0, a resident of the same area, into an uncompleted building and raped her.

Ocho said that during medical investigation, some bruises were found on the private part of the victim.
Looking to the past to shape the now, the pieces merges untainted fabrics with an ageless sense of style, which has been updated for the modern man whos always on the move.

Fearless pursuit is an exploration of Lagos as a society and organism of its own; using fashion, portraiture and film to tell a tale of craftsmanship, industry, Africanism and functionality in a Lagosian reality. We try to portray a Lagos that is always moving at a fast speed, a society that has through time, evolved its members into a zealous, forward thinking, modern community.
The label custom designs and tailor makes womens garmentsfor all occasions and ensures that every woman looks elegant, sophisticated and sexy, these being the main values of Claire Albert.

What inspired your fashion journey?Claire Albert: I have always wanted to be a Fashion designer since i was a young girl and my desire for elegant apparel led me to creating a clothing label that focuses on designs that are elegant and sophisticated while staying Fashion forward.What has been your challenge as a designer in Africa?Claire Albert: My first creation was inspired by Indian Fashion. Colorful images with gold accessories excited me to design a red and gold gown which I called the Claire Albert because it spoke everything that i wanted my brand to be, elegance, sophistication and edge.What does fashion mean to you?Claire Albert: Fashion is you! It is who you are, expressed in the form of clothing. It is a communication of the person through their dressing.Most unforgettable experience as a designer.Claire Albert: It was my very first Fashion showcase, at a wine tasting event. It was an incredible feeling to see how well received i was and the appreciation of my designs. That became the beginning of Claire Albert on the Fashion scenery.
It joins an illustrious list: Olusegun Obasanjo's My Watch'; Olufemi Ofunsanwo's Awo, Unfinished Business; David Williams' President and Power in Nigeria, The Life of Shehu Shagari; Olusegun Adeniyi's Against the Run of Play; and Peter Odili's Conscience and History: My Story; to name a few.

Published in Nigeria by Kachifo Limited under its Prestige Imprint, this book has its roots firmly planted at home. The title, 'On A Platter of Gold', is firmly Nigerian too. The phrase itself may be the subject of much debate, but It is a fetching and fitting title for a book that seeks to unveil the intrigues that led to President Goodluck Jonathan 'winning and losing Nigeria'.

The very first statement in the book, at the introduction, is a quote:

-- Patience Jonathan, June 2013.

This statement sets the tone for the book that undertakes the brave task of telling a story about very powerful people, (many of them still alive and influential) and their roles in the rise and fall of President Goodluck Jonathan. One can already tell that this will be a book with drama, mistakes, schemes and disappointments. One can also tell that this book will tell the story patiently, turning its gaze from character to character, probable cause to probable cause until the tale is done and the reader is satisfied.

In many ways, this book is not only about President Jonathan. It is also about the People's Democratic Party (PDP) and about Nigeria herself. If President Goodluck Jonathan was the political miracle of twenty-first century Nigeria, then the PDP was the miracle worker, Nigeria was the miracle-ground, and Nigerians the cheering crowd.

Over 360 pages, twelve chapters, the book takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride through the history and motives, people and events, choices and challenges surrounding President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan's ascent to the highest office of the land and his loss of the 2015 general election. The book begins at the end. The re-election bid had failed, the famous congratulatory phone call was made and from there it guides the reader in a thorough, thoughtful, painstaking postmortem. Through the author's storytelling genius, we discover the people and the structures that steered President Jonathan into power, the aspirations and slogans that won him the hearts of millions of Nigerians, the choices and the mistakes he made, and the shame that followed thereafter.

The book begins at the end but it takes us back to the beginning. It explores the impact of events at the very foundations of Nigerian democracy and outlines the forces at play even from the country's infancy. In a chapter titled 'The Empire,' It catalogs the struggles of our past leaders, their triumphs, their failures, their inabilities to predict and prepare. The book traces the origins of the People's Democratic Party from its 'identifiable ancestors the Northern People's Congress, The National Party of Nigeria and the Northern Republican Convention.' It answers questions every serious Nigerian citizen or history student has asked themselves: How did we get here? How did President Goodluck Jonathan, from a minority tribe, get into power? What was Obasanjo's role? Where did the PDP miss it? Why was the re-election lost? What are the lessons here? What could and should have been done differently? Where do we go from here?

Every reader will not agree with the answers found in the text. They aren't expected to. The book tells the story from the perspective of an insider, one who wanted the President to win (and possibly nurses pain from the loss still). A serious reader won't swallow the information like so many balls of pounded yam, but will take notes, ask questions and come to their own conclusions. On A Platter of Gold, provides fertile ground for further investigation and discussion and highlights areas for deeper thought. It relates events that might have been lost forever otherwise. It tells a story that needed to be told, and it does so brilliantly.

For many readers, the plot may not be unfamiliar; much of the subject matter has been covered in bits and pieces by the mainstream media, social media and a few books in between, but none tell the story with this level of focus and dexterity. The book is important and necessary. Important, because without a clear record of the events surrounding the loss of the election, many of the facts could easily be lost to posterity. Necessary, because even though many of us watched the events unfold, we may not have known to what extent certain things mattered (or did not), and we may not have cared.

Historical non-fiction has a reputation for being boring -- not this book. On a Platter of Gold is singularly easy to read, interesting and hard to put down. The author's storytelling gifts are generously employed to tell a political thriller tale like none other. Things get worse and worse till the book ends and we are dramatically told he stood up and left.

Humour and History aren't the best of friends. The writer, Bolaji Abdullahi, changes this. He has written a book that made me laugh and laugh and laugh. It is hard to show you some of the jokes without giving too much away, but take my word on this: you will be amused. Somefolks have said that Nigeria is full of jokes, but I still think it takes uncommon skill to bring humor to a historical non-fiction book that appears to hurtle towards a tragic end. Abdullahi did that.

The cast of characters in the book are each worthy of their own prequels. The colorful ensemble of major and minor players serve to amuse, amaze and annoy throughout the book. One cannot help but chuckle at the naivety of Odili as "he just sat, alone in the midst of so many people, like an idle semicolon, waiting for words to give it a meaning." The crafty Obasanjo, the indestructible Shekau, the super-efficient Ribadu, the conniving Aisha Wakili, the outspoken First Lady Patience Jonathan and many other characters guarantee a read that is as entertaining as it is informative.

The best way to read this book is to get a hard copy. My copy is filled with notes on the margins, questions by the paragraphs, and some typesetting quibbles I intend to mail to the editor. I look forward to the discourse that will ensue from the points raised, the observations made. I couldn't help shouting "Dodged Bullet!" when I got to the part where a certain individual had set his sights on the Ministry of Petroleum Resources.

Speaking of the editor, I must appreciate the work of Ms. Molara Wood and her team. The book has the marks of the excellent developmental editing for which Kachifo is known (see Half of a Yellow Sun). It could however, have profited from one more copy-edit, one more round of proof-reading. The typesetting could also have been improved: many passages and paragraphs needed more white space. They didn't get it. The use of the word proverbial each time an idiom/proverb/cliche was used was clunky and unnecessary. A few other words and phrases were in need of more exciting expression. The author says all the glory belongs to God and all the errors to him, I disagree. The publishers could have done better there.

When I turned the last page, I had the peculiar joy-grief mix one feels at the end of a good book. I did not want it to end but I couldn't stop reading it either. It was a good book, important, timely, objective and I didn't want it to end. I wanted to know President Goodluck Jonathan's next steps, the PDPs present plans, and Nigeria's future prospects. President Goodluck Jonathan was the main character in this book but his thoughts, motivations and perspectives were conspicuously absent. Maybe that is a good thing. Maybe we can look forward to another book by Abdullahi that tells us that part of the story, with the same brilliant storytelling and inimitable humour. Whatever happens next, we can only hope that Abdullahi writes more books in this genre; I am certainly looking forward to reading them.

On A Platter of Gold: How Jonathan Won and Lost Nigeria, by Bolaji Abdullahi, is available from the following bookshops:

- Jed Bookstore, The Palms Mall, Lekki Lagos

- Terrakulture, VI, Lagos

- Patabah Bookstore, Surulere, Lagos

- Quintessence, Ikoyi, Lagos

- Glendora Bookstore, Ikeja, Lagos

- The Booksellers, Abuja, Abeokuta, and Ibadan

- Boldoz Bookshop, Uyo

- Salamander Cafe, Aminu Kano Crescent, Abuja

- Bookville World, Port Harcourt

- Online at Roving Height (Rhbooks.com.ng)

- Online at Jumia and Konga

- Page Books, Allen Avenue, Lagos

- Lara Bookshop, Ilorin

- Gumba Bay, Shoprite Mall, Sangotedo

- Abuja Airport Bookstore

- Glendora Bookstore, Lagos Airport

- Prince Ebeano Supermarket, Lekki, Lagos
They all have booming economies, progressive immigration policies and immigrant support services. So, don't just migrate, consider what your priorities will be and pick the country that's best for you.

ALSO READ: 5 happiest countries in the world to travel to

1. Sweden

Sweden has been ranked as the world's best country for immigrants, ahead of Canada and Switzerland.

Sweden's decision to take in large numbers of refugees had seen its society diversify as migrants account for about 10 percent of its 9.8 million population.

2. Canada

Canada is a safe haven for many migrants. It is one of the most immigration-friendly nations in the world and has been rated as one of the best countries to live in by the United Nations. The country is rich in natural and oil resources and has some of the best universities in the world. The country has low crime and violence rate and a high standard of living. All these points make it a preferred destination for immigration.

3. Immigrating To UAE

The United Arab Emirates is a tax-free nation and has a very low crime rate. It attracts people from all over the world to become its residents as the oil-rich country has a dynamic economy. The country also boasts of low corruption rate making it a desirable destination for relocation.

4. Norway

Norway is a peaceful and pollution free nation that is very welcoming. The wealthy nation offers free education in its public universities. Owing to the natural beauty of the land and the relaxed way of life, many people consider Norway as their immigration destination. Besides, the rules for immigration is not very strict in Norway.

5. Finland

If the peacefulness offered in Canada and Norway isnt enough then you cant get much better than Finland. The country is the safest country in the world and boasts one of the worlds most liveable cities in its capital, Helsinki.

6. Spain

Spain is comprised of numerous semi-independent communities. The cultural influence of each of these historical kingdoms allows a nation of diverse and dynamic population. The immigrating population to Spain is considerably diverse with people coming from Romania, Argentina, Ecuador, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Morocco.

ALSO READ: The most beautiful mosques you would find in Nigeria

The large and diverse patchwork of culture in Spain lures immigrants from all over the globe

7. Australia
I have always wanted to venture into farming from an early age having grown up in the village with my grandmother, maybe its because I believe there is so much potential in the business, but every attempt at getting started and keeping up with it has been a serious pain.

First, I started out with Catfish farming and lost millions. Then I tried to grow maize on my village farm in Oka with my brother supervising, but I had plenty stories, the farm is too small, fire caught the plantations, brother, thieves have stolen the fertilizer, too much gist.

If that was all, it would have been good, in fact, recounting this story is so painful because I could have taken a shorter route and avoided all this headache in the first place.

The next thing I know everything started falling apart. Later, I discovered that I was planting maize at the wrong season and the fertilizer wasnt in the right mix along with some dishonest people working for me. Yet, these people were making mouth like they are the experts, they have it all sorted out.

At the end of the day, I waited to harvest the remaining maize and prepare to sell. What no one tells you about agriculture is the wahala that is involved in selling when you harvest. We were many harvesting the same time and the price of everything I harvested crashed.

I vowed that this was the end and Ill just focus on my day job then I will return to the farm when I retire. But thankfully, I was relaying this story to a good friend of mine who had a smile on his face while I was recounting this horror story.

My friend just shook his head and told me that he had already read a lot of similar stories online and that was why he took the safer and more guaranteed route.

He told me that he also had a maize farm and his farming has been nothing but smooth. He didnt have to deal directly with farmers, because he didnt have the time to train them, neither did he deal with labourers or selling the farm produce at the end of the farm cycle.

I almost fell off my chair

So I checked further and discovered that my friend had invested in agriculture through a platform that took care of dealing directly with farmers. The farmers had hands-on training from dedicated farm specialists, they were given improved seed varieties and were always on-ground to monitor the farmers, from planting to harvest to getting buyers for the product that was harvested so that there is nothing like wasted harvest or the farmer cant sell.

To say I felt I had just been handed a hot EXPO to profitable farming in Nigeria was an understatement. I was excited.

So, I invested the little money I had left from my misadventure and used it to sponsor farms on this online platform that allowed people become farmers without a farm. The platform is Farmcrowdy. Of course, I still did my research and I kept seeing nothing but good reviews, coupled with my friends testimonial, I just went ahead. Sat down, relaxed and waited for the harvest while getting all the farm updates on my dashboard. I went to their website www.farmcrowdy.com and got all the information and within 5 minutes I had invested in a farm.

They dont know this but I was really happy when I received my returns after harvest 2 days before the due date. I have now since invested in their chicken, maize and rice farms. With returns from 12%-15%, I was excited about funding their farm projects because they make the farmers life better while I make money farming. Even if something happens on the farm, they have farm insurance with companies like Leadway Insurance and AXA Mansard to protect my money. This is just too good.

No wonder the Vice President of Nigeria  Prof. Yemi Osinbajo even spoke about them on Channels TV on May 1st describing Farmcrowdy as a fantastic and innovative idea that is changing how people farm in Nigeria.

My name is Nnaemeka Obinna and I am now a proud farmer because I farm on www.farmcrowdy.com

If you doubt me, ask someone around you what they say about Farmcrowdy, you will see thousands of Farmers like me using Farmcrowdy from Nigeria, the UK, the US and the UAE to sponsor small farmers in Nigeria today. In fact, see a recent video of what the Vice-President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo said about Farmcrowdy.
At the commissioning, President Buhari said his administration's fight against corruption is an attempt to save the country and not to persecute anyone.

"My objective of fighting corruption remains steadfast. The goal of this administration is to protect public trust. We are not engaged in witch-hunting," he said.

The office, located along Airport Road, Jabi, in the Federal Capital Territory, will now serve as the anti-graft agency's headquaters after conducting its operations from rented quarters for years.

N24 billion building draws criticism

The construction of the 10-storey building was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), during the administration of former president, Goodluck Jonathan, on November 24, 2010.

Even though it was billed to cost N18 billion, the building was completed for N24 billion due to fluctuating foreign exchange.

With public criticism over the cost of the building, acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, said the project is worth the cost so as to make the war against corruption more efficient.

While speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday, he said, "It's not for me to defend. It's for the professional to come and see it to assess whether it is worth whatever it is. It's worth it.

"We need to move to a better place because we're occupying rented quarters. As it is now, we have our men and facilities and sessions, investigations and prosecutions scattered in rented quarters so this does not give a secure confidentiality of documents and so, if you put everyone in one house, I think you get a better coordination."
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Group is a non-political coalition of Nigerians from all backgrounds who advocate for national reawakening, towards holding leaders responsible and ensuring good governance at all levels.

According to Charly boy, the protest is to urge the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to declare the group as a common enemy of Nigerians.

He said, We are extremely concerned that the survival of Nigeria is currently being threatened by these killer herdsmen, as innocent Nigerians are being slaughtered in different parts of the country on daily basis.

In 2018 alone, hundreds of innocent Nigerians were cut down by this group, and hundreds of communities are affected by the wanton destruction of human lives and properties.

We, therefore, urge the Ministry of Justice, the nations highest custodian of law, to immediately take firm action towards getting Federal Government to proscribe and designate the killer herdsmen a terrorist group in Nigeria.

Charly boy noted that since relevant government authorities had acknowledged that the killer herdsmen were foreign elements, who infiltrated the country, the group wants them declared as enemies of the Nigerian state.

He added that such pronouncement would give security agents the tenacity to fight it, and also help the nation to secure regional cooperation and support.

We are not saying every herder in Nigeria should be prescribed as a terrorist, because the herdsmen everybody knows in this country do not carry arms and sophisticated weapons.

Our president had publicly declared during his recent visits to the UK and U.S., that Nigeria was under the invasion of killer herdsmen from another country.

It is, however, instructive to admit for effective action and intervention that there cannot be infiltration into the country by external forces without internal collaborators.

Proscription of these killer herdsmen and their designation as a terrorist group will give Nigeria greater leverage to seek better regional cooperation and international support to confront this menace concertedly.

Our security agents will collectively go after them and also investigate their line of funding, to unravel those who are secretly colluding with the group, he urged.

The group added that as the 2019 general elections was drawing near, there was need for Nigerians to be assured that they were safe to come out to exercise their civic rights.

Charly boy then handed over a letter containing the groups grievances and demands, addressed to Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation.

Mrs Lola Uket, Acting Director of General Services in the Ministry, who received the letter on behalf of the chairman, commended the group for its genuine concern for peace and security in Nigeria.
The exercise marked the launch of the pilot stage of the destruction of arms and weapons recovered from persons who illegally held them.

The recovery in Zamfara was made from repentant bandits who surrendered their weapons to the state government Committee for Peace, Reconciliation and Disarmament, headed by the Deputy Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala.

The exercise which took place at Zamfara Trade Fair Complex in Gusau, was chaired by the Chairman of the Presidential Committee, Amb. Emmanuel Imohe.

The event was attended by Zamfara Governor, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari and his deputy, Wakkala, representatives of international agencies such as the EU, ECOWAS and UNDP as well as security agencies and traditional rulers.

In his remark, Imohe said the exercise was aimed at destroying a total of 5,870 arms and ammunition received under Zamfara state disarmament initiative.

Apart from the destruction of illegal and recovered arms, one of the mandates of this presidential committee is also to improve livelihood of the people and communities that surrendered their weapons.

Zamfara is one of the seven states in the country selected by the Federal Government for a pilot programme.

This programme is also a flat form for raising awareness of dangers associated with the circulation of illegal weapons that have killed, injured and terrorised people all over the world, he said.

Imohe commended Zamfara for initiating the disarmament programme which resulted to the recovery of over 5,000 small arms, ammunition, grenades, automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

I am happy to be associated with this laudable efforts made by Zamfara State Government.

I consider this as one of great achievements recorded by this committee, I thank the state disarmament committee led by the state Deputy Governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, and all stakeholders who contributed to the success recorded.

You know, this committee was inaugurated in April 2013 by the Federal Government with the mandate to be the focal point in the efforts of the country to address the movement of illicit illegal arms and light weapons.

We are working with international organisations to conduct practical disarmament at border communities in the country and provide a support for repentant bandits, he said.

In his remark, Yari thanked the Federal Government for setting up the presidential committee and international organisations for their efforts for peace and stability in the state and country.

Yari said the state had recorded many deaths, casualties and huge losses in economic activities as result of cattle rustling and banditry.

He said such losses necessitated the setting up the Peace, Reconciliation and Disarmament Committee by the state government.

The Committee since inception has recorded great successes of recovering over 5,000 illegal arms and large number of repentant bandits across the state.

We are witnessing the destruction of these illegal weapons today, we are going to continue to give all the necessary support to Federal Government and all stakeholders as regard to improvement of security in the state and country at large.

ALSO READ: Gov Yari says police ignored warning before Zamfara Killings

We are going to provide authentic lists of repentant bandits and those who surrendered their arms and submit it to the Federal Government for assistance with the aim of changing their livelihood, he said.

The Zamfara Government in an effort to address security challenges in the state in 2016 set up the Peace, Reconciliation and Disarmaments Committee.
U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Shanghai, the latest effort to penetrate the Chinese market.

Tesla received the business license for its subsidiary from the market regulation bureau of the Pudong New Area on Thursday, according to the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System.

View of a dealership store of Tesla in Guangzhou, south Chinas Guangdong province, November 1, 2017. [File photo: IC]

The newly-established subsidiary registered capital of 100 million yuan (15.8 million U.S. dollars). The only shareholder is Tesla Motors HK Limited.

The firm's businesses include technology development and transfer in the fields of electric cars, auto parts, batteries, energy storage equipment and photovoltaic products, and wholesale and import and export of such products.

China announced in April that it would scrap share-holding limits for new energy vehicles for foreign investors in 2018. It also pledged to reduce tariffs for imported cars.

Earlier the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology said Tesla and the government had maintained good communication and would continue to discuss Tesla's plant in the municipality.

Tesla's global revenue for 2017 grew 67 percent to nearly 12 billion U.S. dollars. The Chinese market contributed 2 billion U.S. dollars, up 90 percent.
Gowon was military president from 1966 to 1975.

How Gowon was kicked out

On July 29, 1975, Gowon was attending a meeting of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) when a group of officers led by Colonel Joe Nanven Garba announced his overthrow.

The coup plotters appointed Brigadier Murtala Muhammad as head of the new government and Brigadier Olusegun Obasanjo as his deputy.

Gowon corruption comments

Speaking this week, Gowon says he feels really bad whenever anyone says all past Nigerian leaders were corrupt, because he wasnt.

It is sad to read reports that all former Heads of State are thieves. During our time, we did not know anything like corruption. Some of my ministers were accused of corruption but we did not allow it to get into the public service. After I left office, apart from my salary, it was the staff that contributed their estacode so that I have something to live on.

During our time, we did not know that thing (corruption). We were afraid of being exposed, Gowon said.

Nigerians say Gowon is lying

But a few Nigerians who saw a bit of the Gowon years or who heard stories of the junta as passed down by parents and extended family relatives, say economical with the truth.

Professor Itse Sagay who is the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC) says corruption was just as pervasive in the Gowon era.

He is exaggerating, Sagay told Vanguard. If I recall, when the Murtala/Obasanjo regime took over government, it was partially based on corruption. Out of the 12 military governors, 10 were found guilty. Maybe corruption was less than it has become, but obviously there was corruption because 10 of the governors had their properties seized. So, I think he exaggerated a little bit.

Second Republic Governor of old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, says corruption in Nigeria started under Gowon.

Musa says; when Gowon was overthrown in 1975, late General Murtala Mohammed who overthrew him accused the Gowon government of being corrupt. Murtala Mohammed investigated all the governments under Gowon and all were found guilty of corruption apart from the Lagos State government of General Mobolaji Johnson. So, corruption started under him and has worsened now.

A former senator, Femi Okurounmu told Vanguard that: Corruption has always been with us from the first republic only that the scale was very minimal compared to what we have today. Before the first coup, there was corruption in the system but politicians were doing it with timidity because they knew there would be consequences.

During the Gowon administration, some personalities like and were with him. So, it will not be totally right to say there was no corruption but it was very minimal. However, corruption became institutionalized during the administration of it became a norm and open.

A Wikipedia entry on Yakubu Gowon contained the following words:

Furthermore, because of the growth in bureaucracy, there were allegations of rise in corruption. Increased wealth in the country resulted in fake import licenses being issued.

There were stories of tons of stones and sand being imported into the country, and of General Gowon himself saying to a foreign reporter that "the only problem Nigeria has is how to spend the money she has.

The corruption in Gowon's administration culminated in the notorious "cement armada" in the summer of 1975, when the port of Lagos became jammed with hundreds of ships trying to unload cement.

Gowon was exiled to the United Kingdom after the 1975 coup. He bagged a PhD in Political Science from the University of Warwick while on exile.
Others standing trial alongside Isa are: Ade Obege, Abdullahi Isah, Michael Bamidele and Ahmed Ajayi.

In his ruling, Justice Fola Ajayi, said his decision to strike out the case was premised on the fact that the prosecution had failed to open its case in spite of four adjournments.

Ajayi said that the failure of the prosecution left him no choice but to strike out the case in the circumstance.

He, however, gave a consequential order that the prosecution could start their case afresh whenever they were ready.

Justice Ajayi was particularly irked by the prosecution when they insisted that the case file was not available to them but with the lead counsel, ACP Lough Simon who was absent on account of the death of his father.

Ajayi said that the prosecution had presented same excuse on four previous adjournents and granted them and 45-minute stand down to enable the prosecution get the case file but failed.

NAN reports that Isa, Obege, Isah, Bamidele and Ajayi are standing trial for alleged conspiracy to murder the senator.

They were said to have while acting in concert and armed with guns invaded the resident of the senator on April 14, 2017 and fired guns severally at the house and rooms while Melaye, his family and security aides were in the house.

The defendants in the case No. HCL/58c/2017 between the Inspector General of Police and Alhaji Taofiq Isah and four others were arraigned on a five-count charge of conspiracy to commit culpable homicide punishable with death.

They were also alleged to have committed the offence of abetment contrary to section 83 and punishable under Section 91 of the Penal Code.

The prosecution alleged that Isah authorised, during the attack, the use of the ambulance of General Hospital, Iyara, for the operation to kill Melaye and his household.
According to him, fake news is easier to distribute than real news, and this has complicated how journalism is practiced in contrast to 20 years ago.

Ringier made these remarks during a question and answer session with the Pulse editorial team of Ringier Africa Digital Publishing (RADP), at the RADP HQ on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

He said, "The digital distribution has changed the way you tell stories because digital reading is not the same thing as reading a newspaper. Basically, journalism remains the same. The transformation from print to digital and elements of publishing and journalism will always remain the same.

"First of all, you still have to write stories and people love to hear stories. I think people even love to hear real stories.

"The problem usually is that fake news sound much more interesting. That's why the distribution of fake news is much higher than the distribution of real news.

"That only shows how important it is that we have real journalists. 10 years ago, serious journalists had the monopoly of information. Today everybody can distribute news and everybody does distribute news.

"The brand is highly important and the way you approach storytelling. That's why journalism today is more important than 20 years ago and it is also more complicated.

While further noting that journalism has evolved to become less interesting economically and more challenging over the years, he urged journalists to tell great stories that people will consume and not think in just market terms.

"I don't think you should think in market terms. People are interested in everything which is attractive, which is new and which is surprising. If you succeed in telling a great story, people will read it. Definitely," he said.

Ringier arrived in Nigeria on Monday, May 14, for his first visit accompanied by Ringier AG CEO, Marc Walder, Vice Chairman, Dr Uli Sigg, and member of the group's executive board, Robin Lingg.

Walder urged the Pulse editorial team to keep the pace of the good work they've been doing.

"You should be extremely proud of yourselves. We are extremely proud of you. You are working for the right company," he said.
Chairman of the Senate committee on appropriation, Danjuma Goje, presented the budget to the upper legislative chamber at plenary on Tuesday, May 15, 2018.

Details in the report indicates that the National Assembly increased the 2018 budget from N8.6 trillion to N9.120 trillion.

Senate President Bukola Saraki had assured President Buhari of the passage of the 2018 appropriation bill during their visit to the villa.

Similarly, Senate spokesman Sabi Abdullahi, said the 2018 budget would be passed on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.

The National Assembly had blamed the delay in the passage of the 2018 budget on the failure of some heads of government agencies and parastatals to show up for their defence.

Some heads of agencies had accused some Senators of requesting for bribes.
An Abuja High Court had on Thursday, May 10, nullified Omo-Ageges 90 legislative days suspension by the Senate.

The court declared the suspension unconstitutional, saying that the Senate has no power to suspend a member beyond 14 days.

Following the court ruling and Omo-Agege's envisaged resumption on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, security was beefed up at the National Assembly on Monday, especially around the senate chambers.

It was learnt that the move was to forestall likely security breach as recorded on April 18, when suspected hoodlums invaded the chambers and made away with the mace - the Senate symbol of authority.

Omo-Agege was linked to the incident, which occurred while plenary was ongoing. He had defied the suspension order on him and attended the proceedings.

Senate complies with ruling

Reacting to the court ruling on Monday, the spokesman for the Senate, Sabi Abdullahi, said pending the outcome of the appeal filed by the red chamber against the judgment, omo-Agege will be given access to partake in plenary on Tuesday.

"The senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursday judgement of the federal high court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not", Abdullahi said in a statement issued on Monday.

"We have equally filed an appeal against the judgement of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgement at the court of appeal.

"As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the Senate has decided that it will comply with the judgement of the federal high court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.

"The senate has been advised that since the motion for stay of execution of the Thursday (May 10, 2018) judgement shall be heard and possibly determine on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, we shall therefore respect the subsisting high court judgement and await the appellate court decision on the pending motion", he added.
A presidency source, who spoke to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, said the Federal Government had written to a foreign medium, Al Jazeera, demanding a retraction of its story that listed Nigeria as one of the countries represented at the event.

The Presidency officially disclosed that based on the report, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, queried the Nigerian Ambassador to Israel to explain his presence at the event.

The source said, Based on that report, the minister queried the ambassador to explain why he attended the event.

The ambassador has since replied that he was not at the event.

It was on the strength of the ambassadors response that the Federal Government wrote to Al Jazeera to retract its story.

The U.S. on Monday officially relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in a deeply controversial move that angered Palestinians and drew widespread global condemnation.

The ceremony took place amid road closures and heavy police presence in anticipation of Palestinian protests.

It also featured deadly demonstrations in Gaza calling for the refugees right to return to the homes they were forcibly expelled 70 years ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December 2017 declared Jerusalem as Israels capital, a move long sought by Israel, addressed the ceremony via a recorded video message.
Suspected thugs allegedly accompanying Senator Omo-Agege into the Senate chambers had disrupted proceedings carting the mace.

The mace was, however, recovered by the Police even as investigations into the incident is still ongoing.

The National Assembly also constituted an adhoc committee to investigate the matter.

At the hearing on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, chairman of the committee, Bala Ibn NaAllah, said the summon was sequel to the testimonies of the DPO, the SSS and the sergeant at arms at the National Assembly.

The heads of different security agencies within the National Assembly had alleged that Omo-Agege led seven unauthorised personnel into the red chamber and disrupted plenary.

Ndume was also alleged to have hindered the mace keeper from taking away the mace to safer place.

A format of the letter by the NaAllah reads: Based on the testimony of the sergeant at arms before the committee, you (Mr Ndume) are alleged to have prevented the mace keeper from taking away the mace to safety.

The committee has, therefore, deemed it necessary to invite you in order to respond to that allegation.

As regards to Omo-Agege, based on the testimony of the DPO, the SSS and the sergeant at arms, you are alleged to have entered the National Assembly accompanied by seven persons who allegedly took the mace of the Senate during plenary session on April 18, at about 11:30 a.m.

All those who testified, stated that the said people were cleared into the chamber based on your confirmation that they were with you.

The committee, in pursuance of this, has deemed it necessary to formally invite you to respond to these allegations on Wednesday, May 16 at 11:00am.

Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, had described the mace snatching sagaas a disgrace and "an ugly drama, the brigandage and desecration of the National Assembly by those who hold themselves above the law and institutions of our land.
The legislators, who condemned the attack in a motion by Mr Martins Amaewule, representing Obio-Akpor-Constituency 1, during plenary on Monday, May 14, resolved to protect River's democracy from further attacks.

The motion, tagged Motion to condemn violent attack on the Rivers State High Court Complex on May 11, was seconded by Mr Evans Bipi, representing Ogu-Bolo-Constituency.

It will be recalled that on the May, 11, some individuals invaded the Rivers High Court Complex to stop a judicial process on the recently APC local government congress.

The hoodlums allegedly attacked litigants, judicial officers and passersby and destroyed properties.

The legislators also said at the plenary that the House conducted an on-the-spot assessment of the complex and resolved to proffer solutions to checking further breakdown of law by APC in Rivers.

Contributing, Mr Nathaniel Uwaji, representing ONELGA Constituency 2, said there was a need for legislators to align with the prayers as contained in the motion.

He said the prayers among other things included a letter to the United Nations and other important Embassies and High Commissions.

The letter is expected to draw attention of the international community to the security deficiency in the state.

The level of wanton damage on the complex judging by its proximity to the security agencies is so unfortunate.

The Central Police Station and the Directorate of State Security (DSS) office are situated metres away from the judiciary complex.

If the security agencies could not swiftly control such situation, I wonder how safe the governor and residents of the state are, he said.

Reacting to the various contributions by the legislators to the motion, the Speaker, Mr Ikuinyi-Owaji Ibani, representing Andoni Constituency, thanked the members for rising to save the state from intimidation.

For me, an attack on the judiciary is an attack on the people, it is therefore, clear that we now practice a system that could be best described as Lottery Democracy where the judiciary is placed under siege, he said.

ALSO READ: Oshiomhole will be the kind of chairman APC needs

Ibani assured that the members of the House would write to the United Nations among others on the matter.
Soldiers uncovered and successfully detonated three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) buried by the terrorists and also destroyed their camp, logistics and IED factory during the fire fight.

They also recovered eight Dane guns, one G3 magazine, one IED making device, one unexploded ordnance, three tool boxes, three machetes, length of electric cable and a Boko Haram flag.

According to a statement by the Deputy Director of Public Relations of Theatre Command Operation Lafiya Dole, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, the rescued man is currently receiving medical attention at the 192 Battalion Medical Reception Centre.

He said, "Troops of Operation Lafiya Dole have rescued an aged man who was held hostage by element!s of Boko Haram Terrorists group in the remote village of Gobara in Gwoza Local Government Area of Borno state.

"In a rare display of bravery and humaneness, a Platoon Commander of the 192 Battalion, Lieutenant Asajwun Ahmadu rescued and personally carried on his shoulders, the feeble aged man who had been caught up in the exchange of fire between the troops and the insurgents during an offensive to clear insurgents out of their hideout in Gobara on Friday 11 May 2018. The rescued man is currently receiving medical attention at the 192 Battalion Medical Reception Centre.

"During the advance to conduct the offensive at Gobara, the Counter insurgency troops uncovered and successfully detonated three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) buried by Boko Haram insurgents along the axis of advance at Damboa bridge, Fadakwe and Fadakwe Christian respectively.

"In the offensive, the gallant troops killed two insurgents and destroyed their camp, logistics and IED factory during the fire fight.

"The troops also recovered 8 Dane guns, one G3 Magazine, one IED making device, one Unexploded Ordnance, three Tool boxes, three machetes, Length of electric cable and a Boko Haram flag."

Colonel Nwachukwu also disclosed that troops have exploited further to clear Shiyadawe, Shiyadawe Bulama and Shiyadawe Fulani, all in Gwoza LGA.

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under Abubakar Shekau'sleadership, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 -- Facebook said Monday that it has suspended around 200 apps for possible misuse of data after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised in March to launch full app investigation and audit in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Ime Archibong, vice president of Product Partnerships at Facebook, said in a blog that the apps, which he did not specify in detail, will be subject to a thorough investigation as to whether they did in fact misuse any data.

"Facebook will investigate all the apps that had access to large amounts of information before...significantly reducing the data apps could access," he wrote.

He said Facebook's investigation process is in full swing and a comprehensive review is being conducted "to identify every app that had access to this amount of Facebook data."

Archibong said any app running on the platform that either refused or failed an audit would be banned from Facebook. If any of the investigated apps or other apps was found to have misused data, Facebook will ban them and notify their owners at Facebook's website.

"It will show people if they or their friends installed an app that misused data before 2015 -- just as we did for Cambridge Analytica," Archibong said.

Cambridge Analytica, a British data analysis company, was accused of illegally accessing the data of some 87 million Facebook users for its political data analysis allegedly connected with U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

But the British company has denied misusing Facebook data for the Trump campaign, and announced closure of all its operations in March.

"The company is immediately ceasing all operations" and bankruptcy proceedings would soon begin, it said in a statement on March 2.
According to Channels Television, the Vice-President is in the state to assess the security situation in the state.

Several residents of Benue state have been killed by Fulani herdsmen in different attacks.

FG approves N10b

Osinbajo also revealed that the National Executive Council (NEC) has approved the sum of N10b for the rebuilding of the areas that were affected by the Fulani herdsmen attacks.

The Vice President said this Osinbajo at the Abagena Internally Displaced Peoples' (IDPs) along Makurdi-Lafia road, Daily Trust reports.

He said "All of these must be funded; so, the President approved some money at the Food Security Council to rebuild where there have been destruction in the country including Benue. N10 billion had been approved for that and we will begin work as soon as possible so you (IDPs) could rebuild your lives again.

Osinbajo said that the Federal Government will focus its work on rebuilding schools and homes.

He also added farmlands will be restored, as well as security re-inforcement.

Relative calm

The Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom, on his part, said that the state is experiencing relative calm.

According to him, the state has been peaceful following the deployment of additional troops to the troubled areas.

He therefore called for more security operatives to be deployed to the state, so farmers can return to their farms.

ALSO READ: 2Face Idibia Singer is fed up with the herdsmen clash in Benue state

Troops supporting Fulani herdsmen

Meanwhile, the President of the Mzough U Tiv (MUT), Chief Edward Ujege has alleged that the troops deployed to the state have ulterior motives.

Ujege accused the security operatives of shielding Fulani herdsmen.

The Nigerian Army however denied allegations that its men in Benue state are biased.

The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, 707 Special Forces Brigade,Major Olabisi Olalekan Ayeni said the allegation is false.
He said there was no hitch during the process adding that the election was for a particular people and not a general election.

However, Gov. Rochas Okorocha of Imo and his supporters boycotted the congress and insisted that a fresh date for ward congress should be fixed before LG congress.

The governor, while addressing his loyalists on Sunday, announced that there would be no LG congress in the state until the crisis of the ward congress was rectified.

Okorocha also in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Sam Onwuemeodo, on Monday in Owerri asked the loyal party members to relax , assuring them that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party would fix new dates for the ward and LG congresses of the party in the state.

He noted that the sensitives materials meant for the ward congresses of the party in Imo were stolen making the exercise not to take place on Saturday.

The National Chairman of the party, Chief John Oyegun had also told Nigerians that the local government congresses of the party will be on hold pending the outcome of the report of the Appeal panel on Imo ward congresses.

And since that public statement by the national chairman, he has not made any additional statement to that effect or any other statement in the contrary.

NAN recalls that the APC congress election was fixed for last Saturday, but was later postponed to Monday following an advice by the party national leadership over attack on party members and setting of the party office on fire by hoodlums.

NAN correspondent who monitored the congress in some LGAs in the state reports that there was huge turnout and the process peaceful.

In Obowo, Ehime/Mbano, Onuimo, Owerri Municipal and Isiala/Mbano LGAs, the congress was successful with heavy security presence.

ALSO READ: Hoodlums allegedly set APC office in Imo on fire

In Mbaitoli LGA, the officials arrived on time and the exercise commenced peacefully.

Speaking to newsmen, Chief Tony Amadi, who won the party chairmanship in Mbaitoli LGA said, with this victory, I am now an authorized delegate of the party.

In Ihitte Uboma, the congress commenced at about 8:45 am and ended at about 3:30pm.

A party faithful, Mr Emeka Ahaneku told newsmen that the process was peaceful.

At Ihitte Uboma LGA, the congress of our dear party held, he said, adding, it was not disrupted by anybody.

The state chairman, Eke described the congress as the smoothest that ever happened in the state.

The party is supreme. Any party congress organized by the constituted authorities is final.
The Senate had suspended Omo-Agege for 90-legislative days over matters related to the reordering of elections.

Omo-Agege headed to court and he had the Senate decision overturned on Thursday, May 10, 2018.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, in a ruling, said the Senate can only suspend an erring lawmaker for 14 legislative days.

The Senate appealed the ruling by Justice Dimgba.

Speaking to , Omo-Agege said he would resume plenary today.

In a statement by its spokesman, Sabi Aliyu Abdullahi, the Senate noted that it would await the judgment on the matter before its next line of action.

The Senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursday judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not, the statement said.

We have equally filed an appeal against the judgement of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgement at the Court of Appeal.

As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the Senate has decided that it will comply with the judgement of the Federal High Court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.

The Senate has been advised that since the motion for stay of execution of the Thursday (May 10, 2018) judgement shall be heard and possibly determined on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, we shall therefore respect the subsisting High Court judgement and await the appellate court decision on the pending motion, it added.

Omo-Agege and the Mace

On Wednesday, April 13, 2018, thugs allegedly accompanying Senator Omo-Agege invaded the Senate and carted the mace  the symbol of authority of the upper legislative chamber.

Senator Omo-Agege was arrested after plenary but denied involvement in the mace theft.

The Delta lawmaker got a court injunctionpreventing him from being arrested.

Some "Delta indigenes" had called for a reversal of Omo-Ageges suspension from the Senate.
After the mace disappeared, police officers arrested Omo-Agege, but he was set free barely a few hours after because not a soul at police headquarters could pin the crime on him.

Omo-Agege will most probably make an entrance into the national assembly in his favorite three piece suit, share a laugh or two with some of his colleagues who still care about him and head for his seat. Unflustered.

Because Omo-Agege always has this ice cold demeanour about him. He smiles when he wants to, looks mean when he wants to and orders thugs to allegedly steal the symbol of authority of the senate when he wants to.

Outside, his 'boys' will be monitoring events to ensure he's unharmed.

Omo-Agege doesnt care what anyone thinks of him. Omo-Agege plays by his own rules and by his own rules only.

Challenging suspension in court

After he was suspended, Omo-Agege headed for the courtroom to challenge his suspension. He was having none of it.

On Thursday, May 10, 2018, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Federal High Court, Abuja, ruled that the senate erred when it suspended Omo-Agege for more than 14 legislative days.

The Judge also ordered the immediate reinstatement of Omo-Agege and nullified his suspension by the senate.

Senate accepts court judgment

On Monday, May 14, 2018, the senate announced that it has accepted the decision of the court, even though it was going to appeal the judgment.

"The senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursday judgement of the federal high court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not", senate spokesperson Sabi Abdullahi wrote in a statement.

"We have equally filed an appeal against the judgement of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgement at the court of appeal.

"As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the senate has decided that it will comply with the judgement of the federal high court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.

Security beefed up at national assembly

It is on the basis of the aforementioned judgment that Omo-Agege will return to the senate today.

Reports say security has been beefed round the senate ahead of the senators return.

NAN writes that: Strengthening of security arrangement at the complex, especially around the senate chambers is to forestall likely security breach as recorded on April 18, when some hoodlums stormed the chambers and made away with the mace.

Apart from full security detail in the chamber of the red chamber on Monday, police officers were seen at the lobby leading into the chamber, a development that is unusual on a non-sitting day.

Sergeants-at-Arms were also seen in clusters discussing in hush tones, and apparently perfecting the security beef-up.

Some staff of the assembly, who pleaded anonymity, told NAN that the development was not unconnected with the expected return of Omo-Agege to the chamber on Tuesday after the court judgment in his favour.

They confirmed that the move is to check likely break down of law and order as experienced when the mace was forcefully taken away.

Just keep the mace far away from him

Don't expect the mace to disappear again just because Omo-Agege is back at the national assembly.

Of course a handful of senators will hate the very sight of Omo-Agege today. But that wont stop the senator who is reportedly in the good books of the presidency, from contributing during plenary.
The campaign period, like the preceding three years of unrest triggered by Nkurunziza's controversial but ultimately successful run for a third term, has been marked by intimidation and abuse, say human rights groups.

Opposition parties were allowed to rally for the first time since the start of the political crisis in 2015, drawing massive crowds during their "no" campaigns.

But critics say this was merely to provide a veneer of inclusivity.

"People seen as opposed to the referendum have been killed, kidnapped, beaten up, illegally arrested and held by state agents," the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said Tuesday.

Some 4.8 million people, or a little under half the population, have signed up to vote, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which is running the referendum.

The changes will be adopted if more than 50 percent of cast ballots are in favour.

The vote is taking place in tightly-controlled conditions, and a presidential decree ruled earlier this month that anyone advising voters to boycott the vote risks up to three years in jail.

Small country, big problems

The tiny central African nation, with an equally small economy, has struggled to recover from a brutal and destructive civil war from 1993-2006 that left more than 300,000 people dead.

A peace deal, signed in the Tanzanian city of Arusha in 2000, paved the way to ending the fighting and included a provision that no leader could serve more than two five-year terms.

Nkurunziza circumvented that clause by running for a third term in 2015 that critics said was unconstitutional. A crackdown on opponents of his bid prompted a crisis that has seen 1,200 people killed and 400,000 flee their homes.

The violence and abuses are being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) while a sustained campaign against the press has forced most independent journalists to leave the country.

Nkurunziza -- a fervent Christian who believes he has a God-given right to rule and was recently declared "visionary" by his CNDD-FDD party -- now wants to rewrite the constitution and extend term lengths to seven years.

This would allow him to start again from scratch after the 2020 elections.

Other reforms weaken constitutional constraints over the feared national intelligence agency and allow the revision of ethnic quotas seen as crucial to peace after the war.

The new constitution also gets rid of one of two vice-presidents and shifts powers from the government to the president.

Burundi's exiled opposition, gathered in an alliance called CNARED, has called for a boycott of the referendum, which it describes as the "death knell" to the 2000 agreement that helped end the bloody civil war.

The government has accused dissidents, and neighbouring countries, of planning to undermine the referendum and has deployed military units to areas bordering Rwanda to the north and Congo to the west.

Earlier this month Burundi's press regulator suspended broadcasts by the BBC and Voice of America (VOA) and warned other radio stations, including Radio France International (RFI), against spreading "tendentious and misleading" information.

African 'third term-ism'

Amending constitutions to stay in power while holding the regular elections that foreign donors demand is a popular tactic among African leaders.

Uganda's Yoweri Museveni changed the law in 2005 before running successfully for a third term. The 73-year-old has since removed age limits and is expected to run for a sixth term in 2021.

Cameroon's Paul Biya followed Museveni's lead in 2008 and remains in power today, as does Djibouti's Ismael Omar Guelleh who removed term limits in 2010.

In Rwanda, Paul Kagame in 2015 changed the constitution and is now set to rule until 2034 while Congo-Brazzaville's Denis Sassou Nguesso also pushed through the removal of term limits the same year.

Zambia's Edgar Lungu is trying the third term gambit, while in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila has simply refused to hold elections since the end of his constitutional terms 18 months ago.
"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions," she told AFP Tuesday from inside Farah.

Afghan officials said police special forces from Kandahar and commandos from Herat had also been deployed.

"(The Taliban) will fail," vowed interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish, who said both Afghan and foreign air forces were taking part in the fighting.

There was no immediate confirmation from NATO's mission in Kabul.

Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said at least 10 insurgents and two Afghan security force members had been killed so far.

"The situation is under control and will change by the end of the day," he said.

But inside the city residents reported clashes were continuing. "The situation is very bad," Satar Hissaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP.

"Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said.

"NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban."

Another provincial council member, Dadullah Qani, confirmed Hissaini's comments, the sound of gunfire and explosions audible as he spoke to an AFP reporter by telephone.

The noise has "filled the city", said one resident who gave his name as Bilal, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS.

At least some militants have been hiding in residential houses, making it difficult for Afghan forces to use heavy weapons, Farah governor Abdul Basir Salangi told Ariana News, adding: "But still we are taking back positions one by one".

The insurgents released a statement warning residents to stay inside their homes and "stay calm". They have also been posting images on social media they claim shows them inside the city.

Many radio and television channels in the province have stopped broadcasting, fearing for their employees' lives, according to media watchdog Nai.

Growing threat

The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture from the government.

Farah is a poppy-growing province in an isolated region of Afghanistan. There are plans for a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline to traverse it, a project the Taliban have pledged to cooperate with.

But it has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017 insurgents tried three times to overrun the capital, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

As such Tuesday's offensive "should not have taken government forces off guard," Afghan military analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail told AFP.

Amarkhail added that "even ordinary citizens were aware of the Taliban gradually taking over more areas and becoming a formidable force in the province".

He accused the government and military leadership of "turning a blind eye" until the insurgents actually entered the city.

Afghan troops and police nationwide have struggled to hold back the resurgent Taliban since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014.

The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, with the Afghan army deploying significant numbers of troops to hold those cities.

Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth largest city and capital of the northern province of the same name, fell briefly to the Taliban in 2015.
The killing drew international condemnation.

The 50-year-old journalist was one of the most prominent chroniclers of Mexico's deadly drug war in a state where Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, now imprisoned in the United States, once reigned.

Protesters will mark the first anniversary of his death with a series of marches around the country -- the main one in Culiacan -- calling on the authorities to punish those responsible and stop the wave of violence against journalists in Mexico.

"This tribute, these events, this national day of protest is about reminding people that this murder happened, that it shouldn't go unpunished, that there must be justice," said Valdez's longtime colleague and Riodoce co-founder, Ismael Bojorquez.

"Let it be a message to those who order these crimes that they can be punished," Bojorquez, the paper's current editor, told AFP.

Valdez was among at least 11 journalists murdered in Mexico last year, making it the deadliest country in the world for the press after Syria, according to watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

Since 2000, more than 100 journalists have been murdered nationwide.

The killings are rarely punished, like more than 90 percent of violent crimes in Mexico.

Racked by brutal violence linked to the multi-billion-dollar narcotics trade, the country posted a record number of homicides last year: 25,339.

Killed for asking questions

Asking questions about powerful drug cartels or government corruption can be a deadly job in Mexico.

After nearly a year of silence on the investigation into Valdez's death, authorities arrested a first suspect last month.

According to investigators, Valdez was likely a victim of the internal power struggle that erupted in the Sinaloa cartel after "El Chapo" Guzman was extradited to the United States in January 2017.

With Guzman cut off from the world in solitary confinement in New York, the cartel's leadership structure began to unravel.

Guzman's right-hand man, Damaso "The Graduate" Lopez Nunez, went to war with the kingpin's sons, Ivan Archivaldo and Alfredo Guzman Salazar.

In February 2017, Valdez scored a rare interview with Lopez Nunez, who denied responsibility for a recent attempt on the Guzman brothers' lives.

But something in it rubbed "The Graduate" the wrong way. The day the interview came out, someone bought up every single copy of Riodoce and carted them away.

"I think our editorial mistakes began with the interview of Damaso," said Bojorquez.

"We had a long-standing policy that we shouldn't interview capos, but we made an exception, and it was a mistake. Because they think you're just going to publish whatever they tell you to."

Three months later, the award-winning journalist and father of three was dead.

Investigators say a witness told them three hitmen for Lopez Nunez confessed to the crime at a party, showing off specially engraved pistols they received as a reward.

One of the three, nicknamed "The Koala," was arrested last month.

Another is in prison for a different crime and expected to be charged soon in Valdez's killing. The third was found burned to death in an abandoned car in September.

Case not closed

Protesters in Culiacan will march to the Sinaloa state prosecutor's office to demand justice.

"Until both the killers and those who ordered the murder have been arrested and sentenced, this case will not be closed. That will be our permanent, constant demand," said Valdez's widow, Griselda Triana, who has left Culiacan with her family for their safety but returned for Tuesday's march.

Valdez and another acclaimed journalist murdered last year, Miroslava Breach, were honored last month with a new journalism prize launched in their honor by the United Nations and AFP.
"The active involvement of the Security Council is essential to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis," Haley said.

"We have unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, and we must use them," she said, without specifying if she meant sanctions.

Haley said the council should "move quickly to adopt a resolution," while acknowledging the inherent challenges as "some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons."

She was apparently referring to China, which has resisted a British-led push at the council to increase pressure on Myanmar to try those responsible for attacks on the Rohingya.

Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh since August to escape a bloody military crackdown.
Owino took to his social media pages to inform his supporters of the meeting with Jimmy as well as the Portuguese Ambassador Luisa Fragoso.

In the spirit of the ongoing national building bridges initiative that was started off by President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA leader Raila Odinga, Owino said he had met with Jimmy to discuss empowering the great people of Embakasi East and Kenya.

"I met Jimmy Kibaki earlier today and discussed matters national interest especially the need for a united nation," Owino wrote.

Weeks ago, Owino said he had ended his beef with President Kenyatta in the new found unity that has swept the country and he publicly shook hands with the Head of State during and after the State of the Nation address in parliament.

Read Also: Njoki Chege pens down surprising letter to Babu Owino

Most of the Kenyans praised his new mature style of politics after the unity deal struck by Kenyatta and Odinga.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Purdue University researchers have developed detection technology that allows a typical smartphone to analyze produce for foodborne pathogens such as E. coli O157:H7, which has been linked to a deadly outbreak in romaine lettuce.

The technology involves both hardware  a smartphone cradle  and software in the form of an application that is downloaded on the phone. The combination allows the smartphone to be used as an on-site luminometer, an instrument used to measure light.

The lettuce or other produce is rinsed with an enrichment liquid containing a modified phage, a virus for bacteria. The phage then infects harmful foodborne bacteria so that when a substrate is added, they emit light, which is detected by the smartphones camera through the downloaded app and a green dot appears on the screen.

The cradle on the phone maximizes the photon collection by using diffusive reflection material to help capture a maximum amount of light, which may not be visible by the naked eye.

This technology could be used on a farm or in a food processing factory to provide on-the-spot detection, said Euiwon Bae, a senior research scientist in the Purdue School of Mechanical Engineering, who developed the technology along with Bruce Applegate, a professor in the Purdue Department of Food Science. This rapid detection is critical for getting safe produce to consumers.

The smartphone technology, coupled with the phage, helps reduce the typical amount of time it takes to test food samples for possible foodborne illnesses. The current process involves gathering a physical sample and then shipping it to a lab and waiting several days for the results.

The Food and Drug Administration estimates there are about 48 million cases of foodborne illness annually in the U.S.  the equivalent of sickening one in six Americans each year. These illnesses result in an estimated 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. Foodborne illnesses have been in the spotlight recently because of the deadly E. coli O157:H7 outbreak tied to romaine lettuce.

The special phage used with the smartphone technology was developed by Applegate and is being commercialized by Phicrobe, a Purdue University-affiliated startup founded by Applegate. The phage technology can be used to detect not only E. coli O157:H7, a harmful and potentially deadly strain, but also other foodborne pathogens that cause Listeria and Salmonella infection outbreaks. The phage technology also has applications for detecting contaminants in water.

Its sort of like reprogramming a computer, Applegate said. We take the technology and manipulate it to detect various harmful pathogens that are present.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided some funding for the technology research, and part of the research was conducted by the Purdue Center for Food Safety Engineering. A patent application has been filed by the Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, and the technology is available for licensing.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org. The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University.

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Chris Adam, 765-588-3341, cladam@prf.org



Sources: Euiwon Bae, ebae@purdue.edu

Bruce Applegate, applegab@purdue.edu
A recent report issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) forecast a 6.7 percent growth to the Chinese economy in 2018, saying there would be no hard landing.

Issued in Beijing on Monday, the report said that Chinas economy will remain stable with relatively fast growth, optimized economic structure and steady progress of employment.

The report believes that China will see a growing ratio of the service sector in its economy, a steady growth in consumption, stable trade surpluses and a rise in household income.

Chinas economy has become more competent in resisting external impacts as the country has entered high-quality economic development. With the maturing of the governments economic regulation, the growth in each quarter is not likely to fluctuate a huge amount.

The report pointed out that further recovery of the global economy has resulted in the growth of total demand, and Chinas stable economic performance with good momentum for growth will keep serving as solid support to its foreign trade.

In addition, Chinas enterprises, which are actively joining emerging industries of strategic importance, will help China export more high value products.

It is predicted that, given stable US dollars and RMB, Chinese exports priced in dollars will achieve a 9.5-percent growth to nearly $2.5 trillion in 2018.
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COLOMBIA: Commercial freight trains resumed operation on two sections of the countrys Red Ferrea de Atlantico on May 8, following an extensive state-funded rehabilitation programme.
For more than one year, Chinese museums have been displaying ancient cultural treasures from Afghanistan with the aim of protecting them before they are shipped to another country for exhibition.

The 2,000-year-old treasures belong to the National Museum of Afghanistan, which used to be home to over 100,000 cultural relics. But during wars from 1990 to 2001, the artifacts were severely damaged. To protect them, the Afghan government decided to relocate them, and it wasn't until 2003 that they were retrieved by archeologists.

Since 2016, the treasures have been exhibited around the world, in countries such as France, Italy, the Netherlands, the US, Australia and Japan.

In March 2017, they came to the Palace Museum in Beijing, China.

The stable social environment and sound museum equipment in countries such as China have made the Afghan side believe that bringing the treasures as part of a worldwide exhibition is a good way to protect them, said a person in charge of the current exhibition surnamed Li.

The treasures were scheduled to be shipped to another country after the three-month exhibition ended, but due to unforeseen circumstances, the original plan was cancelled.

Without the presence of another host country, the relics would have had to be sent back to Afghanistan where the situation is currently unstable, leaving their fate unknown.

To avoid the risk of the world cultural heritage items becoming damaged, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China and the Palace Museum decided to keep the artifacts in the Palace Museum temporarily.

From there, the treasures have been respectively exhibited in southwest Chinas Chongqing and Chengdu cities. In Chengdu, the exhibition was visited by 500,000 people in three months, which was one fifth of the total number of visitors recorded in 23 museums around the world.

On the opening day of the show on Feb. 1, Mohammad Fahim Rahimi, Director of the National Museum of Afghanistan, came to Chengdu to express his gratitude to the Chinese museum.

The exhibition in Chengdu is a gift given to our Chinese friends. Even during such a difficult time, we've managed to protect our cultural heritage objects, Rahimi said, adding that the Afghan archeological and cultural circles feel very proud that these representative cultural treasures are loved by the Chinese public.

To make this exhibition different from the previous shows in Beijing and Chongqing, Chengdu Museum highlighted the fate of the artifacts, and expressed its confidence in Afghanistan to walk away from war and chaos.

Now, more Chinese museums have joined the effort to protect the Afghan pieces. According to the plan, the items will be sent to Zhengzhou in central China, Shenzhen in southern China, and Hunan province in central China for exhibitions lasting until December.

Rahimi disclosed that Afghanistan still faces challenges to protect cultural relics, such as a lack of money, low level of technology and scientific research, and severe shortage of professional equipment and talent which restricts the restoration process.

The director hopes China and other countries will continue to help the Afghan people take care of these treasures.

Many Chinese institutions, such as Art Exhibitions China, are currently looking for willing cultural and exhibition organizations to offer shelter to the antiques. Even though hosting such exhibitions costs them money, they would prefer not to send the relics back to Afghanistan.

Liu Yuzhu, head of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said efforts are underway to construct the first international cultural relics shelter in China. He encourages more state-level museums and cultural relics protection organizations to actively take part in the efforts and shoulder their international responsibilities.
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Ulmart co-owner Kostygin ordered to pay Globex bank $240,000

 RIA Novosti, Alexey Kudenko

14:26 15/05/2018

ST. PETERSBURG, May 15 (RAPSI, Mikhail Telekhov)  The Petrogradsky District Court of St. Petersburg has collected 15 million rubles ($240,000) from a co-owner of Russian Internet retailer Ulmart Dmitry Kostygin in favor of Globex bank, the United press service of St. Petersburg courts has told RAPSI.

The court also granted the banks claims against Ulmart, Ulmart Development and Ulmart Food Shopping Company and recovered 412.6 million rubles in total from the firms.

The plaintiff claimed that Kostygin and Ulmart failed to enforcing obligations under a surety agreement signed in January 2017.

Currently, Kostygin also stands charged with large-scale credit fraud.

According to case papers, the businessman acting as the Board Chairman of Ulmart provided false information on the companys financial position to Sberbank for signing a loan agreement. In April, Sberbank transferred 1 billion rubles ($17.3 million at the current exchange rate) to the companys account. The accused allegedly managed the money in his discretion.

The defendant pleaded not guilty, his lawyer Konstantin Dobrynin told RAPSI earlier.

Earlier, the Smolninsky District Court of St. Petersburg granted an application by Sberbank seeking to invalidate the contract concluded between Kostygin and businessman Oleg Morozov, on the basis of which a bankruptcy petition was filed against Ulmart.

In February 2015, Ulmart received a 250-millionruble credit from Kostygin for a year. In early 2016, Kostygin assigned his right to claim a debt to Morozov. The businessman in turn filed a bankruptcy petition against Ulmart with a commercial court because the company did not pay the debt.

Moreover, the Dzerzhinsky District Court of St. Petersburg collected 653 million rubles ($11.3 million) in debt from Kostygin in favor of VTB bank.

Ulmart group of companies is the largest Russian private Internet holding focusing on e-commerce segment. The companys distribution network consists of over 400 sales outlets across more than 240 Russian cities and towns.
State Duma MPs back penalties for compliance with anti-Russian sanctions

 RIA Novosti, Vladimir Fedorenko

16:00 15/05/2018

MOSCOW, May 15 (RAPSI)  The State Duma adopted a draft law on punishment for abiding by and support of anti-Russian sanctions in the country's territory in the first reading on Tuesday, the statement published on the website of the parliaments lower house reads.

Under the bill, actions or inactivity aimed to adhere to sanctions imposed by foreign states against Russian nationals and companies would result in fines of up to 600,000 rubles (about $10,000), supervised release, community service or imprisonment for up to 4 years.

Moreover, the draft law stipulates punishment for deliberate acts contributing to imposition of sanctions against Russia. Thus, Russian citizens would face fines of up to 500,000 rubles, supervised release for up to 3 years, detention for up to 6 months or prison sentence for up to 3 years with a 200,000-ruble fine for such actions.

The bill was drafted by the State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin, Chair of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko and leaders of all parties of the parliaments lower house. Amendments are proposed to the Criminal Code of Russia.




Number of complaints from Russia does not exceed European average  ECHR judge

15:07 15/05/2018

ST. PETERSBURG, May 15 (RAPSI)  The number of complaints from Russia filed with the European Court of Human Rights does not exceed European average, ECHR judge Angelika Nussberger said during a constitutional conference of the VIII Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum (LF) on Tuesday.

Nussberger added that ECHR does not entertain 70% of Russian applications.

More than 120 representatives of Constitutional and Supreme courts representing 40 states and international organizations took part in the conference held at the LF on Tuesday.

The VIII Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum (LF) began on May 15. The conference annually brings together heads of the leading legal firms, chief legal officers from major companies, judges, representatives of state regulators, international organizations, legal schools and entrepreneurship from different countries. Over 4,200 participants representing 90 countries will take part in the Forum in 2018. The conference organized by Russias Justice Ministry will be held until May 19.
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China has for the first time invited international white hat hackers to test its latest cyber defense system, which successfully withstood over 500,000 attacks with no failure.

Hosted by the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) and Nanjing government, the unique hacker challenge, which ran from May 10 to 12 in Nanjing, eastern Chinas Jiangsu province, tested the nations first set of equipment designed and manufactured under Cyber Mimic Defense (CMD)  an original theory proposed by CAE academician Wu Jiangxing in 2008.

This marked the first international hacking competition on Chinas actual cyber defense system, making it stand out among capture the flag (CTF) competitions in which each team attacks other teams while defending their own.

By setting up multiple sets of servers  like an octopus with tentacles, the special CMD system is able to continue defending even with glitches such as vulnerabilities and backdoors, which are currently a dangerous menace to almost all cyber facilities.

According to Wu, the system could only break if all hackers launched an attack on the same part of the system at the exact same time. However, the probability of such an attack is low. Just like the consensus protocol used in blockchain technology: the larger the population, the harder it is to reach consensus, he explained in an interview on Saturday on the sideline of the challenge.

As Wu predicted, the 22 elite hacking teams from China, Japan, Russia, Poland, and Ukraine failed to hack the CMD system, which consisted of web servers, routers, firewalls, and domains, all of which are commercially available products.

During the three-day challenge, white hat hackers were first put under black box testing when they tried to break into the system, with no hints or tips offered. They then conducted white box testing when Trojans and backdoors were authorized to be put inside the CMD system.

No team was able to completely break the full system, because all hacking teams launched their attacks under traditional cyber defense theories. That is also why we say CMD is a game-changing theory. The cybersecurity condition is no longer an easy, weak target. It can now hold its ground and is rather hard to break, the academician said.
VIENTIANE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Laos has pledged to enhance across-the-board practical cooperation with China and further deepen Laos-China comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.

Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi in Vientiane, capital of Laos, May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

The pledge came when Bounnhang Vorachit, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met separately with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi here on Monday.

Noting that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, made a successful visit to Laos last year, Zhao said the leaders of the two parties and the two countries have reached important consensus on jointly building the China-Laos community of shared future with strategic importance.

China is willing to work with Laos to follow the consensus, strengthen strategic communication, enhance synergy of development strategies and expand practical cooperation, he said, adding that China and Laos are friendly socialist neighbors with ever deepening time-honored traditional friendship.

Zhao also called for jointly safeguarding the security of major projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and continuously improving the bilateral law enforcement and security cooperation, so as to move forward the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

The Lao leaders congratulated China on its achievements made under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, and expressed willingness to join hands with China to promote practical cooperation in various fields and deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.
It further asked the government to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.

The Board of state-owned Allahabad Bank on Tuesday divested its MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian, bottom, left, of all powers with immediate effect, following a directive from the finance ministry after she was named in the CBI's chargesheet in PNB fraud case.

Ananthasubramanian, was the CMD of Punjab National Bank till May 2017.

The finance ministry on Monday had asked the boards of Allahabad Bank and PNB to take action against Ananthasubramanian and two executive directors of PNB.

The PNB had on Monday divested its two executive directors of all powers.

"...the Board of Directors of the Bank in its meeting held on date has decided that Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD & CEO be divested of all functional responsibilities of the Bank with immediate effect...," Allahabad Bank said in a regulatory filing.

It further asked the government to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.

The CBI on Monday filed its first chargesheet in the PNB fraud case detailing the roles of Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal Modi and Subhash Parab, an executive in Nirav Modi's company.

Meanwhile, PNB on Tuesday said that its total liability works out to Rs 14,356.84 crore on account of the fraud allegedly carried out by jewellery designer Nirav Modi and associates.

The fraud was detected at PNB's Brady House branch in Mumbai involving certain accounts under 'gems and jewellery' sector wherein, through apparent connivance between "these entities and few employees of the bank", some LoUs/FLCs were issued fraudulently to certain overseas branches of Indian banks through misuse of the SWIFT messaging system.

Photograph: Kind courtesy, Business Standard
There has been strong opposition from organisations influential with the government against approval to GM foods.

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the environment ministry had at its latest meeting in March called for more field demonstrations of genetically modified (GM) mustard.

To be done over a five-acre area in two or three different locations, for more data on honey bees and other pollinators, and on soil microbial diversity.

The applicants have also been directed to submit a detailed protocol on the demonstrations.

Those opposed to GM foods have objected, saying any data from improper testing would be inadequate and objectionable.

GEAC had several representations in favour and against GM mustard.

At its meeting in March, it directed the applicants for GM mustard, in this case the Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants under the University of Delhi, for more field demonstrations. The meetings minutes were recently made public.

What is field demonstration in regulatory parlance? Where is it present in the guidelines? Why is GEAC yet again asking the applicant to submit a detailed protocol for consideration and approval? Doesnt GEAC have the expertise and guidelines for these tests? Will the tests be conducted with herbicide usage, as is going to the reality questioned Kavitha Kuruganti, co-convenor of the Coalition for a GM-Free India.

Adding: You are not addressing critical issues being raised. Just asking the applicant to undertake a field demonstration for data generation is inadequate and objectionable.

Last year around the same time, the Committee had approved commercial release of GM mustard.

It was put on hold pending formal clearance from the minister, who wanted further tests to settle the issue.

There has been strong opposition from organisations influential with the government against approval to GM foods.

An official panel on the official aim to double farmers income by 2022 had, in a recently released report, said genetic engineering was a powerful tool.

However, for now, it should be adopted only for non-food crops. For food crops, questions on its safety should be addressed and settled at the earliest, it had recommended.

Photograph: Anindito Mukherjee/Reuters
US retailer Gap Inc. apologized on Monday for selling a T-shirt with an incorrect map of China, saying it respects Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity and would avoid similar incidences in the future.

Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. Weve learned that a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologize for this unintentional error, it said in a statement posted on its Weibo account on Monday.

It added that the product has been pulled off shelves and destroyed.

The apology came after a Weibo user posted pictures of the T-shirt online, saying that Chinese territories, including Tibet, Taiwan, and the South China Sea Islands, were omitted from the map. The T-shirt was reportedly being sold at an outlet in Canada.

However, many Chinese net users are not buying the apology, and have accused the US apparel company of deliberating trying to separate China.

It was intentional, said a net user. One response to that comment accused foreign companies doing business in China of taking Chinese peoples money while trying to split the country.

The reason some Chinese netizens believe that it was intentional is because all of the other T-shirts in the City T-Shirt in Jersey range: San Francisco, Paris, Japan, and Canada are decorated with national flags rather than a fake map.

Gap is not the first foreign company to apologize for failing to respect Chinas core interests. Earlier this year, Marriott International apologized for referring to Tibet and Taiwan as countries. We absolutely will not support any separatist organization that will undermine Chinas sovereignty and territorial integrity, Marriott said in a statement. Weeks later, Mercedes-Benz apologized for quoting the Dalai Lama on Instagram.

China has stressed that sovereignty and territorial integrity is Chinas core interests, and respecting Chinas core interests is the bottom line for companies doing business in the country.
Presently director at the Indian Council of Agricultural Researchs Sugarcane Breeding Centre in Coimbatore, Bakshi Ram's next target is to improve both cane yields and sucrose content in cane varieties cultivated beyond the Vindhyas in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as also Maharashtra.

The countrys sugar sector is staring at an unprecedented glut, with the years output topping 31 million tonnes, far above domestic consumption and at prices well below the (state-set) cost of production.

More and more mills are finding it difficult to make payment for sugarcane to farmers, especially in the politically sensitive state of Uttar Pradesh.

At the heart of the surplus lies a new variety of cane called CO-0238. It occupies over half the cane area in northern India, from a mere 3 per cent in 2012-13 when it was first recommended by the UP government.

However, the man behind the wonder variety, Bakshi Ram, bottom, left, isnt willing to settle at this.

Presently director at the Indian Council of Agricultural Researchs Sugarcane Breeding Centre in Coimbatore, his next target is to improve both cane yields and sucrose content in cane varieties cultivated beyond the Vindhyas in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as also Maharashtra.

My work with north Indian cane farmers has made is easy to convince southern mills to adopt newer varieties. I am sure that in the next three years, recovery (of sugar from cane) will jump in South India as well, particularly in Tamil Nadu, he said.

Bakshi Ram is no ordinary plant breeder. In the past decade or so, he has released no less than 14 sugarcane varieties, mostly in north India - some highly successful and some with moderate degrees of success and acceptability among farmers.

Of these, C0-0238 has been a super-hit, both among farmers and millers. It gives a higher per hectare yield than other varieties and also has higher sucrose content. The former benefits farmers and the latter gladdens millers.

A gold medallist in agriculture science for his graduate and postgraduate degree, sugarcane research didnt come naturally to Ram.

I hardly knew a word on it when I first joined the Sugarcane Breeding Institute in Coimbatore in 1986, he says.

For six months, says Ram, he sat in the Institutes library and read almost everything about the crop.

The wealth of knowledge he gained helped him understand two basic things about the crop.

The first was that cane grown in sub-tropical India (that is in most of north India, comprising UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Haryana) was thinner than those grown in tropical India.

Second, that cane yield is negatively proportionate to sucrose content.

Bakshi Ram took it upon himself to change these. For 21 years, starting 1986 (except for seven year gap in between for higher studies), Ram worked on cane varieties at both Coimbatore and Karnal (Regional Centre for Sugarcane Breeding) to develop varieties which challenged the established conventions.

It takes 12-13 years to identify, develop and release a cane variety at the national level.

I released my first variety, CO-98014, in 2007 and several more thereafter. But, it was CO-0238 which was liked by farmers the most and cultivated in a big way, he says.

CO-0238 was first tested in the cane mills of Simbhaoli and also DSCL Ajbapur, in Uttar Pradesh.

After DSCL opted out, Simbhaoli continued showing interest in the variety and convinced farmers in its area to grow the cane.

Later, Indian Sugar Mills Association joined in and conducted fields trials at 22 mills spread across UP, Bihar, Haryana and Uttarakhand.

This gave confidence to sugar factories to adopt CO-0238 in a big way.

The multi-location field trials enabled the cane to cross UPs borders and become a national talking point. Else, it would have remained confined to UP, Ram said.

In 2012, once the UP government started recommending the variety, its acceptability among farmers zoomed. From 3 per cent of the sown area in 2012-13, it occupied 52 per cent of all cane area in UP during the current, 2017-18, season.

For years, I didnt leave office on time and worked even on Sundays to devote time on the sugarcane varieties. So much so that my kids call sugarcane as my first wife. All of which is bearing results, Ram says.

Bakshi Ram prepares to retire after three more years. He says he would love to continue work among cane farmers and varieties.

I come from a farming family of north India and hard work comes naturally to me, he says.

As India looks at a prolonged period of good cane production, it is people like Bakshi Ram who emerge as heroes.

Photograph: Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters
'What happened in the Vajpayee era will repeat in the Modi era in 2019.'

IMAGE: Congress National Spokesperson Priyanka Chatuvedi says the party does not view the Karnataka results as a BJP victory. Photograph: Adnan Abidi/Reuters

The Congress may not have emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka election, but takes solace in the fact that its vote share was higher than that of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

At the time of this interview, the Congress had a 37.9 per cent vote share whereas the BJP had 36.2 per cent vote share.

"We couldn't convince our voters to choose us over the JD-S. And that is where we perhaps lost out some seats," Congress National Spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf.

How do you view the BJP victory in the Karnataka elections?

I will not call the Karnataka elections a victory for the BJP. It might have emerged as the single largest party, but it has not won the majority in the state to be able to form the government in Karnataka.

And as we speak, the votes are still being counted.

Having said that, we, as the principal Opposition party, need to look into where we went wrong despite getting a bigger vote share than the BJP. We need to focus on that.

However, after trying everything in their arsenal -- right from a divisive narrative, to pushing through money, putting up corrupt candidates -- they (the BJP) have not managed to secure a space for themselves.

This is something we will view as a silver lining for us in the election outcome.

Do you feel the Congress has been unable to micro manage the seats despite getting a higher percentage of the vote share?

Every election we learn how to get better with our work.

Unfortunately, we don't have seats to show in terms of the vote share that we have got. That could be because of micro level management.

But it could also be seen as that we couldn't convince our voters to choose us over the other alternative -- the JD-S (Janata Dal-Secular). And that is where we perhaps lost out some seats.

We left that gap for the BJP to take advantage.

Do you think the Congress made a mistake by not having a pre-poll alliance with the JD-S?

In hindsight, we can look at our campaign and see what we could have done better.

However, we believe that we gave a stable government to Karnataka and were successful.

We gave the state a chief minister for five years, who provided Karnataka with development. We also had a vision for the coming five years.

In terms of corruption, we saw there was no charge against the government and we gave a transparent government.

Somehow, I also believe that Karnataka has a tradition to change political parties every five years.

We were hoping to break that trend and create history, but we were left behind by a few numbers of seats.

The BJP gave the Reddys, who were accused of corruption, tickets. Even then, the Congress could not convince voters not to opt for the BJP.

I will not blame the voters. The vote share shows voters chose the Congress over the BJP.

Corruption was an important issue as Karnataka was looted of Rs 35,000 crore (Rs 350 billion) upwards of its wealth (under the BJP rule). It is a big concern.

Karnataka exposed the BJP's hollow claim on fighting corruption. They openly supported those people who were facing several cases of corruption.

The BJP also got the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) to bring closure to the investigation.

This has exposed the BJP. It has hurt them electorally in Karnataka and it will hurt them in times to come.

The Lingayat card failed for the Congress party.

From day one, we have been maintaining that the entire Lingayat issue was not on the basis of caste.

Siddaramaiahji had gone on record to say that we may win or we may lose because of this, but we honoured our commitment we made to the community.

If a community endorses what they are seeking we will ensure that as a government we will take a call on that. It was a long standing demand.

Karnataka had seen a protest on this issue and even in Maharashtra there were protests as Lingayats have a sizeable population.

These are demands which pre-date India's Independence. You cannot wish them away. You have to acknowledge it, respect it and honour it.

How it played out for us politically is something for us to bear.

IMAGE: BJP workers celebrate the party's emergence as the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly election. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo

Do you feel you were too dependent on Siddaramiah and it backfired?

I think as a chief minister he was loved and admired by a lot of people in Karnataka. They admired his leadership skill.

He took Karnataka forward and gave a stable government. He connected with the masses.

I will not say we were over-dependent; I would say we were unable to convert the vote share that we managed to get into the first-past-the-post system, which is what our democracy is based on.

After the Karnataka election results, BJP leader Seshadri Chari said it is Modi versus no one in 2019.

All I would say is take a look at how the BJP is losing out in Lok Sabha by-elections.

Even in Karnataka, if you see, there is a huge difference in terms of seats for the BJP if you compare the 2014 election with this assembly election.

There is a huge lag. We just need to encash on that and build up from where they are lagging.

2019 is a game wide open.

What happened in the Vajpayee era will repeat in the Modi era in 2019.

Your party loses elections in every state. The BJP now rule 21 states and you are optimistic about the Congress' chances in the 2019 general election!

I inherently believe our country has been working for a liberal, inclusive, progressive system.

This is the core belief of India. This is the core Hinduism we know about. This is what we are fighting for.

Ultimately, governments come and go, but the entire idea on which India is based is not going to die.

Why don't Congress leaders understand that there is a fundamental shift in the mindset of Hindu voters?

Are you trying to say 38 per cent of the vote share in Karnataka is on the basis of one single equation? I find that hard to believe.

If you say that the party which is the second largest party in the country gets votes from only one section of people I refuse to believe that.

There can be an idea which is popular right now like a popcorn idea, but it will fade out.

India is inherently an inclusive country; a country which is progressive and believes in the assimilation of every ethnicity, every religious group and every caste equation.

It may be an unpopular idea at this point of time, but it is a long living idea.

India has survived earlier assaults as well and it will survive this assault as well.

Mr Modi in his election speeches in Karnataka said the Congress will be reduced to Punjab, Puducherry and Parivar (The Nehru Parivar). This seems to be coming true.

Don't you feel Rahul Gandhi should be blamed for the Congress' loss in Karnataka?

You can blame every Congress person for this (election result). It does not matter to us.

If we have failed, we are ready to take the blame, but I would want to know which parivar dominates the country?

There is only one parivar and that is the Sangh Parivar.

That is the ideology we are battling and we will fight it till the very end.
Asserting that people have voted for a 'Congress-mukt' Karnataka, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Tuesday said his party's winning streak will continue and it will win all polls, including the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah wave to party workers gathered at the party headquarters, after the Karnataka assembly elections result 2018, in New Delhi, on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo

Addressing party workers after the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly election, Shah said it was the 15th election which his party had won since it came to power at the Centre and hit out at the Congress for expressing 'happiness' at the results.

The tally of Congress has been reduced from 122 to 77 and Chief Minister Siddamaraiah lost from his traditional seat, and barely managed to win from another, he said, mocking the opposition party.

Half of the members of Siddamaraiah cabinet have lost, he said.

Shah accused the Congress of using the 'most immoral politics' by joining hands with outfits such as the Social Democratic Party of India and Popular Front of India which, he claimed, were involved in anti-national activities and a danger to the country's security.

"Congress used politics of caste to divide the people and tried to incite Dalits on SC/ST Act in Karnataka," Shah said in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other senior leaders of the party.

The winning streak of the BJP will not stop and it will win all polls from now on and notch up a bigger victory in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls than it did in 2014, he said.

Shah said the state has shown trust in Prime Minister Modi's 'clean governance' and rejected the Congress' 'divisive politics'.

He accused the Congress of using money and muscle power in Karnataka and added that the party was rejected by people of the state.

Earlier, Shah tweeted, 'Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown its unwavering trust in PM Narendra Modi's clean, transparent and pro-development governance.'

He congratulated the BJP's Karnataka unit and party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa for their 'relentless' efforts.

"This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism," he said, thanking the people of Karnataka for making the BJP the single largest party.

The Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular have joined hands and staked claim to form a government.

According to the Election Commission figures, the Congress has won or is leading in 78 seats, while the corresponding figure for the JD-S was 37 and for the BJP it was 104.

The majority mark is 112 in the 222-member assembly. Voting for two seats is yet to take place.

Shah on Tuesday dispatched three Union ministers, including Prakash Javadekar, J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan, to Karnataka to talk to potential allies to cobble up a majority for forming a government in the state.
12 years after he was sacked form JD-S, Siddaramaiah, offered Karnataka's CMship to his political foe Kumaraswamy.

IMAGE: Janata Dal-Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and outgoing Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru to stake their claim to form government. Photograph: ANI

He was thrown out of the Janata Dal-Secular in 2005 for anti-party activities following his sharp differences with its leadership over H D Kumaraswamy's growing clout in the party.

Twelve years down the line, Siddaramaiah, the 69-year-old leader from the backward Kuruba community, on Tuesday offered Karnataka's chief ministership to his political foe Kumaraswamy whose party finished a poor third with barely 37 seats in its kitty.

Siddaramaiah suffered a humiliating defeat in Chamundeshwari where he lost to G T Deve Gowda of the JD-S by over 36,000 votes, but managed to win Badami by a slender margin of 1696 votes against Bharatiya Janata Party's B Sreeramulu, a sitting saffron party MP and close aide of the controversial Reddy brothers.

Despite being considered an "outsider" by a section of the Karnataka Congress for his socialist roots, Siddaramaiah became the first chief minister since Devraj Urs (1972-77) to complete a full five-year term in office.

Born into a poor farming family in Siddaramanahundi village in 1948, Siddaramaiah, the second of five siblings, did not have formal education initially, and joined school in the 5th grade.

Overcoming adversity, he did his BSc and obtained a degree in law. He practised law and even taught it for a while in Mysuru.

Siddaramaiah, who goes by the single name, joined politics under the influence of Nanjunda Swamy, a farmer leader who campaigned against agricultural patenting by multinational corporations.

He made his debut in the assembly in 1983 from Chamundeshwari constituency on a Lok Dal ticket. He later joined the Janata Dal.

Admired for his canny political sense and his rustic, down to earth characteristics, Siddaramaiah climbed up the ladder in the Janata Dal, and served as minister in the party's governments. He also served as deputy chief minister twice.

A seven-term legislator, Siddaramaiah followed his mentor H D Deve Gowda after the Janata Dal split and the former prime minister formed the JD-S.

Siddaramaiah later floated his own party-- All India Progressive Janata Dal -- following his expulsion from the JD-S.

He had irreconcilable differences with Deve Gowda over the growing influence of his son H D Kumaraswamy in the party.

The expulsion came when Siddaramaiah started actively particiating in the AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) movement. Castes and communities constituting the AHINDA were considered the bedrock of the Congress's support base in Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah later merged his party with the Congress.

In the 2006 assembly elections, Siddaramaiah contested from Chamundeshwari on Congress ticket and won by a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against the JD-S candidate.

However, he had exacted a sweet revenge.

He was appointed chairman of the publicity committee of the Congress in the 2008 assembly polls, which the BJP won.

He was then appointed the Leader of the Opposition, a reflection of his growing clout in the Congress.

The BJP's stint in power was marred by intra-party feuds and allegations of corruption.

When the BJP lost the 2013 polls, Siddaramaiah was appointed the chief minister.

Known for taking bold decisions, Siddaramaiah decided to celebrate 'Tipu Jayanti', a move denounced by the BJP as "appeasement politics".

His government also took the controversial decision of recommending religious minority status for the influential Lingayat community in the run up to the polls.

He launched a plethora of populist schemes like the Annabhagya for free distribution of rice, Ksheeradhare under which subsidy was given for milk, Vidyasiri that made available hostel facilities for students, and many others.

The Siddaramaiah government also substantially raised the budgetary allocations for Dalits.

These populist measures were expected to effectively insulate Siddaramaiah against allegations of corruption as Modi mounted an aggressive assault, calling him a "Seedha rupaiah government" and "10 per cent commission government".

Apparently, the charges did stick.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party but fell nine short of a majority, while the Congress, JD-S stitch alliance to keep saffron party out.

IMAGE: BJP's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa meets Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party on Tuesday but fell nine seats short of a majority in Karnataka where the Congress dramatically backed third-placed rival Janata Dal-Secular for chief ministership in a post-poll alliance to keep the saffron party out of power.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call the BJP to try to form the government or go with the JD-S-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member assembly.

Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12 while polling for the remaining two will be held later.

Both sides rushed to meet Vala, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power.

Addressing BJP workers in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who undertook a vigorous campaign, hailed the party's win in Karnataka as unparalleled and unprecedented.

The BJP bagged 104 seats, a gain of 64, while the Congress notched 78, a loss of 44 seats, though its vote share was nearly two percentage points more than the saffron party.

The JD-S secured 37 seats, down by three from its previous tally.

IMAGE: Janata Dal-Secular leader HD Kumaraswamy, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and outgoing Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru to stake their claim to form government. Photograph: PTI Photo

In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But at the end of counting of votes it came tantalisingly close to 113 needed to form the government.

We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told India Today TV. ...when the JD-S and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it.

Azads comments summed up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 general elections at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country.

Karnataka was the only major non-BJP ruled state, and the party offices had reverberated with jubilation in the morning when initial trends put it ahead.

Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the national capital.

The swift political manoeuvring by Congress in reaching out to JD-S showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJP's shrewd moves.

"We have all together discussed and decided this.... This is the opinion of the All India Congress party. Congress will support JD-S because there is a hung assembly situation here as no party has been given clear majority by the people," outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters after submitting his resignation.

Congress Leaders Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjuna Kharge along with JD-S state Chief H D Kumaraswamy met Vala and submitted a letter seeking an opportunity to form the government.

"All India Congress party leaders after discussion have given a letter to our party president extending support ....on behalf our party, along with Congress leaders we have asked governor seeking an opportunity to form the government with the support of Congress, also two independent MLAs," Kumaraswamy, the alliance's chief ministerial candidate, said.

Soon after Congress declared its support to JD-S, Kumaraswamy wrote to the governor informing him that he had accepted the offer to be the chief minister.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief G Parameshwara said modalities related to government formation would be discussed later.

However, BJPs chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa accused Congress of trying to grab power unfairly.

Yeddyurappa met the Governor and staked claim to form the government, slamming the move of the Congress-JDS combine as an attempt to come back to power through back door.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party, we have requested the governor to give us an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the assembly, Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Vala along with Union minister Ananth Kumar.

A sombre-looking Yeddyurappa said the people of Karnataka had rejected the Siddaramaiah government lock, stock and barrel.

The usual practice is for the governor to call the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government, and in the event of a hung assembly, asks him to prove the majority on the floor of the House.

Since the Congress and JD-S did not have a pre-poll alliance, it remains to be seen if he invites Kumaraswamy to form the government.

At least 10 ministers fell by the wayside as they lost their seats in an anti-incumbency wave.

Siddaramaiah himself lost by a huge margin of 36,042 votes in his traditional constituency of Chamundeshwari in Mysuru to JD-S G T Deve Gowda.

He, however, managed to scrape through in Badami in north Karnataka, where he won by a slender margin of 1,696 votes after a see-saw battle against BJPs B Sriramulu, a close associate of the mining baron Reddy brothers.

Yeddyurappa won the Shikaripura seat by a margin of over 35,000 votes while Kumaraswamy won convincingly in both Channapatna and Ramanagara.

After a record 72.13 per cent voter turnout, the Election Commission announced that the Congress notched 38 per cent of votes as against BJP's 36.2 per cent.

JD-S, headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, got 18.4 per cent votes.

The Congress asserted that the Karnataka Governor has no option but to invite the JD-S-Congress combine, which has a clear majority to form the government in the state, based on constitutional and legal provisions.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala cited past precedents in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya to emphasise that the post-poll coalition of his party and the JD-S must be given the opportunity to take over the reins of power in Karnataka.

He said the governor is bound under the Constitution and legal provisions to invite their coalition to form the government in the state.

We expect Karnataka governor to invite JD-S-Congress coalition which has clear majority to form government in the state. As per constitutional and legal provisions, the governor has no option but to invite the coalition, he said.

"We expect the governor to listen to the mandate of the people... However, all options will always remain open to the Congress," he said when asked what would the party do if Vala calls the BJP to prove majority on the floor of the assembly.

Surjewala claimed that their coalition has a clear majority with 117 seats and it should be formed in the interest of Karnataka.
IMAGE: People queue up to cast their ballot during the polling day for the Karnataka assembly election in Bengaluru on Saturday, May 12, 2018. Photograph: Shailendra Bhojak/PTI Photo

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Tuesday used a Latin phrase, made famous by William Shakespeare in "Julius Caesar" to connote betrayal, to express his surprise over the election results in Karnataka.

"Et tu #Karnataka", Omar tweeted as the trends of counting of votes showed Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party in the state assembly elections with the possibility of getting a simple majority.

'Et tu' is a Latin phrase meaning "even you".

In the play, Roman dictator Julius Caesar's last words are "Et tu Brute, Then fall Caesar" as he is assassinated by his friend Marcus Junius Brutus and other conspirators.

Omar was also quick to chide Congress leaders for blaming EVMs for its imminent defeat in the polls.

"Please save this tweet for future reference. If I win it was all my charm & hard work. If I lose it's all down to those blasted EVMs," the former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister said.

Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said if the Congress had formed an alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular before the election, the results would have been different.

"Congratulations to the winners of Karnataka polls. Those who lost, fight back," the TMC leader tweeted.

"If Congress had gone into an alliance with JD (S), the results would have been different, very different," Banerjee tweeted.
IMAGE: BJP supporters begin celebrations as the party surged ahead of the ruling Congress in Karnataka. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

The Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly, leaving the ruling Congress way behind for 222 of the states 224 seats where polling was held.

However, it fell nine seats short of a majority while the Congress dramatically backed third-placed rival Janata Dal-Secular for chief ministership in a post-poll alliance to keep the saffron party out of power.

Riding a Modi wave, the BJP swept coastal Karnataka by winning 18 out of 21 assembly seats there, regaining control over the region known as a communal tinderbox.

The Congress managed to secure only three seats, down from 13 seats, while JD-S failed to open its account this election as well.

It may be noted that BJP had bagged 14 seats during 2008 assembly poll, when it first formed a government in the state, but it fell sharply to five in 2013 due to a split in the party.

Coastal Karnataka is considered to be the most polarised region in the state because of incidents of political murders, communal riots and moral policing. It is also the bastion of the Muslim groups Social Democratic Party of India and Popular Front of India.

Out of eight seats in Dakshina Kannada district in 2018 assembly poll, Congress candidate and sitting MLA U T Abdul Khader won Mangalore seat by 19,739 seats, defeating BJP's Santhosh Kumar Rai Boliyaru, as per the official data.

The other seven seats in the district were won by BJP candidates Rajesh Naik (from Bantwal), Bharath Shetty (Mangalore north), Vedavyas Kamath (Mangalore south), Umanatha A Kotian (Moodabidri), Sanjeev Matandoor (Puttur), Angara S (Sullia) and Harish Poonja (Bethangady).

Out of six seats in Uttara Kannada district, BJP won four seats -- Sunil Biliya Naik (Bhatkal), Roopali Santosh Naik (Karwar), Dinakar Keshav Shetty (Kumta) and Kageri Visheshwar Hegde (Sirsi) Congress's R V Deshpande retained Haliyal seat and A H Shivaram won from Yellapur.

Whereas in Udupi district, from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi kick-started the election campaign, the BJP secured all five seats this time, up from one seat from last poll.

B M Sukumar Shetty (Byndoor), V Sunil Kumar (Karkala), Lalaji R Mendon (Kapu), Haladi Srinivas Shetty (Kundapura) and Raghupati Bhat (Udupi) from the BJP won the seats here.

In Kodagu, BJP candidates Appachu Ranjan M P won from Madikeri and K G Bopiah from Virajpet seat.

B S Yeddyurappa, the BJPs chief ministerial candidate, won his Shikaripura seat by more than 35,000 votes.

Though the Congress got lesser seats than the BJP, its vote share was nearly two percentage points higher than that garnered by the saffron party.

Karnataka recorded the highest voter turnout at 72.13 per cent since the 1952 assembly elections.

According to the official data, the Congress' vote share rose marginally to 38 per cent in the current polls from 36.6 per cent in 2013 but had to be satisfied with lesser seats. The ruling party had a strength of 122 MLAs in the outgoing house. Its vote share was 35.13 per cent in 2008.

On the other hand, BJP's vote share remained marginally lower than that of Congress but at 36.2 per cent it recorded the highest so far and also managed to bag more seats but will fall short of 9 seats for a comfortable majority in a House of 224. The BJP had 40 seats in the outgoing house.

BJP's previous highest in vote share was 33.86 per cent in 2008, when Yeddyurappa rode to power by winning 110 seats to usher in the first saffron government in the south.

But the party failed to retain power in 2013 as it could manage only 40 seats with its vote share dropping drastically to 19.9 per cent because of two splits in the party.

The two splinter parties -- B S Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) and B Sriramulu's BSR Congress Party (BSRCP) -- cut into BJP's share in 2013. KJP and BSRCP had got 9.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent vote share, respectively.

JD-S' vote share declined to 18.4 per cent this year from 20.2 per cent in 2013 and 19.44 per cent in 2008 and is in the hunt for power after stitching a dramatic post-poll alliance with rival Congress.The party headed by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda got 3 seats less than the 40 it obtained in the previous polls.
A portion of a flyover being built by a state-run corporation collapsed on a busy road in Varanasi on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people as it crushed a mini bus, cars and two-wheelers.

Officials feared that the toll may rise.

Hours later, people were still believed buried under the rubble of the flyover with several cranes being deployed to lift the concrete girder that crashed around 4 pm on the road that leads to the Varanasi-Allahabad highway.

The district administration said nine people were injured, but unofficial reports put the number at about 20.

A mini bus and four cars came under the slab, officials said. Eight to 10 two-wheelers were also trapped, Director General of Police O P Singh told PTI.

Local residents said cyclists and pedestrians also use the stretch of the road about 100 metres from the Varanasi Cantonment railway station.

Uttar Pradesh Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said 18 bodies were pulled out.

Five National Disaster Response Force teams, with about 250 personnel, rushed to the accident site.

An NDRF official said at least three people were rescued. Rescue workers used metal cutters to free people caught in their vehicles.

The Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation Ltd is building the 2,261-metre bridge at a cost of Rs 129 crore, officials said. The span which fell today was laid barely three months ago, they added.

Chief Project Manager H C Tiwari and three others were suspended late on Tuesday night. Authorities said no work was going on when the concrete slab crashed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, expressed grief over the deaths while the Opposition targeted the UP government over the tragedy in the top-priority constituency of the country.

The tragedy is similar to the flyover collapse in Kolkata two years ago when over 25 people were killed.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced a three-member committee to probe into the accident and give its report within 48 hours.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya headed for Varanasi from Lucknow, an official spokesperson said.

Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected, Modi tweeted.

In another tweet, the prime minister said he had spoken to Adityanath.

The UP government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected, he said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Governor Ram Naik and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the deaths.

Opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the state government, suggesting that corruption led to the tragedy.

"This is the reality of development in the top-priority constituency of the country. The ministers of the state used to visit this district for regular inspections. Is this incident an accident or result of corruption? This should be told to the people of Varanasi by the state government," the SP chief said.

Yadav appealed to his party workers to cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue operations. The accident should be probed honestly, he demanded.

The state government probe will be headed by Agriculture Production Commissioner Raj Pratap Singh and will include Irrigation Department head Bhupendra Singh and Jal Nigam MD Rajesh Mittal, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said.

IMAGES: Rescue and relief works being conducted after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi's busy Catt area on Tuesday. Photographs: PTI Photo
Photograph: Tolga Akmen/Pool/Reuters

Confusion prevailed on Tuesday over whether Meghan Markles father will walk his daughter down the aisle to marry Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on Saturday after reports said that he will not attend the royal wedding.

Thomas Markle, 73, was quoted by some US media as saying that he would not attend the royal wedding to avoid embarrassing his daughter and the royal family after paparazzi shots of him seemed to indicate he had been paid to pose for photographers.

This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation, a Kensington Palace statement said.

It had been announced earlier this month that Thomas, a retired Hollywood lighting engineer who lives in Mexico, would walk his daughter to the altar at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle, where the 36-year-old former actress is set to wed Prince Harry, 33, in front of 600 guests and an international television audience of millions on May 19.

Before the ceremony, Thomas was expected to perform the duty of the meeting of the in-laws some time this week, when he was to join ex-wife and the bride-to-bes mother, Doria Ragland, at tea with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles and Camilla.

Ragland, a social worker and yoga teacher who lives in Los Angeles, is to accompany her daughter in the bridal car.

The 61-year-old is now expected to step into her ex-husbands shoes and walk her daughter down the aisle if he is missing from the ceremony.

According to US celebrity website TMZ, Thomas has given his ex-wife his blessing to perform the duty.

He claimed to have suffered a heart attack due to stress six days ago and plans to check himself back into hospital over chest pains.

Meghan has previously heaped her father with compliments for investing in her future.

She has been quoted as saying: The blood, sweat and tears this man who came from so little in a small town of Pennsylvania, where Christmas stockings were filled with oranges, and dinners were potatoes and Spam invested in my future so that I could grow up to have so much.

Its safe to say I have always been a daddys girl -- he taught me how to fish, to appreciate Busby Berkeley films, write thank-you notes, and spend my weekends in Little Tokyo eating chicken teriyaki with vegetable tempura.

Meghans half-sister, Samantha, has since claimed she hopes their father will attend if he is well enough. She said the media had raked him over the coals and distorted his image.

He had a moral right to set the record straight and defend himself, she said.

Prince Harry is yet to meet his future father-in-law.

Meanwhile, Meghans extended family has begun arriving in the UK despite not being on the guest list.

Tracy Dooley, who was married to and had children with Meghans half-brother Thomas Markle Jr, was pictured at Heathrow Airport with sons Tyler, 25, and Thomas, 26.

It will cause some embarrassment to Meghan, whose half-brother had written an open letter warning off fiance Prince Harry from marrying his jaded, shallow, conceited sister.

Dooley is expected to cover the royal wedding for an American broadcasting network and said she will be in the front row cheering them on in Windsor.
'He was nominated for the Nobel Prize 9 times and several scientists wrote to the academy pointing out the injustice.'

Ambassador T P Sreenivasan remembers E C G Sudarshan, the legendary physicist who passed into the ages on Monday, May 14.



IMAGE: Professor E C G Sudarshan, the legendary physicist.

'He had once asked whether it was fair, when a prize is given for a building, to honour those who built the higher floors, ignoring the one who built the ground floor.'

The Swedish Academy has not covered itself with glory this year when it was forced to postpone the Nobel Prize for Literature on account of charges of sex, lies and leaks against Claude Arnault, husband of Katarina Frostenson, an Academy member since 1992.

But the Nobel Prize, the most coveted international award, has not been above board even before. Prizes did not always go the the most deserving and some unworthy of the honour walked away with it.

Dr E C George Sudarshan, who just passed away, had been waiting for Nobel justice for long, since many scientists, who worked on his findings as a student were awarded the Nobel Prize.

He had once asked whether it was fair, when a prize is given for a building, to honour those who built the higher floors, ignoring the one who built the ground floor.

The unkindest cut was that he was not conferred the Nobel Prize for his work on quantum optics by the Nobel committee while presenting it to Roy J Glauber for the 'Sudarshan-Glauber representation' in 2005.

Dr Sudarshan said it was like the bubbles in a stream that rise up while the pebbles that carry mass go down. However, he maintained that he was willing to accept justice even if delayed.

He was nominated for the Prize 9 times and several scientists wrote to the academy pointing out the injustice.

Sadly, justice did not reach him before his demise.

He is now in the company of other Indians, who richly deserved the Nobel, but never made it, like Mahatma Gandhi and Jagdish Bhagwati.

Bhagwati, fortunately, is still alive and may get delayed justice. The Nobel Prize is not generally given posthumously, though there have been some exceptions.



Photograph: Kind courtesy Tabish/Wikipedia Commons

Dr Sudarshan's claim to fame was on account of challenging Albert Einstein's theory that nothing can move faster than light.

Being the first to propose the hypothetical particle 'tachyons' that are faster than light, Dr Sudarshan said it was an inference against Albert Einstein's prediction that nothing can travel faster than light.

'Though there was excitement a year ago with these experiments, no particle identified could travel faster than light, but that does not mean that it does not exist,' he said.

This was only one of the many game changing discoveries he made in his 50 years of physics teaching and research.

From formulating fundamental ideas in particle physics to understanding the quantum nature of light, Dr Sudarshan's contributions to physics reads like a fascinating chapter from the book of breakthroughs in science of the past century. He invariably gave credit to his students for assisting him throughout.

For Dr Sudarshan, physics was not just pure science, it was a pursuit of truth just like the search for the universal truth by the philosophers and science.

Though born a Christian, he turned to Hindu philosophy and thought after he married a Hindu. On spirituality, Sudarshan said, 'True scientists have deeper spiritual connection, while some scientists as administrators essentially continue to make noises about it. I miss philosopher J Krishnamurthi. He was facile and clear in his thinking.'

Dr Sudarshan maintained that Vedanta revealed several truths that science could not explain. He found the approach of the Upanishads in seeking the truth more refreshing than scientific experiments.

Dr Sudarshan taught at some of the best institutions in India before he moved to the United States.

Asked what physics meant to him, he said, 'Everything. I mean, I don't know anything else. All I know is how to do physics. I am good at it. I took to physics like a duckling to water. I don't even think of what I do as research or work anymore. I like the excitement of looking at the world through the prism of science. That's all there is to it and I know that I can continue doing it forever.'

By the time I went to the United States in 1980, Dr Sudarshan was already a celebrity and a familiar name not only in the scientific community, but also in Indian social circles.

I had many opportunities to meet him in official and social settings. He found time to attend Kerala functions as he had his heart in Kerala.

In our conversations over the next ten years, I found him frustrated that the education system in India did not encourage research.

He was quiet and soft spoken, but he was warm and friendly. He was the global chairperson of the World Malayalee Council after Dr Babu Paul.

My wife Lekha takes pride in the fact that it was from Dr Sudarshan that she took over as the global chairperson in 2002 at Dinden, Germany.

Despite his love for Kerala, he had decided that he would not move to Kerala after retirement. He explained: "People around here now treat me as a guest. They smile at me. But if I move back permanently, I fear they might perceive me as a pest. I will be asking a lot of questions. I will be behind everyone grilling them with questions on their research. Not a pleasing proposition for everyone. I am happy being a guest."

I am sure that he will be remembered in India, particularly Kerala, as one of the most outstanding scientists India has ever produced.

T P Sreenivasan, (IFS 1967), former Ambassador of India and Governor for India of the IAEA is the Chairman, Academic Council and Director, NSS Academy of Civil Services, Director General, Kerala International Centre.
A good business environment is like fresh air, that no foreign investor can resist. China, with its sincerity and ongoing efforts, offers foreign investors such air, trying to make its business environment attractive to foreign capital.

China used to rely on favorable policies to attract foreign investment, but is now working to increase its soft power.

The country has made its rules more transparent by aligning them with international ones. In 2018, it phased out automobile share-holding limits for foreign investors in special-purpose vehicles as well as new energy vehicles manufacturing, while those for commercial and passenger vehicles are set to be lifted in 2020 and 2022 respectively.

In addition, the new negative lists for foreign investors, currently in planning, will make Chinas manufacturing sector even more transparent.

The new negative lists will not only introduce Chinas new measures of opening up in 2018, but also disclose its movements over the next couple of years, said a related official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

China has already significantly broadened its market access to embrace more opportunity. On May 2, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission officially granted ICBC-AXA Life permission to set up an asset management business. It is the first joint-venture insurance and asset management company in China since the country proposed an acceleration to the opening up of the insurance industry.

Enhanced public service is another highlight of Chinas movement to optimize the business environment. The replacement of review and approval by filing with the relevant authorities in cosmetics import is a great example.

Such replacement not only simplifies the process, but also saves human time and resources for exporters, thus reducing cost in logistics and storage, said a manager of Shiseido (China) Investment Co., Ltd.

This measure was implemented last May and has greatly reduced the import period of cosmetics from at least two months to only five days.

With improvements to the business environment and the decrease in institutional costs, more and more foreign cosmetics companies have come to China for investment, said an official with the market supervision and administration bureau of Pudong district, Shanghai.a

Now Chinas Ministry of Commerce and related departments are working to further optimize the business environment. China hopes to join hands with each country to build a more reliable and open international economic system, to realize win-win cooperation and common development.
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Afghanistan: Insurgent Attacks on Civilians Escalate

Publisher Human Rights Watch Publication Date 8 May 2018 Cite as Human Rights Watch, Afghanistan: Insurgent Attacks on Civilians Escalate, 8 May 2018, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5afaaee34.html [accessed 9 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Afghanistan: Insurgent Attacks on Civilians Escalate

Government and Donors Need to Bolster Support for Victims

Increased insurgent attacks on civilians in Afghanistan have left victims' families and survivors in dire need of financial, medical, and psychosocial support. The Afghan government should ensure programs to assist victims of attacks by the Taliban and Islamic State-linked armed groups reach those in need.

(New York)  Increased insurgent attacks on civilians in Afghanistan have left victims' families and survivors in dire need of financial, medical, and psychosocial support, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The Afghan government should ensure programs to assist victims of attacks by the Taliban and Islamic State-linked armed groups reach those in need.

"Insurgents who detonate bombs in mosques or at busy intersections with the intent of inflicting maximum civilian casualties are committing war crimes," said Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. "Victims' families and survivors may lose livelihoods and suffer harms that persist long after the attack. But Afghan government efforts to help these families has fallen short."

The 49-page report, "'No Safe Place': Insurgent Attacks on Civilians in Afghanistan," documents attacks since 2016 by the Taliban and groups affiliated with the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISKP), an affiliate of the Islamic State. While the Taliban claim they do not target civilians, the report documents indiscriminate attacks by the Taliban that have killed and injured thousands. ISKP-linked groups have targeted civilian facilities in urban areas of Afghanistan, including many Shia mosques. The report, based on interviews with 45 civilian victims of insurgent attacks and their relatives, highlights the lasting consequences of the attacks on affected families and communities.

Since early 2016, insurgent groups in Afghanistan have sharply escalated their attacks in Kabul and other major urban areas, killing and injuring thousands of civilians. In interviews with Human Rights Watch, relatives of people killed in insurgent attacks described the cascading negative consequences for victims' families: the devastating financial impact for those who have lost a breadwinner; the social consequences, especially for women who are suddenly widowed, becoming dependent on other members of their husband's family for support and limited in where they can live and work; and the impact on children who have had to leave school, either because their family can no longer afford the cost or because the child must work in order to supplement the family's income. Each death has a ripple effect on the family network, with spouses, children, parents, and other relatives suffering losses in support, emotional and social security, and income.

Many of those Human Rights Watch interviewed also described serious emotional and psychological trauma as a result of witnessing and surviving such attacks. The escalation in insurgent attacks in the past two years, bringing increased insecurity, uncertainty, violence, and economic hardship, has exacerbated trauma and psychological distress.

The Afghan government offers some financial assistance to those injured and to the families of those killed in insurgent attacks. However, many of those we interviewed said they had received no government assistance despite promises that such aid was forthcoming. Others said that the process for obtaining assistance was prohibitively onerous, or was tainted by corruption, with some receiving assistance and others not. Human Rights Watch called on the Taliban and other insurgent groups to cease all intentional attacks on civilians and civilian objects  including schools, hospitals, places of worship, and homes not being used for military purposes. They should also cease all attacks that fail to discriminate between civilians and combatants, or that could be expected to cause disproportionate harm to civilians, as well as perfidious attacks, such as using an ambulance to conceal bombs. Insurgent commanders who order or are otherwise responsible for serious laws of war violations should be held to account. My body, clothes, and even my shoes were full of blood.... I realized I was walking toward an inferno.

The Afghan government has the responsibility under international law to protect the lives of all those under its jurisdiction and to bring those who commit serious international crimes to justice. It should also formalize through regulation or legislation the current ad hoc system or create a new program for providing assistance to civilian victims of the conflict, including those injured or those who have lost a family member from insurgent attacks.

The government should launch a campaign to inform the general public about the procedure for obtaining financial assistance or other support. Support should be equitably distributed, and complaints of corruption and discrimination should be promptly investigated. The government should also develop and implement measures to provide psychosocial support to survivors of attacks, whether by insurgents or government and allied forces.

Afghanistan's international donors should support programs to provide financial and other assistance, including psychosocial services, to civilian victims of attacks by all parties to the conflict.

"Victims of insurgent attacks are more than statistics  they are Afghans who deserve to be treated with dignity and have access to the services they need," Gossman said. "The Afghan government and its international donors should step up to support them."

Excerpts of Victims' Accounts

I found myself under dust, furniture, and window glass. It was hard to breathe or stand. My body, clothes, and even my shoes were full of blood and I could hardly walk. I saw a colleague's body, furniture, glass all around. I realized I was walking toward an inferno.

Hashim (pseudonym), who was injured in the May 31, 2017 truck bomb attack in central Kabul

I heard a loud sound  everything went dark and I fell. Then I felt like my leg was on fire. A relative of mine heard me screaming. When I woke up I discovered they had amputated my leg below the knee. I can't work anymore, and I have financial problems. It is a very bad situation.

Sardar M., a plumber, who was injured in the March 1, 2017 attack by the Taliban on a police station in Kabul

We have lost the head of our family. We are helpless. My children can't go to school now, I can't afford their fees.

Sugra Hussein, whose husband was killed in the October 20, 2017 ISKP attack on the Imam Zaman Mosque in Kabul

I was taking glass out of my feet for many days after. No one should see such a day! I was treated at the hospital and went home, but I am not well. My husband has been ill for some time, so I must work, but I cannot now. I need psychological help.

Sima, who was injured in the August 1, 2017 ISKP attack on the Jawadiya Mosque in Herat

It was really hard for my family as I am the only breadwinner. I still have shrapnel in my back. My stomach had 30 sutures and I still feel pain. I can't do heavy work at my shop, so I had to hire an assistant. There is no safe place in Kabul  you don't know where the next attack will be.

Mohammad A., shopkeeper who survived the July 27, 2017 Taliban attack on a government employee shuttle bus in Kabul

Copyright notice:  Copyright, Human Rights Watch
Palestine and Saudi Arabia: Residence status of stateless Palestinians, including access to employment, education, health care and other services, and the ability to travel in and out of the country; requirements and procedures to renew residence status, including whether stateless Palestinians whose permits have expired face deportation and detention (2015-November 2017)

Publisher Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Publication Date 14 November 2017 Citation / Document Symbol ZZZ106013.E Related Document(s) Palestine et Arabie saoudite : information sur le statut de resident des Palestiniens apatrides, y compris sur l'acces a l'emploi, a l'education, aux soins de sante et a d'autres services, et la capacite a sortir du pays et a y entrer; les exigences et la marche a suivre pour renouveler le statut de resident; information indiquant si les Palestiniens apatrides dont le permis est echu risquent l'expulsion ou la detention (2015-novembre 2017) Cite as Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Palestine and Saudi Arabia: Residence status of stateless Palestinians, including access to employment, education, health care and other services, and the ability to travel in and out of the country; requirements and procedures to renew residence status, including whether stateless Palestinians whose permits have expired face deportation and detention (2015-November 2017), 14 November 2017, ZZZ106013.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5afadfd94.html [accessed 9 October 2021] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Residence Status of Palestinians in Saudi Arabia

According to a 2013 submission by the UNHCR to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Saudi Arabia is not "a State Party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, nor to the 1954 Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness" (UN Mar. 2013, 1). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a scientific coordinator [1] who specializes in political demography at the Gulf Labour Markets, Migration and Population (GLMM) Programme, which is "an international independent, non-partisan, non-profit joint programme" that "provides data, analyses, and recommendations contributing to the improvement of understanding and management of Gulf labour markets, migration and population" (GLMM n.d.), indicated that, having not signed the 1951 Convention, Saudi Arabia does not recognize refugees according to international law (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017). According to a 2015 article by Julie Norman, a research fellow specializing in conflict transformation and social justice at Queen's University Belfast, and published by The Conversation Canada, "an independent source of news and views, from the academic and research community, delivered direct to the public" (The Conversation n.d.), "[a]s non-signatories, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have no clear policy or mandate for accepting refugees or processing asylum seekers" (Norman 23 Sept. 2015). The same source states that asylum seekers wishing to enter "must apply for a visa or work permit, which are reported to be costly and highly restricted in practice" (Norman 23 Sept. 2015).

According to sources, Palestinians are subject to the same regulations as other foreigners in Saudi Arabia (Senior Researcher 31 Oct. 2017; Independent Researcher 27 Oct. 2017). Similarly, the Scientific Coordinator explained that Palestinians do not receive treatment different from that of other foreigners (26 Oct. 2017). Arab News, an English-language newspaper in Saudi Arabia, indicated in a 2013 article that "[o]ver half a million Palestinian expatriates currently live and work in [Saudi Arabia]" and that "[m]ost Palestinians hold travel documents from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt" (25 Nov. 2013). Similarly, the Scientific Coordinator indicated that stateless Palestinians are treated according to the travel documents that allowed them to reach Saudi Arabia, such as from Egypt, Lebanon or Syria, or according to Jordanian documents such as Jordanian temporary passports issued to people from Gaza, which do not have a national number (26 Oct. 2017). According to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016, there are "between 300,000 and 400,000 Palestinian residents not registered as refugees" in Saudi Arabia (US 3 Mar. 2017, 35).

1.1 Access to Employment, Health Care and Other Services

The website of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior provides the following regarding the residence permit (iqama):

Companies, establishments and individuals must obtain residence and work permits for their employees. It is illegal to employ an alien who does not possess a residence or work permit. Employing individuals who are sponsored by others is a violation of the system. (Saudi Arabia n.d.a)

The same source also indicates that "[e]mployers must obtain residence permits for their employees to enable them [to] move freely in the city where they work" (Saudi Arabia n.d.a).

According to the Scientific Coordinator, foreigners must have sponsorship (kafala) to obtain work permits and residence permits; the sponsor can be a Saudi citizen or a company (26 Oct. 2017). For further information on sponsorship and residency permits in Saudi Arabia, see Response to Information Request ZZZ104924 of August 2014. According to an independent researcher, whose interests include nationality and statelessness, the "iqama entitles legal residents to some state benefits, but not all the benefits accorded to citizens" (independent researcher 27 Oct. 2017).

The following paragraph is based on information provided by the Scientific Coordinator:

Access to services such as health and education depends on provisions contained in the work contract; [translation] "in certain cases, these can even include access to government services." Naturalization or access to social privileges guaranteed to citizens cannot be acquired through birth in Saudi territory and access to social benefits (public education, scholarships, government jobs, some professions, access to property, etc.) are restricted for all foreigners, regardless of their place of birth.

[translation]

A foreigner can only acquire residence in Saudi Arabia through:

Marriage with a Saudi citizen, subject to a number of administrative restrictions, especially where the man is the foreigner, since he cannot be naturalized by marriage;

Family reunification to reunite with a foreign spouse legally settled in Saudi Arabia: this specific case only applies to the family (spouse, children under 18 years old) of an employee bearing the status of "manager" or "professional" ;

A work contract, by far the most frequent type of case. The work contract (and, therefore, residence) is of a limited duration and renewable under certain circumstances;

The intervention of a powerful protector, in very rare cases, can assist entry into the country, as well as access to social services and other advantages normally reserved to citizens, even residence of long duration or naturalization. (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017)

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

Information on access to employment and other services specifically by Palestinian residents could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. For information on access to healthcare benefits for Palestinian foreign workers in Saudi Arabia, see Response to Information Request SAU105965 of August 2017.

1.2 Ability to Travel in and out of Saudi Arabia

For information on non-citizens born in Saudi Arabia, including whether a non-citizen can return to Saudi Arabia after the "Return Before" date on their re-entry visa has lapsed, see Response to Information Request SAU105183 of May 2015. For information on exit procedures for resident foreigners, see Response to Information Request SAU105398 of January 2016.

According to sources, as of 1 July 2017, fees charged for the residence of dependents of foreign workers must be paid prior to the issuance of an exit and re-entry visa (Gulf Business 6 July 2017; Ary News 4 July 2017).

2. Requirements and Procedures to Renew Residence Status

The Scientific Coordinator indicated that residence permits can be renewed with the approval of a sponsor or, as of recently, government authorities, for each step of the procedure (entry visa, work permit, evaluation of the candidate and of the company's status, etc.) (26 Oct. 2017). The Scientific Coordinator indicated that procedures to renew residence status are the same for all foreigners, except in specific cases where the individual has the protection of a [translation] "powerful 'patron'" (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017).

According to the same source,

[translation]

obtaining a work permit becomes more and more difficult, as a number of positions and sectors are closed to foreigners  and the government is trying to replace foreigners with locals.

Specifically concerning Palestinians, even if the law does not explicitly state it, it is possible that some restrictions have been lifted at certain moments. (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017)

Article 33 of Saudi Arabia's Residence Regulations provides the following: "Ministry of Interior is entitled to withdraw the right of residence and its permit from any foreigner and instruct him to leave the country at any time and without mentioning any reasons" (Saudi Arabia 1952).

Article 37 of Saudi Arabia's Residence Regulations provides the following: "Duration of residence permit is one year which can be renewed in case conditions stipulated in this Regulation are still met for another year. However, the same permit may not be renewed more than three times" (Saudi Arabia 1952). The Scientific Coordinator indicated that [translation] "[t]he law is sometimes vague, applied subjectively, and can change abruptly" (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017). A senior researcher at the Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, "an independent non-profit organization committed to promoting the human rights of stateless persons and fostering inclusion to ultimately end statelessness" based in the Netherlands and affiliated with Tilburg University (Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion n.d.), indicated that the "six- to twelve-month permit (iqama) [is] the closest thing to permanency a non-Saudi can get" (Senior Researcher 31 Oct. 2017).

According to the Scientific Coordinator, [translation] "the principle of an indefinite stay, [or] settlement of foreigners in the country does not exist officially" and residence permits are only valid for a limited duration [2] (26 Oct. 2017). The independent researcher noted that "[r]esidency in Saudi Arabia is temporary by definition" ( 27 Oct. 2017).

The same source explained that the iqama "must be renewed annually, and much of the process can be done online" (independent researcher 27 Oct. 2017). A 2015 article by Arab News states that the "Passports Department has announced that it would start issuing new resident permits with a five-year lifespan for expatriates," and that "[c]ompanies and expatriates would have to renew them yearly online," noting the following:

[The new cards] would have magnetic strips to prevent forgery, have no expiry date on them, and have ''resident identity'' replacing the word "iqama." The same fees apply annually.

The government has introduced the card as part of its e-services, and to ensure greater control over procedures with modern technology. (Arab News 9 Oct. 2015)

Newland Chase, a firm composed of experts that provide immigration services to businesses (Newland Chase n.d.), also reports in an article published on their website in September 2015 that, as of 14 October 2015, a "new resident permit identification card called the 'Muqeem' will be issued which will replace the existing card, the Iqama" and that

[t]he Muqeem card will display the holder's photo and biometric details and will be valid for five years or more, as the card will not bear an expiry date. However, the holder's employer will need to complete an annual renewal via the online Muqeem service, and the individual's period of stay must be recorded through the Abshir Service in accordance with existing Iqama rules. It should be noted that residency laws will remain the same. (Newland Chase 17 Sept. 2015)

The same source also notes that for "all services related to it," the card "will be scanned with dedicated machines that will be installed at checkpoints, banks and other establishments" across Saudi Arabia (Newland Chase 17 Sept. 2015).

Sources report that new fees for dependents of foreign workers entered into effect, indicating that the monthly fee for a dependent, effective 1 July 2017, is 100 Saudi Arabian Riyals (SAR) [C$34], and that this monthly fee would increase to 200 SAR in July 2018, to 300 SAR in July 2019, and 400 SAR in July 2020 (Gulf Business 6 July 2017; Ary News 4 July 2017). According to sources, the fees are to be collected annually upon the renewal of the iqama (Gulf Business 6 July 2017; Ary News 4 July 2017).

3. Deportation and Detention

Article 12 of Saudi Arabia's Residence Regulations provides that "[a] foreigner, who is carrying an entry form or a travel permit, is not entitled to work with or without pay till he gets a residence permit" (Saudi Arabia 1952). Article 54 of the same regulations provides that "[a] foreigner who violates provisions of Article No. (12) shall be deprived of residence right and deported from the country" (Saudi Arabia 1952). Arab News reports in its 2013 article that "Saudi Arabia has exempted Palestinian and Burmese nationals who are found to be in violation of the new labor laws from deportation" (25 Nov. 2013). The Scientific Coordinator indicated that in 2013, Saudi newspapers reported that [translation] "de facto refugees (Palestinians, Rohingyas and those coming from war-torn countries (Syria), and probably people from Gaza) would not be deported in case or administrative irregularities"; however, the source noted that this was "only a declaration" and that she did not have information as to whether any Palestinians were or were not deported (26 Oct. 2017). Further information on the exemption of Palestinians from deportation could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Scientific Coordinator stated that the sponsor can [translation] "put an end to the foreigner's stay, have them deported" (26 Oct. 2017). The same source indicated that most Palestinians are holders of travel documents from third countries, and that these documents can sometimes be difficult to renew, and that Palestinians could therefore be deported back to these countries (Scientific Coordinator 26 Oct. 2017).

The senior researcher indicated that because Palestinians "are subject to the same residency rights" as other foreigners,

when their kafala [sponsorship] is no longer there, they face deportation (to wherever they may have links - one of the neighbouring countries to Palestine or West Bank/Gaza) - they are still at the mercy of the sponsorship system, despite however long they have been there. A lot who came originally in the 1940s and 1950s were naturalized, so have Saudi citizenship, but those that came after often have links to one of the other countries. (Senior Researcher 31 Oct. 2017)

The independent researcher indicated that Saudi Arabia's "ability to deport Palestinians  is limited by its ability to find somewhere to deport them to," noting that it is not possible for Saudi Arabia to deport Palestinians to Palestine, "as those borders are controlled by Israel, with whom Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations" (27 Oct. 2017).

The information in the following paragraph comes from two separate pages of the website of Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior:

"Residence permits must be renewed 3 days before expiration date. First-time violators pay a fine equa[l] to the renewal charge. The fine is doubled in case of a second violation. If a resident violates the rule 3 times, deportation will be his punishment" (n.d.a). Penalties for "[o]verstaying" in Saudi Arabia "upon visa expiry" include "statutory penalties such as custody, fining and deporting" (n.d.b). The Ministry of Interior's list of "Iqama System Violations & Penalties" outlines various other offences that can be punished by deportation, including "[r]eturn of the deported alien to the Kingdom [Saudi Arabia] after [their] expulsion," including, in the first instance, a fine of 1,000 SAR [C$344] and re-deportation and, in the second instance, a fine of 2,000 SAR, five months imprisonment and re-deportation (n.d.b). In the event of a "[r]esident working for another employer or for his own account," the penalty is "[t]ermination of [their] Iqama and [they] shall be deported" (n.d.b). A "runaway expatriate from the employer who recruited him" will also face deportation (Saudi Arabia n.d.b).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Scientific Coordinator explained that the information she provided is based on [translation] "isolated interviews," on news media, and on work prepared by experts on migration (26 Oct. 2017).

[2] The Scientific Coordinator indicated that she was not sure about the maximum duration of residence permits (26 oct. 2017).

References

Arab News. 9 October 2015. "New 5-Year Expatriate ID From Oct. 15." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2017]

Arab News. 25 November 2013. Irfan Mohammed. "Palestinian Expatriatres Exempt from Labor Action." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2017]

Ary News. 4 July 2017. "Expats Must Pay Dependents Fees Before Iqama Renewal, Re-Entry Visa: Saudi Arabia." [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017]

The Conversation. N.d. "Who We Are." [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017]

Gulf Business. 6 July 2017. Aarti Nagraj. "Saudi's Expat Dependent Fee: Everything You Need to Know." [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017]

Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme. N.d. "About." [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017]

Independent Researcher. 27 October 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion. N.d. "About Us." [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017]

Newland Chase. 17 September 2015. "Saudi Arabia: New Residence Permit Card Introduced." [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017]

Newland Chase. N.d. "Our Team." [Accessed 9 Nov. 2017]

Norman, Julie. 23 September 2015. "Saudi Arabia Doesn't 'Do' Refugees - It's Time to Change That." The Conversation Canada. [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017]

Saudi Arabia. 1952. The Residence Regulations No. 17/2/25/1337 of 1952. [Accessed 25 Oct. 2017]

Saudi Arabia. N.d.a. Ministry of Interior. "Residence Permit (Iqama)." [Accessed 25 Oct. 2017]

Saudi Arabia. N.d.b. Ministry of Interior. "Iqama System Violations & Penalties." [Accessed 27 Oct. 2017]

Scientific Coordinator, Gulf Labour Markets, Migration, and Population (GLMM) Programme. 26 October 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Senior Researcher, Institute of Statelessness and Inclusion. 31 October 2017. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

United Nations (UN). March 2013. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Compilation Report - Universal Periodic Review: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [Accessed 30 Oct. 2017]

United States (US). 3 March 2017. Department of State. "Saudi Arabia." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2016. [Accessed 31 Oct. 2017]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights; Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia; Center for Palestine Studies, Columbia University; Centre for Palestine Studies, London Middle East Institute, SOAS University of London; European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights; Institute for Gulf Affairs; Institute for Palestine Studies; Law firms specializing in immigration in Saudi Arabia; Middle East Media Research Institute; Migration Policy Centre; Palestine  Embassy in Saudi Arabia; Palestinian Refugee and Diaspora Centre; Refugee Studies Centre, Department of International Development, University of Oxford; Researchers specializing in immigration issues in Saudi Arabia; Researchers specializing in the Palestinian diaspora.

Internet sites, including: Albilad English Daily; Al Jazeera; Al-Monitor; Amnesty International; The Arab Weekly; The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information; BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights; BBC; The Brookings Institution; Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia; ecoi.net; European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights; Freedom House; Haaretz; Human Rights Watch; Saudi Arabia  Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, DC; The Telegraph; UN  Human Rights Council, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, meets with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, Mozambique, May 14, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

MAPUTO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday to promote friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

In the capital city of Maputo, Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and held talks with the African country's Speaker of Parliament Veronica Macamo.

During his meeting with President Nyusi, Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's sincere greetings. Li said the deep China-Mozambique traditional friendship was rooted in the history of their struggles against imperialism and colonialism, and has grown even stronger in their joint efforts for common development.

Li said China and Mozambique are all-weather friends and that successive leaders of both countries have made great efforts for the friendship. He noted that the bilateral ties has entered a new era since the heads of state of both countries decided to elevate the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2016.

Li said that China will uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and adhere to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith in its Africa policy, as expounded by President Xi Jinping.

China supports Mozambique's efforts to realize independent and sustainable development, and will sincerely help Mozambique to develop and grow stronger, Li said.

The top Chinese legislator briefed on China's experience and practices of achieving economic development while maintaining political and social stability over the past 40 years since the start of the country's reform and opening-up policy. He said these achievements were attributed to the overall leadership by the Communist Party of China, the advantages of socialism, as well as China's development concepts that are people-centered and compliant with its own domestic conditions.

China stands ready to enhance exchanges on governance experience, and implement the important consensuses reached by heads of state of the two countries, Li said, stressing the three major advantages of bilateral relationship, that is, political mutual trust, economic complementarity and people-to-people friendship.

Li said the Chinese side will encourage Chinese companies to invest in Mozambique within the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries, in order to turn the bilateral traditional friendship and political mutual trust into more practical cooperation outcomes.

On his part, President Nyusi spoke highly of the achievements China has made in various aspects under the leadership of President Xi since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Nyusi said Mozambique is willing to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and to deepen cooperation with China in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, tourism and infrastructure, so as to bring the bilateral cooperation to an even higher level.

During talks with Speaker Macamo, Li expounded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially the theory of building a socialist democratic political system and briefed on the peolpe's congress system in China.

Li said that the NPC stands ready to maintain friendly exchanges at various levels with its Mozambican counterpart and make sure the cooperation agreements signed between the two sides to be well implemented.

Li also voiced his hope that the Mozambican parliament will play a proactive role in creating a more favorable legal environment so that more Chinese companies will invest in Mozambique due to the facilitation for investment.

Macamo said that the Mozambican parliament will enhance comprehensive dialogues with China's NPC, support each other on issues concerning their core interests, and make efforts to ensure that the legislative body serves as a constructive force in promoting the development of the ties between the two countries.

Mozambique was the second stop of Li's visit to three African nations. He previously visited Ethiopia and will visit Namibia afterwards. When Li arrived in Mozambique on Saturday, he first attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Mozambican Hero Square in Maputo.

During his stay in Mozambique, Li also attended a symposium that gathered executives of Chinese companies operating across Africa. He urged the companies to uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and follow the policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith put forward by President Xi. The top legislator urged the companies to shoulder social responsibility during operations, respect local laws and customs, and make greater contributions towards China-Africa comprehensive friendly cooperation.

Li also attended the opening ceremony of this year's joint conference of the Confucius Institutes in Africa. In his address at the conference on Monday, Li said that the Confucius Institutes not only belong to China, but also belong to the world.

Li said he hopes the Confucius Institutes in Africa will always focus on China-Africa friendship, knowledge sharing and cultural exchanges, urging the Confucius Institutes to introduce Africa to more Chinese people while promoting China's culture and telling China's true stories in Africa, as a messenger for China-Africa cultural exchanges.

During his stay in Maputo, Li also attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony of the Mozambique-China Cultural Center and the teaching building of a Confucius Institute and the communication and art school at the Eduardo Mondlane University, and the launching ceremony of the Mozambique part of the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project, and visited a China-Mozambique pilot center of agricultural technology and the suspension bridge over Maputo Bay assisted by the Chinese side.

Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, attends the launching ceremony of the Mozambique part of the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project in Maputo, Mozambique, May 13, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, attends a symposium that gathered executives of Chinese companies operating across Africa in Maputo, Mozambique, May 13, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, attends the opening ceremony of 2018's joint conference of the Confucius Institutes in Africa in Maputo, Mozambique, May 14, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)
Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo achieved an unprecedented sales result this weekend, recording the highest total ever for watch auctions held over a single weekend, with the combined total of CHF 45,199,750/$45,195,230/ 37,836,710 far eclipsing results from all other auction houses.

Daytona Ultimatum realises CHF 22,184,500/$22,182,281/18,570,645. In perfect 100% Sold sale the Geneva watch auction: SEVEN realises CHF 23,015,250 /$ 23,012,948/ 19,266,065

New World Records Include:

- Second highest result achieved by a Rolex wristwatch with the sale of the Unicorn for CHF5.9 million

- Highest result achieved by any Omega timepiece with the sale of Elvis Presleys Omega for CHF 1,812,500

- Highest result achieved by any A. Lange & Sohne timepiece sold at auction with the sale of unique stainless steel 1815 Homage to Walter Lange for CHF 852,500.

Clearly, the excitement witnessed during last Novembers sale of Paul Newmans Rolex Paul Newman Daytona  which holds the record for the highest result achieved by any wristwatch sold at auction at $17.8 million  has not dissipated.

Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo welcomed thousands of collectors at the Hotel La Reserve in Geneva to review the watches offered this season, and many more joined online in order to place their bids, or simply to follow the action in the room on sale day.

Many came to witness Daytona Ultimatum, a thematic auction consisting of 32 of the very best, most precious, and rarest Rolex Daytona watches. The Daytona Ultimatum evening sale brought in over CHF 22 million, with just 32 lots offered in Phillips most exclusive watch auction, bringing the average lot value to nearly CHF 700,000. The auction results were led by the mythical white gold Rolex reference 6265 known as The Unicorn, which achieved the second highest result for a Rolex watch sold at auction. In total, five Daytona models cleared the CHF 1 million mark, including four watches made in stainless steel.

Daytona Ultimatum was followed by Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN, a non-thematic sale comprising 185 watches from the finest watchmaking brands that were chosen on the basis of their condition, rarity and quality. The sale realised a total of CHF 23,015,250/$23,012,948/ 19,266,065 (pre-sale estimate: CHF 10.9 to 19.8 million), selling 98% by lot and 98% by value.

Together, Daytona Ultimatum and Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN realised a combined total of CHF 45,199,750/$45,195,230/ 37,836,710 the highest total result ever achieved for a series of watch auctions.

In total, nine watches cleared the elusive CHF 1 million mark. One of the most notable watches included in this weekends auction was Elvis Presleys white gold Omega (lot 160), a wristwatch formerly gifted to the King of RocknRoll by RCA Records in 1961 to commemorate the sale of 75 million records. The watch, sold during the first session of Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN, achieved a remarkable final result of CHF 1,812,500/US$1,812,318/ 1,517,243 establishing a new world record for any Omega watch sold at auction.

Several collectors attempted to acquire the watch, with 10 bidders vying for the prize at one point, but it was the Omega Museum who will ultimately bring the watch back to their headquarters in Bienne, Switzerland, as the latest addition to a growing collection.

Elvis Presleys Omega capped a wonderful evening for Omega, which also established a new world record for a Speedmaster following the sale of an early and well-preserved Speedmaster ref. CK 2915-1 (Lot 124) for CHF 408,500/$ 408,459/ 341,955.

Announced as the top lot of the Geneva Watch Auction, the possibly unique Patek Philippe yellow gold reference 2499/100 (lot 226) held its rank, fetching CHF 1,572,500/$1,572,342/1,316,339 and set a new world record for a fourth series Patek Philippe Reference 2499. Other historically important vintage Patek Philippe references attracted determined collectors from all over the world, producing some of the most spirited bidding of the weekend.

Some of the strongest results include the sale of an extremely rare World Time reference 1415 (lot 268) for CHF 972500/$972,402/814,079, and the sale of one of only two known platinum examples of the reference 3448 perpetual calendar (lot 224) for CHF 1,092,500/$ 1,092,390/ 914,531. The results confirm the ever-existing enthusiasm collectors have for vintage wristwatches made by the storied Swiss manufacturer.

Rolex watches also performed strongly. Two historically important Rolex reference 6062 triple calendar moon phase watches, one made in 18 karat yellow gold (Lot 128) and the other in stainless steel (Lot 180), respectively sold for CHF 636,500/$ 636,436/ 532,814 and CHF 1,452,500/$1,452,354/1,215,887. Finally, this weekend will be remembered for the results achieved by watches that sold for charities benefitting children, starting with the aforementioned sale of The Unicorn Rolex Ref. 6265, which achieved CHF 5.9 Million.

For the Geneva Watch Auction: SEVEN, A. Lange & Sohne created a unique wristwatch, the 1815 'Homage To Walter Lange' in stainless steel with black enamel dial. The timepiece fetched CHF 852,500/$852,414/713,627, breaking the world record for an A. Lange & Sohne wristwatch sold at auction. Proceeds of its sale were donated to the Swiss-based charity, Children Action: https://www.childrenaction.org

Meanwhile, Iron Manis Urwerk Reference UR-110RG featured in Spiderman: Homecoming1 on the wrist of Robert Downey Jr. sold to a phone bidder for CHF 150,000/$149,985/125,565. Proceeds of its sale went to the charity Manusodany, a non-profit organization that helps fund development projects for disadvantaged individuals of Haiti.

A wide selection of historically important vintage Breguet timepieces included in the sale also attracted strong interest from collectors across four continents, including the Breguet Museum itself.

Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant, expressed his satisfaction after the sales: Wow  this is the first word coming to my mind. I cant remember having seen so much enthusiasm from the market for a series of watch auctions, ever in my career. Records were broken as collectors once again recognised that quality, originality and rarity, paired with excellent provenance, are the key ingredients in todays watch collecting landscape. The atmosphere in the room was electric and the audience was rocking from the beginning to the end  not only when Elvis Presleys Omega was auctioned!

To me, as a lover of all beautiful watches, across styles, periods and manufacturers, it was so satisfying to see the million Swiss Franc mark cleared by multiple brands, notably Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Omega. Further record results were achieved for watches signed by the historic maisons, A. Lange & Sohne and Breguet.

Never did I think that in one weekend we would see nine wristwatches in an auction series clear the CHF 1 million mark  a definite sign that the market for collectors watches is truly international with incredible depth and a fully integrated and mature part of the global art market.
The Longines Master Collection: the Moon on her... The Longines Master...

Elegance, character and purity are the pillars of The Longines Master Collection, which is aimed at those who love the exceptional

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Egypt's Foreign Ministry on Monday hailed the efforts made by Libyan authorities to return the bodies of 20 Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Christians beheaded by the Islamic State group in 2015 and to hold perpetrators accountable.

A video released by the Islamic State group in February 2015 showed the beheading of the Egyptian Christians, who were handcuffed and wearing orange jumpsuits.

The victims' remains were repatriated to Cairo in caskets from the western Libyan city of Misrata by private plane on Monday.

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said that Egypt appreciates "the strenuous efforts" made by all Libyan authorities and state bodies, including the Libyan attorney general, forensic medicine officials, local authorities and security service to return the bodies back to Cairo.

The ministry also praised the "solidarity and keenness [shown] by all Libyan authorities that the perpetrators be punished."

The bodies were recovered in October 2017 after a militant involved in the beheadings was arrested by Libyan authorities and provided information about their whereabouts, a senior Libyan prosecutor said at the time.

Misrata's department of criminal investigation described the case in a statement on Monday as a "long, painful journey of hard work of troubleshooting, investigation and collection of information."

A total of 21 people were beheaded in the incident, including a Ghanaian whose body was not brought to Egypt along with the others.

Pope Tawadros II of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, along with a number of bishops, received the remains at Cairo International Airport on Monday and held prayers for the victims on the tarmac.

The bodies were then transported for burial in Egypts Minya governorate.

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Egypt's Minister of Health Ahmed Radi told Al-Ahram Arabic late on Monday that Egypt will open four North Sinai hospitals to the rising number of Palestinian protesters wounded by Israeli forces in Gaza in recent days.

"High quality emergency care has been prepared to receive the injuries in four different hospitals: Al-Arish, Rafah, Beer Al-Abd and Sheikh Zuweid," said Radi.

The ministry also sent seven ambulances across the Rafah border to the Gaza Strip in order to assist with the wounded, Radi added.

The health minister also noted that 58 different kinds of medicines and medical materials were sent to the Rafah border crossing to be used to help the injured.

Egypt on Monday said that it will keep the Rafah border crossing open and plans to send humanitarian aid into Gaza in response to the wounding of thousands of Palestinian protesters and killing of over 50 by Israeli forces.

The Rafah crossing is the only gateway into or out of Gaza that is not controlled by Israeli forces.

Palestinians on Tuesday mark the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, or "catastrophe," in which 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation.

The anniverary comes a day after the United States transferred its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in a move that has been denounced by Palestinians and much of the international community.

The move fulfilled a pledge by US President Donald Trump, who in December formally recognised the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

For decades, international consensus has been that the city's status must be negotiated between the two sides.

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Credit: Olivia BeeNow's your chance to party with The Pumpkins.

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced the 1979 House Party contest. Should you win, you and a friend will get flown out to Los Angeles to attend an intimate Pumpkins show at a "secret residential location" on June 28.

The whole thing is apparently inspired by the band's classic "1979" video. No word on who's bringing the giant tires.

For more info, visit SmashingPumpkins.com/1979.

The Smashing Pumpkins will kick off their Shiny and Oh So Bright tour, featuring the reunited Billy Corgan, James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlin, on July 12 in Glendale, Arizona.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Egypt's Minister of Defence Sedky Sobhi said in Moscow that current events in the Middle East are forcing the Egyptian government to modernize and upgrade the Egyptian armed forces, the Egyptian army said in a statement on Tuesday.

Sobhi, who returned to Cairo on Tuesday, travelled to Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry for a day of 2+2 talks on Monday with their Russian counterparts.

The Egyptian defence minister and his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoygu discussed their countries' ongoing military cooperation and how it could be expanded, according to an Egyptian armed forces' statement about the visit.

Sobhi and Shoygu also discussed recent developments in the Middle East.

Shoygu said that Russia was keen to develop cooperation with Egypt's armed forces and stressed the importance of Egypt's role in the region.

According to the statement, technical discussions concerning that cooperation will take place at an upcoming meeting of the Joint Egyptian-Russian military committee.

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The holy month of Ramadan will start on on Thursday 17 May in Egypt, the country's Grand Mufti Shawki Allam announced Tuesday evening.

Allam's announcement came during a celebration of the holy month organised by Egypt's Dar El-Ifta on Tuesday.

The Grand Mufti said Ramadan will start on Thursday, as the crescent moon by which the start of the Islamic holy month is measured, was not observed on Tuesday.

On the 29th day of the preceding month, Shaaban, Muslim scholars observe the new crescent in the sky after the sun sets. If they see it, the following day marks the beginning of Ramadan; if not, then Ramadan will commence the day after.

In an exclusive video to Al-Ahram Arabic news portal, the Grand Mufti congratulated Muslims worldwide ahead of the commencement of the holy month.

"We pray for peace, security, stability, and serenity around the world," Allam said in a video message.

The length of Islamic lunar calendar months, the ninth of which is Ramadan, varies between 29 and 30 days.

During Ramadan, Muslims abstain from drinking and eating from dawn until dusk.

In the holy month, Muslims fast for a full lunar month. The fasting begins at the fajr call to prayer, just before sunrise, and is broken at sundown.

Eid Al-Fitr, or "the feast of breaking the fast," is a three-day religious holiday marking the end of Ramadan, which is celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

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A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
China on Tuesday called for restraint, "especially" from Israel, after 59 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces during clashes and protests along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem.

"China is seriously concerned about the large number of casualties caused by the violent conflict in the Gaza border," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular press briefing.

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Britain called on Tuesday for an investigation after Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border.

"There should be an investigation into this," junior foreign office minister Alistair Burt told parliament. "The United Kingdom has been clear in calling for urgently a need to establish the facts of what happened, including why such a volume of live fire was used ..."

"There are different forms of inquiry that are possible through the United Nations and we have to find the right formula, but it is important to find out all the facts."

Burt also called for an easing of restrictions on movement in Gaza and international support for infrastructure and development projects there.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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The Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) called on international leaders to demand that Israel is held accountable for the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters in Gaza on Monday in what the organisation called a "horrible massacre."

In an official statement on Tuesday, the PMRS condemned in strongest terms the ongoing Israeli assault on civilians protesting along the Gaza border against the US embassy opening in Jerusalem.

The organisation called on its partners to demand that Israel immediately halt its unlawful use of force.

Israeli forces on Monday killed at least 61 people and injured at least 2,400 others in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

"Nobody should remain silent while this horrible massacre continues against peaceful civilians," the PMRS said.

Monday's protests were aimed against the opening of the controversial US embassy to Israel in Jerusalem, which had angered Palestinians who want the eastern part of the city as their capital.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians rallied near the border fence, with smaller numbers seeking to breach it.

The grassroots community-based Palestinian health organization said in its statement that since the onset of the protests at the end of March, Israel has repeatedly violated all basic principles of international law regarding the use of force against civilians and has blatantly ignored international and internal calls to end the use of live ammunition against unarmed protesters.

It accused the Israeli officials of publicly standing by the decision to kill civilians who participated in peaceful protests.

Strong suspicion has been raised by human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, that orders were given to soldiers to shoot to maim.

"Children, disabled persons, journalists, first aid responders and medical personnel have been indiscriminately targeted and killed in complete violations of humanitarian law and any basic sense of humanity," the PMRS statement said.

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(idexonline.com) - Six months after Robert Mugabe was ousted from office, there appears to be a new-found confidence among investors that Zimbabwe has, at last, become a place where they can safely do business. Recently, Botswana Diamonds signed a Memorandum of Understanding with gold miner, Vast Resources, which will see the firms exchange information derived from past exploration on areas prospective for diamonds in Zimbabwe. In addition, they will create a jointly owned body which will develop diamond resources in the southern African country in line with Zimbabwe's joint ownership laws as they relate to diamonds. "Zimbabwe is a country with excellent diamond potential, said John Teeling, Chairman of Botswana Diamonds. Both Botswana Diamonds and Vast Resources have extensive experience in and knowledge of the country. It is opening for business and both companies are keen to make the most of this opportunity.
Septuagenarian Edward Anklam has recently opened a truly unique business establishment in Culbertson. Open for business for the past month, Anklam's Studio and Gallery on Culbertson's main street offers a fascinating glimpse into America's past. Anklam carves pictures of wildlife or Native American themes onto old buffalo bones that he has collected over the course of the last six decades. These carvings on bone constitute the bulk of his business, but he also operates a gallery of historical Americana and has an eclectic mix of items on display, from limited edition collectible automobiles to Native American artifacts to Civil War relics.

"This is a very unusual store," Anklam acknowledges. "I have a menage of items for sale. I love history, artifacts interest me, and I like finding old things and making them new again by bringing them back to life in some way. I have traveled all over the country and my store is unique."

The studio's main emphasis focuses on the carvings on buffalo bones. Anklam began gathering these skeletal pieces along the Missouri River 65 years ago. "I started collecting as a child," Anklam recalls. "I went fishing with my dad and the bones we found fascinated me. My dad explained about the buffalo and how the bones got in the river. When the water was low along the Missouri I walked the water line and picked up all the bones I found. I hoped to find enough of them to make a complete skeleton but I never found all the right pieces. However, I saved all the bones, and about ten years ago I started carving pictures on them. I take a bone, come up with a picture, and sell the result as art."

In 1979 Anklam had a sampling of his buffalo bones carbon dated. He discovered his bones range in age from one thousand to three thousand years old.

Anklam has always exhibited an artistic talent. He restored old cars for years, but he inhaled too much old paint which caused health issues. His restoration of cars came to a halt, but when he could no longer bring old vehicles back to life, he turned his attention to his collection of buffalo bones. He began carving pictures onto the bones and gave the resulting artwork to friends and family. Impressed with Anklam's artistic ability, recipients of his carvings urged him to find an outlet for his products. "People encouraged me to sell on the Internet, but I am too old for that,"

Anklam laughs. "I decided to start a store here in Culbertson instead."

Although his priority remains on the carvings in bone, Anklam's Studio and Gallery offers other fine work and memorabilia items. "This is a great place to browse," Anklam says. "I've got an uncommon limited edition of collectible cars on display and for sale. I've got artifacts that I've found over the past 60 years, including dozens of arrowheads and metal objects. I've recreated arrows and tomahawks exactly as they once were. I have limited edition knife sets. I've got reconstructed Civil War artifacts, including swords, caps, and powder horns."

He adds, "I love American history from the Civil War to the present era and I have great admiration for the Native American way of life."

Anklam working on an original carving in deer antler.

Anklam gained his regard for the Native American life at a young age. "I learned about Native American culture in 1957," Anklam remarks. "I, along with two other boys, was taught by a full-blooded Sioux elder, Raven Crow, who was in his 80's at the time. The two other boys and I took lessons from Raven Crow for a Boy Scout project. We designed and made a full Indian regalia under Raven Crow's tutelage. I have a photograph from 1957 showing us wearing Indian clothing that we made ourselves, from the headdress to the leggings."

He adds, "This was fascinating for me and I gained total admiration and respect for Native American culture thanks to Raven Crow and his teachings."

Anklam's Studio and Gallery sits at 113 1/2 Broadway in Culbertson. "It can't be missed, it is well signed," Anklam says. "The studio and shop are a very different shopping experience, believe me. People are amazed at what I've got and they really enjoy browsing. This is a one-of-a-kind store."

He concludes, "I am really excited about this business venture."

People can stop to shop or browse at the Studio and Gallery Mondays through Fridays from 9-5, and on Saturdays from 9 to noon.
This summer, therell be a new food truck in town. The Boys & Girls Club of Richland County will be running a Mobile Summer Food Program out of a food trailer, kindly provided at cost by B & B Trailers.

In partnership with Montana No Kid Hungry and the Office of Public Instruction, the trailer will be serving two free meals for children each day: breakfast at the Richland County Housing Authority  next to West Side School  and lunch at the parks nearest the major public housing sites. Many children rely on school meals to get the nutrition they need. During the summer, they may get fewer square meals, contributing to learning loss and behavioral issues. The new mobile summer food program addresses this issue.

We can go directly to the kids who need us most in the areas that are convenient for them, said Janelle Buxbaum, program director at the Boys & Girls Club and last years summer meals director. In years past, summer meals were served at Central Elementary School  too far, geographically, from the neediest kids. This led to hungry children showing up on the doorstep of the Richland County Housing Authority.

Boys & Girls Club has also run the backpack food program, which sends needy children home with no-prep foods each weekend. Students arrive to school on Monday, or after a long break, ready to learn, said Sara Romo, principal at Central Elementary School, when speaking of the impact of the program.

This is part of our commitment to making sure no child goes hungry in Richland County, said Elaine Stedman, Boys & Girls Club CEO, not just the children who are members of our Club.

The Club will prepare meals  in accordance with federal nutritional standards  at the kitchen of Peoples Congregational Church, then use the food trailer to take them to the service sites. The Club is also seeking volunteers for food preparation, service, and to help run educational programming for the kids after lunch.

Meals will be provided for free to anyone 18 and under and at a low cost to adults. Breakfast will be served Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Richland County Housing Authority Community Room. The food trailer will be delivering freshly prepared packaged meals from 11  11:30 a.m. in the Housing Authoritys parking lot; 12  12:20 p.m. at Lyndale Park; and 12:40  1 p.m. at Water Tower Park every weekday starting June 11 through July 31.

The Richland County Nutrition Coalition supports healthy meals throughout the community and is excited to see the program grow to help the community with free nutritious meal for kids in the summer. Visit the Richland County Nutrition Coalition Facebook page this summer to get updates on where the trailer will be and what they will be serving.
Two candidates are challenging McKenzie County Sheriff incumbent, Gary Schwartzenberger. Schwartzenberger has had a controversial term as McKenzie County Sheriff, with a misdemeanor charge of the misapplication of entrusted property recently dropped in January of this year. Schwartzenberger, was reinstated as sheriff by Governor Doug Burgum, after having been suspended as the result of a special investigation of the North Dakota Attorney General. He is now running for reelection.

Brady Beyers is a native of Montana, born and raised in the state capitol of Helena, and has made Watford City his home since 2011. Beyers was hired as full-time deputy for the McKenzie County Sheriffs office seven years ago, which is why he moved to McKenzie County. Beyers resigned from his position as a McKenzie County deputy in July of 2014. While serving as a deputy, Beyers started a towing company, which he says began as he learned how to unlock vehicles in the sheriffs department and he realized there was a demand for the service.

Beyers told The Roundup, Im running for sheriff to hopefully make a difference. I currently work very closely with the deputies and police department officers.

Beyers, who is married and has two small children, continued, Its changed a lot since I was there. It doesnt seem like a happy place for the officers over there. I want to make it a more friendly place for the public to come to and share their concerns.

When asked what he would do differently from the current administration, Beyers answered, The big thing for me is going to be transparency. Im going to open up the doors to the public so they can come ask questions. I will be more community oriented.

I started a business in Watford City from absolutely nothing, Beyers added. I built it into the biggest towing company in Watford City. Hopefully I can do the same with the sheriffs department, to increase its productivity and its overall, general appearance to the public.

Matthew Johansen is the second challenger to incumbent, Gary Schwartzenberger. Johansen was born in Grand Forks and moved to McKenzie County with his parents at the age of five. He later attended Johnson Corners Christian Academy and the Mandaree Public School as a child, before relocating in 1994 to Fergus Falls. After college, Johansen began his service in law enforcement in 2000 with the Sheridan County Sheriffs Department and later the McLean County Sheriffs Department, the Emmons County Sheriffs Department, the Steele County Sheriffs Department and ultimately the McKenzie County Sheriffs Department, beginning in 2007. Currently, he holds the title of sergeant and handles the Truck Enforcement Division. Johansen is married with three children.

Johansen corresponded withThe Roundup, explaining why he was running for office. Johansen said, In November of 2016, I was selected by the county commissioners to be the interim Sheriff of McKenzie County. It was stated at the time by the County Commissioners that placed me in that position that McKenzie County was fortunate to have such a competent, decisive, and experienced officer within the countys own Sheriffs Department and they felt I would be a calming and unifying influence.

He continued, Those comments stuck with me and over the 9 months I was Interim Sheriff I had the privilege and honor to work with a great group of men and women. Im running for Sheriff because those skills are needed now more than ever to improve the department and protect and serve the good people of McKenzie County. I look forward to meeting and presenting to the folks of McKenzie County why I am the best candidate and deserve their vote to be their next sheriff.

When asked what improvements he desired to make to the office, Johansen said, [I would like to] improve community policing, deputies patrolling in rural areas, and have an open door policy for deputies and the public.

Johansen explained the three goals he has for the Sheriffs Department, should he be elected.

First, I want to bring the Sheriffs Department back to a fully functioning department. I will fully staff the department to provide the public safety our citizens deserve, and deputies will receive the training they need to perform their duties with knowledge and competence.

Secondly, I will work with other Public Safety Agencies to compound our effectiveness, Johansen continued. I will build relationships with other law enforcement agencies, Fire Departments, EMT Services, Federal and State and other agencies to enhance our abilities to prevent crime, keep our citizens safe, to add transparency and accountability. Third will be fiscal accountability and responsibility. I will maintain the department within the budget the county has set by cutting out-of-control overtime pay, by working more efficiently, and by leading through example with best professional practices.

Sheriff Gary Schwartzenberger explained to The Roundup why he was running for office.

I am not done, Schwartzenberger said. I still have more to do. After this much of a fight, why would I quit?

Schwartzenberger explained his priorities for the next term, My main priority is combating drugs and helping the youth out. I want to go on a campaign with Live Empowered to combat cyber-bullying and suicide awareness. Its getting out of hand.

When asked if hes been able to re-staff the department after resignations from certain deputies when he was reinstated, Schwartzenberger told The Roundup, I think one of the reasons why there was a lot of departure is because when theres change, people dont really accept change well. When you hold people accountable, they sometimes dont like it. Weve replaced them with quality individuals.

Schwartzenberger was asked if he anticipated increased law enforcement needs with what many people feel is another impending oil boom, and he replied, I really dont. We weathered the storm in the last boom. Theres been a steady increase over the last four months, but it hasnt really spiked. I think we have the manpower to handle it.
Janet Christoffersen will be a strong county attorney for Richland County. Eastern Montana will always be home to me. I was raised in Sheridan County, Montana, and resided there for more than thirty years. Because of that, I have personally known Janets family for many years as driven, independent, reliable, and trustworthy individuals. Janet exhibits all of those quality traits, and more.

I have primarily practiced in Red Lodge, Montana since, 2005; however, my criminal defense practice has recently expanded to take me home to eastern Montana, and specifically, Richland County. My criminal practice has placed me squarely in opposition to Janet, and I have since come to know Janet on a professional level. It is no surprise that the personal qualities I have known in Janet have carried over to her profession as a deputy county attorney. Her dedication to our law enforcement officers, community safety, and criminal accountability, is unquestioned. Although I dont always agree with her position on our cases, she approaches those matters with dignified respect, fairness, and professionalism, with a passionate approach to ensuring justice.

Doing justice doesnt always mean that offenders should be jailed or go to prison. Justice means that every case is unique and requires a unique approach to resolution, and offender accountability. While Janet recognizes that incarceration is appropriate in certain cases, she always gives unique attention to the particular facts to ensure that justice is accomplished. She knows that to prevent people from reoffending, traditional punishments do not always succeed; novel approaches must be used to hold defendants accountable, to rehabilitate them, and to work toward their ultimate reform to keep our communities safe.

This approach requires more work and effort for a prosecuting attorney than just taking a blanket approach to cases. Janet is willing to go the extra mile and do that extra work to ensure that Richland County is a safe, secure place to work, raise a family, and operate a business.

The county attorney is responsible to advise the county on many non-criminal matters. Her background in private practice, where she honed her legal abilities, and her common sense approach to legal issues, will serve her well as county attorney. Richland County can rest assured that if Janet Christoffersen is elected as County Attorney, she will work to ensure that the county is safe, offenders are held accountable, and the county has first class legal representation.

Please consider Janet Christoffersen for County Attorney in the upcoming primary election.

Sincerely,

Steven L. Thuesen

Attorney at Law
Montana Public Service Commission District #1 will lose a valuable asset this year due to term limits. Travis Kavulla, Vice Chairman, (Rep) will be replaced after the November 2018 General election. Commissioners' on the PSC normally do not get a lot of press, but the positions are critically important for all citizens, especially those in rural areas. District #1 covers 19 north central and northeast counties. The PSC works with a professional staff of approximately 30 economists, engineers, attorneys, rate analysts, and others to regulate private investor-owned natural gas, electric, telephone, water and private sewer companies doing business in Montana. In addition the PSC regulates intrastate railroads and certain motor carriers hauling regulated commodities. The PSC oversees natural gas pipeline safety regulations. In my opinion, that is a lot of responsibility and we need a good man for the job.

We are fortunate to have a past Montana State Legislature who is a candidate for the job, Republican Randy Pinocci, Sun River Mt.

Randy has worked with the PSC while in Helena and is well versed in their responsibilities and duties and will be able to hit the ground running on day 1. A vote for Randy Pinocci is a vote for a true Republican who supports smaller government, less taxes and free enterprise. Don't forget to vote in the June Primary and the General election in November for Republican Randy Pinocci.
I support Joel Krautter for House District 35 Representative.

Joel is one of my associates, a shareholder in my firm and a friend. He is the best candidate for HD 35. But who is Joel? Hes a compassionate, diligent, hardworking lawyer. Hes familiar with adversity. Hes a lawyer to call upon for all matter of representation: contracts, real estate, criminal defense and probate. Yes he defends persons charged with crimes. This is the area of the law where the defense attorney brings up constitutional protections from the overreaching actions of the State. Many of us think badly of criminal defense attorneys. But it is the defense council that protects us all under the constitution and bill of rights. Who else can check state action involved in unlawful stops, unlawful searches and seizures or improper use of evidence? Quite often we read in the news that wrongly convicted persons are released from prison. Joel is one lawyer that will step forward, make an argument and defend constitutional rights, even in the face of unpopular public opinion. He will protect our constitutional rights in the Montana legislature.

Joel is also good at resolving disputes. He has strong communication skills, listens carefully and finds common ground to reach results. He is being accused of abandoning conservative principals by running on a platform: Common Sense Conservative, Problem  Solving Leadership. I disagree his platform abandons these principals. His opponent appears to be running on a platform that doesnt allow for compromise. This stance results in stagnation. There are many examples:  the US Congress cannot get to an agreement on immigration;  some state governments have been unable to address teacher pay for so long that they (Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado) are facing a crisis. Joel has conservative convictions. However, he is willing to listen, find common ground and lead others in legislating. Joel is someone with and open mind I want representing me.

Please join me in voting for Joel Krautter on June 5, 2018.

Donald L. Netzer
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced his resignation Monday night after a report from the New Yorker revealed accusations that he physically abused four women.

In a statement, Schneiderman said he strongly contested the allegations but indicated they would prevent him from doing his job.

"While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office's work at this critical time," Schneiderman said. "I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of on May 8, 2018."

Schneiderman's resignation comes after the New Yorker detailed accusations that he subjected four women with whom he has had romantic relationships or encounters to non-consensual physical violence.

Before announcing his resignation, Schneiderman said he engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity but denied assaulting anyone or engaging in non-consensual sex.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and the National Organization for Women had all called on Schneiderman to resign.

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Business News
China is scheduled to release a raft of data on Tuesday, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. On tap are April numbers for retail sales, industrial production and fixed asset investment.

Retail sales are expected to rise 10.0 percent on year, slowing from 10.1 percent in March. Industrial production is tipped to expand an annual 6.4 percent, up from 6.0 percent in the previous month. FAI is pegged at 7.4 percent, easing from 7.5 percent a month earlier.

The Reserve Bank of Australia will release the minutes from its monetary policy meeting on May 1. At the meeting, the RBA maintained its benchmark lending rate at 1.50 percent.

Japan will see March numbers for its tertiary industry index, with forecasts suggesting a decline of 0.2 percent on month following the flat reading in February.

Indonesia will provide April trade data and Q1 numbers for current account. In March, imports were worth $14.49 billion and exports were at $15.58 billion for a trade surplus of $1.09 billion. In Q4, the current account deficit was $5.76 billion.

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Futures exchange CME Group has joined with Crypto Facilities Ltd, a cryptocurrency trading platform, to launch two indexes to track Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency as per market capitalization.

In a statement, the companies announced the launch of CME CF Ether-Dollar Reference Rate and CME CF Ether-Dollar Real Time Index. The Ether Reference Rate will provide a daily benchmark price in U.S. dollars at 4 pm London time, while Ether Real Time Index will allow users access to a real-time Ether price in U.S. dollars.

Crypto Facilities will calculate both the Ether Reference Rate and Ether Real Time Index. They will be based on transactions and order book activity from two major cryptocurrency exchanges: Kraken and Bitstamp.

CME said the reference rates are available on both companies' websites and will be distributed on the CME Group Market Data Platform beginning June 4.

Meanwhile,CME, which launched bitcoin futures back in December, reportedly said it has no plans for ethereum futures right now.

Timo Schlaefer, CEO of Crypto Facilities, said, "Ether, the second largest cryptocurrency, experienced incredible adoption and growth in 2017, evolving into the leading blockchain for smart contracts. We are excited to be contributing to the strong community that has developed around the Ethereum network by providing a reliable reference rate and real-time Ether-Dollar price."

According to coinmarketcap, Ethereum was trading at $731.78, up 4.3 percent over the last 24 hours, with a market cap of $72.8 billion.

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Business News
The Arab League's Permanent Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday called on the International Criminal Court prosecutor to urgently investigate "the crimes of the Israeli occupation" against Palestinians.

"Israel is an oppressive and murderous entity and its politicians and officers must be taken to the International Criminal Court," Amjad Shamout, the committee's chairman, said in a statement.

Shamout was referring to the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli forces during clashes and protests on Monday over the deeply controversial opening of a US embassy in Jerusalem.

The ICC chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, said Tuesday she would "take any action warranted" to prosecute crimes.

"My staff is vigilantly following developments on the ground and recording any alleged crime that could fall within" the tribunal's jurisdiction, she said in a statement to AFP, adding: "The violence must stop."

Arab League chief Ahmed Abul Gheit condemned the "massacres" of Palestinians, which he said resemble "war crimes".

In a statement he called on the international community to "protect the Palestinian people, who have chosen the path of peaceful struggle and have been confronted with brutality, violence and murder".

The Arab League will hold emergency talks Wednesday to discuss what it has called Washington's "illegal" relocation of its embassy to the disputed city.

Jerusalem's status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.

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Florida's Seminole County has partnered with bitcoin payment service provider BitPay to start accepting cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) for payment of taxes and other services starting this summer. It is probably the first U.S. government agency to accept cryptocurrency.

A press release from Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg said the payment of taxes through blockchain-based Bitpay platform will enable tax payers to avoid the heavy third-party processor fees while paying taxes by credit or debit card.

Seminole County Tax Collector will also accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash for other services such as property tax, driver license and ID card fee, tags and titles. The county will receive settlement the next day directly to its bank account in U.S. dollars, without any price volatility or risk.

BitPay enables transactions from any computer or mobile device making it easy for county residents. BitPay charges 1 percent for approving the crypto transaction and settlement.

"With the Seminole County Tax Collector's office, we have engaged our first government agency to accept bitcoin and bitcoin cash by making it easy and seamless for them e," said Jeremie Beaudry, Head of Compliance at BitPay.

The country is not alone in making efforts to start accepting cryptocurrency for taxes. Lawmakers in the states of Georgia and Arizona have made attempts, though unsuccessful, through proposed bills to allow citizens to pay their state taxes in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

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Business News
President Donald Trump offered a mixed assessment of leaks from within his administration in a post on Twitter on Monday.

Trump accused the media of exaggerating the leaks from the White House, while at the same time condemning the leakers as "traitors and cowards."

"The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible," Trump said. "With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!"

The tweet from Trump comes after White House communications aide Kelly Sadler came under fire after a comment she made about Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., was leaked to the press.

During a closed-door White House meeting last week, Sadler reportedly suggested McCain's opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel does not matter because "he's dying anyway."

Reports said White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders berated the White House communications and press staff after Sadler's comments were leaked.

Deputy Press Secretary Raj Shah suggested on Monday that leaks of private conservations have the potential to create a "difficult work environment."

"If you aren't able, in internal meetings, to speak your mind or convey thoughts or say anything that you feel without feeling like your colleagues will betray you, that creates a very difficult work environment," Shah said. "I think anybody who works anywhere can recognize that."

(Photo: Gage Skidmore)

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Political News
Employees at a Cheesecake Factory in Miami reportedly threatened a black man for wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

According to the Daily Wire, employees at a Cheesecake Factory in Miami, Florida, verbally attacked and made threatening gestures toward 22-year-old Eugenior Joseph who was dining with his girlfriend's family simply because he was wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat.

According to the victim's account, a woman employee of the restaurant walked up to him and started pointing at his MAGA hat and signaled to other employees to come over.

"Her finger was literally on top of his head, we were all looking at her like 'what is happening?'" one witness told The Daily Wire. "She was pointing at him, calling her other coworkers, telling them to look at this guy wearing a Make America Great Again hat."

The report says that at a point around a dozen or so employees approached the table and began making comments about the hat, with some saying they wanted to punch Joseph in the face.

Another witness told The Daily Wire that the group of employees looked like a lynch mob and they couldn't stand to see a black man wearing a hat that showed support for the president.

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Business News
Following President Donald Trump's decision last week to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Tuesday the U.S. is imposing sanctions on the head of the Islamic republic's central bank.

The Treasury accused Iranian Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif of conspiring to move millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to the militant group Hizballah.

"It is appalling, but not surprising, that Iran's senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hizballah," Mnuchin said.

He added, "It undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor."

The Treasury also imposed sanctions on another senior central bank official, an Iraq-based bank and its chairman, and a key Hizballah official.

Seif and the others were also designated as "Specially Designated Global Terrorists" under an executive order that targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism.

The move by the Treasury comes after Trump announced last Tuesday that the U.S. will withdraw from an international agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program.

Trump harshly criticized the nuclear agreement in remarks from the White House and signed a memorandum re-imposing sanctions on Iran.

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Seeking to boost support for her nomination as CIA Director, Gina Haspel sent a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Virg., on Monday claiming she now believes the CIA should not have undertaken its enhanced interrogation program.

"While I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world," Haspel wrote.

"With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken," she added. "The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that."

Haspel noted that if she is confirmed as CIA Director, she would refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to her moral and ethical values.

The letter comes as Haspel has faced some criticism for failing to speak out forcefully enough against enhanced interrogations, which she oversaw as chief of a CIA black site in Thailand.

Republican Senators Rand Paul, R-Ken., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have expressed opposition to Haspel's nomination over her role in the enhanced interrogations, which critics claim amount to torture.

Meanwhile, Haspel has received support from Democratic Senators Joe Manchin, W-V., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., who are both up for re-election in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016.

Trump suggested in a post on Twitter last week that Democrats oppose Haspel's nomination because she is "too tough on terror."

"My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists," Trump tweeted.

He added, "Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified person, a woman, who Democrats want OUT because she is too tough on terror. Win Gina!"

The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on Haspel's nomination as CIA Director on Wednesday, with a vote in the full Senate likely next week.

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Political News
A man from Nebrask has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for producing child pornography in 2015. The sentence will be followed by five years of supervised release.

Nicholas Alford, 26, pleaded guilty on February 15 to one count of production of child pornography before Chief U.S. District Court Judge Laurie Smith Camp of the District of Nebraska.

In July 2015, Alford provided a 13-year-old minor with the username for a Kik Messenger account user who Alford claimed would pay the minor money in exchange for sexually explicit images. Alford was actually the user of the Kik Messenger account and he persuaded the minor to send dozens of sexually explicit images to his Kik Messenger account.

A search warrant executed on Alford's Bellevue residence resulted in the discovery of dozens of images and videos depicting the minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

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Business News
North Korea has reportedly threatened to cancel an historic meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump over U.S.-South Korean military drills.

Citing North Korean state media, South Korean news agency Yonhap said North Korea is also canceling high-level talks with South Korea planned for Wednesday.

North's Korean Central News Agency described the drills between the U.S. and South Korean air forces as a rehearsal for an invasion and a provocation amid warming ties, according to Yonhap.

In a post on Twitter last Thursday, Trump revealed the planned meeting with Kim would be held in Singapore on Tuesday, June 12th.

Trump predicted that the meeting with Kim would be a "very big success" and said the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula would be his "proudest achievement."

While Trump previously referred to Kim as a "maniac" and a "madman," he described the North Korean leader as being "very open" and "honorable" in remarks last month.

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Gap Inc. issued an apology to China after the apparel retailer came under fire for one of its T-shirt that is for sale in North America, which showed a wrong map of the country.

Gap came under heavy fire from Chinese netizens for selling t-shirts depicting a map of China, which omitted Taiwan, disputed islands in the South China Sea and parts of the semiautonomous regions of Tibet.

"Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We've learned a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas mistakenly failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologize for this unintentional error," Gap said in a statement, according to China's Global Times newspaper.

"As a responsible company, Gap Inc. strictly follows Chinese laws and rules," Gap added.

People's Daily,China tweeted "American clothing retailer @Gapon Monday apologized for printing incomplete Chinese map on T-shirts for sales outside #China, said the brand respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity"

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Business News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The U.S. dollar is rising globally, not only compared to the Brazilian real, and the government strategy to deal with a weaker local currency is to seek more fiscal consolidation, said Brazil's Finance Minister, Eduardo Guardia.

Earlier Tuesday, the locally traded U.S. dollar reached R$ 3.6930, the highest level in more than two years. Guardia, however, pointed that other emerging countries are facing the same situation.

The Brazilian government must work to "increase productivity and cut costs so that the becomes more efficient and competitive," he added.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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(Agencia CMA Latam) - Colombia's presidential candidates asked the National Liberation Army guerrilla to suspend the group's activities during the May 27 election and insisted that the ceasefire remains in force for an "indefinite" period.

Humberto de la Calle, a presidential candidate and former chief negotiator of the Colombian government during the peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), said that a suspension of the ELN activities during the election would be good news, "but is really insufficient."

The former Colombian vice president, Germ?n Vargas Lleras, said that the ceasefire alone would not be enough. "It can't be that while they are negotiating [peace] in Cuba, they are also building up their military and controlling the drugs and illegal mining . In the end, however, that would be a good first step."

ELN said that it would suspend its military activities from May 25 to 29 so that the Colombian people can vote.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Populist Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr on Tuesday eyed a governing coalition after dealing a blow to both Iranian and US influence with a shock election triumph that upended Iraqi politics.

With the last ballots still being counted, however, Tehran and its local allies already appeared to be making a rival push to block the fiery preacher's route to power.

Near complete results showed Sadr scooping the most seats in parliament after his Marching Towards Reform alliance with Iraq's communists tapped popular anger over corruption and foreign meddling.

Rivals called to congratulate him on the victory, his office said, after Iraqis went to the poll Saturday for the country's first election since the defeat of the Islamic State group.

The vote -- which saw record high abstentions -- was a slap in the face to the widely reviled elite that has dominated Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Sadr, who has ruled himself out of becoming prime minister, is looking to be the kingmaker and to cobble together a technocrat government from a dozen parties.

But with his alliance falling short of a majority, it will take lengthy wrangling to forge a coalition.

Tallies put the Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former paramilitary fighters who helped battle IS in second place, followed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's bloc.

Abadi -- a consensus figure favoured by the US -- had been seen as likely frontrunner after declaring victory over the jihadists five months ago.

Sadr rose to prominence in the wake of the US invasion, when his militia fought a bloody insurgency against American troops.

After years on the sidelines, he has reinvented himself as a champion of the poor and linked up with secularists to battle corruption.

He is one of the few Iraqi politicians opposed to both the presence of American troops and the heavy influence that neighbouring Iran exercises over Iraq.

In a surprising move last year, he visited regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, as Tehran's rival Riyadh looks to increase its involvement in Iraq.

Supporters in the cleric's impoverished Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City -- named after his late ayatollah father -- remain hopeful that his victory could spell improvements.

"If we want to change things then the prime minister needs to come from Marching Towards Reform," said resident Salah Jamal, 24.

"We have tried all the others," Jamal insisted. "But we have had no results."

The protracted horse-trading ahead comes at a time of high tensions after Washington's withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and fears of a tug-of-war over Iraq.

While Sadr's victory has yet to be confirmed, Iran already appears to convening meetings to try to block him from forming a government.

A participant said Qassem Suleimani, the foreign operations chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, was in Baghdad to try to broker a coalition among Sadr's Shia rivals.

Suleimani has reportedly called for a union between Abadi's bloc, the Conquest Alliance of former anti-IS commander Ameri and former premier Nuri al-Maliki.

Abadi and Maliki are bitter rivals despite coming from the establishment Dawa party that has dominated politics in post-Saddam Iraq.

While speculation swirls, the next concrete step remains completing the vote count and firming up the final makeup of Iraq's new 329-seat parliament.

Recounts after disputes in Dohuk and Kirkuk provinces have delayed the final figures, but officials said a full tally should be announced by Friday.

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Heavy fighting has broken out in the western Afghan city of Farah after the Taliban launched a major offensive overnight to capture the restive provincial capital, with residents reporting air strikes, explosions and gunfire.

Government forces including 100 commandoes have arrived and are clashing with the insurgents, a local provincial council member told AFP, as residents said the situation was "very bad".

The attack, which comes as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive, began around midnight, with the insurgents capturing one district and parts of another, local provincial council member Jamila Amini told AFP Tuesday from inside the city.

"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions," she said.

"Government reinforcements have arrived including around 100 commando forces."

At least one army convoy has been hit by a suicide attacker on a motorbike, she added, saying there are casualties.

Satar Hissaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP: "The situation is very bad".

"Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said.

"NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban."

The insurgents released a statement warning residents to remain inside their homes and called on people to "stay calm".

But the defence ministry said the army had repulsed the attack, and "the security forces are now chasing the enemy".

"The sounds of explosions and gunfire have filled the city," one resident who gave his name as Bilal said, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS.

The assault comes as the Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture by the Afghan government.

Farah is a poppy-growing province in a hard to reach part of Afghanistan which a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline will traverse.

Despite security concerns, the Taliban have pledged to cooperate with the project.

Farah has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years.

In 2017 insurgents tried to overrun the capital three times, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

Afghan security forces have struggled to hold back the resurgent Taliban since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014.

The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including in Kunduz and Lashkar Gah.

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Malaysia's 92-year-old new leader Mahathir Mohamad said he expects to stay as prime minister for up to two years and vowed not to cut any deals to keep his predecessor out of jail for alleged corruption.

Mahathir told the Wall Street Journal he would be in power for one to two years -- before an expected handover to former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is expected to be released on Wednesday after three years in jail on a sodomy conviction.

Mahathir -- who ruled Malaysia from 1981-2003 -- came out of retirement to oust scandal-tainted former premier Najib Razak in an astonishing election turnaround last week.

Mahathir was asked in an interview by video link whether a deal could be cut with Najib, who is alleged to have overseen the looting of government investment fund 1MDB.

"No deal," Mahathir said in the interview, conducted for a business forum organised by the newspaper in Tokyo.

Billions of dollars are believed to have been siphoned off from the fund, with most reportedly disappearing overseas, while $681 million also mysteriously appeared in Najib's personal bank accounts in 2013.

"We are now in process of getting into details of matters he suppressed in his time," Mahathir said of Najib.

Without a deal to help recover the funds, Najib faces the likelihood of prosecution and possible criminal charges. Mahathir has ordered him barred from leaving the country.

Anwar, whose sodomy conviction is believed by supporters to have been concocted by Najib to derail the opposition, is expected to be pardoned by the country's king on Wednesday and released.

Mahathir has previously said he expects to stay in charge for a period of time, partly to ensure a smooth transition, but has already signalled he would eventually yield to Anwar.

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Belgium on Tuesday demanded a UN inquiry into the violence in Gaza and summoned Israel's ambassador to the foreign ministry after she described all the Palestinian victims as "terrorists".

Belgium's foreign ministry said it summoned ambassador Simona Frankel over her remarks while Prime Minister Charles Michel said: "We call for an international inquiry led by the United Nations."



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Mothers Day and International Nurses Day brought smiles and much happiness to many mothers at the Methodist Church Matafele on Sunday.

There, a ceremony to honor the significant role of nurses not only in Samoa but the world was held.

The World Nurses Day Theme 2018 is Nurse- A Voice to Lead: Health Is a Human Right.

The Minister of Communications and Information and Technology (M.C.I.T), Afamasaga Rico Tupai spoke on behalf of the Government to thank the nurses for their work.

He highlighted the importance of not only the roles of mothers but especially nurses in our society, and as you have witnessed we work to develop ways on improving the service of caring for sick people.

As the theme, a voice to lead the works of love and care, we the government thank you for your role and lives offered to help protect those who are ill, he said.

I always remember Florence Nightingale for having a peaceful expression whenever she worked with patients, I hope you all will serve the people of our country the same way.

He also urged the nurses to perform their duties with love.

Samoa Nurses Association Incorporated President, Solialofi Papalii Pisimaka said their main aim is to look after the development of nursing but also focus on prioritizing the safety of nurses in the working environment.

We work with the National University of Samoa and Ministry of Health to put together a pathway, and we also assist with the curriculum and especially the criteria for quality nurses, she said.

She also expressed that they partnered with Samoa Qualifications Authority, Samoa Workers Congress all part of development and educational changes.

We also did a submission in terms of the law, to the government, in reference to the impact of abortion like health risks, and stress anxiety, said Samoa Nurses Association President.

Lastly, she added that their priority are the lives of people they care for.
Mothers are known to be the core of a family, her importance may spread to the community and the society.

There work in nurturing, raising and being the bread provider should never go unrecognized. Thus, why every mother should be celebrated because of their hard work.

This was the case witnessed at the Saloga Methodist Church, Savaii; where mothers were celebrated not only because they are mothers but also because they are the foundation of families as well as the society and community.

It was a beautiful celebration, seeing these lovely ladies perform in church; something we hardly see on a Sunday, all the more reason why yesterdays service was extra special.

Fathers and children had to do the chores and treat mothers as the queens they are. It was a Sunday filled with love, laughter, bit of tears and hearts filled with joy as we celebrated mothers and their importance.

Once again a massive thank you to all the mothers in Samoa for their role in raising and nurturing our families, as well as holding everything together. It is never an easy task and that is why any household is never complete if you are not present. Once again Happy Mothers Day!
About a year ago, Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaois Government made a critical decision. After more than 12 years of working with Virgin Australia in the joint venture to operate Virgin Samoa, they pulled the plug on the deal.

The decision was relayed by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi to the Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Australia Pty Ltd, John Borghetti.

Back then, a copy of the letter from Tuilaepa to Mr. Borghetti, had been leaked to Samoa Observer. It was published verbatim.

Following numerous extensive discussions and negotiations held between VA and the Committee members of the Special Negotiating Team (SNT), Cabinet has unanimously decided not to re-new the Joint Venture (JV), Tuilaepa wrote.

The Cabinet has decided that the current arrangements of the JV, is no longer the Direction that Government and ultimately Samoa should take at this time.

Tuilaepa went on to acknowledge the Airlines contribution.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for all the excellent work we have undertaken together to date, and I do sincerely hope we can still work together in the future. We thank you for your services and hope we are able to do business again in the future.

Well that was then. Today, we know there is absolutely no way Prime Minister Tuilaepas Government will work with Virgin again.

Apart from the fact that far too much water has gone under the bridge, Tuilaepas administration immediately moved to set up Samoa Airways, which was launched in November and has been flying between New Zealand and Australia.

Contrary to reports about the airlines financial struggles, Prime Minister Tuilaepa is adamant that there is nothing to worry about. He has insisted that it is too early to get an idea about the performance of the airline until the financial year is finished. Okay then.

Besides, all the critics who have raised questions about the Governments plan have either called idiots, fools, stupid or kids. Which is normal Tuilaepa speak.

Today, we want to ask what has now become of P.M. Tuilaepa and his administrations grand airline dream. We know Samoa Airways is still operating. But did they make the right decision to exit from the Virgin JV?

At the time, this column warned that unless the Government had thought out, planned and then have that plan implemented properly by the right people; this could be the final straw that would break the camels back, given the precarious situation our economy is in.

Keep in mind that the last time Polynesian Airlines was operated in a similar manner  although on a much grander scale  the country was nearly bankrupted. At one point when the airline had gone from one Boeing aircraft to a four-Boeing fleet, its debt had ballooned to over $50 million in aircraft leases. It was then that the risk of bankruptcy became very real and all the taxpayers of this country ended up shouldering the burden.

Now with the economy in dire straits and our debt level skyrocketing beyond the ridiculous, is Samoa Airways adding value to the economy? And how long more will it be before they ask for a bail out?

To be fair to the Government, they are not wrong in their insistence on Samoa having its own airline. Its a wonderful feeling knowing there is a Samoan flag carrier flying Samoas name all over the world. There is nothing more heartwarming than seeing the Samoa Airways plane on a tarmac in Auckland, Sydney and Faleolo.

But it must be proving a logistical nightmare trying to make it work. Cash flow wise, its going to be very challenging  if it hasnt been already the case.

Keep in mind that even with their decision to dump Virgin, Virgin is still flying to Samoa from Australia. And Air New Zealand has never been so persistent in its efforts to service the Samoa route.

Logistically, Samoa does not have the marketing power and the pull the big networks and Airline Alliances such as Virgin and Air New Zealand have.

Now here is what history has taught us. When Polynesian Airlines last ventured into international flights, it made losses in the millions and taxpayers ended up paying dearly for it. It nearly bankrupted this country.

Now a year after dumping Virgin, how fares P.M. Tuilaepas governments airline dreams today? Stay tuned!

Have a wonderful Wednesday Samoa, God bless!
Dear Editor,

Regarding your editorial about China yesterday, I want to say this:

History might repeat itself once again, when war almost broke out in Samoa between the super powers in the early nineteen hundreds.

Only this time, theyre positioning themselves to carve up their piece of the pie to counter the Chinese expansionism since the sphere of influence is a little bit too crowded.

The geopolitics here is obvious since the concentration of Pacific nations head quarters for Climate Change is here in Samoa and its too dangerous for the Chinese to get too closer to some key Pacific countries in the eyes of the five eyes.

Very interesting developments.

Leituala Roger B.
Students were given the opportunity to board and tour the U.S Merchant Marine Training ship, Golden Bear, which is anchored at Apia Harbour for three days.

National University of Samoa students enrolled in the Maritime school and Year 13 students from local colleges were given a tour of how the ship works and also learned about U.S. training for civilian merchant marine officers.

Having spent 12 years at sea, Nautical Lecturer of N.U.S, Taulapapa Audoa Tuiletufuga, who accompanied his students, said there are many different roles in the maritime sector that you could fit into once you have earned your nautical qualifications and had some experience at sea.

You can be a captain, you can be second or third mate, you could be a sailor and seafarer. It depends on how well you work with the chain of command, its a bit harsh at times. My first experience on a merchant ship was cargo because in six months we were expected to know what to do on a daily basis thats the learning process. You start as a trainee, then you become a cadet and so on.There are only about eight stages of command.

A career in the maritime sector can be lucrative with some perks, one of the major ones being the opportunity to travel all over the world. However, according to Taulapapa, the sea life is not for everyone and there are some challenges in living the life of a seafarer. Being away at sea puts pressures on relationships and living in close headquarters with people you see everyday for the duration of your contract can cause tensions.

Yes you can make good money, especially as you climb the ranks. For me, I enrolled because I know that this is for me because I love the sea, Taulapapa said. I grew up in Savaii, in the village of Auala. After the cyclone in 91 and 94, I moved back to Upolu and from then on I just feel like going back into the sea. As long as I know where I want to be. Some people are here because of the money and the exposure to overseas and thats ok.

Students from Pesega College enjoyed asking questions to the U.S. officers of various ranks on board the Golden Bear and one Year 13 student from the college said to the Samoa Observer that she was excited to learn more about a career in the maritime sector.

You might see me here next year. What I like about it is that they travel around the world and then explore other cultures and other countries. It looks pretty fun and also because of the ocean, who wouldnt love being on the ocean. Its a beautiful sight and is part of us. Samoans are natural voyagers.

The Training Ship Golden Bear (T.S.G.B.) is the primary training platform for the California State University Maritime Academy (C.S.U.M.A.), a campus of the California State University. It is the only ship of its kind that has simulation capabilities on board.

Cadets are able to apply the technological skills introduced in the classroom on board the ship and each summer, cadets in their first and third year depart with licensed faculty officers for two months during the annual Training Cruise.

According to their prospectus, during these periods at sea, intellectual learning, intellectual learning, applied technology and leadership development blend daily as cadets apply what they have learned in the classroom, in the lab, in the Corps and on the waterfront.

This is the first time the Training Ship Golden Bear has been in Samoa and they will be continuing on to the Solomon Islands, Saipan, Hawaii and San Diego before heading back to their headquarters.
One of Samoas premium fashion houses, MENA, is closing its Apia retail store at the end of the month.

But its not all sad news. The closure comes amidst some exciting changes ahead with MENA and Samoas retail sector.

Its a decision that the business owners say was not an easy one but they want to reassure their many loyal customers in Samoa that MENA will still be available at the Eveni Carruthers store.

The Savalalo location was their first store from which they launched their MENA label 16 years ago.

It holds many great memories for the owners.

Jackie Loheni, who relocated to MENAs Auckland headquarters last year, is reflective about the decision,

Our Apia store has been such a big part of my life since its inception. Weve held numerous events in-store that were always a lot of fun for us and our customers, she said.

Many of our customers became loyal friends of the business and of course Im going to miss our wonderful staff who have come and gone over the years. Its been an amazing, journey to look back on but Im also looking forward to whats ahead for us.

Jackie oversees the production and will be marketing the brand at fashion events later this year including the Pacific Runway in Sydney.

Charlene Loheni, who looks after finance and works alongside Jackie in the production, was only a young student at St. Marys College when she started helping out in the home business after school.

Its a bit sad but I have so many great memories from our early years when we were still a home based business, she said.

Weve experience highs and lows and have just always just forged ahead no matter what challenges came our way. Whats helped with this decision is that we will still have a presence in Samoa via Eveni Carruthers."

Like us they are a family run business who really care about delivering great service. They came on as a stockist for MENA last year and I have no doubt that they will continue to provide great care and service for our customers that they currently do. In addition to Eveni Carruthers, MENA are also now stocked in American Samoa at Tuifaasisina Korina Seiuli Lees store Measina Samoa Creations.

Gina Loheni, who looks after the IT, and e-commerce side of the business, says that whilst it was a difficult decision, it had to happen.

With the growth in the wholesale and online sales channels, the move to reduce physical stores overheads makes economic sense for the business. We can consolidate more of our business operations which allows us to focus on these key areas of growth, she said.

Agnes Loheni, who looks after Marketing and Sales, acknowledges that Samoa is at the heart of the business.

Samoa is where MENA all started  it provided the inspiration, the motivation and determination. All that colourful life we had in Samoa is ingrained in our label so no matter where we are, Samoa is at the heart of what we do and what we produce.

The Apia outlet will be closed on 30 May 2018.
Traditionally, fire season in Southern California ran from about the beginning of May through the end of November.

But not anymore.

Last year, for example, the Lilac Fire that swept through large parts of Bonsall, charring about 4,100 acres and destroying 157 structures, was sparked on the morning of Dec. 7.

It really is a year-round season, said Cal Fire and County Fire Authority Chief Tony Mecham.

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Fire officials and San Diego Gas & Electric are girding for what could be a blistering fire season. A dry winter, lingering drought conditions and chronic growth of brush around homes in the backcountry have raised worries as summer approaches.

Im concerned every day that despite all the great work that weve done were only one bad day away from a major event, said SDG&E president Scott Drury.

Since Oct. 1, San Diego International Airport has recorded just 3.32 inches of rain, which is 6.70 inches below normal. Last year at this time, San Diego recorded 12.61 inches of precipitation.

There are still five more weeks of spring but Mecham said more rain at this time of year does not really help matters.

It makes it worse because we dont get enough rain to replenish the water, the trees and the brush, he said. We get just enough rain to grow more grass.

And grass, Mecham said, is often a source that fuels fires. After about March 1 or so, any rain we get actually hurts us.

SDG&E boasts of operating the nations largest utility-owned weather network in fire-prone areas that includes 170 weather stations and live cameras offering more than 100 views from mountaintops in the companys service area.

Every firefighter in San Diego gets an update every single morning from the tools and data that we generated in that weather center, Drury said.

SDG&E delivered a $164,500 grant for 70 Mobile Data Computers to be installed into CAL FIRE and San Diego County Fire Authority rigs. (Photo by Rob Nikolewski )

The utility on Tuesday delivered two grants totaling $164,500 to install 70 Mobile Data Computers (MDCs) on all Cal Fire and San Diego Fire Authority rigs in the backcountry to help firefighting efforts by providing navigation, identifying potential hazards and improving real-time communications.

Its just like the onscreen navigation you have on your phone but because were out in the East County where you dont always have cellular  its much more reliable, Mecham said.

The money for the grants came from shareholders of Sempra Energy, the parent company of SDG&E.

The fire chief said the No. 1 thing residents in the backcountry can do to reduce risk of wildfires is to clear brush around homes and structures. Mecham recommends establishing a defensible space of about 100 feet.

It may take a weekends worth of work, Mecham said, but I tell everybody, is two or three days of clearing the brush around your home worth having your home?

A San Diego firefighter was killed fighting the Thomas Fire in Ventura County last December.

Weve come to a point where were not gonna needlessly risk firefighters lives to save property, Mecham said. Well go in and make sure nobodys in the house, but if the people havent done their clearance Im not going to leave guys  to get burned over or die.

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rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski
Related Catalan lawmakers vote on new regional separatist leader

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Tuesday he would meet Catalonia's new separatist leader Quim Torra although he warned there would never be an independent Catalan republic as desired by the regional president.

"I will meet with the regional president if he asks me... I am available to talk," Rajoy told reporters in Sofia -- where he held talks with his Bulgarian counterpart -- after Torra asked him for a meeting, but he added there will not be independence.



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AtYourGate, the food delivery app for San Diegos airport patrons, has found favor with at least one group of influencers: hungry college kids.

The startup, which launched its airport delivery service at San Diego International Airport earlier this year, announced that it has raised $2 million in seed financing. Some of AtYourGates cash infusion is coming from Triton Funds, a new venture outfit run by UCSD undergraduates.

For the record: The story has been corrected to clarify that only some of the funds raised by AtYourGate were contributed by Triton Funds. Friends and family contributed the bulk of the startups seed financing.

Students (and faculty) are using AtYourGate when we travel, said Yash Thukral, who is a founding member of Triton Funds, and a math and management studies major. Thats how it came on our radar screen.

With AtYourGate, travelers can, for a $2.99 convenience fee, use their smartphone to summon food, snacks and reading material from nine different eateries and shops  think Saffron Thai, Qdoba Mexican and Pacifica Breeze Cafe  spread across Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 at San Diego International Airport. The app, which has the blessing of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority, can deliver to each of Lindbergh Fields 51 gates. The only caveat is that beverages cant be transported by company runners between terminals due to TSA security restrictions.

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Pretty much anywhere in the airport, we can get to you in 20 minutes or less, said David Henninger, AtYourGates president.

Launched on Jan. 31, the startup is currently fielding several hundred orders per week. Right now, customers are primarily other airport staffers as AtYourGate is just starting to educate travelers on its airport delivery app, Henninger said. The service is also gearing up to debut at two additional West Coast airports with the launches and an additional funding round expected to land before the end of the year.

I think about the business traveler who is on an expense account. They can either spend 20 minutes in line getting food, or they can make two customer calls, Henninger said of the appeal of his niche food delivery app.

The executive also recounted the story of how AtYourGate recently delivered roughly 20 orders to JetBlue passengers aboard a plane that was delayed with a mechanical issue.

Were partnering with airlines that recognize that in a delayed situation, passengers can get hungry, he said.

Beyond busy professionals, Henninger believes AtYourGate appeals to stressed out moms and, of course, his newest investors at Triton Funds, meaning millennials already accustomed to on-demand everything.

Started from a university dorm room last year, Triton Funds now manages a $25 million fund with Thukral and 14 other students calling the financing shots. The fund is supported and advised by locals, including many UCSD alumni and faculty.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin
A new Lyft feature is making it easier for people to travel from and around Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.

The ride-hail company Tuesday announced a year-long collaboration with Marine Corps Community Services called Base Mode that establishes a special category for service members and their family members who want use the application to get around Camp Pendleton. The base is home to more than 38,000 military family members and sees a daytime population of 70,000 military and civilian personnel, according to the bases website.

With Base Mode, Camp Pendleton is enclosed by a virtual border, or geofence, so that people requesting a ride from the base are only matched with Lyft drivers who have self-identified as cleared to make on-base pickups and drop-offs. Base Mode only appears to riders within the geofence, and is meant to eliminate the can-I-get-a-ride conundrum for would-be passengers who live on, or commute from, Camp Pendleton.

Base Mode goes into effect on Friday.

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We do know that passengers try to request rides on base, said Hao Meng, the companys market manager for San Diego. So this is a big pain point were fixing.

Previously, riders could be matched with any Lyft driver available, and would need to cancel the ride if the person did not have base access, she said. Camp Pendleton limits base access to people with approved military credentials and those sponsored by an authorized party.

Lyft views its pilot program as a way to boost both transportation options and money-making opportunities for Pendleton-based families. The Uber rival also expects military personnel to request a Lyft instead of using personal vehicles for business purposes.

The initiative, which the company is calling the first of its kind, includes a revenue-sharing component with Marine Corps Community Services, which plans to invest a portion of earnings into recreation programs. Specifics, including how much the military agency will make per ride, were not disclosed.

Founded in 2012, Lyft does not disclose the number of riders or drivers who use its ride-hail app in San Diego, but says it now holds 35 percent share of the national ride-hail market. Locally, veterans make up around 15 percent of Lyft drivers in the county, Meng said.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin
Travel over the Memorial Day weekend is expected to be the busiest on record with more than 3.2 million Southern Californians forecast to leave home  a 5.3 percent over last year.

According to the Automobile Club of Southern California, the last record was set in 2005 when 3.2 million Southern Californians traveled over the holiday weekend.

The coming holiday will mark the seventh consecutive year that travel has grown, says the Auto Club.

Similar records will likely be broken for statewide travel, with nearly 5.2 million Californians projected to take trips.

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Rising gas prices do not seem to be dissuading locals from making plans to drive long distances for their holiday trips.

Expect the highways to be especially congested, considering the 2.68 million Southern Californians who will be traveling by car, also a more than 5 percent increase over last years numbers. Statewide, more than 4.3 million people will be hitting the roads for their getaways, estimates the Auto Club, which defines a holiday trip as one that is at least 50 miles away from home between Thursday, May 24 to Monday, May 28.

Gas prices are about 24 percent higher in Southern California than they were at this time last year with an average price near $3.75 a gallon, but consumer confidence combined with a strong labor market and projected GDP growth are the primary reasons that holiday travel is expected to increase, said Jeffrey Spring, a spokesperson for the Auto Club.

The average price for a gallon of gas in San Diego was $3.72 on Tuesday. (A year ago the average was $2.99.)

National travel trends are expected to parallel those of Southern California for the holiday weekend, although no records will be broken. More than 41 million Americans are expected to take Memorial Day weekend trips, a 4.8 percent increase over last year, but still under the holiday travel record of 44 million set in 2005.

While San Diego is among the top five holiday destinations for Southern California travelers, it did not make it into the 10 most favored getaway cities nationally. Topping that list were Orlando, Seattle and Honolulu. Anaheim was the only California city to make the list.

For those braving the roads during the Memorial Day weekend, Waze, the free community-based navigation app, is predicting when the roads will be most congested.

After analyzing its 2017 data, Waze says the following times will be the worst for driving:

Friday, May 25: 3 p.m to 5 p.m.

Saturday, May 26  Monday, May 28: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday, May 29: 3 p.m to 5 p.m.

Business

lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
Can you really select a quality nursing home by reading Yelp reviews?

Theres a nursing home the next town over from me, for instance. Nine reviewers have given the place both laudatory five-star ratings (She has a far greater quality of life than she would have living at home) and outraged one-star complaints (The nursing staff, RNs and CNAs are caring but overworked).

Overall, the place gets three stars. Its a highly flawed measurement, of course. Nine reviewers for a 300-plus-bed facility? Over four years, in an industry known for such sky-high turnover that many of the hands-on staff have undoubtedly left since the first online critic weighed in? Reviewers can deplore the food, but can they know how often residents fall?

Yet gerontologists at the University of Southern California have been looking into Yelp nursing home reviews and think they make a useful addition to the homework any prospective resident or family member needs to undertake.

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Its not that reviews posted on Yelp and other online platforms (Google, Facebook, Caring.com) are such reliable guides to nursing home quality, said Anna Rahman, senior author of a recent article in The Gerontologist. Its that the supposed gold standard, the five-star ratings on the federal governments own Nursing Home Compare website, remains so faulty.

We had a growing sense of how disappointing those measures have been, Dr. Rahman said of Nursing Home Compare. After 20 years and all the money spent to create it, its become a marketing tool. But most people dont realize how little it measures. Its garbage in and garbage out.

A primer: Nursing Home Compare made its online debut in 1998 and added the starred ranking system in 2009, after a senator complained at a congressional hearing that it was easier to shop for a washing machine than a nursing home.

The site contains a trove of information about nursing homes, for those willing to click through to findings like hours of staff time per resident per day, deficiencies discovered during the most recent inspections, and how many residents have bedsores and other indications of poor care. This year, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services anticipates that the tool will be used 2.4 million times.

Those on-site inspections, which Medicare requires every 12 to 15 months, constitute a key component of the ratings. But the two other categories contributing to the ratings  staffing and quality measures  are reported by the homes themselves. Critics have charged for years that the metrics are untrustworthy and prone to manipulation.

A New York Times investigation in 2014 reported that facilities had learned how to game the system, resulting in rising proportions of four- and five-star nursing homes. A Brookings Institution report two years later concurred that ratings had become inflated.

I would never use it for quality measures because I dont believe it, said John Schnelle, director of the Center for Quality Aging at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. I think theyre distorted.

Dr. Schnelle, note, serves on the expert panel that advises C.M.S. on its nursing home rating system.

Researchers also have discovered that even if the star ratings were accurate, they dont bear much relationship to how residents and families feel about these facilities.

In Ohio, which conducts its own statewide nursing home surveys, plenty of times residents really liked a facility with a low star rating, and vice versa, said Robert Applebaum, a gerontologist at Miami University in Ohio.

He has found that families and residents satisfaction varied significantly at the poles  they did prefer five-star to one-star homes  but the differences in satisfaction between one- and two-star homes, or those with four versus five stars, were negligible.

Nursing Home Compare doesnt include consumer feedback at all, although a Government Accountability Office report urged C.M.S. to add this feature.

It excludes the most important element, Dr. Applebaum said. The problem is, its really expensive to do. Collecting data from families and residents is no small task if you do it systematically.

Enter Yelp, where the first nursing home review appeared a decade ago, and its online competitors, including Facebook. Dr. Rahman and her colleagues, looking at 51 Yelp-rated nursing homes across California, found that most reviewers commented on intangibles like staff attitude, caring and responsiveness; they rarely mentioned health care quality or safety concerns.

So perhaps its not surprising that in an earlier study, the team found that consumer rankings on Yelp correlated only weakly to the star ratings on Nursing Home Compare.

Theyre not measuring the same things, Dr. Rahman said. In fact, they rather complement one another.

You wouldnt want to rely too much on Yelp and other online platforms. Relatively few nursing homes, assisted living facilities and retirement communities have Yelp reviews at all. The 51 California nursing homes in Dr. Rahmans study had garnered just five reviews on average  a tiny, probably unrepresentative sample.

And the great majority were polarized  either five-star reviews or one star. Nursing homes inspire a lot of emotion, Dr. Rahman said.

That bimodal response isnt typical in most Yelp categories, but youd expect that to normalize over time as more users post reviews, said Luther Lowe, the companys senior vice president for public policy.

For now, only 7 percent of Yelps roughly 150 million total reviews concern health care: doctors, dentists, hospitals, acupuncturists and reiki practitioners, along with assisted living and nursing homes.

Yelp uses software to try to weed out fake reviews and sorts roughly one in five into its not recommended category, though users can still read them. Probably its most consumer-friendly move, though, was joining forces in 2015 with the nonprofit investigative news organization ProPublica, which created the tool Nursing Home Inspect with federal data.

Now, Yelp users see a small ProPublica box reporting each nursing homes size, how many serious deficiencies showed up on its most recent inspections, fines levied and whether the facility is so troubled that C.M.S. has suspended payments. The box also identifies special focus facilities flagged for serious quality problems.

Nursing Home Compare is also making changes. Most importantly, C.M.S. now requires nursing homes to submit timecards quarterly, a more auditable staffing measure than annual self-reporting. A big improvement, Dr. Schnelle said.

The bottom line, though, is that all these sources have dismaying limitations. Others may be even worse: Nursing homes conduct their own consumer satisfaction surveys, but they say everybody is as happy as can be, Dr. Schnelle noted. Online placement services like A Place for Mom get paid by the nursing homes they refer people to.

So experts advise starting your investigation online, using Yelp and other consumer reviews  and Nursing Home Compare and Nursing Home Inspect, and talking to friends and relatives whove had recent experience with local facilities.

Then, inescapably, youve got to show up at the nursing home, walk around, talk to residents and family and staff, ask a zillion questions. Then, go back and do it again.

Still, online consumer reviews can become part of the effort, and the more we post, the more useful theyll become.

You want to use as many sources as you can, Dr. Applebaum said. Everybody has a different piece of the elephant to touch.
The first decoration Gina Potter took into her new office is a three-piece canvas painting of a plum blossom tree.

Its a meaningful piece of art for Potter, who started Monday as the new superintendent of the San Ysidro School District.

Its a symbol of hope, Potter said of the Asian tree. Its a symbol of success. And its a symbol of future prosperity, despite the odds.

On her first day on the job, Potter said her top priorities include boosting the school districts academic performance and stabilizing its finances.

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Potter brings to the table almost 30 years of experience from six school districts across the state. She spent the past 16 years with the Lemon Grove School District, working her way up from principal to assistant superintendent of business services, then deputy superintendent.

While optimistic about the future of San Ysidro schools, Potter also acknowledged the challenges that are ahead. She is now in charge of a 5,000-student district that has faced financial and leadership instability in recent years.

She is the districts fifth leader since former Superintendent Julio Fonseca resigned in September.

Fonseca and his successor, Jose Arturo Sanchez-Macias, who resigned two months later, are the subjects of an ongoing state audit into possible fraud or misuse of funds.

With the reputation of former superintendents in mind, Potter said her first order of business is to begin to rebuild trust. Its a task that may take time to accomplish, she acknowledged.

With some of the poor judgment of past leaders, its difficult to rebuild that trust because of whats happened to (the) San Ysidro School District, she said. I think its going to take a long time to rebuild trust.

She said she plans to build trust by listening to parents, students, and school and district employees as a way to build strong relationships.

We need to heal and then we need to build the future, Potter said.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of Potters experience is her work with school finances. As former assistant superintendent of business services in Lemon Grove, she also served as the president of the Association of California School Administrators business services council.

Experienced in school finance, Potter published in 2014 an article in the state associations magazine about the school finance models the state Legislature had adopted the previous year. It was titled A Primer for Navigating School Finance and Accountability Reforms.

Potter said her experience will help her stabilize the San Ysidro School Districts finances. She plans to start by taking a look at the districts budget.

The first step is to deeply analyze every aspect of the districts budget, she said. Once you pull apart all the different pieces of the district budget, you can begin to see the strengths of the budget and you can also begin to see the areas you can build upon.

To improve academic performance across the districts eight campuses, Potter said she plans to work with assessment data to establish a strong curriculum.

Potter, who emerged as the top pick for the job from a pool of 22 candidates, will be paid a base salary of about $198,670. The school board unanimously approved a contract between the district and Potter last week.

The 3-0 vote  trustees Antonio Martinez and Irene Lopez were absent  drew applause both from the public and school and district leaders.

Board member Rodolfo Linares was straight forward about the work that is cut out for Potter, who took notes throughout the meeting as trustees discussed agenda items.

I wish you all the luck in the world because I know youre going to need it, Linares told Potter.

Despite the challenges that come with the new job, Potter said she is excited to return to South County. Potter, who grew up in Imperial Beach and has worked for the Chula Vista Elementary School District and Sweetwater Union High School District, said her new role is a way to carry out her humanitarian goal  to give back to the region.

I was able to achieve the American Dream, and every child can achieve that same dream, said Potter, whose mother is Filipino and fathers background is Dutch and English. I deeply believe that this is my opportunity to give back to where I grew up.

San Ysidro School District Superintendent Gina Potter with other district employees on her first day on the job. (David Hernandez / Union-Tribune )

On Monday morning, Potter walked around the districts office to all the departments  from human resources and maintenance to information technology and transportation  to meet her new employees. She planned to stop by the front offices of the schools later in the day.

Potter  who is a mother to a son in 10th grade and a daughter in sixth grade  said she had already heard from parents, employees and board members about their hopes for the future.

The No. 1 big word that I keep hearing already is stability. They wish stability for their district, she said. And that is the very thing in every district that Ive worked for that I brought to every place as a teacher, principal and district leader.

I bring calmness, and a caring ear, and a genuine care for children, she said. And I hope to bring that here to San Ysidro as well.

And, she said, she is in it for the long run.

I hope to call (the) San Ysidro School District my home for a very long time, she said.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
In the words of the Clash  a rock band, yes, but one that knew a little about rap: Should I stay or should I go?

Thats the pressing question (or one of them) at the center of The Wind and the Breeze, a rap-inflected work by the playwright and now TV scribe Nathan Alan Davis thats about to get its long-in-the-making world premiere at Cygnet Theatre.

Its an impressive coup for the Old Town company to shepherd the first full production of this play by Davis, a recent recipient of the Whiting Award for emerging writers  an honor previously bestowed upon the Pulitzer Prize winners August Wilson, Suzan-Lori Parks and Tony Kushner.

And its a big moment for Davis, too, as he debuts this very personal work about the pull of home vs. the pressure to find ones place out in the wider world.

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The Wind and the Breeze centers on a young man named Sam, the top hip-hop emcee in Rockford, Ill., who feels an abiding attachment to his home turf.

I think in a lot of ways, its a play about the tension between who you were and who you want to become, says Davis, speaking by phone from L.A., where hes writing for the new BET Network series American Soul.

I set it in my hometown of Rockford, Ill. I was thinking a lot about what it means to be from somewhere and to leave that place, and who and what you leave behind. There are good and bad things about that.

And Sam is somebody who doesnt want to leave. His stance is, look, why do all those big, important dreams have to be about going away? When can you be satisfied with whats actually around you?

And the other characters are kind of pushing in the other direction.

Unlike Sam, Davis observes, Im someone who did leave my hometown  first for the University of Illinois and grad school at Indiana University, then to the East Coast, where he graduated from the Juilliard Schools Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program.

Davis ultimately would have plays commissioned and developed at such influential companies as the Public Theater, the McCarter Theatre Center and Arena Stage.

Playwright Nathan Alan Davis (Elizabeth Q. Davis )

The Wind and the Breeze was getting a workshop at the Kennedy Center in the nations capital six years ago when Davis first met Rob Lutfy, now Cygnets associate artistic chief and an early fan of the play.

Davis credits that support for the plays eventual path to Cygnet, where it received a Bill and Judy Garrett Finish Line Commission in 2016 to help propel it to a full production.

I really trusted Robs judgment; I think he genuinely believes in the play and is an advocate for the play, Davis says. So for me, it was a really easy decision (to premiere it here), when someone is that much of a supporter of the work over time.

At a Cygnet reading last year, Davis adds, the audience feedback was quite strong, in terms of the way people felt they could relate to the characters. People were saying, Oh, this reminds me of my friend, this reminds me of my dad, you know what I mean?

I think thats what the play is meant to do; its meant to touch people on a personal level.

Coming home

Someone else who, like Davis, didnt wind up staying put in his hometown: Terrell Donnell Sledge, who plays Sam in The Wind and the Breeze, and who happens to be from San Diego.

The Cygnet show, in fact, is the local professional debut for Sledge, a Yale University grad (and Brown University/Trinity Rep MFA) who has built a busy stage career in New York and around the country, and who likewise now lives in L.A.

Sledge was first exposed to theater when hed tag along for his older brothers drama classes at Community Actors Theatre, a longtime cultural institution in the San Diego neighborhood of Oak Park.

The graduate of the Francis Parker School has returned to San Diego plenty of times, but it took Davis play to bring him back here as an actor. (Hes joined in the cast by Cortez L. Johnson, Chaz Shermil, Nadia Guevara, Demetrius Clayton and Monique Gaffney.)

I think one of the beautiful and exciting things about it is its a piece that allows you to see characters be their truly authentic selves, Sledge says.

It always makes me think about close family. Theres a different wavelength of communication with people whove known you your entire life  who know your weaknesses and strengths and can hold you accountable.

These characters do it so honestly and truthfully that it can be a little scary.

Rap and poetry play key roles in the piece: Sam grew up in a community that very much values hip-hop culture and the rap-battle, hip-hop world, Sledge says. And hes the best that ever was, as far as that community is concerned. (The first act actually concludes with a rap battle that turns into a concert.)

And for Davis, hip-hop music and culture has been a huge influence, and continues to be. Just the way that people are able to express themselves using wordplay and language and metaphor. Its very malleable poetry that can shift and grow and expand and change.

The conflict facing Sam, the playwright adds, is part of an important conversation about life in general  to make space for people who make different choices in their lives.

Flying high and traveling far are noble goals, but I dont think thats the only way to live, much less to find happiness, Davis says.

I think the play hopefully has a nuanced conversation about that. And gives people a truthful window into that idea.

The Wind and the Breeze

When: In previews. Opens Saturday. 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays-Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through June 10.

Where: Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., Old Town

Tickets: $38-$59

Phone: (619) 337-1525

Online: cygnettheatre.com

jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert
Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan Markle, has reportedly changed his mind about skipping this weekends royal wedding and now wants to walk his daughter down the aisle as originally planned.

I hate the idea of missing one of the greatest moments in history and walking my daughter down the aisle, Thomas Markle told TMZ on Tuesday morning.

However, because he suffered a heart attack last week, he has been admitted to a Mexico hospital to treat recent chest pain and is unsure whether doctors will release him in time to make the trip to Windsor, England, where the American actress is set to marry Britains Prince Harry on Saturday.

The Baja California resident told the site that doctors said his heart was seriously damaged after last weeks health scare. The chest pain, he told TMZ, was triggered by emotional upset over the fallout from his much-maligned deal to sell staged photos of himself, as well as his elder daughter Samantha Grants continued criticism of her half-sister.

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Markle, a retired Daytime Emmy-winning lighting director, confirmed to TMZ that his daughter reached out to him following the unflattering reports. He said she harbors no ill will from his paparazzi-photo flap and is more concerned about his health, the gossip site said.

As the media frenzy mounts ahead of the royal wedding, speculation arose that his ex-wife, Doria Ragland, whom he split from when their daughter was 6, was being eyed to walk the actress down the aisle instead.

Kensington Palace previously announced that the actress parents would arrive in the U.K. the week of the wedding, Ragland would accompany her daughter on the car ride to Windsor Castle ahead of the ceremony and her father would walk her down the aisle.

As for the brides extended family, her estranged half-sister and much of their extended family have been vocal about not being invited to the 600-guest ceremony. Nonetheless, several dogged relatives were photographed arriving at Londons Heathrow Airport this week despite claiming they never received invitations to the wedding, the Telegraphreported on Tuesday.

Kensington Palace did not comment on the latest round of reports regarding the actress parents on Tuesday, nor did it announce changes in wedding plans.

The royals have had a tense relationship with the media, which hit a fever pitch when Harrys mother, Princess Diana, was killed in a 1997 car chase with Paris photographers.

Harry and his brother, Prince William, have been vocal about their distaste for aggressive paparazzi. Upon confirming his romance with Markle in 2016, Harry issued several directives for the media to respect their privacy.
The top enlisted sailor at Naval Air Facility El Centro has been fired following an investigation into alleged misconduct.

Command Master Chief Jeremy Jay Embree, 42, was relieved of his post on May 2 after his commander, Capt. Brent Alfonzo, found him guilty of carelessly operating an all-terrain vehicle during a March 10 incident.

A native of Eugene, Oregon, Embree had been suspended from his post and assigned to other duties on base while the criminal probe played out, according to Naval Air Facility El Centro spokesman Kristopher Haugh.

Haugh said that Embree will remain reassigned to an unspecified unit at El Centro, an Imperial County base known as the winter home for the Blue Angels, the Navys aerial acrobatic team.

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According to Haugh, Alfonzo has initiated a proceeding against Embree for involuntary administrative removal of a senior enlisted sailor from current duties for unsatisfactory performance or misconduct before his or her normal transfer or planned rotation date.

Navy regulations advise commanders that proceeding is one of the militarys strongest administrative measures and should be wielded only when other options such as retraining, counseling, treatment or reassignment within a command have been exhausted.

Attempts to reach Embree by telephone, social media and email were unsuccessful. Telephone messages left at his El Centro home were not returned.

Embree enlisted in the Navy in 1994 and became a seaman apprentice. Three years later, he attended Intelligence Specialist A School at Dam Neck, Virginia, according to his official Navy biography.

His sea tours included the destroyer tender Puget Sound, the destroyer Briscoe, the carrier Kitty Hawk, the cruiser Antietam and the amphibious warship Oak Hill.

He served ashore on two tours with the Navys 5th Fleet in Bahrain and as an administrative assistant in the U.S. Embassy in Berlin. In 2012 he was the senior enlisted adviser to the Naval Special Warfare Mission Support Center in San Diego.In 2015 he was named the command master chief aboard the San Diego-based minesweeper Champion. Two years later, he reported to Naval Air Facility El Centro.

A graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy and the Command Master Chief/Chief of the Boat Course, hes a designated specialist in both surface and information warfare.

Embrees decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, four Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two Joint Services Achievement Medals and five Navy and Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
Arab Digital Expression Foundation's event will include workshops and music performances at its Moqattam venue

ADEF (Arab Digital Expression Foundation) will celebrate six years in Cairo with an arts and technology festival on 23 June.

The event will include a programme of workshops including caricature drawing, music, video and dance, as well as more tech-related workshops in programming and developing.

There will also be different games, and music performances featuring Ehab Hip Hob, Hassaballah, 2 Ala El-Mic (2 on the Mic) and DJ Ali.

The festival is an invitation for the community to explore all ADEF has to offer, according to the event description.

ADEF is a space for art practitioners, writers and researchers that aims to develop skills, talents and critical thought among young people.

Alongside courses for youth, they also have sound studios, a performance hall, a computer area and a hacker space.

Programme:

Saturday 23 June, from 12pm to 8pm

ADEF Deca, Street no. 8, Muqattam City, Cairo

For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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After more than 10 hours, a woman has left her perch in a 30-foot-high pepper tree in Canoga Park.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Monday, Los Angeles firefighters responded to a call of an individual with a possible psychological issue in the 21800 block of West Lanark Street. The woman, who is in her 30s, was uncooperative and ultimately climbed a tree and was not willing to come down, said LAFD Capt. Erik Scott.

Just before 7 a.m., the woman, who was about 20 feet up in the tree, came down a fire department ladder. She was assessed by LAFD paramedics and is being taken to an area hospital for further evaluation, according to a LAFD alert.

#CanogaPark; #LAFD & #LAPD continue to negotiate for over 10 hours and encourage an uncooperative adult female out of a 30 tree in #LanarkPark for her safety. pic.twitter.com/9LrITdMEOT  Erik Scott (@PIOErikScott) May 15, 2018

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A large rescue air cushion had been inflated under the tree to minimize any injury if the woman were to fall, Scott said. A ladder had also been placed against the tree.

The Los Angeles Police Department had a mental evaluation team come out to the scene and speak to the woman. It was determined that she was not eligible to be placed in an involuntary hold  meaning she was not a danger to herself or others.

Firefighters had offered her Happy Meals, coffee, orange juice and warm blankets.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

UPDATES:

7:20 a.m.: This article was updated with details of the woman climbing down from the tree.

This article was originally published at 6:40 a.m.
The state Attorney General has joined San Diegos regional water regulators in pressuring the White House to do more to address sewage from Tijuana that routinely spills over the border fouling beaches as far north as Coronado.

The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, with the backing of Attorney General Xavier Becerras office, on Monday filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the federal government for violations of the Clean Water Act.

The notice is required before the agency can file a lawsuit in order to give federal officials time to address concerns outline in the communication.

The letter was addressed to The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. section of the International Boundary and Water Commission, or IBWC, which among other duties, oversees water treaties with Mexico.

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Dave Gibson, executive officer of the regional water board, said the agencies current approach constitute a continuation of the status quo focused on yet more studies and planning, with no definitive project or end in sight.

The IBWC declined to comment on pending litigation.

The move comes as the head of the IBWC Edward Drusina recently stepped down at the request of the Trump administration, according to agency officials. Principal Engineer Jose Nunez will step in as acting commissioner.

At the same time, the Surfrider Foundations San Diego County chapter announced Wednesday that it also plans to file a lawsuit against the IBWC alleging violation of the Clean Water Act.

Imperial Beach, Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego issued similar notices and then filed a joint lawsuit in March against the federal government, contending it was failing to adequately control everything from sewage to industrial waste to pesticides to massive amounts of trash that flow through the Tijuana River and into the Pacific Ocean.

Imperial Beach, which includes the Tijuana Slough National Wildlife Refuge has portions of its shoreline off-limits to swimmers roughly a third of the year on average due to sewage and other water pollution flowing from Mexico, according to San Diego Union-Tribune analysis of San Diego County records.

To address sewage spills, Tijuana would need an estimated $280 million to as much as $500 million. However, the region doesnt seem to have the resources to fix its ailing infrastructure, such as a crumbling wastewater treatment plant along the coast in Punta Bandera.

The lawsuits have called for the U.S. government to increase funding for wastewater infrastructure in Tijuana and beef up pumps along the border that can capture and divert polluted flows.

Twitter: @jemersmith

Phone: (619) 293-2234

Email: joshua.smith@sduniontribune.com
The number of newly resettled refugees in San Diego County dropped back to the teens in April after a couple of months with slightly higher numbers of arrivals.

Thirteen refugees from Afghanistan came to San Diego County last month, according to data from the State Department. Thats down from 25 newcomers in March and 68 in February.

All 13 people were members of one family resettled through the Alliance for African Assistance.

The decrease in county arrivals mirrors a nationwide dip with 1,639 people resettled across the U.S. in April compared with 1,927 in February and 1,914 in March.

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Etleva Bejko, director of refugee and immigrant services for Jewish Family Service, said that all of the families helped by the resettlement agency in April had special immigrant visas, meaning that one of the family members had helped U.S. military in either Afghanistan or Iraq.

The refugee numbers continue to be very low, Bejko said. It is hard to project what will happen in the next few months.

Robert Moser, executive director of Catholic Charities in San Diego said his agency has also mostly helped people with SIVs so far this fiscal year.

For us, the reality is a refugee ban rather a Muslim ban, Moser said. We have had only 17 refugees vs 73 SIVs.

Nationally, the largest group of arrivals, at 696, are originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Though San Diego has also taken in more people from that country than anywhere else this fiscal year, no Congolese resettled in San Diego in April.

President Donald Trump reduced the maximum number of refugees that the U.S. would resettle in fiscal 2018 to 45,000. More than halfway through the fiscal year, 12,189 refugees have made it through processing requirements and come.

Over the last decade, San Diego has taken in the most refugees of any county in California, but that looks likely to change this year. San Diego currently ranks second at 146 new arrivals behind Sacramento County, which has resettled 334 people so far in fiscal 2018.

When San Diego topped the list, hundreds from Iraq and Syria arrived by the month to the county. In April, the U.S. did not resettle any Syrians, and two refugees from Iraq arrived.

Texas took in the most refugees in April of any state, and California ranked 8th.

Gezim Jimmy Dervishi, director of resettlement with Alliance for African Assistance, said that May has so far continued to be a slow month for resettlement. The agency has helped a family of seven from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Turkeys government on Tuesday ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave the country, retaliating for Israels killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip and underscoring the growing international fallout from the bloodshed.

The ambassador, Eitan Naeh, was told by Turkeys foreign minister that it would be appropriate if he returned to Israel for a while, according to Turkeys semiofficial Anadolu news agency, citing unnamed sources.

It gave no other immediate details on the expulsion, which was confirmed by a Foreign Ministry official.

The Turkish decision marked one of the strongest diplomatic responses after Mondays deadly confrontations along the border fence separating Israel and Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade. At least 60 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured, Gaza officials said.

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The diplomatic pressures on Israel also grew on other fronts as officials around the world denounced the Gaza killings and called for inquiries. In Paris, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the situation in the Middle East as increasingly explosive.

Kuwaits ambassador to the United Nations, Mansour al-Otaibi, said he planned Wednesday to propose a U.N. Security Council resolution on protection of the Palestinian civilians. He said the plan does not include peacekeeping forces, but he gave few other details. Any possible Security Council action against Israel would likely face a veto by the United States.

A draft statement circulated late Monday would have expressed the Security Councils outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest and would have called for a transparent investigation. But the United States blocked it.

Turkey maintains diplomatic ties with Israel, but relations have been severely strained in recent years over issues including the treatment of Palestinians.

In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-operated passenger vessel, the Mavi Marmara, that was on a course to breach Israels naval blockade of Gaza. The raid killed nine activists.

On Monday, thousands of Turks attended a protest in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Turkish officials announced that Turkeys ambassadors to Israel and the United States were being recalled for consultations in protest over the Gaza killings.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking during a trip to Britain, called the Gaza killings a genocide.

They are not committing this genocide for the first time, he said, adding that the killings have shown the ugly face of Israel.

A Turkish government minister and spokesman, Bekir Bozdag, also accused Israels most powerful ally, the United States, of helping fuel Palestinian outrage by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Part of the city is seen by Palestinians as the capital of a possible future state.

The blood of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of the United States, Bozdag told parliament, according to the Associated Press. The United States is part of the problem, not the solution.

Reacting on Twitter, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest he not preach morality to us.

And Israels education minister, Naftali Bennett, also writing on Twitter, called on Israelis to cancel their trips to Turkey, a popular holiday spot for Israelis.

Israel will no longer hold back from defending its honor and will safeguard its borders and citizens, he wrote.

Even as Turkeys tensions with Israel escalate, the response from some Arab governments toward Israel - including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain - has become more muted in recent years. Arab states of the Persian Gulf have seen their interests converge more closely with Israel over their shared worries about Irans reach in the region.

The Washington Posts Ruth Eglash in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
A developer is proposing a 72-acre project near Rancho Penasquitos that aims to become a new model for suburban development in San Diego  a densely built, walkable community with the sense of place you find in more urban areas.

People who feel traditional suburbs are isolating and too car-dependent will now have a option other than moving back into San Diegos more urban areas, developer Gary Levitt said by phone.

In a way we are really turning the American Dream on its head and saying we want to live closer to our neighbors in an urban environment where you can walk to the coffee shop or grab a beer with your friends without a car, Levitt said. We are re-evaluating what the suburbs are and what good planning means for these suburbs.

The project, which has been in the planning stages for the last five years, has received praise from community leaders and nearby residents. And when the Planning Commission approved it unanimously in February, Commissioner Doug Austin called it exactly right for the site it will occupy.

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Dubbed Merge 56 because its near state Route 56, the project is scheduled for City Council approval on May 22. If approved, Levitt said crews could begin construction next year and complete the project in 2021.

It would include 242 residential units in three-story buildings, office buildings six stories high, retail shops, a hotel, a movie theater and two market halls. Forty-seven of the housing units would be reserved for low-income residents.

A previous project approved for the site in 2004 would have followed the old model of suburban development: a big box shopping center surrounded by a giant parking lot with apartment buildings and a self-storage facility nearby.

Levitt, who bought the property in 2013, said he feels lucky that the Great Recession of 2007 and 2008 and an environmental lawsuit delayed construction of that project long enough for a new model of development to emerge.

The town centers in suburbia today are only town centers in name, Levitt said. They are really just parking lots with buildings around them. The only meeting place you have is the Starbucks that happens to have tables and chairs outside.

In contrast, his project will have many gathering places and is designed to create a sense of place and community cohesiveness. There will be no parking lots, with cars parking in four parking structures located behind buildings to soften their impact.

Levitt said his project differs from the controversial One Paseo mixed-use project in Carmel Valley that the City Council approved in 2016 because the housing, retail and office buildings in Merge 56 would be more thoroughly integrated.

In One Paseo  which the developer shrunk significantly after opponents gathered signatures for a referendum  the office, retail and housing components are geographically separated.

And in contrast to the backlash against One Paseo, there appears to be no organized opposition to Merge 56. Two community planning groups in the area have approved the project.

Corey Buckner, chairman of both the Rancho Penasquitos and Torrey Highlands planning groups, said by phone that community leaders have embraced the project.

It would be built on vacant land just west of Rancho Penasquitos and east of the Del Mar Mesa Preserve. The land is south of state Route 56, east of Interstate 5 and west of Interstate 15.

The project would help solve the local shortage of affordable housing because it would include 47 units for people earning less than 65 percent of the areas median income, which is about $60,000 for a four-person household.

The developer included those units to be eligible for a density bonus  an opportunity to build more square footage than the existing zoning allows.

City officials say the project complies with San Diegos climate action plan, which limits greenhouse gas emissions created by new projects.

Some residents have criticized the project for not including a transit center. But there are plans to have a bus route serve the project.

Construction of the project would include completion of two major roadways in the area: Camino Del Sur and Carmel Mountain Road. Levitt would also contribute about $30 million to a fund earmarked for nearby amenities such as parks, libraries and fire stations.

Traffic would be controlled inside the project with roundabouts instead of stoplights.

Levitt said the lengthy approval process for the project has prevented him from seeking tenants for the office and retail portions and operators for the hotel and movie theater.

We have a lot if interest  the problem is its taken me five years to get through a project that Ive had unanimous community support for, he said. You cant go out and make commitments to anyone without certainty.

Levitt said he plans to build the entire project simultaneously, not in phases.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
The incumbents for county district attorney and sheriff are leading in their races, but a large number of undecided voters make any outcome possible, according to a new poll.

Forty-three percent of those surveyed in the DAs election and 33 percent in the sheriffs contest have yet to make up their minds, SurveyUSA said in results released today.

Conducted for the Union-Tribune and 10News, the poll comes with early voting under way in the June 5 election, and it suggests one reason for people being on the fence: Theyre more concerned about things other than crime.

A combined 52 percent said the cost of living or housing affordability is the most important issue on their minds as they decide how to cast ballots. Crime was ranked first by 13 percent of the respondents, the same number as those most concerned about homelessness.

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In the race for district attorney, appointed office-holder Summer Stephan leads Genevieve Jones-Wright, a deputy public defender, 35 percent to 22 percent, among likely voters.

Stephan polled higher among both men and women, and in every age group except the youngest (those 18 to 34). She led among whites and Asians; Republicans and independents; those most concerned about crime and the cost of living; those who have gone to college; those making more than $40,000; and suburban voters.

Jones-Wright was favored among the youngest voters; Hispanics; Democrats; those most concerned about housing affordability and homelessness; high school graduates; those making less than $40,000; and urban voters.

In about two-thirds of those various sub-categories, undecided polled higher than either of the two candidates.

In the race for sheriff, Bill Gore, who has held the post since 2009, leads Cmdr. Dave Myers, a 33-year department veteran, 38 percent to 28 percent.

Gore was favored among both men and women; in all age categories except the youngest voters; by whites and Asians; Republicans and independents (and tied with Myers among Democrats); those most concerned about crime, affordable housing and cost of living; those who attended college; those making more than $40,000; and suburban voters.

Myers polled best among the youngest voters; Hispanics; those most concerned about homelessness; high school graduates; those making less than $40,000; and urban voters.

Undecideds led both candidates in about 25 percent of the various sub-categories.

The Survey USA poll also asked voters about the lower-profile race for county assessor-recorder-clerk, which pits two-term incumbent Ernest Dronenburg Jr. against Matthew Strabone, an attorney.

Dronenburg leads 20 percent to 17 percent, with 63 percent undecided  a result that pollsters said leaves the two candidates effectively tied.

Across every sub-category  gender, age, race, party affiliation, issues, education, income, neighborhood-type  undecided outpolled both candidates.

All three county races are officially non-partisan, but voters dont see it that way, according to the poll. Almost 80 percent said party affiliation  either their own, or that of the candidates  has something to do with how they vote.

Only 15 percent said it had nothing to do with their decisions.

As they weigh the local races, voters said, they are most concerned about what it takes financially to reside in San Diego County. Thirty-five percent identified the cost of living as their most-pressing issue, while 17 percent picked housing affordability.

Crime and homelessness were ranked next, at 13 percent each, followed by traffic and growth, at 9 percent.

The poll, done online from May 9 to May 14, interviewed 1,100 adults. Of those, 929 are registered to vote, and 559 were identified by Survey USA as being likely to cast ballots. The credibility interval on the polling for the local races is plus or minus 6.5 percentage points.

john.wilkens@sduniontribune.com
Prosecutors on Monday dropped charges  including resisting arrest  against a Vista father whose arrest last week by deputies sparked condemnation by family and at least one community leader after a recording of it was widely shared online.

The 22-second recording appears to show deputies manhandling Gerardo Martinez Sr., and his namesake son after they were in handcuffs May 7 following a report of domestic violence near their condominium in a complex near East Vista Way on the citys northeast end.

The District Attorneys Office confirmed that it dismissed the charges. We can only file charges when we believe we can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt, a spokeswoman said in an email.

She did not immediately respond to a query made after business hours regarding what role the images caught on video played in the decision to drop the case against the elder Martinez.

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Mark Lane, the investigator for the attorney representing Martinez, said he suspects two videos played key roles: the viral recording and footage from body-worn cameras that deputies wear.

The video that first brought attention to the arrest appears to capture the waning seconds of the encounter with deputies. In the footage, Martinez Sr. was shoved into a wooden fence face-first. His son, pinned to a sidewalk, was beaten about the head.

The video was taken by a neighbor, and posted by the daughter and sister of the two men.

Authorities said the deputies had been summoned to the area after a 911 call from a woman who was being held against her will. The Sheriffs Department issued a statement last week saying that the video captured only a portion of what happened, and asserted that the parties in the video fought with deputies.

Martinez said Monday evening that the experience has left him shaken.

Ive been very scared because if something happens in my home, how can I call the police? he said. I dont feel safe right now.

Last week, Sheriff Bill Gore said the department would conduct a full review of the events. Two deputies involved were placed on desk duty.

The sons case is still pending. He remains jailed in lieu of $110,000.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
As more than a half-million seniors and disabled people in the county are about to receive new Medicare cards, the District Attorneys office issued a warning Monday to remind them to be on guard for fraud.

Roughly 5.7 million people in the state will receive the new cards, which will no longer have the recipients social security number on them, but rather an 11-digit alphanumeric identifier. The benefits are not changing.

County prosecutors warn that con artists are known to take advantage of changes in government programs, including when new cards are introduced.

Among the protection tips from prosecutors:

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Keep the new Medicare card in a safe place

When your new Medicare card arrives, keep it in a safe place and guard it like a credit card,

Dont share or confirm your Medicare number or Social Security number with anyone who contacts you by telephone, email, or in person, unless youve given them permission in advance.

Medicare will never contact you (unless you ask them to) to obtain your Medicare number or other personal information or to send you a new card.

Con artists may reach out and try to get your new 11-digit Medicare identifier so they can steal your identity and commit fraud  dont give it to them.

There is no charge for your new card, so dont pay anyone to send it to you.

Call 1-800-633-4227 (800-MEDICARE) to report suspected fraud.

To learn more protecting yourself from identity theft and Medicare fraud, go to medicare.gov/fraud.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Four off-duty Camp Pendleton Marines hiking in Los Angeles County drew praise today for happening upon an ailing hiker and carrying him to where a helicopter could airlift him to a hospital.

The rescue occurred around 4 p.m. Sunday on the roughly five-mile round-trip trail to Switzer Falls in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Altadena, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Thats where a hiker reportedly experiencing chest pain placed an emergency call requesting help from the sheriffs departments Montrose search-and-rescue team.

As rescue crews hiked downstream, they encountered the hiker sooner than they expected, thanks to the San Diego County-based Marines.

Four off-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton had run into the hiker downstream and carried him upstream for a more rapid rescue, hoist and transport, according to a sheriffs statement.

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The hiker, whose name was not released, was taken to a local hospital and was expected to get well soon, the Sheriffs Department reported.
Before 8 million Californians voted in 2016 to pass Proposition 64 by a decisive margin and allow recreational use of marijuana by adults, supporters acknowledged that the approval would lead to a massive social experiment in the nations most populous state  with great potential for unintended consequences. So far, though, the consequences are almost entirely foreseeable  or should have been.

After California voters legalized medical marijuana in 1996, an extremely profitable multibillion-dollar industry sprang up  one that often operated in gray areas or acted illegally to promote sales. When voters decided recreational marijuana sales would be legal starting in January, state officials apparently expected this industry to permit their shops en masse for legal cannabis sales. Instead, as the Bay Area News Group reported last week, marijuana industry officials say only a few hundred of the states estimated 12,500 retail cannabis shops now have permits for recreational sales.

That low percentage is not just because of the cost of a state permit (up to $73,000). Its because compliance eliminates the enormous price advantage that illegal dispensaries have over legal ones, which must add the states 15 percent marijuana tax and the states regular base sales tax of 7.25 percent or more (in San Diego County, its typically 7.75 percent) to the cost of marijuana purchased. The city of San Diego also adds a 5 percent tax on top of that. No wonder unincorporated Spring Valley has at least 11 illegal dispensaries taking away millions of dollars in business from legal shops. They can charge so much less. And no wonder that in the first three months of this year, the state averaged only about $11 million a month in state sales taxes on pot  far below the $29 million a month it expected.

This is why Gov. Jerry Browns call in his revised 2018-19 state budget for the California Department of Justice to spend $14 million to hire five teams to crack down on illegal marijuana operations  with one team based in San Diego  is cause for both celebration and bafflement. What took so long?

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One person who saw this huge problem coming is Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, who worked for 28 years for the California Highway Patrol. In a telephone interview with an editorial writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Lackey said state officials never seemed to grasp the size and sophistication of Californias black market marijuana industry or appreciate the fact that black marketeers had a 20-year head start because of the 1996 medical marijuana law. As matters now stand, Lackey said, Theres no way the regular market can compete.

So far, state governments response to what Lackey calls a ridiculous state of affairs is quite limited: Browns proposal for five teams to target illegal cannabis operations, state regulators willingness to give extensions on permit and fee deadlines for some pot shops that have taken steps toward compliance, and some state lawmakers interest in reducing the states 15 percent marijuana tax. But a much better idea is a no-brainer and long overdue: Set up a small task force of marijuana industry and law enforcement experts to develop best practices to ensure the industry can thrive  and not be undercut by illegal shops ignoring the rules.

In Lackeys phrase, its time to minimize the casualties resulting from the states what-me-worry approach to regulating legal marijuana. In a separate interview, Lt. Gov. and gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom, who helped lead Californias push to legalize recreational marijuana, acknowledged state officials failures to stop the black market from popping up so blatantly. That, he told us, goes deep to the stubbornness and the friction and the pace of permitting that has been very slow, and thats on us. Newsom noted that Gov. Brown has not been spending a great deal of time getting folks around the table on this. Whoever the next governor is, itll have to be far more of a pressing priority.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Californians achieved a new record in 2017, but its not one they should be proud of or happy about.

The state Department of Public Health says a record number of state residents  308,043  were diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) last year, a number thats up 45 percent from just five years ago.

Heres what you should know about this record-breaking number.

How many cases were reported?

Cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and early syphilis were concentrated among those younger than 30. Rates of chlamydia are higher for young women, and syphilis and gonorrhea are most prevalent among men.

The 218,710 cases of chlamydia reported in 2017 was the highest number since records were first kept on the disease in 1990. The 75,450 cases of gonorrhea reported last year was the highest number since 1988.

What do I need to know about these diseases?

As students are warned in high school health classes, sexually transmitted diseases can have dangerous consequences. The state health agency reminds Californians that chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and lead to infertility, ectopic pregnancy and chronic pelvic pain if they go untreated.

Another concerning number from the state health agency is that 30 stillbirths occurred in California due to syphilis. Thats the highest number reported in the state since 1995.

Syphilis can cause permanent loss of vision, hearing and other neurological problems.

What else do I need to know?

The state health agency says its working with local health departments and other organizations throughout the state to raise awareness about STDs.

"STDs are preventable by consistently using condoms, and many STDs can be cured with antibiotics," said Department of Public Health Director Dr. Karen Smith. "Regular testing and treatment are very important for people who are sexually active, even for people who have no symptoms. Most people infected with an STD do not know it."

For information on STDs from San Diego Countys Health and Human Services Agency  including where to get tested  click here.

Read the full report from the California Department of Public Health here.

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
Drone delivery is nothing new. There is a sushi drone in Iceland, 7-Eleven has delivered slurpees via drone, a New Zealand man once even flew a drone through a KFC drive-thru to impress his girlfriend. But Uber wants to bring you food, faster.

UberEats, the worlds largest food-delivery platform, has started a new trial program to deliver food in as little as five to 30 minutes. Uber cant just be about cars, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said at the Uber Elevate Summit. It has to be about mobility. Its my personal belief that a key to solving urban mobility is flying burgers, in any city. We need flying burgers.

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Khosrowshahi believes that through this test service, UberEats will be able to deliver in anywhere from five to 30 minutes. Push a button, and get food on your doorstep, he said.

The flying burgers will be part of a wide-reaching commercial testing program called the Integration Pilot Program., which was recently approved by the federal government. The program authorizes some state, local, and tribal governments to permit both startups and established companies such as Uber, Amazon, and others to deliver things like food, goods, and medical equipment via expanded drone programs.

We totally predicted more drone-delivery in 2018. Check out The Daily Meals other food trend predictions here.

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Sixty years ago today, the premiere of the movie musical Gigi starred an aging Maurice Chevalier singing Im Glad Im Not Young Anymore. The sentiment was real, according to Pete Martins interview with Chevalier a few months later.

In I Call on Maurice Chevalier, the writer met the legendary performer on a tour of sorts in Seattle to talk about life, love, and cocktail parties. Pushing 70 years old, Chevalier was perfectly happy to play the role of uncle or grandfather in a musical instead of romantic lead. In fact, he thought it sad, perhaps embarrassing, to continue chasing after lover roles in advanced age. When Martin asked Chevalier whether it was in bad taste for an older man to chase after young girls, the French performers answer was enlightened, and likely different than the reporter was expecting to hear:

I think its not good for any man, even a young man, to chase any girl. Love is the same as success: one should meet it halfway. When it happens, you should clasp it to yourself in the middle of the road, if thats where you find it. It should be like the coming together of the negative and positive poles of a magnet. When you are going to fall in love with somebody, most of the time she has shown you already that she likes you. If you just fall madly in love with a person who does not even look at you  who, in fact, is high-hatting you  you are falling in love with the wrong person. To me, love is only good if it is gladly shared. That is when it becomes something deliciously and irresistibly important.

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Chevaliers prolific performing career spanned Europe and the United States. He preferred an intimate bottle of wine to a crowded cocktail party, and  unlike his American counterparts  he always employed a subtle compliment over a brutish pickup line.
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John Kobler, while writing The Flip-Flop Machines for the Post in 1968, observed computers that could teach English, play chess, simulate warfare, and write poetry. All of those tasks are readily available on any smart phone now, but his principal reflection on technology remains woefully unexamined: Machines cant make a better world without better people, a truism applicable to every material discovery from the wheel to nuclear power.

In other words, computers are only as good  or as evil  as the intentions of the people behind the keyboard. The recent scandal involving Facebook and Cambridge Analytica shows how vulnerable we are to manipulation. But the phenomenon, while strikingly much more sophisticated than it used to be, isnt completely new. Ever since computers were developed to process information, it seems, theyve been used to analyze  and possibly influence  voters.

In the spring of 1960, John F. Kennedys campaign was aided by Simulmatics, a computer firm that simulated the election results of various campaign strategies. The people machine, developed by social scientists from M.I.T., Columbia, and Yale, used surveys from over 100,000 voters to create 480 voter types. The big question posed by the Kennedy campaign, according to Kobler, was whether his Catholicism was a problem. The net worst has been done, Simulmatics told them. Bitter anti-Catholicism would bring about a reaction against prejudice and for Kennedy from Catholics and others who would resent overt prejudice. Under these circumstances, it makes no sense to brush the religious issue under the rug.

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Eugene Burdick expressed prescient concern for Kennedys use of Simulmatics in his 1964 novel The 480. The book warns of a powerful new kind of political influencer in the age of computer technology:

The new underworld is made up of innocent and well-intentioned people who work with slide rules and calculating machines and computers which can retain an almost infinite number of bits of information as well as sort, categorize, and reproduce this information at the press of a button They may, however, radically reconstruct the American political system, build a new politics, and even modify revered and venerable American institutions.

The revelation that British firm Cambridge Analytica mined extensive data on more than 80 million Facebook users for Donald Trumps election campaign was a wake-up call for anyone who still thought social media was a wholly innocuous trend. The companys powerful algorithms and incredibly substantial field of data allowed it to perform unprecedented research on American voters. The breach violated Facebooks terms of use, but more than a year after the election that fact seemed immaterial. Many wondered how Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks CEO, could have allowed it to happen, but perhaps Stephen Marche put it best in The New Yorker when he wrote, We blame Mark Zuckerberg because we cant stand to blame ourselves.

Zuckerberg has shown public concern for the damage inflicted on his platform. For most of our existence, we focused on all the good that connecting people can bring, he said in his official statement to the U.S. Senate, its clear now that we didnt do enough to prevent these tools from being used for harm as well. It should also be clear now that we will likely hear a version of that statement again and again in the future, if not from Zuckerberg, then from another Silicon Valley CEO who shares his mantra, Move fast, and break things.

Although both operations aimed to distill the American voter down to a demographic, there are major differences in depth and scope between the operations of Simulmatics and Cambridge Analytica. According to Chris Wylie, the whistleblower data analyst of Cambridge Analytica, the company created in-depth psychological profiles of millions of people that allowed it to target disinformation tailored to ones susceptibility. That seems to be more intensely deceptive than an algorithm used to determine whether the public thinks Catholicism is okay, but ethical boundaries can be fuzzy with each new technological innovation taking the public by storm. Wylie compares the difference to a campaign that delivers a message in the public square as opposed to one that whispers in each voters ear.

The current reality of touchscreens, and facial recognition, and extensive social networks would have been difficult for Kobler  or Kennedy  to envision. When Kobler wrote The Flip-Flop Machines, powerful computers were still resigned to government use. Yet, the scope of how this impending technology would bring about sweeping ethical dilemmas and problematic artificial intelligence was roundly acknowledged. After all, just a month before the feature was published in this magazine, 2001: A Space Odyssey hit American theaters with its foreboding message on the pitfalls of all-encompassing technology: the killer computers power was derived from the crews complete reliance on it for everyday tasks.

Our pervasive dependence on vast technological systems might seem as though it sprung up out of nowhere, but its been a long time coming, and the warning signs were always there. Kobler notes an anecdote among computer scientists about a supercolossal computer built to answer the question, Is there a God?

Yes, it said at length. There is a God  now.
Vilnius, Lithuania -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2018 -- Bunions are not only a problem of physical and emotional discomfort, they may also become painful which leads people to surgery. Because of the cost, many people living in the UK, USA, or Western Europe go abroad for bunion surgery.



A bony bump that forms on the joint at the base of the big toe, called bunion, is a problem for many people. Also known as a bunionectomy, bunion surgery, or hallux valgus correction, is a surgical procedure that solves the problem completely. Therefore, people for whom nonsurgical treatment methods do not relieve the pain they are suffering, are looking at surgery options. These days, because surgery cost in the UK and Scandinavian countries is high, patients often choose bunion surgery abroad. This option can cut down costs anywhere from 40% to 70% even with the travel expenses added.



"I developed bunions a few years ago and have been dealing with the redness and soreness which is not only painful but embarrassing as well. After much thought, I decided to undergo a surgical procedure to correct the deformed area of my foot near the big toe so I can walk comfortably in my shoes again." - says Melissa Scott, a 38-year-old sales agent from Manchester, UK, who went to Kardiolita Hospital in Vilnius, Lithuania for her surgery after researching bunion surgery cost abroad.



"Although women are more likely to develop bunions, we have a number of male patients coming in for different types of bunion surgery as well. We have the most experienced doctors in the industry, most of whom have more than 35 years of experience in their field. We perform 200+ surgeries each year with no reported MRSA infections." - says Andrius Kostogriz, the CEO at Kardiolita Hospital in Vilnius, Lithuania.



Kardiolita hospital is in a perfect geographical location which makes their patients' travel short and inexpensive. There are no waiting lists and the hospital helps UK patients get their payment reimbursed by the NHS.



At Kardiolita Hospital, bunion surgery is performed by surgeons having 15+ years of experience in performing operations daily. Patients choosing Kardiolita Hospital for their bunion surgery save up to 72% while getting world-class medical services, which is a huge deciding factor for patients from abroad.



Visit http://www.kardiolita.com/our-services/service-centres/93/orthopaedic-surgery/category-417 for more information.



To schedule an appointment or with any questions, send a message to: http://www.kardiolita.com/contact-us/130. Alternatively, please call +370 694 70170 to get all your questions answered.



About Kardiolita Hospital

Kardiolita Hospital is the leading private general hospital in Lithuania, accredited by the JCI and working by the highest industry standards. Established in 1998 Kardiolita Hospital provides full range of medical services  from comprehensive diagnostics to various surgical treatments within many medical areas. Kardiolita Hospital employs 200+ highly qualified Lithuanian doctors with extensive international experience and treatment performance of more than 45+ medical areas. The hospital has long-term experience in treating international patients.



Contact Information:

Kardiolita Hospital

Phone: +370 694 70170

Laisves Av. 64a, Vilnius, Lithuania

http://www.kardiolita.com
Vilnius, Lithuania -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2018 -- Gastric sleeve surgery is a procedure where part of the stomach is removed to create a new, tube-shaped sleeve/stomach. Most overweight people go abroad for gastric sleeve surgery since the procedure is more affordable when compared to the cost in the UK or Scandinavian countries.



Gastric sleeve surgery, also called vertical sleeve gastrectomy, is an irreversible surgical procedure that helps the patient feel full sooner, thus helps in losing weight. It is readily available in most countries; however, it may not be accessible for everyone due to the high cost. Therefore, many people in the Western European countries and the UK opt for sleeve gastrectomy abroad.



"I have always had a big appetite and been obese all my life. When I found out that gastric sleeve surgery is significantly less expensive in some other European countries compared to the UK, I decided to have a gastric sleeve abroad." - says Monica Evans, an insurance agent from Canterbury, England, who availed of a full-service package at Kardiolita Hospital in Vilnius, Lithuania. She was discharged from the hospital 3 days after the surgery and was able to return to work within two weeks.



"We offer a wide variety of surgical procedures which are available in complete packages including airport pickup and drop-off." - says CEO Andrius Kostogriz, the CEO at Kardiolita Hospital in Vilnius, Lithuania.



Most doctors at Kardiolita Hospital have been operating for more than 35 years with very good post-operative results and rare complications. There are no waiting lists at Kardiolita Hospital which makes it more appealing to international patients. Being a JCI accredited hospital, Kardiolita Hospital offers world-class medical services at very affordable prices. In addition to this, very good geographical location makes patients' travel short and inexpensive.



At Kardiolita Hospital, gastric sleeve surgery is performed by surgeons having 15+ years of experience in performing gastric operations daily. Patients choosing Kardiolita Hospital for their sleeve gastrectomy surgery save up to 67% while getting world-class medical services, which is a huge deciding factor for patients from abroad.



Visit http://www.kardiolita.com/our-services/service-centres/93/obesity-surgery/category-418 for more information.



To schedule an appointment or with any questions, send a message to: http://www.kardiolita.com/contact-us/130. Alternatively, please call +370 694 70170 to get all your questions answered.



About Kardiolita Hospital

Kardiolita Hospital is the leading private general hospital in Lithuania, accredited by the JCI and working by the highest industry standards. Established in 1998 Kardiolita Hospital provides full range of medical services  from comprehensive diagnostics to various surgical treatments within many medical areas. Kardiolita Hospital employs 200+ highly qualified Lithuanian doctors with extensive international experience and treatment performance of more than 45+ medical areas. The hospital has long-term experience in treating international patients.



Contact Information:

Kardiolita Hospital

Phone: +370 694 70170

Laisves Av. 64a, Vilnius, Lithuania

http://www.kardiolita.com
Deerfield Beach, FL -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2018 -- Intense Research has published a new report that examines the "Global Authentication Services Market 2018: Size, Trends, Industry Share and Forecast, 2018  2023", which forecasts that newer technology advancements driving the market globally.



This document offers a precise survey of the market through analyzing of changing aggressive elements of the Authentication Services Market place. It facilitates in understanding the important product sectors and their future. It gives pin factor evaluation of converting rivalry flow and maintains you ahead of contenders.



The research covers the current market size of the Global Authentication Services market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers such as Bell Canada, Gemalto, Tata Communications, Verizon, Wipro, Entrust Datacard, GCI Channel Solutions, GCX, Interoute, Trustwave.



It gives a forward-looking factor of view on diverse elements using or restricting enterprise quarter development. It offers a forecast based on how the marketplace is predicted to increase. Their key financials, widespread business enterprise assessment, weighted SWOT examination, key improvements, developments, land unfold, and methods are contemplated and were skillfully made on this a long way reaching Authentication Services Market file.



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The research study is segmented by Application/ end users Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance, Telecom, IT, and ITes, Government and Defense, Ecommerce, Healthcare, Energy and Power, Others, products type Single-Factor Authentication, Multi-Factor Authentication



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Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2018 -- Five dimensional (5D) data storage is the technology invented by a team of scientists at the University of Southampton, England with a view to store data in a disc made up of Nano structured glass. This data storage disc is expected to store data up to 13.8 Billion years which is an estimated age of the Universe. This Nano structured glass is etched microscopically with a laser. The 5D disc can be best explained as a result of XYZ dimensions along with time referred to 4th dimension. The 5thdimension inside of the discs are the size and orientation in relation to the 3-dimensional position of the nanostructures. The tiny patterns printed on the 3 layers allow an optical illusion to the viewer giving different view of the patterns when viewed from different angles. Each disc layer of the 5D data storage has multiple layers of macro and micro images.



To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @ https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1445922



The thought behind creating a data storage disc using 5D technology is owing to the present options of data storage devices getting damaged, rotten, or obsolete. Also, harsh or extreme weather conditions such as excessive dampness, heat, humidity, etc. can also damage the storage devices. Such factors lead to the thought of a rugged compact data storage product and hence, 5D data storage disc is considered as an option. The Nano structured glass is long lasting with chemical, heat and other reaction resistant. These Nano-structures tend to adapt to the light's polarization so that positive and negative values can be read effectively. The Nano structured discs are hit with ultra-laser rays to form structured dots with short, strong light pulses. The scientist team has named this disc as 'superman memory crystal'. The scientist team from the University of Southampton is looking for industry partners to commercialize the disc for storing rich information to pass it on to the next generation. Some of the famous documents printed into 5D data storage are the holy Bible, Magna Carta, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and Sir Isaac Newton's Opticks.



The expected driver for the 5D data storage market is the need for a secure and portable form of data storage product. Within the military and other related industry verticals secured data communication or transfer becomes a problem. Hence, this factor of secured data storage product can drive the future years across diverse industry verticals. Furthermore, big data is expected to allow commercializing of 5D data storage discs to diverse applications as data is increasing exponentially with time. On the other hand, one of the main challenge for the 5D data storage market is that the commercialization of the disc is not expected to reach the market soon as the University is not yet ready to disclose the key for the 5D data storage disc for reading the rich information to the industries. Another challenge will be the high cost of the glass making it less accessible to wider applications. One of the anticipated opportunities are no mere substitution for ultrafast lasers which will make the product grow across the high technology adopted regions. Another opportunity for the 5D data storage is that civilization around are looking forward to record their culture and developments to pass it on to their next generations. Additionally, secret military agencies emerging on a huge scale across territories is also expected to be an opportunity for the 5D data storage market.



To conclude, the 5D data storage disc featuring 360TB data capacity, withstanding up to 1000C temperature, able to have a life of 13.8 billion years at 190C is expected to rule the big data market in near future once leading industry players invest in R&D to come up with more products in the 5D data storage market.



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Local media reported that MMC Corp has submitted an appeal to the new Sabah state government on its proposed acquisition of a 20% stake in Sabah Ports after its earlier bid was rejected by the previous state government in April this year.

Group md Che Khalib Mohamad Noh said MMC believed that the states ports have huge potential for cargo volume growth and especially in the palm oil transportation segment as Sabah is one of the worlds biggest producers of the industrial commodity. The acquisition of a stake would grant MMC access to tap into this market, although the group acknowledged that the state would ultimately want to retain control of the key asset.

Read More: Suria Capital cans plan to sell Sabah Ports to MMC

We are still interested. Hopefully the new government would give us the opportunity (to buy Sabah Port). We have to accept that Sabah will never want to give away control of Sabah Port. It is pretty obvious, said Che Khalib.

But again, we see that we could probably have a strategic interest so we can collaborate with Sabah Port to expand the potential in Sabah. The primary reason for us to move into Sabah is because we see the vast potential in Sabah to expand, he added.

We have written an appeal on their recent decision to not to pursue with us. Perhaps, at the right moment, we will go back and explain why we think we can put a good business proposition to Sabah, Che Khalib was quoted as saying on the sidelines of MMCs annual general meeting.

The Sabah state government and its related entities have maintained tight control of the port sector. Sabah governments investment arm Warisan Harta Sabah reportedly controls 45.4% of Suria Capital Holdings, the holding company which controls Sabah Port. Other state-linked entities with interests in Suria Capital include Yayasan Sabah Group (3.67%) and the Sabah Chief Minister with 1.66%.The state holds a combined 50.37% stake in Suria Capital.

Sabah Ports has a 30-year concession from 2004 to manage and operate eight ports in the state.

Looking further afield, Che Khalib said MMC was also eyeing other ports acquisition opportunities in Malaysia and other Asean countries.

Ports is an area that we believe that we can expand, also regionally. Asean is a region where volumes increase as opposed to the Europe. There is huge potential for us to continue in this region. We are looking at opportunities in Asean. Hopefully we are going to make some deals in Asean, he said.

On funding partners, Che Khalib said some local institutions like the EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and Tabung Haji had been approached and were keen to explore opportunities together, although he did not specify if any allocation had been put aside for the planned acquisitions.

Among its current network, Che Khalib said MMC expects to see growth of 6% to 7% in total container throughput this year among its ports and more than 10% growth from its key container terminals at Port Tanjung Pelepas.

MMC Corp has gradually built up interests in all the major ports along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, and is also involved in the massive Carey Island port project near Port Klang, with Sime Darby Property and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone.
Statement of Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Benham Rise

The Benham Rise is uncontested territory. Atin ito, at walang ibang umaangkin nito. Hindi inaagaw o inaarmasan ng China o ng kahit anong bansa ang Benham Rise. Teritoryo natin ito.

On the other side of the Philippines, in our exclusive economic zone, in the territory where China has deployed anti-air and anti-ship missiles is where foreign militarization on Philippine land and waters is happening.

Chinese missiles in Zamora Reef are about 13 nautical miles (about 24.05 kilometers or closer than the distance between Camp Aguinaldo and National Bilibid Prisons) away from Pag-asa Island, the largest Philippine-controlled island out of the nine features in Spratlys;

in Kagitingan Reef, about 103 nautical miles (about 190.55 kilometers or the distance between Malacanang and Manaoag Church);

and in Panganiban Reef, about 117 nautical miles (about 216.45 kilometers or almost double the distance of the Bataan Death March).

On the western side of the country, our sovereignty is clearly violated, our security is threatened, and leadership is badly needed.

It is in the West Philippine Sea, not in Benham Rise, where action is necessary and critical.
Message of Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III on beginning of the Ramadan

As the Holy Month of Ramadhan for Hijrah 1439 is about to start, I take this opportunity to greet the Muslims around the world Ya Sahro Ramadhan Al Mubarak.

The teachings of Ramadhan is not only about abstaining from eating food or drinking water or praying but rather it is also abstaining from doing sinful things, lending a hand to those who are in need or giving charity and the promotion of peace in the community.

May this Holy Month of Ramadhan enlighten the heart and soul of everybody and give utmost importance to the promotion of peace, joy and harmony in the universe.

In this regard, I join our Muslim brothers and sisters in welcoming the Holy Month of Ramadhan as a gesture of understanding the beliefs of other faithfuls.

RAMADHAN AL MUBARAK
New Zealand cow slaughter rates are tracking ahead of last year as the compulsory culling of cattle on properties infected with Mycoplasma bovis swells volumes, weighing on prices.

The outbreak was reported in New Zealand for the first time in July last year, and the Ministry for Primary Industries has so far ordered the slaughter of cattle from 39 infected properties. The ministry expects to make a decision by the end of this month on whether to continue with attempts at eradication or switch its focus to managing the disease.

"The attempted eradication of the M. Bovis disease from NZ is disrupting the local market," AgriHQ analyst Reece Brick said in his monthly sheep and beef report. "More than 11,000 cattle (primarily dairy cows) have already been processed, but the number of farmers under quarantine is rising rapidly. Either a lot more cattle will need to be culled or attempts to eradicate the spread will be cancelled."

Official data for the four weeks to April 14 show 145,600 cows were slaughtered nationwide, up 21 percent on the same period last year although 2 percent below the five-year average, AgriHQ said.

The kill season for cows generally starts in March and runs through until the end of May with farmers selecting their least productive dairy cows for slaughter as they prepare for the winter months when there is less feed available. Farmers tend to cull heavily during periods of low milk prices, and stock numbers are typically reduced ahead of Gypsy Day, which marks the new dairy year when farmers move their cows to winter grazing land and many sharemilkers settle their old milking contracts and embark upon new ones.

"For NZ processors all focus is on the annual dairy cow kill," Brick said. "Within the North Island there's been nothing too out of the ordinary with normal seasonal culling underway. The usual combination of slower winter grass growth and the approach of Gypsy Day have prompted dairy farmers to cull in solid numbers. In the South Island it's much busier compared to past years. Poor pregnancy rates there and the compulsory culling of cattle from M. Bovis affected farms is bloating supplies."

As expected, the laws of supply and demand have pulled slaughter prices down, Brick said, noting weakness was more prevalent in the South Island.

Meat processors were offering $4/kg for North Island cows last week, down from $4.05/kg last month and $4.30/kg at the same time a year earlier, AgriHQ said. In the South Island, processors offered $3.65/kg, down from $4/kg last month and $3.95/kg last year.

Bull prices also fell, with North Island processors offering $5.10/kg, from $5.30/kg last month and $5.60/kg last year. In the South Island, the price fell to $4.90/kg, from $5.10/kg last month and $5.15/kg last year.

Within the global market, supply levels were causing uncertainty with both Australia and the US slaughtering cattle at elevated rates, Brick said. New Zealand's national bull kill totalled 42,750 in the four weeks to April 14, up 39 percent on last year and 50 percent up on the five-year average.

Brick noted that the profit margins on manufacturing beef from bulls and cows were very slim for processors through most of April, pulling the schedule prices for these classes down the furthest. Export prime was a somewhat sheltered from the impact of the large cow supplies, though this was based on limited throughput, he said.

"There does appear to be some light at the end of the tunnel for beef farmers," Brick said. Export returns on manufacturing beef improved drastically in the last few weeks, while bookings of cattle to slaughter have begun to slow, he said.

"Processors are expected to remain busy through until early-June so any upswing is unlikely in the short term, but the market should at least stabilise in the coming weeks," he said.

The developing efforts to eradicate the Mycoplasma bovis disease could play a key role in beef production in the next three months as the Ministry for Primary Industries decides whether to continue culling cattle from infected properties, Brick said.

(BusinessDesk)

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Most people don't want to pay a new fuel tax but do want the government to make roads safer and increase access, a survey funded by Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) has shown.

The government is proposing to raise petrol excises by between 9 and 12 cents a litre over the next three years, alongside the 11.5 cents per litre regional fuel tax in Auckland likely to begin from July.

The survey of 750 people, conducted by Ipsos for CA ANZ, showed that 49.6 percent of respondents wanted improvements to roading to come from the current land transport budget with less money spent on other projects, CA ANZ said.

Some 36 percent thought it should be funded from general taxation, 25 percent said funding should come from other sources such as congestion charges, regional fuel taxes or tolls, and 14 percent supported an increased fuel tax. Nine percent of respondents said they disagreed with the government's goal of improving roads. The percentages add up to over 100 percent because respondents could select multiple answers.

Respondents were more positive about the government's $1 billion Provincial Growth Fund, with 45 percent in favour of the spending, 21 percent opposed, and 34 percent not sure.

Most respondents believed they were paying the right amount of income tax, at 59 percent with 34 percent believing they should pay less, and many supported increasing or introducing other taxes. A total of 44 percent of respondents supported capital gains or wealth taxes, 31 percent said excise taxes such as those on alcohol, tobacco and fuel should rise, 30 percent thought company tax should be increased, 24 percent were in favour of environmental taxes, while 29 percent of respondents said no taxes should be increased or introduced.

CA ANZ tax lead for New Zealand, John Cuthbertson, said this was nimbyism, with just 4.3 percent of respondents in favour of lifting GST.

The government has said that the 'family home' won't be subject to capital gains tax, meaning most people won't be affected, Cuthbertson said.

"Our company tax rate, at 28 percent, is already above the OECD average and there are signs you can only go so far with some excise taxes such as tobacco, and it seems judging by the results of our survey, fuel tax.

The average combined corporate tax rate in the OECD is 23.9 percent, according to data from the organisation's website.

(BusinessDesk)

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TeamTalk, the Wellington-based telecommunications minnow, has sold its remaining 30 percent stake in rural broadband division Farmside to Vodafone New Zealand for $3 million, after the country's biggest mobile operator exercised an option to mop up the rest of the business.

TeamTalk received $13 million from the sale of BayCity Communications, trading as Farmside, having initially sold a 70 percent interest to Vodafone last year. That was a premium to the $9.6 million-to-$12 million range placed on the unit in the independent adviser's report by Grant Samuel, although TeamTalk paid $31 million in cash and scrip upfront for the company in 2012.

Vodafone's full takeover of the rural internet business comes as the government accelerates public investment in the nation's telecommunications network, extending the fibre network to more provincial areas and filling in mobile 'black spots' where there's no coverage.

"This agreement consolidates TeamTalks business," TeamTalk chief executive Andrew Miller said in a statement. "It enables us to focus on our key priorities: rolling out our national digital Tier III network and undergrounding our fibre network in Wellingtons CBD, to deliver greater resiliency and additional services to customers."

TeamTalk returned to profit in 2017 after selling the Farmside stake, using the funds to shore up its balance sheet by repaying debt, and giving the board confidence of resuming dividends this year.

The deal is expected to be completed at the end of the month, and Vodafone said it doesn't plan to make any major changes to Farmside, keeping staff and operations based in the South Island city of Timaru.

"Rural communities are important to us and this investment further deepens Vodafones long-standing commitment to them," chief executive Russell Stanners said. "With Farmside now firmly part of the Vodafone whanau, we can continue to deliver better outcomes for these communities and increase our presence in the rural broadband market."

Vodafone and TeamTalk plan to work together where they see appropriate strategic opportunities, they said.

TeamTalk shares last traded at 90 cents and have gained 18 percent over the past 12 months.

(BusinessDesk)

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Market Fresh, a supermarket brand of the Krasdale Foods company, is now open in Rosebank. The 7,000-square-foot grocery store takes over the building formerly home to Walgreens.

"We're very excited to be in that neighborhood," enthused store owner Kenny Othman. He currently operates two other Market Fresh outfits in New Jersey and Brooklyn.

Right now the Rosebank store is open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. As the inventory grows and the staff settles into routines, Othman plans for an 11 p.m. closing each night. He wants his operation to be a convenience for the customer.

"We try to make everybody as happy as we can," he said. And the longer hours are in response to feedback already coming from patrons since the opening on Friday, May 11.

Othman says the store's low prices and home delivery should appeal to the community.

Market Fresh includes a frozen goods and 7-foot high shelves chockful of grocery items. There is a produce aisle just past the entrance with a delicatessen and bakery section at the back of the section.

With Mexican sweet breads, heat-and-serve Italian entrees and veggies like malanga and yuca, the inventory bespeaks to a variety of ethnic food preferences. There is a dedicated seafood department featuring whole fish like tilapia plus an assortment of shellfish. An expansive bank of refrigeration stocks a variety of beef, chicken and pork cuts.

The courtesy counter, just past a bank of three registers, sells cigarettes. A beer license is in the works, something to be in place hopefully in the next few months.

Market Fresh is located at 570 Tompkins Ave., Rosebank; 718-981-2300. They can be found on Facebook and Instagram at MarketFresh_StatenIsland.


STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- In March, convicted double-murderer Ricky Dennis refused to enter a St. George courtroom for his sentencing and face the families of the two men he slew last year inside a Dongan Hills business.

On Monday, Dennis, 33, once again declined to step into Justice William E. Garnett's courtroom - despite it being nearly empty and with no victims' kin present - to attend what amounted to a legal housekeeping matter.

"He doesn't want to come out," defense lawyer Mario F. Gallucci told the judge, referring to a holding cell next to the courtroom. "But he thanks Your Honor."

Garnett, who had instructed Gallucci to tell the defendant he was prepared to conduct the proceeding with or without him, then added a five-year period of post-release supervision to his sentence.

On March 28, the judge had sentenced Dennis to life in prison without parole on his conviction of two counts of first-degree murder for executing Michael Genovese and Carl Clark and to 15 years for criminal weapon possession.

The judge said he did not believe he needed to add the period of post-release supervision to the gun conviction when he originally sentenced Dennis because the overall sentence did not include the possibility of parole.

However, he said the Corrections Department has since "insisted" he do so.

By law, a period of post-release supervision is imposed for determinate felony sentences.

The addition of the post-release supervision in this case is a mere formality and doesn't alter the murder sentence of life in prison without parole.

On March 13, a jury convicted Dennis of coldly gunning down Genovese, 57, and Clark, 52, inside Universal Merchant Funding on Buel Avenue on Jan. 24, 2017.

In her closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Lisa Davis had said greed and jealously sparked Dennis' murderous rage.

The defendant was aggrieved by the trapping of his Genovese's good fortune - the victim owned a BMW and Rolex watch and had a dozen TV screens in the office - and Dennis was also miffed Genovese wouldn't pay him for injuries the defendant claimed to have suffered in a fall at the office.

Dennis didn't return to work after that incident on Sept. 22, 2016, said Davis, who prosecuted the case along with Assistant District Attorney Michael Tannousis.

Witnesses testified that Genovese and others believed Dennis staged the incident. Jurors viewed a videotape of that episode.

In his closing argument, Gallucci, the defense lawyer, had contended police had wrongly zeroed in on Dennis because was a convenient suspect, despite what he maintained was a lack of physical evidence against his client.

Gallucci said police found none of the victims' blood or DNA on Dennis' clothing or in his car when he was stopped in Brooklyn later on the night of Jan. 24 for an unrelated incident or when he was arrested the next day.

However, an expert testified that two partial fingerprints of Dennis' were lifted from the inner handle of the front door at Universal Merchant Funding.

And a DNA mixture in which Dennis was likely contributor was found on an umbrella the killer had discarded on the street, Davis said.

Cops also found a black mask in Dennis' car, which, prosecutors said, the defendant wore when he killed the victims.

Dennis did not testify, and a jury convicted him after deliberating slightly more than three hours.

After Dennis' sentencing, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said Staten Island "will be safer" with the defendant behind bars.

The Brooklyn resident had been on federal probation for less than five months when the victims were slain.

He had served 10 years of a 12-year sentence stemming from the assault of a Pennsylvania gun shop owner and the subsequent sale of firearms taken from the business, federal officials said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Dongan Hills man says he has nowhere to turn after a turkey laid 16 eggs outside his home last week.

Richard Gambardella, 71, said he tried asking 311 and the ASPCA for help removing the unborn birds from the side of his Liberty Avenue home's front stoop. Neither group could help him.

A special license is required to remove turkeys.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) website says a special depredation permit from a regional DEC wildlife office is needed to remove the turkeys.

Removing bobcats and black bears requires the same permit.

Messages left for a local DEC spokesperson and permit administrator were not returned Monday night.

Gambardella said the makeshift nest, hidden away under shrubbery in front of his house, and the mother hen, are proving to be hazardous.

"It's aggressive, like a rooster would be," he said of the bird. "It's their kids. It's defending its young."

His home, near the intersection of Mason Avenue, is around the corner from the Staten Island University Hospital campus in Ocean Breeze, where turkeys have made their homes for at least 18 years.

An Advance article in July 2000 says police responded to guide just nine of the birds through traffic. That number has grown at least 10 times, despite multiple efforts to remove the birds.

The North American wild turkey is native to the borough, but had been eradicated long before this group infested Ocean Breeze.

Experts speculate that the birds were released by a local on the grounds of the South Beach Psychiatric Center, and, in June 2001, a wildlife rehabilitation and education center was built there as a response to the birds.

Multiple reports of turkey-induced traffic jams, and locals complaining about the birds, have been featured in the pages of the Advance since then.

There was even one report of man-on-turkey violence when someone in 2007 fired bottle rockets at a group of the birds near Laconia Avenue.

At least one official effort was made in 2016 to curb the population. More than 100 birds were rounded up, according to multiple reports at the time.

Since 2014, the And-Hof Sanctuary in the state's Catskills region has taken more than 150 turkeys from Staten Island, sanctuary representative Kurt Andernach told the Advance in April.

Andernach said hundreds of turkeys remain on the Island -- a number that is expected to grow as mating season approaches. "We are concerned because they will continue to breed and the problem won't stop - it's self-perpetuating," he said.



The sanctuary is still interested in giving the remaining turkeys a new home; one that's away from noise and traffic -- but funding is needed for the capture, care and transport of the birds.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A bag in a car. Guns. Ammunition. Marijuana. And now, time behind bars.

That's the breakdown for Haneef Saka, who will be sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty on Monday to attempted second-degree criminal weapon possession stemming from his arrest on Nov. 21 of last year in Stapleton.

According to a criminal complaint, Saka, 23, was seated alone in a car on Laurel Avenue and Gordon Street around 1:30 p.m.

Inside the car, officers found a bag containing two handguns - a 9 mm Glock 19 and a .22-caliber Tactical Solutions - the complaint said.

Also inside the bag were .22-caliber bullets and more than eight ounces of pot, said the complaint.

Saka was charged with multiple counts of criminal weapon possession and criminal firearm possession, as well as marijuana possession.

Besides prison time, Saka will be sentenced on June 6 in state Supreme Court, St. George, to five years' post-release supervision.

Mark J. Fonte, Saka's lawyer, declined comment on the case.

Assistant District Attorney Antonia Assenso is prosecuting it.

Online records show recent addresses in Mariners Harbor and New Brighton for Saka.

The defendant has previously spent time upstate.

In October 2013, he was sentenced in state Supreme Court, St. George, to 30 months in prison and three years' post-release supervision after previously pleading guilty to attempted second-degree robbery, court records said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With the New York Wheel given 120 days to come up with financing to get the project back on track, the question investors have is: Do they have enough money to complete the project?

Last week it was announced that the New York Wheel reached an agreement with the Holland-based Mammoet-Starneth -- the contractor who walked off the job and was subsequently fired last year -- during bankruptcy proceedings in Delaware Bankruptcy Court.

While the NY Wheel told the Advance the 120-day reprieve will be an opportunity "to finalize its financing arrangements and re-commence the construction and completion of the Wheel," investors are skeptical.

"We had progress, but a renewed concern that the 'standstill' and 'required financing' suddenly called into question the handling of the $500 million and a fear that there might be a significant shortfall in being able to fund both the purchase of the wheel parts from [Mammoet-Starneth] the cost of [American Bridge Company, which has been tapped by the Wheel to finish the project] completing the works," said Marino Katschmaryk, an investor from the United Kingdom.

"This is unfathomable, especially as the original budget was $280 million," he added, noting that he is hopeful there is enough funding for the Wheel construction to continue.

Other investors -- many from the UK-based Challenger group -- have taken to Internet forums to discuss their hope the project will continue. While some investors expressed optimism about the latest development, others said they fear the Wheel will be too costly to complete.

UNCLEAR HOW MUCH IS NEEDED

While the NY Wheel told the Advance $400 million of the $580 million allotted for the project through private investors was already spent when the project was indefinitely delayed last spring, it's unclear how much financing is needed for the project to continue.

Since this is a privately-funded project, the NY Wheel has no obligation to disclose how much financing is needed for the tourist attraction to come to fruition. And a spokesperson for the project declined comment about the hiring of a new contractor and financing aspects of the project.

"The most important aspects of the settlement kick in when New York Wheel finalizes its financing arrangements. Those aspects include conveyance of the Wheel components and the Wheel IP [intellectual property] to New York Wheel, dismissal of the pending SDNY [Southern District of New York] litigation, the exchange of mutual releases, and implementation of an agreed Chapter 11 plan for the debtor," said the Wheel in its statement to the Advance last week.

INITIAL FUNDING

In 2015, the former NY Wheel CEO Rich Marin told the Advance the project was fueled by $195 million in senior debt from the Highbridge Strategies hedge fund unit of JPMorgan Chase, $111 million in equity, and $174 million from CanAm Enterprises as part of a federal green card program known as EB-5.

The lawyer for CanAm Enterprises didn't return several calls from the Advance about the latest development in the NY Wheel saga.

QUOTES FOR WHEEL PARTS

Recent court proceedings also allow American Bridge Company to have the opportunity to buy parts of the Wheel from Mammoet-Starneth, according to court documents.

"This quotation remains offered to AB (American Bridge) under the auspices of AB performing work to complete the NYW (New York Wheel) on behalf of the owner," says Wieger Moen, global tender specialist for Mammoet, in filed court papers.

A list of the parts and the payment Mammoet-Starneth wants for each item is included in the most recently filed court documents.

Some of the parts and prices are as follows:

Staging equipment for the Wheel legs, $210,000

Leg shims and jacking, $60,000

Leg lift beam, $15,800

Rigid spoke rim foundation, $200,000

Rim reinforcements $2 million

Rim push open system/load release cylinders, $53,100

Total cost: $2.53 million

Court papers also indicate that Mammoet-Starneth would offer rental of equipment to American Bridge for construction the Wheel.

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The flowery language of a real estate brochure from 1872 touted two Victorian mansard, clapboard homes in New Brighton with qualifying prose: "Nothing equals it in the vicinity of New York. Lying along Lafayette, Prospect, Chestnut, and Brighton Avenues -- immediately adjacent to such royal and costly chateaus."

The views were declared the most "magnificent panoramas to be the witnessed on earth."



The 19th-century real estate agents were hyping two of the model homes built by H. Tracey Arnold, one being the "Arnold House," which has belonged to the Kennedy family since 1980.



Hal and Laura Kennedy were living in Queens when they were looking for a family home. Laura's mom lived on Staten Island, and encouraged them to look here.

The "Arnold House" at 280 Lafayette Avenue on the corner of Arnold Street was an affordable fixer-upper 38 years ago, and the property and surrounding area was (and still is) park-like.

The back stairs reminded Hal of his grandmother's house, and they just loved it. They also fell for the craftsmanship of the scrolls on the decorative porch and in the dining room's plaster molding. In the years to follow, Hal learned to make a mold himself to replace the missing leaves.

So, they moved in the fall of 1980, and the stripping of paint and varnish inside and continued for the next 15 years.

These were "the war years" as Laura calls them, "but it was all fun and became a family affair. This house supplied a seemingly never-ending task of paint stripping."

Before 1923, the house was heated by coal, then oil and now gas. So it's somehow fitting that one of the first things on the Kennedys' list, while the stripping of the floors and woodwork continued, was to rebuild all of the five fireplaces and chimneys.

The house is comprised of three floors and a basement. On the first floor is the kitchen, dining room and living room.

The second floor contains a built-in closet on the landing alongside the master bedroom, a family room, and a study. The main bathroom is also on this floor.

The top floor contains two bedrooms; one holds an unusual "witch's bend" chimney because of the mansard roof angle, and a full bath.

By 1990, the Kennedys had a "grip on the house," and in 2006 they proudly held their daughter Elizabeth's wedding here.

There were a few setbacks along the way, like when a storm winds sent one of the chimneys crashing into the top floor bedroom. But they rebuilt this chimney again.

Every room in the house is filled with family heirlooms -- each with a story from the heart.

Through the years, the Kennedys have opened up their home to many community, social and political events because, as Hal says, "this is a wonderful party house." They are as involved as a family can be in their community.

Hal conducted extensive research on the past owners and surrounding familiar names which today are street names. Such as Ellicot, Arnold, Goodhue, and Austin to name a few.

Here is a possible list of owners:

The builder H. Tracey Arnold, 1872

Kobbe family

Elizabeth Austen, grandmother of Alice, held a mortgage in 1875

McFarlane family, 1923-1955

Backloski family, 1955-1969

Paeech family, 1969-1069

Schwimmer family rented 1976-1978

Thompsons, 1978-1980

The Kennedy family, 1980-present\

This decorative Victorian is now beautifully restored and should last another 146 years. Hal also reminds us that, "We're not really owners, we are just trustees."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A Susan Wagner High School student was injured last year when she was smacked in the head with a garbage can during a brawl in the cafeteria, a lawsuit alleges.

Richmond resident Maryann Mignoli alleges an unknown student flung a "garbage can-type container" that struck her daughter's head on Feb. 8, 2017.

Mignoli has sued the city and Department of Education alleging they failed to "properly and adequately" supervise students' conduct and permitted a "dangerous situation to develop."

Filed in state Supreme Court, St. George, the suit seeks unspecified monetary damages.

The younger Mignoli, 17, suffered "serious and permanent emotional and psychological injuries," a civil complaint contends.

Those injuries aren't specified, and her lawyer, Bryan J. Swerling of Manhattan, declined to comment on them.

The complaint doesn't say how the fracas started or how many students allegedly were involved.

But it maintains the girl was hurt without any contributory negligence on her part.

Swerling said his client was struck on the back of the head and upper back.

"It hit her really hard," he said.

The teen is still a student at the school.

The complaint alleges the defendants had a "duty to protect students from any behavior likely to endanger their safety and to minimize the risk of harm to its students."

The staff and security on hand weren't sufficient enough to "dissipate violent actions after they arose," contends the complaint.

"Violence in our schools is an epidemic throughout the country," said Swerling. "It is the duty of each school system to prepare their employees to respond when an occurrence arises. When employees are not trained properly to respond in a swift manner, students such as my client can get seriously injured. All children are entitled to a safe environment when they go to school, and we plan to keep holding the city accountable."

An Education Department spokeswoman referred inquiries on the suit to the city Law Department.

The Law Department, which typically doesn't discuss pending litigation, did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The suit is the second one filed in the last year against the city and DOE stemming from a high school cafeteria melee.

In May 2017, Adam Yannotta, a teacher and dean at Tottenville High School, alleged he was attacked and injured while trying to break up an altercation in the cafeteria a year earlier.

Yannotta was the "only authority" in the lunchroom then; however, three teachers "were supposed to be ... in the school cafeteria at all times," his civil complaint alleged.

The city and Education Department were "negligent and careless in allowing their personnel to be left alone with over 250 high school students," contends the complaint.

The suit seeks unspecified monetary damages and is pending in state Supreme Court, St. George.
China's industrial output jumps but sales slump



Beijing, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



China's industrial output beat forecasts in April but retail sales slumped, official data showed Tuesday, as the world's second largest economy faces headwinds from its debt battle and US trade frictions.

Output at factories and workshops expanded 7.0 percent year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, beating the 6.0 percent recorded in March and the 6.4 percent estimated in a Bloomberg News survey.

The jump in industrial activity was fuelled by the easing of winter time pollution controls, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics.

It also reflected the first full month of data not affected by China's New Year holidays in February, which disrupt production for months.

"But there are signs in the rest of today's data that the economy is losing momentum," Evans-Pritchard said in the note.

The retail sector -- which China is counting on to propel it to consumption-fuelled development -- was one area that fell short of expectations with sales growth slowing to 9.4 percent from 10.1 percent in March.

The indicator fell below the 10 percent forecast by analysts, and reflected a broadly downward trend seen over the past 12 months.

Expansion in fixed-asset investment also sagged to seven percent on-year for the first four months, from the 7.5 percent recorded in January to March.

"Looking ahead, domestic spending is likely to continue to soften given the headwinds from slowing credit creation," said Evans-Pritchard.

The data comes at a time of great uncertainty for China's export machine as political machinations in Washington threaten shipments to one of its largest markets.

President Xi Jinping's top economic advisor Liu He will be in Washington from Tuesday until Saturday for a new round of trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
Chinese tourists spark ire in Vietnam with controversial shirts



Hanoi, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



A photo of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts depicting Beijing's claims to the disputed South China Sea has sparked online anger in Vietnam, prompting calls for the visitors to be deported.

The shirts featured a map of China and its so-called nine-dash line -- the sea boundary found on some 1940s-era maps which Beijing says proves its claim to most of the waterway, despite partial claims from Vietnam and other nations.

The territorial dispute is a hot-button issue in Vietnam, which has a turbulent history of conflict with its powerhouse neighbour.

The visitors arrived in southern Cam Ranh airport on Sunday night and were stopped by security at the immigration desk, an airport police officer confirmed to AFP.

"We asked them to take the T-shirts off before allowing them to leave the airport," said the officer, without providing his name because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Photos of the tourists in their nationalist attire made the rounds on social media -- with the nine-dash line crossed out with an "X".

Some netizens said the tourists were not welcome in Vietnam.

"Immediately deport them and ban them permanently from coming to Vietnam," Facebook user Nguyen Ngoc Hieu posted.

Another, Quan Hai, wrote: "We must be determined, not allowing anyone passing through our border gates if the passports, T-shirts or anything else with the dash-line maps."

Vietnam and China have long sparred over the resource-rich sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands and installed airstrips and military equipment.

This is not the first time the dispute has trickled into the tourism sector.

A Chinese passport featuring a map of Beijing's sea claims was defaced in 2016 by a border agent in Ho Chi Minh City's airport with an unfriendly welcome note reading "Fuck you".

Border officials in tourist hotspots Danang and Phu Quoc island have also reportedly refused to issue visa stamps in Chinese passports with maps of the nine-dash line.

More than four million Chinese visitors came to Vietnam last year -- over 30 percent of all foreign guests -- and Chinese tourists are a major cash cow.

Some guides say this can put them in a spot, especially when visitors dispute Hanoi's version of historical events.

"We don't like the Chinese tourists but they bring us profits, so we cannot resist them," Hung, a Hanoi-based tour operator, told AFP, using only his first name.

A group of guides petitioned authorities in Danang last year, complaining that unlicensed Chinese guides were leading tours with their own interpretation of history -- and sea claims.

Hung said guides have to push back.

"We are Vietnamese, we can't let them distort the truth about our homeland and our history."
PHILIPSBURG:--- Four members of The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle have just recently returned from the Rotary District 7020 44th Annual PETS Assembly and Conference held at the Karibe Convention Center in Port Au Petion-Ville, Haiti.

Attendance at this event offered the incoming presidents and secretaries of all Rotary Clubs in the district an opportunity to learn more about Rotary and to prepare for the new upcoming Rotary year which starts on July 1st, 2018. Representing Mid Isle were President Elect Denise Antrobus, Secretary Elect Aernout Kraaijeveld along with Rotarians David Antrobus, Louis Wever and partner in service Amanda Wever

The highlight of the conference was the awards ceremony where the District Governor Robert Leger awarded the clubs for the work they had done in their respective communities during the Rotary year 2017-2018. The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle collected six awards.

1. The Governors Award  Bronze

2. Club of the Month Perseverance Award

3. Club of the month  silver

4. District Governors special award for Achievement of at least 90 per cent of members registered with My Rotary

5. District Governors special award for Outstanding Achievement under Adversity

6. Public Image Citation Award

Mid Isle sponsor the St. Dominic High School interact Club and were elated to receive on their behalf the Zone 34 Interact award for being part of Rotary Making a Difference.

The Rotary club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle was honored to receive these recognitions for their work in the community and would like to thank all the sponsors and others who have assisted us in doing well in our community and around the world. We would also like to thank the media for their cooperation in getting the word out about our activities, events and helping us to reach those in the local community when inviting them to participate in our activities. We look forward to your continued support of Mid Isles activities as we all join together with Rotary Making a Difference and Grow Stronger to Serve better.

The Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle meets Tuesday at 7pm at Pineapple Pete in Simpson Bay. For more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit our face book page Rotary Club of St. Maarten-Mid Isle
EU data protection may trigger global ripple effect



Paris, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



The EU's new data protection rules that enter into force later this month are having an impact around the world as firms, including in the United States and China, move to comply.

While all firms globally are required to comply with the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) when it comes to the data of Europeans, the rules may have a wider impact if firms decide to extend the protections to all users.

Major US platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Airbnb have begun to notify their users in Europe of modifications of their user terms in order to comply with the new EU rules.

Under GDPR firms user consent for use of their personal data must be freely "given, specific, informed and unambiguous".

Facebook has recently begun asking its European users that they approve the use of their data in order provide them with more pertinent advertisements as well as permission for facial recognition.

But it is still not clear which US firms will apply GDPR to all their users and which will do so only for Europe.

"We intend to make all the same controls and settings available everywhere, not only in Europe," Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg told reporters last month as the crisis exploded over the use of user data for political purposes by the firm Cambridge Analytica.

"Is it going to be exactly the same format? Probably not," he added.



- Marketing advantage -



For Sam Pfeifle, content director at the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), some US firms will have no other choice but to extend European protections to all users.

"For some companies being able to discern where their customers are coming from and segregate the data is very difficult and perhaps too difficult to make it worth it," he said.

Some companies are transforming this pragmatic decision into a marketing advantage, telling their US clients they are offering European-level data protection, said Pfeifle.

Other companies are taking the opposite approach -- deciding they would rather part ways with European users entirely rather than go through the effort of complying with the GDPR.

This is what the online role-playing game Ragnarok decided to do, sparking indignant reactions from European users who will find themselves cut off from May 25.

In China, there are fewer sensitivities about privacy, and the EU regulation will certainly be viewed more as a constraint than a marketing advantage.

"Of course we will respect the GDPR for our European clients," said a European working for a major Chinese internet firm on condition of anonymity.

But for Chinese users, the application of such privacy guards is likely for another day.



- Impact on China -



The Chinese "don't have any reticence handing over their personal data if they see they are of some value" such as in new services or discounts, said the European executive, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chinese internet titans are currently testing a system that assigns every citizen a social credit system that goes beyond a regular credit rating of a person's finances and payment history by evaluating their behaviour and preferences as well as their personal relationships.

But it isn't impossible that the European effort to codify and organise the respect for privacy will have an influence even in China, where internet users have occasionally lashed out.

At the beginning of the year Beijing said it had reprimanded several Chinese tech firms for inadequate protection of user data following a controversy implicating Alipay, the top Chinese payments platform linked to online commerce giant Alibaba.

Users reacted angrily after discovering the platform had been set up to automatically share user data with a credit rating service.

Alipay's parent company Ant Financial apologised and redesigned the service so users had to opt in to use it.

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Facebook

Alibaba
Schwarzenegger urges Trump to 'join us' on climate action



Vienna, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger urged US President Donald Trump to join action to support renewable energy, at a summit on climate change in the Austrian capital Vienna Tuesday.

"To those of you who resist because you can't imagine success without fossil fuels, we ask you to join us, every one, also you President Trump - join us," said Schwarzenegger, prompting applause from the audience gathered for the Austrian World Summit.

The summit is organised by Schwarzenegger's R20 climate NGO and has brought together business and political leaders, including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, as well as climate change experts and activists.

In June 2017 Trump withdrew from the global Paris Climate Agreement aimed at capping global warming at "well under" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and his administration has made efforts to boost fossil fuel technologies.

"You said when you become president you want to have so many victories, that the American people would get sick and tired of winning. Well if that's really what you want, then join us because then you will have a lot of victories," Schwarzenegger went on.

Schwarzenegger called for drastic action on pollution, saying it killed nine million people every year.

He pointed to the importance of promoting renewable energy, praising countries and businesses which had already made strides in this direction.

Earlier Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz addressed the summit, but was interrupted by a protester who took to the stage to highlight what she called the Austrian government's "empty words" on climate change.

Kurz allowed the protestor to make a statement before taking back the microphone to make his own speech.
Uber ends arbitration requirement for sex misconduct claims



San Francisco, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Uber said Tuesday it would end a policy requiring arbitration over claims of sexual misconduct involving employees, riders and drivers, allowing cases to be heard in public and pursued in court.

Uber chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi said the move was "an important step forward in our commitment to safety and transparency."

Uber, which has faced a number of claims involving sexual assault or misconduct, said in a statement it "will no longer require mandatory arbitration for individual claims of sexual assault or sexual harassment by Uber riders, drivers or employees."

Arbitration clauses have played a role in high-profile settlements involving film mogul Harvey Weinstein and others, enabling accusations and settlements to be made in secret.

Uber chief legal officer Tony West said in the statement that while arbitration "includes many benefits for individuals and companies alike" the company understands the need for other alternatives.

"We have learned it's important to give sexual assault and harassment survivors control of how they pursue their claims," he said.

"So moving forward, survivors will be free to choose to resolve their individual claims in the venue they prefer: in a mediation where they can choose confidentiality; in arbitration, where they can choose to maintain their privacy while pursuing their case; or in open court."

West added that Uber will not require confidentiality provisions in any settlements.

"Divulging the details of what happened in a sexual assault or harassment should be up to the survivor, not us," West said.

"So we're making it clear that Uber will not require confidentiality provisions or non-disclosure agreements to prevent survivors from talking about the facts of what happened to them. Whether to find closure, seek treatment, or become advocates for change themselves, survivors will be in control of whether to share their stories."
Pompeo seeking 'strong cooperation' with Europeans on Iran



Washington, May 14 (AFP) May 14, 2018



US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has reached out to European signatories of the Iran nuclear deal to seek their continued cooperation in countering Tehran's "malign behavior" following the US withdrawal from the landmark accord.

In talks with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, Pompeo "highlighted the good work that we have done over the past several months to address our common threats and said that he is hopeful we can continue strong cooperation moving forward," the State Department said.

President Donald Trump's announcement on Tuesday that the US was exiting the 2015 nuclear accord was met with widespread dismay by its other signatories -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

During recent conversations with Britain's Boris Johnson, France's Jean-Yves Le Drian and Germany's Heiko Maas, Pompeo stressed that they "share strong interests in preventing Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon and in countering the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities in the region," according to a statement.

America's top diplomat said Sunday that Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behavior," and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners.

"I'm hopeful in the days and weeks ahead we can come up with a deal that really works, that really protects the world from Iranian bad behavior, not just their nuclear program, but their missiles and their malign behavior as well," he said.

While he has committed to remaining in the nuclear agreement, French President Emmanuel Macron floated the idea of a supplemental deal on Iran during a visit to Washington last month.

But even as Pompeo talked up coordination with America's allies, Trump's new National Security Advisor John Bolton reminded Europe over the weekend that its companies could face sanctions if they continue to do business with the Islamic republic.
Iran FM in Moscow as Russia moves to save nuclear deal



Moscow, May 14 (AFP) May 14, 2018



Iran's foreign minister said on a visit to Moscow Monday he was seeking "assurances" from the backers of the country's nuclear deal after the United States pulled out.

Russia is trying to keep the landmark 2015 accord alive in the wake of US President Donald Trump's decision, pushing Moscow into rare cooperation with Europe.

"The final aim of these negotiations is to seek assurances that the interests of the Iranian nation will be defended," Mohammad Javad Zarif said at the start of a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

After the talks, Zarif praised the "excellent cooperation" between Moscow and Tehran and said Lavrov had promised him to "defend and keep the agreement".

Zarif later said he was seeking "solutions in order for other countries, in particular those remaining in the agreement, to have relations with Iran without hindrance," in comments reported by the Iranian ISNA news agency.

Lavrov, for his part, said Russia and Europe had a duty to "jointly defend their legal interests" in terms of the deal.

Zarif's diplomatic tour took him to Beijing at the weekend and will see him visit Brussels later in the week, as the international backers of the agreement scramble to save it.

On Monday he also sent a letter to the United Nations in which he accused the US of showing a "complete disregard for international law" in pulling out of the deal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already spoken with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about efforts to save the accord, after voicing his "deep concern" over Trump's decision.

And on Monday Putin met Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, telling him that Russia was "ready to continue to uphold the Iran nuclear deal despite the withdrawal of the United States".



- Renewed coordination? -



Trump's move to ditch the nuclear deal has infuriated Washington's allies in Europe as well as China and Russia.

"(European) cooperation with Russia, which until recently seemed impossible because of the Skripal (spy poisoning) case, with the expulsion of diplomats and the reduction of contact, is now receiving a fresh boost," said Andrei Baklitsky of the Moscow-based PIR Center nuclear safety NGO.

"The Europeans, after the withdrawal of the US from the deal, have found themselves forced to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action themselves," he told AFP, referring to the official name of the nuclear deal.

Moscow would have to play a key role in ensuring Tehran does not resume its nuclear programme, he added.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behaviour" and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners.

In talks with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany, Pompeo "highlighted the good work that we have done over the past several months to address our common threats and said that he is hopeful we can continue strong cooperation moving forward," the State Department said.

But while he talked up the prospect of renewed coordination with America's allies, another top aide reminded Europe its companies could face sanctions if they continue to do business with the Middle Eastern power.



- Russia key regional player -



Russian efforts to save the accord will boost its role as a power player in the Middle East, after its intervention on the side of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.

This, along with its diplomatic moves to orchestrate an end to the Syrian conflict, has put Moscow at loggerheads with the US and Europe, which have intervened against the regime.

Merkel is set to visit Russia and meet Putin for a working visit in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday, while French President Emmanuel Macron will be in Saint Petersburg later in the month for an economic forum.

Iran has said it is preparing to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment "without any restrictions" unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain trade ties despite renewed US sanctions.

After long negotiations, Iran had agreed in July 2015 to freeze its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of punishing international sanctions.

The deal was negotiated between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.

Russia and Iran once had difficult relations but have seen ties improve since the end of the Cold War.

The countries had sought to strengthen their business ties long before the 2015 agreement, despite international sanctions in place.

Analysts have suggested Russia could benefit economically from the US pull-out, as it is less exposed to the consequences of renewed sanctions than Europe.
N. Korea will never fully give up nuclear weapons: top defector



Seoul, May 14 (AFP) May 14, 2018



North Korea will never completely give up its nuclear weapons, a top defector said ahead of leader Kim Jong Un's landmark summit with US President Donald Trump next month.

The current whirlwind of diplomacy and negotiations will not end with "a sincere and complete disarmament," but with "a reduced North Korean nuclear threat," said Thae Yong-ho, who fled his post as the North's deputy ambassador to Britain in August 2016.

"In the end, North Korea will remain 'a nuclear power packaged as a non-nuclear state,'" Thae told the South's Newsis news agency.

His remarks come ahead of an unprecedented summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore on June 12, at which North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes are expected to dominate the agenda.

North and South Korea affirmed their commitment to the goal of denuclearisation of the peninsula at a summit last month, and Pyongyang announced at the weekend it would destroy its only known nuclear test site next week.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in welcomed the announcement Monday, calling it an "initial step in the complete denuclearisation of North Korea."

But North Korea has not made public what concessions it is offering, and the South's JoongAng Ilbo daily noted it had only invited journalists to witness the operation at the Punggye-ri site.

"It is regrettable that North Korea did not invite nuclear experts to the destruction of the test site," it said in an editorial. "If North Korea has really decided to denuclearise, it has no reason not to invite them."

Pyongyang has said it does not need nuclear weapons if the security of its regime is guaranteed.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who has met Kim twice, said he was "convinced" the North Korean leader shared US goals, and promised security assurances and bountiful American investment in the isolated nation.

"Those are the kind of things that, if we get what it is the President has demanded -- the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation (CVID) of North Korea -- that the American people will offer in spades," Pompeo said on "Fox News Sunday."

But verification will be key.

And Thae, one of the highest-ranking officials to have defected in recent years, said: "North Korea will argue that the process of nuclear disarmament will lead to the collapse of North Korea and oppose CVID."

At a party meeting last month, Kim proclaimed that the development of the North's nuclear force was complete and promised no more nuclear or missile tests. He called its arsenal a "powerful treasured sword for defending peace."

"Giving it up soon after Kim Jong Un himself labelled it the 'treasured sword for defending peace' and a firm guarantee for the future? It can never happen," said Thae, who now lives in South Korea and whose memoir hit the shelves Monday.



- 'Peace gestures' -



Tensions on and around the peninsula had been mounting for years as Pyongyang's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes saw it subjected to increasingly strict sanctions by the UN Security Council, the US, EU, South Korea and others.

Trump last year threatened the North with "fire and fury."

But since the Winter Olympics in the South, Pyongyang and Washington have agreed to their unprecedented meeting.

Kim has also twice visited China after failing to pay his respects to President Xi Jinping in the six years since he inherited power from his father. He also met the South's President Moon Jae-in in the Demilitarized Zone that divides their countries.

A North Korean delegation led by Pak Thae Song, vice-chairman of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea's Central Committee, meanwhile arrived in Beijing, the North's official KCNA news agency reported.

It followed earlier reports in Japanese media that a high-level North Korean official was in Beijing to brief China about Pompeo's recent visit to Pyongyang. Pompeo returned with three freed US detainees, the latest in the North's diplomatic overtures.

Pyongyang's sudden change in attitude was probably driven by the mounting international sanctions, which have included measures hitting sectors including coal, fish, textiles and overseas workers, Thae said.

But it had a long history of making overtures that ultimately came to nothing, he warned.

"North Korea's diplomacy has always been a repeat of hardline and appeasement," Thae said.

"It is North Korea's diplomatic tactic to push the situation to extreme confrontation and suddenly send peace gestures."
Dismantling of N. Korea nuclear site 'well under way': US monitor



Seoul, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Satellite photos indicate North Korea has begun dismantling its nuclear test site ahead of a historic summit between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump, a US monitor said Tuesday.

In a move welcomed by Washington and Seoul, North Korea said at the weekend it will "completely" destroy the Punggye-ri test site, in a ceremony scheduled between May 23-25 in front of invited foreign media.

But no observers from international atomic monitoring agencies have been invited, raising concerns over the openness of the process.

Punggye-ri, in the northeast of the country, has been the site of all six of the North's nuclear tests, the latest and by far the most powerful in September last year, which Pyongyang said was an H-bomb.

North Korea pledged to close the testing ground after Kim last month declared the country's nuclear force complete and said it had no further need for the complex.

The respected 38 North website said Tuesday that satellite images dated May 7 showed "the first definitive evidence that dismantlement of the test site was already well under way".

Several key operational buildings as well as smaller sheds had been razed and rails connecting the tunnels to their waste piles were removed, the monitoring group said.

Excavation of a new tunnel has also been halted since late March, it added.

Images showed preparatory work for the destruction ceremony had also begun, including a newly positioned foundation among the waste piles believed to have been built for the invited journalists.

"It is conceivably for a future camera position to record the closure of the West Portal," the group said.

However no tunnel entrances appear to have been permanently closed and some main buildings are still intact, it added, saying the destruction of those facilities was likely to be carried out in front of the foreign media.

Dialogue brokered by South Korea has seen US-North Korea relations go from trading personal insults and threats of war last year to a summit between Kim and Trump which will be held in Singapore on June 12.

Kim's latest diplomatic overture has seen him hold a summit with the South's President Moon Jae-in and travel twice in less than two months to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

The two Koreas are due to meet for a high-level meeting on Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures from their summit last month, Seoul's unification ministry said.

Washington is seeking the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation" of the North and stresses that verification will be key.

But sceptics warn that Pyongyang has yet to make any public commitment to give up its arsenal, which includes missiles capable of reaching the United States.

Satellite photos from last month showed signs of construction at the North's Yongbyon nuclear facility.

The purpose of the new buildings at the Yongbyon Nuclear Scientific Research Centre was unknown, 38 North has said, with "no observable signs that initial reactor operations are imminent".

North Korea blew up a cooling tower at the nuclear facility in 2007 following a deal with the US, but soon restarted the reactor.
Heavy fighting as Taliban attack western Afghan city: residents



Herat, Afghanistan, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Heavy fighting has broken out in the western Afghan city of Farah after the Taliban launched a major offensive overnight to capture the restive provincial capital, with residents reporting air strikes, explosions and gunfire.

The attack began around midnight, with the insurgents capturing one district and parts of another, local provincial council member Jamila Amini told AFP Tuesday from inside the city.

"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions," she said.

The insurgents released a statement warning residents to remain inside their homes and called on people to "stay calm".

But the defence ministry said the army had repulsed the attack, and "the security forces are now chasing the enemy".

"The sounds of explosions and gunfire have filled the city," one resident who gave his name as Bilal said, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the Afghan intelligence service.

The assault comes as the Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture by the Afghan government.

Farah is a poppy-growing province in a hard to reach part of Afghanistan which a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline will traverse.

It has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years.

In 2017 insurgents tried to overrun the capital three times, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network.
Heavy fighting as Taliban attack western Afghan city



Herat, Afghanistan, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Afghan aircraft Tuesday bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire.

The attack -- the first major assault targeting a city since the Taliban launched their annual spring offensive -- began around midnight, with the militants capturing one urban district and parts of another, said local provincial council member Jamila Amini.

"Heavy fighting continues inside the city and aircraft have just started bombarding Taliban positions," she told AFP Tuesday from inside Farah.

Afghan officials said police special forces from Kandahar and commandos from Herat had also been deployed.

"(The Taliban) will fail," vowed interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish, who said both Afghan and foreign air forces were taking part in the fighting.

There was no immediate confirmation from NATO's mission in Kabul.

Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said at least 10 insurgents and two Afghan security force members had been killed so far.

"The situation is under control and will change by the end of the day," he said.

But inside the city residents reported clashes were continuing. "The situation is very bad," Satar Hissaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP.

"Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said.

"NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban."

Another provincial council member, Dadullah Qani, confirmed Hissaini's comments, the sound of gunfire and explosions audible as he spoke to an AFP reporter by telephone.

The noise has "filled the city", said one resident who gave his name as Bilal, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS.

At least some militants have been hiding in residential houses, making it difficult for Afghan forces to use heavy weapons, Farah governor Abdul Basir Salangi told Ariana News, adding: "But still we are taking back positions one by one".

The insurgents released a statement warning residents to stay inside their homes and "stay calm". They have also been posting images on social media they claim shows them inside the city.

Many radio and television channels in the province have stopped broadcasting, fearing for their employees' lives, according to media watchdog Nai.



- Growing threat -



The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture from the government.

Farah is a poppy-growing province in an isolated region of Afghanistan. There are plans for a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline to traverse it, a project the Taliban have pledged to cooperate with.

But it has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017 insurgents tried three times to overrun the capital, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network.

As such Tuesday's offensive "should not have taken government forces off guard," Afghan military analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail told AFP.

Amarkhail added that "even ordinary citizens were aware of the Taliban gradually taking over more areas and becoming a formidable force in the province".

He accused the government and military leadership of "turning a blind eye" until the insurgents actually entered the city.

Afghan troops and police nationwide have struggled to hold back the resurgent Taliban since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014.

The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, with the Afghan army deploying significant numbers of troops to hold those cities.

Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth largest city and capital of the northern province of the same name, fell briefly to the Taliban in 2015.

They along with the Islamic State group have also stepped up their attacks in the capital Kabul, which the UN says has in recent years become one of the country's deadliest places for civilians.
Russian support gave Assad half of Syria: study



London, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Air strikes against Syrian rebels have gone up 150 percent since Russia intervened in the conflict in 2015, helping the regime triple the territory under its control, a report published on Tuesday showed.

The analysis by IHS Jane's Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC) also found that just 14 percent of the strikes were against the Islamic State group.

It found that the Syrian state had increased the area under its control from 16 percent of the country in September 2015 to 47 percent in March 2018.

Russian intervention not only ensured the survival of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, it changed the course of the war.

"Russian intervention has provided the Syrian government with the space and time to concentrate forces at key strategic areas and use overwhelming force to recapture opposition-held territory," said Matthew Henman, head of JTIC at IHS Markit.

"JTIC's recorded data underlines the key role airstrikes have played in this strategy, with opposition forces largely unable to defend against, let alone replicate, the threat posed by airpower."

IHS Jane's said Assad's forces have successfully recaptured large urban centres such as Aleppo and Homs, as well as securing the border with Lebanon and containing the threat from Islamist rebels in Idlib.

Between September 2015 and March 2018, the number of Russian and Syrian strikes rose to 6,833 from 2,735.

Of these strikes, 960 were targeted the Islamic State group -- around 14 percent -- but the majority were against other rebel groups, the report found.

The strikes were "particularly concentrated in areas where the Islamic State had little or no operational presence," it said.

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IHS Global Insight
Lithuania wants to jail ex-Soviet defence minister over crackdown



Vilnius, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Lithuanian prosecutors on Tuesday called for five Russians, including an ex-defence minister, and a Belarusian to be sentenced to jail in absentia over a 1991 Soviet crackdown on the Baltic state's independence drive.

In a move that threatens to further strain bilateral ties, prosecutors said the former Soviet officials, including 93-year-old former defence minister Dmitry Yazov, were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

"Prosecutors... ask the court to convict the accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity and hand them the strictest punishment which is life imprisonment," prosecution spokeswoman Elena Martinoniene told AFP.

Moscow has described the trial as "illegal" and rejected requests to extradite the suspects and question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who is 87.

All six suspects were senior Soviet officials during a January 1991 attack on a Vilnius television that left 14 civilians dead and more than 800 people injured.

Soviet troops had entered the capital Vilnius to bring Lithuania to heel after its 1990 secession from the Soviet Union following five decades under Moscow's thumb as a republic of the USSR.

The troops stormed the city's television tower as tens of thousands of people formed human shields to block their progress.

Prosecutors are also seeking jail terms ranging from 12 to 20 years for another 61 defendants.

Only two suspects are standing trial. Others are being represented by public defenders.

Ever since Lithuania won recognition from Moscow as an independent state in September 1991, it has sought justice for the victims of the crackdown.

While several Lithuanian Soviet-era officials have been convicted, other suspects have remained out of reach in Russia and Belarus.

The Baltic state of 2.8 million people has had a rocky relationship with Russia since independence, and in particular since Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
Saudi says intercepts missile fired from Yemen



Riyadh, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Saudi air defences on Tuesday intercepted a ballistic missile fired into the south of the kingdom from Huthi rebel-held territory in neighbouring Yemen, said a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition.

Debris from the missile landed in residential areas of the city of Jizan, but without causing casualties, coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said.

The Huthi news outlet Al-Masirah earlier announced a "Badr 1" ballistic missile had been fired at the King Faisal military base in Jizan.

The rebels have in recent months intensified missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition against them.

Another rebel missile had targeted Jizan on Monday, but landed in a "desert" area, according to Maliki.

At a press briefing Monday night, he tallied six missiles in one week.

He said the Huthis had fired 138 ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia since the rebels started using them to target the powerful kingdom.

Saudi Arabia last week tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and the oil-rich Eastern Province, a testament to the increased challenge posed by the rebels' armaments.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in Yemen in 2015 with the aim of pushing back the rebels and restoring the internationally recognised government to power.

The conflict has left nearly 10,000 people dead and more than 55,000 wounded according to the World Health Organization.
What next for Iraq as cleric Sadr heads for election win?



Baghdad, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



A surprise election victory for fiery Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr appears to have shaken Iraq's political landscape at the expense of both the Iranian and American influence in the country.

The populist Shiite preacher, a firebrand who once battled US troops and now opposes Tehran, is looking to cobble together a broad technocrat coalition tasked with rooting out Iraq's endemic corruption.

But can he really sideline powerful foreign players and domestic rivals to take control?



- Playing by the rules? -



While Sadr's unlikely Marching Towards Reform alliance with Iraq's communists looks on course to be the biggest group in parliament -- it faces many obstacles.

The movement has pitched itself as a challenge to Iraq's entrenched elite and ridden popular protests over graft to drum up support.

Under article 76 of Iraq's constitution, the right to form a government falls to the political bloc with the most seats.

Sadr -- who has ruled himself out of becoming PM -- should be the key powerbroker and is already eyeing a coalition of around a dozen groups to reach a majority.

However, with months of wrangling expected ahead, it remains far from certain that he will get the chance to realise his ambitions.

At elections in 2010, the Iraqi National Movement of Ayad Allawi -- loathed by Iran -- scooped 91 seats to become the biggest group in parliament.

But after much manoeuvring, Allawi was eventually bested by Nuri al-Maliki, as Tehran helped engineer a union between two leading Shiite blocs to give him more seats.



- Cutting foreign influence? -



Strengthened by his apparent victory in Saturday's polls, black-turbaned Sadr could now push his nationalist agenda that has seen him pledge to curb foreign meddling in Iraq.

After the 2003 invasion, his militia battled US forces. He is now calling for the latest deployment of American troops to leave following last year's defeat of the Islamic State group.

While his family of religious scholars historically has close ties with the Islamic revolutionaries in Iran and he spent years living there, Sadr has now fallen out with Tehran and wants its overbearing influence slashed.

In a sign that he is angling to chart a different course, he visited regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia last year, as Tehran's rival seeks to play a greater role in Iraq.

Sadr faces a difficult act to herd together enough groups from across Iraq's fragmented political spectrum to form a government.

He has extended a hand to a wide spread of parties -- including the bloc of current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi that lies in third place according to latest results.

Whether he can convince Abadi -- a key member of the establishment Dawa party that has dominated Iraq for years -- to turn his back on his former stablemates and team up remains a major question.

Abadi -- who came to power in 2014 as IS rampaged across Iraq -- has balanced off the US and Iran during his time at the helm.

On Tuesday, the prime minister called Sadr to congratulate him for the election victory, the cleric's office said.

Sadr for now appears to be ruling out an alliance with two other powerful forces inside Iraq: the Iran-backed Conquest Alliance of former anti-IS paramilitary fighters and ex-premier Maliki.



- Iran manoeuvres? -



Any attempt to form a government that would threaten the influence Iran has built up in the 15 years since the fall of Saddam Hussein looks certain to face opposition from Tehran.

Iraq's larger neighbour to the east has major leverage over many of the top Shiite politicians and it already seems like it may be looking to block Sadr's path to power.

Political sources told AFP that two meetings have been held under Iranian guidance to bring together several political blocs.

According to a participant, the aim has been to unite Abadi and Maliki -- bitter foes despite coming from the same Dawa party -- alongside the Conquest Alliance, which looks set to come second in the election.

The initiative could trump Sadr's own coalition-building efforts but it risks angering the cleric's supporters who are yearning for a clampdown on corruption among establishment figures.
N. Korea says to join global efforts to ban all nuclear weapons tests



Geneva, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



North Korea plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, it told the United Nations disarmament body Tuesday.

"DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests," North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.

His comment came amid a recent whirlwind of diplomacy and outreach by the long isolated regime, and ahead of a historic summit next month between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump.

Kim last month announced that his country would halt its own nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches, which was widely hailed as an important step towards denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But Pyongyang has yet to rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which it withdrew from in 2003.

It is also one of eight countries with nuclear test capacity, including the United States, China and Iran, which have so far failed to either sign or ratify the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, blocking it from taking effect.

Han, who made no reference to the treaties, told the UN assembly that his country aimed to make more "efforts to achieve the development of intra-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of the war on the Korean peninsula."

"It will make sincere efforts... to establish a durable lasting peace mechanism" with its neighbour to the south, he said, urging the international community to "extend its active support in encouraging and promoting the current positive climate."

The recent diplomatic frenzy comes after years of tensions and ever-tightening sanctions over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes.

Asked about the continued threats of sanctions from Washington, Han warned Tuesday that they were "a dangerous attempt to ruin the hard-won atmosphere of dialogue."
Iran upbeat on nuclear deal hopes after EU talks



Brussels, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that efforts to save the nuclear deal after the abrupt US withdrawal were "on the right track" as he began talks with European powers in Brussels.

Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini ahead of evening talks with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany -- the three European signatories to the 2015 landmark accord who are scrambling to preserve it.

Tehran has warned it is prepared to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment "without any restrictions" unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain the economic benefits it gained from the nuclear agreement despite the United States reimposing sanctions.

Zarif gave an upbeat assessment after a "good and constructive" meeting with Mogherini.

"I believe we're on the right track to move forward in order to ensure that interests of all the JCPOA remaining participants, particularly Iran, will be preserved and guaranteed," he told reporters. The deal's official name is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Mogherini said it had been a "very productive" meeting but indicated it was the start of a long road.

"We are working on the measures that we can start to put in place and we will look at the content of that," she said.

"One thing is absolutely sure is that the European Union is determined to preserve this deal that is essential to our security and the security of the region."

Zarif's meetings in Brussels cap a whirlwind global tour, including trips to both Russia and China, the two other signatory nations, in a bid to bolster support.



- 'Respect the deal' -



European diplomats have sought to play down expectations of Tuesday's meeting, stressing the enormous challenge of finding a way around US sanctions punishing foreign businesses trading with Iran, which have global reach.

The European Union insists the deal is working, pointing to repeated UN inspections verifying the Islamic republic's compliance with its side of the bargain.

EU leaders aim to show a united front on preserving the Iran deal when they meet for a pre-summit dinner in Sofia on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

"I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it," Tusk said in a letter to the leaders on the eve of the summit.

Mogherini and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker will outline to the leaders what measures the bloc could take to shield its now substantial economic interests in Iran, he said.

European firms, especially those from France and Germany, rushed to invest in Iran following the 2015 accord, under which Tehran agreed to freeze its nuclear programme in return for an end to punishing international sanctions.

German exports to Iran totalled nearly 3.0 billion euros in 2017, while French exports soared from 562 million euros in 2015 to 1.5 billion in 2017 and oil giant Total has pledged to invest some $5 billion in the South Pars gas field.



- 'Malign behaviour' -



When he quit the deal last week, US President Donald Trump gave businesses a maximum of six months to wind up operations in Iran or face swingeing penalties under American sanctions.

Washington's decision to go against its European allies' advice and abandon the deal has pushed them closer to Beijing and Moscow on the issue as diplomats try to keep the pact alive.

French President Emmanuel Macron held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, according to a Kremlin statement, which said they had "confirmed Russia and France's commitment to make the deal work".

Zarif was in Moscow to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, a day after visiting Beijing.

Washington has long complained that the nuclear deal does nothing to stop Iran's ballistic missile programme or its interference in conflicts across the Middle East from Syria to Yemen.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behaviour" and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners.

However on Tuesday the US hit Iran's central bank governor with sanctions.

Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said the European powers would not shy away from pressing Iran on these issues.

"Our meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif in Brussels is a chance to discuss how we can continue to support sanctions relief with Iran while they maintain their nuclear agreement obligations, but also raise our worries about Iran's wider, disruptive behaviour in the Middle East region," Johnson said.

burs-pdw/dk/bmm
Iran upbeat on nuclear deal hopes after EU talks



Brussels, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday that efforts to save the nuclear deal after the abrupt US withdrawal were "on the right track" as he began talks with European powers in Brussels.

Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini ahead of evening talks with his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany -- the three European signatories to the 2015 landmark accord who are scrambling to preserve it.

Tehran has warned it is prepared to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment "without any restrictions" unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain the economic benefits it gained from the nuclear agreement despite the United States reimposing sanctions.

Zarif gave an upbeat assessment after a "good and constructive" meeting with Mogherini.

"I believe we're on the right track to move forward in order to ensure that interests of all the JCPOA remaining participants, particularly Iran, will be preserved and guaranteed," he told reporters. The deal's official name is the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Mogherini said it had been a "very productive" meeting but indicated it was the start of a long road.

"We are working on the measures that we can start to put in place and we will look at the content of that," she said.

"One thing is absolutely sure is that the European Union is determined to preserve this deal that is essential to our security and the security of the region."

Zarif's meetings in Brussels cap a whirlwind global tour, including trips to both Russia and China, the two other signatory nations, in a bid to bolster support.



- 'Respect the deal' -



Europeans have sought to play down expectations of Tuesday's meeting, stressing the enormous challenge of finding a way around US sanctions punishing foreign businesses trading with Iran, which have global reach.

The European Union insists the deal is working, pointing to repeated UN inspections verifying the Islamic republic's compliance with its side of the bargain.

We will make it clear to Zarif "that we stand by the agreements and also expect Iran to abide by them," said German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

EU leaders aim to show a united front on preserving the Iran deal when they meet for a pre-summit dinner in Sofia on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said.

"I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it," Tusk said in a letter to the leaders on the eve of the summit.

European firms, especially those from France and Germany, rushed to invest in Iran following the 2015 accord, under which Tehran agreed to freeze its nuclear programme in return for an end to punishing international sanctions.

German exports to Iran totalled nearly 3.0 billion euros in 2017, while French exports soared from 562 million euros in 2015 to 1.5 billion in 2017 and oil giant Total has pledged to invest some $5 billion in the South Pars gas field.



- 'No illusion' -



When he quit the deal last week, US President Donald Trump gave businesses a maximum of six months to wind up operations in Iran or face swingeing penalties under American sanctions.

"We have to be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extra-territoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to business," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

French President Emmanuel Macron held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, according to a Kremlin statement, which said they had "confirmed Russia and France's commitment to make the deal work".

Zarif was in Moscow to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday, a day after visiting Beijing.

Johnson said the Europeans were "under no illusion about Iran's disruptive behaviour but we think we can tackle those in other ways outside the JCPOA."

Washington has long complained that the nuclear deal does nothing to stop Iran's ballistic missile programme or its interference in conflicts across the Middle East from Syria to Yemen.

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behaviour" and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners.

However on Tuesday the US hit Iran's central bank governor with sanctions.

pdw-arp/ecl
Iraq rivals jostle for power after cleric Sadr's shock win



Baghdad, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



Populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr on Tuesday eyed a governing coalition after dealing a blow to both Iranian and US influence with a shock election triumph that upended Iraqi politics.

With the last ballots still being counted, however, Tehran and its local allies already appeared to be making a rival push to block the fiery preacher's route to power.

Near complete results showed Sadr set to scoop the most seats in parliament after his Marching Towards Reform alliance with Iraq's communists tapped popular anger over corruption and foreign meddling.

Rivals called to congratulate him on the victory, his office said, after Iraqis went to the poll Saturday for the country's first election since the defeat of the Islamic State group.

The vote -- which saw record high abstentions -- was a slap in the face to the widely reviled elite that has dominated Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Sadr, who has ruled himself out of becoming prime minister, is looking to be the kingmaker and to cobble together a technocrat government from a dozen parties.

But with his alliance falling short of a majority, it will take lengthy wrangling to forge a coalition.

Tallies put the Conquest Alliance of pro-Iranian former paramilitary fighters who helped battle IS in second place, followed by incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's bloc.

Abadi -- a consensus figure favoured by the US -- had been seen as likely frontrunner after declaring victory over the jihadists five months ago.

Sadr rose to prominence in the wake of the US invasion, when his militia fought a bloody insurgency against American troops.

After years on the sidelines, he has reinvented himself as a champion of the poor and linked up with secularists to battle corruption.

He is one of the few Iraqi politicians opposed to both the presence of American troops and the heavy influence that neighbouring Iran exercises over Iraq.

In a surprising move last year, he visited regional Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, as Tehran's rival Riyadh looks to increase its involvement in Iraq.

Supporters in the cleric's impoverished Baghdad stronghold of Sadr City -- named after his late ayatollah father -- remain hopeful that his victory could spell improvements.

"If we want to change things then the prime minister needs to come from Marching Towards Reform," said resident Salah Jamal, 24.

"We have tried all the others," Jamal insisted. "But we have had no results."



- Iran seeks rival coalition -



The protracted horse-trading ahead comes at a time of high tensions after Washington's withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran and fears of a tug-of-war over Iraq.

While Sadr's victory has yet to be confirmed, Iran already appears to convening meetings to try to block him from forming a government.

A participant said Qassem Suleimani, the foreign operations chief of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, was in Baghdad to try to broker a coalition among Sadr's Shiite rivals.

Suleimani has reportedly called for a union between Abadi's bloc, the Conquest Alliance of former anti-IS commander Ameri and former premier Nuri al-Maliki.

Abadi and Maliki are bitter rivals despite coming from the establishment Dawa party that has dominated politics in post-Saddam Iraq.

While speculation swirls, the next concrete step remains completing the vote count and firming up the final make-up of Iraq's new 329-seat parliament.

Officials on Tuesday announced results for two provinces where disputes had caused delays.

The final nationwide tally and exact make-up of the country's next parliament is expected to be released in the coming days.
N. Korea casts doubt on Trump summit: Yonhap



Seoul, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



North Korea on Wednesday called into question a much-anticipated and unprecedented summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, the South's Yonhap news agency reported.

Pyongyang also cancelled high-level talks due Wednesday with Seoul over the Max Thunder joint military exercises between the US and the South, Seoul said.

The US will "have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus", Yonhap quoted the North's official news agency KCNA as saying.

The drills between the two allies' air forces were a rehearsal for invasion and a provocation at a time when inter-Korean relations were warming, it cited KCNA as adding.

The language used is a sudden and dramatic return to the rhetoric of the past from Pyongyang, which has long argued that it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the US.

Hostilities in the 1950-53 Korean War stopped with a ceasefire, leaving the two halves of the peninsula divided by the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and still technically at war.

At a dramatic summit last month in Panmunjom, the truce village in the DMZ, Kim and the South's President Moon Jae-in pledged to pursue a peace treaty to formally end the conflict, and reaffirmed their commitment to denuclearising the Korean peninsula.

But the phrase is open to interpretation on both sides and the North has spent decades developing its atomic arsenal, culminating last year in its sixth nuclear test -- by far its biggest to date -- and the launch of missiles capable of reaching the US.

The drive has seen it subjected to multiple rounds of UN Security Council resolutions, while Trump threatened it with "fire and fury" as he and Kim traded personal insults and threats of war last year.

Then relations underwent a sudden and dramatic turnaround as Moon seized the opportunity presented by February's Winter Olympics in the South to broker talks between Washington and Seoul.

In a dizzying array of diplomatic steps, the biggest so far was his meeting with Kim in the DMZ last month. The Trump-Kim summit is due in Singapore on June 12, with Washington demanding the North give up its weapons in a complete, verifiable and irreversible way.

High-level talks were meant to take place in the DMZ Wednesday to discuss follow-up measures to the Panmunjom summit.

But in a statement Seoul's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, said it had received a message "in the name of chief delegate Ri Son Gwon that they were postponing the high-level talks indefinitely, citing the Max Thunder drill".

"Accordingly, today's high level talks won't take place and the government will react following consultations among relevant agencies," it added.
As former US foe gains, Mattis 'stands with' Iraq election result



Washington, May 15 (AFP) May 15, 2018



US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday he stands by Iraqis' electoral choices, despite the surprise success of populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr -- who fought US troops during the Iraq War.

Sadr's gains have called into question the presence of US forces in Iraq, where more than 5,000 troops are indefinitely deployed to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State group.

"The Iraqi people had an election. It's a democratic process at a time when people, many people doubted that Iraq could take charge of themselves," Mattis told Pentagon reporters.

"So we will wait and see the results -- the final results of the election. And we stand with the Iraqi people's decisions."

After the 2003 US-led invasion, Sadr's Mahdi Army militia battled US forces, and he is now calling for American troops to leave following last year's defeat of IS.

Mattis, a retired four-star Marine general, served in Iraq and went on to lead the US Central Command that runs military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

As a Marine commander, he saw US troops killed by the Mahdi Army, mainly in the poor Baghdad district of Sadr City and in the holy city of Najaf, further south.

It is not yet clear who will be Iraq's next prime minister, with Sadr eyeing a governing coalition.

Washington's preferred candidate, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, has been knocked into third place. Sadr has ruled himself out of becoming prime minister.

While his family of religious scholars historically has close ties with the Islamic revolutionaries in Iran and he spent years living there, Sadr has now fallen out with Tehran and wants its overbearing influence slashed.

Sadr and his militia played central roles in the wave of sectarian bloodshed that peaked in 2006-2007, but he eventually froze the militia's activities in a move the US credited with sharply reducing violence.

The Pentagon said it was too soon to know what the results of the election might mean for the US troop presence.

"We do not support any particular candidate or party; rather we support a fair and transparent process," Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said.

"We stand ready to work with whoever is fairly elected by the Iraqi people."
English14/05/2018

KOVACEVIC: ANOTHER ATTACK ON REPUBLIKA SRPSKA

BANJALUKA, May 14 /SRNA/ - The meeting of the Coordination Body for Migration in BiH, which is being held today in Sarajevo, is another blow to Republika Srpska, because the Srpska Government's position is ignored that no Council of Ministers decision relating to certain measures to be taken in its territory will be adopted without Republika Srpska's consent, SNSD spokesperson, Radovan Kovacevic, told SRNA.



"It is interesting that the meeting was attended by the American ambassadress, as well as the ambassadors of some EU countries, but not by those who will face the migrants on the ground  and that are the institutions of the entities, primarily the Republika Srpska institutions, because migrants will enter the territory of Srpska first," said Kovacevic.



He has emphasized that this "pointless meeting was not attended by the representatives of the BiH Defence Ministry, although the joint institutions earlier announced that this Ministry will take care of migrants".



"Today, it has been proven once again that BiH institutions are not there to work for the benefit of the citizens of Republika Srpska and the FBiH, but only to implement the decisions of their mentors from foreign embassies," the SNSD spokesperson has concluded.



Kovacevic has said that the migrant crisis that affected BiH, again showed all the ineffectiveness and non-functionality of joint institutions that are clearly not ready to face 50 to 120,000 migrants in BiH as expected.



How serious the BiH Council of Ministers takes the current crisis with the arrival of migrants and how much it is thinking about it, he says, is best shown at today's meeting in Sarajevo.



"Regardless of everything and with a full understanding of the situation in which these people are, Republika Srpska and its institutions will take all necessary measures to protect their citizens, their property and institutions from the migrant waves.



We are sorry for all the migrants and the problems they have been facing, but Srpska does not have the capacity to solve them /problems/," said Kovacevic. /end/vos
Utah's jail suicide rate remains at twice the national average

Utahs rate of suicide in county jails has remained at almost twice the national average, according to the latest statistics released by the federal government. A U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics report made public this week showed that Utah had 85 jail suicides per 100,000 inmates in 2015-19, compared with the national average of 48. Among the 11 Western states, Utah trailed only Colorado, which had 93 suicides per 100,000. The toll for the most recent five-year period continued a trend that has seen Utah near the top of the jail suicide death rate since 2000. The report showed ...
Judge Rules California's Assisted Suicide Law Unconstitutional

Contact: Alexandra Snyder, Life Legal Defense Foundation , 202-717-7371NAPA, Calif., May 15, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- A California judge overturned the state's assisted suicide law this morning, ruling that the legislature acted outside the scope of its authority when it enacted the End of Life Option Act.The Act's sponsors introduced the bill in a special session of the legislature convened by Governor Jerry Brown to address Medicaid funding shortfalls, services for the disabled, and in-home health support services.Life Legal attorneys appeared in court this morning to argue that the End of Life Option Act, which decriminalizes physician-assisted suicide, is not related or even incidental to the stated purpose of the special session. Suicide is not health care.Riverside Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia agreed, holding that "the End of Life Option Act does not fall within the scope of access to healthcare services," and that it "is not a matter of health care funding."Life Legal filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings in March 2018, arguing that the law should be overturned because the manner in which it was passed is unconstitutional. We have argued from the outset that suicide has nothing to do with the provision of health services.California Attorney General Xavier Becerra opposed our motion, stating that legislation passed during special sessions is presumed to be constitutional. The Attorney General also argued that Life Legal's plaintiff physicians do not have standing to challenge the End of Life Option Act.Judge Ottolia ruled that doctors do have standing to bring challenges on behalf of their patients, especially in this case, as terminally ill patients would face significant difficulties filing their own lawsuits against the Act."We are thrilled by today's ruling, which reinstates critical legal protections for vulnerable patients," said Life Legal Defense Foundation Executive Director Alexandra Snyder. "The court made it very clear that assisted suicide has nothing to do with increasing access to health care and that hijacking the special session to advance an unrelated agenda is impermissible."Stephanie Packer, who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, was present at the hearing. After the End of Life Option Act was implemented, Stephanie's insurance company denied coverage of life-saving chemotherapy treatment, but said it would pay for "aid-in-dying" drugs, which would cost $1.20.Stephanie has spoken out against assisted suicide in California and other states, saying, "I am so grateful that California's assisted suicide law was overturned today. The bill's proponents tout dignity, choice, compassion, and painlessness. I am here to tell you that nothing could be further from the truth. Choice is really an illusion for a very few. For too many, assisted suicide will be the only affordable 'treatment' that is offered them."It is anticipated that Attorney General Becerra will appeal today's ruling.About Life Legal Defense FoundationLife Legal Defense Foundation was established in 1989, and is a nonprofit organization composed of attorneys and other concerned citizens committed to giving helpless and innocent human beings of any age, and their advocates, a trained and committed voice in the courtrooms of our nation. For more information about the Life Legal Defense Foundation, visit www.lldf.org
Hon. J. Kenneth Blackwell Endorses E.W. Jackson for US Senate in Virginia

Contact: Britton Ross, CM,

757-744-0222,

media@ewjackson.com



CHESAPEAKE, Va., May 15, 2018 /Standard Newswire/ -- J. Kenneth Blackwell, former Mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio Secretary of State and U.N. Ambassador for Human Rights has endorsed E.W. Jackson. Mr. Blackwell is also a board member of the NRA.



Photo: J. Kenneth Backwell, left, and E.W. Jackson



Mr. Blackwell in his endorsement letter says,

"As a sitting Board Member of the NRA, I have absolute confidence that E.W. Jackson will uphold the Second Amendment without compromise."

He also testified to Jackson's character and readiness to serve in the U.S. Senate:

"Having served in several high offices, I trust E.W. Jackson with high office. I trust him to sit in the United States Senate with humility and fidelity to the Constitution and the people who send him there."

E.W. Jackson expressed his gratitude to Mr. Blackwell:

"Ken Blackwell is one of the most respected Republicans in America. I am humbled by his confidence in me as a person as well as my candidacy. He has been an extraordinarily successful candidate, and would not encourage or support me if he were not sure that I can defeat Tim Kaine. I do not intend to let him down. It is time for Virginia to lead again."

Mr. Blackwell is co-hosting an event for Jackson this week in Northern Virginia.



Jackson for US Senate


A more recent publication of this set of statistics is available. Latest publication: Index of turnover in industry 2021, August

Published: 15 May 2018

Turnover in manufacturing grew by 4.8 per cent in the December to February period

According to Statistics Finland, turnover in manufacturing in the December to February period was 4.8 per cent higher than in the corresponding period of the year before. Domestic sales grew by 2.2 per cent and export turnover by 6.5 per cent from one year ago.

Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in manufacturing (C) sub-industries (TOL 2008)

Turnover went up from the corresponding period of the previous year in all manufacturing (C) sub-industries . Growth was strongest in the chemical industry, 10.4 per cent, and in the forest industry, 5.5 per cent. Turnover growth was weakest in the electrical and electronics industry, 1.1 per cent, and the food industry, 1.9 per cent

Three months' year-on-year change in turnover in main industrial categories (TOL 2008)

The turnover of all other main categories of manufacturing industries also increased year-on-year. Turnover grew strongest in the industry of mining and quarrying, by 15.2 per cent. Turnover in water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities increased by 6.6 per cent, and in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply by 3.8 per cent from one year before.

The index of turnover in industry describes enterprises whose main industry is manufacturing. The calculation of the indices is based on the Tax Administrations self-assessed tax data which are supplemented with data obtained with Statistics Finlands sales inquiry. The monthly turnovers of manufacturing enterprises can vary considerably, especially in the metal industries. The variation is mainly due to invoicing practices. The final invoice for major machinery deliveries and projects may be recorded in the sales of one month, even if the delivery had required the work of several months or years.

Source: Index of turnover in industry 2018, February, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Maija Sappinen 029 551 3348, Kirsi-Maaria Manninen 029 551 2681, myynti.teollisuus@stat.fi

Director in charge: Mari Yla-Jarkko

Publication in pdf-format (359.5 kB)

Updated 15.5.2018

Referencing instructions: Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Index of turnover in industry [e-publication].

ISSN=1798-596X. February 2018. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 9.10.2021].

Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/tlv/2018/02/tlv_2018_02_2018-05-15_tie_001_en.html
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Since 2016 Russian firms have revealed the existence of several armed UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicle) but only one of them appears to have entered service; the five ton Uran-6. This one has seen action in Syria in an unarmed version for use by combat engineers to deal with landmines, roadside bombs and, most importantly, ensuring that a route is clear of mines and bombs. To accomplish that Uran-6 can be equipped with a number of accessories like a plow, flail (for setting off landmines) or robotic arms. The large size of the Uran-6 enables it to survive close proximity to exploding mines or bombs and keep going. The Uran-6 is battery powered (for up to 16 hours per charge) and remotely controlled from a distance of up to 1,500 meters. Use in Syria seems to be combat testing because engineers have been seeing double checking for mines with more conventional mine detectors after the Uran-6 had already checked a route.

Uran-6 could be armed but there is a larger (ten ton, diesel powered) Uran-9 which looks like a small tank and described as equipped to handle a variety of remotely controlled guns, missiles and flamethrowers. At least one Uran-9 has been sent to Syria for combat zone experience but there are no reports of actual combat activity. Uran-6 is designed to compete in a mature market for EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) UGVs, a market the United States and Israel have dominated for nearly two decades. Uran-6 is the largest EOD UGV and could find a niche in the EOD market if it proves successful in Syria. Armed UFVs are a more difficult sale but Russia is eager to avoid casualties among its own troops in Syria and armed UGVs are seen as a potential solution.

In late 2017 Russia revealed that it an armed UGV ready for service. This one, the Nerekhta, is literally a small tank, weighing 300 kg (660 pounds) and able to move silently on rubber tracks at up to 11 kilometers an hour. The armor protects the one meter (40 inch) long UGV from small arms fire and most shell and grenade fragments. Battery powered, it can be armed with a RWS (remotely controlled weapons system) equipped with 12.7mm or 7.62mm machine-gun or an AGS-30 automatic 30mm grenade launcher. The RWS can be quickly replaced with 50 kg of explosives and the Nerekhta can be used on a one-way mission to deliver the explosives. Sensors enable the remote operator to see around the UGV day or night. Uran-9 is a much larger version of this.

Armed UGVs are nothing new and one armed with explosives were used by the Germans (as the gasoline powered Goliath) during World War II. Currently, armed UGVs are most often produced by Israel and South Korea for patrolling long borders that are often threatened by armed intruders. American manufacturers can and have armed their UGVs but find it more profitable to let the Israelis, South Koreans, Russians and Chinese have that market.

UGVs have become more common since the late 1990s and are usually unarmed and useful mainly for recon and surveillance in very dangerous situations. Even though armed UGVs have been developed and remain under remote control by a human operator, many nations resist adopting them, just as they resist armed UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Yet there has never been similar opposition to sea-based unmanned armed weapons or even those that are not even under remote control. An example of this is the naval torpedo, which first appeared in the late 19th century. A century later it became possible to add remote control to high-end torpedo models and these are regularly carried by man submarines.

But for nations under constant threat of attack, the attitudes are different. Since 2001 Israel has developed several generations of armed UGVs. One of the more recent of these is Dogo, a smaller (12 kg/26 pounds), more aware (constant 360 degree camera coverage) and more lethal remotely controlled robot. Dogo showed up in 2016 and was designed with lots of input from soldiers and police who have been using UGVs for over a decade. Dogo is armed with a 9mm pistol loaded with 14 rounds and aimed by cameras dedicated to aiming the pistol accurately at ranges of up to 50 meters. Commandos and SWAT teams can carry one or more battery operated Dogos with them on missions that can benefit from a very mobile (it can climb steps) UGV that has night vision, is quiet and can hear as well as broadcast whatever the operator has to say (like hostage negotiation or demanding surrender). Many of these features have been found in earlier UGVs but never one as small or as capable.

Since 2006 the Israeli military has been moving its UGVs from guard duty to the battlefield. During that time Israeli infantry and several new generations of UGVs have been working together to see exactly what works and what doesnt. The basic idea here is to have UGVs with good enough sensors to successfully move across a battlefield in front of troops and look out for mines, roadside bombs, ambushes or any signs of the enemy at all. This gives the troops following close behind a better idea of what nasty surprises the enemy has for them and an opportunity to avoid lots of casualties and hit harder than the enemy expected. Dogo can do this as well as have its 9mm weapon replaced with pepper spray, a blinding flash or other non-lethal devices to deal with human threats.

Both Israel and the United States have already discovered that armed UGVs are not very successful on their own. But Israel believes that new designs, operating in close cooperation (as an advanced guard while moving into hostile territory) with infantry and manned armored vehicles might work well enough to justify regular use. The new UGVs are similar to the armed four-wheeled vehicles Israel has been successfully using for guard duty along the Gaza and Lebanon borders. The eventual success of these UGVs encouraged trying to use them in combat.

Previous use of armed UGVs in active combat zones showed that these systems were vulnerable to attack and interference, which are the main reasons for not using them. Unless the cameras and other sensors (sound, heat and seismic) can pick up hostiles far enough away, the remotely controlled weapon can be destroyed, along with many of the sensors, thus blinding the operators. By 2009 both the U.S. and Israel had developed smaller armed robots. The American systems are called Swords (Special Weapons Observation Reconnaissance Detecting System). This was a 57 kg (125 pound) remotely controlled vehicles that looked like a miniature tank. These were armed with a 5.56mm machine-guns and 350 rounds of ammo. Also known as Talon IIIB, the army spent over a year testing them in the United States before sending some to Iraq in 2008. There they found there were many ways to mess with Swords. Many tricks didn't even damage the equipment; like having a child or woman come out and throw a towel or sheet over it.

Israel has a similar system called Viper that carries a 9mm machine pistol (an Uzi) and can carry explosives, along with the usual video camera and microphones. Both Swords and Viper do have their uses, like entering into very dangerous situations (like a cave or building believed occupied by fanatical gunmen). The droids can also be used for guard duty in dangerous locations (where the enemy might get a shot off, or toss a grenade.) But no matter what you have the battle robots do, the mechanical grunts lack the same degree of situational awareness of a human soldier. This requires much better sensors that have been available so far. The sensors used on droids (mainly visual and acoustic) are getting better, as is the software that can quickly evaluate what the sensors see and hear. But humans can also smell, and feel (on their skin), as well as using superior vision and hearing. Until the sensors get better, the combat robots will always be at a disadvantage. But if used with those disadvantages kept in mind, the robots do have their uses. Dogo is the latest effort to expand that usefulness and more are on the way. Russia, on the other hand, prefers their traditional brute force approach. Thus you have Uran-6 and Uran-9. When used via remote control by nearby operators these can be effective. But only a lot of combat experience will let you know just how effective.
President Duterte is reviving the old Cold War tactic where a nation courted by two superpowers (in this case China and the U.S.) plays the superpowers off each other by demanding more and more aid, goodies and other concessions. While China isnt backing away from occupying offshore areas (in the South China Sea) that belong to the Philippines, China is offering the Philippines all sorts of gifts. Duterte is gracefully accepting the gifts with no strings attached and insisting on negotiations for the gifts that may contain hidden costs. Duterte isnt giving up any legal claims the Philippines has to South China Sea areas occupied or threatened by China. The Philippines isnt giving up any allies it has in the confrontation with China. This includes the United States, which Duterte criticizes but does not cut ties with or refuse military assistance from. China is playing along, in part because there are no better options and, given the size of the Chinese economy, it isnt all that expensive. The Americans go along as well, as it is China that is spending the most on this particular competition.

In April the American commander of U.S. naval forces in the western Pacific confirmed that China had built sufficient port and aircraft facilities on islands in the South China Sea to quickly station warships and combat aircraft at these new facilities and, in effect, declare that it controlled the South China Sea and dare anyone to oppose that control. Many of the islands are artificial, made by dredging up sand from nearby reefs and shallow waters. Seven reefs belonging to the Philippines have undergone this transformation and commercial satellite photos already show military aircraft and other equipment showing up on these artificial islands. Apparently, China has also installed anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles on some of these islands (Fiery Cross Reef, Subi Reef, and Mischief Reef, all just west of the Philippines) in addition to EW (Electronic Warfare) equipment, including jammers as well are arriving on the new islands. China did not announce installing this military equipment but aerial and satellite photos show the equipment appearing during April, if not earlier. Thanks to commercial photo satellites it is easy to keep track of what China is doing on the artificial islands they created in Filipino waters. Mischief Reef, which an international court agreed belonged to the Philippines, now has a Chinese military base and an airstrip that is regularly used by Chinese military aircraft. In addition, China has installed electronic surveillance and jamming equipment there in addition to air defense and anti-ship missiles. Filipino politicians and most of the Filipino voters they represent are not happy about this.

ISIL On Idle

The Filipino branch of ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) is battered and much reduced in membership over the last year, but still exists. The BIFF and Maute factions are still carrying out attacks, just fewer (maybe one a month) and less effective (few casualties). Most local ISIL members belong to Abu Sayyaf but that is because Abu Sayyaf began as a gang of veteran local bandits in Sulu and Basilan provinces and knew how to make money. Abu Sayyaf never lost their bandit attitude and aptitude. While much diminished over the last few years there are still several hundred Abu Sayyaf members active and they still have cash, and about a dozen captives they are seeking ransom for. The government has cracked down hard on those paying ransom and increased the number of troops and police searching for (and often encountering) Abu Sayyaf. There do not appear to be any more hardcore local ISIL leaders left. All of those were killed in the last year and their replacements turned out to be very low key and much less aggressive. That may change but for the moment the remaining Filipino ISIL members are still on the run.

May 13, 2018: In the south (Sulu) troops clashed with a large group of Abu Sayyaf gunmen. After an hour long battle the Islamic terrorists escaped into the bush, apparently taking their wounded with them. Abu Sayyaf lost ten men while two soldiers were killed. It was unclear if this group had any of the Abu Sayyaf hostages with them. To be on the safe side artillery fire was used carefully to avoid hitting any captives the enemy might have.

May 11, 2018: The government signed an agreement with Kuwait to more effectively regulate how Kuwait treats 262,000 Filipino workers in Kuwait. The Filipinos in Kuwait are a major source of remittance money coming back to the Philippines each year. China also receives a lot of remittance money from overseas citizens. During 2017 China received $64 billion in remittances from Chinese living abroad. This was the second largest amount for any nation in the world. The world leader is India, which received $69 billion in 2017 closely followed by China with $64 billion, the Philippines $33 billion, Mexico $31 billion and Nigeria $22 billion. The Philippines is the leader when it comes to the portion of GDP coming from remittances. Aware of that one of the gifts China has offered is to legalize about 200,000 Filipinos working illegally in China and allow another 300,000 legal workers in, the Philippines is eager to close this deal. China is suffering a labor shortage because of a declining birth rate (a side effect of prosperity) and is accepting more and more legal foreign workers.

May 9, 2018: Police revealed that the war on drugs had, between July 2016 and April 30th 2018, resulted in 4,251 drug trade operatives or suspects killed. This is the official police count which the government can document. Local and international opponents to the drug war claim that over 20,000 have died but offer no proof other than that during the same period police reported another 16,000 homicides with possible drug connections. At the same time, there have been nearly 143,000 drug related arrests (including 217 elected officials, 48 members of the security forces and 239 other government employees). Many suspected leaders of drug gangs have been arrested and then released because of insufficient evidence (plus lots of lawyers and possibly bribes). Meanwhile, the majority of Filipinos support the war on drugs and have from the beginning.

May 8, 2018: A Japanese four-engine P-1 maritime patrol aircraft held joint patrol exercises off Palawan Island with Filipino forces. This was all near areas where China has taken control of parts of the South China Sea that are technically part of the Philippines. The Japanese P-1 was part of the 34th Balikatan international joint exercises. Elsewhere in the area 8,000 American and Filipino military personnel also conducted joint training. Philippines recently (March) received three more twin-engine C-90 patrol aircraft from Japan and now have five. Some of these trained with the P-1.

May 7, 2018: In the south (Sulu) troops clashed with a group of Abu Sayyaf men during a search for two policewomen who had been kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf recently. Three of the Islamic terrorists were killed and seven soldiers wounded during the clash. Abu Sayyaf still holds as many as fifteen people, most of them Filipino, for ransom. Abu Sayyaf wants $100,000 for the two policewomen.

In the north (Quezon City) police arrested a known Filipino ISIL (Maute group) member, Unday Makadato. The arrest came because of tip by a suspicious local.

May 5, 2018: In the south (Sulu) Abu Sayyaf released one of their Filipino hostages. This was apparently because of the intense military pressure to find two other Abu Sayyaf prisoners; policewomen seized in April. The released prisoner reported that the Abu Sayyaf group that held him, and three others, consisted of twelve armed men.

May 3, 2018: In the far north (Cagayan province) troops encountered 30 NPA gunmen and after 30 minute gun battle the NPA got away taking their casualties with them. Troops pursued and eventually found the body of one NPA gunman. Several days later one of the NPA gunmen involved surrendered, and brought his weapon with him. A growing number of veteran NPA gunmen are giving up.

May 2, 2018: In the south (Basilan) troops clashed with Abu Sayyaf and killed nine of the Islamic terrorists. Several other Abu Sayyaf men were wounded. Locals reported that about 40 Abu Sayyaf men were gathering in a remote village and the military responded with ground troops and air strikes.

May 1, 2018: The government released the official list of 207 village officials currently under investigation for suspected involvement in the illegal drugs trade. The list was released because local elections take place in two weeks and voters wanted to know who was officially suspect.

April 30, 2018: In the south (Bukidnon province) two off duty soldiers were ambushed by NPA gunmen. One soldier was killed.

April 29, 2018: In the south (Sulu) Abu Sayyaf gunmen kidnapped two off-duty policewomen. Abu Sayyaf later demanded $100,000 ransom for the two women. Instead, the security forces launched a large scale search operation which is still underway. After about two weeks the search efforts had left over a dozen Abu Sayyaf dead and many more wounded and on the run.

Elsewhere in the south (South Cotabato province) BIFF (another local ISIL faction) was responsible for a bomb at a church that went off and wounded two people. Another bomb was placed nearby but was discovered and disabled.

April 28, 2018: In the south (Negros Oriental) a local defense volunteer was ambushed and killed by NPA gunmen.

April 23, 2018: The leader of the NPA, living in European exile, accepted the Filipino government offer to return to the Philippines and participate in peace talks.

April 21, 2018: In the south (Davao del Sur province) troops came upon the NPA leader for a large part of the province and portions of Davao City as well. The NPA leader was killed and another NPA rebel was captured.
While the Syrian government is close to winning the seven year long civil war there are still substantial rebel forces that will not surrender. The most formidable rebel bastion is in northwest Syria where Idlib province, on the Turkish border, is largely controlled by rebels.

Aside from sealing their border the Turks are not interested in Idlib and leaving to the Assad forces to take back control of the province. Turkey has established forces on the Syrian side of the border and built several watch towers and stationed border guards on both sides of the border.

With pro-rebel population of about two million, Idlib is the last major stronghold for rebels. That would require support from Russian airpower and Iranian mercenary ground forces. At the moment Iran is distracted with Israel. Fortunately the rebels in Idlib are not united. Some are ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and some are FSA (allied with the Turks). While weapons and reinforcements are no longer getting into Idlib from Turkey, food and other essential supplies are and the Turks can cut that off if any of the Idlib rebels cause problems. Meanwhile Turkey is using that access to supplies to gain the cooperation of more rebel groups. The Turks may never get much cooperation from ISIL, but ISIL is a minority in Idlib and hated by all other rebels. Assad forces still carry out some airstrikes against Idlib targets and use artillery as well but keep their troops out.

There are still some pockets of rebel control north of Aleppo. Some of them the Turks might decide to clear of rebels but as long as none of these rebels block access to key (to the Assads) roads or attack Assad controlled areas, they will be left alone, for now.

East of Idlib the border area is largely controlled by the Turks or the Kurds. The Assads may have to eventually declare these areas autonomous and make deals with the Turks and Americans to guarantee that autonomy. The Turkish controlled security zone in Syria, along the Turkish border, is controlled mainly by a Turkey supported rebel coalition currently called the National Army. Before that it had been the FSA (Free Syrian Army) but as the FSA attracted more rebel allies it decided to adopt a new name and make it clear that it was an ally of Turkey and a Syrian force. With about 30,000 fighters the National Army is not as united as the Kurdish led SDF (which has a lot of Arab, Christian and other minority factions) nor does the National Army have a long record of successful cooperation with the Americans. National Army wants peace and, like the SDF, is willing to make a deal with the Assads as long as its Turkish ally agrees.

The Kurdish (SDF) controlled northeast has been autonomous for over five years. The SDF has always had American support and Assad cannot expect to take out the SDF by force. Negotiation is another matter and the SDF has always been willing to talk. So are the Turks. Unfortunately the Turks and Americans dont get along well at the moment but that might change.

There are several pockets of rebel controlled territory in the south along the borders with Israel and Jordan. There are also some rebels near the American special operations base of Tanf, on the Syrian side of the Iraqi border and near the Jordan border. The American forces have the support of some Syrian Sunni tribes that are not friendly to the Assads. In addition the Americans have some allies on the Iraqi side of the border from other Sunni Arab tribes. Iran has assisted (with its mercenaries) Assad forces in trying to eliminate the Tanf base but these effort have failed. The Americans have too much airpower and too much aerial and ground surveillance around Tanf. The U.S. has declared a free fire zone that means any Assad/Iranian forces getting within 30 kilometers of Tanf are automatically attacked. Iranian and Assad forces no longer test this free fire zone. They know it works. But west of Tanf there are a lot of rebel held border areas that the Assad forces can regain control of most. Most of the efforts here are directed at rebels on the Israeli border and Iranian mercenaries (mainly Hezbollah) have been helping out.

The remaining rebel held areas around the capital (Damascus) are mainly left to Assad forces, with some Russian air strikes.

The Assads need foreign assistance, especially from Russia and Iran, to regain all the remaining rebel held areas and at the moment Iran is distracted by its failed efforts to threaten Israel. Russia has backed away from Iran when it comes to Israel and the Turks give Iran verbal encouragement and not much else.

Israel Sets Conditions

Russia is trying to dissuade Israel and its Western allies from attacking more Syrian targets, especially those that harm the many Iranians and Iranian mercenaries supporting the Syrian forces. Russia also does not want to put its high tech weapons to the test because so far these electronic and anti-aircraft systems have proved ineffective against Israeli attacks and probably wont do much better against the Americans. This is bad for business, as Russia has been touting the combat experience in Syria to get more sales for their new stuff. It would also be disastrous for Russian diplomacy which has presented Russia as a powerful and technically advanced ally for Syria, Iran and Turkey. Although Russia talks tough against Israel and the Americans it does not want to take that any further, nor does it want to appear like Russia is backing off. Russia is in an embarrassing situation and not getting much sympathy from anyone, not even Russians back in Russia.

The February incident in Syria where over 200 Russian military contractors died when they tried to seize a small base in eastern Syria containing American troops did not trigger calls for revenge among Russians. Instead the attitude was that these guys took a chance to make a lot of money and it didnt w0rk out. There are a lot of dangerous jobs in Russia that pay well to compensate for the risk. Those who do that work are opportunists, not patriots. So the government has to go easy in Ukraine and Syria. Israel seems more aware of this than most Middle Eastern powers. That is partly because Israel has a large Russian minority, courtesy of a lot of Russian Jews coming to Israel since the 1980s and keeping in touch with folks back home.

Another aftereffect of the 200 contractor deaths was Russia revealing how many Russian military personnel have served in Syria since mid-2015. It was 48,000, and that includes army, navy and air force. Not included are contractors, who are civilians, even if they took on some of the most dangerous jobs and suffered more casualties than the military personnel. Out of those 48,000 Russian military personnel who have been in Syria (some for less than a day, few for more than six months) only about 60 have died in combat so far. There have been half as many military contractors serving in Syria and they have suffered nearly 500 dead. No official numbers of military contractor fatalities have been released but Russian volunteer organizations have tried to keep track of the funerals or other indications of young men dying in Syria and it is clear that being a military contractor is a lot more dangerous. The point here is that there are still some Russians willing to take dangerous combat jobs but there are not enough them to maintain the million man military Russian leaders want.

Iran

Iranians are angry with their government over how foreign affairs have been mismanaged, especially in Syria. The major complaint is how much the government has been spending on the war in Syria since 2012. Long before Israeli agents made off with details of the Iranian nuclear program there were Iranians collecting data on what the Syria war was costing Iran. The government downplayed the cost and declared the Iranian presence in Syria as a religious duty and a crucial step in the effort to destroy Israel. But now most Iranians understand that Syria was costing Iran $10-20 billion a year, which is about twice what the government spends to help the poorest Iranians (which happens to include a majority of Iranians). Irans religious leaders know this is why the late 2017 nationwide demonstrations included many groups that had long supported the religious dictatorship but were not in opposition because their leaders were making it clear that the welfare of the Iranian people, including those who long supported the clerics, was less important than propping up a murderous dictator in Syria who happened to be Shia. Then there was the issue of blaming all misfortunes on Israel or the Americans. The United States has always been a popular place to most Iranians and many still would move to America if they could get out of Iran. The Internet makes it easy for the Iranian-Americans to let the folks back in the old country what the U.S. (the Great Satan according the Iranian clerics) is really like. There are still mandatory death to America demonstrations in Iran but all concerned have noted that most Iranians just go through the motions and would rather go to America than stand around shouting Death to America.

Until recently the Iranian government preferred to retaliate against Israel indirectly. Iran has long used foreign proxies (like Hezbollah, Hamas or other non-Iranian Islamic terrorists) to attack Israel. Iran does not have modern weapons (because of decades of sanctions) and Iranian leaders are smart enough to realize that Iran itself trying to attack Israel would most likely result in another humiliating Iranian defeat. Israel has anti-missile defenses against Iranian ballistic missiles. Yet Iran has enough of these missiles to attempt a saturation attack on Israel using explosive or chemical warheads. Iran could also use a dirty warhead by adding radioactive material to a high explosive warhead. A few of these missiles landing in Israel, especially in a major urban area, would be a great propaganda victory. But Israel also has ballistic missiles (armed with nuclear warheads) and, worse, hundreds of modern fighter-bombers that could hit two key economic targets using smart bombs. These two targets are Kharg Island, in the Persian Gulf. This is the main export facility for 90 percent of oil and gas exports) Income from these exports pay for over a third of the government budget and these facilities cannot be rebuilt quickly. The other economic target is Bandar Abbas in southern Iran. This is the main container port handling some 90 percent of containers bringing in foreign goods, like items needed to repair damage to Kharg Island. Bandar Abbas is where all the modern tech and consumer goods arrive. Shutting down Bandar Abbas for months, or more, would be quickly felt by most Iranians. With Arab states between Israel and Iran now allowing Israeli airstrikes free passage, the Israeli air strikes are certain to succeed and inflict major damage.

If a dirty bomb or chemical warhead were used Iran would be portrayed as the evil (and ineffective) aggressor while Israel hits Iran where it hurts most. The Iranian religious dictatorship is under a lot of pressure to provide some relief for years of poverty and unemployment. The 2015 treaty that lifted sanctions was supposed to help but it didnt. Instead the government spends billions on the war in Syria. That effort has not yet improved Iranian capabilities when it comes to destroying Israel. Thats because the Assad government forces (including most of the 50,000 Iranian mercenaries in Syria) are still busy with the remaining rebels. In Lebanon the Iranian financed Hezbollah is not very enthusiastic about going to war with Israel. Thats because the few million Lebanese Shia that are the main support for Hezbollah are unhappy with the thousands of Lebanese Shia who have been killed or crippled fighting in Syria. Iran insisted that Hezbollah send forces to Syria in 2012 and even though Iran was paying combat bonuses, death benefits and for extended medical care, the Lebanese Shia were, in general, unhappy about the losses suffered from fighting in an Iranian war. Israel has told Lebanon and Hezbollah that a repeat of the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel would result in even heavier losses for Hezbollah and Lebanon. Hezbollah leaders pretend to be unafraid but the opinion polls in Lebanon say otherwise.

So as humiliated as the Iranian rulers are by the latest Israeli efforts (grabbing all those nuclear documents in January and regularly bombing weapons shipments to Syria and defeating any Iranian missile attacks on Israel) they understand Iranian options are not promising. Given the growing popular opposition the religious dictatorship is facing inside Iran, another major defeat inflicted by Israel is not an attractive option. New ideas are being sought and retaliation is not yet ruled out but retaliation is seen as a move that would make things worse for Iran.

The May 10th Israeli air strikes against Iranian bases in Syria was followed by Israel telling the Assad government that if the Assads could persuade Iran to withdraw from Syria Israel would be willing to recognize the Assad government. Unfortunately the Assads are very dependent on Iranian case, military support and over 50,000 Iranian supplied mercenaries. In Syria, Iran is stronger than the Assads, something the Iranians do not publicize but that the Assads are well aware of. In the wake of the Israeli air strikes Israeli leaders believe that Iran wont try any major moves against Israel, not for a while. The situation back in Iran is decidedly anti-Iranian leaders (the religious dictatorship) and much less concerned about any Israeli threat.

More Embarrassing Iranian Generosity

Iran is financing a resettlement operation in Syria that brings in Shia families from Lebanon, Afghanistan and elsewhere to replace the third of the Syrian population that fled the country during the civil war. Nearly all these refugees were Sunni Arabs and the Assads (who are Shia) dont want them back. The non-Sunni refugees are largely men trying to avoid being conscripted into the Assad military. These men (and some women and children who left with then) can return and are waiting for the civil war to end before doing so. The Assads will not take and Sunni Arabs back and the Lebanese Hezbollah are supervising a resettlement program by bringing in Shia Arab Lebanese attracted by the offer of free land and housing. Actually the buildings may have suffered some war damage but are repairable. Hezbollah fighters are actively preventing Syrian Sunnis from returning and reoccupying their land and homes. Some Sunni Arabs are resettled in Syria, as the Turks allowing Sunni Arabs driven from Damascus suburbs allowed to take over homes and other property that belonged to Kurds recently driven from Afrin near the Turkish border. The Assad military only conscripts loyal (to Assad) Syrians and that usually excludes Sunni Arabs, who were over 75 percent of the population in 2011. Another aspect of this resettlement program is that the Turks are willing to participate as long as the Turks can select who will be in charge of the new communities in Turkish controlled border areas. In Afrin this includes a pro-Turk Syrian Islamic radical rebel group selected to administer much of the resettlements around Afrin. Since many of those resettled there are Christians or Yazidi these non-Moslems are expected to live under Sharia (Islamic) law. That is just another reason for the Syrian Kurds to resist the Turks.

ISIL End Game

The American campaign against ISIL in Iraq and Syria continues, especially the intelligence collection and air strikes. American forces in Syria and Iraq work with their local counterparts to search for and attack remaining ISIL personnel and a lot of this action is taking place close to the Syrian border. The SDF (Kurdish led Syrian Defense Force rebels) are handling the ground operations against two known areas in eastern Syria (Deir Zor province) where ISIL is known to occupy two areas in the Jazeera desert. Much of eastern Syria is desert, interspersed by some river valleys and oases. The Jazeera desert, because of its proximity to the Iraqi border, has always been a favorite hideout for smugglers and, since 2003, for Islamic terrorists operating against targets in Iraq. Now that is reversed with American aircraft (and recon satellites) monitoring the area for targets. These are hit by American and Iraqi warplanes and the SDF coordinates its operations with the Iraqis to prevent any friendly fire. ISIL leader and founder Abu Bakr al Baghdadi is believed hiding in one of these Jazeera desert enclaves, apparently close enough (within 30 kilometers) of the Syrian border to quickly move (or try to) into Iraq is it appears his exact location becomes known to the SDF or the Assads.

The American anti-ISIL coalition still carries out several air strikes a day (in Iraq and Syria) and these are often against major targets. The Iraqi airstrikes are infrequent but since April they have been happening, in cooperation with the coalition aircraft that normally control airspace in that part of Syria. ISIL no longer controls any territory in Iraq but Syria is another matter with several remote areas in Syria known to be under ISIL control. The Americans work their own intelligence sources to find and attack targets. After that some data is shared with the Iraqi government (not too dependable), the SDF Kurds in Syria (more reliable) and some Western allies.

ISIL considers itself strongest in Iraq and Syria where there are still a lot of Sunni Arabs who feel oppressed by the local government (in both cases governments dominated by Shia Arabs). ISIL also declared victory over the Americans because the United States has announced (more than once) that it is leaving Iraq and Syria once ISIL is eliminated. ISIL interprets that to mean the Americans are declaring victory and running away no matter how many ISIL are still active in Iraq and Syria.

Turkey

Turkey reports that in the last month their forces in northwest Syria had neutralized (killed or captured) another 250 terrorists (Kurds, their Arab allies and some ISIL and other Islamic terrorist fighters). This brings the total of those neutralized in the last four months to about 4,500. This is all about the Turkish ground operations to take the city of Afrin that began on January 20th. So far the 6,000 or so Turkish soldiers lost 52 dead and the three times more numerous FSA rebels who are allied with the Turks. Most of the troops involved in this operation are from FSA, who are believed to have suffered several hundred dead so far. The Turk/FSA forces finally captured Afrin on March 18th. Now the force is preparing to advance east, to the Euphrates River. But further advances have apparently been suspended until the June 24th elections take place in Turkey. Those elections will decide if current Turkish president Erdogan has the authority to escalate the fighting in Syria.

Currently Turkey asserts that it will pursue PKK and PYD Kurds into Syria or Iraq without asking permission from the governments of either country. This annoys the Iraqi government but at the moment it is considered preferable not to oppose the Turks. There is still no Assad government control on the Syrian side of the border. That degree of control is coming but currently independent factions (SDF in in northern Syria, Iranian mercenaries further south) more or less control the Syrian side. But the Assads can still grant permission to Iraqi forces to cross the border when it comes to dealing with mutual foes like ISIL.

May 14, 2018: In the Damascus suburbs fighting continues between the army and rebels that still control a number of neighborhoods. In the last month about 500 soldiers and rebels have died. While the losses are about even the rebels are usually surrounded and cut off from supplies or reinforcements. The rebels are not all surrendering as the Assads had hoped and the military commanders are trying to keep their losses down in order to maintain morale. The Syrian troops, for the first time since 2011, sense victory. It is easier to recruit and there are fewer desertions. The Assad troops are still not as bold as some of the Iranian mercenaries but the Syrians are better trained and more professional. Clearing all the rebel strongholds from around Damascus is a big deal because the existence of these enclaves was always a reminded that the Assads were facing up uprising by a majority (over two-thirds) of Syrian. The Assads were saved by the inability of the rebels to unite and since 2012 the rebels have spent more effort fighting each other than the government.

One example of this outside Damascus is the Yarmouk neighborhood. This used to be the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and long the headquarters for Palestinian nationalist or terror groups the Assads offered sanctuary to. The 2011 rebellion split the Syrian Palestinians, many (most, it turned out) backed the rebels while a many of the more extremist Palestinians sided with the Assads. Now there are few Palestinians left in Yarmouk, or Syria. ISIL still controls about five percent of Syrian territory, including several of the remaining pockets of resistance outside Damascus, including Yarmouk. There are still hundreds of diehard Islamic terrorist rebels holding most of Yarmouk, which will soon be+ cleared of resistance and is unlikely to be a Palestinian neighborhood again.

While this final battle for Yarmouk was going on an Arab-Israeli journalist had an article published that once more pointed out how most of the international media pays more attention to the weekly casualties Gaza Palestinians suffer while trying to force their way into Israel than to the much more numerous Palestinian losses elsewhere in areas where the Palestinians are just trying to survive. These same media outlets have generally ignored the larger number of Palestinians being killed in Syria as the Syrian army frequently attacked the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus. In 2011, when the Syrian rebellion began Yarmouk (population 160,000) was the largest Palestinian community in Syria, holding about 30 percent of the Palestinians in Syria. Hamas got involved in the fighting between Palestinians loyal to the camp leadership (a Palestinian terrorist organization, which has long enjoyed the support of the Assads) and Palestinians who support the Syrian rebels. Hamas realized that if the rebels won, and during the first two years of the rebellion it looked like they would, Hamas would be driven out unless pro-rebel Palestinians take control of Palestinian refugee camps (which are actually separate towns or neighborhoods occupied and run by Palestinians.) Hamas had long received support from the Assads. But under pressure from major donors (oil-rich Sunni Arabs) Hamas turned on the Iran-backed Assads. In early 2012 Hamas moved its headquarters out of Syria and openly denounced the Assaads. Hamas apparently also told the Syrian Palestinians to oppose Assad if they wanted Hamas and other Arab states to persuade the new rebel government to allow loyal Palestinians to remain and avoid retribution. The 600,000 Palestinians in Syria were 1.7 percent of the Syrian population back then. By 2018 Yarmouk was largely empty of Palestinians, most having fled the constant air, artillery and ground attacks by the Assads. Far more Palestinians have been killed by the Assads in Syria since 2011 than died in Israel (including Gaza and West Bank). Most of the Palestinians killed in Israel were trying to kill Israelis. Arab journalists who are not Israeli citizens generally do not report the Palestinian situation in Syria unless they want to risk considerable backlash and risk of jail or worse.

May 12, 2018: In eastern Syria Iraqi ground forces have crossed the border and are, in cooperation with the SDF, attacking groups of ISIL personnel operating in Deir Zor province. This operation apparently succeeded in capturing five known ISIL leaders and killing 40 ISIL members. This was apparently done in cooperation with the SDF and the Americans.

Iraqi warplanes have carried out a few air strikes against ISIL targets in Syria but the Iraqi ground forces are something the Iraqi government has said it would not send to Syria. The exception is apparently because there are some key ISIL personnel involved and the SDF needed more manpower to deal with the situation. The Iraqis are particularly eager to shut down ISIL activity on the Syrian side of the border because Syria has become something of a refuge for ISIL forces that mainly carry out attacks on the Iraqi side of the border.

May 11, 2018: A Russian official quietly let it be known that Russia was not going to deliver S-300 Air Defense systems to anyone in Syria. Israel has been publicly and privately urging Russia to institute such a ban and now the ban is official. Israel has apparently made it clear, during the recent exchange of fire with Iranian forces in Syria, that the Israelis have the upper hand in terms of tech and military capabilities. Russia needed that demonstration so they could maintain their good relationship with Iran while also refusing to deliver S-300 systems to the Assads. This was something the Iranians wanted and were willing to pay for. But the Russians were not willing to lose the good relationship they had long (actually since the beginning in 1948) had with Israel. Nor were the Russians willing to risk having the S-300 defeated by Israeli SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses) tactics and equipment. The Iranians may be willing to underestimate the Israelis, but the Russians prefer to be more realistic.

In the east (Deir Zor province) someone fired artillery and mortar shells at American supported SDF rebels who were moving to take part in an operation against some of the remaining ISIL forces in the area. No one took credit for the attack on the SDF and the Americans are trying to find out who did it.

May 10, 2018: In Syria IRGC (Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps) commanders have gone on the offensive against Israel and early today launched at least twenty rockets at Israeli targets in the Golan Heights. Hezbollah later declared that these rockets hit a number of Israeli military targets but in fact most of the missiles landed on the Syrian side of the border. The Iron Dome batteries stationed in the area destroyed the four rockets that were headed for military bases or other populated areas in Golan. In response Israeli air and missile strikes against Iranian targets in Syria began and will continue until the Iranian threat in Syria is eliminated. That may take a while as the IRGC and Quds Force have established a presence in many parts of Assad controlled Syria as well as in southern Lebanon. One of the Israeli attacks against an Iranian base outside Damascus killed at least eight Iranians as even more non-Iranians. These losses (which are reported in Iran as martyrs and celebrated as defenders of Iran against American and Israeli aggression) dont always create the desired effect in Iran. More and more Iranians see the IRGC and Quds Force as a bunch of thugs who are looking out for themselves and not the Iranian people. The Israelis appear well aware of this attitude and seem to have gone after all (at least fifty) the IRGC/Quds targets them have identified in Syria. Israel made it clear it could keep doing this beyond just what was hit today. Israel also announced that it would go after (kill) Basher Assad himself if any Iranian missile attack hit Tel Aviv (the administrative capital of Israel as opposed to Jerusalem, the official capital and home of many Moslems and Islamic holy places and thus not the best target for an Iranian missile attack).

The Iranian internal tensions have been growing for years and are now becoming more public because of problems in Syria. The late 2017 nationwide Iranian anti-government demonstrations came as a shock to many senior Iranian officials, but was no surprise to ordinary Iranians. The increased tensions over the 2015 sanctions treaty, the nuclear program and the failure of the Iranian government to deliver on anything (the economy, the destruction of Israel and the United States or anything else). The IRGC casualties in Syria will not necessarily cause Iranians to back their government. Israel believes all these attacks on IRGC facilities in Syria will destroy months of IRGC efforts to build an Iranian military presence in Syria. Replacing all these losses will be expensive and that cost will not be popular with most Iranians either. By attacking so many targets in a few hours Israel is also seeking to intimidate the IRGC, who thought they were hiding their presence in many of these locations.

Russia later reported (thanks to their extensive air defense radar coverage of western Syria) that Israel appeared to have used 23 fighter-bombers to launch 60 air-to-ground missiles or smart bombs. In addition Israel appears to have used ten ground launched missiles (probably the Delilah missile, which is usually launched from aircraft). Delilah is one of several loitering missiles Israel has developed. These can search for a target, with a human controller approving a target via a datalink, which also provides video of hits on targets, which Israel sometimes releases to the media. This was the case with the latest airstrikes, which destroyed many Syrian air defense systems (S-200 and Pantsir).

May 6, 2018: Iraqi warplanes carried out more airstrikes against ISIL targets on the Syrian side of the border.

May 2, 2018: Representatives from Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian Kurdish groups met in Iran to hear Iranian proposals for how it would be more beneficial to accept Iranian support instead of the American backing Kurds have come to prefer. The Kurds cannot ignore the Iranians but apparently still prefer the Americans.

April 29, 2018: Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian base near Aleppo containing a large number of Iranian missiles that had recently been flown in from Iran to the Hama airport. The presence of these missiles was obvious because of the intensity of the secondary explosions as the Israel missiles detonated some of the much larger Iranian missiles which set off a chain reaction and a series of explosions so large that it registered as a mild (2.6 on the Richter scale) earthquake on sensors as far away as Europe. All these explosions killed 40 people, including 18 Iranians and 22 Iranian mercenaries. Another 60 people were wounded. At least 13 buildings, including some large warehouses, were destroyed or heavily damaged. The next day satellite photos were released showing the extent (considerable) of the damage (massive). In response of the attack the Israeli parliament voted to give the prime minister to declare war because it was obvious Iran was supporting preparations for another attack on Israel by Hezbollah and Iranian mercenaries in Syria.

April 28, 2018: In the south (Golan Heights) Hezbollah forces again fought with Syrian rebels near the Israeli border. Hezbollah and the Syrian army have been pushing Syrian rebels away from the border for over a year now. The fighting today continued over the weekend and on the 30th resulted in a stray mortar shell landing in Israel. There was return fire, as is often the case, especially when Hezbollah is involved.

April 23, 2018: Israeli defense officials have repeated warnings to Russia about delivering S-300 anti-aircraft systems to the Syrian government. Iran already has some S-300 systems. Israeli opposition is something the Russians have to take seriously. The Israelis recognize that the S-300 is a modern system that have impressive capabilities. What is not said is that Israel can defeat the S-300 but would prefer not to do so in Syria. That would expose some of the techniques Israel has developed to deal with the S-300 and enable Russia to create and install S-300 upgrades that would force Israel to develop new countermeasures. That would take time and meanwhile S-300 systems in Iran would be more dangerous to Israeli warplanes. But in the midst of all this Russian would be taking a hit as well because if the Israelis demonstrated in Syria that the S-300 could be defeated it would be much more difficult for Russia to sell these systems to export customers.

April 22, 2018: For the first time since October 2017 ISIL issued an official statement via the Internet. This one informed members and supporters about the new ISIL strategy. No surprises in that as the message repeated the call for ISIL members to return home, if possible, and organize terror attacks there. The primary ISIL targets are the apostate governments of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Gaza (Hamas) and the West Bank (Fatah). In addition the Taliban of Afghanistan is the main target in Afghanistan because the local ISIL branch competes with the Taliban to control drug smuggling routes that provide large amounts of cash that ISIL in Afghanistan needs to survive. For Israel the main ISIL message is that ISIL will not bother with Israel until it has overthrown the current apostate Moslem governments in the Middle East. So for the moment ISIL is admitting that Israel is not worth the effort (without saying carrying out attacks in Israel has proved to be nearly impossible). Syria, on the other hand, is worth some effort, as is Iraq.

April 20, 2018: In a continuing effort to discredit claims that Russian air defense systems failed in Syria a Russian official revealed that Russia had told the Americans where Russian forces were in the area where the missile attack was aimed and the American, British and French missiles avoided the Russian forces. This has been the agreement with Russia in Syria for years. The Americans have observed this protocol although the Russians have violated it a few times. Meanwhile American military analysts are openly claiming that the Russian air defense systems did not perform and the Russians want to counter this any way they can.

April 19, 2018: Iraqi warplanes carried out airstrikes against ISIL targets in Syria in coordination with the Assad government. These airstrikes continue but Iraq refuses to allow any ground forces (especially pro-Iran PMF units) to enter Syria.

April 18, 2018: Israel (quietly) and Saudi Arabia (openly) are trying to persuade the Americans to keep their troops in Syria. The U.S. recently announced that withdrawing American troops was a possibility although it appears all this has more to do with negotiations with Turkey over a number of issues, like membership in NATO and relations with the EU (European Union) and America. There is also little enthusiasm in the United States for continued American troop presence in Syria. The popular attitude is that Syria and Iraq are regional problems. The U.S. helped to destroy ISIL and that effort continues around the world. The U.S. remains committed to the defense of Israel and any Arab states who agree with that, but permanently stationing troops in the Middle East is very unpopular with Americans.
First responders, volunteers, Cheyenne County and Nebraska State Patrol dispatchers were honored May 10 for their response to a snow storm that crippled much of the Panhandle area April 13. "Your actions no doubt saved lives," said Gov. Pete Ricketts.

It started like most weekends. People joked about the luck of a Friday the 13th. Some watched the sky a little more cautiously when weather services predicted precipitation in the Nebraska Panhandle. When the skies turned gray, then to rain they watched a little closer, and as the wind drove the increasing snow the risk of "a real storm" increased until it became a reality with icy roads, drifting snow, closing businesses and stranding motorists.

For some, it was reminiscent of a time when hotels cared less about revenue and more about caring for people, when residents opened their homes to people in need, and many people were grateful for that kind of compassion as they suddenly found themselves miles from familiar faces, facing snow and cold, and closed roads.

Thursday, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts made a stop in Sidney to formally thank the many people and departments who responded to the crippling snowstorm.

The celebration began with Sidney City Council member Bob Olsen doing the introduction. Gov. Ricketts spoke after that, recalling the weather conditions of the day.

"We had a blizzard, white-out conditions," he said. "They people of the city sprang into action. That's the spirit of Nebraska."

He said the willingness of staff and volunteers in Sidney to step into action made a difference that day.

"Your action no doubt saved lives on April 13," he said. "Thank you, everybody, who was a part of it."

He estimated there were more than 300 vehicles stranded on the interstate, and more than 300 miles of roads closed in Nebraska due to the weather.

"People who did not plan on spending the night, spent the night in Sidney," he said.

Forrest Hershberger Nebraska State Patrol Supt. of Law Enforcement and Public Safety Col. John A. Bolduc, left, and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts contratulate Sidney High School Principal Chris Arent for the school's role in the April 13 snow storm response. The school district provided buses and drivers to transport stranded motorists to safety.

Thursday's event at the Sidney High School gymnasium was scheduled to thank the many responders - on duty and volunteers - who provided support during the storm.

Cheyenne County Sheriff John Jensen thanked local including the Sidney Volunteer Fire Department, Emergency Communications Center staff, Sidney High School officials for providing bus transportation for stranded motorists, community volunteers and the grocery stores who supported the response.

Sen. Steve Erdman referenced a passage from the Bible when commending the community response: "I was a stranger and you took me in..."

"That is exactly what happened," he said. "These things don't happen by accident. I want to say thank you for what you did."

Gov. Ricketts said this is what it means to be a Nebraskan.

"I am proud to be a Nebraskan. Nebraskans care about each other," he said.

In addition to the community response, Nebraska State Patrol troopers and dispatchers were recognized, as were highway workers for providing a safety zone with the sand trucks to troopers when responding to accidents.
While Spain languished under the Franco dictatorship's moral constraints, Torremolinos was opening the door to freedom, excess and diversity.

It was the sixties. In Plaza de La Nogalera and Pasaje Begona the nights were for living and the days were for sleeping. There opened the first gay bar in the country, Toni's Bar (in 1962) and the first lesbian club, Porquoi Pas? (in 1968). More local establishments like Fauno, Incognito and Dusseldorf soon opened alongside, completing the alley, which was totally unique for its era.

Although the predominant theme was LGBT, there were also restaurants frequented by families, flamenco venues, adult clubs and small jazz bars. The latest music was regularly played and modern drugs circulated freely. Dodging censorship, books arrived intact from London or Paris. A counter-cultural movement had taken seed, an open bar of excitement, alcohol, sex and art - the kind of lifestyle that was enjoyed by John Lennon and Sara Montiel. The money earned from tourism meant that authorities had been looking the other way for years.

Torremolinos became a mini New York, an uncontrolled, happy exception to the oppressive regime. Until 1971. On 24 June of that year a huge police raid took place, changing everything.

At 11pm, the police forced entry into all the establishments of the area, either closing them down or, at best, heavily fining them. They alleged offences against public morality and commonly accepted behaviour. Information from the era suggests that 139 people were arrested. Other reports raise the number to over 400, the majority being tourists.

Memories

The raids were triggered by complaints from the more conservative sectors of the province. Testimonies from the night are sparse, but Ramon Cadenas, a 73-year-old retired businessman, remembers it as if it were yesterday.

Pasaje will be declared place of historic remembrance The Andalusian Parliament has unanimously approved a decision to officially recognise the value of the former Pasaje Begona. The alley, now named Pasaje Gil Vicente, has made its first step towards becoming a 'Lugar de Memoria Historica y Democratica de Andalucia', a title that will pay tribute to its significant position within the political history of Spain. The motion was debated in the Seville parliament on 3 May and approved by every political group. Promoted by the recently formed Pasaje Begona Association, this process hopes to recover the area's previous image.

It was horrific. The police blocked all exits of the Pasaje Begona. They brought machine-guns. At first they came with four or five vans, but afterwards buses arrived too, to take all those who had been arrested, he said.

The most fortunate were freed from the police cells in the early hours with a fine of 3,000 pesetas. Tourists were deported back to their countries. It caused a scandal that angered the international press. The raid was covered by Der Spiegel, the most important weekly magazine in Germany. The Sunday Times reported on the story with the following headline Tourists held in nightclub raids in Spain.

On 25 June, SUR published The closure of Torremolinos establishments, including the Caramela club and bars Evans and Noe, has been ordered by the civil governor of the province (Victor Arroyo). The decision of the government is triggered by repeated infractions to the laws in force concerning public morality and commonly accepted customs.

Other local establishments such as Pipper's were fined 10,000 pesetas. Various foreign embassies protested against the Spanish government for the arrest of tourists, but the raids took place again over the following days.

Cadenas had opened a bar called Gogo, barely one month previously. The business lasted 29 days. They didn't arrest me during the first raid because I silenced all the customers and closed the door and the windows. When the police called we didn't answer, but afterwards, they arrested me many times. I called it the revolutionary tax, because you paid 3,000 pesetas and they let you free one or two days later, but this was unsustainable and I had to close.

Those raids were a blow to the fabric of the Torremolinos economy, which never recovered its splendour of the sixties. They were also an attack on freedom and sexual diversity.

It was the beginning of the end. The more modern and liberal people left for places like Ibiza, explains Torremolinos Chic, a website created by Jose Luis Cabrera and Lutz Petry: It's paradoxical that during the sixties there was more freedom then at the start of the seventies, when the censorship began to get worse.

The president of the Pasaje Begona Association, Jorge Perez, remembers that the area deteriorated after the raids. The festive atmosphere gave way to a row of empty establishments. The alley was all but deserted.

The restoration of democracy in Spain allowed Torremolinos to recover its position at the core of leisure and LGBT tourism, helped by the popularity of La Nogalera area. Today the former fishing village, free from the Franco dictatorship, has once again become the Andalusian capital of sexual diversity, years after the raids that changed everything.
China's domestically-built Y-20 large-scale transport aircraft recently conducted airborne and airdrop training with airborne troops of the PLA Air Force for the first time. This is another jump in the capability of the PLA Air Force's strategic delivery and long-range airborne combat capabilities.

The military expert Xu Yongling said that the Y-20 already possesses actual combat capability, which improves the overall combat level of the entire Chinese military and will help the PLA to train more talents for future new combat model.

Xu said that training of aircraft crews has been ongoing since the Y-20 was commissioned in 2016. The PLA Air Force is now conducting airdrop training, which indicates that the Y-20 is capable of transporting and delivering combat troops.

Speaking of the significance of the Y-20 to the Chinese Air Force, Xu said that large transport aircraft are a type of strategic equipment used by the Air Force throughout the military. The combat capability of the Y-20 will not only improve the combat effectiveness of the PLA Air Force, but also cause a great improvement in the combat effectiveness of the entire armed forces.

Xu pointed out that freedom of movement is the basic condition for military operations. In order to deliver appropriate troops, equipment and logistic support equipment to relevant regions in a very short period of time, the aircraft is the best tool.

Large transport aircraft are necessary for the military. The Y-20 helped the Chinese Air Force cross the threshold of becoming one of the strategic services, and therefore has great significance on improving the long-range combat capability of the entire military, Xu said.

Some media reported that theY-20 is only a transitional version as it only solved the problem of increasing Chinas production capacity for large aircraft platforms. The report said that the Y-20 did not use some of the advanced technology and the fuselage section is also traditional. The cargo tank is not wide enough from the long-term perspective.

Xu said that the next generation of China's military transport aircraft may not be much larger than the Y-20 in terms of tonnage, but load capacity may increase to 80 to 90 tons. It is critical to improve the economic and information-based combat capabilities of the aircraft.

"Military transport aircraft still have room for development. The Y-20 will play a transitional role and will help train more talents for the establishment of the PLA's future combat model," said Xu.

Paratroopers assigned to the airborne troops under the PLA Air Force prepare to board Y-20 transport aircraft prior to a parachute training exercise in central China's Henan Province on May 8, 2018. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Liu Bingbing)

Disclaimer: The authors are Qiu Yue and Mi Jin, reporters with People.cn. The article is translated from Chinese into English by the China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.
China's first domestically designed aircraft carrier, which displaces 50,000 metric tons, leaves the Dalian Shipbuilding Industry's shipyard in Liaoning province on Sunday.Li Gang / For China Daily

Editor's note: China's first domestically built aircraft carrier 001A started its maiden voyage on Sunday. Two experts share their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang on the aircraft carrier and the Chinese navy as a whole. Excerpts follow:

Stronger navy will safeguard peace

Compared with the Liaoning, China's first aircraft carrier, the first domestically built aircraft carrier 001A is a more advanced vessel in many respects. For example, its hull not only has been designed by Chinese engineers and designers, but also incorporates the latest technology.

Besides, the 001A's hangar, island (the superstructure of the carrier such as bridge and flight control tower), as well as ammunition lift have all been improved, and different sections of the vessel, such as the radar and electronic systems, better merge with each other. Thus it would not be an exaggeration to say the 001A marks a giant step forward compared with the Liaoning.

However, there is no truth to some Western media outlets' claim that an arms race is underway simply because China has built its second aircraft carrier. There is only one reason for China to strengthen its naval power: self-defense, that is, to defend its maritime boundaries and overseas interests.

Besides, from the First Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China was invaded by Western powers from the sea more than 470 times. As a result, generations of Chinese have wanted China to build a strong navy to prevent such invasions.

Zhang Junshe, a senior researcher at the PLA Naval Military Studies Research Institute

Navy won't be built beyond capacity

China's second aircraft carrier will improve the fighting capability of the People's Liberation Army Navy much more than what the Liaoning did. The reason: the Liaoning is more for scientific research than for combat and training purposes.

Besides, the fact that China can independently design and build an aircraft carrier reflects the huge progress the country's military industry has made. Therefore, it is fair to see the 001A as a new starting point of China's rising naval power. The use of advanced technologies to independently build an aircraft carrier will hopefully help China sharpen its technology edge.

Some Western media outlets have used the 001A to hype up the "China threat" theory. China does not need two aircraft carriers, they say. In fact, when the Liaoning sailed on its first voyage, they said China did not need any aircraft carrier at all.

That their intention is to weaken the PLA Navy is clear. Anyone with a common sense can see their statement is ridiculous. Just look at how many maritime interests China has: defending maritime boundaries, maintaining peace and stability along the two routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, and ensuring smooth maritime transportation. It cannot meet all these requirements with only aircraft carrier.

China won't build a navy that exceeds its needed capacity, because it is not seeking hegemony over or control of the oceans. Therefore, it won't build a navy as huge as the US'.

Yang Yi, former director of the Institute for Strategic Studies at the People's Liberation Army National Defense University
Syracuse, N.Y. -- An alarm monitoring company is seeking $400,000 in sales tax exemptions for $5 million in renovations and upgrades to its headquarters in Franklin Square.

Rapid Response Monitoring Services Inc. has applied to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency for an exemption from sales taxes on construction materials and furnishings as part of renovations to the original portion of its building at 400 W. Division St.

The agency will hold a public hearing on the request at its June 19 meeting and likely vote on it at the same meeting.

Rapid Response recently completed a 35,000-square-foot addition to its headquarters at a cost of more than $22 million. It originally planned to build a 20,000-square-foot addition at a cost of $12.5 million but expanded the project because of the company's growing space needs.

It said it now plans to renovate the original, 40,000-square-foot portion of the building to provide better flow for employees, create more usable space and make it match the energy efficiencies and working conditions of the newly constructed expansion.

The company also said it is expecting another spike in its growing customer base, which will require additional hardware, software and personnel.

Rapid Response employs 473 people in Syracuse. Its 410 hourly employees are paid an average of $16.47 an hour, and its 63 salaried employees make an average of $75,000 a year, according to the company's application. The company said it expects to create 100 more jobs over the next five years.

Rapid Response said it initially planned to renovate the original portion of the building at the same time it built the expansion but postponed the work because of costs.

The development agency approved a payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with the company in 2012 for the expansion. At the time, the company had 325 employees. The deal was estimated to save Rapid Response $738,000 in property taxes over 10 years and $500,000 in sales taxes.

In addition, the state is providing the company with $2.5 million in assistance for its recently completed expansion. Up to $1.2 million will come through an Upstate Revitalization Initiative grant, and up to $1.3 million was awarded through the Excelsior tax credit program in return for job creation commitments.

Founded in 1992 by alarm industry veterans Russell MacDonnell and Jeffrey Atkins, Rapid Response monitors burglar, fire and other alarms for commercial and residential customers throughout North America. The company is owned by MacDonnell, who serves as its chairman and CEO.

The company opened its office in Franklin Square in 2004.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Angel Sherpa in February paid Feher Rubbish Removal nearly $200 to pick up her trash for 56 weeks.

For nine weeks, the company picked up the trash at her Village Green home in Van Buren. Last week the company abruptly closed.

Sherpa, who had to rush to find a new hauler, now hopes she can get her money back.

Feher, Onondaga County's second largest private trash hauler, left towns, villages, residents and businesses scrambling to find new haulers when the company closed.

It is estimated Feher had tens of thousands of customers in Central New York and the Rochester area.

The closing also left some homeowners and businesses who paid ahead for trash service wondering if they will be able to get any money back.

Onondaga town officials said they have fielded a couple dozen phone calls from people seeking help to get refunds. Town officials said they tried to reach the company but they didn't get anyone to answer their calls.

Company officials have not spoken about the closing.

In Onondaga County, residents in the towns of Lysander, Van Buren, Elbridge, Marcellus, Onondaga and Otisco contract with their own private hauler. It's likely Feher had customers in those areas.

Whether or not individual customers and businesses can get their money back is unclear at this point, but experts said they should file complaints so they are on record as being owed money.

The state Attorney General's office said it has had four complaints, and the Better Business Bureau of Upstate NY said it has received about two dozen complaints.

Complaints with the AG's office can be filed by calling 800-771-7755 or online.

Melanie McGovern, a spokeswoman for the BBB, said if consumers paid by credit card they can contact their credit card company to stop the transaction.

Consumers also can file an online complaint with the BBB.

Feher lost its BBB accreditation in November 2017 after the company didn't respond to a complaint. Since then, Feher has not responded to any BBB complaints since March, she said. There are 16 unanswered complaints, McGovern said.

"We honestly don't know if people can get their money back, but it's wise to have a complaint on the record in case there is a settlement."

Solvay Bank filed a lawsuit Monday, saying Feher owes the bank, workers and others $2.8 million. The bank asked the judge to appoint a receiver to liquidate the business.

Feher also had municipal contracts with several towns and villages. Those communities have all signed on with new trash haulers.

Feher, a family-owned business in operation for more than 50 years, is based in Syracuse with offices in Geneva, Watertown and Utica, according to the company's web site. The company employed about 90 people, according to a former company executive.
CLAY, N.Y. -- A 70-year-old man fell 12 to 15 feet from a scaffold Monday afternoon in a freak accident involving a cable wire and a Liverpool school bus.

The man survived the fall, but was taken to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse for treatment, Onondaga County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jon Seeber said.

Employees of Capital Home Improvements, a roofing, window and siding company on Long Branch Road in the town of Geddes, were installing siding on a house, at 4953 Windgate Road in the town of Clay shortly before 3 p.m., Seeber said.

The workers removed a cable wire that went from a utility pole to the house so they could install the siding on the house, he said. Workers wrapped the wire around the scaffold, he said.

Doing that lowered the wire over the road, he said.

The cable wire was hanging low enough that it caught in the bus roof vent, which was open, Liverpool school district officials said.

"It snagged the wire," Seeber said. "It caused the wire to pull and yanked the scaffolding down with it."

The 70-year-old worker, who was on the scaffold, fell 12 to 15 feet, landing on an air conditioning unit.

"He made quite an impact on the air conditioning unit," Seeber said.

The worker's injuries are not considered life threatening, he said.

The bus driver and 12 students on the bus were not hurt. The Liverpool Central School District sent another bus to pick up the students to take them home, district officials said.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been notified and will follow up to investigate, Seeber said.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Albert "Al" Green stood on his front porch Monday night and looked out at the police lights, yellow "Do Not Cross" tape and officers searching for shell casings after a 26-year-old woman was shot in the head outside his Furman Street home.

"When this happens, it brings back memories," he said, "and it's not good."

His 35-year-old son, Iric T. Green Sr., was shot and killed Oct. 29, 2016 on McKinley Avenue in Syracuse. Police charged two men his murder, but only one was found guilty during a trial last fall.

Syracuse police said they are still searching for suspects in Monday night's shooting. The 26-year-old woman was shot at 10:50 p.m. outside Green's home, at 367 Furman St., police confirmed.

American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance took the woman to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, where she is in critical, but stable condition early Tuesday, city police spokesman Sgt. Richard Helterline said.

Police ask anyone with information about Monday night's shooting to call them at (315) 422-5222 or use the "SPD Tips" app.

"It's not safe out in the streets no more," Al Green said. "People don't think no more. They have no morals."

Green said he was down the street at his girlfriend's house watching Texas Rangers shortly before 11 p.m. when the couple heard gunshots.

At first, he thought he heard two shots. Then it sounded like two or three more. Then he heard sirens so he drove back home to see what was going on.

The city's shot spotter and a citizen alerted the Onondaga County 911 Center of the shots fired at 10:51 p.m. outside 367 Furman St., dispatchers said. When officers arrived, they found a woman with a gunshot wound to her head, according to police.

"I try to be in the house at night," said Green, who first moved to Furman Street in 1978, left and returned to buy his house in the mid-1980s. "It's not safe out in the streets anymore."

Green said every time he hears someone was shot or that there was another homicide, he thinks of what happened to his son.

"They took my son -- now the only thing I have to remember him by are my grandkids," Green said. "He had seven boys... now he has six."

Iric Green's 13-year-old son died about a month later, on Dec. 1, 2016. Iric had been caring for his sick son; he once asked his father what would happen if anything were to happen to him and he wasn't there to care for his son. "I guess he wanted to be with his son," Al Green said.

"Life has to go on, but (when someone shoots someone else), they not only hurt that person, but they hurt the whole family because we have to live with this," he said. "They have to stop and think...

"This right here," Al Green said, still looking at the shooting scene outside his home Monday night, "is not good. I still ain't over what happened to my son."
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- Syracuse police are investigating a report of a shooting Monday night on Furman Street, officials said.

Police were called to the backyard of 369 Furman St. at 10:51 p.m. for a report of someone who had been shot, according to unofficial police scanner reports.

The city's shot spotter notified the Onondaga County 911 Center of shots fired in the area of 367 Furman St. A citizen also called 911 to report hearing gunshots, dispatchers said.

City police and firefighters, and American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance were dispatched to the reported shooting on Furman Street, between Midland and Cortland avenues, according to 911 dispatchers.

Check back for updates.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The New York State Chinese Lantern Festival returns to Syracuse with all-new, handcrafted lanterns that illuminate when the sun sets. Located at the New York State Fairgrounds in the State Park at the Fair and in the International Building, the festival features two performances daily with Chinese acrobats, face-changers, jugglers, contortionists and dancers.



Enjoy local and international food and drink sold by a variety of vendors. Watch as artisans create hand crafted jewelry, bottle painting, paper lanterns, toys and more - the perfect souvenir of your evening at the Lantern Festival.



Open May 25-July 1, 2018

Weekdays (Tues.,Wed.,Thur., Sun.) 6:00 - 10 p.m.

Weekends (Fri., Sat.) 6:00 - 11 p.m.

Closed Mondays

New York State Fairgrounds

581 State Fair Blvd.

Syracuse, NY 13209



For more information: email events@advancemediany.com
South Edmeston, N.Y. -- The Chobani yogurt company's philanthropic arm plans to hand out $100,000 in grants annually to promote economic opportunity and entrepreneurship in four Central New York counties.

The Chobani Foundation said its Community Impact Fund will award grants of $15,000 to $30,000 each year, totaling $100,000 annually, to support organizations, schools, municipalities and agencies in Chenango, Delaware, Madison and Otsego counties.

A forklift operator at Chobani's yogurt plant in South Edmeston loads packages of Greek yogurt onto a truck for shipment to victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas on Aug. 30, 2017. The company donated 300,000 packages of yogurt to food banks and shelters in areas of Texas hit by massive flooding from the storm.

It said the grants will go to applicants that "think innovatively, act boldly and are passionate about making a difference in their communities."

"With this initiative, the Chobani Foundation has a simple goal: to strengthen local economies by funding big ideas right at home," the foundation said.

Examples of programs the foundation will look to fund include those that train young entrepreneurs, empower small business owners, provide resource development for farmers and school-to-work training pathways for students, it said.

The Community Foundation for South Central New York will assist the foundation in processing applications for the grants. Applications will be reviewed this summer, and grant awards will be announced in the fall.

Founded by Turkish immigrant Hamdi Ulukaya in 2007, Chobani employs approximately 1,000 people at its yogurt plant in the town of Columbus in Chenango County, near the hamlet of South Edmeston. Chobani is the best-selling Greek yogurt in the United States.

Michael Gonda, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Chobani, said the company will be looking for grant applicants who have "big, bold ideas that have transformational impacts on local towns."

"Our focus is making sure the towns in Central New York have a bright future," he said.

More information about the Community Impact Fund is available at donorswhocare.org/chobani/.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A proposal in front of the Syracuse Common Council this week would provide body cameras for 100 city cops this year, free of charge.

The mayor's office has requested the council approve an agreement with Axon (a private company formerly known as Taser), which would outfit city cops with cameras, at no expense, for one year.

If the city chooses to continue using the cameras after one year, it would cost $189,000 for the first year and $164,000 per year after that. The higher first-year figure is due to start-up costs.

There's no obligation to buy the equipment at the end of the trial year.

The city hopes to have the cameras in use by the end of May or early June.

In letters to the council, Mayor Ben Walsh and First Deputy Police Chief Joseph Cecile said the Axon program was the best deal they could find for the city.

"Our research has not discovered any other BodyCams company offering a free, full year field trial of equipment as broad-ranging as this one," they said.

The proposed legislation makes good on a plan several months in the making. First Deputy Chief Cecile said in March that the department would like to equip all officers with body cameras. He said he was working on a deal with Axon to get a pilot program in place.

At the time, the number of cameras was up in the air.

The department has had 16 cameras in use since last May -- part of a federal grant secured in 2016. The city applied for federal money to equip the department in 2015, but the application was thin and poorly developed compared to the request from other departments, like Rochester, which was awarded a $600,000 grant to purchased 500 cameras.

The Common Council will discuss the current proposal at a regularly scheduled study session Wednesday at City Hall at noon. The body could vote as early as its next meeting on Monday, May 21.
Syracuse, N.Y. -- As environmentalists headed to Albany today to protest a planned trash incinerator in the Finger Lakes, Gov. Andrew came out against it.

Cuomo issued a statement today saying the incinerator plan by a company called Circular enerG is "not consistent with my administration's goals for protecting our public health, our environment, and our thriving agriculture-based economy in the Finger Lakes."

The proposal submitted to the town of Romulus says the incinerator would burn up to 2,640 tons of garbage per day. The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency incinerator near Syracuse, burns about 990 tons per day.

Circular enerG would need approval from a state review board for the incinerator.

"Importing and burning municipal solid waste in one of the state's most environmentally sensitive areas is simply not appropriate," Cuomo said. "I'm confident that the Article 10 siting board will carefully consider these impacts and reject the project application if one is ever filed."

A coalition of local elected officials, wineries and Finger Lakes residents opposed to the incinerator went to Albany today to protest the incinerator. They want legislation passed that would give the town of Romulus final say on the incinerator.

The stack from the incinerator would reach 260 feet into the air. Every day, 176 trucks would haul trash in and out, although the company hopes to eventually use a rail line to bring 30 rail cars full of trash daily. The incinerator would draw 445,000 gallons of water a day from Seneca Lake.

Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251
Perinton, N.Y. -- The FBI conducted a search of Morgan Management LLC's offices in Monroe County Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into the development company's business practices, according to Rochester area media reports.

Agents were seen carrying boxes in and out of the company's headquarters at 1080 Pittsford Victor Road in the town of Perinton, according to the reports.

An FBI spokeswoman confirmed that agents conducted "court-authorized activity at 1080 Pittsford Victor Road," the Democrat & Chronicle reported. The company's founder, developer Robert Morgan, was in the office as agents conducted the search, the newspaper said.

The newspaper reported in September that a federal investigation is focused on bank loans to Morgan's real estate portfolio, which, according to the company's website, has grown to 140 properties and more than 34,000 apartment units across 14 states since the company's founding in 1979.

The investigation is centered largely on Buffalo-region apartment complexes purchased by Morgan's companies and whether the information the company gave lenders to obtain the loans was accurate, according to the newspaper.

However, the Buffalo News reported in March that the investigation includes a look at Morgan's purchase of the Rugby Square apartment complex on Dorchester Avenue in Syracuse. One of Morgan's companies borrowed $5.56 million to buy the apartment complex in a distress sale in 2012, then obtained a new $9 million mortgage on the property just 10 months later after reporting a major turnaround of the complex, the newspaper said.

Morgan has said his companies have done nothing illegal to obtain financing. No charges have been filed in connection with the investigation.

According to the company's website, Morgan operates 13 apartment complexes in the Syracuse area.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
Hundreds of homes in Skaneateles are selling for thousands and even millions of dollars over their assessed values, according to an analysis of real estate sales over the last five years.

That means some - especially some wealthy property owners - are not picking up their fair share of the property tax burden.

Town Assessor Michael Maxwell has sent letters to about 450 lakefront property owners advising them that their assessments have increased this year. They have not been reassessed since 2009.

As home sale prices soar throughout the town, the problem is not limited to lakefront property, records show.

Homes are also underassessed on village streets and some rural areas away from the lake.

About 40 homes assessed as condominiums are assessed at even lower amounts. Those owners are taking advantage of a loophole in state law that forces local assessors to base their value on a potential rental value, even though they are not for rent.

Most assessments are based on a home's sale value.

Use the search below to see the difference in assessed values and sale prices on residential real estate sold in Skaneateles over the last five years.

Just hit search to see all homes sold from 2013 to the middle of March 2018. Or use one of the filters to search for a specific address, seller or buyer. Click the condo box to see properties classified as condominiums.

The records come from the New York State Office of Real Property Tax Services. Syracuse.com updates sales records each week for Onondaga, Madison, Oswego and Cayuga counties.

to load this Caspio

Contact Michelle Breidenbach anytime:

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| 315-470-3186.
To the Editor:



This is National Police Week, as first designated by Congress for 1962 in recognition of "the contribution the police officers of America have made to our civilization through their dedicated and selfless efforts in enforcing the laws of our cities, counties, and States and of the United States, regardless of the peril or hazard to themselves."



Today is Peace Officers Memorial Day, honoring those who lost their lives in the line of duty. Sadly, the first such loss in the United States reportedly occurred in what is now the Northern District of New York in 1791, when Constable Darius Quimby was shot and killed in Albany County while attempting to arrest a man on a warrant. Since then, heroic officers murdered in the Northern District have included some whose assailants were convicted in federal court, such as Syracuse Police Detective and federal Task Force Officer Wallie Howard Jr., killed while working undercover in a drug investigation in 1990, and New Hartford Police Officer Joseph Corr, killed in 2006 while pursuing men who had robbed a jewelry store.



The annual FBI report released last week reflected a national total of 93 officers killed in the line of duty last year, including New York State Police Trooper Joel Davis, killed in Jefferson County last July. Next year's report will include Whitesboro Police Officer Kevin Crossley, killed in Oneida County last month while responding to a call. Each name emphasizes that one death is too many, and that point has been underscored by the Presidential Executive Order on "Preventing Violence Against Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Law Enforcement Officers" and Attorney General Jefferson Sessions' focus on enhancing law enforcement safety and reducing violent crime. With reverence for all those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, the United States Attorney's Office is committed to combating crimes of violence, and the drug, gun, and gang offenses that fuel them, and preserving public and police safety.



The rule of law is the cornerstone of our republic. It is how our constitutional rights and freedoms are guaranteed, and how we resolve disputes, preserve public safety, and secure justice based on fairness and reason. Our system works because of the dedication, courage and integrity of law enforcement officers who risk their lives to help people - all people - and confront danger so the rest of us can stay safe. Night and day, on weekends and holidays, in good weather and bad, throughout the 30,000 square miles of the Northern District, there are local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement officers on the job protecting our families, friends, communities and countryside.



As law enforcement at all levels collaborates to curtail violent crime, the cooperation of the public is a key component of community resilience and neighborhood safety. On this Peace Officers Memorial Day, that is a fitting tribute to our fallen heroes and an effective expression of gratitude for those who continue to protect and serve.



Grant C. Jaquith

United States Attorney

Northern District of New York
It happens every spring - and every spring the state Department of Environmental Conservation issues the same cautionary note: "If you care, leave it there."

The caution pertains to individuals interacting with newborn fawns and other young wildlife as the peak birthing season starts. Those who see a fawn or any other newborn wildlife should enjoy the encounter, but keep it brief, maintain some distance and do not attempt to touch the animal.

"New York is home to a diverse array of wildlife and natural habitats. To protect these resources we enourage New Yorkers and visitors to respect the environment and be aware that interactions with wildlife could be detrimental to their well-being," said DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos.

Many assume that young wildlife found alone - be it baby birds, rabbits, fawns, etc. -- are helpless and need assistance. However, human interaction typically does more damage than good.

The DEC said: "Young wildlife quickly venture into the world on shaky legs or fragile wings. While most are learning survival from one or both parents, some normally receive little or no care. Often wild animal parents stay away from their young when people are near. For all of these young animals, the perils of survival are a natural part of life in the wild."

Interaction with a baby fawn found by itself is a good example of how human interaction can be problematic.

According to the DEC: "Most fawns are born during late May and early June. Shortly after birth, while fawns are able to walk, they spend most of their first several days lying still. During this period, a fawn is usually left alone by the adult female (doe), except when nursing. People occasionally find a lone fawn and mistakenly assume it has been orphaned or abandoned, which is rare. Fawns should never be picked up. If human presence is detected by the doe, the doe may delay its next visit to nurse.

"A fawn's best chance to survive is to be raised by the adult doe. Fawns nurse three to four times a day, usually for less than 30 minutes at a time, but otherwise the doe keeps her distance. This helps reduce the chance that she will attract a predator to the fawn. The fawn's protective coloration and ability to remain motionless help it avoid detection by predators and people.

"By the end of its second week, a fawn begins to move about and spend more time with the doe. It also begins to eat grass and leaves. At about 10 weeks of age, fawns are no longer dependent on milk, although they continue to nurse occasionally into the fall. During August, deer begin to grow their winter coats and fawns lose their spots."

One final, important note. Young wildlife are not pets. "Keeping wildlife in captivity is both illegal and harmful to the animal. Wild animals are not well suited for life in captivity, and may carry diseases that can be transferred to humans, DEC said.

See a sick-acting wildlife, an animal acting abnormally? Keep yourself and your pets away and contact the closest DEC regional wildlife office. See the DEC website for frequently asked questions and answers pertaining to young wildlife.
WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has introduced a bill that would delay proposed tariffs on paper imported from Canada that supplies U.S. newspapers and other publishers.

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, said their bill will address a crisis facing U.S. newspapers and publishers representing more than 600,000 American jobs.

Their "Protecting Rational Incentives in Newsprint Trade Act" (PRINT Act) would suspend the import taxes of up to 32 percent on Canadian uncoated groundwood paper, known as newsprint.

The Maine senators, along with eight Democratic and Republican co-sponsors, say the tariffs have led to the highest newsprint prices seen in at least five years.

Collins said the tax threatens an industry many times larger than the Washington state paper mill that asked for the import tax in August 2017. The mill, with about 400 employees, is owned by a New York City investment firm.

"As a senator representing one of our nation's leading papermaking states, I have consistently fought for actions to ensure a level playing field for the domestic papermaking industry," Collins said. "In this case, however, one domestic mill owned by a venture capital firm appears to be taking advantage of trade remedies to add to its own bottom line, putting thousands of American jobs at risk."

The PRINT Act would delay the tariffs and require the U.S. Commerce Department to complete a study within 90 days on the economic health of the newsprint industry and newspaper industry in the United States.

The bill would also postpone any action by the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission on newsprint tariffs until the president receives the report and certifies that the taxes are in the economic interests of the United States.

The PRINT Act is co-sponsored by Sens. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., Doug Jones, D-Ala., Deb Fischer, R-Neb., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Roger Wicker, R-Miss., Johnny Isakson, R-Ga. and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., the Senate Democratic leader, also opposes the tariff and has asked the Commerce Department to reconsider the decision.

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
A state legislator from Central New York will play a leading role in selecting a successor to former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who resigned last week after a report that he physically assaulted four women.

Assemblyman Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, is one of eight Assembly and Senate members appointed to a bipartisan panel that will begin interviewing potential appointees in a public session at 2 p.m. today.

Under the New York Constitution, the state Legislature has the power to fill the vacancy for the attorney general's job with a temporary appointment until Schneiderman's term expires at the end of the year.

Barclay, an eight-term Republican and deputy minority leader of the Assembly, said the special panel of lawmakers will review resumes of 16 candidates for the appointment and make recommendations to the full state Legislature.

Barclay said he was pleased that legislative leaders agreed to a transparent process in which the interviews will be livestreamed to the public.

"I definitely think it should be an open process," Barclay said "There's a concern whenever the legislature gets to make an appointment to a statewide office -- you don't want a backroom deal."

The special committee will be chaired by Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, D-Brooklyn. The others appointed to the panel are Assembly members Jeffrey Dinowitz, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, Matthew Titone and Brian Curran; and Senate members Martin Dilan and Brad Hoylman.

Barclay is one of two Republicans on the panel, which is controlled by Democrats because they hold the majority in the Assembly.

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said candidates for the temporary appointment will be given a chance to publicly discuss their qualifications and answer questions from legislators. After today's session, the interview process is expected to continue at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Contact Mark Weiner: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's royal wedding will take place Saturday at Windsor Castle oceans away, there is an Upstate New York connection.

The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, who was ordained in Buffalo, will join two British ministers in officiating the service.

Curry, 65, is the first African-American to have served as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, an offshoot of the Church of England in the United States, according to reports. Born in Chicago, he moved to Buffalo at age 3, lived on Hamlin Road, and attended Buffalo public schools. He graduated from Hutchinson Central Technical High School.

His father is the late-Rev. Kenneth Curry, an outspoken civil rights activist and rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Buffalo, who helped bring an end to segregated schools in Buffalo.

According to his biography on the Episcopal Church's website, Curry graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva in 1975. He received a Master of Divinity degree in 1978 from Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, CT. He also furthered his education with continued study at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary, and the Institute of Christian Jewish Studies.

Curry was ordained a deacon in St. Paul's Cathedral in Buffalo in June 1978 by the Rt. Rev. Harold B. Robinson and to the priesthood in December 1978, at St. Stephen's, Winston-Salem, NC, by the Rt. Rev. John M. Burgess.

Curry, a Bills fan, has been active in issues of social justice and speaking out on immigration policy and marriage equality throughout his ministry.

In an announcement, Curry stated the following:

"The love that has brought and will bind Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle together has its source and origin in God, and is the key to life and happiness. And so we celebrate and pray for them today."

In December of 2016, Curry visited Syracuse and led a worship at Grace Episcopal Church, following the Ordination and Consecration of Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe.


One of Syracuse University's newest graduates received more than just a diploma on Saturday.

Allison Clark, 22, graduated from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications last weekend, and her family, her boyfriend and his family were all there to watch.

After the ceremony, they all headed outside to take some pictures. Brett Aston, Clark's boyfriend and a 2017 SU graduate, carefully slipped a small, blue box out of his mom's purse when Clark wasn't looking and tucked it into his suit jacket pocket.

They walked out to the Kissing Bench -- a nondescript, concrete bench in front of the Hall of Languages -- both their families armed with cameras.

Clark sat on the bench, smiling wide for a photo, when Aston got down on one knee.

"When we sat down, I thought we were just going to kiss," Clark said. "The face that you see in the video is the face of like five million emotions all at once."

The Kissing Bench has always been special for the two.

When Clark first toured Syracuse University, she learned about the bench and the lore behind it -- if you kiss your significant other on the bench, you'll get married and live happily ever after, she explained.

While Clark was home for winter break in 2014, she and Aston, 24, actually met through Tinder -- even though they'd later realize they grew up just minutes apart from one another and graduated from the same high school in Ventura, California.

"We met for coffee and we sat there and talked for like three or four hours," Clark said. "It just felt like we already knew each other."

When Aston transferred to Syracuse from Santa Barbara City College, Clark told him about the bench. He said he started to notice it more and more often when he walked across campus, and it just made sense to him to propose there.

"She actually told me about the Kissing Bench right when I started going here," Aston said. "Every time I see this bench, this is where I see our future starting."

He started planning the proposal back in October, and struggled to keep the surprise from Clark the last seven months.

"It's just been crazy trying to keep this secret," Aston said. "It was literally torture."

Congrats to Whitman alum Brett Aston '17 and fiancee!



"After eight months of keeping the biggest secret of my life, I finally asked my best friend to spend the rest of our lives together," said Aston. #SUGrad18 pic.twitter.com/b9Hn7GtI6g  Whitman School at SU (@WhitmanatSU) May 13, 2018

The two are moving to New York City later this month, and said they're not in a hurry to pick a date. They want to take a few years to focus on their careers, even though it didn't take long for them to know how good of a fit they are together.

"Honestly, since we met, we've been weirdly like each other," Aston said. "Early on I was like, 'Yeah, I could see myself with this girl like forever.'"

Follow Georgie Silvarole on Twitter @gsilvarole.
Jeanette Ortiz - a 14-year Chipotle veteran before she was fired in 2015 - was awarded nearly $8 million by a California jury in Fresno County Superior Court for loss of wages, as well as damage to her reputation and emotional and mental distress.

On Monday, she and her attorneys settled with Chipotle for a separate, confidential amount - apparently in lieu of punitive damages, which could have run as high as nine times the nearly $8 million award. This put an end the three-year ordeal that had branded the mother of nine a criminal.

"She's the American Dream, she's just a hard-working person. And when you call somebody a thief, you destroy their life," Ortiz's attorney, Warren Paboojian, said after Monday's verdict. "That's the ultimate. You're not going to be able to get a job anywhere with that label hanging over her head."

Ortiz could not be reached for comment. Paboojian said she worked 50 hours a week as a general manager at the Mexican fast-casual chain, making $72,000 a year. When Ortiz was fired in January 2015, she was up for a promotion under which she would have been paid $100,000 a year. For years, Ortiz had received glowing performance reviews.

Last week's verdict was first reported by the Fresno Bee.

Paboojian said that in fall 2014, the Chipotle location where Ortiz worked had an extra $626 on hand after an armored car that routinely came to swap large bills for smaller denominations did not show up, according to court documents. Paboojian said Ortiz found the extra money, sealed and stapled it in a manila envelope, and contacted the corporate office to flag the extra cash. She then put the money in a safe in view of a surveillance camera.

That December, Ortiz filed a workers' compensation claim while suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome. Paboojian said her bosses were unhappy that she would be missing work and that Ortiz believed she was fired because of her disability.

On Jan. 3, 2015, Ortiz texted her boss and two other superiors to say the money was missing from the safe, Paboojian said. She told them she had last seen the money on Dec. 30, along with another assistant manager.

At that point, the store brought in another manager who looked at the surveillance footage and said it showed Ortiz taking the money and putting it in her backpack on Dec. 29 - a charge she denied.

When she asked to see the footage, the employees told her that was against corporate policy.

But Paboojian said there is no written policy that dictates whether employees can be shown video footage in these cases.

"They use that lack of corporate policy as a weapon against their employees when they want to get rid of them," he said.

In court, Paboojian said Ortiz's bosses recorded over the tape and deleted text messages and other notes detailing why they fired Ortiz, the Bee reported.

Still, Robert Hinckley, an attorney for Chipotle, told jurors that the company has a policy of not showing video evidence to employees, the Bee reported. Hinckley did not return a request for comment.

On Monday morning, a Chipotle spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation. The spokesperson did not respond to a follow-up email asking whether it is company policy to not show employees video footage. The spokesman also did not respond to questions after the case was closed.

Paboojian told The Post that surveillance footage in the store tapes over itself periodically.

"If you don't clip parts or save it, you can just let 45 days run and then it just tapes over and they say 'oops,' " Paboojian said.

Last week, Hinckley told jurors that it was a mistake that the footage was lost, according to the Bee.

Hinckley told jurors that while Ortiz's bosses had no ill will toward her, they felt betrayed when she allegedly stole the money because the company had supported her through four pregnancies and four worker's compensation claims, the Bee reported.

"She was well-liked. She was a valued employee. But she violated that trust by taking the money," Hinckley told the jury, according to the Bee.

Hinckley also told jurors that Ortiz was struggling financially around the time her bosses accused her of stealing the cash. Ortiz had borrowed $1,700 from a relative to pay an electric bill, and she had to move from her house to a smaller apartment. Ortiz also told a colleague that she had taken on a second job, the Bee reported.

But in court, Paboojian noted that just because people are strapped for cash doesn't mean they are thieves.

Paboojian told The Post that four other people had access to the safe. The money has not been recovered.

By Paboojian's recollection, the total damages awarded to Ortiz were Fresno County's the second-largest employment verdict.

"It's a large verdict, but it's large because of the impact that an employer can have on somebody when they call them a thief," Paboojian said.

Since she was fired, Ortiz has not been able to find work, Paboojian said. Whenever she applied for jobs, she would have to note on her resume that she was terminated and tell potential employers that she was fired for stealing.

Chipotle did not know whether any of Ortiz's bosses would face any punishment.

"We'll have to wait and see," he said. "That's up to Chipotle."
Experts assembled by an Australian TV news show believe the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was a possible murder-suicide.



The plane disappeared with 239 people on board over four years ago and the aircraft still hasn't been found.



"60 Minutes Australia" brought together several aviation experts to discuss the crash and they believe the pilot, Zaharie Shah, slammed the plane into the Indian Ocean on purpose, according to CBS News.



"He was killing himself," said Larry Vance, a Canadian Air crash investigator, according to CBS. "Unfortunately, he was killing everybody else on board and he did it deliberately."



The team of experts also included an oceanographer, a veteran pilot and the former Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief in charge of investigating MH370, according to The Washington Post.



The experts said Shah was able to easily avoid detection by radar and satellites because he wanted to, according to the Post. He was a veteran pilot and knew what he was doing, the experts said.



At one point, Shah flew near the border of Malaysia and Thailand, crisscrossing the airspace of both to avoid drawing too much attention from controllers.



The experts theorized that Shah depressurized the plane, knocking out anyone aboard who wasn't wearing an oxygen mask. That would explain the plane's silence as it veered wildly off course, the Post said.



Some of the experts also said wreckage indicated someone was in control of the plane until its crash, according to CBS. Earlier investigators theorized the plane was in a "death dive" with no one in control.



The Australian Transport Safety Bureau's final report said authorities were no closer to knowing the reasons for the plane's disappearance or to finding the exact location of its crash.



An American company has scanned the Indian Ocean floor in search the plane and found no sign, according to the New York Daily News.



Several family members of MH370 victims told CBS the theories about Shah are nothing new. Some said they will not be convinced of anything without forensic evidence.



Shah's family said "pointing a finger toward him does not make them expert investigators - they have to find the plane," according to CBS. Malaysia Airlines didn't respond to requests for comment, CBS said.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Strong thunderstorms could bring damaging winds and quarter-size hail to Upstate New York this afternoon.

The best chance for severe weather is in the Southern Tier, Catskills and Hudson Valley, although strong storms are possible anywhere south of I-90.

"Conditions will become favorable for strong to severe storms around noon today, developing over the central Southern Tier and tracking rapidly to the east and southeast through the afternoon," said the National Weather Service's Binghamton office.

The Southern Tier, Catskills and Hudson Valley have the highest odds for severe storms in Upstate New York today.

Storms could drop heavy rainfall -- up to 1 inch in a short period of time.

"Urban and poor drainage areas are at risk for minor flooding," the weather service said. The storms will move quickly, though, at about 40 mph, and that will help limit flooding concerns.

A round of showers blew through Upstate this morning, dropping a quarter of an inch of rain in some places. Those clouds are clearing out now, and the sunlight will heat up the ground and fuel this afternoon's storms.

Showers and thunderstorms in the Midwest are heading for Upstate New York.

Satellite images and radar show a new round of showers and thunderstorms developing in northern Indiana and central Ohio that are likely to reach Upstate this afternoon.

Things will dry out Wednesday and Thursday, but rain could return for the weekend.

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China is seriously concerned about the violent clashes in the Gaza Strip and has called on both Israel and Palestine to exercise restraint, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel on Monday to protest against the United States relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Over 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 injured in violent clashes with Israeli forces.

Spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing that China is seriously concerned about the confrontations that caused mass casualties and opposes violent action targeting civilians.

"We have called on both Israel and Palestine, especially the Israeli side, to keep restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions," Lu said.

The issue of Jerusalem's status and ownership is highly complicated and sensitive, Lu said. "The Chinese side holds that in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, peace talks between Palestine and Israel should be resumed as soon as possible and the final status of Jerusalem should be settled through dialogues."

China supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and supports the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

China stands ready to work with relevant parties of the international community to make contributions to the final proper settlement of the Palestine issue.
Candidates named in city and school elections

With the passing of the filing deadline for the upcoming city and school election, several area governing bodies including the City of Tama and ...
China's first domestically-built aircraft carrier set out on its maiden sea trial on Sunday morning. Senior Captain Lai Yijun, the commander of the new carrier, had his debut on that day.

Lai is reported to have been the captain of the guided-missile frigate Lianyungang (Hull 522) and the leader of a frigate squadron of the East China Sea Fleet of the Chinese PLA Navy. Lai was honored as an excellent commanding officer of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in 2010.

Lai Yijun is the third aircraft carrier captain publicly disclosed by the Chinese military. The other two are Zhang Zheng, former captain of Liaoning(Hull 16), and Liu Zhe, current captain of Liaoning. Zhang Zheng also appeared in the report of the sea trail. Zhang became a commanding officer at the level of corps in April 2017. This indicates that he is now the commander of China's home-grown aircraft carrier formation.

Chinese military experts said that a former aircraft carrier captain is uniquely advantaged as the commander of aircraft carrier formation. The unique advantage lies in the fact that a carrier captain is familiar with various situations and understands the operation of the aircraft carrier itself, the coordination between the carrier and its affiliated ships, cooperative combat operations and system operations of ship borne aircraft. So that, he is able to correctly command the aircraft carrier formation, and improve combat effectiveness and give full play to the role of the aircraft carrier formation as a whole.

The three aircraft carrier captains, Lai Yijun, Zhang Zheng and Liu Zhe, demonstrate the common characteristics of the Chinese naval commanding officers in recent years including youthfulness and international professionalism. They are all at a prime age to become aircraft carrier captains.

All three captains have good English skills. Zhang Zheng can talk with foreign military leaders directly in English while Lai Yijun once studied at the PLA University of Foreign Languages.

It is also necessary to have adequate specialized skills and professionalism to serve as an aircraft carrier captain. All the three captains have grown up step by step from grass-roots units. All three served on the frigates and as captains of surface ships. Zhang Zheng served as captain of a modern class destroyer. Liu Zhe served as captain of a new type of frigate and Lai Yijun served as the captain of frigate Lianyungang (Hull 522). In addition, they all came from the same destroyer unit of the East China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy.

On the other hand, the three captains have their own characteristics.

Zhang Zheng joined the military after graduating from Shanghai Jiaotong University's automatic control science program and later studied warship commanding at the PLA Dalian Naval Academy. Liu Zhe was recruited as an army officer after graduating from the People's Public Security University of China, and later obtained a doctorate in strategic science from the PLA Academy of Military Sciences. Zhang Zheng also served as a deputy commander of an aviation division of the under the PLA Air Force.

However, Lai Yijun is the only captain educated from military academies. Lai graduated from the missile program of the PLA Dalian Naval Academy.

Zhang Zheng and Lai Yijun all have experienced studying overseas. Zhang studied at the Joint Services Command and Staff College in the UK in 2001.

Liu once served as deputy captain of Liaoning aircraft carrier. With the development of China's aircraft carrier fleet, it is very likely that the carrier captain will continue to be drawn from carrier officers.

Disclaimer: The author is Guo Yuandan, reporter with the Global Times. The article is translated from Chinese into English by the China Military online. The information, ideas or opinions appearing in this article are those of the author from the Global Times and do not reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn. Chinamil.com.cn does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same. If the article carries photographs or images, we do not vouch for their authenticity.
The European Union on Monday warned Britain time was running out to seal a Brexit deal this fall and ensure London does not crash out of the bloc next March, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.

May's spokesman, however, said the "focus is on getting this right" rather than meeting a deadline.

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told 27 ministers of the bloc meeting in Brussels on Monday that "no significant progress" had been made in negotiations with London since March, the Bulgarian chairwoman of the talks said.

Diplomats and officials in Brussels have raised doubts about whether the bloc and London will be able to mark a milestone in the negotiations at the summit of EU leaders on June 28-29.

The current schedule puts progress in June as an important step towards a final Brexit deal in October, which would leave enough time for an elaborate EU ratification process before the Brexit day. "October is only five months from now and still some key issues related to the withdrawal agreement need to be settled.

In June we need to see substantive progress on Ireland, on governance and all remaining separation issues," said Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva of Bulgaria, which holds the EU's rotating presidency.


DRG has formed a partnership with The Format Factory, a new unscripted sister company to Free@Last TV, launched by Free@Last founders and joint creative directors Barry Ryan and David Walton.

Free@Last TV, producers of crime-comedy-drama Agatha Raisin, is now dedicated to scripted content, with all other genres coming over to the new Format Factory business.

DRG and The Format Factory will work together to develop new format ideas, which DRG will then look to place with broadcasters internationally. In addition, DRG will support The Format Factorys existing slate.

The Format Factory positions itself as a creative capital hub, representing both creative content and IP owners. Many of the initial formats will come from the Free@Last TV catalogue, including tribute artist biography show Legendary, interactive singing format Bouncing Ball, reality TV reinvention format Nashvilified and biography format Hello! I Thought You Were Dead. In addition, the business also has large-scale concert format Celebration.

Currently the company has working partnerships with producers and content generators including David Hedges, the UK-based producer who adapted Queer Eye for the Straight Guy for the UK in 2003. Hedges has various shows in development through The Format Factory  including austerity property show House of Card and stripped quiz show Buy The Letter. The business is also working on several projects with Birmingham-based independent producer Benjamin Field, including a global dancing format as well as shows from producer Vincent Woodward and Moli Leap Productions.

Kate Cundall, DRGs SVP acquisitions, negotiated the deal with The Format Factory, she comments: The Format Factory is an interesting business and Barry and David have a real knack of zeroing in on great ideas. However, one of the main reasons we wanted to work with them was that they have a collaborative development approach similar to our own: they are already bringing great talent into The Format Factory and nurturing it to create stand-out properties.

Richard Halliwell (pictured), DRGs CEO adds: DRG, with its international experience, understanding of what works globally and years of successfully placing formats such as The Farm, Dont Tell the Bride and Catch Phrase in territories worldwide, will add a further dimension to the whole process. Our support is always end-to-end: in addition to providing creative and financial backing to our own producer partners in the early stages, we also work closely with local producers and broadcasters in acquiring territories to offer help and ensure format integrity is retained.

Barry Ryan adds: The Format Factory is a way of using the expertise and properties that we had before we went into scripted production at Free@Last. We have a huge catalogue of existing IP and a large slate in development, all of which will benefit hugely from some of DRGs creative and commercial thinking  as well as financial support. Were looking forward to working with DRG and showing the market just what we have.

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China said Monday it is sending an envoy to the United States this week for talks aimed at cooling a trade dispute that threatens to upend markets from soybeans to steel, and welcomed comments by President Donald Trump hinting at a possible easing of sanctions on embattled Chinese telecoms firm ZTE.

The foreign ministry said Vice Premier Liu He will visit the U.S. from Tuesday to Saturday for consultations with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also said China appreciated tweets by Trump saying he would help ZTE Corp. get "back into business" because too many jobs in China are at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to ZTE's American suppliers.

"We think highly of the U.S. statement regarding ZTE's case. We are currently in close communication over details of the implementation," Lu told reporters at a daily news briefing.

Referring to Liu's visit, Lu said China was willing to work with the U.S. to "strive for positive and constructive outcomes from the next round of economic and trade discussions."


An Asiana Airlines aircraft collided with a Turkish jet on the runway at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey on Sunday. The accident caused a brief fire on the Turkish plane but no one was injured.

Asiana flight OZ552 bound for Seoul was preparing to take off at 5:30 p.m. when its right wing hit the other plane's tail fin, snapping it off and causing a fire in the rear section of the Turkish plane. The fire was soon brought under control by fire fighters.

Asiana said no casualties were reported among the 222 passengers on board its aircraft. The flight was canceled, however, stranding most of the passengers for a day. Those who were unable to find tickets for alternate flights were put up in a nearby hotel for the night.
The push to allow Louisiana voters to decide whether to require unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases cleared a final procedural hurdle in the Legislature on Tuesday, with the Senate approving by a 28-7 vote a slightly revised bill that had already cleared the House.

The measure to change the state constitution now heads to the Nov. 6 ballot. If passed by a simple majority of voters, Louisiana would join 48 other states in requiring unanimous jury votes for either conviction or acquittal.

"Very seldom do we have something of this magnitude, this historic, that enjoys such wide bipartisan support," said Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, who sponsored the bill. The bill cleared the House on Monday by an 82-15 vote.

Bills calling a vote on a constitutional amendment must be approved by a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate.

Under current law, only 10 of 12 jurors must agree to a verdict  whether guilty or not guilty  for it to be legally valid. Oregon is the only other state with such a law.

Louisiana's allowance for such split verdicts was enshrined in the 1898 state constitution after a notoriously racist constitutional convention that was explicitly organized to disenfranchise newly empowered black citizens. The original rule required only nine of 12 jurors to concur with a verdict; that bar was raised to 10 in 1974.

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'It's time': Louisiana House backs letting voters decide on controversial jury verdict law For the first time since its birth in the Jim Crow era, a Louisiana law that allows juries to return non-unanimous verdicts in felony trials w

The bill approved by the Senate on Tuesday had already cleared the body once, by a 27-10 vote, on April 4. But it had to be approved again because the House amended the measure to clarify that the new rule, if adopted, would not apply retroactively.

Seven senators voted against the bill Tuesday: Jim Fannin, R-Jonesboro; Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales; Neil Riser, R-Columbia; John Smith, R-Leesville; Francis Thompson, D-Delhi; Michael Walsworth, R-West Monroe; and Bodi White, R-Baton Rouge. All seven also voted against it on April 4.

Two senators who opposed the bill last month  Ryan Gatti, R-Bossier City, and Rick Ward, R-Port Allen  voted in support Tuesday. A third, Gerald Long, R-Winnfield, was absent.

The bill does not require any action from Gov. John Bel Edwards, and he cannot veto it. But the governor has said he supports the change, and he reiterated that support Tuesday.

"Im going to encourage the people of Louisiana to vote for it," he said. "Were an outlier in the country, and theres no doubt if you go back and look at what was meant by the founding fathers when they guaranteed a right to a trial by jury, they contemplated a unanimous jury. And so we ought to get in line with the other states across the country for these felony convictions. So Im encouraging the people of Louisiana to look at this ballot initiative when it comes up this fall and to vote for this change in our constitution."
A North Korean mouthpiece in Japan on Monday demanded the return of a group of North Korean women who defected from a restaurant in China in 2016.

In a reunion of families separated by the Korean War scheduled for August, "their sorrow of separation should be alleviated. And the victims of an abduction, a plot to make the political use of them, should be sent immediately back" to their families, the Choson Sinbo newspaper said.

In high-level cross-border talks in January, North Korean delegates also demanded their return and that of another female defector from Pyongyang, identified as Kim Ryon-hi, as a precondition to resume the family reunions.

North Korea claims the women were abducted by South Korea's National Intelligence Service, and the restaurant manager has suggested on TV that they did indeed have help from intelligence agents.

Kim arrived in South Korea in 2011 but has been asking the government here to send her back to the North, claiming that she was duped by a broker. The Choson Sinbo also called for Kim's immediate return Monday.

One researcher with a state-run think tank here said the North "seems to be trying to stir up the community of defectors and fan conflict within South Korean society" ahead of a summit with the U.S.

North Korean propaganda outlet Meari said, "If reunification materializes, the traitors who should be tried before the nation first are none other than the defectors."

Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia reported that the bodies of North Koreans who were shot trying to flee to China across the Apnok River last winter are floating to the surface as the weather warms.


A bill to strengthen and modernize Louisianas anti-bestiality law finally passed the Senate Monday and will head to the governor for approval after surprise backlash throughout the legislative process.

Senate Bill 236 by Sen. JP Morrell, D-New Orleans, passed in a 36-1 vote after lawmakers approved House amendments. The changes placed more emphasis on psychological evaluations, differentiating between molestation of children and animal sexual abuse, and granting judges greater discretion in determining when an offender can interact with animals again, Morrell said.

Ten senators voted against the bill in its original appearance.

Mondays lone opposition, Sen. John Milkovich, D-Shreveport, said he opposed the bill because he was informed by staff members the bill jeopardized support services for children. Morrell said the measure forges a new area of state law, making that impossible.

SB236 makes it illegal to have sex with an animal, observe or assist a person having sex with an animal, solicit animal sex online, or possess and traffic pornographic material of animals engaging in sex with humans, among other acts.

Those guilty under the new law would serve up to five years in prison and face up to $2,000 in fines. They would also receive mental health treatment, undergo a sexual offender program and have access to animals limited. Penalties were more stringent in cases of serious bodily injury or death to the animal, with offenders facing fines between $5,000 and $25,000 and prison time up to 10 years.

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Bill to toughen Louisiana anti-bestiality law advances over some objections An effort to create a standalone bestiality law separate from Louisianas unconstitutional sodomy statute passed another hurdle in the Legisla

Morrells bill makes sexual abuse of an animal an independent crime from Louisianas existing bestiality statute. The current law is included in the states crimes against nature law, the sodomy portion of which was deemed unconstitutional after the Supreme Courts 2003 decision in Lawrence v. Texas.

The bill, which Morrell brought at the behest of the Humane Society, caused a surprise stir after opponents accused the New Orleans Democrat of using the bill as an underhanded attempt to dismantle the states sodomy laws.

Why bid to toughen Louisiana anti-bestiality law is drawing unexpected pushback In Louisiana, a proposal to strengthen the law against bestiality is facing unexpected opposition from conservative lawmakers who see it as an

Morrell said the move was unconnected to his support for the LGBT community and was focused on curtailing animal sexual abuse in ways the currently murky crimes against nature statute fails to do.
Legislation aimed at cushioning the expected drop in public school letter grades won final legislative approval Tuesday.

The House approved the plan 89-0.

The proposal, Senate Bill 152, won Senate approval earlier.

Under the measure, the state would be required to issue two public school letter grades and two school performance scores when the results are unveiled, possibly in November.

One of the grades would reflect how students fared under Louisiana's previous, more generous grading system.

The other would show how they performed under a new setup aimed at making state ratings more rigorous.

The state has five achievement levels.

The change is part of an effort to require students to gradually average at the second highest of those levels  called mastery  to be an A-rated school.

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Public school report cards worry Louisiana Legislature; here's how new plan to soften expected drop in grades works State leaders are taking the unusual step of enacting a law to soften the blow when lots of public school letter grades decline later this year.

Under the previous rules, schools got 125 points for students who score mastery.

The new rules mean mastery will generate 100 points.

+2 No more curve: School letter grades on Tuesday will be last of their kind When public school letter grades are released on Tuesday, it will mark the end of a generous scoring system sparked mostly by the tougher acad

The state has already taken other steps, including a revised grading scale, to help soften the move to more stringent rules.

However, the number of F-rated schools is expected to rise sharply and the ranks of A-rated schools shrink when grades are issued later this year.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the legislation.
Two players on the New Orleans Saints NFL team are voicing their support for legislation that seeks to restore voting rights to some felons in
Amid heavy criticism, a Senate-passed anti-bullying bill was killed Tuesday in the House Education Committee.

The measure, Senate Bill 303, was touted as a way to put teeth into Louisiana's initial measure on bullying, which was enacted in 2012.

"This is about the kids," said state Sen. John Milkovich, D-Shreveport and sponsor of the legislation.

But the plan was opposed by the Louisiana School Boards Association, Louisiana Association of School Superintendents and others.

A motion to shelve the bill by Rep. Polly Thomas, R-Metairie, won approval without objection.

Thomas said that, if schools are not taking appropriate steps when bullying occurs, it it up to the state Department of Education to ensure that they do so.

"No one wants to hear that children have taken extraordinary steps to escape their pain," Thomas said. "But I don't think your bill is the appropriate avenue for stopping bullying."

Milkovich said six students have committed suicide after experiencing bullying at school.

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"The deaths are what is happening with the current procedures in place," he told the committee.

Milkovich said current rules need strengthening "so we can prevent any more of these children from ending up in coffins."

House Education Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, objected to a poster brought in by Milkovich with photos of children he called suicide victims.

"These are minor children and I just have some concerns about your holding up their pictures and their names," Landry said.

The measure would add to existing rules, including a requirement that, within 24 hours, teachers and others would have to report bullying incidents to law enforcement and the victim's parents or legal guardian.

Also, school employees could use "reasonable force, physical restraint" when they see a bullying incident and could have the student removed from the campus.

The bill spelled out protections for teachers and others who intervene in bullying incidents.

Also, the proposal would allow students who do the bullying to be transferred to another school.

A similar bill by Milkovich won Senate approval last year before dying in the House.
Gov. John Bel Edwards announces his intent to call a special session to deal with the fiscal cliff starting Tuesday May 22nd and ending June 4th as part of legislative action Monday May 14, 2018, in Baton Rouge, La. Plans are for the regular session now meeting to adjourn Friday May 18th.
Bulletproof backpacks would be legal in public schools under a bill that breezed through the Legislature, nearing final approval Tuesday.

The measure, Senate Bill 178, cleared the House 82-6 after a brief discussion.

Legislation to legalize bulletproof backpacks nears final approval A bill that would legalize bulletproof backpacks in public schools moved within one step of final approval Wednesday.

It won lopsided Senate approval earlier.

The measure now returns to the Senate for expected approval of one technical change.

Current rules ban students from wearing body armor on school property.

The bill removes that prohibition.

The legislation was one of several bills proposed after 17 people were killed on Valentine's Day at a high school in south Florida.

However, most of those plans have been rejected by the Legislature, including bills to allow teachers with permits to carry concealed weapons in public schools.

Backers said the bill is simply an option for students and parents, not a mandate.

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"Members, we had students testify in committee they would feel safe if they had this in their backpack," said House Education Committee Chairwoman Nancy Landry, R-Lafayette, who handled the bill on the House floor.

Landry said Kevlar can be purchased and inserted in backpacks that cost from $50 to $400.

Several House members said some students would be unable to afford body armor.

Landry said PTA's could hold fundraisers to allow all students in a school to have the protection.

"I am sure there are those who would donate to the cause," she said.

Whether local school boards could stll ban body armor is unclear.

Rep. Terry Landry, D-Lafayette, said the Iberia Parish School Board recently voted to do so.

"What a sad conversation to have, about kids having body armor in schools," said Rep. Barry Ivey, R-Central. "It is a sad thing to talk about."

Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the legislation.

"While we will wait to firmly commit until we have time to review the bills when they reach the governors desk, he is inclined to sign the bill," Richard Carbo, the governor's deputy chief of staff, said in an email.
About a year ago, a local gallery came across a suitcase that had been discovered in a sleeper berth of an old City of New Orleans rail car.

Forlorn, dusty and faded, it had apparently been sealed for decades. When it was opened it contained dozens of mysterious objects dating from approximately 1880 through the 1920s.

If it sounds too good to be true  well, thats Lauren Delaneys story, and shes sticking to it.

Whether you choose to view it as an actual historical artifact or a suspiciously art-directed ruse, the suitcase is the centerpiece of a new exhibition at Antenna Gallery on St. Claude Avenue, where its surrounded by dozens of Delaneys miniature designs and painstakingly reconstructed examples of historical correspondence and other ephemera.

Like the Empire show, which opened recently at the Newcomb Art Museum, Delaneys art takes archival and historical sources as its point of departure. And its a similar excuse to assemble a dizzying amount of seemingly random objects under a thematic umbrella. (In Delaneys case, that umbrella probably resembles the tattered yet still elegant hand-painted parasol peeking out of one corner of her suitcase.)

The scale of Delaneys art, however, is much more intimate. Tiny books from the shelves of a miniature library are scattered about with found objects like old photographs, pottery shards and scraps of fabric, all of which hint at a larger narrative when viewed as a collection.

And where the Newcomb show is like a three-dimensional encyclopedia, Delaneys installations are more akin to poetry: Her objects suggest stories rather than tell them explicitly and browsing them can feel like remembering fragments of a dream.

Im interested in all the ways stories are told, said Delaney, especially ones that might be overlooked or forgotten about. And even though much of my work is fictional, theres a lot that takes actual places and events as points of departure.

A wall collage in the Antenna show includes a letter purportedly written by Harry Houdini expressing his distrust of a notorious Basin Street medium with alleged psychic powers. Nearby, a vintage-looking notice for a house for sale in the French Quarter suggests a further link between the legendary magician and New Orleans.

The rediscovered suitcase is one of several tableaux in the Antenna show. Others include examples of the vintage-looking written pieces Delaney has constructed as part of a subscription service she organizes: Collectors sign up to receive copies of documents and other objects which contain clues to a larger mystery.

They really get into analyzing the paper and handwriting, said Delaney. Its amazing creating a world that people feel so strongly a part of.

The subscription service is just one of Delaneys several art projects. Prior to her gallery show, she published a book featuring two paper dolls (and their accompanying outfits) as they set out on a series of cross-country adventures, including a stop in New Orleans.

Shes also organized a series of scavenger hunts in places like The Historic New Orleans Collection and the Pharmacy Museum in the French Quarter, where clues are provided to participants to find objects Delaney and her co-conspirators have hidden.

Further afield, Delaney has collaborated on projects with Tiffany & Co. in New York City and the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. And she has found an appreciative audience worldwide for her dollhouse creations on Etsy, where objects like tiny pairs of shoes, reproductions of ancient artifacts and detailed scale models of Victorian-era furniture have been lovingly handsculpted, handpainted, and hocused-pocused into miniature existence, according to the artist.

Its all part of Delaneys talent for world building, which is also evident in a spookily atmospheric model of a swamp forest (constructed as a set for her forthcoming book) in a corner of the gallery. Landscaped with a model of a crumbling mansion (as well as a surreal out-of-scale glove hanging in one of the trees), it invites viewers to imagine themselves exploring its tangle of branches and shadows.

My audience definitely has to meet me halfway, said Delaney. But I like to think its worth it.

************************************

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Former Police Superintendent Warren Riley apparently had good reason to think his appointment to head public-safety efforts under Mayor LaToya Cantrell was a done deal.

After all, he signed all the paperwork needed to rejoin city government days before the then-mayor-elect announced she was "pressing pause" on the appointment because of public backlash over police abuses and killings during Riley's tenure with the New Orleans Police Department.

Riley filled out 23 pages of employment documents on April 30 in preparation for the announcement that he would become Cantrell's director of homeland security and public safety, overseeing police, fire and disaster response for her administration.

About 48 hours later, though, Cantrell cited an "uptick" in community concern as reason for giving the matter further thought.

The New Orleans Advocate received redacted copies of Riley's paperwork through a public records request.

Cantrell puts brakes on Warren Riley appointment, citing public concern; Harrison to stay as police chief Mayor-elect LaToya Cantrell on Wednesday announced the appointment of five key aides who wil

Beau Tidwell, Cantrell's communications director, said in an email that the administration never processed the paperwork and that Riley's employment status is considered to be "on hold." The former police chief has not received any pay or benefits from the city for the new position.

No decision has been made about whether Riley will in fact be hired, Tidwell said. "The mayor is still in the process of making that decision and has not determined how or if shes going to move forward," he said.

The documents show Riley was continuing to move through the hiring process at City Hall even though a furor had been growing over his possible appointment since the week before.

The forms include the typical paperwork an employee would sign before joining city government, including acknowledgements of city policies, benefits paperwork and certifications that Riley is a U.S. citizen and has a home in Orleans Parish.

Beyond the fact that he was preparing to take the job, the documents  which were heavily redacted  shed little additional light on his proposed duties, salary or other aspects of his employment.

Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up

Riley did not respond to a phone call Monday.

According to his employment paperwork, he expected to leave his position as a federal coordinating officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency this month. The federal agency has not responded to a public records request from The Advocate seeking information about Riley's employment there.

Cantrell's confirmation that Riley was a leading contender for a top spot in her administration shocked many community activists and NOPD critics.

Warren Riley, who led NOPD in chaotic post-Katrina period, under consideration for high City Hall post Warren Riley, who led the New Orleans Police Department in a tumultuous half-decade followin

Riley was the department's chief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and is widely blamed for failing to address the police violence that followed the storm, particularly the killing of two civilians and the wounding of four others on the Danziger Bridge and the subsequent cover-up of what happened.

Riley has admitted he never read the department's report on the incident  a key part of the cover-up  though he said he had been briefed about it.

Families of the victims of the violence, civil rights groups and groups opposed to police corruption all have spoken out against the possibility he could return to a prominent position that would put him above NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison.

Cantrell on her first few days in office: digging into the details, balancing hopes and realities In her first few days in office, Mayor LaToya Cantrell has identified at least $7 million in

A day after Riley's paperwork was filled out, Cantrell met with the family of one of the people killed by police following Katrina. She told The New Orleans Advocate last week that the meeting caused her to reconsider the appointment.

I needed to do that to listen to how they were feeling. And the pain, theres still a lot of pain there, and its real, Cantrell said. But I also needed to listen to the other side  and that includes Mr. Riley. So Im working through that right now.

The administration has not set a timeline for a final decision. However, Tidwell said, "this is something the mayor would like to wrap up sooner rather than later."
Actor Teo Yoo, a German of Korean parentage, is getting the spotlight with his lead role in the Russian film "Leto," which has been invited to the competition section of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Yoo was born to a coalminer father and a nurse mother who went to Germany for a better life under an intergovernmental contract in the 1960s, and raised there. He began acting at the age of 20 when studying at a film institute in New York and continued his studies in Britain.

"I have always considered myself Korean," he said. He wanted to become an actor in Korea, but his Korean was not fluent enough. He worked at a vegetable store in Seoul to learn the language faster, while attending a private school for aspiring TV announcers to work on his pronunciation.

In "Leto" he plays legendary Russian rocker Viktor Tsoi (1962-1990), who was born to a Korean father and a Russian mother. Before this starring role, he had played only minors roles in several Korean and international projects.
The case of a 22-year-old man who died last week while in custody of the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office is being investigated as a homicide after an autopsy revealed he had been asphyxiated at the neck, authorities said Monday.

Four narcotics agents have been placed on desk duty as investigators try to determine whether they used excessive force in arresting Keeven Robinson after a chase Thursday, Sheriff Joe Lopinto said, adding that State Police and the FBIs Civil Rights Task Force will be assisting with the probe.

The Sheriffs Office declined to name the deputies under investigation but acknowledged that all four are white. Robinson was black.

Sources familiar with the matter identified the agents as David Lowe, Jason Spadoni, Justin Brister and Gary Bordelon.

Lowe and Bordelon are both named as defendants in pending federal civil-rights lawsuits that allege excessive force in unrelated cases.

A lawyer representing the members of Robinsons family, who were briefed by both Lopinto and Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich, said they were thankful that authorities had acknowledged the findings of the autopsy but distraught to learn that Williams had been killed.

+14 JPSO says asthma may have played role in man's death during arrest; family members doubt officials A man stopped breathing and died after he was taken into custody Thursday by narcotics agents with the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office.

They had to find out that Keeven lost his life at the hands of another, and thats very, very hard for them, attorney Hester Hilliard said. Now, its time  to move on to making funeral arrangements for a 22-year-old that should not have died.

Robinsons death is one of several violent incidents that have happened recently involving narcotics deputies at the Jefferson Sheriffs Office, which is among a dwindling number of law enforcement agencies that shun the use of body-worn cameras.

The New Orleans Police Department, Louisiana State Police and Baton Rouge Police Department all equip officers with cameras designed to capture interactions with suspects and members of the public.

Lopinto on Monday defended the work of his narcotics agents in general, giving them some of the credit for an all-time low in crime in Jefferson Parish last year.

He also said he doubted a policy mandating body-worn cameras would have factored into the Robinson case, which involved deputies in plainclothes who he said probably would have been exempt from wearing cameras to preserve their cover.

I hope the citizens of Jefferson Parish give the Jefferson Parish Sheriffs Office the opportunity to conduct the investigation, said Lopinto, who became sheriff last year when Newell Normand resigned. This office has shown time and time again: Give us patience, and we do our job.

According to the Sheriffs Office, narcotics agents suspected Robinson was dealing drugs and had him under surveillance when they followed him to a gasoline station at Labarre Place and Jefferson Highway late Thursday morning.

The plainclothes agents, who were wearing badges, approached Robinson on foot, but he tried to drive away when he noticed them.

He crashed into a pair of Sheriffs Office vehicles about a block away. Deputies then chased Robinson on foot as he leaped over a number of fences before he was caught in a backyard, Lopinto said.

Lopinto said deputies fought with Robinson, who left a gun in his car and was in possession of what deputies suspected was heroin. They managed to get handcuffs on him at the end of the struggle, but he stopped breathing at that point, Lopinto said.

Paramedics took him to Ochsner Medical Center a few blocks away, where he died.

Initially, Lopinto said investigators were looking into the possibility that Robinsons history of asthma had contributed to his death, which occurred on a day when officials warned about poor air quality in the region.

But Robinsons family was immediately skeptical of that possibility, saying they feared deputies had either beaten Robinson to death or strangled him.

Cvitanovich said he and two forensic pathologists, Dr. Dana Trosclair and Dr. Van Vo, were present for Robinsons autopsy on Saturday morning. It showed he died after suffering significant, traumatic injuries to the  soft tissue of the neck, he said.

The injuries were consistent with someone leaning on, squeezing or grabbing Robinsons neck, Cvitanovich said.

He said his offices conclusions were preliminary, however. Results of toxicology and other tests are still pending and could take weeks, he said.

Lopinto said homicide investigators took over the case after receiving word about the coroners findings. The four detectives involved in the pursuit of Robinson gave statements to the homicide investigators, he said.

The Sheriffs Office does not usually reassign deputies who are being investigated for use of force to desk duty. But the circumstances involving Robinsons death made that step appropriate in this case, Lopinto said.

I understand this investigation will be under a microscope, he said. You can never have too many sets of eyes to make sure we are doing it properly.

Several of Robinsons relatives left private briefings with Lopinto and Cvitanovich in tears.

While they said they were encouraged about authorities openness on Monday, they and a large group of supporters still marched in protest Monday night near the site where Robinson died, holding up signs that read, "Enough is enough" and "We won't give up. We won't give in."

The family also said they were still far from feeling that justice has been done in connection with Robinsons death, yet another case in which white police officers are accused of killing an unarmed black suspect.

We want the young black men to be able to walk the street, and when the police do frisk them, we want them to be able to stand there and let the police do their job, Robinsons grandmother, Cheryl, said. But theyre afraid of the police. Theyre killing our children. Its time to stop.

Though none of the incidents have been deadly, several Jefferson narcotics deputies have landed in the news over the last several months for shooting guns at drivers, alleging that their lives were threatened by suspects trying to run them over.

One of those incidents triggered a lawsuit against the Sheriffs Office, which is still pending. The agency dismissed one of the deputies named in the lawsuit, though that apparently was in connection with conduct on an unrelated case.

Lowe is one of two deputies accused of yanking a drug suspect out of a car in Harvey and punching, kicking and striking him with clubs or flashlights until he urinated on himself last year, according to a lawsuit pending in federal court.

The plaintiff pleaded guilty in 24th Judicial District Court to illegally possessing a gun, heroin and the drug commonly sold as Xanax following the arrest referred to in the lawsuit. He received a 10-year sentence.

Another pending lawsuit targets Bordelon with claims that he tackled a woman, and that another deputy punched her in the stomach, during a raid at a home in Marrero last year. The woman was accused of illegally possessing a prescription painkiller, but prosecutors later dropped the case against her.
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Monday 05 September, 2016 Reliable information reaching Biafra writers desk has it that the life of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indi...
A senior North Korean defector on Monday said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's ultimate goal remains to become a nuclear-armed state.

Thae Yong-ho, the former No. 2 man in the North Korean Embassy in London and now a vocal critic of the regime, was speaking at a book launch in the National Assembly. He said North Korea's idea of denuclearization is "quite different from the abandonment of nuclear weapons."

Thae told Newsis that the current flurry of international diplomacy will not end with "a sincere and complete disarmament" but with "a reduced North Korean nuclear threat."

"In the end, North Korea will remain a nuclear power packaged as a non-nuclear state," he added.

He said the North's idea of denuclearization "was clearly outlined" in remarks by former North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok-ju to Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in 2006.

Kang and Li met secretly in Shenyang right after the regime's first nuclear test. Li reportedly complained that the North violated regime founder Kim Il-sung's last wish for denuclearization by conducting the test. But Kang answered, "China seems to have no idea of what denuclearization means for the Korean Peninsula."

Kang said for the North it means the pullout of U.S. nuclear weapons from the peninsula, the suspension of the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, and assurances from the U.S. that it will not use nuclear weapons against the North.

A part of the inter-Korean summit declaration on April 27 says the two Koreas "agreed to carry out their respective roles and responsibilities... [and] confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," Thae pointed out.

"That means that U.S. military assets carrying nuclear weapons should not be allowed to stay in the Korean Peninsula, and South Korea should persuade the U.S. to give assurances that it will not use its nuclear weapons."

"Just about a week before the inter-Korean summit, Kim told party officials that nuclear weapons are the 'strongest sword' and 'the powerful deterrent' that guarantees the North's sovereignty," Thae said. "Kim won't give up nuclear weapons."

In his memoir, Thae said Kim Jong-un is "very short-tempered and also violent and acts impulsively."


Global health is filled with many ambitious goals and strategic plans. From increasing calls for countries to implement "universal health coverage (UHC)" to HIV-specific campaigns, such as Fast Track Cities and UNAIDS' 90-90-90 plan, there is no shortage of lofty goals with implementation plans to be accomplished. But questions remain as to how these different plans work alongside one another, and whether the targets are achievable in an environment where donor countries are shrinking their investments, in part due to a spirit of populist nationalism afoot in the U.S. and Western Europe.

Last week, more than 200 health care providers, researchers, and advocates gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, from across the globe to discuss progress and challenges in turning the tide on the HIV epidemic across the globe at the "Controlling the Epidemic" Summit organized by the International Association of Providers in AIDS Care (IAPAC). The summit addressed epidemiology and surveillance, metrics of success, preparing for new long-acting antivirals, biomedical prevention, social and structural drivers, and the state of the HIV workforce. Presenters represented global and multilateral institutions, implementing NGOs, and providers working at the national level.

Assessing Global Responses

The meeting began by looking at global trends in the epidemic and what's being done to address it from that perspective. Presenters in the first part of the meeting analyzed the health frameworks within the global response, including UHC, the sustainable development goals (SDG), and the 90-90-90 strategy, as well as the roles played by the World Health Organization, UNAIDS, and the U.S. Presidential Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in framing and implementing these strategies.

"The theme of this meeting is the integration of the global response to the HIV epidemic as part of the larger response to global health, said Kenneth Mayer, M.D., summit co-chair and medical research director of the Fenway Institute in Boston. "Mantras like '3 by 5' are aspirational, and certainly 2020/2030 90-90-90 is aspirational, but I think a new realism has set in, in terms of an era of finite global resources, and the recognition that an adequate response to HIV has to include a response to primary care; it has to include sexual health; it has to integrate more with tuberculosis responses."

Related: The Usual Suspects: Common Challenges for End the Epidemic Planning and Implementation in Emerging Jurisdictions

Defining What We Mean By "Controlling" the Epidemic

Addressing the step before integration of HIV into a larger system of care, panelists first considered the question of what we mean by "controlling" the epidemic, and what metrics we use to measure success. Presenters also spoke to the need to address multiple variables in order to arrive at an AIDS-free world rather than using decreased incidence and reaching 90% viral suppression rates by 2020 as the sole targets.

Peter Ghys, director of strategic information and evaluation at UNAIDS, noted that the reduction of HIV incidence, as well as mortality, has to happen to achieve the goal of controlling/eliminating the epidemic. Moreover, prevention of new infections has to occur concurrently with ensuring that people with HIV live longer, healthier lives.

Prevention, in many ways, begins with HIV testing. A consensus seemed to exist among people from different parts of the world that, although our current methods of HIV testing have reached many, they still haven't reached enough people who are HIV positive but remain undiagnosed. While HIV rapid tests have helped to make testing faster and more widely available, people still avoid testing due to stigma.

Nitika Pant Pai, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D, assistant professor of medicine at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, presented research on the use of HIV home-testing kits paired with a mobile app to connect people to counseling and referrals. Though one of the main critiques of home-based testing is the lack of counseling and linkage to care for people who are diagnosed, Pai's study (done with men who have sex with men in Canada and young people in South Africa), showed some success in reaching people who preferred the convenience and privacy of self-testing, and who did in fact get linked to care through the app if they were HIV positive.

Pursuing Innovation

But, beyond new models for testing, what are the possibilities for other developments in antiretroviral therapies and biomedical prevention? Carl Dieffenbach, Ph.D., director of the Division of AIDS in the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) gave a presentation that looked at the challenges of development and implementation of long-acting antiretrovirals, but he also spoke to the need for new post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) research and development. Right now, PEP consists of taking three medications (usually two pills) for 30 days, and the window from exposure to when PEP is most effective is very small. But it appears to be something that people really want.

"Something that we're seeing in our studies is the demand for PEP is surprisingly high," said Dieffenbach. "But there has been no innovation in the field of post-exposure prophylaxis for a very long time." He referenced a slide that suggested the need for the development of a single-dose PEP option.

Expanding Comprehensive Prevention

A huge focus of the meeting was delivery systems and the kind of HIV workforce needed to better meet the needs of patients. Presenters from different regions of the world presented some of the work happening to provide care to people with HIV and to increase comprehensive prevention, such as expanding the start of same-day antiretroviral treatment for people who are newly diagnosed. However, it was noted that, much as in the U.S., unsupportive government officials won't fund prevention and care services for key populations (sex workers, LGBT communities, drug users, prisoners) or persons for whom the cost of care keeps treatment out of reach.

Reaching Youth

A key group with among the higher rates of new HIV diagnoses around the world also has some of the worst outcomes along the care continuum: young people.

"We're trying to decrease new infections without treating the young people who may be transmitting the virus to each other," said Deborah Birx, M.D., ambassador with the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, who directs the U.S. PEPFAR program.

Focusing on Health Care Provider's Impact on Patient Adherence

Several attendees spoke to the need for providers and advocates to think about their approach to these discussions on "controlling the epidemic," and suggested a different name for next year's meeting that would be less stigmatizing for people living with HIV.

"For communities, even the language of 'epidemic control' is challenging, said Laurel Sprague, Ph.D., executive director of GNP+. "It starts to sound like controlling patients instead of controlling the epidemic."

But even Ambassador Birx called on health care providers to question not only their language but also the way in which they relate to the patients' challenges in getting tested, linked and retained in care, and virally suppressed.

"We should look at us first," she remarked. "Are we optimally providing the best services and care? And then we should look at issues like patient adherence."
A delegation of secretaries of North Korea's municipal and provincial party committees visited China on Monday. Their visit comes a week after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a surprise visit to the Chinese city of Dalian.

It was their first China visit in eight years and suggests that Pyongyang-Beijing relations are recovering fast.

The group, who are the equivalent of provincial governors, landed on an Air Koryo flight at Beijing Capital International Airport, where they were welcomed by North Korean Ambassador Ji Jae-ryong.
Korean corporate culture remains woefully inefficient due to outdated practices and top-down management, a survey by the Korea Chamber for Commerce and Industry and global consulting firm McKinsey finds.

They surveyed 2,000 office workers and found that the country's notoriously long working hours, wasteful office meetings and pyramidal hierarchy have improved somewhat but still fail to meet global standards.

Asked if they feel actual improvements in corporate culture, 59 percent ticked the answer, "There have been some changes but no real improvements." Another 28 percent said changes were often one-off events. Only 12.2 percent of respondents said they felt fundamental improvements.

KCCI and McKinsey assessed Korea's top eight corporations and four of them ranked in the lowest group among multinationals worldwide. Three ranked in the middle and only one in the middle to top group. No Korean company beat its foreign rivals.

Korean companies received high marks in terms of accountability and motivation but lagged behind in most categories, especially leadership, coordination and capabilities.

The KCCI cited three factors that harm Korean corporate culture -- inefficient work processes, irrational performance rewards and a lack of competent leadership.

Workers complained that changes were often purely cosmetic, and even if their boss wore jeans on Casual Friday, he kept the old domineering or niggling attitudes.
Port Charlotte revamped by Bruichladdich

Port Charlotte has been relaunched by the Remy Cointreau-owned Bruichladdich Distillery, including a range of new packaging.

Fans of the Islay malt can be assured that the style of the spirit remains unchanged. Malting as before to a heavyweight 40ppm, the distillery will release four new products in 2018.

The first of these is the return of Port Charlotte 10. Previously available only in limited quantities, the move marks the first permanent release of this aged-stated spirit in the brands history. This new bottling will replace the current multi-vintage cuvee, Port Charlotte Scottish Barley, and will be available in 70/75cl for domestic markets and in 1 litre format for travel retail.

Port Charlotte 10 is bottled at 50% ABV and as with all Bruichladdich Distillery malts, is distilled using 100% Scottish barley.



A new vintage of Port Charlotte Islay barley will also join the line-up. The 2011 vintage is distilled from harvests on three Islay farms; by Raymond Fletcher at Dunlossit, Raymond Stewart at Sunderland and Neil McLellan at Kilchiaran.

Bruichladdichs director of distilling and head of operations, Allan Logan, is now working in partnership with 17 farmers across the island, all of which grow malting barley for the distillery, despite the challenges of the Islay climate. This 2011 vintage is the second heavily-peated offering from their uber-provenance Islay barley stable.



Concluding the quartet are two cask exploration, cask strength, limited editions. One each for domestic and travel retail. Joining Port Charlotte 10 and the 2011 Islay Barley for domestic markets, is the codified and limited Port Charlotte MRC: 01. Distilled from Scottish barley in 2010, MRC:01 is matured in the finest oak casks from the Bordeaux left bank. Bottled at 59.2% ABV, Hannett describes it as a superb combination of fruit-laden French oak, strong peat smoke and Islay maturation.



Releasing at the same time but exclusively for travel retail, is the codified and limited MC:01. This 2009 vintage was distilled from Scottish barley and matured in Marsala casks. Both MRC:01 and MC:01 will be released in the autumn of 2018.



All four spirits will be introduced in a bespoke bottle. The opaque green glass is a nod to the heavily-peated Islay category, while the modernist design reflects the values of the distillery.



On their philosophy, bold statements are made of being the first major distiller to conceive, distil, mature and bottle on the island. Hannett explains the distillerys approach: Theres nothing made up here. There are no tall tales of illicit distillation or local legends. This is about the actual provenance of the spirit in the bottle.



Bruichladdich Distillery CEO Douglas Taylor says: Our distillery project is built around certain key principles which drive everything we do. The authenticity, provenance and transparency of our spirit is paramount. We are committed to source 100 per cent of our barley from Scotland, 33 per cent of which is now grown on Islay. We have reintroduced ancient varietals and experimented with regionality for texture and flavour. All our whiskies are conceived, distilled, matured and bottled on Islay, unchill-filtered and colouring free, using Islay spring water.



We are committed to our community. We aim to be Islay-centric in everything we do and care about the positive economic and social impact our business has on the island. Over time we have become the biggest private employer on Islay; made possible because we are mature and bottle all our whiskies here. This vision has resulted in direct employment for 76 people at the distillery, with countless more involved through partnerships.



Ultimately, we are a collective of like-minded people, passionate about this island and the single malt whisky we make here.

12 May 2018 - Sam Coyne The Drinks Report, news editor
President Moon Jae-in on Monday called for a special investigative team spanning multiple government agencies to sniff out hiddden offshore accounts of rich Koreans.

"Tax evasion by hiding money overseas is must be stopped." Moon added, "There have been revelations recently of prominent people concealing their assets and income to avoid taxes, stirring up a public outcry."

Moon made the comments in a meeting with senior secretaries. "Illegal concealment of assets in overseas bank accounts transcends borders and involves the aid of experts, so there are limits to what individual government agencies can do," he said.

The task force will therefore consist of officials from the National Tax Service, Korea Customs Service and prosecution.
In a short clip on Twitter, Ryan Reyno- oh sorry, Deadpool asks why Canada isn't allowed in the contest while our neighbours Australia, who are "barely on the planet", are.

"weve been snubbed by that European singsong competition you guys lose your s*** over. Our generous gift of Celine Dion alone should earn us an invite.

And dont give me that crap about Canada not being part of the European family. You let in Australia, and theyre barely on the planet."
For most Legal Ethics, Trial Advocacy, and Criminal Procedure professors, this result no doubt seems unexceptional. Clients may make foolish or even inexplicable choices, but the ultimate decision  whether to assert innocence or admit guilt  is up to them, so long as they are determined competent to stand trial. The job of a lawyer is to advise and assist, not to overwhelm or dictate the clients own decisions. (Disclosure: I signed an amicus brief in McCoy, represented by Lawrence Fox of the Yale Ethics Bureau.)

Larry English was placed in a difficult position; he had an unruly client and faced a strong government case. He reasonably thought the objective of his representation should be avoidance of the death penalty. But McCoy insistently maintained: I did not murder my family. Once he communicated that to court and counsel, strenuously objecting to Englishs proposed strategy, a concession of guilt should have been off the table. The trial courts allowance of Englishs admission of McCoys guilt despite McCoys insistent objections was incompatible with the Sixth Amendment. Because the error was structural, a new trial is the required corrective.

The circumstantial evidence against McCoy was overwhelming, but there were no eyewitnesses to the triple murders with which he was charged. Defense counsel urged him to admit guilt as the only way to avoid the death penalty, but McCoy was adamant that he was not guilty, claiming a highly improbable alibi. McCoy ordered English to assert his innocence, but English did not comply.

It was thus reversible error, Justice Ginsburg explained  joined by Justices Kagan, Sotomayor, Breyer, Kennedy, and Chief Justice Roberts -- when the trial court permitted counsel, at the guilt phase of a capital trial, to tell the jury the defendant committed three murders. . . . [H]es guilty. Moreover,

At the beginning of his opening statement at the guilt phase of the trial, English told the jury there was no way reasonably possible that they could hear the prosecutions evidence and reach any other conclusion than Robert McCoy was the cause of these individuals death.

And,

English told the jury the evidence is unambiguous, my client committed three murders.

And,

In his closing argument, English reiterated that McCoy was the killer. On that issue, English told the jury that he took [the] burden off of [the prosecutor].

Englishs strategy was to establish his credibility by not denying the obvious, and to use that to argue for leniency at the sentencing, based on McCoys mental state. It did not work. McCoy was sentenced to death for all three murders.

Justice Alito dissented, joined by Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, describing a world that is all but unrecognizable to criminal defense lawyers. First, Alito claimed that English had not really admitted McCoys guilt at all, but had only conceded one element of the offense. Thus, according to Alito, Englishs tactic  in which he told the jury my client committed three murders  was no different than conceding a prior felony conviction [that] the prosecution can easily prove beyond any shadow of a doubt.

In any case, said Alito, McCoy should simply have fired his lawyer months before the trial, when hed gotten the first glimmer of Englishs strategy. (McCoy did try to dismiss English a few days before trial, when he learned of Englishs actual plan.) Alito evidently thinks that a capital defendant in Louisiana should have no trouble changing lawyers:

[I]f counsel is appointed, and unreasonably insists on admitting guilt over the defendants objection, a capable trial judge will almost certainly grant a timely request to appoint substitute counsel. And if such a request is denied, the ruling may be vulnerable on appeal.

Yeah, right.

Fortunately, both Kennedy and Roberts saw the flaws in Alitos thinking. Still, if Alito, Thomas, and Gorsuch are unwilling to join the majoirty in McCoy, you have to wonder if they would ever be willing to reverse any death penalty in the future.

I have nothing but sympathy for Larry English, who believed he was doing the best for his client under extremely difficult circumstances. But Justice Ginsburg got it quite right:

We hold that a defendant has the right to insist that counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsels experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty. Guaranteeing a defendant the right to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence, the Sixth Amendment so demands. With individual libertyand, in capital cases, lifeat stake, it is the defendants prerogative, not counsels, to decide on the objective of his defense: to admit guilt in the hope of gaining mercy at the sentencing stage, or to maintain his innocence, leaving it to the State to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
A new airline is challenging flag carriers on their mainstay mid to long-haul routes.

Air Premia said Monday it wants to apply for a flight license from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in July, with actual flights to start in late 2019.

Air Premia claims it is not a budget carrier but will offer more comfortable seats on mid to long-haul routes than existing economy seats at a lower price.

It will only offer only two types of seats -- economy and premium economy. And where economy seats on big airlines measure 32 to 34 inches and on budget carriers 28 to 30 inches, Air Premia will make them 35 inches in economy and 42 inches in premium economy. Prices will be 90 to 140 percent of those of big airlines.

It aims to fly to popular destinations for Koreans like San Jose, California and Helsinki, Finland, a popular stopover to Europe. The targeted routes are destinations the flag carriers have yet to tap but where they offer connecting flights with other airlines.

Air Premia is eying a stable of around 10 new Boeing 787s or Airbus A350s within the next five years. A smaller fleet cuts down on maintenance fees, and the new planes boast better fuel efficiency, which will make tickets cheaper, according to the airline.


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Linkedin Lailatul Fitriyah (The Jakarta Post) Notre Dame, Indiana  Tue, May 15, 2018 09:23 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e3fb991 3 Opinion Islam,Muslim,mako-brimob,Surabaya-bombings,terrorism,terrorists,religion,Jamaah-Anshar-Daulah Free

Explosions of religious-based violence as happened at the Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) detention center in Depok, West Java, and three churches in Surabaya were not one-time events with no connection with our daily consumption of violence.



Such explosions happened because we have normalized religious discrimination through our TV programs, the preachers we listen to and the arrogance of Muslim vigilante groups that raid open eateries during Ramadan. This strain of religious violence is in our political campaigns, our commercial products and our consumerist activities. In a nutshell, we devour violence.



Many things have been said about the factors that contribute to the acts of terrorism in Indonesia, the country with the worlds largest Muslim population. However, a bigger issue is how we Indonesian Muslims should appropriately respond to the violence.



First, we should never deny the terrorists Muslim-ness. They are and were Muslims, and there is no question about it. Any denial will exacerbate violence because it produces a delusion of innocence on the part of Indonesian Muslims who were not directly involved in the attacks.



While it is important to avoid generalization that Muslims are terrorists, systemic religious discrimination that religious minorities suffer in Indonesia is nevertheless a product of Muslim majority participation in the alienation of followers of other religions.



Moreover, with the trending sharia-inspired lifestyle that often excludes those deemed non-Muslim, Indonesian Muslims are collectively contributing to the formation of an environment in which the violent intents of Muslim terrorists are justified.

Read also: What is JAD? Terror group behind Mako Brimob riot, Surabaya bombings

Second, never isolate religious violence from its racial undertones. In the context of Indonesia, the anti-Christian hatred among Muslims is laced with anti-Chinese sentiment that associates a specific ethnicity (Chinese-Indonesian) with a specific religion (Christianity).



Hence, in this case we need a multi-faceted solution that is directed toward the religious bigotry and ethnic racism within the problem.



In other words, the anti-Christian hatred will not be solved if we only approach it as an interreligious issue. The anti-Christian hatred also has to be dealt with as an issue of ethnic racism.



At this point, making a negative proposal by saying what not to do is far from enough. Therefore, we Indonesian Muslims also need to take a long overdue proactive approach in dealing with religious terrorism which, in Indonesia, is most often perpetrated by Muslims.



What we should do is to push Indonesian mainstream Muslim clerics to conduct a comprehensive juridical overhaul of parts of the Islamic juridical tradition that can justify the killing of innocent people. We cannot deny that these terrorists have used religious justification such as jihad to kill others.



Thus, any part of man-made fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) that has the potential to justify such an attack needs to be obliterated altogether. It is not enough to just say that acts of terrorism are not a part of Islam. We have to make sure that the ways we practice our religion do not become a breeding ground for perspectives that dehumanize religious others.



We should also make an effort to rejuvenate interreligious relations and internalize them within our daily lives. Weaving interreligious relations is way more important in the context of a pluralistic Indonesia. Strengthening interreligious relations is an obligation stipulated in the Quran (verses 2:256, 2:62, 41:34, among other verses).



Thus, mainstream ulemas also have to place an emphasis on building interreligious relations by condemning violence and hate speech that is delivered through political campaigns, mosque pulpits and television programs. Likewise, the media need to stop pandering to the despicable tendency of many Muslims who consume narratives of religious discrimination as a way to strengthen their faith.



We all need to work together to craft a multidimensional solution to address the Muslim terrorists violence. However, in this context, we cannot deny that the responsibility of Indonesian Muslims as the religious majority of the country is bigger than the rest of us.



The Indonesian Muslim community needs to stop supporting religious discrimination as a way of expressing their faith. We cannot continue to prove we are great Muslims by loudly condemning other religions. To accomplish this, our mainstream ulemas need to overhaul the Islamic jurisprudence and replace it with religious edicts that emphasize interreligious relations.



In other words, Indonesia will always be prone to the terrorist propaganda of, among others, Jamaah Ansar al-Daulah (JAD) and Jamaah Ansar al-Tauhid (JAT), as long as we Indonesian Muslims do not change the ways we express our faith.

***

The writer, a PhD student at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, is researching Islamic and Christian feminist theologies.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post.
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Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 07:49 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e3f7bcb 4 Editorial #Editorial,May-1998-riots,May-1998-tragedy,reformasi,democracy,history,human-rights-abuse Free

While we may feel saddened and angry over those who perished and were injured in the suicide bombings in Surabaya on Sunday and Monday, we must remember the grim memory of the riots in Jakarta and other cities 20 years ago.

On May 13 and 14, 1998, Jakarta was raging with lynch mobs and gang rapes targeting Chinese-Indonesians, as well as crowds of people looting grocery stores and shopping malls only to be burned alive, in a tragedy that preceded the historic regime change in the country. These acts of violence erupted a day after four Trisakti University students were shot dead during a campus rally demanding reform.

A joint fact-finding team sanctioned by then-president BJ Habibie reported 52 rape cases, more than 12 sexual violence cases and nearly 1,200 deaths, apart from the hundreds of buildings, shops and homes that were set ablaze during the chaos.

True, a number of Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) and police generals were replaced or dismissed and the government heeded some of the fact-finding teams recommendations, such as establishing a national commission on protecting women and an institute for protecting witnesses and victims, as well as enacting a law against racial discrimination.

But many questions remain unanswered today, even after five presidents pledged to settle the gross human rights violations that occurred during the May 1998 riots. Worse, there have been moves to spread fear over the recurrence of anti-Chinese ethnic violence ahead of the upcoming general election, against the relentless and as yet unmet demands for justice for the victims of May 1998.

It still remains unclear as to who ordered the security forces to shoot the students, and why they used live bullets. Equally strange is the fact that nobody has been held accountable for the large-scale unrest, despite findings that it was systematically planned and executed.

And 20 years on, the cries for justice have continued to fall on deaf ears, as is evident in the governments silent response to the weekly rallies held every Thursday outside the State Palace since Jan. 18, 2007. Dozens of the grieving families of the victims of past human rights violations, including the May 1998 tragedy, have donned black for the afternoon rallies.

President Joko Jokowi Widodo may opt to follow in his predecessors footsteps, devoid of adequate and significant action. Such pragmatism appears the only choice available to him to retain power, just like the presidents before him.

The stakes today, however, are very high. Jokowis inaction will justify acts that deny the historical fact of the May 1998 riots and, worse, perpetuate the impunity that continues to disrespect human rights and enables the recurrence of crimes against humanity.

The late Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, once expressed his curiosity as to why the louder that families called for justice over the atrocities their loved ones endured, the more society neglected them. The irony still rings true today, as we recall the moments during which our nation lost its sense of humanity.
Forestry is still seen by many as an easy source of revenue while biodiversity is regarded as a meaningless, abstract, intellectual concept no one is interested in unless it brings in money.

What comes to mind when you see the lush lowland rainforest of Mount Leuser National Park from the pebble-strewn banks of its natural border, the tranquil, clear Batang Serangan River in Tangkahan, an internationally famous elephant ecotourism site in Langkat, North Sumatra?

Beautiful, reminisced environmentalist and former student activist Syukur Al-Fajar when he first went there in 1999 with his fellow activist, the late Syaiful Bahri.

This typical tourist comment, made at the height of illegal logging, belied the deforestation going on inside that Syukur said was invisible from the outside.

Even today, tourists riding tame elephants along the trail where water buffaloes used to pull timber from inside the forest may not notice the traces thereof or be aware that local farmers still consider wild elephants as pests  not part of the regions valuable biodiversity.

More than 4,100 kilometers east of Tangkahan, felling that took place inside the forest that belongs to the native Yamban clan in Ahyeri, deep in the interior of Akudiomi in Cendrawasih Bay, Papua, too, went unseen from the outside, albeit for a different reason.

They cut down the trees birds-of-paradise call home so that their brothers who got paid from escorting foreign bird-watchers, but shared none or too little of the proceeds with them, lost their jobs, according to head of Cendrawasih Bay National Parks Sub-region One, Manuel Mirino.

They saw the birds as a problem and demanded fairness in the equal sharing of the tourism pie, Manuel said. Otherwise, neither you nor I shall have it, he quoted them as saying.

One of the clan leaders, Agus Yamban, too, reportedly cuts down trees not because of brotherhood envy but for a living. There is a middleman who comes to him to collect the timber and sends them to Nabire, said his ex-employer, Kali Lemon Diving Resort operator Bram Maruanaya.

As the felling took place within their own communal, ancestral territory, local authorities could only urge them not to do so. We only have five officers to patrol the area and not all of them can be always on site doing monitoring, Manuel said.

Preserved dead birds-of-paradise were another commodity for sale that authorities found in Oheye Market in Nabire in 2016. The seller, a middle-aged Papuan woman, put up stiff resistance when arrested by the authorities, arguing that she offered the birds for sale to make ends meet, recalled Donald Ferdinandus, data analyst with the local office of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency.

Throughout 2017, we conducted patrols four times and found no one selling the birds, Donald said. This, however, means nothing because routine monthly patrolling is just a term to make the government look functional. There is no patrolling if there is no money, said Donald.

Apparently, Tangkahans loggers and Papuas indigenous people living on Leusers and Cendrawasih Bays peripheries see forests for their money-making potential and biodiversity as a meaningless, abstract intellectual idea they are not interested in unless it makes a profit.

Work in progress: Women prepare food for a social-forestry congress in the former Sekoci site office of Mount Leuser National Park which was destroyed by forest encroachers in 2012. (JP/Arif Suryobuwono)

While the situation in Papua remains delicate, the situation in Tangkahan has improved considerably, thanks to Syukurs and Syaifuls success in convincing Tangkahans illegal loggers to abandon their environmentally harmful, unsustainable business and embrace elephant-centered ecotourism as an environmentally friendly, sustainable, new source of livelihood.

At Besitang, 102.7 km northwest of Tangkahan, deforestation was, by contrast, out in the open, as thousands of forest encroachers grew crops and even built settlements within Leuser.

Three decades of conflict with the authorities reared its ugly head in 2011 when a joint operation by the military, police and forestry authorities to evict the settlers led to bloody clashes. In 2012 the settlers destroyed the parks Sekoci site office building in retaliation for the 2011 incident.

The fact that the government took no action against so few may indicate uncertainty about the status of the area and a lack of clear-cut policies. Incomplete boundary delineation and the granting of forest concessions in areas intersecting or within parts of Leuser to a palm oil manufacturer complicated the matter

further.

To resolve this issue, director general of Natural Resources and Ecosystems Conservation Wiratno, in a break with the governments heavy-handed tradition, publicly apologized to 12 groups of ex-encroachers at a gathering in Besitang, for treating them as enemies. He even invited them to kneel down together with him to apologize to God and the earth. Wiratno also asked the right questions previous governments had failed to consider: does poverty drive them to encroach on the forest? Are there wealthy exploiters behind them?

Poor people dont have to encroach on the forest. We will provide them with land where they can grow crops, Wiratno said, outlining the partnership the government would forge with the former settlers for an initial period of 10 years.

Those found to have occupied more than 2 hectares of land will be considered landowners, and those working on their land will be considered laborers, Wiratno said. Under this partnership, they are required to grow crops such as sugar palm, candlenut, avocado, jackfruit-like cempedak and jengkol (dogfruit).

Wiratnos approach, which reflects President Joko Jokowi Widodos people-centered leadership, will probably connect the dots broken by the governments tunnel vision in enforcing the law against people who may know nothing about the law.

Rather than leading to arguments that resolve nothing, leading questions such as arent forests there to be utilized for humans greatest benefit? and which is more important, humans livelihood or the forests flora and fauna? should lead to the striking of a balance between the two seemingly conflicting interests that could actually be synergized, as in Tangkahans case.
All nations have rich histories, memorialized in museum pieces and remembered by many. Indonesia is no exception, with its days gone by the subject of many celebrations and remembrances. But it is not without its dark moments.



The month of May marks the 20th anniversary of the 1998 riots that shook Indonesia to its very core and culminated in the resignation of then-president Soeharto and the ushering in of a new age of democracy.



The scars from the racially tinged unrest were made manifest in Chinese Whispers, an online graphic novel by Rani Pramesti, a Jakarta-born ethnic Chinese artist who moved to Australia a year after the riots, and illustrated by Cindy Saja.



The six-chapter novel uses a combination of illustrations, animation and audio to create a moving 35-minute presentation, touching on diverse issues, from identity, race relations and violence against women.



One of the most poignant scenes was when 12-year-old Rani came home from school, looking sullen.



She asked her mother, Mom, are we Chinese?



Her mother replied, No, we are Indonesians.



While Chinese Whispers is primarily an account of Ranis childhood in the days leading up to the riots, it also discusses the political and social context of the racial tensions, which had started during Dutch occupation.



The title brings to mind a popular childrens game played across schoolyards, but according to Rani, it also refers to the ethnic Chinese diasporas tendency to speak of the riots in near-whisper quietness.



When I did my research for the project, I interviewed a number of people in Melbourne. We talked about many things, from their experiences to their favorite food. However, when the subject turned to May of 1998, their voices would drop to a whisper, even though it happened years ago and we were not even in Indonesia, Rani recalled.



In total, Rani recorded 16 hours of conversation between her and various figures, including journalist and writer Dewi Anggraeni, human rights activist Karlina Supelli and members of the ethnic Chinese community in Melbourne.



Chinese Whispers, which is available by visiting thechinesewhispers.com, began its life as an art installation, winning two awards at the Melbourne Fringe Festival in 2014. The installation consisted of a maze made of cloth, with visitors traversing the maze while accompanied by a recorded narration.



However, Rani felt the format limited the number of people who could experience the piece. I worked hard for two years to complete the installation, and only around 300 people could fully experience it in that format. This made me frustrated because I believe that Chinese Whispers carries an important message.



Following the installation, she turned to technology to spread her whispers. To reach a wider audience, Rani chose a digital format to allow millions of mobile phone users in Indonesia to experience the graphic novel, despite the sometimes spotty internet connection.



Indeed, the content-heavy presentation proved to be a challenge for those lacking a high-speed internet connection. Whats more, the mobile-oriented website meant that Chinese Whispers could not be loaded on a computer.



However, poor Wi-Fi should not deter readers from digesting the novels message that we cannot heal what we will not face.



Its tagline seems to suggest that its readers should reflect on their own conscience, to examine their own complicity in shaping Indonesias current sociopolitical climate.



Such a loaded message can prove to be controversial, given the recent events surrounding identity in politics. However, Rani said she had anticipated a backlash from people who might be offended by her work.



My job as an artist is to tell a story with integrity. I cannot control anything outside of that, but I hope that even if there is a personal attack directed at me or our team, it could become a catalyst for dialogue.



On one side, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. On the other hand, violence is never tolerable. No one should be violated or made to feel unsafe if you somehow disagree with them.



As the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) chairwoman Azriana said during the novels launch: If we do not make peace and remain in denial about what happened, healing will not come easy for us. (jlm)
US retailer Gap Inc apologized on Monday for selling a T-shirt which it said had an incorrect map of China, adding it would implement rigorous reviews to prevent a repeat mistake.

The apology came after a person posted pictures of the T-shirt on Chinese social media network Weibo, saying that Chinese territories, including south Tibet, the island of Taiwan and the South China Sea, were omitted from the map. The user said the photo of the T-shirt was taken at an outlet store in Canada.

American clothing retailer @Gap on Monday apologized for printing incomplete Chinese map on T-shirts for sales outside #China, said the brand respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity pic.twitter.com/uHJoLnpmr6  People's Daily,China (@PDChina) May 14, 2018

Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. Weve learned that a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologize for this unintentional error, it said in a statement posted on its Weibo account on Monday evening.

Read also: Ikea apologizes for turning down actor based on skin color

It added that the products had been pulled from the Chinese market and destroyed.

Gaps apology comes as China has been ramping up efforts to police language used to describe Chinese-claimed territories such as Taiwan. Other U.S. companies which have issued apologies for similar incidents include Delta Air Lines and Marriott International Inc.

Earlier this month, the White House sharply criticized Chinas efforts to force foreign airlines to change how they described Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau on their websites as Orwellian nonsense.
Many of us are updated with the latest news as soon as we wake up every morning, especially those who start the day by checking their social media notifications. Updates are likely to come from a number of online platforms, a mix of legitimate sources and otherwise. News travels fast these days, shared and re-posted by netizens, and a large volume of news spreads without proper editing and fact-checking, resulting in misinformation.

Misleading information is, however, often purposefully created to gain popularity, spread propaganda or encourage polarization. As we cannot help being exposed to a jumble of information in this digital age, we must be able to differentiate the accurate information from the misleading.

According to Sander van der Linden, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, there are certain signs of fake news as follows:

Ridiculous and hyperbolic headlines

Articles with this kind of headlines, also known as clickbait, are designed to drive traffic and social engagement. Ignore clickbait so that the enterprise makes less profit and the fake content transmission slows down. Van der Linden writes, If it sounds too ridiculous to be true, it probably is!

Content is politically framed

There are articles that take less than two seconds to win the readers agreement and, as confirmed by research, we tend to fluently process information that we agree with. Be aware that some articles could be framed to fuel conflict between different groups in society and increase polarization.

The article has gone viral

Craig Silverman in a report on behalf of the Tow Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, writes that lies spread much farther than the truth, just as viral content gets shared over and over again because of things other than factual accuracy. Therefore going viral is not always a good indicator of importance.

Read also: Crisis centers ready to combat hoaxes during elections

Above all, it is wise to keep a cool head while processing information from many different sources. Be selective about the news we like to share, and sometimes not sharing is better. We can also maintain a balance between consumption of news from social media websites with more reliable and accurate news outlets. (mut)
China is willing to provide economic aid to North Korea in stages during the denuclearization process once Pyongyang reaches an agreement with the U.S., the Yomiuri Shimbun reported Monday.

It said Chinese President Xi Jinping made the offer to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un when they met in Dalian on May 7-8.

"Kim sounded Xi out about the possibility that North Korea could receive economic support from China during the denuclearization process," the Japanese daily wrote.

"Kim expressed concern, telling Xi that the United States has said it will provide economic assistance to North Korea after Pyongyang completes denuclearization, but that he cannot trust it will keep that promise," the daily added.

"Kim then asked Xi for China's economic assistance during the intermediate stages of denuclearization."

Xi advised Kim to "give top priority" to reaching "a comprehensive agreement on denuclearization" with the U.S., according to the daily. He "told Kim that if Pyongyang reaches an agreement with Washington and makes concrete progress on denuclearization, there would be good cause for China to support North Korea."

Kim is trying to find ways around Washington's principle of no economic aid until complete denuclearization and is seeking immediate rewards at each stage.

Xi's offer "may have led to Kim's judgement on denuclearization" when he met with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang after his China trip, according to the Yomiuri.
Meghan Markle's father will not attend her wedding to Prince Harry this weekend, US media reported Monday, as Kensington Palace pleaded for "understanding and respect" for the couple during a "difficult situation".

According to celebrity news website TMZ, Thomas Markle, who recently posed for paparazzi photos, has pulled out of accompanying his daughter down the aisle at Windsor Castle because he does not want to embarrass her.

He is also reported to have suffered a heart attack in recent days.

Kensington Palace, the official residence of the couple, did not confirm whether Markle senior had pulled out of the wedding, but it did issue a statement hinting that all was not well.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," the palace said in a statement. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

The US actress' father had previously defied the palace's pleas for secrecy by agreeing to pose for a paparazzi photoshoot.

Read also: How will life change for Meghan?

This Is Why Thomas Markle Will No Longer Be Attending The Royal Wedding https://t.co/9TU90K9bBi pic.twitter.com/mFahVAcXax  Marie Claire (@marieclaire) May 14, 2018

The images, showing him being measured for a suit and admiring a photo of the future royal couple on his computer, sold for $100,000 (83,000 euros, 74,000) according to tabloid the Daily Mirror.

A source close to Thomas Markle, cited by the publication, said he was convinced to pose for the shots after being hounded by the paparazzi. He is now said to feel "like a total fool" who has been "scammed".

Markle's gaffe-prone American family has been sending royal courtiers into something of a spin by airing its dirty laundry in public.

The bride-to-be remains close with her divorced parents but other relatives have been barred from the May 19 nuptials amid unwelcome stories of bust-ups, heavy drinking -- and even an arrest.

Markle, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, had been due to be walked up the aisle by her 73-year-old father an Emmy-winning Hollywood lighting director of Dutch-Irish descent who is enjoying retired life in Mexico.

Her mother Doria Ragland is a 61-year-old yoga instructor and clinical therapist.
President Donald Trumps wife, Melania Trump, underwent a surgical procedure on Monday to treat a benign kidney condition and will remain at Walter Reed medical center for the rest of the week, the first ladys office said.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Mrs. Trump, 48, underwent an embolization procedure to treat the kidney condition.The procedure was successful and there were no complications, Grisham said. The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere.

President Trump spoke with his wife of 13 years before the procedure and talked to the doctor after it was completed, a White House official said.

Trump later traveled by his Marine One helicopter to Walter Reed to visit his wife.

Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers! he tweeted.

An embolization is a minimally invasive procedure often used to block the flow of blood to a tumor or an abnormal area of tissue.

Read also: Melania Trump, America's enigmatic first lady

Dr. Keith Kowalczyk, a urologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, said that based on available information it appeared that Melania Trump was treated for a benign tumor known as an angiomyolipoma.

Its the most common benign tumor thats out there. It is a tumor, which means its a growth. Theres no worry for it to spread or metastasize. Once its treated, its treated, he said.

Kowalczyk said women in their mid to late 40s make up 80 to 90 percent of the cases of angiomyolipomas.

It kind of all fits. But I dont know. Any time you are doing an embolization, its because something might bleed. Shes young and healthy and I cant really think of any other reason you would embolize someone like that.

Kowalczyk said angiomyolipomas are most commonly found by chance.

Usually, with embolization there is over a 90 percent success rate, he said.

The Slovenian-born first lady last week rolled out an agenda for her White House work focused on helping children.

A CNN/SSRS poll found last week that Melania was viewed favorably by 57 percent of Americans, up from 47 percent in January. Her husbands job approval rating lags behind hers at 50 percent or less.
A Picasso self-portrait estimated to be worth $70 million and due to go under the hammer in New York on Tuesday, has been "accidentally damaged" and withdrawn from auction, Christie's said.

The 1943 masterpiece called "The Marin" or "The Sailor" had been a highlight of Christie's marquee impressionist and modern evening art sale. According to US media, it belongs to former casino magnate Steve Wynn.

Christie's said the damage happened on Friday "during the final stages of preparation."

"After consultation with the consignor today, the painting has been withdrawn from Christie's May 15 sale to allow the restoration process to begin," it added.

The auction house gave no further details on the incident or the extent of the damage.

In the marketing blitz to accompany the sale, Christie's spoke glowingly of the significance of the work and its importance on the market.

Read also: Six Picasso exhibitions to see in Europe in 2018

"This is a very, very special Picasso that I've been trying to get forever basically," Loic Gouzer, co-chairman for postwar and contemporary art at Christie's, had told AFP.

Neither would it be Wynn's first Picasso to come a cropper.

In 2006, the billionaire accidentally poked an elbow through Picasso's 1932 "Le Reve," while showing it off to guests in Las Vegas. The painting was refurbished and later reportedly sold for $155 million.

In January, Wynn was hit by accusations from dozens of people in The Wall Street Journal alleging decades of sexual misconduct.

The businessman, who is a political ally of President Donald Trump, denied the allegations and accused his ex-wife Elaine of instigating the accusations as part of a "terrible and nasty lawsuit" seeking a revised divorce settlement.

Last Tuesday, Christie's sold Pablo Picasso's 1905 "Fillette a la corbeille fleurie" ("Young Girl With a Flower Basket") for $115 million, making it the Spanish master's second most expensive work ever sold at auction.
Next month, Toys R Us is putting its famous mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, on the auction block. Also up for sale: sex-toys-r-us.com.

The adult-oriented domain name is one of hundreds of website addresses that the bankrupt toy-store chain is looking to find a buyer for as it winds down its business and shutters 735 U.S. stores, according to court records.

Also up for sale: ihatetoysrus.com, toysrussucks.com, kinkytoysrus.com and adult-toys-r-us.com.

The company is selling its intellectual property, which includes its name, Geoffrey the Giraffe logo, and the Babies R Us brand, to raise money to repay its creditors. Brand specialists said it could be one of the most valuable brands ever sold by a company going out of business.

A spokeswoman for Toys R Us did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read also: Toys `R' Us to liquidate as retailer's turnaround collapses

Companies like Toys R Us often register related domain names to guard against someone hijacking their brand for their own business, said Bob Phibbs, a brand specialist and chief executive of the Retail Doctor consulting firm.

They just went crazy, said Phibbs. Im sure they were laughing and drinking Red Bull and then just came up with every iteration they could.

Phibbs said the long list of domain names owned by the company reveals the allure of the Toys R Us brand. The company registered dozens of domain names: lodges-r-us.com, bistros-r-us.com, recipes-r-us.com, burgers-r-us.com and even cigars-r-us.com.

It shows the power of the brand, said Phibbs. The R Us is the key to the brand, not the Toys.

None of the domain names are currently active.
Online fashion retailer Zalora has teamed up with RPX Group, a local cargo service provider, and Indomaret, the countrys largest minimarket chain, for a new pick-up service.

Dubbed Paket Ambil Suka-Suka (PAS), Zalora customers can now pick up their orders at more than 5,000 Indomaret outlets.

Launched on Tuesday, the service gave its first 1,000 customers to a free pick-up service.

Antara reported that the service is currently only available in Greater Jakarta. However, Zalora has planned to expand it to Java and Bali.

Zalora Indonesia CEO Anthony Fung said in a press release that PAS aims to provide customers with flexibility and efficiency in the middle of the city's hustle and bustle.

Read also: Zalora collaborates with Jason Wu, Sometime by Asian Designers

Meanwhile, RPX e-commerce general manager Albert Palit said the company supported the service as logistics play an important role in online shopping.

Those who want to use PAS will need to choose a delivery method during checkout on Zaloras website or mobile application, and pick their preferred Indomaret outlet.

Customers will receive a text message and email notification informing them when the package has arrived.

Zalora will also provide PIN numbers for customers via email, ensuring security during the parcel pick-up process at Indomaret. (jes/wng)
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Linkedin Ashok Tuteja (The Statesman/ANN) New Delhi  Tue, May 15, 2018 07:00 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e3f5701 2 World #India,#Russia,#modi,#Putin,#summit Free

Close on the heels of his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in an informal setting in Wuhan, China, in April, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Russia on 21 May for an informal summit with President Vladimir Putin at the beach resort of Sochi.

The informal summit at Sochi was in keeping with the tradition of regular consultations between India and Russia at the highest levels, the External Affairs Ministry announced on Monday.

The summit would be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening special and privileged partnership between the two countries. The two leaders would also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters, the ministry added.

The date for the PMs visit to Russia was finalized last week when National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale visited Moscow.

The summit will take place days after Putin was sworn in as President for a fourth term in office. Modi was among the first world leaders to congratulate Putin on his re-election to the post in March. The two leaders have established a personal chemistry between them which is quite visible whenever and wherever they have met over the past four years.

The visit will provide an opportunity to the two leaders to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, particularly in the defence and security field, and also to take stock of important global developments, including the US decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear accord and the situation in Afghanistan, Syria and the Korean peninsula.

Sources said Modi would most likely reassure Putin of Indias commitment to consolidate ties with Russia in defence, nuclear energy, trade and other key sectors. The two leaders might also discuss how their two countries could counter the challenge posed to their defence cooperation by impending US sanctions against several Russian entities involved in military supplies to India under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Russia is also said to be upset with India since New Delhi has in recent years diversified its defence purchases rather than remaining dependent on Moscow. However, sources made it clear that Russia was and would most likely remain the biggest arms supplier to India. This was reiterated to Moscow only in April when Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited Russia and discussed a slew of defence deals, including the S-400 air-defence missile systems.

The Modi-Putin summit is taking place under the shadow of the growing friendship between Moscow and Islamabad, much to the discomfort of India. Reports in the media have suggested that Pakistan was keen on defense purchases from Russia. India is vehemently opposed to any defenae partnership between Russia and Pakistan since most of the weaponry with India is of Russian-origin.

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This article appeared on The Statesman newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 10:07 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e3fde24 4 Business Airport,security,#SurabayaBombings Free

State-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura I (AP I) has tightened security at 13 of its airports following several bomb attacks in East Javas capital city of Surabaya on Sunday and Monday.

A number of measures have been taken to improve safety and security at airports to prevent any bomb attacks, said AP I president director Faik Fahmi as reported by kompas.com on Monday.

The company has intensified patrols around the airports, increased profiling through CCTV analyses, conducted random checks on vehicles and intensified coordination with external security forces, Faik said.

A security post was established in each airport as a coordinating center between internal and external security forces to help ease coordination if any assistance is needed, he said, adding that security officers were required to work double shifts.

So we have at least double the number of security officers on duty, he said, adding that Juanda International Airport in Surabaya had 723 security personnel standing guard from the usual 216.

The total number of security officers guarding all 13 airports has so far reached 3,835, Faik said.

The firm is also managing traffic in surrounding areas, with more personnel checking vehicles and guiding those approaching airport terminals.

Passengers are advised to arrive three hours before departure to anticipate traffic because of [intensified] security checks on vehicles entering the airport, Faik said. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 20:42 1242 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4225c3 1 City Ancol,Ancol-Dreamland-Park,commissioners-selection,anies-baswedan Free

The Jakarta administration has appointed social entrepreneur Rene Suhardono as the president and independent commissioner of city-owned property developer PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.

Rene is a social media influencer and motivator who frequently expressed his support for Anies on his social media account during the campaign season.

He was appointed during the shareholders meeting on Tuesday, replacing Ngadiman.

Besides Rene, the city administration also appointed Geisz Chalifah, a political observer who expressed his support for Anies on several occasions during the campaign season, to replace Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) head Tuty Kusumawati.

Trisna Muliadi and KRMH Daryanto Mangoenpratolo were reappointed as commissioners.

Anies said Rene was appointed because he was a professional who understood the amusement park business well.

Were lucky that a person with relevant knowledge and experience can help the supervision of the directors, Anies said on Tuesday.

He added that besides supervising the directors, he hoped Rene, with his fresh perspective, could bring innovation to Ancol Dreamland amusement park in North Jakarta, which was operated by PT Pembangunan Jaya Ancol.

Rene also had a large national and international network, a factor that may attract more people to visit the park, he said.

Anies added Geisz was appointed because he had been involved in some cultural activities, including Jakarta Melayu Festival. His experience was relevant to the duty as a commissioner, he added.

Supporters of Anies and his deputy, Sandiaga Uno, had already been appointed to positions in city administration-related institutions.

Previously, the Jakarta administration appointed deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) Sarman Simanjorang as president commissioner of beer manufacturer PT Delta Djakarta, replacing Jakarta Financial Management Board head Michael Rolandi.

Sarman was known to be a close friend of Sandiaga while he was still active in Kadin.

Anies also appointed his spokesman during campaign season, Naufal Firman, as a member of the Team for Development Acceleration (TGUPP).
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 19:13 1242 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e41ddd8 1 City abandoned-baby,West-Jakarta Free

An abandoned two-day-old baby girl was found in a garbage wagon under the Pasar Pagi Tambora overpass in Tambora, West Jakarta, on Monday.

She was found inside a garbage wagon under the overpass at around 12 a.m. The baby will stay at the [Anak Balita Tunas Bangsa] orphanage, said Suta Wijaya, the head of the social rehabilitation unit of West Jakarta Social Agency as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Suta said residents heard a baby crying in the middle of the night and searched for the source of the crying.

She has been examined at Sumber Waras Hospital; shes healthy. Officials [in the orphanage] will take care of her, he said.

Tambora Police are searching for the babys parents. Police chief Comr. Iver Son Manossoh believed that the baby was deliberately abandoned.

Well investigate the case. Our current suspicion is that the baby was abandoned intentionally, he said.

The incident is the latest of several such cases reported recently.

On May 12, residents of Cibitung in Bekasi, West Java, found an abandoned baby boy. West Cikarang Police office Adj. Comr. Wuryanti said a resident named Sarwoko heard a baby crying, followed the sound and found the baby wrapped in a piece of cloth in front of a house.

Earlier on May 2, a scavenger in Depok, West Java also found a baby boy abandoned inside a box on an uninhabited plot of land. The baby, estimated to be one or two days old, was taken to Depok Jaya community health center to receive medical treatment. (vla)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 17:43 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e41ad67 1 City iftar,ramadhan,community,anies-baswedan,ramadhan-in-indonesia,jakarta,#Ramadhan2018 Free

The Jakarta Administration plans to hold mass iftar (breaking of the fast) events starting in June, in 223 community units (RW), funded and organized by the administration and private citizens.

Both the administration and citizens will work together for the iftar events, as well as for the funding, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said on Tuesday as reported by Warta Kota.

Anies said that NGO Dompet Dhuafa and the Aksi Cepat Tanggap (ACT) foundation would receive any donations from citizens who wanted to participate in the iftar events.

For citizens who want to participate in preparing the iftar events, ACT and Dompet Dhuafa will be the channel for them. Citizens can send donations to a bank account set up by ACT and Dompet Dhuafa, which will be distributed as iftar meals for residents. The administration will also provide some of the funding, Anies said.

ACT vice president Imam Akbari said that Ramadhan was a time to help those in need.

We want citizens to help each other, so we will facilitate anyone who wants to collaborate with us during the Ramadhan fasting month. We will start with iftar events, which some may regard as trivial, but it is actually precious for some of our friends, he said.

Imam said that ACT also accepted food donations, whether raw or cooked, or volunteers who wanted to help preparing the iftar meals. (ami)
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a TV interview on Sunday that if North Korea agrees to denuclearize, "of course there will be sanctions relief. We can create conditions for real economic prosperity for the North Korean people that will rival that of the South, and that is our expectation."

White House National Security adviser John Bolton said the U.S. is ready to open trade and investments in North Korea as soon as possible. Pompeo referred specifically to investments in infrastructure, energy and agriculture, which are in urgent need of development in the North. The international community must pitch in to help rebuild North Korea if it scraps its nuclear weapons.

But the problem is the astronomical price tag. According to a 2014 government estimate it would cost US$77.3 billion just to rebuild North Korea's decrepit railway network, to say nothing of bullet trains. Road rebuilding projects also cost an arm and a leg. Back in 2005, the government estimated that it would cost W3.2 trillion to supply 2 million KW of electricity to the North over five years, and W3.5 trillion to build just one light-water reactor (US$1=W1,069). North Korea's power grid is so decrepit that the power shortage rate stands at 70 percent. The mind boggles at the cost of rebuilding it.

But Pompeo insisted those picking up the tab "won't be U.S. taxpayers." Bolton also said there will be no U.S. government assistance for North Korea. U.S. President Donald Trump is already asked Mexico to pay for his harebrained scheme of a wall along their border and views the U.S. troop presence in South Korea as essentially a cost problem. In other words, there will be no U.S. government support for North Korea along the lines of the publicly funded Marshall Plan that helped Europe back on its feet after World War II.

Instead Washington could turn to the International Monetary Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or Asian Development Bank to share the cost of rebuilding North Korea and ask another country to guarantee the loans. South Korea ended up having to guarantee a considerable portion of loans after the 1994 Geneva Accords. South Korean taxpayers had to pay 70 percent of the cost of building an abortive light-water reactor in North Korea.

The projects President Moon Jae-in pledged following his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last month involves more than W16 trillion in costs. A new roadmap for North Korea's development by a special presidential committee includes development plans for the North's railway, ports, power grid and gas supply networks. There is even talk that North Korea now wants high-tech investments instead of aid for light industry.

Investment in North Korea could benefit everyone if executed wisely, and of course South Korea needs to help the North build up its decrepit infrastructure in order to prepare for reunification. But everything must be done within South Korea's budget and not turn into an emotional spending spree.


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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 11:59 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e40586d 4 Business oil-block,contract-extension,energy-and-mineral-resources-ministry Free

Five out of six existing oil contractors have submitted their proposals to extend their contracts to operate various oil blocks, according to an Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry official.

All existing contractors have submitted their proposals, except Conocophillips. The company will submit its proposal with a gross-split scheme, the ministrys oil and gas director general, Djoko Siswanto, said in Jakarta on Monday as reported by kontan.co.id.

He added that Conocophillips currently operated South Jambi Block.

Under new government regulations, oil and gas contractors are required to change their contracts from cost recovery to a gross-split scheme.

The five contractors that have submitted their proposals are state-owned oil and gas company Pertamina for Salawati Block, PT Energi Mega Persada for Malaka Strait block, Chevron Indonesia for Makassar Strait Block, Petrogas for Kepala Burung Block and Lapindo Brantas Inc. for Brantas Block.

Djoko said Conocophillips, whose contract expires in 2021, had until June to file its proposal in time for the government to make its decision.

Companies with contracts expiring in 2022 will have until July.

Previously, Djoko said the existing contractors would not automatically win their contract because they had to compete with other companies interested in operating the oil blocks.

Chevron Indonesia, for example, is in competition with Pertamina to secure Rokan Block in Riau province, whose contract expires in 2021. (bbn)
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Linkedin Moses Ompusunggu (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 17:06 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4185c0 1 National terrorism,Jokowi,Democratic-party,Rachland-Nasidik,intelligence,church-attack,bombings Free

An opposition politician has called on President Joko Jokowi Widodo to review the performance of his top security officials and make heads roll if necessary after a string of bombings in East Java earlier this week.

Democratic Party deputy secretary-general Rachland Nashidik said that while it was important to revise the Terrorism Law, the President should pay attention to organizational reform and replace officials who have failed in carrying out their duties to protect the freedom and security of citizens.

Citizens venting their anger over terrorist attacks must also demand accountability from law enforcement and security institutions, including the state intelligence body, Rachland added in his Twitter account on Sunday after suicide bomb attacks on three churches in Surabaya.

As of Monday night, the number of fatalities from a series of bombings in Surabaya and Sidoarjo had risen to 28 people, 13 of whom were suicide bombers or their children.

The terror attacks in East Java took place just five days after a riot at a detention center at the National Police's Mobile Brigade headquarters (Mako Brimob) in Depok, West Java, which led to the deaths of five police officers and an inmate and a 36-hour standoff between terrorist inmates and security forces.

"Don't hesitate to demand they step down from their positions to give a chance to those who are more reliable," said Rachland.

"The first principle of a state that embraces democracy is that when the people's security and freedom are threatened, the first party that must be evaluated and corrected are responsible state officials," he added. (ahw)
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Linkedin Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 15:35 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e414e41 1 Business trade-deficit,APRIL,BPS Free

Indonesia recorded a US$1.63 billion trade deficit in April due to an unusual increase in imports, particularly on capital goods, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Tuesday.

Exports were booked at $14.47 billion, an increase of 9.01 percent year-on-year (yoy), primarily driven by the increase in vehicles and spare parts, rubber as well as manufactured goods from iron and steel, among others.

Imports, meanwhile, jumped by 34.68 percent yoy in April to $16.09 billion.

Read also: Indonesia books $1.09b trade surplus in March: BPS

Capital goods, which accounted for 16.29 percent of imports in April, increased 40.81 percent yoy to $2.62 billion. Intermediary goods also increased 33 percent yoy to $11.96 billion over the same period.

BPS head Suhariyanto said the large increase in capital goods and raw materials imports were unusual as it occurred near the Ramadhan period, slated to commence in mid-May, which traditionally saw declined imports due to fewer working days in the period.

Capital goods and raw material imports in the period near Ramadhan were unusual as usually [the producers] imported the goods at least two months earlier thanks to the holiday season [at the end of Ramadhan], said Suhariyanto in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Indonesia booked $8.16 billion in non-oil and gas exports to China in April, while exports to the United States and Japan were recorded at $5.85 billion and $5.47 billion, respectively, over the same period.

As for the import side, Indonesia imported non-oil and gas goods worth $13.92 billion from China as of April, while imports from Japan and Thailand were recorded at $5.98 billion and $3.45 billion, respectively. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 16:12 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4158aa 1 City alert-status,Jakarta-police,bombing Free

The Jakarta Police have urged the citizens to continue their daily activities as per usual as the police had recently lowered the citys security status from siaga 1, the highest alert level, to siaga alert level.

What's important now is that citizens go about their activities as usual while the police personnel will still remain on alert, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono told reporters on Tuesday.

Argo stressed that the security alert was mainly aimed at police personnel, who remained on standby for any possible emergencies.

Argo said police officers in the city would also remain on alert with extra security.

At the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta, police officers armed with long-barreled weapons guarded the entrance, and every visitor had to undergo a security check by the officers guarding the entrance.

Previously, the Jakarta Police had declared a siaga 1 security alert in the city on Sunday, hours after bomb attacks occurred in several places in Surabaya, East Java. (ami)
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Linkedin Karina M. Tehusijarana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 12:03 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4058a0 1 National #SurabayaBombings,law,law-enforcement,Terrorism-Law,law-enforcers,terror-attack Free

The Kolegium Jurist Institute (KJI) said on Tuesday that law revisions on their own would not be able to fully eradicate terrorism.

"The facts and experience show that terrorism laws are unable to guarantee the elimination of terrorism from this republic," KJI executive director Ahmad Redi said in a written statement.

"The government cannot just use criminal sanctions to address terrorism [...] but should prioritize preventative measures," he said.

He said the government should evaluate the deradicalization efforts that were already in place and see how they could be improved going forward.

He added that the general public also played an important part in terrorism prevention, as the family's role is to imbue children with morals and compassion that could be a "strong wall" against committing acts of violence against fellow human beings.

"Universities should also form more terrorism study centers, which will publish research about terrorism policies and can be used by the government as a basis in creating measures to address terrorism," he said. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 15:24 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e413ef4 1 Politics Tegal,KPUD,Enthus-Susmono,KPUD-CentralJava,Election-day,2018-regional-election,regional-elections Free

The Central Java General Elections Commission (KPUD) has said it would give an opportunity to political parties supporting incumbent Tegal regent candidate Enthus Susmono, who died on Monday evening, to find a replacement for the deceased for the upcoming regency election.

Enthus, who was also known as a dalang (puppet master), died of a heart attack at Soesilo Hospital, Tegal, at 7:15 p.m. local time. The regent was running for a second term in this years regional election.

Because he died 46 days before the election, his supporting parties have an obligation to look for his replacement, said KPU Central Java chairman Joko Purnomo as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.

Enthus and his candidate pair Umi Azizah were backed by five parties: the National Awakening Party (PKB), Gerindra, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and Hanura.

As stipulated in the 2016 Regional Elections Law, the parties are required to nominate a new candidate no later than seven days after Enthus death. The elections commission later will verify the nominated candidate.

If the party cannot find a replacement, the pairs candidacy will be aborted, Joko went on to say.

Tegal regency is one of 171 regions set to participate in the 2018 simultaneous regional elections slated for June 27. (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya  Tue, May 15, 2018 16:27 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e416a10 1 National terrorism,surabaya,Sidoarjo,East-Java,police,Densus-88,terror-attack Free

The National Polices Densus 88 counterterrorism squad arrested another four suspected terrorists in different cities in East Java during Monday night operations in the wake of a series of suicide bombings in the province, the East Java Police said Tuesday.

Two suspected terrorists were arrested in Malang regency, one in Pandaan and one in Surabaya, East Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Frans Barung Mangera said in a press conference.

Police have not released the names of the newly arrested suspected terrorists but said they were connected to the perpetrators in the Surabaya attacks, including the family of Dita Oeprianto, who blew themselves up at three churches in the provincial capital on Sunday.

The police announced on Monday they arrested nine terrorists in different places following the Surabaya attacks.

That means we have arrested a total of 13 people so far and [the number is likely] to increase. They are not including those who were shot dead, Frans said.

East Java Police chief Insp. Gen. Machfud Arifin said in the morning that among individuals being hunted down included radical preachers in the religious gatherings frequented by the suicide bombing families.

We cannot update you further on this as it is the authority of those [Densus 88] on the ground, Machfud said.

At least five explosions occurred in Surabaya and Sidoarjo on Sunday and Monday, killing a total of 28 people, including 13 suicide bombers, who were members of three families.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian previously said the perpetrators of the attacks were connected to Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), a local terrorist group affiliated with the Islamic State group. (ahw)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 11:08 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e402e64 1 National terrorism,TerrorAttacks,National-Police,terrorists,Surabaya-bombings,#Surabaya,#SurabayaBombings,Jakarta-police Free

Following a series of terrorist attacks on Sunday and Monday in Surabaya, East Java, the Jakarta Police have called on the public to report any suspicious social media accounts to the National Polices official Twitter account, @DivHumas_Polri.

The Jakarta Polices public relations department issued a public call on Monday through its official Twitter handle, @HumasMetroJaya, for people to immediately report any Twitter accounts that supported radicalism, terrorism or an Islamist caliphate by sending a direct message (DM) to the Jakarta Police or the National Police's Twitter account.

(Read also: [UPDATED] Surabaya church bombings: What we know so far)

The National Police's Cyber Crime Investigation Center (CCIC) also reminded the public to stay calm.

We urge the public to stay calm and to share any information that could help us investigate this case by sending a DM to our Twitter account, it tweeted through @CCICPolri.

Aside from reporting suspicious social media activity through Twitter, netizens can also file a report on radical and pro-terror websites by emailing the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) at aduankonten@bnpt.go.id, or the Communications and Information Ministry at aduankonten@mail.kominfo.go.id. (dpk/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 10:53 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e40290a 4 Business #SurabayaBombings,TerroristAttacks,IMF-WB-meeting,preparation Free

The Finance Ministry is confident that the recent suicide bombings in Surabaya, East Java, will not affect the governments preparations for the 2018 IMF-World Bank meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Bali in October.

We are going ahead with our preparations, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said in Jakarta on Monday as reported by Antara.

The government, Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police are closely working together to ensure the resort islands security, she added.

The former is also coordinating with the meetings organizing committee in Washington to assure its members that the event  which is expected to welcome 15,000 participants  will run smoothly.

Terrorist attacks occur in many countries, who evaluate the incidents and the threat [they face], and how to mitigate the situation, Sri Mulyani said.

She further assured that serious efforts made by Indonesias security forces to deal with the recent spate of terror attacks would reignite the international communitys confidence in the country, including investors.

Still, the minister expressed hopes that the incidents would not affect the wider perception of Indonesian security amid global economic uncertainty.

Simultaneous suicide bombings struck three churches across Surabaya on Sunday morning. Only a few hours later, a homemade bomb was prematurely detonated at a low-cost apartment in Sidoarjo, East Java.

On Monday, another bomb went off at the Surabaya Police headquarters. All three incidents are believed to have been committed by different families.

Twenty-five people were killed in the attacks, including 13 suicide bombers, according to the police. (bbn)
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Linkedin Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post) Surabaya, East Java  Tue, May 15, 2018 18:43 1242 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e41bd5c 1 National suicide-attack,suicide-bombings,terrorism,TerrorAttacks,terror-attack,Surabaya-bombings,SurabayaBombings,#SurabayaBombings Free

The perpetrators of bomb attacks in Surabaya, East Java, were reportedly members of the same terrorist cell and attended the same religious gatherings in the city, East Java Police said on Tuesday.

Police chief Insp. Gen. Machfud Arifin said the three families involved in the suicide bombings attended the same religious gathering every Sunday. The perpetrators reportedly took their children to the weekly gatherings where they were taught radical ideologies, he went on.

The gatherings were held every Sunday following noon prayers. Movies about [violent] jihad were shown during the events, Machfud said in a press conference in Surabaya.

Machfud further said that in each gathering, participants were lectured about violent jihad and given guidance on how to make bombs. The gatherings were led by radical preachers whom the police were pursuing.

Police said the preachers had fled Surabaya but officers had mapped out their locations.

(Read also: Surabaya streets silent after terrorist attacks)

Bombs went off in five different locations in Surabaya on Sunday and Monday. On Sunday, massive explosions occurred at three different churches, claiming 18 lives, including six of the suicide bombers. Police later found out that the perpetrators were a family of six, comprising Dita Oeprianto, his wife, and their two sons and two daughters.

Hours after the church bombings, another bomb prematurely went off at a low-cost apartment in Wonocolo, Sidoarjo, killing a family of three, comprising a man, his wife and one of their children. Three other children survived and are being treated at Bhayangkara Ngagel Hospital.

On Monday, another suicide bombing took place at Surabaya Police headquarters, claiming four lives -- all are perpetrators -- and wounding 10 people.

The motivation is they want to go to heaven together. They took their family members with them because they want to go to heaven together, Machfud said.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian previously said the perpetrators of the Surabaya attacks were supporters of Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), the local affiliation of the Islamic State group.

JAD is led by Aman Abdurrahman, who is being detained at the National Polices Brigade Mobile headquarters detention center in Depok, West Java. Aman is standing trial for his alleged involvement in a terrorist attack in Central Jakarta in January 2016. (ebf)
Home  Just In  Nepali youth Scout climbs Everest for the second time

Kathmandu, May 15

A Nepal Scouts member has climbed Mount Everest for the second time on Monday.

Anish Luitel, 23, reached the top of the world from the Tibet side yesterday morning. Earlier, he had climbed Everest in 2016, becoming the first Nepal Scouts member to reach conquer the highest peak.

He had taken Nepals constitution to the peak during his last ascent.

Luitel is currently descending from Camp III.

Earlier, the Chief Scout, the international head of the Scout Association, had extended his best wishes to Luitel for the attempt.
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Linkedin Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Surakarta, Central Java  Tue, May 15, 2018 16:47 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4182ee 1 National Surabaya-bombings,SurabayaBombings,#SurabayaBombings,terrorism,TerrorAttacks,terrorists,suicide-bombings,suicide-attack Free

One of victims of Sundays suicide bomb attack on Surabaya Pentecostal Church (GPPS) in East Java, l Sri Pudji Astutik, 67, has been buried in Surakarta, Central Java.

Pudji was laid to rest at the Bonoloyo public cemetery after her body arrived in her hometown at around 12:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday. Pudji was originally from Mangkubumen in Surakarta but she had been living in Surabaya since the 1960s. Hundreds of mourners attended her funeral.

She was laid here [in Surakarta] because it was her will. She had often asked for it, Pudjis relative Tri Nuryanti said.

(Read also: Police nab more suspected terrorists in East Java)

Tri said Pudji lived alone in Surabaya and ran a business in the city, she had been married previously but had no children.

Sri was sitting chatting with other congregation members in front of GPPS when a suicide bomber, identified as Dita Oeprianto, launched the attack using a car bomb just before morning service at the church began.

A medical team [at Ramelan Navy Hospital] conducted surgery to remove shrapnel from her face and body. She didnt survive, however. She died on Tuesday midnight, Tri said.

Apart from Pudji, 24 other people, including 13 bombers or their children, were killed with dozens injured in a spate of suicide bombings in and around Surabaya on Sunday and Monday carried out by three families allegedly linked to Jamaah Ansharud Daulah (JAD), a group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) movement. (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington, United States  Tue, May 15, 2018 20:35 1242 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e4216cb 2 World trump,Melania-Trump,surgery,kidney Free

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said his wife Melania is "doing really well" following a successful kidney procedure and will leave hospital within days.

First Lady Melania Trump had surgery on Monday morning for what aides called a "benign" kidney condition.

"Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days," Trump tweeted. "Thank you for so much love and support!"

Our great First Lady is doing really well. Will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days. Thank you for so much love and support!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 15, 2018

The Slovenia-born former model underwent an embolization procedure, said her communications director Stephanie Grisham.

Embolization is most frequently used to cut off the flow of blood to a tumor or growth.

It is common to stay overnight after the procedure to treat the pain.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Tue, May 15, 2018 14:08 1243 a7124a1e87885b91d244660f9e411662 1 City fire,fire-accidents,firefighters,Bekasi Free

Two people were killed on Tuesday morning in a fire that razed a house in Kranggan Permai, Bekasi, West Java.

The victims, identified as, Dwi, 14, and Dea, 15, had worked at the house as domestic helpers.

Bekasi Police spokeswoman Comr. Erna Ruswing Andari said the fire started at around 3:30 a.m. in the bedroom of the owners son.

According to [the son], he immediately woke his family up after noticing the fire. The blaze grew and when they were outside, the family realized that Dwi and Dea were still on the second floor, Erna said as reported by tempo.co.

It took firefighters three hours to extinguish the blaze.

Bekasi Fire and Rescue Agency head Aceng Solahudin said that, according to his teams latest investigation, the fire had been sparked by a lighter.

Further investigation will be conducted by the Pondok Gede Police under the Bekasi Polices supervision, he said. (vla)
The Tourism Ministry has prepared 75 tour packages in a bid to attract 170,000 foreign tourists during the 2018 Asian Games.

The packages reportedly offer seven main destinations, namely Jakarta, West Java, South Sumatra, Central Java, Yogyakarta, Banyuwangi in East Java and Bali.

All of the ministry's promotions conducted 100 days prior to the event, which is slated on Aug. 18 to Sept. 2, will feature the 2018 Asian Games logo.

"The 2018 Asian Games has become an opportunity to boost the number of foreign tourist visits this year. As the potential is huge, we're optimistic the target can be reached," said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya on Monday as quoted by tempo.co.

Read also: Jakarta security beefed up ahead of Asian Games

According to Inasgoc Ticketing Department data, the event will have 15,000 athletes and officials and 5,000 media participants from 45 countries in attendance.

The upcoming Asian Games will also involve 30,000 volunteers and workers and could potentially reach billions of viewers around the globe. It is also expected to attract 150,000 foreign tourists. (kes)
Low-cost carrier Citilink Indonesia has geared up for Ramadhan by unveiling new cabin crew uniforms and special Ramadhan hot meals on Monday.

Starting from May 14, all [Citilink's] cabin crews will wear new uniforms, said Ranty Astari Rachman, vice president corporate secretary and corporate social responsibility for the airline.

The uniforms were first introduced on March 19. Featuring new colors  dark green, lime and gray  it has a Gurdo Aji pattern, which is the child of a Garuda bird that flies higher and farther.

Designed by Luis Vioni, the new uniforms also come with a hijab design.

Ranty told The Jakarta Post that 25 percent of the cabin crew actually wear hijabs in their everyday lives. Previously, they weren't allowed to wear it during work; hence the new design was aimed to cater to them.

Furthermore, the airline also flies to Aceh province as well as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The two cities require female flight attendants to wear hijabs, adding one more reason to create the new uniforms.

Read also: Citilink introduces new attendant uniforms with ASEAN expansion

Ranty explained that as the airline wanted to expand its routes, they also felt the need to provide a hijab design for female flight attendants.

Ranty expressed her hopes that through the new uniforms, the airline would be able to improve its service.

In regard to the Ramadhan menu, Ranty mentioned it would be available from the first day of Ramadhan.

Priced at Rp 45,000 (US$3.20) , the prebooked menu offers four dishes, namely bakmi Jawa (Javanese style fried noodles), nasi goreng (fried rice), lontong medan (Medan-style rice cakes served with coconut gravy) and nasi Padang (Padang-style mixed rice).

Low cost air carrier Citilink offers many benefits for passengers who travel abroad particularly for medical reasons. This benefit applies for passengers traveling to Penang, Malaysia, for example. (Shutterstock/Broewnis Photo)

Additionally, the airline will also provide free takjil (breaking-of-the-fast snacks) for passengers who board a flight near the breaking-of-the-fast time.

Ranty mentioned that the takjil would include kurma (dates) and one sweet treat, such as kolak (bananas and sweet potatoes stewed in coconut milk), es pisang hijau (banana-based ice desserts) or bubur sum-sum mutiara (rice porridge), and a bottle of mineral water. (kes)
Following the terror attacks in Surabaya and Sidoarjo on Sunday and Monday, the Tourism Ministry said it had coordinated with related authorities to ensure the conduciveness of the tourist ecosystem in the regions.

"We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families of the victims. Tourism Crisis Management keeps monitoring updates on the incident and coordinating with related authorities to assure that the tourist ecosystem, particularly accessibility, amenities and attractions in Surabaya and Sidoarjo in East Java remain conducive," read the statement sent to The Jakarta Post on Monday.

Read also: Do not issue travel warning against Indonesia: ASITA

"Regarding the travel advice issued by several governments, the Tourism Ministry appreciates such measures and considers it as a form of the countries' responsibility to protect their citizens," added the statement.

According to kompas.com, the ministry's crisis center will provide important updates on its website every hour regarding three aspects: "[to inform tourists about] the opening status of an attraction; airline accessibility, whether an airport is closed not; and [implementation of] security at hotels," said Tourism Minister Arief Yahya.

Despite the incident, Arief said there were no significant effects on the hotel sector in Surabaya. (kes)
Young Adult (YA) fiction has experienced a boom over the past twenty years, with the number of titles published doubling between 2002 and 2012.

A report by Nielsen suggested that 80% of YA novels are actually read by adults over the age of 25, proving that these are not just teen romances, high school angst and tales of woe.

Im a huge YA fan (and I definitely fall into that 80%!). Heres ten of my suggestions for pages to turn if you also want to get in on this trend.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

If youre a fan of Alice in Wonderland, or the way that Wicked revises The Wizard of Oz, this is a great book. Meyer invents a backstory for the Queen of Hearts, who was once a girl called Catherine who had much bigger plans than being a queen, such as opening a bakery and marrying a man she loved. Fans of the cancelled Once Upon a Time spin-off Once Upon a Time in Wonderland might appreciate the revisions made here, but the quality of the writing is a joy to anybody whose main knowledge of the Alice story comes via a cartoon or Johnny Depp.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Rowell has tapped into a range of YA trends over the past years, from the odd-couple genre explored in Eleanor and Park, to her work revisiting the Marvel Runaways series in her current comic book run. In Fangirl, she addresses issues of concern to many YA readers, including moving away to university, changing family relationships and the world of fanfiction. Cath is far more comfortable online than in her real life, where her twin sister Wren is the popular outgoing one. As part of the story of Cath developing her own identity, Rowell includes sections from the imagined series which so engages the character, and the story continues  kind of  in Rowells next novel, Carry On, which is the fanfic Cath is struggling to finish in Fangirl.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D Taylor

This used to be taught in schools up and down the country, but seems to have fallen out of favour, which is incredibly sad. Fans of To Kill a Mockingbird will find this to tell the story from another viewpoint, that of the black community themselves. Its actually the second part of a trilogy, so theres an inbuilt next read if this is one you like, but is just as easily enjoyed for the quality of the writing and the impact of the story told here.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness

Ness has covered a whole range of genres in his work, and here he takes on the Chosen One narrative from a very different perspective  that of those who havent been chosen for anything at all! Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans might like this, as its essentially what the series would be like if it was all told by Xander. This new way of looking at what has become a somewhat tired trope really freshens it up, whilst Ness characters are always rounded and well-written.

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Choosing one Dessen novel to include here was a tough call, as shes basically the doyen of YA contemporary romance. This was the first of her books I read and Ive been a fan ever since. It does come with a health warning, however, as it does deal with sexual assault and eating disorders, but in a way which offers hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. Annabels life seems perfect, but there is a lot going on beneath the surface, a trait Dessen uses often in her work. A really important and readable book.

The Year of the Rat by Clare Furniss

For a debut novel, this is a delight to read, and Furniss has gone on to write How Not to Disappear which is just as enjoyable. The subject matter is quite hard-going  16-year-old Pearls mother dies whilst giving birth to her half-sister Rose  but Pearls voice is so believable and, at times, humorous that the issue is dealt with well and does not overwhelm the narrative. In case youre wondering, the Rat is Pearls name for her sister, which is just an indication of how honest this story feels.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is THE YA novel of the moment, having won four awards in the year since it was published, and with a film adaptation currently in production. Taking its title from a Tupac track, Thomas pulls no punches in her exploration of police brutality in black communities and highlighting the Black Lives Matter campaign. Rather than being preachy, however, the novel is immensely readable, largely thanks to Starr, the narrator, and the huge cast of well-developed supporting characters. If you only read one book on this list, make it this one.

Asking For It by Louise ONeill

A lot of praise was heaped upon ONeills debut novel, the Handmaids Tale-esque Only Ever Yours, but in light of the recent Ulster rugby rape case, her second novel seems more relevant than ever. Emma ODonovans reputation as a bad girl means that people in her sleepy Irish town are doubtful when she accuses a group of boys of rape. The unflinching focus upon not only the attack itself but peoples reactions to Emmas account makes this a novel of our time, when #MeToo and #TimesUp still isnt doing enough to help girls like her.

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Youll probably want to read parts one and two of the trilogy first, but they are absolutely worth it in order to get to this one. I have vivid memories of reading this in the sunshine on my lunchbreaks one summer and the impact the ending had upon me. Where everybody else was reading J K Rowlings wizard, I always much preferred this series, perhaps due to the thought of having my own daemon, because who wouldnt want that? It also feels much more mature from the very start, tackling huge issues in an accessible way and making it all feel so very human. Before you dive into Pullmans latest trilogy, read the one which started it all.

Ill Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson

If you think YA fiction is childish and badly written, you have to try this one. At times, this doesnt even feel like a teen book, because the writing is so perfectly put together. Jude and Noah are two very distinct characters, despite being twins, and they tell their story in their own way in alternating sections. If you want a challenge in your YA fiction, read this.
Christopher Boyle, University of Exeter and Will Shield, University of Exeter

Lifes complexities can be magnified in school. Pressures to conform to the norm, pass exams well, be socially accepted and have a strong social media following are just a few of the difficulties that children and young people face every day.

Government figures suggest that close to one in five young people have experienced a common mental disorder, such as depression or anxiety, in the past week. Whats more, young people are less likely to recover from mental health issues if they are from a deprived area, or have a disability.

The UK governments plans (outlined in its 2017 green paper ) would see mental health teams provide extra support in schools, and introduce waiting time targets.

But according to a joint report by the Education and Health and Social Care Committees, the governments strategy wont address the complexities of young peoples mental health issues, while its gradual roll out (to reach a quarter of the country by 2022-23) could leave hundreds of thousands unable to benefit from the proposals.

The issue of fairness is key. Services must be provided where young people need them most. As it stands, service delivery varies vastly depending on geographical location. Waiting times for psychological therapy can be as short as 16 days in Waltham Forest, but as long as 167 days in Leicester. Chronic mental health issues can be costly for the NHS  but more importantly they weigh heavily on the family and community of the young people affected.

What young people want

In our experience, children and young people want support they can access, from people they know and trust. Schools may soon create designated senior leads for mental health, in accordance with the governments plans  but theres no guarantee this role will be well considered and properly funded.

Meanwhile, training and support is desperately needed for those professionals already working in schools to support children and young peoples mental health every day. Learning mentors, learning support assistants, lunch time supervisors and teachers are all adults in schools, who children and young people trust and talk to on a daily basis.

The governments focus on mental health presents an opportunity to involve children and young people in developing online mental health resources, accessed through social media and apps , to move mental health support out of the clinic, into everyday life. With so many young people requiring extra support  whether thats special education or mental health services  its high time for educational psychologists to take on a bigger role in schools.

A simpler solution

Educational psychologists are already based in schools, and come with extensive training in child mental health. They require dedicated time to develop high quality mental health interventions, to suit pupils needs. It would be better for schools to have more dedicated time from educational psychologists who know and understand the needs of the school community.

Most of the time, a single educational psychologist visits as many as 15 schools in their local authority area. The government workforce survey 2014 indicated that 81% of local authorities in England and Wales had a greater demand for educational psychology services than they could currently provide.

In many local authorities, the system has been further complicated by schools commissioning their own educational psychology services. Some wealthier schools are able to buy more of a psychologists time than would otherwise be possible. But this creates a disparity between mental health services in schools that can pay, and schools that cant  instead of a system which responds to young peoples needs, regardless of which school they go to.

The governments strategy should instead devote additional finances to increase the training places available on educational psychology courses, and improve the ratio of pupils to educational psychologists. After all, this high quality service is already in schools, and no mental health professional group is better placed to provide this crucial service than educational psychologists.

Rather than the current model of one psychologist to many, many schools, it would be better to move towards having one school psychologist serving one school  or a much smaller group of schools. By reallocating funding in this way, the government would be ensuring front line child mental health services are available for those in need, which could in turn reduce the need for more serious psychiatric interventions.
Viewed from Palestine, its hard to disagree that weve perhaps seen one of the most inflammatory weeks in recent memory.

Wikimedia

In just a few days, several extremely sensitive events have coincided to devastating effect: the culmination of weekly protests in the Gaza Strip, the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba (from the Arabic, Immense Catastrophe) and the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Throw in for good measure Israel and Irans recent clash over the occupied Golan Heights and it seems that more than ever, the region is something of a tinderbox.

The resilience agenda

As 800 guests arrived in Jerusalem to bear witness to the US embassys relocation  33 of them representatives from foreign embassies  protesters in the Gaza Strip were being shot and killed. In whats been dubbed the Great March of Return , Palestinians in Gaza (the vast majority of whom are refugees, or descended from refugees) have amassed at the edge of the territory to demand their right of return, a right that is protected under international law . So far, their demands have been met with a brutal show of force, with more than 50 Palestinians shot dead, including children, paramedics and journalists. Much is being made of the USs decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and perhaps rightly so. Undoubtedly, that change is symbolically resonant. But there is a risk that focusing too narrowly on that issue will obscure a far deeper issue: the continued destruction of the fabric of Palestinian society and ongoing attacks on Palestinian civil liberties. As others have reported , the embassy move does little to change the actual reality of Palestinians living under occupation in the city. What it does do is remove any naive notion that the US is acting as an honest broker for peace. Those who are calling the embassy move the death of the two-state solution would do well to look more critically at recent history. Israel has aggressively ramped up the construction of settlements; the Israeli military has killed scores of Palestinian protesters in Gaza (not just this week), and civilian infrastructure has been damaged and destroyed across the Occupied Territories. All the while, world governments have failed to hold Israel to account.Instead, as Israel entrenches its occupation, the Palestinian National Authority continues its state-building efforts and the international development industrys failures become clear, the Palestinians are being asked to develop a greater capacity for resilience.Resilience, it seems, is the buzzword of the day. Its particularly popular in the field of international development, where its used to evoke a capacity to bounce back, survive, or more optimistically thrive in the face of extreme adversity. International organisations have turned their attention to promoting resilience both individually and at community level, to better equip people to cope and overcome adversity. Looking at the state of Palestinian society and standards of living today, its abundantly clear that the international development sector has failed in its mission. And yet a resilience industry has taken hold in Palestine, and the discourse of resilience is everywhere. It has crept into the operational language of major international organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, an organisation that recently hosted two major international conferences focusing on the development of Palestinian resilience . This agenda is disingenuous on a number of levels, and as it becomes a driving force in the international development agenda in Palestine, it needs to be viewed more critically than it currently is. For a start, its not clear how its achievements are to be evaluated. But more than that, Palestinians dont need lessons in resilience from an international community that has utterly failed in its stated mission. By promoting Palestinian resilience instead of holding Israel accountable for its multiple breaches of international law, and its involvement in the destruction of Palestinian society, the international community is masking its own failures  and shamefully abdicating its responsibility to the people it claims to be helping.Dr Emma Keelan contributed to this article. She is currently pursuing an MA in Global Health at the University of Manchesters Humanitarian Conflict Response Institute. Her research involves conducting fieldwork on Palestine, resilience and international NGOs.This article was originally published on The Conversation . Read the original article
Much of Welsh life has been lived inside the cool walls of underground slate caves, and the hot and dangerous gold, copper and coal mines.

Today, Welsh residents and tourists spend more of their time above ground, but thats not to say there isnt still adventure lurking beneath the surface. Youre much less likely to run into ancient folklore creatures, but thats not to say you shouldnt keep your wits about you.

1.

Slate Caverns, Llechwedd

In the heart of Snowdonia lies the Llechwedd slate caverns; home to a host of history and jam-packed adventure.

Choose between the Deep Mine Tour (using an interactive AR experience to highlight key moments in Welsh history) which offers secret access to one of Britains steepest cable railways, or the thrill-seeking Quarry Explorer expedition. Hop aboard a military 4x4 and strap in for a whirlwind ride through the heart of Llechwedds man-made mountains.

2.

King Arthurs Labyrinth, Corris

Staying in Snowdonia, King Arthurs Labyrinth certainly offers an adventure with a twist.

Starting at Corris Craft Centre, hop aboard your vessel with an experienced boatman who will act as your guide and history teacher. Soak up the ancient tales of King Arthur, giants, dragons, violent battles as you slip across luminous underground pools.

Winding and weaving through the cragged caverns and deep tunnels of Southern Snowdonia, King Arthurs Labyrinth is an artistic celebration of Welsh folklore and a brilliant experience for history buffs.

3.

Electric Mountain, Llanberis

Snowdonia is crammed with both natural and man-made marvels and for all the science buffs out there, the Electric Mountain visitor centre is a must-see.

Find out all the perks and quirks of working with hydroelectricity through an immersive tribute to scientific history. Climbing valve chambers and gargantuan turbine generators are interspersed by glorious strokes of green to make a stunning visual display.

Afterwards , head underground for a guided tour of the engineers darkened routes and workspaces.

4.

Great Orme Mines, Llandudno

In rural Llandudno lies a significant piece of Welsh and British history.

The craggy Great Orme Mines were only discovered around 30 years ago, despite experts predicting it was originally created over 3,500 years ago. Featuring an incredibly vast copper mine and a series of echoing tunnels, the mines are just a glimpse of British civilisation before the Roman invasion.

To this day, archaeologists are still uncovering more and more in the series of underground tunnels, so grab a hard hat and get stuck into one of the worlds largest prehistoric mines.

5.

Henryhd Falls, Powys

Practice your best Bruce Wayne impression inside Batmans actual lair.

Hidden behind a 90ft waterfall, youll find the cave used to film Batmans den in the Dark Knight Rises. And remember when Bruce disappears behind the waterfall to enter his secret hideout? Not a trick.

If youre feeling brave, pass through the icy cold curtain and discover a realm of eerie silences, glistening darkness, and crashing water.

6.

Confucius hole and caves, Broadhaven

Image credit: WalesOnline

This stunning lagoon crater is the ultimate adventurers playground.

Follow the cliff path from Broadhaven town, down along the coastal ridge and youll soon come across craters and hidden caves of all shapes and sizes. Hundreds of years of weather erosion have formed these incredible pockets of natural history which are full of unbeknown and beautiful surprises.

7.

National Showcaves Centre, Brecon Beacons

Three caves of different atmospheres and sizes make up the National Showcaves Centre in the heart of the Brecons.

Dan-yr-Ogof is vast, cavernous and perfect for throwing your voice, while Cathedral is smaller, more tunnel-like and allows you to follow in the footsteps of famous members of the South Wales Caving Club back in the early 50s. Bones cave is chilling; the resting place of 42 skeletons dating back over 3000 years, bone pins, Roman pottery, and even jewellery .

Whichever you choose, its bound to be enlightening.

8.

The Silver Mountain Experience, Aberystwyth

In the heart of the Cambrian region, youll find babbling brooks, dense forest and tens of tiny, disused mines.

Visit the Silver Mountain Experience for a theme park-style adventure, packed with visits to creepy creatures lurking in the woods, heritage exhibitions, and stunning hiking trails. Swing by during one of the themed spook-outs for some terrifying paranormal activities.

9.

Zip World Bounce Below, Blaenau Ffestiniog

Image credit: ZipWorld

This list wouldnt quite be complete without an honorary mention for Zip World. Since their grand opening, Zip World attractions have brought swathes of thrill-seeking tourists to the Welsh mountains and even piqued the interest of the likes of LadBible.

Bounce Below gives you the chance to experience the underground slate caverns up close and personal. Fling and flip yourself on the six enclosed bouncy nets and slides while taking in the history of the old Victorian mine. A true subterranean treat.

10.

Ogof Ffynnon Ddu, Brecon Beacons National Park

Image credit: darknessbelow.co.uk

Ogof Ffynnon Dddu (the Cave of the Black Spring) is the second longest cave in Wales and the deepest in the whole of the UK at 300m.
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For Subscribers Gov. Kristi Noem may be raising the white flag in her anti-marijuana crusade

"If you guys are waiting for me, I wouldn't do that," the South Dakota governor said when asked if she'd push for changes to state's medical pot law.
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 5:37 am

Summer is just around the corner, which means its time to start planning. Battle Ground Parks and Recreation recently released the summer edition of its quarterly Senior Scene offering a variety of activities for seniors in the area. Activities are open to any senior who wants to participate, with most activities offered on an ongoing basis.

Where to eat

The Mad Hatters Club

The Mad Hatters Club meets on the second Friday of each month. There are no membership fees or red hats required. Mad Hatters Club meetings are Dutch style with each attendant paying for their own meal.

 Thai lunch

11:30 a.m., Friday, June 8 at Keo Thai Cuisine Restaurant, 1800 Sw 9th Ave, suite 101., Battle Ground.

Keo Thai Cuisine brings the flavors of the orient in authentic Thai dishes. From curry and soba noodles to peanut sauce and oyster sauce, diners can select from mild to spicy dishes that will wake up their taste buds. The restaurant is located in the Gardner Center, near the Battle Ground Cinema.

 Pizza Lunch

11:30 a.m., Friday, July 13 at Rockys Pizza, 1901 W Main St., Battle Ground.

See the newly remodeled Rockys while enjoying the all you can eat lunch buffet.

 Old Town lunch

11:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 10 at Old Town Burger & Breakfast, 813 W Main St., Battle Ground.

The Mad Hatters will head to Old Town Burger & Breakfast, located in the Wilco Shopping Complex.

Senior Potluck Day

10 a.m., the second Monday of each month at the the Battle Ground Senior Center, 116 NE 3rd Ave., Battle Ground.

Lunch begins at noon. Suggested Donation: $1 per person.

Join the Battle Ground Senior Citizens group at the monthly Sr. Potluck and meet new friends and enjoy a meal.

Senior Lunch Program at the Battle Ground Community Center

Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday except holidays, at the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E Main St., Battle Ground.

Seniors, age 60 and over, are invited to the community center weekdays for a hot lunch. Typically there are two entrees offered each day. A monthly newsletter, which includes a complete menu, is available at the Battle Ground Community Center, or can be viewed online at mealsonwheelspeople.org/what-we-do/monthly-menu/. Younger guests can also join the lunch crowd for $7.39 per person.

Please note that the senior lunch will not be available on Wednesday, July 4, in observance of Independence Day.

What to play

Bunco

1 p.m. to 3 p.m., the third Friday of each month at the Battle Ground Senior Center, 116 NE 3rd Ave., Battle Ground.

Cost: $5 per person, per day.

Roll the dice and play Bunco, a dice game that anyone can pick up and play. No previous game experience or partner required.

Pinochle

11:30 a.m., lunch; 12 p.m. card play begins; 2 p.m., desert; event ends at 4 p.m.

Noon to 4 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays every week at the Battle Ground Senior Center, 116 NE 3rd Ave., Battle Ground.

Cost: $3

Pinochle card players are invited to join the senior center for either single deck or double deck games. Having a partner is not a requirement to play. A potluck is served at noon prior to game so attendees are asked to bring a dish to share with the group.

Stay fit and healthy

Senior enhanced fitness program

8:30 to 9:30 a.m., or 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E Main St., Battle Ground.

Fee: $1 per person, per day. Pre-registration not required.

This is a group exercise program for people 60 years of age and older. The program helps to improve balance, flexibility, bone density, endurance, coordination and mental sharpness and decreases risk of falling.

Medicare Health Plan Seminars

Kaiser Permanente will be providing several Medicare health plan information seminars at the Battle Ground Community Center this spring. For more information or to reserve a spot: 1-866-949-0546.

Seminar times and dates

 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 13

 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 20

 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 11

 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 18

 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, August 8

 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 15

All seminars hosted at the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 E Main St., Battle Ground.

Where to take the grandkids and/or dog

Kiwanis Park Sprayground opens this month

10 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week, May 26 through Sept. 3 at Kiwanis Park, 422 SW 2nd Ave, Battle Ground.

DOGPAW off-leash parks

DOGPAW is a all-volunteer non-profit organization that builds, maintains, and manages four DOGPAW dog parks in Clark County. The group is solely funded by community donations to provide safe off-leash dog parks.

Park locations:

Lucky Dog Park, 10100 NE 149th St., Brush Prairie.

Kane Dog Park at Hockinson Meadow Community Park, 10910 NE 172nd Ave, Vancouver.

Dakota Dog Park at Pacific Park, 1515 NE 164th Ave, Vancouver.

Ross Dog Park  5167 NE 15th Ave, Vancouver.

Visit clarkdogpaw.org for more information on DOGPAW, including more detailed directions.
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 5:40 am

Judith Phelps has found her creative zenith with a needle and thread.

The lifelong painter, embroiderer and quilter from Battle Ground has an infinite palette. Even at 68, Phelps hands show no signs of slowing down.

With any person who likes to create, you get into a zone. Sometimes, I astound myself because I look back over the years and I think, good lord, I made that in a short time period, Phelps said. Its just that you get into that zone and you dont even think about it. You just do it.

Phelps has made more than 30 quilts in the past decade. Her ultimate masterpiece, titled The Value of Gears, won the Best Moda Quilt Award at the American Quilters Society Spring Paducah Quilt Show in 2014. She sold it for $5,000 to the National Quilt Museum in Paducah, Kentucky.

The quilt is based on Phelps interpretation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret, a book by Brian Selznick. According to the July 2014 edition of American Quilters Magazine, Phelps traced each of the nine drawings onto solid white fabric that was then layered with warm and natural batting and a solid black backing. Securing the layers in a wooden embroidery hoop, she used her Husqvarna Viking sewing machine to thread paint with several brands of rayon thread, achieving and old photograph look by using a range of black and white values.

Although Phelps had entered a variety of local quilting shows over the years, this was her first national competition, so she entered as a novice.

The judge said they took one look at it and put it into the regular category against quilters from all over the world. I was on Cloud Nine, Phelps said.

Ive had people from Battle Ground that have come back from Paducah, seen it at the museum and theyve gotten a hold of me, she added. People I didnt even know have contacted me just because they saw my name.

The one piece of advice Phelps has for beginning quilters is to join a small group. Once she joined Cover to Cover Book Club Quilters, her abilities soared. She also belongs to The Storytellers and Thread Tales.

What I like about small groups is we stay with these quilts and we talk about the process, Phelps said. At the quilt shows, theyre hung up, but you dont know how they got there.

People ask me, How often do you change the thread? Everytime you see a different color. How many threads do you use? Hundreds.

Phelps shoots straight from the heart with her stitching. Last summer, she presented a quilt that featured three panels of devastation by fire and restoration. She titled it, From the Ashes. The piece really hits home hard after Eagle Creek Fire in the Columbia River Gorge.

Several people started crying when they saw it, Phelps said. One of the men that critiqued it said that I need to put an eagle in the last panel. Something alive. And hes right. I plan to do that one of these days.

Steve Phelps has been on this creative journey with Judith for 50-plus years. They have raised two boys and a girl, and have lived in Battle Ground since 1990.

This has drawn us together, Steve said, thinking about their road trips to quilt shows and all the people they have met along the way.

Several of the quilts, she is finishing the edge of it while were in the parking lot getting ready to submit it into the quilting show, he added.

Some people might see that as waiting until the last minute. Judith says she works best under pressure. Whenever she starts a quilt, she has to finish it. Time is no obstacle.

I do it for the enjoyment because I love to create. I like challenging myself. I like trying new techniques to see if they work or not. I like trying to figure out how to go about it if it doesnt work. How do I get around that and make it work, Phelps said. I plan to continue quilting for as long as I can. I belong to three or four different groups and my problem is trying to keep up with all of them.
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 6:11 am

Residents near the Clark County Fairgrounds are seeking to alleviate traffic issues caused by Sunlight Supply Amphitheater events by urging county officials to look at the impacts seen on back roads in a revamped traffic management plan that made its debut this month.

The Fairgrounds Neighborhood Association (FGNA) hosted two county officials at their May meeting: Clark County Public Works Traffic Engineering and Operations Section Supervisor Matt Griswold and Ann Christian, the countys property and indigent defense services manager who serves as a liaison between the county and the amphitheater operators.

The Traffic Management Plan for amphitheater events was an update of the original. It cut down dozens of pages to just two and is coupled with maps showing setups for high and low traffic events.

This is a living document, Griswold said, noting that going forward changes could be made to address issues as they appeared. Accompanying the two-page written document outlining goals of the plan were several images showing placement of signs, cones and traffic control officers.

Although the plan focused specifically on the 179th Street corridor from Northwest 11th Avenue to the Interstate 5 interchange, much of the traffic issues residents noted were on back roads leading to the amphitheater  specifically 164th Street.

Several residents at the meeting, including FGNA President Bridget Schwarz, noted that traffic on that road was bumper to bumper at times the evening of the first concert of the year, May 6.

Both residents and county officials made observations on traffic over the course of the event, but residents feel that the Traffic Management Plan does not adequately focus on 164th Street.

Griswold noted that 164th Street was not blocked off to amphitheater traffic for the May 6 concert, explaining that venue operators did not anticipate anyone using that route. He said that navigation applications such as Waze were directing concertgoers to the back entrance of the venue, usually exclusively used for buses transporting concertgoers from transit closer to Vancouver.

A suggestion was made to contact Waze in order to communicate that the routing was not conducive to amphitheater event traffic. Griswold said he would be in contact with Public Works Communications Specialist Jeff Mize regarding a possible change, noting it was something the county needed to do a little homework on.

Moving forward, Griswold said he would get into contact with amphitheater manager Kiet Callies about putting up and manning barricades to keep concert traffic off of the more rural roads, though he added if that could happen it would likely only be for larger events.

In a related concern not tied to traffic, Christian brought up a noise level report following the May 6 event. She said that the noise report showed the concert was within acceptable levels, however the data came from the concert itself, not from any rehearsals which is when some residents said noise levels were the worst.

Other issues addressed included pedestrian traffic on roadways, generated from rideshare passengers exiting their transportation prior to getting into the amphitheater proper. Residents expressed concern that given the lack of pedestrian infrastructure on many of the side roads, it was an accident waiting to happen  especially in the dark after an event.

Regarding future development, Griswold touched on a bridge project over Whipple Creek connecting currently separate parts of Northeast 10th Avenue and potentially allowing for another route of travel for concertgoers. He noted that in conversations with Callies, the manager did not want to use the new route for general traffic  though buses would be allowed.

His plan is not to use it as a major entrance in, Griswold said.
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 5:57 am

Those interested in learning how to connect employees with their companys vision and mission will have an opportunity at Washington State University Vancouvers upcoming Business Growth MAP Alliance forum. The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., May 16, at CoLab, 810 Main St., Vancouver.

Bob DeKoning, independent consultant and board member with AutoAP and Kimera Systems, will discuss revisiting vision and mission and finding ways to engage employees with the organizations purpose. DeKoning has been leading businesses for more than 30 years and helping rally employees around the companys goals.

The forum is open to all, with registration online at business.vancouver.wsu.edu/bgmap  click the link upcoming events. The cost is $10 per person in advance or $15 per person at the door; there is no cost for students with a valid WSU student ID.

The Business Growth MAP Alliance brings together small businesses and entrepreneurs to learn from each other, industry experts and WSU Vancouver faculty.

 WSU Vancouver
Posted Tuesday, May 15, 2018 5:46 am

The Southwest Washington Regional Health Care Advisory Committee will meet 1:30-3:30 p.m., Thursday, May 24 in the sixth-floor Hearing Room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver. The meeting is open to the public.

The meeting will include presentations by representatives of Health Care Authority, Beacon Health Options, Catholic Community Services, Lifeline Connections, Molina Healthcare, Community Health Plan of Washington and Southwest Washington Accountable Community of Health.

A public comment period is scheduled after the presentations.

The Health Care Advisory Committee consists of a member of the legislative body for Clark and Skamania counties, a state senator and a state representative from each county, a representative of any local tribe and a consumer representative from the regional Behavioral Health Advisory Board.

The committee meets up to three times a year to help ensure the regions integrated health care system continues to meet the needs of the most vulnerable after physical and behavioral health services were absorbed by Medicaid managed care.

With integration, the financial risk for behavioral health services moved to managed care organizations overseen by the Washington State Health Care Authority. Counties retained some financial risk and full responsibility for services offered through the local criminal justice systems, Public Health and 10-year homeless plans.

 Clark County
Thane & Dunc have avidly followed MH370, the biggest aircraft tragedy/mystery in history - to the point they've crowdfunded a search mission to Mauritius to look for the infamous missing aircraft. They are planning on leaving in mid June.



WATCH MORE: Thane & Dunc raised $35,000 for their MH370 search expedition and are flying to Mauritius



Now, while the Drive boys are away in the US, huge MH370 developments have come to light.



60 Minutes Australia recently assembled a panel of the worlds leading aviation, crash investigation and oceanography experts, who all agree that Flight MH370 was not a catastrophic accident, but rather a mass murder-suicide mission.

This has long been theorised, but the experts confidence is bloody scary. Regardless, Thane & Dunc's plans to fly to Mauritius have not changed.



Jim's covering Rock Drive while Thane & Dunc are away - he looked into the 60 Minutes story in the video above.



Our mates over at Newshub report on this story further.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Clouds and some sun this morning with more clouds for this afternoon. High 21C. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low near 13C. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph.
It began with quiet words from State Department officials: Apply for a new passport immediately. You may soon be going to a country for which ordinary U.S. passports are not valid for travel.

Vague as it was, the instruction to two reporters last Friday left little doubt about our mystery destination: North Korea.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had visited the capital, Pyongyang, in complete secrecy while he was still CIA chief in early April to set the stage for an unprecedented summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Now, Washington was abuzz with rumors that he would be heading back soon to finalize details for the summit and bring back three U.S. citizens who had been held by North Korea for more than a year for alleged anti-state activities.

It would turn out to be my second visit to the isolated, authoritarian nation. Eighteen years ago, I had accompanied Madeleine Albright on her historic trip to North Korea, the first-ever by a sitting secretary of state  a highly choreographed and publicized two-day affair covered by some 80 journalists.

But this was something completely different: an under-the-radar, secret mission with only two American reporters as independent witnesses.

Since the death last year of Otto Warmbier, the American college student who suffered brain damage while in North Korean custody, U.S. nationals have been prohibited from traveling to North Korea without special passport validation.

An hour after handing over our passports, Carol Morello of The Washington Post and I were in possession of new ones and an extraordinary letter.

Dear Mr. Lee, mine read, The Department of State grants your May 4, 2018 request for a special validation permitting travel to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea  Based on the information provided, we determined that the validation is in the national interest of the United States.

The national interest of the United States. Hmm, I pondered, had I ever done anything before that would qualify?

Carol and I, who cover the State Department, were told to pack a bag and be on stand-by, but given no departure time, let alone a date. We were sworn to secrecy and advised that any leak of a potential Pompeo return to Pyongyang would be grounds for the two press seats on his plane to go empty.

Rumors of the trip intensified through the weekend as European diplomats who wanted to meet with Pompeo to discuss the administrations imminent decision on the Iran deal  which Trump was preparing to withdraw from  were being told he would be out of the country on North Korea-related travel.

Still, Saturday and Sunday passed with no word.

Then, late on Monday afternoon, we were told wed depart from the departments Foggy Bottom headquarters at 7:45 that night. We would fly overnight with refueling stops in Alaska and Japan, and go on to North Korea, returning in reverse order at some undetermined point. The State Department had allotted 10 hours of time on the ground. Officials cautioned though that it could be as many as 24 hours depending on the unpredictable North Koreans.

We left in a two-van motorcade from the departments underground parking garage with spokeswoman Heather Nauert, a translator and other Pompeo aides for Joint Base Andrews outside Washington. A staffers forgotten bag caused a brief bit of alarm amid concern that our brief return to the Harry S. Truman building could attract unwanted attention. Once at Andrews, we waited for Pompeo to arrive and soon the U.S. Air Force C-32, a converted Boeing 757, its fuselage emblazoned with United States of America with tail number 80001, was airborne. Destination: Pyongyang, capital of the most reclusive nation on Earth.

So began a four-day journey with no confirmed schedule on the ground in North Korea, no guarantee of the prisoners release or on progress for the summit and little to no sleep.

When Id visited in 2000 as a reporter for the French news agency Agence France-Presse to cover Albright, circumstances were very different. For one, no special passport was needed. Dozens of journalists had either flown with the secretary of state or taken charter flights from Beijing to Pyongyang to cover the events. There were organized press tours of the capital and a mass stadium show hosted by the current leaders late father, Kim Jong Il.

The dynamics between Washington and Pyongyang, still long-time adversaries, had changed, too, and in unpredictable ways. Trump and the younger Kim had traded threats and insults during 2017 as North Korea conducted atomic and ballistic missile tests, fueling fears of war. Then this year, the rhetoric had cooled significantly and Kim had made an extraordinary offer to meet with Trump, an invitation the president accepted with startling alacrity.

Notwithstanding the secret arrangements for Pompeos return trip, we wouldnt be the first to report it.

As our plane descended Tuesday into the U.S. air base in Yokota, Japan, for its second refueling stop, Trump announced that his top diplomat was on his way to Pyongyang.

It came during his highly anticipated declaration that he was withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. Trump would use the fact of Pompeos visit to counter criticism that the Iran decision meant he was not interested in negotiating with adversaries.

After a quick cold shower, which would be the only bathing opportunity in four days, we left Japan for the two-and-a-half-hour flight north and arrived at the Pyongyang airport early Wednesday morning. All normal communications were effectively shut down with staffers carrying burn phones on which they could text and a limited number of satellite phones for emergency use only.

Pompeo was greeted by North Korean dignitaries and boarded a Mercedes limousine. We climbed aboard a Chevy van, identified by logos on the spare tire and drivers console as The American Road. The driver, whether or not he spoke or understood English, was non-communicative, so our questions about The American Road went unanswered.

Pyongyang had changed a lot in two decades. There were more tall buildings and more vehicles, but certainly still far fewer than in other world capitals. Also different were the smartly uniformed female traffic cops who had once directed a minuscule number of cars with precision gestures. They had moved from the middle of intersections to the corners, apparently due to the installation of stoplights.

After a winding drive past grandiose memorials, museums, government offices and revolutionary billboards, we arrived at the citys main hotel for foreign visitors, the Koryo International, where many of us had stayed when Albright visited in 2000. The hotel re-opened last year after a renovation aimed at ridding it of its Soviet-style appearance, with gleaming marble floors and walls. The elevators, however, remained as slow as they had been 18 years earlier.

With Pompeos uncertain schedule, the Koryo lobby, bookstore, luxury goods market, coffee shop and traditional Korean restaurant were Carols and my base for the next nearly 13 hours while he met and lunched with North Korean officials and finally left for closed-door talks with Kim, just an hour after receiving confirmation that the meeting was, in fact, on. We waited for news over endless cups of coffee.

The bookstore offered some respite. It sold treatises by Kim Il Sung, North Koreas founder and the current leaders grandfather, and by Kim Jong Il on their life and politics. There was also a book of anecdotes about Kim Jong Un that had a chapter on the importance of well-fed dolphins. Postcards depicting North Koreas military might  missiles raining down on a geographic feature adorned with the Stars and Stripes and the Statue of Liberty under siege  were big sellers, according to the clerk. Dollars, euros, yen, Chinese yuan all happily accepted, she said.

But essentially we had a long, boring wait.

Still, the Koryo can offer up surprises.

Eighteen years ago, it was the appearance of a German aid worker, Norbert Vollertson, who seized on the rare presence of foreign correspondents to risk expulsion by illegally driving one of them out of town to show him squalid living conditions and human rights abuses. He was later deported.

On Wednesday, it was when hotel staffers suddenly began to stare in rapt attention at televisions tuned to North Korean state television. It was a special report, breaking news to North Koreans about Kims two-day trip earlier that week to Dalian, China, to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Hed traveled by plane not train: the first trip abroad by air by a North Korean leader in decades. The trip was treated as an epic and historic event that analysts said could have been a test flight to prepare for Kims upcoming summit with Trump.

After Pompeo finally returned from his 90-minute meeting with Kim, he gave a fingers-crossed response when asked if the American prisoners would be released. About 10 minutes later, a North Korean emissary arrived to give him the good news: They would be released. We would be heading home soon.

A small team of medical personnel and officials were dispatched to collect the three detainees. The rest of us, including Pompeo, drove to the airport to board the plane for the long journey back to Washington.

As the prisoners arrived, we caught a glimpse of them leaving their vehicle and walking up stairs to the plane. Unlike Warmbier, they were ambulatory and appeared in good spirits as they boarded. They were sequestered in the middle section of the plane with curtains closed.

They were transferred to another, smaller government jet in Japan, and we would not see them again until they arrived at Andrews and emerged from their aircraft with Trump. We watched online on our cell phones from a distance as we and our plane were held far from the event, too far to make out faces or any details.

In 2000, I had written a story comparing Pyongyang to a real-life version of The Truman Show, the 1998 film about a man living in a reality created for television. Standing on the tarmac in the wee hours of Thursday morning and staring at a live feed of the prisoners return on my iPhone while Trump greeted them hundreds of yards away, that sense returned.

(AP)
Investors looking to buy Venezuelas new cryptocurrency may want to head to a little-known Moscow bank whose biggest shareholders are President Nicolas Maduros socialist government and two state-controlled Russian companies under U.S. sanctions.

Evrofinance Mosnarbank has emerged as the only international financial institution so far willing to defy a U.S. campaign to derail the worlds first state-backed digital currency, called the petro, even before it begins to function.

Early would-be investors who registered with Venezuelas government and downloaded the petros wallet software  available in Spanish, English and Russian  were then invited to buy the cryptocurrency by wiring a minimum of 1,000 euros to a Venezuelan government account at Evrofinance.

The banks place in the rollout of the petro is further evidence of Russias role in the creation of a cryptocurrency that much of the digital world has shunned but that Maduro hopes will allow Venezuela to circumvent U.S. financial sanctions imposed last year.

At the petros launch on Feb. 21, Maduro heaped praise on two Russians in the audience who worked with wealthy, Kremlin-connected businessmen, thanking their previously unknown startups  Zeus Exchange and Aerotrading  for their role developing what he joked would be a kind of kryptonite against U.S. economic dominance.

A day later, he dispatched his economy minister to Moscow to brief his Russian finance counterpart.

And in March, the Russian Association of Cryptocurrency and Blockchain awarded the Venezuelan government an award for its role challenging the de-facto powers of the international financial system.

Russias interest in the petro stems from its own increasingly pariah status in the west, said Claiborne W. Porter, the former head of the U.S. Justice Departments bank integrity unit. As relations with the U.S. and European Union become more tense, both countries are looking for ways to demonstrate political strength while moving money outside the American financial system.

Like kids on the playground, Venezuela and Russia think they are fighting a common bully in U.S. sanctions, so theyre going to try and form a united front, said Porter, who is now the Washington-based head of investigations at consulting firm Navigant.

Russia has provided Venezuela with billions in debt relief over the years and is a major investor in the countrys oil industry. That financial lifeline has become more important since the Trump administration last year banned Americans from lending money to the nearly bankrupt government and now threatens to slap sanctions on the OPEC nations oil industry if Maduro goes ahead with presidential elections this month that are widely seen as a sham. In March, Trump signed an executive order banning Americans from any dealings with the petro.

Evrofinance and its executives didnt return repeated email requests for comment. But after The Associated Press inquiries, all references to the bank were removed from the petros wallet, leaving prospective buyers with no guidance on how to actually buy it, though its still listed for sale in rubles and euros as well as three other widely circulated cryptocurrencies.

Venezuelas government purchased a 49 percent stake in Evrofinance in 2011, making the bank, which traces its history back a century as a western financial outpost for the Soviet Union, a vehicle for binational trade and investment projects, with almost $800 million in assets.

The rest of the shares are held by two major banks, state-controlled VTB and Gazprombank, which were sanctioned by the U.S. and European nations in 2014 over President Vladimir Putins annexation of Crimea.

Its unclear how many petros the government has sold. Maduro boasted this month that the government had raised $3.3 billion in the pre-sale phase. But so far only a small fraction of the petros appears to have been distributed to buyers, according to the blockchain where the digital currencys movements can be publicly tracked.

Experts say that the petro is of little interest to foreigners other than drug traffickers and others active in Venezuelas burgeoning criminal underworld. Even offshore trading platforms like Bitfinex are refusing to deal in the petro for fear of violating sanctions. Rating website ICOindex.com, which tracks initial coin offerings of cryptocurrencies, called it a scam.

An overwhelming majority of ICOs dont deliver on what they promise because their promoters are outright scammers or fall short on technical expertise, said Alejandro Machado, a Venezuelan-born computer scientist who consults for crypto startups. In the case of the Venezuelan government, both reasons apply.

One of the two Russians who signed agreements with Maduro to position the petro globally, Denis Druzhkov, had been fined $31,000 and barred for three years by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange for fraudulent trading in futures contracts. Zeus Exchange, which Druzhkov created alongside a Kremlin-connected industrialist, said in a statement that it has never had any business ties with the Venezuelan government and that Druzhkov resigned after abusing his authority.

The other, Fedor Bogorodskiy, used to help run the credit card division at a bank controlled by a Russian oligarch. He has lived in Uruguay since 2009, combining telecommunications business with part-time promotion of Russian culture. He told The AP that his company, Aerotrading, whose website consists of a single home page with no company information, immediately ceased all work on the petro after Trump announced his ban.

Despite the pressure, Maduro is showing no signs of slowing down. Hes given government institutions  from ministries to airports  120 days to start accepting the petro as legal tender in all transactions. Hes also paved the way for the creation of 16 local exchanges where Venezuelans will be able to purchase petros with their fast-depreciating bolivars. Also in the works is a second state-backed cryptocurrency tied to the countrys gold reserves.

But gaining international acceptance remains an uphill battle.

Yuri Pripachkin, president of the Russian blockchain group that honored Venezuela, said that while the Kremlin is keeping a close eye on the petro it hasnt been involved in its development. Still, he said as long as sanctions are used as a foreign policy tool to punish governments that challenge U.S. policies, the incentives to seek out alternative means of financing will remain. He also dismissed the idea that the petro could be used to fund criminal activity.

Thats a fairy tale, said Pripachkin. The most popular currency for terrorists and criminals the world over is the U.S. dollar, not crypto, and nobody is suggesting we ban dollars. This is just an attempt to stop crypto from expanding.

(AP)
The last time President Donald Trump headed to Capitol Hill for the weekly Senate Republican lunch he was feuding with the powerful chair of the foreign relations panel, including a tweeted suggestion that the man couldnt get elected dog catcher.

Now Trump is embroiled in a controversy over an aides comment disparaging ailing GOP Sen. John McCain, and the Senate GOP leadership is telling Trump its past time for an apology.

The smart thing to do would have been five days ago to just nip it in the bud and come out and apologize for it, said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the No. 3 Senate Republican.

Trumps Capitol Hill lunch Tuesday with Senate Republicans comes as the White House and its GOP allies are trying to coalesce around a political message ahead of the midterm elections. Also on the agenda is the White House push to get Senate approval on Trumps nominee for CIA director, as well as Trumps upcoming summit with North Korea.

But much like the last time Trump was headed to the GOP Senate lunch, in October 2017, the White House agenda was eclipsed by another story.

During a closed-door meeting last week White House communications aide Kelly Sadler dismissed McCains opposition to the CIA nominee by saying of the Arizona Republican: Hes dying anyway. The 81-year-old McCain was diagnosed in July with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

McCains family has asked for a public apology.

In a tweet Monday, Trump said so-called leaks were a massive over exaggeration but added: With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!

But the issue has left many senators unsettled. Several of McCains long-time colleagues, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, South Carolinas Lindsey Graham and former Vice President Joe Biden, have traveled to Arizona to visit the ailing senator.

I told him we miss him, McConnell said in a Senate speech late Monday. I was confident I was speaking for everybody in the Senate in conveying our deepest respects for him and all hes done for the county in his extraordinary life.

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Senate GOP leader, who has disagreed with McCain in the past, was blunt: The person who said it should apologize. Its totally inappropriate, he told The Associated Press.

When Trump attended the October Senate GOP luncheon he was locked into a public feud with Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee. Earlier that month, Corker had accused the president of intentionally being divisive and untruthful, and comparing the White House to an adult day care center.

The morning of the luncheon, Trump tweeted that Corker couldnt get elected dog catcher in Tennessee.

The major issue at the time was tax legislation, which Trump and Republicans needed to pass after failing to rally behind a comprehensive health care bill. The tax bill was ultimately successful, despite the Trump-Corker diversion. Corker has said he will not seek re-election this fall.

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, said the senators look forward to talking Tuesday about the tax cuts and historic economic growth here at home, and the opportunity for peace on the Korean Peninsula that lies ahead.

Republicans are increasingly relying on the president to help protect the GOPs slim 51-49 majority in the Senate this fall.

(AP)
President Donald Trumps CIA nominee appeared to be on a path toward confirmation as she picked up support from key Democrats Tuesday and toughened her public stance against harsh interrogation.

With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken, Gina Haspel said in written answers to more than 60 questions released by the Senate intelligence committee.

Haspel, who was involved in supervising a secret CIA detention site in Thailand, wrote that she had learned hard lessons since 9/11. In comments aimed at clarifying her position on now-banned torture techniques, Haspel said that she would refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to my moral and ethical values.

I do not support use of enhanced interrogation techniques for any purpose, Haspel wrote.

The Senate intelligence committee is expected to vote Wednesday to recommend that the full Senate confirm her.

Confirmation by the full Senate appeared likely as five Democrats  Mark Warner of Virginia, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Joe Donnelley of Indiana, Bill Nelson of Florida and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota  announced their support. The only Senate Republicans who are not expected to vote for her are Kentuckys Rand Paul and Arizonas John McCain, who is battling cancer.

In announcing his support Tuesday, Warner, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, said Haspel has been professional and forthright with the panel. Most importantly, I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the president if ordered to do something illegal or immoral  like a return to torture, Warner said.

Haspel testified at a Senate hearing that torture does not work as an interrogation technique and that, as director, her strong moral compass would ensure she did not carry out any administrative directive she found objectionable. Her written answers to questions went further to underscore her opposition to any attempt to reinstate harsh interrogation of suspects.

McCain, who was beaten as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War, has urged colleagues to reject the nominee over her past role in CIA interrogations. After the hearing, McCain issued a statement calling Haspel a patriot for her three decades of service to the CIA. Still, McCain said her role in overseeing the use of torture by Americans is disturbing. Her refusal to acknowledge tortures immorality is disqualifying.

In announcing her support, Heitkamp said it was not an easy decision.

Ms. Haspels involvement in torture is deeply troubling, as my friend and colleague, John McCain, so eloquently reminded us, Heitkamp said. However, Ms. Haspel explained to me that the agency should not have employed such tactics in the past and has assured me that it will not do so in the future.

Haspels nominee has sparked a fresh debate over brutal interrogation practices.

Trump himself has said the country should consider resuming the use of harsh interrogation techniques. And former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was integral to the post-Sept. 11, 2001, strategy, said last week if it were up to him, Id do it again.

(AP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues his anti-Israel diatribe, calling Israel a terror state a day after IDF soldiers prevented tens of thousands of violent Gazan protestors from trying to breach the border fence with Israel. According to reports from Gaza, 59 people were killed and at least 1,200 injured in violent border clashes initiated by Hamas on Monday.

In his reference to the events along the Gaza border, the Turkish leader used the word genocide. Turkey on Monday night also announced that it was recalling its ambassadors from both the United States and Israel for consultations.

Thousands of people took part in a protest in Istanbul against the United States following the ceremony marking the re-location of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, undermining PA claims that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.

In his interview with Bloomberg News, Erdogan explained Two people are responsible for recent events, pointing the finger of blame at President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. Seeking to fuel the anti-Israel sentiment, Erdogan has called for an urgent meeting of the 57 states which comprise the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which happens to be chaired by Turkey. He vowed that Islamic leaders would not permit the loss of Jerusalem, vowing to remain at the side of our Palestinian brothers.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless peoples lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions. He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and cant cover up crimes by attacking Turkey. Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RT_Erdogan) May 15, 2018

Reminder to Netanyahu: Hamas is not a terrorist organization and Palestinians are not terrorists. It is a resistance movement that defends the Palestinian homeland against an occupying power. The world stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine against their oppressors.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RT_Erdogan) May 15, 2018

Turkeys Prime Minister, Binali Yldrm, referred to Israels actions as a cowardly massacre. He too criticized the decision to move the US embassy, accusing the United State of flaunting international law.

In response to Erdogans comments, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, Erdogan is among Hamas biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.

A man whose hands are drenched in the blood of countless Kurdish civilians in Turkey and Syria is the last one who can preach to us about military ethics.  Ofir Gendelman (@ofirgendelman) May 15, 2018

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.  PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 15, 2018

Some other reactions to the Gaza violence includes South Africa; which has recalled its ambassador from Tel Aviv to explain the situation. Irelands state radio has called for an independent international probe headed by the United Nations into the Gaza violence and deaths, while Australia on the other hand blames the deaths on Hamas.

Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked German Chancellor Merkel for condemning Iran's aggression and for her support of Israel's right to defend its sovereignty.  PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 15, 2018

Prime Minister Netanyahu also spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and said that Israel would maintain its security interests and emphasized that no country would countenance threats to its sovereignty.  PM of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 15, 2018

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received members of Neturei Karta in a closed-to-press meeting in London on Tuesday  just after calling Israel a terror state.

The Orthodox Jewish group led by Elchonon Beck held a meeting with Erdogan, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Omer Celik and Deputy Secretary General and Spokesperson of the Presidency Ibrahim Kaln in the Intercontinental Hotel that lasted for about half an hour, sources said.

Beck stated that Israel is the most dangerous country for Jewish people in the world today. He told Erdogan:

Helping the Zionists is not in the interests of the Jewish people. If you want to help the Jews, come out and say loudly that you are against the state of Israel. We are against the occupiers. We want to bring peace to the area. As Jews, we pray for the complete dissolution of the Israeli state in a peaceful manner. We do not want two states either. We support the return of the Palestinian people. There Jews and Muslims can live together in peace.

We can live in peace and harmony all over the world in Palestine, as it was many years ago with Muslims.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel continue to rise following the Hamas border attacks and Israels attempts to defend her borders on Monday. The Turkish consul in Jerusalem, Husno Gorkan Turkwollo, was invited to appear in front of a tribunal in the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday afternoon. Trukwollo was asked to return to Turkey in order to consult with his superiors. The move was made after Israels Ambassador to Turkey was returned from Ankara.

Earlier on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been known for his anti-Israel stances in the recent past, strongly attacked Israels efforts to defend itself in light of Mondays attacks by Hamas against the Gaza fence. Netanyahu has Palestinian blood on his hands and he is the Prime Minister of an Apartheid State, Erdogan said. Netanyahu is the head of a state that conquered the lands of defenseless people and held them for more than 60 years while flagrantly breaking international law and various U.N. resolutions. If you want a lesson with regards to the importance humanity and morality, he should read the Ten Commandments.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless peoples lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions. He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and cant cover up crimes by attacking Turkey. Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RT_Erdogan) May 15, 2018

Erdogan also tweeted that Hamas is not a terrorist organization.

Reminder to Netanyahu: Hamas is not a terrorist organization and Palestinians are not terrorists. It is a resistance movement that defends the Palestinian homeland against an occupying power. The world stands in solidarity with the people of Palestine against their oppressors.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RT_Erdogan) May 15, 2018

Netanyahu responded and said: Erdogan, [who is one of the only political leaders in the world that supports Hamas] obviously doesnt need a lesson from me in how to slaughter innocents and support terrorism. He is an excellent candidate for giving moral lessons to other countries.

Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

In addition to the Israeli Ambassador, Turkey also returned the U.S.Ambassador to its country in a response to the U.S. moving their embassy to Jerusalem.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)
STILL LOSING More jobs have been lost following the collapse of engineering giant Carillion, taking the total to more than 2,300.

TOP JOBS Ambulance driver, funeral services director, fashion model and librarian are among the most sought after jobs, a study jobs site Adzuna found.

HOSTEL BOSS Online hostel booking firm Hostelworld has named former Expedia executive Gary Morrison as chief executive.

CIG BLOW Analysts at Berenberg have downgraded its price target for tobacco firm Imperial Brands by 315p to 3450p per share.

MINER JOB Uranium miner Berkeley Energia has named Sean Wade, formerly of Georgias TBC Bank, as chief commercial officer.

OIL BLOW Russian oil firm Rosneft produced 4.57million barrels a day from January to March, down 1.2per cent on last year because of a supply pact with oil cartel Opec.

MORE LOSS South Africa-focused platinum miner Lonmin posted a first-half loss of 23.5million, down from 133million last year.

ON BOARD Chemicals firm Victrex has hired David Thomas, ex- finance director of engineer Invensys, as a non-executive director.

PAY ROW Pension advisers should be paid differently to avoid high-pressure sales tactics, Aviva executive Andy Briggs has said.

FUND PROBE Malaysias prime minister Mahathir Mohamad will speed up the probe into tainted sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.

FASHION AIM Fashion house LVMH is top investor in a multi-million-pound injection of funds into the search engine Lyst.

CHINA PLAN Wall Streets JP Morgan will buy a majority stake in Chinese investment firm China International Fund Management.

BEAN OUT Scandal-hit Commonwealth Bank of Australia chief finance officer Rob Jesudason has quit. CBA lost backup data for 20million customers.

APP ROLE Ex Amazon UK executive Jamie Heywood is taxi app firm Ubers northern Europe chief.

SHARE PLUNGE Shares in Elon Musks Tesla have fallen after Doug Field, the companys top engineer, took a leave of absence.
The investor who predicted the 2008 financial crisis has urged traders to bet against Deutsche Bank

The investor who predicted the 2008 financial crisis has urged traders to bet against Deutsche Bank.

Steve Eisman - who realised the US property market was headed for collapse and inspired the film The Big Short - said the struggling German lender faces huge difficulties turning a profit.

Eisman, who works at the New York investment firm Neuberger Berman, warned that Deutsche will need to axe vast numbers of staff and will probably have to raise more money from investors next year.

He added: Deutsche Bank is a problem bank.
A surge in urban fishing has boosted profits at Angling Direct.

The bait and tackle retailer hailed the growing popularity of so-called drop-shot fishing, in which customers take the minimum amount of gear to easily reached sites in cities.

The increasing number of enthusiasts joining the sport has helped Angling Direct post a 28per cent rise in profits to 941,000 for the year to January 31.

A surge in urban fishing has boosted profits at Angling Direct

Chief executive Darren Bailey said: Drop-shot fishing is good for urban people.

Youre more mobile, you walk around with just a rod and a net.

Bailey said the sport was popular abroad at first, but is now increasingly taking root in the UK.

Drop-shot anglers typically fish in canals and rivers for perch, pike and chub.

The costs are lower than for more traditional carp fishing, although catching carp still accounts for around 65per cent of Angling Directs sales.

Revenues rose 44per cent to 30.2million in the year.

It opened three stores and bought three more from rivals, taking the total to 21.

It is set to open three outlets this year, and plans to add five more every year.
A 3billion bidding war has broken out for IWG, sending its shares soaring nearly 23per cent.

The office rental business, founded by Mark Dixon, has received cash offers from Starwood Capital and TDR Capital, while Lone Star Europe has expressed an interest.

An earlier takeover attempt by Canadian private equity firms Onex Corp and Brookfield Asset Management collapsed in February.

A 3billion bidding war has broken out for the office rental business IWG, sending its shares soaring nearly 23per cent

They were reportedly offering 300p per share but analysts expect talks with the new bidders could result in an offer of 350p  which would value IWG at 3.2billion in total.

Andrew Shepherd-Barron, an analyst at Peel Hunt, said they see IWGs going private as likely. Yesterday shares rose 22.8per cent, or 57.5p, to 309.5p.

Burgers to billionaire Mark Dixon founded IWG, then called Regus, in 1989. The father-of-five had the idea after noticing the lack of office space for travelling business executives meeting at tables next to him in a Brussels cafe. Essex-born Dixon, who lives in Monaco, started Dial-a-Snack, which delivered sandwiches, after he left school. But the business failed and he went travelling before returning to Essex to buy a burger van. He set up The Bread Roll Company to solve supply issues and sold it for 800,000 in 1988. He relocated to Brussels, where he started Regus.

The company, formerly called Regus, has offices in more than 3,000 locations in 110 countries and its brands include Regus, Open Office and Signature. It was founded in 1989 by Dixon.

If IWG sold for upwards of 3billion, the father-of-five would nearly double his wealth.

He owns 25.4per cent of the shares  meaning he would net about 800million  and is estimated to be worth 975million.

There is speculation about whether Dixon would leave the company completely if it were sold.

He was reportedly in favour of a deal with the Canadians but this was said to have been blocked by other directors.

IWG is fighting a rear-guard action against newer competitors such as We Work, which is backed by Japanese technology giant SoftBank.

The firm also recently warned on profits, saying it expected to report 165million for 2018.

Starwood, TDR and Lone Star have until June 8 to make a firm offer or walk away.
MBABANE  Heptagon Company (Pty) Ltd stands to be granted a E2.7 million tender to improve the road network in Siteki.



Siteki Town Councils Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Collen Dlamini confirmed that the contract was signed with Heptagon Company last week Tuesday, as earlier disclosed by substantive CEO Sithembile Simelane, that the multi-million Emalangeni tender would be awarded under the Swaziland Local Government Project (SGLP).



Simelane had explained that the final bid price for the upgrading of Msilima Road (160 metres), Bellmouth Intersection for Ngwenya and Parkway Roads (20m) and Mnyamati Road (180m) was E2 706 918.21. We have officially signed a contract with Heptagon and they are expected to start construction works on May 25, 2018, said Dlamini yesterday.



Heptagon outsmarted Camdel Construction, Roots Civils and Stefanutti Stocks to emerge as the best evaluated tenderer. The contract will be for four months. Heptagon also recently outsmarted five other companies in the race for construction of Kunene and Lubane roads, at the fast-developing town of Ezulwini.



Competitors were Roots Construction, Du Van Developers, Stefanutti Stocks and A.G Thomas. Kukhanya Civils and Mbhilibhi (Pty) Ltd did not make the cut due to different reasons. Kukhanya Civils was eliminated because they submitted a bid security, which was not in accordance with the bid requirements.



Meanwhile, Mbhilibhi (Pty) Ltd did make it because they did not attach a valid labour compliance certificate.

At bid price opening, Heptagon Company had submitted E3 946 212. 60 but this sum was reduced to E3 605 939.70 after evaluation. Heptagon was also granted a E3.8 million tender for construction of Ngwenya Town Boards roads and drainage systems. The exact value of the final bid price stood at E3 891 455. 83.
MBABANE  I shot my wife twice in the thigh after her mother told me that the two children we have are not mine.



This was the submission of a petrol attendant who stands charged with two counts of attempted murder.

He alleged that what also agitated him was that his mother-in-law told him that he was useless as he had no money.



Jabulani Sbhera Gamedze claimed that his wifes family also told him that he should leave her alone as they had found a wealthier man for her.



Gamedze is alleged to have attempted to kill his wife Thobile Shabangu and his brother-in-law, using a 12 bore shotgun.

He is alleged to have shot his wife and her brother twice each.



According to the charge sheet, Gamedze shot his wife and his brother-in-law while they were inside a house.

He is also facing a charge of being found in possession of a firearm and two live rounds of ammunition without a valid licence or permit.



Gamedze has moved an application for bail at the High Court, which was yesterday postponed after it transpired that the wife was still admitted to hospital. He allegedly shot the wife twice in the thigh.



Giving a background of the matter, Gamedze stated that around February 2018, his in-laws, in the company of his estranged wife, broke into his house using a bush knife and took all her clothing and other items.

Gamedze claimed that he was present on that day.



According to the accused, his in- laws further insulted him and allegedly informed him that they had found someone who was willing to marry their sister.



In around April 2018, I met my mother-in-law at the bus stop and she insulted me and also told me to leave her daughter alone as I did not have money and I was useless, submitted Gamedze.






MBABANE  How did the accused sustain an injury if you allege that there was no fight between him and the deceased?



This was the question which Judge Mumcy Dlamini said boggles her mind in the bail hearing of Mbabane socialite Nelisa Sibusiso Hlatshwako.



Hlatshwako stands charged with the murder of Principal Crown Counsel Stanley Dlamini.

Judge Dlamini said from the reading of the affidavit, she got the impression that Stanley never fought back while there was evidence that was attested to by the police that the accused was also injured.



If you say I must decline bail you must read your affidavit thoroughly. How did he sustain the injury that is being admitted by the police? wondered Judge Dlamini.



She wondered whether this supported the accuseds version that there was a fight between him and Stanley. In his founding affidavit, Hlatshwako alleged that he was attacked by Stanley.



The police officer says at all material times the accused was assaulting the applicant, then one wonders how did he (accused) sustained injuries as admitted by police officer Mavuso in his founding affidavit, said the judge.



The Crown admitted that there was contact between Stanley and the accused during the scuffle.

In his application, Hlatswako denied the assertion by the Crown that he was the instigator of the fight between him and Stanley. He argued that he had no reason to instigate a fight against Stanley, who was known to him.



I reiterate that I intervened when I found the deceased assaulting Menzi Gauzen Gama and when I tried to calm the deceased he attacked me, alleged Hlatshwako.

According to the accused, when Stanley attacked him, he was carrying a beer bottle in his hand which he put down and allegedly began assaulting him



Hlatshwako informed the court that the witnesses who were present when the fight broke out could attest to that.

He claimed that Gauzen was also assaulted by Stanley as he had blood coming out of his mouth.

I vehemently deny that at any point I hit the deceased with fist and kicks. At all material times, I was blocking the deceaseds fists, contended the accused.



He said he never touched Stanley with his own hands.

The accused argued that if there were any injuries that were sustained by Stanley, he might have sustained them as a result of a fall onto the concrete driveway.








LOBAMBA - Some senators are adamant that certain sections of the SODV Bill, including marital rape and incest, should be removed. This could continue to delay the passing of the Bill into a legislation.



SODV is an acronym for Sexual Offenses and Domestic Violence.

During a debate of members of the Deputy Prime Ministers Portfolio Committee, the senators were not happy with the marital rape clause stating that it should be removed as it clashed with Swazi culture.



Senator Moi Moi Masilela said the marital rape was a home wrecker (icitsamuti) adding that the Swazi culture was not in line with the regulation. Masilela said the clause was good enough for those who were married through civil rites and not those in polygamy.



He said if the Bill could be passed without amendments, men in polygamous marriages could find themselves getting arrested.

According to Masilela, this would open floodgates for women to end up abusing it.

Senator Chief Kekela said if the Bill could be passed into legislation without amendment, they Emaswati men in polygamous marriages would find themselves getting arrested.



Chief Kekela said out of rage, a woman in a polygamous marriage could end up using it against her husband to spite him.

He said jealousy prevailed in most of the marriages as the women always have demands they make to their husbands and always want attention.

Senator Chief Kekela said it is when the man does not give attention where all trouble begins.

Responding, the Attorney General, Sifiso Khumalo, said there were circumstances which were laid down and clear on rape.

Khumalo said rape was a criminal act and had no eyes and did not consider whether you are married or not.
Syed Abutalib Bukhari explaining a point during the interview. (pic: Sibusiso Zwane)

MANZINI  As the next parliament will have a huge responsibility of translating vision 2022 into reality, foreigners, Asians in particular, have been encouraged to register and contest the 2018 national elections.



Syed Abutalib Bukhari, a Research Scholar and Poet, who operates one of the biggest car dealerships in Manzini, said as foreigners, especially those from developed countries, they believed they had a responsibility to assist the country realise the national vision of attaining first world status by 2022.



He said the international exposure they have could be useful to the country as it strive to translate the national vision into reality. We know what is expected from us and the first step starts with registering for the upcoming national elections in our numbers as foreigners, said Bukhari.



He also said they would then need to participate in the elections in order to contribute their input from within. He said participating in the elections is the right way to communicate their likes, dislikes and vision. Bukhari added that as foreigners, they have an economic and social stake in the Kingdom of Eswatini, thus they needed to partake in the national elections.



On another note, the businessman, who has a citizenship of Eswatini, said participating in the national elections would put them in a better position to influence the countrys policies, as it needs guidelines that would change the current economic and social crisis. We can assist in making policies that will attract more foreign direct investments, something that will provide jobs and develop the country.
#refugee South Korea grants asylum to Angolan family The Ministry of Justice has granted refugee status to an Angolan family with a Congolese background, citing the likelihood of persecution should they return home, officials said Sa...

#MLB Rays' Choi Ji-man homers in ALDS loss to Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays' first baseman Choi Ji-man has hit his fourth career postseason home run, though it came in a crushing loss to the Boston Red Sox at home. Choi blasted a solo hom...
Thousands of Bosnians have demanded that authorities reinvestigate the deaths of a Muslim and a Serb, in a protest that bridged Bosnia\s ethnic divide and called for an end to alleged state corruption and negligence.

Holding banners reading "Who is protecting the killers?" or "We want the truth," the protesters in Sarajevo on Tuesday accused authorities of covering up the killings of David Dragicevic and Dzenan Memic.

Memic, 22, from Sarajevo, died in 2016 in what prosecutors first said was murder, but later treated as a car crash. Two men have been charged with traffic violations, but Memic\s father believes his son was murdered.

Dragicevic, 21, from Serb-held Banja Luka, was found dead in March. Police say he drowned, but Dragicevic\s father also claims his son was killed.

SOURCE: AP
Some 160,000 people have fled their homes in Cameroon\s English-speaking regions because of violence between anglophone separatists and government forces, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

"The majority of the displaced have fled into the bush with little to survive on," the UN\s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.

"Others are hosted by local communities who are also grappling with adverse living conditions," it added.

The figure marks the UN\s first detailed estimate of the number of people displaced since the crisis began to escalate in late 2016.

Previously the UN, encountering difficulties in accessing remote parts of the Northwest and Southwest regions, had said "tens of thousands" had left their homes.

In addition to the 160,000 internally displaced, the OCHA said 20,000 had sought refuge in neighbouring Nigeria. In contrast, Nigeria\s State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), has put the number sheltering in Cross River state alone at 34,000.

Witness accounts given to AFP in Nigeria describe Cameroonians traversing the border on foot in mountainous and densely forested areas, making crossings difficult to track.

Violence in the Northwest Region and Southwest Regions occurs almost daily, pitching armed separatists against Cameroonian government forces.

 Kidnappings and killings 

On Tuesday, Yaounde admitted Cameroonian soldiers had "mistreated and tied up" an alleged English-speaking separatist leader during his arrest on Saturday.

The government forces "clearly strayed from the legal norms and techniques in such circumstances," defence minister Joseph Beti Assomo told state radio after video of the arrest was widely shared on social media.

It is the first time the army has acknowledged abuses committed by security forces deployed in the anglophone regions since clashes erupted at the end of 2017.

"An investigation has been opened to identify (and) where appropriate, sanction the perpetrators of these acts, which are contrary to the respect for human rights," said the minister.

The video shows gendarmes beating a man covered in mud, tying his hand behind his back and striking his feet with the flat side of a machete.

The insurgency began in 2016, when activists in the anglophone minority, comprising about a fifth of the country\s population of 22 million, stepped up a campaign for greater autonomy.

President Paul Biya rejected their demands, prompting radicals to make a full-blown but symbolic declaration of independence last October 1.

On Friday, a man was abducted by gunmen in Widikum in the northwest, sources said. Clashes also took place earlier in May in Bafut and Yo-Ke.

The separatists  whose death toll is unknown  are accused of kidnappings officials and other French-speaking Cameroonians, while the army is accused of abuses and burning houses.

According to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank, "at least 120" civilians and "at least 43" security forces have been killed since the end of 2016.

SOURCE: AFP
Ford F-150 Production Could Resume Friday | Ford Authority Production of the Ford F-150 pickup truck, which was halted at the automaker's Dearborn Truck and Kansas City Assembly plants after supplier Meridian Magnesium Products experienced a plant fire, could resume as soon as this Friday, sources have told Automotive News .

Missourinet gives: The Ford F-150 truck which is assembled at the Claycomo plant has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States for well over 30 years. Cleaver said the pickup trucks popularity creates an advantage for the Kansas City area factory.We dont want them manufactured or assembled any other place, Cleaver said. We want it done right here in Kansas City. It creates some uniqueness for us.The idled workers are scheduled to begin shifts at the Claycomo plant Friday morning at 6 a.m.Read more:
Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state and a rival of Colyer for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, said the Legislature had kicked around several unsettling funding ideas. It would presumably be paid for by gobbling up another $100 million in highway funding, imposing a tax on internet sales, undercutting payments to the state pension system and absorbing the windfall in state tax revenue resulting for recent changes in the federal tax code, he said.





The supposed ability to do this without a tax increase makes all kinds of ridiculous assumptions, Kobach said. That is unacceptable. We need to cut taxes. Purple, pot-smoking Colorado has a better tax environment than red Kansas does. This is crazy.

Former Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer is a Democratic nominee who wants to legalize marijuana in Kansas by way of a statewide ballot measure.Meanwhile . . .You decide . . .
Vital Kansas City Art School Instruction

Children's Mercy Taps Kansas City Art Institute To Explain Science To Kids And Parents Tell any child that you need her consent to perform an endoscopic biopsy and want her on board with a "future use provision" and see what sort of look you get. Try to convey the same idea to a child and her parents in a West African nation with no written language and you're out of luck.

Close Call For Urban Core Scholar

No injuries following school bus fire in Kansas City No injuries were reported following a school bus fire Monday afternoon on Cleaver II and Elmwood Avenue in Kansas City. Two students and two adults were on board at the time of the fire. They evacuated the bus after the driver heard a pop. Moments later, smoke and fire occurred in the undercarriage of the bus.

Tough Lesson Learned For KCMO???

Sidewalk project underway in area where boy was struck by car KANSAS CITY, MO. -- In the area of 107th and Bristol Terrace there are still signs of the accident that sent a six-year-old boy to the hospital last Monday. "That could have been my child," said a man who didn't want to be identified. He heard the car strike the boy and stepped outside.

Show-Me Life Line Up In The Air

Preserve access to air ambulance services in Missouri Dr. Bill Jermyn had a vision for rural Missouri: extend the quality medical care delivered in urban Missouri to rural Missouri. During an emergency, health outcomes deteriorate when care is delayed. As the medical director for ARCH Air Medical Service, I know this all too well.

Harsh Time For Signature Crop

Drought to shrink Kansas wheat crop to smallest since 1989: tour MANHATTAN, Kan. (Reuters) - Drought sapped yield potential for the Kansas wheat crop and likely will result in the smallest harvest in the top wheat growing state since 1989, scouts said on the final day of a annual crop tour on Thursday. The crop shortfall could mean higher prices for wheat that would make U.S.

Kansas City Front Office Giveaway???

Did Kansas City Chiefs lose too much defensive leadership? The Kansas City Chiefs have had one of the most intriguing, and somewhat gut-wrenching, offseasons ... and it's not over yet. I'll go ahead and say it for you: losing Derrick Johnson was heartbreaking. He's been my one of, if not my most, favorite players for the past 13 years.

Quick peek at international hottie good life and the upkeep it requires:Closer to home here are a few links worth a peek for the late night . . .And this is thefor right now . . .
Country Club Comeback???

2 new stores coming to Country Club Plaza KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Two new stores are coming to the Country Club Plaza. Made in KC is heading to 4640 Wornall Road, which is the former location of Houston's restaurant. Remodeling permits for the location were applied for in April.

Tragic Newspaper Followup After TKC

Bionic Kansas City Solutions

Knee replacements are more precise, have faster recovery with aid of robotics Jackie Wolf is feeling pretty good now, after getting a partial knee replacement brought about by degenerative arthritis. "I'm walking my little dogs, which I couldn't do for months and months, which makes me happy," Wolf says. The first surgery in Wolf's life was also the first robotic-assisted knee replacement in the KC Metro, according to staff at St.

Help Po-Po Find JoCo Creeper

Police searching for man who allegedly committed lewd acts in front of woman, minor OVERLAND PARK, Kan. - Overland Park police are asking for the public's help finding a man they said committed lewd acts in front of a woman and a minor in two separate incidents. Police said in both incidents, than man approached the female, made sexual remarks, and then committed a lewd act.

Last Gasp For Printing Press Biz

Star takes over printing for another McClatchy newspaper; Lawrence printer wins The Pitch - Kansas City Business Journal As the newspaper industry continues to consolidate and shrink, The Kansas City Star's $200 million downtown printing and distribution plant is finding ways to keep busy. Unfortunately, another newspaper will shutter its Illinois printing facility to keep the presses in downtown Kansas City humming.

Booze News For Thirsty KC Hipsters

Tap List | Cinder Block Brewery Uses Locally-Sourced Wheat for Witbier Starting the first week of June, Cinder Block Brewery's Weathered Wit will contain wheat grown by Great Plains Custom Grain, based in Wellsville, Kansas. Malt from that Kansas-grown wheat will journey to North Kansas City, Missouri, for the brewing process. Then the beer will make its way back to Kansas, as well as Missouri in Cinder Block's distribution territory.

More Kansas City Drama

Theater review: Welcome to Fear City, at the KC Rep, tries to do too much with 1970s New York Karen Almond Among the productions in the Kansas City Repertory Theatre's Origin KC festival of new works is Welcome to Fear City, an inventive play by Kara Lee Corthron that feels overstuffed with too many good ideas.

One more peek at the evolving discourse and insight into the multi-BILLION-dollar international modeling industry . . .Closer to home, here are more than a handful of Kansas City news links worth a look:And this is thefor right now . . .
Missouri House and Senate continue drive to protect right-to-work law The Missouri House has given final approval to a proposal that would ask voters later this year to put right-to-work language into the state's constitution. Monday night's action is part of a two-pronged effort by predominantly Republican supporters to protect a right-to-work law they passed last year.

Show-Me the fate of collective bargaining in the Show-Me State at risk whilst we all debate the career fate of the cheating Governor and all of his new promises.Read more:
NEW YORK  The American School of Classical Studies at Athens (ASCSA) hosted their Annual Dinner Gala at Capitale in New York City on May 9. Each year the event gathers over 350 prominent philanthropists, philhellenes and scholars, to celebrate the extraordinary 137-year history of the American School. Founded in 1881, the School provides students and scholars from a consortium of over 190 affiliated North American colleges and universities with the opportunity to explore the full range of scholarly resources in Greece.

The evening commenced with a cocktail hour followed by dinner and live Greek music performed by the talented musicians Gregory Maninakis on vocals, Kostas Psarros on bouzouki, Glafkos Kontemeniotis on keyboards, and Megan Gould on violin. Their wonderful performance of classic songs was one of the highlights of the evening and gave an added layer to the Greek character of the event.

Another highlight was the awards presentation. The Gennadius Prize was presented to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) for outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge of post-antique Greece. It is an honor to recognize the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and to celebrate, not only their excellence in civic engagement and responsible citizenship, but their commitment in supporting and driving the study and understanding of post antique Hellenism, said Andreas Zombanakis, Chairman of the Gennadius Librarys Overseers. We hope that by showcasing their exceptional leadership and vision, we can help inspire the next generation of post antique Greek scholars and Philhellenes.

Read more at thenationalherald.com

RELATED TOPICS: Greece, Greek tourism news, Tourism in Greece, Greek islands, Hotels in Greece, Travel to Greece, Greek destinations , Greek travel market, Greek tourism statistics, Greek tourism report
Tourexpi, turizm haberleri, Reiseburos, tourism news, noticias de turismo, Tourismus Nachrichten,  , travel tourism news, international tourism news, Urlaub, urlaub in der turkei,  , holidays in Turkey,   , global tourism news, dunya turizm, dunya turizm haberleri, Seyahat Acentas,

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Bahrain-based Bank ABC Islamic has posted a net profit of $8.2million for the first quarter of the year 2018, 28 per cent higher than the net profit for the comparable period last year of $6.4 million.



Total operating income rose to $11 million, 29 per cent growth over $8.6 million recorded in the first quarter of last year. Operating expenses were lower at $1.85 million, compared with $ 2.1 million for the same period last year.



Shareholders equity at 31 March 2018 stood at $328 million, compared to $333 million at 2017 year-end, reduction of 1.5 per cent mainly on account of FAS 30 implementation, which the Bank adopted on the first of January 2018. The Banks capital base remains extremely strong with a capital adequacy ratio of 31.3 per cent, well above the regulatory minimum of 12.5 per cent.



Bank ABC Islamics total assets at 31 March 2018 stood at $1.653 billion, compared to $1.559 billion at the 2017 year-end.



Hammad Hassan, managing director of Bank ABC Islamic, said: The first quarter results are reflective of continuation of positive marketing momentum from last year. The coverage team in collaboration with various product partners has been able to successfully conclude several capital market transactions, as well as originate new bilateral relationships. Our ability to provide end to end solutions to our clients and effective use of balance sheet through asset churn have been accretive for the banks bottom line.



Whilst there is some volatility in the markets that we operate, we are confident of sustained performance during the year on account of our prudent approach towards risk management and the continued momentum of coverage and product teams, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and OCP Group of Morocco (OCP) have agreed to explore the phased creation of a new global fertilisers joint venture.



The proposed joint venture will build on both companies competitive advantages, namely Adnocs world-scale sulphur production, ammonia and gas expertise, and shipping and logistics network, and OCPs access to large phosphate resources, its century-long fertilisers know-how and its marketing network, to develop a new global fertilisers producer, said a statement.



The proposed partnership will comprise two fertiliser production hubs, one in the UAE and one in Morocco (utilising both existing and new assets), giving the proposed joint venture global market reach, it said.



This proposed project extends the partnership already established through the existing long-term sulphur offtake agreement that was announced by the two firms in December 2017. The two companies will work on developing capabilities that will support this venture, as they expand their partnership, leveraging their respective strengths and building their human capital, it added.



The agreement aligns with Adnocs plans to increase production by at least 50 per cent from its current levels of 7 million tonnes a year, as it looks to increase gas production by tapping into vast gas caps and scaling up sour gas production.



OCP has engaged in a large-scale development programme that will enable it to capture its fair share of growing demand for fertilisers. The first phase of this programme was completed this year and has brought the groups existing fertiliser capacity to 12 million tonnes, and rock export capacity to over 18 million tonnes.



Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Adnoc Group chief executive officer, said: The proposed joint venture with OCP Group illustrates our intent to maximise the value of all our resources, as we grow our downstream business, diversify our product range and increase revenues.



The agreement builds on the expanded partnership model we announced last year, as we open our entire value chain to reliable, value-adding, long-term partners, who can complement our capabilities and resources, and enhance our market access, he said,



Importantly, this agreement is aligned with the directives of our leadership to further build on the existing close relationship and ties between the UAE and Morocco, and we look forward to building on these firm foundations as we work towards potentially building a new global fertilisers champion, he added.



Mostafa Terrab, OCP Group chairman and chief executive officer, said: This collaboration between our companies brings together the worlds largest phosphate reserves and the worlds largest sulphur production capacity and it represents an unprecedented alliance in the industry, providing the partners with a world-class integrated asset base and complementary geographic locations.



We view this new partnership as a unique opportunity, in line with our global strategy, which will contribute to our ability to serve growing demand for fertilisers worldwide, he said.



The agreement comes as Adnoc, at its Downstream Investment Forum, unveiled its ambition and plans to become a global downstream leader, enabling it to further stretch the value of every barrel it produces to the benefit of Adnoc, its partners and the UAE.



It aligns with Adnocs 2030 strategy of a more profitable upstream, more valuable downstream, more sustainable and economic gas supply, and more proactive, adaptive marketing and trading. This project further supports Adnocs downstream growth plans to create the worlds largest integrated refining and petrochemicals complex in Ruwais.



Adnocs Downstream Investment Forum gathered, in Abu Dhabi, over 40 global CEOs and more than 800 senior global business leaders from diverse industry sectors.



At the event, Adnoc partners, stakeholders, customers and suppliers heard details about the companys new downstream growth plans as well as new partnership and investment opportunities available across the expanded Adnoc value chain, as it seeks to redefine and transform its downstream business, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Savage Saudi Arabia, a leading provider of services for refineries in the kingdom, has delivered a total of seven locomotives and two locomotive booster units from the US to Saudi Arabias Eastern and Northern provinces.



Savage Saudi Arabia is a joint venture company between Savage Companies (Utah, US) and Ahmad Nasser Albinali Holding Company (Dammam, Saudi Arabia).



The delivery will support rail operations at Saudi Aramco and Ma'aden Wa'ad Al-Shamal Phosphate Company (MWSPC) facilities, said a statement.



Savage will own, operate and maintain the two Tier-3 compliant, low-emissions locomotives delivered to Saudi Aramcos Wasit and Berri Gas Plants, in the Jubail area, it said.



Savage also delivered five GP38-3 locomotives and two booster units to MWSPCs new mining and processing plants in Wa'ad Al-Shamal Industrial City and Ras Al Khair Industrial City, it added.



The locomotives and booster units were imported by ship from Houston, Texas, US, to the Port of Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and hauled by tractor-trailers to their final destinations.



Savage has an agreement to provide rail switching, track maintenance, and track signalling system operations and maintenance for Saudi Aramco at its Wasit and Berri Gas Plants.



These services will help facilitate the transportation of molten sulphur by rail to MWSPCs facilities for use in producing phosphate fertilisers. On the receiving end, Savage is providing training for locomotive operations and maintenance to facilitate handover to MWSPC, who owns and operates the units.



Troy Savage, senior vice president and executive manager for Savage Saudi Arabia, said: The delivery of these locomotives highlights the continued emphasis Saudi Arabia is placing on the development of railroad infrastructure and diversification of industry.



We are pleased to operate one of the first industrial rail switching facilities in Saudi Arabia and are committed to providing excellent service for our customers, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Aluminium Bahrain (Alba), the Bahrain-based aluminium smelter, has appointed Mohamed Khalil Saeed as its director of safety, health and environment (SHE).



The decision was made at the board meeting that was held on May 9, said a statement from Alba.



Saeed joined Alba in 1997 as a security officer in the SHE department following which he was promoted to supervisory levels such as security supervisor (2002), fire superintendent (2007), SHE superintendent (2011) and marine operation superintendent (2014).



In 2016, he was promoted to SHE manager then to senior SHE manager in 2017, it said.



Saeed holds a Bachelors Degree in Fire Safety Management from Bell Town University, US, Diploma in Fire Engineering from Morten-in-Marsh Fire Service College, UK and an executive MBA from French Arabian Business School (FABS), it added.



Albas chief executive officer Tim Murray said: Saeed exemplifies our companys philosophy to develop its people and promoting them from within the company to leadership positions.



He brings with him extensive knowledge and experience in various areas under environment, health and safety, he said.



I am confident that Saeed will elevate our safety initiatives as we get ready to take our place as the worlds largest single-site aluminium smelter with Line 6 operations, he added.  TradeArabia News Service
Dow Chemical Company has announced the launch of its newly-built innovation centre located within the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) premises in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.



Located in KAUSTs Research and Technology Park, the Dow Innovation Centre will support the company's ramped-up research efforts to address critical needs in the kingdom and the region including increasing energy efficiency and minimizing environmental footprint.



The hitech facility was inaugurated at a grand ceremony in the presence of Dow's executive leadership, the KAUST Board of Trustees, university leadership, and special invited guests from Saudi Arabia.



The 13,500 sq m space, which is designed to achieve Leed Gold certification, will house Dows Research & Development facilities and the newly established Dow Digital Marketplace Center for the region.



State-of-the-art labs, research areas and offices will provide application development and technical service focused on oil and gas technology solutions, sustainable coating and construction solutions, and industrial chemicals for a variety of applications relevant to Saudi Arabia and the region.



The vision for a Dow's Saudi centre was born at the start of the two partners relationship in 2009, when the US firm became a founding member of the KAUST Industrial Collaboration Program, which works through close academic-research-industry partnership to commercialize research breakthroughs into practical applications and solutions for the market.



The centres completion marks a significant stage in the growth of the KAUST Research and Technology Park, which is home to leading companies from Saudi Arabia and around the world.



Nesma and Partners Contracting Company was the official contractor for the Dow building, while architectural firms HOK and Kirksey Architects had designed the exterior and interior of the centre along with Vanderweil Engineers delivering the MEP engineering.



Dow Saudi Arabia President Chuck Swartz said the new Dow Innovation Center marks the culmination of a decade-long journey to have a dedicated facility focused on innovation and talent development to support the growth in the kingdom.



This facility is perfectly aligned to Dows strategy and our commitment to this region, employing a highly skilled workforce, a number already are graduates from KAUST with diverse backgrounds in science and engineering, he noted.



KAUST Interim President Nadhmi Al Nasr said: "The innovation centre represents yet another milestone in Dows deep and growing commitment to the kingdom and region, which I am proud to say has been largely supported and facilitated by its partnership with KAUST over the years."



By integrating the profound research developed at the University into industry solutions, the Center is helping to advance KAUSTs larger mission to drive the countrys future knowledge and innovation economy, he added.-TradeArabia News Service


Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, has honoured five of the finalists of the Arab Hope Makers initiative, awarding each of them Dh5 million ($1.36 million).



He also crowned Mahmoud Wahid, from Egypt, as the Winner of 2018 Edition of Arab Hope Makers Initiative, as he won major audience vote among, for his initiative dedicated to giving refuge to homeless seniors in the streets of Cairo.



At the end of the largest humanitarian gathering in the Arab world, Sheikh Mohammed announced the establishment of the Dh50 million Hope Makers Academy to support building hope in the Arab world, provide humanitarian incubators for their projects, transfer international scientific expertise in the humanitarian field for their projects and provide executive and leadership training courses.



The awards took place at the finale of the Arab Hope Makers initiative, held in Dubai, UAE to celebrate 15 finalists from some 87,000 applicants to Arab Hope Makers.



Sheikh Mohammed said: "We are investing in the business of hope because it is the most profitable endeavour for the future of our Arab world.



"The Hope Makers Academy will be an inspirational human incubator. We will work to establish a culture of hope, institutionalize the act of hope and introduce global standards in our human institutions that create hope for peoples. The Hope Makers Academy will provide inspirational leadership in humanitarian work.

"Hope is the only industry in the world where nobody can lose," he added.



Hope Makers Academy



The creation of the Hope Makers Academy is an incubator to prepare and create new generations of hope makers seeking positive change in their societies by transforming their personal initiatives into sustainable humanitarian and community projects that contribute to the consolidation of the values of generosity and engagement and involve community groups in humanitarian action.



The Academy aims to institutionalize the business of hope and transform it into a strategic framework, empowering those working in this field and providing them with the tools, mechanisms and innovative approaches to humanitarian and charitable work.



The Academy will provide educational programs, training courses and training workshops in various humanitarian, charitable and developmental fields by academics and experts, as well as experts from specialized institutions with expertise in global humanitarian action as well as leading figures in the regional and international hope industry.



In addition, the Academy's members will be provided with advanced educational content in the fields of humanitarian and community work, tools and means to develop it, expand its horizons, and maximize the size of the targeted sector and beneficiaries, as well as the mechanisms for drawing up sustainable plans and strategies.



Mahmoud Waheed, founder of the Together to Save a Human initiative, was selected from among five inspirational finalists as the ultimate winner of the 2018 edition of Arab Hope Makers.



The hope makers presented their stories at a ceremony that drew the attendance of about 3,000 spectators from across the Arab world, in addition to senior UAE government officials and members of the diplomatic corps, prominent representatives of humanitarian and charity organizations, as well as journalists, artists, intellectuals, and social media influencers.



The five candidates included:



 Fares Ali from Sudan, founder of the Food for Education initiative that seeks to fight hunger by distributing sandwiches to schoolchildren in poor areas, as well as feeding homeless children and adolescents, integrating them into society, and providing educational programs for them;



 Nawal Mostafa from Egypt, who devoted herself to the cause of female prisoners and their children and implemented multiple rehabilitation initiatives through training them in professions and handicrafts so that they can earn a living for themselves and their families. She also founded the Prisoners Children Care Association to highlight the plight of children who live with their mothers in debtors' prisons, monitor their situation, and meet their needs;



 Manal Al Musallam from Kuwait, who, after losing her daughter Dana in a tragic drowning accident, established the Dana Volunteer Team to help Syrian homeless and refugees through organizing relief campaigns to distribute aid and provide them with essential supplies;



 Mahmoud Waheed from Egypt, the founder of the Together to Save a Human initiative that provides shelter, medical care and psychological support for homeless senior citizens to facilitate their reintegration into society, and reunites them with their families; and



 Siham Jarjees from Iraq, who has implemented multiple humanitarian and relief initiatives to alleviate the suffering of refugees and displaced people in several refugee camps in Iraq through distributing aid, arranging orphan adoptions, contributing to the construction and renovation of widows' homes, building classrooms for people of determination, and setting up shops to help widows earn a living.  TradeArabia News Service
Fortune Promoseven (FP7), a full-service advertising company, celebrated its 50th anniversary at an event last night.

The agency, established in 1968 in Beirut by seven partners who each contributed capital equivalent to $1,000, is part of McCann Worldgroup. It has been operating in Bahrain since 1976.

"Although born in Lebanon, its expansion into Bahrain gave it a real opportunity to grow geographically quickly and beyond all expectations," said Akram Miknas FP7 Chairman.

The FP7 group is now in 13 countries, geographically the widest spread for a company of its kind in the Middle East. The 50th anniversary celebration will continue throughout our agencies across the region, he added.

To mark the anniversary, the firm commissioned an artwork by Lebanese artist Yazan Halwani, which was unveiled at the celebration last night at the Promoseven Tower, in Muharraq.

I always say that although this brand was born in Beirut, it grew up in Bahrain, said FP7 Mena chief executive Tarek Miknas on the occasion.

He added it was in Bahrain that the company witnessed some of its biggest achievements. It is in Bahrain that we signed our first ever multinational client, Cathay Pacific  still a client today, he said.

It is from FP7 in Bahrain that we launched Coca-Cola to the region in 1985 and it is FP7 in Bahrain that launched the McDonalds brand across the GCC, he added. The company has also contributed to the launch of Bahrains first Formula One in 2004. - TradeArabia News Service
Dubais DIFC Courts and Canadas McGill University Faculty of Law have announced the first-ever clerkship programme, a joint initiative in the Middle East to train future judges to operate across multiple legal systems.



Through the intensive programme, budding jurists are cross-trained in civil and common law codes, fostering the core skills needed to address the sort of complex international disputes that are increasingly handled by global courts.



DIFC Courts has emerged as the regions hub for judicial and legal training excellence, with a special focus on so-called trans-systemic law  preparing lawyers and judges to work across the worlds jurisdictions. DIFC Academy of Law, working in tandem with DIFC Courts, already offers courses that bridge the gap between the civil and common law systems that co-exist in the United Arab Emirates.



Amna Al Owais, chief executive & registrar, DIFC Courts, said: This programme with McGill demonstrates that Dubai is becoming a new destination for top Canadian law students to broaden their legal skills.



We believe that globalisation drives courts like ours to innovate through trans-systemic thinking to benefit international businesses seeking dispute resolution worldwide, both now and in the future. As technology shrinks the distances between the worlds markets, entrepreneurs and investors should be able to choose courts that can provide certainty based on this innovative legal knowledge.



Starting in May, the first clerkship has been awarded to third-year McGill University law student, Viva Dadwal, with the backing of the Consulate General of Canada and Air Canada.



I am thrilled to have been selected for this new clerkship. For a student who is interested in learning about different legal codes at an international and commercial level, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to gain exposure to how global courts operate, Dadwal said.



I look forward to working with legal thinkers at DIFC Courts, who are designing the courts of the future and understanding how we develop global practices to deliver legal services in pursuit of justice.



The Clerkship initiative was announced during a Canadian Business Council seminar hosted by the DIFC Courts. Addressing the future trade, representatives from Dubai FDI and the Consulate General of Canada discussed the role of UAE-Canadian commerce into global trade hubs, ranging from the UAE to China.



Emmanuel Kamarianakis, Consul General of Canada, said: The Consulate General of Canada was pleased to facilitate the partnership between DIFC Courts and McGill University to offer a clerkship in trans-systemic law.



For more than 150 years, Canadas legal system has been based on common law and civil law. This legal pluralism is very much a reflection and celebration of Canadas diversity. As trade and investment continue to globalise, Canadian educational institutions are not only well positioned to train lawyers who understand how to navigate and reconcile multiple legal traditions but are also at the forefront of creating new and innovative legal structures.



Deepu Cyriac, country manager, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar & Oman, Air Canada, said: Air Canada is delighted to share partnership with McGill University & DIFC Courts for this clerkship programme. Air Canada started non-stop service from Dubai to Toronto since 2015 and over the years we always noticed a good growth of students travelling between Dubai to different universities in Canada.



This partnership is a great opportunity to promote Air Canadas non-stop service from Dubai & strengthen UAE & Canada relationship at youth and education level.  TradeArabia News Service
The power capacity requirements of the Mena region are expected to increase at an annual rate of 6.4 per cent until 202, according to a new research released by Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (Apicorp), a multilateral development bank.



To support their renewable sectors, the main energy-importing countries have introduced several supporting mechanisms including competitive bidding, the introduction of feed in tariffs (FiTs), tax exemptions, and power-purchase agreements (PPA).



On the other hand, energy-exporting countries  excluding the UAE  have done little to incorporate renewables, as they continue to rely on cheap-to-extract conventional resources to meet rising electricity demand.



Apicorps report also finds that the renewable energy drive in the region is led by the UAE, Morocco, and Jordan, as each of these countries have put measures in place to ensure the diversification of their energy sources are on track, with the help of European and international development organisations.



The Moroccan government is on track with the plan as they put a target of 2GW of solar and wind power each by 2020. The country has made further impressive developments in its wind sector: five wind projects totalling 850MW have already been awarded, with record bids ranging from $25-30/MWh.



As for solar, phase 1 of the Noor Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project was commissioned in 2016, while Noor-2 and Noor-3 are expected to add a combined 350MW in 2018, which upon completion will become the largest CSP project in the world.



Similarly, in Jordan we also see a surge in investment, with support from the international community. These include the Japanese led Kepco project, Korean led Fujeij wind project as well as the Al Rejef project by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and finally the Quweira project led jointly by firms from the UAE and Spain. With these projects the government is increasing the countrys energy target from 600MW to 1GW by 2020.



The report also finds that the UAE, especially Dubai, has done impressive work to stay on track with the renewable energy targets. With phases 3 and 4 of the Dubai Solar Park, to begin commissioning by the end of 2020, the UAE is placed at the forefront of renewable energy development in the region. Other Emirates have also set up projects in effort to boost renewable energy targets like the Shams CSP in Abu Dhabi.



Similarly, Saudi Arabia has also kick started an ambitious renewable energy plan with the newly formed Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources taking charge of the countrys promising renewable energy programme. With proper infrastructures put in place, it demonstrates the governments commitment to achieving the renewable energy targets, and in turn attracting foreign investors. The first utility-scale solar project was recently awarded to ACWA Power.



The 300MW Sakaka PV project  located in the Al-Jawf region - achieved a world-record price of $0.02342/kWh and will operate under a long term PPA.As for wind, progress is also apparent, albeit at a lower pace than solar. The government has received four bids for the first wind project, expected to hold a capacity of 400MWin Al-Jawf region.



Apicorp also predicts a more positive outlook for Egypt as the country steps up to increase the solar and wind power production. Egypts main challenge is their low foreign reserves and an uncertain outlook for the pound.



Although the research predicts that the outlook will improve especially as disputes no longer have to be settled in Egyptian courts. Financing remains the governments biggest obstacle, but the growing commitment of international lenders such as the IFC and EBRD is helping attract much needed funds into the sector.



Taking a broader look at the region, the falling cost of competitiveness will support the success of renewable energy plans; however, several other Mena countries are still struggling to make progress. Large oil and gas reserves and cheap extraction costs mean that hydrocarbons continue to meet rising demand in countries like Kuwait, Qatar and Algeria, and policy uncertainty and lack of an efficient and supportive regulatory framework are also contributing to slow progress.



Ghassan Al-Akwaa, energy sector specialist at Apicorp, said: The key drivers for countries that are performing really well with their renewable energy policies are government initiatives. Morocco, Jordan and the UAE are a testament to that; their governments have put in measures to ensure the success of these policies. Saudi and Egyptian governments have also started to put policies in place and we expect to see their renewable energy sectors expand within the next few years because of this.



Mustafa Ansari, senior economist, added: The declining cost of renewable energy is a good sign; it shows that there is an appetite in the market for investors to support the initiatives in the region. Countries should leverage this opportunity to begin implementing policies to boost investment in the renewable energy sector.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain-based BMMI Groups fully owned subsidiary Alosra supermarket has entered into a commercial deal with Irelands leading food retail and wholesale company, Musgrave.



With seven stores across Bahrain and two in Saudi Arabia, Alosra supermarket is a leading grocery retailer that has been a true lifestyle partner to its customers since 1987. Established in 1876, Musgrave is one of Irelands leading retailers, with brands including SuperValu, Centra, and Daybreak, as well as Musgrave MarketPlace, a leading wholesale supplier to retail, foodservice and SMEs.



The deal will give Alosra the opportunity to bring in exclusive Irish products, widening its offering to include some of the European countrys best-known and loved brands. Similarly, through exporting their products to Bahrain, Musgrave has an ideal opportunity to expand their reach to another international market, helping showcase Irish products across the globe.



Alosra and Musgrave have proven to have solid brand synergy and to share similar values, including their support for the local community. For example, Alosras Think Local programme supports local producers and farmers to sell their products in their stores, Musgrave also runs a Food Academy programme in conjunction with Bord Bia (the Irish Food Board) where small businesses and producers are nurtured through their journey from start-up through to gaining their retail listing.



Alosra has had a longstanding interest in and a relationship with Ireland, said BMMI general manager of Food Retailing and Production, Jaffar Al Asfoor, who oversees Alosra supermarket. The Alosra team has been travelling to Ireland frequently for years, and we have always been impressed with the quality and diversity of their offering, said Al Asfoor.



In fact, many members of our team have actually trained in Ireland and we have always been inspired by how passionate the Irish people are about their heritage and their food. In Musgrave, we have a like-minded partner providing a great opportunity for a taste of Ireland to come to Bahrain, he added.



The Alosra team also recently attended Marketplace International in Dublin, a unique, invitation-only event that brings together top Irish food and drink exporters and international trade buyers. Organised by Bord Bia, the trade show has a major focus on sustainability, with all participating Irish suppliers at the event being Origin Green verified members, which is a national sustainability programme.



Marketplace International was an ideal platform for Alosra to further develop their relationships with Irish suppliers who, much like Alosra, are committed to the importance of sustainability.



Furthermore, the event provided an opportunity to promote Bahrains thriving grocery retail sector and Alosras strong position in the market.  TradeArabia News Service
Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain has appointed seasoned hotelier Alban Dutemple as its new general manager.



Dutemple brings over three and a half decades of outstanding experience in the industry with some of the worlds leading hospitality brands. Out of this, his longest stint was with the Accor Group where he spent nearly 19 years serving various hotels in different capacities.



Laurent A. Voivenel, senior vice president, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India for Swiss-Belhotel International, said: We are very pleased to welcome Alban who has an extremely strong local and international experience and a proven track record in the industry. We are confident his expertise and dynamic approach will be instrumental in exceeding our guests expectations while delivering the highest level of service and standards.



Thanking the outgoing general manager Herve Peyre who was also the groups area general manager in Bahrain, Voivenel stated: The team at Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain has done a tremendous job under the leadership of Herve in positioning the hotel as a market leader and winner of several accolades including the Best four-star hotel in GCC at the Food & Travel Awards for three consecutive years, 2016-18. We are very grateful to Herve for his contribution and hard work and wish him the very best for the future.



Upon joining Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain, Dutemple said: I feel very excited and motivated, and look forward to working closely with the team to build on the exceptional success of Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain. We all know continued investment in tourism infrastructure is transforming Bahrains tourism sector. It is wonderful to be in the kingdom at this exciting time. I love the spirit and culture of Bahrain and look forward to discovering more about the local customs and traditions.



A French national, Dutemple entered the hospitality industry as chef de partie at a Michelin star restaurant in France in 1978 and rose quickly in his career. He has worked with leading hotel brands across the globe including Nikko Hotels, Sheraton and AccorHotels Group. - TradeArabia News Service
Taiwan is going full throttle to becoming a popular and Muslim-friendly tourist destination.



With more than 150 restaurants, hotels, and other business operations having obtained Halal certification in Taiwan, Taiwan is now a preferred travel destination from the Middle East.



Last year, the number of tourists from the Middle East set a new high record, followed by further double-digit year-on-year growth of 13.64 per cent in the first two months of 2018.



To tap into this fast-growing market, Taiwan Tourism Bureau (TTB) participated in Arabian Travel Market (ATM), the largest travel industry fair in the Middle East held annually in Dubai. With a 2-storey high pavilion featuring the country's beautiful coastlines, offshore islets, and for the first time, the stand also featured the quaint streets and mountains of Jiufen.



The TTB delegation attending ATM was headed by Dr Trust Lin, director, Taiwan Tourism Bureau, Singapore Office, and included Lion Travel Service, Pro Tours Express, the Chinese Muslim Association, Xing Yuan Tea Farm and Big 5 Tours.



Also performing at the stand were music band Liu Sheng Ji who showcased their famous video Breakout that received 100,000 views on youtube within seven days. Calligraphy artist Ku Chi-chun, tea taster Liu Ching-yuan, aluminium wire artist Teng Chia-Ming were also present to engage with the hordes of visitors that flocked at the stand.



The director of the Taiwan Tourism Bureau Singapore Office, Trust Lin, said that Taiwan has been dedicated to becoming a Muslim-friendly destination, with restaurants, hotels, leisure farms and other business operations having obtained Halal certifications, and that can be attributed to the double-digit growth of the travellers from Muslim nations.



Among the fastest growing travellers from Muslim-majority countries, the UAE comes first, with more than 20 per cent growth.



Apart from ATM, there was a travel agent workshop in Muscat, Oman and in Dubai. The workshop in Dubai was attended by Taitra (Taiwan External Trade Development Council) and Emirates Airlines gave away two economy class tickets to Taipei in both the workshops in Muscat and Dubai. - TradeArabia News Service
ON THE MOVE: SSGA Names Thompson Head of SPDR ETF Distribution

State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation, announced the appointment of Sue Thompson as head of Americas Distribution for SPDR ETFs. In this newly created role, Thompson will be responsible for developing and leading the SPDR ETF distribution strategy across all client channels in the Americas, including institutional, intermediary and strategic relationships. She joins the SPDR business from Thompson Peak Advisory where she was CEO and President of her own consulting firm. In her more than 20 year career, Thompson has held senior positions at BlackRock, where she was responsible for growing the iShares franchise with the intermediary and institutional asset manager channels in the Americas. Prior to BlackRock, Thompson worked at Vanguard, where she held a number of positions, culminating in a senior role in developing its ETF business. Thompson will be based in Boston and report to Rory Tobin, global head of SPDR ETFs.

Societe Generale has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch banker Alexandre Fleury as head of equities after the latest set of results showed the bank underperformed its rivals in trading. Fleury spent 10 years of his career in structured equity and credit derivatives trading at SocGen before moving to Credit Suisse in 2009.



If you have a new job or promotion to report, let me know at jdantona@marketsmedia.com

Alexander Englander is joining Credit Suisse from Barclays as its head of equity sales in the Americas, according to media reports. Anthony Buoscio is also joining the Swiss bank from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he was a managing director. These are the latest in a string of splashy hires by Credit Suisse to bolster its equities unit, even as the bank transitions its model broadly to focus more on wealth management.

Communications firm IPC landed Robert Santella as its new Chief Executive Officer Santella succeeds Neil Barua, who leaves to pursue other opportunities. Most recently, Santella served as President of the Global Trading Group for Fidelity National Information Systems (FIS), which he joined when it acquired SunGard Financial Systems (SunGard) in 2015. At SunGard, he was President of its Brokerage Group, where he led all trading software and services businesses.

WisdomTree, grabbed Christopher Gannatti as Head of Research in Europe. Gannatti leads a four-strong analyst team comprised of Nick Leung, Associate Director and Florian Ginez, Senior Quantitative Associate at WisdomTree, as well as Nitesh Shah, Director and Aneeka Gupta, Associate Director who joined from ETF Securities.

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Mr. Prem Calais, the General Manager of Royal Cliff Hotels Group (left), recently gave a warm welcome to Dr. Usa Thisyakorn, the President of the Asian Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (right), during the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of Thailand (PIDST) at the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (PEACH).



(TRAVPR.COM) THAILAND - May 15th, 2018 - Pattaya, Thailand  Mr. Prem Calais, the General Manager of Royal Cliff Hotels Group (left), recently gave a warm welcome to Dr. Usa Thisyakorn, the President of the Asian Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (right), during the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of Thailand (PIDST) at the Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (PEACH).

This years annual meeting under the theme From Case-based to Clinical Management Decisions gathered Thailands pediatric doctors from all across the country to share new knowledge, exchange ideas and strengthen the bond between them. Distinguished doctors along with their families participated in daily exhibitions, lunch symposiums, insightful meetings and workshops as well as enjoyed the hotels luxurious facilities. The Royal Cliff Hotels Group and PEACH have been the chosen venue for this prestigious gathering on many occasions for its impressive meeting spaces catering to a large number of participants and for its family-friendly facilities on site.

Situated on a 64-acre private parkland estate overlooking the stunning Gulf of Thailand, the Royal Cliff Hotels Group operates four award-winning hotels providing tourists from home and abroad with the ultimate experience. Book your stay directly with Royal Cliff and get the best price guaranteed along with value-added optional extras that will enhance your hotel stay by visiting www.royalcliff.com, contacting Reservations at (+66) 38 250 421 ext. 2732 or emailing: reservations@royalcliff.com.

PEACH is a world-renowned award-winning convention facility under the flagship of the Royal Cliff Hotels Group. Offering an ideal location, modern facility and professional service, it is the perfect venue to hold any kind of event and can accommodate up to 10,062 people theatre-style. Want to hold your next event at PEACH? Let us make your events extraordinary! Request for a proposal by contacting our Sales Managers at (+66) 38 250 421 Ext: 2845 or emailing: success@royalcliff.com.

For more information on the Royal Cliff Hotels Group and Pattaya Exhibition And Convention Hall (PEACH), please visit www.royalcliff.com and www.peachthailand.com.

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Genevieve McKenzie appointed Executive Vice President of Human Resources, ONYX Hospitality Group



(TRAVPR.COM) THAILAND - May 15th, 2018 - ONYX Hospitality Group Appoints Gen McKenzie as Executive Vice President of Human Resources

Bangkok - ONYX Hospitality Group has appointed Gen McKenzie as its new Executive Vice President of Human Resources. With over two decades of experience in HR strategy and talent management both in hospitality as well as marketing and advertising, Gen joins ONYX from integrated marketing and communications agency MullenLowe Group, where she led the global firms regional HR agenda as Regional Head of Talent Management, based in Singapore.

Starting her career in hospitality, Gens first role was at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, before being subsequently appointed to a cluster role as Director of Human Resources for Four Seasons Resorts in Bali. She was then appointed to the Four Seasons Southeast Asia regional office as Area Director of Human Resources and Training. Following 12 years with Four Seasons, Gen went on to serve in a variety of senior HR leadership roles at Mandara Spa, Alila Hotels & Resorts and SilverNeedle Hospitality Group.

Commenting on her new role, Gen said: Hospitality is where my heart is and Im excited to be returning to this dynamic industry at a time when ONYX Hospitality Group is expanding rapidly into new markets and territories. I look forward to being a part of the Group's growth and its renewed focus on company culture and employee engagement as we continue our journey of becoming the top medium-sized hospitality player in the Asia-Pacific region.

Based in Bangkok, ONYX Hospitality Group has a growing regional portfolio of 47 operating properties across three core brands in eight countries. The Group has a robust development pipeline of close to 30 new properties in markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia, and has set a target of having 99 hotels by 2024 as part of its medium-term road map.

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About ONYX

Part of Italthai Group, ONYX Hospitality Group operates several diverse yet complementary brands Amari, Shama and OZO  each catering to the distinctive requirements of todays business and leisure travellers. ONYX reaches beyond its Thai roots to offer innovative management solutions across the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and Asia-Pacific regions. Visitwww.onyx-hospitality.com.



For more information or high-resolution photography, please contact us:

Email: onyx.pr@onyx-hospitality.com

Follow us on Twitter: @OHG_PR

Follow us on Instagram: @onyx.pr

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Search News Archive : Fast Travel News Promotion Via Search, Social Media + Email Follow Us On : COX & KINGS COLLABORATES WITH VISIT BRITAIN TO PROMOTE GREAT BRITAIN Industry: Events

Cox & Kings along with VisitBritain rolled out the #LoveToTravel contest to encourage travellers to share their travel experience on social media.



(TRAVPR.COM) INDIA - May 15th, 2018 Celebrating 260 years, Cox & Kings Ltd., the oldest and leading tour operator with operations in 22 countries across continents has collaborated with VisitBritain to promote Great Britain in India. The joint marketing collaboration will publicize Great Britain through innovative advertisements and contests in the Indian market. The campaign focuses on the varied offerings of Great Britain including its signature Rail Journeys, delectable cuisine & experiential tours. To popularize the campaign further and garner participation across digital platforms, a unique contest with hashtags #LoveToTravel and #ExploreFourCorners were launched.



Cox & Kings along with VisitBritain rolled out the #LoveToTravel contest to encourage travellers to share their travel experience on social media. Special prizes including a FREE Trip to Great Britain were announced for those with the most innovative travel video and pitch.



Commenting on the collaboration, Karan Anand, Head, Relationships, Cox & Kings Ltd said,' Indians love Great Britain for its picturesque countryside and most alluring experiences. We bring to our clientele a wide range of travel experiences that largely remain undiscovered. The campaign has successfully attracted the attention of the discerning travellers in India. We are glad to promote Great Britain not only as a summer destination but a year-round one'



The joint promotions have been designed around Great Britain's three most essential offerings  Rail Journeys, Food & Drink itineraries and experiential tours. While the discerning travellers can select one of the wide options of Rail Tours in the UK, they can choose from the most comprehensive and select journeys for an extraordinary trip. The tourism board along with Cox & Kings have also entwined enticing Food & Drink tours giving an opportunity to food lovers to discover Great Britain beyond its scenic sites.



VisitBritain's Interim Director APMEA Tricia Warwick said 'Britain is packed full of amazing experiences all year round and with our visitor attractions, hotels and shops offering good value for Indian travellers, 2018 is great time to travel. From the vibrancy of Britain's cool cities to its stunning countryside, from its local food and drink experiences to exciting sporting events, we want to inspire visitors to book a trip right now. VisitBritain is excited to continue our global partnership with Cox & Kings and further raise Britain's profile as a great place to visit for Indian tourists.'



'London and Beyond', 'Belmond Royal Scotsman', 'Royal Heritage', 'Exploring England, North Wales and Scotland' and 'Scotland at its Best' are few of the fascinating rail journeys that are being promoted through the ongoing campaign. Watch the impressive structures such as Tower Bridge, Big Ben and London Eye and rejuvenate yourself at the Thermal Bath with a natural hot spring spa while you traverse through any of the glorious rail journeys. Indians can also explore the countryside or the scenic sights combined with city tours through the experiential packages.



ABOUT COX & KINGS LTD: (BSE: 533144 | NSE: COX&KINGS)



Cox & Kings Ltd. (C&K') is the oldest travel company in the world and also one of the leading leisure and education travel groups with operations in 22 countries across four continents. It is one of the most experienced travel companies in the world, having been in operation since 1758. Headquartered in India, C&K has over the last three decades transformed itself into a diversified, multinational travel conglomerate with a focus on the new-age global consumer.



C&K operates in three key verticals; Leisure, Education, Hybrid Hotels.



Leisure-India is best known by the ubiquitous Cox & Kings brand in India, where we are an integrated travel enterprise, offering the best and widest range of travel options to individuals, groups and businesses in the fastest growing major economy in the world. www.coxandkings.com Leisure-International operates in multiple countries, mainly under the Cox & Kings brand, with a greater focus on premium-end travel. www.coxandkings.co.uk



Education operates under the brand names PGL and NST, among others. PGL and NST are market leaders in experiential learning in the UK and we intend to take these brands across the world; we have recently entered the Australian market. www.pgl.co.uk, www.nstgroup.co.uk



Meininger currently operates more than 8,500 beds across 17 hotels in 11 European cities. The unique hybrid concept of Meininger combines the service and comfort of a hotel with the uncomplicated nature of a hostel; top locations, high-quality amenities, flexible room structure and reasonable prices. www.meininger-hotels.com



Cox & Kings is one of the founding members of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and also a member of premier industry associations across the world. Over the years the company has won many awards which stand testimony to its excellence in service.



Cox & Kings has been the recipient of various accolades both in India and internationally. It has been winning the prestigious World Travel Award in different categories since 2013. The title of Asia's Leading Luxury Tour Operator was retained for the 3rd time in 2017 after bagging it in 2015 and 2016. It won the title of India's Leading Tour Operator in the year 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and India's Leading Travel Agency for the 5th Consecutive time. In 2017, Cox & Kings also won Hospitality India Travel Award in Best Domestic Tour Operator and Best Outbound Tour Operator categories. It bagged the Best Experiential Travel Company by India Travel Award West. Continuing with its winning legacy, Cox & Kings won the coveted SATTE Award and Travel and Lifestyle Leadership Award for Best Outbound Tour Operator. The prestigious PATA Gold award 2017 was also presented to Cox & Kings for Marketing Media in Social Media category.



For further media details, contact:

Thomas C. Thottathil

Cox & Kings Ltd.

Head - Corporate Communications

T: +91-22-22709100

E: thomasct@coxandkings.com ### Please contact the person or company listed above for information regarding the content of this press release. TravPR.com are not the issuers of this press release and are not responsible for the accuracy of the content. Share Release :



CONTACT INFORMATION Name: Cox & Kings Ltd. Company: Cox & Kings Ltd. Phone: +91-22-22709100 Email: thomasct@coxandkings.com Web: PRESS RELEASE TAGS
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, May 14

Sonalika International Tractors Ltd (ITL) plans to enter the Chinese market this year as it looks to expand market to double overall sales to 2 lakh units annually in the next five years, a top company official said.

The company, which crossed one lakh units sales milestone in 2017-18, is looking at assembling its tractors in China with localisation of certain contents through a local partner. We are in the phase of fixing our localisation plant, and fixing how the business will work...Towards the end of this year we should see a physical start in China, Sonalika ITL Executive Director Raman Mittal said.

When asked about the local partner, he declined to comment and said it would be announced at an appropriate time when the company is fully ready with its plans for the Chinese market.  PTI
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14

Acceding to the request of apparel exporters, the Ministry of Textiles has approved to upgrade over 200 Apparel Training & Design Centres (ATDCs) across the country, including those in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The upgrade includes setting up of state-of-the-art machinery and inclusion of new courses.

Members of the industry told the textile ministry officials that the machinery at these centres was obsolete. Considering the competitiveness of exports, the industry needs highly skilled professionals. For this, these training centres should be upgraded and equipped with the latest machinery so that workforce can be trained on the modern machinery. Acting on the request of the exporters, the ministry officials has asked the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) to make project report for the upgrade. The ministry also agreed to add knitwear section in these training centres, said a source present in the meeting, held recently, requesting anonymity.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 14

Fifteen-year-old Muskan Lohchab, a student of Little Flower Convent School, Panchkula, secured the third position in the tricity in the ICSE Class X examinations with 97 per cent marks and also bagged the top position in Panchkula district.

In Panchkula district, the three top positions are bagged by students of Little Flower Convent School, Sector 14.

While Vasu Bansal and Aditya Goel jointly hold the second position in the district with 96.8 per cent marks, Aryan Jacob Mathews secured the third position with 96.6 per cent marks.

Total 146 students of the school had appeared for the examination and all passed. Fifty one students secured more than 90 per cent marks.

Saupins School, Sector 9, also scored 100 per cent result. Of 22 students, five students scored more than 90 per cent marks.

Similarly, St Xaviers High School, Sector 20, also scored 100 per cent results. Of 116 students, 20 students scored more than 90 per cent marks.

Vasu Bansal, a resident of Sector 11, Panchkula, who bagged the joint second position in the district, said he has opted for the non-medical stream and wanted to become aerospace engineer. Bansals father is a chartered accountant and mother is a housewife. Similarly, Aditya Goel, a resident of Sector 10, Panchkula, who also secured the second position with 96.8 per cent marks, has opted for the non-medical stream. He wants to become a computer engineer.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 15

The court on its own motion case on Panjab Universitys financial woes is turning out to be university versus the Vice-Chancellor matter. Appearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Panjab University Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said he stood by his affidavit on governance reforms. The university, on the other hand, moved an application for the withdrawal of VCs affidavit.

Virtually refusing to withdraw the affidavit, Grover told the court that the university was being controlled by people who had nothing to do with it and teachers had little say in its functioning. A university without teachers is no university at all, he added.

Less than a month after he said only 2,000 to 3,000 votes were required to get elected to the Senate, Grover asserted total faculty votes were 796, while the teachers votes were just 233.

Putting things in historical perspective, the VC submitted that the university was the only one in the world to be governed by the outdated 1904 Act. He also placed before the Bench a PUTA signature campaign on reforms. Grover said the campaign was carried out way back in January 2016. But it came to his notice this month only.

Grover also submitted another affidavit spelling out the reasons for filing the previous affidavit on reforms. Among other things, Grover said he as the Vice-Chancellor was bound to bring on record all relevant facts and figures having a bearing on the issues involved. It was in this background that he submitted the affidavit under his own signatures, instead of the Registrar, Panjab University, he added.

Grover added the affidavit dated April 17 may, as such, be considered as his personal views in his capacity as one of the many stakeholders alluded to in the suo motu notice.

Taking on record both his affidavits, the Bench issued notice on the universitys plea for the withdrawal of the document. The counsel appearing for the State of Punjab, meanwhile, submitted that Rs 6.10 crore stood transferred to the university. Before parting with the order, the Bench asserted the matter involved public interest and was not adversarial litigation as nobodys personal interest was involved.

Teachers have no say

Virtually refusing to withdraw the affidavit, Grover told the court that the university was being controlled by people who had nothing to do with it and teachers had little say in its functioning. A university without teachers is no university at all, he added.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 15

The joint action committee (JAC) of Chandigarh teachers organised a protest at Rally Ground, Sector 25, on Tuesday.

The teachers were opposing the Education Department for its alleged proposal of quashing the recruitment of nursery training teachers (NTTs), junior basic teachers (JBTs) and training graduate teachers (TGTs) appointed in 2015 after the service of two years and 10 months. Earlier, the probation period of these teachers was extended in July 2017 because of the police investigation.

Bhag Singh Kairon, President JAC, stated that the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Chandigarh Police and the six-member committee constituted by the Governor had recommended quashing the whole recruitment even prior to the framing of charges against the accused.

He added that over 800 meritorious teachers who were found innocent in the inquiry were under continuous mental pressure regarding their job insecurity. Chairman of the JAC, Shavinder Singh, said several teachers married after the recruitment and if the recruitment was cancelled, it would be unfair.
Hasan Suroor

Hasan Suroor

The Syrian civil war is in its seventh year with half a million people dead, an estimated 11 million (roughly half the pre-war population) displaced, and more than 75 per cent of the country's economy destroyed. Syria is no longer even one country; and, given the myriad foreign interests involved, nor is it just "Syria's war" any more. President Bashar al-Assad is still standing but is a much diminished figure, and locked in a grim battle for survival. It's a catastrophe at every level - political, diplomatic, and humanitarian.

And as for the future, even knowledgeable pundits admit they have no idea. For all the apparent flurry of "peace" initiatives, there's no real movement towards a political settlement.

"There's no peace process going on, and I don't see any endpoint. We're in for a state of permanent uncertainty," says Scott Lucas, Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham.

So, what's going on?

To be sure, two high-profile parallel peace processes are underway - a UN-led process in Geneva, which has now been going on for six years with little to show for it, and another sponsored by Russia in tandem with Iran and Turkey. Dubbed the "Sochi initiative" after the Russian city where it was agreed, it, too, has UN backing, but like the Geneva process it has made little headway. The deadlock both at Geneva and Sochi has less to do with real issues at stake and more with divisions among Syrian opposition groups, mostly proxies for various international powers with competing agendas. Their relationship with each other is constantly fluctuating depending on the line from their international patrons; which then has a knock-on effect on the peace process. The search for a political solution is being held hostage to their rivalries and divergent interests.

The other big factor for the stalemate is that the regime and the Opposition have contradictory expectations from any negotiations. And this is compounded by mutual suspicion and distrust. So, a process acceptable to one side becomes automatically unacceptable to the other. While Assad is suspicious of the Geneva process because it visualises a short transition period after which he may have to go, opposition groups are opposed to Sochi because it sidesteps the issue of Assad's future.

The opposition faction that's proving to be particularly difficult is the UN-recognised Syrian Negotiation Committee (SNC). It's refusing even to sit down for talks unless the removal of Assad is on the agenda. Its hardline stance on a "political transition minus Assad" as a precondition for participation is causing frustration as much among Assad's allies as it is in western capitals, and especially at the UN. Its special envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is involved with both the Geneva and Sochi processes, has expressed concern that the SNC's inflexibility is hindering an inclusive political settlement and has publicly chided it for boycotting the Sochi conference calling it a pro-Assad show intended to "supplant" the Geneva talks.

Moves are afoot to go ahead with the decision taken in Sochi to set up a cross-party commission to draft a new constitution for a "democratic" Syria despite opposition from the SNC and its allies. De Mistura is trying to woo them with the assurance that that the 50-member commission would represent all shades of opinion, and not be confined only to those who attended Sochi. The SNC too would be invited to nominate its representatives, but nobody would have a veto on its composition. In other words, everyone will get fair representation but no faction, however big and irrespective of whose proxies they might be, would be allowed to derail the process. De Mistura has sought to allay opposition fears that it's intended to "subvert" Geneva talks by holding out the promise of eventually merging the two processes. But so far he has failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Five months since the Sochi conference, the deadlock continues while the situation on the ground is steadily worsening with Israel jumping into the fray ostensibly to counter Iran. Prof Scott likened De Mistura to a man "wandering in a desert" and hoping that something will turn up. The fact, he says, is that the UN itself is deeply divided and being pulled in different directions with few takers for De Mistura's enthusiasm in New York. And that reflects the wider divisions within the international community over dealing with the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, strange as it might sound, the fact is that if today anyone can claim some sort of a victory it is Assad, given the dire predictions of his imminent political demise at the start of the war. There was a moment when the conventional wisdom held that it was all over for him and it was only a matter of time before he was toppled. But he has defied all odds and managed to survive thanks largely to Russia's game-changing military intervention and help from Iran and its regional proxies.

Not only is his regime intact, he has been able to wrest back a lot of the territory he had lost to rebel groups and the Islamic State. Set against this, however, is the stark reality that he's left clinging to a heavily truncated country, effectively partitioned into three geographical entities, only one of which is controlled by him. So, there's a lot of work to do, for which continuing Russian backing remains critical. But Moscow is under growing pressure not only from the West but also from its regional Sunni friends who it cannot afford to alienate without risking its long-term strategic stakes in the Arab world. At home, too, Vladimir Putin is facing protests over the high financial and human cost of its military involvement in Syria at a time of deepening economic crisis as western sanctions start to bite. There's also wariness about a long-drawn-out commitment that could see it bogged down as happened in Afghanistan.

Last December, Putin announced a partial withdrawal of his forces saying declaring the mission had been mostly accomplished but he also made clear that Russia would continue to retain enough firepower as long as it was needed. Privately, however, he's said to have conveyed to Assad that he should not expect him to hold his hand forever. The flip side of an abrupt withdrawal is that in the absence of a credible peace process it risks creating a vacuum which is likely to be exploited by extremists.

Whatever the outcome eventually, Syria will go down as one of the biggest failures of international diplomacy in arguably the world's most volatile region.

The writer is a London-based commentator.
Karan Thapar

Karan Thapar

Senior journalist and TV commentator

The Karnataka election result has left the Governor with a piquant situation, but it's not by any means one where the Constitution is vague or even speaks in two voices nor a situation where there are no clear precedents. Therefore, both constitutionally and in terms of what has happened before, the course of action the Karnataka Governor should adopt is clear and indisputable.

Let's start with the constitutional position and the fact that some people believe India has a tradition of calling the single largest party to first form a government in the case of a hung Assembly. Not only is this precedent at odds with the constitutional position but it's also been overturned.

It was the 1989 Lok Sabha election that produced the first hung Parliament in India. At the time, President Venkataraman sought to create a government by calling upon leaders of parties according to the size of their Lok Sabha representation. If the leader of the biggest party couldn't form one, he approached the next and so on.

However, this principle was President Venkataraman's concoction. It has little basis in our Constitution and differs with the practice of the House of Commons which, till then, we followed. Indeed, political parties are not even mentioned in the original unamended Constitution.

The correct constitutional position is simple, but because it requires an act of subjective judgment, it can, on occasion, be messy. The person most likely to command a majority in the House is the person who should be called to form a government. When a political party has a majority, its leader is presumed to be that person. In such circumstances, the choice is simple.

However, when that is not the case and the leader of the second or even third largest party can command a majority, he is the person who should be called to form a government. But this could require a subjective act of judgment which may become messy.

Because President Venkataraman did not want to make an assessment of which party had a majority, for fear of getting it wrong, he devised the seemingly objective principle of calling upon them in accordance with their size. But when this practice was followed by President Sharma in 1996, it led to the farcical 13-day minority BJP government, although any credible assessment of the Lok Sabha would have established the existence of an alignment of parties with a clear majority.

In 2002, 2005 and 2013, the Governors in Kashmir, Jharkhand and Delhi acted differently. They bypassed the single largest party to call on an alliance of smaller parties because it constituted a majority. They overturned the Venkataraman principle, thus questioning its continuing validity.

This is also what happened last year in Goa and Manipur and this year in Meghalaya. In all three states, the leader of the second largest party could prove to the Governor that he had majority support. Letters to that effect were handed over. This clinched the matter. The Congress, though larger than the BJP, had less support and, therefore, a weaker claim to be given the first opportunity to form a government.

So, in terms of what the Constitution requires and also in terms of the precedents that have been on numerous occasions established, it's clear what the Governor in Karnataka should do. If the Congress and JD(S) together have a majority and are willing to form a joint government, then it's his duty to call upon the leader of this alliance to be the next Chief Minister.

Now let's come to the BJP's claim that it has a mandate. The truth is, it does not. It's the single largest party, but it lacks a majority. If there is a mandate thrown up by the Karnataka voters, it's for a hung Assembly. In that situation whoever has majority support  in this instance, Kumaraswamy  has the right to form a government.

A second argument made by the BJP is that because Congress numbers in Karnataka have collapsed from 122 to around 77, the mandate is for a non-Congress government. But if that logic didn't apply in Goa last year, why should it apply in Karnataka this year? And, anyway, it's not how many seats a party has lost that matters but how many it has won.

Finally, they claim the Bommai judgment shows what must be done. It does not. It determines how a government's strength should be proven after it's formed and if its numbers have become disputable. That's not the situation facing the Karnataka Governor. He has to decide who to call first to form a government. The Constitution and precedents are clear in this regard.

After the way alliance governments were formed in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, trumping the claim of the single largest party, it would be inexplicable, if not also unfair, if this logic is reversed in Karnataka. This is, thus, a test of the Governor's constitutional understanding and his appreciation of historical precedents as also of his fair-mindedness. Choosing the JD(S)-Congress government might seem odd to some, but it's not.

On the other hand, if he calls the BJP first, knowing it doesn't have a majority, he is, effectively, giving it an opportunity to split other parties to cobble together a majority. Because that would be improper, it is another reason for saying it would also be unconstitutional.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

New York, May 15

A 27-year-old Indian-origin man along with two other co-founders of a start-up cryptocurrency company have been indicted with a scheme to defraud investors, with authorities seizing digital currency worth more than US$ 60 million raised from victims as part of the scheme.

Sohrab Sharma, Raymond Trapani and Robert Farkas were the three co-founders of a start-up company called Centra Tech.

A grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned an indictment charging the three with conspiring to commit securities and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to induce victims to invest millions of dollars' worth of digital funds for the purchase of unregistered securities, in the form of digital currency tokens issued by Centra.

The three men were arrested last month based on criminal complaints charging them with the same crimes, Attorney for the United States Robert Khuzami said.

Following their arrests, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized 91,000 Ether units, consisting of digital funds raised from victims as part of the charged scheme. This seized digital currency is presently worth more than US$ 60 million.

"As alleged, the defendants conspired to capitalise on investor interest in the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. They allegedly made false claims about their product and about relationships they had with credible financial institutions, even creating a fictitious Centra Tech CEO," Khuzami said.

Sharma, 27, Trapani, 27 and Farkas, 31, are all residents of Florida. All three of them are charged in a four-count indictment that in all carry 65 years in prison.

According to allegations in the indictment, in approximately July 2017, the three men began soliciting investors to purchase unregistered securities, in the form of digital tokens issued by Centra Tech, through a so-called "initial coin offering" or "ICO." As part of this effort, they told potential investors that Centra Tech had formed partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, and Mastercard to issue Centra Cards licensed by Visa or Mastercard and that Centra Tech had money transmitter and other licenses in 38 states.

Based in part on these claims, the victims provided millions of dollars' worth of digital funds in investments for the purchase of Centra Tech tokens.

In October 2017, at the end of Centra Tech's ICO, those digital funds raised from victims were worth more than US$ 25 million. Due to appreciation in the value of those digital funds raised from victims, those digital funds are presently worth more than US$ 60 million.

However, the representations that the three men were false. Centra Tech had no such partnerships with Bancorp, Visa, or Mastercard.

In a separate action, the Securities and Exchange Commission also filed civil charges against the three men. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, May 15

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the Congress should change its name to Punjab-Puducherry Parivar Party as it was now ruling only in 2.5 per cent of the countrys population.

He said till the time the Congress was under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, they would never succeed.

He said this while addressing the party workers at the BJP office in Panchkula after the partys victory in the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Khattar said the BJP workers should get ready for the Lok Sabha elections to be held in May 2019 and for Haryana in October 2019.

Referring to the willingness expressed by Rahul Gandhi to be a prime ministerial candidate, the Chief Minister said he should leave this wish for 2019 as well as for 2024 elections.
editorial@tribune.com

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 15

On the back foot in the backdrop of the week-long strike by sanitation workers, the Haryana Government has been caught in a Catch-22 situation on imposition of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) against the striking municipal staff.

Though the state government has already warned the striking employees on imposition of ESMA if they do not call off the strike, imposing it is proving a tough call for the BJP government in pre-election year.

With the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, the apex organisation of government employees, throwing its lot behind the striking staff, the BJP government is clearly indecisive on taking a tough stand against the striking staff for fear of a backlash from other employees organisations.

Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh president Naresh Kumar Shastri on Tuesday threatened an indefinite stir if their demands were not accepted by Thursday.

In view of the strike, the Haryana Police directed senior police functionaries at the commissionerate and district levels to keep tabs on the situation and take measures to prevent any untoward incident.

In a written communication, DGP BS Sandhu directed all Commissioners of Police, Superintendents of Police and the SP Railways, Ambala Cantonment, to monitor the situation in areas under their jurisdiction and put in place adequate police personnel.

Senior government functionaries pinned their hopes on Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, back from the UK, to resolve the matter after talks between employees and senior officials failed on Monday.

Since a call on most of the demands of striking employees would have to be taken at the level of the Chief Minister, Khattar or a senior minister might hold parleys with the staff to break the deadlock.

Regularisation of contractual staff, minimum salary of Rs15,000 per month, ex gratia, pension, risk allowance, cashless facility and absorption of about 1,400 employees of the Fire Department into government grade are some of the demands of employees.

Interestingly, two major demands  regularisation of contractual staff and minimum salary of Rs15,000 per month  were part of the BJP manifesto for the 2014 Assembly elections.

Over 30,000 employees and workers, including safai karamcharis of nearly 90 municipal corporations, committees and councils, had been on strike since May 9 in support of their demands, putting residents to inconvenience in the wake of non-collection of garbage.

A 10-member delegation led by Subhash Lamba, general secretary of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh, and Naresh Shastri, president of the Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh, will hold talks with Khattar here on Wednesday to end the deadlock over employees demands.

Talks with Khattar today

A 10-member delegation of the the Sarv Karamchari Sangh and Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh will hold talks with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in Chandigarh on Wednesday to end the deadlock.
editorial@tribune.com

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, May 15

Former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda has stated that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) should be replaced with ballot papers, which were being used for casting votes in most of the advanced countries across the world.

Addressing a news conference here on Tuesday, he termed the BJP Government as inefficient and directionless. Hooda also alleged a scam in the contract-based recruitments being carried out in the state.

Coming down heavily on the state leadership regarding heaps of garbage lying along the roads, in markets and residential localities, the Congress leader said the Chief Minister was on a foreign tour, while the residents were grappling with such situation reminds one of the old legend Nero was fiddling, while Rome was burning.

In response to a query, the former Chief Minister maintained that the BJP Government in Haryana was making false claims regarding investments being made in the state.

The Chief Minister has been claiming that MoUs, involving crores of rupees, has been signed with different groups and companies. Such MoUs are meaningless unless the money is actually invested in the state, he said.

Hooda pointed out that no new IMTs had been established in the state during the BJP regime and the tall claims being made by the government in the name of investment were hollow. He also accused the BJP Government of making false promises of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.

On being questioned about the Namaaz row in Gurugram, he said the BJP wanted to create division and friction between residents of different religions, castes and communities.

He also announced that the next phase of his jan-kranti yatra would begin from Samalakha on June 3 and cover all Assembly segments in the state.

The underlying idea behind the exercise is to make the BJP Government realise its responsibilities towards the people of the state, he added.
editorial@tribune.com

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14

Talks between the Haryana Government and representatives of striking sanitation workers failed on Monday, with employees extending their strike by three days till Thursday.

The parleys hit a wall over regular jobs to the employees. The other demands include a minimum salary at Rs15,000 per month, ex gratia for employees, pension, risk allowance, cashless facility for contractual employees and absorption of about 1,400 employees of the Fire Department in the government grade.

The talks in New Delhi were held between the Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh under the banner of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh and a state government delegation led by Principal Secretary (Urban Local Bodies) Anand Mohan Sharan.

Sources said the delegation expressed inability to give a categorical assurance on regular jobs as it said the government was bound by a judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. It was decided that other demands would be forwarded to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain since a policy decision had to be taken on them.

Subhash Lamba, general secretary, Sarv Karamchari Sangh, told The Tribune: With talks reaching a dead end, employees unions will hold a demonstration in support of sanitation workers at district headquarters on Tuesday.

More than 30,000 employees and workers, including safai karamcharis, of about 90 Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees and Councils, began a three-day strike on May 9. Three days later, they decided to extend the strike till May 14. And on Monday, they extended it till Thursday.

Meanwhile, Khattars media adviser Rajiv Jain said the state government was open to talks with employees so that residents were not inconvenienced due to accumulation of garbage and disruption of other essential services.

Officials, however, said regular jobs to the staff were not feasible as the HC had, on September 2, 2016, already put a stay on regularisation policies issued on and after June 16, 2014. Later, the Chief Secretary had directed all heads of departments to comply with the HC order. So, it will be impossible to regularise contractual employees, the officials added.

Will invoke ESMA, threatens Karnal MC

Karnal: Sanitation workers staged a dharna in the Municipal Corporations office here on Monday and took out a procession. They burnt copies of a written warning of invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA). Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh vice-president Ashok Parocha and district president Virbhan Bidlan said it was unfortunate that the state government was trying to suppress their voice by threatening to invoke the ESMA. The Act restricts employees providing essential services from going on strikes. TNS

No alternatives but to protest: Sangh

Faridabad: With talks reaching a dead end, Haryana Nagar Palika Karamchari Sangh president Naresh Shastri on Monday said striking MC employees wanted to give more time to the state government to consider their long-pending demands. Employees have been left with no alternative, but to go on strike. All demands are justified, he said. During the talks, Principal Secretary (Urban Local Bodies) Anand Mohan Sharan told members of the sangh the matter would have to be discussed with the Chief Ministers office before he could commit anything, Shastri said, adding Sharan's appeal to end strike was turned down as no assurance was given on fulfilling the demands. tns
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Hamirpur, May 14

The Department of Health and Family Welfare has failed to invite tenders for the supply of medicines to state government hospitals for the last two years.

Earlier, the tenders used to be called by the Food and Civil Supplies Department till 2015. However, in 2016, the Health Department took over the process, which has been pending since then.

The delay has led to a short supply of more than 600 drugs at medical colleges, zonal and regional hospitals and community and primary health centres and Jan Aushadhi Kendras. The supply of surgical items has also been affected and patients are being forced to buy expensive medicines.

Notably, the tendering process for the procurement of medicines, sutures and other surgical items was initiated in December 2016. However, it was cancelled and tenders were re-invited in 2017.

In February this year, the Health Department again called quotations and the tender process was due to open on March 7. However, the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare again cancelled the process. The Directorate had spent lakhs of rupees on the publication of tenders in the last two years.

Dr Baldev Thakur, Director, Health and Family Welfare, said the tender was cancelled this year to ease the conditions so that more suppliers could participate in the process. He said the process would soon be completed.
editorial@tribune.com

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, May 14

To provide safe and secure transport to schoolchildren in the state, the HP High Court has directed the Advocate General to convene a meeting of all stakeholders for inviting suggestions and formulating a draft proposal for suggesting mechanism to provide safe and secure transport to children.

During the course of hearing, the Advocate General informed the court that such meeting would positively be convened before the next date of hearing. After hearing the matter, the court has listed the matter for further hearing on May 18.

The court passed this order on a public interest litigation on the issue of Nurpur school bus mishap in which 28 people, including 24 children, were killed.

Expanding the scope of the petition on the last date of hearing, the court had directed the state to file its report mentioning the steps taken by it for the safety of schoolchildren and remedial measures to prevent such mishaps in future.

The court passed this order on a suo motu proceedings initiated by the court on the basis of new reports.

The High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of this incident where 28 people, including 24 children, were killed in the accident when the school bus carrying them fell into a gorge near Malkwal village on the Himachal-Punjab border.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 15

Himachal could tread into the arena of optimum utilisation of artificial intelligence (AI) to check unauthorised constructions, illegal mining and felling of trees as part of its good governance initiatives.

This was stated by Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur at a workshop on Artificial Intelligence: Potential Applications in Himachal Pradesh organized by the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, here on Tuesday. The fact that illegal constructions were raised in violation of the norms and no action was taken by the officials responsible for checking it has raised several questions and I feel we can make good use of artificial intelligence in all such areas, he said.

He said artificial intelligence not only had tremendous economic potential but also social impact and it could also play a vital role in improving quality of life. The state government would ensure its optimum use for effective, transparent, responsive and good governance to the people.

He said that artificial intelligence and technology could also be helpful in forest mapping to check illegal forest felling. Artificial intelligence could also help in monitoring of ongoing developmental projects to ensure their timely completion. However, I want that our keenness on artificial intelligence should not just be confined to workshops and discussions but should be adopted and translated into action, he stressed.

Minister of Health, Science and Technology Vipin Singh Parmar said artificial intelligence was emerging as a technique for better knowledge and learning. This could help in better results for a better tomorrow. Chairperson, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, and Chairperson, Artificial Intelligence Task Force Prof V. Kamakoti, said the artificial intelligence was poised towards economic transformation in the next few years. The gaps in services can be addressed very effectively with the use of AI especially in areas like tourism, forest and health sectors, said Prof Kamakoti.

He said Himachal could effectively make use of artificial intelligence to monitor the progress of its ongoing projects, ranging from construction of roads to afforestation. In the next five years advisory solutions, healthcare, IT services, BPO, etc, could emerge as major job creator due to use of artificial intelligence in these areas.

Director, CSIR Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi Dr Anurag Aggarwal gave a detailed presentation on artificial intelligence and human intelligence. He said that artificial intelligence can also play a key role in the field of medicine since medical knowledge was expanding with the expansion of artificial intelligence.

Director, CSIR, Central Electronic Engineering Research Institute Pilani, Rajasthan DR Santanu Chaudhary gave presentation on Artificial Intelligence for Inclusive Progress.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 15

Recent Kasauli shootout was a blot on the functioning of state police and efforts should be made to ensure that such incidences do not occur in the future, said Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur while presiding over a review meeting of Home Department here on Tuesday.

The Chief Minister said the state police should launch special awareness campaign regarding drug abuse, violations of Motor Vehicle Act and safety of women, helmets for two wheelers etc and come down heavily on drunken driving.

He said black spots should be identified and rectified at the earliest. Effective working of women police stations should be ensured and opportunity of counseling for matrimonial disputes should be provided in a best possible way.

The Chief Minister said that upholding rule of law and safeguarding the life and property was the first priority of police. He said that police force should serve the community in a non partisan, ethical and lawful manner to win over the confidence of the masses at large.

He also directed the police officers to launch an awareness campaign in the schools and colleges about ill effects of drugs. He said that cooperation of local bodies, panchayats, mahila mandals and NGOs should be sought in this respect to make this campaign a success. He said that strict vigil should also be maintained on curbing illegal mining.

Jai Ram Thakur said that Gudiya Helpline and Shakti App must be monitored professionally so that crime against women could be checked. He also underlined the need to make Hoshiyar Helpline more effective. He said the department should ensure maximum use of latest technology in tackling the crime in the state.

Chief Secretary Vineet Chawdhry assured the Chief Minister that police department would work with dedication to restore its credibility amongst the masses. Additional Chief Secretary, Home B K Aggarwal assured that directions of the Chief Minister would be implemented in true letter and spirit.

Director General of Police S R Mardi said the state police would come up with a roadmap regarding making the police force more efficient within 15 days. The department would also come up with new plans and initiatives for combating crimes in an effective manner.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Shimla, May 14

Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda on Monday said 1,392 procedures and treatment protocols had been identified under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission. It would help reduce the burden of life-threatening diseases through early detection.

He was speaking at the MoU signing ceremony between the Centre and five state for the health scheme here. He later inaugurated a national workshop on Risk Communication during Public Health Emergencies.

The MoU was signed by Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh. It will ensure cashless and paperless health cover of Rs 5 lakh to 50 crore people across the country. Even though Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra was there, he refused to sign it.

Nadda said a meeting of the National Health Council would be held shortly so that issues concerning quality healthcare for the poor could be addressed. Such a gigantic health programme could have been provided by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi only, he said.

The thrust of the Modi regime is to ensure preventive rather than curative treatment which will reduce the disease burden drastically, said Nadda. He added that the thrust would be on early diagnosis of diseases and everyone above the age of 30 years would undergo universal health checkup for various diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiac, cervix and breast cancer among women, oral cancer, dental and eye care.

Hospitals had been empanelled to treat patients and since money would be directly deposited to the hospital accounts, IT companies had been engaged to ensure its smooth implementation. Nadda revealed that there are 1.50 lakh sub-centres in the country which would be converted from mother-child care centres to wellness centres.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said Himachal had six government medical colleges and it had been decided to establish a medical university for their effective management. He said the Centre had sanctioned an AIIMS for Himachal which would come up at Kothipura in Bilaspur district. He said the Union Government had sanctioned Rs 1,351 crore for AIIMS.

Chief Minister of Uttrakhand TS Rawat said Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand share similar topography and geographical conditions and providing healthcare facilities to patients in the remote areas were challenging. He said for this, all big hospitals were being developed as e-hospitals.

Health and Family Welfare Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Davinder Kumar Maniyal were also present.
editorial@tribune.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred hearing on petitions challenging Article 35A of the Constitution that gives special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir. The provision debars non-permanent residents from buying property or getting state government jobs.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra posted the matter for hearing to August 6 after Attorney General KK Venugopal sought an adjournment.

This is a very sensitive matter. Our only prayer is that it may not be heard before three weeks as a solution is in the course of being devised, Venugopal told the bench, which also included Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice DY Chandrachud.

Opposing an interim order at this juncture would be counter-productive, the Attorney General told the bench.

On behalf of the PDP-BJP government, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi said the Supreme Court had already settled the issue by ruling that Article 370 had attained a permanent status.

Added to the Constitution through a Presidential Order in 1954, Article 35A gives special rights and privileges to permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir and debars rest of Indians from acquiring immovable property, obtaining state government jobs and settling in the state.

But the Centre had been shying away from filing its response to spell out its stand on Article 35A. Venugopal had last year told the court that the government didnt want to file its affidavit in response to petitions against Article35A. It has been challenged on the ground that the President could not have amended the Constitution by an order and it was to be a temporary provision.

Amid growing political unease in the state over alleged attempts to do away with Article 35A, the court had on August 14, 2017, hinted at sending petitions to a constitution bench for a definitive finding on its validity.

Petitioners Radhika Gill, Eklavya and Vijay Kumar  residents of Valmiki Colony, Gandhi Nagar in Jammu  challenged the validity of the Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order, 1954, on the ground that it violated their right to life, right to equality, right to non-discrimination, right to equality of opportunity in public employment and right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.

On behalf of the petitioners, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar said: It is a strange situation in J&K as persons from Pakistan can come and settle in the state but those who have been staying there for generations cannot even get a government job.

Noting that the issue required interpretation of constitutional provisions, Dwivedi opposed interim directions sought by the petitioners.

There were four petitions demanding scrapping of Article 35A in Jammu and Kashmir listed before the CJIs bench, the first one was filed by We the Citizens, a Delhi-based NGO in 2014. Three more petitions have been filed since then. All petitions have been clubbed together.

Next hearing on August 6
editorial@tribune.com

Amir Karim Tantray & Vishal Jasrotia

Tribune reporters

Jammu/Samba, May 15

A Border Security Force (BSF) constable, Devender Singh Baghel (28), was killed while foiling an infiltration bid at the Mangu Chak border outpost (BOP) in the Samba sector on the International Border.

The incident occurred close to midnight on Monday when the BSF observed suspicious movement from across the border.

Constable Devender Singh Baghel belonged to Lakhanpur village in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and is survived by his wife.

Giving details of the incident, BSF Director General KK Sharma said, After observing the suspicious movement from across the border last night, alert groups used elimination bombs and fired upon terrorists. But they managed to escape. After some time, they again came and Constable Devender Singh, who was on the light machine gun (LMG) post, fired upon them. This time the fire came from the Pakistani side as well and through a loophole on the LMG post, Devender Singh was hit by a bullet in his left eye. He was evacuated to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

There is a possibility that one group of around five militants might have infiltrated on Sunday night through a cross-border tunnel. Anti-tunnelling exercise is going on but so far we havent been able to find it, Sharma said while addressing mediapersons following a wreath-laying ceremony for the BSF constable at the Jammu Frontier Headquarters.

It is a very serious incident ahead of the PMs visit to the state. Our sister agencies and the J&K Police are fully alive to the situation, the DG said, adding that we will soon track down these militants and they will be eliminated.

The BSF always gives a befitting reply to Pakistan. This time it is not going to be any exception. The martyrdom of our jawan will not go in vain and we will take appropriate action, he said.

This is the second infiltration attempt from the Pakistani side in as many days as on Sunday night around five militants had managed to infiltrate into the Hiranagar sector. Huge search operations were carried out yesterday and red alert continues to be in place all along the International Border.

Asked about intelligence reports suggesting the presence of terrorists at launching pads across the border, the DG said there was no second thought that a lot of terrorists were present at the launching pads and Pakistan was attempting to push them into the Indian side.

On the smart fencing project, he said it was nearing completion. I am hopeful that it will be in place either by the month-end or in the first or second week of next month and it will be inaugurated by the Union Home Minister, Sharma said.

We have planned to roll out the project to make the border safer and secure and completely covered by the technology. Technology is a big advantage as humans cannot see beyond 100 metres or listen beyond 50 metres. With smart fencing, we can pick up enemy movement 3 km away, he said. (PTI inputs)

Ultras target police station in Pulwama

Anantnag: Militants hurled a grenade at the Rajpora police station in south Kashmirs Pulwama district on Tuesday. There was no report of any damage or injury to anyone. Police sources said the grenade exploded outside the police station. No one was injured and no damages were caused by the explosion, a senior police officer said. He said the sentry on duty fired a few shots in air after the explosion.The area was cordoned off and searches were being carried out to nab the militants, sources said. OC
editorial@tribune.com

Ishfaq Tantry

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 15

The 330-megawatt Kishanganga hydroelectric project on the Kishanganga river in north Kashmirs Bandipora district is all set to be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 19, when he visits Srinagar.

It was for this project that Indias right to divert water of western rivers (Jhelum, Chenab and Indus) for non-consumptive use was upheld by the International Court of Arbitration.

What sets the Kishanganga hydroelectric project apart from other power projects owned and operated by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) in J&K is that it is the first run of the river scheme that involves inter-basin transfer of water from the Kishanganga river, a tributary of the Jhelum, in the Gurez valley to Bonar Nallah in Bandipora through a 23.65-km-long head race tunnel dug across major mountain formations.

Many firsts

Describing the head race tunnel as one of the salient features of the project, Chief Engineer, NHPC (Kishanganga), Khalid Umar said its construction involved first successful tunnel boring machine operation in the Himalayan region.

While doing so, the team successfully overcame several geological, logistical and engineering challenges, the Chief Engineer said as the PM is set to e-inaugurate the power project from Srinagar on May 19.

It (inauguration) is indeed a culmination of great efforts put in by many people over the years. he said.

Once operational, J&K would get 13 per cent of its share of free power from the project and there is always the provision that it can buy electricity to meet the shortfall.

Logistical challenges

The transportation of the tunnel boring machine and other heavy equipment to the Kishanganga site was a major challenge the project got delayed due to the 2010 unrest and curfew in Kashmir. It could be transported to the project site from the Mumbai port, where it had arrived from Italy in July 2010, only towards the end of the year when the protests subsided.

The major hurdle was passing the heavy equipment through Jawahar Tunnel as its height at 4.6 metres was just enough to clear the containers. Special trailers with deflated tyres were used, said an officer associated with Hindustan Construction Company Ltd, which constructed the project with UK-based Halcrow Group.

Braving weather, shelling

The project dam site located in the Gurez valley is very close to the Line of Control, around 85 km from Bandipora town. Originally its height was planned at 98 metres but after objections from Pakistan, it was reduced to 37 metres.

The biggest challenge however was the climatic conditions as the area gets heavy snow from mid-November till end of April, with temperature dipping as low as -23 degree Celsius.

Retaining construction workers in such isolated and harsh weather conditions was a major challenge, an HCC official manning the site said, adding that the company adopted the work practices the Russian use in winter to keep the work force moving at Gurez dam site.

One major challenge was witnessed on November 22, 2016, when Pakistani troops shelled the area. Some shells landing near the stone crusher and around 18 rounds of shells fell near the dam.

We are proud to be associated with this landmark project and kudos to my team that worked relentlessly overcoming geological challenges, extreme weather conditions, avalanches and security threat from across the border to complete the project, said AI Benny, project manager, HCC Ltd. Luckily, no one was injured as all workers were evacuated within two hours, he said.

Indias right to divert western rivers upheld
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi/Jammu, May 14

The Congress on Monday demanded a probe into the construction of a house adjacent to an Army ammunition depot by a senior BJP leader in J&K, and accused the Narendra Modi government of compromising on national security. They asked if the PM who sought votes in the name of armed forces, would act against party leaders.

Congress communication in charge Randeep Surjewala asked whether the PM would hold a probe into the illegal activities of the BJP leaders who had carried out unauthorised construction next to the Army depot in Nagrota along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway, which threatened the national security.

Speaker Nirmal Singh landed in a controversy after the Army objected to the construction of his house.

Congress leader Surjewala accused state BJP and RSS leaders, including Speaker Nirmal Singh, Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta and others of buying illegal land near the ammunition depot, thereby endangering the security paraphernalia around the sensitive area.  PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Amir Karim Tantray and Sanjay Pathak

Tribune reporters

Jammu/Kathua, May 14

A red alert was sounded along the 198-km International Border in the Jammu region after suspicious movement of three or four militants was observed in the Hiranagar sector.

The Border Security Force and J&K Police have launched massive search operations in the area.

A BSF sentry posted at the Bobiyan border outpost (BOP) had observed suspicious movement of three or four persons in Army fatigues. The movement was observed near the Tarnah stream, between Bobiyan and Londi BOPs, after which the search operations were launched, said a source.

Briefing mediapersons about the operations, BSF Inspector General, Jammu Frontiers, Ram Avtar said, Around 10 pm on Sunday, we got information about the suspicious movement. We have alerted personnel, including the neighbouring BOPs, and the police and Army also. The search operations are going on but nothing has been found yet.

He said there was no breach of the fence installed along the International Border.

Terrorists from across the border have used the Hiranagar sector to infiltrate and target security forces in the past. The Jammu-Pathankot national highway is also located very close to the border.

On September 26, 2013, three terrorists had killed policemen during an attack on a police station at Hiranagar after infiltrating from the Bobiyan BOP. Thereafter, they had hijacked a truck and struck at an Army camp near Samba town. During the attack, 10 persons, including a senior Army officer, were killed. The terrorists were gunned down after a day-long battle.

In another attack on March 28, 2018, three terrorists had killed a civilian and injured three others after infiltrating from across the border. Later, they were gunned down by the Army near the Janglote camp in Kathua.
editorial@tribune.com

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 14

At an encounter site in Shopian district last week, when the voice of a police officer blared out of a loudspeaker asking the five militants who were holed up to surrender, it was responded with a rattle of gunfire as the militants chose a fatal end.

This has been seen in most gunfights in recent years where security officials have offered a surrender option to new-age militants but they have instead chosen to die.

The death wish  shaped by the idea of martyrdom  makes a profound distinction between the new-age militants and the early generations of militants, many of whom accepted the surrender offer. It casts a shadow on the success of the proposed ceasefire.

The request for a ceasefire during Ramazan was proposed by Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti recently. She urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce a unilateral ceasefire during the fasting month and the Amarnath yatra.

Mehbooba invoked the 2000 Ramazan ceasefire announced by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in whose tenure the Central government had agreed on Non-Initiation of Combat Operations.

The difference between then and now, however, is significant as the United Jihad Council (UJC), an umbrella organisation of several militant groups which had responded positively to past ceasefires, is a weak shadow of its past strength and its control of militant units active in the Kashmir valley is varying and often loose.

In 2000, the UJC was the single structured institution and that is why it worked. Now it is very difficult, said Syed Babar, a lawyer and political observer. This time, the power centres have multiplied and previous power structures have fractured. Youth have taken control of things and they are no longer influenced by the Hurriyat. So, before announcing a ceasefire, there has to be proper homework, Babar said.

The increase in violence and ideological evolution in recent years, which have catapulted the new generation of leaders to the forefront and also devolved the influence of the erstwhile leadership, will be a major obstacle in bringing uniformity and consensus in public opinion.

In many areas, mostly in south Kashmir, where the militant-civilian interactions have increased and also become more public in recent years, with militants attending and addressing protest rallies and funerals, the localised decisions are shaped and also dictated by the local militant commanders.

Ajai Sahni, executive director of the New Delhi-based Institute for Conflict Management, said there was no evidence that any homework had been done regarding the ceasefire. It seems like an impulsive political decision. This is nothing more than a political gambit and a very dangerous gambit, Sahni said.

A young resident of Shopian, which is the most militant populous district in south Kashmir, said the ground was not ready for ceasefire. I personally feel the killings should stop, but I dont think the ground is ready to accept the ceasefire. Maybe, it will work in other districts, but I dont think it will work in south Kashmir, he said.
shalender@tribune.com

Pervin Malhotra

email your queries to careers@tribunemail.com

Q. While pursuing my graduation, I discovered that I have a fascination for Earth sciences. Im convinced that I would like to pursue my higher studies in this field. What are the courses in this field and the scope of a degree in it?  Girish Sukhija

A. A truly fascinating field, Atmospheric Science is the study of the blanket of air surrounding the Earth. By the way of analysing previous and present data on international climatic trends, atmospheric scientists can calculate the threat of global warming and even predict catastrophic hurricanes and thunderstorms like the present one in many parts of North India.

Meteorology (weather, climatology) and Aeronomy which study the chemical and dynamic processes in the Earth's atmosphere also come under this category.

As an atmospheric scientist, you can join government research laboratories to study the interaction between the atmosphere and oceans, polar ice caps, and the earth's flora and fauna. These are a part of the upcoming field known as global change research or earth systems science.

Atmospheric chemists also team up with meteorologists and computer modellers to map the chemical changes in pollutants that adversely affect air quality. After the earth was ravaged by disasters like the tsunami and deadly hurricanes, atmospheric scientists have gone back to the drawing board to ascertain the accurate path prediction of hurricanes.

The best part as an atmospheric scientist is that you'll have access to cutting edge technology like GIS and radar systems to study microbursts and research tools like super-fast computers to simulate past climate changes as well as the basic atmospheric processes that occur in real time.

I presume that youve done your bachelors in science or engineering. So, here are some of the several courses you could check out:

IIT Roorkee, Dept of Earth Sciences MSc Applied Geology Selection : JAM (www.iitr.ac.in)

MSc Applied Geology : JAM (www.iitr.ac.in) Calcutta University, Centre for Atmospheric Science, Kolkatta . MSc in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility : BSc with Physics and Maths. Also PhD (www.caluniv.ac.in)

. MSc in Atmospheric Sc. : BSc with Physics and Maths. Also PhD (www.caluniv.ac.in) Indian Institute of Sciences, Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences, Bangalore MSc (Engg) and PhD by Research in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility : MSc or BE/BTech in related branch (http://caos.iisc.ernet.in)

MSc (Engg) and PhD by Research in Atmospheric Sc. : MSc or BE/BTech in related branch (http://caos.iisc.ernet.in) Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra MSc in Atmospheric Sciences (www.kuk.ac.in)

MSc in Atmospheric Sciences (www.kuk.ac.in) University of Pune, Dept of Atmospheric & Space Science, Pune MSc in Atmospheric Science Eligibility : B.Sc/ B.E/ B.Tech with Physics or Math Post MSc or MTech in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility: M.Sc. (50%) (www.unipune.ac.in)

MSc in Atmospheric Science : B.Sc/ B.E/ B.Tech with Physics or Math Post MSc or MTech in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility: M.Sc. (50%) (www.unipune.ac.in) Andhra University, School of Earth & Atmospheric Science, Visakhapatnam MTech. In Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility : MSc in Physics, Nuclear Phys, Meteorology, Oceanography, Space Phys, Math, or Stats (www.andhrauniversity.edu.in)

MTech. In Atmospheric Sc. : MSc in Physics, Nuclear Phys, Meteorology, Oceanography, Space Phys, Math, or Stats (www.andhrauniversity.edu.in) Cochin University of Science & Technology, Deptt. of Atmospheric Sc, Cochin , MTech in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility : MSc in Meteorology, Oceanography or Physics with valid GATE score (www.cusat.ac.in)

, MTech in Atmospheric Sc. : MSc in Meteorology, Oceanography or Physics with valid GATE score (www.cusat.ac.in) Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupathi MTech in Atmospheric Sc. Eligibility : MSC or BE/BTech in related branch (www.svuniversity.in)

MTech in Atmospheric Sc. : MSC or BE/BTech in related branch (www.svuniversity.in) Assam University, Goa University, Jiwaji University, Mangalore University are amongst some other institutions that offer this specialisation.

Is online travel industry a good career option?

Q. Im a fresh geography graduate. Being extremely fond (actually crazy) about travelling, Im looking at making a career in the online travel industry. Does this seem like a good segment to look at in terms of a career?  Ravinder Jha

A. Why not! Led by flight and hotel aggregators, Indias online travel market is expected to touch $13.6 billion by 2021  constituting nearly 43 per cent of the overall travel category.

Most of the growth would be driven by the growing penetration of international flights and hotel bookings offered by online portals such as Cleartrip, MakeMyTrip, Yatra, Goibibo, Expedia, Thomas Cook, Cox & Kings, Travelguru, Oyo Rooms etc. Increasing user demand is another factor as Indian consumers devote close to 4 per cent of their money on travel.

Combo flights & hotel booking packages (some even include airport transfers), as well as exotic holiday packages are a big hit among Indian consumers. Millennials are travelling far more than before, and seeking unique travel experiences  that makes them turn to providers who can stitch these packages together. Overall, online travel bookings in India (combining flights and hotels) are expected to increase at a rate of 16 per cent over the next six years at least.

Flushed with features and boasting of exciting deals and offers, travel portals have eased the burden of booking tickets, managing itineraries, reserving places of stay, and travelling by air or land.

These portals hire people from various disciplines across categories: International, Marketing & Content, Support, Technology, UX & Online Products, Travel and Work from Home (wherein you'll guide guests on their Holiday enquiry, design itineraries, work out costing for the packages and track the payment collected, follow up on queries, attend to webex and con calls, sell holiday packages while attending classroom trainings from time to time. Usually, females are preferred for this one).

An online search of sites such as the following will give you an idea of the eclectic range of opportunities that exist:

http://careers.makemytrip.com/index.aspx

www.cleartrip.com/jobs/

www.yatra.com/online/about-yatra.html#career

Do US schools accept students with 15-year education?

Q.Do schools in US accept students with 15 years of education (12+3)? Rohanpreet

A.Some schools, like Berkley Haas MBA specifically say that they do not accept students with 15 years of education. However, in most cases schools have started to accept students with 15 years of education. This is less relevant for programmes where applicants have sizeable work-experience before applying like MBA. For programmes like MiM, MPA, MS in Business Analytics, etc. where you need lesser work-experience, it is best to ask the school. Increasingly most schools accept an accredited three-year degree as well.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Bollywoods fashionista Sonam Kapoor made her first Red Carpet appearance at Cannes 2018 on Monday in an embellished Ralph and Russo lehenga. The actress looked every bit of the fashionista that she is! The lehenga had an interesting twist to the sleeves of the crop top. While one of the sleeves was long and flowy, almost giving the ensemble a cape like appearance, the other was simply a fitted one till the elbow.

Incidentally, Pakistani actress Mahira Khan too hit the Red Carpet at the same time. Sonam and Mahira caught up with each other like old friends. The duo shared a lovely moment wherein Sonam is seen planting a kiss on Mahiras forehead.

After her Red Carpet outing, Sonam attended a gala dinner hosted by the Positive Planet Foundation, which has led over 500 initiatives all over the world. The actress was the guest of honour at the gala event, which also included a contemporary art auction. The proceeds of this auction will go towards Positive Planets programmes for women empowerment in Sub- Saharan Africa, the Middle East and French priority neighbourhoods. Sonam shared, Positive Planet Foundation has been doing some inspiring work for the last 20 years. I hope to lend my support in the way I best can and help them in their noble endeavours.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 15

The Health Departments initiative to conduct meetings and convince the schools heads for going ahead with measles and rubella vaccination campaign bore results as most of the schools which were earlier reluctant to the vaccination have given their go-ahead.

Sixty four schools in the Ludhiana district outrightly rejected the vaccination after misleading videos related to measles and rubella vaccination went viral on social media.

Civil Surgeon Ludhiana Dr Parvinder Pal Singh Sidhu said, We conducted meetings with the school heads who further educated the parents. Now, the parents are themselves enquiring about the vaccination drive and its schedule to ensure that their kids get vaccinated at the earliest.

Dr Sidhu said, I think the old times were better when our parents used to get us vaccinated and we even used to get the marks of the same. Today people are falling prey to social media and blindly following it without knowing what is right or wrong.

The Health Department has vaccinated 2.56 lakh children aged between 9 months and less than 15 years under the measles-rubella vaccination campaign. Dr Sidhu said that approximately 12.55 lakh children will be vaccinated in Ludhiana district.

He said that around 7-8 crore children have been vaccinated in 13 states in first three phases and drive in Punjab is being carried on in fourth phase.

Dr Sidhu said, Auto-disable syringes are used for vaccination of each child. These syringes cannot be used after a single use. All the vaccinators are highly skilled health workers who administer vaccinations to the children in routine immunisation drives throughout the state.

District Immunisation Officer (DIO) Dr Jasbir Singh said, Over 488 vaccination teams and 163 supervisors have been deployed to cover 2,989 schools. The health workers will conduct nearly 4,656 vaccination sessions in the district.

Dr Singh said that rubella is infectious yet mild viral illness affecting both the children and adults that can cause death and disabilities in the new-born, if an unprotected pregnant woman gets infected with rubella virus in early pregnancy.

He further said that it also has the potential to cause abortions, stillbirths and severe birth defects known as congenital rubella syndrome (CRS), including deafness and blindness in the new-born children.

Dr Singh said that the objective of measles and rubella campaign has been to accelerate population immunity by reaching 100 per cent target children in the Ludhiana district.
singhking99@yahoo.com

New Delhi, May 14

A local court on Monday ordered former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar to undergo a lie-detector test on May 30 in connection with a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.

The matter pertains to the killing of Sohan Singh and his son-in-law Avtar Singh in the Janakpuri area and setting Gurcharan Singh afire in the Vikaspuri area. Gurcharan died three years later.

Kumar gave his consent for the test, saying he was willing to undergo it either in India or abroad and would bear the expenses. The judge recorded his consent.

The test would be conducted at the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Lodhi Road.

The special investigation team (SIT) had alleged that Kumar was not cooperating. His counsel, however, countered that the SIT claim was not right because Kumars assent was mandatory.

They said Kumar was named for the first time as an accused in the case in 2016 and he joined the probe. Kumar was granted interim bail by a lower court in December 2016. The High Court on February 22 turned down the SIT plea to cancel it.  TNS
singhking99@yahoo.com

Shubhadeep Choudhury

Tribune News Service

Kolkata, May 14

Living up to West Bengals notorious reputation for electoral violence, polling on Monday for the panchayat elections in the state saw massive bloodletting, leading to multiple deaths.

Till the time of writing of this report, 13 deaths had been reported from various parts of the state. Over 100 persons were injured. DGP Surajit Kar Purkayastha, however, said that violence this time was much less than that during the 2013 polls.

The tone for the polling day was set on Sunday night itself when a CPM-affiliated couple was burnt to death in Kakdwip, around 90 km from Kolkata, allegedly by TMC goons. According to Samik Lahiri, secretary of the CPMs South 24 Parganas district unit, Debu Das and his wife were killed by Trinamool Congress thugs for refusing to succumb to their threats.

As polling began this morning, so did the killings. CPM activists Apu Manna and Yagneswar Ghosh were shot dead, allegedly by the TMC supporters, at Nandigram, near Kolkata. At Amdanga in North 24 Parganas, CPM worker Taibur Gain was killed.

At Kultali under Baruipur subdivision, TMC supporter Arif Gazi was allegedly killed by activists of the SUCI, a fringe player in state politics. At Santipur in Nadia district, two TMC supporters were lynched by a mob after they allegedly tried to capture a polling booth.

At Beldanga in South 24 Parganas, a BJP activist was killed. Amrit Saha, TMC supporter and maternal uncle of the local TMC candidate, was shot inside the polling booth at Malaikular in Raiganj. He later died in hospital. At Tehatta in Nadia district, Krishnapada Sarkar, a voter standing in a queue, lost his life after being caught in a clash between TMC and BJP supporters.

Many incidents of booth capturing and snatching of ballot boxes were also reported. In Raiganj district alone, 249 booths were captured by alleged TMC supporters who stamped ballot papers on TMC symbol and stuffed these into ballot boxes.

Besides personnel from the states own armed reserved police, civic volunteers (armed with canes) were deployed on election duty. Around 1,500 armed cops were loaned to West Bengal by other states. The state had refused to ask for Central forces despite repeated demands by Opposition parties. The polling percentage was 72.5 around 5 pm. The counting will be held on May 17.

Centre seeks report

New Delhi: The Centre on Monday asked the West Bengal government to send a detailed report on violence during panchayat elections. The Ministry of Home Affairs told the state government to provide a detailed report on the circumstances leading to violence and the steps taken to restore peace and punish those involved in the violence. TNS
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Shahira Naim

Tribune News Service

Varanasi, May 15

A portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed near Cantonment railway station on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people and trapping many more under its debris. Rescue teams pulled three people alive from the under debris.

Seven injured people were also rescued among them two are seriously injured.

Reports said two pillars of the Chaukaghat-Lehertara flyover collapsed during peak traffic hours in the holy city.

The toll could rise as eyewitnesses claimed at least a dozen vehicles and a mini-bus with around 32 passengers were crushed.

The NDRF team reached the accident site within an hour and the army has also joined them in the rescue operation.

Varanasi is the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation Limited was given the flyover project.

Deputy General of Police OP Singh said: Several people are feared trapped under the collapsed under-construction flyover. Rescue operations are underway and the police are regulating traffic.

Committee

Chief Minister Adityanaths government instituted a three-member panel headed by the Commissioner Agriculture Production Raj Pratap Singh to inquire into the incident. The panel must submit a detailed report within 48 hours.

Briefing the press, UPs Health Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said Adityanath had extended all possible help to the local administration.

Adityanath sent his deputy, Keshav Prasad Maurya, and minister Neelkanth Tiwari to Varanasi to supervise the rescue operations.

He also announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the dead and Rs 2 lakh for the injured.

Speaking to The Tribune from the accident site, District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Misra said that a medical team and dozens of ambulances were at the accident site.

The incident has brought to light poor safety standards of the project: the space under the unfinished flyover was used as a makeshift inter-city bus station, the road was not closed for regular traffic, and labourers worked on the site without appropriate safety equipment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MP from Varanasi, said he had spoken to Adityanath about the incident.

Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected, he said in a tweet.

Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

I spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected.  With agencies
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 15

In a sign of deepening farm distress, four debt-ridden farmers allegedly committed suicide in different parts of the district over the past 24 hours.

Jagraj Singh (50) of Dhingar village near Rampura Phul ended his life by allegedly consuming a poisonous substance. Village sarpanch Harbans Singh said the deceased had gone to his farm last night where he took the step. He owned two acres of land and had a debt of Rs 3 lakh. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Budh Singh of Maiserkhana village allegedly committed suicide by consuming pesticide at his agricultural field this afternoon. He was rushed to a private hospital in Maur Mandi where he breathed his last, his family said. Farmer leader Darshan Singh said he owned two acres of land and had a debt of Rs 6 lakh, which he owed to a bank and a commission agent.

Another farmer, Paramjeet Singh, ended his life at Sidhana village by allegedly hanging himself from a ceiling fan at his house, his relatives said. He owned a small piece of land and had a debt of Rs 2 lakh. He used to eke out his livelihood by transporting goods. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Amritpal Singh of Dayalpura Mirza village allegedly consumed a poisonous substance at his field. He had a debt of Rs 5 lakh, of which he had paid back Rs 1 lakh.
singhking99@yahoo.com

New Delhi/jalandhar, May 14

The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE) on Monday declared results for Class 12 and Class 10 exams with girls once again bettering boys in overall scores and 64 students getting more than 99 per cent marks.

While 49 students got more than 99 per cent in the Class 12 exam, 15 scored over 99 per cent in Class 10.

This year, the top score of 99.5 per cent in Class 12 was bagged by seven students from across the country. The second position with 99.25 per cent was shared by 17 students. The third highest score was 99 per cent, bagged by 25 students.

Mumbai boy Swayam Das emerged the Class 10 all-India topper with 99.4 per cent. Jalandhars Jasmine Kaur Chahal and Mumbais Anokhi Amit Mehta jointly bagged the second position with 99.2 per cent. The third position was shared by 12 students who scored 99 per cent.

Jasmine is the daughter of DSP, Vigilance Bureau, Kapurthala, Karamvir Singh Chahal. The 16-year-old student of St Josephs Convent School, who loves to study using a black board, attributed her success to hard work. I have opted for non-medical stream in Class XI. At present, my focus is entirely on academics and I will decide about my future later, she said.

She scored 100 marks each in mathematics, computers and social studies, while she got 98 marks in English and science each.

Her proud father said, She is a brilliant girl and is competent to make her own decisions. She will take a call on her future after clearing her Class XII exams. Jasmines mother Gurpreet Kaur Chahal is a government schoolteacher.  PTI/TNS
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Washington, May 15

Indian Ambassador to the US Navtej Singh Sarna has slammed the American media for their "negative portrayal" of India, alleging that there is a tendency among foreign journalists based in India to pick up the "exception" stories and ignore the development news.

Sarna's remarks came during his address at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a top American think tank.

"Now, it is more a case of pity than worry. India has moved on, you haven't," he said when asked about the portrayal of India in the mainstream American media.

Sarna said the American media picks up the "exception" stories, while ignoring the development news.

There is a tendency to look at the social exception there is a dowry case, there is a caste issue so pick it up and splash it. But if there is a start-up story for instance... (they will say) that happens everywhere. Frankly it bothers me, but I do not lose sleep over it anymore I used to (worry)," the top Indian diplomat said.

By such a "negative" portrayal of India, Sarna said, the American media was doing "injustice" to its public.

Sarna was participating in a panel discussion during the opening session of the "US & India: From Estranged Democracies to Natural Allies" organised by the top American think-tank.

"These (negative) pieces just sound like oddities. They show the narrow mindset of the journalists, of the editor and marginalise them rather than marginalise us anymore," the Indian Ambassador said.

"If they (the American media) want to survive and remain relevant, they should move on," Sarna said.

Referring to his previous four-year stint at the Indian Embassy here when he was its spokesperson, Sarna said this was what he tried "correcting then, but failed miserably".

"It is extremely important for us, but I think it's important for the United States as well to get a correct picture of, even if I was not in India and I would say of a very important country in the world. Unfortunately, can't tell you, I can guess at the reasons," he said. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Bengaluru, May 15

As the Congress offered support to the Janata Dal (Secular), even though trends showed Bharatiya Janata Party in the lead in a dramatic turn of events in Karnataka assembly elections, a flustered saffron party sent three of its ministers to Bengaluru on Tuesday.

Three union ministersJP Nadda, Prakash Javadekar and Dharmender Pradhanwere sent from Delhi as Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad announced they were going to support JD (S) to form government.

Results and leads showed BJP in the lead with 104 seats, Congress with 78 and JD (S) with 37 seats, a distant third. Elections were held for 222 of 224 assembly seats on Saturday.

Any party or grouping will need 113 of the total 224 seats to secure a majority in the Assembly.

The Janata Dal-Secular of former prime minister HD Dewe Gowda was leading in 39 seats, while ally BSP won 1 seat.

Analysts said the BJP was leading in Lingayat-dominated seats and the JD-S in Vokkaliga-dominated areas. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah won Badami constituency, but lost Chamundeshwari.

However, even as BJP celebrated, Congress offered to support a JD-S government in the state, despite the trends.

Congress veteran Ghulam Nabj Azad said: The Congress has decided to support the JD (S). We have held a talk with both HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy and they have accepted our offer.

Details of the deal will be hammered out later, Congress leaders said.

The JD (S) confirmed the development, and said they were doing everything to keep the BJP out of power.

JD(S) had always maintained that HD Kumaraswamy will be CM. Congress has extended its support, we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet Governor after 5.30 pm today, JD (S) leader Danish Ali said.

Prakash Javadekar, who was in charge of the BJP in Karnataka, met national president Amit Shah on earlier Tuesday.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to comment on the developments.

"Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S)."  Agencies
editorial@tribune.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15

Despite falling short of the majority mark in Karnataka, the BJP on Tuesday expressed confidence of forming the government in the southern state. In fact, calling Karnataka a big win for the party, both PM Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah said they would not allow Oppositions attempts to subvert democracy.

Ever since it came to power at the Centre, the BJP has won 14 elections. Karnataka is its 15th consecutive win, Shah said, addressing party workers at the BJP headquarters here where celebrations were held to observe the partys victory in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly.

Terming the BJPs Karnataka win unparalleled and unprecedented the PM said: I want to assure the people of Karnataka that the BJP will not allow the states development journey to be trampled upon. It will not lag behind for ensuring the state a bright future.

Modi said the Opposition parties were using similar methods to subvert democracy like (Trinamool Congress) in West Bengal, referring to the days dramatic events that saw the JD(S)-Congress and the BJP staking claims to form government.

He also accused the Congress of using money and muscle power during the Karnataka elections and dividing people on caste lines. The verdict has changed the perception that the BJP is only a party of the Hindi-speaking states, he added.

Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the northeastern states Hindi-speaking states? No, the BJP represents India and our proud diversity, he said. Shah, meanwhile, termed Karnataka results as peoples trust in the Modi-led governments clean governance and rejection of the Congresss dynastic politics. The BJP will form the government at the Centre in 2019, he claimed.

With the Congress supporting the Janata Dal (Secular), the saffron party has sent three senior ministers  JP Nadda, Prakash Javadekar and Dharmender Pradhan  to Bengaluru to tackle the situation. As they say all is fair in love and war all and for the BJP forming the next government in Karnataka is now critically important to stall the Opposition parties efforts to form a collation against it in 2019.
singhking99@yahoo.com

New Delhi, May 14

Over four years after Shashi Tharoors wife Sunanda Pushkar, 51, was found dead in a hotel suite here, the Delhi Police on Monday charged the senior Congress leader with abetting her suicide.

The chargesheet, filed in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Singh, who will consider it on May 24, says Pushkars body bore scuffle marks when found in her suite at Leela Hotel on the night of January 17, 2014. These (the marks) seem to have been caused due to a scuffle between Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor and her husband Shashi Tharoor, as per the statement of their personal attendant Narain Singh. However, this fact is being examined further. The chargesheet also says that Pushkars brothers and son have made no allegations against anyone.

Dismissing as preposterous the nearly 3,000-page chargesheet, Tharoor, 62, said he intended to contest it vigorously. No one who knew Sunanda believes she would ever have committed suicide, let alone abetment on my part. If this is the conclusion after four-plus years of investigation, it does not speak well of the methods or motivations of Delhi Police. In October 2017, the law officer made a statement in the Delhi HC that they have not found anything against anyone, and now they say I have abetted suicide. Unbelievable!

The Congress stood by its Thiruvananthapuram MP, calling it a conspiracy by the Modi government to malign and defame him.

Tharoor is the only one to be arrayed as an accused in the case, which the police have concluded is that of suicide. On January 1, 2015, the police had filed an FIR against unknown persons under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.

The Congress MP has been charged under IPC Sections 498-A (husband or relative subjecting a woman to cruelty), which entails a maximum punishment of three years, and 306 (abetment to suicide), which attracts a maximum jail term of 10 years.

Pushkar died days after she alleged her husband was having an affair with a Pakistani journalist. The police said there was no evidence of murder but she may have been driven to suicide.  Agencies & TNS
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Bengaluru, May 15

The BJP emerged as the single largest party on Tuesday but fell nine seats short of a majority in Karnataka, where the Congress dramatically backed third-placed rival JD(S) for a post-poll alliance to keep the saffron party out of power.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call the BJP to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly.

Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12, while polling for the remaining two will be held later.

Both sides rushed to meet Vala, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power.

Addressing BJP workers in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who undertook a vigorous campaign, hailed the partys win in Karnataka as unparalleled and unprecedented.

The BJP bagged 104 seats, a gain of 64, while the Congress notched 78, a loss of 44 seats, though its vote share was nearly two percentage points more than the saffron party.

The JD(S) secured 37 seats, down by three from its previous tally.

In a roller-coaster ride for the BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But at the end of counting of votes, it came tantalisingly close to 113 needed to form the government.

We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad told India Today TV. ... when the JD(S) and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it.

Azads comments summed up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 General Election at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country. Karnataka was the only major non-BJP ruled state, and the party offices had reverberated with jubilation in the morning when initial trends put it ahead.

Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the National Capital.

The swift political manoeuvring by the Congress in reaching out to JD(S) showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa, where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJPs shrewd moves.

We have all together discussed and decided this.... This is the opinion of the All-India Congress Party. The Congress will support the JD(S) because there is a hung Assembly situation here, as no party has been given clear majority by the people, outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters after submitting his resignation.

Congress Leaders Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjuna Kharge along with JD(S) state Chief H D Kumaraswamy met Vala and submitted a letter seeking an opportunity to form the government.

All-India Congress Party leaders after discussion have given a letter to our party president extending support ....on behalf our party, along with Congress leaders we have asked governor seeking an opportunity to form the government with the support of Congress, also two independent MLAs, Kumaraswamy, the alliances chief ministerial candidate, said.

Soon after Congress declared its support to JD(S), Kumaraswamy wrote to the Governor informing him that he had accepted the offer to be the Chief Minister. KPCC chief G Parameshwara said modalities related to government formation would be discussed later.

However, BJPs chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa accused the Congress of trying to grab power unfairly.

Yeddyurappa met the Governor and staked claim to form the government, slamming the move of the Congress-JD(S) combine as an attempt to come back to power through back door.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party, we have requested the Governor to give us an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the Assembly, Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Vala along with Union Minister Ananth Kumar.

A sombre-looking Yeddyurappa said the people of Karnataka had rejected the Siddaramaiah government lock, stock and barrel.

The usual practice is for the governor to call the leader of the single largest party or pre-poll alliance to form the government, and in the event of a hung Assembly, asks him to prove the majority on the floor of the House.

Since the Congress and the JD(S) did not have a pre-poll alliance, it remains to be seen if he invites Kumaraswamy to form the government.

At least 10 ministers fell by the wayside as they lost their seats in an anti-incumbency wave.

Siddaramaiah himself lost by a huge margin of 36,042 votes in his traditional constituency of Chamundeshwari in Mysuru to JDS G T Deve Gowda.

He, however, managed to scrape through in Badami in north Karnataka, where he won by a slender margin of 1,696 votes after a see-saw battle against BJPs B Sriramulu, a close associate of the mining baron Reddy brothers.

Yeddyurappa won the Shikaripura seat by a margin of over 35,000 votes, while Kumaraswamy won convincingly in both Channapatna and Ramanagara.

After a record 72.13 per cent voter turnout, the Election Commission announced that the Congress notched 38 per cent of votes as against BJPs 36.2 per cent. The JD(S), headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, got 18.4 per cent votes.  PTI
singhking99@yahoo.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

The Congress on Monday petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind, asking him to caution Prime Minister Narendra Modi against using intimidating language against his political rivals.

In a letter signed by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and veterans, including Mallikarjun Kharge and Ghulam Nabi Azad, said: The President as the constitutional head of the Union of India enjoys high duty and obligation to advise and guide the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Admittedly, the Prime Minister is not expected to use menacing language even in the course of election campaign which tantamounts to using his powers and privileges as the Prime Minister to settle personal and political scores. President may caution the PM from using such unwarranted, threatening and intimidating language against leaders of the Congress or any other party or person as it does not behove the position of the PM, says the letter The Tribune has accessed.

The letter was also signed by AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram, Ashok Gehlot, Karan Singh, Ambika Soni, Kamal Nath, Anand Sharma, Motilal Vora, Digvijay Singh and Mukul Wasnik.

The reference in the letter was to the following remarks the PM made on May 6 during his election campaign at Hubli in Karnataka. Congress ke neta kaan kholkar sun lijiye, agar seemaon ko paar karoge, to yeh Modi hai, lene ke dene pad jayenge...., the Prime Minister said.

Referring to the PMs public speech, Congress leaders said: The threat held out by the PM to the INC's leadership deserves to be condemned. This cannot be the language of the PM of a constitutionally governed democratic country of 1.3 billion people. Such discourse whether in public or private is unacceptable conduct. The words used are menacing and intimidating with intent to insult and provoke breach of the peace.

The Congress said theirs was the oldest party and had faced many threats and would not be cowed down.

The party leaders earlier argued that the PM held a very special position under the Constitution and took an oath of office to uphold the dignity of his office.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15

The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that former Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi has been appointed an eminent jurist in the Lokpal selection panel headed by the Prime Minister tasked with shortlisting names for the appointment of Indias first-ever anti-corruption ombudsman.

Attorney-General KK Venugopal told a Bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi that Rohatgi will fill the vacancy in the Lokpal selection panel created after the death of senior advocate PP Rao in September last year.

Rohatgis appointment removes a major legal hurdle in the appointment of Lokpal for which the top court has been repeatedly reminding the government. The court had on April 17 asked the government to expedite the process for appointment of Indias first Lokpal.

Rohatgi was selected after several rounds of meetings by a committee which included the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Lok Sabha Speaker. Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge was invited as a special invitee in one such meeting on March 1 but he had refused to attend the meeting.

Enacted in 2013, the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act received presidential assent on January 1, 2014, and came into force on January 16, 2014. However, the first Lokpal is yet to be appointed and many stated were also dithering in appointing Lokayuktas.

Accusing the government of dilly-dallying, petitioner Common Cause, an NGO, has approached the top court seeking direction to appoint the Lokpal.

Terming the Act as an eminently workable piece of legislation, the top court had in 2017 said there was no justification to keep the enforcement of Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.

In its April 27, 2017 verdict, the Supreme Court had termed the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 an eminently workable piece of legislation which does not create any bar to the enforcement of the provisions.

Section 4(2) of the Act made it clear that the appointment of chairperson or a member of the Lokpal will not become invalid merely because of a vacancy in the selection committee, it had said.

The top court had made it clear that there was no justification in keeping the Lokpal Act suspended till the proposed amendments, including on the issue of the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, were cleared by Parliament.
editorial@tribune.com

Lucknow: Eighteen persons were killed and several feared trapped under debris as a section of an under-construction flyover collapsed in front of the Cantonment railway station in Varanasi, PM Narendra Modis constituency, on Tuesday evening.

Rescue workers managed to extricate three persons alive from the debris. Witnesses said the toll could go up as over 10 four-wheelers and a 32-seater bus were trapped. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath announced a three-member panel to probe into the mishap and give its report in 48 hours.

The CM, who left for Varanasi from Lucknow late in the evening, announced Rs 5 lakh as compensation for the kin of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for the injured.  TNS
gspannu7@gmail.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, May 15

Traders who imported sugar from Pakistan after the Central Government liberalised the trade were warned of action by Subhash Deshmukh, Maharashtras minister for cooperation, marketing and textiles, who belongs to the BJP.

Deshmukhs warning to importers comes days after activists of various political parties, including the Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, attacked godowns in which sugar imported from Pakistan was stored

Leaders of these political parties warned that the godowns would be set on fire if sugar from the neighbouring country was released into the market

According to sugar traders, around 2000 metric tonnes of sugar stored in various places on the outskirts of Mumbai has been damaged by protesters.

Leaders of all the major political parties in Maharashtra control sugar co-operatives in the state.

Even though sugar production in India has touched a record high, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allowed import of sugar from Pakistan. On the other hand he has forgotten his promise to bring Dawood Ibrahim from Pakistan to India, Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan told reporters here.

The past few days saw traders and stockists go in panic mode after rumours spread in the Vashi Agriculture Produce Market Committee near Mumbai about 30,000 quintals of sugar from Pakistan landing in Mumbai.

With activists of various parties attacking godowns, APMC officials and representatives of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association have refused to comment on the matter.

According to information available from the Indian Sugar Mills Association, sugar output in India has crossed a record high of more than 300 lakh tonnes causing prices to crash.

Mills are reported to be selling sugar at around Rs 27 per kilogramme.

NCP leaders alleged that a New Delhi-based company with links to senior BJP leaders have exported chocolates to Pakistan and imported sugar from that country.




editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Jaipur, May 15

The Gurjar community members on Tuesday announced to begin an agitation from May 23 for five per cent reservation separately under the OBC category in government jobs and educational institutions in Rajasthan.

The decision was announced during a mahapanchayat at Adda in Bharatpur district after the community members rejected the Vasudhara Raje governments suggestion to attend the Rohini Commission meeting in Bhopal on June 4.

Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (GASS) spokesman Himmat Singh said: Rajasthans Gurjars will not attend Justice G Rohinis (retd) meeting in Bhopal on June 4 in which three other states of MP, UP and Chhattisgarh are also invited to make representations. Its an issue of the state, not central government.

He said: The 11-member GASS delegation had held a five-hour talk with the Raje governments minister envoys at the Secretariat on Monday night. We were told to make a representation at a meeting of the Rohini Commission, appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Centre last year. But the state governments formula was straightaway rejected by the thousands of our community members gathered at the mahapanachayat on Tuesday. However, minister RS Rathore called the Monday night meeting with the Gurjars fruitful and positive.

Singh said the May 23 agitation would begin from Pilupura in Bharatpur district.

NRK Reddy, Additional Director-General of Police (law and order), said: It was an incident-free gathering of around 4,000 Gurjars at Adda on Tuesday. However, police personnel and RPF jawans were on high alert to maintain law and order and protect rail traffic on the Jaipur-Dausa-Bandikui-Alwar-Bharatpur sections.

Internet services had been suspended in the mahapanchayat areas since Saturday. The entry of Patidar Arakshan Andolan leader Hardik Patel, who extended his support to the Gurjar agitation, was also banned. The Gurjars had been demanding a separate 5 per cent reservation as More Backward Classes within the 21 per cent OBC quota by bifurcation.

The Raje government had passed a Bill in October 2017 to provide 5 per cent quota to five communities, including Gurjars, in the OBC category by raising its limit from 21 to 26 per cent but it was not accepted by the GASS despite it being a signatory to the joint agreement.

On October 2, 2017, the President had appointed the Rohini Commission to examine the sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes.

Meanwhile, the Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Arakshan Sangarh Samiti, which held a parallel mahapanchayat at Bayana in Bharatpur, announced to dissolve the GASS led by Col Kirori Singh Bainsla and appointed ABGA president Ramveer Singh Bidhuri its convener to deal with the demands, according to a release here. The ABGA made this resolution in the presence of 51 executive members.
singhking99@yahoo.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

On the eve of Karnataka election results, the Congress sounded upbeat but cautious having burnt its fingers in Goa and Manipur where the party failed to form governments despite securing mandates.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi is not leaving anything to chance this time. It is learnt that the party has deployed seasoned strategists Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot in Bengaluru to oversee political machinations should the verdict turn out to be hung as projected by most opinion polls.

Gehlot, Congress general secretary in charge of the organisation, had proved his organisational capabilities to Rahul in the recent Gujarat elections where the Congress gave the BJP jitters by ending up close behind.

Azad, the Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha, is a trusted lieutenant of the Congress first family with experience of having overseen the partys Karnataka unit in the past.

The Tribune has further learnt that the Congress is in touch with the JDS leadership and had engaged HD Kumaraswamy before he flew to Singapore two days ago. This means the party is keeping options open should it fall short of a simple majority in the 224-member Assembly.

Officially, the Congress on Monday said it was sure of winning 130 seats and securing a clear mandate. Internal signals, however, hinted otherwise with party leaders engaged with whoever needed to be engaged.

The party appears to be banking on Independents. There were nine Independent MLAs in the last state election and there will be quite a few this time too, said a leader, adding that plans B and C were ready.

In Goa, the Congress had lost the race to power to the BJP due to its leader Digvijay Singhs laxity in sealing the deal with non-Congress MLAs. In Karnataka, the Congress has prepared ahead of time.

State CM Siddharamaiahs I am fine with a Dalit CM pitch is also part of the partys overall gameplan to keep its options with the JD-S and the BSP open. BSP chief Mayawati who had a pre-poll tie-up in Karnataka with the JD-S may insist on a Dalit CM should push come to shove on Tuesday.

The Congress naturally wanted to be the first party to send the signal that it was open to a Dalit CM. It even has a candidate in Mallikarjun Kharge that fits the bill.

Officially, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala made light of Siddharamaiahs Dalit CM remarks, saying, Our CM has shown that he is a Congress worker and espouses values. He can leave his chair for a Dalit leader or any other worker the Congress leadership backs. This is the Congress culture. Can Prime Minister Narendra Modi leave his chair for a Dalit?
singhking99@yahoo.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

Close on the heels of first informal summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set to hold a similar dialogue with Russian President Vladimir Putin in southern Russian resort city of Sochi on May 21.

The two leaders are also scheduled to meet at the upcoming SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit meeting in Qingdao in China in early June and for a formal structured annual bilateral dialogue in Delhi later.

This will be an important occasion for the two leaders to exchange views on international matters in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective of further strengthening our Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) formal statement.

The announcement follows the visit of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale to Moscow last week for consultations with Russian NSA, Foreign Minister and senior officials. Moscow and Beijing have taken common positions opposed to Washington DC on a host of issues, ranging from Iran nuclear deal to Syrian crisis. India has been walking a tightrope between the US and Russia last few months as Trump and Putin's ties worsened.

India also faces roadblocks in defence deals with its largest military supplier Moscow, owing to sanctions imposed by US under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions). Under CAATSA, third countries like India doing business with Russian defence firms blacklisted by Trump administration could face secondary sanctions.

The two leaders are expected to do stock taking of all key issues in Sochi through candid conversations. Both leaders will also discuss their respective national developmental priorities and bilateral matters, said the MEA.
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Vibha Sharma

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday accused the Opposition of using underhand methods to subvert democracy.

Referring to the days dramatic events that saw both the Congress and the BJP staking claim to form government, Modi said the Opposition was doing what it did in West Bengal.

"I want to assure people of Karnataka that the BJP will not allow the Opposition parties to trample their verdict," he said in his address to the partys Parliamentary Board.

Modi also called results of the Karnataka assembly extraordinary, and said they proved the efficacy of the BJP.

Modi said: I want to assure people if Karnataka that the BJP will leave no stone unturned to take them to a bright future.

He also accused rival Congress of trying to create a north-south divide,

Modi had been a star campaigner for the BJP in the state assembly elections.

Also addressing the meeting, BJP national president Amit Shah mocked the Congress saying that those with 43 seats in Lok Sabha were trying to stake claim, and accused his rivals of using money power and caste politics to divide Karnataka,

He said that the partys winning of 104 seats, up from the 40 in 2013, spoke volumes of the partys potential.

Our victory march is not going to stop. In the coming elections as well the BJP will win with convincingly. The BJP will return to power at the Centre with a bigger number, he said, thanking Prime Minister Modi for working like a common worker of the BJP.

The Congress with 78 seats in assembly elections and the Janata Dal (Secular) with 38 have staked claim to form government despite the BJP emerging as the single largest party in the state.




singhking99@yahoo.com

Islamabad, May 14

Pakistans top civil and military leadership on Monday condemned the fallacious statement by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif about the Mumbai terror attack and termed it as incorrect and misleading.

Sharif, for the first time, questioned Pakistans policy to allow the non-state actors to cross the border and kill people in Mumbai as he publicly acknowledged in an interview that militant groups are active in the country.

His comments stirred a controversy, prompting the National Security Committee (NSC)  Pakistans top civil-military body  to call a high-level meeting.

The meeting reviewed the recent statement in the context of Mumbai attacks...and unanimously termed this statement as incorrect and misleading, said a statement issued after the NSC meeting held at Prime Ministers House.

The participants observed that it was very unfortunate that the opinion arising out of either misconceptions or grievances was being presented in disregard of concrete facts and realities. The participants unanimously rejected the allegations and condemned the fallacious assertions, it said.

The statement said that it was recalled during the meeting that the delay in conclusion of the Mumbai attack case was caused by India, not Pakistan. Besides many other refusals during the investigation, the denial of access to the principal accused, Ajmal Kasab, and his extraordinarily hurried execution became the core impediment in the finalisation of the trial, it did.

Ten Lashkar-e-Taiba militants killed 166 people and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November, 2008. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught. Kasab was executed after a court found him guilty and handed down death sentence.

After the NSC meeting, PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met Sharif and conveyed to him the concerns of the military leadership over his remarks regarding the Mumbai attacks.  PTI

Will speak truth, come what may
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Jaipur, May 15

Gurjar leaders on Tuesday announced they will begin an agitation from May 23 for 5 per cent reservation in government jobs and education institutions in Rajasthan.

The agitation will begin from Pilukapura in Bharatpur district, Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, which held a mahapanchayat of the community today in the districts Adda village, said.

The announcement came after a Samiti delegation held a meeting last night in Jaipur with a group of ministers on the reservation demand.

Today, Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti head Kirori Singh Bainsla discussed that meeting with other community leaders in Adda before making the announcement.

People in our community are not happy with the government. Bainsla discussed the outcome of the meeting with the people to seek their response, Himmat Singh, the organisations spokesperson, said.

He said the state government should form a sub-committee to put up its case on reservation for Gurjars before the Rohini Commission set up by the Centre to examine sub-categorisation of Other Backward Classes.

Singh said this would be on the lines of the panels set up by Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The Justice (retd) G Rohini Commission is expected to submit its report next month after discussions with officials from Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

Bainsla told reporters in Adda that he was not satisfied with last nights meeting the delegation had with the ministers.

He said he will not back out of the agitation if his community did not get its rights. The community faces injustice throughout the country and the agitation will begin if the government fails to address the issue, he said.

Apart from the mahapanchayat in Adda village, two other Gurjar meetings were held in the district.

A meeting at Marauli village was organised by a Gurjar group backing Bainsla, and the other at Tonta Baba ka Sthan where rival leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri accused Bainsla of misleading the community for several years.

We will form a 51-member and will put pressure on the government to fulfil its promise to give 5 per cent reservation to Gurjars and other castes and include this in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution, Bidhuri, who leads the Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti, said.

Tight security arrangements were made in Bharatpur ahead of the Gurjar mahapanchayat. The police said arrangements were in place for the security of public property including railway tracks.

The Gurjars in Rajasthan already get one per cent reservation in the most backward category but are demanding a five per cent quota under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) slab.

Last October, the Rajasthan Assembly passed a Bill to raise OBC reservation from 21 to 26 per cent to create a new category within it for Gurjars and some other castes.

However, the high court stayed the Bill as it would have increased the reservation to 54 per cent.

Later, the Supreme Court also directed the state government not to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limit. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Kasganj (UP), May 15

In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was on Tuesday forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school here.

The chief minister was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow.

Yes, the chief minister is safe, he told PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problem it was forced to land on a field a kilometre away.

The chief minister reached here in the morning on a days visit to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered at Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed the development works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate.

Meanwhile, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI, The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

KS Dakshina Murthy

In an election that was always seen as crucial for the Congress, and one that would merely add one more trophy to the Bharatiya Janata Partys showcase, Karnataka has delivered a huge surprise by voting the BJP ahead of the perceived favourites  the Congress.

Surprise, because the Congress under Chief Minister Siddaramaiah set the agenda for the campaign, and most accounts placed him in a comfortable position. The only doubt was whether the party would cross the winning line, but that the Congress still would be the single largest party.

The only sliver of doubt was the effect of Prime Minister Narendra Modis campaign; whether this would turn the tide in favour of the BJP. While it would be presumptuous to attribute the partys good showing to PM Modi alone, the campaign blitzkrieg seemed to have played some role.

In terms of anything substantive, PM Modi did not raise any issue that set alight the stage at the fag end of the campaign. But, his whirlwind campaign of 21 rallies in just a few days surely galvanised the party. Also, his presence attracted a lot of attention from voters who might have been taken in by his physical presence and contributed to the swing.

But, really the tale is about the Congress as the loss in Karnataka is bound to leave it floundering with three important state elections coming up and the 2019 General Election. Of course, the party is in power in Punjab, Puducherry and Mizoram, but that is small consolation as Karnataka was expected to give it the muscle to fight these elections.

At the time of writing, there is a move to form a coalition of the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular). Though it assures the Congress a shared seat in the government, it still cannot take away the fact that it secured much less than what it expected and came second after the BJP.

What made the Karnataka elections interesting and challenging to pollsters was that there was no wave. Secondly, Siddaramaiahs tactic of aligning with pro-Kannada nationalist groups and the move to recommend separate religion status to the Lingayat sect gave the impression he was in control and was well-positioned to steer the party to victory. Now these tactics dont seem to have worked.

Another point to ponder for the Congress is whether the partys high command, aka Rahul Gandhi, is making any impact on voters. This has repercussions that spill out of Karnataka and on to the national stage. Gandhi, too, campaigned at several phases, drew in crowds and attracted attention of voters and even adulation. But, the results indicate that the electorate was not particularly moved by him.

What the results have thrown up is therefore an existential issue for the Congress and it needs to work on its future strategy in a manner where it can take on the BJP. In the days leading up to voting, there were reports of disorganisation within the booth-level committees of the Congress. If true, this could have played a significant part in the partys loss. This could also reflect on the commitment of grassroot workers of the Congress, whether they are in any position to take on the RSS cadre who are known for their activity at a micro-level.

Even if the Congress think-tank sees this as a problem, there is not much time for it to sort that out. For, this means revamping the organisation right from the roots, and this is no small task. Since the party split in 1969, the Congress has sailed through on the strength of individuals like Indira Gandhi. The goodwill for the partys first family, even if it exists in abundance within the Congress, seems to have run its course in the minds of voters.

Of course, Assembly elections are fought on a different plane when compared with Lok Sabha polls. Yet, these are takeaways from Karnataka that the party cannot afford to ignore.

As for the BJP, the Karnataka elections validate their politics, reaffirm PM Modi as a star performer and confirm party president Amit Shah as a master strategist. Now, these are not descriptions in vacuum. For, at the start of the campaign, the state BJP unit was a divided house with a subterranean revolt against the chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa. This, in combination with the dismal record of governance during the partys rule between 2008-13 that included a slew of corruption charges and two changes to the chief ministers post were reasons enough for the party to get off to a sluggish start.

That the BJP managed to surmount these challenges and come first in the race is an indicator that the party is on a high and the duo of Shah and Modi can make few mistakes.

But, politics being politics and elections being elections, the situation can dramatically change overnight if the right tactics are adopted by the Opposition, particularly the Congress. The Shah-Modi duo has faced defeats since 2014  the most famous ones being Delhi and Bihar.

Since then, the BJP has managed to put its defeats behind it, worked out ways of improving upon their electoral tactics and has emerged with rich dividends. Maybe it is time for the Congress to examine how the BJP does it, learn from it and come up with innovative ways to challenge the growing saffron hegemony.

(The writer is an independent journalist based in Bengaluru)

Oppn must fight back

"For those who lost, fight back. If the Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. "  Mamata Banerjee, West Bengal CM

On way to be cong-free

"We are moving in this direction (Congress-free India)... the two remaining states too will soon be free of Congress."  Yogi Adityanath, UP CM

Revival of secular front

"The Congress-JD(S) pact will give a momentum to formation of a secular front with HD Deve Gowda playing a pivotal role."  Mohammad Salim, CPM leader

Trust ballots for once

}If you (BJP) trust yourself, hold elections through ballot papers once it will clear apprehensions once and for all."  Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena chief

Setback for Rahul

"The biggest setback is for Rahul he was projecting himself as the PM candidate in 2019 and claiming victory of his party. This all has now ended."  Ram Vilas Paswan, union minister
editorial@tribune.com

Rachna Khaira

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, May 15

Crying foul over the death of a 25-year-old Punjabi youth killed in an accident in Dubai on April 19 last year, an Amritsar-based family on Monday sought the Central Governments intervention in getting the case solved.

At a press conference in Jalandhar, Bikramdeep Singh, the elder brother of deceased Amandeep Singh, said even after a year, the Dubai Police had failed to nab the driver.

He said after the incident, a woman had called the family and assured them of getting the blood money.

The family, without checking the credentials of the anonymous caller, sent Amandeep Singhs death certificate and a power of attorney (POA) to her in August last year, giving her the authority to collect and encash cheques, including account payee cheques, demand drafts and even the compensation. Bikramdeep said the woman had now refused to hand them the money. She says she has not received the amount from the UAE Government and even offered to send our papers back, the victims brother said.

The family said the lawyer might have received the compensation amount of Rs 37 lakh on behalf of the family.

The blood money called Diya is a penalty for death, and not compensation. It is fixed at Rs 37 lakh for loss of life and is only given if the victim has in no way contributed to the accident.

The family even tried to contact the UAE Embassy in Delhi, but that too didnt help. The police failed to nab the man who killed my son. All they sent was his body and passport, said deceaseds mother Baljit Kaur.

Amandeep had gone to Dubai through two Amritsar-based agents who later hired him as a driver in their transport company there. While the deal was sealed at Rs 1.60 lakh, the family paid Rs 80,000 and assured the agents to pay the remaining amount in Dubai.
editorial@tribune.com

Perneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 14

Though Union Minister for Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkaris Bathinda visit for inauguration of the highways got cancelled at the 11th hour, the Akali Dal on Monday went ahead with its public meeting where it felicitated SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal for their efforts in development of Punjab.

Addressing the meeting as a thanksgiving gesture to Gadkari, Sukhbir said the Union Minister had sanctioned road infrastructure projects worth nearly Rs 50,000 crore and that some of them were still in the process of completion.

He said the Union Minister had informed him recently that two more prestigious projects, which were requested by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government, had also been sanctioned. This included the Amritsar-Delhi expressway via Barnala, which would reduce the distance between the two cities by 100 km, and Jalandhar-Ajmer expressway via Bathinda.

Harsimrat said the state made rapid strides in development under the SAD-BJP regime in the state. The state had 13 national highways measuring 1,500 km prior to 2014, but in the last four years, the number of highways had gone up to 36, which now measure 3,500 km.

Flashing the AIIMS blueprint in her hand, she launched a scathing attack on Finance Minister Manpreet Badal over his remark that it was a Centrally-funded project and the state government had nothing to do with it.

Shifting the irrigation channel from the project site, facilitating power supply and approach road, granting various NOCs and CLU, all this is not the Union Governments job. While state government officials are tightlipped on these issues, the Finance Minister is least bothered despite the fact that Bathinda is also his constituency, she added.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, May 15

Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhus family and supporters celebrated his acquittal by the apex court in the road rage case, at their residence in Amritsar on Tuesday. His wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu said their long-standing claim got vindicated after the Supreme Court held him guilty only of causing hurt and let him off with a fine of Rs 1,000. She said the lower court had already acquitted Sidhu in the case. However, due to politics and his celebrity status, he was again implicated, she said.

She alleged that former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had been attempting to ensnare Sidhu in the case. Sidhus daughter Rabia, who is pursuing fashion designing in London, said, I went to a gurdwara and a temple to seek blessings of the Almighty today (Tuesday).

She thanked the judiciary for the verdict. She said it was all due to the blessings of people.

Case chronology
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 14

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh continues to be at the receiving end over inadequate representation to Dalits in the Cabinet.

Three senior-most legislators on Monday resigned from different committees of the Vidhan Sabha.

The legislators  Randeep Nabha (Amloh), Rakesh Pandey (Ludhiana) and Amrik Dhillon (Samrala)  gave their resignation to Speaker Rana KP Singh for being ignored in the Cabinet expansion.

They said no senior leader of the state unit of the party, including the Chief Minister, had bothered to listen to their grouse. Even messages sent to Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Sunil Jakhar remained unanswered.

Dhillon said after waiting for a month, they have now decided to meet party president Rahul Gandhi. As the Karnataka elections are over, we will be soon meet Rahul, said Rakesh Pandey, adding that neither seniority nor loyalty of traditional Congress families was considered.

Nabha said: It is the duty of party leaders to listen to them, but no one is bothered. As a result, we have chosen to resign as the first step.

The legislators said after meeting Rahul, they would decide on resigning from party positions. They said more would be joining them in the coming days.

Earlier, Sangat Singh Gilzian, MLA from Urmur, and Surjit Dhiman, MLA from Amargarh, had resigned from party posts for not given any Cabinet berth.

The open defiance by the MLAs comes within few days of the SC/OBC MLAs meeting Rahul over the matter. Charanjit Channi had led the delegation.
editorial@tribune.com

Harshraj Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 14

A major tragedy was averted when a portion of retaining wall of Gill Chowk flyover collapsed late on Sunday night.

The flyover was constructed around eight years ago. Long traffic jams were witnessed at different places in city on Monday.

Dharam Singh, Superintending Engineer of the local municipal corporation, said: There is a garbage dump near the flyover. Rats breed there and dig holes near the flyovers retaining walls. The flyover was constructed by Deepak Builders in 2010. Now, it is maintained by the NHAI and it would repair it.

Locals say a video related to the flyover was circulated around a month ago. In the video, a resident had claimed that the flyover could collapse anytime as soil and gravel was coming out of the retaining walls.

The man in the video had also claimed that rats are damaging the bridge, but no action was taken by the MC. The holes made by rats can be witnessed on the footpath along the flyover. Bhupinder Singh, a local resident, said they had complained to the MC about the existence of a garbage dump near the flyover in 2015.

Bittu orders probe

Local MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who visited the spot along with Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu and MC Commissioner Jaskiran Singh, said it was serious incident. A high-level probe committee would be formed for a detailed report on the incident, he said.

Bittu targeted the SAD-BJP government for its poor functioning and lack of supervision on important projects and claimed that those found guilty would be taken to task.

MC-builder nexus alleged

Lok Insaaf Party president and Atam Nagar MLA Simarjit Singh Bains have raised questions over the quality of material used. He claimed that during his stint as a councillor, he had raised objection over the matter in Municipal Corporation meetings.

Deepak Builders had no experience in construction of flyover, but a senior MC official favoured the contractor. The project was awarded to him, ignoring technical bids during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government, he alleged.

Now, the Congress government is to be blamed for ignoring the condition of retaining walls. Action must be taken against the guilty, he said.

Meanwhile, a group of private engineers alleged that the construction was faulty. They demanded that the administration should reconstruct it.
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Ferozepur, May 14

AAP leader Sukhpal Khaira had to face the wrath of protesters during his visit to the District Administrative Complex on Monday.

Khaira had gone there to meet two elderly women who have been on a hunger strike for the past few days.

The women, along with their families and members of farmer outfits have been demanding action against those trying to usurp 26 acres at Jhoke Harihar village.

When Khaira visited them, he was asked to meet the other group supported by the Border Sangharsh Committee, which too is staking claim to the land.

When Khaira was about to leave, the other group forced him to listen to them, which led to a heated exchange. Things turned ugly when Khaira refused to talk to the group which had some Congress workers too. The latter blocked his way and even roughed up some policemen who tried to intervene.

Khaira alleged that the Congress had unleashed terror in the state, adding that MLAs belonging to the ruling party were supporting the land mafia.

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is patronising the MLAs for their wrongdoings, Khaira said.

Meanwhile, Chamkaur Singh Dhindsa, president, DCC, accused Khaira of instigating the farmers. Dhindsa said both groups were holding a peaceful protest, but Khaira fuelled the situation by ignoring the Border Sangharsh Committee. He denied that the Congress workers manhandled policemen.
singhking99@yahoo.com

Parvesh Sharma

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 14

A Dalit labourer from Samundgarh village has been forced to make several trips to Dhuri and Sangrur, carrying his 30-year-old disabled daughter on his back, and changing two buses for the 25-km travel, to try and get her pension restored, which was stopped around six months ago.

Amar Singh says his daughter Pal Kaur has been certified as 100 per cent physically disabled  she has no control over her legs  and was receiving a monthly pension for disabled persons of Rs 250 through a bank in Kauseri village, close to his village. However, around six months back, bank officials informed her that her pension had been stopped by the Social Welfare Department, but did not give any reasons.

Over the past four months, I have made several trips carrying Pal to visit government offices in Dhuri as well as Sangrur. But no one is willing to give us a hearing. It is tough for a man of 52 years like me to carry a grown-up daughter. But I do not have the money to hire a rickshaw, Amar Singh told The Tribune as he came out of the District Social Welfare Office (DSWO) in Sangrur.

I first carry my daughter to the village bus stand, from where I board a bus to Dhuri, and then another bus to Sangrur. I request the authorities to let us know what they expect us to do, so that her pension may be restarted. My daughter was never married, and the money is important for her, he said.

Aasha Rani, Dhuri Child Development and Project Officer, however, said Amar Singh and his daughter had never visited her office.

Jobandeep Cheema, Sangrur DSWO, said: There must be some reason for the pension to be stopped. I am on leave today, but I will check what the issue is and have the pension restored at the earliest.
editorial@tribune.com

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 14

Punjab on Monday became the first state in the country to red-flag various provisions of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) when it refused to sign a pact with the Centre to implement the same.

Punjab Health Minister Brahm Mohindra cited a range of concerns around Modicare to defer the signing of the MoU. He said the state had several existing health insurance schemes and a new one was in the pipeline.

We are still exploring the possibility of convergence of existing schemes with the new Central scheme. We need all concerns addressed for synergistic amalgamation. Once this is done, we will consider signing the MoU with the National Health Agency, Mohindra told Health Minister JP Nadda, who was in Shimla for a north zone workshop where MoUs were signed with Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, J&K, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Punjabs major concern relates to the financial contribution of the state to the NHPS which says the Centre will share 60 per cent cost and the state 40 per cent.

But the Centre will release 60 per cent of the national ceiling rate as determined by the Union Government and this rate is yet to be disclosed and shared with states. The Centre wont contribute 60 per cent of the actual premium rate achieved through the open tendering process conducted by the state which means the state will have to make 100 per cent contribution on account of excess amount of premium over and above the national ceiling limit the Centre fixes, the Punjab Health Minister reasoned.

His concern was that while the states liability remained open-ended as it would be driven by actual premium rates after the tendering process, the Centres liability is fixed at 60 per cent of the pre-determined ceiling rates which are unknown.

Punjab then asked the Centre whether it would pay for Ayushman Mitras it had asked the states to deploy at all hospitals to be empanelled for the NHPS.

States are being offered little flexibility to alter package rates the Centre is proposing. Every state is distinct in incidence, disease prevalence and economic profile and need flexibility to revise the package rates. Current provisions require states to alter these rates mildly that too with the Centres prior permission, Mohindra said.

Punjab said it wanted time to set up a dedicated state health agency to implement the scheme as had been mandated under the national model as also to figure whether to adopt the national IT model for the scheme or build its own.

Ongoing schemes
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 15

Hit by demonetisation and GST rollout, the states small and medium-scale industry is witnessing an economic slowdown. This is evident from the states poor revenue growth, which has seen a fall of over 18 per cent from the targeted growth in 2017-18.

The states total revenue receipts have shown a shortfall of Rs 10,970.86 crore in the last fiscal against the targeted receipts. This has come to light through the audited financial results of March, 2018.

The states total revenue for 2017-18 was just Rs 49,109.01 crore, against a target of Rs 60,079.87 crore. Though generally the revised estimates of revenue receipts each year are less than the target, but the shortfall varies between 5 and 8 per cent. The 2017-18 is a rare case when the state witnessed a shortfall of 18.26 per cent.

What has hit the states fiscal health hard is the sharp shortfall in the states goods and services tax (SGST) collection. It is short of almost Rs 580 crore per month against the projected revenue. The shortfall in the GST collection and the overall fall in revenue have become a major cause of concern for the government.

FM to raise issue with Finance Commission

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, while talking to The Tribune, said the reason for the state falling short in its GST tax base was that 40 per cent of the states original tax base had been subsumed post GST rollout in July last year. The main taxes of Punjab that were subsumed were the taxes on foodgrains, which led to a loss of Rs 4,000 crore.

We believe that Punjab will remain a net compensation state. Though we have got a 28 per cent increase in compensation (annual growth of 14 per cent is guaranteed over 2015-16 tax base) from the cess fund under GST, we will have to grow by 60 per cent to beat the revenue gap in GST. For the next three years, our revenue growth is protected (till 2021-22), but my worry is to bring the states own tax base to the level achieved with the compensation, when this compensation from the Centre stops in 2021-22. I will be raising the matter before the 15th Finance Commission, he said.

Besides, the states tax revenue, too, has fallen short by Rs 7,642.35 crore. Against a target of Rs 50,176.92 crore, the total tax revenue collected by Punjab was Rs 42,534.57 crore. Manpreet said the majority of the tax base was the micro, small and medium industrial units. They were the worst hit by demonetisation and have also taken time to scale up their businesses post GST. As a result, the states total tax collection has fallen. But plans are afoot for the additional resource mobilisation, which will help improve the states financial health this fiscal, he added.
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 15

As part of its Golden Jubilee celebrations, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun will organize a three-day National Conference of Earth System Science with special reference to Himalaya beginning Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference in Dehradun, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geologys (WIHG) Director Dr Meera Tiwari disclosed that the WIHG that has a glorious history was established way back in 1968. It completed 50 years of its existence in 2018. She said the institute had done yeomans work in the sphere of earth sciences in the Himalayas and is credited with giving the nation three Padmri Shri awardees - DN Wadia, KS Valdiya and VC Thakur.

She disclosed that while Uttarakhand Governor KK Paul would inaugurate the national conference, while Waterman and Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh will be the chief guest. She apprised that over 150 eminent scientists and researchers which include delegates from prominent institutions of the country like Institute of Seismological Research (Gandhinagar), Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar, Geological Survey of India, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (Lucknow), HNB Garhwal University, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Mohali, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and Central Building Research Institute (Roorkee) will participate in the conference.

She apprised that the participants would be deliberating upon vital themes concerning the Himalayan ecosystem. She said considering the importance and complexity of the Himalaya, six significant areas have been chosen, which include crustal evolution and tectonic framework, climate change and geological processes, geological resource potentials and sedimentary basins.

It is expected that outcome of the discussions undertaken during this national conference will facilitate a better understanding of major challenges in the field of Earth System Science today and this will contribute significantly towards many societal aspects, Dr Meera Tiwari observed.
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Dehradun, May 14

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has asked Congress president Rahul Gandhi to expel senior leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram from the party, alleging that he and his family have stashed money abroad.

Chidambaram did not give the Enforcement Directorate information about 15 bank accounts in foreign countries where the former finance minister and his family stashed away over $ 3 billion . Will Rahul Gandhi throw him out of the party? Rawat told mediapersons here on Sunday.

Rawat, a BJP leader, claimed that during the erstwhile UPA dispensation, the Supreme Court had issued an order to constitute a special investigation team on black money stashed aboard, but the then government did not set it up to shield the corrupt.

Drawing a comparison between the UPA and the current NDA dispensation at the Centre, he said the Narendra Modi government constituted the SIT at the very first meeting of its cabinet.

If the Congress has even an iota of morality left in it, Rahul Gandhi should expel Chidambaram from the party,  the Chief Minister said.

The Income Tax Department on May 11 filed chargesheets against Chidambarams wife Nalini, son Karti, daughter-in-law Srinidhi and a firm under the Black Money Act for allegedly not disclosing their foreign assets.

Nalini Chidambaram, Karti and Srinidhi and a firm linked to Karti have been accused of not disclosing, either partly or fully, immovable assets such as one at Barton, Cambridge, UK, worth Rs 5.37 crore, property worth Rs 80 lakh in the same country and assets worth Rs 3.28 crore in the US.

The former finance ministers family members had said the Income Tax Department chargesheets against them under the black money law were baseless allegations as the overseas investments under question had been reflected in their I-T returns.  PTI

Chargesheet filed

The Income Tax Department on May 11 filed chargesheets against Chidambarams wife Nalini, son Karti, daughter-in-law Srinidhi and a firm under the Black Money Act for allegedly not disclosing their foreign assets.
sanjiv@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 14

Teerth Purohits of Kedarnath observed a one-day fast on Monday.

They were protesting against the government for carrying out beautification work at the temple allegedly in violation of religious and ancient beliefs. The protesters also decided to observe fast every Monday.

After performing morning prayers and rituals, the purohits sat on a fast on the temple premises. We have been raising questions about the manner in which the beautification activity is being done without taking into consideration traditions associated with the temple. We had warned the government of our protest, but it did not pay heed to it, said Vinod Shukla, who led the protest.

Shukla said if the government did not stop the work, they would be forced to intensify their stir.

They said the government was not paying adequate attention to the agreement that was struck between the erstwhile Congress government and the purohits with regard to their rehabilitation.

Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat and other Congress leaders have also lent support to the stir.
harinder@tribunemail.com

GAZA/JERUSALEM, May 14

Israeli fire killed at least 52 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border on Monday, marking the deadliest day of violence there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war and casting a pall over Israels festive inauguration of the new US Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In a show of anger fuelled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border.

The Israeli military said its troops had come under fire, and accused protesters of trying to break through the border fence. It said troops shot and killed three Palestinians who were trying to plant a bomb.

The US move fulfilled a pledge by President Donald Trump, who has recognised the holy city as the Israeli capital, but it has fired Palestinian anger and drawn criticism from many foreign governments as a set back to peace efforts.

At the embassy inauguration ceremony, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises. What a glorious day for Israel, Netanyahu said in a speech. We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay. Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

On the Gaza border, Palestinian protests quickly turned into bloodshed. Israeli gunfire killed at least 52 Palestinians, the highest toll in a single day since a series of protests demanding the right to return to ancestral homes in Israel began on March 30.

A Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman said the dead included six children under the age of 18. Health officials said 900 Palestinians were wounded.

France called on Israel to show restraint and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply concerned by the events in Gaza. Tens of thousands of Palestinians had streamed to the coastal enclaves land border, some approaching the Israeli fence, a line Israeli leaders said Palestinians would not be allowed to breach. Clouds of black smoke from tyres set alight by demonstrators rose in the air.

Demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces, who fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire. Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever, said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name.

Trumps recognition of contested Jerusalem as Israels capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process with Israel. Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed, as its eternal and indivisible capital in a move that has not won international recognition.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.  Agencies

US responsibility for massacre

The US shares responsibility with Israel for todays massacre along the Gaza border, Turkeys deputy prime minister said. The US administration is as responsible as the Israeli government for this massacre, Bekir Bozdag wrote on Twitter, saying the violence was sparked by unjust and unlawful decisions in reference to Washington moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials have repeatedly condemned the US decision to move the embassy, warning it risked inflaming tensions.

Show restraint, says France

Frances foreign minister called on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint after more than 50 Palestinians were killed and said the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem flouted international law. France calls on all actors to show responsibility to prevent a new escalation, Jean-Yves Le Drian said. France again calls on the Israeli authorities to exercise discernment and restraint in the use of force that must be strictly proportionate. Le Drian disapproved of the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, which he said violated international law.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Brussels, May 15

Europe and Iran sought a united front on Tuesday to save the nuclear deal US President Donald Trump abandoned last week, with Britain warning against regime change and Tehran expressing hope it could keep the economic benefits of the accord.

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrived in Brussels ahead of a meeting with his British, French and German counterparts, holding good and constructive talks with EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

We are on the right path to move forward ... Whatever (is) decided should preserve and guarantee Irans rights ... Our talks (with the E3) will continue in the next two weeks, he said, referring to Britain, France and Germany.

Many European diplomats doubt privately that the 2015 accord between Iran and six world powers can survive the reimposition of US sanctions ordered by Trump, but the European powers will say that they stick by the terms of the 2015 pact giving Iran sanctions relief in return for an end to its nuclear ambitions.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asked the European Union to stand against the United States illegal and illogical actions, saying that Tehran could stay in the accord only if it fully benefits from it.

The accord lifted international sanctions on Iran in 2016 in return for Tehran shutting down its capacity, under strict surveillance by the UN nuclear watchdog, to stockpile enriched uranium for a possible atomic bomb.

Trump denounced the accord, completed under his predecessor Barack Obama, as a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made as it did not cover Irans ballistic missile programme or its role in Middle East conflicts.

The deals proponents say it is crucial to forestalling a nuclear Iran and preventing wider war in the Middle East.

Mogherini, who as the EUs top diplomat chaired the final stretch of 12 years of negotiations to clinch the Iran accord in July 2015 in Vienna, said: We will all save it together. Zarif said talks would go on for the next two weeks and EU diplomats said they needed some time to understand the US position.  Reuters

Sanctions dilemma
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SEOUL, May 16

North Korea suspended high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday due to US-South Korean military exercises and warned that a summit next month between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump could be in jeopardy.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency called the US-South Korean "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved US stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, a "provocation" that went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

"This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," Yonhap quoted KCNA as saying.

"The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities."

Trump and Kim have been due to meet in Singapore on June 12 for a summit that until recently had looked impossible given the insults and threats the two leaders exchanged over the past year as tension rose over North Korea's development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States.

Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the US State Department said it had no information from North Korea about threat to cancel the summit and that it continued to plan for that meeting.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Any cancellation of the summit, the first meeting between US and North Korean leaders, would deal a major blow to Trumps efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency.

He has raised expectations for a successful meeting even as many analysts have been skeptical of the chances of bridging the gap due to questions about North Koreas willingness to give up a nuclear arsenal that now threatens the United States.

Warmer ties

Wednesday's meeting was due to focus on plans to implement a declaration that emerged from an April 27 inter-Korea summit in the border village of Panmunjom, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearisation," the South's unification ministry, which handles ties with the North, said on Tuesday.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed the Max Thunder exercises, an annual drill involving the US and South Korean air forces.

He did not immediately provide further details.

Last year, Max Thunder involved about 1,500 US and South Korean personnel flying aircraft including F-16 fighter jets, according to a US Air Force website.

South Korea's National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong said in early March, after meeting Kim, that the North Korean leader understood that "routine" joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States would continue in spite of a warming of ties.

This was widely considered to be a major North Korea concession, though Pyongyang never publicly withdrew its long-standing demand for an end to joint US-South Korea military drills.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if it agreed to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, a move that would create economic prosperity that "will rival" that of South Korea.

Last month, Pompeo became the first serving US official to meet North Korean leader Kim, when he visted Pyongyang to lay the groundwork for the meeting with Trump. He returned again to North Korea this month for a second meeting, after which Kim agreed to the release of three American prisoners. A South Korean presidential adviser warned on Tuesday that an incremental North Korean approach to denuclearization at the June 12 summit would not be acceptable to Trump or the South Korean public.  Reuters

US moves ahead with N Korea summit prep
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Gaza-Israel border, May 15

Thousands of Gaza residents turned out on Tuesday for the funerals of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops a day earlier, while on the Gaza-Israel border, Israeli forces prepared to face the expected final day of a Palestinian protest campaign.

Mondays violence on the border, which took place as the United States opened its new embassy in Jerusalem, was the bloodiest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict.

The death toll rose to 60 overnight after an eight-month-old baby died from tear gas that her family said she inhaled at a protest camp on Monday. More than 2,200 Palestinians were also injured by gunfire or tear gas, Palestinian medics said.

Palestinian leaders have called Mondays events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation.

The United Nations Security Council was due to meet to discuss the situation.

Israel has said it is acting in self-defence to defend its borders and communities. Its main ally the United States has backed that stance, with both saying that Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the coastal enclave, instigated the violence.

On Tuesday morning, mourners marched through Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge.

With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs, they shouted.

There were fears of further bloodshed as a six-week protest campaign was due to reach its climax.

May 15 is traditionally the day Palestinians mark the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were driven from their homes in violence culminating in war between the newly created Jewish state and its Arab neighbors in 1948.

The protests, dubbed The Great March of Return, began on March 30 and revived calls for refugees to have the right of return to their former lands, which now lie inside Israel.

Israel rejects any right of return, fearing that it would deprive the state of its Jewish majority.

Palestinian medical officials say 105 Gazans have now been killed since the start of the protests and nearly 11,000 people wounded, about 3,500 of them hit by live fire. Israeli officials dispute those numbers. No Israeli casualties have been reported.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza Strip, more than two thirds of them refugees. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt maintain tight restrictions on the enclave, deepening economic hardship and raising humanitarian concerns.

Sharpshooters

On the Israeli side of the border, Israeli sharpshooters took up positions to stop any attempted breach of the fence should demonstrations break out again. Tanks were also deployed.

A senior Israeli commander said that of the 60 Gazans killed on Monday, 14 were carrying out attacks and 14 others were militants.

He also said Palestinians protesters were using hundreds of pipe bombs, grenades and fire-bombs. Militants had opened fire on Israeli troops and tried to set off bombs by the fence.

Many casualties were caused by Palestinians carrying out devices that went off prematurely, he said.

We approve every round fired before it is fired. Every target is spotted in advance. We know where the bullet lands and where it is aimed, said the commander, who spoke on condition that he not be named, in accordance with Israeli regulations.

However reality on the ground is such that unintended damage is caused, he said.

In Geneva, the UN human rights office condemned what it called the appalling deadly violence by Israeli forces.

UN human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.

The UN rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk, said Israels use of force may amount to a war crime.

Young victims

In Gaza City, hundreds marched in the funeral of eight-month-old Leila al-Ghandour, whose body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

Let her stay with me, It is too early for her to go, her mother cried, pressing the babys body to her chest.

Speaking earlier, her grandmother said the child was at one of the tented protest camps and had inhaled tear gas.

When we got back home, the baby stopped crying and I thought she was asleep. I took her to the childrens hospital and the doctor told me she was martyred (dead), Heyam Omar said.

Many shops in East Jerusalem were shut throughout the day following a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a general strike across the Palestinian Territories. A 70-second siren was sounded in the occupied West Bank in commemoration of the Nakba.

Holiy City

Most Gaza protesters stay around tent camps but groups have ventured closer to the border fence, rolling burning tyres and throwing stones. Some have flown kites carrying containers of petrol that spread fires on the Israeli side.

Mondays protests were fueled by the opening ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem following its relocation from Tel Aviv. The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognised the contested city as the Israeli capital.

Palestinians envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and later annexed, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Netanyahu praised Trumps decisions but Palestinians have said the United States can no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process. Talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Trump said on Monday he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. His administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence. Hamas denied instigating it but the White House backed Netanyahu, saying Hamas intentionally and cynically provoking this response.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted UN Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians and called for an independent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

In the British parliament, junior foreign office minister Alistair Burt said the United States needed to show more understanding about the causes of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas role in the violence must be investigated, he added. Reuters
harinder@tribunemail.com

Why did trump recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital and announce the embassy will be moved there?

There has long been pressure from pro-Israel politicians in Washington to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and Trump made it a promise of his 2016 election campaign. The decision was popular with many conservative and evangelical Christians who voted for Trump and Pence. Trump acted under a 1995 law that requires the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem. But Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama consistently signed waivers.

Why does Jerusalem play such an important role in the Middle East conflict?

Religion, politics and history. Jerusalem is a city sacred to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and each religion has sites of great significance there. Jerusalem has been fought over for millennia by its inhabitants, and by regional powers and invaders including the Egyptians, Babylonians, Romans, early Muslim rulers, Crusaders, Ottomans, the British Empire .

Israels government regards Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the country, although that is not recognised internationally. Palestinians say East Jerusalem must be the capital of a future Palestinian state. Jews call the city Jerusalem, or Yerushalayim, and Arabs call it Al-Quds (The Holy). At the heart of Jerusalems Old City is the hill known to Jews as Har ha-Bayit, or Temple Mount, and to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, or The Noble Sanctuary. It was home to the Jewish temples of antiquity but all that remains above ground is a restraining wall for the foundations built by Herod the Great. Known as the Western Wall, this is a sacred place of prayer for Jews.

Within yards of the wall are two Muslim holy places, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which was built in the 8th century. Muslims regard the site as the third holiest in Islam, after Mecca and Medina. The city is also a pilgrimage site for Christians, who revere it as the place where they believe Jesus Christ preached, died and was resurrected.

What is the citys modern history and status?

In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly decided the then British-ruled Palestine should be partitioned into an Arab state and a Jewish state. But it recognised that Jerusalem had special status and proposed international rule for the city, along with nearby Bethlehem, as a corpus separatum to be administered by the UN.

Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in a move not recognized internationally.

In 1980 the Israeli parliament passed a law declaring the complete and united city of Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel. But the United Nations regards East Jerusalem as occupied.

Does any other country have an embassy in Jerusalem?

Guatemala will move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 16 and Paraguay later this month. Netanyahu said in April at least half a dozen countries were now seriously discussing following the US lead. He did not identify them.  Reuters
Somali refugee Sabah holds up photos of her three children at a detention centre in Nauru, in 2014. She had not seen them for three years.  Panos/ Vlad Sokhin

The human capacity to survive and endure is, at times, truly astounding. Perhaps nowhere more strikingly than among refugees, who are forced to leave behind their homes, their countries, and their former lives.

Fleeing war and persecution around the world, people survive; they adapt, they start again when they have no other choice. It is an honour and an inspiration for us every day as UNHCR staff to witness the profound strength of hope and determination which is common to us all.

The refugees and asylum-seekers sent by Australia to Papua New Guinea and Nauru since 2013 have surely found out more about the limits of human endurance than most of us would care to learn.

First in formal detention, and later in a constrained, controlled setting that remains highly securitised and artificial, they have languished. They have suffered interminable uncertainty, family separation, inadequate medical care and a lack of basic services.

The announcement in November 2016 that some 1250 refugees would be relocated to the United States under a bilateral agreement with Australia provided the first concrete hope in years of a life beyond this so-called offshore processing. But there are not enough places today for all who need them. People are terrified of being left behind.

Thursday marks five years since the change in Australias refugee policy that has consigned innocent and vulnerable people to a limbo that for too many, still has no end.

Much has been made of the harm caused to these men, women and children over the years. That is as it should be.

Australias architecture of a policy focused on deterrence, followed by increasing neglect and Australias abrupt exit from Manus Island last year, has left in its wake a myriad of vulnerable people whose lives will always be worse for that experience. And yet a surprising number have summoned from within themselves the most incredible strength and resourcefulness. Unable to go home, left waiting for a safe and permanent place to rebuild their lives, they have dug in and survived. They are down, but not out.

Naza, a young Iranian refugee sent to Nauru with her husband, mother and sister, waits like so many others for an answer from America. Just over a year ago, she started running a small beauty salon in town. Without turning a profit, the business is unsustainable, but it keeps her busy. The small room has clearly been decorated with great pride. The juxtaposition of Nazas tear-stained face against the candy pink salon walls and lit-up Hollywood mirrors is unsettling.

I had big dreams for my future she says. If I get the chance out of here, I am going to make it. I can see it now.

No-one watching the broad smile spread across her face could doubt that for a second.

Rafi was a student and political activist in Bangladesh but had always cooked a mean curry. After a few years on Manus Island, he was told by a psychologist that anything he could do to stay active would help the depression that had become more and more debilitating.

Six days a week, he wakes before dawn, walks to the market to buy fresh ingredients, and cooks around 20 hot meals before most people have left their homes for the morning. Barely making enough money to break even, Rafi is nevertheless determined to keep it up until the day he leaves Manus Island for good. Having studied engineering, it is clear he might yet do anything with a fresh start outside of offshore processing.

There are hundreds of others whose stories who go untold. Men, women and children who find ways to endure that seem trivial at first glance but demand a courage and tenacity most of us might not have after one, let alone five, years in a constructed desperation and despair.

Early each morning and late each day, before the sun sets on Manus Island, dozens of men go jogging along the main road of Lorengau town. In the tropical heat, in small groups for safety and companionship, they struggle against the depression and the tedium and the hopelessness. Watching an elderly, white-haired Afghan man run doggedly, eyes downcast, in 80 per cent humidity, is simultaneously heartbreaking and inspirational.

In a toxic and fragmented political environment, the key fact agreed by all is that things cannot remain as they are.

Refugees sent by Australia to Papua New Guinea and Nauru desperately need a chance to build and determine their own positive future.

Like generations of displaced people before them, all around the world, they will start again in a new home. They will battle and strive and give all theyve got in the communities that finally welcome them.

More solutions are desperately needed. And with them opportunities not only for human beings who deserve a fresh chance, but also for the countries who see them for who they really are  the survivors and heroes of Australias failed refugee system.

Originally published in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Canberra Times, Brisbane Times and WA Today.
Training of trainers: Combatting migrant smuggling and human trafficking in Niger

Zinder , Niger - 15 May 2018 - The Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants ( GLO.ACT), in collaboration with the National Agency to combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the Smuggling of Migrants (SOM), organized from 2-5 April 2018 a 'training of trainers' workshop for regional agency staff, all of whom are magistrates, as well as for members of the commissions against SOM and TIP.

In terms of context, Niger is a country of origin, destination and, above all, transit for SOM and TIP. Over the past couple of years, the government of Niger has been working hard at trying to develop adequate responses to counter these crimes, yet migrant smuggling still remains one of its greatest challenges. This challenge poses a serious threat to human security and often has fatal consequences for those being smuggled or trafficked.

During the opening ceremony of the 'training of trainers' workshop in Zinder, UNODC explained that this workshop was one of the ways it directly supports the government's efforts to combat SOM and TIP and reiterated that one of the cornerstones in fighting these crimes was to build the capacity at local level and regional level.

Therefore, the aim of the workshop was on the one hand to strengthen the capacity of the local participants whilst also providing the agency and commission with a core group of trainers on SOM and TIP at both national and regional levels.

Addressing the participants, the representative of the Director General of the National Agency to combat TIP and SOM, Mr. Elhadji Hama Idi Sanousssi, confirmed that good collaboration between UNODC and his agency already existed which had made this training possible. He went on to say that, "I hope we can develop and intensify our efforts and hold more trainings that will benefit all stakeholders who are involved in the fight against these crimes." Meanwhile, during his speech, the Secretary General of the Zinder Region, Mr. Maman Harou, made reference to words previously expressed by the President of the Republic. He explained that the reasons motivating the government of Niger to lead in the fight against migrant smuggling are moral in nature. He said, "Niger simply cannot turn a blind eye to the human tragedy that unfolds on a daily basis in the Sahara; nor can it ignore the security situation the country faces as a result of migrants being smuggled to Libya."

The 'training of trainers' workshop included sessions on:

International, regional and national frameworks to combat SOM and TIP;

A comparative analysis between SOM and TIP;

The role of international cooperation in the fight against SOM and TIP;

Investigative techniques with regards to SOM and TIP cases;

During the workshop, teaching methods and facilitation techniques were also taught and participants worked on real SOM and TIP cases studies.

At closing of the workshop, the President of the Regional Court of Zinder, Mr. Hama Haya, said, "Combatting migrant smuggling is of paramount importance to the government of Niger. I very much hope that this 'training of trainers" is only the beginning of a sustained effort to build the capacity of all judicial actors in the country. It is my sincere wish that this will lead to more prosecutions of smugglers and traffickers and that it will also improve how we protect smuggled migrants".

The Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) is a four-year (2015-2019), 11 million joint initiative by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The project is being implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). GLO.ACT aims to provide assistance to governmental authorities and civil society organizations across 13 strategically selected countries: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao PDR, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa, Ukraine. It supports the development of more effective responses to trafficking and smuggling, including providing assistance to victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants through the strengthening of identification, referral, and direct support mechanisms.

For more information, please contact:

www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/glo-act/

Email: glo.act@un.org

Twitter: @glo_act
May 15 2018

Affordable housing specialist Culross and Caledonia Housing Association have teamed up with JM Architects to submit plans for a residential transformation of a former engineering works in Dundee to form 57 homes. Maxwelltown Works will include a mix of tenures, physically reconnecting Hilltown Park with a new community campus on Alexander Street to the south, through reinstatement of the former Elizabeth Street.Taking the historic tenements of Hilltown for its cue the scheme adopts a coarse grey render finish and grey brick basecourse across the whole site, including a mix of four-storey flats and three-storey terraced houses.In a statement JM wrote: Render is a traditional material but is used on many contemporary housing developments as if detailedcorrectly it is easy to maintain and hard wearing, but looks good and can give a building a modern, crisp aesthetic.Overall the design aims to reshape the built character of the site/area and to contribute to the success of the regeneration within Alexander Street and the Hilltown as a whole by offering affordable homes within an attractive residential development in a mixed tenure environment.Straddling a steeply-sloping site stepped landscaping will be necessary to marry levels.
UW President to Visit Worland May 23

UW President Laurie Nichols

University of Wyoming President Laurie Nichols will meet with Big Horn Basin residents in Worland Wednesday, May 23.

The reception is 10 a.m.-noon at the Worland Community Center Complex, and the public is invited. Refreshments will be served.

Following that event, Nichols will speak to the Worland Rotary Club and other invited guests at the same location during the clubs regular lunch meeting.

Nichols travels regularly around Wyoming to meet with citizens, community college and public school leaders, legislators, alumni, media and others.

I enjoy getting around the state to meet with people and hear their thoughts and expectations for Wyomings university, says Nichols, who is completing her second year as UWs president. This is a crucial time for the state and the university, and interaction with the public is important to make sure UW fulfills its land-grant mission of education, research and service to the entire state.

Nichols came to UW from South Dakota State University (SDSU), where she served as provost and executive vice president from 2009 to 2016. Before that, she was dean of the SDSU College of Education and Human Sciences from 1994 to 2008. She began her career in higher education as a member of the faculty of the University of Idaho from 1988 to 1994.

Nichols was born and raised in South Dakota. A first-generation college graduate, she received a bachelors degree in education from South Dakota State in 1978. She then earned a masters degree in vocational and adult education from Colorado State University in 1984 and a Ph.D. in family and consumer sciences education from Ohio State University in 1988.
UWs Henkel Wins Book Award from Working-Class Studies Association

Scott Henkel

Scott Henkel, a University of Wyoming assistant professor in the departments of English and African American and Diaspora Studies, has won an award from the Working-Class Studies Association (WCSA) for his book, Direct Democracy: Collective Power, the Swarm, and the Literatures of the Americas.

Henkel received the WCSAs C.L.R. James Book Award for Published Book for Academic or General Audiences.

In Direct Democracy, Scott Henkel seeks to do nothing less than recover a tradition of direct democracy and collective action inherent in the people of the Americas, wrote one of the judges. This theoretically sophisticated book contains both strong evidence and a compelling argument that a tradition of direct democracy and collective action has challenged the constraints of power in the past, and will, by implication, do so again in the future.

Another judge wrote: Henkel outlines a new approach to the role and potential of collective action and the concept of power to analyze a variety of intersecting class struggles that have traditionally been viewed within distinct racial and gender boundaries. His interdisciplinary approach combines literary and historical analysis in a way that brings alive the complexity and interconnectedness of a variety of struggles for basic human rights.

Each year, WCSA issues a number of awards to recognize the best new work in the field of working-class studies. The review process is organized by the past president of the WCSA, and submissions are judged by a panel of three readers for each of the categories of awards.

WCSA was formed in 2003 to promote the study of working-class people and their culture.
UWs Mary Behrens to be Honored by AANP

Mary Behrens

Mary Behrens, a 1998 University of Wyoming nursing alumna, will be honored at an awards ceremony and reception during the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) 2018 National Conference June 26-July 1 in Denver, Colo.

Behrens, of Casper, will be among those nurse practitioners and nurse practitioner advocates who will receive the prestigious AANP 2018 State Award for Excellence.

The State Award for Nurse Practitioner Excellence, founded in 1991, recognizes a nurse practitioner in a state who demonstrates excellence in practice. In 1993, the State Award for Nurse Practitioner Advocate was added to recognize the efforts of individuals who have made significant contributions to increasing awareness and recognition of nurse practitioners.



Behrens has been a longtime advocate of nurse practitioners in Wyoming. More recently, Behrens has been the AANP representative on the "Movement is Life" caucus. That particular caucus is concerned about breaking the vicious cycle of inactivity, which contributes to the increase of obesity, joint problems, diabetes, heart disease and depression. This group works with local community outreach to help provide information on how to get moving in easy ways. Behrens will give a poster presentation in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for the International Advanced Practice Nurses Meeting in August on research the group has done. Behrens is active in the Region 8 group for AANP that met in Salt Lake City this past fall.



Behrens is the current president of the Wyoming Center for Nursing and a member on both the Friends of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing Development Board and the UW Health Sciences Advisory Board. She also participates in the American Nurses Association Institute, which prepares nurse practitioners and nurses for better political advocacy. She enjoys mentoring nurse practitioners and nursing students in leadership roles.

AANP is the largest professional membership organization for nurse practitioners of all specialties. It represents the interests of more than 234,000 nurse practitioners practicing in the United States today. The association provides a unified networking platform and advocates for their role as providers of high-quality, cost-effective, comprehensive, patient-centered and personalized health care. The organization provides legislative leadership at the local, state and national levels, advancing health policy; promotes excellence in practice, education and research; and has established standards that best serve nurse practitioner patients and other health care consumers.



For more information, visit aanp.org.
Chairman of BSR Nguyen Hoai Giang (left) and chief accountant Pham Xuan Quang (right)

On May 10, the Ministry of Public Securitys investigation agency arrested Nguyen Hoai Giang (50), chairman of BSR, and Pham Xuan Quang (38), BSRs chief accountant, for the charge of abusing position and/or power for appropriation of property (Article 355 of the 2015 Criminal Code).

Criminal proceedings have been initiated against Giang and Quang in order to investigate the case involving BSR and Oceanbank, prosecution of which started in September 2017 under the supervision of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

Earlier, in September 2017, during the second hearing of the OceanBank case, C46 started three criminal cases with the same charge, involving BSR, Vietsovpetro JV (VSP), and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation (PVEP).

According to the proposal of the investigation agency, in 2010-2014, OceanBanks chairman Ha Van Tham ordered the bank to spend VND1.576 trillion ($70 million) on interest payments without contracts for customers. BSR received around VND19 billion ($0.84 million) of this.

Also related to receiving this amount from Oceanbank, C46 started criminal proceedings against Vu Manh Tung (44), deputy general director of BSR, on April 27.

In a document sent to the State Securities Commission (SSC) and the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), BSR confirmed collaborating with the authorities to investigate the case.

Nguyen Hoai Giang and Pham Xuan Quang were arrested due to individual responsibility, and the proceedings will not affect the current operations and business of BSR.

BSR was successfully equitised in last January by auctioning 242 million shares (equivalent to 7.79 per cent of the total stakes) on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HSX) to earn over VND5.4 trillion ($238.6 million), 60 per cent higher than the expected amount.
The research affiliation will focus on latest technologies and technology products and software for energy efficiency for application in building smart houses and smart cities. Photo: esi-africa.com

The project, which will use non-refundable official development assistance (ODA) capital of the German government, aims to complete the legal framework related to promoting and supporting the development of various sources of renewable energy in the power system, as well as a smart energy network in Vietnam.

It is expected to help the country fulfil the Vietnamese governments targets set in the national power development programme, the green growth strategy and the green growth action plan to ensure reliable supply of energy and improve the power quality, along with sustainable development of the power and energy sector.

The project will enhance partnership and technology transfer among universities, research institutes and enterprises in Vietnam and Germany in renewable energy and energy efficiency, while establishing networks for co-operation and experience sharing among policy-makers, management officials, as well as other project development units.

The research affiliation will focus on latest technologies and technology products and software for energy efficiency for application in building smart houses and smart cities.

To be implemented from 2018 to 2022 nationwide, the project will have a total investment of nearly 5.3 million euros, of which five million euros is sourced through the non-refundable ODA of the German government, while $297,980 is Vietnams corresponding capital.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to send an official notice to the German side on this decision. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and Trade was asked to gather ideas from relevant agencies to complete, verify and ratify the projects document to issue a decision on the project.
HSBC, ING banks announce blockchain first, photo: Justin Tallis | AFP

The transaction, using the cutting-edge blockchain technology driving virtual currencies like bitcoin, involved a bulk shipment of soybeans from Argentina on behalf of US agriculture group Cargill, the pair said in a statement.

"HSBC and ING Bank have successfully executed a... finance transaction for international food and agriculture conglomerate Cargill using R3s Corda scalable blockchain platform," the statement said.

"The transaction demonstrates that blockchain as a solution to trade digitisation, is commercially and operationally viable.

"Conventional exchanges for paper-based documentation related to letters of credit usually take between 5-10 days. This exchange was done in 24 hours," it added.

Going forward, blockchain is seen as being able to support also trading of other assets.

London-headquartered HSBC and Dutch lender ING meanwhile described the novel letter of credit transaction as "an end-to-end trade between a buyer and a seller and their respective banking partners, completed on a single shared application rather than multiple systems".

While banks are seen as reducing costs by using the latest blockchain technology, consumers may also benefit from quicker and cheaper services.

HSBC's head of growth and innovation, Vivek Ramachandran, noted that thanks to the development, "trade finance transactions have been made simpler, faster, more transparent and more secure.

David E. Rutter, CEO of blockchain technology group R3, explained that the platform "Corda enables the development of applications... that bring all parties together on a single, shared infrastructure while ensuring the highest levels of privacy and security.
The $220-million Tan Mai pulp and paper mill has finally been axed

In late April, the Department of Planning and Investment of the Quang Ngai Peoples Committee issued the decision to withdraw the investment certificate of the Tan Mai pulp and paper mill complex due to long delays and violations in construction procedures.

Tran Hoang Vinh, the representative of the Quang Ngai Department of Planning and Investment, told VIR that since the province decided on the revocation, the investor has yet to send any response.

The investor has to complete the liquidation of the project as well as submit the original investment license to the department within 30 days of the issuance of the decision.

The Binh Son District Peoples Committee will take over the management of the land which was handed over for the project. If a sufficient number of investors express intention to develop projects on the plot, the district peoples committee will organise an auction for the land use right, Vinh added.

In 2009, Tan Mai Group received the investment certificate for the project. According to the initial plan, the project would have a total investment capital of VND1.95 trillion ($85.6 million) with the annual pulp capacity of 130,000 tonnes and the annual high-end paper capacity of 200,000 tonnes.

The construction, covering an area of 45 hectares in Binh Son district, was expected to be kicked off in October 2009 to be finished in 2011.

During the construction process, the investor proposed the Quang Ngai Peoples Committee to adjust the investment capital as well as the construction deadline no less than five times. However, the province only approved adjustments for the first three times.

Accordingly, the investment capital was increased to VND5.01 trillion ($219.5 million) and the deadline for completing the construction of the pulp mill was adjusted to December 2012 and the paper mill to December 2013.

However, the construction was only kicked off in July 2010 and was suspended in December 2012. At the time, the investor had only completed the environmental impact assessment report, the detailed construction plan, and took over the land to implement the project.

According to the Quang Ngai Peoples Committee, the investors lack of financial potential was the major cause behind the long delays. Thus, the investor will have to bear the entire responsibility for the incident.
Trading through commodity exchanges will be more convenient in Vietnam with the Governments new regulations on the establishment and trading on the commodity exchange.- Photo binhduong.gov.vn

Decree No. 51/2018/ND-CP, which will be effective from June 1, 2018, amends and supplements a number of articles of the Governments Decree No. 158/2006/ND-CP, dated December 28, 2006, on the conditions for the establishment of commodity exchange.

According to Nguyen Viet Vinh, general secretary of the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association, the new decree has solved many problems in trading activities on the commodity exchange in Vietnam and is expected to open a new era for both businesses and farmers to boost their sales through this channel.

Decree 51 expands the list of goods traded on the commodity exchange, allowing all commodities that are not prohibited by the State and those subject to conditional trading, including the Vietnamese export commodities, as well as goods that Vietnam needs to import to serve the local production.

The new regulations also extend the forms of trading order by accepting written documents and other forms such as telegraph, telex, fax or data message.

An important content in this decree is that foreign investors will be allowed to contribute capital to establish commodity exchange in Vietnam. Their ownership in the exchange should not exceed 49 per cent of its charter capital.

Foreign investors are also permitted to trade goods on the commodity exchange as clients and can become members of the exchange (brokers or traders) without ownership restraint.

In addition to this, the decree allows the interconnection of Vietnamese and global commodity exchanges. This is expected to help promote the integration process and development of the Vietnamese commodity exchanges.

This (interlink) will create a lot of advantages in terms of commodity trading volume and value information, better market assessment and stronger capital capacity to prop up infrastructure and human resources of local exchanges, Vinh said at a conference introducing the decree last week.

Underdeveloped market

It has been eight years since the Vietnam Commodity Exchange, Vietnams first commodity exchange, became operational in 2010. Since then, very few exchanges have been established.

The total value of transactions through commodity exchanges has reached only VND8 trillion (US$351 million) since, of which most transactions are focused on coffee products.

Traders are mainly enterprises while farmers have no idea of the exchanges.

According to Nguyen Loc An, deputy head of the Domestic Market Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, commodity exchange in Vietnam is still underdeveloped mainly due to many legal obstacles.

An said Decree 51 provided better legal basis for enterprises and farmers to participate and trade on the exchange as well as for welcoming foreign investment in the exchanges.

With these changes along with hedging tools, the commodity exchange is expected to help businesses mitigate risks and secure operations as well as enhance their position in both the domestic and global markets.
Nghi Son 2 will joing the likes of Phu My 2 thermal power plant

Most recently, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) released the information that it signed a $560-million loan agreement to finance the project with Nghi Son 2 Power Limited Liability Company (NS2PC), the investor of Nghi Son 2 thermal power plant, which is a consortium of Japanese company Marubeni Corporation and Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

The purpose of the loan is to support an overseas infrastructure project in which the Japanese company participates as an investor, as well as to operate and maintain a power plant over a long period of time, using advanced Japanese technologies. This loan thereby contributes to maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industries.

Along with the loan from JBIC, NS2PC also called loans from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Shinsei Bank, Ltd., Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Ltd., DBS Bank, Ltd., and Malayan Banking Berhad.

The total co-financing amount is valued at $1.87 trillion. JBIC and KEXIM provide political risk guarantee for the portion of the loan financed by private financial institutions.

The project will be developed under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) format and have the installed capacity of 1,200MW, produced by two units of 600MW each. The electricity generated from this plant will be sold to Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) for 25 years.

Earlier in June 2017, the Ministry of Planning and Investment granted the investment certificate for the investor. The project's capital was estimated at $2.8 billion. According to the initial plan, the construction of the plant should have started by the end of last year, but failed. The reason for the delay may be the difficulties in arranging capital on the side of the investors.

The country now has 18 BOT thermal power projects. Some of them have been put into operation, including Phu My 1, 2, and 3 thermal power plants.

According to the latest information, the $1.75-billion Vinh Tan 1 thermal power project, the largest Chinese-invested project in Vietnam, will come into commercial operation ahead of schedule after concerns of potential power shortages in the southern provinces in the time to come.

Notably, its first unit will come into commercial operation in July 2018, five months earlier than initially scheduled. Previously, on April 18, 2018, the first unit of Vinh Tan 1 was successfully connected to the national grid and met all standard requirements during the testing as well as operation.

Vinh Tan 1 is expected to provide more than 7.2 billion KWh per year, increasing the southern region's electricity supply and helping reduce the region's dependence on hydropowerespecially during the dry season or droughts.
Shares gain on energy, banking stocks

The benchmark VN Index on HCM Stock Exchange inched up 1.04 per cent on Tuesday to close at 1,078.06 points. It had closed Monday going up by 2.12 per cent.

The HNX Index on Ha Noi Stock Exchange gained 0.47 per cent to end at 123,85 points. The index had gone up by 0.42 per cent in the previous session.

Over 97 million shares, worth VND2.5 trillion (US$109.5 million), were traded on the two local exchanges. The market breadth was balanced, with 209 gaining stocks against 203 declining stocks.

Energy and banking-finance sectors were the main support to the local stock markets on Tuesday morning. Indices of the two sectors were up by 1.6 per cent and nearly 1 per cent, respectively.

Best performers in the energy industry included PetroVietnam Gas Joint Stock Corporation, PetroVietnam Drilling and Well Services Corporation, PetroVietnam Technical Services Corporation and Binh Son Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, gaining at least 2 per cent each.

Gainers in the banking sector were Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, VPBank, Vietinbank and MBBank.

The afternoon trading session starts at 1pm.
Tiki claims the losses are part of its development strategy, an explanation that is growing strained

Tiki was established in 2010 as a startup e-bookstore but has since diversified operations to sell phones, tablets, digital devices, electrical appliances, toys, and souvenirs.

In August 2013, Tiki signed a strategic partnership with Japans Sumitomo Corporation and became the first e-commerce company in Vietnam to receive investment from the Japanese company.

Under the partnership, Sumitomo would hold a 30 per cent stake in Tiki to become its second strategic investor, after Japanese investment fund CyberAgent Ventures (15 per cent).

In May 2016, VNG Corporation, Vietnam's top provider of Internet content, completed a VND383-billion ($17.02 million) deal to acquire a 38 per cent stake in Tiki. Accordingly, VNG spent VND104,000 ($4.57) per share, with the expectation to acquire benefits from one of the largest e-commercial platforms in Vietnam.

With backing from Japanese investors Sumitomo Corporation and CyberAgent Ventures, which own a combined stake of 45 per cent, in collaboration with the investment from VNG, Tiki was expected to become a heavyweight in the e-commerce sector in the country. However, the firm has been reporting losses for two consecutive years now.

Notably, according to the financial statement of VNG Corporation, a shareholder of Tiki, in 2017 Tiki reported a loss of VND282 billion ($12.38 million), triple its charter capital and seven times higher than the loss in 2016. Hence, Tikis total losses two years after receiving investment from VNG were VND320 billion ($14.05 million).

Tiki CEO Tran Ngoc Thai Son stated that the losses are a part of the firms long-term development plan. Tiki is expanding its scale of operations via investing in infrastructure, warehouses, human resources, and technology.

In reality, according to the statistics of Euromonitor, Tiki ranked sixth among the online shopping sites of Vietnam in 2017 with the visitor volume of 15.08 million. However, according to customers, there is a painful lack of transparency in Tikis promotion programmes. Notably, the firm often increases selling price quietly to then provide discounts at the original price.

Earlier this year, Tiki received $54 million in Series C investment made by Chinese internet giant JD.com and South Korea's STIC Investments. The additional capital is expected help Tiki to consolidate its market presence.

At present, the Vietnamese e-commerce sector holds great potential but is also a playground ruled by strict competition by numerous heavyweights.

The fierce competition was shown after a series of e-commerce floors had to shut down because of big losses. Beyeu, Deca, and Lingo left the market after long struggles to survive.

According to industry insiders, companies need to allocate enormous expenses for their e-commerce business from sales and marketing to warehousing and logistics, so it can easily eat up profits. Also, many platforms suffered losses from special discount offers and promotion campaigns to snag new customers.

At present, it is still early to conclude that the consecutive losses of Tiki is a show of weakness, however, Beyeu, Deca, and Lingo are signals that the market is not for players lacking financial potential or methodical development strategies.
An exhibition on Torres Strait masks will be introduced in Vietnam for the first time by the Australian Embassy in Vietnam. (Photo: Australian Embassy)

The two-month-long exhibition at Hanois Vietnam Museum of Ethnology is part of activities celebrating the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Representatives from the Embassy, the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology and other cultural institutions will attend the opening ceremony which will take place on May 18, according to the Australian Embassy.

Torres Strait is a network of islands located between Northern Australia and Papua New Guinea. The people of this area maintain vibrant artistic, spiritual and cultural traditions.

The making and wearing of beautifully decorated masks is one of the regions most distinctive traditions. While rooted in ancient protocols and spirituality, masks and mask making today are celebrated as expressions of artistic and cultural revival.
Ross says he wants Beijing to change policies that harm US companies, including forced technology transfers and lack of protection for American know-how. (Photo: AFP/SAUL LOEB)

High-stakes negotiations will take place with China, the European Union and Washington's two North American Free Trade Agreement partners.

And while the talks have been going on for weeks and months, key deadlines are fast approaching - critically for NAFTA.

NAFTA DEADLINE

Officials have been working furiously to update the 24-year-old trade pact that Trump called "a horrible, horrible disaster for this country."

Trump spoke to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday and discussed bringing the talks to quick conclusion, officials from both countries said.

But outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan said last week he would need a written agreement for the US Congress to approve a revamped trade pact this year, while Republicans still control the legislature - something that could change in November's midterm elections.

The talks are hung up on Washington's demands to increase the US-made components in vehicles that receive duty-free status in NAFTA and the clock is running out.

US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said those and other issues remained a "work in progress" but the trade ministers from Canada and Mexico who were in Washington last week stressed they would not be pressured to reach a deal.

The NAFTA revision is vital for another reason: the exemptions for Canada and Mexico from the steep US tariffs on steel imports expire Jun 1.

Unless officials agree on terms covering steel and aluminum, the tariffs would take effect.

Ross said the tariffs decision would depend on how the talks progressed but added this was "unforecastable at the moment."

EU STEEL QUOTAS?

The EU also faces the same Jun 1 deadline when the tariff exemptions expire. Ross said he would speak with EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem on Tuesday.

"I hope to get a reasonable conclusion," Ross said, but "if not they will go into effect."

He said other countries, like South Korea, had agreed to export quotas that would have the same effect as tariffs but so far European officials "haven't agreed to anything."

The EU continues to insist that as key allies they should be granted a permanent exemption and Brussels says it refuses to negotiate under a tariff threat.

But Ross said he had spoken to his EU counterpart eight or 10 times since the metals tariffs were first announced in March.

CHINA AND ZTE

Also on Tuesday, Vice Premier Liu He - considered President Xi Jinping's right-hand man on economic issues - will head a Chinese delegation to Washington.

The officials will try to find a way to head off a major trade battle after the US threatened tariffs on as much as $150 billion in Chinese imports, while Beijing has targeted $50 billion in US goods in the dispute over China's failure to protect intellectual property rights.

"The gap remains wide," Ross said, but he added he remained hopeful the strong personal relationship between Trump and Xi would "facilitate an agreement, just as it seems to be doing with regard to North Korea."

Ross said his aim was for Beijing to change policies that harm US companies, including forced technology transfers and lack of protection for American know-how.

But he said it is likely Chinese officials also would raise the issue of telecoms giant ZTE, the company that was forced to cease operations after it was cut off from US technology products for violating US sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

Although he said "our position has been that that's an enforcement action separate from trade," Ross said he was exploring "alternative remedies... very, very promptly," after Trump intervened in the case.

ZTE was fined $1.2 billion in Mar 2017, but last month it was hit with a steeper sanction, prohibiting US companies from supplying the firm with needed parts amid revelations the company lied multiple times and failed to take actions against employees responsible for sanctions violations.

But President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement on Twitter on Sunday, offering to intercede to prevent the company from shutting down.

"President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast," Trump tweeted.
Valentino Creations' 32th store is located in Vincom Thanh Hoa Plaza

Valentino Creations newest store is a part of its plan to grow to 50 stores across Vietnam by the end of this year, hoping to bring a high-end fashion experience to many customers, including the luxurious layout and international-standard services.

Inspired by walk-in closets, the store brings a homely feeling to customers. The combination of black, brown, and cream white, along with minimalist interior design creates elegantly highlights the beauty of the high-end fashion products.

At the opening ceremony of Valentino Creations newest store, the firm launched its Premium Shirt collection made from high-quality cotton from Tessitura Montithe world-leading garment materials supplier.

With over 100 years of experience in textiles and manufacturing high-end shirts in Italy, Tessitura Monti has supplied millions of metres of fabric and high-end fashion products for many well-known fashion brands. In particular, Tessitura Monti is one of the few fabric manufacturers importing exquisite plain fabric materials from Egypt.

Valentino Creations plans to expand to 50 stores before the year is over

The Premium Shirt collection not only boasts of unbeatable quality but is also an exquisite wear as it is made 100 per cent from the highest Egyptian cotton manufactured by Tessitura Monti. The first products of the collection are available at Valentino Creations stores throughout the country.

Valentino Creations is also proud to be one of the few fashion brands in Vietnam with exclusive customer care and consultant teams who have good knowledge and are ready to help customers choose the right products to match their personal fashion styles.

Valentino Creation is a Malaysia-based luxury fashion brand with a distinct Italian style. The brand is popular in many countries, including Indonesia and Thailand. VMG Fashion Co., Ltd., the brands exclusive distributor, has developed a chain of 32 Valentino Creations stores in Vietnam in 15 years. Not only in the largest cities, such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Valentino Creations stores can also be found in favourable locations across many provinces.
Officers block the road outside a local police headquarters following an attack in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, May 14, 2018-Photo EPA/VNA

Hang made the remarks on May 14 while answering reporters question regarding Viet Nams response to the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city.

We extend our deepest sympathy to the Indonesian Government and families of the victims, she said, noting that Vietnam supports the Indonesian Governments efforts in combating terrorism and believes that masterminds behind the attacks will be punished properly.

Also on May 14, President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc cabled messages of condolences to Indonesian President Joko Widodo over the recent terror attacks in Surabaya city of Indonesia.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh also expressed his sympathy to Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.

Earlier on March 13, a series of bombings hit three Christian churches in Surabaya, East Java province, leaving at least 13 deaths and over 40 others wounded.

Indonesia police announced later the same day that the bombings at three Christian churches were conducted by a family of six, including four children aged 9 to 18.

The family had links to the self-claimed Islamic State (IS) and were among 500 Islamic sympathisers who had returned from Syria, the police added.

Indonesian government believed that IS-related terror group JAD was responsible for the bombings. Meanwhile, IS claimed responsibility for the attacks through its Amaq news agency.

The suicide bombings were followed by a bomb explosion in an apartment building in East Javas Sidoarjo town on May 13 evening, which killed a mother and her 17-year-old son.
Theo Wargo/Getty ImagesKorn will play a trio of shows this fall to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the band's third album, 1998's Follow the Leader.

The concerts take place September 12 in San Francisco, September 13 in Los Angeles and September 15 in Las Vegas. Tickets go on sale this Friday, May 18 via KornOfficial.com.

Released in August 1998, Follow the Leader gave Korn their first number-one album on the Billboard 200 and spawned the hit single "Freak on a Leash."

Meanwhile, Korn frontman Jonathan Davis will release his new solo album, Black Labyrinth, on May 25.

Here are Korn's Follow the Leader 20th anniversary dates:

9/12 -- San Francisco, CA, The Masonic

9/13 -- Los Angeles, CA, Hollywood Palladium

9/15 -- Las Vegas, NV, Pearl Concert Theater

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The massive abstention during the Lebanese and Iraqi general elections (50 % Lebanon), (65 % Iraq), and the Tunisian municipal elections (77 %) was interpreted by the Western powers as proof of the immaturity of these populations. No matter whether or not they have been democracies for 7 or 75 years, they are irresponsible and must therefore be placed under supervision.

Forgetting the fact that in the West also, certain national consultations have been marked by similar rates of abstention, the Western powers explain the elections in Tunisia, Lebanon and Iraq as having been troubled by the poor economic results of their governments. As if the Arabs had not understood that they were able to deliberate on projects and choose their own future, but imagined that they were obliged to approve the performances of their past governments.

Anxious to restore a mandate in the Levant, the Western powers had interpreted the liberation of Saad Hariri from his Saudi jail as the victory of Emmanuel Macron The Magnificent. They had not mentioned either the humiliation of the French President inflicted by the Saudi Crown Prince at the airport in Riyadh, nor the efficiency of the work by President Michel Aoun at the United Nations. In their eyes, the Lebanese people were incapable of taking care of themselves. They could only obtain results if they were supervised by the West.

The Western medias speak about the unbelievable Lebanese institutions by describing them as  complicated , but without explaining that the communitarian system had been specifically designed by the ex-colonial power so that nothing would ever change. France is secular at home, but absolutely not in its ex-colonies. and the re-arrangements of the electoral laws, with the introduction of the proportional vote within the communities, not only maintain the colonial web, but also render it all the more complex.

Yes, it is ridiculous to see Tunisia elect its municipal advisors for the first time, Lebanon elect, after nine years, the same hereditary deputies, and Iraq divided into 37 political parties. But it is precisely because it is ridiculous that many voters refused to play such a humiliating game.

Contrary to the Western interpretation, these rates of abstention, while they do demonstrate a rejection of democratic procedures, certainly do not signify the rejection of democracy, but its distortion.

The Tunisians, who witnessed Ennahdha and Nidaa Tounes found an alliance after having fought one another, had every reason to anticipate that the two major parties would be able to agree to share local positions as they had done with the national posts. The Lebanese, who know that they have no other choice than a  war-lord  for their community and his vassals to defend it against other communities, also rejected this imprisonment. The Iraqis, whose elected Prime Minister had been overthrown four years ago by foreign powers, know that their vote will not be taken into account if they should move against the desiderata of the self-proclaimed  international community .

Only the Lebanese Hezbollah, born of the Resistance to the Israeli occupation, and the Iraqi Coalition of Moqtada el-Sadr, born of the Resistance to the United States occupation, carried all their voices with their allies.

Make no mistake about it, the Western powers implicitly applaud these abstentions, because they find in them the justification of their aggressions in the  Greater Middle East  over the last 17 years. Any expression of an organised will of the People is for them a nightmare, since their sole objective is to overthrow the states and destroy the societies in order to dominate them more efficiently.

Thus, when the Syrians, then embroiled in a war, invaded the voting centres to elect their President, the Western powers were petrified. They were obliged to postpone their plan for the overthrow of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The Arabs, just like all other people, want to determine their own destiny.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Turkey as guarantors of the observance of the ceasefire regime in the Syrian Arab Republic:

1. Reaffirmed their strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria. Highlighted that these principles should be universally respected and any action that might violate them and undermine achievements of the Astana format should be avoided.

2. Emphasized the importance of the implementation of the Memorandum on the creation of the de-escalation areas in the Syrian Arab Republic of 4 May 2017 and other agreements reached within the framework of the Astana format. Took stock of the developments of the situation on the ground a year after signing the Memorandum.

3. Underlined the key role that the de-escalation areas play in maintaining the ceasefire regime, reducing the level of violence and stabilizing the overall situation in Syria and highlighted that the creation of these areas is a temporary measure that under no circumstances undermines the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria.

4. Underscored the need to encourage efforts that help all Syrians to restore normal and peaceful life and to this end to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, to deliver necessary medical aid and humanitarian assistance and to create conditions for safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons to their original places of residence as well as free movement of local population.

5. Reaffirmed their determination to fight terrorism in Syria in order to ultimately eliminate DAESH/ISIL, Nusra Front and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with AlQaeda or DAESH/ISIL as designated by the UN Security Council.

6. Welcomed the convening of the second meeting of the Working Group on the release of detainees/abductees and handover of the bodies as well as the identification of missing persons by three Guarantors` representatives with the participation of the UN and ICRC experts. Took note of the Working Group`s progress report and reaffirmed the necessity to continue joint efforts aimed at building confidence between the conflicting parties in Syria. Agreed to hold the next meeting of the Working Group in Ankara in June 2018.

7. Guided by the provisions of the UN Security Council resolution 2254, reaffirmed their determination to continue joint efforts aimed at advancing the process of the political settlement, through facilitating the implementation of the recommendations of the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi. In this regard agreed to hold joint consultations of their high-level representatives with the United Nations SecretaryGenerals Special Envoy for Syria as well as with Syrian parties in order to create conditions to facilitate the beginning of the Constitutional Committee`s work in Geneva as soon as possible and to carry out such meetings on a regular basis.

8. Expressed their sincere gratitude to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, His Excellency Nursultan Nazarbayev and the Kazakh authorities for hosting in Astana the 9th high-level International Meeting on Syria.

9. Decided to hold the next high-level International Meeting on Syria in Sochi in July 2018.
Men Arrested After Toy Gun Incident

A 69 year old locally resident British male national and a 22 year old British male national were arrested for Offensive Conduct conducive to Breaches of the Peace on the evening of Saturday 12th May 2018 following an incident in the area of the London Bar involving a toy gun.

One of the individuals was observed by an off duty police officer to have a suspected handgun tucked into the back of his trousers waist band.

In a statement released today, the RGP explained that the individual was tackled and disarmed by the off duty police officer as the armed response officers arrived on scene. 'The firearms officers were deployed to the area immediately upon receipt of the initial report with the RGPs firearms response procedures being implemented.'

The statement continues to highlight how this is not the first instance of this nature that firearms officers have had to respond to, although in all cases the firearms have thankfully been found to be either replicas or a toy gun.

'Any incident whether of a criminal or security related nature, in which a firearm is suspected to be involved is viewed as extremely serious by the RGP. In addition to the possible danger posed to the public, countering a firearms threat imposes a need to employ control measures that include the potential for officers having to exercise lethal force.

Since the Charlie Hebdo attacks in January 2015, there have been numerous terrorist attacks throughout Europe and elsewhere, that have led to increased levels of security. The alert state in Gibraltar currently stands at Substantial  an attack is a strong possibility - with heightened response levels in place.

It is in this light that the RGP wishes to raise awareness and appeals to the public to refrain from the brandishing or carrying of toy/replica firearms in a manner that causes public concern and requires our officers, highly trained professionals as they are, to make split second decisions as to whether the firearm is real or not.'
The Gibraltar Museum Open Day 2018

The Gibraltar Museum will be opening its doors for their 17th annual Open Day on Saturday 19th May 2018 from 10:00 to 18:00, which as in other years is aimed to coincide as closely as possible with International Museum Day (18 May). This years international theme is Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics.

International Museum Day has been celebrated in Gibraltar since 2002 in the form of an open day which continues to increase in popularity within the local community. The Open Day promises to be fun-filled with plenty of activities, primarily aimed at young people, but also for the young at heart.

The staff at the Gibraltar Museum will be on hand to answer any questions and, as in previous years, there will be a range of hands-on activities for all to enjoy. The Gibraltar Museum will also count on contributions from the Gibraltar National Archives and the Nautilus Project.

The popular childrens events, such as the treasure hunt and fancy dress competition will once again feature on the day, with prizes for the winners. This years fancy dress competition will carry an open historical theme. Participants are asked to register on the day from 10:00 to 12:30.

Martin the Neanderthal

This years event will also include a special exhibition of an articulated Neanderthal skeleton reproduction which will be on display to the Gibraltarian public for the first time. In the absence of a complete Neanderthal skeleton anywhere, this reproduction is the next best currently available. The skeleton is formally known as La Ferrassie 1 but it has been decided to call him Martin, reflecting one of the commonest birds to have lived with the Neanderthals in Gibraltar and one that still survives here today.

Martin joins Nana and Flint in his new home in the Gibraltar Museum. The skeleton was found in France in 1909, is between 70-50,000 years old and is of a male Neanderthal of around 45 years of age at the time of death. This was the basis for much of the reproduction. La Ferrassie 1 is considered by many scientists to exhibit the classic example of Neanderthal anatomy. His leg and feet bones proved without a doubt that Neanderthals walked upright and with a gait very similar to modern humans. This debunked the earlier reconstruction of the La Chapelle-aux-Saints Neanderthal skeleton by French palaeontologist Pierre Marcellin Boule that erroneously portrayed Neanderthals as stooped, brutish creatures.

The Gibraltar Museum is urging visitors to take a selfie with Martin on the day and post it on their usual social media pages.

Entrance is FREE all day.
Royal Wedding Guard Mount

Members of the Public and Media are invited to watch a Ceremonial Guard Mount outside the Convent at 11am on Saturday 19th May 2018.

This will be the first and only Ceremonial Guard Mount of 2018 (owing to the Royal Gibraltar Regiments operational commitment in Bahrain), and will be conducted by B Company of the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, accompanied by the Band and Corp of Drums.

During the ceremony, the Old Guard will deploy from to No 6 Convent Place. At 11am the New Guard accompanied by the Band and Corps of Drums will march on parade from the direction of John Mackintosh Hall towards the Convent. After acknowledging His Excellency the Governors presence with a Royal Salute and the playing of the first six bars of the National Anthem, the Guard Commanders commence the handover before posting the replacement sentry. Once the New Guard is posted, the Old Guard then marches off marking the completion of the Ceremonial Guard Mount.

Event security will be provided by the RGP. Traffic restrictions will be in place from approximately 1030-1130 in the area around the Convent and the south end of Main Street.
Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, in a scene from Evil Genius. Photo: Netflix/Netflix

This piece contains spoilers; proceed with caution if you havent watched Evil Genius.

Evil Genius: The True Story of Americas Most Diabolical Bank Heist is essentially a whodunnit. Over four episodes of the crime docuseries that landed on Netflix over the weekend, co-directors Trey Borzillieri and Barbara Schroeder attempt to determine who is responsible for the 2003 death of Brian Wells, an Erie, Pennsylvania, pizza-delivery man who robbed a PNC Bank with a bomb collar strapped around his neck. He died a short time later, in front of police, when the explosive device detonated. But Wells didnt act alone. The series spends most of its time exploring exactly who participated in setting him up to enter that bank, including and most notably Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong, and what their motives were.

The twists and turns in the investigation of Wellss death  or, as it became known in the national media, the pizza bomber case  make Evil Genius compelling. But its portrayal of Diehl-Armstrong, the mentally ill woman to whom the title evil genius refers, is what breeds the most fascination and frustration.

While watching Evil Genius, I had no doubt that Diehl-Armstrong was an intimidating and ultimately dangerous woman capable of offing people with little sense of remorse. As the series reveals, she admitted she killed two former boyfriends, including one, James Roden, who threatened to tell police everything he knew about what happened to Wells. She deserved to be punished for the crimes she committed.

But my hackles were raised, repeatedly, by the ways in which she was depicted and, often, marginalized: by friends and family, by law enforcement, and by a mental-health system that, according to one of her attorneys, spit her back out on four separate occasions after that lawyer had Diehl-Armstrong involuntarily committed. Many of the sources who speak on-camera during Evil Genius unintentionally reveal their comfort with sliding Diehl-Armstrong into the crazy lady category. As a result, they sometimes fail to consider other people and factors that had an impact on what happened to Wells.

Consider Bill Rothstein, the former boyfriend of Diehl-Armstrong who, as the series explains, played a role in building the bomb that ended up on Brian Wells. He eventually calls the police to report that the body of James Roden is in a freezer in his garage, where he placed it after Diehl-Armstrong killed Roden and asked for his help getting rid of the body. Rothsteins phone call leads police to the corpse, and to arrest Diehl-Armstrong in Rodens murder. There is no question shes responsible for Rodens death  she outright admits it. But its striking how much leeway is given to Rothstein, especially since he tells police he recently attempted suicide and offers a suicide note as evidence. The first line item in that note states that his desire to die has nothing to do with the Wells case. Which is a pretty big non sequitur if neither he nor Diehl-Armstrong had anything to do with the bank heist.

Rothstein is characterized in the documentary as someone who, like Armstrong-Diehl, was not normal as a kid. Also like Diehl-Armstrong, he had an inflated sense of self, talked a lot, and, as an adult, displayed the kind of extreme hoarding tendencies as his former girlfriend. But no one in Evil Genius ever calls him crazy. A police trooper named Ron Morgan, who says Rothstein was the best man in an in-laws wedding, says he initially didnt suspect that Rothstein could have been involved in Rodens murder or the death of Wells because it just didnt seem possible.

In video taken by cops who searched both Rothsteins home and Diehl-Armstrongs, Rothstein acts almost like a tour guide, providing all kinds of information, but of course, nothing that could implicate him. Police come across as deferential to him, at least in the footage we see. Granted, Rothstein had never been convicted of a major crime, whereas Diehl-Armstrong had already gone on trial once before for murder (she was acquitted) and was linked to other suspicious events. There is good reason for investigators to think shes responsible. Still, its amazing to watch how skillfully Rothstein is able to divert police attention, at least initially. Its also revealing to listen to the language he uses to describe her.

You know what manic depressives are? he asks cops while being interview, explaining that Diehl-Armstrong has the condition. At another point, Rothstein describes her end of a conversation by saying she went into histrionics. The subtext of the way he talks about her has a ring of You know how crazy women are to it. Clearly, Diehl-Armstrong didnt do herself any favors: In the only on-camera interview with her, she comes across as easily agitated and often does not sound anywhere close to rational. But the system in place  a bunch of male law enforcers who may be inclined to trust Rothstein and mistrust her  also seemed designed to work against her.

Other women related to the case are minimized, too. In episode three, we learn that several female inmates told Erie police that, while in prison, Diehl-Armstrong said she shot Roden because he had threatened to reveal her involvement in the pizza bomber case. One prisoner, Kelly Makela, even played the James Comey in this situation, taking detailed notes about everything Diehl-Armstrong said to her and passing them on to the cops. All of the information gathered from Makela and others was shoved into a folder called Snitch Letters and never shared with federal investigators, who didnt uncover them until years later. Jason Wick, an ATF agent who worked on the case, says in Evil Genius that the letters may have gotten buried because of the traditional mistrust that often develops between local and federal officials. Sure, that may have been a factor. I also have to think that the fact that all the sources were women made it easier for cops to discount what they said as mere gossip, confessions from snitches that could easily be shoved away in the back of a desk drawer.

Evil Genius implies repeatedly that certain people get the benefit of the doubt in society and others dont, and thats not always about gender either. On more than one occasion, when Diehl-Armstrong is attempting to argue in her own defense, she plays up her status. Im an old, rich woman, she says at one point, adding that its impossible to believe someone like her could have been involved in the Wells bank scheme. She also talks about the other women in prison with her as if they belong on a lower societal rung. While its true that Diehl-Armstrong came from a middle-class family and had a fair amount of money, most of which she kept stashed away amid the clutter of her home, little about her demeanor or life choices suggest shes superior to anyone whos locked up with her. In her skewed way, she is convinced that class can save her because it so often serves as a shield that protects a person from attracting suspicion.

So does race, a subject that isnt addressed much in Evil Genius (all of the suspects and victims in the docuseries are white), with one exception: Diehl-Armstrong reportedly instructs Wells that, if he gets caught, he should tell the cops that two black guys put the bomb on him and forced him to rob the bank. Wells actually does say this, but the misdirect never leads anywhere. Its telling that Diehl-Armstrong is so certain police will buy into the African-Americans are to blame theory while completely ignoring the rich white lady and her white accomplices. She is smart enough to understand how unconscious bias works, perhaps because shes been a victim of it herself: not because of her race, but as a woman with a mental illness. Shes also mentally ill enough to believe that she can outsmart the cops forever. Which, she cant.

As fascinating as Evil Genius is, it misses a real opportunity to further explore the underlying how question in this story: How did Diehl-Armstrong go from being an intelligent, admired young woman to a murderer who would ultimately die in prison in 2017 and get buried in an unmarked grave? Some answers are provided. Her mental illness got worse with age, and its obvious that she didnt get the kind of treatment she needed. Borzillieri interviews her father and notes that her parents never seemed to grasp the severity of their daughters illness.

A TV reporter also mentions that while taking the stand during her trial, Diehl-Armstrong says she was abused as a child. Shes prone to falsehoods, but I was still curious to know if there was some truth to that. If there was, it wouldnt absolve her of her crimes. As a judge rightly states during her sentencing, there are plenty of people who are bipolar or have other mental-health issues and dont do the kinds of things she did. But it would help explain, in part, what turned a woman who should have been an American success story into a tragic cautionary tale. Given how often troubled people snap in this country and wind up killing people, true crime shows like Evil Genius have a responsibility to dig into this aspect of their narratives.

What happened to Diehl-Armstrong was terribly sad. Evil Genius acknowledges that, but at the same time, often casts her as the villain in a horror movie. Jerry Clark, the lead FBI agent on the case, remembers walking down a long prison hallway to interview her for the first time and talks about how the moment reminded him of a scene in Silence of the Lambs. The closing moment of the series, and one that appears in the opening titles, shows a picture of a bright, young, beautiful Marjorie morphing into the mugshot Marjorie, her smile turning to a frown and her eyes losing their spark in a matter of a few chilling seconds. Its a really creepy image, and its the last thing the show leaves us to consider.

But what I keep thinking about is the courtroom sketch artist who was on duty when Diehl-Armstrong faced trial for her role in the Wells robbery. In an interview with Borzillieri, he says he initially drew her with lots of shading to emphasize the evil in her, which made me wonder how often courtroom sketch artists editorialize without us even realizing it. But as he began to observe her more and realize she was an actual person, he says he lightened up her features.

What I saw in Evil Genius made me certain that Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong was responsible for the death of James Roden and, though not solely, responsible for the death of Brian Wells. But what I saw in Evil Genius also made me think that once some people developed a particular picture of her in their minds, they could not be bothered to adjust that image, or to effectively help Marjorie figure out how to shift away from dark and back toward light.
Photo: Universal Pictures

A few months ago, Comedy Central released a video depicting the (fake) Foley art of the make-out scenes from The Bachelor: raw chicken cutlets slapped together; a man jamming his fist into a giant jar of mayonnaise. Its not how the experts really do it, obviously  so how do they achieve the sounds of sweet, tender (or not) lovemaking for the big and small screen? We talked to several Foley artists about how they create the sounds behind sex scenes. The explanations are at once more pedestrian and more interesting than you might imagine.

Setting the Mood

As Joanna Fang of New Yorkbased Alchemy Post Sound puts it, Foley art is basically the human element of a soundtrack. These are sounds too specific to an individual performance to be pulled from a sound-effect library: footsteps, eating sounds, picking up props. Or, in the context of sex scenes: kissing, touching, the sound of a headboard banging against a wall.

The basic Foley elements of most sex scenes are the same: A Foley artist will, for example, rub their hands against their arms for skin-to-skin contact between two people. Theyll run fingers through hair (theirs or someone elses) or against facial scruff (ditto). A creaky bed or sofa is a must  the best way to create the squeaks needed, explains Foley artist Alyson Dee Moore, is to sit on the bed and press down with your hands. Kissing? Centuries of teenagers practicing their make-out skills have it right: lips, meet back of hand.

Where the art in Foley art comes in is how these basic sounds are altered and assembled to convey the emotion and character dynamics in a sex scene. As put by Alchemys Lead Foley artist Leslie Bloome, if its an intimate scene where two people are gently making love, its going to sound a lot different than two people banging the shit out of each other.

The most interesting thing about doing Foley for sex and intimacy is that theres definitely a communication of bodies thats happening when actors perform, notes Fang. She cites a sex scene she worked on for Derek Cianfrances 2016 film The Light Between Oceans. Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender play Isabel and Tom, a married couple who are having sex for the first time after Isabels miscarriage. Watching the scene, you can feel the shame and guilt theyre feeling, but theyre both trying. They love each other. So how do you communicate that with Foley? You cant get the sense of that from a library effect. You have to have someone like me sit there and perform it. Fang performs her work in sync with the scene, watching it on a screen while being recorded.

In the case of this The Light Between Oceans scene, Fang sat in a room with a shotgun mic pointed at her  the distance of the mic generally depends on framing of the scene itself  and rubbed her hands against her arms to provide the sounds of the characters touching each other. I had a piece of old dress shirt over my shoulder, in case her hand goes up into the sheets, Fang explains. Ill do all the sounds of the skin for his character perspective, and then Ill flip it and do her character.

Isabels hands are smaller, so the sounds Fang mimicked for her touching Tom were poppier  a light hit of hand to forearm, there and away  whereas his hands are more full, so I used the entirety of my hand, and I flexed my muscles a little bit. Then theres a pass on the bed where Isabel and Tom have their tryst  in reality, an old, creaky couch covered with a thicker, more textured, less comfortable sheet, so the sounds of creaking bed frame and rustling sheets matched the visual aesthetic of a rustic lighthouse in the early 20th century.

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In crafting the specific sounds of the characters lovemaking, Fang explains, I couldnt just hit [my arm]. It needed to be full of texture and life and love, but at the same time [have] a certain forcefulness  There needs to be a firmness in the hand, but you still need to actually create a sound. By way of demonstration, she slaps her arm, then drags a hand across her forearm. I think people forget that sex isnt purely pleasure and reproduction, she adds. In film, sex is used in dramatic ways.

Kissing and Telling

Bloomes key for kissing: Dont make it sound like your characters are chewing gum. Because in reality, a kiss doesnt sound like much of anything. As Moore puts it: You really just hear the release  of lip from lip or, when its done by Foley artists, of lip from arm or back or hand  and you dont hear much of the kissing part.

But when kissing gets particularly lustful, Fang says shell make eating sounds into a microphone: smacking and lip clicks. Kissing sound are funny, because theyre surprisingly gendered, she adds. Men kiss differently than women. For the most part, men have a sucky, puckering sound [to their kissing],  fuller, more exaggerated  whereas women mostly have more of a [lighter] smooching sound.

How Real Is Too Real?

An ongoing question that Foley artists ask themselves when scoring sex scenes: How much is too much?

Moore says there are certain sounds that shes asked to re-create that would literally change the rating of the film if they were included in the finished product: Weve been asked to do [Foley sound for] oral-sex scenes before. They never play it. They just dont! Because its not a sexy sound.

In re-creating the sounds of cunnilingus, Fang notes, shell use kissing sounds instead of disgusting licks. Because you want a mouthy sound, but you still want it to have this gentleness and this sweetness. And if youre just licking your hand, its like a pudding pop. Thats not sexy or tasteful. Its just going to sound like youre licking your hand.

Stay away from gooey, wet sounds, because it usually doesnt contribute to the scene and make it romantic, cautions Goro Koyama, whose Foley credits include Blade Runner 2049 and The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Unless theyre trying to make it sound gross  in which case a wetter, more gooey sound, like the Foley artist manipulating half a grapefruit with their hands, may be called for. But certain sounds, explains Koyama, are actually emphasized as a way to increase the intimacy level and bring the viewers into the emotional mind-set of the characters. Like, for example, the sound of flesh rubbing on flesh.

And lets address the fruit-sex elephant in the room: the peach scene in Call Me by Your Name. Fang guesses that the sound was created using the manual manipulation of the inside of an overripe plum, peach, or grapefruit, probably micd pretty close to get all that high-end squish to it. Moore guesses it was done with a cantaloupe, because you need a bigger sound than what youd get with a peach.

When Somebodys Tastes Are More  Singular

The realism question gets even more complicated when it comes to sex acts that are more, er, unusual. Moore cites a sex-adjacent scene from Californication wherein a character sticks his hand inside a Fleshlight. Since, presumably, a fair amount of viewers dont know what that sounds like, the point is less to accurately imitate the sound than it is to sell the comedy of the moment. That means, in this case, a squish  a sound created by Moore putting a wet chamois in a plastic cup and manipulating it with her hand to create a weird, wet suctioning sound. Sometimes its not what it might really sound like, she explains, but its what the audience will buy. You dont want to take the audience out of their watching experience.

Oftentimes, says Moore, we dont use the same prop thats onscreen, because it simply doesnt sound that good. For the Fifty Shades movies, Moore notes  she worked on the final two  we basically went to a hardware store and got a bunch of different grades of chain. From there, they manipulated the chains against furniture, flesh, or each other to create the appropriate sounds. It needs to sound pretty, she says. It cant just sound like a bunch of hardware.

Chamois Is Essential

Apologies to any fans of the trilogy, but Im about to make the Ben Wa scene in Fifty Shades Darker a lot less sexy. Heres how Moore recreated the sound of those Ben Wa balls being inserted into Ana Steele: moistened chamois. Yes, the soft sheepskin you use to dry your car. It has a heft to it, almost, Moore explains. And it is skin, when you buy real chamois. Its not that far from what youre really using.

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In fact, in speaking to each of the Foley artists, the chamois emerges as the not-so-secret star. Depending on how wet it is, the sound it makes when its manipulated reaches different levels of (apologies in advance) juiciness, making it a preferred tool for creating the Foley sounds of, per Fang, eating, fucking, and fighting. (The sounds, she notes, are remarkably similar when you get right down to it.) The homoerotic mud-wrestling scene in the hazing drama Goat: chamois. A hand job: usually its a Foley artist rubbing a lotioned-up hand against their forearm, but if youre looking for a more gooey sound  yup, chamois. Moore puts is succinctly: Its chamois! Its all chamois. Its very unglamorous and unsexy.

On the more disturbing side, theres Gone Girl. At one point, Amy penetrates herself with a wine bottle to make it look like shes been raped before slitting a mans throat with a box cutter midway through sex. The bottle scene utilized various layered sounds  mainly, Moore manipulating a bottle in her hands. But also? Wet chamois.

Again, it goes back to using sound to tell a story and create a mood. I dont know what that sounds like. I hope I never know what that sounds like, and honestly you would only hear that sound if your ear was very close to that body part, Moore says. That scene and the carnage that followed immediately after were really disgusting and unpleasant to do, but you have to make it not sound as disgusting as it is. Because its still this weird sex scene, you know what I mean? But really, the bottle scene, you do have to make that cringeworthy.

In the end, thats what crafting Foley for sex scenes comes down to  utilizing sound not to illustrate particular sex acts, but to convey a particular emotion to the audience: tenderness or disgust, amusement or love. In real life, sex is mostly sweaty, big movement physicality, says Fang. Its not even a sound. Its a feeling. If we can communicate that, then we win.
Photo: Getty Images

Freeform seems intent on expanding its Pretty Little Liars-verse to Avengers: Infinity War levels and why shouldnt they? The franchise has everything: pretty people, liars, and of course, murder. On Monday, Variety confirmed the networks decision to order Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists to series. The ten-episode first season will reportedly debut in 2019.

The Perfectionists, which initially landed a pilot order back in September, will feature PLL stars Sasha Pieterse and Janel Parrish reprising their roles as Alison DiLaurentis and Mona Vanderwaal, respectively. Reformed from their villainess ways, Alison and Mona are brought together again in the ritzy college town of Beacon Heights, where they work together to move on from their extremely traumatic teenage years. Just kidding, they immediately get drawn into a new mystery when a murder shakes Beacon Heights to its core.

The pilot, written by PLL showrunner I. Marlene King, is based on Pretty Little Liars author Sara Shepards book of the same name. Interestingly, The Perfectionists is not itself a PLL book, but is being retrofitted to focus on three college friends who struggle with both the fallout from the murder and the stress of being overachievers. God, and you thought high school was rough.
Photo: Joan Marcus

Dominique Morisseaus Paradise Blue  the second installment in the writers Detroit Projects trilogy and the first production in her current residency at Signature Theatre  is one of those plays that feels, for the most part, powerful when you witness it, and starts to spur more and more questions of character and logic the farther you get from it. Thats not necessarily a dire flaw. The play  which begins with an ominous prologue involving a Chekhovs gunshot, if not the gun itself  feels fable-like. Its got the pull of fate to it, an air of moody melodrama that, at least in the moment, helps it gloss over questions of strict behavioral naturalism, of real actions and real consequences, in favor of a lively experimentation with archetypes and genre tropes. In particular, Morisseau is playing with noir, and in Paradise Blues most exciting moments, she both digs into our expectations for this kind of smoky, 1940s, damaged-dudes-and-dangerous-dames narrative and overturns them.

The Blue of the title is a tortured prodigy (a simmering J. Alphonse Nicholson, who can really wail on that horn, plays him with a combination of rageful machismo and wild helplessness). Like his father before him, hes a trumpet player and the owner of the Paradise Club, a once swingin, now come-down-in-the-world establishment on the downtown strip known as Paradise Valley in the Black Bottom neighborhood of Detroit in 1949. Blues place is one of the original spots, beams his bandmate, Corn, a bearish sweetheart of a piano player given kindly solidity by Keith Randolph Smith; Blue like to say Paradise Valley took its name from him. We eventually discover the gory family trauma that helped to spawn Blues many demons, but even in the plays early scenes, the club owner and bandleader has all the earmarks of troubled genius: pride, impatience, tempestuous mood swings, insecurity, inflexibility, and of course, a gift so great that listeners to his playing think hes talkin to God and together they answerin my prayers.

At least, so says his girlfriend, the shy, sweet-natured Pumpkin, who spends her days keeping house at the Paradise (the clubs also got a boarding house upstairs) and reciting poetry as she sweeps the floors and brews the coffee. Pumpkins not just Blues lover; shes his waitress and his laundress and his cook and his emotional rock and, when the devil is in him, his victim. Shes also, despite the title, the true heart of Paradise Blue.

The heart of a woman goes forth with the dawn, Pumpkin muses at the plays beginning, reading from a book of poems by the Harlem Renaissance writer Georgia Douglas Johnson as she cleans up the bar. Blue might be a genius, but its Pumpkins going forth that ultimately interests Morisseau. The plays journey is hers, as Blues descent into desperation forces her to discover capacities in herself beyond those of a go-along gal who likes soft words and taking care of folks, a woman who believes her job is to ease a mans troubles as much as she can.

As Pumpkin, Kristolyn Lloyd makes lovely, gradual work of that character arc. Shes especially a treat to watch in one sequence where, while changing the linens in one of the rooms upstairs, she pulls a boarders black bustier out of a drawer and tries it on over her cardigan, striking a vampy pose in the invisible mirror and playing with the idea of being a sexy, indomitable spider woman. Such a woman is the lodger whose lingerie Pumpkin is borrowing. They call me Silver, says this stranger when she prowls into the play halfway through Act One. Shes dressed all in black, with a weaponized walk, an irresistible aura of gritty glamour, and a suspiciously dead husband. Blue begrudgingly lets her rent a room (shes also got plenty of money) but calls her the black widow.

Silver saunters right out of a Raymond Chandler novel  on her first entrance, the door of the Paradise swings open for her without her touching it, as if a plot-thickening wind is blowing through the room to announce her arrival. Simone Missick commits fully to type as the silky, smoldering, worldly woman of mystery, but she also brings welcome moments of crass humor and tough-mindedness to the role. Shes not just here to make the eyes of Blues bandmates do that cartoon-bulge-out-of-the-head-awooga! thing. Nor is she here simply out of her own ambition, though she does have designs on Blues club. Dramatically, Silvers here to teach Pumpkin a lesson, to model for her another way of walking through the world  to show the go-along gal that there was trouble in Paradise long before any spider woman walked through the door.

This fella of yours, Silver asks Pumpkin, he be good to you? Pumpkin responds with a kind of automatic docile awe that Blue is special and gifted, but Silver cuts her off cold: That wasnt my question. The uneasy relationship that builds between these two women forms the real core of Paradise Blue, as one pushes the other to take back her power. You a thinkin woman with her own words, Silver insists. But you play these mens just the same as me. Make em feel safe so they make you feel safe. But doll, aint none of us really safe  You want to keep ailin with [Blue]? Or you want it to stop?

Weve been trained to value stories like Blues, stories of haunted, talented protagonists (usually men) who long to escape their traumatic pasts and suffocating surroundings, and who wreak a certain amount of havoc in their pursuit of artistic and personal freedom. But with Silver and Pumpkin, Morisseau flips the script: She gives us a troubled male genius but she doesnt give him the play. Despite Blues talent and despite Morriseaus own sympathy for the grievous damage thats been done to him, the story refuses to absolve him of the damage hes done. Its a strong stance, especially considering the painfully viable explanations that the characters supply for Blues demons: Blue aint a bad man, sighs Corn. He just wanna be mighty but the world keep him small. Cost of bein Colored and gifted. Brilliant and second class. Make you insane.

Blue thinks that escaping Black Bottom will mean escaping the holes in his soul. His pain has made him hard, and its terrible to listen to him degrade the members of his own community, fellow black men and women that he feels are beneath him: This low-class population should be sent back to the outskirts of the city so the rest of us can finally move on up, he snarls. In the ultimate betrayal of Black Bottom, Blues even plotting to sell his club to the city, under the regime of a bigoted new mayor bent on cleaning up urban blight, thereby opening the door for the racist gentrification of his neighborhood.

We the blight he talkin bout, snaps the drummer for Blues bebop combo, P-Sam (a smart, slick performance by Francois Battiste). P-Sam, whos got sharp eyes and ambitions of his own, can see his band leaders treachery coming and cant forgive Blue for being willing to deliver the Paradise  their home and livelihood  into the hands of no count crackers that think of me as less than the spilled whiskey on they shoe. P-Sam wants to save the Paradise. For her own reasons, so does Silver. And in another twist on the conventional story about the One Who Makes It Out, Morisseau shifts her plays emotional and moral focus to those who are committed to staying. In the end, the play values loyalty over lone wolf-dom, and it exacts a heavy price from Blue for his betrayals.

Without giving away Paradise Blues dramatic finish entirely, its enough to say that that gunshot makes its way back around, eliciting more than a few gasps from the audience. And its this climactic gesture that both resounds powerfully in the instant and becomes increasingly problematic in its echoes. Pumpkin  whos finally shed her cardigan for a red satin gown and her meek hesitancy for an almost exalted sense of righteous certainty  commits an act of violence thats clearly framed as both self-defense and a kind of divine mercy. The actors throw themselves wholeheartedly into these climactic moments, doing solid, emotionally connected work even when Morisseaus script moves toward the neatness and sentiment of melodrama. Its not their playing of the scene or Santiago-Hudsons handling of it, which is intense yet measured, that causes cognitive dissonance. Its the scene itself: Here, Morisseau seems to give in to noir logic  that a beautiful, empowered woman in red whos arguably in the right can get away with bringing down justice on a man whos done wrong. But throughout Paradise Blue, Pumpkin has stood for loyalty, kindheartedness, and community: Every part of this place is who I am, she tells Blue, speaking of her home in Black Bottom. Its killin you but its keepin the rest of us alive.

As I walked away from Paradise Blue, I couldnt help thinking that Pumpkins liberation  so fascinating and so uniquely centered throughout the rest of the play  in the crucial final scene feels more symbolic than actual. In the real world, the action she takes would risk tearing a deep new hole in the very community she hopes to remain in and save. At the very least, it risks tearing a hole in her (though Silver might argue that such wounds are the necessary cost of freedom). Paradise Blue balances somewhere between a truthful portrait of human suffering, awakening, and transformation in a gritty, changing city, and a genre exercise that obscures details of justification and consequence through a glass of dark glamour. Despite the murky fun of a good noir, I prefer the moments when, outside of archetype, I can see the plays characters clearly.
Topher Grace. Photo: VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images

Im a Cannes virgin, so Ive never done this before! Topher Grace said last night at the beachside premiere of BlacKkKlansman, the new Spike Lee movie in which he co-stars. Its one of two American films in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and as fate would have it, Grace is in both of them: He also appears in the wild noir film Under the Silver Lake, starring Andrew Garfield, which is set to screen at Cannes tonight. I never even thought that might happen, I was so shocked, Grace told me, then laughed: I called my agent and said, Next time, three movies! Two is a joke, its gotta be three!

For a first trip to Cannes, Graces week is going awfully well. BlacKkKlansman was rousingly received last night, and stars John David Washington in a fact-based story of a black cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan via phone and then conscripted a colleague (Adam Driver) to be his stand-in. Grace plays David Duke, the grand wizard of the Klan, who develops an unexpected telephone rapport with Washingtons officer: As the two trade racist sentiments, Graces Duke exclaims, Youre darn tootin!

I told my agents I wanted to be in contention for that part and everyone went, Huh? recalled Grace, best known for starring in That 70s Show. Its not like something Ive done before. When that happens, its incumbent on the performer to go in and give proof of concept. He snagged the role after reading for Lee, but then the preparation began  and it sucked.

It was just the worst month of my life, doing research on that guy, said Grace. I listened to a lot of his radio show, I watched Donahue  because he was on that a lot  and I read My Awakening, his autobiography, which is horrible. Its like Mein Kampf. If all that research was tough on Grace, it was even worse for his wife: Right before I started, we had a baby. I was walking around the house doing my lines, and she was like, Hey, can you tone it down on the hate speech?
For President Donald Trump, foreign policy is all about the deals that are ripe to be done and the powerful men who make them.

So while it seems illogical that someone who won power accusing China of stealing American jobs now wants to save US-sanctioned technology firm ZTE to rescue Chinese jobs, the move is perfectly compatible with his character.

ZTE's fate is evolving into a multi-layered drama that encapsulates tense trade posturing between two economic superpowers that are also locked in high-stakes geopolitical maneuvering over the future of a nuclear North Korea.

It offers fresh insight into Trump's way of doing business, his willingness to flout the norms of presidential governance and his own impulsive behavior -- all of which proved so attractive to voters soured on establishment politics in 2016.

RELATED: Trump throws ZTE curveball as big week for US-China trade begins

Trump has repeatedly stressed the warmth of his friendship with Xi Jinping since he welcomed the Chinese leader to his Mar-a-Lago resort last year and was honored with lavish hospitality during his return visit to Beijing.

The President appears to be betting big that the personal connection can pay off despite the widening gulf between China and the US on trade.

"I think there's a bit of a bromance between President Trump and Xi," said Larry Kudlow, who runs the President's National Economic Council, at an event hosted by Axios on Tuesday, adding that the friendship might even lead to a trade deal.

"Bromances are always a good idea."

But to Trump's critics, the tussle over ZTE offers yet more evidence that he's prone to placing his personal political gain over the national interest, takes profound decisions without regard for the risks and is guilty of hypocrisy.

It's also raising questions about whether Trump's hard line on trade is softening ahead of talks with Chinese negotiators in Washington this week.

"This is quite unprecedented," Michael Hirson, a former US Treasury trade representative to Beijing, told CNN's Richard Quest on Monday, arguing that the President's gambit could mean he is on a different page from his most hawkish advisers on the China trade dispute.

The Trump administration last month banned ZTE, which makes smartphones running Google's Android operating system, from using US technology after accusing it of violating a deal in which it agreed to pay $1.2 billion for evading US sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

Yet on Sunday, out of nowhere, Trump tweeted that "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!"

Trump posted a follow-up tweet on Monday that was just as staggering, possibly influenced by hours of news coverage about motivation in offering to do the deal:

"ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi."

Why save ZTE?

The case for saving ZTE is that doing so could yield significant concessions in return -- and the United States should use every bargaining chip it has to secure a win in the deepening trade confrontation with Beijing.

Trump also needs China's cooperation, and continued pressure, on North Korea as he prepares for his summit with the isolated state's leader, Kim Jong Un, in Singapore on June 12.

There is also the argument that ZTE is emblematic of the entwined US-China economic relationship, given that thousands of jobs in both countries depend on its survival farther down the high-tech supply chain.

But Trump's intervention on ZTE surprised trade experts because it rejected the principle that trade enforcement decisions should not be used and potentially waived for political reasons -- a bridge other presidents have hesitated to cross.

Avoiding that linkage spares presidents from requests from every foreign leader they meet to intervene in niggling trade disputes.

Politicizing enforcement action also weakens US arguments to foreign governments that the rule of law and good governance are crucial to healthy political systems and regulated interaction between governments.

Further, Trump's hint of concessions on ZTE played into critics' concerns that the President cedes leverage before securing substantial concessions in return -- despite his claim to be the world's best deal-maker.

Characteristically, the President's order seemed to take his own government by surprise. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who last month accused ZTE of "egregious" violations, was singing a different tune Monday.

"The question is: Are there additional remedies to the one we had originally put forward?" he said at the National Press Club. "That's the area we will be exploring very, very promptly."

Ross also said he wouldn't be surprised if the issue came up in talks with Chinese Vice Premier Lui He in Washington this week.

Looming trade war

The Trump administration is locked in a confrontation with China over alleged intellectual property theft, market access and the size of the Chinese trade surplus with the US, which prompted Trump to threaten $150 billion in import duties on Chinese goods.

But his critics worry that his positioning on ZTE is a first sign of a broader shift.

"He is backing off, and his policy is now designed to achieve one goal: Make China great again," said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, of New York. "The toughest thing we could do, the thing that will move China the most, is taking tough action against actors like ZTE."

Trump's tweets also exposed him to accusations of inconsistency, since the administration on Sunday warned of possible sanctions against European firms that do business with Tehran after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal last week.

"The hypocrisy here is staggering," former State Department spokesman John Kirby told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Monday.

"He has got his new ambassador to Germany out there last week saying German companies that do business with Iran -- we are going to slam ya -- and now we are going to go ahead and just forget the billion dollars of fines that we assigned to that company for selling that technology to both Iran and North Korea."

The ZTE situation could also expose Trump politically ahead of midterm elections in November.

CNN's Cristina Alesci reported on Monday that the administration was seeking concessions from the Chinese government in exchange for easing restrictions on ZTE. A deal could see China remove proposed agricultural tariffs, a Commerce Department official familiar with the discussions said.

Those tariffs, apparently targeted direct at Trump country in Midwestern states, were threatened in response to the President's vow to tax China's imports to narrow the US trade deficit with Beijing.

If agricultural penalties are waived in quid pro quo with ZTE, the White House could face accusations of prioritizing Trump's political fortunes over national security.

Already, some Republicans are accusing the White House of ignoring the concerns of US intelligence agencies that ZTE could be used by Chinese spy agencies to conduct cyber-espionage in the United States.

"Problem with ZTE isn't jobs & trade, it's national security & espionage," tweeted Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican. "We are crazy to allow them to operate in U.S. without tighter restrictions."
From his small mountain town in the Ecuadorian Andes, Darwin Cabrera made the long, dangerous journey through Central America and Mexico and finally across the Rio Grande, into the United States.



But on June 3, 2014, just after he crossed illegally into El Paso, Texas, Border Patrol agents spotted him with other crossers on Sixth Street.

As they gave chase, the 18-year-old dove into one of the canals flanking the US side of the river. He didn't surface.

Two days later, Border Patrol agents in a helicopter spotted his body, floating face down. El Paso police officers fished it out of the canal. The local medical examiner recorded the details of the death.



But even though Border Patrol agents saw him go in and saw his body come out, his death did not count in their eyes. The agency's official tally of border-crossing deaths in their El Paso sector that year: Zero. After CNN contacted sector officials with a copy of the El Paso medical examiner's report, they acknowledged the error and said they would add the death to their records.



For 20 years, as part of its mission, the Border Patrol has been tasked with tracking and trying to prevent border-crossing deaths. But an investigation by CNN has found that the agency has been, at best, haphazard about tracking and recording deaths. Despite telling Congress and the General Accounting Office it would provide comprehensive accounting of migrant deaths, it has failed to do so. It has excluded fatalities reported by other law-enforcement agencies, while claiming to include them, and neglected even to count some deaths directly witnessed by Border Patrol agents.



Over the 16 fiscal years ended last September, CNN has identified at least 564 deaths of people crossing illegally in the border region, above and beyond the Border Patrol's tally of 5,984.



Those uncounted deaths were identified through a review of federal, state and local records and databases, and interviews with medical examiners, pathologists, sheriffs and justices of the peace along the border. It is by no means a complete count, and there are strong indications that the actual toll could be thousands higher.



More than half of the uncounted deaths identified by CNN happened in the past four years. Those figures mirror a recent investigation by the Arizona Republic, one of a set of pieces on border conditions that won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. That story documented a significant undercounting of migrant deaths from 2012 to 2016.

The effective erasure within federal statistics of Cabrera's death and so many others has helped minimize the magnitude of the humanitarian crisis associated with illegal crossings. Downplaying the death toll also makes it harder for the United States to assess the full impact of a border policy, in place since the mid-1990s, that uses barriers and other enforcement tools to push migrants to more remote, deadlier crossing points.

That policy was designed to deter crossers, but, as officials realized nearly from the start, its primary impact has been to make the journey far more deadly. Today, experts who study the border fear that deportation and border enforcement strategies being pursued by the Trump admininstration may drive deaths even higher -- making it all the more important to accurately track fatalities.

Carla Provost, the acting chief of the Border Patrol, declined interview requests from CNN. She referred questions to Benjamin Huffman, the Border Patrol's chief of strategic planning and analysis.



Huffman acknowledged that the agency's death tally is incomplete. He said Border Patrol may exclude deaths from local agencies because it doesn't trust their standards. "How other people make these determinations (of what constitutes a migrant death) may not be consistent with what we've done," Huffman said.



But CNN found that the Border Patrol has made little effort to count deaths beyond the ones they encounter. Medical examiners and sheriffs agreed that the Border Patrol doesn't ask for their numbers. And 10 Border Patrol agents and supervisors across the southwestern border and in Washington told CNN that they account only for migrant deaths that Border Patrol agents are directly involved in handling. They don't include other deaths reported by landowners or others to local law enforcement.

"We've only ever counted what we find," said Felipe Jimenez, an agent in the Border Patrol's Tucson sector since 2009. He said that, as an emergency medical technician, he has been involved in many rescues and encounters with deceased migrants.



"The ones we find are our official number. Since I've been in, it's just been what we encounter," said Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the Border Patrol agents' union who has worked as an agent in the Rio Grande Valley sector since 2001.

Huffman was unable to explain why the Border Patrol's reports to Congress have said it is reaching out to other agencies for death counts when its own agents and supervisors said they are not.



It's impossible to know exactly which deaths are being included in the Border Patrol's count, since their reports offer almost no specific details. The agency said it occasionally adds migrant deaths outside the region it covers. For example, Huffman said they included the well-publicized deaths this past July of 10 migrants trapped in a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio, even though it was Immigrations and Customs Enforcement that responded to the scene. Even with those additions, though, the agency's numbers fall short of CNN's count of known migrant fatalities.



Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the House Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee, said lawmakers rely on correct information to make border policy. "The Border Patrol's mission is to keep us safe, number one," Cuellar told CNN. But, he said, having an accurate picture of where and how many people are dying and being rescued also helps reduce the dangers -- both for border crossers and for the agents who risk their lives to save them.



Cuellar has heard from constituents who are concerned about the death toll. Last year, he said, he added language to the House appropriation bill requiring the Border Patrol to provide greater detail on how it tracks border deaths and what it does to prevent them.



"Folks brought up the issue about 'are we doing enough to have the Border Patrol identify and count deaths along the border,'" said Cuellar. When he added the language, he said, "we thought it was sufficient. ... These are issues I want to bring up and ask them if we should be changing the protocol. We all want to see accurate counts."

The surge in crossing deaths began after a 1994 change in the Border Patrol's strategy. That year, the Border Patrol decided to begin building barriers in urban areas such as El Paso, to push border crossers out into more remote and dangerous terrain.

Policymakers believed that once people saw how perilous the new routes were, they'd stop trying, said Doris Meissner, then-commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, which at the time included the Border Patrol.

But within a year or two, based on how many people agents continued to apprehend, it became obvious that the dangers weren't deterring crossers. And the number of migrants dying on the border had jumped from dozens a year to hundreds. "The deaths weren't contemplated," Meissner said. "Obviously, one can't be anything but regretful about the deaths."

Meissner said the agency had "quite a discussion" about what to do. "But it wasn't, 'Oh dear, we need to change the strategy,' It was, 'Are there things we can do to mitigate what's happening?'"



So in 1998, the Border Patrol launched the Border Safety Initiative, a set of measures to warn migrants about risks, rescue those in trouble, and quantify border-crossing deaths. But the initiative left it up to leaders in each of the Border Patrol's nine Southwest border sectors to decide which bodies to count and how. By the mid-2000s, policymakers on both sides of the aisle were asking questions about the rising death toll. That led Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, to ask the Government Accountability Office to look into what the Border Patrol was doing to track and prevent deaths.
(CNN) -- Palestinians were marking a day of mourning Tuesday after Israeli troops killed dozens during protests in Gaza over the controversial opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Dozens of funerals were expected to take place after 60 Palestinians were killed in demonstrations, according to figures provided by the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Among the dead were eight children, including eight-month-old Laila Anwar Ghandour. The health ministry said the baby was asphyxiated by tear gas.

Ghandour's funeral was held on Tuesday morning. Her mother and father cradled her body, wrapped in a white funeral shroud, as they walked to the graveyard to bury her.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Monday was the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war. In the West Bank, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has called for three days of mourning, saying Monday's events were "one of the most ferocious days our people have seen."

Tuesday's funerals came on a day Palestinians call "The Catastrophe" or "Nakba," in memory of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who were driven from or left their homes during the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war.

Israel's military says protesters were trying to storm the border fence between Israel and Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday's confrontations were "the determined action of the IDF and the security forces prevented a breach into Israel's borders."

Over 2,700 people suffered injuries, nearly half of them by live fire, according to the health ministry. Doctors told CNN they operated on many young men with gunshot wounds.

Another day of protests is expected at the Gaza border Tuesday as international condemnation poured in over Israel's use of force against unarmed Palestinian protesters.

Doctors Without Borders called on the Israeli army to stop using deadly force against demonstrators, saying their actions were "unacceptable and inhuman."

"This bloodbath is the continuation of the Israeli army's policy during the last seven weeks: shooting with live ammunition at demonstrators, on the assumption that anyone approaching the separation fence is a legitimate target," Marie-Elisabeth Ingres, the group's representative in Gaza, said in a statement.

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned "the violence of the Israeli forces against protesters."

In a phone call with Abbas, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "condemned the attacks and wished Allah's mercy to all martyrs," according to the official Anadolu news agency. Turkey is recalling its ambassadors to Washington and Tel Aviv for consultations, according to state-run Anadolu Agency.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was "profoundly alarmed" by the violence in Gaza and urged Israeli forces to "exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire," his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.

A proposed UN Security Council press statement, put forward by Kuwait, was blocked by the US, according to a UN diplomat.

The draft statement, seen by CNN, included language expressing "outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest."

It also reaffirmed UN resolutions on the status of Jerusalem, saying that recent events had "no legal effect" under international law. The statement was withdrawn once the US indicate that it would block it, a UN diplomat said.

Violent response

Monday's deaths came after 35,000 protesters gathered at the border of Gaza and Israeli territory Monday to object to the embassy move, continuing the "Great March of Return" demonstrations. The protests have been taking place since March, in the run-up to the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel and expulsion of thousands of Palestinians.

Most of the dead were killed by Israeli fire near the border, after troops used tear gas and live ammunition to try and disperse the crowd. Israeli drones also dropped tear gas in an effort to disperse the protesters.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) accused the Palestinian militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, of "leading a terrorist operation" and inciting the protesters to conduct what Israel described as terror attacks.

The IDF alleged some protesters threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and burned tires. It F also claimed to have foiled an attack by three armed Palestinians near Rafah, close to the border with Egypt, during "a particularly violent demonstration."

Many of the injured Palestinians were young men who were hit by live ammunition, according to British-Palestinian Dr. Ghassan Abu Sitteh, who spoke to CNN from a hospital run by a British charity in Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza.

Monday's death toll was the biggest number of fatalities suffered in one day since the latest round of demonstrations began more than six weeks ago. The previous high was 17, which happened on the day the protests started on March 30.

The-CNN-Wire

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DESPITE CASE DISMISSAL, MO. SEN. GOP LEADERS STILL CALL ON GREITENS TO STEP DOWN

15 MAY 18 07:57 ET|KMOV|St. Louis, MO|PACKAGE|02:17

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMOV.com) - Republican leaders in the Missouri State Senate are still calling on Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens to resign despite the dismissal of an invasion of privacy charge against him.

Media:Video
PAHOA, Hawaii (AP) - Officials say the pace of bookings for hotels and tour activities on the Big Island of Hawaii are down about 50 percent compared with previous years as an erupting volcano spews lava for a second week.

The Big Island tourism board estimates $5 million worth of cancellations from May through July. There was "an immediate impact" after the Kilauea volcano first erupted on May 3.

Tourism on the island brought in $2.5 billion in revenue last year. Board executive director Ross Birch says this is the "first leak we're seeing out of the bucket."

Authorities say the volcano has produced nearly 20 active lava fissures and destroyed more than two dozen homes.

The National Weather Service has warned residents of "light ashfall" throughout the day in the island's southernmost district after a burst of volcanic emissions.
After more than a year of questions from WAAY 31, the Governor and Huntsville's Mayor made it clear they don't see a need to change laws on what you can and cannot see.



However, not everyone agrees.

"There's no teeth in it. It's ambiguous, and to enforce it you have to go through the court systems," said Terry Witt.

Witt is planning on going through the court system, and we're going to follow every step of his journey.

"I was chased out of the courthouse trying to get them. If that happens on a basis, people aren't going to try to request public records," said Terry Witt, who lives in Tuscumbia.

He's talking about public records such as police reports, personnel files and body camera videos.

Terry Witt learned how hard it can be when he requested body camera video. Witt wanted video from a Colbert County Sheriff's deputy after the two got into an altercation at the court house.

"He made the determination that body cams don't fall under public records act," he said.

Witt believes the county illegally rejected his open records request, so he hired an attorney and plans on suing.

The problems Witt faced accessing public records in Colbert County are similar to the issues in Huntsville. WAAY 31 took those concerns to mayor and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Battle.

We questioned Battle about state laws and how they're followed. We also questioned Governor Kay Ivey about these requests and the answers we got from both candidates were very different.

"Public records are public records. The people of Alabama are entitled to viewing public records," Ivey said.

WAAY 31 wanted to know why Huntsville rejected our request to view the personnel file of a Huntsville police officer charged with DUI in March.

"It's clearly the law. The law says employee files are employee files. And employee files are not to be released without prior consent or the consent of their supervisors," said Battle.

But it's not so clear. The law states, quote, "Every citizen has a right to inspect and take a copy of any public writing of this state, except as otherwise expressly provided by statute."

There is no statute.

In an email to WAAY 31, Assistant City Attorney Eddie Blair cites a State Supreme Court opinion that exempts "sensitive personnel records." Blair called the file of an officer charged with DUI "sensitive personnel materials and their release is not in the best interests of the public."

I looked up the court case Blair cited. The judges also said, "Courts must balance the interest of the citizens in knowing what their public officers are doing in the discharge of public duties, and "It is clear from the wording of  36-12-40 that the legislature intended that the statute be liberally construed."

"If there's an abuse of the law then we need to look at it. But at this point I think we have been open on all the records," Battle said.

Over the past year, WAAY 31 asked state lawmakers about changing open record laws. They all told us it sounded like a good idea.

No bill was ever introduced, and Governor Ivey doesn't seem concerned about it.

"If somebody is having trouble getting information from their government, there is a process you can got through in the courts," she said.

That's right, you need to go to court. It's the only option available in Alabama. There's no oversight by any board or commission.

That's something that frustrated Witt.

"All these agencies know that. They know if we turn it down you're only alternative is to go to the court systems which most people are just going to forget about it," he said.

Witt knows it's hard to change.

"They're the ones that create the laws and state how they're enforced and at the same time they're the ones that they would be used against," he said.

With the primary for Governor on June 5, Witt says it's time to demand government transparency.
The World Customs Organization (WCO), within the framework of the newly signed agreement between the WCO and Bahamas Customs and Excise Department (BCED), organized a National Workshop on Rules of Origin for Bahamas Customs. This Workshop, conducted in Nassau from 7 to 11 May 2018, was attended by 21 officials as well as representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

The Bahamas is part of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) which has concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the EU. Within the framework of these agreements, there is a wide range of possibilities for cumulation with other partners, each with specific requirements in regard to rules of origin.

Topics discussed during the Workshop included the key concepts for proper origin determination, related operational and procedural issues, the establishment of an efficient origin management and provision of effective training and private sector outreach.

During the Workshop, the WCO facilitators presented the Revenue Package initiatives, including the Guidelines on Origin Certification, Preferential Origin Verification and Advance Rulings, which have been designed to assist WCO Members in bringing the provisions in Free Trade Agreements into smooth operation. The WCO Comparative Study on Preferential Rules of Origin and the Database of preferential trade agreements were also presented.

Participants discussed specific areas of concern, including the low level of knowledge and use of the FTAs and challenges linked to administrative cooperation. Discussions also emphasized the importance of verifying the originating status of goods, rather than merely checking the authenticity of the certificate of origin.

The knowledge and experience gained from the Workshop will assist the Administration in the correct application of the Free Trade Agreements and will lead to a reduction in the number of instances of rules of origin based disputes. This will help the Bahamas benefit from the regional economic integration, promote exports of originating products and ensure the correct application of preferential treatments for importations.
By May. 15, 2018

featuring Kentucky and the Great War: World War I on the Home Front. presented by author David Bettez.





The evening is co-sponsored by Kentucky Humanities an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C.



Based on Bettez's book, Kentucky and the Great War: World War 1 on the Home Front, this presentation looks at the domestic side of World War I: how Kentuckians rallied to support the war effort. Bettez covers initial reactions to the war, especially as they affected the many Kentuckians of German heritage, and describes how the Kentucky Council of Defense and local county councils created and led Red Cross and Liberty Loan campaigns, and food and conservation efforts. Bettez discusses the support roles of women, children, African Americans, religions, and educational institutions. He also talks about some of the Kentucky men and women who served during the war.





David Bettez is the recipient of a 2017 Kentucky History Award given by the Kentucky Historical Society for his book, Kentucky and the Great War: World War I on the Home Front.





David J. Bettez served as director of the Office of International Affairs at the University of Kentucky and is the author of Kentucky Marine: Major General Logan Feland and the Making of the Modern USMC, which won the Marine Corps Heritage Foundations Colonel Joseph Alexander Award for Biography.





All programs are free & open to the public



McCracken County Public Library is located at 555 Washington St. in downtown Paducah.



For more information, contact Bobbie Wrinkle at 270-442-2510 ext. 119 or email: bwrinkle@mclib.net



PADUCAH, KY - McCracken County Public Library will host its Evenings Upstairs Series on Thursday, June 14 from 7 until 8 pm.
No. 16 Kentucky hosts LSU, looking to remain unbeaten
Paducah Announces City Manager Finalists

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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 14, 2018 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 14, 2018 | 10:27 PM | PADUCAH, KY

The City of Paducah has selected four finalists for the City Manager position. Paducah mayor Brandi Harless announced the names at a called meeting of the Board of Commissioners for a budget workshop.



For the last several months, the city has been working with Strategic Government Resources of Keller, Texas, to conduct a nationwide search for the recruitment and selection of the next city manager.



The candidates, in alphabetical order, are as follows:



James (Jim) Arndt has more than 14 years of local government experience and spent an additional six years as a police officer and three years serving in the United States Army. He currently serves the City of Effingham, Illinois, where he has worked as their City Administrator for the past eight years. He has also been the Administrator for the City of St. Clair, Missouri and the Village of Union City, Ohio. Arndt holds a Masters Degree in Political Science and a Bachelors Degree in General Studies, both from Eastern Illinois University, and is an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Credentialed Manager.



James (Jim) Halasz has been the County Administrator for Halifax County, Virginia for the past six years, and before that he spent twelve years serving as the Deputy City Manager for the City of Staunton, Virginia. In total he has more than 28 years of local government experience in addition to four years of experience working for Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tennessee. Halasz holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Michigan State University and a Bachelors Degree from Siena Heights College.



Cole ODonnell has more than 20 years of local government experience. He most recently served the City of Dixon, Illinois as City Manager. Before that, he was the City Administrator for the City of East Moline, Illinois for five years and the City Administrator for the City of Algona, Iowa for almost 12 years. ODonnell is a graduate of Iowa State University and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. He also is an ICMA Credentialed Manager.



James (Mark) Rooney also has an accomplished background with more than 22 years of local government experience and a distinguished career in the United States Army. He most recently served as Village Manager for the Villages of Carpentersville and Wheeling, Illinois, and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel before retiring from duty in 2014. Rooney holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics and History from the University of Nebraska, is a Graduate of Command & General Staff College in Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and is also an ICMA Credentialed Manager.



Mayor Harless said, I am extremely pleased with how the search is progressing and the experience of the candidates who have applied for the City Manager position. The recruitment has generated an exceptional number of quality candidates, and the City Commission looks forward to learning more about our four finalists during the on-site interview process.



On May 21 and 22, the four finalists will be in Paducah. The public is invited to a meet & greet reception on May 21, (the time and location have yet to be determined). In addition to the reception, the candidates will participate in face-to-face interviews with the board, tour the city, and meetwith department directors. Also, SGR will continue the vetting process on the candidates including a psychometric assessment, media search, and a rigorous background investigation.



Applications were accepted for the position through April 13, which resulted in an applicant pool of 32 candidates from 17 states with 19 of the candidates having city manager or assistant/deputy city manager experience. On April 17th, the Paducah Board of Commissioners met with SGR Senior Vice President Doug Thomas to review the candidate pool and select semifinalists to continue in the search process. That process narrowed the candidate pool to ten semifinalists. Those candidates completed a comprehensive questionnaire, online video interviews, an applicant Predictive Index Assessment, and additional application materials.



Commissioners narrowed the field to four candidates on May 9th.



In January, the Board selected SGR of Keller, Texas to conduct and assist in the nationwide search for the recruitment and selection of Paducahs next City Manager. Parks & Recreation Director Mark Thompson has been serving as Interim City Manager since January 13th.





In other business, the commissioners acted on a notice of intent for storm water discharges from City of Paducah.



The Paducah Board of Commissioners approved a municipal order to submit a Notice of Intent to the Kentucky Division of Water to be authorized for storm water discharges from our Small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (SMS4). The Kentucky Division of Water has reissued Paducahs permit to operate the SMS4. The current permit is for May 1, 2018, through April 30, 2023. Within thirty days of the May 1st effective date, Paducah must submit this Notice of Intent. The City has held its permit since 2003. An SMS4 permit requires a variety of information including a sewer system map showing all major storm sewer outfalls, the names and locations of streams, and the delineation of the watershed drainage areas. The permit also requires the City to provide an annual report of its best management practices including public education, public involvement, pollution prevention, detection and elimination of illicit discharges, control of the runoff from construction sites, and construction management practices. For more information on this subject visit http://paducahky.gov/storm-water-phase-ii.



The Paducah Board of Commissioners and Department Directors also participated in a Budget Workshop. Fiscal year 2019 begins July 1 with the Board to approve the budget in June. At this meeting, Interim City Manager Mark Thompson kicked off the budget workshop by explaining the development of the Fiscal Year 2019 budget began in January. Departments have been meeting with the Finance Department and the City Manager to prepare their budget drafts and to look at ways to stretch already tight appropriations. Thompson says, We have to think about systemic changes so that we can still make progress in the city.



After a presentation about the General Fund, each Department then provided an overview of staffing, operations, past successes, and proposed departmental changes and budgetary needs. At this meeting the following departments gave presentations: Finance, General Government, Information Technology, Human Resources, Planning, Parks & Recreation, Police, Fire, and Engineering & Public Works.



Thompson also explained that even though they are working on the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget, they are thinking ahead to the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget. He explained that four committees will be created soon, each led by two members of the Board of Commissioners, to develop plans regarding the following topics: City-owned facilities, vehicles, support of outside agencies, and revenue opportunities. Each committee will be challenged to either find efficiencies or new strategies regarding these topics. The plan is to have recommendations from these committees by January as the City enters the Fiscal Year 2020 budget process.



The budget discussions will continue at a workshop to be held May 23rd.
By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 14, 2018 | 11:28 PM | MAYFIELD, KY

Charges are pending following a motorcycle crash Sunday night in Mayfield that left one person hospitalized.

According to the Mayfield Police Department, the collision happened around 7:40 pm at the intersection of North 12th Street and West Lee Street. Police said a vehicle, driven by Laura Parrott, was traveling south on North 12th Street, when a motorcycle, operated by Adam Oliver, allegedly ran the stop sign at West Lee Street, and struck Parrott's vehicle.

When police arrived at the scene, they found Oliver on the ground, bleeding from his face. Oliver reportedly ignored officers' commands to stay down and became combative, swinging at police and trying to leave the scene.

Oliver was detained for his safety. According to police, while being transported to Jackson Purchase Medical Center, Oliver continued being combative, spitting at EMS personnel. After being treated at Jackson Purchase Medical Center, Oliver was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.

Police say the investigation is continuing, with charges pending.
Hawaii Faces Tourism Losses, Insurance Questions

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By The Associated Press

May. 15, 2018 | HONOLULU, HAWAII

By The Associated Press May. 15, 2018 | 09:25 AM | HONOLULU, HAWAII

People nixing vacations to Hawaiis Big island has cost the tourism industry millions of dollars as the top attraction, Kilauea volcano, keeps spewing lava.



Cancellations from May through July have hit at least $5 million, said Ross Birch, executive director of the islands tourism board.



The booking pace for hotels and other activities, such as tours for lava viewing, zip lines and glass bottom boats have fallen 50 percent. A handful of cruise ships have also decided not to come into port even in Kona on the west side of the island, about 80 miles away from the volcano.



Meanwhile, residents who have recently lost homes to the lava-spewing mountain are on an urgent quest for answers about insurance, desperate to learn whether their coverage will offer any help after molten rock wiped out most of what they owned.



The eruption has destroyed about two dozen homes in the Leilani Estates subdivision on the Big Island.



On Monday, a new fissure spewing lava and toxic gas opened and a crack in the ground that emerged a day earlier sent molten rock crawling toward the ocean, officials said. Nearly 20 fissures have opened since the Kilauea volcano started erupting 12 days ago, and officials warn it may soon have a steam eruption that would shoot boulders and ash miles into the sky.



Few insurance companies will issue policies for homes in Leilani Estates because it is in an area deemed by the U.S. Geological Survey to have a high risk of lava.
Nalbandian Confirmed to 6th Circuit Apellate Court

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By West Kentucky Star Staff

May. 15, 2018 | FRANKFORT, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff May. 15, 2018 | 12:33 PM | FRANKFORT, KY

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell spoke on the floor of the Senate Tuesday regarding confirmation of John Nalbandian of Kentucky for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.



Mr. Nalbandian has earned praise from across the political spectrum as a top appellate advocate. Hes known for his fairness, collegiality, and legal ability. In 2007, Mr. Nalbandian was appointed to be a Special Justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court. He later sat on the selection panel for magistrate judges in the states Eastern District. And more recently, President Obama nominated him to serve on the Board of the State Justice Institute. He was confirmed by voice vote," McConnell said.



In addition to well-regarded work in private practice, Mr. Nalbandian has also dedicated himself to community causes, such as economic development in Northern Kentucky and greater local representation for minority attorneys. To that end, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association has joined the multitude of supporters of his nomination. They note that, if confirmed, Mr. Nalbandian will be just the seventh active Asian Pacific American federal appellate judge nationwide," McConnell said.



The Senator concluded his remarks by saying, John Nalbandian has the impressive credentials, the preparation, the broad support -- every indication that hell be a worthy and capable judge.



The 6th Circuit has jurisdiction over federal courts in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan.
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As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more
Georgia State University students were supposed to walk across the stage Thursday and accept their diplomas, marking four years of hard work. But their graduation ceremony was cut short.

The school says it was because of the threat of severe weather, but students say the administration got it wrong.

There was a lot of emotion inside Georgia State Stadium Thursday night. Many are demanding a do-over, and an online petition had more than 1,200 signatures as of Friday night.

Rashad Johnson and Monet Thompson are two of the 1,600 College of Arts and Sciences grads who didn't get to walk.

"We paid graduation fees, we paid for our cap and gown," they said. "GSU seems to not care about the money and time and energy that we took to get to this point."

Johnson is the first man in his family to graduate college.

"My family came and they wanted that thank you for being an example for younger family members, and we didn't get that," said Johnson.

Thompson's mom flew in all the way from Wisconsin.

"Unfortunately, my dad, he passed away two years ago so this was my day to show my family that this was really special to me," said Thompson.

About 10 minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, all the students were ushered inside the stadium buildings due to the threat of severe weather. About 20 minutes later, they were told the ceremony would continue.

But the ceremony was cut short.

GSU says they understand grads are frustrated, but safety has to come first.

"We apologize for how this happened. We are really, really sorry," said a spokesperson. "We did the best we could, given the conditions."

Although students are demanding a redo, we directly asked the school about that and they said there are no plans to reschedule.
ROME  A Rome man is facing weapon charges after he allegedly showed off a loaded gun during a dispute.

Rome police say around 4:15 p.m. Sunday, officers responded to West Fox Street for a reported dispute. When officers arrived, they were told by a witness that one of the people involved in the dispute, later identified as 24-year-old Kenneth Soberanis, had displayed a handgun.

During the investigation police found out a possible location for Soberanis, and officers set up a perimeter at 107 West Thomas St. in Rome. Police say they found Soberanis hiding in a first-floor common area bathroom, and he was found to be possession of a loaded .22 caliber handgun.

Soberanis was arrested and charged with felony second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and felony third-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned and sent to the Oneida County Jail on $10,000 bail.

Police say further charges are pending.
An Otsego County veteran is being honored by New York State for his years of service to his country.

Thomas McMillen was inducted into the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame on Tuesday by state Sen. James Seward.

McMillen served in the U.S. Army on active duty from 1967-1973, and he completed two tours in Vietnam. During his service he rose up to the rank of Captain, first serving as an infantry platoon commander and later as a Chinook helicopter pilot, according to his Hall of Fame biography.

Thomas McMillen is a true American hero, and more than worthy of inclusion in the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame, Seward said in a news release. Tom displayed superior bravery and courage while serving our nation. His two tours in Vietnam  first as an infantry platoon commander and later as a helicopter pilot  highlighted a rare skill set and demonstrated his desire to put country first. He was a gifted leader who took on new, demanding challenges throughout his military career and excelled at every turn. Our country is better because of Thomas McMillen.

McMillen also received many awards and honors throughout his career, including the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with 6 Campaign Stars, the Bronze Star Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Cluster and the Army Aviator Badge, among others.

McMillen also served part-time in the Army National Guard, which he retired from in 2001 as a Chief Warrant Officer 4.

Inductees for the NYS Senate Veterans Hall of Fame must be former members of any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP)  Indianapolis police have arrested several people who blocked a street outside the Statehouse as part of a nonviolent protest against poverty, racism and other issues.

Members of the Indiana Poor People's campaign blocked Capitol Avenue before the arrests Monday afternoon.

WISH-TV and WRTV-TV report at least 14 people were arrested. Police made scores of similar arrests in Missouri, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

The Indiana's Poor People Campaign is a state version of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. It's also a renewed version of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaign five decades ago to lift Americans out of poverty. Protest and events were planned in at least 30 states and the nation's capital on Monday.
NWMO broadens its international cooperation

15 May 2018

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Canada's Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) has signed or renewed cooperation agreements with counterparts from five countries: Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The organisation has previously signed such agreements with nuclear waste management organisations in Finland, South Korea and Japan.

NWMO's Swami (right), signs an agreement with Thomas Ernst, CEO of Nagra

(Image: NWMO)

NWMO signed or renewed cooperation agreements with Belgian national radioactive waste management agency Ondraf; French radioactive waste management agency Andra; Swedish waste and fuel management company Svensk Karnbranslehantering AB; Switzerland's national radioactive waste disposal cooperative Nagra; and the Radioactive Waste Management Limited subsidiary of the UK's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The agreements were signed yesterday in Toronto at the opening reception of the International Association for Environmentally Safe Disposal of Radioactive Materials' (EDRAM's) annual meeting. EDRAM promotes the exchange of knowledge among member countries.

NWMO President and CEO Laurie Swami said, "As our work to identify a single, preferred site for a deep geological repository intensifies, now is the perfect time to renew and sign knowledge-sharing agreements with our international partners. These agreements ensure we are applying the best international practice to Canada's plan for the safe, long-term management of used nuclear fuel, and sharing our experience with our global counterparts."

NWMO is implementing Canada's plan for the long-term management of used nuclear fuel. The organisation was created in 2002 by Canada's nuclear electricity producers. Ontario Power Generation, NB Power and Hydro-Quebec are the founding members and, along with Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, fund NWMO's operations. The NWMO operates on a not-for-profit basis and derives its mandate from the federal Nuclear Fuel Waste Act.

The organisation launched the process to find a suitable site for a Canadian repository in 2010, and has progressively narrowed down study areas from a list of 21 communities that registered interest. Five sites - all in Ontario - now remain: Ignace, Hornepayne, Huron-Kinloss, Manitouwadge and South Bruce. The NWMO completed drilling of its first borehole at Ignace in January, and has said it expects to be able to select the preferred site for detailed site characterisation by around 2023.

Kim Rudd, parliamentary secretary to Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Jim Carr, attended yesterday's signing ceremony and said: "As it makes steady progress in implementing Canada's plan, I am pleased that the NWMO is sharing Canadian research and innovation with the rest of the world, and learning from the experiences and knowledge of other countries. Collaboration of this sort is vital in the global imperative to safely manage used nuclear fuel to protect people and the environment."

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
A police officer managed to walk out of court a free man after claiming that his rape victim was his wife, according to court documents in the United Arab Emirates.

The 28-year-old police officer who worked at the Dubai International Airport was arrested after his fiancee, who was not identified, filed a complaint of rape against him.

The woman told police that her fiance took her for a ride in his car.

He drove to a secluded area, where he parked the car.

He then ripped off her clothes and raped her.

The woman screamed for help but nobody heard her.

The woman later went to the police station to report the rape.

The police officer was arrested and convicted of rape.

He was sentenced to serve 6 months in prison.

The police later appealed the verdict, claiming that he was married according to Islamic law since his fiancee accepted his marriage proposal.

The appeals court agreed with the claim and reversed the lower court ruling.

The victim told the court that she and the police officer have married and reconciled.
Wrexham MP Ian Lucas hails inspirational Google event in town centre

This article is old - Published: Tuesday, May 15th, 2018

Wrexham showed it was up for Google and our visitors from Google were up for Wrexham was the message last week following a huge turnout at a free digital masterclass.

Digital experts from Google were in Wrexham on Friday May 11th for the first time  and were taken aback by the number of people who showed a real appetite for improving their social media skills.

Ian Lucas MP was proud to see the Google Digital Garage event  a free day-long masterclass delivered by the search engine giants  prove to be such a success.

The Wrexham MP had helped secure the visit from Google through his work on the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

He gave speech at the start of the event, which took place at the new Town Square / Wrexham Enterprise Hub on Rhosddu Road.

Commenting after the event, Mr Lucas said: The Google Digital Garage was a vibrant and imaginative event  and it certainly caught the imagination of the people of the town. I found it inspirational to see so many people in attendance.

But this is just the start of things. I hope the people who came to the event learnt a lot and can use it to help grow their businesses, which of course will be good news for Wrexham.

Mr Lucas added: There is a great pool of talent in towns and Wrexham is no exception. Wrexham showed it was up for Google and our visitors from Google were up for Wrexham.

Since launching in 2015, Googles Digital Garages have trained more than 250,000 people and visited more than 200 villages, towns and cities in the UK. The event in Wrexham was the first in a series of visits to market towns, with the aim being to help people adapt and thrive in the digital age.

The session was free to attend and proved particularly popular with small businesses, as there were courses on building digital market plans, social media strategy, search engine optimisation and digital advertising.

There were also workshops where Google experts worked one-to-one with individuals.

Eleanor Linsell, public policy and local programmes manager at Google, attended Fridays event and was pleased it was such a success.

Its gone really well in Wrexham and Im really happy to see such a huge number of people come out, said Eleanor.

We ended up delivering a total of 281 trainings, which is excellent. We were really encouraged to see that the people of Wrexham were so excited and engaged in digital skills and look forward to hearing the positive outcomes that these training sessions will have had on businesses in the local area.

Eleanor added: We really wanted to come out to market towns. Before weve visited cities and coastal towns, but we realised market towns also really need this kind of investment.

There is definitely an appetite for it and its essential for growing local economies
Outrage is growing over the video of police brutality filmed last Saturday in Warsaw, North Carolina, a city of 3,000 one hour southeast of the state capital, Raleigh.

A short clip posted on YouTube shows an as yet unidentified white police officer grabbing 22-year-old Anthony Wall, who is African American, by the throat outside of a Waffle House, before shoving him into a wall and slamming him on the ground. Throughout the incident, despite being choked, Wall makes no aggressive moves to the officer. Instead he rasps Get your hands off me! and Get your supervisor out here.

Wall shared the video on Facebook a few days after the May 5 incident. That night he had taken his 16-year-old sister to the prom, afterwards they went to a Waffle House to eat where they got into an argument with an employee they say cursed at them. Whatever specific details emerge about that night, what is clear in the video is the callous disregard the police officer had for his victims safety.

Any time a police officer tries to restrain someone by the neck it carries a significant risk of injury or death. In 2014 Eric Garner, was infamously killed by a police officer using a chokehold, for allegedly selling loose cigarettes. The charges filed against Wall similarly demonstrate that no one but the police officer escalated the encounter into a life-and-death situation.

After being arrested, Wall was charged with disorderly conduct in public, a misdemeanor, relating to his argument in the Waffle House, and then also charged with resisting, obstructing and delaying a police officer, for being arrested. He was released shortly thereafter.

As is standard whenever an incident of police brutality reaches a wide audience, the Warsaw Police Department (WPD) and neighboring Onslow County District Attorney have announced an investigation including asking for independent investigators from the state to help. On the other hand, the local NAACP highlighted that Wall is black and called on the WPD to engage in racial sensitivity training.

All the statistics on police killings and brutality show two clear points: that police assault African and Native Americans in a greater proportion compared to other ethnicities, and that police brutalize large numbers of poor people of every race. Far deeper than the racism of individual police or departments are the class issues.

As if to demonstrate this, the Mayor of Warsaw, AJ Connors, who is African American, issued a video statement defending the officers actions. Connors, a pastor at Friendship Missionary Baptist, said This officer did what he had to. He told people upset by the violence, We are asking you to eliminate the prejudging; allow the system that is in place to operate and do what it needs to do. In words oozing with complacency, Connors stated We have a judicial system that works.

The way that judicial system works is by withholding information from the public so that district attorneys can manipulate grand juries to prevent charges from ever being brought against officers. Then in the rare cases where officers are brought to trial, the courts are rigged to prevent convictions. The judicial system works so well, that between 2005 and 2017, where police killed nearly 1,200 each year, only 80 police officers were ever charged with murder or manslaughter and of those 80 only 28 were convicted.
Through Oct. 10 and Through Oct. 17

Springfield Theatre Centre 420 S. Sixth St., Springfield Downtown

Theater & Comedy

Written by Joseph Kesselring Directed by Kim Shafer The play, a clever combination of the farcical and the macabre, centers on two elderly sisters who are famous in their Brooklyn neighborhood for their numerous acts of charity. Unfortunately, however, their charity includes poisoning lonely old men who come to their home looking for lodging. The two women are assisted in their crimes by their mentally challenged nephew who believes he is Teddy Roosevelt and who frequently blasts a bugle and yells charge as he bounds up the stairs. Matters get complicated when a second nephew, a theater critic, discovers 217-523-2787
Educators and students at public schools in Flint, Michigan face deteriorating conditions as a critical teacher shortage forces staff to work overtime without compensation and leaves many students in classes without teachers each day.

Despite virtual silence from the Superintendent and the United Teachers of Flint union (UTF) on the conditions in Flints public schools, multiple students and teachers have reported to the WSWS that Southwestern Academy high school has held dozens of classes without teachers for months at a time over the course of the current school year.

Multiple students told the WSWS that sometimes they are left in classes without supervision. Other times they have been sent to the library to play on their phones, or to other classes where they sit on counters and participate in the class regardless of whether it is different subject, or even a different grade.

The office of Flint School District Superintendent Gregory Witherspoon failed to return calls from the WSWS Monday regarding the state of Flint public schools. Responding to a request for comment, a representative of the UTF said only the president, Karen Christian, could comment on the issues. Christian could not be reached and did not return phone calls Monday.

The attack on public education has been decades in the making in Flint. Once the nations model for public education, the Flint School District has been in steady decline since its peak in 1968 when almost 48,000 students were enrolled. By 2003, district enrollment had dropped to 21,007, and by 2017 was down to just 4,883. Flint Community Schools had 2,448 full-time staff on its payroll in 2011 and just 874 full-time workers by 2017.

Flint Central High School, a castle-like building built in 1923 and closed in 2009, was described by MLive.com as the crown jewel of an education system that served as the nationwide model for community education. At the time, parents and students were promised the school would re-open in five years after renovations. Instead, the building has been left to disintegrate along with other shuttered schools in Flint.

In fact, Monday morning, a fire on the roof of Washington Elementary, a vacant Flint elementary school, had firefighters tied up for hours. They were able to put out the fire but noted to reporters that fires were a common occurrence at the abandoned building.

Teachers at Southwestern Academy told our reporters they have been barred by the UTF from speaking publicly to the press about the teacher shortage or the conditions in their school. Many of the teachers, however, rejected the gag order and spoke with our reporters anonymously out of fear of retribution.

One teacher commented, We are on a gag order from the union. They dont want us talking to anyone about whats going on here but Ill say thiseverything youre reading is true. The media has gotten it pretty much exactly right!

Teachers overwhelmingly said they were in the dark as to what is going on behind the scenes regarding the state of Flints schools. One teacher speculated that the teacher shortage might be a deliberate strategy: I think they are basically calling this year a wash. They are closing down Northwestern High school so maybe they dont want to hire teachers now because they want to transfer the teachers from Northwestern to here next year. And they dont care if that means students lose a whole year of teaching.

He went on to note that, most of this has to do with money. We havent had a raise in a decade or so because of the deficit. According to the districts union contract, teachers salaries start at a meager $32,065 for first-year teachers and are capped at just $66,780 after 13 years of work.

One science teacher at Southwestern Academy commented on the wave of teachers rebellions across the country: What the teachers are going through in places like Oklahoma, and other places where teachers went on strike, are the same here. I saw them posting on social media about their books falling apartits a mirror image of the conditions here. I lose a page a day in my teachers edition textbook because its so old. Every time I touch the thing it falls apart a little more.

Another teacher noted the push to dismantle public education through charterization: There has definitely been a push for charter schools. And whether they realize it or not there are major implications for public schools. Charter schools dont have to take students. They can say, for special education for example, that they are full when they feel they dont have enough resources to take more special-ed students. We, as a public school, cannot do that. Whether or not we have the resources doesnt matterwe have to take the students who come to us. This means that we end up with a much larger proportion of students which special needs, or students who have behavioral issues.

He went on, The other aspect of this is how funding is allocated. Funding is given out based on enrollment at the beginning of the year. But oftentimes students get sent back to us over the course of the semester, but funding for that student stays at the original school.

An 8th grade teacher explained that educators at Southwestern Academy are forced to rely on materials they can find online instead of textbooks: None of the math teachers have textbooks. Everything we give to students is printed from the Internet. But the school printers are not reliable, so if the printers arent working we cant give anything to students.

She went on to say that one narrative pushed by the administration to justify the teacher shortage blames the behavioral problems of the students at the school. She explained that these issues emerge out of the lack of resources, If kids come to class and theres no teacher, how does that make them feel? It makes them feel like the school doesnt care about them.

The teacher explained that the teacher shortage wasnt just a problem at Southwestern Academy, but one confronted by schools all around the country: For someone to become a teacher today, they have to take on so much debt from college. And theyll never be able to pay it backnot with the pay public school teachers make in this country! Its no wonder schools have a shortage of teachers.

All of the teachers who spoke to the WSWS expressed the same sentiment regarding the national crisis of teacher shortages. Referring to the fact that teachers have to take on additional, often clerical roles as well as second or even third jobs to supplement their teaching income, one teacher told us, I cant tell my kids to go into teaching. Teaching isnt even teaching anymore!

Every day we do what we can with what we have, which is less and less every day, said another teacher. When asked about the role of the UTF, she replied, The union is just a hierarchy of officials meant to keep us down. This has been going on all year and they have done nothing about it. Absolutely nothing.

I have a second job; a lot of teachers have to take on more work to get by. I agree with a call for a national teacher strike. I would definitely support it! Something has to give soon. These attacks on education are going to affect a whole generation thats coming up. Its important stuff we are talking about.
After the March 22 protest of rail and public workers against the privatisation of railways, on the 50th anniversary of the initial youth protests that ultimately triggered the May-June 1968 general strike, students began a movement to occupy and blockade universities across France.

The student movement is largely carried out in solidarity with the striking workers, and amid broad opposition to Middle East wars, and its immediate target is the ORE (Student Orientation and Success) reform, commonly known as the Vidal law. The law, named after Minister of Higher Education Frederique Vidal, would transform the university admissions process in France.

The Vidal lawwhich has already been legally declared on March 8will require universities to take into greater consideration high school grades, the quality of the high school students have attended, and their academic activities and related training. In effect, this law will favour privileged layers who have greater access to higher-quality education, travel, and job and cultural opportunities than most working-class youth. It will put pressure on students as young as 14 to decide which career they will choose in order to start padding their CVs for university applications.

Over the last two months, student occupations spread rapidly across France. On March 26 the Tolbiac campus in Paris was blockaded, on April 3 the campus of Saint-Denis (Paris VIII), Paris III and Paris IV (Clignancourt) on April 8, and the campus of Nanterre on April 17, following the intervention of militarized police the previous week on the campus. Blockades also emerged in major cities outside Paris: Limoges (start of April), Rennes (April 5), Toulouse (mid-March), Metz (April 11), Nantes (April 4), and Marseille (April 19).

On occupied campuses, the students are demanding the withdrawal of the Vidal law and the resignation of the university president, if he or she sent in police to attack student blockades.

Several of these occupations have been dismantled in raids launched by military or riot police squads. The Tolbiac blockade was suppressed on April 20, Metz April 25, Toulouse May 9, and on May 10 the Nantes court ordered the liberation of the occupied Censive building. But blockades are continuing at Paris IV (Clignancourt) and Paris VIII (Saint-Denis), Marseille, Limoges, and Nantes. Rennes-II and Nanterre are the only campuses still completely blockaded.

The key question facing students, who are largely opposed to austerity and war, is the turn to the working class and how to carry it out. Students are still meeting in General Assemblies (AGs) to debate how to continue with protests. Many students called for a convergence of struggles between students and striking workers in the railways, Air France, health care and the broader public sector.

A half century after 1968, the turn for the youth is into the working class, for a common revolutionary struggle to bring down President Emmanuel Macrons unpopular government. The central obstacle to this is pseudo-left groups like the New Anti-Capitalist Party or the Stalinist French Communist Party, whose youth members largely organise and set the agenda, and whose trade union wings work to subordinate strikers to deals worked out with Macron.

The way forward is a political break with these organisations and the building of the International Youth and Students for Social Equality in France.

WSWS reporters interviewed students at the Saint-Denis campus. Asked about the ongoing struggle against the privatisation of the railways, Mathieu, a film student at Saint-Denis, said: I support the strike of the rail workers

He added, For these social gains [which the rail workers possess] the whole French working class had to fight for years. The rail workers are right to defend them for the reason that the suppression of these social gains will benefit the stockholders and ultra-rich who will be able to privatise the SNCF, in exploiting the network of railroads that historically belonged to the state. This will not benefit the popular classes or the middle class.

Iris, a student at Paris I, said: I support them [the rail workers] at my level. I find that it is important to defend them because even if I have nothing to do with itthey arent attacking me directly, or someone in my familyit is still important because an attack on the rail workers is something significant. In hitting the agreements made on an industry-wide level or the public workers, they are targeting parts of the population that are already exhausted, or are already in a difficult situation. They are told in the press that they are privileged, but this is nonsense.

Youen, a youth who came to support the students struggle, said that he was on the campus to attend a general assembly that brought together 300, 400 people

He also said that he is In solidarity [with the rail workers]. There we see a sector [of workers] that is traditionally combative, that is under attack by the leaders of the SNCF, and obviously by the state. The objective of the government and the leaders of the SNCF is to prepare the privatisation of the SNCF, and one must know that the rail workers have been slapped in the face for years.

This is a battle for work conditions and its a battle that can inspire the combativity of other sectors that are also being attacked, in the private and public sectors. Because of this, the government is very scared. The rail workers must receive the support of all students in struggle.

Asked about government repression, he pointed to the example of the Nanterre campus where there were around 100 students [on April 9], who met for an assembly of students. The President [of the university] decided to send some cops. There were seven arrests, of which three have criminal charges and proceedings.

Youen said that he thought the military strikes in Syria by the French government were disgusting ... It is to add more chaos in a region of the world that is already devastated by all of the military interventions and all of the interventions by big powers, whether this is Russia, the US, France, the UK, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, etc. This means that we are witnessing militarist, imperialist politics that support the interests of the large weapons dealers and the geopolitical solutions of the big powers.

Youen added that this context of the student movement, this context of the situation of the working class, must allow us to affirm more loudly the fact that everyone has the right to move to choose the place where they live. The proletariat does not have borders. We must take advantage of this moment of social anger to affirm our solidarity with the migrants who are victims and who are not responsible for unemployment and insecurity in France.
Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly announced Saturday that he would vote to confirm Gina Haspel as director of the CIA, virtually assuring that her nomination will be confirmed by the Senate when it is brought to a vote sometime in the next two weeks.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is to vote Wednesday at a closed-door session to approve Haspels nomination and send it to the full Senate. Haspel was assured of a favorable vote from the committee, which has an 8-7 Republican majority, when Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced they would support her nomination.

Both Donnelly and Manchin are running for reelection this year in states that President Trump carried easily in 2016, and Donnelly, in particular, was being attacked for his supposed opposition to Haspel as late as Thursday, when Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Elkhart, Indiana and called for a vote for his Republican opponent, millionaire businessman Mike Braun.

Donnelly, who had been publicly undecided on Haspel, announced his support less than 48 hours after the Elkhart rally. Referring to Haspels role in overseeing torture and then ordering the shredding of videotapes of torture sessions, Donnelly said, I believe that she has learned from the past and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats and challenges.

He also cited the support for Haspel by former CIA directors under the Obama administration, Leon Panetta and John Brennan, and General Michael Hayden, first appointed director of the National Security Agency by Democratic President Bill Clinton and later CIA director under George W. Bush.

While Manchins vote made the outcome of the Intelligence Committee vote a certainty, Donnellys public support was more important, because it means that the two Republican senators opposed to the nomination, John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky, are now offset by two Democrats.

With the Republican Party holding only a 51-49 margin in the Senate, cut to 50-49 in practice because of McCains long absence due to terminal brain cancer, the shift of even one senator had the potential to torpedo the nomination.

While most Senate Democrats, including Intelligence Committee veterans like Dianne Feinstein, have announced their opposition to Haspels nomination, their pretensions to oppose torture and demand a higher moral standard in the CIA leadership are belied by their own records.

Feinstein, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were among the leading Democrats given regular briefings on the use of torture during the period between 2002 and 2007 when waterboarding, walling and other forms of physical abuse of prisoners were common practice in CIA secret prisons.

None of them objected to what was being done in the name of national security, nor did any of them inform the public. When one CIA agent, John Kiriakou, did reveal the use of torture, the Democrats supported his prosecution and imprisonment under the Obama administration.

It remains the case that the only person in the CIA who has been tried and convicted in relation to the widespread use of torture is the agent who sought to blow the whistle on this barbarism. It was President Obama who decided that John Brennan, Jose Rodriguez, Gina Haspel and others involved in the torture program should not face prosecution. On the contrary, Brennan was eventually picked by Obama to head the CIA and now Haspel is set to follow in his footsteps.

One Republican senator at last Wednesdays public hearing for Haspel before the Senate Intelligence Committee took the measure of this Democratic Party hypocrisy, asking Haspel sarcastically, If Hillary Clinton had won and nominated you to be CIA director, how many votes do you think you would have gotten? He was suggesting, and with good reason, that a Clinton nomination of Haspel would have produced a unanimous vote.

One remark by Haspel clearly demonstrates the real contempt of the career CIA operative to the moralizing over torture by Senator McCain and others. She declared that she would not go along with any effort to revive the waterboarding program, not because it would cause undue suffering to the victims of the torture, but because it might harm the torturers. I would not put CIA officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky, controversial activity again, she said.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clintons running mate in 2016, announced his opposition to Haspel, although he had previously voted for Mike Pompeo to head the CIA (with Haspel as his deputy director, giving her day-to-day control over the agency).

Kaine said he echoed my colleague John McCains disappointment in Gina Haspels failure to condemn [torture] as immoral during her hearing, adding, I believe the CIA needs leadership that not only honors the rule of law but meets a higher calling to the moral principles of our nation.

Similar language was employed in editorials in both the Washington Post and the New York Times, in which the two leading pro-Democratic Party newspapers opposed Haspels nomination because she failed to declare torture immoral during her testimony before the Intelligence Committee.

Both the Democratic senators and the liberal editorialists seek to present the CIA torture program as an aberration, a violation of the moral principles that supposedly guide American foreign policy. What a fraud!

Every agency of American foreign policythe CIA, NSA, Pentagon and a dozen other intelligence agencies, as well as the State Departmentare collectively responsible for defending the interests of American imperialism by every possible means: subversion, assassination, illegal surveillance and war. As far as the US ruling elite is concerned, all methods are moral that serve its class ends and maintain its wealth and global power.

The author also recommends:

US Senate pays homage to CIA torturer

[10 May 2018]
This statement was released by Kevin Mitchell, the Socialist Equality Party candidate for the 51st District of California in the June 5 primary elections. For more information, click here.

As the Socialist Equality Partys candidate for US House of Representatives in the 51st District of California, I unequivocally condemn the May 8 Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on the home of Alberto Alonzo Hernandez and his family in National City, California and demand his immediate release.

Mr. Hernandezs arrest was recorded on video and distributed online where it has been viewed over 11,000 times. In the video, ICE agents can be seen breaking down the door like modern-day Gestapo agents. When family members ask for a warrant they cynically replied, Youre watching too many movies. Well show you the warrant when we are done.

ICE agents then storm into the house, pointing their guns at children and an elderly, disabled grandmother. Mr. Hernandez was taken away in an unmarked car to an immigration detention camp.

What happened on May 8 is just one of countless raids carried out by the Trump administration against immigrant communities across the United States. Were it not for the courageous actions of the Hernandez family in filming the ICE agents it is doubtful the incident would have become news.

In speaking with the Hernandez family, they told me how undocumented immigrants in their neighborhoods were now afraid to leave their houses and go to work. President Trump has unleashed a reign of terror against immigrants, with scores being arrested at hospitals, churches, or when dropping off their children at school.

Studies from the American Society of Pediatrics show a direct connection between immigrant raids and toxic stress, which greatly worsens the physical and emotional well-being of immigrant family members, especially children, for years to come.

The Democratic Party has collaborated with Trump and his raids at every step of the way. While anti-immigrant policies are central to the White Houses promotion of far-right nationalism, the Obama administration laid the groundwork for the current climate of xenophobia, deporting more immigrants than any other administration in US history.

Democrat Governor Jerry Brown recently ordered 400 National Guard to the US-Mexico border, freeing up agents from Border Patrol and ICE to do the kind of dirty work they displayed at the Hernandez home in National City.

The Democrats have not called for any congressional hearings on Trumps war on immigrants and his police state measures. Instead they have focused their opposition to Trump on allegations of collusion with Russia, calling for stepped-up aggression in the Middle East in line with the demands of powerful factions of the US spy apparatus.

The posturing of the Democrats as the defenders of immigrants is utterly insincere and phony. My opponent, Representative Juan Vargas, has not said a word about the ICE raid in National City but has promoted illusions in toothless reforms like sanctuary cities. Even if San Diego were to receive sanctuary status, the fate of innumerable immigrants would be no different than what happened to the Hernandez family.

The attacks on immigrants is an attack on the entire working class. The ruling class wants the population to get used to the sight of unmarked cars dragging people away in broad daylight to internment camps, never to be seen again. It wants to pit workers against one another along nationalist lines, so that they do not unite against the real enemycapitalism.

What is being tested on immigrants today will be used against all workers tomorrow. This process is already happening, as political activists, journalists, and legal defenders are also being harassed by police and Border Patrol agents. When the most vulnerable section of the working class is attacked and told they have no rights, it becomes that much easier for the ruling class to divide workers and take away everyones rights.

California is home to the highest concentrations of poverty in the United States, including the largest homeless population, side by side with the most billionaires in the country. Only 144 individuals have a combined wealth of $725 billion. Small wonder the ruling class wants to divide workers along national, racial, and ethnic lines to cover up the real class divide in society.

This anti-immigrant phenomenon is not unique to the United States. In Mexico, the government works closely with the United States to brutally attack immigrants crossing from Central America and offers no assistance of any kind to their plight. Far-right parties are on the rise in Europe. Thousands of immigrants fleeing the imperialist war zones of the Middle East have drowned crossing the Mediterranean in search of a better life.

The Socialist Equality Party fights for the international unity of the working class against capitalism and an end to the nation-state system. We oppose the attacks on immigrants and the attempt by the far-right movements to blame them for the crisis of American society.

Against the militarization of borders and the persecution of immigrants, the SEP stands for open borders: the right of all workers to live in the country they choose, with full citizenship rights, including the right to work and travel without fear of deportation or repression.

The defense of immigrants must be connected to a socialist program to guarantee everyone has the right to a decent, good-paying job, free health care, free education, a clean environment, access to culture, and a world free from war and violence.

The resources exist to meet these social rights for all workers. The problem is the capitalist system and the monopolization of the vast majority of humanitys wealth by a tiny corporate and financial elite.

Capitalism has shown us the only future it can offer: walls, repression, war. Against this madness we call for socialism: a world economy run in the interests of human need, not private profit.

If you agree with this perspective, please join and support my campaign and the campaign of David Moore for US Senate today!

Stop the raids on immigrants! Freedom for all immigrant prisoners!

Dismantle ICE and the border patrol!

No to the US-Mexico wall! For a socialist policy of open borders!
As Israel marks its 70th anniversary with the mass murder of unarmed Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, the WSWS is reposting the analysis written on the Israeli state's 50th anniversary published under the title "Israels crisis and the historic contradictions of Zionism."

Israel marked the 50th anniversary of its founding under conditions of mounting political and social crisis within the Zionist state and escalating tensions with the Palestinian people in the territories still occupied by Israeli forces, as well as with the surrounding Arab world.

None of the official commemorations organized in Israel itself, nor the glitzy and superficial celebrations staged by Israels friends in the U.S. and elsewhere, even touched upon the profound historical questions underlying the foundation of the Israeli state.

Within Israels birth and evolution are concentrated the great unresolved contradictions of the 20th century. Its essential origins lie in one of historys greatest crimes against humanity, the Nazi Holocaust. The extermination of six million European Jews was in turn the terrible price paid for the crisis of the working class movement brought on by the Stalinist degeneration of the Soviet Union and the Communist International. Stalinisms crimes and its domination over the workers movement prevented the working class from putting an end to the crisis-ridden capitalist system, which found in fascism its last line of defense.

The defeats of the working class, the crimes of Stalinism and the horrors of the Holocaust created the historical conditions for Israels creation and the Zionist movements largely successful attempt, aided both by US imperialism and Stalinism, to equate Zionism with world Jewry. It was a movement and a state founded ultimately on discouragement and despair. Stalinisms betrayals produced disillusionment in the socialist alternative that had exercised such a powerful appeal to Jewish working people all over the world. The crimes of German fascism were presented as the ultimate proof that it was impossible to vanquish anti-Semitism in Europe or anywhere else. Zionisms answer was to get a state and an army and beat the historical oppressors of the Jewish people at their own game.

The tragic irony of this supposed solution is Israels association of the Jewish peopletraditionally and historically connected with the struggle for tolerance and freedomwith the brutal suppression of another oppressed population.

David Ben-Gurion read out the declaration of Israels independence on May 14, 1948, the day before Britains mandate over Palestine was to expire. Within less than a year, Israeli military forces had succeeded in carving out the countrys present internationally recognized borders, while more than three-quarters of a million Palestinian Arabs were driven from their homes in a systematic campaign of terrorism and intimidation.

Ben Gurion described the realization of Israeli statehood as the culmination of the Jewish revolution. It represented the achievement of the central political aim of Zionism, the Jewish nationalist movement founded in the latter part of the 19th century. Before World War II, Zionism had remained a relatively isolated movement, drawing its support primarily from sections of the Jewish middle class. Even within Palestine, there existed among Jewish workers a powerful class sentiment for uniting Jewish and Arab workers in a common movement against capitalism.

While it took the Holocaust to turn Zionism into a state power, the real relations between the crimes carried out by Nazism against European Jewry and the Zionist movement have been the subject of systematic historical distortion. Israel is portrayed as the necessary haven for Jews fleeing the German death camps. Yet the attitude of Zionism toward the struggle to save Jews from extermination was not so simple.

This is one of many subjects which Israeli historians have begun to examine. Known as the new historians, the post-Zionist or revisionist school, the emergence of this critical attitude toward Israels history is one of the most profound signs of the growing crisis of Zionism as an ideology and of Israel as a society.

Among these new historians is Zeev Sternhell, the author of The Founding Myths of Israel, recently published in English. Sternhells book debunks some of Zionisms most powerful myths, principally that those Zionist leaders who founded Israel were attempting to establish a new type of society based upon egalitarian principles and even socialism.

This historian establishes that Zionism was by no means unique. It arose as a peculiar expression of the trend of eastern European nationalism of the 19th century; one based not on universal democratic principles but rather exclusivist conceptions of racial, religious and linguistic hegemony. Ironically, a movement that claimed to stand for the liberation of Jews found substantial common ground with anti-Semites and right-wing nationalist precursors of German fascism.

Zionism, he writes, was from the beginning the preoccupation of a minority, which understood the Jewish problem not in terms of physical existence and the provision of economic security, but as an enterprise for rescuing the nation from the danger of collective annihilation. It perceived the greatest danger of annihilation as coming from the assimilation of Jews into modern society, particularly through the attraction of growing numbers of Jewish workers to the socialist movement.

To the extent that the founders of the Zionist state attempted to identify Zionism with the labor movement, equality and socialism it was, Sternhell writes, a mobilizing myth, designed to win working class Jews to the cause of nationalism. He makes the case that this use of socialist phraseology had much in common with other national socialist movements seeking nationalist revival in Europe, ultimately giving rise to Nazism.

Certainly the case can be made that many other nationalist movements in the course of the 20th century, including Arab nationalism, which has represented itself as socialist and egalitarian, have utilized such a mobilizing myth. In every case, such ideologies have the purpose of covering up the interests of the national bourgeoisie and suppressing the independent struggle of the working class.

As for Israels justification as the sole possible haven for Jews fleeing Nazi oppression, Sternhell, as well as other historiansTom Segev, author of The Seventh Million, the Israelis and the Holocaust, for examplehave presented ample evidence that the rescue of European Jewry was never a primary concern for Zionism as a movement and that Ben-Gurion and other Zionist leaders reacted with indifference.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, with Nazisms threat to the Jews of Europe becoming ever clearer, Ben-Gurion spelled out the principle which was to guide the Zionist movements attitude throughout the Holocaust: Zionist considerations take precedence over Jewish sentiments ... we should act according to Zionist considerations and not merely Jewish considerations, for a Jew is not automatically a Zionist. Throughout the war he argued successfully against those who suggested that the Jewish Agency in Palestine turn its attention from the building of Eretz Israel to the rescue of Jews from Nazism.

At the same time the Zionists lost no time in making use of the catastrophe in Europe for their own ends. Their efforts were successful, as Europes stateless and homeless surviving Jewish population was directed to Palestine for very definite geopolitical reasons. Washington, which had closed US borders to Jews fleeing Nazi oppression, saw the emergence of the Jewish state in the Middle East as an instrument for asserting its own hegemony in the region at the expense of the old colonial powers, Britain and France.

Founded in the struggle to wrest control of the land from its Arab inhabitants, Israel was from its origins a militarized state, with the army serving as the central pillar of society. Surrounded by hostile Arab states and posturing as a new form of society, founded upon equality and vaguely socialist principles, the new state was widely perceived as an underdog, deserving of popular sympathy.

Both realities and perceptions underwent change, however, with the growth of Israel into the undisputed military force and sole nuclear power in the region. First came the 1956 Suez war, in which Israel briefly seized the Sinai Peninsula. The 1967 war redrew the map of the Middle East once again, setting the parameters of the current conflict. With US backing, Israel invaded Egypt, Syria and Jordan, laying hold of the West Bank of the Jordan River, the Golan Heights and the Gaza Strip, which it occupies to this day. Zionism and the state of Israel emerged as a force of aggression and expansionism. Israel has fought further wars in Lebanon, where it continues to occupy a security zone in the south.

Israels initial military expansion was made possible by a massive and continuous infusion of US economic and military aid. Underlying the $3 billion in annual aid, Washingtons special relation with Israel has nothing to do with shared principles or sympathy for the historic oppression of the Jewish people. Rather, it backs Israel as a garrison state which serves to suppress the revolutionary strivings of the masses of the Middle East, while providing a means of extending US influence in this strategically vital oil-producing region.

Israeli militarism went hand in hand with the growth of reactionary political and social tendencies within Israel itself. Israels occupation and administration of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, exercising a political dictatorship over roughly a million Palestinians, not only exposed the oppressive character of the Israeli state, but brought to the surface all of the contradictions embedded in Zionism as a movement.

In 1968 Zionist settlements were begun in the occupied West Bank and Gaza on the theory that these paramilitary outposts would serve as a line of defense against attacks by Palestinian guerrillas on Israel proper. While the Labor Party government initially presented the settlements as no more than a defensive parameter, which would not preclude the handing back of the territories to Jordan and Egypt, the issue of the status of the West Bank and Gaza quickly became the focal point of Israeli politics.

The right-wing opposition under the leadership of Menachem Begin demanded that the territories be brought under Israeli sovereignty on the grounds that they were the Biblical lands of Samaria and Judea, promised by God to the Jewish people. Thirty years later the issue has yet to be resolved, despite the much-heralded Middle East peace brokered by the Clinton administration and signed by both Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. One hundred forty-four settlements are scattered throughout the territories, inhabited by 160,000 settlers, many of them extreme nationalists and religious zealots who are heavily armed.

The settlements continue to grow at the rate of 9 percent a year, despite the agreement signed with the PLO. The Israeli government insists that its forces must control the access roads to these enclaves and their connection to Israel itself. This alone exposes the largely token character of any independent Palestinian state that might emerge from this process. The Palestinian Authority is left to police small patches of land, mostly impoverished cities, while it remains surrounded and cut off by Israeli troops. As the stalemate in the US-brokered talks makes clear, the Israeli state is not prepared to make any fundamental alterations in the present situation.

Israels motivation for signing the Middle East accord was, in the first place, to forestall a revolutionary uprising by the Palestinian masses in the occupied territories, which had taken embryonic form in the intifada which began in 1987. Despite sustained and brutal repression, Israel proved incapable of putting down this rebellion without seeking the direct collaboration of the PLO.

At the same time, the Israeli ruling class was anxious to escape the punishing economic and social costs associated with the occupation, both in terms of military expenditures and the pariah status which Israel acquired throughout the Arab world and elsewhere.

But as the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995 and the subsequent return to power by the Israeli right under Benjamin Netanyahu have shown, it is not so easy to escape the historical contradictions of Zionism. The settlement policy begun by the Labor Party spawned a right-wing nationalist, semi-fascist layer which produced the assassin that claimed Rabins life. Increasingly, the debate over the future of the settlements, as well as the associated question of the increasingly bitter conflict between religious and secular Israeli Jews, is spoken of in terms of a civil war.

Wielding a disproportionate power in the government, Israels ultra-Orthodox political parties have increasingly imposed the dictates of Jewish religious law in areas previously deemed secular. All administrative control over births, marriages and burial arrangements has been placed in the hands of the Orthodox rabbinate, much to the consternation of Conservative, Reform and secular Jews. Orthodox members of the Knesset, who play a pivotal role in cobbling together coalition governments, are demanding laws that would close down roads and force an end to flights by El Al, the national airline, on Saturdays. Many communities have become bitterly divided between Orthodox and secular Jews, reaching the point of physical confrontation.

No less deep are the social chasms that have emerged in Israel. In a country that once claimed to need every Jewish immigrant for the labor of national construction, 8.2 percent of the population is unemployed, according to the official figures. The ranks of the jobless are concentrated in impoverished development towns, like Ofkim in the Negev. Rioting broke out there six months ago after the towns unemployment rate reached 14.3 percent.

Ethiopian Jews also rioted last year over their treatment as second-class citizens. The resentment of Sephardic Jews, those originating in the Arab world, against the Ashkenazic, or European Jewish, establishment, has emerged as a volatile and pivotal factor in Israeli politics. Menachem Begin was able to manipulate this resentment in a rightward direction, to no small degree because of the glaring contradiction between the socialist pretensions of Israels Zionist founders and the immense social polarization which exists in Israeli society today.

An essential economic contradiction continues to undermine both the Zionist project and the conception underlying the Middle East peace accord of a new economic partnership between the Israeli bourgeoisie and its Arab counterparts. The fastest growing sector within Israel is the high-technology industry, which produces neither for the national nor the regional market. Fully 96 percent of Israels exports and 93 percent of its imports are conducted with areas outside the region.

While the impasse over the occupied territories has largely frozen the growth of Arab-Israeli economic ties, the development of such relations would ultimately take place at the expense of the masses of working people, Arab and Jewish alike. The Arab world offers the Israeli capitalist the prospect of new reserves of cheap labor to further depress the living standards of workers in Israel itself.

Within the areas administered by the PLO in Gaza and the West Bank, meanwhile, the Palestinian workers are finding that their conditions of social oppression have only continued to worsen, while a small layer of government bureaucrats and businessmen with political connections are seeking their fortunes.

Fifty years after Israels founding, the reactionary Zionist utopia of a national state in which the Jews of the world could find sanctuary, unity and equality has been realized in the form of a capitalist state created through the dispossession of another people and maintained through war, repression and social inequality at home. As the assassination of Rabin and other violent acts by the extreme right-wing forces cultivated by the Zionist state have shown, there is a danger that Israel itself will reproduce the conditions of dictatorship and civil war from which an earlier generation of European Jews fled.

The dead end of Zionism is a peculiar expression of the failure of all movements that have based themselves on the perspective of nationalism to resolve any of the fundamental questions confronting the masses of working people. This is no less true for the Arab countries, where ruling cliques have manipulated nationalist sentiments and bitter resentment of Israel in order to divert the social struggles of the working class.

There is only way out of the malignant contradictions of Israeli society. That is to unite Arab and Jewish workers in a common struggle against capitalism and for the building of a socialist society, which would tear down the artificial borders which divide the peoples and economies of the region. Only in this way can the region liberate itself from war and oppression, fueled by the profit drive of foreign capitalists and the native ruling classes.
Written and directed by Rahul Jain; cinematography by Rodrigo Trejo Villanueva

In the early 1800s visionary poet William Blake bewailed the dark satanic mills of Englands industrial revolution and their destructive physical and soul-destroying impact on thousands of working class men, women and children.

Rahul Jain

More than 200 years later, Indian-born, US-educated, filmmaker Rahul Jain has written and directed Machines, a 72-minute documentary about brutal labor exploitation in a Surat textile plant, one of the thousands in Indias Gujarat state. An estimated 1.5 million people work in the citys massive textile industry whose working conditions are as bad, if not worse, than the satanic mills that horrified Blake.

Jains documentary, which was shot over a three-year period and premiered in 2016, is the filmmakers first feature. It is a significant debut and one that has been praised at various international film festivals and won several awards for its outstanding cinematography.

Machines is a visually austere but effective work. It has no musical scorethe soundtrack is the constant din of the plants machinerynor is there any narration or explanatory on-screen titles, just brief comments from some of the mill workers and a company official.

Jain says that he was inspired by a childhood visit to a textile mill and years later by Sebastiao Salgados acclaimed book Workers: Archaeology of the Industrial Age, an extended photographic essay about some of the worlds most exploited workers. These memories and images, he said, coming flooding back after the tragic death of over 1,000 garment workers in the Bangladesh Rana Plaza building collapse in 2013, and compelled him to make Machines.

The documentary confines itself to an unnamed mill in Surat, but typical of the thousands of factories in the region and other parts of India. The plant produces cloth for international retailers and fashion houses. Its beautifully patterned and brightly-coloured textiles stand in stark contrast to the bleak interior of the mill and its soul-destroying productivity demands.

Machines

Twelve-hour shifts, or longer, are the norm with constantly exhausted workers paid about 210 rupees or $3 a day. We get nothing, no funds, no bonus, no holidays, one worker tells the filmmaker.

The mill is a virtual death trapdark, cramped and with no proper ventilation or fire-fighting equipmentand dominated by the sound of weaving machines operated by workers using their bare hands. Cans of toxic chemicals and dyes are stored next to hundreds of bales of cloth. It is not difficult to imagine what would happen if a fire suddenly erupted.

Jain told an interviewer from Variety, The factory smelled like an absolute vat of ammonia, the chemical. Im serious. It was my sincere desire, in many ways, to bring ammonia to the screen, so that people can really feel the stench while theyre watching this. Of course, thats not possible. But theres just this extreme sensory overwhelming nature of the way things are done there.

Exhausted teenage boys struggle to keep awake on the production line. Other workers are seen sleeping on bales of cloth during meal breaks. The mill does not appear to have any canteen facilities so workers eat next to the weaving machines or wherever they can on the factory floor.

Machines

Workers provide chilling accounts of their poor conditions and something of the economic circumstances that force then to endure the dehumanising and dangerous conditions.

One worker, originally from Utter Pradesh, some 1,600 km away, explains that he could not support his family in that state and borrowed money to get to Surat where he eventually found work. He is still repaying the debt.

Poverty is harassment, sir, he explains. One has to forsake ones kids, wife and parents to come here. But you cant do anything, there is no cure. Later in the film a group of former farmers explain how drought destroyed their crops, also forcing them to migrate to Gujarat in search of work.

Another employee insists that he is not being exploited but works at the plant of his own free will. Nobody is pressuring me, he says, but then admits, We all come here in order to work because we are in debt. There are thousands like me.

The documentary features a chilling interview with the plants well-dressed manager, who monitors the factory floor via CCTV in his office. Arrogant and full of class hatred, he bluntly declares that wage increases only encourage laziness.

Half the workforce, he says, dont take care of their families and only spend any pay rise on tobacco and other rotten things.

Machines

The workers would be more committed to the company, he declares, if their bellies are empty. Most of these workers, like millions of others throughout the Indian manufacturing industry, are hired on a short-term basis via contractors.

One thug-like supervisor boasts on camera, Im the union at this plant. If a contractor is good, nobody has the strength to organise a union. Im strong  [and] nobody can do anything to me. I can just give them [workers] two slaps.

Some workers are intimidated or fatalistic about their plight. One young worker asks: Why should I get angry if Im being paid for work I do? but then adds: Pay is very poor, given the work we do.

Another man tells the filmmaker that if the workers were organised and united they could get the bosses to yield  and their circumstances would not be so dire. He warns, however, that if an employer gets any sense of unity among the workers, the leader usually gets killed.

Machines concludes with extraordinary footage taken by a drone camera slowly flying over a section of Surats textile industrial districta mind-numbing maze of hundreds of mills.

In a revealing moment towards the end of the film, a worker outside the plant directly challenges the filmmaker: You will leave after listening to us just like [government] ministers do. [But] if you really want to do something for the workers, then tell us what to do?

No answer is forthcoming.

Machines

Last June a Dazed website journalist asked Jain about the workers blunt question. The filmmaker replied: [W]hen the workers asked me what they should do, a part of my brain was screaming silently all kinds of things. But I didnt have any answers; I was a silent observer, almost mute, taking refuge behind the viewfinder.

Jains comments are honest and revealing, but also point to the films limitations.

In order to tell workers what to do, it is necessary to explain, even in a rudimentary fashion, the historical and political context and circumstances that produced this brutal state of affairs.

Unfortunately, Machines does not mention a single India central or state government.

Nor does the film make any reference to the long-running Gujarat Mode of Development, the free-market, cheap labour program ruthlessly imposed by the states Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government and its former chief minister and current Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.

Jain also fails to note that similar anti-working class big-business policies have been implemented by Congress Party and Stalinist Communist Party administrations, with the active support of their respective union federations, who are equally committed to the defence of Indian capitalism.

No exposure of the exploitation of the Indian workers is complete without giving some indication of the role played by these political formations.
Last Thursday, more than 40,000 people demonstrated in Munich against the new Bavarian Police Law (PAG). Organizers of the demonstration and the city administration had expected about 7,000 participants, but more and more people are no longer prepared to tolerate the construction of a police state and unrelenting attacks on basic democratic rights.

Thousands have already taken to the streets in recent weeks in the Bavarian cities of Nuremberg, Erlangen and Regensburg, to demonstrate against the extension of police powers and the assault on civil liberties.

Due to the high number of protesters, the planned starting rally at Munichs Marienplatz had to be cancelled and the city centre was closed to traffic. Participants travelled from all over Bavaria and also came from other German states. Especially prominent in the protest in the Bavarian state capital were young people. The demonstration was organised by the so-called noPAG alliance, which includes political parties, trade unions, lawyers associations, the Bavarian Association of Journalists and a number of other organisations.

The law introduced by the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) is due to be adopted on Tuesday in the Bavarian state parliament, despite much criticism of its provisions. The Society for Freedom (GFF) and a former federal interior minister, Gerhart Baum (FDP), plan to lodge constitutional lawsuits against the new law.

Lawyers refer to the law as the toughest piece of German police legislation since 1945. The character of the police will change completely, we will see police with powers that have not existed since 1945, was the conclusion drawn by the renowned constitutional lawyer Hartmut Wachtler.

The PAG is indeed unprecedented in Germanys history since the fall of the Nazi regime. The powers of the police are to be massively expanded, and they will also be empowered to carry out extensive surveillance and intelligence operations.

Until now the police could only carry out measures to prevent crime if they had indications of a concrete dangernow an imminent danger is enough. Previously the police needed concrete evidence or even a legal warrant in order to monitor a person or a group and proceed against them. According to the new law, mere suspicion is sufficient.

The PAG enables the police to conduct nationwide surveillance without any significant restrictions. Police can film demonstrations even if criminal offences are not expected. They can take overview photos and compare them with existing files. The law permits the use of systems for the automatic recognition and evaluation of patterns related to objects and the behaviour of persons.

In future, police officers will wear bodycams on their uniforms which will run continuously. A legal regulation for the preservation of recordings does not exist, meaning the tapes can be stored and used as long as desired.

This is aimed at creating the legal basis for facial recognition. As is already the case in Berlin, facial recognition programs in public spaces are also on the agenda for Bavaria.

The surveillance of private data on computers is in future to be permitted for preventive purposes and without concrete suspicion of a possible offence, using so-called Trojan software. The technology can also be used to collect and store remote data, i.e., when the data is stored in the cloud. Data can also be manipulated or deleted.

Police will also be able to confiscate parcels and letters without judicial authorisation, once again in the case of so-called imminent danger. This completely eliminates existing provisions regarding postal secrecy. At the same time, the police can interfere with telecommunications and interrupt or stop communication links through the use of technical means, without any evidence pointing to a criminal offence.

A central element of the PAG is cooperation by police with other state agencies. In future, personal data can transmitted at any time to the secret services in Germany and also other countriesonce again in the absence of any concrete evidence of a crime.

The police will be able to carry out their own intelligence operations, working with undercover investigators using false identities, again without a court order. Such agents can then spy on discussions in social networks or in the meetings of political groups.

The PAG is the latest stage in a massive domestic rearmament program. In July last year, the state government introduced so-called infinity custody, according to which suspects can be detained for up to three months, after which a judge must again decide whether to extend his sentence. There is no longer any maximum time limit. An actual crime does not have to have been committed.

The state government reacted with open contempt for the noPAG participants and their right to demonstrate. Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) accused critics of the PAG of propagating lying propaganda and accused them of misleading inexperienced people. Government politicians reaffirmed their determination to enforce the law in all circumstances, regardless of the broad opposition.

The noPAG demonstration was joined by the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the Greens, the Left Party and even the Free Democrats (FDP), who are all looking for votes in the upcoming Bavarian state election. In fact, these parties are involved in adopting similar legislation at a federal level and in those states where they rule. The Bavarian Police Law serves as a role model.

The Bavarian PAG was drafted under the leadership of the former state premier Horst Seehofer (CSU), who now leads the Interior and Home Office in the grand coalition government. Seehofer is a militant advocate of a strong state and has the full support of the SPD. Following Seehofers inauguration as interior minister at the end of March, Eva Hogl declared in the Bundestag, on behalf of the SPD parliamentary group: Mr. Seehofer, we look forward to working with you. Together with the federal states the SPD sought to better equip the police, the judiciary and the security authorities.

In the state of Saxony, where the SPD governs together with the CDU, the draft of a police law similar to that in Bavaria already exists. And in North Rhine-Westphalia, where an alliance of CDU and FDP heads the state government, a similar draft is to be decided upon. The Left Party also supports the demand for more police.

The drive to build a police state has its roots in growing social contradictions and the return to militarism in Germany. Such an agenda is incompatible with democracy. The ruling class is again preparing to suppress the class struggle and political resistance by force.
Early Monday morning, police in the Detroit suburb of Royal Oak shot and killed Cody Reynolds, a 20-year-old white youth, while responding to reports of a domestic assault. While Reynolds had allegedly stabbed his mother and hit his father with a guitar, he was unarmed when he encountered police. Reynolds was killed less than 30 seconds after police first arrived on the scene.

It was the second fatal shooting by police in a little over a month, in a city which has yet to experience another murder in 2018. In other words, the police themselves are responsible for all of the homicides in Royal Oak so far this year.

Cody, who had worked as a busboy at a local restaurant, was described as a gregarious and kind young man by friends and acquaintances who spoke to the World Socialist Web Site. However, his life was thrown into turmoil when he struck and paralyzed a woman during a drunk driving incident, for which he was on probation at the time of his death.

Dashboard camera footage released to the media shows him at first complying with the orders of the responding officer, placing both hands on his head and lying down on the ground. It is clear from the footage that Cody is not holding a weapon. Suddenly, for reasons which are not yet clear, the young man gets up from the ground and begins moving in the direction of the police car. Several shots ring out off camera just after Reynolds disappears from the left side of the picture.

Royal Oak Police Chief Corrigan ODonohue defended the actions of the officer in a press conference, declaring, There is no way the officer could have known that Reynolds was unarmed. If someone is willing to assault their parents, theyd be willing to assault anybody, he added. While the officer, who has not been named, has been assigned to desk duty pending a standard review, ODonohue said that Based on the preliminary investigation ... there is nothing that really jumps out as misconduct.

Several of Codys former co-workers spoke to the World Socialist Web Site about his death. Cody was creative, honest, and intelligent, yet soft spoken. He had such an innocence about him, which is why this is so confusing and shocking, one said. I know there are people who knew him better than me but we still managed to laugh and smile every time we worked together.

A coworker who wished to remain anonymous noted, I remember Cody best by his sweet smile and bright eyes. When I first met him he was quite shy, but we quickly got to know each other and shared plenty of laughs. He was an eager worker and was always there to listen. Cody was helpful and respectful at work, and equally so outside of work. Cody was so sweet, and he leaves behind MANY people who loved, valued, and cared about him.

I regret not getting to know him on a deeper level, for talking to him while he patiently listened, instead of the other way around...but I suppose a lot of people might easily feel that way at a time like this.

Another former coworker said, Its unbelievable that they think this [shooting] is acceptable.

Codys death was the second police killing in two days in the metro Detroit area. On Sunday, a state trooper in Dearborn Heights shot and killed Jim Collins Jr., a 38-year-old white man, walking down Telegraph Road while allegedly holding a loaded rifle.

A spokesman for the state police told the press that as the officer made contact with the individual, there were some words exchanged back and forth. And the officer fired shots at the suspect, hitting him and killing him. In other words, even according to the vaguely worded official police account, which invariably presents the actions of the police in the best possible light, the responding officer was not in any immediate danger when he opened fire.

These two killings in the Detroit suburbs are part of a never-ending wave of police killings, which continue at a breakneck pace throughout the United States. According to the website KilledbyPolice.net, cops killed 418 people from January 1 through April 30, 2018. This rate, more than 100 per month, is higher than any other four-month span over the past five years.

A separate study by the Washington Post called Fatal Force, which tracks only deaths by firearms, but which includes more recent police killings, found that 387 people have been shot and killed by police so far this year.

Police have no doubt been emboldened by Trumps fascistic law-and-order rhetoric, imploring police in a speech last year not to be too nice with suspects and deploying the military to the border to help with deportations of immigrants and refugees. At the same time, Trumps opponents in the Democratic Party, in the course of their anti-Russian fake news hysteria, have blackguarded opponents of police brutality as the dupes of Russian meddling.

A study published last week in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health sheds light on the scale of police killings and their consequences for public health. The authors used the reported ages of victims of police killings and subtracted them from average life expectancy in order to estimate the years of life lost (YLL), a common metric used in epidemiology to measure the impact of various diseases and public health problems.

The study found that more than 100,000 years of life were lost in 2015 and 2016 alone due to police killings.

The authors note the annual rate is comparable to the years lost to meningitis and maternal deaths during childbirth, and greater than the years of life lost due to cyclist injuries and unintentional firearm deaths. Yet, many of these conditions receive more attention than police violence, in terms of grant funding, for example, the authors note.

Indeed, there are no comprehensive nationwide government statistics on police killings, in violation of federal laws that have been on the books for decades. Instead, the authors were forced to use independent research conducted by the British Guardian newspaper, which compiled information on US police killings for its online database The Counted.

The researchers added that the burden of police violence in society measured in this study is underestimated because it does not deal with the burden of non-fatal injuries, long-term disability and indirect effects of police violence including trauma to families and social networks, stress-related health outcomes and government instability.

The study included demographic breakdowns by race and age, and found that, while whites suffered the largest share of total years of life lost out of all racial groups, blacks and minorities suffered higher rates per-capita, consistent with previous demographic studies of police killings. However, the study also found elevated YLL rates among young people of all races, especially among those aged 25-34. The study found that the median age at death was notably lower among minorities than among whites, although this is at least partly explained by higher average ages among whites.

The study demonstrates that, while race plays a role in police killings, police violence affects people of all races and that whites enjoy no special privileges when it comes to killer cops.

Nor does the skin color of police chiefs and elected officials make them less likely to shield killer cops from responsibility. AJ Connors, the black mayor of Warsaw, North Carolina, where the choking of a black youth by a white cop outside of a Waffle House sparked mass outrage when it was exposed in a cellphone video, defended the actions of the officer in a recorded statement, declaring that the officer did what he had to do.

The Obama administration, for its part, sided with police in every civil rights case to appear before the Supreme Court.

What is common to almost all of the roughly 1,100 people that are killed by police each year is that they are poor and working class.
Last week two Atac company transport buses caught fire and exploded in Italys capital city of Rome.

The first fire happened when sparks began to fly in the back of a bus packed with tourists en route through the historical centre of Rome. The driver quickly escorted passengers off as the bus caught fire and exploded, causing serious damage to nearby shops and sending one shopkeeper to hospital. The bus was completely destroyed by the fire.

Later in the day, a second bus carrying school children in the southwestern Rome suburb of Castel Porziano caught fire.

Last year, 22 buses were destroyed by fireall caused by lack of proper maintenanceand 2018 is already on track to being far worse, with four bus fires in a single month. All of this years fires are believed to be caused by lack of maintenance in a fleet that is overwhelmingly beyond its life expectancy.

Using the hashtag #flambus, which rhymes with Tambus, Atacs former name, Romans took to Twitter to condemn Atac, with many saying that in Rome when a bus explodes people immediately blame Atac, with no thought whatsoever about terrorism.

According to an internal Atac report, at any given time, 36 percent of the companys buses are broken down and undergoing maintenance. Currently, 50 percent of the citys trams are also offline for maintenance.

For years Atac, as with all of Romes public services, has been the target of a relentless campaign of vilification aimed at placing responsibility for Romes budget crisis on the agency, or, more correctly, on its workers, often portrayed as inefficient, lazy and guilty of absenteeism.

Contrary to the common mantra echoed by the servile media that workers as well as inept administrators are the main cause of Atacs budget imbalances, the role of finance capital and derivative schemes has emerged as the main component of Romes budgetary crisis.

In fact, since the onset of the 2008 world financial crisis, Romes administrators have either sought to find short-term solutions or have been involved in shady financial derivative transactions that further deepened the Eternal Citys budgetary crisis and starved its agencies of critical funds.

In 2014, Rome narrowly averted bankruptcy under Democrat Party (PD) prime minister Matteo Renzi, who collaborated with Italys three main trade unions to approve the Salva-Roma ter (Rescue Rome 3), the Detroit-style bailout implemented under the guise of adopting innovative models for service management, including resorting to liberalization. The bailout paved the way for the privatization of crucial social services, including Atac.

The following year PD party mayor Ignazio Marino announced that the city would seek a minority corporate partner to buy a stake in Atac, with a goal of ending in-house management by 2019. Marino resigned amid a scandal of fraudulent personal expenses and mismanagement of city services.

Last year, Bruno Rota, the former head of Atac, said that Atac was 1.3 billion ($1.54 billion) in debt and should declare bankruptcy. Critics of Atac have tried to blame Atacs debts on employees and the non-paying public.

For their part, the Atac trade unions, especially FILT-CGIL (Federazione Italiana Lavaoratori Trasporti), have focused their efforts on ensuring continuity of service by colluding with Atac management and Romes government to impose the diktats of Romes creditors, most recently by increasing the number of continuous driving hours without a break by two hours.

This year, as Italy struggles to form a national government after elections in March, public opinion has rapidly shifted against Romes current mayor, right-wing Five Star Movement (M5S) party politician Virginia Raggi for the continued deteriorating condition of the citys infrastructure and waste management.

Raggi, who promised a radical new beginning in the name of honesty and transparency, has been engulfed in a string of scandals since taking office in 2016.

M5S, which arose amid the 2008 global financial crisis, in response to the political bankruptcy of the official left and its pseudo left appendages, won the popular vote in this years Italian national elections. However, due to the change in electoral law that replaced the majority vote (or first-past-the-post) system with proportional representation, M5S must form a coalition to govern.

Despite its anti-establishment rhetoric, M5S, stating its sense of responsibility to quickly form a government and reassure Italys creditors, is now negotiating with right-wing extremist party Lega, the long-term ally of Italian oligarch politician Silvio Berlusconi.

As the WSWS explained on May 11, the task of an M5S-Lega government would be to impose the dictates of the international financial markets in a country characterized by high levels of poverty and unemployment, a deep banking crisis, and extremely high levels of public debt. The national debt crisis will be used to impose further cuts to Atac and all of Romes services. Italians should reject the notion that the working class must pay for a crisis it did not create.
The gulf between Washington and the rest of the world widened Tuesday as a majority of UN countries expressed their distress and anger about violence along the Israeli-Gaza border, while US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley offered a staunch defense of Israel and blamed Hamas.

The chasm was most marked as eight members of the European Union lined up at the United Nations to call on Israel to restrain from using excessive force, on Hamas to ensure protests in Gaza remain non-violent and for a political resolution to tensions that left 61 people, including 8 children, dead after protests Monday against the US embassy move to Jerusalem.

"While recognizing the right to protect its borders, we expect Israel to respect the fundamental right to peaceful protests and the principle of proportionality in the use of force when defending its legitimate security interest," the EU members of the Council said in a statement.

The Europeans prepared the independent statement, they said, because of the Security Council's inability to express itself jointly -- an indirect reference to divisions with the US.

Indeed, Haley, struck an entirely different note at an emergency United Nations meeting of the Security Council. She questioned why the Council wasn't discussing Iranian violence, whether there was any link between the violence and the embassy opening, and said the issue wasn't worthy of a UN meeting at all.

'So illegitimate'

"Those who suggest that the Gaza violence has anything to do with the location of the American embassy are sorely mistaken," Haley told the Council Tuesday. "Rather, the violence comes from those who reject the existence of the state of Israel in any location. Such a motivation -- the destruction of a United Nations member state -- is so illegitimate as to not be worth our time in the Security Council, other than the time it takes to denounce it."

Haley also used her address to the Council as an opportunity to congratulate Israel for marking the 70th anniversary of Israel's independence.

"On behalf of the American people, I congratulate our friends in Israel on the remarkable achievement of 70 years of independence," she said.

She did not mention any Palestinian deaths or injuries in her remarks.

In Gaza, the Palestinian militant group Hamas tied the US embassy move directly to the violence.

"The American administration bears all the consequences of the implementation of this unjust decision," political bureau member Khalil Al-Hayya told reporters late on Monday.

Al-Hayya also warned Israel that "retaliation is imminent."

"The shedding of our people's blood today stains the faces of those normalizing [relations] with the Israeli Occupation and bargaining on the Palestinian cause with shame," Al-Hayya said.

UK Prime Minister Teresa May, speaking in London, called Israel's use of live fire "deeply troubling" and asked for an independent investigation into the deadly clashes. She was joined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has condemned the US embassy move. A day earlier, France officially expressed its disapproval of the move.

President Donald Trump's decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and relocate the Embassy from Tel Aviv is contentious for Palestinians, who hope to claim part of the city as their future capital.

The city is also home to deeply holy sites for Jews and Christians. The issue has been so thorny that international negotiators had left the question of Jerusalem to the final stages of any peace deal.

The timing of the embassy opening, attended by Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, added to the fraught symbolism. It took place a day after Israel celebrated Jerusalem Day, marking what Israelis consider the reunification of the city.

Tuesday marked the anniversary of what Palestinians call the "Nakba" or Catastrophe, in memory of the more than 700,000 Palestinians who were either driven from, or fled, their homes during the Arab-Israeli war that accompanied the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

On Tuesday, Haley said that, "moving the US embassy to Jerusalem was the right thing to do," and it "reflects the will of the American people," though a poll released in December showed that 63% of Americans opposed the move, including 44% of Republicans.

Haley said the embassy move "reflects the reality that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel" and that "recognizing this reality makes real peace more achievable, not less."

Haley's defense of Israel came a day after the US blocked a proposed draft of a UN Security Council press statement on the violence and ongoing protests in the Gaza Strip, according to two diplomats with direct knowledge of the matter. Any permanent Security Council member can block or veto resolutions or other actions in the Council.

Rules of engagement

Kuwait, which presented that press statement, now says it wants to bring a resolution designed to protect the Palestinians. Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi said he will circulate the draft resolution to Council members Wednesday, but he offered no details on its contents.

There will be a request within the draft-resolution for the Secretary-General to use "whatever is available to him to examine the rules of engagement" and afford protections for the Palestinian people, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations told reporters.

Human Rights Watch said the US decision to block the proposed draft undermined Washington's credibility.

The move sent "the message that Israeli security forces' calculated killings of protesters will come with no cost," said said Louis Charbonneau, UN director at HRW.

"The Security Council's silence and inaction will only encourage future Israeli abuses in Gaza and further undermine US credibility by highlighting US double standards as it seeks to mobilize the Council to hold abusers to account in crises like Syria and Myanmar," Charbonneau said.

But Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon cautioned UN members not to "give into the cycle of death that the Palestinians have created."

Defending Israel's response, Danon said rioters had thrown Molotov cocktails, planted explosive devices and rolled burning tires. "They have sent flaming materials over the fence and into Israel, spreading deadly fires across our fields. And they have tried, on multiple occasions, to break down the fence and infiltrate Israeli territory," Danon said.

The casualties were entirely the fault of Hamas, he said.

Hamas "has committed war crimes not only against Israeli civilians but also against its own people -- turning them into human shields for their own cynical gain," Danon said. "Every casualty that has resulted from the recent violence is a victim of Hamas' war crimes."

And like Haley, he pointed to Iran. "I can say to you today that Iran is supporting the riots in Gaza," he said.

The Israeli defense didn't defuse international calls for an investigation into the violence. Alistair Burt, the British Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign Office, said the UK is working "urgently" with the United Nations towards an inquiry.

Live fire

"The United Kingdom has been clear in calling for, urgently, a need to establish the facts of what happened, including why such a volume of live fire was used," Burt told members of Parliament. "We are supportive of an independent, transparent investigation."

And in contrast to Haley, other countries and national leaders urged both sides to make changes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her "concerns about the escalation of violence" in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement.

According to Seibert, Merkel told Netanyahu she understands "the security concerns of Israel," and added, "the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly should not be abused to provoke unrest."

Australia's foreign minister Julie Bishop said her government expressed "deep regret and sadness over the loss of life and injury during the continuing protests." She called on "Israel to be proportionate in its response and refrain from excessive use of force" and on Palestinians "to refrain from violence and attempting to enter into Israeli territory."
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SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTHI) - At North Central High School, it's home to the Thunderbirds, both current and former.

"I was the principal of this school for nine years and at Farmersburg Elementary for 17," said Mike Bledsoe, resident.

Having worked in education for 30 years, he says declining enrollment at Northeast Schools is not surprising.

"It's happened all across Indiana in small, rural communities," he said.

Bledsoe was among several inside North Central's gym on Monday night. That's where Superintendent Dr. Mark Baker presented his 10-year plan for the school corporation.

"That's really the most important things are the schools and your jobs," Baker said, "so if they don't like those things, they're going to find them somewhere else."

That's why the focus is on bringing students to, and keeping them at, their schools.

Baker said they've been weighing their options over the course of a year and have been working with a focus group. They've also held public meetings and sent out community surveys to get a feel of what residents would like to see.

Baker presented his recommendations in a 4-step layout.

The first step would be to keep things the way they are for three years. That's because of the passing of Indiana House Enrolled Act 1009, which focuses on managing school finances.

"That's going to be favorable for our school corporation," Baker said, "but then after those three years, we'll have a couple of red flags, two financial and two for enrollment. If we start to hit those red flags, then we would go to a step two."

Step two, Baker said, would include closing the middle school in Shelburn, Indiana. 6th graders would be sent to the two elementary schools and North Central would house 7th through 12.

The third step would include closing all of the sites but North Central. The building would house all grades.

The fourth, and last, step would entertain consolidation with Southwest Schools. Baker said the community survey, which received a little more than 400 responses, showed interest in exploring consolidation with the other district.

So far, Baker said there's only been one informal meeting, involving two board members from both school corporations.

"The biggest question is what would it look like and how would we get there," Baker said, "So at this point, as we continue to go through steps one, two and three, however long that takes, that exploration of consolidation would be there until one side or the other side were interested, or were not interested, and that would be the end of it."

Baker's recommendations were approved by board members in a unanimous vote.

Some say it's a step in the right direction when it comes to preserving the future of the school corporation.

"They're on the right process, procedure, to go through," Bledsoe said, "Give it a little time, change in the laws, you never know what's going to happen."
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indianapolis police have arrested several people who blocked a street outside the Statehouse as part of a nonviolent protest against poverty, racism and other issues.

Members of the Indiana Poor People's campaign blocked Capitol Avenue before the arrests Monday afternoon.

WISH-TV reports eight arrests were made about 5 p.m. Police made scores of similar arrests in Missouri, North Carolina and Washington, D.C.

The Indiana's Poor People Campaign is a state version of the Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. It's also a renewed version of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s campaign five decades ago to lift Americans out of poverty. Protest and events were planned in at least 30 states and the nation's capital on Monday.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - This week is National Police Week.

It's a week set aside to honor those who protect and serve.

Many are showing their support for our police officers right here in Terre Haute.

Sunday night, the Terre Haute Police Department held a candlelight vigil in honor of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

All to coincide with the national vigil in Washington D.C., and for local community members to show their support.

"Just showing them how much we do appreciate what they do for our community," said Chrissy John, THPD Spouse Auxiliary president.

Monday, preschoolers from Tender Moments in Terre Haute walked down Wabash Avenue. Just to deliver a handmade card to the police department.

The card reading "We know we are safe because of you".

Terre Haute Police Officer Ryan Adamson says it's little moments like these that make being an officer so special.

"When you have support from your community, from your families, that's what keeps us going. That's what keeps us motivated. That's what makes us get up in the morning and come do our job," said Adamson.

With the recent loss of Officer Rob Pitts, Adamson says the week memorializes every officer who has fallen in the line of duty.

"No matter how long it's been, no matter when the death was, you're not forgotten about. Your life was not given up in vain and we will remember it. The whole nation will remember it, from the President to the people that show up," said Adamson.

Indiana State Police Sergeant Joe Watts has been serving the Wabash Valley for many years now.

He says the relationship with the community and officers is important because we all have to work together.

"Law enforcement needs the public to do our job. They are the extra eyes and ears out there. We partner with them, we serve them," said Watts.

Watts says he's thankful for the community's support.

"The Wabash Valley is a great place to be a police officer, and we could not ask for better support here in the Valley," said Watts.

The Terre Haute Police Department's Spouse Auxiliary group will be volunteering throughout the week, serving meals and giving gifts to the officers.

They are inviting the community to get involved as well.
NEW ALBANY, Miss. (WTVA) - New Albany police may be close to learning who burglarized the city's Walgreens twice earlier this year.

Nicholas Wright, 26, was arrested in Shelby County, Tennessee, during the weekend. According to court documents, Wright was arrested in connection to Walgreens break-ins in Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama and Ohio.

Nicholas Wright | Photo: Shelby County Jail Nicholas Wright | Photo: Shelby County Jail

However, the documents do not specify if Wright is responsible for the New Albany break-in.

The first burglary happened March 17. The other happened on April 30 where drugs were taken from the store's pharmacy.

RELATED: New Albany police investigate Walgreens burglary

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department has arrested a convicted Florida felon for a shooting incident Sunday on Stuckey Avenue.

Jerald Williams, 27, was found in the area of 1602 Stuckey Avenue after police received reports of gun shots Sunday night.

A witness said Williams fired three shots into the air while arguing with another man.

After a search warrant was obtained for Williams residence, investigators located a 9 mm handgun, TPD said in a news release Tuesday. The gun had been previously reported stolen during a residential burglary reported to TPD on April 2, 2018.

Williams was arrested for the stolen firearm found in his possession. The firearm was impounded at the Tallahassee Police Department as evidence.

Williams was transported to the Leon County Detention Facility for processing.
GADSDEN COUNTY, Fla. (WTXL) - The school year is winding down for districts in the Big Bend, but for Gadsden County, all eyes are on the newly-formed high school and who operates it next year.

Gadsden County High School has had two straight years of earning a "D" grade.

The district merged its two high schools this year and started working with an outside partner to improve that grade.

Last summer, the school district presented a turnaround plan to the State Board of Education.

The goal was to get the high school to a "C" or higher in the 2017-18 school year with outside help.

Superintendent Roger Milton said there's been a lot of pressure on students and administrators to keep that from happening.

"They've been working extremely hard," he said. "Most schools that are in this position have been there because of consistence in several years of low-performing. So, East Gadsden was a low-performing school. West Gadsden was low-performing, so when we put the two together, it took on the designation of West Gadsden. So, we've only had this one year. We're doing the very best that we possibly can."

Milton said the district opted against turning the high school into a charter school.

WTXL has reached out to the Florida Department of Education to see whether the county's plans fall in line with what's been approved on a state level.
BALDWIN COUNTY, AL (WALA/CNN)  A student jumped into action when he realized his school bus driver may have been drunk.

Vicki Patrick is facing DUI and reckless endangerment charges after her arrest Friday.

Student Cody Butler smelled alcohol on her and called his mother from the bus. His mother called 911.

But before police arrived, Patrick pulled the bus over and turned the engine off. Butler then made sure the bus stayed off until help arrived.

"I didn't let her turn on the bus. I kept telling her to stay where she was and that people were coming," Butler said.

Baldwin County School Superintendent Eddie Tyler said Patrick's blood alcohol level was 15 times over the limit.

Patrick is currently in jail without bond.

Copyright 2018 WALA via CNN. All rights reserved.
WORLAND  While Washakie County and Wyoming got plenty of rain late last week, no records were set in Worland.

WORLAND  While Washakie County and Wyoming got plenty of rain late last week, no records were set in Worland.

According to the National Weather Service, Worland received .33 inches of precipitation on Friday, below the record of .73 inches set in 2005. On Saturday, Worland came close the record with .41 inches of rain. The record is .43 inches set in 1961. On Sunday, as the storm moved out o...
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-12 02:47:06|Editor: mmm

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Jin Xianmin, a quantum communication researcher with Shanghai Jiaotong University, shows a photonic quantum chip in Shanghai, east China, May 15, 2018. Chinese scientists demonstrated the first two-dimensional quantum walks of single photons in real spatial space, which may provide a powerful platform to boost analog quantum computing. They reported in a paper published in the journal Science Advances a three-dimensional photonic chip with a scale up to 49-multiply-49 nodes, by using a technique called femtosecond direct writing. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)

WASHINGTON, May 11, (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists demonstrated the first two-dimensional quantum walks of single photons in real spatial space, which may provide a powerful platform to boost analog quantum computing.

They reported in a paper published on Friday in the journal Science Advances a three-dimensional photonic chip with a scale up to 49-multiply-49 nodes, by using a technique called femtosecond direct writing.

Jin Xianmin, a quantum communication researcher with Shanghai Jiaotong University, who led the study, told Xinhua, it is the largest-scaled chip reported so far that allows for the realization of this two-dimensional quantum walk in real spatial space, and potential exploration for many new quantum computing tasks.

Jin and his colleague showed that the dimension and scale of quantum system could be employed as new resources for boosting the quantum computing power.

The researchers said, universal quantum computers came under the spotlight since last year, as IBM, Google, Intel and the rivals constantly competed to announce their new records on the achieved number of qubits.

However, universal quantum computers are far from being feasible before error correction and full connections between the increasing numbers of qubits could be realized.

In contrast, analog quantum computers, or quantum simulators, can be built in a straightforward way to solve practical problems directly without error correction, and potentially be able to beat the computational power of classical computers in the near future.

Quantum walk in a two-dimensional array is a strikingly powerful and straightforward approach to analog quantum computing. It maps certain computing tasks into the coupling matrix of the quantum paths, and provides efficient solutions to those even classically intractable problems.

Prominent quantum advantages will be promptly achievable as long as the scale of quantum systems goes above a considerably large level.

During the past two decades, a traditional and challenging method has been through increasing the photon number, which suffers from probabilistic generation of single photons and multiplicative loss, according to the researchers.

This ingenuous alternative way from increasing the external physics dimension and complexity of the quantum evolution system may accelerate future analog quantum computing, said Jin.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-14 23:06:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Wang Chen (R), vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, meets with a Palestinian delegation led by Abbas Zakki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, in Beijing, capital of China, May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

BEIJING, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Wang Chen, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, on Monday met with a Palestinian delegation led by Abbas Zakki, a member of the Fatah Central Committee.

Referring to the two meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Wang said they had reached important consensus and pointed out the direction for the development of bilateral ties during the meetings.

"This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Palestine," Wang said, stressing that China would firmly support Palestine's just cause.

He said the Communist Party of China (CPC) stood ready to consolidate the traditional friendship with Fatah, strengthen exchanges on experience, and promote overall development of the relations between the two parties and the two countries.

For his part, Zakki, also the party's general commissioner to the Arab World and China, said Fatah attached importance to developing friendly relations with the CPC and was willing to learn from its experience in ruling the party and the country.
by Zheng Jianghua

BRUSSELS, May 14 (Xinhua)-- Washington is no longer seen by Europe as a beacon of stability, but rather a source of geostrategic and geo-economical unrest, a geopolitics specialist told Xinhua in a recent interview.

In the wake of Washington's decision to back out of the landmark Iran nuclear deal, Europe has realized that its geopolitical interests are not always compatible with that of the United States, said Dr. David Criekemans, an associate professor in International Relations at the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Criekesmans is also a lecturer in geopolitics at the Geneva Institute of Geopolitical Studies, Switzerland.

Trump declared on May 8 in a televised speech that the United States would withdraw from the deal, a landmark agreement signed in July 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus the European Union (EU) and Germany.

Trump claimed that the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.

According to Criekemans, the JCPOA, inked during President Barack Obama's time, is used by Washington as a geopolitical strategy to curb the power of Saudi Arabia, a longstanding ally of the United States and the archrival of Iran.

"By 2015, it had become clear that Riyadh had financed radical Sunni fighters in Syria, in an attempt to counter the growing Iranian influence in the region," said Criekemans. "It is exactly from that breeding ground that the Islamic State originated."

"The U.S. had started producing its own shale oil, effectively making Washington less depended on Riyadh. President Obama sought to constrain the Saudi destabilization in the region by striking a deal with Iran," he explained.

But Trump pursues an anti-Obama policy and reverses the geopolitical alliances in the region, Criekemans noted, underlining that Trump's decision to ditch the deal prompt a split in the Western alliance.

"Many European countries are rather more concerned about Saudi 'financing activities' of diverse radical Sunni groups and hence see Iran as a reliable ally for the future," He said, adding that Iran's demographic structure with a large portion of young generation makes it a "promising" ally.

Criekemans predicted that the geopolitics of energy in the region will soon all be about natural gas, of which Iran disposes of large supplies whereas Saudi Arabia does not.

"Once natural gas becomes dominant in western energy mixes, Saudi power in the region will sunset. From the perspective of the geopolitics of energy, Iran may well hold the future with its natural gas deposits," he said.

It's noteworthy that on the footstep of the Iran deal, a whopping number of European companies, including French energy giant Total, flocked to Iran to get a foothold.

Total resumed purchasing crude oil in Iran in 2016 and signed a 20-year, 4.8-billion-dollar contract with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in July 2017, for the development and production of phase 11 of the South Pars gas field.

However, Total could be sanctioned or fined by the United States, as Trump administration plans to reimpose sanctions within 90-120 days against Iran and foreign companies doing business with Tehran.

Trump administration's anticipated sanctions will hit European companies of other industry as well. An easy prey is airplane manufacturer Airbus, which in 2016 signed a contract with Iran Air for 100 aircraft, including 46 single-aisle and 54 wide-body jets.

Iran Air has taken delivery of its first new A330-200 in March 2017. However, the looming sanctions cast a shadow over the fate of the remaining delivery.

"Trump uses the interconnectedness of the international financial system to effectively implode the Iran deal while trying to prevent the U.S. from becoming isolated at the same time," said Criekemans.

Touching on the prospect of salvaging the nuclear deal, the expert struck a pessimistic tone. "Together with the other permanent members of the UN Security Council, the European countries should try to keep the deal alive, but the chances for success are very limited."

"In the new multipolar world-in-the-making, Washington is no longer seen to be a beacon of stability, but rather a source of geostrategic and geo-economical unrest," he said.

"Brussels' new geopolitical strategy will have to consist in conducting a new 'balance politics' with the other 'poles' in the multipolar system; Washington is slowly but certainly being degraded in the minds of European politicians into being 'only one of these poles'," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 03:23:23|Editor: Yurou

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Chairman of Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Denis Zvizdic (C) speaks at a press conference in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on May 14, 2018. "We want to maintain a humane attitude towards migrants and we will continue to act in accordance with Bosnia and Herzegovina's and international laws," Chairman of BiH Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic said at a press conference here Monday. (Xinhua/Haris Memija)

SARAJEVO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- "We want to maintain a humane attitude towards migrants and we will continue to act in accordance with Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) and international laws," Chairman of BiH Council of Ministers Denis Zvizdic said at a press conference here Monday.

At a state level working-consultative meeting on migrant's crisis, Zvizdic revealed that the number of migrants entering BiH increased from 60 to 100 daily since the beginning of May.

Zvizdic said that there is an urgent need to find an adequate accommodation for migrants, pointing out that they should be treated in a humane manner.

"Those migrants who are living outdoors, we will accommodate in humane way, offer them health care and all other forms of accommodation," Zvizdic said.

For her part, minister for human rights and refugees Semiha Borovac stated that she will suggest at the Council of Ministers meeting Tuesday to open the refugee center Salakovac near the city of Mostar, some 130 kilometres southwest from the capital.

She added that the center is ready to accept 296 asylum seekers, mainly families with children.

Security minister Dragan Mektic stressed that BiH authorities stick to all laws and conventions on how to accept and act with migrants, and that they will continue to offer support.

"We will continue to fulfil absolutely every human requirement for those people, provide accommodation, food, healthcare, but we have to manage the process," Mektic said.
A Palestinian protester holding his national flag runs past barbed wires during clashes with Israeli forces near the border between the Gaza strip and Israel east of Gaza City on May 14, 2018. (AFP PHOTO)

MOSCOW, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry criticized the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on Monday.

"Nobody should be allowed to act in this manner and unilaterally revise agreements enshrined in the decisions of the international community," Lavrov said here at a joint press conference with Shoukry.

Lavrov recalled that UN-approved principles stipulate that all issues of the final settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, including the status of Jerusalem, should be resolved exclusively through direct dialogue between the leadership of Israel and Palestine.

Both Palestinians and Israelis consider Jerusalem as their capital city, and violence has plagued the region for decades.

Shoukry said that the United States "betrayed" the peace process by opening an embassy in Jerusalem.

"This decision will have its negative consequences for the peace process and the possibility to reinitiate the dialogue between the two parties," he said.

Earlier on Monday in a highly controversial move, the United States opened an embassy in Jerusalem, an ancient city holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka, his senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin attended the opening ceremony.

It triggered violent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces at the Gaza border, killing at least 45 Palestinians and injuring more than 2,000 others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 03:53:32|Editor: huaxia

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TEHRAN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Persepolis of Iran booked a place in the AFC Champions League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over the UAE's Al Jazira on Monday, Tehran Times daily reported.

In front of 90,000 vociferous fans in Tehran's Azadi Stadium, Persepolis, who had lost 3-2 in the first leg in Abu Dhabi, put the visiting team under pressure in the first half but failed to score.

Al Jazira also defended well in the second half but Ahmad Nourollahi scored a spectacular goal in the 63rd minute with a long-range shot.

Just seven minutes later, Al Jazira's Romarinho fired a right-footed shot from just outside the box to the bottom left corner to equalize the match.

Persepolis were in danger of being knocked out of competition but their captain Jalal Hosseini scored the winner from the box in the 89th minute. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 04:43:45|Editor: Yurou

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RAMALLAH, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The controversial transfer of the U.S. Embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will lead to more chaos and instability in the Middle East, Palestinian analysts say.

An official inauguration of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem was held Monday afternoon, as Israeli and U.S. officials gathered in the city amid deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip.

Last December, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and ordered the relocation of U.S. Embassy to Israel to the disputed holy city.

Some 800 guests, including a senior U.S. Congress delegation, attended the ceremony held at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, which will serve as the temporary embassy until the new one is built.

A total of 86 foreign ambassadors to Israel were invited to the opening ceremony, with about 40 of them accepting the invitation.

Palestinian analysts say the U.S. embassy move, met by wide Arab, Islamic and international rejection, will trigger escalating violence between Palestinians and Israelis as well as hindering the resumption of the stalled peace talks in the near future.

Since March 30, thousands of Palestinians have been staging weekly mass protests, known as the "Great March of Return" rally, in the Gaza-Israeli border areas, leading to the death of about 100 Palestinians by Israeli fire.

On Monday, new clashes erupted in the wake of the inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, where 52, including at least two minors, were killed by Israeli forces and 1,700 others injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

"Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem after recognizing the city as the capital of Israel paves the way for the imposture of Israel's solutions to the conflict," Hani al-Masri, a West Bank think-tank member and political analyst, told Xinhua.

The recognition legitimizes Israel's occupation, settlement expansion, while opening the way for its full annexation of the West Bank, al-Masri noted.

"This will certainly undermine the two-state solution," he added.

However, Trump believes that the move will further help achieve peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

In a recorded message aired during the inauguration of the embassy, Trump said the embassy relocation from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was "a long time coming," adding that the White House still seeks to achieve a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Also during the ceremony in Jerusalem, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the event a "great day for peace."

But al-Masri said Trump's decision on Jerusalem shows the U.S. departure from its traditional positions which demand Israel's withdrawal from the territories it occupied in the 1967 war, the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital and no Jewish settlement expansion.

"The Trump administration fully adopted the Israeli position on solving the conflict. The U.S. now is biased for Israel and is even its partner," al-Masri said.

The U.S. move is expected to cause an open conflict between Palestinians and Israelis which may fuel tension in the region, the Palestinian analyst warned.

The status of Jerusalem is among the thorniest issues of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks, which broke down in 2014 after nine months of U.S.-sponsored negotiations achieved no breakthrough.

The transfer of the U.S. embassy coincides with Israel's 70th anniversary of its declaration of independence, a day before the Palestinian Nakba Day, or "Day of Catastrophe," when most of the Palestinians were forced out of their cities and towns.

Trump is now preparing to present a peace plan, known as "deal of the century," to end the long-running Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The plan, however, was long rejected by the Palestinian leadership, which seeks to create a new multilateral framework in place of the U.S. monopoly over peace negotiations.

Hamada Faraana, a Ramallah-based news analyst, said Washington's policies in the Middle East have proved a failure in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

"Under Trump, Washington is working in coordination with Israel to pass the deal of century in harmony with Israeli interests. This is rejected by the Palestinians and will definitely face a strong reaction from the Palestinians at all levels," he told Xinhua.

Palestinian rejection is being backed by the United Nations, the European Union and Russia, Faraana pointed out.

"Waves of popular Palestinian protests are expected to escalate in the light of understandings between the Palestinian factions on the need to confront the U.S. step on Jerusalem in all possible ways," he added.
THE HAGUE, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch national government will no longer use anti-virus software from the Russian company Kaspersky Lab, as a precautionary measure for national security, Minister of justice and security Ferdinand Grapperhaus said on Monday.

In a letter to the parliament and quoted by Dutch media, Grapperhaus referred to Russian offensive digital activity, which is "aimed, among other things, at the Netherlands".

"The government has concluded that the risk of digital espionage and sabotage is present via the Kaspersky antivirus software," said the minister in the letter. He added that there are no concrete cases of abuse by the Russian company in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government also advises companies and organizations working in the vital sectors not to use Kaspersky's antivirus software any longer.

In September, the United States announced that it would no longer use Kaspersky Lab software within the government, citing concerns that Russia is using the company's software for espionage. Kaspersky called the accusation of espionage "Cold War paranoia".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 05:08:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DUBAI, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday strongly condemned Israeli killing of Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip, UAE state news agency WAM reported.

In a statement released on Monday, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation expressed the Gulf state's condemnation of the "excessive use of force" by the Israeli army against the unarmed Palestinian people.

"The UAE absolutely rejects the use of force to confront peaceful demonstrators who demand their just rights,'' the statement said.

The statement also called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility by stopping violence and protecting the Palestinian people.

It also reiterated the UAE's unequivocal position toward the Palestinian cause and its support for the Palestinian people in regaining their legitimate rights in line with international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Also on Monday, the UAE, through the Emirates Red Crescent, announced the donation of 5 million U.S. dollars to provide urgent medical supplies for Palestinian victims of the clashes in Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 05:54:11|Editor: Yurou

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Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) speaks during a meeting of Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on May 14, 2018. Mahmoud Abbas condemned the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem Monday and called for mourning on Tuesday, after Israeli forces killed 55 Palestinians in Gaza. (Xinhua/Fadi Arouri)

RAMALLAH, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem Monday and called for mourning on Tuesday, after Israeli forces killed 55 Palestinians in Gaza.

Abbas addressed a leadership meeting on Monday evening in his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah city, saying "what we saw in Jerusalem today was not the opening of an embassy, but the opening of an American settlement outpost."

He decried that the U.S. actions in defiance of the international community and laws "has removed itself from the political role in the Middle East as a mediator," stressing his demand to find an international multilateral mechanism to overlook peace.

Following the leadership meeting, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad Malki said in statements to the official Palestinian TV and radio station that the Palestinians have requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting that is scheduled to convene Tuesday to address the Palestinian demand for international protection.

Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said that the leadership decided to file a legal case against Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over settlement activity on the occupied Palestinian territory.

He added that the leadership also decided to limit relations with Israel and implement the decisions of the Palestinian National Council held last April.

The Gaza Strip's health ministry announced on Monday night that the Israeli soldiers shot dead 55 Palestinians and wounded 2,771 others in a bloody daylong of protests and confrontations in eastern Gaza Strip.

A large protest the Palestinians called the "One Million Palestinians March" was organized Monday against the U.S. moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The "Day of Catastrophe" or Nakba Day for the Palestinian people is marked on May 15 each year, in memory of the forcible transfer of two thirds of the Palestinian people and ethnic cleansing of at least 418 villages as a result of the 1948 war.

The U.S. embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem on Monday came in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ordering the moving of his country's embassy to the holy city last December.

Palestinians described the U.S. move as a provocation and a flagrant violation of international law. They disqualified the U.S. from being the sole sponsor of the peace process with Israel and called for an international multilateral mechanism to overlook peace negotiations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 07:04:29|Editor: Liu

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BUENOS AIRES, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Argentinean federal judge, Julian Ercolini, on Monday began legal proceedings against former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (2007-2015) and her two children for charges of money laundering and illicit association.

A statement from the court said that Ercolini had frozen assets belonging to the family worth 800 million pesos (about 32 million U.S. dollars).

Ercolini, who oversees the 10th Federal Criminal and Correctional Court of Buenos Aires is investigating Fernandez de Kirchner and her children, Maximo and Florencia Kirchner, after businessmen who won public contracts were found to have allegedly given kickbacks to hotels owned by the family.

The judge said that the case was looking into a potential money laundering ring using funds obtained from bribes given in exchange for public contracts.

According to judicial investigators, the money was laundered through the fictitious renting of rooms at the Alto Calafate hotel, run by the Hotesur firm which is owned by the Kirchner family.

The case began in November 2014 after a tip-off from then national deputy Margarita Stolbizer.

Fernandez de Kirchner denies all the charges and has repeatedly stated she is the subject of a "political persecution" by the current government.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 08:09:49|Editor: Liu

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A man renovates a house ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Sanaa, Yemen, on May 14, 2018. Thousands of people in the war-torn Yemen are going to receive this Ramadan amid despair and harsh living conditions as a result of the three-year-long military conflict that started in 2015 and is still raging across the country. (Xinhua/Mohammed Mohammed)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 08:18:24|Editor: Yurou

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People protest against the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, on May 14, 2018. The inauguration ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem started on Monday afternoon, as Israeli and U.S. officials gathered in the city amidst deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip. (Xinhua/Guo Yu)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 08:19:41|Editor: Yurou

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NEW DELHI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The violence and clashes during rural body (panchayat) elections in India's eastern state of West Bengal Monday claimed 12 lives, officials said.

The violence began soon after the polling began in the state at 7:00 a.m. local time on Monday.

"The number of deaths this year was far fewer than those in earlier years. We tried our best to achieve a completely peaceful election. But despite our efforts a few sporadic incidents and deaths took place," state's Police Chief Surajit Kar Purkayastha told media.

A local news agency quoted Purkayastha as saying 12 deaths were reported

According to election commission officials, 75.5 percent polling was reported until 5 p.m. across the state.

Earlier during the day, a low intensity blast went off at a polling station in Cooch Behar district injuring 20 people.

Reports said a media vehicle was damaged in clashes in South 24 Parganas district and five journalists were injured during clashes in Birpara of Alipurduar district.

Reports said many ballot boxes have been set on fire and looted, besides ballot papers teared by the attackers.

Officials said ballot papers are being used instead of Electronic Voting Machines.

Police have fired dozens of tear smoke shells and warning shots to disperse the arsonists.

Officials said some policemen were also reported to be injured during violence.

Meanwhile, India's federal home ministry has sought a report from West Bengal government in view of the violence during panchayat elections.

Votes are scheduled to be counted on Thursday, officials said.
VIENNA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday praised the planned closure of a nuclear test site in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea as an "important confidence-building step."

"I would like to welcome that and to say that the irreversible closure of the site will be an important confidence-building measure that will contribute to further efforts towards sustainable peace and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula," Guterres said in a statement during his stay in Vienna for a UN conference.

The DPRK announced its decision over the weekend to dismantle the Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site.

The UN chief also expressed the hope that the positive momentum regarding the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue will be consolidated at the planned meeting between the leaders of the United States and DPRK.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who called the DPRK decision a "gracious gesture," is set to meet the DPRK leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore in June.
SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea on Tuesday denounced Japan for its repeated territorial claims to Dokdo islets, called Takeshima in Japan, lying halfway between the two countries.

Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement that it strongly protests against the Japanese government repeating its illegitimate sovereignty over Dokdo islets, which it said is an indigenous territory of South Korea.

The statement strongly urged Japan to immediately drop the claim, which was laid through Japan's annual diplomatic report called Diplomatic Blue Paper that was submitted earlier in the day to its cabinet.

The Seoul statement said the Japanese government should recognize that its repetition of the unjust and ludicrous claim will be of no help to building future-oriented relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

The statement made it clear that Japan's futile claim over Dokdo will have no influence on South Korea's sovereignty over the islets, which it said is part of South Korea's territory historically, geographically and under international law.

It added that South Korea will sternly deal with any Japanese provocation against Dokdo.

South Korea restored its sovereignty over the Dokdo islets after its liberation in 1945 from the Japanese colonization. Seoul has since maintained a small police detachment there.

South Korean people regard Japan's territorial claim over the islets as its denial of the wartime history as Dokdo is the very first territory that was forcibly occupied by the Imperial Japan.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 10:25:14|Editor: Yurou

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BUENOS AIRES, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's union members took to the streets of the capital Buenos Aires on Monday to protest government loan negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and price hikes of public utilities.

They expressed the concern that the IMF will bail out the South American country only if the government agrees to impose strict austerity measures to rein in public spending. Protesters gathered around noon at the city's Plaza Lavalle for a march.

The march was called by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the Argentine Confederation of Transport Workers (CATT) and the National Youth Union (JSN), in protest over the "current socioeconomic crisis," organizers said in a statement.

Following two weeks of currency devaluation to successive record lows against the U.S. dollar, the Argentine government applied for a credit line from the IMF estimated to be between 20 billion and 30 billion U.S. dollars.

On Monday, the exchange rate was at over 25 pesos for one dollar.
SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has offered to South Korea holding a high-level dialogue Wednesday at the border village of Panmunjom, the Blue House of South Korea said Tuesday.

A Blue House official confirmed local media reports that the DPRK side proposed the high-level talks to be held at Peace House, a South Korean building in Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas.

The South Korean side reportedly planned to send a notice accepting the dialogue overture.

It would come as a follow-up measure to the third-ever inter-Korean summit that was held on April 27 in Panmunjom.

After the summit, the two sides agreed to hold senior-level talks to discuss military affairs and humanitarian issues such as the reunion of separated families across the border.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 10:50:21|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Personnel flow between China and other countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) rose by 31 percent between 2013, when the initiative was proposed, and last year, Tuesday's China Daily reported.

The number of people traveling between China and other Belt and Road countries reached 26.5 million in 2017, a year-on-year rise of nearly 5 percent after consecutive increases in previous years, according to the newspaper, citing data from a report published by the Research Center of the Belt and Road Initiative with the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

Accumulated trips originating in China to the countries and regions involved in the initiative increased by nearly 39 percent from 2013 to 2017, compared with an increase of about 25 percent to other countries and regions.

Shi Nan, deputy director of the research center, was quoted as saying that the personnel flow included all types of trips, ranging from personal to business, but they believe the change was associated with the initiative, as the increase in 2013 was the most eye-catching.

The BRI aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to seek common development and prosperity.
BUJUMBURA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Burundi Monday urged the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) to cooperate with Burundi to arrest militants who killed 26 people in northwestern Burundi.

Early investigations showed that criminals retreated to the DR Congo after carrying out the attack, said Burundian Attorney General Sylvestre Nyandwi at a press conference held in the capital Bujumbura.

"We have set up a judiciary inquiry commission that has been given one month to conclude its investigations. The commission should also have, in one month, to set the case before trial," said Nyandwi.

The militants attacked a Burundian village in Buganda district, Cibitoke province on May 12, killing 24 people on the spot and causing two others to die in the hospital.

Burundian Public Security and Disaster Management Minister Alain Guillaume Bunyoni said on Saturday that the Burundian government has been in touch with DR Congo's leaders to plan a joint operation to fight the militants.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 11:00:23|Editor: Chengcheng

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HONG KONG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong middle school students have won one gold, one silver and three bronze medals and an honourable mention at the 19th Asian Physics Olympiad (APhO), according to a press release from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government on May 14.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Education Yeung Yun-hung, congratulated the team on their impressive results. "The remarkable results achieved by the Hong Kong team this year demonstrate our students' great potential in physics," he said.

Yeung said that the education bureau of the HKSAR government will continue to nurture more students with an interest and talent in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and support STEM-related activities, so as to enrich the talent pool of Hong Kong and enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong in the international arena.

The APhO was held from May 6 to May 12 in Hanoi, Vietnam, with 188 students from 25 countries and regions with outstanding abilities in physics participating in it. The event aims at promoting physics education and to nurture and inspire teenagers who are highly talented in physics.
CHICAGO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Midwest state of Iowa on Monday published a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, in which the farm belt state urged swift actions on the U.S. side to resolve the Section 301 trade dispute with China in a way that does not hurt the state's economy.

The letter, written on May 10 and carried by Gazetteonline Monday, was signed by Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and presidents and CEOs of 10 industrial associations in Iowa.

Noting that trade is vitally important to the health of Iowa's economy, the letter said the agricultural products coming out of Iowa contribute to one of the country's few trade surpluses.

"China is an extremely important market for our state. One-third of our state's 5 billion dollars' soybean crop is exported to China. The U.S. exports more than 1 billion dollars of pork to China and Iowa farmers are responsible for 30 percent of our country's pork production. The China market was just recently reopened to U.S. beef after more than 15 years of delays and is a tremendous potential market for the 4 million head of cattle being cared for in our state," the letter said.

Iowa also leads the nation in corn and ethanol production, both now facing additional trade barriers, the letter added.

In response to U.S. trade offensives against China earlier this year, China announced a list of U.S. imports that could face hefty tariffs should Washington proceed with its unilateral trade moves against China.

U.S. Soybeans and pork are among the items targeted by China.

Iowa is a globally-recognized, highly productive agricultural state that depends on open access to international markets. "For our farmers to be successful, we need to grow, not contract, our markets," the letter said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 12:30:38|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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A National People's Congress (NPC) delegation of legislators from China's Tibet Autonomous Region, led by Baima Wangdui (2nd R), deputy of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region and member of the Tibetan regional party standing committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), receive interviews by the media in Washington, the United States, on May 11, 2018. The delegation wrapped up its six-day visit to the United States on May 14. (Xinhua/Yang Chenglin)

WASHINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- A National People's Congress (NPC) delegation of legislators from China's Tibet Autonomous Region wrapped up its six-day visit to the United States on Monday.

The delegation, led by Baima Wangdui, deputy of the People's Congress of the Tibet Autonomous Region and member of the Tibetan regional party standing committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), met U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan, Congressmen Darin LaHood, Rick Larsen, Jim McGovern and other State Department officials in Washington.

Baima Wangdui, who is also the secretary of the CPC Lhasa Municipal Party Committee, held discussions with assistants of U.S. lawmakers and experts at the research department of U.S. Congress.

In San Francisco, the delegation exchanged ideas with local overseas Chinese and Tibetan representatives.

During meetings with the U.S. side, Baima Wangdui said China attaches great importance to China-U.S. relations.

He said that Chinese President Xi Jinping has maintained close contact with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump, and the two leaders have reached important consensuses on a broad range of issues, which guided the China-U.S. relations to achieve major progress.

He also pointed out that some differences and sensitive issues still exist between the two countries that need to be handled properly.

The Tibet Autonomous Region is willing to implement the important consensuses reached between the two heads of state, strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the U.S. side, and enhance mutual understanding so as to serve the overall interests of China-U.S. relations, Baima Wangdui said.

Over the past 60 years since Tibet's peaceful liberation, remarkable progress has been made in various areas, and people's rights and freedom have been fully guaranteed, which is a fact obvious to all, he said.

He stressed that the Tibet issue is a matter concerning China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, the core interests of China.

The Tibet issue is an internal affair of China which brooks no intervention from any foreign country, he noted.

More than 3 million Tibetans living in Tibet are the most qualified to speak about what happens there, Baima Wangdui said.

He hoped that the U.S. side fully recognizes the extreme sensitivity of the Tibet issue and the anti-China nature of the Dalai clique, earnestly respect the core interests and major concerns of China, allow no visits by the heads of the Dalai clique, refrain from whatever contact with it, offer no support and convenience to its anti-China separatist activities, and handle the Tibet issue in a discreet and proper way, so as not to disturb China-U.S. relations.

The U.S. side said that both China and the United States are great countries, and their relations are generally moving ahead though they experienced some ups and downs occasionally.

The United States expects to build a constructive and result-oriented China-U.S. relationship, strengthen cooperation with China and constantly achieve new outcome.

The U.S. side recognizes that Tibet is part of China and it will not support Tibet independence, and this position has remained unchanged.

In meetings with local overseas Chinese and Tibetan representatives, the delegation gave a briefing on the historic changes and achievements scored in various sectors.

Baima Wangdui said that under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government, it took Tibet only several decades to advance from backwardness to progress, from poverty to affluence, and from seclusion to openness.

Tibet has made a historic stride in terms of its social system and witnessed earth-shaking social changes, he said, adding that today's Tibet is at its best period in history.

The overseas Chinese and Tibetan representatives took great pride in the achievements made in various sectors of Tibet, and expressed their readiness to continue to work for the mutual understanding between China and the United States and to contribute to development and prosperity of their motherland and hometowns.

The delegation also received interviews by the media during the visit.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 12:45:41|Editor: Yurou

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HOUSTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Chinese and U.S. universities have pledged here to promote academic and research cooperation between the two countries.

The pledge was made at an event celebrating the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up policy and the 120th anniversary of Peking University, co-hosted by alumni associations of Peking University and Tsinghua University in Houston on Sunday.

In a keynote speech at the 2018 Southern U.S. China Summit, Xu Zhihong, a former president of Peking University, called on the alumni associations to make more contributions to exchanges between China and the United States.

President of Rice University in Houston David Leebron said he believes that universities and students have a role in further enhancing the relationship between the United States and China.

"It is my belief that it calls upon us the great universities in the world to continue to forge this relationship, to use our capacities for progress and peace and understanding to build not just intellectual relationships, research relationships, but personal relationships between peoples," he said.

Texas State Representative Gene Wu called for deeper cooperation on academic and intellectual levels among peoples in Texas, in Houston and in China.

The summit also got together people from Houston's political, business and academic societies.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 13:35:49|Editor: Chengcheng

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SYDNEY, May 15 (Xinhua) -- All eyes in the world of fashion will be centred on Australia this week as Sydney hosts some of the top designers, models and make up artists from around the globe.

With 40 individual shows and 98 designers, Fashion Week Australia began with a unique show from high-end local labels.

Somewhat isolated from the style hubs of London, Milan, Paris and New York, Fashion Week Australia's slightly tongue and cheek approach to the rest of the fashion world gives it its own flair.

Fashion Week Australia organiser Andrew Serrano said the increasing demand from China's consumer base is driving a lot of new concepts among designers.
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump visited his wife, Melania Trump, at a military hospital near D.C. Monday evening, after the first lady underwent a procedure to treat a benign kidney condition earlier in the day.

"Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!" Trump said in a tweet before flying by helicopter from the White House to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, state of Maryland.

Mrs. Trump's office said earlier in a statement that the first lady "underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition."

"The procedure was successful and there were no complications," the statement said. "The first lady looks forward to a full recovery."

An embolization is a minimally invasive treatment that blocks one or more blood vessels or abnormal vascular channels.

The president and first lady spoke before the procedure and he spoke to the doctor immediately following it, according to ABC News, citing a senior administration official.

The first lady, 48, will likely remain hospitalized "for the duration of the week," the statement added.

Mrs. Trump was last seen in public on Wednesday at a White House event to honor military mothers and spouses.

Her expected multi-day hospitalization would be the longest for a first lady since Nancy Reagan stayed for roughly a week in a hospital following a mastectomy in 1987.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 13:45:52|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The main uses of public housing funds are for home loans, downpayments, rent and renovations, according to a survey in Tuesday's China Youth Daily.

Among the 2,025 interviewees, 67.4 percent said they would choose to use their public housing funds for home loans.

The public housing fund is a long-term housing savings plan made up of compulsory monthly deposits by both employers and employees. It can only be used by employees on house-related expenses and, if unused, is returned to them when they retire or stop working.

Hu Yabing, who works in the construction industry in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, said that, due to the complicated process to withdraw the funds, not many people he knows have used them to purchase a house, and most would apply for commercial loans.

To encourage more people to use the funds, the central government recently issued a circular on public housing funds to simplify the application and withdrawal procedures.

The survey also showed that 56.1 percent of respondents hoped to extend the loan maturity.

Housing prices remained largely stable in major Chinese cities amid tough government purchase restrictions.
BERLIN, May 14 (Xinhua) -- German entrepreneurs expressed great concern about their deals in Iran after U.S. President Donald Trump announced the decision to withdraw from the historical nuclear deal sealed in 2015 and to reinstate sanctions against Iran.

"We will now very carefully analyze the sanction-related steps announced by the United States," German conglomerate company Siemens AG said in a statement on Monday.

The Munich-based and largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe signed a contract in October 2016 to upgrade Iran's railway network and supply components for 50 diesel-electric locomotives to Iran.

Siemens said it will comply with all the export controls that may emerge.

Its chief executive Joe Kaeser said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that according to his understanding, Siemens could not do any new business in Iran, or else it could face sanctions from the United States.

Siemens's concerns were widely shared by other German companies that are active in or with Iran.

German carmaker Volkswagen(VW), which resumed its exports to Iran in 2017, said it was closely monitoring and reviewing the political and economic development in the region.

Another German automaker Daimler AG also said it would analyze the impact of the U.S. decision on its business in Iran.

Uncertainties about the legal consequences of U.S. exit from the nuclear deal dominate German businesses, Eric Schweitzer, president of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said on Monday.

There is fear that financial institutions would withdraw from businesses in Iran, eying the threatening sanctions by the United States, Schweitzer warned, saying it would leave further financing of deals in question.

He called on the German government and the European Union to look after its businesses operating in Iran by limiting direct damage and ensuring fulfillment of existing contracts.

According to official figures, exported German goods to Iran increased by around 400 million euros (476 million U.S. dollars) to a total of 3 billion euros (3.57 billion dollars) in 2017. German-Iranian commerce soared by 42 percent since sanctions were loosened in 2016, gradually returning to levels between 2000 and 2010.

White House national security adviser John Bolton told the press on Sunday that "it's possible" that European companies doing business with Iran would be subject to sanctions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 14:00:56|Editor: Liangyu

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SAN FRANCISCO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Facebook said Monday that it has suspended around 200 apps for possible misuse of data after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg promised in March to launch full app investigation and audit in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Ime Archibong, vice president of Product Partnerships at Facebook, said in a blog that the apps, which he did not specify in detail, will be subject to a thorough investigation as to whether they did in fact misuse any data.

"Facebook will investigate all the apps that had access to large amounts of information before...significantly reducing the data apps could access," he wrote.

He said Facebook's investigation process is in full swing and a comprehensive review is being conducted "to identify every app that had access to this amount of Facebook data."

Archibong said any app running on the platform that either refused or failed an audit would be banned from Facebook. If any of the investigated apps or other apps was found to have misused data, Facebook will ban them and notify their owners at Facebook's website.

"It will show people if they or their friends installed an app that misused data before 2015 -- just as we did for Cambridge Analytica," Archibong said.

Cambridge Analytica, a British data analysis company, was accused of illegally accessing the data of some 87 million Facebook users for its political data analysis allegedly connected with U.S. President Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign.

But the British company has denied misusing Facebook data for the Trump campaign, and announced closure of all its operations in March.

"The company is immediately ceasing all operations" and bankruptcy proceedings would soon begin, it said in a statement on March 2.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 14:10:58|Editor: Liangyu

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CHANGCHUN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Authorities in northeast China's Jilin Province have found signs of a critically endangered leopard subspecies.

A total of 13 goats, raised by local farmers in a national nature reserve in Hunchun, have been mauled to death recently, and investigations showed that the culprit was one or several wild Amur leopards, according to the local forestry bureau.

Two dead goats have been reported in May, both in the same area. Judging from the scratches and the remaining corpse, experts concluded that they were killed by the rare species of leopard.

Forestry authorities have advised locals to relocate their livestock to other areas.

Amur leopards, also known as the Far Eastern leopard, are one of the most endangered feline species in the world, and have been listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It is believed that there are about 50 Amur leopards living in the wild, mostly in the China-Russia border areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 14:21:00|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 11, 2018 shows a haul truck (R) working at Husab Uranium Mine in western Namibia. The Husab mine is one of the biggest uranium mines in the world. (Xinhua/Wu Changwei)

SWAKOPMUND, Namibia, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Kerryb Puuahee, 31, is proud of breaking new ground in the male-dominated mine industry by becoming a female heavy equipment operator at a Namibian mine.

The young mother is a 330-ton haul truck operator at Husab Uranium Mine, one of China's biggest single investments in Africa. Her job entails loading ore from the pit onto the processing workshop.

"Driving this beautiful thing here is a lovely experience, which you know is something we never imagined one could do here," Puuahee said.

Puuahee said she joined the mining industry mainly because it presents more opportunities and allows one to grow quickly. Driven by this belief, she moved inland from the coastal town of Swakopmund to Arandis, which is near Husab mine, and joined the legion of job seekers when Husab mine began construction in 2013.

"Now Swakop Uranium (the company that owns Husab Uranium Mine) provides employment for a lot of people, so I think it's also a life changer for many people, especially the youth," Puuahee said.

The Husab mine is one of the biggest uranium mines in the world. Permanent employees at the mine were numbered at 1,620 by the end of 2017, in addition to 176 temporary employees and 522 contractors.

Husab became the largest employer in the country's mining industry in 2017, according to the Chamber of Mines CEO Veston Malango.

Cai Yusheng, CEO of Swakop Uranium, said more than 5,000 workers were at the construction site at peak time.

The mine's construction and operation have been credited for alleviating the employment pressure in the southern African nation, where unemployment rate reached 34 percent in 2016.

Among the praises it received was that from Namibian President Hage Geingob.

"You have impressed me with your huge investment. This is indeed a good investment. Taming the mountains and civilizing the desert. Namibia is proud to have you as our partner!" Geingob said this when visiting the mine in March 2016.

Husab mine produced its first uranium drum in December 2016. Cai said if full production is realized, the mine will process 15 million tons of ore, and has an output capacity of 6,500 tons of U3O8 a year.

Husab mine is also expected to promote Namibia's GDP growth by about 5 percent and increase the country's export volume by about 20 percent, making Namibia the third largest producer of uranium in the world, according to Cai.

The 4.8-billion-U.S.-dollar project in the Namib Desert is one of China's biggest single investments in Africa, which took four years to finish construction.

Many expectations have now been attached to the mine. Geingob, who visited the mine several times, also invited Zambian President Edgar Lungu and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita there.

Lungu left a message on the scene praising the investment as "an expression of the Chinese people's commitment to Africa," while Keita was equally excited. "Long live the cooperation between the great Namibia and great China! Long live China-Africa cooperation!" said his message.
SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's economy posted trade surplus for 75 straight months through April despite a fall in exports, which account for about half of the export-driven economy, customs data showed Tuesday.

Revised data for trade surplus was 6.6 billion U.S. dollars in April, staying in the black since February 2012, according to Korea Customs Service.

Exports fell 1.5 percent over the year to 50.1 billion dollars in April, but it was mainly attributable to the so-called high base effect in which last year's figure was exceptionally high.

Imports advanced 14.5 percent to 43.5 billion dollars in the cited period.

Semiconductor export surged 36.2 percent, continuing to lead the overall export number. Outbound shipment for oil products soared 53.9 percent, but auto shipment declined 8.8 percent.

Ship export tumbled 75.7 percent, while export of telecommunication devices such as smartphones declined 39.3 percent as local manufacturers increased production in overseas factories.

Exports to China, Japan and the Middle East posted a double-digit increase, but those to the United States, Vietnam and the European Union (EU) shrank last month.
by Xinhua writer Gu Zhenqiu

LONDON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Britain on Monday made it clear that it has "no plans" to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a move that distances itself from its closest ally the United States.

"The British embassy to Israel is based in Tel Aviv and we have no plans to move it," British Prime Minister Theresa May's spokesman told reporters.

The U.S. move has touched off strong protest from the Palestinians on Monday. At least 55 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on the day when the United States opened its embassy in Jerusalem.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced his decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel last December, a move that was hailed by Israel but widely criticized by the international community and led to an effective Palestinian boycott of Washington's role in the Middle East peace process.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Monday that the move is in defiance of the international community and the U.S. has thus "removed itself from the political role in the Middle East as a mediator."

The status of Jerusalem is one of the most inflammatory issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; the city is claimed by both Israelis and Palestinians.

In fact, Jerusalem is not the only major international issue that has forced London to distance itself from Washington. The Iran nuclear deal is another.

After Trump announced his country's withdrawal from the accord on May 8, Britain joined Germany, France and other European Union members in a bid to salvage the landmark agreement.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in July 2015 to endorse the multilateral deal shortly after it was struck after painstaking negotiations between Iran and the five permanent security council members plus Germany and the European Union.

European Union foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart are expected to meet in Brussels on Tuesday following bilateral talks between the British and French foreign ministers in London on Monday.

The Jerusalem and Iran decisions are the latest and most serious examples of the Trump administration's aggressive unilateralism. Last June, the Trump administration pulled the United States out of the Paris accord on climate change, another crucial international agreement.

All these unilateral U.S. actions have been rejected by the international community, including its Western allies.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, during his recent trip to the United States, failed to convince the U.S. government to stay within the Iran nuclear accord. The French and German lobbying efforts also failed to pay off.

The other parties -- China, France, Russia, Britain, the European Union and Iran -- remain in the accord, which placed controls on Iran's nuclear program.

One pillar of British foreign policy is maintaining sound relations with the United States, yet it is evidently clear that London does not blindly follow Washington's every move.

However, Whitehall does not distance itself from the White House on all major world issues. For instance, Britain and France joined the U.S.-led military strikes on Syria in April.

Yet one thing is abundantly clear: Trump's "America First" policy is leading his country down a road to "America Alone."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 15:26:10|Editor: Yamei

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KUNMING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two people have been sentenced for killing a Mishmi takin, an endangered goat-antelope species, authorities in southwest China's Yunnan Province said Tuesday.

According to the People's Court of Gongshan County, the two farmers used a gun to kill the animal and then fled the scene in August 2017. Authorities later found takin meat in their make-shift house.

The two were convicted of hunting and killing an endangered wild animal and illegally possessing guns. They were both sentenced to three years in prison, with a five-year and four-year reprieve, respectively. They were also fined 4,000 yuan (630 U.S. dollars) each.

The Mishmi takin is a Class-I protected species in China. It is listed as "critically endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
ISTANBUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least seven people, including two children, drowned late Monday when a boat carrying migrants to a Greek island sank off Turkey's Aegean coast, local media reported on Tuesday.

The boat was carrying at least 20 refugees to the Greek island of Lesbos when it capsized near Ayvacik district of Turkey's northwestern province of Canakkale, the Haberturk daily said, noting 13 of them have been rescued.

Ambulances and coast guard teams were dispatched to the area and the rescue operation was continuing, according to the daily.

The Aegean Sea was once a main route for migrants being smuggled into Europe via Turkey, but a deal signed between Turkey and the European Union in March 2016 has reduced the flow of illegal migration.

The Turkish coast guard put the number of irregular migrants via Turkey at 9,272 since the beginning of the year, in contrast to 4,715 over the same period in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 15:41:15|Editor: Yamei

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KUNMING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Police have detained two suspected drug traffickers and seized 42.6 kilograms of opium, authorities in the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, said Tuesday.

On April 30, police received information that several men were planning to transport drugs from a neighboring country into China. Police immediately set up an investigation team and dispatched officers to border areas.

Two suspects were detained in Yingjiang County the following day, while another fled the scene, police said. Altogether 42.6 kilograms of opium were found with the two suspects.

Further investigation is underway.

Yunnan is a major front in China's battle against drug crime as it borders the notorious Golden Triangle, known for rampant narcotics production and trafficking.
SEOUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) invited eight South Korean journalists to witness the dismantling of its northeastern nuclear test site, Seoul's unification ministry said Tuesday.

The DPRK side sent a letter through a communications channel at the border village of Panmunjom earlier in the day, saying it invites South Korean journalists from one news agency and one broadcaster to the ceremony for the dismantlement of its Punggye-ri underground nuclear test site, the ministry said in a press release.

Each South Korean media outlet was allowed to send four journalists to the ceremony, which Pyongyang said would be held between May 23 and 25.

During the April 27 summit, top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un told South Korean President Moon Jae-in that he would publicly dismantle the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, where all of its six nuclear tests were conducted, to show his will toward the denuclearized Korean Peninsula.

In addition to South Korea, the DPRK had also invited journalists from China, Russia, the United States and Britain.

The invited South Korean journalists will be required to receive a visa from the DPRK embassy in China before flying to Kalma Airport in Wonsan on May 22 together with other journalists. They will use the accommodation and the press center at Wonsan.

Journalists will be visiting the Punggye-ri nuclear test ground by train from Wonsan. After covering the event, they will return and use the press center at Wonsan.

The invited journalists will return home from Kalma Airport in Wonsan by private plane on May 26 or May 27, according to the press release.
MANILA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Philippines has lifted the deployment ban of skilled and semi-skilled workers to Kuwait, but the ban for domestic helpers stays for now, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said on Tuesday.

Roque told a news conference that there are 20,000 Filipino workers that are expected to be deployed in Kuwait, and that the ban to deploy Filipino domestic helpers to Kuwait will eventually be lifted.

The decision came barely five days after the Philippines and Kuwait signed an agreement that provides "legal protection for Filipino maids in the Gulf State."

Under the agreement, the Philippines and Kuwait undertake "to uphold ethical recruitment policies, systems, and procedures for the recruitment and employment of domestic workers, subject to the applicable laws and regulations of both parties," Roque said on Sunday.

The agreement "ensures employers will provide food, housing, clothing, and the registering of the domestic worker in Kuwait's health insurance system. It also provides one month's salary to workers for every year of service rendered after the expiration of the work contract," Roque said.

Roque said the lifting of the deployment ban for skilled and semi-skilled workers to Kuwait is the next step in the normalization of diplomatic ties with Kuwait.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al Hamad Al Sabah signed the agreement on May 11 in Kuwait.

Kuwait is a major labor destination for Filipinos in the Middle East, with over 250,000 currently working there, mostly as domestic helpers.

However, recent incidents of abuses against them, where some resulted in deaths, prompted Manila to enforce a deployment ban for Filipino workers earlier this year.

The diplomatic row deepened when Philippine embassy officials rescued distressed Filipino maids in Kuwait and posted a video of the rescue mission that went viral online. Kuwait was angered by the move and recalled its envoy in Manila.

The Philippine government sent a team to Kuwait to mend ties with the Gulf state.
ADDIS ABABA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Africa's integration process in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative will provide more opportunities for cooperation, said a senior Chinese diplomat.

Kuang Weilin, head of the Chinese Mission to the African Union (AU), told Xinhua in a recent interview that the continent's integration is key to its future development and prosperity.

"Africa's integration will also benefit China-Africa cooperation and facilitate China's investment in and trade with Africa," he said.

Hailing the AU's efforts in advancing the continent's integration, Kuang said China will offer more support to the regional bloc in the fields of peace and security, public health, infrastructure, capacity building and poverty reduction.

Proposed in 2013, the initiative is a grand infrastructure and trade project aimed at connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient Silk Road routes. It comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

"African nations are now focusing on their infrastructure development, so the Belt and Road Initiative chimes with their own development needs," Kuang said

The ambassador cited Kenya's Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway and the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway as successful examples of the initiative that unveil "bright prospects for Africa's inter-connection."

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, is currently on an official visit to Ethiopia, Mozambique and Namibia on May 9-18, his first overseas trip since he took over as China's top legislator in March.

He said Li's visit to the AU headquarters last week has demonstrated the great importance China attaches to its relations with the AU.

During his meeting with Thomas Kwesi Quartey, deputy chairperson of the AU Commission, Li said China is willing to support the AU's work to strengthen its organs, peacekeeping work and efforts to raise living standards on the continent.
JAKARTA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian exports expanded 9.01 percent to 14.47 billion U.S. dollars in April from a year ago supported by non-oil and gas shipment overseas, the national statistics bureau announced here on Tuesday.

Export of non-oil and gas in April touched a 8.55 percent annual growth, head of the bureau Kecuk Suhariyanto said.

The cumulative of Indonesia's export in the first four months posted a 8.77 percent growth to 58.74 billion U.S. dollars from a year ago, he said.

Annual growth of non-oil and gas export from January to April touched a 9.27 percent to 53.50 billion U.S. dollars, Suhariyanto said.

China, followed by the United States, Japan and the European Union is the largest consumer of Indonesian products in April.

Indonesia, Southeast Asia's biggest economy, is the world's largest exporter and producer of crude palm oil and thermal coal, and the world's biggest exporter of rubber and cocoa, as well as home to the world's second largest copper mine.

Meanwhile, the country's import grew 34.68 percent to 16.09 billion U.S. dollars in April from a year earlier, leading to trade a deficit of 1.62 billion U.S. dollars in April, compared with a revised surplus of 1.12 billion U.S. dollars in March.

Non-oil and gas import also expanded 33.69 percent to 13.77 billion U.S. dollars in April on yearly basis.

Import of engines and electrical devices posted the biggest portion in April with total values of 315.3 million U.S. dollars.

Import of raw materials and capital goods rose 21.86 percent and 31.04 percent from January to April with shipment of consumption goods rising 26.09 percent.

China, followed by Japan, Thailand and the European Union is the biggest supplier of imported non-oil and gas products to Indonesia in the first four months of 2018, according to Suhariyanto.
HOUSTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S.-China Innovation and Investment Summit (UCIS) is a platform for entrepreneurs of both countries to engage in B2B matchmaking, according to a Peking University official in an interview with Xinhua on Monday.

The third UCIS kicked off on Monday in Houston, attracting more than 500 participants from both countries, including entrepreneurs and investors, bringing another wave of technology and innovation investment to the city.

Peking University Science Park Vice President Wang Guocheng said the summit focuses on American businesses that have been established for two to three years and that have a good prospect of marketization.

"I believe this kind of position is accurate. These businesses need China's market, and they need something potential from Chinese development to help them grow," Wang told Xinhua.

The two-day conference will feature a range of events, including innovation forums, B2B matchmaking, company exhibits, as well as satellite activities.

The summit also serves those Chinese companies that are seeking development and transition, said Wang.

The summit will not only enable Chinese entrepreneurs to learn about the development of science and technology in the United States, but also allow for one-to-one communications with American companies. It will also showcase the advantages of different places and cities in China, providing new opportunities for international investment and cooperation.

Mutual benefit is the key in future economic collaboration between the two countries, said Wang.

"We would like to assist those businesses to reach that goal through coordinating some projects and providing them accurate services," he said, adding "both Americans and Chinese need our good market services and local teams to help them in this matter."

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and Chinese Consulate General in Houston, the UCIS is cohosted by the China Science and Technology Exchange Center and U.S. China Innovation Alliance.

UCIS was listed as the one of the key programs in the area of science and technology under the first U.S.-China Social and Cultural Dialogue, which was co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong in 2017.
by Abu Hanifah

SURABAYA, Indonesia, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Families of those killed in Indonesia's Surabaya suicide bombings have called for tougher measures against terrorism so that people can lead a life without fear and misery.

Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city, has been haunted by a series of terror attacks in the past few days. Targetting three landmark churches and one police headquarters, the suicide bombings killed at least 18 people and injured dozens of others.

Although the police has made several arrests of suspected terrorists in the neighborhood and raided several buildings where they may hide, fear for suicide bombings is still lingering on in the city.

Waiting in a disaster victim identification (DVI) unit at Surabaya's police hospital of Bhayangkara, Max Prawira Teja, son of a victim in the suicide bombing of Surabaya's Flawless St. Mary Church, said that terrorism has devastated his family with the sudden passing away of his mother in such a horrific incident.

Max Prawira Teja, a man in his 20s who was hardly able to hide his deep sorrow for his beloved mother Lim Gwat Nie, told Xinhua Monday night that "Moments before the blast I was still chatting with my mom who asked about progress of may father's health examination."

He was accompanying his father to undertake a health check in a hospital in Tangerang, Banten province when the deadly blast occurred.

Max did not know until he got home and learned from TV reports that a suicide bomb blast had occurred in the church where his mom attended on Sunday.

After watching the CCTV footages broadcasted by the TV station, the whole family cried as they believed the woman standing at the church entrance gate shown in the footages was their mother.

"I can see that she was my mother from the CCTV. She stood there with aunt Cisca (Eddy Handoko)," he said with his trembling voice, apparently trying hard to control his emotion. The suicide bombers detonated bombs tied to their bodies after breaking in the front gate with a motorbike.

"The bomb exploded right besides my mother," he broke into tears.

Lim Gwat Nie, 56, and Cisca Eddy Handoko, who was at the same age and a very close friend of Max's mother, were among the 18 killed in the suicide bombings in Surabaya's three churches.

Max said his mother and his aunt were visiting the church on Sunday morning to witness its unique building and have a morning service there.

After undergoing the make-up process in the DVI, bodies of his mother and his aunt would be flown back to Jakarta.

"I hope this tragic incident was the last. There should be no more innocent ones fallen in such an inhumane act."

Meanwhile, a relative of Cisca said that to visit the Batik exhibition had been planned by the two ill-fated friends long time ago. They flew to Surabaya together from Jakarta.

"I still could not believe it. She was a happy person who cheered up our lives everyday. No sign or anything at all that she would gone so soon. The night before the attack, she and her friend chose that church for its antiquity," Cisca's brother-in-law, 75-year-old Tirta, told Xinhua.

Tirta said his last conversation wth Cisca was in the night before the bombing when he commended the church opted by Cisca for her morning church service.

Commenting on the authorities' actions taken after the terror attacks, Turta said tougher measures should be taken to win the fight against terrorism in the country.

"Immediate and firmer actions are needed to end people's misery and to restore the security from terror activities," he said.

The latest suicide bombings have shown a new phenomenon in Indonesia's terror attack, with the attacks on the three churches conducted by a family of six persons and the attack on the police headquarters carried out by a family of five members. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for all the attacks.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 16:26:30|Editor: ZX

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Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit (R) meets with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi in Vientiane, capital of Laos, May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Laos has pledged to enhance across-the-board practical cooperation with China and further deepen Laos-China comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.

The pledge came when Bounnhang Vorachit, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, and Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith met separately with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi here on Monday.

Noting that Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, made a successful visit to Laos last year, Zhao said the leaders of the two parties and the two countries have reached important consensus on jointly building the China-Laos community of shared future with strategic importance.

China is willing to work with Laos to follow the consensus, strengthen strategic communication, enhance synergy of development strategies and expand practical cooperation, he said, adding that China and Laos are friendly socialist neighbors with ever deepening time-honored traditional friendship.

Zhao also called for jointly safeguarding the security of major projects under the Belt and Road Initiative and continuously improving the bilateral law enforcement and security cooperation, so as to move forward the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation between the two countries and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

The Lao leaders congratulated China on its achievements made under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at the core, and expressed willingness to join hands with China to promote practical cooperation in various fields and deepen the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation.
ADDIS ABABA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Ebisa Tashome effused at the news. "We can use computers now!" hailed the grade 9 student at the Abay Silto High School in Ethiopia.

Other bits of electronic equipment that once stood idle in classrooms are now up and functioning. A diesel generator functioning only two hours a day was all the school - located in a mountainous area - used to have for supporting its needs.

But things are different now for some 825 teachers and students thanks to a China-funded power supply project. They now can also do their homework at school in the evening, said Tashome.

The project involved the construction of a 7.5-km-long power line with 120 telegraph poles and a 15-kv electronic transmission line linked with a local electricity substation.

It was completed in less than three months by the China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co. Ltd. (CET) as part of a pilot energy aid project under the Global Energy Interconnection (GEI) program.

"They have faced a lot of problems but they managed to do it within a very short period of time," said Gossaye Mengistie, CEO of the project's local operator Ethiopian Electric Utility.

The project has generated "a lot of benefits for the rural schools and communities," he added.

"The school will consider introducing projectors and other devices after the teaching area has access to electricity. And teaching will no longer be influenced by weather and other factors," said Ahimed Hamissou, director of the Abay Silto school.

"We have finally got electricity; we are truly grateful that the GEI initiative has brought students not only bright classrooms but also bright futures," Fikadu Bedada, a Abay Silto teacher, said at the project's handover ceremony held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Monday.

The ceremony was held during a forum where African and Chinese officials and experts discussed ways of developing clean energy and power interconnection in Africa.

The forum was organized by China's Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization (GEIDCO), which is also the donator of the power supply project that benefits the Abay Silto school, located in the capital's southeast.

Access to reliable and safe power has also been a major issue for the surrounding villages, and the GEI project has helped pave the way for a solution.

At the global level, GEIDCO has been devoted to accelerating the GEI projects within the framework of the 2013 China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, and expanding access to electricity in Africa is at the top of its agenda, said Wan Haibin, head of GEIDCO's development department.

Speaking at the handover ceremony, Seleshi Bekele, Ethiopia's electricity minister, thanked the Chinese government and GEIDCO for the GEI off-grid project with its focus on supporting education facilities, saying it creates opportunities for students.

In his speech, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia Tan Jian said the Chinese government has always encouraged Chinese enterprises operating overseas to provide support to marginalized communities.

With the Belt and Road Initiative, Tan noted, China can forge closer ties with Africa and other parts of the world and lift development to new heights where needed.
LOS ANGELES, May 14 (Xinhua) -- In light of the proposed tariffs on Chinese imports worth about 50 billion U.S. dollars, an East West Bank senior official has called on local businessmen to act to avoid a trade war between the world's two largest economies.

Dominic Ng, CEO of the Los Angeles-based bank among the top five of the Forbes annual list of America's Best Banks 2018, made the appeal in an article sent to Xinhua Monday.

"The prospect of escalating trade frictions between China and the United States is a dark cloud hanging over an otherwise humming global economy," Ng wrote, citing the likelihood of the U.S. implementation of the announced tariffs and following retaliatory measures by China.

He cautioned that a costly worst scenario, "not unthinkable anymore," will hurt consumers and firms in both nations.

Average U.S. consumers would pay more for their clothes, phones and groceries while U.S. exports to China, including agricultural and high-tech products, would be susceptible to Chinese retaliation, he said.

He said that a worst case would also risk some 32 billion dollars in education and tourism expenditures that Chinese nationals spend in the United States each year, as well as almost half a trillion dollars of foreign direct investment (FDI) assets that businesses have built in the past three decades.

U.S. companies have 260 billion dollars worth of hard-to-liquidate factories, research centers and retail shops in China, he said. Also being endangered is the growing Chinese investment in the United States, which has created 140,000 jobs.

The East West Bank CEO meanwhile warned against a dangerous bifurcation of technological ecosystems, saying "a new cold war in technology would be bad for consumers on both sides, and it would severely slow down the pace of global innovation."

In addition, Ng said, escalating economic tensions would affect people's lives beyond economics, since "more aggressive posturing is already producing borderline racist and McCarthyist comments about Chinese students and researchers in the U.S. This will only get worse if frictions escalate and could poison an entire generation of Americans and Chinese towards each other."

He called for productive steps to work on the U.S.-China trade ties.

"Both nations need to separate national security from economics," he said. "Leaders need to negotiate a reasonable policy package that addresses U.S. concerns but also considers China's legacy and development status" and "any deal will need a clear roadmap for implementation."

He meanwhile called on local businessmen to "help our leaders to better grasp the full magnitude of the damages from a serious divorce. Businesses are on the frontlines, and many of us have current data and relevant information grounded in real-time market dynamics that policymakers need to hear."

We must also help leaders understand the real issues and call off "political gamesmanship that does not make sense," he added.

In an exclusive interview with Xinhua in March, Ng said the existing official U.S.-China trade numbers are grossly inaccurate because they are based on outdated methods of data collection and calculation and have not been properly updated to reflect today's global economy.

Citing the 2016 U.S. net trade deficit with China, Ng mentioned the new method for tabulating trade created by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), saying: "If we assume a stable ratio between traditional and value-added data, then the adjusted U.S. trade deficit in 2016 with China would come down from 309 billion dollars to 169 billion dollars."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 17:26:50|Editor: Yamei

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Spokesperson Lu Kang (Photo source: fmprc.gov.cn)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China is seriously concerned about the violent clashes in the Gaza Strip and has called on both Israel and Palestine to exercise restraint, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians gathered in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel on Monday to protest against the United States relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Over 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 injured in violent clashes with Israeli forces.

Spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily news briefing that China is seriously concerned about the confrontations that caused mass casualties and opposes violent action targeting civilians.

"We have called on both Israel and Palestine, especially the Israeli side, to keep restraint to avoid further escalation of tensions," Lu said.

The issue of Jerusalem's status and ownership is highly complicated and sensitive, Lu said. "The Chinese side holds that in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions, peace talks between Palestine and Israel should be resumed as soon as possible and the final status of Jerusalem should be settled through dialogues."

China supports the just cause of the Palestinian people to restore their legitimate national rights, and supports the establishment of a fully sovereign, independent State of Palestine based on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, he said.

China stands ready to work with relevant parties of the international community to make contributions to the final proper settlement of the Palestine issue.
ISTANBUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Tuesday detained 54 people in Istanbul over their alleged links to the Islamic State (IS), local media reported.

According to the state-run Anadolu Agency, anti-terror teams launched simultaneous operations in 13 districts of the city to capture the suspects, who were believed to have been planning terror attacks.

CNNTurk said the suspects were allegedly preparing to go to conflict zones in Syria, noting many documents and digital materials were seized during the raids.

Turkey has been cracking down hard on IS militants, as the country has been hit by a series of suicide attacks carried out by the group since 2015.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 17:51:56|Editor: ZX

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XINING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Police in northwest China's Qinghai Province said they have detained five suspected tomb raiders and are attempting to locate eight missing cultural relics.

Of the five suspects, two were part of a grave robbery gang that was caught on May 6. Qinghai police arrested 13 members of the gang in March over suspected illegal excavations in Dulan County on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Police said another suspect remains on the run.

On May 8, three suspects from another tomb robbery gang were also caught in Dulan.

The investigation is ongoing.

Dulan has more than 2,000 ancient tombs dating back to between the 7th and 8th centuries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 17:51:57|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 14, 2018 shows a general view of clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli troops near the Gaza-Israel border, east of Gaza City. (Xinhua/Wissam Nassar)

RAMALLAH/GAZA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The West Bank and the Gaza Strip observed a general strike on Tuesday, after at least 59 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in mass rallies on Monday.

The strike comes as the Palestinians commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day, or "the Day of Catastrophe," when two thirds of the Palestinians were forced to leave their hometowns as result of the 1948 war.

The strike has paralyzed all public and private institutions, including schools and financial institutions, in response to the call of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Monday night.

Funeral processions of Palestinians killed in the protest are also expected to take place Tuesday, before the beginning of the marches of Nakba.

In the West Bank, the demonstrators are planning to take to the streets at the same time when the funerals in Gaza take place. The protesters are expected to hold 59 lanterns in memory of those who were killed in Gaza.

The mass protest held on Monday was to oppose the opening of U.S. embassy in Jerusalem on the same day, following the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump last December to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that has sparked an international outcry.

Abbas condemned the U.S. embassy opening, describing it as "a settlement outpost" in East Jerusalem.

The Palestinian president also called for a mourning day on Tuesday for the Palestinian victims who were killed by Israelis in Gaza.

Abbas addressed a leadership meeting Monday evening in his West Bank headquarters in Ramallah city, saying "what we saw in Jerusalem today was not the opening of an embassy, but the opening of a U.S. settlement outpost."

Following meeting, it was announced that the Palestinians have requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting to address the Palestinian demand for international protection for the Palestinians and the killing of dozens of Palestinian protestors in Gaza.

Senior officials also revealed that Abbas has signed to join three international agreements out of 23 that the United States has formerly requested Palestinians not to join, in response to the U.S. embassy move.

The officials did not unveil which three agreements Abbas has signed.

Secretary General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Saeb Erekat said that the Palestinian leadership decided to file a legal case against Israel with the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the settlement activity on the occupied Palestinian territory.

He added that the leadership also decided to limit relations with Israel and implement the decisions of the Palestinian National Council held last April.

The bloody march in Gaza on Monday has raised the death toll, since the beginning of the "Great March of Return" on March 30, to 108.
HARARE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Zimbabwe government on Monday increased its pay offer to civil servants from 10 to 15 percent as part of efforts to improve the welfare and working conditions of its workers, the state-run Herald newspaper reported Tuesday.

The increment is effective July 1, 2018.

Apex Council chairperson Cecelia Alexander said the government made the offer during a meeting of the National Joint Negotiating Council (NJNC) which brings together government and workers representatives.

Alexander, however, urged the government to further increase the offer so that it matches or surpasses the poverty datum line, currently pegged at 591 U.S. dollars.

The lowest paid government worker earns 253 dollars per month, and the workers want this increased to 720 dollars.

"The Apex council, while appreciating this gesture, is still urging government to improve the offer to a level at or above poverty datum line for the lowest-paid civil servant," she said.

She advised civil servants that wage negotiations with government were ongoing until such time when an acceptable deal has been reached.

The government last week tabled a 10 percent offer after teachers, the majority of the public sector workers, threatened to go on strike when schools opened last Tuesday.

The strike threat came after doctors spent the whole of March on strike demanding better pay and improved working conditions.

In April, nurses also briefly downed tools demanding better pay but had to rush back to work after government threatened them with dismissal after they had rejected money offered by the government.

As some teachers were reportedly agitating for a strike, Alexander said there was no need for industrial action because they were engaging with the government.

"Government is presenting its position and we as workers we are also presenting our position. For now we continue with service delivery while negotiations continue. We are now going with the new offer to our membership and hear what they say also," she said.

As part of measures to improve working conditions, government last week also rescinded its decision to bar teachers from going on vacation leave.

Teachers, who were short changed by the vacation leave ban, will be paid cash in lieu for the accrued days effective from July but in a staggered manner.

The government deferred vacation leave for teachers in 2016 as a cost-cutting measure.

In addition, government also revived manpower development benefits, a move which will see civil servants going on study leave using their accrued vacation leave days.

It also reduced rentals for civil servants to a figure which is not more than the housing allowances for the workers.
MOGADISHU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Somalia security forces have beefed up security in major urban centers in the restive capital city, Mogadishu ahead of Islamic holy month of Ramadan which begins worldwide this week.

Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire who toured several districts in Mogadishu on Monday to assess the security has directed security forces to increase patrols in Mogadishu and its environments to ensure peace prevails during Ramadan.

He also urged the police to remain vigilant and reinforce security by arresting any suspicious characters that may utilize the Ramadhan period to stage attacks in the country.

Based on past experience, the al-Qaeda allied militant group normally stages attacks during the holy month of Ramadan and their main targets have been urban centers, military bases and other public places such as hotels, markets and busy restaurants requested by many people including military bases.

Last week, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said, in collaboration with the Somali Police Force, it will conduct patrols throughout the Ramadan period.

"We have always had challenges during that month of Ramadan; we always get propping attacks from the al-Shabab but this time, we want to ensure that our brothers observe the fasting peacefully," said Brigadier Paul L'Okech, the Uganda contingent commander in Somalia.

L'Okech said the allied forces will carry out pre-emptive measures to thwart all attacks by the insurgents in Mogadishu and its environs.
VILNIUS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Lithuania invites Chinese companies and investors to take advantage of a friendly and flexible FinTech environment in the country which offers broad development possibilities, chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania, said on Tuesday ahead of his trip to Beijing.

"China's FinTech sector has already come on the scene in Lithuania. However, appreciating the scope of China's huge innovation market and its growth potential, we seek even more investors to take an interest in all the possibilities for business development that Lithuania can offer," Vitas Vasiliauskas was quoted as saying in a statement released by the Lithuanian central bank.

By strengthening relations with China's FinTech sector, the central bank and the banking supervisor, Lithuania "will open the door to China more widely for our own businesses."

Vasiliauskas will attend a financial forum scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday in Beijing, where he will meet with Chen Yulu, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, and Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, according to the statement.

The two countries' cooperation in banking supervision, changes in the financial sector, investor opportunities, and trade relations between the European Union (EU) and China are among the topics to be discussed during the meetings, the statement reads.

Around 10 Chinese companies took an interest in the FinTech possibilities in Lithuania in 2017, the central bank said, adding that half of them were granted licenses, including four licenses for an electronic money institution and one license of a payment institution.

During his visit in China, Vasiliauskas plans to present the main advantages of Lithuania's regulatory landscape, including having one of the shortest licensing processes in the EU and a wide range of possible business models -- from an e-money or payment institution to a specialized bank.

It is estimated that by 2024 the annual growth of the global peer-to-peer lending market will amount to almost 50 percent in the country.

Lithuania has been consistently developing relations with China's financial sector, the central bank said. The two countries have agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of securities regulation and inked an agreement to exchange supervisory information.
WASHINGTON, May 14 (Xinhua) -- Major U.S. business groups have urged the Trump administration to drop its plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods ahead of key public hearings beginning Tuesday, arguing that tariffs would hurt U.S. companies and consumers.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said on Monday that it will hold public hearings on the Trump administration's proposed tariffs on approximately 50 billion U.S. dollars worth of imported Chinese goods from Tuesday to Thursday.

The tariff proposal is based on a so-called Section 301 Investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices. The Chinese government has strongly condemned and firmly opposed the unfounded investigation and the proposed tariffs against Chinese products.

More than 120 industry and business representatives from the United States and China will have an opportunity to testify before the interagency Section 301 Committee on the potential impact of the tariff plan over the next three days, according to the USTR's Office.

As of Monday, the USTR's Office has received over 2,700 filings of written comments regarding the administration's tariff approach, with major U.S. business groups opposed to tariffs on Chinese products.

"Tariffs are hidden, regressive taxes that will be paid by U.S. businesses and consumers, paradoxically harming U.S. competitiveness," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest business group in the country, said in its written comments submitted on Friday.

"U.S. tariffs, together with certain Chinese retaliation, will disrupt global trade and supply chains, further damaging American businesses, workers, farmers, ranchers, and investors," the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned, adding "unilateral tariff strategies have no record of historical success and have always led to unintended consequences."

The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) also warned that the imposition of unilateral tariff remedies proposed by the administration is "premature" and would "do greater harm than good to U.S. economic interests."

"Unilateral imposition of tariffs prior to any meaningful negotiations with China will raise charges that the United States has ignored its WTO commitments," the NFTC said in its comments submitted last week, adding additional tariffs are "extremely likely" to increase the harm to American manufacturers, service providers and consumers.

The U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), which represents 200 American companies that are engaged in business with China, also urged the Trump administration to reconsider its tariff plan.

"Unilateral tariffs will address none of these issues, however, and will inflict real economic harm on U.S. businesses and consumers," the USCBC said, suggesting a comprehensive and strategic approach that sets short, medium, and long-term negotiating objectives to address industry concerns.

Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation expressed concern that the two countries' trade dispute would harm the U.S. economy. It would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by nearly 3 billion dollars and destroy 134,000 American jobs annually, according to a new study recently released by the federation and the Consumer Technology Association.
AYBAK, Afghanistan, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Heavy rains and flooding have claimed seven lives and destroyed residential houses in Afghanistan's northern Samangan and Baghlan provinces.

According to Samangan police spokesman Mohammed Munir Rahimi, the torrential rain and flood claimed the lives of seven people including two women and four children outside Samangan provincial capital Aybak on Monday.

More than 100 acres farmlands have been washed away while 70 houses were badly damaged or destroyed.

Similarly, the downpour and floods have destroyed several houses in the neighboring Baghlan province a couple of days ago.

According to a statement of Natural Disaster Management Authority released here on Tuesday, heavy rains and flooding have killed 34 people and injured four others elsewhere in the country mostly in the northern provinces over the past one week.
BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to take the needs of smaller European Union (EU) member states into account in proposals for ambitious reforms of the bloc.

Speaking to the newspaper "NRC Handelsblad" shortly before a visit to the Netherlands, Steinmeier warned that Berlin and Paris could only succeed in actually implementing reforms if they built a broader political coalition within the EU. "Little can be achieved without France and Germany in the European Union, but as important as these two countries may be, neither Germany nor France can achieve anything for Europe without the other member states either", Steinmeier argued.

The German president's comments were made in reaction to criticism levied by the Netherlands and other smaller states against the eurozone reform agenda championed by Macron.

Steinmeier said that the French president's proposals deserved serious consideration but also raised many questions. He highlighted that Germany too would have to make compromises in backing some of the suggestions, including the creation of a separate eurozone budget and shared finance ministry for the monetary union.

Steinmeier will spend the next two days in the Netherlands where he will meet with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Dutch King Willem-Alexander. Among others, bilateral talks are scheduled to address urgent questions such as the future of the EU following the United Kingdom's departure from the bloc. Rutte has repeatedly warned Berlin and Paris against taking any reformist steps on their own and has also rejected calls for the Netherlands to contribute greater payments to the EU's budget to help make up for the gap created by "Brexit".

Questioned on the topic of growing populist and Eurosceptic parties in many countries, Steinmeier noted that Germany was not spared from this development with parts of its population feeling "neglected and not sufficiently represented." The president consequently urged policymakers not to focus too narrowly on "metropolitan areas and boom regions" but also to be present in "economically weaker spaces."

Steinmeier further cautioned against deepening the existing rift between the EU and Russia. "I am convinced that we are not well advised to rely on isolation alone in response to Russian behavior," Steinmeier said.

However, the German president was less upbeat about the prospects of an improvement in diplomatic relations between the EU and the U.S. following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

Steinmeier told "NRC Handelsblad" that he was "truly concerned about the transatlantic relationship, perhaps more so than others."

In his view, Trump's behavior was not just damaging to EU-U.S. ties but also threatened to undermine the authority of the United Nation's (UN) Security Council and other institutional foundations of global multilateralism more generally.
YANGON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi has called for people's collective strength to develope the nation.

Honoring 3,278 firefighters from different walks of life in their efforts to extinguish the recent massive dump fire in Yangon, a statement from the State Counselor's Office, published on Tuesday, expressed gratitude to the public.

The statement said "Our strength is exhibited in battling Hteinpin Fire," underlining the bringing into action in full glory the invaluable trait long hidden within the Myanmar society in fighting Hteinpin garbage fire.

"Mutual understanding and helping one another is a strong characteristics of the Myanmar people and if we can use it effectively in developing our nation then without a doubt we will reach our goals in a short amount of time."

The 3,278 firefighters include 1,727 members of Regional Fire Services Department, 722 Yangon municipal staff, 328 police force members and security personnel, 156 public health departmental staff and 220 personnel from Yangon military command.

Amid firefighting, Kanbawza Brighter Future Foundation and partner companies donated 340 million kyats (250,000 U.S. dollars) to purchase 5,000 gallons of bio foam from Thailand to put out the fire.

At the same time, 43 philanthropic organizations provided food and other necessities from numerous donors.

The firefighting involved experts from Thailand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Hteinpin landfill in Hlaingtharya township, western outskirts of Yangon, caught fire on April 21 due to extremely high temperature.

The fire, which started at a 121-hectare dump site in Hteinpin Cemetery, burned for several days before it was initially brought under control on April 29, causing health hazards in nearby townships due to the smoke and carbon monoxide emitted from the fire.

After 12 days' fight, the dump fire was successfully extinguished on May 2.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 19:30:46|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on May 14, 2018 shows a general view of United Nations Security Council meeting on its mission to Bangladesh and Myanmar, at the UN headquarters in New York. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 19:17:20|Editor: ZX

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SHENYANG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A freight train carrying containers of imported auto parts from Germany whistled as it slowly stopped at the BMW Brilliance Automotive's Tiexi plant in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province.

Undergoing checks by customs officers on the site, the auto parts were transferred to a production line for assembly. Traditionally, the containers arrived at a railway station before they were transported by trucks to the plant.

"The new logistics service can not only increase the clearance efficiency but also saves our logistic costs," said Tian Lihua, director with the company's import and export department.

Allowing freight trains to stop at the door of automaker's plant is one of the latest moves Liaoning has made to attract global investors to rejuvenate its economy.

In early May, Liaoning Province issued a guideline on rejuvenation through all-round opening up, promising to further ease market access for foreign investors. A management model based on a pre-established national treatment plus a negative list will be implemented.

It will completely open up its general manufacturing sector to foreign investors, while market access to sectors like telecommunications, medical services, education, elderly care and new energy vehicles will also be expanded.

Northeast China -- Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces -- have been struggling for growth following the decline of their traditional heavy industries.

"Investment does not go beyond the Shanhaiguan Pass," it is said, referring to a geographical division between the northeast China and the rest of the country.

BMW Group is a pioneer foreign investor going beyond the Shanhaiguan Pass and doing well in Shenyang.

It set up the joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings in 2003 when China launched the first round of its strategy to turn its rust belt into modern industrial zones.

BMW's performance in China so far this year is promising, with sales of BMWs and Minis in the Chinese market up 7.1 percent year-on-year to 152,942 units in the first quarter, a record high.

The automaker has invested more than 52 billion yuan (8 billion U.S. dollars) in Shenyang facilities since 2009. The city has become BMW Group's largest production base worldwide.

Johann Wieland, president and CEO of BMW Brilliance Automotive, said that the key to BMW's success in China was its localization strategy. The local government offered big support to the automaker, which hopes to make a greater contribution to the local economy in the future.

"Undoubtedly, BMW has brought big economic benefits to us. But more importantly, it can teach us more advanced ideas, thinking and technology," said Dong Feng, a Shenyang official.

In addition to BMW, Liaoning has been making efforts to attract global investors to various sectors.

Last year, Michelin, the world's leading tire maker, invested 300 million euros to expand its factory in Shenyang, a city of 8.3 million residents. New Zealand company Richina started a leather industry project with a total investment of 900 million U.S. dollars in Fuxin City.

The central government rolled out new measures to revitalize its old industrial base in northeast China in 2016, and set up a free trade zone in Liaoning last year.

The economy of Liaoning is showing signs of recovery, and a growing number of global investors have started taking root there.

Statistics released from the provincial department of commerce showed that Liaoning's actual inflow of foreign investment reached 5.34 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, up 77.9 percent year on year.

The province also saw the arrival of 512 new foreign-funded companies last year, up 20.8 percent.

Du Liangsheng, an economist with Dongbei University of Finance and Economics, said that the economic recovery would be a long process.

"It is a result of economic restructuring and government efforts to create a more attractive investment environment to woo more investors," he said.
BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Peter Beyer (CDU), the federal government's official commissioner for transatlantic relations, urged German firms operating in Iran on Tuesday to prepare for the swift imposition of U.S. sanctions.

Speaking to the public broadcaster ARD, Beyer warned that fines and a loss of access the U.S. markets for companies in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear accord could take effect as soon as "September, November." The government official emphasized that transatlantic relations had deteriorated significantly and warned that sanctions were hence likely to have a "direct and immediate impact on German firms and their business operations."

Beyer told "ARD" that Berlin was doing everything in its power to avert economic damage resulting from the widely-condemned move by Trump. However, he currently saw "no judicial basis" for creating a government fund to offset the effects of sanctions as demanded recently by some business representatives.

Speaking to the newspaper "BILD", justice minister Maas recently cautioned in a similar fashion that he saw "no easy solution" to excluding German firms from the economic fallout of U.S. punitive measures aimed at Iran. As a consequence, business leaders would have to make a choice between being active either in the U.S. or Iranian market.

Washington has announced that international companies which are already active in Iran will have a grace period of between three and six months to wind down their operations entirely. The foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom are scheduled to hold emergency talks over the subject with Iranian representatives in Brussels on Tuesday.

Speaking to the "Funke" media group ahead of the high-level meeting, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) reiterated that Europe remained committed to the Iran deal, "regardless of the decision of the U.S.", as long as Teheran abided by its conditions. Maas issued a rallying call to countries dedicated to multilateralism to work together to salvage what he described as an "important building bloc of the non-proliferation international order."

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Iran has so far complied with all of the conditions established under the nuclear deal. The landmark agreement was signed in July 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus the European Union (EU) and Germany.
LOS ANGELES, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is set to launch a pair of next-generation Earth research satellites later this month to continue the legacy of the first Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission in recording the Earth's climate data, including the key movement of water.

The pair of new satellites, part of NASA's new mission called GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO), scheduled to take off on May 19, to relay the important task of GRACE in directly measuring global changes in the water stored underground in the world's largest aquifers.

The pair will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as part of a commercial rideshare mission with five Iridium Communications Inc. satellites aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, after its predecessor GRACE ended its mission in 2017.

GRACE-FO, like GRACE, is designed to measure changes in gravitational pull that result from changes in mass on Earth. It will continue monitoring monthly changes in the distribution of mass in Earth's atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, and the solid Earth itself.

The data will provide a unique view of Earth's changing climate, Earth system processes and even the impacts of some human activities, and will have far-reaching benefits to society, such as improving water management.

Like GRACE, the twin spacecraft will use an innovative technique to observe something that can't be seen directly from space.

It uses the weight of water to measure water's movement, even water hidden far underneath Earth's surface. GRACE-FO will do this by precisely measuring the changes in the shape of Earth's gravity field caused by the movement of massive amounts of water, ice, and solid Earth.

It's measurements of changes in water stored underground will be used for producing the U.S. Drought Monitor's weekly maps, one of the nation's most important tools for tracking drought nationwide. The maps are widely used by decision makers at federal and state levels.

Researchers prepared experimental drought indicators from downscaled data each week from 2011 until the GRACE mission ended in October 2017.

"GRACE covers the entire country, and it helps us to get an idea of where areas of wetness and dryness are," said climatologist Brian Fuchs of U.S. National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC), one of the team of scientists who produce drought maps.

Because the GRACE mission ended after the end of the growing season last fall, Fuchs said that its loss has not yet been strongly felt by the Drought Monitor mappers.

"We would be looking for GRACE in the growing season, where soil moisture is pertinent to determining crops and vegetation," he said, noting people will urgently need such data in a couple more months.

Those people will most likely have their answer before the 2019 growing season, as GRACE Follow-On begins delivering monthly maps.

Fuchs said: "If it's going to behave as GRACE did in the past, it will be a valuable asset."

GRACE-FO will extend the GRACE data record for an additional five years and expand its legacy of scientific achievements.

The new mission will provide invaluable observations of long-term climate-related mass changes, said Frank Webb, GRACE-FO project scientist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

"The only way to know for sure whether observed multi-year trends represent long-term changes in mass balance is to extend the length of the observations," Webb said.

JPL manages the GRACE-FO mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, under the direction of the Earth Systematic Missions Program Office at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

GRACE-FO were built by Airbus Defence and Space in Friedrichshafen, Germany, under subcontract with JPL.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 19:52:28|Editor: ZX

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Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi (L) have talks with Lao Minister of National Defense Chansamone Chanyalath in Vientiane, capital of Laos, May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China and Laos have pledged to boost cooperation on law enforcement and security and maintain regional stability.

The pledge came as visiting Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Zhao Kezhi held talks separately with Chansamone Chanyalath, Lao minister of national defence and Somkeo Silavong, Lao minister of public security here on Monday.

At the meetings, Zhao said China is willing to work with Laos to boost cooperation in safeguarding national security, anti-terrorism, fighting drug-related crimes, hunt for fled suspects and recovering ill-gotten gains, and fighting against Internet gambling, telecom fraud and illegal immigration, among others.

China is ready to join hands with Laos to deepen law enforcement and security cooperation along the Mekong River, and strengthen security cooperation in major projects of the Belt and Road Initiative, such as the China-Laos railway, said Zhao.

Both sides should cooperate to solidly safeguard the Belt and Road Initiative projects, to ensure the safety of institutions and personnel in each other's countries, and to maintain the security and stability of the two countries and the region.

The Lao ministers said the Lao side treasures the traditional friendship with China and thanked China for its long-time support and help.

The Lao side is willing to implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and states, further strengthen practical cooperation in various areas of law enforcement and security, so as to effectively safeguard the security and stability of the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 21:54:16|Editor: Li Xia

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Border guards of India's Border Security Force (BSF) carry the coffin of their colleague during his wreath laying ceremony at their headquarter in Jammu, the winter capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 15, 2018. An Indian border guard belonging to Border Security Force (BSF) was killed Tuesday during an exchange of fire with Pakistani troops on International Border (IB) in Kashmir, officials said. (Xinhua)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:06:40|Editor: Li Xia

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Photo taken on April 25, 2018 shows an abandoned theater in Tripoli, capital of Libya. Theaters and cinemas reflect national identity of a country, while those in Libya are facing extinction in need of solution that requires years of efforts. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:16:16|Editor: ZX

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A technician works at a lab of the Ecology Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, May 11, 2018. It is a project to promote ecological restoration and high efficient utilization of salt-affected soils in China and Uzbekistan. Shandong Academy of Sciences strengthened scientific and technological cooperation with member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and has established 13 national-level innovation platforms. (Xinhua/Guo Xulei)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:17:45|Editor: Yurou

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Ahmet Buyukgumus (C), head of the youth branch of the ruling Justice and Development Party, reads a press release in front of Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 15, 2018. Protests were organized in some parts of Turkey on Tuesday over the killings of at least 61 Palestinians by Israeli forces during mass demonstrations held a day earlier in Gaza Strip against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. (Xinhua/He Canling)

ISTANBUL, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Protests were organized in some parts of Turkey on Tuesday over the killings of at least 61 Palestinians by Israeli forces during mass demonstrations held a day earlier in Gaza Strip against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

In Istanbul, around 300 people gathered in front of the Israeli consulate building to denounce the killings. The youth branch of the ruling Justice and Development Party read a press release, saying "we strongly denounce the murders of our Palestinian brothers by Israel."

Similar protests were also organized in other Turkish cities, including in the capital city of Ankara and in the southern city of Antalya.

The U.S. new embassy in Jerusalem was inaugurated on Monday with a ceremony, sparking mass protests by Palestinians in Gaza Strip close to the Israeli border. During the clashes, at least 61 Palestinians have been reportedly killed.

Turkey has responded by recalling its envoys in Tel Aviv and Washington for consultations, declaring a three-day mourning for the dead and calling for an extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul on Friday.
MOSCOW, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Russian State Duma, or lower house of parliament, Tuesday passed a bill in the first reading authorizing the government to impose sanctions against the United States and its allies, it said in a statement.

The bill on measures against unfriendly moves of the United States and/or other foreign countries was introduced in response to a series of economic sanctions imposed by the United States and some other countries on Russia.

The latest set of sanctions affecting 38 Russian individuals and entities, including seven business leaders and 17 senior officials, for their alleged "malign activity" around the world, was adopted by Washington in April.

The list of possible countersanctions includes a ban or restrictions on imports of agricultural products, foodstuffs, alcohol, tobacco products, medicines, equipment and software, as well as the entry of U.S. citizens into Russia.

The government is also authorized to suspend the cooperation of Russian companies with foreign firms working in the nuclear and aviation industries, and ban the participation of foreign companies in the privatization of Russian state or municipal property.

Russia may also raise charges for its air navigation services and ban or restrict exports of products made with rare metals, it stated.

To become effective, the bill has to be passed in three readings by the Duma, endorsed by the Federation Council, or the upper house of the Federal Assembly (parliament), and then signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The draft bill will have its second reading on Thursday.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:27:50|Editor: ZX

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A student competes in the 11th edition of "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition in Pisa, Italy, on May 14, 2018. Italian students gathered in the Tuscan city of Pisa on Monday to compete in the annual "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for foreign secondary school students. A total of 36 pupils from 16 high schools across the country qualified for the final round of the contest, in which their knowledge of China's language and culture was thoroughly tested before a mixed jury of Chinese and Italian professors. (Xinhua/Alessandra Cardone)

by Alessandra Cardone

PISA, Italy, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Italian students gathered in the Tuscan city of Pisa on Monday to compete in the annual "Chinese Bridge" Chinese proficiency competition for foreign secondary school students.

A total of 36 pupils from 16 high schools across the country qualified for the final round of the contest, in which their knowledge of China's language and culture was thoroughly tested before a mixed jury of Chinese and Italian professors.

The all-day event comprised a written test, and two competitions of Chinese spoken language and Chinese culture and arts.

Students were asked to show their ability to speak and to perform on stage with pieces of dance, music, or comical and drama sketches.

"As a jury, we assign marks not only on the base of their pure grammar knowledge," Chiara Piccinini, juror and researcher of Chinese language and culture with the Catholic University in Milan, told Xinhua.

"Overall, we want to see whether the student has absorbed some elements of Chinese culture -- such as citations of poetry, history, or literature -- and if he or she is able to use them in the right context, which would confirm they have truly understood the meaning," she explained.

It was the 11th edition of the competition to be held in Italy, organized by Confucius Institutes across the world under the sponsorship of the Hanban (Office of Chinese Language Council International).

Winners of the final round will be awarded with scholarships for overseas study in China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:37:52|Editor: ZX

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BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese police have cracked down more than 90,000 economic crimes since 2017, recovering losses of 100 billion yuan (15.8 billion U.S. dollars), the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.

The ministry launched extensive an crackdown on illegal fundraising, pyramid selling and underground banking, among other economic crimes.

In one of the 10 major cases made public by the ministry, police in central China's Henan Province arrested 172 members of Shanxinhui, a Shenzhen-based company suspected of organizing and leading a pyramid scheme.

Shanxinhui allegedly enticed people to take part in pyramid selling by promising "high returns" and cheated them out of huge amounts of property. Its mastermind Zhang Tianming is suspected of obtaining illegal gains of more than 2.2 billion yuan.

The ministry vowed to keep a firm hand on economic crimes to protect the market economy and financial security, urging the people to raise their legal awareness.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:37:53|Editor: ZX

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GUANGZHOU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A total of 23 defendants, including 15 Taiwan residents, stood trial at a court in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, Tuesday in a cross-border telecom fraud case.

Prosecutors accused Taiwan resident Ye Qingshun of colluding with others to form two fraud groups in Malaysia from 2015 and swindling 44 mainland residents out of 7.86 million yuan (1.2 million U.S. dollars) by pretending to be staff of telecommunication, police or procuratorial agencies.

According to a court statement, some of the suspects have been dealt with in separate cases.

During Tuesday's trial, the prosecutors presented evidence, which the defendants and their defense counsels examined. Both sides expressed their opinions.

More than 30 people, including legislators, political advisors, journalists, the families of some defendants, and members of the public attended the open trial.

The court will announce the verdicts at a later date.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 20:42:56|Editor: Li Xia

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Mourners carry the body of Yazen Tobasi, who was killed during clashes along the Gaza border the previous day, at the funeral in Gaza City, on May 15, 2018. On Monday, Israeli forces shot dead dozens of Palestinians and injured more than 2,000 others in a day-long confrontation along the Gaza strip-Israel border. (Xinhua)

ADDIS ABABA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, issued a statement on Tuesday morning condemning "disproportionate" use of force by the Israeli army on Palestinians.

On Monday, Israeli forces shot dead dozens of Palestinians and injured more than 2,000 others in a day-long confrontation along the Gaza strip-Israel border.

Palestinians said the march on Monday aimed to protest both the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem and Palestinians' rights of return to their occupied lands.

The U.S. embassy opening ceremony in Jerusalem on Monday came in line with U.S. President Donald Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and ordering the moving of his country's embassy to the holy city last December.

Palestinians and Israelis bitterly contest the status of Jerusalem, with Palestinians saying they want East Jerusalem, as the capital of their future nation state.

"The Chairperson of the AU Commission stresses that the relocation of the United States Embassy to Jerusalem can only further heighten tensions in the region and complicate the search for a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as illustrated by Monday's incidents" said the AU commission statement.

"The AU affirms solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest for an independent and sovereign State with East Jerusalem as its capital," the statement further said.

"AU calls for renewed and genuine international efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict, based on the existence of two States, Israel and Palestine, within the framework of the relevant United Nations pronouncement," the statement from AU commission concluded.
LUSAKA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A senior Zambian government official said on Tuesday that the country will take advantage of the forthcoming Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit in September to seek more funding for its development needs.

After benefiting from the 60 billion U.S. dollars pledged by the Chinese government for Africa at the previous FOCAC Summit held in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015, Zambia was looking forward to the next summit in order to tap into finances that may be provided by China at the event, said Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dora Siliya.

"Zambia will continue to value its friendship with China and if there are any funds out there being provided by the Chinese at such platforms, those are the resources Zambia would like to tap into so that we can meet our development deficit gap in order to provide development to our people," she told Xinhua.

Zambia, she said, has benefited a lot through its engagement with China and its participation at the previous FOCAC, which has resulted in accelerated development especially in infrastructure in the last 10 years.

She noted that the infrastructure development the country has recorded could not have been achieved without the collaboration with China which has proved to be an "all-weather" partner.

She hopes for more financial support, especially in rural areas. This, she said, will help the country in creating more jobs in the rural parts of the country, a situation that will help lift people out of poverty.

The country, she said, requires more investment in energy which was cardinal in any development and hoped that Chinese enterprises will take advantage of the opportunities existing in the sector.

She further said Zambia has a lot to learn from China's development path which has led the country to become the world's second largest economy in a span of three decades.
BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Alice Weidel, parliamentary faction co-leader of the Alternative for Germany (AfD), informed press on Tuesday that she is exploring her legal options after being called a racial slur by controversial German rapper "Farid Bang".

Weidel's spokesperson Daniel Tapp said the she was currently exploring whether and how to take judicial steps in response to a short video released by Bang in which he insulted the AfD politician.

It was the first musical performance released by Bang since his nomination together with "Kollegah" for best hip hop album at the Echo music prize caused a national scandal due to the allegedly anti-Semitic nature of some song lyrics.

The music prize has since been abolished entirely after several musicians renounced their own awards and the event was dropped by major corporate sponsors in protest at the decision. Farid Bang and Kollegah also lost their record deal with Bertelsmann Music Group in early April following the public outcry.

The AfD politician did not want to comment personally on the latest turn in her escalating spat with Bang on Tuesday.

Weidel and other AfD politicians have faced repeated criticism for vocally condemning a perceived increase in anti-Semitic sentiment in Germany whilst simultaneously harboring several individuals with known right-wing extremist views in their own party.
ULAN BATOR, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar will visit Russia at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on May 16-17 to boost bilateral ties, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday.

During his stay in Moscow, Tsogtbaatar is expected to hold talks with Lavrov, and the two sides will exchange views on the entire spectrum of bilateral relations as well as regional and international issues of mutual interest, the ministry said in a statement.

"The visit would provide an opportunity to explore ways and means to further strengthen cooperation in the political, economic, trade and investment fields," the statement said.

Also, the two foreign ministers will discuss ways to enhance trilateral cooperation between Mongolia, Russia and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 21:03:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, presides over a symposium during his inspection to the Xiongan New Area in north China's Hebei Province, May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

XIONGAN, Hebei, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Han Zheng has called for high-standard and high-quality development of the Xiongan New Area, during his recent inspection tour to the region.

Han, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, underlined the importance of drawing world-class advanced experience and putting people first in design and construction of the new area.

"The layout of Xiongan should combine modern and traditional cultural elements with compatible architectural features and colors, as well as city skylines," Han said. "Underground transportation and pipeline systems should be designed in a scientific way in order to properly utilize underground space."

Han called for the speedy construction of the transport system linking Xiongan and the outside areas. Efforts should also be made on infrastructure construction, industrial layout, and environmental protection and ecological restoration of the Baiyangdian Lake, the largest fresh water lake in north China and an important part of Xiongan.

"Xiongan will be the location for Beijing's non-capital functions. It should aim at the high-end of the industrial chain and frontier of the world science development, accommodating key industries of strategic importance and national competitiveness," he said.

It's necessary to work fast on drafting measures supporting Xiongan New Area's reform and opening-up, and targeted policies on fiscal policy, land, investment and financing should be worked out, stressed Han.

In April 2017, China announced the establishment of Xiongan New Area, spanning three counties in Hebei Province about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

Xiongan is another new area of "national significance" following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai Pudong New Area.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 21:03:03|Editor: Xiang Bo

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Flight 3U8633, operated by Sichuan Airlines, prepares to conduct emergency landing after a mechanical failure in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, May 14, 2018. Part of the cockpit window broke as the Airbus A319 flew over Chengdu. The plane was en route from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region. It was forced to divert to an alternate airport in Chengdu. All passengers are safe, although the co-pilot sustained injuries to the face and waist, and another crew member was slightly hurt during the emergency landing. After the landing on Monday morning, the airline has arranged another flight to take the passengers to Lhasa. (Xinhua/Wan Bi)

CHENGDU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- As pilot Liu Chuanjian flew over Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, on Monday, the righthand side cockpit window broke, and his co-pilot was almost sucked out.

"The cockpit window broke all of a sudden, followed by a loud noise," Liu recalled. "The sudden decompression sucked part of my co-pilot's body out and left him hanging by his safety belts."

Flight 3U8633, operated by Sichuan Airlines, was forced to divert to Chengdu due to mechanical failure on Monday morning, according to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). The flight was en route from southwest China's Chongqing Municipality to Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The CAAC said the cockpit window broke as the Airbus A319 flew over Chengdu. The aircrew enacted emergency code 7700 and landed in Chengdu. All passengers were safe, although the co-pilot sustained injuries to the face and waist, and another crew member was slightly hurt during the emergency landing.

Sichuan Airlines confirmed the diversion, and said that an investigation is under way. Meanwhile, Airbus China said that they have sent a team to help with the investigation.

The plane landed in Chengdu at 7:42 a.m. on Monday. There were 119 passengers and nine crew members on board, according to the airline, which arranged another flight to take the passengers to Lhasa.

Video footage shot by passengers showed baggage falling from overhead lockers during the emergency landing and oxygen masks dropping for use.

MALFUNCTION IN THE AIR

Liu said that the plane was at cruising altitude about 150 km from Chengdu when the accident occurred.

"All of the objects in the cockpit just dropped to the floor suddenly, and the operating equipment began to malfunction," Liu said. "The noise was so loud that we could barely hear the radio."

Liu said it was hard to see the dashboard clearly, and it became very difficult for him to operate the plane.

"The plane was flying at a speed of more than 900 km per hour. The sudden decompression and low temperature made us feel very uncomfortable," Liu said.

Liu said he has flown the route 100 times, and is familiar with many different flight situations. To avoid further damage, he manually slowed the plane, as the auto-pilot system was not operational.

Liu was previously a military pilot before he started working for Sichuan Airlines in 2006.

Jiang Wenxue, a civil aviation official, said that under such emergency circumstances, the pilot "truly performed a miracle" by keeping the plane under control.

A passenger who gave his name as Phuntsog said that when the accident occurred, the cabin lights and electronics went out, and flight attendant's intercom service was cut. The cabin crew calmed the passengers and helped them put on oxygen masks.

"Some people were screaming, but the crew told us that the pilot had the ability to bring us home safely, which calmed our emotions," said Phuntsog, 25. "All we could do was wait."

Zeng Shibin, another passenger, said that his wife Ai Zehua was terrified by the accident.

"It was her first ever flight, and she never expected anything like this," Zeng said. "She fainted twice after landing."

"The plane started to drop really quickly," said passenger Ma Chuanfa. "It felt like we descended several thousand meters in several seconds, and the baggage was tossed around in the cabin."

When the plane landed in Chengdu, many started to cry. Phuntsog hugged the passenger sitting next to him.

"I want to thank the pilot and the cabin crew for staying calm and helping us land safely," Phuntsog wrote on his WeChat social media account. "You performed a miracle!"

An Air China pilot, who declined to be named, praised Liu's skills and calmness.

"It is a huge challenge facing decompression and low temperatures," said the Air China pilot. "With a broken cockpit window, the temperature would drop to well below zero degrees Celsius, and the equipment would defunction."

"The pilots would be operating with compromised abilities under such extreme conditions," he said. "But they made it, they saved many lives."

China has many airports in mountainous and high altitude areas which place huge physical and psychological pressure on pilots.

"The plane was nearing mountainous areas, which makes it more difficult to descend," said another pilot with Sichuan Airlines. "They descended from 32,100 feet to 24,000 feet, and hovered near the plains, which means that the pilot remained very calm."

"They are truly heroes," said the Sichuan Airlines pilot.
The Zambian government, on May 14, 2018, honored the 19th Chinese Medical Team for their exemplary work during their tour of duty in the southern African nation. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun)

LUSAKA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government on Monday honored the 19th Chinese Medical Team for their exemplary work during their tour of duty in the southern African nation.

All the 28 members of the team, who have been in Zambia since May last year, were presented with the awards during a ceremony attended by senior Zambian government officials as well as officials from the Chinese embassy.

Chitalu Chilufya, Zambia's Minister of Health said the government was happy to honor the doctors who worked diligently to strengthen health systems in the country.

Chitalu Chilufya, Zambia's Minister of Health, awards medal and shakes hands with a member of the Chinese medical team on May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/Peng Lijun)

He said the doctors worked diligently during their tour of duty as evidenced in improved service delivery in the four hospitals where they were stationed in.

Zambia and China, he said, have developed cordial relations in the last 40 years in the health sector which has resulted in the improvement of both infrastructure in the sector and capacity building of health personnel.

"We would like to express our gratitude to the team for helping in strengthening our health system. Since 1978, Zambia and China have collaborated in the health sector," he said.

Chen Shijie, Charge d'Affaires at the Chinese Embassy, said the Chinese medical doctors who have been serving in Zambia over the years have gained the respect of the government because of their high professional skills and good medical ethics.

Since 1978, China has dispatched a total of 515 doctors to Zambia, he added.

The Chinese envoy said after 40 years of reform and opening up, China has achieved remarkable progress in the health sector and was committed to work with Zambia to promote the country's medical and health industry.

The Chinese medical team, he said, helped to train a group of high-level medical staffs in Zambia by clinical teaching, academic lectures, and mutual expert visits, which helped in bringing traditional Chinese medical treatment methods and advanced medical ideas.

Qi Zuhong, team leader of the medical team, said the doctors have helped in promoting the cooperation and exchanges in health care between the two countries.

The team, he said, worked well with their Zambian counterparts in saving lives of people in the country through upholding the spirit of sincerity, affinity and good faith.

According to him, by the end of April 2018, 15,275 patients were treated, 726 operations performed by surgeons, 3,080 anesthesia operations performed while 392 critically ill patients were rescued.

The medical team also helped train 352 local medical personnel at the hospitals, he said, adding that the team also donated medication and medical equipment worth more than 120,000 U.S. dollars.
The Chinese government on May 14, 2018 donated 1.5 million U.S. dollars to assist Somalis affected by the raging floods. Photo shows Qin Jian (L), the Chinese Ambassador to Somalia and Ahmed Isse Awad (R), Somali Minister of foreign Affairs, signing an agreement.

MOGADISHU, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government on Monday donated 1.5 million U.S. dollars to assist Somalis affected by the raging floods that have displaced thousands of people across the Horn of Africa nation.

Qin Jian, the Chinese Ambassador to Somalia who handed over the donation in Mogadishu, said such gesture demonstrates the deep friendship and brotherhood of the Chinese people to the Somalis during the difficult times.

"The Chinese government has decided to provide 1.5 million dollars in cash to the Somalia government and people for humanitarian assistance to the Somali people affected by the floods," Qin said.

He said in January Beijing provided some 6 million dollars with 72 containers of assorted goods to the Somali government as part of humanitarian assistance to the country.

"We will provide further 1 million dollars worth of police uniform which will arrive in Somalia from China soon," he added.

Ahmed Isse Awad, Somali Minister of foreign Affairs, who received the cash donation, lauded the Chinese government for providing such important assistance, saying it arrived at very crucial time following an international appeal for assurance by the president.

"I thank the People's Republic of China for providing us this humanitarian assistance that came at the right time, we also thank Chinese Ambassador to Somalia for his active role here, ties between the two countries is deepening and we will expand areas of cooperation," Awad said.

The Chinese assistance comes amid heavy rains pounding several parts of Somalia especially in central parts of the country.
12 dead, many trapped in under-construction flyover collapse in India Source: Xinhua 2018-05-15 21:18:07 NEW DELHI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and many others trapped Tuesday after an under-construction flyover collapsed in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported. Editor: Li Xia
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 21:18:08|Editor: Li Xia

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AMMAN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- King Abdullah II of Jordan on Tuesday condemned the Israel's violentions on the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The king, who chaired a meeting of the country's policy makers, urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in providing protection to the Palestinian people, said a statement by the Royal Court of Jordan.

The king said Jordan will continue to support the Palestinians in facing the challenges and the difficulties and will continue to back the steadfastness of the Palestinians.

The Jordanian leader instructed to send medical and humanitarian supplies to Gaza to help reduce the suffering of the Palestinians.

He also issued directives of bringing several injured Gaza residents for treatment in Jordan.

During the meeting, the king reiterated Jordan's stance on the Palestinian issue, while rejecting the relocation of U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The king said the issue of Jerusalem should be addressed via direct and final status talks, warning against changing the status quo of Jerusalem.

Israeli forces killed more than 61 Palestinian protestors in Gaza on Monday, when the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem was inaugurated.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 21:28:09|Editor: ZX

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HONG KONG, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The first batch of funding, totalling 22 million Chinese yuan (about 3.51 million U.S. dollars), from China's central government to support research institutions in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is already in place, an official from the Liaison Office of the Central Government of China in the HKSAR said here Tuesday.

Tan Tieniu, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the central government in the HKSAR, said at the Forum on Mainland-Hong Kong Cooperation in Innovation and Technology that Hong Kong has set up a total of 16 Partner State Key Laboratories and six Hong Kong Branches of Chinese National Engineering Research Centers.

These institutions have received a total of 22 million yuan of science and technology funding from the Central Government, Tan said.

The forum, held by the HKSAR government, discussed new opportunities brought about by opening up of the funding for application by higher education institutions and research institutions in Hong Kong. This new regulation was announced by the central government on Monday.

Huang Wei, Vice Minister of Science and Technology, said that to support the development of Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub, the Ministry of Science and Technology will press ahead with the cooperation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong in the area of scientific research, and further improvement of the system for Hong Kong scientists to participate in national science and technology projects.

HKSAR Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said as local research will be funded by the science and technology funding from the central government, this will foster technological co-operation between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong.

The forum was attended by more than 100 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and representatives of the HKSAR government and the technology sector.(1 U.S. dollar equals 6.27 yuan)
ISLAMABAD, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani law enforcement agencies on Tuesday arrested three terrorists and seized a huge cache of weapons during multiple operations conducted in Pakistan's eastern Punjab and southwestern Balochistan provinces, the military said.

An army statement said that paramilitary force Rangers carried out an intelligence-based operation in Dera Ghazi Khan city of Punjab province and apprehended three terrorists while recovering a large number of weapons and ammunition.

The suspects have been shifted to an undisclosed location and are currently being interrogated, said local media.

Pakistani security forces also conducted operations on suspected terrorists' hideouts in the Toba Nokhani, Dera Murad Jamali, Uch, Sanjsila, Chabdar areas of Balochistan province, a statement from the army's media wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

They have recovered arms and ammunition, including improvised explosive devices, communication equipment and detonators, from the hideouts in Balochistan province, the ISPR said.
BERLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) on Tuesday rejected calls for an increase in funds made available to the German armed forces (Bundeswehr).

Speaking at the start of closely-watched budgetary consultations in the federal parliament (Bundestag), Scholz argued that Germany would still be able to fulfill its international commitments without having to agree to continuous increases in national defense spending. "A defense policy concept is not good, just because it is expensive," the German Social Democrat (SPD) told delegates.

Scholz thereby rebuffed a recent plea by Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen for greater military expenditure. The issue has become the source of a heated conflict in the governing "grand coalition" between the SPD on the one side and the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU) on the other.

The finance minister highlighted on Tuesday that Germany would spend a total of 173 billion euros (205.6 billion U.S. dollars) on defense between 2019 and 2022 under his department's budgetary proposal. However, the figure still falls significantly short of the official goal of 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) set by NATO for its members.

The United States has leveled sharp criticism at Berlin for purportedly failing to pull its weight as a NATO member. Hostile comments by its President Donald Trump have added to growing strains on the transatlantic relationship with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) urging the European Union (EU) to reduce its reliance on the United States for security needs in the future.

Scholz consequently urged EU member states to cooperate even more closely on security and economic policy in order to ensure the autonomy and influence of the bloc. "Europe is the most important national concern for Germany," he said.

According to the SPD politician, German citizens were less worried about the dominance of the EU over national government than its weakness in the wider world. Schulz emphasized that Germany was reliant on a "successful European Union" and highlighted the recent U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear accord and the imposition of protectionist tariffs by Trump in this context.

Addressing the issue of a funding gap left by the departure of Britain from the EU, the finance minister expressed confidence that even a contribution of only "1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the world's largest trading bloc" would suffice to assemble a significant budget. At the same time, Scholz denied claims that Berlin was winding down its own level of federal public expenditure in Germany under the latest budgetary proposals.

"Not all investments planned by the federal government are already declared as such in the finance plan," Scholz noted. He stressed that changes in the distribution of fiscal responsibilities between the federal and state level of government would not result in a fall in total public spending.
NAIROBI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Bramwel Agan Ura grew up in a low income suburb in the Kenyan capital Nairobi at a time when HIV/Aids wrought havoc on communities due to prohibitive cost of anti-retroviral therapy and ignorance on prevention tools.

The 22-year-old humanities major at a private university resolved at an early age to be an ardent champion for responsible behavior that would shield his peers from contracting the killer disease.

Ura is both an artist and social media influencer whose part-time job includes promoting awareness on HIV prevention, treatment and care to financially constrained urban youth.

Speaking to Xinhua on Monday during a forum to evaluate the success of a national strategy to eradicate HIV/Aids among adolescents and youth held, Ura said that his peers have been responsive to youth-centered campaigns urging them to keep the disease at bay.

"As youthful champions for an Aids free society, we decided to raise the bar in creating awareness about this disease using mediums that resonate with youth," said Ura.

"We have tapped into the power of social media and imagery to influence behavior change among youth who are at a higher risk of HIV infections," he added.

Ura is a currently a volunteer with a grassroots network that promotes HIV/Aids awareness in low income Nairobi suburbs where abject poverty, sexual violence, drug abuse and prostitution has always worsened the vulnerability of youth to the killer disease.

"We have been packaging youth-friendly information on HIV/Aids and disseminating it through social media platforms, graffiti and catchy posters and the outcomes have been tremendous," said Ura.

He noted that the youthful audience connects easily with anti-Aids campaigns that are packaged in an entertaining and simple format.

Ura is among a growing army of Kenyan youth who have been roped in by the country's ministry of health and partners to be on the frontline of fighting an epidemic that remains a leading cause of death among the country's productive segment of the population.

Statistics from National Aids Control Council (NACC) indicate that an estimated 300,000 adolescents and youth are living with HIV/Aids while this demographic comprise more than half of new infections.

Stella Kariti, a 21 years old grassroots campaigner in a densely populated shanty village in Nairobi said that traditional mediums of spreading the Aids message to the youth have failed hence the need to adopt new ones that connect with this age bracket.

"During my line of work as a community volunteer, I have come to appreciate the critical role of new media platforms to spread youth-friendly campaign against Aids," said Kariti.

"Every youth in my network is active on social media and we find it easy to reach out to them on latest information about prevention and treatment of HIV/Aids," she added.

Kariti is convinced that Kenya could win the war against Aids if the central and county governments involve the youth during formulation and implementation of critical HIV/Aids interventions.

"Our voices should be heard since HIV/Aids is currently taking a heavier toll on adolescents and young adults. Policy makers and funders should be sensitive to the needs of the youth when designing programs to fight this disease," said Kariti.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2015 launched a national strategy to achieve HIV free status among the country's adolescents and youth by 2020 through robust awareness, testing, treatment and care.

Becky Nyambeki, the program officer in charge of adolescents and youth at NACC, said significant progress has been achieved since the launch of this strategy.

"We have witnessed reduction in new HIV infections among youth though some counties have stagnated due to resource and policy gaps. The youth must therefore own HIV/Aids interventions since they stand at higher risk of infection and death from the disease," said Nyambeki.

She proposed engagement of youthful campaigners who are more adept at communicating the Aids message in a format that is eye catching, trendy and persuasive.

Lewis Kimathi, a 22-years-old information sciences major from a Nairobi-based private university and a social media influencer, agreed that youth friendly messaging is key to winning the war against Aids in Kenya.

"The youth are no longer responsive to drab and old fashioned campaign messages delivered on traditional media platforms to warn them against the dangers of contracting the Aids virus," said Kimathi.

"Instead, they are paying close attention to information that is passed through social networking sites or trendy graffiti," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 22:08:23|Editor: Yurou

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People gather at the spot where an under construction bridge collapsed in the temple town of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India on May 15, 2018. At least 12 people were killed and many others trapped Tuesday after an under-construction flyover collapsed in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported. (Xinhua/Stringer)

NEW DELHI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 people were killed and many others trapped Tuesday after an under-construction flyover collapsed in northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, local media reported.

The flyover collapsed at the cantonment area in Varanasi district, 306 km southeast of Lucknow, the capital city of Uttar Pradesh.

Officials said a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed after two of its pillars collapsed bringing a huge slab of concrete down, crushing vehicles and people under it.

"Vehicles have been crushed and people were caught underneath it," a local government official told Xinhua.

"There are deaths but it is too early to give the exact details. Let us finish the rescue operations, we will share all the details."

Local television channel ANI reported that more than 12 people were killed and many others are trapped under the collapsed flyover.

Eyewitnesses said those trapped are said to be laborers, bystanders and pedestrians.

The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief and directed the administration to speed up rescue operation.

A statement issued by Adityanath's office said the district administration has been ordered to expedite the rescue work and Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya would reach Varanasi shortly to oversee it.

Police officials said a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been rushed to the spot for rescue operations.

"Disaster response teams have been rushed to the spot and heavy machinery like earth movers have been pressed into the service to carry out rescue work," a senior police official said.

Hundreds of people have gathered at the spot and are assisting the police in ongoing rescue work.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 22:13:24|Editor: ZX

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NAIROBI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Stanbic Bank Kenya and the Industrial Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) on Tuesday launched an initiative to promote tourism and trade between the two countries by offering incentives for travelling, shopping and leisure to tourists visiting the two countries.

Charles Mudiwa, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Kenya told a media briefing in Nairobi that under the "I Go Kenya, I Go China" loyalty program, Chinese tourists visiting Kenya will receive discounts and special offers whenever they use ICBC cards at selected travel, hospitality and lifestyle merchants in the country.

Mudiwa noted that Kenyan tourists visiting China will also enjoy similar incentives when using Stanbic Bank Kenya cards.

"I believe that the 'I Go Kenya, I Go China' initiative will deepen relations between Kenya and China by encouraging visits between the two countries, ultimately boosting investment flows. This is good for the tourism industry and the economy as well," Mudiwa said.

Stanbic Bank is a member of the Standard Bank Group whose largest shareholder is ICBC with a 20.1 percent shareholding.

The "I Go Kenya, I Go China" loyalty program follows the launch of a similar credit card offering between Standard Bank Group and ICBC in November 2017 in South Africa for their respective cardholders travelling between the two countries.

Mudiwa noted that the two firms are working together to further expand the loyalty program to other African countries this year.

Guo Ce, the Economic and Commercial Consular at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, said that the partnership between Stanbic Bank Kenya and ICBC is a symbol of the growing Sino-Kenyan cooperation.

Guo said that in recent years, the bilateral cooperation has resulted in remarkable benefits for the people of the two countries.

He added that total bilateral trade hit approximately 3.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 while 400 Chinese companies have so far been established in Kenya and have employed some 120,000 locals.

The Chinese diplomat said that Chinese firms have been involved in over 100 mega projects in Kenya including in the construction and finance of the Standard Gauge Railway that will play a significant role in making the country, a regional logistical hub.

Guo added that the 'I Go Kenya, I Go China' initiative will encourage more Chinese tourists to visit Kenya, noting that Kenya is well placed to be a major tourist destination due to its excellent wildlife resources as well as beach destinations.

Lincoln Mali, Standard Bank's Group Head of Card and Emerging Payment, said that China has emerged as a key economic partner for Africa in recent years.

He said that through the "I Go Kenya, I Go China" program and in partnership with ICBC, there will be strengthening of relations between the two countries by encouraging exchange of visits.

Data from the Kenya Tourism Board indicates that in 2017, China was among the top five tourism source markets contributing 5.5 percent of the traffic.

Sun Gang, the Deputy CEO of ICBC Africa, said that China and Kenya have been long good friends who have been working together for a shared prosperous future.

"Such friendship is manifested in political equality, economic cooperation and win-win results as well as cultural exchanges," Sun said.
HELSINKI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The withdrawal of the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement could badly hurt the transatlantic relations, said Finnish President Sauli Niinisto here on Tuesday.

At a press conference held after his meeting with President of Iceland Guoni Johannesson, Niinisto said that the issue about the Iran nuclear agreement is a reason to worry about the security situation globally.

"The U.S. is not anymore a part in it. That even more badly hurts the transatlantic relations," noted Niinisto. "It impacts hugely wider than just Iran and the nuclear agreement."

Finland and Iceland have a similar viewpoint in maintaining the peaceful situation not only in Europe, but also worldwide, he added.

As for the Arctic issues, Niinisto claimed that both Finland and Iceland are trying to keep the Arctic as a neutral area.

Finland is serving as chair of the Arctic Council from 2017 to 2019, and Iceland will chair the council for the next term.

"The Arctic working has been quite productive. A good example is that the U.S. and Russia have found a lot of common grounds in cooperation, and we are trying to keep the good mood going on," said the Finnish president.

Echoing with his counterpart, the Icelandic president said that sustainability is a key for the peaceful, sensible and profitable Arctic. Sustainable use of resources and environmental concerns are the forefront of the Arctic issues.

"Short-term interests are not considered more valuable than the long-term necessity of the available and sustainable Arctic," said Johannesson at the press conference.

Johannesson and his wife Eliza Reid are making a state visit to Finland from May 14 to 17. During the visit, Johannesson will also meet the Finnish prime minister and the speaker of the Finnish Parliament. Enditem
DAR ES SALAAM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian President John Magufuli on Tuesday directed relevant authorities to amend taxes on imported crude edible oil with a view to imposing heavy taxes on the commodity.

The president made the directive when he made an impromptu visit to the Dar es Salaam port where the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has detained 90,000 tonnes of imported edible oil over unresolved tax issues.

Magufuli directed the Minister for Trade, Industries and Investment, Charles Mwijage, to table a schedule of amendment of the taxes in the ongoing parliamentary budget sessions in the capital Dodoma with a view to imposing higher taxes on imported crude cooking oil.

The president made the directive after a committee which was formed to investigate the 90,000 tonnes of consignment of edible oil revealed that some importers of the consignment had lied to TRA that the shipment contained crude edible oil while in fact the cargo contained refined and semi-refined edible oil.

In addition, President Magufuli ordered that the shipment should be cleared and the edible oil be released to the market.

However, Magufuli said businessmen who have imported refined cooking oil should pay 25 percent tax and fine for their cargo to be released.

Last week, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Job Ndugai, directed government institutions involved in the edible oil dispute to discuss measures to resolve the crisis which has caused a growing panic in the domestic market.

For the past two weeks there has been uneasiness in the market as the country has been hit by a shortage of edible oil which suppliers blamed government institutions.

Two cooking oil tankers have been denied entry and remains at the Dar es Salaam port over failure by the customs officers to charge import tax for two weeks now.

The current annual demand for cooking oil in Tanzania is estimated at between 400,000 tons and 570,000 tons, while domestic production is only 210,000 tons, leaving a deficit of almost 360,000 tons which are covered by imports.

Tanzania spends around 80 million U.S. dollars to import assorted cooking oil brands from some Asian and neighboring countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 22:28:28|Editor: Li Xia

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ADEN, Yemen, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least four members of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed when a U.S. drone targeted their vehicles in the southeastern province of Shabwa early Tuesday, a security official told Xinhua.

"Two vehicles of al-Qaida militants were struck with American missiles, leaving at least four terrorists killed at the scene," the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

Local residents also said the two vehicles were completely destroyed with four charred bodies found in the area.

The al-Qaida network, mostly operating in Yemen's eastern and southern provinces, is responsible for many high-profile attacks against security forces in the war-torn country.

The U.S. military has carried out multiple airstrikes against al-Qaida fighters across Yemen since U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the U.S. as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in southeastern provinces.
CAPE TOWN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South African Energy Minister Jeff Radebe refrained from discussing the government's controversial nuclear plan on Tuesday as he kicked off the African Utility Week in Cape Town.

The three-day conference hosts more than 7,000 international energy and water professionals around the theme of building a skilled workforce to drive power and water projects on the continent, with a focus on nuclear energy.

In his key-note address, Radebe re-affirmed the South African government's commitment to renewable energy as part of the country's energy mix whilst dodging any mention of its plans for nuclear energy.

He highlighted the successes of renewable energy in South Africa, saying the country has concluded 91 projects with a capacity of 63,000 megawatts (MW) to date.

Of these projects, 62 have the combined capacity of 3,800 MW which already is connected to the grid, according to Radebe.

South Africa, he said, has seen a "significant decline in tariffs of about 55 percent for wind and 76 percent for solar."

Radebe said about 136 billion rand (about 10.9 billion U.S. dollars) has been invested in the South African economy with another 56 billion rand (about 4.5 billion dollars) to be invested over the next three to five years when construction of 27 renewable power projects, signed in April, commence.

Radebe told delegates that these projects will create 39,000 jobs for South Africans and reduce an estimated 23 million tons of carbon dioxide, in addition to the substantial savings of water.

However, many delegates were keen to notice the absence of South Africa's nuclear energy plan in Radebe's speech.

The South African government has approved its Integrated Resource Plan of 2010-30, which provides for coal, gas, renewables and 9,600 megawatt nuclear power as part of the energy landscape by 2030. But environmental groups, which question the safety of nuclear plants, have launched a series of campaigns against the plan.

Radebe's predecessor David Mahlobo reportedly had been pushing the government's controversial nuclear deal with Russia, which is expected to cost one trillion rand (about 800 billion dollars).

But since Radebe became energy minister in February, he has made no outright mention of South Africa's nuclear energy plans.

Speaking at the conference, European Union Ambassador to South Africa, Marcus Cornaro, welcomed South Africa's re-commitment to the renewable energy sector specifically the 27 renewable energy projects.

This will help "reinforce investor confidence in the sector," Cornaro said.

The EU, which remains a prominent investor in the energy sector, "sees itself in a threefold role as a development partner, as a foreign direct investor and partner in research and innovation in Africa and specifically South Africa," he said.

A total of 14 EU-based companies are exhibiting their latest innovations at the conference and are looking for partners in Africa.

Cornaro called for strong leadership and citizen participation on national regional, multinational and global level.

"This will determine our ability to leapfrog in the development of sustainable energy and water sectors,"he said.

Phakamani Hadebe, interim CEO of South Africa's electricity utility Eskom, called on Africa to unite on energy issues.

He said access to electricity is a human right.

"The question then is how to create the infrastructure needed for growth and create opportunities. It's a huge challenge," Hadebe said.

It is only through creating the environment conducive for growth and opportunities that "Africans will not risk their lives to cross the ocean in search for opportunities," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 22:48:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chen Xi, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (Chinese Academy of Governance), attends an opening ceremony for the second group of students at the school's 2018 spring semester in Beijing, capital of China, May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Senior Communist Party of China (CPC) official Chen Xi Tuesday stressed the importance of resolutely safeguarding the core status of Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and the authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized, unified leadership.

Chen, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and president of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (Chinese Academy of Governance), made the remarks while attending an opening ceremony for the second group of students at the school's 2018 spring semester.

Chen asked the students to strive to fulfill their duties and make pragmatic progress in their daily work.

"Efforts should be made to foster a right concept on political achievements, with an emphasis on practical work," Chen said.

They were told to be clean and honest when carrying out reform and innovation.
KINSHASA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- At least 13 peacekeepers from the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) were captured last Friday by suspected Mai-Mai militiamen in the province of Tanganyika, in the south-east of the country, according to a UN source in Kinshasa.

Eleven of these peacekeeper have been released, according to the same source. Xinhua learned that all captured MONUSCO soldiers are part of the Beninese contingent, eleven of whom have been released so far.

These soldiers left Kongolo to go to Kalemie when they were intercepted by the attackers.

MONUSCO, who declined to comment further on this information, nevertheless confirmed that everything is being done to release the rest two peacekeepers still detained by the attackers.

The peacekeepers of the UN mission in the DRC have been positioned in Tanganyika province for years. Following the ongoing conflicts between the local communities, including the Pygmies and Bantu, several people have died in this conflict and thousands more still live in IDP camps across the province.

In March, UN chief of humanitarian operations Mark Lowcock visited the DRC to see the humanitarian situation in several provinces of the country, including Tanganyika, where nearly 700 internally displaced people are registered.
TIRANA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Albanian police has busted a criminal group of 41 Albanians and Greeks, who are suspected of trading false visas and documents, Albanian State Police said on Tuesday.

Director of the state police Ardi Veliu announced it at a press conference.

Veliu said investigations have started since November 2016, and the group is accused of providing false documents for about 20,000 euros (around 24,000 U.S. dollars)

The suspects provided the trafficked persons false visas to travel to the United States, Britain and Canada.

Moreover, two Albanian police officers were also accused of abusing duties by providing the criminal group with the data they had, according to Veliu.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 23:08:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli senior official slammed Tuesday Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "hypocrite" following Ankara's decision to expel Israel's ambassador to Turkey in light of the bloodshed in Gaza.

"Erdogan is the greatest inciter," Israeli Intelligence and Transportation Minister Israel Katz wrote on his Tweeter account. "Hypocrisy knows no limits."

"Israel will continue to defend its border from Hamas and Jihad terrorists that try to hurt our citizens," he wrote.

The Turkish government expelled Israeli ambassador to protest the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip on Monday, according to a statement released by Turkey's foreign ministry.

Earlier, Erdogan condemned the killing as "a genocide."

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu retaliated by saying Erdogan "is among Hamas' biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter."

"I suggest that he not preach morality to us," Netanyahu said in a statement released on his behalf.

Turkey called back its own ambassador to Israel on Monday, as did South Africa.

International criticism of the move was mounting on Tuesday and the United Nations Security Council is expected to convene for an emergency meeting later today to discuss the killing, following the request of Kuwait.

The move came in response to deadly clashes along the fence between the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel on Monday. At least 60 people, including minors, were killed and more than 2,700 were injured, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The ties between Israel and Turkey were greatly strained over the past years, particularly over the Israeli occupation of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The relations were cut in 2010, after Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound solidarity ship, and killed nine passengers.

In 2016, the ties were normalized with a rapprochement agreement after Netanyahu apologized for the incident.
BRUSSELS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday at a meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Paris that cyber defense was a priority for the alliance.

"In recent years, we have seen many large scale cyber attacks," the NATO chief said, adding that the alliance was adapting to these new challenges, according to a full text of his speech posted on NATO's website.

He said NATO allies share information about cyber threats in real-time and work with the European Union (EU) on cyber defense.

"NATO cyber rapid reaction teams are on standby to assist allies, 24 hours a day. And the NATO center of excellence for cyber defense in Estonia leads on research, education and training," he added.

In 2014, NATO leaders agreed that a cyber attack could trigger Article 5 of its founding treaty. "Where an attack on one ally is treated as an attack on all allies," Stoltenberg noted.

In 2016, NATO leaders designated cyber space as an operational domain, in addition to land, air and sea.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Anwar Ibrahim, who is tapped by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad to be his successor, is expected to be released on Wednesday, after the Malaysian head of state grants him a full pardon, Malaysian state news agency Bernama reported on Tuesday.

Anwar, who was the deputy prime minister during Mahathir's premiership in the 1990s, is now in a hospital in Cheras, waiting for the Pardons Board meeting, scheduled for Wednesday morning, said Bernama.

Saifuddin Nasution, a party leader in the ruling Pakatan Harapan coalition, told reporters that Anwar is also expected to attend a gathering with his supporters after his release.

Mahathir, 92, who put Anwar in jail in 1998, promised to help release his former protege during the campaign.

He also pledged to serve the premiership for around two years before handing it over to Anwar. But Anwar needs to win a by-election to become a parliamentary member first.

Anwar was previously scheduled to be released on June 8. He was serving a five-year jail term on sodomy charges, which he said was politically motived.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 23:23:41|Editor: Liangyu

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Salman F Rahman (R), adviser for private sector development to Bangladeshi prime minister, addresses the roundtable discussion on "Bangladesh-China Capital Markets" held in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on May 15, 2018. The Roundtable, which has been designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of share market matters, was attended by high-level participants from the government, regulators, representatives from Bangladeshi and Chinese premier bourses, financial institutions, economic experts and journalists. (Xinhua)

DHAKA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A roundtable discussion on "Bangladesh-China Capital Markets" was held in capital Dhaka on Tuesday.

The Roundtable, which has been designed to facilitate the exchange of ideas and experiences in the field of share market matters, was attended by high-level participants from the government, regulators, representatives from Bangladeshi and Chinese premier bourses, financial institutions, economic experts and journalists.

Notable speakers at the roundtable included Faisal Ahmed, chief economist of Bangladesh Bank, Liu Fuzhong, director of International Department of Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Ifty Islam, chairman of AT Capital, Edmund Chan, managing director and head of M&A at CITIC CLSA Securities, and He Jibao, Research Institute Director of Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

The round-table discussion with Zaidi Sattar, Policy Research Institute (PRI) chairman, in the chair with remarks from Wang Jianjun, General Manager of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and Salman F Rahman, adviser for private sector development to Bangladeshi prime minister, Ahsan H Mansur, PRI executive director.

PRI, a leading Bangladeshi think tank, in collaboration Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges organized the roundtable discussion a day after a Chinese consortium comprising the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) and the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) signed an agreement with Bangladesh's Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) to acquire 25 percent stake in the country's premier bourse and became its strategic investor.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) recently approved DSE's proposal to sell 25 percent of its stake to the Chinese consortium.

The BSEC approved the DSE's strategic partnership, fixing each of 450,944,125 shares at a price of 21 taka (0.25 U.S. dollars), the regulator said on its website.

DSE's hunt for a strategic partner came as it turned into a demutualized stock exchange on Nov. 21, 2013.

SZSE and SSE received DSE's tender invitation in July 2017.

A DSE official told Xinhua earlier that in consideration of all the aspects, the proposal of the Chinese consortium was the best offer in terms of value and technical support.

The bidding process also involved Indian, U.S. and Turkish exchanges.

According to a statement released by the Shenzhen bourse, the Chinese consortium's bid to become strategic partner of DSE would support the development of the Belt and Road Initiative and cooperation along the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.

It said the Chinese bourses would cooperate with DSE on trading technology, market and product development.
ARISH, Egypt, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Egypt declared emergency at hospitals of North Sinai province bordering Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip to receive Gazans wounded in recent clashes with Israeli soldiers for treatment, medics in North Sinai's Arish city told Xinhua on Tuesday.

"Emergency has been raised in the hospitals of Arish, Rafah, Sheikh Zuweid and Bi'r al-Abd to recieve Palestinians who have been wounded in the Israeli aggression on Gaza," a medical source told Xinhua.

"This morning, the first wounded Palestinian arrived to recieve treatment at Arish hospital. He's a Palestinian young man with an injury in the foot," the source added, describing the young man's condition as "stable."

Seven mobile intensive care units have been centered at Rafah border crossing in preparation for receiving injured Palestinians and taking them to nearby hospitals, according to North Sinai medics.

At least 61 Palestinian protesters have been killed by Israeli soldiers on Monday as thousands of Palestinians protested against the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputable holy city of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 Palestinians were injured Monday by Israeli tear gas bombs and gunfire at the Gaza-Israeli borders while the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem was being inaugurated about 40 miles away.

The protests coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, one day before the Palestinian "Nakba (Catastrophe) Day," which marks the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to become refugees in 1948.

Monday's victims raised the death toll of Palestinians to 110 since Palestinian protesters started their "Great March of Return" in late March to mark the 42nd anniversary of the "Land Day," demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The international community holds Israel responsible for the deadlock of the peace process with the Palestinians due to its settlement expansion policy on occupied Palestinian territories.

The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital city in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.

Israel is the regional number one ally of the United States, whose President Donald Trump has recognized the debatable city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital city despite regional and international outcry.
MOSCOW, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron agreed Tuesday that the two countries will continue to honor the Iran nuclear deal despite the U.S. exit.

During a telephone conversation, the two leaders talked among others about recent developments concerning the Iran nuclear deal, or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, after Washington's unilateral pullout from the deal, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"They confirmed the readiness of Russia and France to continue to comply with this agreement," it said.

During the conversation, Putin also offered his condolences over the terrorist attack in Paris on Saturday, the Kremlin said.

What's more, the two presidents discussed preparations for Macron's visit to Russia on May 24-25 and coordinated the range of international and bilateral issues for their talks on the occasion, according to the statement.

They also exchanged views on the Syrian settlement, the statement said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and impose "the highest level" of economic sanctions on Tehran, triggering a global outcry.

Iranian and Russian foreign ministers on Monday agreed that their countries will uphold the deal and called on other signatories to the deal to "defend their legitimate interest stipulated by this agreement."

The landmark agreement was signed in 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Russia, the United States, Britain, China and France -- plus the European Union and Germany.
TUNIS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A police officer escaped from a knife attack Tuesday in Tunis, the capital city of Tunisia, an witness confirmed to Xinhua.

Shouting "hatred for Israel," a bearded man tried to kill an police officer who was guarding the main Jewish synagogue "Great Synagogue" in the capital.

The assailant was quickly arrested and then transferred for investigation. Tunisian Ministry of the Interior hasn't pronounced the motivation of the aggressor yet.
LUSAKA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Continued revelations of abuse of resources meant to improve health service delivery in Zambia have started raising questions over the government's seriousness in dealing with the problem.

The concerns follow latest revelations that drugs and HIV test kits were stolen from the Medical Stores Limited, a government agency responsible for procurement and storage of drugs, between 2014 and 2016 and sold to other entities.

An audit report conducted by the Global Fund on AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria entitled "Investigation of Global Fund Grants to the Republic of Zambia: Theft of Health Products from Medical Stores Limited" has identified significant unexplained stock losses of Global Fund-financed pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical health products totaling over 1 million U.S. dollars.

The Global Fund has since demanded that the government repays back the money.

While the government has tried to dismiss the latest revelation as not being "breaking news" as it happened over two years ago, stakeholders are concerned how one ministry has continued to recorded cases of abuse of public resources without putting an end to the problem.

The stakeholders are concerned because this is not the first time that such an incident is happening.

In 2009, the Swedish government froze aid to Zambia's health sector following revelations of siphoning of donated funds by officials from the Ministry of Health. A number of officials were arrested and are still appearing in court.

On the other hand, in 2010, the Global Fund suspended more than 300 million dollars of health funding to Zambia after concerns of alleged corruption in the health ministry.

However, seven Civil Society Organizations are not happy with what is happening in the Ministry of Health and are demanding for more action from the government to deal with the problem.

The organizations, who have threatened to go round the country and collect signatures to petition President Edgar Lungu to fire the health minister, believe that the government is not doing enough to put a stop to the problem.

"The Civil Society Organizations are particularly disappointed that the country seems to be going backwards and not forward when it comes to issues of transparency and accountability in the public sector. It is very evident from the report findings that the ministry of health did not do due diligence in terms of safeguarding the medical supplies donated to the government," the organizations said in a joint statement.

The statement added that the organizations were deeply concerned by the image damaging Global Fund's investigation report has unearthed, adding that it was disheartening that despite so many corruption scandals in the management of public resources in government institutions, no disciplinary action had been taken.

They also expressed dismay that regardless of having a health minister who is a medical practitioner, with two permanent secretaries to give him checks and balances, a lot of irregularities were still present.

The organizations have since asked the Zambian leader to take responsibility of what is happening in his government and be more responsible and safeguard tax payers' money.

Wesley Chibamba, the head of Transparency International Zambia (TIZ), an anti-corruption watchdog said health officials should put things in order and deal with negligent controlling officers who are being cited for mischief in misapplication of donor funds.

He said it was disheartening that huge amounts of money were being misappropriated at the cost of poor Zambians.

"It is not enough for government to issue a statement seeking redress by shifting the blame on the supply chain, the weakness in the internal controls in the delivery process of the medical supplies is worrying and has for a number of years had a negative impact on service delivery in the health sector," he said.

The government, he said, needed to put in place stringent measures so as to safeguard the funds given to the country for the good health of citizens.

Laura Miti, executive director of Alliance for Community Action, an advocacy organization calling for accountability in the use of public resources, says it was unfortunate that the latest revelation shows a lack of accountability in the country's governance as resources meant to benefit vulnerable people do not reach them.

"As Alliance for Community Action, we would like to not only have this issue fully investigated but to have these gaps plugged. Why is it that it's so easy in this country to steal money, to steal goods, to steal assets in very large quantities," she said.

But health minister Chitalu Chilufya said it was unfortunate that stakeholders had feasted on the latest revelations, without taking into considerations the measures government has put in place in strengthening health systems in the country.

He said it was unfortunate that stakeholders have decided to blow the current revelation out of proportion when the matter was already dealt with by the government, with seven government officials and two foreigners arrested in connection with the theft.

"This is an old story that has been very decisively dealt with proactively, both at government and institutional level," he told reporters during a press briefing.

According to him, the government has put in place robust reforms to improve management of health supplies and drugs and reduce pilferage and misappropriation of public resources.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-15 23:58:53|Editor: Liangyu

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Photo taken on May 15, 2018 shows the 2018 China-Laos Tourism Cooperation Forum held in Lao capital Vientiane. The 2018 China-Laos Tourism Cooperation Forum and the Beautiful China Tourism Promotion Conference was held in Lao capital Vientiane on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Ailun)

VIENTIANE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 China-Laos Tourism Cooperation Forum and the Beautiful China Tourism Promotion Conference was held in Lao capital Vientiane on Tuesday.

When addressing the forum, Bosengkham Vongdara, the Lao Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, said that with the developing of the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between Laos and China, the transportation routes connecting the two countries are increasingly convenient. The exchanges and cooperation in tourism have been carried out smoothly, and the scale of tourist exchanges expanded year by year.

This year is also the "Visit Laos Year", and the country has been organizing various celebration activities, Bosengkham said, adding that Laos welcomes more Chinese tourists, so as to continuously strengthen tourism exchanges and cooperation with China.

Du Jiang, head of the visiting Chinese tourism delegation and a member of the Communist Party of China (CPC) central committee, said in his speech that the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between China and Laos has entered a new era, and the bilateral cultural exchanges and tourism cooperation are embracing new opportunities.

Du Jiang also introduced China's economic and social development and the latest development of Chinese tourism market. He warmly welcomed Lao tourists to visit the Beautiful China.

In his addressing speech, Chinese Ambassador to Laos Wang Wentian highly appreciated the powerful momentum of the friendly cooperation between China and Laos.

He said enhancing the people exchanges and deepen the peoples' communication and understanding is necessary for bilateral friendship, and is the common willingness of both sides.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:03:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- With children increasingly targeted in conflicts as well as having to suffer the worst impacts of hostilities, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Tuesday called on all parties to conflicts around the globe to ensure that they are kept safe from harm.

In the first four months of 2018 alone, hundreds of children lost their lives and many more wounded in countries ranging from the Central African Republic to South Sudan, and from Syria to Afghanistan.

"With little remorse and even less accountability, parties to conflict continue to blatantly disregard one of the most basic rules in war: the protection of children," said Henrietta H. Fore, the executive director of UNICEF in a statement.

"The rules of war prohibit the unlawful targeting of civilians, attacks on schools or hospitals, the use, recruitment and unlawful detention of children, and the denial of humanitarian assistance. When conflicts break out, these rules need to be respected and those who break them need to be held to account," she noted.

In addition to the children caught in fighting, millions more are at the risk of starvation, abduction, child recruitment, abuse and displacement. Many are also losing their lives to deadly diseases that could have been prevented.

In Yemen, for instance, almost 4.3 million children are severely food insecure. In Syria, over 5.3 million children are internally displaced or refugees outside its borders, and nearly 850,000 children continue to live in besieged or hard-to-reach areas.

The situation is equally worrying in South Sudan, where in addition to displaced and acutely malnourished children, some 19,000 children continue to be used as fighters, messengers, porters, cooks and even sex slaves by warring parties.

In the statement, Fore said that in these crises and many more, UNICEF and partners are "doing all they can" to alleviate the suffering of children and their families.

"Despite funding shortfalls, we are resolutely committed to serving the most vulnerable. We are vaccinating children, treating them for malnutrition, sending them to school, providing them with protection services, and trying to meet their basic needs," she said.

Only 16 percent of UNICEF's funding needs for 2018 has been received.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:08:56|Editor: Liangyu

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Photo taken on May 15, 2018 shows the first meeting of a cooperation committee between the legislatures of Serbia and China in Belgrade, Serbia. Cao Jianming, visiting vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, and his counterpart Veroljub Arsic, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia co-chaired the meeting. (Xinhua/Wang Huijuan)

BELGRADE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Serbia and China held the first meeting of a cooperation committee between the two country's legislatures on Tuesday, aiming to promote bilateral legislative cooperation.

The meeting was co-chaired by Cao Jianming, visiting vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress, and his counterpart Veroljub Arsic, deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia.

The two sides exchanged views on such topics as cooperation in fields of bilateral relations, legislative communications, economy and trade, agriculture and humanity, as well as governance and experience on promoting rule of law.

It is agreed that the successful meeting opened a new phase of the friendly exchange between the two legislatures, which embodies the high-level relations between the two countries.

The two sides are ready, based on the effective platform of the cooperation committee between Chinese and Serbian legislatures, to enhance dialogues in multi fields, exchange experience in lawmaking, deepen mutual trust, promote cooperation, so as to contribute to the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Serbia.

The establishment of the cooperation committee between the two legislative bodies was decided in Beijing between then China's top legislator Zhang Dejiang and Maja Gojkovic, Serbian parliament speaker, during her visit to China from Nov. 25 to Dec. 1, 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:08:57|Editor: Yurou

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Picture taken on May 15, 2018 shows an Indonesian police officer standing guard after an exchange of fire in North Sumatra province, Indonesia. Two alleged militants were shot dead in an exchange of fire with an anti-terror squad of Indonesian police on Tuesday in North Sumatra province, local media reported. (Xinhua/Kurniawan)

JAKARTA, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Two alleged militants were shot dead in an exchange of fire with an anti-terror squad of Indonesian police on Tuesday in North Sumatra province, local media reported.

The shootings occurred at 16:53 p.m. Jakarta time when the squad attempted to arrest the two persons who were visiting their fellows in Tengku Mansyur General Hospital in Tanjung Balai town.

Three other alleged terrorists with initials of D, ASS and H, were also captured in three separate locations, including Tanjung Balai, Tanjung Bali Selatan and Teluk Nibung sub-districts.

The shooting and arrest followed a series of terrorist attacks in Surabaya city, the provincial capital of East Java on Sunday and Monday that killed 28 people and injured dozens of others.
KIEV, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A court in the Ukrainian capital said Tuesday it has accepted a request from state prosecutors to extend the pre-trial detention of lawmaker Nadiya Savchenko for almost two months.

Savchenko, who is accused of plotting a coup, will remain in custody until July 13, the Shevchenko district court said in a statement.

On March 23, Savchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament of VIII convocation, was arrested for 59 days without bail after the country's Prosecutor General Yuriy Lutsenko accused her of planning a "large-scale terrorist attack" in central Kiev aimed at a "forcible overthrow of the constitutional system and the seizure of state power in Ukraine."

Savchenko called the accusations against her "politically motivated" and launched a hunger strike against her detention.

Savchenko, also a military pilot, has formerly participated in the conflict in eastern Ukraine along with government forces.

She spent almost two years in prison in Russia after a court there found her guilty of complicity in killing two Russian journalists in 2014 during the conflict.

The pilot has denied her role in the murder and said she had been kidnapped in Ukraine and then handed over to Russian authorities.

Savchenko was elected as a member of the Ukrainian parliament while serving her jail term in Russia. She returned to Ukraine in May 2016 after Russian President Vladimir Putin pardoned her.
TUNIS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. decision to transfer its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is "ridiculous" and shows U.S. administration's stance in favor of Israel, said Abdelfattah Mourou, the first vice-president of the Assembly of the People's Representatives, or Tunisian parliament, on Tuesday.

At the opening of a parliamentary session, Mourou called on the world's parliaments to respond to what he calls "the use of force and violence to wrest power and violate the rights of peoples."

"The United States must take full responsibility for blindly supporting Israel, especially when it contradicts all international protocols and conventions," said Mourou.

Meanwhile,Tunisia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the excessive use of force against Palestinian protesters. The death toll has risen to 61 and over 2,700 others were wounded on Monday and Tuesday during the mass protests and clashes in eastern Gaza Strip close to the border with Israel between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, according to Palestinian media.

"Tunisia strongly condemns the killings in Gaza perpetrated by the Israeli army that targeted peaceful demonstrations for legitimate demands of the Palestinian people, including return to their land," said the ministry in an official statement.

"Tunisia supports the Palestinian people in their struggle for recognition of their legitimate rights," the statement said, adding that the international community is invited to fulfill its historical, legal and moral responsibility to put an end to the suffering of the Palestinians and provide them with the necessary protection.

Admitting that the historical status of Jerusalem must be preserved in accordance with United Nations resolutions, the statement said Tunisia considers the transfer of U.S. embassy to the holy city of Jerusalem will only aggravate the situation and harm all attempts to establish peace throughout the Middle East region.
KIEV, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged Ukraine to implement eight key reforms to ensure the sustainable growth of its economy, the Ukrinform news agency said Tuesday, citing an IMF official.

The restructuring of the central bank, the revamping of the financial sector, the overhaul of public finance management and tax administration system are among the major reforms which need to be implemented by Kiev, Goesta Ljungman, the IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine, was quoted as saying.

The other reforms are liberalization of the land market, privatization, the fight against corruption, as well as the pension system and energy sector reforms, Ljungman said.

In 2015, the IMF approved a 17.5-billion-U.S.-dollar bailout program for Kiev in exchange for the implementation of a package of reforms.

Since then, the East European country has received about 8.7 billion dollars from the IMF, which prevented the collapse of the Ukrainian economy.

The disbursement of the aid was suspended after April 2017 over Ukraine's failure to implement some of the agreed reforms.

Ukraine's economy grew by 2.5 percent in 2017, the highest annual growth rate in six years, after growing 2.3 percent in 2016.
Rick Kimberley operates a tractor at his farm near Des Moines, capital of Iowa State, May 3, 2018. Rick and his son, Grant, grow more than 4,000 acres of corn and soybeans. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

CHICAGO, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Midwest state of Iowa on Monday published a letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert E. Lighthizer, in which the farm belt state urged swift actions on the U.S. side to resolve the Section 301 trade dispute with China in a way that does not hurt the state's economy.

The letter, written on May 10 and carried by Gazetteonline Monday, was signed by Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds, Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, and presidents and CEOs of 10 industrial associations in Iowa.

Noting that trade is vitally important to the health of Iowa's economy, the letter said the agricultural products coming out of Iowa contribute to one of the country's few trade surpluses.

"China is an extremely important market for our state. One-third of our state's 5 billion dollars' soybean crop is exported to China. The U.S. exports more than 1 billion dollars of pork to China and Iowa farmers are responsible for 30 percent of our country's pork production. The China market was just recently reopened to U.S. beef after more than 15 years of delays and is a tremendous potential market for the 4 million head of cattle being cared for in our state," the letter said.

Iowa also leads the nation in corn and ethanol production, both now facing additional trade barriers, the letter added.

In response to U.S. trade offensives against China earlier this year, China announced a list of U.S. imports that could face hefty tariffs should Washington proceed with its unilateral trade moves against China.

U.S. Soybeans and pork are among the items targeted by China.

Iowa is a globally-recognized, highly productive agricultural state that depends on open access to international markets. "For our farmers to be successful, we need to grow, not contract, our markets," the letter said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:29:07|Editor: huaxia

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NAIROBI, May 15 (Xinhua)-- A drop in supply of eggs in Kenya following declined production in the last weeks has led to a significant increase in prices.

Prices have risen by between 15 and 20 percent in the last three weeks as supply remains low amid stifled imports from Uganda.

An egg is currently going for between 0.13 U.S. dollars and 0.15 dollars each in retail shops in residential areas in the capital Nairobi.

On the other hand, wholesalers are selling a crate of an egg at an average of 3.3 dollars from between 2.8 dollars and 3 dollars.

The increase of the prices is the first in about three years as imports have over time been helping to stabilize prices.

Kenya imports millions of eggs from Uganda every year, with costs of the commodity being low in the nation.

The current drop in egg supply in Kenya has been linked to the prolonged rainy season, which has led to stress resulting from rise in diseases and unfavorable environment for chickens cutting production.

It has been raining heavily in Kenya for the last two-and-half months, and the rains are to continue until next month, according to the Meteorological Department.

The rains have killed nearly 180 people, displaced over 300,000 and destroyed roads and other infrastructure.

According to livestock experts, rains come with challenges that include diseases and cold weather that affects birds' wellbeing. The two factors normally lead to declined production of eggs.

"The most common diseases during the cold season are pneumonia, Newcastle, diarrhea and coccidiosis," Simon Muriuki, a livestock extension officer in Kiambu, a county bordering the capital, Nairobi, said Tuesday.

He noted that normally when temperatures are low as it is during the cold season, chickens tend to feed more to generate heat.

"When the birds cannot find enough food, they will stop laying eggs or they will cut production. I believe this is one of the reasons that has affected supply of eggs in the market," he said.

Muriuki noted that generally, cold conditions cause stress to the birds which affects their production and ability to withstand diseases through the normal body process called immunosuppression. This in turn leads to reduction in egg production.

Bramwel Museu, a farmer in Kitengela on the outskirts of Nairobi, noted production of his layers has gone down by at least 20 percent in the last one month.

"I have 180 layers. Before the rains started, my production was 160 to 170 eggs in a day but from mid last month, I have been picking 140 to 150 eggs on a good day. On a bad one, 120," he said Thursday.

The farmer attributed the decline mainly to coccidiosis disease, which he has been battling for the last two weeks.

The disease is usually prevalent during the cold season due to chilly conditions that led to damp conditions in the chicken houses.

Simon Omondi, a farmer in Nairobi, ruled out high cost of feeds as the reason for rise in egg prices.

"The cost of feeds remains low at 20 dollars because maize is being imported from Uganda at 15 dollars to 18 dollars per 90kg bag, which is the lowest level it has ever fallen. The culprit is low supply of eggs amid high demand," he said.

Consumers are already feeling the pinch as many turn to eggs as an alternative to red meat which is expensive.

"I have been used to buying eggs at 0.10 dollars that the current 0.13 dollars does not make sense to me. I have not eaten eggs for the last two weeks," said Mary Mwenese, a clothes seller in Nairobi.

Kenya has some 50 million chickens of various varieties, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

However, 75 percent of the birds are free-range and of the indigenous varieties as the bulk of farmers keep them for prestige rather than commercial purposes.

Broilers and layers make 1 percent of the population while poultry species like ducks, geese, turkeys, pigeons, ostriches, guinea fowls and quails 2 percent.

With the rainy season, the free-ranged birds are hard hit by diseases since they are not protected from the vagaries of bad weather.

But the trend is changing as a good number as farmers embrace improved chicken breeds like Kuroiler, Kenbro and Rainbow Rooster. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:29:07|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan meets with a group of U.S. representatives who attended the 10th round of dialogue between Chinese and U.S. business leaders and former officials in Beijing, capital of China, May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan said Tuesday that sound China-U.S. economic and trade ties conformed to the fundamental interests of both peoples.

Wang made the remarks here during a meeting with a group of U.S. representatives who attended the 10th round of dialogue between Chinese and U.S. business leaders and former officials.

Saying the economic and trade relations featuring equality and mutual benefits were the ballast stone of China-U.S. ties, Wang noted the essence of relations was win-win cooperation.

He called on both sides to deepen their understanding, enhance trust, and settle differences through dialogue and negotiation.

China would further deepen reform, open wider, improve its trade and investment environment, and release its market charm, he said, calling on business leaders and experts from the two countries to build consensus and promote the stable and healthy development of China-U.S. economic and trade relations.

The U.S. representatives said good U.S.-China economic and trade ties would promote the stable economic development of both countries and the world.

They said the U.S. business community would continue to promote communication and exchanges at all levels and seek solutions for win-win results through consultations.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:34:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) meets with Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago in Beijing, capital of China, May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping Tuesday called on China, and Trinidad and Tobago to enhance the synergy of their development strategies and plans.

Xi made the remarks during a meeting with visiting Prime Minister Keith Rowley of Trinidad and Tobago.

"China stands ready to strengthen cooperation with Trinidad and Tobago under the Belt and Road Initiative, and help promote its socio-economic development," he said.

Xi said he appreciated the long-term contribution made by Rowley and the People's National Movement (PNM) in developing relations with China.

He said China was comprehensively deepening reform and opening wider to the outside world.

"While realizing its own development, China is willing to pursue common development with other countries, following the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration," Xi said.

China is committed to working with other countries to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity, he said.

In this historical process, China is willing to build a comprehensive cooperative partnership with Caribbean countries in line with the principle of mutual respect, equality and common development, Xi said

"Trinidad and Tobago is a major country in the Caribbean region and is an important partner of China in the region," he said, noting that the two countries share similar positions and views in many aspects.

"Under the new situation, the two sides should work together to achieve new development in relations at the bilateral, regional and multilateral level," Xi said.

The president called on the two sides to "enhance alignment of development strategies and increase contacts at all levels so as to deepen mutual understanding and trust."

"It is necessary to strengthen cultural exchanges so that the bilateral friendship can become more deeply rooted in the people," Xi said.

He suggested both sides maintain close communication and coordination on major global issues such as climate change and the United Nation affairs so as to safeguard the common interests of both countries as well as developing countries.

"China will continue to speak for Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago on multilateral occasions and hopes that Trinidad and Tobago will play a positive role in promoting China's cooperation with the Caribbean and Latin American countries" Xi said.

Rowley said President Xi's successful visit to Trinidad and Tobago in 2013 had laid a solid foundation for the long-term development of bilateral ties.

He expressed appreciation for China's development achievements, noting that Trinidad and Tobago also has its development dreams and hopes to enhance cooperation with China.

As early as 1806, the first group of Chinese people arrived in Trinidad and Tobago via the maritime silk road, he said.

"In the new era, Trinidad and Tobago is willing to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by President Xi, expand trade and investment cooperation as well as cultural exchanges, to help boost the development of relations between China and the Caribbean and Latin American countries," Rowley said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:39:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), presides over a special consultative conference on improving the system for the prevention of systemic financial risks in Beijing, capital of China, on May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

BEIJING, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's national political advisory body held a special consultative conference Tuesday on improving the system for the prevention of systemic financial risks.

Wang Yang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), stressed that financial risk prevention was connected with national security, the overall development situation and the safety of peopel's property.

Altogether, 24 CPPCC members made speeches at the meeting, agreeing that China had made initial results thanks to a series of policies.

They suggested the country to continue upholding the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, strengthening institutional construction and cracking down on financial irregularities.

While attending the conference, Vice Premier Liu He, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that "serving the real economy should be taken as the ultimate object in doing financial work, and maintaining a prudent and neutral monetary policy should be combined with rigid regulatory policy to promote high-quality development."

"People should understand that capital is needed to start a business, money borrowed must be paid back, and there are risks in investment and prices to pay for wrongdoing," Liu said.

Liu expressed his full confidence in winning the battle of financial risks prevention, saying that China had many advantages and would address its problems through reform and development.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 00:49:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels, Belgium, May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/European Union)

TEHRAN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tuesday that he had a "good and constructive" meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini over the survival of 2015 nuclear deal, Tasnim news agency reported.

"We have started working to reach the guarantees," Zarif said referring to Iran's demand that the remaining parties to Iran's nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) should ensure Tehran's interests will be protected.

"It was a good and constructive meeting," he said, adding that "we are on the right track ... to make sure that the interests of the remaining signatories of the JCPOA, especially Iran, will be guaranteed."

Zarif is in Brussels on the final leg of a diplomatic tour to save the 2015 nuclear deal after the recent U.S. withdrawal from the pact. The tour has already taken him to Beijing and Moscow.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, a landmark agreement signed in 2015.

Trump added that he will not sign the waiver of nuke-related sanctions against Iran.

Accordingly, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran would remain in the international nuclear deal in case the country's interests are secured by other parties to the agreement.

"If the remaining five countries in the deal live up to their commitments and guarantee Iran's interests, the agreement will survive," he said on Sunday during a meeting with visiting Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena.
NEW DELHI, May 16 (Xinhua) -- At least 23 people were reportedly missing after a boat carrying them capsized Tuesday in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, officials said.

The boat capsized in Godavari River near Devipatnam in East Godavari district, about 250 km northeast of Amaravathi, the capital city of Andhra Pradesh.

"This evening, a boat ferrying people capsized in Godavari River near Devipatnam here. We are being told there were 40 people onboard at the time of the mishap. Around 17 people have been saved (as some swam to shore at their own and others were rescued). But we are told that 23 people are still missing," a local government official told Xinhua. "We are trying to get the details from the survivors."

Following the accident, local authorities sent police and rescue teams to the spot to carry out rescue work.

"The rescue work is in process and going on in full swing," the official said.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu said he has ordered the district administration to speed up rescue efforts.

"The incident is highly painful. Officers have been ordered to carry out relief operations on the war footing," said a statement issued by Naidu.

Officials said several teams of India's National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were deployed to carry out search and rescue operations.

The capsizing is said to have taken place due to bad weather conditions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 01:04:17|Editor: Yamei

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the inauguration ceremony of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, on May 14, 2018. (Xinhua/JINI)

by Keren Setton, Chen Wenxian, Yang Yuanyuan

JERUSALEM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem officially opened on Monday despite international criticism. Many Israelis and Americans celebrated the event at the temporary venue of the mission in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Arnona.

In stark contrast to the festive mood in the city, dozens of Palestinians were killed on the border with Gaza in clashes with Israeli forces while protesting the opening of the embassy.

As the holy sites to three religions -- Judaism, Islam and Christianity -- Jerusalem is a highly contested city at the heart of not only the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also the larger Arab-Israeli conflict.

Israel captured East Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast War. Before that, it made the western part of the city its capital. In 1980, Israel annexed the eastern part of Jerusalem, a move condemned widely by the world, which has not recognized its sovereignty over both parts of the city till today.

For Palestinians, East Jerusalem is the capital of their future state.

CONTROVERSIAL U.S. EMBASSY MOVE

Throughout his presidential campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

It was a promise made by many candidates before, yet it was never delivered upon. But on Dec. 6 last year, Trump announced that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For the international community, it was a sharp departure from decades of American and international policy based on the premise that Jerusalem' s status should be determined during negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

The U.S. move is another phase in the elongated conflict in which facts on the ground are constantly shifting.

The European Union ambassadors to Israel did not attend the ceremony in Jerusalem on Monday to protest the decision.

"It's a very problematic move," said Professor Naomi Chazan with the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "The message it emits is very clear ...more facts can be made on the ground without any sensitivity to Palestinian interests and rights."

Up until now, the U.S. embassy was located in Tel Aviv, Israel's financial capital. Almost all other foreign embassies are located there.

The timing of the transition from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was moved forward to coincide with Israel's 70th Independence Day. Hence, the embassy building was not a new one. What was once the U.S. consulate in the city has been upgraded and will function as the embassy in the interim period. A new and larger venue is expected to be bought and completed in the coming years.

Several Latin American countries and a few European countries are expected to follow suit, but most embassies will stay in Tel Aviv, highlighting the isolated position Israel and the United States are in.

But the significance of the move should not be underestimated.

"Never underestimate the power of symbolism," Chazan told Xinhua. "It changes the discourse and ... inevitably affects the future of negotiations and possible outcomes. It also affects ... the nature of resistance."

DEADLOCK OF PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI PEACE PROCESS LIKELY TO CONTINUE

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have not met in four years, with the peace process frozen.

In the immediate future, the embassy move is not expected to defrost the situation. Yet Trump believes the opposite is true.

After his December announcement, Trump said the contentious issue had now been taken "off the table" and would pave the way for renewed dialogue.

"Maybe it will pave the way ... for a positive process and for a negotiation where the Palestinians would have to accept the Jewish state and it doesn't negate the fact that they can have their own state and negotiate in East Jerusalem about the borders," said Amira Halperin, a research fellow at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

For now, Palestinian officials are refusing to meet with American officials.

Perhaps the prize that Israel has received in the form of the much coveted recognition of Jerusalem as its capital will come at a heavy price for the right-wing government currently in power.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may now be asked to make some major concessions to the Palestinians. These could be, for example, in the form of a freeze on settlement building.

But chances for the resumption of negotiations seem slim.

"Moving the embassy to Jerusalem after recognizing the city as the capital of Israel paves the way for the imposture of Israel's solutions to the conflict," said Hani al-Masri, director general of Masarat, the Palestinian Center for Policy Research and Strategic Studies.

Americans may have lost their position as an honest broker between the two sides.

"Negotiations will resume at some point, the question is when," said Gerald Steinberg, a professor who specializes in politics and Middle Eastern affairs, and Israel, U.S. and Europe relations at the Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

"There is no mutual point of understanding, the embassy issue ... forces the Palestinians to become more realistic but that will take some time," Steinberg told Xinhua.

Time will tell whether the Trump strategy to strike what he called "the ultimate deal" will materialize.

MORE CHAOS AND UNCERTAINTY EXPECTED FOR MIDEAST

In keeping with the contradictions that define the region, TV broadcasts around the world showed split screens during the inauguration ceremony.

While Netanyahu was celebrating in Jerusalem, the other side of the screen showed large billows of smoke rising in the Gaza skyline.

The death toll keeps rising, with at least 61 Palestinians killed and about 2,800 injured in the Gaza Strip. This was the result of a violent clash with Israeli forces.

It was the culmination of weekly demonstrations being held in recent weeks aimed at what Hamas has called an attempt to end the blockade on Gaza.

There was worldwide condemnation of events on the border, with accusations that the Israeli military had used excessive force.

Israel left the Gaza Strip in 2005, but still retains control of its air and maritime space.

Together with Egypt, it maintains a strict blockade on the territory since 2007, when Hamas wrested power from the more moderate Palestinian faction, the Fatah.

Funerals for Gaza's dead will be held and probably fuel further protest.

Hamada Faraana, a Palestinian news analyst and author, believes the region can expect an upsurge in violence.

"Waves of popular Palestinian protests are expected to escalate in light of understandings between the Palestinian factions on the need to confront the U.S. step on Jerusalem in all possible ways," he told Xinhua.

So far, the West Bank and East Jerusalem have remained relatively calm.

Last week on the heels of what it viewed as a major policy success, the Israeli government rejoiced at the U.S. withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear plan.

Israeli air force planes conducted a strike on alleged Iranian military positions in neighboring Syria.

Chazan told Xinhua that the Israelis gloating may lead to more friction with the Palestinians, a scenario which could get out of hand.

The region, however, is used to the cyclical violence.

As the Israeli euphoria from the embassy move subsides, the Jewish state will find itself yet again dealing with a tricky and lethal situation that might last days or even months.

"One of the things we know about the Middle East is how unpredictable and unstable it is," said Steinberg.

(Xinhua reporters Du Zhen, Wang Bowen and Liu Xue in Jerusalem, Zhao Yue and Emad Drimly in Gaza also contributed to the story.)

(Video editors: Zhao Yuchao, Geng Linlin)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 01:14:20|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KUWAIT CITY, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) will launch a five-day campaign to raise donations for the Palestinian people, the Kuwait News Agency reported Tuesday.

Themed "Relieve Gaza," the campaign is the latest in a series of the country's relief and humanitarian efforts to brotherly nations stricken with crises and hardships, according to KRCS Chairman Hilal Al-Sayer.

This campaign particularly aims to provide medical supplies for Palestinian victims of the Israeli attacks to enhance their capabilities to cope with the current circumstances, he said.

The Israeli army has killed 61 Palestinians and wounded 1,771 others since Monday, when the U.S. relocated embassy to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem, fuelling more violent protests among the Palestinians.
ABUJA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Five members of a local vigilance group were killed Tuesday afternoon in a blast in Nigeria's northeastern town of Konduga, according to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

Five others were injured in the blast at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Konduga in the northern state of Borno, NEMA said in a statement made available to Xinhua.

The deceased operatives were members of the civilian volunteer force helping the military in the fight against insurgents in Nigeria's northeast, the agency said.

The blast occurred as security operatives stopped the suicide bomber at a military checkpoint at the entrance of Konduga Town.

Konduga, with a population of over 13,000, has witnessed frequent attacks by terror group Boko Haram in Borno. Its inhabitants are mostly engaged in subsistence farming.

In February, at least 22 people were killed and 28 others injured in multiple suicide blasts orchestrated by Boko Haram rebels at a market in Konduga.

Boko Haram has been blamed for the death of more than 20,000 people and displacement of 2.3 million others in Nigeria since 2009.
ULAN BATOR, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A Mongolian court on Tuesday extended the detention of a former finance minister held in custody for alledged abuse of power in a large mining deal after prosecutors demanded more time to investigate the case.

Ulan Bator's Chingeltei District Court extended Sangajav Bayartsogt's custody by an additional month once his current detention period expires on Wednesday.

Bayartsogt signed an agreement on behalf of Mongolia with Canada's Ivanhoe Mines in 2009 to develop Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, granting a 66-percent controlling stake to the company.

Ivanhoe Mines subsequently changed its name to Turquoise Hill Resources and is now majority owned by Australian-British mining giant Rio Tinto.

The Independent Agency Against Corruption, Mongolia's top anti-corruption body alleged that Bayartsogt used his influence and position to provide the other parties to the agreement an advantage in negotiations.

Mongolia's two former prime ministers, Sanjaa Bayar and Chimed Saikhanbileg, are also in custody over corruption allegations in the mining deal.

Mongolian government signed the original 2009 investment agreement during Bayar's term, as well as the financing arrangement of the deal was revised in 2015 during Saikhanbileg's term.

The Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, located in the South Gobi Desert of Mongolia, 80 km north of Mongolia's border with China, is expected to produce an average of 430,000 tons of copper and 425,000 ounces (about 12,050 kg) of gold annually for 20 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 01:34:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, meets with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, Mozambique, May 14, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

MAPUTO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday to promote friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

In the capital city of Maputo, Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and held talks with the African country's Speaker of Parliament Veronica Macamo.

During his meeting with President Nyusi, Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's sincere greetings. Li said the deep China-Mozambique traditional friendship was rooted in the history of their struggles against imperialism and colonialism, and has grown even stronger in their joint efforts for common development.

Li said China and Mozambique are all-weather friends and that successive leaders of both countries have made great efforts for the friendship. He noted that the bilateral ties has entered a new era since the heads of state of both countries decided to elevate the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2016.

Li said that China will uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and adhere to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith in its Africa policy, as expounded by President Xi Jinping.

China supports Mozambique's efforts to realize independent and sustainable development, and will sincerely help Mozambique to develop and grow stronger, Li said.

The top Chinese legislator briefed on China's experience and practices of achieving economic development while maintaining political and social stability over the past 40 years since the start of the country's reform and opening-up policy. He said these achievements were attributed to the overall leadership by the Communist Party of China, the advantages of socialism, as well as China's development concepts that are people-centered and compliant with its own domestic conditions.

China stands ready to enhance exchanges on governance experience, and implement the important consensuses reached by heads of state of the two countries, Li said, stressing the three major advantages of bilateral relationship, that is, political mutual trust, economic complementarity and people-to-people friendship.

Li said the Chinese side will encourage Chinese companies to invest in Mozambique within the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries, in order to turn the bilateral traditional friendship and political mutual trust into more practical cooperation outcomes.

On his part, President Nyusi spoke highly of the achievements China has made in various aspects under the leadership of President Xi since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Nyusi said Mozambique is willing to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and to deepen cooperation with China in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, tourism and infrastructure, so as to bring the bilateral cooperation to an even higher level.

During talks with Speaker Macamo, Li expounded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially the theory of building a socialist democratic political system and briefed on the peolpe's congress system in China.

Li said that the NPC stands ready to maintain friendly exchanges at various levels with its Mozambican counterpart and make sure the cooperation agreements signed between the two sides to be well implemented.

Li also voiced his hope that the Mozambican parliament will play a proactive role in creating a more favorable legal environment so that more Chinese companies will invest in Mozambique due to the facilitation for investment.

Macamo said that the Mozambican parliament will enhance comprehensive dialogues with China's NPC, support each other on issues concerning their core interests, and make efforts to ensure that the legislative body serves as a constructive force in promoting the development of the ties between the two countries.

Mozambique was the second stop of Li's visit to three African nations. He previously visited Ethiopia and will visit Namibia afterwards. When Li arrived in Mozambique on Saturday, he first attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Mozambican Hero Square in Maputo.

During his stay in Mozambique, Li also attended a symposium that gathered executives of Chinese companies operating across Africa. He urged the companies to uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and follow the policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith put forward by President Xi. The top legislator urged the companies to shoulder social responsibility during operations, respect local laws and customs, and make greater contributions towards China-Africa comprehensive friendly cooperation.

Li also attended the opening ceremony of this year's joint conference of the Confucius Institutes in Africa. In his address at the conference on Monday, Li said that the Confucius Institutes not only belong to China, but also belong to the world.

Li said he hopes the Confucius Institutes in Africa will always focus on China-Africa friendship, knowledge sharing and cultural exchanges, urging the Confucius Institutes to introduce Africa to more Chinese people while promoting China's culture and telling China's true stories in Africa, as a messenger for China-Africa cultural exchanges.

During his stay in Maputo, Li also attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony of the Mozambique-China Cultural Center and the teaching building of a Confucius Institute and the communication and art school at the Eduardo Mondlane University, and the launching ceremony of the Mozambique part of the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project, and visited a China-Mozambique pilot center of agricultural technology and the suspension bridge over Maputo Bay assisted by the Chinese side.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 01:39:31|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Tuesday ordered the Turkish consul to Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country after Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador to protest the killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish consul, Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu, and instructed him to return to his country "for consultations for a while."

The Turkish consulate in Jerusalem deals with ties with the Palestinians.

On Monday, Turkey called back its own ambassador to Israel before it expelled the Israeli Ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Nae, on Tuesday.

The move was among the strongest responses to the killing of at least 60 Palestinians, including minors, during protests along the fence separating between the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged blows as Erdogan said Netanyahu heads an "apartheid state" and Netanyahu accused him of supporting "terror."

The ties between Israel and Turkey were greatly strained over the past years, particularly over the Israeli occupation of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The relations were cut in 2010, after Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound solidarity ship, and killed nine passengers.

In 2016, the ties were normalized with a rapprochement agreement after Netanyahu apologized for the incident.

The protesters in Gaza protest the crippling blockade that Israel has been imposing on them since 2007, and the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. The protests also mark the day of the Nakba, or "the day of the catastrophe," when some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes to become refugees in 1948.
Turkish protesters hold banners reading "Free Palestine" and "Struggle to return back home continue for 70 years" as they stage a demonstration near the U.S. embassy, in Ankara, on May 15, 2018. (AFP photo)

JERUSALEM, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Israel on Tuesday ordered the Turkish consul to Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country after Ankara expelled the Israeli ambassador to protest the killing of Palestinian protesters in Gaza.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the Turkish consul, Husnu Gurcan Turkoglu, and instructed him to return to his country "for consultations for a while."

The Turkish consulate in Jerusalem deals with ties with the Palestinians.

On Monday, Turkey called back its own ambassador to Israel before it expelled the Israeli Ambassador to Ankara, Eitan Nae, on Tuesday.

The move was among the strongest responses to the killing of at least 60 Palestinians, including minors, during protests along the fence separating between the besieged Palestinian enclave and Israel on Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exchanged blows as Erdogan said Netanyahu heads an "apartheid state" and Netanyahu accused him of supporting "terror."

The ties between Israel and Turkey were greatly strained over the past years, particularly over the Israeli occupation of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

The relations were cut in 2010, after Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound solidarity ship, and killed nine passengers.

In 2016, the ties were normalized with a rapprochement agreement after Netanyahu apologized for the incident.

The protesters in Gaza protest the crippling blockade that Israel has been imposing on them since 2007, and the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. The protests also mark the day of the Nakba, or "the day of the catastrophe," when some 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes to become refugees in 1948.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 02:29:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MUSCAT, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Oman on Tuesday expressed its support for the Palestinian people to establish their independent state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, Oman News Agency (ONA) reported.

Oman "calls for a political solution to the ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis in a way that ensures the two states and their peaceful coexistence side by side," said an official statement by the ministry of foreign affairs.

The Israeli army has killed 62 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,700 others since Monday, when the U.S. relocated embassy to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem, fuelling more violent protests among the Palestinians.

Since the start of the "Great March of Return" mass rally on March 30, the Israeli army has killed 111 Palestinians and wounded more than 10,000 others.
KIEV, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Kurt Volker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, on Tuesday visited the conflict-hit Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, the press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) said in a statement on Facebook.

The visit marked the first trip of the U.S. envoy to eastern Ukraine since the start of the JFO, the new military operation of the Ukrainian government in the conflict-hit region.

During the visit, Volker held talks with the JFO commander Serhiy Nayev and assessed on the ground the security and the humanitarian situation in Donbas.

While speaking at a press conference in the government-controlled city of Sloviansk, Volker said that the United States stands for the implementation of the Minsk agreements and for the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops on the whole conflict-hit territory in Donbas to peacefully resolve the conflict.

"If these conditions are met, it will become a legal mechanism to restore Ukraine's control over these territories," Volker was quoted as saying by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

The conflict in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas started in April 2014, after government forces launched offensives to regain control of the cities and towns seized by armed groups which had declared independence from Kiev.

Volker, the former U.S. ambassador to NATO, was appointed to serve as the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations in July 2017.
SARAJEVO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) Council of Ministers (CoM) adopted the Draft Action Plan for Emergency Measures to cope with the migrant crisis here on Tuesday.

At a state-level session, it was agreed that the coordination team will coordinate all activities in order to deal with the migrant crisis in a "humane and dignified manner".

The Draft Action Plan encompasses five urgent measures aiming to "better border control, more effective fight against illegal migration, realization of readmission agreements, intensifying activities to prevent migrants' smuggling and strengthening of asylum center capacities,"a press release stated.

Regarding the cooperation with relevant institutions of neighboring states, members of CoM agreed on solving the issue of border permeability with Croatia in order to prevent illegal migrants'entry. The competent institutions in Serbia, Montenegro and the European Union will be asked to undertake activities related to resolving the migrant crisis in BiH.

Migrants have turned to BiH in recent months, trying to avoid more heavily guarded routes and borders in the Balkans and many migrants are sleeping in parks in the capital and other towns as they seek passage into western Europe.

Earlier this month, BiH Border Police said that country faced with the increased influx of migrants whose number exceeded 3,500 since the beginning of this year, three times more than the total number of registered migrants in 2017.
ADDIS ABABA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday hailed Chinese humanitarian contributions to its programs in Ethiopia to support drought-affected people and refugees.

Paul Anthem, Head of Communications, Donor Relations and Reports Unit, WFP Ethiopia, in an exclusive interview with Xinhua said Tuesday that the World Food Programme has been receiving donations from the government of China for the past several years, especially for its relief and nutrition activities.

"The donations usually arrived at critical times when the country was in need of humanitarian assistance and millions required urgent nutritional support," Anthem said.

"The contributions directly benefited the poor who have been suffering from malnutrition," he said.

In four rounds of supports, through bilateral and multilateral channels, China has so far provided an emergency aid to Ethiopia totaling roughly 36.6 million U.S. dollars, making it the third largest food aid contributor in the East Africa country, according to figures from Ethiopia's National Disaster Risk Management Commission.

The World Food Programme has been a major recipient of the humanitarian donation from the government and people of China, according to the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia.

According to Anthem, over the past two years, the Chinese government has donated a total of 14 million dollars to WFP's relief and nutrition activities.

"WFP is always grateful to the Chinese government for its generous donations and stepping in to support the drought response in Ethiopia," he said, adding "Chinese donations have been instrumental in enabling WFP to achieve objectives at the times of the donations."

"It is expected that the Chinese government will continue to support WFP's humanitarian interventions," he said.

The latest humanitarian contribution of China in March this year, which amounts to 6 million U.S. dollars, was used to assist refugees and drought-affected people in Ethiopia, according to WFP.

The 6 million U.S. dollars came shortly after the joint appeal by the two UN agencies, WFP and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), for 80 million dollars to provide food assistance to refugees in Ethiopia, the two UN agencies announced in a joint statement issued early March.

Noting the negative weather conditions that rocked the East African country since 2015, which includes the worst El-Nino induced drought in the past half century, Tan Jian, Chinese Ambassador to Ethiopia, also recently told Xinhua that the contribution is "a testimony of China's solidarity with Ethiopia."

Ethiopia also hosts the second largest number of refugees in Africa, resulting from large influx of refugees to the country due to instability and conflicts in its neighboring countries, mainly South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea.

"China is a member of the international community and is ready and willing to extend our support within our ability. Our support is in the framework of the south-south cooperation," he said.

An estimated 7.9 million people in Ethiopia are currently in need of emergency food assistance, while Ethiopia also hosts more than 900,000 refugees, mainly from Eritrea, South Sudan, Somalia and Sudan.

The Ethiopian government has previously commended Chinese humanitarian support on various occasions.

Mitiku Kassa, Ethiopia's Commissioner for National Disaster Risk Management, in a recent interview with Xinhua said the assistance from the people and government of China "is not forgettable by the government of Ethiopia and the people of Ethiopia."

"I would like to thank the people and government of China for the four rounds of supports to Ethiopia over the last years for the drought response that we are working together," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 03:19:57|Editor: Yurou

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People visit the Novi Sad agricultural fair in Novi Sad, Serbia, on May 15, 2018. The fair attracting over 1,500 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions opened on Tuesday and will last until May 21. (Xinhua/Nemanja Cabric)

NOVI SAD, Serbia, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Serbia has pinned its hope on a major fair to boost its agricultural sector and drive economic growth, as the country opened the fair on Tuesday.

Branislav Nedimovic, Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, told the opening ceremony that the Novi Sad Fair presented latest agricultural products and machinery, and would help consolidate the agricultural sector.

The Novi Sad Fair is one of the largest fairs in Southeast Europe. It is located in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, the second largest city in Serbia. It is place of one of the largest agricultural fairs in Europe.

This year's fair will last until May 21, and it has attracted over 1,500 exhibitors from 30 countries and regions, with France as the special guest country designated to present its companies, agricultural producers, banks and organize expert seminars.

Nedimovic said the fair has over the years become a "symbol of Serbian agriculture".

"This is a place where people can both learn and purchase the latest technologies, while businessman can pursue business agreements in order to connect better with their colleagues, not only in the region, but from numerous countries across the world," he said.

He promised that the Serbian government will work to improve the state of agriculture, by increasing subsidies for farmers, and invited them to apply for the funds of the IPARD project of the European Union (EU).

At the fair, Nedimovic signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Arab Emirates on food safety, which will, according to him, enable Serbian food to be exported to that market.

Around 20 companies from Chinese premium agricultural brands as well as companies from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Netherlands, Italy, Israel, Hungary, and Spain organized their exhibitions.

There is also an exhibition of cattle at this year's agricultural fair, which includes 1,600 heads of cattle, such as cows, sheep, pigs, horses, rabbits, poultry and other animals.
TRIPOLI, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Spokesman of the eastern-based Libyan army, Ahmad Mismari, on Tuesday said the army has captured 21 terrorists in the eastern city of Darna, after the army forces advanced in the south of the city.

"The armed forces carried out a pre-planned combat mission today, where the enemy positions in Duhr al-Hamr, al-Tila, and Matrouba areas were controlled. The enemy suffered heavy losses of individuals and vehicles," Mismari said in a statement.

The spokesman also said the arrested terrorists descent from six foreign nationalities, and confirmed that the army is "proceeding with a steady and orderly pace towards the liberation of Darna from terrorism."

The army is launching a military operation to take over Darna from the extremists who control the coastal city.

Since 2015, Darna has been besieged by Haftar's army, which demands that the Shura Council of the Mujahideen in Darna, a coalition of Islamist militias seeking to implement Sharia law in the city, leave. The army accuses the armed group of being loyal to al-Qaida.

Earlier in April, Haftar announced that his forces would take over Darna "as demanded by the people."
JUBA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Tuesday launched the country-wide consultations on the establishment of the Commission on Truth, Reconciliation and Healing (CTRH) as part of the 2015 peace agreement.

The Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs has formed a technical committee that will leave Juba for 13 major towns across the country to hear and document public views on issues relating to the legislation for the creation of the Commission.

"We are launching the second phase of our work by consulting the masses. We have sensitized them earlier and this time we are going to collect their views on what we have sensitized them about through a questionnaire," Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice Hon James Mayen Oka said in a statement.

He disclosed that they are very late in undertaking this process, but remain very appreciative to partners in United Nation's Development Program (UNDP) and UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for their continued support.

The national consultations will be in two phases, the first phase from May 14 to 18 and the second phase from May 25 to June 1 in the target locations of Bor, Torit, Yambio, Rumbek, Wau, Malakal, Leer, Renk, Bentiu, Aweil, Mundri, Yei and Kuajok.

The questionnaire, with technical support from UNDP and ICTJ, is composed of 21 questions to be anonymously answered by randomly selected respondents about their views for design and setting up of the commission.

Views collected during the consultations will form the basis for drafting the CTRH legislation that will be approved by the Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).
Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, meets with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi in Maputo, Mozambique, May 14, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing)

MAPUTO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday to promote friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

In the capital city of Maputo, Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), met with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi and held talks with the African country's Speaker of Parliament Veronica Macamo.

During his meeting with President Nyusi, Li conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping's sincere greetings. Li said the deep China-Mozambique traditional friendship was rooted in the history of their struggles against imperialism and colonialism, and has grown even stronger in their joint efforts for common development.

Li said China and Mozambique are all-weather friends and that successive leaders of both countries have made great efforts for the friendship. He noted that the bilateral ties has entered a new era since the heads of state of both countries decided to elevate the bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation in 2016.

Li said that China will uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and adhere to the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith in its Africa policy, as expounded by President Xi Jinping.

China supports Mozambique's efforts to realize independent and sustainable development, and will sincerely help Mozambique to develop and grow stronger, Li said.

The top Chinese legislator briefed on China's experience and practices of achieving economic development while maintaining political and social stability over the past 40 years since the start of the country's reform and opening-up policy. He said these achievements were attributed to the overall leadership by the Communist Party of China, the advantages of socialism, as well as China's development concepts that are people-centered and compliant with its own domestic conditions.

China stands ready to enhance exchanges on governance experience, and implement the important consensuses reached by heads of state of the two countries, Li said, stressing the three major advantages of bilateral relationship, that is, political mutual trust, economic complementarity and people-to-people friendship.

Li said the Chinese side will encourage Chinese companies to invest in Mozambique within the frameworks of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation between China and Portuguese-Speaking Countries, in order to turn the bilateral traditional friendship and political mutual trust into more practical cooperation outcomes.

On his part, President Nyusi spoke highly of the achievements China has made in various aspects under the leadership of President Xi since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Nyusi said Mozambique is willing to participate in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, and to deepen cooperation with China in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, tourism and infrastructure, so as to bring the bilateral cooperation to an even higher level.

Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, holds talks with Mozambique's Speaker of Parliament Veronica Macamo in Maputo, Mozambique, May 14, 2018. Li paid an official friendly visit to Mozambique from Saturday to Tuesday. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

During talks with Speaker Macamo, Li expounded Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially the theory of building a socialist democratic political system and briefed on the peolpe's congress system in China.

Li said that the NPC stands ready to maintain friendly exchanges at various levels with its Mozambican counterpart and make sure the cooperation agreements signed between the two sides to be well implemented.

Li also voiced his hope that the Mozambican parliament will play a proactive role in creating a more favorable legal environment so that more Chinese companies will invest in Mozambique due to the facilitation for investment.

Macamo said that the Mozambican parliament will enhance comprehensive dialogues with China's NPC, support each other on issues concerning their core interests, and make efforts to ensure that the legislative body serves as a constructive force in promoting the development of the ties between the two countries.

Mozambique was the second stop of Li's visit to three African nations. He previously visited Ethiopia and will visit Namibia afterwards. When Li arrived in Mozambique on Saturday, he first attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Mozambican Hero Square in Maputo.

During his stay in Mozambique, Li also attended a symposium that gathered executives of Chinese companies operating across Africa. He urged the companies to uphold justice and pursue shared interests, and follow the policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith put forward by President Xi. The top legislator urged the companies to shoulder social responsibility during operations, respect local laws and customs, and make greater contributions towards China-Africa comprehensive friendly cooperation.

Li also attended the opening ceremony of this year's joint conference of the Confucius Institutes in Africa. In his address at the conference on Monday, Li said that the Confucius Institutes not only belong to China, but also belong to the world.

Li said he hopes the Confucius Institutes in Africa will always focus on China-Africa friendship, knowledge sharing and cultural exchanges, urging the Confucius Institutes to introduce Africa to more Chinese people while promoting China's culture and telling China's true stories in Africa, as a messenger for China-Africa cultural exchanges.

During his stay in Maputo, Li also attended the cornerstone-laying ceremony of the Mozambique-China Cultural Center and the teaching building of a Confucius Institute and the communication and art school at the Eduardo Mondlane University, and the launching ceremony of the Mozambique part of the Access to Satellite TV for 10,000 African Villages Project, and visited a China-Mozambique pilot center of agricultural technology and the suspension bridge over Maputo Bay assisted by the Chinese side.
File Photo: Sweden's ambassador to UN Olof Skoog speaks during an United Nations Security Council meeting on Syria, at the UN headquarters in New York on April 7, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A Swedish envoy on Tuesday called upon the international community to make efforts to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of Israel and Palestine.

Speaking at a UN Security Council meeting on "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question," Swedish UN Ambassador Olof Skoog said that "a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of both states, in line with relevant UN resolutions."

"The position of Sweden and the whole European Union on the status of Jerusalem as a final status issue is clear and will not change. All three Abrahamic religions Judaism, Islam and Christianity, have strong bonds to Jerusalem that must be preserved," he said.

Speaking of the current situation in Gaza, Skoog said that "we are appalled by the violence that we have witnessed in Gaza since March 30, and in particular the sharp escalation yesterday (Monday). The number killed was the highest in a single day since the beginning of the protests. Indeed, it was the bloodiest day since the last conflict in Gaza in 2014."

Skoog urged Israel to "fully respect the right to peaceful protest, protect civilians and ensure that the use of force, and other measures taken, are strictly proportional."

"Lethal use of force should be exercised with maximum restraint, and only as a last resort," he said.

"We urge all parties to act with the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life and to protect civilians, particularly children. This means never making children the target of violence as well as not putting children in harm's way or encouraging them to participate in violence," he added.

All parties must take immediate steps to de-escalate and this Council has a responsibility to actively promote such efforts, he said.

At the request of Kuwait, a public briefing of the Security Council was convened under the agenda item "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question." The meeting was being held in response to Monday's violence in Gaza, which had led to the deaths of more than 50 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli security forces.
SOFIA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his visiting Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy on Tuesday expressed their concerns about the Iran nuclear deal and Brexit.

"What worries us is the instability in the Middle East, as well as the withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear agreement with Iran, which is not a good sign," Rajoy said at a joint press conference after talks with Borissov.

The European Union (EU) wants to play a constructive role in this respect, Rajoy said.

Borissov said that U.S. President Donald Trump's abandonment of the nuclear deal with Iran could cause severe shaking afterwards.

The developments in countries such as Iran, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Yemen and Afghanistan subsequently caused problems for Europe, Borissov said.

"It was these wars that led to the migrant crisis," Borissov said.

On Wednesday, EU leaders would gather in Sofia on the eve of the EU-Western Balkans Summit, and discuss all these issues to have a common European position, Borissov said.

Meanwhile, Rajoy said that he and Borissov discussed the challenge of Brexit as it affects the interests of citizens.

Borissov said that many UK citizens live in Spain and Bulgaria and vice versa -- many companies and citizens of Spain and Bulgaria live in Britain.

"So, our relationships with the government in London must necessarily be good and we have to find the best possible option for Brexit," Borissov said.
LAGOS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two people were killed and several others seriously injured on Tuesday when gunmen stormed a commercial bank in southwest Nigeria's Ilawe-Ekiti town of Ekiti state, a local official said.

Adebanji Alabi, head of the town, who expressed shock at the attack, said the gunmen had turned his domain to a war front, deploying dynamites and grenade which caused panic in the community.

"It was a terrible experience, my palace is very close to the bank. It was terrifying, it was like a war front. They kept detonating grenades during the attack," he added.

The raid on the bank in the community was coming barely three weeks after a similar incident at a first generation bank in Ifaki Ekiti in which a policeman died.

The robbers stormed the bank and operated unhindered, shooting sporadically into the air, a police source told Xinhua.

They reportedly blew up the bank's security door with dynamite before gaining entrance and carting away an unspecified amount of money.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 03:50:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The political coalitions of two major Kurdish parties are leading in the initial results of parliamentary polls in the two remaining provinces of Kirkuk and Dohuk, official figures showed Tuesday.

The figures by the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) showed the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) was the front-runner, accounting for 90 percent of votes in the ethnically mixed province of Kirkuk with 184,373 votes, while the Arab Coalition came in the second place.

The Turkoman Front of Kirkuk came in the third place, and the al-Nasr Coalition led by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi came in the fifth place, the figures showed.

In the province of Dohuk in the Kurdish region, IHEC figures showed the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Masoud Barzani, was in the first place, accounting for 89 percent of the votes, while the Kurdistan Islamic Union followed.

The latest announcement showed that KDP kept leading in Erbil and Dohuk, while PUK kept its advance in Sulaimaniyah and Kirkuk.

The total preliminary results of Iraq's 18 provinces showed that the al-Sa'iroon coalition, led by prominent Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, is leading in the total initial results of the country, while al-Fath Coalition, led by Hadi al-Ameri came second.

Millions of Iraqis went to 8,959 polling centers across the country on Saturday to vote for their parliamentary representatives in the first general election after Iraq's historic victory over the Islamic State (IS) group last December.

Some 90 political entities and 7,000 candidates are vying for 329 seats in the parliament.
SKOPJE, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Two small Albanian parties will join Macedonia's ruling coalition as part of the first government reshuffle to raise the majority in parliament, Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said Tuesday.

The two parties are the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), and the BESA party led by Afrim Gashi and the independent deputy Amdi Bajram of Alliance of Roma People.

"The parties themselves will announce in the coming days the names of the candidates they nominate," stated Zaev.

The ruling majority through this reshuffle plans to change a total of nine ministerial posts, most of them deputy ministers, according to Macedonian media reports.

Moreover, the Macedonian government is planning changes in about 30 percent of the directorial posts in public institutions and companies.

According to media sources, the planned new appointments in the government will be done in the coming weeks in coordination with all government partners and will take into account public criticism for the current government shortcomings, and its failure to more tackle corruption and crime.

According to Zaev, motions on the new appointments will be sent to the Parliament by the end of the week.

The reshuffle will ease the pressure on current majority in parliament, where Zaev counts on the support of just 61 of 120 Members of Parliament since the election in April.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 03:55:11|Editor: huaxia

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MINSK, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Belarus is concerned over the escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip, the country's foreign ministry has said.

The ministry on Tuesday expressed concern over the escalation of violent clashes in the Gaza Strip, which led to many civilian casualties.

Monday's bloody clashes between Palestinian protesters and Israeli soldiers killed at least 61, including eight children and one infant, according to local reports.

The Belarusian side calls upon all parties involved to refrain from actions that might trigger further bloodshed.

The ministry also recommends Belarusians who are in Israel now to avoid protest venues. Enditem
ADDIS ABABA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- African finance ministers and policy makers on Tuesday wrapped up their 5-day conference in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa reaffirming their commitment to the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA).

Under the theme "African Continental Free Trade Area: Creating fiscal space for jobs and economic diversification", the conference deliberated on issues related among others to agriculture, infrastructure, illicit financial flows, and an integrated strategy for the Sahel.

Reiterating the pivotal role of the private sector in pushing the AfCFTA forward, the conference of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has called for concerted and common approach to advance trade facilitation.

The conference has urged policies and investments necessary to capture the economic benefits of the proposed trading bloc.

The ministers have reiterated the potential of the AfCFTA to advance industrialization, economic diversification and development to foster prosperity for all on the continent.

It has also recognized the challenges including concerns over the impact upon the tax base arising from a single continental market for goods and services.

"The short-term impact is likely to be minimal and will be outweighed in the medium and long term by the positive impacts of revenue from other sources of taxes," said a ministerial statement of the 51st session of the Council of Ministers.

Indicating that the new sources would arise from economic growth and diversification from trading in a bloc of 1.2 billion consumers, the ministers have urged simplified trade regimes for informal cross-border traders and upgraded trans-boundary infrastructure to facilitate trade.

The Executive Secretary of the ECA, Vera Songwe, reaffirmed the commitment of her organization to support governments in moving towards economic integration through its convening, thought process and operational functions.

The meeting recognized the preeminent role of human and institutional capacity building that would enable the AfCFTA to meet many of the continent's development needs.

"Africa is waiting. Our challenges are huge but we are on the way to solving them through the AfCFTA," noted the Executive Secretary.

The meeting forms part of wider consultations on the historic deal that was signed by 44 African countries in Kigali, Rwanda, in March 2018.

Kenya and Ghana have already ratified the AfCFTA agreement and documented the ratification to the African Union (AU).

Other countries will be required to ratify and implement the legal instruments of the agreement that would create a trade bloc with a combined gross domestic product of more than 3 trillion U.S. dollars together with an additional 300,000 direct and 2 million indirect jobs, according to the African Union (AU).

A minimum of 22 ratifications are required to enable the agreement to get into force.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 04:00:15|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti permanent representative to the United Nations said Tuesday that his delegation will circulate a draft resolution among UN Security Council members to demand international protection for Palestinians.

"We will circulate a Security Council draft resolution on providing international protection to Palestinian people because the Israelis -- the occupying power -- failed to carry on their international responsibility in accordance with the Geneva Conventions," the Kuwaiti ambassador, Ayyad Al-Otaibi, told reporters.

Otaibi, whose delegation called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council following Monday's Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Gaza, was one of the Arab ambassadors at a collective press presence outside the Security Council chamber to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

At least 60 Palestinians, including six children, were killed and more than 1,300 were reportedly injured as weeks of demonstrations culminated on Monday, the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding and the day of relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said at the press conference that in the draft resolution there will be a request for the UN secretary-general to examine the rules of engagement of Israeli security forces and submit recommendations on the issue.

Provisions of the Geneva Conventions give the occupying power the responsibility to provide protection for civilians, said Mansour. "But if the occupying power is the source of lack of protection, and it is the source of attacking civilians, then the occupying power forfeits or abdicates its responsibility to provide protection, then it is the responsibility of the international community (to protect)."

Mansour said the draft resolution might be circulated on Wednesday. If adopted, the resolution would help tremendously to provide protection for Palestinians, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 04:20:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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HOUSTON, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The third U.S.-China Innovation and Investment Summit (UCIS) has brought another wave of technology and innovation investment to Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States.

More than 500 participants from the two countries, including entrepreneurs and investors, are meeting here on Monday and Tuesday, exchanging views and looking for opportunities in the fields of innovation and technology.

As the honorary guest city of this year's summit, Suzhou, a city in Jiangsu Province of China, has actively participated in the event, hoping to attract more U.S. entrepreneurs to the city. In recent years, Suzhou has made great efforts to implement innovation-driven developing strategy and improve the environment of innovation and entrepreneurship.

The comprehensive power of technological advancement has ranked the first in the eastern Chinese province for nine years in succession.

During an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Liu Qing, president of Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, said a biomedical innovation center is to be built in Houston to facilitate companies from both countries.

"The center will help American companies find investment, market and partners, and help Chinese companies seek business opportunities in the U.S.," Liu said.

Peking University Science Park Vice President Wang Guocheng told Xinhua the summit focuses on mature American businesses that have been established for two to three years and that have good prospect of marketization.

"I believe this kind of position is accurate. These businesses need China's market, and they need something potential from the Chinese development to help them grow," he said.

He believed the summit also serves the Chinese companies that want to develop and transform.

"We would like to assist those businesses to reach that goal through coordinating some projects and providing them accurate services," he said, adding "I think both Americans and Chinese need our good market services and local teams to help them in this matter."

Innovation and technological cooperation have played an active role in Sino-U.S. relations, provided a platform for bilateral cooperation, Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Li pointed out that innovation is the soul of a company's development. Without innovation, the development of the company will be difficult to sustain. Many American companies have a history of innovation and development and are worthy of learning from China in many aspects.

He stressed that Sino-U.S. cooperation in science and technology has played an important role in promoting the healthy and smooth development of bilateral relations. At the same time, it has brought tangible benefits to the peoples of the two countries.

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and Chinese Consulate General in Houston, UCIS is cohosted by China Science and Technology Exchange Center (CSTEC) and U.S. China Innovation Alliance (UCIA).

UCIS provides a unique opportunity for U.S. companies to connect with investors, strategic partners, leading incubators/accelerators, and professional services firms from China.

It aims to facilitate collaboration between innovative technology companies, venture capitalists, private equity, startup accelerators and incubators.

It is also expected to help Chinese investors access and invest in the best-in-class technologies and products located in the United States, as well as help U.S.-based technology companies source investors and partners that can help them to access the Chinese market.

UCIS was listed as the one of the key programs in the science and technology area for the first U.S.-China Social and Cultural Dialogue (SCD) which was co-chaired by former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and former Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong in 2017.

U.S. and Chinese leaders launched the SCD in April 2017, pledging to expand mutually beneficial cooperation and manage differences on the basis of mutual respect.

This year's summit, or UCIS 2018, brings together more than 500 participants, including over 200 representatives of industry-leading enterprises, investment firms and innovative companies from China, and 200 representatives of innovative technology companies from the United States that are seeking cross-border opportunities across a range of focused industries.

The two-day conference features a range of events, including "INNOSTARS" preliminary competitions, innovation forums, B2B matchmaking, company exhibits, as well as satellite activities.

The meeting covers six areas in science, health and technological innovations, including advanced manufacturing, health care and biotechnology, new energy and new materials, environmental protection technology, artificial intelligence and virtual reality, information and communication technology.

In addition to B2B matchmaking, the meeting will feature a China-U.S. innovation investment connection forum, a China-U.S. international medical investment and cooperation forum, a China-U.S. innovation and investment promotional meeting, and a medical device innovation and docking forum.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 04:25:23|Editor: huaxia

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KAMPALA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Uganda has started screening for Ebola at a Congolese refugee settlement in the mid-western part of the east African country.

An operational update by the United Nations refugee agency issued on Tuesday said new arrivals at Sweswe Reception Center at Kyaka II Refugee Settlement are screened for the viral hemorrhagic fever.

The United Nations High Commissioner of Refugees said the screening is a precautionary measure following reports of confirmed cases in Bikoro Health Zone, Equateur province of Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The refugee agency said from May 8-14, over 1,220 new refugees entered Uganda from the DRC, including 886 from North Kivu, 236 across Lake Albert and 98 via Paidha, arriving at landing sites in Hoima, Ntoroko and Nebbi districts.

Since this year started over 70,000 Congolese refugees have crossed into Uganda fleeing fighting back home.

The Ebola virus is highly contagious and causes a range of symptoms including fever, vomiting, diarrhea, generalized pain or malaise and in many cases internal and external bleeding.

Mortality rates of Ebola fever, according to the World Health Organization, are extremely high, with the human case-fatality rate ranging from 50 percent to 89 percent, depending on viral sub-type. Enditem
MEXICO CITY, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Negotiations to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are unlikely to reach an accord in principle by May 17, Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said Tuesday.

The three NAFTA partners, Mexico, Canada and the United States, continue to disagree on several issues, he said.

"The possibility that by Thursday we will have all of the negotiation (wrapped up) is not likely. We don't think it will happen by Thursday," Guajardo said during an interview at a morning television news program.

May 17 loomed as a deadline for a preliminary agreement after Paul Ryan, the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, last week said that for Congress to approve a revamped NAFTA, an agreement in principle had to be submitted by then.

Otherwise, Congress would not have enough time to debate and approve a new deal before legislative elections in November.

"The conditions are still not there at this time," affirmed Guajardo, who heads Mexico's negotiating team.

Among the issues the three sides have yet to agree on is a U.S. proposal to include a so-called sunset clause that would allow the deal to automatically expire every five years, pending renewal. Neither Canada nor Mexico wants that.

However, the trio may be closer to agreeing on automotive rules of origin that place caps on the amount of foreign-made parts allowed in vehicles manufactured in North America, said Guajardo.

Washington wants less foreign-made parts and more U.S.-made components, while Canada and Mexico want to preserve the existing limits.

"We could see the elements to arrive at a balanced agreement. The problem is that you have a series of additional elements that are changing the nature of what a trade agreement is. That's where we are seeking solutions that will lend certainty to what we are negotiating," he said.

"You have to continue to negotiate and the moment you reach a good negotiation, close the deal," he added.

Guajardo proposed another possible end date, saying NAFTA talks could conclude by Mexico's presidential elections on July 1 or shortly after.

The negotiations began in August, after U.S. President Donald Trump took office. Trump campaigned on a platform to strengthen U.S. industry and employment, in part by renegotiating the 1994 trade agreement.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 04:50:30|Editor: huaxia

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ALGIERS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Tuesday condemned the "terrible crime" against residents of Gaza Strip by Israeli occupation forces, as more than 60 Palestinians were killed.

Bouteflika said in a letter to President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas that "the Israeli occupation continues its aggressive practice against civilians, in violation of all international laws and customs, human rights instruments and international humanitarian law."

The Algerian president added that "following this terrible crime that shook the feelings of Muslims and the entire world, which we entirely condemn, I assure you of Algeria's support and solidarity with the brotherly Palestinian people in the face of Israeli barbarity."

A number of political parties in Algeria have also condemned the aggression of Israeli army forces against Palestinians.

The ruling party of the National Democratic Rally, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, condemned what it called "the terrorist assassinations that are claiming the lives and causing blood of our Palestinian brothers in Gaza."

The Islamist Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP) condemned the crimes committed by Israel "which are blessed by unjust and racist policy of the U.S. administration towards Palestine and its people and holy sites, as it transferred its embassy to occupied Jerusalem."

Several other parties from different background expressed their anger and condemned the killing of civilians by Israeli occupation forces in Gaza.

The death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces at the Gaza borderline hit 62 following confrontations with Israeli forces that sparked on Monday.

The demonstrations coincided with the inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:05:33|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A British envoy said Tuesday that an independent and transparent investigation into the deaths of at least 60 Palestinians was necessary.

"The death toll alone warranted such an inquiry, which should be made public and hold perpetrators to account," said Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the United Nations.

Calling for restraint on both sides, she noted that, of the 60 people killed, six were children. An "independent and transparent investigation" was necessary, including on Israel's use of live fire in such situations and attacks on that country's defense forces.

On the status of Jerusalem, she said it should only be determined through a settlement negotiated by both parties, with the city being "a shared capital of Israel and Palestine."

A political process must now deliver a solution, especially since the situation in Gaza was deteriorating rapidly, she said, asking Nickolay Mladenov, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace, to advance proposals for easing the situation in Gaza, including international support for infrastructure and other needed services.

Gaza had its bloodiest day Monday since 2014, as tens of thousands of Palestinians protested along the frontier against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

At the request of Kuwait, a public briefing of the Security Council was convened under the agenda item "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question." The meeting was being held in response to Monday's violence in Gaza.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:15:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will host an emergency summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Friday over Israeli violence on the Gaza border, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim announced Tuesday.

Yildirim has invited his counterparts from five countries, Bangladesh, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar and Algeria, to join the emergency summit by phone, state-run Anadolu Agency reported citing the Turkish Prime Ministry.

Speaking during the parliamentary group meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Tuesday, Yildirim condemned Israel for the killing of scores of Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip, urging Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel.

"The Islamic world should display humanity, unity and solidarity against these cruelties. No one should remain silent over this persecution," he stressed.

More than 60 Palestinians have been killed and over 2,000 others wounded in clashes with Israeli security troops since Monday on the border between Israel and Gaza, amid mass demonstrations to protest over the U.S. embassy opening in Jerusalem.

Serving as the rotating chairman of the OIC, Turkey had initiated an extraordinary summit in Istanbul in December 2017 to protest the U.S. decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
PYONGYANG/WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- In view of the recently provocative acts such as the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. joint military drills, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has no choice but to suspend high-level talks with the ROK planned for Wednesday, the official KCNA said on Wednesday.

The state media also said the United States should think twice about the fate of the planned DPRK-U.S. summit.

Shortly after the report, the U.S. State Department said it was continuing to plan for the summit between President Donald Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

The United States has not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul that would change the arrangements, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing in Washington.

The KCNA said that the "2018 Max Thunder" joint air combat exercise involves over 100 warplanes including "B-52" strategic bomber and "F-22 Raptor" stealth fighter, and is aimed at launching pre-emptive strikes against the DPRK as well as taking control of the airspace.

The exercise, which runs from May 11 till May 25, is a "blatant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," the report said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:15:36|Editor: Yurou

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Photo taken on May 15, 2018 shows the meeting of European Union foreign policy chief and foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France and Iran at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. European top diplomats on Tuesday agreed to follow through the landmark Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw last week, Federica Mogherini told reporters on Tuesday. (Xinhua/European Union)

BRUSSELS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- European top diplomats on Tuesday agreed to follow through the landmark Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw last week, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters on Tuesday.

To this end, the EU will launch intensive discussion at all levels with Iran in next few weeks, Mogherini said at a press conference following a meeting with foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France and Iran.

The discussion will focus on, among others, how to maintain economic relations and effective banking transactions with Iran in the context of renewed U.S sanctions, according to Mogherini.

"We reaffirm our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its part, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere," said Mogherini.

She added that she will brief leaders of EU members states on Wednesday in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is about to host the EU-Western Balkan summit.

When leaving the meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed Mogherini, saying "it's the start of the process, a lot depends on what we do in the next few weeks. I believe it's a good start."

"We need to receive those guarantees, and we will see how best we will move over," Zarif told reporters.

Zarif is in Brussels on the final leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour to save the 2015 nuclear deal after the recent U.S. withdrawal from the pact.

Trump declared last week that the United States would withdraw from the deal, claiming that it had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Iran has so far complied with all of the conditions established under the nuclear deal.

The landmark agreement was signed in July 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus the EU and Germany.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:30:39|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CAIRO, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The recent Israeli violence against Palestinian protesters on Israeli borders with the Gaza Strip has met with both regional and international condemnation and uproar.

At least 63 Palestinians have been killed and about 2,800 wounded in confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians, mostly from the Gaza enclave, who protested against the relocation of the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to the disputable holy city of Jerusalem.

The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) strongly condemned in a statement on Tuesday the Israeli "massacres" against unarmed Palestinian protesters, describing the Israeli aggression as rising to the level of "war crimes."

"The fall of tens of Palestinian martyrs in the marches of heroism and freedom should move the world's conscience," AL Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said in the statement.

He called on the international community to "provide protection for the Palestinian people who have chosen the peaceful path of struggle but met by brutality, violence and murder."

Israel is the regional number one ally of the United States, whose President Donald Trump has recognized the debatable city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital city despite regional and international outcry.

The AL chief considered the inauguration of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem as "a green light for Israel to kill the Palestinian people," slamming the Israeli use of "reckless force" against Palestinian protesters.

The Palestinian protests on Monday coincided with the 70th anniversary of Israel's declaration of independence, one day before the Palestinian "Nakba (Catastrophe) Day," which marks the expulsion of some 750,000 Palestinians from their homes to become refugees in 1948.

Monday's victims raised the death toll of Palestinians to 112 since Palestinian protesters started their "Great March of Return" in late March to mark the 42nd anniversary of the "Land Day," demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees.

The Egyptian parliament warned Tuesday against the Israeli continuous violation of the charters and resolutions of international legitimacy, referring to the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters as a "new Nakba."

"Egypt considers the Palestinian cause the key to stability and peace in the region," Egypt's Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said, adding that all attempts to blur Jerusalem's Arab and Islamic identity are "doomed to failure."

He said that the U.S. "unstudied" embassy relocation decision "nourishes the environment of instability and undermines chances for peace."

The Palestinians seek to establish an independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital city in the light of the UN-proposed two-state solution based on the pre-1967 borders.

The African Union (AU) also condemned Tuesday Israel's "disproportionate use of force," stressing that the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem can only further heighten tensions in the region and complicate the search for a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The AU affirms solidarity with the Palestinian people in their legitimate quest for an independent and sovereign state with East Jerusalem as its capital," Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the AU Commission, said in a statement.

The AU chief called for "renewed and genuine international efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict, based on the existence of two states, Israel and Palestine, within the framework of the relevant United Nations pronouncement."

South Africa withdrew Monday its ambassador to Israel immediately and until further notice over the Israeli "violent aggression" against "peaceful civilians" in Gaza Strip.

On the other hand, Turkey expelled Tuesday the Israeli ambassador to Ankara a day after it recalled Turkish envoys in Tel Aviv and Washington for consultations over the Israeli killings of Palestinian protesters.

Israel replied with expelling the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem Tuesday.

The Palestinian Authority also recalled its top envoy in Washington Tuesday over the U.S. embassy move and the consequent Israeli killings of Palestinian protesters.

Meanwhile, thousands of Yemenis took to the streets in the capital Sanaa Tuesday to protest against the recent Israeli violence and the U.S. embassy relocation to Jerusalem.

Similar marches were held Tuesday by Palestinian refugees in Lebanon side by side with Lebanese citizens to mark the Nakba Day that led to the creation of Israel 70 years ago and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homeland.

Internationally, the UN Security Council is currently holding an emergency meeting called for by Kuwait where several representatives of member states expressed condemnation of the recent Israeli aggression and called for a probe into the Israeli attacks in Gaza.

The UN Human Rights Council also decided Tuesday to hold a special session on Friday to discuss "the deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described Tuesday what happened in Gaza a day earlier as "a terrible tragedy," adding that "this only shows how important it is to have a political solution."

In Europe, the Irish government summoned the Israeli ambassador to Dublin to express the Irish government's and people's outrage and dismay at the recent events in Gaza.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday that his government is "profoundly shocked" at the killings and injuries in Gaza, while some leading politicians and lawmakers urged for sending the Israeli ambassador home and recalling the Irish one.

Belgium's Foreign Ministry summoned Tuesday the Israeli ambassador after the latter indicated that all the Palestinians killed in Monday's violence were "terrorists."

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said Tuesday he was "shocked" by the remarks of Israeli ambassador Simona Frankel over Monday's confrontations, calling for a UN-led investigation over the Israeli violence against Gazans.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone on Tuesday her concern over the violence in Gaza, yet she said that "Germany understands Israel's security needs," according to her office.

French President Emmanuel Macron has already slammed on Monday the violence of Israeli armed forces against Palestinian protesters and reiterated France's disapproval of the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:40:41|Editor: huaxia

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LUANDA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Angolan government strongly condemned Tuesday the violence perpetrated by Israeli forces against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and called on the parties to exercise restraint and resume negotiations.

In a press release, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the Angolan government has been following with great concern the latest developments in the Palestinian territory where dozens of people were killed or injured.

The note added that the violent situation in the territory undermines the efforts of the international community to ensure a process of negotiation based on UN resolutions that establish the existence of two states as the "only just and lasting solution".

The latest Israel-Palestine conflict was flared up by the relocation on Monday of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:45:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BRASILIA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- A triplex apartment central to the graft case that put Brazil's ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva behind bars for 12 years was auctioned off on Tuesday.

An unidentified buyer from the capital Brasilia bid on the luxury beachfront unit in Guaruja, on the Sao Paulo coast, just four minutes before the auction closed.

The apartment, which served as the key piece of evidence in state prosecutors' case against Lula, was purchased for 2.2 million reales (610,000 U.S. dollars).

Prosecutors claimed the apartment was a bribe from Brazilian construction giant OAS S.A., which secured lucrative public-works contracts during Lula's term in office.

Lula has denied any wrongdoing, alleging the case was politically motivated to prevent him from running for reelection this year.

His legal team appealed on the grounds that prosecutors presented no proof since deeds to the property were in the name of OAS, but has so far failed to overturn the conviction.

Since the auction began, more than 53,000 people visited an online site featuring pictures of the triplex.

The purchaser now has 72 hours to complete the sale, otherwise a new auction will be held on May 22.

Lula has been serving the sentence since April 7 in Curitiba, capital of southern Parana state.

Parana is where prosecutors centered their investigation into corruption in the public sector, code named Operation Car Wash, which has led to numerous high-level arrests.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) exchange their joint declaration, titled the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, on April 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps)

PYONGYANG/WASHINGTON, May 16 (Xinhua) -- In view of the recently provocative acts such as the Republic of Korea (ROK)-U.S. joint military drills, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has no choice but to suspend high-level talks with the ROK planned for Wednesday, the official KCNA said on Wednesday.

The state media also said the United States should think twice about the fate of the planned DPRK-U.S. summit.

Shortly after the report, the U.S. State Department said it was continuing to plan for the summit between President Donald Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for June 12 in Singapore.

The United States has not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul that would change the arrangements, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing in Washington.

The KCNA said that the "2018 Max Thunder" joint air combat exercise involves over 100 warplanes including "B-52" strategic bomber and "F-22 Raptor" stealth fighter, and is aimed at launching pre-emptive strikes against the DPRK as well as taking control of the airspace.

The exercise, which runs from May 11 till May 25, is a "blatant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," the report said.
ROME, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Europe should save the Iran nuclear deal as it is a "key instance for multilateralism", an Italian expert has said.

International Affairs Institute (IAI) director Nathalie Tocci made the remarks Tuesday during a conference on Europe-Iran cooperation after U.S. nuclear deal withdrawal.

According to Tocci, saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as the deal is known, is "not just about Iran, but about multilateralism", and it means safeguarding multilateralism and international law, without which "Europe could not survive".

If the deal blows up, Iran would resume its nuclear program, presumably triggering U.S.-led coalition airstrikes in a bid to curb Iran's nuclear capabilities, leading to the destabilization of the Middle East, said the expert in a recent article co-signed with her IAI colleague Riccardo Alcaro.

The effects of further destabilization in the world's most conflict-prone region on Europe would be disastrous, with a surge in migrant flows, energy prices, terrorism and illicit trafficking. This is the reason why European leaders opposed Trump's decision on the deal, according to the expert.

For the Iranian part, "Trump's decision is dangerous, with negative implications for everybody," said Iran's Sayed Kazem Sadjapour, president of the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), a Tehran-based think-tank.

"The JCPOA has to be saved, with the EU and Italy playing a significant role in it," added the Iranian expert, eyeing possible extended cooperation with the EU in the future.

Europe has the "strategic imperative" to keep the deal alive, while Iran is mulling to remain in the deal if the E3 -- France, Germany and UK -- plus EU, Russia and China make up for the benefits gone after U.S. withdrawal, according to the IAI expert.

Europe should also shield its companies doing legitimate business with Iran from U.S. sanctions, while offering Tehran terms that partially offset benefits lost after U.S. withdrawal.

Furthermore, Europe should use the JCPOA as a way to build a more constructive dialogue with Iran. At the same time, Europe should ask the U.S. to grant special concessions for European companies, and be ready to take proportionate retaliation if denied.

"Europeans should have the courage to be true to their words, while Iranians should have the courage not to resume their nuclear program," said Tocci.
DUBLIN, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Thomson Reuters announced on Tuesday that it will transfer its 300-billion-USD-a-day foreign exchange derivatives trading business to Dublin from London ahead of Britain's departure from the European Union (EU) next year, according to local media RTE.

Thomson Reuters has applied to the Central Bank of Ireland to move its foreign exchange Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) to Dublin so that it can continue to sell into the EU's single market, said the report.

The report quoted Neill Penney, the company's co-head of trading, as saying that there were no plans to move staff from London but that some new personnel would be hired in Dublin.

He said Thomson Reuters had opted for Dublin over Amsterdam because it was the most cost-effective, would "minimize disruption for clients" and because Dublin's growing role as a centre for financial technology and research would "open a number of doors" should the company want to expand.

All spot forex trading of Thomson Reuters, where its volumes top 100 billion U.S. dollars a day, would remain in London, said Penney.

Foreign exchange derivatives are contracts to buy or sell foreign currencies at a future date.

A Canadian multinational mass media and information firm, Thomson Reuters runs one of the world's largest trading platforms in the global foreign exchange market.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 05:55:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (R) meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels, Belgium, May 15, 2018. (Xinhua/European Union)

BRUSSELS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- European top diplomats on Tuesday agreed to follow through the landmark Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw last week, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini told reporters on Tuesday.

To this end, the EU will launch intensive discussion at all levels with Iran in next few weeks, Mogherini said at a press conference following a meeting with foreign ministers of Britain, Germany, France and Iran.

The discussion will focus on, among others, how to maintain economic relations and effective banking transactions with Iran in the context of renewed U.S sanctions, according to Mogherini.

"We reaffirm our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere," said Mogherini.

"We are determined to ensure that Iran Deal stays in place. We know it's a difficult task but we are determined to do that," Mogherini noted, adding "we started to work to put in place measures that help ensure that this happens."

She proclaimed that she will brief leaders of EU members states on Wednesday in Sofia, Bulgaria, which is about to host the EU-Western Balkan summit.

When leaving the meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed Mogherini, saying "it's the start of the process, a lot depends on what we do in the next few weeks. I believe it's a good start."

"We need to receive those guarantees, and we will see how best we will move over," Zarif told reporters.

Zarif is in Brussels on the final leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour to save the 2015 nuclear deal after the recent U.S. withdrawal from the pact.

Trump declared last week that the United States would withdraw from the deal, claiming that it had failed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons or supporting terrorism in the region.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin elaborated in an announcement that "sanctions will be reimposed subject to certain 90-day and 180-day wind-down periods."

Much to Europe's displeasure, foreign companies doing business with Iran are also at the crosshairs of the U.S. sanctions.

In response to the looming U.S. sanctions, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told reporters upon his arrival at the meeting: "that doesn't mean there aren't some things we can do."

"We will be looking at all the ways that we can come up with to protect the legitimate UK and European business who may want to trade with Iran, who do want to trade, and in indeed who have great plans to do that," he said.

The landmark agreement was signed in July 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus the European Union (EU) and Germany.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to freeze its nuclear programs in return for the lifting of most international sanctions.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Iran has so far complied with all of the conditions established under the deal.
BRUSSELS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders on Tuesday condemned the ongoing violence in the Gaza Strip, and called for an international investigation by the United Nations to solve the problem.

"I condemn this violence, which is totally unacceptable. I will have the opportunity tonight to meet the Secretary-General of the United Nations. I will plead for an international investigation. There can be no impunity. There are rules in international law", said Michel.

"Yesterday's violence blatantly reminds us that only the solution of two states living peacefully side by side can bring lasting peace and security for Israel, Palestine and neighboring countries in the region," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in press statement.

"It is becoming increasingly urgent to restart the peace process in the Middle East. A decision on the status of Jerusalem, which is ideally destined to become the shared capital of two sovereign states, must depend on negotiations between the two parties concerned. Belgium, with its European partners, will continue to denounce all unilateral acts that go against a two-state negotiated solution living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition," the statement added.

Reynders announced Tuesday that he will be summoning Simona Frankel, Israel's ambassador to Belgium, over remarks she made about Palestinian terrorists.

Frankel had said on Belgian broadcaster RTBF: "I really regret the loss of each human being who died, whatever their nationality, even if they are terrorists."

"They are all (terrorists)," Frankel said when asked to clarify. "Look at the people who take a baby toward a fence. These are not peaceful demonstrators."

On Tuesday evening, over 850 people gathered in front of the Brussels Central Station to protest and denounce the atrocities that occurred Monday in Gaza, according to an estimate provided by the Brussels-Ixelles police station.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 06:05:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The Kuwaiti ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that his delegation will circulate a draft resolution among Security Council members to demand international protection for Palestinians.

"We will circulate a Security Council draft resolution on providing international protection to Palestinian people because the Israelis -- the occupying power -- failed to carry on their international responsibility in accordance with the Geneva Conventions," Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi told reporters.

Al-Otaibi, whose delegation called an emergency meeting of the Security Council following Monday's Israeli-Palestinian clashes in Gaza, was one of the Arab ambassadors at a collective press presence outside the Security Council chamber to show solidarity with the Palestinians.

At least 60 Palestinians, including six children, were reportedly killed and more than 1,300 were reportedly injured as weeks of demonstrations culminated on Monday, the 70th anniversary of Israel's founding and the day of relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Riyad Mansour, the permanent observer of Palestine to the United Nations, said at the press presence that in the draft resolution there will be a request for the UN secretary-general to examine the rules of engagement of Israeli security forces and submit recommendations on the issue.

Provisions of the Geneva Conventions give the occupying power the responsibility to provide protection for civilians, said Mansour. "But if the occupying power is the source of lack of protection, and it is the source of attacking civilians, then the occupying power forfeits or abdicates its responsibility to provide protection, then it is the responsibility of the international community (to protect)," said the Palestinian ambassador.

He said the draft resolution might be circulated on Wednesday, followed by negotiations among Security Council members. If adopted, the resolution would help tremendously in providing protection for Palestinians, he said.

The fate of the draft resolution hangs in the balance as the United States remains adamant in its support for Israel.

At Tuesday's Security Council meeting, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley blamed Hamas, which controls Gaza, for the latest violence.

"Make no mistake: Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday," she told the Security Council.

The United States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has veto power. The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwaiti-drafted Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage at the killing of Palestinians and called for an independent investigation, diplomats said.

At Tuesday's Security Council meeting, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov condemned the latest round of violence in Gaza and asked Israel to use force proportionally.

Briefing the Security Council, Mladenov said Israel has a responsibility to not use lethal forces, except as a last resort under imminent threat of death or serious injury. "It must protect its borders, but it must do so proportionally and investigate every incident that has led to a loss of human life."

At the same time, he asked Hamas not to use the protests as cover to attempt to place bombs at the border fence and create provocations. Hamas operatives must not hide among the demonstrators and risk the lives of civilians, he said.
MADRID, May 15 (Xinhua) -- China is the main trade and economic partner for Spain in Asia, according to the March economic bulletin of Spanish Trade Information by the Ministry of Economy.

"Our economic and trade relations are advancing at a good pace and China is the main economic and trade partner of Spain in Asia and the main destination for Spanish exports in Asia," said the report published on Monday.

In 2017, exports from Spain increased by 24.4 percent to 6.2 billion euros (7.3 billion U.S. dollars), Economy Minister Roman Escolano said in the report.

Due to the global growth that China has maintained for three decades, Escolano highlighted the importance of this market for Spanish industries.

"Almost 15,000 Spanish companies export to China and some 600 more are in that country, in sectors such as energy, automotive, financial services, industrial technology, agri-food and consumer goods, but we must aspire to improve these figures." the minister said.

"China and Europe (and Spain) defense free trade. We are on the same side, defending external openness as a tool for progress, economic growth and job creation", Escolano added.

He also pointed out that in recent years Spain has become an attractive destination for China because of the opportunities it offers as a bridge towards Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Relations between both countries, which in 2018 turn 45, go beyond the trade sector, Escolano emphasized.

"The rise of the middle classes explains the growing importance of Chinese tourism in Spain, which grows at annual rates of 30 or 40 percent," he said, adding that "there are also cultural, educational and social ties".
KATOWICE, Poland, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Panels dedicated to Polish-Chinese cooperation prospects gathered many guests Tuesday during the second day of the 10th edition of the European Economic Congress in Katowice, southern Poland.

One panel, "The future of cooperation between Poland and China", studied the promising areas of economic cooperation, such as trade and investments, the logistics and extra-large-scale infrastructure projects within the Belt and Road Initiative.

"China and Poland have strong willingness to cooperate within the Belt and Road Initiative and they have great cooperation potential," said Liu Guangyuan, Chinese ambassador to Poland.

"The key to this cooperation is to strive to transform the willingness into practical actions, such as communication on the political level, creating infrastructure links and accommodating funds as early as possible."

According to the ambassador, the two countries should formulate a clearer and more detailed guidance plan on how to implement the Belt and Road consensus.

Szymon J. Ostrowski, chief representative officer for Poland representing Sino-CEE Fund, the biggest Chinese private equity fund aiming to focus on Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, informed that the total size of the fund will be 10 billion euros.

According to him, within the last 6 years, the Chinese investments in Poland observed a significant increase, especially since the establishment of 16+1 cooperation mechanism.

Piotr Walczak, Undersecretary of State from the Polish Ministry of Finance, informed that the Polish government hoped more customs clearance of imported and exported goods could be made within the territory of Poland and said the Polish side is doing its best to simplify this procedure for the Chinese partners.

He also informed that the clearance procedure's time has seen a significant shortening since 2015, and that special centers are being created around the country to help the Chinese companies get acquainted with Polish tax and customs procedures.

Another panel, focusing on the New Silk Road, was also held Tuesday.

The European Economic Congress, one of the largest economic events of Central European region, is being held between May 14-16. It gathers European commissioners, representatives of the Polish government, as well as numerous business people, creators of innovative start-ups and managers of global corporations.

The thematic scope covers over a hundred debates, sessions, meetings and other events focusing on Europe's key economic and social problems in their global context as well as numerous international business forums dedicated to perspectives of developing cooperation with the countries of Africa, Asia and North America.
ABUJA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Nigeria on Tuesday signed an agreement of 6.68 billion U.S. dollars with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) for a major segment of rail line linking the economic capital Lagos with Kano, northern Nigeria's commercial hub.

"The signing of the Ibadan-Kaduna segment contract agreement today (Tuesday) concludes all outstanding segments of the Lagos-Kano rail line," said a statement by Nigeria's transport ministry.

CCECC confirmed to Xinhua the signing of the agreement Tuesday.

The Lagos-Kano rail modernization project started in 2006 and was broken into segments for implementation.

The segmentation phase commenced from Abuja-Kaduna rail line in 2011, which was completed and commissioned into commercial operation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

In March 2017, the second leg of the rail project, which is currently ongoing, commenced.

Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, while signing the contract agreement with CCECC, said the completion time of the contract should be between two to three years, "depending on availability of funds."

Amaechi promised that the government would be able to provide its counterpart funding between 2018 and 2019 budget provision.

The Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line is designed to pass through the southwest region to the north, linking Osogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna, with a single track branch line from Osogbo to Ado-Ekiti, another southwestern city.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-05-16 07:06:01|Editor: Yurou

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Photo taken on May 15, 2018 shows an emergency meeting held in response to Monday's violence in Gaza, which had led to the deaths of at least 60 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli security forces, at the UN headquarters in New York. The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the massive killing of Palestinians at Gaza Strip's border with Israel, with some members insisting on conducting an independent probe into the big death toll. (Xinhua)

by Xinhua writer Wang Jiangang

UNITED NATIONS, May 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the massive killing of Palestinians at Gaza Strip's border with Israel, with some members insisting on conducting an independent probe into the big death toll.

CONDEMNATION

At the request of Kuwait, a public briefing of the Security Council was convened under the agenda item "the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question."

The meeting was held in response to Monday's violence in Gaza, which had led to the deaths of at least 60 Palestinians at the hands of Israeli security forces.

Bolivian Ambassador to the United Nations, Sacha Llorenti, pointed out that the situation was not a conflict, but an "occupation," emphasizing that the two sides were painfully unequal in the current colonial equation.

The unilateral decision by the United States to transfer its embassy to Jerusalem had inflamed the situation, he added, recalling that resolution 478 (1980) prohibited such actions.

The United States, which supported the occupying power, was not merely an obstacle to peace, it was now part of the problem, not the solution, he noted.

Nickolay Mladenov, special coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, described Monday as a day of tragedy for the people of Gaza.

"My heart weighs heavy today as I begin by expressing my condolences to the families of those killed yesterday and the last six weeks of demonstrations," he said, calling upon all to condemn the actions that had led to the loss of so many lives in the strongest possible terms.

Israel had a responsibility to calibrate its use of force and not to use lethal force except as a last resort, when under imminent threat of death or serious injury, he emphasized.

Reaffirming the right to peaceful protest, the Russian representative said that his country condemned the use of force against civilians.

INVESTIGATION

Karen Pierce, British ambassador to the United Nations, said that "the death toll alone warranted such an inquiry, which should be made public and hold perpetrators to account."

An "independent and transparent investigation" was necessary, including on Israel's use of live fire in such situations and attacks on that country's defense forces.

Riyad Mansour, permanent observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, pointed out that employing such force against civilians could be defined as terrorism.

Rejecting the idea that Palestinians were responsible for their own deaths because they were protesting Israel's actions, he called for a full investigation and questioned why one state had blocked other Council members from demanding independent inquiries into what amounted to a war crime against the Palestinian people.

The United States blocked a Security Council statement drafted Monday that called for an independent investigation into the situation.

Delegates widely condemned the fighting, with Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi expressing regret that the Council had failed to adopt his delegation's Monday draft resolution.

Kuwait would take action in the UN General Assembly to ensure the perpetrators of the killings were held to account. He also called for measures that would offer international protection to the Palestinian people.

TWO-STATE SOLUTION

On the status of Jerusalem, Pierce said it should only be determined through a settlement negotiated by both parties, with the city being "a shared capital of Israel and Palestine."

A political process must now deliver a solution, especially since the situation in Gaza was deteriorating rapidly, she said, asking Mladenov to advance proposals for easing the situation in Gaza, including international support for infrastructure and other needed services.

Joanna Wronecka, permanent representative of Poland to the United Nations, reiterated Poland's commitment to a two-state solution, adding that the future capital of both states must materialize through negotiations.

The status of Jerusalem should assume mutual recognition of historical relations, she said, adding that her country would continue to respect the international consensus on Jerusalem as embodied in resolution 478 (1980) until the city's final status was resolved.

Other delegates defended the two-state formula as the only viable way forward, with Ethiopia's representative underlining that all arguments to the contrary were unrealistic. Ways and means must be found to save the two-state formula premised on dependable security for Israel and the realization of Palestinian national aspirations, he said.

RESTRAINT

"The cycle of violence in Gaza needs to end," Mladenov emphasized.

"The Secretary-General and I have repeatedly called on all to exercise restraint, for all necessary steps to avoid an escalation and for all incidents to be fully investigated," he said.

He said an estimated 35,000 Gazans had participated in demonstrations on Monday, while other Palestinians had marched in the West Bank cities of Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, Jericho, Nablus and East Jerusalem, speaking out against the relocation of the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

More than 100 people had been killed since the start of the protests on March 30, he said.

Urging the Council to step up efforts in support of a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he called upon all parties to refrain from taking unilateral measures.

They should instead advance the goal of two states, Israel and Palestine, of which Gaza was an integral part, living side by side in peace, security and prosperity, he stressed.

Swedish UN Ambassador Olof Skoog urged all parties to act with the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life and to protect civilians, particularly children.

Emphasizing that the immediate priority must be to defuse the current tensions on the ground, he said all parties must take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation.

Sweden regretted that the press statement proposed by Kuwait could not be adopted and hoped that a way forward on an appropriate public expression could be found.
Hungarys beach-themed festival, Balaton Sound, has revealed further talent for their international line-up featuring the biggest names in electronic, pop, hip-hop and grime.

The festival, taking place at the picturesque Lake Balaton, is one of the largest open-air events in Europe featuring a diverse musical offering set across 9 stages, immersive theatrical performances and carnivals, luxury camping, plus delicious food and drink.

The boat party line-ups featuring Booka Shade, Patrick Topping Scuba, Ellen Allien and CamelPhat joining a host of talent set to play the Hungarian party in July.

All this and more with already announced headliners The Chainsmokers, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Martin Garrix, Big Sean, Rita Ora, and Eric Prydzjust to name a few.

Adding to the jam-packed 5-day festival line-up, Balaton Sound add techno music figurehead, Sven Vath to headline the Heineken Stage.

Lovingly referred to as Papa Sven by his fans, the founder of legendary Ibizan party Cocoon will be joined by melodic techno producer and DJ Kolsch, one of South Africas finest exports Black Coffee, as well as production and DJ duo Adriatique, sort after electronic music act Gus Gus, plus UK talent in the shape of Scuba and Camelphat with chart-topping producer Julian Jeweil rounding off proceedings.

For the 11th edition, the festival will debut Clubs on the Beach, a brand new stage concept which will see 5 prominent club brands and institutions, hailing from the biggest party capitals, take over the waterfront stage each day for non-stop techno and house music courtesy of their resident DJs.

Kicking things off on Wednesday will be Brussels institution FUSE who have enlisted fresh underground talent Charlotte De Witte to headline, representing Paris, REX Club welcome Phil Weeks and Jennifer Cardini to head up their stage on Thursday.

Cutting edge, Berlin-based club Watergate, have called upon their resident DJ Butch to lead proceedings on Friday, whilst Simon Dunmores London-based party brand and record label Defected have acquired mysterious producer Claptone for Saturday, and concluding the schedule will be Ibizas glamorous clubbing institution Pacha who invite Uner to lead the final day of cutting-edge music.

No strangers to the festival circuit, popular Spanish party brand elrow have been throwing their crazy themed confetti bonanzas globally since 2010.

Theyll be bringing the fun to Hungary this summer and have invited some very special DJs along for the ride including Brits Richy Ahmed, Patrick Topping, Steve Lawler, plus Heidi, Toni Varga and many more - Balaton Sound is shaping up to be the biggest yet.

More: balatonsound.com
The Hungarian capital looks as splendid as ever. The tourists are here en masse. But behind the alluring facade there is trouble.

The European Parliament today accused the Hungarys ruling Fidesz Party of systematically undermining the rule of law, democracy and minority rights at home.



The Hungarian Foreign Minister shot back: all lies. Mind your own business.

Hungary, once a poster child of East European democracy is at the heart of what President Macron has described as a civil war for the soul of Europe.
Justice minister-elect Laszlo Trocsanyi, at a hearing in parliaments judicial committee, called for the completion of efforts to set up a supreme public administration court.

Trocsanyi noted that such a court had not existed in Hungary since 1949, when communist dictatorship removed all institutions of the rule of law.

Trocsanyi, who has been justice minister since 2014, said he was proud of the eight regional courts set up during the previous government cycle, and expressed regret that the top public administration had not been established for lack of the necessary consensus.

The proposed public administration court would apply to citizens or legal entities involved in a lawsuit with a public authority in cases concerning, for example, permission to continue an activity. The rules of civil courts should not apply in such cases, and instead an independent public administrative procedural code is needed, Trocsanyi argued earlier, adding that with the exception of Slovakia, every European Union member state operated such a system.

When the court was first mooted, opposition parties had complained that the new court would have the power to judge legal disputes over decisions made by the media authority, the central bank, the Public Procurement Arbitration Board and the National Election Committee.

One Socialist lawmaker said at the time: This is as if the accused were to choose the jury members from among his family members. Today, the minister-elect told the committee that the independence of judges was democracys guiding star and he rejected allegations that a new public administration court system would not fall in line with the rule of law.

He pledged to be rigorous in enforcing criminal law and promoting victim protection. Asked about the planned European prosecutors office, Trocsanyi said that such a body would project the image of a federal Europe.

The concept Hungary insists on is a Europe of nation states, he said, calling the debate over the issue theoretical. The committee supported Trocsanyis nomination for the post with 7 votes from the ruling parties in favour and 4 opposition votes against.
Moving from his position as General Manager at a Marriott in Turkey, Arne Klehn brings over 20 years experience across the tourism and hospitality industry with him to head-up Budapest's Marriott Hotel, as it continues to thrive among the citys leading hotels.

This well-travelled German businessman takes over from Rick Enders, who has been appointed General Manager of the prominent Marriott Marquis City Center Doha Hotel.

After this years room refurbishment, Mr. Klehn informed XpatLoop he will focus on the redo of the hotel interior, resulting in a brand new Budapest Marriott with the same breathtaking views.



About Arne Klehn

Mr. Klehn launched his carreer in front desk position at the Renaissance Heathrow Hotel, London in 1998. He soon rose in the ranks overseas as he joined the team of Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa on the West Coast of the United States.

Back in Germany he was part of the Opening Team of the Berlin Marriott Hotel as Front Office Manager and gained further experience at Cologne and Regensburg  where he gained his first General Manager assignment as well.

In 2010 he moved to Paris where he became Opening General Manager of the Courtyard by Marriott Paris Arcueil and later in 2012 dual Property General Manager at the Courtyard by Marriott Paris Arcueil & Neuilly.

In November 2013 Arne was promoted to General Manager of the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport Marriott Hotel from where he moved to Turkey in 2015 to lead Marriott Hotel Sisly, his last destination before arriving in Hungary.
Faced with an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations are moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin, OSF told the press today.

Together with other international funders, Open Society will continue to support the important work of civil society groups in Hungary on issues such as arts and culture, media freedom, transparency, and education and health care for all Hungarians.

The decision to move operations out of Budapest comes as the Hungarian government prepares to impose further restrictions on nongovernmental organizations through what it has branded its Stop Soros package of legislation.

The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union, said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations.

The so-called Stop Soros package of laws is only the latest in a series of such attempts. It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference.

The legislation, invoking national security interests, would block any organization from advising or representing asylum seekers and refugees without a government license.

The government has indicated that these new laws are intended to stop the work of leading Hungarian human rights organizations and their funders, including the Open Society Foundations. The Foundations will pursue all available legal avenues to defend the fundamental rights that are threatened by the legislation.

Over the past two years, the Hungarian government has spent more than 100 million euros in public funds on a campaign to spread lies about the Foundations and their partners.

The governments hate campaign has included propaganda posters and billboards, invoking anti-Semitic imagery from World War II, and a supposed national consultation attacking George Soros, founder and chair of the Open Society Foundations, and Hungarian human rights groups.

Pro-government media recently began publishing false accusations about individual academics, civil society members, and Foundations staff. Those connected to Open Society have been targeted by clandestine and fraudulent recording efforts aimed at fueling the governments misleading propaganda campaign.

The latest proposed legislation on nongovernmental organizations follows the passage of a 2017 law that imposed burdensome reporting requirements on Hungarian human rights and civil society groups receiving funding from abroad.

This law has been challenged by the European Commission before the European Court of Justice as a breach of EU treaty law on the free movement of capital, and a violation of the freedom guaranteed by the EUs Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Moving operations out of Budapest will have a significant impact on the more than 100 staff based there, most of whom are engaged in international grant making.

Around 60 percent are Hungarian nationals, including several who have worked for the Open Society Foundations for more than a decade. The Foundations are taking appropriate steps regarding the safety and well-being of those affected by the office relocation.

The Open Society Foundations have a long legacy in Hungary, where Soros was born and where he began his philanthropy in Europe. He launched his first foundation in Hungary in 1984, using it to promote freedom of expression and thought during the last years of Communism, and then to support the transition to democracy.

Within its first decade, Open Society funded milk for schoolchildren, brought equipment to hospitals, and helped the countrys poorest and most vulnerable. In 2010, Soros gave nearly one million euros to help Hungarians affected by the catastrophic red sludge industrial disaster.

Photo & More: www.opensocietyfoundations.org
Islamabad: An unfazed Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday rejected Pakistan's top civil and military leadership condemning his controversial remarks on the 2008 Mumbai terror attack with the deposed prime minister demanding the formation of a national commission to find out who committed treason.

The National Security Committee (NSC) which met yesterday had condemned the "fallacious" statement by Sharif about the Mumbai terror attack and termed it as "incorrect and misleading".

In an interview last week, Sharif had questioned Pakistan's policy to allow the "non-state actors" to cross the border and "kill" people in Mumbai as he publicly acknowledged that militant groups are active in the country.

His comments triggered a controversy, prompting the NSC - Pakistan's top civil-military body - to call a high-level meeting.

Presided over by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the meeting was attended by top Cabinet ministers, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen Zubair Hayat, the three services chiefs, the director generals of the Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence.

After the NSC meeting, Prime Minister Abbasi met Sharif and conveyed to him the concerns of the military leadership over his remarks regarding the Mumbai attacks, Pakistani media had reported yesterday.

Talking to reporters at the Accountability Court hearing corruption cases against him and his family, Nawaz, 68, said the NSC statement is "wrong, painful and frightening."

He reiterated his demand for the formation of a national commission to decide who committed treason and said that it would allow all facts to become clear. "A decision should be made about who is a patriot and who is a traitor," he added.

"We should find out who laid the foundation of terrorism in the country," he asserted.

"Pakistan is not becoming isolated, it is already isolated. Tell me which country stands with us, is there any?" he asked.

Later, speaking to the media while leaving the courtroom, Nawaz said the time has come to decide who is a patriot and who is a traitor. He was responding to being termed a traitor by political opponents.

He said further that he is not just a Pakistani citizen as the people elected him prime minister and he knows a lot of things.

Several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle had fired a broadside at Nawaz for statement about the Mumbai attack, with some going as far as demanding that the PML-N supremo be tried for high treason; that his name be placed on the Exit Control List, and a thorough investigation be undertaken to determine the reasons behind the statement made by three-time prime minister.

The former premier had made the call at a party rally in Buner last night, saying the guilty party, be it him for treason or those levelling allegations against him, should be publicly hanged following the commission's verdict.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abbasi today defended Sharif's remarks in the National Assembly, saying that the former prime minister's comments were "misreported" and "misinterpreted".

Ten Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants killed 166 people and wounded dozens in Mumbai in November, 2008. Nine of the attackers were killed by police while lone survivor Ajmal Kasab was caught. Kasab was executed after a court found him guilty and handed down the death sentence.
Mumbai: Two powerhouses of talent Ajay Devgn and Ranbir Kapoor are all set to share screen space once again. The two actors, who had worked in Prakash Jha's political drama Rajneeti in 2010 for the first time, will be joining forces for Luv Ranjan's next.

The film directed by Ranjan is slated to go on floors next year and the two actors are reportedly excited about the working together again.

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh shared the information by posting a picture of the filmmaker with the two actors.

It's a casting coup... Ajay Devgn and Ranbir Kapoor... Luv Ranjan brings the two powerhouse actors in his next film, after the phenomenal success of #SonuKeTituKiSweety and #PKP series... Shooting starts in 2019. pic.twitter.com/Cb3f21CHA7  taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) 15 May 2018

Ranjan has directed commercially successful non-A lister starrer films such as Pyaar Ka Punchnama, Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2 and Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety. And it would be interesting to see not one but two big names in his upcoming untitled project.

Both Ajay and Ranbir have delivered performances worthy of applause. Ajay has two National Film Awards to his credit while Ranbir has proved his mettle in films such as Rockstar and Barfi.

Ajay has Total Dhamaal in his kitty and may make a special appearance in his friend Rohit Shetty's cop drama Simmba which will star Ranveer Singh in the lead role.

Ranbir, on the other hand, has Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra Trilogy and Yash Raj Films' Shamshera in the pipeline.

But Ranjan's project is something we are looking forward to, given the fact that the filmmaker has delivered a super-hit film every time he has captained the ship.
Mumbai: Full-service carrier Jet Airways on Tuesday offered fares starting as low as Rs 967 for the Udan flights which it plans to operate from next month.

The airline had yesterday announced the commencement of its operations under the government's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from June 14 onwards, with the first flight to be operated on the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna sector.

Jet Airways had bagged four routes in the second round of bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various operators.

Besides Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna, the airline will also fly on the New Delhi-Nashik, Nagpur-Allahabad-Indore and Lucknow-Bareilly-Delhi routes.

The fares for the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna flight under the Udan scheme will be Rs 967, while the flights on the Patna-Allahabad-Patna route will cost Rs 1,216, Jet Airways said in a release today.

Similarly, the ticket price for a trip on the Nagpur-Allahabad-Nagpur route has been pegged at Rs 1,690, while the Indore-Allahabad-Indore flight will cost Rs 1,914, the release added.

The fare for a Delhi-Nashik-Delhi flight will be Rs 2,665, it said.

With at least half of the seats in the Udan flights are offered at subsidised rates, the participating carriers get a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) - an amount shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

To fund the scheme, the civil aviation ministry is collecting a levy of Rs 5,000 per departure from airlines operating in major routes, including Mumbai and Delhi.

The government had in March 2017 awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines for launching flights under the Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

Under the scheme, the fares have been kept at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour journey.
Mumbai: Naresh Goyal-promoted private carrier Jet Airways will launch services under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from June, with the first flight to be operated on the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna sector.

The city-headquartered full-service airline, in which gulf carrier Etihad Airways holds 24 per cent stake, had bagged four routes in the second round of the bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various firms, including helicopter services providers.

Starting from June 14, Jet Airways will fly services three times a week on the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna sector with an ATR aircraft, the airline said in a release.

To begin with, Jet Airways will launch operations on three out of the four routes awarded, and will subsequently launch Lucknow-Bareilly-Delhi-Bareilly-Lucknow, it added.

"The launch of these new (Udan) flights mainly onboard ATR aircraft, will allow Jet Airways to embark on a journey to ensure that unserved regions and underserved airports are maximised to their full potential," said Gaurang Shetty, whole time director, Jet Airways.

Commencing from June 15, Jet Airways will fly three times a week between New Delhi and Nashik with a Boeing 737, while the operations on the Nagpur-Allahabad-Indore sector will commence from June 16, the airline said.

In the first around of bidding last year, 128 routes connecting 70 airports were awarded to five airlines - Alliance Air, SpiceJet, TruJet, Air Odisha and Air Deccan.

In the second round, letters of award have been given to 90 proposals for 325 routes to operators like Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo, Alliance Air and Pawan Hans, among others.

Out of these, 129 routes are in a newly created category of 'priority areas', that include Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal, Uttarakhand, North East, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep Islands.

With at least half of the seats in Udan flights offered at subsidised fares, the participating carriers will be provided a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) - an amount shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

To fund the scheme, the civil aviation ministry is collecting a levy of Rs 5,000 per departure from airlines operating in major domestic routes, including Mumbai and Delhi.
New Delhi: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will definitely win 2019 general elections.

He expressed these views while commenting on the Karnataka election results and trends after the counting of votes began on Tuesday morning.

Check Karnataka Assembly election results 2018 Live

The BJP is inching closer towards forming the next government in Karnataka, as it has taken a significant lead so far.

Gadkari also said that said that Karnataka is another step ahead in the direction of Congress Mukt Bharat.

"Except Punjab, the Congress doesn`t rule any major state. The condition of the Congress is as such that its leaders are opposing just for the sake of opposing. We (BJP) will definitely win 2019 general elections," Gadkari said.

The Union Minister said people of Karnataka rejected the Congress as they were not satisfied with the government.

"There was dissent against corruption and a hope from the BJP. The people have also supported the works done by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi led Union Government. The People of Karnataka have rejected Congress, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and Congress President Rahul Gandhi," Gadkari said.

The BJP government will fulfill the aspirations of people of Karnataka and the state will be developed, he added.

Commenting on the Congress` allegation of tampering with the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Gadkari said, "When they win Punjab then the EVMs are okay and when they lose Karnataka then EVMs are faulty. I think this is not political maturity. In a democracy, sometimes there is win; sometimes defeat. The win should be accepted with humility and the defeat should be accepted with a big heart.

"At the time of filing this report, the BJP was leading in 106 constituencies, while the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) were leading in 74 and 39 seats respectively.

Among the chief ministerial candidates of the three parties, BJP`s Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 35,397 votes, while JD (S)'s H.D. Kumaraswamy is leading by a margin of 22,289 in Ramanagara and 18,438 in Channapatna.

Meanwhile, incumbent Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading in Badami by 1,696 votes, while he is trailing in Chamundeshwari by 34,511 votes.
PATNA: The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is likely to announce the Intermediate Class 12 results on May 16, 2018 on its official website biharboard.ac.in. Candidates can also check their scores and marksheets on third-party results hosting sites bihar.indiaresults.com and examresults.net/bihar. One can also view their results on mobiles via SMSes.

More than 12 lakh students appeared for the BSEB intermediate 2018 examinations. Though BSEB has not announced any official date of the release of the results yet, other results sites claimed that the results will be announced on May 16.

Steps to check your BSEB Results 2018:

1. Visit the official portal of BSEB - www.biharboard.ac.in

2. Click on 'Bihar board results 2018'

3. Click on BSEB Inter Class 12th Results 2018

4. Enter roll number and other relevant details

5. Click on 'Submit'

The students are suggested to download the results and take a print out of the same for future reference.

In 2017, the results announced by the end of May for Class 12 in June for Class 10 due to the elections. The results are expected to be announced earlier in comparison to the last year.

Last year, over 12.40 lakh students had appeared for the Bihar Class 12th Intermediate Examination 2017, which were held between February 14 and February 25. However, only 4.37 lakh students had managed to pass the board exam in 2017.

The results of BSEB 2018 intermediate exams for arts, science and commerce will be decalred at least three to four days prior to the declaration of results of matriculation exams. Last year too, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) had declared the BSEB Intermediate Result of 2017 stream-wise (Science, Commerce, Arts) on the same date.

About Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB)

The Bihar School Examination Board is established for holding and conducting an examination at the end of the Secondary School stage, for prescribing course of studies for such examination and for carrying out such other objects and duties as may be considered necessary for the purpose as stated in the Act, Rules and Regulations of the Board.

Normally every year the Bihar School Examination Board conducts Annual Secondary School Examination in the month of February/March and Supplementary School Examination in the month of August/September on the basis of course/syllabus as prescribed by the state Government.

Apart from the aforesaid Secondary School Examination, the Board also conducts departmental examinations (not on yearly basis) such as Diploma in Physical Education, Certificate in Physical Education and Teachers Training Examination on such terms and condition as laid down by the State Government.
New Delhi: A soldier of the Border Security Force (BSF) was martyred early Tuesday after Pakistan violated ceasefire yet again in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba sector.

The incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Tuesday when Pakistani forces began unprovoked firing from across the LoC in the Samba sector. While Indian forces retaliated strongly, a BSF constable - Devender Kumar - lost his life.

Devender Kumar, a Border Security Force (BSF) Constable, who lost his life in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan in Samba sector #JammuAndKashmir pic.twitter.com/nqNJAH9C3u  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Pakistan has repeatedly violated ceasefire agreement with India, with more than 650 such incidents this year alone - till April. While security forces have suffered losses, civilian casualties too have mounted prompting authorities to recently build several bunkers.

Last month, Pakistan-based Dawn reported that the country is now planning an ambitious space programme during the next fiscal year (2018-19) at a cost of Rs 4.7 billion in a possible bid to keep an eye on the Indian side.

India too has been looking to use hi-tech surveillance equipment to ensure Pakistani forces are unable to provide mortar-fire cover to terrorists attempting to sneak into India. While details have not been made known due to secrecy-related issues - the BSF did install a high-tech fence in a border area with Bangladesh which would ensure no illegal entry takes place from the other side. BSF has not ruled out installing similar fences along the LoC in the times to come.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday strongly condemned poll-related violence that took place in West Bengal a day earlier.

At least 12 persons were killed during the course of voting in West Bengal Panchayat elections. Clashes erupted between Trinamool Congress and BJP workers - each accusing the other of resorting to violence. PM Modi though said that democracy took a hit. "People weren't allowed to file nominations. It isn't only BJP people who suffered. People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered," he said, pointing the finger at CM Mamata Banerjee. "This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate."

Highlighting that no election is as important as preserving democracy, PM Modi also said that such violence needs to be condemned and put an end to.

Notwithstanding the elaborate security arrangements in which 60,000 security personnel from West Bengal and other states were deployed, violence had broken out in North and South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Burdwan, Nadia, Murshidabad and South Dinajpur districts.

Opposition parties accused the ruling Trinamool Congress of unleashing a reign of terror and destroying democracy - a charge vehemently denied by Trinamool officials.
Lucknow: An under-construction flyover in Varanasi collapsed on Tuesday evening with at least 18 feared dead and many trapped under the debris.

Raj Pratap Singh, member of the committee constituted by Uttar Pradesh government to probe the flyover collapse incident, refused to give details about the cause of it, saying, "I can't say anything at this moment. Until we complete the investigation, talk to everyone and check all the records, it won't be right to say anything."

ALSO READ - AUTHORITIES ASCERTAIN CAUSE OF FLYOVER COLLAPSE

A portion of the flyover near Varanasi's cantonment area railway station came down on several people - possibly labourers. As many as four vehicles and a mini bus were crushed under the debris as well. "I was 50 meters away from where a portion of the flyover came down. Everyone around the area panicked and began screaming," an eyewitness said.

Rescue operations began soon after the incident with at least three JCBs at the spot. A boundary wall next to the flyover was also demolished to allow bigger vehicles to assist in operations and three people were safely evacuated by 20:00 hours.

Officials from the local administration reached the spot and took stock of the situation. "It is an unfortunate incident. All hospitals in the area are on alert. Any casualty would be attended to immediately," said Sidharth Nath Singh, Uttar Pradesh minister.

Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

I spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief at the incident and news agency ANI reported that he directed deputy CM Keshav Maurya and minister Neelkanth Tiwari to go to Varanasi.

He also announced Rs 5 lakh in compensation to the families of each deceased.
The Chief Election Commissioner of India, Om Prakash Rawat, on Tuesday, gave reassurances over questions pertaining to security arrangements at the various counting centers in Karnataka.

Rawat said that security has been beefed up across the state, with the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) being deployed in strong rooms to ensure fair counting of votes.

"We have deployed CAPF in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centers to ensure law and order is maintained," Rawat said.

Polling in the state for 222 out of the 224 assemblies took place on Saturday, May 12 with all eyes now fixed on the results, which will be declared later today and will most likely give an edge to the winning party in the 2019 General Elections.

In order to ensure free and fair counting of votes, 50,000 Police personnel have been deployed across Karnataka, with 11000 men, including one Rapid Action Force company and 20 KSRP companies posted across Bengaluru alone.

Additionally, barricades will not allow the public any closer than 500 meters from the counting centers. The Police have also banned celebrations, processions and bursting of crackers around the 38 counting centers in the state.

Elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Raja Rajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru District, were postponed earlier.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates, are in the fray for the election, which is being looked at as a gateway into the South for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 112-seats to stake a claim to form the government.
Chennai: Arch-rivals ruling AIADMK and DMK in Tamil Nadu today greeted the BJP for its good showing in the Karnataka Assembly elections where the saffron party appeared headed for emerging as the single largest party.

The two major Dravidian parties' greetings came as the BJP won 36 seats and is leading in 69 constituencies as per the latest trends and results for 222 segments, where the polling was held on May 12.

"Chief Minister K Palaniswami greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BJP's win in the Karnataka Assembly elections," an official release here said.

He sent a letter to Modi in this regard, it added.

Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam termed the situation as "cheerful occasion" for the BJP, crediting Modi for his "dilligent and conscientious efforts" for the good showing.

"I would like to share my joy on this momentous occasion and convey my congratulations on the victory of BJP in Karnataka elections. Your diligent and conscientious efforts not only yielded fruits in 15th state but also added another feather in your cap of glory," he told Modi in a communication.

Panneerselvam also wrote to BJP President Amit Shah.

"On this cheerful occasion, I wish to express my warm greetings and felicitations for the significant victory of BJP in Karnataka Assembly Elections, bellwethering a grand entry to South India," he said in the letter to Shah.

Congress candidates have won eight seats and were ahead in 67, while the JD(S) bagged three and was leading in 36 seats.

DMK Working President M K Stalin greeted the BJP and its Chief Ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa on behalf of his party and expressed hope that the new government would ensure cordial ties with Tamil Nadu.

In a Facebook post and a tweet, the Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly also urged the new dispensation to release soon Tamil Nadu's share of water from the Cauvery river.

"I believe the BJP, which is going to take charge, will not violate Tamil Nadu's rights on Cauvery as per the Supreme Court order and strive for cordial ties with the neighbouring state," he said.

Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are locked in a decades-old dispute over sharing Cauvery waters.

Karnataka had on May 3 said it was not in a position to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu even as the Supreme Court sought to know the quantum of water that can be spared.

The Centre had yesterday filed a draft Cauvery management scheme before the Supreme Court, in line with its directive.

The apex court on February 16 asked the Centre to formulate the scheme to ensure compliance of its judgement on the Cauvery dispute.

The court had modified the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) award of 2007 by raising the 270 tmcft share of Karnataka by 14.75 tmcft and reduced Tamil Nadu's quantum while compensating it by allowing extraction of 10 tmcft groundwater from the river basin.
New Delhi: Amit Shah on Tuesday thanked people of Karnataka for making BJP the single-largest party in the state and tore into Congress - alleging the rival party of using dirty tricks.

After a charged-up day of counting of votes in Karnataka Assembly elections, no single party managed to reach the majority mark. While BJP indeed emerged as the single-largest party, Congress was quick to offer support to JDS despite the former being the second-largest party. Both BJP and Congress-JDS leaders met Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the next government. "I want to thank people of Karnataka for rejecting Congress and making BJP the single-largest party. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win," Amit Shah said at the party headquarters after a Parliamentary Board meeting of the party.

In 2019 we will not only form the govt under the leadership of Modi Ji but also form a New India in 2022: Amit Shah pic.twitter.com/6le87AiRVg  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah then accused Congress of resorting to dirty tricks but said people are intelligent enough to recognise malicious intent. "Of all the dirty tricks Congress has used during elections since independence, its fight in these elections were the dirtiest. But people in Karnataka saw through it all and chose to trust PM Modi's work and emphasis on development," he said.

In a bitter battle for control in Karnataka, the ball is in the court of Governor Vala who will now decide which camp - BJP or Congress-JDS - comes to power.
Lucknow: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Monday said the outcome of the Karnataka Assembly polls would be a turning point in national politics.

Talking to reporters in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramdev said that whoever wins the Karnataka polls, results of which will be announced on Tuesday, will make the next government in 2019.

He, however, said he is confident that the BJP will form the next government in the southern state.

The Yoga guru also slammed former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, saying the recent allegations of him having ill-gotten money were appearing true.

"His black deeds are slowly coming out," he said and added that sins have the habit of coming out.

Ramdev, however, expressed his displeasure at the state of river Ganga and said that more needs to be done.

Referring to the issue of Mohammad Ali Jinnah`s portrait in the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), he said a person who divided the nation cannot be an ideal in India.
BENGALURU: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has confirmed that BS Yeddyurappa will lead the state as the Chief Minister as the party has won a majority in Karnataka Assembly elections. Congratulating Yeddyurappa and party workers, the BJP said: "BS Yeddyurappa wins in Shikaripura. In a few hours from now, @BSYBJP will lead a stable and strong BJP government in Karnataka as Chief Minister. Congratulations! Karnataka has spoken and spoken decisively!"

In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections, Yeddyurappa had said that he can give in writing that the party would win in the state with an absolute majority. The results on Tuesday confirmed that the BJP is set to form government in Karnataka with a majority in the 225-member assembly.

Karnataka election results 2018 live updates

Yeddyurappa had said his calculations had never gone wrong in his political career and he expected the BJP to win 125 to 130 seats. "I have been in Karnataka politics for long... I will give it in writing. BJP is winning with an absolute majority in the Karnataka elections. You can verify it once the results are out," he had said.

Yeddyurappa was the star campaigner for the BJP along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. His clarion call during the campaign was to oust the Congress from power and give the BJP one more change to serve Karnataka. The 75-year-old BJP chief ministerial candidate contested from the Shikaripura, which he seems set to win for the seventh time.
One more state has gone to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with the party returning to power in Karnataka after five years. Led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah, the BJP decimated the Congress in Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 to secure a majority on its own in the state.

With Karnataka in its kitty, the BJP is now in power in 21 states of India and its footprint is across all the regions of India - West, North, East, Northeast and now South too. The party had managed to win Karnataka Assembly elections in 2008 too but lost the next polls to Siddaramaiah-led Congress in 2013.

In the last five years, the BJP has perfected the art of crushing its rivals. Starting with the superlative win in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the Modi-Shah combine has delivered one state after another. While Narendra Modi addressed 21 rallies during Karnataka Assembly elections covering 169 seats, Shah held the fort in 51 rallies encompassing 174 constituencies. On the other hand, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had 47 rallies in 109 seats.

The BJP buoyed by its massive wins in several states over the last few years put its money on winnability and brought back BS Yeddyurappa as its chief ministerial candidate. Yeddyurappa was the chief minister from May 30, 2008, to July 31, 2011, following corruption allegations. He even quit the BJP to form Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) but only managed to ensure the decimation of the BJP as well as his party in the 2013 elections. He merged his party with the BJP in January 2014.

As the dates of Karnataka Assembly elections neared, the BJP also announced him as the chief ministerial candidate with Amit Shah backing his wholeheartedly to ensure a win. While he along with Narendra Modi and Yeddyurappa were the heavyweight campaigners, the BJP workers along with its allied organisations took on the Congress directly and launched an extremely aggressive campaign.

The clarion call of "Congress-mukt Bharat" echoed non-stop during the election campaign as Shah and his team went all out to highlight every shortcoming of the Congress government. Even history was on the BJP's side as no party after 1985 has managed to win two consecutive Assembly elections.

From 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has increased its footprint from seven states to 22 in May 2018 with the win in Karnataka. During the same period, the Congress has shrunk from 13 states to now just Punjab, Puducherry and Mizoram.
New Delhi: With the BJP appearing to be falling short of a majority in Karnataka, the party rushed three senior ministers to the state to talk with possible allies to cobble up the required numbers for forming the next government in the state.

Check Karnataka Assembly election results 2018 Live

Union minsters Dharmendra Pradhan, Prakash Javadekar and J P Nadda met BJP chief Amit Shah this afternoon and later left for Bengaluru.

Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad was also present at the residence of Shah.

As the BJP emerged the single largest party but fell short of a majority, the Congress sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the JD(S) in forming the government.
Even as the Congress has come second best in Karnataka Assembly elections 2018, the party is still in with a chance to form a government in the state if it joins hands with the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda. While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with 105 seats has emerged as the single largest party, it is still short of the halfway mark of 112. On the other hand, the Congress and JDS have bagged 77 and 38 seats respectively, giving the two a total of 115 which is well above the halfway mark.

The halfway mark in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly is 113 but elections were held for just 222 seats and so any party or alliance will need 112 seats to form a government in the state. If Congress and JDS enter into a post-poll alliance, then they can very well deny the BJP a chance to form a government in the state in spite of the latter finishing within a striking distance of the halfway mark.

Sources have told Zee Media that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has spoken to Deve Gowda. She also asked her close confidant Ghulam Nabi Azad to tell the JDS leadership that Congress was ready to accept JDS leader and Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy as the next chief minister of Karnataka.

Karnataka election results 2018 live updates

Two senior Congress leaders Ashok Gehlot and Mallikarjun Kharge have already expressed similar sentiments that their party was open to allying with the JDS to form a government in the state. "We will discuss the issue with the high command. I am going to meet Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot and we will discuss the issue of alliance with JDS," said Kharge on Tuesday morning after it became clear that the BJP will end as the single largest party in Karnataka.

However, the JDS is yet to open its cards on its future course of action. The party is way behind at the third spot and its only chance of being in power is if it allies with either the BJP or the Congress. The BJP is short by just a few seats of the majority mark and is unlikely to entertain any tough conditions which the JDS is certain to put forward. In such a scenario, the Congress may prove to be much easier customer to deal with for JDS bosses Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy.

The Congress has not declared incumbent Siddaramaiah, who on Sunday stated that he would welcome a Dalit CM if his party so desires, as its chief ministerial candidate. The JDS will in all probability put forward the condition that Siddaramaiah should not be picked as the CM face as he had in 2006 quit the party and joined the Congress after Deve Gowda started to project his son HD Kumaraswamy as his heir apparent.
New Delhi: Just this month, he had allegedly said he suspects JDS leaders of getting indirect funding from BJP. Just last month, he had said that JDS leaders are daydreaming about playing the role of kingmakers. And all of that came to a naught as Siddaramaih's poor performance in Karnataka elections forced Congress party to offer support to the very same JDS leadership.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

Tuesday was a day of political manoeuvring, a day of backchannel talks and also a day which saw a very, very sombre Siddaramaih who stood silent as Congress leaders announced support for JDS. "We don't have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," Congress' G. Parameshwara told mediapersons. Senior party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad added that their offer has been accepted by HD Deve Gowda and his son HD Kumaraswamy.

While Congress is the second single-largest party, its offer of support for JDS may be a massive embarrassment for Siddaramaih who had repeatedly levelled a number of allegations against the party. "This situation (of post-poll alliance with JDS) does not arise at all. I am very confident that we will form the government on our own with a clear majority," he had said last month. "Why is Kumaraswamy attacking me? Why can't he attack Yeddyurappa or BJP? It's a game plan and an internal understanding of them to overthrow our government. No such thing will happen."

While JDS did not actually overthrow Congress government, it did one better - be at the cusp of forming government itself with Congress' support.
Siddaramaiah is only the second Karnataka chief minister after Devaraj Urs, who led the state government from 1972 to 1977, to complete the full term of fine years. But his dream of returning to power by leading the Congress to a win in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 seems to be fading with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) taking a huge lead.

The Congress had won the 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections by bagging 122 seats but the 2018 battle proved to be an entirely different ball game as a resurgent BJP under its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and under the mentorship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and its national president Amit Shah ruined Siddaramaiah's dream. He had publicly announced that the 2018 elections would be his last and a loss would certainly end his political career which started when contested his first Assembly election from Chamundeshwari in Mysore on a Lok Dal ticket in 1983.

Siddaramaiah was with the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) till 2006 when he quit the party after former prime minister HD Deve Gowda started to project his son HD Kumaraswamy as his heir. He joined the Congress and nine years later in 2013 became the chief minister of Karnataka.

Coming from a poor family, Siddaramaih belongs to the Kurupa (shepherd) community and used to graze cattle in his childhood. He started his formal education late and went on to earn a Bachelor of Law degree from Mysore University. His started as a teacher in Vidyavardhaka Law College in Mysore.

Although he claims he does not remember his exact date of birth, the official record shows it is August 12, 1948. He was born in Siddaramanahundi village, which is almost 23 km from Mysore. He detests being called a leader of the Kuruba community, which is just 6 percent of Karnataka and instead terms himself as a backward class leader.
Bengaluru: With the BJP on Tuesday emerging as the single largest party in Karnataka, but falling short of a majority, the Congress on Tuesday sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the also-ran JD(S) in forming the government. Seeking to throw a spanner in the BJP's works, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Congress's support to the JD(S). Emerging from a huddle with senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Siddaramaiah said, "We have decided that the Congress will extend support to the JD(S) to form the government. That's the best way to keep the BJP out (of power)."

Following is how the Congress and the JD(S) have worked out the formula to form the government in the southern state:

# Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy to be the chief minister of Karnataka.

# The Deputy CM will be from Congress.

# There will be 11 ministers from the JD(S) AND 21 from the Congress.

# Congress and JDS has 117, we need 111 to form the government. Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JD(S)-led government. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them, said Azad.

# The independent MLA Nagesh and others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka, said Congress leader DK Shivakumar.

# Kumaraswamy wrote to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support to form the government.

# This is to submit to your good self that I have accepted the support extended by the Indian National Congress (I) party for forming the government," Kumaraswamy said in the letter.

# The sudden development has poured cold water on the BJP's plans to form its government in the large southern state, which its president Amit Shah called the 'gateway to south', for the second time.

# BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, his close aide and MP Shobha Karndlaje had said earlier, was to fly to New Delhi to finalise the date for his swearing-in after consulting the party's national leadership.

Elections for 222 seats in Karnataka was held on May 12. A record 72.36 percent of the 5.07 crore electorate cast their votes, with 27,908 electors in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots.

In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested the 222 seats, including 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.

Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.
Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader HD Kumaraswamy will in all likelihood take oath as the chief minister of Karnataka for the second time in a few days. His party has finished a distant third in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 but the Congress which is the second largest party in the house has decided to support the JDS to ensure that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) does not form a government in the state.

Kumaraswamy had on April 29 sounded confident that he would once again become the "king" and not merely play the role of a kingmaker in the state. "Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there," he had said. It seems he had a premonition about the results.

On May 15 as the Karnataka Assembly election results made it clear that BJP had emerged as the single-largest party in the state, the Congress got in touch with the JDS leadership and offered the chief minister's post to Kumaraswamy. According to the Congress formula, the party will have one of its leaders as the deputy chief minister of Karnataka and 21 other ministers while the JDS will have 11 ministers apart from Kumaraswamy as the chief minister.

Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal said a group of Congress and JDS leaders would jointly meet Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala on Tuesday evening after all the results are declared. His party colleagues including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara addressed the media in Bengaluru and announced that their party will ally with the JDS to form the next government in the state.

"We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We don't have numbers to form the government. The Congress has offered to support JDS to form the government," said Parameshwara. Azad added that he had spoken to Kumaraswamy and HD Deve Gowda about the Congress proposal.

The two parties had joined hands in 2004 too to keep the BJP out of power. At that time Congress leader Dharam Singh became the chief minister but the alliance broke after Kumaraswamy revolted. He then formed a government with BJP's help and was the chief minister from February 2006 to October 2007.

Later, the JDS-BJP alliance too collapsed after Kumaraswamy decided he would not let BS Yeddyurappa take over as the chief minister of Karnataka.
BENGALURU: The initial trends available from Karnataka after early rounds of counting on Tuesday suggest that HD Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal (S) is expected to play a kingmaker's role in government formation in this southern state.

According to the available trends, the JD(S), which wields a considerable clout in Karnataka, is said to be leading on 37+ seats. In the event of neither Congress nor BJP coming close to the halfway mark of 112, the JD(S) will automatically assume the role of a kingmaker in the state.

During the run-up to the polls, the JD(S) had claimed that it would win a majority and that its chief ministerial candidate HD Kumaraswamy will be the "king" and not the "kingmaker".

If BJP sources are to be believed, senior leaders of the party are in close contact with Kumaraswamy who returned from Singapore this morning.

Counting of votes for the 222 Karnataka Assembly seats began at 8 am at nearly 38 counting centers across the state, amid high security. As per the trends coming from the polling centers, it appears to be nail-biting finish between the ruling Congress and the BJP as of now. However, none appears to be winning a comfortable majority here. Interestingly, most of the exit polls had earlier predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka.

In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in the recent times, a total of 222 of the 224 seats went for polls involving a three-cornered contest between the ruling Congress, the BJP and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S).

The polling percentage in the May 12 elections has been put at 72.13 percent by the Election Commission. However, it would be clear post noon whether the voters in Karnataka have given their verdict decisively as being claimed by the political parties, or for a hung assembly as projected by a majority of the post-poll surveys.

In case of a clear verdict in favour of the Congress, the grand old party will have broken the jinx of no political party retaining the reins of the state since 1985, when the erstwhile Janata Dal formed the government under Ramakrishna Hegde for a second consecutive term.

While a victory would help boost the sagging morale of the Congress, which is on a downhill journey losing state after state since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre, defeat in Karnataka, the only big state it rules apart from Punjab, may further slow down the momentum for the party.

Losing Karnataka will also drastically weaken its claim for the leadership of a broader anti-BJP alliance that is being talked about.

In case the BJP gets the mandate, it reflects the enduring charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his capacity to power his party to victory across the country, clearing demographic and topographical obstacles, in combination with party's president Amit Shah's strategy.

It would also further galvanise the BJP cadre before the Assembly elections in party-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh later this year.

The JD(S) may or may not win the elections, but will certainly play the kingmaker if the electorate gives a split verdict, making Deve Gowda an important player in the state politics once again.

With the JD(S) having had partnered with both BJP and Congress in the past, it would be tough to predict which way it will go this time in the event of a hung House.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: In a virtual admission that the Congress may fall short of a majority in Karnataka  the results of which are being counted on Tuesday  its senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge has hinted that his party is open to an alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).

"We will discuss the issue with the high command. I am going to meet Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot and we will discuss it," Kharge told reporters here.

Correct position will be known at 11-11.30 am. I am going to discuss it( possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot.: Mallikarjun Kharge,Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/vvUqunzVA6  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

The Congress veteran was, however, quick to add that it was too early to predict the outcome of May 12 Assembly election.

Kharge's Congress colleague Ashok Gehlot too said that his party is open to an alliance with the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) but is at the same time confident of winning the Karnataka Assembly election.

Remarks from Kharge and Gehlot came shortly after the initial trends showed BJP racing ahead in Karnataka pushing the ruling Congress at the second place and the JD(S) at the third spot.

Counting of votes for the 222 Karnataka Assembly seats began at 8 am at nearly 38 counting centres across the state, amid high security. As per the trends coming from the polling centers, it appears to be nail-biting finish between the ruling Congress and the BJP as of now. However, none appears to be winning a comfortable majority here. Interestingly, most of the exit polls had earlier predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka.

In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in the recent times, a total of 222 of the 224 seats went for polls involving a three-cornered contest between the ruling Congress, the BJP and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S).

The polling percentage in the May 12 elections has been put at 72.13 percent by the Election Commission. However, it would be clear post noon whether the voters in Karnataka have given their verdict decisively as being claimed by the political parties, or for a hung assembly as projected by a majority of the post-poll surveys.

In case of a clear verdict in favour of the Congress, the grand old party will have broken the jinx of no political party retaining the reins of the state since 1985, when the erstwhile Janata Dal formed the government under Ramakrishna Hegde for a second consecutive term.

While a victory would help boost the sagging morale of the Congress, which is on a downhill journey losing state after state since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre, defeat in Karnataka, the only big state it rules apart from Punjab, may further slow down the momentum for the party.

Losing Karnataka will also drastically weaken its claim for the leadership of a broader anti-BJP alliance that is being talked about.

In case the BJP gets the mandate, it reflects the enduring charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his capacity to power his party to victory across the country, clearing demographic and topographical obstacles, in combination with party's president Amit Shah's strategy.

It would also further galvanise the BJP cadre before the Assembly elections in party-ruled Rajasthan, MadhyaPradesh and Chhattisgarh later this year.

The JD(S) may or may not win the elections, but will certainly play the kingmaker if the electorate gives a split verdict, making Deve Gowda an important player in the state politics once again.

With the JD(S) having had partnered with both BJP and Congress in the past, it would be tough to predict which way it will go this time in the event of a hung House.

(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: BJP, which appears to have reached very close to the halfway mark of 112 to be able to form government in 225-member Karnataka Assembly  the results for which are being counted on Tuesday  is expected to send its senior leaders, including Prakash Javadekar, to Bengaluru to take stock of the situation.

According to reports, Prakash Javadekar, who is the Union Human Resources Development Minister, is likely to go to Bengaluru.

He is the party in-charge of Karnataka and had a meeting with BJP national president Amit Shah at his residence this morning.

The BJP dramatically surged ahead towards the victory mark in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 on Tuesday, leaving the ruling Congress badly bruised and the JD(S) at the third spot, according to the trends after initial rounds of vote counting.

Reports from counting centres across the southern state showed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidates were on the winning track in 105 constituencies while the Congress was in the lead in 70. A total of 222 constituencies voted on Saturday.

Any party or alliance will require 113 of the total 224 seats to secure a majority in the Assembly. The Janata Dal-Secular of former Prime Minister H.D. Dewe Gowda, which has been expected to play the role of a kingmaker in the event of a hung Assembly, was leading in 43 seats when the results last came in.

As the vote count progressed, BJP leaders became assertive, saying they were confident of taking power again in their only southern bastion. At the same time, Congress leaders began to speak about the possibility of an alliance with the JD(S).

BJP leader and Union Minister Sadanand Gowda said that there was no question of any alliance with the JD(S) as his party was headed towards a clear majority.

Analysts said the BJP was leading in Lingayat dominated seats and the JD(S) in Vokkaliga dominated areas. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was leading in Badami constituency and trailing in Chamundeshwari.

The BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa was on the victory lap in Shikaripura constituency.

"We will win with a majority," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said earlier.

The Congress was open to an alliance with the JD-S, party leader Ashok Gehlot said, as the party's top leaders met in New Delhi.
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday thanked the voters of Karnataka who voted for the Congress. He also thanked workers and leaders of the Congress party for their dedication and hard work.

"A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you. Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication and untiring hard work in support of the party," the Congress chief tweeted.

The Karnataka Assembly election results threw up an unexpected suspense on Tuesday, as a simple majority tantalisingly eluded BJP and the Congress quickly proclaimed support to third-placed JD(S) to keep the saffron party out of power.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP, the single largest winner of seats, to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority.

Both sides rushed to meet the Governor, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates and staked claim to power.

In a roller-coaster ride for BJP, it initially appeared that the party was set to return to power after a five-year hiatus with a resounding majority. But as all the trends became known, it appeared the party will fall a few seats short of the 112 needed to form the government.

BJP's CM candidate Yeddyurappa said the people of Karnataka had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel". "The Congress is trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door. People of Karnataka will never accept this," he added.

Elections for 222 seats in Karnataka was held on May 12. A record 72.36 percent of the 5.07 crore electorate cast their votes.

(With PTI inputs)
BENGALURU: In the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa had said that he can give in writing that the party would win in the state with an absolute majority. The BJP leader's claim is now a reality. The BJP is set to form government in Karnataka with a majority in the 225-member assembly.

Yeddyurappa had said his calculations had never gone wrong in his political career and he expected the BJP to win 125 to 130 seats. "I have been in Karnataka politics for long... I will give it in writing. BJP is winning with an absolute majority in the Karnataka elections. You can verify it once the results are out," he had said.

Karnataka election results 2018 live updates

Yeddyurappa was the star campaigner for the BJP along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party president Amit Shah. His clarion call during the campaign was to oust the Congress from power and give the BJP one more change to serve Karnataka. The 75-year-old BJP chief ministerial candidate contested from the Shikaripura, which he seems set to win for the seventh time.

Yeddyurappa had led the BJP to its first election victory in a southern state when the party emerged victorious in the Karnataka assembly elections 2008. However, he could not complete his term as the 19th chief minister of the state following allegations of corruption against him.

Angered over alleged lack of support from the BJP national leadership, Yeddyurappa even parted ways and formed his own political party  Karnataka Janata Paksha. However, he merged his party with the BJP in 2014 and re-joined the saffron party.

As a member of the BJP, he joined the state government in an alliance with the Janata Dal Secular in February 2016. He was made the deputy chief minister of Karnataka as part of a deal with then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy. According to the agreement between the two parties, Yeddyurappa was supposed to take over as the chief minister after 20 months, but when the time for the same came, Kumaraswamy refused to vacate his seat. Following this, the BJP withdrew support to the government.

Yeddyurappa's downfall began with his alleged involvement in a massive illegal iron ore mining scam. He was even put behind bars for corruption charges and had to spend over 20 days in Bangalores central prison.

With BJP coming to power, Yeddyurappa looks all set to return as the Chief Minister of the state.
Bengaluru: The fate of several political parties would be decided on Tuesday with the counting of votes in the keenly-contested Karnataka Assembly elections. After weeks of holding rallies, listing out achievements, firing accusations and making mighty promises, parties like Congress, BJP and JD-S would be keeping fingers crossed.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

What would help democracy - as always - is a free and fair manner of counting the votes. And to ensure this, security has been tightened across the state. Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat has said that maintaining order is of prime importance on counting day. "We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centres to ensure law and order is maintained," he told news agency ANI.

ANI also reported that 50,000 police personnel have been deployed across 38 counting centres in the state. Of these, 11,000 are in the state capital of Bengaluru alone.

A Rapid Action Force company and 20 companies of Karnataka State Reserve Police have also been deployed in Bengaluru.

Elections are a crucial part of any democracy and in India, elaborate arrangements are made to ensure they are free and fair.

For Karnataka, 50,000 Central forces were deployed to provide security and maintain order on voting day - May 12. A total of 58,000 booths were set up for 5.6 crore voters. Election Commission had announced that the state saw 70% voter turnout.
NEW DELHI: As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is set to form government in Karnataka, the Congress has yet again pointed fingers at the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Reacting to the rout of the Congress in the state, party workers questioned why BJP is not ready for the use of ballot papers in elections.

"I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs, even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot," Congress leader Mohan Prakash said.

I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs, even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot?: Mohan Prakash,Congress pic.twitter.com/t70xtsaHoX  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

While the Congress conceded defeat in the elections, it added that the blame of the loss cannot be on party president Rahul Gandhi. "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," Karnataka Minister DK Shivkumar said on Tuesday.

While Congress suffered a humiliating defeat in the state, CM Siddaramaiah has been fighting to save the two seats he contested from. He has managed to win Badami after trailing for a long time initially, he has lost from Chamundeshwari to JDS candidate Devegowda by a huge margin.
Bengaluru: Even as early trends on voting day in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 showed a neck-and-neck battle between BJP and Congress, political analysts began examining the signifiance of the role that JD-S could play.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

While BJP and Congress were in a close contest as per initial trends, JD-S too showcased a spirited fight in the third position. In case of a fractured mandate, support from JD-S could mean which the other bigger two parties forms the next government. And perhaps not willing to make the mistakes it had made in Goa and Manipur, Congress flew in senior leaders Ashok Gehlot and Ghulam Nabi Azad to Karnataka - a move being seen as crucial in case post-poll negotiations are needed.

Gehlot, while displaying confidence on the outside, has not ruled out post-poll alliances. "These are initial trends but we hope Congress will form the government in Karnataka and are confident of it," he told news agency ANI even as counting was taking place. "But yes, all options (allying with JDS) are open."

Other senior Congress leaders too began mulling the option of combining with JD-S.

Correct position will be known at 11-11.30 am. I am going to discuss it( possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot.: Mallikarjun Kharge,Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/vvUqunzVA6  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Both Congress and BJP had previously said they would cross the majority mark on their own. This despite almost every exit poll predicting a fractured mandate. In this possible scenario, support from JD-S could tilt the balance in favour of either Congress or BJP. BJP's party chief Amit Shah, in an exclusive interview to Zee News before polling, had however said there is no chance of having post-poll partners. "We don't have pre-poll alliances, so there is no chance of having post-poll partners," he had said.

The final result, however, could well create new friends and bitter foes.
BENGALURU: Political temperature is running high in Karnataka as none of the three major parties - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and the Janata Dal Secular - have been able to get a decisive mandate in the Assembly elections in the state. While BJP has emerged as the single largest party, the Congress and the JDS seem to be in no mood to give up. With the BJP falling short of a majority in the assembly, the Congress and the JDS are reaching out to the Governor staking claim to the government.

Till 3 pm, the BJP had bagged 105 seats and the Congress and JDS bagged 77 and 38 seats respectively. With this equation, if the Congress and the JDS join hands, they will be able to clear the magic figure of 112 seats, thereby form government in the state.

Portraying a strong collective front, CM Siddaramaiah along with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, G Parameshwara and Ashok Gehlot faced the media and said that they will be meeting the Governor at 4pm on Tuesday. The Congress said that they will be presenting the letter of support to the JDS to the Governor to stake claim to form government in the state. "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together. We are meeting the Governor this evening to stake claim," Ghulam Nabi Azad said.

Accepting that they do not enough numbers to form the government alone, G Parameshwara said: "We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form the government," said.

Sources have told Zee Media that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has spoken to Deve Gowda. She also asked her close confidant Ghulam Nabi Azad to tell the JDS leadership that Congress was ready to accept JDS leader and Gowda's son HD Kumaraswamy as the next chief minister of Karnataka.

The halfway mark in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly is 113 but elections were held for just 222 seats and so any party or alliance will need 112 seats to form a government in the state. If Congress and JDS enter into a post-poll alliance, then they can very well deny the BJP a chance to form a government in the state in spite of the latter finishing within a striking distance of the halfway mark.
Bengaluru: BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa on Tuesday evening met Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the government in the state after his party swept the single-phase assembly elections held on May 12.

During his meeting with the Governor, BSY, as the popular Lingayat leader is known among his supporters, asked to be allowed to prove majority in the 225-member Karnataka Assembly.

Yeddyurappa went to meet the Governor along with party leader and Union Minister Ananth Kumar after results from Saturday's Assembly election threw up a split verdict.

Earlier, while addressing a press briefing, BSY said that the people of Karnataka have supported the party in a big way in the May 12 Assembly elections.

"People of Karnataka supported the BJP in a big way. Our party leaders will take a decision on the next course of action after the results of all 222 Assembly seats are declared," Yeddyurappa told reporters.

BSY was earlier elected to the Karnataka Assembly from Shikaripura constituency by 35,397 votes.

Out of 225 Karnataka Assembly segments, 222 went to the polls on May 12. The election in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar seat was delayed to May 28 due to the recovery of a large number of voter ID cards. The election in Jayanagar segment was countermanded in the wake of the demise of BJP candidate BN Vijaya Kumar on May 4.

At present, the majority mark is 112 as results will be declared for only 222 seats. While Karnataka Assembly has 225 seats, voting takes place for 224 constituencies as one is a nominated member from the Anglo-Indian community.

A total of 2,655 candidates are in the fray for the 224 seats in Karnataka Assembly. Among the candidates are four sitting and former chief ministers - the current CM Siddaramaiah, former BJP chief ministers BS Yeddyurappa and Jagdish Shettar, and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy. There are 219 women, too, among the aspirants. While the BJP contested on all 224 seats, the Congress put up its candidates in 222 and the JD(S) in 201 seats.

According to the state Chief Electoral Officer Sanjeev Kumar 72.13 percent voters came out to exercise their franchise which is the highest in the Karnataka Assembly elections since the 1952 state polls.

Karnataka witnessed a high-decibel campaign with big names like Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi leading the battle for the BJP and the Congress respectively.

Karnataka's outgoing CM Siddaramaiah had on Sunday sounded confident of Congress retaining power and added that this was his last election. He contested from two seats - Chamundeshwari and Badami. He won from Badami but lost in Chamundeshwari.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has so far won 68 seats and is leading in another 36, as per the Election Commission figures.

The party is eight seats short of the halfway mark of 112 seats.

(With Agency inputs)
Bengaluru: The Congress on Tuesday won 13 seats in Bengaluru, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) bagged 11 seats and the JD(S) 2.

In 2013, out of the total 28 seats, Congress had won 13 seats against the BJPs 12.

Meanwhile, though the BJP initially looked set to sail through and win a simple majority in Karnataka on Tuesday, as the day progressed and more trends and results started pouring in, an outright victory seemed improbable.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party, but fell short of a majority. On the other hand, the Congress sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the also-ran JD(S) in forming the government. Seeking to throw a spanner in the BJP's works, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Congress's support to the JD(S).

Emerging from a huddle with senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Siddaramaiah said,"We have decided that the Congress will extend support to the JD(S) to form the government. That's the best way to keep the BJP out (of power)."

Elections for 222 seats in Karnataka was held on May 12. A record 72.36 percent of the 5.07 crore electorate cast their votes, with 27,908 electors in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots.

In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested the 222 seats, including 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.

Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.
Bengaluru: Visiting temples and seeking divine blessings became synonymous with campaigning before the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018. Political leaders from almost every contesting party visited not one but several temples to offer prayers. Counting day on Tuesday was no different as several leaders cutting across parties made a dash to temples in the wee hours of Tuesday.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa and his family were seen at a temple in Shikaripura while B.Sriramalu, who is contesting against CM Siddaramaiah, too was seen offering prayers.

BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today, on counting day for #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/DLeywdryR8  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

JD-S, a party expected to play the role of 'kingmaker' after almost every exit poll predicted a fractured mandate, too had many of its leaders make a beeline for divine intervention. Party leader HD Kumaraswamy offered prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala.

Congress, having repeatedly claimed that there is no anti-incumbency and that it will roar back to power, too conducted prayers. While party president Rahul Gandhi had made several visits to a number of temples and dargahs in the run up to the elections, workers on Tuesday organised havans outside the headquarters in Delhi - praying for success in the Karnataka elections.

The battle for Karnataka is seen as a massive prestige battle ahead of Lok Sabha elections next year. While BJP is looking at building momentum, it is a matter of survival - many say - for the Congress.

Polling took place in 222 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka on May 12 and a total of 2,655 candidates were in the fray. The election was countermanded in Jayanagar constituency after the sitting BJP MLA BN Vijayakumar died of a heart attack during campaigning while it was deferred in Rajarajeshwari Nagar seat to May 28 after almost 10,000 fake voter cards were recovered from a flat in the area.

On counting day, security was given prime importance with 50,000 police personnel deployed across 38 counting centres in the state. Of these, 11,000 are in the state capital of Bengaluru alone.
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday reminded the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Goa, where the saffron party had formed the government not having the majority.

Congress spokesperson, Randeep Singh Surjewala tweeted, "BJPs claim of the single largest party to be invited is demolished by 3 recent precedents set by them - (1) Goa (March 2017) assembly strength - 40. Congress - 17. BJP - 12. BJP was invited to form the government by Governor in a post-poll coalition BJP+MGP+GFP."

He also gave the example of Manipur and Meghalaya.

2/n

President, K.R.Narayanan had set a fair & Constitutionally precedent by inviting Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form & lead a coalition Govt on 12th March, 1998. Presidents Communique states clearly and is a guiding light-: pic.twitter.com/i0DKXvLorN  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

1/n

As Congress-JD(S) win 95 seats & lead in 20 seats, absolute majority for the coalition is clear. Coalition also has 56% vote share. Coalition leaders meeting the Governor shortly to stake claim as per established constitutional norms in Karnatakas interests.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

3/n

BJPs claim of single largest party to be invited is demolished by 3 recent precedents set by them-: (1) Goa (March 2017)

Assembly Strength - 40.

Congress - 17.

BJP - 12. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition BJP+MGP+GFP.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

4/n

(2) Manipur (March 2017)

Assembly Strength - 60.

Congress - 28.

BJP - 21. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition. So much so, 1 independent MLA was detained at Imphal Airport through security agencies & handed over to BJP.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

5/n

(3) Meghalaya (March 2018)

Assembly Strength - 60.

Congress - 21.

BJP - 2. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in post poll coalition with NPEP+UDP+PDF+HSDPDP.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

In a dramatic twist, the Congress offered support to the JD(S)-led by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda to form a government as the Assembly polls in Karnataka threw up a hung verdict on Tuesday. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party, but fell short of a majority.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday wrote to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support to form the government.

BJP's CM candidate Yeddyurappa accused the Congress of trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door by offering support to JD(S) to form the government. He said that the people of the state had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel" and had given a mandate for change.

Elections for 222 seats in Karnataka was held on May 12. A record 72.36 percent of the 5.07 crore electorate cast their votes, with 27,908 electors in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots. In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested the 222 seats, including 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.

Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.
Patna: RJD leader and former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav questioned the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for accusing the Congress of trying to subvert the popular mandate in Karnataka.

He pointed out that the BJP had not got the mandate to form the government in Bihar in 2015.

       ?

          ?                                    ?  Tejashwi Yadav (@yadavtejashwi) May 15, 2018

Nitish Kumar's JD(U) and Lalu Prasad's RJD had joined hands, along with the Congress, to form a grand alliance to fight the Bihar Assembly elections. The combine had defeated the BJP emphatically. However, the JD(U), which had snapped ties with the BJP in July 2013, returned to the NDA fold in July 2017, after cutting ties with the RJD.

In a dramatic twist, the Congress on Tuesday offered support to the JD(S)-led by former prime minister HD Deve Gowda to form a government as the Assembly polls in Karnataka threw up a hung verdict. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party, but fell short of a majority.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday wrote to Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support to form the government.

BJP's CM candidate Yeddyurappa accused the Congress of trying to subvert the popular mandate and come back to power through the back door by offering support to JD(S) to form the government. He said that the people of the state had rejected the Siddaramaiah government "lock, stock and barrel" and had given a mandate for change.

Elections for 222 seats in Karnataka was held on May 12. A record 72.36 percent of the 5.07 crore electorate cast their votes, with 27,908 electors in defence services exercising their franchise through postal ballots. In all, 2,622 candidates, including 217 women contested the 222 seats, including 36 reserved for Scheduled Castes and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes.

Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.
New Delhi: With the BJP emerging as the single largest party in Karnataka, party chief Amit Shah today said the state has shown trust in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "clean governance" and rejected the Congress's "dynastic politics"

"Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown its unwavering trust in PM Narendra Modi's clean, transparent and pro-development governance," Shah said in a tweet, as he congratulated the the BJP's Karnataka unit and party's chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa for their "relentless" efforts.

"This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism," he said, thanking the people of Karnataka for making the BJP the single largest party.

Shah today dispatched three Union ministers, including Prakash Javadekar, J P Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan, to Karnataka to talk to potential allies to cobble up a majority for forming a government in the state.

The Congress and the JD(S) have joined hands and staked claim to form a government.

According to the Election Commission figures, the Congress has won or is leading in 78 seats, while the corresponding figure for the JD(S) was 37 and for the BJP it was 104.

The majority mark is 112 in the 222-member Assembly. Voting for two seats is yet to take place.
New Delhi: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said people of Karnataka have rejected the "divisive, toxic and very negative" politics of Congress and voted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s development thrust.

Reacting to results which showed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) crossing the half-way mark, Sitharaman termed it a "historic day" for the party.

Check Karnataka Assembly election results 2018 Live

"The divisive, toxic and the very, very negative politics of the Congress party has been completely rejected and for which we owe a very big thank you to people of Karnataka. They did not go by the kind of polarisation the Congress wanted," the BJP leader said.

Sitharaman said people of Karnataka had recognised clear arguments of Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah that development alone can lift all the sections of the society.

Referring to Modi`s slogan of "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas," she said the people of Karnataka had favoured Prime Minister`s call that Indian politics will have to be guided by development and this alone can remove many of the hurdles "which stop us from reaching higher levels".
Bengaluru: Hundreds of BJP activists celebrated on Tuesday across Karnataka as the BJP appeared set to dethrone the Congress in the state.

Waving BJP flags and dancing to drum beats, the activists, as well as some leaders, cheered loudly in the party office here at Malleswaram. Many shouted slogans hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party President Amit Shah.

BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Bengaluru as trends show the party leading. #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/utBwcXwBme  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Vote count on Tuesday from Saturday's Assembly election showed the Bhratiya Janata Party almost touching the half-way mark in the 224-seat House. Polling, however, took place only in 222 seats.
It is a hung Assembly in Karnataka as none of the major parties - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) - could reach the halfway mark of 112 seats in the election results announced on Tuesday. While the BJP took the top spot winning 104 seats out of the 222 Karnataka Assembly constituencies where polling took place on May 12, the Congress came second with 78 MLAs and the JDS bagged 37 to end a distant third.

Sensing the BJP was too close to the halfway mark, the Congress quickly played its cards and offered an unconditional support to the JDS on Tuesday afternoon by declaring that it was willing to install the 58-year-old HD Kumaraswamy as the next chief minister of the state. The Congress move was a shrewd one as in spite of having more MLAs than the JDS, the party decided to give up the chief minister's post to ensure the BJP was in no position to form a government in Karnataka. The Bhaujan Samaj Party, a pre-poll ally of the JDS, and Independent MLA from Mulbagal H Nagesh also declared their support for Kumaraswamy, giving the new alliance 117 seats, five more than the majority mark.

While Kumaraswamy would be the chief minister, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwara has been offered the deputy CM's post. The JDS will also get 11 ministerial berths in Karnataka and the Congress 21. Even though the formula has been accepted by the JDS leadership of Kumaraswamy and his father HD Deve Gowda, there were murmurs of protest from the Congress Lingayat MLAs over the deal. The Lingayat MLAs, numbering about 10, are not in favour of giving Kumaraswamy, a Vokkaliga, the chief minister's chair. However, the rebellion is still not serious enough to send the alarm bells ringing in the Congress camp even though some of the upset Lingayat MLAs are reportedly in touch with the BJP state leadership.

In its bid to keep the Congress flock intact, the party leadership has decided to take all its newly-elected MLAs to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru after the Congress Legislative Party meeting on Wednesday.

JDS leaders Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy also met Congress leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad and former chief minister Siddaramaiah at Hotel Lalit Ashok in Bengaluru on Tuesday night to discuss the way forward. After the meeting, Siddaramaiah said that the Congress-JDS alliance has the numbers and Karnataka Governor Vijubhai Rudabhai Vala must invite them to form the next government. He, however, added that the two sides were yet to finalise the agreement.

But the BJP, which has been winning one state after another since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is in no mood to throw in the towel and rushed in its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar to meet the Karnataka Governor before the Congres-JDS delegation could do so. Claiming that BJP had the right to form the government in Karnataka by virtue of being the single largest party in the state, its leaders also accused the Congress and JDS of ignoring the verdict and trying to grab power by using "dirty tricks". The party may also adopt a part of the Congress formula and ask a senior JDS leader to become the Deputy CM and bring MLAs close to him to the BJP camp.

On the other hand, the Congress counterattacked by pointing out that it was the BJP which had formed governments in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya by entering into post-poll alliances even though the former had emerged as the single largest party in all the three states. Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed that BJP had failed to secure the mandate in Karnataka as it has got just 36.2% of the votes compared to 56.4% by the Congress-JDS alliance.
Karnataka Assembly election 2018 was a political slugfest like no other. With months of preparations and weeks of campaigning eventually resulting in no party achieving a clear majority, Congress offered its support to JDS to keep BJP - the single-largest party after counting - at bay. Now, the ball is in the court of Karnataka Governor - Vajubhai Vala.

The spotlight is on Vala because it is he who will take the final call on whether the Congress-JDS alliance forms the government in the state or if BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa takes the mantle. As per past trends, he should choose the latter option but that is not what had happened in the case of Goa and Manipur where BJP entered into alliances to seize power.

It is upto the understanding of the Governor who he calls to form the government. It is upto him if he wants to call the single largest party or a coalition government: Subhash Kashyap, Constitutional expert #KarnatakaElections2018

(File pic) pic.twitter.com/QZYxOmwOfL  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Vala though is not new to politics and its nuances.

A member of RSS and one of the earliest members of the erstwhile Jan Sangh, Vala has been the Governor of Karnataka since 2014. He was previously speaker in the Gujarat Legislative Assembly and has also held several prominent posts in the BJP state government - holding the record for delivering the most state budget by any single finance minister. He is best known, however, for having snatched Rajkot West from Congress in the 1984 elections. He retained the seat all the way till 2002 and finally vacated it for Narendra Modi.

Known to be close to BJP and PM Modi, Vala will now have another extremely important political decision to make - allow Congress-JDS or invite BJP, the single-largest party in Karnataka.
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday thanked the people of Karnataka for making the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) the single largest party in the state. "I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party," the PM tweeted.

I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

BJP president Amit Shah also thanked the people and said that the mandate shows that Karnataka has rejected 'Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism.' In a tweet on Saturday, Shah said: "I thank people of Karnataka for voting BJP as the single largest party. This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism."

"I congratulate each & every Karyakarta of @BJP4Karnataka unit and Shri B S Yeddyurappa ji for their relentless efforts. Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown their unwavering trust in PM @narendramodis clean, transparent and pro-development governance," he added.

Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa today met Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the government, countering a move of the Congress-JDS combine which he slammed as an attempt to come back to power through the back door. "BJP has emerged as the single largest party, we have requested the governor to give us an opportunity to prove our majority on the floor of the assembly," Yeddyurappa told reporters after meeting Vala along with Union minister Ananth Kumar.

Not willing to comment on JD(S)-Congress alliance, he said "....We have staked claim to form the government. We have said we will prove our majority in the assembly, give us an opportunity."

The move by Yeddyurappa came soon after JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy wrote to the governor informing him about his decision to accept the Congress' support extended to his party to form the government. In a dramatic twist, the Congress offered support to the JDS-led by former prime minister H D Deve Gowda to form a government as the assembly polls appeared to throw up a hung verdict.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday thanked voters in Karnataka for "steadfastly supporting" the BJP's development agenda and making it the single largest party.

"I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJP's development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka (state party unit) karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party," he said in a tweet.

According to the latest results declared by the Election Commission, the BJP has won 97 and is leading in seven, for a total of 104. The Congress has won 74 seats and is leading in four, while JD has won 37 out of the total 222 seats.
New Delhi: Proving almost every exit poll wrong, BJP cruised to become the single-largest party in the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

Here is a quick recap of who said what on counting day:

Rahul Gandhi's immature challenges too hurt Congress. The party has no leadership. I had repeatedly said 115 to 120 for BJP in Karnataka. Hindus in Karnataka's society were hurt by the Lingayat issue. We have won everywhere in the state, including in villages. People recognised that BJP is working towards ending corruption in the country: Subramanian Swamy, BJP

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy's reaction when asked about Congress raising questions on EVMs #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/ZWGSrdwaD8  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

BJP took control of EVMs. People are losing faith in democracy. When people are complaining about EVMs, I want to ask BJP and Election Commission regarding why they are reluctant to come to paper ballots: Mohan Prakash, Congress

This is a historic win for BJP. I want to thank all the people of Karnataka for voting for us. Ab desh mein Congress khojo abhiyan chalega, kahaan rahegi pata nahi: Raman Singh, Chhattisgarh CM (Read full report here)

Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way & because of which we lost it: DK Shivkumar, Congress

People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state & we are winning state after state: Prakash Javadekar, BJP Karnataka in-charge

Will stand by Rahul bhai till I have blood in me: Navjot Singh Sidhu, Congress

This is a victory of truth, of development. Those who have been opposing us have every right to question us but it is about time they also respect people's decision in support for our party: Ravi Shankar Prasad, BJP

We still stand with Rahul Gandhi, believe in what he has to say. But it is about time that Priyanka Gandhi gets a bigger say in the party and a bigger role: Jagdish, a Congress worker outside party headquarters in New Delhi

People have rejected Siddaramaiah. He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone and because of his loose talk: GT Devegowda, JD-S

PM Modi brought clarity to BJP's campaign in Karnataka. We have just issue - development. We kept walking on a positive road with development. Congress made false statements and false allegations regarding Dalits. We kept replying with facts and never backed away. Congress made false statements and false allegations regarding Dalits. We kept replying with facts and never backed away. Congress president himself was propagating fake news through his Twitter account. The party always tries to play divide and rule card: Nirmala Sitharaman, BJP

Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different: Mamata Banerjee, TMC

BJP's southward march has begun: Ram Madhav, BJP
HD Kumaraswamy has been handed an unexpected opportunity by the Karnataka Assembly election results 2018. Despite winning only 37 of the 222 seats whose results were announced on Tuesday, Kumaraswamy is now the unlikely favourite to become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Here are 10 things you should know about HD Kumaraswamy:

1. He is the son of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. He is presently the Karnataka state president of the Janata Dal (Secular), or JDS. Kumaraswamy is referred to by his supporters as 'Kumaranna'.

2. He contested from two seats in the Karnataka Assembly elections and has won from both seats - in the Channapatna constituency by about 21500 votes, and from his usual Ramanagaram constituency by about 22600 votes. He will now have to resign from one of these two seats, and a bye-election will have to be held within six months.

3. Having made his foray into politics as a member of the party that his father leads, Kumaraswamy has been an election machine. Having made his electoral debut in 1996, he has contested elections a total of nine times in just 22 years. To put that in perspective, Karnataka has faced 11 elections in these 22 years - six Lok Sabha polls and five Assembly elections.

4. Of these nine poll outings, Kumaraswamy has won six times (2018 AS, 2013 AS, 2008 AS and 2004 AS; and LS 2009 and LS 1996 ) and lost thrice (AS 1999; and LS 1999 and LS 1998). He did not contest in the 2014 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections.

5. Kumaraswamy has been the Karnataka CM for a short term once before - from February 2006 to November 2007. This had been made possible by a power sharing agreement with the BJP. He was supposed to hand over the CM's post to BJP's BS Yeddyurappa, but refused to and resigned, leading to President's Rule.

6. Kumaraswamy is 58 years old. He was born in 1959 in his ancestral village of Haradanahalli in Karnataka's Hassan District. His full name is 'Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy'. His primary education was at a government school, after which he went to Bangalore's MES Educational Institution for his high schooling. He completed his PUC from Vijaya College and his BSc from Bangalore's National College.

7. Before entering active politics in 1996, Kumaraswamy's was a noted film producer, distributor and exhibitor. He has said in interviews that he entered the film industry after being enamoured with Kannada film icon Rajkumar.

8. Kumaraswamy's son, HK Nikhil Gowda, is seen as a rising star in the Kannada film industry. He campaigned for the party of his father, grandfather and uncle ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections, and was also said to be instrumental in bringing in a number of film industry faces on the campaign trail.

9. Kumaraswamy is married to Anitha Kumaraswamy, who has also taken a shot or two at electoral fortunes, with more unfortunate outcomes.

10. Kumaraswamy is also accused of bigamy. Kannada actress Radhika, aka 'Kutty Radhika', had claimed that she has been married to him since 2006, and that they have a daughter together. This has been the focus of public interest litigations over the apparent violation of the Hindu Marriages Act.
New Delhi: Congress may have been trailing at a distant second in the Karnataka Assembly elections but party leaders appear more busy in defending Rahul Gandhi than in assessing the reasons behind yet another clash against BJP which saw it falter. While there is a murmur of 'bring Priyanka' among party workers, leaders like Navjot Singh Sidhu maintain Rahul is the right man to lead the party.

(Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 Live)

Rahul Gandhi has seen Congress slump election after election as the party Vice-President. Since taking over the top post in the party, Rahul has witnessed several more electoral defeats. And yet, Sidhu said that the future appears bright. "Rahul bhai is a leader in the ascent. 2019 will be a different ball game. The alliances are coming with him," he told members of the press on a day he was acquitted of murder charges in a road rage case. "I want to thank the people of Punjab, because of their prayers I have come out ten feet tall. I have sent a message to Rahul Gandhi ji and Priyanka Gandhi ji that my life is yours."

Sidhu then asserted that he would stand by Rahul Gandhi at all times. " Sidhu unke (Rahul Gandhi) saath khada rahega, jab tak mere andar lahu hai," he said.

Other party leaders like DV Shivkumar attempted to shield Rahul Gandhi earlier in the day. "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," said the Karnataka minister.

Questions though will only grow more in number - especially as Rahul Gandhi had said he is ready to be PM if Congress won Lok Sabha elections next year. BJP had flayed him for his remark with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him 'arrogant.'
NEW DELHI: Riding on the 'Narendra Modi' wave and due to the excessive groundwork done by BJP president Amit Shah, the saffron party on Tuesday made a comeback in Karnataka defeating Congress and expanded its footprint in as many as 21 states across the country.

A victory in Karnataka assumes great significance for the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. However, the BJP victory has shattered tall claims made Congress leadership, especially its president Rahul Gandhi, which expressed supreme confidence that the party will retain power in this southern state. With its loss in Karnataka, Congress has now been reduced to Punjab, Mizoram and Puducherry (UT).

The emphatic victory for BJP has also taken its 'Congress-free India' campaign forward, with the party now eyeing to win more states in the assembly elections scheduled to be held later this year.

The BJP party has a few months back swept to power in three northeastern states  Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland  and with a victory in Karnataka, it has now expanded its presence in as many as 21 states.

The BJP- IPFT alliance had decimated the Left Front and won 43 out of 59 seats in Tripura. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which could win just 16 seats in the 60-member Assembly, was ousted from power in the state after 25 years.

In Nagaland, the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP)-BJP gave a tough fight to the Naga Peoples Front (NPF) and eventually managed to form a government by securing a majority in the 60-member state assembly.

The party, after a dramatic turn of events, managed to win power in Meghalaya.

In December 2017, the BJP retained Gujarat and wrested Himachal Pradesh from Congress. The results of the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 will take the total number of states where BJP has formed governments on its own or with allies after Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014 to 16 and 21 overall.

Here are the states where BJP-led NDA is in power:

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Arunachal Pradesh

3. Assam

4. Bihar

5. Chhattisgarh

6. Goa

7. Gujarat

8. Haryana

9. Himachal Pradesh

10. Jammu & Kashmir

11. Jharkhand

12. Madhya Pradesh

13. Maharashtra

14. Manipur

15. Nagaland

16. Rajasthan

17. Sikkim

18. Tripura

19. Uttar Pradesh

20. Uttarakhand

21. Meghalaya

22. Karnataka

The Congress is in power in two major states and 1 UT

1. Punjab

2. Mizoram

(UT) Puducherry

The string of victories of the BJP will also determine the strength with which the party heads to Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

BJPs campaign trajectory is broadly defined by the groundwork of Amit Shah and capped by PM Modis rallies. By sticking to this form of build-up, culminating in a crescendo of sorts, the BJP thus far has reaped rich electoral dividends in a vast majority of the states. However, there have been two distinct exceptions to this rule - Delhi and Bihar in their respective assembly elections in 2015.

In the run-up to the May 12 polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had extensively campaigned across the state. In a blistering attack on the Siddharamaiah government, Modi called it a Seeda Rupaiya Sarkar (money first) that should not be allowed to continue even for a minute.

Besides PM Modi, several top BJP leaders and CMs also campaigned for the party in full swing in Karnataka.

(With Agency inputs)
Bengaluru: BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa said on Tuesday that the people of Karnataka have rejected the Congress. He added that despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power in the state.

"This is a verdict for BJP. People have completely rejected the Congress. The fact that Siddaramaiah himself has been voted out in his own constituency shows the anger of people towards the Congress. I thank our tireless karyakartas," Yeddyurappa said.

He further said, "People of Karnataka have clearly voted for change. They have responded to the clarion call of PM Modi. Sri Amit Shah's organisational expertise has led us to becoming the single largest party. I thank people for this positive mandate for the BJP."

"Congress is flatly rejected by people of Karnataka who have voted for change. However Congress is trying to subvert the mandate through dubious means. People of Karnataka won't allow for this to happen. Will consult with central leaders on the next course of action," Yeddyurappa maintained.

He was declared elected from Shikaripura.

BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka, but fell short of a majority. Meanwhile, the Congress sprang a surprise, declaring it will back the also-ran JD(S) in forming the government.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy seeks appointment from the Governor of #Karnataka this evening, writes we have accepted Congress's support to form the Government. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/epuCqf4m17  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Seeking to throw a spanner in the BJP's works, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced Congress's support to the JD(S). Emerging from a huddle with senior Congress leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Siddaramaiah said, "We have decided that the Congress will extend support to the JD(S) to form the government. That's the best way to keep the BJP out (of power)."


New Delhi: Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi has shared a teaser regarding the launch of an upcoming smartphone with fingerprint scanner on its Facebook page, fuelling speculation that the company might be all set to launch its recently launched Redmi S2 in the country.

The Xiaomi teaser says that the phone will be coming to India on June 7. Some media reports however say that the upcoming phone Redmi S2 may be sold in India as the Redmi Y2, though these are just initial reports.

It may be recalled that the Redmi S2 was launched in China this month. The Redmi S2 will come in two variants --one with 3GB RAM + 32GB storage, and the other with 4GB RAM + 64GB storage. The phone will have three color options Rose Gold, Champagne Gold and Platinum Silver.

The 3GB+32GB Redmi S2 has been priced at CNY999 (Approximately Rs 10,500), while the 4GB+64GB will come at CNY1,299 (Approximately Rs 13,500).

Here are the specs of the Redmi S2

5.99-inch display

Android 8.1 Oreo-based MIUI 9 OS

Snapdragon 625 SoC clocked at 2.0 GHz

Adreno 506 GPU graphics

Fingerprint scanner

16-megapixel front camera

Dual rear camera with 12 MP + 5 MP

256GB expandable memory

3080mAh battery

Xiaomi maintained its lead with 30.3 percent market share in India, with Samsung at second place with 25.1 percent share, the International Data Corporation (IDC).

Xiaomi increased its share of total online shipments from 32 percent a year ago to 53 percent in Q1. Xiaomi maintained its lead in the market for second quarter in a row with further expansion in the offline channel and popularity of its models such as Redmi 5A and Redmi Note 5.
New Delhi: Actress Hina Khan, who was hailed as one of the most controversial contestants in Bigg Boss, became a butt of jokes recently when she tagged a refrigerator brand on her Mother's day post. The actress quickly came under the scanner of trolls.

The 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai' actress posted a few pictures with her mother and aunt and captioned it as, "Mom, I don't know if I could make it through the long days and sleepless nights without you. Thank you for being my pillar of support. #SamsungRefrigerator #MomsLoveNonStop @Samsung_IN."

However, there was nothing outlandish about Hina Khan's message for her mother and aunt but what caught everyone's attention was the mention of Samsung Refrigerator, which was completely uncalled for.

It was only after she was trolled mercilessly for tagging Samsung, one of the fans discovered that the brand was giving a chance to mothers and daughters to get a free refrigerator if they're tagged in the same.

Hina Khan became a household name after featuring as the lead actress in a successful show 'Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata' for eight long years. Post starring in the daily soap, she starred in reality show 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' and then Bigg Boss season 11, since then there has been no looking back for the actress.
New Delhi: HD Kumaraswamy, the Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader and son of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and, is not only a politician but also has a connection with the Kannada film world. Kumaraswamy may become the next Chief Minister of Karnataka as the Congress has extended its support to his party to form the next government in Karnataka.

But the CM candidate was not always interested in politics in spite of being the son of Deve Gowda, a full-time politician and at one time the Prime Minister of India. He was into film-making and production before taking the plunge into full-time politics. He has produced several successful Kannada films and out of which Chandra Chakori became a massive hit. The film was credited with running in theatres for 365 days at a stretch.

Some of the films produced by Kumaraswamy are Surya Vamsha (1999) Galate Aliyandru (2000) Chandra Chakori (2003) Jaguar (2016). Kumaraswamy is also a huge fan of Kannada film legend Rajkumar and because of him, he joined the industry. Kumar once said that in his college days, he used to wear clothes like Rajkumar.

A couple of week's before the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018, Kumaraswamy had on April 29, expressed his confidence in becoming the "king" and not merely play the role of a kingmaker in the state. "Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there," he had said. It seems he had a premonition about the results.

Although the Karnataka Assembly election results made BJP the single-largest party in the state, the Congress is eyeing an alliance with the JDS. They even went ahead and offered the chief minister's post to Kumaraswamy.
Mumbai: Priya Prakash Varrier is all set for the release of her Malayalam film Oru Adaar Love and has been promoting the film along with her co-star Roshan Abdul Rahoof.

The two young actors rose to fame and became celebrities overnight after a video clip from a song in the aforementioned film went viral on social media a few weeks ago.

Now, both Priya and Roshan are awaiting the release of the Omar Lulu film and their fans in Dubai too can look forward to it.

Priya sported a casual summer look and looked cute while Roshan looked dapper. Both of them struck a pose in front of a poster which reads: Coming soon.

The 19-year-old shared the photo on her Instagram. Check it out below:

Novo cinemas, dubai @roshan_abdul_rahoof A post shared by priya prakash varrier (@priya.p.varrier) on May 14, 2018 at 7:41am PDT

Priya and Roshan grabbed the limelight soon after a video clip from the song Manikya Malaraya Poovi went viral on the internet.

In the video clip, Priya and Roshan made adorable expressions at each other and this reminded many of their childhood sweethearts.

Priya's wink won over a million hearts and she became India's latest internet sensation. She has now become a celebrity of sorts and one of the most sought-after personalities for brand endorsement deals.

Priya had been signed for Oru Adaar Love to play a small role. But ever since a clip featuring Priya went viral, the makers decided to extend her role, reports suggest. They have made her role in the film meatier to make the most of her popularity. The script and climax have reportedly been changed to give her more prominence.

The film is slated to release on June 14 this year. The Malayalam film will now release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages too.
New Delhi: Bollywood witnessed a fairytale wedding of Sonam Kapoor and Anand Ahuja in Mumbai. The duo dated for sometime before taking the plunge. They had a Sikh wedding and the Anand Karaj ceremony took place at Sonam's aunt Kavita Singh's plush bungalow, Rockdale on May 8, 2018.

Soon after the wedding festivities, the actress took off to Cannes where she made her first red carpet appearance as Mrs Ahuja. We must say, she is hailed as the fashionista quite rightly. The actress went for a classic Ralph and Russo dress along with beautifully decked up hair with Amrapali jewels.

Check out the pictures shared by Sonam and sister Rhea Kapoor on Instagram:

A post shared by SonamKAhuja (@sonamkapoor) on May 14, 2018 at 10:22am PDT

Details with @amrapalijewels @tarang_arora A post shared by Rhea Kapoor (@rheakapoor) on May 14, 2018 at 9:55am PDT

A post shared by Rhea Kapoor (@rheakapoor) on May 14, 2018 at 12:14pm PDT

The actress is a Cannes regular and endorses beauty brand L'Oreal at the French Riviera. The 71st Cannes Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Cannes. The festival previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from across the world. It is held at Palais des Festivals et des Congres.

This year, many Bollywood beauties have graced the French Riveria. Kangana Ranaut, Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Huma Qureshi and Mallika Sherawat left a lasting impression.

Also, Pakistani beauty Mahira Khan made her debut this year at the Cannes red carpet.
Jaipur: A delegation of the Gujjar community will today brief their leader Kirori Singh Bainsla about the meeting with Rajasthan ministers on their demand for five per cent reservation within the OBC quota.

Spokesperson of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti (GASS), Himmat Singh, who was present at the meeting with the Rajasthan government last night, said that the future course of action will be decided by Bainsla.

The outcome of the meeting with Bainsla will be shared with the community in Bharatpur district, Singh said.

Thereafter, the details of the meeting will be shared with our community people at Adda in Bharatpur later today, he added.

The delegation of Gujjar leaders had last night held several rounds of meeting with a group of Rajasthan ministers on their demand for five per cent reservation within the OBC quota.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajendra Rathore had told reporters after the meeting that the discussion was "positive".?

The Gujjars are demanding five per cent reservation from within the Other Backward Class (OBC).

Meanwhile, elaborate security arrangements have been made as a precautionary measure in Bharatpur.

The police have sought six Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) companies to tackle any untoward situation if arises, police sources said.

The Rajasthan Assembly had in October last year passed a bill to raise the OBC reservation from 21 to 26 percent to provide five per cent quota to the Gujjars and other castes.

However, the high court stayed the bill as it would have increased the reservation to 54 percent.

Later, the Supreme Court also directed the state government not to exceed the 50 percent reservation limit.


New Delhi: Actress Karishma Tanna says she felt overwhelmed when she was approached by Balaji Telefilms to play a shape-shifting snake in the third part of the popular supernatural show Naagin.

Producer Ekta Kapoor announced the news of the actress joining the cast of Naagin 3 on social media in April.

"When Balaji approached me, it was very overwhelming because I am working with them after a long time. I started my career with them. So, when I got a call from Balaji, it was like a dream come true. It was like working with my family again," the Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi actress told IANS.

She was also looking for a show with good content.

"As an actor, to play the same role again and again...it gets a little stagnant. We have to have something interesting in a character to act. As far as films are concerned, you do it for three-four months and then you are out of the character.

"In shows, you are going on (playing the same character) for at least one year. When I got 'Naagin', I thought that it was a good show with good TRPs and good fan following so, I thought I should be doing this. Hence, I took it up," said Karishma.

This will be her second time as a "naagin".

"I had done a cameo in 'Naagarjuna - Ek Yoddha'. But that is absolutely different from this," she said.

On her character in the upcoming Colors show, she said: "I will play an 'Ichchadhari Naagin' who is a shape-shifter. She has come for revenge. I have hardly had any scenes with the other 'naagin' Anita (Hassanandani) but as far as other people are concerned, they are very nice."

"It's very important for actors to be compatible because you are working with them for 12 hours," she added.
KASGANJ: The helicopter carrying Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was forced to make an emergency landing on Tuesday. In a major security lapse, Adityanath's chopper which was supposed to land on a makeshift helipad at a school landed on a field instead.

Yogi Adityanath left from Delhi to attend an event which was being held to help those who were affected by the storm that killed more than 70 people across the country.

The Chief Minister was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow.

"Yes, the chief minister is safe," he told PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problems, it was forced to land on a field a kilometre away.

The chief minister reached here this morning on a day's visit to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered in Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed the developmental works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate.

Meanwhile, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI, "The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully."

(With inputs from agencies)
Kabul: At least six Afghan security forces and eight Taliban militants were killed on Tuesday after heavy fighting broke out in the country`s Farah city.

Taliban militants launched a major offensive at around 2.40 a.m. from northern and western neighbourhood of Farah, in a coordinated effort to seize full control of the city, an official told Xinhua news agency.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said that a counter-offensive operation was ongoing and the security forces were trying to bring the situation under control.

"There is no fear of collapsing of the city to the hands of the insurgents," Danish said.

However, another official said that "the Taliban captured several security checkpoints inside and around the city.

"The situation is tense. Most people are staying indoors. The streets are deserted. Gunfight, airstrikes and explosions are taking place around the city," he said.

Several security personnel, including provincial Deputy Police Chief Abdul Razaq, were injured during the fighting.
TOKYO: An incremental North Korean approach to denuclearisation at a June 12 summit with President Donald Trump will not be acceptable to the United States president or the people of South Korea, South Korea's special national security adviser said on Tuesday.

"When Kim Jong Un sees President Trump in Singapore, he should give something big," the security adviser, Moon Chung-in, said at a Tokyo conference, referring to the North Korean leader.

Moon said Trump, as well as the people of the United States, Japan and South Korea, would not be able to accept an incremental approach.
Tehran: Iran said on Tuesday that Israeli officials should be tried as war criminals over the 'brutal massacre' of Gazan protesters the previous day.

"The killing of children, women and defenceless people of Palestine and the occupation of Palestinian lands has become the main strategy of the Zionists over the 70 years of occupation," said foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi on the ministry's website.

He called on the international community to take "immediate action" and try Israeli leaders as "war criminals in international courts".

At least 60 Palestinians were killed and thousands injured by Israeli forces on Monday as they protested along the Gaza border against the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

President Hassan Rouhani criticised the embassy move along with last week's decision by the US to walk away from the nuclear deal with Iran.

"History will judge that both of these decisions by the American government have been very wrong," he told reporters, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

"The main result of this wrong decision is Washington's isolation in global public opinion," he added.

Parliament speaker Ali Larijani added that recent US policy decisions were undermining international institutions.

"All these cases show that America intends to destroy the international institution of the United Nations," he told parliament on Tuesday.

"It is driving the international scene to a kind of security chaos," he added. The US blocked a UN resolution on Monday calling for an international investigation into the Gaza killings.

On Monday, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif denounced "a day of great shame".

"Israeli regime massacres countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in the world's largest open air prison," he wrote on Twitter.
Washington: North Korea said on Wednesday it had no choice but to suspend high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for later in the day due to US-South Korean military exercises that went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

The meeting was due to focus on plans to implement a declaration that emerged from an April 27 inter-Korea summit, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearisation", the South`s unification ministry, which handles ties with the North, said on Tuesday.

North Korea`s official Korean Central News Agency called joint US-South Korean military exercises a "provocation" and said Pyongyang had no choice but to suspend the talks.
SEOUL: North Korea and South Korea agreed on Tuesday to hold high-level inter-Korea talks on May 16 to discuss steps needed to uphold the pledge to denuclearise the Korean peninsula, South Korea`s Unification Ministry said.

The meeting will discuss specific plans needed to carry out the April 27 inter-Korea summit declaration, which includes pledges to finally end a seven-decade war this year, and pursue "complete denuclearisation".

"The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on May 16 in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss implementation of `Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula," the Unification Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting would be the latest in a series of actions taken by North Korea that have spurred hopes that the seven-decade conflict on the Korean Peninsula may be coming to an end.

North Korea has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb test site for sometime between May 23-25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the country`s state media reported on Saturday, a month ahead of a planned North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet on June 12, a scenario that seemed improbable given the insults and threats exchanged between the two leaders in the past year.

Wednesday`s inter-Korea talks will see North Korea send a 29-member delegation led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country`.

Also in the delegation will be Kim Yun-hyok, vice minister of Railways, and Won Kil-U, vice minister of Physical Culture and Sports.

From South Korea, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will led a team of five.
New York: A nude portrait by Amedeo Modigliani sold for $157.2 million at Sotheby's on Monday, achieving the 4th-highest price for any work of art at auction but failing to set a new record for the artist.

Sotheby's had estimated "Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)" to sell for in excess of $150 million, which made the 1917 oil painting the highest-estimated work of art in auction history.

But in merely meeting expectations and failing to set a record even for a Modigliani, the canvas fell short of a handful of recently auctioned trophy works, most notably Leonardo da Vinci`s "Salvator Mundi," which soared to $450.3 million at rival Christie`s in November after several top-tier collectors competed furiously.

That work carried a pre-sale estimate of about $100 million.

Sotheby`s was quick to note, while the auction was still live, that "Nu couche" had achieved the highest price of any work in the 274-year-old auction house`s history.

And in a sign of soaring prices at the art market`s highest echelons, the same work sold in 2003 for $27 million.

But it could not be denied that only a handful of collectors at most bid for the work, which fell short of the $170.4 million record for a Modigliani set in 2015.

Officials were relegated to characterizing the sale as "measured," a tacit admission that it was devoid of the free-spending frenzy that has marked recent auctions at both Sotheby`s and Christie`s.

"It was not an exuberant room," Simon Shaw, co-head of Impressionist and modern art, told Reuters afterward. But he added that "it was an ordered, efficient sale which achieved a total within its estimated range."

Indeed the auction took in $318.3 million, just beating the $307.4 million low pre-sale estimate. Of the 45 lots on offer, 71 percent found buyers.

Other highlights included Pablo Picasso`s "Le Repos," which achieved $36.9 million and beat its high estimate of $35 million, and Claude Monet`s "Matinee sur la Seine," which fetched $20.55 million, at the low end of the $18 million to $25 million estimate.

Georgia O`Keefe`s "Lake George with White Birch" soared to $11.3 million, or nearly twice the high estimate, but another Picasso, "Femme au chien" estimated at $12 million to $18 million, failed to sell when no bids exceeded $11 million.

The spring auctions continue on Tuesday when Christie`s holds its Impressionist and modern art sale.
Istanbul: At least seven people, including two children, drowned when a boat carrying migrants to a Greek island sank off Turkey's Aegean coast.

The boat was carrying at least 20 refugees to the Greek island of Lesbos late Monday when it capsized near Ayvacik district of Turkey`s Canakkale province, the Haberturk daily said on Tuesday.

Thirteen migrants were rescued, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Aegean Sea was once a main route for migrants being smuggled into Europe via Turkey, but a deal signed between Turkey and the EU in March 2016 reduced the flow of illegal migration.

The Turkish Coast Guard put the number of irregular migrants via Turkey at 9,272 since the beginning of 2018, in contrast to 4,715 over the same period in 2017.
Kabul: Afghan officials say Taliban insurgents have attacked Farah city, the capital of Farah province in western Afghanistan near the border with Iran, killing and wounding dozens of security forces.

Fared Bakhtawer, head of the Farah provincial council, says several security checkpoints were overrun by Taliban fighters on Tuesday morning and that an intense gunbattle was ongoing in the city.

Bakhtawer says up to 30 security forces were killed or wounded in the attacks. Mohammad Sarwar Osmani, a lawmaker form Farah province, also confirmed the Taliban attacks.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility. He said fighters launched attacks form multiple directions, after which they overran several checkpoints in the city.

Farah also has border with Helmand province, where the Taliban controls several districts.
Ankara: Turkey and Israel expelled each other`s senior diplomats on Tuesday in a dispute over the killing by Israeli forces of 60 Palestinians a day earlier during protests on the Gaza border.

Turkey told Israel`s ambassador to leave the country on Tuesday after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel`s response to the Gaza protests and of the US Embassy move, recalling its ambassadors from Tel Aviv and Washington and calling for an emergency meeting of Islamic nations on Friday.

President Tayyip Erdogan described Monday`s bloodshed, the deadliest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict, as genocide and called Israel a terrorist state. The government declared three days of mourning.

"The Israeli ambassador was told that our envoy to Israel was called back for consultations, and was informed that it would be appropriate for him to go back to his country for some time," a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.

Hours later Israel`s Foreign Ministry said the Turkish Consul-General in Jerusalem had been summoned and told to return to Turkey "for consultations for a period of time."

The dispute appears to mark the worst diplomatic crisis between the two regional powers since Israeli marines stormed an aid ship to enforce a naval blockade of Gaza in 2010, killing 10 Turkish activists and prompting a downgrade in diplomatic ties that lasted until 2016.

Israel`s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Erdogan was in no position to "preach morality to us" because he supported the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza. "There is no doubt he well understands terrorism and slaughter," Netanyahu tweeted.

Erdogan tweeted back that Netanyahu was the leader of "an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people`s lands for 60+ years in violation of U.N. resolutions", adding that he was criticising Turkey to deflect attention.

"Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments".

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said that Muslim countries should review their ties with Israel after Monday`s violence.

There have been demonstrations against Israel in Istanbul and in the capital Ankara. Erdogan, who is campaigning for presidential and parliamentary elections next month, said a rally will be held on Friday to protest the killings.

Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag told parliament the rally "will once again show that the Turkish people will not remain silent in the face of injustice and cruelty, that they defend the victims in the face of the cruel".

The plight of Palestinians resonates with many Turks, including with the nationalist and religious voters who form the base of Erdogan`s support.

Bozdag said that Turkey held the United States equally accountable for Monday`s violence.

"The blood of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of the United States," he said. "The United States is part of the problem, not the solution".

Relations between Ankara and Washington, two NATO allies, have been deeply strained over the embassy move, disagreements over military deployment in north Syria, and court cases against Turkish and U.S. nationals in each country.
GENEVA: The United Nation human rights office condemned Monday's 'appalling deadly violence' by Israeli security forces in Gaza and said it was extremely worried about what might happen later on Tuesday, while calling for an independent investigation.

United Nations human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told a regular U.N. briefing in Geneva that Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs removed Ukrainian consul in Hamburg for possible anti-Semitic posts from office. This was stated by the Foreign Ministry spokesman Mariana Betza.



"At this point, the consul is suspended from performing his duties, we do not exclude his withdrawal to Ukraine from Hamburg, but at the same time a thorough check of all details continues, after which we will inform public about results," Betza said.



She stressed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine categorically condemns any form of discrimination, xenophobia and anti-Semitism.



"Such statements are absolutely unacceptable to us if they take place among our diplomatic corps, and we will take this very seriously and carefully and draw conclusions for the future," the ministry spokeswoman said.



She also hopes that this case will be checked promptly.



"It's a shame that we see such case, it's for the first time, that we have such situation. It is unequivocal that the government of Germany, where the person is accredited, will be informed about persons' withdrawal. We dont exclude that this will happen in the near future. We will continue, we will look at the results of the inspection. As a whole, we did not have such cases earlier," Betza summed up.



According to Reuters, they could not verify the anti-Semitic messages on the page of the employee of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Hamburg, Vasyl Marushchynets.



Also, a foreign agency reports that Marushchynets and the consulate in Hamburg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



Earlier, a blogger Anatoly Shariy said that an employee of the Consulate General of Ukraine in Hamburg, Vasyl Marushynets, posted anti-Semitic publications on his Facebook page.



It is noted that the diplomat's page can't be viewed by people who are not his friends in the network.



According to the blogger, among the posts of Marushynets one can see such anti-Semitic posts as "Jews proclaimed the war against Germany in 1934", "God, punish Jews", "Babi Yar. Not in Moscow in 1941, but in Ukraine in 1918 -1941, "Jews - s**t "(the spelling of the author of the messages is preserved, - Ed).



Marushchynets also reported that his Facebook page was blocked more than once.



We recall, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that anti-Semitic provocations are often inspired by the Kremlin regime, which with the help of hybrid aggression tools is trying to shake the political situation in Ukraine.



Avakov promised "a principled and quick" reaction of law enforcement officers to discrimination and anti-Semitism.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is checking information on anti-Semitic statements made by the Consul of Ukraine in Hamburg. This was written on Twitter by the minister of the department Pavlo Klimkin.



"I receive messages from my subscribers on the information about our consul in Hamburg. We check this and will soon report the result, "the minister wrote.

In Ukraine, the number of reported anti-semitic incidents has increased in 2017 compared to 2016, as The Jerusalem Post writes citing the annual report on antisemitism of the Israeli Diaspora Affairs Ministry.

The report notes the worrying statistics of reported anti-semitic incidents in Ukraine. Compared to last year, the number of them doubled. Mostly these were attacks on memorials, museums, and synagogues.

Ukraine isnt the only country where anti-semitic tendencies appear to grow. In the UK, there was a 78% increase in physical attacks and a 30% increase in the number of overall antisemitic incidents.

The same happend in the USA. The Anti-Defamation Leagues annual report on antisemitism released in November found that there was a 67% increase in antisemitic incidents across the US from January 1 to September 30, 2017, in comparison with the same period in 2016.

According to Naftali Bennett, the Diaspora Affairs Minister, the rise of the far Right in various countries, the refugee crisis and the Internet are the major factors of these worrying tendencies.
The Donetsk Filtration Station was attacked by the pro-Russian militants once more as the press service of 'Donbas Water' reported.

'At night on May 14-15, the Donetsk Filtration Stations underwent the attacks. The glazing of the chemical plants' building and the administrative-household corps were damaged', the message said.

Earlier the OSCE SMM observers refused to accompany the personnel of the station and the workers stayed there for the second day.

As we reported the militants shelled the convoy of the filtration station's workers. Five workers suffered, one of them is in the serious condition. On April 18, Donetsk Filtration Station has stopped its work and the supply of the drinking water was stooped to Avdiivka, partially to Donetsk and Yasynuvata, Chervony Partyzan, Kruta Balka and Verkhnyotoretske villages.

The Headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is sure that the situation was staged and provoked by the leaders of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics. U.S. State Department condemned the shelling of the filtration station and claimed that Russia is responsible for the worsening of the humanitarian station in the east of Ukraine.

The water supply to Avdiivka was stopped on April 20. However, it was fully restored at 3 p.m on April 23.
Open source

Kurt Volker, the U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine, arrived in Donbas, as Myroslava Gongadze, a journalist, wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, Kurt Volker said that he plans another visit to Ukraine in the middle of May. The diplomat stated that during his visit he intends to go to Donbas. At the same time, he is not ready to say whether he will visit Russia and whether he will conduct any talks with Russian officials.

As it was reported earlier, Kurt Volker demanded Russian and the militants to stop threatening the OSCE observers. This statement was the reaction to the incident which occurred on April 5 near occupied Kremenets near Donetsk. The militants did not allow the OSCE observers launch drones and threatened with a weapon.
Ukraine's state security service warns that about a hundred mercenaries from this group are about to reach the militant-held Donetsk

Open source

A hundred mercenaries from Wagner Group, the private military company from Russia, may soon arrive in the occupied Donbas. The press service of Ukraine's SBU, state security service reported this on Tuesday evening.

'Russian special services continue to use the Wagner Group mercenaries to escalate the military actions in eastern Ukraine. According to the SBU, about a hundred militants from Wagner Group will reach the temporarily occupied Donetsk so as to support 'Donetsk People's Republic,' the authority reported.

Earlier, the SBU determined the identities of 26 Russian officers who were seconded as drill instructors in Wagner Group. Russian career military servicemen conducted tactical, firearms, engineering and artillery training, tank crews training, training for those driving infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and anti-air defense systems.

The Wagner Group has been involved in Donbas conflict since May 2014 till August 2015. Then, they moved to Syria, assisting the Syrian army in a number of combat operations.

More news from Ukraine at 112.international
The Russia-controlled Crimean court scheduled for May 15 a court hearing on the fabricated criminal case against Ukrainian activist Volodymyr Balukh, who has been starving in protest for more than 55 days. The Crimean Human Rights Group reported this on Facebook.

"The case is considered by the judge" Tetyana Pyrkalo. The meeting is scheduled to start at 12:00," the organization noted.

"This criminal case is against Ukrainian (Article 321 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) was opened in August 2017, after Balukh and his lawyer filed a complaint to the police about the illegal actions of the head of the Rozdolnensky prison cell Valeriy Tkachenko, who insulted and hit the Ukrainian.

In response, Tkachenko filed a complaint against Balukh. According to Tkachenko, the Investigation Committee of the Russian Federation filed a criminal case against the activist on August 22, 2017, "the statement reads.

"At the previous hearings, the prosecutor read out an indictment stating that on August 11, 2017, Balukh, while in the prison cell, hit the left hand of the head of this institution with an elbow, and then  with a bottle with detergent.

The investigation states that Ukrainian caused the head of the prison cell physical pain that did not cause bodily injuries and health disorders, the Crimean Human Rights Group reported.

The activist himself and his defense say that it was Tkachenko who attacked Balukh: he hit him, insulted and humiliated over the nationality.

It is noted that all this was recorded on the video in prison cell. But according to Balukh's statement, the investigation of Tkachenkos actions was not opened.

"At the last meeting, April 11, 2018, the head of prison cell Valeriy Tkachenko, who is supposedly a victim, was questioned. Tkachenko denied that he systematically insulted Balukh on a national or political basis," the human rights group reminded.

Akhtem Chiygoz said that Simferopol SIZO continues to pressure Ukrainian Volodymyr Balukh.

His condition is difficult: they constantly continue to conduct searches, checks. Balukh is persistent in his demands and does not stop the hunger strike. He keeps fighting, "Chiygoz said.

The expert of the Crimean Human Rights Group Volodymyr Chekryn said that the employees of the Simferopol SIZO threatened Balukh with violence.

As it was reported earlier, the US Department of State representative Heather Nauert calls on Russian authorities in Crimea to free Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh who has been on hunger strike for over 48 days already.

Balukh's lawyer Olha Dinze reported that the convoy beat Volodymyr Balukh, the illegally convicted in the occupied Crimea, Ukrainian activist on April 2. In addition, according to her, the administration of the pre-trial detention center refused to give Ukrainian political prisoner water, saying he was on a hunger strike.

Related video:
There is a certain sequence in the actions of the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. It seems that they want to ensure that the Iranian leadership acts in their interests on issues that have nothing to do with the nuclear deal

Read the original text at 112.ua.

May 8, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran's nuclear program and the restoration of sanctions. This initiative was supported by Jerusalem. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed, based on the Israeli intelligence, that Iran had a secret military nuclear program, and the deal was built on deception (this program was completed in 2003). After the US withdrew from the nuclear deal, the Air Force of Israel inflicted several air strikes on Iranian military targets in Syria. Riyadh stood on the side of Washington. May 9, Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced the kingdom's desire to acquire his own nuclear weapon if it comes to Iran. In his opinion, Saudi Arabia is trying to avoid direct military confrontation with Iran, but its provocative behavior cannot continue and is tantamount to declaring war. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called Trump's decision to quit the nuclear deal as an act of psychological warfare. Sometimes he is right.

A psychological attack against Iran

There is still no consensus on why Trump and his Middle Eastern partners are going to confront Iran. Carnegie Moscow Center concluded that the Republican administration did not demonstrate a strategy on Iran after exiting the nuclear deal, and Trump's decision was motivated by the fulfillment of one of the campaign promises. There is no argument that Tehran violated the Joint Comprehensive Nuclear Action Plan. Experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have no complaints about Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal. All the participating countries, except the United States, are satisfied with the nature of the nuclear deal. The Iranians destroyed the central zone of the heavy water reactor in Arak, which could produce plutonium for nuclear warheads. Iran, together with China and Russia, will redesign reactors and centrifuges in Arak and Fordo to produce stable isotopes. Tehran abandoned the technology that is used to create nuclear weapons, including multipoint blast detonation systems and neutron sources of explosive type. Iran also refused from all the reserves of enriched uranium.

It is incorrect to say that the United States does not have a strategy on Iran after exiting the nuclear deal. The president does not have absolute authority and decisions are influenced by the US Congress, the Pentagon, the State Department, and various advisers. Before taking any decision, the White House analyzes all the possible risks and consequences. In the latest version of the National Security Strategy (the US foreign policy document), Iran is presented as a rogue country and a threat, as it destabilizes the region, threatens the interests of the US and its allies, sponsors terrorist organizations, develops advanced ballistic missiles and has the potential to develop a nuclear weapons. The nuclear deal is not directly related to these problems, and the US intentionally left it to justify a return to the policy of sanctions against Iran.

Iranian parliamentarians burn a sheet of paper depicting the American flag after the US withdraws from the nuclear deal, May 9, 2018

Washington, Jerusalem, and Riyadh need an excuse for pressure on Tehran in order to weaken its growing influence in the Middle East in conjunction with Moscow and Damascus. The United States is interested in forcing Iran to stop squeezing American interests out of the region, creating hotbeds of instability near the borders of Saudi Arabia and Israel, and abandoning the development of ballistic missiles in the radius of which US military bases fall. The US wants Iran to stop participating in the armed conflict in Syria on the side of Russia and the regime of President Bashar Assad, to sponsor the anti-Zionist terrorist organization Hezbollah that won parliamentary elections in Lebanon, the Husit rebels in the armed conflict in Yemen that shell the territory of the Saudi Arabia from ballistic missiles.

According to the publication of Foreign Policy, referring to a State Department official, the US's ultimate goal is to induce the Iranians to new negotiations and agree on a new deal. Trump is ready to negotiate with the Iranians about a new deal that will concern not only the nuclear program but also the development of ballistic missiles, the sponsorship of extremist groups and other "criminal acts" in the Middle East. In order for the Iranians to be more accommodating, Trump restored sanctions, which relate to the energy, petrochemical and banking sectors of Iran.

Trump threatened to introduce restrictive measures against other countries that cooperate with Iran in business and gave them up to 180 days to close previously concluded deals. Iran's key trade and economic partners are China, the European Union, India, and Turkey. Sanctions against Iran can reduce oil supplies to the world market by 500 thousand barrels per day. Turkey and India can refuse from Iranian oil in order not to aggravate relations with the United States. The contract of the French company Airbus for the delivery of 100 aircraft to Iran and the development of oil fields worth $ 5 billion is under the threat of failure. American company Boeing will not ship the aircraft to Iran. Trump expects that for the sake of preserving the trade and economic ties that have been worked out since 2015, Europe and China will try to convince Iran to agree to negotiations with the US on a new deal. Earlier, the United States gave other partners for a nuclear deal 120 days to finalize it. Instead, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged the owner of the Oval Office to maintain agreements with Iran.

Role and interests of Israel and Saudi Arabia

Israel and Saudi Arabia backed Trump's arguments in favor of withdrawing from the nuclear deal and restoring sanctions against Iran. Israeli air strikes in Syria were necessary to visually demonstrate to the international community the negative consequences of Iran's military activity in Syria. On the night of 9 to 10 May, Israeli pilots attacked Iranian military installations in Syria in response to the launch of 20 ballistic missiles in the direction of the positions of the Israeli army in the Golan Heights, which were intercepted. Jerusalem has benefited from the situation and destroyed the infrastructure in Syria, which could be used to bombard Israeli cities. Israeli pilots bombed warehouses with weapons that could be targeted at the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon.

The Israeli leadership has made it clear to Iranian colleagues that they do not have a real military and political allies who will support in the event of an armed conflict with Israel or the West. First of all, this concerns Russia. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the military parade in Moscow on May 9. During a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he compared Iran with Nazi Germany, said that any "suicidal ideology" must be repulsed in time. Despite the fact that earlier the General Staff of the Russian Federation announced the possibility of supplying S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Syria, on May 11, Vladimir Kozhin, Russian president's aide for military-technical cooperation, stressed that this was not yet being discussed. At different times, Russia supplied Iran with armored vehicles, military aircraft, helicopters, anti-aircraft missile systems, including the S-300. As it happened with the United States, Britain, and France shelling of Asad chemical facilities, the Russian military did not help the Iranian allies in repulsing Israeli air strikes. The possible reduction in the volume of Iranian oil on the world market due to sanctions will lead to an increase in prices for "black gold", which is beneficial to Russia as an exporter of energy.

Trump dances with King of Saudi Arabia Salman Arabian dance with swords

The rhetoric about the possibility of Saudi Arabia's acquisition of nuclear weapons creates the appearance of the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East to contain Iran. In 1988, China sold Saudi Arabia to 120 medium-range CSS-2 medium-range ballistic missiles, which are used in the Chinese army as carriers of nuclear warheads. After Islamabad successfully conducted nuclear tests, in 1998 information began to be exaggerated about the possible transfer by Pakistan of the nuclear technologies of Saudi Arabia in the event of an aggravation of the situation in the Middle East. The Iranian leadership is being made clear that if they resume the nuclear program and begin to enrich uranium again, then their main geopolitical competitor, Saudi Arabia, will have nuclear weapons. Although it is unlikely that Washington will permit the emergence of Riyadh own nuclear truncheons. If necessary, the Americans will deploy their own missiles in Saudi territory and strengthen local missile defense.

The United States and Saudi Arabia want to prove that Iran delivers its missiles to Islamic extremists and this has a negative impact on security in the Middle East. Al-Jubeir's statement came after May 9 the Husit launched ballistic missiles in the direction of Saudi Arabia from the territory of Yemen. Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Yemen, the Husits have released 104 ballistic missiles in the direction of the airports and the capital of Riyadh. Their Burkan 2H missiles resemble Qiam 1 and Shahab-2 ballistic missiles of Iranian design. Saudi Arabia is interested in international isolation of Iran for economic reasons. Iran is its competitor in the oil market in China, India, and other Asian countries.

Ambiguous consequences

Iranian President said that his country will continue to abide by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for the Nuclear Program and cooperate on this issue with the rest of the participating countries, will observe their position. Iranians have no reason to restore the nuclear missile program in response to US sanctions. The damage from them will not be as serious as from the sanctions of the UN Security Council, which operated until 2015. The volume of bilateral trade between the US and Iran has amounted to only 258 million dollars by the end of 2016. Britain, France, Germany, Russia, and China condemned the US exit from a nuclear deal. The restoration of sanctions against Iran is unprofitable for them from economic considerations. In 2017, Iran's trade turnover with the EU grew by 53% to 21 billion euros. In 2017, the trade turnover between Iran and China amounted to $ 40 billion. The two sides intend to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $ 50 billion this year. It is unlikely that absolutely all European and Chinese companies will follow American sanctions. The United States imposed sanctions against Iran because this state is not their major trade and economic partner.

The US withdrawal from the nuclear deal undermined the unity of the West. Similar disagreements between America and Europe arose in 2003, when France, Germany, and Russia did not support the US military operation in Iraq and the overthrow of the regime of President Saddam Hussein. Iran can play on the contradictions of the West and continue to develop ballistic missiles, sponsor Islamic extremists and, together with Russia, to influence the internal political situation in Syria. While the EU and China do not see a threat in Iran, they will not restore sanctions.

The United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia will not easily change Iran's behavior to a constructive course. In case of sanctions ineffectiveness, the partners will have to consider other options for influencing the Islamic Republic. Periodically, the issue of regime change in Iran is being discussed. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, presidential adviser for national security John Bolton, presidential adviser on cybersecurity support the regime change in Iran. The issue of the military operation in Iran was analyzed during the reign of a former President George W. Bush. However, there are no prospects for this in Iran. The theocratic regime, which is a corrupt alliance of the supporters of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the leaders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), controls the economic and political spheres. January hunger protests of youth in Tehran and large cities did not develop into large anti-government movements, as is happened in Venezuela. Sponsorship of separatist movements and inciting internal political conflicts in Iran is unlikely. For many years, the Iranian military has been holding back centrifugal tendencies in Iranian Kurdistan and fighting local separatists. Against the backdrop of the imposition of sanctions by the United States, anti-American sentiments will grow in Iran, and the ayatollah regime will shape the image of the enemy in America. Iranian society is able to consolidate when an external threat appears. The ayatollah regime will do everything possible to retain power and control over the major share of financial flows in the country.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or 112.International and its owners.
The ministry has changed the belonging of Sevastopol museum from the Russian to the Ukrainian

The Ministry of Culture of France has corrected the map on its official website where Sevastopol was marked as a part of Russia.

At the moment, Ukraine is specified as an address.

Earlier we reported that the French Culture Ministry has created a map with the partakers of the international action 'Museums Night' with their descriptions and addresses.

The Mikhail Kroshytski Sevastopol Art Museum is among the participants. Firstly, it was pointed as 9 Nakhimova Ave, Sevastopol, Russian Federation. Later the information was corrected and the Ukrainian belonging was pointed.

As we reported The New York Times newspaper published a map that depicts Crimea as disputed territory. It was published in the article Putins bridge to Crimea may carry more symbolism then traffic. The New York Times also cited Ekaterina Shulman, the political expert of the Academy of the Russian president who claims that the building of the bridge that unites Russian and the annexed peninsula is symbolical.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded from American newspaper to correct the status of the peninsula to temporary occupied. However, the NYT claimed that it will not change the map. Later, the newspaper added that it does not accept Russias position on the status of Crimea.
Ukraine's state security service detained Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the head of the pro-Kremlin news agency; the workers are charged with the same crime

Open source

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that Kyrylo Vyshynsky, a director of RIA Novosti news agency, is now officially suspected of state treason. Olena Hitlyanska, the press secretary of the SBU posted that on Tuesday evening.

'Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the leader of propagandist anti-Ukrainian information portal 'RIA Novosti Ukraine' is announced as a suspect in the crime. He is detained under the Article 208 of Ukraine's Criminal Procedure Code. The criminal case was initiated under the respective article of the Criminal Code (state treason)', Hitlyanska wrote.

As it was reported earlier, the officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has exposed the network of the media entities controlled by the Russian Federation. The law enforcement bodies hold the investigative actions at the office of RIA News-Ukraine.

At the same time, RIA News reported the SBU searches at the RIA News-Ukraine office in the downtown of Kyiv.
It's especially cynical that the bridge is opened shortly before the anniversary of the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian president said

The bridge over the Kerch Strait will be of use for the Russian occupants when they have to leave the Ukrainian peninsula. Petro Poroshenko, the president of Ukraine posted this on Facebook.

Poroshenko stated that construction and the opening of the bridge is 'another case of Russia ignoring the international law'.

'It's especially cynical that the bridge is opened shortly before the anniversary of the 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars, conducted by the Stalinist regime (May 18, 1944 - 112 International)', he wrote.

According to the Ukrainian leader, it is 'pretty appalling that the Russian government is trying to involve separate representatives of the European business in this initiative; thus, it aims to pay off, evading responsibility'.

'And the occupants are going to need the bridge for sure when they leave our Crimea in a hurry', Poroshenko concluded.
Non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, Kuwait, asked to add to agenda of May 15 the violence at Gaza-Israel border that started over the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem

Kuwait requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council due to the escalation of the situation in Gaza after the opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem. This was reported by Reuters with the reference to diplomatic sources.

The death toll in Gaza from Israeli live fire reached 52 on Monday, the highest level in a single day since a series of such protests demanding the right to return to ancestral homes in Israel began on March 30.

As it was reported earlier, at least 41 Palestinians were killed and around 500 were injured during the protests on the border of Gaza Strip against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

The news agency noted that the death toll on Gaza border is the highest since 2014.

It should be mentioned that the opening of the Embassy was scheduled within a longer term after Trumps decision, but the deadline was postponed so that the opening of a diplomatic institution could be dedicated to the 70th anniversary of Jerusalems foundation.

Earlier, the U.S. President Donald Trump announced the recognition of Jerusalem the capital of Israel on December 6 last year. He also claimed the intentions to move the U.S. Embassy, which was located in Tel-Aviv, to this town. On December 21 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution which calls the states for not recognizing Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
The Russian embassy is outraged due to the actions of the Ukrainian side

Open source The Russian embassy in Ukraine sent the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry a protest note due to the searches in the main office of RIA Novosti news agency. This is mentioned in the respective message on the embassy's website.

'In spite of our multiple demands to stop the systematic use of force against the reporters working for Russian information agencies, the Ukrainian side breaches its international commitments and the internal law, offending the freedom of speech, interfering with journalist activity and the public expression of views, oppressing correspondents,' the message says.

The Russian side urged the Ukrainian authorities to refrain from any further steps that could worsen the relations between the countries and get in the way of restoring the constructive dialogue.

As it was reported earlier, the officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has exposed the network of the media entities controlled by the Russian Federation. The law enforcement bodies hold the investigative actions at the office of RIA News-Ukraine.

At the same time, RIA News reported the SBU searches at the RIA News-Ukraine office in the downtown of Kyiv.
Open source

Combat dolphins that previously served with Ukraine's Navy deceased in the annexed Crimea where they were stationed. Borys Babin, Ukraine's presidential envoy in Crimea said this while on air with 112 Ukraine TV channel.

According to him, the mammals who lived and trained at the naval base in Sevastopol, contacted with the Ukrainian military, using special whistles. However, when the Russian instructors received the whistles and the rest of the equipment, the dolphins refused to contact them or even take food from them.

Babin added that the illegal construction of the Kerch Strat bridge led to serious environmental issues on the occupied peninsula.

'The office of the presidential envoy in Crimea developed an action plan, which aims to counteract the Russian aggression on the peninsula. 'I'm sure we will have it approved in June, and let the public see it. This is a huge document, which covers the actual issues of defense and security', he said.

After the annexation of Crimea in February 2014, combat dolphins and seals that had served with Ukraine's Navy were considered the Russian Navy property.
Open source

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) made a tough statement that condemns the growth of the anti-Semitism, violence toward the Romani, the activity of the Ukrainian Institute National Memory headed by Viatrovych as the press service of the museum reported.

Also, the USHMM expressed the deep concern about the recent manifestations of intolerance and anti-Semitism in Ukraine, including the violence toward the Romani communities in Kyiv and Lviv.

'On April 21 members of the neo-Nazi Ukrainian organization C14 in the Holosiyiv District of Kyiv forced 15 families to flee the area and burned down their dwellings. On May 9, approximately 30 masked men burned down the Rudne settlement in the Lviv district. The Roma were targeted by the Nazis during World War II and at least 200,000 were killed by the Germans and their collaborators', the message said.

According to the message, a lot of things should be done for the fight against the anti-Semitism and anti-Romani prejudices and to stop the different attempts to distort the Holocaust history 'by glorifying Nazi collaborators and white-washing historical truth', taking into account the opened criminal proceeding due to the attack of the Romani community in Kyiv and recent statement of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko who strongly condemned 'any manifestations of intolerance and antisemitism'.

At the same time, the museum has noted an important of the creation of the Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar.

'This will require greater consistency of government action. The Memorandum of Cooperation signed on March 18 between the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Education and Science, Kyiv Municipality, and the National Historical and Memorial Reserve Babyn Yar is a positive step promising to advance the project to create the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center, a museum and educational center, at one of the most horrendous mass murder sites of the Holocaust', the message said.

However, according to the statement, the continuing efforts led by the Ukrainian Institute National Memory on the glorification of particular leaders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and 'cleanse their murderous records raises doubts regarding the governments intentions'.

The museum urges the Ukrainian government to consistently fight against new manifestation of the intolerance, including anti-Semitism and anti-Romani sentiments and honestly oppose the past of the country, including the participation of some Ukrainian in the murder of Jews and Romani during WWII.

'Consistency in the governments approach and the commitment of national resources to initiatives to memorialize and educate about the tragedy of Babyn Yar and the Holocaust in Ukraine will be positive steps in this process', the message said.

Earlier more than 50 U.S. Congressmen appealed to the U.S. State Department with a letter that expresses the concern due to the growth of the anti-Semitism, distorting the Holocaust in Europe, especially in Poland and Ukraine.
The Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv has extended the arrest of MP Nadia Savchenko until July 13 as Interfax-Ukraine reported.

The court has satisfied the proper appeal of the Chief Military Prosecutor's Office.

On May 14 during the court session, Savchenko claimed that Paruby issued her a weapon commenting the statement of Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko that the Russian officers issued her the weapons.

As we reported Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv decided on the preventive measures for Savchenko, which is custody for two months until May 20, 2018, without a right for a bail. Besides, the Court decided that the detention on March 22 was illegal. On March 29, the Appeal Court of Kyiv kept Savchenkos arrest effective.

The same day the MP went on the hunger strike. She also emphasized that she is not going to escape from Ukraine. On April 12, Savchenko was transferred from the remand center to the hospital for the examination.

On April 16, it was reported that Savchenko continued her hunger strike and polygraph was postponed until April 17.

On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles.

Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle.
It is suspected that the offenders were shooting from either an air pistol or a flober revolver

Open source

A minibus was shot near Lisova metro station in Kyiv at around 23.00 on May 14. This was reported by Kyiv Operative on Facebook.

The minibus which got fired at was driving on the route Kyiv-Brovary.

It is suspected that the offenders were shooting from either an air pistol or a flobert revolver.

Fortunately, there were no casualties as a result of the incident.

As it was reported earlier, the police have found around 100 illegal immigrants in Kyiv, according to the press office of Internal Ministry. The migrants were taken to the Desnianskyi Police Department to determine personal data, documents and the way they came to Ukraine and the individuals who helped them. 32 immigrants did not have any documents, which would give the right of residence in Ukraine.

The immigrants came from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia.

It was determined that all of them came to Kyiv from Russia bypassing the official checkpoints through Ukrainian border. Every illegal immigrant paid $3-5 thousand to their countrymen, who helped them to get into the country.
Open source

The actions of Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the Head of RIA News-Ukraine were preliminarily qualified as the state treason. Ihor Ponochevny, the Head of Supervision Department for Criminal Proceeding of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea claimed this as 112 Ukraine broadcasted.

'After the finish of the searches, a decision was made and the issue was solved on the detention of Kyrylo Vyshynsky, the main defendant of this criminal proceeding. The necessary investigative and procedural actions will be held with him such as: assuming measures and so on. At the moment, the preliminary qualification of the crime is the state treason. The things that were brought against him: the medals Vyshynsky got for his subversive actions against Ukraine we found and confiscated', he said.

Two passports: Russian and Ukrainian were found as Viktor Kononenko, the First Deputy SBU Head reported.

'The passport of the citizen of Russia was found during the searches, the person has the dual citizenship. The issue of the revocation of his citizenship will be also considered', Kononenko said.

Totally, SBU and Crimean Prosecutor's Office held five authorized searches: two at the offices and three at the apartments.

'Today, we together with the Prosecutor's Office of Crimea hold five authorized searches. The basis was the operative information on the targeted actions of Russia on the attraction of the journalists, Ukrainian citizens to the subversive information activity against our state. We established citizen of Ukraine Kyrylo V. Vyshynsky who was appointed as the head of the Ukrainian department of the mass media by the leadership of the international information agency 'Russia Today'. It was established and recorded that in spring 2014 Vyshynsky was ordered to enter Crimea for the holding of the subversive information campaigns. Exactly he and the journalists controlled by him created the materials that justified the annexation of Crimea and joining of Crimea to Russia. Vyshynsky was awarded state medal 'For return of Crimea' by the order of the Russian president exactly for this activity', Kononenko claimed.

Also, he claimed that Vyshynsky initiated active actions on the support of the terrorist organizations 'Donetsk People's Republic' and 'Luhansk People's Republic' after his return from Russia to Kyiv.

He was paid by Russia for his subversive actions.

'Mr. Vyshynsky was constantly paid for this. We can talk about 53, 000 euro per month for such activity. The funds were transferred from Serbia: from Russia to Serbia, from Serbia to Ukraine and here they were distributed by Vyshynsky among the structures ad persons attracted in the illegal activity', Kononenko claimed.

As we reported the workers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has exposed the network of the media entities controlled by the Russian Federation. The law enforcement bodies held the investigative actions at the office of RIA News-Ukraine.

At the moment the SBU considers the detention of the head of RIA News Ukraine agencys office.

Kremlin has already responded to the incident and called the actions of the SBU outrageous. Also, Russia promised to assume reciprocal measures.
The MP also claimed that her absence at the Verkhovna Rada's sessions is a violation of the Ukrainians' rights

Ukrainian MP Nadia Savchenko has asked the court to bring her to the meetings with voters to different cities of Ukraine handcuffed and in a police van as 112 Ukraine broadcasted.

During the court session, Savchenko has appealed to the court with a request to bring her from the remand center to the sessions of the Verkhovna Rada.

'Please, arranged me a transportation from the remand center to the Verkhovna Rada every morning; it can take place with a convoy. Of course, the guards cannot enter the session hall, there are such laws and rules  then wait for me near the doors while I am working in the session hall. Bring me to the committee for a work, National Security and Defense Committee where a lot of cases of the covered corruption take place', Savchenko claimed.

Also, the MP has asked to bring her to the meetings with the voters to different cities of Ukraine at least handcuffed and in the police van.

'Every week assigned for the communication of the MPs and people I drive over Ukraine to the different place and hold the meetings with people. Please, convoy arranged me such possibility, bring me to the cities of Ukraine, even in the police van and handcuffed. I will communicate with the Ukrainian citizens. I will accept their appeals. I will inform them of the things that take place. People have a right to know the truth, and then bring me back to the remand center to not interfere the work of the MP as it is the violation of the Ukrainians' rights and not mine', Savchenko noted.

On May 14 during the court session, Savchenko claimed that Paruby issued her a weapon commenting the statement of Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko that the Russian officers issued her the weapons.

As we reported Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv decided on the preventive measures for Savchenko, which is custody for two months until May 20, 2018, without a right for a bail. Besides, the Court decided that the detention on March 22 was illegal. On March 29, the Appeal Court of Kyiv kept Savchenkos arrest effective.

The same day the MP went on the hunger strike. She also emphasized that she is not going to escape from Ukraine. On April 12, Savchenko was transferred from the remand center to the hospital for the examination.

On April 16, it was reported that Savchenko continued her hunger strike and polygraph was postponed until April 17.

On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles.

Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle.
Also, the MP commented on her statement that Ukrainian parliament's speaker issued her weapons

Open source

Nadia Savchenko, the Ukrainian MP has claimed at the court that she is ready to spend 22 years in the jails of the Russian Federation in return for 60 Kremlin prisoners from Ukraine as 112 Ukraine broadcasted.

During the court session Savchenko called the condition under which she is ready to spend 22 years in the Russian jail.

'Talking about me, I perfectly understand which destiny I will face in Russia. If, for example, they will release all 60 Ukrainian prisoners and Crimean Tatars from Russian jails then I will agree with the destiny and spend 22 years in Russia', she noted.

Also, the MP claimed that the only weapon she owns is a gifted pistol Glock 17 issued by Andry Paruby, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

'Talking about the weapons, Andry Paruby issued me the only weapon I own and it is at the enabling department now as it was confiscated during a search. It is a gifted pistol Glock 17 issued by Paruby. Nobody gave or passed me another weapon and other speculations and fictions will be opened at the courts', Savchenko said.

On May 14 during the court session, Savchenko claimed that Paruby issued her a weapon commenting the statement of Prosecutor General Yury Lutsenko that the Russian officers issued her the weapons.

As we reported, Shevchenkivsky Court of Kyiv decided on the preventive measures for Savchenko, which is custody for two months until May 20, 2018, without a right for a bail. Besides, the Court decided that the detention on March 22 was illegal. On March 29, the Appeal Court of Kyiv kept Savchenkos arrest effective.

The same day the MP went on the hunger strike. She also emphasized that she is not going to escape from Ukraine. On April 12, Savchenko was transferred from the remand center to the hospital for the examination.

On April 16, it was reported that Savchenko continued her hunger strike and polygraph was postponed until April 17.

On March 15, Lutsenko claimed during his speech at the parliament that Savchenko personally planned, recruited and ordered how to hold the terrorist attack in the Verkhovna Rada, destroying two lodges, governmental and post, by the combat grenades, bringing down the dome of the Verkhovna Rada by the mortar launchers and killing the survived with the assault rifles.

Also, it was reported that non-affiliated MP Nadia Savchenko and Volodymyr Ruban, the Head of 'Officer Corps' planned to attack the cortege of the President of Ukraine with the large caliber sniper rifle.
Dan Crawford | May 15, 2018 5:35 am



(Dan hereunemployment rates were about the same at 3.1 per cent (M) and 3.0 per cent (W). Taking a look at other measures of the success of an economy for the average person is well displayed here)

Via Eeconomic Policy Institute comes this study:

Since 2010, Minnesotas economy has performed far better for working families than Wisconsins
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has declared a three-day mourning in honor of the more than 5 dozens of Palestinians who were killed during clashes with the Israeli army in Gaza, Anadolu news agency reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said the decision was made after consulting with President Erdogan, according to Anadolu.

Bozdag addressed severe criticism against the US for the incident, saying that the US has already covered its hands in the blood of Palestinians along with Israel.

Todays massacre is the joint work of the US and Israel and both countries are the primary responsible ones for it, he said.

Bozdag said May 14 will go down in history as bloody Monday.

On May 14, the US Embassy was inaugurated in Jerusalem.

The opening of the embassy caused discontent among Palestinians, prompting protests in Gaza.

Israel used tear gas against the protesters, as well as live fire.

Nearly 58 people died and more than 2700 were wounded.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan addressed a congratulatory message on the Family Day, the Parliament told Armenpress.

The message reads:

Dear compatriots,

I cordially congratulate all families of Armenia and Artsakh on the Family Day and wish them all the best.

I sincerely address my greetings to our sisters and brothers of the Diaspora living with the joys and concerns of the Motherland.

At the same time I address special words to all brotherly peoples living in Armenia for whom all conditions for preservation of the national identity have been created.

Family is the foundation of the society, here tomorrows citizen of Armenia grows up, here important human characteristics, such as kindness, respect towards each other and love towards the homeland, spiritual link between senior and junior generations are being formed. The Armenian family played a unique role for the preservation of our national identity. Its firmness, protection and maintenance of the best traditions will guarantee Armenias tomorrow. Therefore, all issues relating to family have been and will remain in the special spotlight of the state.

I once again congratulate all of us on the Family Day, wish all families in Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora peace, health, happiness and good luck.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian police dismissed media reports claiming that the law enforcement agencys departments are inactive and idle after changes in the commanding staff.

The report is false. Police work has always been and is institutional in nature. Both the commanding and department staff are fulfilling their duties fully, police said in a statement.

.the society can judge on the results of the work by information of the media from at least the recent days, police said.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The finance ministry of Armenia has denied media reports by Zhamanak daily claiming that former minister Vardan Aramyan had called on the staff of the ministry to resign, like him.

The newspaper also claimed that Aramyan had told the ministry staff that the Pashinyan government will soon fail and they will return to work in 2-3 months.

The ministry released a statement, notifying that no one else other than minister Aramyan has filed for resignation.

Moreover, not only arent there staff changes in the ministry due to change of the government, but there are also no deviations from implementing functions. The report is also out of reasoning due to the fact that new minister Atom Janjughazyan is a former deputy minister of finance, who was in office during the tenure of Aramyan himself.

We are, to say the least, confused from this report, which is not only completely false but is also defamation and an unclear tendency of at least a dishonest reporter, the finance ministry said in the statement.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. North and South Koreas have agreed to hold high-level talks on May 16 to discuss the future steps aimed at implementing the agreements reached during the April 27 meeting between their two leaders, Interfax reports citing the Yonhap news agency.

This time as well the talks will be held in the Panmunjom border crossing point.

North Korea will send a delegation consisting of 29 people.

South Koreas delegation will be led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.

These will be the first talks between the two states since the April 27 historical meeting of their two leaders. They aim at implementing the declaration signed by the two leaders based on the summit results.

The first inter-Korean summit was held on April 27 in the border village of Panmunjom over the past more than ten years.

Before the launch of talks the two leaders expressed readiness to hold a constructive dialogue aimed at establishing peace and prosperity in the Korean Peninsula.

South Korea and North Korea agreed to end all hostile actions against each other.

The declaration signed by the leaders of South Korea Moon Jae-in and North Korea Kim Jong-un says the two leaders confirmed that their countries seek denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. According to the declaration, the sides will continue the active dialogue at a high level.

The two countries also agreed to solve the humanitarian issues, including the issue of unification of Korean families.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan




YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation during which they discussed the settlement of the Syrian conflict, as well as reaffirmed the two countries commitment to the Iran nuclear deal in light of the US withdrawal from the accord, the Kremlin press service said, TASS reports.

Putin and Macron exchanged views on issues concerning ways to resolve the Syrian conflict and paid special attention to the situation surrounding Washingtons unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Irans nuclear program. Russia and France reaffirmed their commitment to the implementation of this agreement, the statement reads.

Putin also extended condolences to the French President over the May 12 Paris terror attack.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan has clarified the legal basis for detaining then-MPs Nikol Pashinyan, Sasun Michaelyan and Ararat Mirzoyan during the demonstrations in April.

Speaking during a parliamentary committee sitting, the Prosecutor General responded to a question from Yelk faction MP Edmon Marukyan, stressing that the MPs were detained on April 22 for organizing illegal rallies and marches.

Marukyan requested the Prosecutor General to present the legal grounds for detaining the lawmakers, stressing that Pashinyan was basically kidnapped because no one was aware of his whereabouts.

Marukyan also noted that after the detention, motions have been filed to the parliament to strip the MPs of immunity. Marukyan asked to clarify on these motions.

Davtyan stressed that a detainee is entitled to a phone call to notify on his whereabouts.

At the same time, the investigator in charge of the proceedings has the right to delay this call up to 12 hours at the agreement of his superior. As far as I know the necessary deadlines have been maintained in this issue, the Prosecutor General said.

He clarified that the Prosecutor Generals Office had filed a motion to the parliament on stripping from immunity only in regard to Nikol Pashinyan, but this was followed by the deputy PMs request on retracting the motion. After this I addressed a letter to the Speaker of Parliament and asked to remove this issue from the agenda, he said.

On April 22, opposition MPs Nikol Pashinyan (incumbent PM), Ararat Mirzoyan (incumbent deputy PM) and Sasun Michaelyan, were detained by police during a rally in Yerevan, despite their immunity. The lawmakers were released a day later. The same day, PM Serzh Sargsyan resigned and Pashinyan was subsequently elected PM on May 8.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Ethnic Armenian lawmaker of Turkeys Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Garo Paylan announced that he is going to visit partys candidate for the president, jailed lawmaker Selahettin Demirtas on May 15, reports Armenpress.

Paylan said on Twitter that he has applied to the Turkish justice ministry with the request to meet with Demirtas 18 months ago, but only now the minister provided him permission to visit Demirtas.

Garo Paylan said he is ready to convey all greetings, proposals and messages to the presidential candidate.

Selahattin Demirtas is jailed since 2016 pending proceedings over terror related charges. The jailed lawmaker faces up to 142 years imprisonment if found guilty on terror related charges.

Turkey will have both presidential and parliamentary snap elections on June 24. The country will transition into a presidential system from its current parliamentary system after the elections.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Masis Mayilian on May 15 received students of the Diplomatic School of Armenia, who arrived in Artsakh on a traditional visit, led by School Director, Ambassador Vahe Gabriyelian, the artsakh foreign ministry told Armenpress.

During the meeting, Masis Mayilian briefed on the peculiarities of the diplomatic activities of Artsakh, as well as the main functions of the Central Office of the Foreign Ministry and the Permanent Representations of Artsakh in foreign countries. The FM also touched upon the priority directions of Artsakh's foreign policy, in particular, the processes of international recognition of Artsakh and peaceful settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Artsakh.

Masis Mayilian appreciated the high level of cooperation between the two Armenian states in the foreign policy sphere, stressing the importance of coordinated work in resolving issues of pan-Armenian significance.

During the meeting, the minister answered the numerous questions of the students.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of France Edouard Philippe sent a congratulatory letter to Nikol Pashinyan on being elected Prime Minister of Armenia, the Armenian PMs Office said.

The letter says:

I congratulate you on your election as Armenias Prime Minister and wish you success.

France and Armenia have unique bilateral mutual relations based on ancient historical ties and current unique political relations which are reflected at governments, parliaments, local self-governance and civil society levels of our countries.

Today, more than ever, France stands with Armenia to accompany it on the path to legal state and consolidation of reforms.

As you know, France in the Minsk Group is committed to the process on finding a peaceful and negotiated solution for the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. France will continue the efforts aimed at reaching the settlement.

The recent Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed with the European Union, France also had a practical participation in its talks, brings new dynamics, which, I hope, will be expressed by the increase of investments and commercial ties between the two countries.

The upcoming October 11-12 Francophonie summit in Yerevan is a unique chance to deepen the ties between our countries and to strengthen French in Armenia, in particular through re-localization of the French University in Armenia and the French school named after Anatole France, as well as finishing the Charles Aznavour Center which is called to become a French culture showroom in Yerevan. France will stand with Armenia to ensure its part of participation in the success of the summit.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan






YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. The delegation of the Munich University of Federal Armed Forces paid a study visit to the National Defense Research University of the defense ministry of Armenia, the NDRU told Armenpress.

Lieutenant General Hayk Kotanjian, Founding Head, NDRU, Doctor of Political Science, Professor, introduced the guests the activities of the University at the Conference Hall, briefed in detail on the research (Institute for National Strategic Studies  INSS) and the educational (National Institute for Strategic Defense Security Education  NISDSE) components of the NDRU. As Professor Kotanjian stated, the educational process in the University evolved via the leading Western research universities and institutes model, as well as with the account of the Russian think tanks practice, i.e., transferring the products of the academic-applied research as knowledge to the auditorium.

At the meeting Colonel Suren Davtyan, Head, NISDSEDeputy Head in Education, NDRU, briefed on the educational activity of the University. Benyamin Poghosyan, Head, INSSDeputy Head, NDRU, PhD in History, described the guests the security dynamics in the South Caucasus and neighboring region. Vahram Petrosyan, Senior Research Fellow, Center for Regional Strategic Analysis, INSS, NDRU, PhD in History, provided with the analysis of the Kurdish factor in the region. The research conducted in the IT and cyberspace security by the INSS Center for National Security Policy and Information-Communication Technologies was introduced by Arman Grigorian, Head of the center, PhD in Engineering. He in particular noted the NDRU-elaborated projects of the National Cybersecurity Strategy and that of adapting and implementing in Armenia the Chief Information Officer (CIO) system.

With the reports completed, the guests addressed questions to the NDRU specialists about Armenias balanced foreign policy, the prospectives of the Karabakh conflict regulation, relations between Armenia and Iran, Armenias integration possibilities into Chinas One Belt-One Road initiative, as well as the latest domestic political developments. The guests emphasized the role that the NDRU plays as a platform for strategic dialogue in academic-expert format between Armenias ally and partner states in terms of the evolving conflict between the RF and the West.

At the end of the meeting members of the Munich University emphasized their eagerness to develop cooperation between the two universities.
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has introduced his deputies  First Deputy PM Ararat Mirzoyan, Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan and Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan  to the staff of the government, the PMs office said.

The Prime Minister congratulated his deputies on being included in the Cabinet and wished successes.

We have an important work to do and we must justify the hopes of citizens of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people, because we shouldnt forget that we are here because of the peoples decision and we must depart from here again by their decision. These are the perceptions on the beginning and end of our activities and in this range we must serve the citizens of Armenia and the Armenian people.

The governments activity will be with the following logic: we must carry out effective steps and is we are convinced in the truthfulness on any step, taking into account existing arguments, then we must share it them with the public and be able to convince it the same way as we ourselves have been convinced, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said, adding that this must be the practice of the government, which stems from rules of democracy.

The PM said that citizens must feel that they are the most important source of decision-making. At the same time, PM Pashinyan emphasized that the government shouldnt go in a populist path, while upon doing all actions it should have the mandate of the citizens.

They must be convinced that we are doing most efficient steps. The most important actors of the organization of this process are the deputy Prime Ministers, and I wish you good luck in your activities. We must do our best in order to unite the best potential of Armenia and the Diaspora around our government. The assessment criterion should be professionalism and dedication to the job. I believe we will be guided by the following principle: those who will be in line with these criteria will continue working. Anyone who will show the productivity of their work and will desire to work, certainly, we will be grateful if they will continue their service to the Republic of Armenia and the people, the Prime Minister said. PM Pashinyan also thanked the former deputy PMs for their work.

First deputy Prime Minister Ararat Mirzoyan thanked the Prime Minister for the trust and emphasized that he shares the PMs approaches and principles regarding the source of government  citizens, on always being accountable to them.

I believe the task is rather clear, and those present and the society clearly realize that we are living in a new Armenia, that a clear line has been drawn. We all know what we need to get rid of, and we will go in that direction with firm and determined steps, First Deputy PM Ararat Mirzoyan said. He expressed hope that all representatives of the state apparatus, including the staff of the government, clearly realize their task.

Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan expressed conviction that the results of the new governments main activity will be true changes, which are anticipated. I think the changes which this government will implement will be unprecedented for the Republic of Armenia. I expect that we will have the most serious change of logic in the administration system in a short period of time, Deputy PM Tigran Avinyan said, expressing certainty that the government will have serious results.

Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan attached importance to united work and implementation of highly important programs for the benefit of raising the level of welfare of the people.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited the ministry of foreign affairs on May 15 and introduced newly-appointed foreign minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the ministry staff, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

PM Pashinyan said the diplomatic corps is one of the most developed systems of Armenia, adding that it enjoys trust among the citizens. He thanked former foreign minister Edward Nalbandian for the work carried out and stated: The motivation to propose the position of the minister to Mr. Mnatsakanyan was the following: to ensure the smoothness of political changes for the foreign ministry and the diplomatic corps. I think we should work hard in the future since there are serious issues in Armenias foreign policy agenda that are vital for the country. Armenias normal development, security and international reputation depend on our stance towards these matters, Nikol Pashinyan said, stating that at the moment Armenias international rating is at a very high level and its a great opportunity to turn it into foreign policy achievements. The PM stated that the diplomatic corps must be kept away from the impact of political changes which is a good way to effectively organize the work.

In his turn Edward Nalbandian congratulated the newly-appointed foreign minister and expressed confidence that it would be possible to record new achievements in the foreign policy field by his leadership and activity of the systems professional diplomats.

New minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan thanked the Prime Minister for the trust and said over the past years the diplomatic corps led by Edward Nalbandian has increased its professional capacities and potential. I understand the whole volume of existing challenges, but feel myself confident and strong with the existing great team. Based on our huge potential I am confident that together we will continue moving forward Armenias agenda, Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said.

President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian on May 12 signed a decree on appointing Zohrab Mnatsakanyan minister of foreign affairs of Armenia. Before appointment Mnatsakanyan has been serving as Armenia's Permanent Representative to the UN since 2014.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Prosecutor General Arthur Davtyan says he expects a wider public support in terms of uncovering the 2008 March 1 events after the change in the countrys political situation.

For example, we owe the public for our successes in the fight against corruption during last year, Davtyan said during a press conference.

The Prosecutor General specified his expectations. When you invite hundreds of witnesses, question them, but the witness says he has no information, however we have information that he has been present at the given scene next to the victim, the case cannot advance.

The proceeding are the witnesses of the testimonies themselves, the expertise, the materials, he said.

Asked if second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan will be questioned over the March 1 events, Davtyan said: Anyone will be questioned, regardless of who it is, if grounds will exist. I ask to take into consideration that there are two important components for summoning someone for questioning: first are the necessary grounds for it, the other  the body in charge of the proceedings assesses itself, based on tactical point of view, at what moment to question, today, tomorrow, or to acquire materials then only.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias deputy minister of foreign affairs Ashot Hovakimyan participated on May 14 in the Victims of Ethnic and Religious Violence in the Middle East international ministerial conference in Brussels. The conference was co-chaired by Belgium and Lebanon, the foreign ministry said.

Foreign minister and deputy foreign ministers of numerous countries were taking part in the conference, as well as executives of international organizations, representatives of religious and ethnic communities, representatives of anti-terror, humanitarian and human rights agencies and centers.

Belgiums deputy PM and foreign minister Didier Reynders and Lebanons minister of foreign affairs and emigrants Gebran Bassil delivered opening remarks.

In his speech, the Armenian deputy FM addressed the mass murders and violence committed by DAESH and Al Nusra terrorist organizations in Syria and Iraq against religious and ethnic groups, namely Christians.

The deputy minister stressed that Armenia was among the first countries to condemn the mass massacres of civilian population, including Christians and representatives of other religious groups committed by these terror organizations. Hovakimyan also notified that Armenia and its partners have organized several high level international events on this subject within the UN and OSCE.

In this context the deputy minister pointed out the annihilation attempt of the Yazidi community of Iraq as a flagrant example of the spread of evil of terror. Hovakimyan mentioned that in January of 2018 the Armenian parliament officially recognized and strictly condemned the Yazidi genocide committed by terrorist organization  thus emphasizing Armenias unconditional commitment in continuing the struggle for preventing genocides and other crimes against humanity.

The deputy minister stressed that recently Daesh, Al Nusra and other terrorist groups have been mostly crushed, however for the complete eradication of this evil a multiplication of the united efforts of the international community are is required.

Ashot Hovakimyan also mentioned that the return of foreign terrorists to our region from the Middle East is a serious problem now, which can lead to escalation in conflict zones, because returning terrorists are importing their extremist ideas and conduct of violence  contributing to the radicalization of societies.

Hovakimyan mentioned that the spread of violence in the Middle East has caused great harm to the Armenian communities of the region, many of representatives of which have died during terror attacks, Armenian settlements, churches, schools and cultural establishments have been damaged and destroyed. As a result, one century after the genocide against Armenians committed by Ottoman Turkey Armenians are once again forced to leave their settlements.

In response to Azerbaijani FM Elmar Mammadyarovs speech, Hovakimyan reminded the Azerbaijani DAESH style crimes against Armenians committed on xenophobic motives, and labeled the Azeri FMs approaches on the NK conflict as false and baseless.

Hovakimyan also mentioned that the Azerbaijani state sanctioned policy of justifying hate crimes and glorifying the perpetrators, state sanctioned violence and terror sponsorship and state-level belligerent rhetoric are strictly condemnable.

The deputy FM had discussions and meetings with foreign ministers of several countries and executives of international organizations on the sidelines of the conference.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on May 15 visited the finance ministry where he introduced newly-appointed minister Atom Janjughazyan to the ministry staff, reports Armenpress.

Previously Atom Janjughazyan was serving as first deputy finance minister and chief treasurer.

The meeting was also attended by former finance minister Vardan Aramyan.

PM Pashinyan thanked Vardan Aramyan for the work carried out so far. Mr. Vardan Aramyan and Mr. Atom Janjughazyan are persons who pleasantly surprised me after I became a Prime Minister. It was pleasant to listen that the financial system has operated normally despite the tense domestic political situation. I hope we will be able to overcome the sense of panic soon. For the future we have a task to properly present the state budget, mid-term expenditure drafts. I am convinced that you, Mr. Janjughazyan, can properly implement this work, PM Pashinyan said.

Addressing former minister Vardan Aramyan, the PM said: I consider you as a professional person, I am convinced that you will do everything to assist the new minister.

In his turn Vardan Aramyan thanked for good words and expressed gratitude to his colleagues of the ministry. He said Atom Janjughazyan is quite familiar with the financial system. I am ready to assist everyone on any matter.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve our homeland in this high position, the new minister said.

By the proposal of PM Nikol Pashinyan and the decree of President Armen Sarkissian, Atom Janjughazyan was appointed minister of finance on May 12.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Andrej Babis sent a congratulatory letter to Armenias Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on assuming office and wished him success in this responsible work, the Armenian PMs Office told Armenpress.

Please accept my sincere congratulations on your election as Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia.

The recent events are an evidence of the powerful democratic spirit of the Armenian people. I am convinced that despite ongoing numerous challenges your tenure as a Prime Minister will contribute to the countrys peaceful and free development.

I want to assure you that the Czech Republic is ready to assist all your efforts aimed at strengthening the democratic principles and institutions in Armenia and support you in the process of reforms. We particularly expect to cooperate within the frames of implementation of the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, reads the Czech PMs congratulatory letter.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan




YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenias new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expects that the parliamentary majority Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) will approve his governments program.

I think yes, it [RPA] will approve, and we will work normally. No one should be tempted to misjudge the political situation, the PM said at a briefing, in response to the question of ARMENPRESS.

Commenting on the question about the dates of snap elections, the PM said: We will discuss it. I think this year [the elections will be held].

Armenian lawmakers elected Nikol Pashinyan Prime Minister of Armenia on May 8.

The new Cabinet was formed on May 12: all ministers and deputy PMs were appointed on that day.

After the formation of the Cabinet, the PM submits the governments program to the Parliament within 20 days.

The Parliament approves the governments program within seven days by the majority of votes of the total number of MPs.

The RPA has 58 seats in the 105-seat unicameral Parliament of Armenia.

Pashinyan needs votes from the RPA for the approval of the governments program.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian President Armen Sarkissian had a meeting on May 15 with Karen Israelyan, a former director of the presently defunct Nairit factory and Tigran Sargsyan, attorney of the factorys staff and members of the coordinating group dealing with the legal representation of the employees.

The meeting was scheduled back on May 7 when the President personally exited his residence to meet with the workers of the factory who were protesting outside.

The attorney of the workers of the defunct Nairit plant presented the latters discontent over the court proceedings, mentioning that the conduct of the judges in the Nairit case is biased. According to Tigran Sargsyan, the rights of the Nairit workers are being violated and the judges are deliberately protracting the proceedings.

The attorney also raised the issue of Nairits re-launch and presented their ideas.

They mentioned that the problems of the factory werent solved for many years and the previous governments actions havent been effective.

President Sarkissian said that the judicial system must also go through changes step by step in the new environment in the country, and that partial judges shouldnt be in the system. The President said that within his constitutional powers he has discussed these issues with the leadership of the system.

The President attached importance to the discussion of these issues with the government. As a priority, the President mentioned the expert re-evaluation of the existing state and re-launch opportunities of the factory, as well as the possible interest of investors in this direction.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he is convinced that the government will work productively.

Pashinyan was talking to reporters about discussions on the appointments of young officials in the Cabinet. They are saying he is inexperienced, without experience of administration about me too. We are beginning a new chapter. I think the composition of the government is balanced. Both the experienced and inexperienced are inexperienced in being ministers and not in life and political career. A ministers activity isnt a specialized, rather a political activity: I am convinced that the government will work productively. If issues relating to productivity arise in terms of individual officials and ministers, they will be quickly solved, but I am convinced that everything will be good, PM Pashinyan said.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Lawmaker of the Republican Party (HHK) faction Gevorg Kostanyan says he doesnt see a need for early parliamentary elections at this moment.

Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Kostanyan said early elections isnt an end in itself and they must solve a political issue. But if the political situation and arrangement is such that the actions of both the opposition and the government are aimed at the welfare of the country, I am deeply convinced that there is no need for early elections, he said, adding that if a political appropriateness would exist, in all cases early elections must be held from the perspective of legal grounds.

Asked what he considers to be political necessity in which case early elections will be understandable, Kostanyan said: For example, if a parliament-government contrast happens. If there is no political contradiction, then there is no necessity. If the government and the parliament work together coordinated, and if creating grounds for the parliaments dissolution must be an end in itself, I cant give an assessment to this. If this is done simply for the sake of doing, without the presence of contradiction, I cant give an answer to it.

Kostanyan also mentioned that the parliamentary majority  the HHK  hasnt put a task on having or not having power.

We all understand one thing, that regardless the political situation, if our government in person of Nikol Pashinyan or anyone else were to fail, then the country also fails. Therefore, I am sure that the HHK faction cant do something which will lead to the governments failure, he added.

ENGLISH: Editor/Translator - Stepan Kocharyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Speaker of the Parliament of Armenia Ara Babloyan on May 15 received the delegation led by Deputy Speaker of the Parliament (Riksdag) of Sweden Bjorn Soder, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress.

Welcoming the guests, Ara Babloyan attached importance to the multilayer and mutually beneficial cooperation with Sweden, the intensification of inter-parliamentary contacts which is contributed by the activity of parliamentary friendship groups and the mutual visits of the parliamentarians.

Sweden is considered as one of the exemplary countries in terms of democracy and human rights. In this context Speaker Babloyan highly appreciated Swedens support to democratic processes in Armenia and reaffirmed the Armenian sides readiness to continue and deepen the constructive dialogue.

Babloyan introduced the domestic political developments to the guest and stated that the recent events in Armenia are an evidence of democracy development in Armenia which is an irreversible truth. Our countrys security and peoples welfare are the most important for us, he said.

Touching upon the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement, the Speaker of the Parliament said it opens new page in the history of relations. Ara Babloyan expressed hope that the Swedish Parliament will ratify the document as soon as possible.

In his turn the Deputy Speaker of the Swedish Parliament also attached importance to the expansion of bilateral ties, intensification of inter-parliamentary cooperation. Commenting on the domestic political developments in Armenia, Bjorn Soder said democracy manifestations in Armenia contributed to the increase of the countrys international rating. He assured that Sweden will support Armenia in its initiatives.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on May 15 introduced newly-appointed minister of territorial administration and development Suren Papikyan to the ministry staff, reports Armenpress.

The PM said he attaches great importance to the issue of proportionate territorial development and sees new opportunities for its implementation in this new situation. I hope new investments will come to Armenia and especially from the Diaspora. It will also contribute to the territorial development. I hope the philosophy will change in this new political situation, people will more think about creating jobs in provinces, PM Nikol Pashinyan said.

He stated that the irrigation water must become as available as the electricity. We should work on the effectiveness of the activity of local self-government bodies, the PM said.

The newly-appointed minister Papikyan said he met with the sectoral representatives. We are ready to work on the issues you voiced, he said.

Suren Papikyan said it is necessary to contribute to democracy development. PM Pashinyan added that the public must be engaged in governance processes, and the reforms must be supported by the public in order to be effective.

Suren Papikyan was appointed minister of territorial administration and development on May 12 by the decree of the President and the proposal of the PM.

English translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, 15 MAY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 15 May, USD exchange rate down by 0.74 drams to 484.56 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 3.35 drams to 577.89 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate down by 0.03 drams to 7.83 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 2.65 drams to 656.48 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 101.61 drams to 20561.9 drams. Silver price down by 2.19 drams to 259.31 drams. Platinum price down by 99.92 drams to 14348.23 drams.
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Spain Mariano Rajoy sent a congratulatory message to Nikol Pashinyan on the occasion of being elected Prime Minister of Armenia. ARMENPRESS reports, citing the official website of the Prime Minister, the message particularly runs as follows,

I want to extent my most sincere congratulations to you on the occasion of being appointed Prime Minister on behalf of the Government and personally me.

I believe that during your tenure Spain and Armenia will continue to strengthen the existing good and friendly relations between our two peoples in the same spirit of mutual understanding and cooperation.

You can be sure, Mr. Prime Minister, that in the person of Spain you have a resolute supporter of strengthening of Armenia-EU relations.

English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Czech Airlines will resume flights to Armenia from June 8, ARMENPRESS reports, ATO.RU website informs. The airline said the absence of flights for 4 years was due to a fall in foreign currency, which led to a decline in the demand for flights to the Czech Republic.

Last year the markets of Eastern European and South Caucasian countries stabilized and in some sense returned to the situation existing before the crisis, leading to increase in the demand of flights. For that reason we decided to return to the Armenian market and resume regular flights, an airline representative informed.

Yerevan-Prague flight will take place twice a week with Airbus A319 planes.

English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan emphasizes the necessity of making the public participant in decision making, Pashinyan announced during the introduction of the newly appointed Healthcare Minister. We have an employee (Pashinyan means the public-edit.) for whom the cause-and-effect relationship of our actions must be very clear and we have to make our decisions understandable for people, after which we can bring them into life. Our Government should never forget thank to whom and by whose mandate it has appeared here, Pashinyan said.

According to the PM, one of the priorities of the healthcare sphere is to ensure that no one needing healthcare or medical service remains near the doors of hospitals.

Minister Arsen Torosyan thanked for the trust, adding that its already 3 days he has started his work, has got acquainted with programs and has brought forward some initiatives. Irrespective of the fact that the patient has or has not any money in his pocket, he must not be deprived of medical services, the Minister said, adding that discussions are already underway for developing a more comprehensive model.

English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan
YEREVAN, MAY 15, ARMENPRESS.First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri cabled a message on Tuesday to congratulate appointment of new Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, ARMENPRESS reports, citing IRNA.

Jahangiri's message read that relations between the two countries have always been close and friendly and 'I am quite confident that during your tenure we will witness expansion of relations' and cooperation.



Iran's first vice-president also wished success and prosperity for the new Armenian premier along with welfare of the Armenian people.

English translator/editor: Tigran Sirekanyan
Bolivia will not host the Dakar Rally in 2019 amid ongoing disagreements with organisers ASO over the race course, government officials announced Tuesday. Bolivia has hosted stages of the race every year since 2014, which was "highly beneficial both financially and for the global promotion of Bolivia as a tourist destination", according to the local minister for culture Wilma Alanoca. But, she added in comments to La Razon newspaper: "We didn't reach an agreement that suits both parties so, as things stand, Bolivia won't be involved" in the 40th edition of the race once known as Paris-Dakar. "We were interested in expanding the course to include other regions (of Bolivia) to promote the country's diversity." The itinerary for the 2019 edition of the race was to be unveiled on Monday but was postponed by ASO -- who organise the Tour de France among many other well known events -- amid a series of disagreements over the course. The race cut through Chile in 2017 but bypassed the country this year and on Sunday, Chile said it would not host any stages in 2019 for financial reasons. Peru hosted the start in January -- when the race started in the capital Lima and crossed Bolivia before finishing in Cordoba (Argentina) -- and is set to be involved in next year's race. Stephane Peterhansel made a splash in Bolivia on his way to victory in 2018. The Dakar Rally will skip the country in 2019.
Another day, another battle. British Prime Minister Theresa May tries once again Tuesday to unite her warring ministers on a plan for post-Brexit trade ties with the EU. With less than 11 months to go until Britain quits the bloc, London has yet to set out a detailed plan for trade and lawmakers are becoming increasingly impatient over the lack of direction. Stephen Crabb, a Conservative MP and former minister, expressed concern that the government was involved in "some kind of ideological cage fight" with itself. Cabinet ministers are openly arguing about the government's two proposed options on trade, which are intended to reduce the need for customs checks, particularly on the Irish border. After a meeting two weeks ago broke up without agreement, May divided her top ministers into two groups to work on the proposals, forcing ministers to assess the merits of each idea. Their findings will be discussed at a ministerial Brexit meeting on Tuesday, although a final decision is not expected this week. The unorthodox approach to policymaking highlights the difficulties May has in balancing different views within her ruling Conservative party. The desire for Britain to forge its own path is countered by the fear of cutting economic ties. But the failure to decide is causing consternation among lawmakers. Former education minister Nicky Morgan warned on Monday that "parliament will have to step up to the plate". Crabb said most Conservative MPs wanted a pragmatic compromise, and warned that if ministers did not back May, "they will find that parliament will be making the decisions for them". - Parliamentary maths - May is acutely aware of the need to get parliament onside, as both the Houses of Commons and Lords will have to sign off on any final Brexit deal agreed with Brussels. Ahead of Tuesday's cabinet meeting, May met privately with Conservative MPs to explain to them the government's proposals. Conservative chief whip Julian Smith, who is responsible for getting legislation through parliament, also now regularly attends ministerial meetings on Brexit. "It comes down to the maths. The cabinet is irrelevant if she can't get the legislation through," one opposition MP told AFP. The House of Lords recently defeated the government 14 times over its flagship EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which sets out the legal framework for Brexit. Peers made a string of amendments on customs and single market access and the powers of parliament to amend the final Brexit deal. MPs must now vote on each amendment, although the bill has been delayed, prompting claims that the government fears it will be defeated again. Other Brexit legislation is backing up, with trade and customs bills stalled and others on immigration, fishing and farming still due. - 'Fanatical Tory caucus' - Hardline pro-Brexit MPs have been vocal in refusing to compromise their demands for a clean break with Brussels so as to "take back control" of Britain's laws and borders. They have criticised May's preferred customs plan, in which Britain would effectively collect tariffs on behalf of the EU -- a plan Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has blasted as "crazy". They favour the "maximum facilitation" proposal, which would use technology to ease cross-border trade, while allowing Britain to set its own customs rules. The eurosceptics wield significant influence in Downing Street, but when it comes to a vote in parliament commentators put their numbers at no more than 100 MPs -- less than one third of the Conservative party. Pro-Europeans from all parties meanwhile are increasingly working together, using WhatsApp to coordinate their activities. The main opposition Labour party also changed the dynamic when it gave conditional backing to a new customs union with the EU. Some of its members are now pressing for the party to support a Norway-style continued membership of the single market, an option backed by more than 80 Labour peers in an amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill. In an editorial, The Guardian newspaper said May should accept the need for closer economic ties as the only way to make the parliamentary arithmetic work. "The prime minister would have to relinquish the support of the most fanatical Tory caucus, but she could make up the numbers with support from opposition MPs," it said. A video grab from footage broadcast by the UK Parliament's Parliamentary Recording Unit shows British Prime Minister Theresa May addressing MPs flanked by pro-Brexit Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond who favours close EU ties
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and Catalonia's new separatist leader Quim Torra said Tuesday they were willing to meet, as the regional president prepares to form a government and keep fighting to break from Spain. Torra made a request to meet Rajoy earlier in the day from Berlin, where he was visiting deposed Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont as controversy grows over his appointment, with critics accusing him of "xenophobia" for past comments deemed offensive to the Spanish. "My first aim of this new Catalan government is to offer dialogue to the Spanish government," he told reporters. Prime Minister "Rajoy please you fix a time and place," he said, standing next to Puigdemont, who is battling extradition to Spain on charges of rebellion and misuse of public funds. Rajoy responded from Sofia where he held talks with his Bulgarian counterpart that he would meet him, although he cautioned that Torra would have to respect the law and added there would never be an independent Catalan republic. Torra, who was handpicked by Puigdemont as his successor, also asked the central government to hand back control over Catalonia's finances after Madrid said it would maintain its oversight on spending in the region to prevent it from funding a fresh secession bid. "We won't accept these conditions," Torra said, as Madrid prepares to otherwise lift direct rule it imposed on Catalonia after Puigdemont and other separatist leaders declared independence on October 27. - 'Dangerous, irresponsible' - Torra, a 55-year-old editor who has long campaigned for independence, was appointed Catalan president on Monday after scraping through a regional parliamentary vote. He described himself as a "caretaker president" as he awaits the return of Puigdemont, whom he considers the "legitimate" leader. A series of tweets and articles over past years have overshadowed his appointment, with independent, anti-racism group SOS Racisme Catalunya slamming them on Tuesday. "We reject the discourse that Mr Torra has used repeatedly," the group said. "A dangerous, irresponsible and unacceptable discourse, based in prejudices," a statement said, adding it would remain vigilant to denounce any potential "racist stances". In a series of articles published online, Torra said it was not "natural" to speak Spanish in Catalonia. He also described Spain as "a country that exports misery" and branded those who do not defend the Catalan language and culture "scavengers, vipers and hyenas." A since-deleted tweet he posted in 2012 said: "The Spanish are coming to monitor us, out of here once and for all!". Torra has also said a new armed uprising was necessary, just like the one Francesc Macia, Catalan president from 1931 to 1933, planned in 1926 against the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. "He defends xenophobia," Ines Arrimadas, the leader in Catalonia of the centre-right, anti-independence Ciudadanos party, said Monday. Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis added Tuesday he was concerned over a "discriminatory form of nationalism" in Catalonia, according to a statement by a forum in which he took part in the southern city of Sevilla. The allegations could harm the separatist movement in Catalonia which has always strived to differentiate itself from radical, xenophobic nationalisms that have arisen elsewhere in Europe. It is estimated that more than 60 percent of the region's 7.5 million inhabitants originate from other parts of Spain. While the pro-independence movement has grown in strength over the years, the region remains deeply divided on the issue. Torra has repeatedly apologised for his past comments, which he said were taken out of context. Responding to the controversy from Berlin, he quoted Macia, whom he said offered to the rest of Spanish people the fraternity of the people of Catalonia when he proclaimed a Catalan republic in 1931. It is "with the same aim that I am taking the presidency of Catalonia, fraternity to all the peoples of Spain," he said in English. - Jailed, exiled ministers back? - Torra also said that all regional ministers sacked by Madrid after the failed secession bid -- many of whom are now jailed or exiled and face rebellion charges -- will be allowed to return to their posts in his government if they want to. But this could throw a spanner in the works. "If this option was put on the table, we would have to look into it and determine if it is in line with the law and justifies lifting" direct rule, Spain's central government representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo, warned on Catalan television. The new Catalan regional president Quim Torra addresses a press conference in Berlin as controversy grows over his election with critics accusing him of "xenophobia" against the Spanish The newly elected Catalan regional president Quim Torra (R) and exiled ousted leader Carles Puigdemont attend a press conference in Berlin on May 15, 2018 Controversy is growing over the election of radical separatist Quim Torra as the new Catalan president with critics accusing him of "xenophobia" for past tweets and articles deemed offensive to the Spanish
It may be tough buying a gift for the couple who appears to have everything, but Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says he has already picked a wedding present for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.

Mr Turnbull told Melbourne radio station 3AW there was a present, but would only reveal a small clue as to what it was.

We do have a present. We cant reveal it just yet, he said.

It is very Australian and appeals to their interests.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was coy about the royal wedding gift. Source: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Australia has bought gifts for the royals in the past, with former prime minister Julia Gillard donating $25,000 to the Royal Flying Doctor Service to celebrate the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges nuptials in 2011.

According to News Corp, Australia gave Prince Charles and Diana a set of octagonal sterling silver platters in 1981 and Queen Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten were gifted with two silver salvers and comports in 1947.
Australians with a sweet tooth or two are shattered to learn popular confectionary brand Starburst has been removed from supermarket shelves due to poor sales.

Coles confirmed on Tuesday it made the difficult decision to axe the well-loved lollies from its shelves nationally, in line with Woolworths, which removed the range back in December 2015.

Aside from the iconic square fruit chews, the Starburst range also included lollipops, gummies and snakes.

Popular confectionary brand Starburst has been removed from supermarket shelves nationally. Source: Starburst / Facebook

The news was met with widespread disappointment, as consumers took to social media on Tuesday to express their pain.

Unfortunately we can confirm that Starburst varieties have been removed from our national range, a Coles spokesperson wrote in response to a consumers Facebook query.

We understand how frustrating it can be to see a favourite product disappear from the shelf and we can assure you that this decision is not one made lightly.

In response to another social media query, a Coles spokesperson revealed the lollies were removed to make way for other brands.

Many consumers have expressed their dissatisfaction in the supermarket giants suggested alternatives of Coles or Allens branded lollies.

Woolworths confirmed to Yahoo7 the brand was removed from its shelves almost three years ago.

We discontinued ranging starburst products in late 2015. We continue to stock a wide range of delicious chocolates and sweets which are very popular with our customers and great value, a spokesperson said in a statement.

A Change.org petition has been created in a bid for Coles and Woolworths to restock the Starburst range.

It is understood IGA supermarkets will continue to stock the Starburst range.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Tuesday that a planned summit this week of the world's main pan-Islamic body would send a "strong message" after Israeli forces killed dozens of Palestinians along the Gaza border. "The extraordinary meeting on Friday will give a very strong message to the world from Istanbul," Erdogan said at a press conference in London with British Prime Minister Theresa May. He added that all members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) were invited. Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and last year hosted an OIC summit in Istanbul to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The fresh violence in Gaza on Monday, when Israel's army killed 60 Palestinians during protests, came as the US formally moved its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier confirmed that Turkey had called the OIC summit, saying it would be followed by a giant rally in support of the Palestinians. Which leaders may attend Friday's meeting has yet to be made clear. But earlier, Erdogan spoke by telephone to Jordan's King Abdullah and Malaysia's 92-year-old new leader Mahathir Mohamad. Speaking alongside May, Erdogan warned that history would not forgive Israel or the US for moving the American embassy to Jerusalem in defiance of outrage in the Islamic world. "America says 'I am strong and so I am right'. No, you are not right," Erdogan said. "History will not forgive you. We will see this reality. Israel won't be forgiven, we will see this as well," he added. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the fresh violence in Gaza at a press conference in London
France's ethnic Chechens, mindful that many of their youth have fought jihad in Iraq or Syria, sought Monday to reckon with the deadly Islamist knife rampage in Paris by one of their own. "We're like a family," said Ismael, the treasurer of the Caucasian Association of Strasbourg, a city in eastern France with a sizeable Chechen population. "If someone, a Chechen does something wrong it affects everyone. It's not a nice image for our community." Two days after Khamzat Azimov, a 20-year-old naturalised Frenchman who grew up in Strasbourg, killed a man and wounded four other people in a central Paris district before police gunned him down, several members said the French Chechen community was in shock. "Chechens are decent people," said Chechen refugee Naourbek Chokuev. "In their religious practice they seek honour and truth... not to harm others." Chokuev, 51, fled to France in 2002 while the second of two bloody separatist wars was raging in the small Russian republic in the southern Caucasus. The conflict gave birth to a fierce Islamic insurgency that would eventually produce fighters who would join other militant groups, including the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for Saturday's attack in Paris. The number of Chechens in France is impossible to determine because they are part of the overall Russian community. Some have been naturalised, such as Azimov and his mother. The French Office for the Protection of Refugees (Ofpra) says around 15,000 Russian refugees live in France including many Chechens. Many are in Paris and eastern France, notably in Strasbourg which hosts the European Court of Human Rights. France's Chechens are sensitive to being associated with compatriots who have joined IS. A source at France's DGSI intelligence agency said 10 percent of French nationals fighting in Iraq and Syria have been of Chechen origin. "Recruiters are attracted by the profile," said Anne Giudicelli, director of a risk consultancy, Terrorisc. "Chechens have a reputation as strong, loyal and violent." Azimov's killing spree "has affected us a lot," said Bekhan Verigov, president of a support group in the nearby city of Nancy, home to between 100 and 200 Chechen families. "Azimov does not represent Chechens," he said. " Most fled their country precisely because of the war, because of terrorism." - 'They stick to themselves' - "The Chechens stick to themselves... helping each other," said a former neighbour of the Azimov family in the working-class Strasbourg suburb of Schiltigheim. For Chokuev, who teaches French to Russian-speakers in Strasbourg, "the hardest part is the language barrier (which) makes integration and access to work difficult." A middle-school teacher in Strasbourg says his Chechen pupils are often "tough kids" who have seen war. "They're afraid of nothing and often good at sports... some are excellent students." Bruno Studer, a local MP, said he had observed some members of the Chechen community become radicalised "but there are also exemplary families in their attitude towards France." In the southeastern Riviera city of Nice, an imam who represents the Chechen community told AFP: "It's difficult for us today because there are young people who are manipulated." After Chechnya's back-to-back wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, "Chechens had no psychological rehabilitation," said Said Emin Ibraguimov, a former government minister who fled to Strasbourg in 2001. He blamed the vulnerability of the youth on a lack of cultural organisations for the Chechen diaspora. "Anyone can tell them 'so many Chechens were killed in the war, now it's time for revenge!" Members of the Chechen population in France said they were left in shock following Saturday's attack in Paris An image grab taken from a video released on May 13, 2018 by Amaq, the Islamic State group's propaganda agency, shows Khamzat Azimov, who grew up in Strasbourg
US and Afghan aircraft Tuesday bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire. Special forces from Kandahar and Herat were rushed to the city to take part in the fighting, which residents said began around midnight. Sporadic clashes were still ongoing late Tuesday, provincial council member Dadullah Qani told AFP. It was the latest in a series of attempts by the Taliban over the past three years to capture urban centres. Afghan forces have been struggling to hold back the resurgent militant group since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014. Afghan officials and NATO's Resolute Support mission said that the government remained in control, but the Taliban also appeared confident, posting a flurry of social media updates throughout the day that purported to show their fighters in the city. Farah province, which borders Iran, has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years, and there have long been fears that the city is vulnerable. "The situation is very bad," Satar Hussaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP earlier. "Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said. "NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban." Qani confirmed Hussaini's comments. Gunfire and explosions could be heard as he spoke to an AFP reporter by telephone. The noise has "filled the city", said one resident who gave his name as Bilal, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS. NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul said the government remained in control of the city. "Afghans remain in lead," spokesman Lt Col Martin O'Donnell told AFP. "Both Afghan A-29s and Mi-17s have conducted multiple strikes. U.S. forces have conducted one drone strike (MQ-9) and a show-of-force with A-10s. Dozens of Taliban killed." Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said pockets of resistance remained, but "our forces are battling the enemy with high morale". With internet and mobile networks patchy, casualty figures were difficult to verify. Radmanish said four soldiers and "dozens" of insurgents had been killed. At least some militants have been hiding in private houses, making it difficult for Afghan forces to use heavy weapons, Farah governor Abdul Basir Salangi told Ariana News, adding: "But still we are taking back positions one by one." Many radio and television channels in the province have stopped broadcasting, fearing for their employees' lives, according to media watchdog Nai. The insurgents in a statement warned residents to remain in their homes and "stay calm". - Growing threat - The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture from the government. Farah is a poppy-growing province in an isolated region of Afghanistan. There are plans for a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline to traverse it, a project with which the Taliban have pledged to cooperate. But it has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017, insurgents tried three times to overrun the capital, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network. As such, Tuesday's offensive "should not have taken government forces off guard", said military analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail. Amarkhail added that "even ordinary citizens were aware of the Taliban gradually taking over more areas and becoming a formidable force in the province". He accused the government and military leadership of "turning a blind eye" until the insurgents actually entered the city. Afghan troops and police nationwide have struggled to cope with unrelenting militant attacks in recent years, their numbers sapped by killings and desertions. When asked about the issue, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that Afghan forces are actually being bolstered in the most important area -- special operations forces. Speaking earlier this month, he said this expansion was why the Taliban had not taken any district centres or provincial centres. The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, with the Afghan army deploying significant numbers of troops to hold those cities and push the militants out. Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth largest city and capital of the northern province of the same name, fell briefly to the Taliban in 2015. They along with the Islamic State group have also stepped up their attacks in the capital Kabul, which the UN says has in recent years become one of the country's deadliest places for civilians. Afghanistan has sent commandos to battle the Taliban in Farah Map of Afghanistan locating Farah
The European Union on Tuesday launched work on a nine-point economic plan to keep the Iran nuclear deal alive after the abrupt withdrawal of the United States. Europe is scrambling to come up with ways to persuade Iran to stick with the landmark 2015 agreement despite US President Donald Trump ditching it a week ago. Tehran has warned it is prepared to resume "industrial-scale" uranium enrichment "without any restrictions" unless Europe can provide solid guarantees that it can maintain the economic benefits it gained from the nuclear agreement despite Washington reimposing sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and his counterparts from Britain, France and Germany -- the three European signatories to pact -- in Brussels on the last leg of a whirlwind diplomatic tour that also took in Russia and China, the two other signatory nations. Mogherini said EU experts were aiming to come up with concrete proposals in the coming weeks on nine key issues including ensuring Iran could sell its oil and gas products and have access to international finance. "I believe it's a good start. We're not there, we're beginning the process," Zarif told reporters after the talks. But he warned that Tehran expected to see progress towards the guarantees it wants "within the next few weeks". Mogherini acknowledged the enormous challenge of finding a way around US sanctions punishing businesses trading with Iran, which apply all around the world. "We know it's a difficult task but we are detemined to do it and we have started to work to put in place measures that help ensure this happens," she told reporters. EU experts have already started work on measures to get round US sanctions on Iran, Mogherini said. Their efforts focus on nine key areas including maintaining economic ties with Iran, continuing Iran's ability to sell oil and gas products and protecting EU companies doing business in Iran. The EU is also looking at how it could develop special financing vehicles for doing business with Iran. - 'Respect the deal' - The European Union insists the deal is working, pointing to repeated UN inspections verifying the Islamic republic's compliance with its side of the bargain. EU leaders aim to show a united front on preserving the Iran deal when they meet for a pre-summit dinner in Sofia on Wednesday, European Council President Donald Tusk said. "I would like our debate to reconfirm without any doubt that as long as Iran respects the provisions of the deal, the EU will also respect it," Tusk said in a letter to the leaders on the eve of the summit. European firms, especially those from France and Germany, rushed to invest in Iran following the 2015 accord, under which Tehran agreed to freeze its nuclear programme in return for an end to punishing international sanctions. German exports to Iran totalled nearly 3.0 billion euros in 2017, while French exports soared from 562 million euros in 2015 to 1.5 billion in 2017 and oil giant Total has pledged to invest some $5 billion in the South Pars gas field. - 'No illusion' - When he quit the deal last week, US President Donald Trump gave businesses a maximum of six months to wind up operations in Iran or face swingeing penalties under American sanctions. "We have to be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extra-territoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to business," said British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. French President Emmanuel Macron held phone talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, and the Kremlin said they had "confirmed Russia and France's commitment to make the deal work". Washington has long complained that the nuclear deal does nothing to stop Iran's ballistic missile programme or its interference in conflicts across the Middle East from Syria to Yemen. On Sunday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington still wants to work with Europe to counter Iran's "malign behaviour" and was working hard to thrash out a more wide-ranging deal with its European partners. But Mogherini cast doubt on the idea on Tuesday, saying the deal "doesn't need to be changed, modified or have any addition". "We're not talking about annexes or modifications of the agreement at all, we're talking about setting up concrete measures" to preserve the deal, Mogherini said. Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, second from left, meets with his French, German and British counterparts and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, left, in Brussels
The leader of Italy's anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), Luigi Di Maio, said Tuesday that if his party can strike a coalition deal with the far-right League a "bomb" will hit a political system fearful of change. The two parties have been locked in talks to reach a coalition government agreement and bring an end to two months of political deadlock following inconclusive elections. However after negotiations had looked promising ahead of a deadline on Monday, they were extended when League leader Matteo Salvini laid down conditions on the "key issues" of immigration and policy regarding the European Union. On Tuesday both men stressed that they had only been negotiating for six days, compared with the six months of torturous post-election bartering before a government could be formed in Germany. In a Facebook video, Di Maio said that the establishment feared change but "the more they attack us the more I am motivated" to reach a deal. "I see in a certain establishment such a fear of change," he said. "If we get there it will be a bomb -- but a bomb in the positive sense. With courage we will succeed in returning citizens their rights and returning Italy to her rightful place on the European stage." EU Commission vice-president Jyrki Katainen had warned on Tuesday against the formation of a government that might disregard the terms of the EU's stability and growth pact. Di Maio shrugged off such warnings as the protests of "Eurocrats that nobody elected". Salvini, saying he was "optimistic but realistic" about a deal, took rhetorical aim via social media at EU migration commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos. "That's enough! Yet more unacceptable interference from someone never elected. We have taken in and looked after too many (migrants). Now it's time for legality, security and expulsions," Salvini said. Salvini said the League wanted "strong government and a tax and security revolution," but admitted it remained "far apart" from M5S on several issues. He also said the only alternative to a deal was another election. Di Maio said that any accord would be put to party supporters for online approval and full details would be available for their perusal by the weekend. The two parties won more than 50 percent of the March vote between them as they look to lead the eurozone's third largest economy. Anti-establishment Five Star Movement leader Luigi Di Maio says if his group can strike a deal to govern with the far-right League it will be a "bomb in the positive sense" detonating over Italy's political establishment Leader of the far-right League Matteo Salvini admitted that his party and the M5S were still far apart on several issues, including migration and security
A Queensland man has been slammed after his friend posted images online of him handling a potentially venomous snake.

Alex Bowden took to Facebook group Townsville Snake Catchers on Monday to share two photos of Wyatt McDonald holding up the snake with a tree branch after pinching it by the tail.

Mr Bowden asked: Just wondering what kind of snake this is?

Other users were quick to criticise the pairs actions, suggesting handling of snakes should be left to professionals.

One that should be left alone . And people wonder why they get bitten, one user wrote.

If you dont know  why are you touching it? another user questioned.

Wyatt McDonalds handling of an unknown snake faced criticism online on Monday. Source: Facebook/ Alex Bowden

Registered snake catcher David Mills waded into the discussion, identifying the reptile as a mildly venomous brown tree snake.

Despite not condoning their behaviour, Mr Mills said Mr McDonalds handling was OK and that he himself had picked up snakes I didnt know what they were.

Dr Ronelle Welton, from the University of Melbournes Australian Venom Research Unit, said one-fifth of snake bite fatalities occurred when people tried to pick up the snakes.

People should not attempt to pick up snakes and need to be encouraged to practice appropriate first aid and know CPR, Dr Welton said.

In February, Sunshine Coast Snake Catcher Max Jackson warned the public to avoid handling snakes at all costs after receiving worrying images of people mishandling venomous reptiles.

If youre not sure of the snake species definitely do not touch it, we have some seriously dangerously species here in Australia so always keep your own safety first, he said.

In January, Sunshine Coast 24/7 snake catcher Stuart McKenzie issued a similar warning to Yahoo7 News, saying if finding an unknown snake, avoid contact at all costs.

Dont do anything silly and show them the respect they deserve. If you see a snake, keep your distance and dont take matters into your own hands, he said.

Call a snake catcher and they can remove them safely.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega opened talks on Wednesday with opposition groups in a bid to quell a month of anti-government unrest that has seen more than 50 people killed. The Church-mediated dialogue, which got underway in the capital Managua, involved representatives of university students who are leading the protests against Ortega as well as some from business groups and unions. Ortega told the room that the aim of the talks was to "get past this tragic moment" and restore "peace" to the country, one of Latin America's poorest. He was however interrupted by student representatives calling him a "murderer" and urging "an end to the repression." "We have come to demand you order the immediate halt of the attacks. You're the boss of the paramilitaries, of the troops, of the mobs backing the government," said a leader of the student coalition, Lester Aleman. The unrest was the worst faced by Ortega in his past 11 years as president. The protests were initially triggered by an aborted attempt to reform the near-bankrupt social security system, but quickly morphed into a street movement demanding Ortega's ouster over a range of grievances. Rights groups say at least 58 people were killed, the majority of them protesters. Ortega said Nicaragua's police now have orders to not open fire. He also said that "the deaths were on all sides," not only that of the protesters. Late Wednesday, foreign minister Denis Moncada announced an 11-strong delegation from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights would arrive in Managua on Thursday to observe the situation on the ground. The government had at first rejected such a mission while a parliament-created commission probed the deaths. - Challenge to Ortega's rule - The 72-year-old leader, who previously ruled between 1979 and 1990, is a former leftist Sandinista guerrilla who helped overthrow the US-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, but who himself has become seen as dictatorial. He has increasingly wielded power jointly with his wife Rosario Murillo, who is both his vice president and chief government spokesperson. Murillo, who attended the talks alongside her husband, said "we came here in good faith" and urged all present "to think of Nicaragua." But student representatives in the room made clear that they want the president and Murillo to step down. They also used the occasion to reject Ortega's portrayal of many of those killed as criminals or vandals. "They were students, not criminals," they yelled. The talks came one day after the most recent clashes between protesters and police, in the northern town of Matagalpa, which has long been under the sway of Ortega's Sandinista Front party. The town's mayor, Sadrach Zeledon, said one person was killed by "right-wing vandalism groups," referring to the demonstrators, who in turn said the victim, Wilber Reyes, was killed in attacks launched by police. The Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights spokesman in the city, German Herrera, told local TV station 100% Noticias that 35 people were injured in the clashes on Tuesday and at least 10 people had been arrested. The same day in Masaya, 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Managua, residents reported harsh repression by riot police, while in the capital, parents and students from private high schools marched to demand justice and freedom. The US embassy in Nicaragua has suspended the processing of non-immigrant visas until further notice, citing the instability. - Concessions - Ortega had accepted the notion of talks in the early days of the crackdown, but they were delayed for weeks. The Church deemed he had not fulfilled conditions under which they could be held -- among them that a regional human rights group be allowed to visit. Ortega made a series of other previous concessions after sharp domestic and international criticism over the use of security forces to put down the protests, and curbs on independent media to report them. Ortega's concessions included abandoning the social security reforms, freeing dozens of arrested protesters, lifting broadcast bans on private TV channels, and offering dialogue. Business leaders, as well as the army, appear to have distanced themselves from Ortega as the protests, and the deadly crackdown, continued. Frustrations have been voiced over corruption, the autocratic style of Ortega and Murillo, limited options to change the country's politics in elections, and the president's control over Congress, the courts, the military and the electoral authority. One of the bishops, Abelardo Meta, said in Wednesday's talks that the clerics had a demand of their own -- "that the police be pulled back to their barracks." "A revolution without arms has started. Here, it's not an army against an army -- it's a population that is unarmed," he said. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega speaks during the "national dialogue" aimed at quellin a month of anti-government unrest -- the worst he has faced in his past 11 years as president Students at Wednesday's talks shouted slogans in support of those killed in the unrest Anti-government demonstrators shout slogans outside the venue for Wednesday's crisis talks, which are being mediated by the country's Catholic bishops


Two parents have been arrested with 10 children removed from their custody after police found the kids living in squalid conditions in their Northern California home.

Jonathan Allen, 29, was arraigned Monday on felony torture and child abuse charges and the mother, Ina Rogers, 30, faces child neglect charges.

Police allege the children in their care range from four months to 12 years old living in what Lieutenant Greg Hurlbut described as squalid and unsafe conditions.

Lt Hurlbut alleged the children had puncture wounds, burns, bruises and injuries consistent with being shot with a pellet gun.

Jonathan Allen and his partner Ina Rogers allegedly had their children living on the floor of a filthy home in Northern California. Source: AAP

Rogers speaks to reporters outside the home following her arrest. Source: AAP

Police said the children have told of several incidents of intentional abuse dating back to 2014.

Lt Hurlbut also told ABC News 7 police found garbage and spoiled food on the floor with animal and human faeces. The officer added areas of the home are unpassable due to the large amount of debris.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Sharon Henry said the torture was carried out for sadistic purposes.

Concerned neighbour Larry Magney told the San Francisco Chronicle the couple moved in about a year ago and added he was shocked to learn 10 children lived in the home.

Police allege faeces were found on the floor of the home. Pictured: Bathroom inside the house. Source: AAP

Rogers called police in March after her 12-year-old son didnt come home. It was at this point authorities saw inside the family home.

But the 30-year-old alleged the squalor officers saw when investigating the missing-child report was her tearing apart the house as she searched for her son.

Shes been released on bail. Allen is being held on US$1.5 million bail.
The shift of low-value, energy-hungry manufacturing from China and India to coal-powered economies with even lower wages could be bad news for the fight against climate change, researchers cautioned Monday. As Asia's giants move up the globalisation food chain, many of the industries that helped propel their phenomenal growth -- textiles, apparel, basic electronics -- are moving to Vietnam, Indonesia and other nations investing heavily in a coal-powered future. Since the start of the Industrial Revolution, global warming has been caused mainly by burning oil, gas and especially carbon-rich coal. "This trend may seriously undermine international efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions," said Dabo Guan, a professor of climate change economics at the University of East Anglia in Britain and co-author of a study in Nature Communications. "The carbon intensity of the next phase of global economic development will determine whether ambitious climate targets such as stabilising at two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) will be met," he told AFP. The 196-nation Paris climate treaty, which goes into effect in 2020, calls for capping global warming at "well under" 2 C, and 1.5 C if possible. Global temperatures have already risen a full degree Celsius since the mid-19th century, enough to disrupt weather patterns and boost deadly storms, droughts and floods. Scientists have roughly calculated the amount of fossil fuels humanity can burn without exceeding those limits. On current trends, this "carbon budget" will be used up in a matter of decades and Earth will likely hot up another two or three degrees by century's end. The study, led by Jing Meng at the University of Cambridge, details a "new phase of globalisation" in which trade between developing countries expanded three times faster from 2005 to 2015 than international trade as a whole, which grew by 50 percent. - Coal still booming - In 2014, this so-called "South-South" trade stood at $9.3 trillion (7.8 trillion euros). This rapid growth "reflects a fragmenting of global supply chains," Guan said. "The early-production stages of many industries have relocated from China and India to lower-wage economies, a trend that has accelerated since the global financial crisis of 2008." The ability to reign in global warming, he warned, may depend on curbing the growth in coal-based energy in countries poised to take off by filling this link in the supply chain. "The future of climate change mitigation is, to an important degree, in the hands of South-South cooperation," he said by phone. The point is driven home by a second study showing that the planned expansion of coal-fired energy in Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam and other 2nd-generation emerging economies could wipe out efforts in China and India to slow coal consumption. Beijing and New Delhi have each cancelled more than 50 percent of planned coal-fired power plants, yet global coal investment continues to soar. New coal-fired power in Turkey and Vietnam, for example, would see their CO2 emissions from coal increase four and ten fold, respectively, from 2012 to 2030, according to the study, published in Environmental Research Letters. Money earmarked for coal development in Egypt has increased eightfold since 2016, while it has nearly doubled in Pakistan. "Although the costs of renewables have recently fallen, they still can't compete with cheap coal in many parts of the world," said co-author Jan Steckel, a researcher at the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin. The study also notes that China is increasingly investing in coal-fired power plants abroad. Global temperatures have already risen a full degree Celsius since the mid-19th century
GENEVA  The United Nations endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people for the first time ever Friday, passing a resolution hailed as historic by the U.S. and other backers and decried by some African and Muslim countries.The declaration was cautiously worded, expressing "grave concern" about abuses because of sexual orientation and commissioning a global report on discrimination against gays.But activists called it an important shift on an issue that has divided the global body for decades, and they credited the Obama administration's push for gay rights at home and abroad."This represents a historic moment to highlight the human rights abuses and violations that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement.Following tense negotiations, members of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favor of the declaration put forward by South Africa, with 23 votes in favor and 19 against.Backers included the U.S., the European Union, Brazil and other Latin American countries. Those against included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Pakistan. China, Burkina Faso and Zambia abstained, Kyrgyzstan didn't vote and Libya was suspended from the rights body earlier.
The foundation run by US-Hungarian billionaire George Soros said Tuesday it was closing its operations in Hungary and relocating to Germany in response to the "repressive" policies of Viktor Orban's government. "Faced with an increasingly repressive political and legal environment in Hungary, the Open Society Foundations (OSF) are moving their Budapest-based international operations and staff to the German capital, Berlin," the network said in a statement. OSF said the move follows steps by Orban to "impose further restrictions" on non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The 54-year-old premier, reelected for a third consecutive term last month, has long accused Soros of orchestrating immigration into Europe. Earlier this year, citing national security concerns, his government announced a so-called "Stop Soros" package of laws aimed at tightening rules for NGOs receiving funding from abroad. The proposals include a special tax on such NGOs, secret service surveillance of their staff, and a ban on any individuals deemed to be involved in "illegal immigration" from Hungary and its border zones. Rights groups in Hungary and abroad have denounced the proposals as a way of cracking down on groups critical of the government. "It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference," said Patrick Gaspard, OSF president in Tuesday's statement. Orban, who won by a landslide in the April 8 election, on Monday said the "Stop Soros" package would be one of the first bills tabled by the new government in the coming weeks. - '100m euro hate campaign' - The theme of thwarting Soros's alleged efforts to encourage immigration dominated the election campaign during which Orban said some 2,000 "mercenaries" paid by Soros were working in Hungary. The "Stop Soros" package was "one of the most important questions of the election, Hungarians voted for it ? what we said we would do, we will do," Orban said Monday on a visit to Warsaw. In recent years, the fiercely anti-immigration Orban has waged a series of large-scale taxpayer-funded information campaigns attacking Soros, accusing him of being a "public enemy" plotting to change the cultural fabric of Europe. OSF's Gaspard said the Hungarian government had funnelled more than 100 million euros in public funds into its "hate campaign" in order to "spread lies about the Foundations and their partners," he said. "The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union," he said. OSF said more than 100 OSF staff in Budapest would be affected by the move to Berlin, around 60 percent of whom are Hungarian nationals. Soros launched his first foundation in Hungary in 1984, using it to promote freedom of expression during the last years of Communism, the OSF said. The prestigious Soros-founded Central European University (CEU) is also waging a battle against Orban after a higher education law was passed last year that it says threatens its survival in Hungary. Hungary has led several major anti-Soros campaigns warning against the US billionaire's alleged plan to flood Europe with millions of migrants
Struggling Japanese conglomerate Toshiba said Tuesday it had bounced back into the black after a disastrous year and will avoid a humiliating delisting from the Tokyo stock exchange. "We were able to exit from a critical situation by eliminating excessive debt at the end of March," Toshiba's new chief executive Nobuaki Kurumatani told a news conference. "I personally regard it as the starting line for us... for transforming into an excellent company that can survive competition with global excellent companies," he said. The firm said it had booked a record net profit of 804.0 billion yen ($7.3 billion), compared with a loss of 965.7 billion yen a year earlier. That marks the first net profit for the firm in four years and was helped by one-off revenue from tax cuts linked to the sale of its nuclear units. However, operating profits dropped 21.9 percent to 64.1 billion yen while sales declined 2.4 percent to 3.95 trillion yen. Toshiba had been on the ropes after its disastrous acquisition of US nuclear energy firm Westinghouse, which racked up billions of dollars in losses before being placed under bankruptcy protection. Those losses came to light as the group was still reeling from revelations that top executives had pressured underlings to cover up weak results for years after the 2008 global financial meltdown. In order to survive and avoid delisting, the cash-strapped group decided on the multibillion-dollar sale of its prized chip business to a consortium led by Bain Capital. The chip unit brought in around 90 percent of Toshiba's total operating profit in the first six months of the fiscal year 2017 and was the crown jewel in a vast range of businesses ranging from home appliances to nuclear reactors. At the time the deal was seen as crucial to keeping it afloat after multi-billion-dollar losses. On Tuesday, Toshiba said it was still waiting for Chinese antitrust authorities to approve the key sale but denied speculation that it was considering reversing course in the deal. In November, Toshiba said it planned to raise 600 billion yen by issuing new shares, a move aimed at avoiding delisting even if the chip business sale is delayed. The firm said it expected a net profit of 1.07 trillion yen for the current year to March 2019, up 33.1 percent from the previous year, on sales of 3.6 trillion yen. Investors cheered the results, with Toshiba shares closing up 3.46 percent at 299 yen in Tokyo. Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Research Institute in Tokyo, warned that the sale of the chip business would be crucial. "We are paying close attention to the fate of its memory chip business. The cancellation of the deal will change the company's strategy significantly," Yasuda told AFP. "Toshiba needs to create a fresh source of profit, but it is likely to take two to three years to find and foster it." Toshiba is bouncing back after a terrible year


More than 70 police officers escorted five-year-old Dakota Pitts on his first day back to school after his dad was killed in the line of duty.

Heartwarming footage shows the youngster walking to the doors of his school, wearing his dads badge around his neck, flanked by dozens of officers standing in solidarity for the brave little boy.

His dad Rob Pitts was a 16-year veteran of the Terre Haute Police Department, in the US state of Indiana.

Dakota Pitts, the five-year-old son of Indiana police officer Rob Pitts, who was shot and killed by a homicide suspect, receives a guard of honour on his first day back to school following the tragedy. Source: WTHI-TV

He was one of four officers who were fired upon in an exchange of gunfire between police and a homicide suspect on May 4, the Terre Haute Police Department said.

The suspect was killed, while Officer Pitts died at Terre Haute Regional Hospital.

The 16-year veteran of the Terre Haute Police Department was killed in an exchange of gunfire between police and a homicide suspect, on Friday, May 4. Source: AP

Dakota had asked his mother if one of his dads friends could drive him to school on Monday, for his first day back following the tragedy.

When he arrived, the schoolboy was met with around 70 police officers who turned out to support him.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Joe Watts, left, consoles Terre Haute Chief of Police John Plasse, centre, at the scene of the fatal shooting. Source: AP

The SWAT Team even presented Dakota with his own SWAT shirt and badge.

He will definitely know his dad was a hero, Officer Pitts sister Kelli Jones told WTHI-TV.

Blood doesnt always make family and I think the blue family went above and beyond.
Ukraine's security service raided the Kiev offices of Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency on Tuesday, detaining one journalist who was accused of treason. The searches took place with relations between Moscow and Kiev already extremely strained over Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea and accusations that it fuelled a rebel conflict in eastern Ukraine that has cost some 10,000 lives. The raids and arrest came on the day that Russian President Vladimir Putin opened a bridge providing the first direct road connection from southern Russia to the Crimean peninsula. Olena Gitlyanska, a spokeswoman for the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said Russian-controlled media were being "used as tools in a hybrid war against Ukraine". Earlier RIA Novosti journalist Kyrylo Vyshynsky, a Ukrainian national who received a Russian passport in 2015 according to the presidential decree published on the official Kremlin website, was detained near his house in Kiev. "Currently, the preliminary qualification of the criminal offence (...) is treason," a representative of the prosecutor's office, Igor Ponochovny, told journalists during a joint briefing with the SBU official. SBU deputy chief Viktor Kononenko accused Vyshynsky of travelling to Crimea in 2014 to carry out "subversive" reporting to justify the peninsula's annexation. He said Vyshynsky later collaborated with separatist groups in eastern Ukraine. "For his work Vyshynsky was awarded the medal "For the return of Crimea" by the decree of Putin," said Kononenko. Vyshynsky, who has been heading up RIA Novosti's website for readers in Ukraine, received ample funding to carry out his work, said the SBU deputy chief. "Today we can say that he received 53,000 euros a month for such activities," said Kononenko. "The money was subsequently distributed to the groups and people involved. That was the reason for the searches." - OSCE 'concerned' - Russia immediately condemned the searches and detention of Vyshynsky. "If it is the case that the actions of Ukrainian law enforcement bodies are somehow connected with the professional work of these media organisations, that would be outrageous and scandalous," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists. "Any action against Russian media is unacceptable," he said, adding that the Ukrainian government has repeatedly "put pressure on freedom of speech" in the country. He warned that Moscow could take measures in response, saying the Kremlin "will vigorously defend the interests of Russian media to the fullest extent." The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir also raised concerns over the raid. "The fight against propaganda must not fall short of international standards and should not represent disproportionate interference in media activities," Desir said in a statement. The director of the public media conglomerate Rossiya Segodnya, the parent company of RIA Novosti, called for the release of Vyshynsky and said the "persecution" of Russian media in Ukraine must end. "This is not the first time when the Kiev regime tramples on fundamental rights and freedoms by persecuting journalists," Dmitry Kiselev was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti. Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the RT television channel that is also part of the same media group and shares office space with RIA Novosti in Kiev, linked the raids and arrest to the opening of the bridge. "Kiev decided to take revenge on us for the Crimean bridge," she said on her Twitter feed. - Media tensions - Up to 15 journalists work for RIA Novosti in Ukraine. Some of them are responsible for transmitting information to its headquarters in Moscow while others, led by Vyshynsky, are in charge of the ria.com.ua website for Ukrainian readers. Kiev authorities regularly accuse Russia of using its public media, including television stations which are very popular in Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine, to encourage separatist sentiment and undermine confidence in the current pro-European government. Ukraine had already banned the distribution of the main Russian TV channels on its territory, blocked the main Russian social networks and expelled several Russian journalists from its territory. Ukraine ranks 101st out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index, compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Russia came in at 148. Ukrainian journalists wait in front of closed door to the Kiev office of Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there could be retaliatory measures
US envoy Nikki Haley called Monday for the United Nations Security Council to take rapid action on the Rohingya crisis, which has seen over 700,000 people driven from their homes in Myanmar. "The active involvement of the Security Council is essential to bring an end to the Rohingya crisis," Haley said. "We have unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, and we must use them," she said, without specifying if she meant sanctions. Haley said the council should "move quickly to adopt a resolution," while acknowledging the inherent challenges as "some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons." She was apparently referring to China, which has resisted a British-led push at the council to increase pressure on Myanmar to try those responsible for attacks on the Rohingya. Some 700,000 people from the stateless Muslim minority have fled Myanmar's northern Rakhine state into neighboring Bangladesh since August to escape a bloody military crackdown. The violence has left a trail of torched villages in its wake, amid allegations of murder and rape at the hands of troops and vigilantes. US envoy Nikki Haley wants the United Nations Security Council to take rapid action on the Rohingya crisis, which has seen over 700,000 people driven from their homes in Myanmar
The woman believed to have been killed by her own father had written a chilling poem about domestic violence before her death.

Peter Miles, 61, is suspected of shooting dead his daughter Katrina Miles alongside her four children and his wife Cynda at a property near Margaret River, WA, last week.

Her children, Taye, 13, Rylan, 12, Ayre, 10, and Kayden, eight, found in bed with gunshot wounds, were all on the autism spectrum.

Mr Miles was also found dead at the property.

As the community mourns the familys death, domestic violence support group The Red Heart Campaign shared a heartbreaking poem Ms Miles wrote about domestic violence in 2014 from the perspective of her and her children.

Titled, Im battered not broken, Ms Miles talked about her hope for salvation and the shrieks of her children.

The echo of my shouts, the thump of my dignity slammed against a wall, she wrote.

Katrina Miles with her four children Rylan, Taye, Kayden and Arye. Source: Facebook

She goes on to talk about hearing the creak of a door and sound of a petrol ute stiffens our shoulders.

Paste those fake smiles, quick hurry quick hurry quick hurry, she wrote.

Shh shh child.

Please please please be good.

Be calm, be still.

Make it easy.

Ms Miles used the poem to speak of her shame and how she could not protect her family from open-handed fists, from cruel, persistent words.

Peter and Cynda Miles. Source: 7 News

She spoke of the need to obey, despite her hating that word, and expressed her want to break free.

There is no freedom for me, she said.

I stare, I stare, I stare.

I fear I am lost. But my children my children my children.

She said she constantly left and returned home and saving her children was most important to her.

I look in the young eyes that still love me, she wrote.

I ask myself, so ashamed, how can my children still love me.

I stayed so long, so long.

Katrina Miles father is suspected of killing her and her family. Source: 7 News

She said she asked God to save her and her children.

The Red Heart Campaigns founder Sherele Moody told news.com.au the shooting needed to be remembered as a domestic violence incident.

I hope her death will be something that will tun the light on domestic violence in Australia, she said.

Anybody experiencing domestic violence are urged to call the police or national hotline 1800 RESPECT.
At 14 years old, Ismail said he is "ready for anything" as he tries to board a boat for Europe and leave his Moroccan homeland behind. While waiting to fulfil his dream, Ismail ambles around the port of Ceuta -- a Spanish enclave in Morocco -- wandering the streets like dozens of other children. "At home, there's no future," said the teenager, slouched on the pavement dressed in a sweatshirt and beanie hat. Originally from Tangier in northern Morocco, Ismail said he grew up in a poor family and left school aged 12. With the permission of his mother, who prays for him to reach Europe, he travelled the 100 kilometres (60 miles) to Ceuta and two months ago climbed the border fence at dawn. Recounting his story surrounded by around a dozen youths, he described himself as "addicted to hashish" as his companions bickered over sharing a joint. A frail looking boy, the youngest of the group, acted as lookout in the ongoing game of hide and seek with Spain's Civil Guard police force. In order to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish enclave, migrants must first scale the barbed wire fences which mark the only land borders between Europe and Africa. Those under 18 are hoping to benefit from European legislation which gives them greater protection than adult migrants -- and limits the chances of their being deported. The regulations are enforced to varying degrees within the European Union and, after years of migrants travelling across the sea, the rules are becoming increasingly restrictive. - Dreams or destitution - But Ismail will not be deterred and sees his future in the Spanish capital, following in the footsteps of one of his neighbours. "He lives in Madrid, a really beautiful city," Ismail said passionately, describing his own wish to "become a mechanic, buy a car and a house". Like the dozens of young migrants in Ceuta, realising his dreams entails clinging onto the underside of a vehicle boarding a ship for the port of Algeciras in southern Spain. After making the 40-minute sea crossing, they continue their journey on land towards their final destination -- be it Madrid, Paris, or elsewhere. But whether originating from Sub-Saharan Africa, Morocco or Algeria, child and adult migrants frequently find themselves destitute. The charity Save the Children recently raised concerns about "the vulnerability of these boy migrants, who find themselves alone on the streets of Ceuta, exposed to all types of danger". In 2016 the organisation found a total of 246 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, and nearly 1,000 in Melilla. The group of young hopefuls in Ceuta survive by sleeping in cars and scrounging cigarettes and food. Research association Migreurop last month denounced "police violence" against the young migrants on both sides of the border, calling on Spain and Morocco to "respect the rights of child migrants". - 'Make a life' - Their perilous attempts to cling onto trucks going through the port are high-risk, with Ismail saying one of his friends was "killed intentionally" last month when he was run over. "Look, they want to finish with us," he said angrily, as truck drivers went full-speed at the sight of the approaching boys. Despite hostility from drivers and the authorities, one young woman arrived to offer the group some rare support. "She works for an association where you can go to shower, get online or watch films," said Nabil, the eldest of the group. Originally from the Moroccan capital Rabat, where he grew up in a working class neighbourhood, the 20-year-old passes himself off as a minor. Despite tales of success reaching the youths from Europe, the reality for young migrants is often far from the dreams held at the portside. Those who have gone before them are frequently left exploited and isolated, with dozens of young Moroccans resorting to petty theft to survive on the streets of Paris. They remain wary of authorities and often refuse help, prompting the resentment of locals. But the young migrants in Ceuta are determined to continue along their uncertain path, with Nabil aiming to reach Germany. To "make a life for myself and see what Morocco looks like from the outside," he said. A charity report in 2016 found a total of 246 unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, and nearly 1,000 in Melilla, both Spanish enclaves in North Africa In order to reach Ceuta or Melilla, another Spanish enclave, migrants must first scale the barbed wire fences which mark the only land borders between Europe and Africa.
What the national Democrats don't consider, according to Balter, is the support from voters in the district.

Balter received the designation from the four Democratic county committees in the 24th district. When she circulated petitions to get on the ballot, her team collected more than 8,000 signatures for the Democratic, Women's Equality and Working Families party lines.

She believes the national Democrats should've talked to supporters of the campaign and local Democratic leaders before deciding to back someone else to run against Katko.

"They don't pay attention to those things, which I was hoping was going to be one of the lessons out of the 2016 election cycle that national parties learned. And they seemed to not learn those lessons," she said. "So we're going to show them the right way to do politics and that you can be successful when you do it the right way and maybe they will learn the lesson."

Balter also thinks her willingness to break with the party when it's best for her district clashes with what the national Democrats want in a candidate.
Local Girl Scouts from the Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways (GSNYPENN) council have been busy taking part in community service projects and personal growth opportunities across the region this spring. These girls uphold the Girl Scout promise and law by helping others and working to make their communities and the world a better place.

Troop 60311, of Auburn, celebrated and recognized the Girl Scouts birthday by making birthday in a bag kits that included cake-making and party supplies. The troop donated the kits to the Auburn Rescue Mission, which provides supportive housing for families who are experiencing homelessness or are at risk of becoming homeless. The kits will be used to celebrate birthdays of those the Rescue Mission serves.

Troop 10029, of Skaneateles, collected candy donations and purchased plastic eggs to be filled for a local Easter egg hunt. More than 800 eggs were filled by the girls for the Eastern Farmworkers Association, a volunteer-run organization that works with low-income working families (farmers and their workers and former manufacturing workers whove had to assume temporary jobs following plant closures and relocations) to bridge the gap between rural communities and urban areas.

Summer camp adventures
The Philippines (winter 2014)Western US (fall 2011/2012/2013/2014)Turkey (fall 2010)France/Germany/Denmark/Hollan (summer 2010)Uganda/Tanzania/Kenya (winter 2010)China (fall 2009)France/Italy (summer 2009)South Africa/Lesotho/Mozambique (winter 2009)Southern U.S. (fall 2008/fall 2010/spring 2011)Spain and the Camino de Compostela (summer of 2008)Israel (winter 2008)Eastern U.S. (fall 2007)Great Britain (summer 2007)Venezuela (winter 2007)Japan (fall 2006)Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland (summer 2006)Western US (fall 2005)Ecuador (winter 2005)Italy (spring 2004/summer 2009)France (summer 2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019)Iceland (summer 2003)Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia (Fall 2002)Minneapolis to Chicago (summer 2002)Bolivia (spring 2002)Scandinavia--Finland, Norway, Sweden (summer 2001)Hes followed the Tour de France seventeen times beginning in 2004 , riding much of each year's route, fully loaded, before or after the peloton and sent out regular reports during the race, also posted here.He has a long-running email list that he sends updates to every few days when he's on tour.You can write him at: george6567@yahoo.com. If you like, he'll add you to his e-list.He spends the rest of the year also on a bike, working as a messenger in Chicago.He's also an independent film enthusiast, attending or working at several major film festivals annually, including Telluride and Cannes. His coverage of Cannes is also included here in May of 2004-2015.For a "Chicago Tribune" article on George see the January 17, 2002 entry of the blog. There is also a "Hollywood Reporter" article posted October 25, 2005, and a "Streetwise" cover story posted on April 17, 2010 and stories in French newspapers the past few summers.(I'm Jeff Potter and I helped George get his blog going. I run OutYourBackDoor.com , where I report on a wide range of everyday, affordable, healthy outdoor action. I also sell some hard-to-find indy culture media and other goodies. Lotsa bike stuff!)
Take a look at some adorable photos of the 15 most active dog breeds, according to the American Kennel Club.
LOS ANGELESOne doesn't have to be a fan of RuPaul's Drag Race on VH1 to want to be awed by the trans glam gals who were just everywhere in the L.A. Convention Center's 340,000-square-foot South Hall this past weekend, though clearly, most of the 50,000 attendees were fans, lining up in droves to see such Drag Race stars and contestants as Kim Chi, Bianca Del Rio, Aquaria, Shangela, Alyssa Edwards, Kameron Michaels and Sasha Velour, not to mention makeup gods such as Jeffree Star Cosmetics and Anastasia Beverly Hills.

RuPaul's DragCon LA was put together with the help of Worlds of Wonder, the company founded by Randy Barbato and Fenton Bailey, which XXX fans are likely familiar with as the producers/writers/directors of the acclaimed 2005 documentary, Inside Deep Throat.

"As we wrap up another DragCon on Mother's Day, it is especially exciting to see all the families that come to share the experience," said Bailey after the event's conclusion. "DragCon is about life, love, laughter and inclusion. Its about tearing down walls, not building them."

"The overwhelming success of this year's DragCon is a testament to the talent and creative vision of the hundreds of drag artists who attended the convention," added Barbato. "Drag has become a cultural force that is here to stay."

And what would a drag convention be without its own red, er, pink carpet? Among those strutting their stuff thereon included Drag Race and Drag Race All-Stars winners Trixie Mattel (who arrived at the con in her miniature "Barbie car"), Sasha Velour, Sharon Needles, Alaska 5000, Jinkx Monsoon and Bebe Zahara Benet.

Of course, Ms. Drag Race herself RuPaul was all over the place, appearing on panels, attending parties, and even giving a keynote address where she touched on the current political climateTrump wanting to ban transgenders from serving in the militarydrag kings, and, of course, the apparently inevitable Miss Vanjie.

"Here we are in a time when it seems like the world's gone backwards," Ms. Ru said. "Politically and everything, the pendulum has swung all the way ... In this time of chaos and lies, for three days tens of thousands of big-hearted, super-creative, and sensitive souls peacefully gathered to celebrate their truth at RuPauls DragCon. Seeing all the young people and families and queens has filled my heart with gratitude and hope. The future is going to be fierce."

The future may be fierce, but DragCon was just fun for the vast majority of its attendees. Among other things, they got to stroll down "avenues" (actually, aisles) with names like Face Crack Court, Eleganza Lane, Silicone Valley Drive, Glamazon Boulevard, Tongue Pop Toll Road, Pork Chop Boulevard and Death Drop Alley, and check out myriad vendors selling wigs, costumes, makeup (even a couple of booths devoted just to eyelashes and one to glitter), soaps and scents. (One of the latter that caught our eye was Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, whose inventory of perfumes and other scents were sold under a sign saying they donate a portion of the proceeds to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other progressive organizations.)

Other interestingly named booths were Drag Beat Makeup Academy, Fierce Queen (fronted by a queen decked out in faux human skulls), Bloodbath (selling soaps, scrubs and lotions, of course), Off-Kilter Kilts, and Dragskinsfake boobs for drag queens.

There was even a full bar near the back of the hall, and a booth just across from it, Fireball Whiskey (whose motto is "Tastes Like Heaven, Burns Like Hell"), giving out free samples. Not far away from the bar was a gigantic (at least 100 feet across) video screen showing clips from Drag Race, some convention activities and other drag-themed footage, while at the far end of the hall was The Runway, where various scheduled acts would perform over the course of the day. When we arrived shortly after noon on Saturday, the Jessica Sutta Performance was on stage, and comedian Billy Eichner's "Glam Up The Midterm Pep Rally" was scheduled for 3 p.m. The day's first show had been Sissy That Walk, a runway contest hosted by Eureka O'Hara, but there were plenty to follow.

DragCon saw its share of mainstream personalities, too. For example, Gillian Jacobs, late of Community (and a Drag Race fan), moderated a panel titled "Comedy Queens: Seriously Funny" featuring Darienne Lake, Love Connie and Nicole Byer. There was also the aforementioned Billy Eichner of the comedy video troupe Funny Or Die who brought their "Glam Up the Midterms" initiative to the convention, with volunteers on site to actually register voters! Eichner was joined on his "Glam Up the Vote" panel by queens Alaska 5000 and Peppermint. Another major mainstream "get" was Yeardley Smith, the voice of The Simpsons' Lisa Simpson and the star of the "Drag and The Simpsons" panel, there in part because an upcoming episode of the show will have RuPaul as a character playing himself. Finally, Unreal star Constance Zimmer brought her Drag Race fan daughter to the show, with the pair posing for a few photo ops.

And believe it or not, all of the above just scratches the surface of things to do at this year's DragCon LAand those of The Other Coast who are itching to attend one of these, RuPaul's DragCon NYC will be taking place Sept. 28-30, tickets for which just went on sale here.
In most years, a presidents filing of his financial disclosure forms with the Office of Government Ethics isnt exactly headline news. But for Donald Trump, who faces a deadline for filing the forms today, even this routine annual paperwork has become the focus of intense public and media scrutiny. Why?

The reason can be summed up in two words: Stormy Daniels.

Trumps personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen admitted earlier this year that he paid the AVN Hall of Famer $130,000 in hush money just days before the 2016 presidential election, to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter she had with Trump 10 years earlier. Trump initially denied knowing anything about the payment.

But that all changed two weeks ago when Trumps newest attorney and public spokesperson, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, did a round of TV interviews in which he stated that Trump did, in fact, reimburse Cohen for the $130,000 expenditure to Daniels. And Giuliani took it one step further. He spelled out the precise schedule of repayments from Trump to Cohen, acknowledging that Trump agreed to give Cohen $35,000 per month starting early in 2017, which continued throughout the year, according to a Washington Post account.

And in a May 3 posting to his Twitter account, Trump himself admitted that he reimbursed Cohen for the $130,000 payoff.

As a result, Trump must now list those payments to Cohen on his financial disclosure formsthe same forms also due from 25,000 other executive branch officials Tuesdaybecause federal law requires those officials to disclose any debt (other than one owed to an immediate family member) that exceeds $10,000.

UPDATE: Shortly before 6:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the Office of Government Ethics announced that Trump had filed his financial disclosure form. However, the OGE said that the forms were under review, so what the forms contain or reveal was not yet made public.

As explained in a USA Today op-ed piece Monday co-authored by former government ethics chief Walter Shaub, there are no loopholes that could let Trump wriggle free of his legal obligation to disclose the payment to Daniels. Even claiming that the reimbursements were made not by himself but by his business, the Trump Organization, would not work because:

 Cohen has flatly denied that the Trump Organization was involved with the Daniels payoff in any way.

 Corporations have been banned from making contributions to political candidates since 1907.

Todays the day! No more sleep until the Presidents financial disclosure report is due, Shaub posted to his own Twitter feed on Tuesday morning. He must finally come clean about his debt to Cohen for the Stormy Daniels payment ... and any others. There are no loopholes.

Trumps only possible way out of disclosing the Daniels payment would be to make another 180-degree turn and claim that both he and Giuliani were lying when they said that Cohen was reimbursed for the payment to Daniels. Last week, Daniels lawyer, Michael Avenatti, posted information about a series of payments totaling $500,000 funneled to Cohen by a financial firm closely tied to Russian billionaire oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. Avenatti suggested that the Russian money may have been used to reimburse Cohen. But effectively admitting that Avenatti was correct about Russian money being used to pay back Cohen for the Daniels hush money would carry its own set of danegrous complications for Trump.

Trump did not list any such payments to Cohen or Daniels on his 2017 disclosure forms, which may be downloaded from this link.

As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, May 15, there were no reports that Trump had filed his required 2018 financial disclosure formsnor did the Office of Ethics in Government issue any statement saying that Trump had requested an extension on Tuesdays deadline.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons / ABC TV Screen Capture
HALIFAX, Nova ScotiaAdult transgender MILF Tasha Jones, a 13-year veteran of the adult industry, passed away on Saturday, May 12. She was 35 years old and had been performing in adult videos and web scenes since 2005. The cause of her death has not yet been disclosed, but it had been rumored that she had suffered from several health problems over the past few years.

Tasha did most of her performing in her native Canada, working for companies such as Mayhem North Productions and canada-tgirl.com, though her most recent feature was 2017's Squirting Man for Kennston Productions. She also did several scenes for Christian XXX's CX WOW Productions. Tasha owned TgirlRadio.com, which she used to host her podcast On Air With Tasha Jones, as well as TashaJonesProductions.com, but nothing new had been added to those sites in several years. Strangely, her most recent tweet was apparently earlier today, though we suspect that may have been pre-scheduled.

"She was a beacon of light and kindness in our industry," observed Kristel Penn, publicist for Grooby Networks and several transgender stars. "She offered her insight and resources without qualification to girls just starting out in the industry. When Dan and I traveled to Toronto for the Feminist Porn Awards, she met us with open arms and took care of us while we were in town. I often affectionately told her how she was one of the nicest and most genuine people I had ever met and wed laugh about how, in that way, she was very Canadian. Seeing her at the TEAs each year was always a bright spot of my weekend. She always had a warm hug waiting for me whenever I saw her. Were so lucky that Tashas path crossed with ours and are so grateful for her friendship throughout the years. Im so thankful for the time we spent together in Toronto, at the TEAs, at DragCon, and at the AIDS Walk in 100-degree heat in West Hollywood."

In fact, Jones was one of the Transgender Erotica Awards sponsors in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and was nominated for two awards in 2014 and 2015Best Scene and Best Internet Personality both timesand two in 2016, including Best Solo Model, Best FTM Scene (with Eddie Wood), and Best Scene (for Club Tasha). She also attended at least two of RuPaul's DragCons in Los Angeles, signing autographs at the Grooby booth in 2015.

"Tasha signed at our booth all weekend and introduced herself to every person who walked by," noted Penn. "She signed photos, she chatted with people, and was such a great presence to have in our booth. She certainly made the time go by faster!"

"Im shocked," said Grooby owner Steven Grooby. "I knew Tasha had medical issues but I didnt appreciate that it became this serious. Shed always been one of the coolest, most genuine, and hospitable models Ive known and despite having first appeared with us in 1999, Id only gotten to know her within the last few years. She came out to Los Angeles to participate in the AIDS walk with us a couple of years back and she was just a very open and honest individual. My condolences go to her husband and family."

"On behalf of Grooby, wed like to send our deepest condolences to Tashas husband and her family," Penn wrote on the Grooby.com website, and asked those who knew Tasha to share their thoughts and memories on the Grooby Forum.

UPDATE: The Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC) has issued the following statement regarding Tasha Jones' death:

"The adult industry mourns Tasha Jones, a Canadian performer. She is remembered for her kind, open, and genuine personality. APAC extends our deepest condolences to Joness family and community.

"We kindly remind our community that mourning, coping, and healing is seldom a linear process. We ask you to be gentle with yourselves, to take space and time as needed, and to lean into the communities to which you belong. In this difficult time, APAC urges performers to make space for self-care and reach out for professional counseling if needed.

"For sex worker friendly mental health resources, click here."
Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency?

No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples.

Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist ideals.
"all exports of gold and silver be prohibited and all domestic money be kept in circulation [domestically]"

"all imports of foreign goods be discouraged as much as possible."

"that opportunities be constantly sought for selling a country's surplus manufactures to foreigners"

"no importation be allowed if such goods are sufficiently and suitably supplied at home"

Kyle Bass, Founder of Hayman Capital Management on the Fox Business Channel If you are looking for evidence to support the fact that just because you're successful in business or finance it doesn't mean you understand the first thing about economics, look no further than successful hedge fund manager Kyle Bass. In this interview on the Fox Business Channel, he reached all the way back to the 1600s and the pre-Adam Smith days of economics. It was a time when mercantilism dominated thinking about trade policy and trade deficits were associated with a loss of national wealth. When Adam Smith published his appropriately titled Wealth of Nations in 1776, his main purpose was, in large part, to dispel the myths of mercantilism, apparently fully embraced in 2018 by Bass. (As an aside I find it unfortunate that his interviewer, Fox Business News reporter and analyst Maria Bartiromo, seemed to buy into Bass's antiquated views, leaving them unchallenged.)According to well-known historians of economic thought Robert Ekelund and Robert Hebert , the basic principles of mercantilism were laid out in 1684 and included as four of their most important tenets that:So, what can we distill from this? It seems clear that for mercantilists, both old and new, money is wealth. Therefore, a country obtains wealth by selling the goods and services it produces to other countries in exchange for money, thereby making the purchasing country poorer by the amount of money it pays for the goods and services it's purchasing. The bottom line is that for mercantilists, exports are good (money flows in, and goods flow out) and imports are bad (money flows out, and goods flow in).Modern-day mercantilists like Bass and, unfortunately, President Trump on the Right and Bernie Sanders on the Left, are being true to their intellectual roots. Because a trade deficit, by definition, implies a net outflow of dollars, according to both 17th and 21st century mercantilists, it equates to a loss of wealth to the nation. To the mercantilist, a trade made internationally by Americans can only be wealth-enhancing to the United States if the American making the trade is the seller and not the buyer. This is why it is so important that purchases of goods from foreign countries be, at least, balanced out by sales.From this perspective, those who we traditionally refer to as our trading partners are not partners in any true sense of the word. To the extent that they sell us more products than we sell them, as measured in net money outflows, they are adversaries whose gain is our loss.Apparently, this is how Kyle Bass and other modern-day mercantilists understand the world. Rather than seeing voluntary trade similar to how the individual trader sees it, as being win-win regardless of whether you are on the goods or money side of the exchange, trade is seen as zero or even negative-sum, i.e., a win-lose. Because money is wealth, as Bass implies, those who are giving up dollars for cars, computers, food, clothing, etc. are unwitting victims. And while those people see themselves as being better off as a result of trading away their money, whose only value to them lies in the fact that eventually it can be exchanged for actual goods and services, the mercantilist sees only the loss of currency. This leads to the bizarre perspective that while all the individual purchasers of foreign-made products see themselves as better off, and the country actually has more valuable goods and services than it otherwise would, the nation's wealth is reduced.This is the anti-logic that was successfully refuted in 1776 by Adam Smith and subsequently rejected by nearly the entire economics profession. But unfortunately, bad ideas rarely die, they just hibernate to be poked and woken up by politicians and those, as with the case of Kyle Bass, who think that their expertise in making money transfers to an actual understanding of economics.[For other articles dissecting the subject of free trade vs protectionism see here here and here .]
When pollsters ask voters to list the issues they care about most, economic concerns usually rank high on the list - even when unemployment rates are relatively low.There's a stolen base here, however. With very few exceptions, most people think a rapidly growing economy is critically important. They recognize that other social problems usually get better if jobs are plentiful and incomes are rising. Where voters differ is how policymakers can most effectively boost growth. So including economic concerns in a list that also includes, say, education or tax relief can obscure what voters really value. Some will rank "the economy" as a top issue, even as they are thinking about specific policies that, in their minds, will improve the economy.Here in North Carolina, we have for many years witnessed a robust debate about how best to enhance our state's economic competitiveness and growth rates. Republicans argue that the tax reductions and regulatory relief they've enacted were wise investments in future economic growth, in part by making it more likely that new or expanded business operations and professional enterprises will be in North Carolina.Democrats argue that it would have been more growth-enhancing to forego the tax cuts, in favor of spending more on education and other public services, as well as to forego the regulatory relief, on the grounds that employers, entrepreneurs, professionals, and workers would place a higher value on the anticipated environmental or safety benefits of the regulations than on the lower costs that come from reforming or eliminating them.The two alternatives represent core philosophical differences, obviously. But that doesn't mean they aren't testable propositions. I'll grade those tests in just a moment.First, though, I want to point out that while there is a gap between these two positions, it's not the ideological equivalent of the Grand Canyon . North Carolina Republicans have enacted a series of state budgets that spent tens of billions of dollars a year on education, infrastructure, and other government services. They've also implemented policy changes, such as performance pay for teachers and school choice for parents, that they believe will boost academic achievement among North Carolina students.I also assume, although I'm open to evidence to the contrary, that North Carolina Democrats don't want to raise our tax and regulatory burdens to the level of, say, New York - which ranks dead last in economic freedom according to indices published by the Fraser Institute and the Cato Institute Moreover, it's striking how many Democrats attack Republicans for cutting business taxes across the board while simultaneously criticizing them for failing to give large-enough tax breaks to favored corporations such as automakers or to favored industries such as movie production. I guess taxes really do matter, sometimes.Now, my report card. I keep a running tally of all peer-reviewed studies examining relationships between state policy factors and growth measures such as gross state product (GSP), job creation, income gains, and business starts. My database currently contains nearly 1,000 such studies published since 1990.Based on the empirical evidence, North Carolina Republicans get an A. Most studies show that, after adjusting for a range of control variables, states and localities with higher degrees of economic freedom - lower taxes, fewer regulations - have stronger economic performance than less-free jurisdictions do.One new study, about to be published in the journal Contemporary Economic Policy , found thatHow about the Democratic thesis? I'll give it a D. Most studies do show a correlation between conditions such as educational attainment or infrastructure quality and state economic growth. But they don't find a link to expenditures. Only a third of studies find that states with larger education budgets have stronger economic performance, for example.These findings suggest that state policymakers should find ways to boost economic freedom while making their education and infrastructure systems more productive. North Carolina's legislative leaders would say that's precisely what they've been doing.
Contact: Attila Nemecz

Attila Nemecz Attila.Nemecz@beaufortccc.edu

WASHINGTON, N.C. The Beaufort County Community College Foundation awarded two students the first Louise R. Lester Foundation Scholarships. Jacob Hering and Jamie Styons, both electrical engineering technology students, can continuing studying toward careers in local industry thanks to a $20,000 donation from the Lester Foundation. This donation follows the Lester Foundation's $10,000 donation this spring. Some of the funds are immediately available for scholarships, while the majority of it will be invested in an endowment to fund future scholarships. This donation continues the Louise R. Lester Foundation's long commitment to education.Jacob Hering returned to college after working as a manager at Aldi's. The Washington resident holds an associate's degree from Minnesota State College Southeast. He plans to work in local industry with PLC coding. The scholarship will help him take summer classes. He will be a BCCC ambassador starting in the fall and currently works at Lowe's.Jamie Styons hopes to continue his family's history of working with Domtar. If the Plymouth resident is employed there after he receives his Associate of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering Technology, he will join four generations of his family who have worked at the Weyerhaeuser or Domtar plant in Plymouth.said Barry Robertson, board member of the Louise R. Lester Foundation.Founded in 2001, the Louse R. Lester Foundation builds on the charitable works of Mrs. Louise Robertson Lester. Lester was a native of Martinsville, Va., and attended Bentley Business College, Gassaway Business College, and, later in life, Patrick Henry Community College and Averett College. She studied interior design, architecture and art. She was an accomplished artist, producing beautiful paintings, and a collection of her poetry has been published under the title of her life's motto, "Life, Love and Laughter."Promoting education and recreation, Lester served on the Patrick Henry Community College Foundation Board, establishing the Victor A. and Louise Robertson Lester Library. She set up various trusts and scholarships at the University of Virginia, Averett College, Ferrum College and the Spencer-Penn School. She also served on the Averett College Board of Trustees.The Louise R. Lester Foundation seeks to effect positive change in the communities and lives of the people who are served through its philanthropic support. They seek to build effective relationships with grantees through close communication and a willingness to understand the challenges they face.The BCCC Foundation works with individual donors and foundations to solicit and distribute grants to cover tuition and books. Ambassadors speak at public events, help with recruitment and fundraisers and are the face of Beaufort County Community College. Last year the BCCC Foundation distributed over $137,000 in scholarships to students.
Try to remember just a few months back when former Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was being accused by broad swaths of the Left of having undermined America's foreign policy. His supposed sin? Discussing a United Nations vote regarding Israel with the Russian government after the election, and just before the inauguration. This, we were told, might have violated the dread Logan Act (second only to the Dread Pirate Roberts in the annals of dread).Fast forward a few months.On Friday, The New York Times printed a piece from Steven Simon, President Obama's former National Security Council's senior director for Middle East and North Africa, and Jonathan Stevenson, a director for political-military affairs in the Middle East and North Africa for the Obama NSC. That piece explicitly called on the Europeans to undercut President Trump. "Europe Doesn't Have to Be Trump's Doormat," these two former Obama officials suggested.This follows on former Obama Secretary of State John Kerry galumphing around the planet trying to gin up support for the Iran deal. So it's not really a shock. Still, the spectacle of former Obama officials openly appealing to foreign countries to undermine Trumpian policy is rather amazing.They begin by suggesting that Trump had somehow trampled on "European leaders, who urged Mr. Trump to exercise restraint in the interest of international security and multilateralism." That's odd, since President Obama trampled on America's Congress, which didn't approve the Iran deal, and America's public, which hated it according to polls. But politics has its winners and its losers.The authors then call on the Europeans to join the #Resistance.Notwithstanding an abundance of kvetching, European powers have not yet shown Mr. Trump that he has anything to fear from ignoring their wishes. Since taking office, Mr. Trump has treated Europe like a doormat, questioning the value of NATO, ridiculing the mission of the European Union and dismissing European exhortations on policy matters.Well, that's a rather large exaggeration. In fact, Europe is not the European Union - there are a lot of countries with actual identities beyond Brussels. Trump has, for example, granted a hell of a lot more help to Russian-pressured Ukraine than President Obama ever did. And he's reached out to Eastern European countries Obama left hanging in order to placate Vladimir Putin. He's pulled out of some meaningless paper arrangements like the Paris Accords, but it's hard to spot just what Trump has done practically to undermine the European position.But the authors say that Europe must buck Trump nonetheless. How? Well, these European countries should continue to do business with the terrorist regime in Tehran. They must OWN TRUMP! by siding with the worst people on the planet.Next, they should withdraw their ambassadors from the United States. Remember, these former Obama officials are now calling for foreign countries to withdraw their ambassadors from America and expel America's ambassadors because we're no longer going to funnel cash to the largest state sponsor of terrorism on the globe:So America wants to prevent Iran from gaining a bomb, and to protect its actual Middle Eastern allies from the predations of Iran's non-nuclear aggression - and Obama's team says Europe should throw America's ambassadors out for this. Good luck with that one.But then these Obama officials go further: they suggest that Europe should start sanctioning American companies. Yes, really:So we penalize companies doing business with one of the most evil regimes on the planet, and Team Obama wants Europe to stop doing business with America. Could we safely call this un-American? If not, perhaps this metaphor suggesting that America is the new King George III and the EU the new colonies would do it:The Obama team have made their foreign policy preferences clear: if forced to choose between Trump and Iran, they'll choose Iran. But don't worry - it's the Trump administration we have to worry about, supposedly.
Contact: White House

White House Press Office

President Trump kept his promise by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital and opening the U.S. Embassy there. On December 6, 2017, President Trump kept his promise, announcing that the United States would begin recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and officially open our Embassy there. Congress urged the President to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel with the bipartisan 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act - a call unanimously reaffirmed by the Senate in 2017. After decades of past Presidents committing to move the Embassy to Jerusalem on the campaign trail, only to renege on those promises while in office, President Trump has fulfilled his promise to support one of America's strongest allies. More than two decades of waivers delaying the Embassy move brought us no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. President Trump has made clear that old challenges demand new approaches, and that he will keep his word to the American people. On May 14, 2018, the United States officially opened our Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, 70 years to the day that President Truman recognized Israel as an independent country, making the United States the first nation to do so. President Trump has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and advanced peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Announcing Jerusalem as Israel's capital is simply a recognition of reality. Israel is a sovereign nation and, like every other sovereign nation, has the right to choose its own capital. Yet for 70 years we neglected to extend this basic courtesy to Israel that we extend to other countries. Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli Parliament and the Israeli Supreme Court. It is the location of the official residence of the Prime Minister and President, as well as the headquarters of many government ministries.The Trump Administration continues to work to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians. The Trump Administration remains committed to achieving a lasting and comprehensive peace agreement. Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a necessary condition for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. President Trump has been clear that his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel does not mean the United States has taken a position on final status negotiations. The Trump Administration believes that such decisions should be worked between Israelis and Palestinians. The Trump Administration supports the status quo at Jerusalem's holy sites.After announcing the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, President Trump quickly and efficiently opened the Embassy in Israel at a low cost to taxpayers. President Trump opened the Embassy in Jerusalem in just six months, compared to the seven to ten years expected to build an entirely new and secure permanent embassy. Initial modifications allowing the Embassy to open on May 14, 2018, cost just $400,000. United States diplomatic staff in Israel has worked around the clock to ensure the Embassy was ready to open by May 14, 2018. The Trump Administration has begun updating all Federal Government maps to reflect Jerusalem's status as Israel's capital under American policy. To celebrate the opening of the United States' new Embassy in Jerusalem, the Trump Administration sent a high-level delegation, led by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and including Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor Ivanka Trump, and Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt.
The Florida high school prom incident highlights a much larger problem that state and federal officials have failed to address: the lack of laws banning exotic animal acts. These operations callously exploit the animals in their care and place them in situations that cause risk to them and to human beings. Photo by The HSUS

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It is a story that defies imagination and, as the mother of a high schooler, makes me cringe. A tiger is brought into a high school prom, in a cage barely large enough to hold the massive animal. The tiger, surrounded by pounding music, screaming teenagers and dancers with fiery torches, paces frantically in the cage. There are other wild animals present too  a lemur and a fennec fox among them. Wild birds in cages are placed on tables as centerpieces.

Shockingly, all of this was done with the blessing of school administrators, apparently unconcerned with issues of animal welfare or the safety of the young people in their charge.

This incident has generated a great deal of public outrage and there is no question that the administrators at Christopher Columbus High School in Miami showed extremely poor judgement in bringing wild animals into a school event. This could have led to tragic consequences had an animal escaped or someone had stuck a hand in the tigers cage.

This strange incident also highlights a much larger problem that state and federal officials have failed to address: the lack of laws banning exotic animal acts. These operations callously exploit the animals in their care, often keep them in inhumane conditions and place them in situations that cause risk to them and to human beings.

The Humane Society of the United States and a coalition of other organizations filed a legal petition in 2012 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prohibit close encounters with dangerous wild animals, such as big cats, bears and primates. We are still awaiting action on that petition, and the Miami high school incident has become just the latest case in point for the value of such action on the part of the government.

[Related: HSUS investigation pulls the curtain back on tiger abuse by traveling circus trainer]

Some states have moved to limit contact with wild animals. New York State banned selfies with big cats in 2014, because of safety and humane concerns. In 2006, Kansas banned close encounters with big cats after a high school senior was mauled to death by a tiger during a photo op.

Florida legislators and other states should not wait for a tragedy before taking action.

The school in this case said the tiger was provided by an exhibitor approved and permitted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. Florida has laws governing exotic animals but they involve a costly, labor-intensive regulatory system that hasnt worked well. In fact, Florida has one of the worst records of any state of incidents involving dangerous wild animals.

In Florida, in 2016 alone:

A macaque bit a child during a public handling session at the Dade City Zoo.

A tiger attacked a trainer during a show in front of horrified children at a Pensacola fair.

A woman leaving her Miami home was chased and repeatedly bitten by a lemur, thought to be an escaped pet.

An adult tiger escaped from an enclosure at a roadside menagerie in Fort Walton Beach while children were attending the facilitys camp program.

A nine-foot anaconda snake lurched at two dogs in a Melbourne residents backyard.

A man in the city of Parker was hospitalized after he was bitten by his pet cobra.

Unfortunately, Florida officials have regularly deferred to pressure from the exotic pet industry, rather than enacting common sense solutions to ensure animal welfare, safeguard the public and protect the environment. Weve got to change that, and weve got to change their minds. This incident, and the public outrage it has caused, is one more wake-up call about an issue that we simply need to address directly. A majority of Americans do not want wild animals used in such an improper way; its high time our laws catch up to that sentiment.
Back in 2014, a patent troll called Personal Audio LLC embarked on a campaign to shake down podcasters large and small for millions, but then they made the mistake of tangling with the Electronic Frontier Foundation.



EFF scored a big win against Personal Audio LLC in 2015, and then fought the troll's attempt to appeal the case.

Now, the Supreme Court has sent Personal Audio packing, comprehensively killing all outstanding claims against podcasters, forever. EFF did it with your help, crowdfunding the cash to challenge the patent and crowdsourcing the prior art used to invalidate it. Congratulations, internet, we did it! We saved podcasting!



On August 7, 2017, the Federal Circuit affirmed the PTAB's ruling invalidating all challenged claims. After this defeat, Personal Audio tried to get the Supreme Court to take its case. It argued that the IPR process is unconstitutional, raising arguments identical to those presented in the Oil States case. The Supreme Court rejected those arguments in its Oil States decision, issued last month. Personal Audio also argued that EFF should be bound by a jury verdict in a case between Personal Audio and CBSan argument which made no sense, because that case involved different prior art and EFF was not a party. Today, the Supreme Court issued an order denying Personal Audio's petition for certiorari. With that ruling, the PTAB's decision is now final and the patent claims Personal Audio asserted against podcasters are no longer valid. We thank everyone who supported EFF's Save Podcasting campaign.



EFF Wins Final Victory Over Podcasting Patent

[Daniel Nazer/EFF]
Saturation divers are specialized workers doing construction or demolition hundreds of feet below the water's surface. This detailed report gives a sense of what it's like to have a grueling routine where a tiny mistake could mean a quick and painful death.

Saturation refers to the mixed gas required for breathing at such depths, like a mix of helium and oxygen called heliox, which has a funny unintended side effect. Via Atlas Obscura:

Saturation divers breathe heliox for the entire time they are in storage. And this brings us back to those final family phone calls. Helium is about seven times lighter than air, and sound waves travel much more quickly through it. The result is that buff, often ex-military men performing deadly serious jobs end up sounding like cartoon charactersand not just for a few moments, but for weeks on end. In the unfortunately named BBC series Real Men, a saturation diver in storage calls his son to wish him a happy birthday. "It's hard to understand my dad because he talks in a duck language," the boy says later, "and I don't speak duck." The divers and their support teams adjust pretty quickly to the vocal distortion, but it can still make communication trickyespecially when accents are involved. "A helium Geordie [a native of Newcastle] from the northeast of England in a team with a South African and a Belgian makes communicating quite a challenge," Tweddle says. Tweddle, an affable, 39-year-old former police diver with a shaved head that takes on a gray cast by the end of a job, is the Geordie in the above scenario. Support vessels are usually equipped with a kind of descrambler for when the divers need to be in constant communication with the onboard support team, but the equipment is notoriously unreliable, and many dive supervisors choose not to use it.

Here's a short clip with footage of saturation divers at work:

 The Weird, Dangerous, Isolated Life of the Saturation Diver (Atlas Obscura)

Image: Wikimedia
The psyopsing worked.

Gina Haspel now appears to have secured enough votes to be confirmed as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, after two additional Senate Democrats today announced they will vote for her.

NEW: @SenBillNelson also a YES on Gina Haspel's nomination to be CIA Director. 5 SENATE DEM YES VOTES ON HASPEL:

Warner

Heitkamp

Donnelly

Manchin

Nelson  Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) May 15, 2018

Yep. Gina Fucking Haspel.

It's 2018.

You can be personally responsible for destroying evidence of torture to prevent war crimes prosecution, and then return to lead the very agency you dirtied with your obscene embrace of Nazi/Communist bad guy tactics.

We're the bad guys now.

Nothing matters.

Reminder:

In 2002, she ran a C.I.A. prison in Thailand during which a captured Qaeda detainee, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of orchestrating the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole off the coast of Yemen, was subjected to waterboarding and other coercive techniques. She was also involved in the agency's destruction of tapes of interrogation sessions in 2005.

Reports Charlie Savage today in the New York Times:

Gina Haspel, President Trump's nominee to lead the C.I.A., appeared on Tuesday likely to be confirmed after she declared that the agency should not have undertaken its interrogation program in which Qaeda detainees were tortured after the Sept. 11 attacks  a condemnation she refused to make at her confirmation hearing last week. In a letter to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, Ms. Haspel said one of the "hard lessons since 9/11" was the costs of the agency's use of torture, which she called "enhanced interrogation." "While I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world," she wrote. "With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the C.I.A. should have undertaken. The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that." After receiving the letter, Mr. Warner announced on Tuesday afternoon that he would support her confirmation. Minutes later, another Democrat, Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, said she, too, would vote for Ms. Haspel. Against that backdrop, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, said the full Senate would vote on her confirmation at the end of the week  earlier than expected. The Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote on her confirmation on Wednesday.

Never forget what a CIA vet said about Haspel's nomination.

INBOX: Heitkamp Announces she will Vote for Haspel to Serve as CIA Director Gina Haspel is on her way to being confirmed by the Senate, likely next week.  Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) May 15, 2018
Until last week, Kansas was one of 33 states in which cops could have consent with people they'd arrested, provided their sexual partners "consented"; but now, a law prohibits officers from having sex "during the course of a traffic stop, a custodial interrogation, an interview in connection with an investigation, or while the law enforcement officer has such person detained."



Rep. Cindy Holscher, D-Olathe, introduced the bill.

She said it spun off the case of Lamonte McIntyre, a Kansas City, Kan., man released last year after spending 23 years in prison for a double murder he didn't commit.

The investigation in that case led to multiple affidavits alleging that the detective who made the arrest, Roger Golubski, had a long history of coercing sex from women in Kansas City's black community by threatening to arrest them or their relatives if they didn't comply.

Holscher said she was also moved by a case in New York where a teenager claimed she had been raped by two police officers in the back of their van, but no charges were filed because the officers claimed the sex was consensual and therefore legal.
Business / Economy

by Staff reporter

ZIMBABWE's exports increased by 46 percent to $329,6 million in the first four months of the year compared to $225,6 million during the comparable period last year, official trade figures show.The improved export performance during the period under review is largely attributed to a raft of measures the Government and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe have announced to boost domestic output and tame the trade imbalance.Data from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) also indicates that month-on-month exports figures in April this year improved by 14,2 percent to $329,6 million last month from $288,6 million in March. During the period under review, the country's exports were largely agricultural produce and minerals while the imports comprised woven fabric, synthetic fibre, canvas and ornamental trimmings among others.Last month, South Africa, which is the country's largest trading partner, imported $149,4 million up from $120,9 million in March, worth of goods from Zimbabwe.Imports from South Africa were largely capital goods such as vehicles, medical and surgical apparatus as well as electrical equipment such as electric accumulators.Since the liberalisation of the economy in February 2009, concerted efforts were being made by various stakeholders including the Government and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to drive the economy towards an export-led growth. Although Zimbabwe reduced its trade deficit by 25 percent last year to $1,5 billion, a lot still needs to be done with Government this year targeting to further reduce the trade balance to less than $1 billion.According to a recent report by the United Nations, Zimbabwe is among the developing countries that heavily rely on commodity exports due to limited diversification of their economies. And due to suppressed production, Zimbabwe also relies on importing key raw materials for its industry, which drains the scarce foreign exchange in the economy. As such, experts have stressed the need to adopt a value chain approach and import substitution models under the value addition and beneficiation thrust so as to ensure production of high value end products. Value addition and beneficiation is a key component of the country's economic blue-print, Zim-Asset.Government has also called on players in different sectors of the economy to stimulate productivity to enhance exports and create more jobs. In 2016, the RBZ introduced a five percent export incentive bonus scheme, which has since been raised to 12 percent for top exporters across different sectors of the economy with a view to encouraging companies to export. Exports are a major source of liquidity for overall economic activity.
News / Education

by Stephen Jakes

Mthwakazi Republic Party on Monday the 14th of May 2018 went on a fact finding mission at Entumbane High school in response to the sad outcry of the Entumbane Community and parents of students at the school.The party said the outcry was as a result of the school administration who spent the whole day chasing away students and parents who wanted to pay for the 2018 Final ordinary level examination fee, reasons being of unpaid debts, which can even be paid later on after the crucial registration phase .Entumbane High headmaster Mr T. G. Magutshwa confirmed that last week he was phoned by parents and the committee for talks on the similar problem, after then he was made to believe that now all is well not aware that some of his subordinates in the school administration like the Bursar a Masiyatsva were sabotaging him by continually shutting doors for parents and students who wanted to pay.According to teachers, parents and students who gladly engaged with MRP, the Entumbane High school seems to be torn apart between the Ndebele and Shona camps a now usual scenario in MATEBELELAND. While the respectable seniors like the school deputy Mr J Tshuma are fair and linient to grievances, some Shona teachers like one Utete are arrogant and very disrespectful even bully to the school staff.The ministry of Primary and Secondary Education official registration deadline is on Friday 18 May 2018 but the school just like any other Zimbabwean unorganized form of leadership has choosen to officialise 14 May 2018 as means to accomodate private candidates to register who will pay big amounts in centre fees,unfortunately corruption is being cooked to take bribes from private candidates who are desperately seeking to register .Bribes and corruption is being planned at the expense of students and parents getting a reasonable period to pay .The issue of debts can be solved through a payment plan not by denying Candidates to register for final ordinary level examination sitting.MRP condemns such crucial acts of turning away students and parents also considering how the poor economy of Zimbabwe is giving people a hard time to earn a living. Unfortunately this element of the Shona 1979 Grand Plan seems to be happening in all MTHWAKAZI High schools, colleges and universities. Whilst our Mthwakazian students are being refused their basic rights to education, we have obseverd a huge number of Exam Paper leaking in Mashonaland ( yet another Shona1979 Grand Plan of making MTHWAKAZI people uneducated so that they dont get jobs and live in poverty while Shonas are being equipped with illegal means of the education system to pass exams ).How are we suppose to develop when schools give parents a hard time to do a simply thing of paying for their Children's final ordinary level examination fee? MRP In unison with the ENtumbane community and rest of MTHWAKAZI we stand United condemning these nonsensical happenings in our schools and institutions. If peace is to prevail in the education sector let no elements of Shona1979 Grand Plan be found to prejudice our Children.Team MRP was lead by National Youth Chairman Xolani Ncube in the company of Cde Marshall Sibanda, Cde Lucky Maphosa, Bulawayo Central Aspiring MP candidate Cde Sehlisile Ndebele and YOUTH league members.We thank the school head Mr T. G. Magutshwa and his Deputy head a Mr J Tshuma for engaging team MRP in a professional way and assuring the team that all the parents who were Turned away from the morning by this Insane Bursar a Masiyatsva in connivace with Utete will be attended to and have their children registered to sit for the final ordinary level November 2018 examinations whose official deadline according to the Equally corrupt and uprofessional Zimsec is on Friday the 18 of May 2018.As team MRP that was tasked by our President Mqondisi Moyo after he got a lot of calls from Entumbane parents. MRP would like to urge all affected parents and their children to go back to school today and pay for the examinations as it is our belief and as per our agreement with the school head and his Deputy that outstanding termly fees cannot be mixed with the crucial examinations registration which Has a deadline. Denying Children to register for their final exams is depriving children their Rights to education as stated in the Constitution and United Nations' Universal Diclaration of Human Rights , especially after having toiled for four years in preparation for that examination.The failure by the parents to pay for their children fees should squarely land to the Current satanist government who have seen it fit to cause for the closure of industries in Bulawayo and continue to employ non Locals in the very few available employment opportunities, the heartless govt and the govt of thieves and liars.Few parents who spoke to us on condition of anonimity were very much excited for our team and the party at large for always being the voice of the voiceless and vowed to support and Vote for MRP as it is the Only political party with the welfare of the Mthwakazi suffering masses at heart. Fumed one old lady the MP of the area a Tshuma, whose name i have forgotten is very useless together with the councillor Masuku, they are clueless and have failed us as the community of Entumbane - Emakhandeni. They are liars like their president Nelson Chamisa who always make fake promises as, witnessed on his BBC Hard talk last week, says Gogo MaThebe.
News / National

by Tendai Mugabe

MDC-T faction leader Mr Nelson Chamisa continued his cloud cuckoo land posturing over the weekend when he promised people in Buhera that he would upgrade Murambinda Growth Point into a city as big as Harare within a few months if elected pres- ident.Mr Chamisa, who has been legislator for Kuwadzana since the death of Learnmore Jongwe in 2002 where he failed to equip let alone roof a library he found in a dilapidated state, further pledged to transform Murambinda Mission Hospital into a general hospital over and above tarring the 122km road from Murambinda to Birchnough Bridge.Addressing a his first rally since returning from a cringe-worthy trip to the UK, Mr Chamisa said his "government" would give every village in Buhera a tractor."Murambinda should not remain as a growth point. It should develop to be a town or a city."I want to tell you that once I get into office, Murambinda should be renamed from Murambinda Growth Point to Murambinda City. We want to develop Buhera into a city not a town. Why should we develop Buhera? We should not go to Harare to withdraw our money. We should not go to Harare to sell our products."We also want to refurbish roads. We want this road from Murambinda to Birchenough Bridge to be tarred."Speaking on health care systems, Mr Chamisa said: "Munhu anofanira kunyepedzera kurwara kuti angonopinda muchipatara chakanaka chiri hotera."Vana Murambinda dzinofanira kusimuka yave kunzi Murambinda General Hospital (uchiti) ukapinda unotanga kurohwa nanurse anenge achikukwazisa ipapo akanhuhwirira akachena ane mafuta achinyemwerera."Mr Chamisa said should he get into power, he would abolish the bond notes and introduce the US dollar and South African rand  currencies which are already in the multi-currency basket.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Government will soon start sending police officers for training in Belarus after the two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) seeking to co-operate in combating criminal activity.Home Affairs and Culture Minister Dr Obert Mpofu and his counterpart, Belarus Internal Minister Lieutenant General Igor Schunevich, signed the agreement on the side-lines of the Southern African Confederation of African Farmers Union annual conference which kicked off in Victoria Falls yesterday.The MoU will, besides opening co-operation in areas of fighting crime which include drugs and human trafficking, anti-terrorism and other areas, help modernise the police service in the country.This will add to already existing bi-lateral relations where the European country has been one of the major suppliers of mining equipment to Zimbabwe.Speaking after the signing ceremony which was witnessed by President Mnangagwa, Dr Mpofu said the police service was the biggest winner although the MoU covers the entire Home Affairs Ministry."Following our discussions this morning, we agreed that Zimbabwe will be sending officers to Belarus to identify programmes where we need co-operation and there will also be a crack force that will be sent to Belarus for training on various areas of expertise," said Dr Mpofu.He said the arrangement is reciprocal where each country will send its teams on learning missions.Dr Mpofu said Zimbabwe will participate and benefit through consultancy as well as training by the Belarus government, which has promised to finance the whole programme."The crack team is going in the next few days. The minister has invited me to send teams to Belarus and we will be receiving teams from Belarus as well to look into our policing systems and see how best they can develop and restructure and modernise our police services."This is of course for the whole Ministry of Home Affairs and we are dealing with areas of concern especially crime which include trafficking of drugs and human beings, anti-terrorism and many other hotspot areas of concern."They have got a state-of-the-art police academy to train police to deal with anti-riot activities which seem to be of concern in some countries in the region. The minister (Lieutenant Gen Schunevich) has made an offer to His Excellency who has actually accepted while the Government of Belarus has indicated they will support the programme financially," said Dr Mpofu.He said the co-operation will be of huge benefit to Zimbabwe considering that Belarus is a very developed country in terms of equipment and technology.Dr Mpofu said while criminal activity was minimal in the country, the co-operation is aimed at embracing technology in training to be able to deal with crime internationally.Lt Gen Schunevich, who is leading a team from Belarus at the conference, earlier paid a courtesy call on President Mnangagwa at a local hotel."The main purpose of our visit is the signing of a memorandum for combating crime between the Internal Affairs Ministry of Belarus and Home Affairs Ministry of Zimbabwe. This is the first step which allows us to improve our co-operation in different areas and combat crime and improve our relations. I am convinced that every state must protect itself from different issues including crime," Lt Gen Schunevich said.
News / National

by Simbarashe Sithole

A 31-year-old Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer stationed at Nembudziya in Gokwe reportedly assaulted a complainant who was making a report at the charge office last Friday.Sources close to investigations allege Constable Cuthbert Hondonga (31) assaulted Queen Elizabeth Muza (24) who was filing a fraud report in charge office."The constable who looked drunk came in a civilian attire and saw the complainant in charge office making a fraud report under RRB number 3302700 and started asking her stupid questions which were not work related," revealed the source."Hondonga went on to harass the complainant by making her remove her shoes and sit on the floor on which she complied.However, Constable Goodshow who was manning the charge office and was temporarily supplying information to his superiors when the complaint was being harassed eventually told her to stand up and that angered the accused.The accused constable became violent like a wounded buffalo and pulled the complainant by the hand before slapping her twice on the head prompting the weak Muza to fall on the floor."The Officer In Charge was told about the incident and a docket was opened against the accused under CR 48/05/18.Muza was referred to Gokwe district hospital for treatment and medical examination where her condition was said to be stable.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The recent re-election of 92-year-old Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister of Malaysia has got some Zimbabweans wondering if ex-president Robert Mugabe could stage a similar comeback.Mugabe was forced to step down in November after a military takeover backed by parliament and peaceful street demonstrations.Rally opposition"Inspiring stuff" was the initial tweet in reaction to the news of Mahathir's victory by former Mugabe ally, Jonathan Moyo."If 92-year-old Mahathir did it by rallying opposition forces against Malaysia's ruling party he led & which had been in power for 61 years, 94-year-old president Mugabe can also do it by rallying a (Grand National Union) of opposition forces against Zanu-PF he led, which ruled Zim for 38 years!" he added.Mahathir came out of retirement, joined the opposition and defeated his former protege, Najib Razak. In Zimbabwe incumbent president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is a former Mugabe right-hand-man. He is to stand as Zanu-PF's presidential candidate in elections due in July.Moyo, a former university professor and cabinet minister who fled Zimbabwe after the army takeover, suggested Mugabe could return to active politics not as head of state, but to rally opposition forces "to restore legitimacy".'Mugabe is not Mahathir'Commentators have pointed out that when Mahathir first left office in 2003 he left Malaysia's economy in a robust state, while Zimbabwe's dire economic situation has been blamed on Mugabe's policies of the last 17 years.Responding to Moyo's tweets, @TineyiMugere said: "Looks like Mugabe is overrated. Why doesn't he put his weight behind whatever cause so people can be the judge? Mugabe is not Mahathir by a country mile.""It's not in the age professor plus we truly don't want Mugabe's weight anywhere. May (Mugabe) leave us in peace now after leaving us in pieces," said @NokuMagaa.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Two ivory dealers have appeared in court facing charges of illegally selling unregistered ivory products in a case which has sucked in former first lady Grace Mugabe and President Emmerson Mnangagwa's child, Tariro.State prosecutor Francis Mukumbiri told the court that Faricken Madzinga and Tafadzwa Madzinga were arrested while attempting to sell ivory worth thousands of dollars to an Australian, Adrian Steirn.The accused's attorney Gift Mtisi asked the court to avail some documents showing that Steirn was a journalist, who was allowed to work in Zimbabwe under certain conditions.Mtisi also wants the state to compel Econet Wireless to release mobile phone conversations linking Steirn to the alleged crime.He also wants to know the relationship between a Polish national Anna Helena Rubik and Steirn, who used a sim card linked to Rubik.The court papers also revealed that Mudzingwa used to allegedly chat with President Mnangagwa's daughter, Tsitsi. The contents of the chats have not been made public.Steirn told AlJazeera that the case is linked to Mrs. Mugabe, who has been accused by the government of attempting to smuggle ivory to China, United Arab Emirates, United States and other countries.Court papers, however, do not spell out the former first lady's role in the illegal sale of ivory in this particular case.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Presidential politics appear to be taking shape in Zimbabwe ahead of this year's elections.President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU-PF and Nelson Chamisa of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) faction have begun to position themselves as frontrunners.Chamisa also appears to be courting officials of the newly formed National Patriotic Front party.Observers say it is already clear that Mnangagwa and Chamisa will be the top contestants for Zimbabwe's most-prized national job.On Saturday, another faction of the MDC-T, led by Thokozani Khupe launched its campaign along with its election manifesto, promising to build an economy to support transformation.Nixon Nyikadzino, secretary general of the Khupe-led faction of the MDC, says the most important aspect of the manifesto is its focus on the poor in terms of social services delivery.Chamisa's MDC-T formation is also expected to launch its manifesto.
News / National

by Staff reporter

Nonhlahla Ndube has been chief of Insiza district, in Zimbabwe's south, for more than a decade. But her rise to power was far from smooth, NewsDeeply writes."It was not easy to take up the position because some of my family members were not in support of my elevation," Ndube says.The role of chief is usually passed down from father to son, and if the chief has no male heir, the honor traditionally goes to another male member of his family. Ndube is the youngest of five daughters, but because she has no brothers and her older sisters live outside of the country, the family agreed to hand the chieftaincy to her after her father's death.But her uncles argued against the appointment, saying a woman could not rule over the village and claiming that, as men, one of them should be given the role.In the face of her uncles' protests and the general taboo around having a woman ruler, the clan leaders eventually approved her ascension, and in taking on the role of chief, Ndube has become part of a slow but significant revolution against perceptions of ingrained gender roles in rural Zimbabwe.The change started in 1997, when the Ndebele tribe in Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe, got its first female chief. At the age of 23, Sinqobile Mabhena broke new ground when her father, who had no sons, chose her to succeed him just before his death in 1993. But it took another four years before the tribal elders finally agreed to install her as chief. Once they did, several other chiefs and leaders boycotted her inauguration ceremony.Mabhena's bucking of customary law showed that women were capable of stepping into their father's roles as chiefs and leaders. It took 10 years before another woman, Ndube, had the chance to follow in her footsteps.Since then, there has been more opportunity for women to attain the highest positions in their tribes, and when they rise up the ranks, women often use their power to make sure the voices of other women in their communities are heard.In her time as chief of Insiza, Ndube has made it her mission to show women the benefits of making their own money, instead of relying on the men in their families."I usually encourage women to work with their own hands, start income-generating projects and join women's clubs," she says. "I want my community to have peace and to help transform the lives of women in my community  particularly their economic standing."Women must stand up and be on their feet because we are capable of leading and we can be anything we want."Inspiring others to leadThe number of women tribal leaders in Zimbabwe is still low  the latest Southern African Development Community's (SADC) Gender Protocol Barometer says in the whole of the country there are six female chiefs and 13 "head women," or vice chiefs. Women in rural areas are hardest hit by poor access to basic services such as food, health, transport, water and sanitation, but according to the SADC, women constitute less than 30 percent of the decision-makers in Zimbabwe, including those who decide how to improve access to services and how to allocate resources.One of those women is Gladys Ncube, who has been village head in Plumtree village in Matebeleland South for the past 10 years, ever since her husband left for South Africa to find work. "Having overseen the running of the village for the past decade, I now aspire to become a head woman one day," she says.As village head, Ncube has been encouraging the women of the village to participate in community initiatives and development projects that help boost their economic power."I strongly encourage women in my community to work as a group on projects like horticulture or poultry to make profits of their own and not be dependent on their husbands," she says.Some of the women's savings groups in Plumtree have been following Ncube's lead and finding ways to become more independent. One group of 10 women, the Vusanani Cooperative, have pulled together their savings to buy carts to transport goods and people across long distances. Now the women make money by hiring out their carts for a dollar a trip.This income supplements what they make from their marula fruit processing business. Supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the group grinds marula nuts to make oils that they sell for $26 per liter and butter which earns them $1 per bottle.For some men in rural Zimbabwe, the idea of women gaining ruling power and economic independence is unacceptable. But others are championing the women in their community as they challenge the notion that only men can be decision-makers."In my community, I ensure half of my assessors [jury members] are women, I value their unbiased assessment of issues," says chief Beperere of Zvimba, southeast of Harare, adding that he has full faith in women leaders and female chiefs."We urge communities to put women into positions of leadership and social influence."
News / National

by CAJ News

ZIMBABWEANS have lampooned opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa following his shambolic tour to the United Kingdom where he campaigned ahead of watershed elections set for later this year (July /August).Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-Alliance) leader, Nelson Chamisa was the laughing stock among media in the UK after his grilling on a popular British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Hard Talk show in the wake of a poll campaign premised on introducing so-called bullet trains and expelling Chinese entrepreneurs.His claim that United States President Donald Trump would provide $15 billion to Zimbabwe after the elections set for July have also been vehemently disputed.UK media ridiculed the poll pledges as "nonsensical", "silly" and "fantasy".Chamisa was reminded expelling the Chinese would be impractical as the bullet trains he was passionate about were the handiwork of China.Back home, the caretaker leader of the opposition, who took over from stalwart Morgan Tsvangirai who died in February, is equally under fire."Chamisa is a liar  period! It is suicidal to vote a liar into office," said Mogovera Machingura, a Harare resident told CAJ News Africa.Sylvester Shumba singled out the bullets train pledge for scorn."Travelling between Harare and Bulawayo (about 500km) with Chamisa's bullet trains will take only 35 minutes..that's about 745km/hr. Good luck my country!" he said sarcastically.Trevor Hungoidza from Norton located 40km outside Harare said the MDC-Alliance leader's UK tour had jeopardized Chamisa's chances against President Emmerson Mnangagwa."It will be an unfortunate political joke to oppose Mnangagwa, whose new dispensation policies have earned him support from Zimbabweans and foreign investors," Hungoidza said.Shuvai Zhou of Hatfield, also in Harare denounced claims by Chamisa he earlier this year met Trump, who pledged to financially back Zimbabwe if MDC won elections.After this was proven as untrue, Chamisa confessed: "We did not meet Trump. We met the Trump administration and that is the point I am making."
Opinion / Columnist

HUBRIS is defined as excessive pride or over-confidence. It is epitomised by arrogance. It often indicates a disconnection with reality and overestimating one's own competence. It is a disease that afflicts those in positions of power. It is one of the most tragic flaws of most heroes and leads to self-destruction.For years this writer and many who write or contribute to this paper fought and defended Robert Mugabe as one of the African heroes of contemporary African politics. And he was, until hubris overwhelmed him, he thought he could rule into the grave. But he did not start like that. This affliction infected him following a prolonged stay in office. So probably his greatest mistake was overstaying and believing in his own myth. Of course, seeking a five-year term at 94 cannot be explained by anything but either grandiosity or hubris or, at best, both.As Robert Mugabe left the political scene, in the opposite corner enters a young man who is Mr Hubris personified. We said that a protracted stay was one of the causes of the hubris in the former president but in this young man it's not clear where this exaggerated opinion of himself emanates from. Like Friedrich Nietzsche said, whenever some climb, they are followed by a dog called "Ego". Now imagine one is in this condition but besides the dog called Ego following him as his political career climbs, they are being directed or is being held hostage by Mr Conceit, Tendai Biti. This is a strange duet in which Nelson sings and Tendai claps. Nelson lies, Tendai alibis him.Let's take the two to Bedford, England, and illustrate hubris in motion. Someone stands on a dangerously makeshift podium and brazenly announces that if the incumbent wins 5 percent of the vote, he would give his 18-year-old sister to marry. Oh! he torches a storm but the raucous chagrin is not about the arrogance, it is about misogyny and rightly so. Enough has been said about the sexism. Let's talk a bit more about the arrogance of the infamous claim. It might have come across as confidence or political banter, but what it was actually betraying was serious effrontery and political impudence.This was not confidence. One can only make such haughty claims if they control all the variables. But nobody controls the choice of the Zimbabwean people. They have a mind of their own. This is not an exam where everything depends on your intellect and preparation. In an election you have to respect the voters who have to trust you with their votes. This is why President Mnangagwa asked Zanu-PF members to go and politely ask for the votes of Zimbabweans. One cannot stand before people and say all of you bar 5 percent are going to vote for me. Why? Because you are who?Hubris is a formula for failure. This writer hopes and prays Zanu-PF will not be infected by same. Voters have a history of punishing insufferable arrogance. And one wonders why Tendai Biti does not counsel Nelson. Sometimes one might think that Tendai is deliberately setting Nelson to fail while he remains well positioned within striking distance to pounce ahead of the likes of dear old Douglas Mwonzora. After all, everyone knows there is no love lost between Mwonzora and Biti after the former spitefully evicted the latter from Parliament in what many have interpreted as a very malicious self-defeating move.The question which many cannot find an answer to is how one explains the timing of the trip just when Zanu-PF had launched its campaign. What was the point of going to the UK when clearly there was no transnational voting in these elections? Was it the right time to go and appear at Chatham House or at Oxford Union in what was mainly a private visit? His main rival has not even bothered to make these trips and stayed at home focusing on the economy and if he takes forays outside these are very short stints with economic outcomes as the target.More importantly, Chamisa has fought Thokozani Khupe for leadership of the opposition in Parliament. Now the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is before Parliament and if there was a time when his presence would have been needed in Parliament it was this. It made sense to be there and lead the charge in articulating the party position and steer the narrative. But he failed to show leadership by leaving the country for a vanity trip which backfired.He grabbed the headlines from those doing the actual work for all the wrong reasons. This is why some think he was sabotaged by Tendai Biti who had always been senior to the younger man until that Renewal rebellion. We are informed that even during that rebellion the younger man was supposed to be part of it. He is alleged to have sneakily encouraged and strung Mangoma and Biti along knowing that the moment they left they would create a gap for him. And true to form, the moment Tendai Biti left, Nelson Chamisa jumped to contest for the now vacant secretary-general post which Biti had left. The move was complete, except he lost to Douglas Mwonzora.Many know Biti's intellectual arrogance though some prefer to call it pseudo-intellectual snobbery. He goes on national radio and calls interlocutors "fools". He is vulgar and threatens to sue anybody who dares to sneeze in his direction. He is very cocky and pompous. He insults everyone who opposes him as an intellectual inferior that there is always a temptation to ask him "yako law yawakaverenga yakamboita sei, isina kuverengwa nevana vevamwe?" (Have you studied a unique genre of law which is not available to other mortals?)Whenever Nelson Chamisa tells a lie about some foreign adventure he looks to Tendai Biti for affirmation and he nods and plays along. Is he complicit with these lies or is setting Chamisa up? As he told the trumped-up Donald Trump conversation he said that the figure of $15 billion came from "other members".Naturally one would have expected Tendai to tell his comrade to tone down on the lies. Maybe he did but his new found boss is too arrogant to listen. But that is very unlikely because Biti is the kind of guy who is quite condescending himself and says unprintable stuff to journalists and anyone who dares to question him. He has been recorded spitting such unprintable vulgarities not fit for an industry let alone for a minister or wannabe occupant of a high office.So probably to expect him to rein in his younger friend is expecting too much. His own moral compass doesn't tell him it's wrong. He is probably not best placed to realise that to insult President Mnangagwa whenever he takes to the podium might get him some laughs and adulations but does little to raise Chamisa's status from that of an exuberant gaffe-prone schoolboy to a statesman.When you ride such a high horse, grace is not one of your default virtues. The lofty height of the horse is what makes it very tough to climb down and issue an apology. That's why he always tries to wriggle out of tight situations instead of just apologising and climbing down. That's why you hear words like, "I didn't say I saw Trump, I said the Trump Administration" or "I didn't say I would expel the Chinese but I said that I would review their contracts". No you did not. But probably he does actually remember saying these things because he might say all these out of excitement and he doesn't bother to listen to himself. But Biti is on the sidelines waiting to pounce when it all falls apart because he knows that it will.Morgan Tsvangirai is immortalised in the MDC-T. But you see how Chamisa treated Tsvangirai's memory in Bedford? He might call it a joke but there was serious derision and contempt behind that joke. The encounter with German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of the late Tsvangirai's most unrefined and embarrassing moments. You can't watch that video clip without cringing.But the man is now rested with his ancestors. What does Chamisa do? In trying to tell his audience that he is preparing for power or rather impatient for power, he invokes that which everyone who cares about Tsvangirai would rather bury. Surely, he learnt nothing from Tsvangirai for, where the teacher is not pleasing to the pupil there is no learning. Just give Chamisa a mic and audience and he will lose his guard. Soon he will express his true feelings.In Nelson Chamisa did Tsvangirai create another Alcibiades, who was a haughty, arrogant and pompous man pumped with volumes of ego and vanity? Is their mutual contempt for Morgan Tsvangirai the point of intersection between the two? Tendai Biti considered Tsvangirai an intellectual minion. Nelson Chamisa in Bedford let slip his true disdain for the man. What are we dealing with here? Just like the people of Athens put up with Alcibiades because of his oratorical skilsl but one day said enough of your vain nonsense, those who strangely see some oratory power in Chamisa will see its absence or interpret it for what it is; demagoguery.
Opinion / Columnist

ZANU-PF understands that in every circumstance, if its supporters do not pull the party agenda in one direction, they risk being pulled down. With solid structures with an ideological firmness that is ready to usher President Mnangagwa into office, it is time the latter should start preparing for his inauguration.There is no way President Mnangagwa cannot prepare for his inauguration ceremony for an uninterrupted five-year mandate because his main opponent, Mr Nelson Chamisa, is a funny character!Prominent French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte once advised: "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." Zanu-PF is doing exactly that!Mr Chamisa has been infected with a "Trump syndrome" where today he speaks something, and only to reverse it tomorrow, he lies outright, without remorse, and blames opponents for spinning his statements.While in the United Kingdom recently, he spent most of his time speaking about what he termed "Zanu-PF deep rooted divisions" instead of articulating what he wants to do for the electorate.He constantly attacked the Mnangagwa brand, without providing an alternative.As he was making publicity gestures of practising how to inspect a guard of honour and other etiquette signals, back home his party and alliance were at a standstill.In the United Kingdom, Mr Chamisa threatened a national shutdown in Zimbabwe if what he termed "electoral reforms" are not put in place as the nation heads for elections.His presentations were devoid of alternative policy to what he would do for the people, except saying "we are the real agents of change".He blamed the British government led by Prime Minister Theresa May of dealing much with Zanu-PF and turning a blind eye to the opposition.While it is plausible for the May administration to pay attentive ears to both parties, one is looking at re-engagement talk yet the other is constantly making irritating noises that are rejecting cooperative goals.Mr Chamisa wants to play Machiavellian, issuing divide and rule sentiments just like former president Mr Robert Mugabe.Some of the politics exhibited by Mr Chamisa recently, the generality of Zimbabweans yearn that such be put to bed. Such immature and dangerous antics are a threat to the governance structure and institution of the nation whose founding principles are premised on unity.While he was abroad, back home Zanu-PF was finalising primary elections that were endorsed by the greater establishment of the party.In a democracy, it is known that the minority are always a victim.The Zanu-PF losing candidates pledged their support for the party ahead of harmonised elections which President Mnangagwa last Friday said are "in a few weeks time".Furthermore, President Mnangagwa met veterans of the liberation struggle in an interface that exuded the confidence of the party and made an enthusiastic commitment to mass mobilisation of people to vote for Zanu-PF.On the corporate front, President Mnangagwa has enacted remarkable provisions that are in the Public Entities Corporate Governance Act.What is happening on the local body politic has triggered the appetite of once political by-standers who are now keen observers in the national political discourse. This is a result of the higher education of society, the bigger interest it shows in national politics and hence can make a more informed vote.Based on events of the past week, the electorate knows that there is a presidential candidate who is not sincere with them between Mr Chamisa and President Mnangagwa.Events of the past week are a confirmation Mr Chamisa's narrative of an immature leader who has turned himself into a reckless adolescent, mixing a dangerous cocktail of phantom talk with uncontrollable entitlement.A lot of educated members of the public are embarrassed with such a low show of morals and ethics by Mr Chamisa and are now shying away from reading or listening to his irresponsible talk.Both as a leader of an opposition party and one of the longest serving, the 40-year-old is speeding into oblivion.About defeating Mr Chamisa, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga recently vowed that Zanu-PF "shall have time to dismantle their little, make-belief dreams as we get down to real campaign work."We excuse them for being too young to have participated in the struggle."But we cannot excuse them from mounting a bid for national leadership from a pilfered party crown."It is the political immaturity of opposition politicians which will make them easy victims of the Zanu-PF juggernaut which will tame them on the importance of prioritising the interests of the electorate.The upcoming humiliating defeat of the combined MDC formations and other parties in the forthcoming elections will be a victory for the revolution that has always safeguarded the interests of the nation even when the opposition called for crippling sanctions.
Opinion / Columnist

ED is not perfect. No politician is. In fact no one is perfect, including you or me. But let's not forget what ED has done for our country.I'm not even going to sit here and start explaining in detal his brave role in the founding of our country. It took bravery and real sacrifice to fight like he fought in the struggle for our independence; in the battle for our liberation. But what is more impressive, and more important to all those who intend to take part in these historic harmonised elections in the next few months, is the action ED took towards the end of last year.Zimbabwe was in a rut. We were at a real low. Countries did not want to talk to us. Investors were not willing to do business with us. We were stuck.At home, our policemen and policewomen were the most corrupt on the continent. We could not drive for more than a few kilometres without having to spend our hard-earned cash because of some made up transgression. A fire extinguisher here. A weak rear light there. We were being abused from above and below.The G40 gang who had taken over our country, led by GucciGrace herself, were simply out of control. About the same time as the infamous 15 billion dollars (and more!) went missing, ED, perhaps the only decent member of RM's inner circle at the time, was poisoned. We knew who was behind it. Everyone knew who was behind it. The lady who had no fear and had no shame. The lady who poisoned the mind - and indeed at times it was a great mind  of the leader who brought freedom to this land. Anyone who still believed RM was in control of his own destiny, let alone our destiny, was living in (what BBC journalist Stephen Sackur likes to call) "Alice in Wonderland".So with unemployment at an all-time high, and investor confidence at an all-time low, there was simply nowhere to go. Until ED decided to take the fate of the nation into his hands.He risked his life, once again, for the sake of our second liberation. He internalised that if big changes were not made immediately, our pariah state would actually become a failed state.He schemed and he planned, and the results are there for all to see. A truly new dispensation was formed. Free and fair elections were called. A New Zimbabwe. A new era.Now of course a country cannot be rebuilt in a mere few months, but change is already being felt. Investors are swarming our country, from East to West. We are no longer wholly dependent on China; our all-weather friend. At our airports and in our restaurants we hear American English, British accents, Russians, Japanese, Indians and of course a lot of South Africans; they all want to take part in the New Zimbabwean dream.There is hope once again on the streets. Billions of dollars of foreign investment will lead to jobs for the masses. The results are already tangible. Just yesterday a deal was signed which will bring another 24,000 jobs to the nation! As the nation once again finds its feet, there is great excitement in infrastructure projects. From power stations to roads and railways, countries and private investors are competing to fund our projects.Our president is online, on social media. Who would have thought? He actually listens to the people! He even takes to Facebook to interact, engage and communicate with the youth; even those you who don't like him one bit.So while I don't expect everyone to be in love with ED, nor forget his associations of the past. I do expect that we give this man of action a chance. The man who got rid of RM and put Zimbabwe back on its feet again. The man who brought hope and change to a country in despair. And the man who brought the most important word back to the lexicon of the average Zimbabwean: Freedom.We are free to talk. Free to write. Free to criticise. Free to drive down the street without the harassment of our police. In 1980 we were supposed to be free. For those of us not old enough to remember that feeling, let us now embrace 'Liberation Part II'. Let us welcome the truly new dispensation. And let us give ED, our man of action, five full years to turn this ship around, putting us firmly on the right course of freedom, development and progress.
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Lets take a look at Bank of Nova Scotia (TSX:BNS)(NYSE:BNS) and Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX:SLF)(NYSE:SLF) to see why they might be interesting picks.

Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia has invested billions over the past decade to build a large international presence, with a specific focus on Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile. These countries make up the core of the Pacific Alliance, which is a trade bloc set up to enable the free movement of goods and capital among the member states. Combined, the four markets are home to more than 200 million people.

Bank of Nova Scotia continues to increase its presence in the region. The company just announced a deal to acquire a 51% position in Perus Banco Cencosud for $130 million. This comes on the heels of US$2.2 billion deal to buy a majority stake in BBVA Chile. The BBVA acquisition will give Bank of Nova Scotia a 14% market share in the country.

As the middle class grows in the region, Bank of Nova Scotia should benefit from rising demand for loans and investment products. The international operations already generate close to 30% of Bank of Nova Scotias profit.

The bank has a long track record of dividend growth, and that trend should continue. Investors who buy today can pick up a yield of 4%.

The stock trades at a discount to its larger Canadian peers primarily due to perceived risk connected to the international operations. While the Pacific Alliance countries have gone through some turbulent economic times, the markets are more stable today than in the past, and investors should see Bank of Nova Scotias multiple drift higher in the medium term.

Sun Life

Sun Life took a hit during the Great Recession, but the business has bounced back and is one again focused on growth. The company continues to seek out opportunities in Canada and the United States, where it still generates the majority of its income, but investors with a buy-and-hold strategy should consider Sun Life based on its operations in Asia.

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The company has established strong partnerships or subsidiaries in India, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. As with Bank of Nova Scotia, Sun Life stands to benefit from improved wealth, but in this case, the market size is in the billions.

Sun Lifes balance sheet is in good shape, and the company is once again raising its dividend on a regular basis. At the time of writing, the stock yields 3.4%.

Is one more attractive?

Both companies should provide Canadian investors with safe ways to play emerging market growth. At this point, I would probably split a new investment between Bank of Nova Scotia and Sun Life.

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Fool contributor Andrew Walker has no position in any stock mentioned.
A Gatineau woman who went to Greece for a martial arts convention is now unable to come home after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.

Melanie Bergeron McAndrew and her karate classmates from the Masson-Angers region wanted to take a cruise to the Greek islands after the World Kobudo Federation's World Martial Arts Convention in Athens.

Her health began to deteriorate after the event, but the situation was not yet alarming.

"With [the visit to] the Acropolis, plus the time change, plus the three-day training, it's normal that we're all a bit tired," Bergeron McAndrew's karate instructor, Mike Leclair, told Radio-Canada in French.

While on the cruise ship for her 35th birthday last Wednesday, the pain took over to such an extent that she had to travel in a wheelchair.

The ship's doctor had to give her painkillers.

Immune system condition

The next day, Bergeron McAndrew went to a hospital on the island of Rhodes for a more complete diagnosis.

Doctors said she has Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a condition that causes the immune system to attack the peripheral nerves of the body.

The cause is unknown and there is no cure, though treatment can help with symptoms such as severe pain and difficulty breathing or walking.

"She was forbidden to go back on the cruise ship because it was not good for her health  She was taken to Rhodes because her lungs are affected and she can't fly," Leclair said.

Her mother flew to Athens on Sunday to be at her daughter's bedside, according to Bergeron McAndrew's friend Grace Sills.

Not only does her mother, Lucie Bergeron, have trouble communicating with her daughter , but also with the medical staff because of the language barrier.

Sills said her condition in hospital has not improved and she is in serious pain.

Campaign for Melanie

Sills launched a GoFundMe campaign online to raise funds for Bergeron McAndrew's mother to be with her in Greece.

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"It's hard not be there but I raise money. That's the best I can do. For sure, if the situation is getting worse I'm going to take the first flight and I'm going to be there," Sill said Sunday.

"I know Melanie. She's a really strong woman."

As of Sunday afternoon, the campaign had raised more than $12,000.
Less than a month after complaints that a former nurses' residence in St. John's is an eyesore, the provincial government says it is assessing a possible sale of the property.

The old Grace Hospital building on LeMarchant Road has been deteriorating for more than a decade, and neighbours told CBC News that they are tired of grafitti, broken glass and people using the building as a hangout.

As recently as April 24, the Department of Transportation and Works said it had put up security fencing, sealed entry points and cleaned up garbage on the property.

But in a news release Monday, the department said it has no use for the site and will soon begin "hazmat and property assessments."

That information will determine "next steps, including the sale of the property and removal of the building," the news release said.

A spokesperson for the department said work is beginning this week to hire a consultant to determine whether potentially hazardous materials, such as asbestos, lead and mercury, are present in the building and if so, how to remove them.

Wanna buy a water bomber?

It's all part of a plan to sell off government assets that are no longer needed.

Also for sale  two old water bombers and parts, a former ferry and 110 vehicles.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government said selling the vehicles will save about $500,000 on fuel, insurance, parts and maintenance.

Wildlife officers, highway enforcement officers and park rangers, who need a vehicle to do their work will reserve one from the fleet.

The MV Capt. Earl W. Winsor, formerly used on the Fogo Island-Change Islands run and now costing $237,000 a year to keep mothballed, is also for sale.

Leased office space is being reduced as well, for a savings of $2.7 million annually, according to government.
The man at the centre of a controversy surrounding the prime minister's trip to India "vehemently denies" threatening a B.C. radio host, according to his lawyer.

Court documents show Jaspal Atwal was charged last month with threatening Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal, host of a daily Punjabi-language talk show broadcast online by Media Waves Communications.

Atwal made headlines during Justin Trudeau's February trip to India, when he showed up at an official event despite a previous conviction for trying to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister during a trip to Vancouver Island in 1986.

His lawyer, Marvin Stern, says Atwal denies threatening the radio host.

"There was a conversation between the two of them in the parking lot of the radio station in question," Stern said.

"But there were no threats issued by Mr. Atwal whatsoever."

The incident allegedly occurred on April 23. In information sworn two days later, Atwal was charged with uttering or conveying a threat to cause death or bodily harm to Dhaliwal.

The 62-year-old was released last month on $1,000 bail with conditions that include having no contact with any employees of Media Waves, a company that claims to broadcast to 300,000 South Asians in Canada.

He is allowed to have written communication with station owner Ashiana Khan.

Atwal must also have no contact with Dhaliwal or any members of his immediate family.

Stern would not elaborate on the subject of the conversation between Atwal and Shaliwal.

He also refused to provide any detail on Atwal's involvement with Media Waves. He said Atwal wants the matter to go to trial.

Atwal's next scheduled court appearance is May 24.

During Trudeau's visit to India, Atwal also received an invitation to an event at the Canadian High Commission in Delhi.

Photos of Atwal posing with a Liberal cabinet minister and Trudeau's wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, at an Indian film industry event in Mumbai were sent to media outlets, including the CBC, touching off a public relations firestorm for the Trudeau government that continued in the House of Commons for weeks.
Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt in B.C. Supreme Court on Monday.

Stewart, who is stepping down as member of parliament for Burnaby South, was arrested peacefully March 23 while protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project at Kinder Morgan's Burnaby terminal.

Stewart was among a group of protesters, including federal Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, who blocked access to the company's main access gate, violating a court order to stay at least five metres away from company work sites.

A special prosecutor for the province has called for a $500 fine to be levied, which Stewart says he will pay by Friday.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Affleck said this is not a criminal code offence, but in "normal" cases it could carry higher fines. Stewart and May were initially charged with civil contempt.

May in court later this month

"I take full responsibility for my actions," said Stewart outside court. "But I will continue to push to stop this pipeline, which I think is a very bad project."

Despite the name of the charge, criminal contempt is not a criminal code offence and Stewart will not have a criminal record. Stewart's counsel Richard Fowler told the court that sometimes civil disobedience plays a role in a healthy democracy.

On May 5, the two-term NDP MP announced he would be resigning his seat in parliament to run as an independent for mayor of Vancouver.

May, who was charged on the same day as Stewart, is set to appear in court on May 28.

With files from Yvette Brend.

Correction : An earlier version of this story referred to Kennedy Stewart as the former MP for Burnaby South. In fact, he remains an MP and has only announced his intention to step down.(May 14, 2018 2:16 PM)
Inmates at two federal prisons who use injection drugs will have access to clean syringes beginning in June, with the Correctional Service of Canada planning to roll out the service at other institutions next year.

The correctional service has previously made needles available for inmates with diabetes who require insulin and for people needing EpiPens, but this is the first time drug users in Canadian prisons will have access to clean needles.

"Correctional Service Canada's prison needle exchange program is an initiative that will strengthen ongoing efforts to address infectious diseases in federal penitentiaries and in our communities," said interim commissioner Anne Kelly in a written statement on Monday.

Phase 1 of the needle exchange program will begin with one men's institution, the Atlantic Institution in Renous, N.B., as well as one women's facility, the Grand Valley Institution in Kitchener, Ont.

A correctional service spokesperson said the prisons were selected because they have the highest rates of injection drug use and needle sharing, based on routinely gathered health information.

According to the service, HIV rates in prison are 200 times higher than in the general population, and hepatitis C rates are 260 times higher. For both diseases, the rate within prisons has decreased considerably in the past 10 years.

Long overdue, advocate says

The announcement was welcomed by harm reduction advocates on Monday.

Sandra Ka Hon Chu is director of research and advocacy with the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network. She said the plan to make clean needles available in two institutions is a positive step, but that it should have come two decades ago.

The organization is one of five groups and individuals that launched a lawsuit against the correctional service in 2012. Chu claims the lack of clean injection equipment is a denial of prisoners' rights to health.

"It's been over five years [since the lawsuit was launched] and I think this is sort of the tragedy  in that five-plus years, numerous people have been infected with HIV and hepatitis C," she said.

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According to Chu, prisoners who use injection drugs go to great lengths to create and share makeshift syringes, sometimes made out of things like pens..

"It's quite terrible," she said. "I've heard stories from prisoners using one needle that's been used by 30 or 40, up to 50 people, just shared because there's so little access."

Chu said she's concerned about the needle exchange model the correctional service is planning to use, which requires inmates to return a needle to get a new one. She said there should be a diversity of needle distribution models, and making prisoners hand in a syringe to obtain a clean one reduces overall access.

Prison guards object

The Union of Canadian Correctional Officers said in a written statement that it is concerned about the launch of the needle exchange programs in two prisons, which it claims are being implemented without new training or safety measures for correctional officers.

"This program represents a dangerous turning point. Correctional Service Canada has decided to close its eyes to drug trafficking in our institutions. It has chosen to encourage criminal activity inside the walls instead of investing in the care and treatment of inmates who are drug addicts or carriers of infectious disease," union president Jason Godin said.

"We are also wondering what's happening with CSC's zero-tolerance policy on drugs?"

Godin expressed confusion about the role of correctional officers who witness inmates using the needles to inject contraband drugs, and whether they're expected to intervene, or permit drug use.

He also claimed the new program will be a threat to officers and put inmates' lives at risk with the risk of overdose, and that the correctional service's role should be to continue to reduce the supply of drugs.

According to the correctional service, "The safety and security of staff, the public and inmates are of utmost importance when making decisions about CSC programs and policy."

Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker
United Conservative Party Leader Jason Kenney is questioning whether the federal and Alberta governments should be meeting privately with Kinder Morgan to save the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

Last month, the company put the future of the controversial expansion in doubt by setting a May 31 deadline for a decision on whether to continue the project or drop it.

That prompted the talks now underway which could result in the Alberta and federal governments acquiring some ownership of the project.

"I think that's just the wrong way to go about it," Kenney told reporters at the Alberta legislature Monday. "The fundamental message that this sends to investors is 'if a project doesn't work, we'll buy your way out of it.' "

Kinder Morgan has blamed B.C.'s NDP government for delaying the $7.8 billion project.

Kenney slammed the federal and provincial governments for not taking decisive action against B.C. Premier John Horgan.

He argued the $4.1 billion infrastructure deal Ottawa signed with B.C. in April should have been held back until construction resumed on the Trans Mountain project.

Kenney's comments come as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives in Alberta Monday.

The Prime Minister will visit the Sikh Gurdwara Millwoods in southeast Edmonton Monday evening.

On Tuesday, he is scheduled to make an infrastructure announcement at Edmonton city hall with Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi and Transport Minister Marc Garneau.

He will then travel to Calgary for a 12:45 p.m. announcement with Sohi and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.
By Valerie Volcovici and Richard Cowan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States threatened on Sunday to impose sanctions on European companies that do business with Iran, as the remaining participants in the Iran nuclear accord stiffened their resolve to keep that agreement operational. White House national security adviser John Bolton said U.S. sanctions on European companies that maintain business dealings with Iran were "possible," while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he remained hopeful Washington and its allies could strike a new nuclear deal with Tehran. Bolton struck a more hawkish tone with his comments in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union" program than Pompeo did on "Fox News Sunday." U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the United States was withdrawing from a 2015 deal negotiated by the Obama administration. So far, China, France, Russia, Britain, Germany and Iran remain in the accord, which placed controls on Iran's nuclear program and led to a relaxation of economic sanctions against Iran and companies doing business there. Despite the U.S. exit, Britain and Iran expressed their commitment on Sunday to ensuring that the accord is upheld, according to a statement released by British Prime Minister Theresa May's office. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, speaking in Dublin, declared: "We are stakeholders" and will remain so. Germany said it would spend the next few months trying to persuade Washington to change its mind. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged, however, that protecting European companies from potential U.S. penalties could be difficult. Asked whether the United States might impose sanctions on European companies that continue to do business with Iran, Bolton told CNN: "It's possible. It depends on the conduct of other governments." Pompeo said he was "hopeful in the days and weeks ahead we can come up with a deal that really works, that really protects the world from Iranian bad behavior, not just their nuclear program, but their missiles and their malign behavior as well." The White House said Trump had spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday and "reiterated the need for a comprehensive deal that addresses all aspects of Iran's destabilizing activity in the Middle East." In a tweet on Sunday, Trump wrote: "Remember how badly Iran was behaving with the Iran Deal in place. They were trying to take over the Middle East by whatever means necessary. Now, that will not happen!" TRYING 'TO PERSUADE' U.S. The U.S. withdrawal from the Iran deal has upset Washington's European allies, cast uncertainty over global oil supplies and raised the risk of conflict in the Middle East. Germany's minister for economic affairs, Peter Altmaier, said on Sunday that Berlin would try to "persuade the U.S. government to change its behavior." In an interview with ZDF public television, Altmaier noted the United States had set a 90-day deadline for foreign firms to comply with the return of sanctions and that this period could be used to convince Washington to change course. Israel and Iran engaged in an extensive military exchange on the heels of Trump's decision to leave the deal. Macron told Trump in their telephone call on Saturday that he was worried about stability in the Middle East, according to Macron's office. As a private citizen, Bolton suggested in the past that the United States push for a change in Iran's government. But in an interview on ABC's "This Week" program, Bolton said: "That's not the policy of the administration. The policy of the administration is to make sure that Iran never gets close to deliverable nuclear weapons." [L2N1SK088] In the CNN interview, Bolton did not respond directly when asked whether Trump might seek "regime change" in Iran, or whether the U.S. military would be ordered to make a pre-emptive strike against any Iranian nuclear facility. "I'm not the national security decision-maker," Bolton said, adding that Trump "makes the decision and the advice that I give him is between us." Bolton said Europe was still digesting Trump's move last week. "I think at the moment there's some feeling in Europe - they're really surprised we got out of it, really surprised at the reimposition of strict sanctions. I think that will sink in; we'll see what happens then," Bolton said. (Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Warren Strobel in Washington, Michael Nienaber in Berlin and Conor Humphries in Dublin; Editing by Paul Simao and Peter Cooney)
Rumble

When the heat of summer hits hard in Canada, people resort to ways to keep cool and refreshed. Cottage time provides many with a break from the heat as they spend time in or beside the lake. But for many, getting away from the city isn't always possible. This cyclist has found an ample supply of refreshing beverages and he's determined to get them to his home or to wherever he will be enjoying a few cold drinks. Either for exercise or because he doesn't have a vehicle, he has fashioned a trailer and stacked up his cases behind the bike. He'll get those drinks to where he's going with a little pedal power. This is Peterborough, Ontario. It's not unusual in Canada to see people acting in a relaxed manner as they take up a lane of traffic. Known for their politeness and patience, few Canadians will honk or become irritated if they are stuck behind this man momentarily. More likely, they will respect his commitment and willingness to work this hard. Our friend on the bike continued along the street for quite a distance before the car with the camera pulled around and drove off. A true Canadian salute goes out to this man for managing the summer heat in such a way!
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in Calgary on Tuesday to re-announce his funding commitment for the Green Line LRT  but could not avoid tough questions on the Trans Mountain pipeline.

The $1.53 billion for the major infrastructure project was first announced in 2015 by the previous Conservative government.

- FROM JULY 2015: Green Line transitway in Calgary gets $1.53B pledge from Ottawa

Trudeau was flanked by federal Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi and Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, all focusing on the Green Line project.

Reporters at the event jumped right into questions about the controversial Trans Mountain project, but new answers were hard to come by.

"As I've said many times, discussions are ongoing," said Trudeau when asked how discussions were going with Kinder Morgan, days before a May 31 deadline set by the company for moving the project forward.

No 'magic phrase' for critics

When pushed to offer some new information on the progress of talks, Trudeau struck back and said it doesn't matter what his government does when it comes to some Albertans.

"I don't think there's any magic phrase I can say that will have critics and skeptics sort of put down their criticism and say 'oh, you know what? The prime minister reassured me today,'" he said.

"So I'm not speaking to them. I'm speaking to the rest of Albertans who have watched for 10 years under the Conservative government where there was a tremendous amount of boosterism for Alberta, there was an oil sector-first mentality that didn't actually deliver a single kilometre of pipeline to market. They weren't able to get it done for 10 years despite all the words they had."

That statement is true in the context of full pipelines to tidewater. But under the Conservatives, three pipeline projects were built: TransCanada's Keystone, Enbridge's Alberta Clipper as well as Kinder Morgan's Anchor Loop  an expansion of the existing Trans Mountain pipeline.

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Also under the Conservatives, Enbridge reversed flow on its Line 9B in Eastern Canada.

Environment and economy

Trudeau reiterated his government's approach to getting pipelines built, by tying them to environmental protections, including a price on carbon.

He said there's a lot on the table in talks with Kinder Morgan, including legal, legislative and financial avenues to get the pipeline built.

Earlier in Edmonton, the prime minister announced almost $40 million to build a railway underpass or overpass and widen a section of 50th Street.

Once a regular visitor to Calgary

Before the event, Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt predicted Calgarians would probably have a lot of questions for the prime minister that have less to do with infrastructure and more to do with pipelines.

"There was a time where Trudeau was coming to Calgary on a fairly regular basis, particularly before he was prime minister," Bratt said. "But it's been a while since he's come. He's not particularly popular in Calgary right now over the Trans Mountain pipeline, so I think this is designed to be a good news story for him."

Trudeau has assured that the Kinder Morgan project will be built and that the federal government is taking both financial and legislative action to make sure it goes ahead.

Trudeau's last visit to the city was a quick stop aboard the CP Canada 150 train last July.

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Canada spent $550K to track down Calgary murder suspect who fled to Vietnam

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Heritage Park out $714K as reservoir's low water level docks paddlewheeler
HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's central bank has stopped local banks from trading or processing payments linked to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, its governor said on Monday, but stopped short of banning local cryptocurrency trading exchanges. In the southern African nation, those who trade in bitcoin say it offers rare protection as their bank deposits lose value almost by the day while others use it to fund family members studying abroad or purchase goods online. On Golix.com, the largest of only two trading platforms for virtual currencies, bitcoin was trading at $12,400 on Monday. Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor John Mangudya, however, said in a statement, the central bank had not licensed anyone to trade in virtual currencies and that dealers and investors did not have the protection of the law. "The Reserve Bank has directed all banking institutions not to provide banking services to facilitate any person or entity in dealing with or settling virtual currencies," Mangudya said. "The nature of cryptocurrency transactions make them the currency of choice for money launderers and other criminals." Prices of digital currencies such as bitcoin rocketed at the end of last year as retail investors across the globe scrambled to get a piece of the profits. That triggered regulatory warnings and threats to crack down on the market. China, a major market, has shut down local cryptocurrency trading exchanges. Officials from Golix and Styx24.com, Zimbabwe's other trading platform could not immediately comment on the central bank decision. An industry insider who follows the cryptocurrencies in Zimbabwe said the RBZ ban would affect settlements between exchanges but sales between individuals would not be impacted. "We can sit over a cup of coffee and transfer cryptos among ourselves. The entire logic of crypto is peer to peer transaction without trusted third parties," said the insider, who declined to be named because he is not authorized to speak to the press. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by the editors of HealthDay:

Tom Wolfe, Renowned Author and Essayist, Dead at 88

Tom Wolfe -- the dapper, white suit-clad author who helped create the "New Journalism" of the 1960s with ground-breaking works such as "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test", before finding wider fame with books like "Bonfire of the Vanities" and "The Right Stuff" -- died Monday in a Manhattan hospital from pneumonia, according to published reports.

He was 88 and had lived in New York City since becoming a reporter for the long-gone but respected New York Herald Tribune newspaper in 1962.

One of the most influential writers of the last 50 years, Wolfe, according to The New York Times, had a "pitiless eye and a penchant for spotting trends and then giving them names, some of which -- like 'Radical Chic' and 'the Me Decade' -- became American idioms."

"As a titlist of flamboyance he is without peer in the Western world," Joseph Epstein wrote in The New Republic. "His prose style is normally shotgun baroque, sometimes edging over into machine-gun rococo, as in his article on Las Vegas which begins by repeating the word 'hernia' fifty-seven times."

The Times, citing William F. Buckley Jr., writing in the National Review, put it more simply: "He is probably the most skillful writer in America -- I mean by that he can do more things with words than anyone else."

-----

STDs Hit Record High in California

California recorded more than 300,000 cases of sexually transmitted disease in 2017, a 45 percent jump from five years earlier.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said rates of chlamydia were highest among young women, while men accounted for most cases of syphilis and gonorrhea.

If not treated, chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause infertility, long-term pelvic pain and ectopic pregnancy -- when the fetus grows outside the uterus. Syphilis can lead to blindness, hearing loss and neurological issues, the wire service said.

The report noted 30 stillbirths stemming from cases of syphilis, the highest number in more than 20 years.

"We've known how to control syphilis since the early 1900s. Seeing it come back like this is a sign of failure of the public health safety net," Dr. Jeffery Klausner, a professor of medicine of the University of California, Los Angeles, told the Associated Press.

Klausner pointed to the nations of Cuba, Thailand and Belarus, which have virtually eliminated syphilis cases among infants, the AP reported.

"STDs are preventable by consistently using condoms, and many STDs can be cured with antibiotics," CDPH Director Dr. Karen Smith said in a statement.

"Regular testing and treatment are very important for people who are sexually active, even for people who have no symptoms," Smith added. "Most people infected with an STD do not know it."

STD rates have risen nationwide for several years, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 2 million new cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis were reported in 2016, the most recent year for which statistics are available, according to the wire service.

-----

Congo Ebola Outbreak Death Toll Now at 19

The number of victims who've died as a result of the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has risen to 19, with health officials speeding an experimental vaccine to the outbreak's epicenter.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said there are now 39 confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola in the central African nation. Cases are spreading throughout rural regions comprising about 40 square miles in the DRC's northwest sector, the Washington Post reported.

Three health-care workers are among the dead, and health officials are tracking the health of 400 people who've had contact with Ebola patients, the Post said.

In the meantime, WHO said shipments of an experimental Ebola vaccine are expected to arrive in the affected area by the end of this week. The vaccine was developed by Merck after the recent West African outbreak. In a trial of more than 5,800 people inoculated in Guinea in 2015, none came down with Ebola.

"Everything is formally agreed already. The vaccine is safe and efficacious and has already been tested. I think we can -- all is ready now to really use it," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO's director-general, told reporters Monday.

The biggest Ebola outbreak yet recorded killed about 11,300 people as it spread throughout Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia between 2014 and 2016.

Ebola symptoms typically arise within about eight to 10 days of exposure to the virus, and include fever, headache, diarrhea, vomiting and hemorrhage.
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Taipei, May 15, 2018Chinese authorities must investigate and bring to justice those responsible for an attack on i-Cable TV reporter Chan Ho-fai in Sichuan Province, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Unknown assailants on May 12 attacked Chan, a reporter for the Hong Kong broadcaster i-Cable TV, while he was covering a memorial event at the Juyuan Middle School in Dujiangyan City, according to news reports and a video posted on i-Cable TV China desks Facebook page. More than 200 students and teachers died at the school in the devastating earthquake that took place in May 2008.

In the Facebook video, Chan said he was recording a crowd surrounding a business reporters car when two men pulled him away and started kicking his stomach and head. Chan said they also twisted his arms. He suffered visible injuries to his head, arms, and hands.

Authorities in Sichuan need to take swift action to prosecute those responsible for attacking Chan Ho-fai, said Steven Butler, CPJ Asia program coordinator, in Washington, D.C. Attacking a journalist for reporting the news is never acceptable.

The Juyuan Middle School collapsed in the earthquake. I-Cable TV news reported in a video posted on Facebook that parents gathered around the school on May 12 to commemorate the victims and demand a formal investigation into the construction, despite facing government suppression of the parents protest.

Hong Kong Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary Patrick Nip Tak-kuen said the bureau is very concerned about the incident and had contacted Sichuan authorities, according to the South China Morning Post.

I-Cable TVs news department released a statement on air calling the incident unacceptable and requesting a formal investigation and protection of press freedom and journalists security. The broadcaster also called the government information office of Sichuan province and the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office to lodge complaints and demand a thorough investigation, according to Mingpao, a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong.

Dujiangyans propaganda office that handles non-mainland journalists affairs apologized for the incident and reported it to police, according to the South China Morning Post and a video posted by i-Cable TV on Facebook. The office later arranged a media appearance at which two men claiming to be the attackers apologized to Chan. When the reporter asked who they were, they said they were ordinary people who had lost family members during the earthquake. When pressed by the journalist to specify which family members had died, the men changed their story and said it was their neighbors who had died.

I-Cable TV did not immediately respond to CPJs email requesting comment.

The earthquake and its aftermath are politically sensitive in China. Huang Qi, founder of the human rights news website 64 Tianwang, helped Sichuan earthquake victims families expose and report on the many poorly constructed school buildings that contributed to the high death toll. Huang was arrested on November 28, 2016, for leaking state secrets to foreign entities and remains in jail.
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Turkmen police detained Ashgabat-based journalist Soltan Achilova on May 9, 2018, according to her employer, the Turkmen service of the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), locally known as Azatlyk.

Achilova was on her way to photograph a commemoration ceremony for Victory Day, which is widely celebrated on May 9 across the former Soviet Union as the end to World War II, when several plainclothes officers stopped her, Azatlyk reported. The journalist told them she was taking pictures of the ceremony for her report and the men then insulted and threatened her, the same report stated.

Three men in police uniform then approached Achilova and asked her to follow them to the police station, which she refused to do, according to the report. The police then demanded that Achilova delete all the photographs she had taken, then grabbed her arms and dragged her into a waiting car, Azatlyk stated.

Achilova told RFE/RL that police threatened her with drug possession charges if she refused to delete the photos. When she again refused, the men took her camera by force and deleted the pictures, according to RFE/RL. Turkmen authorities tightly control the countrys media and view any sort of journalistic activity with suspicion, according to CPJ research.

Police detained Achilova for two hours and demanded that she publicly denounce working for RFE/RL, the news website reported.

Achilova is a veteran journalist who has photographed everyday life in Turkmenistan. She has faced numerous physical assaults, threats, and robbery by police, thugs, and other unidentified assailants, CPJ has reported.

On May 7, 2018, Turkmen Deputy Foreign Minister Vepa Hadjiyev said at a hearing of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Turkmenistan in Geneva that the fact that Radio Liberty correspondents work freely in the country proves that there is media freedom in Turkmenistan, Azatlyk reported.

RFE/RL said that six of Azatlyks correspondents quit their jobs between 2014 and 2016 because of a deliberate, state-sponsored campaign of intimidation and abuse that targeted them because of their reporting. Its correspondent Saparmamed Nepeskuliyev has been in jail on trumped-up drug possession charges since July 7, 2015, according to CPJ research.
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New York, May 15, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern over the Ukraine Security Services (SBU) search of the Kiev office of the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and detention of the office director, Kirill Vyshynsky.

The Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko as saying that the media activities of the news agency and Vyshynsky are anti-Ukrainian and amount to state treason. Lutsenko added that the Ukrainian investigation into those activities has evidence of carrying out well-paid anti-Ukrainian attacks by RIA Novosti-Ukraine. However, Lutsenko did not elaborate on the alleged evidence.

The SBU claimed in an official statement that in the spring of 2014, Vyshynsky traveled to Crimea, where he personally took part in propaganda campaigns aimed at supporting annexation and joining the peninsula to the Russian Federation while working for the state-run RT news outlet, formerly Russia Today. For his work in favor of the aggressor country in May 2014, the SBU alleged, Vyshynsky was awarded a medal by a private decree of the president of the Russia.

CPJ was unable to determine Vyshynskys whereabouts or whether he had been formally charged. The SBU did not immediately respond to CPJs request sent via email for more information on the case.

Vyshynskys colleagues at RIA Novosti-Ukraine said he was detained today near his home in Kiev, according to a report by the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty (RFE/RL). SBU spokesperson Olena Hitlyanska wrote on her Facebook page that the journalist was detained, but gave no further details.

We call on Ukrainian authorities to disclose the charges and evidence they have against Vyshynsky or release him without delay, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. We also call on Ukrainian authorities to stop harassing and obstructing Russian media operating in Ukraine. The criminalization of alternative news and views has no place in a democratic Ukraine.

According to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which condemned the SBU raid and Vyshynskys detention, Vyshynsky is a Ukrainian citizen with a Russian passport.

Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called the SBUs actions against RIA Novosti-Ukraine and Vyshynsky disgraceful and scandalous, (RFE/RL) reported.

Ukraines actions against RIA Novosti-Ukraine and Vyshynsky come amid tensions between Kiev and Moscow over Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea and its support of an armed separatist movement in eastern Ukraine that has claimed over 10,300 lives, according to the United Nations.

The Ukrainian government has intensified its attempts to weaken Russias influence on its population through the Russian state media, which Kiev claims Moscow uses to stir up anti-Ukrainian sentiment and foment hostilities. Kiev has banned multiple Russian television news channels since 2014, accusing them of disseminating propaganda, and it has deported several journalists, according to CPJ research.

CPJ has reported on anti-press attacks by both Ukraine and Russia, and has called on both countries to respect the role of a free and independent media in times of conflict.
The fourth meeting of South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), an inter-governmental wildlife law enforcement agency was in Kolkata, West Bengal (India) from May 8-10, 2018. It was first meeting of SAWEN to be held in India since its inception in 2011.

Key Outcomes of meeting

The two-day conference was attended by representatives of seven (excluding Pakistan) out of eight member countries. Six proposals, including tracking of wildlife smuggling route, review of existing laws and structure for the organisation were tabled during the meeting. Participating countries also adopted many resolutions to curb wildlife crime in the region. They agreed on having operational framework for strengthening the regional body to combat wildlife crime.

South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN)

SAWEN is regional inter-governmental wildlife law enforcement support body of South Asian Countries. It was launched in January, 2011 in Paro, Bhutan during the second meeting of the South Asia Expert Group on Illegal Wildlife Trade. Its secretariat is in Kathmandu, Nepal. Its regional network comprises of eight South Asia countries: Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

Mandate: SAWEN aims at working collectively as a strong regional inter-governmental body to combat wildlife crime by attainting common mutual goals and approaches for combating illegal trade in the region. It also seeks to control trans-boundary wildlife crime through communication, coordination, collaboration, capacity building and cooperation in the region.

Background

South Asia region is very vulnerable to illegal traffic and wildlife crimes due to presence of precious biodiversity and large markets as well as traffic routes for wildlife products in the region. It is mainly due to presence of large markets as well as traffic routes for wildlife products in the region. There was need among South Asian countries for collaboration in harmonising as well as enforcing wildlife protection in region for effective conservation of biodiversity. Establishment of SAWEN provided these eight South Asian Countries common platform for harmonising as well as enforcing wildlife protection in region


The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), a top state-run Chinese bank has launched Chinas first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund. The fund has been named as Industrial and Commercial Bank Credit Suisse India Market Fund. ICBC is the largest in the world with over $3.6 trillion in assets.

Key Facts

The ICBC Credit Suisse Indian Market Fund (LOF) will invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and US that are based on the Indian market. It will invest in future of Indian economy and track distribution of industrial structure across Indian market. For this, ICBC has listed sectors for investments specifically, in terms of the major industries weighted distribution of the index. The financial industry accounts for highest proportion, followed by information technology, alternative consumption, energy, essential consumption, raw materials, medicine, healthcare and other industries.

Signifiance

The fund opens way for Chinese investors and provided good tool for low-threshold investment in India. It is also regarded as significant by observers to boost investments in India and comes after first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, where two leaders sought to give a new direction to bilateral ties to tap their economic potential.
India: After anti-dumping duty, US hits shrimp exporters with non-tariff barrier

by Nirmalya Behera

May 15,2018 | Source: Business Standard

In order to discourage imports to the US, the Donald Trump administration has imposed a non-tariff barrier by including shrimps in the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) which may hurt exports from India. The US is the largest market for USD five billion Indian seafood sector. Earlier US imposed anti-dumping duty. Although this duty on India was not high, India was exporting shrimp to US via Vietnam which was facing steel hike in anti-dumping from India. Even EU had said that India should monitor primary production of shrimp before exporting to EU.



SIMP requires traceability information on imported seafood from point of capture to point of first sale in the US in order to thwart Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activity. SIMP will come into effect from January 1, 2019. Inclusion of shrimp in the SIMP has come a double whammy for the Indian exporters as US has recently enhanced the raised the anti-dumping duty (preliminary) by 25.39 per cent for Vietnam from 4.8 per cent last year. India largely exports block frozen shrimp to Vietnam for reprocessing and forward shipment to its customer countries like China, EU, Japan and USA.



Indian exporters are already battling with the lower international shrimp prices due to the glut supply. "SIMP is a kind of the non-tariff barrier on the shrimp exporters. USA being the largest market for Indian exports, the exports is likely to hit. The move of the Trump administration may be to provide the domestic players a level playing field. SIMP will discourage new exporters for making ways to the US", said an exporter. In recent years, Indian seafood exports have been driven by shrimps, revenue from which grew at 21 per cent and 31 per cent in fiscals 2017 and 2018. According to Crisil, the US, the world's leading seafood importer, accounted for 31 per cent of India's exports last fiscal, and for 28 per cent of Vietnam's.



Over the past five years, Indian seafood exports to the US have clocked 26 per cent CAGR. The US is also is the largest importer of Indian shrimps. Last year, 27 per cent of US shrimp imports were from India. It is also a significant export market for Vietnam, which is the second-largest export destination for India - as 28 per cent of India's exports are directed to Vietnam and 17 per cent of Vietnam's exports are directed to the US.



Hence, any change in trade policies by the US, concerning India or Vietnam, could impact Indian exports, the report of the rating agency said. Crisil has predicted that US shrimp export realisations (in dollar terms), that account for 70 per cent of export value, are expected to fall 10 per cent in fiscal 2019 due to increased production of Vannamei shrimps in India and other key exporting countries, and slower offtake from the US.



Families in US shrimp communities across the Gulf and South Atlantic are elated that our senators added traceability and real scrutiny of imported shrimp to the Omnibus Appropriations legislation. Even though shrimp is the largest imported seafood product, it was left out of a December 2016 traceability program that included most other species, said David Veal, Executive Director of the American Shrimp Processor Association (ASPA).
Gov. Bruce Rauner on Monday proposed reinstating the death penalty for mass murderers and those who kill police officers  putting on record a package of public safety reforms that he can tout to voters ahead of a heated November election.





It was one of a series of sweeping changes the Republican governor attached to an amendatory veto. And a move deemed political by a key sponsor of the legislation.





With an election some six months away, the branding of a comprehensive package  even if it goes nowhere  shows voters that Rauner has a public safety plan.





Its evolution, however, is a little murky. Some legislators in the governors bipartisan Public Safety Working Group said just two of Rauners proposals were discussed within the group: the 72-hour holding period legislation for gun purchases and the use of revenue to add school resource officers or mental health workers.





The governors office said Rauner didnt attend those meetings. His chief of staff Rodger Heaton, a former U.S. Attorney, attended instead.





There are six elements to the amendatory veto: reinstating the death penalty provided the suspects are found guilty beyond any doubt; extending the 72-hour period to all gun purchases; banning bump stocks and trigger cranks; using restraining orders to disarm dangerous individuals; making judges and prosecutors explain why charges are reduced in plea agreements for violent gun offenders; and the use of revenue to add school resource officers and mental health workers when needed.





Rauner called the plan comprehensive and thoughtful.





Its good policy. Every one of these six points will improve the safety of the people of Illinois, Rauner said at an Illinois State Police facility in Chicago. Each piece is critically important.





And anticipating a challenge from Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan, Rauner said the speaker can choose to pass legislation thats identical to his amendatory veto instead.





Rauner has always been on board with the death penalty, but there have been no meaningful efforts to try to reinstate it in Illinois.





There must be a burden of proof where a person is guilty beyond all doubt, Rauner said. Guilty beyond any doubt for killing a police officer or committing a mass murder. We then will impose the death penalty in Illinois.





Rauner said those who kill police officers deserve to give up their life.





The governor said hed consider other groups of defendants to be included in that.





Im very open to considering protections like this for additional individuals, Rauner said.





But the state abolished the death penalty in 2011, and opening the door to one classification would mean opening it to others. Former Gov. George Ryan stopped all executions in Illinois in 2003 over concerns of the wrongful convictions of Death Row inmates.





Rauners recommendation, however, is that those accused of killing police officers or two people or more would be tried using a higher standard for determining guilt  beyond all doubt, not beyond a reasonable doubt.





So many times the person is caught in the act. Or so many times there are multiple witnesses and theyre fleeing the act and theres no question of who did it, Rauner said of those who kill police officers. And you know whats really tragic? Many times the perpetrators are proud of what they did. And there are plenty of cases where theres no doubt who is guilty and they deserve to give up their life when they take the life of a police officer.





Rauner said he put his pen to an amendatory veto of House bill 1468 to place a 72-hour holding period on all guns. The bill contained language specifically about assault weapons. Under current Illinois law, there is a 72-hour waiting period to buy a handgun, but just a 24-hour window to purchase a long gun, rifle or shotgun.





The changes the governor is seeking require approval by the General Assembly. And if legislators opt to not take up his amendatory veto, the entire proposal will die. Lawmakers can also choose to accept the changes with a simple majority, or push for an override  with 71 votes required in the House and 36 in the Senate.





Theres a chance some measures within his veto will pass on their own, notwithstanding what happens to the package. Theres a bump stock ban bill and a measure to allow family members and law enforcement to petition a court to disarm individuals. Both bills are awaiting action in the Illinois House.





State Rep. Jonathan Carroll, D-Northbrook, chief sponsor of the measure Rauner vetoed, said hes not ready to say whether he plans to try to push for an override of the veto. But Carroll said the governor had no conversations with him about his measure and he believes the governor has prioritized his own politics over saving lives.





I was not invited to have any conversations about this with him or to the press conference. I cant speak to what the governors intentions are with it, Carroll said. I would hope the governors focus is on public safety the way that I am and whats best for the people of Illinois.





Madigan spokesman Steve Brown said he has yet to see the governors recommendations.





First we want to make sure it complies with the Constitution, as we do with all amendatory vetoes, Brown said. And then well go from there.





But Brown criticized the governors negotiations on the package: This is the governors negotiated gun safety program. I guess theres no negotiations. Its just absurd.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
Ukraine obtains right to export beef to Turkey

The harmonization of the veterinary certificate for Ukrainian beef exports to Turkey is at its final stage.

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Ukraine not importing Russian gas for 900 days since 2015

Ukraine in late November 2015 refused to purchase natural gas from Russia's Gazprom.

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Over 400 legal entities, 200 Russians slapped with U.S. sanctions  State Duma speaker

Today, the State Duma will consider a package of bills on retaliatory measures to U.S. sanctions.

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The change applies to existing reservations as well as new bookings.

Millions of passengers booked on Ryanair flights from June 13 onwards are being warned that they can check-in only 48 hours before departure.

The Irish airline, which is the biggest budget carrier in Europe, is making life tougher for travellers who choose not to pay extra for assigned seating, The Independent reported.

Until two years ago, passengers could check in online up to a week before departure, which worked well for many people on seven-day holidays.

In 2016 Ryanair reduced the window for check in to just four days, saying the move was in response to "extensive customer feedback".

Read alsoWizz Air to double passenger transportation from Ukraine, launch new routes to Europe in 2018

Since May 2017, the airline has faced repeated criticism for assigning passengers travelling together seats far apart on the aircraft.

The airline responded by saying: "We are very happy to facilitate any customer who wants a free-of-charge random seat, but we are also going to do our best to facilitate customers who are willing to pay for a reserved seat."

Earlier this year the Civil Aviation Authority announced an enquiry into airlines' seating policies.

The Ryanair check-in window is about to narrow sharply. At present a passenger with a late flight at, say, 8pm on a Friday can check in from Monday morning onwards. But the new policy means free check-in will not open until 8pm on Wednesday.

Read alsoRyanair's Kyiv-Berlin flight to be launched on Sept 3

Alternatively, passengers can pay a fee  typically GBP 4 per person, per flight  for assigned seating, and check in up to two months ahead of departure.

The change applies to existing reservations as well as new bookings.

A Ryanair spokesperson told The Independent: "Online check-in (for those customers who don't choose reserved seats) will be available from 48 hours to 2 hours pre-departure for all flights from Wednesday, June 13.

"This is more than double the 24 hour check-in period operated by British Airways, Lufthansa, Norwegian and Iberia. This will give reserve seat customers more time to select their preferred seats prior to departure."

Ryanair has offered passengers booked to travel from June 13 onwards, and who have not paid for reserved seating, the chance to cancel and request a full refund. But it must be made within flve days (by May 19)  "after which the change will be regarded as implicitly accepted", says the airline.

But some passengers have complained that the refund process is not working.

A Ryanair spokesperson said: "Customers can check-in on the Ryanair app and download their boarding passes up to 2 hours before their flight, eliminating the need for printing out boarding passes."


Tuesday, May 15, 2018

ECPM Resolution on Human Trafficking

A resolution on Human Trafficking has been endorsed by ECPM members during the 16th General Assembly of ECPM on the 11th of May 2018.

Human trafficking is a major modern challenge for human dignity and todays human trafficking is stronger than ever. From a Christian perspective, human trafficking attacks the very core of human dignity. Human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, and as such they have intrinsic value and have the right to be respected. ECPM therefore urges its members to lead the effort to fight all forms of trafficking, not just by pushing for legislation which criminalizes this behavior, but by standing up for social change on both the European and local level. Lastly, ECPM also calls upon the European Commission to combat human trafficking by all possible means and to cooperate with all relevant organizations to achieve this goal.

On the 11th of May 2018 during the ECPM General Assembly in Bratislava, Slovakia, Board Member Gabriela Urbanova presented this resolution on behalf of ECPM's youth organization ECPYouth. The ECPM members have voted in favour of this resolution unanimously. The full text of the resolution is available below this article.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Resolution on 'Human Trafficking'

Tabled by ECPYouth



The General Assembly of ECPM, gathered on the 11th of May in Bratislava,

Considering that human trafficking is a major modern challenge for human dignity and todays human trafficking is stronger than ever.

Considering that from a Christian perspective human trafficking attacks the very core of human dignity, because human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, and as such they have intrinsic value and have the right to be respected.

Referring to article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in which it is stated that human dignity is inviolable and therefore must be respected and protected. Human dignity at the same time is a fundamental human right and the basis and source of deriving rights and freedoms.

Referring to the core values of ECPM which includes fighting human trafficking.

Considering that human trafficking is a cross-border crime and that combating human trafficking requires International and European cooperation.

Urges its members to lead the effort to fight all forms of trafficking, not just by pushing for legislation which criminalizes this behavior, but by standing up for social change on both the European and local level.

Calls upon the European Commission to combat human trafficking by all possible means and to cooperate with all relevant organizations to achieve this goal.
Speaking at the Organization of American States, Vice President Mike Pence quoted the Charter of the OAS: Representative democracy is an indispensable condition for stability, peace and development. Free nations throughout the hemisphere, he stated, can attest to that truth.

But there are places in the hemisphere under a dark cloud of tyranny, Vice President Pence said: among them, Cuba, where the police state imposed by the Castro family remains; and Nicaragua, where hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets to demand a return to democratic order only to be met in some instances with deadly force.

It is in Venezuela, however, where the tragedy of tyranny is on full display. Grinding poverty, corruption, oppression and exile are the results of authoritarian misrule by President Nicolas Maduro, who has replaced the countrys once-great democracy with dictatorship. If the Venezuelan people had the chance, they would choose a better path.

The Vice President called the upcoming May 20th elections in Venezuela a fraud and a sham. The regime callously portions out access to affordable food to manipulate votes.The courts and the electoral Council are packed with Maduro cronies; major parties have been banned; opposition leaders have been barred from running; and dissidents jailed:

Thats why today we call on Maduro and his regime: Suspend this sham electionGive the people of Venezuela real choices, because the people of Venezuela deserve to live in democracy once again.

Vice President Pence noted that in order to hold the Maduro regime responsible for the chaos it has caused, the U.S. has imposed, among other measures, strict financial sanctions on more than 50 current and former senior officials, and has barred the Petro digital currency from the U.S. financial system.

Vice President Pence called on nations in the Western Hemisphere to do more to stand with Venezuelas people by suspending Venezuela from membership in the organization; cutting off Venezuelas corrupt leaders from laundering money through their countries financial systems, and enacting visa restrictions that prevent Venezuelas leaders from entering their nations.

The people of Venezuela deserve democracy, Mr. Pence said. The people of Venezuela deserve to regain their libertad.
National joint-stock company Naftogaz Ukrainy has not been importing natural gas under the contract with Russia's Gazprom for 900 days  since November 26, 2015, buying gas only on the western border of the country.

"Today 900 days has passed from that historic moment when Ukraine started using an opportunity of not importing gas from Russia," public joint-stock company Ukrtransgaz said.

As reported, on March 1, 2018, Gazprom refused to resume gas supplies to Ukraine, returning an advance payment of $127.624 million to Naftogaz, violating the decision of the Arbitration Institute of the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, which revised the pricing of the contract between the companies.

The actions on the part of Gazprom also made it impossible for Naftogaz to comply with the award of the tribunal to purchase minimum annual contractual volumes of gas.

Ukraine in January-April 2018 cut imports of natural gas by 54.6% or 2.554 billion cubic meters (bcm) year-over-year, to 2.209 bcm. In particular 1.426 bcm were received from Slovakia (63.9% less compared to January-April 2017), 510.3 million cubic meters (mcm) from Hungary (30.3% up), and 272.5 mcm from Poland (35.3% down).

Ukrtransgaz, 100% owned by Naftogaz Ukrainy, operates a system of trunk gas pipelines and 12 underground gas storage facilities in the country.
Ukraine's GDP in January-March 2018 grew by 3.1% year-over-year, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reported on Tuesday.

The country's economy grew by 0.9% compared with the previous quarter.

As reported, the World Bank left unchanged the forecast for the growth of Ukraine's GPD in 2018-2019 at the level of 3.5% and 4% respectively. At the same time, the World Bank warned that the forecast for 2018 envisages the implementation of deferred reforms by the country. If they are not implemented, economic growth may slow down to almost 2%.

The IMF retained the forecast for GDP growth in Ukraine in 2018 at 3.2%, while at the same time worsened it for 2019 to 3.3% from 4%.

The NBU predicts the acceleration of GDP growth in 2018 to 3.4% from 2.5% in 2017, a slowdown in 2019-2020 up to 2.9%.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development left unchanged the forecast for the growth of the Ukrainian economy in 2018 at the level of 3% and expects the corresponding growth rate would be maintained in 2019.
On Tuesday, May 15, at 14.00, the press center of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency will host a press conference entitled "Shuliavka interchange: fighting or putting up with that?" An alternative three-level interchange project, which is actively supported by the city community, will be proposed at the press conference. Participants include the author of the alternative project of the three-level Shuliavka interchange, Viktor Petruk, representatives of public organizations and political parties. The action plan and the date of a rally of the people of Kyiv in support of a transparent tender for the selection of the best design solution of the Shuliavka interchange will be announced and the demands for the Kyiv authorities will be put forward (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. Additional information can be obtained by phone: (050) 566 6316.
Over the past day, illegal armed groups have opened fire on positions of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) 42 times, 11 of them  with the usage of mortars banned by the Minsk agreements with no casualties reported among the Ukrainian military, the operation's press center has said.

"The situation in the JFO area remained difficult. The intensity of hostilities at the contact line decreased. Our troops were actively defending themselves and gave an adequate response to the enemy," the JFO press center said on Facebook in its update as of 7:00 of Tuesday.

The invaders opened fire near the town of Zolote, and the villages of Novozvanivka and Troyitske (Luhansk region), the villages of Zalizne and Novhorodske, and Butovka coal mine (Donetsk region).

"The efforts of the Russian-occupation forces were in vain. The defensive lines of the Ukrainian units remained unchanged," the press center noted.

Over the past day, there are no killed or wounded Ukrainian servicemen. According to Ukrainian intelligence, one militant was killed and three another were wounded.

"Over the past 24 hours, seven cases of opening fire with the usage of small arms on our positions by invaders were recorded with the aim of provoking a retaliatory fire," the report says.
Foreign countries help Ukraine in carrying out the implementation of the telemedicine program, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

"Computer programs that will provide telemedicine to us will come from Canada. The German experience will be used so that we do not repeat the mistakes that have been made around the world. Croatia provided us with specialists who will introduce this system," Poroshenko said at the opening of an innovative primary health center in the village of Bodenky of Vyshgorodsky district of Kyiv region on Tuesday.

Also, according to the president, the World Bank funds were also involved in the project of telemedicine.

Poroshenko noted that the new building of the primary health center is energy-saving.

"This building is 15 times more money-saving in terms of energy consumption than a typical house. And if we had all such buildings, we would not need any Russian gas or oil consumption. And I am confident that we are now moving along the right way," the president of Ukraine said.

According to French Ambassador to Ukraine Isabelle Dumont, the building was built according to the design of the French architect.

The construction was carried out according to the "Passive House" standard, which implies not only the building of a paramedic-midwife point, but also official housing located a few meters from the medical station.
U.S. to provide another $125 mln to Donbas, territories affected by Russian aggression

The United States will provide additional assistance in the amount of $125 million to Donbas and adjacent territories affected by Russian aggression.

USAID Assistant Administrator for Europe and Eurasia Brock Bierman said at a press conference in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, on Tuesday that the USAID program worth $125 million would help create economic opportunities for new and existing enterprises in the region.

The United States, and USAID in particular, will continue to help Ukrainians achieve security and prosperity, he added.

Bierman, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and Head of the Donetsk Regional Military and Civil Administration Pavlo Zhebrivsky took part in the opening of the Coworking & Event Space TOP SPACE, where business and cultural events, as well as training master classes, will be held.

"I am convinced that such cities as Sloviansk have great prospects, but only when the genotype of the Ukrainian is restored," Zhebrivsky said.
Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court has extended the measure of restraint in the form of detention for Ukrainian MP Nadiia Savchenko until July 13.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, at a session on Tuesday the court granted a respective petition from Ukraine's Chief Military Prosecutor's Office.

It was reported that on March 22, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada granted the prosecutor general's recommendation and gave its consent to prosecute, detain, and arrest Savchenko.

Savchenko is suspected of preparations to violently change or dismantle the constitutional system or for the seizure of power, preparations for assassinating a statesperson or a public figure, preparations for a terrorist attack, the establishment of a terrorist group or a terrorist organization, and the illegal handling of weapons, ammunition, or explosives.

Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court ruled on March 23 to place Savchenko under arrest pending trial for 59 days, until May 20. Savchenko announced a hunger strike on the same day.

On March 29, the Kyiv Appeals Court turned down an appeal lodged by Savchenko's defense team contesting the Shevchenkivsky District Court's ruling on taking her into pretrial custody.

Savchenko underwent a forensic psychological evaluation and a lie detector test on April 17.
Volker to visit Donetsk, Luhansk after they are back under Kyiv's control

United States Department of State Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations Kurt Volker said he would be willing to visit Donetsk and Luhansk after these cities are back under Ukraine's control.

Speaking at a press conference in Sloviansk, Donetsk region, on Tuesday, Volker said he would not like to give any pretext for legitimization of the so-called political entities that are controlled by Russia.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said that despite Russia's attempts to legitimize the temporary occupation of the Crimean peninsula, Ukraine will continue to consistently defend its positions in international courts, including the illegal erection of the Kerch Strait Bridge.

"The illegal construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge is more evidence of Kremlin neglect of international law, especially the fact that the span was opened on the eve of another anniversary - the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people by the Stalin regime," Poroshenko wrote in his Facebook page on Tuesday.

Poroshenko said Moscow's attempts to legitimize the temporary occupation of the Crimean peninsula are futile, as evidenced by the growing number of international court decisions confirming that "the burden of a perfect international crime for Russia will only grow."

"Ukraine will continue to consistently defend its positions in the future. I recall that on my instructions to the Arbitration Tribunal of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. A petition was filed for the protection of Ukraine's sovereign interests, in particular, in connection with the illegal erection of the bridge," Poroshenko said.

At the same time, the president expressed regret that the Russian authorities are trying to draw representatives of European business into their infrastructure adventures, seeking to buy back from international legal responsibility there.

"I'm sure the aggressor will not succeed. Russia will be fully responsible, and the bridge will be necessary for the invaders when they leave our Crimea urgently," Poroshenko said.

Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, in turn, said that Russian occupation authorities "continue to operate outside international law and common sense."

"They open the Kerch bridge: an object that is built on our sovereign territory - without any coordination with a direct threat to our security sphere, economic and environmental interests," Groysman said on his Facebook page.

The prime minister said the Kremlin acts as if impunity and permissiveness will last forever, adding that this will not be the case.

"We have learned to defend our interests, including in international courts, we will take all measures and achieve justice and the rule of law," he said. .

As reported, on May 15 Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in the opening of the automobile traffic along the bridge spanning the Kerch Strait.
KYIV. May 15 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The fruit and berry harvest in 2018 could exceed the last year figure by 10-30%, Chairman of the Ukrsadprom association Dmytro Kroshka has said.

"With favorable weather conditions, gross harvest of pomaceous, drupaceous fruit, berries and nuts in industrial farms could reach the average figure of the past years  400,000-500,000 tonnes. The 2018 harvest could exceed the last year figure by 10-30%," he said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

Weather is the main risk factor. Kroshka said that this year blooming this year is quick due to high temperatures and some fruit and berries are ripening quickly. In addition, simultaneous expansion of depredators, the high likelihood of hail and not enough moisture in soil (twice less) would also affect the volume of the harvest.

Director of the Berry Nursery Brusviana Liliana Dmytriyeva said that the Ukrainian market is specific. In particular, the share of berries planted at farms is from one third to one fifth, while the rest is planted in households.

"At present, the leader in planted areas in Ukraine is black currant  around 50% of all areas of agricultural companies. Strawberry occupies 20-24% of the market and raspberry  13-14%. Areas with blackberry occupy 13% of total areas, according to the State Statistics Service, while other sources said that it is 24%," Dmytriyeva said.

She also said that areas with sea-buckthorn, honeysuckle and alpine strawberry are swelling.

Leaders in production of berries of all types are Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, in production by agricultural companies  Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zhytomyr and Khmelnytsky regions. She said that the largest number of companies planting berries was created in these regions.

The new type of business is being developed in Ukraine: planting of berries "in tunnels."

"This allows preventing the influence of some cold factors and having early harvest. Berries "from tunnels" are more expensive than those planted in fields, but it allows placing Ukrainian products to the shelves of retail stores for a longer period of time," the director of the Berry Nursery Brusviana said.

The experts do not expect a significant reduction in prices in the market and among the main factors that may affect them, are: a significant increase in the area under berries, a rise in the price of crop protection products and fertilizers by almost 30% compared to 2017, as well as exports.

"The presence of competition, on one hand, should reduce the price, but on the other hand: there are natural negative factors that will affect the harvest. Most enterprises were not oriented to "fresh" or to domestic markets, so a significant increase in areas would not entail increased competition in the domestic market,", Dmytriyeva said.

As for the supply of Ukrainian products abroad, Europe remains the most popular market.

"The most expensive and popular market is Europe, in particular, Great Britain, Germany, but to get to this market you need to incur certain costs for both fresh berries and frozen ones. Many enterprises plan to do this, but not everyone is ready," she said.

In addition, Ukraine is also interested in the market of the Middle East. The market of neighboring countries, in particular, Belarus, is traditional.

In turn, the chairman of Ukrsadprom said that this marketing year, Ukraine exported apples to one of the new markets - the UAE.
KYIV. May 15 (Interfax-Ukraine)  The large number of labor migrants from Ukraine could affect the fruit and berry harvest, according to experts from the Ukrsadprom association.

"All this is hand labor, therefore, in addition to the weather, people are another important factor that can affect the harvest," Head of Ukrsadprom Dmytro Kroshka said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

At the same time, he pointed out the interest in the labor resources of Ukrainian enterprises, which for their part offer labor compensation at the European level.

According to Director of the Berry Nursery Brusviana Liliana Dmytriyeva, the situation in 2018 is more optimistic than a year earlier. So, according to her, in 2017 the market was forced to unreasonably and sharply raise the remuneration for harvesting.

"Last year, as soon as the visa-free regime was opened, a certain group of people left for Europe at all farms, and this year the main part of them returned, because working abroad is not so easy: a high salary, but for 12 hours, not for eight... as well as other costs, lack of health insurance... And in general - a different attitude to people," she said.
Workers from the Hepco industrial complex in the central city of Arak blocked and disrupted the Iran North-South railway for several hours on May 14, demanding overdue wages and protesting conditions at their factory.

Hundreds of Hepco workers have not been paid for three months, state-run news agencies ILNA and IRNA reported.

However, in an interview with pro-reformist website Etemad Online, Arak city councilor Morteza Souraneh said, The workers overdue wages are not considerable, but they are worried since the factorys production unit has been shut down and its production line has been halted.

Following protests last year, the government-affiliated Privatization Organization sacked and replaced Hepcos manager. But, according to the head of the semiofficial union Workers House, Davoud Mirzaei, A number of the workers have opposed the newly appointed director and argue that he might also be incapable of managing the industrial complex.

Hepco (Heavy Equipment Production Company), a lucrative industrial complex founded before the 1979 revolution, was privatized last year. Labor rights activists say the workers difficulties began right after the privatization.

The private owners sacked thousands of workers, and many employees lost their health insurance and pension benefits.

Irans Free Trade Union reported on its Telegram channel that 8,000 workers used to work at the Hepco industrial complex before its privatization. Now, only 1,000 of them are left.

Past workers protests at the Hepco complex have been met with violence. According to media reports, as well as pictures and video clips published on social media, in September 2017 anti-riot police attacked Hepco and another recently privatized industrial complex in Arak, Azarab, and arrested several protesters.

One of the problems facing Hepco is the fact that the government canceled its contracts with the complex and stopped buying its products.

Roads and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi, who traveled to Arak to visit some projects and sign contracts, reported that his department, along with the Interior Ministry, had delivered a proposal to President Hassan Rouhanis administration to buy Hepcos products.

However, Hepco workers have pointed out that similar promises, including those made by Cooperatives, Labor, and Social Welfare Minister Ali Rabiei, have never been fulfilled.

Hepco has been the subject of protests since its problems began in 2007 following its privatization.

On February 5, the protests gained momentum when hundreds of workers made a human chain around the citys main square to protest dire living conditions and demand months of back pay.

The striking workers chanted, We will not live under the burden of tyranny. Addressing Rabiei, they sarcastically shouted, Down with labor; hail to the tyrant.

The number of protests held by discontented workers has significantly increased in recent years in Iran.

Workers are mainly dissatisfied with minimal wages that are way below the poverty line and only paid with long delays.

The security forces, supported by plainclothesmen, have repeatedly tried to brutally suppress workers demonstrations by storming in and arresting the suspected organizers. Nevertheless, the iron-fist policy has not been successful in reining in the protesters.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his conservative allies have accused the enemies of fomenting discord among Irans work force.

One of the major activities of our enemies has been to create a recession and obstacles in our factories and among our groups of laborers -- particularly the big ones -- so they can provoke the workers, Khamenei said in one of his shortest speeches ever, addressing the Congress Of 14,000 Martyred Laborers on February 5.

The enemy, as a rule, is a word used by Iranian authorities to describe the United States or Israel.
DUBAI, May 15 (Reuters)

A court in Bahrain revoked the citizenship of 115 people and gave 53 of them life sentences on terrorism charges, the public prosecutor said on Tuesday, in one of the most severe rulings yet in the Gulf island kingdom.

Authorities in Western-backed Bahrain have accused scores of people of militancy in a series of mass trials, saying the defendants are backed by Iran. Rights activists say they have included mostly peaceful opposition members.

This case pertains to Sunni Muslim-ruled Bahrain's allegation in 2015 that Iranian Revolutionary Guards helped Shi'ite Bahraini fugitives join forces to set up a militant group called the Zulfiqar Brigades to destabilise the country.

Prosecutors accused 138 people of "being behind a number of explosions, possession of explosives and training in the use of weapons and explosives and the attempted murder of police officers", the prosecutor said in a statement.

Fifty-three defendants were sentenced to life terms, 62 to between three and 15 years in prison, while 23 were acquitted.

Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet is based, has been waging a crackdown on Shiite opposition groups and rights activists since they led pro-democracy Arab Spring protests in 2011, a campaign that has been condemned internationally.

Bahraini activists say members of the Shiite majority are subjected to systematic political and economic discrimination by the government, a charge the authorities deny.

Since 2011, demonstrators have clashed frequently with security forces, who have been targeted by several bomb attacks.

Bahrain has accused the opposition of undermining security and blamed the bombings on Iran and Lebanons armed Shiite group Hezbollah. Iran and Hezbollah deny any involvement in Bahrains unrest.

(Reporting By Noah Browning Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Catherine Evans)
Irans Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian says widespread blackouts would be inevitable as the country experiences its driest year in five decades.

Ardakanian also cautioned that 334 cities with their nearly 35 million population are going to grapple with water crisis next summer.

The volume of water flowing into Irans damns is 43 percent lower than usual, leading to a 61 percent drop in energy produced at hydroelectric power stations, Irans Energy Ministry has reported.

With the country in the midst of its worst drought in decades, Energy Minister Reza Ardakanian warned April 8 that power outages will sweep the country this summer.

Since the volume of water behind the dams is significantly lower than usual, if residents do not decrease electricity consumption, power cuts will be inevitable across the country, Ardakanian said.

Decreased precipitation has led to depleted reservoirs at 177 dams throughout the country, at the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, Lake Urmia, the Central Plateau, Hamoun, and Sarakhs. The total volume of water in the reservoirs is estimated at 24.5 billion cubic meters, which is 24 percent less than last year. Only half of the dams have the reliable inflow of water needed to maintain hydroelectric power production at current levels.

As an example of the challenge facing Irans hydroelectric plants, Ardkanian singled out the Zayandeh Rood dam in Central Iran. Built in 1967 under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the dam was originally named the Shah Abbas dam after a legendary king.

It has never experienced such a lack of water since its inauguration, Ardakanian said.

Ardakanian had earlier cautioned that 334 cities with their nearly 35 million population are going to grapple with a water crisis this summer, and that the energy output from Irans hydroelectric power stations will by 4,300 MW lower than last year, leading to frequent power outages this summer.

The Energy Ministrys latest report shows that the volume of water in the reservoirs of five dams: Amir Kabir, Lar, Latyan, Taleqan, and Mamloo, in province of Tehran, is 648 million cubic meters, or 36 percent of their capacities.

Meanwhile, Deputy Energy Minister Hedayat Fahmi has warned that the water crisis may lead to protests and unrest in urban areas, turning neighboring provinces against each other as they fight over drastically limited resources.

Describing water shortages as a matter more crucial than the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers, Fahmi cautioned, If a dispute over the quality of water breaks out, people of different provinces in Iran will face each other as hostile foreign forces, adding, This is an internal danger threatening the country.

American research organization Water Politics has reported that Iran faces the danger of water insecurity. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been involved in building around 600 dams across the country in recent years, and according to a Water Politics report, the aggressive dam building has done more to exacerbate the water shortage than alleviate it.

Iran has been experiencing long cycles of drought for the last fifty years, with the average amount of precipitation per decade dropping from 250 to 217 millimeters during that time. Though there is a historic downward trend in precipitation, Ardakanian emphasized that this year will be the driest ever on the books.


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Also in April, advancements included the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) request for public comments regarding the abuse potential, actual abuse, medical usefulness, trafficking, and impact of scheduling changes of cannabis and related products such as hemp-derived CBD oil, ahead of the 40th meeting of the World Health Organizations Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD).

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Safe Harbor Act: Forward-Looking Statements are included within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements regarding our expected future financial position, results of operations, cash flows, financing plans, business strategy, products and services, competitive positions, growth opportunities, plans and objectives of management for future operations, including words such as "anticipate," "if," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "could," "should," "will," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements and involve risks, uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from anticipated results, performance, or achievements. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact:

PotNetwork Holdings, Inc.

Investor Relations:

Marisol Elwell, 1-800-915-3060

investor@PotNetworkHolding.com
In an unprecedented statement, the ultra-conservative chairman of the influential Assembly of Experts, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, has called upon President Hassan Rouhani to apologize to the people of Iran for not respecting conditions laid out by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for negotiating the nuclear deal.

The statement was initially attributed to the whole assembly, but later it was published as the chairmans personal communique.

The Assembly of Experts of the Leadership (AEL), also known as the Assembly of Experts (AoE), is the deliberative body empowered to designate and dismiss the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader and supervise his performance.

Hours after the publication of the statement, two members of AEL declared that they were unaware of it.

The statement might have been signed by several members of the assembly while their fellows are unaware of its content, Tehrans representative to AEL, mid-ranking cleric Hashem Bathaei, told the Rooydad 24 news website.

Another member of the assembly, moderate cleric Hashem Hashemzadeh Herissi also dismissed the statement, insisting that it was not an official AEL document.

In the statement, Rouhani is accused of disregarding red lines set by Ali Khamenei for the governments nuclear talks with the U.S. and world powers. The deal now appears to be dead in the water after President Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from the agreement earlier this month.

President Rouhani, who orchestrated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Tehrans 2015 nuclear deal, should present his apologies to the Iranian nation for the damage it has caused, 91-year old Jannati said.

Rouhanis team says all JCPOA-related negotiations were held under the direct supervision of the Supreme Leader. They also point out that negotiations began during Mahmoud Ahmadinejads presidency.

Khamenei gave his blessing to the deal early on in October 2015, but listed certain conditions for Irans participation in the agreement. The Supreme Leaders conditions were immediately dismissed by negotiators on both sides as they were presented after the deal had already been signed.

Khamenei has at different times described the nuclear deal as a heroic victory for himself, as well as criticized it as totally skewed in favor of the West.

Jannatis statement coincided with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarifs arrival in Brussels May 14 on his tour to try to salvage the deal with European partners despite the U.S. withdrawal.

Zarif has been assigned to seek the remaining JCPOA parties assurances they will hold up their end of the deal if Iran remains loyal in its commitment to curb its nuclear program.

Jannati has also cast doubt on Zarifs latest efforts, dismissing them as pointless since, as he says, European powers are in league with the U.S. against Iran.

Meanwhile, Chief Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari has also joined the chorus of conservatives lambasting the Rouhani administration. Criticizing certain officials who turn to foreigners, Gen. Jafari said, I hope recent events will lead us to ending our trust in the West and the Europeans.

The Europeans have repeatedly proved that they are not capable of resisting U.S. sanctions, IRGC-run Fars news agency cited Jafari as saying.

Reacting to Jannatis vitriolic communique against the government, Rouhanis administration has fired back by accusing anti-government assailants of joining voices with the enemy.

Meanwhile, outspoken Deputy Speaker of parliament and MP from Tehran Ali Motahari has stepped in to defend the government against Jannatis attacks.

One of Irans most complicated problems is the interference of different institutions in each others affairs, Motahari lamented, adding, The Assembly of Experts has no legal right to interfere in cases such as the JCPOA or to set agendas for the president or parliament.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The husband of an Iranian-British woman held in Tehran warned Tuesday that she still may face new charges, linking her situation to uncertainty now surrounding the Iran nuclear deal.

Detainee Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe's husband said she called him on Monday to say she believed it may be due to British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over the now-threatened accord.

Johnson, Zarif and European Union officials are trying to see if they can salvage the deal following President Donald Trump's decision to pull America out of it last week.

"A deal that protects people is one that can work," husband Richard Ratcliffe said in a statement. "Failure to make it safe for people to be free from being held arbitrarily, free to visit their families in peace, will make any deal impossible to sustain."

Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency on Friday quoted the chief justice of Tehran province, Gholam-Hossein Esmaili, as saying Zaghari-Ratcliffe had "another case which is being processed." Esmaili had made similar remarks in December, though Zaghari-Ratcliffe's family believed the threat had passed.

Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who works for the Thomson Reuters Foundation, is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly planning the "soft toppling" of Iran's government while traveling with her young daughter.

Ratcliffe previously warned that those new charges could add 16 years to her sentence.

Analysts and family members of dual nationals and others detained in Iran have suggested that hard-liners in the Islamic Republic's security agencies use the prisoners as bargaining chips for money or influence. A U.N. panel in September described "an emerging pattern involving the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of dual nationals" in Iran, which Tehran denies.

London now is considering repaying Tehran some 400 million pounds from a pre-1979 arms deal. Both sides say the money isn't related to Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

A prisoner exchange in January 2016 that freed Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and three other Iranian-Americans also saw the U.S. make a $400 million cash delivery to Iran the same day. That money involved undelivered military equipment from the shah's era, though some U.S. politicians have criticized the delivery as a ransom payment.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hailed as "very good and constructive" the meeting he had on May 15 in Brussels with the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.

Zarif was in Brussels on the final stop of a global tour aimed at rallying support for a landmark 2015 nuclear between Tehran and six world powers in the wake of Washington's withdrawal from the deal.

His hour-long meeting with Mogherini was in preparation of a wider discussion later on May 15 with the foreign ministers of three other EU partners in the landmark deal, Germany, France, and Britain.

In addition to the United States and Iran, the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany.



U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out on May 8, claiming that Iran had violated the spirit of the deal by financing militant violence in the Middle East and by continuing to test ballistic missiles.

The EU hopes to convince Tehran to continue to adhere to the accord.

Zarif told the media after the meeting that he believed both sides were "on the right track" to ensure that the interests of the JCPOA's "remaining participants, particularly Iran, will be preserved and guaranteed."



Earlier on May 15, Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran deal with French President Emmanuel Macron by phone, the Kremlin said.

The two leaders reiterated their commitment to the Iran accord in the phone call, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

Zarif arrived in Brussels from Russia, where he and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov agreed to remain in "close contact" over the deal.



Lavrov and Zarif met on May 14 in Moscow -- the Iranian diplomat's second stop, after Beijing, on a tour of key capitals as Tehran deals with the fallout from Trumps decision to pull out of the accord.

Lavrov told Zarif that all the remaining signatories of the JCPOA have "legitimate interests" in keeping the deal and that "therefore we need to defend the legitimate interests of each of us together." Zarif said that Russia had confirmed its readiness to respect the pact.

However, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, speaking on May 15 at a meeting in Moscow of the Valdai Discussion Club -- a gathering of Russian and international foreign policy experts,said it would be impossible to preserve the deal without Tehran making concessions, the Interfax news agency reported.



After his talks in Beijing on March 13, Zarif said Iran wants a clear future design for the accord.

We hope that with this visit to China and other countries we will be able to construct a clear future design for the comprehensive agreement," Zarif told reporters after talks with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.

"If the nuclear deal is to continue, the interests of the people of Iran must be assured," Zarif added.

In Berlin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that the nuclear deal "certainly has weaknesses," but said that sticking to it was the best way forward.



Speaking at a labor union congress, Merkel said that Europe isn't "blind" to threats posed by Tehrans activities in countries such as Syria to Israel.



"But we still think that, with the agreement, we would have better preconditions to speak with Iran about further agreements than by unilaterally canceling an agreement that was unanimously approved and endorsed in the UN Security Council," she added.

Following talks with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson in London, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on May 14 that France, Britain, and Germany were "determined" to save the Iranian nuclear deal.

"The U.S. leaving an international agreement does not mean that the international agreement is null and void," Le Drian said.

Johnson said he would discuss ways to protect European companies doing business with Iran at the Brussels meeting.

Meanwhile, a U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had spoken to his German, French, and British counterparts in recent days to discuss cooperation over Iran.

"The Secretary underlined that the United States and our European allies share strong interests in preventing Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon and in countering the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities in the region," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement. "He is hopeful we can continue strong cooperation."

Pompeo told Fox News on May 13 that Washington was ready to form a more wide-ranging Iran deal with its European partners that achieves the outcomes that protect America."



Based on reporting by Reuters, AFP, and AP
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

OSCE is expected to monitor the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops on May 16, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a message May 15.

The monitoring will be held under the mandate of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative in Azerbaijans Khojavend district.

On the Azerbaijani side, the monitoring will be held by Mikhail Olaru and Martin Schuster, field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative.

On the Azerbaijani territories, occupied and controlled by Armenian armed forces, the monitoring will be held by Ognyen Yovic, Gennady Petrica, Simon Tiller, who are field assistants of the OSCE chairperson-in-office personal representative.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov is having meeting with OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs in Paris, the countrys foreign ministry spokersperson Hikmat Hajiyev wrote on Twitter May 15.

At the meeting Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and recent developments in Armenia are being discussed. Azerbaijan stands ready for substantial talks for soonest resolution of the conflict, wrote Hajiyev.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Leman Zeynalova, Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

Azerbaijan and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe are still expecting Armenia to execute the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the Chiragov and Others v. Armenia case, Azerbaijans permanent representative to the ECHR Chingiz Asgarov said.

He made the remarks at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Councils Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 2015, the ECHR delivered judgment on the case of six Azerbaijani IDPs against Armenia in which it acknowledged ongoing occupation of the significant part of Azerbaijan by Armenia, Asgarov said.

He noted that execution of judgments of the ECHR play significant role in securing Azerbaijans international commitments.

There is no single case of disrespect of Azerbaijan to the judgment of the ECHR, he added.

Azerbaijan also attaches particular importance to promoting ethnical and religious tolerance, he said.

Measures to promote rights of national minorities are also among the main priorities of our government, he noted.

The rights of ethnic minorities, including their right for education, are being extensively promoted in Azerbaijan, he said, adding that freedom of speech and media is also on the governments agenda.

Significant progress has been made in securing individuals rights to freedom of assembly, he said. Peaceful rallies of groups of individuals with diverse opinions have been continuously held in the capital and other places of Azerbaijan. No violent incidents were reported by organizers of rallies, or police.

The Chiragov and Others v. Armenia case has been under consideration in the ECHR since April 2005 on the basis of the suit of Azerbaijani IDPs who cannot return to their homes in Lachin district that they were forced to flee in 1992 as a result of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

In accordance with the courts judgment on the case, Armenia is responsible for aggression against Azerbaijan, the occupation of its lands, the military presence in these territories, the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani citizens and for depriving them of the opportunity to use their property.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow the authors on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn, @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (Igor Popov of Russia, Stephane Visconti of France, and Andrew Schofer of the US) expect to meet with the new Armenian leadership in June, reads a press statement by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The co-chairs, together with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, met with Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov on May 15, according to the press statement.

The minister and the co-chairs discussed modalities for moving the peace process forward. The personal representative informed the participants regarding the relatively stable situation on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.

Mammadyarov expressed Azerbaijan's readiness to resume active negotiations as soon as possible.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

The guest-night devoted to the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic was attended by ambassadors and government officials, along with executives representing international and local business communities.

Nuran Kerimov, Deloitte Azerbaijan Managing Partner made an opening speech welcoming the attendees at brand new Deloitte office in White City, contemporary center of Baku. In his opening speech, Mr. Karimov delivered information on the history of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, development of independent state building traditions.

Ian Colebourne, Deloitte CIS CEO, paying tribute to the event congratulated the attendees with the Republic centenary.

Opening of the new office here in Baku, located in Baku White City and hosting this large event reflects prosperity of our business and significance of the Azerbaijani market for Deloitte in the CIS and globally, Mr. Colebourne highlighted.

Deloitte is one of the world's leading companies, providing audit, tax, legal and consulting services. For more than 15 years, Deloitte has been successfully operating on the Azerbaijani market and currently employs more than 120 professionals at Deloitte Baku office.
Details added (first version posted on 11:47)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Former President of the Senate of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, former President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Chairman of Dutch-Azerbaijan Friendship Group Rene van der Linden.

Rene van der Linden conveyed congratulations to Ilham Aliyev on the victory in the presidential election and the centenary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic.

President Ilham Aliyev expressed gratitude for the congratulations.

Rene van der Linden talked about the work related to the implementation of the master plan prepared jointly with the ADA University and which envisages cooperation in the development of Azerbaijani districts, investment, agriculture, energy, exchange of experience and tourism.

President Ilham Aliyev stressed the importance of the work and expressed hope for further expansion of cooperation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Armenia's delaying the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict negatively affects the situation in the region, Azerbaijani Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov said at a meeting with Egyptian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Adel Ibrahim in Baku on May 15, said the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

The minister stressed the traditional friendly and cooperative relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt, which are constantly developing and expanding in accordance with the interests of the two states, as well as the importance of expanding cooperation in the military sphere.

Touching upon the military-political situation in the region, Hasanov noted that Armenia's aggressive policy continues to this day, and the delay in negotiations negatively affects the situation in the region.

The ambassador, in turn, stressed that Egypt attaches special importance to expanding relations with Azerbaijan, adding that during his diplomatic career in Azerbaijan he will make every effort to contribute to the development of friendly relations and military ties between the two countries.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
COLORADO SPRINGS, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gold Resource Corporation (NYSE American: GORO) (the Company) today announced it has been granted a positive Record of Decision (ROD) on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Isabella Pearl open pit heap leach gold project (Project) located in Mineral County, Nevada. This final permit, along with approval from the Companys Board of Directors to move the Project into production, mark a major milestone for the Companys Nevada Mining Unit. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $110 million to shareholders in monthly dividends since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010 and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery.

In addition to the ROD and EA permit, the Plan of Operation (POO) for the Project has been approved by both the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP). With these final permits, along with permits for mercury, water, air and other ancillary permits already in place, the Company has all the regulatory approvals necessary to construct, operate and pour dore at the Project.

The Company recently announced the Projects Proven and Probable Reserve totaling 192,600 gold ounces and targets to produce approximately 153,000 gold ounces over an initial four-year mine life. The Project estimates annual recovered gold ounces (ozs) of: 29,000 ozs year one, 41,000 ozs year two, 41,000 ozs year three and 42,000 ozs year four. An average cash cost of $650 per ounce (plus or minus 10%) is estimated over the initial four-year mine life with annual costs projected to decline year-over-year as higher grades are mined and strip ratios decrease. The Company anticipates adding to the Projects reserves with future exploration drilling and has identified two new exploration targets within the existing permitted mine plan, Scarlet and Civit Cat North, along with numerous exploration targets along the Companys Isabella Pearl claims covering six miles of structural trend.

Initial capital expenditure (CAPEX) for the Project is estimated at $30 million. The Company has already spent approximately $10 million towards the Project with cash and equipment financing, having secured a new Telsmith crusher, Superior conveyors and stacker and a Scotia International of Nevada ADR dore process plant, which are all 100% complete, mobile and ready to be moved to the Project and set up once the site and foundations have been prepared.

The Companys Board of Directors has approved moving the Project forward immediately by initially drawing on the Corporate treasury ($28.6 million at March 31, 2018). The future CAPEX is targeted to fund from cash and operational monthly cashflow. The Company anticipates alternative funding would be available, if required, through equity and/or potential debt facilities. Total construction time to build the Isabella Pearl Project is estimated at less than 12 months from the point of breaking ground. The Companys management is moving towards that first ground breaking as soon as possible after the required Project bond is in place and providing the BLM the required two-week notice to commence construction.

The Company has chosen its third-party mining contractor for both the heap leach pad construction and contract mining of the Project. The heap pad contract is in final review and is expected to be signed shortly followed by the mining contract.

This is an exciting milestone and time for Gold Resource Corporation shareholders and our Nevada Mining Unit, stated Jason Reid, CEO and President of Gold Resource Corporation. We are pleased to have successfully navigated the permitting process and now shift our efforts to construction of our first Nevada gold project, the Isabella Pearl. We are currently in a strong cash position and focused on completing this project with cash and cashflow if possible. This goal will require metal prices and operations to continue as they have thus far this year. While we have other funding alternatives available if needed to help us overcome unforeseen challenges or metal price volatility, the Board of Directors and management of Gold Resource Corporation remain committed to shareholders and are moving forward with a goal to avoid or limit shareholder dilution to the extent possible as we move forward with the Project. Juggling and allocating the cash demands of both existing operations and project construction is the more difficult path, but we welcome the challenge. The Project targets more than doubling the Companys annual gold production profile with material, substantial and accretive gold ounces. With the Isabella Pearl Project at full production, the consolidated precious metal gold equivalent ounce production could potentially push over 90,000 ounces per year at a 74.1:1 silver to gold ratio, based on 2017 production totals. It will take a bit of time to fully mobilize equipment to the Project, but once construction activities commence, the Company targets first gold production at Isabella Pearl in less than twelve months.

Mr. Reid continued, We want to thank all those involved in this process including our staff and consultants, the Bureau of Land Management, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, and the Mineral County Board of Commissioners and local communities. Long term, we view Isabella Pearl as the first of several potential operating projects from our Nevada Mining Units profile of potential high-grade gold properties. We believe both the State of Nevada and the local communities in which we operate will benefit from the positive economic impact from our operations.

About GRC:

Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company targets low capital expenditure projects with potential for generating high returns on capital. The Company has returned $110 million back to shareholders since commercial production commenced July 1, 2010 and offers shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. For more information, please visit GRCs website, located at www.goldresourcecorp.com and read the Companys 10-K for an understanding of the risk factors involved.

Cautionary Statements:

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. When used in this press release, the words plan, target, "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "intend" and "expect" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the statements regarding Gold Resource Corporations strategy, future plans for production, future expenses and costs, future liquidity and capital resources, and estimates of mineralized material. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to Gold Resource Corporation on the date of this press release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed in this press release. In particular, there can be no assurance that production will continue at any specific rate. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the Companys 10-K filed with the SEC.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Baku is hosting a meeting of the NATO Standing Group of Partner Logistics Experts (SGPLE) for the first time, the press service of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry said in a statement May 15.

The event will last until May 18 and is attended by 24 representatives from 13 countries.

The meeting, hosted as part of Azerbaijan's cooperation with NATO, covers the following topics: movement and transportation, planning sustainability, and freedom of movement.

The main objective of the SGPLE is to determine capabilities and find ways for the fruitful use of the logistic units of the partner countries that contribute to NATO operations.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Human Recourses department of SOCAR Polymer LLC made a presentation for students of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS). The meeting gathered BHOS rector Elmar Gasimov, BHOS third, fourth, fifth-year and Master students, and representatives of SOCAR Polymer.

Welcoming the guests, the Higher School rector Elmar Gasimov said that SOCAR Polymer project would turn to be very crucial for oil and chemical industry of Azerbaijan. Taking into account that the primary goal of the project is enforcement of chemical industry of the country, collaboration with BHOS involved in training of highly qualified specialists meeting international standards is very important for achieving this objective, said rector.

Financial analyst of SOCAR Polymer Bart Joubert greeted the students and told about the companys goals, organizational structure, activities and operations. Senior specialist on training and development of Human Resources department at SOCAR Polymer Nargiz Selimova informed about summer internship program. Award specialist Afag Ismayilova made detailed presentation on job opportunities, application procedures and selection processes. Recruitment specialist Elturan Kazimli talked about the role of interns at SOCAR Polymer.

BHOS graduate, technical engineer at SOCAR Polymer Nijat Gasimov shared his success story with students. The meeting concluded with questions and answers session.

It should be pointed out that by May 30, the selection process of the students applications shall be completed. The internship at the company is expected to commence in July. The students who successfully pass on-the-job training will have a chance to be employed by SOCAR Polymer LLC in the future.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Euronews has presented an episode about Ilandagh mountain in Azerbaijan.

In this episode of Postcards, we take you to Ilandag Mountain, one of the main symbols of the Nakhchivan autonomous republic in Azerbaijan, said Euronews.

In the Middle Ages, there was a settlement on one of its slopes, according to the video material.

Ilandagh has always been a mysterious place, inspiring local people to create legends, said Euronews.

Euronews reporter Galina Polonskaya said: "Its name is translated as 'Snake Mountain'. According to legend, good people could hide on it, away from villains who were mercilessly attacked by snakes. However local residents say there are no snakes on this mountain at all!"

The main legend says that Noah's Ark actually crashed through Ilandagh during the flood, breaking the top of the mountain in two parts.

Historian Veli Bakhshaliyev, from the Azerbaijan National Academy of Science, told Euronews:

"According to the legend, Noah's Ark changed the shape of Ilandagh. At that moment, Noah understood that land was close by. The legend says the Ark finished its journey around 100 kilometers later when it sat on the top of another mountain, higher than Ilandagh."

You can get a breathtaking view of Ilandagh from an ancient fortress on a nearby mountain. But first, you will need to get to the top of 2,000 steps! said Euronews.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Azerbaijan has moved on to the next stage of assessing the country's candidacy for the World exhibition Baku Expo 2025, says the General report of the meeting of the Executive Committee of the International Exhibitions Bureau (BIE), held on May 4, the Operational Secretariat of Baku Expo 2025 said May 15.

The report includes the conclusion of the assessment mission of the BIE, which was on a visit to Azerbaijan to get acquainted with the preparation work carried out by Baku as a candidate city for the World exhibition Expo 2025.

The Working group of the International Exhibitions Bureau says that Baku has moved to the next stage and is moving towards the final.

In November this year, during the 163rd session of the General Assembly of the International Exhibitions Bureau in Paris, the member countries will choose the city that will host the World exhibition Expo 2025.

"The Expo exhibition in Baku will be a logical and great support for the expansion of Azerbaijan's experience in holding international events and further strengthening of this status," the official report of the Evaluation mission of the International Exhibitions Bureau said.

The evaluation mission noted the unity of opinion associated with the exhibition at the country level, its coincidence with the national development strategy.

The evaluation mission considered the topic "We will develop human capital and build a better future" to be valuable and stated that, while it is attractive and important for many countries, it takes into account the current economic and social transformations and challenges. It was also stressed that the proposal of this topic by Azerbaijan is appropriate, and noted that the mission believes that this topic is highly consistent with the local characteristics of the exhibition and can create a strong potential to attract participants.

Samir Sharifov, minister of finance and chairman of the Working group on the nomination of Baku for the World exhibition in 2025, expressed gratitude to the Executive Committee and the Evaluation mission of the International Exhibitions Bureau for the comprehensive and positive report on the proposal and noted that Azerbaijan is looking forward to presenting plans for the nomination of Baku for the membership in the International Exhibitions Bureau during the 164th session of the General Assembly of this structure, which will be held next month in Paris.

Azerbaijan, which has been actively participating in six Expo exhibitions held by the International Exhibitions Bureau for 18 years and has won three awards for the high quality of the pavilions, demonstrates a strong commitment to Expo-movement.

If Baku is chosen, the World Expo 2025 will be held for six months from May 10 to November 10, 2025. It will be the first World exhibition of the International Exhibitions Bureau organized in the region.
HSBC has announced that it has set up a China Desk in Israel to encourage trade and investment flows between China and Israel. The China Desk will be managed by Yafit Mudahi, Globes reports.

HSBCs China Desk in Israel will help China and Israel cooperate across a number of sectors including Internet, cleantech and healthcare. "China is shifting its economy from heavy industry and traditional manufacturing to one that is driven by services, technology and advanced manufacturing. This transition is complemented by Israels internationally-recognized strength in innovation," HSBC said.

Launched in 2012, HSBCs China Desks have been established on six continents, including 11 in markets in Asia-Pacific, five in Europe, five in the Middle East and Africa and four in the Americas. These desks cover more than 40 markets around the world, with some providing support to Chinese clients in multiple countries or territories. They provide HSBCs Chinese clients with solutions in overseas markets that include strategic advisory, financing, hedging solutions and cash and liquidity management.

HSBC said that Chinese investments in Israel reached $6.5 billion at the end of 2017, while investments from Israel in China totaled $380 million at the end of 2016. Bilateral trade rose to $13.1 billion in 2017, up 15.6% from the previous year, making China Israel's third largest trade partner. Israel and China are negotiating a free trade agreement.

HSBC CEO & head of global banking Israel Michael Israel said, "The opportunities for the Chinese clients investing in Israel are significant. Israel is known all around the world as a global powerhouse for innovation, so its only natural that in recent years Chinese investors are becoming increasingly active in acquiring Israeli technology and know-how. Furthermore, it is not only about technology. In any major infrastructure projects, you will see Chinese involvement, whether it is in ports, roads or the Tel Aviv light railway, our first underground project.

HSBC president and CEO China David Liao said, In recent years, leading Chinese technology companies have established research and development centres and invested in start-ups in Israel to tap in to its research talent. Investments in other sectors have been increasing rapidly as well. We believe this trend will continue and that the China Desk helps put HSBC in a unique position to support our clients and meet their financial needs with our universal banking model and wide geographic coverage.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

During the official visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the United States, the parties plan to sign over 40 documents, including trade, economic and investment agreements for a total amount of $8.5 billion, the Press Secretary of the Uzbek president Komil Allamjonov told at a briefing in Washington.

He added that the figures may change during the visit.

It is expected that Shavkat Mirziyoyev will arrive to the Andrews airport in Washington on May 15.

Both sides pay considerable attention to this visit. The US administration called the visit of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as a historical one, Allamjonov said.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev will meet with US President Donald Trump in the White House on May 16. The negotiations will initially be held face-to-face, then in an expanded format.

The parties will discuss development of cooperation in political, trade and economic, investment and other spheres.

The president of Uzbekistan will visit the Pentagon on May 17 and hold talks with the US secretary of defense. Mirziyoyev is expected to discuss strengthening of cooperation between the two countries with congressmen and senators in the Capitol.

Mirziyoyev will also meet with the president of the World Bank to negotiate attracting investments to Uzbekistan's economy.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Kazakhstan's Agriculture Minister Umirzak Shukeyev and Chairman of China's Main Customs Administration Ne Yefeng signed a protocol on phytosanitary requirements for the export of rapeseed meal to China.

The protocol was signed within the framework of the SCO member states' conference on combating and monitoring transboundary epizootic diseases, the Ministry said in a message.

During the conference, the Chinese side declared the recognition of the status of zones free from foot and mouth disease for 5 regions of Kazakhstan (East Kazakhstan, Almaty, Zhambyl, Kyzylorda and South Kazakhstan), which makes it possible to supply Kazakh livestock products to China.

China also lifted restrictions on nodular dermatitis from all over Kazakhstan and plans to sign a protocol on veterinary requirements for beef exported from Kazakhstan to China in the near future.

In 2017 the trade turnover of agricultural products between Kazakhstan and China amounted to $345 million, up by 32 percent compared to 2016 ($261 million).

Export of Kazakh agro-industrial complex to China amounted to $180.5 million, increasing by 34.3 percent (from $134.4 million).

Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan intends to modernize enterprises on manufacture and maintenance of agricultural machinery using funds of international financial institutions, the order of the head of state On measures to further improve the mechanisms of timely equipping agriculture with agricultural machinery read.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed the Economy Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the State Committee for Investments to develop proposals for attracting foreign investments within three months.

The government plans to solve certain issues in this sphere, including lack of legal certainty in supply of equipment to machine and tractor parks, inadequate amount of self-propelled machinery, uncompetitive cost of Uzbek agricultural equipment and problems with production financing.

In 2018, Uzbekistan will purchase more than 11,200 units of additional agricultural machinery. Part of the equipment will be purchased by leasing.

According to the new routine for supplies, orders are formed at regional fairs with participation of domestic and foreign manufacturers.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

In January-April 2018, 21 Turkish citizens arrived in Azerbaijan through the Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR), which is 62 people less compared to the same period in 2017, ISKUR told Trend on May 15.

During the period, 1,027 Turkish citizens visited Russia through the Employment Agency, which is 11.39 percent less compared to the same period in 2017.

"During the period, 1,223 Turkish citizens visited Saudi Arabia through ISKUR, which is 34.10 percent more compared to the same period in 2017," the agency said.

In January-April 2018, 8,073 Turkish citizens were provided with work abroad through the State Employment Agency, which is 18.79 percent more compared to the same period in 2017.

In April 2018, the number of unemployed people in Turkey amounted to 2.450 million.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
SoftBank is planning to open a Saudi Arabian office, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, further strengthening its ties with the kingdom, Reuters reports.

The Japanese technology investor already has close links with Riyadh after Saudi Arabias Public Investment Fund contributed to SoftBanks $93 billion Vision Fund, the worlds largest private equity fund.

SoftBank and PIF, Saudi Arabias sovereign wealth fund, are also in early talks with banks about potential funding for the worlds biggest solar power project, which is being built in the kingdom, Reuters reported on Monday, citing sources.

SoftBank, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment, already has a presence in the United States and London, while Saudi Arabia is vying to entice major financial and technology players as it looks to accelerate its bid to diversify its economy away from a dependence on oil.

Already in the technology sector, Apple and Amazon are in licensing discussions with Riyadh on investing in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported in December.

And among financial services groups, Goldman Sachs plans to expand its business in Saudi Arabia after being cleared to trade equities, while Citigroup is considering seeking a full banking license in the kingdom.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cannabis Wheaton Income Corp. (TSX.V:CBW) ("Cannabis Wheaton" or the "Company") is pleased to provide the following development update on the joint venture with FV Pharma Inc. (FV Pharma or FV). The FV Pharma facility (the Facility) is located in Cobourg, Ontario and hosts an existing 620,000 square feet of building space, a portion of which is currently licensed for cultivation pursuant to the Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations.



Pursuant to the Companys agreement with FV Pharma, in exchange for access to the Cannabis Wheaton platform which includes ongoing financial, design and operational support and expertise, Cannabis Wheaton will receive a 49.9% stream of all cannabis (or cannabis-derived products including any immature cannabis plants and any cannabis trim) produced at the Facility, under partnership with Cannabis Wheaton, in perpetuity.

The Company is pleased to announce that is has chosen Cornerstone Builders Ltd. (Cornerstone) as the design builder for the FV Pharma Facility. A specialist in commercial and industrial foodservice designbuild projects, Cornerstone has decades of experience managing complex engineering and buildouts across North America. Notable large-scale design-build projects include the Sysco distribution warehouse in Woodstock and multiple buildouts for Home Hardware across Canada.

The Company expects to commence construction on the initial 200,000 square feet of cultivation and ancillary space within the next 30 days. The Company anticipates that the 200,000 square feet will be ready for segmented review by Health Canada by the end of December 2018. As a result, pending regulatory approval, the Company expects to plant the first harvest of the new segment by the end of January 2019.

The Company would also like to highlight the support received and active involvement of the local municipality of Cobourg, Ontario as the Facility nears the beginning of construction.

Chuck Rifici, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cannabis Wheaton commented, The FV Pharma facility remains one of the most unique and important assets in the Cannabis Wheaton portfolio and we are very pleased with the progress the project has made over the previous few months. With the addition of Cornerstone as our design and building partner, and the ongoing support of the Town of Cobourg, we remain convinced that the FV Pharma facility will be a truly differentiated indoor growing facility.

Thomas Fairfull, President and CEO of FV Pharma commented, We are delighted with the progress of the facility, not to mention the fact that it remains on schedule and on budget. This goes to highlight the strength and value of the partnership with Cannabis Wheaton, in addition to their ability to execute within the parameters of the original agreement and timeframe. We look forward to working with them as this project moves into the advanced stages of construction and ultimately into the production of cannabis.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Chuck Rifici" Chairman & CEO



About Cannabis Wheaton (TSX.V:CBW)

Cannabis Wheaton is a collective of entrepreneurs with a passion for the cannabis industry past, present and future. Our mandate is to facilitate growth for our partners by providing them with financial support and sharing our collective industry experience. Our partners all have different visions, voices and brand values, and all share a common goalto build a world-class industry based on ethics, diversity, quality and innovation.

Investor Relations:

For more information about investing in Cannabis Wheaton, please visit: http://www.wheatonincome.com or contact our Investor Relations Team:

Email: IR@wheatonincome.com

Phone: 800.980.1314

Stay Connected:

Follow up on Twitter @WheatonIncome.

Media Enquiries (only):

For media enquiries or to set up an interview please contact:

Sarah Bain, VP External Affairs

Email: sarah@wheatonincome.com

Phone: 613.230.5869

About FV Pharma.

FV Pharmas management mission is to make the former Kraft plant in Cobourg, Ontario the largest hydroponic cannabis indoor facility in the world. FV Pharma intends to target all aspects of the cannabis industry including cultivation, processing, manufacturing, R&D, concentrates, beverages and edibles when and only when it is legal to do so. The facility is only a one hour drive east of Toronto on the 401 highway. FV Pharma has an ACMPR License from Health Canada. FV Pharma is currently a private company.

Stay Connected:

For further information about FV Pharma Inc. and our management team, please visit: http://www.fvpharma.com or contact Thomas Fairfull ((905) 686-7079 or thomas@fvpharma.com).

Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements:

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or information that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. This information is only a prediction. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking information throughout this news release. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to: expectations of future growing capacity at the Facility and the projected costs associated with each expansion phase of the Facility; the completion of the planned build-out and expansion phases; the funding requirements for each expansion phase; the projected revenue achievable by the Facility; and the proposed licensing of the Facility and the expected timing to obtain all necessary licenses required for the proposed operation of the Facility. By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or the Facility to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.

A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection contained in the forward-looking information in this release including, but not limited to, whether: sufficient funding can be obtained to complete each phased expansion of the Facility in the manner proposed or at all; the Company and FV Pharma can satisfy the conditions associated with the Facilitys cultivation license; a sales authorization can be obtained for the license and the related timing considerations; the Company and FV Pharma can obtain all necessary governmental and regulatory permits and approvals for the Facility, including in relation to the construction of each proposed expansion phase, and whether such permits and approvals can be obtained in a timely manner; FV Pharma complies with its obligations under the Agreement; the Facility can be operated as intended; current and future management will abide by the investment objectives and investment strategies of the Company; the Company will supplement its board of directors and management, or otherwise engage consultants and advisors, having knowledge of the industries in which the Company invests; streaming partners will be able to generate cash flow; general economic, financial market, regulatory and political conditions in which the Company operates will remain the same; the Company will be able to compete in the industry; the Company will be able to manage anticipated and unanticipated costs; the Company will be able to enter into additional streaming agreements; the Company will be able to maintain internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure, controls and procedures; streaming partners will be able to meet the requirements necessary to obtain and / or maintain their status as licensed entities; and streaming partners will be able to successfully complete initial construction and / or expansion construction of their respective facilities pursuant to the terms and conditions of their respective streaming agreements. Additional risk factors are disclosed in the revised annual information form of the Company for the financial year ended December 31, 2016 dated May 23, 2017.

New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of those factors or to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Company's business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking information. The forward-looking information in this release is based on information currently available and what management believes are reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking information speaks only to such assumptions as of the date of this release. In addition, this release may contain forward-looking information attributed to third party industry sources, the accuracy of which has not been verified by the Company. The purpose of forward-looking information is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations, and such forward-looking information may not be appropriate for any other purpose. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this release.

The forward-looking information contained in this release is expressly qualified by the foregoing cautionary statements and is made as of the date of this release. Except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, or otherwise.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Georgia held the eighth meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Economic Cooperation in Tbilisi, the press service of the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said on May 15.

The meeting was attended by Foreign Trade Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khojayev and First Vice Premier of Georgia, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Dmitry Kumsishvili.

Representatives of the two countries discussed prospects for increasing railway and road freight turnover both between the two countries and within the framework of existing transit routes.

The parties also considered development of cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, energy, transport and logistics, communications, information technologies and other spheres. Representatives of the two countries also discussed possible launch of direct flights between Georgia and Uzbekistan.

It was noted that direct flights will positively influence cooperation in the sphere of tourism and promote development of business relations between Uzbekistan and Georgia.

A Georgian-Uzbek business forum will also be held during the visit of the Uzbek delegation to Georgia.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

The re-imposition of US sanctions on Iran is unlikely to have a major impact on global oil supply, a UK-based Capital Economics consulting company said in its analysis.

However, according to the analysis obtained by Trend, geopolitical tensions have intensified and if Iran decides to pull out of the nuclear deal, the impact on oil supply could be more severe.

As such, prices are likely to remain elevated for the next few months at least, said the consulting company.

To recap, oil prices rose by 3 percent after Donald Trump announced that he will pull the US out of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The US will re-impose the nuclear-related sanctions on Irans economy and oil exports, which were waived under the JCPOA. Whilst the sanctions are effective immediately, there is a wind-down period of 90- or 180-days to allow firms to exit any existing agreements they have with Iran. Trump has also hinted that he might impose additional sanctions on top of those which were waived.

"The last round of sanctions, which were imposed in 2012, caused Irans oil production to fall by about 1 million barrels per day. Whats more, oil prices spiked by about 15 percent per barrel, although they quickly fell back. However, the effect on oil supply and prices may not be as dramatic this time for three key reasons," said the analysis.

The experts of Capital Economics believe that first, for now at least, Tehran has decided to stay in the deal and refrain from jump starting its nuclear program.

"Indeed, the Iranian President, Hassan Rouhani, stated that he would wait to see how other countries reacted before taking any action. As long as Iran abides by its side of the JCPOA, the EU might not re-impose its sanctions on shipping insurance which were crucial in disrupting Irans oil exports last time. As such, Iran could still be able to export oil to countries less concerned about US sanctions," said the analysis.

The consulting company believes that admittedly, the prospect of secondary sanctions may deter other countries from importing Iranian crude.

"But there are rumours that the EU might take action to shield its firms and other countries are likely to receive exemptions from the sanctions. Indeed, it would not be the first time that the Trump administration has shown a willingness to back down on its threats in return for relatively modest concessions," the analysis reads.

Second, the experts believe that OPEC has plenty of spare capacity which it can use to offset any reduction in supply from Iran.

"The group has cut its production by about 1.6 million barrels per day since the end of 2016, with about half of the reduction coming from Saudi Arabia. Riyadh has already pledged to step in and limit the impact of any disruption to Iranian supply. Third, higher oil prices will encourage more non-OPEC production, especially from the US where shale producers tend to be very responsive to prices," Capital Economics said.

The overall impact on oil supply and prices will depend on whether Iran stays in the deal and how severe the secondary sanctions are, the consulting company said in its analysis.

"At the very least, there is likely to be a higher risk premium in oil prices for the next few months. However, for now, we expect the impact on supply to be relatively small and so are sticking with our end-2018 forecast of $65 per barrel, down from about $77 today," said the experts.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

The volume of export of Kazakh oil since the beginning of 2018 amounted to 24.1 million tons, Energy minister of Kazakhstan Kanat Bozumbayev said at the meeting of the Kazakh government, Kazakh media reported.

The volume of oil exports since the beginning of 2018 exceeded the same indicator of 2017 by 4.3 percent, according to the ministrys data.

The minister also noted that since the beginning of the year, the volume of oil and condensate production amounted to 29.9 million tons, which shows an increase of 6 percent compared to the same period of 2017.

He also stressed that oil production for three major projects in Kazakhstan amounted to 17.9 million tons.

"Since the beginning of the year until today, the situation on the market of petroleum products is stable, there is no shortage of fuels and lubricants. The quantity of fuel residues is enough to cover the domestic market demand in a monthly volume," said Bozumbaev.

The minister added that the oil production at the Kashagan field amounted to 3.8 million tons in the mentioned period, at the Tengiz field - 9.9 million tons, at the Karachaganak field - 4.2 million tons.

The volume of oil refining in Kazakhstan since the beginning of 2018 amounted to 5.1 million tons, which is a 12 percent increase year over year. The volume of production of petroleum products at Kazakhstans three oil refineries amounted to 3.6 million tons, which is a 7 percent increase year over year, the minister said.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

As many as 83,927 Turkish citizens were provided with workplaces in Turkey in April 2018, the Turkish Employment Agency (ISKUR) told Trend on May 15.

Out of the total number of the employed 29 percent are women and 71 percent - men, according to ISKUR.

During the first four months of 2018, the number of Turkish citizens provided with jobs amounted to 334,389 people, with 67 percent of being men and 33 percent women.

"A total of 2.450 million people were registered as unemployed in Turkey in April 2018. The number of unemployed women and men are equal," ISKUR said.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Inha University in Tashkent (IUT) will host the Google I/O Extended IUT conference for the fourth time on May 19, 2018, the university's press service said on May 15.

The conference is aimed at attracting representatives of the IT community of Uzbekistan and familiarizing them with the most up to date concepts of Google's innovative solutions.

The Google Developer Groups (GDG) project will be realized within the framework of the conference for the first time. The project was created in February 2018 by IUT students. The university and a number of other organizations in Uzbekistan supported the project.

Over 200 students from various universities of Uzbekistan and developers are expected to take part in the conference.

During the day, the conference participants will participate in presentations, lectures and programming sessions.

Leading experts in the field of information technologies and start-up projects of Uzbekistan confirmed their participation in the conference.

Students interested in participating in the conference can register on the official webpage of the event.

Google I/O is Google's annual developer conference to discuss development of open technologies and Google services such as Android, Chrome, Chrome OS, Google APIs, Google Web Toolkit, App Engine etc.

Inha University in Tashkent has been hosting the Google I/O conference since 2015. IUT students are active participants of this conference. They also take part in organization of the event.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Headline changed, details added (first version posted on 15:54)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:

Emergence of local private investors is a priority direction for the government of Azerbaijan, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Ramin Guluzade said at a ceremony of presentation of winners of the Microsoft Imagine Cup Azerbaijan contest on May 15.

To this end, according to the minister, it is important to work on creation of local venture funds. The strategic goal for the government is to turn Azerbaijan into an IT center and increase the relevant products and services, Guluzade added.

Guluzade further spoke about the activity of Azerbaijan's State Fund for Development of Information and Communication Technologies. He noted that the Fund has so far financed 112 startup projects.

The State Fund is engaged in issuing grants and providing financial support to promising projects, he noted.

"To date, the State Fund has held six grant competitions. We believe that start-ups can be evaluated as real support to the state in building an innovative economy," Guluzade said.

Furthermore, the minister added, the High-Tech Park is currently engaged in building an ecosystem and managing it.

"More than 30 structures that have resident status operate in the Park. Dozens of start-ups are cooperating with the Park. In addition, a new innovation center is being created to develop the existing ecosystem. A number of other projects are being implemented to develop the start-up movement in Baku and in the districts. The "From Idea to Business" project, which covers all districts of the country, can be cited as an example. The project is aimed at finding promising projects and their transformation into real businesses," the minister said.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @h_veliyev
Bakcell, the First Mobile Operator and Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, is pleased to invite 3rd and 4th year bachelor students, postgraduate students and recent graduates to join the companys Summer internship program 2018.

The main purpose of this extensive two-month program, especially designed for students and graduates, is to familiarize the young people who are just starting to make first steps in their careers, with a professional working environment in one of the biggest and most innovative companies in Azerbaijan, help them gain hands-on knowledge and develop job-readiness skills.

Candidates who successfully pass the selection process will be provided with an opportunity to participate in a two-month internship program in such departments as sales and marketing. In the course of the program and with the help of their relevant mentors, selected among the companys leading specialists, the interns will be able to acquire knowledge and skills and learn about the companys overall structure and working principles.

They will also take part in on-the-job training on such essential areas as career planning, business ethics, effective time management, effective communication, self-awareness, health safety and environment and other important topics. Upon the end of the internship program, all the participants will be evaluated and provided with certificates, confirming their participation in the project.

More detailed information about the internship program is available at www.bakcell.com . The applications (CV) will be accepted until May 31, 2018, by means of [email protected] email address.

Starting from the year 2014, more than 100 students and graduates have participated in the internship programs of Bakcell, after successfully passing the selection process. Many interns, who have demonstrated the best results during the internship, were later employed by Bakcell, while some of them became employees of other well-known companies. The other participants are continuing their education at local and foreign universities.

Being one of the most prestigious employers in Azerbaijan, Bakcell offers equal opportunities to all the employees and candidates. The company respects and relies on the principles of transparency during the selection and employment processes.

***

About Bakcell

Bakcell, the First Mobile Operator and Leading Mobile Internet Provider of Azerbaijan, offers a wide range of products and Services to users of modern mobile communications Services. The company provides its customers with the best-in-class 3G and 4G mobile internet.

With more than 6500 base stations, Bakcell network covers 99% of the population and 93% of the land area of the country (except for the occupied territories).

After proving itself to provide the best 3G mobile internet service in the country, Bakcell has announced the commercial launch of 4G LTE services on 5th of May 2015. 4G ensures a significant increase of mobile internet speed and is especially useful for those users who wish to stay mobile at all times, having an access to high-speed mobile internet at all locations. Currently, in addition to Baku and Absheron peninsula, residents of Ganja, Quba, Qusar, Khachmaz, Shabran and Siyazan regions are able to benefit from the high-speed 4G internet of Bakcell. In the year 2018, Bakcell continues to expand its LTE network to other regions of Azerbaijan. Bakcell became the first mobile operator in the country to launch 4G service in Baku subway. In the year 2017, Bakcell network has been recognized as the Best in Test in Azerbaijan by P3 Communications, being the international leader and most trusted independent authority in mobile benchmarking. According to tests, implemented in August 2017, Bakcell has the best score overall network experience in Azerbaijan and the best mobile internet network in test in Baku and other big cities.

For more information about Bakcell products and services, please visit www.bakcell.com or call 555. For press releases please see www.bakcell.com/az/news (or www.bakcell.com/en/news for press releases in English).

If you are not a Bakcell subscriber, but wish to find out about Bakcell and its products and services, please call 012 498 89 89
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have resumed regular bus connection between the two countries since May 15, Russian RIA Novosti reported citing the Uzbek Agency for Road Transport (Uzavtotrans)

The bus connection between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan was discontinued in 1992 with the outbreak of the civil war in Tajikistan.

The first bus run on the Tashkent-Khujand-Tashkent route for the working group with representatives of ministries and state departments, as well as the local media went on May 15 from the Tashkent bus station at 8:30 (GMT +5), Uzavtotrans said.

The length of the route is 174 kilometers, with the journey taking 4.5 hours. Three bus runs per day are planned to be carried out. The fare of the run will be 50,000 soums (approx. $6).

Uzavtotrans also added that passengers of the bus runs will pass the border through checkpoints for half an hour as a matter of priority.

Bus connection between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan has been resumed since Jan. 8, between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan  in early May. The regular bus connection between the countries have been absent since the mid-1990s.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev called reestablishment of relations with neighbors among the top priorities for the country. In particular, Uzbekistan resumed dialogue on border and water resources issues with Tajikistan

Regular air connection between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, discontinued in 1992 as well, has been resumed since April 2017, while the southern regions of the two countries have been linked by railway connection after the seven-year pause. An intergovernmental agreement on mutual visa-free travels of citizens of the two countries for up to 30 days entered into force at the end of March.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
President of Kyrgyzstan Sooronbay Jeenbekov took part in the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in the city of Sochi of the Russian Federation, the President's press service reported.

During the visit to Sochi, President Sooronbay Jeenbekov met with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. During the meeting, the heads of the two states discussed the current issues of Kyrgyz-Russian cooperation in the trade-economic, investment and fuel-energy spheres.

In addition, Sooronbay Jeenbekov met with Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, during the meeting with him the topical issues of bilateral cooperation were discussed.

President Jeenbekov took participated in the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in a narrow and enlarged formats, where the issues of trade and economic interaction within the Union, as well as issues of international cooperation and further integration in the Eurasian space were discussed.

The meeting was attended by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Republic of Moldova received the status of the observer country in the EEU.

Following the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, a number of documents were signed. At the end of the meeting, the participants took a short walk. The next meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will be held in November 2018 in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 15

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Chairman of the Mejlis (Parliament) of Turkmenistan Gulshat Mammadova has received credentials from Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Slovak Republic Jan Bori, says the message of the Turkmen government.

The diplomat expressed his desire to intensify cooperation both in bilateral format and within the framework of international organizations, primarily the UN and the European Union.

During the conversation, the sides touched upon the recent commissioning of the Turkmenbashi international seaport, which creates the most favorable conditions for access to the Black Sea, in the direction of Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. The new port can significantly reduce the distance and travel time of large-scale cargo traffic, by adding to them the opportunities of land and air transport services.

In this regard, the prospects of expanding trade and economic partnership in the transport and energy sectors, industry, health resort business and tourism have been noted.
SUWANEE, GA, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SANUWAVE Health, Inc. (OTCQB: SNWV) announced today that the Company will release financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 shortly.

The Company will host a conference call on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, beginning at 9:00AM Eastern Time to discuss the first quarter financial results, provide a business update and answer questions.

Shareholders and other interested parties can participate in the conference call by dialing 877-407-8033 (U.S.) or 201-689-8033 (international) or via webcast at http://www.investorcalendar.com/event/29632.

A replay of the conference call will be available beginning two hours after its completion through May 30, 2018, by dialing 877-481-4010 (U.S.) or 919-882-2331 (international) and entering Conference ID 29632 and a replay of the webcast will be available at http://www.investorcalendar.com/event/27265 until August 16, 2018.

About SANUWAVE Health, Inc.

SANUWAVE Health, Inc. ( www.sanuwave.com ) is a shock wave technology company initially focused on the development and commercialization of patented noninvasive, biological response activating devices for the repair and regeneration of skin, musculoskeletal tissue and vascular structures. SANUWAVEs portfolio of regenerative medicine products and product candidates activate biologic signaling and angiogenic responses, producing new vascularization and microcirculatory improvement, which helps restore the bodys normal healing processes and regeneration. SANUWAVE applies its patented PACE technology in wound healing, orthopedic/spine, plastic/cosmetic and cardiac conditions. Its lead product candidate for the global wound care market, dermaPACE, is CE Marked throughout Europe and has device license approval for the treatment of the skin and subcutaneous soft tissue in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In the U.S., dermaPACE has received FDAs de novo clearance for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. SANUWAVE researches, designs, manufactures, markets and services its products worldwide, and believes it has demonstrated that its technology is safe and effective in stimulating healing in chronic conditions of the foot (plantar fasciitis) and the elbow (lateral epicondylitis) through its U.S. Class III PMA approved OssaTron device, as well as stimulating bone and chronic tendonitis regeneration in the musculoskeletal environment through the utilization of its OssaTron, Evotron and orthoPACE devices in Europe, Asia and Asia/Pacific. In addition, there are license/partnership opportunities for SANUWAVEs shock wave technology for non-medical uses, including energy, water, food, and industrial markets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future business development activities, and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Companys ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the key risks, assumptions and factors that may affect operating results, performance and financial condition are risks associated with the regulatory approval and marketing of the Companys product candidates and products, unproven pre-clinical and clinical development activities, regulatory oversight, the Companys ability to manage its capital resource issues, competition, and the other factors discussed in detail in the Companys periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

A book by American political scientist and specialist on Central Asia Frederick Starr titled The New Image of Uzbekistan was published in the United States, the Uzbek portal Narodnoye Slovo [Peoples Speech] said on May 15.

Professor Starr, the founder and chairman of the Institute of Central Asia and the Caucasus under the Council of American Foreign Policy, reviewed the latest history of Uzbekistan in his new work. He paid particular attention to the events of 2017, which he considers a period of dynamic development in the country.

Starr noted that many foreign experts are astonished with the country's intensive development, progress in the social, economic, legal and international spheres, but not everyone truly understands their meaning.

In the book, the professor sought to present the events objectively and avoid assessments. He managed to study hundreds of normative documents, orders and presidential decrees, as well as to collect expert comments from all around the world. The work is timed to coincide with the visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the United States.

During the May 15-17 visit to the USA, Shavkat Mirziyoyev will meet with US President Donald Trump. The parties are planning to sign the Uzbekistan and the United States of America: the Beginning of a New Era of Strategic Partnership joint statement, as well as more than 40 other documents on bilateral cooperation.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Tehran, Iran, May 15

By Umid Niayesh, Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:

Iran is negotiating with leading international oil companies, which are active in deep-water drilling regarding the joint projects with Azerbaijan's state oil company (SOCAR) in the Caspian Sea, an official with the Iranian oil ministry told Trend.

The final talks will be held by a joint Iranian-Azerbaijani committee, which will be formed soon, Hossein Esmaeili Shahmirzadi, general director for Europe, America and Caspian Sea countries at Iran's Oil Ministry, said.

Referring to the issue of the decision made by Tehran and Baku to establish a joint oil company, the Iranian official said that political will of the two sides is in favour of joint work for development of the agreed blocks in the Caspian Sea.

He added that Tehran and Baku are working on the issue of forming the joint oil company.

Esmaeili further said that Iran has no specific limitation regarding the deep-water drilling, which is needed for the exploration of hydrocarbon reserves in the Caspian Sea.

He added that Irans Amir Kabir drilling rig, which is a unique platform, is located in the Caspian Sea and the Azerbaijani side also has some equipment in the area.

Amir Kabir semi-submersible drilling rig (Irans largest offshore structure with a weight of 14,700 tons) is capable of drilling in waters with a depth of 1000 meters and also drilling from the sea bottom up to a depth of 6600 meters.

Last Month Tehran held talks with Norways Offshore Resource Group AS (ORG) on Sardar-e Jangal oil field and three more blocks in the Caspian Sea.

In the negotiations the Norwegian company presented its proposals on development of the blocks 24, 26 and 29, as well as reconstruction of Amir Kabir rig.

Esmaeili also told Trend that after the recent visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to Baku, a new chapter was opened for mutual oil and gas cooperation.

The two parties are working on a cooperation package, the official said, adding that the package include cooperation in various areas including oil, gas and refining.

The practical results will soon be seen in development of oil and gas cooperation between Tehran and Baku.

Last March during a visit of President Rouhani to Azerbaijan, the two countries signed "The Memorandum of Understanding on "Joint Development of Relevant Blocks in the Caspian Sea".

Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh
European Union and Iran agree to strengthen dialogue aimed at preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said, Sputnik reported.

After a 90-minute meeting between Iran and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany and the EU foreign policy chief, Mogherini said that the talks were aimed at developing concrete steps to support the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Federica Mogherini said that the nuclear deal didn't require additional work or any amendments. She also added that EU and Iran would hold a meeting on JCPOA in Vienna next week at the level of political directors.

Earlier, Donald Trump pulled out from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal. The US President also pledged to reinstate the sanctions against Iran, which were lifted as part of the agreement.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

German Foreign minister, Heiko Maas held a phone talk with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif, ahead of high level negotiations between Iran and the EU on nuclear deal, scheduled for May 15.

The two sides discussed the future of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action aka nuclear deal) following the US withdrawal from the deal, Iranian media outlets reported.

Plans of the Germany and Europe for preserving the landmark deal were negotiated during the phone talk, according to the report.

The top German diplomat said that Berlin and the EU are exploring options and developing plans to protect the JCPOA and guarantee Irans interests.

Irans foreign minister has launched a diplomatic tour last week to talk the nuclear deal with counterparts, following the US withdrawal.

The trip is carried out in line with the President Hassan Rouhanis directive for intensive talks on the possibility of preserving the JCPOA while the Iranian nations interests are guaranteed.

Zarif said that he had good and substantive meetings with counterparts in Beijing and Moscow over the future of the nuclear deal, reached in 2015 between Tehran and the six world powers.

The top Iranian diplomat is scheduled to meet with foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain, as well as EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini today.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks with EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini upon his arrival to Brussels May 15 morning, Iranian media reported.

Irans foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif launched a diplomatic tour last week to talk the nuclear deal with counterparts, following the US withdrawal.

The trip is carried out in line with the President Hassan Rouhanis directive for intensive talks on the possibility of preserving the JCPOA while the Iranian nations interests are guaranteed.

Zarif already held talks with counterparts in Beijing and Moscow over the future of the nuclear deal, reached in 2015 between Tehran and the six world powers.

The top Iranian diplomat is scheduled to take part in a joint meeting with foreign ministers of France, Germany and Britain as well as Federica Mogherini today afternoon.

A delegation of Iranian experts of various economic fields, headed by Irans deputy foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, arrived in Brussels May 14 as well for negotiations on the nuclear deal.

Upon arrival Araqchi held talks with Helga Schmid, secretary-general of the European External Action Service.

The results of negotiations between the Iranian and European experts is expected to be submitted to foreign ministers.
The foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif has arrived in Brussels ahead of a meeting with his British, French and German counterparts. Ahead of the meeting Iran's top diplomat has spoken about the JCPOA after the US withdrawal from the deal, Sputnik reported.

"Guarantees of benefits of the JCPOA should be given to Iran. We will have to see whether [those] remaining in the JCPOA can deliver those benefits to Iran," Javad Zarif stated Tuesday.

The top official has reemphasized the country's position on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly to as the Iran nuclear deal: in particular, that country plans to receive the economic benefits from the agreement, which were initially stipulated in it.

"We have started an intensive process [and] the economic benefits inside the JCPOA should be preserved for Iran," Zarif said.

On May 8, President Donald Trump violated the terms of the JCPOA by withdrawing from the accord. Following Trump's decision, the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned nine Iranian individuals and entities including those with links to Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

The move has been strongly criticized by other P5+1 members, Moscow, London, Beijing, Paris, Berlin and Brussels, who have confirmed their commitment to the deal.

The agreement was signed on July 14, 2015, and ensured that Iran's nuclear program remains peaceful in exchange for sanctions relief.
By Claude Salhani

US President Donald Trump has been accused of not having a cohesive foreign policy. Many say he lacks a cohesive domestic policy. They are wrong.

By pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran, against the advice of Britain, France and Germany, the United States closest allies, Trump left little doubt as to what drives his administrations agenda.

Trump looks at the world through a very narrow prism, one that will end up hurting the United States and its relations with allies. Trumps foreign policy is at least partly driven by resentment of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and a desire to dismantle everything Obama stood for during his two terms in the White House.

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson made a last-ditch appeal to the Trump administration in a visit to Washington a few days before the US president announced his decision on Iran. In late April, Trump hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House and discussed Iran. European leaders say they are open to negotiating a side agreement with Tehran but the existing framework must remain untouched for that to happen.

Faced with a United States determined to pursue its own policy, French, British and German leaders issued a joint statement expressing regret and concern and pledging their continuing commitment to the terms of the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

On May 8, Trump announced he was pulling the United States out of the international nuclear deal with Iran and would reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran. He called the 2015 agreement signed by Obama an embarrassment and weak, poorly negotiated and insane.

The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing, we know exactly what will happen, Trump said. In just a short period of time, the worlds leading state sponsor of terror will be on the cusp of acquiring the worlds most dangerous weapons.

What Trump is likely to achieve is increased tensions with key US allies who pushed hard to convince Trump not to give up on the deal. The economic stakes are high for Europe. The potential effect of renewed US sanctions is in the billions of dollars.

This is Trumps most significant foreign policy decision since he was elected. By pulling out of the accord, he aims to send a message to Iran and any other nuclear aspirant that the United States no longer makes empty threats.

That said, the US pullout does not kill the deal outright. The Europeans could continue to keep it afloat on their own, at least theoretically.

Tehran could be willing to remain in the agreement with the solid support of Europeans but it is unclear whether the Europeans can afford to continue doing business with Iran considering the financial effects of US sanctions on the country.

The scrapping of the agreement with Iran could have negative repercussions on the European job market and economic growth but Europe may not have a way out.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Trump administration was revoking licences for Boeing and Airbus to sell jets to Iran, which were issued following the signing of the nuclear agreement. Boeing had plans to sell IranAir some 80 passenger aeroplanes for a contract worth approximately $17 billion with another 30 planes promised to Aseman Airlines for $3 billion. Airbus Industries, based in Toulouse, France, had agreed to sell the Iranians 100 aircraft worth about $19 billion.

The Boeing and Airbus licences will be revoked, Mnuchin said. The existing licences will be revoked.

Trumps pulling out of the agreement with Iran is going to hurt European companies that were hoping to enter the lucrative Iranian market. The French oil company Total, for example, hoped to reach an agreement that would give it concessions in Iranian oil production.

Even though Paris, London and Berlin aim to respect the 2015 agreement, doing business with Iran could put them on a US blacklist. This puts a slew of European businesses in a precarious situation. Some of the fallout will unavoidably affect the US economy and its own job market.

Transatlantic ties could be in for serious turbulence.

http://www.claudesalhani.com/?p=2282
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

The new government of Armenia intends to work on large-scale repatriation, RIA Novosti reported May 14, citing Minister of Diaspora Mkhitar Hayrapetyan.

A we can see, Nikol Pashinyan has started to clean up the remains of what Serzh Sargsyan's government left behind, starting with the demographic issue. And there's a lot to be figured out here.

According to official statistics, the population of Armenia is decreasing from year to year. By January 1, 2016, the number of population fell below the mark of three million people for the first time since the 70s of the last century.

Especially significant "contribution" to the case belongs to the Republican Party of Armenia, headed by Serzh Sargsyan. During the 1998-2007 period, 129,300 people left the country, while 307,600 people left Armenia during the rule of the former president (from 2008 to 2015), which is more than 10 percent of the total population of Armenia.

Total migration, however, is not some unreasonable phenomenon. It is caused by an unsatisfactory economic situation which nobody planned to improve in the last decade. Prices in the country do not even grow annually, but monthly, while salaries and pensions do not increase. On the contrary: in recent years, the Armenian authorities have been implementing various penalties and levies.

As Pashinyan himself noted during his speech in the Armenian Parliament on May 8, it seems that the citizens of Armenia do not live to enjoy life, but to be regularly fined and pay for something over and over again.

"We will carry out a large-scale repatriation. This process requires time and vigorous daily work," Hayrapetyan said.

He noted that the victory of the revolution returned hope to the compatriots who had previously left Armenia.

"Many of those, are now returning home. We need to strengthen this process with specific steps," the minister said.

Taking into account all the above, I would like to note that specific steps can mean one thing: to put the country's economy on its feet. Only then repatriation, especially a "large-scale" one,can be discussed. No concrete measures to improve the economy have been taken so far, so before swinging at such grandiose projects, it is necessary to start with the basics, such as elimination of rampant corruption, increase of wages, creation of favorable atmosphere in the country's market and attraction of investments.

On the other hand, it is difficult to talk about attracting foreign investment and improving the market situation in the conditions of closed borders and the permanent threat of war.

Moreover, the more clearly hangs the shadow of war, the the more militant the rhetoric of the authorities becomes and the more soldiers Armenia sends to the front line.

And there are no positive changes in the rhetoric of official Yerevan, as of yet. There is also no sign of Armenian diaspora members' willingness to return to their historical homeland, so that their children would die for the ghost of "Miatsum".

On May 8, the National Assembly of Armenia elected "people's candidate" Nikol Pashinyan as Prime Minister.

Since April 13, protest actions led by the leader of the opposition party "Civil agreement" Pashinyan have been held in Armenia. The opposition marched against the election of former President Serzh Sargsyan to the post of Prime Minister.

A few days later, the opposition announced the beginning of the "velvet revolution". Despite this, the Parliament elected Sargsyan head of the Cabinet, but less than a week later, on April 23, he resigned amid continuing protests.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Nikol Pashinyan, the leader of the velvet revolution in Armenia, which resulted in Serzh Sargsyans leaving his post of the prime minister, has already begun to take decisive measures to redirect Armenia towards the West, well-known Russian political analyst Sergey Markov wrote on his Facebook page.

Pashinyan began to attract people from the West as his advisors, but at the same time, he voices readiness to establish contact with Moscow. For now, in words only.

Thus, Daron Acemoglu, a Turkish-born American economist, has become the economic adviser of Yerevan, while former representative of Armenia to NATO David Tonoyan was appointed as Armenias defense minister.

Markov described the situation as "disturbing tendencies" and expressed doubts about the sincerity, goodwill of the Armenian leader towards Russia.

Recently, at a meeting with Pashinyan in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin once again stressed the dependency of the Armenian economy on Russia. More than 25 percent of Armenia's trade turnover accounts for Russia, while Russian investments make up 35 percent of all investments made in the Armenian economy.

In general, Armenia's military sector is fully dependent on Russia and the situation will not change as a result of timid overture with the Chinese and Indian military industries.

Putin also mentioned the growing supplies of agricultural products from Armenia to the Russian market, clearly hinting that the 38-percent-growth in recent months may unexpectedly be replaced by a 100 percent decline.

In response, the Armenian prime minister noted that no one in Armenia has ever put the strategic importance of the Armenia-Russia relations into question and will not do that.

However, such statements sound unconvincing. There have been and there are doubts. Moreover, Pashinyan has been expressing them for many years. And even the name of the opposition bloc that supported him during the revolution and election testify to the existence of very concrete doubts about the cooperation with Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.

Those two state appointments, mentioned by Sergey Markov, are symbolic, rather than disturbing especially when it comes to Daron Acemoglu, whose invitation to the country is a very significant phenomenon, given that the economist was born and brought up in Istanbul.

The Armenian president is former ambassador of Armenia to UK, economic adviser living in the US was born in Turkey, defense minister is former representative of Armenia to NATO, head of the administration of the prime minister is a DJ who graduated from the International University of Monaco. Is it reverence to the West or a simple coincidence?

I think it is worth stressing once again that everything Pashinyan said about cooperation with Russia is nothing more than an attempt to prevent Moscow from putting formal pressure on Yerevan. Fortunately, the Russian political establishment has enough experience here, which was gained during tomato wars with Turkey and the dairy conflict with Belarus.

However, if Turkey was slightly disappointed as a result of the situation with tomatoes, which did not appear in Moscow, then tons of Armenian cucumbers and other vegetables which suddenly stopped meeting the norms of the Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, may hit the Armenian economy as severely as 10 years of Sargsyan's rule.

That is why Pashinyan has fully abandoned the anti-Russian rhetoric and shows extreme caution in his relations with Moscow. The opportunity to sit on two chairs at the same time always looks attractive, especially if you are nailed to one of the chairs. But will Pashinyan have enough political experience not to fall off both chairs?

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Azer Ahmadbayli  Trend:

Since the day the former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan was overthrown, Baku has never had any illusion that subsequent Armenian leaders would stop playing tricks and show common sense in an attempt to come to terms with Azerbaijan.

However, what the newly-elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is calling for might cause a full-scale war.

He has come to power on the wave of the popular movement that was aimed reportedly against corruption and inefficient economic management. Well, Nikol, do a favor, go and reform the drowning national economy, feed the people living in poverty, and give them jobs.

However, instead, he visits the occupied Azerbaijani territories and starts tempting their residents  citizens of Azerbaijan and Armenians by origin  with a possible future unification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia.

Armenians themselves speak about the contradictory statements of Pashinyan and his ignorance of the subject.

A few days ago, at a press conference, the prime minister expressed a number of approaches that can be dangerous, former defense minister of Armenia, Vigen Sargsyan, believes.

He further said the prime ministers statements lack awareness of the details of the negotiation process [on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts settlement]."

Maybe in future Pashinyan will manage to grow into a major and experienced political figure in Armenia, but today his actions look mostly emotional and short-sighted.

Pashinyan's statements sound like the other side of the conflict - which has enough power to disabuse him of his fanciful ideas - doesnt exist.

Therefore, it would be unjust not to warn the rookie Armenian leader against taking dangerous steps with a quote from Rambo: First Blood, which he probably watched when he was a child: Don't push it. Don't push it or I'll give you a war you won't believe.

Azerbaijan's position is that - until the very last moment, while the opponent is still negotiable - it will avoid using military solution for returning the occupied territories.

Recent statements made by the new prime minister of Armenia are narrowing the space for a compromise.

At the time, the former President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan warned that what we reject today, we will ask for in the future, but we will not get it, as has happened many times in our history.

Ter-Petrosyan noted that there is no other way but to come to a compromise, otherwise a war will be an option: Maximalism and denial of a compromise are the shortest way to aggravate the situation in Armenia.

There are many Armenians who realize Armenia has been on the wrong track in its aggressive behavior.

Video messages from Philip Ekozyants, the Armenian blogger living in Ukraine, became a real trouble for the apologists of the Greater Armenia geopolitical project  a trap created more than 100 years ago against Turkey and Russia, into which the Armenians were lured.

His addresses to Armenians, posted on YouTube, dispel the murk that the friends of the Armenian people once plunged the entire nation into.

He asks his compatriots what ordinary Armenians (not those living in California, Paris or Moscow) could do  to live in peace with neighbors or continue to chase after the chimera called Greater Armenia and demand lands that they never owned?

The answer is up to the people of Armenia, but it seems that they do not understand what is going on, although they consider themselves the most ancient people on the Earth.

If the new Armenian authorities continue holding their radical stance, we soon will see a new revolution in that country.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza in a statement released late on Monday and reiterated his opposition to the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem, Reuters reported.

Macron talked with Jordans King Abdullah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday and is planning to talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, the presidency said.

Israeli troops killed dozens of Palestinians taking part in mass protests on the Gaza border on Monday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

(Macron) lamented the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza today and over the past few weeks, the French presidency said.

He condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against demonstrators.
Frances authorities are ready to hold discussions on lifting the sanctions against Russia, French Government Spokesman Benjamin Griveaux told BFM TV on Tuesday, TASS reports.

Touching on the prospects of cancelling the anti-Russian sanctions amid the upcoming visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Russia next week, Griveaux said "it is early to speak about this, but there is nothing impossible."

"There are no deadlock situations," he said. "Everything may be discussed, this is the principle of diplomacy."

Griveaux does not believe that Paris has a different approach to the contacts with Washington and Moscow. "Vladimir Putin was invited to Versailles during the first weeks since Emmanuel Macrons election," he noted. "Next week the French president is heading for a visit to Russia."

"Paris is holding negotiations with everyone," he stressed. "We adhere to the principle of multilateralism."

The French president is due to pay a visit to Russia on May 24-25. During the visit he will also take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, one of the key economic discussion platforms held under the auspices of the Russian president.

France was the first Western country where both chambers of the parliament - the National Assembly and the Senate - called for rolling back economic sanctions against Russia in 2016.
Greece said on Tuesday it was far away from resolving a decades-long dispute over Macedonias name despite progress in talks between the two neighbors, Reuters reports.

In our continuing talks with our neighbors, there has been significant progress but we are still far away from concluding negotiations and reaching an agreement, government spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos told a press briefing.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Macedonian counterpart Zoran Zaev are expected to meet in Bulgaria on Thursday on the sidelines of an EU-Western Balkans summit.

Tzanakopoulos said their meeting will be very useful and important but a deal was not certain and the two sides might need a new round of talks to resolve the dispute.

The row began in 1991, when Macedonia broke away from the former Yugoslavia, declaring its independence under that name. Greece has disputed it since.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

Trend:

Israel ordered the Turkish consul to Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country, RIA Novosti reported.

Earlier, Israel's ambassador to Ankara Eitan Na'eh was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where he was asked to leave the country.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel. Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions against Palestinians.

Furthermore, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting in Istanbul regarding Palestine on May 18.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.
US President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call on Monday discussed the advances in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations and exchanged views on the current situation in the Middle East, the prime minister's office said in a press release, Sputnik reported.

"The leaders discussed the progress being made in the North American Free Trade Agreement negotiations and the possibility of bringing negotiations to a prompt conclusion," the release stated on Monday.

Trump and Trudeau also spoke about the recent developments in the Middle East, the release added.

The White House also said in a press release that Trump discussed with Justin Trudeau the significant need to quickly conclude NAFTA renegotiations.

"President Donald J. Trump spoke today with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada to address the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement," the release said on Monday. "President Trump underscored the importance of quickly concluding an agreement."

Earlier, the Canadian prime minister said that Ottawa did not link together the tariffs and the negotiations for NAFTA, noting that Canadian government was "happy to continue" to move forward on the negotiations.

Last week, US media reported that House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said the White House would need to notify Congress of a new NAFTA agreement by May 17 in order to have enough time to pass the measure before years end.

Trump has threatened to withdraw the United States from NAFTA if a better agreement is not negotiated with Canada and Mexico.
North Korea announced on Wednesday that it would be suspending May 16 talks with South Korea over ongoing joint military drills conducted by Seoul and Washington DC, Sputnik reported.

According to Yonhap News reports, the Max Thunder drills being carried out by South Korea and the US were a rehearsal for an invasion of North Korea, which the North deemed a "provocation." The high-level talks, which were a follow-up to late April meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in, were expected to take place on the southern side of the truce village of Panmunjom.

Roughly 100 aircrafts, including US F-22 Raptor stealth fighters are expected to take part in the Max Thunder exercises.

The move to suspend talks is also putting North Korea-US talks in jeopardy as North Korea is threatening to suspend the US summit as well. Talks between Kim and US President Donald Trump are expected to take place in Singapore on June 12.

"This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," a report from the North Korean Central News Agency stated, according to Yonhap News. "The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities."

The Max Thunder drills are expected to continue for the next two weeks.
Future of the Iran nuclear deal following the United States withdrawal was in focus of a meeting between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and EU Ambassador to Russia Markus Ederer, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday, TASS reports.

"The two diplomats discussed issues of the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program," the ministry said.

Earlier on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump announced Washingtons decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal as it, in his words, leaves Iran a possibility to create a nuclear bomb bypassing all the restrictions. He said another agreement with Iran should be signed.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a joint statement calling on all other parties to the JCPOA to stay committed to their liabilities under it.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated his countrys commitment to the deal, saying Teheran will continue to implement its liabilities.

China also spoke in favor for keeping the deal in place and expressed readiness to tighten cooperation on that matter with all parties concerned.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Russia would do its best to keep the JCPOA in place, despite Washingtons plans to resume the anti-Iranian sanctions.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the deal on Irans nuclear program, was signed between Iran and six international mediators (the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France) on July 14, 2015. On January 16, 2016, the parties to the deal announced beginning of its implementation. Under the deal, Iran undertakes to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.
The court ruling to block the Telegram messaging service, issued by Moscows Tagansky District Court, has not come into effect yet as the company filed an appeal against it, Moscow City Court Spokesperson Ulyana Solopova told TASS.

"There is an appeal under consideration, we are waiting for the shortcomings to be rectified, so the ruling has not come into effect yet. A notice, which appeared on the website automatically with regard to the timeframe, will be removed," she said. The court earlier gave Telegrams lawyers a deadline until June 4 to address the shortcomings concerning the appeal.

A notice earlier appeared in the courts catalogue, saying that the ruling on blocking Telegram had come into effect on May 15.

On April 13, Moscows Tagansky District Court ruled to block access to Telegram in Russia over its failure to provide decryption keys for messages to the Federal Security Service.

On April 16, the Russian media watchdog received the courts ruling on restricting access to Telegrams products. On the same day, mobile operators began to take steps to block Telegram in compliance with the courts decision. On May 11, Telegrams lawyers lodged an appeal with the Moscow City Court.
Russian Acting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Tuesday it was possible to discuss the future of the Iran nuclear deal without the participation of the United States, Reuters with reference to the RIA news agency reported.

Ryabkov also said it would be impossible to preserve the deal without Tehran making concessions, the Interfax news agency reported. He also said that the U.S. decision on Iran was rash amid nuclear talks regarding the Korean peninsula.
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Iran nuclear deal and the situation in Syria with French President Emmanuel Macron by phone on Tuesday, the Kremlin said, Reuters reports.

The two presidents confirmed their commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran in the phone call, the Kremlin press service said in a statement. Macron is set to visit Russia to attend an economic forum next week.
TORONTO, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. (CSE:SNA) (OTCQB:SNAVF) ("Star or the Company) announces that, due to medical issues, Mr. Viraf S. Kapadia, Chairman and CEO of the Company, is currently unable to carry out his duties as CEO. As Mr. Kapadias time of return to work is unknown at this point, the Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Jean-Louis Larmor as Interim CEO.



Mr. Larmor has been part of the Star management team for many years, serving as VP-Corporate Development in 2014 and as Chief Operating Officer since 2015.

Mr. Larmor has an extensive background in the aerospace industry, including:

Director - Thales International Canada,

Director Business Development  Aerospace, Thales International, North America,

Vice President- Strategy and Business Development, Sextant Avionique,

Marketing and Sales positions with Aerospatiale, France.

MEDEVAC R&D

Star is pleased to report that its Research and Development project relating to the application of the STAR-A.D.S.  System to Emergency Medical Services (i.e. patient information transfer during medical transport by helicopters, planes or land vehicles), is now substantially completed. A demo system is running and will be presented to various EMS stakeholders in the coming weeks. This application, already covered by STAR patents, is the In-Flight System Aided Medical Monitoring System (STAR-ISAMM) and builds upon the demonstrated capabilities of existing STAR equipment. STAR-ISAMM is able to transmit, in real-time, the digital bio-information of a patient being transported by an air ambulance, saving critical time and allowing paramedics to tend to the patient without the need to verbally update the hospital. This application will see its deployment for air as well as ground medical transport. Star Navigation is presently working on the necessary regulatory approvals.

About Star Navigation:

Star Navigation Systems Group Ltd. owns the exclusive worldwide license to its proprietary, patented In-flight Safety Monitoring System, STAR-ISMS, the heart of the STAR-A.D.S.  System. Its real-time capability of tracking performance trends and predicting incident-occurrence enhances aviation safety and improves fleet management while reducing costs for the operator.

Stars M.M.I. Division designs and manufactures high performance, mission critical, flight deck flat panel displays for defence and commercial aviation industries worldwide. These displays are found on aircraft and simulators, from P-3 Orion and C-130 aircraft, to Sikorsky and AgustaWestland helicopters, as examples.

Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words may, would, could, will, expected and similar expressions, as they relate to Star or its management are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect Stars current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause Stars actual performance or achievements to vary from those described herein. Should one or more of these factors or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Star does not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this release.

Please visit www.star-navigation.com or

Jean-Louis Larmor, (416) 252-2889 Ext. 221

jean-louis.larmor@star-navigation.com
Moscow does not rule out a scenario of Irans pullout from the nuclear deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at a session of the Valdai international discussion club on Tuesday, TASS reports.

"I believe that the scenario of Irans withdrawal from the agreement cant be fully ruled out, if Iran does not agree with the other participants on a basis suitable for it," Ryabkov said.
Russia is prepared for a dialogue with the United States at the summit level, but no dates of a future meeting between the two leaders are discussed at the moment, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said at a session of the discussion club Valdai on Tuesday, TASS reports.

"We would like to have a dialogue with the United States at all levels, including the summit level," he said. "Work is in progress on a possible agenda and content. Regrettably, no discussions of these matters with the United States are underway, because we have no understanding when and where such a meeting might take place."
Russia and the Philippines have agreed to strengthen military and technical cooperation, acting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Philippine counterpart Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday, TASS reports.

"We agreed to continue rendering assistance to the development of military and military-technical cooperation in the context of the accords that were reached during the visit by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to the Philippines in October 2017," Lavrov said.

On October 26, 2017, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian Defense Minister Shoigu took part in the ceremony of handing over a batch of Russian small arms and army trucks to the Philippine side at the port of Manila. The ceremony was held aboard the large Russian anti-submarine warship Admiral Panteleyev. A day earlier, an agreement was signed between the governments of Russia and the Philippines on military and technical cooperation. Besides, a contract was signed by Russias Rosoboronexport CEO Alexander Mikheyev and Philippine Defense Minister Delfin Lorenzana on the supply of RPG-7V grenade launchers and the relevant ammunition to the Philippines.
Moscow, Ankara and Tehran will hold regular consultations with United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura on launching a constitutional committee, Kazakhstans Deputy Foreign Minister Yerzhan Ashikbayev said, reading out a joint statement adopted by Russia, Turkey and Iran at the ninth international meeting on Syria, held in Astana on May 14-15, TASS reprots.

According to the statement, "guided by the provisions of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254, [the parties] reaffirmed their determination to continue joint efforts aimed at advancing the process of the political settlement, through facilitating the implementation of the recommendations of the Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue in Sochi." In addition, the three countries "agreed to hold joint consultations of their high-level representatives with the United Nations Secretary Generals Special Envoy for Syria as well as with Syrian parties in order to create conditions to facilitate the beginning of the Constitutional Committees work in Geneva as soon as possible and to carry out such meetings on a regular basis."

Besides, Russia, Iran and Turkey "decided to hold the next high-level International Meeting on Syria in Sochi in July 2018."
The Russian government supports the concept of the draft law on counter-sanctions, acting plenipotentiary of the government in the State Duma Alexander Sinenko said at a meeting in the State Duma on Tuesday, TASS reports.

"The government is interested in getting a clear, sound and consistent basis for its actions. It seems to us that the draft law discussed in the first reading, its concept, already provides such a basis. In this regard, I would like to note that the government supports the draft federal law in the first reading," he said.

The Russian government will take measures as part of the future law on counter-sanctions only after careful consultations with the parliament and the business community, he said.

"The text that we have already seen and which can become the second reading, in our opinion, further strengthens the legal basis of our actions. I would like to note once again that if the law is adopted, the government of the Russian Federation will take concrete actions only after careful consultations with the parliament and the expert community," he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

No one can prevent Turkey from developing relations with Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Turkish media reported May 15.

Erdogan noted that Russia is one of Turkey's strategic partners in the region.

The head of state also noted that relations between Russia and Turkey are at the highest level at the moment.

With regards to Turkey's purchase of Russian anti-aircraft missile systems (SAM) S-400, Erdogan said that this should not bother the United States and NATO countries.

"When Greece, which is also a NATO member, acquired Russian S-300 complexes, it did not bother the United States," Erdogan said.

Regarding the expected sanctions by the United States, Erdogan said that Washington, instead of talking about sanctions, should support Turkey.

Russian and Turkish representatives signed a loan agreement for the supply of anti-aircraft missile systems S-400 in Ankara, in December 2017. Turkey will pay for part of this deal on its own, and the other part will be paid for through the Russian Federation's defense loan.

The Secretariat of the Turkish Defense Industry said in its statement that Ankara will acquire two batteries of the Russian S-400 systems, which will be serviced by Turkish personnel. The parties agreed on technological cooperation in this field for the development of the production of anti-aircraft missile systems in Turkey.

Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Fifty four members of the terrorist organization "Islamic State" (IS) have been detained as part of a special operation carried out by the Istanbul police, Turkish media reported May 15.

According to the reports, there are foreign citizens among the detainees.

The identity and nationality of detainees has not been disclosed. The media reports said a number of them had previously engaged in an intensive activity as members of terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq.

On April 28, 41 members of the IS were detained as part of a special operation in Istanbul.

On April 13, in the Turkish province of Adana within the framework of the special operation, a citizen of Syria, Riyad Haji Osman - one of the executioners of IS was detained.

On January 24 this year, in the province of Sanliurfa in the Southeast of Turkey, the so-called "Minister of Health" of IS Kefah Basher Hussain was detained.

On 12 January this year, Turkish police detained the so-called "Minister of Agriculture" of IS Tarik Ahmed.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, Turkish media reported on May 15.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions directed against Palestinians.

He stressed that Turkey, as before, will support Palestine.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

The UN Security Council will mull the situation in the Gaza Strip on May 15.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkish presidential candidate from the Saadet party (SP) Temel Karamollaoglu urged the Turkish government to stop the construction of the "Canakkale 1915" bridge and the shipping channel in Istanbul, Turkish media reported May 15.

Karamollaoglu also urged foreign companies to abandon investing in the Turkish economy.

He noted that the construction of the bridge and the shipping canal will not make any contribution to the development of Turkey, but, on the contrary, can create problems for the country in the future.

The opening ceremony of the "Canakkale 1915" bridge was planned for 2023, but was transferred to an earlier date and will take place on March 18, 2022.

The construction of the bridge, which will be the longest suspension bridge in the world, began in March 2017.

The Istanbul canal is being constructed to reduce the burden on the Bosphorus Strait, as well as to prevent the threat of environmental and man-made disasters on one of the most intensive sea routes in the world.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Protests are being held near the Israeli embassy in Ankara, Turkish media reported on May 15.

Reportedly, at least 300 people are taking part in the rally.

Protests against Israel will continue during the week, particularly after the Friday prayer in Ankara and in Istanbul, according to media.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions directed against Palestinians.

He stressed that Turkey, as before, will support Palestine.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

The UN Security Council will mull the situation in the Gaza Strip on May 15.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IRS Tax Relief Associates, a tax relief service firm, summarizes the stages in the IRS collection process as follows:

An assessment of taxes due is generated when the return is filed (or no return is filed);





A notice and demand is mailed to the taxpayer, and when the demand for payment is not satisfied, the IRS sends the balance due account to a revenue officer in the field;





The revenue officer pursues administrative levies, seizures, or judicial collection remedies to collect the deficiency from the taxpayer.

In other words, the IRS collection stages are as follows: We figured out what you owe us (the assessment), we told you to pony up the amounts owed (the notice and demand), and you brushed us off (the failure to pay). Really, its about that simple, but if the IRS spoke in plain English like that, then thered be no need for geeks like us to explain the technical jargon. If you need back tax help and youre interested, heres a more detailed analysis of what to expect from the IRS back tax help.

1) Assessment of Taxes Due. The first step in the IRS collection process is an assessment of taxes due. That just means the IRS figures out on paper what the taxpayer owes the government.

2) Notice and Demand. Once an assessment has been made, the IRS must send a notice and demand to the taxpayer within 60 days. The notice and demand can be thought of as a bill from the IRS for taxes assessed. The notice is mailed to the taxpayer, with a separate notice mailed to the taxpayers spouse if the taxpayer is married. For the IRS, the notice and demand marks the commencement of its collection efforts against the taxpayer. For the taxpayer, it marks the time to get serious about resolving the tax debt, whether it be through professional assistance or self-help.

The IRS may begin to collect assessed taxes as soon as 10 days after notice and demand is served on the taxpayer. In practice though, the notice and demand typically is followed by two or three billing notices from the IRS, but its at about this point that the IRS pulls out its heavy artillery first, in the form of a tax lien.

3) Liens and Levies. Every week we assist our clients with the IRS levy release process. To stop the IRS from seizing your property, bank accounts, and/or garnish your wages, we must assume power of attorney over your dealings with the IRS. We will provide you with an IRS Form 2848 for you to sign. We will assign an agent to your case. He/she will also sign the Form 2848 and then fax it to the IRS. The attorney's next step will be to make contact with the IRS and negotiate with them to stop the levying process. The IRS will usually require that all past income tax returns be filed before they agree to stop the levy or wage garnishment. If you need to file taxes, we can have a highly experienced accountant prepare your tax returns. Once the IRS receives the tax return, the attorney assigned to your will arrange to stop the levying process by negotiating with the IRS agent or Revenue Officer. The result will usually be that you will either be placed on temporary un-collectible status or will agree to an affordable and often temporary pay-plan.

If you have a tax lien, we can negotiate to have it removed within thirty days of the IRS accepting the tax resolution documents. Once you have hired us and have provided us with the appropriate information, we will do the work necessary to complete the resolution documents on your behalf.

There are times when we can negotiate to have the IRS lien (this is usually for situations where you want to refinance your home or another piece of property). Each case is unique and requires a great deal of attention. Contact us for a free evaluation of your tax situation.

Author: Joshua Van Horn

Organization: Tax Relief Associates, LLC

Address: 4231 Balboa Ave, San Diego, CA 92117

Phone: 1-833-827-2728

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/0a1a6a49-3622-47e1-95b4-87453c500ebb
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting in Istanbul, regarding Palestine, the OIC told Trend on May 15.

The emergency meeting of the OIC member states will be held on May 18 , 2018.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions directed against Palestinians.

He stressed that Turkey, as before, will support Palestine.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

The UN Security Council will mull the situation in the Gaza Strip on May 15.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The head of the Anatolian Businessmen's Association (ASKON) of Turkey, Hasan Ali Cesur, urged Ankara to temporarily suspend relations with the US and Israel, Turkish media reported on May 15.

He noted that the US has long lost its status of Turkey's ally.

According to Cesur, Israel with its latest actions also aggravates the situation in the region, which can lead to serious consequences.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions directed against Palestinians.

He stressed that Turkey, as before, will support Palestine.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey doesnt recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said, Turkish media reported May 15.

Bozdag noted that Jerusalem for Turkey is the capital of Palestine.

He stressed that Turkey, as before, will support Palestine.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said that Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions directed against Palestinians.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting in Istanbul, regarding Palestine May 18, 2018.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

On May 14, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 15

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Israel's ambassador to Ankara Eitan Na'eh was summoned to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, where he was asked to leave the country, Turkish media reported on May 15.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim earlier said Turkey is calling on Muslim countries to reconsider relations with Israel.

Yildirim noted that Turkey sharply condemns Israel's actions against Palestinians.

Furthermore, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an emergency meeting in Istanbul regarding Palestine on May 18.

Protest actions are underway in the Gaza Strip amid the 70th anniversary of establishment of Israel and the transfer of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yesterday, Israeli soldiers opened fire at the protesters. According to the latest information, 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes, more than 2,700 were injured. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas announced a three-day mourning.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
European countries have begun to face US pressure in relation to the Iran nuclear deal, Russias Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday, TASS reports.

According to him, following the US withdrawal from the deal, three European Countries - France, Great Britain and Germany - "reaffirmed that they remain committed to the agreement." Lavrov stressed that Moscow could see pressure being exerted on them. "Ultimatums have been issued citing the need to stop trade with Iran, including the exports of certain goods and the imports of Iranian oil, the deadlines of 60 and 90 days have been set. It is kind of a plan to exert strong pressure," the Russian top diplomat pointed out.

The US lost all its rights under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iran nuclear program by withdrawing from this agreement, Lavrov said.

"By withdrawing from the JCPOA, the United States lost all its rights under this document, as there are a number of provisions in it that vest its participants with certain rights. The US - and it seems not to be denying this fact - already lost all these rights," he said.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) should not have conducted an enhanced interrogation program, CIA Director nominee Gina Haspel said in a letter to Ranking Member of the Senate Intelligence Committee Mark Warner, Sputnik reported.

"With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken," Haspel said in the letter.

Haspel stated that if confirmed as CIA Director, she would not authorize any activities that were contrary to her "moral and ethical values" or consistent with the "CIA's mission, expertise, and the law."

During her Senate hearing, Haspel said the detention and interrogation program would not resume under her leadership.

Haspel oversaw the interrogation of a detainee at a secret US prison in Thailand who was waterboarded 83 times in a single month. She also reportedly participated in the destruction of videos of interrogations that have since been characterized as torture and outlawed by Congress.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on Haspel's nomination in a closed meeting on Wednesday.
KYODO NEWS - May 14, 2018 - 20:43 | World, All

Suicide bombers on a pair of motorcycles attacked police headquarters in Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, on Monday, killing four people and injuring 11, a day after suicide bombings of Christian churches there killed 18 and injured dozens more, according to the police.

Four of the five people on the motorcycles, who are believed to be part of the same family, died when the vehicles exploded at a security checkpoint in front of police headquarters at around 8:50 a.m., injuring four police officers and six civilians, they said.

The lone survivor among those on the motorcycles was an 8-year-old girl, who was thrown clear by the force of the blast.

(Getty/Kyodo)

"We are still trying to save her because she will be a very important witness," national police chief Tito Karnavian told a press conference.

The others who died are believed to be her father, mother and two brothers.

On Sunday, a family of six, including four children ranging in age between 8 and 17, similarly blew themselves up in attacks on three churches in Surabaya during morning services, killing themselves and at least eight other people.

Those bombings occurred in the capital of East Java shortly after a series of attacks on police near the national capital Jakarta days earlier. Those attacks, in which five police died, began with the rioting of detained Islamic militants at a detention center in Depok of an elite antiterrorist police unit.

After the rioting began Tuesday, radical Muslim groups called via social media for their followers to go to the detention center to help the inmates battle the police.

(Getty/Kyodo)

The bombings in Surabaya on Sunday and Monday were the first terrorist attacks in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country, to involve children among the suicide attackers.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo denounced Monday's attack as "a cowardly act, an undignified act, an uncivilized act," and reiterated that the government will continue "to combat terrorism and eliminate it from the roots."

Jokowi also urged the House of Representatives to pass a bill to revise the counterterrorism law during the next parliamentary session starting Friday.

"It's been two years already" since the bill was submitted to parliament, he said, adding that the revised law would enable the national police to take "harsh actions either in the form of preventive or enforcement measures."

Under the current counterterrorism law, the government cannot act against and punish anyone just for pledging loyalty or joining radical, militant groups such as Islamic State.

The proposed amendment would enable police to arrest and hold for up to six months anyone suspected of planning a terrorist attack. It would also make it illegal for Indonesians to join militant groups overseas.

(Getty/Kyodo)

On Sunday night, there was also a bomb explosion in a town near Surabaya.

At around 9:20 p.m., bomb exploded inside a flat just behind a local police station in Sidoarjo, about 34 kilometers from Surabaya, the police said Monday.

Two people from a family of six living in the flat -- a mother and her 17-year-old son -- were killed by the explosion, while three other children, aged 9, 11 and 15, were injured, they said.

"Police who arrived soon after the explosion shot the father to death because he had threatened to explode a bomb," East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told reporters. He did not give any other details.

According to Tito, preliminary investigation revealed that Dita Oeprianto, 54, the father in the church bombings, was the leader of Surabaya region of Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah that was declared a terrorist organization by the U.S. Department of State in January last year.

"Dita was behind a series of terrorist attacks (currently happening) in Surabaya...based on the instruction from Islamic State in Syria because it has been cornered and therefore, it instructed their cells across the world to act," he said.

"Another motive behind the attacks was to take revenge against law enforcers because JAD spiritual leader Aman Abdurrahman, who had been released from jail in August 2017, was rearrested for his alleged involvement in plotting and financing the Thamrin bombings," the police general said, referring to bombing attacks in January 2016 that claimed eight lives.

Aman was currently on trial at the South Jakarta District Court and government prosecutors will read out their sentence demand on Friday. A verdict is expected in early June.

Dita, according to Tito, was a close friend of Anton Febrianto, 47, the father who was killed during the bomb explosion inside the Sidoarjo flat.

"Dita was also related to a family, who became a (radical) ideological guru for his family. We are still looking for the whereabouts of the family whose identities cannot be disclosed now," the top police officer said.

"The family traveled to Syria but was stopped by the Turkish government who deported them back to Indonesia," he added.

Similar bombs were also found on the scene of the bombings in the churches, the flat and at Surabaya police headquarters, as well as the suicide bombers' houses.

"All of the bombs were pipe bombs, containing TATP (triacetone triperoxide), that is popularly known by its nickname 'the Mother of Satan'," Tito said.

TATP is favored by Islamic State militants owing to its accessibility. It was deployed in a number of IS-linked terrorist attacks, including in Paris in 2015 and in Brussels in 2016. When it detonates, it can cause high impact but is very unstable, frequently accidentally killing the bomb-makers.
KYODO NEWS - May 15, 2018 - 10:29 | World, All

A North Korean "friendship" group led by a high-ranking ruling party official in charge of economic policy is visiting China, state-run media reported Tuesday, around a month ahead of Pyongyang's summit with the United States.

At Beijing International Airport, the delegation headed by Pak Tae Song, vice chairman of the Workers' Party, was greeted by an official of China's ruling Communist Party and North Korea's ambassador to China, the Korean Central News Agency said.

KCNA did not report details of the group's activities, but high-ranking officials from Beijing and Pyongyang are believed to have exchanged views on the summit to be held between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump on June 12 in Singapore.

(Pak Tae Song, KNS/Kyodo)

Relations between China and North Korea have drastically improved recently. Kim traveled to Beijing in March to hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, and last week the two leaders met again for two days in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian.

Earlier this month, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Pyongyang.

Kim's visit to Beijing in March was his first foreign trip since becoming North Korea's supreme leader following the death of his father Kim Jong Il in December 2011.

China, North Korea's main economic lifeline, had been increasing economic sanctions against Pyongyang since late last year as Kim continued to develop ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons in defiance of international warnings, worsening bilateral ties.

(Park, center right, was pictured on May 14, 2018 as he left Pyongyang International Airport for Beijing. KCNA/Kyodo)

On Monday, a person who appeared to be a high-ranking North Korean official arrived in Beijing and was staying at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, where foreign dignitaries usually are accommodated on visits to China's capital, according to a source close to the matter.

The delegation led by the person visited Zhongguancun in Beijing, which is known as "China's Silicon Valley," the source said, adding North Korea and China may be trying to bolster their economic exchanges. Kim also visited the area in March.
Sandeep was earlier granted bail in the gold smuggling case as well a dollar smuggling case registered by the Customs as well as the NIA.
BETHLEHEM, Pa., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- B. Braun Medical Inc. will showcase its portfolio of innovative products that support successful peripheral intravenous (PIV) access in booth #417 at the Infusion Nurses Society (INS) Annual Meeting and Exhibition from May 19-22 in Cleveland, Ohio.



Additionally at the meeting, B. Braun will sponsor an Exhibitor Theater Presentation on incorporating technology for vessel selection and inserting PIV catheters. A Single Peripheral Catheter: Is It Possible? will be presented at 12:40 p.m. on May 19 in Huntington Convention Center by Lynn Hadaway, M.Ed., RN-BC, CRNI, Clinical Consultant and President, Lynn Hadaway Associates. The presentation will identify new technologies to integrate into the process for the assessment, planning, intervention, and evaluation of inserting PIV catheters. Hadaway will discuss peripheral vein preservation and choosing the most appropriate vascular access device with the greatest possibility of reaching the end of therapy with the least number of procedures. No registration is needed for the presentation.

B. Braun is committed to the exchange of information and knowledge with nurses and other clinicians to help achieve success in PIV placement and stabilization, said Tom Sutton, Vice President, Medical Device and Pharmaceutical Systems at B. Braun. Improved site selection and catheter stabilization can lead to improved first stick success and reduced complications for better patient satisfaction and outcomes.

At INS, B. Braun will feature these products that support PIV success:

VeinViewer  by Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. is a near-infrared vein visualization product designed to provide clinicians with an accurate image of patient veins. VeinViewer is designed to help improve first stick success and reduce the time needed to start a peripheral IV. It also is designed to help reduce PICC lines placed due to failed PIV access.

by Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. is a near-infrared vein visualization product designed to provide clinicians with an accurate image of patient veins. VeinViewer is designed to help improve first stick success and reduce the time needed to start a peripheral IV. It also is designed to help reduce PICC lines placed due to failed PIV access. Introcan Safety  Family of PIV Catheters includes the Introcan Safety, Introcan Safety 3, and the new Deep Access IV Catheters. The Deep Access IV Catheters are designed to access deeper veins for difficult access patients with damaged, not visible or palpable superficial veins, as well as reduce the risk of complications associated with accessing these types of veins. The Deep Access IV Catheters are made of polyurethane and are available in four longer-length configurations: 18GA x 2.5, 20GA x 2.5, 22GA x 2.5, and 24GA x 1.25.

includes the Introcan Safety, Introcan Safety 3, and the new The Deep Access IV Catheters are designed to access deeper veins for difficult access patients with damaged, not visible or palpable superficial veins, as well as reduce the risk of complications associated with accessing these types of veins. The Deep Access IV Catheters are made of polyurethane and are available in four longer-length configurations: 18GA x 2.5, 20GA x 2.5, 22GA x 2.5, and 24GA x 1.25. The new Surecan  Safety II Port Access Needle is high-pressure resistant, non-coring 1 , and safety-engineered. Surecan Safety II is designed to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries, enhance the clinician experience, and be easy to use.

is high-pressure resistant, non-coring , and safety-engineered. Surecan Safety II is designed to reduce the risk of needlestick injuries, enhance the clinician experience, and be easy to use. STEADYCare extension set with the Wedge catheter stabilizer is designed to provide stabilization to in-dwelling PIV catheters and help reduce catheter-related complications.

extension set with the Wedge catheter stabilizer is designed to provide stabilization to in-dwelling PIV catheters and help reduce catheter-related complications. Ster-ASSIST sterile peripheral IV catheter insertion kit supports the use of ultrasound-guided PIV insertions and encourages best practice by containing the components required to perform a safe, sterile technique.

1Data on file. VeinViewer is a registered trademark of Christie Medical Holdings, Inc. Christie is the manufacturer and B. Braun Medical is a distributor of VeinViewer.

About B. Braun

B. Braun Medical Inc., a leader in infusion therapy and pain management, develops, manufactures, and markets innovative medical products and services to the healthcare industry. Other key product areas include pharmacy admixture and compounding, nutrition, ostomy and wound care, and dialysis. The company is committed to eliminating preventable treatment errors and enhancing patient, clinician and environmental safety. B. Braun Medical is headquartered in Bethlehem, Pa., and is part of the B. Braun Group of Companies in the U.S., which includes B. Braun Interventional Systems, Aesculap and CAPS.

Globally, the B. Braun Group of Companies employs more than 61,000 employees in more than 64 countries. Guided by its Sharing Expertise philosophy, B. Braun continuously exchanges knowledge with customers, partners and clinicians to address the critical issues of improving care and lowering costs. To learn more about B. Braun Medical, visit www.BBraunUSA.com.
The North Koreans took a step back from the U.S. red line last week by announcing that they would halt, at least temporarily, the testing of nuclear weapons and missile systems. They also said they would dismantle an important missile launch site. The willingness to state this publicly is in some ways more significant than the actions. The North Koreans have not tested a nuclear weapon in more than seven months or an intercontinental ballistic missile in nearly five months, and at this point those tests are the key to further development . They need to know that the configuration of their nuclear weapons will fit on their missiles and that their guidance system  which has troubled them before  is functioning. To determine those things, they must do tests.

Promises in politics arent worth much, and just because North Korea abandoned one missile test site doesnt mean it cant just test at one of its other existing sites. But still, there is something more in this decision than simply trying to shape the political landscape.

The question is what North Korea is trying to achieve. A pre-emptive U.S. attack was taken off the table by the South Koreans, who were not prepared to see Seoul destroyed by North Korean artillery . The U.S. would consider an attack now only if intelligence indicated an imminent North Korean strike against the United States. Having taken that off the table, the North Koreans have given themselves and the U.S. room for maneuver in what appears to be impending talks. Retiring an Old Strategy My initial reaction when North Korea accelerated its nuclear and missile programs a year ago was that it made a U.S. attack likely. Later, as South Koreas opposition to such an attack became clear, I returned to a view I had held for years: that North Korea is a brilliant negotiator, using nuclear weapons as a tool to both focus and frighten the world. I called this the ferocious, weak and crazy strategy . North Koreas greatest fear has long been regime collapse, triggered by outside forces. So it showed itself to be ferocious and, therefore, not to be toyed with. It showed itself to be weak and, therefore, not worth toying with because it will collapse anyway. Finally, it showed itself to be crazy and, therefore, unpredictable and liable to disproportionate responses. This was the strategy, but what North Korea was really doing was buying time to build up its strength so that it could move beyond the game.

The nuclear program and the failure of the United States in particular to take steps to block it followed from the ferocious, weak and crazy strategy. It paralyzed the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, which could not figure out how to deal with a power so difficult to read and potentially explosive. This gave the North Koreans the cover to nearly complete a comprehensive nuclear weapons capability.

At this point, North Korea doesnt have to bluff being dangerous. It has a conventional arsenal capable of terrifying South Korea and enough real nuclear capability to cause Japan and South Korea to take it very seriously. Even the U.S. cant be entirely sure of its immunity. North Korea no longer needs to be seen as weak. And above all, it must not appear to be crazy. The unpredictability North Korea needed to have from 1992 to the present has become a liability. The greatest threat to North Korea is that the U.S. will regard it as unpredictable and launch an attack, regardless of South Koreas wishes, to protect the United States. At this point, as a nuclear power in some respects and a near threat to the United States, North Korea must start behaving as utterly rational, leaving the craziness behind. Is Survival Enough? With talks with South Korea scheduled for April 27, and the American president coming to visit, North Korea has achieved regime survival. If the regime is cautious, no one is going to try to topple it. Therefore, the decision to stop its nuclear and missile development and dismantle launch facilities decreases the threat of war  while not taking it off the table altogether. After all, what is stopped can be resumed, overtly or covertly.

Still, North Korea has created room for an agreement. No one wants war in the Korean Peninsula, which is a stable platform for moving forward. The issue now is whether North Korea wants more than regime survival. One thing it could press for is a U.S. withdrawal from South Korea and some sort of weak confederation with the South. But South Korea is hardly likely to put all its eggs in a Korean confederation, nor does it want to confront a Japan that would be very unhappy with such an agreement. As for the United States, anything that would force it back from the Korean Peninsula would weaken its position relative to China, which may be an unacceptable trade-off.

So long as North Korea stops being unpredictable, it gains security but loses the ability to terrify. If North Korea wants to force a break between South Korea and the U.S., it is pushing into territory where its new rational strategy wont take it. If what it wants is recognition of the legitimacy of its regime, it can have that. This is undoubtedly what U.S. Secretary of State-designate Mike Pompeo discussed in North Korea, what the South Koreans will discuss with the North and, ultimately, after all the preliminaries are done, what President Donald Trump will discuss. The U.S. had a chance to topple North Korea in the 1990s. It didnt take that chance because it seemed too risky and unnecessary. Now it is no longer an option, so formalizing the reality is the next step. The mystery is whether the North Koreans want more. They have a great deal to lose if that gamble fails, and in fact they have always been cautious, however they appeared.
Recently, researchers from Harvard and MIT succeeded in trapping a record 53 atoms and individually controlling their quantum state, realizing what is called a quantum simulator. Their experiments in this system, presented in July 2017 at a conference in Trieste, revealed completely unexpected periodic oscillations in the dynamics of the interacting atoms. Now, an international team of researchers, including Alexios Michailidis and Maksym Serbyn from the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria) as well as researchers from the University of Leeds and the University of Geneva, have solved the mystery of these previously inexplicable oscillations. The theoretical explanation they proposed introduces a concept of a "quantum many-body scar" that alters our understanding of the dynamics that are possible in many-body quantum systems.

Imagine a ball bouncing around in an oval stadium. It will bounce around chaotically, back and forth through the available space. As its motion is random, it will sooner or later visit every place in the stadium. Amidst all the chaos, however, there might be a potential for order: if the ball happens to hit the wall at a special spot and at the "correct" angle of incidence, it might end up in a periodic orbit, visiting the same places in the stadium over and over and not visiting the others. Such a periodic orbit is extremely unstable as the slightest perturbation will divert the ball off its track and back into chaotic pondering around the stadium.

The same idea is applicable to quantum systems, except that instead of a ball bouncing around, we are looking at a wave, and instead of a trajectory, we are observing a probability function. Classical periodic orbits can cause a quantum wave to be concentrated in its vicinity, causing a "scar"-like feature in a probability that would otherwise be uniform. Such imprints of classical orbits on the probability function have been named "quantum scars". The phenomenon, however, was only expected to happen with a single quantum particle, as the complexity of the system rises dramatically with every additional particle, making periodic orbits more and more unlikely.

"Generally people assumed that it was impossible for many-body systems to have quantum scars, and when people first saw the oscillations they could not explain it," says Maksym Serbyn, Professor at IST Austria and co-author of the study. "By extending the concept of scars to quantum many-body systems, we were able to explain why these oscillations are there," he adds.

In the study, which was published in Nature Physics, the researchers explain the experimental observation with the occurrence of quantum many-body scars. They also identify the many-particle unstable periodic orbit behind the scar behavior as the coherent oscillation of atoms between the excited and ground states. Intuitively, the quantum many-body scar may be envisioned as a part of configuration space that is to some extent "shielded" from chaos, thus leading to a much slower relaxation. In other words: the system takes longer to return to chaos--the equilibrium state.

"We still don't know how common quantum many-body scars are, but we have found one example, and this is a paradigm shift," Serbyn says. But there is a lot left to find out. "We don't yet understand all the properties of many-body quantum scars, but we have successfully explained the data. We hope that a better understanding of quantum scars will provide a way of protecting quantum systems from relaxation."

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IST Austria

The Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria) is a PhD-granting research institution located in Klosterneuburg, 18 km from the center of Vienna, Austria. Inaugurated in 2009, the Institute is dedicated to basic research in the natural and mathematical sciences. IST Austria employs professors on a tenure-track system, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral students. While dedicated to the principle of curiosity-driven research, the Institute owns the rights to all scientific discoveries and is committed to promote their use. The first president of IST Austria is Thomas A. Henzinger, a leading computer scientist and former professor at the University of California in Berkeley, USA, and the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. The graduate school of IST Austria offers fully-funded PhD positions to highly qualified candidates with a bachelor's or master's degree in biology, neuroscience, mathematics, computer science, physics, and related areas. http://www.ist.ac.at

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is one of the largest higher education institutions in the UK, with more than 33,000 students from more than 150 different countries, and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities.

We are a top ten university for research and impact power in the UK, according to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, and are in the top 100 for academic reputation in the QS World University Rankings 2018. Additionally, the University was awarded a Gold rating by the Government's Teaching Excellence Framework in 2017, recognising its 'consistently outstanding' teaching and learning provision. Twenty-six of our academics have been awarded National Teaching Fellowships - more than any other institution in England, Northern Ireland and Wales - reflecting the excellence of our teaching. http://www.leeds.ac.uk
The European consortium AVENUE, led by the University of Geneva, is preparing the technical, economic and legislative integration of autonomous vehicles in the urban and sub-urban environments; Geneva is amongst the pilot sites

Autonomous vehicles promise to be the next revolution in public transport. They should find their first users in suburban areas, which are less well served by traditional transportation networks. But for these new services to develop, we must first identify the needs and motivations of their future users and be able to respond to them, meet many of the technological and regulatory challenges, and design new business models. This is the aim of the 4 year AVENUE project consortium, led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) with a total budget of 22 million euros and funded by the European Commission up to the level of 16 million euros.

The AVENUE project consortium, for "Autonomous Vehicles to Evolve to a New Urban Experience, brings together 16 partners: academic institutions, public transport operators, autonomous vehicle manufacturers, major technology R&D companies and specialized start-ups. Among them, five Swiss; alongside the UNIGE, the Transports publics genevois (tpg) and the State of Geneva, two start-ups are indeed involved, MobileThinking, resulting from the UNIGE and BestMile, created at EPFL. All partners met for the first project meeting on 14 and 15 May in Brussels.

Three major themes

The project is structured around three major themes: autonomous driving, optimization of itineraries and in- and out- of vehicle services. The first theme addresses security, fluidity of traffic and ability to adapt to exceptional road situations. At first, it will be studied only in limited areas, whose environment has been previously fully mapped. The second theme will optimize the vehicles itineraries in a perspective of cost reduction and user comfort.

Passengers will be able to book their trip from their smartphone, via a simple and user-friendly application, offering different levels of services. "The third theme will focus on in and out of vehicle services, such as augmented reality solutions on vehicle windows, video conferencing options, as well as assistance to meet special needs' and less autonomous passengers, such as children or seniors, details Dimitri Konstantas, professor at the Geneva School of Economics and Management (GSEM) of UNIGE and coordinator of the AVENUE project.

The researchers propose to develop, test and validate autonomous vehicle services, integrated into the conventional public transport network, meeting the expectations of different user groups. The needs are not the same depending on whether the passenger is a child, an adult or a senior, they also differ according to the motivations for travel, from the absence of an alternative to curiosity, or even from the forced use - following for example a driving license withdrawal - to a deliberate choice of another type of mobility.

The researchers will also study the existing obstacles to the development of this service: psychological by measuring the degree of acceptance by the public, administrative with the various regulations in force, technical with the major question of security and the consideration of behavior of other road users, economic by imagining viable exploitation and development models. The study will finally propose concrete recommendations on infrastructure and necessary legislative developments addressed to the political authorities.

Geneva among the pilot sites

Specifically, the AVENUE project plans to conduct its tests through a fleet of vehicles of different sizes, from 4 to 12 seats, chosen by the system according to the itinerary and services requested by the user. Geneva is one of the sites chosen to conduct the large scale tests. The Department of Environment, Transport and Agriculture (DETA) of the State of Geneva has also joined the consortium, "in a desire to actively support innovation and to position Geneva as a center of excellence in the field of autonomous vehicles, says Luc Barthassat, State Councilor in charge of the Department of the environnement, transport and agriculture.

The Geneva urban fabric indeed offers several advantages: its public transport network is managed for the most part by a single operator open to innovation, the tpg, simplifying the issues of coordination and connectivity. Despite its small size, Geneva and its traffic have all the characteristics of urban networks to test complex scenarios: traffic jams, pedestrian zones, bike paths. The city is also accurately mapped, there is a 3D modeling and high precision GPS localization services. Finally, national environmental and legislative issues are well under control thanks to the pilot programs carried out in Sion and other places by Navya, manufacturer of autonomous vehicles and partner of the AVENUE project.

"The goal is to work in suburban areas with little or no service today by connecting them to the traditional tpg network. Autonomous vehicles will not go downtown, says Denis Berdoz, CEO of tpg. "We are convinced of the potential of autonomous vehicles for our customers. This project will reinforce our knowledge of new technologies. We acquired an autonomous vehicle in August 2017. We are currently working on its commissioning on an experimental line after having tested it at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018 , says Denis Berdoz.

The results of this large scale deployment can be compared to those in several European cities, with sometimes different philosophies such as the Mobility Cloud Copenhagen which reflects on the mobility of the person from one point to another, rather than the means used, the use and offer of autonomous taxis in Denmark, still hampered by administrative issues, the service of the pedestrian center in Luxembourg or the Navly project in Lyon, also integrated into the AVENUE project.

This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 769033.

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About the University of Geneva

The University of Geneva enjoys worlwide recognition and ranks amongst the top 60 best universities in the world. Founded in 1559 by Jean Calvin and Theodore de Beze, it welcomes nearly 17 000 students in its nine faculties. A member of the League of European Research-intensive Universities, The University of Geneva fullfills three missions: education, research and knowledge-sharing.

About the Transports publics genevois (tpg)

tpg is the public transport operator of reference in the Geneva region. Their mission is to contribute to the management of mobility on their territory by proposing to the public a quality offer in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. Involved in innovation, they are active in the fields of electric (TOSA bus) and autonomous (experimental line) vehicles.
Description

ARTEK presents an innovative new theatrical show based on the life and art of 17th-century painter Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-c.1656). Conceived as a one-woman show, Artemisia: Light and Shadow stars Sarah Chalfy as Artemisia, who will sing 17th-century music by Barbara Strozzi (1619-1676), from op. 2, 7, and 8 and Francesco Cavalli (1602-1676), from his opera Artemisia. The show will combine dramatic arias with staged scenes, written by Nahma Sandrow.

The production follows Artemisia Gentileschis major life events: her fathers training in painting; the sensational rape and subsequent trial including torture when she was a teenager; her marriage of convenience; her great love affair with a Florentine nobleman (based on letters only discovered in 2011), and her triumphs as an artist, with visuals of her paintings.

The creative team includes ARTEK director Gwendolyn Toth (Music Director and accompanist on harpsichord), Paul Peers (Stage Director), Chenault Spence (Lighting Designer) and Carol Sherry (Costume Design).

Artemisia: Light and Shadow plays on Tuesday May 15, Thursday May 17, and Saturday 19 at 7:30pm, along with a matinee on Sunday May 20 at 4pm. All performances run 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets cost $40 ($20 for audiences under 25 and over 65) and are available on The Flea Theaters website: www.theflea.org
Description

Hon. C. Virginia Fields, President and CEO, and the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Inc. (NBLCA) Long Island Affiliate invite you to our Faith Community Mobilization Presentation. It will take place at the Long Island Community Fellowship Church, Tuesday, May 15th 2018, 6  8:30 p.m.

Please RSVP as to your attendance. A flyer with more information is attached.

The goal of this presentation is to engage local faith stakeholders to reflect on key issues and lead communities to address their own needs:

Mass mobilization (health crisis)

Disaster preparedness

Local/National Advocacy

Environmental

Education, mobilization and leadership are key to addressing the many barriers that effect our communities. Together we can make a difference! We look forward to you joining us. Your support is sincerely appreciated.
AirAsia boss says he will 'forever regret' appearing to back Malaysia's Najib before election

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia, apologized on Sunday for a video that appeared to endorse ousted leader Najib Razak ahead of the May 9 general election.

Fernandes called the video "a grave error of judgement" and said that he would "forever regret it."

In the aftermath of Malaysia stunning election result, one of the country's most respected business figures has admitted to "buckling" to pressure from the previous government.

AirAsia AIRA-MY CEO Tony Fernandes , who enjoys near-rockstar status in the Southeast Asian nation, apologized on Sunday for a flashy, apparent endorsement of then-leader Najib Razak in the run- up to the May 9 general election. Najib was defeated in an unexpected election upset at the hands of Mahathir Mohamad , who was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday.

AirAsia's stock tanked as much as 10 percent on Monday as the Malaysian market re-opened for trading post-election .

Fernandes, dubbed Malaysia's version of Virgin Group magnate Richard Branson , said on Facebook that he made "a grave error of judgement" by appearing in a May 6 video in which he thanked scandal-ridden Najib for AirAsia's growth.

Shortly following that video, Najib tweeted photos of himself with Fernandes on an AirAsia plane that sported the campaign slogan of Najib's long-ruling Barisan National party.

Najib Razak tweet

Those developments prompted fierce backlash from Malaysian netizens . Public anger over Najib's alleged involved in a multi-billion dollar graft case involving state funds was a primary reason underlining the electoral upset of the 64 year-old, who has denied any wrongdoing in the so-called 1MDB scandal .

Fernandes on Sunday said he "foolishly" made the May 6 video, which he described as "fairly neutral and factual," to "appease" Najib's government.

Fernandes also said that the former administration was pushing him to remove Chairman Rafidah Aziz of long-haul carrier AirAsia X and cancel 120 extra flights that were created especially for Malaysians to return home to vote.

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The government's displeasure with both those factors placed "intense pressure" on AirAsia, Fernandes explained, admitting that he "buckled at the crucial moment in [Malaysia's] history."

"It wasn't right, I'll forever regret it but it was a decision made at the spur of the moment" to protect the company and the jobs of AirAsia staffers, he said.

'Re-positioning himself'

Fernandes is simply "re-positioning himself in relation to the new political constellation," commented Vedi Hadiz, deputy director of the Asia Institute at the University of Melbourne.

Links between business and politics remain strong in Malaysia, so the CEO's apology "probably reflects some anxiety that is based on the expectation that the link will continue to be important within this new constellation, even if hopes for fundamental reforms are currently high," Hadiz continued.

AirAsia told CNBC that it would have no comment on the matter.

"Tony is trying to recover from the damage done to both his personal and the AirAsia brand," said James Chin, an expert on Southeast Asia politics at the University of Tasmania. "It was a mistake to do the plane stunt  most Malaysians feel like he overdid it."

Given how intertwined business and government affairs are in Kuala Lumpur  major businesses typically donate huge amounts to parties during elections  it simply isn't possible for senior executives to disentangle themselves from politics, Chin explained.





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Alaska Airlines is bidding farewell to its pilot base at one of the busiest airports in the country.

The Seattle-based carrier plans to close its base at New Yorks John F. Kennedy International Airport in September to cover demand for its West Coast operations, which makes up a large share of Alaskas flights. Pilots currently based out of JFK will have the opportunity to transfer to bases in California.

This was a difficult decision  but a necessary one  based on the need to match our pilot staffing with the geographic areas on the West Coast, where we deploy our aircraft every day, an airline spokesperson told FOX Business. All of our JFK-based pilots are being offered the opportunity to transfer to either Los Angeles or San Francisco.

Alaska will still operate flights to and from JFK despite closing its pilot base and announced earlier that it would offer new nonstop service to San Jose, California, and a third daily flight to Seattle beginning in early July.

The airline currently operates 14 daily flights from JFK to San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. Alaska also flies from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles and San Francisco, while also offering service from LaGuardia to Dallas under regional carrier SkyWest.

The airline purchased Virgin America  another West Coast-based carrier  for $2.6 billion in 2016. As a result of the deal, Alaska became the fifth-largest airline and operates an average of 1,200 daily flights.

Late last month, Virgin America branding was erased from 29 airports in the U.S., and its red and white Airbus jets are in the process of being repainted in Alaskas blue and white colors. Alaska said the transition to a single brand will likely take until the end of 2019.

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Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Gonzalo Raffo de Lavalle

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

Helenio Herrera

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Sun Tzu









We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.



Paulo Coelho
First the Commerce Department bans the sale of U.S. parts to Chinese telecom equipment firm ZTE, after the firm broke U.S. sanctions and lied to the U.S. government. Then, weeks later, President Donald Trump says hes told the Commerce Department to help ZTE get back in business.

What on earth is Trump playing at? Thats the fundamental question, as his Twitter announcement appears to be a major reversal of U.S. actions against ZTE ztcoy which just last week appeared mortally wounded by the American ban.

There are three main issues here. Firstly, if Trump is using the tens of thousands of at-risk ZTE jobs as some kind of bargaining chip in wider trade negotiations with China, its not clear what hes getting in return.

Secondly, Trumps move to rescue ZTE, a company on the brink of extinction because it unlawfully did business in Iran, comes at a time when the U.S. has just reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic, and is threatening European companies that continue to trade there.

Perhaps most importantly, it is also extremely unusual for a U.S. president to threaten to override his own Commerce Department like this.

Heres a quick recap of the situation. ZTE, a major Chinese manufacturer of phones and telecom network equipment, was busting U.S. sanctions against Iran and North Korea by selling equipment there, despite the fact that the kit used American components. Last year the Justice Department fined ZTE almost $900 million over the Iran stuff, and also got ZTE to agree to a seven-year suspended denial of export privileges.

In April, the Commerce Department said ZTE had broken its agreement with the U.S. government by giving full bonuses to the employees involved in the illegal Iran sales, failing to reprimand them, and also lying about this to the Commerce Department.

So the seven-year ban on U.S. components kicked in, and last week ZTE informed its investors that it had ceased its major operating activitiesit simply couldnt make its products without parts from the likes of Qualcomm and Intel, and its inventory ran out.

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Then, on Sunday, President Trump suddenly tweeted: President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!

President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018

The Chinese are happy, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang saying the country highly commends Trumps move. Bloomberg reported Monday that Chinas competition regulators have restarted their stalled review of Qualcomms merger bid with NXP Semiconductorsits not clear whether this is connected to the ZTE shift.

ZTEs employees are reportedly delighted, too. Again, thats more than understandable.

However, Kevin Wolf, the Obama-era assistant secretary of commerce who launched the case against ZTE, told the Financial Times he was speechless at Trumps tweet.

Im highly confident that a president has never intervened in a law-enforcement matter like this before, Wolf told the paper. Its so outside the way the rules were set up.

D.C. lawyer Douglas Jacobson, who represents ZTE suppliers, echoed this sentiment in an interview with the BBC. Theres no legal mechanism for this. How this will play out remains to be seen, he said. They are not simply going to be able to resume business as usual.

Even the White House seems slightly taken-aback by Trumps promise. Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told Politico on Sunday that the president merely expects Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to exercise his independent judgement to resolve the regulatory action involving ZTE based on its facts.

When Ross announced the denial of export privileges a month ago, he said ZTEs misleading of the department was egregious behavior [that] cannot be ignored. The Commerce Department was also careful to note that this was a regulatory action and unrelated to any ongoing trade-related actions.

It seems the ZTE case cannot be so easily kept separate from the Sino-American trade negotiations after all.
The battle for Congress heads to Pennsylvania: Here are Tuesday's primary races to watch

Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Oregon and Idaho hold primary elections on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania is the most compelling of the states: Redistricting and retirements have made it one of the key states in determining which party controls the House after November's midterm elections.

Voters will also pick nominees for a swing House district in Nebraska and a Pennsylvania Senate seat.

For the second straight week, voters in four states will choose major party nominees for races with big stakes in November's midterm elections.

Pennsylvania , Nebraska , Idaho and Oregon hold primary elections Tuesday for races for the House, Senate and governor. The busiest slate will take place in swing state Pennsylvania, where a new congressional map has made Democrats more competitive in several House districts.

Democrats and Republicans will pick candidates for a handful of House races crucial to November's battle for the chamber. If Pennsylvania swings the Democrats' way, the party can pick up a good chunk of the 23 seats it needs to win to take control of the House in November.

Here are the races to watch on Tuesday:

Pennsylvania is a House battleground

Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a congressional map drawn by Republicans. Over GOP objections, the court redrew districts.

The changes made the state more hospitable for Democrats. Nonpartisan election analysis site Cook Political Report rates seven GOP-held seats as competitive or favoring Democrats. Another nonpartisan site, Sabato's Crystal Ball, lists six Republican-held districts in those categories.

Republican departures have helped the minority party. In three important races in the state, a GOP incumbent has either resigned or announced his intention to retire.

Several House districts in Pennsylvania will feature competitive races either on Tuesday, in November or both.

PA 1st District: Democrats are vying to face GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in a district that shifted in favor of Democrats under the revised map. In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly won the new district. Multimillionaire philanthropist Scott Wallace, a former counsel for Senate committees, has piled $2.5 million of his own money into the Democratic primary. The other leading contender is former Navy prosecutor Rachel Reddick. She is endorsed by Emily's List, the organization that aims to elect pro-choice Democrats. On the Republican side, Fitzpatrick faces one challenger in lawyer Dean Malik. The congressman is expected to win. Nonpartisan election handicappers rate the November race as a toss-up.

PA 5th District: The state's redistricting made the 5th District dramatically more Democratic. Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index, or PVI, which gauges how areas vote in recent presidential elections relative to the country as a whole, now lists it as "D+13." The seat is currently vacant, as Republican Rep. Pat Meehan resigned after the revelation that he used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim made by a former staffer. Ten Democrats will jostle for the nomination Tuesday. Whoever wins the primary will become the heavy favorite to win the House seat in November. Top contenders include attorney Mary Gay Scanlon, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Richard Lazer and former federal prosecutor Ashley Lunkenheimer. Pearl Kim, a former prosecutor in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, is the lone Republican candidate.

PA 7th District: Democrats got two breaks in the 7th District congressional race. First, redistricting made the area more favorable. By Cook's PVI, it is now a "D+1" district. Then, incumbent GOP Rep. Charlie Dent resigned. While the seat became more competitive for the party, discord could complicate the Democrats' chances. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, a leading Democratic contender, opposes abortion rights and has praised President Donald Trump in the past. He faces pastor Greg Edwards, a candidate running from the left endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. Former Allentown Solicitor Susan Wild, backed by Emily's List, is also vying for the nomination. Former Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning and former Olympic cyclist Marty Nothstein are running on the Republican side.

Others to watch: The primary elections in Pennsylvania's 6th and 17th Districts may not carry much drama. But the races for those seats in November will be critical. GOP Rep. Ryan Costello declined to run for re-election in the 6th District, now a "D+2" seat, according to Cook. Chrissy Houlahan, a businesswoman who served in the Air Force Reserve, runs unopposed on the Democratic side. Attorney Greg McCauley faces no opponents in the Republican primary. Houlahan would enter the general election as a favorite.

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The 17th District features a rarity in congressional elections: two incumbents. Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb won a March special election for the state's previous 18th District but lives in the revised 17th District. Both he and GOP Rep. Keith Rothfus will run unopposed in Tuesday's primaries. Cook rates it as an "R+3" seat  less red than the area Lamb won in March.

Read more: Long-distance donors flood Tuesday's Pennsylvania primaries with cash

A tough House race in Nebraska

Two Democrats vie Tuesday for the nomination in Nebraska's 2nd District. The winner will face unopposed GOP Rep. Don Bacon in a race nonpartisan handicappers consider a toss-up.

Moderate former Rep. Brad Ashford, who lost to Bacon by 1 percentage point in 2016, aims to win back his seat. He faces nonprofit executive Kara Eastman, who is running to his left.

Trump tries to boost an early ally in PA Senate race

GOP Rep. Lou Barletta, an early Trump supporter who endorsed the president in March 2016, aims to win Pennsylvania's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday. The congressman, who has pushed to crack down on immigration since serving as mayor of Hazleton more than a decade ago, has tried to channel Trump to capture the president's success in the swing state.

Trump aimed to give Barletta a late boost, recording a robocall that went out to Pennsylvania voters on Saturday and Monday. Barletta will face state Rep. Jim Christiana in Tuesday's primary.

The Republican winner will face Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who runs unopposed Tuesday. Casey is one of 10 Senate Democrats running in states Trump won in 2016.

Still, he has clobbered Barletta in fundraising. Pennsylvania is also more purple than red: President Barack Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012.

Read more: Trump aims to help an early ally take down a well-funded Senate Democrat in swing state Pennsylvania

House seats in Oregon and Idaho appear safe

Nonpartisan handicappers rate every congressional seat in Oregon and Idaho as safe for either Democrats or Republicans. Only one district, Idaho's 1st, will not feature an incumbent running.

GOP Rep. Raul Labrador chose to run for governor of Idaho instead. A crowded field competes for the GOP nomination, and the winner is all but assured to win the congressional seat in November.

Leading candidates include former state Sen. Russ Fulcher and former Idaho Lt. Gov. and Attorney General Dave Leroy.

Labrador competes in a field of several candidates seeking the GOP nomination for governor on Tuesday.





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PALO ALTO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2018 / Today CarSmartt, (OTC PINK: CRSM), President Roy Capasso, is pleased to announce the Mining Boys, Inc. facility in Georgia has completed its first phase of the expansion of its electrical capacity. It has completed the installation of 12 electrical panels with approximately 200 Amps. This will allow the Company to host approximately 300 Miners and he reports the second phase of the Electrical work has begun with the installation of a new transformer with the capacity of 1,500 KVA to be supplied by the local electrical company. This will provide an additional 4000 Amps to host approximately 500 additional Servers.

Mr. Capasso is pleased to report the continued growth in revenue from Mining Boys Inc. retail operations. He reports that from May 1 to May 14, 2018 Gross Revenue is $39,791 and he reports a net profit of $18,158.

About CarSmartt

CarSmartt Inc. is a startup company of the revolutionary APP.CARSMARTT.COM a ride sharing concept located in Palo Alto CA. (Silicon Valley), at CarSmartt we aim to make long distance traveling safer and more affordable, while connecting with people along the way. CarSmartt members can choose to share a ride or ship a package with the option of applying insurance coverage. All CarSmartt drivers are subject to a background check to reassure the safety of passengers. CarSmartt is currently now active in the USA, Italy, Mexico and Colombia. However, our company will soon continue to expand to Europe, Canada and Latin America.

About: Mining Boys, Inc.

Mining boys, Inc. is the first retail store of Mining servers in USA, a Florida corporation with its retail location at 531 Jefferson Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, 33140, http://www.miningboys.com. Mining boys retail operations sell, own and host bitcoin mining servers. The Company has both retail and its own mining severs and receives profit from its retail sales and recurring revenue from its hosting facility in Georgia. POSoBIT is owned by Mining Boys, Inc.

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CONTACT

CarSmartt

228 Hamilton Ave.

Palo Alto, CA 94301

Website: http://www.carsmartt.com

Phone: 650-460-7416

Email: ir@carsmartt.com

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

Statements in this press release that are not historical fact may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Although CARSMARTT, Inc. believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, CARSMARTT, Inc. is unable to give any assurance that its expectations will be attained. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the company's ability to meet the conditions necessary to, among other matters, obtain a public listing on a major national exchange.

SOURCE: CarSmartt, Inc.
An investor checks stock information on a mobile phone at a brokerage house in Shanghai, China, March 7, 2016. REUTERS//Files

By Henning Gloystein and Meng Meng

SINGAPORE/BEIJING (Reuters) - A U.S. decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran is supporting China's newly established crude oil futures, and may spur efforts to start trading oil in yuan rather than dollars, traders and analysts said.

Since launching in March, Shanghai crude oil futures have seen a steady pick-up in daily trading, while open interest - the number of outstanding longer-term positions and a gauge of institutional interest - has also surged.

Traded daily volumes hit a record 250,000 lots last Wednesday, more than double the day before, spurred by news of the Iran sanctions.

The jump helped the front-month Shanghai futures contract account for 12 percent of the global oil market last week, up from just 8 percent in week one.

"The contract is thundering into action," said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia/Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.

The world's biggest importer of crude oil, China hopes the Shanghai contract will eventually rival international benchmarks Brent and benchmark WTI.

The ascent of Shanghai crude is aided by China's voracious demand for oil, with imports hitting a record in April of 9.6 million barrels per day.

China is also the biggest buyer of Iranian crude oil, and the recent boost in trading volume at least in part flowed from the sanctions decision, said Barry White, senior vice president for derivatives in Singapore at financial services firm INTL FCStone.

"The sanctions... can potentially accelerate this process of establishing a 3rd (oil) benchmark," White said.

China took almost a quarter of Iran's exports in 2017, meeting around 8 percent of its import needs, leaving both sides exposed to the impact of U.S. sanctions.

Anticipating shortages, speculators helped push the Shanghai contract to a dollar-converted record high of around $75.40 per barrel last week, outpacing gains on rival benchmarks, while Chinese refiners hedged their facilities against increased feedstock prices.

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"Chinese refiners are worried as costs of purchasing crude rise... and showed a strong interest in using Shanghai Crude for hedging in the wake of the sanctions," said Zhang Huiyao, deputy head of crude with Huatai Futures.

YUAN TRADING

Beijing also wants to establish the yuan in physical oil markets, which would avoid the cost of exchanging dollars and increase the use of the renmimbi in global financial trade.

State-owned refining major Sinopec has already inked a Middle East import deal against Shanghai crude, with plans being developed to sign more such contracts.

Reimposed sanctions on Iran could give China leverage to demand oil imports from the country be priced off Shanghai's crude futures.

"It makes sense for Iran to begin selling oil under contracts denominated in yuan rather than dollars," said OANDA's Innes.

However, Iranian oil is not among the types of Middle East crude deliverable through the Shanghai exchange mechanism.

To price it off Shanghai futures, traders would have to agree to transact Iranian crude through buying opposite positions in Shanghai futures and then swapping those positions Exchange of Futures for Physical (EFP) contract that would account for the price difference between Iranian oil and the Shanghai futures price.

Traders said China may also not want to push back too hard against Washington.

"I don't think China will be able to use the sanctions as a leverage to price Iranian imports in yuan... It is more likely that China will curb Iranian imports," said Huatai's Zhang.

"They (China) will grumble and accept it," added Fereidun Fesharaki, founder and chairman of energy consultancy FGE.

"There is no one who will realistically choose Iran over the United States."

(Reporting by Henning Gloystein in SINGAPORE and Meng Meng in BEIJING; Writing by Henning Gloystein; editing by Richard Pullin)
Didi Chuxing is allowed to test autonomous vehicles in California as of May 10, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles' website.

The big ambitions of tech giants to launch driverless cars are being tested by high-profile crashes involving the vehicles.

Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing has been given a permit to test self-driving cars in California .

The company is allowed to test autonomous vehicles in the state as of May 10, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles' website .

Didi was not immediately available for comment when contacted by CNBC.

Didi, which bought out Uber's Chinese unit in 2016, is one of a number of Chinese firms looking to gain an edge over Silicon Valley tech giants.

Internet firm Baidu BIDU obtained its own permit to test driverless cars in California in 2016. It also established a research center in San Francisco to boost its artificial intelligence efforts.

Alibaba BABA and Tencent 700-HK have also been reported to have their own plans to test autonomous cars.

But the big ambitions of tech giants to launch driverless cars are being tested by high-profile crashes involving the vehicles.

Uber's self-driving tests were suspended earlier this year following a deadly crash in Arizona involving an autonomous vehicle and a pedestrian.

Controversy has also faced electric automaker Tesla TSLA following a number of crashes involving its self-driving cars. Last week, two teenagers were killed and a third injured after a crash involving one of Tesla's Model S cars in Florida.

Didi expanding beyond China

Didi has been expanding around the world mostly through investing in and partnering with competitors.

The taxi firm acquired control of Brazilian taxi start-up 99 Taxi earlier this year, and has teamed up with other upstarts including Tallinn, Estonia-based Taxify and Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Careem .

Didi made its first direct expansion outside of China into Mexico last month. It is reportedly holding talks about a listing that could help it reach a valuation of between $70 billion and $80 billion.





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Heres a look at some of the companies the Yahoo Finance team will be watching for you.

Netflix (NFLX) tops our list. A Piper Jaffray survey found Netflix could raise prices to $15 or more and still keep roughly two thirds of its subscribers. The firm conducted the same survey in 2016 and the percentage was less  suggesting Netflix has added more content that consumers value.

Flying coast to coast on Alaska Airlines (ALK) is about to get a little harder. The airline is axing its New York base in September. The move comes as the nations fifth-largest airline relocates pilots and planes to strengthen its West Coast fleet. Right now, Alaska operates five flights a day from JFK to both LAX and San Francisco. Come September, it will be cut to just one or two flights.

Gap (GPS) is under fire, again. This time, the retailer is apologizing for selling T-shirts with an erroneous map of China that didnt include Taiwan. Beijing has long regarded Taiwan as Chinese territory.

Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) is in hot water. Court documents claim employees knew the auto company was cheating on emissions tests and concealed it from regulators, according to the Wall Street Journal. Internal emails allegedly cite workers talking about the use of defeat devices, tech used to manipulate emissions readings. Fiat says it will continue defending claims against it.

Uber says it will no longer force passengers to use arbitration to resolve claims they were sexually assaulted or harassed by drivers. Under new terms, the ride hailing giant will allow riders, drivers, and employees to choose the venue in which they want to pursue their claims.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany acknowledged it could be hard to protect companies doing business with Iran as a senior U.S. official renewed a threat of sanctions against European firms following Washington's decision to pull out of a nuclear deal with Tehran.

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said Germany viewed President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the nuclear pact as wrong, adding that Berlin hopes Washington can still be persuaded not to punish foreign firms doing business there.

Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, however, that it could be difficult to protect European firms from any fallout from the U.S. decision.

"I do not see a simple solution to shield companies from all risks of American sanctions," Maas told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

Altmaier said there was a deadline of up to 90 days for foreign firms to comply with U.S. sanctions or face penalties.

"In this time, we'll use all possibilities to persuade the U.S. government to change its behaviour," he told ZDF television.

"That can be achieved through talks and by explaining that everybody will be losing in the end if we are running into a worldwide escalation of unilateral measures," Altmaier added.

Trump's decision on Tuesday to renege on the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran and reimpose sanctions against Tehran came with the threat of penalties against any foreign firms involved in business there.

White House National Security adviser John Bolton refreshed the threat on Sunday, saying U.S. sanctions could be imposed on European companies doing business with Iran.

"It's possible. It depends on the conduct of other governments," Bolton said on CNN's "State of the Union."

A German Economy Ministry spokesman said the government had noted Bolton's comments.

Since the easing of sanctions against Iran in early 2016, German exports to the country have jumped by more than 40 percent, with machinery and vehicles high in demand.

Germany - along with France and Britain - has said it remains committed to the nuclear deal. The foreign ministers of the three European powers will meet their Iranian counterpart in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss a way forward.

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"The talks with the Europeans, Iran and the other signatories to the agreement are therefore also about how it can be possible to continue trade with Iran," Maas said.

Maas said the Europeans wanted to wanted to ensure that Iran would continue to abide by the rules and restrictions of the nuclear agreement.

"After all, Iran is ready to talk. It's clear that there should also be economic incentives - that will not be easy after the U.S. decision," Maas said.

The minister echoed calls from Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders that Iran should agree to a broader deal that went beyond the original accord and included Iran's "problematic role in the region".

The Trump administration portrayed its rejection of the nuclear agreement as a response, in part, to Tehran's interventions in the Middle East, underpinning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's tough line towards Iran.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Angus MacSwan and Giles Elgood)
Southern food, soul food, and barbecue are popping up in more and more restaurants across the country, but many of the people who are bringing this food to fancy restaurants look, unsurprisingly, very little like its original creators. Everyones attracted to our seasonings, our food, but they want to flip it, without understanding where we come from, said chef Michael Twitty, speaking at the Brownsville Community Culinary Center last week. People love the cooking of black and brown folk. They love it more than they love us, thats the problem.

Twitty, an Antebellum chef, food writer and culinary historian, has described himself as four times blessed... large of body, gay, African American and Jewish, He burst into the national spotlight in 2013, when Paula Deen admitted to using the n-word after being sued for sexual and racial harassment. Twitty posted an open letter to her on his blog, Afroculinaria, where he wrote that her real transgression was not recognizing that the Southern food you have been crowned the queen of was made into an art largely in the hands of enslaved cooks, some like the ones who prepared food on your ancestors Georgia plantation.

The letter went viral, and literary agents took note of his project, The Cooking Gene, which was published as a book last August. A few weeks ago, Twitty won the James Beard Awards (known as the Oscars of the food world) for best writing and Book of the Year. He is the first African-American to win the Book of the Year.

At the Brownsville Community Culinary Center, fresh off his historic wins, he spoke with a handful of black and Latino students about why they should take pride in their own history, and use it as a way to rise up in the culinary world. One of the biggest things that our European American colleagues have to their advantage is that theres this whole concept of branding and marketing. To us, we are communal we are not individualistic, so its very hard for us to talk about us as individuals. But you look at any chefs on TV, any chefs on the Food Network, and chefs that make money, what do they do? They tell you: My story is, and they have a set narrative.

The BCCC was created to help give people in the community skills to succeed in the culinary world, providing a 40 week training program in all aspects of restaurant work. It is also one of the first sit down, full service restaurants to open in Brownsville in 50 years. Michael Twitty was the first in a cohort of guest speakers at the center.

With the chefs behind the Brownsville Community Culinary Center #TheCookingGene dinner. My Trini sistah Pastry Chef Susan and my Jamaican sistah Executive Chef Charlene! pic.twitter.com/13isu8X8gZ  Michael W. Twitty (@KosherSoul) May 11, 2018

Nicole Taylor, the author of The Up South Cookbook: Chasing Dixie in a Brooklyn Kitchen and Director of Special Projects at BCCC, said that having Twitty there, speaking to the participants, was a way to show them that there is a path forward for them in the food world. These participants have a lot stacked against them, said Taylor. Being from Brownsville, having children, having a GED or not even having a GED, makes it hard to compete in an industry that is young and white.

Despite focusing his work on the Antebellum south, Twitty is no stranger to New York. Years ago, he held cooking demonstrations at the Union Square Greenmarket, and he has gone to the Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters center at 770 Eastern Parkway to pray. "I felt very welcome, once people got over it," Twitty recalled. "I dont know if I would feel the same way today."

That tension, of having your culture embraced but your identity questioned, is something Twitty has been dealing with his entire life. He used to teach hebrew classes to teenagers in the wealthy Maryland suburbs of DC. He heard comments from his students that Trayvon Martin was a druggie, that he didnt contribute anything in taxes, but they had no problem asking for all the latest hits at their Bar and Bat Mitzvah.

Its a tension that is prominent in the food world, especially in New York. Just look at what happened to the Bronxs beloved chopped cheese. People are obsessed with fried chicken and waffles, innards, chitlins, black food from all over the world...A lot of times, you see people who dont look like them, making that food, building empires, getting book deals, racking up awards, said Taylor.

But Twittys talk resonated with the participants at the BCCC. Joshua Sherron was born and raised in Brooklyn. His grandmother owned a beauty shop for decades, and his grandfather was a pastor in Brooklyn. Sherron wants to build up a catering business after finishing at BCCC. Food is not just food, it's culture, it's telling a story...you can always tell someone your journey.

Karim Ramsey, who came from Antigua and now lives in a shelter in Brownsville, had worked as a dishwasher for three years before joining the program. Now, his dream is to open a West Indian restaurant with vegan options. I feel I have the crowd, and more people now are getting into our type of food, so it has a big market for it.

The first time I went to BCCC, I met Naomi Beard. Her newfound culinary training has helped her cook for her mom, who has diabetes, and put healthy food on the table for her kids. Before coming to BCCC, she went to cosmetology school. Her goal, after the program, is to open her own beauty supply store and hair salon, with a restaurant next door. You know a lot of people sit down, get their hair done for hours, theyre hungry," she said. "I always think bigger than what people say of me."



The Brownsville Community Culinary Center is located at 69 Belmont Ave, open 7am-3pm Monday through Friday. Time Out New York gave them four stars and said The corn bread is easily in the running for best in the city.




The niece of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. responded to the feud between Reps. Mike Kelly and Maxine Waters, saying the skin color argument will only set America back.

Instead of calling us to get along as brothers and sisters, Congressman Waters is honestly playing the race card again, King, a former Georgia state legislator, told Neil Cavuto during a FOX Business interview on Monday. Skin color does not make the person.

Waters, D-Calif., and Kelly, R-Pa., clashed in a heated House of Representatives floor exchange during a debate last week over the auto industrys perceived racism when it comes to lending.

Stop talking about discrimination and start talking more about the nation, Kelly said. We're coming together as a people in spite of what you say.

Waters responded, saying she was "offended as an African-American woman by what the Pennsylvania lawmaker said.

And this business about making America great again: It is your president thats dividing this country," Waters said, referring to President Donald Trump.

King said her uncle understood 50 years ago that living together as brothers and sisters is the best way to get past the skin color argument and advance as one community.

Our blood is red, she said on the Cavuto: Coast-to-Coast program. We are made of one blood. God made all people to live together on the face of the earth.

King said she sides with Kelly when he said that skin color is only part of the human condition.

Congressman Waters is on the wrong frequency, she said.

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RLI Corp. (RLI) reported earnings 30 days ago. What's next for the stock? We take a look at earnings estimates for some clues.

The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a smaller-than-expected increase in natural gas supplies. The bullish report boosted the fuels price, which added around 3.5% for the week.

About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report  brought out by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002  includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities or events.

The report provides an overview of the level of reserves and their movements, thereby helping investors understand the demand/supply dynamics of natural gas. It is an indicator of current gas prices and volatility that affect businesses of natural gas-weighted companies and related support plays.

Analysis of the Data: A Smaller-than-Expected Rise in Storage

Stockpiles held in underground storage in the lower 48 states rose by 89 billion cubic feet (Bcf) for the week ended May 4, below the guidance (of 92 Bcf gain) as per the analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts, a leading independent commodities and energy data provider.

While the second injection of the 2018 refill season was higher than both last years build of 49 Bcf and the 5-year (20132017) average addition of 75 Bcf for the reported week, the current storage remains well below benchmarks. At 1.432 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)  natural gas inventories are 520 Bcf (26.6%) under the five-year average and 863 Bcf (37.6%) below the year-ago figure.

Following EIAs latest commentary, natural gas prices gained around 3.5% last week to settle at $2.806 per MMBtu on Friday.

Fundamentally speaking, total supply of natural gas averaged around 85.9 Bcf per day, essentially flat on a weekly basis due to steady production.

Meanwhile, daily natural gas consumption fell 4.3% to 55.3 Bcf. The decrease in demand was triggered by a 36.9% plunge in residential/commercial consumption due to warmer weather, partly offset by higher natural gas usage for power generation.

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Positive Long-Term Thesis

The fundamentals of natural gas continue to be favorable in the long run, considering the secular shift to the cleaner burning fuel for power generation globally and in the Asia-Pacific region in particular.

The EIA predicts global demand for the commodity to grow from 340 Bcf per day in 2015 to 485 Bcf per day by 2040. Countries in Asia and in the Middle East  led by Chinas transition away from coal  will account for most of this increase.

And it will be the worlds largest gas producer U.S., which will step up to meet this soaring demand. With domestic prices struggling to break the $3 per million Btu threshold, U.S. natural gas companies see a big opportunity in selling cheap U.S. production at higher prices to rest of the world. In fact, more than 50% of the domestic volume growth in the near future will be used for export in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG). As per Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA), the United States will vie with Australia and Qatar as the top LNG exporter by 2022.

Apart from the growing use of LNG and booming exports, the replacement of coal-fired power plants and higher consumption from industrial projects will likely ensure strong natural gas demand with price eventually settling well above $3.

The perceived price strength augurs well for natural gas-heavy upstream companies like Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. COG, Chesapeake Energy Cor. CHK, Southwestern Energy Co. SWN, WPX Energy, Inc. WPX, Antero Resources Corp. AR and EQT Corp. EQT.

Want to Own a Natural Gas Stock Now?

If you are looking for a near term natural gas play, Comstock Resources, Inc. CRK may be a good selection. This company has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Comstock Resources is an independent energy exploration and production company engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of oil and gas properties. Natural gas output constitutes 95% of its total production. It has a 100% track of outperforming estimates over the last four quarters at an average rate of 48.32%.

5 Medical Stocks to Buy Now

Zacks names 5 companies poised to ride a medical breakthrough that is targeting cures for leukemia, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and other conditions.

New products in this field are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous treatments are in the pipeline. Early investors could realize exceptional profits.

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Asbury Automotive (ABG) shares have started gaining and might continue moving higher in the near term, as indicated by solid earnings estimate revisions.

Shares of Nvidia NVDA have dipped slightly since the GPU power reported yet another quarter of impressive top and bottom line growth last week. Now the question is will Nvidia continue to expand at its current pace, or are its days of rapid growth numbered.

Q1

Nvidia posted adjusted first quarter earnings of $2.05 per share, which crushed our Zacks Consensus Estimate and marked a 141% surge from the year-ago period. The Santa Clara, California-based companys Q1 revenues soared 66% to $3.21 billion. This also topped our Zacks consensus estimate.

Investors were also likely pleased to see that Nvidias highly important Gaming revenues skyrocketed 68% to $1.72 billion. It is this outsized top and bottom line expansion that has helped shares of Nvidia skyrocket over 101% during the last year.

Nvidias main GPU business has helped fuel the companys overall growth. And GPUs will become even more important as high-resolution gaming expands. But aside from the transition to 4K likely benefiting Nvidia down the road, the company also looks poised to become a major player in everything from artificial intelligence to self-driving vehicles.

Another key growth area, the companys Datacenter unit, saw its revenues climb by 71% in the first quarter. Our datacenter business achieved another record and gaming remained strong, CEO Jensen Huang said in a company statement.

At the heart of our opportunity is the incredible growth of computing demand of AI, just as traditional computing has slowed. The GPU computing approach we have pioneered is ideal for filling this vacuum.

Looking Ahead

With all that said, investors must assess Nvidias future growth prospects in order to make a more informed decision about its stock.

Nvidia expects to report second quarter revenue of $3.10 billion, plus or minus 2%. Nvidias midpoint top line outlook comes in above our current consensus estimate that calls for Q2 revenue of $2.97 billion.

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On its face this revenue estimate doesnt provide much information at all, so lets dive a bit deeper. If Nvidia reports Q2 revenues of $3.10 billion it would mark a 39% surge from the prior-year period.

Investors will also want to understand how some of Nvidias key business units are expected to perform. Luckily, we can turn to our exclusive non-financial metrics consensus estimate file to prepare. The Zacks Consensus NFM file contains detailed estimate data for business segment metrics and non-financial metrics reported by companies.

Based on our latest consensus estimates, Nvidias GPU revenues are expected to hit $2.76 billion in the second quarter, which would mark a roughly 46% climb from $1.89 billion. Meanwhile, the companys Datacenter business is projected to surge 85% from $416 million to reach $771.1 million.

Furthermore, Nvidias Automotive business is expected to reach $152.25 million. This would mark just a 7% expansion from the $142 million the company reported in the second quarter last year. But investors should remember that the self-driving and connected vehicle age has barely begun.

Bottom Line

Investors can clearly see that Nvidias growth isnt expected to slow down, based on these second quarter estimates. They should also be pleased to note that Nvidia is projected to see its earnings climb by over 67% in the second quarter and nearly 45% in the current full-year.

Furthermore, while Nvidia waits for some up-and-coming industries to become more viable and popular, its vital Gaming unit is projected to surge nearly 50% to touch $1.77 billion in the second quarter.

5 Medical Stocks to Buy Now



Zacks names 5 companies poised to ride a medical breakthrough that is targeting cures for leukemia, AIDS, muscular dystrophy, hemophilia, and other conditions.



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Zacks Investment Research
A nasty remark about Senator John McCain leaked from the White House last Thursday, a controversy which is sure to spill over into this week.

McCain, who is home in Arizona battling a lethal form of brain cancer, broke with the GOP and tweeted his lack of support for President Trumps CIA director nominee Gina Haspel for her role in overseeing the use of tortureand her refusal to acknowledge tortures immorality.

White House special assistant Kelly Sadler waved off his dissent in a private meeting with the White House communications team. [I]t doesnt matter, hes dying anyway, she reportedly said.

While utterly callous, her remark accidentally shines a light on the reality of McCains situation: Yes, hes dying. But that means everything matters even more, including the way hes choosing to live now.

I interviewed Senator McCain for one of my first stories at Fortune, a straightforward package about how powerful people organize their time called How I Work. It was 2006, and I had just talked my way into a staff writer position from our sister publication, Money. At the time, it felt like being called up to the majors.

I wasnt known for my political coverage nor had any currency inside the Beltway, but he took the meeting anyway. He was gracious, funny and kind. He even referenced my personal finance stories, which included such riveting fare as How To Choose a Long-Term Care Policy and Americas Best Corporate Benefits. He said it was all important stuff, and I believe he meant it.

Although we did talk about how he set priorities, interacted with constituents, and led his staff, we also talked about how he found purpose in the work, his version of important stuff.

He teared up several times recalling how much he loved working with Mark Salter, his long-time writing partner and chief of staff, and I believe he meant that too.

I gave a speech on the floor of the Senate to wrap up the debate on the torture amendment, he said. It was the only time when there was total silence on the floor of the Senate. We wrote that together.

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But for a country thats already squeamish about death and dying, with a health care system that often does a poor job providing effective care for dying people and their families, McCains candor is an opportunity to address some of these issues head-on.

Heres just one example, relevant to this audience: Racial disparities in end-of-life care abound.

One recent study reviewed two decades of Medicare data and found that black and Hispanic lung cancer patients experienced considerable racial-ethnic disparities in end-of-life care quality, which included delayed referrals to hospice and fewer resources for families struggling to make complex medical decisions.

But on an individual level, McCains willingness to stay engaged, which includes publicly processing some key regrets, is a more immediate lesson.

The nomination of Gina Haspel is actually giving McCain a chance to address publicly the most well-known story about his life aside from his presidential runs, says Betsy Trapasso, an end-of-life guide and advocate. Not many dying people get a chance to play out their lifes story in such a public arena. Its also a function beyond legacy, she says. This is about coming to peace with the things that have happened, the decisions that youve made, and clearing the way to be present with the people you love.

McCain has always been a feisty and complicated political figure, and there is much in his record to debate, admire, or revile, depending on your point of view. Regardless, I expect Sadler will continue to take well-deserved political heat for her quip, as will the White House, which has not yet disavowed it.

But looking back on our interview, I found the blueprint for a sanguine end already in place, particularly if youre willing to carefully define success.

It was long after his 2000 presidential campaign had been robo-called out of existence by a harbinger of racist trolls yet to come. (And a tactic he would, ironically, soon embrace himself.)

I asked McCain about that loss, which led to a conversation about his legendary temper. You lose battles in politics. I do get good and angry, he laughed. He said he wallowed in self-pity for awhile then snapped out of it.

The people you represent dont want you this way. Youre still their Senator. And besides, America doesnt like sore losers, he said. I also dont hold grudges. Its a waste of time. Whats the point? Frankly, the sweetest revenge is success.

On Point

Powerful women unite to advocate for change at Cannes Eighty-two women collaborated on the protest, the same number of women directors who have been accepted at the famed film festival since its inception, as compared to 1,866 male directors. The protest was led by Kristen Stewart and Ava DuVernay, and included Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux, and Salma Hayek. All marched silently on the red carpet, then stood with linked arms on the steps of the festivals main theater. Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of the industry says otherwise, actor Cate Blanchett said in prepared remarks. Agnes Varda, the legendary French film director said, The stairs of our industry must be accessible to all. Lets climb.The protest was organized by 50502020, a French cinema gender equality movement. Variety

Benedict Cumberbatch will now demand equal pay for female co-stars which makes him the best Avenger He also suggests that other actors do the same. Look at your quotas. Ask what women are being paid, and say: If shes not paid the same as the men, Im not doing it, he told Radio Times. He will also be adding more female-driven fare to the line-up for his new production company, SunnyMarch. Im proud that [partner] Adam [Ackland] and I are the only men in our production company, he said, making it all look like magic. Radio Times

A community development philanthropy favored by Silicon Valley elite comes under fire The Silicon Valley Community Foundation manages assets worth more than $13 billion, making it one of the most powerful philanthropies in the U.S. Mark Zuckerberg has donated stock worth nearly $2 billion, other donors include Netflix chief Reed Hastings and Twitters own Jack Dorsey. But the organizations top fundraiser, Mari Ellen Loijens has become the target of serious allegations of bullying and demeaning employees and using sexually and racially charged language. The foundations chief executive, the once-ascendant Emmett Carson, is negotiating his exit, the head of human resources has resigned and the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner is conducting an investigation. New York Times

The white woman who called the police on a black fellow student has done it before A second black Yale student has come forward to say that the same grad student who had called the police on Lolade Siyonbola for napping in a common room had called the police on him. The incident happened in February, after Reneson Jean-Louis, a masters degree student at Yales Divinity School, entered the dorm for an appointment with Siyonbola, but got lost heading to the meeting room. After a confrontational back-and-forth, Sarah Braasch called the campus police. Jean-Louis complained about the encounter to Yale last winter and was initially satisfied with their response. But after another incident with Braasch, he wants more accountability. This is an issue that, institutionally, Yales not prepared for, he said. CNN

The Woke Leader

Why doesnt anyone remember the MOVE bombing? Sunday was the thirty-third anniversary of the day that Philadelphia police dropped a bomb from a helicopter into a residential neighborhood, killing 11 people, including five children. The victims were part of a small but radical organization called MOVE, a fringe group with passionate ideas, but who didnt fit neatly with other black power ideologies at the time. NPRs Gene Demby, who grew up about 20 minutes away from the site, did a deep dive into the cataclysmic incident in 2015, only to discover that it wasnt more widely known. In addition to being one of the most extraordinary examples of conflict between the police and black communities, the bombing leveled a neighborhood full of middle-class homeowners and is largely abandoned today. It was partly the time, he thinks. The MOVE story faded into relative obscurity partly because no one connects with their cause today, he says, and largely because the mechanisms to preserve the story werent in place yet. NPR

How to be a manager when the world has gone crazy Consider this helpful advice from Lara Hogan, a consultant and former VP of engineering for Kickstarter, called Managering In Terrible Times. She outlines some small behaviors that leaders can embrace to make people from marginalized communities feel safe, even as terrifying events unfold on the news. Clarity is key, but so is respect. Give people freedom to either talk about whats on their minds, or politely pass. Remember: marginalized folks are repeatedly called on to explain These Terrible Times to others, and this is a way in which well-intentioned people exacerbate the burden on already-oppressed people, she says. Lara Hogan Blog

What does it all mean? Cultural appropriation, microaggression, safe spaces, trigger warnings: Tools of inclusion or politically correct oppression? These concepts are some of the newest additions to a rapidly growing lexicon that people, particularly college students, are using to discuss some of the thornier aspects of living life in an increasingly diverse world. The Washington Post asked student activists to explain the terms in their own words. Washington Post

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U.S. Justice Department headquarters in Washington. Credit: Mike Scarcella / NLJ[/caption] Lawyers for a business entity charged in the special counsel's investigation of Russian interference in the presidential election on Monday derided the alleged crime as "make-believe" and said the prosecution has absolutely nothing to do with probing any coordination between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. The Russian business entity, Concord Management and Consulting LLC, represented by a Washington-area team from Reed Smith, suggested in a court filing that Special Counsel Robert Mueller III had overstepped his authority to investigate any conspiracy between Donald Trump's campaign and Russian actors who meddled in the presidential race. Concord Management and other Russian entities and individuals were charged in February in Washington federal district court for alleged roles in "sowing discord" in the presidential campaign. Mueller's team alleged Concord Management funded the Internet Research Agency, a Russian outfit also charged in the indictment. Prosecutors in charging documents identified the Internet Research Agency as the "organization." The reason for bringing the case, Reed Smith partners Eric Dubelier and Katherine Seikaly said in a court filing Monday, is obvious, and is political: to justify his own existence the Special Counsel has to indict a Russianany Russian. The two lawyers describe Muellers case as based on allegations that Concord Management engaged in the make-believe crime of conspiring to interfere in a United States election. A spokesman for Mueller's office declined to comment. Concord Management's attorneys asked U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich to review the legal instructions prosecutors provided to the grand jury that charged the Internet Research Agency, Concord Management and other Russian entities and individuals. "With that information, the court can determine whether those instructions could support a motion to dismiss the facially invalid count one of the indictment," the defense lawyers said. Concord Management's attorneys said in their new filing: "Count one of the Indictment is devoid of any specificity about what any officer or employee of Concord actually did other than to generally allege that Concord funded an 'organization' that the special counsel imagined and created. It is not clear whether the Indictment alleges that Concord was part of the 'organization.'" The Reed Smith lawyers' court filing on Monday, mirroring others they've filed in recent weeks, said the charges against Concord "have a strong odor of hypocrisy" based on the contention the U.S. itself has interfered in foreign elections. In April, Dubelier and Seikaly asked the special counsels office to produce an account of each and every instance since 1945 in which the U.S. government engaged in operations to interfere with another countrys elections and political processes. "The instant Indictment fails to allege that the defendant knew it was acting unlawfully and that it intended to violate the underlying regulatory offenses," Concord Management's lawyers wrote in the court filing (posted below). "The risk here is acute, that is, a foreign corporation with no presence in the United States is indicted in an unprecedented case of a type never before brought by the DOJ for conspiring to defraud the United States purportedly by not complying with certain regulatory requirements that are unknown even to most Americans." [falcon-embed src="embed_1"] Dubelier and Seikaly are so far the only defense lawyers who have made appearances in the special counsels case against the 16 Russian defendants. Since entering their appearances on April 11, the two have taken an aggressive approach, successfully resisting the special counsels push to delay an arraignment hearing amid questions of whether Concord Management had been properly put on notice about the criminal case. At a hearing last week, Dubelier entered a not guilty plea for Concord Management. A Mueller prosecutor, Jeannie Rhee, revealed that Reed Smith had filed papers at the U.S. Treasury Department suggesting the firm was representing not only Concord Management but another firm charged by the special counsels office: Concord Catering. In court, Dubelier said he was appearing only on behalf of Concord Management. The firm has declined to comment about its relationship with the two entities. Read more:Reed Smith's Russia Work in Mueller Case Gets Closeup in CourtReed Smith Team Puts Early Squeeze on Mueller Prosecutors in Russia CaseMueller's Team Charges Russian Nationals in US Election InterferenceWhat New Russia Trade Sanctions Mean for US Companies and Investors
This time last year, Governor Andrew Cuomo opposed the idea of legalizing marijuana, calling it a gateway drug. In December, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was proud to be out of step with the majority of Democrats and New Yorkers who support legalization. In the meantime, another 18,000 New Yorkers, most of them Black and Latino, would be arrested for low-level possession of a plant that has been decriminalized in the state since 1977. Now, after a flurry of action from public officials, the Empire States policy of prohibition may be crumbling.

Gothamist's Christopher Robbins spoke about the sudden spate of marijuana-related announcements to David Furst on WNYC's All Things Consideredlisten below:



Less than 48 hours after The New York Times published an investigation on the racial disparities of marijuana arrests on Sunday: Governor Cuomo announced that his commission to study marijuana legalization would release their report on legalization in days, months ahead of their deadline; the district attorneys in Manhattan and Brooklyn are weighing whether to stop prosecuting the vast majority of marijuana arrests altogether; and Comptroller Scott Stringer released a report showing that legalization could net the city and state a combined $771 million in tax revenue.

On Tuesday, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Al Sharpton met at City Hall to demand an end to the racial disparities of marijuana arrests, and to call for marijuana legalization.

And a few hours after that, in Washington, D.C., Mayor de Blasio told the audience at a conference that he was announcing that the NYPD will overhaul and reform its policies related to marijuana enforcement in the next 30 days. We must and we will end unnecessary arrests and disparity in enforcement.

I think this is a combination of quite a few factors, but first and foremost, just the fact that New Yorkers dont accept the ongoing racially biased enforcement of marijuana prohibition, Melissa Moore, the deputy state director for the Drug Policy Alliance in New York, told Gothamist.

Jeffrey Fagan, a law professor at Columbia University, who specializes in police accountability and criminal law, agreed.

"I think the fact of the racial disparity, its been reaffirmed repeatedly for the last few years. And its finally taking root," Fagan said. "Perhaps because there's a broader public consciousness in racial disparities in criminal justice, perhaps because more people are willing to accept marijuana as a legal substance."

Earlier this month, a poll showed that 63 percent of New York voters supported legalizing marijuana.

I feel like theres been this momentum building for the last couple of months as states surrounding New York have announced their plans to legalize, or have started to legalize, said Manhattan State Senator Liz Krueger, who is co-sponsoring the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act in Albany.

Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Canada, who we share a border withthe entire country is going to legalize marijuana this July. So I really do feel the momentum is here, Senator Krueger said, while acknowledging that Governor Cuomos most prominent opponent in the Democratic primary may also have something to do with the speed of the executive branchs change of heart.

I do think that the Nixon Effect is real on any number of issues, but its also true that the Governor spoke about legalized marijuana back in January.



From the NYC Cannabis Parade earlier this month. (Courtesy Scott Lynch)

While petty marijuana arrests have declined under de Blasio, their stark racial disparities have persisted through the mayors first term and into his second: 86 percent of those arrested for possession were Black or Latino, despite the fact that they represent just 55 percent of the citys population.

The mayor and his police commissioner, James ONeill, have denied that the arrests are based on racism, and point to heat maps showing instances of 311 and 911 complaints of marijuana smoking to justify them.

A WNYC story from last month and the Times' story on Sunday undercut their defense that officers are merely responding to complaints by showing that in precincts where marijuana complaints were the same, the NYPD made more arrests in neighborhoods with more people of color.

At a City Council hearing on Monday, Commissioner ONeill continued to deny that the arrest policy was based on racism, but he admitted that a problem existed.

There is a disparity and were trying to find what that disparity is. Were not looking to arrest any people of color that have no nexus to violence, ONeill said. Thirty-six percent of the marijuana arrests in 2017 had no criminal history. Thats not what Im looking for.

In an email, Austin Finan, a spokesperson for Mayor de Blasio, wrote that the "Mayors views on legalization have not changed," and said that a statement from the NYPD on its marijuana reforms would be forthcoming.

For Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. and Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez, that may mean declining to prosecute all but the most serious marijuana offenses. The Times reported on Tuesday that the Gonzalezs office was experimenting for several weeks with declining to prosecute some cases of people who were arrested for smoking in public, while Vances office has begun studying jurisdictions where marijuana is legal.

The majority of people who are arrested on marijuana charges in New York receive an ACD, an Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal, meaning that their charges are dismissed if they stay out of trouble for six months to a year.

Prosecutors dont necessarily even take these crimes seriously, but yet we know that the collateral consequences that the arrest has on people are clearly dramatic, Moore says.

We have this disconnect between whats happening in terms of the effects on peoples lives and the perceived seriousness of whats going on. Its time to bring that into alignment and move past prohibition in such a way that were building up and benefiting out communities instead of continuing to make arrests that impact peoples lives.

The NYPD commissioner has argued that police stops for smoking marijuana in public are an essential tool, because sometimes they lead to the arrests of wanted criminals or those possessing weapons. Fagan the law professor, said "that explanation falls apart when you consider the number of people who are arrested for marijuana with no criminal records."

Moore added, "Theres no public safety argument to be made that could possibly counterbalance the devastating impact those 18,000 arrests have on those peoples lives. Those people will be struggling to find jobs, maintain housing, continue education."

Moore noted that given New Yorks history of racial disparities in arrests, its important that any legalization efforts also include clearing peoples criminal records and reclassifying those currently in the criminal justice system, something addressed by Kreugers legislation, which is sponsored in the Assembly by Crystal Peoples-Stokes.

I think it may be a stretch that the Senate Republicans will vote for this bill before the end of session in a few weeks, but based on conversations with many of my colleagues, Im feeling fairly optimistic about 2019, Senator Krueger said. And the Democrats are feeling quite optimistic about coming back in the majority in January 2019, and I think that it is a much easier lift with a Democratic Senate.

[UPDATE / 4:19 p.m.] In a statement, Manhattan DA Cy Vance Jr. just announced that he would stop prosecuting most marijuana offenses. "Effective August 1st, my Office will decline to prosecute marijuana possession and smoking cases," Vance said. "We are in discussions with the Mayor and Police Commissioner to consider limited exceptions to this policy, the goal of which is to radically reduce the criminal prosecution of these offenses.

Vance says this move is "the culmination of six months of research and policy analysis, including extensive, in-person interviews with law enforcement officials in jurisdictions where marijuana is no longer criminally prosecuted." His office's findings are compiled in this report.

Less than an hour after Vance's announcement, Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez made a similar, if less sweeping announcement:
Dallas Skyline

No country can come close to matching the wealth of America. The United States is so rich, in fact, that each state  plus the District of Columbia  boasts an economy that is larger than that of at least one entire country.

As part of a comprehensive study on the wealth of American states, GOBankingRates analyzed the GDPs of every state in America and Washington, D.C., along with the gross domestic products of nations around the world, to determine which U.S. states are wealthier than whole countries. Once the GDP of every state was determined, values were compared to nations with equal-to-less-than GDP value. Populations of both the state and country were evaluated to see the size difference between the two in comparison to wealth. The data for state GDPs comes from the first quarter of 2017 and is sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Country GDP data was sourced from the World Bank.

Click through to see how your states economy stacks up to the economies of countries around the world.

How Does Your State Measure Up?

California is home to Americas largest economy, followed by Texas, New York, Florida and Illinois. The Golden States GDP is bigger than even that of the mighty United Kingdom. Additionally, California is richer than several countries combined, including Indonesia, Israel and South Korea. Texas trumps Canada, New York tops South Korea, and Florida and Illinois beat out Indonesia and the Netherlands, respectively.

You can use this information to see how your state compares to a country with a similar economy. You might find your state is much richer than even one of the worlds wealthier countries. On the other hand, you might learn your state barely edges out a remote developing country. No matter where you live, however, your states economy creates a GDP that is bigger than that of at least one entire nation.

States Richer Than Countries

Related: Countries With the Highest Interest Rates Today

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Even Little States Do Big Business

On the other end of the spectrum is Vermont, which is home to the smallest economy in America. Even so, its big enough to top the GDP of Latvia. The next four smallest GDP states  Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Alaska  are bigger than Vermont geographically, but, not surprisingly, are among the most sparsely populated states. Like Vermont, those states have GDPs that are slightly larger than the economies of mostly Eastern European countries, including Slovenia, Belarus and Croatia, although Jordan also makes the bottom five.

In many cases, American states topped the economies of entire countries, even though those countries have drastically larger populations. New Hampshire, Oregon, Michigan and Florida, for example, beat out countries with nine-figure population advantages. The most dramatic is Indonesia, which has a smaller economy than Florida despite having nearly 240 million more people.

Here is a list of the gross domestic product, expressed in millions, for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the GDP of the corresponding country with an economy most comparable to that state.

State vs. Country GDP State Name State GDP (expressed in millions) Country Country GDP (expressed in millions) Alabama $209,835 Vietnam $205,276 Alaska $52,530 Croatia $50,715 Arizona $311,640 Denmark $306,900 Arkansas $122,647 Kuwait $110,876 California $2,670,788 U.K. $2,647,899 Colorado $332,938 Hong Kong $320,910 Connecticut $267,914 Chile $247,028 Delaware $71,998 Kenya $70,529 District of Columbia $129,638 Hungary $125,817 Florida $955,647 Indonesia $932,259 Georgia $537,264 Poland $471,364 Hawaii $85,205 Sri Lanka $81,322 Idaho $69,458 Guatemala $68,763 Illinois $803,904 Netherlands $777,228 Indiana $349,409 United Arab Emirates $348,743 Iowa $180,758 Iraq $171,489 Kansas $155,204 Qatar $152,453 Kentucky $203,531 Czech Republic $195,305 Louisiana $239,590 Finland $238,503 Maine $60,226 Luxembourg $58,631 Maryland $388,324 Norway $371,076 Massachusetts $519,970 Iran $418,977 Michigan $499,336 Nigeria $404,653 Minnesota $342,856 Egypt $332,791 Mississippi $109,305 Ecuador $98,614 Missouri $306,535 Philippines $304,905 Montana $46,873 Slovenia $44,709 Nebraska $116,545 Morocco $103,606 Nevada $152,736 Kazakhstan $137,278 New Hampshire $79,665 Ethiopia $72,374 New Jersey $592,017 Sweden $514,460 New Mexico $96,742 Sudan $95,584 New York $1,500,994 South Korea $1,411,246 North Carolina $529,649 Belgium $467,956 North Dakota $53,740 Uruguay $52,420 Ohio $643,444 Argentinia $545,476 Oklahoma $188,668 Romania $187,592 Oregon $231,662 Bangladesh $221,415 Pennsylvania $746,248 Switzerland $668,851 Rhode Island $58,884 Costa Rica $57,436 South Carolina $214,383 Vietnam $205,276 South Dakota $48,887 Belarus $47,407 Tennessee $336,664 Israel $317,745 Texas $1,682,888 Canada $1,529,760 Utah $161,541 Algeria $159,049 Vermont $31,767 Latvia $27,573 Virginia $505,925 Thailand $407,026 Washington $482,445 Austria $390,800 West Virginia $76,682 Dominican Republic $71,584 Wisconsin $317,218 Ireland $304,819 Wyoming $39,247 Jordan $38,655

Click to find out the average income in your state to see how you compare.

Methodology: GOBanking Rates analyzed the gross domestic product of U.S. states along with the GDP of countries around the world to determine which states are wealthier than whole countries. Once the GDP of every state was determined, values were compared to nations with equal-to-less-than GDP value. Populations of both state and country were evaluated to see the size difference between the two in comparison to wealth. U.S. state GDP data is from Q1 2017, sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Country GDP data was sourced from the World Bank using the most recent data available, which is 2016.

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: This State Is Richer Than Indonesia, Israel and South Korea Combined
Taiwan Taipei blockchain

The Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank, a private commercial Taiwanese bank, has reportedly launched a blockchain-powered payments system for retail usage, a first in the country.

According to a local report by the Taipei Times, the private-sector bank announced the deployment of the payment system for local restaurants and merchants on Sunday after commencing development of the platform in March 2017. Specifically, the bank is rolling out the blockchain payments system in merchant establishments and eateries near theNational Chengchi University, a national research university based in the countrys capital.

The bank first inked a partnership with the university in March 2017, announcing a joint-project dubbed the Key Technology and Engineering R&D for Blockchain Payment Network. During trials at the universitys own campus, the blockchain payment platform helped transaction volumes among participating merchants selling lunch-time meals to students grow four-fold.

According to a local report, the payments platform runs on the Ethereum blockchain by utilizing the Istanbul Byzantine Fault Tolerance algorithm, enabling it to scale and drastically reduce transaction times and costs.

The bank contends that transaction settlement times take less than a second on the network, underlining the benefits of adopting a blockchain-powered system. Further, merchants will also be able to verify transaction records in real-time with each transaction encrypted and recorded in an immutable distributed ledger, increasing overall efficiency.

The entire project took six months before the bank began integrating the system in October 2017 before going live as a payments platform around the university in recent weeks.

Taipei is also adopting a smart-city initiative with blockchain technology.

While the deployment of the payments platform is relatively limited in its current scope to businesses near the university, the development comes at a time when Taiwans new central bank governor stressed the authority would keep an open mind to new technologies including researching blockchain technology for the countrys payments infrastructure.

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The Bank will also try to explore the feasibility of enhancing the security and efficiency of payments systems using decentralized blockchain technology, incoming governor Yang Chin-long said earlier this year while being sworn in.

Taipei city authorities have already announced their intention to use blockchain technology in order to turn the citys capital into a smart city with a number of applications in areas including healthcare, electric vehicle charging using feeless micropayments, monitoring air quality for pollution levels and more.

Taipei city images from Shutterstock.



The post Taiwan Bank Deploys Ethereum-Based Blockchain Payments System appeared first on CCN.


I started getting emails recently from a new interest group called Americans for Farmers and Families, which publishes information explaining how President Donald Trumps protectionist trade policies could harm the U.S. economy and kill jobs in agriculture. Members of the wholesome-sounding group, which formed in January, include corporate titans such as Walmart, John Deere and Cargill, along with regional agricultural organizations such as the Missouri Dairy Association and the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association. Ive received a dozen emails from the group warning about the dangers of Trumps trade policies in May alone, as hundreds of other journalists undoubtedly have.

This type of pop-up advocacy doesnt exist in China, where President Xi Jinpings Communist Party controls nearly all media and theres little public opposition to government policies. Freedom of expression is a strength of American society, of course. But its a tactical weakness for Trump, at the moment, who faces potent opposition to his America first policies not just from trading partners, but from powerful players within his own country.

Xi Jinping doesnt have the same kind of political constraints Donald Trump faces, with an independent media, civil society, and independently elected national and local officials, says Scott Kennedy, an expert on the Chinese economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. And currently Xi Jinping is riding high. Hes managed to seize control of the political system and appears to be popular among most of industry and the broader population.

Trump can only wish for such monolithic support. With Trump threatening tariffs on as much as $150 billion worth of Chinese imports, a high-level Chinese delegation is in Washington this week to try to work out a deal that averts a trade war. At the same time, the US Trade Representative, a Cabinet-level position, is holding public hearings on one set of tariffs Trump has proposed, which is sure to include American farmers, small-business owners and corporate executives explaining how such tariffsand the prospect of retaliatory tariffs from Chinawould jack up their costs, cut off key markets and threaten their businesses.

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A reversal on ZTE

Opposition to Trumps tariffs from farmers and businesspeople isnt new. But its intensifying, as trade friction casts a pall over financial markets and an economy that is otherwise robust. And Trump may be showing his vulnerability. He recently hinted that hell reverse sanctions on Chinese telecom operator ZTE that his own government imposed just last month, in what seemed at the time a classic example of a tough Trump promise kept.

ZTE is a $20 billion maker of handsets, routers and other gear that got caught, and acknowledged, shipping goods to North Korea and Iran from 2010 to 2016, which violated U.S. sanctions. Then it rewarded employees who executed those shipments with bonuses. The Commerce Department, in response, fined the company $1.19 billion, and then imposed an export ban that prevented American companies from selling products to ZTE. Since the company relies on many American-made components, it has said recently that it might have to cease operations if it doesnt get relief from the ban.

So Trump, naturally, said recently that hell reverse course and find a way to help ZTE. Wait? He did what? Really? That doesnt sound like Trump. Yet its exactly what he said, and hes now facing criticism for going soft, from some people who support his tough stance toward China.

The backstory explains Trumps shifting views. Trump may lift the export ban on ZTE, in exchange for China lifting new restrictions on US imports of agricultural products such as soybeans, sorghum and ginseng. And the only reason China imposed those restrictions was to respond to steel and aluminum tariffs Trump announced in March. The echoes had to bounce off several walls, but it sounds as if those protests of Americas farmers and families are starting to work.

What gives the Chinese this leverage is American electoral politics. The unpopularity of Trumps proposed tariffs in farm states such as Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and North Dakota has led to a backlash against Trump and his Republican party, which could help tip the scales to Democrats in the November elections. At stake is control of the House of Representatives, which could block Trumps agenda and even vote to impeach the president if Dems take control. Suddenly, Trumps hard-line positions on trade seem self-defeating.

The Chinese know this. They also know their own leader, Xi Jinping, doesnt have to worry about domestic politics the way Trump does. Unlike Trump, Xi recently solidified his control of the Communist Party and the entire Chinese government, with the March removal of presidential term limits that allow Xi to remain in charge of the country indefinitely. The Chinese dont hold every advantage in their showdown with Trump, but their leaders are far less answerable to the people than Trump is. And Trump seems like hes just learning this.

Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com.Click here to get Ricks stories by email.

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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman

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[gallery ids="9685,9686,9687,9688"] Denia Perez graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law on Sunday. First thing Monday morning, she headed to Hartford, Connecticut, on a mission to advocate for a change that might allow her to work as a lawyer. Perez has the law degree, but unless jurists amend a Connecticut Practice Book rule that requires bar applicants to be U.S. citizens or aliens lawfully residing in the U.S., she will never be allowed to practice in that state. The 28-year-old is a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program, which the Obama administration created in 2012 to protect children of undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. before their 16th birthday. "My whole life has been uncertain," Perez said Monday. "Getting into college was uncertain and getting through it and paying for it was uncertain. But being a lawyer has always been a dream of mine." Perez's fight illustrates the precarious position of DACA beneficiaries, called "Dreamers," across the U.S., especially those who choose to attend law school. California, for instance, admits undocumented law graduates to the bar, but many other states have vague immigration requirements, according to Law.com. Indiana, for example, excludes dreamers from several professions, including law. An estimated 800,000 undocumented immigrants have deferrals from deportation, obtained work permits and received other protections under DACA. It in unclear how many study law, but Harvard Universitys National UnDACAmented Research Project found that 42 percent of the 1,608 DACA program participants surveyed expect to obtain a masters degree, a professional degree or a law degree. But beneficiaries face great uncertainty as President Donald Trump mulls rescinding the DACA program. "The big picture, legally speaking, is about Connecticutand the states around us that have made changes in their lawsacting on what we mean when we say 'equal protection,' and making its promises of inclusion meaningful," said Sheila Hayre, a visiting associate professor of law at Quinnipiac University. Hayre said the change would send a strong message to other states across the country. She and Perez joined five other speakers Monday morning addressing the 10-member Rules Committee of the Superior Court at a public hearing. All seven spoke in favor of amending the Practice Book. They overcame their first hurdle, when the Rules Committee voted to recommend amending the language. A final vote will take place June 15 at the annual meeting of the judges, when Superior, appellate and Supreme Court judges convene. If the judges OK the change next month, the Practice Book language will be amended sometime in July, after a notice in the Connecticut Law Tribune. Currently, Practice Book 2-8(1) reads: "To entitle an applicant to admission to the bar  the applicant must satisfy the committee that (1) The applicant is a citizen of the United States, or an alien lawfully residing in the United States." The Rules Committee approved a proposed amendment that would add the following language to the end of the paragraph: "which shall include an individual authorized to work lawfully in the United States." The proposal would benefit "dreamers" with work permits. Perez graduated from San Francisco State University in 2012 with a degree in women's and gender studies before attending Quinnipiac. Now a New Haven resident, she told the Connecticut Law Tribune many people are unaware of the obstacles to U.S. citizenship. "The immigration laws are complicated," she said. "You can get a green card if you qualify as a refugee or based on humanitarian reasons. Those are often done on a case-by-case basis." In her case, Perez said, her parents were undocumented for most of her life, but obtained permanent residency, or so-called green cards, in 2016. "My dad submitted a petition at that time on my behalf for me to get a green card," she said. "But because of the backlog, it could take 10 years or more." Perez said she will be a fellow at Make The Road New York, which is a community-based organization in New York City that does advocacy work in the area of housing, immigration and employment issues. Perez said she has a two-year fellowship and will be at the organization from September 2018 to September 2020 "doing deportation defense work with them." New York, California, Florida, New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania are among the states that have language allowing so-called dreamers to practice law. In the meantime, the law school grad is hoping for a rule change in Connecticut. In February, the Connecticut Bar Examining Committee voted unanimously in favor of the proposed change in the practice book. In addition, the deans of all three Connecticut law schoolsQuinnipiac University School of Law, University of Connecticut School of Law and Yale Law Schoolhave thrown their support behind changing the practice book. "This is really important," Perez said. "I think it's the right thing to do. Surrounding states have done it and it makes sense for Connecticut to fall in line. I'm lending my voice to help open the doors for other undocumented people in Connecticut who want to go to law school and practice in Connecticut."
A 29-year-old woman was arrested after driving her Jeep into a house in Queens on Monday afternoon. A 14-year-old boy was injured: "The debris fell on him, toppled on him," another teen in the Rochdale Village house told NBC New York.

The incident occurred just before 1:26 p.m., at 161-10 Baisley Boulevard. Police say Shanna Shaw drove a 2017 Jeep SUV through the attached garage and into the house, causing severe damage.

Another witness described finding Shaw. In a conversation with WABC 7, Jor-El Ramsey recounted, "I checked the car, and the lady was in there. At first, she was knocked out, so I checked to see if there was a pulse...and then I helped her get out of the car." He added, "She only had a bra and panties on. Yeah, that was a little awkward."

The teen inside the house said that Shaw was "just screaming, just screaming. No words at all."

PIX11 reports that its sources say Shaw spent "the day 'drinking and arguing with her family'" before getting behind the wheel.

Woman wearing only underwear arrested after crashing SUV into house in Queens https://t.co/GMeNZ2Zqre pic.twitter.com/fn5ht1gn4n  PIX11 News (@PIX11News) May 15, 2018

The 14-year-old boy was treated for a laceration to the head. Shaw was taken to Jamaica Hospital. According to NBC New York, "The Department of Buildings said during investigation at the crash scene, they learned the home had been illegally converted and didn't have adequate egress. As a result, a partial vacate order was issued for the first floor and garage."

Shaw was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injuries and driving while impaired.
English Lithuanian

On May 11, 2018 VILNIAUS BALDAI AB has acquired 100 percent of shares of Trenduva UAB. Shares are acquired for 2500 EUR from Invalda privatus kapitalas AB (code 303075527, address Seimyniskiu str. 3, Vilnius, register where data of the Company is accumulated and stored  Register of Legal entities), which owns 86% of VILNIAUS BALDAI AB shares.

Trenduva UAB owns two land plots of 18,5 ha in Trakai region, Guopstai. Land plots have purpose of usage as industrial and warehousing, as well as communication and engineering corridors.

According to VILNIAUS BALDAI AB audit committee Trenduva UAB shares acquisition contract is made according to market conditions, is fair and reasonable from VILNIAUS BALDAI AB shareholders who are not party to the deal point of view. Trenduva UAB shares price is based on the companys financial ratios and is considered to be reasonable and fair.

VILNIAUS BALDAI AB plans to use this land for further production expansion.

Update:

VILNIAUS BALDAI AB subsidiary Trenduva UAB has acquired land plots for the new factory construction from unrelated parties at the market price, total land plots acquisition price stands at 1803 thousand EUR. Land acquisition was financed from VILNIAUS BALDAI AB funds by issuing short term loan (at the market conditions). Until Trenduva UAB shares acquisition, loan was guaranteed by sole Trenduva UAB shareholder Invalda privatus kapitalas AB.

According to VILNIAUS BALDAI AB audit committee these transactions are fair and reasonable from VILNIAUS BALDAI AB shareholders who are not party to the deal point of view. All information related to these transactions will be disclosed in consolidated VILNIAUS BALDAI AB financial reports.





Additional information:

Chief Financial Officer

Jonas Krutinis

Tel.: +370 (5) 252 57 00
Vancouver, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Future Farm Technologies Inc. (the Company or Future Farm) (CSE: FFT) (OTCQX: FFRMF) is pleased to announce that it is moving into Phase II of its ongoing efforts to be the largest hemp cultivator and CBD producer in New England.

On May 10th the Company completed Phase I of the buildout of its 12,800-sq. ft. hemp processing and production facility in Belfast, Maine (the Facility). During Phase I, the Company upgraded the Facilitys electrical system, installed state of the art lighting and propagation tables and hired a seasoned team to assist with planting. Finishing Phase I allows the Company to plant over 200,000 seeds for the propagation of feminized CBD hemp seedlings. These seedlings will produce feminized CBD seeds for sale as well as CBD isolate biomass.

In response to a successful petition by Future Farm and other Maine licensees, Maines State Horticulturist has issued an Extension of Indoor Growing Allowance for the 2018 Season. A memo to Industrial Hemp Grower Applicants and Licensees stated that, Considering the slow start to the growing season this year and the cold soil temperatures that persist, we are extending the allowance for starting your industrial hemp plants indoors. We will allow seedlings to be grown indoors until June 15, 2018. The extension will allow hemp seedlings the extra growing time needed to become hardy enough to withstand Maines unpredictable weather. As a result of the extension, Future Farm plans to transfer its seedlings from the propagation facility to its Amity and Hersey fields on or about June 10, 2018.

Now that the ground has thawed, field prep has begun at both the Hersey and Amity farms, explains Zak Lapan, Future Farm Maines General Manager. Wells are being drilled and the fields are scheduled to be plowed, mulch papered and irrigated. Preliminary soil analysis on Future Farms organically certified 100-acres in Hersey shows very fertile fields.

The fields are being prepared for transplant in tandem with the build-out of the state of the art propagation facility, leveraging the most modern irrigation and fertilization systems the industry has to offer. The next phase is the build-out of the processing and extraction lab, which will be capable of processing over 500 pounds of biomass an hour. In 2018, the Company is projected to produce 150,000-200,000 pounds of organic, high CBD biomass and to harvest over 75,000,000 organic, feminized, high CBD hemp seeds.

Derek Ross of Cannatech and Future Farms strategic partner in Maine states, The goal for next year is to be a resource for local farmers to obtain feminized CBD hemp seeds, making a significant impact to the agricultural community in Maine.

The industrial hemp opportunity is significant. According to Forbes, cannabis research firm Brightfield Group estimates that the U.S. market for hemp-derived CBD had $291 million in sales in 2017 and will grow to annual sales of $1.65 billion in 2021.

For further information, contact William Gildea, Director, at (888) 387-3761.

On behalf of the Board,

Future Farm Technologies Inc.

William Gildea, Chairman & CEO

About Future Farm Technologies Inc.

Future Farm is a Canadian company with holdings throughout North America including California, Massachusetts, Florida, Maine, Puerto Rico and Newfoundland. The Companys mission is to advance sustainable agriculture through production of wholesale and retail cannabis products, including hemp. As a leader in its field, Future Farm is committed to using only the highest quality processes and products. Towards this goal, the Company acquires or partners with licensed-cannabis operators, and acquires or develops leading technologies in cannabis production, breeding, genetics, and Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA). Future Farms scalable, indoor CEA systems utilize minimal land, water and energy resources. The Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to use a patented vertical farming technology that, when compared to traditional plant production methods, generates yields up to 10 times greater per square foot of land.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The Canadian Securities Exchange has not in any way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

This news release may include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements within, other than statements of historical fact, are to be considered forward looking. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required under the applicable laws.
LUSAKA, Zambia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Almas Jiwani Foundation, represented by its CEO, Almas Jiwani, delivered a keynote address titled Empowering Women in Technology and ICT4D, specially in Africa at the 10th annual ICT4D Conference, at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre in Lusaka, Zambia. In the address, Ms. Jiwani stressed the importance of empowering women in technology, touching on three main areas of focus in Africa, namely the digital financial inclusion of women, humanitarian response, and the importance of women in the agriculture sector.



Women NEED to be given access to education that strengthens their grasp of information and communication technology; women NEED to be seen as leaders and mentors in this space; women NEED to be involved in the development of technology that can increase their participation in microenterprises fostering a spirit of entrepreneurship that ultimately creates their economic independence. Recognizing existing gender gaps in many regions of the world, information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) have been widely proposed as a medium through which women can be empowered, said Ms Jiwani

The three-day Conference was attended by more than 300 organizations from both public and private sectors on the one hand, and civil society organizations from humanitarian and international development communities on the other; all from more than 80 countries. The Conference offered its attendees a unique opportunity to discover and learn how others around the world are using Information & Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D), with applications aimed at enhancing the quality of development programmes, improving procedures for decision making, increasing impact and expanding reach, and, last but not least, accelerating progress towards the UNs Sustainable Development Goals.

Commenting on the Conference, the Vice President for Overseas Operations at the Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Michele Broemmelsiek, said: We are grateful for Almas Jiwanis participation in the ICT4D Conference this year. It is an incredibly important event for us at CRS. In so much of our work, ICT4D plays a vital role in womens empowerment and in strengthening their roles in the community. Weve seen this many times at ICT4D this year. Whether it is women volunteering as health workers to improve health and nutrition, or women taking advantage of digital financial solutions to save time and travel on some things like paying school fees, ICT4D is creating real positive impact. Technology really can, and is, changing womens lives for the better and the whole community benefits from this.

We believe that we can actively promote the independence of young women and girls around the globe by supporting advances in technology and education that will allow girls and women to flourish in the local and global economy, said Ms Jiwani

AJF is eternally grateful to Mr. Birhan Abate (country manager Canada) of Ethiopian Airlines-one of the continent's leading carriers, and to Zambia High Commission in Canada for their continued support and encouragement to provide an enduring platform for AJF to continue launching its initiatives in creating a better world

About the Almas Jiwani Foundation

The vision of the Almas Jiwani Foundation is to empower women, girls and marginalized communities through focused projects that directly address disparities in equality, education, entrepreneurship and energy rights. The Foundation aims to bridge inequalities through the fostering of relationships among the various actors and stakeholders in global issues, and to provide a platform for discourse and action.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Almas Jiwani Foundation

Naline Rampersan, VP, Public Relations

Basel Ismaiel, Director of Strategy

(613) 234-8252

info@almasjiwanifoundation.org

www.almasjiwanifoundation.org

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

https://ibb.co/mDQg8y

https://ibb.co/jG318y
MONTREAL, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quinto Resources Inc. (TSX-V:QIT) (Quinto or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent to acquire a private Canadian company, Conga Mining Inc. (to be renamed Combia Gold Inc.) (Combia), which holds the right to acquire the Combia project (also known as the Guamo Project) (the Combia Project) in the Antioquia Region, Colombia, approximately 140 km east of Medellin (the Transaction). The Combia Project is comprised of 6 wholly-owned titles and 66% of a title covering an area of approximately 64 hectares, as well as a mill operating at a current production rate of 40 tons/day.



In consideration for the acquisition of all of the shares of Combia, the proposed terms would involve Quinto issuing to Combia Shareholders, in exchange for their Combia shares, an aggregate of 40 million common shares of Quinto, with 20 million common shares issued at closing (Closing) and 10 million common shares to be issued 5 months from Closing and 10 months from Closing, respectively. The terms relating to the Transaction are non-binding and are subject to Quintos completion of due diligence, the successful negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement during an exclusivity period ending on August 15, 2018 and receipt of TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of the Transaction. Combia has commissioned the preparation of an independent technical report for the Combia Project, which technical report Quinto expects to receive during its due diligence review. In consideration of the exclusivity provided to Quinto, Quinto has agreed to pay a US$100,000 fee to Combia if it does not complete the Transaction.

Combia is party to an agreement to acquire the Combia Project from its Colombian vendors (the Vendors), and Combia has advised that it is to make the following payments to the Vendors: (a) US$1 million at Closing; (b) US$1 million on the day which falls 5 months from Closing; and (c) US$700,000 on the day which falls 10 months from Closing. In addition, Combia must raise gross proceeds of at least US$1 million to fund exploration work on the Combia Project or the purchase of equipment or upgrades therefor, which amount must be spent during the 8 months following Closing. Quinto would assume responsibility for these requirements if it were to proceed with the Transaction.

A finders fee is payable to an arms length third party in connection with and upon completion of the Transaction.

About Quinto

Quinto Resources Inc. (TSX-V:QIT) is a Canadian gold exploration Company. It has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Campo Largo gold project in Brazil, and owns a 5% interest in the Monster Lake property (IAMGOLD: 50%/TomaGold: 45%) in Quebec, Canada.

For more information, contact:

Michael Curtis

President and Chief Executive Officer

(514) 793-1915

mcurtis@cardwellcap.com

www.quintocorp.com Louis Morin

The Ask Marketing Services Inc.

(514) 947-5784

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.

This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information herein includes, but is not limited to, statements that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future, including such things as the successful completion of the Transaction. Such forward-looking information is based on a number of material factors and assumptions, including that the parties will be able to negotiate definitive agreements in respect of the Transaction, and that the Company and Combia will be able to satisfy the conditions precedent to closing of the Transaction. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
NandishSS wrote:

Hi GMATNinja,



Could you please explain how to tackle this long passage? Could you please explain below questions?



3) Which of the following best describes the function of the sentence in lines 42-45 (Yet  child laborers)?

(A) It elaborates a point about why the AFL advocated a voluntarist approach to health insurance.

(B) It identifies issues on which the AFL took a view opposed to that of the AALL.

(C) It introduces evidence that appears to be inconsistent with the voluntarist view held by AFL leaders.

(D) It suggests that a view described in the previous sentence is based on faulty evidence.

(E) It indicates why a contradiction described in the previous paragraph has been overlooked by historians.



4) The primary purpose of this passage is to

(A) account for the labor organization's success in achieving a particular goal

(B) discuss how a labor organization came to reverse its position on a particular issue

(C) explain how disagreement over a particular issue eroded the power of a labor organization

(D) outline the arguments used by a labor organization`s leadership in a particular debate

(E) question the extend to which a labor organization changed its position on a particular issue

why

leaders

opposed

why

Quote:

(B) discuss how a labor organization came to reverse its position on a particular issue

Quote:

(C) It introduces evidence that appears to be inconsistent with the voluntarist view held by AFL leaders.

When tackling a long RC passage (or any RC passage, for that matter), a good first step is to determine the purpose of each individual paragraph. Don't worry about understanding every little detail, argument, or piece of evidence in the paragraph. As long as you understandthat paragraph is there, you can always go back to it if you need further detail.So why is the first paragraph there? It tells us that, in 1938, one group (organized labor) supported universal healthcare, and we can infer that the American Medical Association (representing physicians interests) opposed universal healthcare at that time. Cool, moving on...The second paragraph tells us that, at least from 1915 until 1935, the AALL supported national (i.e. "universal") healthcare, while theof the AFL, which supposedly represented the interests of organized labor, actuallythe universal healthcare that organized labor would come to support by 1938. Instead, the leaders of the AFL supported voluntarism (freedom from government intrusions). Again, don't worry about every little detail; just make sure you have an idea ofthat paragraph is there, which is to let us know that a major labor organization (the AFL) had opposed universal healthcare from 1915 until 1935, even though, as described in paragraph one, organized labor had come to support universal healthcare.The purpose of paragraph three is to show that the AFL leaders made some exceptions to the voluntarism they supported from 1915 through 1935 and that part of the reason AFL leaders opposed universal healthcare was out of concern for their own power.The fourth paragraph tells us that, while some of the AFL leaders opposed universal healthcare from 1915 to 1935, many of the unionists represented by the AFL actually supported universal healthcare. Eventually, support for universal healthcare became so prevalent among unionists that, by 1935, the AFL had officially changed its position.Now that we know the purpose of each paragraph, we can think about the purpose of the entire passage. We have a labor organization (the AFL) that started off supporting voluntarism and opposing universal healthcare and that gradually changed its position between 1915 and 1935. The main purpose of the passage seems to be to describe the evolution of the AFL's stance on universal healthcare; this purpose fits nicely with choice (B) in question #4:As for question #3, let's start with the purpose of that paragraph, which was to show that the AFL leaders made some exceptions to the voluntarism they supported from 1915 through 1935 and that part of the reason AFL leaders opposed universal healthcare was out of concern for their own power. Because the highlighted sentence cites examples of exceptions made by the AFL leaders to the voluntarism they supported, choice (C) is the best answer:By taking such passages one paragraph at a time, understanding the purpose of each paragraph, and then thinking about the purpose of the entire passage, you can engage with the passage and get something out of it even if you don't understand all of the details. Since those details will always be there on the screen, you can always go back to them if needed.I hope this helps!_________________
Tom Wolfe, the debonair essayist and author of landmark non-fiction and novels including The Right Stuff and Bonfire Of The Vanities, who also helped create the immersive New Journalism literary movement, has died. He was 88.

Wolfe, who was born in Virginia in 1931, died on Monday in Manhattan after being hospitalized with an infection. He had lived in New York since 1962, when he joined The New York Herald Tribune as a reporter. Following a newspaper strike that year, he published "There Goes (Varoom! Varoom!) That Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" for Esquire, an article on hot rod and custom car culture of Southern California that smashed journalistic conventions and led to the publication of his first collection of writing.

Wolfe was a writer whose gifts extended into every permutation of the written form: he was adept at mixing genres and techniques with traditional journalism, bulldozing over staid ideas about objectivity to influence a generation of writers. He championed "saturation reporting," in which a journalist shadows a subject over a long period of time taking extensive notes. He also coined several famous idioms, including "radical chic" and "the Me Decade." As William F. Buckley, Jr. famously said of him: "He is probably the most skillful writer in America I mean by that he can do more things with words than anyone else."

RIP tom wolfe. I think about his description of bad hangovers often pic.twitter.com/UCqE1smd5a  Claire McNear (@claire_mcnear) May 15, 2018

RIP Tom Wolfe. opening lines of "The First Tycoon of Teen," his Jan '65 profile of Phil Spector for the NY Herald Tribune pic.twitter.com/wHmoSJZ6Sj  Bowiesongs (@bowiesongs) May 15, 2018

Tom Wolfe, who played a key role in the launch of New York Magazine, has died at 87. Read his classic feature on The "Me" Decade https://t.co/FAETaW5w2D  New York Magazine (@NYMag) May 15, 2018

From the archives: How Tom Wolfe became the voice of a journalistic generation https://t.co/jDzWCzGVi7  VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) May 15, 2018

Altogether, Wolfe authored nine non-fiction books (including The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The New Journalism), four novels, and four essay collections. Three of his works were adapted into movies: The Right Stuff, Bonfire Of The Vanities and The Last American Hero.

He was also known for his sharp sartorial sense. As the Times put it:

He was instantly recognizable as he strolled down Madison Avenue  a tall, slender, blue-eyed, still-boyish-looking man in his spotless three-piece vanilla bespoke suit, pinstriped silk shirt with a starched white high collar, bright handkerchief peeking from his breast pocket, watch on a fob, faux spats and white shoes. Once asked to describe his get-up, Mr. Wolfe replied brightly, Neo-pretentious.

A true joy of participating in NYC literary culture was seeing a man in an immaculate white suit, and thinking, "Could it be possibly be him?" and it always was. #RIPTomWolfe  Maris Kreizman (@mariskreizman) May 15, 2018

We spoke with Wolfe three years ago, touching on the relevancy of Bonfire of the Vanities, as well as race, class, and his favorite New York City mayor. He gave us his take on "the phenomenon of Donald Trump": "He talks like a guy down on the street. He doesnt have any of the airs of a rich man, and I think thats why hes attracted the following he has," he said. "As I recall, he ran once before or put his name in for it, then he said some rather silly things, but he is really so far pulling it off, and creates the impression that hes telling it like it is. Not many politicians create that impression."
Can you tell us about your background? Where you grew up? What do you like to do for fun?

You did your undergrad and medical education including a residency in plastic surgery in Canada. You then did you one year of sub-specialty training in the U.S., focusing on reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery. You are now a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and associate fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Was it hard professionally to move to the U.S. from Canada?



What was hardest aspect of your medical education?

Lets turn to your experience as an EMBA student. Why did you want to add an MBA to your MD?

CBS offers 3 NY-based EMBA options (EMBA-NY Saturday, EMBA-NY: Fri/Sat; and EMBA Americas) Why did you choose what you chose?

What did you find most difficult in the EMBA application process?

What did you like best about Columbias program?

What can be improved?

How did you manage a full-time practice, the EMBA program, and being a mom?

Are you glad you did the EMBA?

What are your plans for the future?

Any tips for MBA or med school applicants?

What would you have liked me to ask you?

Related Links:

Related Shows:

Our guest today, Dr. Nadia Afridi earned her bachelors and MD in Canada and then did a residency in plastic surgery at Dalhousie University. She also earned her Executive MBA from Columbia in 2017.[1:09]I was born and raised in Canada, the only child of physicians who immigrated to Canada in the 1970s, so I have been surrounded by medicine my whole life. As a result, I knew a lot about medicine and decided to pursue it and did most of my training in Canada. Once I did my residency I wanted to do my fellowship training with a doctor I admired, so I moved to Nashville, TN and worked for a year there, and then did another fellowship with a non-profit, traveling all over the world doing cleft lip, cleft palate, and burn reconstruction surgery for children. That was a hard year emotionally, but so satisfying to be able to help so tangibly.[2:56]Compared to what many people who immigrated to the United States go through it was relatively easy. Almost all of my education was already recognized when I came south of the border. So it wasnt like my MD wasnt recognized. I didnt have to redo any training, but anytime you make a major move to a new place without an established network it is somewhat challenging, but it was doable. It was more the practical, business aspects as opposed to the regulatory and educational ones.[4:28]That you spend so much time before you become even remotely employable, which is a bit daunting. A lot of people get exhausted just thinking about the path ahead of you . I just tried to take it step by step, and with staging, there is initially more classroom and then progressing to a clinical environment. Another one of the hardest parts is choosing your specialty and then of course getting into it.[5:50]I had been in practice here awhile in New York and it was going relatively well. In some ways I had reached a professional plateau, and yearned to learn something new and completely different from medicine, so I decided to see if I could meet the standards of admission to Columbia. I knew for sure I would be able to extract an ROI from the MBA degree by streamlining the way I ran my business, but also I thought long term I would be ready to move onto a different phase of my career, and the skills, network, and contacts from the MBA would serve me well at that point.[7:47]I chose the Fri/Sat program and probably wouldnt have done the program if not for that option. Every second weekend you go to school all day Friday and Saturday. What I liked about that schedule was that I knew I would have to compromise other aspects of my life (family and professional), and with the Fri/Sat schedule I would be compromising a little bit of both, but not compromising either completely.[9:48]Having to take the GMAT , which I just found out is now optional. It really forced my brain to move back into a different mode. The other thing I found was the essays are really challenging, but helpful and enlightening, since they force you to take a personal inventory on what youve done and what you want to do. The essays help you analyze your successes, where youve gone astray, and where you want to go in the future. It was very empowering.[11:32]Columbia is an amazing world-class institution, and as a result there are world class professors who truly are inspirational, and make a lot of effort to ensure we are inspired in the process, and the other thing is that a great institution attracts great candidates, so your cohort is exceptional. It really is about who you go to school with.[14:10]It would be nice if it was a little more affordable and accessible. All of these excellent institutions come at a premium.[14:57]I chose the Fri/Sat program so I still had every other weekend with my family, and would often find ways to put kids to bed and stay up and take advantage of the quiet time to study. I would also find opportunities in the work day to lets say pull out stats to prepare for the tests. It was always at the back of my mind to find ways to study. I was a mature student, so I found I was productive and effective with my time. I was also particular about attending all the classes and really being present. Knowing you dont have time to waste makes you more efficient.[17:17]Absolutely. It was a fantastic experience, and opened my eyes to a lot of things in the world I didnt know about coming from a medical home and doing a medical education. Learning how the business world works was really enlightening.[17:54]I joke and say I am currently working on three startups (my three children!!), but have decided that for now I am focusing on making sure they are doing well and supported through school. Once I feel I have helped them out, well see where things go. I see something entrepreneurial in my future.[19:17]For med school applicants, put your nose to the grindstone and make sure you pursue it for the right reasons and that it will truly make you happy. I think some people see medicine and dont pursue it for the reason for loving the profession, which can make for difficulties and burn out long term. If it is your passion, work really hard.With the EMBA application, some professional and life maturity is very helpful. Having a little more experience in the work environment can be very valuable when you go to business school since you have more to contribute and can apply what you learn.[20:50]The most valuable lesson I had from my MBA. In business school we talked a lot about assets, and one of my professors emphasized the importance of one particular asset, which is time. How you manage your time is critical, since it is very finite, limited, and precious, and so I learned to allocate my time to things I value and cherish. Surprisingly it was the best lesson from business school.I maximize my return on time by constantly taking inventory in my mind of what is important. Sometimes those things get shuffled around. There are always certain tasks that have to get done, so prioritize, allocate and be attentive. Prioritize constantly. If you find a roadblock, you need to reverse, which is critical. Being able to be flexible with the big picture goal of priorities is the best way to make sure you apply time effectively to things you care about. This article originally appeared on blog.accepted.com Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help you get accepted! _________________
JonAdmissionado wrote:

You've got a good shot at these schools given your work experience & GMAT. The GPA is going to be a concern, but the CFA exam will help as will any ability to show quantitative impact/results from work. You'll want to use the optional essay to address the GPA but keep it short & to the point and make sure you don't sound like you're making excuses. You'll want to definitely point to things like the CFA & work impact as evidence that you have matured & are up for the rigors of b-school.



Unless something significant is going to change at work (significantly more responsibility, ability to really show impact on a cool project, etc) I'd go ahead & apply this year rather than waiting. When you get too many years of experience they worry you no longer need the degree.

Posted from my mobile device

Thanks Jon.Would you say it is wise to be straightforward in my optional essay and actually say I was just immature and lazy in college? And I just developed a good work ethic after?
It is poverty that drives people to despair  and poverty genuinely speaking: not just of money, as neoliberals think, but the authentic kind, in its many forms. Impoverishment of trust, of relationships, of communities, of belonging, of meaning, of purpose, of chances, of safety. When these things are taken away from people, as they have been for those abandoned and forgotten by globalization and neoliberalism, then of course they will flee to the arms of the nearest strongman.

I read today in an article that "Modern liberals have no working theory of authoritarianism. Of its causes. Its spark. Its fuel." I'm not sure that this is true, and I'll return to this article a bit later in this post.First I want to return to my visit to Colombia a couple of weeks ago. I gave two talks, both on the theme of how open education can change the world. And I participated in a couple of panels; one was recorded and I'll post it some time soon. But in the second, the recording failed (Samsung's voice recorder shuts itself off of you take a picture).It's this second panel I want to address. It included powerful statements from some victims of the violence during the Colombian war (pictured), and we (Jutta Teviranus and I) were asked to respond from the perspective of open education. There's no easy way to respond, and I can't speak authoritatively about peace in Colombia.But I can talk about what peace hears to me, and relate that to what I was hearing from the statements that day. And that's what I did. And I want to make sure I don't lose those thoughts, because what peace to methe working theory of what authoritarianism does to a people, why it's wrong, and how we should respond.So I said that what peace means to me consists of four things: security, identify, voice and opportunity.The first think they take away from you is your sense of security. This doesn't mean they are attacking you directly - more often they don't - but they want you tolike you're in danger of being attacked at any moment.We've seen this through history in many guises and under many names. The direct threat of violence is the most brutal and the least effective. The threat of violence against your property, your business, or those you love, is more common. The threat that somewill inflict this violence is the most subtle. But the outcome is always the same: you do not feel secure, and hence feel compelled to comply.We are told that the only response is to arm ourselves, to be prepared to be violent ourselves, and to participate in the common defense. I don't think these are especially effective, especially if the defense force becomes as dangerous as the threat. They are not effective because they don't address theof danger. If we carry weapons, our own weapons become a constant reminder that we are in danger.The only response, I think, is to remove the effectiveness of violence. Each time we comply with the demands of an aggressor, we make violence more effective. So we have to make it easier to refuse to comply. We have to make it possible, and safe, to report the threat. The solidarity of, and trust in, a community is the only effective response. The community must exist to protect the people. If one person is threatened, they should be able to stand behind the other members of the community.In Canada, we have campaigns that encourage people - especially children - to seek help, and if necessary, speak out. They need to be able to report abuse or bullying and be protected. The same protections need to apply to women and to people who are vulnerable. We all need to be able to communicate our need to various social agencies - police, fire, health services, legal aid, education, housing authorities, workplace rights and safety, welfare agencies - with the expectation of support, and with no fear of penalty.And this means we need to ensure every person is aware of these services, and is able to communicate with them, and understands that they are trustworthy. The first thing the authoritarians and the violent seek to do us undermine trust in these basic community services. People who are undermining any of these - police, health care, education, etc. - are undermining peace.Identity is the right to define, and to be, who you are. War reduces each and every one of us to one thing: a tool of one side or another fighting the war. We are no longer seen as individuals, we are seen as instruments, as weapons.The depravity of this becomes evident as we look at it more closely. If you read A Long Way Gone , or watch Blood Diamond , you see how war creates child soldiers. No army is innocent. In war, entire societies are mobilized. People become kamikazes, or suicide bombers, or make heroic sacrifices. You're either supporting the war effort, or you're a traitor. You are asked to do the unthinkable, and then to do it again.More generally, conformity becomes the order of the day. People are expected to dress in certain ways, to speak in certain ways, or in certain languages, to believe the same things, support the same religions. Obedience is demanded, and expected.If a people is at peace, there is no need for order and conformity, and no sense that diversity and distinctness of identity poses a threat or a danger to society as a whole. And from the perspective of the individual, there is no peace unless there is freedom to establish and live one's own identity. Importantly, though, identity isn't just the right to say yes to some things, it's the right to say no to others.In Canada, we have a good though not perfect right to express our own identity. We can for the most part dress as we please, speak in what language we prefer, follow any religion, or none, to work for or against the stated policies of the state, to support the government or opposition. We have a professional civil service, which means that any member of society, whatever their identity, may be a teacher, police officer, or legislator, and that any member of society, no matter what their identity, will be treated fairly by the civil service.But we've also learned though our failures that we need to attend to the needs of the most vulnerable. We have historically discriminated against indigenous peoples, and must engage in a process of reconciliation. We need to do more to assist those who are vulnerable through lack of ability, or wealth, or of education. And we need to extend the ways we recognize the right to a different identity, to fully protect those of various sexual orientation, and of various religions.The people who seek to deny us our individual identities - who tell us what to wear, what to believe, what language to speak - are people who are endangering the peace. War requires conformity, and war requires an enemy. It requires uniforms and scapegoats. We have to teach people to respect, honour and value the individuality of each person as a good in itself and as a good that ensures that each of us has the right to our own identity.Voice is in part the expression of identity but voice is also the way we create community, develop ideas, and create future visions and possibilities. It is the possibility to create, and also to speculate, and also to celebrate.In a war there is no voice; indeed, "loose lips sink ships." In war, the right to community and association is subservient, as is everything else, to the needs of the struggle and the power of the generals. In war, the only voice is the official voice.Voice is the right to a. Voice means not only the capacity of expression, but the expectation that this expression will have an impact that can be - and is - measured and weighed. It is not merely the right to be consulted, but also the right to constitute a part of the governance (and especially self-governance).We think of democracy as an instance of voice. Each person gets a vote, and so each person is a part of the constitution of a government. But democracy can be a sham if only some parties are allowed to run, or if only some platforms are acceptable. There needs to be an open debate of ideas, and the possibility that people, through communication or association, can organize themselves. It's not simply about whether they have a vote (in fact, that's the least important part). It's about whether they have a voice.The violence and the authoritarian create a climate not only of violence and fear, but also of silence. Theof a voice is an affront. 'Outsider' organizations are not permitted - in some cases they suppress labour unions, in other cases they suppress religions. Secret cabals, however, and conspiracies proliferate, and battle against each other. Militias and paramilitaries form, ostensibly to support the state, but in actuality to perpetuate the war.To have voice, people must learn to have voice. They must learn to self-organize, to make decisions and resolve disputes in an open and peaceful manner, to create forums and newspapers and assemblies, to have community groups and societies and special interest groups. In Canada we see a thick network of different types of groups, but underlying that is a system of education that teaches usto operate in this way.The people who undermine voice - who say that some people shouldn't have a say, who seek to permit only some but not other organizations, who argue against due process, the right to be heard or have a hearing - these people are undermining peace.We each of us what to achieve something in life. This desire may be very simple - Homer Simpson is happy if he can watch bowling on TV while eating pork rinds - while for others it may be very aspirational - help the poor, cure the sick, settle on Mars. Some of us want to earn money, some of us want to travel, some of us want to achieve inner peace. It all matters.By opportunity what we mean is that there is a path - or the potential of a path - to get from where you are to what you aspire to achieve. It means that opportunity is not something possessed only by the rich or powerful (or the properly coloured, or the right religion, or caste, etc.) but for everyone in society. Those who do noty have opportunity are not ay peace; those who deny opportunity are waging war against them.Opportunity is not a guarantee (and nobody pretends it is a guarantee). What we want to achieve may require an effort we cannot spend, an ability we do not have, time we cannot commit, strength we do not possess. What opportunity means is that we as a society do not impose anybetween ourselves and our ambitions.War takes away opportunity. Personal ambition becomes secondary to the needs of the conflict. What one will do or achieve in life is to a large degree. Often, in war, there are privileges awarded to some segment of society and denied to another, as a means of creating order through the creation of a ruling class. War, often, takes away opportunity through the destruction of any means to an opportunity - schools, houses, businesses, and roads are closed or destroyed.In a society at war, in an authoritarian society, your ambitions are meaningless. It wasn't simply his business struggles that promoted Mohamed Bouazizi to set himself on fire in Tunisia to launch the Arab Spring; it was the indifference to the authoritarian state to his life and his aspirations.Opportunity - especially for those in marginalized or vulnerable groups - requires support. It requires the protections of the state, as described above, and it requires the possibility to govern oneself and to be seen and heard by others. But it requires more, as well: it requires a commercial infrastructure that is robust and trustworthy, it requires the right to freely transport and exchange goods, and it requires the training and support to help a person plan, implement and achieve their objectives.In a society at war, currency is scarce or valueless, bribery and corruption are common, and the means to conduct trade and commerce are allocated on a preferential basis to friends and family. A person denied opportunity is by that fact denied peace, and those who undermine opportunity undermine peace.This is basically what I said in the panel, and more importantly, what I said was that Ithem say these things themselves when they described their experience in war.I heard them say they lost their security, that they were coerced and abused, that their family members were killed, that they themselves were tortured, and that they were compelled to comply with the unthinkable. I heard them say they lost their identity, that they could not be members of indigenous groups, or even live as children or women, but they were simply used by the factions at war. I learned how they had no control over the governance of their town, of their community or their lives, how even then there were elections candidates would be killed or simply disappear. And I hear how they had no future in the war, no way to earn a living.I told them I heard this, and that I would carry what I heard from them forward to the world, for the world to hear, and this is me keeping that promise.In the article I mentioned above Umair Haque says,Haque - the economist - speaks of poverty as the cause of war. But I see equally well that poverty is theof war. All these forms of poverty are the result of warring factions, or the authoritarians that produce them,not only security and wealth, but also meaning, purpose and belonging.Haque writes that "the key to defeating authoritarianism is rewriting social contracts." But simply writing contracts that will be ignored is not the key security, identity, voice or opportunity. Simply writing the contract might not do anything at all - there are many documents throughout history have proclaimed these rights - religious texts, declarations and promises, manifestos - but they have all at one time or another been used as pretexts to extinguish the very rights they proclaim.The only path toward peace and freedom from authoritarianism is the path that leads toward the creation and maintenance of the civil society. The just society. The caring society.Peace requires caring for and supporting each of the things that are taken from us in a time of war: a civil and social infrastructure we can trust to protect us, a respect for and celebration of each others' distinct identity, an ability for each of us to participate in governance and conflict resolution, and the right to the necessities of life and conditions enabling each of us to aspire toward achieving our goals.I actually don't care what you call this. But if wethese as what war and authoritarianism take away from us, we also understand what it is we are working toward. And we understand - orunderstand - that we need to put down the tools of war, and take up the implements of peace - beating our swords into ploughshares, and our spears into pruning hooks.What we can do, and what the authoritarians will never do, is not to fight, but to, and build something that is strong and endures, and that they cannot destroy.


Uber will no longer require individual passengers, employees or drivers who allege sexual assault or harassment to use arbitration, the company announced on its blog today.

It was just one of three changes announced by Chief Legal Officer Tony West, who said that it was part of Ubers new strategy of transparency, integrity, and accountability.

Assault victims will also have the option to forgo a non-disclosure agreement as part of a settlement. And Uber will publish a safety transparency report within a year that includes data on sexual assaults and other incidents.

Previously, passengers agreed to arbitration when they signed up for Uber, as part of its terms of service. Other kinds of claims, like fraud or personal injury, will still need to go to an arbitrator. Some legal experts say that forced arbitration shuts consumers out of the justice system, by denying them the right to sue. Those alleging assault who wish to be part of a class action suit are still bound by the arbitration clause.

In November, law firm Wigdor LLP had proposed a class action lawsuit on behalf of women accusing drivers of sexual assault. (The full complaint is here.) At the time, a statement on the law firms website said that the women were mislead by the company that they would be transported safely.

Since then, calls for the end of forced arbitration for sexual assault survivors have intensified.

Two weeks ago, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi saying he was extremely concerned, adding, I write to request that Uber immediately stop using forced arbitration agreements against victims of sexual harassment or assault.

The court had given Uber until Wednesday to say whether it would require the women to submit their claims to arbitration. They now have the choice of arbitration, mediation or open court if they file suit individually.

Jeanne M. Christensen, the partner at Wigdor handling the case, said in a statement, Congratulations to Uber for choosing not to silence survivors. Our hope is that Uber ending forced arbitration for victims of sexual assault will begin a process to reduce future suffering by women passengers. Uber has made a critical step in this direction, but preventing victims from proceeding together, on a class basis, shows that Uber is not fully committed to meaningful change. Victims are more likely to come forward knowing they can proceed as a group. This is the beginning of a longer process needed to meaningfully improve safety.

A CNN investigation earlier this month found that at least 103 U.S. Uber drivers have been accused of sexual assault or abuse in the past four years. CNN found that at least 31 drivers have been convicted for crimes ranging from forcible touching and false imprisonment to rape, and dozens of criminal and civil cases are pending. The news organization culled its data from police reports and court records; there is no current, publicly-available data that gives the number of sexual assaults for any ride share company.

Uber says it has met with more than 80 womens groups and recruited several prominent advocates as advisers on these issues.

Lyft, a rival car service, had similar terms of service requiring passengers to use arbitration. After Gothamist reached out to ask about the policy, a spokeswoman said that they "agree with the changes" Uber made and will do the same.

Here's Jennifer Vanasco talking about Uber on WNYC.






For the first time since the brutal 2012 murder of two children, their nanny apologized for murdering them. "Im very sorry for everything that happened," Yoselyn Ortega said, tearfully in a Manhattan courtroom on Monday. "I hope that no one goes through what I have gone through."

Marina and Kevin Krim, the parents of the children, were unmoved by the apology, appearing in court yesterday to call Ortega "evil" and provide emotional statements before Ortega was sentenced. Marina Krim said, "I'm here today to finish this horrible chapter of my and my family's life... The defendant may think she destroyed Lulu and Leo, but she is a failure in this, too. Lulu and Leo are powerful forces. They are two stars now who will always lead us forward."



Kevin Krim said to the judge, Gregory Carro, "The defendant is an evil and utterly dangerous narcissist and a complete failure. It is right that she should live and rot and die in a concrete and metal cage like the ugly dark shadow of Lulu and Leos bright shining lights... I trust that you do not need this request from Lulu and Leos dad after all youve heard and seen, but I will make it anyway: In your sentencing decision, please follow the law as you always have by ensuring that the defendant can never leave prison alive."

Carro also rejected Ortega's apology, calling her "pure evil," and sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole, plus 50 years.

Last month, Ortega was found guilty of murder for the deaths of Leo Krim, 2, and Lulu Krim, 6. Ortega had been the Krim family nanny, taking care of Leo, Lulu, and three-year-old Nessie. On October 25, 2012, Marina Krim returned to her Upper West Side home with Nessie, and discovered the fatally stabbed bodies of Lulu and Leo, alongside Ortega, who was in the process of stabbing herself.

A neighbor heard Krim's screams and described them as "bloodcurdling." A detective testified than Lulu had 30 stab wounds while Leo was nearly decapitated.

Ortega rejected a plea deal in April 2016, which would have recommended a 30 year sentence, opting to go to trial and use an insanity defense, claiming she was haunted by demons.

The prosecution said that Ortega, feeling desperate about money, was angry about her workload and wanted to get back at the Krims. During a bedside interview while hospitalized, Ortega allegedly told investigators, "You don't know what they made me do. You don't know what that lady did."

Judge Carro said during the sentencing, "Your planning and forethought regarding your suicide plan on that day was certainly unmistakable."Ortega left her documents for her son"Whats unclear, and its unclear mainly because you claim you have a lack of memory, is why you decided to take the lives of the children."

The Krims said Ortega's sister posed as a legitimate reference, essentially tricking them into believing Ortega was a reliable nanny, and now they are pursuing legislation, Lulu & Leo's Law, to criminalize the act of lying to get day care positions. The couple, who welcomed two sons following the tragedy, founded a non-profit, the Lulu and Leo Fund, to bring creative programs to children.

When the guilty verdict was announced in April, the Krims released a statement saying, "We want to thank the judge and the jurors for their commitment to justice and their public service over this long and difficult trial. We are deeply indebted to the district attorneys office and the NYPD for their care for our family, and their determination and dedication over the past five and a half years to see justice done. This process has been very challenging for us, but it has also reaffirmed our love of New York: a city that Lulu and Leo loved dearly. We got through this trial because of our family, our friends, our fellow New Yorkers and the loving memory of Lulu and Leos lives."
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New Delhi, May 15 (IBNS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said the daylong violence in the Panchayat polls in West Bengal a day ago was a matter of grave concern for democracy.

While delivering a speech on the Karnataka election result here, he attacked the government in West Bengal without naming Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

"What happened in West Bengal is a matter of grave concern for democracy. It is shocking that it is occurring in Bengal which led India on many fronts in the past century," said Modi.

He said from the filing of nomination to the holding of polls, Bengal witnessed unabated violence. "The scenes from the Panchayat Elections in West Bengal. It was nothing but a murder of democracy. From the nomination stage to the day of polling, where was the spirit of democracy?" he said.

"People were disallowed to file nominations also. It is not only BJP people who suffered. People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered. This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate," he said.

Killings, bombing and booth capturing by firearms wielding political goons turned West Bengal's three-tier Panchayat polls into a bloodied affair on Monday as violence claimed 19 lives, according to various reports.

From burning to death a couple of an opposition political party to killing of innocent voters, West Bengal turned into a combat zone leaving a trail of bodies and injured people.

Local televison channels daylong beamed footages of bloodied bodies, wailing victims' families and scenes of ballot box burning.

Opposition parties called the election a farce and even some demanded President's Rule even as the ruling Trinamool Congress called the entire episode a pre-planned plot of the rivals.

The role of the state election commission also came under attack owing to the unabated daylong violence.
New York, May 15 (IBNS): At least 350,000 children in the Central African Republic (CAR) are out of school and lack access to health and other basic services, including nearly 29,000 who have fled escalating violence this year, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) has warned, urging warring parties to stop the fighting.

Children are paying the highest price for this new surge of violence, UNICEF Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Marie-Pierre Poirier, said over the weekend, adding: All actors should stop violence against children now. The world must not forget the children of the Central African Republic. Protection of children should come first.

The already precarious humanitarian and security situation in the country has deteriorated over the past year, worsening even further since the start of 2018. An estimated 687,400 people are displaced within the country, up from 440,000 in 2017, including more than 357,400 children.

This year alone, at least 55,000 people - including 28,600 children  have fled their homes because of escalating brutality and violence.

UNICEF said that a third of children are currently out of school. Close to half of all children are not fully immunized and 41 per cent of children under the age of five suffer from chronic malnutrition.

The agency is providing children with life-saving assistance. UNICEF and our partners are achieving encouraging results focusing on four key priorities: scaling up immunization, ending malnutrition, providing education, and protection; including in emergency situations, said Ms. Poirier.

In 2017, UNICEF and partners vaccinated more than 800,000 children under-five against polio, representing 98 per cent coverage, and treated more than 26,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

Also last year, UNICEF supported the release of 2,969 children from armed groups, and helped set up 315 child-friendly and temporary learning spaces in displacement camps, helping around 56,600 children.

However, up to the end of April, only 15 per cent of UNICEFs 2018 humanitarian appeal for the country has been funded. The agency needs an additional $48 million.

With significant investment in targeted interventions, we can make a real difference for children both in internally displaced sites and host communities, said Poirier.

MINUSCA/Nektarios Markogiannis




Ankara, May 15 (IBNS): Lending support to Palestine, Turkey's Health Ministry has said that the latter's nation will treat those injured by Israel forces during Monday's clash.

Local Anadolu Agency has quoted Ahmet Demircan as saying, " We will receive the wounded from Gaza first in Ankara. We have prepared our hospitals according to the conditions of the wounded.

He added that Turkish forces will airlift the injured, giving priority to those with most injury.

"On the Gazan side [of the border], the injured are at great risk because there are not enough medications and supplies where the Palestinians are," Demircan said.

According to reports, about 2,700 people had been injured during Monday's clash, which took place while Israel celebrated the opening of a new US embassy in Jerusalem.

The clash also led to the death of at least 58 people.

Reports said that Israeli forces opened fire during the protests.



Image: Websitegrab from Anadolu Agency
Kabul, May 15 (IBNS): Adopting a new anti-corruption strategy and implementing several initiatives in a broad anti-corruption agenda demonstrate Afghanistans commitment to countering corruption, finds a new United Nations report released on Tuesday.

The United Nations stands firmly in supporting Afghanistans reinvigorated efforts to fight corruption, said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-Generals Special Representative for Afghanistan. The United Nations is especially encouraged by the new reforms brought about in a short time by the Civil Service Commission as well as by the increased activity of the Anti-Corruption Justice Centre in prosecuting and adjudicating complex corruption cases.

UNAMAs second anti-corruption report, titled Afghanistans Fight against Corruption: From Strategies to Implementation, analyses the contributions made by civil society and independent institutions, along with all three branches of government  the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

The report identifies the need to accelerate justice reforms in the interest of improving the lives of all Afghan people.

It describes Afghanistans new anti-corruption strategy as a strong tool, but notes that a short-term strategy will have limited impact.

It has become clear that all Afghan institutions, along with all segments of society, must now engage in fighting corruption to rebuild integrity, accountability and transparency in the country, with a long-term agenda, said Yamamoto, who is also head of UNAMA.

The report, which Afghan authorities were actively engaged in helping to produce with data and feedback, details how the country has now met requirements of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption regarding criminalization of corruption offences.

The report makes several recommendations, recognizing that the governments ongoing anti-corruption efforts have yet to impact the lives of most Afghans, and concludes that, notwithstanding the many legal and policy reforms that have been undertaken, corruption continues to be a substantial obstacle to Afghanistans long-term peace and prosperity.

While Afghanistan has made significant and notable progress in fighting corruption, new reform strategies and laws have yet to be fully applied to bring tangible benefits to Afghans suffering from the impact of corruption, said the UN envoy. We are confident our recommendations will be well received and will help Afghanistan in advancing its anti-corruption reform agenda.
As a candidate, both for his first term and his 2017 reelection, Rouhani promised, for instance, to secure the release of the Green Movement leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. But after securing office in both contests, he quickly backed away from those promises, citing the independent authority of the judiciary and the ultimate responsibility of this and other hardline entities for the status of detainees. Rouhani also promised that dual nationals would be able to return to Iran without fear of reprisal under his leadership, and yet more than 30 such individuals have been arrested on spurious charges just since the conclusion of nuclear negotiations in 2015.

The ongoing tension between Rouhanis public relations and his policy initiatives was highlighted anew on Saturday when the CHRI reported upon the apparent inaction of a commission convened by the president with the stated purpose of investigating the cause of several recent, suspicious deaths. The supposed fact-finding commission has now been in place for more than three months, but according to persons familiar with the cases it was supposed to be investigating, it has not even arranged to speak with those who were responsible for interrogating persons who died in detention amidst crackdowns on dissent early this year.

The commission was convened five days after the death of Iranian-Canadian environmentalist Professor Kavous Seyed-Emami spurred widespread outcry both domestically and internationally. His death took place after the mass arrest of environmental activists whom the intelligence division of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps declared to be spies. Some have suggested that these allegations merely provided an excuse to silence criticism over government mismanagement of water and other resources, which benefited the land holdings of the IRGC itself. In any event, the accusations of spying were never publicly substantiated, and neither was the governments account of Seyed-Emamis death.

After the detainees death was discovered, judicial authorities insisted that he had confessed to spying and then committed suicide. However, CCTV footage from his cell shows neither of these things. Seyed-Emamis death apparently took place off camera, and authorities have frustrated efforts to conduct an independent investigation of the cause of death. Suicide is the same explanation that was given for other suspicious deaths that were reported in the midst of the governments crackdown on mass protests in January. In some of those cases, the families of the deceased were also prevented from commissioning independent autopsies, and were harassed for speaking publicly about the deaths.

So far, the only action of the Rouhani administrations fact-finding commission has arguably been motivated by the desire to defray accusations of harassment against the survivors of deceased detainees. According to an attorney for the Seyed-Emami family, The only thing the commission has done is one of the presidents assistant legal advisers, Ms. [Laya] Joneydi, has met with Seyed-Emamis widow and listened to her cry and share her memories. But there has been no meeting with agents of the Revolutionary Guards who detained Kavous Seyed-Emami and other environmentalists.

Meanwhile, the harassment continues of those who are seeking to bring real publicity to this and other such cases. Another report published by CHRI on Saturday highlighted the continuing threats against Mohammad Najafi, a human rights lawyer who revealed in January that his client Vahid Heydari had been beaten at an Arak police station some time before his death in custody. The revelation led to Najafi being arrested on national security charges including spreading propaganda, thus putting him at risk of a jail sentence of multiple years.

Najafi told CHRI that he has faced this sort of pressure at various point during his career. The authorities themselves have told me that they are trying to grind me into oblivion, he said, adding that, in fact, they have succeeded in putting me under financial pressure and disrupted my life. He is now free on approximately 237,000 dollars bail, but spent three months in prison prior to mid-April.

The report also indicates that Najafi is scheduled to face trial alongside several participants in the January protests, a fact that highlights the apparent overlap between specific crackdowns on those protesters and a more general crackdown on known dissenters and political activists. The demonstrations, though taking place simultaneously in an estimated 142 cities and towns, were credited with giving voice to a number of different economic, social, and political demands. As such, it may be difficult to separate the nationwide uprising, or the governments response to it, from other protests such as the demonstrations for Arab rights in Khuzestan Province and the ongoing protests by farmers in Isfahan over water scarcity.

The Arab protests were mentioned on Sunday by Iran Human Rights Monitor in the context of a report on eight detainees who have begun a hunger strike in protests against their mistreatment and indefinite detention. These eight and others have been held in custody within harsh conditions for upwards of 10 months, without their cases being referred to court. This alone speaks to the hardships faced by Iranian political prisoners, and those who initiated hunger strikes were reportedly subjected to harsher treatment, including isolation and refusal of family visits.

Naturally, the consequences for protests staged inside prison can also include beatings and torture A recent report by the Human Rights Activists News Agency calls attention to one example of this, identifying Abdul Hakim Chakeri as someone who objected to intrusive and degrading searches after a family visit and who was punished by being shackled, beaten, and left in the prison yard for three days.

Growing numbers of people could be facing fates such as this in the coming days. Iran-HRM reports that some 500 people have been arrested for participation in the Arab rights protests, including children under the age of 15. Meanwhile, sources like the National Council of Resistance of Iran indicate that the broader anti-government protests resulted in approximately 8,000 arrests, hundreds of which recently led to the filing of national security charges, which could carry multi-year sentences or even death sentences.

Another Iran-HRM report was published on Sunday which called attention to the staggering numbers of arrests that already took place in Iran, even before the crackdown on the uprising at the start of this year. The latest statistics indicate that about 500,000 people are detained at some point each year and that 200,000 of them go on to serve substantial sentences. The report also finds that in the Iranian year spanning from March 2016 to March 2017, about 70 percent of detainees were under the age of 40. This young trend in arrests, as well as the raw number of them, is very likely to accelerate when the current years statistics are taken into account, as hardline authorities have acknowledged the overwhelmingly young make-up of the arrest rolls associated with the January uprising.

At least one regime official attributed to the high number of arrests in general and the high number of youth arrests in particular to deteriorating moral values. But this can easily be interpreted as a coded reference to increasing numbers of politically motivated arrests, as authorities crackdown on dissent and also step up the enforcement of mandatory veiling and other repressive, often religious, laws.

This trend, too, persists in defiance of President Rouhanis public image, which was largely defined by campaign-trail promises of a freer and more open Iranian society. As with the controversy over suspicious deaths of detainees, Rouhani has repeatedly made public statements urging greater legal permissiveness and a more moderate approach to domestic policy. But in these and other areas, there is still no sign of real initiatives that are aimed at curtailing hardline authorities or containing the widening crackdown.
The research used to create the book was done by resistance group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, who were responsible for uncovering the Regimes malign nuclear weapons programme all the way back in 2002, which speaks to the books credibility.

The book, released during the same week that Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, shows that the international community needs to expand its view on dealing with the many threats posed by Iran.

Rather than making flawed deals with the rogue regime, the world should take heed of the position long advocated by the Iranian Resistance: approach from a strong place and tackle all of the Iranian Regimes issues at once.

This includes Irans nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile programme, support of terrorism, and human rights abuses.

Of course, many would point out that no one deal could do all of that. Thats very true, which is why the Resistance do not propose a deal. Instead, they want regime change led by and for the people of Iran and theyd like the international community to pursue policies that will spur this along.

In a statement last week, NCRI President-elect, Maryam Rajavi said: Eradicating the clerical regimes nuclear and terrorism threats means getting rid of the regime in its entirety. A regime based on the principle of velayat-e faqih (absolute rule of the clergy) cannot exist without terrorism, suppression, and weapons of mass destruction.

This call may surprise some in the West who have been misled by talk of reformers in the Regime, but to be clear, there are no moderate Regime members and it is inacapable of change.

Whats more, the Iranian people are calling for regime change in the street in an uprising that began in December. Rajavi highlighted the peoples calls in a separate statement, advocating the Regime change is within reach.

These calls will be explored in more detail at the annual Iran Freedom gathering in Paris on June 30, with over 100,000 people in attendance.

The world should pay attention to this gathering as it will lead them to the conclusion that regime change is the only way forward for Iran.

Shahin Gobadi, a member of Foreign Affairs Committee of the NCRI, wrote: As the international community grapples with questions about the way forward for Iran policy, the least it can do is acknowledge that those demands are legitimate and that the NCRI, as the leading voice for those demands, is legitimate as well.
The Iranian Regime is currently attempting to do the same thing to Syria, by providing proxy militias (i.e. Hezbollah) and training to the Syrian army in order to keep the Bashar Assad dictatorship in power. If the civil war ends, as many now believe it will, with Assad in power, Iran will want some sort of power there.

In some Middle Eastern conflicts, the Iranian Regime has backed terror cells in the hope that the conflict will be resolved by a peace treaty that will put the terrorists in a power-sharing government. This is the case in Yemen, where Iran provides the Houthis with training, weapons, and money that they need to take on the Arab coalition to restore the legitimate government.

The Iranian Regime makes no secret of its overall foreign policy ambition: spread its flawed version of Shiite Islam across the Middle East (and eventually the rest of the world), destabilise the countries through sectarian conflict, and take power.

Iran is currently building a Shiite Crescent from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean, so that they can further target Europe and Israel. If the Iranian Regime is not stopped, then they will continue until they have the whole world in their grasp.

US policy

Of course, a look back at the past two decades of US policy in the Middle East will show that America has accidentally enabled the Iranian Regime.

First off, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan destroyed the Sunni powers there and allowed Iran to take control. Iraqs takeover was mentioned above, but in Afghanistan, Iran has actually allied themselves with the Taliban.

Then the 2015 nuclear deal, which was supposed to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, provided the Regime with money that they funnelled into their military and used to pay for their malign involvement in Middle East conflicts and support terror cells.

It is beyond belief that the military power of the US has so far failed to stop a regime that with a failing economy from taking over the Middle East, but maybe that should show that the US isnt meant to fight this war.

Instead, the fight should be taken by those who are most threatened by the continued existence of the Iranian Regime: the people of Iran and their organised democratic resistance forces.

Iran Resistance

As previously mentioned the Iranian economy is in dire straits despite the nuclear deal. Roughly half of Iran live in absolute poverty because of the mullahs policies and the Iranian people are fighting back.

Since December, theyve been taking part in an anti-regime uprising that will soon topple the mullahs. Perhaps the US would do best to openly support the Iranian Resistance and emphasis sanctions against Iran to cut off the Regimes ability to suppress its people.

Regime change in Iran is the only hope to bring peace to the Middle East.
Did Trump Meet His Match in President of Nigeria?

Try as he might, President Trump couldnt land a deal with Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari at their tete-a-tete in Washington last month.

Deploying his usual tough talk on trade, the U.S. president was shooting for a deal that would open the doors to U.S. farm products by ripping down Nigerian trade barriers that protect the fragile state of that countrys agricultural economy.

Nigeria had too many trade barriers, President Trump complained, and should lift those barriers ASAP. He pointed out that Nigeria receives significant aid from the U.S. to fight terrorism and questioned whether the U.S. was getting its moneys worth.

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We give Nigeria well over $1 billion in trade every year, and we have already started talking with the President [Buhari] about taking down the trade barriers; very substantial barriers to the United States trade, Trump said, adding: We think we are owed that.

Nigeria is one of the largest trading partners for the U.S. in Africa and the Nigerian business climate has improved under Mr Buharis anti-corruption watch. If Nigeria rips down those trade barriers it could pave the way for growing our trade relationship on a principle of fairness and reciprocity, the U.S. president said.

Details of the conversation were revealed in a recent press briefing by the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs.

To Trumps demand, Buhari pushed back, saying that while a lot of Nigerian oil was being sold to the U.S., American trade barriers also posed obstacles for Nigerian farm products seeking markets in the U.S.

Nigeria currently supports thousands of U.S. jobs through its export sales, according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce. In 2015 (the latest data available), Nigeria supported an estimated 35 thousand U.S. jobs  17 thousand in goods exports and 18 thousand in services exports.

By developing its own agricultural sector, Nigeria could reduce mass unemployment and an over-reliance on oil which has already left a huge scar on the local environment.

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During the same visit by President Buhari, a multi-billion dollar deal with General Electric was signed for the rehabilitation of Nigerias dilapidated railways. Partners in the deal include Chinas Sinohydro, South Africas Transnet and APM Terminals of the Netherlands.
Grand Parks Sunday Sessions Returns for a Sixth Summer Celebrating House Music and Dance

WHAT: For the sixth summer, Grand Parks Sunday Sessions offer Angelenos a series of free outdoor dance parties to celebrate one of L.A.s many vibrant and unique music scenes. Honoring the citys contribution to the American-originated, globally embraced art form of House music, Grand Park brings the best House music artists to L.A.s central gathering place to relive the memories, praise the art-makers and connect members of the community with dance and music as a centerpiece.

WHEN:

S undays

June 10, July 15, August 19, September 16, 2018

2:00 p.m.  8:00 p.m.

SCHEDULE*:

June 10  Afro Funkes 15 Year Anniversary featuring Jeremy Sole, Glenn Red, Rocky Dawuni and special guests

August 19  The Do Over



WHERE:

Grand Park

Performance Lawn

200 N. Grand Avenue

(between Grand Ave. and Hill St.)

Los Angeles, CA 90012

TO ATTEND: This is a free event open to all ages. Picnicking is encouraged. Food and beverages will be available for purchase; no outside alcohol is permitted in the park. Cocktails available for purchase with a valid ID.

PROHIBITED ITEMS: No outside alcohol is permitted in the park. For a full list of prohibited items, visit grandparkla.org/faqs/ .

MORE INFO: Visit grandparkla.org/event/sundaysessions-2018/ for more information.

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This is Whats Trending Today.

A Chinese airplane made an emergency landing Monday after its front window broke and one of its pilots was partly pulled out of the plane.

The Sichuan Airlines passenger flight took off from Chongqing, in southwest China. It was traveling to the Tibetan capital of Lhasa.

The airplanes other pilot, Liu Chuanjian, safely landed the plane in the city of Chengdu.

Now, Liu is being called a hero in China.

The plane was flying at a height of about 9,700 meters when an extremely loud sound was heard in the cockpit, Liu said. The cockpit experienced a sudden loss of air pressure and drop in temperature. When he looked over, Liu saw the cockpits right window was gone.

Liu was reported as saying, The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window."

The co-pilot was wearing his seatbelt. He was able to be pulled back inside the plane. He suffered minor injuries. One other employee was injured in the incident.

Liu took control. He had to land the plane manually because the automatic flight-control system stopped working. He safely landed the plane in Chengdu. None of the planes 119 passengers were hurt, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said.

One unnamed passenger told the government-run China News Service that airline workers had been serving passengers food when the plane began to shake. Oxygen masks dropped. The plane dropped for a few seconds before it stabilized again.

The passenger said, Im still nervous. I dont dare to take an airplane anymore. But Im also happy I had a narrow escape.

The incident was a trending discussion Tuesday in China and around the world. Many are praising Liu for being able to land the plane. On the Chinese site Sina Weibo, users are writing messages with the hashtag #ChinaHeroPilot.

The Sichuan Airlines incident comes a month after an American passenger on a Southwest Airlines plane was partly sucked out after a window broke mid-flight. The passenger, Jennifer Riordan, later died.

Incidents involving partly broken windshields are somewhat common. They are usually caused by a bird or lightning striking the window. However, it is rare for an entire windshield to come off.

And thats Whats Trending Today.

Ashley Thompson adapted this Reuters story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

cockpit - n. the area in a boat, airplane, etc., where the pilot or driver sits

suck - v. to pull (something) with the force of moving water, air, etc.

manual - adj. operated or controlled with the hands or by a person

automatic - adj. having controls that allow something to work or happen without being directly controlled by a person

stabilize - v. to make (something) steady

nervous - adj. having or showing feelings of being worried and afraid about what might happen

dare - v. to have enough courage or confidence to do something : to not be too afraid to do something

windshield - n. the window at the front of a car, truck, etc., that protects the driver and passengers
Ramadan is beginning for the worlds Muslims.

The month-long observance is a time to fast, to think and to spend time with friends and family.

In the United States, people of different national origins gather at Islamic centers for religious services and to celebrate their beliefs.

Muslim Americans observe Ramadan in much the same way as Muslims in other countries do.

There are traditions to be followed.

Families buy meat prepared according to Muslim law. The meat is served after sunset, when the daily fast ends. Fasting requires Muslims to avoid eating, drinking and sexual activity during daylight hours.

Families also pray together and help the poor.

Shaker Elsayed is the religious leader of the Dar al-Hijra Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia. The center serves Muslims of 42 different nationalities.

He said, Ramadan becomes a very helpful opportunity to bring people together, those who come from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds and linguistic backgrounds.

He added, We all speak English so we use English as a unifying language, and at the same time, we do all the activities to accommodate everybody, especially in Ramadan.

Shaker said the center provides Muslims free meals to break their fast. It also organizes nightly prayers during Ramadan.

During the day, Muslim Americans are fasting, but their co-workers and friends are not. For Ibrahim Radi, an Egyptian-American, that is not a problem.

I have to fast because it is my religious duty, he said, so it does not concern him too much.

His wife, Nadia, told VOA she misses big family gatherings in Morocco.

There is a big difference; here you do not have extended families, so instead of having 10 people around the table, there is only the two of us, she said.

A time for religious duties and to inform others

Some Muslim Americans say their work day seems longer because they have to carry out their religious duties during Ramadan. Amina Tanboush of Senegal describes some of those duties.

Everyone will cook some food and bring it, and we all eat together and pray together and we talk about [the] Muslim religion, teach each other, sometimes we go to pray together around lunch time, she said.

For many Muslim American groups, Ramadan also is a time to tell the American public about their religious observances and the Islamic faith, in general.

Among the activities are open houses at Islamic centers and local mosques. Other activities include public talks during Ramadan and Iftar dinners with non-Muslims. At this time of year, some television stations broadcast advertisements that bring attention to Muslims as an important part of United States society.

Shaker Elsayed said his Islamic center invites Christians and Jewish Americans to Iftar dinner every Wednesday. The dinners are an effort to increase contacts between religious groups.

Discussion about religion is popular during Ramadan.

Keith Ellison is the first Muslim American to be elected to the U.S. Congress. He says these dialogues help build understanding between religious groups.

It's a critically important dialogue for us to have; all people of all colors, all cultures and faiths need to come together to talk about points of difference so we can discover how are we unified.

Since the early 1990s, U.S. presidents have given Ramadan greetings to the more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Shaker said he believes the presidential greetings have helped Americans know more about Ramadan and Muslim Americans.

Im Mario Ritter.

Mohamed Elshinnawi reported this story for VOANews.com. Mario Ritter adapted his report for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

fast  v. to stop eating and drinking for a period of time

origin  n. a cause, rise or beginning

according  adv. as stated by or in

opportunity  n. a chance to do something

accommodate  v. to provide something needed by someone

linguistic  adj. of or relating to language

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.
North Korea has cancelled a high-level meeting with South Korea over its joint military exercises with the United States.

The North also is raising questions about the upcoming meeting between its leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump.

The two Koreas were set to meet Wednesday at the border village of Panmunjom. The sides are expecting to plan military and Red Cross discussions in an effort to reduce tension. They also planned to discuss reuniting families separated by the Korean War.

South Koreas Yonhap new agency reported that the North cancelled hours before the meeting. The report questioned whether the June 12 meeting in Singapore between Kim and Trump would happen as planned.

North Korea said the reason for the cancellation was the ongoing U.S.-South Korea military exercises. The two-week military exercises started Friday.

North Koreas Korean Central News Agency said, The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.

Heather Nauert is a spokeswoman for the U.S. State Department. She said the U.S. had no information from North Korea about plans to cancel the meeting. She added the U.S. continues to plan for the meeting.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

South Koreas National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong met with Kim in March. He said the North Korean leader understood that routine joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. would continue.

But North Korea did not publicly withdraw its long-standing demand for an end to joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises.

On Tuesday, North Koreas state newspaper also said it is unacceptable and extremely rude for the U.S. to voice concerns about human rights abuses. Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department issued a statement voicing concerns over human rights abuses in North Korea.

Im Jonathan Evans.

Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on AP, Reuters and Yonhap news reports. Mario Ritter was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

deliberations n. careful thought or discussion done to make a decision

summit n. a meeting between leaders of two or more countries

provocative adj. causing discussion, thought, or argument

ruckus n. a noisy argument, fight

routine n. describing a regular way of doing things
A new report says a United States government program for foreign students has been expanding in recent years.

The governments Optional Practical Training, or OPT program was set up to help foreign students graduating from American colleges and universities. It gives them a chance to stay in the country for temporary employment after they complete their studies.

The report is from the Washington-based Pew Research Center. It notes that many foreign students take classes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These four subjects are known by a single term: STEM. The center noted that, under OPT, the number of foreign students graduating and working in STEM fields rose 400 percent between 2008 and 2016.

The federal program enables F-1 visa holders who complete school to remain in the United States and work for up to one year. Two years ago, the program began permitting graduates in STEM fields to work an additional 24 months.

In 2016, about 172,000 foreign nationals got a job through OPT. The program had 45,000 students in 2008, and 73,000 in 2014. The numbers are based on information provided to Pew by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, through a Freedom of Information Act request.

More than half of foreign graduates in the program specialized in STEM fields.

From 2004 to 2016, about 74 percent of OPT approvals were citizens of Asian countries, the Pew study found. Students from India, China and South Korea made up 57 percent of the total. Graduates from Europe were the second-largest group, with an eight percent total. Another eight percent were from Latin America and the Caribbean, while five percent were from Africa.

The Optional Practical Training program is not as well-known as the U.S. governments H-1B visa program. But the number of people taking part in OPT is much larger.

Under the H-1B program, foreign workers are permitted to stay in the U.S. for up to six years. After this time, H-1B visa holders must either return to their home country or seek permission to stay permanently. Working a temporary job through OPT is seen as a first step for many people hoping to receive an H-1B visa at a later date.

The H-1B program is designed to employ foreign workers in jobs requiring specialized knowledge, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Many of these jobs are filled by people with STEM backgrounds.

Pew Research Center reports that in 2016, about 257,000 people took part in the OPT program. By comparison, the H-1B program is limited to a total of 85,000 people per year.

Pew noted that one reason for the rise in OPT numbers is because the number of new students on F-1 visas at U.S. colleges went up 104 percent from 2008 to 2016.

The United States has the largest foreign student population in the world. Neil Ruiz, a co-author of the report, says the OPT program has been an important tool in getting foreign students to attend U.S. schools and keep them here after they graduate.

But foreign student enrollment at U.S. colleges is reported to have dropped since the presidential election in 2016.

Last November, the Institute of International Education released results of a study involving nearly 500 colleges and universities. They were asked to provide enrollment numbers for the 2017-2018 school year. On average, the results found a 7 percent drop in the number of newly-enrolled foreign students at U.S. schools.

The institute says the drop is likely a result of government policies that seek to limit immigration and restrict travel from some mostly Muslim countries. In addition, the group says American colleges also are facing increasing competition from countries like Canada, Australia and Britain.

The U.S. government has also considered making changes to the H-1B and F-1 visa programs. Officials have said the changes would aim to prevent foreign nationals from taking jobs away from American workers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced plans to carry out comprehensive reform of practical training programs in an effort to reduce fraud and abuse.

The group NAFSA: Association of International Educators estimated the economic effects of more than one million international students in the U.S. Its study found that the students added about $37 billion to the U.S. economy and supported 450,000 jobs during the 2016-2017 school year.

The associations director, Esther Brimmer, said that it is important to realize there is increasing global competition for international student talent. She urged U.S. officials to strengthen policies that center on our nations founding ideals of inclusivity and opportunity."

I'm Alice Bryant.

And Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from Pew Research, the Associated Press and other sources. George Grow was the editor.

* Editor's Note: The organization's official name is "NAFSA: Association of International Educators."

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

graduate  v. earn a degree or diploma from a school, college, or university

according  adv. as stated by or in

background  n. the total of someones experience and knowledge

coauthor  n. someone who helps another person write a story, report or book

enrollment  n. becoming a member or participant in something

comprehensive  adj. including everything

fraud  n. the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

talent  n. a special ability or skill

opportunity  n. occasion or situation making it possible to do something that you want to do or have to do
1 hour ago

A growing worry for charities: Tax havens for the rich

A spotlight that has been thrown on how many of the rich and powerful shield their wealth is also intensifying a fear among philanthropy experts: That the tax havens being used by the wealthy will increasingly siphon money away from charitable causes. Wealthy Americans have long sought to use charitable contributions to reduce their tax burdens.

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The memory of a beloved pet inspires one couple's fight against injustice.
A new book about one of the most highlighted personalities in Portuguese poetry of all time  Luis Vaz de Camoes  is being launched in Macau this week.

Authored by Portuguese historian and Camoes-enthusiast, Eduardo Ribeiro, the book portraits the poet and his presence in Macau and Asia.

Published in English, Camoes in Asia is an overview of the poet that puts together the most important aspects of many other published materials about the poet, most of which have only been published in Portuguese. According to Ribeiro, the publication is a way of reaching a broader spectrum of readers.

This is not a reprint [in English language of previous books] but a gist of my investigative work about the presence of Camoes in Macau, the author told the Times. Ribeiros research began from a previously-written text titled, Roteiro Historico de Camoes no Oriente (Camoes historic route in the East) which has been published in the book Camoes no Oriente (Camoes in the East). It also served as a base for the creation of a timeline of stories included in this new book that address the voyage of the poet to the East. It starts with Camoes departure from Lisbon in March 1553 and follows his return to the kingdom in April 1570.

The author said the purpose of providing the gist of previous books comes from his awareness that they dont have anything. Neither the English speakers nor the Chinese who cant speak and read Portuguese, adding, there are a lot of people eager to know about Camoes and who just cant access the correct information, Ribeiro noted. Ribeiro recalls that during the 28 years that he lived in the region, he read many things written in the English language that made no sense at all. Much of the nonsense that he read did not just copy some of that blunders that some Portuguese wrote, but they also invented a lot of new things [presented as facts].

The author self-proposed to fix this gap in the literature by writing a book capable of reaching a broader audience and providing a better perspective on the poet.As for the biggest challenges presented in this book, Ribeiro identifies two of them, namely the translation itself and its relation to the content.

It took us [him and the translator] two and half months of intensive and daily hard work to be able not to just have a correct translation but also to grant that the content and what I really wanted to say in my own words would be there, he said, adding that the book is my gift back to Macau and to all [this region] gave me for many years.

The book is based on data gathered in Asias Chronicler Diogo do Couto (1542-1616). Camoes knew Diogo do Couto for approximately one year, and they travelled together back to the Kingdom. The book launch will occur on May 20 at 5.30 p.m. at the Macau Military Club and only a limited number of copies will be for sale at the Portuguese Bookshop. The author has appealed to friends and connoisseurs, who have gone through his work in the Portuguese language, to not acquire the limited copies saying: Please dont buy this book if you can read Portuguese and have access to my previous works. I really want these very few copies to stay for those who cant access the information in another way, he appealed during the interview to the Times. He expressed hopes that many non-Portuguese speakers would be present at the book launch and make good use of the book.

The book is an edition from the Macau Scientific and Cultural Centre in Lisbon. Its launch will begin with a presentation by Professor Carlos Andre from Coimbra University who is currently leading the Pedagogic and Scientific Portuguese Center of the Macau Polytechnic Institute.

Camoes presence in Macau is controversial, with some historians saying that the poet was never in the enclave, whilst others assure that he wrote part of his masterpiece Os Lusiadas here.
Zhuhai police authorities raided and shut down dozens of illegal currency exchange operations at the Gongbei underground shopping mall. Chinese media reports noted that over 100 police officers conducted the raid of the stores located near the escalators of the Gongbei checkpoint, detaining a number of staff and those operating the stores. The suspects were then handcuffed and all currency was seized from the store. The raid came after those arrested reportedly exchanged counterfeit money from stores that are licensed as liquor and dry good stores, yet conduct unlicensed businesses in their back rooms.

Artists to hold talk on photography exhibition

The artist-photographers of the collective exhibition Visual Thinking will give a talk this Saturday at 4 p.m. at Creative Macau. Visual Thinking is a contemporary photography exhibition, for which the artists created a series of photographic works enhanced with various techniques and manipulations, visually conveying the theme. The artists showcased in the exhibition include Antonio Mil-Homens, Hugo Teixeira, Lampo Leong, Li Li, Noah Ng Fong Chao and Ricardo Meireles. The exhibition kicked off last month.

MOP10 banknotes issued in the 90s to halt circulation

The withdrawal period for MOP10 banknotes issued in 1991 and 1995 will end on May 26. Thereafter, that banknote cannot be used as currency in the market. The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) reminds citizens in possession of the aforementioned banknotes to have their notes exchanged at Banco Nacional Ultramarino and Bank of China before the May 26 deadline. The two Issuing Banks have no further obligation to exchange such notes with the public after the end of the final withdrawal period, AMCM noted.
Even as Pope Francis apologized for his failures in connection with Chiles most famous case of clerical sex abuse, the pope and that countrys deeply discredited Catholic Church are under mounting pressure to address another, even bigger sex scandal.

The blooming scandal of the Marist Brothers, a congregation dedicated to education, has not yet drawn great attention worldwide  unlike allegations that a bishop covered up the crimes of a pedophile priest, Rev. Fernando Karadima.

Francis recently spent several days at his Vatican hotel in talks with three of Karadimas victims; this week he is meeting with all of Chiles bishops to address the crisis that has implicated several church leaders and religious orders.

In the Marist case, the accusations of abuse are many.

Its a situation of systematic abuse where there are multiple abusers throughout time, within and outside the congregation, Juan Pablo Hermosilla, an attorney for some of the victims told The Associated Press. He said that there at least 20 cases of abuse, but that there could be more.

Its an unprecedented situation, he said.

Marists are religious brothers, not priests; they operate in dozens of countries around the world. The scandal came to light last August, when the group revealed that at least 14 minors were abused from the 1970s until 2008 by Abel Perez, a brother who worked at two of the orders schools. Then it acknowledged that another Marist sexually abused five students.

The Marists opened a canonical investigation and launched legal action against Perez. But many Chileans were outraged when the order admitted that Perez had confessed in 2010  seven years earlier.

Now, victims have filed a criminal complaint against three Catholic priests, a Capuchin brother and six Marists. In that complaint and in interviews, they have recounted numerous abusive encounters.

Jaime Concha said he was 12 years old when he was raped by Perez during a boy scout field trip in the 1970s. He said Perez, a trip chaperone, took him to a tent after he fell ill, and gave him herbal tea mixed with alcohol.

When I woke up in the middle of the night, he was taking advantage of me, the 55-year-old physician told the AP. He had already raped me. But he said Perez blamed the abuse on him, saying: Dont worry, Ive already asked God to forgive your sin.

Gonzalo Dezerega, 55, wept as he recounted how Perez raped him at the schools locker rooms and showers. He was 10.

Perez has declined to speak with the media. Despite the orders acknowledgment that he confessed, his lawyers continue to maintain his innocence.

The alleged abuses at the Alonso de Ercilla Institute in Chile often took place at the schools basement, in the rooms of the Marist Brothers who lived in a residence connected to the school, or at spiritual retreats and scout field trips. AP
China said yesterday it is sending an envoy to the United States this week for talks aimed at cooling a trade dispute that threatens to upend markets from soybeans to steel, and welcomed comments by President Donald Trump hinting at a possible easing of sanctions on embattled Chinese telecoms firm ZTE.

The foreign ministry said Vice Premier Liu He will visit the U.S. from today to Saturday for consultations with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang also said China appreciated tweets by Trump saying he would help ZTE Corp. get back into business because too many jobs in China are at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to ZTEs American suppliers.

We think highly of the U.S. statement regarding ZTEs case. We are currently in close communication over details of the implementation, Lu told reporters at a daily news briefing.

Referring to Lius visit, Lu said China was willing to work with the U.S. to strive for positive and constructive outcomes from the next round of economic and trade discussions.

Partially state-owned ZTE makes cellphones, network switching equipment and other telecommunications equipment. Last month, the U.S. Commerce Department banned it from buying U.S. technology or components for seven years after it misled regulators by failing to discipline employees involved in illegal exports and instead paid them bonuses.

Lius trip to Washington follows a visit by Mnuchin and other U.S. officials to Beijing earlier this month, where they conveyed a demand that China slash its trade surplus with the U.S. by USD200 billion by the end of 2020.

An intensifying rivalry over advanced technology has also fueled demands by Washington that China give up policies that favor domestic companies. Beijing considers such programs as fundamental to its state-driven economic model and vital for its future growth.

Americas trade deficit with China amounted last year to $337 billion in goods and services.

The intensifying trade dispute has rattled financial markets for weeks. In March, the Trump administration slapped tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. China counterpunched with tariffs on a range of U.S. products, including bourbon and blue jeans.

An even higher-stakes fight looms over American allegations that China steals technology and forces U.S. companies to hand over trade secrets in exchange for access to the Chinese market. The United States is considering imposing tariffs on up to $150 billion of Chinese products, and Beijing has countered with proposed tariffs on $50 billion in American goods, including soybeans and small aircraft. AP
An Indonesian family brought its 8-year-old daughter to a suicide bomb attack it launched yesterday on the police headquarters in the countrys second-largest city, authorities said, a day after members of another family conducted coordinated suicide bombings on three city churches that killed 12 people.

National police chief Tito Karnavian said the girl, who was with two of the attackers on a motorcycle, survived being thrown by the blast at Surabayas police headquarters. The attack killed the four perpetrators. Six civilians and four officers were wounded.

The attack came just hours after police said the family that carried out the church bombings included girls aged 9 and 12.

The flurry of bombings raised concerns that previously beaten-down militant networks in the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation have been reinvigorated by the return of some of the estimated 1,100 Indonesians who went to fight with the Islamic State group in Syria. Experts have warned for several years that when those fighters return, they could pose a significant threat.

IS claimed responsibility for the church bombings in a statement carried by its Aamaq news agency. Karnavian, however, said earlier police comments that the family had spent time in Syria were incorrect.

He said the church bombers and the police headquarters attackers were friends, as were another family whose homemade bombs exploded in their apartment Sunday night.

The use of children in the attacks has been particularly horrifying to people.

This is terrifying, said Taufik Andrie, executive director of an institute that runs programs to help paroled militants reject extremism and rejoin society. This is showing how extremist ideology can entrap children. Children have no choice. They cant comprehend the decisions involved.

All told, 25 people have died since Sunday including a total of 13 militants and their children.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo condemned the attacks as barbaric and vowed that authorities would root out and destroy Islamic militant networks. The top security minister, Wiranto, who uses one name, said the government will attempt to hasten passage of an updated anti-terrorism law that has languished in parliament.

A security camera video of the attack on Surabayas police headquarters showed at least one explosion after the four attackers rode two motorcycles up to a security checkpoint. The motorcycles, which moved closely together, pulled up alongside a car and four officers manning opposite sides of the checkpoint.

Two men, apparently civilians, were walking into the area just meters from the motorcycles at the moment of the explosion, which a split second later was followed by a second possible blast.

Indonesias deadliest terrorist attack occurred in 2002, when bombs exploded on the tourist island of Bali, killing 202 people in one night, mostly foreigners. Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaida affiliated network responsible for the Bali attacks, was obliterated by a sustained crackdown on militants by Indonesias counterterrorism police with U.S. and Australian support. Its leaders were killed in police raids and hundreds of militants were arrested.

Karnavian said the father of the family that carried out the church bombings was head of the Surabaya cell of Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, an Indonesian militant network affiliated with IS that has been implicated in attacks in Indonesia in the past year. All six members of the family were killed.

The IS statement claiming responsibility for the attacks didnt mention anything about families or children taking part and said there were only three attackers. The group also claimed responsibility for a hostage-taking ordeal last week by imprisoned Islamic militants at a detention center near Jakarta in which six officers were killed.

Separately on Sunday, three members of another family were killed when homemade bombs exploded at an apartment in Sidoarjo, a town bordering Surabaya, police said.

The church attacks occurred within minutes of each other, according to Surabaya police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera.

Karnavian said the father drove a bomb-laden car into the citys Pentecostal church. The mother, with her two daughters, attacked the Christian Church of Diponegoro, he said. Based on their remains, Karnavian said the mother and daughters were all wearing explosives around their waists.

The sons aged 16 and 18 rode a motorcycle onto the grounds of the Santa Maria Church and detonated their explosives there, he said. Niniek Karmini, Surabaya, AP
Applications for the Guangdong & Macao Branded Products Fair 2018 kick off today and will be open until May 28, targeting local enterprises that retails made-in-Macau products, local brands, overseas products and products from Portuguese-speaking countries distributed by local agents.

Jointly organized by the Macau Trade and Investment Promotion Institute (IPIM) and the Department of Commerce of Guangdong, the Macau SME Exhibition Subsidy Scheme is also applicable to the Guangdong & Macao Branded Products Fair 2018.

The fair will be held in the Venetian Macao and will last for three days from July 27.

Guangdong & Macao Branded Products Fair 2018 will celebrate its 10th anniversary and will continue assisting Guangdong and Macau, as well as countries along the Belt and Road route, in developing multilateral economic and trade markets and reinforcing collaboration, IPIM said in a statement.

An array of products will be showcased at the 2018 fair, including souvenirs, food, daily necessities, cultural and creative projects, and products of time honored brands.

More elements of the Belt and Road Initiative are also added to this years exhibition, according to the organizers.

Also, in celebration of the anniversary, the Macau Products Exhibition & Sales Area will feature new themes and high-quality products. The Macao Franchise Expo 2018 will also be held concurrently.
A micro-sized logistics enterprise in the city has experienced a ten-fold increase in its sales revenue since its partnership with Sands China started over a decade ago.

Established in 1991, Chi Kei Fo Van (Transportation) started providing services to Sands China when it opened Sands Macao in the SAR in 2004.

Since then, the firm has experienced significant growth in its business. They have increased their number of vehicles from two medium-sized vans to a total of seven today, including large-scale vehicles, mini vans and refrigerated vehicles.

The enterprise has been servicing the integrated resort operator by removing construction waste related to new property openings, transporting any waste that needs to be taken to landfill, and re-allocating large size furniture or machines within the properties.

Chi Kei Fo Van started the business with seven full time employees and has now grown to twelve full-time staff with several casual and flex-time workers.

We benefit from Sands Chinas expansion because it has created more business opportunities for small companies like ours, said Si Tou Peng Chio, the owner of the local firm.

Currently, Sands China accounts for 70 to 80 percent of their total business volume.

Chi Kei Fo Van is one of four winners in the Service Excellence Category of the 2017 Sands Supplier Excellence Awards, awarded in recognition of their contributions to the citys recovery effort after Typhoon Hato.

The Sands Supplier Excellence Awards recognises the cooperation and service of several of its outstanding suppliers.

Nearly 30 companies were nominated for the previous Sands Supplier Excellence Awards by Sands Chinas business units and employees, carefully selected from among thousands of service providers and suppliers that work with the company.

The companies nominated represent diverse industries such as construction and development; furniture, fixtures and fittings; facilities and services; hotel supplies; food and beverage; and many others.

Since the firms accolades at the 2017 Sands Supplier Excellence Awards, the local company has also been recognized by new clients requesting the firm to provide a range of services both in the public and private sector.

The company has been awarded for wholeheartedly supporting Sands Chinas daily operations and typhoon relief efforts after Hato caused extensive damage to the region back in August.

The local SME helped to transport bottled water to Sands China properties, sending 12 of its workers with two vehicles to transport over 2,000 cases of bottled water well into the early hours of the morning.

We didnt have any hesitation to help. Fortunately, we didnt have any losses during the typhoon so we took on the mission to help others. We only charged for manpower and fuel, said the entrepreneur.

Recalling the aftermath of Typhoon Hato, Sands China extended a program of ongoing support to its local SME suppliers.

It offered a 50 percent advance payment for purchase orders or contracts issued during the remainder of 2017.

Based on the average monthly spend of the three types of SME suppliers  small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Macao young entrepreneurs, and Made-in-Macao enterprises  the estimated total value of this 50 percent advance payment during the final four months of the year amounted to approximately USD25 million (MOP200 million).

Sands China did not cancel any purchase orders or contracts as a result of local SME suppliers not being able to deliver goods or services on time due to the typhoons. Instead, these suppliers were given the option to cancel their purchase orders or contracts without any penalty from Sands China.

Sands China considers its suppliers to be partners in mutual success, acknowledging that by working hand-in-hand, they would be better able to meet the company strategy of delivering excellent service to its guests and visitors.

Weve always had good communication with the procurement team of Sands China. We receive simple and direct communication so no orders are missed, said the owner.

Chi Kei Fo Van is slated to benefit from Sands Chinas upcoming USD1.1 billion project, The Londoner Macao.

The preparation and construction period [of The Londoner] will bring sales growth to our business, he said.

Our thanks go to Sands China for supporting local SMEs for so many years, Si Tou remarked.

Sands China sees it as its mission to support local SME suppliers, continually hosting a series of SME programs to provide a platform for these enterprises to increase their sales revenue.

As a company based in Macau, Sands China is proud to have taken innovative steps to assist local SMEs.

With these initiatives, local SMEs can grow together with the gaming operator.

We have been in business with Sands China for many years, even before the SME programs were launched. So with these initiatives, we gleaned more business and support from different operators, he added.

Chi Kei Fo Van currently serves some 10 clients including government departments, private firms and integrated resort operators.

This article is sponsored by

Sands China Ltd.
Israeli fire killed at least 52 Palestinians during mass protests along the Gaza border yesterday, marking the deadliest day of violence there since a devastating 2014 cross-border war and casting a pall over Israels festive inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In a show of anger fueled by the embassy move, protesters set tires on fire, sending plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. The Israeli military said its troops had come under fire, and accused protesters of trying to break through the border fence. It said troops shot and killed three Palestinians who were trying to plant a bomb.

By midafternoon, at least 41 Palestinians, including five minors, were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said. One of the minors was identified as a girl.

At least 770 protesters were wounded, including 86 in serious or critical condition.

The Hamas-led protest in Gaza was meant to be the biggest yet in a weeks-long campaign against a decade-old blockade of the territory. The march was also directed at the inauguration of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem which got under way yesterday afternoon.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, a key campaign promise of President Donald Trump, has infuriated the Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as a future capital.

A great day for Israel! Trump tweeted earlier.

Yesterdays marked the biggest showdown in years between Israels military and Gazas Hamas rulers along the volatile border. The sides have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war  their third in a decade.

The protests mark the culmination of a campaign, led by Hamas and fueled by despair among Gazas 2 million people, to break the decade-old border blockade of the territory imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Since weekly border marches began in late March, 83 Palestinian protesters have been killed and more than 2,500 wounded by Israeli army fire. Hamas said four members, including three security men, were among the dead.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests against Israel will continue until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved.

Moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem will be a disaster on the American administration and a black day in the history of the American people because they are partners with the occupation and its aggression against the Palestinian people, he added.

Hamas leaders have suggested a border breach is possible yesterday, something Israel has vowed to prevent at any cost.

Most of the casualties were in the southern Gaza towns of Khan Younis and Rafah. Israeli forces were firing volleys of tear gas to disperse the crowds, and the sound of heavy gunfire could be heard. Sirens were constantly wailing as the wounded were carried to nearby ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, an Israeli military spokesman, said the army had set up additional layers of security in and around communities near the border to defend Israeli civilians. He said there already had been several significant attempts to break through the fence.

Even if the fence is breached, we will be able to protect Israeli civilians from attempts to massacre or kidnap or kill them, he said.

In a statement, the army said troops had shot and killed three Palestinians who attempted to plant a bomb along the fence. It also said an aircraft had targeted a Hamas post in northern Gaza after Israeli troops came under fire.

The timing of yesterdays events was deeply symbolic, both to Israel and the Palestinians.

The U.S. said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israels establishment.

But it also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their nakba, or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding Israels independence.

A majority of Gazas 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the Great March of Return to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

In one of the border areas east of Gaza City, Mohammed Hamami, a 40-year-old civil servant, joined a crowd of hundreds of protesters, along with his mother and five children.

Today we are here to send a message to Israel and its allies that we will never give up on our land, he said.

Some protesters moved to within about 150 meters of the border fence. A reporter saw two men who tried to advance further being shot in the legs by Israeli troops.

Clouds of black smoke from burning tires rose into the air. Earlier, Israeli drones dropping incendiary material had pre- emptively set ablaze some of the tires collected by activists.

Protesters have used the thick smoke as cover against Israeli snipers perched on high sand berms on the other side of the border. The army accuses Hamas of using the protests as cover to plan or carry out attacks.

Leaflets dropped over Gaza by army jets warned that those approaching the border jeopardize their lives. The warning said the army is prepared to face all scenarios and will act against every attempt to damage the security fence or harm IDF soldiers or Israeli civilians.

Trumps decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was welcomed by Israel and condemned by the Palestinians.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed it in a move not recognized by the international community. The Palestinians seek the citys eastern half as the capital of a future state.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas cut ties with the Trump administration and declared it unfit to mediate peace talks.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, said that Trump had violated a promise to hold off on moving the embassy to give peace talks a chance and that his administration is based on lies.

Erekat said the Trump administration has become part of the problem, not part of the solution.

In the West Bank, several dozen Palestinian stone-throwers clashed with Israeli troops on the outskirts of Jerusalem, with no immediate reports of injuries. Earlier yesterday, several thousand gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah to protest the inauguration of the new embassy.

Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as a capital and view the Trump administrations change in policy as a blatant show of pro-Israel bias. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly praised Trumps decision to upend decades of U.S. policy by recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital.

Although Trump has said his declaration does not set the final borders of the city, it is seen by both Israel and the Palestinians as taking Israels side in the most sensitive issue in their conflict.

Only two countries, Guatemala and Paraguay, have said they will follow suit. Most of the world maintains embassies in Tel Aviv, saying the Jerusalem issue must first be resolved. Fares Akram & Ilan Ben Zion, Gaza Strip, AP
An official in Nepal says a prominent Canadian aid worker has been arrested at his mountain villa and charged with sexually abusing children.

Central Investigation Bureau chief Pushkar Karki said Peter Dalglish was arrested at his home in April with two underage Nepalese boys after weeks of investigation. His case is being heard in Kavre, a town near Kathmandu. He faces up to 13 years in prison if convicted.

Dalglish has worked for decades for a number of humanitarian agencies, much of the time focusing on working children and street children.

Officials said Dalglish lured children from poor families with promises of education and trips, and then sexually abused them.
The Judiciary Police (PJ) responded to critics yesterday afternoon, during a press conference, over the investigation methods employed during the ongoing investigation of sexual abuse allegedly committed by a staff member against several children at D. Jose da Costa Nunes Kindergarten.

Duriang a press conference held earlier by lawmaker Agnes Lam and parents of reportedly abused children, the PJ was criticized for the staffs lack of knowledge in questioning children regarding this matter, as too many repetitive questions were posed to the children. All the investigation inspectors [involved in the mentioned case] have received training, in both Hong Kong and Macau, to deal with such cases, namely with cases involving domestic violence and sexual abuse, the sub-inspector Leong Kuok Hei said. Leong added that, during the process, children to be questioned can by accompanied by one or two people they trust.

While accompanying the media into the questioning facilities, Leong noted, children can stay here for 30 minutes to one hour prior to questioning. During that period, they can play and relax and our inspectors will also use that time to assess their language and thinking capabilities [to reply to the questioning].

Leong also noted that the designated room and pre questioning procedure is normally used with children under the age of 11 years, but the main leading factor is the capability of reading and reviewing their own testimonies.

The questioning room and procedure was acknowledged by Leong to have become operative during 2016 after the enactment of the Domestic Violence Law, which established such rules and procedures.

Regarding the case, the PJ spokesperson added, for the time being, we have seven cases reported of children of the same group, she said, adding, four of them already came to the PJ to give their testimony, and as for the other three, only the parents have spoken to the police.

It was also added that, when receiving a report, the PJ will put the alleged victims directly in contact with the investigators taking care of the case, avoiding the inconvenience of giving testimony upon arrival at the complaint service and again to the inspectors chosen to run the case.

Replying specifically to the criticism that the police ask the same questions too many times, the PJ spokesperson said, we try not to repeat the same questions many times but there are some matters that need to be clarified.

Resident scammed over attempt to hire a prostitute

A local 24-year-old male was scammed and lost around HKD33,000 over an attempt to hire a prostitute via the Internet mobile application WeChat.

The incident occurred on May 10 when the man claimed to have been contacted by a woman offering to provide sexual services. Two days later, they arranged a meeting in town but at the arranged time, the man received a phone call from another man asking him to provide payment in advance through point cards My Card.

He accepted and went to the closest convenience shop to acquire these cards, sending the codes to the person who contacted him by photographing the cards.

This process was repeated for over two hours until the man realized that he had been scammed and reported the case to the Judiciary Police (PJ). He is said to have lost a total of HKD32,762.

In a separate case, the same police force reported that a local resident (84) died after falling from the 12th floor from his apartment building located at Estrada Marginal do Hipodromo.

According to the report, the case occurred around 8 p.m. on May 12 after the family had dinner.

While the woman was cleaning the kitchen, the man allegedly fell through one of the windows of the house under conditions that are as yet, unexplained. According to the PJ spokesperson, it was the police who warned the wife about her husbands death as she had not noticed that he was not in the house.

The case is still under investigation to determine the sequence of events that led to the mans death. RM
South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday welcomed North Koreas announcement that it is set to dismantle its only nuclear test site, calling it a start to the countrys nuclear disarmament.

North Korea said Saturday that it will dismantle its northeastern Punggye- ri test site between May 23 and 25 in the presence of local and international media. The dismantling would come before North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump meet for June 12 talks in Singapore expected to focus on Kims nuclear program.

Moon said that the Norths move shows how sincere the country is about making the talks between Kim and Trump a success. This would be a preliminary step toward complete denuclearization, Moon said during a meeting with his aides, according to his office.

Trump, in a tweet Saturday, already thanked North Korea for its plan to dismantle the nuclear test site, calling it a very smart and gracious gesture!

After months of tensions over his nuclear and missile tests, Kim has been reaching out to Washington and Seoul since the beginning of the year. He sent a delegation to Februarys Winter Olympics in South Korea, held a landmark summit with Moon in April and last week released three Americans detained in North Korea.

Kim is also willing to place his nuclear program up for negotiations in return for security assurances, according to Seoul. But some experts still doubt how committed Kim is to taking serious disarmament steps because his country was close to achieving its goal of possessing nuclear missiles targeting the mainland U.S. after decades of struggle.

Moons office previously said Kim told Moon during their April 27 summit that he would allow not only outside journalists but also experts to watch the dismantling of the Punggy-ri test site. But the Norths announcement Saturday did not mention anything about inviting experts to Punggy-

ri, spawning speculation that the North may want to hide some information about its past nuclear tests.

Some experts have downplayed the closure of the Punggy-ri site, where all six of the Norths known underground nuclear explosions happened, saying it is already too unstable for more testing. Kim has denied such views, saying the site has two additional underground tunnels that could be used for new tests. AP
Standing on his companys sprawling campus in central Taiwan, Lin Nan-juh says hes able to make any plane his islands government calls for.

We can do whatevers asked, says Lin, president of Aerospace Industrial Development Corp., or AIDC, a leader in the defense industry serving the isolated self-governing island that China claims as its own territory to be brought under its control by force if necessary.

Its a bold statement with potentially major significance for Taiwans democratic survival as it seeks to build up its domestic defense industry in the face of Chinas warnings and the reluctance of foreign arms suppliers to provide it with the planes, ships, submarines and other hardware it needs to defend its 23 million people.

While the U.S.  which is legally bound to respond to threats to Taiwan  continues to be its main arms supplier, Taiwan is increasingly looking to replace those politically fraught, touch-and-go deals with domestic production that is reliable as well as technologically advanced.

Taiwans indigenous systems are both a source of national pride and a product of necessity, said David An, senior research fellow with the Washington-based policy incubator Global Taiwan Institute. As its commonly said, necessity is the mother of invention.

The self-reliance policy has been strongly promoted by Taiwans pro-independence president, Tsai Ing-wen, whose government has been shunned by Beijing since shortly after she took office more than two years ago. Defense is included in Tsais economic program targeting eight industries for innovation and job creation, with the government helping match its defense needs with the abilities of Taiwanese companies.

Chinas recent actions have underscored the risk for Taiwan.

Beijing has been upping pressure on the island by cutting its already tenuous diplomatic links and has sent military planes and an aircraft carrier close to the island multiple times. China now has the worlds second-largest defense budget behind the U.S., significantly boosting its ability to blockade, attack and possibly invade Taiwan.

Taiwans domestic arms industry got started in the 1970s, more than two decades after Chiang Kai-sheks Nationalist forces fled to the former Japanese colony after Mao Zedongs Communists seized power on the mainland in 1949.

Adaption and development of foreign technology gave companies such as AIDC much of what they needed to grow and help keep the peace with the mainland, said Mei Fu-shing, director of the Taiwan Security Analysis Center, a research and consulting practice based in New York.

Indigenously developed and produced weapons have contributed materially to deterrence in the Taiwan Strait over the past three or four decades, Mei said.

Taiwans capabilities have improved of late in both quality and technical sophistication, Mei said, pointing to the production of air-to-air missiles as an example. Taiwans defense industry obviously has progressed, making it less reliant on foreign sources, he said.

Along with protest actions from Beijing  including the suspension of exchanges with the U.S. military after a USD6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan was announced in 2010  U.S. sales are constrained by concerns about the leaking of sensitive advanced technology across the 160-kilometer-wide Taiwan Strait to China.

Despite that, such sales continue, with the Trump administration notifying Congress last year of its intent to approve seven proposed deals for technical support, anti-radiation missiles, torpedoes and other technology valued at around $1.42 billion.

And last month, the administration agreed to allow U.S. firms with the technology to build much-needed diesel-electric submarines. Taiwans navy today operates just two aging subs bought from the Netherlands in the 1980s.

Analysts say sales of technology are less likely to prompt a strong response from China than those of complete systems such as planes or submarines.

Along with fighter jets and other aircraft, Taiwanese contractors already make anti-ship, surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles, as well as missile boats and Clouded Leopard armored vehicles. Taiwan has long been known worldwide for its civilian high-tech industry and about 200 small and mid-sized companies work in defense.

AIDC and the National Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology are among the larger contractors. The aerospace firm reported sales income of $235 million and a net profit in the third quarter of 2017, the most recent made public online.

More than 3,000 people work on new aircraft designs at AIDCs tree-lined campus, complete with a restaurant and a swimming pool. One of its planes marks a front entrance.

Despite the advances, Taiwan will never be able to quit buying advanced weapons from other countries, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi. Propulsion systems and engines for ships and aircraft are a particular need, and Taiwan sometimes finds that imports cost less than local production.

Yet such sales carry the risk of being used as bargaining chips to gain concessions from Beijing, particularly on trade. Ultimately, officials in Washington might help Taiwans military again only if they see its capability decline, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

Taiwan worries that there might be a time that we cant buy the weapon system that we want, so we better build up our indigenous defense industry capability, Huang said. Ralph Jennings, Taichung
In a surprising overture to China, President Donald Trump says he would help a Chinese telecommunications company get back into business, saying too many jobs in China are at stake after the U.S. government cut off access to its American suppliers.

At issue is the Commerce Departments move last month to block the ZTE Corp., a major supplier of telecom networks and smartphones based in southern China, from importing American components for seven years. The U.S. accused ZTE of misleading American regulators after it settled charges of violating sanctions against North Korea and Iran.

The case dates to before Trump took office in January 2007 but the Commerce Departments decision came amid worsening trade tensions between the U.S. and China centered on technology-related intellectual property.

Trumps unexpected announcement yesterday [Macau time] came as the two countries prepared to continue trade talks in Washington this week. Given his past vows to stop the flow of U.S. jobs to China and crack down on what he says are unfair trade practices, Trumps tweet of concern about Chinese jobs was something of a backflip.

A reversal of the ZTE decision could temporarily tamp down trade tensions by allowing the Chinese to make concessions to the U.S. without losing face, said Eswar Prasad, a professor of trade policy at Cornell University. Trump may have recognized that backing off on ZTE clears the path for him to claim at least a partial victory in the US-China trade dispute based on the concessions the Chinese seem prepared to offer.

ZTE, which has more than 70,000 employees and has supplied networks or equipment to some of the worlds biggest telecoms companies, said in early May that it had halted its main operations as a result of the departments denial order.

Trump, who has taken a hard line on trade and technology issues with Beijing, tweeted that he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!

Expanding on Trumps message, White House deputy press secretary Lindsay Walters said in a statement, The Presidents tweet underscores the importance of a free, fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial economic, trade and investment relationship between the United States and China.

It was not exactly clear what Trump was proposing for ZTE, or whether it would involve rolling back the Commerce Departments decision. The White House deferred to the Commerce Department on any specific questions relating to ongoing regulator action.

In a later tweet, Trump suggested the U.S. and China were moving forward on the trade negotiations, but it was not clear how the ZTE case would fit into the bigger picture.

Ive never seen a president step in and reverse an agency decision like this. Its not clear, of course, if hes planning to really reverse it or think of a solution in a larger context, but it is something that is just out of the norm, said Amanda DeBusk, the chair of the international trade and government regulations practice at the firm Dechert LLP.

DeBusk, a former Commerce Department assistant secretary for export enforcement, said Trumps announcement indicates he is looking to accomplish his objectives on trade with China on a much larger level.

The widening trade dispute between the worlds two biggest economies has taken a toll on both sides. U.S. companies that export to China have seen their goods held up at Chinas ports amid tougher inspections. The block on ZTE was a heavy blow for the company but also hurt the U.S. companies it buys from. According to IDC data, ZTE sources more than 40 percent of its components from the U.S., creating a multibillion-dollar revenue stream for suppliers like Qualcomm and Intel.

Chinese officials raised their objections to ZTEs punishment at trade talk in Beijing earlier this month, and the American delegation agreed to report them to Trump. ZTE has asked the department to suspend the seven-year ban on doing business with U.S. technology exporters. By cutting off access to U.S. suppliers of essential components such as microchips, the ban threatens ZTEs existence, the company has said.

At the Beijing talks, the Trump administration handed China a list of hard-line demands that trade experts said could make it even more difficult to resolve the trade disputes. Both sides had been expected to dig in for a fight over their trade imbalance at this weeks talks.

But Trump set a more reassuring tone in a separate tweet, saying the two economic giants were working well together on trade, but past negotiations have been so one sided in favor of China, for so many years, that it is hard for them to make a deal that benefits both countries. But be cool, it will all work out!

The U.S. imposed the penalty on Shenzhen-based ZTE after discovering that the company, which had paid a USD1.2 billion fine in the case, had failed to discipline employees involved and paid them bonuses instead.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross last month accused ZTE of misleading the department and warned, This egregious behavior cannot be ignored.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, criticized Trump for softening his stance on ZTE.

Our intelligence agencies have warned that ZTE technology and phones pose a major cyber security threat. You should care more about our national security than Chinese jobs, Schiff said in a tweet directed at Trump. AP
THAILAND An editor at an English-language newspaper in Thailand said yesterday he has been sidelined for refusing to tone down coverage critical of the countrys military government.

PHILIPPINES Legal groups called on Philippine legislators yesterday to defend their constitutional power to impeach officials, which they said was usurped by Supreme Court justices who ousted the chief judge last week.

KOREA North Korea is moving ahead with plans to close its nuclear test site next week, South Koreas military said yesterday, an assessment backed by U.S. researchers who say satellite images show the North has begun dismantling facilities at the site.

PAKISTAN Three senior Pakistani officials say a U.S. diplomat who killed a Pakistani motorcyclist in a road accident last month has left the country after getting clearance from authorities.

US-IRAN The Trump administration is designating the head of Irans central bank as a terrorist and hitting him with sanctions intended to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.

SYRIA Government forces are in full control of the last rebel enclave in Syrias largest province after overpowering terrorism following the evacuation of thousands of armed men and civilians, an officer told state-run TV yesterday.

ETHIOPIA A Swedish doctor who had been imprisoned in his native Ethiopia on charges of corruption and terrorism has been freed.

GERMANY A court has dismissed a television comedians appeal of a ruling that prohibits him from repeating elements of a crude poem he wrote about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

SLOVAKIA President Andrej Kiska says he will not seek a second term in office in next years presidential election. The 55-year-old Kiska announced his decision yesterday, saying he wants to spend more time with his family.

VENEZUELA A dozen countries from the Americas and Spain are urging the Venezuelan government to cancel the presidential election scheduled for May 20.

MEXICO Prosecutors say police and soldiers have detained the chief operator for the Sinaloa drug cartel in the northern border city of Nogales, across the border from Arizona.

US Tom Wolfe, the white-suited wizard of New Journalism who exuberantly chronicled American culture from the Merry Pranksters through the space race before turning his satiric wit to such novels as The Bonfire of the Vanities and A Man in Full, has died. He was 88.
China is seeing major progress in three civil aircraft models, with the ARJ21 in operation, the C919 in flight tests and the CR929 in preliminary design, said their developer yesterday. Embracing its 10th anniversary, the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) has made great breakthroughs in cultivating a national civil aviation industry, said a statement from COMAC.

COMAC had realized the process of developing civil jetliners and formed a product pedigree from short-

medium-range narrow body to medium-long-range wide-body aircraft.

The C919 large passenger aircraft is undergoing flight tests at the test base in Yanliang, northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province. Chinas first self-developed trunk jetliner, the C919 underwent its successful maiden flight on May 5, 2017, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. To date, COMAC has received 815 orders from 28 customers worldwide. The ARJ21 regional jetliner is now flying on eight routes for Chengdu Airlines. The carrier has five ARJ21s which have flown around 74,000 passengers.

The ARJ21 is a China-developed jet with 78 to 90 seats and a range up to 3,700 km. It made its maiden flight in June 2016 and mass production started in September 2017.

The China-Russia joint CR929 wide-body passenger aircraft has entered the preliminary design phase, according to COMAC.

Shanghai-based China- Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corp. Ltd. (CRAIC), a joint venture of COMAC and Russias United Aircraft Corp., was set up in May 2017 to jointly develop the CR929. In early May, CRAIC announced that it had begun the joint concept definition phase for the body and tail. The CR929 project is a further demonstration of Chinas determination to boost its aviation industry following the C919 narrow-

body aircraft. It is also viewed as a major move to strengthen Chinas presence in its surging civil aviation market, which is dominated by U.S.-based Boeing and Europes Airbus aircraft.

Founded on May 2008, COMAC has cultivated Chinas civil aviation industrial system, leading and generating resources from 200 first-tier suppliers from 15 countries and regions worldwide. More importantly, Chinas domestic civil aviation industry capacity has been upgraded following the development of the three major models. More than 200,000 experts from 200 companies and universities around the country have contributed to Chinas independent development of civil aviation. Xinhua
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides bandwidth infrastructure solutions for the communications industry in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company operates in six segments: Fiber Solutions, Transport, Enterprise Networks, Zayo Colocation (zColo), Allstream, and Other. The Fiber Solutions segment provides dark fiber, and fiber-to-the-tower and small cell mobile infrastructure services for carriers and other communication service providers, Internet service providers, wireless service providers, media and content companies, large enterprises, and other companies. The Transport segment offers lit bandwidth infrastructure solutions comprising wavelength, Ethernet, wholesale IP services, and SONET services through its metro, regional, and long-haul fiber networks for carriers, content providers, financial services companies, healthcare, government entities, education institutions, and other medium and large enterprises. The Enterprise Networks segment provides connectivity and telecommunications solutions comprising Internet, wide area networking products, managed products, and cloud based computing and storage offerings to medium and large enterprises. The Zayo Colocation (zColo) segment offers data center infrastructure solutions consisting of colocation space, and power and interconnection services to a range of enterprise, carrier, cloud, and content customers. The Allstream segment provides cloud VoIP and data solutions, such as voice offerings; and unified communications, as well as telecommunications services, including Ethernet, and IP/MPLS VPN solutions. The Other segment provides network and technical resources to customers in designing, acquiring, and maintaining their networks. Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.

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British-Dutch held Shell and French group Total have agreed to come together as they seek to get exploration and operation deals in Omans new gas discoveries located in the Greater Barik area onshore Block 6, Arab Trade online media reports.

The two oil giants have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch gas production of around 500 MMcfd with a potential to reach 1 bcf/d at a later stage, the media reports.

The two groups, through the deal which ropes in the Omani sultanate represented by Oman Oil Company (OOC), will operate upstream and downstream projects at the new gas resources.

Total is expected to bring in its expertise in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and open market avenues for the Gulf country. The French group will use its equity gas entitlement as feedstock to develop a regional hub in Oman for LNG, bunkering service, which will supply LNG as a fuel to marine vessels, the media notes.

Shell will also operate gas-to-liquids (GTL) project with OOC.

Total owns 25 per cent of Greater Barik area onshore Block 6 while its sister companys share is estimated at 75 per cent.
Too few Australians are taking the bowel cancer screening test. Credit: Shutterstock

Research reveals many Australians aged 50 and over are putting their lives at risk by not taking part in a simple, painless bowel cancer screening test that is provided free and taken in the privacy of their own homes.

University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research Director Mark Jenkins said too few Australians take the test.

"Bowel cancer is Australia's second-most commonly diagnosed cancer in males and females, with almost 17,000 new cases diagnosed in 2017," Professor Jenkins said.

"Each year more than one million Australians are doing this test, which can detect bowel cancer at an early treatable stage. Yet only 40 per cent of Australians who receive these kits, delivered by mail, complete the test."

Professor Jenkins, who is also Director of the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, said test kits are sent to people aged between 50 and 74 every two years.

This test involves taking a tiny sample of faeces with a special collection stick, putting it in a sterile container and posting it back for testing.

The National Bowel Cancer Screening Program is designed to identify people who show early signs of the cancer while it is still treatable.

"This test is highly effective, clean, safe, non-invasive and can detect tiny invisible amounts of blood which are a sign that there may be early cancer. If blood is found in your samples, your doctor may recommend a further test to look for polyps or cancer before it spreads," Professor Jenkins said.

"Our research shows that carrying out this painless test can reduce risk of dying from bowel cancer by 74 per cent."

Professor Jenkins and his team have recently received substantial funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to renew the Colon Cancer Family Registry Cohort (CCFRC) for another five years.

The CCFRC is the world's largest resource for colorectal cancer study, investigating genetics and familial risk. This funding boost enables it to be run from Melbourne for another five years.

University of Melbourne Centre for Cancer Research genetic epidemiologist Dr. Aung Ko Win is analysing data from the CCFRC to develop new ways to identify which Australians are at highest risk of bowel cancer.

"By asking people about their family history of cancer, what they eat, how much they weigh, if they smoke, if they take regular aspirin as well as looking at their genetic data we hope to provide an individual risk of bowel cancer which will help target screening to those most at risk," Dr. Aung said.

Explore further Researchers closer to genetic risk test for bowel cancer
A study of over 800 Australian and New Zealand women undergoing acupuncture treatment during their IVF (in vitro fertilization) cycle has confirmed no significant difference in live birth rates. The findings published today in JAMA support recent guidelines from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and two high-quality meta-analyses.

The researchers from NICM Health Research Institute (NICM), Western Sydney University, Flinders University, UNSW Sydney, University of South Australia, University of Adelaide and Greenslopes Private Hospital examined the effects of acupuncture administered prior to and following an embryo transfer (ET).

Undertaken across 16 IVF centres in Australia and New Zealand, the randomised clinical trial involved 848 women aged 18 to 42 undergoing an IVF cycle using fresh embryos between June 2011 and October 2015, whereby participants were given either acupuncture or a sham acupuncture control (a non-insertive needle placed away from the true acupuncture points).

The results showed the rate of live birth was 18.3 per cent among participants who received acupuncture versus 17.8 per cent who received the sham acupuncture control, a non-significant difference.

Professor Caroline Smith, chief investigator and professor of clinical research at NICM, says the study findings reflect the efficacy of a short course of acupuncture administered around the time of ovarian stimulation and on the day of the ET.

"In clinical practice acupuncture treatment is individualised with variation in dosing, including more frequent treatment prior to and during the IVF cyclethe lack of frequent treatments was a limitation of our trial," says Professor Smith.

"Although our findings do not support acupuncture as an efficacious treatment compared to sham, some studies suggest reproductive outcomes maybe improved when acupuncture is compared with no treatment."

While a short course of acupuncture may statistically be no better than sham at improving live birth and pregnancy outcomes, a psycho-social benefit from acupuncture was reported by women undergoing IVF.

"We also examined the outcomes of psycho-social benefits in our study of which we are currently writing up in a further paper," says co-author Professor Michael Chapman, UNSW Sydney and President at the Fertility Society of Australia.

"Feeling relaxed and reporting relief from stress and women feeling good about themselves is to be welcomed for women as they undergo an IVF cycle," he said.

Explore further Can acupuncture help alleviate menopausal symptoms?

Provided by NICM, Western Sydney University
Ghana is the first country on the continent to introduce the large-scale use of a new "third generation insecticide" against mosquitoes, which have developed a resistance to other chemicals

Bismark Owusu moves food and bowls from a bedroom and covers clothes and furniture with a large sheet before mixing a mosquito-killing chemical with water in his spray pack.

He then puts on head-to-toe safety gear, straps the pack to his back and methodically sprays the walls, windows and corners of the room.

Owusu's visit to Domeabra, a small community in the Obuasi area of the Ashanti region in central Ghana, is his latest stop in the country's fight against malaria.

The death of two of his friends from the disease spurs him on. "Why wouldn't I help if others are dying? I am here today helping to eradicate this deadly malaria," he told AFP.

Malaria, which is spread to people through the bites of infected female mosquitoes, is one of the world's deadliest diseases.

According to the World Health Organization, there were 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries across the world in 2016 and 445,000 deaths.

Most of those cases and deaths about 90 percentwere in sub-Saharan Africa.

In Ghana, which is home to some 28 million people, there were 4.8 million cases and 599 deaths last year, a marked drop from the 2,200 who died in 2011.

But with global concern that the fight against malaria has reached a plateau, African governments and development agencies are looking at new ways to step up the fight.

That includes preventative measures such as distribution of insecticide-treated mosquito nets and developing a vaccine against the disease but also indoor spraying.

Ghana is the first on the continent to introduce the large-scale use of a new "third generation insecticide" against mosquitoes, which have developed a resistance to other chemicals.

In Ghana, there were 4.8 million cases of malaria and 599 deaths last year

'Intelligent insects'

As Ghana's rainy season approaches, when malaria cases increase, Owusu and his colleagues at the non-profit organisation AGALMal are working flat out.

The organisation grew out of a social initiative by global mining firm AngloGold Ashanti and has a laboratory in the grounds of an old mining site in Obuasi.

There, tiny mosquito pupae dart around in water in a white plastic container in a lab.

Soon they will transform into mosquitoes and be studied by scientists. Technologist Paul Osei-Bonsu said chemical resistance was a major issue for the spraying programme.

If a population of mosquitoes is sprayed and just one survives and reproduces, the resistance will be passed on, he explained.

"If you use the same spray over time you will have 90 percent of the population not dying," he added.

Programme director Samuel Asiedu says mosquitoes are "intelligent insects", so the new chemicalSumiShield 50WGshould be more effective when rotated with others.

In 2006, after the first two years of the indoor spraying, the hospital in Obuasi saw a 75-percent decrease in malaria cases.

That led to the programme being expanded with additional support from global health initiative Unitaid and the Global Fund partnership.

Currently, the indoor spraying programme targets the homes of 1.2 million people.

"We are anticipating other chemicals to come on board by the end of the year so we can be rotating the use of chemicals to prevent resistance development," said Asiedu.

The non-profit organisation AGALMal are working flat out to spray homes before Ghana's rainy season arrives and malaria cases increase

Unitaid project director David McGuire said he hoped the scheme "will convince donors and national governments to increase their investment in this life-saving intervention".

'Peace of mind'

Keziah Malm, who manages the national malaria control programme at the Ghana Health Service, says the new WHO-approved spray is considered safe and has been tested internationally and locally.

It will be used in Obuasi and Ghana's far northall of the Upper West region and three districts in the Upper Eastwhich are high-risk zones for malaria.

Local communities still need to be convinced about the benefits of having their homes sprayed. But Asiedu says only a handful of people refuse.

Sprayers themselves also speak to households about the work and the risks to health from the disease, which can lead to severe illness and death if not treated within 24 hours.

"If I go to the whole house and someone does not want it I have to sit the person and let them know the importance of the spraying because malaria kills," said Owusu.

"It's very important we all understand that malaria is a killer. We have to eradicate it and kick it out of Obuasi and the nation as a whole."

During the course of his work, he's found everyone has a story about the disease.

"I sprayed a full house and the owner was telling me her son died some years go from malaria. He would be 18 years today. She was crying bitterly," he added.

Children under five and pregnant women are considered most vulnerable to malaria.

Seamstress Victoria Awuah lives in an eight-room house some 30 minutes from the lab.

She is seven months pregnant and doesn't need much persuasion to have her room sprayed.

"The spraying really helps. It helps us so that we don't get sick, give us peace of mind and rid this area of all these insects," she added.

Explore further Novel mosquito net provides children with greater protection against malaria

 2018 AFP
Mark King has had the clap so many times he's renamed it 'the applause'. The first time King had gonorrhoea, he was a teenager in the late 1970s, growing up with his five siblings in Louisiana.

He had the telltale signs: burning and discomfort when he urinated and a thick discharge that left a stain in his underwear.

King visited a clinic and gave a fake name and phone number. He was treated quickly with antibiotics and sent on his way.

A few years later, the same symptoms reappeared. By this time, the 22-year-old was living in West Hollywood, hoping to launch his acting career.

While King had come out to his parents, being gay in Louisiana was poles apart from being gay in Los Angeles. For one, homosexuality was illegal in Louisiana until 2003, whereas California had legalised it in 1976.

In Los Angeles there was a thriving a gay scene where King, for the first time, could embrace his sexuality freely. He frequented bathhouses and also met men in dance clubs and along the bustling sidewalks. There was lots of sex to be had.

"The fact that we weren't a fully formed culture beyond those spaces was what brought us together as people. Sex was the only expression we had to claim ourselves as LGBT people," King says.

When he stepped into the brick clinic just a few strides away from the heart of the city's gay nightlife in Santa Monica, King, with his thick sandy blond hair with a tinge of red through it, looked around the room. It was filled with other gay men.

"What do you do when you're 22 and gay? You cruise other men. I remember sitting in the lobby cruising other men," King recalls, laughing. "My Summer of Love was 1982. It was a playground. I was young and on the prowl."

Like a few years earlier, the doctor gave him a handful of antibiotics to take for a few days that would clear up the infection. It wasn't a big deal. In fact, as King describes it, it was "simply an errand to run".

"It was the price of doing business and it wasn't a high price at all."

But it was the calm before the storm, in more ways than one.

When King picked up gonorrhoea again in the 1990s, he was greatly relieved that treatment was now just one dose.

Penicillin was no longer effective, but ciprofloxacin was now the recommended treatment and it required only one dose. In King's eyes, getting gonorrhoea was even less of a hassle.

But this was actually a symptom of treatment regimens starting to fail. The bacteria Neisseria gonorrhoeae was on the way to developing resistance to nearly every drug ever used to treat it.

On receiving the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering penicillin, Alexander Fleming finished his lecture with a warning: "There is the danger," he told the audience, "that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and, by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant."

In other words, we have known about bacteria's ability to evolve resistance to drugs since the dawn of the antibiotic era.

Dr. Manica Balasegaram is Director of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP), based in Geneva. It's a joint initiative between the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and aims to develop new or improved treatments for bacterial infections.

"All antibiotics will have a shelf life  that's just evolution," he says. "It's just a question of how quickly it will happen."

Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security and development. Common infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, are becoming increasingly difficult to treat.

But GARDP has chosen to focus its attention on gonorrhoea as one of its four main priorities.

The sexually transmitted infection caught Balasegaram's eyes for a host of reasons.

For one, a lot of the antibiotics that are currently used against gonorrhoea are used widely for other infections, and N. gonorrhoeae has the ability to acquire resistance from other bacteria frighteningly quickly, meaning it can rapidly build up resistance.

Secondly, untreated gonorrhoea infections bring with them a range of potentially serious health implications that can have devastating consequences.

"Gonorrhoea is the most important sexually transmitted infection; it's the one we're most concerned about," Balasegaram says.

Every year an estimated 78 million people are infected with gonorrhoea, making it the second most frequently reported sexually transmitted bacterial infection after chlamydia, according to WHO.

Gonorrhoea can infect the genitals, rectum and throat. Symptoms include discharge from the urethra or vagina and burning during urination called urethritis, caused by inflammation of the urethra. However, many who are infected don't experience any symptoms, meaning they go undiagnosed and untreated.

Complications of untreated gonorrhoea can be severe and disproportionately affect women, who are more likely to experience no symptoms.

Untreated gonorrhoea not only increases the risk of contracting HIV but is also linked with an increased risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, which can cause ectopic pregnancy and infertility. A pregnant woman can also pass on the infection to her baby, which can cause blindness.

Fixing the threat of resistant gonorrhoea won't be easy  the challenges in developing a new antibiotic can't be overestimated.

Is the money for research and development (R&D) available? Who will the antibiotic be available to? And most importantly, how will you control its use so you can extend its shelf life?

What makes the search for a new antibiotic for gonorrhoea particularly challenging is the frequency of asymptomatic infections along with gonorrhoea's ability to adapt to its host's immune system and develop resistance to antibiotics.

A major concern is that because N. gonorrhoeae can live in the throat without someone even knowing, the bug can acquire resistance from other bacteria that also live there and which have been exposed to antibiotics in the past. And with evidence that oral sex is becoming increasingly common in some parts of the world, this is particularly challenging.

"Oral sex is driving resistance. It's a network of people having lots of oral sex. It's the new norm," says Dr. Teodora Wi, a medical officer in WHO's Department of Reproductive Health and Research in Geneva, talking specifically about Asia.

These challenges and concerns have gripped Balasegaram, but nonetheless he's more determined than ever to bring a new drug to market.

"People are dying from drug-resistant infections. This is undoubtedly because this area has not been prioritised in the past because other areas of R&D are far more lucrative," he says.

"Antibiotics are a global public good. I don't think it's easy to put a financial value to it."

Recent data collected by WHO examined trends in drug-resistant gonorrhoea in 77 countries  countries that are part of the health agency's Gonococcal Antimicrobial Surveillance Programme (GASP), a global network of regional and subregional laboratories that track the emergence and spread of resistance. And the results are grim.

More than 80 per cent of the countries that reported on azithromycin, a commonly prescribed antibiotic used to treat numerous common infections, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), found resistance.

Of greatest concern is that 66 per cent of countries surveyed have reported cases that resist last-resort antibiotics called extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs).

And as Wi points out, the real-world picture is undoubtedly far bleaker, because global surveillance for drug-resistant gonorrhoea is patchy and more frequently done in higher-income countries, which have greater resources. For example, of the 77 countries that were surveyed, few were in sub-Saharan Africa, a region where rates of gonorrhoea are high.

"We're only seeing half of the real picture. We need to prepare for the future when there's no cure," Wi says.

But in a sign that time is running out, in March this year health experts' worst fears were confirmed: a case of super-gonorrhoea, dubbed the world's "worst ever" case, was found in a man who had attended a local sexual health clinic.

He had reportedly had sexual contact with a woman in South-east Asia.

Health officials said it was the first time this strain could not be cured with any of the antibiotics normally used to treat the disease. Although the patient has since responded to another antibiotic, doctors described him as "very lucky". It's an indication of a wider crisis  and one that knows no boundaries.

Thailand is one country on the front line of the fight against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea.

It's a key destination for the sex tourism industry, where STIs like gonorrhoea can spread easily and quickly across borders and beyond.

And like many other countries in the region, it has an over-the-counter culture of antibiotic access, which means patients put themselves at risk of being prescribed the wrong drugs  or even worse.

I'm in a district close to Thailand's capital, Bangkok, to meet Boontham, a pharmacist. We meet in the jam-packed stockroom of the herbal medicine company he also runs  a business that's far more lucrative than his pharmacy. The stockroom is filled head to toe with boxes of tablets containing an array of funky herbs I've never heard of.

The cost of visiting a doctor and the stigma surrounding STIs mean that many Thais rely on pharmacists like Boontham to cure their gonorrhoea.

But he might be doing more harm than good.

While Boontham has a degree in pharmacology and has been a pharmacist for more than 30 years, he has no idea of Thailand's treatment guidelines for gonorrhoea. In fact, he's more than a decade out of date.

And he can't, of course, diagnose patients accurately, particularly because gonorrhoea has similar symptoms to chlamydia.

"If you've been doing this for a long time, you just do what you have to, and that's an educated guess."

"As of now I use ciprofloxacin [to treat gonorrhoea]," he says.

"If that doesn't work, then I guess it's chlamydia."

I tell him, however, that gonorrhoea in Thailand, as in many other countries, has shown widespread resistance to ciprofloxacin  and that his country actually stopped recommending it more than a decade ago.

"It's not resistant, even doctors use it," he says.

"I prescribe it because it's cheap. In hospitals they prescribe newer antibiotics that are more effective, but they're more expensive."

In countries where antibiotics are sold over the counter, research shows people are far more likely to visit pharmacists than a doctor.

But while experts acknowledge that restricting the sale of antibiotics  particularly in rural and remote areas where there are few, if any, proper doctors  isn't the answer, this still presents a major challenge in the fight against drug-resistant infections.

"The problem is that when you go to a pharmacist and take antibiotics, maybe your symptoms have disappeared, but in fact you still have the infection. That means you can transmit the infection and cause more resistance," Wi says.

I ask Boontham whether he's concerned about resistance  if he's worried that the people he's treated for gonorrhoea aren't cured.

"Resistance to medication is a doctor's job, not a pharmacist's," he says.

The casual handing out of antibiotics without a prescription is not only confined to Thailand. It's a huge concern across the rest of the region and in other parts of the world, with no clear vision of how to tackle this growing problem.

Handing out antibiotics that likely no longer work for people with gonorrhoea has also been happening in high-income countries  countries that might be expected to have stricter treatment guidelines.

In fact, a study published in the BMJ in 2015 found that many GPs in England were prescribing ciprofloxacin, even though it hasn't been recommended for treating gonorrhoea since 2005. In 2007, ciprofloxacin still made up almost half of prescriptions for gonorrhoea. As recently as 2011, GPs still prescribed it in 20 per cent of cases.

On a balmy afternoon in bustling Bangkok, I visit Silom Community Clinic @ TropMed, an STI clinic north-east of the city centre dedicated to men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women who have sex with men.

Located on the 12th floor of the Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the clinic is spotlessly clean, with bright purple walls, rainbow flags and a sign that immediately catches my eye, which reads "Suck, F*ck, Test, Repeat".

Off the main corridor is a microbiology lab that is doing critical and urgent work in the fight against antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea.

In fact, the lab may be the best way Thailand can protect itself from this growing threat.

Dr. Eileen Dunne is an American epidemiologist and the head of the behavioural and clinical research section of the HIV/STI programme here, which is run as part of a collaboration between Thailand's Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She, along with her Thai staff, are Thailand's best line of defence in slowing gonorrhoea resistance.

In 2015, recognising the worldwide danger of increasingly difficult to treat gonorrhoea infections  and the specific threat they posed to Thailand  the US CDC, WHO and Thai MOPH joined forces to launch a programme to track and ultimately limit the spread of antibiotic-resistant gonorrhoea.

The programme is an enhanced local version of the WHO's GASP and is the first of its kind in the world. It's called EGASP.

It works like this. If a male patient comes into one of its two clinics with the telltale symptoms of gonorrhoea, he will have a sample collected for analysis and will fill out a questionnaire, which contains questions such as: "Did you take antibiotics in the last two weeks?" To create an open environment, the clinics are anonymous and the questionnaire is done privately on a computer.

Men are the target group in the programme, Dunne explains, because the yield for isolating N. gonorrhoeae is very high among men who have urethritis compared with women and those who are asymptomatic. MSM are an important population, she adds, because research shows they are likelier to develop resistance earlier than the general population, for reasons that aren't precisely known.

She and the laboratory staff take me to see if there are any samples being cultured from swabs taken from patients' penises. Inside the incubator, where the samples are kept in Petri dishes at 36 degrees Celsius with 5 per cent carbon dioxide to promote bacteria growth, there are three.

The stench of agar, a brown gelatinous medium that provides nutrients and a stable environment for bacteria to grow, is overwhelming. One Petri dish contains a cluster of bubbly white dots, signalling that the patient does indeed have gonorrhoea.

The next step is antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST) at a lab downstairs. The isolate will be measured for resistance to five antibiotics, including ciprofloxacin and the last-resort drugs cefixime and ceftriaxone. It's resistance to these latter two which is of greatest concern.

From the beginning of EGASP until 20 October 2017, of the 845 confirmed diagnoses of gonorrhoea that underwent AST, almost all isolates had widespread resistance to ciprofloxacin, as in many other countries.

But encouragingly, none have shown resistance to the last-line drugs.

That's a relief for Thailand, but in no way an indication that Dunne and her team's alacrity should wane.

"People are surprised and have asked, 'Oh, why are you doing this if you don't show resistance?'," Dunne says.

"It's actually good to do surveillance and not be detecting resistance yet. It means that we're early enough to be prepared and [to] have a plan of response.

"Having strong surveillance activity in a region in which this is likely to emerge is important so we can detect it early."

Thailand's neighbours, specifically Myanmar, India, Indonesia and China, have recorded a significantly higher percentage of gonorrhoea isolates that are resistant to last-line treatments compared to Thailand.

With the increasing movement of people around the world and Thailand's popularity for sex tourism, I can see just how rapidly this threat could have far-reaching consequences.

"I think it's really important to detect early, even one case, [because] it can be a harbinger for future developments of resistance. These bacteria are transmitted very rapidly between people. Being able to really find that one case early means that special steps can be in place to control transmission," Dunne says.

I ask if the focus on MSM means other groups might be being missed. What about women, who are more likely than men to not experience any gonorrhoea symptoms?

Or itinerant sex workers from across the border in Myanmar and Cambodia? I wonder if, among this high-risk group, EGASP is missing some of Thailand's most vulnerable. I ask if there's potential for the programme to extend its work to include these people and their partners.

Dunne agrees it's a good idea. "This targeted approach in men with symptoms is purposeful but may not be generalisable to the whole population. It's the tip of the iceberg."

But it's early on in the programme, and she and the team have to start somewhere.

"We need more time," she says.

But no one is really sure how much time Thailand  and the rest of the world  has.

The number of people infected with gonorrhoea has risen rapidly in recent years. Australia has seen a 63 per cent increase in the number of reported gonorrhoea cases since 2012, with the fastest rate of increase being in young heterosexual urbanites. In England, gonorrhoea cases rose by 53 per cent between 2012 and 2015, led by young people, gay men and other MSM. Meanwhile, in the USA cases rose by nearly 50 per cent between 2009 and 2016.

And according to some experts, one of science's greatest achievements in the fight against HIV could be a factor.

Like many, Mark King's nonchalant attitude towards sex had come to a halt when the HIV epidemic hit the gay community in the USA. No longer was gonorrhoea simply seen as a small, insignificant price to pay for a night of fun.

"Half the fun of being gay [was that] you didn't have to worry about birth control. Condoms were birth control, not STI control," says King.

"[But] as the years passed and you get into the 90s and we know how HIV is transmitted, to get gonorrhoea is shameful because it means that you've been taking risks that could transmit HIV.

"Suddenly gonorrhoea became this really shameful thing because it means you're not doing the right thing."

Move forward to today and HIV is no longer the death threat it once was.

A strong civil society movement saw the disease get the political  and scientific  attention it warranted. The development of life-saving drugs means that those with HIV can live long, healthy lives.

But as HIV treatment and prevention methods improve, people's perception of risk may be changing.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a daily pill for people who don't have HIV but who are at substantial risk of getting it. It's a powerful tool in the fight against HIV, it is argued. When taken every day, it's up to 92 per cent effective in preventing infection.

But with its development and uptake came alarm bells, with some warning that STI rates would increase among those who used PrEP. Some small studies have hinted that this may be happening.

Not all experts agree with this. The data from these studies is ambiguous and cannot be generalised. And some say that regular testing regimes associated with PrEP prescriptions could prevent STIs spreading.

However, just as with antibiotics, there are people using PrEP without getting it through official health outlets. A recent survey carried out across Europe by the HIV/AIDS advocacy group AIDES found that about 70 per cent of informal PrEP users were having no regular medical monitoring.

King is one of many for whom concerns over STIs in the broader context of having the incredible ability to prevent HIV infection seems absurd.

"PrEP opens the door for people to have sex without fear of HIV infection. The reaction is: yes, but what do we do about STIs? Oh my god, gonorrhoea and syphilis," King says sarcastically.

"People ask me, how does a person get HIV or gonorrhoea in this day and age? Well, let's see: because they were horny, or they said yes when they should have said no, or they had too much to drink, or they fell in love, or they trusted the wrong person."

King's words may resonate with many around the world. But WHO is focused on increasing condom use. Wi is particularly worried about the proliferation and popularity of dating apps among young people, which she believes are making no-strings-attached sex easier to obtain.

"All of us need to be strong about condom use. All of us need to campaign for condom use," Wi says.

Looking ahead, at what point will it be more common to have a gonorrhoea infection that can't be treated with antibiotics than one that can? The answer is difficult to predict, but it's also a potential reality that isn't far-fetched.

"We are in a situation now where we are worryingly using the last line of antibiotics for many infections or seeing even resistance to these last-line antibiotics," Balasegaram says.

But as GARDP works to bring a new antibiotic to market, some countries are getting desperate as resistance to the available treatments continues to spread.

Australia, which has recorded widespread resistance to azithromycin, is considering going back to an old drug called spectinomycin.

Spectinomycin involves a painful muscular injection and has been linked to toxicity and a range of side-effects. Another concern is that it's in short supply because it's rarely used around the world any more.

To this end, R&D for new antibiotics is urgent.

But antibiotic drug development is prohibitively expensive and not attractive to the pharmaceutical industry  even more so when it's for an STI.

In response, GARDP has partnered with Entasis Therapeutics, a US biotech company, to accelerate the development of a new antibiotic that will be produced specifically to target drug-resistant gonorrhoea.

Zoliflodacin is a novel first-in-class oral antibiotic  in other words, a new and unique mechanism of potentially treating gonorrhoea  and is one of only three potential new antibiotic candidates currently undergoing trials. It had previously been put through clinical trials in 2015, but a lack of investment stopped the drug from progressing further.

This year GARDP and Entasis will launch the last phase of trials of zoliflodacin, involving 650 people in Thailand, South Africa, the USA and parts of Europe.

If the drug is approved by regulators, Entasis will permit GARDP to introduce it in 168 low- and middle-income countries. It's hoping it will be registered by 2021 and available on the market by 2023.

A major strength of the partnership between GARDP and Entasis is that it will be able to limit what infections zoliflodacin is used for.

"We're trying to focus this drug specifically on STIs  not other community infections where antibiotics are widely used," Balasegaram says.

"The aim is not to go beyond that because that's how resistance starts."

To this end, initially the drug will be licensed only for use against gonorrhoea infections. If it proves to be effective against chlamydia and Mycoplasma genitalium (another bacterial STI), the GARDP and Entasis partnership could license it for those two infections as well, subject to clinical trials.

"We will support clinical trials and registration and therefore we can play a big role in how it is responsibly introduced and used. That gives us more control in how the drug is introduced and marketed in the countries where we work," says Balasegaram.

Dunne is excited that Thailand will be part of the trials.

"It is the underbelly of infections. It doesn't get the attention it deserves and that is why this is exciting," she says.

A lot is riding on the success of the drug. Will zoliflodacin be successful in remaining effective for as long as possible? Or will it face the same fate as other antibiotics?

Moreover, research is risky  there's no guarantee the clinical trials will be successful.

"We still don't know whether this project will succeed or not," says Balasegaram. "But it's a project that we feel is extremely important and that we're very committed to."

The development of new antibiotics raises myriad questions: How can we ensure they are used appropriately so we can preserve their effectiveness? And how can we ensure those who really need the drugs get them?

One way would be a point-of-care rapid diagnostic test  ideally one that could predict which antibiotics will work on a particular infection and that could be used in settings around the world.

Balasegaram says they've been looking for a simple diagnostic tool like this but haven't yet found one. Diagnostic tools aside, the responsible use of new antibiotics also relies on robust national and international treatment guidelines and strong regulatory authorities to guide and monitor antibiotic use.

"If you have developed an antibiotic for narrow use, you have to think about how to market the drug. We do not want to drop large quantities of it around the world. But we also want to make sure those who need it get it," he says.

This is where strong surveillance programmes, like Thailand's, are critical.

But it's inevitable that bugs will develop resistance to the next antibiotic and then the next. So Balasegaram wants more investment in R&D that focuses not only on new antibiotics but also on alternative ways to treat bacterial infections.

"We have to continue to do R&D into therapeutic ways to treat these infections differently," he says.

"This may include novel and non-conventional approaches. I think that is a job that is going to last decades."

What that might look like is complex.

It may include designing antibodies that specifically target bacteria or using bacteriophages  viruses that infect bacteria  as a replacement for antibiotics.

Either way, many feel that the end of the antibiotic era is near and that the transition from antibiotics to non-traditional treatments poses major challenges that won't be easy to solve.

"It's worth bearing in mind that bacteria can evolve to different approaches we develop," says Balasegaram.

"I don't think we will see a magic bullet solution soon that will definitively solve the issue."

It's a frightening thought.

Explore further First cases of extensively drug-resistant gonorrhea threaten future treatment

Provided by Mosaic

This article first appeared on Mosaic and is republished here under a Creative Commons licence.


Children who participate in gun safety programs often ignore what they learned when encountering a real firearm, according to a Rutgers School of Nursing study.

The report, published recently in Health Promotion Practice, reviewed 10 studies on the effectiveness of strategies for teaching gun safety to children ages 4 to 9. The researchers found such programs do not reduce the likelihood that children will handle guns when they are unsupervised, that boys are more likely than girls to ignore gun-safety rules and that few studies exist of gun-safety programs for children beyond the fourth grade.

Included among the findings from previous studies is that 85 percent of gun-owning parents did not practice safe gun storage and 72 percent believed their young children could differentiate a toy gun from a real gun.

The gun safety training approaches studied included "just say no" in which authority figures tell children to stay away from guns; skills-building approaches, which teach children skills to resist touching guns; and knowledge-based programs in which children are provided with video or printed material about gun safety.

"Most of the studies evaluated knowledge-based learning in which children sit in a classroom and are shown videos or handed papers with activities or information to teach them rules to follow if they should come across a gun," said study co-author Cheryl Holly, a professor at Rutgers School of Nursing. "The studies found that even children who initially followed the rules after the training did not use the safety skills they learned weeks later when placed in a room with a nonfunctional gun. This leads us to question if young children can retain the gun-safety skills they learn over time."

Holly, co-director of the Northeast Institute for Evidence Synthesis and Translation, based at the School of Nursing, is a resident of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. She was prompted to study gun violence after the elementary school shooting in her community.

"We wanted to look at gun violence from the perspective of children who were accessing guns in their homes and accidentally shooting themselves, parents and siblings," she said. "We wanted to see what educational strategies teachers and communities are using to teach gun safety to children, and how effective they really are."

Gun safety training is essential, Holly said, because children in the United States have more access to guns than those in other developed countries and because most unintentional shooting deaths by children occur in their homes or at the residence of a friend or relative. Firearm injuries are the third-leading cause of death for all children aged 1 to 17 and are responsible for thousands of children being treated for open wounds, fractures and brain and spinal injuries. In addition, children who witness firearm injury can experience psychological effects, such as fear, anxiety and elevated stress.

"Although programs that used active learning strategies, such as modeling, simulation or feedback, were slightly more effective at teaching gun-safety skills than programs that handed out literature, the majority still failed to teach the children to put what they learned into practice," said Sallie Porter, assistant professor at the School of Nursing, who co-authored the study with Holly. "Children are very curiousespecially about things that they have been warned not to handle."

Mary Kamienski, a professor at the School of Nursing, and alumna Aubrianne Lim, a registered nurse at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, also contributed to the study.

The researchers concluded that safe gun storage is the best way to protect children and adolescents from gun injuries. Their advice: Lock the guns up and make sure children cannot get the key or learn the access code, or better yet have a gun free-home.

"Gun safety education has value, but parents should not be complacent and feel comfortable that skills training alone will truly prevent their child from handling a gun," Porter said. "Parents often overestimate their children's cognitive abilities and underestimate their physical abilities. They are wrong to think that their 4-year-old can't climb to reach the gun safe or that their child is developmentally mature enough to know not to handle a gun."

Explore further Survey: More than half of US gun owners do not safely store their guns

More information: Cheryl Holly et al, School-Based and Community-Based Gun Safety Educational Strategies for Injury Prevention, Health Promotion Practice (2018). Cheryl Holly et al, School-Based and Community-Based Gun Safety Educational Strategies for Injury Prevention,(2018). DOI: 10.1177/1524839918774571
Kendra Plumley, now 29, needed a heart transplant at age 21 months. Photo courtesy: Kendra Plumley

Kendra Plumley didn't spend her childhood running around with other kids on her street, having friends over for sleepovers, or spending lazy summer days by the pool. Instead, she spent most of her time indoors. It wasn't a choice. She had to protect her new heart.

Today, the 29-year-old from Midlothian, Texas, is making up for lost time by embracing all that life has to offer.

"I know that I'm a miracle," Plumley said. "My heart was killing me."

Plumley was born in 1988 with dilated cardiomyopathy. People with this condition have an enlarged left ventricle in their heart that is too weak to pump blood correctly. Early on, she said, her mother suspected something was wrong. Initially, though, her doctors attributed her problems eating to acid reflux. But before long, her doctors realized the situation was more dire. Tests showed she had dilated cardiomyopathythe same condition her father had.

When she was 21 months old, she had a heart transplant.

Initially, life didn't get much easier. Her mother had to keep her on a strict drug regimen and there was what seemed like an endless schedule of follow-up visits to her cardiologist. Plumley has needed multiple surgeries since her transplant to correct an intestinal problem, remove multiple cysts and manage gum overgrowth due to medications. She had pneumonia several times, and almost died from the infection.

Plumley said her mother constantly worried about her and, to try to keep her healthy, didn't let her interact much with other kids. "All I ever wanted [was] just to be a kid," said Plumley.

At school, some of her classmates picked on her relentlessly, in part because one of the medications she had to take caused her to have excess hair growth on her arms and legs.

Even now as an adult, she said, some social situations are still hard for her to navigate. But she's got better tools to handle it. "I've grown a lot," she said.

Susan Daneman was the assistant director of nursing in the transplant unit at Children's Medical Center Dallas when Plumley received her new heart. The longtime nurse said her patient was quiet and intense, but also a "very sweet, precious child" who assumed a great deal of responsibility at a young age, following instructions to the letter.

Daneman is aware that many children who receive new hearts don't live as long as Plumley, and said her former patient has done an excellent job taking care of her health. A recent study showed that children between ages 1 and 5 who got a new heart lived about an additional 21 years if they survived the first year after the procedure.

"I just loved watching her grow into a beautiful young woman who is independent and out there in the workforce and doing wonderful things with her life," said Daneman. "I wish all my patients could be like her."

Plumley's sister, Ashley, said she admired her younger sister's strength and resilience in the face of the constant poking and prodding she had to endure as a child.

"I really look up to her for everything she's been throughand how far she has come," she said. Ashley said she often shares her family's story in hopes of encouraging others to become organ donors.

These days, Plumley works as a construction trade show coordinator and is engaged. And she's pursuing her passion for photography. Her favorite assignments, she said, are taking pictures of newborns.

As the 28th anniversary of her transplant approaches, Plumley finds herself thinking about what she went through, and how far she has come. Moving out on her own at 18 was a significant turning point, she said, pushing her to find her voice, get out of her comfort zone and take risks.

She's still afraid of picking up germs, but that doesn't stop her from traveling. Now and then, she'll take her 1970 Ford Mustang out for a spin. She has numerous tattoos, including one in memory of her father, who died of heart failure in 2000.

After living so many years with restrictions, she said, "Nobody was ever going to tell me I wasn't going to do something again."

Explore further Survey: Parents should be allowed to be present during trauma care

Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. If you have questions or comments about this story, please email editor@heart.org.
Gail Davey, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at BSMS. Credit: Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS) are asking governments in the developing world to adopt a low-cost, community-based approach to prevent acute attacks that occur in patients with a devastating neglected tropical disease.

A new study published in The Lancet Global Health shows that a simple package of self-care significantly reduced "acute attacks" among podoconiosis patients. The study was jointly funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK Medical Research Council and UKAid.

Podoconiosis is a non-infectious disease which causes massive swelling of the legs among barefoot subsistence farmers who are in frequent contact with red volcanic clay soil. The disease causes pain, disability and disfigurement among some of the world's poorest communities, along with great stigma. Acute attacks ('michader') bring malaise, fever, chills, increased swelling of the limbs and skin peeling, when patients cannot move their legs and are confined to bed.

Researchers conducted a pragmatic randomised controlled trial in Northern Ethiopia to test the hypothesis that a simple, inexpensive lymphoedema management package would reduce the incidence of acute episodes in adult podoconiosis patients. Around 700 patients were individually randomised to a package comprising instruction in foot hygiene, skin care, bandaging, exercises, use of socks and shoes, with support by lay Community Podoconiosis Agents at monthly meetings; or had no intervention.

Both groups were followed up after a year, and the group who received the intervention showed a marked reduction in acute episodes, with an incidence rate ratio of 0.81 (a reduction in episode rate of almost 20% in those treated).

Gail Davey, Professor of Global Health Epidemiology at BSMS, who led the study, said: "In most countries that suffer from podoconiosis, there are not yet policies in place to manage this debilitating disease, largely due to limited awareness of the condition and lack of evidence for treatment.

"Our rigorous study provides vital evidence that a simple and cost-effective package of community-managed self-care could have a significant impact on the incidence of acute attacks in people with podoconiosis. Not only would implementing such an approach on a national scale reduce suffering and stigma among many of the poorest communities, it would have a significant impact on these communities' social and economic wellbeing. We would urge governments of countries with high prevalence of podoconiosis to develop policies for its management that include such a community-based approach."

Explore further Risk of non-infectious elephantiasis mapped in Cameroon
Example of cells of a patient with advanced Alzheimer's with an altered PM20D1 gene. Credit: IDIBELL

An article published in Nature Medicine shows that the inheritance of small changes in DNA alters the expression of the PM20D1 gene and is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

"Over the last seven years, we have created a detailed map of the epigenetic alterations that occur in the brain of people affected by Alzheimer's and other dementias such as those associated with the so-called Lewy bodies or Parkinson's disease. That allowed us to collaborate with Dr. Johannes Graff's group in Lausanne, who noticed how one of the molecular lesions we had discovered was caused by inheriting a variation in the DNA sequence," says Dr. Manel Esteller of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute , co-author of the Nature Medicine study.

"This variation is associated with the loss of activity of a neuroprotective gene called PM20D1; whoever possesses the variation has a greater probability of suffering from Alzheimer's disease, so people carrying these variants could be excellent candidates for clinical prevention trials of the disease in the future," adds Esteller. "The results obtained demonstrate the need for international scientific collaboration, mixing the different areas of experience in epigenetics, genetics, bioinformatics and neurosciences of each group. We are looking at an example of the usefulness of multidisciplinary research to tackle diseases as complex and devastating as dementia."

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative pathology increasingly frequent due to the progressive aging of the population in Western countries. There are no effective treatments for its cure and only certain drugs are able to relatively slow the progression of the disease if they are administered in the early stages. Beyond advanced age, the factors that cause it are unknown. The hereditary factor associated with high risk constitutes a minimum proportion of cases, but there appears to be a certain aggregation of cases in the same family higher than what would be expected by chance.

Explore further Researchers discover an epigenetic lesion in the hippocampus of Alzheimer's

More information: Jose V. Sanchez-Mut et al, PM20D1 is a quantitative trait locus associated with Alzheimer's disease, Nature Medicine (2018). Journal information: Nature Medicine Jose V. Sanchez-Mut et al, PM20D1 is a quantitative trait locus associated with Alzheimer's disease,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41591-018-0013-y
Farhan Shah, Ph.D. student at the Department of Integrative Medical Biology at Umea University, Sweden. Credit: Per Melander

People who snore may have extensive tissue damage in the nerves and muscles of the soft palate. This can, in turn, create problems with swallowing and contribute to development of sleep apnea. Treatment strategies aimed at early intervention to stop snoring might have beneficial effects in healing or preventing development of sleep apnea. These findings are explained in a new dissertation at Umea University, Sweden.

The reason why some develop sleep apnea is still unclear. Factors that are considered important are obesity, a small throat, neurological diseases and hormonal disorders. But even those without that background can suffer. The thesis shows that tissue damage in the soft palate also is an important factor that contributes to the development of sleep apnea and disturbances in swallowing function.

"The nerve and muscles injuries seem to contribute to the collapse of the upper airway during sleep. Most likely, the damage results from the recurrent snoring vibrations the tissues are exposed to," says Farhan Shah, Ph.D. student at the Department of Integrative Medical Biology at Umea University.

In his dissertation, Farhan Shah reports a study in which his research team examined eight patients who have been snoring for many years and 14 patients with snoring and sleep apnea. These have been compared to a control group of 18 non-snoring people. The subjects in the study were examined with overnight sleep registrations to detect sleep apnea. Disorders of the swallowing function were investigated with a video radiographic technique.

Tissue samples from the participants' soft palates were analyzed to detect muscle and nerve lesions. The results showed that snorers and sleep apnea patients had extensive damage in both nerves and muscles. The damage was related to the degree of swallowing disorders and the severity of sleep apnea.

The nerves in the soft palate of snorers and sleep apnea patients showed fewer nerve fibers and supporting cells that help the nerve fibers survive and regenerate. The nerves also had increased connective tissue. In muscle analysis, the researchers could see that a large number of muscle fibers in the soft palate showed changes reflecting loss of innervation due to nerve damage.

It was also possible to see changes in the protein structures in the muscle fibers' cell membrane and cell skeleton of snorers and sleep apnea patients. Such changes give muscle weakness and have been previously found only in genetic muscle diseases.

"Continued research is needed to see if treatment that prevents damage to nerves and muscles could cure or at least prevent further deterioration in snores and sleep apnea patients. It would be a big win because sleep apnea is a major public illness," says Farhan Shah.

More than 400,000 Swedes suffer from sleep apnea. The condition is characterized by snoring and recurrent respiratory arrest during sleep. It creates a stress for the body and a proven risk increases for high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and premature death.

Sleep apnea is estimated to cost 1 billion Swedish kronor a year. In addition, there is an unknown cost to society in the form of increased accident risks and reduced day time productivity due to disturbed sleep.

Explore further Discovery of unique muscle fibers of upper airway in humans
Human heart. Credit: copyright American Heart Association

By analyzing reported physical activity levels over time in more than 11,000 American adults, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers conclude that increasing physical activity to recommended levels over as few as six years in middle age is associated with a significantly decreased risk of heart failure, a condition that affects an estimated 5 million to 6 million Americans.

The same analysis found that as little as six years without physical activity in middle age was linked to an increased risk of the disorder.

Unlike heart attack, in which heart muscle dies, heart failure is marked by a long-term, chronic inability of the heart to pump enough blood, or pump it hard enough, to bring needed oxygen to the body. The leading cause of hospitalizations in those over 65, the disorder's risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, smoking and a family history.

"In everyday terms our findings suggest that consistently participating in the recommended 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity each week, such as brisk walking or biking, in middle age may be enough to reduce your heart failure risk by 31 percent," says Chiadi Ndumele, M.D., M.H.S., the Robert E. Meyerhoff Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the senior author of a report on the study. "Additionally, going from no exercise to recommended activity levels over six years in middle age may reduce heart failure risk by 23 percent."

The researchers caution that their study, described in the May 15 edition of the journal Circulation, was observational, meaning the results can't and don't show a direct cause-and-effect link between exercise and heart failure. But they say the trends observed in data gathered on middle-aged adults suggest that it may never be too late to reduce the risk of heart failure with moderate exercise.

"The population of people with heart failure is growing because people are living longer and surviving heart attacks and other forms of heart disease," says Roberta Florido, M.D., cardiology fellow at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. "Unlike other heart disease risk factors like high blood pressure or high cholesterol, we don't have specifically effective drugs to prevent heart failure, so we need to identify and verify effective strategies for prevention and emphasize these to the public." There are drugs used to treat heart failure, such as beta blockers and ACE inhibitors, but they are essentially "secondary" prevention drugs, working to reduce the heart's workload after dysfunction is already there.

Several studies, Florido says, suggest that in general people who are more physically active have lower risks of heart failure than those who are less active, but little was known about the impact of changes in exercise levels over time on heart failure risk.

For example, if you are sedentary most of your life but then start exercising in middle age, does that decrease your risk of heart failure? Or, if you are active much of your life but then stop being active at middle age, will that increase your risk?

To address those questions, the researchers used data already gathered from 11,351 participants in the federally funded, long term Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, recruited from 1987 to 1989 in Forsyth County, North Carolina; Jackson, Mississippi; greater Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Washington County, Maryland.

The participants' average age was 60, 57 percent were women and most were either white or African-American.

Participants were monitored annually for an average of 19 years for cardiovascular disease events such as heart attack, stroke and heart failure using telephone interviews, hospital records and death certificates. Over the course of the study there were 1,693 hospitalizations and 57 deaths due to heart failure.

In addition to those measures, at the first and third ARIC study visits (six years apart), each participant filled out a questionnaire, which asked them to evaluate their physical activity levels, which were then categorized as poor, intermediate or "recommended," in alignment with guidelines issued by the American Heart Association.

The "recommended" amount is at least 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity or at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise. One to 74 minutes per week of vigorous intensity or one to 149 minutes per week of moderate exercise per week counted as intermediate level activity. And physical activity qualified as "poor" if there was no exercise at all.

After the third visit, 42 percent of participants (4,733 people) said they performed recommended levels of exercise; 23 percent (2,594 people) said they performed intermediate levels; and 35 percent (4,024 people) said they had poor levels of activity. From the first to the third visit over about six years, 24 percent of participants increased their physical activity, 22 percent decreased it and 54 percent stayed in the same category.

Those with recommended activity levels at both the first and third visits showed the highest associated heart failure risk decrease, at 31 percent compared with those with consistently poor activity levels.

Heart failure risk decreased by about 12 percent in the 2,702 participants who increased their physical activity category from poor to intermediate or recommended, or from intermediate to recommended, compared with those with consistently poor or intermediate activity ratings.

Conversely, heart failure risk increased by 18 percent in the 2,530 participants who reported decreased physical activity from visit one to visit three, compared with those with consistently recommended or intermediate activity levels.

Next, the researchers determined how much of an increase in exercise, among those initially doing no exercise, was needed to reduce the risk of future heart failure. Exercise was calculated as METs (metabolic equivalents), where one MET is 1 kilocalorie per kilogram per hour. Essentially, sitting watching television is 1 MET, fast walking is 3 METs, jogging is 7 METs and jumping rope is 10 METs. The researchers calculated outcomes in METs times the number of minutes of exercise.

The researchers found that each 750 MET minutes per week increase in exercise over six years reduced heart failure risk by 16 percent. And each 1,000 MET minutes per week increase in exercise was linked to a reduction in heart failure risk by 21 percent.

According to the American Heart Association, fewer than 50 percent of Americans get recommended activity levels.

Explore further Exercise can reduce heart failure risk at any age

More information: Roberta Florido et al. Six-Year Changes in Physical Activity and the Risk of Incident Heart Failure, Circulation (2018). Journal information: Circulation Roberta Florido et al. Six-Year Changes in Physical Activity and the Risk of Incident Heart Failure,(2018). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.117.030226
SAN FRANCISCO  At a conference in Silicon Valley this week, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebooks chief executive, vowed that his company would keep building despite a swirl of questions around the way it has dealt with misinformation and the personal data of its users.

That is certainly true in the important area of artificial intelligence, which Mr. Zuckerberg says can help the social media giant deal with some of those problems.

Facebook is opening new A.I. labs in Seattle and Pittsburgh, after hiring three A.I. and robotics professors from the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. The company hopes these seasoned researchers will help recruit and train other A.I. experts in the two cities, Mike Schroepfer, Facebooks chief technology officer, said in an interview.

As it builds these labs, Facebook is adding to pressure on universities and nonprofit A.I. research operations, which are already struggling to retain professors and other employees.
Experts urged the journal to cancel publication of the article, one calling it unwise, unjustified, and dangerous. Even before publication, a report from a World Health Organization meeting noted that the endeavor did not require exceptional biochemical knowledge or skills, significant funds or significant time.

But the studys lead researcher, David Evans, a virologist at the University of Alberta, said he had alerted several Canadian government authorities to his poxvirus venture, and none had raised an objection.

Many experts agree that it would be very difficult for amateur biologists of any stripe to design a killer virus on their own. But as more hackers trade computer code for the genetic kind, and as their skills become increasingly sophisticated, health security experts fear that the potential for abuse may be growing.

To unleash something deadly, that could really happen any day now  today, said Dr. George Church, a researcher at Harvard and a leading synthetic biologist. The pragmatic people would just engineer drug-resistant anthrax or highly transmissible influenza. Some recipes are online.

If theyre willing to inject themselves with hormones to make their muscles bigger, you can imagine theyd be willing to test more powerful things, he added. Anyone who does synthetic biology should be under surveillance, and anyone who does it without a license should be suspect.

Authorities in the United States have been hesitant to undertake actions that could squelch innovation or impinge on intellectual property. The laws that cover biotechnology have not been significantly updated in decades, forcing regulators to rely on outdated frameworks to govern new technologies.
ARCHIVED - British property buyers returning to Murcia and the rest of Spain



7.8 per cent more sales to UK nationals in late 2017 after a 12-month Brexit blip

Figures published by Spains notaries on Monday show that the number of properties purchased by non-Spaniards in this country during the second half of 2017 reached 49,553, roughly the same level as before the collapse of the market in late 2007 and 14.1 per cent higher than in the equivalent period the year before.

There are of course many different nationalities contributing to this total, but buyers from the UK remain by some way the most numerous, according to the notaries data. British buyers numbered 7,246 between June and December, accounting for 14.3 per cent of all purchases made by foreigners in Spain, with 5,003 of those relating to non-residents: in other words, those buying holiday or second homes rather than places of permanent residence.

It would seem, then, that the reticence among UK nationals when it came to buying homes in Spain in the months following the Brexit referendum has declined, and that any fears over what the status of Britons in this country might be after next spring have dissipated. The number of purchases made by Brits was 7.8 per cent higher than in the second half of 2016, following decreases of 23 per cent and 16 per cent in late 2016 and early 2017, as confidence returned to the buying public in the UK.

The next most important foreign markets for Spanish property during the period were those of France, which accounted for 8.4 per cent of all sales, Germany (8.1 per cent) and Rumania (6.8 per cent), and sales to all major nationalities except the Swiss increased.

As a result, the notaries calculate that 19.5 per cent of all sales in the second half of last year were to non-Spaniards, a proportion which has remained roughly stable for the last five years, and it can be deduced therefore that 2.8 per cent (or one in 36) were to UK nationals.

In the Region of Murcia, meanwhile, sales to foreign nationals during the six months reached 2,155, or 28.4 per cent of the total, the fourth highest in the country (behind the Balearics, the Canaries and the Comunidad Valenciana). The increase of 23.4 per cent was also among the most significant in Spains 17 regions, while it is interesting to note that the climate of political uncertainty in Catalunya probably explains that this is where sales to non-Spaniards increased least, by just 2.5 per cent.

Back in Murcia, among properties sold to non-residents the UK accounted for 59 per cent of all transactions (followed by Belgium with 11 per cent). In the category of resident non-Spaniards the most important nationality was the Chinese with 42 per cent, followed on this occasion by the British with 12 per cent.

The figures reported by the notaries regarding property purchases by non-Spaniards are consistently higher than those produced by the countrys property registrars. This is probably due to the fact that almost all foreign buyers prefer to perform the official signing of deeds before a notary, although in fact it is not obligatory if no mortgage is involved: some Spaniards opt to waive this procedure, hence discounting themselves from the notaries statistical records.

To view a wide range of properties for sale across Spain consult the Spanish property page.

Follow Murcia Today on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news, events and information in the Region of Murcia and the rest of Spain: https://www.facebook.com/MurciaToday/.

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During negotiations, we kept that language in the ballot argument, Klobas said. We submitted it back to the other side and they came back and agreed to keep the language in. Which means they stipulated to it.

Klobas described Measure C as having no exemption to its oak-cutting cap for agricultural while still allowing oak removal for homes and event centers. He sees this as conflicting with the oft-stated county claim that agriculture is the highest and best use for rural land.

But Yes on Measure C proponents say they dont view their initiative as being an event center catalyst. Co-author Jim Wilson said in an April interview that county law requires public hearings and Planning Commission approval for event centers. Measure C doesnt change this.

Still, proponents ultimately agreed in the settlement that opponents can make the winery event center claim in the voter information guide.

That (the event center claim) is an opinion. You cannot make someone change their opinions  they can put anything in as opinion, but they cannot change facts, Hackett said.
A group of high school students took over Economy Market last week, posting signs supporting alcohol and tobacco prevention and encouraging healthy food choices.

The students are a part of Valley Oak High Schools Leadership class and are responsible for organizing school activities and giving back to the community. They run the schools Friday Night Live program, which encourages teens to make healthful choices regarding drugs and alcohol.

The work the students did at Economy Market, 1100 Imola Ave., on Wednesday was part of this effort.

It is pretty important because a lot of stores do sell alcohol and tobacco products to underage kids, said Gilbert Arroliga-Suarez, 17, a Valley Oak senior. You cant solve everything all in one day, but you can do so something.

Although Arroliga-Suarez says hes never smoked cigarettes, he knows other students do.

You know it happens in high school  everybody, they either get it from their brothers or they go to a known spot for selling to underage kids, everybody knows about it ... its really everywhere. Just by being in the community, he said, youre exposed to drugs and alcohol use.

By posting informational and warning sign by the stores cash registers and outside on the front door, he said, he feels like hes doing something good for the community. Its spreading awareness, he said.

Some of the signs read: You must be 21: We Card, or The legal drinking age is 21  Must show I.D.

The students also posted signs pointing out healthy food options, and suggested picking up a recipe of the month at the front counter. To encourage healthy drink choices, they moved soda to the back of the store and water bottles to the front.

By making water bottles easier to access than soda, maybe other youths coming into the store will opt for water, said Karla Flores, 17, a senior.

Peter Khoury, Economy Market owner, said that he let the students come in because it seemed like a good thing to do.

I think that sometimes showing a little bit of kindness or humbleness can go along way with people, Khoury said.

Although the signs could deter alcohol and tobacco sales, Khoury said that he didnt mind. Compared with some of his convenience store counterparts, Khourys sales of those products are low anyway. He said he sells the products more to be convenient for his shoppers than to make money.

Normal stores that sell cigarettes  theyll sell more than 100 cartons a week, he said. I sell only 13 cartons a week.

Khoury doesnt have signs promoting alcohol or tobacco use nor does he contract with any companies.

I like to sell groceries, meats, taqueria and produce, he said. He likes to keep the business a family store, he said. I want them to feel that someone who owns a business doesnt have to be all about money.

We get all families. I met kids when theyre in their stroller, now theyre adults coming back from college  its a nice feeling to see that, Khoury said. One of the (Valley Oak) kids grew up (shopping) in my store, he said.

Lori Roberts, 18, is that student.

I used to live around here and a lot of kids come in, Roberts said. Although she was never interested in smoking or drinking, Roberts said that the changes are a positive thing for the other kids in the neighborhood.

Economy Market was one of the few stores to agree to let the students come in and make changes, said Nancy Wynne de Rivera, Napa County Health and Human Services Agency. Some stores receive incentives from distributors to hang posters advertising tobacco and alcohol products, she said, so the owners might be hesitant to add conflicting messaging.

Economy Market keeps most of its alcohol either in a refrigerator or behind the counter, which is better because then it isnt easy to snatch, Wynne de Rivera said. And, as far as the nutrition suggestions go, the students highlighted products that the store already had in stock.

The student work helps the community and it also helps to instill responsibility into the students, Leadership adviser Julie Lovie said.

This is really just growing eco-literate citizens, she said, making sure that were helping provide the next generation with responsible citizens (who are) connected to their community.

Were growing leaders, she said.

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FAIRFIELD  A California woman whose 10 children were removed from a home described as filthy by authorities denied that she or her husband had abused or neglected the kids, telling reporters on Monday that the children all slept in one bedroom together because they wanted to.

Ina Rogers, 30, said she feels shes being judged for having so many children and choosing to home-school them.

She said she is surprised police have leveled the most serious accusations against her husband Jonathan Allen, as he was not the disciplinarian of the family.

Fairfield police arrested Allen, 29, on Friday and he faces felony charges of torture and abuse.

The children are 4 months to 12 years old.

Theres no broken bones, there is no major scars, nothing, Rogers told reporters in front of her house. My kids get bumped and bruised and scratched because theyre kids but thats it.

Fairfield police removed the children from the house March 31 after Rogers reported her oldest child was missing, saying he had run away after she took away his tablet computer as punishment.

Fairfield police Lt. Greg Hurlbut said when police returned the child, they found nine other children living in squalid and unsafe conditions.

They removed the children and Rogers was arrested. She was released after posting $10,000 bail on April 9.

On Monday, she led reporters on a tour of the four-bedroom house in Fairfield, 46 miles (74 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco.

The home was messy with scuffed walls and animal feces in the bathroom. She said the children slept on cots in one bedroom because they were close. The other rooms contained a master bedroom, playroom and meditation room.

On the day the children were removed, the house was messy because shed just torn it apart looking for her missing son, she said.

She and her husband both came from broken homes and they wanted a large family, she said.

Child protection officials made one prior visit to the home several years ago, Rogers said. She did not say why.

Allen was arrested after specialists conducted interviews with the children, Hurlbut said. He was being held in Solano County Jail in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

Court records do not indicate whether the parents have lawyers.

Aleida Quartman, 23, said she was a co-worker of Rogers at a heart device monitoring company. She said Rogers spoiled her children and the messy house was just life with children, cats, a dog and fish.

She told me shes never lived alone and now that her kids are gone and her husband is gone, shes just a mess, Quartman said.

A horrified Peggy Allen, Allens mother, said she had talked to Rogers about the dirty condition of the home, saying it was important to keep a clean house. Allen said she is estranged from her son and that he has kept his family away from the grandchildren.

Its embarrassing, she said. Were a Christian family and Jonathan has not been raised that way.

In a separate case, prosecutors in Riverside County, have filed eight new charges against a father accused of shackling and starving some of his 13 children, alleging that he lied on government forms about their schooling.

David Turpin and his wife Louise previously pleaded not guilty to torture, child abuse and other charges in a case that has drawn international attention since the couples 17-year-old daughter escaped the familys Perris, California, home in January and called 911.
Rarely does a lawyer implicate a client as being guilty of federal crimes on national television, but that is exactly what Rudy Giuliani has done to Donald Trump. Giuliani's recent revelation on Fox News that Trump reimbursed Michael Cohen the $130,000 that had been paid to Stormy Daniels has potentially enormous legal consequences.

Here's what is known for certain. In October 2016, Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 in exchange for her signing an agreement that she would not publicly disclose her affair with Trump. Giuliani made explicit what everyone suspected: The payment was to help Trump's election bid by preventing the story of the affair from being public. In an interview with Sean Hannity, Giuliani declared: "Imagine if it came out on October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton. Cohen didn't even ask. Cohen made it go away. He did his job."

Giuliani subsequently said that the reimbursement to Cohen totaled $460,000 or $470,000, but it was unclear what else the payments were for beyond the $130,000 that went to Daniels. Then, in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Giuliani said that other women may have been paid for their silence as well.
Purple Heart Wines, a cause-based wine brand created by C. Mondavi & Family, is celebrating three years of partnership with the Purple Heart Foundation.

When the venture was announced in 2016, it was founded on the simple premise: each year, make one exceptional red blend worthy of the heroes it pays tribute to, and in doing so raise critical funds for veterans causes.

Driven by consumer reception of the wine and their enthusiasm for its cause, demand has been steadily rising, and production is being increased for the 2015 vintage to meet this demand, according to a news release.

The recently-introduced 2015 bottling of Purple Heart showcases the winemaking of John Moynier, who assumed winemaking duties in May 2017. Inspired by the brands mission, Moynier, an Air Force veteran, came out of retirement just to make this red blend.

For the 2015 vintage, he has produced a blend from Sonoma County fruit. Moynier said, When we made the transition from the Napa Valley to Sonoma County, we knew we wanted to keep Merlot as the backbone of the blend. The big change comes from the integration of a Zinfandel component versus Cabernet Sauvignon in the supporting role. I think people will really appreciate its plush red and black fruit flavors and the velvety mouthfeel.
When asked about the secret to living a long life, St. Helenas Midge Burns had a quick and succinct response: Just keep laughing.

And then, as she has so often over the last 100 years, she did just that.

Burns' 100th birthday is on June 26, but her fellow members of the Upper Napa Valley Republican Women celebrated it on Monday during their monthly luncheon at Cindys Backstreet Kitchen. Her friends praised her fun-loving personality, sense of humor and sharp wit, which they say hasnt dulled a bit as shes reached the century mark.

Shes perky and shes always in a good mood, said Della Danner. Everybody loves her.  Shes stayed in good health and she keeps up her social life.

Burns keeps up with a multitude of friends and attends the Presbyterian Church on Spring Street every Sunday. A few years ago, she and the centenarian gentleman she was dating at the time dressed up like Dr. Seuss characters for a Halloween party.

Burns said she sits in her backyard every day and looks across the pool at the flowers on the other side.

I think thats whats keeping me alive, she said. I like flowers and things that are pretty.
WHY card by Hannah Flaherty

I came here to inspire the younger generation and show them that they can follow their dreams. I also want to show my creativity while doing something I love. I am here to follow my dreams to create a better future for myself and my family.

WHY card by Jordyn Baker

Theres no history lesson on why I began baking, no one else in my family does, so there is no When I was 5 years old my grandma taught me  

I began baking early on in high school as a stress reliever and which quickly became more than just a hobby for me. I grew passionate about it and was determined to learn as much as I could. My senior year of high school I got into competitive baking which is how I got the opportunity to attend the CIA. I guess the competitive edge in me wouldnt settle for less than one of the top-notch schools in the country.
1811  Non-injury hit-and-run on Main Street. A man reportedly scratched the callers car, apologized, and walked away.

2140  The police and fire departments responded to a report of a grass fire next to a Brown Street home.

Thursday, May 10

0616  A small black dog was found running loose on Grayson Avenue.

1639  A pair of twins came to the PD lobby wondering if they could get free bike helmets.

1905  The railroad arms near Zinfandel and Stice Lane were stuck in the down position. Police notified the Wine Train.

1956  Report of a boulder posing a hazard on Spring Mountain Road. An officer checked the area and didnt see it.

2026  Non-injury lift assist on Fulton Lane.

2245  Report of a person in a blue Corvette tailgating, revving their engine, swerving and waving their hand out the window. The car stopped at a gas station at Main/Pope.

Friday, May 11
It bothers some people, but I relish the proliferation of political signs right before an election. Vote for Dillon! Vote for Perez! Yes on C! No on C! Its not visual pollution  its a reminder that were lucky enough to live in a country where were free to decide such matters for ourselves.

Reader, I voted. Ive resigned myself to the loss of polling places, and I found that voting at home was actually fun. When I was done I dropped off my ballot at the collection box outside the library. A few things to note: The ballot measures (including the hotly debated Measure C) are all on the back of the second card, so be sure to turn both cards over. Also, dont forget to put your ballot (both cards) into the provided envelope and  most important  sign the envelope. If you dont, your ballot wont be counted. Using the library box will save you postage, but if youre planning on mailing your ballot, dont forget about stamps. It needs 71 cents worth of postage. If you have questions, drop by the post office and ask Francisco, Kevin, or any of the other friendly faces at the counter. And finally, vote! Please vote!
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal who is on a tour to Vietnam, met several top leaders of Vietnam Government and discussed economic and other bilateral issues to boost agriculture, trade and commerce in Assam.

Sonowal held separate discussions with Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Government of Socialist Republic of Vietnam Ha Cong Tuan, Chairman of Vietnams External Relations Commission Hoang Binh Quan and Vice-Chairman of Central Economic Commission Cao Duc Phat at Hanoi in Vietnam.

This was stated in an official press release.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora and 13 MLAs during the meetings.

The Chief Minister led delegations exposure tour has been undertaken in the right stead to get the first hand exposure of the farm practice of Vietnam and to take inputs for revitalizing the agriculture sector of the State.

Sonowal in presence of the Agriculture Minister Atul Bora discussed with the Deputy Agriculture Minister Ha Cong Tuan regarding utilizing the modern technology and expertise of Vietnam farmers to help farmers of Assam to double their income.

During discussion, Sonowal appreciated the advancements that Vietnam has made in the field of paddy cultivation and requested the Deputy Minister of Agriculture to extend his countrys support in improving the agriculture production in Assam.

He also informed Tuan about the State Governments initiatives to double farmers income in the State.

The Vietnam Minister also shared the countrys success stories in the agriculture sector during the discussion and how modern technology and advanced farmer friendly techniques helped agricultural growth in the country. He also assured the Chief Minister to look into the issues raised by him positively to help the state governments efforts for doubling the farmers income.

Sonowal during his discussions with the Vice-Chairman of Central Economic Commission Cao Duc Phat requested him to take steps for setting up a Consulate Office of the Vietnam Government in Guwahati and organizing Cultural and Youth Exchange program.

Phat during the discussion informed the Chief Minister how open market policy of Vietnam has changed the fortune of Agriculture in that country.

On the other hand, during his meeting with the Chairman of External Relations Commission Hoang Binh Quan, Sonowal mentioned about the thrust given to the north eastern region of India by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Act East Policy and different infrastructural advancements being made in recent years.

He also emphasized on strengthening connectivity between Hanoi and Guwahati to promote tourism and trade.

Chairman Hoang Binh Quan hailed Sonowals leadership in deepening the bilateral relations between Vietnam and Assam.

He also lauded Sonowals initiative of leading the delegation to Vietnam which according to him would go a long way to further mutual benefits of both Vietnam and Assam.

Earlier, Sonowal visited Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Science, where the officials made a presentation on Vietnams agriculture, agricultural extension programme and research being carried out in the field of agriculture.

The Chief Minister also made a field visit of the vegetable farm of the Academy to see the farming systems in that country.

Later in the evening, Sonowal also took part in an investment road-show at Hanoi where key business players of the country took part. Sonowal in his speech underlined the inherent advantages of better relations between Assam and Vietnam for trade and commerce.

He highlighted the resources and other potentials of the state and urged the business leaders to investment in Assam.

It may be noted that Vietnam is second largest coffee producing country and highest in exporting pepper and Dragon fruits.

As Assam shares affinity with Vietnam with regard to its environmental and agro climatic conditions, a mutually sound bilateral relation and economic cooperation could significantly help in the growth of both the geographical territories of the South East Asia, the release added.
Opposition MP: Armenia authorities obsessed with false ideas of building dialogue with Turkey, Azerbaijan

Ukrainian tourist, 64, dies suddenly near Armenias Temple of Garni

Artsakh civilian, 55, killed by Azerbaijan sniper

UK House of Lords member thanks opposition Armenia Faction in parliament

Modernas Spikevax vaccine against coronavirus is distributed to Armenia polyclinics, mobile points

India FM to visit Armenia for first time in history

Armenia PM condoles with Georgia counterpart

Spain man, 40, found dead in Armenia

October 11 declared a day of mourning in Georgia

Armenian priest continues his religious service at Dadivank Monastery of Artsakh (PHOTOS)

China, US discuss lifting customs duties, sanctions

4 people killed in single-engine plane crash in US

1,331 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Armenia President awarded with highest medal of University of Bologna

Vanetsyan: Armenias Pashinyan, by me, Azerbaijans Aliyev, by his NSS head, had exchanged closed envelopes

Armenia premier, his staff conceal fact of 'operative link' with Azerbaijans Aliyev

Residential building collapses in Georgias Batumi

Chile court considering case against president based on Pandora Papers leaks

Newspaper: Selective investigation being conducted into Armenia criminal case on arms supply

Newspaper: Armenia PM worries about delay in actual 'process' of illegal property confiscation

OSCE Minsk Group: Co-Chairs discussed possible de-escalatory and humanitarian measures

Sergey Markedonov: What axis between Yerevan and Tehran?

Armenia Parliament Speaker: It's very important to be able to turn the page over and establish peace in the region

Legendary Armenian gymnast Albert Azaryan's daughter, teacher Zhanna Azaryan dies from COVID-19

Georgia citizens to hold rally in support of Saakashvili in central Tbilisi on Sunday

Armenia sets up governmental commission for funeral of Ambassador Vigen Chitechyan

Armenia opposition MP: Yerevan, Baku are synchronously working to destroy Armenian statehood

Slovenia Ambassador to Armenia: Armenian-Slovenian economic relations not adequate to existing potential

Cavusoglu: Ukraine has applied to obtain observer status in Turkic Council

Turkey building a wall on border with Iran

Basque Country Parliament, affirming European Parliament's stance, adopts resolution on Armenian POWs

Turkish FM touches upon Armenia-Azerbaijan relations

Armenia FM receives Apostolic Nuncio of Holy See Jose Avelino Bettencourt

Saakashvili's father calls on son to stop hunger strike

Armenian and Belarusian MFAs hold political consultations

Digest: Russia offers 3+3 Caucasus regional platform, more on COVID-19 vaccination in Armenia

Armenia MOD receives Diaspora Armenian benefactors

Armenia Ambassador presents credentials to Turkmenistan President

Armenia Parliament Deputy Speaker and Russia Ambassador: We are interested in expansion of cooperation

Armenia finance ministry-European Investment Bank cooperation development directions discussed

One dollar drops below AMD 480 in Armenia

Hague court announces dates for considering petition for Armenian captives return, urgent measures against Azerbaijan

Armenia minister, Rosatom representative discuss cooperation in new sectors for infrastructure development

Armenia PM underscores need for effective investigation of criminal cases on 44-day war circumstances

Armenia MFA: Servants, followers of Armenian Church should have unimpeded access to cathedral in Artsakhs Shushi

Armenia opposition With Honor Faction lawmaker: MPs can be part of any parliamentary delegation

Turkish Armed Forces' 3rd army corps commander visits Nakhchivan

Sergey Markedonov: Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is not over

Opposition 'Armenia' faction: There is always a threat of war, but it is less likely in the near future

Armenian and Greek competition protection authorities sign Memorandum of Cooperation

Georgia FM comments on possibility of his country joining 3 + 3 format proposal including Armenia

Ruling power MP: Armenia needs to consider, grasp opportunities of 3 + 3 negotiation format

12 new cases of coronavirus reported in Karabakh

FM meets with Sweden ambassador, stresses need for return of all Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan

Ukraine MP who penned Armenian Genocide recognition draft decision dies

Azerbaijan organizes another visit to occupied Shushi of Artsakh

Ombudsman in Rome, presents Armenian captives issue to international media

ANCA calls on US Congress to investigate State Department failures related to Armenia, Artsakh

Armenia opposition MP: Tatev bypass road will not resolve all our problems in current situation (PHOTOS)

1,202 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

Opposition Armenia bloc challenges, at Constitutional Court, community enlargement law package

Armenia Central Bank chief in Rome, meets with Italy PM

Russia peacekeepers, philanthropists hand warm clothes to Artsakh families

State Department: US, Russia do not want to allow Iran to have nuclear weapons

Newspaper: Armenia state to no longer cover treatment expenses of patients not vaccinated against coronavirus?

Newspaper: Armenia judicial system to be in volatile situation in short time

UN Human Rights Council agrees to appoint special rapporteur on Afghanistan

Russia citizen driver, 52, dies on the spot after his car crashes into truck in Armenia

Launch of Armenian Studies Program announced during Armenia President's visit to Sapienza University

Will Turks be able to enter 26 countries of Schengen Area without visas?

Dinner served in honor of Armenia President and his wife in Italy

Armenian parliamentary standing committee chairman meets with Russia Ambassador

Armenia Ombudsman submits to Pope Francis reports on tortures of Armenian POWs in Azerbaijan

Customs Attache: There hasn't been and there is no bias against Armenian drivers at Upper Lars checkpoint

Greece-France defense agreement will allow them to help each other in case of third country's attack

Treatment of coronavirus-infected but unvaccinated people to become paid service in Armenia as of December?

Turkish FM: Turkey's position on supporting Ukraine's "integrity and sovereignty" remains unchanged

Russian peacekeeping forces, charitable organizations provide assistance to boarding school in Karabakh

Zakharova: Moscow proceeds from priority to ensure geopolitical stability in South Caucasus

Armenia President pays tribute at Altar of the Homeland monument at Venice Square in Rome

Turkey, Iran to hold political consultations

Karabakh FM expresses condolences over death of Vigen Chitechyan

Armenia territorial administration and infrastructure minister has new deputy

Armenia Deputy PM Mher Grigoryan receives US Ambassador

Armenia Security Council Secretary, Netherlands Ambassador attach importance to fight against corruption

Digest: Armenian POW returned from Azerbaijan, PACE speaks on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination risks

Armenia and Italy are deepening cooperation in justice sector

Apprehended ARF-D members are released

Armenia high-tech industry minister receives Russia Ambassador

Armenia Embassy in Russia hosts delegation led by Armenian parliamentary speaker

Decisions to arrest Armenia ex-defense minister, arms supplier are appealed

Dollar continues going down in Armenia

Artsakh President to Putin: Your role in process of peaceful, final settlement of Karabakh conflict is invaluable

Amir-Abdollahian: We consider inadmissible Zionist regime provocative movement in our region from Azerbaijan territory

Iran FM announces readiness to visit Armenia, Azerbaijan

US ambassador to Armenia attends unveiling of new x-ray machine donated to Ashtarak city hospital (PHOTOS)

Putin: Russia attaches great importance to close cooperation with strategic ally Armenia

Police disrupt ARF youths protest outside Armenia government building

Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople meets with the Pope, in the Vatican

UK envoy to Armenia does not comment on Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, Karabakh situation
YEREVAN.  The new Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Tuesday introduced new first deputy PM Ararat Mirzoyan as well as deputy PMs Tigran Avinyan and Mher Grigoryan to the government staff.

First, Pashinyan congratulated them for being included in the new government and wished them success, press office of the government informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

We have important work to do, and we must justify the hopes of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia and of the Armenian people because we shouldnt forget that we are here [in the new Armenian government] by the peoples decision, and we shall leave here again by their decision, Pashinyan noted, in particular. We must implement effective steps. And if we are convinced in the accuracy of any stepconsidering the [respective] existing arguments, we shall share them with the public and be able to convince them in the same way as we have been convinced ourselves.

In the new PMs words, the people of Armenia must sense that they are the most important source in decision-making in the country.

He stressed, however, that the new government of Armenia shall not go along a populistic path, and that it shall have the peoples mandate when carrying out all of its activities.

They [the people] should be convinced that we are taking the more effective steps, Nikol Pashinyan added, in particular.

Also, he thanked the now former deputy PMs for the work they have done.
YEREVAN.  The new Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on Tuesday visited the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he introduced newly appointed Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the ministry staff.

The PM noted that the diplomatic corps is one of Armenias established organizations and added that it enjoys trust among the people, press office of the government informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Also, Pashinyan thanked now former FM Edward Nalbandian for the work he has done in this capacity.

The motive behind proposing Mr. Mnatsakanyan the [foreign] ministers position was as follows: to ensure the political changes smoothness for the MFA and the diplomatic corps [of Armenia], the new Premier said, in particular. I believe we shall work earnestly in the near future because there are very major issues on the foreign policy agenda of Armenia, and which have important and vital significance for the Republic of Armenia. Armenias normal development, security, and international standing depend on our position regarding those issues.

Pashinyan stressed that Armenias international standing is quite high, and that it is a good opportunity to turn it into foreign policy achievements.

The new PM added, however, that the diplomatic corps of Armenia shall be kept as much away as possible from the impact of political changes, and that this is a good means for the efficient organization of work.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does not rule out that the snap parliamentary elections may be held this year. Asked about the timing of early parliamentary election, he said: I think, this year.

Pashinyan also said he believes that the National Assembly will approve governments program.

Artsakh Defense Army serviceman Shamkhal Petrosyan, who sustained a severe gunshot wound on May 13, is transferred to Armenias capital city of Yerevan.

The soldier is in critical but stable condition. The representative of Armenias Defense Ministry said Petrosyan he underwent a surgery in Stepanakert and was transported to Yerevan where he will continue getting necessary medical aid.

Petrosyan was wounded on as a result of a shot fired by the Azerbaijan armed forces.

The new Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan introduced newly appointed Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan to the ministry staff.

The motive behind proposing Mr. Mnatsakanyan the [foreign] ministers position was as follows: to ensure the political changes smoothness for the MFA and the diplomatic corps [of Armenia], the new Premier said, in particular.

The new PM added, however, that the diplomatic corps of Armenia shall be kept as much away as possible from the impact of political changes, and that this is a good means for the efficient organization of work.

National Security Service provided additional information about six Bangladeshi citizens who were detained while crossing the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

After midnight on May 8, these persons had crossed into Armenia from the Nakhijevan exclave of Azerbaijan, and were apprehended by the Armenian Defense Ministry servicemen. These persons stated that they wanted to cross into Turkey via Iran to seek jobs, but they had gotten lost and ended up in Armenia. Criminal charges have been brought against, and they have been arrested.

Turkey recalls its ambassadors to the United States and Israel in connection with the current situation in the Gaza Stripwhere numerous Palestinians were killed, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

In solidarity with our Palestinian brothers in connection with those killed during clashes with Israeli soldiers in Gaza, three-day mourning is declared in Turkey, as of tomorrow, Erdogan said.

North Korea has begun the dismantlement of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, whose closing is slated from May 23 to 25, 38North website reported.

Earlier South Korean foreign ministry said they accepted official Pyongyangs invitation to hold a high level meeting on the border between two countries on May 16.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are expected to meet on June 12 in Singapore.
SIUs Touch of Nature invites the public to participate in new Welcome Plaza project

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondales Touch of Nature Environmental Center is about to become even more inviting.

A new multi-purpose Welcome Plaza is being established at the main entrance to Camp 2. The site, which is handicapped-accessible and located adjacent to a large parking lot, will give people and groups a special place to meet and connect when coming to the facility for any reason. It will also serve as an educational spot and an open area for visitors.

Public participation in the project is welcomed.

Pavilion to include engraved pavers, benches and more

Plans call for a large circular open-air pavilion with tapered stone background walls surrounding the rear portion. Concrete benches and indigenous bushes and flowers will line the interior of the wall and the floor will be covered with special bricks and pavers.

There will also be educational kiosks featuring information about the facility and its unique history, as well as its flora and fauna.

Anyone may purchase an engraved paver or brick

Groups, individuals and businesses are invited to show their support for Touch of Nature and the great things that happens there while also honoring loved ones or recognizing people and businesses. The floor of the plaza will feature special etched bricks and paver stones.

The bricks are standard 4 by 8 inch rectangles while the ground pavers are 18 inches square. On each, up to three lines of text, with a maximum of 13 characters per line, can be added. The cost of an engraved brick is $100 while a paver is $250.

The bricks and pavers will be available for purchase at any time. The patio will be constructed in such a way that plain bricks and pavers can be replaced with engraved ones any time someone makes a purchase, according to J.D. Tanner, director of Touch of Nature.

Honoring the legacy with future additions

Future plans call for adding a statue of William Freeberg, the pioneering therapeutic recreation expert. He and Delyte Morris, the late SIU president, acquired 150 acres in the Shawnee National Forest and created the first university-affiliated residential summer camp for people with physical and intellectual disabilities. Camp at Little Grassy Lake, now known as Camp Little Giant, continues to provide a true summer camp experience adapted especially to the abilities and disabilities of participants.

Since 1949, Touch of Nature Environmental Center, once known as SIUs Little Grassy Lake Campus, has grown to more than 3,100 acres of lakes, forests and hills used for outdoor experiential education programming of all kinds. Zip lines, a high ropes course, rock climbing, canoeing, and lodging facilities make the center a popular location for everything from corporate retreats to weddings, from environmental education programs and camps to therapeutic recreation.

In addition, Freeberg, the first person in the nation to earn a doctorate in recreation, played an instrumental role in the creation of the Special Olympics.

Working on loan from SIU to the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, he worked with Illinois Supreme Court Justice Anne Burke and Eunice Kennedy Shriver to establish what was to become the Special Olympics. Now a worldwide phenomenon, the event is celebrating its 50th birthday this year and the festivities recently kicked off at Touch of Nature.

A memorial plaque will also be installed at the Welcome Plaza in Freebergs honor.

Work to begin May 21

A May 21 project groundbreaking is anticipated with staff and apprentices from the Laborers International Union of North American contributing their expertise and skills to construct the plaza. LIUNA supports programs, camps and events at the facility in an ongoing basis.

The plaza will be located right at the entrance to Camp 2, at the y between Little Grassy Lodge and Freeberg Hall.

See sketches and purchase engraved markers online

An artists rendering of the Welcome Plaza project along with additional details and a downloadable purchase form for the engraved bricks and pavers is available online at https://ton.siu.edu/support-us/welcome-plaza.php. Or, call 618/453-1121 or email tonec@siu.edu to learn more.

Ceremony will celebrate completion

Touch of Nature Environmental Center will host a special ribbon-cutting ceremony later this year to celebrate the completion of the Welcome Plaza project.
ABC/Image Group LAOver the weekend, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda played his first live shows as a solo artist. And even though he's known for being in one of the world's most popular bands, Shinoda admits he feels like a "debut artist" with his solo project.

"The disadvantage is I've never gone out and done a tour under my own name," he tells Variety. "I've never put an album out under my own name. There is absolutely some building up from scratch -- I think more so than a lot of fans or people would think."

Shinoda will release his debut solo album, Post Traumatic, on June 15. The album was written and recorded in the aftermath of his friend and Linkin Park band mate Chester Bennington's death last July.

"The album kicks off in a really dark place and it evolves out of that," Shinoda says. "That's what happened in real life. I don't want to call it a concept record, but it does definitely have an autobiographical story arc to it."

"I think the easy road would have been to jump into the studio with my band mates and make a new record, because I know we'd make something cool," Shinoda he adds. "But this [solo project] happened so organically and it felt like the right thing to do for me."

Shinoda's next solo show will be at Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds' LOVELOUD festival in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 28. During his live shows, he plans to mix songs from Post Traumatic with tracks from Linkin Park's discography and from his Fort Minor project.

"At this point Im doing a third of new stuff, a third Fort Minor and a third Linkin Park," he says.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Armenias Prosecutor Generals Office has verified news that a former member of the National Security Service (NSS) has been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting in the July 17, 2016 seizure of a Yerevan police building by the armed Sasna Dzrer group.

The news that former NSS employee Karen Khachatryan had been arrested on May 13 was first reported by Arayik Papikyan, an attorney for some of the Sasna Dzrer members now on trial.

Hetq then contacted the Prosecutor Generals Office for clarification.

Khachatryan is charged with hindering the actions of law enforcement by remaining near the seized police building and staying in telephone contact with Sasna Dzrer members inside, feeding them reports of what was happening.

Khachatryan is also charged with tampering with crowd control policy that put law enforcement at a disadvantage during the initial days of the seizure.

On May 10 a Yerevan court refused to issue Khachatryan bail, remanding him to pre-trial detention.
Home | News | General | Genevieve Nnaji's daughter wedding: let's recall how it was

Genevieve Nnaji is a truly big star that has blessed the Nollywood film industry with her outstanding talent and brilliant movie roles. Many people are extremely curious about her personal life. You will not believe, but she has a grown daughter, who recently got married to her sweetheart! Check out the best Genevieve Nnaji daughter wedding pictures.

Genevieve Nnaji and daughter, photo from youtube.com

Genevieve Nnaji daughter

The beloved actress of thousands is also a happy mother to her only daughter Theodora Chimebuka Nnaji. For many years, Genevieve Nnaji tried to protect her girl from the media attention and keep her personal matters under wraps. However, recently the actress finally stopped hiding her child, and we saw that she is, in fact, a beautiful young lady who looks a lot like her famous mother. Genevieve Nnaji still does not flaunt her daughter a lot, but she now posts photos with her on social media more freely.

Genevieve Nnaji gave birth to Chimebuka at the young age of seventeen. She came from a strict Catholic family, so she could not get rid of the baby as it contradicted their beliefs, and chose to raise it. Chimebuka grew up mostly with her grandmother.

A few years ago, Chimebuka was spotted at the birthday of her grandmother, who turned 60. It was a family celebration, and the press immediately spotted her among the crowd. Genevieve Nnaji later confirmed that it was her daughter, and not her sister or other relative. The media was stunned by the beauty of young Chimebuka Nnaji, and noticed her striking resemblance to her mother Genevieve.

There are some information known about Chimebuka. She used to go to the Federal Government College Akure. She also graduated with a degree from the Nnamdi Azikwe University. In 2013, she completed her NYSC program. Nowadays, she has her own makeup business, which is called NAJ Artistry. She offers her services to many Nollywood celebrities, who are mostly acquaintances of her famous mother.

READ ALSO: Is Genevieve Nnaji married?

Chimebuka Nnaji, photo from nigeriafilms.com

Genevieve Nnaji daughter wedding

The beautiful daughter of famous actress Genevieve Nnaji got married to her sweetheart not so long ago. She had a beautiful wedding ceremony in 2016. The young lady, who is basically a spitting image of her gorgeous mother, married her beloved man Prince Osi Chigozie Ikediwa. Chimebukas husband comes from Texas, but is Nigerian. Their traditional wedding ceremony took place in Mbaise, which is in Imo State. Mbaise is a hometown of Genevieve Nnaji, and of course, she was present on this beautiful ceremony too.

Chimebuka and Prince met in 2009 in Lagos. They have been together for a long time, and finally decided to tie the knot to solidify their eternal love.Rumors circulated that Chimebuka had a baby of her own recently, which made Genevieve Nnaji a grandmother. But it is hard to verify if these gossips are true or not. Genevieve has posted a few photos with a cute baby on her Instagram, as we saw a couple of weeks ago. However, it appears to be a child of her friends. So, it is hard to say if Chimebuka has already become a young mother or not. After all, she does not make her life very public.

Here are some pictures from Chimebukas traditional wedding. As we can see, it was festive and beautiful, and the bride was extremely happy.

Chimebuka and husband, photo from african-sweetheart.com

Chimebuka Nnaji wedding, photo from weddingdigestnaija.com

Genevieve Nnaji daughter and her husband, photo from african-sweetheart.com

You have learned some information about Chimebuka Nnaji, Genevieve Nnaji has a wonderful daughter, and Chimebuka is really happy to have the influential actress as her mother. May they always be blessed and have a life full of joy and happiness.

READ ALSO: Genevieve Nnaji's daughter: Facts you never knew

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Home | News | General | Weve been abandoned - Leah Sharibu's father cries out as his daughter turns 15 in Boko Haram captivity

- Nathan Sharibu, a father of Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi girl still in Boko Haram custody has accused the federal government of abandoning his family

- He said his wife and Leahs mother cried on Monday, May 14, on the abducted girls 15th birthday

- Sharibu said his family has not received any support from the government since his daughter was abducted

The father of Leah Sharibu, the only Dapchi girl still in Boko Haram custody has accused the federal government of abandoning his family and not communicating with them on efforts to secure his daughter's freedom.

The Nation reports that Nathan Sharibu, who said his wife and Leahs mother cried on Monday, May 14, on the abducted girls 15th birthday, spoke on a radio programme monitored in Abuja.

READ ALSO: 2019: Shehu Sani names 6 men who have integrity like President Buhari (list)

NAIJ.com gathered that he said: It is very sad and the family is very weak. The mother was even crying this morning because today is her birthday. She is 15 years old today and we are very sad about her absence.

He added: "To be honest, I have not received any support from the government but from the community and church members, I thank God because they have been encouraging me, lifting me through their prayers, visitation and words of advice.

I have not heard anything from federal, state and local governments since my daughter was abducted. I am even confused now.

I need your assistance to put pressure on the federal government to do something about the release of my daughter, he said.

Also on Monday, May 14, members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacy group expressed sadness over Leahs continuous stay in captivity.

Members of the group have also accused the federal government of abandoning Leahs family, community and refusing to provide Nigerians with updates on her release.

In a statement signed by leaders of the group, Oby Ezekwesili, Aisha Yesufu and Florence Ozor, to mark Leahs 15th birthday, said there was no reason the arrangement by the government on the other girls release would have left Leah out.

They said: Today is day 83 since 110 schoolgirls of Government Science and Technical College, Dapchi were abducted in their school on the evening of 19th February 2018.

"On 21 March, 104 were returned by the terrorists by an arrangement with the federal government, five others are not accounted for by the government.

"Leah Sharibu, the only #DapchiGirl who remains in captivity (for refusing to renounce her faith and convert to another religion) turns 15 years of age today.

Our movement is extremely saddened and distraught on this 83rd day of her captivity, and the fact that the young teenager has had to mark her birthday in captivity with terrorists.

#BringBackOurGirls is equally exasperated at the federal government that has abandoned the family of Leah Sharibu (and the families of the 5 others.) The federal government has not reached out to the families of the 5 #DapchiGirls, nor accounted for them.

Our movement wishes Leah Sharibu a happy birthday. We also demand a status update from the federal government on Leah Sharibu.

"It is unconscionable that the family, community, and the public has gotten no updates since the federal government made empty promises in March about prioritising her return.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

"We call on the federal government to return her immediately. There is no reason any arrangements with the terrorists should have left her out, in the first place.

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had previously reported that Leah Sharibu, the remaining Dapchi school girl still in Boko Haram captivity on Monday May 14, marked her 15th birthday in the custody of her captors.

Exclusive: Freed Dapchi Girl Recounts Her Ordeal with Boko Haram (Nigeria Breaking News) - on NAIJ.com

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Home | News | General | Army destroys militia camp, arrest spiritual leader in Nasarawa

By Joseph Erunke

ABUJA-THE Nigerian Army has said its troops of 177 Guards Battalion, Keffi, in Nasarawa State, arrested a militia spiritual leader based in Toto Local Government Area of the state.

The troops also destroyed the militia following an operation carried out in Ugya Village of the Nasarawa council area.

The spiritual head of the militia group, one Angulu Idaku was also arrested, a statement by Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Texas Chukwu said.

Troops of 177 Guards Battalion while on raid operation at Ugya village in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State destroyed some armed militia camp, it said even it did not state when the operation was carried out.

It listed items recovered include: Seven locally made guns; 12 cartridges; 200 rounds of 7.62MM special ammunition;76 rounds of 7.62MM NATO special ammunition;four knives;15 cutlasses ;six mobile phones;one DSP decoder set and four panel sets.

The Army in the statement, advised members of the public to report any suspicious activities to the security agents.

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China's industrial output beat forecasts in April but retail sales slumped, official data showed Tuesday, as the world's second largest economy faces headwinds from its debt battle and US trade frictions. Output at factories and workshops expanded 7.0 percent year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, beating the 6.0 percent recorded in March and the 6.4 percent estimated in a Bloomberg News survey. The jump in industrial activity was fuelled by the easing of winter time pollution controls, said Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital Economics. It also reflected the first full month of data not affected by China's New Year holidays in February, which disrupt production for months. "But there are signs in the rest of today's data that the economy is losing momentum," Evans-Pritchard said in the note. The retail sector -- which China is counting on to propel it to consumption-fuelled development -- was one area that fell short of expectations with sales growth slowing to 9.4 percent from 10.1 percent in March. The indicator fell below the 10 percent forecast by analysts, and reflected a broadly downward trend seen over the past 12 months. Expansion in fixed-asset investment also sagged to seven percent on-year for the first four months, from the 7.5 percent recorded in January to March. "Looking ahead, domestic spending is likely to continue to soften given the headwinds from slowing credit creation," said Evans-Pritchard. The data comes at a time of great uncertainty for China's export machine as political machinations in Washington threaten shipments to one of its largest markets. President Xi Jinping's top economic advisor Liu He will be in Washington from Tuesday until Saturday for a new round of trade negotiations with the Trump administration.
PNP chief Director Oscar Albayalde

QUEZON CITY, Philippines  Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Director General Oscar Albayalde has ordered an investigation on whether or not the ambush against Daanbantayan, Cebu mayor Vicente Loot was related to illegal drugs.

Still, the PNP is not discounting the possibility that the incident was politically motivated.

Meanwhile, Albayalde revealed that the PNP has already identified two persons of interest in the murder of former La Union 2nd District Representative Eufranio Eriguel.

Albayalde added that an intensive investigation is underway to uncover the root cause of the incident.  UNTV News &Rescue

The post PNP Chief Albayalde orders investigation on attacks vs Mayor Loot, ex-Cong. Eriguel appeared first on UNTV News.
Jiawen Sun, Queen's University Belfast Ph.D. student with Dr. Hans Vandierendonck. Credit: Queen's University Belfast

A Queen's University Belfast student has developed software which can detect insurance fraud quickly.

Jiawen Sun, a Ph.D. student in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technologies (ECIT) at Queen's, has been working for the last three years to create a software system which can efficiently analyse graph-structured data.

In sifting through an organisation's data, the software can rapidly detect insurance fraud.

Jiawen Sun, who is from Tianjin, China, explains: "Organisations are collecting increasing amounts of data, which is usually represented by graphs and can be useful for detecting fraud. However, as data sets grow into the trillions of bytes and beyond, this creates problems in high-performance computing, making it very hard to use the computer at full capacity.

"The algorithm I have created means that we can now process this information quickly and efficiently, enabling organisations to tackle issues such as insurance fraud."

Through her research, Jiawen studied how to lay out the data in a computer's memory and how to assign parts of the computation to different processors.

She also came up with two solutions to change the order of how the data is processed, which allows the computer to be used to its full capacity. The first solution changes the order in which graph edges are processed, splitting the graph in a way where there is no interference between processors, making the process more efficient. The second solution changes the order of processing vertices, allowing analysis to be completed faster.

Dr. Hans Vandierendonck, who was supervisor of the project, says the findings will have a positive impact for many organisations across the globe.

"Jiawen's work is extremely valuable for many organisations who are processing large volumes of data. These techniques accelerate graph analytics up to 10-fold, which is a game changer for many organisations, allowing them to tap into analysis that they have never used before and at a much faster pace."

Jiawen's work outperforms many state-of-the-art works including the Apache Open Source projects GraphX (Spark) by 21x, Giraph by 55x and GraphLab by 37x. It outperforms the academic systems GraphChi (EPFL) by 1386x, and Ligra (Carnegie Mellon University) by 3x, when calculating the importance and popularity of web sites in the .uk domain using Google's PageRank algorithm.

Jiawen recently received a Silver medal at the Association for Computing Machinery Student Research Competition, which is sponsored by Microsoft. The award offers a unique forum for undergraduate and graduate students to present their original research before a panel of judges and attendees at well-known conferences.

Explore further Faster performance evaluation of super-graphs
Credit: McGill University

A new method for projecting how the temperature will respond to human impacts supports the outlook for substantial global warming throughout this centurybut also indicates that, in many regions, warming patterns are likely to vary significantly from those estimated by widely used computer models.

The new method, outlined by McGill University researchers in Geophysical Research Letters, is based on historical temperature increase in response to rising greenhouse gas concentrations and other climate influences. This approach could be used to complement the complex global climate models, filling a need for more reliable climate projections at the regional scale, the researchers say.

"By establishing a historical relationship, the new method effectively models the collective atmospheric response to the huge numbers of interacting forces and structures, ranging from clouds to weather systems to ocean currents," says Shaun Lovejoy, a McGill physics professor and senior author of the study.

"Our approach vindicates the conclusion of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed in order to avoid catastrophic warming," he adds. "But it also brings some important nuances, and underscores a need to develop historical methods for regional climate projections in order to evaluate climate-change impacts and inform policy."

In particular, the new approach suggests that for over 39% of the globe, the computer models either overestimate or underestimate significantly the pace of warming, according to Lovejoy and his co-author, Ph.D. student Raphael Hebert (now at the Alfred-Wegener-Institut, in Potsdam.

"Global climate models are important research tools, but their regional projections are not yet reliable enough to be taken at face value," Hebert and Lovejoy asserted. "Historical methods for regional climate projections should be developed in parallel to traditional global climate models. An exciting possibility for further improvements will be the development of hybrid methods that combine the strengths of both the historical and traditional approaches."

More information: Raphael Hebert et al. Regional Climate Sensitivity- and Historical-Based Projections to 2100, Geophysical Research Letters (2018). Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters Raphael Hebert et al. Regional Climate Sensitivity- and Historical-Based Projections to 2100,(2018). DOI: 10.1002/2017GL076649
Credit: MIT Sloan School of Management

Paul Daugherty, chief technology and innovation officer at Accenture, sees three myths surrounding artificial intelligence: Robots are coming for us, machines will take our jobs, and current approaches to business processes will still apply.

The three myths represent "conventional changes to linear processes," he said. The reality is more transformative. An example: Newark, New Jersey-based AeroFarms grows seeds indoors without soil or sunlight. Seeds are harvested in less than three weeks and the process requires 95 percent less water than conventional farming methods.

AI plays a key role, Daugherty said. AeroFarms' scientists monitor 130,000 data points, analyzing everything from light sensitivity to nutrient absorption.

"How do we get the conventional mindset [of AI] from beating Go to reimagining business?" he said. "That's what we like to think about."

Along with H. James Wilson, who leads Accenture's information technology and business research, Daugherty co-wrote the book "Human + Machine: Reimagining Work in the Age of AI." The pair spoke May 9 in Simon Johnson and Jonathan Ruane's Global Business of AI and Robotics class at MIT Sloan.

Here's what will be new as artificial intelligence helps us reimagine work.

New executive, management roles

The increased use of AI for day-to-day business operations will force enterprises to create new executive and management roles, the authors said.

First and foremost is a chief AI officer, Daugherty said. This person will understand and manage an organization's data and ensure that AI is used responsibly. The role will merge the skill sets of the chief information officer and the human resources manager, requiring a leader who is comfortable introducing people into a process that is heavily dependent on technology.

Meanwhile, new management roles will focus on the use of data, though they will not necessarily be traditional STEMscience, technology, engineering, and mathroles, Wilson said. A data compliance officer will help a company make ethical decisions about how data is used, he said, while an algorithm forensic analyst will explain the data models to internal and external stakeholders.

However, as with previous technology trendsclient/server, internet, cloud, mobile, cybersecurity, and so onAI will be so firmly integrated into the business that it will be a priority for all executives. "What we learned from digital transformation is that it requires CEO and board-level sponsorship," Daugherty said.

New concerns about responsibility

Executives managing AI must ensure the validity of the data sets that AI systems use, the authors said. The MIT Media Lab's Algorithmic Justice League has demonstrated that biased data sets can lead to biased results, whether companies realize it or not.

"You need data custodians and stewards, algorithm evaluators, to make sure they don't amplify biases that were inherent in the data," Daugherty said.

In addition, executives must apply their own intuition when an AI system recommends a course of action. Uber is under investigation in Massachusetts for keeping surge pricing in place during a state of emergency in March 2018. An algorithm may say that is a good idea, but a machine is not accountable for a company's business decisions, Daugherty said.

"I tell executives, it's going to be you in front of Congress if you don't pay attention to these types of issues," he said.

New approach to work

Reimagining work is more than automating processes that humans currently do, the authors said. Even Elon Musk recently admitted that there is such as a thing as too much automation. Instead, Daugherty said, companies should develop a type of "collaborative intelligence" where humans help machines just as much as machines help humans.

Five characteristics define a process that can be reimagined, Wilson said: Flexibility, speed, scale, decision making, and personalization.

After realizing that even a multinational firm does not have enough recruiters, Unilever has automated the first two rounds of its interview process, he said. AI can do the initial vetting and sorting of candidates, which shortens the timeline and also allows Unilever to draw candidates from a larger, more diverse pool.

"This frees up recruiters to focus on the more important, later rounds of interviews, where the recruiters' social acumen and feel for whether a candidate is a good fit is so important," Wilson said.

New front-line skills

Unilever's recruiters are just one set of workers who will have redefined roles as enterprises adopt AI. Accenture automated the process of loan and mortgage claims verification, then transitioned the operations staff that had previously verified claims into a role where they analyzed claims, Daugherty said.

The authors take this issue of "mid-career re-skilling" seriously. Royalties from sales of "Human + Machine" will be donated to organizations such as Skillful that help train workers for jobs in a digital economy. One key focus is developing soft skills such as problem solving and analysis, which allow workers to do more than basic data entry.

"There's a lot of human labor that goes into making algorithms work effectively," Wilson said. "How can we upskill them to do more sophisticated AI tasks, making their jobs more interesting, so it's not a hidden form of global labor?"

Explore further Interview with a robot: AI revolution hits human resources
This image shows the schematic structure of a new battery cell with lithium metal electrodes developed at Yale and Donghua University. Credit: Yale University

Researchers at Yale and Donghua University in China have developed a new process for creating lithium metal that may boost the energy and capacity of rechargeable batteries.

Lithium metal is considered the best option as a material for anodes in high-energy batteries, the researchers said, because of the metal's high potential for providing large amounts of energy and capacity in a given mass. Yet existing lithium metal electrodes, limited by low capacity and utilization efficiency, have not come close to reaching that potential.

In a new study May 14 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by Yale's Hailiang Wang describes a new approach to creating more efficient lithium metal electrodes. The process yields a protective layer that enables lithium metal anodes to be efficiently discharged and charged at high capacities.

Based on the new process, the researchers constructed a battery cell that outperforms other laboratory-scale battery cells, as well as state-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries on the market.

Hailiang Wang is an assistant professor of chemistry and a member of the Energy Sciences Institute at Yale's West Campus. The first author of the study is Qiuwei Shi, a graduate student at Donghua and visiting student at Yale. Additional authors are Yiren Zhong and Min Wu from Yale and Hongzhi Wang from Donghua.

More information: Qiuwei Shi et al. High-capacity rechargeable batteries based on deeply cyclable lithium metal anodes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Qiuwei Shi et al. High-capacity rechargeable batteries based on deeply cyclable lithium metal anodes,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1803634115
EasyJet hailed an "excellent performance" in the first half of the group's financial year

British low-cost airline EasyJet slashed its first-half losses as a collapse of rivals boosted passenger numbers, but the performance was weighed down by integration costs from Air Berlin assets.

Losses after tax shrank to 54 million ($73 million, 61 million euros) in the first half of the group's financial year or six months to March, EasyJet said in a trading update.

That compared with a deeper loss of 192 million in the same period of the previous year.

Sales surged by a fifth to 2.2 billion as it reaped the benefits from the collapse of European rivals including Alitalia and Monarch, and a flight cancellations crisis at Ireland's Ryanair.

Passenger numbers leapt three million to 36.8 million, helped by extra customers from the purchase of Berlin's Tegel Airport from bankrupt German carrier Air Berlin.

Stripping out Tegel integration costs, EasyJet added that pre-tax profit hit 8.0 million in the first half. That contrasted sharply with a loss of 212 million last time around.

"EasyJet has delivered an excellent performance reporting a profit of 8.0 million, one of our best results ever in the winter trading period," said newly-installed chief executive Johan Lundgren.

"Our performance was helped by the reductions in capacity from other airlines but was also driven by the strength of the easyJet brand," added Lundgren, who took the reins last December from Carolyn McCall.

Lundgren, the former deputy of TUI travel group, added that EasyJet will plough more investment into its holidays business.

Many airlines usually post losses over the period because it covers the winter months, when demand is traditionally weak.

Explore further EasyJet chief says European airline shakeup is not over

 2018 AFP
To better understand the complex effects that disturbances have on ecological systems, the researchers have developed a simple ecosystem in the form of a microbial food web. Credit: Andre Kunzelmann/UFZ

The effects of disturbances on an ecosystem such as flooding or increasing drought have been difficult to predict in the past. UFZ researchers have demonstrated the complexity with which even simple model ecosystems respond to disturbances and have uncovered underlying mechanisms that may play a role in natural ecosystems. The study was recently published in the journal Scientific Reports.

A single disruptive factor rarely appears in isolation. Usually, a number of them, such as climatic extremes, environmental stress or the presence of pests, act together giving rise to complex changes in ecological systems. In scientific studies, however, individual disturbances and their effects on plants, animals or bacteria are often only considered in isolation. "If, for example, only plants are investigated, both direct and indirect effects within the food web are neglected, when these could be very serious indeed," says Dr. Antonis Chatzinotas, environmental microbiologist at UFZ, who led the study.

To better understand the complex effects that disturbances have on ecological systems, the researchers have developed a simple ecosystem in the form of a microbial food web. The benefit of this is that microbes grow quickly, have short generation times, are easy to monitor, and disturbances are simple to simulate experimentally.

The model ecosystem consisted of a culture medium (nutrients), four different strains of bacteria (prey) and a ciliate (predator) that feeds on bacteria. These mini-ecosystems were subjected to different disturbance events in various experimental arrangements. One disturbance took the form of different dilutions, which resulted in a reduction in the number of individuals. "The dilutions simulated disturbance events of different strengths that occurred either strongly and suddenly or steadily at low intensity," explains Canan Karakoc, UFZ doctoral candidate and lead author of the study. Another type of disturbance was shortage of food. Here, in one arrangement, the food supply for the bacteria was abruptly cut off, while in another, it was reduced gradually. The research team then investigated what effects the type of disturbance had on the number of bacteria, and how and whether the bacteria communities changed as a result. This also involved examining the effect of the presence or absence of predators.

In experiments performed without predators, the bacteria were affected only mildly by the disturbances and the system recovered quickly following the disturbance events. By contrast, the model ecosystem with the ciliates present responded sensitively to the disturbances.

"At first, this led to a steep drop in the number of ciliates. As a result, the bacteria later benefited, as fewer predators meant reduced predation pressure. Having survived the disturbance, the bacteria numbers could also grow again quicklyeven to greater numbers than previously," says Karakoc.

The relative abundance within the bacterial community had also changed. In particular, those bacteria that either could manage with the small remaining amount of nutrients, or those that are the preferred food of predators, grew well. "Translated into a natural ecosystem, a development of this kind could mean that, for example, pests will suddenly multiply after a disturbance if they are not held in check by the predators," says Chatzinotas. "Such trophic interactions are immensely important for the functioning of an ecological system, and should therefore be taken into account in future studies."

Also important is the time factor. To determine which effects are long-term and which are short-term in nature, the researchers studied the various experimental procedures in the periods before, during and after the disturbance events in each case. This demonstrated that the numbers of bacteria restabilised quickly after the disturbance, whereas a change in the bacterial community was normally a long-term process.

"Stability and recovery after disturbance events are also important topics," says Karakoc. "It is therefore essential to make these observations within the context of time series." In field studies, time series can only be realised with a high level of effort. Microbial systems have the advantage of being able to provide answers to ecological problems on a small scale, and relatively quickly.

"The results of our study cannot, of course, be simply transferred on a one-to-one basis to real-life ecosystems," says Chatzinotas. "What they do show, however, is the complex way in which even the simplest ecosystems respond to disturbances, and they help to reveal fundamental mechanisms that should increasingly be taken into account against the background of global change in ecosystem research."

In future studies, the researchers at UFZ will gradually increase the complexity of the ecosystem models and extend them in terms of the microbial services provided, such as the degradation of toxic substances.

Explore further Why we are measuring the health of Australian vegetation poorly

More information: Canan Karakoc et al, Interactions between predation and disturbances shape prey communities, Scientific Reports (2018). Journal information: Scientific Reports Canan Karakoc et al, Interactions between predation and disturbances shape prey communities,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21219-x
The research team, including lead author Masateru Takahashi, modeled the structure of the enzyme from its protein sequence and conducted biochemical and structural analyses to interrogate its physical configuration. Credit: KAUST

For the microbes that dwell in the hot, salty depths of the Red Sea, life is a delicate evolutionary balancing act. Just for these critters to replicate their DNA requires an enzyme that's adapted to both high temperatures and high salt concentrations, two environmental factors that impose countervailing selective pressures on the structure of a protein.

A KAUST team has now characterized and engineered a DNA-synthesizing enzyme from a deep-sea microbe that seems to split the difference, being just rigid enough for thermal adaptation, but flexible enough to deal with salt-induced structural changes. The findings reveal how evolution can fine-tune proteins to be ideally suited for life in extreme environments. Moreover, they could have practical applications for biotechnology and biomedical research.

"These properties are appealing for next-generation DNA sequencing techniques," says KAUST professor Samir Hamdan who supervised the study. "It's absolutely worth putting a significant effort now into exploring the biotechnology potential of DNA-processing enzymes from these microorganisms."

Hamdan and his lab collaborated with faculty members from other KAUST groupsincluding the Red Sea Research Center and the Computational Bioscience Research Centerand across biological and physical sciences divisions to study a DNA-synthesizing polymerase enzyme from a single-celled microbe found living off the coast of Saudi Arabia in a brine pool that was four-times saltier and 16-times hotter than average sea water. "This polymerase," says the study's lead author, Masateru Takahashi, a researcher in Hamdan's lab, "is the most salt-tolerant polymerase that is also thermally stable."

The researchers modeled the structure of the enzyme from its protein sequence and conducted biochemical and structural analyses to interrogate its physical configuration. They identified many interactions between oppositely charged regions of the protein that gave the enzyme shape. However, the abundance of excess negatively charged regions also helped push apart the enzyme to some degree, giving it the structural dynamism to deal with increased salt concentrations. That flexibilityand subsequent salt-induced rigiditycould also explain why this polymerase enzyme has a unique ability to use zinc ions as helper molecules, unlike most other DNA-synthesizing enzymes of its kind.

With these insights, the KAUST team created a salt-tolerant hybrid version of a polymerase that many biologists are already using to amplify DNA for their experiments. The insights gleaned from these engineered enzymes, says Takahashi, could lead to new reagents and methods for the biotechnology industry.

Explore further Enzyme from briny deep resurrected in the lab

More information: Masateru Takahashi et al. Dynamic structure mediates halophilic adaptation of a DNA polymerase from the deep-sea brines of the Red Sea, The FASEB Journal (2018). Journal information: FASEB Journal Masateru Takahashi et al. Dynamic structure mediates halophilic adaptation of a DNA polymerase from the deep-sea brines of the Red Sea,(2018). DOI: 10.1096/fj.201700862RR
The inactive form (left) of the MAPK p38 enzyme moves in an uncoordinated fashion. Once the necessary molecules (blue blob and P symbols) bind, the enzyme becomes active (right) by moving in a coordinated fashion to do its job inside a cell. Credit: Senthil Ganesan, University of Arizona Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Revealing all the steps required to activate an enzyme called a protein kinase may identify new ways to target cancer, according to new University of Arizona-led research.

Not only must the kinase have all needed parts in place, the enzyme must move in the correct manner and at the correct speed to function properly in a cell, the researchers found.

First author Senthil Kumar Ganesan, a UA research assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said kinases are switches that turn certain cellular processes on or off. If a cell's kinases stopped working, the cell would die.

The UA-led team is the first group to figure out the full pathway for activating a protein kinase, said senior author Wolfgang Peti, who holds the Homer C. and Emily Davis Weed Endowed Chair in Chemistry at the University of Arizona.

"Kinases are one of the major cancer drug targets," said Peti, who is also a member of the UA BIO5 Institute and the UA Cancer Center. "If you know how a kinase works, you can definitely better design your drugs against it."

Developing a drug that takes advantage of this new research finding is likely to take at least 10 years, he said.

Cancer drugs already in use that target kinases are dasatinib and imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia and afatinib for non-small cell lung carcinoma, Ganesan said.

To watch a kinase called mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38 in action, the researchers used nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy.

All necessary molecules had to bind to p38 for the enzyme to become active. Only then could the enzyme move correctly to do its job in the cell, the researchers found.

"We figured out how it moves to do its job and what is the contribution of speed of movement to its job," Peti said.

The finding suggests a new avenue for developing anti-cancer drugs could be creating drugs that interfere with p38's movement, he said.

"We are excited because this kinase belongs to a family of kinases that are called MAP kinaseskey signaling kinases that regulate a plethora of pathways (within cells)," he said.

Peti said the new finding might apply to other kinases. He said the many kinase enzymes in the body are very similar and likely have similar paths to activation.

Ganesan, Peti and their co-authors published the paper, "Dynamic activation and regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38," in the May 1 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Their co-authors are Michael W. Clarkson and Rebecca Page of the University of Arizona; Micha B. A. Kunze, Daniele Granata and Kresten Lindorff-Larsen of the University of Copenhagen in Denmark; and A. Joshua Wand of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The National Institutes of Health grant NIH-R01GM100910 funded the research. The data were collected at the UA Molecular Structures Core and Brown University Structural Biology Core facilities.

An oft-used analogy for how enzymes work is that of a lock and a key. A particular molecule, the key, fits into a site in the enzyme, the lock. Once the key is in the lock, the enzyme can start working.

The key-in-the-lock is necessary for an enzyme to work, but activating an enzyme isn't always so simple. Some scientists have suggested that dynamicsthe way and speed at which an enzyme movesis important for activating kinase enzymes.

Peti is interested in how molecules such as kinases govern processes with cells, so he wanted to investigate the role that dynamics play. Learning more about how molecules function inside cells can help develop targeted drugs to combat cancer and other diseases.

Figuring out the role that dynamics plays in the activation of p38 was more difficult and took longer than he expected.

The tool scientists use to watch an enzyme in action, NMR spectroscopy, is harder with a large molecule like p38. In addition, the team had to develop new computer software to analyze the results, Peti said.

The researchers watched the enzyme over a series of steps as various key molecules bound to p38. Some enzymes become activated as key molecules bindbut not this one.

"If you think it's a five- or six-step process to go from zero to 100, we thought that at steps zero, one, two or three, we would get indications or guidelines," Peti said.

That didn't happen. He said the researchers thought about giving up.

"Nothing was working, and it looked as if our hypothesis was completely wrong," he said.

"What we got is nothing happening from zero to one, there's nothing happening from one to two, there's nothing happening from two to three, there's nothing happening from three to four," Peti said. "When you go from four to five: Boom! Suddenly it was there."

Once all those steps had been completed, although the shape of p38 didn't change, its dynamics did, he saidand that final change in dynamics was required for the enzyme to work.

The team's next step, Peti said, is seeing whether the motion of kinases plays a role in diabetes.

Explore further New technique switches key biomolecules on and off

More information: Ganesan Senthil Kumar et al, Dynamic activation and regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2018). Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Ganesan Senthil Kumar et al, Dynamic activation and regulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase p38,(2018). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1721441115
Credit: John Swanepoel / shutterstock

Countries with high levels of human well-being are more likely to show increasing forest growth. That's the finding of a new study by a group of Finnish scientists, published in PLOS ONE. Their work shows that countries exhibiting annual increases in the amount of trees typically score highly on the UN's Human Development Index (HDI), a scoring system that uses measures of life expectancy, education, and income to assess development status. Meanwhile, countries with a net annual forest loss typically score lower on the HDI.

The logical leap of faith here is to think that a remedy for the ongoing loss and degradation of much of the world's forests would be a massive push for development in deforested countries. But while such a noble undertaking would be desirable in many ways, these apparent environmental links warrant scrutiny.

At what cost?

The authors themselves discuss caveats to their findings, and these should not be ignored. For example, switching from net forest loss to net gain may simply involve sourcing things like wooden furniture or paper pulp from abroad, often from poorer nations with weaker environmental policies and safeguards. This process, known as "leakage", was perhaps best described and documented by the geographer Patrick Meyfroidt and colleagues in 2010. Among other examples, they illustrate leakage by looking at Vietnam, where national increases in forest cover were linked to sharp increases in imported wood, about half of which was illegal.

If such processes are occurring, then how far, and for how long, can the buck of exporting environmental impacts be passed?

Forests are generally growing back in more developed countries. Credit: Kauppi et al (2018)

In any case, those recovered forests often aren't all they seem. Under some definitions they can include plantations of oil palm or rubber  technically "forests", yet with few of the ecological benefits of the environment they replace. Even the supposedly naturally-recovered forests are rarely, if ever, as biologically diverse and well-functioning as their natural predecessors.

Things can be worsened by forest restoration schemes which may have human, rather than ecological, motives at heart. In Indonesia, for example, I have witnessed forest restoration work in national parks that favoured useful exotics over native forest species. In Tanzania, local NGOs such the as the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group lobby for policies that promote forest conservation over (and in addition to) tree planting, citing both ecological and well-being benefits.

The clear message here is that it is far preferable to prevent damage in the first place, than to try and restore former conditions at a later point.

Vietnam simply switched to using more wood from Malaysia, Indonesia and China instead. Credit: Rich Carey / shutterstock

Forests and development

Modern concepts of sustainable development are typified by the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which cover a variety of topics, including matters of well-being, infrastructure and environment. Studies of how these goals interact (whether for better or worse) are important if we are to achieve truly sustainable development.

The latest forest cover study uses a composite index to investigate forest trends, which may disguise a more complex picture. Past work has shown that improved education (SDG 4) is commonly associated with reducing deforestation, while the effect of increasing GDP (SDG 8) on forests is far more complicated. The authors use a metric that combines these components (along with life expectancy), which does not explain how they interact.

Further complexities involve other areas of development, which have their own effects. For example, in countries with high levels of inequality (SDG 10), development can exacerbate deforestation rates, rather than remedy them. In Brazil, for example, national efforts to raise people's development status proved more damaging to forests in municipalities with high levels of land inequality than in those where land was more fairly shared.

The UNs Sustainable Development Goals apply to all countries and were adopted in 2015. Credit: UN

Some work suggests that improvements in gender equality (SDG 5) could have positive outcomes for forests, while forest-degrading activities witnessed during times of conflict suggest that peaceful relations (SDG 16) are also conducive to healthy forests.

On the flipside, achieving global food security (SDG 2), meeting energy needs (SDG 7), and developing sustainable infrastructure (SDG 11) will all require careful planning and monitoring to ensure that their environmental impacts are minimised.

Ultimately, this paper gives reasons to feel positive about the inevitable development of humans and the fate of the world's forests. It implies that, at a certain level of development, forests lost or degraded in the processes of developing will begin to regenerate or repair (whether naturally or with human assistance). I sincerely hope that the Finnish team's work encourages nations across the world, developed or otherwise, to restore as much forest as they can.

Nevertheless, in an age of rapid climate change, biodiversity loss, and human population growth, we need our remaining forests more than ever. The world must find sustainable ways to develop that do not involve destroying what forests are left.

Following in the footsteps of already developed nations, and simply replacing forests at a later point, should not be considered a viable course of action.

Explore further How can forests regenerate without birds?

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
GRACE Follow-On's measurements of changes in water stored underground will be used in producing U.S. Drought Monitor maps, which track drought nationwide. Credit: USDA

You may not notice water in the ground under your feet, but it plays an important role in keeping you alive. Plants draw water from soil into their roots and use it to grow. If there's not enough, the resulting drought may have impacts that spread across local water supplies, regional agriculture and even international food prices. NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission was the first satellite system to directly measure global changes in the water stored underground in the world's largest aquifers. GRACE Follow-On, scheduled to launch this month, will continue this important task.

"There really are no remote sensing products that are equivalent to GRACE data in giving a snapshot of conditions in deep aquifers," said Brian Wardlow, director of the Center for Advanced Land Management Information Technologies at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Wardlow is familiar with the value of this information in understanding drought. He worked at the National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) in Lincoln when the original GRACE data were first incorporated into experimental products of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor maps. The maps show soil moisture at three underground levels: the top few inches of soil, the top few feet/one meter of soil (the root zone), and aquifers.

The U.S. Drought Monitor maps are one of the nation's most important tools for tracking drought across the United States. They are widely used by decision makers at federal and state levels. For example, the current U.S. Farm Bill designates the Drought Monitor's county-by-county drought rankings as the standard for judging eligibility for some federal disaster assistance programs.

Climatologist Brian Fuchs of NDMC, one of the team of scientists who author the drought maps, explained that soil moisture is sparsely measured on the ground. "Some states have their own [ground] networks, but the data is spotty, and that makes it very difficult to use the products in a national assessment," he said. "GRACE covers the entire country, and it helps us to get an idea of where areas of wetness and dryness are."

The NDMC also considered GRACE data in producing other NDMC resources such as the Quick Drought Response Index (QuickDRI), a NASA-supported project with multiple institutional partners. QuickDRI is an early warning system for flash droughtsrapidly developing losses of soil moisture due to heat waves and lack of rain. The onset of a flash drought is hard to detect at ground level, but its impacts on agriculture may be as harsh as those of a seasonal drought.

Getting the Data into the Maps

When GRACE launched in 2002, the science team knew the data would be useful for measuring the depletion of large aquifers. However, most hydrologists were unfamiliar with the measurement. One of the few exceptions was Matt Rodell, now chief of the Hydrological Sciences Laboratory at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Rodell had recently done his doctoral research on how the new GRACE data could be used for monitoring underground water.

A U.S. Drought Monitor map from September 2015, while the GRACE mission was active, showing severe drought in California, Nevada and New Mexico. GRACE-FO data will be used in similar products. Credit: NDMC

GRACE-FO, like GRACE, is designed to measure changes in gravitational pull that result from changes in mass on Earth. More than 99 percent of Earth's mean gravitational pull does not change from one month to the next. That's because it comes from the mass of the solid Earth itselfits surface and interiorand that rarely moves, or moves very slowly. Water, on the other hand, moves continually nearly everywhere: Snow falls, ocean currents flow, ice melts and so on. As the twin GRACE-FO satellites orbit Earth, one closely following the other, the changes in mass below change the distance between the two satellites very slightly. The record of these changes is analyzed to create monthly global maps of changes and redistribution of Earth's mass near the surface.

Since the techniques used by GRACE record the total change in mass from month to month, not whether that change occurred above ground, near the surface in the soil, or well below ground, Rodell and Jay Famiglietti, now at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, needed to combine the GRACE data with meteorological and other data to separate the underground water changes from above-ground and near-surface changes. After several experiments with the combined observations, Rodell and Famiglietti were able to isolate the signal of changing water in aquifers for the first time ever using remote sensing data.

Another obstacle between GRACE and operational drought monitoring was a mismatch in time and spatial scales. GRACE data products were produced once a month with a resolution of about 115 square miles (300 square kilometers). Water managers need new data every few days to keep up with changing soil moisture, and they would prefer to have it on the scale of their county, district or similar smaller area. Rodell and his team at Goddard assimilated the GRACE data and a long-term record of weather observations such as precipitation, temperature and solar radiation into a NASA hydrology model, called the Catchment Land Surface Model. It is a numerical model of water and energy processes on land, developed for research on the global water cycle. With sophisticated numerical modeling techniques and data analysis, the Goddard team was able to downscale the GRACE data, that is, to adapt its larger time and space scales to "fit" the model's finer scales.

The team generated experimental drought indicators from downscaled data each week from 2011 until the GRACE mission ended in October 2017.

Looking Ahead

Because the original GRACE mission ended after the end of the growing season last fall, NDMC's Fuchs said that its loss has not yet been strongly felt by the Drought Monitor mappers. "We would be looking for GRACE in the growing season, where soil moisture is pertinent to determining crops and vegetation," he said. "In a couple more months, people will be asking, 'Where are these data?'"

Those people will most likely have their answer before the 2019 growing season, as GRACE Follow-On begins delivering monthly maps. Fuchs said, "If it's going to behave as GRACE did in the past, it will be a valuable asset."

Explore further Scientists unveil new satellite-based global drought severity index

More information: For more information on GRACE-FO, see For more information on GRACE-FO, see gracefo.jpl.nasa.gov/
Graphic of the overview of the inference algorithm. Credit: Yohei Kondo

When a fertilized egg is developing into a fetus, cell populations forming tissues are in a fluid state, and thus, the tissue can be easily deformed. Cells also generate mechanical forces during development that contribute to the shaping of the tissues and organs. An important question is how organisms secure/proceed with proper tissue and organ formation in these conditions. In order to understand the process of tissue and organ formations, it is essential to understand how physical characteristics of tissues responding to mechanical stresses influence the process of organogenesis.

To tackle this problem, a research team from the National Institute for Basic Biology (NIBB) and Kyoto University has proposed a unique, non-invasive (i.e. without leaving any damage behind) way of measuring the hardness of tissues by combining physical modeling of the tissues with statistical estimation.

Professor Kazuhiro Aoki said, "Although many in our field use conventional ways of testing hardness of tissues, such as cutting or applying pressure to embryonic tissues which are rather soft, the resulting tissue damage was a big concern because it hampers normal morphogenesis."

Assistant Professor Yohei Kondo said, "Our proposed methodology involves measuring the spontaneous deformation of the cell population as well as the mechanical forces applied over the tissue. Based upon the information acquired from these observations, the hardness of the tissue is then able to be estimated."

The effectiveness of the proposed technique has been experimentally validated with monolayer-cultured cells. The research group also revealed that the hardness/stiffness of the tissues can be changed depending on not only the physical properties of materials composing the cells, but also on the cell activities controlled by molecular motor, etc. The group hopes that this work will serve as an important step towards further understanding of the mechanism of organogenesis. The results of this research were published in the journal, PLoS Computational Biology.

The heatmap of estimated values of bulk modulus is overlaid on the corresponding phase contrast image of cell monolayer. Credit: Yohei Kondo

Explore further Tissue mechanics essential for cell movement

More information: Yohei Kondo et al, Inverse tissue mechanics of cell monolayer expansion, PLOS Computational Biology (2018). Journal information: PLoS Computational Biology Yohei Kondo et al, Inverse tissue mechanics of cell monolayer expansion,(2018). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1006029

Provided by National Institutes of Natural Sciences
View of the main street in Gerasa as seen from the Sanctuary of Zeus Olympios . Credit: Rubina Raja

You may not have noticed, but a revolution is underway in archaeology.

In the recent years, archaeologists have begun to integrate new methods from the natural sciences, helping us to date archaeological remains and revealing the source of these remains at a new level of detail.

These new techniques provide archaeologists like myself with new ways to investigate ancient materials. But they also introduce problems: How exactly should we analyse all of this material with these new, often expensive, techniques?

This is what my colleague Sren Sindbk and I have been tackling at the Centre for Urban Network Evolutions (UrbNet) at Aarhus University, Denmark: And we call our approach "High Definition Archaeology."

We need a new research practice

So what exactly is High Definition Archaeology?

In essence, it's where we look at defined groups of material or stratigraphic sections (specific parts of an excavation) in very fine detail.

Through such an approach we gain completely new insights into how and when certain events changed the world. At UrbNet we investigate such situations in the context of urban societies, since becoming urban was a turning point in human history.

Human culture before written sources

Early urban societies have fascinated people for centuries. Why is that?

For archaeologists, they provide a lens through which we can describe urban phenomena and patterns, and studying them can help to explain why human beings came together to live in organised larger spaces in the first place.

Today more than half of the world's population live in cities and the planet is dominated by cities of various sizes and character. Urbanisation is rapidly growing and numerous government committees oversee the planning of urban expansion and the founding of new cities.

China for example found new cities on a daily basis. Some of them fail and people do not want to live there. It's clearly an economic advantage to figure out what makes a city successful and a place in which people want to live.

Some of the mosaic tiles recovered from Gerasa. Credit: The Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project

Archaeology is one way of coming to a more nuanced understanding of how urban societies worked in the past, which may in turn help us understand what works and does not work in modern urban societies.

How do you study a dead city?

A good example is the early urban societies of Mesopotamia, which arose as early as the fifth millennium BCE. These were some of the earliest urban societies that we know of anywhere in the world.

But in many ways we know little about these vast spaces, whose archaeological remains yield information about our own past at a time we call prehistory  before written sources existed.

One reason why we know so little is that these first cities no longer exist today. It's one thing to excavate Copenhagen, London, or Rome. But what about societies that died out thousands of years ago?

Studying dead societies presents a certain challenge, since there is no one alive to speak to who actually lived in these societies.

We have to reconstruct everything through excavation, which is destructive and invasive and requires objects to be removed in order to study them. Archaeology often offers a snapshot of a moment in time and we often have just one chance while excavating to get the understanding right.

This is where the high definition approach comes in.

An ancient city in high definition

In North West Jordan, the Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter project has been excavating the ancient city of Gerasa since 2011.

Gerasa, which also was called "Antioch on the Chryssorhoas" in antiquity, Antioch on the Golden River, was part of the Decapolis, a union of cities described by Pliny as more than the ten which the name implies.

The city was divided into two parts by a river, with bridges built to connect the east and west sides. The city flourished in the first eight centuries CE, until a devastating earthquake brought life to a sudden halt on the morning of 18th January 749 CE.

The earthquake is described in sources as having destroyed large parts of the Levant, and Gerasa was no exception. And today, the remnants of the city record a moment frozen in time when the earthquake hit.

The House of the Tesserae excavated in Gerasa. The numbers relate to different archaeological features. Credit: The Danish-German Jerash Northwest Quarter Project

A rich tapestry of life revealed at one site

A series of houses were excavated by the Danish-German team and we now have a detailed picture about a transitional period in time between the Arab invasion of the region in the 7th century CE and the end of Umayyad period in the middle of the 8th century CE.

This new evidence tells us what the inhabitants ate, specifically in winter, how they adopted Roman technology into the Islamic period, and how religions and religious practices changed

Organic material has been radiocarbon dated and classified, and we discovered a mosaic workshop, using technology known from the Roman period in a representative house undergoing major restoration.

We digitally "unfolded" a small silver scroll with Semitic letters, which turned out to be inscribed with Greek ritual letters and 16 lines of early Arabic letters, presenting us with a straight continuity from Roman traditions of magic in the early Islamic period.

We cannot see the overall plans and layouts of these spaces, but all of these detailed archaeological findings give a rich picture of everyday life and daily practices in Gerasa and connect us almost directly with the inhabitants of this Middle East city at a time of both continuity stemming from the Greco-Roman cultural heritage and new developments following the Arab invasion.

The next chapter in archaeology

The high definition approach taken to the archaeological material in the excavation has proven a useful line of enquiry, which offers new understanding of urban societies and their development in antiquity.

Archaeology has come a long way since the 20th century when sites mentioned in ancient sources and the bible were rediscovered and placed on the map, and large scale urban excavations got underway. Many of these were paid for by kings and emperors in order to underline the importance of European nations to world history, and the Roman period fascinated the scholars undertaking these extensive excavations, in particular.

Since then, Scholars such as Die Stadt, Max Weber, and Gordon Childe, have written influential accounts of how to understand what cities do to people and vice versa. However, much of this was very much based on a protestant world-view  one which cannot necessarily be transferred to non-European urban settings.

Today, High Definition Archaeology promises to revolutionise the way in which we understand past urban societies and their networks and thereby also better understand the dynamics of these societies and how it compares to our modern urban societies.

Explore further Insights into early urban life

More information: Achim Lichtenberger et al. Mosaicists at work: the organisation of mosaic production in Early Islamic Jerash, Antiquity (2017). Achim Lichtenberger et al. Mosaicists at work: the organisation of mosaic production in Early Islamic Jerash,(2017). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2017.66 Gry Hoffmann Barfod et al. Revealing text in a complexly rolled silver scroll from Jerash with computed tomography and advanced imaging software, Scientific Reports (2015). DOI: 10.1038/srep17765 Journal information: Antiquity , Scientific Reports

This story is republished courtesy of ScienceNordic, the trusted source for English-language science news from the Nordic countries. Read the original story here.
The spectacular Wellington Caves are a tourist attraction - and a fossil site. Credit: winam/flickr , CC BY-NC-ND

"Marsupial lions" lived on the Australian continent from about 24 million years ago up until the end of the Pleistocene era, about 30,000 years ago.

Of course they weren't really lions, but an extinct species of marsupial with lengthened premolar teeth.

I've recently published a colonial history of the scientific identification and naming of the species Thylacoleo carnifex. It reveals the power dynamics that existed within colonial science, and the important and overlooked roles played by Aboriginal knowledge and testimony.

Unknown beast of prey

Colonial discussion of extinct predators began when New South Wales pastoralist George Rankin discovered the first herbivorous Australian megafauna fossils at the Wellington Caves in 1830. He invited local polymath and Presbyterian minister John Dunmore Lang to inspect his fossils.

Lang saw the Wellington site as akin to the UK's Kirkdale fossil caves, discovered by William Buckland in 1821. The Kirkdale caves contained fossilised hyenas and their prey. Comparing the two sites led him to speculate that the Wellington fossils were dragged into the caves by some, as yet unknown, "beast of prey".

According to Lang, in the absence of local palaeontological experts, the best way to determine whether a fossil was from an extinct or still living animal was to consult local Indigenous people.

In 1842, the Wellington finds and local Aboriginal knowledge led the Queensland squatter Frederick Isaacs to search for fossil sites in his recently acquired Darling Downs sheep station. The search was sandwiched between his farming and involvement with frontier conflict.

Scientific imperialism

Once he found fossils, Isaacs established contact with the British comparative anatomist Richard Owen. During and after his life Owen gained a reputation as a controlling agent of scientific imperialism that "reached out its tentacles" across the globe, robbing colonists of their scientific dues.

Unaware of or uncaring about Owen's dubious character, Isaacs wrote to him detailing how the fossils were usually found in washed-out dry creek beds and waterholes. He also reported discussions with local Aboriginal people (the two main groups in the area were the Giabal and Jarowair) about a "tradition relative to a very large animal having at one time existed in the large creeks and rivers" and how local Aboriginal people, when shown large fossil bones, attributed them to this creature.

In 1843 the pastoralist William Adeney found fragments of an animal skull at lake Colongulac in Victoria's Western district. This skull was one of two specimens later used by Owen to describe Thylacoleo carnifex.

When describing the circumstances of his find to Owen, Adeney wrote how "the blacks" called the fossils "old men's bones and some said they were the remains of the bunyip".

This speculation was part of an emerging practice of crediting Aboriginal testimony and bunyip mythology when discussing extinct predators.

Giant bunyip knee

In 1845, Victorian colonists discovered the "knee joint of some gigantic animal" at Lake Colongulac (where Adeney found the Thylacoleo cranium) and showed it to a man described by them as an "intelligent black" who identified it as belonging to a bunyip.

Colonists repeated this procedure several times, and a picture emerged of a still living amphibious predatory creature that looked like a cross between an alligator and a bird. It was described as twelve to fifteen feet tall, "furnished with long claws" and usually killing its prey by "hugging it to death".

One visiting Boonwurrung man, Mumbowran, even claimed that scars on his back were from a bunyip attack. There were serious discussions within the emerging Australian scientific press about whether bunyips still existed, were extinct predators, or were completely mythological.

Owen was emboldened by these debates, as well as his inspection of both Wellington Caves fossils sent to him by the explorer Thomas Mitchell and Adeney's fossil cranium.

One man took the credit

In 1845, Owen published an article arguing that the presence of large extinct herbivores mean that "some destructive species" of carnivore must have existed. This prediction inspired the search for more fossil megafauna and further evidence of extinct marsupial predators.

In 1853 a fossil jaw fragment was discovered in the Darling Downs. Samuel Stutchbury, the NSW Mineralogical Surveyor, found the fossil. He speculated that it was from a marsupial predator and sent a cast to Owen.

Four years after receiving the cast Owen combined Adeney and Stuchbury's fragments and created Thyalcoleo carnifex and described it as one of "the fellest and most destructive of predatory beasts."

Owen's classification validated his earlier prediction and helped him defend his methods from attack in both the United Kingdom and the Australian colonies. He downplayed the role of colonial contributors to his discovery and largely ignored the role of Aboriginal testimony and knowledge in creating the marsupial lion.

Explore further New species of extinct marsupial lion discovered in Australia

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
After a two-year pause in the fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) hunt, Icelandic whaling company Hvalur hf. will resume whaling this summer, with a government-issued quota.

Two factors help explain why Iceland and other countries are determined to hunt whales in defiance of international disapproval. The first is demand for the product; the second is Iceland's interpretation of international law on whaling.

Whale meat and its buyers

Demand for whale meat appears to be stable in Iceland. Many reports suggest that Icelanders no longer eat whale meat in great numbers. Yet minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) meat is readily available in supermarkets and sells for the equivalent of A$29.80 per kilogram.

Much of this is imported from Norway, indicating that there remains a strong domestic demand that is not being met by Icelandic whaling, and suggesting that it is not just Iceland's growing number of tourists who want to eat whale meat. The fin whale hunt, in contrast, is intended primarily for export to Japan.

Fundamentally different rationales

The second, and far more complex, factor to understand why pro- and anti-whaling nations differ is that they have different interpretations of the basic purpose of the international regime to protect whales.

The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling has banned commercial whaling. In line with the norms of international law, only parties to the whaling convention are obliged to observe this ban.

Iceland was an original member of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and accepted the temporary halt on commercial whaling, which came into effect in the mid-1980s.

However, Iceland left in 1992 after the IWC refused to authorise quotas, even when scientific evidence indicated that controlled commercial whaling would not threaten the survival of the targeted species. The zero quota on all whale species, irrespective of their conservation status, has been criticised by several other countries, including Norway and Japan, as non-scientific.

Iceland later re-adhered to the convention, but with a reservation to the temporary ban. Iceland's reservation included the statement that: "Under no circumstances will whaling for commercial purposes be authorised without a sound scientific basis and an effective management and enforcement scheme."

Iceland argued that the ban had become a permanent one and that this was contrary to the object and purpose of the convention, which was initially about regulating whaling rather than prohibiting it.

Essentially, Iceland and other pro-whaling countries reject arguments that the object and purpose of the convention has evolved into the preservation of whales rather than their conservation for sustainable use.

Iceland also objects to the ongoing situation whereby a scientific procedure adopted by the IWC to assess stocks and the potential for sustainable whaling was not followed up by the promised adoption of a non-scientific (political) scheme that would allocate actual quotas. Because of majority voting in the IWC, this standoff has created a persistent stalemate between pro- and anti-whaling countries.

Iceland's current position

After a couple of years of heated discussions among members, Iceland was readmitted to the IWC. However, other countries (including Australia) still object to its reservation, meaning there is no universal acceptance of Iceland's position.

If Iceland were cast out of the IWC, then it would not be bound by the convention at all. However, it would not be able to export to other IWC members, including Japan.

The whaling firm Hvalur hf. intends to resume its commercial hunt for fin whales in June. Quotas have been awarded consistently since 2006, but in 2016 and 2017 the company did not use them, citing doubts about profitability because of difficulties reaching target markets (especially Japan). A couple of shipments of whale meat were made recently (one in 2015 and one in 2016), using the Northern Sea Route to avoid customs delays and, potentially, protesters at Dutch harbours. The pause merely reflected the commercial reality of the time.

For 2018, Fiskistofa (the Directorate of Fisheries) has set a quota of 161 fin whales, with an additional 30 carried over from the unused 2017 quota. Although the IUCN listed the fin whale as endangered in 2008, there are no concerns about sustainability since the Icelandic quota represents 0.9% of the lowest estimate of fin whale numbers off the Icelandic coast.

The harvest is primarily destined for the Japanese market, which had been difficult to access for a number of reasons, including the effects of the 2011 tsunami, which disrupted processing facilities.

Minke whales are hunted by the company IP-Utger ehf., mostly for Icelandic consumption. In 2017, only 17 were taken. This was well within the quota of 269, although numbers were higher in previous years. The IUCN assesses the status of minke whales as "least concern."

Iceland is making no efforts to stop whaling and never has. Unlike Japan, Iceland does not claim that its whaling is for scientific research, which is authorised under Article VIII of the whaling convention. It agreed to the temporary ban in order to gather scientific evidence that was supposed to protect the whaling industry in the medium to long term.

Iceland has never had sentimental ideas that whales should not be hunted. Nevertheless, the country has two whale sanctuaries, in Faxafloi (the bay around Reykjavik) and in the north, to support the tourism and whale-watching industry.

Whaling might not be popular in some countries  and indeed some Icelanders would like to see it end  but foreign interference is viewed with suspicion and is more likely to make the traditionalists who support the whale hunt dig in their heels (and harpoons) still further.

Explore further Iceland resumes fin whale hunt after two-year pause

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Inhibiting the production of the 'happiness' hormone  serotonin  in rice plants, increases their resistance to two of the world's most destructive and costly insect pests, new research has shown.

The study, published this week in Nature Plants, shows that by suppressing the production of serotonin, rice plants become more resistant to their two most serious predators  the brown plant-hopper and the striped stem borer.

Using gene editing techniques on rice plants to switch off the serotonin-producing gene, the team found the plants also produced higher levels of salicylic acid  a chemical similar to aspirin.

Conversely, adding serotonin to the resistant rice led to a loss in insect resistance.

Important role played by serotonin in plant defence

Led by experts from Newcastle University, UK, and Zhejiang University, China, the team says these new findings demonstrate the important role that serotonin plays in plant defence and opens up new opportunities for breeding insect-resistant varieties of rice and other cereal crops.

Professor Angharad Gatehouse, co-author on the study and a Professor of invertebrate molecular biology at Newcastle University, explains:

"Recent research has suggested that, even though they lack a nervous system, plants are much more responsive to their surroundings than was previously thought.

"This example shows how the same chemicals that modify behaviour in animals can be used to regulate plant defence against insect pests and is another reminder that all living organisms have more similarities than differences at a basic level."

Primary pests in rice crops

Rice is one of the world's most important foods and the brown plant-hopper and striped stem borer are the two most serious pests in rice production causing losses of billions of dollars.

The plant hopper is a sap-sucking pest, which transmits plant viruses, as well as causing "hopper burn" where blockage of the water-carrying vascular tissue causes plants to wilt and die causing significant yield loss.

The borer is a chewing insect which feeds on young plants causing 'dead hearts' and 'white heads' and again resulting in significant yield losses.

"Indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides has resulted in these two pests becoming increasingly difficult to control," explains Professor Gatehouse.

"The development of insect-resistant rice varieties is seen as a viable and ecologically sustainable approach for controlling these devastating insect pests."

Serotoninmood regulator and appetite booster

Serotonin is ubiquitous across all forms of life and in mammals it is an important neurotransmitter.

In humans, serotonin helps to regulate mood, boost our appetite, regulate digestion and helps with sleep and memory.

In plants, serotonin is involved in growth and development, while in insects it is used to seek out resources and food.

Analysing the plant's response to insect attack, the team found both serotonin and salicylic acid were produced in response to an infestation but supressing serotonin production made the rice plants more pest-resistant.

And by disabling the gene responsible for making serotonin, the team were able to further increase levels of salicylic acid in the plant and increase its resistance.

Explore further Chemicals that make plants defend themselves could replace pesticides

More information: Hai-ping Lu et al. Resistance of rice to insect pests mediated by suppression of serotonin biosynthesis, Nature Plants (2018). Journal information: Nature Plants Hai-ping Lu et al. Resistance of rice to insect pests mediated by suppression of serotonin biosynthesis,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41477-018-0152-7
Credit: Leiden University

What do refugees use their mobile phones for? And what does it mean for aid workers in reception camps? The Leiden Centre for Innovation studied this issue together with researchers from Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Data & Society.

Many refugees today have access to a mobile phone. They use their phones to stay in touch with family members in their country of origin, look up information on asylum procedures and to transfer money electronically. But what effect do mobile technologies have on migrants, in a positive and a negative sense?

Until recently, little empirical research had been conducted on this question. The Centre for Innovation at Leiden University has addressed this knowledge gap with survey research on a sample of 135 out of the 750 Syrian migrants who were living in Ritsona, a refugee camp about 80 km north of the Greek capital Athens. Leiden researchers Jos Berens and Melissa Amoros Lark conducted the research together with Danielle Poole from the Signal Program on Human Security and Technology (Signal Program) at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Mark Latonero from New York City-based Data & Society Research Institute who is also a Fellow at Leiden's Institute for Security and Global Affairs.

Their findings show that over 80 per cent of the migrants believe it is important to own a mobile. They use their phones for WhatsApp (94 per cent), Facebook (78 per cent), Google Translate (38 per cent) and Google Maps (idem). They also indicated that a mobile phone is vital for contact with the outside world and the research pointed towards use of a mobile phone correlating with a reduced susceptibility to depression in the unadjusted analysis. This is an important issue because two in every five migrants living in the camp could be classified as suffering from moderate to severe depression. It may be that better access to mobile telephones could help avoid some of these instances of depression.

The study also showed that ownership of a mobile phone is unevenly distributed. Whereas no fewer than 94 per cent of men own a mobile, this figure is only 67 per cent for women. "When a family owns a mobile, it is often the man who controls its use," says Amoros Lark. "Imagine that aid workers want to get in touch with the women in the camp, they can't always rely on a mobile phone to do so. This could have an impact on mobile apps designed to provide information relating to women's health or safety."

Finally, it seems that refugees  just like many Dutch citizens  are concerned about their privacy. Aid organisations need to be more aware of digital privacy and data protection. At the end of last year, strong concerns were raised as to the security and ease to breach data held by NGOs and the UN. Amoros Lark recommends taking a look at these articles published by DEVEX and IRIN news to find out more about this topic. Such vulnerability meant that there was a potential for sensitive data such as personally identifiable information to end up in the public domain. As some migrants are being pursued by dictatorial regimes, this represents a danger to their personal safety. Amoros Lark: "For refugees, too, we must respect and protect their fundament right to privacy before we start to collect and use their data."

Explore further Humanitarian efforts could be aided by AI
Black holes have capture the imaginations of scientists and the public alike. Physicist Nicholas Warner aims to resolve one of their most enigmatic mysteries. Credit: University of Southern California

Nicholas Warner wants to figure out how matter behaves at the most extreme frontier of the universe. Warner, professor of physics and astronomy and mathematics at USC Dornsife, recently received a prestigious grant from the European Research Council to study a problem first revealed by Stephen Hawkingthe black hole information paradox.

So what exactly is this paradox?

Black holes are defined by their immense gravitational fieldsfields that are powerful enough to trap light as well as matter. This matter carries information, such as its composition, mass and position. Since black holes collapse upon themselves, everything gets so compressed that modern understandings of physics also collapse.

"The simplest way to describe it," says Warner, "is that one of the properties of black holes is that once stuff is inside them, they are featureless from the outside. So when you make a black hole, you've essentially erased from the outside any information about how you made it."

According to the current laws of physics, this information must always be conserved, even when trapped in these black holes. In the 1980s, Stephen Hawking realized, however, that because black holes have a temperature, they must evaporate over time through a process known as Hawking radiation. This process would destroy the information that the black hole conserved. This discrepancy is called the black hole information paradox.

Warner likens the problem to forensic sciencetrying to reconstruct a crime scene from blood spatters and fingerprints. The formation and evaporation of a black hole erases everything from the crime scene, but this is forbidden by quantum mechanics. This problem has been around for about 40 years, and Warner started working on it in 2007: He uses string theory to uncover the hidden quantum structure of black holes.

Stop at the horizon

Now, the new five-year ERC Advanced grant will allow Warner to work at the Institut de Physique Theorique near Paris, puzzling over the quantum structure of black holes and the recovery of information. Starting in January 2019, he'll spend three of the next five years in France, with the other years at USC Dornsife.

Warner acknowledges how supportive USC has been of his workboth in California and in Europe. "I view the fact that I can go and do this thing as yet another manifestation of the very strong support they've given me," he says.

The goal of his project is to explore microstate geometries, which are identical to black holes in their properties, except that microstate geometries do not have a horizon (the boundary at which light can no longer escape the black hole's gravitational effects). Instead, microstate geometries use string theory and field theory and stop the inevitable collapse of the black hole at the horizon, conserving the information stored in the black hole. Warner intends to study how the trapped matter and radiation transforms into microstate geometries and is re-emitted from the black hole's surface.

Other physicists are working on different parts of the black hole information paradox, using different approaches. Warner says it feels a bit like the old parable of the blind men and the elephant. In the story, six blind men stand next to an elephant, trying to discern what they are touching. One touches the side and says it's a wall; another touches the animal's trunk and says it's a leg.

"Everyone has a piece of the thing, and they extrapolate based on what they can detect and analyze," says Warner. That's not unlike the various approaches to solving the black hole information paradox. "The other people working on this are really smart, but I think we have a huge chunk of the puzzle in our approach," he says.

Hawking: friend and mentor

Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist, was Warner's thesis adviser at the University of Cambridge, where Warner earned his Ph.D. in physics and mathematics in 1982. The two men remained in touch through the years, and Warner was one of 500 people who attended Hawking's funeral on March 31. He has also been invited to the public memorial and interment on June 15 in Westminster Abbey, where Hawking will be buried next to Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

As he looked around the room during the funeral, Warner had a realization. "Basically every scientist there is in some way working on this particular problem, in one form or another, that Stephen put out there in 1980.

"It is deeply challenging," says Warner. "I think that is his greatest legacy, that he discovered this issue and we are still trying to figure it out."

Explore further Black holes dissolving like aspirin: How Hawking changed physics
The first official account of the electronic Rothamsted Archive and what it offers, published today, highlights how this unique historical repository of agricultural and meteorological data, which date back to 1843, is the result of some remarkable forward thinking.

"But if our knowledge of the chemistry of soils should progress as rapidly as it has during the last twenty years, the analysis of a soil will ere long become much more significant than it is at present," note the founders of Rothamsted Research presciently in a paper published in 1864.

John Bennet Lawes and Joseph Henry Gilbert began their fertiliser investigations with field experiments in 1843 and, from the start, they kept samples of soil, grain, straw, vegetation and fertiliser, plus data on crop and soil analyses, yields and the weather. More records followed.

The accumulated data has always been open and freely available for other researchers to use but the public launch of the electronic Rothamsted Archive (e-RA) in 2013 eased access, and e-RA has steadily become an increasingly well-used and internationally recognised resource.

A team of scientists from Rothamsted has now produced a detailed account of the archive as part of a commitment to promote open data, backed by the institute's principal funders, the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Lawes Agricultural Trust (LAT). The account is published today in the journal, Scientific Data, as part of a collection, Open research data resources.

"Long-time series of data are increasingly valued and are relevant for research into sustainable agriculture, agroecology and food security, as well as for work in modelling, soil science and many other disciplines" says Sarah Perryman, joint e-RA curator and principal co-author.

"And we're more than just data," adds joint e-RA curator and co-author, Margaret Glendining. "Users have access to supporting specialist background information, such as experimental field plans, fertiliser treatments and key references, and are fully supported by our curating team."

The archive holds records of yields of the most important Long-Term Experiments (LTEs) at Rothamsted as well as the longest running, freely available daily weather data in the UK.

Staff from e-RA will be demonstrating the archive at an international LTEs conference at Rothamsted next week and at the Festival of Ideas, which marks Rothamsted's 175th birthday, at the end of June.

"We are managing the e-RA database as a dynamic, developing resource, continually adding to and enhancing it," says Richard Ostler, Agri-Eco Informaticist and co-author, who handles queries about e-RA's open data management. "Importantly, we are working towards FAIR data principles in making the LTE data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable."

The electronic Rothamsted Archive is funded by the LTE National Capability Grant, which also covers the Classical Experiments, the Sample Archive and the Rothamsted Environmental Change Network, and is provided by BBSRC.

Explore further Soil cannot halt climate change

More information: Sarah A. M. Perryman et al, The electronic Rothamsted Archive (e-RA), an online resource for data from the Rothamsted long-term experiments, Scientific Data (2018). Sarah A. M. Perryman et al, The electronic Rothamsted Archive (e-RA), an online resource for data from the Rothamsted long-term experiments,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/sdata.2018.72
Chimpanzees living in the savanna and grass savanna have adapted their behavior to their difficult living conditions: to protect themselves from overheating, they use water sources for taking a bath. Credit: Erin Wessling

During their evolutionary history hominins underwent physiological and behavioral changes to cope with and adapt to more open and hotter environments. These changes include increased sweat capacity and loss of hair coverage, but are difficult to pinpoint using the fossil record as such changes do not fossilize. Even bipedalism, the defining hominid characteristic, has been argued by some to be linked with the transition into savanna environments. In a paper, the researchers demonstrate that a group of savanna-dwelling chimpanzees showed significant physiological difficulty when temperatures were high and water was scarce.

They used a series of physiological biomarkers, or indicators of a particular biological state, collected from the chimpanzee's urine at Fongoli, Senegal, a community located in the savanna-woodlands at the northern-most limits of the chimpanzee range. "The weather at Fongoli can be brutal, where the average maximum temperature is over 37 degrees celsius, and periods go by each year when rain doesn't fall for over seven months," says Erin Wessling of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and lead author of both studies. The researchers found that chimpanzee creatinine (a muscle by-product which indicates hydration status) and cortisol (a hormone involved in stress response) levels, indicated that the chimpanzees were likely dehydrated and suffered from thermoregulatory stress during the late dry season when temperatures reach over 45 degrees celsius and it has not rained for many months, and that these two stressors likely magnified the other.

They also found that Fongoli chimpanzee c-peptide levels (a peptide of insulin indicative of energetic status) varied according to food availability within the study period, however, these chimpanzees were able to avoid serious energetic stress. "This really supports the idea that the strongest challenges of habitats like these savanna, savanna-woodland environments are staying adequately hydrated and cool," says Wessling. "If we are thought to have evolved in similar habitats, then this underlines the importance of adaptations for overcoming or avoiding thermoregulatory stress in our own evolutionary history. As a next step, it would then be important to show that these stresses are not only important, but also unique to these types of habitats."

Less temperature-stress in the rainforest

So in a follow-up study, Wessling and co-authors compare their results of biomarker variation in chimpanzees at Fongoli, with the same biomarkers from urine collected from chimpanzees in Tai National Park, a lowland rainforest in Ivory Coast. Chimpanzees at Tai are expected to have it easier, with average temperatures around a comfortable 26 degrees celsius, and almost twice as much rainfall in the year. Wessling and colleagues found that chimpanzees from the rainforests of Tai did not show the same degree of variation in cortisol as Fongoli chimpanzees did, suggesting that thermoregulatory stress was a unique constraint to chimpanzees in more open, hotter environments.

Wessling and colleagues also showed that food availability was indeed lower in the savanna than the forest site but the Fongoli chimpanzees were more stable in their energetic status than the chimpanzees from the rainforest, suggesting that these chimpanzees have already developed strategies to cope with potential food scarcity, such as a heavier dependence on foods other than fleshy ripe fruits (a chimpanzee favorite) like termites, flowers, and bark. "What this suggests is that these chimpanzees have already developed behavioral mechanisms for coping with this environment in a number of different ways," Wessling adds.

Thermoregulation was also relevant to hominins

Assuming that the mechanisms observed with chimpanzees on the savanna may have shared similarities with the ones of hominins moving into more open environments, the results suggest that there would have been serious need for developing evolutionary adaptations for overcoming thermoregulatory challenges, which outweigh the need for adaptations for food scarcity. "The Fongoli chimpanzees, for example, have demonstrated several extraordinary behaviors suspected for dealing with the savanna heat, such as cave use, sitting in pools, and nocturnal activity," says Wessling. "However, despite these behaviors, they still show signs of dehydration and thermoregulatory stress, suggesting more dramatic adaptations, such as anatomical changes, may be needed to completely evade such pressures."

However, the reaches of this study extend beyond theories of hominid ecology and evolution, but also offer insights into future change scenarios which may challenge the survival of the species as a whole. "In view of the ongoing climate change, we are now better able to understand what the consequences for the critically endangered western chimpanzee may be in the near future, with regard to increased ecological pressures and necessity to adapt flexibly, to the overall habitability of regions at the limit of their distribution and even potential range shifts," concludes co-author Hjalmar Kuehl of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Research Center iDiv.

Explore further Study finds savanna chimps exhibit sharing behavior like humans

More information: Erin G. Wessling et al, Seasonal Variation in Physiology Challenges the Notion of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) as a Forest-Adapted Species, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution (2018). Erin G. Wessling et al, Seasonal Variation in Physiology Challenges the Notion of Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) as a Forest-Adapted Species,(2018). DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00060
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) near Kaktovik, Barter Island, Alaska. Credit: Alan Wilson/Wikipedia.

Inuit polar bear subsistence hunters from two East Greenland regions, Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit, report changes to their hunting patterns as well as polar bear distribution and behavior due to decreasing sea ice and the introduction of hunting quotas in 2006. The hunters have observed large climate changes in their hunting areasincluding warmer weather, less sea ice and disappearing glacierswhich the majority say have affected the polar bear hunt. More hunters are now using boats than dog sledges due to loss of sea ice. The hunters also note that more polar bears are coming into their communities looking for food, and that the bears are eating more seal parts than previously. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the study is the first in nearly 20 years to document traditional knowledge on polar bear catches and ecology in East Greenlandproviding a valuable baseline for monitoring future changes as well as the polar bear population.

Inuit hunters have a strong understanding of the Arctic environment and can share information passed down from older generations as well as from their personal experiences. This is very valuable to management and conservation efforts.

Although traditional ecological knowledge about polar bears has been collected extensively in West Greenland, no comprehensive interview studies on polar bears have been carried out in East Greenland for close to two decades. Thus, current perspectives of polar bear hunters in this area are not well documented.

"Our research was motivated by the importance of obtaining local perspectives from subsistence hunters in East Greenland about the subpopulation of polar bears," says author Kristin L. Laidre, principal scientist at the Polar Science Center, University of Washington, USA. "There had not been an interview study for several decades so a new interview survey was important to conduct, especially before starting an assessment of the subpopulation."

In interviews conducted by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, researchers gathered Inuit perspectives on polar bear subsistence quotas and hunting strategies from 25 full-time polar bear hunters in Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit. The aim was to gain an understanding of how climate change is affecting the polar bear subsistence hunt, and to document observed changes in polar bear distribution, abundance and biology over the last two decades.

All interviewed hunters reported that they had observed changes to sea ice conditions. They noted, for example, that there is less ice, that the sea ice does not form or that it forms later than before, and that it is now more dangerous. Fifteen Tasiilaq hunters also said that the glaciers are disappearing very quickly. All Tasiilaq hunters noted changes in the weather, marked by worsened weather, warmer temperatures, more storms and more wind. Similarly, 89% of Ittoqqortoomiit hunters reported changing weather with warmer temperatures and more humidity.

Seventy-three percent of Tasiilaq hunters and 88% of Ittoqqortoormiit hunters said that climate changes had affected the polar bear hunt. Furthermore, 100% of interviewed Tasiilaq hunters and 80% of Ittoqqortoomiit hunters reported that they hunt more with boats than with dog sledges compared to 10-15 years ago, due to decreasing sea-ice mass and larger extents of open water. One hunter said that he had gotten rid of his sledge, since he had no use for it anymore.

Neither Ittoqqortoormiit nor Tasiilaq hunters reported major changes in the bears' body condition, which is consistent with previous reports from indigenous people in other areas. However, Tasiilaq hunters noted that polar bears are consuming more seal parts than before, such as bones and skin.

In addition, 81% of Tasiilaq hunters and 78% of Ittoqqortoormiit hunters noted that more polar bears are coming into towns and settlements compared to 10-15 years ago. Moreover, hunters from both regions noted that more bears were caught near settlements than previously. While some hunters explained this as a result of the hunting quotas increasing the abundance of polar bears, others mentioned decreasing sea ice as a possible reason. Two hunters suggested that polar bears are coming closer to the towns because they have less to eat and are searching for food.

The researchers report that 40% of Tasiilaq respondents had caught between 10-19 polar bears in their lifetime, while 67% of Ittoqqortoormiit respondents had lifetime catches of more than 20 bears. The general consensus in Tasiilaq is that the quotas are necessary, whereas hunters in Ittoqqortoomiit do not view the quotas as necessary. Hunters in both areas would like to see a small portion of the quota used for trophy hunting, which is currently illegal in Greenland.

The researchers point out that understanding the impact of management decisions and the decreasing sea ice is essential for polar bear conservation and management, as well as for the human communities that rely on hunting polar bears. Thus, this research provides an important baseline for monitoring future changes and for managing the polar bear population.

"This information can be used to directly guide scientific lines of inquiry, improve management decisions, and overall ensure that traditional ecological knowledge is considered in the conservation and management of polar bears," concludes Laidre.

Explore further Melting ice is forcing polar bears to swim more, at high energy cost

More information: Kristin L. Laidre et al, Traditional Knowledge About Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland: Changes in the Catch and Climate Over Two Decades, Frontiers in Marine Science (2018). Kristin L. Laidre et al, Traditional Knowledge About Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in East Greenland: Changes in the Catch and Climate Over Two Decades,(2018). DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00135
Paul Geimer and Jeff Moore of the University of Utah install a reference seismometer near Owachomo Natural Bridge (background) in Utah. Credit: Jacob Kirkegaard

Scientists monitoring the vibrations of natural rock arches have found that the resonant frequencies of arches undergo dynamic changes from day to day, according to research presented at the 2018 SSA Annual Meeting.

University of Utah doctoral student Paul Geimer and colleagues are analyzing these frequency changes to determine whether they can be used to predict when a natural bridge might be ready to collapse.

Natural rock arches, such as Rainbow Bridge, one of the world's largest, or the thousands that dot the desert of southern Utah, vibrate as wind, earthquakes and human disturbances shake them in minute ways.

"One of the main drivers of the research was the collapse of Wall Arch in 2008 in Arches National Park [in Utah], right along the trail," said Geimer. "It happened in the middle of a calm night in summer with no indication that anything was about to happen."

Geimer's advisor University of Utah geoscientist Jeff Moore had also received a request from the National Park Service and Native American tribes worried about the future of Rainbow Bridge, where tourism helicopters fly over nearby Lake Powell. "They wanted to see if we could tell them more about the potential dangers from helicopters, and about the vibration levels that the bridge might be experiencing from these manmade sources," Geimer said.

"Vibration monitoring of man-made structures to detect and measure damage is a well-established technique within civil engineering, and now we're able to apply many of the same methods to natural structures where we don't have the same level of prior knowledge about the stability of the structure or material properties," he noted.

One focus of Geimer's work has been Aqueduct Arch in Utah, where the researchers have collected a year's worth of continuous data on the bridge's vibration frequencies, detected by broadband seismic stations placed near the arch. The unusually long record allows the scientists to correlate frequency changes with changes in the environment and make predictive models for how environmental conditions alter the stresses within the rock.

"I have been surprised by the dynamic nature of the arch and how much frequencies shift," Geimer said. "The elastic daily and annual changes have been really dramatic."

Resonant frequencies peak both when temperatures drop below freezing and when ambient temperatures are their warmest in the summer. Geimer said these conditions alter the shell of the bridge and cause the rock mass to stiffen, changing how the arch vibrates.

While these changes are likely acting to weaken the arch over time, the researchers haven't yet been able to identify a frequency change that would indicate an imminent collapse of an arch. "We don't believe that we have measured a site with significant enough changes to indicate failureall variations measured to this point have been caused by temporary, recoverable changes to the rock," said Geimer.

Not every arch is as dynamic as Aqueduct, he noted. "We've measured more than a dozen arches, and an outstanding question that we are still working to answer is why elastic frequency changes aren't common across all arches and what a lack of change means for long-term stability."

The 2018 Annual Meeting, held May 14-17 in Miami, Florida, is a joint conference between the Seismological Society of America and the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission (LACSC).

Explore further Resonance in Rainbow Bridge: Study listens to the natural bridge vibrate and sing
Lan Wang leads FLEETs Enabling Technology B, which cuts across all three Research themes. Credit: FLEET

The unusual electronic and magnetic properties of van der Waals (vdW) materials, made up of many 'stacked' 2-D layers, offer potential for future electronics, including spintronics.

In a recent study, FLEET researchers at RMIT found that one promising candidate material, Fe 3 GeTe 2 (FGT), fits the bill  provided it's created in layers only 200 millionths of a millimetre in thickness.

This pioneering work paves the way for a new research field, namely, vdW heterostructure based spintronics.

Two-dimensional vdW materials are potential building blocks for new, high-performance electronic, electro-optic, and photonic devices.

However, their application in spintronics has been limited because so few materials display the required magnetic properties.

For serious consideration in spintronics, a vdW ferromagnetic metal with hard magnetic properties and a near square-shaped hysteresis loop is indispensable. Perpendicular magnetic anisotropy is also favourable.

FLEET's RMIT researchers performed anomalous Hall effect measurements on single-crystal Fe 3 GeTe 2 (FGT) nanoflakes, resolving the desired magnetic properties when thickness of the sample was reduced to less than 200 nm.

The researchers were motivated to investigate FGT's improved properties at atomically-thin thicknesses.

"FGT has long been considered a promising vdW ferromagnetic metal", explains lead author Cheng Tan. "But its ferromagnetic properties (a very small MR/MS ratio and coercivity at all temperatures) suggested limited potential as a building block for vdW magnetic heterostructures".

However, those properties strongly depend on thickness-dependent domain structure, and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown, wafer-scale FGT thin films have improved magnetic properties.

"So we reduced thickness and kept measuring," explains Tan.

Hall effect measurements on single-crystal FGT nanoflakes showed magnetic properties are highly dependent on thickness, and that by reducing the thickness to less than 200 nm, the required characteristics can be achieved, making vdW FGT a ferromagnetic metal suitable for vdW heterostructure-based spintronics.

Other researchers will build on the results.

To better identify other candidate materials, the researchers developed a model that can be generalised for vdW ferromagnetic thin films or nanoflakes, which will open new research paths for those studying the possible existence of magnetic coupling between vdW atomic layers.

"It is exciting, pioneering work," says research theme leader Lan Wang. "And it paves the way for a new research field: vdW heterostructures-based spintronics".

Stacked with other vdW nanoflakes, Fe 3 GeTe 2 nanoflakes could be used in a variety of devices exhibiting giant magnetoresistance and tunnelling magnetoresistance. Spin orbit torque and spin field effect transistor devices are further possibilities.

The opportunity exists to design and fabricate many devices based on vdW magnets. For example, magnetising 2-D topological insulators, or stacking vdW ferromagnetic metals for spinorbit torque devices.

The study Hard magnetic properties in nanoflake van der Waals Fe 3 GeTe 2 , published in Nature Communications in April, was showcased in April's Nature Communications Editors' condensed-matter physics Highlights, chosen by Nature editor Yu Gong (magnetic materials and spintronics).

In addition to Centre of Excellence funding by the Australian Research Council, research was supported by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion (IITP), the Basic Science Research Program, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea.

FLEET & nanofabrication

Wang, Tan and Albarakati are members of FLEET, an Australian government-funded research centre developing a new generation of ultra-low energy electronics.

FLEET's research sits at the very boundary of what is possible in condensed-matter physics. Nanofabrication of functioning devices will be key to the Centre's success, coordinated within FLEET via Enabling technology B, led by Lan Wang and linking each of the Centre's three research themes.

FLEET combines Australian strength in micro- and nanofabrication with world-leading expertise in van der Waals heterostructure fabrication to build the capacity for advanced atomically-thin device fabrication.

Wang's group at RMIT recently developed methods to build such nanoscale structures, required to achieve zero-dissipation electrical current, comprising two stacked, 2-D semiconductors.

Bound together by van der Waals (vdW) forces, and comprising twin, disparate, atomically-thin layers, such structures are known as van der Waals heterostructures.

These nanostructures are key to FLEET's Research theme 1 (topological materials) and Research theme 2 (exciton superfluids).

Explore further Creating a 2-D platinum magnet

More information: Cheng Tan et al. Hard magnetic properties in nanoflake van der Waals Fe 3 GeTe 2 , Nature Communications (2018). Journal information: Nature Communications , Nature Cheng Tan et al. Hard magnetic properties in nanoflake van der Waals FeGeTe(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04018-w

Provided by FLEET
The WTO ruling is a big win for Boeing

The European Union has failed to remove its illegal subsidies for Airbus, the World Trade Organization said Tuesday, in a major victory for the United States and its national aviation giant, Boeing.

The decision by the appellate division of the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body is not subject to appeal and clears the way for the US to seek billions of dollars in retaliatory tariffs against European exports.

The decision marks a milestone in a case that has dragged on for more than a decade.

Boeing said the victory secured on its behalf by the US trade office could see the EU slapped with "the largest-ever WTO authorisation of retaliatory tariffs".

In a statement, the Chicago-based firm said those tariffs could amount to $22 billion (18.6 billion euros), equivalent to the amount in illegal subsidies that Airbus has received from the EU, according to Boeing's tally.

"Today's final ruling sends a clear message: disregard for the rules and illegal subsidies are not tolerated," Boeing said.

The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which represents Washington at the WTO, called the decision "an important victory" for President Donald Trump's administration.

Counter claims

But, as always in the epic legal battle between the aviation industry's two main powerhouses, the situation is not quite so clear-cut.

First, the US must ask the WTO to approve specific retaliations against EU products. Brussels will be able to challenge that decision.

The EU also sought to portray itself as a victor of sorts following Tuesday's rulinganother standard move in the Airbus-Boeing legal showdown.

EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom pointed out that the ruling dismissed several US claims regarding the damage suffered by Boeing, noting this could impact the level of retaliation approved by the WTO.

But Malmstrom conceded that the ruling had put the onus on the bloc to change its practices in regards to Airbus.

"The EU will now take swift action to bring itself into line with WTO rules as regards its remaining obligations," she said in a statement.

The original dispute dates to 2004, when the US argued that the support offered to Airbus by the EU as well as the governments of Britain, France, Germany and Spain breached WTO rules.

In 2011, the WTO ordered Brussels and those countries to withdraw certain support and subsidy programmes.

The EU appealed against that decision in 2016, but was handed a definitive defeat on Tuesday.

What's next?

Beyond wrangling over the level of retaliation, Brussels also noted that it was looking forward to a WTO decision in its own case against the US and Boeing.

Malmstrom claimed public financial support for Boeing in the US is "massive and persistent."

Brussels has won a series of victories as its case has worked its way through the WTO's protracted dispute system.

Trump's posture towards the 164-member WTO also overshadows the latest legal developments.

The USTR, in its latest trade guidance to Congress, has suggested that Washington has the right to ignore any WTO rulings that violate American interests.

The US has also blocked the appointment of new judges to the DSB's appellate division, a strategy that could effectively force the WTO court to shut down by the end of next year.

Yet, even as Trump's administration has levelled a range of attacks against the WTO court, it has continued to file cases, including against China over alleged intellectual property theft.

"President Trump has been clear that we will use every available tool to ensure free and fair trade benefits American workers," Ambassador Robert Lighthizer, who heads Trump's trade office, said in Tuesday's statement.

Explore further American Airlines orders 47 Boeing 787s, cancels A350 order

 2018 AFP
The Solvang City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would allow medical marijuana businesses within a specific area of the city.
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Indonesian police officers stand guard with the luxury yacht Equanimity in the background off Bali in February 2018. (File photo: AP /Yoan Ari)

By Edvard Pettersson

Malaysian financier Low Taek Jho will probably be ordered to turn over his $250 million yacht to U.S. officials, who claim he bought it with money siphoned from the 1Malaysia Development Bhd sovereign wealth fund.

A federal judge in Los Angeles said Monday that she will issue an order shortly on the Justice Departments request to get custody of the Equanimity, which is currently in Indonesia. U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer initially ruled in April that the ship could be sailed to the U.S. from Bali, but a court in Jakarta later found that the police hadnt followed proper procedures and ordered the yacht returned.

Fischer wasnt persuaded by the argument that her ruling would override orders of a foreign court. She said lawyers for Low and the trusts that hold title to the 300-foot (91-meter) yacht may want get their mandamus papers ready, referring to their threat to appeal her ruling.

The boat was seized by Indonesian authorities in February at the request of the U.S. The Equanimity is among more than $1.5 billion in real estate and other assets that the U.S. alleges Low and his accomplishes bought with stolen 1MDB funds.

Jeremy Matz, a lawyer for the trusts that own the yacht for Lows benefit, said after the hearing that his clients will comply with a final and binding court order to turn over the yacht. Matz reiterated that he will appeal a ruling against his clients.

Newly elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Saturday, three days after he secured a shocking win, that predecessor Najib Razak was barred from leaving the country. Mahathir also said hed reopen a graft probe targeting the wealth fund and said he was replacing the attorney general who cleared Najib and instructed the auditor-general to declassify a 1MDB report that was protected by the Official Secrets Act.

Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003 and defected to the opposition in order to stand as their candidate for premier, repeatedly called Najib a thief on the campaign trail and pledged to revisit the 1MDB issue.

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Riza Aziz, a friend of Low and one of the individuals the U.S. alleges was involved in looting the 1MDB fund, is a stepson of Najib. His movie production company Red Granite Pictures agreed to pay $60 million to settle a forfeiture lawsuit by the U.S., alleging he financed the Wolf of Wall Street with stolen money.

The U.S. and Lows lawyers are negotiating a sale of the Equanimity while the forfeiture lawsuit is unresolved, but are deeply divided on whether the transaction should take place in the U.S. or in the Mediterranean, which the trusts argue is a superior market for super yachts.

To contact the reporter on this story: Edvard Pettersson in Los Angeles at epettersson@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net. Peter Blumberg

 2018 Bloomberg L.P

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Activists protest against tax avoidance at a McDonalds in Paris (Getty)

McDonalds decision to relocate to the UK shortly after Brexit could be a bid to avoid EU scrutiny of its tax practices, a new report suggests.

The fast food giant announced in December that was moving its non-US operations from Luxembourg to the UK, saying the decision was motivated by the significant number of staff based in London working on our international business.

But trade unions have linked the move to an ongoing investigation into the companys tax arrangements by the European Commission.

The Commission launched a probe in 2015 into whether McDonalds European arm had been given advantageous tax treatment by Luxembourg which breached EU state aid rules.

Luxembourg authorities ruled McDonalds Europe Franchsing did not have to pay tax in the country despite being aware the company was not eligible to pay tax in the US.

It meant the company had virtually not paid any corporate tax in Luxembourg nor in the US on its profits since 2009, according to the Commissions preliminary findings.

Their investigation was triggered by a trade union report which exposed deliberate avoidance of over 1bn in tax between 2009 and 2013.

McDonalds insists it has changed since then, paying more than 3bn worth of tax of corporate taxes in the EU at an average rate of over 28% between 2013 and 2017.

McDonalds pays all the tax owed in each market where we operate, the company said in a statement today.

But an updated investigation by the unions  EPSU, EFFAT from the EU and SEIU from the US  says the company has responded to the investigation of their tax affairs by creating a more complex corporate structure that makes scrutiny of its accounts impossible.

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato is concerned Brexit could increase tax avoidance (European Parliament)

As well as relocating its tax base to London, the company has moved its headquarters to a US state with limited disclosure requirements and created a range of subsidiary companies in both the UK and tax havens like the Cayman Islands.

This new corporate structure effectively inhibits public scrutiny, as many of the new entities have no or minimal required public financial disclosures, including of taxes owed and paid, says the new report.

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Further, McDonalds particular decision to relocate to the U.K. after that country voted in a referendum to leave the European Union raises the possibility of McDonalds structuring its intellectual property holdings to minimize any oversight by the European Commission.

The European Parliaments Green/EFA group said the report is a warning that the UK could become the biggest tax haven near the EU after Brexit.

That is a possibility that has been troubling the EUs Brexit task force.

A document they published in February said the UK is likely to use tax to gain competitiveness and admitted that there are very limited legal/political restrictions to prevent this.

It identified the UKs low corporate tax rate and large number of offshore entities as concerns.

Green MEP Molly Scott Cato said McDonalds pivot towards the UK and its offshore tax havens is a worrying sign.

She said the EU should use Brexit as an opportunity to crack down on the worst post-colonial excesses of the UKs tax framework rather than allowing it to be used to weaken Europes tax regime.

In response to claims about their move to London, a McDonalds spokesperson said: This change aligned our corporate structure with our new functional structure which is no longer in geographies, but in segments that group together countries with common market and growth characteristics.




DBS CEO Piyush Gupta speaking in 2016. (File photo: Reuters/Edgar Su)

By Joyce Koh and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen

Piyush Gupta, into his ninth year as chief executive officer of DBS Group Holdings Ltd., isnt looking to call it a day.

Im loving the job. I think were making impact as a company, Gupta said in an interview at his office in Singapore last week. Im a firm believer if you enjoy what youre doing, why stop?

While Gupta has no plans to slow down and says investors are starting to realize the benefits of DBSs digital focus, Southeast Asias largest lender has also identified three generations of leadership within its ranks. This includes talent to fill the CEO spot.

So far, weve been able to fill all of the C-suite positions internally, Gupta said. Which is why the hope is that we should be able to fill my job also internally.

Gupta joined DBS in November 2009 after 27 years at Citigroup Inc., where he helped run internet banking. He calls himself an unusual banking CEO for his technology background and last year announced an investment of S$20 million ($15 million) over five years to train 10,000 employees in Singapore in digital banking.

Gupta said DBSs digital push is creating new revenue streams while curbing costs. Last month, the lender delivered a decade-high return on equity with above-expectations quarterly profit, which helped its shares pull further ahead of local rivals Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and United Overseas Bank Ltd. They have risen more than 68 percent since the start of 2017, compared with almost 47 percent at OCBC and 45 percent at UOB.

Guptas passions include bird-watching and environment conservation, but he isnt planning to fully focus on them just yet.

For the record, Singapores new retirement age is 67 years old, said Gupta, who turned 58 this January. Ive got 10 more years to go.

To contact the reporters on this story: Joyce Koh in Singapore at jkoh38@bloomberg.net; Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Scent at bscent@bloomberg.net Jeanette Rodrigues, Sam Mamudi

 2018 Bloomberg L.P
A photo of Chinese tourists wearing T-shirts depicting Beijing's claims to the disputed South China Sea has sparked online anger in Vietnam, prompting calls for the visitors to be deported. The shirts featured a map of China and its so-called nine-dash line -- the sea boundary found on some 1940s-era maps which Beijing says proves its claim to most of the waterway, despite partial claims from Vietnam and other nations. The territorial dispute is a hot-button issue in Vietnam, which has a turbulent history of conflict with its powerhouse neighbour. The visitors arrived in southern Cam Ranh airport on Sunday night and were stopped by security at the immigration desk, an airport police officer confirmed to AFP. "We asked them to take the T-shirts off before allowing them to leave the airport," said the officer, without providing his name because of the sensitivity of the issue. Photos of the tourists in their nationalist attire made the rounds on social media -- with the nine-dash line crossed out with an "X". Some netizens said the tourists were not welcome in Vietnam. "Immediately deport them and ban them permanently from coming to Vietnam," Facebook user Nguyen Ngoc Hieu posted. Another, Quan Hai, wrote: "We must be determined, not allowing anyone passing through our border gates if the passports, T-shirts or anything else with the dash-line maps." Vietnam and China have long sparred over the resource-rich sea, where Beijing has built artificial islands and installed airstrips and military equipment. This is not the first time the dispute has trickled into the tourism sector. A Chinese passport featuring a map of Beijing's sea claims was defaced in 2016 by a border agent in Ho Chi Minh City's airport with an unfriendly welcome note reading "Fuck you". Border officials in tourist hotspots Danang and Phu Quoc island have also reportedly refused to issue visa stamps in Chinese passports with maps of the nine-dash line. More than four million Chinese visitors came to Vietnam last year -- over 30 percent of all foreign guests -- and Chinese tourists are a major cash cow. Some guides say this can put them in a spot, especially when visitors dispute Hanoi's version of historical events. "We don't like the Chinese tourists but they bring us profits, so we cannot resist them," Hung, a Hanoi-based tour operator, told AFP, using only his first name. A group of guides petitioned authorities in Danang last year, complaining that unlicensed Chinese guides were leading tours with their own interpretation of history -- and sea claims. Hung said guides have to push back. "We are Vietnamese, we can't let them distort the truth about our homeland and our history."
US and Afghan aircraft Tuesday bombed Taliban positions in the western city of Farah after the insurgents launched a major attempt to capture the provincial capital, with fearful residents seeking shelter from explosions and gunfire. Special forces from Kandahar and Herat were rushed to the city to take part in the fighting, which residents said began around midnight. Sporadic clashes were still ongoing late Tuesday, provincial council member Dadullah Qani told AFP. It was the latest in a series of attempts by the Taliban over the past three years to capture urban centres. Afghan forces have been struggling to hold back the resurgent militant group since the withdrawal of NATO combat forces at the end of 2014. Afghan officials and NATO's Resolute Support mission said that the government remained in control, but the Taliban also appeared confident, posting a flurry of social media updates throughout the day that purported to show their fighters in the city. Farah province, which borders Iran, has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years, and there have long been fears that the city is vulnerable. "The situation is very bad," Satar Hussaini, a tribal elder in Farah, told AFP earlier. "Heavy fighting is going on and Taliban are in the city but the police headquarters and NDS (the Afghan intelligence agency) have not fallen to them," he said. "NDS forces in their HQ are engaged in heavy clashes with the Taliban." Qani confirmed Hussaini's comments. Gunfire and explosions could be heard as he spoke to an AFP reporter by telephone. The noise has "filled the city", said one resident who gave his name as Bilal, adding that he could see smoke rising from the direction of a building housing the NDS. NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul said the government remained in control of the city. "Afghans remain in lead," spokesman Lt Col Martin O'Donnell told AFP. "Both Afghan A-29s and Mi-17s have conducted multiple strikes. U.S. forces have conducted one drone strike (MQ-9) and a show-of-force with A-10s. Dozens of Taliban killed." Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said pockets of resistance remained, but "our forces are battling the enemy with high morale". With internet and mobile networks patchy, casualty figures were difficult to verify. Radmanish said four soldiers and "dozens" of insurgents had been killed. At least some militants have been hiding in private houses, making it difficult for Afghan forces to use heavy weapons, Farah governor Abdul Basir Salangi told Ariana News, adding: "But still we are taking back positions one by one." Many radio and television channels in the province have stopped broadcasting, fearing for their employees' lives, according to media watchdog Nai. The insurgents in a statement warned residents to remain in their homes and "stay calm". - Growing threat - The Taliban are stepping up their spring offensive, in an apparent rejection of a peace talks overture from the government. Farah is a poppy-growing province in an isolated region of Afghanistan. There are plans for a section of the multi-billion-dollar TAPI (Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) gas pipeline to traverse it, a project with which the Taliban have pledged to cooperate. But it has been the scene of intense fighting in recent years. In 2017, insurgents tried three times to overrun the capital, according to the Afghanistan Analysts Network. As such, Tuesday's offensive "should not have taken government forces off guard", said military analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail. Amarkhail added that "even ordinary citizens were aware of the Taliban gradually taking over more areas and becoming a formidable force in the province". He accused the government and military leadership of "turning a blind eye" until the insurgents actually entered the city. Afghan troops and police nationwide have struggled to cope with unrelenting militant attacks in recent years, their numbers sapped by killings and desertions. When asked about the issue, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said that Afghan forces are actually being bolstered in the most important area -- special operations forces. Speaking earlier this month, he said this expansion was why the Taliban had not taken any district centres or provincial centres. The insurgents have tried several times to take provincial capitals in recent years, including Kunduz and Lashkar Gah, with the Afghan army deploying significant numbers of troops to hold those cities and push the militants out. Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth largest city and capital of the northern province of the same name, fell briefly to the Taliban in 2015. They along with the Islamic State group have also stepped up their attacks in the capital Kabul, which the UN says has in recent years become one of the country's deadliest places for civilians.
LONDON (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani asked the European Union to stand against the United States' "illegal and illogical" actions, saying that after Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Tehran could stay in the accord only if it fully benefits from it.

"Iran can stay in the JCPOA (the nuclear deal) only if it fully benefits from the deal," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Alison Williams)
The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Tuesday on the violence in Gaza, with Kuwait preparing a draft resolution to protect Palestinian civilians and the United States defending ally Israel's use of "restraint." The talks opened at UN headquarters in New York with a moment of silence for the 60 Palestinians who died Monday, the majority killed by Israeli fire, in the bloodiest day in Gaza since 2014. The deaths overshadowed the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem, relocated from Tel Aviv in fulfillment of a campaign promise by US President Donald Trump, whose daughter Ivanka attended the inaugural ceremony. The embassy move, which dramatically underscored US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, infuriated the Palestinians and was widely criticized, but on Tuesday the Security Council proved unable, once again, to reach consensus. Arab ambassadors appeared jointly before reporters to call for an investigation into Israel's "crimes" and for the protection of the Palestinian people. Kuwait, the only Arab nation with a current seat on the Security Council, said it would circulate a draft resolution on "providing international protection to the Palestinian people." Kuwaiti ambassador Mansour al-Otaibi said the draft would be circulated "most probably tomorrow." Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour said negotiations would then begin to try to get the resolution adopted. But while Britain and Germany are among those backing an independent investigation, the United States on Monday blocked the adoption of a UN statement that would have called for an independent probe. US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Tuesday launched a stinging attack on Iranian aggression in the Middle East, deploring a "double standard," condemning Hamas provocation and said ally Israel had acted with restraint. - Europeans unite - "No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," Haley told the council. "In fact the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained." To suggest that the violence had anything to do with the relocation of the US embassy was a smoke screen, she said. "The Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy," she said. "Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday," she added. "The United States deplores the loss of human life," she said. Britain, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden -- the five European nations on the council -- joined Belgium, Germany and Italy in a statement calling on Israel to "refrain from excessive use of force" and on Hamas "to avoid provocation" and ensure that protests remain non violent. Nickolay Mladenov, the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, briefed the Security Council by video link from Jerusalem. "This cycle of violence in Gaza needs to end," he said. "I have repeatedly called on all to exercise restraint, for all necessary steps to avoid an escalation of violence and for all incidents to be fully investigated." Israel lays the blame squarely with Hamas, accusing Gaza's Islamist rulers of war crimes. Its ambassador urged the Security Council to condemn the faction. "Only then will justice be served," Danny Danon told reporters. Israel, he said, regretted "every casualty." "How many Palestinians have to die before you take action" implored the Palestinian envoy. "Why are we the exception? Why are you paralyzed?" he asked the Council.
(Raffles Institution student and winner of the Singapore School category (personal mobility vehicles) Li Bozhao, 19, with Wind and Fire, a pair of skates inspired by Taoist god Nezha. PHOTO: NTU)

A Nezha-inspired pair of skates, a wheelchair with an armadillo-styled shelter, a customisable foldable kick scooter and a stylised walker for the elderly.

These were among six winning entries of the 6th Singapore 3D Printing Competition recognised for their innovative design and functionality. The event was held at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)s Nanyang Executive Centre on Tuesday (15 May).

The winning entries are prime examples of how 3D printing can be used to print products of complex designs in a single build, which conventional manufacturing cannot do, said Professor Chua Chee Kai, Executive Director of the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing and Chair of Pro-AM 2018.

This years competition, organised by NTU in conjunction with the bi-annual Progress in Additive Manufacturing Conference (Pro-AM), centres around two themes: personal and elderly mobility devices.

It saw a total of 26 entries, consisting of local and international participants, including those from France, Norway, China and Taiwan.

The winner of the open category clinched the top prize of $10,000 while the winners of the school and tertiary categories each won $5,000.

Winning entries for this years competition. (PHOTO: NTU)

Li Bozhao, a J2 student at Raffles Institution, won the Singapore School category (personal mobility vehicles) with his Wind and Fire skates  a pair of 3D-printed rings with hidden ball bearings. The 19-year-old modelled the design after Nezha, a fabled Chinese god who could fly with a pair of magical rings.

Singapore is a city and a hybrid (of different cultures). But when all of them blend together, they are gradually losing their uniqueness, said Li, who spent about $500 and a few months to work on the prototype. I wanted to make a mobility device that when people use it to walk on the streets, people can see that the culture is alive and young.

This years competition is not the first for the international student. Li took part in the previous two years, and also walked away with the top prize in the schools category in 2016.

Story continues

Lam Tian Xiang, 21, a third-year student at Temasek Polytechnic (TP), walked away with the top prize in the Singapore Tertiary category (personal mobility vehicles) for his entry, Truss3D, a customisable kick-scooter.

The mechatronics student hopes to make the design of the device open source so that the community would be able to design their own scooters by using a 3D printer at home. Each DIY scooter would cost about $300 to set up, Lam added.

Donald Koh, 38, a 3D design specialist at Pathlight School, oversaw a group of 25 students, aged 14 to 17, who took part in the competition.

The team from Pathlight  a school for high-functioning children with autism  took away the top prize in the Singapore School category (mobility devices for elderly) for The Pathcraft.

The 3D-printed wheelchair features a hoverboard as well as a shell-like shelter, two armrests with small storage spaces for loose change and two large compartments for other belongings.

Koh said the team took about three months to conceptualise and make the device. By using 3D printing, makers can individually tailor the design of the wheels, he added.

The school is looking to find partners and test out the device at an old folks homes.

We could use it as a platform for incoming students to make improvements on the design and to think of further ways to help elderly people to move around in Singapore, Koh said.

Lee Khim Yong, 42, who designed ErGoWalker, took the top prize in the Singapore Tertiary Category (mobility devices for elderly) together with a team of five TP students.

Created by using 3D-printing with nylon, the device features a seat for resting as well as a curved handle for easy turning.

We tried to keep it stylishly designed and lightweight.It is about 50 per cent lighter (compared to its commercial counterparts), said the senior mechatronics lecturer at TP.

To be held from 14 to 17 May, the third edition of Pro-AM 2018 is expected to be attended by over 150 industry players and academia from over 20 countries.

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Ten million made-in-Myanmar "yaba" pills and nearly half a tonne of crystal meth hidden in tea packages have been pulled from a convoy of cars in Bangkok, Thai police said Friday. The drugs -- worth around $45 million on the local market -- were being ferried along Thailand's "narcotics corridor", which cuts through the central Thai province of Ayutthaya to Bangkok and then south to Malaysia. Police followed the four cars from Ayutthaya, which is a key warehousing site for the drugs which pour from Myanmar's meth labs. They made the bust once the convoy had reached downtown Bangkok late Thursday, police said, uncovering crytal meth concealed in Chinese-branded tea packages and the pill bundles. "Six Thai suspects who were paid to transport drugs were arrested," national police chief General Chaktip Chaijinda told reporters, adding some of the drugs were "destined for foreign countries". "They belong to the northern Wa group," he said, of an ethnic group based in Myanmar's Shan State which jointly oversees the world's second largest drug producing region. Yaba -- which means "crazy medicine" in Thai -- are methamphetamine pills cut with caffeine and are consumed across Asia, popped by everyone from the party crowd to farmers and lorry drivers. The notorious "Golden Triangle" -- an ungovernable border zone that crosses Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and China -- is experiencing a boom in drug production. Massive oversupply from Myanmar has seen the price of a yaba tablet plummet to 100 baht (around $3) in Thailand. The much more potent and addictive crystal meth version -- "ice" -- is also cascading across the region. One kilogram (2.2 pounds) goes for around $30,000 in Thailand, but the price rises the further it is transported from the source in Myanmar. Drugs are trafficked south to Malaysia and beyond, while record seizures are also being made along a westwards route from Myanmar to Bangladesh.
Venezuela's government seized control Tuesday of the South American country's Kellogg subsidiary after it halted operations, President Nicolas Maduro announced. Maduro said the company had been "handed over to the workers" to continue production after the US-based cereals manufacturer said it was ceasing operations. In a statement, the US multinational cited Venezuela's crippling economic crisis as the reason it was ending its operations in the country. "The current economic and social deterioration in the country has now prompted the company to discontinue operations," Kellogg said. Dozens of employees milled around the entrance to the factory in the western city of Maracay after turning up to find a notice informing them of the closure. "What did the revolutionary government do? The labor minister and the economy minister immediately arrived, opened the company and handed it over to the workers, and the company is producing with the industrial working class," said Maduro, who is seeking a second term in elections Sunday. The government has previously taken over the plants of other companies who have left the country. US companies Kimberly-Clark, General Motors and Clorox are among several multinationals to shut down their Venezuela operations in recent years. Brazil's Suramericana de Soplados, which supplied fuel tanks to the Ford Motors and Chrysler vehicle assembly plants in Venezuela, also shuttered. Some, such as Coca-Cola and Colgate, have temporarily suspended or cut back their operations.
THE ASSOCITED PRESS

WAshington, US | May 14

Nineteen people have died of Ebola in Congo as health officials plan to send an experimental vaccine to prevent the spread of the virus that killed thousands in West Africa a few years ago.

The World Health Organization said there have been 39 confirmed and suspected cases of Ebola over the past five weeks as the virus spreads across three rural areas covering nearly 40 miles in the northwest part of the country. Among the dead were three health-care workers. Health officials are following up with nearly 400 people identified as contacts of Ebola patients.

The global health agency announced last week its plans to send the vaccine, developed in 2016 by the pharmaceutical company Merck. Health officials hope that the vaccine, which was given to people in Guinea in West Africa during a trial in 2015, could be a game-changer in preventing Ebola from spreading, The Washington Posts Siobhan OGrady wrote last week. Among the 5,837 people who received the vaccine, called rVSVZEBOV, no one came down with Ebola 10 days after vaccination.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHOs director-general, told reporters Monday that the agency has received permission from Congo officials to import the vaccine, which he hopes would arrive by the end of this week.

The WHO has a stockpile of 4,300 doses of the vaccine in Geneva, Stat News reported. Merck also has committed 300,000 doses of the vaccine for emergency use.

Everything is formally agreed already. The vaccine is safe and efficacious and has already been tested. I think we can  all is ready now to really use it, he said.

The WHO has a stockpile of 4,300 doses of the vaccine in Geneva, Stat News reported. Merck also has committed 300,000 doses of the vaccine for emergency use.

Ghebreyesus said he has traveled to the remote area to assess health needs.

Being there is very, very important. If a general cannot be with its troops in the front line, its not a general. ... We have to go and show that that should really stop, and if my life is at risk, my life is not better than anyone, said Ghebreyesus, a former Ethiopian health minister and the first African to become WHOs director-general. We have to be where the problem is.

The WHO first learned of the outbreak May 8, when Congos Ministry of Health confirmed two cases of Ebola in the town of Bikoro, now the epicenter of the outbreak and located in the countrys Equateur province, which has a population of about 2.5 million people.

We are very concerned and planning for all scenarios, including the worst-case scenario, Peter Salama, WHOs deputy director-general of emergency preparedness and response, said at a United Nations briefing in Geneva on Friday.

Transporting the vaccines to the affected area would be logistically challenging. Salama said the area is about 15 hours away by motorbike from the closest town and lacks the necessary infrastructure, Reuters reported. He said Friday that the WHO plans to send up to 40 experts by the weekend and clear an airstrip for supplies.
Angela Charlton | Elaine Ganley

PARIS, FRANCE.- Investigators working to understand why a 20-year-old French citizen born in the Russian republic of Chechnya went on a stabbing rampage in central Paris detained the dead suspects parents and a friend Sunday, French officials said.

Counterterrorism investigators want to know if the assailant, identified by Chechnyas leader as Khamzat Azimov, had help or coconspirators.

Tambien te puede interesar: Three black doctors detail journey to success

The attacker killed a 29-year-old man and wounded four other people with a knife before police fatally shot him Saturday night.

The suspect was on a police watchlist for radicalism, a judicial official not authorized to speak publicly about the case told The Associated Press.

But he had a clean criminal record and did not know his victims, Interior Ministry spokesman Frederic de Lanouvelle said. The parents were detained in Paris northern 18th district and the friend was detained in the eastern French city of Strasbourg on Sunday afternoon, the judicial official said.

French media reported Sunday that Azimov had lived in Strasbourg, which is 492 kilometers (306 miles) from Paris.

It was unclear if he was residing with his parents in the French capital when he carried out the attack. Witnesses reported hearing the man shouting Allahu akbar, the Arabic phrase for God is great, during the attack that happened at about 9 p.m. in a lively area near the Opera Garnier.

The Islamic State group claimed the attacker was one of its soldiers three hours later, but provided no evidence to back the claim or details about his identity.
The Associated Press

LONDON, UK. - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan started a three-day visit to Britain by praising the country Sunday as "an ally and a strategic partner, but also a real friend."

The Turkish leader is scheduled to meet Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday.

Speaking at a forum on Turkish-British relations, Erdogan noted that in July 2016, the British government quickly condemned a coup attempt against him and said "we will never forget this solidarity."

The Turkish president said bilateral cooperation between the two countries has grown, especially since the referendums that changed Turkey's governing system to an executive presidency and paved the way for Britain's departure from the European Union.

The deepening ties are most evident in trade, Erdogan said, with a joint goal of increasing trade volume from $16 billion to $20 billion and a potential free trade agreement in the works. He cited British-Turkish cooperation in defense industries as an example for more new ventures.

"We want to continue our economic relations as the governments of Turkey and the United Kingdom without interruptions after Brexit," Erdogan said before leaving Istanbul for London earlier Sunday. Erdogan also said he also would be discussing regional and international issues with May. Topics include the latest developments in Cyprus, where Turkey and Britain both act as guarantors, and a "joint action plan" for the Middle East, especially Syria, Iraq and Iran.
Back in early March, after hed thrown financial markets for a loop by announcing tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum, Donald Trump shared his thoughts on trade strategy with the American people. Trade wars, he assured Twitter users, are good, and easy to win.

When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, dont trade anymore-we win big. Its easy!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 2, 2018

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Was it pure bluster? A sincere attempt at analysis? As always with Trump, one could only guess. But his words did not inspire confidence. The president seemed to be eager for confrontation, and clueless about potential consequences.

Soon, though, it became clear that the White House would take a softer, or at least narrower, approach to trade than the presidents rhetoric implied. Allies were granted exemptions to the metal tariffs, and it started to seem as if the administration was mostly gearing up for a one-on-one confrontation with China. This was also not ideal, in many ways. China responded to Trumps provocations by announcing it would implement its own tariffs on American agricultural products, including major commodity crops like soybeans. But even amid the tit-for-tat threats, administration officials signaled that they didnt really want a serious confrontation. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross downplayed fears of an all-out trade war. There may be some firing shots over the bow and things like that, but I believe at the end of the day this will end up in a negotiated settlement, he told CNBC.

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Was this all an elaborate good cop, bad cop act, with Trump playing his usual unhinged role? Was the president being pulled in two different directions by his administrations protectionists and free traders? A bit of both? Again, Trumpologists could only guess. But now, something unexpected has happened: The president himself is trying to de-escalate tensions with China in order to get some sort of trade deal done.

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On Sunday, the president made a surprise Twitter announcement that he and Chinas President, Xi Jinping, were working on a deal to save Chinese phone and telecom-equipment maker ZTE from a potential collapse brought on by a U.S. blockade of its business. The Chinese giant pleaded guilty and paid a $1.2 billion fine in 2017 to settle charges that it had violated U.S. sanctions on North Korea and Iran. Last month, the Commerce Department banned U.S. firms from shipping parts to ZTE, which it claimed had broken the terms of its settlement, leaving the company in periluntil Trumps tweet, which appeared to take his own Cabinet by surprise.

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President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 13, 2018

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While Trumps sudden concern about jobs in China is touching, its not really whats motivating his decision. As the Washington Post reports in a revealing story on Tuesday, Trump is determined to get some sort of trade deal done with China, in part because he needs Beijings help in negotiations with North Korea. But lately, talks have been going nowhere. Ross and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made zero headway during talks with Chinese leaders a couple weeks ago. Meanwhile, Trump has been told in recent days that relaxing restrictions on ZTE was a prerequisite to get the Chinese to engage in substantive discussions, according to the Post. The president, who talked directly with Xi on May 8, apparently thinks easing up on the phone maker is a small concession.

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One could look at all of this and conclude that, as usual, the Trump administration is in disarray, listing aimlessly based on the presidents whims and short-term goals. But if youre a glass-half full kind of person, you could also look at this, and see a president capable of learning. Yes, Trump probably has some self-interest here (maybe some corrupt self-interest!), but he also seems to be realizing he cant simply bully China into submission. Moreover, his apparent desire to notch a deal shows that he doesnt want to create a trade battle merely for the sake of it. In other words, if he truly didnt get it before, it now seems to be dawning on Donald Trump that trade wars are neither good, nor easy to win.
Spike Lee is not a fan of the president. During a panel discussing his new film BlacKkKlansman at Cannes on Tuesday, the Do the Right Thing director delivered an expletive-ridden monologue about how Trump failed the country following the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August:

We have a guy in the White House, Im not gonna say his [bleep] name, whose defining momentit was not just for Americans, for the worldand that [bleep] was given a chance to say, We are about love and not hate. And that [bleep] did not denounce the [bleep] Klan, the alt-right, and those Nazi [bleep]. Whose defining moment, he couldve said to the world, Not the United States. That we were better than that. The so-called [bleep] cradle of democracy, thats some [bleep.] The United States of America was built upon the genocide of Native people and slavery. That is the fabric of the United States of America. As my Brooklyn brother Jay-Z would say: Facts.

BlacKkKlansman features footage from Charlottesville, as well as an end dedication to Heather D. Heyer, who was killed at the rally.
In an abrupt reversal, prosecutors announced Monday they were dropping a single felony invasion-of-privacy charge against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens over an alleged nude photo the 44-year-old Republican took without the consent of a woman he was having an affair with. The unexpected decision to drop the charge came in the middle of jury selection and just days before the trial was set to begin.

The prosecutors surprise move, announced after the third day of jury selection, came after the judge had granted a request by Greitens lawyers to call St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner as a witness for the defense, the Associated Press reports. Greitens defense team has repeatedly criticized Gardners handling of the case, particularly her hiring of private investigator William Tisaby, whom Greitens lawyers have accused of perjury. That, the Circuit Attorneys office said, put the lead prosecutor in an impossible position of being a witness, subject to cross-examination by her own legal team, while also prosecuting the case. It leaves the Circuit Attorney no adequate means of proceeding with this trial, a City Attorney spokesperson said. Therefore, the court has left the Circuit Attorney with no other legal option than to dismiss and refile this matter.

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Greitens has been besieged with allegations of disturbing sexual misconduct with his former hairdresser before winning the governors mansion in Nov. 2016. A special committee of statehouse legislators found the woman, who has remained anonymous, to be a credible witness, but the prosecutions case appeared to be on shaky legal ground well before Mondays announcement. The biggest problem? They couldnt locate the alleged photo in question. Months after bringing the charge against Mr. Greitens, prosecutors still had not obtained such a photo, despite searches of the governors cellphone and electronic cloud accounts, according to the New York Times. And the case had more challenges: The judge disqualified some of the prosecutions expert witnesses. The charge itself is seldom used and difficult to prove without a photo.

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Greitens declared victory and vindication after the announcement. This is a great victory, and it has been a long time coming, Greitens said outside the courthouse. This experience has been humbling, and I have emerged from it a changed man.

This likely does not mean the end of the first-term governors legal and political peril. Democratic as well as Republican state lawmakers have already called for Greitens to step down and the House and Senate leadership are set to consider impeachment during a special legislative session later this week. The city attorneys office is also expected to refile the charge through a special counsel or another attorney in the prosecutors office.
President Donald Trump popped into Senate Republicans caucus lunch Tuesday and proceeded to talk at them for roughly 45 minutes, with few interruptions. The president was loose, touching on everything from midterms to the economy to trade to health care. He was really quite funny, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said afterward. Several senators declined to share these uproarious zingers, but Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy insisted the lines were all clean. (A bunch of dirty jokes should leak in in the next few hours.)

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By the time Trumps monologue was complete, only a couple of senators had time to pose questions. Neither of those questions, nor any of the monologue, involved confronting the president over his aide Kelly Sadlers joke about dying Sen. John McCain, a remark that leaked from a White House staff meeting and is now in its sixth day of dominating the news cycle in a very busy world. Though Sadler has apologized to the McCain family in private, she has not issued a public apology, and neither has the White House. Maybe members of the Senate Republican caucus, who are always rarin to confront the Trump White House over its moral lapses, might do the trick? Yeah, no.

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And thats just fine.

For those who do believe that a White House staffer making such a joke about McCain without publicly apologizing afterward is a grave offense that merits this much coverage, theres no use pressing it anymore. The White House has given its answerit is not apologizingand yet the question keeps being asked, as though something might change. Even if it did change, a public apology at this point would not be sincere, so it wont matter. If the lack of a public apology would make someone judge this administration in a new light, they should make that judgment now, because all of the information is in. For most people, though, the White Houses handling of the issue likely reinforced whatever prior opinion they had about the Trump administration.

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Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, a frequent presidential critic, was one of the many senators who was asked after the lunch why none of his colleagues brought up the McCain comment. The notion that hes going to change anything or say anything different, I just dont see it, Flake told a reporter from NBC News. I mean, theyre not apologizing. Bingo. Theres no use or public interest served by trying to force an apology from those unwilling to offer one.

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What is more interesting about the lunch is that the senators didnt seem to press the president on much of anything, including those issues that matter greatly to the broader public. They probably view it as better to work the president in confidence rather than confront him in a meeting, details of which would certainly leak and cause a scene. Yet when the president talked about trade or whats going on with his threat to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreementthe fear of all fears among the Senate Republican caucushe neither solicited nor got much feedback. They didnt press him about his weird hyping of a Chinese company. According to Sen. John Kennedy, the president said he would have a health care announcement coming in a few weeks, but he didnt say what. The president said things were going great with North Korea, and everywhere. He insisted he wanted his border wall but didnt give any guidance about how they might secure that. Eh, details, details. For lunch, they enjoyed the presidents jokes, and moved past his staffers leaked ones.
Pennsylvania voters go to the polls on Tuesday for the first elections since the state redrew its congressional maps to make Democrats more competitive. The Keystone State results will shed light on everything from Democrats chances of retaking the House to whether women can lead them to victory. The three other states that vote on TuesdayIdaho, Oregon, and Nebraskawill have a less dramatic effect on the balance of power, but theyre not without contests worth watching. The gubernatorial GOP primary in Idaho and a congressional Democratic race in Nebraska feature establishment-backed candidates and rivals trying to outflank them.

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Heres what to watch:

Pennsylvania

Republicans have held 13 of the states 18 congressional seats for most of the past decade, but the state Supreme Court reset the field earlier this year when they forced legislators to redraw the states gerrymandered congressional map. Toss in a handful of key GOP departures, and Democrats could realistically gain nearly a quarter of the 23 seats they need this fall to retake the House in Pennsylvania alone. The Cook Political Report is now giving Democrats better-than-even odds of winning three open GOP seats, even odds of taking down two Republican incumbents, and an outside chance of defeating another two GOP congressman along the way. Whether that comes to pass will depend in large part on who gets nominated on Tuesday.

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The Democrats three best pick-up opportunities are in districts that would have gone for Hillary Clinton if they had existed two years ago. In the new 7th District, where GOP Rep. Charlie Dent would have run if he had not retired this year, Democrats are deciding between Susan Wild, an EMILYs List-endorsed former city solicitor; Greg Edwards, a Bernie Sanders-backed pastor; and John Morganelli, a well-known local district attorney who has angered progressives with his anti-abortion views and some kind words he once said about Trump.

In the new 6th District, where GOP Rep. Ryan Costello isnt seeking re-election, Democrats are thrilled to have an Air Force veteran Chrissy Houlahan, running unopposed on Tuesday.

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And in the new 5th District, where GOP Rep. Patrick Meehan resigned in the face of an ethics probe into his affection for a former staffer, there are ten Democrats battling it out in a race that no one seems to have any idea who will win. The race could be a test case for those hoping the historic surge of female candidates this year results in similarly historic gender gains in Congress.

Tuesday also marks a second chance for Republican Rick Saccone who lost a high-profile special election to Democrat Conor Lamb in Marcha loss that national Republicans were quick to blame on Saccones failings as a candidate. But that was before the new districts took shape, and Saccone is now running in the GOP primary in the new 14th district, which theoretically favors the GOP, but so did the last one. (Lamb is running unopposed on Tuesday in the new 17th district, which is far less conservative than the one that he won in earlier this year.)

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Republicans voters will also pick a Senate nominee to challenge Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in a general-election race that isnt yet considered competitive. GOP Rep. Lou Barletta, who has been endorsed by Trump, is expected to win that nomination easily over state Rep. Jim Christiana.

Nebraska

In the Cornhusker State, the main event is in the states 2nd District, where Democrat Brad Ashford, a former congressman, is trying to reclaim his old seat. Ashford lost to Republican Don Bacon two years ago by a single percentage point, and national Democrats are eager to see him reclaim it. But Ashord is being challenged in the primary by non-profit exec Kara Eastman, who has the support of progressive groups, and is running hard to his left, calling for Medicare For All and a full repeal of the GOP tax law. Still, despite having all the ingredients for a nasty intra-party fight, this one has remained mostly civil, and Ashfords name recognition makes him the favorite.

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Theres not much suspense elsewhere in the state. The gubernatorial front-runnersRepublican Gov. Pete Ricketts and Republican-turned-Democrat state Sen. Bob Kristare expected to sail to their nominations, as is GOP Sen. Deb Fischer and her likely Democratic challenger, Jane Raybould, a city councilwoman and an executive at her familys statewide chain of grocery stores. Rickets and Fischer will head into the general as the clear favorites, though Raybould could make things interesting in the Senate race if the GOP takes the seat for granted.

Idaho

The Gem State does not have a Senate race this year, and neither of its two congressional contests is expected to be competitive. Instead, all eyes will be on the race to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Butch Otter in a state that hasnt had a Democrat in the governors mansion since 1995.

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The GOP primary involves a trio of familiar conservative archetypes, each of whom appears to have a legitimate chance at the nomination: Rep. Raul Labrador, who co-founded the House Freedom Caucus, is an anti-immigration hardliner and the most conservative candidate in the race. Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who bills himself as the pro-business pragmatist, has the backing of the states Republican establishment. And Tommy Ahlquist, a doctor-turned-developer who is using his own money to fund his campaign, has laid claim to the outsider lane. (Notably, none of three voted for Trump in the GOP primary two years ago, but all three are now singing the presidents praises.) The state is in the midst of a population boom and the results should provide a helpful snapshot of how the political climate isor isntchanging in the dark red state.

Oregon

In Oregon, all five congressional incumbents are expected to win another term easily, and neither senator is on the ballot this time around. The most exciting race is the historically crowded Republican primary for governor, where state Rep. Knute Buehler has yet to pull away. But it might not matter. Gov. Kate Brown is effectively running unopposed for the Democratic nomination, and the state hasnt sent a Republican in the governors mansion in 30 years, a fact thats unlikely to change even with the states current budget problems.
Why is the anti-PC right surgingif not in numbers, then in cultural and political prominence? Last week, New York Times opinion editor and writer Bari Weiss glorified a handful of writers and personalities that form an Intellectual Dark Web, which she grandiosely described as an alliance of heretics that feels opposed toand attacked byan increasingly hostile left. One such freethinker is YouTube phenom and psychology professor Jordan Peterson, who calls the idea of white privilege absolutely reprehensible and preaches that feminists have an unconscious wish for brutal male domination. Another of Weiss political apostates, Christina Hoff Sommers, bemoans how feminism has made it a bad time to be a boy in America.

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Who made these people? On Friday, Michelle Goldberg, a liberal columnist for the Times opinion section and a former Slate columnist, wrote a response to Weiss piece that blames, at least in part, the sanctimony and censoriousness of the social justice internet for the rightward conversion of alt-righters and the knee-jerk iconoclasm of the Intellectual Dark Web. (As far as I can tell, the social justice internet refers to social media users who decry instances of various -isms, as well as the writers of thinkpieces that attempt to explain and contextualize why the latest social or political affront feels so charged.) Goldbergs piece was followed on Saturday in the Times by a cruder version of the same warning from the rightan argument from University of Virginia political scientist Gerard Alexander that liberal rage repels, and possibly creates, conservatives. In both columns, the chorus of voices on the web that calls for equality is declared either a perceived or actual hegemonyas Goldberg puts it, a machine for producing red pills that has given reactionary worldviews a whiff of liberation and transgression. An answer to this cycle, Goldberg cautions and Alexander prescribes, is for those who see instances of injustice to mute themselves, if strategically, so as not to antagonize conservatives with their thoughts and feelings. Shame is a politically volatile emotion, and easily turns into toxic resentment, Goldberg writes. It should not be overused. Similarly, Alexander advises that the word racist should be applied firmly and carefully.

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Ive encountered this stance before, the impulse to save the R-word for the stuff that really matters. An Asian-American woman, I was once called exotic by an older white man at a wedding where I only knew three other people. It was annoying, but microaggressions like this are enough a part of my life that I wasnt too bothered by the blunders of a stranger. But when I tried to convince an older white couple I know quite well that the word exotic, as applied to people who look like me, was racist, I couldnt get a word in edgewise. He was just being nice, I was told. Its a compliment. Its taken me some time to realize that racism, for them, is an exceptional event, like a thunderstorm, and so this didnt count. But for me, racism is the weather. A thunderstorm is more striking, yes. But its just a more extreme version of what I generally see around me.

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The social justice internet expresses the frustration and anger of millions of people like me who see injustice as part of the fabric of society, rather than an isolated aberration. We complain, but we also plead: Try seeing what racism looks like from our end, in all its variations and relentlessness. (As a straight, middle-class, educated Asian American, I readily allow that I do not bear the brunt of racism in this country.) Technology, particularly social media, has allowed people of color, women, queer people, disabled people, and other traditionally marginalized groupsmany of whom have been shut out of mainstream media for decades, and many of whom are constrained today by the financial difficulties of writing for a livingto have a voice, to illustrate to others what the world looks like through our eyes.

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These are largely grassroots activists and everyday people who are finally able to publish and share their opinions without the mediation of a white, wealthy media writing for a white, middle-class audience. Its especially heartbreaking when Goldberg faults the online culture of the new identity politics typified by platforms like Tumblr, because much of that culture is created and enjoyed by young people attempting to discover who they are and document what they sense to be unjust. Online life creates an illusion of left-wing excess and hegemony that barely exists in the real world, writes Goldberg. In this regard, shes correct: Those who endeavor to advance social conversations and political ideas online generally dont have much power in the real world. That includes the media and the internet. People tend to customize and consume the perspectives they want to hear, which means there are many communities where Breitbart, for example, is a primary news source. Goldbergs Twitter timeline may be full of social-justice voices, but its myopic to assume that thatd be the case for most users in the country. The most progressive commentary that some Fox News viewers get is a distorted, dishonest, and/or disingenuous articulation of liberal thought, the same kind that powers the countless meme accounts and Daily Caller articles. Blaming the original thinkers of those thoughts is like blaming the face in a funhouse mirror for causing a frightand not the mirror itself.

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Its disappointing that a progressive like Goldberg is essentially advising members of groups with the least power to refrain from speaking out as much as possible. Worse still, she warns the left that it could be responsible for the rights behavior, as if we dont hear the look what you made me do excuse from enough malefactorsas if its the cacophony of the left that made people decide to embrace outright hate or tribalism and not the impulses and prejudices they already carry.

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I dont know how to persuade alt-right converts or their more fanciful intellectual counterparts that their cheap thrills of ideological transgression are based on cobwebbed notions of hierarchy and repressionor that those are things to move away from, not toward. Im inclined to think that their valorization of inequality is a human-condition problem, as well as a political one. But accommodating conservative-leaning users prejudicesand thus depriving ourselves of our self-expression and resulting social connections and emotional catharsisisnt the answer, either.

Its a cruel twist that marginalized progressives finally gaining broad platforms through which they can point out the many ways that theyve been dealt a socioeconomically bad hand has led to so many in the conservative demo (whites, straight men, evangelical Christians) to believe that theyre the true victims and underdogs. But to suggest that historically disadvantaged groups should express themselves less wouldnt lead to more understanding on the right. Itd just help them realize their goals.
Robert Gilpin, R.I.P. - The Washington Post : His greatest book was written in 1981, but the main theory in it is perhaps more trenchant now...
Kiska leaves as the most trusted politician

His political opponents never gave him a break from attacks. These are the notable moments of Andrej Kiska in politics.

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He entered the 2014 presidential campaign as a relatively unknown philanthropist and businessman. After the tough pre-election fight and four years in office there is hardly anything left that the public does not know about him.

In his four years in office President Andrej Kiska became the most trusted politician in the long run, leaving even the former prime minister Robert Fico behind in opinion polls. Kiska maintained public trust also after the recent political crisis triggered by the murder of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova, but in the March 2018 poll of the Focus polling agency for the first time he saw more people saying that they did not trust him than those who trusted him.

On Tuesday he finally announced that he was not going to run in the presidential elections next year.

These are the notable moments of Andrej Kiska in politics.

1. Scientologist and usurer

Kiskas entry into politics was a turbulent one, mostly due to the peak election campaign in which he faced Robert Fico. The then prime minister labelled Kiska a scientologist and usurer, pointing to Kiskas past business activities.

15. May 2018 at 16:39 | Peter Kovac
Protest planned for the birthday of murdered journalist postponed

Several civic initiatives calling for early elections have organised another protest, which was originally to take place in Namestie Slobody Square on May 17 but was postponed to May 25 and mvoed to SNP Square.

On Thursday, May 17, another protest was planned in the streets of Bratislava, this time acknowledging the birthday of investigative reporter Jan Kuciak who was killed in late February together with his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, the Tyzden weekly wrote on its website, citing the organisers.

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Read also: Five things that the murders of Jan Kuciak and Martina Kusnirova have changed Read more

The initiatives Hnevam Sa (I Am Angry), V Teniskach (In Trainers), Za Slovensko (For Slovakia), Teraz (Now), and Nedoverujem (I Do Not Trust), which are also collecting petition signatures for early elections, are organising the protest which originally was to take place on the day Kuciak would have turned 28, at 17:00 at the Namestie Slobody Square, close to the Government Office.

Several months after the murder of Jan Kuciak and his fiancee, Martina Kusnirova, were killed in February, the murder investigation and the investigation of scandals Kuciak reported on has not progressed, initiatives representatives stated in their memo.

Read also:

Read also: People across Slovakia were calling for elections Read more

They also want to remind MPs that the only solution for Slovakia is an early election which deputies are slated to discuss in a few days.

Thus, this protest was meant to call, again, for early elections. The country-wide collection of signatures calling for a referendum on early elections involves representatives of the civic initiatives (Renata Papcunova-Za Slovensko, Matej Hloznik-Hnevam Sa, V Teniskach initiative, Jaroslav Brada-Teraz initiative, and Tomas Malik-Nedoverujem initiative).

Read also:

Read also: Bratislava Friday protest smaller but still full of criticism Read more

UPDATE: However, the protest planned for May 17 has been postponed to Friday, May 25, one of the orgainising initiatives informed the TASR newswire. The site of the protest has also been changed from Namestie Slobody Square to the SNP Square. The protest will start at 17:00.

We have agreed with the For Decent Slovakia (Za Slusne Slovensko) initiative they will make the square which is already a traditional meeting spot free for us, Matej Hloznik of the #hnevamsa initiative said. We do care that as many people as possible come to the protest, he explained the motive behind the change. Hloznik also noted that the demand for early elections will continue at this protest.

This article was first published on May 15, 2018.

17. May 2018 at 13:00 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Visit a unique island on the Orava Dam

A popular exhibition of local naive art from nearby villages is accessible only by boat from the Orava Dam.

More information about travelling in Slovakia

Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide

The Orava Gallery in Dolny Kubin has opened its 45th season at the Slanica Art Island (Slanicky Ostrov Umenia) at the Orava Dam.

Visitors can see the permanent exhibition of traditional folk art, which includes polychrome wooden and stone statues, and reverse glass paintings dating back to the 18th to 20th centuries, the SITA newswire wrote.

Slanica, a small gallery ship, will sail to the island from the harbour in Slanicka Osada. The boat cruise, including the tour of the island and the outdoor naive art collection and the indoor gallery tour, lasts for about 90 minutes.

The boat which brings visitors to the Slanica Island on the Orava Dam (Source: TASR)

Longer cruise or shorter boat trip

We are already receiving orders for a sightseeing cruise around the Orava Dam that includes a tour of the unique Slanica Art Island, head of the Orava Gallery in Dolny Kubin (which manages the art island), Eva Luptakova, told the TASR newswire. The cruise, which sails around the dam with an impressive view of the nearby mountains dominated by Babia Hora and the Orava part of Western Tatras-Rohace, includes a 30-minute break at the island with a tour of folk art from the deposits of the Orava Gallery, she added. A shorter boat trip directly to the island is also possible.

Read also:

Read also: Slovak art dabbles in diversity (Spectacular Slovakia - travel guide) Read more

Where has the art come from?

The island in the middle of the Orava Dam is a remnant of the original landscape that was flooded when the dam was built. The outdoor exposition represents original tombstones decorated with the art of local inhabitants.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/sRmQLJAwOYA

The hill with a church and a calvary used to be the dominant feature of the village of Slanica, which was flooded in 1953 along with four other villages. The church interior includes an exposition of traditional sculpting art and paintings. In front of it stands a monument commemorating Anton Bernolak, a Slanica native who first made the unified Slovak language official (using western dialect).

Within the Musical Summer project, classical music concerts will take place at the island during the summer season, TASR wrote.

The ship will be in operation until September 23.

During high tourist season, the exposition at the Slanicky Art Island is seen by tens of thousands of visitors every year.

15. May 2018 at 21:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Amnesty International: Stop arms deliveries to Israel

More than one-quarter of Slovak exports went to Israel last year, the organisation claimed.

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Amnesty International Slovakia has joined the call to stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel, turning the request to the Slovak economy minister.

There is a persisting risk that the weapons and defence industry products could have been used for serious violation of the international humanitarian law and human rights-related laws, as the organisation informed in a press release.

It is disturbing that more than one-quarter of Slovak exports went to Israel last year, said Kamila Gunisova, head of Amnesty International Slovakias office.

Responding to reports that dozens of Palestinians have been killed and hundreds injured by the Israeli military during protests along the fence that separates Gaza and Israel today, Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, said that this is another horrific example of the Israeli military using excessive force and live ammunition in a totally deplorable way.

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This is a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be willful killings constituting war crimes, Luther added, as quoted in the press release.

Amnesty International called on the international community to stop the delivery of arms and military equipment to Israel, he continued.

The rising toll of deaths and injuries today only serves to highlight the urgent need for an arms embargo, Luther said. While some protestors may have engaged in some form of violence, this still does not justify the use of live ammunition.

As he reminded, under international law, firearms can only be used to protect against an imminent threat of death or serious injury.

Early medical reports from Gaza indicate that dozens of people have been shot in the head or chest. Amnesty International documented research from the Gaza Strip last month that showed the Israeli military were killing and maiming demonstrators who pose no imminent threat to them, as it informed in the press release.

15. May 2018 at 22:13 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Vadala escorted to Italy

The Italian entrepreneur is prosecuted there for drug-related crimes.

Italian entrepreneur living in eastern Slovakia, Antonino Vadala, left for Italy on May 15 from Vienna, escorted by two police officers, the Noviny.sk website reported.

Vadala was extradited to Italy based on an international arrest warrant issued by the Venice court. He is accused in Italy of drug-related crimes.

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Read also: Slovakia to extradite Vadala to Italy for prosecution Read more

Vadala arrived in the Schwechat airport in the morning, with Slovak police officers handing him to their Austrian colleagues. They later transported him to the airport where he waited for the flight in a prison cell, Noviny.sk wrote.

Apart from the Italian charges, Vadala is also prosecuted in Slovakia. He is accused of subvention fraud and harming the interests of the European Communities. Back in 2009, he allegedly wanted the Agricultural Paying Agency to pay him a subsidy of nearly 120,000, according to Noviny.sk.

15. May 2018 at 22:16 | Compiled by Spectator staff
KAZ Minerals PLC, together with its subsidiaries, engages in mining and processing copper and other metals primarily in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan. It operates through Bozshakol, Aktogay, East Region and Bozymchak, and Mining Projects segments. The company operates the Aktogay and Bozshakol open pit copper mines in the east region and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan; three underground mines in the east region of Kazakhstan; and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan. It also develops greenfield metal deposits; operates Koksay deposit in Kazakhstan, and the Baimskaya licence area in the Chukotka region of Russia; and produces and sells various by-products, such as gold, silver, molybdenum, and zinc. In addition, the company supplies and distributes heat, water, and electricity; and offers construction, project management, financing, management, sales and logistics, and repairs and maintenance services. The company was formerly known as Kazakhmys PLC and changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC in October 2014. KAZ Minerals PLC was founded in 1930 and is based in London, the United Kingdom.

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Luxembourg's prime minister posted a strong message to social media on Tuesday morning.

Xavier Bettel is today celebrating the third anniversary of his marriage and, for the occasion, he has decided to send out a message which says something about him.

"In over 70 countries, I wouldn't be able to celebrate my third wedding anniversary today because I would be in jail or even worse," Bettel has tweeted.

In over 70 countries I wouldnt be able to celebrate my third wedding anniversary today because I would be in jail or even worse. XB #EqualRights pic.twitter.com/MjYn4lwkTX  Xavier Bettel (@Xavier_Bettel) May 15, 2018

The politician also added the EqualRights hashtag and makes explicit reference to the legalisation of gay marriage in some countries but not in others.
Most Southeast Asian markets climbed on Monday with Malaysia ending higher as trading resumed after the stunning defeat of a coalition that ruled the country for over six decades, while Vietnam rose more than 2 percent led by real estate stocks.

Malaysia's newly elected administration, led by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, had promised to scrap toll fees, reinstate fuel subsidies and raise minimum wages, and most importantly, to abolish the deeply unpopular goods and service tax within its first 100 days.

"The repeal of GST, while only marginally negative for the fiscal deficit, will be a boon for consumers, who have been upset that they bear the burden of poor fiscal management and came out to vote against the establishment," said Trinh Nguyen, senior economist at Natixis.

Consumer stocks gained, with Genting Bhd and Nestle each ending over 4 percent higher, while the index firmed up 0.2 percent in its heaviest day of trading since late November 2017.

The biggest losers on the main board were AirAsia Group Bhd and CIMB Group Holdings Bhd, down over 5 percent each. Air Asia Chief, Tony Fernandes, on Monday apologised for endorsing former Prime Minister Najib Razak in the election.

Mahathir announced three top cabinet posts on Saturday, including Lim Guan Eng, a former banker and chartered accountant, as finance minister.

"This is expected to underscore market confidence given Lim, a trained accountant, has a track record boosting Penang's economy with investor-friendly policies," Mizuho Bank analysts said in a note.

In other markets, Indonesia slipped 0.2 percent on worries over continued capital outflows from Southeast Asia's biggest economy. Officials on Friday tried to calm investors concerned over a weak domestic currency.

Vietnam stocks rose 2.1 percent, their biggest intraday gain in one week. Real estate stocks buoyed the market, with Vingroup Joint Stock Co ending 6.5 percent higher.

Philippines was closed for a public holiday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
SEOUL -- North Korea and South Korea agreed on Tuesday to hold high-level inter-Korea talks on May 16 to discuss steps needed to uphold the pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, South Koreas Unification Ministry said.

The meeting will discuss specific plans needed to carry out the April 27 inter-Korea summit declaration, which includes pledges to finally end a seven-decade war this year, and pursue complete denuclearization.

The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on May 16 in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss implementation of Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, the Unification Ministry said in a statement.

The meeting would be the latest in a series of actions taken by North Korea that have spurred hopes that the seven-decade conflict on the Korean Peninsula may be coming to an end.

North Korea has scheduled the dismantlement of its nuclear bomb test site for sometime between May 23-25 in order to uphold its pledge to discontinue nuclear tests, the countrys state media reported on Saturday, a month ahead of a planned North Korea-U.S. summit in Singapore.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will meet on June 12, a scenario that seemed improbable given the insults and threats exchanged between the two leaders in the past year.

Wednesdays inter-Korea talks will see North Korea send a 29-member delegation led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country. Also in the delegation will be Kim Yun-hyok, vice minister of Railways, and Won Kil-U, vice minister of Physical Culture and Sports.

From South Korea, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will led a team of five.
A Vietnamese undergraduate has won an award from the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), thanks to her superb design project, which stems from the love for her homeland and its countrysides peaceful vibes.

Tran Thach Thao, 23, started doing her undergrad program at the Georgia-based Savannah College of Art and Design, majoring in interior design, after graduating from Hanoi  Amsterdam, a prestigious high school for gifted students in the Vietnamese capital.

With the Vietnamese countryside and its harmonious ambience always holding a special place in her heart, Thao decided to participate in the 2018 ASID Design Excellence Awards with a design dedicated to bamboo trees, a symbolic image unique to northern Vietnamese villages in the good old days.

The project, Gen2Gen Town, referring to generation to generation, seeks to build a community center that combines nursing homes and kindergartens, so the elderly and preschool children can interact with one another.

This promotes a sense of continuity and sharing between generations, Thao said.

The concept takes after the image of old bamboo trees providing nutrition for their new sprouts by softening the soil and enriching it with nutrients as they wither away.

Thaos design endorses interaction and sharing of life experience between the elderly and their grandchildren, which in turn helps create precious memories and invaluable cultural values.

This brought her a prize in the Student Award Categories at the contest last month.

Tran Thach Thao holds the project sketch in this supplied photo.

Thao said the Vietnamese name of the project is Cot Village, a craft village just outside Hanoi where people make household products from woven bamboo.

It is where I grew up with my grandparents, learning a lot about not just my surroundings, but also how to grow into a proper human being, she said, explaining why she chose bamboo as the main theme for her contest entry.

I have my grandparents to thank, as they were the ones to shape how I am today.

She added that urbanization has taken its toll upon the family relationship, with the elderly at the receiving end.

Driven all day round, burdened with financial struggles, the youth can no longer cater to their frail ageing parents like before, both mentally and physically.

This has no doubt brought about a generation gap, she said.

Children today could not carry on traditions left by their predecessors, simply because there was no chemistry between them.

I therefore surmise my project can serve as a medium, helping bond generations together to somehow solve the dilemma.

The recreation area in Gen2Gen Town where the elderly and children can share. Photo courtesy of Tran Thach Thao

Gen2Gen Town  a prospect of progress

More than a mere sketch, Gen2Gen Town is a highly concentrated cluster of residences and facilities dedicated to the elderly, as well as children aged three to five.

The cluster is said to develop interaction and experience sharing between the generations.

But to come up with such extraordinary ideas was in itself a grueling process.

According to Thao, there were days when she had to pull consecutive all-nighters, only to yield some wrongly calculated data, or erase the whole procedure by error.

There was a time when I thought about giving up, she reminisced.

But knowing my work could affect the likelihood of many people, I just went on.

A cafeteria and shopping center complex in Gen2Gen Town. Photo courtesy of Tran Thach Thao

She later joined various time management classes, as well as soft skill courses to further refine herself to complete the project.

Thao also makes sure to amass experience well before returning to Vietnam to truly put Gen2Gen into practice.

I really hope my project amounts to something in my homeland, she exclaimed.

The living room in Gen2Gen Town. Photo courtesy of Tran Thach Thao

The outdoor area in Gen2Gen Town. Photo courtesy of Tran Thach Thao
A tea room in Ho Chi Minh City has introduced a new approach that encourages customers to talk and share their feelings with each other, while staying free of prejudice and contempt, by deliberately blocking out the light.

Le My and Linh Chi, both graduates from the city-based University of Social Sciences and Humanities, opened TatDen, literally known as Turning off the Light, on Chau Thoi Street in District 10 from an idea that flashed in their minds two years ago.

According to the two founders, the notion of shutting out the light should be inferred literally and figuratively.

The ellipsis [...] is intentionally put in the name as it indicates a transition, from darkness to light, and from unspoken problems to relieved resolutions, they said.

At TatDen, where all lights are turned off on purpose, guests are invited to talk to one another, with the sweet melody of the background music and the aromatic fragrance of tea and cakes expected to help spur their communication, thus unlocking their inner selves to others.

Linh Chi believes that when the light is on, people may find it hard to express themselves freely, due to prejudice of social status and various preconceptions.

The best way to prevent such physical aspects from negatively affecting the conversations is not letting them in in the first place, which means shutting out the light, Le My said.

Upon arrival at Tat...Den, customers will be blindfolded and then led to a small table for two or more.

There, they will share it with another customer that meet the requirements they provided ahead via online booking or by telephone.

After some pleasantries are traded, they will be involved in some icebreaker activities, while remaining blindfolded, such as drawing games or rolling the dice.

Two customers participate in an icebreaker game at the TatDen tea room in Ho Chi Minh City in this supplied photo.

When the atmosphere is right, the light shall go out, the blindfold is removed, and the talk can truly begin.

On its opening night, TatDen invited guests who were also alumni of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and put the topic Before I graduate up for discussion in darkness.

The topic served as a token of appreciation for fond memories and good times [at the university], the founders said.

Many found the experience truly exhilarating, yet thrilling at the same time.

One customer, Ai Linh, said whenever they are pushed into a corner, people have a tendency to vent it out to relatives or trusted friends.

Linh thus found the idea of sharing with strangers in darkness a whole new world to [her]."

Never has I known that sharing with total strangers could yield a similar alleviating effect, she said.

The huge plus, she added, is that the activity is civilized at heart, and all customers' private information is secure and well-protected.

The core value of TatDen lies in the fact that we can share and express what we really mean about anything, instead of merely dishing out judges to others based on their outward appearance and status, she remarked.

Another customer, Pham Nhu, said the most interesting part of the lights-out tea room is the fact that the conversation is not constrained by social principles.

People talking to each other in this environment, she exclaimed, could strangely feel at ease and can go on and on endlessly, without any care.

After taking part in the activity, she is even more enlightened.

When the light is out, no longer do we rely on our sight to judge. Instead, we focus more on the ambient atmosphere and the conversation itself. It is then that we find a connection on the level of souls, and everything is put on the table, without any unnecessary contempt, Nhu said.
A Vietnamese man has spent multiple years earning a living out of handmade toy figurines, hoping to preserve the traditional creation of such objects for posterity.

Dang Van Tien has with determination followed the job of making to he  toy statuettes typically made of glutinous rice powder in the past  selling the products by traveling to different places from Xuan La, a rural village specializing in the tradition just south of Hanoi.

The 33-year-old and other craftsmen from the village would display their works and demonstrate how to make them in front of live audiences around the tourist attraction of Hoan Kiem Lake, and along the newly opened Trinh Cong Son Pedestrian Street in Tay Ho District, in the capital.

Tien, who was introduced to the art of forming toy figurines by his maternal grandfather, who taught him the skill at the age of 18, has experienced ups and downs with the job.

In 2008, Hanoi administrators began wiping street vendors off the urban face, endangering his sales as he relied on the streets for a living.

Fortunately, he managed to obtain permission from local authorities to alternatively ply his trade at public parks.

Toy figurines usually use glutinous rice powder as the long-standing material, which means children could eat and play with them.

But Tien said the problem is that the statuettes left from the sales became rotten only within two or three days, while a deft craftsman can produce 100 to 150 toy figurines daily.

By experimenting with various alternative materials, he has found a secret powder able to retain its quality for a year.

Other figurine makers in his village placed multiple orders for the new mixture from him.

Tien has nurtured the ambition of preserving and developing the traditional toy figurine making techniques of his village.

The desire has motivated him to join festivals and fairs held by the government.

I told the authorities my wish to keep the villages toy figurine making alive, and they gave me a priority, inviting me to provinces like Bac Giang, Hai Duong, and Phu Tho, and [the city of] Hue [for public events], Tien said.

As Im still young, I have to find new business links to have a stable income and advertise the toy figurine making.

The man won a number of awards for his skillfulness from domestic competitions for craftsmen nationwide.

Also for the same purpose, he recently hired college students to create toy statuettes on Trinh Cong Son Pedestrian Street, which was inaugurated in Hanoi last weekend, in the hope of making the objects more popular.

He learned from children, his target customers, to increase his figurine repertoire.

What I remember most is when a little girl asked me to fashion Ironman without giving me any picture of the character, Tien recalled.

I then made a thing that fitted her description. After Im finished, she brought the Ironman to her mother happily. So I just learn how to make attractive Ironman figurines after taking an order from a kid.

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HANOI -- Vietnams highest-ranking official jailed in decades lost his bid on Monday to set aside a 13-year sentence for financial irregularities when he was chairman of state energy firm Petrovietnam, his lawyer said.

A court in the country upheld the sentence for former Politburo member Dinh La Thang, 57, who was arrested and tried in a crackdown on graft, mismanagement and nepotism that felled many high-profile officials.

The Hanoi Peoples High Court rejected an appeal by Thang against a January trial verdict that held him guilty of economic mismanagement at a coal-fired power plant overseen by PetroVietnam.

I am very disappointed with the result of the trial because they didnt look carefully into all the details I presented, the lawyer, Dao Huu Dang, told Reuters by telephone.

State media this month blamed losses of 120 billion dong ($5.3 million) on Thang, saying he illegally assigned an incompetent subsidiary of the company to build the plant, instead of finding a competent contractor by a tender process.

In a separate case in March, Thang received an 18-year jail term on the same charges of deliberate violation of state regulations on economic management.

At that trial, Thang was prosecuted over losses of up to 800 billion dong, or $35 million, in a PetroVietnam investment in Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank, forcibly taken over in 2015 by the State Bank of Vietnam after it suffered heavy losses.

Thang will also appeal against the 18-year term, his lawyer said. If that term is also upheld, the sentences will run successively for a total of 31 years in prison.

Another PetroVietnam official, Trinh Xuan Thanh, withdrew an appeal against the life sentence he received in the same case at the January trial, his lawyer said.
Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested two prime suspects who killed and injured five street knights on Sunday night.

Officers from the municipal Department of Police on Monday apprehended Nguyen Tan Tai, 24, and Nguyen Hoang Chau Phu, 24, for allegedly stabbing to death two members of an unofficial street guardian group and wounded three others.

Investigators first summoned Phu on Monday afternoon and later discovered his connections with Tai.

Dozens of officers arrived at a house in Go Vap District on Monday night to arrest Tai, who attempted to escape but was eventually captured.

At the police station, the two suspects admitted to attacking the street knights with their knives.

Nguyen Tan Tai is held at the police station in this photo supplied by officers.

According to the case file, two motorbike thieves were trying to steal an Honda SH scooter in front of a house on Cach Mang Thang 8 Street in District 3 on Sunday night when they were detected by a team of seven street guardians.

After being besieged by the street knights, the criminals took out their weapons to aggressively fight back, inflicting serious injuries on five of the street knights, who were later admitted to the hospital for emergency treatment.

As they are not recognized as authorized law enforcement officers, all street guardians are not allowed to be armed for their own protection.

Nguyen Hoang Nam, 29, a Ho Chi Minh City resident, and 42-year-old Nguyen Van Thoi, hailing from the south-central province of Binh Dinh, succumbed to their stab wounds.

The son of Nguyen Van Thoi holds his portrait as the family takes his body to the south-central province of Binh Dinh for a funeral. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Tran Van Hoang, 47, Nguyen Duc Huy, 22, and Dinh Phu Quy, 22, are still being intensively treated at the hospital.

On Monday afternoon, Thois body was handed to his wife, son, and older brother to prepare for funeral rituals in his hometown.

Thoi was renting a house in Tan Binh District and working as a motorbike taxi driver. He had been a member of the guardian group for nearly seven years.

Nams mother and fiancee also received his body on the same day.

He was a truck driver by day and a street knight by night, having been in the team for the past three years.

Secretary of the municipal Party Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan and a delegation of officials have visited the injured street knights at the hospital.

Nguyen Hoang Nams fiancee sits by his coffin on May 14, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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An investigation has revealed that the truck which caused a fatal traffic accident in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Monday was overloaded and running at very high speed prior to the crash.

The National Committee for Traffic Safety and the provincial Peoples Committee on Monday afternoon convened a working session regarding the serious accident that killed five people and injured two others on the morning of the same day.

The crash happened at around 8:20 am along the section of National Highway 20 in Duc Trong District, some 25km from the provincial resort city of Da Lat.

During the meeting, Truong Huu Hiep, director of the Lam Dong Department of Transport, stated that the fertilizer-carrying truck was overloaded and violated speed limit, resulting in the collision.

Information from the black box of the vehicle showed that the truck, driven by 28-year-old Tran Trong Tinh, was traveling at 73km per hour before hitting the first motorcycle, Hiep said.

Two people on the motorbike were seriously wounded.

Tinh continued driving and sped up to the velocity of 97km an hour, although the speed limit of the road is only 50km per hour.

The vehicle traveled for a 1.5 kilometer long distance before losing control and turning on its side, but inertia caused it to slide along the street and crash into four cars and three motorbikes.

The accident claimed five lives, including Tinhs.

Hiep added that the truck was carrying 19 metric tons of fertilizer, while the maximum weight allowed on the street is 14 metric tons.

The provincial Department of Police has initiated legal procedures regarding the case and is reviewing the responsibility of relevant individuals, including Nguyen Thi Bich Dao, the owner of the truck.

According to Pham Thi Bach Yen, director of the Lam Dong Department of Health, initial examinations showed that Tinh tested negative for drugs and alcohol.

Further investigation is ongoing.

The provincial administration has provided VND2 million (US$88) in support for each injured resident and VND5 million ($220) for each family of the deceased.

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Authorities in the south-central Vietnamese province of Khanh Hoa will seek directives from the Ministry of Public Security on how to deal with a group of Chinese tourists who wore T-shirts displaying an invalid nine-dash line map when arriving at the local airport.

Senior Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Van Quan, chief of the police unit at Cam Ranh International Airport, confirmed on Monday evening they were working with the provincial Department of Police to finalize a report of the case.

The complete report will be then submitted to the Ministry of Public Security for further solutions in accordance with the law, Quan added.

According to updates from the police division at the Cam Ranh airport, the group of about 40 Chinese tourists arrived at the airport at 8:30 pm on Sunday.

They were on a tour organized by Aladin Vietnam Travel and Trading Company, based in the beach city of Nha Trang in Khanh Hoa Province.

After the tourists completed immigration procedures at the airdrome and were about to get on a bus to Nha Trang, an employee of Aladin Vietnam discovered about 10 of the Chinese visitors were wearing white T-shirts with the map of China on the back.

All of these maps included the so-called 'nine-dash line,' a cow tongue-shaped imaginary line illegally created by China to claim its sovereignty over about 80 percent of the East Vietnam Sea, including Vietnams Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes.

We asked them to get changed and seized all the T-shirts for submission to relevant authorities, a representative of the travel company said.

We have also compiled a report on the incident and provided the police with the tourists' personal information, he added.

According to Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Xuan Diem, deputy chief of the airports police unit, the Chinese tourists were able to pass security and immigration officers without any trouble because they were wearing jackets at the time.

The illicit maps were only visible after they took off their jackets, Diem elaborated.

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Legal proceedings have been launched against a man in north-central Vietnam who reversed his car on a road and ran over a female senior who died later.

Doan Dinh Son, residing in Vinh, the capital city of Nghe An Province, has been indicted by local police and will be taken into custody for two months for his breaches of traffic regulations, an official from the citys court told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday.

Son, 34, said that on April 30, he ran his vehicle against the traffic flow on Quang Trung Street in Vinh City in order to block the movement of a car driven by his wife, which was heading in the right direction.

With the vehicles facing each other, he argued with the wife before backing his car at high speed for 30 meters along the carriageway.

The vehicle ran over Nguyen Thi Luu, a 60-year-old local, while she was crossing the road on a bicycle after shopping.

The section of the road where Doan Dinh Sons car runs over Nguyen Thi Luu in Nghe An, Vietnam, on April 30, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Luu was taken by Son to the hospital and died subsequently.

Police also brought in the mans wife for investigation.

The incident was recorded in a video that spread on social media later the same day, with viewers denouncing Sons action and demanding strict punishment for him.

Doan Dinh Son reverses his car and hits Nguyen Thi Luu in Nghe An, Vietnam, on April 30, 2018. Video: Tuoi Tre

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US docu-comedy Just Another Immigrant, starring UK comedian Romesh Ranganathan, will debut on Stan in early June.

The 10 part unscripted series follows Romesh Ranganathan, as he uproots his entire family  his supportive wife, their three kids, his Sri Lankan mother and his eccentric uncle  and immigrates to the U.S.

The Showtime produced series will screen in Australia same day as the US.

Displaced in Los Angeles, Ranganathan attempts to find success and happiness, while rebuilding a life from scratch. In addition to his efforts to adapt, he has committed himself to booking a U.S. gig  the 6,000-seat Greek Theater  with only three months to sell it out. The series chronicles the true-life adventures of this modern immigrant family and the obstacles of making it in todays America.

Ranganathan debuted on the British comedy circuit in 2010 and was nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2013 Edinburgh Comedy Awards. Since then Ranganathan has appeared on multiple television shows and is well-known for his performances on Live At The Apollo, Mock The Week, The Royal Variety Show and A League Of Their Own, among others. Ranganathans hit series Asian Provocateur followed his escapades after being sent by his mother to his parents homeland of Sri Lanka in an attempt to connect him with his roots. The series earned the comedian his first BAFTA nomination. In 2016 Ranganathan embarked on his solo tour Irrational and was awarded Ents24 Hardest Working Comedian of the Year.

Just Another Immigrant, from Showtime, is a co-production of Rangabee Productions, JSA Olive Oil and Renegade. Eric Pankowski (Carpool Karaoke), Benjamin Green (Asian Provocateur) and Ranganathan are executive producers, with Green directing. David Garfinkle and Jay Renfroe (Naked and Afraid) also serve as executive producers.

Friday June 8 on Stan with two episodes weekly, same day as the U.S.
ABC is returning Arts Documentaries to Sunday nights, kicking off with The First Monday in May, as cameras go behind the scenes of two of New Yorks premier cultural events.

An unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of New Yorks premier cultural events, The First Monday in May follows the creation of China: Through The Looking Glass, the most attended fashion exhibition in the history of

The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the 2015 Met Gala, the star-studded fundraiser that

celebrates the opening of the exhibition. Acclaimed filmmaker Andrew Rossi (Page One: Inside the New York Times) follows Anna Wintour, Artistic Director of Conde Nast and editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and longtime chair of the Met Gala, and Andrew Bolton, the iconoclastic conceived the groundbreaking show, for eight months as they prepare for an evening they hope will take the worlds of art and fashion by storm.

Documenting one of the most exclusive parties in the world side-by-side with an exhibition that drew more than three-quarters of a million visitors during its four-month run, The First Monday in May is a captivating portrait of the private side of a pair of high-profile public events.

The blockbuster exploration of Chinese-inspired Western fashions provides inspiration for the Met Galas annual collision of haute couture and celebrity, where Hollywood stars including Kate Hudson, George Clooney, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Lawrence, Gong Li, and Lady Gaga rub shoulders with Alicia Keyes, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, Justin Bieber, Michael Bloomberg and contemporary pop icon Rhianna, who brings down the house with a stunning live performance.

The First Monday in May also reignites the debate over whether fashion can and should be viewed as art. Rossi speaks with renowned creators including filmmakers Wong Kar-Wai, Artistic Director of the exhibition, and Baz Luhrmann, as well preeminent fashion designers Karl Lagerfeld, Jean Paul Gaultier, Guo Pei and John Galliano. Thomas P. Campbell, Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Former Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute Harold Koda offer unexpected insights on the relationship between art, craft and commerce.

9:30pm Sunday on ABC.
Warning: Distressing vision

Dateline tonight on SBS reports on Myanmars killing fields, with exclusive footage and interviews on the plight of Rohingya Muslims.

The plight of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people is said to be the worlds fastest growing refugee crisis. Since security forces began a violent campaign in August 2017, up to 700,000 people have fled their homes to travel across the Myanmar border to nearby Bangladesh.

Thousands of civilians, including children, are thought to have been killed. Its a story of systematic discrimination, of state sanctioned violence and ultimately of mass murder.

In this special hour-long episode of Dateline, reporter Evan Williams hears first-hand about brutal killings and attacks on children, and asks whether Myanmars leaders, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, could be held accountable for atrocities against the Rohingya Muslims.

She had gone from a human rights heroine, a beacon of democracy, to a politician catering to the military, wanting the military to support her, explains former U.S Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson.

Aung San Suu Kyi rejects the criticism and says that the military is simply hunting terrorists, but a network of Rohingya activists were secretly filming what was really happening, risking their lives in the process.

Their ground breaking accounts of video evidence of several unknown massacres, provides Dateline with the first proper look at whether the killing of civilians could be genocide.

The UNs Human Rights High Commissioner, Prince Zeid bin Raad Hussein certainly believes that it is and states, It wouldnt surprise me in the least if a court subsequently made a determination that acts of genocide have been perpetrated.

Evan also meets some of the survivors of an attack on the village of Dar Gyi Zar one year before the Rohingya crisis became world news who explain that more than 170 people were killed, with many of the bodies burned.

One villager named Nurul is shown footage and cries when he sees his dead daughter, and 12-month old granddaughter covered in a cloth.

Another villager tells of the sound of screaming children as they were thrown into the fire.

Prince Zeid bin Raad Hussein explains, Even by the standards that we are used to seeing this was absolutely shocking stuff, absolutely shocking and I remember thinking how children were hunted down aged five and six and had their throats slit, well this is ISIS-like stuff.

So, why is nothing being done to stop these acts of violence?

When the UN passed a resolution to send a fact finding mission to Myanmar earlier in 2017, Aung San Suu Kyi refused to give them access, arguing that outside scrutiny would worsen the tensions.

As those tensions escalated, the UNs human rights special envoy Yanghee Lee gained access to the country. She had already spoken out about the need to protect the Rohingya from persecution  causing angry protests by Buddhist nationalists.

Speaking about a meeting with Aung San Suu Kui for the first time, Yanghee Lee explains how she appeared to resist her call for help.

She was becoming very, very defensive and said that these were all made up stories. I said, I just want to ask you that I need more access and I would really like your supporting in getting access, and she looked at me and she said, if you continue the narrative of the UN you know you might not get that access and I stopped and I thought, I couldnt believe my ears and I thought she must be kidding me.

Yanghee Lee was subsequently accused of bias and banned from entering the country.

Tuesday 15 May at 9.30pm on SBS.
The Iranian regime is known to be ruthless and paranoid over the extent in which western nations are involved with potentially trying to topple the regime in Tehran. This has resulted in the hardened Revolutionary Guard making several arrests of Iranian-British nationals, notably Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe in 2016 when she was detained at an airport on her way home to London. The situation was exacerbated when Boris Johnson remarked she was there for journalistic work purposes despite Nazanin being explicit that she was visiting family on holiday.

The British-Iranian charity worker was sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly plotting against the Iranian government, however, she continues to maintain that she is innocent, saying she was on holiday in Iran visiting family.

The Zaghari-Ratcliffe case

The British government, headed by Boris Johnson in this case as he is Foreign Secretary, have been a disaster and the continuous blunders by Mr Johnson could see her 5-year sentence extended. But Richard Ratcliffe says his wife is facing possible new charges, he says that his wife Nazanin rang him at 5.30am on 14th May saying that she is due to face further charges against her. The timing is unsurprising as Boris Johnson is due to meet his Iranian counterpart for talks on the Iran nuclear deal In Brussels and it is suspected that the continued detainment of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe is to put pressure on the UK.

As mentioned above, the plea by Mr Ratcliffe for the Foreign Secretary to bring up the safety of his wife comes as Mr Johnson prepares to meet his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif, in Brussels to discuss how to save the Iran nuclear deal after the US withdrew last week. They plan to meet the French and German foreign ministers and EU high representative Federica Mogherini as well.

Back in November 2017, Iranian state television aired more allegations that could have added an extra 16 years to her jail sentence.

The original 5-year sentence was brought upon her because the Iranian authorities thought she was planning a soft-coup of the Iranian government and the claims then were linked to that with the state television airing a special report on the Zaghari-Ratcliffe case, claiming new evidence had surfaced.

However, this came around when London were considering paying Tehran $530 million debt occurred when the UK pulled out of an arms deal after Iran had paid the money. Boris Johnson did raise the issue in December however, failed to make any progress on the case.

Iran nuclear deal

Previously Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal claiming that it wasnt working and that it wasnt good for the world or the US. However, there was unified global condemnation of the US president over the decision with Boris Johnson making a last-minute plea on Fox & Friends for Mr Trump to remain as part of the nuclear deal. But Trump preferred to seek a different route, siding with Israel over the false claims that Iran have been developing nuclear weapons despite them complying with external inspections and every other demand by western powers, something which Israel havent done themselves.

The move by Trump also came on the back of the Iranian authorities deciding to report foreign trade using the euro rather than the US dollar. But Britain, France and Germany are working to secure measures to protect European countries working in Iran against the danger of US sanctions on Tuesday evening. Ahead of the meeting, Mr Johnson said: "We are going to have a conversation about what we can do to help UK firms and help European firms have confidence that they can still do business.
* Delay raises risk of deal failure, says analyst

* Layoffs pose hurdle to South African approval

* Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Lonmin (LSE: LMI.L - news) , Sibanye fall (Adds Sibanye comment, updates shares)

By Zandi Shabalala

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said it will examine whether a takeover of Lonmin (Berlin: 30318982.BE - news) by South Africa's Sibanye-Stillwater would reduce competition, knocking shares in both mining firms.

Precious metals miner Sibanye-Stillwater made an all-share offer for London-listed Lonmin in December, but the planned 285 million pound ($386 million) deal to create the world's No.2 platinum producer faces several other hurdles.

These include Lonmin's shrinking cash balance, a stronger rand and competition approval in South Africa.

Shares in cash-strapped Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer, had slipped 4 percent in London by 1554 GMT, while Sibanye, the fourth-largest, saw its stock close down 5.3 percent in Johannesburg.

"The longer the delay, the greater the potential for transaction failure, since the likelier it would be that Lonmin would be in net debt," Shore Capital analyst Yuen Low said.

"Even (Taiwan OTC: 6436.TWO - news) supposing the CMA approved the transaction, there could be delays to the transaction," Low said of the deal which is scheduled to close in the second half of the year.

If the deal is blocked it would trigger Lonmin's debt covenants and require the platinum miner to pay $150 million in 20 days after credit waivers were granted by Lonmin's lenders in January, preventing it from defaulting.

Lonmin and Sibanye predict 12,600 Lonmin jobs will be cut in the next three years as expensive production is wound down and layoffs are a central issue for competition approval in South Africa, where unemployment runs at about 28 percent.

However, if the merger were delayed or blocked it could place all Lonmin's 33,000 jobs at risk, Lonmin Chief Executive Ben Magara said on Monday after its results. ($1 = 0.7385 pounds) (Additional reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru and Peter Hobson in London Editing by Dale Hudson and Alexander Smith)
FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past a mural with a PDVSA logo at its gas station in Caracas FILE PHOTO: A worker walks past a mural with a PDVSA logo at its gas station in Caracas, Venezuela August 29, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo

By Marianna Parraga and Jeanne Liendo

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Venezuela's state-run oil firm PDVSA has bought nearly $440 million worth of foreign crude and shipped it directly to Cuba on friendly credit terms - and often at a loss, according to internal company documents reviewed by Reuters.

The shipments are the first documented instances of the OPEC nation buying crude to supply regional allies instead of selling them oil from its own vast reserves.

Venezuela made the discounted deliveries, which have not been previously reported, despite its dire need for foreign currency to bolster its collapsing economy and to import food and medicine amid widespread shortages.

The open-market oil purchases to subsidise one of Venezuela's few remaining allies underscores its increasing global isolation and the disintegration of its energy sector under socialist President Nicolas Maduro.

The purchases came as Venezuela's crude production hit a 33-year low in the first quarter - down 28 percent in 12 months. Its refineries are operating at a third of capacity, and its workers are resigning by the thousands.

(For a graphic on Venezuela's rising oil imports and falling exports, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2wHCTUF )

PDVSA bought the crude for up to $12 per barrel more than it priced the same oil when it shipped to Cuba, according to prices on internal documents reviewed by Reuters. But Cuba may never pay cash for the cargoes because Venezuela has long accepted goods and services from Cuba in return for oil under a pact signed in 2000 by late presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro.

PDVSA, the Venezuela government and the Cuba government did not respond to requests for comment.

Venezuelas government has previously said it only imports oil to blend with its own tar-like crude to improve quality and create an exportable product, or to feed its refinery in Curacao. But hundreds of PDSVA documents examined by Reuters detailing imports and exports, dated from January 2017 to May of this year, show the company is now buying crude at market prices to deliver to allies - in shipments that never pass through Venezuela.

Story continues

The subsidized deliveries are aimed at maintaining political support from Cuba, one of a dwindling group of Venezuela allies, according to diplomats, politicians and PDVSA executives.

"Maduro is giving away everything he can because these countries' backing, especially from Cuba, is all the political support he has left," said a former top Venezuelan government official who declined to be identified.

Caracas has come under increasing international pressure as the United States, the European Union and Canada have sanctioned Venezuela for what they see as Maduro's attempts to cement a dictatorship.

As Venezuela spends on oil imports, it has imported less of everything else its citizens desperately need. Venezuela's spending on non-oil imports plunged from nearly $46 billion in 2011 to $6 billion in 2017, according Venezuela Central Bank data and Ecoanalitica, a Caracas-based economic research organisation.

The oil PDVSA procured for Cuba was Russian Urals crude, the documents show, a variety well-suited for Cuban refineries constructed from Soviet-era equipment.

PDVSA bought the crude from Chinese, Russian and Swiss firms  not for cash, but a pledge that PDVSA would deliver other oil shipments later, the documents show.

That adds to Venezuela's already towering debts of oil to state-owned firms in Russia and China, which together have extended Venezuela's government more than $60 billion in oil-for-loan deals that have propped up its budget amid declining exports and lower oil prices.

"It's nonsense to import oil to keep subsidized exports flowing," said Ecoanalitica President Asdrubal Oliveros.

PETRO-DIPLOMACY

Venezuela's socialist government has long used oil for domestic and international political ends, subsidizing goods and services at home and currying favour across the region with oil deliveries on generous terms.

Venezuela's oil supply arrangements have helped soften international political censure of Maduro's government.

The Organization of American States (OAS), which includes most Western Hemisphere nations, last year took up a motion seeking to pressure Venezuela to hold free elections, liberate political prisoners and declare a humanitarian crisis.

The effort was defeated when 12 countries that have received regular oil shipments from Venezuela in recent years - about a third of the OAS membership - opposed it or refused to vote. Eventually, the OAS passed a watered-down motion urging free and fair elections.

Venezuela has avoided formal OAS condemnation "thanks to the support of the bloc of Caribbean nations that have benefited from its subsidized oil and development programs for years," said Michael Fitzpatrick, deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, said on April 30 during a talk at the Atlantic Council, a foreign policy think tank in Washington.

Most of those countries are members of Venezuela's Petrocaribe trade pact, launched in 2005, which has granted up to 16 Caribbean and Central American states with oil supplies on favourable terms.

OAS President Luis Almagro declined to comment through press office representative Monica Reyes.

El Salvador's Economy Minister, Luz Estrella Rodriguez, said Petrocaribe and other pacts promoted by Venezuela had played an important role in her country's development.

"Our country is very grateful," she said. "The government of El Salvador, of course, is a friend and an ally of the Venezuelan government."

El Salvador refused to vote last year on the OAS motion to condemn Venezuela.

Venezuela also supplied fuel last year to Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Dominica, the documents show.

In total, members of oil trade pacts with Venezuela last year received at least 103,000 bpd of crude and refined products from PDVSA, the documents show, or about 6 percent of Venezuelas exports.

FALLING OUTPUT, SHRINKING IMPORTS

The falling output of Venezuela's refineries has also left the country increasingly dependent on fuel imports to meet domestic consumption.

The internal PDVSA data reviewed by Reuters shows Venezuela last year purchased some 180,000 barrels per day of foreign crude and refined products from PetroChina, Rosneft, Lukoil, Reliance Industries and other suppliers, 17 percent more than in 2016.

Those companies did not respond to requests for comment.

The purchases totalled more $4 billion, according to PDVSA records.

Last year, total oil-industry purchases, including equipment and services, consumed 45 percent of Venezuela's total import spending, up from 13 percent in 2011, Ecoanalitica data shows. Energy imports totalled $5.4 billion out of $11.9 billion.

The resulting scarcity of food, medicine and employment has caused thousands of citizens to flee Venezuela. The pay of PDVSA workers now can't cover the barest essentials because of the collapse of its currency, the bolivar.

"A worker's salary is not even enough for a box of eggs," said Hector Bertis, a PDVSA worker and union leader. "We go to the bank, and they give us 10,000 bolivars - less than what a transportation fare costs."

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston and Jeanne Liendo in Calgary; additional reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Washington, Paula Rosales in San Salvador and Gary McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Gary McWilliams, Simon Webb and Brian Thevenot)
* Air France (Paris: FR0000031122 - news) -KLM CFO moves up to CEO post

* Anne (Shenzhen: 002235.SZ - news) -Marie Couderc named non exec chairwoman

* Air France-KLM (LSE: 0LN7.L - news) shares down 3.3 pct (Adds KLM response, shares, analyst, outgoing CEO at AGM)

By Cyril Altmeyer and Victoria Bryan

PARIS/BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM installed a triumvirate of executives led by its finance chief to run the strike-hit airline while it searches for a new CEO, following a standoff over staff pay.

Tuesday's move is designed to fill a gap left by the abrupt departure of chief executive Jean-Marc Janaillac after Air France staff earlier this month rejected a pay proposal aimed at ending a series of strikes that have resulted in heavy losses.

In a statement ahead of an annual shareholder meeting, Air France-KLM (Shanghai: 600686.SS - news) said the new three-person executive committee would comprise group Finance Director Frederic Gagey, who would take on the role of chief executive, and the existing heads of the two national brands that merged in 2004: Air France and KLM.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the group dropped after the announcement and were down 3.3 percent at 1344 GMT.

Bernstein analysts said in a note that while the move provides some stability, a formal successor was still required.

"Whoever that person is will face significant challenges throughout the business, from competitive threats in AF KLM's key markets, an emboldened union in France which is likely to ramp up its demands and the lack of a coherent long-term strategy," they wrote.

Air France-KLM also named board member Anne-Marie Couderc as non-executive chairwoman.

"This transitional governance structure is established for the shortest-possible period required to effectively complete the succession process for the roles vacated by Jean-Marc Janaillac," the company said in a statement.

The interim leadership of Europe's second-largest network carrier by revenue will face French unions emboldened by the exit of Janaillac, who announced his resignation on May 4 after putting his job on the line as French staff voted on pay.

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The French government, already locked in a battle over reforms at state railway operator SNCF, has said it will not bail out Air France - where a protracted dispute between management and unions over pay has resulted in 15 days of walkouts this year, costing the group 400 million euros ($479 million).

On Tuesday, an adviser to President Emmanuel Macron said the French government had no plans to reduce its 14.3 percent stake in Air France-KLM, but may not maintain this level forever.

In a sign that the board is ready to hold the line over the labour dispute at Air France, the statement said the French subsidiary's chief executive, Franck Terner, would not have a mandate to take any decisions that would jeopardize the growth strategy already approved by the board.

"The board is aware of the difficulties currently being traversed by Air France and requested to be kept regularly informed of the company's labour situation," it said.

Terner and KLM counterpart Pieter Elbers will remain in their posts and sit inside the top triumvirate alongside Gagey.

"It is important that, throughout the group, we restore the good spirit, cohesion, and stability that we had in the early days of our partnership," Elbers said in a statement.

Speaking at the AGM, outgoing CEO Janaillac said the group had to work on that cohesion, plus improve its profit margins, which are below that of rivals.

"We have to be strong to capture growth in this industry. If we do not grow as fast as rivals, then we will lose ground," Janaillac said on his final day at the company.

(Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer, Victoria Bryan, Editing by Tim Hepher/Richard Lough/Susan Fenton)
Brexit: UK government to host summit on why other countries should join the EU

The British government will host a summit encouraging six European countries to join the EU for the sake of their security, stability and prosperity, months before it is due to sign its own Brexit withdrawal deal with Brussels.

London will in July play host to Western Balkans governments including Serbia and Albania, as well as existing EU member states, to discuss reforms to pave the way to future EU enlargement.

The summit is part of the so-called Berlin Process  a series of meetings aimed at supporting the region towards joining the bloc and described by the European parliaments research arm as bringing a new perspective and impetus to the enlargement process.

Critics said the UK government must have a sense of humour for hosting a conference on EU enlargement and extolling the benefits of accession as Britain itself headed towards the exit door.

The leaders of EU candidate countries Albania, Montenegro, Macedonia, and Serbia will attend, as well as those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo  two states who have both expressed an interest in joining the bloc but have not yet been accepted as candidates.

They will be joined by representatives of the governments of EU countries with an interest in the region such as Austria, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Bulgaria.

Asked about the summit and the UKs position on the Western Balkans membership of the EU, a Foreign Office spokesperson told The Independent: We remain of the view that the EU accession process is important to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans.

We remain of the view that the EU accession process is important to delivering security, stability and prosperity in the Western Balkans

Foreign Office spokesperson

As and when candidate countries have met the requirements for accession in full, it will be for those countries and European Union members at the time to decide on membership.

Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrats Brexit spokesperson and a supporter of the Best for Britain campaign, said: Someone at the Foreign Office must have a sense of humour in organising a conference to promote membership of the EU for the Western Balkan countries. Just as we seem set on leaving the EU, we start advising others to join. Government policy would not look out of place in the theatre of the absurd.

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Mr Brake said of foreign secretary Boris Johnson: This just shows how incompetent Boris is. I wouldnt let him run a bath, let alone the Foreign Office.

The government says the London summit will focus on facilitating political cooperation in the region, strengthening regional security cooperation and increasing economic stability with a view to improving the business environment.

The London meeting will follow a summit in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia scheduled for Thursday in which EU leaders, including Theresa May, discuss the future of the region. European Council president Donald Tusk said that meeting would aim to strengthen connections both with and within the region and boost cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including security and migration.

Last month the European Commission endorsed the formal start of accession talks with Macedonia and Albania, which have been candidates since 2005 and 2014 respectively. In February the commission said Montenegro and Serbia, which have already been in active negotiations since 2012 and 2014, could be EU members by 2025 if talks continued to go to plan.

Britains attitude to other countries joining the European Union appears unchanged since its own decision to leave. In September 2016 Mr Johnson, who campaigned to leave the EU, confirmed Britain would still push for Turkey to join the block  even though Mr Johnsons Vote Leave campaign played on the spectre of Turkish accession to drive the Leave vote. Turkey has technically been a candidate since 1999 but talks have all but ground to a halt.
Beijing has the capability to build even larger warships, the chairman of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation said, as Beijings first home-built aircraft carrier commenced sea trials.

At 6.45 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, the new 65,000 ton warshipwhich is yet to be namedsailed from a shipyard in northeastern Dalian amid heavy fog to launch the first test of its power and propulsion systems.

The Type 001A is said to be an upgrade to the Liaoning, Beijings only operational carrier which went into service in 2012.

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Hu Wenming, chairman of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, told state-owned CCTV that the new warship was a collaboration between the defence industry and hundreds of civilian contractors and researchers. He said that the team now has the expertise to build an even larger warship.

We have already developed a team of experts in the research, design and construction [of aircraft carriers], and their average age is just 36, he said. In the future, if the country wants to develop any type of aircraft carrier, we have the capability to do it.

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Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told South China Morning Post that he believed Beijing will construct even larger carriers in the future.

Even though theres a gap now between the new aircraft carrier and the most advanced one in the world, China will speed up on shipbuilding and narrow the gap we will build a large carrier in the future, Li said.

Li said that the sea trials would have likely tested the ships basic functions, such as propulsion power, but several more tests will be carried out before military trials can commence.

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According to the South China Morning Post, maritime authorities have restricted a large area of water in the Yellow Sea from between Sunday to Friday. It is believed to be where the warship is being trialled.

Although experts have claimed the new carrier will increase the mainland's military might in Asia, its technology is still relatively outdated in comparison to that brandished by the U.S.

"This is, in and of itself, not designed to be some frontal challenge to U.S. power in the Asia Pacific, because it simply isn't in the class of America's aircraft carriers," said Sam Roggeveen, senior fellow at Sydney Lowy Institute.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Above-average rainfall in some of Ivory Coast's southern cocoa-growing regions last week could affect the quality of mid-crop harvests, farmers said on Monday.

The world's top cocoa producer is in the midst of the rainy season, and authorities said they were bracing themselves for heavy downpours on some parts of the southern coast after two people died during a deluge in Abidjan last week.

Farmers in southern regions of Agboville and Aboisso said they feared the showers would damage the April-to-September mid-crop.

"The rains have become strong. If the intensity continues to rise we will lose flowers and small pods, which could reduce harvests at the end of the mid-crop," said Vincent Yavo, who farms near Agboville.

Data collected by Reuters showed that rainfall in the region of Agboville reached 64 millimeters (mm) last week, more than double the 27.7 mm above average.

In the southern region of Aboisso, farmers said the wet weather was making it difficult to dry beans properly.

"If it continues this way or if the level of rain increases we will have a lot of moldy beans," said Etienne Yao, who farms near Aboisso.

Data showed that rainfall in the region of Aboisso, which included Abengourou was at 64.1mm last week, also more than double its average of 30 mm.

But in the western region of Soubre, at the heart of the cocoa belt, farmers said that just above average rainfall would boost the the development of pods to be harvested over the coming months.

"Cocoa continues to come out abundantly and the size of beans here is very good," said Salame Kone, who farms on the outskirts of Soubre.

Data showed that rainfall in Soubre, including San Pedro and Sassandra, reached 36.9 millimeters mm last week, 2 mm above average.

In the centre-western region of Daloa, which produces a quarter of Ivory Coast's national output and where rainfall was also only a little above average, farmers welcomed more rain.

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"Flowers are still blossoming. If we have at least two showers per week there will be a lot of cocoa towards the end of the mid-crop," said Albert N'Zue, who farms near Daloa.

Data showed that rainfall in Daloa region was at 21.8 mm last week, 2.3 mm below average.

Aside the western region of Man, temperatures throughout the country rose above average last week, ranging from 26.3 to 29.4 degrees Celsius.

(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Editing by Sofia Christensen and Tim Cocks)

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A five-year-old girl has been seriously injured after being attacked by a bear outside her home in Colorado.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife said they are investigating and actively tracking the bear following the attack which occurred in East Orchard Mesa, Grand Junction.

The childs mother told CPW that she heard screaming at around 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning (May 13) and went out to investigate.

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When she got outside, she saw a bear dragging her five-year-old daughter. The bear eventually dropped the girl after the mother began screaming at it.

According to the mother, the five-year-old had gone outside after hearing noises in the yard which she thought may have been her dog. The girl is recovering at St. Marys Medical Center in Grand Junction.

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MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images

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Authorities have begun setting up bear traps around Grand Junction in order to capture the animal which attacked the girl, reports CBS4.

We intend to catch this bear, CPW spokesman added. Based on bear behavior, its possible this bear will come back to the area.

Local residents have been advised that there will be a heavy law enforcement presence in the area while they search for the bear, including hounds.

Residents are asked to secure trash, keep pet food inside and immediately report any bear sightings in this neighborhood, or any residential area, the agency said in a statement.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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An alliance headed by a controversial cleric has emerged as the likely winner in Iraqs first national elections since it declared victory over the Islamic State.

Moqtada al Sadr - once dubbed the "most dangerous man in Iraq" - could now decide the countrys next premier, after running a campaign against corruption and sectarianism.

He emerged as a surprise frontrunner following the weekend vote, which previously attracted headlines chiefly for a historically low turnout.

Just 44.5% of Iraqis cast a ballot to decide the makeup of its 329-seat parliament, the lowest proportion for 15 years.

Mr al Sadr is thought to have appealed to Iraqis disillusioned with what they see as an out-of-touch political elite, and has had an unpredictable and often violent career on the sidelines of Iraqi politics.

After the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq the cleric headed a group of fighters called the Mahdi army, who were responsible for brutal violence that targeted both foreign troops and Sunni Iraqis.

But more recently Mr Al-Sadr has repositioned himself as an Iraqi nationalist with his Marching Toward Reform alliance.

Critical of both Iranian and American influence and sectarian conflicts in Iraq, he has worked to forge diverse alliances with communists, Sunnis and independents.

He is one of few Shia leaders to have distanced himself from Iran - the regional Shia power with influence in Shia majority Iraq - as well as fiercely criticising and fighting against a US presence in the country.

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The results will likely prove unsettling for the US, which had backed Haider al Abadi, the incumbent prime minister who planned to keep US troops in the country.

The favourite is now trailing in third, with second place after Mr al Sadr's coalition going to a list linked to Shia paramilitary forces that fought with the state against IS militants.

Mr al Sadr did not stand as a candidate for premiership and cannot lead the country, but he is now positioned as kingmaker in what could be weeks of deal-making to decide the final makeup of government.

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He has indicated he may support a broad-based coalition that would likely include Mr al Abadi's alliance.

In a televised address on Monday, the incumbent prime minister hailed the winning lists and urged all sides to "respect the results".

At the last released count late on Monday night, with 91% of the votes counted in 16 out of 18 provinces, the Marching Toward Reform alliance remained in first place.
Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Martina Dalic, Minister of Economy, attend a news conference in a government building in Zagreb Croatia's Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Martina Dalic, Minister of Economy, attend a news conference in a government building in Zagreb, Croatia, April 10, 2018. Picture taken April 10, 2018. REUTERS/Antonio Bronic

ZAGREB (Reuters) - Croatia's deputy prime minister Martina Dalic resigned on Monday under pressure from opposition groups who accused her of failing to prevent conflicts of interest during the restructuring of food giant Agrokor. [AGROK.UL]

Dalic, who also quit her job as economy minister, denied any wrongdoing but said she did not want to be a burden on the government.

There was no immediate comment from Agrokor or its creditors and it was not immediately clear if Dalic's departure would hold up the efforts to save Croatia's largest private company from bankruptcy.

Dalic led efforts to save the food producer and retailer after it was put under state-run administration in April 2017, weighed down by debt accrued during an ambitious expansion drive.

Last week, local news portal Index.hr published what it said was one-year-old email correspondence between Dalic and financial and legal experts she consulted while preparing an emergency law to save the firm which is the Balkans' biggest employer.

Some of the experts named in that correspondence were later engaged as consultants by a firm advising the government during the restructuring process.

The opposition, led by the Social Democrats and centre-right Most ("Bridge") party, said it was unacceptable that Dalic had allowed the same consultants who drew up the rescue plan to be paid to roll it out, calling it a conflict of interest.

"I have done nothing wrong nor illegal but the perception, which in the politics matters, is as it is," Dalic told reporters.

"I don't want to a burden to the government. I expect the relevant bodies to investigate who revealed the fragments of the email correspondence which is against the law," she said.

Agrokor creditors, which include foreign and local banks, bondholders and suppliers, must vote on a settlement outlined in the emergency law by July 10.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic accepted Dalic's resignation and said the government would press on with the process.

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"The basic goal of our efforts over Agrokor, in which Dalic had a leading role, has been achieved," he said.

"I'm satisfied with that. I just regret that the process was not a bit more transparent. I'm sorry about Dalic leaving the government. It is our task now to reach the settlement within the legal deadline," he added.

He did not name her replacement.

(Reporting by Igor Ilic; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
By Terray Sylvester

PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Lava flowing from giant rips in the earth on the flank of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano threatened highways on Monday, raising the possibility that officials will order thousands more residents to evacuate before access routes are cut off.

Since May 3 when Kilauea began erupting, 19 lava-spewing fissures have opened about 25 miles (40 km) from its summit, including one that tore through countryside close to houses on Monday in the Lower Puna area of Hawaii's Big Island.

Steaming cracks along one of the area's main routes, Highway 132, have raised concerns a new fissure may develop there, which would imperil access for 2,000 people in the lower Puna area on the east of the island.

If the highway is cut off, officials will start to plan for another major evacuation, Hawaii National Guard spokesman Major Jeff Hickman told reporters.

"We've been telling them, 'evacuate if you can, because if we have to come in and get you, we'll be putting first responders at risk," Hickman said.

Since the eruptions began, 37 structures have been destroyed and officials have ordered the evacuations of nearly 2,000 people, mostly in the hard-hit Leilani Estates area.

The American Red Cross said 500 people sought refuge in its shelters on Sunday night because of worsening volcanic activity.

"Eruption of lava continues from multiple points along the northeast end of the active fissure system," the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said in a briefing.

'LAVA BOMBS'

Fountains of magma spouted "lava bombs" over 100 feet (30 metres) into the air and a narrow flow had travelled just under a mile (1.6 km) east-southeast by 6.30 a.m. (12.30 p.m. EDT), moving slowly towards the coast some two miles (3.2 km) away, the Observatory said.

Residents from coastal communities fear the lava flow could block a dirt road, highway 137, that is their only way out after the main highway 130 was closed due to steaming cracks.

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"It's down to one gravel road, that's what also pushed us over the edge," said Rob Guzman, who with his husband Bob Kirk decided to leave their home in the Kalapana Seaview Estates subdivision around 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south of Leilani Estates.

Clouds of toxic gas and constant small earthquakes have sent many residents fleeing, but some either cannot or will not go, said Hazen Komraus, president of the community association.

"You can't hop in a car and drive your life, family, pets and job to another state," said Hazen, who described his area as one of the most diverse and tolerant in Hawaii.

While residents deal with noxious gas and lava on the ground, the U.S. Geological Survey said that pent-up steam could cause an explosion at the volcano crater as the lava pool drops, launching a 20,000-foot (6,100-metre) plume that could spread debris over 12 miles (19 km).

The ash plumes at the summit so far are rising only 4,000-6,000 feet (1,220-1,830 metres). Unlike other catastrophic eruptions, where huge volumes of ash were blown into the stratosphere and carried to distant locations, they are having no impact on weather elsewhere, Steve Brantley, the deputy scientist in charge for the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told Reuters.

GRAPHIC: Scorched earth - https://tmsnrt.rs/2IldVyS

(Reporting by Terray Sylvester in Pahoa and Jolyn Rosa in Honolulu; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Writing by Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Bill Tarrant and Sandra Maler)
Kaspersky Lab is moving its core infrastructure from Russia to Switzerland after reports that the Kremlin used the company's anti-virus software to steal classified US information.

The move will cost the company around $12m (8.8m) and will relocate its core business away from the jurisdiction of the Russian government and intelligence agencies by the end of 2019.

More than a data centre in Switzerland, the move of Kapersky Lab's software build conveyor - where its products are assembled from source code - will see the programming tools which could allow access to users' computers available for independent audit.

Although the company has vigorously denied claims its software was used by Russian intelligence to steal data from a National Security Agency employee's home computer, the publicity damage has left it working to address customer fears in a global transparency initiative.

The New York Times cited "multiple people who have been briefed on the matter" in a report that claimed Israeli intelligence discovered Russian counterparts were using the company's anti-virus software to steal American hacking tools .

That report and another in The Wall Street Journal followed a directive issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which prohibited use of the firm's software for all federal agencies - although countries such as Germany have stated that they did not support the American claims.

The ban is understood to have significantly damaged Kaspersky Lab's business in America, where a large proportion of staff have left the company according to reports.

At the time, cyber security professionals expressed surprise at the ban of what was generally regarded as a quality product.

The company's researchers had earned a reputation for independence from the Kremlin by detecting and reporting state-sponsored hacking campaigns originating in Russia.

In his first interview after those reports , the company's chief executive and namesake, Eugene Kaspersky, denied the allegations to Sky News and said: "Of course, if it's true, it will simply kill our business."

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Anton Shingarev, head of the chief executive's office, acknowledged to Sky News that the company had received no assurances that the move to Switzerland would see the DHS ban reversed.

"We've been in touch with the regulators constantly in the past year," Mr Shingarev said, adding that he met regularly with senior management at the UK's National Cyber Security Centre and was "really grateful for their approach" in contrast to the approach "in some other countries where we don't see any explanations or help from regulators".

As part of the transparency initiative, the company will set up a separate facility in Switzerland for customers based in Europe, North America, Singapore, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

Mr Shingarev told Sky News that "one of the reasons we have chosen Switzerland is that we feel we can invite regulators from any country to Switzerland" to investigate the source code of its products if they have concerns.

He added: "Switzerland is a country which has hundreds of years of independence, it hasn't participated in any wars.

"Cyber security must be neutral, cyber security must be far from politics or any alliance, similar to being a doctor."
Tensions were high in Gaza on Tuesday as Palestinians rallied for the funerals of scores of people killed by Israeli troops on Monday

At least 60 Palestinians were killed and 1,200 more were injured by Israeli forces during violent protests along the Gaza border.

It was the deadliest day on the fraught border since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Gazas Hamas rulers.

Gaza protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border.

The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism for using excessive force against unarmed protesters, said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

The 60 deaths  including an eight-month-old baby girl and four other minors  came on the day Ivanka Trump was present to celebrate an inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

The violence injured over 1,000 people

Palestinian demonstrators burn tyres near the Gaza-Israel border on May 14, 2018

In the House of Commons on Tuesday, an urgent question about the deaths was asked by Labour MP and shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry.

She said: What makes yesterdays events all the worse is that they didnt come as a result of some accidental over-reaction to one days protest, but as the result of a culmination of six weeks, an apparently calculated and deliberate policy to kill and main unarmed protesters, who posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border.

Many of them shot in the back. Many of them shot hundreds of metres from the border, and many of them children.

And if we are in any doubt about the lethal intent of the Israeli snipers working on the border, Im afraid we only need to look at the wounds suffered by their victims.

On hunting websites in America, they regularly debate the merits of 7.6 mm bullets versus the 5.5 mm bullets. The latter, they say, is effective when you want to wound multiple internal organs, while the former is preferred by some because, and I quote, it is designed to mushroom and fragment, to do maximum internal damage to the animal.

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And it was this ammunition, it is alleged, that was used in Gaza yesterday against men, women and children.

Foreign secretary Boris Johnson told the Commons: I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in Gaza where peaceful protests are being exploited by extremists.

I urge Israel to show restraint in the use of live fire and I take this opportunity to repeat the UKs commitment to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

The US Embassy move, bitterly opposed by the Palestinians, added further fuel to the violence.

There was barely any mention of the Gaza violence at the lavish inauguration ceremony for the new embassy, an upgraded consular building located just 50 miles away.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials joined an American delegation of Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.

Jared Kushner, Trumps son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser, headlined the US delegation with his wife and fellow White House adviser, Ivanka.

A great day for Israel! Mr Trump tweeted earlier on Monday.

Mr Trump says recognising Jerusalem as Israels capital acknowledges the reality that Israels government is located there as well as the ancient Jewish connection to the city.

Fresh demonstrations expected after dozens killed in bloodiest day in years

A relative mourns as she carries the body of 8-month-old Palestinian infant Laila al-Ghandour, who died after inhaling tear gas during a protest against the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem, at the Israel-Gaza border, during her funeral in Gaza City May 15, 2018 (Reuters)

A young girl is among those killed in Gaza as US embassy opens (Sky)

He insists the decision has no impact on future negotiations on the citys final borders, but to both Israel and the Palestinians, the American gesture is widely seen as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their longstanding conflict.

The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as their capital, have cut off ties with the Trump administration and say the US is unfit to serve as a mediator.

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Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognised.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, furious over the embassy ceremony, said he will not accept any peace deal proposed by the Trump administration.

The Palestinian president also urged the international community to condemn what he said were massacres carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza, and officials said the Palestinians would file a war crimes complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court over settlement construction.

The Israeli military estimated a turnout of about 40,000 at Mondays protest, saying it fell short of what Hamas had hoped for.

Ivanka Trump was at a ceremony just 50 miles from the protests

Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded youth during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel, east of Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Monday, May 14, 2018 (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

But officials described what they called unprecedented violence unseen in previous weeks.

Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said hundreds of protesters carried out concerted, coordinated attacks on the border fence.

Although the crowd did not manage to break through, he said they caused significant damage.

A day of mourning and mass funerals was planned on Tuesday.
Police in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, released surveillance footage of an arrest at the Mayfair Mall on May 11 which previously stirred outrage when cellphone video first emerged.

Officials are reviewing the incident and the use of force in the arrest, police said in a press release. Additionally, police are reviewing additional video from the scene, including surveillance footage released on Tuesday.

The cell phone footage shows officers wrestling with a 17-year-old boy and, at one point, punching him in the head. The footage released by police shows what happened before the altercation between the teen and officers.

Police said they were called to the mall for a report of five males causing a disturbance. One of the officers who responded found the teens and attempted to speak with them to determine what had happened. The teen, however, refused to stop and speak with the officer, police said. Additionally, the teen physically fought with the officer, who was attempting to legally detain the suspect, police said.

The teen was charged with disorderly conduct, battery and resisting an officer. The teens name was not released.

The Original Black Panthers of Milwaukee took issue with the officers use of force seen in the video, and the groups leader, King Rick, told local media that view had not changed after seeing the additional footage. Credit: Wauwatosa Police Department via Storyful
Clean water technology company MYCELX Technologies Corporation announced its audited results for the year ended 31 December on Tuesday, reporting a 74% improvement in total revenue to $13.8m.

The AIM-traded firms gross profit margin remained strong at 54%, up from 52%, while it swung to EBITDA earnings of $0.5m for 2017, compared to $1.6m losses a year earlier.

It reported cash and cash equivalents, including restricted cash, of $5.7m at year-end, up from $5.6m, while its gross profit increased 82% to $7.5m.

I am very proud of our achievements in 2017, as we were able to financially safeguard the business and generate strong momentum, which resulted in the company's largest ever contract win in Saudi Arabia in early 2018, said chairman Tim Eggar.

Our customer focussed approach during the year, where we sought to work with clients to better understand their water challenges and educate them on how our technology can provide cost efficiencies and production enhancements, yielded considerable results.

We exceeded expectations this year both in terms of outperforming our financial metric targets, increasing our customer base and entering new geographic territories, all of which helped us grow revenues by 74% and return to levels of activity not seen since 2014.

Eggar said that, from a macro perspective, the board was pleased to see an improvement in overall market sentiment with a higher oil price environment and greater investment in the petrochemical sector in its key market of Saudi Arabia.

With our financial position more assured, we are now well positioned for when the industry does recover and stabilise.

Connie Mixon, chief executive officer of MYCELX Technologies, added that 2017 was a pivotal year for the company, which saw it put in place strong foundations to support its ongoing strategy to focus on profitable growth.

We are happy to report that the actions we took last year paid off and allowed us to secure near term revenue opportunities, Mixon explained.

We exceeded our initial revenue forecast by 30%, thanks to the efforts of our team in Houston who made a significant first sale into Nigeria and the team in Saudi Arabia who secured a record three new projects in one year within SABIC.

Mixon said the company was pleased to announce its first contract win in Nigeria, for an onshore production project.

The sale was of particular strategic importance to the company as both producers and regulators are searching for a new standard in water treatment in country.

We also conducted a number of successful trials in Canada and West Texas and whilst projects in North America generally require a longer lead time we are hopeful that these trials will convert to revenue generation in due course.

The momentum that our team has generated in Saudi Arabia continues with exciting new projects that underpin our outlook for 2018.
Leak detection and remediation services group Water Intelligence picked up another American Leak Detection franchise operation on Tuesday, shooting to solidify its foothold in the South Florida area as it firms up its plans for international expansion.

The South Florida operation, spanning from Miami to Key West, will be combined with American Leak Detection's "fast growing and highly profitable" corporate operation to the north in order to form "a significant regional operation in the Southeast US".

Water Intelligence plans to develop the combined regional operation to grow rapidly and capture a significant market using the expanded group presence to support its franchise business throughout the southeast of the United States while it plans for international expansion from Miami to the Caribbean and Mexico.

While the firm did not disclose the value of the transaction, it did note that consideration for the acquisition would be "paid out over a number of years".

Executive chairman, Patrick DeSouza, said, "This territory was under-exploited by our American Leak Detection franchise operation. Now we have the execution leadership of one of our strongest corporate managers who has already transformed the Ft Lauderdale / Miami operation."

"We see a lot of upside starting immediately. The location is also strategic for our international expansion which is one of our 2018-19 growth priorities," he added.

As of 1030 BST, Water Intelligence shares had dipped 2.06% to 268.36p.
Downing Street's inner Brexit cabinet is set to meet again on Tuesday after Prime Minister Theresa May attacking Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, who said he was among a group that would not back down from supporting a hard Brexit, outside the customs union with the Irish border open.

In the meeting where all Tory MPs were invited, May explained the two options left for the UK regarding customs issue. Rees-Mogg and the PM clashed when discussing the Irish border, The Times reported, with May taking a tough stand against the Brexiteer Tory.

Ministers are pessimistic about the customs deadlock the UK and the European Union find themselves in. The government's two choices, a customs partnership where the UK collects tariffs on behalf of the EU or opt the 'maximum facilitation' model that would use technology to police the Northern Irish border, have both been rejected by the EU for not sufficiently dealing with the border issue.

May and Rees-Mogg reportedly clashed over the latter's call for an open border after Brexit, which May pointed out would force Ireland to build border infrastructure to protect the EU single market.

Rees-Mogg answered back in a column in the Telegraph pointing out different failures in Theresa Mays negotiating record saying she gives in to all of the EUs demands.

If we were to adopt a more conciliatory position it would completely undermine the heart of why we voted to leave, rendering our almost-reclaimed sovereignty a myth, he said.

As I have said before the UK will simply have to leave with no deal because the referendum result must be upheld. Democracy is the backbone of established political societies, it fosters stability and fairness and cannot be treated so disdainfully, he added.

Meanwhile, May has intervened to bring forward plans to publish a white paper setting out post-Brexit immigration policy, including ending freedom of movement for EU citizens in the UK.

The paper, according to a report in Politico, has been pencilled in for publication before parliament goes into recess for its summer break in July.
Analysts at Credit Suisse reiterated their 'neutral' recommendation for shares of TUI , arguing that the best for the company's 'cruise story' now lay behind it, while pointing to the 'hard to justify' premium versus Thomas Cook Group that the shares were trading on.

Yes, a bigger fleet size had brought with it economies of scale and efficiency gains, the Swiss broker said, allowing the company to increase its share of the German market by 20 percentage points over the five years ending in 2018.

But industry growth out to 2022 would likely entail weaker pricing, leaving the company with fewer growth levers to pull.

As well, by 2023, even the company's own forecasts were for the German market to become the most highly-penetrated in the world.

And no, unlike its larger 'pure-play' cruise rivals, it was less able to tap into the full range of potential growth markets, particularly Asia Pacific.

In terms of valuation, at then current prices the shares were discounting a 2019 EV/EBIT multiple of 7.2 for its core tour operating business, 20% more than over at Thomas Cook.

Credit Suisse did bump-up its earnings per share estimates for the company in 2019 and 2020 by 5% - following its first half numbers and the Capital Markets Day for its Cruise unit - resulting in an increase in the shares' target price from 1,645p to 1,730p.

Yet for all of the above reasons, its recommendation was kept at 'hold'.
Facebook failed to answer 39 questions concerning data privacy and fake news posed to the company by parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, the group's chairman said on Tuesday.

The DCMS committee will be requesting further meetings with the company as it said the sit-down with the social media giant's chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer had not been successful in addressing all its concerns during a parliamentary hearing last month.

After the companys UK head of public policy, Rebecca Stimson, offered answers to the outstanding queries, the committee said her responses lacked sufficient detail.

Committee chair Damian Collins said: "Given that these were follow up questions to questions Mr Schroepfer previously failed to answer, we expected both detail and data, and in a number of cases got excuses."

Collins once again invited Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to appear before the committee, either in person or via video link, and questioned whether the billionaire "recognizes the seriousness" of the issues under discussion.

Facebook's relationship with Cambridge Analytica, the now infamous firm at the centre of improper use of data and election tampering controversies, was listed by Collins as just one of the areas in which the degree of detail provided was found to be wanting.

It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points including on Cambridge Analytica, dark ads, Facebook Connect, the amount spent by Russia on UK ads on the platform, data collection across the web, budgets for investigations, and that shows general discrepancies between Schroepfer and Zuckerbergs respective testimonies," Collins said.

He added: "For too long these companies have gone unchallenged in their business practices, and only under public pressure from this committee and others have they begun to fully cooperate with our requests. We plan to write to Facebook in the coming days with further follow up questions."

Overnight it emerged that personal data on 3m Facebook users distributed by academics at the University of Cambridge's Psychometrics Centre to hundreds of researchers had been done via a website with insufficient security provisions that left it vulnerable to access for four years. Gaining access illicitly and finding the identity of the users was relatively easy, a New Scientist report said on Monday.

The UKs data watchdog, the Information Commissioners Office, said it is investigating.

As of 1505 BST, Facebooks shares were down 1.17% at $184.46.
Markets in Asia finished lower on Tuesday, as investors continued to hold their breath over strained US-China relations, while oil prices remained stable.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 was down 0.21% at 22,818.02, as the yen weakened 0.41% to JPY 110.11.

Declines were seen in the real estate subindex, more than offsetting gains seen among financial plays, which featured a 1.71% surge from Mitsubishi UFJ.

On the mainland, the Shanghai Composite was ahead 0.58% at 3,192.58, and the smaller, technology-heavy Shenzhen Composite rose 0.91% to 1,839.88.

Fresh data out of Beijing on Tuesday was mixed, with industrial output beating forecasts, while retail sales missed expectations.

The periodic review of MSCIs included stocks was also released, which saw 234 China A shares added to the list from 1 June.

South Koreas Kospi was off 0.71% at 2,458.54, while the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong slid 1.23% to 31,152.03.

Blue chip technology stock Samsung Electronics was off 1.8% in Seoul trading, while chipmaker SK Hynix fell 0.94%.

Losses were also prevalent among carmakers and steel producers on the Korean peninsula.

Keeping traders busy were the mixed signals coming out of Washington on the trade relationship between the US and China.

Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said overnight that there remained a wide gap between the two countries, even as relations between the two presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping seemed positive.

That came after a tweet from Trump on Sunday suggested he was willing to make concessions to Beijing, saying that he wanted to find a way to get telecoms equipment and smartphone maker ZTE back into business.

ZTE suspended its operations after the US Department of Commerce banned American companies from supplying it with technology, after ZTE was found to have exported equipment to Iran against US sanctions.

Despite being based in China, ZTE still relies on chipsets and technology from US firms such as Qualcomm and Intel for its smartphones and network equipment.

It's all still very much a work in progress, noted National Australia Bank director of economics David de Garis.

Oil prices were higher as the region went to bed, with Brent crude last up 0.91% at $78.95 and West Texas Intermediate adding 0.76% to $71.50 per barrel.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.61% to 6,097.80, with all subindices declining, bar the information technology sector.

Telecommunications plays were led lower by former state telephone monopoly Telstra, which plunged 5.59% after issuing a profit warning on Monday.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealands S&P/NZX 50 slipped back from Mondays record high, falling 0.05% to settle at 8,708.78.

Movements in Wellington were primarily influenced by the MSCI index review, with A2 Milk initially gaining after it was included, though it later fell back 1.5%.

Energy supplier Mercury fell 1.4% after it was dropped from the main MSCI index.

Both of the down under dollars were weaker on the greenback, with the Aussie last off 0.5% at AUD 1.3354 and the Kiwi retreating 0.29% to NZD 1.4506.
A weaker euro is helping to buoy the main equity indices on the Continent, more than offsetting a weaker-than-expected reading on German economic activity over the first quarter of the year.

Further dampening investor sentiment were soft readings overnight on Chinese investment and retail sales for the month of April, even as traders continued to monitor crude oil futures continuing grind higher.

As an example of some of the multiple headwinds that stocks were facing, earlier in the session the prestigious ZEW Institute said that the US decision to pull-out of the nuclear deal with Iran, fears of further trade tensions with the US and the rise in crude oil futures were all weighing on German firms' expectations in May.

Against that backdrop, as of 1226 BST, the benchmark Stoxx 600 was 0.14% or 0.55 points higher to 392.74, alongside a 0.01% or 1.51 point dip for the German Dax to 12,976.29.

In parallel, the FTSE Mibtel was ahead by 0.36% or 89.61 points at 24,311.47.

Yields on euro area government bond yields were also moving higher, in anticipation of a syndicated sale of the new benchmark 50-year Gilt in the UK, according to analysts at TD Securities.

Earlier on Tuesday, Germany's Ministry of Finance reported that the rate of growth in the country's gross domestic product slowed from the 0.7% quarter-on-quarter clip observed over the last three months of 2017 to a pace of just 0.3% (consensus: 0.4%).

On the positive side of things, government statisticians said that gross fixed capital formation - which requires a substantial degree of confidence in the outlook - was "markedly higher", although both exports and imports retreated in comparison to the prior quarter.

Nevertheless, the first quarter data did mark the 15th consecutive quarter of growth, the longest such stretch since 1991.

Among the euro area's main economies, the steadiest rates of growth were seen in the Netherlands and Spain.
London stocks were set to edge lower at the open on Tuesday as investors eyed a slew of key UK jobs data.

The FTSE 100 was called to open down 16 points at 7,695 ahead of the ILO unemployment rate, average earnings and the claimant count rate at 0930 BST.

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said: "Most of the headlines in the past few months have been about job losses in retail as well as construction yet thus far the unemployment numbers have continued to come down, at 4.2% last month, and it is expected to stay at this level in the latest March numbers.

"On the wages front for the three months to March weekly earnings including bonuses are expected to rise to 2.9%, however on the headline numbers we are expecting to see a fall to 2.6% from 2.8%. This fall certainly doesnt tie in with some of the employer business surveys we are seeing which suggests wages are rising on the back of a tightening labour market."

Investors will also be digesting the latest data out of China, which showed industrial production was better than expected in April, although investment slowed. Industrial output was up 7% compared to a year earlier, versus expectations for a 6.4% rise, while retail sales expanded by 9.4%, undershooting expectations for a 10% jump. Fixed-asset investment was up 7% on the year in the first four months, compared to an estimated 7.4%.

In corporate news, international marketing and support services group DCC said full year pre-tax profits rose 26.6% to 316.4m as revenues increased 16.3% to 14.2bn.

The company spent 670m on acquisitions during the year which DCC said would provide further opportunities for both organic and acquisitive growth for the group

The final dividend has been lifted 10.0% to 82.09p a share for a total of 122.98p a share.

Landsec announced the appointment of Cressida Hogg as its non-executive chairman on Tuesday, with effect from completion of the companys annual general meeting on 12 July.

The FTSE 100 firm said Hogg was succeeding Dame Alison Carnwath, who would retire from the board on that date, having joined in 2004 and become chairman in 2008. It had announced Dame Alison's intention to retire on 2 March. Hogg joined the Landsec board in January 2014, and had been appointed as chairman following a thorough selection process which included external candidates.

Vodafone returned to profit in the year to March and guided to further growth ahead despite revenue being held back by increased competition in Italy and Spain.

Full year numbers came in just ahead of City forecasts, with revenue falling 2.2% year-on-year to 46.6bn but beating the average estimate of 46.2bn, while adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 11.8% to 14.7bn and pipped the 14.5bn consensus.
Israeli troops shot dead 58 Palestinian protesters and injured 2,700 more on the Gaza strip on Monday as just a few miles away President Trump's daughter opened the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

Monday turned out to be the bloodiest single day for the region since 2014 with protesters being attacked by live rounds and tear gas, with a 12-year old boy among the 58 killed.

Protesters were objecting to the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, after President Trump recognised the city as the capital of Israel in December. Palestinians see East Jerusalem as the capital of their own future state.

Meanwhile many Israeli dignitaries attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the new US embassy, inaugurated by Ivanka Trump.

Israel said the protests were cover for a terrorist ploy by Palestine's Hamas and said the Israel Defence Force had acted after attempts had been made to damage and breach the fence.

France president Emmanuel Macron condemned the violence of the Israeli armed forces against protesters in a telephone call with the Palestine and Jordan and repeated criticism of the US decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem. Others, including the UK, have responded and called for restraint, while Turkey deemed the IDF's actions as a massacre.

The US blamed Hamas, with President Trump backing Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he said the countrys troops were only acting in self-defence.
London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% to 7,733.04 in afternoon trade on Tuesday, as investors continued to digest the latest round of UK jobs data.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey gained after saying it plans to bump up its dividend payout, taking peers and Persimmon up with it. The company said it plans to increase the dividend payment to around 7.5% of group net assets, up from 5% and equating to at least 250m per year, up from 150m. In addition, it announced a 2019 special dividend of 350m, taking total dividends for the year to around 600m, up 20% on the year.

Budget airline easyJet flew higher as it said losses narrowed in the first half as revenues surged nearly 20% to over 2bn for the first time, with the company benefiting from the collapse of Monarch and Air Berlin and troubles at Ryanair.

In the six months to the end of March, pre-tax losses came in at 68m versus 236m in the same period a year ago, as revenue jumped to 2.2bn from 1.8bn. The loss is mostly due to costs incurred to expand operations at Berlin's Tegel airport, which it picked up from Air Berlin at the end of last year.

Hargreaves Lansdown ticked higher as the financial services group reported a 3.1% jump in assets under administration in the four months to 30 April.

On the downside, Vodafone was under the cosh after saying that Vittorio Colao will step down in October after 10 years in the job. The mobile phone operator also announced a 40% rise in full-year pre-tax profit to 3.9bn.

Artjom Hatsaturjants, research analyst at Accendo Markets, said: "After 10 years of stability under Colao, Vodafone is potentially setting sail into uncharted waters under the guidance of an executive that has been with the company only four years and has less top level experience than the markets would have been fully comfortable with."

Paddy Power Betfair was also in the red, giving back some gains after surging late on Monday on news that the US Supreme Court had overturned a gambling ban.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) 202.30p 3.84%

easyJet (EZJ) 1,736.50p 3.06%

Barratt Developments (BDEV) 566.40p 2.39%

Shire Plc (SHP) 4,215.00p 1.89%

Direct Line Insurance Group (DLG) 369.90p 1.82%

Persimmon (PSN) 2,817.00p 1.81%

Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 839.00p 1.62%

Compass Group (CPG) 1,545.00p 1.41%

Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 4,195.00p 1.40%

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,900.50p 1.36%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Vodafone Group (VOD) 198.36p -4.27%

Fresnillo (FRES) 1,246.50p -3.11%

Anglo American (AAL) 1,801.60p -2.34%

Mediclinic International (MDC) 689.00p -2.21%

Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 5,780.00p -2.13%

BT Group (BT.A) 207.04p -2.10%

Glencore (GLEN) 377.45p -2.09%

Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 7,820.00p -1.94%

Land Securities Group (LAND) 954.30p -1.50%

WPP (WPP) 1,278.50p -1.46%
Oil & Gas names performed best on Tuesday as traders continued pushing crude oil futures higher in the face of simmering geopolitical tensions.

Yet after meeting with the European Union's foreign policy czar, Federica Mogherini, Iran's minister for foreign affairs, Javad Zarif, said the two sides were on the right path to defending the interests of the remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal.

Against that backdrop, analysts at UniCredit became the latest to bump-up their forecasts for crude oil prices for 2018 and 2019.

Their forecast for 2018 was raised from $62 a barrel to $75 and that for the following year from $60 a barrel to $71.

Although "a lot of uncertainty" remained over the impact that US sanctions would have on Iran's oil output (then at roughly 3.8m barrels per day), according to UniCredit, the geopolitical uncertainty would "not dissipate anytime soon".

Indeed, a further heightening in tensions might see oil prices move towards $100 a barrel.

So amid volatile trading, front month Brent crude oil futures were 0.74% higher by the close of the session in London, at $78.81 per barrel - their best level since the end of 2014.

Nonetheless, UniCredit was clear that Iran wasn't the only factor behind the recent rise in futures, pointing to the collapsing government in Venezuela, increased tensions in the Middle East more generally and OPEC's mid-April decision to stick by its output curbs as other factors.

Also on Tuesday, analysts at Barclays Research weighed in with favourable views on the oil space, especially Big Oil, telling clients they remained "positive" on the sector.

"With rising returns, both on a corporate accounting basis and on a cash return basis to shareholders, we continue to see the large-cap

European oils as attractive across the board. We remain Positive on the sector with our preferred stocks BP (OW, TP 675p), Royal Dutch Shell (OW, TP 3000p), Total (OW, TP EUR60) and OMV (OW, TP EUR60), although we see value across the space," they said.

On a related note, albeit slightly discordant, strategists at Credit Suisse pointed out how many of their clients were still skeptical about the staying power of the recent rise in oil prices.

In a research note sent to clients, Credit Suisse's Andrew Garthwaite said: "There is still large scepticism on the oil sector (the five-year forward oil price is still at summer 2016 levels and close to a record discount to spot), and few investors are concerned about the macro impact of the rise in the oil price."

Top performing sectors so far today

Automobiles & Parts +2.40%

Oil Equipment, Services & Distribution +2.02%

Leisure Goods +1.42%

Household Goods & Home Construction +1.36%

Oil & Gas Producers +1.19%

Bottom performing sectors so far today

Mobile Telecommunications -4.23%

Fixed Line Telecommunications -2.33%

Industrial Metals & Mining -1.74%

Gas, Water & Multiutilities -1.11%

Mining -1.00%
It was just last Friday night when Donald Trump announced that the United States would join with France and the United Kingdom to launch military strikes against Syria. While many conservatives spoke out against the president, Rev. Franklin Graham appears to be sticking with him.

.@Franklin_Graham: I just appreciate that we have a man in office that understands the power of prayer and the need for prayer. pic.twitter.com/HttINFc3JR  Fox News (@FoxNews) April 15, 2018

Graham on Trump

After the news broke that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad once again used chemical weapons against his own people, resulting in dozens of deaths, it was only a matter of time before military action from outside forces were going to finally intervene.

On Friday night, the United States, United Kingdom, and France came together and launched missiles into Syria, targeting Assad's chemical weapons, resulting in instant backlash from Russia, who quickly put the three countries on notice. While Democratic opposition was expected, many Republicans even spoke out with anger.

While Donald Trump is dealing with pushback from some conservatives, others are standing by his side. The issue was highlighted during the April 15 edition of "Fox & Friends" during an interview with right-wing Rev. Franklin Graham. When asked his thoughts on the recent attack on Syria, Graham was quick to praise the president. "I appreciate that we have a president who understands prayer and solicities prayer," Graham said of Trump, before adding, "We should be praying for him, and he asks us to pray for our soldiers."

Not stopping there, Franklin Graham then went on to explain that the Bible wants the country to pray for Donald Trump.

"The Bible tells us to pray for authority," he said, before noting that while the president isn't perfect, the country should "just appreciate that we have a man in office that understands the power of prayer and the need for prayer."

Twitter responds

In response to Franklin Graham linking Donald Trump to the Bible, critics weren't impressed.

"Donald Trump cheated on his first wife Ivana Trump with Marla Maples. Thoughts and prayers," Morten Overbye tweeted out.

Donald Trump cheated on his second wife Marla Maples with three other girlfriends according to his fake spokesman John Miller. Thoughts and prayers.  Morten verbye (@morten) April 15, 2018

Nineteen women have come forward to accuse Donald Trump of sexual harassment. Thoughts and prayers.  Morten verbye (@morten) April 15, 2018

Persons like @Franklin_Graham are major reasons why people turn away from organized religion. When faith leaders lie and commit deception, there's no point in taking them or the "faith" they brag about seriously.  John Saltas (@johnsaltas) April 15, 2018

"Persons like Franklin Graham are major reasons why people turn away from organized religion.

When faith leaders lie and commit deception, there's no point in taking them or the 'faith' they brag about seriously," a Twitter user wrote. "Trump is not religious, he does not pray and only attends service when forced too. The only thing Trump understands about religion is its usefulness in manipulating people," a tweet added.

Youre such a fraud. You and Orange Caligula should use prey instead of pray. Let us prey...  Paul Atreides (@TheBoogieKnight) April 15, 2018

I bet he can't even recite the Lord's prayer from memory. Hint, you won't find it in Two Corinthians.  Jeani (@Jeanilou) April 15, 2018

Trump is not religious, he does not pray and only attends service when forced too. The only thing Trump understands about religion is its usefulness in manipulating people.  Christina Zuniga (@czuniga31) April 15, 2018

"I bet he can't even recite the Lord's prayer from memory. Hint, you won't find it in Two Corinthians," a social media user wrote. "Youre such a fraud. You and Orange Caligula should use prey instead of pray. Let us prey..." a follow-up tweet read.
Getting Kim Jong-un to agree to a summit with Donald Trump was a major achievement for Moon Jae-in, president of South Korea. It was, for him, a dream fulfilled because he had always been in favor of a unified Korea and the economic situation in the North helped the cause. North was reeling under the sanctions, and Kim Jong-un wanted a way out. Trump seized the opportunity to dangle carrots in front of Kim.

Daily Mail UK reports that the North has agreed to destroy its nuclear site within a fortnight before the summit. It will also dismantle its research and associated facilities.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has dictated the terms and said that these were necessary steps. The country must move out its nuclear arsenal first prior to the easing of sanctions.

It is a huge task

John Bolton is the president's national security adviser. In his opinion, North Korea will have to get rid of all its nuclear arsenal. The weapons must be dismantled and moved out. Simultaneously the uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing capabilities must be deactivated and the ballistic missiles neutralized and transported to a safe location.

It seems removal of North Korea's nuclear weapons was a pre-condition for the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un scheduled in Singapore. There will be status-quo on sanctions till such time the North complies.

North Korea has been developing its nuclear weapons and testing them at regular intervals. The performances have been improving as confirmed by external agencies who have been keeping track of the launches. Kim had gone to the extent of identifying targets in the United States that led to a global panic. He has now realized that he will have to turn over a new leaf to survive and the question is  how much will he concede?

The carrots on offer

Mike Pompeo has already met Kim Jong-un in North Korea to prepare for the summit with Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12. The US has indicated that if the hermit kingdom gets rid of its nuclear arsenal in a permanent and verifiable way, it could expect US assistance to strengthen its economy. It could be in various forms.

The objective will be to improve its infrastructure, extend assistance in agriculture and security matters.

South Korea has indicated that Kim is interested in trading his nuclear weapons for economic benefits. However, what finally happens is a matter of conjecture. The North perceives them as its strength and insurance against outside interference to overthrow the regime. Given the changed circumstance, the outcome will depend on Kims bargaining powers.
Even as he proceeds to go kicking and screaming into that good night, Sen John McCain, R-Arizona, is creating controversy. The latest kerfuffle happened when a White House staffer made a crass remark about the elderly senator and war hero dying. The statement, which was leaked to the media, has caused spasms of outrage and horror. McCain, as his friends and defenders often remind us, endured torture at the hands of the North Vietnamese. Therefore the question arises, why is he depicted as such a snowflake that words are an unbearable affront? McCain chose the profession of politics and part of the job description is to receive insults.

And it should be noted that he had given as good as he has gotten.

Is John McCain the single greatest political leader of our time?

One curious phenomenon surrounding McCains long goodbye is the tendency on the left to heap copious amounts of praise on him. No more copious was the Washington Posts Dana Milbank, who proclaimed McCain the single greatest political leader of our time. It would have been nice if the media had been so generous when he was running for president in 2008.

While McCain is a very flawed politician and a man with more than his share of faults, he would have made a better president than Barack Obama did. But just about anyone in the Republican party would have been a better candidate than McCain, chief among them his running mate, Sarah Palin, whom he so crassly dissed recently. Palin, showing more grace than the senator deserved, refused to hit back, in turn, returning treachery with kindness and class.

What to do about a problem like John McCain

Giving a dying man insults and jibes demonstrates a lack of class. However, the country can let the senator from Arizona and twice failed presidential candidate know how it really feels about him by denying McCain a final victory. McCain has issued a plea to the Senate not to confirm Gina Haspel as director of Central Intelligence.

With at least two Democrats signaling that they will vote in favor of her confirmation, it looks like the senator will be denied his last, dying wish. It is just as well. Waterboarding would have been an afternoons recreation compared to the horrors McCain endured while locked up in the Hanoi Hilton. To pretend otherwise showed that, not for the first time, the senator was allowing his ego to override his judgment.

In any case, two groups of people will mourn McCains passing. One is his family and friends. But the other consists of people who write about politics. If nothing else, the senator from Arizona was an endless source of great copy.
The "General Hospital" Nurses Ball will be taking place during May sweeps. Last year, there was the Chimera mystery which involved Valentin and Jake Webber. This year, Mr. Cassadine is involved in several hot storylines that revolve around Port Charles residents. He drugged and kidnapped Robert, is playing cat and mouse with Anna, hiding secrets with Peter August, and up to his neck in the drama surrounding Jason, Sam, and Drew. Spoiler alerts are suggesting that all these loose ends will make for big fireworks during the annual event. According to Celeb Laundry, Peter August will be at the center of it all and may be exposed as the son of Faison and Anna.

Sam may unravel the truth about Peter

Spoilers say that even though Nina called off the investigation into Peter August, Sam and Curtis will continue to dig for clues. Celeb Dirty Laundry suggests that Sam may be the one to unveil the fact that Mr. August is actually Anna and Faison's son. Its possible she will work with both Drew and Jason in order to figure out what is really going on. There are only two months left to this nine-month storyline, so a lot needs to be wrapped up quickly.

Sam has admitted to her mother that she really does not want to work at Aura Media. She added that she came to life while doing investigative work with Spinelli and Jason. Last week, however, after resigning, she told Peter and Drew that she changed her mind and is going to remain at the company.

They have no idea that it is only until she finds out the secrets that Mr. August is hiding. Sam, along with help from Curtis, may be the one to eventually break the case and unravel the truth.

Valentin's reign in Port Charles may be over

Spoilers indicate that Valentin's role in all the shady dealings in Port Charles may be coming to an end.

He is the one who gave Anna's infant son to Faison and has known Peter's true identity all along. He kidnapped Robert and viewers believe he may also be holding Nikolas captive. There have also been hints that he has Claudia, the woman who raised Charlotte, stashed away somewhere.

Valentin also knows more than he is letting on about the five years Jason was held in the Russian prison and the plot to take Drew's memories.

Celeb Dirty Laundry suggests that May sweeps will have a lot of drama as well as some closure to these issues. Additional spoilers will come forth when available, but until then keep watching "General Hospital" on weekday afternoons at 2:00 PM ET on ABC.
Margot Kidder, the actress who played Lois Lane in the 1978 'Superman' movie, has died at the age of 69, the Guardian reported.

She was discovered in her Montana home over the weekend where she was unresponsive. Police pronounced the actress dead at the scene.

While the police do not suspect any foul play was involved in her death, a full investigation is being conducted to learn what happened. No further details are known at this time.

Margot Kidder's rise to fame

Kidder gained a great deal of recognition for her early work, which included starring opposite Gene Wilder in the 1970 film "Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx," but it was her casting in superhero flick "Superman" along with Christopher Reeve that really sparked her career.

The titular character is still going strong to this day.

She then reprised her role as the smart-mouthed journalist in all three of the franchise's sequels throughout the 1980s. Kidder also appeared in horror classics "The Amityville Horror" and "Black Christmas."

She continued to act up to the year 2018, staring in multiple Movies and several television shows along the way. Two of her projects are still in post-production.

Other projects under her belt included television shows "McQueen" and "The Mod Squad," and Kidder paired with several big names including James Garner and Robert Redford.

Outside of acting

Canadian-born Kidder became an American citizen in 2005, and outside of her acting career, was a political and women's rights activist.

She was an outspoken critic of the Gulf War, opposed fracking plans by energy companies, and was a vocal supporter of the Democratic political party.

Kidder's women's rights activism started when she settled in Montana and became a supporter of 'Montana Women For.' She was also arrested in 2011 for her involvement in a protest at the White House against the Keystone XL pipeline construction.

It is a privilege to have shared the same role of Lois Lane with this wonderful actress. She led the way brilliantly. My heart goes out to her family and friends. #MargotKidder #Superman pic.twitter.com/chm0H07POs  Teri Hatcher (@HatchingChange) May 14, 2018

Kidder also suffered from mental health problems throughout her life and career, though she was very open about her struggles with Bipolar Disorder.

While working on her autobiography, a computer virus erased her work so far - she told People magazine in 1996 - which she believed was deliberate and caused by her former husband and the CIA. This caused Kidder to disappear for several days.

After she was found safe, Kidder would begin to talk openly about her experiences with depression and manic episodes, as well as striving to raise awareness of Bipolar Disorder and alternative treatments.

Margot Kidder was married and divorced three times, and is survived by her only child, Maggie, and her two grandchildren.
The world is on the threshold of history as the final preparations are on for the wedding of Meghan Markle, the Hollywood actress, and Prince Harry of the British Royal family. It will be a high profile affair, and thousands of people will descend on the venue to be a part of the celebrations.

The Telegraph UK reports that, as a precautionary measure, drones will be banned from the airspace around Windsor. The ban will be in force for the duration of the Royal wedding weekend to take care of the security aspects. Thames Valley Police is believed to have requested for this restriction so that unauthorized persons are not able to film the Royal carriage procession from the air by using drones.

The ban on drones

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has acceded to the request of the police to protect the privacy of visitors who will be attending the wedding. Moreover, drones will overcrowd the skies because helicopters will be on regular surveillance missions to extend security coverage on the ground and there should not be any mishap or midair collision.

The police will be responsible for the security of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the streets of Windsor, and they want the public to remain alert to spot any drone pilots. They should also inform the police if they see anything suspicious. Those who violate the ban could face prosecution.

The ban will apply to all aircraft, including drones, flying below 2,500 feet in and around the Windsor Castle estate.

It will not apply to commercial aircraft flying overhead from Heathrow Airport. Such a ban is not new because a similar restriction had been imposed for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.

Security will be foolproof

An incident of this magnitude will require security preparedness of a high order. It will not be just a Royal wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle but an occasion where people from different walks of life will arrive to participate in the celebrations.

Harry and Meghan have invited some commoners and, of course, there will be Celebrities. Obviously, the police will have to be prepared to ensure that there are no hiccups.

According to The Mirror UK, police in Windsor have requisitioned sniffer dog squads to ward off threats because of possibilities of a terror attack. Undercover agents will also be there apart from snipers and high-tech military equipment. There will also be adequate anti-vehicle barriers. Such protective measures are necessary in view of terrorists who are known to target crowded places.
The American chestnut is often remembered as a giant, towering over forests along the East Coast over a hundred years ago. A study by researchers from Virginia Techs College of Natural Resources and Environment and Roanoke College published in the Journal of Forestry, however, suggests that those memories may not be entirely accurate.

American chestnuts were once found in forests from Ontario to Alabama. This redwood of the East was often described as a towering giant, dominating forests throughout the East Coast. That all changed, however, with the introduction of chestnut blight.

The blight, a fungus that blisters around the trees stems and prevents it from transporting water and nutrients, was first identified on the East Coast in the early 1900s. It spread quickly, at a rate of roughly 19 miles per year, and soon killed almost all of the adult American chestnuts in the region.

You wont see many mature American chestnuts today. They sprout, because the roots arent impacted by the blight, but once the stems reach a certain diameter, the blight latches on and they die, explained Carolyn Copenheaver, associate professor of forest ecology in Virginia Techs Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation.

In recent years, organizations like the American Chestnut Foundation have worked to restore the species to its former position within the forest by creating a hybrid tree that is resistant to the blight. They hope that the hybrids will retain some characteristics of the native American chestnut and can help restore eastern forests to their preblight state.

But what exactly did that preblight state look like?

I found records and photographs of an exceptionally large American chestnut, Copenheaver said. They had been reprinted in many articles and books, but as I looked at them, I couldnt help but think that we just dont have trees like this in the Eastern United States. I really wanted to know where it was coming from.

To find out, Copenheaver teamed up with several colleagues, including Rachel Collins, associate professor of biology at Roanoke College; Kyrille Goldbeck DeBose, head of the Veterinary Medicine Library at Virginia Tech and liaison to Animal Sciences; and Virginia Tech graduate students Mary Kester and Ethan Barker, who completed his masters in forestry in 2017.

Carolyn came to me with this project idea, so I started pulling resources that were published prior to 1904, when the blight was first identified, explained DeBose, who was the librarian for the College of Natural Resources and Environment at the time. We looked at magazines, newspapers, field books, and guidebooks to find everything we could about this species preblight.

The researchers gathered publications by well-known historical foresters as well as personal accounts from landowners, examining each source for quantitative descriptions, including height, diameter, and growth rate.

Once the raw data were compiled, the team began to search for patterns between the historical documents. They soon realized that there was a significant increase in the reported size of American chestnuts in sources published after the blight decimated the majority of the adult trees.

According to their study, several factors played a part in creating this shift. Many sources recorded both the average size of a tree and the maximum size. In some sources, the maximum size was recorded as the average, making the species appear to be much larger than it would have normally been. Copenheaver also noted that descriptions collected from landowners who remembered the trees preblight may have been exaggerated owing to nostalgia.

Its human nature to romanticize the past, she said. I think the loss of this species really brought out a lot of emotions in people. They were able to see the impact on the forest, and that may have elevated the species in peoples minds.

One tree of particular interest to the researchers was a 17-foot-diameter American chestnut in Francis Cove, North Carolina. According to Collins, the tree was mentioned in multiple sources, but none of the authors had measured it themselves.

This would have been a monster tree, Collins said. We realized that in the 1800s when people were writing about trees, they measured circumference. But in the late 1800s to early 1900s, diameter became the more common measurement, so we think that maybe it was really 17 feet in circumference. That means the tree would have been about 5 feet in diameter. Its still large, but not vastly larger than other tree species.

DeBose added, It speaks to how careful researchers have to be in making sure information is correct. As a librarian, I tell people all the time to go back and check the original source. Just because something is cited in a source, you shouldnt take it at face value. Always go back to the original source.

According to Copenheaver, These chestnut trees were very large, but they were similar in size to the white oaks and yellow poplars we see in forests today. There was nothing super-powered about these trees that made them grow so much bigger than other trees in the area.

The studys results also have important implications for restoration efforts.

A lot of work has been done to try to restore the American chestnut, Collins said. Our current cultures description of these trees is so much larger than they actually were, so it could cause the public to have unrealistic expectations for those restoration efforts. Its important to recognize that so we will have realistic expectations of what the results should look like.
Guyana Goldfields Inc. provides exploration and production of gold. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of gold mineral properties. The company also owns and operates gold drilling rights. The company was formerly known as Chiboug Copper Company Limited and changed its name to Guyana Goldfields Inc. in January 1995. Guyana Goldfields Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of August 25, 2020, Guyana Goldfields Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

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Primaries are being held today in Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Idaho and Oregon. In Pennsylvania, it will be the first time voters will cast ballots in the redrawn congressional districts. All four states have gubernatorial elections this fall; Pennsylvania and Nebraska also have Senate races. Nominees will be chosen today, although none of these six races are seen as highly competitive in November at this point.

Poll Closing Times and Results

Click/tap the state name for results from The New York Times

Pennsylvania: 8:00PM Eastern

Nebraska: 9:00 Eastern (8:00 PM for those in the Central Time Zone, 7:00 PM in Mountain)

Idaho: 10:00 & 11:00 PM Eastern (8:00 PM local time for both Mountain and Pacific Time)

Oregon: Same as Idaho (almost all votes are submitted by mail; voters can also use a state drop box up until the deadline)

Pennsylvania

As noted above, many voters in the Keystone State will not see their current Representative on the primary ballot as the state's congressional districts have been redrawn.

Looking at the House ratings from Sabato's Crystal Ball, 6 of the state's districts look competitive or potentially competitive in the fall, while 7 are safe Republican, 5 safe Democrat. FiveThirtyEight has a good overview of some of the more interesting primaries here, as well as races to watch in the other three states.

Upcoming Primary Calendar

Aside from Memorial Day week, the next month will be very active. Here's the full calendar.

May 22: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky

June 5: Alabama, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota

June 12: Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, Virginia
Michelle Goldberg in the New York Times:

On Monday, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and other leading lights of the Trumpist right gathered in Israel to celebrate the relocation of the American Embassy to Jerusalem, a gesture widely seen as a slap in the face to Palestinians who envision East Jerusalem as their future capital.

The event was grotesque. It was a consummation of the cynical alliance between hawkish Jews and Zionist evangelicals who believe that the return of Jews to Israel will usher in the apocalypse and the return of Christ, after which Jews who dont convert will burn forever.

Religions like Mormonism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism lead people to an eternity of separation from God in Hell, Robert Jeffress, a Dallas megachurch pastor, once said. He was chosen to give the opening prayer at the embassy ceremony. John Hagee, one of Americas most prominent end-times preachers, once said that Hitler was sent by God to drive the Jews to their ancestral homeland. He gave the closing benediction.

More here.
Tim Alberta in Politico:

Arthur Brooks is president of the American Enterprise Institute, the center-right Washington think tank that has, amid a decade of turmoil inside the Republican Party, remained a sober, respected voice on matters of policywhile gradually shedding its George W. Bush-era reputation as a leading voice for pugnacious, interventionist foreign policy.

Brooks, who is stepping down in June 2019 after 10 years at the helm of AEI, has consistently struck me as the smartest figure on the American rightsomeone not given to bouts of provocation or hyperbole, but rather someone who speaks with equal authority on macroeconomics and family budgeting, global starvation and American giving, corporate structure and worker behavior, cultural evolution and societal happiness.

Brooks also conjures comparisons to The Most Interesting Man in the World, the character in the Dos Equis beer commercials. He performed as a professional French hornist before entering the world of academia. He converted to Roman Catholicism when he was 16 after a quasi-supernatural experience at the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico. He met his future wife, who spoke no English, while touring in Franceand immediately moved to Barcelona to learn Spanish and begin his courtship. He befriended the Dalai Lama during a trip to India some years ago, leading to repeated visits with one another and a joint New York Times op-ed.

More here.
In his home country, James Harrison is known as the man with the golden arm for a very good reason: More than 2.4 million Australians are alive today because of the blood donations he has been making for more than 60 years.

As a teenager, Harrison, now 81, required surgery and was the beneficiary of blood donations that helped him survive the procedure. He pledged to pay back his good fortune by reciprocating in kind. When doctors discovered that his blood contained a rare antibody that was a crucial ingredient to a medication given to pregnant women to prevent their babies from contracting a potentially fatal disease, his kindness became a calling.

That calling came to a close last Friday, when Harrison settled into a donation chair at the Town Hall Center in Sydney and gave blood for the final time, under a set of number-shaped balloons that counted his total tally of donations over his lifetime: 1,773. Harrison, already a folk hero Down Under for his efforts, wishes the count could go higher, but his doctors have recommended that he put his own health first (finally).

The end of an era, was how Harrison described his final donation to the New York Times. It was sad because I felt like I could keep going.

The Australian Red Cross says that about 17 percent of all women in the country required the anti-D injections that were made thanks to Harrisons blood donations (and the donations of about 150 others who possess the same blood marking) in order to keep their babies healthy.

The organization estimates that over the years, Harrisons donations have helped save 2.4 million babies. According to the Australia Bureau of Statistics, the current population of the country is 24.7 million.

The Red Cross and Australia can never thank a man like James enough, Jemma Falkenmire, a spokeswoman for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, said in a statement. Its unlikely we will ever have another blood donor willing to make this commitment.

Harrison, a retired railway executive who lives in New South Wales, received the Medal of the Order of Australia for his blood donations, and scientists have dubbed a project to produce a synthetic form of his helpful antibody James in a Jar. For his part, he played down the dynamic effects of his efforts when he spoke to the Times.

Saving one baby is good, he said. Saving 2 million is hard to get your head around, but if they claim thats what it is, Im glad to have done it.
MIAMI  No one seemed to notice when a large white crane that had been working at the doomed Florida International University bridge lurched away down Tamiami Trail shortly after the span collapsed. There was a disaster to respond to: Mountains of concrete. Horribly mangled cars. Dead and injured people.

It wasnt until some time later that authorities began wondering what happened to the crane and its operator, a close eyewitness who might help the investigation into the collapse. But he, and the crane, were gone.

He drove away in the crane and nobody stopped him, said Carl Robertson, 73, a homeless man who lives near the site of the bridge. Robertson was right there and saw it fall down. He was the first person to call 911, using his aging cell phone.

Photos and video taken immediately after the March 15 accident show the crane  rented from a Sweetwater firm called Georges Crane  still present on the downed bridges northwest side. When a Miami Herald photographer took a wide-frame aerial shot of the disaster about an hour later, the crane was nowhere in sight.

As the public tries to piece together what happened that chaotic day  at a time when government entities investigating the collapse have squeezed shut the flow of crucial information  the crane has become a source of speculation for amateur sleuths and online theorists. Readers asked the Herald: What was the crane doing and where did it go? In the absence of official explanations, some even wondered if the crane itself could have bumped the 950-ton bridge and caused the catastrophe. Did the operator then flee the scene in the most ungainly of getaway vehicles?

Here is what is known: Police dont seem to believe the crane man fled the scene or caused the collapse, which independent engineers suspect was the result of structural and design flaws. They say the unidentified operator drove the crane a short distance away and stuck around to offer help  but for how long isnt clear.

The crane  with the name Georges emblazoned prominently on the boom  had been used to lift a piece of equipment for adjusting the spans internal steel supports around the time the bridge came crashing down at 1:47 p.m., killing six people.

Robertson was a short distance west at his encampment.

Within minutes of the bridge coming down, Robertson said, the cranes operator jumped out of the cab to untie a strand of caution tape that police coming from nearby FIU and Sweetwater had quickly anchored on the machine as they rushed to save lives. Then he started up his rig and rumbled west down Tamiami and out of sight.

I didnt think about it until later that day, Robertson said of the cranes disappearance. I didnt have my wits about me because they were pulling people out.

Although he was the first person to call 911, police recordings show, he says the cops never followed up to take a formal interview.

After the Herald published a piece last week on FIU engineers discovering potentially problematic cracks in the bridge days before the collapse, Robertson called reporters to recount his story  and to ask if anyone had figured out where the crane and the crane man went.

A lawyer for Georges Crane  which rents hydraulic cranes as large as 170 tons  offered an explanation to the Herald.

Far from fleeing, the operator needed to move the lumbering contraption out of the way, said the attorney, Bryant Blevins. Rescuers had shown up right away.

The emergency vehicles needed access, Blevins said. They were getting there pretty quickly after the collapse. At that point, he had to move the crane.

So, Blevins said, the crane man drove the boom mounted on a six-wheel trailer out of the way and then  what time exactly Blevins couldnt say  took it about 30 blocks north to the Georges Crane lot in Sweetwater. Thats where the crane stayed.

The operator, however, returned to the scene later that night and was interviewed by police and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency that investigates on-the-job accidents, according to Blevins.

A spokesman for OSHA declined to comment. The public knows very little about why the bridge came down. The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the cause of the accident, has forbidden the release of potentially critical public records that might shed some light. The Herald is suing the Florida Department of Transportation to compel their release.

George Bremer, who owns the crane company, could not be reached.

Whatever happened, the operators behavior is puzzling  and angers some attorneys who are involved in the case and learned of the cranes disappearance independently of the Herald.

Why would he leave the scene? asked Alan Goldfarb, who is representing the family of Alexa Duran, an FIU student crushed to death in her vehicle during the collapse. It doesnt make any sense.  How could you remove equipment from an investigative scene?

The Miami-Dade Police Department, which is investigating the deaths as homicides, has its own version of where the crane and the crane man went.

Capt. Alex Acosta says investigators believe the operator simply drove a few hundred feet from the collapsed bridge, parking the machine nearby.

He moved it right there on site, off to the side, Acosta said. He must have just got nervous.

The captain said the man  whose name the department is not willing to release  then went back to the accident scene to render aid.

After that, he went home. But police figured out who he was and got in touch.

He came back voluntarily (to the scene) and was interviewed, Acosta said.

The crane operator spoke willingly with police, according to Acosta, and no action was taken against him.
SANTA FE  Lillian Montoya will take over as the new president and CEO of Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in June.

Her appointment as the first woman to lead the hospital, announced Monday, comes as current CEO Patrick Carrier is retiring after 43 years in the health care industry. Carrier has run the Christus St. Vincent operation, Santa Fes largest private sector employer, since November 2015.

I am incredibly honored for the responsibility, and at the same time Im honored to have this opportunity to take care of this precious resource, Montoya told the Journal Monday.

Montoya, currently Christus St. Vincents current chief operating officer, is an Albuquerque native who has lived in the Santa Fe area for 25 years.

Montoya has served as COO since early 2017. She joined the hospital, which was founded by Sisters of Charity nuns in 1865, as a board of directors member in 2010 and later served as the boards chair. In 2013, she became vice president for public policy and stakeholder engagement and then in 2016 took over as chief administrative officer.

Montoya cited accomplishments during her time with the hospital that she says have improved the patient experience and the administrations engagement with the health care systems employees. Specifically, she cited 50 community conversations that she helped organize about three years ago that led to the creation of the new all-private room Frost Pavilion wing as well as the hiring of a patient billing advocate and patient ambassadors.

As we go forward, I envision we continue to do those things that allow us to get feedback from the very people were caring for, Montoya said.

Her resume also includes leadership roles in the local nonprofit sector, business and state government. She was director of community programs for Los Alamos National Laboratory from 2004-2007, executive director of the Regional Development Corporation from 2000-2004, and from 1996 to 2000 she was the deputy director of the New Mexico Commission of Higher Education.

Montoya will assume her new position June 15.
First United Airlines barred an emotional support peacock from boarding. Now American Airlines is telling passengers some of their service and emotional support animals  including goats, hedgehogs and tusked creatures  cant fly.

The carrier is joining rival airlines in tightening rules for passengers flying with emotional support animals, expanding the list of animals that cant fly in addition to requiring customers vouch for their animals ability to behave.

Federal laws require airlines to permit passengers with disabilities to travel with service and emotional support animals in the cabin, though airlines can require a statement from a licensed mental health professional documenting the passengers need for an emotional support animal.

American said the new rules are designed to protect passengers with legitimate needs for service and support animals while avoiding problems with untrained animals in the cabin.

Under the new rules, which go into effect July 1, American is adding amphibians, goats, hedgehogs, insects, nonhousehold birds and animals with tusks, horns or hooves to the list of those that cant fly as service or support animals. The airline will make an exception for miniature horses that have trained as service animals.

Both service and support animals fly in the cabin for free, unlike household pets, for which American charges a $125 fee. But emotional support animals dont always have the specialized training service animals receive, and some suspect at least certain flyers use the designation to skirt rules governing household pets.

American will enforce requirements that customers traveling with support animals submit extra documentation at least 48 hours before their flights, with exemptions for emergency travel.

Passengers will have to sign a form promising their animal can behave properly in addition to submitting a signature from a mental health care professional.

Animals seen growling, biting, attempting to bite, jumping on or lunging at people without being corrected or controlled will be considered pets subject to the appropriate rules and fees, American said. The airline wont charge a passenger retroactively if a support animal misbehaves, but it will step in if the passenger and animal havent finished their trip, airline spokesman Ross Feinstein said.

Unlike Delta Air Lines and Chicago-based United, American wont require passengers with support or service animals to submit animal health and vaccination forms. United also asks a veterinarian to document whether the animal has ever bitten, scratched or attacked a person.

Delta and United announced stricter rules earlier this year, citing an uptick in problems with support animals misbehaving and causing disturbances on board as their numbers have grown. At the time, American said it was still reviewing its policies.

American wanted to take its time to seek input from disability advocacy groups before rolling out the new rules, Feinstein said. Other than the broadened list of animals that cant be brought on board, the new policy doesnt affect passengers traveling with trained service animals, American said.

In a video on the airlines website, Albert Rizzi, founder of My Blind Spot, an advocacy group for the visually impaired, thanked the airline for evaluating the process so we can ensure that only service animals that are legitimate are able to board the plane.

When people try to pass off pets as support animals, it can make travel more challenging for passengers with trained service animals, particularly if they have a disability that isnt readily apparent, Rizzi said.

Uniteds announcement of its policy changes came shortly after its decision to bar an emotional support peacock drew attention, but the airline said the move wasnt prompted by any specific incident. Delta referenced an incident last year where a passenger was reportedly attacked by a seatmates emotional support dog on a flight leaving Atlanta.
Albuquerque police have publicly identified four victims in recent homicides that occurred around the city over the past two weeks.

The Journal had been regularly requesting names and dates of birth for each victim but had not been provided that information until Monday.

Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said there have now been 31 homicides, as well as three shootings that are considered justified, since the beginning of the year. Last year at this time a total of 23 had been reported.

The most recent spate of homicides started on April 30, when Gallegos said 45-year-old Jimmy Riddle was killed during a fight with another homeless man in Coronado Park. Detectives arrested Bernest Benjamin, 49, the same day after witnesses said they saw him strike Riddle with a stick during a fight.

A spokesman said detectives initially had not been able to notify Riddles next of kin, but no explanation has been given about why police had not publicly identified him earlier.

On May 7, Jonathan Saiz, 27, was found dead in a vehicle in the parking lot of an apartment complex on the 300 block of Charleston SE, south of Zuni. Police have not said how he died and no one has been arrested in the case.

Three days later, on May 10, Hilarie Jordan Humbles, 27, was found dead in the side yard of an apartment complex on the 300 block of Western Skies SE. Officer Simon Drobik, another APD spokesman, said Humbles body had signs of trauma but he did not say how she died. Last week he said no suspects have been identified.

Several hours later, detectives were called to the second homicide of the day when Daniel Freddy Pacheco, 30, was fatally shot in a neighborhood off south Broadway. Pacheco was taken to the hospital, where he died. Detectives interviewed several witnesses but no arrests have been made, Drobik said.
The pancreas produces the insulin vital to processing carbohydrates the body needs for energy and when it doesnt work properly, serious things like kidney failure can develop.

Fortunately for those who live with that condition  mostly patients with Type 1 diabetes  it is possible to get a functioning pancreas through transplant surgery.

Until recently, however, patients needing a pancreas transplant had to travel out of state for the surgery.

Last year, a medical team with Presbyterian Healthcare Services successfully performed the first pancreas transplant in New Mexico.

Its not a new procedure nationally, but its new to New Mexico, said Dr. Hannah Choate, transplant surgical director for Presbyterian.

Presbyterian has been performing kidney transplant surgeries for several years. Choate said it took about two years to develop the pancreas transplant program, and obtain the required certifications from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Before launching this program, Choate said they had to refer patients out of state.

The Presbyterian patient who had the pancreas transplant received a kidney at the same time. In about 80 percent of cases, patients need both organs, Choate said. The organs must be recovered from a donor who has recently passed away.

Its hard to find a perfect donor. Were very, very careful and particular about the type of donor used for a kidney and pancreas transplant because they have to be very young and healthy, Choate said.

In a small number of cases, a pancreas can be transplanted after a patient has already had a kidney transplant. In that situation, they would have organs from two donors. A patient with Type 1 diabetes might also just get a pancreas if they dont have kidney failure.

All transplant surgeries present significant risks for the patient. Choate said they have to screen patients carefully to be sure the individual will be a good fit. She estimates Presbyterian will likely perform only two or three pancreas transplants annually.

This surgery is more for younger patients who present less risk, she said.

Patients who have pancreatic cancer will not be candidates for this surgery. She said the imuno-suppression drugs they have to use to prevent the body rejecting the transplanted organ can be dangerous for cancer patients.

Wayne Dunlap, executive director of New Mexico Donor Services, is excited about the pancreas transplant program. The nonprofit works with donors and their families. Its services include helping to find suitable recipients, and coordinating surgical recovery of and transportation of organs.

This truly is a great thing for the state of New Mexico, Dunlap said.
WASHINGTON  It must be obvious to almost everyone by now that the Trump administrations trade policies, though involving less melodrama than relations with North Korea and Iran, threaten to do enormous harm to Americas foreign policy  and to the United States.

I use the word threaten, because we dont yet know whether President Trump will carry out some of his most sweeping proposals  scrapping the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico, for example. As trade analyst Geoffrey Gertz of the Brookings Institution argues, theres a huge gap between Trumps trade rhetoric and the underlying reality.

The simplest and perhaps most convincing explanation (for the gap) is that this is just Trump being Trump, he wrote in a recent analysis. He does not see any difference between campaign rally rhetoric and official presidential announcements, is not particularly concerned with the truthfulness of his claims, and is never willing to admit a mistake.

Still, the stakes are significant. In addition to NAFTA, these include economic relations with China, tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and the broader possibility that Trumps protectionism will trigger a spiral of retaliation  an all-out trade war. Remember, Trump has already withdrawn the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade agreement with 11 other countries.

Most economists believe that more protectionism would act as a drag on the world economy. Domestic prices would increase, hampering consumer spending. Greater uncertainty for businesses might impede new corporate investment. Although some jobs might be created, high unemployment is not now a major problem. In April, the jobless rate fell to 3.9 percent, the lowest since 2000.

On average, trade raises U.S. living standards by providing cheaper goods, stimulating new technologies and intensifying competition. One study by economists Arnaud Costinot of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Andres Rodriguez-Clare of the University of California at Berkeley estimated the gains from trade as between 2 percent of gross domestic product  the economy  and 8 percent of GDP. With GDP at about $20 trillion, the gains would translate into annual benefits worth between $400 billion and $1.6 trillion. The study was recently published in The Journal of Economic Perspectives.

A 2017 study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found even larger gains, totaling about $2.1 trillion, based on the cumulative effects of trade liberalization since the end of World War II. That was equal to about $7,014 in average income for each American, Peterson has estimated. However, the Peterson study also estimated that trade, imports and exports, eliminated an average of 156,250 jobs annually from 2001 to 2016.

Although most studies of trade focus on economics, whats often overlooked is that trade is basically a political act. What a country trades and with whom heavily defines its foreign relations. That is why Trumps trade proposals have been so controversial. He doesnt simply object to trade in certain industries  say, steel or autos. These sorts of conflicts have existed since the early 1970s and have often been defused by pragmatic political bargains. By contrast, Trump calls into question the basic political alliances between the United States and its major trading partners.

Since World War II, the assumption of the United States and its historical allies has been that trade, properly governed by international rules, is mutually beneficial. Believing that, the United States, Japan, and European nations compartmentalized their trade conflicts, limiting the damage to their overall relations. They were still allies. By contrast, Trump often treats Americas allies as adversaries. He seems to see trade as a zero-sum game: I win, you lose. Thinking that, he is indifferent  even hostile  to their fate. He professes to be eager to engage in a trade war, even when the supposed targets are our friends.

It is this distinction that invests the current reappraisal of trade relations with so much significance. True, China is a massive exception. It is neither ally or adversary, but something for which we have yet to invent a label. Otherwise, Trump is running a huge risk if he turns trade conflicts into a trade war.

Samuelsons columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at abqjournal.com/opinion  look for the syndicated columnist link. Copyright, The Washington Post Writers Group.
Public Regulation Commission, District 2

Jerry Partin, Republican

District 2 covers a sprawling area, encompassing nearly the entire eastern half of the state, including Las Vegas, Santa Rosa, Tucumcari, Clovis, Portales, Roswell, Artesia, Hobbs and Carlsbad. The position is currently held by Patrick Lyons, who isnt seeking re-election and is running for land commissioner. Two Republicans are running in the Republican primary, and the winner will face Democrat Kevin Sanders in the November general election.

In the contested Republican primary, Portales resident Jerry Partin is the strongest choice. He retired following a 42-year career with electric cooperatives, including 31 years as general manager with two different co-ops. He notes he has dealt with the PRC for most of his career, having participated in PRC policy task forces, rule making and cases. Given the complex and wide variety of issues the PRC handles, its unlikely that anyone but an incumbent could hit the ground running after being elected, but Partins background will make for a less steep learning curve. He also recognizes that the job of the PRC is balancing everyones needs while ensuring system reliability.

The Journal endorses Jerry Partin for PRC, District 2, in the Republican primary.

Public Regulation Commission, District 4

Lynda Lovejoy, Democrat

District 4 covers much of the northwest quarter of the state, including Farmington and Gallup. Incumbent Lynda Lovejoy knows the job well, having served on the PRC for 12 years, although not all of her terms have been consecutive. That experience is invaluable, given the extremely complicated matters that go before the PRC.

As a commissioner, she has represented her district well, striking that important balance between being fair to utilities and their investors and getting the best bang for the buck for ratepayers. Lovejoy recognizes a balanced portfolio protects the public and the utility from market variability. Her top priorities include ensuring system reliability and continuing to incorporate more renewables into the resource mix, and ensuring those are economical and affordable to consumers.

Lovejoy is facing two opponents in the Democratic primary. The winner is facing no Republican or Libertarian opponent in the general election.

The Journal endorses Lynda Lovejoy for PRC, District 4, in the Democratic primary.

Public Regulation Commission, District 5

Sandy Jones, Democrat

District 5 covers most of the southwest quarter of the state, including Las Cruces, Silver City, Truth or Consequences, Deming and Lordsburg.

Incumbent Sandy Jones is finishing up his second non-consecutive term on the commission and is currently serving as the PRCs chairman. Like Lovejoy, he has done a good job of balancing the interests of ratepayers and utility companies, forcing them to justify proposed rate increases and expenses they want to pass on to consumers. And Jones has been responsive to his constituents, holding about four dozen town halls in the communities he serves so residents can provide input on issues like proposed rate increases close to home rather than having to drive to Santa Fe to voice their concerns.

Jones says he has also worked hard to improve relationships among commissioners. And after Congress and President Donald Trump passed tax cuts that significantly reduced tax rates for corporations, the PRC made sure that PNM passed those anticipated savings on to its customers, Jones said. He is facing one opponent in the Democratic primary. The winner in that race will face Republican opposition in the general election.

The Journal endorses Sandy Jones for PRC, District 5, in the Democratic primary.

Public Regulation Commission, District 5

Joseph Bizzell, Republican

In the Republican primary for this race, Los Lunas resident Joseph Bizzell is the best choice. Bizzell realizes the importance of having a diverse portfolio of energy generation, which includes coal, gas, nuclear, wind and solar. He notes that it will keep costs affordable for consumers and means a sustainable business model for utilities.

If elected, he says, he will demand accountability from providers that deliver essential services to New Mexicans, including utilities, pipelines and commercial transportation. He says he will work hard to ensure that New Mexicans are treated fairly, and he says he will be accessible to District 5 constituents.

The Journal endorses Joseph Bizzell for PRC, District 5, in the Republican primary.

These are the Journals recommendations for contested races in the June 5 primary for Public Regulation Commission.

The Public Regulation Commission is the elected body that regulates utilities, telecommunications and motor carriers  everything from taxis and limousines to ambulances and shuttle services. When PNM wants to raise your electric rates, it has to go before the PRC to justify it. If an ambulance company wants to set up shop in  or pull out of  your community, it needs to go before the PRC. This commission makes decisions that impact each and every one of us.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
The New Mexico Humanities Council has awarded a $5,000 grant to the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science to support its series of education programs called Da Vinci Dialogues.

The dialogues consist of public lectures, panel discussions and workshops that illustrate the many facets of Da Vincis genius as an artist, inventor and scientist, organizers said in a news release.

We are grateful to the NM Humanities Council for the support of our da Vinci educational programming, said Margie Marino, NMMNHS executive director, in a statement. We believe that museums can make a face-to-face connection between the public and a local scholar in an informal venue. Putting a human face on scholarship is especially important for forging personal connections between members of the public and thought-provoking topics in the sciences.

The New Mexico Humanities Council is an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will be administered through the New Mexico Museum of Natural History Foundation, according to a news release.

The Museum looks forward to more engaging conversations between the public and our local New Mexico experts as we explore the remarkable achievements of Leonardo da Vinci, Marino said.

For more information, visit www.nmnaturalhistory.org.

We welcome suggestions for the daily Bright Spot. Send to newsroom@abqjournal.com.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The child came to school wearing clothes so dirty it was impossible to tell their original color. She was hungry. She couldnt remember the last time she bathed.

Her teacher left clean clothes in the classroom bathroom for her almost daily. She sent food home nearly every night. When the girl needed rest, her teacher let her nap in a cot, and often she slept until lunchtime.

That was the testimony, often through tears, of an Albuquerque Public Schools teacher Monday about the 7-year-old girl in her class who prosecutors say was abused and trafficked. James Stewart and Teri Sanchez face charges related to the case.

The system was failing her. I know it was. Because I called and I called. And I did everything that I was supposed to do through my training, the teacher said. I called CYFD because she was starving, because she was dirty, because she needed physical care. Then I called the police officers any time and every time she said that she was breaking the law.

The testimony came in the second portion of a hearing during which prosecutors for the state Attorney Generals Office sought to prove that Sanchez and Stewart should be detained pending trial.

The unusually long hearing began Friday, continued Monday and is expected to wrap up today.

The teacher described other concerning behavior, like the time the student came to school with fake nails, white heels, and perfect eyeliner.

Another time, in November, after the girl changed clothes and cleaned up in the bathroom, the teacher said she noticed a bloodstain in the crotch of her underwear.

She stored the clothing in an empty classroom until police arrived, but the officer she spoke with said he could not take the underwear because they had not been stored in a secure location.

So he took them out and threw them in the dumpster, the teacher said. I was really, really angry. I was going to get into the dumpster and get them out, because thats not OK.

In the end, she wasnt able to.

When the girl stopped showing up to school around spring break, her teacher was terrified, but felt like there was nothing she could do.

I was afraid that she wasnt eating. I was afraid she was hurt, the teacher said.

Another school staff member testified about what appeared to be a failure by the state Children, Youth and Families Department to follow up on calls by school personnel.

And to make matters worse, when Stewart learned of referrals to CYFD or police, he would come to the school angry, the staff member said.

He wasnt afraid to get in peoples faces, he wasnt afraid to enter loudly or yell, she said.

She worried about what might happen to the girl and her brother over the summer break, and said she was relieved to know that they were alive when she learned theyd re-enrolled in the fall.

Later testimony Monday shed light on the difficulties Sanchez has faced.

A social worker for the Law Office of the Public Defender testified that Sanchez told her she has been diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome and has an intellectual disability.

She was enrolled in special education classes as a child and participated in the Special Olympics.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The state Children, Youth and Families Departments internal investigation of how its employees handled the case of a 7-year-old girl, alleged to have been sex trafficked by relatives, found several lapses by CYFD employees, according to CYFD Cabinet Secretary Monique Jacobson.

Jacobson said the review also has led to major initiatives, including creation of a joint CYFD/State Police Child Safety Strike Force that would investigate all current and future cases with 10 or more referrals.

In a meeting with Journal editors and reporters on Monday, Jacobson said Gov. Susana Martinez ordered the strike force, which also would identify victims and possible locations where they are forced into sex trafficking.

Jacobson released results of CYFDs internal review by top leaders of the departments Protective Services division, who examined 25 prior referrals of the girl or members of her family going back to 2004. Jacobson said the CYFDs response to the referrals was not conducted in a thorough and diligent manner.

The review found that safe house forensic interviews of the girl and her siblings were not conducted after the most serious of the allegations were made in November 2017 and January 2018.

Jacobson also said there was inconsistent use of collateral contacts, meaning that CYFD investigators didnt talk to enough people beyond the adults in the family and the children; that the family was given only limited referrals to voluntary social services in the community, including therapy; and that an executive order requiring that CYFD supervisory staffers get involved any time a family gets three or more referrals to the agency was not done in accordance with policy and procedure.

The girl and her two brothers, ages 8 and 14, are now in CYFD custody.

Two adults, James Stewart and his wife, Teri Sanchez, both 37, were arrested earlier this month by special agents with the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General in connection with the case. Stewart was charged with human trafficking and promoting prostitution, and Sanchez was charged with abuse of a child and contributing to the delinquency of a child. They were being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center. A detention hearing for them that began Friday continued Monday and is expected to conclude today.

Few kids removed from homes

Jacobson described how both CYFD and local law enforcement often conduct parallel investigations into cases  that CYFD must determine whether a child is in danger or at risk while law enforcement is determining whether a crime has been committed. CYFD does not have the authority to remove a child from a family, but makes that recommendation to law enforcement or through a court order. In most cases, law enforcement will agree with CYFD and remove the child.

But of about 40,000 total calls of possible neglect or abuse made annually to the CYFDs central intake, only about 1,300 children are removed from homes. That is because the bar is quite high, Jacobson said. CYFD and law enforcement must believe a child is at imminent risk. A child is then removed and placed in CYFD custody for 48 hours, at which time a hearing is held to determine whether the child or children should be returned home. Another hearing is held in 10 days, 60 days, three months and every six months thereafter. The bar becomes higher at each hearing.

Safe house reviews lacking

In the case of the 7-year-old and her brothers, teachers at the girls elementary school knew the girl and her family were homeless, lived in motels and that she and a brother were frequently unkempt, absent from school and fell asleep in class.

During a May 2017 safe house exam by Bernalillo County sheriffs deputies, the girl made no allegations of sexual abuse. But last November, the girl arrived at school unwashed and smelling like urine, according to a referral. When a teacher helped her change clothing, blood stains were observed on the girls underwear.

Jacobson was critical of the fact that no safe house review was ordered at that time.

And in January 2018 school officials said the little girl was once dropped off at the school  possibly by a stranger  wearing high heels, a dress, press-on nails and makeup, according to a criminal complaint. She also made comments about Sanchez making her hustle and that the woman would take her to strip clubs and leave her alone while she got drunk. Again, no safe house review was conducted.

The Attorney Generals Office began investigating the case on April 19 after the elementary school nurse, who had received training from the AGs Office on recognizing signs of trafficking, reported that the girl may be a victim.

Jacobson said one of her significant concerns was that there were no safe house forensic interviews done between May 4, 2017, and the April 25, 2018, after the AGs Office began investigating. That was very concerning to me because of the types of allegations that came out between those two dates.

While law enforcement generally takes the lead on setting up safe house interviews, Jacobson said CYFD also has the ability to do so. If it didnt get done, and we believe it should have been done given the information, then we need to push for it to happen.

CYFD did try to locate the family later in January, but was unable to do so, she said. We were looking for them but could not find them, she said.

However, Albuquerque police officers were asked to conduct a welfare check on the children and were able to locate them in a local motel. Im concerned we didnt look hard enough, Jacobson said, adding that its not clear whether CYFD was informed at the time that APD located them, or why a determination was not made regarding a 48-hour removal of the children at that time.

It wasnt until the girl and her siblings were removed from the home in April by investigators with the AGs Office that a forensic interview was conducted. At that time, the girl told investigators that Stewart would force her to perform sex acts on his friends and that he would get weed and pipes and stuff. She said Sanchez would take her to strip clubs and dress her in high heels, press-on nails and makeup.

Steps to reform

Four CYFD investigators were recently placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the review.

She said CYFD will continue the discipline process, up to possible termination. A timeline shows a target date of June 11 for a notice of contemplative action and July 9 for a notice of final action. CYFD is waiting for footage from APD body cameras.

Other steps CYFD plans include:

 Emphasize the three-plus referral staffing executive order, making sure that regional and county office managers for CYFD continue to get a monthly report.

 Roll out sex trafficking training to all CYFD employees.

 Have CYFDs Statewide Central Intake cross report possible sex trafficking cases to the Office of the Attorney General.

 Move forward with a restructure of Bernalillo County CYFD offices.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

WASHINGTON  Gilad Katz, consul general of Israel to the Southwest, spoke with the Journal on Monday about the significance of the U.S. embassy move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the fresh bloodshed near Gaza, a nuclear Iran and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

From his office in Houston, Katz maintains a portfolio of seven Western states that includes New Mexico, and an open line of communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Katzs comments have been edited slightly for brevity.

Journal: Why was this embassy move so important to Jewish people in Israel and around the world?

Katz: Its important on a few levels. Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish state since the days of King David more than 3,000 years ago. Seventy years ago, Israel was founded  and now the superpower  our biggest and strongest and most valuable ally  decided not only to recognize Jerusalem as its capital but to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to its capital. I think finally justice has been made, meaning not just in the interest of the Jewish state but like any other state when one country can decide for herself which city will be her capital. Eventually, the standing of Jerusalem as the only capital of the Jewish state will also help move the peace process forward.

Journal: How is that? Some say it only further inflames tensions.

Katz: The minute they (the Palestinians) know that America  the superpower  stands behind Israel on this very important core issue that related to our definition of the Jewish state  they will adjust just as we, the Israelis, adjusted with the Oslo accords of the 1990s. It will take a while, but I think the minute they understand they will really adjust to the idea that Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel. As long as they wished or hoped that Jerusalem belonged to them, then there is nothing we can talk about.

Journal: This celebration occurred today in Jerusalem against a backdrop of extensive bloodshed less than 40 miles away at the Gaza border, where Israeli troops killed at least 58 Palestinian protesters and injured 2,400 more, according to news reports. Why do you think this happened? And what impact might it have on Israeli-Palestinian relations?

Katz: There is no connection whatsoever between the opening of the embassy and the riots on the fence today at the Gaza Strip on the border. The riots began more than five weeks ago. We are not talking about innocent rioters. People have to understand the Iranians are funding Hamas and theyre giving them money to keep up and try to enlarge the riots. We are talking about the radical regimes that call the United States the big Satan. We have to understand where Hamas stands. Hamas uses its own people  men, women, children the elderly and make them  even force them  to walk toward the border fence. The Israelis will not allow them to penetrate into Israel. They have a very specific goal, which is killing as many Israelis as possible. The first duty of any sovereign country is to protect its citizens from forces from the outside who want to kill them. We tried to let them know in advance that we would not allow any Palestinians to penetrate the fence. We did that on a daily basis. When one or two thousand or three thousand rush to our border with cocktail bombs and rocks and ammunition and whatever they have, what can we do? We cant just sit there and do nothing. We are against bloodshed; we are against violence. Israel doesnt want any innocent person dead, that is for sure. That is our perspective  we cherish life. But we have to see the broad picture.

Journal: What is your assessment of the Trump administrations role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, led by the presidents son-in-law, Jared Kushner?

Katz: I dont want to get into it because they have yet to decide where and when or how they will petition their peace proposal, but they are doing their utmost and they understand the complexity of the situation and that the atmosphere isnt at its best. But I really do praise them for trying and for understanding, because giving up is not an option for Israel. We really do want to live in a peaceful way with our neighbors, and that includes the Palestinians. We strived for peace with the Egyptians, and we have a peace treaty with them. Same applies with the Jordanians. We are trying to do the same thing with the Palestinians, but they have to decide for themselves where they want to go. Do they want to keep on trying to demolish the Jewish state or do they want to live side by side with us in a peaceful way?

Journal: What do you make of President Trumps decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear deal?

Katz: Iran is the biggest threat to Israel today, as we well know. I praise the president of the United States for backing out of the nuclear deal with Iran, because in our eyes, that deal was a danger to the existential future of Israel. I think this was the first step in trying to stabilize the Middle East. Iran is a threat to the democratic world. They dont believe in democratic values, freedom of religion or the press or whatever. It is the biggest threat to the western Democratic world, and we, Israel, are standing on the front lines, and we will not allow the Iranians through their proxies to threaten us or maim us with their missiles. We will stand firm and we will protect ourselves and fight each and every one who tries to kill our civilians. Thats our very simple equation and will stick to that as long as we think we have to.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  With just three weeks left until New Mexicos 2018 primary election, the three Democrats running for governor are spending big bucks on TV ads and other campaign expenditures in hopes of winning over undecided party voters.

That could represent an advantage for U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, the lone Republican running for governor, who hasnt had to draw down his campaign war chest for a primary election showdown.

In reports filed Monday with the Secretary of States Office, the three Democrats seeking the partys nomination  Michelle Lujan Grisham, Joseph Cervantes and Jeff Apodaca  each reported spending big on campaign ads during a roughly five-week period that ended May 7.

And they still have plenty of cash left to air more ads in the coming weeks.

Lujan Grisham, who is giving up her Albuquerque-area congressional seat to run for governor, reported having spent $638,295 during the reporting period. Of that amount, nearly $260,000 was spent on TV and radio ads, with an additional $70,000 or so spent on video production.

She reported raising nearly $412,000 during the same period  including hefty contributions from labor unions and an Albuquerque-based medical cannabis dispensary  and still has nearly $1.6 million in her campaign account.

Cervantes, a state senator from Las Cruces, has even more in his war chest  roughly $1.65 million  after lending an additional $500,000 to his campaign. In all, he has now made more than $2 million in personal loans to his campaign to become the first sitting legislator elected governor since 1974.

He reported spending $195,000 on airing and producing campaign ads, which amounted to roughly two-thirds of his total campaign spending.

Cervantes, who comes from a prominent farming family, recently told the Journal he plans to spend the personal money he puts toward his campaign, saying, Were absolutely putting it to use  theres no other point to having it.

Apodaca, a former media executive from Albuquerque, is trailing behind his Democratic rivals when it comes to cash on hand entering the primary election homestretch.

He reported spending more than $83,000 on radio and TV ads during the reporting period, and roughly $177,000 in total. Apodaca reported raising more than $117,000 and has roughly $263,000 in his campaign account.

New Mexico will have a new governor in January, as two-term Republican Gov. Susana Martinez is barred from seeking a third consecutive term in office. The open race has attracted high-profile candidates, and spending from national groups is likely to increase before the November general election, political observers have predicted.

In an interview last month, Lujan Grisham acknowledged the challenges posed by a contested primary race but insisted her campaign would be prepared.

It means candidates have to have a two-part strategy, she told the Journal. If youre not ready for that general (election), youre in trouble.

For his part, Pearce reported spending roughly $273,000  hes also started airing TV ads in recent weeks  and receiving $118,653 in contributions. He now has more than $1.9 million in his war chest.

Other races

In other races for statewide office:

 State Sen. George Munoz has a cash advantage in the Democratic race for land commissioner, thanks in part to having lent about $200,000 to his campaign. He has about $211,000 cash on hand.

Garrett VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, raised the most money over the past month  about $49,000 in outside contributions this period  and has about $73,000 cash heading into the final weeks.

State Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard has about $31,000 cash on hand.

Whoever wins the Democratic nomination will face Republican Patrick Lyons, who has about $82,000 cash, and Libertarian Michael Lucero, who has $5,000.

 State Rep. Bill McCamley spent about $120,000 on television ads in his bid for state auditor and now has about $17,000 cash left. His Democratic primary opponent, Brian Colon, an Albuquerque lawyer, hadnt filed a report as of late Monday.

Republican Wayne Johnson, who was appointed state auditor last year, has about $51,000 cash on hand.

Early voting

Absentee voting has already started for the June 5 primary election, and early in-person voting will begin on Saturday at designated polling places statewide.

New Mexicos closed primary system is essentially a nominating process run by county clerks, as only voters affiliated with a major political party  Democrats, Republicans and Libertarians  can participate in the primary election.
BRUSSELS  Major European powers and Tehran committed Tuesday to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal despite U.S. President Donald Trumps determination to kill it off.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said after talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that salvage efforts focused on economic, business and banking issues could produce practical solutions in the next few weeks

There was awareness of the urgency, Mogherini said after the meeting in Brussels.

If I can use the metaphor that some raised around the table, we all have a relative in intensive care and we all want to get him or her out of intensive care as soon as possible, she said.

Germany, France and Britain all are signatories of the 2015 deal, which was meant to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The U.S. pulled out of the pact last week and promised to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran.

Mogherini said expert talks on relevant financial and economic issues such as banking transactions and oil would begin soon and the deputy foreign ministers from the three European nations and Iran would meet in Vienna next week.

We reaffirmed together our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere, she said.

Said Irans Zarif: We are on the right track. A lot depends on what we can do within the next few weeks.

The steps forward underscored the EUs hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to security.

It wont be easy, thats clear to all of us. But if we want to stay in this agreement and ensure that Iran stays in this agreement and abides to the terms of the agreement, then we need to talk about this, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said.

At the same time, the European diplomats wanted to show they werent gullible and wouldnt drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in the Syria conflict.

I want to stress we are under no illusion about the stuff Iran gets up to in the region, in the Middle East. We have no illusions about Irans disruptive behavior, but we think we can tackle those in other ways, British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said.

Mogherini agreed at the end of a long day of diplomatic meetings.

As you know very well, we have many other disagreements, she said. But, she added, with the nuclear deal in place we have better chances to address any other issues we have to address with Iran.

Trumps withdrawal from the deal has imperiled not only the accord, but the threat of sanctions could trickle down to European companies doing business with Iran.

We have to accept, be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extraterritoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to businesses, Johnson said.

The European Commission has been examining measures to counter the introduction of any U.S. sanctions that could harm European businesses. The commission is expected to unveil them to EU leaders at a summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.

Among them is the possible use of an EU blocking regulation which would, in essence, ban European companies from respecting American sanctions when the sanctions might damage EU interests, notably trade and the movement of capital.

The regulation, which has been brandished as a threat in the past but never used, was drawn up more than 20 years ago and would have to be revised.

It is unclear how well the measure could be enforced, given that big multinationals are likely to be doing more business in the U.S. than they are in Iran and may be unwilling to compromise that market access.

The EUs energy commissioner is also traveling this week to Iran to discuss strengthening European energy support to Iran.

___

Jill Lawless in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris and Frank Jordans in Berlin, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump appeared to be in a good mood Tuesday when he met privately with Senate Republicans, buoyed by primary election results and talks with North Korea, and bypassing any serious discussion of high-profile trouble spots in the administration.

Senators did not ask about a White House aides crass remark of ailing GOP Sen. John McCain. They did not bring up special counsel Robert Muellers probe into Russian election interference.

Instead, Trump joked and dropped one-liners during lunch, poking fun at senators of both parties in a wide-ranging 45-minute talk about the GOP tax cuts, the Iran nuclear deal and his upbeat assessment of the midterm election. He told them he so enjoyed West Virginia, where Republicans escaped an embarrassing primary setback last week, that he might move there after his time in the White House. He took a couple of questions.

But the Senates top Republican, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, told reporters afterward that the White House official who disparaged McCain should apologize and should apologize publicly.

Trumps Capitol Hill lunch Tuesday with Senate Republicans comes as the White House and its GOP allies are trying to coalesce around a political message ahead of the midterm elections.

But much like when Trump was headed to the GOP Senate lunch to talk policy in October 2017, the White House agenda was eclipsed by another story.

During a closed-door meeting last week, White House communications aide Kelly Sadler dismissed McCains opposition to CIA nominee Gina Haspel by saying of the Arizona Republican: Hes dying anyway. The 81-year-old McCain was diagnosed in July with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Sadler has apologized to the McCain family privately, but McCains daughter has asked for a public apology. Several GOP senators have also said the administration should apologize. But the White House, which has appeared more focused on the leak of the McCain comment instead of its substance, has said it has dealt with the matter internally  but has refused to say how.

Senators did not press the issue. Thats not what we do in these meetings, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., told reporters. No one would have ever brought up something like that.

It was familiar terrain. Last fall, Trump was feuding with Corker when he arrived for lunch having tweeted that the powerful chairman of the Foreign Relations panel couldnt get elected dog catcher. Corker has decided not to seek re-election.

Senators appear to have long given up on trying to change Trump and are increasingly relying on the president to help protect the GOPs slim 51-49 majority in the Senate this fall.

Two senators spoke up at the meeting, including Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who pulled a card from his coat pocket outlining all the GOP accomplishments and encouraged Trump to focus on them.

Another senator  Dean Heller, who faces a tough re-election in Nevada  told Trump how popular he was in Israel for moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

Heller described pro-Trump banners hanging from streetlights and wrapping buses during his visit for the opening, and told the president, if you had banners hanging from the light posts in America, the media would tear them down. Heller added, He totally agreed.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said the president told them he was very confident about the midterms. Trump told them he loved West Virginia, so much so that he might move there some day. He said that, Kennedy said.

Democrats, watching their leads in some polling narrow ahead of the midterm elections, waged a pre-emptive strike on the lunch session, targeting a long list of Trumps unfilled campaign promises.

Some folks confuse chaos for activity, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The truth is, the presidents impulsive and erratic behavior has scuttled bipartisan legislation.

Schumer said, The president talks a good game, but actions and accomplishments in area after area after area escape him.

Trump acknowledged the difficulty in renegotiating the North American Free Trade Alliance ahead of a Thursday deadline, said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., but said efforts to improve NAFTA are absolutely crucial.

He spoke about the importance of building a border wall with Mexico but talked little about how hell persuade Congress to fund it as part of a deal to protect young immigrants from deportation.

He told them to expect administrative action in coming weeks on health care after Congress failed to undo the Affordable Care Act.

He received applause from behind closed doors.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said: He was talking specifically about the accomplishments with the Trump admin, with the Congress. I think thatll be a continuing thing.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin, Andrew Taylor and Mary Clare Jalonick in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Follow Mascaro on Twitter at https://twitter.com/LisaMascaro
UNITED NATIONS  The U.N.s Middle East envoy said there was no justifying the killings of more than 50 Palestinians by Israeli fire at the Gaza border, and several Security Council members called for an independent investigation, but the council had no unified message Tuesday as the U.S. said Israel had acted with restraint.

While some members said the U.N.s most powerful body needed to speak as one to try to calm the volatile situation  and the Palestinian envoy implored, When are you going to act?  a proposed statement had stalled Monday after the U.S. blocked it.

Still, Kuwaits envoy said he planned to propose a council resolution on protecting Palestinian civilians.

As the council met Tuesday, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley laid blame for Mondays violence on the Hamas extremists who rule Gaza and insisted it had nothing to do with the opening of a U.S. embassy in contested Jerusalem, a move that infuriated Palestinians.

Saying that Hamas had incited people to lob flaming objects toward the Israeli side of the border fence and urged protest marchers to breach it, Haley asked: Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border?

No one would. No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has, she added.

Israel has said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas militants of trying to attack under the cover of the protest.

But Nikolai Mladenov, the U.N.s Middle East envoy, said there was no justification for the killing and no excuse.

He called on Israel to use force proportionally and avoid using deadly force except as a last resort, a message echoed by the councils European members. In a joint statement after the meeting, they said that Hamas needed to avoid provocations and violence, but that Israels military must exercise maximum restraint in using lethal force.

Some of them and others, including China, called for an independent probe into the events at the Gaza border. The death toll alone warrants such a comprehensive inquiry, British Ambassador Karen Pierce said.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also proposed an investigation, after a deadly protest in Gaza in March.

Many council members also re-emphasized their distance from the U.S. decision to open an embassy in Jerusalem and recognize it as Israels capital. It was a break with the U.N.s decade-long stance that Jerusalems final status must be decided in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, who seek eastern Jerusalem as a future capital of their own.

The U.S. says it has the right to decide where to put its embassy, and Haley said Tuesday the decision simply recognized reality.

Kuwait, which requested Tuesdays meeting, had tried to get council members to sign on Monday to a statement that would have demanded that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested Jerusalem.

The draft statement, obtained by The Associated Press, also expressed outrage and sorrow at the killings, sought an independent and transparent investigation, and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

The U.S. blocked it. The State Department said Tuesday the draft was too one-sided and unacceptable to the U.S. because it did not mention Hamas incitement of violence along the Gaza border.

Nonetheless, Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi said Tuesday he planned to draft a resolution on providing international protection to Palestinians. He didnt immediately give details of his proposal.

Tuesdays meeting came amid growing diplomatic fallout from the violence and the U.S. embassy move. South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel, Turkey temporarily expelled Israels ambassador, Israel asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to leave, and the Palestinian envoy to Washington was recalled to Ramallah.

The demonstration in Gaza Monday culminated a weekslong Palestinian campaign against a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007.

Protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli soldiers across the border.

The Israeli military said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

Israel isnt a U.N. Security Council member, nor are the Palestinians.

The Palestinian U.N. envoy urged the council to condemn the killings, back an investigation, and get Israel to lift the blockade. Israels ambassador, meanwhile, called for condemning Hamas.

Each accused the others country of violating international law.

How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour asked. Why are you paralyzed?

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon told the council that the international community had done too little to stop violence on the part of Palestinians.

You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer, he said.

___

Associated Press writer Josh Lederman contributed from Washington.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas  The lure of drugs and sex was too enticing to ignore for a San Antonio rapper with a reputation for carrying a lot of cash and wearing flashy jewelry.

What 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr. didnt know was the proposition to take a woman he knew to a San Antonio lovers lane was a setup for an ambush robbery. The plot crumbled when he refused to surrender any money and was shot seven times by a man identified as the womans boyfriend.

Juan Edward Castillo, convicted of killing Garcia, is set for execution Wednesday for the slaying more than 14 years ago.

Hed be the sixth inmate put to death this year in Texas, more than any other state.

Castillos appeals lawyers contended no physical evidence tied him to the crime and trial testimony from witnesses who said they heard Castillo talk about committing the crime was either false or misleading.

At his trial, two eyewitnesses testified they saw Castillo shoot Garcia, three people said they heard him talk about the killing and another witness testified he was wearing jewelry that belonged to the victim, Matthew Howard, an assistant Bexar County district attorney, said.

On Monday, the Texas parole board refused a clemency request, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to review a claim focusing on testimony against Castillo from a fellow county jail inmate in San Antonio. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the states highest criminal court, refused an appeal related to another witness who disputed his own trial testimony against Castillo. Attorneys also had accused prosecutors of withholding information from a police interview with a witness whose testimony they said could have challenged witnesses who did testify against Castillo.

Howard argued the late filings were legally improper, insisted no evidence was withheld and that Castillos lawyers have been unable to explain why he, a supposed innocent, was implicated in the robbery-murder by so many people.

It wasnt clear if additional appeals for Castillo would be filed. His lawyers didnt immediately respond Tuesday to messages left by The Associated Press. Howard said he wasnt aware of any new petitions.

Castillo, 36, denied any involvement in the slaying.

I didnt do it, Castillo told the AP last week in an interview outside death row. I was so positive Id get the case dismissed I refused to plead guilty. So I go to trial.

He said he rejected several plea offers that would have removed the death penalty as punishment, knew the woman, Debra Espinosa, who testified against him and who was in the car with Garcia, but denied her assertion that she was Castillos girlfriend.

Girlfriend-boyfriend, it was nothing like that, Castillo said.

She and Francisco Gonzales, who authorities said accompanied Castillo to the ambush, accepted 40-year prison terms in plea agreements. A fourth person, Teresa Quintero, pleaded no contest to a robbery charge and received 20 years. Testimony showed she was the driver who took Castillo and Gonzales the night of Dec. 3, 2003, to a dark San Antonio road known as a lovers lane to carry out what Gonzales testified was supposed to be a simple robbery.

Espinosa testified shed known Garcia for years and promised him drugs and sex in his car. Once they were parked, testimony showed Castillo smashed a window with the butt of his pistol, opened the doors and demanded Garcias money. But Garcia, who had attracted attention on San Antonios south side as a rap artist known as J.R., refused and was shot, then shot again when he tried to run away.

Relatives said Castillo talked about the killing and a witness said she saw him a day later wearing a distinctive medallion on a thick gold chain that had belonged to Garcia. The jewelry was his, not the victims, Castillo insisted last week from prison.

Castillo was 22 and already had been in prison with a two-year sentence for deadly conduct with a firearm when he was arrested for Garcias murder. At his trial, the mother of Castillos son told of repeated domestic violence incidents. Other witnesses linked him to shootings, robberies, assaults and drug dealing.
LOS ANGELES  Stormy Daniels has raised nearly a half-million dollars to fund her lawsuit against President Donald Trump, relying on contributions from a crowdfunding site. Her lawyer has repeatedly pointed to the public site as evidence that he and his client arent bankrolled by Trumps political foes.

But the truth is, no one knows precisely who is funding the effort.

The more than 14,000 donations have been made mostly anonymously in amounts ranging from $10 to $5,000. Through Monday, Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, and her attorney, Michael Avenatti, raised more than $490,000 on CrowdJustice.com, a crowdfunding site dedicated to helping people raise money for legal fees. About $100,000 arrived in the last week after Avenatti released documents about payments Trumps personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, received from private companies seeking information about the presidents beliefs on various issues.

The target for donations is $850,000, which Avenatti called a realistic and reasonable target based on what we know right now.

Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, said its unusual but not totally unheard of for a lawyer to seek online donations to cover legal costs.

It does bring up some ethical concerns in terms of who is actually giving this money and whether they will try to exert influence, said Levinson, who also is president of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission.

Crowdjustice.com donors can choose whether to share their names with the person seeking funds. The site displays donations with either a first name or as anonymous donor.

Kathleen Clark, a professor of ethics law at Washington University, echoed Levinsons concern.

The anonymous donations can be fodder for public debate on who is actually backing this lawsuit, Clark said.

Of course when the third party is actually 14,000 different people it seems actually less of a danger than it would be in an ordinary case where a single third party would be paying, she said.

Levinson said as long as Avenatti doesnt change his legal strategy because of the payments, there isnt an inherent ethical issue.

People can have partisan affiliations and I dont think anyone thought Michael Avenatti was a Trump supporter, Levinson said.

Avenatti has bristled at claims from some Trump supporters that his pay for work on the case comes from an organized an effort to oust Trump.

We have no ethical concerns whatsoever, Avenatti told The Associated Press. I find this fascination with who is paying my clients legal bills to have passed the line of absurdity at this point. We have been very, very clear when answering these questions. Who is paying Mr. Trumps and Mr. Cohens legal bills? Do we know?

Among those raising questions: Fox News Channel host Laura Ingraham, who dedicated a segment to the issue last week, and the Daily Caller, a conservative website that Avenatti has threatened to sue. A column in The Hill that questioned who is financing the lawsuit prompted Avenatti to release a statement last week that ALL fees and expenses of this case have either been funded by our client, Ms. Stephanie Clifford, or by donations from our crowdjustice.com page.

While federal election law limits the amount of money individuals can donate to campaigns, political action committees and national political party committees, no such rules apply for donations for legal cases, like the Daniels case. In theory, someone could donate as much money as they wanted as many times and they want, which cant be done with political donations.

CrowdJustice said the average donation for Daniels case was $34, which is consistent with average donation amounts across the platform. Only 24 of the donations have been over $1,000, Avenatti said.

Avenatti said he has never looked at who the individual donors are to this website and has not asked for it. He added that he has not taken any strategy advice from donors.

Because somebody is contributing to the effort, doesnt mean they get to provide strategy advice. The only person I take direction from is my client period.

Daniels has said she had an affair with Trump in 2006 and is suing to invalidate a confidentiality agreement she signed days before the 2016 presidential election in order to discuss it. She is also suing Trump and his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, alleging defamation.

Avenatti has repeatedly said the case is about allowing Daniels to speak freely, bringing the truth to light and allowing the American public to know about the presidents dealings. Hes released financial information and emails about Trump and Cohen, unveiling that Cohen was selling his experience and views at a hefty price to companies that sought insight into the new president.

Avenatti has denied that Daniels case has anything to do with politics and has said he supports some things Trump has done as president, including deregulation and tax cuts.

But Trumps followers have tried to establish Avenatti as a Democratic operative, pointing to his work for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel before Emanuel worked for the Clinton and Obama administrations.

Avenatti has said he was an investigator of political campaigns and corporations around the mid-1990s and hasnt communicated with Emanuel since 2007.

Federal records showed Avenatti has not made individual political donations since then. From 2003 to 2007, he gave $5,750 to an assortment of California and national Democratic Party candidates, including the presidential campaigns of John Kerry, John Edwards and Dick Gephardt.

___

Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Submit a confidential tip to The Associated Press at www.ap.org/tips
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The Public Education Department reiterated on Tuesday that Albuquerque Public Schools must fully accept its next steps for the districts worst-performing schools, or it faces losing control over them.

The agency sent two letters to Superintendent Raquel Reedy saying that for APS to maintain authority over Los Padillas and Whittier elementary schools and move forward with overhauling them, it has to fully commit to state-approved plans by Friday. A final plan for Hawthorne Elementary is expected later this week.

PED designated all three elementary schools as being in need of more rigorous intervention, or MRI schools, because they received five or six F annual school grades in a row.

Since the MRI designations were made late last year, APS and PED have gone back and forth on restructuring plans intended to improve the schools.

PED rejected the districts original plans but conditionally approved its resubmission on April 27 while seeking APS full commitment to PED-mandated conditions.

And while APS accepted PEDs response earlier this month, the district included terms of its own. It included a caveat that would allow the district to stop or change implementation of the plan if needed.

But PED Secretary-designate Christopher Ruszkowski told the Journal on Tuesday, APS inappropriately responded to the April 27 letters as if they werent final.

He and the agency made it clear in Tuesdays letters that APS cannot get the $2 million allotted for each school to implement restructuring or be approved to move forward unless the district accepts PEDs plans completely, without additional terms.

Districts that underserve students for more than five years straight require further conditions, oversight, and consequences. This is common sense, PEDs letter said.

APS has until Friday to respond.

In an email sent to the Journal on Tuesday, APS spokeswoman Johanna King said, The district is reviewing the letters sent  from the Public Education Department concerning Los Padillas and Whittier elementary schools. My understanding is that we have until Friday to respond, at which time we will be in a better position to comment. We are looking forward to further collaboration with PED.

At an emotional APS Board of Education meeting earlier this month, board and community members rallied for the schools.

At the time, Reedy said she was disillusioned by PEDs April decisions and said she had asked Ruszkowski to visit the schools and collaborate with APS, but that didnt happen.

Parents also took to the lectern at the board meeting, questioning the validity of PEDs school grading system and sharing the importance each school plays in the community.

Democratic state Sen. Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque spoke, too, saying she questioned whether the PEDs authority allows for the actions the department has taken on the MRI schools.

She said she thinks the department has wildly misinterpreted ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act).

The senator, who lives five houses away from Hawthorne, said she is going to fight to keep the school open.

Board President David Peercy said at the meeting that taking legal action is in our back pocket. But the board will first review the PEDs response.

In Tuesdays letters, the PED did accept and apply some terms APS proposed for its MRI plan.

For instance, the district asked for more time to move forward with some of the agencys requirements, which will now be incorporated into the plan. And APS addressed the PEDs condition from last month that stipulates a principal and assistant principal will be removed from the schools if their students do not show a certain amount of progress by benchmark dates.

APS pointed out that the current principals, who replaced the previous principals earlier this year, have multiyear contracts and said any changes will be done in accordance with the principal evaluation system required by the PED, which the department also accepted.

And the PED agreed to modify the type of teachers that must be at the schools.

The PED had previously required all of Los Padillas and Whittiers teachers be rated highly effective or exemplary. But Tuesdays letter allows for effective or better, as determined by the state teacher evaluation system.

However, APS is ultimately responsible for the implementation of each item, PED said in its letters.

Ruszkowski told the Journal that APS will not get another chance to alter the plans. He said the district must fully accept the plans and commit to putting them into effect or the PED will select other options, which could result in closures.

Hawthorne Elementary School was also labeled as an MRI school, but the PED rejected APS plans to restructure and redesign that school.

Hawthorne was instead required to champion and provide choice  meaning the school outlines all existing schooling options for parents, makes sure parents are informed of higher-performing schools their children may attend in the area and helps transfer students, if needed.

APS acknowledged the PEDs decision on Hawthorne earlier this month but also outlined its intentions to redesign the school while still complying with the champion and provide choice mandate.

The PED is expected to provide more information regarding Hawthorne later this week.

Dulce Elementary School  another MRI school, in northern New Mexico  is awaiting a response from PED on its restructuring plans, which is also expected to come this week.

The APS and Dulce districts were offered four options when informed of their schools MRI designations: close the school, restart as a charter school, champion and provide choice, or restructure and redesign.

Both districts had chosen restructure and redesign for their schools.
Tomato Cafe, which will close later this month after losing its lease in a retail center just off Paseo del Norte and San Pedro NE, will reopen this fall at a new location.

Owner Deborah Gagnon said she plans to restart the homegrown restaurant in September at a site very close to the current eatery after finalizing lease terms with the new landlord. I hope to have news to share in the next few days.

Another tenant is slated to backfill the restaurants 3,300-square-foot space at 5920 Holly NE, Gagnon said. The restaurant has been at the site since 2009.

Ive been told its a national restaurant chain, said Gagnon, who referred comment about the name of the new tenant to the owners commercial real estate broker. The Journal was unable to reach Pegasus Group, the firm handling leasing at the site.

Gagnon, who had been trying to renegotiate the lease with the current owner, will close Tomato Cafe on May 29. Following tenant improvements, she plans to reopen at a space that provides higher visibility and easier access than the current all-you-can-eat Italian-style buffet eatery. Im trying to make lemonade out of lemons, said Gagnon, who expects her 20 employees will rejoin Team Tomato in September.

Gagnon opened her first Albuquerque restaurant 25 years ago when she launched the former Mama Lenas at Juan Tabo and Indian School NE. A year later, she moved to North Towne Plaza at Academy and Wyoming NE, where the first Tomato Cafe was a fixture for 15 years.

Now shes on the move again.

Serving up fresh-out-of the-oven thin-crust pizza, salads and pasta, roasted tomato basil soup, and, of course, the famous sauteed garlic green beans, Gagnons menu has attracted a loyal following over the years.

Kids and adults alike go crazy for the meatballs, she said. Theres also a soft-serve ice cream machine, the ultimate sign of a family friendly buffet. Lunch goes for $9.99, and the dinner tab is $11.99. Fresh and consistent is Gagnons credo. Thats what our customers expect.

Those customers can be assured, however, that the essence of Tomato Cafe will remain.

Were going to be the same Tomato Cafe, Gagnon said. The menu will move with the restaurant, and Gagnon is committed to the style she and the eaterys cooks have created over the years. Were not going to change what we are.
The sampling methodology and panel design of BARC India has been certified by one of Indias most prestigious institutions  the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata. The certification is for the original design of 22,000 homes and the expanded 33,000 panel.

The representativeness of BARC Indias panel  the cornerstone of its TV Viewership measurement system  was earlier certified by CESP, a global multi-media body that audits media research as well as Ernst & Young (EY).

This is also borne out by whats visible in the data. Even the smallest change in content, distribution, electricity, or weather conditions is reflected in the ratings of a mass genre.

It may be noted here that BARC India has seeded its BAR-O-Meters in a scientifically selected set of panel homes to collect TV viewership data. Panel home designing is critical to ensure that viewership data is representative of the TV universe, and accurately reflects what India is watching.

Prof. Ashis SenGupta, ISI, Kolkata, commented, The sampling methodology suggested by BARC India for Universe estimation is a reasonable one. This method is also a feasible one for implementation in practice. Overall, BARC India panel designs adopted for panel expansion as well as for TV Universe estimates ensure representativeness of ground realities given the constraints.

ISI Kolkatas endorsement of our panel design and sampling methodology is yet another validation of our ability to measure what India watches. It is indeed a challenging task to accurately map TV viewing habits of 780 million individuals in a highly diverse and dynamic market like ours. I am proud of Team BARC India, which has lived up to industrys expectation to deliver accurate, credible and robust viewership data, day-on-day, week after week. It is also a testament to the systems and technology backbone that we have set up, which is of global standards, said Partho Dasgupta, CEO, BARC India.

This study by ISI Kolkata, that was spread over 6 months, certifies the panel home design used by BARC India for seeding BAR-O-Meters at both 22,000 as well as 33,000 panel homes levels. It also identifies any modifications required for panel expansion to 44,000 homes.

According to the ISI Kolkata report, the universe estimate used and the spatial coverage adopted by BARC India is reasonable and representative.
New York Festivals Global Awards Young Globals competition & internship program has announced the 2018 award winner. For his work on the Push Back on Opioid Use brief, Nam Do, Lycoming College student, (Pennsylvania), will receive the prestigious Young Global Award as well as paid internships with both Global Awards agency partner sponsors, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and Calcium, USA.

This was a banner year for the Young Globals  we received a robust increase in the number of entries submitted from 4 continents, which is a testament to the nature of the topic. Nam, one of the only one-person team entrants, truly deserves congratulations for his stand out entry illustrating the insidious nature of the opioid crisis, said Fran Pollaro, Executive Director of the Global Awards. The Global Awards is working in association with The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids to do our part in fixing a spotlight on the epidemic and providing some thoughtful solutions, delivered directly from the vantage of our youth - an incredibly important point of view in this battle.

I was able to review the Finalists, and Im consistently impressed by the talent of young artists, dedicating their time and passion to change hearts and minds about substance use, and finding innovative ways to help turn the tide on the opioid epidemic, said Kristi Rowe, Chief Marketing Officer, Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

The Young Global award-winning entry, Opioid Gang, was created by Nam Do. Nam was individually responsible for all art direction, copy, and strategy on the campaign. His creative poster, Opioid Gang, depicting opioids as an underground gang, was inspired by a challenge brief for the (fictional) National Opioid Addiction Prevention Council for their project Push Back on Opioid Use.

The Young Globals was a great opportunity for me to channel creativity into making a positive impact, and it was already rewarding enough for me to be able to support a meaningful cause as the fight against opioids, said Nam Do. Truth be told, this is the only mindset I brought to the competition  I was by no means formally trained in advertising, so I did not expect to become a finalist, let alone the 2018 Young Globals winner. And yes, I simply couldnt help feeling astonished when I heard about the results.

Nam had this to say about his creative process in designing his campaign. I realised how similar opioids were to underground gangs: They attract followers with promises of immediate benefits, but initiated members are eventually made dependent on them, despite the dangers, I wanted to remind the viewers of the imminent danger of opioids and ultimately to encourage people to keep themselves and others away from it the way they would from gangs.

Students achieving Finalist status in the competition were interviewed by Young Globals sponsoring agencies award-winning executives, Steven Michaelson, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Calcium USA, and Kathy Delaney, Global Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness. Representatives from the sponsoring agencies had this to say about the award-winning entry.

The competition was extremely strong in this years Young Globals. However, Nam Do really stood out, strategically and creatively. Were all excited and lucky to have him as an intern at our agency. Calcium is so proud to have been a sponsor of this awesome award, said Michaelson.

Creativity emerges from imagination and curiosity, along with craftsmanship to bring your ideas to life. We saw all those inspiring qualities in Nam Do. As the 2018 Young Globals Competition Winner, we look forward to having him join the team as an honored member of the Publicis Health Internship Program, said Delaney.

Nam will begin his internship this June at Publicis Health/Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness New York and at Calcium USA in January 2019.

The Young Global Award will be presented at the 2018 Global Awards ceremony taking place in November of 2018.

The 2018 Young Globals competition will open August 2018. The annual Young Globals competition is open to all college and university students, including portfolio centers, who are exploring advertising, marketing, art, design, creative writing, technology, or similar areas of creative focus.
An honest cop named Sadhu Agashe makes a name for himself by killing criminals in sting operations instead of locking them up in prison. The film follows his method of working, gives an insight into the Mumbai Police Crime Branch, and Agashe's alleged connection with the underworld. Featuring stellar actors like Nana Patekar, Revathi, Yashpal Sharma, Kunal Vijaykar and produced by Ram Gopal Verma, Zee Classic with its proposition Woh Zamana Kare Deewana will air the crime thriller Ab Tak Chappan on Friday, 18th May 2018 at 10pm, under the banner of Indias Finest Films.

Ab Tak Chappan is set in Mumbai and revolves around the Crime Branch of Mumbai Police, set up to weed out the increasing organised crime from the city. Sadhu Agashe (Nana Patekar) is the leader of this highly competitive and selective team of encounter cops, whose mission is to eradicate crime from Mumbai. During the course of his work, he develops a relationship with Indias most wanted Don Zameer (Prasad Purandare). The strife and resentment continues amongst the officers in the Crime Branch with Imtiaz Siddiqui (Yashpal Sharma) vying for Sadhu Agashes position. Equations change for the worst when a new commissioner, Mr. Suchak (Jeeva), favours Imitaz, causing the enmity to rise between them.

Will Sadhu be able to survive the internal politics? Will Imtiaz get to him before he does?
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A set of letters from federal energy and defense officials details U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry's official maneuver to divert money away from and ultimately dispatch the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility at the Savannah River Site.

On May 10, Perry submitted his MOX-ending waiver to congressional defense committees. Perry sent U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., a letter on the matter, a formal follow-through necessitated by federal spending language.

"This letter constitutes my execution of that waiver authority" Perry wrote, later thanking Congress for vesting that power in him.

DOE recommends pit production at SRS and Los Alamos; plan kills, repurposes MOX facility The National Nuclear Security Administration has officially proposed producing plutonium pits  nuclear weapon triggers  at both the Savannah

Fischer is the chairwoman of the Senate Armed Services strategic forces subcommittee.

Perry's letter affirms what has been expected: The U.S. Department of Energy is moving away from MOX  a roughly 70 percent finished facility designed to process weapons-grade plutonium  and toward dilute-and-dispose, a process that involves mixing plutonium with inert material for storage at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.

For months now, Perry has stumped for dilute-and-dispose, championing it as the cheaper, more efficient MOX alternative. National Nuclear Security Administration chief Lisa Gordon-Hagerty has done the same.

According to Perry's letter, MOX's remaining lifecycle cost comes in just short of $50 billion. The same letter prices dilute-and-dispose's lifecycle at roughly $20 billion.

The dilute-and-dispose figure is sourced from an independent, reliable cost analysis, the energy secretary said.

President Donald Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget request included $59 million for dilute-and-dispose expansion.

The letter promises DOE "is committed to removing plutonium" from South Carolina, an effort that will include working with New Mexico and WIPP officials. The letter also mentions DOE "exploring whether any of the plutonium" can be moved and stored or used elsewhere.

"At the same time, we are planning to install additional equipment for processing plutonium for removal from South Carolina and to increase the rate at which this removal can be carried out," Perry wrote.

Pit production expansion susceptible to schedule risks, DOE report says The U.S. Department of Energy's plutonium pit production buildout is markedly vulnerable to timetable, construction and resource-based risk, a

South Carolina leaders have previously  and successfully  sued the DOE for not disposing of plutonium in a timely manner. On May 2, S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster threatened to take the DOE to court if MOX was abandoned.

Two other letters reinforce Perry's MOX waiver for various nuclear-related reasons, namely plutonium pit production.

One letter was sent by Gordon-Hagerty. The other was sent by the Department of Defense's under secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, Ellen Lord.

On May 10, Gordon-Hagerty and Lord issued a joint statement recommending MOX be turned into a pit production facility. A repurposed MOX would work in tandem with Los Alamos National Laboratory, also in New Mexico, to pump out 80 pits per year. Pits are grapefruit-sized nuclear weapon triggers.

The joint statement was supported by a 2017 analysis of alternatives, which predicted MOX refurbishment to be the cheapest and quickest option for updated pit production; an engineering analysis; and a workforce analysis.

"LANL will remain the nation's plutonium center of excellence as we work to ensure a resilient and responsive infrastructure for pit production for decades to come," Gordon-Hagerty wrote in her letter.

A copy of the letter the Aiken Standardobtained had recipient information redacted.

S.C. governor threatens legal action if U.S. Energy Department abandons MOX South Carolina's governor is threatening a legal offensive should President Donald Trump's administration disband the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrica

While the DOE handles pit production buildout and transformation at MOX, which is potentially years out and is by no means conclusive yet, the NNSA should push Los Alamos to produce pits "to the fullest extent practicable," according to Lord's letter.

The production surge at Los Alamos would cover for the "major construction and certification schedule risks" that come with the two-pronged pit production plan, Lord wrote.

An NNSA pit production executive summary, which the Aiken Standard obtained, noted "high schedule risk" associated with pit production modernization at all considered locations and for all potential approaches.

Schedule risk is the potential for a project to take longer than expected.
Following a previous crackdown on fake news, Egyptian authorities now have their sights set on fake weather. The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA), a government body responsible for domestic weather forecasting, announced that it has drafted a new law that would punish unauthorized weather forecasts in an attempt to put an end to the growing number of unauthorized reports.

Cairo-based Shorouk daily reported that in an interview with satellite TV channel DMC on April 28, head of the EMA Ahmed Abdel Aal stated that the new bill will be submitted to the parliament shortly. He stressed, The EMA is the only body entitled to issue weather reports and notify concerned parties.

The bill will become law once it is approved by the parliament and the president. In Egypt, draft laws are presented to the parliament and must be approved before being passed into law.

Abdel Aal noted that the law seeks to hold accountable unauthorized weather forecasts and use of meteorological instruments and those causing confusion about weather conditions.

Anyone or any authority that releases weather forecasts or uses a weather forecast device to issue a forecast is punished. The law is targeted particularly at websites and authorities that release unauthorized weather forecasts.

According to officials, the bill stipulates that violators would have to pay a fine, with the amount to be determined once the bill is submitted to parliament.

Eman Shaker, a meteorological expert at the EMA, told Al-Monitor that the agency drafted the law because unauthorized weather forecasts have increased in recent months.

The EMA released a weather forecast last week, for instance, warning citizens of a strong sandstorm in the southern and western parts of the country, and a light one in the capital. Meanwhile, social media sites and activists wrongly circulated the EMAs weather forecast and posted information that a strong, not light, sandstorm would hit Cairo.

Relying on social medias false circulation of the EMA report, posts making fun of the EMA went viral when the sandstorm did not hit Cairo as much as it hit the other parts of the country. Although the EMA correctly predicted that a light sandstorm would hit Cairo, an incorrect circulation of news caused confusion among citizens and even prompted some social media activists to mock the EMA.

"I have closed all windows and balcony doors, prepared the mask and everything else needed. The sandstorm is the only thing missing. The absent party is not faulty," one citizen tweeted.

Shaker noted that other authorities, such as the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, also release weather forecasts. This leads to uncertainty and makes it harder to hold the responsible authority accountable in the presence of a panoply of bodies releasing predictions about weather conditions, she said. The new bill would protect the citizens right to obtain correct weather reports and reduce economic losses caused by contradictory weather forecasts."

However, social media activists fear that the new draft law targets freedom of expression and speech. A female engineer and social media activist, who refused to be identified, said that she hopes the new draft law would not crack down on social media users who talk about or release weather forecasts. If that happens, it will be insane and crazy, she told Al-Monitor.

Officials like Shaker said that the draft law only seeks to put an end to confusion with regard to weather forecasts and not at all to limit freedom of expression and speech.

Gamil Gamal, a lecturer in meteorology at Cairo University, said that it is the EMAs right to prevent any other entity or person from issuing weather forecasts, as such reports can greatly affect the peoples daily activities and navigational and travel movement.

He said, however, that the EMA has to develop its own line of communication with the citizens in order to keep them updated about weather conditions and make sure they ignore other unauthorized forecasts.

The agency has to communicate with citizens whether via text messaging or WhatsApp to keep them constantly updated about weather conditions, because the majority of citizens learn about weather conditions through social media and the [traditional] media as well. Being in direct communication with the public would end any confusion, he added.

The draft law comes as extreme weather conditions such as heavy rainfall, floods and sandstorms hit Egypt lately. In New Cairo, a wealthy neighborhood located on the outskirts of the capital, residents panicked April 25 as rainwater levels in the streets rose, submerging vehicles.

Poor infrastructure was blamed for what happened in New Cairo, and officials at the Administrative Control Authority were accused of not being prepared for the extreme weather conditions; they were suspended and referred to the Public Prosecution.

Egypt has been cracking down on false news and reports in general since the beginning of the year. In March, the Public Prosecution established a hotline for citizens to report fake news in the media.

Gamal said the EMA should further focus on coordinating with the relevant authorities to immediately deal with any unusual and extreme weather conditions. We still lack crisis management response capabilities, especially when it comes to the weather, he concluded.
Iraqi Kurds are opening a new chapter in their relations with Iran, seven months after Tehran sided with Baghdad in crushing their ambition for independence following a 2017 referendum in which nearly 93% of Kurds opted to secede from Iraq.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) hosted an Iranian government trade delegation in Erbil during the fourth economic conference between the two parties on May 2-3 in order to discuss ways of expanding ties. This conference was an important gathering to expand the economic relations between Iraq and Iran and in particular the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said Hassan Danaiefar, the former Iranian ambassador to Baghdad and the current head of the committee to expand economic relations between Iran and Iraq.

This is yet another testament to the growing Iranian influence in Iraq, as the country has held critical elections that could see Tehran-backed groups occupying the top echelons of power to the dismay of the United States and the European Union. At the conference in Erbil, Iraj Masjedi, the current Iranian ambassador to Iraq and a former senior lieutenant in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps elite Quds Force, took time to meet with former KRG President Massoud Barzani, who was the main force behind the September 2017 independence referendum. In the meeting, views were exchanged about the political conditions, the latest developments in Iraq and the region, a statement on the encounter read, without providing further details.

Irans Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Shariatmadari, who attended the conference, said that an agreement was signed between Erbil and Tehran to expand their relations and to form a committee to deal with the obstacles that slow down bilateral trade.

This kind of high-level reception for officials of a country that many Iraqi Kurds blame for foiling their independence referendum and for the loss of disputed territories as well as half of the KRGs oil revenue comes at a time when Iran appears to be facing further isolation following US President Donald Trumps withdrawal from the nuclear deal.

I think all the parties, including the KDP [Kurdistan Democratic Party], the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and others, have understood that the role of the Islamic Republic is critical and they should have taken into account its demands and suggestions, said Nazim Dabagh, a veteran KRG representative in Tehran, on May 2. We could say that they [Iranians] had informed the Kurds that the referendum would bring disaster for the Kurds, now all the [Kurdish] parties are trying to improve their relations [with Tehran].

Once the Iraqi Kurdish leadership came to terms with the fact that Iran is the real power broker in Iraq, a KRG delegation headed by Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani visited Tehran in January and accepted defeat in meetings with senior Iranian officials. The KRG delegation agreed with Tehrans demand for a halt to illegal smuggling from Iraqi Kurdistan as well as more restrictions on the Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan region  including preventing the opposition groups from conducting cross-border operations. In return, both parties agreed to expand their economic and trade ties and bring them to the level before the Islamic State seized one-third of Iraq in the summer of 2014.

Now, the Kurds and Iran are implementing an agreement that has dire consequences for those living on both sides of the border, and in particular for Iranian Kurds who are already suffering from poverty and high unemployment. On the economic front, the KRG will expand the capacity of the current border crossings and will open more crossings. This has led to protests and strikes in the Kurdish areas on the Iranian side, as the crackdown on smuggling has put thousands of cross-border porters, locally known as kolbar, out of work. An Iranian Kurdish member of parliament last month complained in parliament that 75,000 kolbar have lost their jobs as a result of government policy in the Iranian year, which ended March 20. The Iranian authorities now say reforms are being pursued to put these porters back to work, albeit via new arrangements. Meanwhile, in relation to the ongoing strike in the border hub of Baneh, officials say local traders demand of a 50% exemption from customs tariffs  more than twice the current discount of 20%  cannot be accommodated.

Added to the mix is the May 8 withdrawal of the United States from the nuclear deal, which is already impacting the lives of ordinary Iranians. The price of a 10-kilogram [22-pound] bag of rice has jumped from 70,000 [$17.50] to 90,000 tomans [$22.50] over the last two days, a resident of the western city of Kermanshah told Al-Monitor the day after Trump pulled out of the accord. People are worried about the repercussions of the US decision on ordinary people. Meanwhile, the number of kolbar killed by Iranian border guards continues to rise. On the Iraqi side, more border checkpoints are set up to stop traders from providing goods to the porters. We are here to stop the smuggling of goods, said a Kurdish officer in the border area near the town of Khurmal in Iraqs Sulaimaniyah province on April 25. This is new, and I think it is a result of pressure from the Iranian side after the referendum.

On the security front, Iran has demanded that Iranian Kurdish opposition groups be stopped from operating in the border area  and the pressure appears to be mounting. There is a real danger that the KDPI peshmerga are disarmed, said a well-connected source who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, referring to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, the main Kurdish group that has been fighting the Islamic Republic since 1980. There is a real debate about what to do if the KRG pressures them to disarm. Some within the KDPI say the group should take up arms and go back to the mountains in the belief that there is no guarantee that they wont be targeted by Iranian assassins or ground forces if they are disarmed.

The steps taken by the KRG to boost bilateral trade and keep a lid on militancy in its territory signals that the Iraqi Kurdish leadership has realized that it needs to be on good terms with the Iranians  not merely to survive in the volatile region, but also to be accepted once again in the Iraqi capital. Erbils conceding that the road to Baghdad goes through Tehran and not Washington in effect reiterates another lesson to Kurdish officials: Their role in fighting the Islamic State has not made them indispensable to the West.
The Sairoon (On the Move) Alliance of Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr is set to win Iraq's parliamentary elections  an unexpected outcome that has caught the attention of Iranian media.

Over 91% of votes in 16 of Iraq's 18 provinces have been counted so far, and based on the announced results, Iran-backed Shiite politician Hadi al-Ameri's Fatah (Conquest) Coalition is in second place, while current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Nasr (Victory) Coalition came in third.

The Reformist Shargh newspaper wrote that the surprising results of the Iraqi elections may signal a greater Saudi influence in Baghdad.

The recent proximity of Muqtada al-Sadr to Saudi Arabia has led the Sairoon Alliance to be partly considered as a group backed by the Saudis and  to some extent means greater influence of Saudi Arabia [in Iraq] compared to its regional rivals, wrote Shargh on May 15, adding, Sadr's supporters are opposed to Iranian influence and are vehemently anti-American.

Describing Abadi as a figure who has the support of both Iran and the United States, Shargh wrote, Even though Abadi achieved significant domestic and international success through the victory over Daesh [Islamic State], he failed to overcome economic problems, and this caused him not to achieve the results he expected in this election.

Explaining the factors behind Sadrs victory, the Reformist daily noted, Muqtada al-Sadr, who has lately shifted his policies and turned to Riyadh, took advantage of combating corruption in his competition with his rivals and also maintained his own traditional supporters.  Now he can form the biggest Shiite electoral coalition and play a key and strategic role in electing the [next] prime minister.

Moreover, Qasem Mohebali, former director-general of political affairs of the Middle East in Iran's Foreign Ministry, told the moderate Entekhab news site on May 15, Perhaps the reason for [Sairoon] Alliances attraction for the Iraqi people was Muqtada al-Sadr's nationalist slogans like Arab Iraq. On the other hand, the corruption of the previous governments was also impactful in turning people away [from the other groups].

Meanwhile, conservative Tasnim News Agency reported on May 15 that Sadr is seeking to reach a coalition with Ammar al-Hakim's Hikma (National Wisdom Movement) and Iyad Allawis Iraqi National Alliance Coalition to form a technocrat government.

Given the unexpected results that Nasr achieved, the chance of Abadi becoming the [next] prime minister has decreased, especially since the [coalition] under his leadership came in fifth in Baghdad, argued Tasnim.

The news agency also claimed that Sadrs coalition is planning to name the current governor of Maysan province, Ali Dawai Lazem, prime minister.

According to Tasnim, if Fatah comes to terms with Nasr and former Prime Minister Nouri al-Malikis State of Law coalition, an inclusive coalition can be formed to choose the prime minister. However, based on Tasnims report, collaboration between Abadi and Maliki is unlikely due to their deep disagreements.

Meanwhile, Irans former ambassador to Iraq has denied the speculations about Sadr approaching Saudi Arabia. Asked about the US governments possible softened position toward Sadr and his alleged proximity to Riyadh, Hassan Danaiefar told Entekhab news site on May 15, Some of this talk is speculation.  One or two trips [to Saudi Arabia] cannot change the basic principles of a person or a [political] current.
BAGHDAD  The arrest of five key members of the Islamic State (IS) points to a steady encroachment on territory still held by the extremist group and a tightening of the noose around its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Four members were reportedly captured near their home areas straddling the Syrian-Iraqi border. The two Syrians arrested had apparently not been involved with any of IS' precursors, while at least one of the three Iraqis reportedly had a lengthy history with Jamaat al-Tawhid wal Jihad.

Questions remain regarding exactly how and when the men were detained, with media reports and official statements providing conflicting accounts. Their capture alive is nevertheless a boon for intelligence agencies, as cross-border airstrikes have been stepped up on the few areas still under IS control in Syrias eastern Deir ez-Zor province. The area is roughly divided by the Euphrates River into international coalition-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) territory north and east of the waterway and Syrian regime and allied militias south and west of it, with the most sizable IS enclaves in SDF-held areas.

On May 9, Iraqi television broadcast a video that opened with the seal of the Iraqi National Intelligence Service and went on to showcase the mens capture. Reminiscent of suspense-provoking film trailers in a style similar to that long used by IS itself to attract viewers and acolytes, the video includes footage of the five men during their time in IS followed by post-capture monologues, with the captives dressed in bright yellow prisoner uniforms.

The video ends with a photograph of Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi, noting that he had closely overseen the operation. The video's release only a few days prior to the May 12 parliamentary elections hinted at an attempt to boost Abadis share of the vote.

A statement posted May 11 by the Iraqi Security Media Center on a WhatsApp group with government officials and journalists working in Iraq said that all five men had been arrested on Syrian territory. At least one of them, however, the Iraqi Ismail Alwan Salman al-Ithawi, aka Abu Zaid al-Iraqi, had actually been arrested in February in Turkey. Iraqi intelligence allegedly lured the other four into a trap using Ithawi, according to the New York Times. The Times report included inaccuracies, however, claiming that four Iraqis and one Syrian had been captured in the cross-border operation instead of three Iraqis and two Syrians.

That the men were arrested by Iraqi intelligence  despite reportedly having been captured in SDF territory prior to being brought to Iraq, although some media reports claim they were lured into Iraq  and not by the SDF, which is proving to be much more lenient, means that they will presumably face the death penalty unless some sort of deal is reached on their cooperation.

Al-Monitor had been told a few months prior by a source from Deir ez-Zor that one of the men, Mohammad al-Qadeer, had been arrested by the SDF while trying to escape IS-held Hejin. The source had at that time expressed concern that the SDF might release him in exchange for a large bribe, claiming that this often occurred in the area.

The two Syrians, Saddam al-Jamal and Qadeer, more widely known as Abu Seif al-Shaiti, are from Deir ez-Zor. Jamal is from al-Bukamal, just opposite Iraqs al-Qaim, where his family is said to have sought refuge for a period. Abu Seif hails from Gharanij, one of the three main towns of the Shaitat tribes ancestral land. Both had been with Syrian opposition groups in their area prior to switching sides.

In the Iraqi video, Jamal is the first of the men to appear. According to author and Deir ez-Zor native Hassan Hassan, he is the highest profile captured alive, after Abu Zaid al-Iraqi. Jamal had been involved in cross-border smuggling and other illicit activities prior to the Syrian conflict, sources from the region told Al-Monitor. His deputy in the Allahu Akhbar Brigade, which Jamal led, later went on to form a Turkey-based media activists group focusing on getting information out of IS-held eastern Syria.

As this journalist reported in 2015 in Al-Monitor, a media activists group from eastern Syria that requested anonymity due to security reasons includes a man who used to fight with a Free Syrian Army group led by Saddam al-Jamal, who later joined IS.  Members of the group said that it had about 70 people inside Syria that pass on information.

Al-Monitor has long been told by people close to Jamal that he allegedly joined IS to extract revenge against Jabhat al-Nusra, which opposed IS in their region at the time, after his brothers were killed by the group. Recent media reports have corroborated the account.

This reporter had met Abu Seif in 2012 when interviewing various opposition groups from the restive Deir ez-Zor region. At the time, he was lean, had a trimmed beard and a tattoo on his arm and wore a loose-fitting turtleneck. He kept company with two other men involved in opposition groups from the same area and a Russian prostitute in a rooftop hotel cafe. Less than two years later, he would allegedly become one of the main culprits behind a massacre of his own tribe, the Shaitat, at the hands of IS.

As this journalist reported for Al-Monitor in 2015 on the one-year anniversary of the massacre, little international coverage was given to the mass killing of his fellow tribesmen at the hands of the Islamic State a year ago, in which as many as a thousand were slaughtered following an insurrection.

A US Delta Force raid that killed Abu Sayyaf  a senior figure in ISs illicit oil and gas activities, key financier and Tunisian national  in mid-May 2015 in eastern Syria briefly spotlighted the area near the valuable al-Omar oil fields, but little attention has been given to the tribes therein.  Between 800 and 1,000 mostly men are thought to have been killed in early August 2014 in retaliation for an anti-IS uprising. The revolt was conducted mainly by civilians after various rebel groups, including local Jabhat al-Nusra fighters, had withdrawn the month before.

In the video, Abu Seif is obese and seems slow-witted, reeling off names of the various groups he took part in prior to joining IS.

As for Omar al-Karbouly, [He worked] closely with Abu Moussa al-Zarqawi as a top-level leader starting in 2003, Col. Moussa al-Karbouly, who now leads a local Popular Mobilization Unit (PMU) in al-Qaim, told Al-Monitor. The PMU officer recounted having in 2008 arrested the man now in the hands of the Iraqi intelligence services.

He said he had spotted Omar in a market in Fallujah and grabbed him and put a gun to his head, handing him over to the police there. But he bribed them to get out and then bombed my home. Col. Karbouly had previously worked in police intelligence in al-Qaim, the border town native to both him and Omar.

The Iraqi Essam al-Zawbai was also among the captured. It is widely assumed that the men will be used to track down IS top leader  the Iraqi-born Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
At 5.30 p.m. May 14, when the number of Palestinian fatalities in the violent demonstrations along the Gaza-Israel border hit the 55 mark, Hamas ordered the protesters to move away from the fence and go home, for two reasons. The first was pressure to end the bloodshed brought to bear by the Gaza civil society organizations that had initiated the anti-Israel protests of recent weeks before Hamas hijacked them. By then, Gaza hospitals were near collapse, inundated with over 2,500 Palestinians wounded in the clashes with Israel, some 100 of them with life-threatening injuries. The second reason that the Hamas leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, called on the demonstrators to disperse was simpler: The mission had been accomplished. While Israelis and Americans were busy celebrating the inauguration of the US Embassy in Jerusalem, some 60 kilometers (37 miles) away the rest of the world was watching the violence in Gaza with concern, condemning Israel harshly for the mounting Palestinian casualty toll. By the following day, the number of dead had climbed to 60.

Until the number of deaths reached 50, not a single Hamas leader considered trying to stem the bloodshed. The order to disperse and the demonstrators speedy acquiescence proved that Hamas leadership was in control of events and had planned their course ahead of time. The civilian protesters were pawns in the sad game played out by Hamas along the border fence with Israel in a bid to save the organization, which has long been on the verge of collapse.

On May 12, two days prior to the planned events on the day of the embassy opening, Egypt made a final effort to forestall the violence. A Hamas delegation led by head of Hamas political bureau Ismail Haniyeh; his deputy, Khalil al-Hayya; and Hamas political bureau member Rouhi Mushtaha flew to Cairo aboard a plane that awaited them in the Sinai town of Rafah after they crossed over from the Gaza Strip. They met with the head of Egyptian intelligence, Abbas Kamel, who presented them with an Egyptian proposal designed to enable Hamas to let off steam and make its mark on the day of the US Embassy inauguration and on the next days Nakba events on May 15 commemorating the catastrophe of the Palestinian uprooting from Israel. The Egyptian proposal was intended to prevent a deadly clash with Israel that could escalate into a broad military clash.

An Israeli defense source told Al-Monitor that Egypt had conveyed several similar messages to the Hamas leadership in recent weeks. This time, the effort to prevent the mass protest was more serious. In return for restoring calm to the turbulent enclave, Egypt was willing to offer Hamas significant concessions and an easing of restrictions at the Rafah border crossing with Gaza. At the same time, it warned Haniyeh that it viewed Hamas as directly responsible for events. Hamas responded to the Egyptian offer less than 48 hours later with a clear message: Tens of thousands of Palestinians demonstrated near the fence with Israel, with many attempting to breach it, while Haniyeh and the two senior Hamas delegation members who had accompanied him to Cairo stood behind them.

When the signal was given to stop the protest, the number of casualties was the highest it had been in a single day since the 2014 Israel-Gaza war. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ordered his countrys ambassador back from Israel. So did South Africa. The UN Security Council met in an emergency session. The price in human life had been paid, and Hamas had achieved its goal.

The movements leaders can add another achievement to their scorecard: They showed the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by the rival Fatah movement, that Hamas is still able to control the Palestinian agenda and bring out tens of thousands into the streets. While the PA protested the American Embassy move mostly in rhetoric and through diplomatic channels, the Hamas reaction was more powerful, more influential and far more widely covered.

The battle for Palestinian public opinion is highly significant in Hamas' decision-making. Former and current leaders are motivated by a sense of deprivation and feelings of inferiority vis-a-vis the PA, making incessant attempts to prove they are the true leaders of the Palestinian people, their representatives and main spokespeople. The 1974 Arab League announcement at the Rabat Summit recognizing the PLO as the official representative of the Palestinian people still troubles the Hamas leadership deeply. More than 40 years later, this declaration still carries weight in the Hamas decision-making process.

The Nakba Day and Jerusalem Embassy protest are simply dates that help them (Hamas) prove their way is effective, a senior Fatah official in the West Bank told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. They will never admit that they have failed in running Gaza and controlling it. The official said the attempt to justify its methods could lead Hamas into a broad military clash with Israel.

Israel, too, thinks Hamas is gearing up for war. All the signs on the ground indicate they are preparing for a broad, frontal clash with Israel, an Israeli defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. This assessment, he added, led Israel to convey a clear message to Hamas that if the violent protests continue, Israel would renew its killing campaign against leaders of the organizations political wing.

No threat troubles the Hamas leadership more than the renewed targeting of its chiefs. That was the only effective solution to the suicide bombings initiated by Hamas during the second intifada more than a decade ago from 2000-2005. Haniyeh, Sinwar and the leaders of the Hamas military wing understand that the elimination of the political leadership, whose members are all in the small Gaza Strip territory, could be the final nail in the Hamas coffin. And then, the attempt to win over public opinion and the internecine Palestinian struggle against Fatah would be meaningless in any case.
TRIPOLI, Libya  Khalifa Hifter, commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), announced May 8 the start of a military operation to take Derna in northeastern Benghazi. This military operation has long been expected, as coastal Derna is the last remaining major town in eastern Libya that has not fallen to Hifters forces, which are backed by the countrys Tobruk-based parliament. Libya has two competing governments: one in Tripoli supported by the United Nations and another in Tobruk that lacks international support.

The military operation is seemingly planned to coincide with the anniversary of the Karama Operation (Operation Dignity). Hifter, supported by few military officers, launched the Karama Operation four years ago to liberate Libya from terror organizations such as the Shura Council, Ansar al-Sharia and even the Islamic State (IS), which took over much of eastern Libya, including Benghazi, Libyas second-largest city, and the capital of its eastern region.

In a speech at the start of a military parade in Benghazi, Hifter said, Zero hour for the liberation of Derna has struck. Our army forces are now targeting their [opponents] hideouts. In an apparent attempt to reassure the people that his forces are trying hard to avoid civilian casualties, he added, We have given instructions to avoid civilian [casualties].

The LNA is accused of committing indiscriminate slaughter against the civilian population in Derna and in Benghazi before it. One of Hifters vocal critics has been Libyas dismissed mufti, Sadiq al-Ghariani, who called on people to fight against the LNA. Ghariani has long accused Hifter and his supporters of being counter-revolutionaries rather than legitimate armed forces supported by the countrys elected parliament.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for one of the LNAs commanders, Col. Mahmoud al-Werfalli, in August 2017, accusing him of war crimes after he appeared in video footage shooting dozens of suspects in public.

Hifters military campaign against Derna has so far been limited to encircling the town and engaging positions on its outskirts. The LNA controls all roads leading to Derna, prompting Hifters opponents, particularly in western Libya, to accuse him of war crimes by cutting food and medical supplies to the besieged town.

Little information is being shared with the media as to how the operation is proceeding and the numbers of casualties so far, let alone civilian losses, in the town of an estimated 100,000 inhabitants. Al-Monitor spoke to Col. Jamal, who did not reveal his full name because he is not allowed to speak to the media. He explained the situation, saying, In our previous military operations, we used to share too much with the public that resulted in the enemy knowing about our movements and tactics.

He added, That was a lesson we learned the hard way.

Hifter, who was rumored to have died in Paris while receiving medical treatment only less than a month earlier, is back on the scene with an even stronger determination to deliver on his 2014 promise to rid the country of "terrorist organizations," as he put it. It took the LNA a little over three years to declare victory in Benghazi over half a dozen Islamist organizations that used to control different parts of the city since the fall of the late Moammar Gadhafi regime with NATO help in October 2011.

After many bloody battles to finally take Benghazi and its surrounding areas in July 2017, it was only logical for the strongman of eastern Libya to prepare to take Derna, the last major stronghold in eastern Libya of different Islamist factions including IS and al-Qaeda.

Derna, over the last two decades, had a reputation of being the main supplier of jihadis from Libya and neighboring North African countries to conflict zones, including Iraq after the US invasion in 2003. After the Gadhafi regimes fall in 2011, the town became a springboard for fighters in eastern Libya and further afield, including Syria after the civil war erupted in March 2011.

Even under Gadhafi, Derna was known to have different Islamic factions operating in secrecy, capitalizing on the towns difficult mountainous terrain. Libyas main terror group at the time, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, used Derna in the 1990s as its fallback and main military depot to its terror attacks against the Libyan security forces in Benghazi and other cities. Neighboring Egypt launched its own airstrikes against IS training camps and arms depots in Derna in response to the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians by IS in Sirte in February 2015.

If and when the LNA takes full control of Derna  which is only a matter of time  Hifter will emerge even stronger than he is now. Such military victory will only widen his public support and that of his politicians supporters who are gearing up for the next elections. This development will definitely play a role in the upcoming elections proposed by the UN for the divided country sometime this year.

However, it remains to be seen how the battle for Derna will proceed and how long it will last. Based on the fact that different terror groups, including IS, have long entrenched themselves inside Derna, there is every indication that it will be a bloody and protracted battle that could delay elections themselves. The Islamic holy month of Ramadan starts May 16, during which fighting is strictly prohibited, but it is unlikely that it will deter the LNA after such a long wait.

In his speech, Hifter said, The peace efforts in Derna have reached a dead end, indicating that his forces will stop at nothing.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  In the final statement of its regular session, issued May 4, the Palestinian National Council (PNC) instructed the Executive Committee of the PLO to suspend recognition of Israel until the latter recognizes the State of Palestine along the borders of June 4, 1967, revokes the East Jerusalem annexation decision and stops its settlement activity.

While the PNC stressed that the relationship between the Palestinians and Israel is based on conflict, it called for the need to implement the decisions the PLO Central Committee took in its last two sessions of 2015 and 2018 in order to stop all forms of security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), and put an end to Palestinian economic dependence on Israel, which has been entrenched by the Paris Protocol of 1994, all the while boycotting Israeli products.

In its statement, the PNC also highlighted the need for the PLO Executive Committee and the Palestinian state institutions to start implementing the PNC and Central Committee decisions, and announced that the transitional period and obligations stipulated by the agreements signed in Oslo in 1993, Cairo in 1994 and Washington in 1995 are no longer valid.

These agreements were deemed to be no longer valid because of Israel's noncompliance and violation thereof by building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and seizing Palestinian territories.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told Al-Monitor that since its first session May 4, the new Executive Committee has been examining the content of the PNC statement; he said Palestinian expert committees will be set up to address the dimensions of the re-evaluation of political, security and economic relations with Israel.

He said the PLO had no other choice but to re-evaluate the relationship with Israel and terminate the signed agreements, and said this year's PNC decisions along with the PLO Central Committee decisions in 2015 and 2018 will be implemented in the near future.

Some agreements between Israel and the PA are only valid for a specific period of time. For example, the Paris Economic Agreement, signed in 1994, was only valid for five years, but the PA and Israel continued to implement it based on mutual consensus. However, they both retain the right to withdraw from it.

Abu Youssef said the Palestinian leadership is well aware of the impact its decisions will have on the relationship with Israel, and added that the Palestinian leadership will take political and diplomatic steps to clarify to the world the Palestinian stance on those agreements.

However, these Palestinian decisions are not new. The PLO Central Committee adopted the same decisions in 2015 and 2018, but they were never implemented on the ground, and the executive institutions of the PA never explained the reason behind their nonimplementation, which led the PA to face strong Palestinian criticism.

A Palestinian official close to President Mahmoud Abbas told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, During his meeting with the new members of the Executive Committee, the president asked for the setting of timetables to implement the PNC decisions, especially those related to the re-evaluation of the relationship with Israel in order for these [decisions] to be discussed at the next meeting before the end of next June.

The official said that Abbas told many allies and friendly countries that he is looking for a new transitional formula to substitute for the previous transitional period, which is no longer valid because the United States and Israel have been taking actions related to the final solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The source did not name those countries.

The Israeli newspaper Maariv reported May 3 that Israel voiced concerns over the prospect that security coordination between Israel and the PA will be stopped. The newspaper said Israel is encouraging several Western countries, primarily the United States, to support and empower the PA security apparatuses in order to avoid the security vacuum that could plague both Israel and the PA in the event security coordination is stopped between the two, knowing that Hamas could be the ultimate winner in such a case.

Mustafa Barghouti, the secretary-general of the Palestinian National Initiative, told Al-Monitor that the PNC decisions should be supported by action, saying many decisions that were previously taken have yet to be implemented.

Barghouthi said the PNC was forced to take the recent decisions in light of the dangers threatening the Palestinian cause and attempts to liquidate the cause by both Israel and the United States. These attempts include US President Donald Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the US Embassys relocation from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem on May 14 and leaks about the "deal of the century." And the list goes on.

Talal Awkal, a political analyst and writer at the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, told Al-Monitor that he expects the PNC decisions to be implemented, despite the slow pace of the process. He said PA policy relies on pressure and threats and will go so far as to carry out threats in the absence of a response from the concerned parties.

He said the Palestinian leadership did not resort to these decisions until it realized the seriousness of the threat facing the Palestinian cause. He said any price that results from those decisions will be less harmful to the Palestinian cause than silence and idleness.

Abdel Sattar Kassem, a political science professor at An-Najah University, told Al-Monitor that he neither expects the PLO institutions nor the government to implement the decisions. The PA was founded to achieve security and stability in the areas it controls and prevent any hostilities against Israel on the part of Palestinian organizations. If it stops carrying out those tasks, then it would be easy for Israel to dispense with it, he said.

Kassem expects the Palestinian leadership to continue to issue political positions that find an echo in the media but that fail to eventually be implemented. He said the PA and the Palestinian organizations positions are pitiful and cannot confront US and Israeli steps aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause.

The re-evaluation of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians may face major obstacles, especially for the Palestinian side, whose economy is totally reliant on the Israeli economy. Also, the PA fears that if it terminates its interim agreements with Israel, the PA would lose political support around the world.
It was difficult to ignore. The iconic image from the late 1980s of a well-dressed Palestinian woman carrying her high heels in her left hand and throwing stones at Israeli soldiers with her right hand. The identity of the woman, from the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour, whose image represented the struggle of Palestinian women and their important place alongside men in the first Palestinian intifada, remained unknown to the world for 30 years even though the image was used in various publicity posters and campaigns.

On Dec. 21, 2017, Women in the World Magazine published an article titled, Identity of mysterious woman seen in iconic protest photo revealed after 30 years.

Micheline Awwad, a mother of two who works in a hotel, was quoted in the article saying, I was wearing a black shirt and top, a yellow scarf and yellow heels. There was a special mass at the church, otherwise, I wouldnt have worn that outfit for a protest.

Yet despite their long history of presence at protests, Palestinian women remain isolated politically.

Joost Hiltermann, a sociologist and researcher who is now MENA program director at the International Crisis Group, reflected on the gap between action and political empowerment for women in an essay published in the Palestine Journal of Studies in 1991.

The early days of the uprising in the occupied territories yielded striking images of Palestinian women marching in the streets, schoolgirls throwing stones at soldiers, older women carrying baskets of stones on their heads to supply younger demonstrators, women arguing and tussling with the authorities to win the release of an arrested boy, Hiltermann wrote.

Hiltermann continued, Already by the third year of the uprising  despite women's activism, their social and political position in society had remained essentially the same.

It is clear today that the gap between the image and reality has become a sad truth in Palestinian politics, where the struggle of women is often praised and boasted about but is rarely translated into political power.

President Mahmoud Abbas praised Palestinian women in his opening speech at the 23rd regular session of the Palestinian National Council (PNC) held in Ramallah April 30. We [ratified] the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and we are working on amending it, and we promise you [women] to positively respond to all your requests, Abbas was quoted by Palestinian news agency WAFA as saying in his opening speech.

Zahira Kamal, the secretary-general of the Palestinian Democratic Union Party (FIDA) and a member of the PNC, took Abbas words and organized a petition among PNC members calling for a guaranteed 30% quota for women. I was very excited when we were able to get more than 500 registered PNC members out of the 605 attending to sign the petition, Kamal told Al-Monitor.

But the sad reality soon dawned on Kamal and other womens rights activists. The names of the new executive committee and central committee members were announced May 3; it was clear that the petition had little or no influence on Palestinian men making decisions. The idea was to create [member] lists based on consensus. The male politicians had plenty of choices to reflect the role of women in Palestinian politics, but unfortunately they didnt, Kamal said.

Out of the 15 members of the new Executive Committee of the PLO, only one woman, Hanan Ashrawi, was included. And out of the 35 new members of the PLOs Central Committee, only three women were added  far short of the 30% quota hoped for and included in the signed petition.

Nour al-Emam, a Jordanian human rights lawyer of Palestinian origin and one of the three new women appointed to the Palestinian Central Committee (PCC), told Al-Monitor that the issue of female representation cant be pushed under the carpet anymore. We will not waive our demands of a fair representation in all PLO bodies, she said. Emam added that the PCC will be meeting after the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and she was certain that this issue will be discussed in full.

Kamal told Al-Monitor that the idea of expecting change to happen based on the rhetoric of leaders is a mistake. We need to create a strong lobbying group that ensures that this problem doesnt happen again, she said.

As secretary-general of FIDA, a faction that nominates its own candidate for the PLO Executive Committee, Kamal bears some responsibility. It may have been a mistake not to have nominated a woman for our own seat, she conceded. FIDA renominated Saleh Rafat to the position in the Executive Committee.

In a separate context, Palestinian women were even behind their fellow Jordanian sisters in repealing a decades-old law that allows a man to escape punishment if he marries the woman he raped. Despite demanding this change for years, it was only on March 14 that Abbas signed Law No. 5 of 2018 abolishing Article 308 of the 1960 Penal Code enforced in the West Bank. Jordanian Law No. 308 conferring the same waiver to rapists was repealed in Jordan in August 2017.

Palestinian women have been in the forefront of Palestinian national activism and sacrifice since the spark of the Palestinian revolution. Despite this well-documented fact, Palestinian men in political power, like men in society itself, will not easily give up power. The change will only occur as a result of consistent and united efforts by both Palestinian women and men.
The Donald Trump administration is sending more than $90 million worth of military equipment to help the Lebanese army protect its borders, the latest sign that the United States is sticking by Beirut despite Hezbollahs growing influence.

The Pentagon notified Congress on April 25 that it would be providing the Lebanese Armed Forces with 7-ton and 2.5-ton trucks as well as US Army Humvees mounted with .50-caliber machine guns, according to documents reviewed by Al-Monitor. The aid package draws from the Pentagons $1.4 billion global train-and-equip fund.

The notification was made just a week before the Iran-backed Shiite militia and its allies won more than half the seats in Lebanons May 6 parliamentary elections. Despite the Trump administrations strident rhetoric on Iran and concerns about Hezbollahs influence on Lebanese state institutions, the US Defense Department remains committed to supporting Lebanon's sovereignty, stability, security and its state institutions, Pentagon spokeswoman Rebecca Rebarich told Al-Monitor.

The assistance is aimed at helping the Lebanese Armed Forces deter conventional attacks, reduce malign influence and defeat the Islamic State and a host of Sunni terrorist groups that flow through Lebanons border with Syria. US Central Command previously used the fund to outfit the Lebanese Armed Forces with six American-made light attack helicopters and a Scan Eagle surveillance drone last year, totaling $110 million.

A source in the Embassy of Lebanon confirmed to Al-Monitor that the Lebanese Armed Forces requested the latest equipment, but that the US had to approve the delivery. The State and Defense departments jointly review train-and-equip assistance, with input from regional bureaus, to ensure that US partners can keep track of the weapons. The embassy source also said that the LAF had never lost a single piece of US military equipment to Hezbollah.

The United States has been the biggest foreign bankroller of Lebanons army in the past decade, sending more than $1.7 billion to the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2006, according to a State Department fact sheet issued May 11 following last weeks election. Deliveries under the Barack Obama administration included high-tech US weapons, such as Bradley fighting vehicles and night-vision goggles for Lebanese special operations teams.

Lebanons state security institutions, particularly the LAF [Lebanese Armed Forces], have historically served as pillars of stability in a country facing extraordinary challenges, the fact sheet stated. It added that US assistance for the Lebanese Armed Forces "is a key component of our policy to reinforce Lebanons sovereignty and secure its borders, counter internal threats and build up its legitimate state institutions.

But while the State Department said the Lebanese Armed Forces is getting more capable of sealing off the border since Islamic State fighters surrounded police checkpoints and rampaged through the town of Arsal in 2014, critics warn that the Pentagon hasnt done enough to contain Hezbollahs growing power. The House Foreign Affairs Committee is expected to hold a hearing next week to explore the fallout from the recent elections in Lebanon and Iraq, a congressional aide told Al-Monitor.

The question today is not whether the US should support the Lebanese army or not, said Hanin Ghaddar, a fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. The question is how to use this access that this assistance provides to contain Hezbollahs control in state institutions. This access hasnt been used to properly push back; it has only been used to push back against Sunni insurgencies.

So far, US military aid to Lebanon hasnt been interrupted by political turmoil, including Prime Minister Saad Hariris mysterious resignation during a trip to Saudi Arabia in November. The resignation was later withdrawn. About 100 US special forces troops also assist with Lebanese Armed Forces training in-country.

Yet Trumps new foreign policy team, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton, have publicly indicated their willingness to push back against the influence of Hezbollah and other Iran-backed proxies. Speaking after Trumps decision to abandon the Iran nuclear deal last week, Bolton said the White House was very concerned about the potential of Iran extending its influence through Iraq, linking up with the [Bashar al-] Assad regime in Syria and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Last year, then-Secretary of State Rex Tillersons foreign aid budget included across-the-board cuts to US foreign military grants, zeroing out American military assistance to Lebanon. This year the Trump administration is seeking $50 million in aid for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

In a 2014 report, the Government Accountability Office, an official watchdog, said that the US Embassy in Beirut had not complied with Pentagon security checklists for military aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces, which critics fear could fall into Hezbollahs hands. The State Department, however, has expressed confidence in Lebanons ability to secure US-provided weapons.

The Lebanese Armed Forces fully complies with end-use monitoring requirements, continues to have an exemplary track record securing and accounting for US government-provided equipment and remains a critical partner on the front lines against the Islamic State and other extremists, a State Department official told Al-Monitor.

Updated: May 16, 2018. This story has been updated with comment from the Lebanese embassy in Washington.
WASHINGTON  The United States sanctioned Irans Central Bank chief today, as European foreign ministers huddled with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels to see if they could rescue the Iran nuclear deal after the US exit from it last week. The divergent actions showed the Donald Trump administration and its closest transatlantic allies at stark odds over how to handle Iran policy, an area where their previous close cooperation during the last US administration had been critical in achieving a breakthrough after over a decade of nuclear talks.

The Treasury Department designated Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Governor Valiollah Seif and a deputy for allegedly assisting or providing financial support to Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Hezbollah, both designated as terror groups by the United States.

Seif has conspired with the IRGC-QF to move millions of dollars through the international financial system in a variety of foreign currencies to allow the IRGC-QF to fund its activities abroad, a Treasury Department press statement announcing the designations said.

It is appalling, but not surprising, that Irans senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hezbollah, and it undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in the statement.

The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies, Mnuchin said, in what seemed a pointed warning to Europe.

Some sanctions experts said the new US sanctions designations may have more symbolic than practical effects.

Practically? Nothing, former State Department Iran sanctions negotiator Richard Nephew told Al-Monitor of the designations impact. Seif probably doesn't have any assets here, nor does anyone else on this list. It may mess with his travel here to the IMF/World Bank meetings, but I'm pretty sure we have host obligations that force us to permit his travel here and associated expenses. I see this as rhetorical in nature.

Others said its impact would be more chilling and deter dealings with the CBI.

It is much more than a signal. It is an incredibly aggressive move that will limit, if not effectively, bar dealings with [the] CBI, said Tyler Cullis, an associate with Ferrari and Associates, PC, a law firm that advises on US sanctions. You cannot effectively deal with a bank if its head is sanctioned.

But as the US administration piled on new sanctions and signaled it was not second-guessing Trumps controversial decision to exit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) last week, the British, French and German (or E3) foreign ministers were huddled with Zarif and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, trying to hash out a package of political and economic incentives to keep Iran in the deal, along with Russia and China.

We will work together  on the ways in which the European Union can preserve the deal, preserve its economic investments, most of all preserve its security interests, which is avoiding that Iran can develop a nuclear weapon, which means for us preserving the deal that is working and delivering, Mogherini said after meeting with Zarif ahead of a meeting with the British, French and German foreign ministers.

Europe would try to find ways to guarantee economic benefits to Iran even with the imposition of US secondary sanctions, on condition that Iran fully implement its commitments under the JCPOA, Mogherini said.

This is the agreement: We stay, you stay; you stay, we stay, Mogherini said. And we also will share some ideas on the concrete steps to proceed in the coming days and weeks.

The UK and France are determined to conserve the essence of the Iran nuclear deal, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday. We are going to have a proper conversation on what we can do to help UK firms, help European firms have some confidence that they can still do business  and as far as we possibly can, to protect businesses from the effect of American primary and secondary sanctions.

The heads of state from the 28-member EU were due to have follow-up talks in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday, including on measures the EU could take to try to shield some European investment in Iran from US secondary sanctions.

Zarif sounded cautiously upbeat as he resumed a new round of shuttle diplomacy with what he called the P4+1  the permanent four members of the UN Security Council minus the United States, plus Germany, that negotiated the 2015 landmark deal. But he said European promises about their commitment to preserving the deal would not be enough: Iran would need guarantees.

There are very clear economic benefits that have been specified in the JCPOA that the Iranian people have to receive in order for the  JCPOA to remain, Zarif told journalists in Brussels. And we will have to see whether our remaining participants in the JCPOA can deliver those benefits to Iran.

We are starting a process, a process that needs to be very intensive, and we dont have a lot of time, Zarif said, adding, We need to reach some sort of guarantee that these benefits can be guaranteed for Iran within that specified period of time  a few weeks. We are going to see whether the political will that has been expressed by the remaining participants in JCPOA can be translated into specific action.

We will see, he added.

European diplomats expressed deep frustration with the Trump administration for jeopardizing a nuclear deal they consider important to their countries security interests. They expressed bewilderment that the Trump administration thinks with a few months of unilateral sanctions on Iran, Iran will be under such economic pressure it will agree to expansive new concessions, especially after Washington abandoned the deal it had already made with Iran.

Veteran European diplomats were also troubled that the Trump administration has no apparent appreciation that jeopardizing the deal could empower Iranian hard-liners who have mocked Zarif and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for thinking that engagement with the United States and the West could lead to a sustainable deal and benefit Iran.

Trumps exit from the deal will have political consequences in Iran, a European official, speaking not for attribution, said Monday. Trump may be right. [You] can have the collapse of the regime, though this regime has been pretty resilient the past 40 years. Or, you can have the hardening of the regime [and the] IRGC take control of the country. There will be some reaction [by] Iran. Iran is not going to simply accept the American decision.

We are doing our best to put together a package of incentives to try to keep Iran in the deal, the European official said.

At the end of the day, whether we succeed or not  [may depend on] whether we can convince the US administration  there should be some safe space [for some investment in Iran],  that the administration still benefits from seeing Irans [nuclear program] constrained, the European official said.

But the Trump administration has not yet shown any sign it is ready to accept that. On the contrary, Bolton has told European interlocutors that the United States wants the sanctions to hurt, so we are not going to exempt anyone from the sanctions.

The Trump administration is convinced it has an opening for a nuclear deal with North Korea because of its maximum pressure campaign. They call it the North Korea scenario, the European official said. Squeeze the North Koreans. Squeeze the Iranians  and they will do the same thing as Kim Jong-un  surrender.
US President Donald Trumps decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal has added new complications for Turkeys two overriding quests in Syria: to see the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) defeated and President Bashar al-Assad and his regime ousted. These two aims were already headed toward incompatibility in the crosscurrents that have shaped this crisis.

Turkey, determined to stand against the American-supported YPG, launched an operation against the group in January in Afrin, disregarding not just US but international disapproval.

Iran had expressed disapproval of Ankaras Olive Branch operation in Afrin. President Hassan Rouhani has openly called for it to end and for Turkish troops to be withdrawn.

Turkeys continuing staunch opposition to the Russian- and Iranian-backed regime, on the other hand, led to its enthusiastic support of the US-led strikes against the regime forces in April. Ankara welcomed these strikes even knowing it would anger Moscow and Tehran, with which it must tread cautiously because of its reliance on them in Syria.

With such conflicting dynamics distorting its policies, achieving its aims in Syria will depend to a significant extent on how Turkey manages its already tense ties with Washington and its highly sensitive ties with Tehran. Rushing to Irans support against the United States might have been Ankara's knee-jerk reaction prior to the Arab Spring out of to a sense of Islamic solidarity, but the situation has changed.

Instead, and despite their cooperation under the Astana process, the two countries act more like regional rivals than friends today.

With the deepening divide between Sunnis and Shiites following the Arab Spring and Tehrans involvement in Syria, Turkish Islamists and the pro-government media have cultivated a deep dislike of Iran. Islamic solidarity, in short, has been overtaken by deep suspicions about Tehrans regional aims.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set the tone last year when he lashed out at Iran on a visit to the Gulf region. "There is Persian nationalism here, we have to prevent this. We cannot just watch this oppression," Erdogan said in a speech in Bahrain on Feb. 14, 2017.

Mehmet Acet, a columnist for the pro-government Yeni Safak, believes that anti-Iranian sentiment still prevails in circles close to Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party. He wrote, There is hardly anyone left in the region that is prepared to look on Iran with a sense of mercy anymore, because it has contributed in the first degree, with its Persian nationalism and sectarian solidarity, to returning Syria to the Stone Age.

Fahrettin Altun, a coordinator from the government-funded Political, Economic and Social Research Foundation, is concerned that instead of weakening Iran, Trumps move will empower radical Iranian elements. He believes the move will entrench Iran even more in Syria. Iran is spreading out in the region and growing uncontrollably, Altun wrote.

It is evident that if Iran were forced to pull out of Syria by the United States, or failing that, if the wings of its proxies there were clipped  even by Israel, which is oft-despised in Turkey  it would be welcomed by Ankara, though no government officials would admit it openly.

And yet the two countries continue to stress their cooperation in Syria despite their differences. The reason is clear to Sedat Ergin, a leading foreign policy commentator for daily Hurriyet. Ergin wrote in a recent article, There is no doubt that Irans increasing its regional influence by establishing an arc from Iraq in the south of Turkey to Syria is not something that Ankara looks on warmly." He went on, Notwithstanding that, the reasons that keep Turkey and Iran close cant be overlooked. To start with, the interests of the two countries regarding the YPG overlap to a great extent.

Tehrans criticism of Turkeys Operation Olive Branch and Rouhanis call on Ankara to pull out of Syria appear to contradict this statement.

Many analysts believe that Irans position regarding Turkeys operation has little to do with the Kurds and a lot to do with a desire to prevent Turkey from gaining a foothold in Syria, from where it cannot only protect but also arm anti-Assad elements that aim to undermine Irans position in Syria.

However, as Ergin pointed out, Tehran may have expressed disapproval of this operation, but its objection did not turn into a campaign against Ankara. The reason is simple, according to Ergin. Tehran would not shed many tears over the fact that Turkey has thrown the YPG out of Afrin, he argued. To the contrary, it sees this as something to be applauded, because it represents the defeat of an organization that is seen as an extension of the US, Ergin wrote.

The US determination to increase the pressure on Iran, pleasing as it may be for Ankara with regard to Syria, also comes with undesirable possibilities for Turkey in Syria.

Maintaining its foothold in Syria with the help of its YPG allies has become more vital than ever for Washington, despite Trumps promise to pull out of the country as soon as possible.

US longevity in Syria is not a welcome prospect for Ankara as long as Washington refuses to dump the YPG and list it as a terrorist organization. Despite official statements about ongoing talks between Ankara and Washington on this matter, there is little evidence to suggest progress is being made.

By supporting the YPG, the United States has ensured that Turkey no longer considers it a partner or ally in Syria, undoubtedly a pleasing outcome for Tehran.

Put briefly, the need to defeat the YPG and the desire to see the back of Assad are divergent currents for Ankara. They will require careful diplomatic juggling to manage if developments in Syria are to be prevented from working to Turkeys disadvantage.

Retired Turkish Ambassador Oguz Demiralp is not too optimistic on this score. He lamented the abandonment of Ankaras former policy of neutrality in Middle East disputes and nostalgically recalled how that policy had enabled Turkey to represent Iraqs interests in Tehran and Irans interests in Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s.

That is the kind of Turkey we had in the Middle East back then, Demiralp wrote in a recent article for the independent news portal T24. If we stood equidistantly to all sides in the region, they might have listened to us, Demiralp maintained.

Demiralp sees no way out for Turkey except to return to its old policy of working to maintain good ties with every regional country. That course, however, appears to be a long shot under the current administration.

Attention in Turkey is currently focused on the snap elections set for June 24. Once election frenzy is over, Syria will re-emerge as a major headache for whoever emerges from the ballot box. How Ankara will extricate itself from this increasingly complicated situation, while its Syria policy is getting more difficult to manage with every adverse development, is anything but clear.
Turkey has recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Israel and asked the Israeli ambassador in Ankara to leave for a while in formal protest of Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip killed by Israeli forces while demonstrating against the US administrations decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in the United Kingdom on an official visit, termed the Gaza killings genocide and called Israel a terror state. Ankara has declared three days of official mourning and offered to fly in wounded Palestinians for treatment. Erdogan is widely hailed in the Muslim world as one of the most vocal champions of the Palestinians. Arab heavyweights Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Jordan have been visibly more restrained not least because of their aversion to the Muslim Brotherhood-inspired Hamas, which governs Gaza. Erdogan called US President Donald Trumps decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem a mistake and violation of international law. Washington, he argued, has thus forfeited its role as an honest broker in the Middle East peace process. Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag said, The blood of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of the United States.

Tensions between Turkey and Israel continued to escalate as Israel told Turkey's de facto ambassador in Jerusalem, Gurcan Turkoglu, to go home. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took to Twitter to air his anger. He called Erdogan one of Hamas biggest supporters and charged that there was no doubt the Turkish leader well understands terrorism and slaughter. He added, I suggest he not preach morality to us.

Erdogan riposted, Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless peoples lands for 60+ years in violation of UN resolutions. He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and cant cover up crimes by attacking Turkey. Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.

Erdogans stance will likely deepen the rift with Washington amid calls from the Hill to slap sanctions on Turkey over what several senators have termed the unlawful detention and hostage-taking of US citizens and Turkish nationals working at US diplomatic missions and its plans to purchase Russian S-400 missiles. But it will raise Erdogans stock on the Arab street and more critically back at home in the run-up to the June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections. Across Turkey, thousands of people chanting anti-Israeli slogans have taken to the streets to protest the Gaza deaths.

Soner Cagaptay, who runs the Turkish program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, believes that Erdogans rhetoric will do little to leaven the plight of Gazans. Erdogan will nevertheless use the Gaza issue to the fullest extent in Turkish politics, starting with a massive protest in Istanbul on Friday, to rally his conservative base around him, Cagaptay told Al-Monitor. After 16 years of Erdogan rule, at least some of the conservatives in Turkey are showing signs of [ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP fatigue. Foreign policy matters with little domestic cost  such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and tensions with Greece  could help Erdogan bring his tired base back to his fold.

But some may well question his sincerity. Today, AKP lawmakers voted down an opposition motion to scrap a raft of agreements with Israel, Republican People's Party (CHP) parliamentarian Ali Seker revealed in a tweet. Critics point out that even after Turkish-Israeli relations hit a nadir over the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident in 2010 leading to the deaths of nine Turkish citizens at the hands of Israeli commandos, Turkish-Israeli trade continued to expand with Turkey exporting cars, iron, steel, jewelry and plastics to Israel, which sold fuel and oil in return. The volume of trade hit $4.9 billion last year. In 2016, Erdogan suggested he had been opposed to the Mavi Marmara flotillas ill-fated mission to carry aid to Gaza, saying his permission had not been sought.

Turkeys opposition leaders are in any case determined not to let Erdogan monopolize the Gaza tragedy. Sporting a Palestinian-style scarf, main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu echoed many of Erdogans remarks, telling CHP members in the parliament that the United States had planted a hand grenade in Jerusalem, the heart of the Middle East. The Turkish people will stand by the Palestinian brothers for eternity, he vowed. Kilicdaroglu also lashed out at Arab governments, saying they had failed to unite in defense of the Palestinians. There exists no greater shame in history, he fumed.

In a rare sign of unity, the AKP, the CHP and far-right nationalists issued a joint declaration condemning Israel and the United States. Meanwhile, Selahattin Demirtas, the imprisoned presidential candidate for the largest pro-Kurdish bloc, the Peoples' Democratic Party, called for a common stand among all the candidates against what he termed in a tweet the Israeli governments limitless barbarity.
Russia appears to be taking a long-haul approach to economic relations with Iran, one based on patience and building a solid base for cooperation.

When Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Moscow on May 14, his goal was to discuss the future of the Iranian nuclear deal with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. The men also used the meeting to discuss the wider agenda of their countries bilateral relations, but above all, Zarif confirmed that they seriously intend to continue economic cooperation despite new US sanctions.

Preservation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will play a key role in Moscow-Tehran relations. Russia assumes that sanctions on Iran that prevent Western investors from accessing the Iranian economy wont be lifted anytime soon. Moscow also holds no illusions that Russian business can completely replace the Wests for Iran; instead, Russia is interested in filling niches it finds valuable. At the same time, the Kremlin wants to avoid provoking stronger US sanctions, as they could complicate business for Russian companies in Iran. Hence, Moscow demonstrates a clear interest in securing Irans continued participation in the JCPOA.

Russian-Iranian cooperation is developing slowly, in keeping with Moscows patient approach. Still, Russian businesses are demonstrating serious interest in Irans oil and gas, agricultural, transport and energy sectors. Moscow encourages contacts with Iranian businesses of all sizes.

Moscow is experiencing a slate of difficulties in Iran: the high political and economic risks of doing business there, a lack of transparency regarding economic environments, an absence of effective foreign business protection in Iran, anti-Iranian sanctions, Irans isolation from the international financial system and Russias own continued technological backwardness.

Both countries face a lack of funds. Moscow doesnt have enough money to invest in Iran, and Iran doesnt have enough to pay Russian contractors. Russian businesspeople interviewed by Al-Monitor also mentioned another issue: The Iranians, they say, still believe they are able to bridge relations with the West and return European business to Iran. They see Russian and Chinese businesses as a last resort. Consequently, theyre not always in a hurry to work with Russian companies, even those offering the promise of big investments.

Previously, all these difficulties diverted Russian business from Iran. However, Western sanctions on Russia and Russia's economic crisis made Russian businesses less picky and more interested in taking advantage of every opportunity for profit. These businesses also are attracted by their country's improved bilateral political dialogue with Iran.

Finally, the Kremlin and Russian businesses are clearly interested in getting access to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) oil and gas riches, as well as to the regions hydrocarbon transport infrastructure. Under these circumstances, cooperation with Iran is becoming vital.

Russia and Iran have been failing to improve their trade performance. For now, its obvious that the stated goal of $10 billion to $15 billion in trade, set in 2015, is unachievable in the medium term. Russian experts close to the Kremlin who agreed to speak with Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said the real targeted level of bilateral trade is far more modest  $3.5 billion within the next three years. Moscow believes it can increase trade volume in agricultural and consumer goods, as well as exports of industrial equipment for Russian-Iranian projects implemented in Iran. In 2017, agricultural trade increased 25%. Iran is becoming one of the main sellers of fruits to Russian grocery store chains. Moscow, in turn, is trying to secure its role as a main grain exporter.

To intensify Russian-Iranian trade and investments, Russian authorities are determined to address the lack of Iranian funds to pay for Russian equipment, Irans isolation from the international financial system and the absence of legal support for Russian businesses in Iran. Thus, currently, Russia and Iran are discussing the possibility of forming a free-trade zone between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union. Moscow also plans to establish direct connections between Russian and Iranian banking systems, including the use of Russias Mir debit card payment system in Iran. Moscow has broached the idea of using the Moscow Arbitration Court, under the Russian Chamber of Commerce, to settle legal issues emerging between Russian and Iranian businesses.

In November, to cope with the absence of funds, Russia implemented an oil-for-goods program  Moscows purchase of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian machinery and investments. This initiative is expected to compensate for Irans lack of financial reserves. Last year, Moscow received 1 million barrels of oil from Iran to pay for railroad equipment imported from Russia. Though there had been no oil transfers from Iran to Russian oil companies this year as of late March, the oil-for-goods program might be extended until 2023.

Russias patience in Iran can bring positive results for Moscow. Russian companies rushed to Iran in 2017. This trend might continue in 2018: Gazprom Neft, Tatneft, Rosneft, Zarubezhneft and Lukoil have all made serious progress in negotiations with Iranian companies. Moreover, in March, Zarubezhneft became the first Russian oil company to sign a new Iran Oil Petroleum Contract on development of the Aban and Western Paydar oil fields.
Cadence Bank may be moving its CEO to Atlanta following yesterday's announced merger with State Bank Financial Corporation, but much of the bank's infrastructure will stay in Birmingham in the near term.

That's what Cadence Bank CEO Sam Tortorici said today in a phone interview with AL.com.

Yesterday, Cadence announced a merger with State Bank creating a combined organization with $16 billion in assets, $12 billion in loans and $13 billion in deposits. In all, the company will have about 100 branches in Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

The company also announced it would move its corporate headquarters from Birmingham to Atlanta.

But, Tortorici said, hold the phone on any predictions of Cadence gutting its operations in the Magic City.

"The only relocation is yours truly," he said. "Birmingham is home to 90 percent of Cadence Bank's infrastructure. Our HR, legal, loan operations, deposit operations, compliance, BSA are all located in Birmingham. It would be awfully costly and expensive to pick those up and move anything like that materially. I really don't see any material impact like that in the near term."

Instead, moving the corporate headquarters "made symbolic sense" in that, once the merger closes, about 33 percent of Cadence Bank's footprint will be in the state of Georgia. In fact, the company will have more deposits in Georgia than in Texas, he said.

There's also the possibility of more jobs coming as a result of the merger to Birmingham.

"With us now being a major regional bank franchise, there's a decent likelihood that, as we grow, we'll continue to add jobs within the existing groups there to support the larger company," he said. "This is not a big negative for Birmingham. It's a really a big plus for a large organization that has a big presence in Birmingham."

The merger is expected to close later this year, subject to regulatory approval, with corporate branding switching to Cadence for all banks sometime in the first quarter of next year, Tortorici said.

Analysts say the merger is one of an expected wave among mid-sized banks as federal lawmakers roll back some of the regulations imposed after the 2008 economic meltdown.

Cadence executives yesterday said mergers and acquisitions were part of the company's plan when it went public last year. Tortorici said Cadence had been tracking State Bank since 2010, calling it "one of the highest quality franchises."

"With the combination of a rising rate environment, a relaxed regulatory status, you'll probably see more of these, but there are fewer and fewer good opportunities out there," he said. "We've created a new leading regional bank franchise by putting two high-quality, high performing firms together. This isn't a fixer-upper."
It may be the beginning of June before a Michigan auto supplier is back to supplying its global customers with parts, including Vance's Mercedes-Benz factory.

Late last week, Ford announced it could restart production of its F-Series pickups as soon as May 18 at two factories that stopped making trucks due to a May 2 fire at Magnesium Parts of America's plant in Eaton Rapids, Mich.

The mishap has caused production headaches for several auto producers, such as Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler.

That same fire shut down SUV production at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama for the GLE, GLE Coupe and GLS last Thursday and Friday after the plant ran out of cockpit crossmembers, the part which holds the vehicle's dashboard, air conditioning unit and navigation system.

The company announced last week that all MBUSI employees would be given the opportunity to work this week based on a modified production schedule.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Benjamin Wu, chief legal officer and public affairs director for Meridian Magnesium Products of America, said the plant will not be up to full capacity by June 1. However, the company hopes that its customers will be receiving products by that date.

Meridian Magnesium Products of America intends to have its entire complex rebuilt and reopened in four months. Portions of the plant have reopened as work crews clear debris.

The Lansing State Journal is reporting that investigators believe they will have a report completed later this week on the cause of the fire.
Sometimes there's a bit of Marvel magic inside a cardboard box, riding shotgun in the passenger seat of Kenneth Spivey's Chevy pickup truck.

Spivey helps craft props for superhero movies such as mega-hit "Avengers: Infinity War," for which he worked on supervillain Thanos' Infinity Gauntlet and Captain America's new, Wakandan shield.

Most of Spivey's prop work for Marvel films takes place in a undisclosed warehouse. It's near Pinewood Studios in Georgia, where principal photography for " Infinity War" took place.

Of course, even a guy carrying a super-sized Infinity Gauntlet can't just waltz onto a Marvel movie set.

"There's security everywhere," Spivey, a Vestavia Hills native, says. "Two security gates, cameras everywhere, people constantly looking for people aren't supposed to be there." A non-union contract prop maker, Spivey is given a badge to wear while delivering a Marvel prop and another to place in his truck.

Fom left: Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Benedict Wong in "Avengers: Infinity War." (Photo Chuck Zlotnick /Copyright Marvel /Copyright Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection)

During deliveries, he's occasionally afforded surreal sights.

For example, Benedict Cumberbatch clad in Dr. Strange regalia, texting on his smartphone during downtime.

Or the day after Spivey watched "Spider-Man: Homecoming" for the first time, during a prop delivery for another Marvel film "Homecoming" star Tom Holland walks right past him in full Spidey costume.

Typically, Spivey is emailed illustrations or 3D imaging of props Marvel wants him to work on.

"Basically, I'm given a picture and told to make it look exactly like what is shown," Spivey says. "Maybe an instruction or two as to how it's going to be used, but that's it. It's extremely hush-hush as they don't want many people to know plots or story elements for fear of spoilers. In fact, many of the actors don't know the complete story of their own roles until the day of."

For props described without a visual reference, those instructions often arrive via text message and instructions can be as general as "make it spacey."

In "Infinity Wars," hunky actor Josh Brolin plays galactic baddie Thanos, with the help of motion-capture special effects. By wearing the Infinity Gauntlet on his left hand, Thanos is able harnesses powers of six Soul Gems (Reality Gem, Power Gem, Space Gem, Time Gem, Mind Gem, Power Gem), amplifying his own super-powers. Directed by brothers Anthony and Josephy Russo, "Infinity Wars" boasts a Crayola Big Box worth of superheroes, also including Iron Man, Black Panther, Thor, Black Widow and many more.

The Infinity Gauntlet prop Spivey contributed to was fashioned from brass and copper. It's comparable in weight to an empty propane tank.

His work on the Infinity Gauntlet, which was later digitally scanned in and added post-production (after Brolin wore a smaller gauntlet while delivering his lines), simply involved cutting-out pieces, repairing damage, and fabricating parts. He did not "make" the prop, per se.

"You have one or two people actually working on a prop at a given time," Spivey says. "However, it's rare that one individual is involved in making a prop. It takes a team and it can be anywhere between two to 20 people or more to get the final version we see on screen. And even that is further refined by the graphic artist. It really all depends on what the piece is, how complicated it is, and what materials it needs to be constructed from as to who gets to work on it."

There's a lengthy approval process for Marvel props.

First, concept artists/designers imagine the piece, then it goes to the directors of a film's departments - it could be the director who's helming the film, the art director, the prop director, etc. The designs are critiqued. Requested changes are sent back to the illustrators to refine or update, then after those changes they're sent back to reviewing parties again, and once approved, the design is handed off to the prop master. The prop master then goes out to find individuals to make turn the idea into a physical object. Sometimes those craftspeople are contract workers, like Spivey, and sometimes they're union, he says.

Once the prop is finished, it's aged, usually by the studio's paint department. Then finally the prop's scanned for CGI use and or used onset for actors to interact with. Onset, there's also a repair person to handle any necessary repairs or make a quick change.

"You have the rule of two," Spivey says. Meaning, "you have two props that way you always have a backup in case one breaks, gets lost, or for multiple shoots when the team might be split into different locations."

The timeframe for a making a prop varies greatly. The Infinity Gauntlet was a 24-hour turnaround, Spivey says, with him having to replace and repair pieces on it, that day. "That was a very high stress, get it done, type of thing. As a craftsman, I like to sit down and perfect everything, but you can't say no or 'it will take me this long' or 'I need this much,' you must deal with the props with the tools you have in that moment. So, ordering a tool, ordering more materials, isn't possible. [Laughs]"

He was assigned Captain America's Wakandan shield - a dark, claw-augmented, wing-like design radically different from Cap's signature circular red, white and blue shield - about three months before it was needed. But a decision hadn't been made yet on design or colors. Weeks passed. A design was passed on, but no colors. Finally, a couple weeks later the shield's colors were approved and Spivey was given images and the OK to begin production to those exacting specifications. All the bolts, scrapes, everything had to be on there. He started working on the shield, but then was told a decision had been made to change the look. He started working on another set of shields ... until the design was changed again, to a smaller shield.

He had about a day to help make that final vision a reality. Spivey made the Wakandan shields "pretty much from scratch," molding metal sheets, with a final product of about 99 percent aluminum. The shields were also hollow, keeping them a manageable weight for Captain America actor Chris Evans to lug around all day, while filming take after take. While Spivey says his shields were used onset, a decision was made "to go in a completely different route, so most of the (shields) shown onscreen are CGI."

Many of the tools Spivey uses to make Marvel props you might have in your own tool box, garage or basement. Screwdrivers. Chisels. Bolts and screws. But sometimes everyday items won't cut it.

"When you're making a space prop, and it's from some alien race or something like that, you can't use hardware you bought at Lowe's, a Phillips head screw or something like that," Spivey says. "So, in a lot of cases I'll have to make my own hardware from scratch."

To work on props, he also frequently uses an anvil and a forge.

Materials can range from authentic metals to foam and paper facsimiles.

Spivey, age 31, is a Vestavia Hills High School graduate and still resides in Vestavia Hills, and does a little prop crafting at his workshop there. (Marvel typically wants their pieces created at a secure site though).

He became interested with props at an early age, upon seeing the 1991 Robin Williams-starring Peter Pan flick "Hook," the very first movie he ever saw at a theater with his parents. He marveled at the film's "beautifully crafted, hand-engraved" weaponry. Young Spivey didn't see who created those props, in the credits, so he wrote a letter to the movie studio, and received a reply indicating it was Tony Swatton.

"From then on, I started looking at movies with his craftwork in it," Spivey says. "Hook" launched the career of Swatton, a blacksmith, as a film legend, crafting everything from Wolverine's claws in "X-Men" films to swords in "Pirates of The Caribbean."

Epic film franchises like "Back to the Future" and "Indiana Jones" also captured Spivey's imagination. Growing up, he was also obsessed with "The Legend of Zelda" videogame, fanning his interest in swords - and in making them. "I thought, 'Hey blacksmiths make swords so I guess I'll try my hand at that,'" Spivey recalls. "That was not the case. Blacksmithing is only a fraction of sword-making - it also takes engravers, leather craftsmen, wood workers, engravers, lapidarists to make the final product. A simple sword." Acting upon one of his high school teacher's suggestions, Spivey got involved with Birmingham's Sloss Furnace's metallurgy apprentice program, which greatly increased his skill set.

He later studied sculpture at Savannah College of Art and Design's (aka SCAD) Atlanta campus, and while his love of movies and props remained strong, he didn't know anyone in show business. He thought he'd maybe go into teaching. SCAD officials told Spivey they didn't have connections in the prop business but would help him look for an in.

Spivey's first showbiz opportunity arrived via CW network TV series "The Vampire Diaries," which was filmed in the Atlanta area and rented out some sculptures he created, for use on the show. He also appeared as an extra. Later while an apprentice in Mobile with Bruce Larson, Spivey did some work for Nicolas Cage-starring war film " USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage," helping craft a prosthetic leg for actor Tom Sizemore's role.

About two years or so ago, SCAD officials contacted Spivey. They'd found him an in - via Pinewood Studios/Marvel.

Funnily enough, growing up Spivey was into rival publisher DC Comics, particularly Batman books.

"It wasn't until the movies came out that I started getting interested in Marvel," he says. Now his favorite Marvel Universe characters include the mustachioed sorcerer Dr. Strange and, of course, Thanos. In terms of working prop-making business, Spivey admits the "'Star Wars' would be the pinnacle," still he's grateful and psyched to be working with Marvel. "I like the creativity that goes into the pieces. They're not so alien to us, they're not familiar but they're alien enough that it presents a challenge."

CGI, or computer-generated imagery, is sometimes necessary to translate comic book pages to live-action movies. Still, Spivey is a true-believer in props' powers to make superhero flicks (somewhat) more believable and connect deeper with audiences.

"When you have a physical object, it's something for the actors to look at and to interact with," he says. "If you're able to hold it, feel it, it helps the actor be able to act more like he's not acting at that point."
Another James Beard Award winner is coming to Birmingham.

South Carolina barbecue pitmaster Rodney Scott, who just last week won the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef Southeast, has partnered with Birmingham restaurateur Nick Pihakis of Jim 'N Nick's Bar-B-Q and the Pihakis Restaurant Group to open another location of his Charleston restaurant Rodney Scott's BBQ.

Scott is the first African-American to win the Southeast chef award and only the second barbecue cook to win a chef award from the James Beard Foundation.

He will be in good company in Birmingham, where he will join Highlands Bar and Grill, which also won James Beard Awards this year for the most outstanding restaurant in America and for outstanding pastry chef.

Scott's new Birmingham restaurant will be in the downtown area, Pihakis said, although he said the lease on the property has not been finalized.

"What made me think about Birmingham is, that city is growing fast," Scott said Monday in an interview with AL.com. "It is a beautiful city. The barbecue scene there has always been mentioned to me by people from Birmingham who would come eat here (in Charleston) and tell me, 'Have you ever thought about Birmingham?'

"At first, I didn't. Then, after visiting the city so many times, I thought, 'Why not?' Every time I cook there, the folks seem to enjoy it. So why not just go ahead and give Birmingham a shot?"

Scott grew up in his parents Roosevelt and Ella Scott's barbecue joint, Scott's Bar-B-Que, in Hemingway, S.C., and he started working there full-time nearly 30 years ago, when he was 17. He cut and split his own firewood, and then came back and worked the barbecue pit from late at night until well in the morning.

"They not only cooked with real wood," Pihakis said. "They went out and got it."

Scott and Pihakis became friends after they were introduced by John T. Edge, director of the Southern Foodways Alliance, and Pihakis recruited Scott to cook for a dinner during the Charleston Wine + Food Festival about eight years ago.

"He helped me on occasion, and I helped him," Scott said. "It grew into this relationship that was more than just two businessmen. We're like brothers. Nick was the best man at my wedding."

"I saw this hunger in him to learn," Pihakis added. "He taught me the humble part of the art of barbecue, and I taught him about the financial side of running a business."

Pihakis was the one who encouraged Scott to open a place of his own in Charleston, Scott said.

"Nick would visit me occasionally in Hemingway, and he kept telling me, 'You should think about opening somewhere else, opening up your own spot,'" Scott said.

"He kept mentioning it to me, and finally, I said, 'OK, let's give it a shot. Let's do it. Let's see how this thing goes.' We did. We pulled the trigger and opened up this one here in Charleston, and it's been a great year since we opened."

Rodney Scott won the James Beard Foundation Award for best chef Southeast during the 2018 awards show at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. (Photo by Eugene Galdones, courtesy of James Beard Foundation)

Scott opened Rodney Scott's BBQ in February 2017, and a little more than a year later, he won a James Beard Award in his first year as a nominee.

The other nominees for best chef Southeast, all from fine-dining restaurants, were Katie Button of Nightbell in Asheville, N.C.; Cassidee Dabney of The Barn at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn.; Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen in Memphis; and Mashama Bailey of The Grey in Savannah, Ga.

During his acceptance speech, Scott thanked Pihakis and chef Paul Yeck, the culinary director for the Pihakis Restaurant Group, for inspiring him.

The only other barbecue pitmaster to win a chef award from the James Beard Foundation was Aaron Franklin of Franklin Barbecue in Austin, Texas, who won for best chef Southwest three years ago.

"I'm still trying to gather myself a week later," Scott said Monday. "I'm still surprised that everything went the way it did. We won the James Beard Award -- you know, a barbecue guy. Unbelievable.

"In a sense, it opened the door for a lot of other African-American guys that do barbecue because they sent me messages and gave me calls congratulating me. . . .

"It kind of tears down the walls," he added. "This is anybody's game now. It's not just some white-tablecloth chefs."

Scott said he also heard from a Charleston woman whose preacher cited his historic win during his sermon this past Sunday.

"The bits and pieces that I got was the pastor mentioned that my family gave me a skill instead of a worldly possession, and that I took that skill and made it grow and used it to make a positive return," Scott said. "That's deep."

The menu at Rodney Scott's BBQ includes slow-cooked whole hog barbecue, ribs and chicken, as well as catfish and a ribeye sandwich. (Photo by Andrew Cebulka)

The menu at Rodney Scott's BBQ features slow-smoked whole hog barbecue, ribs and chicken served with Scott's vinegar-based sauce, as well as such sides as collard greens, hush puppies, coleslaw, baked beans, potato salad, and banana pudding for dessert.

"The menu basically came from my childhood," Scott said. "My mom would cook banana pudding on Sunday. Baked beans, that was usually on a Wednesday night.

"I made this long list of things that I loved to eat and even the one or two things that I wouldn't eat, like collards," he adds. "We put them on the menu anyway."

In addition to Rodney Scott's BBQ, the Pihakis Restaurant Group portfolio includes several locations of Big Bad Breakfast and Little Donkey restaurants, as well as Saigon Noodle House in Avondale, Hero Doughnuts in Homewood and a Nashville location of New York's Mile End Delicatessen.

Over the next several months, the group plans to open a second Hero Doughnuts across from Paramount restaurant and bar on the southwest corner of 20th Street and Second Avenue North downtown, and another Mile End Delicatessen in the former Cosecha Urban Kitchen space at 1701 First Ave. South, across from Railroad Park.

Rodney Scott's BBQ should open within about six months after construction begins, Pihakis said. The target opening date is late this year or early 2019, he said.

While Scott will divide his time between his restaurant in Charleston and the new one in Birmingham, Pihakis said his group will identify an operating partner to eventually run the Birmingham location.

"I plan to bring the most positive things that I can to Birmingham," Scott said. "Like I said when I was coming to Charleston, I'm coming to complement, not to complicate."
Authorities are searching for a Birmingham man who has been missing since early Sunday morning.

Justin Kyle Lett, 29, was last seen about 2:50 a.m. Sunday outside of Marty's PM. The restaurant is located at 1813 10th Ct S in Five Points South. He had his cell phone and wallet with him, but multiple calls placed to his cell phone since then are directed straight to voicemail.

Friends said there are no indications he would leave voluntarily and there is evidence he was planning to return home. Police said family told detectives it's not like him to disappear or not be in touch with his family, especially on Mother's Day.

Anyone with information on Lett's disappearance is asked to call 911 or Birmingham police.
A Birmingham man was arrested early Tuesday in south Alabama after his mother was found locked the rear of his moving truck.

Dothan police officers responded at about 1 a.m. to a report of a possible kidnapping at the Flying J Truck Stop on Ross Clark Circle. Reports were that an elderly female was locked in the back of a truck in the parking lot.

Once on the scene, officers found a Penske moving truck parked in the back corner of the parking lot, police officials said. Officers made contact with the driver of the vehicle, 43-year-old Jeffery Eric Seay.

They found his mother, 68-year-old Elizabeth Allen, locked in the rear compartment of the truck. Allen was treated by paramedics at the scene for dehydration and other non-life-threatening injuries.

Seay was taken to the Dothan Police Department for questioning. After interviews were completed, investigators determined that no kidnapping had occurred. Seay was, however, charged with second-degree elderly abuse.

The investigation is ongoing and additional charges are pending. No additional information has been released.
A former Hoover City Schools bus driver fired after a DUI crash in the school bus could get no jail or prison time under a proposed plea agreement.

Mark Pierce, 58, was arrested in January following the wreck on I-459 northbound. He is charged with DUI and improper lane change. Alabama State Troopers said his blood alcohol content was .15 - about four times the legal limit for someone operating a school bus.

It was about 5 p.m. that Wednesday when authorities say Pierce's bus left the interstate at the Acton Road ramp and ended up in the woods line. There were no children on the bus, and Pierce was not injured.

School officials said 35 students had been transported home on Pierce's bus, which was No. 2007-01 on the afternoon of the wreck. There are 67 students assigned to that route.

Schools spokesman Jason Gaston said student load count varies daily due to a number of factors, Pierce's route is a high-school-only route. The route lasts roughly one hour and twenty minutes, with an approximate return time to Spain Park High School's parking lot each afternoon around 5:00 p.m.

The citation issued against Pierce states his BAC was .174 before field sobriety testing and .16 after field sobriety testing. The citation lists as facts relating to the offense that Pierce was "with children after school, before crashing school bus."

The citation says Pierce "crashed school bus down a ravine." The route serves the Bluff Park, Shades Mountain and Alford Avenue areas of Hoover.

Pierce, who had been hired in September 2017, was fired while still under his probationary period.

Court records indicate Pierce is taking part in a DUI deferred program. Under the plea agreement, Pierce would plead guilty to the DUI and all other charges, waiving any right for future appeal. He would comply with all directives of the court-ordered programs, including to remain alcohol and drug free, submit to random urinalysis and pay court costs.

If Pierce fails to successfully complete the DUI Deferred Program, he would be sentenced accordingly. He is set to return to court in December for review of his compliance.

Jefferson County District Attorney Mike Anderton said he wasn't made aware of the plea agreement and is conducting an internal review to determine if the DUI Deferred Program should apply to Pierce's case.

"Not everybody fits the requirements,'' Anderton said. "I'm just trying to make sure he does or doesn't."
Fueled by real life experiences, Birmingham students put on play about someone bringing a gun to school

Asia Perkins was only 12 years old when gun violence took her father's life on May 20, 2012.

Perkins still remembers the last day she and her father, Rodriquez Montrez Williams, were together. They rode around town while jamming to rappers like Future and Lil Boosie. It was so hot, Perkins said they made multiple pit stops at the store for drinks and snacks. The last thing Williams told Perkins was how much he appreciated spending the day with her.

A week later, Williams was found dead in his Bessemer home. Police said Williams walked into the house to find two armed men inside before he was killed.

"At first it was just unreal," said Perkins, a junior Center Point High School. "I didn't want to believe it so I acted as if nothing happened. When I had to go to his funeral every emotion spilled out."

Those emotions may come out again during Perkins' performance today in a play examining the root causes of the gun violence occurring both in schools and in the streets called "Choices." The production will take place at Center Point High School's auditorium at 6 p.m. Admission is $3.

The play illustrates one of the ways students are taking control of the narrative concerning gun violence after 14 students and three staffers were shot dead at a Parkland, Florida high school on Feb. 14.

In the 50-minute one-act drama, a group of seven students and their teacher are hiding during a school lockdown. Underlying issues that may cause a student to bring a gun to school, such as bullying or problems within the home, are revealed as the plot unfolds. LaShanna Tripp, Center Point High School's theatre arts instructor and director, said therapists, counselors, social workers and the school's resource officer will have a panel to discuss, what Tripp calls a "community issue" following the play.

"A lot of people are saying, 'Oh, these kids are mentally ill.' But sometimes it wasn't a mental illness that created this type of violence," Tripp said. "It was really them being picked on, being bullied, or certain issues that were occurring in childhood whether it was molestation, domestic violence, rape, things of that nature that made a child so protective of themselves."

Tripp started to have multiple classroom discussions about gun violence after the Parkland tragedy. At first, Tripp said her students saw school shootings as a far-away problem that didn't impact predominantly-black schools. Tripp warned her students not to color-code the issue because they will never know when something could happen close to home. Three weeks after Parkland, a shooting inside a Huffman High School classroom claimed the life of Courtlin Arrington, a senior who was on her way to college to become a nurse. A little after a month after Arrington's death, another female Huffman High student, Nyteria Spigner, died after she was shot outside a recreation center in Birmingham.

In Jefferson County, there were 172 homicides in 2017 up from 151 the previous year. That same year, there were 16 children under the age of 18 whose deaths were ruled homicides by the Jefferson County Coroner's Office - the highest tally of youth deaths the county has had in a decade.

Tripp said the effects of the violence has become a frequent visitor at Center Point High. Last February one of her theatre student's mother was killed by the mother's husband. Tripp said the string of student deaths empowered Perkins and her friend, Jayda Hills, to ask Center Point High School Principal Van Phillips to produce and perform a play focusing on gun violence.

Hills, who is a senior at Center Point High, said she met Arrington at parties and nursing competitions. Although their meetings were brief, Hills said Arrington's bright spirit is hard to forget. She was always seen smiling and singing. Rarely did Hills ever see Arrington sad.

"If everyone would just stop, sit down, have a conversation with themselves and with somebody else - if we would just feel like we matter, have a purpose in life, and stop bashing each other over irrelevant materialistic stuff - we would be so much better," Hills said.

After getting the principal's approval, Tripp said she had multiple workshops with the drama students and used their dialogue to create "Choices". Many of them mentioned that a lot of students, especially those in foster care, don't have a listening ear. The adults who do listen usually ignore their experiences because of their age. When students feel like their words, as well as their lives, lack value, they may turn to violence, the students told Tripp.

Tripp agreed that adults need to listen to students more.

"The problems begin early in children, and we adults see them, but we ignore them by shrugging it off with a 'they'll be fine' or 'they'll grow out of it,'" Tripp said. "Everyone wants to be accepted... It is a natural, human, God-given desire. When that is taken away, there is no care or thought to human life left in that person's heart to care whether another person lives or dies, and that is where the danger is born."

Tripp, who has been working at Center Point High for 11 years, said teachers may be a student's only listening ear depending on their households. There are students who are jumping around from home to home because they are in foster care. Tripp said many of her students' families are in poverty.

"In that poverty, you have parents who are working more than two jobs. A lot of them might be doing whatever they do in the hustle," Tripp said. "The reality is that all these kids are bringing something different to the school building and we have to get to these issues in order to teach them and go out and deal with those issues."

Tripp said they allowed the drama students to write their own monologues. One student talks about going through life feeling like he doesn't have a purpose. Another discusses navigating the dangers of the streets.

Perkins said her monologue focuses on the emptiness she felt after her father's death and how she tried to fill it by attempting to get the attention of other boys at her school.

"(My character) is missing and she's trying to find herself," Perkins said. "She feels like she can't find herself without that one person. I feel that way in real life, too. I'm in need of a person who supports me and sometimes it's hard to just take a moment to say, 'You're worth it. Everything is fine.'"

Hills said she was teased for being overweight and had a hard time making friends after she moved to Birmingham from Indiana a couple of years ago. She said some adults would dismiss the youth's issues because of their age.

"They are always thinking that we haven't been through anything or say, 'Yall, ain't been through nothing that we haven't been through.' But it's a lot more things now than it was back then," Hills said.

Tripp says the play also touches on the subject of "snitching" when one of the characters, Jacob, decided not to say anything when he finds evidence that someone was going to bring a gun to school. The scene reflects problem many police officers face while investigating a major crime. Some cases become harder to solve if no one wants to talk.

Perkins said those who refuse to give information to law enforcement should consider seeing the situation from her perspective - through the eyes of daughter whose father's killer was never caught.

"Police said they were investigating it, but we never got any answers," Perkins said.

Perkins said if someone is afraid to talk about a crime in fear of retaliation, then there are multiple ways then they can give information anonymously. Many law enforcement agencies have tip hotlines and allow people to give information via social media.

"It's not about the person. It's about the message," Perkins said. "You never know what a piece of information could do for your life. You never know what could happen. You never know how that can all come back to you."
It's been just over two weeks since 4-year-old Zachary Kohen was pulled lifeless from the bottom of a hotel pool in Georgia, and it's a day his mother will never forget.

"Every time I close my eyes, I have a few images in my head that I keep replaying. That's been difficult,'' said Robyn Kohen. "I'm trying to sleep, and it's been replaying over and over again but each day is a little easier."

April 28, 2018 is a day that Kohen calls "a beautiful disaster." A "staycation" with a friend and their children turned into near tragedy when Zachary drowned. It ended, however, with strangers saving the boy's life, and now the two families have become friends for life.

Those strangers - retired Hoover Fire Capt. Keith Jacobson and his wife, Dr. Libby Jacobson - were honored Monday in Birmingham by the American Heart Association for the life-saving measures that day, with Kohen and Zachary making the trip to celebrate with them. Also, Kohen said, the two couples are now working together to promote the importance of CPR training.

"I have to turn this into something good,'' Kohen said. "The outcome could have been so different."

The ordeal happened about noon that Saturday at the Marriott in Stone Mountain. Kohen, a Sandy Springs wife and mother of two, along with one of her friends took their four kids combined to the hotel for a short getaway. Zachary and his 18-month-old sister both were wearing flotation devices and the two adults were switching off putting their kids down to rest in the stroller.

The next thing Kohen knew, her friend couldn't find Zachary and that's when he was spotted at the pool bottom. "She jumped in right away and grabbed him,'' Kohen said of her friend. "Her initial reactions was blue, no heartbeat, no pulse, so she was going to do mouth-to-mouth."

A bystander, however, said that Zachary needed to be turned over to get the water out of him. Chaos erupted, and Kohen heard screaming. She ran to where her son was and saw a couple - the Jacobsons - trying to revive her son. "They knew what to do,'' Kohen said, "and there was no time to waste."

Dr. Jacobson previously described the incident to AL.com, saying she started chest compressions on the boy while her husband performed the rescue breathing. "He had no pulse, he was completely blue and lifeless,'' she said.

The Inverness couple had to do two rounds of CPR - each round consisted of 30 chest compressions and two rescue breaths - before the boy was revived. It took about 1 1/2 minutes. "There were probably 50 people around the pool and a lot of panic,'' Dr. Jacobson said. "It was clear people did not know what to do."

After the two rounds of resuscitation, the boy showed signs of life. "He was crying, awake and breathing,'' she said. About 20 minutes later, rescue workers arrived and rushed the boy to a nearby hospital.

Kohen said she froze just feet away from where her son was being revived. "That's the only period of time I don't remember. I don't know if I was on the floor or if I was standing. If I was screaming or if I was silent. I couldn't tell you," she said. "Something in me just trusted that someone knew what they were doing because I wouldn't know what to do. I just stood there. I would hope to think I was praying."

Kohen watched as her son turned his head, and then vomited water. "He started screaming,'' she said. "Keith came over and was talking to me saying these are good screams. I just held Zachary knowing it was going to be OK."

Zachary, she said, knows he drowned but she's not sure how much he comprehends. She took him back to a pool the following weekend, and immediately started him in swimming lessons. "He was scared. He was cautious,'' she said. "He wasn't going to jump right in, but he wanted to go in."

The Jacobsons, along with their children Sam and Sarah Claire, went to visit Zachary that night in the hospital and the two families already have grown close. Kohen said there are no words for the gratitude she feels for them. "I don't know what I could ever do,'' she said. "It's an amazing miracle."

"Not everybody has such a happy ending. Because of the Jacobsons, we do,'' Kohen said. "We can't imagine that any other way, and we never want to imagine that for any other family. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you."

On Monday, Brady McLaughlin of Trio Safety CPR+AED Solutions, presented the Jacobsons with the American Heart Associations' Heartsaver Hero Award for courageously and quickly acting to save a life. CPR, he said, is a critical link in the chain of survival.

"This is a very rare award because it's not often we find out about survival stories like this,'' McLaughlin said. "Many Americans feel helpless to act. We want to recognize heroes like you two who step in to save a life."

Jacobson, who retired from the Hoover Fire Department and now runs his wife's dermatology practice said he and his wife didn't do anything that anyone else couldn't have done. "It's just making the first step of taking action,'' he said.

He said he doesn't see himself as a hero. "That's a broadly-used term that probably doesn't apply here,'' he said. "There was no jeopardy for us. It was just an attempt to save an amazing little guy."

The Jacobsons and the Kohens are now training together to become CPR instructors. "Everybody should be able to take that step and jump in there and help. It's just a question of learning a skill and putting it into action,'' he said. "We're thankful to have new members of our family. We're just thankful, too, that we could be there to help."
A woman who claimed to be a naturopathic doctor at her Hoover clinic was sentenced to prison Tuesday after she admitted to defrauding her patients, some of whom had cancer.

Isabel Kesari Gervais, 60, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala to six years and three months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. She was ordered to pay $45,031.17 in restitution.

Gervais pleaded guilty in July 2017 to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, one count of aggravated identity theft, and one count of making false statements.

The judge called Gervais' actions "serious" and "dangerous," and said she considered sentencing Gervais to a sentence greater than the court's guidelines suggest. "I'm sentencing [Gervais] as high as I possibly can," Haikala said. If the judge would have imposed a lengthier sentence, she said an appeal could prolong the case.

Gervais used the alias Dr. Rose Starr at the Euro Med Clinic-- which she started in Hoover in 2015-- where she lied about her credentials, her experience, and her license to practice medicine, the plea agreement shows.

Gervais said she had years of experience and was licensed to practice medicine across the world, with several different degrees in forms of natural medicine. Gervais promised patients, including some who suffered from cancer, that she could provide various medical services including biochemical DNA tests from Germany that she did not have the technology to do, prosecutors said in court.

Gervais would run tests and prescribe substances, billing patients thousands for her services, the plea agreement states.

Gervais spoke before her sentence was announced. "I would like to apologize sincerely," she said. "I have been negligent, I have been wrong. I can only apologize sincerely and deeply for what I've done."

Several victims were present at Gervais' sentencing, but none gave a statement. Many victims submitted written statements to the judge prior to today's hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Barnes said during the hearing that Gervais' crime was "deeply personal," and gave false hope to patients suffering from cancer or other serious illnesses. "It's what she lied about... she lied to very sick people," Barnes said.

At least one of the victims has since died, and another was too ill to be present in court. Gervais took valuable time from people who may have found relief in treatments from real physicians, Barnes said said.

A recording of Gervais on Talk 99.5 radio was played in court. Gervais was invited on a radio show to talk about her practice, and to take questions from callers. She said on the show that she was excited about her move to Birmingham, and talked about her various medical degrees and certifications. She claimed to offer concentrated metabolic testing and German biochemical DNA testing, which would identify the affected organ or gland and allow Gervais to formulate a healthcare plan for her patients.

Over the last 15 years, Gervais operated several different clinics in Alabama, Georgia, Arkansas, and Kansas using both her name and different aliases. The clinics included Sagewood Medical Clinic in Montgomery, the Chiron Clinic in Marietta, Ga., and DRI Enterprises in Atlanta.

Because of ongoing fraud, Gervais was investigated by the Alabama and Arkansas medical boards and was eventually prosecuted by Arkansas state authorities. She faced several civil claims and actions, court records show. After those claims were filed, Gervais abandoned her rental properties, changed her locations and clinic names, and created aliases.

In addition to the fraud, Gervais charged one of her Hoover patient's credit card without consent. She also misappropriated the identity of another patient and used it to set up a post office box, records state.

Gervais forged a judge's signature on a court document, created several fake passport applications, made a fake birth certificate, and created fake diplomas, prosecutors said during the sentencing.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Barnes prosecuted. Gervais was represented by Bill Myers.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is one of nine progressive leaders selected to join the NewDEAL, a 150-person network working to enact "pro-growth progressive solutions" in communities across the country.

Woodfin joins other Alabamians: House minority leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, and Steven Reed, Montgomery County probate judge, in the group.

The NewDEAL (Developing Exceptional American Leaders) is led by honorary co-chairs U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, and former Democratic Gov. Jack Markell of Delaware.

Woodfin was selected out of more than 1,000 nominations.

Woodfin and his peers in the new class of leaders were recognized for their "unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity, as they work to move their communities forward in the new economy and reject the idea that leaders can or should want to turn the clock back to a prior era," the NewDEAL stated in a press release.

These network will work to build on NewDEAL's The Way Forward, a policy agenda released last fall with ideas to address the most pressing issues facing Americans today.

"Anyone wondering where to look for a bench of talented rising Democrats should take note of the NewDEAL's innovative network of results-oriented and forward-thinking leaders,". Warner and Markell said in a statement. "We are excited to welcome Mayor Woodfin as part of another class of innovative pro-growth progressives from throughout the country who are committed to meeting the demands of a changing world and rebuilding trust in government. We look forward to promoting his work as part of NewDEAL's policy agendas, while giving him the chance to learn from other leaders and work with them to set a vision for the future."

NewDEAL Leaders have found broad support for their work, with 98 percent of members winning elections in 2016 and 2017, across red, blue, and purple states, including ten elected to higher office. Four members were elevated to statewide office, including in the swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

"I congratulate Mayor Woodfin on joining this special network," Daniels said in a statement. "It's a well-deserved honor for a leader who is both visionary and pragmatic, with the ability to make major and lasting improvements for the people of Birmingham. I, and the other NewDEAL Leaders across the country, will learn from all he has to offer to our work promoting a pro-growth progressive policy agenda, and I know he will benefit from interacting with other leaders and policy experts."

Elected last November, Woodfin won knocking on doors in each of the city's 99 neighborhoods and prioritizing neighborhood revitalization. He also supports attracting, developing, and retaining talent in Birmingham to make the city an economic hub that fosters a regional culture of innovation and inclusion. He has emphasized the importance of small business, making it a priority to catalyze entrepreneurship and create opportunities for emerging women and minority-owned companies.

"I am excited to be part of NewDEAL's impressive network of public servants across the nation dedicated to expanding opportunity for everyone in the new economy while making government work more effectively," Woodfin said in a statement. "Joining this organization presents a great way to discover policies that are working across the country and I believe the lessons we are learning in Birmingham have something to offer to other leaders looking to improve their communities."
Taking the stand in his own defense, manslaughter suspect Jonathan Scott testified that he didn't mean to kill unarmed 16-year-old Mustafa Bearfield when he fired six shots at him nearly two years ago.

Scott told a jury that he thought he could scare Bearfield into dropping a stolen lunchbox.

Mustafa Bearfield died in the grass along a Huntsville roadway on June 21, 2016. He was 16.

Bearfield was gunned down as he ran from Scott on Fourth Street in southwest Huntsville on the morning of June 21, 2016. Scott testified Bearfield was carrying a lunchbox that was stolen from Scott's bread delivery truck near a convenience store at the corner of Ninth Avenue.

Scott's trial wrapped up Tuesday with closing arguments from the defense and prosecutors after testimony from five witnesses. The jury is expected to deliberate Wednesday.

Scott doesn't deny shooting Bearfield. But his attorney Chad Morgan told the jury in opening statements that his client isn't guilty of manslaughter.

Madison County Deputy District Attorney Randy Dill told the jury that the case is all about one word: recklessly. Dill is seeking to prove Scott acted recklessly when he fired six shots toward Bearfield, including the final one that killed the teen.

The defense is arguing that Scott may have acted negligently, but not recklessly.

"There is no doubt a person is dead and that Jonathan Scott shot Mustafa Bearfield," Morgan told the jury. "The question is why and (whether it was) recklessly."

To convict Scott of manslaughter, the prosecution will have to prove that he "consciously disregarded" the risk that was posed by firing his gun, Morgan told the jury. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The scene

Scott was making a bread delivery at the convenience store on the corner of Fourth Street and Ninth Street around 7 a.m. the morning of the shooting. He claims he noticed his truck door open and walked outside. He didn't see anything missing, so he closed the door and went back inside the store.

Scott testified that he went back outside to check his truck and saw Bearfield walking away from the truck. Scott claims Bearfield was carrying his black lunchbox that had been in the truck.

Scott testified that he yelled for Bearfield to drop the lunch box, but the teen gave him a "screw you look."

"I told him drop it or I'll shoot," Scott testified.

The teen started to run away and Scott fired six shots, with the final one hitting Bearfield in the back of the head. Bearfield fell dead about a block from the store at the corner of Fourth Street and 10th Avenue.

Scott claims he was aiming above Bearfield's head, trying to scare the teen into dropping the lunchbox.

The defense argued Bearfield was walking up a hill, causing the final bullet to hit his head. The defense called as a witness Tim Barnes, a Huntsville Geographic Information Services employee. Barnes testified that as Bearfield ran up the street, he went up a 6-8 foot hill.

Scott called 911 and performed CPR on Bearfield until emergency personnel arrived at the scene, according audio from 911 calls and video from police officer body cameras. The black lunchbox was found lying near Bearfield's body.

Bearfield was unarmed, but the defense argued that Scott thought the teen had a gun. Scott typically carries up to thousands of dollars and a gun in his lunchbox, he told the jury. But that morning, police didn't find either in the black lunchbox. Photos from the scene showed food and drinks inside the lunchbox.

The trial began with jury selection Monday afternoon. Eight women and five men, including one alternate, are included on the jury.

Opening arguments were Tuesday morning before the jury heard testimony from a medical examiner. Dr. Valerie Green, of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences performed Bearfield's autopsy. She testified that the teen was shot once in the back of the head.

Huntsville police Investigator Mark Hammonds testified next about collecting shell casings and other evidence from the scene.

Lane Eason, a now-retired Huntsville police detective who was the lead investigator on the case, testified about interviewing Scott the day of the shooting. The jury watched video of the interview, in which Scott admits shooting Bearfield. Scott is seen in the video crying and wailing.

"It was just a cooler," Scott told Eason during the taped confession. "It was not worth a kid's life. He was just a boy. Why did I even try to scare him?"

At one point during Morgan's questioning of Eason, the defense attorney asked whether Bearfield had a history of criminal activity.

As the prosecutor objected, Bearfield's mother shouted, "He's not here. He's dead."

The mother left the courtroom, and after an outburst in the hallway, the judge ordered a short recess.
A Missouri woman was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for a series of armed carjackings across four states in 2016, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced today. The spree ended with her partner's death when the couple got into a high-speed chase and shootout in Florida.

Brittany Nicole Harper, 32, of Joplin, Missouri, pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to transport a stolen vehicle across state lines, two counts of transporting a stolen vehicle across state lines, three counts of carjacking and one count of brandishing a gun during a crime of violence in January.

Because Harper pleaded guilty to the charges, officials agree to drop a second count of brandishing a gun during a crime of violence, Town said.

Harper will serve 19 years and three months in prison for the crimes. Last year, Harper was sentenced to serve 20 years in Florida prison for the crimes.

"Harper and her companion crossed four states violently threatening the lives of innocent people. This was a rampage, not a crime spree, and the 20 years Harper will spend behind bars compares well to the grave fate suffered by her co-conspirator as a result of their shared malevolence," Town said.

The conspiracy between Harper and her male companion was "to unlawfully obtain vehicles, by whatever means necessary," including acts of violence, and then to use the stolen vehicles as transportation between various states, according to federal court records.

The string of crimes committed by Harper and her boyfriend, Blake Fitzgerald, started in Webb City, Missouri on Jan. 26, 2016, when the couple took a 2009 Cadillac on a test drive and never returned it to the dealership. The couple then burglarized a home in Missouri, where they left the Cadillac and took a 2007 Chevrolet Trailblazer that was parked at the home.

Harper and Fitzgerald then traveled to Alabama, where they stole an air pump from Walmart in Bessemer on Jan. 30, 2016 then forced a motel clerk at gunpoint to get in the backseat of his 2011 Volkwagen Jetta in Tuscaloosa.

The couple drove the Jetta to Hoover and tried, unsuccessfully, to take a Camaro from a McDonald's employee on Jan. 31. They later released the motel clerk in Vestavia Hills.

After releasing the clerk, Harper and Fitzgerald burglarized a home in Vestavia Hills and forced the female homeowner into the family's 2010 Ford Edge and drove away. They later released the woman near the Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham and continued driving the stolen Ford Edge to Perry County, Georgia.

The federal grand jury indictment lists other crimes Harper and Fitzgerald committed in Florida before Harper's Feb. 5, 2016, arrest following a high-speed police chase through neighborhoods in Milton, Florida. Fitzgerald was shot and killed, and Harper was injured during this police encounter, officials said.

"For days the world watched as Harper and her boyfriend, Blake Fitzgerald, acted out some criminal fantasy of being a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, but the consequences of their actions in the Northern District of Alabama were very, very real," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Williamson Barnes.

The FBI investigated the case, which Barnes and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad Felton prosecuted.
The Trump administration is considering housing migrant children on military bases in two states,

The proposal, first detailed in Department of Defense Communications, involves four military installations in Texas and Arkansas. Department of Health and Human Services officials will be making site visits at the posts in the next week to evaluate their suitability.

The bases would be used to house minors younger than 18 who cross with border without an adult relative or those who arrive in the U.S but are separated from their families by federal officials.

Earlier in the month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions warned that families could be separated if they enter the country illegally on the Mexican border.

"We don't want to separate families, but we don't want families to come to the border illegally and attempt to enter into this country improperly," Sessions said. "The parents are subject to prosecution while children may not be. So, if we do our duty and prosecute those cases, then children inevitably for a period of time might be in different conditions."

There is precedent for housing migrant children on military bases. In 2014, the Obama administration used installations in response to a wave of unaccompanied minors arriving in the U.S. from South and Central America.

At that time, Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery and a Federal Emergency Management Agency facility in Anniston were among the sites considered as migrant housing. Neither site was used though as many as 5,000 children were eventually housed at three other military bases around the country.
A lieutenant with the Mobile County Sheriff's Department was charged Tuesday accused of rape and sodomy of a child.

Lt. Paul Stephan Bailey, 50, is accused of Rape 1st, Rape 2 of a minor over the age of 12, Sodomy 2nd of a minor over the age of 12, and Sex Abuse 2nd degree two counts of a minor over the age of 12, according to court documents released by the Sheriff's office and the Mobile District Attorney.

Rape 1st carries a sentence of between 20-99 years.

The accusations relate to two separate alleged victims, although it's not clear when the incidents are believed to have taken place. The grand jury stipulated in its findings that if Bailey makes bail he should be subject to electronic monitoring and have no contact with the victims, according to a DA press release.

Bailey was booked into Metro Jail while the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation continues examining the case. "We are continuing to work with SBI on this investigation and will begin our disciplinary procedures immediately," said Sheriff Sam Cochran.

Lt. Bailey has been with the sheriff's department since 2002 and was promoted to lieutenant in 2017.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency says North Korea is canceling a high-level meeting between the two countries and is threatening also to cancel a summit with the United States due to ongoing military exercises between the U.S. and South Korea.

The two Koreas were set to hold a meeting Wednesday at a border village to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks to reduce border tension and restart reunions between families separated by the Korean War.

Yonhap says North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that Wednesday's meeting was canceled and that Pyongyang was questioning whether next month's summit between North Korea's Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump can also take place as planned.

Yonhap says the two-week military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea started Friday.
A peaceful Alabama rally for the Poor People's Campaign ended with 10 participants arrested for disorderly conduct for sitting in the street to block traffic at Montgomery's Court Square.

The arrests appeared to take place without incident or resistance. The arrests came after police, who had escorted the marchers on a six-block trek down Dexter Avenue, ordered the crowd to disperse about two hours into the demonstration. Montgomery Police Capt. Regina Duckett said the group did not have a permit.

The Poor People's Campaign rally was part of a coordinated national effort, with rallies planned Monday in 30 states and the District of Columbia. Monday's events begin six weeks of protests leading to a march in Washington, D.C., on June 23.

The Poor People's Campaign rally began with speakers, songs and chants on the state Capitol steps. (Mike Cason)

Rev. Carolyn Foster of Greater Birmingham Ministries, one of the organizers of the Alabama event, said the goal was to, "Draw attention to the fact that people are starving, children are hungry, benefits are being cut back in the wealthiest country in the world."

Foster was asked if part of the goal was to have people arrested to help draw attention to the cause.

"Our intent really was just to raise this issue," Foster said. "If arrests happen, we had people that were willing to make that happen. The reason we blocked the roads is because we said, 'This must stop.' This issue of abuse, we think abuse, of poor people. So that was the reason why we intended to block traffic today. We knew that arrests might be possible."

Protesters block the street at Montgomery's Court Square during Monday's Poor People's Campaign rally. (Mike Cason)

Foster was asked if she thought the police handled the situation correctly.

"We made it clear to them that this was a peaceful protest," Foster said. "Everyone involved in this had gone through nonviolent civil disobedience training just like Martin Luther King did. So, we made that clear. And we had hopes that they would respect that and I think they did."

The rally started with speeches, chants and songs on the Capitol steps. Participants held signs with messages such as "Somebody's hurting our people and we won't be silent anymore" and "40 million Americans in poverty."

This story was updated at 11:39 a.m. on May 15 to report the number of arrests and the charges.
An Arizona high school is apologizing for a quote that appeared alongside a senior photo.

Vista Grande High School said it is correcting the yearbooks after a senior quote that read "The South will rise again" was published. The quote was discovered after about 10 percent of the yearbooks were distributed to students, AZCentral.com reported.

"We apologize, as this in no way represents the view of Vista Grande High School," the school said in a Facebook post.

The name of the senior, who is a minor, has not been released and it's unclear if the student will face disciplinary action.

School principal Glenda Sulley said students are advised on appropriate language and word choice before they compose their senior quotes.

"Unfortunately, although many eyes scan the quotes for appropriateness, there are times when something may be overlooked," she said.

Commenters on the schools' Facebook page have taken exception to the removal of the quote.

"Will students with whom school staff disagree be allowed to graduate? Will students who come from Southern families be allowed to graduate?," one commenter asked.

"Vista Grande High School administrators think they can dispense with the First Amendment at their whim. Every senior was given the opportunity to make a statement, but they don't like this kid's statement so they censor it. The discrimination the school has directed against this student is unacceptable. The school's staff needs to go back to school themselves and learn about the Constitution of the United States," another added.
Birmingham evangelist Scott Dawson, a Republican candidate for governor, criticized a state agency and Gov. Kay Ivey on Tuesday for giving funding to a Huntsville-based LGBTQ non-profit organization.

But Ivey said the grants were federally mandated and the money came from criminal seizures, not taxpayers.

Speaking to reporters in Decatur, Dawson pointed to grants given by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs to Free2Be, which describes itself on its website as working "to end violence while advocating for the Human & Civil Rights of Sexual & Gender Minorities."

According to ADECA, Free2Be has received almost $1.7 million in grants from ADECA since September 2014.

In response to Dawson's comments, Ivey said her opponent was getting "desperate" with the GOP primary approaching on June 5 and that none of the money doled out by ADECA was state money.

Asked by a reporter after attending a luncheon in Tuscaloosa on Tuesday if she was upset by Dawson's allegations, Ivey responded, "Do I look upset?

"Lookie here, he's all over the board," she said. "He's not getting any traction. He's low in the polls. He's three weeks away from the election. He's getting desperate."

On the ADECA grants, Ivey told reporters in Tuscaloosa that it was mandated by the federal government beginning in 2014.

"I certainly don't agree with the agenda or the values of that organization," Ivey said. "The funding is federal funding. It's been going on since 2014. There are no Alabama tax dollars involved in this federal money. It's a mandate from the feds that monies be paid this way."

Ivey's campaign also released a statement that all of the money given to Free2Be was federally mandated. And ADECA said in a statement that all of the grants were federal funds.

Ivey's campaign also said that Free2Be is currently being audited and investigated by the state of Alabama.

In a statement released Tuesday afternoon, Ivey's office said that the federal funds given to Free2Be via ADECA came from "criminal fines and forfeitures, not taxpayer dollars."

"Alabama was notified (in 2013) that grants must be extended to organizations which seek to provide victim services to the LGBTQ population," Ivey's office said in the statement. "Following federal direction, a grant was first awarded to Free2Be in 2014, which was the only organization seeking the grant."

A state investigation of Free2Be that began in March revealed the organization had an "outstanding federal debt with the IRS for payroll taxes," the statement from Ivey's office said. "The agency was placed on high risk status on March 29, 2018, and the agency's ability to draw grant funds was suspended. ADECA continues to monitor the agency and will be making a monitoring and financial audit visit on May 21, 2018."

Free2Be ceased operations last week, AL.com news partner WHNT Channel 19 reported on Monday night.

"Any suggestion that the Free2Be grant is an expense of state dollars which could have been used for any other purpose is simply wrong, and illustrates a lack of understanding of federal grant processes," Ivey's office said in the statement. "Compliance with federal regulations is required to ensure that Alabama continues to receive federal grant dollars. In 2017, ADECA administered federal grants totaling approximately $168,665,540."

Dawson said that the grants are evidence that Ivey has "betrayed Alabama values" because her administration has continued the grants that began under former Gov. Robert Bentley.

If state government cannot provide financial support to religious organizations, Dawson said, it should not provide aid to promote "lifestyle activities."

"This grant is about selective rights," Dawson said. "The seriousness of this grant is we have placed one world view over another. To put the shoe on another foot, it would be like if I were governor and gave state taxes to a ministry that I personally support - Focus on the Family. If I gave them taxpayer dollars in excess of $800,000, it would cause an uproar across the state.

"We just want to be balanced in our approach. This is something our government should not be funding."

Equality Alabama, a statewide LGBTQ non-profit organization, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon critical of Dawson.

"Scott Dawson is clearly desperate for attention in the late stages of the campaign and has made the unfortunate choice to use LGBTQ Alabamians as a political punching bag," Alex Smith, executive director of Equality Alabama, said in a statement. "Our community deserves a champion in the governor's mansion, not another bully.

Smith also said in his statement that Ivey has been "no friend" to the LGBTQ community.

"To be clear, Free2Be, which recently closed its doors, received federal funding for crucial anti-bullying programs and mental health programs for victims of violent crimes," Smith said. "Mr. Dawson has chosen to take the low road and use this as an opportunity to berate Gov. Ivey as well as the people served by the organization.

"Ms. Ivey had nothing to do with the funding in question, and we can assure you she has been no friend to Alabama's LGBTQ community. Shame on you, Scott."

Eva Kendrick, Alabama state director with the Human Rights Campaign, defended Free2Be's work as providing "valuable mental health resources" reaching an "underserved population" in Alabama "that may not have had other ways to receive this care."

Said Kendrick: "It's unfortunate that the LGBTQ community is yet again being used as a political pawn and the impact of this work in the lives of everyday Alabamians is lost in these political games."

According to tax returns filed by Free2Be in 2016, the organization used funds for victims of crimes to provide counseling, case management and outside referrals to victims of domestic violence as well as family violence prevention.

Dawson, during his stop in Mobile, said he wasn't out to attack "a person or a community." He said he is a believer in "equal rights, not personal rights," and that he opposes any kind of bullying .

"People will try to manipulate this and turn my words ... but this is what we've found," Dawson said during a news conference at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. "I feel like what I've done is bring this to you and we're laying it out before the people of Alabama. If the people of Alabama say it's not a big deal to them, I am wrong with my concerns. But giving this $800,000 to this organization is concerning to me."

He added, "As a leader, you have to stand up in front of people and say 'No, not under my watch.'"

Ivey's campaign, in response to Dawson's visit to Mobile, said: "Scott Dawson continues to lie his way around the state. The facts remain the same. Maybe he'll get access to Google and stop soon."

Dawson also called on Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall to investigate Free2Be and how they came to be receiving ADECA grants. Dawson said Ivey should also demand an immediate refund of the grant money from the group.

"Our governor right now seems to think we're playing marbles in a playground instead of running for the highest office in Alabama," Dawson said. "She seems to think it's her turn and she doesn't need to explain her actions as the CEO of Alabama. She travels our state and passes out checks probably more so than Publisher's Clearinghouse, taking credit for things that most people understand was due to a team approach.

"You cannot take credit for only the good things. You must answer the tough questions and those questions begin today."

According to a statement late Tuesday afternoon from ADECA, Free2Be has received $1,692,141 in dozens of grants since 2014. That breaks down to more than $1.4 million through Victims of Crime Act and more than $222,000 through Family Violence Prevention and Services Act, according to ADECA.

The Dawson campaign obtained a memo to Alabama state legislators from ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell - an Ivey appointee - from Nov. 13, 2017, that said Free2Be had received $727,410.90.

Since Ivey came into office on April 10, 2017, Free2Be has received $782,042.37 in grants from ADECA, according to the state's open checkbook website.

The ADECA money appears to be a critical source of funding for Free2Be. According to the organization's 2016 budget - the most recent available publicly - it had revenue and expenses of $342,370. In FY2016, Free2Be received $245,609.80 from ADECA.

AL.com reporters Ben Flanagan and John Sharp contributed to this report.

Updated today, May 15, 2018, at 1:06 p.m. with comments from Ivey and her campaign.

Updated today, May 15, 2018, at 1:36 p.m. with new information throughout.

Updated today, May 15, 2018, at 2:45 p.m. with statement from Equality Alabama.

Updated today, May 15, 2018, at 4:01 p.m. with statement from the Human Rights Campaign and statements from Dawson's press conference in Mobile.

Updated today, May 15, 2018, at 5:25 p.m. with statement from ADECA outlining grants provided to Free2Be.
Many insist publicly funded elections are the key to getting Big Money out of politics, but others argue the reality is more complicated. Seattle recently implemented a public financing system via a "democracy voucher program" and it already has some major problems, including candidates "allegedly engaging in fraud to qualify for vouchers" according to the Washington Post. But it can't get worse than the status quo of allowing endless dark money to pour into our elections. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

Ever since Citizens United allowed dark money to pour into American politics virtually unchecked, many have pushed for publicly funded elections. Juhem Navarro-Rivera and Emmanuel Caicedo argue in Demos that wealthy individuals and corporations "have an outsized influence in our political system" and campaign finance reform that provides public funding to campaigns is a healthy solution.

Publicly financed elections would ensure candidates diversify their donor base, spend more quality time with their constituents and not be beholden to special interests. It's an obvious solution that the U.S. should consider if we don't want to become an oligarchy.

But others argue the reality of publicly funded campaigns is more difficult, and could actually make the presence of Big Money and corruption in politics worse. Policy analyst Eric Peterson points out in The Washington Post that publicly funded elections would mean individuals being forced to subsidize campaigns they may disagree with. Individuals should be free to support the candidates of their choosing, and candidates who have more support from individuals should get some kind of advantage in a democracy.

Municipalities that have implemented versions of publicly funded elections have already run into huge problems. Seattle became the latest city to implement a "democracy voucher program" which led to candidates engaging in fraud in order to qualify for vouchers.

We should work to root out corruption in Washington, but publicly financed campaigns could actually make the problem worse, not better.

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
Dima Khalidi

By Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal and Cooperating Counsel with the Center for Constitutional Rights

Two weeks ago, I made a pilgrimage, with thousands of others, to witness the opening of the Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery Alabama. Entering the Memorial, I saw hundreds of rusted metal pillars, first standing at eye level, then gradually, as the corner turned and the floor descended, lifting from the ground until they were hanging from the ceiling above, etched with the names of Black victims of brutal lynchings from around the country. Over 4,400 lynched Black bodies were represented on those pillars.

Those pillars are meant to be a constant reminder of where this country has been. The Equal Justice Initiative's (EJI) recently unveiled Memorial, together with its Legacy Museum are some of the most haunting and courageous efforts to not only resurrect this country's dark past, but to also trace it to a present in which Black lives are still devalued and forsaken.

The most powerful way to bury a history of oppression is to sever it from the present, to deny that such oppression is in any way connected to the current status quo. Filmmaker Ava DuVernay, in a panel moderated by the renowned poet Elizabeth Alexander during the opening summit for the Museum and Memorial, shared with us her motivation to tell Black stories. She said, as I wrote in my notebook, "We so often find ourselves in a story we're not telling," which means that "every day, we're not sure who owns our stories."

The Legacy Museum, on the site of a former slave warehouse, unequivocally reclaims Black history from the perspective of the communities enduring continuing traumas, weaving the thread from slavery to mass incarceration, all enabled by explicit and implicit white supremacist ideologies. I went from reading accounts of enslaved children being sold off from their parents, to a picture of a 13 year old Black boy crying in his mother's arms after being sentenced to life without parole. Anthony Ray Hinton, a wrongly accused death row inmate, described in a viedo how the lynchings of the first half of the 20th century have transformed into the legally sanctioned executions of today: "They took off the white robe, and put on the black robe." This is what EJI has shown us: that slavery, racialized violence and segregation never really ended - they have only evolved, taking on different forms.

Even as someone who has studied Black history and is acutely attuned to the racial injustices that persist, these two spaces were mind-altering.

I came to the opening ceremonies with a delegation of other Palestinian lawyers and activists who wanted to go together to witness, learn from and make connections with our own history of violence, dispossession and erasure.

Returning home to Chicago, and having had time to process the experience, I realize how important it is for my own people to reclaim our narrative, our story - both past and present. For almost a century, the Palestinian story has been written by others. First by the British, who drew borders and deemed Palestinians too immature to have a state of their own; and now by Israel, which continues to deny equal rights, militarily occupy, besiege in subhuman conditions, and deny the right of return to 6 million Palestinians in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza and 6 million more refugees and their descendants in the diaspora.

What I see in my work advising and representing people in the US who advocate for Palestinian rights when they're faced with legal bullying and harassment for expressing their views is how hard Israel and its allies in the US are working to sever Palestinians from their history, from the right to tell their own story. For example, a Palestinian student at UC Berkeley had his approved student-led course on "Palestine: a settler-colonial analysis" summarily suspended when Israel-aligned groups complained to the administration that the course was "political indoctrination," biased, and antisemitic. And today, students who are publicly advocating for Palestinian rights on their campuses are finding themselves individually named in McCarthyite posters and anonymous websites that label them "terrorist supporters."

This week, as Palestinians mourn 70 years of the Nakba - when at least 750,000 Palestinians were forced out of their homes in the wake of massacres and the terror of oncoming Zionist militias - Israel's efforts to silence history and hide the brutality that continues are more evident than ever. Israel has a law that cuts state funding if groups hold events that mention the Nakba. It has built upon and buried the over 400 villages that it destroyed in 1948. And here in the US, 24 states across the country have passed laws that punish entities that support boycotts for Palestinian rights. These are pieces of a larger effort to shut down any resistance, any agency for Palestinians, whether in Palestine or in the diaspora.

Israel's burial of the truth of the Nakba, upon which it built a state that privileges Jewish people from anywhere in the world over the indigenous inhabitants of historic Palestine, is necessary to its continued existence as a settler-colonial supremacist entity.

Burying the past enables Israel to depict tens of thousands of unarmed protesters at Gaza's borders calling for their right to return to their homes beyond the walls as dangerous, while Israeli snipers gun them down - wounding thousands and killing about 100 in the last 6 weeks. It makes it that much easier to claim that any resistance to Israel's continuing dispossession and colonization is driven not by a desire for freedom and dignity, but by some illogical reason: a propensity towards violence, a hatred of Jewish people, an inhuman lack of love for their children.

As we saw in the Legacy Museum, it was these same justifications, this same narrative, that white people in the US leaned on to justify hundreds of years of brutal enslavement, lynchings, segregation. And it's what underlies today's horror of mass incarceration and poverty in Black communities. Dehumanization and racist stereotypes are a necessary precursor to keeping people subjugated.

EJI has presented us with a way to reconnect the past to the present; to, as DuVernay said, proclaim the Black experience rather than have to prove and justify Black humanity and rights to life, freedom and dignity. There is no question left why more than one in three people incarcerated in the US are Black, why one in three Black boys can expect to be incarcerated during their lives. We know it is the modern manifestation of white supremacy, legalized and justified by a white-owned narrative.

Our Palestinian delegation in Montgomery left with renewed hope that we too can reclaim our story. When this happens, when there is a reckoning for Israel's continuing efforts to destroy Palestinians as a people, we can then take the next steps of healing, of reconciling, of turning to the hardest work of all: dismantling the structure of oppression and colonization built on supremacist ideologies, and rebuilding a future based on freedom, justice and equality for all who live there.

We have so far to go towards this end here and in Palestine. EJI's call to action has given us a new imagination, and energized us for the long road ahead.
Young Palestinians share their opinions on the solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, 70 years after the Nakba.

Occupied East Jerusalem  Palestinians are marking 70 years since the ethnic cleansing of their homeland by Zionist militias to create the state of Israel. The event is called the Nakba, or Catastrophe, in Palestinian history.

For Palestinians, the establishment of Israel in 1948 opened a chapter of collective suffering, wars and displacement. Built as a state for Jews, Israel discriminates against Palestinians in many aspects of their lives.

Today, Palestinians in different parts of the country carry different identity documents and live different realities, separated by an 8-metre-high concrete wall and military checkpoints.

The more than three million Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem face home demolitions, arbitrary arrests and land theft on a near-daily basis.

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Two million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been living under an airtight land, sea and air blockade for more than a decade and suffer from acute poverty.

The 1.8 million Palestinians inside Israel, carrying Israeli citizenship, are an involuntary minority, discriminated against by more than 50 laws for not being Jewish.

On the 70th commemoration of the Nakba, Al Jazeera spoke to young Palestinians, asking them what they think the solution is to what has been dubbed the worlds most intractable conflict.

Marah Maghamsi, 21, family expelled from the village of Mjadel, now living in Nazareth

Marah Maghamsi, 21, student [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

In general, discrimination is not natural. But when we have a colonial entity that was built on the basis of ethnicity  a state built for the Jewish people  discrimination is something very natural in this context; it is expected.

This discrimination has created a sense of inferiority within us. We have started to see Israelis as superior to us, because of systematic [Israeli] policies over a long period.

This is a challenge we face as Palestinians in the 1948 territories [inside Israel]. We start to think: Im worth less than a Jew, even though I am from here and Ive been living here, and they came from Europe, Africa, Russia and other places.

The solution to this conflict is to get rid of colonialism and establish one state.

We want a state for all its citizens. A state that can guarantee the return of the refugees. A state that can preserve our culture, history and Canaanite civilisation, that respects the suffering we underwent as a people from Ottoman, to British, to Israeli colonialism.

We have to develop our methods of resistance. Israel is blocking our resistance methods from every direction. We cant work on one level. We cant just work on changing international opinions, or just using armed resistance  we have to work on all aspects to develop our tools and tell the world we are under occupation.

Muntaser Dkeidik, 34, from occupied East Jerusalem

Muntaser Dkeidik, 34, works at a youth community centre in Jerusalem [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The 70 years since the Nakba have been 70 years of the Israeli occupation trying to erase our identity every day.

But despite all Israeli efforts to do that, we have managed to preserve our identity, as much as we can, as Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Palestine is from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea. Historical Palestine is the one that we believe in.

Every day, the [Israeli] occupation expands in Jerusalem. It is clear that the occupation is dominating education, health, economy, tourism in the city.

The only thing we have managed to retain control over is our identity, which is very present in the minds of youth and with their refusal to obey [the occupation].

There is no solution to the conflict because it is an existential, spatial, ideological conflict. It is not a business deal  you take a piece, and Ill take a piece. It is linked to something ideological, religious. It is a conflict over space and existence.

It is connected too, over Israeli beliefs, Zionist beliefs, that they do not want to let go of in any shape or form. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu today is demanding a takeover of the occupied West Bank. The construction of settlement homes has not stopped over the past 10 years and more.

Today we drive from Jerusalem to Nablus, and the road is filled with settlements. And from Jerusalem to Hebron, there are settlements the whole way.

What solution? What end to the occupation? With the tools and policies theyre using? Has the peace process progressed? What positives have we benefited from? Its the opposite. Over the past 10 or 15 years we lost all the lands in the occupied West Bank that connect our cities, and now they have Israeli settlements on them.

Whats the solution?

Adam Hamayel, 28, from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank

Adam Hamayel, 28, ceramic art teacher [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

I personally do not see an end to the occupation in the near future.

But since the occupation has been here for 70 years, and we are forced to live in this situation  its not that were happy about it  and there are Arabs and Jews, I think there should be a temporary solution.

I think there can be some kind of coexistence between the two sides based on laws and rights. There should be red lines that cant be crossed. I think this would benefit both Palestinians and Israelis, so there can be some kind of stability in the region, individuals can have their rights and live their lives far from difficulties, and we can overcome the obstacles of violence and lack of stability and the bad economic situation.

I think this is what most countries around the world look for; its so we can end this conflict that is causing distress in the whole Middle East.

Ezz Odeh, 19, from Nazareth

Ezz Odeh, 19, student [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

[In the 1948 territories] you feel like an outsider. This is not your state, and thats apparent in every detail, big or small.

Whether it is state emblems, or the fact that you cant use your language freely as any Jew can, or that you do not get the budget youre entitled to. You do not have a decent standard of living like any other person.

Today if you want to say Palestine, one person tells you Palestine is from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea, another person says Palestine is on the 1967 borders [East Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza].

Today, political parties and institutions are not working together towards the same goal.

[But] irrespective of the process that were going through as Palestinians, our rights are our rights. Liberation is a right. It does not matter if were not able to organise, or there are ongoing discussions between us as a people, it is our right to be free. No one can tell us only when you organise yourselves, then you can be free.

I personally believe we can all live together in one state. The refugees must return to their homes, as per all human rights conventions. We must learn from the experiences of other countries, such as the South African experience. We must also have a measure of human rights and raise popular pressure to really create this one state.

Hala Shoman, 25, from the occupied Gaza Strip

Hala Shoman, 25, dentist [Hosam Salem/Al Jazeera]

The main problem is the occupation.

I am a graduate of dentistry. I tried to leave the Gaza Strip to do a PhD in Turkey, but I missed the opportunity because the border is closed.

Ending the occupation as a system is the first step towards a solution, and after that, we can decide whether we as a Palestinian people will accept the presence of foreigners living with us in the same country, or if they should return to their countries and call for their right of return.

Most of them come from Germany and other European countries.

Addie Awwad, 33, from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank

Addie Awwad, 33, works at an international development agency [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The two-state solution  the most feasible solution  is dead. If you look at the reality on the ground, were shifting towards a one-state reality that enshrines apartheid in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Also, continuous aggressive Israeli policies in the West Bank and East Jerusalem hinder any prospects for future solutions.

The Palestinians are weak as well, so Im not sure what a solution would be in the future.

I can say that Palestinians have lost hope. The young generation does not foresee any solution if you maintain the current Palestinian leadership and the radical Israeli government.

Nouran Abbasi, 20, from the village of Shefa-Amr in the Galilee

Nouran Abbasi, 20, student [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The [Israeli] occupation is working to divide us, to make us struggle for demands, not for liberation.

The solution is to put this struggle for demands to the side and work on a struggle for liberation.

A liberation struggle begins with awareness, learning from past experiences, such as the two Intifadas [popular Palestinian uprisings] and the 1936 revolt, and reading history correctly, not from the perspective of the victim but from the perspective of the freedom fighter.

We are not victims, we are entitled to our rights, and we have the methods to succeed.

This is where the solution starts. If I were to paint you a picture of the solution, I would be doing the solution injustice.

Yousef Taha, 23, from the village of Kabul near Acre

Yousef Taha, 23, student [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]

The right of return of Palestinian refugees is the first step in the solution. After that, I believe we can create one democratic state where Palestinians can express their demands freely.

The state cannot be a Jewish state if we want a solution, because giving priority to the Jewish people means the state will not be representative of the Palestinian people as well.

We have a clear national identity, but at the same time, the society we live in does not understand us, and this is a big problem. You feel lost. You talk to people who do not understand you.

Ive been living in Tel Aviv for three years; Im studying there. I feel very alienated.

Follow Zena Tahhan on Twitter: @zenatahhan
After signing up to the 2015 Paris Agreement  aimed at limiting the impact of climate change  European countries began announcing end dates for their coal industries, one of the main sources of CO2 emissions.

But in Eastern Europe, the situation is different, with countries there saying they want to keep burning coal for decades, insisting they are too poor to transition fast to other sources of energy.

Romania, however, boasts a diverse energy mix. The country produces about a quarter of its energy from coal, compared with almost a third from hydro and 15 percent from other renewables.

Coal producers argue that, regardless of the mix, the carbon-rich material is crucial for ensuring the stability of the energy system.

Producers also say coal is much cheaper than gas and nuclear power, the other stable energy sources.

Romanias coal equipment is old, and European Union pollution standards mean huge investments are necessary to ensure the plants keep working.

Between 2009 and 2015, we spent 1bn ($1.2bn) to implement the European standards required by 2016, only to have an unpleasant surprise this autumn and discover more new standards will be put in place, said Sorin Boza, director for Complexul Energetic Oltenia (CEO), the biggest coal company.

Boza wants Romania to ask the EU for a postponement in implementing the newest standards  an allowance to keep polluting for longer.

Coals hidden costs

According to data from the NGO coalition Beyond Coal, Europe-wide coal pollution is responsible for 19,500 premature deaths, 458,000 asthma attacks in children and almost 6 million lost working days annually.

In Romania alone, according to the same data, coal was responsible for over 1,000 premature deaths in 2015. More than half were estimated to be because of CEO alone.

Beyond Coal further estimated that coal pollution in Romania was responsible for 520 cases of chronic bronchitis, 800 hospital admissions, 26,000 cases of asthma attacks in children, and 267,000 lost working days, amounting to an estimated 2bn euro burden to the economy.

The negative impacts of coal mining on the environment  destruction of local ecosystems and agricultural land; underground and overground water pollution; contamination of land and dust pollution  have been widely documented by Greenpeace and other organisations.

In Gorj, most CEO mines are very close to one another. When 1,000 hectares are dug out instead of 100, the water resources, for example, are affected tenfold, says Alexandru Mustata from environmental group Bankwatch Romania.

Several villages are already left without drinking water, while the habitats are also affected. Post-closure works are limited to planting willows, so the previous species cannot return.

The Romanian energy ministry, upon consulting with CEO, denied most of the claims against the company.

In a written response, the ministry said CEOs mining operations are fully in line with the national legislation and the company pays very big annual contributions to the national budget, including approximately 800,000 annually in the form of environmental tax and another 130m through purchase of CO2 certificates.

Fair compensations

The energy ministry further said CEO negotiated fair compensations with each expropriated inhabitant of Runcurel, that levels of sound around the mines are admissable, that the company does not use more water than allowed by law, that investments CEO made have led to improving air quality, that it planted more forest than it cut; that the Turceni leak was caused by locals but CEO did repair work anyway; and that landslides are natural.

According to the ministry, coal mining is not toxic and at the same time, the long-term negative impact of green energy on local ecosytems and human health is well known.

Incidentally, even though the coal industrys problems have been known for many years, not one of Romanias recent governments has seriously considered the idea of phasing out coal.

Beyond the variations in the party politics layer on top, theres a very powerful layer below made up of those who are really in charge of the energy system, people from the energy companies, administration, some union leadership, said Corina Murafa, an energy expert formerly with the World Bank.

And they have a fetish with coal as the backbone of the energy system.
Israelis tried to destroy and erase my Palestinian village, Beit Daras, but they did not and will not succeed.

This is the story of four Palestinian peasants who have been dead and buried for many years, but whose legacy continues to define the collective aspirations of a whole nation. It is also the story of a village that was erased from existence 70 years ago. The peasants are my grandparents, and the village of Beit Daras will always be my home.

My maternal grandfather, Mohammed died a few months after he was expelled from his village.

All I know of Mohammed is what I learned about him from my grandmother, Mariyam. Just 37 years old, he passed away on the canvas floor of a tent provided by the Quakers for refugees arriving to the Gaza Strip from all over Palestine. His ailment was never diagnosed, let alone treated.

He died from a broken heart, Mariyam often told us.

My mother Zarefah would cry at the mere mention of her fathers name. When he died, she was too young to differentiate between coma and sleep or understand that death was an irrevocable finality. She was summoned into the tent by the women of the refugee camp to kiss her father before returning to her impatient playmates as they played hopscotch. Good night, papa, she whispered in his ear. He never woke from that deep slumber.

Your grandfather was a handsome man, mom would tell us. But there was no physical evidence to verify that claim, for his wife had destroyed every piece of paper and every photo that she salvaged from their burning home back in Beit Daras during the great massacre.

Mohammed, like other men of the village, fought to the end. When the Zionist militia, the Haganah, finally broke the stubborn local resistance in the village, its fighters torched the houses.

Mohammed only left because Mariyam begged him to, but he fell ill on the dusty road to Gaza. As soon as they pitched their tent in what became the Buraij Refugee Camp in the central Gaza Strip, his illness turned into a coma.

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Mariyam erased her husbands existence from the record for she feared Zionists would find the freedom fighters family in Gaza. She feared for her three boys, and for my mother, Zarefah, who as soon as her father was buried joined Mariyam in a protracted mission to survive.

Miraculously, the boys were educated, thanks to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) which was established in the years after the Nakba  the destruction of the Palestinian homeland in 1948. Zarefah, however, was not. Instead, she collected scrap metal to sell in a local market, as her mother braved the death zone between Gaza and the newly-established state of Israel to collect food for her children.

Every evening, Mariyam would return with a small basket of whatever fruits or vegetation she managed to salvage on her deadly journey. Indeed, Israeli soldiers killed many Palestinians, who ventured close to the border fence in a desperate attempt to redeem the fruit of the land that once belonged to them.

In fact, for Mariyam and Zarefah, that land always belonged to them, despite being unlawfully occupied by gangs of murderous foreigners. They spoke about Beit Daras in the present tense, as a reality that, although disfigured by war and destitution, would remain Palestinian till the end of time.

My paternal grandparents are also from Beit Daras. Thus, being a Badrasawi  as the people of my village are called  became an integral part of my character.

Born into a family of refugees in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp in Gaza, I took pride in being a Badrasawi. Our tough resistance  back in the village and later in refugee camps  gave us the reputation of being tenacious. We truly are stubborn, proud and generous. Beit Daras was erased, but the collective identity it has given us remains intact, regardless of whatever exile ensnares us.

When Google Earth was initially released in 2001, I immediately rushed to locate a village that no longer exists on a map. Finding a place that virtually disappeared decades earlier was not, at least for me, an irrational act. The village of Beit Daras was the single most important piece of earth that truly mattered to me.

But I could only find it by estimation. Beit Daras was located 32 kilometres northeast of Gaza, perched gently between a large hill and a small river that seemed never to run dry.

A once peaceful village, Beit Daras had existed for millennia. Romans, Crusaders, Mamluks and Ottomans ruled over and even tried to subdue Beit Daras as they tried with all of Palestine; yet they failed. True, each invader left their mark  ancient Roman tunnels, a Crusaders castle, a Mamluk post office building, an Ottoman han (caravanserai)  but they were all eventually driven out. It wasnt until 1948 that Beit Daras was emptied of its 3,000 inhabitants and destroyed.

Three battles were bravely fought by the Badrasawis in defence of their village. In the end, the Zionist militias, with the help of British weapons and strategic assistance, routed the resistance, which consisted mostly of villagers fighting with old rifles and farming tools.

The massacre of Beit Daras that followed remains a subdued scream that pierces through the hearts of Badrasawis. After all these years under siege, successive wars and endless strife, their Nakba has never truly ended. One cannot forget the pain if the wound never truly heals.

As a child, I learned to be proud from my paternal grandfather, also Mohammed. A handsome, elegant, strong peasant with unshakable faith, he managed to hide his deep sadness well after he was expelled from his home in Palestine along with his entire family. As he aged, he would sit for hours, between prayers, searching within his soul for the beautiful memories of his past. Occasionally, he would let out a mournful sigh, a few tears; yet he never accepted his defeat or the idea that Beit Daras was gone forever.

Why bother to haul the good blankets on the back of a donkey, exposing them to the dust of the journey, while we know that its a matter of a week or so before we return to Beit Daras? he told his bewildered wife, Zeinab as they embarked with their children on an endless exile.

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I cannot pinpoint the moment when my grandfather discovered that his good blankets were gone forever, that all that remained of his village were two giant concrete pillars and a bunch of cactuses.

It isnt easy to reconstruct a history that, only several decades ago, was, along with every standing building of that village, blown to smithereens with the very intent of erasing it from existence. Most historical references written about Beit Daras, whether by Israeli or Palestinian historians, were brief, and ultimately resulted in delineating the fall of Beit Daras as just one of nearly 600 Palestinian villages that were ethnically cleansed and then completely flattened during the war years. It was another episode in a more compounded tragedy that has seen the expulsion and dispossession of nearly 800,000 Palestinians.

But for my family, it was much more than that. Beit Daras was our very dignity. My grandfathers calloused hands and leathery, weathered skin attested to the decades of hard labour tending the rocky soil in the fields of Palestine. It was a popular pastime for my brothers and I to point to a scar on his body and then to hear a gut-busting tale about the rigours of farm life.

Later in life, someone would give him a small hand-held radio to glean the latest news, and he would, from that moment, never be seen without it. I recall him listening to the Arab Voice news on that battered radio. It once had been blue but now had faded to white with age. Its bulging batteries were duct-taped to the back. Sitting with the radio up to his ear and fighting to hear the reporter amid the static, grandpa listened and waited for the announcer to issue that long-awaiting call: To the people of Beit Daras: your lands have been liberated, go back to your village.

The day grandpa died, his faithful radio was lying on the pillow close to his ear so that even then he might catch the announcement for which he had waited for so long. He wanted to comprehend his dispossession as a simple glitch in the worlds consciousness that was sure to be corrected and straightened out in time.

But it wasnt. Seventy years later, my people are still refugees. Not just the Badrasawis, but millions of Palestinians, scattered in refugee camps across the Middle East, the world. Those refugees, while still searching for a safe path that would take them home, often find themselves on yet another journey, another dusty trail, being pushed out time and again from one city to the next, from one country to another, even lost between continents.

My grandfather was buried in the Nuseirat Refugee Camp cemetery, not in Beit Daras as he had wished. But he remained a Badrasawi to the end, holding so passionately to the memories of a place that for him  for all of us  remain sacred and real. Even the words inscribed on his tombstone attest to this idea: Mohammed Mahmoud Baroud of Beit Daras. Age 93.

What Israel must understand is that the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees is not just a political or even legal right to challenge the ever-unfair status quo. It has long surpassed that. For the refugees, Palestine is so much more than a piece of earth; it is a perpetual fight for justice  in the name of those who died along the dusty trails of exile and those who are yet to be born.

For more on destroyed Palestinian villages, go to: https://interactive.aljazeera.com/aje/palestineremix/

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
The Nakba has been going on for 70 years but the Palestinian struggle for justice and the right of return carries on.

If you are familiar with the term Nakba, you probably think of it as a historical Palestinian grievance over events that unfolded 70 years ago. That was the time when Zionist militias facilitated the creation of the state of Israel by depopulating Palestinian villages, driving some 750,000 people out of their homes.

Israels founder David Ben-Gurion famously remarked: I support compulsory transfer. I dont see anything immoral in it. Some Palestinians fled their towns upon hearing of the unfolding violence nearby. Villages that tried to resist displacement, like the village of Deir Yassin, were decimated. Conservative estimates put the death toll in Deir Yassin at 110, with a lieutenant colonel in the Israeli military who witnessed the aftermath saying: There was a feeling of considerable slaughter and it was hard for me to explain it to myself as having been done in self-defence. My impression was more of a massacre than anything else.

When all was said and done, Israel was established on nearly 78 percent of historic Palestine, seizing or destroying well over 400 Palestinian villages in the process, and barring Palestinian refugees from returning ever since.

As Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary, Palestinians are mourning the 70th anniversary of the 1948 catastrophe (Nakba). If the Nakba is the event by which Israel devastated the Palestinian population in pursuit of an exclusivist national project, then its not merely a historical event, but very much a living reality today. This is true within Israel, where the Supreme Court continues to clear the way for the demolition of Bedouin communities for the explicit purpose of replacing them with Jewish neighbourhoods, ignoring the objections of major human rights organisations like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

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A similar and even more egregious process takes place outside of Israels borders, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) that Israel captured in the 1967 war (the remaining 22 percent of Palestine not taken in 1948, including East Jerusalem). What makes the OPT different is that Israel has no right to claim these territories whatsoever, and is required by international law (numerous UN Security Council resolutions and the opinion of the International Court of Justice) to withdraw from those areas.

Israel demolished as many as 5,000 Palestinian homes in Jerusalem, and in some cases even threw Palestinians out of their homes so Jewish settlers can take their place. Israels plan to destroy the Palestinian village of Susiya in the West Bank, for example, proved even a step too far for senior members of the US Congress, with Senator Dianne Feinstein leading several colleagues in vigorous opposition.

These crimes do not individually rise to the scale of calamity carried out under more permissive conditions in 1948, but they are collectively a contiguous extension of that malevolent displacement and replacement project endured by Palestinians for over seven decades.

In the pursuit of a misguided conception of balance, the US media has largely failed to convey Palestines tragedy accurately as a struggle against displacement and oppression. Instead, it was a conflict between two sides portrayed as equally culpable for the absence of peace.

But to resolve this conflict, Palestinians made an extraordinary compromise in 1988: Despite the enormity of the injustice imposed on them four decades earlier, they recognised Israel as established in 1948, and settled for a Palestinian state in the OPT, less than a quarter of their original homeland. Celebrations and that famous handshake on the White House lawn notwithstanding, peace remained elusive because Israel simply moved the goalposts. Israel continued to demolish Palestinian homes and build illegal settlements throughout the OPT, and connected those settlements with roads that Palestinians are barred from using. This process cut up the OPT into pieces, making Palestinian independence impossible. In effect, the Nakba process continued under the pretence of a peace process.

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To settle any doubt about Israels true intentions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declared that there will never be a Palestinian state, favouring instead settlement expansion throughout the Palestinian territories.

Because settlements make a viable Palestinian state impossible, they were condemned over the past several decades by every single US administration (except for Donald Trumps) as an impediment to peace.

Despite never applying meaningful pressure on Israel, the Obama Administration made a couple of peace gestures on their way out. First, they broke with Israels expectations of unconditional diplomatic protection at the UN, not by supporting the otherwise unanimous UN resolution condemning Israeli settlements as they should have, but simply by withholding their veto. Second, the departing Secretary of State John Kerry gave a scathing speech about the peace-destroying path Israeli leaders seem determined to pursue.

Donald Trump, however, moved us farther away from accountability, staffing his administration with extremist hardliners, backing away from Palestinian statehood, taking Jerusalem off the table, ending the use of the word occupation to describe Israels military presence on Palestinian lands, and slashing assistance to Palestinian refugees by tens of millions of dollars.

So here we are, 70 years after the Nakba and its victims are no closer to justice today than they were back then. We are back at square one, and much of the world has resigned itself to tepid commentary instead of meaningful action, as Israel bars Palestinians from every avenue towards dignity and freedom: No right to self-determination in a viable state of their own, no right return to their original homes, and live sniper fire awaits those who mount an effective protest, even when theyre unarmed and non-violent.

But no matter how bleak the reality looks today, in terms of policy and on the ground, there is a counter-reality we must recognise: Human aspiration for freedom is mightier than any army that stands in its way. Bullying and coercion over the past 70 years have not broken the spirit of Palestinian resistance, and another 70 years wont either.

The Palestinian struggle for justice, which envisions the kind of equality and prosperity that protects the future of all Israelis and Palestinians, will continue until we bring this decades-long Nakba to an end, once and for all.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Iranian leaders under increasing pressure to ensure the economy does not relapse following Trumps Iran deal withdrawal.

Tehran, Iran  Irans foreign minister has been touring world capitals to try and save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal after the US withdrawal.

Pledges of continued support from China and Russia were no surprise. Even the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherinis support was expected; shes been an outspoken supporter of the agreement and her public remarks have made her a popular figure in Iran.

But talks in coming weeks with the leaders of Germany, France and the United Kingdom are likely to be more complicated.

US President Donald Trump has been a critic of Irans involvement in conflicts in the Middle East since he was a presidential candidate.

In an effort to placate the Americans, Europes leaders will be looking for concessions on Irans ballistic missiles programme, and are likely to raise the issue of Tehrans support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Irans leaders say these relationships are part of a forward defensive strategy, all part of living in a tough neighbourhood, and that ballistic missiles are a necessity against the United States and other powerful countries in the region.





Despite suggestions by European signatories, Iran says compromising its self-defence capability is off the table, even if it means scrapping the nuclear agreement.

National security is a [necessity] for any activities in a country, said Kamal Dehghani, a member of Irans parliament and the deputy chairman of the parliamentary commission on national security and foreign policy.

If we cannot guarantee national security, we can never [have] economic development and public welfare, Dehghani added.

The first step and foundation for a country is national security. Under the shadow of national security, national interests can be met.

Trust deficit

World leaders worry that Irans rockets could someday carry a nuclear warhead. But Iran has been clear on that issue; Iran never intends on pursuing a nuclear bomb. But it seems many world leaders are unwilling to listen.

Never, said Dehghani, when asked if Iran would ever build a nuclear weapon. We have committed to the world that despite having enough nuclear knowledge to use nuclear power in many ways, we will only use it for peaceful purposes.

So, why doesnt anyone believe Iran?

Hamed Mousavi is a professor of political science at Tehran University. He says its a problem of messaging. In the face of the bully pulpit that the American presidency has become, Iran is struggling to have its voice heard.

I think Irans [public relations] campaign is much much weaker than what the Israelis and the Americans have in terms of media outlets, in terms of the movie industry, Mousavi said.

So they have all sorts of these tools to try to accuse Iran and Iran essentially has not really adopted wise policies in this regard. Giving our message to the world has not really been our strong point for perhaps even the past four decades.

Irans desire to keep itself safe goes back to the beginning of the Islamic Republic.





At the Tehran Peace Museum, many of the installations are about the war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Iraq under Saddam Hussein invaded Iran shortly after the 1979 revolution. The US as well as many of Irans Gulf Arab neighbours supported Hussein in the eight-year conflict.

Post-revolution Iran was outgunned and unprepared to take on an enemy with a more modern military, as well as short and long-range missiles. The conflict ended in a stalemate and hundreds of thousands of people died on both sides.

Iranians say they still remember the sound of air raid sirens on the radio and on TV, whenever an Iraqi jet on a bombing run or an Iraqi ballistic missile would be spotted in the skies over an Iranian city. For eight long years, people here say they looked up at the skies in constant fear.

That conflict shaped the way Iran looks at national security issues. The countrys collective trauma changed how civilian and military leaders make decisions about present-day defence policies.

Iranians say they never again want to be in the position of coming under attack without being able to respond. So, even though it may be the excuse Europes leaders use to distance themselves from Iran, the ballistic missiles programme is likely to be around indefinitely.

Rouhanis future

While the US pullout may have given Iran the moral high ground with regards to the nuclear deal, at home the Rouhani administration is in trouble. If Zarifs trip is unsuccessful in achieving even some minor measurable gain for Irans economy, one MP predicts changes at the top.

[Rouhani] is supported fully to serve out his presidency, said member of parliament Javad Karimi Ghodousi.

I myself am one of his main critics but never thought about impeachment or him stepping down and we dont think it is needed  But if he wants to continue like this, they will face problems and the government will face some crises. Big changes in his cabinet are expected and, if he wants to, I think he will resign himself.

But Ghodousi said it was too soon to count Iran out. While he admitted sanctions would pinch, he said Iran had strong ties with its neighbours and a capable population of 80 million people who would enable Iran to resist the impact of the United States psychological operations.

He noted Iran sold $100bn worth of oil from 1982-1992 during the sanctions era.

There is water and wealth under the feet of Iranians wherever they are, he said. We have knowledge, civilisation, experience, power, logic and security. As we dealt with sanctions before the deal, we can deal again.
BJP is leading in elections in Karnataka but fails to cross the halfway mark required to form a government.

Indias ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in the polls in Karnataka, but failed to cross the halfway mark required to form a government in the southern state, official results showed.

The state polls were seen as a popularity test for Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of general elections slated to be held in 2019 when he would seek a second term.

Modis BJP won 82 seats while the incumbent Congress party managed to win 50 seats, according to the latest results published on the election commission website. The final results for the 224-seat assembly will be announced later in the day.

The BJP is able to win despite lacklustre economic growth because Modi still arouses the hope among the younger generation that he will be able to bring about an improvement in the situation. His remarkable oratory helps him to do this. In contrast, his opponents appear listless and devoid of imagination. They are also unable to project a vision of the future as Modi does, political analyst Amulya Ganguli told Al Jazeera.

Modi was central to the choice of people in Karnataka. For 2019 the choice is apparent. In Modi, Indians find an ideal leader Sudhanshu Mittal, BJP spokesperson

The Congress party, the main opponent to Modis BJP at the national level, has thrown its support behind a regional party; together they are eyeing the formation of the next government in the southern state  home to Indias IT hub, Bengaluru.

Stiff competition among the opposition parties in the state vote  with Congress party candidates fighting the regional group Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)  helped the BJP emerge as the party with the most votes, even though it failed to win a clear majority.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced his resignation after his partys setback in the state elections.

Reaffirming the faith in Modi

The BJP said the Karnataka state polls are reaffirming the faith of people in the prime minister.

Modi was central to the choice of people in Karnataka. For 2019 the choice is apparent. In Modi, Indians find an ideal leader, BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Mittal told Al Jazeera.

If they are able to form a government in Karnataka, a state of 66 million people, the right-wing BJP will rule 22 of Indias 29 states. The Congress runs governments in three Indian states  Punjab, Puducherry and Mizoram.

The BJP said the Karnataka state polls are reaffirming the faith of people in the prime minister [Abhishek N Chinnappa/Reuters]

In more than a dozen rallies he addressed in the state in previous weeks, Prime Minister Modi taunted Rahul Gandhi, president of the Congress party and fifth-generation scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, and his party for repeated poor showing at the hustings.

Since the last national election in 2014, Congress has suffered some of its worst results in local elections. Modi had earlier vowed to make the country Congress-free.

In glaring contrast, Modis BJP is doing well despite a bleak job scene and unimpressive economic growth.

Indias jobless rate was around 7.25 percent during the first fortnight of April, compared with 5 percent in January, the highest monthly rate in the past 15 months, data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy showed.

Modi swept to power in May 2014 with the biggest electoral mandate in three decades after promising to create 10 million jobs each year.

But analysts say economic concerns arent necessarily the sole focus of voters.

Hate wins

Elections in India are also times of heightened tensions because political parties often pitch for votes on the basis of religious and caste identity.

A legislator from Modis party said in the run-up to the polls that the elections are not about roads or drinking water but about Hindus and Muslims. Muslims are the largest minority group, forming over 14 percent of the 1.3 billion population.

The state unit of the party also regularly tweeted divisive rhetoric while urging people to vote for the right-wing BJP.

Hate wins everywhere. Mobilisation on behalf of hate always has precedence over all else. The BJP expects us to ignore the doctrine of hatred as a tool of electoral contest Ashis Nandy, social psychologist

Hate wins everywhere. Mobilisation on behalf of hate always has precedence over all else. The BJP expects us to ignore the doctrine of hatred as a tool of electoral contest, social psychologist Ashis Nandy told Al Jazeera.

There was a divisive campaign this time by the BJP, but this is not new, they have been doing so for decades now. Their way of mobilising votes is better. If you see the vote share of opposition parties, its not that bad. But Modi is a better politician, he added.

The Indian prime minister remains by far the most popular national figure in Indian politics more than three years after coming to power, according to a survey released by the Pew Research Center in November.

Nearly nine out of 10 Indians say they have a favourable view of the Hindu nationalist leader.

But not everyone is convinced. Critics and activists say Modis government is not doing enough to stop Hindu nationalists from targeting minorities.

The Indian government failed to stop or credibly investigate vigilante attacks against minority religious communities during 2017, Human Rights Watch said in its World Report 2018.

There are darker days ahead for Indias minorities. They will be living in a fools paradise if they dont expect more hate crimes or communal riots, warned Nandy.
Cannes Film Festival: Lack of funds hurts independent film

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Why Chile is giving citizenship to Palestinian refugees

Palestinians living in Chile have grown to become not only the largest Palestinian community outside of the Middle East, but also extremely prosperous and influential both in industry and politics.
Tips on how to stay hydrated and retain optimal energy while fasting as the holy month of Ramadan marks its start.

Its that time of year again: 1.84 billion Muslims around the world will be welcoming the holy month of Ramadan with their first day of fasting on May 16. For other countries, May 17 will be the first day of fasting.

Ramadan is the holiest month for Muslims as it is regarded to be the month that the holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad on the night of Laylat al-Qadr, one of the last 10 nights of Ramadan.

Millions of Muslims around the world will be fasting every day for a month, refraining from eating, drinking (yes, even water) and smoking from sunrise to sunset.

It is a month of self-discipline and empathy for those living in poverty.

As one of the five pillars of Islam, fasting during Ramadan is accompanied with increased spiritual reflection, worship and acts of charity.

Fasting for the whole day can be a more gruelling experience for some depending on where they live.

For instance, those who live in Oslo, Norway will be fasting 19 hours, while Muslims in East Jerusalem in occupied Palestine will fast for roughly 15 hours and those living south of the equator such as in Buenos Aires, Argentina will fast for just 12 hours.

It is common to experience unusual fatigue and dehydration when fasting.





Students and academics at Birmingham City University in the United Kingdom have come up with a guide featuring tips to support the wellbeing of those who fast and to help them retain as much energy as possible throughout the day.

Water, water and more water during night-time hours  experts advise drinking as much water as possible during Iftar (breaking of fast) and Suhoor (pre-dawn meal) times, especially if hot weather is expected during the day. M ake sure you have at least two litres of water during night-time hours.

Learn the importance of balance  when fasting, your body is deprived of nutrients that your system needs. The experts emphasise that it is so important to make sure that when you can eat, you keep your meals balanced so that you feed your system enough nutrients from each group.

Think about the alternatives  swap deep frying for grilling, baking or shallow frying and swap heavier foods for lighter alternatives. For example, swap cake and chocolate for fruit and yoghurt.

Fitness and fasting can work together  gym enthusiasts can stick to their routine of working out everyday. Light exercises are great to keep blood flowing and the system working. Cardio exercises are also fine to do when fasting as long as you dont overdo it.

Lots of protein and avoid salt for Suhoor  For the pre-dawn meal, experts recommend eating foods that will provide the body with enough energy to last a good few hours. Its important to focus on slow-digesting foods like high protein and high fibre. Some great examples of these are oats, and whole wheat foods like barley, brown rice, buckwheat and whole wheat bread or pasta.



Iftar time is for water, dates and well-balanced meals  It is traditional for Muslims to break their fast with a date, which has scientific benefits. Energy-rich foods with natural sugars are a great way to provide fast-releasing energy to the system. Things like raw fruit, particularly dates and even fruit juices, are perfect for this. When it comes to meals it is really important that they consist of a good balance of starchy carbohydrates, like potatoes, rice and bread, along with a good intake of vegetables, proteins such as meat or fish, and dairy for the natural fats.
Al-Shifa hospital overflowing with patients, after Israeli army shoots scores of protesters on deadliest day since 2014.

Gaza Citys main hospital is bustling with patients and mourning families on Tuesday as the Palestinian enclave reels from Mondays violence in which Israeli forces killed at least 60 protesters and wounded more than 2,700.

Suffering for many families was exacerbated by Tuesdays 70th commemoration of the Nakba, or catastrophe, the day on which the state of Israel was established on May 15, 1948.

The commemoration highlights the violent campaign that led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their villages.

Throughout the last seven weeks, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been protesting as part of a weeks-long movement calling for the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the areas they were forcibly expelled from in 1948.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 109 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded about 12,000 people.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on residents across the occupied West Bank to hold a general strike on Tuesday in honour of those killed in the Gaza Strip.

Mondays demonstrations coincided with protests against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Lining the corridors

On Tuesday, journalists and family members waited for their dead in Gazas al-Shifa Hospital, as surgeons rushed to treat injured protesters in overflowing operating rooms, while other patients lined the corridors.

Ayman al-Sahabani, head of the emergency department in al-Shifa, told Al Jazeera that at least 18 people died while waiting to receive medical attention on Monday evening.

At one point, we had 500 cases arrive at once, al-Sahabani said. This is way more than what the hospitals capacity can take.

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Al-Sahabani added that medical staff were responding to injuries to the best of their ability, despite the lack of medical supplies.

Describing the type of injuries, al-Sahabani said most patients were hit in the lower body and limbs, while some were hit in the chest area.

The most urgent cases had been injured by live ammunition and explosives, al-Sahabani noted.

National obligation

Father of two Tamer Farouk Abu Ghaben suffered an injury to his hand when an explosive detonated near him in the border area on Monday.

He is in need of immediate surgery, which has been postponed due to the hospitals lack of capacity.

Originally from Yafa, he insists that it was his ethical and national obligation to protest Israels occupation and the Palestinian peoples forced displacement.

Similarly, 26-year-old Youssef al-Maqal, who suffered head injuries, says nothing could have stopped him from his right to resist the Israeli occupation.

Al-Maqal was shot in the back of the head with live ammunition but survived despite the seriousness of his wounds. Doctors told Al Jazeera that al-Maqal would likely succumb to his injuries if he does not undergo additional surgery.

It is unclear whether the protests will resume in the Gaza Strip later on Tuesday, but doctors in the hospital fear that a further influx of patients could lead to a complete collapse of services at the citys main medical facility.

Elsewhere in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, families were preparing to bury their loved ones.

In the Great Mosque of Gaza, Anwar al-Ghandour, 25, and Mariam al-Thaben, 18, were mourning the death of their eight-month-old baby daughter, Laila.

Tens of people attended the funeral of Laila al-Ghandour, who died of tear gas inhalation late on Monday.

Laila was with her mother who was participating in the sit-in east of Gaza City. They were both in the tents, far away from the front lines, the family told Al Jazeera.

But when tear gas canisters dropped from Israeli drones, everyone in the area was affected, al-Thaben explained, who previously lost another child in 2016.

Additional reporting by Maram Humaid from Gaza.
Billionaire democracy activist George Soros Open Society Foundations announced it will withdraw from Hungary and relocate to Berlin, citing an increasingly repressive political environment and security concerns for its personnel.

Branded an enemy of Hungarys anti-migrant Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, the Hungarian-born Soros has been at the forefront of repeated political attacks against civil society actors that support the rights of migrants in Europe.

The decision to move operations out of Budapest comes as Hungary prepares to impose the so-called Stop Soros package of legislation, which would enact unprecedented restrictions on human rights groups.

The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union, Patrick Gaspard, president of Open Society Foundations (OSF), said in a statement.

The so-called Stop Soros package of laws is only the latest in a series of such attempts. It has become impossible to protect the security of our operations and our staff in Hungary from arbitrary government interference.





Though the final law has yet to be made public, government officials have said it would block any incoming organisation from advising or representing asylum seekers without a license.

Deteriorating democracy

Soros, 87, is a Jewish financial market guru who survived the Nazi occupation during World War II. Since then he has donated billions of dollars to foundations across the world, with the first in Hungary opening in 1984 to promote freedom of speech during communism.

This is a very significant moment. The fact that OSF feel the need to leave says a lot about where things are going now with a government that is ruthless when it comes to civil society and has made its intentions very clear, said Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty Internationals Europe director, adding her organisation is considering a similar move if the proposed laws are passed.

We are going to stand by our colleagues in civil society, but we are taking it day-by-day and if this package passes and are putting our staff at risk in any way then we are going to have to reconsider.

According to the Open Society Foundations statement, the closure in Budapest will impact more than 100 staff based there, about 60 percent of whom are Hungarian.

The move has drawn criticism from European Union officials who point to a deteriorating state of democracy in Hungary.

Whenever a civil society organisation that helps build vibrant & tolerant democracies is threatened & feels it can no longer do its work, democracy suffers, EU First Vice President Frans Timmermans tweeted.





Unfortunate situation

Orban and his Fidesz party rode a nationalist and anti-migrant platform to secure two-thirds of the seats in last months parliamentary elections, securing him a fourth term as prime minister.

Since then, he has declared an end to the liberal democracy that has existed in Hungary since the fall of communism.

Critics say Orban has used his long tenure to systematically eliminate the free media and slide the country towards autocracy.

Orban is now trying to elevate the conservative revolution in Europe  and they believe this is going to strengthen Hungarys position in Europe, said Balazs Jarabik, a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

With Open Society deciding to leave, Jarabik said Orban has now achieved one of his primary goals of forcing out political foes. It is a very unfortunate situation.
With 91 percent of ballots counted, alliance of Muqtada al-Sadr is in the lead in six provinces, including Baghdad.

The Sairoon Alliance of Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr is set to win Iraqs parliamentary elections in a remarkable comeback after being sidelined for years by Iranian-backed rivals.

With over 91 percent of votes counted in 16 of Iraqs 18 provinces, Iran-backed Shia militia chief Hadi al-Amiris Fateh (Conquest) Coalition was in second place, while Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis Nasr (Victory) Coalition once seen as the frontrunner, came in third.

Sadrs bloc did not run in the remaining two provinces, Kurdish Dohuk and the ethnically-mixed oil province of Kirkuk. The results there, which may be delayed due to tensions between local parties, will not affect Sadrs standing.

Reports indicate that Sairoon  an alliance between the Sadrist Movement and Iraqs Communist Party  won more than 1.3 million votes, gaining 54 of a 329-seat parliament.

Saturdays election was the first since the defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, but the turnout fell far short of previous elections with only 44.52 percent of registered voters participating. Turnout is 15 percent lower than that of 2014.

Commenting on the results, Rend al-Rahim, a former Iraqi ambassador to the United States told Al Jazeera: The ascendancy of the list sponsored by al-Sadr shows that anti-establishment sentiment and anti-corruption have driven the choice of most voters.

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But according to Rahim, Sadrs rise to victory was also based on emotionally-driven voting.

None of the lists had an electoral programme that outlined priorities and a plan of action. All used vague terms to lure voters. Many of the lists also used populist and demagogic tactics that played on the emotions of voters.

The success of Sairoon and Fateh clearly show that voters were ideologically and emotionally driven, said Al-Rahim.

Move away from Iran, US?

Unlike Abadi, a rare ally of both the US and Iran, Sadr is an opponent of both countries, which have wielded influence in Iraq since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003 and thrust the Shia majority into power.

Sadr has led two uprisings against US forces in Iraq and is one of the few Shia leaders to distance himself from Iran.

He has instead sought to broaden his regional support, meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah last year.

Because Sadr did not stand as a candidate and therefore cannot head the government, he appears set to play kingmaker.

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Even Sadrs bloc might not necessarily form the next government, as the other winning blocs would have to agree on the nomination.

In a 2010 election, Vice President Ayad Allawis group won the largest number of seats, but he was blocked from becoming premier for which he blamed Tehran.

In a similar fashion, Iran has already publicly stated it will not allow Sadrs bloc to govern.

Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to the Islamic Republics Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, warned in February that he would not allow liberals and communists to govern in Iraq, a reference to the Iraqi Communist Party.

According to Al-Rahim, All we know is that Sadr will not form a coalition with Maliki. Everything else is wide open.

Former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, who led Iraq between 2006 and 2014, headed the State of Law Coalition for 2018 election. For years, Malikis Shia-led army and police acted as a sectarian militia against Iraqs Sunni communities.

On his part, Sadr said in a statement that he would be willing to work with a number of parties, among those Amar al-Hakims Hikma (Wisdom) Coalition, the Sunni al-Wataniyya Coalition and the Kurdish parties Goran and Komal.

He did not, however, mention Malikis State of Law Coalition or the Fatah Coalition, both of which are aligned with Iran.

Despite being third in the running, Abadi could still potentially remain prime minister after a coalition government is formed.

We are ready to work and cooperate in forming the strongest government for Iraq, free of corruption, Abadi said, referencing the issue that has been at the forefront of most voters minds.

Fears and apathy

Supporters of Sadr celebrated during the early hours of Monday in Baghdads Tahrir Square as early results from Saturdays elections indicated that the Sairoon Alliance was on course for victory.

Bye, bye Maliki. Iran is out. Iraq is free, chanted the crowds as they sang, danced and set off fireworks while carrying Sadrs picture and waving Iraqi flags.

But these feelings were not shared by residents of other Iraqi provinces.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from the majority Sunni province of Nineveh, Ahmed al-Ubaidi, 31, said: I worry that Sadrs Sairoon Coalition or Ababdis Nasr bloc will ally with either Malikis State of Law bloc or Amiris Fatah bloc. Both are sectarian and pro-Iran.

I hope government formation negotiations will ensure that Maliki is not part of any government this time, added Ubaidi.

While Sadr and Amiri both came in first in four of the 10 provinces where votes were counted, Mosul voted for Abadi.

For Rahim, this indicates the cross-sectarian nature of the majority Sunni province. The higher than average turnout and support for the list led by PM Abadi in Nineveh indicates that at least in Mosul province there is renewed hope for a better future and an acknowledgement of the role of Abadi and the Iraqi army in liberating Nineveh, added Al-Rahim, who also served as a senior fellow for Iraq for the US Institute for Peace.

Shia leader Muqtada al-Sadr visited his fathers grave after the parliamentary election results were announced, in Najaf, on May 14 [Alaa al-Marjani/Reuters]

Many voters had complained that most of the candidates running were part of the same political elite and many who they blamed for corruption and unemployment, with many across Baghdads Sunni neighbourhoods telling Al Jazeera they voted for new faces as they were looking for change.

Still, the majority of Iraqis did not vote, partly due to a boycott campaign spearheaded online by activists.

Participation levels were quite low because many of us werent convinced that the election could bring change, Ali Mahdi, a Shia resident of Baghdad, told Al Jazeera.

Saif Al-Haity, a 34-year-old journalist from the Sunni-dominated Anbar agreed: The boycotters were more than those who voted. This has definitely had an impact on results.

Additional reporting by Bakr al-Ubaidi from Baghdad.
Protests mark 70th anniversary of Nakba as Palestinians take part in burials following Mondays killings in Gaza.

A photo accompanying one of the tweets, originally embedded in this story, was labeled as an image of Fadi Abu Salah. That was incorrect. The person in the photo was identified by AFP news agency as Saber al-Ashqar, a double-amputee, sitting in a wheelchair and holding a slingshot. The photo was taken during a separate Gaza protest on May 11. Abu Salah is also a double amputee. He was killed during the Gaza protest on Monday, May 14.

Laila Anwar al-Ghandour, an eight-month-old baby girl, died of tear-gas inhalation at dawn, Gazas Ministry of Health says, highlighting international outrage over the killings by Israeli soldiers of 60 Palestinians who joined in a massive protest against the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

Laila was the youngest fatality of the demonstrations on Monday, which were held in the run up to the 70th anniversary on Tuesday of the Nakba, or Catastrophe, the day the state of Israel was established on May 15, 1948, forcing hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

The 59th victim of Israel's brutal repression against Palestinians in Gaza today was Leila Anwar al-Ghandour. She was 8 months old. https://t.co/Nr9oNCsXAP pic.twitter.com/WvT3q2V7y0  (((YousefMunayyer))) (@YousefMunayyer) May 15, 2018

According to the Palestine Network for Dialogue, Laila and the al-Ghandour family are residents of the al-Shati district, also known as Beach Camp, in western Gaza.

On Tuesday, the activist group posted images of the al-Ghandour family bidding farewell to Laila.

At least eight Palestinians under the age of 18 were among the dead in the protest on Monday.

On Tuesday, Talal Adel, a 16-year-old, died after sustaining severe injuries on Monday.

https://twitter.com/paldf/status/996307494266916869?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

The Israeli military has imposed a land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip for more than a decade, cutting the Palestinian territory off from the outside world and leaving many of its residents impoverished, including the al-Ghandour family.

For the past seven weeks, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have been protesting as part of a campaign demanding the right of return for Palestinian refugees to the areas they were forcibly expelled from in 1948.

Since the protests began on March 30, Israeli forces have killed at least 108 Palestinians in the coastal enclave and wounded about 12,000 people.

The bloodshed in Gaza contrasted with the events in Jerusalem on Monday, as US President Donald Trumps daughter, Ivanka, and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, joined Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in inaugurating the US embassy.

Images broadcast on television and splashed all over the internet and social media underlined the sharp visual disparity of the two news events.

Another image that has been widely circulating on social media showed a double-amputee, sitting in a wheelchair and holding a slingshot.

But the person in the photo was incorrectly identified as Fadi Abu Salah, who was killed during the protest on Monday.

The person in the AFP news agency photo has been identified as Saber al-Ashqar, not Abu Salah, who is also a double-amputee. That photo was taken on May 11 at a separate protest in Gaza.

Abu Salah was killed by Israeli snipers east of Khan Younis on Monday.

Images posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people attending Abu Salahs funeral on Tuesday.

https://twitter.com/paldf/status/996300607848894464?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Monday was the deadliest day for Palestinians since the Israeli war on Gaza in 2014, a 50-day assault that saw at least 2,251 Palestinians killed. Most of the fatalities were civilians, including 551 children. At least 73 Israelis were also killed, 67 of whom were soldiers.

This was the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war. pic.twitter.com/IYDLV7rMcg  AJ+ (@ajplus) May 15, 2018

At least 2,771 protesters were reported injured as of Tuesday, according to Gazas Ministry of Health.

https://twitter.com/nmuaddi/status/996040250752421888?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Also on Tuesday, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on residents across the occupied West Bank to hold a general strike in honour of those killed in Gaza.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan led international condemnation of the deaths, accusing Israel of state terror and genocide, according to state-run Anadolu news agency.

Erdogan has declared three days of national mourning in honour of those who were killed.

In the US, Bernie Sanders, former Democratic presidential candidate and senator from Vermont, urged Washington to bring the adversaries together to address Gazas humanitarian crisis and stop this escalating violence.

Over 50 killed in Gaza today and 2,000 wounded, on top of the 41 killed and more than 9,000 wounded over the past weeks. This is a staggering toll. Hamas violence does not justify Israel firing on unarmed protesters.  Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 14, 2018

Jeremy Corbyn, Britains opposition leader and head of the Labour Party, also joined in the condemnation of the violence in Gaza, saying: We cannot turn a blind eye to such wanton disregard for international law.

In a post on social media, Corbyn wrote that his party is committed to reviewing the UKs arms sales to Israel while these violations continue.

The international community must at last put its collective authority and weight behind achieving a lasting settlement that delivers peace, justice and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, who have waited so long to achieve their rights.

The killing of dozens of unarmed protesters and wounding of many more by Israeli forces in Gaza, on the day President Trump moved the US embassy to Jerusalem, is an outrage that demands not just international condemnation, but action.https://t.co/qUDmcDe2xv  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 14, 2018

In response, the Trump administration said Hamas, the Palestinian group governing the Gaza Strip, was to blame for the violence.

In a social media post, Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said that by blaming solely Hamas for the Gaza border killings, Trump gives the Israeli snipers a green light to keep killing.

Zeid Raad al Hussein, the high commissioner of the UN human rights office, said that international law on the use of force appeared to be ignored again and again.

It seems anyone is liable to be shot dead or injured: women, children, press, first responders, bystanders, and at almost any point up to 700m from the fence.

.@UNHumanRights condemns the appalling, deadly violence in #Gaza yesterday during which 58 Palestinians were killed and almost 1,360 demonstrators were injured with live ammunition by Israeli security forces. pic.twitter.com/rn1bztRLMS  UN Human Rights (@UNHumanRights) May 15, 2018

Inside Gaza, residents and activists have also made their collective voice heard on social media against the Israeli occupation and the latest violence.

As the protest raged on Monday, Mohammed Said Nashwan, a Gaza-based social activist, wrote in Arabic that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Palestine, and always will be.

I swear the bloodshed will not be in vain.

His post on Twitter was retweeted at least 1,400 times.

#___             

      #           (@MohamdNashwan) May 14, 2018

On Tuesday, the UK government called for an independent investigation into the deadly Gaza protest.

Philip Luther, of the human rights group Amnesty International, said in a statement on Tuesday that the killings of Palestinian protesters were a violation of international standards, in some instances committing what appear to be wilful killings constituting war crimes.
Libya returns beheaded bodies to Egypt

The bodies of 20 Egyptian Coptic Christians beheaded in Libya by ISIL in 2015 were flown back to Cairo on Monday, Egyptian state television reports.
Pardons board moves by a day the meeting on pardon of former deputy prime minister who has been in jail since 2015.

The release of Malaysias former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been postponed, after the countrys pardons board moved its meeting to Wednesday to discuss the royal pardon.

According to a statement issued by the office of Malaysias king, Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, it was satisfied with all the procedures for Anwars release, but the office of the prime minister requested that the meeting be postponed to May 16, Malaysia Kini news portal reported.





The Yang Di-Pertuan Agong has consented to the request for the matter to be finalised on May 16, Wednesday, in conjunction with Ramadan, royal official, Wan Ahmad Dahlan, was quoted as saying.

Anwars wife, the Deputy Prime Minister-designate, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, has discussed the issue with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the report said.

Anwars party, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and his lawyer, R Sivarasa, have also confirmed the postponement to Wednesday, according to several reports.

The petition is submitted by family members and is based on the ground that the conviction of Anwar is a miscarriage of justice, and secondly, on his current health situation, Sivarasa was quoted by Malaysia Kini as saying.

Anwar is currently in Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, where he is recovering after a surgery in his shoulder.

On Saturday, Channel NewsAsia cited Nurul Izzah, Anwars daughter, as saying that his father will be released on Tuesday.

Anwars wife, Wan Azizah [2nd left], is the designated deputy prime minister of the new government [AP]

Next prime minister?

Anwars party PKR holds 48 seats of the 113 seats won by the Pakatan Harapan alliance on Wednesday, and he is widely tipped to succeed Mahathir once he steps down from office.

In 2015, Anwar, 70, was jailed for five years after being accused of sodomy, a charge he described as a politically motivated attempt by Prime Minister Najib Razak to end his career.

Sodomy is illegal in Muslim-majority Malaysia, where the offence carries a jail term of up to 20 years.





Under Malaysian law, unless he is pardoned by the king, Anwar would be disqualified for five years from running for office after his release.

Anwar was also imprisoned for six years after being overthrown as Mahathirs deputy prime minister in 1998 on earlier charges of sodomising his former family driver and abusing his power.

He was freed in 2004 after Malaysias top court quashed that sodomy conviction.

Anwar previously had a falling out with Mahathir after he criticised some of his policies. But his party eventually formed an alliance with Mahathir to take on Najibs United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) for the election on Wednesday.

In recent weeks, Mahathir acknowledged the suffering of Anwar and his family.

I know how Anwar feels. It was during my administration that he was sent to [prison]. It is not easy for him to accept me and shake my hand, The Malaysia Insight quoted Mahathir as saying.

And its not just Anwar but his family as well who felt pressure when he was jailed. They suffered for 20 years.
Malaysias Mahathir widens corruption probe into 1MDB fund

A former director at Malaysias anti-corruption agency has lodged police reports alleging that Najib Razak blocked investigations involving 1MDB and a state pension fund, during his time as prime minister.
Nakba 70 years on: Refugees remember lost homeland

Palestinian tells Al Jazeera all refugees in Gaza feel the occupation standing on your chest, as they get ready to commemorate the day when tens of thousands were expelled from their homes in 1948.
US State Department says its moving ahead with planned Trump-Kim meeting in Singapore in June despite Norths warning.

North Korea said it was suspending high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday because of US-South Korean military exercises, which it said threatened warming ties on the divided peninsula.

North Koreas official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) also cast doubt on whether next months summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump would go ahead as planned, South Koreas Yonhap news agency reported.

This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula, Yonhap quoted KCNA as saying.

The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.

No notification

The US State Department said it is moving ahead with the planned summit in Singapore on June 12 despite the warning from Pyongyang.





Kim Jong-un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises. We will continue to plan the meeting, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told reporters.

She said Washington had received no notification of a position change by North Korea.

Wednesdays meeting was to focus on plans to implement a declaration that emerged from an April 27 inter-Korea summit in the border village of Panmunjom, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue complete denuclearisation, the Souths unification ministry, which handles ties with the North, said on Tuesday.

KCNA called the US-South Korean Max Thunder air combat drills, which it said involved US stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, a provocation and said Pyongyang had no choice but to suspend the talks.

The Pentagon played down ongoing military exercises with South Korea saying they were routine and defensive in nature. The Max Thunder air combat drills are scheduled to run from May 14 to 25.

These defensive exercises are part of the ROK-US Alliances routine, annual training programme to maintain a foundation of military readiness, a statement said.
Researchers say satellite pictures show several buildings near North Koreas only nuclear test site have been razed.

North Korea has started dismantling its Punggye-ri nuclear test site, according to satellite pictures analysed by experts.

The move comes weeks ahead of a historic meeting between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump during which the two countries will talk about denuclearisation.

A group of researchers from 38 North, an organisation dedicated to analysis of North Korean affairs, compared satellite images from April 20 with pictures taken on May 7.

The images show several buildings near all four entrance tunnels have been completely or partially demolished.

South Koreas military said on Tuesday that Pyongyang was moving ahead with plans to close its nuclear test site, according to the Associated Press news agency.

Roh Jae-cheon, spokesman for South Koreas Joint Chiefs of Staff, said South Koreas military had seen signs that North Korea is conducting preparatory work so that it can carry out its plans to shut down its northeastern testing ground. He did not specify what the military had seen.

According to the report published on the groups website, North Korea has also removed some of the mining cart rails used to access the underground part of the site, which is based in the mountainous northern region of North Korea.

But not all buildings have been demolished yet, the researchers concluded.

Other more substantial buildings around the facility remain intact, including the two largest buildings at the Command Center, and the Main Administrative Support Area, the researchers wrote.

Moreover, no tunnel entrances appear to have yet been permanently closed, they added.

North Korea invites journalists

North Korea has said it will completely dismantle the site, including collapsing the tunnels and blocking the entrances sometime between May 23 and May 25.

The Nuclear Weapon Institute and other concerned institutions are taking technical measures for dismantling the northern nuclear test ground  in order to ensure transparency of discontinuance of the nuclear test, North Korean press agency KCNA said earlier this week.

On Tuesday, North Korea invited eight South Korean journalists to witness that event, according to Yonhap news agency.

Journalists from China, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom will also attend the event.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un pledged to close the site during a landmark summit last month with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Prior to Kims meeting with Moon, the North Korean leader announced on April 21 that all nuclear and missile tests were to be suspended, saying the Punggye-ri site had finished its mission after completing its nuclear programme.

But days later, the South China Morning Post newspaper reported that the facility had collapsed, threatening an unprecedented risk of radioactive fallout.

The newspaper said the Punggye-ri site, situated near Mount Mantap in northeastern North Korea, was wrecked beyond repair by a landslide.

It suggested the incident may have been the reason for Kims announcement of a suspension in testing.

Six nuclear tests  including North Koreas most powerful test to date in September 2017  have been carried out at the facility since Pyongyang began experiments in 2006.

The closure comes shortly before a planned meeting between Kim and Trump in Singapore on June 12.

It will mark the first summit between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.

Trump is expected to push North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons at the meeting in exchange for the removal of economic sanctions and US assistance in rebuilding Pyongyangs ailing economy.

South Korea has said it hopes the summit will lead to denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, as well as permanent peace on the peninsula.

Last month, Kim and Moon pledged to formally end the 1950s Korean War and pursue complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula in the first inter-Korea summit since 2007.

The two leaders signed a joint statement that committed both to deepening ties and working towards reunification after the meeting on April 27, which saw Kim become the first North Korean leader to set foot in South Korea since the Korean War, which took place from 1950 to 1953 and ended with an armistice agreement.
Demonstrators around the world take to the street demanding Israel be held accountable for killing of Palestinians.

Demonstrations have taken place in cities around the world in commemoration of the Nakba, or catastrophe, the day Israel was formally recognised as a state on May 15, 1948.

Tuesdays protests coincided with the killing of more than 60 Palestinians on Monday by Israels security forces as they gathered near the Israel Gaza border.

Palestinians in the enclave had been protesting for several weeks, demanding that Palestinian refugees be granted the right to return to their ancestral lands.

About 70 percent of Gazas population, estimated at two million, are either refugees or descendants of refugees.

Here are a few of the notable protests that took place.

Lebanon

Palestinians in Lebanon  which hosts a sizeable population of refugees  gathered in the thousands at Shkeef Fortress in the countrys south to mark the 70th anniversary of the event that saw hundreds of thousands of their ancestors kicked out of their native homeland.





According to local media, defiant youth scaled down the several-hundred-metre high cliff in an attempt to reach the United Nations blue demarcation line separating Israel and Lebanon.

Reporting from the site of the protest, Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr said the message of the march was one of defiance.

Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, addressed the crowd via telephone from Gaza and was very defiant, saying that resistance was the only way forward  that the Palestinian people will not surrender and will not kneel, she said.

He also had a message for the Palestinian Authority, telling them they should abrogate the Oslo accord and not engage in any negotiations with the Israelis.

South Africa

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Cape Town and Johannesburg on Tuesday to denounce Israels use of violence against unarmed protesters in Gaza.

Al Jazeeras Malcolm Webb, reporting from Johannesburg, said the plight of Palestinians resonated with many South Africans who endured racism under apartheid.

The history of support for Palestine here in South Africa goes back many decades and its origins during the struggle against apartheid and white minority rule, said Webb.

People here say there are a lot of similarities. A colonial settler project led to the marginalisation of the local people, their land was taken, they were deprived of their rights.





People held signs that said: Apartheid was defeated here, it can be defeated in Israel and in the Palestinian territories.

India

Students and activists gathered in a university campus on Tuesday in the Indian capital New Delhi to commemorate Nakba.

The mood was sombre as a few young men and women spoke in an open courtyard at Jawaharlal Nehru University, with Free Palestine posters and the Palestinian flag as a backdrop.

The UN is a puppet now, its toothless. These people are struggling for 70 years without results. The US and Israel are playing with bodies like the UN. Its a disgrace, Rizwan Ahmed, 21, told Al Jazeera.

Maphaz Ahmed Yousef, a Palestinian who lives in New Delhi with her husband and son, said she is hopeful.

Palestine will never lose hope in India because our shared history cannot be damaged by a government. The solidarity of Indians for Palestine means a lot. Governments will come and go, but our history cannot be erased, Yousef said.

Solidarity rallies around the world will pressure governments to limit ties with Israel.

Besides these protests will also send a message of strength to Palestinians back home at a time when Gaza is mourning our martyrs, she adds.
A group representing many white Afrikaners has gone to the US to lobby for the interests of white farmers.

An earlier version of this article labelled Mike Cernovich a "renowned white supremacist". Upon further editorial review, the label was not sufficiently supported by the reporting and has been amended.

New York City  A South African organisation that represents many white Afrikaners, has come under fire over their decision to travel to the United States to lobby for the interests of the Afrikaner community.

The group, Afriforum, who describe themselves as a civil rights group, but who have also called apartheid a so-called historical injustice, are currently in the US to lobby government officials about the murders of white farmers and to warn investors about the ruling African National Congress (ANC) partys proposed plan to expropriate land without compensation.

Max du Preez, a veteran journalist and author based in Cape Town, said the idea that a tiny lobby group like Afriforum made up of around 200,000 paid members, could attempt to pressure the US government into deciding how South Africa resolves its land issue, was ridiculous.

Its like an organisation from the US coming to [South African] President Cyril Ramaphosa and asking for help with [US President] Donald Trumps gun control laws, du Preez told Al Jazeera.

Since early May, Kallie Kriel and Ernst Roets, the CEO and deputy CEO of Afriforum respectively, have traveled across the US to meet think-tanks, policymakers and journalists.

Last week they met John Bolton, the national security adviser to the US president, staffers with Republican Senator Ted Cruz, and spent time on Tucker Carlsons show on Fox News.

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For many South Africans, the groups decision to take this issue to the US government and caution foreign investors was outrageous enough; the decision to meet Bolton or Cruz, was ample confirmation that the group was a mouthpiece for racist Afrikaners.

Their role is to create a panic, peddle in fear. They say the government is going to take away all farms. It is a fundamentally racist group of people, du Preez said.

On social media, others berated the group for its meetings in the US. In a tweet, Adam Habib, Wits University vice-chancellor, said Afriforums associations in the US prove what disgusting human beings you truly are.

The hysterical reaction from a few leftist anti-@afriforum activists under the guise of being academics or journalists, shows that AfriForum is on the right track @PieterDuToit @elmienduplessis @ferialhaffajee @MaxduPreez https://t.co/qBfsPrmZ0I  Kallie Kriel (@kalliekriel) May 10, 2018

But Afriforum denies they had met with white supremacists in the US.

We do not know the entire background of the people we have met, but none of the people we have spoken with have said anything that could remotely be interpreted as an expression of white nationalism, Roots of the Afriforum told Al Jazeera.

When pressed on who else the group had met on their visit, Roets wouldnt say.

I am unfortunately not at liberty to provide you with a list of people we spoke with, for reasons of confidentiality.

The question of land

White South Africans, who make up 8.9 percent of the population, own 73 percent of agricultural land. The ANC-led government is regularly berated by civil society and opposition parties for its slow land reform policy.

The question of land, especially in a climate of heightened inequality, unemployment and poverty, has become highly politicised. President Ramaphosa calls the forced dispossession of land during colonialism as the original sin that must be resolved.

In December, the ANC announced that it would be seeking expropriation of land without compensation. But in order to give effect to this new policy, the government would need to amend Section 25 of the constitution. As of now, it is unclear when the constitution will be changed, if at all.

Elmien du Plessis, an associate professor in law at the North-West University in South Africa, told Al Jazeera that the way in which Afriforum has framed the question of land is what has caused the outrage.

In South Africa, we are busy with a democratic process of looking at whether we need to change the constitution (to provide for the expropriation of land without compensation) in order to fulfill the constitutional obligation of land reform.

It is a very precarious process, but the table has been opened and all parties invited, and the brief is fairly wide. This is an inclusive process, and the feeling is just that we as a country are trying to solve this process inclusively, while the perception is that Afriforum looks at their members interest in isolation, and in a way that excludes, du Plessis said.

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Roets says that the Afriforum supports land restitution  correcting of injustices through a process of land claims, based on historical accuracy and compensation, it had little confidence in the process currently being pursued by the government.

The South African government has made it clear that they have no interest in considering the views of minority communities and that the current consultation process regarding the changing of the constitution to allow for expropriation of private property without compensation is merely window dressing, Roets said.

The question of farm murders

In an interview with The New American, Roets said he was also in the US to highlight the persecution of South Africas minorities.

He also accused the South African government of being complicit in these attacks [on white farmers] through creating a political climate in which these attacks are romanticised.

He also claimed the attacks on farmers were taking place on a disproportionate level.

Between 2016/17, there were 19,016 murders in South Africa. This means the murder rate was 34.1 people per 100,000 people of the population.

During the same period, police statistics show that there were 74 farm murders.

According to Afriforum, the murder rate translates to 156 commercial farmers killed per 100,000 people.

Fact checking website Africheck says that given that it is not clear how many people live and work on farms, this estimate is fundamentally flawed.

Gareth Newham, head of the governance, crime and justice division at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies, told Al Jazeera that some within the white farming community tend to think that they are specifically targeted and forget that crime is a national issue.

The move to court right-wing groups or individuals is not altogether new. A narrative of a white genocide has repeatedly made the rounds on social media over the past five years.

In 2016, Mike Cernovich, a far-right commentator affiliated with the alt-light, tweeted that white genocide is real in South Africa. In March 2018, Peter Dutton, Australias minister of home affairs, recommended that persecuted South African farmers be given special visas to flee horrific circumstances in the country.

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Though the idea has been debunked, the myth of white genocide continues to recirculate outside the country.

Afriforum does not use the term white genocide, but du Preez says the group is quite happy to have their members use the phrase or for them to exaggerate numbers if it helps garner support.

It is dangerous to be a farmer [but] there is no genocide going on, there is no ethnic eradication going on. There is no political or racial targeting of white people in South Africa, whatsoever.

[Black] people living in Khayelitsha or Elsies River are much more likely to die in [violent] attacks than farmers, Preez said.

The problem, du Preez says, is that Afriforum has positioned itself as representing the Afrikaner people, who speak the Afrikaans language, in what he describes as irresponsible and objectionable.

They have bullied their way into becoming the most dominant voice among Afrikaans people and there are many Afrikaners, like me, who dont want them to speak for me, du Preez said.

Follow Azad Essa on Twitter: @AzadEssa
Ma Ying-jeou found guilty of leaking information on opposition politician when he was in office in 2013.

Ma Ying-jeou, a former Taiwanese president, has been sentenced to four months in jail after being found guilty of leaking classified information when he was in office in 2013, according to Taiwan News website.

The countrys high court said on Tuesday that Ma is liable for damaging the character and rights of Taiwanese opposition lawyer Ker Chien-ming when he leaked confidential information on him.

It said that Ma, 67, violated the Communication Security and Surveillance Act.

The decision overturned a Taipei district court ruling in August that cleared Ma of wrongdoing.

Ma could still avoid jail time by appealing the sentence or paying a fine of 120,000 Taiwanese dollars (equivalent to $4,000).

In a statement released by his office following the verdict, Ma said he would appeal the sentence.

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The charges against Ma stemmed from a 2013 lawsuit brought by Ker, who sought charges against the then-president of leaking information taken from a tapped conversation in which Wang Jin-pyng, a powerful Nationalist Party legislator, pressed judicial officials to acquit Ker in a separate case.

Ma accused Wang of pressuring prosecutors not to appeal against the acquittal of Ker, who sought charges against the ex-president of leaking confidential information.

Ma served as the 18th president of Taiwan from 2008 to 2016 and became Taiwans third consecutive president to face criminal charges after his presidency.

During his tenure, he focused on improving relations with China.

When he stepped down from his position in 2016, he was very unpopular after eight years of poor economic performance, scandals and accusations of selling out to China, New York Times reported.
Provincial capital of Farah under attack by Taliban fighters who killed and wounded multiple Afghan troops.

Taliban fighters attacked the western Afghan city of Farah from multiple directions in an ongoing battle to seize the provincial capital.

Attackers overran several security checkpoints in the city, and heavy fighting was under way on Tuesday, provincial official Fared Bakhtawer said. He said casualties were high but couldnt provide a precise number.

Security checkpoints around the city have collapsed into the hands of the Taliban, causing high casualties among security forces, Bakhtawer said.

NATO said in a statement that A-10 fighter jets were circling Farah.

Farah borders Helmand province where the Taliban control multiple districts.





Samihullah Samim, a legislator from Farah, said parts of the city are under Taliban control, with heavy fighting just 300 metres from the governors residence.

If the Taliban gain a foothold, then fighters from neighbouring provinces would flood into the city, he warned.

If the security forces cant take control of the whole city by the end of the day, then it will be very difficult to take control of the city anytime soon, Samim said.

Overrun

However, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish downplayed the seriousness of the attack. He said at least six security forces were killed and 12 others, including the deputy provincial police chief, were wounded in the fighting.

He said commando units and other reinforcements had been deployed. There is no danger of Farah city collapsing into the hands of Taliban, said Danish.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the attack, saying fighters came in from different directions and quickly overran multiple of checkpoints.

People living in Farah hid in their homes, leaving shops, government offices and schools closed for the time being, local media reported.

Tuesdays offensive should not have taken government forces off guard, said military analyst and retired general Atiqullah Amarkhail.

Even ordinary citizens were aware of the Taliban gradually taking over more areas and becoming a formidable force in the province, he said.

He accused the government and military leadership of turning a blind eye until the Taliban actually entered the city.

The Taliban have seized control of districts across the country, and Afghan troops and police nationwide have struggled to cope with unrelenting attacks in recent years.

The militia and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have carried out attacks in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing scores of people in recent months.
About 300 activists demand Israel be brought to justice for rights violations after scores were killed in Gaza Strip.

New York City, United States  Chanting slogans, holding up placards and singing resistance songs, about 300 people marched through Brooklyn in New York on Monday to commemorate the 70th year since the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their homes to make way for the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

Mondays protest coincided with fierce violence in the Gaza Strip, where at least 58 Palestinians, including six children, were killed by Israeli army snipers in several rallies along the fence with Israel.

Addressing the crowd gathered on the sidewalks of Bay Ridge, a Brooklyn neighbourhood known for its sizeable Palestinian population, Nerdeen Kiswani, one of the organisers of the rally, said they had assembled to demand an end to the Israeli occupation and the right of Palestinians to return home.

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We are saying that we are part of the Great March of Return. It has been 70 years too long, Kiswani said to the gathered crowd.

Another Palestinian activist, Nancy Mansour, said they had gathered to demand that Israel be brought to justice for all its human rights violations over the past 70 years.

Every Palestinian [here] has to wake up every morning and check the news to see if our families [back home] are still alive. Who does that?

Its a shame on the international community, especially the Palestinian Authority and the Arab leaders of the world, who are silent about this, Mansour said.

On Monday, rallies commemorating the Nakba coincided with the unveiling of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

https://twitter.com/azadessa/status/996158988780744705?ref_src=twsrc^tfw

Scores killed in Gaza

In addition to the 58 victims in Gaza, another 2,700 people were wounded by the Israeli army, which fired live ammunition and tear gas canisters, in what is being described as the deadliest day in the Palestinian enclave since 2014.

Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the actions of the army, arguing that Israel had a right to defend its border.

Israels actions have been condemned by human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, called its actions shocking.

Both Turkey and South Africa have recalled their ambassadors to Israel.

Protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried a variety of colourful placards and banners [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]

In New York, protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried a variety of colourful placards and banners. US President Trump was especially berated for his role in moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Protesters made little effort to hide their derision for what they see as the pivotal role played by the US in Israeli aggressions in Gaza.

End all aid to racist state of Israel some posters read while others accused Israel of being a racist tool of US imperialism. There were other placards that declared that Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine.

Other protesters held up posters with the image of Palestinian journalist Yasser Murtaja who was shot dead by Israeli army snipers in April.

Many protesters said they had come to show their support following the catastrophic murder of Palestinians in Gaza.

Solidarity with the people

At least 107 people have been killed and 12,000 others injured since March 30 when the weekly Great March of Return protests began.

According to British charity Save the Children, at least 500 children have been injured, about half of whom were hit with live rounds of ammunition fired by Israel soldiers.

I was following the news all day today, and the death toll was just rising. The idea that the [Israeli army] are using snipers to pick out protesters is just not right. I came to show my solidarity with the people of Palestine, John Dennie, a retired man in his seventies who joined the protest, said.

It pains me that so much of our tax dollars goes to these murderers, Dennie told Al Jazeera, referring to the $3bn in aid the US gives Israel annually.

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Raffaelo Perfetto, who described himself as a senior citizen and an activist, said he was ashamed that so many Christians and Americans were silent about the situation in Gaza.

Let the world decide how this crisis is resolved. I hope Americans wake up to what is going on there, Perfetto told Al Jazeera.

A group of rabbis and Jews with Neturei Karta International, an organisation made up of ultra-Orthodox Jews who reject the Israeli state, were also in attendance. Their placards read: Judaism condemns the state of Israel and its atrocities.

Rabbi Dovid Feldman of Neturei Karta International told Al Jazeera that Zionists have tried to transform Judaism into a form of nationalism. This, he argued, has uprooted Judaism from the masses.

I feel we need to speak out, to make it clear that the actions of Israel is not supported by all Jews, Feldman said.

As the crowd of protesters made their way down 5th Avenue, some onlookers stopped to watch; others cheered the protesters on. Others driving by in their cars honked in support.

Following the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza on Monday, solidarity groups across the US say that more rallies and protests will take place in the coming days.

Follow Azad Essa on Twitter: @AzadEssa

Protesters made little attempt to hide their derision for what they see as the pivotal role played by the US in Israeli aggressions in Gaza [Azad Essa/Al Jazeera]




Last month's anti-Semitic beating in Berlin of a yarmulke-wearing, 21-year-old Arab-Israeli student who was testing for himself whether hatred of Jews was rising in Germany prompts questions. Namely, 75 years after the Holocaust, are Jews safe in Deutschland, and how committed is the German government to protecting its Jewish citizens?

When Hitler rose to power in 1933, 500,000 Jews lived in Germany. Today, only 100,000 reside there, and Jewish leaders have warned Jews not to wear kippot to avoid being attacked. Felix Klein, recently appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel to deal with the surge in anti-Semitism, admits that "Germany has a problem with hatred of Jews." He adds that regardless of the refugee influx, "around 20% of Germans hold anti-Semitic views, a statistic that has remained stable for years and has never gone."

Germany's modern-day incarnation of anti-Semitism exists primarily, but not exclusively, in the demonization and delegitimization of the Jewish state. German organizations support the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) of Israel despite official statements that condemn BDS as Jew-hatred. In November, NGO Monitor, a watchdog organization that analyzes and reports on NGO activities, discovered that the German government was donating millions of euros to groups promoting BDS, including some groups with ties to a designated terrorist group, the Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). Meanwhile, at the same time, the German organizations were providing generous entitlements to Muslim refugees, even though the refugees include ISIS-supporters and 13% of them believe that suicide bombings are justified, according to a Pew Research poll.

Last April, Germany's then-foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, met with Breaking the Silence during a visit to Israel. This NGO promotes unsubstantiated "war crimes" charges against Israel and has repeated the blood libel of Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, that Israel poisons the wells of the Arab-Palestinians. Abbas made this libelous claim to a standing ovation from his funders in the European Parliament in 2016. He later retracted his assertion under pressure.

In the banking industry, Germany's Bank for Social Economy has been providing bank accounts for BDS groups, including Jewish Voice for Just Peace in the Middle East and B'Tselem, both anti-Israel groups that accuse the Jewish state of ethnic cleansing, racism, oppression, and apartheid. The newly appointed German commissioner for combating anti-Semitism has called on the bank to close the BDS accounts, but to no avail. The bank defends its actions under the aegis of freedom of expression and proclaims its acceptance of divergent views on the Middle East conflict.

In politics, Germany's Social Democrat Party, one of Germany's two major contemporary parties, is a self-declared strategic partner with Abbas's Fatah party, which is a funder of NGOs that support terrorism and BDS. The Social Democrat Party supported Angela Merkel's decision last year to cancel a diplomatic trip to Israel as punishment for Israeli construction in the disputed territories. The party also reported that it was "stimulated" by Abbas's 2017 anti-Israel speech to the European Parliament.

The German government has long funded the PLO and Hamas. In 2016, Germany admitted that the Palestinian Authority, to which it provides nearly $200 million annually, is paying terrorists in Israeli jails and the families of jihadist martyrs. When informed of this, German authorities agreed to "take up the matter with the Palestinian Authority and other partners," but former German parliament member and Green Party Chief Whip Volker Beck claims that the government ignored the very same concerns when he discovered the problem in 2014.

Germany also remains a signatory to the deeply flawed nuclear agreement with Iran that prohibits inspections of Iran's military sites and fails to acknowledge the threat it poses to Israel and America's allies in the region. Germany persists in support of the agreement even though it is inimical to Israel's security, Israel's clandestine operations have exposed Iran's nuclear proliferation activities, and President Trump has pulled the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Germany's positions seems obstinately anti-Semitic, given Iran's persistent threats to annihilate Israel, the presence of Hezb'allah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Israel's border with Syria, and the Iranian recent rocket attacks in the Golan Heights.

While bashing Israel for oppressing Arab-Palestinians, the German government has pursued a lucrative relationship with the Islamic terrorist state of Iran, a state that continues to call for "death to Israel" and "death to America." As Iran's biggest trading partner with exports of $2.8 billion in goods in 2017 and sizable business interests inside the ayatollah's regime, Germany's motivation is clear. The government lobbied for the JCPOA, and exports doubled after sanctions were lifted. Now that the United States is no longer a partner to the Iran nuclear deal, Germany will continue to honor the agreement despite knowledge from its own intel that Iran has not curtailed its missile program and its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Quite disturbing as well is Germany's interference with Israel's rights as a sovereign nation to designate its capital and control construction in its communities. Along with other E.U. countries, Germany has duplicitously encouraged Arab-Palestinian settlement in an area in Jerusalem  Area C, where Israel has exclusive administrative and security control according to the Oslo Accords. In 2011, the German Foreign Ministry supported a U.N. Security Council resolution to condemn Israeli settlement construction as "illegal." The fixation on blaming construction projects in Israeli communities for the lack of Middle East peace and censoring the only democracy in the Middle East, while displaying reticence to criticize Muslim Palestinians' murder of Israeli Jews, belies Germany's double standard toward the Jewish State.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Chancellor Merkel to express his disappointment about Germany's position on the U.N. resolution, the Muslim "refugee" champion, who favored forcing Israeli Jews alone to freeze settlement construction, rebuked Netanyahu for "failing to advance peace." She told him, "How dare you? You are the one who is disappointing us. You haven't made a single step to advance peace."

Despite its failure to adequately protect Jews, the German government has been encouraging massive Muslim migration and has shielded Muslim residents with anti-hate speech laws and protections from prosecution, even though Muslims are massively over-represented in every category of crime. Social media are reviewed for offensive statements against Muslims. Germans who openly object to the settlement of Muslim "refugees" are charged with incitement and hate speech, forced to pay fines and endure probation or suspended sentences. Chancellor Merkel has gone so far as to chastise her fellow countrymen about those "with hate in their hearts" "who seek to marginalize others."

Recently, German Parliament member Beatrix von Storch became the target of a criminal complaint and had her Twitter and Facebook accounts frozen after criticizing Cologne police for sending a New Year's tweet in Arabic. Ironically, Cologne was the site of mass sexual assaults by Arab and African Muslims on New Year's Eve in 2016. This past December, Muslims burning Israeli flags at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin were characterized by the authorities as exercising their protected freedom of speech.

The German media, who never miss an opportunity to malign Israel, take great pains to obscure the religion, nationalities, and motives of Muslim assailants and often refrain from reporting incidents altogether to avoid charges of racism or xenophobia. In 2013, in an extreme case of Germany's so-called open-mindedness, the prestigious Ludwig-Borne literary prize was given to a philosopher who sympathized with Islamic terrorist organizations and equated the 9-11 attacks with the Holocaust, the Allied bombings of Nazi Germany, and the atomic bombing of Japan.

Germany's official narrative is that the influx of Muslim refugees is creating a positive, multicultural influence on Germany; that Islam is truly a religion of peace and not at all represented by the likes of ISIS; and that random acts of terrorism have nothing to do with Islam. German officials and the media bend over backwards to conceal the dramatic rise in rapes, attacks, and murders perpetrated by Muslim migrants. Following the Cologne sexual attacks on New Year's Eve, in which 1,200 women were assaulted by groups of men described as Arab or North African, the North-Rhine Westphalia government ordered a cover-up to include elimination of the word "rape" from police reports. Of the 2,000 men involved, the authorities identified only 120, and they were given suspended sentences of a year or less.

In a further demonstration of disdain for the Jewish state, Germany opposed relocation of the American embassy to Israel's legitimate capital. In 2017, it led a successful effort to single out Israel for criticism and push a UNESCO resolution to reject its sovereignty over Jerusalem. Also, Germany stands accused of violating an alleged deal for Israel to run unopposed for a non-permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council.

At a time when German authorities are failing to protect Jewish citizens and deal effectively with rampant anti-Semitism, accommodating the demands of Muslims, whitewashing refugee crime, targeting Israel for reprobation, and issuing often unrealistic and one-sided ultimatums, Germany continues to court the forces that publicly declare their goal of annihilating the Jewish State.
"Trump's decision yesterday brings us one step closer to that war you've dreamed about." So wrote a leftist friend since college in an email he sent to me following President Trump's decision to abrogate former president Obama's nuclear surrender to Iran (called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). Although he didn't use the exact word, the term "warmonger" just about jumps off the page. It is an accusation frequently made by those on the left to attack those who believe that self-defense begins with recognizing real dangers and taking appropriate actions to neutralize them.

But is it true? Are those who support the president's decision to assign the Obama surrender to the wastebasket of history really warmongers?

To answer that question, we need to look at the motives of those who support the termination of Obama's surrender. Were they interested in militarily defeating Iran to replace it in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, then the motive, conquest, would certainly meet a common criterion of "warmonger." Were they interested in selling weapons to either or both sides for personal gain, they could well be called warmongers. But those who oppose Obama's surrender to Iran are not motivated by such concerns.

Those who oppose Obama's surrender to Iran know that Iran, inspired by religious extremism, intends to build a Shiite empire from its western border across Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon to the Mediterranean Sea. With the Shiites (like the Iranians) having taken over Iraq and with Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps troops fighting for Assad in Syria along with Hezb'allah, and Iran's terrorist army in Lebanon, the Iranian plan is close to complete. Those who oppose Obama's surrender know that Iran's temporary suspension of nuclear weapons development will allow that country, the primary sponsor of Islamic terrorism in the world, to develop a deliverable nuclear weapon in merely eight more years. Those who oppose Obama's surrender know that Iran's leaders have been calling for "death to America" for 39 years now, since their 1979 Islamic Revolution. Their attacks on Americans, such as the 241 U.S. Marines and other personnel who died in a suicide truck bomb attack on the barracks of an American peacekeeping force in Lebanon in 1983 by Iran's Hezb'allah surrogate army, show that Iran means to accomplish what it threatens. Thus, those who oppose Obama's surrender to Iran are motivated not by a desire for conquest or wealth, but by a desire to prevent a radical terrorist state from acquiring the nuclear weapons it wants to attack the U.S. (the "great Satan") and threaten the world. Those are the motivations not of warmongers, but of those who see a serious threat to Western civilization on the horizon and understand the need to take action.

While it is hard to predict what will happen, it is far less hard to rule out what probably will not happen. Iran is not going to agree to revise the deal and give away what its leaders see as a diplomatic victory. Iran is not going to go away and leave America alone if America changes its policies to favor Iran. To Iran, this conflict is about not policies, but religion. And Iran will not leave America alone if America continues Obama's appeasement policies. Iran will accept the benefits it can, but its leaders will not hate the U.S. any less. Due to Islam's demand that true Muslims hate and kill or enslave and rule infidels, Iran can be deterred only by American military power. If Iran cannot be deterred, then it must be resisted and defeated  not in the interest of Western wealth and power, but in the interest of saving the post-Enlightenment Western world from the cruel wrath of Islamic conquest and "sharia" law. If this is not accomplished before Iran has nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles that can deliver them to the U.S., then an era of Iranian nuclear extortion will begin, and no Iranian excess will be amenable to resistance without risking a nuclear war.

In other words, there is no choice about whether to fight Iran or not in the coming months and years. The despotic rulers of Iran have already made the choice to go to war against infidel America. The only choice is whether to fight Iran soon, before it acquires nuclear weapons, or later either tremble in fear of a mighty nuclear Iran or fight a nuclear war when Iran can deliver nukes to Lincoln, Nebraska and Kansas City, Missouri. The choice should be clear.

If one favors a small, non-nuclear war sooner over a big nuclear war later, is one a warmonger? Or is the one truly making war more likely who appeases his enemies, thus inviting further aggression?

Pete Cohon is a retired attorney living in Tel Aviv, Israel.
It seems as if the miracles of Israel are traveling to the murderous terrorists in Gaza. While the Muslims of Israel don't seem more upset than their usual whininess, the Muslims in Gaza are continuing their daily day of rage. All day, every day. The day that the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem is opened.

But look! Tear gas! Smoke from Muslims burning tires! And miraculously, the injured walk! They run! They discard their crutches! A miracle!

But whoops...the smoke clears; the tear gas dissipates; the cameras are back on the poor victims. And suddenly, the runner needs his crutches again because the evil Israelis won't let him kill them!

Yanki Farber captures (literally) the miraculous farce and the lies from Gaza.

A miracle in Gaza. The man with the crutches suddenly started running

Watch and be amazed at the lies from that Hamas-led, Iranian-subsidized terrorist enclave and the gullible media that believe them. That's not miraculous; that's stupidity in action.
If anyone wants to see why there are so many anti-Trump people on cable and other networks, maybe it is because they get paid, big, for their views. As long as they are anti-Trump, they can get these TV gigs and goose their pay quite a bit. Nice work if you can get it.

They generally don't mention it to the viewers. Fact is, these gigs are nothing but side-hustles, and ones that reek of hypocrisy. It's these very "journalists" who somehow see something wrong with President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, touting his knowledge of all things Trump to assorted clients.

I do not believe we have seen any indication that Trump has changed his views on any supposed influence-peddling by Cohen, or based on who is paying Cohen, so there is no corruption  just a bunch of dumb people who gave Cohen their money.

But to the side-hustle journalists, this is a big issue to make overblown, stoking frenzies. If these same journalists were pro-Trump, their services would not be in demand.

BuzzFeed of all places pointed this out pretty bluntly:

It's A Good Time To Be A Reporter Covering Trump If You Like Money And Going On TV CNN contributors include the New York Times' Maggie Haberman, Jonathan Martin, and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, the Washington Post's Josh Dawsey and Josh Rogin, Politico's Rachael Bade, Time's Molly Ball, Bloomberg's Margaret Talev, and AP's Julie Pace. NBC News and MSNBC have signed on contributors such as Philip Rucker, Robert Costa, David Fahrenthold, and Ashley Parker from the Washington Post, the Daily Beast's Betsy Woodruff, Gabe Sherman and Emily Jane Fox from Vanity Fair, and Peter Baker, Matt Apuzzo, Jeremy Peters, Charlie Savage, and Michael Schmidt at the New York Times. Compensation ranges widely, but it has risen in recent years, according to reporters, agents, and network sources. Starting contributor rates for political reporters fall between about $30,000 and $50,000 a year. Top reporters can earn between $50,000 and $90,000 for their TV side-hustles, and some seasoned pros  boosted by loyalty and multi-year arrangements  make as much as $250,000. That money is, of course, on top of a base salary from their main written-word employer  meaning that some political reporters are raking in low-to-mid six figures per year[.]

Hillary and Bill Clinton always sold political favors in exchange for speech fees or for contributions to their minimally charitable foundation.

Obama sold green energy loans for campaign contributions and was also willing to destroy industries and block pipelines for groups that supported him.

Now the rent-seeking and influence-peddling go to journalists, too. Journalists don't care about facts when they go after Trump for money. There has never been any actual evidence supporting Russian collusion with Trump, yet a huge number of journalists will go on TV after writing articles to expand the false message further and pocket some pretty change.

I would say journalists are just like prostitutes but prostitutes are honest about what they peddle. The significant majority of journalists just say whatever it takes to get paid.

Image credit: Investment Zen via Flickr, Creative Commons SA 2.0.
Ten Republican congressmen, four Republican senators, and one Republican governor flew to Jerusalem for the ceremony opening the American embassy. There were no elected officials representing the Democratic Party. They could have come if they had chosen to, but they either opposed the embassy move or thought they would face backlash from progressive Israel-haters who now have all the energy in the party and would go after them for supporting any Trump decision.

Joe Lieberman nailed it about the lack of elected Democrats at the event: "That's a mistake. [Alan] Dershowitz and I are representing the real Democratic Party."

He is right. Many of us did not leave the Democratic Party. The party left us.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): "I want to note that Democrats voted for the [Jerusalem Embassy Act] in 1995. This has been the policy on the stump. Every campaign fundraiser that is hosted by the pro-Israel community, every member of the Senate and the House, who cares about these issues, says 'Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.' Now the day is here and there are only a handful of Republicans. I'd just assume that Republicans who didn't come had conflicts, but I am disappointed that not one Democrat came. It hurts me as someone who works across the aisle on a regular basis. I think it was a mistake. If just one had come it would have been a different scene."

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas): "None of us were invited. This trip started two weeks ago when I was walking down the Senate hallway and I turned to Lindsey and said, 'Hey, in two weeks we are moving the embassy, why don't we go to Jerusalem and go there together.' Lindsey said, 'Fantastic. Great idea. Let's do it,' and we put together this trip, and Dean [Heller] and Mike [Lee] both said, 'I want to be there.' You look at the 10 House members who came, any member of Congress could have come here as part of the congressional delegation. There was no administration invitation. There was no one in the White House who decided who [sic] they want. There were Senators who decided to show up. Former Senator Joe Lieberman chose to be here. It wasn't a formal invitation. I'm gratified by those who came, but I am saddened. Support for Israel should not be a partisan issue, and it's worrisome that the fallout of President Obama's Iran deal is that more and more we are seeing a divide along partisan lines. That's not good for Israel, and it's not good for America."

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.): "Let me assure you that Washington, DC is becoming more partisan and I don't think Israel has anything to do with that. I've been in Washington, DC for 10 years and  maybe outside the Department of Defense  no other issue did I find to be more bipartisan. I know that the Left probably doesn't want this president to succeed, and perhaps that's some of the reasons why they are not here. I can't answer for them, but I can kind off [sic] see the writing on the wall on all this. I have a hard time believing that in the future Republicans and Democrats won't come together to defend the state of Israel."

More than three quarters of a century ago, Bob Hope captured an enduring characteristic of the Democrats:
An excellent piece by Walter Russell Meade in the Wall Street Journal this morning clarifies recent moves made by the Trump administration in the Middle East.

Scuttling the Iran deal and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem demonstrate a direct challenge to Iran (and Russia) in the region and allow the U.S. to confront our enemies with a renewed sense of purpose.

President Obama chose to "manage the decline" of U.S. power in the region. The Trump administration has changed that policy into one of direct confrontation with Iran and, consequently, strengthening our Arab and Israeli allies in the region.

The Obama administration reasoning in agreeing to the Iran nuclear deal was that U.S. power was ebbing in the region, and rather than risk a long, ruinous war with Iran over its nuclear program, we should settle for the status quo:

The Iran deal, President Obama and his supporters believe, accomplished all that and more. By taking the nuclear issue off the table, at least for the time being, the agreement averted the danger of a U.S.-Iranian military confrontation. Moreover, it weakened hard-liners inside Iran by undermining their core argument that Iran faced an external threat requiring permanent social mobilization even as it strengthened moderates by tying the country ever more closely to the world economy. If supported by the West, the Obama administration believed, moderates would gradually consign the Islamists to the political fringes. From this perspective, the deal was a masterstroke of diplomacy. Its supporters now fear that Iranian and American hard-liners, energized by the failure of their more accommodating rivals, will steer the countries toward a policy of confrontation ending in war  and that the result of this war will be to accelerate rather than retard American decline in the Middle East and beyond. President Trump's approach is different. His instincts tell him that most Americans are anything but eager for a "post-American" world. Mr. Trump's supporters don't want long wars, but neither are they amenable to a stoic acceptance of national decline. As to the wisdom of accommodating Iran, Team Trump believes that empowering Iran is more likely to strengthen the hard-liners than the moderates. As Franklin Roosevelt once put it in a fireside chat, "No man can tame a tiger into a kitten by stroking it." The Trump administration believes that far from forcing a U.S. retreat, Iranian arrogance and overreach in the Middle East have created a golden opportunity for the assertion of American power. It hopes the emerging alliance of Arabs and Israelis will give America local partners who are ready to bear many of the risks and costs of an anti-Iran policy in exchange for American backing. Israeli air power and Arab forces, combined with the intelligence networks and local relationships the new allies bring to the table, can put Iran on the defensive in Syria and elsewhere. This military pressure, along with economic pressure from a new round of sanctions, will weaken Iran's hold on its proxies abroad and create political problems for the mullahs at home. If they respond by restarting their nuclear program, Israeli-American airstrikes could both stop the process and inflict a humiliating blow to the regime's prestige.

The nuclear deal allowed Iran to become far more aggressive and adventurous in the Middle East. But that policy means that the Iranians have become overextended and vulnerable to the kind of pressure the U.S. and our allies can bring to bear. Whether it's military or economic pressure doesn't matter. Both will weaken the mullahs' hold on the population and make supporting Hezb'allah in Lebanon and the Houthi rebels in Yemen far more difficult.

As for the embassy move to Jerusalem, it's an injection of reality into the Palestinian thinking about the peace process. The Israelis and their U.S. allies are moving on without the Palestinians, and if they want a deal, perhaps the time is now to get one. Some kind of agreement is still not very likely. But the embassy move changes the dynamic of the Israeli-Palestinian equation for the first time in many years.

The U.S. policy is not without risk. But intelligently managed, the U.S. confronting Iran will re-establish American dominance. That makes any risk of a larger conflict worthwhile.
The Associated Press decided to use a speech by anti-Trump businessman and former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg to talk about the epidemic of dishonesty in government.

Bloomberg talked about politicians who lie in their pursuit of power and who imagine they are above the law. He also talked about people tolerating dishonesty in service to party and said that is more dangerous than communism or being an agent of a foreign power.

I thought for sure he was talking about President Obama's eight years, but he was clearly talking about President Trump. Here is what he said:

[F]ormer New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg ... warned in a commencement speech on Saturday at Texas' Rice University that "an endless barrage of lies" and a trend toward "alternate realities" in national politics pose a dire threat to U.S. democracy. In one jab at Trump, he noted that the vast majority of scientists agree that climate change is real. Trump and his Republican allies have repeatedly called climate change a hoax promoted by America's adversaries. "When elected officials speak as though they are above the truth, they will act as though they are above the law," Bloomberg told Rice graduates. "And when we tolerate dishonesty, we get criminality. Sometimes, it's in the form of corruption. Sometimes, it's abuse of power. And sometimes, it's both." "The greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism, jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power," he continued. "It's our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power."

The first thing that stuck out to me in his example of dishonesty or lying is when he cited Trump saying climate change caused by humans is a hoax.

So...to start, I would ask Bloomberg or anyone on the same page as he is to show us any actual facts that show that humans, fossil fuels, and CO2 cause warming, sea level rise, and an increase in storm activity.

He should also explain why the Earth is only around one degree warmer (within the margin of error) when sea levels are within a few inches and storm activity continually fluctuates. Bloomberg should be asked if it would be normal for the Earth to warm up a little after the end of a Little Ice Age.

Computer models that are continually manipulated are not proof and the climate has always fluctuated long before humans and fossil fuels were used.

More broadly, if Bloomberg wants to give examples of lying to push an agenda in a quest for power there are many choices. Here are some.

When Obama was seeking to pass Obamacare, he and others continually lied. His architect, Jonathan Gruber, said they had to lie to mislead the public and that the public is stupid. Obama repeatedly told Americans they could keep their doctors and their plan and that the addition of Obamacare to them would lower premiums substantially. These were known lies, and the dishonest media gladly repeated these talking points. A hundred percent of Americans had their freedom of choice taken away while their premiums, deductibles, and out-of-pocket expenses skyrocketed. Fewer than 20 million Americans appear to have been helped by Obamacare, depending on the conflicting (and likely dishonest) claims, yet Democrats and the complicit media continually repeated how good it was. Now Trump is giving back the freedom of choice, which is the opposite of what a power-hungry dictator would do.

While we are on the topic of Obama's lies, recall also that Obama repeatedly said he couldn't unilaterally change immigration law. Yet he dictatorially did it anyway with his Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order. Trump is trying to enforce the laws Congress passed. The dishonest media, Democrats, and judges are acting like Trump is the problem for trying to enforce the law.

On the Iran deal, Obama's deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes admitted that the Obama administration continuously lied when promoting the deal. They used suckers in the media who would just repeat what they said, no questions asked. The dishonest media, Democrats, and others are pretending that the Iran deal is an actual obligation and treaty even though it was never ratified by Congress or even signed by Iran.

Of course, there were other lies like IRS, Fast and Furious, and Benghazi, but not once did Bloomberg and the rest of the media care that Obama's quest for power for him and the government was endless.

Not once did Bloomberg or other supporters of Obama say:

"The greatest threat to American democracy isn't communism, jihadism, or any other external force or foreign power," he continued. "It's our own willingness to tolerate dishonesty in service of party, and in pursuit of power."

What is equally dangerous to our freedom is when Bloomberg News and other media outlets go along with the party abusing its power.

So pardon me when someone like Michael Bloomberg gives a speech talking about abuse of power after eight years of Obama and when we now have a president trying to transfer the power, purse, and freedom back to the people as fast as possible.

Image credit: David Shankbone via Flickr, Creative Commons SA 2.0.
Our friend John Hinderaker of Powerline and the Center for the American Experiment asks, "Is this the worst scandal in Minnesota history?"

KMSP Television, the Fox affiliate in the Twin Cities, has been carrying out a five-month-long investigation of the phenomenon of carry-on luggage stuffed with cash  a million dollars at a time  leaving Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport for Middle East and African destinations. (If declared to customs, the carrying of cash in excess of $10,000 is legal. Below $10K, no declaration is necessary.) The scandal relates to the origins of the funds.

On the morning of March 15, Fox 9 chased a tip about a man who was leaving the country. Sources said he took a carry-on bag through security that was packed with $1 million in cash. Travelers can do that, as long as they fill out the proper government forms. Fox 9 learned that these cloak-and-dagger scenarios now happen almost weekly at MSP. The money is usually headed to the Middle East, Dubai and points beyond. Sources said last year alone, more than $100 million in cash left MSP in carry-on luggage.

So where was the money going? According to veteran former Seattle Police and FBI official Glen Kerns, who investigated a similar phenomenon at SeaTac Airport, the money was going to:

Hawalas, businesses used to courier money to countries that have no official banking system. Some immigrant communities rely on Hawalas to send funds to help impoverished relatives back home. ... Kerns discovered some of the money was being funneled to a Hawala in the region of Somalia that is controlled by the al Shabaab terrorist group. "I talked to a couple of sources who had lived in that region and I said, 'If money is going to this Hawala do you think it is going to al Shabaab?'" said Kerns. "And he said, 'Oh definitely, that area is controlled by al Shabaab, and they control the Hawala there.'" He said when the money arrives, whether it was intended for legitimate purposes or not, al Shabaab or other groups demand a cut.

So where does the money come from?

As Kerns dug deeper, he found that some of the individuals who were sending out tens of thousands of dollars' worth of remittance payments happened to be on government assistance in this country. How could they possibly come up with such big bucks to transfer back home? "We had sources that told us, 'It's welfare fraud, it's all about the daycare,'" said Kerns.

Fox 09, KMSP-TV has been on the case of daycare and welfare fraud among immigrant communities for years:

Five years ago the Fox 9 Investigators were first to report that daycare fraud was on the rise in Minnesota, exposing how some businesses were gaming the system to steal millions in government subsidies meant to help low-income families with their childcare expenses. "It's a great way to make some money," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. In order for the scheme to work, the daycare centers need to sign up low income families that qualify for child care assistance funding. Surveillance videos from a case prosecuted by Hennepin County show parents checking their kids into a center, only to leave with them a few minutes later. Sometimes, no children would show up. Either way, the center would bill the state for a full day of childcare. Video from that same case shows a man handing out envelopes of what are believed to be kickback payments to parents who are in on the fraud. When asked where the money was going, Freeman said, "I don't know exactly where it went. But it adds up when you begin to look at how many people were involved."

Stand by: this could be a major scandal not just in Minnesota, but nationwide. Kudos to KMSP-TV!
The Palestinian leadership had one goal in mind when it organized protests along the border with Israel: to sacrifice as many of its people as possible in order to gin up fake media outrage against Israel's response to the violence.

It is fake because any reasonably well informed person knows that the dozens of deaths of demonstrators at the hands of the IDF along the Gaza border yesterday were devoutly wished for by the Palestinians. The deaths were an answer to a prayer. The deaths were part of a deliberate plan to give the media an excuse to portray Israel as uncaring of human life and the "rights" of the Palestinians.

Robert Mackey writing for The Intercept:

In a graphic demonstration of disregard for the lives and rights of Palestinians, a smiling Ivanka Trump welcomed Israeli dignitaries to the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, while, just 60 miles away in Gaza, Israel's armed forces shot hundreds of Palestinian protesters, killing at least 60. As American officials, including President Donald Trump's former bankruptcy lawyer, Ambassador David Friedman, offered the new embassy to Israel as a sort of gift to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state, thousands of Palestinians came under fire from Israeli snipers for demanding the right to return to homes that their families were forced to abandon in 1948.

Mr. Mackey needs a history lesson, but given his anti-Israeli bias, I doubt it would take.

More than two-thirds of the Palestinians confined to Gaza are refugees from towns and cities in what is now Israel. The protests along Israel's perimeter fence that began on March 30  and were immediately met with lethal force  are intended to draw attention to what Palestinians refer to as the "nakba," or catastrophe, of Israel's founding, which led to the forcible displacement of some 750,000 Palestinians. "Choosing a tragic day in Palestinian history shows great insensibility and disrespect for the core principles of the peace process," said Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah in a statement.

Everyone knows that the Palestinians deny that Israel has a right to exist. Does Mackey agree with that?

The death toll on Monday means that Israel has now killed more than 90 Palestinians in the past six weeks for approaching the fence it placed around Gaza, surpassing the total number of East Germans shot and killed for trying to scale the Berlin Wall from 1961 to 1989.

It's a safe bet that the West German government was not deliberately sacrificing East German citizens to make a point about the Wall. This is a ludicrous analogy. Do I detect a whiff of anti-Semitism?

In remarks at the embassy ceremony, Trump's son-in-law and novice peace envoy, Jared Kushner, blamed Palestinian protesters  not the Israeli snipers who gunned them down: "As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution."

The Israeli people harbor no illusions about the Palestinians protesting at the border:

"The overwhelming majority of the Jewish Israeli population has not spoken out," Zonszein added. "According to an Israel Democracy Institute Peace Index poll from April, 83 percent of Jewish Israelis find the IDF's open fire policy in Gaza 'appropriate.' Just hours after the massacre, thousands went out into the streets to celebrate the Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai in Tel Aviv."

There is a pretty good reason for that "open fire" policy at the border. There is a very different perspective, given by most of the Israeli press that is being deliberately ignored by the media.

Jerusalem Post:

"The IDF is determined to prevent massive terror activities constantly being led by the Hamas terror organization," an IDF statement emphasized, adding that "Each act of terror will be met with a harsh response." 40,000 Palestinians took part in Monday's violent riots in 13 locations along the Gaza Strip security fence, marking Nakba Day and protesting the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem. "Nakba Day," or "Day of Catastrophe," is observed annually by Palestinians and Israeli-Arabs to commemorate the events following the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Gazans have been protesting along the border with Israel for the past six weeks as part of what organizers have called the Great March of Return, with demonstrators throwing stones, Molotov cocktails and rocks, as well as launching incendiary kites toward Israeli troops.

One of the primary goals of the Palestinian leadership was to break the security fence in several places so that terrorists could enter Israel. This video shows a terror cell trying to enter the security zone.

If the IDF really wanted to massacre Palestinian civilians, why use snipers? Why not bring in the tanks and artillery? If they had done that, the death toll would have been in the thousands. Instead, by any reasonable measure, the IDF demonstrated restraint, targeting Palestinian snipers, who, after firing at the soldiers, tried to use unarmed protesters as human shields.

There were dozens of guns in that crowd of protesters who were almost certainly under orders to provoke a military response from the IDF. They got their wish. And while we mourn the loss of innocent lives, there is only one party who is directly responsible for the violence.
Remember how China drew praise for extending all that influence throughout Africa, and not just Africa, but in Latin America and Asia, too? Investing in development where wicked private investors just wouldn't? Telling everyone that its gentle message worldwide was "Let's get rich together"? Showing America how it's done?

This propaganda has been in the news pipeline for years and drawn a lot of praise, or at least subtle accolades, from the pundits. But now it turns out that that aid and those "investments" weren't quite as free and altruistic as promoted.

China is now putting the squeeze on the countries it made its "investments" in. Not content with a profitable return on those "investments," the way those wicked and stingy private investors would be, it's demanding a different kind of return: influence. This is what's known as "neo-colonialism" if a Western country is doing it. Paying the piper. Power.

Axios's Erica Pandey describes what's going on here:

China's debt-trap diplomacy is spreading across Africa China is leveraging debts to gain control of strategic ports and secure primary access to African oil in Angola, Kenya and Djibouti. Why it matters: The Chinese are offering up attractive infrastructure projects to the countries that need them most and following up with escalating demands for influence. That approach will spread to even more of the globe under Beijing's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.

What's interesting is that China has gotten these countries hooked on its debt-trap diplomacy, often by taking advantage of the ingrained anti-Americanism of the third-world elites running these places. The examples cited were Djibouti, Angola, and Kenya. Now those places are stuck, and so long as oil prices remain low and investors are turned off by their non-free-market economic policies, they will increasingly act as Chinese vassal states.

This, by the way, most certainly isn't confined to Africa. China has put the squeeze on Venezuela for its debts  I wrote about it here and here.

That presents a challenge for U.S. diplomacy and its own bid to extend global influence, meaning that these countries are going to have a tough time freeing their economies for real foreign investors, because China has absolutely no interest in seeing that happen. China likes these people to be on the Chinese string, because it magnifies China's influence, which the Chinese are starting to show with new port bases and other military lily pads convenient for throwing their weight around, and because non-free economies resemble China's.

What's infuriating about this is how quick the press and the foreign policy establishment were to believe that China's intentions were benign with all its free money and investments. Well, no, they weren't. Why would a tyranny and dictatorship be all for "autonomy" in the states it lays down money in? Why would anyone think the Chinese were doing all their supposed good deeds, laying down roads and bridges, for nothing in return? They wanted something, all right, and their price is big.
Back in 2015, many people were eager to see Cuba. The Castro regime played on that curiosity and ran all types of advertisements calling on people to see it for themselves. It was the ultimate curiosity adventure. Come down and see Havana, all the 1950s Cadillacs, and tell your friends in the leftist college paradise that you saw the future and everyone has health care.

Well, it looks as though U.S. tourists did not like what they saw. They don't want to see it again. They probably figured out quickly that Cubans want to leave the socialist paradise.

This is the latest from U.S. tourism in Cuba, according to a story that I saw:

During the first three months of this year, 95,520 Americans came to Cuba  a 40 percent drop from the same period last year, according to Cuban government statistics. The decrease in Americans seeking to discover one of tourism's last forbidden fruits is hurting this island's access to hard cash, and setting back the effort to reestablish ties between U.S. citizens and communist Cuba.

Not good, as they say. I wonder if Raul Castro is calling former President Obama, screaming, "Que paso?" What happened with all of those tourists who were supposed to come down?

Let me share what I've heard about going to Cuba:

1. A couple who recently went to Cuba complained that there are not enough hotel rooms, the air-conditioner does not always work, and getting around is a pain in the you-know-what. In other words, Cuba is great if they fly you into a tourist trap on the coast and you enjoy the beach. It is not for the rest who want to walk around and see the country for themselves.

2. A Dallas friend who was curious said it's not pleasant to see the Cuba behind the curtain or the Cubans living in damaged homes or lacking everything.

And I'm sure you've heard your own stories.

As expected, the Castro regime apologists are blaming it on President Trump. In reality, the problem is that Cuba is no tourism destination unless you are going there for ideological reasons.

Who knows that Castro's Cuba stinks? The tourists who came, saw the awful truth, and have no plans to come back.

PS: You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
At least one member of Germanys domestic intelligence agency, Hans-Georg Maassen has reportedly suggested that regulations may be required for social media platforms if the current shift toward self-regulation doesnt go far enough. Thats a sentiment backed by Andrew Parker, who currently heads the U.K.s MI5 agency. According to Parker, the internet is not some sort of Wild West without moral requirements. The representatives are, of course, referring to recent problems noted with social media regarding user privacy. However, the statements seem to go beyond that, addressing problems with behavior across the board. More directly, comments seem aimed at the proliferation of fake news and government-backed accounts, among other things.

It goes without saying that these issues are all currently being addressed by the European Commission. The commission has been in talks with individuals in leadership roles associated with social media platforms on a wide swath of issues for several months. Beyond that, it has actively pursued new laws and regulations, as well as enforcing those where necessary in order to ensure that those companies play by the rules. However, the representatives argue that might not be enough if the current direction of those talks doesnt result in widespread changes. Whats more, thats not really a matter of whether the companies behind the services recognize the problems. According to Parker, they are not only aware of those but are already trying to deal with them internally.

Facebook may be the most prominent example of repeated failed attempts to handle the rising number of issues associated with social media. As arguably the most popular social network in the world, its challenge is obviously compounded by the size of its user base. However, that also makes it more important for the company to get things right since so many people are affected by every new policy and change. For example, the company attempted to stem off the flow of misleading or false news stories back in 2017. However, that effort ultimately fell apart due to ineffectiveness before ultimately making a comeback in an admittedly different format earlier this year. That hasnt necessarily stopped the influx of misleading stories and may be one area where regulation is seen as a necessity. By regulating whether or not provably false or misleading content can be posted, Facebook would be required to pour in substantially more resources than it might otherwise put into fighting the problem. Whether or not that would be effective, on the other hand, is another matter entirely.
Shares of Qualcomm and NXP grew by some 1.5 and 11.7 points throughout Monday as Chinas Ministry of Commerce restarted its review of their proposed merger, with investors becoming optimistic after reports emerged that Beijing instructed its regulators to speed up the lengthy antitrust probe which originally started in late 2016. If approved, the $44 billion consolidation would mark Qualcomms largest acquisition ever and allow the company to diversify beyond smartphones, thus making its operations less reliant on the mobile market where its currently lowering its patent licensing rates so as to attempt repairing relations with major clients like Apple that find them unfair.

Qualcomm resubmitted its merger notice in China last month and moved the deadline for the completion of the deal by three months, with the new date now being July 25. Antitrust regulators in the Far Eastern country are said to have previously asked for significant protections for local companies before approving the consolidation, with some industry watchers speculating the prolonged nature of the review was a direct result of the growing trade-related tensions between Washington and Beijing. U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to block Broadcoms attempted acquisition of Qualcomm is also said to have been seen unfavorably in China as the tie-up might have allowed Shenzhen-based Huawei to overtake the American chipmaker in certain technology segments due to Broadcoms track record with cutting R&D funds of its takeover targets shortly after absorbing them.

Relations between the worlds two largest economies are now apparently improving, not only because of Chinas newfound commitment to complete the Qualcomm-NXP deal review but also due to President Trumps recent vow to help ZTE return to normal operations after being hit with a crippling trade ban issued by the Commerce Department. The two superpowers are set to hold trade talks in Washington over the course of this week. As was the case with other antitrust bodies that previously reviewed the proposal, China has jurisdiction over the matter as the Dutch NXP and Qualcomm both already have a massive commercial presence within its borders.
Prominent networking solutions provider Ericsson took the wraps off of a new Ericsson Consumer & IndustryLab Insight Report on May 14, highlighting consumer service frustrations and exploring the future of customer service interactions. The report predominantly applies to mobile operators and, unsurprisingly, the central focus of the report is on how poor customer service experiences impact consumers. Although customers generally expect providers to predict their needs, interactions with customer service average around 2.2 attempts and 4.1 days before interactions are completed on any given issue. Those interactions take place for a variety of what the companies call touch points, including setup of new services, cancellation, service discovery, and more. Moreover, those require talking on the phone or typing and swiping to communicate with customer service representatives. However, all of that could be solved, the study shows, via a zero-touch approach to the experience. More directly, the companies say that the use of A.I. automation could lead to an effortless customer service experience.

A smoother experience is always desirable when talking with representatives of a given company and might, in fact, help stabilize churn rates for a given company. With that said, there hasnt really been a clear way to approach it. Ericsson and IndustryLab point to the use of data analytics and machine learning as a possibility on that front. By enabling an A.I. in the customer service sector to learn, providers might be able to utilize data from previous transactions and consumer behavioral patterns to predict what a consumer needs. Beyond that, the report says that may be possible to accomplish before the said consumer even initiates contact, which would cut down on the amount of time wasted talking to support representatives considerably. Best of all, the end result would be that mobile service operators would be able to fulfill the needs of smartphone users  56-percent of whom expect them to anticipate customer needs before the consumer themselves do.

Whether or not the points covered in the Ericsson and IndustryLab report are taken into consideration by carriers, there are at least a few which are already beginning to look at A.I. for that purpose. T-Mobile, for example, announced the addition of A.I. as an augment for its customer care center employees back in February.
Google Duplex parodies are now taking over YouTube as a rising number of people are mocking the idea of an artificial intelligence making a phone call on their behalf. Searching for Google Duplex returns a handful of such videos near the top of the results, with the service returning over a thousand results to the Google Duplex parody query. The videos, some of which can be seen below, range from light mocking to crude humor and creations that question the ethics of AI-made phone calls, with content creators toying with ideas of Google Assistant talking to your parents, breaking up with your girlfriend, and starring in the original Terminator.

Announced last week at the annual Google I/O developer conference, Google Duplex is an upcoming functionality of Google Assistant meant to allow the digital helper to understand complex speech and mimic it as necessary so as to make interactions with people more natural-sounding. The short demo of the technology Google presented at the event saw its assistant make an appointment with a hair salon, prompting significant public backlash due to the fact that the recipient of the call appeared to have been under the impression she was talking with another person instead of a combination of algorithms and text-to-speech solutions.

Alphabets subsidiary reacted to the outcry by explicitly stating its building Google Duplex with transparency in mind, describing its I/O 2018 demo as just an early prototype meant to showcase the current capabilities of the service instead of something thats entirely representative of the final product. The commercial version of the technology will hence have the AI identify itself to humans, albeit details regarding its disclosure mechanisms remain unclear. Google hasnt attached a timeline to the project but confirmed its still actively developing it with the goal of eventually making it available in all English-speaking markets before possibly looking to expand further.
Honor has announced its latest flagship smartphone, the Honor 10, today in London. This smartphone was already announced in China a few weeks ago, so its not really a new smartphone per se, but it is now available in Europe. The company announced that the Honor 10 will be priced at 399.99 in the United Kingdom today at 16:00 BST. It is also going on sale on select other countries in Europe, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain today.

The Honor 10 may be the companys latest flagship smartphone, but it is definitely cheaper than most flagship smartphones. Now it does sport flagship specs, including a 5.84-inch 22801080 resolution display, powered by a Kirin 970 processor with 4GB of RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of storage. Honor also has a dual-camera setup here with a 16-megapixel sensor and a 24-megapixel sensor available. All powered by a 3400mAh capacity battery. Specs isnt the entire story on the Honor 10 however. The company is really touting its AI capabilities on the Honor 10, using the tagline Beauty in AI. The Honor 10 boasts the companies AI Camera 2.0, which can now recognize over 500 scenarios in 12 different categories in real time. The Honor 10 can also recognize many objects in the same frame, instead of just one. This is thanks to the Semantic Image Segmentation technology, which Honor touts as the industrys first. Honor has also brought its AI Camera 2.0 over to the front-facing camera, which is a 24-megapixel sensor as well. Which should translate to a pretty good selfie experience for most people.

While software is a big part of most smartphones today, Honor is really touting the look of the Honor 10. It does have a notch at the top, which does sport the front-facing camera as well as the earpiece. Its a pretty small notch, but it is there. The backside of the Honor 10 is pretty stunning. It has 15 layers of glass, which results in a colorful radiance from just about any angle on the Honor 10. This is something that Huawei did with the P20 and P20 Pro earlier this year, and now its here on the Honor 10. Honor touts that it used world-class industrial techniques to achieve the look on the Honor 10. Honor is proud to be taking its expertise to new levels by offering its smartphones in newer colors, seeing as many smartphones are only available in a couple of colors  usually black or white  but since 2016, many smartphones have started getting creative with different colors, and Honor has been one of those. The Honor 10 will be available in Phantom Blue, Phantom Green, Midnight Black, and Glacier Grey.

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The Honor 10 will be available for purchase on HiHonor.com later today for just 399.99. Honor has only announced European markets today, so its unclear whether this will be coming to the US, but it likely will in the coming future. Its a great looking smartphone, and likely one that will really sell well in Europe, especially since it is an unlocked smartphone  which does rather well in Europe already.
Lenovos VP, Chang Cheng, has just released yet another teaser for the companys upcoming bezel-less handset. The Lenovo Z5 was first teased by the companys VP quite recently, when he showed off a render of the phones upper-left side. A sketch of a device followed it, and according to that sketch, the Lenovo Z5 will not have bezels at all, which managed to excite people. Well, a third teaser is now here, and its showing off the lower-right portion of the phones front side, though unfortunately the display is not powered on, so we cant really see if there are any bezels here or not, as the render is made in such a fashion that the whole display is pitch black.

Lenovos VP did mention in his posts that the Lenovo Z5 will sport a screen-to-body ratio of at least 95-percent, and some people are even hoping that this handset may become the first phone to sport a 100-percent screen-to-body ratio, which is highly unlikely, despite the fact that one of the companys images suggested it will. The Lenovo Z5 will sport a frame which is made out fo metal, though were not sure what will its back be made out of, though it will probably be metal or glass. Considering that there are no buttons on the left-hand side of the phone, chances are that all physical keys are included on the right. The phones display will sport curved corners, as you can see in the provided image, and chances are this will be a flagship smartphone. Lenovo has not announced a high-end device for a long time now, the company focused on budget phones, and they havent exactly been extremely active when it comes to releasing devices in the last year or so.

Lenovos VP did not release any spec info when it comes to the Lenovo Z5, but if we had to guess, wed say that the phone will be fueled by the Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core processor, presuming it will be a high-end device. The Lenovo Z5 will probably include at least 6GB of RAM on the inside, though its display size and resolution are a complete mystery at the moment. The device will hopefully ship with Android Oreo out of the box, while Lenovos skin will probably be included on top of it, though as already mentioned, details are really scarce at the moment. Judging by the first teaser that the company shared, this handset will be announced on June 14, even though Lenovo did not officially confirm that release date. The companys VP did, however, confirm that the device is coming in June, as part of his last post on Weibo (Chinese social network).
The Nokia X6 has been leaking like crazy in the last couple of weeks, and a new leak has just appeared, sharing the phones alleged price tag. According to this leak, which comes from Suning it seems, the phone will be priced at 1,499 Yuan ($236). It is worth noting that this info was captured in a screenshot, using a smartphone, and we were unable to locate the info on Sunings website, so it could mean that it has been removed, or that the info is false, but its probably the former.

Now, the provided image actually claims that the phone will ship with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, in addition to revealing the phones price tag. This handset is actually expected to become official tomorrow, while it will become available for purchase on May 21 it seems. The Nokia X6 will be made out of metal and glass, while it will sport a display notch, though luckily that notch will not be too wide. A fingerprint scanner will be included on the back of the Nokia X6, while all the physical keys will be included on the right-hand side of the phone. Nokias branding will be placed on the back of the device, and also below the phones display, while the phone will include two vertically-aligned cameras on its back side. This phone will have a chin below the display, though its bezels will be quite thin in general. This handset did appear on TENAA (Chinas equivalent to the FCC) quite recently, which essentially means that it got certified in its homeland.

According to TENAA, the Nokia X6 (TA-1099) will feature a 5.8-inch fullHD+ (2280 x 1080) display, 3GB / 4GB / 6GB of RAM and 32GB / 64GB of storage. Qualcomms Snapdragon 636 64-bit octa-core SoC will probably fuel this smartphone, while TENAA claims that the phone will ship with Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box. A 3,000mAh battery will be included in the package as well, while a 16-megapixel camera will be included on the phones front side. At least one of the phones rear-facing cameras will sport a 16-megapixel sensor, as the other one was not mentioned by TENAA. The device will measure 147.2 x 70.98 x 7.99mm, while it will weigh 151 grams.

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UPDATE: Source updated, that info is still online, it surfaced on Sunings Weibo (Chinese social network) page, not Sunings website it seems. The listing also confirms that were looking at 16 and 5-megapixel rear-facing cameras, and a 3,060mAh battery, not a 3,000mAh as TENAA suggested.
Samsung Semiconductor, one of the many businesses inside Samsung, really only supplies its Exynos chipsets to Samsung for its smartphones. However, according to a report out of Reuters, that may be changing rather soon. According to the report, Samsung is currently in talks to add more clients to its list. Right now, only Meizu uses Exynos chipsets aside from Samsung. This move, would put Samsung in closer competition with Qualcomm, which supplies chipsets to the majority of smartphones on the market right now.

There is really only one name on this list of companies that Samsung is approaching about using Exynos chipsets, and thats ZTE. Not a surprising name, seeing as ZTE has been banned from using American-made smartphone parts for seven years after it violated terms of a settlement deal after it was caught selling products with American parts to Iran and North Korea. This has forced ZTE to look to diversify its suppliers, and Samsung Semiconductor could be at the top of the list. Currently, Samsung is behind Qualcomm and Apple, as far as processors go. Qualcomm essentially owns the market, especially in regions that still use CDMA technology for making phone calls  like the US. Samsungs Exynos chipsets are only number three now because of how popular Samsungs own devices are in the market. The Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus both run on Exynos chipsets except for in a few larger markets like the US.

Qualcomm stated that it does expect to post some losses after losing ZTEs business, around three cents per share on the next quarterly earnings. Thats because ZTE is (or was) the fourth largest manufacturer in North America, which needs to use Qualcomm chipsets for CDMA technologies. And with ZTE effectively leaving the US, and looking for another partner, its not going to be a good thing for Qualcomm, but it could help Samsung get more clients on-board for its Exynos chipsets. Qualcomm is also facing many other competitors right now in the SoC space, including Huaweis HiSilicon, NVIDIA, MediaTek and even Samsung  who actually manufacturers Qualcomms high-end chipsets. None of this is actually confirmed yet, and are just reports, so take it all with a grain of salt.
Net Neutrality has been one of the biggest issues in the tech sphere for quite some time, and now the United States Senate is poised to take a vote on whether to reverse the FCCs repeal of the Obama-era internet protections on Wednesday, May 16. The vote is certainly not the end-all-be-all of the fight over Net Neutrality; even if the measure to reverse the repeal makes it through the Senate, it will have a harder time in the House of Representatives, which currently holds a large Republican majority. The issue got through the FCC on party lines, and has since been a cleanly divided battle between the two sides with very few stragglers. If it somehow gets through the House, it still has to face down President Donald Trumps pen, and he technically has the final say on whether to approve or veto the measure.

Currently, the battle over Net Neutrality is being fought on many fronts. This vote is one of the more sweeping stages of the fight, but individual states have been challenging the FCCs authority to enforce a clause barring them from putting their own Net Neutrality laws in place. Of these fighter states, Californias proposed legislation is the strictest, surpassing the original federal guideline its meant to replace. New York picked up a variant of the bill. Even if Wednesdays vote or a future step fails, individual states enacting their own laws will continue the fight. Those states, however, could face challenges; no shortage of Net Neutrality opposition has stepped up and vowed to fight those states efforts, even to the point of suing them.

The FCC got a new chairman shortly after Donald Trump took the office of President, and that chairman, Ajit Pai, went on an immediate attack against the Obama Administrations Title II Net Neutrality protections. When he eventually repealed them, it was an extremely controversial move made possible by a 3 to 2 Republican majority among FCC commissioners, and the backlash since then has been unceasing and unflinching. To say that this issue is divisive is arguably quite the understatement, and even if protections are put in place on way or another, they could end up torn down in the near future by proponents of giving ISPs more freedom to shape their services as they please. BestVPN expert Sean McGrath expects this future, calling these events the beginning of the end for a free and open web.
Xiaomi has just released a rather vague Xiaomi Mi 7 teaser on its official Weibo (Chinese social network) page. The company shared an image of Shenzen, and in its caption, Xiaomi suggested that a new event is coming, and that it will be hosted in Shenzhen. Now, the company did not exactly elaborate on anything, the Xiaomi Mi 7 was not mentioned, nor any other device for that matter, but rumors have been pointing at a late May launch of the Xiaomi Mi 7, so this event is probably connected to that.

If rumors are to be believed, the Xiaomi Mi 7 will not be the only handset that the company will announce during its upcoming event, the Mi Band 3 fitness tracker is also rumored, which is not that hard to believe, as Xiaomi already shared a teaser image of the Mi Band 3. Now, on top of all that, the companys 8th anniversary smartphone may arrive as well, at least according to a recent rumor, which claims that it will launch alongside the Mi 7 and Mi Band 3 before the end of this month. In any case, Xiaomi is expected to officially announce a date for the upcoming press event, while were also expecting to see more teasers being shared. So, when will this press conference take place? Well, one of the China Mobile stores in China suggested that the Mi 7 pre-registrations will kick off on May 27, so its possible that the phone will be announced on that day as well, as Xiaomi usually kicks off pre-registrations for flash sales on the same day that a phone launches.

The Xiaomi Mi 7 is the companys upcoming flagship, needless to say. The Mi 7 will stand side-by-side with the Mi MIX 2S which was announced quite recently, though it will be noticeably more compact than the Mi MIX 2S. The Xiaomi Mi 7 is rumored to sport a 5.45-inch fullHD+ display, a display notch, and wireless charging. The phone will probably be made out of metal and glass, while it will be fueled by the Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core processor. Android Oreo will come pre-installed on the phone, while the companys MIUI skin will be included on top of it, as per usual.
Assa Abloy-owned lock manufacturer Yale has now announced support for Amazons Alexa via Samsungs SmartThings platform. Those who own one of Yales Keyfree or Keyless Smart Door Locks will now be able to both check the locks status and lock the door from anywhere. That includes voice controls as well, giving users the ability to simply ask Alexa is my lock locked? or tell the A.I. assistant to lock my lock. With that said, there is a pretty substantial caveat and users wont be able to unlock their door using voice commands. The company says thats due to security concerns associated with the technology and intended to keep their home safe. Implementing voice unlocking controls simply adds one more item to the list of ways a prospective criminal could gain entry.

Getting the caveat cleared away, the main drawback comes down to the use of Samsungs SmartThings platform. In short, users will need both the Samsung SmartThings Hub and app, an Amazon Alexa-enabled device, and a Yale Smart Door Lock with a Z-Wave module fitted in order to take advantage of the new feature. Thats actually not that unusual. In fact, the additional smart hub requirement has become fairly common in the IoT industry as companies look to bring smart features to their existing products. Thats a matter of adding support for semi-smart products, as opposed to an issue of which smart assistant the manufacturer has chosen to incorporate. Happily enough, Samsungs SmartThings platform and related Hubs are relatively popular. So picking one up brings a ton of other options for improving the modern smart home on top of new lock functionality.

Aside from the general announcement of Alexa support, Yales Marketing Manager for Yale Smart Living, Stephen Roberts, also indicated that this inclusion is really just the starting point. Roberts says the company is looking forward to working further with both Amazon and Samsung on future projects. If that statement bears out to reality, that means future iterations of Yales locks may not require quite so many additional items to function. More directly, a deeper and ongoing partnership could instead see Yale locks shipping with the required technology already built-in.
My dream for China: a future without fear or pain for animals 15 May 2018

After a year as a veterinary intern at Animals Asias China sanctuary, Chen Si Wen inspires the next generation with a dream of a compassionate future.

For the past three years, Animals Asias China Bear Rescue Centre has been a breeding ground for animal welfare awareness among promising young veterinarians.

Recent graduates with an interest in animal welfare and wildlife have been trained in welfare, nursing and anaesthesia as well as both wildlife and small animal medicine and surgery.

And the graduates were so keen for others to follow in their footsteps that they wrote their hopes and dreams for Chinas future relationship with animals to be shared with the next generation.

These passionate declarations of empathy for animals will be shared with other veterinary students at universities and workshops around the country as part of Animals Asias first Animal Welfare Tour.

The tour will see a series of lectures and workshops on animal welfare given to veterinary graduates at 10 universities across China. The tour began in April with a visit to the Shandong Agriculture University.

When Animals Asia veterinarians read the graduates inspiring texts to the next generation, they found them all impressive, but one in particular took their breath away.

Former Animals Asia Veterinary Intern Chen Si Wen wrote:

I truly hope that animals in China can live without fear and pain one day. I hope for a future free of circuses, aquariums, bear bile farms and all other cruel industries.

I hope zoo animals will be able to express their normal behaviour just as if they were living in the wild. People must return their dignity and freedom  to treat them as they deserve to be treated.

I also hope that one day our vets will open their minds to encourage cooperation between community clinics and hospitals, and focus on quality instead of quantity.

I hope gender discrimination and unequal pay in the veterinary practice will be eliminated  that female vets can do orthopaedic surgeries and men can be excellent vet nurses.

We vets should never forget our social responsibility to the community and always strive to set positive examples, such as setting up puppy schools and educating owners how to take good care of their companion animals.

I want every person to be able to bring an injured animal to a vet clinic without worrying about excessive bills. In a China with strong, well-established support systems and animal welfare charities, we can achieve this.

I dream that we vets and people who love animals will promote animal welfare and see real animal cruelty legislation become a reality in the next few years.

For all of this, I am determined to strive, to fight and not to yield.

Si Wen was trained as a veterinary intern at Animals Asias China sanctuary from September 2016 to October 2017, before gaining more clinical experience in Australia. She now works in a small animal hospital in Beijing, sharing her knowledge of animal welfare.

In addition to the internship program and the animal welfare tour, Animals Asias China sanctuarys veterinary department is also involved in regular training and workshops for veterinarians across China, focusing on animal welfare, anesthesia and pain management.

Veterinary students from the China Agricultural University join Animals Asias team for a week every summer to gain experience and knowledge.

Animals Asia Senior Veterinarian Emily Drayton, who worked closely with Si Wen, said:

Reading Si Wens dream made me proud that we are here, doing what we do, and it gives me real hope for the next generation of vets and leaders in animal welfare in China. We are on the right path.
COP26 may be a cop-out in the making COP26 is just about a month away. Delayed for a year by the Covid-19 pandemic, the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference has built up even more expectations and momentum during the intervening months
During his time working with Commonwealth agencies, he was primarily advising the Department of Defence and the Department of Finance. For a time, he was Ashursts Canberra managing partner.

He stayed at Ashurst until the start of 2015, when he decided to become a legal consultant at King & Wood Mallesons (KWM). He left KWM in December 2017.

In his new role, he will work closely with national head of government and deputy managing partner Michael Greene, who is based in both Canberra and Sydney, NRF said. Both will work within the firms national government advisors team.

Our extended Commonwealth and state government teams play a crucial role in advising government departments and agencies, which are among our most valued clients. We are pleased to have someone of Bills experience join our government practice and our Canberra office. We will work with him to keep meeting the needs of Commonwealth and state organisations and those that work in the broader government sector, Greene said.

Conleys work with government bodies includes strategic commercial and legal advice, as well as contract drafting and negotiation in major capital equipment procurement. These include ships, submarines, aircraft and vehicles.
Baker McKenzie has helped secure the first ever restricted banking license under the Australian governments National Innovation and Science Agenda.

The global firm successfully advised Volt bank, which was granted a restricted authorised deposit-taking institution (RADI) license by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

Bill Fuggle, who heads Baker McKenzies the financial services and funds group in Australia, said that the license is clearly a game-changer for both our client and the industry more broadly.
Atacador specialises in IP litigation and dispute resolution, with a particular focus on protection and enforcement of trademarks, patents, copyright, designs, confidential information and reputation rights.

De Menezes, who brings with her more than 15 years of experience, joins the firm as a special counsel. She was most recently special counsel at Watermark. She was also previously with Corrs Chambers Westgarth and Herbert Smith Freehills.

De Menezes acts for clients in a wide range of sectors and is an expert in all aspects of trademark management, including local and international pre-filing clearance searches, filing strategy advices, and filing and prosecution of trademarks.

Ian Dardis, Dentons Australia region CEO, said that the appointments of Atacador and De Menezes  along with the recent appointments of Lis Boyce, Scott Sloan, and Robyn Chatwood  significantly enhance the IP, IT, and life sciences capabilities of the firm in Australia. Chatwood returned to Australia from the firms London office in February.

Dentons has been focused on growing our IP and IT capability and on building a sector focus around Life Sciences and Health Care in Australia, he said. Dentons now has a strong local team that will benefit our Australian and international clients.
Following its debut in prototype flavor at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show in January, the newcomer is now in production at the automakers Indiana plant in Greensburg. Three more plants in Ohio support the Insight production. The Russells Point facility manufactures the twin-electric motor drive unit, the battery is assembled in Marysville, and the 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine is made in Anna.To support Insight production in Greensburg, the plant added 19,200 square feet to accommodate the in-house subassembly of the vehicles front-end module. The modular approach started with the 2016 Honda Civic, and its also used by the CR-V crossover and Accord sedan. The Greensburg complex is also responsible for the installation of the high-voltage wiring, battery unit, and power control system."The new Honda Insight exemplifies our growing investment in the production of electrified vehicles in America and our associates in Indiana are proud to play a key role in this initiative," declared Isao Matsuzaki, president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana. "As the lead plant for Insight production globally, we are committed to delivering the quality and reliability that our customers expect."As we wait for the Japanese automaker to publish the MSRP of the 2019 Insight, lets get down to the nitty-gritty. At 151 hp and 197 lb-ft combined, the hybrid sedan is almost as powerful as the Civic 2.0-liter (158 hp) but torquier (138 lb-ft). Stepping up to the 1.5-liter turbo (174 hp and 162 lb-ft) is also to the advantage of the Civic in terms of ponies, but twisting force continues to favor the new Insight.The previous generation was a direct rival to the Toyota Prius, and based on the fuel-economy estimates for the newcomer, the Insight shouldnt be afraid of the outgoing Prius (54 mpg city). On the other hand, the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid in Blue specification returns 57 miles per gallon in city driving.
A few weeks back, the carmaker started manufacturing the model at the plant Rastatt, Germany. This week, robots and humans began assembling the model at the facility in Kecskemet, Hungary.This second production line for the new A-Class is just the beginning. In all, Mercedes-Benz plans to manufacture the model at five plants on three continents.And more models in this class are planned for future years, as the company already stated. Currently, Mercedes compact cars segment is comprised of the A-, B-Class , CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and GLA. The new compact breed that debuts with the A-Class, code-named W177, will comprise a total of eight models, including electric ones.With the new A-Class, we start the production of our vehicles in an unrivaled ramp-up cascade - in top quality and within a very short time line, said Markus Schafer, the man in charge with the companys production.After Rastatt, the Kecskemet plant has now also successfully managed the start of production. Our proven production strategy pays out.At the Hungarian facility, the new A-Class replaces on the assembly lines the outgoing B-Class . The plant will continue to assemble the CLA and CLA Shooting Brake alongside the new addition.The model will sell in Europe for prices starting at 30,231 Euro ($37,400) for the entry-level A 200 with a 6-speed manual transmission. All the models in the lineup (A200, A180 d, and A250) will be offered for a limited time with an Edition 1 trim.The A-Class is the first car to feature the Mercedes-Benz User Experience or MBUX. The most distinctive feature of the MBUX system are the two large displays, one showing the instrument cluster and the other working as infotainment features interface.
China is leveraging debts to gain control of strategic ports and secure primary access to African oil in Angola, Kenya and Djibouti.

Why it matters: The Chinese are offering up attractive infrastructure projects to the countries that need them most and following up with escalating demands for influence. That approach will spread to even more of the globe under Beijing's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative.

Angola is using its precious resource, crude oil, to chip away at a $25 billion debt to China.

Since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1983, China has loaned $60 billion to Angola through investments, loans and projects  one of the most recent being a $600 million deep sea port off the African nation's shores.

established diplomatic ties in 1983, China has loaned $60 billion to Angola through investments, loans and projects  one of the most recent being a $600 million deep sea port off the African nation's shores. Instead of using cash, Angola pays China back with oil (it's Africa's second-largest producer) which means its ability to repay debt depends on the price of oil, writes Yinka Adegoke, Quartz's Africa editor, in his weekly brief. It also leaves less oil for Angola to sell to other trading partners.

Djibouti is home to China's only overseas military base, and it could soon give up a key port to Beijing.

After developing ties with African countries through its involvement in a global anti-piracy effort, China built up enough of a relationship to set up a full-scale military base in Djibouti, where the U.S. also has a base. Tensions escalated this month when Chinese military fired lasers at U.S. aircrafts from the base.

with African countries through its involvement in a global anti-piracy effort, China built up enough of a relationship to set up a full-scale military base in Djibouti, where the U.S. also has a base. Tensions escalated this month when Chinese military fired lasers at U.S. aircrafts from the base. And China's influence in Djibouti may expand. As of the end of 2016, China owned 82% of Djibouti's foreign debt, per a report from the Center for Global Development.

in Djibouti may expand. As of the end of 2016, China owned 82% of Djibouti's foreign debt, per a report from the Center for Global Development. "Chinese shippers could use the country to tap lucrative East African markets. China also built a railway from Addis Ababa to the port to transfer Ethiopian goods," the Wall Street Journal's Nikhil Lohade and Matina Stevis-Gridneff write.

the country to tap lucrative East African markets. China also built a railway from Addis Ababa to the port to transfer Ethiopian goods," the Wall Street Journal's Nikhil Lohade and Matina Stevis-Gridneff write. Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, Djibouti's foreign minister, brushed off concerns, saying Chinese debt is "so far manageable." He said, "Let me first underline the fact that no country can develop itself without having a strong infrastructure. And China is, from that perspective, a very good partner."

The majority of Kenya's external debt is Chinese, and the country has a growing trade deficit with Beijing.

More than 70% of Kenyan foreign debt is owned by China, per Quartz. And Kenya has just joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China's answer to the World Bank. "The growing interest in the multilateral financial institution in Africa points to Chinas emergence as a favored lender, rivaling the World Bank," per Adegoke.

is owned by China, per Quartz. And Kenya has just joined the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, China's answer to the World Bank. "The growing interest in the multilateral financial institution in Africa points to Chinas emergence as a favored lender, rivaling the World Bank," per Adegoke. But the Kenyan public is wary of China's influence, he writes. "The concern is Uhuru Kenyattas government and others before had been naive in their lopsided dealings with the Chinese."

Go deeper: Sri Lanka falls into the Chinese debt-trap
1 big thing: Gaza violence sparks diplomatic crisis

At least 55 Palestinian protesters were killed by Israeli forces near the Gaza border today. Israel and the U.S. both said force was needed to prevent a border fence from being breached, while Palestinian, Iranian and Turkish leaders accused Israel of a massacre.

Today was the bloodiest in Gaza since 2014, and Axios contributor Barak Ravid reports that a diplomatic crisis is developing:

White House deputy spokesman Raj Shah said responsibility for the deaths "rests squarely with Hamas" which "is intentionally and cynically provoking this response.

deputy spokesman Raj Shah said responsibility for the deaths "rests squarely with Hamas" which "is intentionally and cynically provoking this response. France and the U.K. called on Israel to show restraint. Asked if the U.S. would make a similar appeal, Shah said no.

called on Israel to show restraint. Asked if the U.S. would make a similar appeal, Shah said no. South Africa and Turkey announced they are recalling their ambassadors in Tel Aviv in protest over the events in Gaza. Turkish President Erdogan slammed Israel, called it a "terror state" and said "it commits genocide in Gaza."

announced they are recalling their ambassadors in Tel Aviv in protest over the events in Gaza. Turkish President Erdogan slammed Israel, called it a "terror state" and said "it commits genocide in Gaza." Kuwait has asked for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council tomorrow in New York to discuss the escalation in Gaza. Jordanian King Abdullah II accused Israel of blatant aggression and violence and warned Egypt also condemned the use of force against peaceful marches.

The bigger picture: Palestinians have repeatedly gathered near the border over the past six weeks to demand the right of return for Palestinian refugees. Todays protests were fueled by anger over the opening of the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Tomorrows could be even larger, as May 15th is Nakba Day, which commemorates the displacement of Palestinians during Israel's founding.

Split-screen: Most speakers at the embassy ceremony in Jerusalem this morning chose to ignore the events in Gaza, but Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the brave soldiers protecting the borders of Israel. Jared Kushner said "those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution, though those remarks were omitted from an official White House transcript.

From the ceremony...
The U.S. blocked a UN Security Council statement calling for an investigation into the killing of 58 Palestinians by Israeli troops during protests on the Israel-Gaza border on Monday, reports Haaretz.

The U.S. stance: UN ambassador Nikki Haley said, "No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," and echoed the White House response from yesterday, that Hamas bears all responsibility for the bloodshed. That comes as countries around the region and wider world have condemned the use of force on the protesters, and allies like the U.K. and France have implored Israel to show more restraint.
Mexicos economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, said he does not think we will have a NAFTA deal wrapped up by Thursday, the deadline that would allow the U.S. Congress to vote on the package before the next Congress is sworn in next January.

Temper that: Trumps Director of the National Economic Council, Larry Kudlow, told an Axios audience today that his optimism about the deal overall is not great.

Why it matters: If the blue wave really is coming this year to Capitol Hill, it is possible that the makeup of Congress next January will not back Trumps moves to rewrite NAFTA and could derail the next proposal comes down the pike.

The other side: Canadas Justin Trudeau: There is very much an eminently achievable outcome...and we are very close.

Be smart: Mexico has said it will continue negotiating past this Thursday, regardless of which Congress  old or new  will be voting on the renegotiation.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday described as very productive his first meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin which was held in Sochi on Monday.

We discussed a very broad range of issues and it was a very productive meeting, he told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am). He declined to elaborate.

Pashinian confirmed that the unresolved Nagorno-Karabakh was also on the agenda of the talks with Putin. It was a general discussion. We didnt really go into details, he said.

In his opening remarks at the talks, the Armenian premier, who took office on May 8, reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining strategic allied relations with Russia. I can assure you that there is basically a consensus on this issue in Armenia, and nobody has cast doubt and, I think, will cast doubt on the strategic importance of Russian-Armenian relations, he said.

For his part, Putin told Pashinian that he regards Armenia as our closest partner and ally in the region and hopes Russian-Armenia ties will develop as steadily as has been the case until now.

Neither the Kremlin nor the Armenian government issued any statements on the results of the Putin-Pashinian encounter which took place in the presence of other senior Armenian and Russian officials.

The two leaders met in the Russian Black Sea city just hours before a summit of the five former Soviet republics making up the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU).

Like other leaders of the Yelk alliance, Pashinian criticized last year Armenias membership in this and another Russian-led bloc, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). However, he made clear that he will not withdraw from the EEU and the CSTO after massive street protests organized by him led to the resignation of the countrys longtime leader, Serzh Sarkisian, on April 23.

Its an interesting format, Pashinian said when asked about his impressions of the EEU summit in Sochi. It was very interesting.

While in Sochi, Pashinian also held separate meetings with the presidents of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.

An aide to the Armenian premier, Ruben Rubinian, insisted that he managed to dispel possible concerns of Russia and other EEU member states regarding the new Armenian government. None of them actually voiced such concerns, he said.

Both in separate meetings and at the general [EEU] session, we reaffirmed our positions voiced before and after Mr. Pashinian was elected prime minister, Rubinian told RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am).

That doesnt mean there are no problems [within the EEU] or that those problems must not be solved, he said. The key thing is that we gave our partners and allies no reason to doubt or to be concerned about Armenias continued adherence to agreements signed in the past.
By Sara Israfilbayova

The Pirallahi Industrial Park will promote sustainable development of the non-oil industry in the country, Azerbaijans Economy Ministry told Azernews.

Besides, main goals are to create competitive and innovative industries based on cutting-edge technologies, to develop and support the pharmaceutical industry, reduce dependence on pharmaceutical products, promote local production in meeting the needs of the population and increasing the employment of the population, the ministry stressed.

The Economy Ministry noted that at present 3 residents are registered in the Industrial Park-Hayat Pharm, a joint venture of Azerbaijan and Russia, as well as Caspian Pharmed and Diamed Co, joint ventures of Azerbaijan and Iran.

These joint ventures will produce analgesics, cardiovascular agents, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antihistamine medicines, as well vitamins and nutritional supplements, while Diamed Co will produce disposable syringes.

By the end of 2018, the packaging line will be put into operation in the joint venture of Azerbaijan and Russia, according to the ministry.

In addition, according to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Azerbaijani Investment Company OJSC and the Ukrainian Indar Company in the Pirallahi Industrial Park in 2017, Indar will produce infusion and injection products according to international standards.

Totally, current residents of the Pirallahi Industrial Parkabout are expected to create 350 new jobs, the ministry added.

The Hayat Pharm, a joint venture between Azerbaijan and Russia, will produce 22.5 million packages or 500 million pills and capsules per year based on the technology of Germany, Italy and other European countries. The plant will produce additives for oncology, AIDS, nervous system, cardiovascular, diabetes, supporting-motor apparatus and respiratory system medications, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antidiarrheals and antinausea drugs, as well as drugs for X-ray contrast and magnetic resonance imaging.

Generally, the plant will produce 89 types of medicines for 58 substances at the first stage. In future it is planned to expand production, the ministry noted.

Answering the question on cooperation with Indian pharmaceutical companies, the ministry mentioned that Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Sanjay Rana visited Sumgait Chemical Industry Park last April.

The ambassador was informed about industrial parks, including the Pirallahi Industrial Park, the conditions created for investors and discounts. During the meeting, discussions were also held on cooperation in the field of pharmaceuticals. We are ready to evaluate this bid if Indian companies offer proposals for pharmaceutical cooperation and creation of a joint venture.

Further, the ministry underlined that pharmaceutical plants, which will be built and put into operation in Pirallahi Industrial Park, will play an important role in the development of the pharmaceutical industry in Azerbaijan and will provide the population with quality medicines through local production, reduce dependence on imports and increase export potential.

The products to be produced in these enterprises are planned to be exported to Turkey, Iran, Ukraine, Georgia and the CIS countries under the Made in Azerbaijan brand, according to the countrys Economy Ministry.

In conclusion, speaking of future plans, the ministry noted that the country is holding talks with a number of leading companies interested in the pharmaceutical industry.

The Sumgait Chemical Industrial Park LLC, a controlling organization of Pirallahi Industrial Park, is continuing its efforts to attract local and foreign investors to the Park and promote it in various activities both in our country and abroad.

In late 2015, the government announced that Azerbaijan will create its own enterprises that will manufacture medicines to cease dependence on imports.

To this end, the Pirallahi Industrial Park is established by the order of President Ilham Aliyev On Establishment of Pirallahi Industrial Park dated September 14, 2016.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Kamila Aliyeva

The issuance of visas to foreigners at the International Heydar Aliyev airport through ASAN Visa self-service terminals started on May 15.

Citizens of 15 countries including Bahrain, UAE, South Korea, China, Iran, Israel, Indonesia, Kuwait, Qatar, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey and Japan will be able to get a visa through ASAN Visa at the airport.

ASAN Visa self-service terminals are equipped with passport readers, POS-terminals and banknote receivers. The terminal services are provided in seven languages - Azerbaijani, English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Persian and Russian.

Along with self-service terminals, visa issuance and banking services will be arranged in four windows of the terminal. On average, the process of issuing visas will take two minutes.

The Chairman of ASAN Service Ulvi Mehdiyev told reporters that 14 self-service terminals have been installed at the airport.

Touching upon the possible expansion of the list of countries being able to receive ASAN Visa, Mehdiyev noted that it depends on the decision of the government, as well as on bilateral agreements between Azerbaijan and other countries regarding the visa regime.

If the number of countries increases, the system will automatically issue visas to these countries. I would also like to note that we have started issuing visas at Baku airport, but in the near future this procedure will be available at other airports in the country. Getting a visa costs $20. The exception is Turkey ($10) and Japan (free), Mehdiyev said.

He went on to say that citizens of Azerbaijan will also be able to use the ASAN Viza system when leaving the country.

Active work is being done in this direction, according to the chairman.

We called this system ASAN Visa 2 and we want the citizens of Azerbaijan, through using it, to be able to obtain visas in embassies of other countries. Technically, the process is being actively developed, but negotiations with embassies are needed to integrate the system, Mehdiyev added.

In total, about 420,000 foreigners were granted electronic visas through the ASAN Visa system as of today. Since January 2017, foreigners are issued visas within a three-hour period. The state fee for a visa is $20.

ASAN Visa portal designed to simplify a procedure for issuing visas to foreigners and stateless persons wishing to visit Azerbaijan, as well as to ensure immediacy and transparency of this process, was presented to the public in 2016.

Electronic visa is a document for one entry, which determines the period of stay in the country up to 30 days.

Electronic visas are issued only to the citizens of the countries, approved by the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan, and stateless persons permanently residing in this country.

Also, the ASAN Visa system offers the issuance of group visas to foreign citizens. Group appeals are provided for a minimum of two, a maximum of ten people.

Foreigners and stateless persons, who wish to receive an e-visa, must enter information into the system of "ASAN Visa", and after receipt on acceptance of confirmation pay online a state fee in the amount prescribed by law "On state duty".

The system of ASAN Visa sends the appeal to the interagency automated retrieval system "Entry-exit and registration". The relevant executive authority verifies the information not later than three days from the time of appeal in ASAN Visa, checks restriction list of the "Entry-exit and registration".

Then a visa is sent to the e-mail address of the contact person. In case of failure the person is also informed.

The electronic visas are not stuck in the passport but presented together with the passport while crossing the border check-point. Foreigners and stateless persons may apply for a new e-visa only after they will leave Azerbaijan.

Only citizens of 94 countries (or persons residing in these countries) can obtain an electronic visa. The list of countries, which can be found in this link, is approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Sara Israfilbayova

The State Committee on Property Issues of Azerbaijan held next auction on privatization of state property on May 15, following which 10 state properties were privatized.

Three of these objects are small state enterprises, three-non-residential areas and four-vehicles.

In order to protect state property and effectively manage it in the new economic realities, President of Azerbaijan signed a decree on May 19, 2016. Under the decree, the acceleration of the state property privatization process has been defined as an important direction of the economic policy.

The portal for privatization  privatization.az, launched in July 2016, reflects all necessary information about the facilities, their addresses, location, and even initial cost and aims at facilitation of the process. The website is available in two languages - Azerbaijani and English. Why Azerbaijan is special section available on the website explains the reasons and advantages of investing in the country.

The privatization process is designed to attract both foreign and local investors, as well as develop the business environment of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, the State Committee on Property Issues held the first electronic auction on July 4.

The electronic auction service, which is available on the website privatization.az, combines the privatization procedure of vehicles and equipment. In the future, it will be possible to privatize small state enterprises and facilities, joint-stock companies through electronic auction. Now, the corresponding work in programming is being implemented.

Next auction on privatization of state property will be held on May 22.

The auction will offer 70 state objects, of which 18 are joint-stock companies, 28-small state enterprises, 20-non-residential areas and 4-vehicles.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Trend

It is always interesting to know what great creative people felt, how they created their masterpieces, how they lived, who influenced their world outlook. Meanwhile, documentary films are a great chance to learn more about the outstanding people of art.

Baku had a great opportunity to learn more about the personality of cult Lithuanian photographer Vitas Luckus (1943-1987), through the "Master and Tatyana" documentary, which was shown in the Azerbaijani capital.

Directed by Lithuanian filmmaker Giedre Zickyte, the film was shown at the Park Cinema Flame Towers within the 2nd Imagine Euro Tolerance Festival being held in Azerbaijan May 2-17.

Ambassador of Lithuania to Azerbaijan Valdas Lastauskas, Chairperson of the Union of Cinematographers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, People's Artist Shafiga Mammadova, famous figures of culture and art, admirers of documentary films attended the event.

"Imagine Euro Tolerance Festival has been held for the second time and I hope that it will develop in the future, Lastauskas told Trend. We try to demonstrate the films by best Lithuanian filmmakers within the festival. In 2017 documentary filmmaker Audrius Stonys demonstrated his recent films. This year Giedre Zickyte has been taking part in the festival. She represents young generation of Lithuanian filmmakers."

The viewers in Baku were interested in the film because Vitas Luckus visited Azerbaijan. During that trip a number of photos were taken and, of course, he had many friends here.

I can tell you about one interesting detail in the film, which is also connected with Azerbaijan, Zickyte told Trend earlier. I am using a very specific sound of wind which is the main mood motive of my film  it opens the film, goes through the photos, and creates the mystical feeling of eternity. I accidentally found this sound of wind in an old documentary about Azerbaijan  it was recorded in some steppe. This was a very mystical and beautiful sound of wind. I was totally amazed by this sound, it was exactly what I was looking for and I couldnt find anything like that in any sound library. So, I used original recording from that old doc.

In the film, Luckus' friends speak about his way of life, his relations with this wife Tatyana, long conversations till dawn, numerous guests. There are also legends about the photographer's life. Some of them seem incredible. Luckus kept a lion in his apartment, and this is true.

"Master and Tatyana" is the story of a rebellious creator, a story of passionate love and a story of life that ended in tragedy.

Of course, an important part of the film is a conversation with Tatyana, who after the tragic death of her husband moved to the US.

I am very thankful to her that after 20 years of silence she opened the doors for me both to the incredible archive of Vitas and to their beautiful and tragic love story, Zickyte told Trend earlier. I realized that she will be the one who becomes alive in the film, the one who will reflect Vitas to me  through her love and through Vitas archive which she faithfully preserved for so many years. Love and creation are stronger than death.

In the film there are many photos taken by Luckus, which also help to better understand the photographer.

The film aroused great interest. A Q&A session was set up with the director, after the screening.

Luckus friends also came to watch the film. They said that in Azerbaijan Luckus liked to shoot Gobustan, Absheron and some of those photos are still kept at their houses.

Master and Tatyana was screened in many festivals across Europe and North America, including the world's biggest and most prestigious documentary festival IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) in the Best of Fest section.

In 2015, "Master and Tatyana" was awarded by the Lithuanian Film Academy with the national award Silver Crane as The Best Documentary of the Year, as well as in the nominations "Best Director", "Best Filmmaking", "Best Editing".

The film was also screened in Lithuania and broadcast for audience in Italy, Sweden and Poland.

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By Rashid Shirinov

Although more than two decades have passed since the occupation of Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions by the Armenian troops, the conflict still remains unresolved due to Yerevans unconstructive position on the issue.

The current leader of Armenia  the newly elected Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan  also continues the policy of his predecessors. During the week of his premiership, he has already made provocative statements both in Yerevan and in the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. In particular, Pashinyan said that the so-called Nagorno-Karabakh Republic should be a party to the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

It is obvious that this is an unacceptable condition for Azerbaijan and Pashinyan deliberately increases the tension, Russian political analyst and expert on international issues Evgeny Mikhailov told Azernews in this regard on May 14.

The expert noted that Pashinyans statements regarding the settlement of the conflict raise eyebrows.

Unfortunately, his recent statements do not inspire confidence in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mikhailov mentioned.

The political analyst also touched upon the future of Armenia with Pashinyan.

I can confidently say that rather than improving the life of ordinary Armenians, his coming to power will, on the contrary, lead Armenia to the total collapse of the imaginary independence and statehood that have existed for the last 26 years, Mikhailov emphasized.

As for Pashinyans assurances that Armenia will remain committed to the strategic partnership with Russia, the expert believes that this is an attempt to deceive the political establishment of Russia in order to attract greater economic support.

It is obvious that Pashinyan is a protege of the West and he will do everything to please the main overseers. This may indicate that in the end Yerevan may leave the strategic alliance with Moscow at the earliest opportunity, Mikhailov stressed.

This situation is into the hands of Azerbaijan, which needs only a few days to return the occupied territories provided that no other country prevents it, the political analyst added.

Armenia broke out a lengthy war against Azerbaijan by laying territorial claims on the country. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir bin Mohamad.

I sincerely congratulate you on the occasion of the beginning of your activity as the prime minister of Malaysia, Ilham Aliyev said in his letter. I believe that friendly relations between Azerbaijan and Malaysia, our bilateral and multilateral cooperation will continue to develop and expand in accordance with the interests of our peoples. I recall our meeting in Baku with the most pleasant impressions, and wish you good health, happiness, success in your upcoming activity for the sake of well-being of the friendly people of Malaysia.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

As many as 332 newborns were registered with extremely low birth weight (500-1,000 grams) in Azerbaijan in 2017.

The chief neonatologist of the country, chairman of the special commission for the improvement of neonatological services of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Health, Rustam Huseynov, told Trend.

The number of prematurely born children weighing less than 1,000 grams makes one percent of all newborns, according to Huseynov.

He added that at the moment one of the main problems in the field of neonatology in the world is the birth of children with a small (1,000-1,500 grams) and extremely low weight.

Huseynov noted that in recent times, 8-10 percent of babies are prematurely born in Azerbaijan annually.

In the world, the number of premature infants among newborns is about 5-14 percent, in some cases, 16 percent. This problem also exists in developed countries. Despite the development of obstetrics and gynecology in some countries, the cause of preterm delivery is pregnant womens lifestyle, ecology and the impact of various diseases, he said.

Huseynov went on to say that only 30-35 percent of premature babies in Azerbaijan weighing less than 1,000 grams remain alive.

Over the past 10 years, we have achieved relatively high rates. We are confident that the number of surviving newborns with extremely low weight will increase, he added.

The neonatologist said that, in connection with the application of new birth rates, now, children weighing more than 500 grams and with a gestation period of more than 22 weeks are considered live-born.

About 16 babies are born in Azerbaijan each hour. The number of newborns in January-March 2018 exceeded 23,000.

Previously it was believed that children born before the 28th week of pregnancy and weighing less than a kilogram are considered stillborn. However, since January 2015, after the transition of Azerbaijan to the international standards of live birth, children born in the beginning of the 22nd week and weighing from 500 grams, are considered live-born. Modern medicine allows these children to go out to normal weight, returning them to their parents.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

Currently Iran swaps about one million cubic meters of gas per day with Azerbaijan, Irans deputy oil minister Hamid Reza Araqi said.

Araqi, who heads the National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC), said that Iran swaps the volume with Azerbaijan to meet Nakhchivan Autonomous Republics demand, Trend correspondent reported.

Araqi added that Tehran is also swapping gas from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan.

An Iranian company buys gas from Turkmenistan and sells it to Azerbaijan, he said, adding that the volume of the gas sold to Azerbaijan by the company stands at six million cubic meters per day.

The Islamic Republic holds around 34 trillion cubic meters of proven gas reserves, sharing 18 percent of total global gas reserves, which puts the country in the top of the world's gas holders list.

Iranian gas refineries processed 214 billion cubic meters (bcm) of sweet gas during the last fiscal year, ended March 20, 2018.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

World oil prices are rising against the backdrop of the OPEC May report on oil reserves and the persistence of concerns about the level of production in Iran.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were at $78.30 per barrel up 7 cents from their last close and not far off a three-and-a-half year high of $78.53 a barrel reached the previous session, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $71.02 a barrel, up 6 cents and also not far off their November 2014 high of $71.89 a barrel reached last week, Reuters reported.

Investors also drew attention to statements by Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih about their readiness to ensure the stability of the oil market after the U.S. decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran. Nevertheless, investors fear that sanctions against Iran will lead to a reduction in the oil supply.

Earlier, Minister of Oil and Gas of Oman Mohammed bin Hamad Al Rumhi stated that oil is still far from $100. He noted that the oil market still has an excess of supply, although the market is close to achieving a balance.

Nevertheless, investors are concerned about reduction in the supply of oil on the market after the introduction of Washington sanctions against Tehran.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the dissolution of the nuclear deal with Iran and promised to impose tough sanctions against Tehran. The deal was reached in July 2015 between Iran, Russia, the United States, Great Britain, China, France and Germany - the agreement guarantees the peaceful nature of Tehrans nuclear program, and its implementation removes the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council, the United States and the European Union.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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Sara Israfilbayova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Sara_999Is

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Brussels now realizes openly that the geopolitical interests of the U.S. and the European Union are not always compatible, Dr. David Criekemans, an expert in geopolitics and international politics and assistant professor at the University of Antwerp said in an interview with Azernews.

He was commenting on the consequences for the U.S.-European relations following U.S. President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal .

He recalled that French president Macron recently tried to change Trump's mind by proposing to encompass the JCPOA in a wider agreement concerning Iran's rocket program and its increasing regional activities in countries such as Syria.

France and Germany seek to trade with this emerging power. Companies such as Renault and Airbus have been queuing in line for the past couple of months. Many European countries see Iran as a reliable ally for the future, Dr. Criekemans noted.

Moreover, in todays world, natural gas is gaining more and more recognition and can become a bridge fuel towards a renewable energy future.

The expert stressed that the Islamic Republic disposes of large supplies of natural gas.

Europe can also forge new economic connections with Iran. France has been exceptionally successful in doing so for the last years. Total managed to broker a 4.8 billion dollar contract for exploiting natural gas fields in southern Iran. Renault even signed a 780 million dollar deal for manufacturing 300.000 cars by 2023. Royal Dutch Shell is also said to invest in the Iranian energy sector, he added.

Above all, Iran has signed contracts for airplanes worth billions of dollars with both the European Airbus and the American Boeing, according to Dr. Criekemans.

Once ten to fifteen percent of components in such planes are American in origin, as they are in the case of Airbus, Trumps new anticipated extraterritorial fines may also hit the European airplane builder. A European-Iranian economic cooperation would be very efficient and profitable, he said.

Europe now has to pursue a diplomatic mission impossible by attempting to sustain the renewed economic ties with Iran, according to the expert.

In the new multipolar world-in-the-making, Washington is no longer seen to be a beacon of stability, Dr. Criekemans believes.

Brussels' new geopolitical strategy will have to consist in conducting a new balance politics with the other 'poles' in the multipolar system, Moscow, Beijing, Tokyo, London, etc., he said.

Washington is slowly but certainly being degraded in the minds of European politicians into being only one of these poles, Dr. Criekemans concluded.

On May 8, President Donald Trump announced that the United States walks away from the accord reached in 2015 between Tehran and the six world powers. Trump also announced that the U.S. will re-impose the nuclear-related sanctions on Irans economy and oil exports, which were waived under the JCPOA.

Whilst the sanctions are effective immediately, there is a wind-down period of 90- or 180-days to allow firms to exit any existing agreements they have with Iran. Trump has also hinted that he might impose additional sanctions on top of those which were waived.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China and Russia  plus Germany signed the landmark nuclear deal on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

The agreement limits Irans nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all nuclear-related bans against the Islamic Republic.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have resumed regular bus connection between the two countries since May 15, Russian RIA Novosti reported citing the Uzbek Agency for Road Transport (Uzavtotrans).

The bus connection between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan was discontinued in 1992 with the outbreak of the civil war in Tajikistan.

The first bus run on the Tashkent-Khujand-Tashkent route for the working group with representatives of ministries and state departments, as well as the local media went on May 15 from the Tashkent bus station at 8:30 (GMT +5), Uzavtotrans said.

The length of the route is 174 kilometers, with the journey taking 4.5 hours. Three bus runs per day are planned to be carried out. The fare of the run will be 50,000 soums (approx. $6).

Uzavtotrans also added that passengers of the bus runs will pass the border through checkpoints for half an hour as a matter of priority.

Bus connection between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan has been resumed since Jan. 8, between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan  in early May. The regular bus connection between the countries have been absent since the mid-1990s.

President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev called reestablishment of relations with neighbors among the top priorities for the country. In particular, Uzbekistan resumed dialogue on border and water resources issues with Tajikistan

Regular air connection between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, discontinued in 1992 as well, has been resumed since April 2017, while the southern regions of the two countries have been linked by railway connection after the seven-year pause. An intergovernmental agreement on mutual visa-free travels of citizens of the two countries for up to 30 days entered into force at the end of March.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

During the official visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the United States, the parties plan to sign over 40 documents, including trade, economic and investment agreements for a total amount of $8.5 billion, the Press Secretary of the Uzbek president Komil Allamjonov told at a briefing in Washington.

He added that the figures may change during the visit.

It is expected that Shavkat Mirziyoyev will arrive to the Andrews airport in Washington on May 15.

Both sides pay considerable attention to this visit. The US administration called the visit of Shavkat Mirziyoyev as a historical one, Allamjonov said.

Shavkat Mirziyoyev will meet with US President Donald Trump in the White House on May 16. The negotiations will initially be held face-to-face, then in an expanded format.

The parties will discuss development of cooperation in political, trade and economic, investment and other spheres.

The president of Uzbekistan will visit the Pentagon on May 17 and hold talks with the US secretary of defense. Mirziyoyev is expected to discuss strengthening of cooperation between the two countries with congressmen and senators in the Capitol.

Mirziyoyev will also meet with the president of the World Bank to negotiate attracting investments to Uzbekistan's economy.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Kamila Aliyeva

The volume of export of Kazakh oil since the beginning of the year amounted to 24.1 million tons. This was announced by Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev at a government meeting on May 15.

Today the situation in the market of petroleum products is stable, there is no shortage of fuel and lubricants, according to the minister.

The quantity of residual fuel is sufficient to cover the needs of the domestic market in a monthly volume, Bozumbayev noted.

Since the beginning of the year, the volume of oil and condensate production amounted to 29.9 million tons, which shows an increase of about 6 percent compared to the same period in 2017. Oil production at the three major projects amounted to 17.9 million tons: the Kashagan field produced 3.8 million tons, Tengiz - 9.9 million tons, Karachaganak - 4.2 million tons, he said.

The minister added that oil exports amounted to 24.1 million tons showing an increase of 4.3 percent compared to the last years indicator. The volume of oil refining increased by 12 percent and amounted to 5.1 million tons. The volume of production of petroleum products at three refineries rose by 7 percent and made 3.6 million tons.

Kazakhstan's proven oil reserves as of early 2016 stood at 30 billion barrels, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

Tengiz, Karachaganak and Kashagan are the largest oil fields in Kazakhstan. Three oil giants will be able to bring Kazakhstan's oil production to a new level in the coming years even if new oil fields are not discovered.

With the start of oil production at the Kashagan field, the forecasts of several international organizations on oil production in Kazakhstan immediately grew.

Analysts from the International Energy Agency (IEA), OPEC, the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy (EIA) link the increase in oil production namely with the Kashagan field.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Kamila Aliyeva

The officials of the Afghanistans Chamber of Commerce and Industries (ACCI) said on Monday, May 14, that Turkmenistan reduced tariffs for imports and exports between the two countries, Tolonews TV channel reported.

Turkmenistan has decided to ease the process of cross-border trade between the two nations in order to develop trade and economic relations.

The reduction of tariffs will boost the export from Afghanistan and the process of import from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, according to the officials.

Turkmenistan also undertakes to help ensure the security of goods, the maintenance of the railway line and railroad cars, as well as provide loading services. Turkmenistan also committed to provide these services to Afghan traders not only in the country, but also in the land port of Aqina.

The tariffs have been reduced by approximately 50 percent, and in some cases they have reduced the expenses more than 50 percent, according to ACCI deputy chief Khan Jan Alokozai

For instance, whenever we could not manage to unload our wagons within 24 hours, we had to pay $300 for that, but now this tariff has been removed completely, he said.

According to the ACCIs data, the volume of exports of Afghan goods to a neighboring country is insignificant, but Turkmenistan serves as a key corridor for the transit of products to the markets of Russia and Turkey.

Following the opening of new Turkmenbashi International Seaport, Turkmenistan aims to become a transport hub between its landlocked neighbor Afghanistan and European markets.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
By Trend

Azerbaijan's cargo airline Silk Way West Airlines has purchased two additional Boeing 747-400 aircraft, as well as expanded its flights in European direction, according to a message posted on The Loadstar.

Last week, the Azerbaijani airline received one cargo 747-400F, previously owned by Malaysian Airlines, and the second one will be brought in June.

Silk Way West also began in April to fly to Liege twice a week and resumed flights to Budapest after a two-year hiatus.

"The aim is to continue to connect our European network by adding more destinations and supporting a more tight schedule with a view to offer our customers maximum flexibility," said Wolfgang Meyer, CEO of the company.

Presently, Silk Way West operates in approximately 45 directions.

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Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
Stomach-hurling, whiplash roller coasters seem to have been a staple of teenage summers since they were invented. And while Six Flags sends fans head-over-heels screaming and boomeranging back for repeat thrills, the heyday for independent, kitschy theme parks was before the dominance of the Dallas-based chain Six Flags.

For many Texans growing up in the '60s, '70s and '80s, AstroWorld was hands-down the ultimate rite-of-passage amusement park  whether you lived in Houston or traveled hours to brave that rickety, terrifying Texas Cyclone.

RELATED: Things we'll never see again in San Antonio

San Antonians of a certain generation had Playland Park and the Rocket roller coaster, which was actually the first "rollie" in Texas erected in the 1940s. Playland Park was in fact Texas' first amusement park. Originally located in Houston, the predecessor to AstroWorld, it moved to San Antonio in the 1960s. But many recall their first dates and back to school parties there.

Click through the gallery above for a brief history of Texas theme parks that are long gone but not forgotten, from Sea-Arama in Galveston to El Paso's ill-fated Magic Landing.

And remember life before Sea World docked in S.A.? We had Aquarena Springs in San Marcos with "mermaids" and Ralph the swimming pig, famous for his swine dive.

RELATED: 12 awesome things you can do in S.A. that you couldn't do last summer.

Many of these parks went under when Six Flags rose in the 1990s, and when Sea World came to San Antonio. Some parks suffered tragic accidents and weren't able to recover.

Nonetheless, people continue to hold these places deep in their nostalgic hearts, and memorial sites are all around from the Facebook group We Miss Games People Play to the blogs Magic Landing In Memoriam and Remembering Sea-Arama.

If you remember Sunshine Park in San Antonio's southside, or you can recall parties at Playland or family vacays to any of Texas' old amusement parks, share your best memories in the comments.

RELATED: 16 family fun Texas roadtrips

jmscott@mysa.com
They're some of the most infamous defendants in Southeast Texas history. And several awaited trial or have remained in jail for many years.

Click through the slideshow above to see how they looked before and after (or during) their trials.





John William King and Lawrence Russell Brewer

Both men, along with Shawn Berry, were convicted in the grisly 1998 dragging death of Jasper's James Byrd Jr. Brewer was executed in 2011 (more). King remains on Death Row, and recently appealed for a new trial (more). He was turned down. Shawn Allen Berry was sentenced to life in prison.

Joseph "Jimmie" Desormeaux

Desormeaux was found guilty in 2010 of killing 24-year-old Summer Bourque in 2008, and was sentenced to life in prison. Bourque, of Nederland, had been hit on the head, choked to death, and dumped in Taylor's Bayou. The two had met earlier that night at a Port Arthur nightclub (more).

Clifton Bryan West

In 2012, West pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2010 death of Lakon Nichole Janca. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison. West and Janca were traveling own FM 1003 in Honey Island on November 9, 2010 when she was either pushed or fell from the vehicle. She died from her injuries (more).

John Wesley Nero

Nero was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole following the 2011 death of Beaumont police officer Bryan Hebert. Hebert was outside his patrol car in 2011 laying down spikes in the path of Nero, who led police on a high-speed chase after an assault on family members. Nero hit Hebert's patrol car, causing it to fatally strike the officer (more).

Marvin Lee Wilson

Wilson, of Beaumont, was executed in 2012. He was convicted in 1994 of kidnapping and killing 21-year-old Jerry Robert Williams, a confidential Beaumont Police Department informant (more).

Joseph Colone Jr.

Colone, of Beaumont, was sentenced to death in May 2017 for the 2010 killings of Mary Goodman, 41, and her 16-year-old daughter, Briana Goodman. Authorities allege the women were gunned down in their Hartel Street home to keep them from testifying in a robbery case (more).

Bartholomew Granger

Granger was sentenced to death in 2013, after a jury convicted him of the March 14, 2012 murder of 79-year-old Minnie Ray Sebolt outside the Jefferson County Courthouse. Granger was attempting to kill his daughter, Samantha Jackson, and her mother Claudia Jackson, according to court testimony (more).

Crystal Boyett

Boyett was convicted of manslaughter in 2015 for causing a wreck that killed two Lumberton sisters and an unborn child. Last month an appeals court determined that she will get a competency hearing (more).

Jason Delacerda

Delacerda was sentenced to death in February for killing his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter in 2011. Prosecutors said Breonna Nichole Loftin had been abused for weeks before she died (more). Prosecutors are not seeking death in the case of Loftin's mother, Amanda Guidry, who is scheduled for court on July 2, 2018 (more)
It's a big week for Texas schoolkids as some of them are tackling a very important standardized test.

The State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) is a big deal for students, teachers, schools, and parents alike. Much preparation is done to make sure that students have the adequate skills to ace the test.

MORE INFO: TEA releases details on how it will grade schools using STAAR

This week students in high school will be taking the math, history, and English portions of the STAAR test. Students in 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th will take math, reading, science, and social studies exams. This is also the time when students who missed the first round of testing in April will be able to make-up those tests.

Some parents, as the Houston Chronicle's Shelby Webb has reported, choose to opt their children out of the STAAR test which they believe the test and the emphasis put on it is detrimental to the instruction of other crucial information that their kids need.

Student scores on STAAR are used to rate the academic performances of schools and districts statewide. If students score poorly, a school or could be rated as "improvement required," a designation that can carry steep penalties. Charter schools rated as "improvement required" for three or more years can be closed by the state, as can traditional public schools that are given the rating for five or more consecutive years.

PREVIOUS: 41,000 Texas students affected by STAAR testing computer glitches

In the slideshow above Chron.com has gathered a handful of sample STAAR test questions to see how Texas parents and adults would fare on the test.

With additional reporting from Shelby Webb

Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com.


AUSTIN -- As expected, a federal court has issued a final ruling declaring Texas to be violating national voter registration laws.

In a final ruling made public Friday, U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia in San Antonio declared the Department of Public Safety cannot encourage people to renew driver's licenses online, then add additional steps to update their voter registrations that are not required of people who go to their offices in person.

The judge said that the National Voter Registration Act, often called Motor Voter, requires equal treatment.

"DPS is legally obligated, as a designated voter registration agency under the NVRA, to permit a simultaneous voter registration application with every transaction," Garcia wrote in his opinion.

Currently, Texas does not allow people who change their driver's license address online to simultaneously change their voter registration address -- something people who make the change in person are allowed to do. Online DPS customers are required to file additional forms and mail them to another agency to change the voter registration.

Garcia's final ruling had been anticipated.

Last month when Garcia first announced he would rule in favor of the Texas Civil Rights Project, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said they were looking "forward to filing an appeal." On Friday, the a spokesperson for the agency said they were still reviewing the ruling.

In late March, Garcia indicated in a court order that he would side with the Texas Civil Rights Project, which brought the case. The Texas Civil Rights Project argued that many people who checked a box online through the DPS thought they were getting their voter registrations updated as well, but that never happened. Many did not realize it required additional forms and actions to make the change happen.

"Today is a victory for voting rights and democracy in Texas," said Mimi Marziani, president of the Texas Civil Rights Project.

"For years, the state of Texas ignored and violated federal laws designed to bring more people onto the voter registration rolls and strengthen our democracy; sadly, thousands and thousands of people have been disenfranchised because of the state's actions," he said.

The state had argued the Texas voting laws require a signature on paper to change a voter registration. But Garcia said testimony in the case shows that for even in-person changes of address, DPS uses electronic signatures that are transmitted to the Secretary of State's office to update voter records, so it makes little sense why electronic signatures by people online could not also be used.

"Yet SOS admits that it uses previously stored electronic signatures for all voter registration applications that originate with DPS regardless of whether those applications are paper transactions," Garcia noted in his ruling.

He has given the state until May 17 to come up with a plan to allow both online and in-person drivers license changes allow voter registration updates without additional steps for one over the other.

The Texas Civil Rights Project used the case of a Harris County man as one of their examples of voters who tried to update their drivers license online and thought they would also have their voter registrations updated. In 2015, John Woods moved from Travis County to Harris County. When he changed his driver's license address online, Woods thought his voter registration data was also updated.

But when he showed up to vote on election day in 2015, Woods was told he was not registered in the county.

Woods is hardly alone.

Between September 2013 and May 26, 2015, more than 1,800 voters filed formal complaints with the state saying they mistakenly believed their voter registration records were updated when they used the DPS online system. The Texas Civil Rights Project said that the 1,800 number is a mere fraction of voters who have been duped by the state's confusing system.

Jeremy Wallace writes about state politics and government for the Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter at @JeremySWallace.
President Donald Trump unveiled a proposal May 11 to slash the prices of pharmaceutical drugs, The New York Times reports.

Here are six main goals he outlined in his speech.

1. Lower drug prices for the elderly. Mr. Trump's proposal backs off his earlier support for allowing Medicare to negotiate the prices of drugs it purchases for older people, but it includes ways to give the government more negotiating leverage. The administration is considering allowing Medicare drug plans to pay different prices for the same drug based on the illness at hand. It also proposed exploring "value-based purchasing" in federal programs, or refund arrangements with drugmakers for medication that doesn't work as expected.

2. Convince other countries to pay more. Mr. Trump wants to pressure foreign countries to increase their prices for prescription medicines. He said the U.S.  which has the highest drug prices in the world  is subsidizing progress that everyone else benefits from.

3. Require drug commercials to disclose prices. The Trump administration proposed requiring companies to include drug prices in prescription drug commercials. The idea raises questions about which price would be presented  the list price or the discounted price for insurers and employers  and whether the information would deter patients from getting needed medication.

4. Prohibit 'gag clauses' for pharmacists. Mr. Trump pledged to take down gag clauses, or contracts between pharmacies and pharmacy benefit managers banning pharmacists from telling patients when it would be cheaper to pay in cash than use insurance. The administration's written proposal said it "may" ban the practice in plans for Medicare Part D.

5. End patent misuse. Patent protection allows drugmakers to recoup research and development expenses, but companies may also use it to charge what they want with little competition. Mr. Trump said "our patent system will reward innovation, but it will not be used as a shield to protect unfair monopolies."

6. Make-over the rebate system. One of the Trump administration's theoretical ideas is to overhaul the existing rebate system for insurers and employers. It is considering whether to deem rebates a form of illegal kickback.
Healthcare organizations are constantly bombarded with data and sifting through all of that information may seem like a daunting task. However, that data holds valuable insights and the potential to provide a better understanding of the health system as a whole, making the tedious work worth it.

To achieve the most accurate and useful insights that can help organizations develop best practices and improvement strategies, strong analytics techniques that can comb through and explain such complex healthcare data are a must, according to 3M Health Information Systems Senior Medical Director Gordon Moore, MD, who spoke at Becker's Hospital Review Health IT + Clinical Leadership 2018 conference May 11 in Chicago.

According to Dr. Moore, it's time healthcare pull analysts out of the data maze and empower them to go beyond data silos to inspire real change. "When we have vast amounts of data, we [need to be] using risk-adjustment that makes sense to clinicians," Dr. Moore said.

Many solutions don't live up to the hype, Dr. Moore said, adding popular approaches look backwards by using retrospective data to explain how well organizations performed in the past. However, solely relying on such statistical models poses the risk of identifying correlation without causation.

Models that could predict certain outcomes or put plans into action are the most useful in healthcare, Dr. Moore explained. Coupled with clinical expertise and experience, analytics solutions can uncover hidden interdependencies and inform best practices.

Here are Dr. Moore's five steps for building an intelligent, useful analytics approach.

1. Extensive baseline data. To effectively use a big data approach, a large test dataset is crucial for teaching the machine learning algorithms how to understand the best path to the goal.

2. Clinically defensible risk adjustment. Instead of using complex statistical models that can help identify what's wrong, it is important to consider the whole patient and not just their problem. That way, when optimizing a certain outcome, the risk of compromising other aspects of the patient's health is decreased.

3. Clinically relevant performance metrics. When building an approach, it is important to be very specific about what is being optimized and to keep those performance metrics rational and clinically relevant. Possible outcome measures include hospitalization rate for people with ambulatory care sensitive conditions or risk-adjusted cost of care.

4. Risk-adjusted patient and performance benchmarks. Asking the questions such as "Compared to what?" and "Compared to whom?" can be very useful when targeting a specific metric and establishing benchmarks.

5. Data integration. It's important to take into consideration data from various sources, such as historical claims data, which could reveal information about the patient that the organization may not have readily available.

More articles on data analytics & precision medicine:

Geisinger to integrate DNA sequencing into routine clinical care

4 things to know about the national 'All of Us' biobank at Mayo Clinic

A direct-to-consumer DNA testing service fails to distinguish dog DNA from human DNA
Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport, Pa., has agreed to pay the federal government $373,547.54 to resolve Medicare billing violations the hospital self-disclosed to HHS' Office of Inspector General.

According to the Department of Justice, Charles Cole Memorial Hospital failed to bill under a particular modifier to reduce Medicare reimbursements for certain services provided by physician assistants and nurse practitioners between 2007 and 2017.

A second self-disclosure revealed the hospital failed to conduct required face-to-face encounters with some Medicare hospice patients from Jan. 1, 2001, through Feb. 1, 2014.

Charles Cole Memorial Hospital has taken corrective action and voluntarily disclosed the matters, according to the DOJ.

More articles on legal and regulatory issues:

Kansas hospital's interim CEO was allegedly part of 20-hospital kickback scheme

9 latest healthcare industry lawsuits, settlements

23-hospital system enters $14M settlement with feds over improper physician payments
Santa Fe, N.M.-based Christus St Vincent Health System appointed Lillian Montoya president and CEO, effective June 15.

Here are six things to know:

1. Ms. Montoya currently serves as COO of the nonprofit health system.

2. She joined Christus St Vincent's board in 2010 and was named chair in 2013.

3. In 2013, she also became a part of the heath system's administrative team, joining as vice president for public policy and stakeholder engagement.

4. Her experience prior to Christus St Vincent includes serving as executive director of the New Mexico Independent Community Colleges as well as program manager of the New Mexico Early Childhood Development Partnership.

5. Ms. Montoya is the first female CEO of the organization.

6. She succeeds Patrick Carrier, who is retiring after 18 years of service at Irving, Texas-based Christus Health, Christus St Vincent's parent.
Human beings don't always make rational decisions, physicians included.

Time and again, people base decisions on psychological, social, cognitive and emotional factors instead of rational thinking. People tend to participate in organ donation when it's the default option as opposed to something they must sign up for. They are more likely to pay their taxes on time if theyre told how many of their neighbors pay theirs on time. They also tend to engage in preventive health measures, like wearing sunscreen, if the focus is on the benefits of doing so rather than the harm of opting out.

The emerging field of behavioral economics indicates that cultural and social context is important in influencing behavior change. For Sameer Badlani, MD, vice president and chief health information officer for Sutter Health in Sacramento, Calif., behavioral economics may be the key to leading sustainable process improvement among hospital clinicians and employees.

He made the case for applying behavioral economics to the intersection of clinical leadership and health IT during a keynote presentation May 11 at Becker's Hospital Review Health IT + Clinical Leadership 2018 in Chicago. During the presentation, Dr. Badlani shared three stories to illustrate how and why hospital leaders should take sociological factors like culture and mindset into account when designing for long-term process improvement.

Story No. 1: The clicker dilemma

Wireless presentation remotes are inexpensive, popular teaching tools on high school and college campuses nationwide. Yet Dr. Badlani attended a recent health IT conference where a series of high-level engineering and computer science experts forwarded through PowerPoint presentations by waving their hands at an intern offstage to manually click to the next slide.

The manual workaround was not for lack resources, but rather a simple oversight. After fielding recommendations from amused audience members, the conference organizers bought wireless clickers for the next day's speakers. The result: Presenters waved their hands at the offstage intern, who, wireless remote in hand, pointed at his laptop to change slides.

Technology is only as valuable as its effect on an organization's workflow. The clicker anecdote illustrates the problem of adding technology to employees' workflows without considering how employees can use it to achieve the best results and return on investment.

"That is what we do all day long in healthcare," Dr. Badlani said. "How many dollars do we spend [on technology] without knowing the end result?"

Story No. 2: An expensive solution to poor hand-washing rates

Provider handwashing isn't a given in hospitals. Less than half of nurses and other caregivers consistently wash their hands before interacting with patients despite decades of studies affirming the positive benefits to hygiene and infection control.

Some hospitals have opted for a high-tech approach to improve handwashing compliance through radio frequency identification networks and other "monitoring" technology. Motion sensors affixed to rounding clinicians track their hand-washing practices by clinicians' proximity to handwashing stations as well as how long they spend in front of the sink and the motion of their bodies.

RFID systems are expensive and difficult to implement. Hospitals invest serious time, money and manpower in getting this technology up and running, and yet recent studies show these systems have limited impact on clinician behavior, Dr. Badlani said.

"What they found was people would go up to the sink area and spend so much time and move their bodies to mimic hand-washing, but not actually wash their hands," Dr. Badlani said. "It's like when patients [with exercise treatment plans] put their Fitbit on their dog."

Process improvement programs that center on technology rather than people often fall short of delivering anticipated results. Technology alone cannot change behavior if it does not address the underlying sociological factors shaping culture, mindset and action. Meaningful process improvement must start with people, Dr. Badlani said.

Story No. 3: Eurobowl

The men's urinals in Amsterdam's airport occupy an important place in the history and academic literature on behavioral economics. Smaller urinals installed at Schiphol airport in the mid-2000s led to increased "human spillage" on the restroom floors. To address the "sprinkling" problem, designers etched images of house flies in the porcelain near the urinal drains in an experiment on human behavior change.

Appealing to mankind's deep-seated instinct to aim worked. After the flies were added, "spillage" on the bathroom floor fell 80 percent.

As a foil to the previous hand-washing story, Amsterdam's experiment illustrates the powerful effect low-tech approaches to behavior change can have when people consider the social and cultural factors that drive human action.

"If you want to drive behavior change, the first thing to do is focus on and understand your local culture," Dr. Badlani said. "Most of healthcare's problems today are not technology problems but social and behavioral problems. I urge all of you to go to your slush fund and use it to study and understand the culture and mindset at your organization, so you can understand how to change it."
West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Rennova Health announced May 14 it expects to close a deal to acquire 85-bed Tennova Healthcare-Jamestown (Tenn.) from Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems on June 1.

Rennova and CHS signed a definitive agreement for the sale of the hospital in January. Rennova said it believes all customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions will be completed prior to June 1.

CHS is working to sell a group of hospitals with combined revenue of $2 billion to pay down its debt. Since announcing the plan late last year, CHS has sold one hospital and entered into definitive agreements to sell six others, including Tennova Healthcare-Jamestown.

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ProMedica to acquire nursing home chain  creating $7B health network
An antitrust lawsuit against Sacramento, Calif.-based Sutter Health over prices could have a national effect, according to a Kaiser Health News report published by the LA Times.

Here are eight things to know.

1. California Attorney General Xavier Becerra filed the lawsuit against Sutter earlier this spring following a yearslong investigation. The lawsuit alleges, among other things, that Sutter used its market power to control prices by keeping health insurers from providing more low-cost health plan options to patients and setting excessively high out-of-network prices. The lawsuit also alleges the health system impeded cost transparency by restricting publication of provider cost information.

2. While the case involves Sutter, it could have a national effect with other systems if California wins, according to Ge Bai, PhD, an assistant professor at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University who has researched U.S. hospital prices. He told KHN: "A major court ruling in California could be a deterrent to other hospital systems. We're getting to a tipping point where the nation cannot afford these out-of-control prices."

3. In addition to the lawsuit filed by Mr. Becerra, employers and consumers have also sued Sutter, accusing the 24-hospital nonprofit health system of anticompetitive behavior and charging inflated prices, according to the report. Both cases are ongoing in courts.

4. In California, there is also proposed legislation that would prohibit large health systems from using certain contracting practices, according to the report.

5. Sutter, for its part, is fighting back against Mr. Becerra's allegations. According to the report, the health system denies anticompetitive behavior and alleges in court papers that Mr. Becerra's allegations are a "sweeping and unprecedented effort to intrude into private contracting." KHN also reports the American Hospital Association and its California counterpart are backing Sutter.

6. Overall, Mr. Becerra hopes to force Sutter to negotiate reimbursements separately for each of its hospitals and tighten rules on sharing details of the negotiations across Sutter facilities, according to the report.

7. The lawsuits against Sutter come as the system reports $12 billion in annual revenue. In the past, Sutter has faced accusations from physicians and consumers of trying to maximize revenue by eliminating hospital beds and critical services in rural areas, according to the report. However, Sutter said Northern California patients have a wide range of provider options and that it has kept its average health plan rate increases to less than 3 percent each year for the last six years, reports KHN.

8. According to the report, a San Francisco superior court judge is allowing Mr. Becerra's case to be consolidated with a separate class-action suit against Sutter  led by a health plan covering unionized grocery workers. A trial in the grocery workers' lawsuit is scheduled for next year.

Read the full report here.

Ayla Ellison contributed to this report.

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The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York has issued subpoenas investigating Middletown, N.Y.-based Crystal Run Healthcare, which received $25.4 million in state grants after numerous people associated with the system donated to the re-election campaign of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, according to the Times Union.

Crystal Run executives and their spouses, as well as physicians, donated at least $400,000 to the campaign, with 10 $25,000 contributions coming during an October 2013 fundraiser. Many of those donors had not contributed to a New York election in over 10 years before their contribution to Gov. Cuomo's campaign.

In March 2016, the New York Department of Health awarded Crystal Run $25.4 million is state grants to help build two facilities that had already broken ground.

Six former Crystal Run physicians filed a lawsuit in December 2017 alleging they should have been consulted about the donations since they regularly made "capital contributions" to the system. Their lawsuit claims the donations were not made by individuals but through pooled company resources.

Crystal Run, Gov. Cuomo's office and the Department of Health all said they have no knowledge of the subpoenas. The Department of Health told the Times Union that the grants awarded to Crystal Health were competitively bid and whether or not construction had begun does not determine whether a project will receive subsidies.
Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Kindred Hospital was forced to transfer eight critically ill patients on ventilators about 2 miles away to Broward Health Medical Center May 11 after a power outage, according to the Sun Sentinel.

"Patient care and safety are our No. 1 concern," David Wagner, South Florida market CEO for Louisville, Ky.-based Kindred Healthcare, told the Sun Sentinel. "Earlier in the day, we lost power, and out of an abundance of caution and in order to protect our patients, we evacuated seven intensive-care patients."

When the patients were being evacuated, the hospital was without backup power. However, emergency power turned on later, allowing the hospital to continue functioning, according to the statement.

The Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue Department, which brought eight rescue trucks to the hospital within minutes, said there were eight evacuees. The remaining patients on ventilators had six-hour back-up batteries to continue running the ventilators.

"Patient care went flawlessly, and we took all eight patients to the hospital without any issues," Battalion Chief Greg May of Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue told the Sun Sentinel.
James Harrison, an 81-year-old Australian man, has donated his blood every few weeks for the past 60 years, helping save millions of newborns' lives, reports The New York Times.

Mr. Harrison's blood contains a rare antibody required to make an innovative medicine called Anti-D, which protects babies from hemolytic disease, a potentially deadly condition. Officials at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service said Mr. Harrison's blood has protected more than 2.4 million babies from acquiring the disease.

"Saving one baby is good. Saving 2 million is hard to get your head around, but if they claim that's what it is, I'm glad to have done it," Mr. Harrison told The Times.

However, Mr. Harrison made his 1,173rd  and final  blood donation May 11 after Red Cross medical officials said he should stop donating to protect his own health.

"The end of an era," Mr. Harrison told The Times. "It was sad because I felt like I could keep going."

About 17 percent of expectant mothers in Australia require Anti-D to keep their babies healthy. The antibodies used in the treatment only come from a small group of 160 donors  like Mr. Harrison  who carry the antibody in their blood.
North Little Rock-based Arkansas Surgical Hospital welcomed Phillip Porcelli, DO.

Here are three things to know.

1. Dr. Porcelli is a board-certified neurosurgeon specializing in spine surgery. He holds Gamma Knife certification from the University of Pittsburgh and is a member of the American Osteopathic Association, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and North American Spine Society.

2. Dr. Porcelli received his doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif.

3. He joins board-certified neurosurgeon Brad Thomas, MD, at Arkansas Surgical Hospital's Little Rock Neurosurgery Clinic.

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A 19-year-old shop assistant in Malaysia was stabbed on her face by a thief. The girl was reportedly found bleeding profusely, with a knife stuck to her cheek.

Reportedly, the girl was confronted while she was walking home from work. The thief allegedly had to fight with her to snatch her valuables. The fight turned nasty after the thief stabbed the girl's cheek with a knife and made away with her belongings.

The girl was taken to the hospital by passersby where she is currently recovering. The police are looking for the accused.
Amazon approached Tesco and Sainsbury's over separate deals to sell the supermarkets' products on its website but was rebuffed by both, it can be revealed.

Senior figures at the online giant made overtures to Tesco in an effort to persuade the firm to sell its F&F clothing range, people with knowledge of the matter told the Press Association.

However, following an exploratory meeting around 18 months ago, talks fizzled out.

A Tesco spokesman said: "Our only conversations with Amazon related to our F&F clothing brand, which led to nothing."

Separately, Amazon approached Sainsbury's regarding a deal to sell products on its platform.

It came well before the supermarket announced its 12bn deal to merge with Asda weeks ago.

But Amazon was rebuffed by Sainsbury's, which viewed the proposition as competitively disadvantageous, a source said.

The news comes as the web giant makes a concerted effort to take a bigger slice of the British grocery market.

The online titan already has a similar deal with Morrisons in the UK, whereby it sells fresh, chilled and frozen food produced by the grocery firm.

It also runs Amazon Fresh, its nascent delivery business, but is keen to push further into the sector.
Business leaders have hit out at Northern Ireland politicians for leaving a "vacuum" instead of taking key decisions in the wake of yesterday's incinerator ruling.

A High Court judge blocked the controversial 240m incinerator in Mallusk after it had been approved by a Department for Infrastructure civil servant last September.

Politicians said it was not permanent secretary Peter May's decision to take.

Kirsty McManus, divisional director at the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland, raised concerns at the precedent the move has set.

She said: "Having talked with many of the business leaders we represent, they are exasperated at the ongoing political vacuum and the adverse effect it is having on business here in Northern Ireland."

She said the legal ruling "effectively pulls the rug from under the feet of the permanent secretaries who were forced into making decisions our absent politicians should have overseen".

Her comments come after a boss from one of Northern Ireland's fastest-growing companies, Novosco, called politicians here "bloody useless".

In an interview with the Sunday Business Post, John Lennon, the head of the cloud computing firm which has over 180 staff, said: "Northern Ireland politics depress me, and I think a lot of the business community feel the same. To be honest, I just ignore the politicians here because they're all bloody useless."

Novosco has been at the frontline of technology development here having expanded from just one office in Belfast to opening up two other units in Dublin and Manchester.

Mr Lennon, whose firm turns over 30m annually, added: "There's nobody fighting for us in Westminster. We've got no voice. It's a complete disaster but we just have to get on with it."

Bill Wolsey, managing director of Beannchor, the group behind The Merchant Hotel, Little Wing pizza chain and the Bullitt Hotel, said: "The political stalemate is far from helpful in the current business climate, particularly in light of the uncertainty around Brexit.

"That being said, we will not let the inaction of our politicians deter us from continuing to push our business forward. We are committed to investing in Northern Ireland and to making a positive socio-economic impact in our society. It would be encouraging to see this same leadership from our politicians."
Shop landlords in Northern Ireland are fighting back against retailers seeking rent reductions through company voluntary arrangements (CVAs), the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

Retailers from fashion chain New Look to restaurant business Prezzo and flooring firm Carpetright have entered CVAs, a form of insolvency, to stay afloat.

Department store House of Fraser is to give details of its CVA next month. Mother and baby products retailer Mothercare is expected to announce a CVA on Thursday.

The arrangements often mean landlords are asked to accept rent cuts.

Kieran McGarrigle, finance partner at law firm Arthur Cox in Belfast, said he is advising landlords, including private equity owners of shopping centres, here on how they can resist the process.

Mr McGarrigle would not name the retailers behind the CVAs which could potentially be challenged.

But he said landlords were seeking advice on CVAs which had already been agreed and those which were yet to be confirmed.

"Landlords are becoming understandably concerned by the developments in the use of CVAs varying the terms of lease and tenants obligations to them," he said.

While landlords can vote on whether or not they accept the CVA, Mr McGarrigle said the proportion of the total debt owed by the retailer was typically not big enough to enable them to reject a CVA proposal.

"Landlords are almost forced to accept CVAs unless they have a significant proportion of debt themselves, which is unlikely," he said. "They don't have the requisite voting power to vote them down, leaving them with the options of accepting it or taking legal action."

And he said the growth in CVAs could hit the wider investment market. "The more CVAs we see, the more nervous banks will get locally about funding commercial development with a large retail client," he added.

Mr McGarrigle said Northern Ireland landlords were considering High Court action which could include joining forces with landlords in Great Britain to bring proceedings in a form of class action.

There are a large number of stores in Northern Ireland which could be subject to CVAs. New Look has a total of 26 outlets, while Carpetright operates nine.

House of Fraser is the anchor tenant at Belfast's Victoria Square Shopping Centre, while there are four Mothercare units here.

Andrew Webb, director of economic advisory at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, said retail was in a difficult patch "bringing long term sustainability into sharp focus for many retailers".

"Property and lease commitments is part of that mix. The concern from a landlord perspective is that CVAs are becoming increasingly used by viable companies to extract themselves from property contracts entered into during a different operating context," he added.

Darren Bowman, director of business recovery and insolvency at Baker Tilly Mooney Moore, said landlords were often left with little real option but to accept a CVA.

"The reality is that the liquidation alternative will likely leave the landlord with no tenant and an ongoing rates liability," he said.
CDE Global is among the Northern Ireland companies on the list

A London Stock Exchange Group report on the UK's most inspiring companies today features 25 Northern Ireland firms - nearly double last year's numbers.

The 1000 Companies to Inspire Britain report features Northern Ireland firms from taxi giant FonaCab to steel structures business Walter Watson and meat processsor Finnebrogue Artisan.

And the province's fast-growing hospitality sector is also represented with the inclusion of Galgorm Resort and Spa.

Of the 25 firms, 12 operate in engineering and construction, and manufacturing. Listed company First Derivatives represents Northern Ireland's high tech sector, while businesses like CDE Global and Edge Innovate are flying the flag for the province's heavy machinery and equipment sector.

Elmgrove Foods Ltd and Ready Egg Products Ltd also represent the food industry in Northern Ireland.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond welcomed the publication of the report today.

"Small businesses are the backbone of the British economy with a combined annual turnover of 1.9trn and employ 60% of private sector workers outside of London," he said.

"That's why, whether they are family-run firms or tech start-ups, we are supporting high growth SMEs to achieve their potential."

The report said that companies were growing at an exceptional average rate of 71% - continuing the previous year's rate of 70%, despite some strong economic headwinds.

All UK regions are represented, with 60% of companies from outside London and the South East.

And the report features companies in both traditional industries and more recent economic success stories. The largest sector represented is engineering and construction with 132 companies, followed by information technology with 72 companies

Financial services is one of the fastest growing sectors, with average annual revenue growth rate more than quadrupling. Engineering and construction growth had doubled.

Nikhil Rathi, CEO, London Stock Exchange plc, said: "We warmly congratulate all of the companies identified in this year's '1000 companies to Inspire Britain' report.

"Five years on, the report continues to demonstrate the strength and diversity of British businesses right across the country.

"These dynamic companies are the backbone of our economy, playing an important role in the UK's ability to innovate, export and grow."

He added: "Almost double the number of Northern Irish companies included in this year's report compared to 2017 is testament to Northern Ireland's entrepreneurial spirit and the economic and job creating potential of these businesses.

"Policy makers must continue to increase access to growth capital for these firms, which would in turn benefit the wider UK economy."
Uber has snapped up an Amazon UK director as its new northern Europe chief, just weeks ahead of an appeal hearing over its cancelled London licence.

The ride-hailing app has announced the appointment of Jamie Heywood as the new regional general manager for its Northern and Eastern Europe operations, which looks after Uber's business in a dozen countries including the UK.

Mr Heywood will join the company next month, having most recently served as the director of Amazon's electronics division in the UK, covering both the retail and marketplace businesses.

He previously spent time in the telecoms industry, working as managing director of Virgin Mobile in the UK between 2011 and 2014, and helping launch the company's business in India as well as Orange's Thailand division.

He also spent three years as chief executive of Virgin Mobile in China.

Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, vice president and regional general manager of Uber in Europe, the Middle East & Africa, said: "His wide range of international experience in both regulated industries and scaling fast-growing businesses will be invaluable for the next phase of Uber's development. Jamie's leadership will also be crucial as we implement major changes across Europe including more safety features, improvements for drivers and a new approach to partnering with cities."

Mr Heywood replaces Jo Bertram, who resigned from her post in August last year, according to a filing at Companies House, three weeks before the surprise decision by Transport for London (TfL) not to renew Uber's private hire licence in London. The company denied that the move was driven by Uber's licensing issues.

But Ms Bertram - who was in the role for four years - said in October: "Given some of our current challenges, I'm also convinced that now is the right time to have a change of face, and to hand over to someone who will be here for the long haul."
A Queen's University student believes she has cracked the code of staying ahead of insurance fraudsters.

PhD student Jiawen Sun from Tianjin in China specialises in big data and has been working on the anti-fraud software for three years.

Her programme is designed to rapidly sift through large quantities of an organisation's data and detect insurance fraud.

"Organisations are collecting increasing amounts of data, which is usually represented by graphs and can be useful for detecting fraud," she explains.

"However, as data sets grow into the trillions of bytes and beyond, this creates problems in high-performance computing, making it very hard to use the computer at full capacity."

Her research was carried out at the Queen's School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technologies (ECIT).

She has previously spoken of how after completing her undergraduate degree in China, her grandmother inspired her to pursue a scientific PhD abroad, and of how decoding big data can change the world.

"I am fascinated by this research in particular because it offers opportunities to improve or change many aspects of our daily lives," she told Soapbox Science last year.

"(This includes) predicting and managing climate and weather; detecting health issues of individuals and enabling timely treatment; and social network analytics."

Dr Hans Vandierendonck supervised the project and said her work could be "extremely valuable" in disrupting fraudsters.

"These techniques accelerate graph analytics up to ten-fold, which is a game-changer for many organisations, allowing them to tap into analysis that they have never used before and at a much faster pace."

He said Jiawen's work now outperforms many of the current state-of-the-art programmes.

Ms Sun recently received a Silver medal at a computing machinery student competition, sponsored by tech giants Microsoft.

It will be hoped her new innovation will go some way to reducing over 1bn in fraudulent insurance claims in the UK each year.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) say that in 2016, insurers detected 125,000 dishonest insurance claims valued at 1.3bn.

The real figure is believed to be much higher, with a similar amount undetected each year.

At present, the insurance industry invests 200m a year to tackle fraud.

The offences can range from opportunists inventing or exaggerating claims to highly organised criminal gangs engaged in 'cash for crash' motor fraud scams.
Peru two drug mule Michaella McCollum has confirmed she has given birth to twins.

McCollum from Dungannon, 24, announced her pregnancy via her Instagram account in January. She has since also revealed she has given birth to twins via social media, but has not confirmed the sex of the newborns.

In a short video from her hospital bed, the new mum is seen holding the babies on her chest, with the caption: "My little darlings, 1 week today (sic)."

McCollum has not revealed the identity of the newborns' father.

McCollum and Scottish woman Melissa Reid were dubbed the Peru 2 after they made headlines in August 2013 when they were caught trying to smuggle 11kg of cocaine worth 1.5million out of Peru in 2013.

They were arrested as they attempted to smuggle the cocaine in their suitcases. They denied knowing the luggage contained drugs, claiming they had been kidnapped and forced to become drug runners.

They later came clean and were jailed for six years and eight months but were freed in 2016 after striking a deal with Peruvian authorities.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of the Ibiza clubs where she worked as a dancer Michaella McCollum Connolly in one of her club hostess outfits Michaella McCollum Connolly with Brad Houston from England Michaella McCollum Connolly Michaella McCollum Connolly Michaella McCollum cradling her newborn twins Michaella McCollum Connolly pictured during an interview with RTE in 2016 after being released on parole from a Peruvian prison Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing, in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing in Lima, Peru, clutching the book 'Secrets About Life Every Woman Should Know: Ten principles for spiritual and emotional fulfillment' (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly arrives to court for her sentencing in Callao, Peru (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) AP Melissa Reid and Michaella McCollum, both handcuffed, arrive for a court hearing in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum Connolly, handcuffed, arrives for a court hearing, in Lima, Peru (AP Photo/Karel Navarro) AP Michaella McCollum, left, and Melissa Reid listen to a translator during a hearing at court in Callao, Peru (AP) AP Police escort Melissa Reid, front, and Michaella McCollum to a hearing in Lima, Peru (AP) Police escort Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid from the National Police anti-drug headquarters in Peru (AP) Michaella McCollum Connolly (left) and friend Melissa Reid in the airport after they were arrested Michaella McCollum Connolly with rugby star Tommy Bowe while doing promotional work at an official Ulster Rugby event Santa Monica female prison in Peru AP SECRET STASH: The drugs found in food packs in the girls luggage CAUGHT ON CAMERA: Michaella and Melissa caught on CCTV loading bags into a car in Peru Michaella McCollum, centre, and Melissa Reid leave the court after being sentenced in Peru. Lawyer Peter Madden, who represents Michaella McCollum, has claimed his client has suffered from a lack of food. Belfast solicitor Peter Madden said Michaella McCollum and co-accused Melissa Reid have been well treated by the authorities PA Michaella McCollum, right, and Melissa Reid, left, were jailed in Peru last year after they admitted trying to smuggle cocaine worth 1.5 million pounds from Peru to Spain (AP) Michaella McCollum's mother Norah McCollum and sister Samantha McCollum vist the Peru prison Michaella McCollum Connolly with reality TV star Mark Wright at a promotional night hosted by Belfast's M Club / Facebook

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When McCollum announced the news of her pregnancy she wrote: "Wow had some crazy dreams...guest that's what happens when your dreaming for more than one."
Liam Neeson has lent his voice to a short film celebrating the life and works of renowned poet Seamus Heaney.

The online clip showcases the Seamus Heaney HomePlace in Bellaghy, as well as the beauty of the surrounding countryside and its inspiration for the Nobel Laureates work.

The film was launched during a special event in London on Monday, hosted by Tourism Ireland and attended by members of the Heaney family.

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Invited guests also heard award-winning actors Adrian Dunbar and Brid Brennan perform Heaneys poetry; and Professors Roy Foster and Bernard ODonoghue took part in an In Conversation about Heaney and the influence of Bellaghy on his work.

Julie Wakley, Tourism Irelands Head of Great Britain, said: We were delighted to host this special Seamus Heaney event, in conjunction with Mid Ulster Council, celebrating the life and literature of one of Ireland's greatest writers and his links with Bellaghy and this beautiful area.

"The new film, Journey to Seamus Heaney HomePlace will help to showcase further what makes this area so special.
At first glance it looks to be just another snap of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle - but all is not as it seems.

Look more closely and you will spot that the royal couple have been turned into a life-sized cake - and it's all the work of an artistic Northern Ireland-born baker.

Lara Mason, from Newtownards in Co Down, has previously produced award-winning cake versions of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, pop star Ed Sheeran and royal heir Prince George.

And now, to celebrate Saturday's royal wedding, she has crafted a life-size cake of the royal couple.

The final cake was revealed after being commissioned to become the main attraction at this year's World Cake International festival, which will take place in the NEC Birmingham in November.

Lara, a former pupil at Regent Prep and Strathearn Grammar, now lives in the West Midlands in England.

She described the complex task of turning Harry and Meghan into an edible creation.

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"There is enough cake to feed over 500 people and it has been made using 300 eggs, 15kg of flour, 15kg of butter and 15kg of sugar," she said.

"Over 10kg of buttercream was used to sandwich the layers together.

"To decorate, I used around 20kg of modelling chocolate and roughly 50kg of fondant icing. The whole thing took over 250 man hours to make over the last six weeks."

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Lara had to get it finished before the royal wedding and managed to do so, despite giving birth to twin baby girls, Lily and Lyra, recently.

She isn't working at present but took on the commission as a special project.

"Family took over for a while, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity to make a cake of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle," Lara added.

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"The main bulk of the time is spent designing and creating the custom-built frame which the cake stands on but the most challenging part of this project was sculpting the very recognisable faces from modelling chocolate.

"Even the eyes are edible and are made from poured sugar.

"I just enjoy making cakes that look real.

"The reactions I get from people are amazing so I keep getting asked to do more and more.

"So far I haven't turned down any requests.

"I'll give anything a go, as long as it's a cake.

"It's never easy to produce something like this as the people I'm trying to recreate in cake form are instantly recognisable but I'm delighted with how it turned out."

Indeed, Lara's cakes have become so popular since she tried her hand at baking for the first time in 2013 that she has turned it into a business with 'Lara Mason Cake Art'.

She added: "I always make my cakes to taste as good as they look.

"So here's hoping this one turns out okay when someone finally cuts into it."

The official cake for the royal wedding will be made by the owner of a bakery in Hackney, London.

Kensington Palace said Prince Harry and Meghan chose American Claire Ptak to create their wedding cake, which will be lemon and elderflower.

It will be covered in buttercream and decorated with fresh flowers.

Claire started her own business as a stall in Broadway Market, East London, cooking from home, before opening her organic bakery in 2010.

Prince Harry and Meghan will marry at St George's Chapel in Windsor on Saturday.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby - who baptised Meghan in March - will officiate the service.

Approximately 600 guests have been invited to the ceremony.

In addition some 2,640 members of the public are to get access to the castle grounds for the wedding.
Better way: there are techniques which can help overcome stress and shift you towards healthier emotional and physical health

Imagine the following: Susan is a 39-year-old mother of two and she is constantly tired. Both she and Tom, her partner, are working in full-time stressful jobs. His work involves some travel so Susan is often left carrying the can. Both their children are in creche and it is a constant battle to drop them off and collect them as she commutes a distance to work.

Recently Susan has been promoted, but she is struggling to keep all the balls in the air. She lives in a state of constant anxiety with tension headaches, sleep difficulties and teeth grinding at night. A drip-feed of caffeine is needed to counteract her exhaustion, and she is losing weight because she just feels too wired - and exhausted - to eat healthily.

Susan is a perfectionist who procrastinates at home and at work. As a result, problems are mounting up. She is also a chronic catastrophiser and that ratchets up her stress levels.

On top of all that, her mother has developed early dementia and much of the responsibility of finding a carer and dealing with any problems falls to Susan.

Struggling to cope, Susan finds her usual glass of wine turning into two or three as she tries to wind down in the evenings. She depends on social media to keep in touch with her friends. At night she is exhausted but too wired to sleep and instead spends hours browsing online. When she does sleep, the nightmares are horrendous. Her libido plummets and Tom is not happy about the disappearance of their sex life. Things come to a head. She finally breaks down in front of Tom. She has had an awful day, ending with a full-blown panic attack in her car. She got phone calls at work from both the creche and her mum's carer, all looking for an instant response. She feels tired and weepy.

Susan's story mirrors many of those who come to see me. She says her life is a mess and she feels such a failure. All her friends are coping with their lives. What is wrong with her? The answer to Susan's question lies in two words - toxic stress, which is an increasing challenge to our mental and physical health.

Stress is nothing new. Its has always been a part of life: short periods of stress such as sitting exams, job interviews or giving public presentations, or longer periods of stress such as long commutes, financial difficulties or relationship conflicts. But what happens when toxic stress or burnout comes calling? When it is so persistent and pervasive that it overwhelms our physical and psychological reserves with dire consequences for our health?

The long-term consequences of toxic stress can be serious, with an increased risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmia, stroke and cancer as well as the mental health risks of bouts of depression, anxiety, addiction and self-harm. So here is my guide to stress-proofing yourself...

1. ACCEPT YOURSELF

The problem: Unconditional self-acceptance is the most important resilience skill of all. It involves learning how to be 'comfortable in your own skin'. Let's go back to Susan. She has always suffered from stress-related anxiety because she places impossible demands on herself in every part of her life and rates herself mercilessly if she can't satisfy these demands. She struggles with the 'healthy school lunchbox', the chaotic house, the work deadline and most of all not having time to network with friends. It's an intolerable pressure, and her self-rating regularly plummets. In modern parlance, Susan would be described as having issues with self-esteem.

Like Susan, we're all living in a world of self-rating, driven mainly by social media and unrealistic expectations of ourselves, others and life itself. Nowhere is this more prevalent than in our schools and colleges.

I think self-esteem is a myth. It suggests human beings can be rated, one against another. In practice, all of us are unique, special human beings and must learn to accept ourselves as we are.

If, for example, I fail at a task and just believe 'I am a failure' then I don't have to change my life. If, however, I stop rating myself as a failure, but accept that I can assess what I failed at, then I can make changes so that I am less likely to fail at the task the next time. 'The only failure in life is not getting back up again' lies at the heart of resilience.

This is a much more challenging concept as it forces us to explore our behaviour and if necessary change it, while accepting ourselves as the wonderful individuals we all are.

The solution: For Susan to develop this skill, she will need to jot down in a notebook whenever she falls into the trap of self or other rating. She must later challenge it on paper and continue for roughly three months. Can she as a human be a failure, for example, or has she just failed at a task? This allows her rational mind to increasingly overrule her emotional mind which is trying to convince her that she is weak, worthless or a failure.

2. LET GO OF PERFECT

The problem: Being a perfectionist has almost destroyed Susan's life since her teens. She constantly searched for imperfections in herself. It led to her becoming persistently anxious as she not only demanded 100% perfection in life but also rated herself mercilessly if she couldn't achieve it.

The solution: For Susan (and those of us like her) to break free of this destructive form of thinking and behaviour, she will need to, once again, write into her notebook occasions when she sought 100% perfection and later challenge it on paper.

She will also have to practice some simple CBT exercises to help her get used to managing 'the imperfect' in her life. For example, her husband might be asked to cause chaos in the kitchen and she must live with the mess for 24 hours.

3 STOP THINKING THE WORST

The problem: Catastrophising, or visualising the 'worst-case scenario', adds to distress. In Susan's case, a simple phone call from the creche, for example, might start a cascade of catastrophic thoughts, ending with her visualising her child in hospital with meningitis. This drains reserves of energy making her increasingly anxious.

The emotional mind is so much stronger than the logical mind. If the former turns negative, it can swamp the latter. To counteract this, we need to develop techniques to challenge it.

The solution: Again, Susan needs to identify her catastrophic thoughts every day, writing them down in her notebook and then later challenge them on paper. She will have to provide 'evidence' such thoughts are true. Very quickly her rational brain will confirm they are not. By carrying out such an exercise over several months she will in time capture such thoughts in her mind before they take root.

4. DUMP THE PROCRASTINATION

The problem: Many of us procrastinate when stressed. In fact, procrastination was paralysing Susan's life. She couldn't bring herself to start a task or project, unless she believed it would be 100% perfect when finished.

The longer she delayed, the more stressed she became. She would then find herself rushing to complete the task at the last minute, while bitterly rating herself as a failure when she realised it wasn't as 'perfect' as she desired.

The solution: Susan needs to challenge her perfectionism and rating. She can then develop the skill of breaking tasks into smaller chunks with individual timelines ahead of the actual deadline.

5. SIT WITH YOUR FEELINGS

The problem: The source of physical symptoms of acute anxiety and panic attacks lie in the amygdala, which I call 'the Gunslinger'. The more Susan tries to stop her symptoms, the more danger the amygdala senses, turning up the dial, and the more it fires her stress system to release adrenaline into the bloodstream, which gives rise to all her symptoms. It's a vicious cycle.

The solution: Flooding is a simple technique to help deal with the physical symptoms of acute anxiety or panic attacks. The technique involves learning to go with the uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety, like a wave washing over us, while never trying to stop them.

If Susan can just sit with these physical symptoms - literally visualise herself stuck to the seat - and allow them to flood over her, without any other intervention, the Gunslinger will turn down the dial and eventually switch off.

6. FIND BALANCE

The problem: Work/life balance, or rather imbalance, lay at the heart of Susan's toxic stress. Her priorities had become skewed. Everyone else's needs mattered 'except her'.

The solution: Susan needs to develop the skill of creating a weekly healthy priority list and challenging it on paper over a three-month period.

She might, for example, sit down with her partner once a week to detail whether she put work or children or family or herself or her wider family or the rest in the right order or priority.

The key, of course, is that her number one and two priorities should be herself and others. If not, she could plan how she will shift things for the following week.

For over 36 years, Dr Harry Barry has been involved in the area of mental health and suicide prevention. He has written many books addressing topics such as anxiety, depression and toxic stress and appears regularly on TV and radio. His latest book Emotional Resilience: How to Safeguard Your Mental Health is published by Orion, 14.99

Feeling angry? Heres what to do ...

If you deal with stress by becoming aggressive or confrontational, developing the following techniques (in addition to the previous six) will help ...

Take the example of Colm, whose stress levels have gradually risen to a toxic level over the past six months. He is a hard, uncompromising and perfectionist manager who runs his work division without a trace of empathy or understanding for those he manages. He carries this approach into his home life, which is creating significant issues for his family, and his wife is considering a separation. Colm becomes easily frustrated and loses his cool regularly.

As a driver Colm is a bully and on occasion he comes close to road rage. He is constantly tense. His only release is a weekly game of squash where he has to win at all costs. He drinks heavily at night to relieve the tension and spends most of his evenings and early mornings answering emails. He feels that being able to survive on less than six or seven hours sleep is a badge of honour. It was only a question of time before his body gave way and he developed severe headaches and high blood pressure and a cardiac arrhythmia. Toxic stress has arrived.

7. EMBRACE DISCOMFORT

The problem: Discomfort, or more accurately how to avoid it, lies at the heart of someone like Colms toxic stress. All his life he has believed everyone around him, in fact, life itself must change so that he is never made to suffer disturbance, discomfort or hassle. And so his response to any situation not turning out as he wants is to become confrontational, frustrated and nasty. This triggers his fight stress response.

The solution: Someone like Colm is going to have to develop the skill over several months of challenging, on paper, the situations in which he is trying to force the world to become the way he feels it should be. Life is full of discomfort, so he must learn to deal with this reality. Every time he becomes frustrated or tries to avoid the discomfort of making changes in his life while insisting other people change theirs, he needs to explore this on paper.

He will learn to accept he is the one who needs to change, not other people.

8. DEVELOP EMPATHY

The problem: Empathy, or rather lack of it, is also a major issue for many of us. Empathy involves learning how to sense where others are at from an emotional point of view. It allows us to navigate the social landscape of life smoothly. While some of us find this skill easier to develop and use, all of us can work on our empathy skills.

The solution: For someone like Colm this means accepting that a lack of empathy is destructive for himself, his family and work. If he is prepared to become more mindfully aware of how other people react to positive and negative interactions and practice in a guided manner some simple empathy exercises, the results can be life changing.

For example, he might spend a month focusing on what happens in everyday situations, observing the non-verbal cues which he had hitherto failed to see. He would note how people respond to kindness in a positive open manner.

He would also note how people shut down when faced with a brusque remark or lack of interest.

Colm would follow up by listening to others as they talk, trying to tune in to where they are at emotionally. This involves him mirroring emotions, asking himself how he would feel if what the person described had happened to him.
Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill says Theresa May must call a border poll if reports of the Prime Minister's doubts Northern Ireland would remain in the UK after a referendum are accurate.

She insisted the Prime Minister had "no right to deny the people of Ireland the democratic entitlement to decide their own constitutional future".

Tuesday's Times reported Theresa May was not confident of certain victory in an Irish border poll amid Brexit wrangling after a confrontation with the MP Jacob Rees-Mogg.

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If these reports are accurate," Michelle O'Neill said. "Theresa May is conceding that the Good Friday Agreement threshold for triggering a unity poll has been met but that she isnt prepared to allow the people of Ireland, north and south, to exercise their democratic right.

Sinn Fein has raised the need for a unity referendum with the British Government on numerous occasions over recent years, particularly in the wake of the Brexit vote.

On each occasion they have stated that they do not believe the threshold has been met but have repeatedly refused to clarify what criteria they use to reach this conclusion."

The Good Friday Agreement states there should be a border poll if the Secretary of State feels the majority would vote for unification.

MLA Michelle O'Neill continued: "There is nothing in that legislation that prevents a referendum from taking place at any stage. However, even if you accept the British Governments interpretation of the threshold, then Theresa Mays comments are an admission that she believes the bar has now been reached.

brexit_poll

However, rather than act on that by honouring her governments commitments and allowing people to exercise their democratic rights, she has also indicated that she intends to actively prevent that from happening.

That is entirely unacceptable. It is an affront to the democratic rights of our people and the British Government must immediately clarify their position regarding their commitments to a unity referendum in line with their legislative and Good Friday Agreement commitments.

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The Times reports of a confrontation between the Prime Minister and the Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg during briefings on Monday.

The briefings were - according to the paper's sources - aimed at "sending a tough signal" to hardline elements within her party she was not prepared to risk breaking up the Union.

Sources told the newspaper Mrs May and Mr Rees-Mogg clashed over plans for the Irish border.

The Times reports that Mr Rees-Mogg suggested the UK should keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic open with Mrs May countering that the EU could impose infrastructure to protect the integrity of the single market.

Sources said the backbench MP told Mrs May he had "no doubt" Northern Ireland would remain within the UK after any border poll.

Apparently Mrs May responded: "I would not be as confident as you. Thats not a risk Im prepared to take. We cannot be confident on the politics of that situation, on how it plays out."

A Tory MP said Mrs May "slapped him down hard".

"She got him on facts.

"She was absolutely firm and passionate about the Irish position. I got a sense she realises what really matters," the MP told the Times.

Number 10 has been asked for a comment.
Prime Minister Theresa May has said the circumstances for which to call a border poll don't exist as most people in Northern Ireland don't want one.

She was reacting after a Times report which claimed she expressed doubt Northern Ireland would remain within the union after such a poll amid the mounting issues surrounding Brexit.

The Good Friday Agreement states there should be a border poll if the Secretary of State feels the majority would vote for unification.

Asked if the she was confident unionists would win an Irish border poll if it came to it, the Prime Ministers official spokesperson said: The Government steadfastly supports the Belfast agreement.

"It remains the Northern Ireland Secretarys view that a majority of people in Northern Ireland continue to support the current political settlement, and that the circumstances requiring a border poll are not satisfied.

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brexit_poll

On Monday the Prime Minister called many of her backbench MPs to Downing Street to outline options for the Irish border in a bid to unite her party.

The Times reports that during an exchange with Jacob Rees-Mogg in which he suggested maintaining an open border Mrs May countered that the EU could impose infrastructure to protect the integrity of the single market.

Sources said the Brexiteer told Mrs May he had "no doubt" Northern Ireland would remain within the UK after any border poll.

Apparently Mrs May responded: "I would not be as confident as you. Thats not a risk Im prepared to take. We cannot be confident on the politics of that situation, on how it plays out."

A Tory MP said Mrs May "slapped him down hard".

"She got him on facts.

"She was absolutely firm and passionate about the Irish position. I got a sense she realises what really matters," the MP told the Times.
Theresa May has said she is not confident of certain victory in an Irish border poll, according to reports.

The Times reports of a confrontation between the Prime Minister and the Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg during briefings on Monday aimed at bringing the Conservative party together over the Brexit difficulties.

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The briefings were - according to the paper's sources - aimed at "sending a tough signal" to hardline elements within her party she was not prepared to risk breaking up the Union.

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Around 150 MPs attended in which the plans for the border were outlined to them. They were described as "highly technical briefings" on three options considered by Britain as options to pitch to the EU on the border issue.

Sources told the newspaper Mrs May and Mr Rees-Mogg clashed over plans for the Irish border.

The Times reports that Mr Rees-Mogg suggested the UK should keep the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic open with Mrs May countering that the EU could impose infrastructure to protect the integrity of the single market.

Sources said the backbench MP told Mrs May he had "no doubt" Northern Ireland would remain within the UK after any border poll.

Apparently Mrs May responded: "I would not be as confident as you. Thats not a risk Im prepared to take. We cannot be confident on the politics of that situation, on how it plays out."

A Tory MP said Mrs May "slapped him down hard".

"She got him on facts.

"She was absolutely firm and passionate about the Irish position. I got a sense she realises what really matters," the MP told the Times.

The Good Friday Agreement states the Secretary of State should call a border poll if "it appears likely... a majority of those voting would express a wish that Northern Ireland should cease to be part of the United Kingdom and form part of a united Ireland".

Mr Rees-Mogg did not comment on the exchanges but said that the meeting was courteous and respectful. Number 10 has been asked for a comment.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he accused the EU of treating Britain with "disdain" and using the Irish border as a way to stop Brexit and if they continue to "reject all practical approaches, it is, with regret, that we will have to graciously accept their rejection".

"If they either do not want to or simply cannot broker a deal, a deal will not be done."

The Cabinet sub-committee meets on Tuesday as discussions continue on how to resolve the border issue. Brexit secretary David Davis has said they are working toward finding a resolution by the autumn. However, the EU has said it expects a resolution by the June summit.
Three alleged paedophile hunters accused of targeting suspected sex offenders and trying to menace an investigative journalist are to mount a legal bid to have the case against them thrown out, a court heard on Tuesday.

Defence lawyers plan to argue charges should be dismissed because guidance from police on how to carry out their activities amounted to an abuse of executive power.

George Keenan, 34, Richard Curtis, 32, and Tim Heron, 28, face a series of charges linked to alleged meetings with named individuals at a number of locations in Northern Ireland.

They included counts of false imprisonment, attempting to cause suspects to leave place of occupation and common assault.

Keenan, of Glenwood Court in the Dunmurry area of Belfast; Curtis from Albert Road in Carrickfergus, Co Antrm; and Heron, of Cloverhill Vale in Bangor, Co Down, are also jointly charged in connection with an incident involving BBC reporter Kevin Magee earlier this year.

Mr Magee was allegedly confronted by a group at a coffee shop on Botanic Avenue in south Belfast.

Footage of the encounter showed the journalist, who was making a news report on the activities of paedophile hunter groups operating in Northern Ireland, then being followed outside as he made his way to a car.

The defendants are all charged with disorderly behaviour and attempting by force, threat or menace to cause Mr Magee to refrain from broadcasting a television interview.

Keenan and Heron are accused of obstruction as part of the same incident on February 6.

All three men are currently on bail while they wait for a preliminary enquiry to establish if they should be committed for trial.

Expand Close Stills from Kevin Magees documentary in which the BBC reporter was confronted by so called paedophile hunters including George Keenan / Facebook

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Whatsapp Stills from Kevin Magees documentary in which the BBC reporter was confronted by so called paedophile hunters including George Keenan

At a previous hearing one of their lawyers claimed police had supplied group members with a "paedophile hunting manual" which involved a 19-point plan on how to achieve best evidence.

As the case was mentioned at Belfast Magistrates' Court today, defence counsel Mark Farrell revealed those alleged instructions will form the basis of an attempt to get the case dismissed.

"This prosecution arises out of the so-called activities of paedophile hunters, and there are major issues regarding the bona fides of the case," he told the court.

"The defendants were all served with notice from senior police on how they should go about their activities and given techniques.

"It's a very unusual and very serious case - there will be an application to stay these proceedings, this will be a fully contested committal."

Proceedings were adjourned for six weeks, when a preliminary enquiry date is expected to be listed.
An Army expert at the scene of the bomb alert in west Belfast yesterday

A senior Orangeman said his lodge will not be intimidated after a suspicious object was left in the grounds of Whiterock Orange Hall, sparking a security alert.

Part of the Springfield Road in west Belfast was closed yesterday afternoon as Army bomb experts examined the object.

The incident was later declared an elaborate hoax.

Belfast County Master Spencer Beattie accused those responsible of attempting to "intimidate" the local lodge, and heighten tensions in the run up to this year's parades.

"Lodge members feel extremely hurt to be targeted in such a malicious fashion," he said.

"They have been through all of this before with the hall being attacked on several previous occasions.

"We hoped such terror attacks were wedded to the past.

"Regrettably, it would seem there remains a minority intent on causing fear and division."

The Whiterock parade, which takes place next month, is traditionally one of the first of the summer, and previously saw protests which descended into violence. However, the event has been peaceful in recent years.

Mr Beattie also praised the actions of the security services for dealing with the alert in a "professional and efficient manner, ensuring the safety of the wider community".
Michael Hyndman had gone to live in Australia for a new job.

A Belfast man seriously injured in a one-punch attack in Australia on New Year's Eve has returned home.

Michael Hyndman was celebrating in Sydney with his fiancee Clar and brother Christopher when he was attacked.

The 23-year-old was left fighting for his life.

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Doctors put him in a coma and he had emergency surgery on New Year's Day.

He had moved to Sydney last September with his partner for a new job as a quantity surveyor.

A fundraising campaign saw 18,932 raised to help get him home.

Following his return to Northern Ireland, he thanked family, friends and the public for their help.

Writing on the GoFundMe page that was set up by his family, Michael wrote: "Its crazy to think just 105 days ago my horrible nightmare began. My future, which I thought I had mapped out before me, was hanging in the balance after just one punch left me fighting for my life.

"The people I love were left sitting by my bed side (and for many, left sitting back home in Ireland) waiting on me to wake up, hoping and praying that I actually would."

Michael, after having two surgeries, received the news on April 13 that he was clear to fly home to continue his recovery. He arrived back home on April 21.

He added: "Looking back, there is no doubt in my mind that my recovery has been phenomenal. And if Im totally honest, I dont think this would have been the case if it wasnt for my friends, my family, colleagues and the many selfless people who dont even really know me, yet donated to my cause.

"I go through the list of names nearly every day. I feel nothing but the upmost respect and heartfelt gratitude toward you.

Your generosity made it possible for me to have my family at my bedside when I needed it most. Michael Hyndman

"You supported us financially while I was initially fighting just to stay alive, throughout my life changing surgeries and even through many weeks of tough rehabilitation."

Michael said he also wanted to take the opportunity to raise awareness about the consequences of throwing one punch.

He said: "It was just one punch that started this nightmare 105 days ago and almost cost me my life. It was just one punch that not only put an abrupt end to our new year celebrations but has completely overshadowed, what was to be our new and exciting chapter in our life.

"Thankfully I am here to tell the tale and I hope that by sharing my story people will realise the dangers involved. I hope that I can prevent, even one person, from throwing that, life altering/ in some cases fatal, punch in the future. Life is too precious."
Jeremy Corbyn needs to "spell out" his commitment to protecting Northern Ireland after Brexit, SDLP MLA Claire Hanna has said.

Mrs Hanna, who is her party's spokesperson on Brexit, was speaking after Jeremy Corbyn instructed his MPs to vote against an amendment in the House of Commons which would have ensured the UK remained aligned with the EU's single market.

On Tuesday the Labour leader instructed his MPs to vote against a Norway-style option included in a Lords amendment to the EU withdrawal bill, which would retain membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) as an option.

It was reported Mr Corbyn rejected the option on the basis it would leave Britain as a rule-taker, without the ability to shape EU policy.

South Belfast MLA Claire Hanna said: "Jeremy Corbyn needs to spell out once and for all if he is committed to protecting Northern Ireland from Brexit because actions speak louder than words.

"As each day passes, and more revelations about the adverse impacts of Brexit comes to the fore, it becomes starkly clear that all of us across these islands must remain within the single market and customs union to prevent a catastrophic exit that will have an economically destabilising impact on businesses, trade and commerce, north, south, east and west."

Mrs Hanna added it was time for Mr Corbyn to "stop simply identifying the problem and start forming the solution".

Despite the date for Britain leaving the European Union being less than a year away, the form which post-Brexit customs arrangement will take remains unclear.

Speaking at the weekend, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney rejected the possibility of any physical infrastructure on the island of Ireland.
Sammy Wilson has said Deliveroo is looking to expand in Northern Ireland.

Food delivery service Deliveroo is planning to expand across Northern Ireland, East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson has said.

Mr Wilson met with representatives of the company in London on Tuesday to hear about their expansion plans.

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The company already operates in Belfast with 100 restaurants delivering food to homes and businesses.

Customers can order food from through the Deliveroo app and it is then delivered to their door by Deliveroo cyclists.

DUP MP Mr Wilson said the company is now planning to expand into Bangor, Lisburn and Londonderry.

"This will be a huge boost to businesses and present opportunities for those who wish to enter self-employment using the technology which Deliveroo makes avaliable," he said.

"Deliveroo creates flexible self-employment openings for a wide range of people. 50% of its riders are students and 40% have caring responsibilities. The method of working opens the door to those who previously felt shut out of the jobs market.

"It allows people to work when it suits them and the method of payment by each delivery means riders can choose when to log in and accept a delivery.

The East Antrim MP said any expansion would also be a boost for restaurants.

"The service is also helping to revolutionise the UK restaurant sector by exposing restaurants to a new customer base and helping them raise revenue," Mr Wilson said.

Expand Close DUP MP Sammy Wilson / Facebook

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"Reports show that restaurants working with Deliveroo have seen revenues go up by 30% and across the UK this has accounted for 7200 new jobs.

"I am pleased that Northern Ireland has been targeted for expansion and hope that the new jobs, oppourtuntiies for restaurants and service to customers will be a boost to our economy."

A Deliveroo spokesperson said that the company were currently assessing various towns across Northern Ireland but that nothing has been fully confirmed yet.
A Church of Ireland minister has taken an innovative approach to raising much-needed money for a flood-damaged church in Co Londonderry.

Canon Paul Hoey distributed 1,000 among the congregation of St Canice's Church in Eglinton following Sunday worship and he said he intends to share out a further 1,000 among the remainder of his parishioners.

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The loan centres on the idea - based on the Parable of the Talents - that church members will use their God-given gifts to fund the repairs to St Canice's, which has been closed since August.

In the Gospel story, Jesus tells of a master who gave his servants talents to invest and two doubled their money while the third buried the cash.

"A lady initially came to me with the original proposal; I'd heard of it but I'd never done it before," Canon Hoey said.

"We took the initial seed, teased it out and made it our own, as it were. We're putting our faith in our parishioners and we're investing in their talent.

"Every one of us has been given at least one gift by God. We want people to realise that, to use their talent and to help their church." He added: "Some people were unable to attend church on Sunday but we're inviting every family in the parish to participate in the initiative. We've about 200 households and I think most of them are keen to do it."

Services have been held in Eglinton Primary School since the church and parish hall were damaged by flooding last year.

Canon Hoey said people he had spoken to were planning cake sales and other activities to generate funds to cover the damage which he said "will almost certainly take hundreds of thousands to put right". He added: "We're not just putting it back the way it was, we're taking the opportunity to make improvements."

Parishioners have been given six weeks to raise money for the parish restoration fund.

They will return their profits, or the original 10, at a special 'You've Got Talent' service of thanksgiving on June 24.

The minister admitted that he has no firm expectation as to how much will be raised.

"It's an unknown quantity but even before we started the official fundraiser last weekend, one lady raised a substantial 70 by having a curry night for her family and friends," he said.

"She's now intending to do another one for all the people in her street. If everyone did that we'd be flying... but all we're asking is for everyone to at least return the money they receive."

This isn't the first time Rev Hoey has been in the news. Last year he invited Elvis impersonator Andy Rogers to St Canice's.

He said: "I have long thought that a lot of the songs Elvis sang, both Gospel and non-Gospel songs, have a message for today's society. After seeing Andy perform at a concert I made a spur of the moment decision to ask him to come and perform for all of us in church.

"He agreed, and he packed the pews."
Sinn Fein leader Mary-Lou McDonald has accused the DUP of betraying the public by "pursuing a Tory-led Brexit at any cost".

Speaking at Stormont yesterday, she criticised the "playground rhetoric" of the DUP after Sammy Wilson MP accused Tanaiste Simon Coveney of "belligerent Brit bashing" for advocating an EU/UK customs partnership after Brexit.

Mrs McDonald said the DUP had been "playing games" and stalling for time and insisted a firm resolution to the border problem had to be struck ahead of June's European Council summit.

"The DUP are on the wrong side of the Brexit argument and every time they argue for it, they actually betray the best interests of everybody who lives in the north of Ireland, whether nationalist or unionist," she said.

"They have been found out and are now hiding behind that type of bluster. The more serious issue is the fact that almost two years on from the EU referendum, we still await any sense of a plan or an answer from the British Government in respect of the Irish question."

DUP MEP Diane Dodds said her party would not be taking direction from Sinn Fein.

She added: "It is clear that the Irish government and nationalist politicians in our province wish to use a lack of progress on border solutions to press for the whole of the United Kingdom to remain in the Single Market and the Customs Union.

"Just as Michel Barnier's proposal to annex Northern Ireland in customs terms was roundly rejected, these efforts will fail."

The EU is pressing for "substantive progress" from Britain on the future of the Irish border in time for the crunch summit just six weeks away.

Chief negotiator Mr Barnier told ministers from the remaining 27 member states that "little progress" had been made on the issues of Ireland and governance since the Council last met in March.

His comments came amid continuing uncertainty over the government's preferred option for customs arrangements on the Irish border after Brexit, with a meeting of Theresa May's "war cabinet" thought unlikely to unite behind a solution when they meet today.

Asked about the progress that had been made, Mr Barnier said: "I would say little, not very little."

There were two rounds of negotiations before the "key rendezvous" of the June European Council summit, he said.

Mr Barnier added: "The clock is ticking and we have to conclude and to finalise this agreement ... before October or November, because we have to keep the time for the ratification by the European Parliament, the European Council and the British side."

After talks with Mr Barnier, Mr Coveney again stressed the need for the backstop to be resolved ahead of June's summit.

"Michel Barnier has made it very clear, and I agree with him, that there will be no withdrawal treaty if there isn't a backstop dealing with the Irish border in that treaty," he said.

He added: "Nobody is saying everything has to be resolved by the end of June but we certainly need to see a solution on the Irish border backstop issue taking shape by the end of June.

"There is no flexibility on two things - one, there has to be a backstop in the withdrawal agreement. If there isn't a backstop there won't be a withdrawal agreement.

"And, secondly, that backstop has to deal comprehensively with the border issue. In other words, it has to follow through on the commitment that has been made (in December's joint text) on there being no infrastructure or no related checks or controls on the island of Ireland."
What the proposed facility would look like

Anti-incinerator group No Arc 21 and local politicians celebrate outside the High Court in Belfast yesterday

A High Court judgment overturning approval for a controversial incinerator could open the floodgates to legal challenges if senior civil servants continue to take key decisions.

TUV leader Jim Allister issued the warning as Secretary of State Karen Bradley last night studied the ruling that questions the ability of Stormont officials to make major policy decisions when devolution is suspended. Mr Allister said: The big question hanging over the current structure of government in Northern Ireland was whether permanent secretaries could exercise the powers of a minister.

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The answer back from the courts is they cant. If they continue to make such decisions they will open the floodgates to legal challenges.

I suspect senior civil servants will now be very reticent and nervous about doing anything.

SDLP deputy leader Nichola Mallon said: The overturning of the incinerator decision calls into question all decisions of significance taken by permanent secretaries since devolution collapsed 16 months ago.

It is also clear as a result of this judgment that no decisions of significance can be taken legally by senior civil servants. It is imperative that the devolved institutions are restored, so we have local ministers able to take democratically accountable decisions that benefit peoples lives.

Yesterdays High Court ruling overturned a decision by senior civil servant Peter May approving a huge waste incinerator plant at Mallusk.

Key civil servants have been taking the majority of decisions within departments since Stormonts collapse in January 2017.

Presiding in a judicial review case, Mrs Justice Keegan found that Mr May, the permanent secretary of the Department for Infrastructure, did not have the power to approve the planning application for the 240m incinerator facility on the old Hightown quarry site near Newtownabbey.

She said such a decision should have been made by elected ministers.

David Sterling, the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, is running Stormont during the political impasse.

A spokesman for Mr Sterling and The Executive Office said: We are considering todays judgment.

Mr Allister said Mrs Bradley had dragged her feet too long on establishing direct rule.

It is time to stop playing games and give us government. Government can come from only one of two places  Stormont or Westminster. Stormont is clearly inoperable. That being so there is an onus on Westminster to get on with the job, he said.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said the ruling highlighted the senselessness of Sinn Fein blocking devolved government.

She said: It is not advancing a political cause but simply punishing everyone in Northern Ireland by leaving decisions in limbo.

Four out of five parties would restore devolution today. Sinn Fein is the only roadblock. Its time for that party to step back and consider the cost.

Mrs Foster added: The DUP delivered a 1bn package through our confidence and supply deal. Much of that money requires ministerial decisions. The government should get arrangements in place to allow ministerial decisions to be made.

I am a devolutionist. I want to see local decision-makers in place but Northern Ireland needs decisions properly made, whether about mental health, hospital reforms, broadband or the green light for new roads.

But Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald denied the judgment hastened the introduction of direct rule.

I think direct rule would be disastrous for good government here in the north of Ireland, she said.

Whatever the differences between parties, I think there is a recognition that the best answer is for local decisions that affect peoples lives to be taken locally.

Undoubtedly this decision highlights yet again the absolute necessity to restore power-sharing and for these institutions to work and these institutions can only work on the basis of real power-sharing.

Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken said the Hightown incinerator must be given the swiftest burial possible and repeated his partys call for a review of Northern Irelands energy strategy.

Green Party leader Steven Agnew said: MLAs are elected to take tough calls and we find ourselves in this mess because the DUP and Sinn Fein cant get on with the jobs they were elected to do. I was never a supporter of this incinerator and believe that local people will be rightfully pleased today.

However, we find ourselves in a dysfunctional situation which can only be rectified by a functioning Assembly and Executive.
Human rights watchdog the Council of Europe (CoE) has made fresh calls for an Irish language act in Northern Ireland.

The CoE - which is not affiliated to the European Union - is an international organisation which advocates for free media expression, democracy, and human rights in Europe, and is made up of 47 members.

Part of the organisation's focus is on the use of minority languages, and compliance with the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages.

The BBC reports a delegation of experts responsible for writing language reports, led by Dr Aleksandra Oszmianska-Pagett, were in Belfast to meet with a number of language activists representing both Irish and Ulster Scots.

"To have the legislation in place is one of the most important obligations stemming from the charter, from just the legal point of view," said Dr Oszmianska-Pagett.

"But from a practical point of view this is essential because then education, culture and media are not held hostage to political tensions."

Legislation for minority languages in Northern Ireland has been at the centre of the political deadlock between the DUP and Sinn Fein dating back to January 2017.

In February speculation was rife an agreement had been reached on the issue, with a package of three acts which would legislate separately for the Irish language and Ulster Scots - before DUP leader Arlene Foster stated categorically her party would not support a stand-alone Irish language act.

In a report earlier this year to the Council of Europe on the treatment of minority languages, the UK government omitted information on how it was dealing with Irish and Ulster Scots.

Last year, the Council of Europe hit out at the UK government for failing to do enough to promote the cultural importance of the Cornish language.
Northern Ireland's unemployment rate has fallen to the lowest level since records were compiled in the mid-1990s.

Labour statistics for the first quarter of 2018 also put the local unemployment rate as the lowest in the UK.

However, rates of economic inactivity - that is those of working age but neither in work or seeking employment - although it decreased, is the highest level in the UK.

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The labour market statistics were published on Monday by the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency. In them unemployment decreased over the quarter and the year.

For the period January to March 2018 unemployment was at 3.1%, the lowest since records began in 1995 and a decrease of 2.1 percentage points over the year. The UK rate is 4.2%, the Republic's 6.1% and across the European Union it is 7.1%.

The statistics suggest 51% of those unemployed in Northern Ireland were long-term unemployed that is over a year out of work. That compares to 25.3% in the UK.

There was slight increase of 1 percentage point to 69.7% in employment in Northern Ireland for the quarter.

Level of economic inactivity stood at 28%.

The figures show 29,000 people were claiming out of work benefits or universal credit, representing 3.2% of the workforce, in April. An increase of 200 for the previous month.

While confirmed redundancies decreased over the year.

The Department for Economy received confirmation 308 redundancies took place in April 2018. Although this was the highest monthly total since November 2016, there was a decrease of around a third in the number of redundancies (2,067) over the year to the end of April 2018.

"The economic inactivity rate decreased over the quarter but increased over the year. Although one of the highest rates recorded since 2010 and the highest rate of the UK regions, the current inactivity rate is significantly below peak rates recorded in mid-2009," said a statement from the department.

"The improvements in the local labour market are similar to that of the UK labour market, which is reporting the highest employment rate and lowest unemployment rates on record. In contrast to the NI experience, the UK results also show the lowest inactivity rates on record."
Some patients at the centre of Northern Ireland's biggest patient recall are taking legal advice after criticising the meetings with medical professionals.

The Belfast Telegraph understands a group of patients who support consultant neurologist Dr Michael Watt has sought counsel over how the recall has been handled by the Belfast Health Trust.

More than 2,500 patients are involved in the recall amid concerns over Dr Watt's treatment and diagnosis. The meetings started last Saturday, May 5, and follow a year-long examination by the Royal College of Physicians of patient notes relating to the work of Dr Watt.

But campaigners calling for his immediate reinstatement say they've already received feedback from some of those who have been recalled for case reviews. They said what they are being told calls into question the whole process.

The Belfast Telegraph understands a group of patients has already sought legal advice, with many who still place their trust in Dr Watt feeling severe anxiety over the process.

A former patient of Dr Watt, Terri Mercer, said: "This simply hasn't been handled well and I'm speaking to more and more former patients who have been left feeling distressed over the recall."

Ms Mercer (48), from Belfast, helped set up a Facebook page in support of Dr Watt and says more and more former patients are joining the campaign as awareness grows.

"We now have documented stories of former patients having to go through MRI scans and lumbar punctures at these recall meetings.

"Some of them are extremely distressed at having to go through the whole process again.

"What we need to know is how many patients do the trust say have been misdiagnosed?

"Why were patients of Dr Watt left without a neurologist for so many months?

"How many complaints were made about Dr Watt?

"From the reviews carried out to date, how many cases of misdiagnoses have been proven?" The patients recalled by the trust were being treated for a wide range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy and MS, and are aged 14 and up.

Restrictions were placed on aspects of Dr Watt's practice after the issues were flagged to the trust. He has not been seeing patients since June 2017.

Ms Mercer said she also had concerns over the cost of the recall. "We know many of those recalled have met with professionals from a private company, not NHS consultants," she said.

"I have evidence from patients who say they have been put through scans and tests despite saying they were satisfied with the treatment they received from Dr Watt, some of whom are seriously ill."

It has also emerged this week that some patients requested to attend recalls had their meetings cancelled at the last minute.

A Belfast Trust statement read: "Upon reviewing the schedule of appointments it became clear a small number of patients would need to be assessed by a specific neurologist specialising in the patient's particular condition.

"This is common practice during a recall of patients and we will continue to take steps to ensure all our patients receive the most appropriate care.

"Every effort has been taken to avoid any added anxiety or concern for patients during this recall and, whilst a small number are being asked to reschedule, the vast majority of our patients will attend their scheduled appointments as planned."

A petition in support of Dr Watt already has more than 500 signatures and will be handed in to The Belfast Trust.
Gary Haggarty has been released and put on to a witness protection scheme

The Public Prosecution Service is to review a decision not to bring criminal charges against two retired police officers who allegedly directed and shielded notorious loyalist killer Gary Haggarty.

The development was revealed at a High Court challenge mounted by a relative of one of the UVF commander turned state informer's victims.

Sean McParland, 55, was shot dead by Haggarty while babysitting his grandchildren at Skegoniel Avenue in north Belfast in February 1994.

The murdered man's son-in-law, Michael Monaghan, launched a legal challenge after the PPS announced last October that it would not be charging two ex-Special Branch officers implicated by the former loyalist boss.

It had decided Haggarty's claims that he gave his police handlers advance warning about his terrorist acts was not enough to prove a case beyond reasonable doubt.

But in court on Tuesday it was confirmed that the position will now be reviewed, with a fresh decision expected by the end of June.

Ending the judicial review proceedings on that basis, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan ordered costs in favour of Mr Monaghan.

The outcome comes just days after 46-year-old Haggarty was released from prison and put into witness protection.

In January the so-called supergrass received a six-and-a-half-year jail sentence after confessing to more than 500 offences.

However, because of time served on remand he became eligible for release.

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His catalogue of paramilitary crime extended over 16 years, from 1991 to 2007, and included the murders of Mr McParland and four other men.

He also admitted five attempted murders, multiple counts of conspiracy to murder, directing terrorism and membership of a proscribed organisation.

Haggarty pleaded guilty as part of a controversial state deal which offered a reduced sentence in return for providing evidence on other terror suspects.

As a consequence his prison term was slashed from 35 years to six-and-a-half years due to the assistance provided to police.

Under the terms of the agreement signed back in 2010 he supplied information on scores of loyalist killings and attempted murders.

But only one man is currently to be prosecuted over a murder using his evidence.

It was previously reported that Haggarty claims he gave his Special Branch handlers the names of all those involved in Mr McParland's killing in the immediate aftermath.

He alleged they told him not to answer questions when arrested.

Mr Monaghan's solicitor said his client will now wait for the new decision from the PPS.

Niall Murphy of KRW Law added: "That renders the current proceedings redundant because, in effect, we have gained the relief sought."
Gaza Palestinian support protest in west Belfast at the International Wall on the Falls Road. Photo by Alan Lewis.

Sinn Feins leader on Belfast City Council, Deirdre Hargey, has formally requested that a book of condolence be opened in Belfast City Hall for victims of recent violence in Gaza.

Councillor Hargey called on Belfast City Council Chief Executive Suzanne Wylie to contact other parties immediately with regard to the equest.

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The request comes after a number of Palestinian solidarity protests were held across Northern Ireland on Tuesday following increased violence in the area in recent weeks.

Protests were held in west Belfast, Londonderry, Omagh, Dungiven and other areas.

On Monday over 50 Palestinians were killed during protests at the opening of the new US embassy in Jerusalem.

A further two Palestinians were killed near the border on Tuesday.

Sinn Fein have called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland but he rejected the proposal in The Dail on Tuesday.

I hope that the other parties on Belfast City Council will support this request that will allow Belfast citizens to show their solidarity with the people of Palestine," Councillor Hargey said.

This was an atrocity and the brutal nature of the Israeli Army has been laid bare for all to see.

Sinn Fein is calling on the Irish government to expel the Israeli Ambassador from Ireland and move immediately to formally recognise the state of Palestine as voted for in the Dail."

Sinn Fein has also submitted a motion for discussion at the next full Belfast council meeting at the beginning of June.

The motion submitted by Sinn Fein reads:

This council condemns the recent murder and attack by Israeli forces on innocent protestors, including men, women and children in Gaza.

We call on the international community to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza and defend their human rights.

We call on the Irish Government to recognise the state of Palestine as voted for in the Dail, and further call upon the Irish Government to expel the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.

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The Israeli ambassador to Ireland was summoned to a meeting by the Government in the wake of the violence and death along the Gaza border.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney met with Ze'ev Boker early on Tuesday morning when he expressed "Irelands shock and dismay at the level of death and injury yesterday on the Gaza Strip".

The Minister also called for restraint from Israel in the hours and days ahead.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the wake of the deaths Sinn Fein has called for Ireland to expel the Israeli ambassador.

In a statement it said: "It is time for international community to take action against Israel for their aggression and flagrant disregard for UN resolutions.

"The Irish Government should show leadership by immediately expelling the Israeli ambassador."

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

In a statement a spokesperson for Mr Coveney told the Irish Independent: "The ambassador has been informed of Irish demands for an independent international investigation into yesterdays [Monday] deaths lead by the UN.

"Our mission in Ramallah reports that emergency responders in Gaza and the strips health services are overwhelmed with the level of casualties.

"The health system was already facing major challenges due to lack of equipment and essential medicines."

He said Ireland is also "very disturbed" by the injuries suffered by health workers as reported by the WHO.

There were 211 recorded attacks against health workers in Gaza, attending the large numbers of injured during mass demonstrations at the border fence.

Nine suffered sustained bullet wounds, 13 were injured by tear gas canisters and 189 suffered with tear gas inhalation. Twenty-five ambulances were also damaged.

'Massacre'

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it a massacre.

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gazas ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli militarys actions as self-defence of his countrys borders.

In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the foreign relations subcommittee that covers the region, told Reuters the situation was tragic and said Its not viewed as the U.S. trying to solve a problem, its viewed as the U.S. just stepping away from the problem, and thats sad.
Leo Varadkar said documents had not been escalated to ministers (Lorraine O'Sullivan/PA)

Concerns about open disclosure of Cervical Check audits within the Department of Health were not escalated to ministerial level, the Taoiseach has said.

Leo Varadkar said memos and documents found after a trawl by the Government showed no concerns about the accuracy of the screening programme within the department.

But the Taoiseach said: The only issues that are dealt with in these documents relate to open disclosure, or rather the non-open disclosure of information to patients and to doctors.

Inaccurate smear test results and the passing on of this information to patients has caused enormous controversy.

The documents confirm that they were not escalated, these issues were not escalated to ministers, advisers or the Secretary GeneralLeo Varadkar

The Taoiseach said about a dozen documents, emails and memos are set to be released after the Government ordered a trawl of thousands of documents between the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health in response to the controversy.

The Taoiseach told the Dail: The documents confirm that they were not escalated, these issues were not escalated to ministers, advisers or the Secretary General.

Mr Varadkar added: The documents released today will show that none of this was escalated beyond from the office of CMO (chief medical officer) and the office of acute hospital services and that the concerns that the department was dealing with was concerns about open disclosure, about cervical check passing on information of the audit to clinicians.

Theres nothing about concerns around laboratories, the efficacy, the accuracy of the programme, or patient safety.

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The healthcare controversy was triggered by the case of Vicky Phelan, a terminally ill mother whose legal battle cast light on the issue.

Last month Ms Phelan, a 43-year-old mother-of-two from Co Limerick, settled a High Court action for 2.5 million euro (2.2 million) after being incorrectly told in 2011 that her smear test had given a negative result for cancer.

In 2014 she was diagnosed with cancer but only told of the false negative last September.

On Saturday Health Minister Simon Harris said the US lab at the centre of Ms Phelans case was no longer being used by Cervical Check.

The Taoiseach also told the Dail that the HSE was too large an organisation and it needed to be slimmed down.

UK health expert Dr Gabriel Scally has been commissioned by the Government to lead an inquiry into the misinterpretation of the cancer tests.

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Mr Harris said he would be guided by Dr Scallys findings in relation to future laboratory outsourcing contracts.

The political crisis has already seen the boss of the HSE Tony OBrien quit.

Earlier this month it emerged that an audit by CervicalCheck of 1,482 women diagnosed with cervical cancer since 2008 had found potential errors in earlier smear tests in 209 of the cases, with results showing no abnormalities when they should have flagged a cancer warning.

While screening tests are not 100% accurate and there are acknowledged risks on the possibility of incorrect results, the fact the majority of the affected patients were not told of the outcome of the audit has prompted a wave of public anger.

Of the 209 women, 18 have since died.
The Taoiseach has branded the use of children with Down Syndrome in posters for the abortion referendum as wrong.

Leo Varadkar criticised the posters, published by those campaigning for a No vote in the referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment, as he canvassed commuters in Dublin on Tuesday.

He said: I think its wrong because we have made it very clear in the proposed legislation that disability will not be grounds to end a pregnancy.

I am voting Yes for all the women in my life; my mum, my sisters, my female friends and colleagues. Any woman can face a difficult & deeply personal crisis in her life & should be able to access the compassionate care she needs here at home. #WhoNeedsYourYes #Together4Yes  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 14, 2018

I think its one of a number of attempts by the No campaign to muddy the waters and create confusion.

The use of Down Syndrome children has also been criticised by Minister for Health Simon Harris, who joined Mr Varadkar as he walked through Dublin on Tuesday morning along with Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan.

Just finished a morning canvass on #repealThe8th. Good luck public meeting last night with @RayMcAdam. We will be working with @DublinRepeal8 for rest of campaign. pic.twitter.com/FcajmNUR0G  Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) May 15, 2018

The ministers got a mostly positive reaction as they campaigned for a Yes vote ahead of the referendum next Friday.

Nursing students Lily Downes and Katie Clarke, both 20, spoke to Mr Varadkar in the Trinity College campus and told him they would be voting Yes.

Edward OSullivan, 61, an estates and facilities worker at the campus, also told the Taoiseach he would be supporting the Yes campaign.

Mr Varadkar said: When we amended our constitution back in 1983 to outlaw abortion people thought thats what it would do but it hasnt.

In reality, nine or 10 women every day travel to the United Kingdom to end their pregnancies and increasingly women are buying pills over the internet and taking them at home so that is actually quite a dangerous situation  and we believe that we should face up to the reality of abortion and provide for it in our own country but with the necessary restrictions.
Thousands of euro have been raised to support the families of two victims of a light aircraft crash in Ireland.

Seven-year-old Kacper Kacprzak, from Dublin, died on Sunday alongside British pilot Neil Bowditch.

Kacpers father, a parachutist, had made a scheduled jump from the plane minutes earlier with 15 others, local councillors said.

The prayers & thoughts of @KANDLEi are very much with the community of Clonbullogue this morning in the aftermath of the very tragic plane crash last evening @CathNewsIreland pic.twitter.com/PNMxT1ibIu  Bishop Denis Nulty (@BishopDNulty) May 14, 2018

A Gofundme.com fundraiser has been set up to help the families of the victims.

The pilot was known by the nickname Billy at the parachute club and was experienced.

Fund organiser Allaiouti Hassan said: We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy, a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot.

This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident.

I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyones heart.

He appealed for donations for the families.

The plane went down on bog land in Co Offaly in the Irish midlands on Sunday afternoon.

The club said it was deeply saddened and confirmed the aircraft had been operating on its behalf.

It thanked the emergency services and investigators.

The Air Accident Investigation Unit examined the scene on Monday.

The bodies were recovered from the wreckage on Sunday night and taken for post-mortem examinations at Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

The aircraft had taken off from Clonbullogue airfield at around 2.25pm. The crash happened a few kilometres away near Edenderry.
The scene of the plane crash in bogland in Co Offaly

Tributes have been paid to the seven-year-old boy who died in a tragic plane crash along with the pilot in Co Offaly.

The little boy has been named locally as Kacper Kacprzak, a pupil at Sacred Heart of Jesus school in Blanchardstown.

He was killed alongside UK pilot Niall Bowditch when their plane nose-dived into a forest near Clonbullogue, at about 2.30pm on Sunday.

Kacper's father Kris is a regular parachutist and instructor with the Irish Parachute Club and jumped from the plane shortly before it "torpedoed" to the ground. Their family is Polish and lived in the Huntstown area of Dublin 15.

The bodies of Kacper and Mr Bowditch were recovered from the wreckage in isolated bogland just before darkness fell at about 10pm on Sunday. It's understood that the family of Mr Bowditch are to travel from the UK to formally identify the body.

The tragic news of the death of little Kacper came to his primary school yesterday, with staff too grief-stricken to pay their respects.

Local residents expressed their disbelief that such a young child from their community was killed.

"I just can't believe it," said Caroline Anderson. "As a mother myself I can only imagine what this poor boy's parents are going through. All I can do is offer my sincerest condolences.

"I've no doubt the people living in this estate will do everything they can to help this family cope."

A Polish woman living in Huntstown Wood was brought to tears upon hearing the news.

"To hear in detail what happened to everyone involved is extremely upsetting," she said.

The aircraft was scheduled to land at Clonbullogue airfield, but lost contact at around 2pm.

At this stage there is nothing to suggest the pilot attempted to contact control or send out a distress signal when the aircraft got into difficulty.

Air crash investigators were last night continuing to examine the wreckage of the Cessna Caravan plane.
Boris Johnson is meeting French and German counterparts to find a way to save the Iran nuclear deal after Donald Trump pulled US support for the accord.

The talks in Brussels on Tuesday evening will be followed by a meeting with the Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an intensive diplomatic effort to shore up agreement.

Britain, France and Germany are working to secure measures to protect European countries working in Iran against the danger of US sanctions.

Ahead of the meeting, Mr Johnson said: We are going to have a conversation about what we can do to help UK firms and help European firms have confidence that they can still do business.

Im not going to pretend to you now that it will be easy but we are determined to do that and  as far as we possibly can  to protect our businesses from the effects of American primary and secondary sanctions.

The meeting is being hosted by the European Unions foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.

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She said: Boris Johnson will be here in Brussels together with the foreign ministers of Germany and France to work together to preserve a deal we have achieved together  also with Russia and China  and we will save it together.

So we will have the meeting with the three foreign ministers tomorrow and then we will also have a meeting with the foreign minister of Iran.

Mr Johnson held talks with French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian in London on Monday and said Britain stands shoulder to shoulder with Paris on the need to preserve the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Deeply regret US decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. UK remains strongly committed to the JCPoA, and will work with E3 partners and the other parties to the deal to maintain it. Await more detail on US plan.  Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) May 8, 2018

The plan removed sanctions on Iran in return for Tehran giving up its military nuclear programme.

The pair will be joined by German foreign minister Heiko Maas in Brussels.

The meeting comes amid fears that European companies may face reprisals from the US for breaching American sanctions by continuing to operate in Iran.

Mr le Drian described the preservation of the JCPOA as the only way to fight against the risk of proliferation.

He said Iran was respecting the terms of the agreement, so we are going to stick to this agreement.

We want to be sure that companies are protected from the American sanctions and Iran benefits from the dividends, he said.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has told MPs that the UK will consider imposing sanctions on Russian gas post Brexit.

European Union sanctions on Russia currently exclude oil and gas, but Mr Johnson said he would consider all possibilities once the UK takes back control of our sanctions policy.

Mr Johnson made the comments in response to a Commons question from Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, who urged a tougher stance.

What can we do about Russia? We could ban their gas imports and produce more of our own? pic.twitter.com/mrqmmPgYyw  Kevin Hollinrake MP (@kevinhollinrake) March 14, 2018

The Thirsk and Malton MP said: Despite the fact oil and gas exports make up 70% of Russias international trade, these are not currently covered under the EU sanction regime due to the high reliance of the EU on Russian gas exports.

After our exit from the European Union, will this be a sensible extra measure that we might take that might assist with our diplomatic efforts?

Mr Johnson responded: We will of course consider all possibilities once we exit the European Union and take back control of our sanctions policy.

Tory former Cabinet minister John Whittingdale later raised concern about the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Central and Western Europe.

As with Russias existing Nord Stream pipeline, the route bypasses not only Ukraine, but also the Baltic states and Poland  and is seen as a political project rather than an economic one.

Mr Whittingdale said: Does he share the widespread concern about the proposed Russian gas pipe line Nord Stream 2.

Does he agree that there appears to be no economic justification for this, but it is instead a political project designed to increase European dependence on Russian gas and to weaken Ukraine and will he press that point on our allies, particularly Germany and Denmark?

Mr Johnson responded: I can assure him that we in the UK Government are well aware of the deep controversy surrounding Nord Stream 2 and we raise it not just in Ukraine but of course with our European friends and partners.
Boris Johnson said peaceful Gaza protests have been exploited by extremists but urged Israel to show restraint in using live fire after violence claimed scores of lives.

The Foreign Secretary issued the plea in the Commons as he insisted the UK remains committed to a two-state Israel-Palestine solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

Middle East minister Alistair Burt added the UK has so far received no information to suggest that UK-supplied equipment has been used against protesters, amid calls from opposition MPs to suspend arms sales to Israel.

He also said the tragedies should be used as an opportunity for a springboard to peace.

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Israeli forces used live fire in a measured and surgical way, according to Israels ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev.

He also claimed Israel did everything we could to avoid the bloodshed at the border with Gaza, which saw soldiers open fire on protesters.

The diplomat insisted that the protests were organised by militant group Hamas with an aim to breach the border, to get inside Israel and to kill Israeli citizens.

On Monday, Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during protests along the border  while a few miles away a ceremony was taking place in Jerusalem for the opening of the controversial new US embassy.

On Tuesday, Palestinians were observing a general strike to mourn those killed in the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war.

Organisers said the day would be set aside for funerals and that turnout for any new protests on the border with Israel would be low.

Extremely saddened by loss of life in Gaza today. Concerned peaceful protests are being exploited by extremist elements. Urge restraint in use of live fire. Violence is destructive to peace efforts. UK remains committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital.  Rt Hon Alistair Burt (@AlistairBurtUK) May 14, 2018

Speaking in the Commons, Mr Johnson told MPs: I am deeply saddened by the loss of life in Gaza where peaceful protests are being exploited by extremists.

I urge Israel to show restraint in the use of live fire and I take this opportunity to repeat the UKs commitment to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.

Labour MP Richard Burden said the Government had written to him to say it did not collect data on the use of equipment after sale when he challenged them to investigate how sniper rifles and other weapons exported under licences from the UK to Israel were used.

He said: Doesnt that answer mean the Government hasnt the first idea whether UK weapons are being used to shoot demonstrators in Gaza, and what does it take for the UK to enforce its own arms export criteria and stop arms sales to Israel?

Mr Burt said a proper risk assessment takes place before sales are considered, adding: Since the start of the recent difficulties in Gaza we have looked at all existent licences in relation to Israel and our sense at the moment is weve no information to suggest that UK-supplied equipment has been used against protesters.

Thornberry [Lab]: Can I ask him to draft a statement... The investigation must be a start to bring urgent pressure on Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza #gaza  Simple Politics (@easypoliticsUK) May 15, 2018

UK ministers discussed the situation in Gaza at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet where Theresa May urged both sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence.

In a statement, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said the Government was extremely concerned by the scale of the violence, describing the loss of life and injuries to the Palestinians as tragic.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: We cannot turn a blind eye to such wanton disregard for international law. That is why Labour is committed to reviewing UK arms sales to Israel while these violations continue.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry added to MPs that there had been an apparent calculated and deliberate policy to kill and maim unarmed protesters, who posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border.

She said: Many of them shot in the back. Many of them shot hundreds of metres from the border, and many of them children.

Mr Regev earlier told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We use live fire only in a very measured way, in a very surgical way and only when there is no alternative.

He added: If we allow the Hamas terrorists to enter Israel, we will have dead Israelis. We must protect our border.

Labour MP Wes Streeting said: If, as Israels ambassador claims, yesterdays action was measured and surgical then Id hate to see what he thinks unmeasured and indiscriminate looks like.

Tory former minister Andrew Percy urged Mr Burt to continue to differentiate between protesters and between those who have used children as shields at the border, and those who have gone to the border with the sole intention of breaching it to kill innocent civilians.

Fellow Conservative Ross Thomson (Aberdeen South) said: We have seen Hamas officials actively encouraging protesters to be martyrs, bussing rioters to the border for them to sling Molotov cocktails and fire bombs across it to tear down fencing.

He asked if Mr Burt shared his concern that Hamas are using civilians as a cover to incite violence.

The minister replied: The horror with which people might be prepared to encourage more blood in order to demonstrate a political point is very real in the area  if there is anything we can do, we have to break into that as those who have done in other areas of conflict.
Campaign group Stand Up To Racism during a demonstration on Whitehall calling for the end of a "hostile environment" (Catherine Wylie/PA)

Sixty-three cases are being investigated in detail by the Home Office as part of efforts to check whether anyone was wrongly removed or deported as a result of the Windrush scandal.

Officials have examined 8,000 records dating back to 2002 following fears that people who had been in the country lawfully for decades may have been forced to leave.

On Tuesday, Home Secretary Sajid Javid disclosed that the exercise has so far found 63 people who may have arrived in the UK from the Caribbean before 1973 and have been removed or deported.

Of this number, 32 are categorised as foreign national offenders, while 31 were people subject to administrative removals.

Expand Close Home Secretary Sajid Javid ordered every record to be checked (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Appearing at the Commons Home Affairs Committee, Mr Javid emphasised that the figures are not final and are subject to change.

He said: Ive asked officials to be absolutely certain and thorough and check over every record and make sure.

Ministers faced a furious backlash over the treatment of the Windrush generation, named after a ship that brought migrants to Britain from the Caribbean in 1948.

Shocked to hear that the Home Secretary has admitted to Parliament that 63 people from the Windrush generation may have been wrongly deported. Govt must urgently provide answers on exactly how many people have been affected, and what action is being taken to right this wrong.  Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan (@MayorofLondon) May 15, 2018

Commonwealth citizens who had arrived before 1973 were automatically granted indefinite leave to remain under the 1971 Immigration Act.

While many of those who arrived have taken British citizenship or have official documents confirming their status, others have struggled to produce paperwork demonstrating they are lawfully resident.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan tweeted: Shocked to hear that the Home Secretary has admitted to Parliament that 63 people from the Windrush generation may have been wrongly deported.

Govt must urgently provide answers on exactly how many people have been affected, and what action is being taken to right this wrong.

People who have been living legally in the UK for decades have lost their jobs, been denied access to NHS treatment, benefits and pensions, had their driving licences withdrawn and been warned they face deportation.

Figures released in documents provided to the committee showed that a dedicated helpline set up after the Windrush furore erupted has received more than 11,500 calls.

Expand Close Jamaican immigrants welcomed by RAF officials in 1948 after arriving on the HMT Empire Windrush (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Of those, over 4,482 were identified as possible Windrush cases and referred to caseworkers on a specialist taskforce.

As a result, nearly 1,500 appointments have been booked, resulting in 526 people receiving documents confirming their status.

Mr Javid denied that there was a systemic problem in the Home Office, but he acknowledged that in the Windrush cases people had faced too large a burden in proving their long-term residency.

The Home Secretary described the phrase hostile environment, used to refer to measures to tackle illegal immigration, as quite un-British.

He also revealed that earlier this year thousands of letters were sent to banks requesting the closure of accounts belonging to individuals the Home Office believed to be illegal migrants.

Expand Close David Lammy MP (centre, back row) with members of the Windrush generation (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Javid said he had instructed officials to contact the banks and ask them not to go ahead until he is more comfortable that weve got it right.

He has also ordered a review of historical cases to check whether any people from the Windrush group had been affected by other strands of the clampdown, which he referred to as the compliant environment.

The Home Secretary tells Home Affairs Select Committee as many as 63 Windrush generation may have been wrongly deported. This is the worst human rights and home affairs crisis in my time in politics. The Prime Minister's hostile environment stands in the dock, guilty as charged.  David Lammy (@DavidLammy) May 15, 2018

Campaigning MP David Lammy tweeted: The Home Secretary tells Home Affairs Select Committee as many as 63 Windrush generation may have been wrongly deported.

This is the worst human rights and home affairs crisis in my time in politics.

The Prime Ministers hostile environment stands in the dock, guilty as charged.

The Home Office also disclosed that it has identified 17 non-Windrush cases since 2015 in which a person was returned to the UK after being removed.

In five cases the department or courts have found no legal basis for the individual remaining and steps have been taken to remove them again, in nine proceedings are ongoing, and in three there was found to be a legal basis to remain.

Meanwhile, Mr Javid confirmed that the Government will be publishing details of the settled status scheme for EU nationals seeking to remain in Britain after Brexit before the Commons goes into summer recess at the end of July.

Theresa May was asked about the possibility there may have been as many as 63 deportations at a press conference following talks with Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 10 Downing Street.

She said: I believe the Home Secretary has indicated up to that number.

What the Home Office has done is look very carefully across a period of time  to assess whether any such action had been taken in relation to anybody who was from the Windrush generation.

We have been very clear that the Windrush generation are British, they are part of us, they have a right to be here.

She said this was reflected in measures taken by the Government to ensure that members of the Windrush generation have no doubt about their right to be here in the UK.
Israeli forces used live fire in a measured and surgical way, the countrys ambassador to the UK claimed as the British government called for restraint after violence which claimed dozens of lives.

Ambassador Mark Regev said Israel did everything we could to avoid the bloodshed at the border with Gaza, which saw soldiers open fire on protesters.

The diplomat insisted that the protests were organised by militant group Hamas with an aim to breach the border, to get inside Israel and to kill Israeli citizens.

Expand Close Mark Regev, Israels Ambassador to the United Kingdom (Yui Mok/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: We use live fire only in a very measured way, in a very surgical way and only when there is no alternative.

He added: If we allow the Hamas terrorists to enter Israel, we will have dead Israelis. We must protect our border.

Challenged on the conditions faced by Palestinians living in Gaza, he acknowledged they live a very difficult life, but thats because they live in a prison controlled by Hamas  a theocratic, authoritarian regime that instead of investing its energy and its resources into building a better life for the people of Gaza invests its efforts in a holy war  their words, not mine  against Israel.

On Monday, Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during protests along the border  while a few miles away a ceremony was taking place in Jerusalem for the opening of the controversial new US embassy.

If, as Israels ambassador claims, yesterdays action was measured and surgical then Id hate to see what he thinks unmeasured and indiscriminate looks like.  Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) May 15, 2018

Labour MP Wes Streeting said: If, as Israels ambassador claims, yesterdays action was measured and surgical then Id hate to see what he thinks unmeasured and indiscriminate looks like.

There can be no doubt about what Hamas is and what it represents. But heres an uncomfortable truth: Hamas has no better friend or recruiting sergeant than this Israeli Government.

Middle East Minister Alistair Burt said: We will not waver from our support for Israels right to defend its borders.

But the large volume of live fire is extremely concerning. We continue to implore Israel to show greater restraint.

Extremely saddened by loss of life in Gaza today. Concerned peaceful protests are being exploited by extremist elements. Urge restraint in use of live fire. Violence is destructive to peace efforts. UK remains committed to a two-state solution with Jerusalem as a shared capital.  Rt Hon Alistair Burt (@AlistairBurtUK) May 14, 2018

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said: We cannot turn a blind eye to such wanton disregard for international law. That is why Labour is committed to reviewing UK arms sales to Israel while these violations continue.

Palestinians were observing a general strike to mourn those killed in the deadliest day in Gaza since the 2014 war.

Organisers said the day would be set aside for funerals and that turnout for any new protests on the border with Israel would be low.
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan is greeted by the Queen (John Stillwell/PA)

The Queen had held a private audience with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at Buckingham Palace.

The head of state greeted the controversial Turkish leader in the 1844 Room of her central London residence.

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Protesters have been demonstrating ahead of Mr Erdogans talks with Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday afternoon.

Critics accused the PM of cosying up to the totalitarian leader for economic reasons as she prepared to host him in No 10.

Expand Close President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace (John Stillwell/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace (John Stillwell/PA)

Mr Erdogan, who is on a three-day visit, has faced condemnation for purging his opponents, continuing decades of Turkish opposition to Kurdish autonomy and targeting Kurds fighting Islamic State in Syria.

.@theresa_may will be meeting with Turkish President #Erdogan today. Will she call for the release of #Turkey's dozens of jailed journalists, or turn a blind eye in favour of trade deals? Read @RSF_inter's letter. https://t.co/uRvxvgwB2D #FreeTurkeyMedia #pressfreedom pic.twitter.com/6yUhIHpN6D  Rebecca Vincent (@rebecca_vincent) May 15, 2018

Protest groups gathered outside Downing Street, including organisations supporting journalists, such as Reporters Without Borders, the Cartoonists Rights Network International and the Index on Censorship.

Many protests outside Downing Street this morning ahead of #Erdogans visit. We call on @Theresa_May to raise the issue of #Turkeys 155 imprisoned journalists. #FreeTurkeyMedia #JournalismIsNotACrime pic.twitter.com/9VR9zAvreW  Index on Censorship (@IndexCensorship) May 15, 2018

Around 250 journalists and media workers are in jail in Turkey.
Leading nurses warn that the Spice epidemic sweeping UK prisons is putting nursing staff at risk

Leading nurses warn that the Spice epidemic sweeping UK prisons is putting nursing staff at risk.

The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), which is holding its annual congress in Belfast, said that nurses and healthcare assistants are often first on the scene when inmates need emergency care.

The nursing union has called for action after it said that, under current guidance, nurses and healthcare assistant are expected to enter cells before the smoke has cleared.

But after dashing to the scene to help patients, one prison nurse has been taken to A&E by ambulance after being left unconscious by the psychoactive fumes.

Meanwhile others have reported being unable to drive after inhaling fumes while trying to treat patients.

One RCN member reported treating more than 50 cases in a week.

The union has written to Michael Spurr, chief executive of HM Prison and Probation Service, calling on prison bosses to do more to protect nurses and other health workers from the effects of the drug.

The RCN said that Tees, Esk & Wear Valley NHS Trust withdrew nursing staff from a wing of Holme House prison in County Durham due to the risk posed by Spice.

It said that the use of psychoactive substances has become "widespread" in British prisons.

Janet Davies, RCN general secretary, said: "Spice poses a serious threat to nurses, healthcare assistants and prison staff, whose safety and long-term health is being put at risk day in, day out. We would like to see an urgent review of the guidance that properly reflects the risks posed by this extremely dangerous drug."

A Prison Service spokesman said: "We look forward to discussing these issues with the Royal College of Nursing."

Meanwhile, nurses at the congress will also debate nurse training in relation to suicide.

Members will call for universities offering nursing degrees to include training on suicide prevention.

A previous survey by the college found that three in five nurses had not received any training in suicide prevention or awareness as part of their nursing degree.

Mental health nurse Tim Coupland said: "We all need the confidence to be able to talk frankly and openly with patients about how they are feeling, in order to let them know we can support and help them."
The North has cited military exercises between the US and South Korea (AP)

North Korea is threatening to cancel the forthcoming summit with the US due to ongoing military exercises between America and South Korea, according to reports.

A meeting between the two Koreas at a border village to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks to reduce border tension and restart reunions between families separated by the Korean War has also been cancelled by Pyongyang, Yonhap News Agency said.

North Koreas Korean Central News Agency reported that Pyongyang was also questioning whether next months summit between North Koreas Kim Jong Un and US president Donald Trump can also take place as planned.

However, the US has said it is going ahead with plans for the meeting between the two leaders.

Yonhap said the two-week military exercise between the US and South Korea started on Friday.

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The operations are thought to have involved 100 warplanes.

The Korean Central News Agency reported: The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.

On Tuesday, South Koreas military said North Korea was moving ahead with plans to close its nuclear test site next week, an assessment backed by US researchers who say satellite images show the North has begun dismantling facilities at the site.

The sites closure was set to come before Mr Kim and Mr Trumps summit, which had been shaping up to be a crucial moment in the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear stand-off with the North.

The US state department said Washington has not heard anything directly from Pyongyang or Seoul which would change plans for the historic meeting, proposed for June 12.

Spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Mr Kim had previously indicated he understood the need and purpose of the US continuing its long-planned joint exercises with South Korea.
Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli forces near the border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip (AP)

Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border in Gaza, health officials said.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli militarys use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

Expand Close Medics treat Palestinian children suffering from teargas inhalation during a protest near Beit Lahiya, Gaza Strip (Dusan Vranic/AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The health ministry said the two fresh deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel claimed it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions.



He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey.



Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) May 15, 2018

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country.

The move came after the Turkish foreign ministry temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest over Mondays killings and the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has the blood of Palestinians on his hands.

Mr Netanyahu retorted in a statement: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.

Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors at the United Nations have accused each others countries of violating international law.

The envoys spoke at a UN Security Council meeting which ended without any joint statement or action.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour addressed the council: How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? When are you going to act?

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told the council: You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer.

Expand Close Protesters attend a rally on Whitehall in central London after more than 60 Palestinians were killed and about 2,000 injured by Israeli forces (Victoria Jones/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Protesters attend a rally on Whitehall in central London after more than 60 Palestinians were killed and about 2,000 injured by Israeli forces (Victoria Jones/PA)

Monday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 cross-border war with Israel, and was part of a high-stakes campaign by the Islamic militant Hamas to break a decade-long border blockade.

The Gaza health ministry, which provided the toll from Mondays violence, said a nine-month-old girl died from tear gas exposure, but medical officials later cast doubt on that claim, saying the infant had a pre-existing medical condition.

In jarring contrast to the Gaza bloodshed, the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for a new US embassy in contested Jerusalem at the same time on Monday, just several dozen miles away.

The juxtaposition of violence on the Gaza border and festivities attended by a Trump administration delegation  captured on split screens in TV broadcasts around the world  briefly drew attention to the plight of Gaza and its two million people.

Expand Close Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (AP)

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the deal of the century.

The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

The high casualty toll revived international criticism of Israels open-fire policies.

Rights groups have said the use of potentially lethal force against protesters who pose no immediate threat to soldiers lives is unlawful.

The military has said presumably less lethal rubber-coated steel pellets are not effective in keeping demonstrators from the fence.

Germany, Belgium and Ireland called for an investigation of the violence.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Charles Michel called the Israeli actions unacceptable violence and said there was a clear lack of proportionality.

Expand Close A Palestinian woman reacts to teargas fired by Israeli troops in Gaza (AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook

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Mr Michel said the violence and killings would be moved onto the calendar of the European Union summit in Sofia on Wednesday and Thursday.

German spokesman Steffen Seibert said the violence concerns us greatly, but also accused Hamas of cynically escalating the unrest.

Irelands foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express shock and dismay.

China called on Israel to exercise restraint. On Monday, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice.

The UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters from its border with Gaza, suggesting its forces should instead arrest those who reach the fence.

The UNs Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, told the Security Council there is no justification for the killing. He called on Israel to recalibrate its use of force and to use lethal force only as a last resort.

He also urged Hamas not to use protests as cover to plant bombs and create provocations.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the session given deep divisions between most of the world and the US, Israels close ally.

US ambassador Nikki Haley said no member would act with more restraint than Israel has in its confrontation with Palestinians at the Gaza border.
Former US army captain Ernest Medina, a key figure in the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam war, has died in Wisconsin at the age of 81.

US troops under Capt Medina's command killed hundreds of civilians in the small village in 1968. He was acquitted in a court martial over the massacre.

He died on May 8, according to an obituary written by his family. No cause of death was given.

Capt Medina was captain of Charlie Company, whose troops entered My Lai and a neighbouring community and massacred 504 unarmed Vietnamese villagers over three to four hours - mostly women, children and elderly men.
John Cleese promised to leave the country if parliament rejected a proposal to inflict curbs on the media. Well, the House of Commons did turn down the plan, and so we must assume that Mr Cleese is now packing his bags and booking a flight out.

When someone expressed doubts that Cleese would actually fulfil that pledge, he replied: "Just watch."

Well, we are watching, John. And waiting.

Meanwhile, fellow entertainer Paul O'Grady said he would leave the country if the Conservatives won the 2015 general election.

Well, he's still around after all this time.

I cannot imagine what is keeping him.

Rarely have the Conservatives suffered such damaging and draining internal turmoil as is the case now. The bad blood, which has been spreading through the party, is fast degenerating into open warfare.

It has generally been the case in the past that the Labour Party, either by accident or design, regularly washed their dirty linen in public.

But with the Tories, if ever there was a sniff of domestic strife, they would put up the shutters, making it virtually impossible for even the most diligent investigative reporter to discover what was going on.

That is no longer the case. The problems over Brexit have been laid bare for all to see: the Cabinet split down the middle and some Conservative backbenchers have been at each other's throats.

And, at the time of writing, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is still in his post since describing the Prime Minister's view on the customs union as "crazy".

The former Tory attorney general, Dominic Grieve, has said Johnson should be sacked on the grounds that, if a Cabinet minister disagrees with official policy, he must either go along with it or get out.

And Mrs May has said she retains full confidence in Johnson. Well, what else could she say, short of sacking him?

All this strife must be music to the ears of the EU Brexit negotiators, who are already determined to get their pound of flesh - and more - out of the UK's decision to quit the EU.

And this makes it much easier for the hard men of Brussels to get their way than if the British Government was totally united.

With the Tories weakened by such turbulence, now is the moment when the Opposition should be attacking them most fiercely.

However, it is a sad commentary on the Parliamentary Labour Party that Theresa May is getting more grief from her own rank and file than she is from Jeremy Corbyn and his cohorts.

A sad state of affairs.

The former Labour Cabinet minister Tessa Jowell, who has died aged 70, was that rarity in the world of politics - someone who was admired and even loved (and I don't think that is too strong a word) by her colleagues at Westminster, friend and foe alike.

The speech she made in the House of Lords recently, which urged more help for other cancer patients, has been rated one of the most moving within living memory at Westminster.

Testimony of that was that she was accorded a standing ovation in the Lords - an accolade that has no known precedent at Westminster. She was energetic, industrious, kind and honourable and never had a bad word to say about anyone.

It has been rightly said that without her masterminding of the 2012 London Olympics, they would never have taken place - a massive and well-earned tribute.

The recent photograph of her and the Prime Minister in a warm embrace says so much about Tessa and the warmth with which everyone regarded her.

Many politicians seem besotted with the idea that they've got to prove to the voters that they're just ordinary people. Well, for my part, I would prefer my MPs to be extraordinary, not just ordinary. But the Tories seem to have gone one ludicrous stage further: they are being given lessons, for heaven's sake, on how to show their human side on social media, as though we suspected they weren't human at all.

They are being taught how to project "playfulness" on Instagram. Those MPs who manage to distribute pictures of themselves playing with an animal (preferably a cuddly one, I imagine) will gain valuable Brownie points from Tory chairman Brandon Lewis.

This has all the hallmarks of a ridiculous PR stunt. Playfulness should be reserved for kittens.

I would have hoped that Members of Parliament had discarded their toys long before they reached Westminster.

This has been described as a Toytown Parliament. Now I know why.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte gestures while delivering a speech during the 19th anniversary of the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption at the Malacanang presidential palace in Manila, Aug. 16, 2017.

President Rodrigo Duterte has asked two senior members of his government to resign over publicized allegations of corruption, a week after the countrys tourism secretary quit for similar reasons, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Assistant secretaries Moslemen Macarambon, of the justice department, and Tingagun Umpa, of the public works department, were forced to quit and could face charges, presidential spokesman Harry Roque said.

The president has advised two assistant secretaries to tender their resignations or face termination for corruption, Roque said.

He said an anti-corruption commission found that Macarambon allegedly had regularly been intervening on behalf of suspected smugglers of gold and other precious jewelry at the countrys main international airport.

Umpa was found to have allegedly asked contractors in the south for certain percentages from projects awarded to them, Roque said.

The two were appointed by Duterte, who became president in 2016 on a vow to stamp out corruption and eliminate drug trafficking by killing thousands of addicts and dealers.

While thousands have died so far in his war on drugs, including children who were mistakenly gunned down by the police he had empowered, he has failed to come down hard on erring officials.

Earlier this month, he accepted the resignation of Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo after the Commission on Audit said in a report that her office had awarded 60 million pesos (about U.S. $1.2 million) in advertising contracts to her brothers company.

Her resignation came a month after justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, the top government defender of the presidents drug war, was also asked to resign after his office cleared two suspected big-time drug traffickers of charges.

But unlike in the cases of Macarambon and Umpa, Duterte has refrained from publicly castigating or shaming Teo and Aguirre, a sign that the president was playing favorites despite his anti-corruption pledge, watchdog groups have said.

In February, Dutere sacked Jose Gabriel La Vina as commissioner of the state pension fund on allegations of corruption, only to recently reappoint him as an undersecretary at the tourism office.

La Vina, Dutertes social media strategist during the presidential campaign, was fired after he allegedly asked for an overblown budget for his social media efforts and asked for state accreditation for friends to handle investments of the pension fund.

Duterte has said he would not tolerate even a whiff of corruption among his officials.

Almost three months later, however, the president signed an appointment letter installing La Vina back into goverment. Duterte has not publicly acknowledged questions about the re-appointment of his ex-campaign director.

Earlier, Roque told reporters that Duterte was exercising presidential prerogative in rehiring La Vina.
Approximately 1.7 million Arabs live in Israel  which is more than 20 percent of the population. The vast majority of them are Muslims.

Polls show that 55 percent of them call themselves proud citizens of the country. More than 60 percent describe their lives in Israel as good or very good. However, an open commitment to Israel often remains taboo.

Sarah Zoabi (46) is the first female Arab Muslim to have broken this taboo. A participant of the popular cooking show MasterChef, she openly talked to the shows jury about her love for Israel. By doing so, she triggered a wave of support, but also hatred.

In this interview, the devout Muslim explains what drives her.

Israel Uri Buri from Akko How Jews and Arabs live together Israel is celebrating 70 years of independence. BILD meets Uri Buri, a legend from Akko.

BILD: Why did you want to be photographed with an Israeli flag?

Sarah Zoabi: I live an emancipated and free life here; I feel like Ive arrived. For me, Zionism is the right of the Jewish people to have a country of their own. The Israeli flag is my flag. I dont have another country or another flag.

Auch Interessant



Thats an unusual attitude, isnt it?

Zoabi: Yes, but I do not see any contradiction with my identity as a Muslim Arab woman. In Arab countries, the populations are suffering, and the women do not have equal rights. Only in Israel do Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Jews have full rights and enjoy a good life. Israel is the only democratic, free country in the Middle East. My son and I were the first to officially voice our commitment to Israel. And we have paid a high price for it.

What happened?

Zoabi: There were concrete plans to murder my son. He had to leave the country. I was attacked several times. There were verbal and physical attacks. I received many death threats because I was the first Arab Muslim woman to publicly say: Am Israel Chai! The people of Israel live!

My family then disowned me. Because I professed my love for my country, for them I count as a traitor who has renounced her faith. If the Israeli authorities hadnt protected me, I wouldnt be here today. For a while, I couldnt stay in one place for long because of the threats. Now I have a gun license.

Where does the hatred for Israel come from?

Zoabi: In most cases, it starts with the parents. Fortunately, I grew up in a house where Jews were not hated. I passed this on to my children. Love and peace begin with the parents.

What role does religion play?

Zoabi: Some Imams spread hate speech and hatred for Jews in their mosques. I know many young Arabs who for this reason no longer like going to the mosque. But one does not have to interpret the Quran as being anti-Jewish  on the contrary. One can also interpret the Quran in a way that makes us appreciate all faiths and makes us live together in peace. Faith is a very sensitive thing. I find it terrible when it is abused for hate speech.

Does your position represent the silent majority of Arabs in Israel?

Zoabi: I firmly believe that many Israeli Arabs see the situation as I do. But they lack the courage to speak out. I receive many messages from Arabs who are grateful and who agree with me  but they are too frightened. The general development is that an increasing number of Arab citizens serve in the army or do civil service and enjoy living in Israel. However, it is a slow development.

Some Arab politicians in Israel talk very negatively about the government. They compare Israel with the former Apartheid regime in South Africa and some even defend Hamas terror. Why?

Zoabi: The accusation that Israel is an Apartheid state is completely absurd. You just have to go to the hospitals where Jewish and Arab doctors work together, or to the universities, where we study together, or to parliament where Arabs serve as MPs, as elected representatives. I do not feel represented by those MPs. They use parliament to spread hatred against Israel. THEY are the real traitors. How can you be an MP in Israels parliament, receive a big salary, and talk about Israels being an Apartheid state? They obviously do not understand the value of our country, and they abuse the freedom of speech. There are 22 Arab states  they should go and live in one of those.

Can the Arab states learn something from Israel?

Zoabi: A lot. The meaning of human rights. The meaning of the rule of law. The meaning of equal rights and freedom. Israels army defends all citizens  regardless of their faith. It is a moral army. Everybody who wants a good relationship with Israel can have it. Israel is extending its hand, but at the same time, its ready to defend its borders and citizens.

What do you wish for Israel for the next 70 years?

Zoabi: I hope that people in the region will finally acknowledge Israel as a Jewish state. The Jews have suffered for millennia. They have a right to their own state. And they want peace with their neighbors. I hope that this wish will become reality.

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He runs a Jewish restaurant in an Arab old town

Uri Buri, Uri Buri, two Arab boys are shouting as the bearded man is passing them. The 73-year-old with the big bushy beard is something like the unofficial mayor of the old town. Uri Buri is also the name of his fish restaurant. It is well-known beyond the country borders. It is an emblem of Akkos old town.

In the Bronze Age, 4000 years ago, Akko was already an important harbour town. Trade was flourishing under the Egyptians and Persians. Akko is even mentioned in the Old Testament.

Uri renovated numerous houses here, including the Efendi  a palace whose walls date back to the time of the crusaders. Uri saved this derelict gem, spent eight and a half years refurbishing it, and preserved the delicately ornamented, original ceilings and floors.

Uri  who used to defuse bombs for the Israeli army  is a man of action. The potential of the Middle East is unlimited, he says. With his enterprises, he wants to contribute to that.

A glow in the eyes

Everybody is talking about coexistence, but few people are actually doing anything for it, Uri says. At the same time, its not even that difficult. All over Israel, Jews and Arabs live together. We in Akko are a prime example of that.

The old town is to 95 percent inhabited by Arabs; in the new part of town, its 30 percent, he explains. With respect to his employees, he doesnt distinguish between Jews and Arabs. Uris principle is: no professionals! For Uri himself never had any training and taught himself everything.

Israel Sarah Zoabi I am a Muslim Arab woman and I love Israel Sarah Zoabi (46) is the first female Arab Muslim to have broken a taboo: She openly talked to a TV shows jury about her love for Israel.

This is how he wants to give those who are struggling on the labour market an opportunity. The only thing that matters is that they have a glow in their eyes and that they want to do something with their lives.

In Akko, Jews and Arabs are neighbours. They work together and celebrate together. According to Uri, this is also why the atmosphere in the city is so quiet. Uri himself grew up with an Arab sister. His parents had adopted the girl.

People in Germany dont know that you can sit here, in Israel, in an Arab part of town, in a Jewish restaurant and drink wine. Have you seen any police officers over the past few hours? he asks. In Berlin, this would be unimaginable. And despite this, people are afraid of travelling to Israel.

Post-trauma society

The fact that Germans often misunderstand Israel upsets Uri. The man whose face so often wears a broad smile becomes serious.

In Germany, they dont understand that Israel was founded in a post-trauma, he explains. Many people came here from very difficult conditions and were frightened. After the Holocaust, they felt that nobody will be there to help us if a catastrophe happens. Then everybody will be gone.

According to Uri, this can be seen again today, in Syria: 500 000 people dead, and the world is silent. This renews the old post-trauma that people experienced during the Second World War.

Israelis therefore live with the feeling of always having to be strong, never being allowed to show weakness, says Uri. Being ready to defend themselves. There are insane problems around us. Nobody has a democracy or stability. We feel like an island. And now the Iranians are also getting closer and want to destroy us. How are we supposed to feel, given these circumstances?

But instead of showing that they understand this situation, the Europeans are only interested in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hundreds of thousands are dying in wars in Arab states. But everybody is just watching what happens here. And then people are wondering why we become paranoid! Uri says.

The best place in the world

Uris suggestion as to how to solve the conflict is as easy as it is precise: I want the Palestinians to be better off so that they are content. Then we will also be better off.

Unfortunately, Uri bemoans, Europe has not made a good contribution to this so far. EU money is flowing into a continuation of the conflict, and ends up in the hands of Hamas and other radical forces that are not interested in people having better lives.

However, the majority of Arab Israelis wants to live in Israel. They do not want to live in Syria, Jordan, or under a Palestinian administration. Despite all the problems that we have, despite everything we criticize here, it is still much nicer and more beautiful here than everywhere around us

You just have to respect one another and cooperate to make it come true. Then well have the best place in the world here.
Researchers have identified certain peptides which could be further tested as potential vaccine candidates that can elicit a strong immune response. These peptides are part of an outer membrane protein of the bacterium. This protein is conserved in 46 types of disease causing Leptospira, and if confirmed and further developed into a vaccine, it could provide immunity against all 46 types.

Leptospirosis -caused by pathogenic bacteria, Leptospira-led to over one million infections globally in 2015. Availability of an appropriate vaccine could have prevented most of them.

Scientists at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC) have used sophisticated tools to identify important regions on the bacteria that could play an important role in developing a vaccine for Leptospirosis.

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease, meaning it spreads through animals. Farmers or veterinarians frequently exposed to animal urine or swimmers exposed to contaminated water are at high risk. People may get exposed to the bacteria during flooding as well. Vaccinating such high risk groups can protect them from Leptospirosis.

The team at GBRC used high throughput computational tools to identify regions on pathogenic Leptospira, which could be criticalin designing an effective vaccine. Using, bioinformatics tools, researchers studied the whole set of proteins of bacteria cell (proteome) and its genome.

As a protection mechanism from a pathogen, human body fights back by making antibodies or activating cells that kill other infected cells which scientists refer to as immune response. Vaccines prepare our bodies by eliciting such response even before one is infected bya pathogen. This way vaccine equip us to fight a pathogen or disease as soon as we are exposed to it.

Researchers have identified certain peptides which could be further tested as potential vaccine candidates that can elicit a strong immune response. These peptides are part of an outer membrane protein of the bacterium. This protein is conserved in 46 types of disease causing Leptospira, and if confirmed and further developed into a vaccine, it could provide immunity against all 46 types.

Identification of target sites is a key step in vaccine design. With the help of modern genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics tools we have analyzed the pathogenic proteome (3654 proteins) to predict the antigenicity (ability to elicit an immune response) and narrowed down to a single protein of high affinity with ability to bind to the antibody present on B-cells for inducing immune response, explained Jayashankar Das, lead scientist, while speaking to India Science Wire.

Since many different strains or types of Leptospiraare present in tropical regions, the team is carrying out more studies on different strains and also testing identified proteins in cells, added Das. Since this disease is a major concern to farmers as well as livestock breeders, we are also involved in developing an onsite diagnostic kit for leptospirosis with support from the Department of Science and Technology,he added.

These peptides represent a novel outcome of the study. They need to be studied further in for their effectiveness in animals and humans. If successful, it could become an important tool in fighting this disease worldwide, commented Hardeep Vora, R&D Manager at Dia Sys Diagnostics India, while speaking to India Science Wire.

The research results have been published in journal, Scientific Reports. The team included Kumari Snehkant Lata, Swapnil Kumar, Vibhisha Vaghasia, Priyanka Sharma, Shivarudrappa B. Bhairappanvar, Subhash Soni and Jayashankar Das. The research work was supported by the Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission.
Cannes 2018: Which Attire Of Aishwarya Deserves No.1 Rank? Bollywood Wardrobe Devika

The reigning 'Queen of Cannes' and of our hearts, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan didn't even have a single failure at Cannes 2018. She came, she conquered, and now she is back in India.

While she is back in her native country, we can't just stop thinking about her this Cannes season outfits. She left us all awestruck and now we are living in the afterglow.

From laidback to dramatic, Aishwarya carried all the styles at Cannes that you could possibly imagine. Let's take a look at her French Riviera wardrobe and then you can share with us that which attire of hers impressed and stunned you the most.

1. Her Manish Arora's Breezy Dress

Aishwarya kickstarted her Cannes 2018 journey in a flowy attire by Manish Arora. It was a colourfully sequined kaftan-style gown that Ash carried so coolly, as if she was on some de-stressing vacay. Her dress was accentuated by bright butterfly motifs and she left her tresses loose, which complemented with the feel of the dress.

2. Her Michael Cinco's 20-Foot Cape Dress

The first red carpet gown of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Cannes 2018 was a 20-foot long purple-hued cape dress by Michael Cinco. It took the designer around 3000 hours to design this surreal attire. This painstakingly abstract piece of art was inspired by a butterfly. She also teamed her attire with amethyst and sapphire earrings by de Grisogono.

3. Her Sassy Giorgio Armani's Pantsuit

Aishwarya was also honoured for gracing Cannes Film Festival for more than 15 years as the regular L'Oreal ambassador and also a jury member on a few occasions. She looked like a bosslady at the event in her Armani pantsuit. She accessorised her look with matching Jimmy Choo clutch and attention-grabbing pencil heels by Racine Carree. Ash sported a middle-parted ponytail for the soiree, which went well with the attire.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan CUTE DANCE with Aaradhya Bachchan at Cannes 2018 goes viral | Boldsky

4. Her Manish Arora's Jazzy Jacket

The diva for her photoshoot donned a formal white shirt and paired it with a navy blue high-waist skirt. However, she colour-blocked her muted look with a bright red embellished jacket and added the 'glam factor' to her attire. She wore a shimmery pink lip shade and enhanced her no-nonsense avatar with nude strappy heels.

5. Her Icy Gown By Rami Kadi

The Cannes veteran, Ash was a vision to behold in her Rami Kadi attire. Her intricately embroidered gown was ornamented with around 20,000 Swarovski crystals and she walked down like a quintessential ice queen on the red carpet. Also, her masterpiece impeccable bun and meticulously placed Boucheron jewels were simply unmissable.

Ash took our breath away in all the attires. We are sure that she had the same effect on you but which attire of hers would you give the number one ranking? Let us know via the comments section.
Das Mahavidyas In Hinduism Faith Mysticism oi-Renu

Goddess Sati was the daughter of Daksh Prajapati. She had married Lord Shiva against the will of her father. Daksh Prajapati organised a yagna and did not invite Shiva for it. But Goddess Sati wanted to attend it. She asked for Shiva's permission saying that a daughter does not need an invitation to go to her father's house. However, Shiva denied the permission saying that because he was not invited to the yagna, the yagna would not be successful even if Sati attended it.

Feeling ignored at the answer of Shiva, Sati became enraged and took a furious form.

It is believed that Lord Shiva tried fleeing away, but in vain. All the ten directions were blocked by the Goddess. She took the ten forms and in each direction just to not let Shiva escape. Here are the ten forms of Mahavidya, described briefly. Take a look.

Goddess Kali

Kali is the first among the Mahavidyas. She is dark in complexion, wears a garland of skulls and has red eyes. She looks very furious holding a skull in one of her hands. Goddess Kali is also considered the female representation of Kala, meaning time.

She represents power and consciousness inits highest form.

Goddess Tara

Goddess Tara, looking similar to Goddess Kali is the second Mahavidya. She wears a tiger skin, a garland of human heads and blood oozes from her mouth. It is also believed that Goddess Tara is the Goddess of peace and compassion. She is often confused with Goddess Kali. However, the best way to differentiate is that while Goddess Kali is shown black in colour, the colour of Goddess Tara's skin is shown blue.

Goddess Tripura Sundari

Goddess Tripura Sundari has been described as being the most beautiful in the three worlds, that is the Aakash, the Patal and the Prithvi. She is also known as Goddess Shodashi. She represents Goddess Parvati. The names Lalitha and Rajrajeshwari also denote her. She represents Sada Shivatattva, which refers to awareness.

Goddess Bhuvaneshwari

Bhuvaneshwari is the fourth among the ten Mahavidyas. She looks similar to Tripura Sundari. Bhuvaneshwari translates to - the Goddess of the Earth. She is also known as Mahamaya. Adi Shakti is the other name that she is denoted with. This Goddess is known to change situations as per her will. It is said that not even the Trimurti stop her from doing what she wants.

Goddess Chinamasta

She is also known as the Prachand Chandika. She is shown with her own head struck off, and held by her in one of her hands. This Goddess is white in colour and shown with two other of her assistants- Dakini and Varnini. While Dakini has black skin Varnini has red. All three of them, together represent the three Gunas - Satva, Rajas and Tamas.

Goddess Bhairavi

Goddess Bhairavi is also known as Tripura Bhairavi. She is seen seated on a lotus, and has four hands. She holds a book in one hand, rosary beads in the other. Another hand is in Abhaya Mudra and yet another in Varada Mudra. Having three eyes, she has crescent moon on her head. It is believed that she resides in the Muladhara Chakra. The granter of every perfection, she is also called Sakal Sidh Bhairavi. She protects her devotees from ignorance. She represents wrath which targets the ignorance.

Goddess Dhumavati

Goddess Dhumavati is believed to be the giver of supernatural powers and the fulfiller of all the wishes. Her worship is considered especially for the single members of the society, such as the bachelors, sages, tantrikas etc.She is also often described as the dark side of life. She is often depicted seated on a crow. She represents the fact that everything that humans cling to is mortal in nature.

Goddess Baglamukhi

Baglamukhi, translates to the 'Goddess who paralyzes the enemies'. She is also known as Pitambari Maa, because of her association with yellow or golden colour. She represents the hypnotic power of the Goddess. She is seen sitting on a yellow throne of lotuses in an ocean of nectar. This Goddess can turn speech into silence, knowledge into ignorance and defeat into victory.

Goddess Matangi

Goddess Matangi is another among the ten Mahavidyas, and has various other forms of her own as well. She is green in colour which signifies intelligence. She is often depicted with a parrot which too, is a representation of intelligence. There is a veena in her hands which shows her association with music. According to Shyamaladandakam, she plays a ruby-studded veena and speaks sweetly. She gives people the power to attract others and control them.

Goddess Kamala

Goddess Kamala is depicted as seated in Padmasana on a lotus, she is seen being bathed by four elephants pouring jars of nectar over her. She is golden in colour and has four hands. Two hands are holding lotuses and the other two are in Abhaymudra and Varamudra. She is independent and is all supreme divine mother.
By Olivia Kelleher

A Cork company is due to receive 2m in EU funding to promote their pregnancy screening test for pre-eclampsia.

Little Island based biotech company, Metabolomic Diagnostics, will use the award to commercialise its breakthrough product, PrePsia.

PrePsia is a simple blood test taken in early pregnancy, which can identify whether a woman may develop Preterm Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is one of the biggest risks that women face during a pregnancy, claiming the lives of 75,000 mothers and 500,000 babies annually.

The firm says that their screening has the potential to transform prenatal care by allowing clinicians to administer treatments early that can dramatically reduce the incidence of the disease.

Charles Garvey, CEO of Metabolomic Diagnostics, said the award will be used to accelerate their go-to-market strategy.

"We plan to market the product next year, and now with this support from the EU, we believe that PrePsia has the potential to become part of pregnancy screening programs worldwide."

He stresses the award is recognition by the European Union of the huge progress they have made to date and the enormous societal benefit that their test will bring to expectant mothers and their babies all over the world.

Metabolomic Diagnostics has previously been supported by the EU through FP7 funding, as well as private investors, SOSV, Enterprise Equity AIB Seed Capital Fund and Enterprise Ireland.

Sean Burke, Horizon 2020 National Delegate, Enterprise Ireland says they are focused on nurturing and developing the innovative solutions and capabilities of SME's.

"This is an excellent win for the team at Metabolomic Diagnostics and we look forward to working closely with the company in the future."
By Geoff Percival

The IMF has urged the Government to abolish the special 9% Vat rate for the tourism and hospitality sector, prioritise spending on infrastructure and healthcare, and opt for tax increases rather than cuts in future budgets.

In its latest post-bailout health check on the country, the IMF said Irelands public finances have continued to improve, but noted vulnerabilities still persist.

The policy challenge is to harness the strong economic momentum to avoid a new boom-bust cycle, address remaining crisis legacies, and bolster the economys resilience in the event adverse risks materialise, it said.

It added: To this end, fiscal policy should become countercyclical, while making room for much-needed infrastructure investments.

"This would involve broadening the tax base, which is also prudent in view of the high dependency on possibly volatile corporate tax revenues.

It said further action is needed to boost housing supply in a sustainable manner, efforts to repair the banks balance sheets need stepping up and Brexit preparations need to continue.

The IMF said Ireland should pursue a small budget surplus in 2019 and target a lowering in the Governments debt-to-GDP ratio to around 50% over the medium term.

Noting the vulnerability of the countrys corporate tax receipts, the IMF said a tightening of policy in order to build fiscal buffers against future shocks remains a priority.

As part of a broader tax base, the IMF envisages a reversal of the special 9% Vat rate for the hotels sector something previously estimated to be worth around 500m per year to the exchequer  and an increase of the excise rate on diesel.

Tax breaks and exemptions and preferential rates should be eliminated, it said, while a better targeting of tax expenditures could provide significant resources.

It added that future tax windfalls emanating from the activities of multinationals should be used to reduce public debt or to increase the planned rainy-day fund.

On housing, it advocates the Government increasing supply via social housing initiatives but argued that house prices could be further increased by adding rent caps and/or increasing the amount of money first-time buyers can borrow.

It has suggested a gradual reform of the property tax and warned that the operations of the Home Building Finance Ireland fund, set up in last Octobers budget to help finance fresh house building, should remain limited in scope and subject to robust governance and prudent risk management.

The IMF also reiterated the dangers to the Irish economy of a hard Brexit.
A new survey of the Irish workforce by IrishJobs.ie reveals that almost 4 in 10 workers (37%) didnt take their full allocation of annual leave in 2017.

Just under half of the respondents took a holiday longer than two weeks last year.

But even those who took a holiday found it hard to switch offa third (33%) of respondents admitting to working while on annual leave.

The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets out a basic annual paid leave requirement of four working weeks (or 20 days) for full-time workers in Ireland.

However, two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed are offered more than twenty days annual leave by their employer. Two percent of those surveyed are entitled to unlimited annual leave.

37% of respondents have the option to buy additional annual leave from their employer, meaning that some Irish workers can avail of up to 30 days annual leave per year.

What are the benefits of not taking your full allocation of annual leave?

Absolutely noneand studies show that those who dont are at an increased risk of chronic stress. There are no financial benefits, either. According to the survey results, 70% of respondents said that they were not financially compensated for the annual leave they didnt take in 2017.

Yet, the advantages of taking a holiday are clear. Taking time off from work or the daily grind not only helps people to de-stress, but it also helps work productivity.

An article by Harvard Business Review outlines the benefits of taking a vacation or holiday day, citing enhanced emotional agility and a greater ability to direct attention and energy to a subject.

Commenting on the results, IrishJobs.ie General Manager Orla Moran said:

The Irish workforce is extremely hard-working. Many are working in extremely competitive professional environments and understandably are eager to demonstrate their work ethic, ambition and commitment to their employer.

One outcome is that employees become so consumed with their day job, taking annual leave becomes a secondary consideration.

Therefore, while it is not particularly surprising to see that almost 40% of workers are not availing of their full annual leave allocation, in the long run this is a very unwise approach and one that will ultimately lead to burn out.

It is important to remember that annual leave is essential time away from the workplace to switch off and recharge the batteries. We advise everyone to make full use of their statutory entitlement.

- Digital Desk
Thomson Reuters is set to move its FX Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF) to Dublin from London following Britain's exit from the EU next year.

The company has opted to transfer its $300 billion-a-day foreign exchange trading facility to Dublin over Amsterdam - where most of its rivals have located.

Thomson Reuters has applied to the Central Bank to move its foreign exchange MTF to Dublin so that it can continue to sell into the EU's single market.

As of yet, there are no plans to move London staff to Dublin so the move will create new job opportunities here in Ireland.

The company will transfer all existing client relationships as well as Fixed Income Callouts and Auctions, from RTSL to its new Irish legal entity ahead of the Brexit date.

This will include all EU/UK clients as well as non-EU clients accessing these service.

IDA Ireland today welcomed the announcement.

Martin Shanahan, CEO IDA Ireland said:

Thomson Reuters choice of Ireland is very significant in terms of our ability to attract top international brands that have influence and reach.

"This provides IDA Ireland with another powerful calling card for new types of business within International Financial Services and points to Irelands attractiveness to international financial services business.

Ireland has the right mix of regulation, skills, experience and office space to make us a very logical place for financial services to locate.

Our track record, pro-business environment, highly skilled talented workforce and an unwavering commitment to the European single market continues to appeal to investors.

Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys TD said:

"This decision by Thomson Reuters to establish this operation in Dublin is very welcome news and illustrates the strength of Ireland's position in attracting significant companies in the Financial Services Sector.

The Government has been making strenuous efforts to ensure that we have the right conditions in place in Ireland, especially regarding skills availability, to attract the knowledge-based sectors and announcements like this one today are a vindication of these efforts.

"We represent a very attractive base in the Eurozone for these companies and we will continue to pursue new investors in this sector."

- Digital Desk
Three grants amounting to 7 million have been successfully secured by three Irish companies in the most recent round of Horizon 2020 SME Instrument funding which received 1280 applications from all over Europe.

AuriGen Medical, Atxa Therapeutics and Metabolomic Diagnostics were among the 64 projects granted 110 million funding in this round with AuriGen Medical ranking at number one.
Revenue officers seized 17,250 when they stopped and searched a van that arrived at Dublin Port on Sunday morning.

The money was found concealed in the vans glove box and is suspected to be the proceeds of, or intended for use in, criminal activity.
Two Army officers and a warrant officer "had a total disregard for the safety" of their men when they organised a live ammunition training exercise in which a 21-year-old soldier was fatally shot in the head, a court martial has heard.

Ranger Michael Maguire, of the 1st Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment, was one of several soldiers who came under machine gun fire during the exercise at the Castlemartin Training Area in Pembrokeshire in May 2012.

Nigel Lickley QC, prosecuting, told the trial at Bulford that soldiers on one range were firing directly at those on the neighbouring range, who were about 1km away and would have been visible.

Rgr Maguire, from County Cork, Ireland, was shot in the forehead and killed.

He had joined the battalion in May 2010 and had completed a tour of Afghanistan.

Captain Jonathan Price, 32, now of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Irish, is accused of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Rgr Maguire through his failure to set up and supervise a safe exercise.

The training was preparing the troops for deployment to Kenya.

Lieutenant Colonel Richard Bell, 45, and Warrant Officer Stuart Pankhurst, 40, are both accused of negligently performing a duty.

Mr Lickley continued: "All three men played their part in causing this catastrophe in different ways.

The common sense of the situation is you do not point guns at people, you do not design, permit or allow an activity that allows machine guns to fire directly in line with your men, men that you know are there, men that you might be able to see, if not the vehicles that are with them.

Mr Lickley said Price was accused of negligence by failing to attend a recce of the range when preparing a Range Action Safety Plan (Rasp), that he placed targets too close together and he failed to "deconflict" the two exercises.

He said: "Crucially, he allowed firing to take place beyond the permitted arcs of fire."

He added: "Such was the total disregard for the safety of his men that a public beach 3km away and anyone on it was put at risk of being hit, such was the range of the weapons being used, the SA80 (assault rifle) and the general purpose machine gun (GPMG).

"It's fortunate there were not more casualties."

Mr Lickley said that Bell, the senior planning officer, was accused of failing to review or counter-sign the Rasp produced by Price and failed to supervise or support him.

He said that Pankhurst, who was supervising the exercise involving Rgr Maguire on Range 10A, was accused of failing to "express any caution or concern" despite having attended the recce and having knowledge of the extent of the adjacent shooting on Range 10B.

All three defendants deny the charges and the trial, which is expected to last about six weeks, continues.

The panel of seven senior officers trying the case are set to make a site visit to the firing range later.

- PA
A lifeboat crew at Ballyglass RNLI was launched on Monday to recover a barge that had broken away from its moorings in Labrador, Newfoundland in Canada last November.

The crew received a call on Monday evening at 7.20pm saying the 26-metre long boat had been spotted by a fishing vessel.

The Coast Guard informed the RNLI crew that the structure had broken free from its moorings in Canada, over 3,080km away, last November before being sighted locally that evening.

It took the crew seven hours to secure the barge and bring it safely to Ballyglass, Co Mayo.

The lifeboat crew established a tow and brought the barge back to Ballyglass harbour.

Picture: RNLI

It was put on the lifeboat mooring before a more permanent solution could be found as there was no room to berth it safely in the harbour.

"We were not expecting this type of callout at all," said Padraic Sheeran. Ballyglass RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager.

You do hear of vessels and craft breaking free of moorings but its unusual to have one drift thousands of kilometres and have to be rescued by lifeboat.

"On a serious note though, it represented a major navigational danger to any vessel that it collided with and it was a relief to have it safely recovered."

- Digital Desk
A seven-year-old boy who died in a light aircraft crash in Offaly on Sunday has been named as Kacper Kacprzak.

Kacper, the son of a Polish national living in west Dublin, was a pupil at Sacred Heart of Jesus NS in Blanchardstown, Dublin.

Kacper and Kris Kacprzak.

His father Kris was one of 16 parachutists who jumped from the plane earlier during a scheduled jump.

47-year-old pilot Niall Bowditch, from the UK, was also killed and has been named today.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to raise money to support the families of Kacper and Mr Bowditch.

Fund organiser Allaiouti Hassan said: "We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy, a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot.

"This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident.

I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyone's heart.

He appealed for donations for the families.

So far, the page has raised almost 20,000 in just 17 hours.

Air accident officials were continuing their investigations last night at the scene.

The bodies were recovered from the wreckage on Sunday night and taken for post-mortem examinations at Midland Regional Hospital in Tullamore.

The aircraft had taken off from Clonbullogue airfield at around 2.25pm. The crash happened a few kilometres away near Edenderry.

Members of the gardai and an Air Accident Investigation Unit examine the wreckage of the aircraft which crashed in dense forest on the outskirts of Clonbuloge, Co. Offaly. Photo: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.

- Digital Desk
Update 8.52pm: The HSE has contacted two more women affected by the CervicalCheck controversy.

The latest audit update shows it has made contact with 205 women and families so far out of the 209 women whose test could have provided a different result.

18 of them have died and where this is the case their family and next of kin are being contacted.

The health authority says it will end the matching process with the National Cancer Registry in the next week.

To date, 7,103 calls have been returned.

Meanwhile, new documents show CervicalCheck told doctors to use their own judgement about whether to tell women about the audits of their cancer smear tests.

They warned in some cases revealing to a woman with cancer that she had a false negative may have done more harm than good.

The documents also show the head of the scoping inquiry into what happened has expressed concern about the fevered atmosphere around CervicalCheck, and how it might affect his investigation.

- Digital Desk

Update 6.38pm: Govt to establish new independent HSE board; Warning 'fevered atmosphere' may affect probe

The head of the scoping inquiry into what happened at CervicalCheck has said the 'fevered atmosphere' around the situation may affect his investigation.

His warning came after the cabinet this evening approved the re-establishment of a HSE board in a bid to streamline the management of the health service and offer a greater level of accountability.

Dr Gabriel Scally (below) says key figures are distracted by having to appear before Oireachtas committees.

The Department of Health has released a number of documents relating to the scandal this evening.

Dr Scally told the Secretary General of the Department of Health he has met with Vicky Phelan and will shortly be requesting information from the parties involved in the investigation.

But he said to do his work he needs the full attention and co-operation of the key individuals involved in CervicalCheck, the Department of Health and the HSE.

Dr Scally said he was concerned the fevered atmosphere surrounding the scandal may inhibit that.

Records released this evening also reveal that in a note CervicalCheck told doctors to pass on information about the review of smear tests to patients as a general rule of thumb.

But they said doctors could use their own judgement in cases where revealing the outcome could do more harm than good.

And in cases where a woman had died, the result should simply be recorded in her notes.

The cabinet has also approved this evening the re-establishment of a HSE board in a bid to streamline the management of the health service and offer a greater level of accountability.

Speaking about the approval, Minister for Health Simon Harris said: "It is my firm view that a Board governance structure, with strong competencies across key areas, will contribute to strengthening the oversight and performance of the HSE pending its further reorganisation.

"Under the new legislation the Board will be accountable to the Minister for the performance of its functions and it will be responsible for the appointment of a CEO. The CEO will be responsible to the Board and the Board will take responsibility for assessing the CEO's performance."

I firmly believe that the appointment of a strong Board will help ensure robust governance of the HSE.

- Digital Desk

Update 4.36pm: 'Absence of political leadership' in Health Department, says FF leader

The Fianna Fail leader says there has been a lack of leadership in the Department of Health when dealing with the CervicalCheck scandal.

A number of internal Department memos will be released this evening after being considered by the cabinet.

They will show no concerns were raised about patient safety at CervicalCheck, but some in the Department of Health knew smear test audit information was not being passed to women and doctors.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin says when Minister for Health Simon Harris found out about the situation he should have done more.

"Mintse Harris became aware, he says, on April the 16th via memo in relation to the Vicky Phelan case.

"What I have to say, and I regret saying - there has been an absence of political leadership with the department since then.

"I can't understand why the Minister wouldn't have summoned people to his department on that issue - there and then - and said 'I want all documentation pertaining to this issue produced within 48 hours'."

- Digital Desk

Update 3.17: New documents relating to CervicalCheck scandal to be released

By Elaine Loughlin Political Correspondent

The Taoiseach has confirmed that another tranche of documents relating to the CervicalCheck scandal are to be released this evening.

Speaking in the Dail Leo Varadkar said "roughly a dozen" documents, which include memos between the Department of Health and Health Service Executive at an official level, minutes of meetings of officials of the HSE and Department of Health and emails between various officials, will be published.

It comes after three 2016 memos released last week revealed that CervicalCheck was working on a strategy to mitigate any negative stories that might appear in the media around the screening service.

The memos, which led to the resignation of HSE head Tony O'Brien, also stated that letters informing women of the result of audits of their smear checks were being "paused".

Mr Varadar told the Dail that the latest group of confirm that "no concerns were raised about patient safety, the efficacy and accuracy of the programme or the accuracy of any particular laboratories.

"The only issues dealt with in the documents relate to open disclosure or, rather, the non-open disclosure of information to patients and doctors," he said.

Update 2.41pm: Social Democrats call for action instead of outrage over CervicalCheck scandal

The Social Democrats have called for politicians to move beyond outrage over the CervicalCheck scandal and start implementing actions.

The party welcomed the news today that a new board will be appointed to the HSE in a bid to increase accountability.

Cabinet ministers again discussed the scandal which saw 209 women given false negative cancer test results.

Social Democrats TD Roisin Shortall says the all-party Slaintecare report needs to be implemented.

"What has happened in relation to CervicalCheck is shocking, but at a political level and right across the board, there is a responsibility on politicians to actually implement the legislation that is required to bring about the accountability that everyone is talking about," she said.

Outrage, condemnation, will not achieve that.

Roisin Shortall.

Earlier: Cabinet to meet to discuss new HSE board after Cervical Check scandal

7.35am: Cabinet will meet this morning to discuss re-establishing a board to oversee the Health Service Executive.

Minister for Health Simon Harris says it is part of measures to ensure there is accountability within the organisation.

Mr Harris will bring draft legislation to the cabinet to re-establish the board in an attempt to deal with issues around governance and accountability.

It follows the Cervical Check controversy which has dominated political proceedings in recent weeks and which has seen the Director General of the HSE Tony O'Brien step down and the launch of an inquiry.

The previous board was abolished in 2011.

Meanwhile, 200 people gathered outside the GPO in Dublin to show their support to the women and families affected by the controversy.

Frustrated, angry.. let down Around 200 ppl gathered at the GPO last night to stand with the women and families affected by the cervical cancer controversy. More on @morningireland pic.twitter.com/iexNa0LHxY  Jackie Fox (@jackiefox_) May 15, 2018

- Digital Desk
By Conor Kane

The loss of a young mother who was killed when the car in which she was a passenger was struck by a truck on a motorway hard shoulder has left a huge hole in the lives of her family and left her baby daughter having to grow up without a mother, a court has heard.

Nicola Kenny (26) from Thurles was killed instantly on September 5 on 2016, just a day after the birth of her only child Lily Rose. She was being driven to Temple Street Hospital to visit her daughter by her aunt, with her mother also in the car, and they pulled into the M8 hard shoulder to take a call from the hospital to say the new baby was fine.

A truck travelling in the same direction crashed into the back of the car and Nicola died at the scene while her mother was injured and her aunt spent months in hospital with serious injury.

The truck-driver, Ciaran McBride (33) of 38 Tivenmara Road, Carna, Keady, Co Armagh, pleaded guilty at Clonmel Circuit Court to careless driving causing death and serious injury. He was given an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay 10,000 in compensation to the deceaseds parents.

The crash was attributed to driver error, the court heard. The accused had left his home in Armagh at 4.30am that morning, driven 60km to Kells in Co Meath and then 320km to Cork to make two deliveries, before another 90km from Cork in the direction of Cashel, with the crash happening at 12.25pm between the Cahir and Cashel exits.

Ciaran McBride told gardai in interviews that he had taken the statutory 15 and 30 minute breaks that morning but his tachograph was incorrectly inserted in the truck so this couldnt be checked. Based on checking the records at toll booths the accused passed through, Garda Declan Corrigan said he would have to dispute this account of taking breaks.

A witness, engineer Patrick Foley, told gardai that he overtook the truck shortly before the crash and noticed the space between his car and the truck becoming greater because the truck was slowly veering off towards the hard shoulder in a gradual movement.

When he saw the car and saw where the truck had gone, he immediately thought there was going to be an impact, Garda Corrigan said.

Garda Corrigan was one of the first at the scene and found Nicola Kenny in the rear passenger seat of a Ford Focus car. Nicola appeared to be dead. There was no sign of life.

Her mother Anne Kenny, who had been a front seat passenger, asked him was her daughter dead and he informed her that there was no sign of life.

Ciaran McBride was arrested at the scene. A breathalyser test was negative. He had a conviction for drink-driving going back to when he was 18, and for smuggling a person in his truck in France, when some people got into his truck without his knowledge.

Nicola had given birth the day before the crash, in hospital in Clonmel, to a baby girl, Lily-Rose, who had become unwell and was transferred to Temple Street childrens hospital in Dublin.

On the day of the crash, Nicolas aunt and mother collected her from Clonmel and made their way to the motorway to head for Dublin. After going onto the M8 at Cahir, Nicola got a call from Temple Street and asked her aunt to pull into the hard shoulder while she took it.

The phone call was to tell Nicola the baby was fine and there was no need to travel to Dublin. As she finished the phone call, the car in which she was a back seat passenger was struck from behind.

A victim impact statement prepared by Nicolas mother, Anne, said Nicolas premature death as a young mother has had a devastating effect on myself and our entire family and that life will never be the same.

Her father, Paddy, said in his victim impact statement that the death has left a huge hole in our lives and the biggest loss has been suffered by Lily-Rose, having to grow up without a mother.

Nicolas family did not attend court for the sentencing hearing. Her parents are in the process of securing guardianship of Lily-Rose.

Philip Sheahan SC, for the accused, said his client had made contact with Nicolas family about attending her funeral, but did not attend in accordance with their wishes. He had suffered a fit of sneezing just before the crash and it was on account of that, it would appear, that his vehicle veered sharply into the hard shoulder.

Mr Sheahan assured the court that the remorse and regret and sorrow is profound on Mr McBrides account although this pales in comparison with the pain and suffering of the victims family.

He said his client is a married man who is no longer a truck-driver but now employs five people.

Judge Teehan said the consequences of what happened during a few seconds on this day in September 2016 have been enormous for the Kenny family.

He put the offence in the upper range of such offences, with two years in prison the maximum sentence for careless driving causing death.

It was not a crime of intent, the judge said, but a crime of recklessness and on the issue of whether it was a case of falling asleep at the wheel or having a sneezing fit, the first possibility was by far the most likely, because of the gradual movement of the truck towards the hard shoulder, observed by witnesses.

He gave the accused credit for co-operating with the gardai and pleading guilty, as well as his genuine remorse for what happened.
By Gerard Cunningham

Former garda press officer Supt David Taylor says he no longer believes that whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe was motivated by revenge in raising issues about garda conduct in the Cavan Monaghan district and abuses of the penalty points system.

The Charleton tribunal is examining allegations by Supt Taylor that former garda commissioner Martin Callinan directed him to brief the media negatively on Sgt McCabe. Mr Callinan denies these allegations.

Supt Taylor said that at the time he was garda press officer, he believed the substance of the briefing he was instructed to give to journalists. This was that Sgt McCabe wanted revenge because he had been investigated over sexual abuse allegations.

In 2007 the DPP directed no prosecution following an investigation into a historic allegation of abuse by Miss D, saying there was no evidence a crime ha been committed.

Questioned by Michael McDowell SC, who represents Sgt McCabe, Supt Taylor said he did not believe he was doing wrong at the time, and that the information he was giving was factual.

Supt Taylor said that later, after he was suspended from An Garda Siochana, "when I had removed myself from the hothouse of Garda culture I realised what I had done was wrong."

"It shouldn't have been done whether it was true or not," Supt Taylor said.

"Are you still of the view he was motivated by revenge?" Mr McDowell asked.

"No, I now know it wasn't true," Supt Taylor said.

Supt Taylor said that negative briefings were not put in writing, but "would be taken as an opportunity, to slip it into a conversation" as part of off-the-record briefings.

Asked what he expected the result of the briefings to be, Supt Taylor said "I expected what the garda management expected, that there'd be a critical eye taken at the allegations that Sgt McCabe was making.

Supt Taylor said that the 2006 Miss D investigation was well known in Garda HQ, and was spoken of "almost like a water cooler conversation.

Supt Taylor said that journalists didn't react when he briefed them negatively. "Journalists are hard-nosed, it takes a lot to shock them, he said.

Supt Taylor said that two journalists perceived as sympathetic to Sgt McCabe, the Irish Examiner's Michael Clifford and RTE's Katie Hannon, were not given negative briefings.

"We had no engagement with Mick Clifford when I was at the press office," Supt Taylor said.

"With Ms Hannon we had some engagement because she would seek confirmation on some questions she sent in relation to programmes, we would keep it very professional."

Earlier, tribunal barrister Diarmaid McGuinness SC asked Supt Taylor why his protected disclosure did not mention that he had overheard Commissioner Callinan call Sgt McCabe a "kiddie fiddler" after a Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearing in 2013.

Supt Taylor said that he "subsequently fleshed out" all the knowledge he had in statements to the tribunal.

Supt Taylor said that Sgt McCabe got it wrong in saying that Supt Taylor said he sent text messages to journalists. Supt Taylor said that when he was sent a chapter of a book by journalist Michael Clifford describing a meeting between Sgt McCabe and Supt Taylor to check for factual accuracy, he "didn't proof read it in the sense of go through it line by line.

"I gave it a perusal, a look through it," Supt Taylor said.

Supt Taylor denied he had attempted to create a media narrative that he was being unfairly targeted, and said he made his protected disclosure in September 2016 "because I wanted to do the right thing.

Supt Taylor said he confirmed the Miss D investigation allegations to journalists Debbie McCann and Eavan Murray, but the journalists already knew the facts from other sources. Supt Taylor said that while he knew Miss D's surname, he had not given it to journalists.

Ms McCann and Ms Murray both claim journalistic privilege in statements to the tribunal. Supt Taylor said he could not recall the content of phone calls and texts to these two journalists and to Paul Williams in February 2014.

He said that it was a busy month with the alleged GSOC bugging story, and there were many queries in relation to that story at the time.

Also at the tribunal, the legal team for Irish Examiner journalist Juno McEnroe told the tribunal that the reporter was asserting journalistic privilege. On Monday, the tribunal was told that Mr McEnroe said he had no knowledge or information about negative briefings on Sgt McCabe.
By Gerard Cunningham

Former Garda press officer Supt David Taylor told the Charleton tribunal that he accepted that the smear campaign he alleges he was directed to run against whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe was "a flop".

The tribunal is examining allegations by Supt Taylor that he was directed by former garda commissioner Martin Callinan to brief the media negatively on Sgt McCabe. Mr Callinan denies this.

Supt Taylor was questioned by Anthony Thullier, representing journalist Michael O'Toole of the Irish Daily Star, who said that "if there was a smear campaign run by you it was spectacularly unsuccessful.

"Well, you might say that," Supt Taylor said.

Chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton said the tribunal had searched through newspapers, and it was "very hard to find anything negative" about Sgt McCabe. "Wasn't it a flop?" the chairman asked.

"I accept that," Supt Taylor said.

Supt Taylor alleges he was directed to brief journalists about a 2006 complaint from Miss D of historic abuse by Sgt McCabe. The DPP directed no prosecution in the case following a garda investigation, saying there was no evidence of a crime.

Rossa Fanning SC, on behalf of journalist Paul Williams, said that Mr Williams had been able to retrieve phone records from the two days when he had visited Miss D in March 2014 and these showed Mr Williams had not called Supt Taylor on either day.

Supt Taylor says that Mr Williams phoned him on a Saturday in early 2014 and said "Guess where I am" and told him he planned to write a story about Miss D.

Mr Fanning said that records for Supt Taylor's phone, already in the tribunal's possession, showed that the superintendent had not placed a phone call to Mr Williams on those days either.

Mr Fanning asked if Supt Taylor could identify a single specific occasion on which he briefed Mr Williams adversely about Maurice McCabe.

"They were opportunist; they presented themselves when they presented themselves," Supt Taylor said.

Maurice McCabe in 2017

Mr Fanning said that Supt Taylor was "unfortunate" as he was in disagreement not just with Mr Williams but a number of other journalists.

RTE journalists John Burke and Paul Reynolds and Irish Star journalist Michael O'Toole, said they were not briefed negatively about Sgt McCabe.

In his evidence last year, Mr Williams said he was never negatively briefed except for "a throwaway remark" that the abuse allegation "was known in the Park".

"The only rational explanation is that your account is untrue and they are telling the truth," Mr Fanning said. Supt Taylor said he didn't accept that.

Mr Fanning said that Supt Taylor's evidence was almost devoid of specifics, adding: "once you attempt to commit to specifics, your evidence is seen to be false.

"I'm here to give my evidence to the tribunal. It's up to the chairman to make a determination," Supt Taylor said.

Oisin Quinn SC, on behalf of the Irish Examiner, told the chairman that the fact he was not questioning Supt Taylor on behalf of journalists Cormac O'Keeffe, Juno McEnroe and Daniel McConnell should not be seen as an admission or denial of Supt Taylor's claims that they were given negative briefings.

Counsel said the reporters were asserting journalistic privilege.

The tribunal chairman said he did not understand what the claim of privilege was when Supt Taylor had said he was the source of briefings, and had asked for anyone to come forward who could help the tribunal.

The chairman also said that Juno McEnroe had written to the tribunal in April 2017 saying he believed he had no information relative to the terms of reference.

Mr Quinn said it could compromise the entitlement of journalists to maintain journalistic privilege, notwithstanding that an alleged source had waived privilege.

"There are very cogent reasons why the right of journalistic privilege still apply even when people come forward and say they were sources," Mr Quinn said.

Mr Quinn said the European Court of Human Rights had upheld the right of journalists not to waive privilege even where an alleged source came forward.

"It doesn't pierce or demolish the privilege just because an alleged source says I am waiving it," Mr Quinn said.

"There's any number of reasons why a source may claim to be a source," Mr Quinn said. "There are follow up questions that can create difficulty by revealing other potential sources.

Former Commissioner, Martin Callinan

Questioned by Micheal P O'Higgins for the garda commissioner, Supt Taylor said it was not his place to question a direction he was given by the garda commissioner.

Supt Taylor said that Mr Callinan "became deep frustrated, deeply despondent that only one side was coming out all the time" on the Sgt McCabe story.

Supt Taylor said the commissioner would have "robust exchanges" asking what was being done after newspaper or press reports.
By Sarah Slater

An Irish man who was seriously injured following an incident in Australia last New Years Eve has returned home to Ireland.

Michael Hyndman, 23, from Belfast was placed in an induced coma by doctors following an altercation in Sydney during celebrations to mark the start of this year.

The young man underwent emergency surgery the following morning on New Years Day. He had moved to Sydney last September with his fiancee Clar to begin a new job as a quantity surveyor within days of moving to the city.

Thanking his family, friends and the public for their, help, financial generosity and good wishes Michael said: Looking back, there is no doubt in my mind that my recovery has been phenomenal.

And if Im totally honest, I dont think this would have been the case if it wasnt for my friends, my family, colleagues and the many selfless people who dont even really know me, yet donated to my cause.

I go through the list of names nearly every day. I feel nothing but the upmost respect and heartfelt gratitude toward you. Your generosity made it possible for me to have my family at my bedside when I needed it most.

You supported us financially while I was initially fighting just to stay alive, throughout my life changing surgeries and even through many weeks of tough rehabilitation.

Michael made his remarks on the official crowdfunding page, gofundme.com to let people know that he was now home and how his health is progressing.

I am pleased to tell (everyone that last month) I received the news that I was clear to fly home to continue my recovery in Ireland with my family and friends who I left behind.

I am relieved to say we arrived safely back in the Emerald Isle. I really want to thank everyone who has supported me and my family at this changing point in our lives.

You not only provided financial help to make it all possible but you have offered your positive thoughts, words of encouragement and prayers, to help us get through this dark time that we will never need reminding of.

He once again urged people to understand the devastating effects getting involved in any confrontations can have.

 In addition to expressing my sincere gratitude I also want to take this opportunity to raise awareness. To make sure that people fully understand the consequences of throwing just one punch.

It was just one punch that started this nightmare (for me) and almost cost me my life.

It was just one punch that not only put an abrupt end to our new year celebrations but has completely overshadowed, what was to be our new and exciting chapter in our life.

Thankfully I am here to tell the tale and I hope that by sharing my story people will realise the dangers involved. I hope that I can prevent, even one person, from throwing that, life altering/ in some cases fatal, punch in the future. Life is too precious.

Michael said that he was closing the fundraising page, set-up by his brother Barry in the hours after his brother was rushed to hospital, now that he has returned.

Donations to the fundraising site raised 21,502 or 18,932.

Now that were safely back on Irish soil I am writing what will be the final update on Michael's story, as I feel it is appropriate to close the page at this time.

Saying that, as I move forward in life and face the next days, weeks, months and even years ahead, I can assure you, that I will never forget each and every one of you.

You, and so many more not listed on the page, took the time to read and share my story and offer immeasurable support in many forms.

My family and I would like to thank each and every one of you, from the bottom of our hearts. You have shown the true depth of human kindness and selflessness and for that we will be forever grateful.

There is no education like adversity. But remember tough times do not last forever but tough people do.
Update: 2.20pm: Campaigners have claimed a No vote in Irelands abortion referendum will protect unborn children with Down syndrome  despite Government assurances that disability will not be grounds to end pregnancy.

The Love Both campaign, which is calling for people to vote against repealing the eighth amendment on May 25, launched a video on Tuesday featuring 23-year-old Conor ODowd, who has Down syndrome.

The launch came after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was wrong for the group to use children with the condition in campaign posters.

He said the posters, which have also been criticised by Minister for Health Simon Harris, were an attempt to muddy the waters and it was clear in proposed legislation that disability would not be grounds for an abortion.

But Cora Sherlock, from the Love Both campaign, said: Yesterday Simon Harris said that the Government specifically excluded disability as a grounds for abortion in the proposed legislation, but this is not correct.

The reality is that there is no such exclusion in the bill, specific or otherwise.

The campaign video shows Mr ODowd, from Co Louth, saying: I love my life. Please save babies with Down syndrome.

Earlier: Taoiseach rules out referendum re-run if public votes against repealing 8th Amendment

Update: 12pm Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has specifically ruled out re-running the abortion referendum "for the foreseable future" if the public votes against plans to repeal the Eighth Amendment on Friday week, writes Fiachra O Cionnaith.

Speaking to reporters during an early morning canvass in Dublin city centre, Mr Varadkar said despite his anger over the fact the jail sentence for taking abortion pills "worse than the penalty for rape", he will not push for a second referendum if the May 25 vote fails to pass.

Simon Harris, Josepha Madigan and Leo Varadkar speak to the media outside Government Buildings following a commuter canvass in Dublin's city centre today. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

"If the referendum is defeated the Government will accept that decision and the law will remain as it is. I wouldn't be happy, but I'm a democrat," he said, before responding when asked if he would seek a second referendum.

No, not in the foreseable future, not under this Government or under this Dail.

The comment is likely to be seen as a bid to raise the stakes in the Friday May 25 referendum, which is now just nine days away and is continuing to be too close to call with both sides receiving significant public backing.

Meanwhile, speaking during the same event, Mr Varadkar urged people to vote yes on May 25, saying if they do not then women who are currently taking abortion pills could still be liable to a 14 year prison sentence.

Mr Varadkar said the penalty - which is allowed for under existing laws - is worse than that given to people convicted of rape, and that this and other reasons are why he is seeking to remove the eighth amendment.

"It [the 14 year jail sentence] could be enforced into the future, there have been cases in Northern Ireland of women prosecuted for taking the abortion pill and sadly if the law remains the same that remains only a matter of time here.

"The 14 year penalty is very severe, the penalty for taking an abortion pill is worse than the penalty for rape, believe it or not, but that actually has to be that way because the eighth amendment says the right to life of the foetus is equal to the life of the grown woman.

"So therefore the penalty has to match that, and if we do not delete the eighth amendment we will not be able to remove the 14 year penalty," he said.

Mr Varadkar also rejected suggestions some people could use the Friday May 25 vote to hit back at the Government for issues unrelated to the abortion debate, saying "it's not a vote on me or on the Government".

Asked if he has done enough on the campaign to date, he added:

"I'm doing loads, it's a busy job and lots of other things on the agenda, but it's [the referendum] happening, it's happening next Friday.

"Certainly I'm campaigning nearly every other day, any time I can find time."

Leo Varadkar during a commuter canvass in Dublin's city centre by Fine Gael members supporting repeal of the 8th Amendment today. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Wire.

Earlier: Taoiseach condemns use of Down Syndrome images in abortion referendum

Update: 10.44am The Taoiseach has branded the use of children with Down Syndrome in posters for the abortion referendum as wrong.

Leo Varadkar criticised the posters, published by those campaigning for a No vote in the referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment, as he canvassed commuters in Dublin today.

He said: I think its wrong because we have made it very clear in the proposed legislation that disability will not be grounds to end a pregnancy.

I am voting Yes for all the women in my life; my mum, my sisters, my female friends and colleagues. Any woman can face a difficult & deeply personal crisis in her life & should be able to access the compassionate care she needs here at home. #WhoNeedsYourYes #Together4Yes  Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) May 14, 2018

I think its one of a number of attempts by the No campaign to muddy the waters and create confusion.

The use of Down Syndrome children has also been criticised by Minister for Health Simon Harris, who joined Mr Varadkar as he walked through Dublin on Tuesday morning along with Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan.

Just finished a morning canvass on #repealThe8th. Good luck public meeting last night with @RayMcAdam. We will be working with @DublinRepeal8 for rest of campaign. pic.twitter.com/FcajmNUR0G  Paschal Donohoe (@Paschald) May 15, 2018

The ministers got a mostly positive reaction as they campaigned for a Yes vote ahead of the referendum next Friday.

Earlier: Minister accuses No side of scaremongering in abortion referendum

7am: The Minister for Justice Charlie Flanagan has accused the 'No' campaign of scaremongering in the abortion referendum.

Pro-life campaigners have claimed the proposed legislation which would be introduced should the Eight Amendment be repealed is even more liberal than the system in the UK.

Mr Flanagan has also said the notion that politicians cannot be trusted on the issue is a dangerous one.

He saidthe proposed regime here wouldn't be as liberal as the UK, which allows for abortion up to 24 weeks.

"I reject an element of scaremongering on this issue with particular reference to the situation in Britain and Ireland," he said.

"Any termination after 12 weeks will be in exceptional and really strictly controlled and narrowed circumstances.

It is not true to say that the situation here in Ireland will be any more liberal than that across the water.

Yesterday, Minister for Health Simon Harris was highly critical of a LoveBoth poster showing a girl with Down Syndrome and said that people with the disability should not feature in the debate.

Mr Harris said disability will not be a ground for having an abortion if the Eighth Amendment is repealed and new laws are introduced.

"I think it's very upsetting to say to people with Down Syndrome in Ireland that you've only been born in Ireland because of the Eighth Amendment,"he said.

LoveBoth spokesperson Cora Sherlock described the reaction as "fake outrage" and criticised Senator Aodhan O'Riordain and TD Lisa Chambers who had spoken of their disapproval of the poster.

"The fake outrage by Aodhan O Riordain and Lisa Chambers is another sign of the reluctance of those pushing for repeal to address this issue in any serious way," she said.

A father whose daughter, Grace, featured in the LoveBoth poster released a video last night in response to criticism of the posters and discussed statistics from the UK of babies diagnosed with Down Syndrome.

- Digital Desk
By Sarah-Jane Murphy

The State's case against former Anglo Irish Bank chief executive David Drumm at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has closed after 74 days of evidence.

Today, Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, told the jury of 10 men and four women that lawyers for the DPP have now completed their evidence, and the prosecution case has closed.

Judge Karen O'Connor sent the jury home for the day, telling them that Mr Drumm's lawyers will make an application to the court which she will consider in their absence.

David Drumm (51) of Skerries, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with former bank officials Denis Casey, William McAteer, John Bowe and others to defraud depositors and investors at Anglo by dishonestly creating the impression that deposits in 2008 were 7.2bn larger than they were.

The former Anglo CEO has also pleaded not guilty to false accounting on December 3, 2008, by furnishing information to the market that Anglo's 2008 deposits were 7.2bn larger than they were.

Mr Drumm accepts that the multi-million euro transactions took place between Anglo and Irish Life and Permanent in 2008 but disputes that they were fraudulent or dishonest.

Over the course of the trial, the jury has heard evidence from witnesses who worked at Anglo, Irish Life and Permanent, Irish Life Assurance, AIB, the Central Bank, the Financial Regulator and an expert witness for the State from BDO accountants in London.

Judge O'Connor told the jury that everyone is conscious of their commitment and the inconvenience that the 15-week trial has caused them.

They will return to court tomorrow, when the judge said she will be in a better position to advise them regarding the timeline for the remainder of the trial.
Investors have cheered the arrival of Afterpay in the United States' massive consumer market, where it is launching this week in partnership with lifestyle giant Urban Outfitters.

The company's shares jumped as high as $7.68 before closing up 7 per cent to $7.44.

Afterpay co-founder Nick Molnar is leading the expansion into the US. Credit:James Brickwood

Afterpay said the expansion of its buy now, pay later service to the US, led by co-founder and major shareholder Nicholas Molnar, initially would be online-only.

Dave Hayne, the chief digital officer of Urban Outfitters, which also owns the Anthropologie and Free People brands and has sales of about $US3 billion across the US, said it looked forward to launching Afterpay across its US websites.
Other high-profile signatories to the Oath include the current chief executives of the four big four banks, APRA chairman Wayne Byers and new Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) head James Shipton. Fairfax Media contacted several people whose names had dropped off the published list of signatories - such as CBA director Andrew Mohl, Financial Services Council chief executive Sally Loane and ANZ's chief financial officer Michelle Jablko - who said their membership was current or that they had recently renewed. After inquiries by Fairfax Media their names reappeared on the list. The board's constitution includes mechanisms for reviewing signatories that have not upheld the values of the Oath. Dr Laker said this process "had been invoked on a small number of occasions" but nobody had been removed from the list as a result. Chairman John Laker says the Oath's list of signatories is growing. Credit:Louise Kennerley The banking and finance sector has been hit by years of scandals that have exposed multiple cases of misconduct, including forgery and fraud at the Commonwealth Bank's financial planning arm, the bank bill swap rate rigging cases brought by ASIC - settled by NAB, ANZ and CBA and defended by Westpac - and the allegations of breaches of anti-money laundering laws brought against CBA by Austrac.

Late last month, the royal commission called for criminal charges to be brought against AMP for misleading the corporate regulator over the "fees for no service" scandal (AMP has strenuously denied its misconduct rose to the level of criminal offending). The next round of royal commission hearings starts next week. Dr Laker, has led the Oath's board since late 2015, said the pledge was about "virtue and integrity". Loading "Its a personal commitment," he said. "The Oath developed out of a genuine desire to give people who were believers in the inherent good of the industry and wanted to be part of a strong professional ethos a way of standing up and being counted." Dr Laker said he now intended to "get back in the saddle" promoting the Oath, following last month's release of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)-commissioned report raking over the cultural and governance failings of the Commonwealth Bank, which he co-authored with Graeme Samuel and Jillian Broadbent.

The Oath's wording includes the affirmation that "trust is the foundation" of the banking profession as well as pledges to serve in good faith, compete with honour and "help create a more sustainable future" and "just society". A slew of government and industry measures are underway in a long-haul bid to rehabilitate the sector in the public's eyes; including the Australian Banking Association's revamped Code of Banking Practice, and the Turnbull Government's Banking Executive Accountability Regime laws. The departure of Mr Caprioli comes amid moves to bolster the six-year-old Oath by linking it with new banking qualifications to be unveiled next week by the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA), including a Chartered Banker qualification, in a bid to lift standards of "conduct and competency". It has also called for a new code of professional conduct for the industry, which it said would be "underpinned" by the Oath. FINSIA's Chris Whitehead Credit:Glenn Hunt FINSIA chief executive Chris Whitehead said his group was considering how to formalise its relationship with the Oath, including by integrating it within the new qualifications.

"Our approach is we cant see any reason why you wouldnt take the oath," Mr Whitehead said. Dr Laker said the Oath should remain voluntary, even if it formed part of a professional accreditation process. Clare Payne, former employment lawyer, Founding Director of The Banking and Finance Oath "We want it to be a personal commitment, not a tick-a-box process." The Oath was first developed in 2009 by former Macquarie Bank lawyer Clare Payne and formally launched in 2012. In late 2015 it was reported that oath had been signed by only 550 people in an industry that employs more than 400,000.

It now has about 1100 signatories, who must renew their registration online each year and pay $20. "We judge the success of the Oath not by the number of signatories but by the behaviour it encourages," Dr Laker said. While he acknowledged that the oath had taken time to gain traction, the number of signatories was growing, he said. "Within the industry, there will always be people who are cynical about signing an oath," he said. "We take our inspiration from the increasing numbers of people who have signed up, including CEOs and younger people particularly  they are the future of the industry." Ms Payne is no longer on the board of the Oath and no longer works directly in finance, having recently published books on ethics and launched a campaign for tobacco-free investment. Each signatory is valuable and initiatives such as these can take time to reach a tipping point. Clare Payne She said she had been disappointed by the total number of signatories of the Oath, but "the commitment of many leaders from across the sector has been evident from the start and I believe this is a good thing that should be harnessed," she said.
Artist's impression of the scaled-back Calvary Bethlehem redevelopment in Caulfield South.

Health provider Calvary Bethlehems proposed high-rise retirement village in a low-rise Caulfield neighbourhood has been given the green light but its original 19-storey tower has been cut back to 10-to-11 levels.

The hospital, which specialises in palliative and neurological care services for people with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, motor neurone and Huntington's disease, is in a low-rise residential area in a Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ).

An eight-metre building height usually applies in such zones but the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal determined that retirement villages are not residential buildings.

As such, specific provisions of the scheme that only apply when land is to be used or developed for the purposes of a dwelling or residential building, do not apply to development of the land for a retirement village, states the judgement, published on VCATs website.
A 121 sq m shop at 8 Luton Lane has sold off market for $1 million. The property, leased to newly opened Luton Lane Wine Bar, sold prior to auction on a yield of 4.5 per cent, Vinci Carbone Propertys Stephen Speck said. 8 Luton Lane is a newly completed five storey mixed use complex next to the under-construction Manors Gate Hawthorn Club development. Melbourne The premises of restaurant Archie Greens at Shop 1, 517 Flinders Lane has sold for $4.1 million in an off market deal on a 4.68 per cent yield, CBREs Max Ruttner, Alex Brierley, Josh Rutman and JJ Heng said. Savvy buyers are latching onto the fact that the west-end will benefit from enormous development within the next 2-5 years, Mr Ruttner said. Blackburn An investment syndicate has offloaded 1,180 Whitehorse Road for $2.865 million. The two storey showroom and office sold with a tenant, Frontline Human Resources, on the upper level and the ground floor vacant. The purchaser will occupy the ground floor to operate his business and collect the rent from the first floor tenant, CVAs Ian Angelico and Stan Dawidowski said.

Ripponlea A double storey shop at 19 Glen Eira Road has sold for $1.001 million. The former health food store went for 10 per cent above reserve on a sharp yield of 3.49 per cent, Beller Commercials Glenn Ye said. In another deal, Jeremy Gruzewski sold a former medical practice at 737-739 High Street in Armadale to developers for $3.2 million. Mr Gruzewski also sold 390 Malvern Road in Prahran for $2.365 million at auction. Essendon An owner occupier has purchased 202 square metres of office/retail space at 93-97 Rose Street for $1.22 million plus GST. The sale price equates to a rate of $6,039 per sq m, Knight Franks Matthew Romanin and Nick Bisset said. Altona North

On an Arctic Melbourne day, a property leased to Bakers Delight at 1 Borrack Square sold for $1.05 million on a net yield of 4 per cent. The sale was handled by Allard Sheltons Michael Ryan, James Gregson and Martin Huang, with Sweeney Real Estate. Elite Property Group sells 13 Advantage Drive in Dandenong $4.95 million. Dandenong Elite Property Group has sold Unit 1 at 13 Advantage Drive to an owner occupier for $4.95 million. Knight Franks Luke Crozier, who brokered the deal, said the $1,327 per sq m price was an exceptional result for a secondary asset in Dandenong. Mornington

A Foodworks-branded supermarket at 24-26 Robertson Drive sold under the hammer for $1.375 million on a 4.4 per cent yield. Five bidders fought it out at auction. Fitzroys Chris Kombi and Mark Talbot said buyers continue to be drawn to the region as they look beyond the heated Melbourne market. North Melbourne An industrial property at 203 Arden Street close to the new proposed Metro Tunnel station sold privately for $3.1 million. Gray Johnsons Matt Hoath said the property was tenanted on a monthly basis by Minuteman Press and falls within the Arden-Macauley Structure Plan. The Indian Supermarket in Clayton sold for $1.42 million. Clayton

The owner-occupied Indian Supermarket at 145 Carinish Road sold at auction for $1.42 million, Dean Alexander and Stephen Gorman from Gorman Commercial said. It was purchased by another owner-occupier, they said. LEASES Melbourne Two whole floors at 136 Exhibition Street have been leased after former occupant Australia Post left. Colliers Internationals Adam Davy and Milly Stockdale leased the two fully fitted, 617 sq m floors on Levels 3 and 5 to AECOM Australia (on a five-year lease on Level 3) and PLP Building Surveyors (who signed a six-year lease on Level 5). Rentals are understood to be between $460-480 per sq m (net). Tullamarine

Teeth on Wheels needs more space. Teeth leased a 995 sq m warehouse through Anthony Carbone and Craig McKellar from CVA on a 3+3 year basis for $85,000 per annum. In another deal, John Star and Mr Carbone leased a sizeable warehouse and office at 47 Jesica Road in Campbellfield to a health food company for $169,279 per annum. Cremorne Architecture firm BE Architecture will lease 98 Stephenson Street, a self-contained, open-plan workspace with polished concrete floors, high ceilings, and exposed roof trusses. Teska Carsons Fergus Evans said BE will undertake a full renovation on a long-term lease at $135,000 per annum net, plus GST. Keysborough Industrial estate, The Key, three new tenants. A 7,357 sq m warehouse at Naxos Way was leased for $90 per sqm by G&H Cabinets on a five-year term. CBREs James Jorgensen and David Aiello negotiated the deal for Key owner Frasers Property. Another lease, in conjunction with Colliers International, saw an 8,745 sq m warehouse taken by IHS Global Alliance on a five-year lease term for a net face rent of $90 per sqm. Nearby, Wacker Neuson secured a 3,933 sq m warehouse at 142-148 Atlantic Drive after selling its former headquarters in Dandenong South. Mr Jorgensen and Ned Murphy negotiated the six-year lease on behalf of a private landlord for net face rent of $90 per sqm.

Somerton Third party logistics firm Prompt Distribution will relocate from Heidelberg West to an 8,272 sq m office and warehouse at 91-105 Freight Drive. CBREs Daniel Eramo and Daniel De Sanctis negotiated the five-year lease at annual rental of $455,000. Laverton North Colliers Internationals Charlie Woodley has leased a 1,620 sq m office/warehouse at 24 Westside Drive to the Australian Organic Honey Company. Organic Honey will relocate from Northcote where its warehouse is being turned into apartments. It will pay $110,000 per annum. In another deal, Richard Wilkinson and Andrew Chrapot leased an office/warehouse in the sought-after Blackburn market to Learning With Technologies. The three-year deal was set at gross face rent of $139 per sq m for a 662 sq m space. Moonee Ponds

A a construction company has leased a shop at 3 Everage Street to use for office administration for $28,800 a year, CVAs Craig McKellar said. Mr McKellar also leased 344-346 Sydney Road in Coburg to Permit Point Building Consultants on a 5+5 year term returning $55,000 per annum. Hawthorn East Dahua Group has leased a 180 sq m space at 208 Camberwell Road, agreeing to a three-year lease term at a net annual rental of $105,000 per annum which equates to a rate of $583 per square metre. Knight Franks Paul Pellegrino said Dahua has set up the new space as their sales office. MOVERS Sarah Hendry has started with Savills Australia as Victorian state director for asset management. Sarah has more than 15 years experience and joins Savills from CBRE. Prior to that she was with Knight Frank.
The City of Sydney is to inject additional funds into its $18 million environment budget to accelerate uptake of renewable energy over the next four years.

The new funding of $4.5 million is on top of $10 million already set aside for long-term renewable energy projects aimed to encourage more solar panels on residential and commercial buildings, as well as stimulating large-scale investment in renewable energy.

The City of Sydney is encouraging more solar panels on commercial properties. Credit:Justin McManus

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the city would also release a carbon budget for the first time this year to forecast emissions across the organisation.

Each year we budget our finances and from this year on were committing to do the same with carbon emissions, the Lord Mayor said.
Frasers Property Australia has boosted its Eastern Creek business park with the lease of a new facility to FDM Warehousing at a purpose-built facility.

The site, with an end value of about $31 million, will comprise a 16,200-square-metre distribution facility, with an office and car parking.

It comes amid reports that the online fashion retailer The Iconic plans to invest $100 million over five years into its improving logistics and adding further capacity to its fulfilment centre.

Artist's impression of the new warehouse Frasers will build for FDM Warehousing

The growth of online retailing has triggered a rise in demand for warehouses and distribution centres across the country. Amazon last week confirmed it was opening its Sydney fulfilment centre at a Goodman Group-owned property.
Some of Australias leading property institutions are quietly acquiring properties to amalgamate for longer-term redevelopment.

The trend has been embraced in the residential sector where neighbours get together to sell en masse their homes to developers.

It has been triggered by the new strata regulations in NSW where a site can be sold if 75 per cent of occupants are in agreeance.

Investa's proposed $110 million, 18-storey office tower at 151 Clarence Street, known as Barrack Place. Image supplied. Perspective Barrack Street opt 4 sml.jpg

Developers are adjoining the sites for future development. It also helps to protect the owners' existing property, where views cannot be obstructed by a new construction.
Twenty years of service counted for little when the founding chairman of a multi-billion dollar infrastructure fund owned by some of the countrys biggest super giants was confronted with an industry fund determined to pull rank.

In a perfunctory letter sent on April 27, Bob Lette was told his services on the board running the Infrastructure Fund's (TIF) $2.4 billion portfolio were no longer required. The news was effective immediately.

The quiet punting of Lette happened after BUSSQ, an industry fund for the construction industry based in Queensland, decided it had had enough of his resistance to its plans for how the money should be managed.

Sydney's desalination plant is one of the fund's investments. Credit:Bellinda Kontominas

In another twist, two other directors were dumped on Tuesday evening, ahead of a board meeting on May 16. The sudden departures have sent shockwaves through the industry, as well as Gardior, the trustee of TIF.
The newly merged Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union has launched a national political campaign targeting the Turnbull government's links to the banking industry.

The union declined to say how much it had spent on the campaign, but Fairfax Media understands it is hundreds of thousands of dollars. It follows the Australian Council of Trade Unions' "Change the Rules" campaign launched last year in a bid to shift industrial relations laws in favour of workers.

The ads say Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull voted more than 20 times to block the royal commission and asks why. It then flashes a photo of him with the tagline 'once a banker'.

Unions are hoping to generate a similar level of community support to that seen during the "Your Rights at Work" campaign against the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation.

The CFMMEU ads running on television and in print and social media say Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull voted more than 20 times to block the royal commission and asks why. It then flashes up images of Revenue and Financial Services Minister Kelly O'Dwyer tagged as a former NAB executive, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann as a former insurance GM and Mr Turnbull as "once a banker".
The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is set to be one of the biggest events of the year for royal family enthusiasts.

Luckily for Australians, the ceremony is at the prime time of 9pm on Saturday.

If you're planning a royal wedding party, here are all the key times and places to watch it.

Important times for the wedding
On Saturday night, 82 women climbed the steps of the Palais des Festivals at the Cannes Film Festival, in a protest march drawing attention to the fact that just 82 women directors have showed their films at the festival over its 71 years. For context, 1688 men have had the same honour.

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Why are these stats so? Have only 82 women climbed those steps because of the structural problems facing women in the film industry, or because walking up steps in stilettos is hard?

It's the structural problems within the film industry. Duh.

But, those stilettos were not mentioned solely in jest. Cannes has attracted attention in the past for its reported "heels-only" dress code for women.
After moving to Australia from India in 2009, he soon fell into full-time roles. However, when the projects ended, so did his job.

Gopi Muramalla, 34, an IT solution architect from Sydney, found this to be the case when a planned overseas trip extended beyond his finances.

Contracting roles are great provided the work is constant, but the down times can be challenging.

Once the project finished, often, Id be sitting on the bench with little or no work to do," Muramalla says. "In my last permanent role in 2014, I was asked to move on because there was no work.

Undaunted, he found plenty of contracting roles coming his way. Muramalla set himself up as a sole operator and engaged the services of a tax consultant.

Contracting is different to being full-time employed; youre given a task and work independently," he says. "I bill my clients and submit my income and expenses each quarter to an accountant who calculates how much tax and super I need to set aside.

The toughest moment hit in 2017, when a two-month vacation to visit family in India, extended to six months and then it took a couple of months to land a role. This was so tough; I only had two months' of savings," he says.

During this period, he scrutinised all his expenses. I calculated every dollar, from my internet plans to mortgage repayments on an investment and my rent. I borrowed money from a friend and shared my apartment to help with rent in order to survive, he adds. I said to myself, I will never make this mistake again. Now, Ive got six months' saved.
No need to call your mum next time you stumble out of Mooseheads in the early hours of the morning - all-female rideshare service Shebah has officially launched in Canberra and it's the next best thing.

Founded in Melbourne last year by former ABC breakfast host, comedian and mother of four, Georgina McEncroe, Shebah employs female drivers and only accepts women and primary school-aged children as passengers. Boys up to 18 can ride with Shebah if accompanied by a female guardian.

According to Ms McEncroe, the rideshare service was founded purely in the name of safety.

Emma Edmeades, one of the first Shebah drivers in Canberra, with her children Finnley, 7, and Chloe, 9. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong

"Catching a Shebah means sitting in the front seat of the car without feeling vulnerable, not feeling limited to travel at a certain time of day or knowing that your little one is in safe hands when you cant drop them off," she said.
A man has been taken to Canberra Hospital with burns after a car fire in Narrabundah on Monday night.

The Emergency Services Agency said firefighters responded to a call about 9.25pm, arriving in Bega Place to find a car well alight.

After the ACT Fire and Rescue crew extinguished the blaze, a firefighter was treated by paramedics at the scene for minor injuries.

ACT Policing has called for witnesses to the fire and information about the car involved, a silver Ford Falcon ute with ACT registration YMK30G. The car is believed to have been in the Narrabundah area from about 9pm on Monday.

Police are urging anyone with information or dashcam footage showing the vehicle or the incident to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website.
The Christians who tend to get a lot of media attention, like politicians Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison and former Australian Christian Lobby managing director Lyle Shelton, are not quite like the ones David Williams knows.

So he decided to do something about that, creating Quiet Faith, a piece of verbatim theatre in which he acts with former Canberran Rose Maher.

"I didn't understand why we weren't hearing other Christian voices; the ones I could see were trying to make the world a better place," he said.

Canberras own Rose Maher returns to The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, with Quiet Faith, seen here with the show's director-writer-fellow actor David Williams Credit: Karleen Minney

Williams was brought up a Christian in the Anglican Church but said he no longer considered himself a active practising Christian.
Industry experts will meet on Wednesday to discuss the pressure of rising costs for apartment owners as they deal with illegal cladding and building defect issues.

The "building defects and cladding in strata" forum in Canberra will give advice to strata owners and managers about strata building and compliance issues.

Flammable cladding was found in three buildings at the Canberra Hospital Credit:Jeffrey Chan

It is organised by Lannock Strata, whose finance managing director, Paul Morton, said Canberras property boom had exacerbated the problem over the past decade, with building standards often sacrificed to keep pace with demand.

In 2016 alone, 3370 new apartments were approved in Canberra and many of these newer apartment buildings are most at risk of being constructed with composite aluminium cladding that we now know poses a serious fire risk, Mr Morton said.
A body modifier accused of mutilating a womans genitals at a Newcastle West business in 2016 has appeared in court for the first time.

Brendan Leigh Russell, 37, of Terrigal, is accused of using a branding iron to burn the labia majora off the alleged victim, causing her permanent injury, according to court documents.

He did not enter a plea to a charge of female genital mutilation and the matter was adjourned to July 20.

Magistrate Bruce Williams continued Mr Russells bail, which includes strict conditions that he not engage in any body modification work, not provide any medical services or training, report daily to police, surrender his passport and abide by a curfew.
John Chardon's self-described Filipino lover claims the alleged murderer asked him if he could kill after the pair had sex for the first time.

Marshall Bari Aguilor is giving evidence in the Brisbane Magistrates Court in the committal hearing for Mr Chardon, who is accused of murdering his wife Novy in 2013.

John Chardon following his arrest in June, 2016. Credit:Michelle Smith

He claimed he met the Gold Coast businessman through an Asian online dating website when he was trying to help his female friend meet men.

Mr Aguilor said the accused killer paid for him to travel to the Filipino town of Cebu to meet up with him.
Melbourne Express, Wednesday, May 16, 2018

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The long-running haircut saga that rocked Trinity Grammar has come to an end with the school's headmaster announcing his resignation.

It's a win for parents, students and alumni who have been fighting for a change of leadership at the Kew private school.

Dr Michael Davies  who had faced intense pressure to quit since deputy headmaster Rohan Brown was sacked for chopping a students hair  announced he would stand down at a staff meeting on Tuesday morning.

Jo Slater, whose sons are in Year 8 and 12, said she was relieved and pleased.

"We have ripped the scab off now," she said. "We are not ripping at it slowly."
Police are on the hunt for up to 10 men who assaulted a group of teenagers while they were camping just south of Perth at the weekend.

Police say one of the teens was threatened with a knife.

The teen boys, aged between 15 and 18, set up camp on Horse Beach in Naval Base about 6.30pm.

They had planned to spend the night fishing, but some time after midnight a group of men entered their campsite, threatening the boys and demanding their fishing rods.

One of the men struck an 18-year-old to the head, causing a cut that required stapling.
A group of tourists had a lucky escape after a plane was forced to make an emergency landing at an airstrip at the Bungle Bungles in WA's Northwest on Monday afternoon.

Four tourists and the pilot were flown to Kununurra hospital with minor injuries while another four tourists returned to their accommodation unharmed.

Police only heard about the the emergency landing after hospital staff alerted them of the injured group arriving at 9pm.

Awesome: Bungle Bungles from the air. Credit:Jill Shanahan

Kununurra Police officers went to the hospital to speak to those involved. They established the emergency landing took place sometime between 4:30pm and 4:50pm.
70-year-old Chinese double amputee scales Mt Everest

A Chinese mountaineer who lost both legs to frostbite while attempting to climb Everest four decades ago finally fulfilled his dream Monday.
The number of Canberra homeowners objecting to their land tax bills has soared to almost 200 this year, up from just 13 a decade ago, amid rising tax bills and a territory government crackdown on tax compliance.

Answers to questions on notice recently posed by Opposition leader Alistair Coe show the number of objections to land tax assessments has risen from 13 in 2007-08 to 193 as of late March this year.

While the vast majority of objections are "disallowed", about 10 per cent each year are settled by the ACT Revenue Office, avoiding a potential appeal to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

The number of objections to land tax assessments jumped from 67 in 2012-13 to 109 in 2013-14 and has kept rising to 192 to date this fiscal year. Credit:James Davies

The rising number of objections has come as the ACT government, under Chief Minister Andrew Barr, has increased the government's total land tax revenue by 95 per cent since 2012-13, up from $66.5 million that year to $130 million this year.
The ACT Greens have called for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy to become an "interim national institution," but said it would operate differently to other institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian War Memorial.

The Tent Embassy should be supported by the National Capital Authority, the Greens said, as part of a way to use national institutions "to progress reconciliation".

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy should be a national institution, the ACT Greens say. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The call was made in the ACT Greens' submission to the federal inquiry into funding and governance arrangements for Canberra's museums and galleries and other institutions. The inquiry's terms of reference also include "the process for establishing new institutions".

Greens spokesman for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs Shane Rattenbury said the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Old Parliament House should be given the same official standing as Parliament House and Old Parliament House.
Labor's Susan Lamb has been cleared to stand in the byelection for her old seat of Longman, with the party releasing paperwork showing she has officially renounced her British citizenship.

Ms Lamb was one of the four MPs who resigned last week following the High Court's ruling on former Labor senator Katy Gallagher. Unlike the others, she had remained a dual citizen while sitting in Parliament since the last election because Britain had not processed her renunciation paperwork.

The byelection in her Queensland seat - won on a margin of just 0.8 per cent - is shaping up as a crucial test for Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Bill Shorten in the electorate of Longman with Susan Lamb, left, and his wife Chloe Shorten.

Paperwork circulated by Labor on Tuesday shows Ms Lamb's second renunciation attempt, made on Wednesday immediately after her resignation, was approved by British authorities on Monday.
Sydney's major universities are languishing at the bottom of the pile for student satisfaction, with smaller private universities maintaining a healthy lead over their larger public rivals.

The University of NSW, Sydney University, the University of Technology Sydney and Macquarie University all ranked in the bottom 10 in the annual "student experience survey", to be released on Wednesday.

Satisfaction at Australia's oldest sandstone university, Sydney, slumped to below the national average. Credit:Peter Braig

For the first time, the federal education department will publish the full league tables showing how students felt about teaching, support and resources at their tertiary institutions.

It is part of a push by Education Minister Simon Birmingham for "greater transparency" about student sentiment - although the survey has been condemned as flawed and useless by critics.
This is where the government will splash the cash and spend your money. It also has the prospect of making a significant and real change to the future of our country along the way. Or not. The point is this $35 billion program will not just construct ships: its emerging as a critical factor that will shape the future of industry in this country.

Of course it will never happen, certainly not in the projected timeframe anyway, but thats not really the point, is it? Fairy tales have a greater intersection with reality. Treasury forecasts are simply bedtime stories, designed reassure children and put us to sleep. So lets leave all that and worry about something real.

Hold your breath, close your eyes tight, make a supreme effort of will. Is it really is possible to believe the dodgy assumptions and bask in the rosy glow accompanying the budgets out year projections? Surplus? Sure thing!

Specifically, are we going to design and build here, or merely operate as an outstation for others.

Next Tuesday night the National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSC) will meet to choose which of three contenders wins the program to build our nine future frigates. If a decision is made its likely to be announced the next day. And make no mistake, this will be the single-most critical defence spending issue this government ever makes. Not just in terms of cost, or size, or impact on Australian industry, but in terms of the very future of our defence force. This is the big one.

Its vital the government gets it right.

The catalyst for the decision will be operational  choosing the best ship  although theres much more in

play than the navys wishes alone. Look at the three contenders.

Navantias offering is the obvious choice. This companys the incumbent, building both our Air Warfare

Destroyers (AWDs) and Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs). Its got a workforce in place; a design team ready to go; and its actively attempting to develop the export industry Christopher Pynes been so busy boosting (the companys just opened a shopfront to sell ships to Singapore). The workforce  so vital for Adelaide  would walk off the AWD program on Friday and return to manufacture the frigates on the Monday. The design incorporates both the most modern systems available (because it's a brand new blueprint) and minimises risk (because its based on the ships were operating today).

Fincantieri represents the exciting newcomer. It holds out the possibility of developing a viable civilian shipbuilding industry while also providing us with a frigate operating effectively with the Italian and French. Ive been aboard a frigate in the Mediterranean: it demonstrated a capacity to both rescue asylum seekers (crossing from Africa) and stealthily shadow foreign (Chinese) units in the Arabian Gulf. The Italians are pushing hard. They want to make sure our government realises Fincantieris serious about establishing a shipbuilding industry here, something sure to appeal to the politicians wholl make the decision.
Queensland councillors will be banned from seeking re-election for up to seven years if convicted of serious integrity offences.

Under proposed changes being debated in the Queensland Parliament this week, councillors convicted of integrity offences would automatically lose their job and be disqualified from being a councillor for four years.

Councillors would be banned for seven years under the legislation if found guilty of a serious offence. Credit:Chris Hyde

For a serious integrity offence, councillors would be disqualified for seven years.

Councillors charged with serious integrity offences, such as bribery or treason, will be automatically suspended while their charges are being dealt with by the courts.
Queensland's crime watchdog will get a multimillion funding boost to fight corruption over the next four years.

The Crime and Corruption Commission will get $7.4 million over four years, with $1.8 million immediately allocated for the 2018-19 year.

Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission, headed by Alan MacSporran, will get a funding boost, amid a mounting workload. Credit:AAP Image/ Darren England

The CCC had a budget of $55.88 million in 2017-18.

The announcement came minutes before LNP leader Deb Frecklington asked about an opposition Right to Information request which related to complaints about corruption at Ipswich City Council received by the Deputy Premier Jackie Trad, while she was local government minister.
Commercial harvesting of crocodile eggs from the wild would be allowed under a Queensland government plan.

Under the proposal, people would be licensed to harvest wild crocodile eggs which could be sold, and resulting animal products, such as lucrative crocodile skins could be exported.

Katter's Australian Party MP Shane Knuth has a private member's bill before the Parliament, which would include crocodile egg harvesting.

The Queensland government has asked the federal government, which regulates wildlife products, to approve a new wildlife trade management plan to allow commercial egg harvesting, and state legislation would also need to be amended.

The commercial wildlife harvest licences would only be issued in limited circumstances, where there was sufficient scientific evidence to show harvesting would not have a negative impact on crocodile populations.
Treasurer Tim Pallas insists Victorians can trust Labor to keep its promise to build the North East Link, even though there is no money budgeted beyond next year for what would be the most expensive transport project in the state's history.

The government has committed $110 million to complete planning and design work for the $16.5 billion toll road between Greensborough and Bulleen but nothing for construction.

The East West Link is still lurking in plans but support is growing stronger for the North East Link. Credit:Justin McManus

Mr Pallas said under questioning from Opposition MPs on Tuesday that it had done this deliberately, in keeping with its plan not to sign contracts before putting the project to the people at Novembers election.

People will get a choice, Mr Pallas said. [The opposition] want to go and resurrect what I call a zombie road, the East West Link.
Google's talkative smart assistant is working hard to master the art of conversation, but not so it can trick us into thinking it's alive.

Google made headlines last week after its "Google Duplex" smart assistant seemingly passed the Turing Test on stage, fooling a restaurant owner into thinking it was a real person calling to book a table. Duplex relies in part on linguistic trickery, slipping "ums" and "ahs" into the conversation to help it sound more life-like.

While Duplex can pass as human during a short conversation about a very narrow topic, the full Google Assistant running on Google Home smart speakers doesn't aspire to seem alive. Instead, Google Assistant is brushing up on its social skills to become a better conversationalist, says Google Assistant vice president of engineering Scott Huffman.

Scott Huffman on stage at Google I/O last week. Credit:Google

"We all know the smart speaker sitting on your kitchen bench isn't a real person, so there's no reason for it to sound more human just for the sake of it," Huffman says.
Achyut Wagle holds PhD in economics and is currently a professor at the Kathmandu University School of Management. He is an econo-political analyst, writing for The Kathmandu Post for many years.
And one in three of the total sample of disaffected Australian voters said that they're "prepared to weaken democracy if it means governments can get things done for me". Forty-seven per cent said that they would not. Perhaps an Aussie Trump, Duterte or Orban is not such a remote possibility after all. According to the Sydney University political scientist John Keane, Hawker's findings have turned up in Australia the "raw material" of the new authoritarianism that is sweeping much of the world. "If we didn't have compulsory voting, if we didn't have a two-tiered federal system and other governance checks, we'd have a full-on populist backlash going on," says Keane. "You have a rise of authoritarian politics inside democracies." Loading Because although these "strong man" leaders are from different continents with different traditions and different circumstances, the new authoritarians have a lot in common.

With each other, but also with Russia's Vladimir Putin, China's Xi Jinping, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Egypt's Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, India's Narendra Modi, Myanmar's generals and Poland's Jarosaw Kaczynski. There are great differences of degree, according to what they can get away with, but not differences in tendency. John Keane's project on what he calls the "new despotism" features the essential elements of despotic regimes, but the "strong man" leaders in democracies share their urges and many of their behaviours. Here are the top eight on Keane's checklist. First, all these "strong man" leaders with authoritarian tendencies claim to rule in the name of "the people". They claim no other mandate  not divine rule, not any ideology, but the people as the source of their power. Second, they hold elections accordingly, seeking to demonstrate the truth of their claim. Even China claims to operate an electoral democracy through the People's Congress processes. Of course, these leaders don't believe in free or fair elections, only in elections that produce the right outcome. They bend, break or redefine the rules as needed. China's National People's Congress is a rubber stamp, not a genuine democratic body. Credit:AP

Third, they rule through laws. The laws are not independent of the ruler and neither are the courts that administer them. "But the rulers constantly reference the law, change the law, change the constitution, and this adds to the legitimacy that they claim." "The law," says Keane, "provides a phantom rule of law rather than the substance of it."

Next, "they are regimes that target violence against their opponents, and camouflage it", says Keane. They are not "regimes of fear" like those of Pol Pot's Cambodia or Hitler's Germany - they send their leather-jacketed thugs against their political opponents, not the broad mass of the people. Fifth - all the authoritarian regimes operate networks of patron-client relationships "that bind people together in patterns of dependence  businesspeople deeply implicated in government, and government deeply implicated in business". Keane describes this mutual back-scratching as "a very important stabilising device, it glues these regimes together". Sixth, they all operate forms of plutocracy, with tremendous concentrations of wealth at the top.

Seventh, "all have a middle class that tends to remain loyal to the leaders". Eighth, "they are not tin pot regimes with crude manipulation of the press and heavy-handed censorship," says Keane. They are more modern and more subtle in their management of information and sentiment, "state of the art censorship", he calls it.
Right-wing Hindu groups employed WhatsApp to spread a grisly video that was described as an attack on a Hindu woman by a Muslim mob but was in fact a lynching in Guatemala. One audio recording on the service from an unknown sender urged all Muslims in the state to vote for the Congress party "for the safety of our women and children." Another WhatsApp message exhorted Hindus to vote for the BJP because "this is not just an election. This is a war of faiths." Like the rest of India, Karnataka is a Hindu majority state. A staple of electoral politics here is pitting Muslims against Hindus, and various Hindu castes against each other. Ankit Lal, a top strategist for the Aam Aadmi Party, which fielded 28 candidates for Karnataka's 224 legislative seats, said WhatsApp has become the most important tool in digital campaigning. "We wrestle on Twitter. The battle is on Facebook. The war is on WhatsApp," he said. The role that WhatsApp plays in influencing voters has received far less attention than that of its sister services, Facebook and its photo-sharing platform, Instagram. Both Facebook and Instagram have come under intense scrutiny in recent months for how Russian agents used them to manipulate US voters in the 2016 presidential election. While Facebook is facing scrutiny for allowing fake news to spread, its sibbling, WhatsApp is is not. Credit:Bloomberg

WhatsApp has largely escaped that notice because it is used more heavily outside the United States, with people in countries like India, Brazil and Indonesia sending a total of 60 billion messages a day. And unlike Facebook and Instagram, where much of the activity is publicly visible online, WhatsApp's messages are generally hidden because it began as a person-to-person communication tool. Yet WhatsApp has several features that make it a potential tinderbox for misinformation and misuse. Users can remain anonymous, identified only by a phone number. Groups, which are capped at 256 members, are easy to set up by adding phone numbers of contacts. People tend to belong to multiple groups, so they often get exposed to the same messages repeatedly. When messages are forwarded, there is no hint of where they originated. And everything is encrypted, making it impossible for law enforcement officials or even WhatsApp to view what's being said without looking at the phone's screen. Govindraj Ethiraj, founder of Boom and IndiaSpend, two sites that fact-check Indian political and governmental claims, called WhatsApp "insidious" for its role in spreading false information. "You're dealing with ghosts," he said. Boom worked with Facebook during the Karnataka elections to flag fake news appearing on the social network. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Credit:Bloomberg

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, has pledged to curb the abuse of Facebook and Instagram by people seeking to secretly influence elections. But he has said nothing about WhatsApp, which Facebook bought in 2014 for $US19 billion ($25 billion). WhatsApp officials said they are concerned about misuse of the platform, whose terms of service forbid hate speech, threats of violence and false statements. A few weeks ago, its systems detected an attempt by someone in Karnataka to create dozens of groups very quickly using automation. After some people reported getting spam from these groups, the company blocked them all. WhatsApp declined to say who it suspected was behind the group creation. "We're working to give people more control over groups and are constantly evolving our tools to block automated content," WhatsApp said in a statement, adding that it was stepping up education on its safety features and how to spot fake news and hoaxes. India's Congress party, which has ruled the country for most of the period since independence from Britain, has lost control of the central government and several key states but has held on to power in Karnataka. If the BJP wins the state when votes are counted on Tuesday, it would give Modi's party crucial momentum before India's 2019 national elections. India's Congress party president Rahul Gandhi, centre, addresses a crowd from a bullock cart in Malur, 45 kilometers from Bangalore. Credit:AP

How much the WhatsApp barrage affected the final election results in Karnataka may never be clear. While the app has largely replaced text messages and email here, old-school campaign tactics such as rallies, television and newspaper coverage, door-to-door canvassing and outright vote-buying remain prevalent. Four years ago, during India's national parliamentary elections that swept Modi to power, the primary digital tool was Facebook. But as smartphone use in India has exploded over the past year and a half, WhatsApp became the country's default communication mode  and the preferred medium for distributing campaign messages. In state elections in Uttar Pradesh in early 2017, for example, the BJP created more than 6000 WhatsApp groups to get its messages to every district and village. Its landslide victory there prompted the Congress party to mobilise its own WhatsApp army. So when the time came to gear up for Karnataka's state elections, the parties turned to the same playbook. "WhatsApp works like a nuclear chain reaction," said Randeep Singh Surjewala, the Congress party's chief spokesman.

UT Khader, an incumbent member of Karnataka's legislative assembly, experienced the WhatsApp effect firsthand. Just before the election, Khader, a Muslim in the Congress party, was the target of what Mangalore police said was a disturbing new type of WhatsApp attack: a series of profane audio messages purporting to be an escalating exchange of threats between Hindus and Muslims over his candidacy. In one recording, which was supposedly a phone call between two Hindu political activists, one voice harangued the other for putting a saffron-coloured shawl, which the BJP views as a Hindu symbol, around Khader. "Why did you put a saffron shawl on Khader? Do you love your life or not?" the first voice said. "If I shove a knife into you, do you think Khader will come to your support?"

Later messages sounded like they came from Muslims threatening to kill the first voice in response. "Son of a prostitute, I'm warning you," said one. "I'll take you out." The messages were sent to various WhatsApp groups, so they were heard by many voters. Khader, who has represented the area for more than a decade and won with a large margin last time, said the alleged conversations were fake and recorded in a studio. He said WhatsApp had a social responsibility to stop such hate speech, but he also believed the negative messages backfired, increasing the support he got from his constituents, half of whom are Muslim. And WhatsApp has been useful for his campaign in other ways. "TV channels and newspapers largely tend to ignore me," Khader said. "WhatsApp has helped me reach my supporters without the help of the mainstream media." A girl wears a mask of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an election campaign rally in Bangalore, India. Credit:AP
New York: The United States has indirectly criticised China for shielding Myanmar from strong United Nations Security Council action over a military crackdown against mainly Rohingya Muslims that widely denounced as ethnic cleansing.

The Kutupalong Rohingya refugee camp in Kutupalong, Bangladesh. Credit:AP

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley did not mention China by name on Monday, US time, but said the council's actions had been weakened by self interest.

"Some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons," Haley said. "Some undermined the unity of the council demonstrated during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the council's message."
An urgent task was "respect for all Malaysians"  a reference to addressing racism embedded in the country's laws  "independence of the judiciary, rule of law, free media and proper separation of powers". Anwar expressed confidence that he would be able to work with the 92-year-old former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad  his ally turned foe turned ally  who led the opposition Pakatan Harapan (Alliance of Hope) coalition to victory. Even while in jail, and then while recovering from shoulder surgery in Cheras Rehabilitation Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Anwar said he had detected a growing outrage among Malaysians over the "corrupt regime" of former prime minister Najib Razak, who has been accused of siphoning off billions of dollars in the 1MDB sovereign wealth fund scandal. He told Fairfax Media the hardest thing about being in jail was the time away from his family.

Anwar Ibrahim in 2014, before his second stint in jail. Credit:AP "My children were quite young during the earlier period of incarceration [from 1999 to 2003] and that was a difficult period for them and [his wife, new deputy prime minister Wan] Azizah," he said. "It is pure agony to see your own children struggling because of decisions you made. This time [from 2015 to now] it is my childrens children who I missed deeply. Anwar Ibrahim, right, Mahathir Mohamad, middle and Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, at the hospital in Kuala Lumpur. Credit:Anwar Ibrahim's Facebook page "But as a family, we were in concert that we cannot expect the people of Malaysia to take a risk for their freedom if we ourselves were not prepared to take those same risks.

At a time when democracy is in retreat ... I hope that the people of Malaysia have given some hope to people ... clamouring for freedom. Anwar Ibrahim "As the days and weeks wore on I never lost hope. In fact, even from within the prison cell I sensed that the outrage against a corrupt regime was increasing by the day." He said that, "in a free and fair election, we would have won 10 years ago". Anwar is set to replace Mahathir as prime minister under a deal the pair agreed to before the election, though no date has been set for that transfer of power. Anwar was due to walk free on June 8, but the fast-tracking of his release - via an expected full royal pardon from Malaysias King Muhammad V of Kelantan, due Wednesday - will allow him to re-enter politics almost immediately, rather than waiting the five years required by the constitution. Then Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, centre, is surrounded as he arrives at court in 2008. Credit:AP/File

Anwar must first win a seat in Parliament. He is likely to take Wan Azizah's seat if she resigns. Anwar said that after working with Mahathir for many years, "I understand that he cares deeply about Malaysia and the people of Malaysia ... a new partnership was essential to overcome the deeply entrenched, corrupt system that was presiding over Malaysia". "Our litmus test has always been supporting the reform agenda," he said. "So long as there is sincere commitment to these principles, we have always welcomed new supporters. The animosity which preoccupies some observers is not an issue for me." He spoke to Fairfax Media six days after the opposition's historic win in the country's 14th general election, which has ended 61 years of rule by the coalition.

In an ominous sign for the former prime minister, Najib and his wife Rosmah were slapped with a travel ban by Malaysias Immigration Department on Saturday, which stopped the couple from leaving for Jakarta. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, centre, waves to crowds leaving National Mosque after performing Friday prayers in Kuala Lumpur. Credit:AP The highs and lows of the relationship between Anwar and Mahathir are extraordinary. Anwar served as Mahathirs deputy prime minister for five years, when both were part of the now-defeated Barisan Nasional ruling party, from 1993 to 1998. The pair fell out spectacularly and Anwar was jailed, during Mahathir's first period of 22 years as prime minister, for a five year period in 1999 on trumped-up sodomy charges.
Los Angeles: The father of American actress Meghan Markle has told US media outlet TMZ he can't go to his daughter's wedding to Britain's Prince Harry on Saturday, as he needs to undergo heart surgery.

It's the latest in a will-he-or-won't-he drama after Thomas Markle initially threw wedding plans into confusion on Monday, telling the Los Angeles-based celebrity news website that he did not want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family.

Meghan Markle earlier this month. Credit:AP

The elder Markle, who lives in Mexico, was expected to walk his daughter down the aisle of St George's Chapel, but pulled out after reports he had staged pictures with a paparazzi photographer for a fee. He also said he had suffered a heart attack a week ago.

The next day he said that he hoped to travel to London for the May 19 wedding, if his health allowed it, but now says he's scheduled for a heart repair and blockage procedure early on Wednesday.
Brussels: The European Union has warned Britain time is running out to seal a Brexit deal this northern autumn and ensure London does not crash out of the bloc next March, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.

The EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told 27 ministers of the bloc meeting in Brussels on Monday that "no significant progress" had been made in negotiations with London since March, the Bulgarian chairwoman of the talks said.

May's spokesman, however, said the "focus is on getting this right" rather than meeting a deadline.

British PM Theresa May. Credit:Bloomberg

Diplomats and officials in Brussels have raised doubts about whether the bloc and London will be able to mark a milestone in the negotiations at the summit of EU leaders on June 28 and 29.
Annual Global Innovation Challenge

The annual Global Innovation Challenge is a competition and course open to all undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and nontraditional students focused on developing solutions to some of the major, unsolved global health challenges around the world. For one week, participants engage in team-building and creative problem-solving activities with international experts and UB faculty.

The 2020 Global Innovation Challenge focused on how we communicate complex issues, like how, and with whom, should we share new genetic and genomic research and information, how we reveal the hidden dangers of pollutants in our food, homes, and neighborhoods, and how we ethically persuade people to heed warnings of imminent threats, such as epidemics and extreme weather events. Communicating these complex issues, while separating fact from fiction, is challenging. Cultural differences, literacy levels, political motivations, and new media platforms complicate this further. The public is uncertain whom and what to believe.

The nature of the challenge called for innovative, novel ideas from UB students across all disciplines. At the 2020 Global Innovation Challenge, students:

earned spring course credit while having fun and making an impact

while having fun and making an impact tackled complex issues like climate change , environmental exposure , and genomics

, , and partnered with students, faculty, and international experts across disciplines

across disciplines learned about the science of science communication

cultivated creative problem-solving abilities

abilities competed for funding to further ideas

The GIC is co-organized by the Community for Global Health Equity, faculty fellows Drs. Katarzyna Kordas and Jennifer Surtees, Blackstone Launchpad, and UB Sustainability.
Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOPs, are in focus following the Walmart-Flipkart deal. What does it mean for the taxman? And if, triggered by the mega e-commerce deal, ESOPs get back in fashion, to what extent is it a good news for talent in India? To find out the answers, Business Today spoke to Ajay Gandhi, partner, Gandhi & Gandhi, a leading chartered accounting firm headquartered in Hyderabad with taxation as one of the core areas of expertise.

"There are no tax implications at the time of grant of ESOPs. Only, on the exercise of options, tax is payable on the perquisite value of stock options. Taxable Perquisite value of ESOP is Fair market value of the shares as on the date of exercise less amount recovered from the employee for exercise of option i.e exercise price," Gandhi said. "On sale of stock, tax is payable on the capital gains. Capital Gain is computed by reducing from the sale price, the Fair Market Value as on exercise date," he further added.

Here is an example:

1. Stock Options granted in 2017. No incidence of tax.

2. Options exercised in 2018. Amount paid to acquire 500 shares on exercise of option: Rs 1000.

Fair market value of each share at the time of option exercise: Rs 10.

Total fair market value of 500 shares: Rs 5000.

Perquisite to be taxed as salary income in 2018 = Rs 5000 less Rs 1000 = Rs.4000

3. Sale of 500 shares at Rs 20000.

Capital Gains = Rs 20000 less Rs 5000 (fair value in 2018) = Rs 15000.

Capital gains will be charged to tax as long term or short term depending on period of holding.

To what extent ESOPs are a good deal for employees and what has been the Indian experience in this? "ESOPs is good news. It is an amazing way for start-ups to compensate talent and have the heart and soul of their employees into building up the business. Because ESOPs do not involve a cash outflow, they are a great way of attracting expensive talent without paying cash," Gandhi said.

He further added, "Well-designed ESOPs can be major attraction for expensive talent to opt for start-ups instead of large companies. Employees find it attractive because ESOPs can turn into gold. If the business succeeds and is acquired or goes public."

But then, in the Indian context, he said, "For most Indian start-ups, the chances of their acquisition or going public are remote and if they are not able to convince the employees otherwise, ESOPs are no better than the paper they are printed on."

Finally, how does this all look from a Flipkart employee's perspective? "Clearly the employees of Flipkart are certain to benefit hugely because of the stock options held by them. Contrary to what was earlier hinted at, most employees will not get to encash hundred percent of the options immediately, but over a period of time. Former employees, we understand, may be able to encash, at least a bulk of it, only when the company goes public," Gandhi said.
Despite the spirited contest, no single party could make it to the halfway mark of 112 seats in Karnataka. As per Karnataka election results, Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single largest party in the state with 104 seats in its kitty. Meanwhile, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) have joined hands to pip BJP with a combined seat tally of 115, giving them a strong chance of proving majority on the House floor when the time comes.

Amidst all this, the power to decide the fate of these contenders now rests with Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala. Escalating the suspense in the scheme of things, Vala has declared that he will take a call on who to invite to form the next government in Karnataka only after Election Commission comes out with their final numbers. Meanwhile, both factions - BJP as well as Congress-JD(S) alliance has presented their claims to power before the Governor.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who was sent to Karntaka to deal with the situation, reached out to JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda on behalf of Sonia Gandhi. Azad met the former Prime Minister with the proposal of support from outside and the Chief Minister's office for his son HD Kumaraswamy. "We have had a telephonic talk with both Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted that JD(S) will head the government," Azad said.

Kumaraswamy, with Azad and outgoing Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah in town, met Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked the claim to form the government. Congress has secured 78 seats in the Karnataka elections 2018, whereas JD(S) has been victorious in 37 seats. With one independent candidate extending support, the post-poll alliance has a seat tally of 116. The halfway mark in the Karnataka Assembly is 112.

According to India Today TV sources, Congress is likely to get 20 cabinet seats while JD(S) wants 14. The Congress will get deputy chief minister's post. Both the parties have decided to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha election in the state together.

Former CM Siddaramaiah told reporters outside the Karnataka Raj Bhavan that the Congress-JD (S) alliance will provide a strong and a stable government. "We have the support of all the winning members from both the parties and we have presented a letter to the Governor regarding the same," Siddaramaiah said.

The political twist spoilt the celebrations of BJP cadres on the emergence of the BJP as the single largest party. However, BJP is leaving no stone unturned to stake the claim to form the next government. Following his meeting with the Governor, the BJP CM candidate Yeddyurappa said they will prove the majority on the floor of the house.

Following the statements made by the Congress and the JD(S) on their plan to stake claim to form the next government in Karnataka, BJP CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa cancelled his visit to Delhi. Senior party leaders Prakash Javadekar, JP Nadda, and Dharmendra Pradhan have also been rushed to Karnataka by BJP chief Amit Shah to explore routes to power in the state.

According to India Today TV sources, BJP is in touch with half a dozen Lingayat leaders of the Congress and these Lingayat leaders will abstain on grounds of Siddaramaih insulting Lingayats.

Siddaramaiah, while addressing the media after tendering his resignation, claimed that the BJP might try to poach Congress's MLAs. According to sources, JD (S) may shift its MLAs outside Banglore to keep the flock together. "We are taking care to make sure our MLAs are not poached," chief ministerial candidate HD Kumaraswamy told reporters.

Also Read: Karnataka election results 2018 LIVE: Will kingmaker be the king? BJP says will prove majority in house

Also Read: Karnataka election results 2018 LIVE: Will kingmaker be the king? BJP says will prove majority in house
A national shame

Even as Nepal preps to plunge into the modern age, evils like child marriage persist
One of the great paradoxes in today's global economy is how developing countries, which require massive capital investments to achieve their full economic potential, have a harder time attracting that same capital than their developed counterparts. This dynamic is born out of a scarcity of information about often complex and fast-moving developing economies, as investors shy away from potentially lucrative but uncertain investments in favour of the lower returns and stability of the First World. This is the reason why low-growth Britain received over five times as much foreign investment in 2016 as the burgeoning Indian economy ($253 billion vs $46 billion)

However, a new class of institutional investor is upending this inefficiency, using technology and local expertise to identify promising opportunities in upcoming markets and deploy the developed world's capital to finance them. Such investments are a global win-win: First World investors earn outsize returns compared to their domestic opportunities, and up-and-coming economies receive a shot of much-needed capital to fuel their remarkable growth.



Why the Money Stayed Home

Traditionally, institutional investors have tended to stay within their respective domestic markets due to their extensive expertise in their home country's investment opportunities and peculiarities. This makes sense in an environment where information is scarce; if an investor has a choice between an opportunity that could be quite profitable but could also be a complete bust, and another option where a lower rate of return is more or less guaranteed, they will tend towards the latter option.

Further exacerbating this dynamic is the fact that, in emerging economies, investment markets tend to favour supply over demand. In layman's terms, this means there are lots of opportunities that require significant funding, and relatively few investors who possess such large war chests. This leads to high cost of capital for large projects, making them less viable when in fact the country needs such projects even more than the developed world. Another problem is the difficulty in determining which investment is worthwhile, and which will bottom out. For someone sitting in, say, London, finding the correct investment in a place like India is like finding a needle in a haystack. Say this person wanted to add residential real estate to his portfolio. Such an investor would be more likely to finance an apartment complex in Bristol than parse through the hundreds of high-rises coming up in Bangalore. The tragedy is that the Londoner could make more money in Bangalore, and Bangalore needs the funds more than Bristol.

An Age of Information Abundance

All this changes, however, when information is no longer a scarce resource. In today's ultra-connected environment, sophisticated investors in Manhattan are able to find and participate in the most promising opportunities in Jakarta or Nairobi without the massive amount of legwork required in the previous analog era. This dynamic is made possible in large part by a wide array of globally-oriented private equity firms that combine extensive local expertise in developing markets with the deep pocketbooks of investors in wealthy countries.

In absolute terms, foreign direct investment has increased approximately 350% over the last 20 years, and a total of around $1.8 trillion dollars was invested between countries in 2017. Developing economies have increased their share of the pie substantially over the past ten years, going from 35% of global FDI in 2005 to around 60% today.

Sovereign Funds and Smart Owners

Much of this increase is due to the monolithic mega-funds pouring enormous amounts of capital into global up-and-comers. Blackstone, for example, has recently become the largest office-space landlord in the world after closing several massive deals in India, a particular FDI hotspot in 2017. Sovereign wealth funds and pensions funds, like the Canadian Pension Plan, Singapore's GIC, and the Qatar Investment Authority, are also scouring the globe for promising projects, with China dominating investment cycles for much of the early 21st century. In recent years, large institutional FDI has diversified into various emerging markets, with India and Indonesia frequently cited as the most promising destinations.

However, it's not just the juggernauts of finance who are deploying the developed world's capital. A number of cutting edge financial technology (or 'fintech') firms have come up with innovative business models targeting a very different market segment. These firms allow discerning investors - who don't have billions of dollars to throw around - to access the same high-return opportunities as their institutional counterparts. Often, these companies will specialize in a particular country or vertical, leveraging local expertise on a global scale.

Take India. The South Asian powerhouse boasts the world's largest diaspora, with some 30 million Indians living overseas. With India undergoing economic expansion on a massive scale, these non-resident Indians (NRIs for short) are keen to invest in their home country, especially in the booming real estate sector. However, the sheer scale and multi-layered nature of the industry makes finding a reliable investment a difficult endeavor.

Difficult for a person, that is - but not for a company. SmartOwner, India's largest property marketplace, specializes in identifying and funding the top 1% of the country's upcoming real estate projects, and passes these deals along to investors around the globe. Ticket sizes for their investment products range from $15,000 to several million, bringing highly curated opportunities in the developing world to investors in the West and beyond. With clients in 43 countries, it's a business model with widespread appeal, indicating that it's not just the titans of finance who are looking for higher returns abroad.

In fact, Vikram Chari, SmartOwner's CEO, believes that the majority of the wealth created over the next few decades will be in emerging markets, and that capital will become less and less country-specific as information abundance levels the playing field. Chari explains that, "300 million people - the equivalent of the entire United states - will move to cities by 2050 in India alone. With such an extraordinary opportunity for wealth creation, it's no surprise that Western investors are deploying more and more funds abroad." In fact, he sees such capital as potentially transformative to the fundamental development process: "If you can offer investors a predictable and safe 12% IRR, there's no limit to how much capital they can invest. An entire country can be lifted out of poverty with the right incentives."

Whether it's giant PE funds or innovative fintech firms, more and more investors are finding their footing in investing abroad. As the global economy continues to transition into one of information abundance, it's likely that the single biggest determinant for a good investment will not be the country where the investor is situated, but the underlying fundamentals of the opportunity. For both developing economies and discerning investors, this is undeniably a good thing. Developing countries get much needed funds at a more efficient cost of capital, and the aging populations of the rich world gain access to fast-growing markets that can help pay for their retirement.
"The IT sector and its growth is political party agnostic. In fact, some perceive the BJP as more industry-friendly, so maybe the change is for the better," says a senior IT professional not wanting to be identified. But what about the failing infrastructure and you are told, "It is a pan-India problem, and at the end of the day, no political party is dramatically different from the other. BJP was in power in Karnataka earlier also."

Geeks apparently believe that a state government has hardly any influence on their sector and it was partly clear from their poor turnout at the polling stations. Boomanahalli, the region that houses the IT hubs, including the Electronic City, Whitefield and Sarjapur in Bengaluru, and where many IT professionals stay, had a little over 50 per cent turnout in the final count. However, the election outcome has raised new questions. One academician, who has been a diligent voter every time, is not sure to what extent Karnataka needed a change in government. He and many others in the industry raised new questions and felt a change would only matter if systemic changes are brought about. How equipped the BJP is at this needs to be watched.

The poll outcome also seemed to have raised questions about the priorities for the politicians: Did voters want more than Indira canteens and talks on food security? Do voters reject freebies and instead, want performance and job creation? Should there now be an end to the minority card propaganda? Going by the BJP track record in the state, does the new set-up mean better governance and better vision on development?

All of these are some of the unanswered questions that are now being raised. However, all did seem to agree that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pitch to the voters in the state seems to have paid off. One such instance was his recent visit to London where he tried to reach out to the Lingayat vote base when he garlanded the portrait of Basaveshwara or Basava, the 12th-century philosopher, statesman and poet. That apart, one of the voters had earlier reminded us that "the Prime Minister had held as many as 17 shows this time, more than the 12-odd planned originally apart from the active participation of the BJP President Amit Shah this time".

One business leader of the state, not sure of the likely poll outcome, had earlier told Business Today that "there is no anti-incumbency wave this time". But then, as is apparent from the results, people want things to be different and sadly, change is a relative term. It could just be limited to the change of government or about the difference in execution or about creating a much deeper and profound impact on people and their lives for the better.
15 May 2018, 3:41 PM

Petrol prices shoot up after Karnataka polls

The oil marketing companies incurred a loss of Rs 35 crore per day during the 19-day pre-Karnataka poll hiatus in fuel price hikes. The markets suffered a total revenue loss of Rs 380 crore in this period, according to an analysis by the Business Standard. This figure is based on the average consumption of petrol as well as diesel. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd's marketing margins, for instance, reduced from an estimated Rs 3.4 per litre to Rs 0.6 per litre for petrol and from Rs 3.8 per litre to Rs 0.8 per litre for diesel. What's more, the price freeze came at a time when international oil rates skyrocketed.

Karnataka Assembly election country's costliest state poll ever

A fact that has emerged as a talking point in this Assembly election in Karnataka is that this was the "costliest state election" with total spending of around Rs 10,500 crore. Total 5.06 crore - around 72.13 per cent of people - had voted in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 on May 12. According to a survey by the Central for Media Studies, the current election in Karnataka is a "money guzzler" election, with all the political parties collectively spending around Rs 9,500 to Rs 10,500 crore. The political parties have collectively spent double the amount than the 2013 Assembly election in the state. The survey says the current expense does not include expenditure incurred on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's poll campaigning. The survey, however, concludes that the Assembly election in Karnataka has proved to be more expensive than the state elections in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

CBI claims PNB top brass failed to prevent Nirav Modi scam despite prior knowledge of modus operandi

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has landed in more trouble with the authorities. According to a CBI charge sheet, the top management at the country's fourth largest bank not only "misrepresented" the factual position on letters of understanding (LoUs) to the RBI but also ignored the apex bank's warnings when credit facilities worth over $2 billion were fraudulently cleared by its branch in Mumbai. Sources also told PTI that according to the investigative agency, the bank's former MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and her top officials failed to prevent the Nirav Modi fraud despite having prior knowledge of how LoUs can be used to cheat banks.That's because Ananthasubramanian was heading PNB when Indian Overseas Bank (IOB), Chandigarh, reported a LoU fraud in 2016 wherein credits were issued by PNB's Dubai branch on the basis of these guarantees.

Piyush Goyal in-charge of finance ministry till Arun Jaitley recovers

In a big cabinet reshuffle on Monday, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal was given a temporary charge of the Ministry of Finance till current Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recovers from his surgery, while Smriti Irani has been moved out of the I&B Ministry to the Ministry of Textile again. The charge as independent MoS of I&B has now been given to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who also had the MoS (Minister of State) independent charge of the Ministry of Sports. Goyal will handle the power ministry too.
After being named in the CBI charge sheet for her alleged role in the Nirav Modi fraud, the former PNB CEO & MD Usha Ananthasubramanian on Tuesday lost all her executive powers as the MD & CEO of Allahabad Bank after the board of state-run lender, following a directive from the finance ministry, divested her of all powers with immediate effect.

Earlier, the Allahabad Bank had called for a board meeting to decide the fate of its top serving executive following the CBI charge sheet naming her in the Nirav Modi scam. The allegation against Ananthasubramanian is that she failed to comply with the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) circulars issued on the Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) control system in 2016.

On February 27, soon after Rs 13,700-crore fraud came to light, Ananthasubramanian was grilled by the CBI. Allahabad Bank's board is likely to take a call to divest the powers vested with the current CEO. This comes after the government asked the Allahabad Bank board to take away all the powers of its CEO and MD.

Ananthasubramanian, who completed her one year as the CEO & MD of Allahabad Bank on May 6, served as the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Punjab National Bank from August 2015 to May 2017. In an earlier stint, Ananthasubramanian also served as the Executive Director of Punjab National Bank from July 2011 to November 2013.

During her long career spanning about 34 years, Ananthasubramanian has also worked as the CMD of erstwhile Bharatiya Mahila Bank. She was head of the core management team constituted by the Ministry of Finance for coordinating the process of formation of a women-centric bank.

Early this year, Ananthasubramanian became the first woman to be elected as the chairman of the Indian Banks' Association, the 71-year old industry body for banks.

Usha Ananthasubramanian holds a Master's Degree in Statistics from the University of Madras and a Master's Degree in Ancient Indian Culture from University of Mumbai. She began her banking carrier with Bank of Baroda, where she worked as a Specialist Officer in February 1982. Ananthasubramanian was closely associated with the transformation project of Bank of Baroda including rebranding and innovative HR initiatives.

Ananthasubramanian served as the Chairman of the Board of Punjab National Bank (International) Limited from January 11, 2016 to May 5, 2017 and PNB Housing Finance Limited from August 26, 2015 to May 5, 2017. She served as the Chairperson at PNB Gilts Ltd. from September 24, 2015 to May 5, 2017. She has also served as a Director of Export-Import Bank of India since November 27, 2015 until May 24, 2017.

Along with Usha, three other top officials of PNB, Brahmaji Rao (Executive Director), Sanjiv Sharan (Executive Director) and Nehal Ahad (General Manager) have been named as accused. During investigation, CBI found lapses from their side as far as SWIFT transactions were concerned. The board PNB has also been asked to divest two executive directors of all powers.
India's second largest hospital chain Fortis Healthcare is now well and truly in the midst of a bidding war with the original suitor-Manipal-TPG combine-making its third offer for the healthcare chain after the Fortis board recommended that shareholders accept the Munjal-Burman offer. On Monday, Manipal-TPG revised their offer to Rs 180 per share from its earlier offer of Rs 160 apiece, which is 8 per cent higher than the current winner Munjal-Burman combine. This entails investing Rs 2,100 crore into Fortis as against Munjal-Burman's proposal of Rs 1,800 crore. Besides these two proposals, Fortis also has offers from Malaysia's IHH Healthcare Berhad (Rs 175 per share) and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care (infusion of Rs 1,200 crore). The bidding war has raised the value of each Fortis share nearly 50 per cent from the lowest offer of Rs 126 per share to Rs 175 per share. So what makes Fortis so valuable?

Brand

In terms of pan-India image, Fortis has built a brand equity that can be matched only by the Apollo Hospitals Group in India. The Fortis network has four JCI accredited hospitals, 19 NABH accredited hospitals, 6 NABH accredited blood banks and 15 hospitals with NABH accredited Nursing programmes. The contribution of international sales to the overall revenue of the hospital business stood at 10.6 per cent (Rs 395 Crore) in 2016/17, growth of more than 10 per cent over the previous year.

Size

The healthcare verticals of the company primarily comprise day care specialty, diagnostics and tertiary and quaternary care. The company has a network of 45 healthcare facilities (including projects under development) with approximately 4,800 operational beds and the potential to reach over 9,000 beds. In India, the company is one of the largest private healthcare chains comprising a network of 41 healthcare facilities, including 32 operating facilities, three satellite and heart command centres located in public and private hospitals and six healthcare facility projects which are under development or are greenfield land sites. In addition, its Indian diagnostics business has a presence in over 600 cities and towns, with an established strength of 356 laboratories, including 183 self-operated laboratories,120 laboratories inside hospitals (including 27 labs located in Fortis healthcare facilities), four wellness centres and five international laboratories.

Medical Excellence

It is one of the best known hospitals in the country for new cutting edge treatment programmes. Fortis has taken the lead in Robotic Surgery in Delhi-NCR by deploying the latest 4th generation Da Vinci Xi System at Fortis Memorial Research Institute (FMRI), Gurugram and Fortis Escorts Heart Institute (FEHI), New Delhi. It has some of the most successful organ transplantation - heart, liver, bone marrow - programmes in India.

Value

Uncertainties surrounding the legal issues its promoters - brothers Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivinder Mohan Singh - have been grappling with due to their litigation with Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo over the sale of their pharmaceutical company, erstwhile Ranbaxy, had taken a hit on the valuation of Fortis. The associated risks in acquiring an asset that might have legal complications in future had prevented suitors from proposing a fair value to the company. The cash flow crisis, which in turn impacted the revenues of Fortis and its growth plans had also driven down its value. Industry experts believe that the growth potential makes it a much desirable value proposition even today.

Sector

The sector is extremely promising. India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), estimates that domestic healthcare industry will touch $280 billon by 2020, from an estimated $160 billion in 2017. Sovereign funds like Khazanah Nasional Berhadof Malaysia, foreign hospital chains like Life Healthcare, South Africa, private equity funds like TPG and domestic corporate players have all shown interest in healthcare assets in India. The biggest problem before them is not funds but availability of a suitable acquisition target. Fortis, given its size and scale of operations, is thus a dream opportunity that most will find it difficult to let go.
A new survey of the Irish workforce by IrishJobs.ie reveals that almost 4 in 10 workers (37%) didnt take their full allocation of annual leave in 2017. Just under half of respondents took a holiday longer than two weeks last year.



The research shows that even those who took a holiday found it hard to switch off, with a third (33%) of respondents admitting to working while on annual leave.



The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 sets out a basic annual paid leave requirement of four working weeks (or 20 days) for full-time workers in Ireland. However, two-thirds (67%) of those surveyed are offered more than twenty days annual leave by their employer. Two percent of those surveyed are entitled to unlimited annual leave.

Thirty seven percent of respondents have the option to buy additional annual leave from their employer, meaning that some Irish workers can avail of up to 30 days annual leave per year.



IrishJobs.ie say there is absolutely no benefits to not taking annual leave. The employment experts say studies show that those who dont are at an increased risk of chronic stress and there are no financial benefits, either. According to the survey results, 70% of respondents said that they were not financially compensated for the annual leave they didnt take in 2017.

Yet, IrishJobs.ie say the advantages of taking a holiday are clear. They say that taking time off from work or the daily grind not only helps people to de-stress, but it also helps work productivity. An article by Harvard Business Review outlines the benefits of taking a vacation or holiday day, citing enhanced emotional agility and a greater ability to direct attention and energy to a subject.



IrishJobs.ie General Manager, Orla Moran said, "The Irish workforce is extremely hard-working. Many are working in extremely competitive professional environments and understandably are eager to demonstrate their work ethic, ambition and commitment to their employer. One outcome is that employees become so consumed with their day job, taking annual leave becomes a secondary consideration. Therefore, while it is not particularly surprising to see that almost 40 percent of workers are not availing of their full annual leave allocation, in the long run this is a very unwise approach and one that will ultimately lead to burn out."

She added, "It is important to remember that annual leave is essential time away from the workplace to switch off and recharge the batteries. We advise everyone to make full use of their statutory entitlement."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
It was announced this week that Metabolomic Diagnostics is to receive 2 million in EU Funding under the Horizon 2020 SME Instrument. The company made an impression among 1280 applications from all over Europe.

The Cork-based biotech company will use the award to commercialise its breakthrough product, PrePsia, a simple blood test taken in early pregnancy which can identify whether a woman may develop Preterm Preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia is one of the biggest risks that women face during a pregnancy, claiming the lives of 75,000 mothers and 500,000 babies annually. Survivors of the disease have a lifelong increased risk of developing a range of health problems.

PrePsia has the potential to transform prenatal care by allowing clinicians to administer effective treatments early that can dramatically reduce the incidence of the disease thus improving pregnancy outcomes whilst lowering healthcare costs for treating the disease.

Metabolomic Diagnostics has previously been supported by the EU through FP7 funding, as well as private investors, SOSV, Enterprise Equity AIB Seed Capital Fund and Enterprise Ireland.

Speaking this week, CEO of Metabolomic Diagnostics, Charles Garvey said, "This award will be used to accelerate our go-to-market strategy. We plan to market the product next year, and now with this support from EU, we believe that PrePsia has the potential to become part of pregnancy screening programs worldwide. The award is recognition by the European Union of the huge progress we have made to date and the enormous societal benefit that our innovative test will bring to expectant mothers and their babies all over the world."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
New findings released today by Irish communications agency, Springboard PR & Marketing, has found that over one third of Irish businesses do not have a digital marketing strategy.

The national index survey of over 400 Irish business professionals, which included business owners, senior management and marketing personnel, comes as Springboard PR & Marketing launch Spring3, their new digital content framework.

The survey shows that 22% of respondents admit that they are unaware if their organisation even has a digital marketing strategy. Despite the majority of survey respondents either having no clear digital marketing strategy, or having no direct knowledge of one, over half state their top priority in digital marketing this year is content across their owned channels e.g. social media and website. This was followed by earned content (28%) such as reviews, guest articles and editorial coverage along with paid promotion (18%) through digital advertising.

Over half of respondents see the biggest benefit of digital marketing as the promotion of their products and services. This was followed by lead generation and increased sales (32%) and attracting new talent (12%).

The top challenge facing those surveyed is a lack of time to implement digital marketing activities (38%) while one quarter cite the fact they have no clear digital strategy. One in five say a shortage of trained staff is the most challenging factor in implementing their digital marketing.

The survey also found the top platform on which Irish businesses have created a profile is Facebook (75%). This is followed by Twitter (68%), LinkedIn (61%) and Instagram (41%). However, LinkedIn took the biggest drop when it came to the platforms that organisations actually use, with just 39% using it to regularly post, share and engage with others.

Speaking on the inaugural annual index survey, Springboard PR & Marketing Managing Director and Strategic Lead, Susie Horgan said, "With no clear digital marketing strategy, businesses, who are already time-poor, will not see the maximum return on the time and energy invested in creating and promoting their content. This is particularly concerning given that almost a quarter of respondents never monitor their digital marketing analytics."

She added, "As the business landscape becomes even more reliant on the digital sphere, organisations need to be seriously looking at an all-encompassing integrated strategy, combining owned, earned and paid. This is vital in order to achieve and exceed defined business goals and marketing objectives."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
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After 15 years, 23 reviews and more than 35,000 suggestions, Canberrans are once again being asked how they would improve the city. The City Renewal Authority has called for ideas to improve Canberra over both the long and short term to inform the development of a precinct renewal program, which the agency will take back to government for funding. The agency has reviewed 32,000 pieces of community feedback collected over the last 15 years, and found six key themes. During the 23 previous consultations on ACT planning matters, people said they wanted Canberra to be "more people-focused, creative, active, sustainable, connected and progressive". The past reviews were undertaken by a number of bodies, including the ACT government, the National Capital Authority, In the City Canberra, Canberra Business Chamber and the Property Council of Australia. While the themes sound like buzzwords straight from the boardroom of Utopia, City Renewal Authority chief executive Malcolm Snow said they were "deliberately broad" as they represented a "high-level summary of community feedback consistently received over a period of time rather than a list of specific projects". The community has been asked many times what their vision for Canberra is but we are now asking for practical suggestions as to how they believe it can be achieved, Mr Snow said. "Canberrans overwhelmingly want their city to focus more on people, to be more creative and active, and for it to be greener, better connected and progressive in it how it looks and works. We also know that the community will have a lot of different ideas for how those outcomes should be achieved. "We are asking the community to put forward specific ideas consistent with these themes - including projects, actions and initiatives they believe will help reshape the City Renewal Precinct. We want to ensure the community's aspirations, captured in previous consultations, are reflected in our future work program." People can pitch their ideas through the yoursay.act. gov.au website. These suggestions and others will then be discussed at a workshop with government, business, industry and community representatives next month. Already, people have raised the ideas of voluntary bicycle helmets, food vendor walking tracks, banning cars from Civic and plastering the city's rooftops with solar panels. Feedback closes June 8. The action plan will be published later in the year.

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Eddie Woo never won at cards as a kid. But step into his classroom now, with aces flying and decks changing hands, and you might think you've wandered into a magic show. "Nothing in maths or magic is ever a coincidence," he told his rapt audience at Hawker College in Canberra on Monday. The "rockstar" teacher is touring Australia to "make maths cool again" after being named this year's Local Hero at the Australian of the Year Awards. First stop in the capital was the specialist maths class at Hawker, where Year 11 and 12 students tried their hand at solving equations with cards. Not many people are routinely recognised on the street for being "a maths teacher", and Mr Woo admits his international fame still feels strange. The Sydney teacher gained an unexpected following after he started making videos for a sick student on his 'Wootube' channel more than five years ago. On Monday, a number of students confessed they were already big fans, watching the vidoes at home or in study breaks for their "easy to understand" break down of difficult concepts. Year 11 student Hulieo Anderson said it was even better learning from Mr Woo in person. "He got eveyone involved, he made it fun, he made jokes... He Woo-ed everybody," Hulieo said. While maths comes naturally to some kids like Hulieo, Mr Woo said students were often quick to convince themselves the subject wasn't for them. "For me, maths is like a pair of glasses," he said, tapping his own spectacles. "When I look out into the world, I really am at a loss if I dont have this little tool at my disposal but...[I wouldn't say] 'I've always struggled with seeing my whole life, I'm just not a seeing kind of person'," he said. "People say that about mathematics...but I think it's worth struggling with and actually coming to the realisation that if we give ourselves a bit of help we can take advantage of this tool just as much as anyone else." Hawker College Principal Andy Mison said the school had made a decision years back to switch up its approach to teaching maths, opting for a more flexible style "to advance the whole school in the interest of its individuals". On his first day at the college two years ago, he asked a student to lead him to her favourite class and was surprised to find himself in the maths room. For Mr Woo, mathematics is often hiding in plain sight, "tucked away" in the everyday - or a deck of cards. Helping people discover the fun of maths was the best part of teaching, he said, something he learned in high school guiding year 7 students as a peer support leader. "There's something special and precious about that 'aha' moment, when a concept or a skill just clicks into place," Mr Woo said. The educator is also running workshops for teachers from a number of local schools and will visit St Francis Xavier College on Tuesday, before crossing the border into Queanbeyan. His visit coincides with the launch of online NAPLAN testing this week. All ACT public schools are taking part in the new roll-out, and Mr Woo wished students luck, but encouraged them to view the assessment as a learning tool first and foremost. As students kept up their card tricks in the hallways of Hawker College, Mr Woo confessed: "I had even more fun than they did."

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The recent spate of horrific terrorist attacks in Indonesia highlights a number of unfortunate, and often overlooked, truths about this global epidemic of violent slaughter. The first is that by far the greatest number of terror attacks carried out by so-called Islamic extremists occur in Muslim countries. A second is the attackers, who appropriate the name of a worthy and long-established faith that espouses tolerance, justice and civil harmony, have about as much to do with Islam as the Klu Klux Klan has to do with Methodism, the Roman Catholic Church or Anglicanism. A third is that the intent of such attacks is to actively destabilise secular Muslim states such as Indonesia, Iraq and Egypt where the civil authority takes precedence over religious institutions and in which a wide range of races, cultures and religious groups have historically live together in harmony. Terrorist organisations such as Islamic State, al-Quaeda, the Taliban, and this latest group - the so called Jemaah Anshorut Daulah or JAD, want to spread fear, chaos, civil unrest and uncertainty in order to weaken political, social and civil power structures and draw new recruits to their evil cause. Moderate Muslims are, if anything, even more threatening to them than Christians, Jews or agnostic westerners could ever hope to be. They are the people who, by their daily example, demonstrate the virtue of a faith that is rooted in morality, places a premium on human life and exhorts its followers to be the best friends, neighbours and citizens they can possibly be. And, perhaps most importantly, the latest attacks have highlighted the dangers facing many countries, including our own, as a result of the return or attempted return home of foreign ISIS fighters from the conflict in Syria and other parts of the Middle-East. It is tragic that one of the reasons the Surabya attacks, which targeted Christian churches during Sunday services and a police station, have been reported much more widely than previous terror incidents in Muslim countries is because of the involvment of young children. In one of the attacks, which claimed 17 lives, the youngest suicide bomber was just nine years old. Her suicide vest had reportedly been detonated by her own mother. The woman then blew herself up. This degree of barbarous and inhumane fanaticism is almost unprecedented. There is no religion on earth that would condone such an action. The mindset of those who believe that murdering their own children in order to take other innocent lives can be justified absolutely beggars belief. While many Australians first became aware of terrorism in Indonesia as a result of the Bali bombing on October 12, 2002, its roots stretch back much further than that. Previous terrorist incidents include an assassination attempt on President Sukarno in 1962, a bomb attack on the Nurul Iman Mosque in Padang in 1976, the hijacking of Garuda Indonesia Flight 206 in March 1981 and a string of co-ordinated church bombings organised by Jemaah Islamiyah and Al Quaeda on Christmas Eve, 2000. Australia has a strong track record of working with the Indonesian authorities on counter terrorism. Given the potential for some of the more than 500 Indonesian ISIS fighters who were deported from Syria to make their way to our shores, it is essential these relationships be strenghtened and maintained.

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Police have finished investigations at the scene of a fatal and suspicious fire, and the Bonner property is set to be razed as detectives seek new leads. The bodies of Anne Wachera Muhoro, 45, her son Ezvin, 8, and her daughter Furaha, 5, were discovered by firefighters following the deliberately-lit blaze in Bonner on February 19. Police have not said whether the focus of the investigation is a suspected murder. The now-derelict property remains fenced off, and neighbours on Peter Coppin Street are anxious to see the scorched shell demolished. Affordable housing provider CHC Australia, which owns the property, said a new house would be built on the site. "The team at CHC were incredibility saddened by the notification of the fire and losing a family who had been tenants of our organisation for nearly five years," general manager Megan Ward said. "After the police concluded their investigation at the property, CHC instructed our insurer to start a replacement process." Before rebuilding on the site, CHC hoped to hold a prayer service with members of Ms Muhoro's church, the Northside Life congregation in Harrison. "Ensuring we are keeping the neighbours informed, CHC hopes to demolish the property and rebuild over the coming months to assist another family who may be homeless or at risk of homelessness," Ms Ward said. "Prior to the rebuild process, the team at CHC are also hoping to arrange a prayer service onsite with the church of which our tenant was a member." An ACT Policing spokeswoman said investigations into the fire continued, and appealed for any witnesses to come forward. "Criminal investigators are conducting a range of enquiries," the spokeswoman said. "Police would like to speak with anyone who may have any information or witnessed the fire." A private funeral ceremony for the family was held at the Norwood Park Crematorium in Gungahlin on Friday, March 18. Family members had travelled from as far away as Kenya to be there for the service. An obituary published in Kenyan media pictured Anne wearing academic robes and a graduation cap, next to her children Ezvin and Furaha, who were wearing uniforms from Brindabella Christian College. "It is a humble acceptance of God's will that we announce the demise of Anne Wachera Muhoro and her two children Ezvin, 8, and Furaha, 5, which took place in Australia on 19th February 2018," the obituary read. "Anne, Ezvin and Furaha, we love you but God loved you more." A man was questioned by police the day after the tragedy, although he was later released without charge. Police have said the fire was deliberately lit, with accelerants used across multiple "seats of fire" inside the house. Anne Muhoro was due to discuss a custody matter with the children's father on the morning of the blaze. Court documents recorded how Ms Muhoro had made "no appearance" in court. The bodies of her and her children had been found earlier that morning. Neighbours have painted a picture of a reserved family who lived a quiet life in Canberra, while others have spoken of the family's close ties to the Northside Life Church in Harrison. The church held its own memorial for the family earlier in February. "Our church did have a private memorial, invite only ... which brought lovely tributes to the family we loved dearly," Northside Life Church Pastor Susan Miller said.

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In complete silence, we slowly traipse up the mountain which seems to get steeper with each bend. Looking behind, we catch the occasional glimpse of the ocean just south of Narooma, as it becomes more and more distant. Sure, Ive been on many a hike where one of my walking companions asks for the chit-chat to temporarily stop - its usually in an attempt to decipher the source of a rustle in the bush, or to identify a bird calling in a nearby tree. However, Ive never attempted a group walk where no one is allowed to utter a single word from start to finish. Well, not until today. Its all part of the protocol taught by the Yuin Elders, explained Dwayne Harrison, our guide, as an hour earlier, from just behind the village of Central Tilba, we started our climb up Gulaga (Mt Dromedary). With each of our group of 10 also resplendent in bright red headbands, youd expect wed attract the attention of several fitter souls, striding past us on their weekend constitutionals up the prominent south coast landmark. But most who pass us dont even look twice for theyve probably seen it all before, for, with nine generations of cultural teachings passed down to him, Harrison has been bringing small groups up Gulaga as part of his Creation Dreaming Tour for many years now. And of those who do look somewhat puzzled at our attire and muted state, a nod in their direction seems to satisfy their curiosity. Im especially impressed with my daughters, Emily (7) and Sarah (10), who are usually only this quiet when asleep, or with the promise of copious amounts of chocolate. Theyve also been up since the crack of dawn, when, during a traditional barefoot ceremony to greet Grandfather Sun as he popped his head up out of the ocean just behind Baranguba (Montague Island), they were presented with their headbands. Treasure this, explained Harrison, while tying the red bands around their heads. This is your connection with Mother Earth. Its just a pity mine isnt thick enough to soak up my sweat as we continue to trudge up Gulaga. Somewhat ironically, the more you walk in silence, the more you actually hear. Each footstep as it hits the ground combined with the sound of your own breathing creates a mediative rhythm. You are also much more in tune with the environment and notice small changes in your surroundings, whether it be a change of temperature in a wet gully or a breath of wind kissing your cheek. Much to the relief of my girls (and their puffing dad), after five kilometres the track eventually reaches a small plateau. Most bushwalkers use this as a resting spot before tackling the last steep section to the summit. But not us. Incredibly, in almost 200 times walking on Gulaga, Harrison reveals he has never been to the summit, adding Ive never had any reason to be there. We are going that way, points Harrison in completely the opposite direction where a non-descript path leads into thick scrub. Through there is the sacred part of Gulaga, thats why we are here, he announces, almost in a hushed tone. Its rare, often taboo, for an indigenous person to share a sacred spot with non-indigenous people so its not surprising there was much debate among Yuin elders before Harrison was given permission to take people here on his tours. Our motto is give it away to keep it, explains Harrison. By sharing our culture and generational knowledge, we want to show that traditional Aboriginal culture is well and truly alive on the south coast of Australia. So, after once last sip from our water bottles (no drinking or eating allowed in the sacred area) and with a strong sense of privilege, we follow Harrison down the secret track. Not far along the track, the bush opens up to reveal a ridgeline spectacularly punctuated with a series of prominent tors that form a straight line for several hundred metres. Wow. The scene is breathtaking. Harrison says each tor is a different chapter in the creation story for the people of the Yuin Nation. We first stop at a creation rock where Harrison reveals,Daramah, the Great Spirit, created the heavens and the earth and all nature, including two people, first a woman, Ngardi, and a man, Tunku. Sure enough, either side of the creation rock are two distinct boulders, one masculine and one of feminine appearance. According to Yuin elders, Daramah then gave Ngardi and Tunku two gifts  a rock and a tree which symbolise everything needed for survival. And yes, just a stones throw away is an ancient tree and a distinctive boulder supporting each other. Every few steps reveals yet another chapter of the Yuin Nation Creation story, each illustrated by more and more rocks resembling the central characters; from pregnant women, children, to totem figures such as a shark, dugong and breaching whale. Poignantly, theres also a rock resembling a rainbow serpent, a central figure in the creation story for all Aboriginal tribes. Here it went underground and created all the rivers, coming back up to look at his work, explains Harrison, pointing in the direction of a serpent-shaped tor. About half-way along the ridgeline are three different sized rocks stacked on top of the other. According to Harrison, the small one on the bottom represents the past, the top one pointing to the heavens is the future, but the biggest rock is in the middle and represents the present.Think about it, many of us dwell in the past or worry about the future, here we learn that nothing is more important than living the present, says Harrison. Sage advice indeed. This rocky outcrop is also a special spot for Harrisons grandfather and teacher, Yuin elder Max Dulumunmun Harrison or Uncle Max as he is widely known. In his book, My Peoples Dreaming: An Aboriginal Elder speaks on life, land, spirit and forgiveness (2013, HarperCollins), Uncle Max states, These rocks are one of the most valuable things about Gulaga to me. When I am in trouble in my mind, body or spirit, my mind goes straight to these rocks. They show me where I come from, where I am now and where I am going to in the spirit world. Near the end of the long line of rocks, we clamber up a boulder big enough for us all to sit on. Thats exactly where the 14th Dalai Lama sat when Uncle Max brought him here a few years back, reveals Harrison, pointing exactly to where I am seated. Talk about spiritual enlightenment. Despite three hours of intense and engaging (the kids never waned once) interpretation, its clear that Harrison never tires of bringing people here. He reveres this mountain and understandably so, for Harrison and his people this is sacred text laid out on a sacred ridge. While the walk of discovery on Gulaga is the centrepiece of Harrisons tour, this two-day experience also includes traditional dance, yarning circles, platters of traditional food (you have to try the wallaby tail) and a few surprises, including on our last morning an invitation to participate in a Gurawill (whale) Dreaming Ceremony at nearby Nangudga Inlet. Harrison first carefully carves the outline of a whale in the sand with his ceremonial spear. He then lights a fire (yes, the kids get to help by rubbing sticks together), and together with his 10-year-old son, Kayen, and adult nephew, Trey, we all summons the whale spirit, to ensure a safe journey migrating along the coast. Wow, what a way to end the tour. In our creation stories the whales are elders of the sea that once walked from the land into the ocean, explains Harrison. Whale dreaming ceremonies sing the safe passage of the whale migration and ensures this connection and respect continues on. For the yowie clan, its our second immersive indigenous experience in as many months. Regular readers will recall earlier this year we joined Richard Swain for an overnight paddle down the songlines of the legendary Snowy River. The Gulaga Creation Tour is another unforgettable journey of discovery and one which provides each of us with a much deeper understanding of the creation stories of the traditional custodians of our land. Its a common misconception that you need to travel to the outback or to the Top End to truly appreciate traditional indigenous culture, however these two enlightening experiences prove that we dont have to leave our own region. Oh, and Harrisons tour has also provided me with yet another reason (on top of my poor fitness) to convince my bushwalking companions that you dont always have to beat a path to the summit. Sometimes you can find enlightenment in the most surprising places. Gulaga Creation Tour: Discover the dreamtime stories of the Yuin Nation of the south coast of NSW. From $605pp (big discounts for children). Includes all meals and two nights shared accommodation at Island View Beach Resort near Narooma. Private accommodation is available at an additional cost. Regular tours OctoberMay. Last tour for this season is May 25. The tours regularly sell out, so book early for next season to avoid disappointment. Details: www.ngaranaboriginalculture.com Canberra isnt the only city where bush cubbies are popping up. During a recent trip to Adelaide, Eleanor Kosters, 8, of Theodore enjoyed making a bush cubby with her cousins at the Morialta Nature Play Park. The play park consists of unique sculptural pieces that are huge works of art, made from natural products, using salvaged and seasoned native Australian timbers.The main structure of the cubbies are already assembled but there are lots of sticks around so the kids can keep on adding to it, explains Therese Kosters, Eleanors mum. Canberra could do with a playground or two like this. Itd be much better than the plethora of unimaginative plastic modular equipment which plagues many of our suburbs. Clue: Precursor to Ned Degree of difficulty: Medium- Hard Last week: Congratulations to Alan Eeles of Lyneham, who was the first reader to correctly identify last weeks photo, sent in by Jack Palmer of Watson, as a tree located on a bend in the fire trail on North Lyneham Ridge. According to Eeles, who just beat Linda Carr and Richard Williams of Belconnen to the prize, children in the North Lyneham area know it as The Faraway Tree, adding Some of Enid Blytons Folk of the Faraway Tree have been seen there, as has the Cadbury Bunny (on the BMX bike). The tree must have a doppelganger, for several readers, including Pamela Collett of Narrabundah (who even supplied photographic evidence to support her claim), thought the tree was in fact in the Callum Brae Nature Reserve, in Symonston. How to enter: Email your guess, along with your name and address, to timtheyowieman@bigpond.com. The first email sent after 10am, Saturday May 12, 2018, will win a double pass to Dendy.

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news, latest-news

The beleaguered headmaster of Trinity Grammar has resigned in the wake of the haircut incident which rocked his school. The head of the Kew private school, Dr Michael Davies, has faced intense pressure to stand down since deputy headmaster Rohan Brown was sacked for chopping a students hair in March. Dr Davies announced his resignation at an 8am meeting on Tuesday with staff. He said he decided to step down after deep discussions with his family. "Having successfully resolved some complex matters over recent weeks, I am now content that our hard work in recent weeks has helped the school return to a position where students and staff are enjoying the normal rhythm of school life," he said in a statement. It's a win for parents and alumni who have been fighting for a change of leadership at the school. Not only did they successfully campaign to have Mr Brown reinstated, but they also successfully fought for the school council to be replaced. It also signifies the end to a turbulent chapter in the Anglican school's 115 year history. Mr Brown's sacking triggered student protests, heated community meetings and an administrative crisis, with three school council members, including the chair, standing down. Dr Davies will step down at the end of the term, which concludes on June 29, with former Carey Grammar principal Phil De Young taking up the role of interim headmaster. Mr Young will lead Trinity Grammar while the school's interim council conducts a search for a permanent headmaster, a process it said was likely to take "many months". Trinity School Council Chairman Robert Utter said he was disappointed by Dr Davies decision. "We have accepted Michaels resignation but are sorry to see him leave, Mr Utter said. Over the past four and a half years, Dr Davies has been instrumental in the schools continuing evolution as a leading private educational institution. Michael, with support from a team of highly-regarded teachers and educational leaders, has implemented an impressive list of academic, outreach and co-curricular initiatives at Trinity. They have helped our school reach a revered independent rating as one of the best performing Victorian schools across a wide range of educational, pastoral and personal development metrics." Steve Murphy, a parent of a Year 12 student at the school, said Dr Davies had made the right decision. Michael hasnt had the support of the community or his teaching staff, he said. In that context he has made the right decision for the school. He said he hoped the decision allowed the school community to move on. Drawing a line and enabling a clean beginning is good for everybody, he said. Mr Murphy said it was important that the new headmaster balanced academic excellence with programs that helped developed boys' emotional intelligence. At a community meeting in March, more than 1500 parents, students and alumni called for the Dr Davies and the school council to resign. A separate vote found that just 26 per cent of staff at the school supported the headmaster. Last month, Trinity Grammar offered deputy headmaster Rohan Brown his job back after an independent review found the school councils decision to dismiss him was unjustified. Dr Davies arrived at the school in 2014 and set about boosting its VCE results. But he was criticised for the school's perceived change of direction. Last November, David Baumgartner, the president of the Old Trinity Grammarians Association wrote to the school council and headmaster to voice his concerns about these changes. There is too much inward focus on things like buildings, fundraising, marketing, ATAR excellence, Cambridge schooling program, etc," he wrote.

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Economists bat for private sector-friendly policies

The upcoming federal budget needs to bring policies to promote the private sector investment that could create more job opportunities in the country, economists said on Monday.
news, act-politics

One of the largest healthcare providers in Canberra has already ruled out offering voluntary assisted dying, even if the practice is legalised in the ACT. In a submission to an ACT parliamentary inquiry on the end-of-life choices available to people in Canberra, the company behind Clare Holland House and Calvary Hospital said it was against its code of ethics to allow its staff to help someone end their life. The Little Company of Mary Health Care is a Catholic not-for-profit group that operates 15 hospitals, 17 aged care homes and a network of community care centres across the ACT, NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. In the ACT, it runs the Calvary Public Hospital and Calvary Private Hospital in Bruce, Clare Holland House, Calvary John James Hospital, Calvary Haydon Retirement Community and the Community Care Service Centre in Bruce. It operates more than 500 hospital beds, more than 100 aged care beds, and has more than 90,000 presentations a year. But while Calvary provides a significant proportion of the territory's healthcare, the company told the government in no uncertain terms it would not be able to purchase any services associated with any form of person-assisted suicide, voluntary assisted dying or euthanasia from Calvary. "Calvary operates in accordance with the Code of Ethical Standards for Catholic Health and Aged Care Services in Australia which calls us to the highest standards of accompaniment of persons who experience suffering," its submission says. "While Calvary accepts that there are a plurality of views on the subject of voluntary assisted dying, Calvary will not offer such a service. "Calvary cannot support the notion that assisting a person to suicide, or to end their life directly and intentionally, is an expression of care. We strive to eliminate suffering, but not the people who are experiencing the pain or physical incapability that may inform their suffering." Surveys suggest between 70 and 85 per cent of people support physician-assisted suicide in principle, the company wrote in its submission. However Calvary said Australias support for voluntary assisted dying schemes was driven by an unfamiliarity with death and dying; the de-humanisation and objectification of the sick, elderly and frail; and the value placed on self-determination and personal autonomy in care, and the fear of its compromise. It noted most people who had opted for voluntary euthanasia since it was legalised in Oregon cited loss of independence (57 per cent) and poor quality of life (55 per cent) as reasons why. "It is Calvarys view that if the challenges above are more systematically addressed, the need for an 'assisted dying' pathway (and the expenditure of the resources associated with its introduction) will be significantly reduced," its submission said. Victoria legalised voluntary assisted dying last year. The ACT does not have the power to legislate on euthanasia because of the Andrews Bill, introduced by federal Liberal backbencher Kevin Andrews 23 years ago to overturn the Northern Territory's assisted dying scheme. Calvary said it would be a "difficult, time consuming and costly" exercise to get the federal support needed to allow the ACT to make laws on euthanasia. It pointed to figures from Palliative Care Victoria showing an annual $65 million shortfall in service delivery. "Calvary ... is of the view that it should be a priority of the ACT government to allocate their time and resources to improving access and funding of necessary palliative care services and supports," the submission said. Chief Minister Andrew Barr established a Legislative Assembly committee last November to look at the end-of-life choices currently available in the ACT, and ask people for their views on voluntary euthanasia. The committee received nearly 500 submissions from people all around Australia, and will begin hearings this week. The committee is due to report on its findings by the end of 2018. An earlier version of this report stated the committee was due to report by the end of 2019.

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Gaza violence: Dozens die as US embassy opens in Jerusalem

At least 52 Palestinians have been killed and 2,400 wounded by Israeli troops on the deadliest day of violence since the 2014 Gaza war, reported BBC quoting Palestinian officials.
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has released an employment notification calling out for aspirants to apply for the post of Scientist/Engineer. Those interested can check out the eligibility, salary scale, how to apply and the complete details of the government job here. Selected candidates can earn up to INR 67700. The last date to apply for the government job is May 21, 2018.

Defence Jobs 2018: DRDO Recruitment For 41 Scientists

ISRO Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Scientist/Engineer Organisation Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Indian Space Research Organisation (IIRS - ISRO) Educational Qualification PhD in planetary sciences or botany Age Limit No age limit Skills Required Scientific and analytical skills Salary Scale INR 67700 Job Responsibilities Research and investigation using geospatial technology Job Location Dehradun Industry Space Experience Any Application Start Date May 1, 2018 Application End Date May 21, 2018

Also Read: UPSC Recruitment 2018 For Various Posts: Apply Before May 31, 2018

How To Apply For ISRO Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for ISRO Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the IIRS ISRO official website.

Step 2: Under CURRENT NEWS & EVENTS, click on the link that reads, Advertisement and Online Application for the Post of Scientist / Engineer SD.

Step 3: The list of the recruitment along with the instructions to apply will be displayed on the screen. Read the instructions carefully.

Step 4: Against the relevant post, click on the Apply button.

Step 5: The application form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 6: Upload your photo and signature.

Step 7: Click on the declaration checkbox.

Step 8: Enter the captcha code.

Step 9: Click Submit Form and complete the application process.

Click here to read the detailed official advertisement.
Photo: Google Maps

Britain's foreign secretary says that two British tourists being held hostage in Congo have been released two days after being kidnapped.

Boris Johnson didn't offer any further details in the statement released Sunday, but paid tribute to the authorities from the African country and the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation "for their tireless help during this terrible case."

He said that "my thoughts are now with the family of Virunga Park ranger Rachel Makissa Baraka who was killed during the kidnapping, and with the injured driver."

The tourists and their driver were abducted in Virunga National Park in Congo.

Virunga is home to about one-quarter of the world's remaining mountain gorillas, and the work of protecting them has proven dangerous.
NS iPhone price When it is released it does not satisfy many people. Here in Brazil, for example, the most...
Himalayan Travel Mart slated to open in June

Himalayan Travel Mart 2018 is scheduled to start June 1 in Kathmandu with the aim of redefining adventure tourism and establishing Nepal as a gateway to the Himalaya, the organizer said Monday.
Some folks have public service in their blood. Dont believe it? Just take a look at the long line of politicians whove come from politically inclined families. From the most famous family (page 3) to one of Americas originals (page 6), these are the greatest political dynasties in U.S. history.

The Bush family

Prescott Bush: Senator

Senator George H.W. Bush: President, vice president, congressman

President, vice president, congressman George W. Bush: President, governor

President, governor Jeb Bush: Governor

The Bush family is one of the most prolific political dynasties in U.S. history. And it all began with Prescott Bush, George H.W. Bushs father. Prescott Bush represented Connecticut in the Senate from 1952 to 1963 before handing the political reins to his son. After serving as a congressman, George H.W. Bush became Ronald Reagans vice president from 1981 to 1989. And as the 41st president of the United States, George H.W. Bush served from 1989 to 1993.

Continuing with tradition, George W. Bush was the governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before becoming the 43rd president of the United States, serving from 2001 to 2009. And his younger brother, Jeb Bush, served as governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. While Jeb Bush has toyed with the idea of running for president in the past, time will tell whether he makes another attempt at a presidential hat trick for the Bush family.

Next: A great name in American history

The Roosevelt family

Theodore Roosevelt: President, vice president, and governor

President, vice president, and governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt: President and governor

The Roosevelt name is a beloved one in American history, and it all started with the 26th U.S. president. Shortly after becoming William McKinleys vice president in March 1901, Theodore Roosevelt became president after McKinley was assassinated in September 1901. Teddy Roosevelt also served as the governor of New York from 1899 to 1900.

Although not as close as others on this list, Franklin D. Roosevelt was Teddy Roosevelts fifth cousin. And furthermore, FDRs wife, Eleanor, was Teddy Roosevelts niece. Carrying on the familys tradition of some of the nations greatest presidents of all time, FDR served as the 32nd U.S. president. His term began in 1933 and lasted until his death in 1945, making him the longest-serving president in U.S. history. Before his tenure as commander in chief, FDR had also served as the governor of New York from 1929 to 1932.

Next: This family is American royalty.

The Kennedy family

Patrick Joseph Kennedy: State representative and senator

State representative and senator Joseph P. Kennedy Sr.: U.S. ambassador to the U.K., 1st chair of the U.S. Maritime Commission, and 1st chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

U.S. ambassador to the U.K., 1st chair of the U.S. Maritime Commission, and 1st chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission John F. Kennedy: President and congressman

President and congressman Robert F. Kennedy: Attorney general and senator

Attorney general and senator Edward Ted Kennedy: Senator

Senator Patrick J. Kennedy: Senator

The Kennedy family are as close to royalty as any U.S. family can come. While their story is tragic, the Kennedy legacy has stood the test of time, and the American public continues to be fascinated with every detail of their lives. So lets begin with the most famous family member, John F. Kennedy.

JFK started his political career in Massachusetts, representing the state in the House of Representatives and in the Senate. As the 35th president of the United States, JFK held office from 1961 until he was assassinated in 1963. JFKs grandfather, Patrick Joseph Kennedy, and his father, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., were also prominent politicians.

Moving down the Kennedy bloodline, Robert Kennedy was the 64th U.S. attorney general before his term as a New York senator, during which he was assassinated in 1968. And the youngest brother, Ted Kennedy, was a Massachusetts senator from 1962 until he died in 2009, making him one of the longest-serving senators in U.S. history. Finally, Ted Kennedys son, Patrick J. Kennedy, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Rhode Island. He stepped down in 2011, effectively ending the Kennedys streak of family representation in Congress or as president since 1947.

Next: Two presidents run in this family.

The Harrison family

Benjamin Harrison V: Governor

Governor William Henry Harrison: President, senator, and governor

President, senator, and governor Benjamin Harrison: President and senator

As the fifth governor of Virginia (1781-1784), Benjamin Harrison V kicked off a long line of Harrison politicians. His son, William Henry Harrison, served as a senator from Ohio, the first governor of the Indiana Territory, and the ninth U.S. president in 1841. Unfortunately, he died from pneumonia, effectively ending his term after only one month  the shortest term ever served by a U.S. president. But the Harrison legacy didnt end there.

From 1889 to 1893, William Henry Harrisons grandson, Benjamin Harrison, served as the 23rd president, making the Harrison family the only political dynasty to every produce a grandfather-grandson presidential duo. Additionally, Benjamin Harrison also served as a senator from Indiana from 1881 to 1887.

Next: This is the only husband-and-wife duo on the list.

The Clinton family

Bill Clinton: President and governor

President and governor Hillary Clinton: First lady, senator, secretary of state, and presidential candidate

Bill Clinton started his political career as the governor of Arkansas before serving as the 42nd U.S. president from 1993 to 2001. After Bill Clintons time in office, his wife, Hillary Clinton, clearly wasnt ready to end her political career. She was a New York senator from 2001 to 2009 and the U.S. secretary of state from 2009 to 2013. Hillary Clinton then unsuccessfully ran for president.

Next: This family isnt just the name of a popular movie.

The Adams family

John Adams: President and Founding Father

President and Founding Father John Quincy Adams: President

Adams was a prominent name in politics, particularly in Massachusetts. Most notably are the father-and-son duo the first to each serve as president.

From 1789 to 1797, John Adams was the first vice president before becoming the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. His son, John Quincy Adams, was a Massachusetts congressman and the sixth U.S. president, serving from 1825 to 1829.

Next: This family has a strong presence in Ohio.

The Taft family

Alphonso Taft: Attorney general and secretary of war

Attorney general and secretary of war William Howard Taft: President and chief justice

President and chief justice Robert A. Taft: Senator

Senator Charles Phelps Taft II: Mayor

William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States. After that, he served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court  the only president to have held both positions. His father, Alphonso Taft, served as attorney general and secretary of war.

William Howard Tafts sons were also involved in public service. Robert Taft was a senator from Ohio (and unsuccessfully ran for president on three separate occasions), and Charles Taft was the mayor of Cincinnati. Furthermore, Robert Taft Jr.  son of Robert A. Taft and grandson of William Howard Taft  represented Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Senate.

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Though hardly anyone gets away with robbing a bank, large-scale heists and robberies are still pretty exciting. Its easy to see how one of the most famous U.S. robberies could inspire a famous gangster movie (page 9). Read on for a look at some of the biggest robberies to take place in the United States.

1. The Loomis Fargo robbery of 1997

David Ghantt, along with girlfriend Kelly Campbell, robbed $17.3 million from Loomis Fargo in 1997. Ghantt was working as a Loomis Fargo security when he committed the robbery, and Campbell had been a former employee as well. Ghantt was supposed to drive the getaway van to Campbell in northwest Charlotte to hand the cash off and then quickly proceed to leave the country. According to The Charlotte Observer, they got caught when the FBI traced one of their incriminating phone calls.

Next: One of the largest robberies in American history

2. A family of robbers

On March 24, 1972, Amill Dinsio, group of his family members, and two alarm experts robbed the United California Bank in Laguna Niguel, California. The group made off with $30 million. They would have gotten away with it save for the fact that they had committed a similar crime in Ohio just a few months prior. When authorities realized the two robberies were linked, they checked transportation records and saw the group had traveled to both locations together, reports World Atlas.

Next: Americas first bank robbery

3. The Bank of Pennsylvania robbery

This robbery dates all the way back to 1798. Isaac Davis and an accomplice broke into Philadelphias Carpenters Hall (at the time, several banks were located here). They made out with over $162,000. However, after the robbery Davis went ahead and deposited the cash hed stolen back into the bank he stole it from. He was questioned, gave a full confession, returned the money, and was pardoned, says The Clever.

Next: A guard working at the building organized this famous robbery.

4. The Sentry Armored Courier robbery

In 1982, a 25-year-old man named Cristos Potamtsis stole $11 million from a Sentry Armored Courier in New York, New York. He had been working as a guard for the building at the time. He was arrested two months later while in San Juan on vacation. His partner in crime, 21-year-old George Legakis was arrested when voluntarily showed up for questioning, according to World Atlas.

Next: One of the deadliest robberies in American history.

5. The deadly North Hollywood Bank of America robbery

The Clever calls this heist the most violent bank robbery in American history.

During the multiple-hour robbery and ensuing police standoff, some 2,000 rounds of ammunition were fired by both the armored suspects and the LAPD. Both perpetrators died, a dozen police offers were wounded, and eight civilians were also injured during the melee, reads the publication.

Next: This group took from the rich and gave to the poor.

6. The Los Macheteros robbery

Back in 1983, a group of guerrilla soldiers known as Los Macheteros robbed a Wells Fargo in a small Connecticut city. The group made off with over seven million dollars, which, today, would be worth about $17 million today, according to The Clever. Los Macheteros sent a great deal of the money to help poor communities in Puerto Rico. The rest of it they hid in Cuba and various drop sites around Puerto Rico and America. The FBI was only able to recover about $80,000.

Next: The FBI was able to link this robbery to another one like it to catch the suspects.

7. The Mahattan Company robbery

In 1935, John Philipp Spanos stole $1.5 million from the Manhattan Company. At the time, FBI Director J Edgar Hoover was able to link this robbery to another international robbery ring that was based out of the Southern France, according to World Atlas. Along with Spanos, five were arrested in July of 1936 and four more were arrested between then and December 1939.

Next: This mastermind lived fast and loose.

8. The Manhattan Savings Institution robbery

In 1878, George Leslie orchestrated the biggest robbery in the United States at the time. He got away with nearly $2.5 million worth of cash, stocks, and bonds. He ended up being murdered by one of his accomplices for having an affair with the killers wife just months after the robbery took place.

Next: This robbery took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

9. The Lufthansa heist

The Lufthansa heist was a robbery that took place at John F. Kennedy International Airport. It took place on December 11, 1978. The reported mastermind, Jimmy Burke, made off with an estimated $5 million in cash and $875,000 in jewelry. At the time, it was the largest cash robbery ever committed. If this sounds at all familiar to you, youve probably seen the movie Goodfellas, which uses this robbery as one of its main plot points.

Next: Butch Cassidys first ever robbery

10. The infamous Butch Cassidys first robbery

The famous bank robber, Butch Cassidy, committed his first robbery on June 24, 1889 at the San Miguel Valley Bank in Telluride, Colorado. He walked into the bank, pointed a gun at the teller, and made off with sacks filled with over $20,000, according to The Clever.

Next: This building was robbed by a gang of 11 members.

11. The Brinks Building robbery

On January 17, 1950, the Brinks Building in Boston Massachusetts was robbed of $2.8 million. The crime was committed by a gang that consisted of 11 members and was lead by Joseph Big Joe McGinnis.

The majority of the gang was arrested five days before the statute of limitations ran out, reports World Atlas. Eight of them received maximum life sentences, all were paroled in 1971 except for McGinnis who had died in prison. Only $58,000 of the $2.7 Million was ever recovered.

Next: This man worked at the bank and handcuffed his coworkers to steal millions of dollars.

12. The 1997 Loomis Fargo robbery

Another robbery occurred at a Loomis Fargo in 1997. Philip Noel Johnson was an armored car driver for the bank when he overpowered two of his coworkers and left them handcuffed while he proceeded to steal $18.8 million. He was caught when a U.S. customs Agent found Johnsons answers to her questions to be suspicious. When he was arrested, customs found multiple passports on him and he received 25 years in prison, according to World Atlas.

Next: A group of friends stole $18.9 million together.

13. The Dunbar Armored Car robbery

On September 12, 1997, Allen Pace and five of his childhood best friends robbed $18.9 million from The Dunbar Armored Car depot. Pace had been working as the regional safety inspector for Dunbar at the time. The group of friends would have gotten away with it had one of them not paid a real estate associate with a stack of bills that was bound in its original binds. The associate went to the police and Pace was convicted and sentenced to 24 years in prison, reports World Atlas.

Next: These robbers worked with the mafia to pull of their heists.

14. The Pierre Hotel robbery

Guinness World Records named this robbery the most successful hotel robbery. It was orchestrated by Samuel Nalo and Robert Comfort. The two pocketed $27 million. According to World Atlas, the two worked closely withe mafia family to pull off their various robberies. The only survivor of the heist is Nick The Cat Sacco, who is currently imprisoned for another matter entirely, reads the publication.

Next: This group couldnt figure out how to divide up the money afterwards.

15. The Manhattan Savings Institution robbery

Back in 1878, mastermind George Leonidas Leslie (a former architect) along with Jimmy Hope, Samuel Perris, and other robbed the Manhattan Savings Institution. They made off with $2.5 million (that would be $63.4 million today), including $12,000 in cash.

Leslies gang slowly fell apart due to issues with dividing up the money they stole. Not long after the Manhattan Savings institution robbery, the police arrested most of his gang, and brought them in on robbery charges, reports Wikipedia.

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Pueblo hospitals slowing elective procedures as ICUs approach capacity

Both of Pueblo's major hospitals have reported that their ICUs are now at 90% capacity, forcing a slowdown of elective procedures.
India provides Rs 180.74 million to Nepal for river training works

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri on Tuesday handed over a cheque of Rs 180.74 million to Sanjay Sharma, Secretary at the Ministry of Energy, Irrigation and Water Resources in the presence of Minister Barsha Man Pun.
Kudu villagers drink polluted river water

People living in Kudu of Bheri Municipality-13 in Jajarkot district have been compelled to drink contaminated water from the Bheri river.
Australia Issues Terror Watch Warnings as Ramadan Begins, Open Doors Warns of Increased Persecution Christian Post Contributor | 15 May, 2018 by Stoyan Zaimov

With the beginning of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, starting Tuesday, the Australian government has issued warnings of further attacks in countries targeted by the Islamic State terror group.

In some places, like Nigeria, Christian churches have been helping feed impoverished Muslims and praying for peace despite the massacres they have suffered this past year.

Following multiple terror attacks in Indonesia, the world's largest Islamic country, in the days leading up to Ramadan, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's travel advisory warned on Twitter that "there is a heightened risk of further attacks in the lead-up to and during Ramadan (mid-May to mid-June)."

The attacks in Indonesia targeted Christians, and were carried out by families with children for whom IS took responsibility. At least 18 people were killed in the suicide bombings that hit government buildings and three churches.

On Saturday, one person was killed and four were wounded in Paris by a French Muslim citizen born in Chechnya who reportedly shouted "Allahu akbar" ("Allah is the greatest") while stabbing passers-by. IS said that the man was one of its "soldiers," noting that its calls for attacks on Western countries continues.

Africa Prime News reported that in some countries with large Christian and Muslim populations, such as Nigeria, efforts have been made to encourage peaceful coexistence. It noted that churches have been distributing bags of grains to hundreds of Muslims and persons with disabilities at the start of Ramadan.

"The church has bought many bags of food stuff to share to many poor Muslims, to encourage them in their 30 days of fasting and praying, so that they can pray to almighty God, to end all the bloodshed, and the daily killings in northern region which is becoming a big threat to national and international security," said Pastor Yohanna Buru, general overseer of the Church of Christ Evangelical and Life Intervention Ministry.

Hundreds of Nigerian Christians have been killed since the start of the year in attack by the radical Muslim Fulani herdsmen, who have overtaken Boko Haram as the nation's deadliest militant group.

Read more about Ramadan on The Christian Post.
Bishops in Nigeria Plan Mass Demonstration to Protest Radical Muslims' Ongoing Slaughter of Christians Christian Post Contributor | 15 May, 2018 by Anugrah Kumar

Nigeria's Catholic bishops will hit the streets next week to protest the killing of more than 100 Christians by Islamic Fulani herdsmen in northern Nigeria this year thus far.

The protest will take place on May 22 in Makurdi, the capital of Benue state, where two murdered priests will be buried the same day, according to Crux Now, which reported that Fr. Ralph Madu of the Secretariat of the Bishops' Conference has urged all dioceses in the country to "organize a peaceful rally or rosary procession or any other appropriate demonstration of solidarity" the same day.

Madu called on Catholics to travel to Makurdi for the demonstration if they could. "Bishops who can make it to Makurdi for the funeral Mass are encouraged to do so, as we pray that this directive be communicated to the clergy, religious and the faithful in the most effective way possible."

Last month, two Catholic priests, Fr. Joseph Gor and Fr. Felix Tyolaha, and 17 others were killed in an attack by Fulani herdsmen, who have been accused of aligning with the Boko Haram terror group that has been seeking to impose strict Sharia law on its northern regions.

A little over 51 percent of Nigeria's population is Christian, and Muslims account for about 45 percent in the country's north and middle belt.

The 2017 Global Terrorism Index described the herdsmen as terrorists in 2014, and said the Fulani are responsible for more than 60,000 deaths since 2001.

Read more about Bishops in Nigeria Planning a Mass Demonstration to Protest Radical Muslims' Ongoing Slaughter of Christians on The Christian Post.
Christian Rocker Risks Life in Undercover Mission to Rescue Victims in Sex Trade 15 May, 2018 by Jeannie Law , |

Christian rock frontman David Zach of the band Remedy Drive recounts some of the chilling experiences he's had while undercover as a covert operative to help rescue teenage girls trapped in sex trafficking rings in Asia and Latin America.

For the past four years, Zach has spent most of his time undercover in brothels and red light districts searching for evidence of sex trafficking. Zach teamed up with Matt Parker, founder of the anti-human trafficking organization The Exodus Road, and together they used covert gear to capture hard evidence of sex slavery.

Their findings made way for them to partner with local authorities and raid some of the trafficking locations. Currently, their work has led to 927 rescues and 398 arrests. In total, The Exodus Road has 63 operatives working in 12 countries.

"Doing work to find evidence of sex trafficking is heavy on the heart. There are so many disruptive emotions that are right under the surface because I'm in close contact with extreme trauma. The trips I go on are usually to Southeast Asia or Latin America, but The Exodus Road operates in the United States, India and the Mideast as well," Zach told The Christian Post in a recent interview about his work with the organization.

"The goal of our work is to obtain actionable evidence of sex trafficking that will be used to make raids that will lead to the arrests of those trafficking these girls and the rescue of the girls being sold," he said. "The Exodus Road has rescued over 900 survivors of trafficking so far, contributing to the dismantling of the crime syndicates and mafias selling these girls and boys."

Read more about rescuing sex trade victims on The Christian Post.
Freed Americans Give Mike Pence Note Quoting Psalm 126 After Returning From North Korea 15 May, 2018 by Samuel Smith/CP , |

The three American Christians who were released this week from North Korea gave Vice President Mike Pence a note citing Psalm 126 as a thanksgiving of freedom during their meeting early Thursday morning.

Pence, a devout Christian and former Indiana governor, took to his Facebook page to share the note he received while meeting the men  Kim Dong-chul (arrested in 2015), Tony Kim (arrested in 2017) and Kim Hak-song (arrested in 2017)  at Joint Base Andrews in a Washington suburb of Maryland after their release was secured by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Pyongyang earlier this week.

"It was an amazing moment I'll never forget ... when three Americans stepped onto the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews and gave me a signed personal note with Psalm 126 on the back," Pence wrote in his post. "To these men of faith and courage  God bless you and welcome home!"

Pence posted a picture of the note, which featured the first three verses of the Psalm.

The Psalm reads:

It has not been made clear who wrote the note and how the note was presented to the vice president.

The three men issued a statement upon their return early Thursday morning thanking God and the Trump administration.

"We would like to express our deep appreciation to the United States government, President Trump, Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo and the people of the United States for bringing us home," the prisoners said in their statement.

Through his translator, Kim Dong-chul explained that "it's like a dream" to be returning to the U.S.

Read more about Americans freed from North Korea quoting Psalm 126 on The Christian Post.
One Man's Shocking Experience Inside North Korea Christian Post Columnist | 15 May, 2018 by Jim Denison

President Trump announced Thursday that he will meet North Korea's Kim Jong Un on June 12 in Singapore. His statement came after three Americans were released from more than a year in captivity and returned to the US.

The three were greeted early Thursday morning by President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Pence, and his wife, Karen Pence. What do we know about the men? How is their story relevant to us today?

What we know about the men

Kim Hak Song was apparently arrested as he was preparing to leave North Korea on May 6, 2017. He had been working at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) for several weeks. The Korean Central News Agency reported his arrest for "hostile acts" but offered no further details.

Tony Kim was also a teacher at PUST. The university's chancellor stated that Kim was involved in extracurricular activities such as volunteering at an orphanage.

PUST is North Korea's first private university. It is operated mostly by evangelical Christian schools and chiefly employs Christian staff. However, PUST representatives have said that the arrests of Tony Kim and Kim Hak Song were "not connected in any way" with the university's work.

Kim Dong Chul was arrested in October 2015 on charges of espionage and other undisclosed crimes. He delivered a public confession and apology in which he said he had been spying on behalf of "South Korean conservative elements."

The three men were taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for further evaluation and rest.

One man's experience in North Korea

Masaji Ishikawa is the author of A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea. His story has been called "the standard work on the hell of North Korea." I read it with great sadness but with resolve to pray harder for those suffering so horrifically in the country he escaped.

Ishikawa's father was from North Korea, while his mother was Japanese. Their family was living in Japan, but his father wanted to return to his homeland, believing they would find a better life there.

The country called itself a "paradise on earth." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Upon arriving in North Korea, they were assigned to a group of five families, with a leader who reported everything about them to the secret police. His father's income was nowhere near enough to support a family of six, so they faced constant deprivation and even starvation.

Ishikawa notes: "The most important thing was how faithful you were to the Great Leader [Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader]. Teachers and every other adult I knew tried to brainwash us into becoming slavish members of their pseudo-religious cult."

Why didn't the people revolt? Ishikawa explains: "North Koreans didn't have anything to compare their country with because they'd never experienced everything else. Even when Kim Il-sung did something particularly brutal or horrific, no one raised an eyebrow. . . . Without any other information at their disposal, young North Koreans simply fell for the propaganda."

Read more about this Man's Shocking Experience in North Korea on The Christian Post.
Mahakali embankment project incomplete after five years

Five years into its construction, the Mahakali river embankment in Darchula is still incomplete. Officials of Mahakali River Control Project said though their plan was to complete the embankment ahead of this monsoon, they failed to achieve the target because of insufficient fund.
Why Atheist Activism Doesn't Make Any Sense Christian Post Contributor | 15 May, 2018 by Micael Grenholm

I've been an activist for nine years. Whether online or in the streets, I've been campaigning, advocating and debating things like peacemaking, poverty reduction, environmental protection and religious freedom.

My motives are Christian: I believe this is what Jesus wants me to do. Still, I've stood side by side with atheists, agnostics, Muslims, New Agers, Buddhists and others in a common fight for a better world for all.

I've found that activism for peace and justice can serve the role of a common denominator and a platform for cooperation between different worldviews and beliefs. That's why it plays such a prevalent role in different ecumenical and interreligious councils. We might not agree on who God is, but we all agree that no child should starve to death.

It's the reason many non-Christians will agree with Christians on one thing concerning Jesus: that he was a good moral teacher. Morality can be viewed as one of the least exclusive claim of any religion. In fact, it can be viewed as one of the least religious! I've had several friends who, when they doubt their Christian faith, becomes activists for a while and emphasises Jesus' ethical teaching, before leaving the faith altogether and becoming atheists or agnostics.

So for a long time, I have viewed certain activist dogmas such as human rights and human dignity as self-evident truths that nobody seriously can question. I thought that everybody, except a few bewildered neo-Nazis perhaps, viewed them as objectively true.

But then I encountered some who didn't. They were all atheists.

In apologetics, there's an argument for God's existence called the moral argument. It basically says that if atheism is true, moral values can't be objectively true. They can't be facts. Instead, they are merely the result of sociobiological evolution. In other words, they're dependent on human minds rather than being true no matter what people think.

If there indeed are objective moral facts, such as rape and racism being evil while peace and compassion being good, atheism has a problem. Why do these facts exist independently of human opinion?

If "genocide is wrong" is an objective fact even if a genocidal dictatorship would gain world domination and convince everyone that genocide was right, what's the atheist explanation for that?

Atheists typically reply to this in two different ways. Either they'll say that objective moral facts simply exist without any explanation, they're just "out there" in a platonic realm.

But why do they exist? How did homo sapiens discover these facts? Why do we have duty to follow them? And what are the odds that the moral facts that exist are adapted after human beings rather than alien beings with entirely different living habits? If we're not designed, why do moral facts seem to be designed for us?

Alternatively, atheists will simply deny that objective moral facts exist. These atheists will often say that there's no evidence for objective moral values, and that morality is purely subjective. Whatever an individual thinks is good is actually good, there is no external point of reference. Laws and the court system are just social constructs that have practical value, but they don't correspond to any actual Law of good and evil.

Read more about atheist activism on The Christian Post.
Displaced Kachin residents cross the Malikha river on 26 April to escape the fighting between the Kachin Independence Army and Myanmar government troops.

Almost 7,000 people belonging to the largely Christian minority group in Kachin, northern Myanmar, have fled their houses since fighting between the army and a rebel group flared up in early April, according to recent figures from the Red Cross.

Its a war where civilians are being systematically targeted by members of Burma Army  [yet] the international community chooses to overlook it, political analyst and writer Stella Naw told the UKs Guardian newspaper yesterday (14 May), with international attention on Myanmar focused on the humanitarian crisis facing the countrys Rohingya Muslims.

Thousands of lives have been lost and at least 120,000 people have been displaced in the decades-long conflict between the army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) since the military seized control of the country in 1962.

It is an invisible war, said San Htoi, the joint secretary of Kachin Womens Association Thailand. She told the Guardian that on a recent visit representatives of the United Nations Security Council went only to Rakhine state and left the country without knowing [about Kachin].

And according to Thomas Muller, an Asia analyst for Open Doors International, a charity that supports Christians who live under pressure for their faith, it is unlikely the situation will garner more attention since Myanmar is increasingly coming under economic and political influence from China, its big neighbour.

China tacitly supports the large Wa minority in Myanmar, and can effectively veto any inquiry into the situation of any minority, let alone any improvements or measures to bring the civil war to an end, Muller added.

Following the bombing of a mission school in the state on Saturday (12 May), Hkun Htoy Layang of Kachin Relief Fund told Christian Solidarity Worldwide, It is outrageous that the Burma army targets a Kachin Baptist mission school. We are very concerned that the Burma army is targeting more civilians throughout Kachin State, with impunity.

Trapped in a warzone

Yanghee Lee, the UNs human rights expert for Myanmar, raised alarm over the increase in violence in Kachin in her March report to the Human Rights Council.

Last week she called for an immediate end to the fighting, saying: What we are seeing in Kachin state over the past few weeks is wholly unacceptable, and must stop immediately. Innocent civilians are being killed and injured, and hundreds of families are now fleeing for their lives.

Internally displaced people gather at a church in Myitkyina, Kachin states capital, on 10 May.

More than 400 displaced civilians arrived in Kachins capital city, Myitkyina, last Wednesday (9 May), where there were already more than 4,000 other displaced people, a Red Cross spokesperson told Radio Free Asia.

Many of them have travelled long distances on foot, making their way through the forest, and ending up seeking help at local churches or existing camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). Others are staying with relatives.

The local churches are doing their best to accommodate [those] fleeing from the warzones, a local source told World Watch Monitor on condition of anonymity. They also donate food and other materials as much as they can to help [but] prices of commodities [have gone] up to five times the usual price.

Many other displaced civilians are still stranded in the forest or have become trapped in the warzone, hiding out in the jungle without food or water, or unable to leave their villages, according to local newspaper The Irrawaddy.

According to World Watch Monitors source, Civilians in the warzone are threatened to leave their house or be killed; many houses are burnt down by the government soldiers.

Aid blocked

Meanwhile a coalition of humanitarian groups in Kachin told AP that international aid shipments had been blocked by the army and that United Nations agencies and international humanitarian groups had been denied access.

The military restrictions on aid also make access to food and clean water in the camps difficult, according to AP.

The Irrawaddy reported that state-government officials had started rescue operations to help people trapped in the warzone, after more than 300 Kachin youths, joined by an estimated 1,000 other local residents, organised a sit-in protest in Myitkyina last week, calling for the government to act.

The youth movements leader, 25-year-old womens rights champion Sut Seng Htoi, told Reuters: People lost their trust in the State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi because the people from the whole country elected the NLD [National League for Democracy], the civilian government, to avoid wars and fighting.

In November last year Myanmars Christians expressed hope that the visit of Pope Francis would help bring an end to ethnic conflict in the country, but progress stalled despite a new round of peace talks being announced during his visit.

Background

Majority-Buddhist Myanmar is made up of eight major and eight minor ethnic groups, each of which hoped for autonomy after Burmese independence 70 years ago, but some of the worlds longest-running civil wars still continue there.

Christian encyclopaedia Operation World calls Myanmar a deeply fractured nation on a political and especially ethnic level. The conflict zones along the countrys borders are where most of Myanmars Christians live, including the Kachin and Karen ethnic minorities, who have faced years of government oppression.

Christian charity Open Doors International estimates there are more than 4 million Christians in Myanmar, constituting 8 per cent of the total population. Most of them live in Kachin, where 85 per cent are estimated to be Christians, and northern Shan State.

A 17-year ceasefire between the KIA and the Tatmadaw (the combined forces of Myanmars army, navy and air force) collapsed in June 2011, since when more than 120,000 people in Kachin state have been displaced.

Myanmar is 24th on the 2018 Open Doors World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to live as a Christian.

The post Myanmar: 7,000 Kachin displaced as violence escalates appeared first on World Watch Monitor.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/FilmColoratStudio

Publication date: May 15, 2018
Longtime Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson, embroiled in controversy over past remarks about domestic violence and his descriptions of women, has issued an apology.

I wish to apologize to every woman who has been wounded by anything I have said that was inappropriate or that lacked clarity, said Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, in a Thursday (May 10) statement titled An Apology to Gods People.

We live in a world of hurt and sorrow, and the last thing that I need to do is add to anyones heartache. Please forgive the failure to be as thoughtful and careful in my extemporaneous expression as I should have been.

The statement was the latest attempt by Patterson or his seminarys officials to contain the reaction to an audio clip from the year 2000 that emerged two weeks ago, in which Patterson said he considered it unbiblical to recommend divorce, even in cases of domestic abuse.

In that clip he told a story of instead advising a woman who was physically abused by her husband to pray quietly on her knees while her spouse slept. In a 2014 video he describes a 16-year-old walking by as built and notes that the Bible uses similar language (beautifully and artistically made) to describe the creation of the first woman.

In the first sentence of his apology, Patterson cited a sermon illustration used to try to explain a Hebrew word (Heb. banah build or construct, Gen. 2:22) and said it and other sermons have obviously been hurtful to women in several possible ways.

I would also like to reiterate the simple truth that I utterly reject any form of abuse in demeaning or threatening talk, in physical blows, or in forced sexual acts, he said. There is no excuse for anyone to use intemperate language or to attempt to injure another person. The Spirit of Christ is one of comfort, kindness, encouragement, truth, and grace; and that is what I desire my voice always to be.

A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Patterson is considered an architect of its conservative resurgence (critics call it a takeover) that began in 1979 and has been a revered figure among many Southern Baptists. But in the last week, separate groups of Southern Baptist women and men have issued open letters to the trustee board of Pattersons seminary questioning his current leadership. That board has scheduled a special meeting on May 22.

To all people I offer my apology, but especially to women, to the family of Southern Baptists, my friends and the churches, Patterson concluded. I sincerely pray that somehow this apology will show my heart and may strengthen you in the love and graciousness of Christ.

Karen Swallow Prior, a Southern Baptist, an English professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and a signatory on a letter of Southern Baptist women concerned about Pattersons remarks, said she was pleased to see the apology.

Its definitely a step forward, Prior said in a phone interview Thursday. Repentance is proven over time, and I hope that Dr. Patterson continues to weigh and consider the impact that his pattern of harmful statements to and about women has had.

The May 6 letter she signed had more than 3,000 signatories by Thursday. It has been followed by a letter from Southern Baptist men signed by more than 200.

We join our sisters in declaring that Jesus is nothing like this, the men wrote. Dr. Pattersons behavior confuses the message of the Gospel. His continued leadership  without repentance and reprimand  calls into question the witness of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Meanwhile, some prominent men in the nations largest Protestant denomination tweeted their appreciation of his apology.

The current president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Steve Gaines, said: I am so grateful for this apology to women from @_PPatterson_ . Please read and RT, and please pray for our Southern Baptist Convention.

Ronnie Floyd, a former SBC president, thanked Patterson on Twitter for clarifying your position and leading towards unity. Jack Graham, another former SBC president, said: Thank you Dr Patterson for your heart to seek peace and unity with a clear and unequivocal apology.

Courtesy: Religion News Service

Photo: Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, gives a report to messengers, or delegates, at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting on June 11, 2014.

Photo courtesy: Matt Miller via Baptist Press

Publication date: May 14, 2018
The Middle East is a complicated placeokay, thats whats known as an understatement. Not only is there civil war in Yemen, with Saudi Arabia duking it out with Iranian-backed forces, protests are flaring up in Gaza, and the terrorist group Hezbollah is gaining political ascendancy in Lebanon. The U.S. may be followed by other nations in moving embassies to Jerusalem, and the Trump Administration just announced it is pulling out of the Iranian nuclear deal.

But the most significant and confusing events right now may be in Syria. Syrias civil war has cost an estimated half-million lives, and has displaced a wave of refugees the likes of which we havent seen since World War II.

As I speak, within Syrias borders are the following cast of characters: Kurds rebelling against Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad; Turks seeking to crush any Kurdish idea of forming a state; remnants of ISIS are there, as are Russians, American troops, and Sunni fighters, including Al-Qaeda.

And if that werent enough, the Shiite terrorist organization Hezbollah is in Syria as well, fighting for Assad. And of course, theres the Syrian military, with a proven propensity for using chemical weapons on its own people.

But perhaps most ominous of all, forces of the Islamic Republic of IranIsraels sworn enemyhave used the Syrian civil war to attempt to establish a permanent military presence on Israels doorstep, complete with Revolutionary Guards, drones, naval bases, and offensive missiles.

Given the consistent threats of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei to turn Tel Aviv into dust, a permanent Iranian military presence in Syria is clearly a red line for the Israelis.

According to all the analysis Ive read, neither Israel nor Iran want an all-out war. OkayI have my doubts about Iran. And the kindling is piling up. A spark of any kind could ignite a major conflagration in the Middle East.

We all should pray that doesnt happen.

So far, the signs arent good. Last week, the Israeli Defense Forces shot down what they claimed was an armed Iranian drone over Israel. In response, the IDF then destroyed the base where the drone was launched, killing Iranian military in the process. To retaliate, Irans so-called elite Quds Force launched 20 missiles at Israeli military posts in the Golan Heights. Israel responded with a massive wave of air and missile strikes against Iranian military targets around Syria.

The Trump Administration has made clear that the United States will stand firmly on the side of Israel, as we should. Not only is Israel our only true ally in the Middle East, its the sole stable democracy, surrounded by Islamist dictatorships, secular dictatorships, terrorist organizations like Hezbollah and the Palestinian Hamas, as well as the chaos in Syria.

American Christians have long stood with the Jewish state. In fact, years ago on this program, heres what Chuck Colson had to say:

We must recall the words of Genesis 12, verses 1 and 2, regarding the ancient Israelites. God says, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse. Of course, we mustnt confuse the modern nation-state of Israel with the people of the Old Covenant. But its clear in Romans 10 and 11 that Paul understands Gods special concern for the Jews. Certainly Americas own sense of decency demands that we help protect Israelthe Jewish homeland and the only true democracy in the Middle East.

If ever there were a time to take seriously the injunction of the psalmist, this would be such a time: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels (Psalm 122). Amen.

BreakPoint is a Christian worldview ministry that seeks to build and resource a movement of Christians committed to living and defending Christian worldview in all areas of life. Begun by Chuck Colson in 1991 as a daily radio broadcast, BreakPoint provides a Christian perspective on todays news and trends via radio, interactive media, and print. Today BreakPoint commentaries, co-hosted by Eric Metaxas and John Stonestreet, air daily on more than 1,200 outlets with an estimated weekly listening audience of eight million people. Feel free to contact us at BreakPoint.org where you can read and search answers to common questions.

John Stonestreet, the host of The Point, a daily national radio program, provides thought-provoking commentaries on current events and life issues from a biblical worldview. John holds degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (IL) and Bryan College (TN), and is the co-author of Making Sense of Your World: A Biblical Worldview.

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/ventdsud

Publication date: May 15, 2018
History was made yesterday when Israel observed its seventieth anniversary as a nation and the United States officially moved its embassy to Jerusalem. However, the day was historic from a very different perspective as well.

Palestinians mark May 15 each year as Nakba Day (Nakba means catastrophe). This designation refers to the fact that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled their homes or were displaced in the 1948 War of Independence.

In the weeks leading to yesterdays anniversary, Hamas called for massive demonstrations against Israel and the US. According to Israeli officials, some forty thousand Palestinians took part in violent riots yesterday at thirteen locations along the Gaza Strip security fence.

As protesters approached the border fence hurling stones and incendiary devices, Israeli soldiers responded with live ammunition and tear gas dispersed from drones.

The resulting death toll has risen this morning to sixty-one. More than 2,700 were injured in the deadliest violence since the 2014 Gaza war. A senior Hamas official said last night that protests would continue: This blood will keep boiling until the occupation leaves forever.

What my Palestinian tour guide experienced

Since I wrote yesterday from Israels point of view, today I will overview the conflict from a Palestinian perspective. (For a larger introduction to the region, its history, and its significance, I invite you to read my Israel and the Two-State Solution on our website.)

On one of my travels to Israel, I became friends with our Palestinian Christian tour guide. He and his family lost their home in Jerusalem when Israelis took the city in 1967. He still had shrapnel in his neck from that conflict and sometimes drove past his familys home with a mixture of bitterness and nostalgia.

In his view, the Palestinians owned the land for twenty centuries, after the Romans expelled the Jews following the Bar Kochba revolt of AD 135. He was largely right.

According to Daniel Gordiss Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn, there were roughly seven hundred thousand Arabs living in Palestine when Jews began their migrations back to their Holy Land in the latter part of the nineteenth century, a movement known as the First Aliyah (Aliyah means ascent). By contrast, there were twenty-seven thousand Jews living in Palestine, concentrated primarily in Jerusalem, where they constituted a majority.

In the following decades, Jews migrated back to Palestine by purchasing land from the Arabs and/or the Ottoman Empire. By 1946, the Jewish population had grown to more than five hundred thousand, while the Arab population exceeded 1.2 million.

The plight of the refugees

However, during the War of Independence, some seven hundred thousand Arabs fled their homes. They sought refuge in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Gaza. In 1948, the Jewish population grew to exceed seven hundred thousand, while the Arab population fell to just 156,000.

The Israelis refused to discuss the refugees status until the Arab nations recognized Israels right to exist. The Arab nations refused to discuss Israels status until the refugee crisis was addressed. As Gordis notes, This meant that the refugee problem would forever remain unaddressed.

In 1993, Israel signed the Oslo Peace Accords, granting Gaza and the West Bank limited autonomy in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel. However, in 2006, Hamas won control of Gaza.

They have been designated a terrorist organization by the European Court of Justice and are pledged to the destruction of Israel. Fatah (a more moderate Palestinian political organization) retains control over the West Bank. Hamas used yesterdays anniversary and the US embassy move to inflame passions in Gaza, leading to the revolts we are now seeing.

We should remember that the United Nations proposed a Partition Plan in 1947 that would have created an independent Palestinian nationa proposal Israeli leaders accepted but Arab nations rejected. And we should remember that Israel supplies water and electricity to the Palestinian territories.

Nonetheless, it is a fact of history that most of the Palestinian people lost their homeland in 1948. Many live in very difficult circumstances today.

Live peaceably with all

I have led study tours to Israel more than twenty times over the last three decades. Each time, I am amazed by the miracle that is the modern State of Israel. But I also grieve for the suffering of the Palestinian people and pray for resolution to this conflict and peace in this holy land.

I believe that both the Israelis and the Palestinians deserve a homeland. And I believe that both deserve to hear the gospel of Gods love in Jesus Christ.

Sincere Christians disagree on the role of Israel and the Palestinians in prophecy. However, we can agree that the Bible clearly teaches these principles, each of which applies to the Palestinian people:

 God loves all people of all races and nations (John 3:16).

 He calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:39).

 We are to seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14), choosing to live peaceably with all (Romans 12:18).

 We are to defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:9).

Max Lucado: I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

If you have experienced the kindness of God, with whom will you share it today?
Our deeply reported March cover story examined multiple perspectives on the role of evangelicals in Americas growing commercial surrogacy industry. One supporter of the practice was quoted as saying, God called me to seek out what seemed like unconventional ways to serve others. Another said, Im so glad I have a peaceabout this being Gods plan (emphasis added).

Pulling these quotes is not a judgment on their decision, and this is not an editorial about the ethical dynamics of surrogacy (which are complicated enough to merit a separate piece). Rather, the italicized phrases catch ones attention for a different reason: They are phrases often usedand misusedby evangelical Christians.

Such phrases run hand in hand with I felt the Spirits leading, God spoke to me, and I sensed Gods confirmation. They can be accompanied by a reference to something that brings anxiety or to a major purchase or financial decision or to grave ethical decisions. What all these phrases have in common is this: The self is portrayed as the final court of appeal.

This is no small matter, but one crucial for the health of evangelical Christianity. How do we determine Gods will, especially given that we believe God is active in our daily lives? Unfortunately, in some circles, God spoke to me and God gave me peace have become unassailable. I was speaking with a friend, wondering about the ethical decision of someone else we read about in the news, when my friend said, But the story says God spoke to her about it. As if that settled the matter.

Evangelicals used to be rightly criticized ...

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In 2020, we were the church on our heels. A global pandemic shut down much of our world. But the church has been on the move since it was birthed; it will continue to be on the move until God makes all things new.
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I'm thrilled that I was invited to join the celebration of the grand opening of America's embassy in Jerusalem. This is a historic moment, and the decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and move our embassy there is the just and respectful move for the people of Israel. Jerusalem is the seat of Israel's government, and they reserve the right to determine their own capital city, as does any other sovereign nation throughout the world.

Israel has survived as a people and as a nation against all odds. They have suffered unprovoked wars, genocide, slavery and every physical and rhetorical attack imaginable. The reasons for standing with Israel are clear and overwhelming, but in case there's any doubt, here are the five most important ones:

First, God has promised to bless those who bless Israel. In Genesis 12:3, the Lord says of Israel, "I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." I firmly believe this promise from God is as true today as it was centuries ago. And I take his promises seriously. There's no denying God's sovereignty and his hand both in history and in each of our lives. I dare not test God of the consequences for denying our friendship and support of Israel.

Second, Israel is a strategic ally  helping them helps us. Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East  militarily, economically and technologically. This cannot be overstated. The Israelis regularly provide essential intelligence in confronting the global war on terror and combating Islamic extremists. The Middle East has been a place of near constant upheaval and violence, and it is imperative that we remain friends with the leading power in the region.

Third, Israel shares our democratic values. The government of Israel adheres to the rule of law and treats its citizens fairly and equally under the law. As such they are a role model for other nations. In a part of the world dominated by totalitarianism, they are a beacon of hope.

Fourth, Israel's enemies are daily plotting their destruction: The nation of Israel reemerged 70 years ago from the ashes of the largest, most appalling genocide ever endured by any people group in history: the Holocaust. One would hope that the memory of this darkest moment in history would forever serve as a reminder to stand side by side with the descendants of David as they resist the forces of death and destruction assembled against them. Yet hardly a day goes by without a rogue leader or violent insurgent group proclaiming "death to Israel"  all without the United Nations so much as batting an eye. We musn't be short-sighted and ignorant of the perennial hatred and bigotry that the Jewish people have endured. We can't let our guard down for a moment  for the forces arrayed against Israel are the same forces arrayed against us.

Fifth, God Gave the Promised Land to the Jewish people as their eternal home. Every other nation was founded by an act of human will, but Israel is unique in that it was established by an act of God. It was promised to Abraham by God in an eternal covenant. Genesis 17:8 reveals, "The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you." The existence of Israel from its beginning is truly a miracle, and the fact that Israel exists to this present day is testament to the Lord's timeless promise.

These are but a few of the many reasons why we must stand with our friends in Israel. They need us now more than ever  and we need them. Join me, then, as we are instructed in Psalm 122: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! May they be secure who love you! Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!"

May a peaceful Jerusalem be an ever louder chorus of God's providence and his faithful hand in the world he created.

Pastor Jentezen Franklin is the Senior Pastor of Free Chapel, a multi campus church. Each week his television program Kingdom Connection is broadcast on major networks all over the world. A New York Times best-selling author, Jentezen has written eight books including his latest, Love Like You've Never Been Hurt.
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In a response to my recent article "Dispelling the Myths About NAR (the New Apostolic Reformation)," Holly Pivec (on behalf of Prof. Doug Geivett) states that they, like me "want to see 'constructive, fruitful interaction'" concerning "NAR" (the New Apostolic Reformation). She expresses concern that I have grouped them together with the hyper-critics (my term, not hers), and she believes my article was careless and inaccurate.

She writes, "He puts all critics in the same basket: they all misunderstand what NAR is. This can be seen in the way he opens his article. He gives a lengthy description of NAR from a critic of the movement. But he doesn't identify the critic; he doesn't produce his source. The implication is that this critic speaks for all NAR critics."

Actually, I was quite surprised to read this statement. The second word of my article was hyper-linked to the critic in question. Of course I identified the critic and of course I produced the source. (In this case, it was Wretched Radio's "Drunk in the Spirit" DVD.)

Some of her other concerns were equally flawed, and so, her entire article should be read with a large grain of salt. But rather than spend time addressing her other misstatements, it's best that we move forward, since one of Holly's biggest concerns is that I have grouped all NAR critics together.

In point of fact, I did not. I simply stated that some of the NAR hyper-criticism stems from the book that she and Professor Geivett authored, and that "they included Charismatic leaders who believe in five-fold ministry today (as I have, for decades) and grouped them together as part of NAR." I added, "The book also painted a very negative picture, although I believe that the authors were sincere in their writing and sought to do solid research."

So, I did not group Holly and Prof. Geivett together with the hyper-critics; I stated that "some" of the terminological confusion came from their book; and I stated my belief that they were sincere and sought to do solid research. Based on that belief, let's address some concrete concerns.

Holly offers this useful description of NAR: "The core NAR teaching is that the church must be governed by present-day apostles and prophets. The key word in that definition is governed. By governed, NAR leaders mean that apostles and prophets must hold formal authoritative offices in church government. This definition has two important corollaries: (1) These apostles and prophets claim extraordinary authority, and (2) they claim to bring new revelation the church needs to advance God's kingdom."

Based on this definition, I don't think I know I know a single leader who is part of NAR. Not one. I don't know a single "apostle" or "prophet" who claims "extraordinary authority." If I did, I would challenge them to their face.

Do I know apostolic leaders who exercise "authority" over their network similar to that of a denominational head? Yes, I do. In those cases, the churches that look to them do so voluntarily, asking for oversight and accountability, similar to what happens in traditional denominations.

Do I know any who claim some kind of "extraordinary authority" similar to that wielded by the Twelve? Absolutely not. Again, if I did, I would challenge such leaders to their face.

Have I heard of so-called apostles who were abusive in their use of authority? Absolutely, and I have renounced this clearly. But I've heard of pastors doing the same thing.

Authority can be easily abused. I have a whole chapter about that in my latest book, where I also address the misuse of the term "apostle" today.

Holly makes reference to Heidi Baker, and then asks, "Besides Baker, how are others viewed by their followers? What about Bill Johnson or Che Ahn or Rick Joyner? We make the case in our book that many of these leaders are not viewed merely as church planters. They're viewed as apostles possessing extraordinary authority and revelation."

But this, again, illustrates one of the problems I have with Holly's methodology. Does she have concrete evidence that Heidi Baker claims "extraordinary authority and revelation," or is she asking how Heidi is viewed by her followers? If the latter, which followers are those?

What if some of Holly's followers viewed her as a hyper-critic? Would that make her one? What if they wrongly viewed her as anti-charismatic? Would that be true? Certainly not.

While I can't speak for Heidi or Bill or Che or Rick in any official capacity, I can say that I've never heard any of them speak of themselves the way Holly depicts.

To be clear, I've only been in a few meetings with Heidi and had a few conservations with her. The same with Bill. I worked more closely with Chefrom the late 1990's into the early 2000's, and I've been in many leadership meetings with Rick and had many conversations with him.

Yet in all my time with Che, he presented himself as a servant of his apostolic network of churches and a servant of his fellow-leaders. (This is how we related for the few years when I was part of his "apostolic team." It was all about serving others.)

As for Rick Joyner, ironically, he was the unnamed "well-known Charismatic leader" whom I referenced in my article. I had asked him recently, "What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of NAR?"

He responded immediately with, "It was a good attempt by Peter Wagner, but I strongly differed with him on a number of key points, which is why I never joined it." (For the record, he was quite shocked when I told him that, according to the critics, he was also a major NAR leader!)

Yet here he is, being listed as one of those who: 1) believes "the church must be governed by present-day apostles and prophets"; and 2) affirms that apostles and prophets wield "extraordinary authority." Is this constructive or fruitful?

Again, it's this kind of imprecision that concerns me. If these men and women believe what Holly claims, let them answer for it. I would tell them plainly I disagreed. (Rick and I are well-known for having some strong disagreements while remaining good friends and fellow-workers.)

If this is not what they believe, then let the false charges be dropped. How else can we be constructive and move forward?

The truth be told, Holly and Prof. Geivett have never been my primary concern. I was sent copies of their books by the publisher as soon as they were released and looked at them immediately to understand the gist of their concerns. (I didn't read them cover to cover, but I did get acquainted with the contents.) I was actually going to contact them to come on the radio but then other things came up and I moved on.

All that to say, to my knowledge, in the past, I never made reference to their books in a negative way or respond to them publicly. I only got into the NAR debate when I began to hear some of the hysterical, hyper-critical, conspiratorial attacks on this alleged worldwide, demonic movement. And then, when I was falsely accused of being one of the leaders of NAR, I debunked that nonsense head-on.

So, for the sake of clarity, please take this article as an open invitation to you, Holly and Doug, to join me on the air to talk through the relevant issues, not to debate or argue. Can we do it?

I do believe there is a place for "governing" apostles and prophets in some cases, just as I believe there's a governing role for evangelists, pastors, and teachers, in the right setting and context. I do not believe they have "extraordinary authority"; I do not believe they are bringing new revelation that the church must follow; and I do not believe that every church needs some kind of "apostolic covering."

In any case, these are the kinds of things we can discuss with maturity and grace. Will you two join me on the air? We can then discuss whether the Bible distinguishes between apostolic "offices" and "gifts," and, if so, why that distinction is important. (I agree with what my friend Prof. Craig Keener has written on apostles; see here and here and here.)

Let me also use this article to call on you, Holly and Prof. Geivett, to distance yourselves from the hyper-critics, since you say that you, too, are "saddened" by some of their rhetoric.

Let's start with the categorical statements by Wretched Radio that, "The world's fastest growing sect of Christianity is not Christian at all." And, "The New Apostolic Reformation worships God drunk in the spirit and they teach scant amounts of truth."

Will you state clearly that those are not your sentiments?

Also, since I was never listed in your research, and since I do not affirm what you present as the core tenets of NAR  in other words, based on your definition, I'm not part of NAR  will you distance yourself from websites like this and this and this which list me as a "NAR apostle"?

And will you state clearly that you do not believe that the Jesus of NAR "is not THE Jesus"  in other words, that the alleged leaders of NAR are not believers at all and are preaching a false gospel? This is some of the rhetoric that concerns me.

But I ask you to do this for your sake, not mine. When critics wrongly attack me, it only encourages me to keep honoring the Lord and His Word. But I would hate for you and Prof. Geivett to be grouped together with them, and to the extent I was guilty of implying in that in my article, I certainly apologize. Again, if you look at the wording, I think you'll see that was never my intent.

So, let's this continue this conversation on the air as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and let's bring clarity to God's people as best as we can. Do we have a deal?
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I know what you're thinking: salvation is simple! After all, just look at John 3:16: God loved the world so much he sent his Son so that whoever believes in him will be saved. Surely that is simple, right?

It might seem so, but the closer you look, the more that initial veneer of simplicity dissolves into an unsettling complexity.

What do you need to believe to be saved?

Let's start with this question: what does it mean to believe in Jesus?

At first blush, Paul appears to provide a simple answer to that question in Romans 10:9: "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (NIV) So believe Jesus is Lord and God raised him back to life: that's what you need to believe to be saved.

Simple? Actually, no, it isn't.

Here's the problem: there are many groups outside of historic, orthodox Christianity that affirm those two claims. Mormons, for example, profess to believe that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead. Does that mean that Mormons are saved?

Many Christians believe the answer is no: Mormons aren't saved. The reason is that while they may accept the claims of Romans 10:9, they also accept many other claims that are incompatible with orthodox Christianity. For example, Mormon theology asserts that God was once a human being who evolved to become God and that human beings can themselves become gods. These claims are directly opposed to Christian theology, and that conflict is considered by many people to be sufficient to overwhelm any benefit the Mormon might gain from affirming Romans 10:9.

However, if that is true then it follows that Romans 10:9 does not provide a full summary of the belief requirements of salvation. It turns out that in addition to believing Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the dead, you also need to disbelieve many other things, including the Mormon claim in evolving deities.

And with that, we find that we are back facing our original dilemma. What exactly is the full list of beliefs you need to accept and what is the full list of beliefs you need to deny in order to be saved? And why isn't this clearer? Why should we have to debate this at all? Why aren't the belief requirements of salvation indisputably clear and available to all?

How do you need to live to be saved?

As troubling as the question of belief is, there are other problems when it comes to salvation. For example, consider the question of good works. What do we need to do in order to be saved?

Again, a simple answer suggests itself. In this case, we can find that answer elegantly stated in Ephesians 2:8-9: "it is by grace you have been saved, through faithand this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of Godnot by works, so that no one can boast."

And once again, after a closer look that initial simplicity dissolves. To be sure, we can all agree that the basis for salvation is Christ's atoning work: we are not saved on account of our good works. Nonetheless, that does not change the fact that there are many warnings in Scripture which describe particular behaviors which are expected and even required of those who are saved by Christ.

To note one unsettling example, in Matthew 25 Jesus provides a sobering description of salvation and judgment with respect to two groups: the sheep who are welcomed into eternal life and the goats who receive punishment. Notably, Jesus never describes the sheep as those who believed the right doctrines. Rather, he identifies the sheep in terms of their actions, namely how they treat the poor, sick, imprisoned, and so on. I don't know about you, but I can say that my track record on embracing the least of these is mixed, at best.

This focus on the ethical dimension of the life of discipleship is not limited to Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul provides another angle on moral action, and his treatment is no less unsettling than that of Jesus. He lists several behaviors that he warns will exclude a person from the kingdom of God. The list includes wrongdoers, the sexually immoral, idolaters, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, and swindlers.

Paul's kingdom exclusion sin list invites many questions. What exactly does it mean to be a wrongdoer? How greedy do you need to be for your greed to exclude you from the kingdom? Have you ever slandered or gossiped about anyone? Is lusting after a person sufficient to qualify you as sexually immoral? Jesus seems to say it is (Matthew 5:28). And just how much of this bad behavior is sufficient to undermine your salvation?

Perhaps the most disturbing fact of all is that we human beings tend to be rather adept at spotting sin in others but rather poor at spotting it in ourselves (Matthew 7:3-5). Given that fact, it seems possible that we might spend our lives deluding ourselves into thinking we're walking a holy journey on the narrow road when, in fact, we're sinners on the broad path to destruction.

When do you need to believe to be saved?

Many other questions about salvation arise in my mind but here I'll consider just one more: when do you need to get your beliefs and actions in order so that you may be saved? This question hit me with renewed force some years ago when my daughter was born.

Evangelicals have long had a ready answer to this question: in short, they say that there is an age of accountability. Prior to this age, children do not need to believe in Jesus in order to be saved, but once they cross that accountability threshold, God expects right belief and holy living.

The fact is, however, that you won't find a verse in scripture which clearly teaches an age of accountability. And if there is such a threshold of accountability, when is it? Unfortunately, there is absolutely no consensus on this question. As a result, the birth and rearing of children occur in the shadow of possible damnation.

No wonder my parents were insistent that I pray a sinner's prayer when I was five years old: better to be safe than sorry!

Conclusion

In one sense, salvation is simple. At least, it is simple if we focus on the general fact that God sent his Son to die for our sins so that we might be saved. But once you apply that general truth to the particularities of an individual life, that simplicity begins to dissolve. In its place we are left with a myriad of questions like these: Precisely what do you need to believe (and not believe) in order to be saved? How do you need to live? Are there sins that undermine your salvation altogether? Are there sins that undermine your salvation when they reach a particular level of frequency? And if so, when is that? Finally, when are you morally accountable for your beliefs and actions?

I've been wrestling with these questions for forty years. I started the journey as a child. It continued as I grew into a teenager and then went off to university. I've now been a seminary professor for sixteen years and while I don't have it all figured out  far from it!  I recently wrote my own answers to these questions in the book What's So Confusing About Grace?

Through it all, two things are clear to me. First, God is infinitely more loving, merciful, and wise than I can ever imagine. And second, however it is that the salvation of each individual is to be understood, that understanding must be consistent with God's infinite love, mercy, and wisdom. And that's good news, indeed.
Medical students protest against exorbitant fees

Medical students on Monday stage protest in front of the Institute of Medicine (IoM) against exorbitant fees charged by medical colleges under the Tribhuvan University for a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.
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This Mother's Day marked nine months since the Burmese army violently pushed the Rohingya people into the Bangladesh. As many mothers had brunch in fine china, received bouquets of tulips and made new memories with their children, a genocide has been happening.

In August 2017, nearly 700,000 Rohingya people fled persecution and the destruction of their homes in the northern end of Burma, seeking refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. In this calculated attack, the Burmese army burnt homes across Rohingya villages. Rajuma Begum, a new mom celebrating the birth of a healthy baby, was in her home with her 9-month-old Sadeq when her village, Tula Toli, was attacked and homes were set on fire. Her parents, two sisters and a brother were killed. "My baby was in my lap when the soldiers hit me and he fell out of my arms," she says. Soldiers snatched Sadeq up and threw the baby into the blazing fire, beat Rajuma until her jaw broke and then raped her. It was hard enough to get married as a Rohingya living in Myanmar between government permits and restrictions on birthing children and then to have to hear her child's screams mingle with her own. Rajuma relives her trauma every day. Her searing story is similar to hundreds that we have recorded in the Kutapalong refugee camp.

Rohingya women and girls were systematically raped at the hands of Myanmar's soldiers and militiamen. Systematic rape of minority community women has long been a tool of the military's domination, control and punishment in Myanmar. In 2011, Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi criticized the military for this pattern of abuse. Now that she is in office, and most of the sexual violence impacts the Rohingya, she joins the rest of her government in silence and denial.

The Rohingya are indigenous people living in their ancestral homelandArakan. Arakan state, now called Rakhine, has been an independent state where Buddhist and Muslims co-existed for centuries ruling themselves.

Aid workers have noticed the high number of pregnant women in the refugee camps, due to the mass rape of Rohingya women as a tool of genocide and ethnic cleansing. In the next several weeks, thousands of babies will be born. What will happen to these babies? Fifty two percent of the women who fled were raped, according to the United Nations, brutally raped. Traumatized, they have made their way through jungles and landmines to the perceived safety of refugee camps.

There are currently 144,000 single mothers who survived the violence. This figure is set to increase. These women have the hardest time fending for themselves and their children and they know that the monsoons are coming.

"Motherhood: All love begins and ends there," writes Robert Browning. This Mother's Day, our love cannot be contained to our own children. We, mothers, have to share our beautiful essence with these persecuted mothers giving birth to children. Join the interfaith movement in support to end the genocide in Burma.

Levels of aid to these refugees are not at the levels promised.

According to media reports, Save the Children expects the number of babies abandoned by their mothers to increase in next weeks, even as the monsoon rains increase. Others may find love in their families, despite the hate that led to rape. What are we doing to make this situation better? This Mother's Day, I ask you to call on your elected officials and ask them to support the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2018, which contains millions of dollars in aid, but is being held up in Senate. We need Senator Mitch McConnell to bring this bill to vote.

The Myanmar government has simply denied systemic rape. This is another important reason why we need stronger pressure on Myanmar's government. Further delay of the bipartisan bill sends the wrong message to perpetrators of mass rape and other crimes of war.

My heart is heavy thinking of the hundreds of Rohingya women who had motherhood violently thrust upon them. Many are under the age of 18. As I take my 15-year-old daughter, Zahrah, who still loves to cradle against my bosom, to shop for a new outfit, I can't help but think of another 15-year-old, Fatima, sitting in a tent in one of the largest refugee camps in the world. Fatima will soon have a baby of her own. Alone. She will give birth alone in the same skirt that she was assaulted in. I cannot celebrate my motherhood while ignoring her.

Hena Zuberi is a mother of four, the Director of Outreach for the Faith Coalition to Stop Genocide in Burma and Justice for All, a role in which she advocates against the genocide of the Rohingya people.
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Adama*, a 90-year-old man living in a village in Burkina Faso, was wrongfully accused and ejected from his village following a cultic ritual, but God saw fit to rescue him in his time of distress.

It seems a 6-year-old girl in the village had died suddenly and mysteriously, and leaders of the Bwaba tribe near Tuy were looking for answers, according to a report by Christian Aid Mission (CAM).

They initiated a divination ritual to determine what had provoked local spirits to take the girl's life. The results of the divination pointed the finger of blame at Adama. They accused him of using witchcraft to bring the deadly disease upon the girl.

"He was so stunned he could hardly mutter that he had done no such thing. The traditions of the animist village called for him to be expelled for two years to verify his guilt; if he managed to survive in the wilds, he would be declared innocent and could return," according to CAM.

Bwa village in Burkina FasoAdama knew they were essentially giving him a death sentence, since it would be difficult for him to endure in the wild at his advanced age.

For over a month he was able to survive by eating leaves and grass. His granddaughter even managed to sneak some meat to him. He made a crude shelter by attaching a blanket to tree branches.

"The solitude, the elements and the psychological trauma soon took their toll. Gaunt and broken, he was cursing some rocks when indigenous missionaries spied him," according to CAM.

The missionaries had visited Adama's village for a few weeks and had little to show for it. Only one family put their trust in Christ, otherwise, their message was rejected.

As the missionaries were escorted out of the village they saw a strange sight  an old man (Adama) shouting in the distance.

MORE
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Hilda's mother sat exhausted and hopeless in her mud home, watching her baby cry as she had been doing all day. At 1 month old and only four pounds heavy, Hilda was severely malnourished, and her mother could not afford the formula or care she needed, no matter how hard she worked.

Hilda's story is not unlike many others in Guatemala  a country where nearly half of the population lives below the poverty line. And nowhere is the impact of this crippling poverty more evident than in the bodies of children.

Nearly 50 percent of Guatemalan children under 5 are stunted, according to the World Food Programme. It's one of the highest cases of stunting in the world, and the highest in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A lack of access to nutritious food leads children's bodies to not grow properly and their brains to not develop like a healthy child's should. Ultimately, it leads to death. Malnutrition is responsible  indirectly and directly  for one-third of global deaths of children under 5.

This was the case when our national partners found Hilda. Although she was a month old, Hilda only weighed 4 pounds, nearly half the average of a newborn baby's weight. At that rate, she was at high risk of serious stunting and possibly dying.

But one hot summer morning, everything changed.

Our partners took Hilda and her mother to a rescue center for malnourished children nearby. When the nurses saw her condition, they immediately took her in. After an evaluation, they began feeding her the lifesaving nutrients she needed.

Hilda's mother prayed the doctors would be able to save her baby, even though she knew she wouldn't be able to pay for the treatment. What she didn't know was that everything  from Hilda's transportation to the medical treatment center, her hospital stay, food and clothing and even housing for family members  had already been taken care of by generous donors. She wouldn't have to pay a dime.

For 10 years, World Help has been working with local partners in Guatemala to save children who are in severe danger of chronic illness and death because of malnutrition. In some instances, we have literally run into a village and rushed a baby across rivers and through muddy roads to get her the medical attention she needs. Our rescue program started in Guatemala with babies just like Hilda, but it has expanded to Haiti and Uganda. With the help of supporters and local partners, we have saved over 3,000 babies.

By the way, if you saw Hilda's before and after photos, you wouldn't believe you were looking at the same baby. She has a round, full face and is growing strong and healthy. Hilda and her mom also are not alone any more  our partners continue to provide care and follow-up check ups to assess Hilda's progress.

This past weekend, America celebrated Mother's Day. Collectively we spent billions of dollars to send our mothers flowers, candy and cards and make dinner reservations at fancy restaurants  but many mothers in places like Guatemala didn't even get a Mother's Day. For them, it was another day of striving to feed their children, even to the point of sacrificing their own health. If you asked them what they would've liked for Mother's Day, they would've told you all they wanted was to be able to care for their children.

While they might not be our mothers, we have the opportunity to help empower them to care for their children. It would be the best Mother's Day gift we could ever give them.

Noel Yeatts is an advocate for social justice and humanitarian needs around the world with more than 20 years of experience in humanitarian work. She is an author, speaker and the president of World Help, an international, Christian humanitarian organization. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @NoelYeatts.
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Who is the rightful owner of the most contested piece of real estate in the world? Everyone seems to have an answer to this question that has captured the world's attention. The Bible prophesies a time when the nation of Israel and Jerusalem in particular, will be a burdensome stone to the nations of the earth. In light of recent political events, I believe we are seeing the beginnings of what Zechariah wrote about almost 2,600 years ago. The media, politicians, and pop culture have wrongly singled out the Jews as the problem again. This is because many choose to believe a popular lie and ignore the facts about Palestine.

Zechariah 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.

When you reduce the Israeli-Palestinian issue down to the ridiculous, you will find its root cause. The cause is the lie about ownership and what I will call "the Palestinian lie" in particular.

The premise of the Palestinian lie is simple: Tell a lie often enough and people will believe it. That strategy has worked and worked so well that it is hard to find a person who will honestly answer three fundamental questions:

Who are the Palestinian people? Where did they come from? Do they have a legitimate claim to the holy land?

Before we dive deeper into this article I want to make an important point. This article is not meant to vilify the so-called Palestinian people. The point of this article is to focus on the lie that has made the situation in the Middle East go from bad to worse and how it will ultimately be used as fuel to turn all nations against Israel. As you read on please understand this: God sent His Son to die for the sins of all people, Jew and Gentile alike. God loves the Arab people at the center of this land dispute as well.

The Palestinian lie is quite simple: People are continually repeating the lie that there is, in fact, a Palestinian people and Israel is an occupying force. How do you refute a lie? You confront it with the truth. Not just one individual's version of the truth, but truth rooted in historical, documented, and verifiable facts. In consideration of our reader's time, my intent isn't to write a doctoral dissertation about who the holy land belongs to because that subject could fill volumes. I encourage you to do some self-study and examine the facts for yourself and come to a logical conclusion. I do want to briefly mention a few historical and biblical facts that will answer the three fundamental questions.

Who are the Palestinian people?

The terms Palestine and Palestinian have origins dating back to the second century AD. It is a well documented historical record and matter of fact that the Roman Empire and its ruler Hadrian wanted to get rid of all Jewish identity in the region. He used the name of Israel's ancient foes the Philistines and renamed the land Palaestina. The Philistines were located to the north of Israel in modern coastal Lebanon and parts of Syria.

The term Palestine was rarely used until Israel declared her Independence in 1948. The term Palestinian wasn't widely used until the 1960s and 1970s. Yasser Arafat, a well-known terrorist was the chairman of the PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) and his goal was to legitimize a people and cause that have no historical precedent. The PLO seeks to liberate "Palestine" through armed struggle. Since 1994, the PA (Palestinian Authority) has been the governing body of the so-called Palestinian people.

Where did the Palestinians come from?

Throughout history, there has never been a Palestinian people as a distinct group. This is a fabrication of terms used by Arabs to identify the people who occupy the Gaza Strip, West Bank, and other parts of Israel. These people are Arabs from Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and surrounding countries. The Arabs in the disputed areas can trace their recent history to Israel's neighboring countries. While it's true that Arab children are born in these disputed territories, they are Arabs who live in Israel, not Palestinians who live in occupied territory.

Do the so-called Palestinian people have a legitimate claim to the holy land?

The short answer is no. To have a legitimate claim you must have historical precedent and there was never a Palestinian people in the land of Israel. Here is the problem: Let's go back to our original point about legitimacy, if you tell a lie often enough, people will believe it.

People and organizations such as the late Yasser Arafat, Mahmoud Abbas, Tony Blair, the European Union, and the UN are promoting a distorted view of history and holding negotiations based on a false presupposition that Arabs (with no historical claim), deserve land that rightly belongs to the Jews. To make matters worse, many leaders are seeking to legitimize the Palestinian cause under the banner of evangelical Christianity with organizations like Christ at the Checkpoint and others.

Just a few years ago, Pope Francis made a very unfortunate move by officially signing a treaty recognizing Palestinian statehood that should be approved by the Vatican in short order. There are also reports that the Pope referred to Mahmoud Abbas as an "Angel of peace." The statement is still being questioned and verified by media outlets, so we will not offer commentary based on that. The fact is, when the Pope, who is a global figure makes a treaty with an illegitimate group like the so-called Palestinians, they gain instant credibility in millions of minds, regardless of the facts. Add to this the social media frenzy and downright antisemitic actions of many on America's university campuses, you have a cause based on nothing but lies.

The Arabs in Israel are treated fairly and Arab laborers flock to work in Israeli factories instead of those in the West Bank where wages are sometimes double that of Arab employers. Arab citizens in Israel enjoy modern amenities and a stable government. Compare that with the poor living conditions in Baghdad, Damascus, or Cairo and there is simply no comparison.

The governing bodies of Hamas and the PA take western aid money meant to help improve the lives of the so-called Palestinian people. Much of the money ends up lining the pockets of the governing officials and used to procure weapons that are used to wage jihad on the citizens and population centers of Israel. The Hamas thugs routinely place their weapons of war near playgrounds, mosques, and homes of civilians. These actions are indicative of the mindset of the entities Israel is forced to go to the bargaining table with groups calling for the destruction of Israel.

Regarding a two-state solution: Israel has put numerous offers on the table and they have been soundly rejected by the PLA. Land for peace simply will not work because ultimately Abbas and Hamas don't want a two-state solution. Their goal is complete control and domination with Jerusalem as their capital.

What about Jewish history in the land?

Again, I could write literal volumes on the distinctly Jewish history of the land and the fact that even before the time of Moses, God made a promise to Abraham. For our purposes, we will summarize:

God promised the land to Abraham and his descendants.

Genesis 15:18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

Exodus 6:7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD."

2 Samuel 7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly...

There has been a continuous Jewish presence in the holy land for over 3,500 years, that predates Islam by 2,000 years. Jerusalem is mentioned in the Bible at least 806 times. The Koran mentions the word Jerusalem 0 times. For Jerusalem to be called the third holiest city in Islam is simply a modern fabrication to attempt to legitimize a claim with no historical evidence to back it up. During the Ottoman rule in the area, Jerusalem was in a state of decay. It is true after the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 AD., there was a minimal Jewish presence in the land, but a small number of Jews managed to stay in Israel. Small Jewish communities existed in Ein Gedi and the Golan area through the middle ages.

The political powers of today seem bent on dividing up God's covenant land. The Bible has repeated warnings about the days ahead when nations attempt to undo what God has done.

Joel 3:1 "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land, and have cast lots for my people, and have traded a boy for a prostitute, and have sold a girl for wine and have drunk it.

Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

Unlike political agreements and the promises of man, God's word is always true and his covenants are as sure as His holy name. It has become clear that the European Union, UN, and unfortunately the US are exerting tremendous pressure on the Israelis to give up their land. Combine the hostile political climate, the Pope's stand for Palestine, the calls for Israel's destruction, the antisemitism on college campuses, and the brainwashing by many leaders in the social gospel and emergent church movements and you have the perfect storm. It's not hard to see in the not too distant future that Jerusalem will indeed be a burdensome stone.

Friends, when you see the hate-filled, ignorant, lopsided, anti-Israel anti-Jewish propaganda, understand where it originates from. Satan hates Israel, its people, and its God. The prophets, the Bible, the apostles, and the early church all originated right there. The gospel has gone out from there. It started with the great commission at the Mt. of Olives and will crescendo right up to 144,000 Jewish evangelists proclaiming salvation through Jesus during Daniel's 70th week. Men including Pharoah, Haman, Hitler, and the coming antichrist have attempted or will attempt to put an end to God's promises. The Bible tells us the Lord will have the final say regarding who the land belongs to.

So what do Christians do now?

Understand that the political turmoil in the Middle East is simply an indicator of the nearness of the Lord's return. We should see the Israeli-Palestinian issue for what it is: An attempt to undermine what God has done. We can choose not to remain silent despite the onslaught of anti-Jewish rhetoric from the divestment and social gospel crowd.

We should reach out in love to both Jewish and Arab people and be a bold witness for the gospel of Christ. Christians should stand with Israel and we can do that while we show compassion and love to both Jews and Arabs. It may not be politically correct to stand in solidarity with Israel, but history will prove it's the right thing to do.

I find it very sad and frankly unconscionable that the Jews have been chased around the globe for much of the last 2,000 years via pogroms, expulsions, and persecution, only to come back to their rightful homeland and much of the world still wants them out.

When we examine the evidence and look at the facts about Palestine, we must come to the conclusion that: there was never a Palestine or a Palestinian people.

The bottom line is this: This lie about a Palestinian people seems to be one of the issues that galvanize world opinion and will ultimately make Jerusalem and burdensome stone and a cup of trembling. The whole world seems to be calling for the diminishing of Jews from the promised land and promoting of the Arabs as the rightful owners. We are seeing the stage being set for the end time scenario as Israel and Jerusalem become the geopolitical focal point of the world. No one knows the day or hour of the Lord's return, but in light of recent events, we seem to be closer than ever. Maranatha

Howard Green leads Concerning The Times, a Bible teaching and evangelistic ministry whose primary focus is proclaiming the gospel to the lost and exhorting believers through End Time Bible prophecy.
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Left-wing activist and comedian Rosie O'Donnell has been caught contributing more than the legal limit to five Democratic political candidates. She used four variations of her name and five different New York addresses to make the contributions. This may show intent to disguise them.

Federal Election Commission rules limit contributions to federal candidates to $2,700 per election. Donors can max that out in a primary race, then max it out again during a general election for the same candidate. O'Donnell contributed more than $2,700 each to five candidates during the primary race.

The offense is punishable by large fines from the FEC. The FEC can also choose to let a donor move an excess donation from a primary race into the general election or refund it. It doesn't have to impose the full amount of the fines, and it certainly does not have to criminally prosecute the individual.

O'Donnell's contributions are similar to what conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza did during the 2012 election cycle. He asked two friends and their spouses to contribute $10,000 each to a congressional campaign, then he reimbursed them. Prosecutors chose to bring charges against him, and he ended up pleading guilty to the felony of making illegal contributions in the names of others. He was sentenced to eight months in a halfway house, five years probation and a $30,000 fine.

But prosecutors didn't need to bring charges against him. Especially not felony charges. Left-leaning Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz said at the time, "I can't help but think that [Mr. D'Souza's] politics have something to do with it... It smacks of selective prosecution." Dershowitz told Newsmax, "This is clearly a case of selective prosecution for one of the most common things done during elections, which is to get people to raise money for you. If they went after everyone who did this, there would be no room in jails for murderers."

Former U.S. Attorney Joe DiGenova observed that the prosecution was unusual considering it involved a single donation made by an individual with no criminal record. David Mason, a former commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, told Newsmax that the prosecution had to show beyond a reasonable doubt that D'Souza broke the law "knowingly and willfully." Campaign finance law is complex, and the average person who is not an attorney or working on campaigns might not have known this was against the law. D'Souza said he was unaware it was a campaign violation. I am a former county elections attorney, who worked on several campaigns, and I wasn't even aware it was against the law until D'Souza's prosecution.

Four Republican senators wrote to then-FBI Director James Comey and accused the Obama administration of using the DOJ to take down a prominent critic.

The Washington Times notes that in contrast, Obama's 2008 presidential campaign failed to disclose millions of dollars in contributions and missed deadlines for refunding millions in excess contributions. Yet it was merely fined $375,000 and no one was prosecuted for felonies.

O'Donnell claims she did not know she had exceeded campaign finance limits. Then why did she use four different versions of her name and five different residential addresses?

The FEC penalties for contributing over the allowed limit and contributing in another's name are quite similar  they are both fines. If D'Souza's situation was escalated to criminal prosecution, then how is O'Donnell's situation any different, if not worse? D'Souza tweeted about O'Donnell, "Five times more egregious than my case. Now let's see if Lady Justice is truly blind."

O'Donnell will likely get away with the five improper contributions. Unlike O'Donnell, the legal system was stacked against D'Souza. D'Souza was prosecuted by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, a former staff member to Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and an Obama appointee. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman, a Clinton appointee, sentenced D'Souza. Fortunately, Trump has replaced many of the Obama-era U.S. Attorneys. He fired Bharara. But Berman is still on the bench.

The left dominates the legal system and has wrongly used it against many prominent conservatives. If O'Donnell is not prosecuted, it will scream injustice regarding what happened to D'Souza.
Archeologists uncover Copenhagen's oldest church

An uncovered archaeological site in Copenhagen, which was previously dug in February, might actually be the city's oldest church. The archeologists believe that a recently exposed stone wall could hold more clues to the site's history.

Experts dug out at least 30 skeletons of men, women and children on the archeological site near the city center's Town Hall Square in Radhuspladsen a few months ago. The discovery suggested that the site was once an ancient graveyard.

The ongoing excavations, however, revealed more clues to the remnants. The archeologists now believe that the area could actually be a church.

"If it is a church then it supports the idea that Copenhagen was an established city at the start of the Middle Ages," Lars Ewald Jensen from the Museum of Copenhagen who led the dig told Science Nordic. "You can have a grave yard without an established city, because you need more elements in place before you can call it a city. But conversely, you cannot have a city without a church," he added.

King Valdemar gave Copenhagen, described as a small fishing village in history books, to Bishop Absalon as a gift during the 12th century. The bishop then erected the Absalon Castle, which the Danish Parliament actively uses today.

According to the archeologists, locals during the Viking and Middle Ages might have used the Town Hall Square as part of a churchyard. The challenge now is to find out how big this yard actually stretched and to uncover more remnants that point to the existence of a church.

"We hope that we've discovered the foundations of a church building," archeologist Stine Damsbo Winther said. "In this case, it would be older or perhaps was around at the same time as St Clement Church, which was excavated in 2008."

The experts are also expected to conduct tests and extract DNA samples on the skeleton to provide more clues on their discoveries.
Bodies of 20 Coptic Christians beheaded in Libya arrive back in Egypt

The bodies of 20 Egyptian Christians beheaded in Libya by Islamic State in 2015 were flown back to Cairo on Monday, Egyptian state television reported.

The victims had been among the many poor Egyptians who risked their lives to find work in the lawless chaos of Libya following civil war and the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The Coptic Christians were beheaded on a beach in Islamic State's former Libyan stronghold of Sirte, wearing orange jumpsuits, according to a video posted by Islamic State.

Their bodies were recovered in October after the area where they were buried was recaptured from the militant Islamist group.

Islamic State took control of Sirte in 2015 and lost the city late last year to local forces backed by US air strikes.

A total of 21 people were beheaded at the time. The body of a Ghanaian killed was not on board the plane that brought the Egyptian bodies from Misrata in western Libya to Cairo.

The head of the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II, was at the airport to receive the remains, which were brought in coffins aboard an aircraft from Misrata, according to a local television station which broadcast live from the airport.

The bodies are expected to be taken back for burial in Egypt's Minya province.

Additional reporting by Reuters.
Libya returns remains of 20 beheaded Christians to Egypt

The remains of 20 Coptic Christians beheaded by the Islamic State in Libya three years ago were reportedly transferred back to Egypt earlier this week.

The bodies reportedly arrived at the Cairo International Airport on Monday via a private plane from Libya. As many as 22 ambulances waited at the airport to transport the remains to the Zeinhom Morgue, according to Ahram Online.

Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Church, was reportedly at the airport to receive the remains of the beheaded Christians.

The Christians were kidnapped by ISIS on separate occasions between December 2014 and January 2015, before they were beheaded on a beach near the city of Sirte. Many of the victims come from poor families and risked their lives to find work in Libya amid the civil war following the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi.

ISIS executed 21 people in the massacre, which was recorded in a video released by the terror group in February 2015. A victim from Ghana was reportedly not among the bodies that were flown back from Libya to Cairo.

Agence France Presse reported back in October that Libyan authorities found the bodies in a mass grave south of Sirte after confessions from captured ISIS members.

"The heads are separated from the bodies clad in orange jumpsuits, hands bound behind the back with plastic wire," the interior ministry said at the time.

Reuters reported that the remains were recovered in October in an area once controlled by ISIS. DNA samples taken from the families of the victims will be used to identify the remains, which are expected to be buried in Egypt's Minya province.

The video of the beheadings prompted Egypt to launch air strikes against jihadist bases in Libya.

In September, an Egyptian court sentenced seven people to death in connection with the beheadings. The suspects were accused of being part of an ISIS cell in Marsa Matruh, northwest Egypt. An unspecified number were charged with participating in the beheadings.

In 2017, the family members paid tribute to the victims and voiced pride in how they refused to renounce their faith despite being threatened with death.

"I'm very happy that my brother is in Heaven with Jesus now. I loved my brother when he was alive on the earth, but now I love him more than before. He was martyred in the name of Jesus Christ," one family member said, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

One father noted that Christian churches "were built on the blood of the martyrs at all times."

"We are very proud of our martyrs. They have lifted our heads and the heads of all Christians. The whole world witnesses them," the father went on to say.
Meghan Markle receives outpouring of support from children's charity

Meghan Markle received an outpouring of support and affection today from a children's charity amid reports that she is extremely distressed at the prospect of her father not attending her wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday.

Thomas Markle Sr, 73, was due to walk his daughter down the aisle but has now decided to stay away, according to US media reports, after a controversy surrounding pictures he 'staged' with a photographer. It is also claimed that he suffered a heart attack last week.

Kensington Palace called for 'understanding and respect' to be extended to Mr Markle as is other daughter, Meghan's half sister, attacked the 'atrocious and intrusive' media attention he has been subject to.

A statement from Kensington Palace appeared to confirm reports from US celebrity website TMZ that claimed on Monday that Markle Sr, a retired TV lighting director now living in Mexico, decided not to attend 'because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter'.

The statement said: 'This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.'

Samantha Markle, Meghan's half sister and Thomas' daughter from his first marriage, said the paparazzi attention was putting him in a 'dangerous situation'.

She told Good Morning Britain: '[He] called me panicking on the freeway because he's in a dangerous situation being followed by seven or eight cars. I think there have been examples in history of how dangerous that can be.'

Referring to paparazzi attention, she added: 'So he was so stressed out they rented the house next to him in Mexico, four or five of them, he can't open his blinds, he can't go anywhere without being followed and really it's quite atrocious and intrusive and I think it's highly unethical.'

Of their father's health, she said: 'He was really having heart pains and suffered a heart attack, it was an unbelievable amount of stress.'

Ms Markle is global ambassador for the children's charity World Vision which said 60,000 people now have access to clean water thanks to her support.

They sent a string of supportive messages including one from Samantha, aged 12, who met Ms Markle when she visited her school in Rwanda's Kigali province in 2016.

'I remember meeting Meghan when she came to our school,' Samantha said. 'I was so happy. I hope that she will enjoy her beautiful wedding with the Prince and a happy future together.'

The charity's east regional manager in Rwanda, Frank Muhwezi, said: 'I thank Ms Markle for her big heart and generosity. Vulnerable children in Rwanda now have access to clean water both in their homes and at schools. Thanks to this amazing work, more girls have stayed in school, and we've seen huge improvement.

'I am so glad that she has taken a big step together with Prince Harry. I pray and wish happiness for both of them on their special wedding day.'

After her visit to Rwanda with World Vision in 2016, Ms Markle said: 'I think there's a misconception that access to clean water is just about clean drinking water; which, of course, it is but it's so much more than that. Access to clean water in a community keeps young girls in school, because they aren't walking hours each day to source water for their families. It allows women to invest in their own businesses and community. It promotes grassroots leadership, and, of course, it reinforces the health and wellness of children and adults. Every single piece of it is so interconnected, and clean water, this one life source, is the key to it all.

'It was an amazing experience, taking water from one of the water sources in the community and using it with the children to paint pictures of what they dream to be when they grow up. I saw that water is not just a life source for a community, but it can really be a source for creative imagination, and how lucky I am to have been a part of that.'
Ruth the proselyte: Conversion versus subversion

This weekend the Jewish community enjoys a double celebration: Shabbat as usual, followed immediately by the pilgrim festival of Shavuot. Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people on Mount Sinai with a long night of learning known in Hebrew as 'Tikkun Leil Shabbat'.

I have been invited to be scholar in residence at an Orthodox synagogue in Greater Manchester. The rabbi and his wife both come from Israel. In 1983-4 the rabbi's father-in-law taught me at religious seminary in Jerusalem. It is not an exaggeration to say that most of what I know about my own religion stems from those two years spent on intensive sabbatical study with my family in Israel.

But living in Haifa much more recently also taught me what it is like for Jews, Christians, Muslims, Bahais, Druze and others dealing with everyday life in Israel.

I have come across many would-be converts in my life. There are the Jews who want to be Buddhists. Many of these 'Jubus' wander off to Dharamsala in India only to be informed by the Dalai Lama that they already have their own land and religion and should make Aliyah to Israel instead. The Dalai Lama is adamant about not converting Jews to Buddhism. Then we have the few Jews who still wish to convert from Judaism to Christianity. Paul was the first of these.

Then we have Muslims converting to Christianity. Many of these convert because of the warm meals they are offered by church people as refugees in our large cities. And lastly you have the increasing number of Christians wishing to convert to Judaism. Some are east Europeans who feel uncomfortable with the way their own churches are going back home, and think we Jews are warm and friendly. But there are cases where once converted, some of these become 'more Catholic than the pope' and then end up reverting to Catholicism after all. For these Judaism may be OK  it's the Jews themselves who are the problem.

And then we have biblical Ruth  the prototype convert to Judaism who becomes the ancestress of the Messiah. It's her story we tell on this festival of Shavuot. Ruth refuses to be put off by her mother-in-law, Naomi. She stubbornly, yet quietly, insists that going back to her own land of Moab after the death of her Jewish husband isn't an option. She wants to be with Naomi, her role model person. Wherever Naomi goes, Ruth will go. Naomi's people, the Jewish people, will be her people. Naomi's teaching, the Torah will be her Torah.

It wasn't that Ruth is needy. Rather the clue is in her name. Ruth's conversion isn't subversive like so many current conversions to Islam and Christianity. The name Ruth is an anagram for Torah, Jewish teaching. The letters of Ruth's name add up to 606, just seven short of the 613 commandments. But Ruth already encapsulates the seven Noachide laws given to gentiles.

Ruth doesn't need to convert to prove a point. Everything about her tells us she is already there.

But conversion is not a one-way process. It also implies change in the welcoming family or community. We who were (and often still are) strangers in a strange land have to love the stranger, even when she is already one of us. Conversion is the first step. In reality, we have to go on nurturing her for ever and ever.

When I was young and studying French and German for 'A' level, two books stood out. L'Etranger by Albert Camus is about a white Frenchman living in Algeria, whose mother dies and who doesn't know how to mourn. He is therefore regarded as sinful and criminal and treated accordingly by all and sundry. He is a double stranger to his community  white and French and away from home in a part of North Africa which will later explode with all the problems now faced by present-day France.

The other book is the opposite  Max Frisch's Biedermann und die Brandstifter ('The Arsonists'). This play is a satire on the takeover of Prague by the Communists, but is also a metaphor about how Hitler and his colleagues set about destroying Germany. Hitler promised the earth and delivered hell on earth.

The play depicts how ordinary nice everyday people who want to welcome strangers into their home can so easily be taken in by evil. They end up being burned alive by the guests who turn out to be entryists.

Conversion in Judaism tries hard to avoid both pitfalls. Conversion implies a gradual and incremental two-way relationship between the Jewish people and the 'outsider' who feels themselves ready and willing to take on this yoke. A convert should not be rejected, but neither should she be unduly encouraged where commitment is missing.

I was privileged in Israel to meet a genuine convert. She was from Vancouver, Canada and taught Religious Education in a school where I taught music. We came together to organise assemblies which would cater for Muslims as well as Christians and Jews. We agreed that the Book of Ruth was 'safe' for all religions and also agreed on the hymns.

Then she asked me to be a witness at the Bet Din as she wanted to convert to Judaism and needed two witnesses. I tried to dissuade her from taking this difficult step. I told her that Christianity wasn't so bad  and Judaism was difficult. It meant joining areviled people and a misunderstood land, not simply believing in one G-d. I tried every which way to dissuade her. I reminded her of all Christianity's good and positive points, but in vain.

So, finally I told her that I couldn't be a witness, as women were disbarred from this in Jewish Law  so in addition to everything else, Judaism could be considered as 'sexist', I said.

But I was wrong. The Bet Din did accept my endorsement of my friend and she was duly converted. No doubt they had been impressed by her integrity and by my own determination to dissuade her in vain.

And then the Canadian woman asked if she could lodge with me. And only today do I realise that she possibly looked on me as a role model whom she could emulate.

But now that I have been invited this weekend to tell these and many similar stories at an Orthodox synagogue in Greater Manchester, I am grateful for the opportunity of reiterating the most beautiful verses in the Bible: 'Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people are my people. And your G-d is my G-d. Where you die, I will die and there I will be buried...' (Ruth 1:16-17).

Yes, incremental conversion  step by step is the way  and any religion based on subversive shock tactics usually dies out in the end.

Dr Irene Lancaster is a Jewish academic, author and translator who has established university courses on Jewish history, Jewish studies and the Hebrew Bible.
Ministry seeks explanation on disfigured national flag

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has sought clarification from four officials over the use of a disfigured national flag on the Janaki temple premises during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
The growing Christian divide: Gaza, Israel and why US evangelicals are increasingly isolated

At Easter in Cairo, Egypt, Christian Today spoke to Rev Dr Andrea Zaki, the head of the Protestant Community of Egypt. Over coffee at the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services, Zaki proudly spoke of how he had recently met with a delegation of US evangelical leaders close to Donald Trump, including Johnnie Moore. The men had much in common. But a fascinating divide emerged when he was asked whether he expressed his opposition to Israeli action against the Palestinians: '120 per cent,' he replied.

The apparently obscure but significant division is part of a wider gulf today between American Christian leaders and those elsewhere when it comes to the Middle East.

For much of the world and most of the time, Gaza is the forgotten land. And as my colleague Mark Woods has written, it, along with the plight of Palestinians, is a 'blind spot' for a large host of influential US evangelicals who are committed to supporting Israel, apparently at any cost.

Yet each year without fanfare, the Catholic bishops of England and Wales lead a delegation to Gaza as well as elsewhere in the Middle East, underlining that Church's special commitment to the region including the Strip. Anglican bishops, including the bishop of Southwark Christopher Chessun, attend.

Today inside Parliament, Catholic bishop Declan Lang, who chairs the Holy Land Coordination which runs the trip, will be hosting a seminar on the situation in the region alongside bishop Chessun.

In Jerusalem, the Latin Patriarch has lamented the 'vicious circle' and condemned the 'disproportionate violence', saying: 'In these days we are witnessing another outburst of hatred and violence, which is once again bleeding all over the Holy Land. The lives of so many young people have once again been shut down and hundreds of families are mourning their loved ones, dead or wounded. As in a kind of vicious circle, we must condemn all forms of violence, any cynical use of human lives and disproportionate violence. Once again we are forced by circumstances to plead and cry out for justice and peace!'

And you can expect Pope Francis soon to speak out on the issue in Rome.

At Lambeth Palace, the archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who visited the enclave last year, today wrote on Twitter: 'Grieving the tragic loss of life in #Gaza and praying for the peacemakers. The Anglican Church is committed to serve the people of Gaza through the extraordinary work of the hospitals I was able to visit there last year.'

Welby joins the Church of Scotland, Christian Aid and Embrace the Middle East in speaking out.

Adding their voice this afternoon is the Catholic aid agency CAFOD, whose Middle East country representative, Mary Lucas, returned recently from Gaza. She said: 'We are deeply distressed by the loss of life in Gaza. People I met there spoke of hopelessness and despair, especially among the young, and they fear what will come next. The protests are intended to claim back dignity and tell the world the people of Gaza will not be forgotten...Eleven years of closure of Gaza by Israel has resulted in siege-like conditions, with food, medicines, and fuel running critically low. The numbers of death and injuries during the protests have brought hospitals and health services to collapsing point. This recent escalation in violence, threatens hopes for a peaceful solution for both Israelis and Palestinians.'

And it should not be forgotten that there are voices in pluralist Israel, too, who condemn such actions. The respected Israeli human rights agency B'Tselem has urged soldiers to disobey orders to shoot at unarmed civilians.

And the admirable group of Israeli veterans Breaking the Silence issues powerful testimonies of the corrosive effect for them as well as Palestinians on such atrocities.

True, there is silence from Trump-supporting evangelical leaders, and excited support for Trump. This has been led by the controversial pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel who took part in the opening ceremony at the new Jerusalem embassy. He said: 'I was deeply honored to participate in this historic moment. Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel, and I am very proud of my country and my president for recognizing that fact. This moment would not have been possible were it not for President Trump's courage...'

As the protests reached a climax, the equally controversial Baptist pastor Robert Jeffress said in his prayer at the embassy yesterday: 'Without President Trump's determination, resolve, courage ... we would not be here today. And I believe, Father, I speak for every one of us when we say, we thank You every day that You have given us a President who boldly stands on the right side of history, but more importantly, stands on the right side of You, O God, when it comes to Israel.'

Meanwhile, the 'non-partisan' evangelical group My Faith Votes applauded the fact that Trump's America stands 'shoulder to shoulder' with Israel.

But it should be remembered that elsewhere, from Lambeth Palace to Cairo, Christians around the world are united in grief and growing despair.
What is the point of theology?

What does theology have to say to the homeless people on the streets of our own cities who die in solitude, unknown and unpitied without anyone even to mourn their loss? What difference does theology make to the lives of children confined to an AIDS orphanage in Eastern Ukraine? How does theology speak into the plight of the starving, the refugee, the dementia patient, the cancer sufferer, or the war-traumatised child in Syria?

What does theology mean to the wretched of the earth, to those without status, wealth, or power? How does theology connect with the lived experience of the poor in spirit?

These are some of the questions I raise in my new book, Theology After Christendom.

For a long time I've been frustrated by the usual view that theology is nothing more than a dry academic discipline or a nerdy hobby of a few eccentric Christians. For many people in the world today (especially for so-called 'millennials' like me), God seems to have died or is viewed as so boring and irrelevant that they don't bother to give Him a second thought. I think that part of the reason that God seems to be dead is because he has not been served well by so much modern theology, which has tended to belittle human beings and reduce God to a one-dimensional caricature.

In my book I try to explain that all Christians have a theology; if you're a Christian, it means you are a theologian  whether you like it or not! This is because theology is simply a technical term that describes the way you think not only about God, but about life's ultimate questions, such as, 'What's the meaning of life? Why am I here? What do I really believe in? What do I hope for? What are my values? Who am I?', etc.

As I explain in the book, the choice for a Christian is never between either having a theology or not having a theology. The choice, rather, is always between having a good theology or having a bad theology. A good theology is one that is life-giving, life-enhancing, and faithful to the biblical teaching, whereas a bad theology is one that is shallow, thoughtless and life-denying. Therefore, one of the main themes of my book is that theology is not a dry academic discipline, but an inevitable and unavoidable part of the life of every Christian.

Having made this key point, I go on to describe what a good theology looks like in theory and practice. I argue that theology today should be more concerned with what God is doing in the world than with what Christians are doing in churches. In other words, theology needs to put much more emphasis on the Kingdom of God, rather than focusing too narrowly on the church. I make the case that theology should primarily serve not the church, but the Kingdom of God. In simple terms, whereas theology used to say, 'Church, Church, Church!', theology today needs to say, 'Kingdom, Kingdom, Kingdom!'

The future of Christianity today, I argue, depends on whether it can meet the challenges of the new times. The painful travails of living in a secular world and the gradual disestablishment of Christianity from an institution to a movement are like birth pangs that presage the beginning of a new era of hope and renewal.

Amid the prevailing crisis of faith and the apparent dominance of secular humanism in today's society, I have a presentiment that the genesis of a new Christian movement, unleashed from its institutional church trappings, is under way in the world. The Kingdom of God is poised to break into world history and yield its mighty harvest. The problem is that while the harvest is plentiful, the labourers are few. My hope is that this book will make its own modest contribution to persuading more people to help make the Kingdom of God a visible reality in their own situations.

I confess that in my book I haven't held back from criticising a lot of what goes on in churches today. I've called churches to repent of the ways in which they have so often allowed Christianity to be shackled by demonic religious structures of power and domination, which have inhibited the freedom of the Spirit, suppressed the truth of the gospel and impeded the coming of the Kingdom of God in the world.

The most important chapters from my perspective are chapters 5 and 6, because it's here that the book starts to unfold a positive vision of the difference that a Kingdom-focused theology could make towards the transformation of the world. Chapter 8 is also significant in this regard, because it's here that I give the specific example of the Northumbria Community (where I grew up and came to faith) in order to demonstrate what the vision of 'Church Without Walls' looks like in practice.

In chapter 6 I offer an outline presentation of a theology that is attuned to the dynamic movement of the Holy Spirit in the world today. The fundamental realities of freedom, compassion, and creativity are proposed as core elements of a transformative theology today. I suggest that these three concepts offer an appropriately Trinitarian focus for theology, since each spiritual reality exemplifies the basic principles of Father (freedom), Son (compassion), and Holy Spirit (creativity), and expresses the unity in diversity of the Sacred Trinity.

While I offer some constructive criticisms, my aim ultimately is not to bring down, but to build up. I hope this is clear from the following words in my conclusion:

'A day is coming when Christians will finally realise that they are sent by God not to serve and sustain the church, but to redeem the world in the power of Christ's compassion. In the coming years, we will witness a flowering of solidarity among diverse Christians as the walls of denominationalism and sectarianism come crashing down. Tribal identities will evaporate like the morning dew in the light of God's glorious new order in which all who follow Jesus will come to see that they are one in Christ. Instead of institutionalised religion, there will be a gospel movement of compassion that expresses itself in a new vision of church without walls. And God will delight in this...'

Joshua T Searle is a British Baptist theologian from Spurgeon's College. He has just brought out a new book, entitled Theology After Christendom: Forming Prophets for a Post-Christian World. You can read more about him and his work here.
ConocoPhillips Chairman and Chief Executive Ryan Lance said the Houston oil producer is pressing forward with recouping the $2 billion it is owed by Venezuela.

ConocoPhillips seized much of the oil storage and refining assets of Venezuela's state-owned oil company, PDVSA, in the Caribbean islands of Curacao, Bonaire and Sint Eustatius in recent days, but that is just the start of the legal repayment process, Lance said Tuesday after the company's annual shareholders meeting in Houston.

Those islands are all Dutch territories and the Dutch courts allow for the seizure of assets earlier in the legal process, Lance noted. Other U.S., South American, European and Asian courts require the completion of the appeals processes first. So, while the Caribbean islands are the most visible seizures, the legal actions are ongoing around the world, including courts in Hong Kong and London, Lance noted.

In April, the International Chamber of Commerce ruled that ConocoPhillips should receive more than $2 billion after finding that the late President Hugo Chavez had illegally seized the Houston company's assets in Venezuela more than a decade ago.

Venezuela is in economic and political turmoil with poverty rates skyrocketing and the oil-dependent country seeing its crude production volumes plummet. The falling oil production has contributed to rising oil prices worldwide, and there are fears that ConocoPhillips' actions will only continue to exacerbate the problems in the country. Venezuela uses the Caribbean islands to store much of the oil it exports worldwide. Venezuela has the most proven oil reserves in the world.

Lance said he's sensitive to the plight of the Venezuelan people and that he's concerned about impacting the populations of the Caribbean islands. So every effort is being made to ensure they have all the oil and fuel they need, he said.

"We're sensitive to the people; we understand they're caught in the middle a little bit," Lance said.

RELATED: ConocoPhillips may be worse for Venezuela than U.S. sanctions

Lance said ConocoPhillips still isn't close to recouping the full $2 billion through the asset seizures thus far, but he insisted he's confident the company eventually will recover what it is owed.

Lance noted that ConocoPhillips still has two other cases pending against Venezuela in international arbitration courts.
Yi-Chin Lee/Staff

Today is the deadline to file a property value protest in Harris County, but many home owners who flooded in Hurricane Harvey have not received their notices for 2018. Their records on the Harris County Appraisal District's website still show the values as "pending."

An HCAD spokesman said these property owners will still have 30 days to file a protest from the date they are notified of their values. The timing on that, however, is still unclear.
SWAT and hostage negotiation teams were engaged in a brief standoff in northwest Houston Tuesday afternoon, Houston police said.

HPD said a man barricaded himself inside a business in the 4800 block of Ramus Street after officers attempted to serve a warrant that morning. The man was wanted for choking his ex-girlfriend, police said.
The National Rifle Association is urging people to cover Yeti Coolers' logo with stickers from the pro-gun organization.

On Monday, the NRA tweeted, "Approximately 100,000 free stickers were distributed at the NRA Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas to cover up the @YETICoolers name on YETI products."

The tweet included a link to more information about the the stickers that read "I stand with the NRA Foundation. Teach freedom." The NRA included the hashtag #BadChoiceYETI.

TEXAS TIES: Sutherland Springs hero featured in NRA promos

Yeti did not have an immediate response to the NRA's tweet when contacted by Chron.com on Monday afternoon.

The NRA took issue with Yeti on April 20, when NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer claimed the outdoor company dropped them for no reason. Yeti countered on April 23 that it was not cutting ties with the NRA. Instead, Yeti said it was eliminating what it called "outdated discounting programs."

Yeti said that it was, "...offering them an alternative customization program broadly available to consumers and organizations, including the NRA Foundation," according to an April 23 statement from the company. "These facts directly contradict the inaccurate statement the NRA-ILA distributed on April 20."

BOYCOTT: NRA responds to boycott movement after United and Delta cut ties

Hammer followed up with members about the stickers in a letter dated May 8. She urged NRA members to not destroy their Yeti products.

"Put a big 'I STAND WITH THE NRA FOUNDATION' sticker on your YETI cooler and keep using it," the letter reads. "They cost too much money to destroy to make a statement. Let a sticker make our statement."

Hammer said the stickers are free and will be distributed at NRA functions all over the country. She added people can donate money to the NRA and get six of the stickers.

TRUMP IN TEXAS: Trump stirs NRA in Dallas with classic Lone Star slogan: 'Come and take it'

Some companies have distanced themselves from the NRA following the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida according to reports.

The Associated Press reported in February that insurance company MetLife Inc., car rental company Hertz and software company Symantec Corp. have ended their NRA discount programs. Some companies like Wyndham Hotels and Best Western hotels have let customers know on social media that they are no longer affiliated with the NRA, according to the AP.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys said Tuesday that they expect mental health to be a central issue in the case against a 21-year-old Houston man accused of an online post that threatened a mass shooting and prompted police to close Houston Community Colleges central campus for two days last week.

Luis Antonio Rivera, a 21-year-old HCC student, appeared in state District Judge Hazel Jones court where prosecutors and his defense lawyer negotiated conditions for his release.

Rivera is free on $20,000 bail after being arrested last week on one charge of terroristic threat, a felony. If convicted, Rivera faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

In court Tuesday, his attorney, Carlos Ortiz, said he had just received Riveras mental health records from Riveras mother and would be reviewing them to determine whether to ask for a competency exam.

The file was more than an inch thick with reports and photographs. Ortiz is an associate of Marcos Adrogue, who is the attorney of record on the case.

Rivera is accused of using the fictitious name Elijah Eli Saltibanez when he made a chilling Facebook post May 4. The social media message vowed he would attack and shoot everyone and kill everyone in hcc Central campus in May 7 2018 I will kill everyone including students and teachers are gonna die and also I will kill the hcc police department.

In response to the threats, HCC closed the campus May 7-8, during final exams, and reopened after they identified a person on interest who had been detained. Criminal charges were filed May 10, along with a probable cause affidavit from an HCC police lieutenant who stated Rivera admitted to an FBI agent that he had posted the shooting threats, according to district court records.

Officials with HCC were in court Tuesday and referred questions to the systems public information officer.

Prosecutor Jeff Matovich said the Harris County District Attorneys Office asked for house arrest in addition to the usual bond conditions, including no drugs or alcohol.

Its the best thing to ensure the safety of the community, he said. He also said he had been made aware of mental health issues.

We know its a factor, but we dont know to what degree it is a factor, Matovich said.

Ortiz and Matovich hammered out a plan for a GPS ankle monitor that would allow Rivera to walk out of his apartment, but not his Sharpstown-area complex.

brian.rogers@chron.com
AUSTIN  A Mexican citizen accused of voting in three different elections in Texas has been indicted on two counts of election fraud linked to the November 2016 presidential election.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to prosecute the case, which comes amid increased attention on voter fraud nationally and in Texas, where two North Texas women were sentenced to several years in prison for illegal voting.

Laura Janeth Garza, 38, was arrested Friday in Houston after being indicted by a Montgomery County grand jury on two charges of illegally voting in Harris County after allegedly stealing the identity of a U.S. citizen and using the information to register to vote.

This case demonstrates my offices commitment to protecting the integrity of elections, Paxton said in a statement. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard the electoral process in Texas.

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott applauded Garzas indictment on Twitter Monday, saying, Texas will continue to fight cheating & illegal voting at the ballot box.

Garza remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $150,000 bond $75,000 per charge. If convicted, she faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Garza allegedly obtained documents to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally registered to vote in Harris County, according to a joint investigation by Paxtons office and the Texas Department of Public Safety. She used the alias Angie Yadira Zamora and cast ballots in 2004, 2012 and 2016.

The investigation launched when a Montgomery County citizen attempting to obtain a U.S. passport discovered that Garza had already done so using the womans identity, according to the Attorney Generals Office. The AGs Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division will continue to work together on the investigation and prosecution, he said.

While Texas state leaders have long railed against illegal voting, politicians have ratcheted up their attention on voter fraud in recent years. President Donald Trump has repeatedly argued millions of people voted illegally for Democrat Hillary Clinton, robbing him of the popular vote. In the 2016 election, Trump won the Electoral College but lost the popular vote by 2.8 million votes.

Trump has not produced evidence to support the existence of massive voter fraud, and a special commission appointed to investigate voter fraud disbanded earlier this year.

But Republicans in Texas have sought to stiffen penalties for illegal voting, including passing a mail ballot fraud bill during a 2017 special legislative session.

Abbott has argued that voter fraud is rampant, although Politifact has reviewed records and determined that illegal voting is rare in Texas.

PANTS ON FIRE: Politifact assesses claim of widespread voter fraud in Texas, finds it 'incorrect and ridiculous'

While Democrats say voter fraud is wrong, they say it is rare and Republicans are using cases like these to scare people of color away from voting so the GOP can cling to power, said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.

Its not the pursuit of justice. Its, how am I going to talk tough on this stuff, said Garcia, who pointed to the courts also ruling again Texas on other election issues like voter ID and redistricting. It really shows state government is not at all interested in ensuring more people vote

The states voter ID law, however, has come under legal challenge. A federal court blocked the Texas law requiring photo IDS, saying it unfairly targeted poor and minority voters. Another measure was approved to allow voters without a photo ID to cast ballots by signing a declaration, but that law was also blocked.

Finally, last month, a panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to allow the state to enforce its voter ID law in upcoming elections.

Paxton, also a Republican, announced shortly after Trump took office he would crack down on voter fraud. And Texas officials have done just that.

Crystal Mason, of Tarrant County, was sentenced to five years in prison in March for voting while on probation. She said she wasnt planning to vote in the November 2016 election until her mother convinced her. Recently released after serving time for a tax fraud conviction, she said no one told her couldnt vote.

When poll workers couldnt find her name on the list of registered voters, they suggested she fill out a provisional ballot. She said she skimmed and signed the form, but never saw a reference that she was attesting that she was not on parole.

In 2017, another woman from the Dallas area was convicted on an illegal voting charge. Maria Ortega, a permanent resident, said she didnt know she voted illegally in the 2012 and 2014 elections.

A Dallas resident since she was 15, she falsely claimed she was a U.S. citizen on a voter registration form. She said she did not realize she did not have a right to vote as a legal resident. She was sentenced to eight years in prison, likely to be followed by deportation.

One count accuses her of voting while knowing she was ineligible to cast a ballot, and the other for casting a ballot that belongs to another person or by impersonating another person.

Jennifer Summer contributed to this report.
NEA receives help from the heavens

The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) received unexpected help from the heavens in its effort to eliminate loadshedding in the industrial sector. Incessant rain in the last few days has raised the water levels in the rivers, allowing domestic hydropower plants to boost production.
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators is calling for the immediate return of an 8-year-old Houston boy who has been in Brazil with his mother since 2013, according to a letter they sent to the heads of the Justice and State departments in Washington, D.C.

The request for additional action by the both the Justice Department and the State Department comes in the midst of a federal trial in Houston, where the maternal grandparents have been charged with aiding in a conspiracy to help their daughter kidnap the boy.

His father, a doctor at the Medical Center, has testified that son did not return from a trip with his ex-wife to attend a wedding in Brazil.

RELATED: Brazilian grandparents arrested in Miami in kidnapping of Houston boy

The strongly worded appeal from Senators Chuck Grassley, Dianne Feinstein, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, of the Senate Judiciary Committee, was released Tuesday after it was sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

The letter calling for the return of Nico Brann to be a top priority, highlights a long standing rift between the U.S. and Brazil in resolving international custody disputes.

The letter notes that the while the executive branch of the government, including the attorney general of Brazil, agrees that the boy should be returned, the Brazilian judiciary has not abided by the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction in returning children like Nico.

The letter asked top U.S. officials to aid in securing the return of the boy follows testimony before the Senate judiciary committee about the case on April 24 from the boys father, Dr. Christopher Brann, an internal medicine specialist at Baylor College of Medicine. Brann has publicly campaigned for his sons release, including in an op-ed for The Washington Post.

Given the seriousness of Dr. Branns case, we request that you review the facts of the case as we understand them and explore whether there are other federal laws that will help secure the return of Nico Brann, the senators wrote. Any American citizen child who is abducted and remains abroad is one too many.

Brann was grilled by defense lawyers about the particulars of the case last week in a Houston federal courtroom, where his former in-laws Carlos and Jemima Guimaraes, are on trial for conspiracy to abduct the boy. Prosecutors say the couple helped their daughter, codefendant Marcelle Guimaraes, book a return trip when she left for a wedding in July 2013 but also secure a job abroad and enroll the boy in a Brazilian school as part of an elaborate premeditated plan to relocate permanently, in violation of a custody arrangement in a Harris County courtroom. The boys mother is also indited in the case, but remains in Brazil.

The grandparents were arrested in Miami as they traveled to Houston for a vacation, and were unaware they had been charged in an indictment that was sealed by the court.

Gabrielle Banks covers federal court for the Houston Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter or send her tips at gabrielle.banks@chron.com.
With a snappy literary reference, a federal judge on Monday indefinitely stayed former death row inmate Alfred Dewayne Brown's civil lawsuit seeking compensation for the years he spent in prison before a court overturned his conviction.

"I feel like I am Alice going down the rabbit hole," Judge Lee H. Rosenthal said as she began addressing the parties in a Houston federal court room late Monday.

The hearing focused on the county's request to toss the lawsuit Brown launched last year targeting the city, the county, the district attorney and a number of individuals. But instead of agreeing to dismiss the civil case, Rosenthal decided to put it on hold until the recently appointed special counsel finishes re-investigating the case. Parties on both sides seemed pleased with the judge's decision.

"The judge's ruling today made a lot of sense," said Cate Edwards, the attorney representing Brown in his civil suit.

County Attorney Seth Hopkins said the county "appreciated" the decision, while police union president Joe Gamaldi said the delay "doesn't move the needle" and expressed continued hope that the special counsel would spark a second trial so prosecutors could win another conviction.

"We got the right guy the first time," he said.

Brown was sentenced to die for his role in the slaying of Houston police officer Charles L. Clark and store clerk Alfredia Jones during a robbery at a check-cashing store in southeast Houston. Two others were convicted in the case, but Brown long maintained his innocence and was freed in 2015 after a police investigator uncovered phone records in his garage that defense lawyers said corroborated Brown's alibi.

READ MORE: Ex-death row inmate Alfred Brown 'bluffed his way out of prison,' county alleges

Ever since then, he's been fighting for compensation for his time on death row. So far he hasn't been eligible for state funds because he hasn't been declared actually innocent. So instead, he's focused his efforts on a civil lawsuit.

Last week, the Harris County Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss the case, alleging that a new expert interpretation of old phone records dashed Brown's alibi and showed he really could have committed the crime.

If true, they argued, that would mean it wasn't a problem that prosecutors failed to turn over those records to the defense before trial - because they wouldn't have helped Brown's case, anyway.

"Even though at the time Harris County appears to say, 'You're right, we thought it could be exculpatory,'" Rosenthal said. "'It turns out we were wrong and therefore we are right now.'"

READ MORE: Former death row prisoner's suit to continue despite county, city attempts to dismiss

The judge inquired as to whether special counsel John Raley would have funding for outside experts to evaluate the claims about the new interpretation of the critical phone records, and she also wanted to know if Raley's investigation had any set time frame. No one in the courtroom was able to answer either question.

Without a clear idea of the timeline ahead, Rosenthal asked the county to come back with answers and in the meantime opted to administratively close the case and pause discovery, pending the outcome of Raley's investigation. The parties will come back for a status update in 120 days.

"It does prolong what has been prolonged for a very long time but I see no alternative that makes sense," she said. "And it would keep us out of Alice in Wonderland."
Two men were shot in front of a southeast Houston house Monday night, and one of them is in critical condition, Houston police say.

The men were sitting on the porch of a house along Southwind Street near Calhoun Road around 7:45 p.m. when two suspects walked up and opened fire, striking one of the men in the back and grazing the other, according to Lt. Larry Crowson.
A Dallas restaurant that was boycotted by the National Rifle Association has donated $15,000 to Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.

Joe Groves, owner of Ellen's, said a ceremony for the donation was held at the restaurant on Sunday, during Mother's Day. Ellen's gained national attention for telling customers they were donating money to organizations aimed at reducing gun violence.

WRONG ELLEN'S: Houston restaurant gets negative reviews from NRA supporters for being mistaken for Dallas eatery

Groves told the Houston Chronicle on Monday that Ellen's is a busy restaurant, whether the NRA is boycotting them or not.

"The NRA got up in arms about (the receipts). They definitely have an opinion about it," Groves said. "I don't really care what the NRA thinks. All we care about is that kids don't get killed in their classrooms. If the NRA thinks that's Un-American, then I'll accept it."

The restaurant received national attention after telling customers it would be donating some money to gun reform organizations. They printed their message on receipts just as the NRA was holding a convention in Dallas from May 4 to May 6.

"A portion of this week's proceeds will be donated to organizations dedicated to implementing reasonable and effective gun regulations that protect citizens' 2nd Amendment rights and also help reduce needless gun violence," the receipts read.

RESPONDING TO PROTESTS: Some in NRA want to buck protests, push for more access to guns

The NRA responded by prompting its members to boycott Ellen's after learning about the note on the receipts.

"Steer clear of Ellen's in downtown Dallas!" the NRA tweeted on May 4. "Why go there when there are so many other great choices. #sorrynotsorry #StandAndFight #DefendTheSecond."

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America states on its website that it "supports the 2nd Amendment, but we believe common-sense solutions can help decrease the escalating epidemic of gun violence that kills too many of our children and loved ones everyday."

Moms demand action was started by Shannon Watts on Dec. 15, 2012, in response to the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

NRA TAKES ON YETI: Yeti Coolers says it's not cutting ties with NRA, calls NRA-ILA statement 'inaccurate'

Ellen's clarified that it supports the Second Amendment in a May 4 Facebook post, after receiving so much attention from its receipts.

"No one wants children to die in their classrooms," the end of the May 4 post reads. "No one wants police to be killed in the line of duty. The differences we have are in our approach. But we can fix it if we breathe, calm down, and listen to one another. As Americans, that's what we are supposed to do."

Scroll through the gallery above to see images from the NRA convention held in Dallas in early May.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. Follow him on Twitter.
It's unclear how many Texas police officers received training from John Guandolo, an ex-FBI agent with extreme anti-Islam views.

Earlier this month, Guandolo held a training seminar titled "Understanding the Jihadi Threat to America" in San Angelo, a central Texas town with roughly 100,000 residents.

Two days before the seminar, the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights advocacy group, published an article warning that "Guandolo's training seminars are steeped in anti-Muslim rhetoric and conspiracy theories, and have prompted other law enforcement agencies across the country to either distance themselves from previous ... events or offer no credit to officers attending them."

CONTROVERSIAL PAST: Texas pastor who thinks Jews will go to hell gives opening prayer at Jerusalem embassy

More than 30 law enforcement officers signed up to attend, claimed the Christian Reporter News, a media outlet that helped organize the event. The SPLC describes Christian Reporter News as anti-Muslim organization.

A quick Google search reveals that Guandolo's anti-Muslim beliefs are not hard to come across.

Several days after the seminar he accused Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, of being a "jihadi."

In January, he tweeted that Islam "evil & barbaric."

In 2017, Guandolo's anti-Muslim hate group, Understanding the Threat (UTT), tweeted a photo showing a fictional bombing of the headquarters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, calling the Muslim advocacy organization a "terrorist group."

SLIM MARGIN: Texas town elects first Muslim councilman, defeating Tea Party candidate

According to the Texas Observer, the Southern Poverty Law Center and other civil rights groups emailed the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement after the event, urging them to reject credit hours to any officers or officials who attended the ex-FBI agent's training.

The state agency said accreditation for the course is "pending review."

While no video exists of Guandolo's seminar in Texas, footage by an undercover Al Jazeera reporter shows Guandolo telling Arizona police claims described as "ridiculous" by a former FBI counterterrorism agent.

Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93.
While some hurricane seasons can be inactive, we were all reminded during the 2017 season just how disruptive tropical storms can be. In 2017, there were three separate billion-dollar hurricanes that impacted the United States. These devastating storms caused flash flooding, crippling power outages, and an overall state of emergency for many areas like Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico.

To avoid losses during these situations, its imperative for businesses to diligently take part in all four stages of hurricane disaster mitigation. These stages include planning, preparedness, action, and recovery.

Planning

Hurricanes bring many hazards to U.S. coastlines and inland areas. Its critical for businesses to plan for these tropical storms before they become a threat. Planning improves financial, operational, and human risk mitigation for these severe weather events.

The first step in planning for hurricanes is to know youre the unique threats for your operational areas. Depending on your location(s), your business could face tropical hazards like storm surge flooding which includes battering waves, inland flooding from excessive rainfall, tornadoes, and extreme winds.

A good way to understand your climatological risk is to utilize tools made available by NOAAs National Hurricane Center tropical climate tools. Most businesses lack the meteorological expertise for this analysis, so the simplest way to get hurricane planning information quickly is to consult a meteorologist or climate expert. Theyll help you understand what threats will have the greatest impact on your business.

Every businesses hurricane plan will differ depending on their size, industry, location, and tropical storm risks, so its important you take the time to research your specific situation before you craft disaster plans.

Preparedness

The next step in the process is preparedness. Preparedness includes reviewing and practicing your plan. Once you have a plan together, you cant just set it and forget it. Its critical to ensure that everyone in your business, including, employees, partners and community members understand your hurricane plan and know how to bring it to action.

Preparedness could include stocking the right supplies if you have buildings that could require a shelter in place in accordance with your plan. Its important to have enough food and water for each person for at least one week. Its also key to tell essential employees to bring medicines and prescriptions on hand. Radios, batteries, and chargers are also a must have for sheltering in place.

If your plan involves evacuation instead, you can prepare by familiarizing your stakeholders of the evacuation route and going through drills. If youre evacuating, your plan might also include fortifying your buildings or vehicles left behind. Have sand bags and plywood on hand at critical locations to prevent water and wind damage.

To increase preparedness, your business can also invest in severe weather alerting or visualization solutions, so you have data to base your action on once a hurricane approaches.

Action

A tropical storm is on the way. Youve planned, you prepared, now its time to act. When the threat is real, your planning and preparation work pays off. You and your staff can use your plan and training to:

Ensure the safety of employees

Mitigate damage

Protect physical assets

Limit the cost and amount of time for recovery

Recovery

The last step of your tropical disaster plan is recovery. Everyone wants to get their business back up and running as quickly as possible after a disaster. But sometimes, recovery can take longer than your business wants. No matter how anxious you are to open back up, its imperative to listen to emergency managers and local law enforcement.

Its not always safe to go back into a region where a hurricane made landfall, even if the sun is shining. Often there is flooding and continued storm threats that can create issues, delays, and safety concerns. Forecasts after the storm has passed can be equally as important for several days. Forecasters can provide important information on flooding that is or could still occur as rain surges down rivers, as well as additional storm threats that could cause power to come and go on a fragile power grid.

In the recovery stage, communication is key. All your employees should know what to do and you should have open lines of communicate with all stakeholders.

Write it down

If youve made it to the end of this piece, congrats! You are that much closer to protecting your business this hurricane season. Now its time to write your plan down and start preparing. Remember, weather forecast information plays an end-to-end role before, during, and after a storm. This is also a great time to get in touch with weather intelligence providers that have meteorologists or climate experts on staff to help you prepare.
Nova 3e from Huawei debuts in Nepal

The Nova 3e smartphone has finally arrived in Nepal after creating a huge buzz in the global market since its official launch in March. The latest offering from Huawei is the most successful product in the Nova series. The new phone is priced at Rs35,900.
California, where a modest, burned-out home in San Jose just sold for nearly $1 million, well above its asking price, is in the throes of a housing-affordability crisis. The states latest response to the housing crunch: a mandate that builders install solar panels on every new home in the Golden State.

Its tough to overstate the high cost of housing in California, even relative to the states high incomes. In San Jose, the average home costs 10.3 times the areas median income, according to Demographias International Housing Affordability Survey. This high ratio is not due to some local bubbleits 9.4 in Los Angeles, 9.1 in San Francisco, and 8.4 in San Diego. Elsewhere in the country even in relatively prosperous cities with high growthhousing is more affordable. In Columbus, Ohio, and in Atlanta, for instance, home prices average only about three times the median income. Even New York City, considered severely unaffordable, scores just 5.7.

Regulations that stifle building are a big part of the problem. Reason illustrated the absurdity of Californias building rules when it profiled a laundromat owner in San Francisco who has spent four years and $1 million trying to develop apartments on the site of his one-story, non-historic building in a city starving for new housing. Its so tough to find an affordable place to live in San Francisco that people in their late thirties are living in dorms.

But beyond the zoning and regulatory barriers, mandates that raise prices are an underreported part of the housing price challenge in California. The New York Times estimates that the solar-panel requirement will add $8,000$12,000 to the cost of a homeclose to the price of a years in-state tuition at UC Berkeley. One local chapter of Habitat for Humanity says that the charity will have to raise an additional $80,000 to $100,000 per year just to keep building the same number of homes. Advocates insist that solar power saves money in the long run, but if its such a great deal, why does California have to legislate it?

The states rationale for imposing the directive is, of course, climate change. But as New York Times climate reporter Brad Plumer tweeted, adding 10,000 new apartments in San Francisco would reduce carbon-dioxide emissions in the state by three times as much as the solar-panel mandate because urban apartment-dwellers use less energy than single-home occupants. California is already a green-friendly state. Building more housing that lets more people live in California, even at current energy-efficiency levels, would have a positive effect on emissions. The alternative is forcing people to move out of state and into more polluting jurisdictions.

State legislators made an attempt to expand housing availability with Senate Bill 827, which would have preempted local zoning rules by requiring cities to allow midrise construction near rail stations and major bus stops. The legislation should have pleased climate-change activists by facilitating the construction of new transit-oriented development and increasing density. But powerful environmental groups in California, including the Sierra Club, lined up against the bill, which failed in committee.

With its heavy-handed, top-down approach to zoning, SB 827 raised legitimate concerns about local control over land usebut the bills opponents block any plan that would materially increase housing supply in transit-accessible areas. Californias environmentalist-NIMBY axis has been highly effective in driving housing costs to unsustainable levels. The failure to build new housing in Americas most climate-friendly locales suggests that the underlying rationale for Californias rules is not climate, but exclusion.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
The government should consider handing regulatory responsibility for student unions to the new Office for Students, instead of the Charity Commission, according to parliamentarians.

Joint Committee on Human Rights was investigating freedom of speech and universities and pulblished its report earlier this spring calling on the government to consider making the Office for Students, the independent regulator of higher education in England, responsible for the regulation of stutdent unions.

It said: Moreover, although we understand that this is a complex area, the government should consider whether there is any case for the OfS to take over the regulation of student unions rather than the Charity Commission.

In its response to this, the Commission said that it was not for the Commission to take a view on whether or not students unions should or should not continue to be charities or regulated by the Commission, or by another regulator, and that this would have to be a decision for parliament.

But it said that, irrespective of regulator students unions and universities are charities and therefore subject to charity law.

It added: Our understanding is that the NUS and individual students unions are supportive of the status of students unions as charities, and of being regulated by the Charity Commission.

In conclusion, the Charity Commission said that it was committed to ensuring that charitable students unions, universities and other higher education providers are able to continue to challenge traditional boundaries, to encourage the free exchange of views and to host speakers with a range of opinions, whilst complying with their legal duties and responsibilities as charities.

Charity Commission's guidance is 'problematic'

The Commission also responded to concerns raised by the Joint Committee on Human Rights that the regulators approach to regulating free speech in student unions is problematic.

The Charity Commission was this week responding to the fourth report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, on its inquiry on freedom of speech in universities.

In the report, the committee said: The Commissions guidance is not easy to use, is in places unduly restrictive, could deter speech which is not unlawful and does not take adequate account of the importance of debate in a university setting.

It added that the Commissions current approach does not adequately reflect the important role student unions play in educating students through activism and debate. And that its generic guidance does not place due weight on the fact that inhibiting lawful free speech can do as much damage to a student unions reputation as hosting a controversial speaker.

In its response published yesterday, the regulator said that it believes that charity law rules are very clear, but said it recognises that trustees may find the judgements they may have to make in applying them, in a small number of occasions, challenging.

It added that the guidance is written to enable and support all charities, not just students unions or other higher education institutions, to recognise and manage the risks that arise from some activities that may present higher risks and to make those, sometimes challenging, judgements.

It added that its guidance should not be used, and is not intended ever to be used, to prohibit speakers with lawful, albeit unpopular, views.




Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, has launched a 15m fund for projects to tackle causes of youth violence and knife crime.

The Young Londonders Fund is open to applications from local community groups, charities, youth centres and schools until 9 July.

It is part of the Knife Crime Strategy launched last summer. The 45m Young Londoners Fund was created by Khan in March.

Khan said: Today I am launching the application process for community groups, charities, youth centres and schools to bid for a share of my Young Londoners Fund.



I refuse to accept that nothing can be done to stem the appalling rise of violent crime we are seeing across the country. Community and grass-roots projects play a vital role in tackling the causes of violent of crime within our communities, and giving more young Londoners the skills, support and aspirations they need to turn away from crime and fulfil their potential.

More about the fund is available here.
Scouting is one of the big success stories of the charity sector. In the UK, the movement has grown every year for the past 13.

Furthermore, since its previous strategy, Scouting for All, began in 2013, the charity has increased the number of girls involved in the movement as well as setting up over 800 new units in areas of deprivation.

Matt Hyde, chief executive of the Scouts, describes the progress made over the past four years as hugely successful. The challenge, says Hyde, is in maintaining that momentum through the next five-year plan - Skills for Life.

There is more to do - there is still a deficit between the number of young people who want to join the Scouts and the number of places available. With a waiting list of 50,000, attracting more volunteers is a must if the charity wants to expand.

Reach more people

But it is also necessary for the charity to refresh the programme for young people. The first step is helping 14 to 18 year olds to focus on building practical, employability and character skills.

Young people and volunteering are at the heart of everything the Scouts does, so its no surprise that the charity is aiming to offer scouting to an extra 50,000 young people, recruit an additional 10,000 volunteers and launch 500 new units in areas of deprivation.

But a key part of this recruitment drive is about reaching out to involve people from a more diverse range of backgrounds.

We know what a difference scouting makes, says Hyde. Indeed, various studies have demonstrated the long-term impact of being involved in scouting such being more likely to demonstrate leadership skills and work well in teams, and being less likely to suffer from a mood disorder or anxiety later in life. The benefits have been shown to be greater for those from more deprived backgrounds.

The focus on employability skills is an absolutely critical part of the new strategy.

We are preparing young people for jobs that havent been invented yet, says Hyde.

Social skills and creativity become more critical in a world of increased automation, because its difficult to automate those skills, he explains.

Attract more volunteers

Our success is all about how many volunteers we have, says Hyde. At the moment there are 160,000 adults involved as volunteers, which is the highest number of volunteers the charity has had, but Hyde says more are needed.

He wants to make Scouts a deliberate volunteering choice for more adults by making it easier to get involved and by offering better support once they are.

The Scouts also wants to attract a more diverse range of volunteers. To do this, the charity plans to to improve the volunteer experience and make it easier for people to volunteer.

When Hyde joined the Scouts as chief executive in 2013 he also became a volunteer and has been running a Beavers group.

Its shown me that by refreshing some of our systems to make them more useful and helpful to frontline volunteers were more likely to get people from different backgrounds, particularly those with no experience of volunteering.

Challenge outdated perceptions

It has been 17 years since the Scouts last changed its branding, which was developed in a pre-digital age.

Hyde says the latest rebrand was prompted by some outdated perceptions, with the intention to articulate the benefit of scouting and attract and appeal to new audiences.

This is particularly important when it comes to volunteering, as testing found that the new branding made people from BAME backgrounds more likely to sign up as a volunteer.

Were not beholden to the state

Independence from government is a key feature of scouting.

There is an enduring power of civil society organisations like the Scouts, Hyde says, and its important were not beholden to any government or state agenda.

But he says there are ways the government can support charities to do more.

The state can put wind in the sails, he says.

Hyde says that targeted investment from government can help us to go further and quicker in a way that is ultimately good value to the taxpayer.

The Scouts received government funding to help it to expand into areas of deprivation, using the money to pay for things like refurbishment and new equipment.

There are other ways the government can support the sector too though, for example making it easier for people to volunteer by having time off work.

To that end Hyde would like to see the government revisit a commitment in the Conservative Partys 2015 election manifesto to give people three days off work per year to volunteer.

Those are the sorts of things that make it easier for people to give their time and make scouting happen, he says.

Putting the young person at the centre

Hyde also says that the Scouts wants to continue to work collaboratively with other bodies in the sector to make the experience for young people as seamless as possible, and not force young people to choose between different programmes.

Last year the Scouts announced a partnership to work closely with the National Citizen Service programme. Scouts will deliver aspects of the programme and also recruit NCS graduates as volunteers.

Its very early days, says Hyde, but he believes it could ultimately become a virtuous circle.

This work builds on what the Scouts has been doing with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme for a number of years - the charity is actually one of the largest deliverers of the scheme outside of the school system.

Were putting the young person at the centre of our thinking here, he says. For those of you who want to, you dont have to make a choice between different organisations.

Civil Society Media is hosting its Charity People & Culture Conference on 18 September 2018. For more information, and to book, click here
The Scout Association has today launched a new five-year strategy and refreshed its look in a bid to reach more young people and increase its number of volunteers.

Under the new strategy, Skills for Life, the charity aims to reach 50,000 more young people and recruit 10,000 more volunteers.

There will be focus on recruiting more volunteers from diverse backgrounds and the Scouts also aims to open 500 more units in areas of deprivation.

To attract more volunteers, the Scouts will be improving its technology and revamping its recruitment and training processes to make sure that it is offering a programme that will develop the practical employability skills that young people need today.

In an interview with Civil Society News, chief executive Matt Hyde called the growth of scouting over the last 13 years one of the most uplifting stories in this country at the moment, but added that the challenge now is to keep the momentum going and keep moving with the times.

The Scouts currently has around 160,000 volunteers  the highest in the charity's history  but still need more.

Weve still got a waiting list of over 50,000 people, and therefore ensuring we have enough adult volunteers to keep up with the demand is key, he said.

Brand refresh

The Scouts has also carried out a refresh of its branding for the first time in 17 years to better reflect scouting in a digital age.

The new branding has gone live across online and social channels today and there will be a two-year transition period.

Hyde said: Weve seen the longest period of membership growth since the 1930s but there are still some outdated perceptions.

The aim of the brand refresh is to articulate the benefit of scouting by focusing on skills for life and also to attract and appeal to new audiences.

Read more from our interview with Matt Hyde here.

Civil Society Media is hosting its Charity People & Culture Conference on 18 September 2018. For more information, and to book, click here
Weve written about how adding the simple letter e can turn a word into another word with a different vowel sound and how it can change a noun into a verb. May we demurely refer one more time to the wonderful Tom Lehrer song Silent E, or would someone demur?

Yes, demure and demur are another pair of words that have all but the last letter in common, but really have nothing in common at all.

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(Diversion: For those who arise to object that the verb after words that in the previous sentence should be the singular has in order to match the singular pair, please stand down. The subject of that phrase is words, and we are speaking of them as individuals, not a single unit.)

Of those two words, demur is the oldest, showing up as a verb around 1230, the Oxford English Dictionary says. Its original, now obsolete meaning was To linger, tarry, wait, or, figuratively, to dwell upon something. Other obsolete meanings are similar: To stay, remain, abide; To last, endure, continue; and To be of doubtful mind.

So what does demur mean? See if you can figure out from these examples, even without first references:

Pressed on whether he would apologize for Sadlers remark, Bolton demurred . Ive said what Im going to say, he said.

. Ive said what Im going to say, he said. The AP reported outgoing Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) said he will vote for Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) over ex-federal consumer watchdog Richard Cordray (D) in the general election, but demurred on how much he will campaign for him.

on how much he will campaign for him. Its tempting, I know, to demur when your kids or your partner asks what you want for Mothers Day. Oh, just your company, you guys. Maybe a scone.

when your kids or your partner asks what you want for Mothers Day. Oh, just your company, you guys. Maybe a scone. Asked if he had any guidelines in mind, Mr. Pozen demurred . I dont think I have great answers, he said.

. I dont think I have great answers, he said. In a powerful moment, a city slicker tries to tell Bill about seeing 30 coyotes (an unlikely number) and when the man offers to shoot the animals for him, Bill sternly demures. Id just as soon no one go shooting into the herd of cows, he says.

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Times up! Well bet many of you said that demur means to hesitate to answer, to avoid answering, or something like that.

Except that its not supposed to mean that.

Merriam-Webster defines demur as to take exception : object. Websters New World College Dictionary says it means to hesitate because of ones doubts or objections; have scruples; object. Of the examples above, only the misspelled demures seems to be an objection. The others are less objection and more coy or hesitant non-answers.

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To hesitate all by itself is another obsolete meaning for demur in the OED. Maybe it isnt so obsolete after all, since that is how many journalists seem to be using it.

It should be easier to define demure from these examples:

If the design was demure and stayed low around the actual firebox, none of the upper dimension of the room would be noticed.

and stayed low around the actual firebox, none of the upper dimension of the room would be noticed. The demure Juliet seems at first completely overshadowed by her Nurse, played with great physical comedy and bawdy presence by special guest artist Renee OConnor.

Juliet seems at first completely overshadowed by her Nurse, played with great physical comedy and bawdy presence by special guest artist Renee OConnor. Its funny that we think of libraries as quiet, demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-wearing, bespectacled women.

places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-wearing, bespectacled women. Perhaps its because spring was less flirty this year and demurely played hard to get for all of March and most of April.

The image in your head might be that of a shy or modest person, perhaps with eyes downcast or eyelids aflutter. That would line up with Merriam-Websters definition: reserved, modest or affectedly modest, reserved, or serious : coy.

The OED says that the original definition, from about 1377, was Calm, settled, still, though it lists that usage as obsolete as well. More recently, it defines demure as sober, grave, serious, or coy in a way that is not natural to the person. In other words, not necessarily a shy or reserved person.

It might be good to demur to those dictionary definitions and ask, demurely, that dictionaries should do more catch up to the way those words are being used.

ICYMI: A big day for The Denver Post newsroom staff

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Merrill Perlman managed copy desks across the newsroom at the New York Times, where she worked for twenty-five years. Follow her on Twitter at @meperl.
The Facebook apology tour continues: The company announced on Monday that it has found at least 200 other apps that had access to user data in the same way that the app behind the infamous Cambridge Analytica leak did. A VP at the social network said in a blog post that Facebook is currently trying to determine whether that data was misused, and whether the companies in question deleted it as they were supposed to when Facebook changed the rules in 2014.

If youre wondering why it took the company four years to run this kind of audit, especially after multiple reports from individuals involved (like the whistleblower who revealed the Cambridge Analytica fiasco), youre not the only one. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that hes sorry it wasnt done sooner, but hasnt explained why the company didnt do such an audit earlier.

This should have happened years ago. And Facebook needs to pro-actively notify users impacted, not rely on them navigating to a webpage. Also worth noting: suspending an app doesnt delete all the data that it accessed, it simply prevents new data from being accessed. https://t.co/jIWx5NXm5T  Sandy Parakilas (@mixblendr) May 14, 2018

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Its also not clear whether 200 is the final number of apps that have been suspended as part of this investigation, or whether there are more to come, and the company so far hasnt identified any of the apps. According to the blog post:

Sign up for CJR 's daily email To date thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended  pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data. Where we find evidence that these or other apps did misuse data, we will ban them and notify people via this website. It will show people if they or their friends installed an app that misused data before 2015

In the Cambridge Analytica case, a seemingly harmless personality quiz designed by researcher Aleksandr Kogan got personal information on more than 85 million users without notifying them, because of the way Facebook was configured at the timeit not only allowed apps access to a users data, but also the personal data of all that users friends. In 2014, the company changed the rules so that apps can no longer get friend data, and it asked app developers to delete the data they had.

Cambridge Analytica, however, apparently didnt delete the data that it got from Kogan, and instead used that information to create psychographic profiles of Facebook users based on their likes and other behavior, and then used those profiles to target advertising and other content to Facebook users on behalf of clients like the Trump presidential election campaign. The company has since gone bankrupt, but the key players behind it have reportedly created a similar company called Emerdata.

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Mathew Ingram is CJRs chief digital writer. Previously, he was a senior writer with Fortune magazine. He has written about the intersection between media and technology since the earliest days of the commercial internet. His writing has been published in the Washington Post and the Financial Times as well as by Reuters and Bloomberg.
Cars that drive themselves are finding the clearest paths to showrooms in the U.K., Germany, South Korea and Singapore, where governments have enacted legislation allowing autonomous vehicles to be tested on public roads. And Chinas not far behind.

Those nations are outpacing the U.S., where the absence of national legislation to clarify a checkerboard of state rules hampers the deployment of driverless cars, Bloomberg New Energy Finance said in a report. California and Arizona lead the 50 states in allowing tests of driverless cars and host the largest fleets, according to the report released Tuesday.

Daimler AG, General Motors Co. and Tesla Inc. join technology companies Alphabet Inc. and Baidu Inc. in spending billions of dollars and filing thousands of patent applications in the quest to build cars with varying degrees of autonomy. The ultimate achievement is Level 5 autonomy, in which a car doesnt need a steering wheel.

Global governments want their own national champions in developing self-driving cars, but they hesitate to put them on public roads because the technologies are immature. While different cultural and political systems have contributed to the differences in legislation, Asian countries overall are very aggressive in allowing AVs on their roads, said Alejandro Zamorano, a San Francisco-based BNEF analyst who wrote the report.

In Europe, the U.K. is leading in shaping a conducive environment for testing, with four cities allowing public trials. France and Israel allow tests on their public roads on a case-by-case basis. As a result, both countries arent fulfilling their potential as hosts of large automakers and novel technology companies, according to BNEF.

Germany may have created a framework for other countries. It allows testing with a drivers hands off the wheel, but the carmaker is responsible for accidents if the system fails. Germany also has ethical principles in place that require car-driving software to prioritize human lives over animals and property.

South Korea, home to Hyundai Motor Co., is the silent leader, with plans to have AVs for sale by 2020, according to BNEF. The nation allows testing on 320 kilometers (200 miles) of public roads and is supporting construction of a test circuit called in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, set to open this year.

More than 40 cars are being tested on public roads by Hyundai, Samsung Group, Volkswagen Group and Seoul National University, among others.

Initially our impression is they are being relatively laggards, but in reality they are actually doing a lot, Zamorano said of Korean regulators.

Singapore is also swiftly executing strategy to help ease its congestion problems. Tests on public roads started in 2015, and the city-state is moving ahead with plans to deploy driverless buses. Port operator PSA Singapore may launch a tender for driverless vehicles at the Tuas mega port. according to a February report.

Yet the nation poised to overtake them all is China, which in April issued draft guidelines on road testing AVs and is reviewing a final version. The technology behind self-driving cars is considered critical to the governments plan to elevate the nations standing in the global auto industry.

China wants to deploy 30 million vehicles with some degree of autonomy within the next decade, fueling a domestic semiconductor industry and encouraging Baidu to create a self-driving platform called Apollo. The search-engine giant announced the $1.5 billion Apollo Fund to invest in 100 autonomous-driving projects over three years.

TuSimple Inc., a Beijing-based startup developing self-driving trucks, plans to start commercial operations in Shanghai and Arizona.

China said last year it wants half of all new vehicles to be equipped with some automation by 2020. The nation is putting everything in place to lead on AVs, the report said.

China proposes that provincial authorities manage tests - an approach federalist North American countries could benefit from, BNEF said. Seventeen U.S. states and only two Canadian provinces  Ontario and Quebec  allow road tests.

The U.S. and Canada have basically separated jurisdictions between the federal government and the states or provinces, Zamorano said. Its actually harmful to test autonomous vehicles because theres no clarity on whos allowed to do what.

To be sure, California is home to 52 autonomous car-testing programs, making it the largest open test ground in the world. The state adopted regulations for testing on public roads in September 2014, and an amendment in February allowed trying out the vehicles without a safety driver on board.

BNEF expects the passage of the U.S. Autonomous Vehicle Start Act, currently in the U.S. Senate, to ignite a string of tests across state lines. Eighteen states currently dont have any laws covering AVs.

Yet lawmakers still are debating key components of the federal bill. It could force arbitration in the case of an accident, meaning the victim of a crash couldnt participate in a class-action lawsuit against the technologys maker.

Consumer advocates are pushing against that provision, the report said.

As currently written, the act also wouldnt change safety standards for the vehicles. In the wake of two recent fatal crashes involving self-driving technology developed by Uber Technologies Inc. and Teslas driver-assistance system Autopilot, safety advocates want to make sure other motorists are protected.

The lack of federal leadership forces automakers to navigate a patchwork of regulations that range from the strict  like New Yorks requirement that state troopers trail self-driving test cars - to those in Florida and Arizona that allow cars without drivers on public roads.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Firefighters doused the blazing Tesla Inc. Model Xs battery pack, and then company engineers removed about one-quarter of its power cells before the vehicle was deemed safe to tow off of a California freeway.

That didnt prevent the powerful and highly flammable lithium-ion battery cells from reigniting. The car caught fire twice more within 24 hours of the March 23 fatal crash, and again six days later, according to a safety bulletin from the fire department in Mountain View.

Fires on electric vehicles are rare, but the volatile chemistry of their batteries and the need for special training on how to extinguish them raises new safety questions as automakers are poised to dramatically increase production. Techniques for putting out burning gasoline-fueled vehicles could make worse a blaze in a battery powered one.

Were in uncharted waters here, said Donald Sadoway, a professor of materials chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. When you start putting 70 kilowatt-hour packs in a car, its very different than what happens in a cellphone.

The growing popularity of lithium-based batteries that power everything from personal electronics to bicycles has periodically been marred by outbreaks of fires. Blazes in e-cigarettes, laptops and even battery packs on one of the most sophisticated jetliners in the world, the Boeing Co. 787, have led to government restrictions and frightening headlines.

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has opened investigations into two recent Tesla fires, along with an earlier blaze last year. The agency charged with setting vehicle safety standards, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on Thursday announced it was also gathering information on the most recent episode, on May 8 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Swiss police are also examining a fatal Tesla crash last week that triggered a fire.

The issue isnt new. NHTSA also has conducted reviews of battery fires in the past, including a General Motors Co.s Chevrolet Volt that caught fire in 2011, several weeks after the agency conducted crash tests on the vehicle. Other manufacturers whose cars have been involved in fires include the former Fisker Inc. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp.

Heat and Sparks

The components of lithium-ion rechargeable batteries make them inherently fire-prone.

Unlike gasoline, which needs a spark before it ignites, lithium cells contain their own ignition systems: large stores of energy that are transformed into heat and sparks when they short circuit. They also contain solvents that are powerful fuel for fires as well as oxidized metals that can feed oxygen to a blaze, complicating efforts to extinguish it.

This is a perennial problem with lithium-ion batteries, said Prashant Kumta, a University of Pittsburgh engineering professor who has studied battery chemistry.

While the battery industry has made huge strides in ensuring cells can perform safely during normal operation and recharging, there is little that can be done once cells are torn apart in a violent collision, Kumta said. In a phenomenon known as thermal runaway, a short-circuiting battery produces ever more heat, which creates a chain reaction of fire and more heat production in adjacent cells, he said.

Its basically like a fire cracker, he said. You have one battery that catches fire, then the next one catches fire and pretty soon theyre all on fire.

Comparing Risks

There were 174,000 fires on all motor vehicles in the U.S. in 2015, killing 445 people, according to the most-recent data from National Fire Protection Association.

The attention paid to the relative handful of Tesla fires compared to the thousands of other automobile fires has rankled the carmaker. The risk of a gasoline-powered car catching fire was more than four times higher than a Tesla Model S, company Chairman Elon Musk said in a 2013 blog post.

You are more likely to be struck by lightning in your lifetime than experience even a non-injurious fire in a Tesla, Musk said. The company didnt respond to a request for comment on the recent episodes.

In a 2011 press release, prompted by the Chevrolet Volt fire, the NHTSA said it did not believe electric cars were more susceptible to blazes than other cars.

After that fire, NHTSA conducted a series of tests on Volt battery packs. Out of six simulations of various types of accidents, two of the batteries caught fire, according to the agencys report. A search of crash records at the time found no evidence of other fires.

However, there is little government data on the occurrence of electric-vehicle fires, making it difficult to document the extent of the problem, said Jason Levine, executive director of the advocacy group Center for Auto Safety.

One of several troubling things about these fires is a real lack of usable, quantifiable data that would help everyone involved, Levine said.

Not only is it difficult to compare electric vehicles to gas-powered ones, its also impossible to compare the likelihood and severity of fires on Teslas with those on other lithium-battery-powered cars such as the Chevrolet Bolt, Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.s Leaf and BMWs i3, Levine said.

One fact that is not in dispute is the intensity of fires that occur in large lithium-ion battery packs.

Like Fireworks

Firefighters in Indianapolis who responded on Nov. 3, 2016, to a crash of a Model S that hit a tree and a building at high speed encountered what looked like a fireworks display as battery cells exploded and shot into the air, according to video shot by a news crew. The crash killed both people in the car.

In the Fort Lauderdale Tesla crash, two teenagers died and a third was injured when the car struck a concrete wall and burst into flames, according to police. Video of the scene shows fire engulfing the Model S.

NTSB has a long history of investigating emerging transportation technologies, such as lithium-ion battery fires in commercial aviation, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said in a statement announcing the agency was opening an investigation.

When the Model X in Mountain View slammed into the side of a concrete highway barrier, the front of the car was sheared off, damaging the battery pack located under the floor. About half of the car was on fire when crews arrived, said Chief Juan Diaz. It took about two minutes to extinguish the blaze, he added.

The driver, Walter Huang, was killed.

Mountain View is located in Silicon Valley, where electric vehicles are common and firefighters trained for battery fires at Teslas nearby factory in Fremont in 2014, the chief said. Still, the case illustrates how fire departments may need more training on the unique issues created by battery fires.

The fire crews used water mixed with chemicals that create a foam designed to snuff out gasoline fires, according to Diaz and photos of the scene.

However, foam isnt recommended by the National Fire Protection Association for batteries. NFPA guidelines call for using copious amounts of plain water on battery fires, as much as thousands of gallons. The water helps cool the battery, which is key to halting a fire.

Concerned that the battery was continuing to generate heat and worried about the risk of electrical shock, the firefighters called in Tesla engineers  which may not be possible if accidents arent located as close to the companys factory. They removed about 25 percent of the batterys cells, Diaz said.

Fire crews accompanied the tow truck that brought the car to a salvage yard because the battery continued to pop and hiss as gas vented from the power pack, Diaz said. It didnt reignite on the trip, but it caught fire again two more times within the next 24 hours and again six days later, Diaz said.

A crew had to drain the remnants of the battery of any electrical charge before it became safe, he said.

Scientists are working on promising lithium-ion battery formulations that will reduce the chances of fire and there may be ways to make battery cases more impact resistant, said John Warner, a consultant who is president of the National Alliance for Advanced Technology Batteries International, a trade group.

But until then, there needs to be more education for firefighters and other emergency workers, Warner said.

It is a relatively new technology from what the firefighters have dealt with in the past, he said. I think theres been some very good work done. Has it reached every fire department in the United States? Im not sure it has.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Over 50 people injured in Mahottari bus accident

More than 50 people were injured when a bus they were travelling in overturned at Parikauli Chowk in Jaleshwor Municipality along Bhitthamod-Janakpur road section in Mahottari on Tuesday.
Shake Shack is back. The American fast casual food chain's stock has been rallying since its May 4 first quarter earnings beat. But at nearly $60 a share, CNBC's Jim Cramer said the stock isn't worth the money.

"Unlike Shake Shack's reasonably priced burgers, the stock is incredibly expensive again and I just can't get behind anything where the risk-reward is so clearly not in your favor," Cramer said on "Mad Money" Monday.

"You might want to ring the register here or at least take part of your position off the table," he said.

Across the board, the restaurant industry benefited from President Donald Trump's tax reform. Shake Shack's stock jumped from around $30 a share to about $40 a share at the end of 2017. But it was after this year's first earnings report that the stock really took off  jumping 18 percent in a single day.

Cramer warned investors that the surge might not be sustainable.

"The problem with Shake Shack, from the very beginning, ever since it came public in 2015, is that this stock has been incredibly expensive, right from the get-go," Cramer said.
Delta Air Lines plans to announce new international routes in the coming weeks after U.S. and three Gulf carriers resolved a more than three-year-old dispute over unfair competition, the airline's CEO said Monday.

Delta and competitors American Airlines and United Airlines have complained for years about the expansion of three Persian Gulf carriers  Qatar Airways, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways and Dubai-based Emirates Airline, saying they receive state subsidies that have created unfair competition for the U.S. airlines.

In a January 2015 paper, the Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, a lobbying group representing the three U.S. airlines, said the three Middle Eastern carriers have received more than $40 billion in government subsidies and other "unfair advantages in the last decade alone." The Persian Gulf airlines have denied those allegations.

But on Friday, the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates, home to two of the three carriers mentioned in the dispute, reached a deal in which Etihad and Emirates would open up their books, providing financial statements that are up to international accounting standards. Qatar reached a similar agreement with the U.S. earlier this year.

Delta's CEO Ed Bastian said the deal would allow Delta to add new destinations.

"We've been hurt in India," he said, although he did not specify which cities Delta is planning to add. He said routes currently served by those three Gulf carriers is "ripe for our opportunity to fly."

Delta called off its Atlanta-Dubai flight in 2015, saying it was because of unfair competition from the Gulf carriers. United is the only U.S. carrier offering nonstop service to India.

Emirates, which has added flights to the U.S. in recent years, has also introduced what is known as "fifth freedom" flights, flying to or from a destination other than the carrier's home country, with service to Milan and Athens from the New York City area.

The United Arab Emirates said in a statement that the agreement with the U.S. meant "business as usual by validating all of the rights and benefits  including 'Fifth Freedom' services."

The lobbying group representing the big three U.S. airlines, however, said the United Arab Emirates had agreed that it wouldn't allow more of those flights.
PA member sentenced to one year prison for smuggling forest products

A Province Assembly lawmaker of Rautahat has been sentenced to one year prison on the charge of smuggling forest products.
Millennials recently passed Baby Boomers as the prime rental group in the United States, comprising 20.8 percent of the population (roughly 68 million people). This means many of those aged 22 to 37 years old are finally moving out of their parents' homes and renting for the first time. With a national shortage of rental units and price increases, it's not easy finding a place to live, especially in high-cost cities like San Francisco and Washington D.C.

"Millennials make a lot of rookie mistakes when they are looking, because they don't consider everything there is to know," says Gary Saharov, a realtor with Caliber Associates in New York City, who sees about 20 young apartment hunters a week. Here are five mistakes to avoid, and what to do instead.

1. Instead of sticking to online listings, try different methods

According to Zillow Research, four out of five renters go online to search for apartments, the majority being millennials. This is because technology has changed the apartment rental experience, and even agents are spending less time at the desk and closing deals on their cell phones. There are a lot of helpful real estate sites like Renthop, HotPads and Naked Apartments.

However, you could be missing some listings. For example, brokers have access to the Residential Listing Service (RLS) database, which provides every listing available, even those you won't find on a website. And according to Naked Apartments, 30 percent of renters find an apartment through a connection (like posting on Facebook that you're looking for a place). And if you have a bigger budget, luxury condos generally have on-site leasing offices, and there's no fee for rentals.

2. Forget high season. For cheaper rent, move during off-peak months

The rental market is seasonal, according to Saharov. High season is generally April to September, when the majority of apartment hunters, from recent graduates to those who want to move in better weather, look to sign a lease.

"Months like December and January are not as hectic, and you can find cheaper rentals, often $50 to $150 less a month," says Saharov. Because there's more availability and less demand, management offices tend to offer free months and no fees in slower months as opposed to high season.

3. Stop searching for apartments too early or late  there's an ideal timeframe

Many young people look for apartments three months out or two weeks before moving, which is too far and near.

"They've heard stories regarding how quickly rentals go and how fast the market moves, so they think starting early will guarantee a spot," explains Saharov. He's also had people look for apartments at the very last minute because they're not educated properly.

In reality, "The best time to make a decision is 30 to 24 days before move-in date," says Saharov. "That's when apartments typically come onto the market. For instance, an apartment available July 1 will most likely be listed June 1. You will see the most recent apartments available and can apply at that time, and it only takes a day for the application to process. The ideal apartment you found a week ago is probably not going to exist."

4. Don't get stuck on an amenity. Think about what it is you really need

Flexibility is key when searching for apartments. Do you really need a doorman or would another form of security be acceptable too?

"I had a client who strictly wanted a doorman. Based on her other preferences and getting to know her personality, I showed her a cool building with a virtual doorman, and she loved that the unit had a bigger space and cheap rent, so she took it," says Saharov. "Some people set up standards but in reality they really don't care when they actually see the places."

5. Just because you think you can afford the rent doesn't mean the landlord agrees. Have a guarantor ready

A guarantor is someone who signs their name to the rental contract and will pay the rent in the event you don't.

It's quite common for young people to need a gaurantor in major, metropolitan cities like New York City, San Francisco and Washington D.C. Jeffrey Geller, COO of Insurent, a private company that serves as a gaurantor for qualified renters, says approximately 55 percent of customers are young people.

"There's been an increase in millennials since we launched in 2008, due to landlords wanting to further minimize their risk and definite need for an institutional guarantor."

In New York City, a guarantor must have good credit, make 80 times the rent and can be a combination of people (like both your mom and uncle). Outside NYC, requirements for a guarantor vary, determined by landlords and management companies, who can tell you specific details when you inquire about a rental.

"It's really only major metro cities that you need guarantors," Geller says. "Smaller cities, like Saratoga, Florida, for instance, are much more open in rental requirements and require much less."

Common customers Insurent works with are college grads and professionals entering the job market, international students, self-employed millennials who don't have great credit, U.S. students whose parents don't meet the guarantor requirements in their city and U.S. students who don't necessarily want to go to their parents.

"College grads aren't always going to make 40 times the rent, a common requirement in most metro cities in the U.S.," Geller says. "In the past they took cheaper apartments or got roommates so they didn't have to ask their parents. Now there are other ways."

Don't miss: Here's how much you have to earn to live comfortably in the 15 largest US cities

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After a bitter proxy battle from Wynn Resorts' largest shareholder, the casino giant Monday announced more changes to its board  and just days before the company's annual meeting is scheduled.

The company said legacy board member John J. Hagenbuch will no longer stand for re-election to the board. Also, the Las Vegas-based company announced that another longtime director, Robert J. Miller, tendered his resignation from the board.

The announcement comes ahead of Wednesday's scheduled annual shareholder meeting, where Hagenbuch faced the risk of losing his seat on the board after a proxy fight led by Elaine P. Wynn, the company's largest investor. Miller, a former governor of Nevada, has been a member of the company's board for more than a decade but wasn't up for re-election this year.

Elaine P. Wynn, holder of more than 9.2 percent of Wynn Resorts stock, recently launched a campaign she's titled "Restore Wynn," to force change on the company she co-founded and served as a director until April 2015. In recent filings in connection with the proxy battle, she has indicated that the company long controlled by her ex-husband "needs and deserves a new board that is truly independent and wholeheartedly committed to the company's long-term success."

Steve Wynn sold his 12 percent stake in the company in March for $2.1 billion. He has denied the sexual misconduct allegations first reported in January by The Wall Street Journal.

Three independent proxy advisory firms  Institutional Shareholder Services, Egan-Jones Proxy Services and Glass Lewis & Co.  came out in support of Elaine P. Wynn's position to withhold votes from Hagenbuch. The three advisory firms also have backed her position to recommend that shareholders at the upcoming annual meeting vote against the company's executive compensation plan  the so-called say on pay.

Elaine P. Wynn has called Hagenbuch a "close friend" of her ex-husband and criticized Hagenbuch's role on a special committee of the Wynn Resorts board investigating the allegations against her former husband. "No one with close personal ties to Mr. Wynn should serve on this committee," she said in a recent filing.

Hagenbuch would have been required to receive over 50 percent of the votes from shareholders to stay on the company's board.

"The shareholders have spoken," Elaine P. Wynn said in a statement. "The resignations today of John J. Hagenbuch and Robert J. Miller represent a good step towards establishing the 'New Wynn,' but there remains more work to be done."

In its statement, the company said, "These departures, along with the previously announced departures of directors Steve Wynn, Ray Irani, and Ted Virtue, and the upcoming departure of director Alvin Shoemaker in 2019, represent 60 percent of the board that was serving at the beginning of the year and will reduce the median tenure of directors to less than three years."

ISS, the proxy advisory firm, has been critical of the legacy directors for their handling of the allegations against Steve Wynn and the length of time it took to get diversity on the Wynn Resorts board. In April, the company named three women as new independent board members.

In its statement Monday, Wynn Resorts noted the election of three new female board members last month and said that change means the current representation of female directors is "almost 50 percent."

Hagenbuch, a six-year board member, is chairman of M&H Realty Partners and WestLand Capital Partners, investment firms he co-founded. He served on the three-member special committee of the Wynn Resorts board investigating the allegations against Steve Wynn.

"We respect Jay's decision to withdraw his candidacy for re-election to the board, and we are immensely grateful for his many contributions to the company over the course of his 5 years of service," D. Boone Wayson, non-executive chairman of Wynn's board of directors, said of Hagenbuch. "Jay has helped drive change and long-term value creation at Wynn, and his decision to remove himself from the company's ballot to end the distraction of the withhold campaign is a reflection of his loyalty to Wynn Resorts and his commitment to the success of this company."

Hagenbuch was quoted in a release issued by the company: "Over the past three months, the board has done a remarkable job maintaining stability at Wynn and managing through a tumultuous time that could easily have caused much deeper disruption to the company's business. There is still more work to be done, and I do not want my candidacy to detract from the important progress we have made throughout the organization, including the ongoing refreshment process this board has initiated."

Miller had been a director on the Wynn Resorts board since 2002, and his term was scheduled to expire at the company's 2020 annual meeting.

"The time has come to leave the past behind and allow Wynn Resorts to embrace a wonderful future," Miller said in a statement in Monday's release by the company. "I am thrilled with the recent additions of Betsy Atkins, Dee Dee Myers and Wendy Webb to the board, and I believe a new standard of excellence in corporate leadership has been established. My departure will afford the board the opportunity to continue to bring on new, independent voices and fresh perspectives."
An investor observes the stock market at a stock exchange hall on Apr. 19, 2018, in Nanjing, China.

MSCI on Tuesday announced that 234 China A shares will be added to its relevant global and regional indexes, including the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, on June 1.

The index giant said in a release it had added 11 companies and deleted nine from its MSCI China A inclusion index, bringing the total number of index constituents to 234 following its May index review.

Among the China A shares, referring to stocks traded on the mainland, to be included are Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank, China's first and second largest banks, respectively. Oil major PetroChina, China's biggest oil producer, is also part of the list.

The 234 stocks will represent an aggregate weight of 0.39 percent in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index when they are included, according to the index giant. The second phase of the inclusion will occur in September.

"The inclusion of A-shares in the MSCI indices is likely to increase the participation of foreign institutional investors. In the medium to long term, this will help the A-share market to become more sophisticated, improve liquidity and see it increasingly driven by fundamentals rather than short-term market noise," Raymond Ma, portfolio manager at Fidelity International, said in a statement.

Ma added that he will be "most constructive" on the consumer, information technology and industrials sectors following the MSCI inclusion.

The inclusion is seen as relatively small, given its 5 percent inclusion factor when completed, but some analysts are upbeat about its impact on long-term inflows.

Although the inclusion is a "mere drop in the ocean compared to the actual size of the China domestic market, it will still mark China's grand entrance into global investment benchmarks," said Howard Wang, head of greater China equities at J.P. Morgan Asset Management.

J.P. Morgan expects some $6.6 billion in passive inflows to likely migrate to MSCI China companies in the near term.

Active flows could be as much as five times larger than passive flows, amounting up to $40 billion of flows into Chinese securities, creating a powerful tailwind, according to J.P. Morgan.

MSCI had first announced in June last year that it would be adding mainland Chinese shares to its benchmark emerging markets index after rejecting them for three years.



The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is tracked by more than $1.9 trillion in assets, as of the end of 2017.



Stock indexes on the mainland have come under pressure this year, with the benchmark down more than 4 percent so far. The blue-chip CSI 300 index, meanwhile, has fallen around 3 percent.

 CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.

Clarification: This story has been updated to more accurately reflect the types of shares that are expected to see passive inflows.
How would you like to start your working day at the bar? It might sound like a dangerous offer, but at Diageo, it isn't just allowed, it's encouraged. Take its Singapore office for example, which boasts not one but two watering holes. A main bar sits at the "heart" of the 17,000 square-foot workplace, while the world's only in-house Johnnie Walker whisky room provides an exclusive backdrop for all-important client meetings.

Inside Diageo's Singapore office Diageo

The two bespoke spaces are not simply a ploy to keep spirits high at the global alcohol producer. They're all part of its strategy to create a collaborative and inspiring environment, as Leesa Rawlings, head of talent engagement for APAC, told CNBC's "Office Envy" during a tour of the building. "Our whole space here was actually designed along Diageo's global design principles, which are really about how to be inclusive, how to bring people into the work space and also how to make sure that people work in a collaborative fashion," Rawlings said.

Inside Diageo's Singapore office Diageo

The main Diageo bar is part of a wider open-plan work space, which incorporates a living room area and a hot-desk layout to encourage teamwork among the office's 174 staff. "We have 'hot-desking' in the purest sense of the word  we have no desktops, we have no screens, we have very little cords," explained Rawlings.

It becomes a place at night where we can bring our friends and family. Leesa Rawlings Diageo's head of talent engagement for APAC

"Everything is hidden to create a clean and uncluttered view and we can move to any work space that we want to, depending on what the work is that we need to do." The central bar, which showcases Diageo brands such as Baileys, Smirnoff and Guinness, is accessible as a work space for staff throughout the day.

At Diageo Singapore, the office has its very own "Johnnie Walker House" Diageo

But it also plays host to regular internal and external events and is open to guests at the end of the week. "It becomes a place at night where we can bring our friends and family every Thursday and Friday night, to celebrate the wonderful products we have and the amazing view," said Rawlings. The piece de resistance, however, is the exclusive Johnnie Walker whisky room. Dubbed "the million-dollar room" on account of the value and rarity of the whiskies housed inside, it is the company's only bespoke in-office whisky room in the world and it requires an invitation to enter.
Some telecommunications stocks did not do as well as they could have last year, and J.P. Morgan thinks it knows why.

The bank said in an April note that some investors grew concerned in 2017 about returns  or the lack of them  on so-called 5G mobile network technology, which is designed to deliver faster data speeds.

J.P. Morgan analysts said they found "depressed valuation" for Chinese, Japanese, South Korea and Australian telecommunications stocks. Those markets are likely to be the first in the region to roll out 5G, according to the bank.

All told, companies in the Asian telecom sector underperformed the MSCI Asia Index by 18 percent in the 12 months to April 2018, the analysts said.

But the bank dismissed 5G concerns as coming "too early" and said many telecom stocks could be showing a disconnect between their current price and their actual value.

James Sullivan, head of Asia ex-Japan equity research at J.P. Morgan, told CNBC that the media attention being paid to 5G is significantly outpacing the technology's impact in the real world. Many of its uses are still theoretical because complementary technologies don't really exist yet.

"It's not really about faster download speeds," he said. "It's about internet of things, autonomous vehicles and things of that nature for which no one understands a monetization case for networks yet."
Brokerages have started alerting clients that they can choose a person to be contacted if their advisor suspects fraud is occurring or there is mental decline in the account owner.

When your advisor asks if you want to name a so-called "trusted contact" for your investment accounts, don't view the decision lightly. As a result of a securities rule change that took effect several months ago, brokerages are in the process of asking clients if they want to choose a person who would be contacted if their advisor suspects fraud or mental decline. "It's important to be careful about the person you name," said Marve Ann Alaimo, a partner at the law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur in Naples, Florida. "You need to make sure it's someone who can be trusted to do the right thing with any information they're given from your advisor."

PeopleImages | Getty Images

The rule change is part of securities regulators' efforts to battle financial fraud against seniors. Each year, older Americans lose roughly $36.5 billion to fraud, according to 2015 estimates from retirement planning site True Link. Additionally, a year-over-year increase in the number of cases and complaints involving senior financial fraud and exploitation was reported last year by 29 percent of state securities regulators, according to the North American Securities Administrators Association. In conjunction with the trusted contact requirement issued in February, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority also began allowing brokers to put a temporary hold on a requested account withdrawal if financial exploitation is suspected. In that kind of situation, the broker could reach out to the trusted contact with their concerns.

Elder financial fraud cases Issue Percentage of cases reported Third-party abuse/exploitation 27% Account distributions 26% Family member, trustee or power of attorney taking advantage 23% Diminished capacity 12% Combined diminished capacity and third-party abuse 12% Fraud 6.30% Elder exploitation 5.70% Friend, housekeeper or caretaker taking advantage <1% Excessive withdrawals <1%

While clients are not required to provide a trusted contact, brokers must ask if they want to name one. All new accounts must include the option. Many brokerages have already begun alerting existing clients about the change. Some firms let you name a trusted contact online, while others are discussing the choice with clients in person. "We believe the best approach is to have a conversation about the trusted contact opportunity with each client, as it can lead to important information about our clients  family relationship dynamics, for example  that can help us more deeply serve their needs," said John Ellis, a principal with Edward Jones.
Alaska Airlines plans to close its New York pilot base in September to reinforce its West Coast fleet, asking more than 100 pilots to relocate to California in a matter of months.



Alaska struck a $2.6 billion deal to acquire Virgin America in April 2016 and grew Alaska into the fifth largest airline in the U.S., serving over 44 million passengers in 2017.



Pilots that fly routes from New York area airports, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport, will relocate and deploy from West Coast hubs this fall. The company's aircraft will still serve New York.

Prior to the merger, Virgin America competed with established airlines on this transcontinental route for over a decade, by advertising as the cool, alternative airline of Silicon Valley.



"This was a difficult decision  but a necessary one  based on the need to match our pilot staffing with the geographic areas on the West Coast where we deploy our aircraft every day. All of our JFK-based pilots are being offered the opportunity to transfer to either Los Angeles or San Francisco," a spokesperson for the airline told CNBC via email. Alaska offers 14 flights a day to JFK and the company says it will add another in July.

Mid-continental and East Coast routes accounted for 4 percent of the Alaska's flight composition back in 2013, but it climbed to 10 percent after the merger. In that same timeframe, Alaska's California presence has climbed from 15 percent to 25 percent in network composition, which could increase after the transition.



Alaska now serves 115-plus destinations from seven hubs along the West Coast. The airline leads domestic seat share in Seattle, Portland and Anchorage. It ranks second in San Francisco and fifth at Los Angeles International Airport.

United Airlines still accounts for more than 40,000 seats per day at SFO, nearly four times more than Alaska. At Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Delta has increased its stake by offering 50-plus destinations including eight foreign countries. Alaska will also face tough competition down the road in Hawaii, as Southwest Airlines is launching a low-cost service from four California cities, including inter-island routes.
Alex Frommeyer comes from a family of dentists. Now, he has a start-up that sells dental insurance, but with a twist.

The Columbus, Ohio, company, called Beam Dental, started out by selling Bluetooth-connected toothbrushes, meaning that their product communicates with an app.

Once they got people using it, the founders saw an opportunity to use more than a year's worth of data they collected to move into the dental insurance market. The idea is to figure out which of their users are regularly flossing and brushing their teeth, and therefore less likely to run into expensive problems like root canals and cavities, and offer them cheaper rates and other incentives.

That insurance product, which is now available in 16 states, earned the company a fresh round of $22.5 million in financing led by Kleiner Perkins.

That puts the company's total funding at more than $30 million.

Customers who sign up for Beam's plan get shipped a connected toothbrush plus a regular supply of things like floss and replacement heads. Those who opt-in to use the smart brush -- and share that data with the app -- can get a lower rate on their premiums.

The company stresses that it doesn't share the data about its users' brushing parties with third-parties.

For Kleiner, Beam represents an opportunity to crack into a lucrative corner of the medical insurance market. As Frommeyer puts it, dental involves "significantly fewer regulatory and network headwinds," than traditional health insurance.

Lucas Swisher from Kleiner, who's joining the Beam board as part of the investment, estimates that the dental market is worth about $78 billion. The firm believes there's an opportunity for entrepreneurs to differentiate themselves from incumbents by focusing on technology and the consumer experience.

"When I think about places that haven't been touched by technology," adds Noah Knauf, a general partner with the firm, "I think of dental insurance, which is primitive."

The dental insurance market is currently dominated by Delta Dental, United Healthcare and other insurance behemoths. But in recent years, a handful of well-funded technology start-ups have emerged in the space from Beam to SmileDirectClub. Many of these are focused more on cosmetic issues, with 3-D printed aligners to straighten teeth, rather than on insurance, by that might change in the coming years.

Both Kleiner and Beam declined to disclose the company's revenues, or its most recent valuation.

But Frommeyer did say that the insurance product has expanded to more than 1,000 small to medium-sized businesses, giving it a steady supply of revenue. The contracts are typically signed on an annual basis, he said.

By the end of the year, he said, the company hopes to expand to 35 states.

Kleiner's partners intend to remain active in the health-technology space, despite reports that its life sciences partner Beth Seidenberg will step down from her role at the firm to start her own fund.

Knauf has extensive health sector investing experience, and the company also still works closely with veteran health investor Brook Byers, as well technology investor John Doerr, who's increasingly investing in health.
Memorial Day weekend is here, and travel delays have the ability to derail even the most perfectly planned vacation. A new study reveals the best and worst airports for on-time summer flights.

Financial website MagnifyMoney analyzed airport arrival data from the Department of Transportation for the 50 busiest U.S. airports between 2008 and 2017.

It found that, despite blizzards and worrisome weather, slightly over half (52 percent) of airports have more summer than winter travel delays. Huge hubs with more summer delays include airports in New York, Texas and Florida.

And one month is especially treacherous: 76 percent of the airports analyzed had the most summer delays in June. (Using 2017 flight data, Expedia found that June is also a more expensive summer month for airfare, with the average ticket costing roughly $100 more than in August, the cheapest summer month for airfare.)

The MagnifyMoney study also revealed that delays are increasingly common, with 54 percent of airports logging worse summer arrival rates in 2017 than in 2016.

So, how does your local airport stack up?

Newark Liberty International airport in Newark, New Jersey, is the worst airport for on-time summer travel, with only 67 percent of those arrivals clocking in on time, based on a 10-year average from 2008 to 2017. New York City's LaGuardia Airport comes in second, followed by San Francisco International Airport.

As for best on-time arrival rates, Honolulu, Hawaii, claimed the top spot, with 86.7 percent of airport arrivals being on-time in the summer, based on a 10-year average between 2008 and 2017. Salt Lake City, Utah, ranks second and Orange County, California, rounds out the top three.

The top 10 worst airports for on-time summer travel, according to MagnifyMoney:

1. Newark, New Jersey: Newark Liberty International Airport (67 percent on-time)

2. New York , New York: LaGuardia Airport (68 percent on-time)

3. San Francisco, California: San Francisco International Airport (69.2 percent on-time)

4. New York, New York: John F. Kennedy International Airport (70.5 percent on-time)

5. Boston, Massachusetts: Logan International Airport (72.5 percent on-time)

6. Chicago, Illinois: O'Hare International Airport (73.3 percent on-time)

7. Miami, Florida: Miami International Airport (74.4 percent on-time)

8. Washington, D.C.: Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (74.4 percent on-time)

9. Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina: Raleigh-Durham International Airport (74.6 percent on-time)

10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Philadelphia International Airport (74.6 percent on-time)

The top 10 best airports for on-time summer travel, according to MagnifyMoney:

1. Honolulu, Hawaii: Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (86.7 percent on-time)

2. Salt Lake City, Utah: Salt Lake City International Airport (86 percent on-time)

3. Orange County, California: John Wayne Airport (82.3 percent on-time)

4. Phoenix, Arizona: Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (81.9 percent on-time)

5. Seattle, Washington: Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (81.5 percent on-time)

6. Portland, Oregon: Portland International Airport (81.4 percent on-time)

7. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (81.1 percent on-time)

8. San Jose, California: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (80.5 percent on-time)

9. Detroit, Michigan: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (80.3 percent on-time)

10. Las Vegas, Nevada: McCarran International Airport (79.6 percent on-time)

Don't miss: 5 of the biggest travel booking mistakes people makeand how to avoid them

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The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange application seen on the screen of an iPhone.

"We think this can unlock $10 billion of institutional investor money sitting on the sideline," said Adam White, vice president and general manager. "We're seeing a rapid increase in attention awareness and adoption in the cryptocurrency market."

The San Francisco-based company announced the launch on Tuesday of four new products aimed at that investor class: Coinbase Custody, Coinbase Markets, The Coinbase Institutional Coverage Group and Coinbase Prime.

Top U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is focusing on a group that has been especially cautious to dive into the volatile market: institutional investors.

While bitcoin's 1,300 percent rise to almost $20,000 in 2017 was led by retail investors, the new products could usher in more institutional investors and solve the problems that made many of them wary of the space, White said.

Security is one of those issues. Fiat money stored in banks is insured but in cryptocurrency, funds that are lost or stolen have little or no possibility of recovery. Coinbase is looking to be the trusted custodian by launching Coinbase Custody.

The company has already stored more than $20 billion in cryptocurrency on behalf of customers through its exchange but until the announcement did not have a separate product to handle that. Coinbase Custody is a partnership with a SEC-regulated broker-dealer that will store cryptocurrency for its clients.

Wall Street's interest in cryptocurrency seems to be increasing. There are currently 287 crypto hedge funds, up from 175 in a year earlier, according to the latest data from Autonomous Next. Only 20 hedge funds for cryptocurrency existed in 2016. Goldman Sachs is reportedly looking to open a cryptocurrency trading desk, and White said others will be quick to follow.

"Very few want to be first, but everyone wants to be second," he said. "There will be fast followers."

The 6-year old company says it has traded $150 billion in assets on its platform and has more than 20 million customers. Last year, it brought in a reported $1 billion in revenue, according to Recode, and has drawn in more than $225 million in funding from the world's top investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and the New York Stock Exchange. Recode also reported that the company valued itself at about $8 billion when it made an offer in its recent acquisition for Earn.com.

Coinbase is best-known for its trading platform, which offers bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ethereum and litecoin. It's now offering a separate platform exclusively for institutional investors called Coinbase Prime.

"The feedback we heard from institutional investors was 'Your infrastructure doesn't meet our expectations,'" White said. "We heard that loud and clear."

The new platform will have a separate interface from Coinbase's GDAX exchange but all investors will have access to the same pool of liquidity.

Coinbase Markets is the company's new electronic marketplace, which will be run out of an office opening in Chicago. It provides a centralized pool of liquidity for all of the company's products.

The fourth product, Coinbase Institutional Coverage Group, was designed for "white glove" customer service that institutions like banks are used to. The group will be run out of the New York City office, and will help bring on board new clients and sell the service to additional investors looking to get into crypto.

"This is our public demonstration [that] we are absolutely here to serve institutions investing heavily to do that," White said.
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
As student debt grows, so do the plans to squelch it. Some of the ideas are pretty creative: New Jersey, for example, is considering establishing a lottery for borrowers burdened by student debt. Other ways of getting money to eliminate your education debt don't rely on luck, but rather require rolling up your sleeves or knowing historical facts. Keep in mind, however, that these endeavors aren't free aid. The funds are taxable, even money from an organization in return for volunteer work. "All money you receive for volunteering or win on a trivia app or lottery is considered income by the IRS," said Mark Kantrowitz, a student loan expert. Here are some of the ways to get other people to pay off your debt.

1) At your job

Currently, just 4 percent of employers offer student debt assistance. But that's changing as more employers come to realize education debt is a problem for many of their workers, said Katie Berliner, account executive at YouDecide, a benefits firm. "In order to attract and retain talent, employers are looking at offering contributions to people's student loans," Berliner said. Companies that have offered their employees help with their student loans include Aetna, Penguin Random House, Nvidia and Staples. Fidelity announced recently that 25 employers  including Hewlett Packard Enterprise, New York Air Brake and Millennium Trust  plan to implement its student debt employer contribution program, with 9,000 employees expected to enroll by the end of June. (Fidelity also offers a student debt benefit for its own employees.) "Do a quick Google search and find the employers who are out there doing this," Berliner said. Most likely the company you're interviewing with won't offer the benefit, but that shouldn't stop you from asking about it, Berliner said. "In the course of the interview, there comes a point where the interviewer says, 'Do you have any questions?'" Berliner said. "It would not be out of line to say: 'I want to get your perspective on whether you think this a valuable benefit.'"

2) By volunteering
British low-cost airline easyJet will expand its holiday business and add a loyalty scheme as new CEO Johan Lundgren seeks to make his mark on the company after reporting strong first-half results.



EasyJet said on Tuesday it would invest more in easyJet Holidays, with Lundgren positioning the company to better compete against his former employer holiday company TUI and its rival Thomas Cook.



"It is a great set of numbers, it is actually one of the best-ever winter performances that the company has had," easyJet CEO Johan Lundgren told CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe" on Tuesday.



Lundgren also said he would focus on attracting business passengers and introducing a new loyalty programme, strategies which he believes will drive higher returns for shareholders.



The new focus comes after easyJet swung into profit for the first half, on results that excluded the costly impact of its expansion into Berlin's Tegel airport last year.

In the traditionally weaker winter half-year period when fewer Europeans travel, easyJet posted a pretax profit of 8 million pounds ($10.8 million), a big improvement on the 212 million pound loss it made in the same period last year.
Mark Zuckerberg likely won't testify before Parliament, according to UK officials.

Members of Parliament had previously said they would summon the Facebook CEO to testify on the Cambridge Analytica data leak the next time he arrived in the country  but Facebook officials have now responded that Zuckerberg has no plans to do so.

"It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points," Parliamentary member Damian Collins said in a statement issued Tuesday.

Zuckerberg spent ten grueling hours before the U.S. Congress last month, but has declined multiple invitations to answer questions before UK lawmakers. The CEO and social media company are facing regulatory probes following reports that British research firm Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed the personal information of as many as 87 millions Facebook users.

"If Mark Zuckerberg truly recognises the 'seriousness' of these issues as they say they do, we would expect that he would want to appear in front of the Committee and answer questions that are of concern not only to Parliament, but Facebook's tens of millions of users in this country," Collins said.

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that Zuckerberg "has no plans" to meet with UK officials but said, "We fully recognize the seriousness of these issues and remain committed to providing any additional information required for their enquiry into fake news."

Here's the full statement from Collins:
Health officials are in a different position to respond to the current Ebola outbreak than they were during the last one, U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.

Democratic Republic of Congo has 39 suspected, probable and confirmed cases of Ebola since April, including 19 deaths, the World Health Organization said Monday. The country agreed to allow the WHO to administer Merck's experimental Ebola vaccine.

An outbreak in West Africa in 2014 was the deadliest occurrence of the disease since it was discovered in 1976, killing more than 11,300 people, according to the WHO.

The FDA is monitoring this situation "very closely," Gottlieb told CNBC, but health officials are "in a very different posture" than last time.

"I think the world is more galvanized, the WHO has stepped in very aggressively and very early," he said. "We have therapeutics available right now, including the potential for a vaccine, so we're differently armed than the last time we had a global crisis related to Ebola."

"That said, this is a scary infection and we're monitoring it very closely."
Gina Haspel, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) nominee for President Donald Trump, speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

With the letter, Haspel takes a stance she publicly would not take during a tense confirmation hearing before the intelligence panel last week. Facing questions about her fitness for the job partly because of her role in overseeing a secret CIA prison, Haspel stopped short of condemning the interrogation program on ethical grounds.

The tactics are widely considered torture, although proponents of the program, including former Vice President Dick Cheney , dispute that label.

In a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner dated Monday, Haspel writes that the so-called enhanced interrogation program "is not one the CIA should have undertaken." She stresses that she will not "condemn those that made these hard calls" following the terror attacks.

Gina Haspel, President Donald Trump 's pick to lead the CIA, now says the spy agency should not have used the brutal interrogation methods it employed in the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Later Tuesday, Warner said he would support Haspel's nomination, joining two Democratic colleagues in supporting her and giving a major boost to her chances of becoming CIA director. The senator said he faced a "difficult decision" but felt Haspel was "forthcoming regarding her views on the interrogation program."

"I'm going to support Gina Haspel's nomination to be Director of the CIA. I also respect my colleagues who have made a different decision," Warner said in a statement.

Shortly after Warner announced his support, Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Bill Nelson, D-Fla., also said they would back Haspel, further bolstering her bid. Both senators face re-election in a state Trump won later this year.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is scheduled to vote on Haspel's nomination Wednesday. It's not yet clear when the full Senate would vote on whether to confirm her.

Two other red-state senators up for re-election this year  Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana  have announced they will support Haspel. Sen. John McCain  an Arizona Republican who was tortured during the Vietnam War  and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., have both said they will oppose Trump's choice to lead the CIA.

Republicans have pressed red-state Democrats including Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heitkamp, Manchin and Donnelly to support Haspel's confirmation. Sen. Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat up for re-election this year, has already said he will oppose her.

During the hearing last week, Haspel tried to assure lawmakers that she would not allow the use of the interrogation tactics that are broadly viewed as torture. As a candidate, Trump said he supports the use of waterboarding or worse tactics.

Repeatedly pressed about whether she would allow tactics she considers immoral, Haspel at times evaded senators' questions and noted that the CIA does not have a formal role in interrogations.

She said she would not restore "under any circumstances" an interrogation program at the CIA and supports the "higher moral standard" the U.S. holds now.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) needs to reach an agreement with Greece and its European creditors by next week to ensure that the fund has enough time to give money to the embattled nation.

Greece has been seeking debt relief  a relaxation of the terms for paying back its debts  since 2015, but the issue has dragged on due to opposition from several EU member states. Certain European countries, some of which are the largest lenders to Greece, are against significant debt forgiveness as they don't want to be seen by their citizens as ongoing contributors to what they see as economic malpractices in their southern European neighbor.

Speaking to CNBC Tuesday, Poul Thomsen, the IMF director for Europe, said that there needs to be an agreement at a meeting late next week.

"We really need an agreement at the Eurogroup next week," Thomsen told CNBC's Joumanna Bercetche.

"Time is running out," he said, "but if there is an agreement in the Eurogroup meeting in May, then there will be enough time for us to activate the program and for it to coincide with the remainder of the ESM (European Stability Mechanism) program."

The Eurogroup is a regular meeting for all the finance ministers from those countries that share the single currency, while the ESM is the organization that deals with bailing out struggling nations in the region.
A surprise election result in Iraq is likely to add to tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia and could push the country to become the next battleground for religious and political influence in the Middle East, according to oil market analyst Helima Croft. With the majority of votes counted following a parliamentary election at the weekend, the "Sairoon" alliance of militant cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and Iraq's communist party looks likely to gain the largest share of the vote, a surprise result given that pollsters predicted the re-election of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. In fact, al-Abadi's "Victory" coalition was in third place, trailing the "Conquest" coalition led by Iranian-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri, AP reported. If preliminary results are borne out in the final result, which is yet to be announced, al-Sadr won't become prime minister as he did not run for election himself. But he will be able to choose the next leader and could heavily influence Iraq's relations with key regional powers. Still, it is expected that no one group will win enough seats required for an outright majority in parliament and it's likely that al-Sadr could form a coalition with Abadi, although negotiations could take months. Al-Abadi said Monday that he is ready to cooperate and work with all Iraqi parties to form a strong government, Iraqi News reported.

Interesting character

Remarking on the political rise of Moqtada al-Sadr, oil market expert Helima Croft told CNBC that his influence could affect Middle Eastern relations at a time when geopolitical tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia  and their various political interests and allies in the region  are running high. "The return of al-Sadr is an amazing development," Croft, global head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday.

Supporters of Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr celebrate the results of the parliamentary election. Murtadha Sudani/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

"Al-Sadr is an interesting character because he has very, very difficult relations with the U.S. but increasingly difficult relationships with the Iranians as well. And the Iranian government has said they don't want him to form a coalition and he's recently had a rapprochement with Saudi Arabia," she said. "So I think it's going to be very important to watch what happens in Iraq. I think it's potentially a key proxy battle now over the future of the Middle East," she added. Al-Sadr gained notoriety in the region for encouraging attacks against Western troops during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, but he is an avid critic of nations closer to home too. Despite being a Shia religious leader, al-Sadr is no friend of Shia-majority Iran, which supported his rival al-Amiri in the vote. However, al-Sadr has made overtures to Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia, meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017, with talks focused on improving Iraqi-Saudi relations.

Iran reaction
Eugene Kaspersky, chairman and CEO of Kaspersky Lab, answers a question during an interview in New York March 10, 2015.

Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab plans to open a data center in Switzerland by the end of next year to help address Western government concerns that Russia exploits its anti-virus software to spy on customers.

Opening the Swiss data center is the latest effort by Kaspersky, a global leader in anti-virus software, to parry accusations by the U.S. government and others that it spies on customers at the behest of Russian intelligence.

Kaspersky Lab said part of the new facility would be based in Zurich, and the company had chosen Switzerland for its "policy of neutrality" and strong data protection laws.

Reuters first reported the plans in March, citing company documents which said Kaspersky Lab was setting up the center in response to moves in the United States, Britain and Lithuania last year to stop using the company's products.

The United States last year ordered civilian government agencies to remove Kaspersky software from their networks. Kaspersky has strongly rejected the accusations and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. ban.

"We're addressing the question of trust by moving our data storage and processing facilities, as well as software assembly, to Switzerland," Kaspersky Lab CEO and founder, Eugene Kaspersky, said in written comments to Reuters.

"The data of our customers from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia will henceforth be stored and processed in Switzerland. More countries will follow."

Eugene Kaspersky said he had received support from regional Swiss officials and the Swiss embassy in Moscow.

The Swiss center will collect and analyse files identified as suspicious on the computers of tens of millions of Kaspersky customers in the United States, European Union and Asia, Kaspersky Lab said.
Chief White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow believes the U.S. and China can avoid a trade war despite a multitude of issues continuing to split the two nations.

As one of the administration's most ardent free trade supporters, Kudlow has been pushing for an agreement that can eschew heavy tariffs that the financial markets have been fearing.

However, he said China has a long way to go before a deal can be reached.

"China has got to reform its system," Kudlow, head of the National Economic Council, said Tuesday in an interview with Axios. "They've been breaking [World Trade Organization] rules for years on this stuff. They've been behaving like a third-world country."

One of the pillars for his hopes rests on the relationship between President Donald Trump and China's Xi Jinping.

"I think there's a little bit of a bromance between President Trump and president for life Xi," Kudlow said. "Where this leads I don't know. It might even lead to a trade deal, which would make me very happy."

Kudlow also addressed a related issue  the controversy over Chinese telecom company ZTE, which itself has run afoul of global regulations on multiple occasions. Trump tweeted over the weekend that he and Xi have been working on giving a break to ZTE from U.S. sanctions.

However, Kudlow said the ZTE situation is independent of the broader negotiations with China, calling it "principally an enforcement issue. It's divorced from the trade story."

He said there are "gradations" involved in the ZTE case in which the U.S. is trying to find a way to keep the company, which is a major employer, in business.
Police arrest two suspects in gold case

Police have arrested two suspects in connection to the 33 kg gold smuggling and Sanam Shakya murder case. Muktiram Shrestha of Dolakha and Binod Adhikari of Jhapa were arrested from Kathmandu recently, said police.
was developed to interview travelers at airports and border crossings and it can detect deception to flag human security agents.

Aaron Elkins, a professor at the San Diego State University, is working on a kiosk system that can ask travelers questions at an airport or border crossings and capture behaviors to detect if someone is lying. Source: San Diego State University

International travelers could find themselves in the near future talking to a lie-detecting kiosk when they're going through customs at an airport or border crossing. The same technology could be used to provide initial screening of refugees and asylum seekers at busy border crossings. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security funded research of the virtual border agent technology known as the Automated Virtual Agent for Truth Assessments in Real-Time, or AVATAR, about six years ago and allowed it to be tested it at the U.S.-Mexico border on travelers who volunteered to participate. Since then, Canada and the European Union tested the robot-like kiosk that uses a virtual agent to ask travelers a series of questions. Last month, a caravan of migrants from Central America made it to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they sought asylum but were delayed several days because the port of entry near San Diego had reached full capacity. It's possible that a system such as AVATAR could provide initial screening of asylum seekers and others to help U.S. agents at busy border crossings such as San Diego's San Ysidro. "The technology has much broader applications potentially," despite most of the funding for the original work coming primarily from the Defense or Homeland Security departments a decade ago, according to Aaron Elkins, one of the developers of the system and an assistant professor at the San Diego State University director of its Artificial Intelligence Lab. He added that AVATAR is not a commercial product yet but could be also used in human resources for screening. The U.S.-Mexico border trials with the advanced kiosk took place in Nogales, Arizona, and focused on low-risk travelers. The research team behind the system issued a report after the 2011-12 trials that stated the AVATAR technology had potential uses for processing applications for citizenship, asylum and refugee status and to reduce backlogs.

High levels of accuracy

President Donald Trump's fiscal 2019 budget request for Homeland Security includes $223 million for "high-priority infrastructure, border security technology improvements," as well as another $210.5 million for hiring new border agents. Last year, federal workers interviewed or screened more than 46,000 refugee applicants and processed nearly 80,000 "credible fear cases." The AVATAR combines artificial intelligence with various sensors and biometrics that seeks to flag individuals who are untruthful or a potential risk based on eye movements or changes in voice, posture and facial gestures. "We're always consistently above human accuracy," said Elkins, who worked on the technology with a team of researchers that included the University of Arizona. According to Elkins, the AVATAR as a deception-detection judge has a success rate of 60 to 75 percent and sometimes up to 80 percent. "Generally, the accuracy of humans as judges is about 54 to 60 percent at the most," he said. "And that's at our best days. We're not consistent."

The human element

Regardless, Homeland Security appears to be sticking with human agents for the moment and not embracing virtual technology that the EU and Canadian border agencies are still researching. Another advanced border technology, known as iBorderCtrl, is a EU-funded project that aims to increase speed but also reduce "the workload and subjective errors caused by human agents." A Homeland Security official, who declined to be named, told CNBC the concept for the AVATAR system "was envisioned by researchers to assist human screeners by flagging people exhibiting suspicious or anomalous behavior." "As the research effort matured, the system was evaluated and tested by the DHS Science and Technology Directorate and DHS operational components in 2012," the official added. "Although the concept was appealing at the time, the research did not mature enough for further consideration or further development." Another DHS official familiar with the technology didn't work at a high enough rate of speed to be practical. "We have to screen people within seconds, and we can't take minutes to do it," said the official. Elkins, meanwhile, said the funding for the AVATAR system hasn't come from Homeland Security in recent years "because they sort of felt that this is in a different category now and needs to transition." The technology, which relies on advanced statistics and machine learning, was tested a year and a half ago with the Canadian Border Services Agency, or CBSA, to help agents determine whether a traveler has ulterior motives entering the country and should be questioned further or denied entry. A report from the CBSA on the AVATAR technology is said to be imminent, but it's unclear whether the agency will proceed the technology beyond the testing phase. "The CBSA has been following developments in AVATAR technology since 2011 and is continuing to monitor developments in this field," said Barre Campbell, a senior spokesman for the Canadian agency. He said the work carried out in March 2016 was "an internal-only experiment of AVATAR" and that "analysis for this technology is ongoing." Prior to that, the EU border agency known as Frontex helped coordinate and sponsor a field test of the AVATAR system in 2014 at the international arrivals section of an airport in Bucharest, Romania.

People and machines working together

Once the system detects deception, it alerts the human agents to do follow-up interviews. AVATAR doesn't use your standard polygraph instrument. Instead, people face a kiosk screen and talk to a virtual agent or kiosk fitted with various sensors and biometrics that seeks to flag individuals who are untruthful or signal a potential risk based on eye movements or changes in voice, posture and facial gestures. "Artificial intelligence has allowed us to use sensors that are noncontact that we can then process the signal in really advanced ways," Elkins said. "We're able to teach computers to learn from some data and actually act intelligently. The science is very mature over the last five or six years." But the researcher insists the AVATAR technology wasn't developed as a replacement for people. "We wanted to let people focus on what they do best," he said. "Let the systems do what they do best and kind of try to merge them into the process." Still, future advancement in artificial intelligence systems may allow the technology to someday supplant various human jobs because the robot-like machines may be seen as more productive and cost effective particularly in screening people. Elkins believes the AVATAR could potentially get used one day at security checkpoints at airports "to make the screening process faster but also to improve the accuracy." "It's just a matter of finding the right implementation of where it will be and how it will be used," he said. "There's also a process that would need to occur because you can't just drop the AVATAR into an airport as it exists now because all that would be using an extra step."

WATCH: Researchers say they've created an automated test that can tell if you're lying by tracking your eyes
North Korea abruptly canceled talks with South Korea scheduled for Wednesday and threatened to walk away from talks with the U.S., according to media reports.

North Korea's state-run Central News Agency said the ongoing joint military drills between the U.S. and South Korea are a "provocation" and a preparation for an invasion, according to a Reuters report that cites South Korean news outlet Yonhap.

South Korea's Unification Ministry said it received a fax Wednesday from the head of the North Korean delegation for the high-level talks, who said his country is "indefinitely canceling the planned high-level inter-Korean talks" due to the military exercises.

"Accordingly, the scheduled inter-Korean high-level talks will not happen today and [the South Korean] government's response will be announced after discussion among the related ministries," the Unification Ministry said.

The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump prepares to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in an unprecedented summit.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: "We are aware of the South Korean media report. The United States will look at what North Korea has said independently, and continue to coordinate closely with our allies."

The Associated Press, citing Yonhap, reported North Korea is also threatening to cancel the talks with the U.S. because of the joint military exercises.

The U.S. State Department said it had not received any information from North Korea about the threat to cancel the June summit between Trump and Kim, Reuters reported.

"Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises," said Heather Nauert, a State Department spokeswoman, in a briefing shortly after the North Korean announcement.

The department will continue to plan for the summit, which is currently scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12.

The Pentagon defended the military exercises in a statement from Defense Department spokesman U.S. Army Col. Rob Manning on Tuesday.

"Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. military forces are currently engaged in the recurring, annual ROK-U.S. spring exercises, to include exercises Foal Eagle 2018 and Max Thunder 2018. These defensive exercises are part of the ROK-U.S. Alliance's routine, annual training program to maintain a foundation of military readiness. The purpose of the training is to enhance the ROK-U.S. Alliance's ability to defend the ROK and enhance interoperability and readiness. While we will not discuss specifics, the defensive nature of these combined exercises has been clear for many decades and has not changed."

Equity markets, which were already declining, ticked further down briefly following the news, while spot gold prices received a slight boost.
The logo of the of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is displayed.

Oil prices have come full circle from a historic implosion 3 years ago sparked by OPEC's decision on Thanksgiving Day to take a hands-off approach to a global supply glut.

, the international benchmark for oil prices, ended Monday's session at $78.23 barrel, the highest closing level since Nov. 25, 2014. On Tuesday, the contract took aim at $80 a barrel, striking a new 3-year intraday high at $79.47.

At those levels, Brent was trading solidly above levels last seen prior to Nov. 27, 2014, the day OPEC refused to tackle oversupply in the oil market by agreeing to cap its production.

However, in a sign the market could struggle to maintain those levels, oil prices fell sharply on Tuesday morning, losing about $1 a barrel from the day's highs as U.S. stock markets slumped.

Brent crude 5-year performance, source: Factset

Until the November 2014 OPEC meeting, oil prices had slid about 30 percent from multiyear highs over the course of five months. OPEC's decision that year supercharged the sell-off, with Brent prices dropping from $77.75 the day before the meeting to $70.15 the day after.

OPEC and top oil exporter Saudi Arabia had wagered that low oil prices would force U.S. shale drillers to throttle back production. Shale drillers use expensive methods to squeeze oil and gas from rock formations in parts of the United States.

However, OPEC miscalculated, and Brent ultimately fell as low as $27.10 per barrel in January 2016. That persuaded OPEC to work with Russia and several other producers to take 1.8 million barrels a day off the market beginning in 2017.

That deal has helped boost prices back to where they were prior to OPEC's fateful decision. The price recovery has exceeded expectations thanks to robust oil demand; an economic crisis that has tanked Venezuela's production; and renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran, OPEC's third-largest producer, by President Donald Trump.
Pennsylvania is the most compelling of the states: Redistricting and retirements have made it one of the key states in determining which party controls the House after November's midterm elections.

Blend Images | Hill Street Studios | Getty Images

For the second straight week, voters in four states will choose major party nominees for races with big stakes in November's midterm elections. Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Idaho and Oregon hold primary elections Tuesday for races for the House, Senate and governor. The busiest slate will take place in swing state Pennsylvania, where a new congressional map has made Democrats more competitive in several House districts. Democrats and Republicans will pick candidates for a handful of House races crucial to November's battle for the chamber. If Pennsylvania swings the Democrats' way, the party can pick up a good chunk of the 23 seats it needs to win to take control of the House in November. Here are the races to watch on Tuesday:

Pennsylvania is a House battleground

Earlier this year, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down a congressional map drawn by Republicans. Over GOP objections, the court redrew districts. The changes made the state more hospitable for Democrats. Nonpartisan election analysis site Cook Political Report rates seven GOP-held seats as competitive or favoring Democrats. Another nonpartisan site, Sabato's Crystal Ball, lists six Republican-held districts in those categories.

Republican departures have helped the minority party. In three important races in the state, a GOP incumbent has either resigned or announced his intention to retire. Several House districts in Pennsylvania will feature competitive races either on Tuesday, in November or both. PA 1st District: Democrats are vying to face GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in a district that shifted in favor of Democrats under the revised map. In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly won the new district. Multimillionaire philanthropist Scott Wallace, a former counsel for Senate committees, has piled $2.5 million of his own money into the Democratic primary. The other leading contender is former Navy prosecutor Rachel Reddick. She is endorsed by Emily's List, the organization that aims to elect pro-choice Democrats. On the Republican side, Fitzpatrick faces one challenger in lawyer Dean Malik. The congressman is expected to win. Nonpartisan election handicappers rate the November race as a toss-up.

Democrats are vying to face GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in a district that shifted in favor of Democrats under the revised map. In 2016, Hillary Clinton narrowly won the new district. Multimillionaire philanthropist Scott Wallace, a former counsel for Senate committees, has piled $2.5 million of his own money into the Democratic primary. The other leading contender is former Navy prosecutor Rachel Reddick. She is endorsed by Emily's List, the organization that aims to elect pro-choice Democrats. On the Republican side, Fitzpatrick faces one challenger in lawyer Dean Malik. The congressman is expected to win. Nonpartisan election handicappers rate the November race as a toss-up. PA 5th District: The state's redistricting made the 5th District dramatically more Democratic. Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index, or PVI, which gauges how areas vote in recent presidential elections relative to the country as a whole, now lists it as "D+13." The seat is currently vacant, as Republican Rep. Pat Meehan resigned after the revelation that he used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim made by a former staffer. Ten Democrats will jostle for the nomination Tuesday. Whoever wins the primary will become the heavy favorite to win the House seat in November. Top contenders include attorney Mary Gay Scanlon, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Richard Lazer and former federal prosecutor Ashley Lunkenheimer. Pearl Kim, a former prosecutor in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, is the lone Republican candidate.

The state's redistricting made the 5th District dramatically more Democratic. Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index, or PVI, which gauges how areas vote in recent presidential elections relative to the country as a whole, now lists it as "D+13." The seat is currently vacant, as Republican Rep. Pat Meehan resigned after the revelation that he used taxpayer money to settle a sexual harassment claim made by a former staffer. Ten Democrats will jostle for the nomination Tuesday. Whoever wins the primary will become the heavy favorite to win the House seat in November. Top contenders include attorney Mary Gay Scanlon, former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Richard Lazer and former federal prosecutor Ashley Lunkenheimer. Pearl Kim, a former prosecutor in the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office, is the lone Republican candidate. PA 7th District: Democrats got two breaks in the 7th District congressional race. First, redistricting made the area more favorable. By Cook's PVI, it is now a "D+1" district. Then, incumbent GOP Rep. Charlie Dent resigned. While the seat became more competitive for the party, discord could complicate the Democrats' chances. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli, a leading Democratic contender, opposes abortion rights and has praised President Donald Trump in the past. He faces pastor Greg Edwards, a candidate running from the left endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Former Allentown Solicitor Susan Wild, backed by Emily's List, is also vying for the nomination. Former Lehigh County Commissioner Dean Browning and former Olympic cyclist Marty Nothstein are running on the Republican side. Others to watch: The primary elections in Pennsylvania's 6th and 17th Districts may not carry much drama. But the races for those seats in November will be critical. GOP Rep. Ryan Costello declined to run for re-election in the 6th District, now a "D+2" seat, according to Cook. Chrissy Houlahan, a businesswoman who served in the Air Force Reserve, runs unopposed on the Democratic side. Attorney Greg McCauley faces no opponents in the Republican primary. Houlahan would enter the general election as a favorite. The 17th District features a rarity in congressional elections: two incumbents. Democratic Rep. Conor Lamb won a March special election for the state's previous 18th District but lives in the revised 17th District. Both he and GOP Rep. Keith Rothfus will run unopposed in Tuesday's primaries. Cook rates it as an "R+3" seat  less red than the area Lamb won in March. Read more: Long-distance donors flood Tuesday's Pennsylvania primaries with cash

A tough House race in Nebraska

Two Democrats vie Tuesday for the nomination in Nebraska's 2nd District. The winner will face unopposed GOP Rep. Don Bacon in a race nonpartisan handicappers consider a toss-up. Moderate former Rep. Brad Ashford, who lost to Bacon by 1 percentage point in 2016, aims to win back his seat. He faces nonprofit executive Kara Eastman, who is running to his left.

Trump tries to boost an early ally in PA Senate race

GOP Rep. Lou Barletta, an early Trump supporter who endorsed the president in March 2016, aims to win Pennsylvania's Republican Senate primary on Tuesday. The congressman, who has pushed to crack down on immigration since serving as mayor of Hazleton more than a decade ago, has tried to channel Trump to capture the president's success in the swing state. Trump aimed to give Barletta a late boost, recording a robocall that went out to Pennsylvania voters on Saturday and Monday. Barletta will face state Rep. Jim Christiana in Tuesday's primary. The Republican winner will face Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who runs unopposed Tuesday. Casey is one of 10 Senate Democrats running in states Trump won in 2016. Still, he has clobbered Barletta in fundraising. Pennsylvania is also more purple than red: President Barack Obama won the state in both 2008 and 2012. Read more: Trump aims to help an early ally take down a well-funded Senate Democrat in swing state Pennsylvania

House seats in Oregon and Idaho appear safe
ROME, May 15 (Reuters) - The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far-right League plan to ask the European Central Bank to forgive 250 billion euros ($296 billion) of Italian debt, according to a draft of a coalition programme the parties are working on.

The 39-page document, obtained by Huffington Post Italia, also calls for a renegotiation of Italy's European Union budget contributions, an end to sanctions against Russia and plans to dismantle a 2011 pension reform that raised the retirement age.

The proposal likely to cause most alarm to financial markets is the creation in the EU of "economic and judicial procedures that allow member states to leave monetary union".

5-Star and the League said in a statement that the draft, which was dated May 14, was "an old version that has been considerably modified". In particular, it had been decided "not to call into question the single currency," they said.

The two parties have held six days of talks aimed at putting together a coalition government and ending 10 weeks of political stalemate following an inconclusive election on March 4.

5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio said on Tuesday he hoped a deal could be reached on Wednesday that would subsequently be put to supporters of both parties to see if they backed the pact.

The draft accord is likely to cause concern in Brussels and at ECB headquarters in Frankfurt. It might also dismay Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining a strong, pro-European stance.

To help reduce Italy's public debt, which at more than 130 percent of national output is the highest in the euro zone after Greece's, the joint document calls for the ECB to forgive 250 billion euros of Italian benchmark BTP bonds bought under the bank's so-called "quantitative easing" programme.

This would cut 10 percentage points off Italy's debt/GDP ratio. While the two parties specified they had removed the section on possibly opting out of the euro, they made no mention about the suggestion the ECB should write off this debt.

Both parties have a history of Euroscepticism. 5-Star has moderated its position considerably in the last year, rowing back on a previous plan to hold a referendum on Italy's membership of the currency bloc. However the League still wants to leave the euro zone as soon as is politically feasible.

Hours after the document leak, 5-Star and the League issued a further joint statement saying they wanted to "reconsider" the euro zone's fiscal rules with Italy's partners "in the spirit of returning to the pre-Maastricht set-up" -- a reference to the treaty which laid the groundwork for monetary union.

Turning to other issues that have snarled Rome's relations with Europe, the draft calls for asylum seekers who arrive in Italy to be relocated automatically across the European Union.

They also demand an immediate end to sanctions on Russia in order for Moscow to become a "strategic partner" in regional hotspots, such as Syria and Libya. ($1= 0.8447 euros) (Editing by Crispian Balmer)
doubts@

* Canadian dollar at C$1.2899, or 77.53 U.S. cents

* The loonie hits a six-day low at C$1.2906

* Bond prices lower across a steeper yield curve

* 10-year yield touches a four-year high at 2.480 percent

TORONTO, May 15 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar hit a nearly one-week low against its U.S. counterpart on Tuesday as the greenback broadly rose and investors weighed prospects of a deadline being met for a new NAFTA trade pact between Canada, the United States and Mexico.

The U.S. dollar rose against a basket of major

currencies as data showed a rise in U.S. retail sales and the U.S. 10-year Treasury note yield climbed further above the 3 percent threshold to its highest since July 2011. Mexico's economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, said he does not expect to meet a deadline set for Thursday to reach a new North American Free Trade Agreement that could be presented to the current U.S. Congress. Canada sends about 75 percent of its exports to the United States, so its economy could benefit if a NAFTA deal is reached. At 9:15 a.m. EDT (1315 GMT), the Canadian dollar was trading 0.7 percent lower at C$1.2899 to the greenback, or 77.53 U.S. cents. The loonie hit its weakest level since Wednesday at C$1.2906. Losses for the loonie came despite the price of oil, one of Canada's major exports, rising to a 3-1/2-year high.

U.S. crude prices were up 0.75 percent at $71.49 a

barrel, supported by tight supply and planned U.S. sanctions against Iran that are likely to restrict crude oil exports from one of the biggest producers in the Middle East. Resales of Canadian homes fell 2.9 percent in April from March to the lowest level in more than five years, the Canadian Real Estate Association said. Canadian government bond prices were lower across a steeper yield curve in sympathy with U.S. Treasuries. The two-year fell 4 Canadian cents to yield 2.017 percent and the

10-year declined 41 Canadian cents to yield 2.473

percent. The 10-year yield touched its highest intraday since April 2014 at 2.480 percent.

(Reporting by Fergal Smithd; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab plans to open a data centre in Switzerland by the end of next year to help address Western government concerns that Russia exploits its anti-virus software to spy on customers.

Opening the Swiss data centre is the latest effort by Kaspersky, a global leader in anti-virus software, to parry accusations by the U.S. government and others that it spies on customers at the behest of Russian intelligence.

Kaspersky Lab said part of the new facility would be based in Zurich, and the company had chosen Switzerland for its "policy of neutrality" and strong data protection laws.

Reuters first reported the plans in March, citing company documents which said Kaspersky Lab was setting up the centre in response to moves in the United States, Britain and Lithuania last year to stop using the company's products.

The United States last year ordered civilian government agencies to remove Kaspersky software from their networks. Kaspersky has strongly rejected the accusations and filed a lawsuit against the U.S. ban.

"We're addressing the question of trust by moving our data storage and processing facilities, as well as software assembly, to Switzerland," Kaspersky Lab CEO and founder, Eugene Kaspersky, said in written comments to Reuters.

"The data of our customers from the U.S., Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia will henceforth be stored and processed in Switzerland. More countries will follow."

Eugene Kaspersky said he had received support from regional Swiss officials and the Swiss embassy in Moscow.

The Swiss centre will collect and analyse files identified as suspicious on the computers of tens of millions of Kaspersky customers in the United States, European Union and Asia, Kaspersky Lab said.

The company believes moving these operations to Switzerland will address concerns about laws that enable Russian security services to monitor data transmissions inside Russia and force companies to assist law enforcement agencies, according to the internal documents seen by Reuters.

Kaspersky Lab said it also plans to open similar centres in North America and Asia by 2020, but declined to provide any further details.

It is possible the move could be derailed by the Russian security services, who might resist moving the data centre outside of their jurisdiction, according to people familiar with Kaspersky Lab and its relations with the Russian government.

Western security officials say Russia's FSB Federal Security Service, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, exerts influence over Kaspersky management decisions, though the company has repeatedly denied those allegations. (Reporting by Jack Stubbs Editing by Keith Weir)
OTTAWA, May 15 (Reuters) - The United States, Mexico and Canada are "very close" to agreeing a deal to modernize the NAFTA trade pact, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday, hours after a top Mexican official said major challenges remained.

"There is very much an eminently achievable outcome ... and we are very close. We will continue in the coming days to work hard to try and get there," Trudeau told reporters at a televised event in Calgary, Alberta.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Grant McCool)
* Company promotes CFO to chief executive

* Broadband sales fall below expectations

* Shares tumble by 16 percent (Recasts story, adds details, background)

PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - Iliad posted disappointing sales in the first quarter, prompting the French telecoms group to make changes at the top and adopt a new marketing strategy to pursue growth.

Company founder and majority investor Xavier Niel promoted finance boss Thomas Reynaud to become the new chief executive, replacing Maxime Lombardini in a reshuffle announced late on Monday.

Shares of Iliad, which competes in France with Orange , Bouygues Telecom and Altice , tumbled more than 16 percent by 0730 GMT on Tuesday.

Iliad pointed to heavy promotions in its landline business in France to explain the poor quarterly performance. The broadband business had been more profitable for the group and helped it to adopt an aggressive pricing strategy to expand in mobile.

Consolidated revenue grew by about 0.8 percent from a year earlier to about 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), but sales for its landline business slid by 1.6 percent over the period.

The average revenue per user of broadband subscribers, a key indicator used within the industry, fell by one euro compared with the previous quarter.

In a call with analysts, Reynaud acknowledged that broadband sales were below expectations.

But he pledged to resume higher growth for the group in the next 12 months with new commercial offers in mobile and broadband and the launch of a new set-top box bundling voice, internet and TV services this year.

Capital expenditure for France will amount 1.55 billion euros for 2018, Iliad said, including the costs tied to the launch of its new set-top box.

The group had previously indicated that its capital expenditure would be in the range of 1.4 and 1.5 billion euros for the year.

Iliad is also planning to launch in Italy, and the company said on Tuesday that its debut in Italy was pencilled in for June 21. ($1 = 0.8381 euros) (Editing by Keith Weir)
* 2017/18 net loss 247.2 bln yen vs market view 222 bln yen loss

* Does not forecast profit number but sees 2018/19 profit (Adds comment on outlook, background)

TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Smartphone screen maker Japan Display Inc reported an annual net loss of about $2.25 billion, its biggest, highlighting the Apple Inc supplier's struggle to regain competitiveness against Asian rivals.

Japan Display said on Tuesday it lost a net 247.2 billion yen ($2.25 billion) in the year through March. That was nearly eight times the 31.7 billion yen loss a year earlier and steeper than the market's average forecast for a 222 billion yen loss, according to Thomson Reuters data.

It was its fourth straight year of losses, as growing competition from Asian rivals aggravated the impact of slower demand from smartphone makers.

The company did not give a standard forecast for the current fiscal year, although it did say it was aiming to return to profit in the current year with sales growing around 10 to 20 percent. Markets, however, forecast a loss of 15 billion yen.

The company's troubles stem in part from its delayed adoption of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens that cost the display maker orders from Apple.

The U.S. tech giant, which has accounted for over half of Japan Display's sales, opted for OLED screens in its latest high-end iPhone X and bought them from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.

Japan Display has said it wants to start mass-producing OLED screens to better compete with Samsung, and that it needs a partner who can help finance that effort. Analysts have said it will need more than 200 billion yen to launch a mass production line for OLED screens.

It said in April that it would raise $518 million through a new share issue and an asset sale, but the move is widely seen as a stop-gap measure and the company is still seeking a capital partner.

Japan Display was formed in 2012 by combining the LCD businesses of Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp in a deal brokered by the state-backed Innovation Network Corp of Japan (INCJ), its biggest investor. ($1 = 109.8600 yen) (Reporting by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
more consolidation@

* Worldline deal values SIX at about 2.75 bln Swiss francs

* SIX Payment Services to end up with 27 pct of Worldline

* Payments services arms of banks could be next to be sold (Recasts with details and comments from SIX chairman, analyst)

ZURICH/PARIS, May 15 (Reuters) - Worldline's $2.75 billion deal to buy the payments unit of Swiss exchange operator SIX Group, announced on Tuesday, could herald more consolidation in the industry, SIX's chairman told Reuters.

France's Worldline beat competition from U.S. bidders to land the SIX business, reflecting a drive by financial sector companies to gain scale to benefit from the shift towards electronic and online payments.

As part of the arrangement, SIX will get a 27 percent stake and two board seats in the French company, which paid for most of the purchase with 49 million new shares.

"We believe that this will be a landmark deal in Europe and in different countries and regions and further consolidation will occur as domestic markets break up," SIX Chairman Romeo Lacher said in an interview, adding that the merged company would be well placed to lead the charge.

The payment processing business relied on scale, he said, with size increasingly important because of the need to invest in technology and innovation.

Other recent M&A activity in the sector include the multi-billion pound sale of Britain's Worldpay and Paysafe last year.

SIX's payments business is the market leader in Switzerland, Austria and Luxembourg, helping process payments and providing debit and credit card terminals to retailers, restaurants and hotels.

Worldline said in a presentation that it would have more than 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion) to spend on deals by the end of 2019 to "further consolidate the European payment market".

"That means we have an extreme amount of firepower to drive consolidation in Europe if it goes down the M&A track," Lacher said.

POTENTIAL TARGETS

For decades, payments firms existed as a backwater in the banking landscape. Usually set up by banks, they enjoyed a cosy relationship with them as customers but had little funds at their disposal to invest in technology.

As well as investing in innovation, payments companies now also need scale to navigate increasing regulatory complexity.

Smaller companies like SIA in Italy or Germany's Concardis could be among the targets for larger industry players, while banks could be tempted to sell off their payments services to raise cash, analysts say.

Potential targets could include the payment services arms of France's Credit Mutuel, Societe Generale and Nataxis , or Spain's Bankia, BBVA or Sabadell, according to analysts.

"They can hand it over to specialists with companies like Worldline who are particularly well positioned to make these acquisitions because of the flexibility they offer," said Bob Liao at Macquarie.

"They can say to the bank: 'We know this business is your baby and you don't really want to give it up, but you cannot invest in it, so why not a joint venture or a shared ownership deal?"'

Other industry bidders could include France's Ingenico , while Denmark's Nets, owned by U.S. buyout fund Hellman & Friedman, could also enter future auctions.

Nets was one of the bidders that lost out to Worldline in the auction for SIX's payment services business.

Worldline, which is 51 percent owned by Atos, will pay 283 million euros in cash on top of the new shares to acquire the business.

($1 = 0.8390 euros) (Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Susan Fenton)
steam@

* China Apr activity data suggests slowing in economic momentum

* Industrial output, trade only bright spots

* China says no impact on economy yet from Sino-US trade row

* Investment, retail sales growth slower than expected

* Property sales drop for first time in 6 month

* But industrial output beats forecasts on auto, steel surge (Adds Nomura comments, previous infrastructure investment figure, changes byline)

BEIJING, May 15 (Reuters) - China reported weaker-than-expected investment and retail sales in April and a drop in home sales, clouding its economic outlook even as policymakers try to navigate debt risks and defuse a heated trade row with the United States.

Fixed asset investment grew the slowest since 1999 while the pace of retail sales softened to a four-month low, suggesting a long-anticipated slowdown in the world's second-largest economy may finally be setting in even as protectionism is on the rise.

The lone bright spot on Tuesday's activity data was industrial output, which jumped more than expected as automobile and steel production surged.

"Industrial activity was buoyed by the easing of pollution controls (imposed over the winter). But there are signs in the rest of todays data that the economy is losing momentum," Capital Economics senior China Economist Julian Evans-Pritchard wrote in a note following the data.

"Domestic spending is likely to continue to soften given the headwinds from slowing credit creation," he said, adding that the rebound in industry may be short-lived once companies rebuild inventories which were depleted in recent months.

Capital Economics has long predicted Beijing will loosen monetary policy later this year to keep growth from slowing too sharply as it continues a crackdown on financial risks.

Industrial output rose 7.0 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said, beating forecasts for a rise of 6.3 percent and up from a seven-month low of 6.0 percent in March.

NO TRADE HIT YET

Sino-U.S. trade frictions have yet to show an impact on China's economy, the statistics bureau said.

But while April exports and imports were surprisingly solid, business surveys point to a sharp weakening in export order growth, possibly as companies grow worried about being stuck with high inventories if the U.S. and China start imposing tit-for-tat tariffs.

Analysts also suspect some firms may be rushing out shipments to beat any punitive trade measures, flattering the most recent export figures but blunting future gains.

Washington and Beijing will resume trade negotiations this week, after initial talks earlier this month appeared to make little progress in narrowing their differences.

SLOWING INVESTMENT, SOFTENING DEMAND

Investment growth slowed pretty much across the board, adding to views that rising borrowing costs -- a byproduct of the regulatory crackdown on riskier lending -- are finally starting to drag on activity.

Fixed-asset investment growth slowed to 7.0 percent in January-April from a year earlier, versus forecasts of only a slight dip to 7.4 percent. Growth in April cooled to around 6 percent, analysts estimated.

Private sector investment growth moderated to 8.4 percent, from 8.9 percent in the first three months. Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China and has rebounded this year as spending by heavily-indebted state firms slows.

Growth in infrastructure spending, a powerful economic driver last year, slowed to 12.4 percent in the first four months from 13 percent earlier in the year.

That trend is likely to continue as Beijing forces local governments to scale back spending to contain their debt, and as home sales cool due to strict government controls to fight speculation and tame home prices.

China's property market, another key growth driver, is also showing signs of fatigue as mortgage rates rise.

Real estate investment rose 10.2 percent in April on-year, slowing from a 10.8 percent rise in March, according to Reuters calculation based on the official data.

Property sales by floor area fell 4.1 percent in April, the biggest drop in six months, compared with a 3.2 percent rise in March. New construction starts also slowed sharply.

For the first four months of the year, sales grew just 1.3 percent.

The property slowdown is weighing on consumption, filtering through to weaker demand for home appliances and furniture.

Retail sales growth slowed to 9.4 percent in April, missing forecasts for a 10.0 percent gain and off March's pace of 10.1 percent.

SLOWDOWN

While China's official data suggests economic growth has been remarkably steady at 6.8-6.9 percent over the past year, analysts have stuck to their forecasts that it will gradually lose steam in coming months, even without any trade shocks.

Economists polled by Reuters expect a slowdown to around 6.5 percent this year, which is also the government's target.

But a few China watchers believe activity has already slackened much more, although they are in the minority.

UK-based Fathom Consulting's momentum gauge ended the first quarter at 5.9 percent, while Capital Economics reckons growth slowed to 4.8 percent at the start of 2018 as policy tightened.

With trade frictions rising, there are signs that Beijing is already moving to a more supportive policy stance to ensure growth doesn't slow too much.

The politburo, a top decision-making body of the Communist Party, said in April China will strive hard to achieve 2018 economic targets and will boost domestic demand.

The central bank last month unexpectedly cut reserve requirement ratios (RRR) for most banks hours after soft March data, a move that was earlier and more aggressive than expected.

While the central bank insists it has not shifted its "neutral" policy stance, economists believe further RRR cuts are likely as policymakers look to offset the impact on companies from higher financing costs and any trade fallout.

Nomura believes Beijing will continue special lending programs to support homebuyers in smaller cities and speed up its fiscal spending.

The weighted average lending rate for non-financial firms, a key indicator reflecting corporate funding costs, rose 22 basis points in the first quarter to 5.96 percent, the People's Bank of China said in its quarterly report on Friday.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Cheng Fang; Writing by Elias Glenn; Editing by Kim Coghill)
Russia has successfully tested a hypersonic weapon the United States is currently unable to defend against,

A Russian weapon the U.S. is currently unable to defend against will be ready for war by 2020, according to sources with direct knowledge of American intelligence reports. The sources, who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity, said Russia successfully tested the weapon, which could carry a nuclear warhead, twice in 2016. The third known test of the device, called a hypersonic glide vehicle, was carried out in October 2017 and resulted in a failure when the platform crashed seconds before striking its target. The latest revelations come more than two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin touted his nation's growing hypersonic arsenal as "invincible." The hypersonic glide vehicle, dubbed Avangard, is designed to sit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile. Once launched, it uses aerodynamic forces to sail on top of the atmosphere. One U.S. intelligence report, according to a source, noted that the hypersonic glide vehicles were mounted to Russian-made SS-19 intercontinental ballistic missiles  and one test featured a mock warhead.

Devastation even without explosives

While it is unclear whether Avangard will be outfitted with explosives, the precision and speed of the weapon is believed to pack enough force to obliterate targets. The weapon, which Moscow has been developing for three decades, can travel at least five times the speed of sound, or about one mile per second. "These kinds of boost glide vehicles attack the gaps in our missile defense system," Thomas Karako, director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNBC.

"There's no time like the present to modify our current missile defense posture," Karako added, saying it was "unfortunate that we have let Russia come this far." The Russians are expected to conduct a fourth test sometime this summer. Sources familiar with the U.S. intelligence reports assess that the Russian hypersonic glide vehicles are equipped with onboard countermeasures that are able to defeat even the most advanced missile-defense systems. The weapons are also highly maneuverable and, therefore, unpredictable, which makes them difficult to track. The intelligence reports, which were curated this spring, calculate that Russia's hypersonic glide vehicles are likely to achieve initial operational capability by 2020, a significant step that would enable the Kremlin to surpass the U.S. and China in this regard.

Putin goes all-in on hypersonic weapons

During a state-of-the-nation address in March, Putin boasted about an arsenal of hypersonic nuclear weapons that he described as "invincible." Putin claimed Avangard was capable of reaching targets at a speed of 20 times the speed of sound and strikes "like a fireball." He also said that the hypersonic warhead had already entered serial production.

In this video grab provided by RU-RTR Russian television via AP television on Thursday, March 1, 2018, a computer simulation shows the Avangard hypersonic vehicle en route to target. RU-RTR Russian Television via AP

"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development: You have failed to contain Russia," Putin said. Putin added that the new capabilities were "not a bluff." In an effort to back his bellicose rhetoric, Putin spoke in front of a projection showing video clips of the weapons as well as a simulated strike on the U.S. homeland.

The U.S. is concerned about Russian hypersonics

America's top nuclear commander told lawmakers in March that U.S. forces are unable to shield against a hypersonic weapon. "We don't have any defense that could deny the employment of such a weapon against us," Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Both Russia and China are aggressively pursuing hypersonic capabilities," he added, noting that the U.S. has "watched them test those capabilities."

EJ Hersom/Department of Defense photo

Hyten, who has previously called Russia the "most significant threat" to the U.S., emphasized the need for the U.S. to add another type of nuclear weapon to its arsenal. "I strongly agree with the need for a low-yield nuclear weapon," he said of the Pentagon's request for a low-yield warhead for submarine-launched ballistic missiles. While the Defense Department's latest budget request of $686 billion emphasizes a plan to offset emerging threats from Russia and China, it is clear that the U.S. lacks sufficient means to combat hypersonics. President Donald Trump touted the defense-friendly spending bill as a "matter of national security" and highlighted not only big-ticket defense procurements but also the significant increase in missile defense funding. However, even the $11.5 billion allocated for the Missile Defense Agency, the largest amount ever, may not be enough to fully modernize U.S. missile defense systems. Karako said the funding is a step in the right direction but emphasized that the U.S. must field systems in space and integrate them with land- and sea-based platforms in order to counter the full spectrum of missile threats. "The thing that is missing from the FY18 omnibus and the FY19 request is space sensors," Karako said in a prior interview with CNBC. "So tick tock, people, time is running out. The time for studies is over. Where is the plan to actually field some space sensors?" Karako added that the missile-rich threat environment is getting more powerful and will put U.S. forces at risk.

WATCH: China & Russia pursuing hypersonic weapons
Tesla's move to shut down production of its Model 3 for six days is a "big deal" but it's not necessarily a bad thing, tech analyst-turned-venture capitalist Gene Munster told CNBC on Tuesday. The electric car maker plans to pause production at its California factory at the end of May to work on fixes to its assembly line, sources inside the company told Reuters. "This manufacturing shutdown is evidence that things are moving in a good direction," Munster said on "Closing Bell."

A Tesla Model 3 car is on display during the Auto China 2018 at China International Exhibition Center on April 25, 2018 in Beijing, China. VCG/VCG | Getty Images



Tesla had previously warned of 10 days of temporary shutdowns this quarter to address issues that have delayed volume production of its new Model 3 sedan. Munster, managing partner at venture capital firm Loup Ventures, said that Tesla's desire to re-engineer the manufacturing process requires the shutdown. However, Munster said he is "delighted" about the new technology it plans to implement, which he called "a whole new paradigm around manufacturing." Meanwhile, Munster also is not concerned about the recent management shake-up at Tesla.
The driver of a Tesla electric car had the vehicle's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode engaged when she slammed into the back of a Utah fire truck over the weekend, in the latest crash involving a car with self-driving features.

The 28-year-old driver of the car told police in suburban Salt Lake City that the system was switched on and that she had been looking at her phone before the Friday evening crash.

Tesla's Autopilot system uses radar, cameras with 360-degree visibility and sensors to detect nearby cars and objects. It's built so cars can automatically change lanes, steer, park and brake to help avoid collisions.

The auto company markets the system as the "future of driving" but warns drivers to remain alert while using Autopilot and not to rely on it to entirely avoid accidents. Police reiterated that warning Monday.

A Tesla spokesperson did not comment following the disclosure about the use of the feature.

On Twitter, co-founder Elon Musk said it was "super messed up" that the incident was garnering public attention, while thousands of accidents involving traditional automobiles "get almost no coverage."

Elon Musk tweet

South Jordan police said the Tesla Model S was going 60 mph (97 kph) when it slammed into the back of a fire truck stopped at a red light. The car appeared not to brake before impact, police said.

The driver, whom police have not named, was taken to a hospital with a broken foot. The driver of the fire truck suffered whiplash and not taken to a hospital.

"What's actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60 mph and the driver only broke an ankle," Musk tweeted. "An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death."

Elon Musk tweet

The National Transportation Safety Board has not opened an investigation into the crash, spokesman Keith Holloway said, though it could decide to do so.

Over the past two months, federal officials have opened investigations into at least two other crashes involving Tesla vehicles.

Last week, the NTSB opened a probe into an incident in which a Model S caught fire after crashing into a wall in Florida.

Two 18-year-olds were trapped in the vehicle and died in the flames. The agency has said it does not expect the semi-autonomous system to be a focus of that investigation.

The NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are also looking into the performance of the company's Autopilot system in the March crash of a Tesla Model X on a California highway. The driver in that incident died.

The investigation into the crash in Utah is ongoing, police said.

The driver of the Tesla may face charges for failing to maintain the safety of her vehicle, which would be a traffic infraction, according to police spokesman Sgt. Samuel Winkler.
The philanthropic foundation funded by the billionaire George Soros is to close its offices in Hungary, saying it can't protect its own staff from the country's government. Open Society Foundations will move its international operations in Budapest to Berlin in Germany, according to a press release Tuesday. "The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union," said Patrick Gaspard, president of the Open Society Foundations.

The Hungarian government, led by the recently re-elected Viktor Orban, won a strong mandate by campaigning on the issue of migration, which included the promise of a "stop Soros" package. Orban launched a nationwide television and billboard advertising campaign in July accusing Soros of devising Europe's refugee crisis. Critics of Orban's drive to condemn the 87-year-old investor said posters were not dissimilar to the anti-Semitic imagery of the 1930s, which portrayed Jews as political manipulators.

Billboard campaign by the Hungarian government shows George Soros smiling next to the words "Let's not let Soros have the last laugh." The graffiti translates to "dirty Jew." Photo: Akos Stiller
Oil prices are continuing to hover around 2014 highs, with market watchers waiting to see what happens when U.S. sanctions are re-imposed on Iran.

It remains to be seen whether major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia will step into the breach to stop prices soaring after an expected dip in Iranian supply, a top analyst told CNBC on Tuesday.

Prices have risen since President Donald Trump decided last week to pull the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear deal, meaning that sanctions will be re-imposed on the oil producer that are likely to impact its production and push prices higher.

Helima Croft, RBC Capital Market's global head of commodity strategy, said that a loss of Iranian oil would mean other traditional producers, like Saudi Arabia, having to step into the breach if OPEC was not to risk a million-barrel loss of production, on top of the 1.2 million barrel a day (bpd) supply cut it already makes as part of a deal with non-OPEC producers.

"This is so interesting. We're back to a situation that we did not anticipate of having to appeal to these traditional allies," she said. "Because if you reach infrastructure constraints in terms of ability to put additional barrels on the market and you're going to be taking off Iranian barrels  and don't forget Venezuelan production, which has played a huge role in balancing this market  and they (OPEC) could lose a million barrels year-on-year."

"So, in order to prevent a spike to $100, potentially, you have to go back to Saudi Arabia, you have to ask them to put barrels on the market," she told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday.

Brent crude futures are currently trading at $78.71 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at $71.36. Prices have hit highs not seen since November 2014 due to a tighter supply thanks to a production cut strategy between OPEC and non-OPEC producers like Russia to support and stabilize oil prices that fell in 2014 amid a glut in supply.

Prices are also rising on expectations that Iranian output could be sorely affected by Trump's decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) last week.

The re-imposition of pre-deal sanctions and the threat of secondary sanctions, that penalize countries that do business with Tehran or Iranian organizations, are expected soon. Markets are expecting sanctions to affect Iran's oil production  which stood at 3.8 million bpd in March, according to OPEC figures.
SC show cause over customs duty on sugar

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a show cause notice to the government regarding its decision to raise the customs duty on sugar imports.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), officers arrest an undocumented Mexican immigrant during a raid in the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn on April 11, 2018 in New York City.

President Donald Trump is set to meet with a group of local elected officials from California at the White House on Wednesday to discuss the backlash against the state's so-called sanctuary laws, which aim to protect undocumented immigrants.

Several counties in the state  including San Diego, Orange and Tuolumne  as well as more than two dozen cities oppose the controversial law, two of which went into effect in January. Some of the same local jurisdictions in California also have filed briefs in support of the Trump administration's lawsuit against the state.

"We really appreciative of the mutual interest on this important issue," said Troy Edgar, mayor of Los Alamitos, a city in Orange County and one of the first local jurisdictions in the state to introduce a measure to opt out of the California's sanctuary law.

Edgar confirmed he was invited to the White House along with a group other local elected officials and said it was an "incredible opportunity" and one that he believed would continue to pushback against the state's sanctuary law. He said at least 35 local jurisdictions already have come on board the anti-sanctuary law movement.

About a dozen local elected officials were invited to the White House on Wednesday, including Warren Kusumoto, mayor pro tem of Los Alamitos, along with Orange County County Supervisor Michelle Steel. Kusumoto declined comment.

"I am very honored to be invited by President Trump to join him and other leaders from around California at the White House to discuss these 'sanctuary' laws," Steel said in a statement. "This is an amazing opportunity and I look forward to our discussion on this important public safety issue."

Several local officials from San Diego County also were invited, including Escondido Mayor Sam Abed.

In a Facebook post Friday, Abed said he was "honored to be invited to the White House to meet President Trump" as well as the U.S. attorney general and secretary of the Department of Homeland Security "to discuss Sanctuary State & Immigration. Proud to share Escondido's successful policies to keep our community safe under the Rule of Law."

During Monday's White House press briefing, deputy press secretary Raj Shah was asked about the planned meeting with California local officials.

"Well, I can't obviously get ahead of the meeting. But look, the Department of Justice is engaged in certain litigation regarding sanctuary cities in California," he said.

Shah added: "We believe that California should help us, and all municipalities and states should help the federal government in enforcing federal law, in helping to deport  when appropriate  criminal, illegal immigrants, and help, I guess, stem the tide of illegal immigration in the United States. It's actually on the rise now. It's a point of frustration for the president and for the administration. So that will be part of, obviously, what's discussed."
Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero wants to carry out the first human head transplant operation and believes it could help people who have been paralyzed from the neck down to walk again. Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images

A jolt of electricity is delivered to a body with bolts attaching its head to its neck. It's a scene straight out of a horror movie, but it is eerily close to Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero and Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren's plan to transplant a human head  down to the neck bolts and electricity. Canavero and Ren recently performed a trial run on two cadavers, prompting outrage from the medical community, which has declared human head transplantation "fake news." An examination by a team of independent scientists published this month, however, suggests that, while fantastical seeming, the scientific and medical advancements necessary for human head transplantation are rapidly approaching plausibility. Nevertheless, major ethical and moral hurdles remain. Canavero has been talking up his plan for human head transplantation in TED talks and the media for decades, despite producing little in the way of scientific evidence, going so far as to announce in 2015 that he would perform surgery on a human volunteer  a young man with Werdnig-Hoffman disease, a degenerative disease where the muscles waste away  by 2017. The volunteer backed out, and the surgery still hasn't been done on a living human, but Canavero maintains that it is "imminent." Together he and Ren, a surgeon at Harbin Medical University, devised a procedure for head transplantation, which they performed in a handful of animal studies on mice, rats and a dog, all of whom shockingly survived the surgery and even regained some motor function. Without more animal testing, performing such a surgery on humans would be highly unethical, and Canavero's reputation as a sensationalist among medical professionals is well earned. But as transplant surgery reaches new heights  last month a wounded veteran received the first successful penis transplant  combined with advances in biology and computer science, human head transplantation may not be as far-fetched as once thought. Still, surgical, immunological, psychological and ethical hurdles remain.

Modern-day Frankenstein

While it sounds outrageous, keeping a detached human head alive is not the main stumbling block, and may even currently be possible. The unconscious head would be kept at a very cold temperature (50 degrees Fahrenheit) to mitigate against brain damage, and be hooked up to two pumps  one supplying continuous blood flow and the other oxygen. An adhesive called polyethylene glycol will be used to connect the volunteer's head with the spinal cord of the donor's body. The plan is to induce the volunteer into a coma for a month while blood and new nerve networks rebuild in hopes that the body doesn't reject the head  an inherent type of risk in all transplant procedures. In addition to the spine, the head will also have to be reconnected to airways, the esophagus and blood vessels. The major barrier is fusing the spinal cord of the head to that of the donor body. If not successful, the body would be paralyzed, a medical problem that still has yet to be solved. This is not the obstacle it once was, however. In December, Canavero and Ren published a study in which they severed the spinal cords of 12 dogs. They then applied polyethylene glycol to the incision of seven dogs and also delivered electrical stimulation. Over the next two months the dogs in the treatment group regained some motor function, while those in the control group did not. In earlier animal studies, Ren performed the complete head transplantation with spinal fusion technique on mice and rats, as well as a dog, all of whom also regained some motor function, although it was jerky and not completely normal. "We have shown that with this technique, spinal perfusion is possible," Ren said (Canavero did not respond to multiple requests for comment). Ren acknowledges that the project is "controversial," but insists it is necessary to save people with "working brains whose bodies have died," including those with neuromuscular degenerative diseases, end-stage cancer and multiple organ failure. That said, his focus right now is patients with spinal cord injuries and paralysis due to accidents or other causes. "These patients don't currently have good strategies, their mortality is very very high. So I try to translate this technique to benefit these patients," Ren said. "That is my main strategy in the future."

Valery Spiridonov had volunteered to undergo the world's first full head transplant, to be performed by Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero, but he has since changed his mind. Spiridonov has severe muscular atrophy and has been a wheelchair user all his life. Sergei Fadeichev | TASS | Getty Images

One of the essential keys to the technique is to use a very sharp, special blade to make as precise a cut as possible. Most spinal cord injury patients, however, have extremely frayed cord endings due to the traumatic nature of the injury, so the procedure will not work for them. What's more, polyethylene glycol is toxic to humans, according to Mark Hardy, an expert on immunosuppresion and a pioneering transplant surgeon at Columbia University, who co-authored the paper examining the scientific grounding of head transplantation. Ren's work in animals is "pretty good science," but it is not translatable to humans, Hardy said. That said, "there are other ways" of potentially succesfully reattaching the spinal cord, Hardy said. He believes it may be possible "sometime in the next 10 to 12 years." Stem cells are one avenue. In 2014 a Polish man who was stabbed repeatedly in the neck and had been paraplegic for four years had stem cells taken from his nose seeded at his spinal cord junction. With intense rehabilitation he can now stand and take a few steps. Electrostimulation, like Ren and Canavero are using, has also shown promise in spawning nerve regeneration, though both techniques have had only limited applicability so far. More from Modern Medicine:

Ultrasound targeting the brain is poised to revolutionize treatment for Parkinson's

Legendary inventor Dean Kamen jump-starts human organ manufacturing in US

Scientists say they are on the verge of creating a universal flu vaccine In addition, Hardy said we may be able to bypass it with computers. "In the future, computers can replace some of these neural connections," he said. Currently, many people who receive artificial limbs also receive neural implants enabling them to move the limb just by thinking about it, as the electrostimulation in the brain triggered by the thought is picked up by the neural implant, which relays the signal to a computer and causes the limb to move. "This sounds totally fantastic and unreal, but it is happening," Hardy said.

Immunology issues

The second major technological barrier is immunology, or how to keep the head from rejecting the body and vice versa. "You have to visualize it where the body is the donor organ and the head is the recipient. It's not a head transplant; its a body transplant," Hardy said. The body rejecting the head is unlikely because there are few white blood cells, which are produced in bone marrow and make up the immune system. Some of the immunosuppressive drugs that transplant recipients take, including Tacrolimus and Cyclosporine, which target white blood cells, and the steroid prednisone, are toxic to the brain. The brain is protected by the blood brain barrier, however, which should prevent them from entering. That said, the barrier is "leaky and unpredictable," Hardy said. The main concern is the head rejecting the body. If that happened, individual organs including the heart would shut down and the patient would die, but there are ways to prep the body before surgery to avoid that, like replacing all the bone marrow in the host from that of the head's prior form, tricking it into thinking it is its own immune system. Using similar tactics, in recent years kidney transplant patients have been able to live for two years without taking immunosuppressive drugs after six months of regular immunosuppressant drug therapy. "Immunosuppression is not going to be the major block 10 to 20 years from now," Hardy said. Still, there is a dearth of research, and the things that could go wrong are multitudinous. For instance, in Ren's studies in animals, while the mice and rats successfully had their cords reattached and regained partial motor function, they all died after about two weeks due to "intestinal issues." "The idea that the intestine didn't work is not at all surprising. It was predictable," Hardy said. The brain is the origin point of nerves that branch out from the spinal cord and go all over the body, which make the intestines move, stimulate the heartbeat and trigger all sorts of other functions. "That is one of the reasons Canavero is not ready to do anything right now," Hardy said. Ren agrees. "Of course, we still need more studies in the laboratory using different animals," he said. He is currently focused on the problem of reattaching the spinal cord. After that, they will move on to tackling other problems, such as the intestinal issues and the central nervous system.

Psychology and ethics

Although technically we may soon be able to perform human head transplant surgery, "Its not so simple," said Allen Furr, a sociologist and ethicist at Auburn University, who also co-authored the May report. "The ethics are complex. Right now my opinion is, we don't know if it will be a good idea in the future. We are simply not ready to do it." One glaring issue is the psychological repercussions. "We don't know how the brain is going to react to having a different body," Furr said. "Psychologically, we would expect there would be confusion," as the transplant recipient must learn how to control their "new" body. On top of that, "how folks start to understand themselves is going to become complicated," particularly as the percentage of "yourself" that is now "someone else" increases as transplant surgeries become more advanced, Furr said. "Some folks are predicting catastrophe, that people will go mad," Furr said. Although there undoubtedly would be difficulty adjusting and the need for extensive rehab, Furr doesn't think that outcome is particularly likely. "History would tell us people would really be able to adjust," Furr said. In research on face transplants, one of the surgeries that would seemingly affect one's most intimate personal identity, for example, recipients (about 44 total so far worldwide) report that they have improved mental health, get outside more and quality of life in general post-surgery. In addition, pre-selection will be incredibly important.

Chinese surgeon Xiaoping Ren, a pioneer in research into head transplant procedures, and his team have performed a handful of animal studies on mice, rats and a dog, all of whom survived a spinal cord separation surgery and even regained some motor function. They died two weeks later of intestinal issues.

We don't know how the brain is going to react to having a different body. Allen Furr sociologist and ethicist at Auburn University
A Palestinian man uses a slingshot during clashes with Israeli forces along the border with the Gaza strip east of Khan Yunis on May 14, 2018, as Palestinians protest over the inauguration of the US embassy following its controversial move to Jerusalem.

The United States blocked a United Nations (UN) Security Council statement drafted Monday that called for an independent investigation into the deaths of at least 58 Palestinians along the Israeli-Gaza border.

Monday's violence followed several weeks of mass protests in the Israeli-blockaded territory of Gaza, which is governed by militant Islamist group Hamas. The unrest coincided with the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, a Donald Trump administration directive widely condemned by the international community.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," a draft of the statement read, which was seen and reported by AFP. "The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability."

The U.S. has used its veto power 43 times against UN resolutions concerning Israel.

More than 2,400 people were reported injured as Israeli Defense Forces fired live bullets into crowds of protesters, the majority of whom were unarmed. At least eight children under the age of 16 were killed, according to Palestine's envoy to the UN.

The draft statement also referred to the protests as "peaceful," a clear point of contention between opposing sides in the conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday called the killings an act of self-defense, blaming the violence on Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization. The claim was echoed by the White House.
Tuesday's primary elections will begin to settle swing state Pennsylvania's chaotic congressional landscape after a court fight ended with redrawn districts just three months ago. Pennsylvania primary voters will also decide the fate of President Donald Trump's pick for U.S. Senate. Idaho voters are set to pick their Republican gubernatorial nominee, while heavily Republican Nebraska and Democratic-leaning Oregon are also holding primaries Tuesday. A look at some of the key races:

Pennsylvania scramble

Republicans outnumber Democrats in Pennsylvania's House delegation, though a new congressional map is making the state a focal point of Democrats' effort to reclaim House control in November. Eighty-four candidates are running in 18 House districts in light of new court-ordered redrawn congressional district maps in February. That's more than any time since 1984, when Pennsylvania had 23 seats in the House. Five of Pennsylvania's 13 GOP House members have quit or are not running again, helping create seven House vacancies, the most in Pennsylvania since 1976. Moderate Charlie Dent is abandoning Pennsylvania's new 7th District, where Hillary Clinton received more votes than Trump, who carried Pennsylvania. Six Democrats are running in this district, which reunified Democratic-leaning cities in the east and cut out some of Republican-leaning central Pennsylvania. Ten Democrats are running in suburban Philadelphia's 5th District, where Rep. Patrick Meehan resigned last month amid allegations he sexually harassed a former employee and where Clinton also beat Trump.

Barletta, Trump's pick for Senate

Rep. Lou Barletta is hoping Trump's recent run of successful election suggestions continues in the Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary. Barletta is heavily favored over state Rep. Jim Christiana to become the Republican challenger for Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, who is seeking a third term in November.

Rep. Lou Barletta, R-Pa., walks down the House steps at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. Bill Clark | CQ Roll Call | Getty Images

Barletta was a Trump supporter before the 2016 presidential nomination was settled. The loyalty won Barletta Trump's early support in the Senate race, as well as recorded telephone calls last weekend featuring the president backing Barletta "fully, strongly and proudly." Last week, Trump urged GOP Senate primary voters to support Rep. Jim Renacci in the Ohio Senate and oppose former coal company executive Don Blankenship in West Virginia. Renacci won and Blankenship lost. Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are all seen as key to the 2018 Senate election landscape as states where Trump won in 2016 and Democratic senators are seeking re-election this year.

A first for Nebraska Democrats

Democrats seldom have the luxury of choice in Nebraska, where Republicans have dominated for 80 years. But, for the first time, Omaha-area Democrats have options for the state's lone urban House district. Tuesday's Democratic primary in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, dominated by Omaha and its suburbs, features moderate former Rep. Brad Ashford fighting for his old seat and Kara Eastman, a children's nonprofit administrator, running to Ashford's left. Ashford, a former Republican, served one term in Congress as a Democrat before Republican Don Bacon beat him for re-election in 2016. Ashford, 69, has the endorsement of the Democratic establishment, including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and is portraying himself as the one who can win in a swing-voting district in November. Eastman, 46, is arguing that Democrats have lost by not offering voters a distinct choice and is campaigning on devoutly Democratic themes such as single-payer government-run health insurance, gun control and reducing climate change.

Labrador aims to dodge anti-Washington mood

It was a rough night for Republican members of Congress a week ago. Two lost in Indiana's Senate primary, while one fell in the West Virginia Senate primary. North Carolina Rep. Robert Pittenger lost the primary to keep his own seat. Idaho Rep. Raul Labrador hopes the trend ends there. The four-term Republican House member and founding member of the conservative House Republicans' Freedom Caucus is one of three GOP candidates for governor in Idaho, a state so heavily Republican that the primary goes a long way to determining the general election. Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter is not seeking re-election after three terms. Lt. Gov. Brad Little is seeking the GOP nomination, with Otter's endorsement, while Tommy Ahlquist, an emergency room doctor turned developer, hopes his outsider status carries him as it did Indiana businessman Mike Braun in last week's GOP Senate primary.

GOP governor primary in Democrat-heavy Oregon
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He arrives in Washington on Tuesday for trade talks with the U.S. delegation led by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The visit, which is set to last five days, is meant to prevent trade tensions from spiraling into a trade war. While President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, are widely seen as having a strong personal relationship, officials on both sides say the countries are still far apart when it comes to trade. Here is what the Chinese side expects heading into the talks:

Hard negotiations

The Chinese are expecting a tough week of negotiations, according to an official in China's delegation to Washington. The official, who declined to be named, told CNBC that China had been taken aback by the Trump administration's "not so polite" approach. But, he added, the Chinese side hopes to get the U.S. to agree to a set of principles in which each side negotiates as an equal partner. Building trust is a key Chinese priority, Li Baodong, vice minister of foreign affairs, told CNBC. "They need to sit down, talk, find a solution. Talk with each other," Li said in Beijing on the sidelines of a reception for the Boao Forum for Asia. "A trade war is not a solution," added Li, who is also secretary general of the Boao Forum. "Both sides need to realize that. Hopefully, they can have a meaningful talk."

Focus on cutting the trade deficit

The official in China's trade-talks delegation said it was clear that the Trump administration's priority is to reduce the trade deficit. However, he said the Chinese feel they are being given moving targets.

Liu He, China's vice premier attends a news conference at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Qilai Shen | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The deficit depends on who is buying what and is not entirely within their control, and he pointed out that the U.S. economy is improving. "When Americans get higher income, they purchase more products. And most are from China," he said. "So it is hard to understand their logic." At a conference in Tokyo, the U.S. ambassador to China, Terry Branstad, said the two sides are "very far apart." The ambassador, who has been engaged in trade discussions, said the Trump administration wants the Chinese to give a timetable on how China will open up its markets to U.S. products. Branstad said boosting the sale of liquefied natural gas would be on the table, and he said the U.S. would consider rescinding tariffs if China opened up its markets for autos and especially food. The Chinese official would not reveal what China would offer, but, like Branstad, he acknowledged a wide divide between the U.S. and China. "The gap is so big," he said. However, he added, the Chinese are willing to talk about everything.

Trump's ZTE tactic

Expectations are high that the negotiators will work out an exchange: a reprieve for Chinese telecoms company ZTE for greater purchases of U.S. agricultural products. According to reports, China could ditch tariffs on certain American farm crops such as soybeans and scale back some nontariff barriers such as quality-control inspections.

ZTE has effectively ceased operations after the U.S. Commerce Department banned American companies from selling components to ZTE as punishment for breaching a settlement after the Chinese company violated U.S. sanctions selling technology to Iran and North Korea. The official on the Chinese delegation said Trump's recent tweets about ZTE show there is "space for negotiation." However, he said, from China's perspective, the Trump administration is using ZTE as a stick for the trade deficit. "The U.S. side wants to use it to help [President Trump] realize his campaign promise," he said. "We see that."

The North Korea factor

A nongovernment source who had meetings with Chinese officials in recent days told CNBC the expectation is that trade tensions could ratchet down ahead of the June 12 summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The American president has tweeted his gratitude for Xi and Beijing's efforts on North Korea as the U.S. seeks nuclear disarmament from the reclusive regime, also known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, or DPRK.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a grand military parade celebrating the 70th founding anniversary of the Korean People's Army at the Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang. KCNA | Reuters
Record-setting demand for gasoline, robust U.S. fuel exports and rising oil prices could be conspiring to create pain at the pump for American drivers this summer, according to John Kilduff, founding partner at energy hedge fund Again Capital. U.S. gasoline prices historically rise as Memorial Day  the unofficial kickoff to the summer driving season  approaches. Once the holiday passes, the cost of gas tends to decline as the market realizes there's adequate stockpiles of fuel in storage tanks, said Kilduff. But this year could be different, in his view. That's because drivers are consuming a record level of gasoline at a time when U.S. gas exports have hit all-time highs above 2 million barrels a day. "It is something to watch. We could be on the cusp of a hot, high-priced gasoline summer," he told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Tuesday.

Kilduff is not alone in his forecast. About half of U.S. states could pay $3 or more for a gallon of regular gasoline, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis at Oil Price Information Service. The current national average is $2.879 a gallon, up from $2.338 at this time last year, according to AAA. Right now, Kilduff sees about 10-15 cents of the summer premium in the cost of gas. Meanwhile, crude oil prices have recently hit 3 -year highs. Crude, the feedstock for refined fuels, accounts for about half the cost of making a gallon of gasoline. Oil prices have been recovering throughout the last year as OPEC, Russia and other producers limit their output to whittle away at oversupply. The cost of crude has run up more than expected due to falling output in Venezuela and concerns about turmoil in the Middle East.

WATCH: Average family to pay $200 more for gas
It's been quite a journey going from being born on a commune to raising more than $87 million in funding at a software company. It's one that has forced me to wrestle with existential questions about my true beliefs, and how they intersect with my life as an entrepreneur. One's work is rarely a pure reflection of ideology, but companies need a clear and authentic strategy, which requires alignment between company operations and the founder's philosophy. I have discovered more about the differences between what I believe and the best ways to grow a corporation while studying economics  that is, how money is made and exchanged.

A worldwide conflict between communism and capitalism defined the latter half of the 20th century. The United States' ideological battle was the central drama I witnessed during my childhood, and it was with a combination of glee, pride, and "I told you so!" attitude that my fellow Americans watched the Berlin Wall, and the U.S.S.R. dissolve shortly thereafter. I expect few would deny that the US is the standard bearer for capitalism, globally.

Yet, there's a flaw at the heart of this claim. While the United States operates as a free market economy, the key agent within modern capitalism  the corporation  works more like an authoritarian state. Given how much of our world is built around corporations, this truth and its subsequent impact is critical.

I grew up separated from America's passion for capitalism. In the era of Reagan, I was living on a Tennessee commune called The Farm. My parents did not earn money for their labor, and we didn't have personal property. My family left the Farm when I was I was 8 years old, and as I matured, I found that my ideological roots were in conflict with the nonstop American pro-capitalism message. As I joined the workforce and eventually started my own company, I found myself attached to neither the communal roots of my childhood nor the Wolf of Wall Street world I had moved into. I found my personal convictions being tested, as I encountered problems in the course of scaling a company.

The first real conflict came when it was time to hire managers. I had founded a company primarily because I did not thrive as someone else's employee, so what led me to think others would? More importantly, anyone who has ever operated at the executive-level front line is aware of the severe costs imposed by the hierarchical separation between people who do the work and people who make the decisions. Following this logic: Hiring managers was just going to make the company worse, not better, right? Right?

I expect maybe some of you are gleefully shouting, "Yay, holacracy!" right now, while the rest are confused and either offended or think I'm an idiot. I did consider a manager-less company, but a little research provided only examples of disaster, because the only available options just replace an explicit power structure with an implicit one. In other words, it's still hierarchical with the founder on top, but now decision making is opaque and the system is easy to exploit because of the lack of controls (which looks surprisingly like the cult/commune I grew up in).

Those who are confused or offended by the idea that managers make employees perform worse would be informed by a deep dip in economics. One of the core principles of the free market is that central planning committees can never be as efficient or effective as the people doing the work. By definition, a free market economy lacks a decision-making hierarchy; free" meaning that every agent (individual or corporation) can decide for themselves, without needing permission from a manager.

While there are many aspects of modern American capitalism I reject, this one I wholeheartedly support [1]. The downsides of a strong central executive were taught to me early on.

Like many other communes, the one I grew up on routinely failed to feed its people . My parents speak with horror of the "wheat berry winter," when we lived on little else but the grain. While his people were short on food, the founder of the Farm was off touring Europe as the third drummer in a band, "bringing our message to the world."

Thankfully none of us starved to death, but this failing was similar to what most communist countries have experienced: The central organization could not feed everyone. For years, I assumed this was due to incompetence, whether at the scale of the Farm or a country like China. The truth was far more structural. Millions starved during China's Great Leap Forward because the central government was trying something impossible: Managing the productive output of an entire country. The Planet Money podcast tells the riveting story of how this centralized plan was walked back in China, but the general point is that these communist countries did not just nationalize the means of production, they tried to centrally control all of it from within a small group [2].

When people talk about communist countries not being free markets, this is what they mean: Communist governments tell the farmers what crops to produce and in what quantity, rather than letting them decide for themselves. China even went so far as to dictate what hours a farmer should start and stop working, including directing managers to ring a bell to signal transition times and exert control over every single group of farmers. (Anyone who's ever had to punch a clock at a rigid, dysfunctional hierarchy of a job is likely getting painful flashbacks right about now.)

It should be immediately obvious why this method fails miserably: The distance between the central planning committee and the farmer is so great that good decisions are nearly impossible to make. It's nearly impossible for critical feedback to make it in, especially from the outer edges where the farmers are working, to the central planning committee in time to affect decisions, and then for those decisions to make it back to the edges in time to be useful. Planet Money also points out how unmotivated the farmers were under the Chinese regime, cutting productivity even further. Those who have studied lean manufacturing, agile development, and DevOps are likely seeing parallels here.

The result was catastrophe. When a corporation is painfully inefficient it loses money and might have to layoff employees, but when a communist country fails at growing enough food, its people starve to death. I don't mean to imply that central planning was the only cause of famine under communist rule  there were political operations that led to mass starvation, just like in non-communist countries  but learning more about these tragic events helped crystallize what I prefer about capitalist models. It also converted the concept of "the free market" from a catchy slogan into something meaningful to me [3].

The most important feature of free market economies is that each person within them is able to make independent decisions in their own best interest [4]. If you're a farmer, you can decide what to grow, how much to grow, and when to work. Heck, you can even choose not to be a farmer anymore. Success is dependent on finding a buyer for your work at a price you can tolerate. Any given year might not be perfect, but your decision making gets better over time as you learn to respond to customer demand.

This pattern is easy to understand in any system where the people doing the work make the decisions. If you're a jeweler, you can decide what to make, how much to sell it for, and what to spend your time on. It's the same if you run a small restaurant, lead local tours, or are a one-person shop doing house remodeling. It's a free market, where you can charge what the market will bear and quickly and efficiently respond to its whims, ensuring that you are getting the best return for your time.

This was a powerful organizing principle for a long time. The history of human commerce developed largely this way: One person, or as many people as could fit in one shop, would turn labor into a product, then find a buyer for it. Most large-scale efforts were organized by the state of the time: Monarchs and the landed gentry, who were the only ones capable of marshaling enough resources to build palaces, roads, and other large construction projects.

This began to change in the 17th century when corporations like the Dutch East India Company were able to deliver massive windfalls to investors by pooling money and using it to extract resources from colonies. There was a step change in the 19th century, as corporations went from generating wealth to building and owning infrastructure. It's one thing to outfit a single ship for a year-long voyage, and another entirely to maintain railroad schedules across the United Kingdom, or run a telegraph network around the whole United States. These aren't just short-term, money-making exercises, they're long-term commitments with big capital outlays and large returns over many years.

We still live in a free market economy, but it's not one Adam Smith would recognize. Instead of individual or small operators, ours is composed almost entirely of corporations. Really big corporations. And these companies use the same kind of central planning that we so despise in communist systems. I know. I've done it.

By the time my company reached nearly 500 employees, we had a multi-week planning process, where leadership (i.e., myself and my lieutenants) set out top-level goals, built a top-down plan to accomplish them, and drew information from the front line to see where it needed tweaks. We called this a bottom-up plan, but it was only bottom-up from the perspective of numbers  how much money we'd have, what our costs were, etc.  rather than from the bottom of the organization. We could see no way to have a system where the people doing the work built a plan for the organization. Even thinking about it now, my reaction is, "How would they know what my goals are?"

That's the kind of question you can only ask in an authoritarian state, not in a free market economy. My goals became my company's goals, and the only real way to ensure people worked toward them for me to provide a plan. You might argue that a corporation should focus on shareholder value, but that doesn't help make decisions about what the company should actually do.

Great leaders find a way to listen to everyone in the company, but in the end, leadership is about making decisions. That's essentially the definition of the word. And we all know leaders who did not bother to listen, or felt they did not need to in order to be great; today's most revered tech leader, Steve Jobs, was famously disrespectful of the opinions of others, yet made a lot of world-changing decisions (and not all for the better).

This is exactly why working in a big corporation is so stifling. If you're in a small company, the executives are close enough to the front line that it's more like working in a tribe, but in a big company, the leadership is so far removed from those who do the work that executive teams operate like the politburo we so decry in communist countries. Certainly the bureaucracies are no more enjoyable or forgiving.

I find it both ironic and painful that my inability to work for someone else resulted in my creating a company that involved a lot of smart, capable people working for someone else.

I wish I had a solution. If this were an easy problem, its solution would already be pervasive, because the benefits are massive. Just in terms of efficiency, we've seen how much better the free market is than planned economies, but it also has a hugely positive impact on quality of life. People are happier when they're in control.

I know the solution is not more freelancing and contract work, which America's corporations are addicted to. That's the worst of both worlds: The exploitative nature of capitalism with the inefficient bureaucracies of communism. Transactions on the free market work because they're good for both sides, but most people only accept part-time contract relationships today when they have no other real choices.

Holacracy certainly isn't the answer. It's fundamentally flawed because of its implicit power structure  Tony Hsieh still runs Zappos, even if he does not use a central planning committee to do so  but the biggest problem is that it makes no mention of economics. Without a clear system for scoring the transactions (i.e., money) it's impossible to build a free market.

This problem of how to handle economics within a non-hierarchical company might lead some to think of using blockchain tokens as an internal currency. This is impossible today, beyond the fact that the world of blockchain is mostly about fraud and black market sales. The biggest problem is that we have no idea how to value most of the work people do. I mean, we might know what a developer should get paid for a year's work, but how much is that work worth? The majority of the work done in modern corporations is incredibly hard to value, which is partially why companies are so inefficient and make so many bad decisions.

That brings up an even bigger problem  companies today hire workers to make money from their labor. In other words, they generate profit because they pay their employees less than they're worth. If everyone could trade their labor for exactly the amount of money it was worth, the corporations that employ them would have a much harder time making money. Instead, in modern corporations, the shareholders and executive team  again, the central planning committee we so despise  make the majority of the money, while the front line does the majority of the work and makes very little. This is true even at big tech firms; software developers might be well paid relative to hotel workers, but they're paid a pittance compared to the founders and executives. This might speak to why we have no solution yet  free market corporations would tend to reduce concentrations of wealth, which would be terribly disruptive to the current system.

Like I said, I don't have a solution. But at least now I know what makes the current system so painful, and it gives me some hope that we actually can come up with a better answer. I know I'll be working harder in the future to manage the downsides of what we have today.

Commentary by Luke Kanies, the founder of Puppet, which makes IT automation software. He is currently an advisor and consultant for product and market strategy and entrepreneurship. Follow him on Twitter @puppetmasterd.

This article originally appeared on Medium.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
The Missourians Opinion section is a public forum for the discussion of ideas. The views presented in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Missourian or the University of Missouri. If you would like to contribute to the Opinion page with a response or an original topic of your own, visit our submission form
Brexit 1) May admits impasse on reaching a customs deal

If we get the customs deal wrong, it will destroy thousands of jobs in car manufacturing  Andy Street, The Times

Theresa May has admitted to Conservative MPs that Brexit negotiations are at an impasse because neither of her current options for a customs deal with the EU will work. The Prime Minister invited all 214 of her backbenchers to Downing Street to explain why she has had to go back to the drawing board in an attempt to find a replacement for the customs union. But her attempt at getting her critics on board appeared to backfire as the technical briefings increased fears among Eurosceptics that further delays will mean an extension of the 21-month transition period.  Daily Telegraph

>Today: Columnist Henry Newman: The more we look back to the referendum, and re-fight its battles, the less we get ready for the future

>Yesterday:

Brexit 2) Little progress since March says Barnier

Brexit talks have made little progress since March, the EUs chief negotiator has said. Michel Barnier said there was a risk of failure in two key areas  Northern Ireland, and how the agreement will be governed. He said Junes EU summit was a key rendezvous to reach a deal that can be ratified before the UK leaves. And he defended the EUs stance over the UKs involvement in the new Galileo sat-nav system. The UK has played a key role in the programmes development so far, but faces being shut out of key elements of the programme after Brexit. UK ministers are now considering setting up a rival version.  BBC

Brexit revolution has only brought deadlock  Rachel Sylvester, The Times

Brexit 3) Rees-Mogg clashes with the PM over the Irish border

If the Irish Government obliges us to choose between the Republic and the Union, then we will choose the Union  Jacob Rees-Mogg, Daily Telegraph

Leavers are preparing their Brexit betrayal narrative  Janan Ganesh, Financial Times

Brexit 4) Holyrood to reject the EU Withdrawal Bill

Theresa May confronted Jacob Rees-Mogg at a meeting with Tory MPs designed to break the deadlock over Britains future customs arrangements with the EU, The Times has learnt. The pair clashed yesterday over the impact of rival plans on the Irish border, in what witnesses described as the prime minister sending a tough signal to hardline Brexiteers that she was not prepared to jeopardise the Union. It came after Mrs May went over the heads of her squabbling cabinet with a personal appeal to scores of backbench Tory MPs to help to settle Britains position. She issued an open invitation to all 315 Conservative MPs to attend Downing Street briefings on the rival options that have split her top team.  The Times

MSPs are set to formally refuse to give Holyroods consent to the UKs main piece of Brexit legislation. The Scottish and UK governments are at odds over the EU Withdrawal Bill and what it could mean for devolved powers. Labour, Green and Lib Dem MSPs are expected to back SNP members in rejecting the Westminster bill, saying it would restrict Holyroods powers. The Scottish Conservatives will vote against, and have blamed the SNP for the failure to find an agreement.  BBC

Last ditch plea from Scottish Tories  Daily Telegraph

Brexit 5) Delaying trade deals would cost billions warns Fox

Brexit 6) Corbyn dodges pleas to back Single Market

Britain must focus on trade deals with countries outside Europe or risk losing billions in tax revenue, Liam Fox will warn today when he joins the public cabinet fight over customs. The trade secretary will implore cabinet colleagues not to let the practices and patterns of the past constrain the opportunities of the future and will argue against the customs partnership option at the heart of dispute. Dr Fox, a Brexiteer, will not attack the customs partnership  a system where Britain would continue to collect EU tariffs after Brexit  by name in his speech to be made at a London club. However, he will make his misgivings clear as he attacks those who are simply identifying how much of our current relationship we want to keep.  The Times

Labour MPs pressed Jeremy Corbyn last night to back membership of the single market. Pro-EU MPs, led by Hilary Benn, made entreaties at the weekly meeting of the parliamentary Labour partyConfusion reigned in the wake of the PLP meeting, however.One pro- Remain MP claimed that Mr Corbyn had been asked to please keep the option on the table  and he didnt not keep the option on the table. John Mann, a Leave-backing MP, insisted that Brexit wins the day  the EEA [proposal] is dead. He claimed that Mr Corbyn was clear that the extra House of Lords stuff wont have Labour [frontbench] support.  The Times

Brexit 7) Morgan joins with Clegg and David Miliband for cross party protest

An hour of guff in Essex  Quentin Letts, Daily Mail

David Milibands arrogance to try and return to UK politics and tell us how to handle Brexit is repugnant  The Sun Says

Blair is the puppet master  Andrew Pierce, Daily Mail

The Conservative MP Nicky Morgan has revealed she will give evidence in a court case in June after she received an alleged death threat over her position on Brexit. She said her absolute determination not to give in to the siren voices was one of the reasons she had joined forces with David Miliband and Sir Nick Clegg in a cross-party campaign to persuade parliament to support some of the House of Lords amendments to the Brexit bill on the single market and customs union.  The Guardian

>Yesterday: WATCH: David Miliband  Those of us who lost shouldnt accept that the case for minimising the damage is lost

Grenfell campaigners won the argument says Hurd

Campaigners who demanded changes to the Grenfell Tower fire inquiry have won their argument, a government minister has said. In a U-turn, Theresa May announced last week that two experts would sit with the judge investigating the fire. It followed pressure from campaigners who warned of a whitewashPolice and Fire Minister Nick Hurd said there was no intention to hang around and paid tribute to campaigners, some of whom attended the Westminster Hall debate.  BBC

Nokes knew about deportations earlier than claimed

Wright to seek permission to unlock fund to help repay National Debt

The Home Office has been accused of being unfit for purpose and guilty of shambolic incompetence after letters written by Caroline Nokes, the immigration minister, appeared to contradict what she told a parliamentary committee about when she became aware of the problems experienced by highly skilled migrants. Nokes last week told Yvette Cooper, the chair of the home affairs select committee, that she hadnt had time to investigate revelations in the Guardian that at least 1,000 highly skilled migrants seeking indefinite leave to remain in the UK were wrongly facing deportation.  The Guardian

The government is set to launch a bid to use a multimillion-pound 90-year-old fund to pay down the national debt. The National Fund was established in 1928 when an anonymous donor set aside 500,000 on the sole condition that it be invested in the stock market until it was large enough to pay off the governments entire debt in one go. It was probably a response to Stanley Baldwin, the former Conservative prime minister, who in 1919 wrote a letter to The Times asking for voluntary donations from rich Britons to pay off the nations First World War debts. In the intervening nine decades, the fund has grown to 475 millionit is understood that Jeremy Wright, the current attorney, will apply to the High Court this week to have the fund unlocked.  The Times

>Today: ToryDiary: The CPS, Tory MPs, new ideas  and a debate we need on economic policy

Afolami calls for a Permission Value Tax

Labour shortlist for Lewisham East

Fat cat developers should pay a new tax  with funds going directly to the local community, a rising Tory star has recommended. Tory MP Bim Afolami calls for a Permission Value Tax, which would ensure the roads, hospitals, schools and other infrastructure is able to keep pace with rapid new housing developments. The move would slap a levy on all landowners based on the increase in the residential value of the land when development takes place. He says his proposal would help make house-building acceptable to local people  and deliver on the pressing need to rapidly increase Britains housing stock.  The Sun

A former Ken Livingstone adviser, an anti-Transatlantic trade treaty activist, Lewishams deputy mayor and a former mayoral candidate have been shortlisted by Labour for the election to succeed Heidi Alexander in Lewisham East. Labours national executive committee has shortlisted Claudia Webbe, Brenda Dacres, Janet Daby and Sakina Sheikh as its four candidates who will be put to a members vote at a hustings this weekend.  The Guardian

Jewish leader says Labour must expel Ken Livingstone or face consequences  The Times

A warning to the Tories: Britains true-blue suburbs have turned liberal  John Harris, The Guardian

Bercow leads tribute to Jowell

Commons staff used to brief against bullying claims  The Guardian

Plain packaging for cigarettes a failure

Tessa Jowell was the best of us, Commons Speaker John Bercow has said as he led tributes to the late Labour politician and cancer campaigner. He told MPs her death at the age of 70 left Parliament infinitely poorer. She was a stellar, progressive change-maker who had a well of practical compassion without rival, he said. Theresa May said she was an extraordinary politician, colleague and campaigner who fought her illness with incredible courage and spirit.  BBC

Plain packaging on cigarettes was branded a failure by campaigners last night after research found smoking levels have gone UP since it was brought in. A study found smoking rates in England were higher than for the same time last year before plain packaging was fully introduced. Experts compared a smoking rate of 17.1 per cent in March 2018 with March last years rate of 16.5 per cent  an increase of 0.7 per cent.  The Sun

Peers make a new bid for a Leveson inquiry

Parliament has no business interfering with a free press  Edward Garnier, The Times

Constitutionally improper to defy MPs  Leader, Daily Telegraph

Dozens of Palestinians killed attempting to break through border into Israel

The House of Lords has backed an attempt to set up a new Leveson-style inquiry days after a similar proposal was voted down by MPs. The motion, an amendment to the governments Data Protection Bill, won by 39 votes  252 to 213  yesterday, less than a week after ministers extolled a great victory for a free and fair press in the Commons. The government will try to defeat the Lords amendment in the Commons today. Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, said that peers had opposed the freedom of the press.  The Times

Gaza is braced for fresh protests against Israel as the first funerals are expected to be held for 58 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces on Monday, the deadliest day since the end of the 2014 Gaza conflict. Tuesday is the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands were expelled or fled amid the creation of Israel in 1948. Weeks of angry protests were further enflamed on Monday by the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. While Ivanka Trump and other American dignitaries gathered in the afternoon sun to celebrate the embassy opening, the Gaza border was transformed into a scene of fire and chaos as tens of thousands of protesters faced Israeli snipers. Israels military said that it opened fire to stop Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, from using the protests as a distraction to break through the border fence and carry out attacks inside Israel.  Daily Telegraph

Corbyn tried to get Eurovision winner Israel banned from the contest  The Sun

Plea to Johnson to raise Iranian prisoner case

DUP MP hits back at gammon slurs

The husband of jailed British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has urged Boris Johnson to raise his wifes case when he meets Irans foreign minister later. Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 39, is serving a five-year jail sentence in Iran after being convicted of spying. But Richard Ratcliffe says his wife is facing possible new charges. Foreign Secretary Mr Johnson is due to meet his Iranian counterpart in Brussels for Iran nuclear deal talks.  BBC

MP Emma Little Pengelly has hit out at the use of the slur gammon on social media. The South Belfast MP took to Twitter in the early hours of Sunday morning to say she was appalled at the increasing use of the term. Im appalled by the term gammon now frequently entering the lexicon of so many (mainly on the left) & seemingly be accepted. This is a term based on skin colour & age  stereotyping by colour or age is wrong no matter what race, age or community. It is just wrong, she tweet. The term is normally used as a derogatory slur normally toward white middle class Brexit supporting men whose complexion turns pink when they get over excited about issues such as the UKs impending departure from the EU, immigration matters or political correctness gone mad.  Belfast Telegraph

Hague: The West needs to rediscover a sense of unity

News in brief

What does the British public think about capitalism?  Matt Singh, CapX

MaxFac border solutions operate in a country like Rwanda, so they can work for the Irish border too  Kieran Holmes, Brexit Central

MPs in mess over new data protection laws  Isabel Hardman, The Spectator

Theresa May is the Brexiteers human shield  theyd be even weaker without her  George Eaton, New Statesman

Shadow Minister deletes tweet backing a second referendum  Independent

The West, by which I mean the developed democratic nations, cannot have rigid goals for 2050 precisely because we are free societies who change our minds and want to go where science, reason, and new thinking take us. Nor do we want presidents indefinitely in office who can make a confident plan that far ahead. But we do need a collective instinct and common set of values, kept together and renewed by unifying leadership. Such a combination prevailed through the second half of the 20th century, but is seriously weakened now.  William Hague, Daily Telegraph
Helen Whately is the Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent. Alys Denby is Parliamentary Researcher for Helen Whately MP, she was previously a journalist at the Daily Mail and Evening Standard. This is one of the essays published today by the Centre for Policy Studies in the publication New Blue: Ideas for a New Generation.

University is presented to young people as the best years of your life. But for many, its stressful, lonely and unhappy  and occasionally deadly. In 2015, there were 134 student suicides, more than in any previous year. Bristol University has seen seven students take their own lives in less than 18 months.

These tragic deaths shine a cold light on the urgent need for better mental health support in universities. And for each student suicide, there are hundreds of students struggling with their mental health, suffering from anxiety and depression through to serious mental illnesses like psychosis and bi-polar disorder.

Such problems do not just inflict misery on those afflicted. They also blight lives, impacting on students studies and preventing them from making the most of their university experience.

Recently, there has been a welcome effort to improve mental health support in schools. The Five Year Forward View for Mental Health is leading to improvements on specific issues like eating disorders and early intervention for psychosis. So now its time to step up and focus on the mental health of students.

University provides a precious opportunity to intervene. Its a stage of life when some mental health conditions develop or become apparent  including conditions like psychosis, where we know that early intervention can be the difference between a lifelong illness and recovery. And its an opportunity to help a huge proportion of the countrys young people  since nearly 50 per cent now go to university  learn how to look after their mental health.

The decisions you make, the experiences you have and the things you learn at university set you up for the rest of your life. Getting this right will help the next generation of scientists, teachers, engineers and business leaders be better equipped to cope with the ups and downs of a changing world.

Students are calling out for more help with their mental health

More UK students than ever before are coming forward to disclose mental health conditions  15,395 in 2015, almost five times the number in 2006/7. And 94 per cent of higher education providers have reported an increase in demand for counselling services.

In 2015, a record number of students with mental health problems (1,180) dropped out of university, an increase of 210 per cent compared to 2009/10. Its a large and growing problem  and a sad waste of potential.

Despite this, less than a third of universities have an explicit mental health and wellbeing strategy. Only 29 per cent of universities monitor student attendance  which means that students at the other two thirds could go missing for months and the university authorities would have no way of knowing.

While some universities have excellent systems in place, the picture varies enormously across the country. Students whose problems are not yet severe may not meet the threshold for NHS treatment, and if theres no alternative provision at university they may get no help at all. And waiting times mean that those who do qualify for specialist treatment can fall through the gaps while moving between university and home.

Happier students will help build a healthier society

Almost 50 per cent of young people now go to university. Thats a student population of 2.3 million, plus 400,000 staff. With so many more people spending longer in education settings  where work, leisure, healthcare and social support are all focused in one place  theres a real opportunity to catch health problems early. Providing better mental health support at university can break down stigma, help students learn how to manage their mental health and how to support peers, leading to a healthier society in years to come.

Students are told that a university education is about more than just grades  but those who are suffering from depression and anxiety cant make the most of their time there. More support for mental health will help students to thrive.

The Government has recognised the need for better mental health care and the Prime Minister has committed to tackling the burning injustice of inadequate treatment. We are trialling four-week waiting times for access to specialist treatment and spending an addition 1.4 billion on young peoples mental health.

We have made great progress in tackling stigma and challenging the perception that mental illness  unlike physical disease  is untreatable, a life sentence. The emergence of many mental health conditions during childhood and the benefits of early intervention are now well understood, so the Departments of Health and Education have come together to produce their green paper on Transforming Children and Young Peoples Mental Health.

Better support at university and in further education settings should be the next priority. We need more mental health training and awareness for all staff, continuity of care so that students can continue to receive treatment as they move between home and university, and more robust assessment of how universities promote the health and wellbeing of their students.

Britains universities are renowned across the world for the quality of the academic education they provide; with better mental health care they can provide an education for life.

Why are students struggling with their mental health?

Three quarters of adults with mental health problems experience their first symptoms before the age of 25, and mental health problems are more prevalent among people from tougher socio-economic backgrounds.

With widening access to university, the student population is coming to more accurately reflect society as a whole, so we would expect to see a greater proportion of students affected by mental ill health. However, there are certain aspects of student experience that can exacerbate conditions.

Students go through multiple transitions: leaving home for the first time, becoming financially self-reliant, meeting new people from very different backgrounds, learning new things, questioning old assumptions and seeking a purpose in life. These are all part of what makes university life so formative and exciting, but they can also be extremely challenging. The expectation that you will have the best years of your life can add to the stress if the reality does not live up to the promise.

For students with pre-existing mental health conditions, starting university and registering with a new GP can disrupt their care. There is often poor integration between the care they receive at university and at home, which creates difficulties accessing records.

Changes in routine can affect also self-management. For example, students with eating disorders may have to get used to cooking for themselves or eating communally in halls and shared houses.

Moving away from support networks of family and friends can leave students very isolated. International students are particularly vulnerable, as are students who are the first generation of their family to go to

university and may have less idea of what to expect.

Academic pressure is another factor. A student experience survey by the University Partnership Programme reported that 48 per cent of men and 67 per cent of women found the stress of studying difficult to cope with at

university.

Moving from the structured, supportive environment of school to self-directed study with perhaps just eight contact hours a week can be a challenge. Many students get into unhealthy study patterns, staying up all night in the midst of an essay crisis.

In a report for Student Minds, one student said: It is normalised at university to feel extremely stressed, or fearful, or not to be able to sleep, but then there can be a stigma surrounding those who seek help, as if they cannot cope with the pressure or stress that everyone feels to some extent.

Drugs and alcohol are often part of university culture and can have a significant impact on student mental health. The links between drugs, alcohol, addiction and poor mental health are well explored, but its not just the substances themselves that can have negative effects. Alcohol and drugs can lead to poor decision-making and affect students ability to concentrate on their work. Students with pre-existing conditions can use them to self-medicate. And students who abstain can struggle to make friends and become isolated.

The universities stepping up to the challenge

Many universities are already taking action. Bristol is spending an additional 1m on a new student wellbeing service and introducing course requirements beyond traditional subjects to improve students coping skills and foster a sense of community. It is also encouraging students to declare pre-existing mental health conditions before they arrive on campus, insisting that it will not jeopardise their admission. It has 13 fulltime counsellors and staff dedicated to students living in residence halls.

The University of Derby, which is in the top 20 universities in the UK for student well-being according to the Times Higher Education Student Experience Survey, invites students with mental health conditions and learning disabilities to pre-entry events so they can settle in early and make friends before the chaos of freshers week. It has also collaborated with Student Minds on research into the role of academics in supporting student mental health.

The next steps in improving student mental health

To truly change the experience of students struggling with their mental health, we need universities and the NHS to jointly embrace the challenge and the opportunity of supporting student mental health. Compared to the current patchy and often inadequate provision of mental health services to students, its time for a comprehensive and thought-through approach to student mental health, which identifies students mental health support needs, provides access to appropriate care and support dependent on need, and adapts the university environment itself to reduce the risks to students mental health.

These 10 proposals will move the various organisations involved in looking after students towards a comprehensive system of care that supports students in what really can be the best years of their lives.

Introduce a whole-university approach to mental health by extending the recommendations in the recent green paper for whole-school approaches to mental health to higher and further education settings. Roll out mental health first-aid training systematically among both academic and non-academic university staff. Ensure that students have an appropriately-trained member of university staff providing support to them individually, who is unconnected with their academic work. On arrival at university, students should receive an induction with advice on what mental health support is available to them. Include measures of health and wellbeing in OfS assessment criteria for universities and in the National Student Survey. Universities should pilot surveying their students on admission to identify those who have a mental health problem or may be at risk. Enable students to register with two GPs, one at home and one at university, to ensure continuity of care  which would also benefit those with other health conditions. Facilitate better information-sharing between medical practitioners looking after students, for instance through a digital health passport. Expect universities and local NHS organisations to build strong links and develop services specifically for students. Where a region includes a student population, the regional NHS body should make specific provision for their mental health needs  and this should be required before their wider plans are signed off.

Responsibility for student wellbeing is often shared between academics, chaplains, GPs, counsellors and others. As a result, its too easy for it to become nobodys problem.

Universities UK is encouraging university leaders to develop integrated, whole-university approaches to student mental health, through its StepChange framework.

Universities should review their curricula and the overall academic and pastoral environment to identify characteristics which are detrimental to student mental health and potential triggers for mental health crises.

The Departments for Education and Health and Social Care have recognised the need to promote whole-school approaches to mental health in their green paper, and should consider extending this to higher and further education settings as well.

Mental health first-aid training should be rolled out to university staff, as it is being to secondary schools. At present Mental Health First Aid offers training and resources for universities, but take-up is on a voluntary basis. Academics interviewed by Student Minds said that responding to mental health problems has become an inevitable part of their role. However, they receive little or no formal training.

At the same time, academics have a role in judging students work, and students say they worry that disclosing a problem could affect their grade. Others who have tried to talk about a mental health problem with their supervisor report not being taken seriously.

One suggestion is for students to have a member of university staff looking out for them who is unconnected with their academic work, with the aptitude and appropriate training to provide guidance.

As well as the right training for academics, non-academic university staff should be able to identify students who are struggling and signpost them to appropriate support. This should include out-of-hours staff, like porters, cleaners and security guards, who may be the first to encounter a student who is struggling  perhaps staying up night after night or locking themselves in their room.

All students should receive a thorough induction on arrival, with advice on what mental health support is available to them, how to navigate the system, and how to study healthily. Post-graduates must be given equal consideration in this process, as they tend to have even less supervision.

Students should have access to an individual, perhaps a mentor, who they know they can turn to for advice. And curriculums should be designed in a sensitive manner. For example, some medical courses teach students about suicide in their first term. Given this is when they are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems, thats surely not the right time.

We mustnt be too prescriptive. The independence of our universities is one of their greatest strengths, and students deserve to have the widest possible choice. But the Government does have a role, and can use regulation and transparency as powerful tools to drive improvement.

For example, the Office for Students should collect much more robust data. At present there is no national measurement of health and wellbeing at universities. Some universities have measured their own wellbeing

levels compared to national population figures published by the ONS and have found lower levels of wellbeing and a decline year on year.

Measures of health and wellbeing should be included in OfS assessment criteria for universities and in the National Student Survey. Universities should pilot surveying their students on admission to identify those who may be at risk. More research into suicides at university is also needed to identify gaps and best practice.

GPs are often the first port of call for people with mental health problems, but being registered with just one GP means that students can spend half the year without access to this trusted source of advice. Students should be able to register with two GPs, one at home and one at university, to ensure continuity of care. The funding they attract could be split between practices depending on how much time a student spent in each place.

Technology should be used to facilitate better information sharing between medical practitioners, for example via a digital health passport. And universities should build stronger links with local NHS organisations to help students get better access to the help they need. Where a region includes a student population, the regional NHS body (the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership) should make specific provision for their mental health needs and sign-off on its plans should depend on this.

To the extent that some of these proposals involve costs for universities, quite apart from the moral case, there is surely a business case for them to invest in the mental health and wellbeing of students. Some students drop out and abandon their courses as they struggle with their mental health. Others dont get the results they should. And overall, if support for student mental health is assessed by the Office for Students and the National Student Survey, good performance will help attract students and conversely, poor performance will deter them.

Why strive for better student mental health?

Healthier students will get more out of university, both academically and socially. Healthier graduates will be able to contribute more to society and lead more fulfilling lives.

By taking both a medical and pastoral approach to students mental health and joining up the disparate elements of the system, we will improve, and in some cases save, so many lives.

Lets not just expand students minds  lets also help them with their mental health. In so doing, we can help more students have a university experience that meets their great expectations, and set them up to manage their mental health better for life.
I have announced today that, after nearly six years in the role, I am stepping down as the Prime Ministers Special Representative for Veterans Transition.

It has been a privilege to serve under the last two Conservative Party leaders as I worked with all stakeholders to ensure military personnel receive the support they need when making the transition to civilian life.

My appointment was announced in September 2012 by David Cameron and, of course, the two of us have had our public differences since then. However, I remain grateful to him for the opportunities that the role has given me and I also thank Theresa May for allowing me to continue my work under her leadership.

I believe that the work I set out to do is complete. Although there is still work to be done, my work is done and this is the right moment for me to move on and pursue some of my other wide-ranging interests.

I have written to the Government, notably the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence, to inform them of my decision. I have thanked them for their support and told them that I will continue to take an interest in the field and, if the right situation arises, I will help in any way that I can.

In the build-up to my appointment in 2012, our Armed Forces had been losing a significant number of personnel to death and serious injury in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Indeed, amid emotional scenes, the coffins of 355 fallen military personnel passed through Wootton Bassett (now Royal Wootton Bassett) between spring 2007 and summer 2011.

This was the difficult environment in which I started my new role six years ago, with the nation concerned about what was being widely depicted as high casualty rates for those personnel serving in the two danger zones. When I was appointed, I decided to give my role real meaning by conducting a review into every aspect of the transition of Service leavers to their civilian lives. For a year, a small team carried out extensive research.

Not only did I never draw any salary or expenses for my role, but I also funded the research myself. This was partly out of a sense of public service but also because I did not want to be duty-bound to any department or organisation.

My own polling organisation, Lord Ashcroft Polls, allowed me to conduct independent research and the Government permitted me access to everyone I needed to see.

In February 2014, I published the Veterans Transition Review which analysed the process of leaving the Armed Forces and returning to civilian life. The Government, in turn, agreed to implement all the significant recommendations in the review.

The message that I drummed home in my 200-page review was that transition is important for the Armed Forces and society as a whole, not just the individual. A more successful transition from the military will mean higher-quality candidates wanting to join, creating a virtuous circle that helps recruitment, retention and the reputation of the Services.

The Government asked me to monitor the progress of my work in annual follow-up reports. These came out in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

I believe that an enormous amount has been achieved in a relatively short time. The importance of a good transition is now far more widely recognised at senior levels in the military and by politicians. Personnel are being encouraged to prepare for transition much earlier in their careers and the handover between the defence and civilian health services is smoother than before. Furthermore, additional work is done to ensure that military qualifications/experience are recognised by civilian employers and that the needs of Services leavers are better understood and catered for.

Veterans Gateway is an important step forward in that it provides a single contact centre for veterans and their families to get in touch with organisations best placed to help with the information, advice and support.

Another important legacy of my role has been the establishment of the Veterans & Families Research Hub. This is a collaboration between the Forces in Mind Trust (FiMT), myself and Anglia Ruskin University, of which I am Chancellor. The Hubs aim is to bring people and knowledge together.

The Hub, which went live last year, is aimed at a wide range of users, including academics and researchers, policy makers, statutory and voluntary service providers, the media and the public, including the military and veterans community.

I am delighted to report that the Hub is now fully operational from its home at Anglia Ruskins campus in Chelmsford, Essex, where it is under the management of Alex Cooper, who is Director of the Forces in Mind Trust Research Centre.

Later this month the Hub is due to publish the first in a series of Snapshot reports into key areas that affect veterans and their families. Each Snapshot will summarise the existing research into important areas such as housing, employment, mental health, physical health and finance.

Given the scale of my task when I was appointed in 2012, it is perhaps inevitable that there are still some areas of concern. The first is that while many useful initiatives have been developed separately by the NHS, individual authorities, charities and other bodies, these are too often confined to their silo. The reality is that best practice needs to be shared more effectively.

The second area concerns public perceptions: in particular, people greatly overestimate the likelihood that Service leavers will experience physical and (especially) mental health conditions, as well as other problems such as homelessness. These problems do, of course, exist but the persistent view that they are more widespread than is really the case creates an extra hurdle for Service leavers to overcome. It also damages the Forces wider reputation and their ability to recruit.

The misconception is harmful in other ways too: it can damage the prospects of those searching for work and it draws attention from those who really do need help.

Given the UKs rich history and the traditions of our Armed Forces, it is unacceptable that military service is widely considered to be damaging to the individual when, in the vast majority of cases, this is simply not the case.

This misperception must be addressed and, ultimately, fixed. Indeed I am delighted that the newly appointed Ministerial Covenant and Veterans Board has this issue high on its agenda.

As I step down, I would like to thank those who have contributed significantly to my work. Michael Laurie, Kevin Culwick and Alex Cooper have been among the key members of my team, while I would also like to record my gratitude to ministers, officials and the Armed Forces, who have provided help with information and who, even more importantly, acted on our findings.

I have gained enormous satisfaction from my role as the Prime Ministers Special Representative for Veterans Transition because I believe that the work I do with others does make a real difference.

In simple terms, my role did what it said on the tin in that independently, and without representing any body other than the Service leavers themselves, I was able to shine a light on the changes that were needed to make it easier for thousands of people a year to make a successful transition from the military to civilian life. I am proud to have played a small part in helping those who have served the nation.

Lord Ashcroft KCMG PC is former Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party, an author, international businessman and philanthropist. Visit LordAshcroft.com or LordAshcroftPolls.com to find out more and sign up to receive new stories as soon as they are published.
Rafael L Bardaji is the former National Security Adviser of Spain, and a member of the High Level Military Group of which Mr Lewin is the Director.

Hamas, the Islamist terrorist organisation that controls Gaza, claims it will this week mobilise in excess of 100,000 people for the so-called Nakba day, which commemorates the creation of Israel, a day after todays opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Ahead of todays incidents, the Israel Defense Forces publicly warned that Hamas is looking to perpetrate a massacre.

It is clear that these events are to peaceful demonstrations down Whitehall what heartburn is to a heart attack. Since March, the group has orchestrated large-scale violence in an effort to penetrate Israel, as the latest report from the High Level Military Group, comprised of senior military leaders from democratic nations, shows. These carefully planned military operations  disguised as riots and protests in which crowds mass at border locations  enable armed fighters to approach without detection. While Hamas actions have not yet resulted in significant penetrations, success would constitute an extremely serious event. The fence itself lies just a few minutes dash from the closest civilian community.

Infiltration operations masked as civilian protests form the latest part of Hamas long-standing strategy of seeking to provoke international outrage, by compelling Israeli actions that can be vilified and criminalised in the court of public opinion. The aim is to create situations which compel the use of force, so that Israeli officials can be accused of wounding or killing innocent Palestinian civilians. During the most recent operations, Hamas staged and filmed incidents which purported to show such actions  with the wounded child being let go and running off when the cameras have what they need.

In general, Hamas relies heavily on human shields  often women and children  who are encouraged as well as forced to be present in locations where attacks originate. These are tactics Hamas has worked hard to perfect. The groups previous innovation was heavy rocket fire at Israeli population centres from civilian locations within Gaza, including mosques and UN installations. Taking its terrorist ingenuity further, it has also constructed an elaborate network of attack tunnels underneath civilian areas around the Gaza border. In both instances, the aim is to provoke Israeli military action that can subsequently be characterised as unprovoked, disproportional, Israeli evil.

However, the creation of large-scale demonstrations to attack Israel may be the most effective manifestation of the approach yet. The tactic is more effective than the use of rockets and attack tunnels because the primary targets for these activities  political leaders, international organisations, human rights groups, and the media  find it harder to understand why lethal force might be used against ostensibly peaceful demonstrations.

The environment faced by the Israeli Defence Forces is as challenging as any that a Western army has come up against in recent years. British forces have also faced the terrorist tactics of Islamists. The vile global campaign of lies and hatred that Israel faces on a constant basis, also leaves its personnel with significantly less margin for error than would be enjoyed by our own armies.

As in their reactions to previous bouts of violence, the IDF have adopted a graduated response. They have airdropped thousands of leaflets and used SMS, social media, phone calls, and radio broadcasts to warn the people of Gaza not to gather at the border or approach the fence. They have also contacted Gaza bus company owners and asked them not to transport people to the border. When these appeals were ignored  or at least negated by Hamas move to pressure the civilian population  the IDF used tear gas to disperse crowds, before relying on warning shots fired overhead. Only when absolutely necessary and legally permitted, has force been used.

Defensive actions taken by the IDF have resulted in fatalities. Palestinian authorities claim that approximately 50 people have been killed, with hundreds more wounded. However, of those killed, Israel assesses that 80 per cent were either terrorist operatives, or individuals associated with them. While the price paid for these actions has been high  both in human suffering and adverse international opinion  it has undoubtedly saved civilian lives by preventing a major penetration of Israeli territory.

Several high ranking UN and EU officials, in conjunction with human rights groups, have argued that Israel should have acted differently. Yet threats to initiate international investigations, put Israel in front of the International Criminal Court, or invoke universal jurisdiction against Israeli officials responsible for defusing the situation, play into the hands of Hamas. Such moves validate its strategy of forcing its own civilians into harms way, and encourage more expansive efforts.

Israels friends and allies can assist by countering the propaganda that Hamas seeks to generate, pressuring political leaders, human rights groups, international organisations and the media to avoid false condemnation of Israel, and rejecting demands for one-sided UN investigations and resolutions. Such push-back, preferably accompanied by strong condemnation of Hamass violent tactics, could help discourage further use such methods in future. Of course, in the face of a heavily entrenched anti-Israel agenda this is more easily said than done.

This weeks operations, which are larger in scale than any seen previously, could result in greater numbers of Palestinian casualties than we have already seen. If they do, it is important to remember that Hamas is not only the party responsible, but one one that wanted such an outcome in the first place.
Prices are rising despite relatively low demand

After being stable for more than two months, the price of gasoline moved sharply higher in the last week, hitting its highest level in seven years.

AAAs daily price tracker shows that the national average price of regular gas is $2.26 a gallon, seven cents a gallon more than last Friday. Its $1.09 a gallon more than a year ago. The average price of premium gas is $3.86 a gallon, five cents a gallon more than a week ago. The average price of diesel fuel is $3.43 a gallo...
There's no delicate way to announce that cybercriminals have stolen sensitive information about half of the United States population, but Equifax at least deserves points for trying.

Equifax, one of big three agencies that control the shadowy credit reporting industry, first announced its discovery of an unfortunate cyber security incident in early September.

The incident potentially impacted 143 million consumers, then-chairman and CEO Richard Smith said, adding that the firm acted immediately to stop the intrusion. An Equifax-led investigation into the matter would be complete in several weeks, the company said.

That turned out to be an extremely optimistic assessment. Another eight months passed until, finally, in a May 8 filing to the SEC, Equifax quietly said its investigation into the breach was complete, at least where the hack of government-issued identification is concerned.

Through the companys analysis, Equifax believes it has satisfied applicable requirements to notify consumers and regulators, the credit reporting behemoth wrote in the filings. It does not anticipate identifying further impacted consumers.

The filing, Equifax seems to hope, will finally bring this dark chapter in its history to a close. Over those previous eight months, the Equifax breach evolved from a clearly disappointing event that Equifax said would soon be resolved to an ongoing international scandal and criminal case.

From a small sale to insider trading

Though Equifax said it acted immediately upon discovering that consumer information was accessed on July 29 of last year, some people questioned why the official announcement about the incident did not arrive until September 7.

It didnt take much digging for financial journalists to find a potential answer. Later that day, Bloomberg News was reporting on its discovery that three Equifax executives sold $1.8 million worth of their shares in the company on August 1, one day after Equifax had said the breach was discovered.

John Gamble, the companys Chief Financial Officer, sold a reported $946,374 worth of stock. Joseph Loughran, the president of U.S. information solutions, and Rodolfo Ploder, president of workforce solutions, sold a respective half a million and quarter million worth of options.

In a statement to Bloomberg, an Equifax spokesperson initially described the $1.8 million sale as a small percentage of their Equifax shares and added that the executives had no knowledge that an intrusion had occurred at the time.

By November, Equifax had backtracked slightly, saying that it had agreed to launch an investigation into the sale. Luckily for the executives, the Equifax-led investigation found that the suspicious-looking stock dumping was perfectly legal.

But by March, a former Equifax executive was facing federal insider trading charges -- only this executive was a different one from the three that were cleared in the company investigation.

Jun Ying, a former information officer, "used confidential information to conclude that his company had suffered a massive data breach and dumped his stock before the news went public, federal prosecutors said.

It remains unclear why Ying knew about the breach while other executives did not. Equifax says it is cooperating with authorities, explaining to the press in March that "we take corporate governance and compliance very seriously, and will not tolerate violations of our policies.

John Gamble, the Chief Financial Officer who sold nearly a $1 million worth of his stock on August 1, remains at the company and is responsible for all financial functions at Equifax, according to his Equifax bio.

Monitoring credit and giving away rights

One potential way to keep people from panicking or getting angry about their data being stolen is to frame the unpleasant announcement as a chance to get something for free.

Company to Offer Free Identity Theft Protection and Credit File Monitoring to All U.S. Consumers, the first Equifax press release revealing the breach said in big, bold letters.

Shortly after, Equifax had its new crediting monitoring website live and ready to go.

At the unfortunately titled page equifaxsecurity2017.com, users were instructed to enter the last four digits of their social security numbers and their last names. From there, they could find out if they were impacted by the breach and enroll in credit monitoring.

But some consumers reported being told that their data was impacted, regardless of whether they put in a correct name and matching social security number. And after reading through the terms and conditions, advocacy groups warned that consumers may be walking into a trap. By agreeing to the terms on the website, consumers were agreeing to waive their rights to sue the company, according to a vague arbitration clause included in the fine print.

The National Consumer Law Center was among the advocacy groups warning consumers that the open-ended language in the clause would prevent consumers from taking Equifax to court.

Consumers and media have raised legitimate concerns about the services we offered and the operations of our call center and website, CEO Rick Smith responded in an editorial in USA Today. We accept the criticism and are working to address a range of issues.

Former New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and other prominent Democratic lawmakers pressed Equifax about the arbitration clause. Equifax subsequently agreed to reword the agreement, explaining in the new fine print that the arbitration measure only applied to the credit monitoring service itself, not the cyber security incident in question.

Meanwhile, as that controversy played out, the official Equifax Twitter account continued to urge consumers to visit their security page and sign up for free credit monitoring. It took several weeks for people to notice that Equifax had been sending people to the wrong page.

Instead of sending consumers to equifaxsecurity2017.com, the Equifax Twitter account instead directed consumers to securityequifax2017.com, a fake phishing site that someone had created for the express purpose of ridiculing Equifax for creating an easily impersonated domain.

Equifax eventually apologized for the confusion, admitted that it had shared the wrong link, and removed the offending posts.

Credit locking, and more of the same

Several months later, in February 2018, Equifax rolled out Lock & Alert, a service offering a credit lock, marketed as a step below a credit freeze. While locks are not as secure as credit freezes, they are also cheaper and easier to implement.

In fact, Equifax said that its lock service was completely free. And, responding to the previous criticism about arbitration agreements, Equifax explicitly said that consumers who signed up for Lock & Alert were not agreeing to any arbitration provision.

The consumer-empowerment approach that is offered through Lock & Alert is what people have come to expect, Equifax said in promotional materials.

Not long after, consumers discovered that the experience of locking ones credit might not be as empowering as they were led to believe.

It turned out that consumers who signed up for the service were unknowingly agreeing to let Equifax use their information for marketing purposes, according to advocacy group US PIRG, which reviewed the sites fine print. And a reporter at NBC News found that the service didnt work; an error message repeatedly appeared on the screen saying that we are experiencing technical issues.

I think it's fair to say as with any service we did have some initial operational issues shortly after the launch, Equifax spokeswoman Nancy Bistritz-Balkan told NBC News. But our team has been working around the clock to document the issues and address it appropriately.

Equifax goes abroad

Equifax focused its breach investigation on United States consumers, giving only a brief mention to impacted people in Canada in the UK. Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents, is all the firm had to say about the matter in September.

When people questioned what limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents actually meant, Equifax clarified that 400,000 people in the UK and 100,000 Canadians were affected.

That might sound like a figure a little too significant to describe as limited, but Equifax said that the breach was related to something else, an apparent process failure, as the company called it, that occurred a year earlier.

This was due to a process failure, corrected in 2016, which led to a limited amount of UK data being stored in the US between 2011 and 2016, Equifax told the British press.

Several weeks later, Equifax revised the number yet again. The company announced that 700,000 UK residents would receive notices about their data being hacked.

An additional 14 million records in the UK were also stolen, Equifax clarified, but the cases were not considered serious enough to warrant direct notifications to those consumers.

An Equifax spokesman later offered this explanation about the many discrepancies affecting British Equifax victims to the BBC: "This information does not change the number of consumers affected or any of the UK figures/statements already provided.

More people exposed

In March, Equifax said that an additional 2.4 million consumers in the United States had their information hacked, bringing the original figure of 143 million Americans that Equifax had tallied closer to 145.5 million. Though the announcement seemed like new information, Equifax insisted that it was not.

This is not about newly discovered stolen data, interim CEO Paulino do Rego Barros Jr. said. In what has become a familiar talking point, he said a new analysis of the stolen data had simply provided Equifax more clarity.

Its about sifting through the previously identified stolen data, analyzing other information in our databases that was not taken by the attackers, and making connections that enabled us to identify additional individuals, Barros explained.

Exposed phone numbers and passports

In February, Equifax submitted a document to the Senate Banking Committee saying that hackers also accessed phone numbers, email addresses, and the expiration dates for credit cards. That appeared to be worse than the  birth dates, addresses, and, in some instances, drivers license numbers and credit card numbers that Equifax said had been stolen to the public.

An Equifax spokesman explained to Wall Street Journal that "in no way did we intend to mislead consumers." Rather, she said that the list given to Congress only reflected minimal portion of consumers affected.

Based on the statements from Equifax, the public seemed to have the impression that their passport data at least was safe.

And some data  like passport numbers  were not stolen, the Associated Press confidently reported in February.

However, Sen. Elizabeth Warren published an independent report not long after claiming that passport information was, in fact, stolen. Equifax said that the senators characterization of what was stolen was not accurate.

The easiest way to understand this is that there was a field labeled passports [that was hacked] with no actual data in it, an Equifax spokeswoman told the New York Post in February.

But in an SEC filing in early May, Equifax indicated that scanned images of passports were stolen from thousands of consumers who had used the agencys dispute portal.

In a statement, Equifax said it hadnt been trying to hide that information. The passport information that it said wasnt hacked came from a different data set than the stolen passport data it had discovered more recently.

Our response earlier this year regarding passports was related to the data elements contained in the database tables accessed by the attackers, an Equifax spokeswoman told ConsumerAffairs in a statement.

In response to a request from Congress to provide quantities of each data element impacted, in the interest of completeness, we manually reviewed the images stolen from the dispute portal in order to include the numbers of government-issued identifications contained within those images, she added.

No unauthorized activity on core services

Throughout its repeated updates and disclosures about what was hacked, Equifax has maintained that it found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifaxs core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases.

What that statement actually means is up for debate. Senators and consumer groups have complained that the definition of core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases is overly broad.

From a consumer standpoint, identity theft crimes possibly related to the hack already seem to be taking place, affecting core business at least where victims are concerned.

Earlier this year, an accountant and several consumers went public with stories about identity thieves collecting government benefits on their behalf. Experts said the crimes could have been made possible thanks to the Equifax hack, as well as vulnerabilities on the social security website itself.

While Im not entirely sure how the thief obtained my personal information, its likely that the Equifax data breach...contributed to the identity theft, accountant Jim Shambo, one such identity theft victim, wrote in a blog post.

Luckily for Equifax, such scenarios could turn out to be beneficial for the credit reporting agency. Or as Equifax CEO Rick Smith told a conference in August; Fraud is a huge opportunity for us. It is a massive growing business for us.

Equifax has not yet returned an inquiry from ConsumerAffairs asking, among other questions, whether there is any truth to the allegations leveled by Warren and others that it has profited off its own breach.

But, in the grand tradition of Equifax disclosures, Smith also appears to have changed his story and updated his perspective on the matter. A month after saying fraud was a huge opportunity for Equifax, the CEO published an editorial in USA Today clarifying that the Equifax hack had been humbling and bad for the company.

We are devoting extraordinary resources to make sure this kind of incident doesnt happen again, Smith wrote. We will make changes and continue to strengthen our defenses against cyber crimes.

Two weeks after making that promise, Smith suddenly decided to retire. He left with a compensation package worth $90 million.
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GLENGARRY, Ontario  Marshall Wilson, 19, is running for Ward 9 Trustee for the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB). The Glengarry District High School student acted as the 2017-2018 Student Trustee for the UCDSB.

Ive really fallen in love with the board, said Wilson. Also education is just a passion of mine. I feel very strongly about it and its importance in our society. Its so important to be educated and active learners throughout our entire lives.

Wilson is planning on studying Global and International Studies at Carleton University in the fall, majoring in Global Development. He is confident that he will be able to balance school and the position as Trustee, and is planning on commuting home often to see his family.

Ive talked to my professors about the course load, said Wilson. I have a really good idea of what to expect with how many hours a week.

So far for his campaign, Wilson has launched a Facebook page, released an ad and has spoken with The Glengarry News. He is now working on videos and putting up a website.

I think Im going to have a different outlook on a lot of the situations at the board table, said Wilson. Maybe sometimes a little bit more innovative, a little bit more creative.

Wilson believes that he has a good chance of being elected. He believes that he is honest, experienced and passionate about the position. As Student Trustee, he built working relationships with all of the UCDSB board members. He thinks he would have an advantage at the board table but realizes that he may be at a disadvantage during his campaign because of his age. He is confident that once he speaks with community members and participates in debates, his passion and experience will become more obvious.

Id never want to run for a position that I cant fully commit myself to, because it would just be a waste of that position, said Wilson. So I wanted to make sure I could serve it to the fullest before I put my name in.

If you have any inquires for Wilson, please reach out to marshallwilsonfortrustee@gmail.com.
SOUTH GLENGARRY, Ontario  During last nights South Glengarry council meeting, mayor Ian McLeod officially announced that he won`t be running for re-election this fall.

McLeod feels that it`s time to allow other people to take over council. He has been a council member since 1997.

I think its time to take some time for myself and for my family too, said McLeod.

McLeod is proud of several accomplishments seen during his time as mayor, including succession planning within the township and council staff.

There are many projects that McLeod would like to see upheld by his successors. He supports the expansion of suburban water works, the distribution of natural gas throughout the township and the continual upgrade to road systems. Additionally, he is interested in the development of a new firehall in Williamstown, and training staff according to the Province`s updated fire services and regulations.

I certainly enjoyed my time [on council] and its certainly going to be a change in lifestyle, said McLeod.
Nick Seebruch with files from the Cornwall Community Police Service

Nick Seebruch with files from the Cornwall Community Police Service

CORNWALL, Ontario  The Cornwall Community Police Service are seeking to identify the man in the photo above in relation to a possible fraud case.

The Cornwall Community Police Service is asking for public assistance in identifying a man involved in an incident at a Pitt St. business on March 23, 2018 at approximately 7:30 p.m., the police said in a media release.

The man is described by witnesses as:

East Indian decent

Possibly a strong accent

55 tall

Brown eyes

Wearing a blue hat & green shirt

Possibly driving a white or silver Nissan Altima

Police are asking anyone with any information to call Cst. Payment at (613) 933-5000 ext. 2436 or ext. 2404 to leave anonymous information.
With the dissolution of the Fujifilm deal and an apparent return to stability at the top for Xerox, the company's partners are looking forward to getting back to business.

"I'm just really glad that the public battlefield is going to be behind us, or at least not in the news all the time," said Troy Tafoya, president of Professional Document Solutions, a Fort Collins, Colo., solution provider and Xerox partner. "So that's really the best news out of it. I just hope that what they did is in the best interest of Xerox employees and our customers, and not just stock prices."

For the past few weeks, Tafoya and other Xerox partners have watched a high-stakes drama play out, as a $6 billion deal with Fujifilm and the leadership of the company have been key to the legal tug-of-war for control of the American icon.

That has seemingly come to an end, with the news Sunday that the company would stop talks with Fuji and that CEO Jeff Jacobson, as well as five board members, have resigned.

Josh Justice, president of JustTech, La Plata, Md. said both sides of the fight -- Carl Icahn's group and the previous board -- are cognizant of the role that channel partners play in the company's success, which gives him reason to be positive.

"Im honestly glad the ambiguity is over and a permanent decision has been made as to the current leadership of Xerox and the board members," he said. "It is my hope that the new leadership will reach out to us, their partners, and discuss the best ways we can together serve our clients."

Tafoya said while some of Professional Document Solutions' larger customers had tuned into the boardroom fight, with its near-daily back and forth between Icahn and Xerox, most of his smaller customers were simply focused on their own business.

"It was like Groundhog Day," he said. "The board's in, the board's out. And I just hope that the new board that Xerox is going to have is invested in their partners and is looking for continued growth and doing whats best to continue this iconic brand and make it as good as it can be."

The battle between the board and two billionaire stockholders -- Icahn and Darwin Deason -- reached a fever pitch two weeks ago when a settlement, that seemed to amicably end the fight, unraveled at the last minute. The renewed fighting led to another round of press statements and legal maneuvers and more uncertainty.

Solution providers said it was a distraction, as sales reps were not just armed with information about the company's latest products, but also talking points about the boardroom fight, meant to reassure customers that no matter what they read in the news or saw on television, partners would be there to help.

The news Sunday that Xerox replaced five board members, as well as the CEO, and abandoned efforts to sell the company to Fujifilm, ushered in a return to normal for their workday, partners said.

"I think the best thing is that it's settled," Tafoya said. "We can continue to do what we do best."

With Icahn's group in charge of Xerox, Tafoya and Justice said they expected to see developments focused on increasing Xerox share value.

"Carl Icahns proposal emphasized the need for Xeroxs partners in providing products and solutions, just as we do now," Justice said. "I advised my team to expect additional changes to be announced by Xerox but that I do not expect these changes to have a direct effect on us."
Logicalas Group, the managed services division of Datatec, is expanding its operations in Chile and Peru with an agreement to purchase Coasin, a provider of information and communications technology in the region.

Logicalis has signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the issued share capital of Coasin Chile S.A. for a cash consideration of up to $20.2 million. The deal is subject to government approval, and the company said it hopes to complete the transaction in the third quarter of 2018.

Coasin is one of the most established IT businesses in the region and will be a game-changer for our operations in Chile and Peru, allowing us to further consolidate our very strong position regionally," said Jens Montanana, Datatec's CEO We are pleased to welcome the Coasin team to the group.

Coasin provides information and communications technology support, networking and point-of-sale solutions in mining and financial services. Logicalis said those capabilities will help existing multinational clients and expand its own services into new customer groups.

Coasin generated revenue of $84 million last year and profit of $2.8 million, according to Datatec.
Solution providers are criticizing a new per-employee tax passed by the Seattle City Council that would charge companies $275 for every full-time worker.

"It seems ironic that a company like Amazon is going to hire 10,000 people in Seattle, then they're going to be charged an extra tax for the fact that they hired all these people in the same city, Dan Serpico, CEO and president of solution provider FusionStorm, ranked No. 46 on CRN's Solution Provider 500 list. You think those people would want those jobs. I don't know what the answer is, but it seems like an unfortunate strategy,"

The tax applies to the city's 585 businesses with $20 million or more in annual sales. It is expected to raise $47 million that city councilors said will be used to build affordable housing. Those businesses must pay $275 for full time employees based in the city, every year until 2023, at which time the tax is scheduled to expire. The measure passed the board unanimously and Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan said she would sign it.

"Our goal is to have a successful and vibrant business communityone of the best in the countryand at the same time, assist our most vulnerable and strategically invest in affordable housing," Seattle City Council president Bruce Harrell said. "One does not exclude the other. Our investment strategy must balance these objectives without demonizing advocates or businesses. Today, we have reached a compromise that accomplishes this goal.

FusionStorm's Serpico said there needs to be a balance between taxes and philanthropic efforts by businesses and individuals that do well financially well. The CEO said FusionStorm tries hard to give back to society and its community through things like various charities and helping struggling employees.

"Certainly the government requires tax revenues in order to support infrastructure and other needs, some of which go to people who are disadvantage and down on their luck," Serpico said. "Somewhere along the way we want to keep a balance between making sure everybody has an opportunity and we aren't overburdening the companies that are successful that at the same time are employing those people."

One top executive from a U.S.-based solution provider said the so-called "head tax" is "rather counterintuitive."

I don't support a head tax anywhere in the country, said the executive who did not wished to be named. I think it's a misplaced strategy."

Officials at Amazon, and Starbucks, blasted the move saying Seattle doesn't have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. In a statement released to CRN, Amazon vice president Drew Herdener, called the move "anti-business" and "a tax on jobs."

"We remain very apprehensive about the future created by the councils hostile approach and rhetoric toward larger businesses, which forces us to question our growth here," Herdner said. "City of Seattle revenues have grown dramatically from $2.8B in 2010 to $4.2B in 2017, and they will be even higher in 2018. This revenue increase far outpaces the Seattle population increase over the same time period. The city does not have a revenue problem  it has a spending efficiency problem."

Mountain View, Calif., the home of Google, and Intuit, is also mulling a "head tax," according to published reports. There, Mayor Lenny Siegel wants to put the measure on a November ballot, with the goal of raising $10 million for transportation infrastructure.
Seeking A Fresh Start

Kaspersky Lab launched its Global Transparency Initiative in October 2017 following months of pushback over alleged ties to the Russian intelligence services, which the company has vehemently denied.

The initiative will seek to address what trust looks like in the context of information technology, as well as how it can be maintained, Tara Hairston, head of government relations for Kaspersky Lab North America, said last week at the company's Trusted Advisors Summit 2018 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The company announced Tuesday that it plans to move a number of its core processes from Russia to Switzerland, including software assembly, threat detection updates, and customer data storage and processing for most regions.

While the initiative is in part a direct response to the geopolitical situation involving Kaspersky, Hairston said the efforts are primarily driven by a desire to address the general lack of trust when it comes to IT.

From bug bounties to independent assessments of Kaspersky's internal processes and source code, here's how the company plans to go about rebuilding trust with customers and partners.
The Port of Nanaimo is ready to welcome Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas, on the first of two calls to Nanaimo this year, scheduled for Wednesday May 16.

The ship will be on a cruise from Seattle, with calls in Nanaimo and Victoria as part of a five-day itinerary.

The Explorer of the Seas previously called on the Port of Nanaimo in May 2016 and May 2017.

Ewan Moir, President & CEO of the Port of Nanaimo commented: It is our good fortune that, for the third May in a row, the Explorer of the Seas is calling on the gateway for Central Vancouver Island. The Port of Nanaimo, along with its many local and regional partners in Alberni and Cowichan Valleys and the Parksville - Qualicum area, are very proud to receive her for three consecutive years. She represents a great economic lift for central-island communities, a significant benefit from first-time passengers to Vancouver Island. We believe that many passengers will return once they discover one of the most preferred destinations in the world.

As passengers arrive in the cruise ship terminal and clear customs, Tourism Nanaimo Travel Counsellors greet passengers and point the way to photo opportunities with the RCMP in Red Serge, the Big Tub and displays of racing tubs from the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society and to buses for pre-purchased regional shore excursions.

Passengers also visit the harbourside walkway, the Pioneer Waterfront Plaza and local museums.

Complimentary shuttles transport passengers from the passenger terminal through downtown Nanaimo and the Old City Quarter including Maffeo-Sutton Park.

Cannon Firings are scheduled at the historic Bastion for 11 a.m., 12 p.m., and 1 p.m.,

Nanaimo Bar samplings are provided by Tourism Nanaimo as passengers return to the ship.

Moir added: We provide a high level of service on a consistent basis with our city and regional partners. The amenities and tours complement our award winning cruise facility and programs that cruise lines can count on. Passengers continue to tell us that we have an exceptional product and they want to see more of Central Vancouver Island.
Azamara Club Cruises has announced 2020 itineraries exploring deeper into newly added destinations including South Africa, French Polynesia and Hawaii.

With a total of 92 individual cruises across the three ships, Azamara will offer 41 maiden ports, 303 late night stays, 170 overnight stays and 40 country-intensive voyages, where guests can explore numerous ports within one country and stay late or overnight in most cities, the company said.

Azamara said its carefully crafted 2020 itineraries emphasize spending more time in port, enabling travelers to explore beyond the initial layers of a city and fully immerse themselves in the destination. In addition, Azamara will also unveil new Land and Sea packages hosted by Micato Safaris.

Our guests spoke and we listened; the addition of our third ship, the Azamara Pursuit, has allowed us to expand our footprint across all seven continents, bringing guests to new destinations, new experiences, and new opportunities, said Larry Pimentel, President and CEO, in a prepared statement. In 2020, Azamara will offer a total of 473 late night and overnight stays, a 12 percent increase from 2019, which will allow us to provide our guests with the opportunity to experience night touring at some of the most compelling destinations.

Among the highlights, Azamara will be calling in South Africa and the African Continent for the first time. Each voyage will offer a variety of land programs that take travelers to the heart of Zulu culture, South Africas wine region, and beyond.

The new South Africa itineraries will coincide with pre- and post-cruise packages from Micato Safaris.

In addition, Azamara continues to expand its extensive Destination Immersion programming. One example is Cruise Global, Stay Local - Kenya: On this overnight excursion, travelers will fly past Mount Kilimanjaro and over the Great Rift Valley to Kenyas renowned game reserve, Masai Mara, where they will spend the night at the Neptune Mara Rianta Luxury Camp, located along the Mara River. The excursion includes two game viewing drives in search of elephant, lions, rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes and more.

The 2020 itineraries will also feature an 18-night maiden voyage to French Polynesia and Hawaii, visiting the Hawaiian Islands of Maui, Oahu and Hilo.

In addition to adding new destinations and immersive land experiences to its offerings, Azamaras 2020 itineraries will feature an assortment of specialty voyages, including country-intensive voyages, giving travelers the opportunity to connect with local life and culture. These sailings include Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, and South Africa.

For the first time, Azamaras three sister ships will meet on October 8, 2020 in Koper, Slovenia, where the cruise line will host a grand AzAmazing Evening in port for all guests on all three ships, and then sail together to Venice.

Azamaras holiday and Christmas sailings will provide the opportunity to take part in celebrations around the world including ringing in the New Year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cape Town, South Africa.

On February 20, 2020, the Azamara Quest will be embarking on the brands second World Journey from Cape Town to Southampton.

The Triple Tour is a 42-night voyage starting May 26, 2020 from Athens to Copenhagen, allowing guests to sail on all three ships and get an in-depth experience with crew members across the entire fleet, all on one epic voyage. More details on the Triple Tour will be available in early summer of 2018.

Starting in 2020, Azamara will offer guests a more inclusive stateroom category called Veranda Plus. The new accommodation will have the same dimensions and features as a regular Veranda stateroom, for a slightly higher cost, but include additional benefits such as internet minutes, one night of specialty dining, priority embarkation and more. All of these amenities have been built into the price, which will provide a value for guests, versus buying individually, according to Azamara.
As demand for Fairfield housing continues to grow, so does the demand for housing aimed strictly at seniors, which a trio of companies are on their way to addressing.

Fairfield will see more than 200 units of senior and assisted-living housing come online over the next three years as development of Sunrise Senior Living, Sturges Ridge and Maplewood at Southport continues. The three projects will include a number of spaces reserved for people with memory issues including Alzheimers and other forms of dementia.

As of 2016, there were more than 575,000 Connecticut residents 65 and older, making up an estimated 16 percent of the state population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That number is expected to keep growing.

They are responding to a need within not just Fairfield but the surrounding area, said Mark Barnhart, Fairfields economic development director. Everyone has talked about the fact that as a population we are growing older, and as people live longer we need specialized care options. They are certainly responding to that demand.

The latest addition to the list of senior living developments is Sunrise of Fairfield at 1571 Stratfield Road. Virginia-based developers Sunrise Senior Living are building a 63,000-square-foot facility that will bring 83 units of senior and assisted-living.

The company has more than 300 facilities throughout the U.S., Canada, and the UK, including in Stamford and under construction in Wilton. Barnhart said the $30 million project will be completed by 2020.

Development of Benchmark Senior Livings newest community, Sturges Ridge, at 400 Mill Plain Road has been continuing as developers near a fall 2018 deadline.

That development will be bringing 68 apartments with assisted living services and 20 memory care spaces. It will be joining the Waltham, Mass., companys residential facilities in Milford, Shelton, Trumbull, Brookfield, Ridgefield and Stamford.

Westport-based Maplewood Senior Living broke ground on its three-story, 93,0000-square-foot facility at 917 Mill Hill Terrace in December, with plans to bring almost 100 units to the area by spring of 2019. The development is starting to take form on the parcel, as a steel frame of the facility can be seen rising at the site.

The facility is being built on 27 acres of land just off Interstate 95 and will feature spacious lounges, a bar, bistro and a courtyard and pond area.

Up until now we havent had this option for folks who are in need of these kind of services, Barnhart said. Its very much market driven. Its something that has been missing from the local marketplace, so were excited to have this as an additional housing option for folks who want to stay in the local community.

Jordan.grice@hearstmediact.com
In the tense moments after the first balloting at the Republican convention Saturday, a mad scramble for delegate votes, Steve Obsitnik knew exactly where to go.

The Westport veteran Navy officer and tech entrepreneur stood in fifth place with 117 votes. He had beaten the cutoff for elimination, but not by much. Now he needed to pick up 53 more delegate votes in the second round to qualify for a primary in August  or his campaign for governor was over.

This is where Obsitniks business background, not to mention military training, would define the day. Its called crisis preparation and he had done it far in advance with data spreadsheets, a small but well organized team, a sharp mental focus and a strategy aimed surgically at the critical second round.

Oh, and a communication system that included colored hats. Obsitnik made sure only the people he needed to reach  not an army of supporters  had a pale yellow cap, so he could scan the sprawling Foxwoods ballroom and read their hand signals.

Its the business principle, or military principle, of understanding your lines of communication, Obsitnik said Monday.

All candidates prepare meticulously for party conventions, of course. Saturdays top two finishers  Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, who won the endorsement, and former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst  deployed their instincts, experience and large floor teams deftly.

But it was Obsitnik who beat the odds, emerging as the only longshot candidate to win a spot on the ballot in a field of more than a dozen people who looked in the mirror and thought they saw a future Republican governor.

In that moment of truth between voting rounds, Albanian immigrant Peter Lumaj gathered his phalanx and charged up the center aisle in a frenetic search for newly available delegates. He held up three fingers  the number of added votes he needed to assure a primary.

Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti was calmer, working the crowd. He was slightly ahead of Obsitnik, and, like Lumaj, had told people he had the 15 percent support needed to qualify for a primary.

Obsitnik didnt jump right into the fray. He turned to the campaign staffer carrying his laptop. He took a few minutes, maybe just five, to examine the latest numbers.

I had an algorithm on the floor based on where people were, he said.

He himself  not a consultant  had built that real-time program using data from the last four conventions, not terribly hard for a guy who founded, headed and sold two artificial intelligence companies in Silicon Valley, and worked on Siri before Apple launched the virtual assistant.

I had a scenario and I wanted to see how the scenario was playing out district-by-district, he said. I still had to go out there and earn it, but I knew where the customers were who were open to me.

The customers. In the weeks before, he had expanded the state central committees handout list of delegates to include social media handles and other information. He had called 85 to 100 of them a day, himself.

And he understood their objective: They were not picking a governor, they were picking a primary slate.

That meant with two professional politicians  Boughton and Herbst  sure to win primary slots, Obsitnik could sell himself as a business executive worthy of a spot on the ballot, not necessarily the favorite of delegates voting for him.

He had predicted 10.2 percent in the first round. His total: 10.3 percent, one extra delegate. His model showed 75 shifting to him in the second round  enough to put him in a primary.

Heading the floor team was Ben Proto, a lawyer and GOP operative from Stratford. Obsitniks Don Zimmer, his grizzled veteran of the wars, was Richard Foley Jr., former state party chairman.

They were more important than that data, he said. When it came down to a choice, he followed his team and his gut before the numbers but used all three.

A quote from Eisenhower set the tone: Planning is paramount. Plans are worthless. That meant sometimes hed spend minutes with a single delegate, not seconds, as I saw him do with Jim Weinberg of Monroe, listening, not talking, while other candidates bombed through the hall shaking hundreds of hands.

By the end of regular voting in the second round, Lumaj had fallen further back. Lauretti had fallen back. Dave Walker had fallen back.

Obsitnik had climbed over the threshold. Now he had to keep his votes through the nerve-wracking switching, during which any delegate can change their vote. Data cant help with that market move, he said Monday.

In the end, he picked up 81 delegates above the first-round total, reaching 17.6 percent as the surprise qualifier, defying widespread predictions hed fall short in the first round.

Data cannot tell you how people will behave, he said. All this is about people...Governing is about people and elections are about people.

Still, business intelligence and data clearly meant extra points on the margin for him on Saturday. That mattters; ask Glastonbury state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, knocked out of the first round by a single vote.

Well hear a lot more about business strategies between now and November, with executives and entrepreneurs incuding Democratic frontrunner Ned Lamont of Greenwich in the race.

Whether corporate-honed intelligence methods can save the state is an open question. What we know from Obsitniks effort is that they can swing campaigns.

dhaar@hearstmediact.com
ANSONIA He was the citys first police chief.

But during Christmas week of 1880 Chief Daniel Hayes became a statisticthe first and only Ansonia police officer to be killed in the line of duty and the second in Connecticut history.

On Tuesday police officers including Seymours retiring Police Chief Michael Metzler joined city officials as they renamed Railroad Avenue Chief Daniel J. Hayes Drive.

Its been 138 years since our first and hopefully last police officer was killed in the line of duty, said Lorie Vaccaro, the Board of Aldermens president. I am proposing that the commissioners room in the new police station be named the Chief Daniel J. Hayes room.

Just around 11:30 a.m., Mayor David Cassetti, Police Chief Kevin Hale and several officers pulled the wrapping off the new black sign with its thin blue line in the middle containing Chief Daniel J. Hayes Drive printed in white.

Lt. Patrick Lynch said the event has further significance.

Its taking place on May 15the day President John F. Kennedy proclaimed as National Police Day, he said. The lieutenant said . May also is known as Police Memorial Month.

But the murder of Hayes carries with a lot of Connecticut history.

The infamous Chip Smith charge in which state judges urge hung jurors to continue to deliberate and consider the majoritys view was born during the trial of James Chip SmithHayes murderer. As a result of that charge Smith was convicted and sentenced to death.

By Sept. 2, 1882 Smith, having lost his file appeal and a plea to the state legislature, was led from jail to the New Haven Green where he was hung. That represented the first hanging in 28 years.

The day before the hanging, the Rev. Michael McGivney, who had been counseling Smith, celebrated a Mass for him. That same year McGivney, who was the pastor of St. Marys church, created the Knights of Columbus.

All this happened after Hayes, at the urging of Smiths two sisters, arose from his sick bed in his Prospect Street home and went looking for Smith.

Chief Hayes reminded the girls that it was Christmas week and suggested they go home and let the situation resolve itself, said Hale. But they were crying and begged him for help.

Meanwhile Smith, a factory worker spent much of the day drinking at the Railroad Hotel where the 158 Main Street office building now stands. Earlier he had threatened his mother and his boss. Hayes found him there around 6 p.m. on Dec. 23, 1880.

Hayes placed Smith under arrest who told the chief he would give up his gun and go along quietly. Instead he shot the unsuspecting chief in the stomach. Still Hayes carried out the arrest and escorted him to jail before collapsing. The chief was taken to the nearby home of Police Officer Tom Ellis, who later succeeded Hayes.

The story was carried nationally and some reports quoted Smith as saying: I hope I killed him and he goes to Hell.

Another account claims Hayes gave a death bed interview acknowledging that he was dying.

On Dec. 27, 1880 Hayes died at 34 leaving a wife and three children behind.\

But the story does not end there.

One of the daughters, Mary, became a beloved teacher and principal at Lincoln School, said Cassetti.

In her honor the former Lincoln School became Lincoln-Hayes School. She is buried with her father in St. Marys Cemetery on Grove Street.

And Ellis, the officer in whose home Hayes died? He became police chief and served for 33 yearsstill a record here.

Hale, the current chief, said he doesnt intend to break it.

Hale commended retired Sgt. Randy Guisto and Police Officer Chris Kelly, along with Lynch and John W. Tuohy, the citys historian, for researching Hayes history and recommending he be memorialized.

Its a pretty amazing story, said Kelly, who has served in Ansonia for the past five years.

This is a fitting tribute, added Guisto.
Funeral services have been set for Austin Buoni, the 22-year-old firefighter who was killed in a motor-vehicle accident in Fairfield Saturday.

Police said Buoni was driving a 2005 Nissan Altima east on Kings Highway when he lost control of the vehicle at Chestnut Street. The vehicle, police said, slid across the eastbound lane before striking a utility pole off the right side of the road. The accident occurred about 1:40 a.m. Saturday.

Buoni, 22, volunteered with the Shelton and Trumbull fire departments.

According to his death notice, Buoni was born in Bridgeport and was a lifelong area resident. He was a graduate of Bunnell High School in Stratford and attended Housatonic Community College.

In 2014, he graduated from the Valley Fire Chiefs Regional Training School and was a volunteer firefighter at the Nichols Fire Station and Pine Rock Station in Shelton.

He was currently employed at Panera Bread.

He loved playing piano and listening to classic rock, especially The Doors. Austin will be lovingly remembered as a kind old soul, wise beyond his years, and one who displayed tremendous compassion for the greater good. He desired to be an organ donor and following his tragic passing, his wish was fulfilled, providing the gift of life to others.

He was the son of Joseph Buoni and Nancy Kellerman Buoni.

In addition to his loving parents, Austin will be deeply missed by two sisters, Arinn Buoni and Allison Buoni of Stratford; his paternal grandmother, Lucille Buonicontra of Derby; maternal grandfather, Robert Kellerman of Fairfield; his beloved girlfriend, Sarah Bylo of Seymour; several loving and devoted aunts, uncles, cousins and friends; and his beloved cat he rescued from Florida, Kiki.

Calling hours are from 3 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Spear-Miller Funeral Home, 39 South Benson Road in Fairfield. Funeral services are 11 a.m. Friday at Covenant Church, 1 Sport Hill Road in Easton. Interment will be private.

A Gofundme page has since been set up for Buonis family. As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, the page had raised $15,348 of its $25,000 goal.
HARTFORD  Sandwiching themselves between last weeks Republican State Convention and the Democratic gathering on Friday, Oz Griebel and Monte Franks upstart bid for a third-party gubernatorial insurrection on Tuesday night sponsored its own brand of media event.

While it might take a perfect political storm for the duo to win the November election, a perfectly spectacular spring thunderstorm kept down attendance for their unconventional convention as interested voters noshed, listened to live soft rock and were pitched some ambitious politics from the longshot pair.
Members of the Bridgeport and New Haven legislative delegations and will make another push to start the process of bringing another casino to Connecticut.

The officials will outline their plans in press conference at Bridgeport Landing Development Offices on 10 Middle St. Tuesday morning.

A week after the General Assembly session ended, they will announce another attempt for legislation that would permit and implement an open and competitive Request for Proposals process for entities to bid for a qualification to develop, manage and operate a casino gaming facility in Connecticut.

MGM Resorts International has proposed a $700 million seaside casino resort in Bridgeport and a job training center in New Haven. The Las Vegas company has promised to create 2,000 permanent jobs and 5,000 construction jobs.

During the 2018 legislative session, the state House of Representatives passed House Bill 5305, An Act Concerning a Request for Proposals to Qualify an Entity to Develop a Casino Gaming Facility in the State. The bill, however, failed to be called for a vote in the state Senate.

The legislation sought to give casino operators the ability to submit proposals to the state departments of Community Development and Consumer Protection.

They hope chances for passage will be better next year when lawmakers have more time to work on legislation and their colleagues are more familiar with the proposal.

A strong showing of unity, the Bridgeport and New Haven delegations pressured their colleagues for passage of the bill throughout the 2018 session, after it failed to reach the House floor in 2017. Following a rocky start, the bill cleared the Public Safety Committee in March.

On May 4, it cleared the House by a nail-biting 77-73 vote that brought tears of relief to the eyes of Rep. Chris Rosario, D-Bridgeport.

But by May 8, with less than 36 hours left before the legislature adjourned, it was evident that the bill did not have enough votes from either party to pass the Senate.
For Subscribers DA Thomas intervened in wife's case

The Daily American obtained a copy of the letter from the county by filing a Right-to-Know request.
By offering unconditional support to the JD(S) and agreeing to back HD Kumaraswamy as chief minister, has the Congress given the BJP a taste of its own medicine in the Karnataka Assembly elections? In a topsy-turvy poll, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, but fell short of an absolute majority.

What next?

As per convention, the Karnataka governor must first call the single largest party or largest pre-poll (not post-poll) alliance to form a stable government. Only if that fails can the JD(S)-Congress post-poll alliance be given an opportunity to form the government. Events are moving at frenetic pace as all three contending parties race to the finishing line. The JD(S)-Congress seems well ahead.

Even if it fails to form the government, the BJPs performance in Karnataka has re-established Prime Minister Narendra Modis ability to take an election by the scruff of its neck and turn it on its head. After the Gujarat setback last December, it was important for Modi to put his stamp on Karnataka. He addressed a flurry of 21 rallies over two weeks. Several months ago, the Congress seemed in pole position under a confident chief minister Siddaramaiah to win Karnataka in a canter. Modis blitzkrieg turned the tide, though the effort may prove fruitless.

Turning the tide, but short of an absolute majority.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi made Karnataka a Modi versus Rahul binary battle, pitching himself directly as a future prime minister. With three key state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh due in December 2018, the Congress president needed the momentum of a clear victory for the Congress in Karnataka. He didnt get it.

Funding for the Lok Sabha election in 2019 is a priority for the Congress. Punjab has no money to spare. The only other states and union territories the Congress holds are Mizoram (which will go to polls in November 2018) and Puducherry. That explains the Congress desperation to accept Kumaraswamy as CM in a coalition government. It will keep the money tap open.

The Congress would have preferred to give the JD(S) outside support. The JD(S) though wants it to join the government. It hasnt forgotten the Congress past record of pulling down HD Deve Gowdas United Front government at the Centre in 1997.

What hurt the Congress in Karnataka is a triangular contest, with the JD(S) ironically cannibalising its seats. In Gujarat, where the contest was binary, the Congress stitched together a Dalit-OBC-Patidar coalition to give the BJP a scare. In triangular contests, the BJP tends to win. That must be the Congress key learning from Karnataka.

The BJP has its own worries. It is still a two-man party (Modi-Shah) as far as campaigning is concerned. Thats an unhealthy dependence. Between Modi-Shah at the top and a dedicated cadre of workers at the ground level, there is a wide gulf. To win the Lok Sabha election in 2019, the BJP will have to make key changes in its strategy.

In Uttar Pradesh, where it won 71 out of 80 seats, it faces the prospect of fighting a united Opposition of the SP, the BSP and the Congress. While a Modi versus rest contest could be turned to the BJPs tactical advantage if Modi accuses the Opposition of duplicity for bringing together arch enemies Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav, the BJP must be prepared for a loss of a large number of Lok Sabha seats in UP.

Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, with little headroom left for the BJP to grow, will also bleed over a dozen seats between them.

The result in Karnataka thus assumes even larger significance. In the unlikely event of the BJP having managed to form the government ahead of the JD(S)-Congress alliance, it would have served as a beachhead for it in the South. Rajnikanths tilt towards the BJP is evident. If he enters the electoral fray in 2019, Tamil Nadu could be back in play for the BJP.

Backroom talks?

Non-UPA and non-NDA neutrals will be watching closely. The BJD, TRS and TMC are already discussing a federal front for 2019 separate from the Congress-led UPA. That will be music to Modis ears. It is the surest way to achieve triangular contests across key states, giving the BJP an edge, especially in Odisha.

Whoever eventually forms the government, the numbers in the 2018 Karnataka elections are an ominous portent for the Congress. In 2013, the Congress won 122 seats. It has lost around 45 of those seats. The BJP won 40 seats in 2013. It has gained 65 seats. Remarkably, the JD(S) has maintained its seat tally  losing just a handful of seats from the 40 it won in 2013.

Breaking the numbers down regionally, the BJP swept coastal Karnataka with over 53 per cent vote share. In the Mumbai Karnataka region, the BJP, against the odds, won 46 per cent vote share. Overall, the BJP and Congress clocked vote shares of 38 per cent apiece. But since BJP voters are concentrated in specific constituencies and Congress voters are evenly spread out across the state, the vote share-to-seat conversion favoured the BJP.

The worst outcome for the BJP now would be to take the Karnataka result, however government formation pans out, as an affirmation of its policies. It compromised with the corrupt Reddy brothers, sullying its anti-corruption credentials. It is fortunate that the Opposition, including the Congress, is seen as even more corrupt. But for the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP will have to broaden its talent pool. The recent cabinet reshuffle is a sign that Modi recognises the importance of making changes in portfolios where some ministers have been incompetent, invisible or an embarrassment to the government.

Rahul Gandhi had made Karnataka a prestige battle. The outcome, with the Congress seat tally falling sharply, will dampen his prime ministerial ambitions.

By agreeing to play second fiddle to the JD(S), the Congress has displayed its frailty. Potential allies will have noticed that. They will be wary of hitching their wagons to it as the 2019 Lok Sabha election nears.

Also read: What Karnataka elections have revealed about Modi
With JDS in mind, Congress has already expressed its willingness to front a Dalit CM, something that is likely to affect who JDS will side with, in case of no clear majority.

Exit polls, so far, suggest a mixed result. Some have predicted a Congress victory, while a few have shown BJP as the single largest party in the state. But general consensus would suggest a hung assembly with JDS turning into a kingmaker. Whether JDS's HD Kumaraswamy will side with Congress or the BJP remains the million-dollar question.

With a total of 224 seats and voting held for 222, all eyes are on the Karnataka assembly election results today. A total of 113 seats are required to reach the halfway mark. What remains to be seen is will BJP breach the southern bastion or will Congress' Siddaramaiah break the 4-decade-old trend and retain the state.

May,15 2018

08:31 PM Delhi: Visuals from BJP Parliamentary board meeting at BJP Headquarters pic.twitter.com/IQRIcfGoI7  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



08:23 PM

08:15 PM

08:08 PM I am happy about #Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased & assure that the government will do whatever it can to support these families: PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/1HkDrH0342  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



08:04 PM

08:03 PM Ball in third umpire Vajubhai Vala's court.

Here's what Supreme Court advocate, Sanjay Hegde has say about #NatakaInKarnataka#ResultOnKarnataka

Live: https://t.co/4fqxBVUizL pic.twitter.com/xPCs4PM50z  India Today (@IndiaToday) May 15, 2018



07:55 PM This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win: Amit Shah, BJP President in Delhi pic.twitter.com/fA4SdherXd  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



07:49 PM Photo: DailyO Photo: DailyO Photo: DailyO

07:48 PM Have shown that Congress & JD(S) have a clear majority. Yeddyurappa is saying that BJP's single largest party, but single largest party doesn't necessarily form govt. I think Governor should invite the groups having the majority: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/CRVqW9Axjb  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



07:11 PM I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018



07:09 PM BJP President Amit Shah arrives for Parliamentary Board meeting at BJP headquarters pic.twitter.com/juRnk1C9yH  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



07:08 PM

06:38 PM BJP Parliamentary Board to meet at 7pm at party headquarters in Delhi today.

06:35 PM "We are taking care to make sure our MLAs are not poached", HD Kumaraswamy told reporters. Siddaramaiah, while addressing the media, claimed that the BJP might try to poach Congress' MLAs. "The law is clear, the government is formed based on numbers and we have the numbers. Congress has 78, JD(S) 38 and with Independents the government will be headed by JD(S)," he added

06:15 PM #WATCH Constitutional expert S Kashyap says 'Entirely up to Guv to appoint anyone he thinks proper. He's expected to be guided by his assessment of who is likely to command majority support in the House.' pic.twitter.com/v4Z7Y6HjiJ  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:38 PM Congress delegation arrives at Raj Bhavan in Bengaluru. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/JwvCNcS2gl  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:28 PM "We asked Governor to allow us to prove our majority on the floor of the House", BJP's Yeddyurappa while adding that the party is staking claim to form the government in Karnataka. Just now we met Governor because we are single largest party, and that he allows us to prove majority in the Assembly: BS Yeddyurappa #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/D9RLMU9zVY  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:25 PM West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called Deve Gowda and congratulated him, saying she is hopeful that JD(S) will form a government with Congress.

05:21 PM #UPDATE: BS Yeddyurappa , Ananth Kumar, Shobha Karandlaje & Rajeev Chandrasekhar have entered Raj Bhavan. #KarnatakaElections2018 https://t.co/QbXsiVj89F  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:20 PM JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy leaves for Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru. pic.twitter.com/wHejf1Cyvh  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:17 PM It is upto the understanding of the Governor who he calls to form the government. It is upto him if he wants to call the single largest party or a coalition government: Subhash Kashyap, Constitutional expert #KarnatakaElections2018

(File pic) pic.twitter.com/QZYxOmwOfL  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



05:09 PM

05:06 PM Congress & JDS has 117, we need 111 to form the govt. Since we were in power, and we lost, we have given our support for JDS led govt. BJP has 104, we are ahead of them : Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress pic.twitter.com/NUaGSQ2whV  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:50 PM According to sources, Karnataka governor is not likely to meet any group related to government formation till the time Election Commission officially declares the complete results of Karnataka aseembly: India Today

04:49 PM Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao is going to meet HD Devegowda and give a letter of support. One letter has been given to Governor already.

04:37 PM I'm here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Mr Nagesh & others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka: DK Shivakumar, Congress #KarnatakaElection2018 pic.twitter.com/id60xaE62T  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:27 PM Photo: Twitter

04:14 PM JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy at HD Deve Gowda's residence in Bengaluru. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/f2e1Zd4B7v  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:13 PM

04:11 PM I thank the people of Karnataka for giving this mandate to the Bhartiya Janata Party. Congress is trying to come to power through back door, people will not tolerate this: BS Yeddyurappa #KarnatakaResults pic.twitter.com/zTJCXz6qxu  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:10 PM

04:09 PM Despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power: BS Yeddyurappa#KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/38LclYuXz6  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:08 PM The people have rejected the Congress and accepted BJP. People are moving towards Congress mukt Karnataka: BS Yeddyurappa #KarnatakaPollResults pic.twitter.com/hnPzsKb6mn  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



04:07 PM According to India Today, BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa will meet the governor of Karnataka in the evening today to stake claim to form the government in the state.

04:02 PM BSP chief Mayawati who is an ally of JDS in Karnataka has reached out to Dewe Gowda and approved the idea of tying up with Congress to form the next government.

04:00 PM CM Siddaramaiah enters the Governor's house in Bengaluru. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/JnVkshPO2B  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:44 PM In a Westminister system  the one adopted by India  it is not the parties that win. It is, in fact, the legislators that win. If the Congress and the JD(S) do decide to come together to form the government they will have the sufficent number of MLAs as well as the vote share to stake claim.

03:42 PM JD(S) had always maintained that HD Kumaraswamy will be CM. As per results, we're doing everything to keep BJP out of power. Congress has extended its support, we have accepted it. We will jointly go to meet Governor after 5.30 pm today: Danish Ali, JD(S) #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/qCfgOhGM9t  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:37 PM JP Nadda, Dharmendra Pradhan & Prakash Javadekar are going to Bengaluru today. #KarnatakaElections2018  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:35 PM

03:29 PM

03:21 PM Delhi: Union Minister Prakash Javadekar arrived at the residence of BJP President Amit Shah. pic.twitter.com/dWOlhtyole  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:20 PM Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S): BS Yeddyurappa, BJP. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/qYsQ9rzjuw  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:19 PM Who do you think should form next government in #Karnataka?  DailyO (@DailyO_) May 15, 2018



03:06 PM Deve Gowdas party has held on to its Vokkaliga voter base, while Dalits too seem to have chosen it over the Congress. Read more here.

03:03 PM Whether the Congress manages to form a government by supporting JD(S) or not, they shouldnt be criticised for trying. The BJP would be doing exactly the same thing if the positions were reversed.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 15, 2018



03:02 PM We (Congress & JDS) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today: KC Venugopal, Congress. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/jUd5cVaSNu  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



03:01 PM We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji & Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together: Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/OemBerpX7r  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



02:56 PM The JD(S) can form the government, we support the party: Siddaramaiah

02:55 PM We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form govt. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form govt: G. Parameshwara, Congress. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/C4Hn3rtYGl  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



02:55 PM We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form govt. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form govt: G. Parameshwara, Congress. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/C4Hn3rtYGl  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



02:49 PM The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/7Pyt9nXVRL  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 15, 2018



02:49 PM CM Siddaramaiah to meet the Governor of Karnataka at 4pm today: ANI

02:44 PM Just one time, I want BJP to head into elections with ballot papers & not EVMs. All the apprehensions will go away: Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena Chief. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/zRSQaxGmag  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



02:37 PM

02:33 PM Sonia Gandhi reaches out to Deve Gowda through Ghulam Nabi Azad. Congress offers CMship to JDS. This would be pathetic. BJP won fair and square. Sneaking in from the back door would be a negation of the mandate.  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 15, 2018



02:12 PM Siddaramaiahs son Dr Yatheendra wins from Varuna. The margin is apparently over 50K. At least home constituency stuck by Siddaramaiah #VoteOnKarnataka @IndiaToday  Padmaja joshi (@PadmajaJoshi) May 15, 2018



02:10 PM Siddaramaiah

02:04 PM 11 sitting congress Ministers and speaker trailing and might lose their seat.



Losing Ministers list

Forest

Social welfare

Labour

Kannada culture

Law

PWD

Transport

Horticulture

Medical education

Revenue

Mining

+

Speaker  Nagarjun Dwarakanath (@nagarjund) May 15, 2018



02:00 PM BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes #KarnatakaElections2018(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/obaxDpy1lP  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



01:59 PM

01:45 PM Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback.

01:33 PM

01:19 PM Siddaramaiah visited Chamarajanagar nine times during his tenure as the chief minister of Karnataka.

(By @PrabhashRinkoo )#ModiWinsKarnataka

Full coverage: https://t.co/Cj6pG0OEtOhttps://t.co/rK5VcXHsw2  India Today (@IndiaToday) May 15, 2018



01:16 PM Congress is now opposing for the sake of it. In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, we will certainly win: Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/nqQwMKFwtq  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



01:09 PM

01:05 PM Rahul bhai is a leader in the ascent. 2019 will be a different ball game. The alliances are coming with him. Sidhu unke (Rahul Gandhi) saath khada rahega, jab tak mere andar lahu hai: Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Minister on Karnataka election pic.twitter.com/gg1dcbdgJJ  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



01:04 PM

12:58 PM The @AmitShah magic works again. Toiling day and night, from district to district, booth to booth; Hats off to him! Under the leadership of PM @narendramodi ji, our Party President @AmitShah ji creates history yet again in Karnataka.  Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) May 15, 2018



12:57 PM The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions, like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot: Ram Madhav, BJP pic.twitter.com/qVbGqy3g55  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:53 PM This is the third straight defeat of Rahul Gandhi since he became President. He declared himself the PM candidate. Now if all opposition wants to unite toh hamare liye bhi ye theek hai,ki desh ki jitni gandagi hai vo ek saath hate: Rajyavardhan Rathore, Union Minister #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/j0vHNL86FO  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:47 PM On the ground, the BJP cadre was enthused and the voters bought into Modi's vision of Congress-mukt Karnataka. Read more here.

12:44 PM BJP Parliamentary Board to meet at 6 pm at party headquarters in Delhi today #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/KcNuVHwK6K  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:39 PM I would like to thank the people of Karnataka for this mandate. Also, credit goes to the hard work of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji, as well as state leadership,party workers and RSS cadre. BJP's southward march has begun: Ram Madhav,BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Hxw7eEoDPf  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:38 PM Photo: DailyO

12:31 PM The Congress president seems to be AWOL. Read more here. Photo: DailyO

12:27 PM BJP MP Subramanian Swamy's reaction when asked about Congress raising questions on EVMs #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/ZWGSrdwaD8  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:25 PM 10 sitting Ministers from Cong have lost their seats! Tells you about the huge anti incumbency that was brewing on ground!



It's just not the divisive tactics that has cost Cong this election. It's also their stellar failure in governance that has resulted in this defeat!  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 15, 2018



12:16 PM

12:10 PM

12:08 PM #KarnatakaVerdict reflects the affection of people for PM @narendramodi & his work. It's a victory of hard work put in by @BJP4India President @AmitShah with every worker.We express our gratitude to people of Karnataka.We'll work 4 development of Karnataka with honesty & humility pic.twitter.com/R2xvJC9oaP  Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) May 15, 2018



12:07 PM Hearty congratulations to @BJP4India for their stellar performance in Karnataka. #KarnatakaVerdict  Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) May 15, 2018



12:06 PM Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi #KarnatakaElectionResults pic.twitter.com/ZLsHco9eR2  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



12:03 PM THANK YOU, KARNATAKA! ????  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 15, 2018



12:01 PM Reacting to what looks likely to be a landslide victory for BJP, its Karnataka in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, said: "People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state."

12:00 PM Dear Congressis,



It's now clear why Siddaramaiah wanted to contest from Badami.



Badami was chosen as a safe option as Chamundeshwari was bound to go. Yet, you had the audacity to compare it with PM Modi choosing to contest from two seats.



Hope you have learned humility now  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 15, 2018 Most of Siddaramaiah's Cabinet is sent home packing. It just shows how much anti incumbency was actually on the ground and how all the pollsters failed to notice it.



Congress's corruption, nepotism & dynasty politics has been rejected lock, stock & barrel by Karnataka  BJP Karnataka (@BJP4Karnataka) May 15, 2018







11:58 AM Reacting to what looks likely to be a landslide victory for BJP, its Karnataka in-charge, Prakash Javadekar, said: "People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state."

11:46 AM Reacting to what looks likely to be a landslide victory for BJP, its Karnataka in-charge,

11:33 AM Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way & because of which we lost it: DK Shivkumar, Karnataka Minister on #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/mTUCbrfO0V  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



11:32 AM

11:29 AM Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different  Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) May 15, 2018



11:28 AM The probability of a BJP victory in Karnataka assembly election lifted the key Indian equity indices during the mid-morning trade session on May 15. Around 10:25 am, the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) traded at 10,921.80 points  up 115.20 points or 1.07 per cent  from its previous close. Read more here.

11:22 AM BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Delhi as trends show the party is set to win #KarnatakaElectionResults2018. pic.twitter.com/uOznAJ6A7E  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



11:20 AM I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs, even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot?: Mohan Prakash,Congress pic.twitter.com/t70xtsaHoX  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



11:11 AM Counting trends today morning showed PM Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party cruising to a comfortable victory in a crucial state election.#ResultOnKarnataka

Live: https://t.co/qxLiT2oL4ahttps://t.co/IncUeLfMix  India Today (@IndiaToday) May 15, 2018



11:10 AM People have rejected Siddaramaiah. He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone & because of his loose talk: GT Devegowda, JD(S) candidate who is leading over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari by 17000 votes. pic.twitter.com/6Sw82tiBgs  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



11:03 AM Sweets are being distributed outside the residence of BJP's chief ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa's residence. BJP crosses 100 mark and this arrives at Yedyurappas house. #JustForLaughs pic.twitter.com/nnvKSizGUD  Nagarjun Dwarakanath (@nagarjund) May 15, 2018



11:01 AM

10:59 AM This is a historic win for BJP. I want to thank all the people of Karnataka for voting for us. Ab desh mein Congress khojo abhiyan chalega, kahaan rahegi pata nahi: Raman Singh, CM of Chhattisgarh. #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Fc9tao6paN  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



10:57 AM Ktaka must be a boost for BJP. But the state offers a strange pattern. Party that loses Ktaka comes to power nationally next yr.

Cong in 13 Ktaka~BJP nationally in 14. BJP 08 in Ktaka~Cong nationally 09. Non-Cong 03 Ktaka~Cong in 04. Cong 99 in Ktaka~BJP nationally.  Vinod K. Jose (@vinodjose) May 15, 2018



10:54 AM Photo: Indiatoday.in

10:49 AM Data from the Election Commission of India highlighted that two of the key players, BJP chief minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa, and HD Kumaraswamy from JD(S) have taken lead in their respective constituencies, while incumbent Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is leading from one and trailing from the other. Read more here.

10:47 AM When Siddhu split the Lingayat community I had told the media : Congi committed suicide  Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) May 15, 2018



10:46 AM Photo: DailyO

10:42 AM

10:40 AM JD(S) state president Kumaraswamy is trailing at Ramanagara by 2,000 votes. Along with Chikkaballapura, the constituency had recorded highest voting percentage in Karnataka at 76 per cent.

10:39 AM

10:37 AM Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is locked in a tough contest with BJP's B Sreeramulu. At the end of latest round of counting of votes, Sreeramulu had taken a lead of over 300 votes over CM Siddaramaiah, who had filed nomination from this seat as a back-up for his prospects in home constituency at Chamundeshwari. But at Badami, every round of vote count is projecting the other leader in lead.

10:34 AM

10:27 AM Sensex up by over 350 points, currently at 35928.35 as BJP leads in #Karnataka, Nifty at 10919.15  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



10:25 AM CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes. (File Pic) #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/FL0K3hrjXN  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



10:23 AM

10:12 AM Data published by Election Commission of India at 9.47am shows Congress party bag 9,92,874 votes in comparison to the BJPs 9,85,195. This means the Congress has bagged 38.2% of votes while the BJP has bagged 37.9%.

10:06 AM BJP workers celebrate outside party office in #Bengaluru as trends show the party leading. #KarnatakaElectionResults2018 pic.twitter.com/utBwcXwBme  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



10:05 AM

10:03 AM Et tu #Karnataka.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 15, 2018



10:00 AM Photo: DailyO

09:58 AM There is no question of alliance(with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats: Sadananda Gowda,BJP #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/Hi4ODkOaxo  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:53 AM Correct position will be known at 11-11.30 am. I am going to discuss it( possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot.: Mallikarjun Kharge,Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/vvUqunzVA6  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:52 AM While the incumbent Congress seeks to retain power in the southern state, Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal Secular (JDS) hopes to form the government on its own after 10 years. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has put in its might and machinery to wrest power from the Congress after five years. Read more here. Photo: Reuters

09:44 AM JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna. #KarnatakaElections2018(File Pic) pic.twitter.com/NP741FOZm0  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:42 AM A tactical understanding between BJP and JD(S) is visible on ground. Read more here. Photo: DailyO

09:41 AM Karnataka Minister DK Shivakumar leading over JDS's Narayana Gowda by 2729 votes from Kanakpura #KarnatakaElections2018 (file pic) pic.twitter.com/esO2YVE1H9  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:38 AM

09:32 AM BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa leading from Shikaripura seat by 3420 votes over Congress's GB Malatesh (file pic) #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/tF8PZ6fGfA  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:28 AM BJP leading on 58 seats,Congress leading on 27 seats, JDS on 24 and others on 3 seats

09:26 AM

09:19 AM These are initial trends,we hope Congress will form the Govt in Karnataka and are confident of it, but yes all options(allying with JDS) are open: Ashok Gehlot,Congress #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/McnUbVSoPJ  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



09:16 AM Caught between a portrait and Hindutva, the varsity shows the way. Read more here

09:12 AM BJP leading on 22 seats,Congress leading on 13 seats, JDS on 3 and others on 1

09:10 AM HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate by 1552 votes in Ramanagara

09:06 AM BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading in the Shikaripura constituency.

09:02 AM

08:58 AM BJP's CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today, on counting day for #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/DLeywdryR8  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018



08:53 AM The 2018 Assembly elections could easily confound any pundit or pollster. Read more here.

08:51 AM Initial trends show that JD(S) is performing much better than was expected. Trends are based on the counting of postal ballots.

08:48 AM Trends for 164 seats were available a short while ago. The ruling Congress was leading at 66 seats while the BJP was ahead on 74 seats. The JD(S) was at the third position with leads at 24 seats. Read more here. Photo: Indiatoday.in

08:45 AM Congress has taken an early lead in Karnataka as the counting of votes began at 8am today. Congress takes the lead with 12 seats. BJP behind with three seats while the JD(S) is at three. These initial trends are from the counting of postal ballots.

08:44 AM The police have banned celebrations, processions and bursting of crackers around the 38 counting centres in the state and deployed additional forces in the area around those centres. Around the five counting centres in the capital city of Bengaluru, an elaborate three-layer security arrangement has been planned. Read more here. Photo: ANI

08:36 AM The Congress has thrown a surprise by indicating that it is ready to sacrifice Siddaramaiah to keep Deve Gowda on its side. Read more here.

08:33 AM Reports on May 14, suggested that over 1000 postal ballot covers found at a hotel in Badami with BJP workers. The workers were allegedly opening the postal ballots in a hotel owned by a local BJP leader.
After focusing for years on Lhasa and southern Tibet, Beijing has decided to invest in the development of western Tibet, known as the Ngari Prefecture of the Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR). Despite the 2015 Nepal earthquake which delayed the building of infrastructure in the area, particularly the railway line Lhasa-Kyirong at the Nepal border, the work has now started at an accelerated pace.

Economic angle

One project which could have serious strategic implications for India is the extension of the National Highway G216 from Xinjiang to Kyirong landport; linking Xinjiang to south Asia seems to be a new dream for the leadership in Beijing. Though technically it is a formidable challenge to cross the Kunlun range, the Chinese engineers are determined to implement the scheme.

This could also have immense economic consequences as it may become the main conduit of a new Silk Road from Central Asia to Nepal and South Asia. Has India been taken into the loop when Prime Minister Narendra Modi "informally" met the Chinese president recently? It is doubtful.

Meanwhile, western Tibet develops fast. In January, VTIBET.com reported that the Ngari prefecture received over 6,60,000 visitors in 2017. The statistics released by the Ngari Tourism Bureau website said that it was a 20 per cent growth compared to the previous year. Even the revenue increased.

The tourism revenue totalled about 750 million yuan, up by 10 per cent over the same period last year. The website cites the prefectures marvels: the Kailash Manasarovar area, the ruins of the former Guge Kingdom and the Tholing Clay Forest  all located in Ngari Prefecture.

Last month, Radio Free Asia (RFA) announced that the Chinese authorities have seized farmland in Lhatse to build a new airport, displacing Tibetan villagers and offering far less in compensation than the land is worth. RFA argued that the land belonged to Yushang village in Shigatse prefectures Lhatse county.

Apart from the deprivation of the land, the news item shows that in the years to come, Western Tibet could become the new economic and touristic hub and, of course, an important strategic centre for the defence of Chinas borders. The opening of a new airport should be seen in this perspective, though the rapidly increasing trade with Nepal shouldnt be ignored.

According to Tibet Business Daily, the total value of Tibets foreign trade exceeded 5.8 billion yuan (nearly Rs 6,700 crore) in 2017. The domestic economy has been steadily improving, and the demand for international market has generally recovered, noted the daily.

Nepal is the main recipient of Tibets exports. In April, Nepals foreign minister, Pradeep Gyawali, visited Beijing. After meeting vice-president Wang Qishan and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, he spoke of expediting past agreements, developing trans-Himalayan multidimensional transport network and building a China-Nepal-India economic corridor.

Gyawali noted that China is Nepals genuine friend and a trusted ally. We should build on the excellent roots of civilisational, geographical and cultural affinities to further connect our countries and societies. This new civilisational bond between China and Nepal explains the need of a new airport in Lhatse.

Difficult terrain

China Tibet News Network mentioned another megaproject, the "extension" of the G216 Highway which, according to the article, will end in Kyirong. What does the extension of G216 mean?

In 2016, a "Public Announcement for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of G216 (Tibet Area)" was made. The original 857-km-long highway starts from Altay City in northern Xinjiang and ends in Baluntai (in Hejing County). It will now be extended via Minfeng and Keryia in southern Xinjiang to western Tibet and Nepal.

Needless to mention the immense technical challenge to cross the Kunlun range between Keryia and Rutok where the road will join the G219 or Aksai Chin road. To give an idea, Keryia is located at 1,459m sea level, while Lake Lighten on the plateau is at 5080m (a 3,500m climb in less than 200km). It is perhaps the most difficult terrain in the world.

Crazy dream

The last section of the "extended" G216 (towards Nepal) will have a length of about 94km; the geological conditions are complex, said a Chinese website: After experiencing the May 12, 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the geological conditions are even more unpredictable. The original roads at the Kyirong Port have been seriously damaged, and the subgrade has subsided in some sections.

The main bridge in this section is said to have collapsed and the road surface was broken and cracked. Kyirong is located 24km away from the Nepal border; it is now the main channel for land trade between China and the former kingdom.

Due to the earthquake, the railway line between Shigatse and Kyirong has been delayed by at least three years. After the earthquake, one section of the G216 slipped and is no longer accessible. The road from Kyirong to the border with Nepal is only a dirt road. When the rainy season arrives, disasters such as landslides and mudslides are frequent.

The point remains that if the terminal section of G216 towards Kyirong is difficult, it is nothing compared to the section which will try to cross the Kunlun range, north of Lake Lighten. One more crazy dream of the rulers in Beijing?

Or a visionary project in view of the importance of having a second Xinjiang-Tibet highway (after the Aksai Chin road built in the early 1950s)? Could it be a true New Silk Road linking Central Asia to South Asia via Nepal? It is difficult to say today. The engineers have to cross the Kunlun first. India should watch the developments.

(Courtesy of Mail Today)

Also read:BJP under Modi fights elections like Mughal empire tried to conquer India under Aurangzeb
Even as Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) students continue a relay hunger strike to protest against the violence on May 2  when right-wing activists tried to barge into the campus to "forcibly remove" a portrait of Muhammad Ali Jinnah  Haryana finance minister Captain Abhimanyu has had a brilliant brainwave.

The BJP leader, laying the foundation stone for a Jat dharamshala in Rewari on May 13, has said the AMU should be renamed, this time after Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh, a leader who had donated land to the university.

Picture of the one who broke the nation into pieces hangs inside Aligarh Muslim University's campus, but no picture of Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh. I demand that AMU must be renamed as Raja Mahendra Pratap Vishwavidyalaya: Captain Abhimanyu, Haryana Finance Minister (13.5.18) pic.twitter.com/mVdIlioAEn  ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2018

The comments could be dismissed as opportune utilisation of an ongoing controversy, an easy way to hit the headlines and establish Ambimanyus credentials as a Jat community hero.

However, the statements are part of a darker trend, growing more brazen in the country by the day  of playing one identity against another, of historical figures being fair game and facts easily dispensable in this battle, and of the steady pushing backwards of Muslims, from institutions, public spaces (think of the namaz row in Abhimanyus state), and political representation.

Abhimanyu said: "Jinnah was responsible for destroying the integrity of the nation. His portrait is displayed in the varsity, but till today no picture of Raja Mahendra Pratap has been installed there."

First of all, the Haryana minister perhaps did not bother to look up basic facts before making statements. Prataps portraits indeed find pride of place at AMU in two locations, at a library and at a residential hall.

For all those saying why Raja Mahendra Pratap photo isn't in AMU it occupies pride of place in the Maulana Azad library where every student comes to study#ItWasNeverAboutJinnah It about dividing us into Hindu vs Muslims #WeStandWithAMU pic.twitter.com/apw7iAwewm  Rana Safvi   (@iamrana) May 7, 2018

Second, Abhimanyus comments display a dangerously reductionist understanding of identity, a mere association of keywords  at a Jat function, lets talk of a Jat leader  no matter if the leader never identified himself as that communitys champion. Pratap, for example, was as an internationalist Marxist, even as his moniker popular in Aligarh is Jat King.

Thirdly, Abhimanyu's comments lend weight to what many have been saying since the Jinnah controversy erupted in AMU  that the row is mere saffron muscle-flexing, along with being an attempt to paint Muslims as Jinnah fans and Pakistan lovers.

AMU: A no of total 9 students are in hunger strike against the brutal attack by up police and breach of security of Hamid Ansari by HYV goons. Picture snapped when the doctors came for the routine check up .#WeStandWithAMU pic.twitter.com/v0Q4xLVUjR  Maskoor Ahmad Usmani (@MaskoorUsmani) May 13, 2018

The right wing in India has a talent of reducing complex issues to easy binaries, Indias rich and syncretic culture to a Hindu versus the rest discourse.

For this, a revision of history, a corruption of facts, even, is necessary. What Abhimanyu did has been done over and over again, by none less than the prime minister himself, most recently in the Karnataka Assembly polls.

A quick fact check: Raja Mahendra Pratap was a freedom fighter, who was closely associated with a large section of Muslim ulema in the fight against British imperialism. He was a student of AMU, which was then the Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College, but he did not finish his degree course.

Whose icon? Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh was a Marxist, staunchly opposed to the BJP's brand of politics.

The BJP may now profess deep love for him, but there was no love lost between him and the Jana Sangh, the BJPs political predecessor. Pratap had fought against the Jan Sangha as an Independent candidate from Mathura in the 1952 general elections, and in 1957, become the MP after defeating none other than Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

About the land at AMU, writes author Ram Puniayani for Beyond Headlines, the college "was formed in 1886, with a land bought from British cantonment (nearly 74 acres) and much later Pratap had leased 3.04 acres of land, this is called Tikonia ground and is used as a playground by the City High School of AMU in 1929".

Of course, his contribution to AMU and to the country cannot be measured in terms of acres of land donated or leased. But those are the facts, and facts are important, even if the ruling dispensation breezily ignores them.

The Raja was also staunchly against organised religions, in fact, he had founded a new form of faith, called Prem Dharam.

But none of this seems to be of much concern to the Haryana minister. When a leader is speaking at a pulpit, he or she is supposed to have done their basic research as a mark of respect to the audience, most of whom have come to hear him because they look up to him. Do leaders such as Captain Abhimanyu take their voters to be fools, to be fed any communal fodder they want?

AMU is the product of the kind of pluralism the BJP seems incapable of understanding. Photo: PTI/file

This is not the first time the BJP has remembered Raja Mahendra Pratap, although he seems to be a post-2014 discovery for them. In November 2014, storm clouds had gathered over AMU, after the local BJP unit said they would celebrate Prataps birth anniversary on campus, and the Samajwadi Party opposed it.

That event was cancelled after protests. A little over three years later, however, Hindu activists were allowed to force their way into the campus, and show us their true picture over a portrait.

Going by incidents such as the AMU row, it seems the BJP does not understand plurality, composite identities, or indeed, India. The country cannot exist in a perpetual tug of war between various communities. When portraits become flashpoints between the countrys long history and a new, ascendant leadership, the writing is on the wall.

Also read: Jinnah portrait at AMU should remind Sangh that India can never be a clean slate
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and lieutenant governor Anil Baijal have exchanged letters, tweets and bad vibes over the past week on the issue of installation of CCTV cameras in Delhi. Kejriwal has accused the L-G of deceitfully paralysing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government's ambitious proposal to install 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras across Delhi, a key promise it had made before the 2015 elections towards enhancing women's security.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP MLAs march towards the LGs house in New Delhi.

The week-long correspondence culminated in the chief minister leading a march of elected representatives of the AAP to the L-G Secretariat, requesting an opportunity to discuss the matter in person. When the L-G refused to allow MLAs to enter his office and instead asked the chief minister, his Cabinet ministers and one AAP MP to meet him, a defiant Kejriwal stayed put.

"This is a democracy. These (MLAs) are representatives of the people. They have come to meet the L-G on behalf of the people of Delhi. Why should the L-G refuse to meet them," he asked an officer of Delhi Police, who had been despatched by Baijal to negotiate with CM Kejriwal.

The L-G tweeted, reiterating his stand. He said he had neither received a proposal for installation of CCTVs, nor had he rejected such a proposal. He added, cheekily, "Hon. CM prefers to 'protest without reason'."Baijal's tweet is a string of carefully chosen words meant to deceive the unvigilant. A master class in sophistry, it is the bureaucratic equivalent of, "I am not lying, I am merely hiding the truth."

Despite agreeing to meet Hon. CM @ArvindKejriwal with his Ministers & Hon. MP although my yesterday's letter had clarified that no proposal for installation of CCTVs has been recd nor I hv issued any orders to stall/stop award of work, Hon. CM prefers to "protest without reason".  LG Delhi (@LtGovDelhi) May 14, 2018

A cursory analysis of the "L-G Outcome Report" presented by the AAP government in Delhi Assembly earlier this year reveals an interesting modus operandi employed by L-G Baijal, a departure from the Najeeb Jung era. Unlike Jung, Baijal often wears a mask of civility and propriety while continuing to obstruct Kejriwal's government.

What has the L-G done to cause such heartburn to the AAP government? In January this year, the Delhi government initiated the process to invite and award a "rate contract" to install up to 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras in the city.

A rate contract essentially empanels the agency for the purpose of installing cameras on a per camera basis. The advantage of such a contract is that contractor is bound to install cameras at a fixed rate. For example, if a Resident Welfare Association (RWA) approaches an MLA for installing cameras in their society, the cameras can potentially be installed by the contractor using MLA-LADS funds.

Public sector undertaking, Bharat Electricals Ltd (BEL), made the lowest bid and is expected to be awarded the contract after the Cabinet's approval. The AAP's promise to Delhi was one Cabinet meeting away from becoming a reality, when the L-G caught whiff. Last week, he announced the setting up of a "high-level committee" to "prepare a common framework for installing, operating and monitoring CCTV cameras in the national capital".

Without pre-empting the committee's recommendations, it can be safely said that the terms of reference set by Baijal are aimed at ensuring that the decentralised procedure for installation as envisioned by the AAP's rate contract proposal is derailed. The elected government was not even consulted before the committee was announced.

Even if one is to entertain the possibility that the L-G's actions are founded in genuine concern about the process followed for installation of cameras, the question one must ask is: why now? Over the last two years, Delhi Police, NDMC, DMRC, MCDs, etc have installed over two lakh cameras. It is mighty fishy that the L-G has chosen to intervene in the process on the eve of the Delhi government's CCTV rollout.

Why didnt u set up committee when MCD, NDMC, Metro, police set up 2 lac cameras last yr? Now when Del govt installing cameras, u set up a committee? People questioning ur motives. Obviously, BJP stalling it thro u. Sir, pl say NO to BJPs pressures for sake of Dels women https://t.co/z2LkZQ4Lbe  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 14, 2018

Ironically, even the NDMC, which was successfully installing cameras, has been forced to halt installation in light of the committee being set up by the L-G.

NDMC was successfully installing CCTV cameras in residential colonies for last 2 yrs. In view of LGs committee, NDMC stops further installation of cameras. Extremely unfortunate. Whatever gud work was gng on has also been stopped. Dirty politics being played wid women safety pic.twitter.com/9XGEF7Yv9j  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 14, 2018

The L-G's track record suggests such wilful misrepresentation of facts has become the norm. Last year, after expressing his concern over a shortage of staff in Delhi government hospitals, CM Kejriwal had directed the relevant departments to fill the vacancies, and meanwhile allow medical superintendents to hire retired personnel against those positions.

L-G Anil Baijal, who is empowered to hire personnel in Delhi, issued an advertisement for recruitment with the condition, "Only retired personnel eligible!"

When the chief minister expressed his disbelief at what the L-G had done, Baijal said he was merely following the directions of the chief minister. Till date, those positions remain unfilled.

A parallel government of Delhi is being run from the Raj Niwas by an appointee of the BJP-led central government. This is one of several such occasions when the elected government's power has been usurped by the L-G office in an underhand manner.

The only language the L-G appears to understand is that of public pressure. When he had held up a mohalla clinics file for almost four months, 40 AAP MLAs protested outside his residence for an entire day before he finally cleared the proposal.

In the face of the incessant harassment, Kejriwal continues to fight daily battles in the interest of Delhi's people.

Editor's note: Headline was modified after the piece was published.

(The writer national joint secretary, Aam Aadmi Party.)

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Alexco Resource Corp. engages in the mineral exploration, and mine development and operational activities primarily in Yukon Territory, Canada. The company explores for silver, lead, and zinc deposits. It owns interests in the Keno Hill Silver District project that comprises the Flame & Moth, Bermingham, Lucky Queen, Bellekeno, and Onek deposits, as well as 725 surveyed quartz mining leases, 866 unsurveyed quartz mining claims, 8 placer claims, and 2 crown grants covering an area of 233 square kilometers located in Yukon Territory. The company also provides mine and industrial site related environmental services, including management of the regulatory and environmental permitting process, environmental assessments, and reclamation and closure planning in Canada, the United States, and internationally. Alexco Resource Corp. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Prudential Financial: 210-220 E. 22nd Street SSGA Owner LLC, AIG Edison, AIG Star, AREF Cayman Co Ltd., AREF GP II Pte. Ltd., AREF GP Ltd., ASPF II - Feeder Fund GmbH, ASPF II - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, ASPF II Management GmbH, ASPF III (Scots) L.P., ASSURANCE, AST Investment Services Inc., Adlerwerke CB Investment LLC, Administradora de Fondos de Pensiones Habitat S.A., Administradora de Inversiones Previsionales SpA, Aoba Life Insurance Company, Asia Property Fund III GP S.a.r.l., Assurance IQ LLC, Assurance Intelligence LLC, BSC CP LP, Braeloch Holdings Inc., Braeloch Successor Corporation, Brazilian Capital Fund GP Limited, Broad Street Global Advisors LLC, Broome Street Holdings LLC, CB German Retail LLC, CLIS Co. Ltd., COLICO INC., Campus Drive LLC, Capital Agricultural Property Services Inc., Chadwick Boulevard Investment Holdings Co. 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Ltd., PGIM Agricultural Investments GP LLC, PGIM Agricultural Investors LP, PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Fund L.P., PGIM Broad Market High Yield Bond Partners LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management (Feeder) VI LLC, PGIM Capital Partners Management Fund VI L.P., PGIM European Financing Limited, PGIM European Services Limited, PGIM Financial Limited, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund II L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives Fund L.P., PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives GP LLC, PGIM Fixed Income Alternatives II GP LLC, PGIM Foreign Investments Inc., PGIM Holding Company LLC, PGIM INDIA ASSET MANAGEMENT PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM INDIA TRUSTEES PRIVATE LIMITED, PGIM Inc., PGIM International Financing Inc., PGIM Investments LLC, PGIM Japan Co. 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Ltd., Prudential Trust Company, Prudential Universal Reinsurance Company, Prudential Workplace Solutions Group Services LLC, Prudential do Brasil Seguros de Vida S.A., Prudential do Brasil Vida em Grupo S.A., Prudential/TMW Real Estate Group LLC, Pruservicos Participacoes Ltda., QMA JP EM All Cap Equity Partners LLC, QMA LLC, QMA Wadhwani LLP, Quartzsite LLC, Residential Services Corporation of America LLC, Rio CP LP, Rock European Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock Global Real Estate LLC, Rock Kensington Limited, Rock Marty GP S.a r.l., Rock Oxford S.a r.l., Rock UK Real Estate Holdings S.ar.l., Rock UK Real Estate II S.a.r.l., Rockstone Co. Ltd., Rosado Grande LLC, Ross Avenue Energy Fund Holdings LLC, Ross Avenue Minerals 2012 LLC, SCP Apartments LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERS VI GP LLC, SENIOR HOUSING PARTNERSHIP FUND VI GP LLC, SHP IV Carried Interest LP, SHP V Carried Interest L.P., SMP Holdings Inc., SVIIT Holdings Inc., Sanei Collection Service Co. Ltd. (Kabushiki Kaisha Sanei Shuuno Service), Senior Housing Partners IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partners V LLC, Senior Housing Partnership Fund IV L.L.C., Senior Housing Partnership Fund V LLC, Sterling Private Placement Management LLP, Stetson Street Partners L.P., Strand Investments Limited, TBG Insurance Services Corporation, TENSATOR HOLDINGS LTD, TF Proveedora S.C., TMW ASPF I Verwaltungs GmbH & Co. KG, TMW ASPF Management GmbH, TMW Management LLC, TMW Real Estate Group LLC, TMW Realty Advisors LLC, TMW USPF Verwaltungs GmbH, TRGOAG Company Inc., The Gibraltar Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Keynes Dynamic Beta Strategy (US) Fund GP LLC, The Prudential Assigned Settlement Services Corp., The Prudential Brazilian Capital Fund LP, The Prudential Gibraltar Financial Life Insurance Co. Ltd., The Prudential Home Mortgage Company Inc., The Prudential Insurance Company of America, The Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd., The Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America Inc., The WMF Group, Thurloe Commercial Guernsey Limited, Times Square Center Associates, USPF V - Verwaltungs - GmbH & Co. KG, USPF V Carry LLC, USPF V Co-Invest LLC, USPF V Investment LP, United States Property Fund VI GP S.a r.l., Vailsburg Fund LLC, Vantage Casualty Insurance Company, Wabash Avenue Holdings V LLC, Wabash Avenue Partners V L.P., Wadhwani Capital Limited, Waveland Avenue Holdings I LLC, Waveland Avenue Partners I (Ireland) L.P., Waveland Avenue Partners I (US) L.P., Wellness Services Ecossistema De Bem Estar Ltda., Wellness Services SRL, Yamato Life, and Yavapai LLC.
Randgold Resources Limited is engaged in gold mining, exploration and related activities. The Company's activities are focused on West and Central Africa. The Company operates through the gold mining segment. The Company operates various mines, such as Morila, Loulo, Gounkoto, Tongon and Kibali. The Company is exploring in African countries, such as Mali, Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The Company also holds an interest in the Massawa project. The Company holds Morila Limited, which holds interests in the Morila mine in Mali. As of December 31, 2016, Morila mine has produced 122,370 ounces (oz) of gold. The Company holds a controlling interest in the Loulo mine, located in Mali, through Societe des Mines de Loulo SA (Loulo). The Loulo mine is mining from over two underground mines. As of December 31, 2016, Loulo mine has produced 350,604 oz of gold. It has a controlling interest in the Gounkoto mine through Societe des Mines de Gounkoto SA.

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Cartier Resources Inc. engages in the acquisition and exploration of mining properties in Canada. The company explores for gold deposits. Its flagship project is the Chimo mine property located to the east of Val-d'Or, Quebec. The company also holds interest in Benoist, Fenton, Wilson, Cadillac Extension, Dollier, and MacCormack metal deposit projects, which are located in Quebec. Cartier Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Val-d'Or, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Abbott Laboratories: 3A Nutrition (Vietnam) Company Limited, ABON Biopharm (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., AGA Medical Belgium, AGA Medical Corporation, AGA Medical Holdings Inc., ALR Holdings, AML Medical LLC, APK Advanced Medical Technologies LLC, ATS Bermuda Holdings Limited, ATS Laboratories Inc., Abbott, Abbott (Jiaxing) Nutrition Co. Ltd., Abbott (UK) Finance Limited, Abbott (UK) Holdings Limited, Abbott AG, Abbott Asia Holdings Limited, Abbott Asia Investments Limited, Abbott Australasia Holdings Limited, Abbott Australasia Pty Ltd, Abbott B.V., Abbott Bahamas Overseas Businesses Corporation, Abbott Belgian Investments, Abbott Bermuda Holding Ltd., Abbott Biologicals B.V., Abbott Biologicals LLC, Abbott Bulgaria Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Capital India Limited, Abbott Cardiovascular Inc., Abbott Cardiovascular Systems Inc., Abbott Delaware LLC, Abbott Diabetes Care Inc., Abbott Diabetes Care Limited, Abbott Diabetes Care Sales Corporation, Abbott Diagnostics GmbH, Abbott Diagnostics International Ltd., Abbott Diagnostics Technologies AS, Abbott Doral Investments S.L., Abbott Equity Holdings Unlimited, Abbott Equity Investments LLC, Abbott Established Products Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Finance Company SA, Abbott Financial Holdings SRL, Abbott France S.A.S., Abbott Fund Tanzania Limited, Abbott Gesellschaft m.b.H., Abbott GmbH & Co. KG, Abbott Health Products LLC, Abbott Healthcare (Puerto Rico) Ltd., Abbott Healthcare B.V., Abbott Healthcare Costa Rica S.A., Abbott Healthcare LLC, Abbott Healthcare Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Healthcare Private Limited, Abbott Healthcare Products B.V., Abbott Healthcare Products Ltd, Abbott Holding (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding GmbH, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited, Abbott Holding Subsidiary (Gibraltar) Limited Luxembourg S.C.S., Abbott Holdings B.V., Abbott Holdings LLC, Abbott Holdings Limited, Abbott Holdings Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Iberian Investments (2) Limited, Abbott Iberian Investments Limited, Abbott India Limited, Abbott Informatics Asia Pacific Limited, Abbott Informatics Canada Inc, Abbott Informatics Corporation, Abbott Informatics Europe Limited, Abbott Informatics France, Abbott Informatics Germany GmbH, Abbott Informatics Netherlands B.V., Abbott Informatics Singapore Pte. Limited, Abbott Informatics Spain S.A., Abbott Informatics Technologies Ltd, Abbott International Corporation, Abbott International Enterprises Ltd., Abbott International Holdings Limited, Abbott International LLC, Abbott International Luxembourg S.ar.l., Abbott Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Ireland, Abbott Ireland Financing Designated Activity Company, Abbott Ireland Limited, Abbott Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Abbott Knoll Investments B.V., Abbott Korea Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Bangladesh) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco (Dos) SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Chile) Holdco SpA, Abbott Laboratories (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Laboratories (Mozambique) Limitada, Abbott Laboratories (Pakistan) Limited, Abbott Laboratories (Philippines), Abbott Laboratories (Puerto Rico) Incorporated, Abbott Laboratories (Singapore) Private Limited, Abbott Laboratories A/S, Abbott Laboratories Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Abbott Laboratories B.V., Abbott Laboratories C.A., Abbott Laboratories Finance B.V., Abbott Laboratories GmbH, Abbott Laboratories Inc., Abbott Laboratories International LLC, Abbott Laboratories Ireland Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited, Abbott Laboratories Limited - Laboratoires Abbott Limitee, Abbott Laboratories NZ Limited, Abbott Laboratories Pacific Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Poland Spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Laboratories Products B.V., Abbott Laboratories Residential Development Fund Inc., Abbott Laboratories S.A., Abbott Laboratories SA, Abbott Laboratories Services Corp., Abbott Laboratories Slovakia s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Laboratories Trustee Company Limited, Abbott Laboratories Uruguay S.A., Abbott Laboratories Vascular Enterprises, Abbott Laboratories d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories de Chile Limitada, Abbott Laboratories de Colombia S.A., Abbott Laboratories de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Abbott Laboratories druzba za farmacijo in diagnostiko d.o.o., Abbott Laboratories s.r.o., Abbott Laboratories(Hellas) Societe Anonyme, Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios S.A., Abbott Laboratorios del Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Abbott Laboratuarlari Ithalat Ihracat ve Ticaret Ltd.Sti, Abbott Laboratorios Lda, Abbott Laboratorios do Brasil Ltda., Abbott Limited Egypt LLC, Abbott Logistics B.V., Abbott Management GmbH, Abbott Management LLC, Abbott Manufacturing Singapore Private Limited, Abbott Mature Products International Unlimited Company, Abbott Mature Products Management Limited, Abbott Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Abbott Medical (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Abbott Medical (Portugal) Distribuicao de Produtos Medicos Lda, Abbott Medical (Schweiz) AG, Abbott Medical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Abbott Medical (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Australia Pty. Ltd., Abbott Medical Austria Ges.m.b.H., Abbott Medical Balkan d.o.o. Beograd (Novi Beograd), Abbott Medical Belgium, Abbott Medical Canada Inc./ Medicale Abbott Canada Inc., Abbott Medical Danmark A/S, Abbott Medical Devices Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Espana S.A., Abbott Medical Estonia OU, Abbott Medical Finland Oy, Abbott Medical France SAS, Abbott Medical GmbH, Abbott Medical Hellas Limited Liability Trading Company, Abbott Medical Ireland Limited, Abbott Medical Italia S.p.A., Abbott Medical Japan Co. Ltd., Abbott Medical Korea Limited, Abbott Medical Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Abbott Medical Laboratories LTD, Abbott Medical Nederland B.V., Abbott Medical New Zealand Limited, Abbott Medical Norway AS, Abbott Medical Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Medical Sweden AB, Abbott Medical Taiwan Co., Abbott Medical U.K. Limited, Abbott Medical spoka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Abbott Middle East S.A.R.L., Abbott Molecular Inc., Abbott Morocco SARL, Abbott Nederland C.V., Abbott Nederland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Netherlands Investments B.V., Abbott Norge AS, Abbott Nutrition Limited, Abbott Nutrition Manufacturing Inc., Abbott Operations Singapore Pte. Ltd., Abbott Operations Uruguay S.R.L., Abbott Overseas Cyprus Limited, Abbott Overseas Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Overseas S.A., Abbott Oy, Abbott Point of Care Canada Limited, Abbott Point of Care Inc., Abbott Poland Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Procurement LLC, Abbott Products (Philippines) Inc., Abbott Products (Spain) S.L., Abbott Products Algerie EURL, Abbott Products B.V., Abbott Products Distribution SAS, Abbott Products Egypt LLC, Abbott Products Limited, Abbott Products Limited Liability Company, Abbott Products Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Products Operations AG, Abbott Products Operations LLC, Abbott Products Romania S.R.L., Abbott Products Tunisie S.A.R.L., Abbott Products Unlimited Company, Abbott Resources Inc., Abbott Resources International Inc., Abbott S.r.l., Abbott Saudi Arabia Trading Company, Abbott Scandinavia Aktiebolag, Abbott Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, Abbott South Africa Luxembourg S.a r.l., Abbott Strategic Opportunities Limited, Abbott Trading Company Inc., Abbott Universal LLC, Abbott Vascular Devices (2) Limited, Abbott Vascular Devices Limited, Abbott Vascular Inc., Abbott Vascular Instruments Deutschland GmbH, Abbott Vascular International, Abbott Vascular Japan Co. Ltd, Abbott Vascular Limitada, Abbott Vascular Netherlands B.V., Abbott Vascular Solutions Inc., Abbott Ventures Inc., Abbott West Indies Limited, Abbott drustvo sa ogranicenom odgovornoscu za trgovinu i usluge, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems Inc., Alere, Alere (Shanghai) Diagnostics Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Healthcare Management Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Medical Sales Co. Ltd., Alere (Shanghai) Technology Co. Ltd., Alere A/S, Alere AB, Alere AS, Alere AS Holdings Limited, Alere BBI Holdings Limited, Alere Bangladesh Limited, Alere China Co. Ltd., Alere Colombia S.A., Alere Connect LLC, Alere Connected Health Limited, Alere Connected Health Ltd., Alere Diagnostics GmbH, Alere DoA Holding GmbH, Alere GmbH, Alere GmbH (Austria), Alere GmbH (Germany), Alere HK Holdings Ltd., Alere Health B.V., Alere Health BVBA, Alere Health Corp., Alere Health Sdn Bhd, Alere Health Services B.V., Alere Healthcare (Pty) Limited, Alere Healthcare Connections Limited, Alere Healthcare Inc., Alere Healthcare Nigeria Limited, Alere Healthcare S.L., Alere Holdco Inc., Alere Holding GmbH, Alere Holdings Bermuda Limited, Alere Holdings Pty Limited, Alere Home Monitoring Inc., Alere Inc., Alere Informatics Inc., Alere International Holding Corp., Alere International Limited, Alere Lda, Alere Limited, Alere Limited (New Zealand), Alere Medical BVBA, Alere Medical Co. Ltd., Alere Medical Pakistan (Private) Limited, Alere Medical Private Limited, Alere North America LLC, Alere Oy Ab, Alere Philippines Inc., Alere Phoenix ACQ Inc., Alere Pte Ltd, Alere S.A., Alere S.r.l., Alere S/A, Alere SAS, Alere San Diego Inc., Alere Scarborough Inc., Alere Spain S.L., Alere Switzerland GmbH, Alere Technologies GmbH, Alere Technologies Holdings Limited, Alere Technologies Limited, Alere Toxicology AB, Alere Toxicology Inc., Alere Toxicology S.r.l., Alere Toxicology Services Inc., Alere Toxicology plc, Alere UK Holdings Limited, Alere UK Subco Limited, Alere ULC, Alere US Holdings LLC, Alere s.r.o., Alisoc Investment & Co, Amedica Biotech Inc., Ameditech Inc., American Generics S.A.S., American Medical Supplies Inc., American Pharmacist Inc., Antares S.A., Apica Cardiovascular Limited, Aquagestion Capacitacion S.A., Aquagestion S.A., Arriva Medical LLC, Arriva Medical Philippines Inc., Arvis Investments Limited, Atlas Farmaceutica S.A., Avee Laboratories Inc., Axis-Shield AD III AS, Axis-Shield AD IV AS, Axis-Shield AS, Axis-Shield Diagnostics Limited, Axis-Shield Ltd., BBI Animal Health Limited, BBI Diagnostics Group 2 Public Limited Company, Banco de Vida S.A., Bioabsorbable Vascular Solutions Inc., Bioalgae S.A., Biohealth LLC, Biosite Incorporated, Bosque Bonito S.A., Branan Medical Corporation, Brandex Europe C.V., British Colloids Limited, CFR Chile S.A., CFR Interamericas EL Salvador Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, CFR Interamericas Nicaragua Sociedad Anonima, CFR Interamericas Panama S.A., CFR Pharmaceuticals, California Property Holdings III LLC, CardioMEMS LLC, Caripharm Inc., Cephea Valve Technologies, Cephea Valve Technologies Inc., Colibri Medical Aktiebolag, Comercializadora y Distribuidora CFR Interamericas Honduras S.A., Concateno South Limited, Concateno UK Limited, Consorcio Tecnologico en Biomedicina Clinico-Molecular S.A., Continuum Services LLC, Cozart Limited, Dextech S.A., Diagnostik Nord GmbH, Distribuciones Uquifa S.A.S., Domesco Medical Import-Export Joint-Stock Corporation, Duphar International Research B.V., Endocardial Solutions, Epocal (US) Inc, Esprit de Vie S.A., European Chemicals & Co, European Drug Testing Service EDTS AB, European Services S.A., Evalve Inc., Evalve International Inc., FARMINDUSTRIA S.A., Fada Pharma Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Fadapharma del Ecuador S.A., Farmaceutica Mont Blanc S.L., Farmacologia Em Aquicultura Veterinaria Ltda., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV Ecuador S.A., Farmacologia en Aquacultura Veterinaria FAV S.A., Fernwood Investment S.A., First Check Diagnostics LLC, Focus Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Forensics Limited, Forestcreek Overseas S.A., Fournier Pharma Corp., Fournier Pharma GmbH, Fournier Pharmaceuticals Limited, Framed B.V., Gabmed GmbH, Garden Hills LLC, Global Analytical Development LLC, Globapharm & CO LP, Glomed Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Golnorth Investments S.A., Gynocare Limited, Gynopharm Sociedad Anonima, Gynopharm de Centroamerica S.A., Gynopharm de Venezuela C.A., Hi-Tronics Designs Inc., IDEV Technologies Inc., IG Innovations Limited, IMTC Finance B.V., IMTC Holdings B.V., IMTC Technologies Inc., Ibis Biosciences LLC, Igloo Zone Chile S.A., Igloo Zone S.L., Inmobiliaria Naknek S.A.C., Innovacon Inc., Instant Tech Subsidiary Acquisition Inc., Instant Technologies Inc., Instituto de Criopreservacion de Chile S.A., Integrated Vascular Systems Inc., Inverness Canadian Acquisition Corporation, Inverness Medical (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Australia Pty Ltd., Inverness Medical Innovations Hong Kong Limited, Inverness Medical Innovations SK LLC, Inverness Medical Investments LLC, Inverness Medical LLC, Inverness Medical Shimla Private Limited, Inversiones K2 SpA, Inversiones Komodo S.R.L., Ionian Technologies LLC, Irvine Biomedical Inc., Kalila Medical, Kangshenyunga S.A., Knoll UK Investments Unlimited, LLC VeroInPharm, Laboratoires Fournier S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano Lafrancol S.A.S., Laboratorio Franco Colombiano del Ecuador S.A., Laboratorio Internacional Argentino S.A., Laboratorio Synthesis S.A.S., Laboratorios Lafi Limitada, Laboratorios Naturmedik S.A.S., Laboratorios Pauly Pharmaceutical S.A.S., Laboratorios Recalcine S.A., Laboratorios Transpharm S.A., Laboratory Specialists of America Inc., Lafrancol Dominicana S.A.S., Lafrancol Guatemala S.A. Sociedad Anonima, Lafrancol Internacional S.A.S, Lafrancol Peru S.R.L, Lake Forest Investments LLC, Lightlab Imaging Inc., Limited Liability Company Abbott Laboratories, Limited Liability Company Abbott Ukraine, Limited Liability Company VEROPHARM, Lung Fung Hong (China) Limited, Mansbridge Pharmaceuticals Limited, MediGuide LLC, MediGuide Ltd., Medscreen Holdings Limited, Metropolitana Farmaceutica S.A., Midwest Properties LLC, Murex Argentina S.A., Murex Biotech Limited, Murex Biotech South Africa, Murex Diagnostics Inc., Murex Diagnostics International Inc., Natural Supplement Association LLC, Negocios Denia Sociedad Anonima, Neosalud S.A.C., Nether Pharma N.P. C.V., NeuroTherm LLC, Normann Pharma-Handels GmbH, North Shore Properties Inc., Novamedi S.A., Novasalud.com S.A., Nutravida S.A., OJSC Voronezhkhimpharm, Omnilab Iberia Sociedad Limitada, OptiMedica, Orgenics France SAS, Orgenics International Holdings B.V., Orgenics Ltd., PBM-Selfcare LLC, PDD II LLC, PDD LLC, PT Alere Health, PT. Abbott Indonesia, PT. Abbott Products Indonesia, Pacesetter Inc., Pantech (RF) (PTY) LTD, Pembrooke Occupational Health Inc., Penagos S.A., Pharma International Sociedad Anonima, Pharmaceutical Technologies (Pharmatech) S.A., Pharmatech Boliviana S.A., Polygon Labs S.A., Quality Assured Services Inc., RF Medical Holdings LLC, RTL Holdings Inc., Ramses Business Corp., Recben Xenerics Farmaceutica Limitada, Redwood Toxicology Laboratory Inc., Rich Horizons International Limited, SC VEROPHARM, SJ Medical Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., SJM International Inc., SJM Thunder Holding Company, SPDH Inc., Saboya Enterprises Corporation, Salviac Limited, Scanax AS, Sealing Solutions Inc., Selfcare Technology Inc., Shandong Abbott Dairy Product Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Medical Devices Science and Technology Co. Ltd., Shanghai Abbott Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Si Fa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, Sinensix & Co., Spinal Modulation LLC, St. Jude Medical, St. Jude Medical AB, St. Jude Medical ATG Inc., St. Jude Medical Argentina S.A., St. Jude Medical Asia Pacific Holdings GK, St. Jude Medical Atrial Fibrillation Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Brasil Ltda., St. Jude Medical Business Services Inc., St. Jude Medical Cardiology Division Inc., St. Jude Medical Colombia Ltda., St. Jude Medical Coordination Center, St. Jude Medical Costa Rica Limitada, St. Jude Medical Europe Inc., St. Jude Medical Export Ges.m.b.H., St. Jude Medical GVA Sarl, St. Jude Medical Holdings B.V., St. Jude Medical India Private Limited, St. Jude Medical International Holding, St. Jude Medical LLC, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings II, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings NT, St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings SMI S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Luxembourg Holdings TC S.a r.l., St. Jude Medical Mexico Business Services S. de R.L. de C.V., St. Jude Medical Middle East DMCC, St. Jude Medical Operations (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., St. Jude Medical Puerto Rico LLC, St. Jude Medical S.C. Inc., St. Jude Medical Systems AB, St. Jude Medical Turkey Medikal Urunler Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Standard Diagnostics Inc., Standing Stone LLC, Swan-Myers Incorporated, TC1 LLC, Tendyne Holdings Inc., Tendyne Medical Inc., Thoratec Delaware LLC, Thoratec Europe Limited, Thoratec LLC, Thoratec Switzerland GmbH, Tobal Products Incorporated, Topera GmbH in Liquidation, Topera Inc., Tremora S.A., Tuenir S.A., TwistDx, UAB Abbott Laboratories, UAB Abbott Medical Lithuania, Union-Madison Realty Company Inc., Unipath Limited (dba Alere International/aka Cranfield), Unipath Management Limited, Unipath Pension Trustee Limited, Veropharm, Veropharm Limited Liability Partnership, Vida Cell Inversiones S.A., Vida Cell S.A., Vivalsol, W&R Pharma Handels GmbH, Western Pharmaceuticals S.A., X Technologies Inc., Yissum Holding Limited, ZonePerfect Nutrition Company, eScreen Canada ULC, eScreen Inc.,      ( ), and Abbott Laboratories Baltics.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA engages in the traditional banking businesses of retail banking, asset management, private banking, and wholesale banking. It operates through the following segments: Spain, the United States, Mexico, Turkey, South America, and Rest of Eurasia. The Spain segment includes mainly the banking and insurance business that the group carries out in Spain. The United States segment consists of the financial business activity of BBVA USA in the country and the activity of the branch of BBVA SA in New York. The Mexico segment refers to banking and insurance businesses in this country as well as the activity of its branch in Houston. The Turkey segment reports the activity of Garanti BBVA group that is mainly carried out in this country and, to a lesser extent, in Romania and the Netherlands. The South America segment comprises of operations in n Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The Rest of Eurasia segment includes the banking business activity carried out by the group in Europe and Asia, excluding Spain. The company was founded in 1857 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.

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GKN plc engages in engineering business worldwide. The company's Aerospace division manufactures airframe structures, including wings, fuselages, empennages, and nacelles and pylons; commercial engines, fan rotatives, fan statics, booster and compressors, turbine exit and inlet structures, and space propulsion products; aircraft systems, such as wiring and interconnection systems, aircraft transparencies, ice protection, landing gears, and tanks and flotation systems; and after market, and MRO services. Its Driveline division offers electric driveline, and vehicle architecture and integration services; all-wheel drive solutions; CV joint systems; and driveline services. The company's Powder Metallurgy division provides metal injection molded components, metal powders, and metal filters for automotive, automation, renewable energy, medical engineering, consumer product, gas filtration, liquid filtration, sparging, and fluidizing applications. The company also provides Titanium-based alloys, as well as nickel and stainless steel alloy powders; develops, manufactures, and supplies wheels and structural products for agriculture, construction, mining, utility, and material handling sectors; and manufactures hubs and spindles for off-highway machinery. In addition, it offers structural assemblies, such as chassis frames, front and rear sub-frames, cross members, suspension arms, control arms, rear non-driven axles, steel and aluminium panels and assemblies and cast aluminium wheels for the automotive and off-highway market; and logistics and freight services. GKN plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in Redditch, the United Kingdom.

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Bluegreen Vacations Holding Corp. is a holding company, which engages in the real estate, real estate joint ventures, and middle market operating businesses. It operates through the following segments: Bluegreen, BBX Capital Real Estate, Renin, and BBX Sweet Holdings. The Bluegreen segment markets, sells, and manages real estate-based vacation ownership interests in resorts located in popular, high-volume, and drive-to vacation destinations. The BBX Capital Real Estate segment includes acquisition, development, construction, ownership, financing, and management of real estate and investments in real estate joint ventures. The Renin segment involves in the design, manufacture, and distribution of sliding doors, door systems and hardware, and home decor products and operates. The BBX Sweet Holdings segment engages in the ownership and management of operating businesses in the confectionery industry, including IT'SUGAR, Hoffman's Chocolates, and Las Olas Confections and Snacks. The company was founded in 1978 and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.: 2235158 Alberta Limited, A.J. Amer Agency, AHC Digital LLC, AIX Limited, AJG Coal LLC, AJG Financial Services LLC, AJG Meadows LLC, AJG North America ULC, AJG RCF LLC, AJGRMS of Louisiana LLC, ARM RE Ltda., AVIATION INSURANCE SERVICES, AVRECO, Ace IRM Insurance Broking Group, Acumus Holdings Limited, Acumus Interco Limited, Acumus Ltd, Adams & Associates International, Adaptive Marketing LLC, Adco General Corporation, Advanced Benefit Advisors, Aequus Trade Credit, Affinity Marketing Group, Ahrold Fay Rosenberg, Aires Consulting Group, Alesco Risk Management Services Limited, Alize Limited, Allied Claims Administration Inc., Alternative Market Specialists, Altman & Cronin Benefit Consultants, American Freedom Carriers Inc., American Security Services Corp., American Wholesalers Underwriting Ltd, Andrew-Anthony Insurance Agency, Anthony Hodges Consulting Limited, Antrobus Investments Limited, AquaSurance, Argentis, Argentis Financial Group Limited, Argentis Financial Management Limited, Argus Benefits, Armstrong/Robitaille/Riegle, Artex (SAC) Limited, Artex Cedar Hill, Artex Corporate Services (Malta) Limited, Artex Corporate Services Limited, Artex Holdings (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Holdings (Malta) Limited, Artex Insurance (Guernsey) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance (Tennessee) PCCIC Inc., Artex Insurance Brokers (Malta) PCC Limited, Artex Insurance ICC Limited, Artex Intermediaries Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Bermuda) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Cayman) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Gibraltar) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Guernsey) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (International) Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (Malta) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Artex Risk Solutions (UK) Limited, Artex Risk Solutions Inc., Arthur J Gallagher (Norway) Holdings AS, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AUS) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (Illinois), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Insurance Brokers of California Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher (Aus) Pty Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Bermuda) Holding Partnership, Arthur J. Gallagher (Life Solutions) Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Arthur J. Gallagher (U.S.) LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Asesoria S.A.C., Arthur J. Gallagher Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd., Arthur J. Gallagher Brokerage & Risk Management Services LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Broking (NZ) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Financial Services Professionals Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Group Quebec ULC, Arthur J. Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Insurance Brokers Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Latin America LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Management (Bermuda) Limited, Arthur J. Gallagher Real Estate Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services (Hawaii) Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher Risk Management Services of Utah Inc., Arthur J. Gallagher School Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Service Company LLC, Arthur J. Gallagher Services (UK) Ltd, Ashmore & Associates Insurance Agency, Atlantic Risk Management Corp., Atrex Insurance (Cayman) SPC Limited, Avantek Pty Ltd, Axe Insurance PCC Limited, BIS Insurance Services, Baker - Tillys employment benefits solutions, Ballard Benefit Works, Bankers Financial Benefits, Barmore Insurance Agency, Behnke & Co. Inc., Bellisle Pty Ltd, Belmont Associates Consultants, Belmont Insurance Holdings Limited, Belmont International, Belmont International Limited, Benefit Development Group, Benefit Management Group, BenefitLink Resource Group, Benefits Planning & Insurance Agency, Benefits Unlimited, Bennett & Shade Co., Bergvall Marine, Bergvall Marine A.S., Besselman & Little Agency, Big Savings Insurance Agency Inc., Blenheim Park Ltd, Blenheim Park Services Limited, Blue Holdings Pty Ltd, Blue Horizon Insurance Services, Blue Water Benefits, BluePeak Advisors, Blueleaf Consulting Pty Ltd., Bluewater Incorporated Cell Insurance Company, Bollinger Inc., Bollinger Insurance Services Inc., Bowen Miclette Britt & Merry of Arkansas Inc., Brendis & Brendis, Brim AB, Broker Benefit Services, Brokerage Professionals, Brown Hobbs & McMurray Insurance, Bultman/Bell Associates Inc., Burkwald & Associates, Burns-Fazzi Brock & Associates, Bushong Insurance Associates, C&B Consulting Group, CGM Gallagher Insruance Brokers (Trinidad & Tobago) Limited, CJM Solutions Inc., CMA Solutions LLC, Cairnstone Financial, California Insurance Center, Capital Bauer Insurance Agency, Capitol Benefits Group, Capsicum CRLA LLP, Capsicum Re Brasil Participacoes Ltda, Capsicum Re Latin America Corretora De Resseguros Ltda, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Bermuda Limited, Capsicum Reinsurance Brokers Miami Inc., Carefree Marketing Inc., Carpenter Cammack & Associates, Cashan & Co., Castle Insurance Associates, Centennial Insurance Agency, Charity First Insurance Services Inc., Charles Allen Agency, Charter Lakes Insurance Agency, Chris Schroeder Insurance, Christie-Phoenix, Cintran Claims Canada Limited, Classic Insurance Services, Cleaveland Insurance Group, Cohen & Lord Insurance Brokers, Cohn Financial Group, Coleman Group Holdings Limited, Coleman Holdings Limited, College and University Scholastic Excess Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Commercial Insurance Brokers, Complete Benefit Alliance, Complete Financial Balance, Complete Financial Balance Pty Ltd, Consolidated Casualty Specialties LLC, Construction Risk Solutions, Contego Underwriting Limited, Contego Underwriting Ltd, Continental Excess & Surplus, Convergence Risk Services Ltd, Copper Mountain Assurance Inc., Cornwall & Stevens Co., Corporate Benefit Advisors, Corporate Life Consultants, Countrywide Accident Assistance Limited, Coverdell & Company Inc., Coverdell Canada Corporation, Cowles and Connell, Craig M. Ferguson & Co., Crist Elliott Machette Insurance Services, Crombie Lockwood (NZ) Limited, Davis-Poston & Associates, Denman Consulting Services, Detlefs Johnson & Partners, DiBrina Group, Dickinson & Associates, Discount Development Services L.L.C., Discovery Benefit Solutions, Dodson-Bateman & Co., Donald P. Pipino Co. Ltd., E. S. Susanin Inc., EHE Holdings LLC, EHS Holdings Limited, Elantis Premium Funding (NZ) Limited, Elantis Premium Funding Limited, Elite Benefits Insurance Marketing Services, Employee Benefits Analysis Corp., Employee Benefits of The Carolinas, Encore Insurance & Bonding, Everett James, Evolution Risk Services Limited, Evolution Technology Services Limited, Evolution Underwriting Group, Evolution Underwriting Group Limited, Evolution Underwriting Limited, Excel Insurance Services, FYI Direct Canada Corporation, FYI Direct LLC, Farallone Pacific Insurance Services, Fenchurch Faris Limited, Fidelity Benefits & Insurance Services, Financial Profiles Inc., Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd, First Agency, First Iowa Insurance Agency, First Premium Inc., First Premium Insurance Group, Fish & Schulkamp, Fishermans Insurance Services, Foley Healthcare Limited, Fortress Financial Solutions Pty Ltd, Fortress Insurance LLC, Foundation Strategies, Fox Lawson & Associates, Franklin-Case Agency LLC, Fraser MacAndrew Ryan Limited, Friary Intermediate Limited, Fuller & O'Brien, G.S. Chapman & Associates Insurance Brokers, G.S. Levine Insurance Services, GBS (Australia) Holdings Pty Ltd, GBS Administrators Inc., GBS Insurance and Financial Services Inc., GBS Retirement Services Inc., GBS Specialty Markets LLC, GGB Finance 1 Limited, GGB Finance 2 Limited, GGB Finance 3 Limited, GGB Finance 4 Limited, GPL Assurance, GPL Assurance Inc., Gabor Insurance Services, Gale Smith & Co. Inc., Gallagher (Bermuda) Insurance Solutions Ltd., Gallagher - Grace/Mayer Insurance Agency, Gallagher Bassett Aires Inc., Gallagher Bassett Canada Inc., Gallagher Bassett Insurance Services Ltd., Gallagher Bassett International Ltd., Gallagher Bassett NZ Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. , Gallagher Bassett Services Pty Ltd., Gallagher Bassett Services Workers Compensation Victoria Pty Ltd., Gallagher Benefit Services (Canada) Group Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services (Holdings) Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Inc., Gallagher Benefit Services Management Company Limited, Gallagher Benefit Services Pty Ltd, Gallagher Benefits Consulting Limited, Gallagher Bomford Couch Wilson, Gallagher Burgess, Gallagher Canada Acquisition Corporation, Gallagher Caribbean Group Limited, Gallagher Clean Energy LLC, Gallagher Communications Limited, Gallagher Community Clinic RPG LLC, Gallagher Consulting Ltda, Gallagher Corporate Services LLC, Gallagher Coyle, Gallagher CyberRisk, Gallagher Energy Risk Services Inc., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC, Gallagher Holdings (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Bermuda Company Limited, Gallagher Holdings Four (UK) Limited, Gallagher Holdings Three (UK) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (Barbados) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Kitts & Nevis) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Lucia) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers (St. Vincent) Limited, Gallagher Insurance Brokers Jamaica Limited, Gallagher International Cash Management s.r.l., Gallagher International Holdings (US) Inc., Gallagher Investment Advisors LLC, Gallagher Inwest Group, Gallagher Koster, Gallagher Lambert Group, Gallagher Madison Risk & Insurance Services, Gallagher Mauritius Holdings, Gallagher Mississippi Brokerage LLC, Gallagher RE Colombia Ltda Corredores de Reaseguros SA, Gallagher Risk & Reward Limited, Gallagher Risk Group LLC, Gallagher Risk Placements Pty Ltd, Gallagher SKS, Gallagher Service Center LLP, Gallagher-Tarantino, Galtney Group, Game Day Insurance Inc., Gardner & White Corp., Gardner Marine Agency, Garza Long Group, Gatehouse Consulting Limited, Gault Armstrong Kemble Pty Ltd, Gault Armstrong SARL, Giles Group, Giles Holdings Limited, Giles Insurance Brokers, Gillis Ellis & Baker Inc., Goodman Insurance Agency, Grandy Pratt Co., Greenseed Alternative Mangaers Platform Ltd, Grossman & Associates, Group Benefits of Arkansas, Group Insurance Associates, Gruppo Marcucci, HLG Holdings Limited, HMG-PCMS Limited, HPF Investments LLC, HR Owen Insurance Services Limited, Hagan Newkirk Financial Services, Hagedorn & Company, Hardman & Howell Benefits, Harlequin Insurance PCC Limited, Hartstein Associates Inc., Healthcare Professionals Purchasing Group LLC, Healthcare Risk Solutions, Heath Lambert Group Ltd., Heath Lambert Limited, Heath Lambert Overseas Limited, Heiser Insurance Agency, Henderson Phillips Fine Arts Insurance, Herbruck Alder & Co., Heritage Insurance Brokers (CI) Limited, Hesse & Partner AG, Hesse Consulting, Hexagon ICC Limited, Hexagon Insurance PCC Limited, Hill Chesson & Woody, Hogan Insurance Services, Home & Travel Limited, Honour Point Limited, Horseshoe Corporate Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services Ltd, Horseshoe Fund Services USA Inc., Horseshoe ILS Services UK Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Advisors US LLC, Horseshoe Insurance Advisory Ltd., Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings Ltd, Horseshoe Insurance Services Holdings US Inc., Horseshoe Management (Gibraltar) Limited, Horseshoe Management (Ireland) Ltd, Horseshoe Management Ltd., Horseshoe PCC Limited, Horseshoe Re Limited, Horseshoe Services (Cayman) Ltd, Horseshoe Services (Pty) Ltd, Horton Insurance Agency, Housing Authorities Services Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Human Resource Management Systems, I-Protect Underwriting Pty Ltd, IBIS Advisors, IBS Reinsurance Singapore Pte Ltd, ILS Fund Services Ltd., ISG International, ITI Solutions, Igloo Insurance PCC Limited, Independent Benefit Services, Independent Fiduciary Services, Ink Underwriting Agencies Limited, InsSync Group Pty Ltd, Inspire Underwriting Limited, Instrat Insurance Brokers, Instrat Insurance Brokers Pty Ltd, Instrat Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Insurance Acquisitions Holdings Limited, Insurance Associates Inc., Insurance Dialogue Limited, Insurance Dialogue Ltd., Insurance Plans Agency, Insurance Plus Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Insurance Point, Insurance Risk Managers of Missouri Inc., Insure My Villa Limited, Insure Pty Ltd, Integrated Healthcare Strategies, InterNational Insurance Group, InterPacific Underwriting Agencies, Intermountain Financial Benefits, Interstate Insurance Underwriters, JPGAC LLC, James F. Reda & Associates, James R. Weir Insurance Agency, Jenkins and Associates, Joe E. Martin Inc., John P. Woods Co. Inc., Jones Brown, Jones Brown Group Inc., Jones Brown Insurance Solutions Inc., Joseph Distel, Joseph James & Associates Insurance Agency, Just Landlords Insurance Services Ltd, KDC Associates, KRW Insurance Agency, Kahl Insurance Services, Kaler Carney Liffler & Co. Inc., Kane Group - Insurance Management Operations, Kelly Financial, Kent Kent & Tingle and RBS, Keyser Benefits Corp., Kingspark Enterprises Pty Ltd, L&R Benefits, LSG Insurance Partners, Learn About Money Limited, Lewis & Associates Insurance Brokers, Leystone Insurance & Financial, Life Plans Unlimited, Lincoln Financial Management, Longfellow Financial, Lucas Fettes Limited, Lucas Fettes and Partners Limited, Lutgert Insurance, MA Underwriting Pty Ltd, MDM Insurance Associates, MG Advanced Coal Technologies-1 LLC, MGA Insurance Services, MRS Holdings Ltd., Madison Scott & Associates, Managed Healthcare Solutions, Mannequin Insurance PCC Limited, Marchetti Robertson & Brickell Insurance, Marine Insurance Service, Martin Gordon & Jones Inc., McDowall Associates Human Resource Consultants, McIntyre Risk Management, McLean Insurance Agency, McNeary, McPherson Benefits Group, McRory & Co., Mecacem Insurance SPC Ltd, MedInsights Inc., Melton Insurance Associates, Memberworks Canada LLC, Merit Insurance, Metcom Excess, Metzler Bros. Insurance, Meyers-Reynolds & Associates, Mid America Group, Midwest Surety Services, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers, Mike Henry Insurance Brokers Limited, Mike Henry Insurance Funding Limited, Miller Buettner & Parrott, Miller-Harrison Insurance Services, Milne Alexander Pty Ltd, Minvielle & Chastanet Insurance Brokers, Monument Insurance (NZ) Limited, Monument Llc, Monument Premium Funding Limited, Mortgage Insurance Agency, Murphy Consultants, Mutual Insurance Services, NationAir Aviation Insurance, National Administration Co., National Ethics Association, National Transportation Adjusters, Nelson/Monarch Insurance Services, Nicoud Insurance Services, NiiS/Apex Group Holdings, Nonprofit Insurance Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Noraxis Capital Corp, Nordic Forsakring & Riskhantering AB, North Alabama Insurance, Nourse Insurance Brokers, O'Gorman & Young, OAMPS (UK) Limited, OAMPS Gault Armstrong Pty Ltd, OAMPS Limited, OAMPS Special Risks Ltd, Offshore Market Placements Limited, Optimum Talent, Orb Financial Services, Orb Financial Services Limited, Osprey Insurance Brokers Limited, Oval Group, Oval Healthcare Limited, Oval Insurance Broking Limited, Oval Limited, Oval Management Services Limited, Oxygen Insurance Managers, P2 Group, PEN Insurance Management Advisors Ltd, PT IBS Insurance Broking Service, Pacific Insurance Agency, Palmer Atlantic Insurance, Palmer Atlantic Insurance Ltd, Palmer Atlantic Risk Services Ltd., Park Row Associates, Parkstar Enterprises Pty Ltd, Parmia Pty Ltd, PartnerSource, Pastel Holding (NZ) Company, Pastel Holdings Pty Limited, Pastel Purchaser (NZ) Limited, Pastel Purchaser Pty Limited, Pavey Group Holdings (UK) Limited, Pavey Group Holdings Limited, Pavey Group Limited, Pearson Dunn Insurance Inc., Pen Underwriting Canada Limited, Pen Underwriting Group Pty. Ltd., Pen Underwriting Limited, Pen Underwriting Pty Ltd, Persing Dyckman & Toynbee Inc., Personal Advice Services Pty Ltd, Petty Burton Associates, Pointer Insurance Agency, Portmore Insurance Brokers (Wilshire) Limited, Portmore Insurance Brokers Limited, Potter-Holden & Co., Powell Insurance Agency, Premier Insurance Services Inc., Premier Risk Services, Premium Finance Corporation, Preston-Patterson, ProSource Financial, Professional Agents Risk Purchasing Group LLC, Professional Claims Managers, Proinova AB, Proinova Agency AB, Pronto California Agency LLC, Pronto California General Agency LLC, Pronto Florida Claims LLC, Pronto Florida General Agency LLC, Pronto Franchise LLC, Pronto General Agency Ltd, Pronto General Agency Management LLC, Pronto Holdco Inc., Pronto Holding California LLC, Pronto Holding Florida LLC, Pronto Insurance Agency of Laredo Inc., Pronto Premium Finance LLC, Property & Commercial Ltd., Property Insurance Initatives Limited, Property and Commercial Limited, Protected Insurance Company, Protection Plan Association Inc., Protek Group Limited, Providium Consulting Group, Ptarmigan Underwriting Agency Limited, Ptarmigan Underwriting UK Limited, Purple Bridge Claims Management Limited, Purple Bridge Finance Limited, Purple Bridge Group Limited, Purple Bridge Investments Limited, Purple Bridge Online Services Limited, Purple Bridge Publishing Limited, Quantum Underwriting Solutions Limited, Quillco 226 Limited, Quillco 227 Limited, R. L. Youngdahl & Associates, R.G. Speno Inc., R.W. Scobie, RA Rossborough (Guernsey) Ltd., RA Rossborough (Insurance Brokers) Ltd, REGENCY Group inc., RGA Referencing Limited, RGA Underwriting Limited, RIL Administrators (Guernsey) Ltd., RJ Dutton Inc., RSM Insurance Services Limited, Reassurance Holdings Inc., Rebholz Insurance Agency, Reid Manson Ltd., Reimbursement Services, Rentguard Limited, Reward Management Limited, Reynolds & Rodar Insurance Group, Riley & Associates, Rio 587 Limited, Rio 588 Limited, Risk & Reward Group, Risk Management Partners Limited, Risk Placement Services Inc., Risk Planners, Risk Services (NW) Limited, Risk Services (NW) Ltd., Risk Solutions Group Limited, Robert A. Schneider Agency, Robert Keith & Associates, Roberts & Roberts Insurance Service, Robinson-Adams Insurance, Rossborough Healthcare International Ltd, Rossborough Insurance (IOM) Ltd., Rossborough Insurance Services Ltd. (Jersey), S. A. Freerks & Associates, SEG Insurance Ltd, SGB-NIA Insurance Brokers, SHILLING Ltd, SKANCO International, SMERI AB, SRS Underwriting Pty Ltd, Secure Enterprises Pty Ltd, Securitas Re, Sellers Group, Sentinel Indemnity LLC, Septagon Insurance PCC Limited, Shuford Insurance Agency, Sigma II Insurance Agency, Sinclair Billard and Weld Limited, Sobieski & Bradley, Solid Benefit Guidance, Spanjers Insurance Agency, Spataro Insurance Agency, Specialised Broking Associates, Specialty Risk, Stackhouse Poland, Stackhouse Poland Bidco Limited, Stackhouse Poland Group Limited, Stackhouse Poland Holdings Limited, Stackhouse Poland Midco Limited, Stackouse Poland Limited, Stanton Group, Stark Johnson & Stinson Inc., Steel Agency, Strata Solicitors Ltd, Strategic Health Plans Corp., Strathearn Insurance Brokers, Strathearn Insurance Brokers (Qld) Trading Trust, Strathern Insurance Group Pty Ltd, Strathern Integration Holdco Pty Ltd, Strathern Unit Trust, Strong Financial Resources, Summit Insurance Group, Sunday and Associates, Sunderland Insurance Services, Super Advice Corporate Services Pty Ltd, Taylor Benefits, Texas Insurance Agency, Texas Insurance Managers, The BeneTex Group, The Buchholz Planning, The Chapman Group, The Commonwealth Consulting Group, The Daniels Group Inc., The EHE Group LLC, The EHE Insurance Agency LLC, The Eagle Insurance Agency LLC, The Eriksen Group, The Forker Company, The Gleason Agency, The Great Lakes Agency, The HR Group, The Hawk Agency, The Human Capital Group, The Lance Group, The Levitt/Kristan Co., The MW Bagnall Company, The Old Greenwich Consulting Group, The Parks Johnson Agency, The Plus Companies Inc., The Presidio Group, The Producers Choice, The Rains Group, The Splinter Group, The Titan Group, The Treiber Group, The Woodsmall Companies Inc., Title & Covenant Brokers Ltd., Title Investments Limited, Tom Sherwin Insurance Agency, Total Reward Group, Total Rewards Group (Holdings) Limited, Towle Agency, Transwestern, Tri-State General Insurance Agency, Triad Insurance Agency, Triad USA, Tribeca Strategic Advisors, Trinder & Norwood, Trip Mate, Trissel Graham & Toole, Tropp & Co., Tudor Risk Services, Tyloma Holdings Limited, Uni-Care Inc., Unison Inc., Universico Group, Unoccupied Direct Limited, V2V Holdings LLC, VEBA Service Group, Vasek Insurance Services Limited, Velo ACU LLC, Velo Holdings Inc., Verbag AG., Vertrue LLC, Victory Insurance Agency, Vincent L. Braband Insurance, Vital Benefits, Voluntary Benefits Solutions, W. E. Kingsley Co. Inc., WM. W. George & Associates, Walker Taylor Agency, Welling Associates, Wesfarmers Insurance - Insurance Brokerage Operations, Western Benefit Solutions, White & Company Insurance, Whitehaven Insurance Group, William Gallagher Associates Insurance Brokers, William H. Connolly & Co., Williams Insurance Agency Inc., Williams-Manny Insurance Group, Winn & Company Insurance Brokers, Wischmeyer Benefit Partners, Woodbrook Underwriting Agencies, Woods & Grooms, WorkCare Northwest, Worksite Communications, Y. S. Liedman & Associates, YOA Capsicum Reinsurance Broker Limited, Zenor Limited, Zuber Insurance Agency, and e3 Financial.
The following companies are subsidiares of General Motors: 2140879 Ontario Inc., ACAR Leasing, ACAR Leasing Ltd., ACF Investment, ACF Investment Corp., AFS SenSub, APGO Trust, Adam Opel, Adam Opel GmbH, Aftermarket (UK), AmeriCredit, AmeriCredit Consumer Loan, AmeriCredit Consumer Loan Company Inc., AmeriCredit Financial Services, AmeriCredit Financial Services Inc., AmeriCredit Funding, AmeriCredit Syndicated Warehouse Trust, Annunciata Corporation, Argonaut Holdings, Argonaut Holdings LLC, BOCO (Proprietary), BOCO (Proprietary) Limited, Banco GMAC, Banco GMAC S.A., Baylis (Gloucester), Boco Trust, Boden Brussels, CHEVYPLAN, CHEVYPLAN S.A. Sociedad Administradora de Planes de Autofinanciamiento Comercial, Cadillac, Cadillac Europe, Cadillac Europe GmbH, Carve-Out Ownership, Carve-Out Ownership Cooperative LLC, Chevrolet Deutschland GmbH, Chevrolet Sales (Thailand), Chevrolet Sales (Thailand) Limited, Chevrolet Sales India, Chevrolet Sales India Private Ltd., Chevrolet Sociedad Anonima de Ahorro para Fines Determinados, Controladora General Motors, Controladora General Motors S.A. de C.V., Cruise, DCJ1, DCJ1 LLC, DMAX, DMAX Ltd., Dealership Liquidations, Dealership Liquidations Inc., Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems UK, Delphi Energy and Engine Management Systems UK Overseas Corporation, EDS (Electronic Data Systems), FAW-GM, Fundacion Chevrolet, G.M.A.C., GCAR Titling Ltd., GM (UK) Pension, GM (UK) Pension Trustees Limited, GM APO Holdings, GM Administradora de Bens, GM Administradora de Bens Ltda., GM Asia Pacific Regional Headquarters Ltd., GM Auslandsprojekte, GM Automotive, GM Automotive Services Belgium, GM CME, GM Canada Holdings, GM Canada Limited, GM Components Holdings, GM Components Holdings LLC, GM Cruise, GM Cruise Holdings LLC, GM Cruise LLC, GM Defense LLC, GM Eurometals, GM Eurometals Inc., GM Europe Treasury, GM Finance, GM Finance Co. Holdings LLC, GM Financial, GM Financial AB, GM Financial Canada, GM Financial Canada Leasing, GM Financial Canada Leasing Ltd., GM Financial Colombia Holdings LLC, GM Financial Colombia S.A. Compania de Financiamiento, GM Financial Consumer, GM Financial Consumer Discount, GM Financial Consumer Discount Company, GM Financial Del Peru, GM Financial GmbH, GM Financial Holdings LLC, GM Financial Insurance Services, GM Financial Mexico Holdings, GM Financial Mexico Holdings LLC, GM Financial Real Estate, GM Financial de Mexico, GM Financial de Mexico S.A. de C.V. SOFOM E.R., GM Financial del Peru S.A.C, GM Global Business Services, GM Global Propulsion Systems -Torino S.r.l., GM Global Purchasing and Supply Chain, GM Global Technology Operations, GM Global Technology Operations LLC, GM Global Tooling, GM Global Tooling Company LLC, GM Global Treasury Centre Limited, GM Holden, GM Holden Pty Ltd., GM Holdings U.K. No.1 Limited, GM Inversiones Santiago Limitada, GM Investment Trustees Limited, GM Korea, GM Korea Company, GM LAAM Holdings, GM LAAM Holdings LLC, GM Mexico Holdings, GM Mobility Europe GmbH, GM PSA Purchasing Services, GM Personnel Services, GM Personnel Services Inc., GM Philippines Inc., GM Plats (Proprietary), GM Regional Holdings, GM Regional Holdings LLC, GM Retirees Pension Trustees, GM Retirees Pension Trustees Limited, GM Subsystems Manufacturing, GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC, GM Technical Center Korea Ltd., GM Viet Nam Motor Company, GM-DI Leasing, GM-DI Leasing LLC, GMAC - Instituicao Financeira de Credito, GMAC Administradora de Consorcios, GMAC Administradora de Consorcios Ltda., GMAC Banque, GMAC Continental, GMAC Espana de Financiacion, GMAC Holdings (U.K.), GMAC Lease B.V. (aka Masterlease Europe), GMAC Nederland N.V., GMAC Prestadora de Servicios de Mao de Obra Ltda., GMAC Servicios, GMAC UK, GMAC de Venezuela, GMAC-Prestadora de Servios de Mo-de-Obra, GMACI Corretora de Seguros, GMACI Corretora de Seguros Ltda, GMAM Real Estate I, GMCH&SP Private Equity II, GMCH&SP Private Equity II L.P., GMF Australia Pty Ltd, GMF Europe, GMF Europe Holdco, GMF Europe LLP, GMF Floorplan Owner Revolving Trust, GMF Funding, GMF Germany Holdings, GMF Global Assignment, GMF Global Assignment LLC, GMF International, GMF International LLC, GMF Leasing LLC, GMF Leasing Warehousing Trust, GMF Wholesale Receivables, GMGP Holdings, General Motors (China) Investment Company, General Motors (China) Investment Company Limited, General Motors (Thailand), General Motors (Thailand) Limited, General Motors - Colmotores, General Motors - Colmotores S.A., General Motors Advisory Services LLC, General Motors Africa and Middle East, General Motors Africa and Middle East FZE, General Motors Asia, General Motors Asia LLC, General Motors Asia Pacific Holdings, General Motors Asia Pacific Holdings LLC, General Motors Asset Management, General Motors Asset Management Corporation, General Motors Australia, General Motors Australia Pty Ltd., General Motors Austria, General Motors Austria, General Motors Auto, General Motors Auto LLC, General Motors Automobiles Philippines, General Motors Automobiles Philippines Inc., General Motors Automotive Holdings, General Motors Automotive Holdings S.L., General Motors Belgique Automobile NV, General Motors Belgium, General Motors Chile, General Motors Chile Industria Automotriz Limitada, General Motors China LLC, General Motors Daewoo Auto and Technology, General Motors Daewoo Auto and Technology CIS LLC, General Motors East Africa, General Motors Egypt, General Motors Egypt S.A.E., General Motors Espana, General Motors Europe Holdings, General Motors Europe Limited, General Motors Financial Chile, General Motors Financial Chile Limitada, General Motors Financial Chile S.A., General Motors Financial Company, General Motors Financial Company Inc., General Motors Financial International, General Motors Financial Italia, General Motors Financial Suisse, General Motors Financial UK, General Motors Financial of Canada, General Motors Financial of Canada Ltd., General Motors Finland, General Motors France, General Motors GBS Hungary, General Motors Global Service Operations, General Motors Global Service Operations Inc., General Motors Hellas, General Motors Holden Australia, General Motors Holden Australia NSC, General Motors Holden Australia NSC Pty Ltd., General Motors Holden Australia Pty Ltd., General Motors Holdings LLC, General Motors IT Services (Ireland) Limited, General Motors India Private, General Motors India Private Limited, General Motors International Holdings, General Motors International Holdings LLC, General Motors International Operations, General Motors International Operations Pte. Ltd., General Motors International Services Company, General Motors International Services Company SAS, General Motors International Services LLC, General Motors Investment Limited, General Motors Investment Management, General Motors Investment Management Corporation, General Motors Investment Participacoes, General Motors Investment Participacoes Ltda., General Motors Investments, General Motors Investments Pty. Ltd., General Motors Ireland, General Motors Israel, General Motors Israel Ltd., General Motors Italia, General Motors Japan, General Motors Japan Limited, General Motors LLC, General Motors Limited, General Motors Manufacturing Poland, General Motors Nederland, General Motors New Zealand Pensions, General Motors New Zealand Pensions Limited, General Motors Overseas, General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle, General Motors Overseas Commercial Vehicle Corporation, General Motors Overseas Corporation, General Motors Overseas Distribution, General Motors Overseas Distribution LLC, General Motors Peru, General Motors Peru S.A., General Motors Poland Spolka, General Motors Portugal, General Motors Powertrain (Thailand), General Motors Powertrain (Thailand) Limited, General Motors Research Corporation, General Motors South Africa, General Motors South Africa (Pty) Limited, General Motors Suisse, General Motors Taiwan, General Motors Taiwan Ltd., General Motors Technical Centre India, General Motors Technical Centre India Private Limited, General Motors Treasury Center, General Motors Treasury Center LLC, General Motors Turkiye, General Motors UK, General Motors Uruguay, General Motors Uruguay S.A., General Motors Venezolana, General Motors Ventures, General Motors Ventures LLC, General Motors Warehousing and Trading (Shanghai), General Motors Warehousing and Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., General Motors de Argentina, General Motors de Argentina S.r.l., General Motors de Mexico, General Motors de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., General Motors del Ecuador, General Motors del Ecuador S.A., General Motors do Brasil, General Motors do Brasil Ltda., General Motors of Canada, General Motors of Canada Company, General Motors-Holden's Sales, General Motors-Holden's Sales Pty. Limited, GigaPower LLC, Global Services Detroit, Global Services Detroit LLC, Global Tooling Service Company Europe, Global Tooling Service Company Europe Limited, Go Motor Retailing, Go Trade Parts, Grand Pointe Holdings, Grand Pointe Holdings Inc., Grand Pointe Park Condominium, Grand Pointe Park Condominium Association, H.S.H., Haines & Strange, Holden New Zealand, Holden New Zealand Limited, IBC Pension Trustees, IBC Pension Trustees Limited, IBC Vehicles, Lease Ownership Cooperative, Lease Ownership Cooperative LLC, Lidlington Engineering Company, Lidlington Engineering Company Ltd., Limited Liability Company "General Motors CIS", Master Lease Germany, Maven Drive, Maven Drive LLC, Millbrook Pension Management, Millbrook Pension Management Limited, Monetization of Carve-Out, Monetization of Carve-Out LLC, Motor Repris Automocio, Motors Holding, Motors Holding LLC, Motors Properties, Motors Properties (Trading), Multi-Use Lease Entity Trust, North American New Cars, North American New Cars LLC, Omnibus BB Transportes, Omnibus BB Transportes S. A., OnStar Connected Services Srl, OnStar Egypt Limited LLC, OnStar Europe, OnStar Europe Ltd., OnStar Global Services, OnStar Global Services Corporation, OnStar LLC, OnStar de Mexico, OnStar de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Opel Bank, Opel Danmark, Opel Group, Opel Group Warehousing, Opel Leasing, Opel Norge, Opel Sonderdienste, Opel Southeast Europe, Opel Sverige, Opel Szentgotthard Automotive Manufacturing, Opel Wien, P.T. G M AutoWorld Indonesia, P.T. General Motors Indonesia, PIMS, PIMS Co., PT. General Motors Indonesia Manufacturing, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center Company Ltd., Prestadora de Servicios GMF Colombia S.A.S., Rapid Motor Vehicle Company, Reliance Motor Car Company, Riverfront Holdings III Inc., Riverfront Holdings Inc., Riverfront Holdings Phase II Inc., SAIC GM (Shenyang) Norsom Motors Co. Ltd., SAIC GM Dong Yue Motors Company Limited, SAIC GM Dong Yue Powertrain Company Limited, SAIC GM Wuling Automobile Company Limited, SAIC General Motors Corporation Limited, SAIC General Motors Investment Limited, SAIC General Motors Sales Company Limited, SAIC-GMAC Automotive Finance Company Limited, SAIC-GMF Leasing Co. Ltd., Servicios GMAC S.A. de C.V., Shanghai Chengxin Used Car Operation and Management Company Limited, Shanghai OnStar Telematics Co. Ltd., Sherwoods (Darlington) Limited, Sidecar Technologies, Skurrays Limited, Stam-Terberg Autobedrijven B. V., Strobe Inc., VHC Sub-Holdings (UK), Vauxhall Defined Contribution Pension Plan Trustees Limited, Vehicle Asset Universal Leasing Trust, Vickers (Lakeside) Limited, Vision Motors Limited, WRE, WRE Inc., and Zona Franca Industrial Colmotores SAS.
The following companies are subsidiares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: 3Com International Inc., 3PAR Inc., Apogee, Aruba Networks Inc., Aruba Networks International Cayman, Aruba Networks International Limited, BlueData Software, Cloud Cruiser, Cloud Technology Partners, Cloud Technology Partners Inc., Compaq Computer (Mauritius), Compaq Trademark B.V., Cray, Cray Inc., EDS World Corporation (Far East) LLC, EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc., H3C Holdings Limited, HP Enterprise Services Australia Pty Ltd, HP Financial Services (Australia) Pty Limited, HP Financial Services (Chile) Limitada, HP Financial Services (Japan) K.K., HP Financial Services Arrendamento Mercantil S.A., HP Financial Services Company (Korea), HP Financial Services International Holdings Company, HPE Government LLC, HPFS Global Holdings I LLC, HPFS Global Holdings II LLC, HPFS Rental S.R.L., Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co. Ltd, Hewlett Packard Caribe BV LLC, Hewlett Packard Colombia Ltda., Hewlett Packard Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V. Amstelveen Meyrin Branch, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Cie, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Costa Rica Limitada, Hewlett Packard Enterprise GlobalSoft Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Ireland Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Luxembourg SCA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Polska sp. z o.o., Hewlett Packard Pathfinder LLC, Hewlett Packard Taiwan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (Israel) Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd., Hewlett-Packard (Nigeria) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Schweiz) GmbH, Hewlett-Packard (Tanzania) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand) Limited, Hewlett-Packard ApS, Hewlett-Packard Argentina S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Australia Pty Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Belgium SPRL/BVBA, Hewlett-Packard Bermuda Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Brasil Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Bulgaria EOOD, Hewlett-Packard Caribe B.V., Hewlett-Packard Caribe Y Andina B.V. LLC, Hewlett-Packard Chile Comercial Limitada, Hewlett-Packard Cyprus Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Egypt Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Financial Services (India) Private Limited, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Canada Company, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company, Hewlett-Packard France SAS, Hewlett-Packard G1 SPV (Cayman) Company, Hewlett-Packard Gesellschaft mbH, Hewlett-Packard Ghana Limited, Hewlett-Packard GmbH, Hewlett-Packard Guatemala Limitada, Hewlett-Packard HK SAR Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Hellas EPE, Hewlett-Packard Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard International Bank Designated Activity Company, Hewlett-Packard International Bank Public Limited Company, Hewlett-Packard International Sarl, Hewlett-Packard Italiana S.r.l., Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Korea Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Leasing Limited, Hewlett-Packard Limited, Hewlett-Packard Luxembourg Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Macau Limited, Hewlett-Packard Manufacturing Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Marigalante Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Middle East FZ-LLC, Hewlett-Packard Mocambique Limitada - Sociedada em Liquidacao, Hewlett-Packard Nederland B.V., Hewlett-Packard New Zealand, Hewlett-Packard Norge AS, Hewlett-Packard OY, Hewlett-Packard Operations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Peru S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Philippines Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Portugal Lda., Hewlett-Packard SARL, Hewlett-Packard SIA, Hewlett-Packard Servicios Espana S.L., Hewlett-Packard Singapore (Sales) Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Hewlett-Packard Sverige AB, Hewlett-Packard Technology Center Inc., Hewlett-Packard Teknoloji Cozumleri Limited Sirketi, Hewlett-Packard The Hague B.V., Hewlett-Packard Venezuela S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Vision Limited, Hewlett-Packard d.o.o., Hewlett-Packard s.r.o., Limited Liability Company Hewlett Packard Enterprise, MapR Technologies, New H3C Technologies Co. Ltd., Niara Inc., Nimble Storage, Nimble Storage Inc., Nimble Storage Israel Ltd, Nimble Storage Japan GK, Nimble Storage UK Limited, Plexxi, RedPixie, SGI (Silicon Graphics), Sapphire Holding Co, Scytale, Shanghai Hewlett-Packard Co. Ltd., Silver Peak, SimpliVity, Sinope Holding B.V., Trilead, UAB ES Hague Lietuva, and Unis Huashan Technologies Co. Limited.
Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company worldwide. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Oil Products, Chemicals segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure necessary to deliver gas to market. The company also markets and trades natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), crude oil, electricity, carbon-emission rights; and markets and sells LNG as a fuel for heavy-duty vehicles and marine vessels. In addition, it trades in and refines crude oil and other feed stocks, such as gasoline, diesel, heating oil, aviation fuel, marine fuel, biofuel, lubricants, bitumen, and sulphur; produces and sells petrochemicals for industrial use; and manages oil sands activities. Further, the company produces base chemicals comprising ethylene, propylene, and aromatics, as well as intermediate chemicals, such as styrene monomer, propylene oxide, solvents, detergent alcohols, ethylene oxide, and ethylene glycol. Royal Dutch Shell plc was founded in 1907 and is headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Danaher: AB SCIEX, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, AB Sciex LLC, AB Sciex LP, AB Sciex Pte Ltd., Accu-Sort Systems, Acme Cleveland Corporation, Advanced Vision Technology, American Precision Industries, Applied Biosystems, Applitek NV, Aquatic Infomatics ULC, Aquatic Informatics, Armstrong Tools, BC Distribution BV, Beckman Coulter, Beckman Coulter Australia Pty Ltd, Beckman Coulter Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Biyomedikal Urunler Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited [irketi], Beckman Coulter Canada LP, Beckman Coulter Commercial Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter France S.A.S., Beckman Coulter G.m.b.H., Beckman Coulter Genomics Inc., Beckman Coulter Hong Kong Limited, Beckman Coulter Inc., Beckman Coulter India Private Limited, Beckman Coulter International SA, Beckman Coulter International Shanghai Trading Co., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc., Beckman Coulter K.K., Beckman Coulter Korea Ltd., Beckman Coulter Laboratory Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Limited Liability Company, Beckman Coulter Mishima KK, Beckman Coulter Nederland B.V., Beckman Coulter Nippon GK, Beckman Coulter S.L.U., Beckman Coulter Saudi Arabia Co.Ltd., Beckman Coulter Srl, Beckman Coulter Taiwan Inc., Beckman Coulter United Kingdom Limited, Beckman Coulter de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Beckman Coulter do Brasil Ltda., Beckman Finance ApS, Beckman Holdings Ltd., BioTector Analytical Systems Ltd, Biosafe S.A., Blue Software LLC, Cepheid, Cepheid AB, Cepheid Europe SAS, Cepheid GmbH, Cepheid HBDC SAS, Cepheid UK Ltd., ChemTreat, ChemTreat Inc., ChemTreat International Inc., Cispus Hong Kong Holding Limited, Cytiva, Cytiva BioProcess R&D AB, Cytiva Biotechnology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Biotechnology (Hang Zhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Europe GmbH, Cytiva Sweden AB, Cytiva Sweden Holding AB, DH Europe Finance II Sarl, DH Europe Finance Sarl, DH Holding Italia SRL, DH Japan Finance Sarl, DH Life Sciences LLC, DH Netherlands BV, DH Technologies Development Pte Ltd., DHKAB Company AB, DTIL Ireland Holdings Ltd., Danaher (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Danaher Hong Kong Limited, Danaher Medical ApS, Delta Consolidated Industries, Devicore Medical Products Inc., Easco Hand Tools, Esko, Esko BV, Esko Finance BV, Esko Graphics BV, Esko Software BV, FHAB Company AB, Fluke, G. Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, GE Biopharma, Gelman Sciences Inc., Gendex, Genetix Group, Gilbarco Veeder Root, Gilzoni Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Austria GmbH & Co. KG, Global Life Sciences Solutions Germany GmbH, Global Life Sciences Solutions Korea Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Manufacturing UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions New Zealand, Global Life Sciences Solutions Operations UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC, Global Life Sciences Technologies (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Global Life Sciences Technologies Japan KK, Hach Company, Hach Lange Finance GmbH, Hach Lange GmbH, Hach Lange Sarl, Hach Sales & Services Canada LP, Hach Ultra Japan KK, Hach Water Quality Analytical Instru. (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., HemoCue AB, HyClone Laboratories LLC, Hybritech Incorporated, Hyclone Life Sciences Solutions India Private Limited, IDBS Group, IRIS International, Imaging Sciences International, Immunotech SAS, Immunotech Sro, Intabio LLC, Integrated DNA Technologies, Integrated DNA Technologies BVBA, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies Pte. Ltd., Iris International Inc., Joslyn Holding Company LLC, KVHG GmbH, KaVo, KaVo Kerr, Kaltenbach & Voigt, Keithley Instruments, Kipp & Zonen BV, Kollmorgen, Labcyte Inc., Laetus, Leica Biosystems Imaging Inc., Leica Biosystems Melbourne Pty Ltd, Leica Biosystems Newcastle Limited, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Leica Biosystems Richmond Inc., Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte Limited, Leica Microsystems, Leica Microsystems (UK) Limited, Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH, Leica Microsystems Cambridge Limited, Leica Microsystems IR GmbH, Leica Microsystems Inc., Leica Microsystems Limited, Leica Microsystems Ltd. Shanghai, Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Life Sciences Holdings France SAS*, Lifschultz Industries, Linx Printing Technologies, Linx Printing Technologies Limited, MDS Analytical Technologies, Marconi Data Systems, McCrometer Inc., Microtest, Molecular Devices, Molecular Devices (Austria) GmbH, Molecular Devices LLC, Navman Wireless, Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, Nihon Pall Ltd., Nihon Pall Manufacturing Limited, Nobel Biocare, OTT Hydromet Corp, Pall, Pall (Canada) ULC, Pall (China) Co. Ltd., Pall (Schweiz) GmbH, Pall Aeropower Corporation, Pall Artelis BVBA, Pall Asia Holdings Inc., Pall Australia Pty. Ltd., Pall Austria Filter Ges.m.b.h, Pall Corporation, Pall Europe Limited, Pall Filtersystems GmbH, Pall Filtration Pte. Ltd., Pall Filtration and Separations Group Inc., Pall France SAS, Pall GmbH, Pall India Pvt. Ltd., Pall International Sarl, Pall Italia Srl, Pall Korea Ltd., Pall Life Sciences Belgium BV, Pall Life Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, Pall Manufacturing UK Limited, Pall Medistad BV, Pall Netherlands BV Irish Branch, Pall Technology UK Limited, PaloDEX, Pantone LLC, Pelton & Crane, Phenomenex, Phenomenex Inc., Precision NanoSystems, QHC Ireland Finance Limited, Radiometer, Radiometer Basel AG, Radiometer K.K., Radiometer Medical ApS, Radiometer Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Radiometer Turku Oy, Raytek, Reytek Corporation, SH Switzerland Finance Sarl, Sea-Bird Electronics Inc., SenDx Medical Inc., Shanghai AB Sciex Analytical Instrument Trading Co. Ltd., Sutron, Sybron Dental Specialties, TCIL Ireland Finance Ltd., Tektronix, Thomson Industries, Tianjin Bonna-Agela Technologies Co. Ltd., Trojan Technologies, Trojan Technologies Group ULC, VSS Monitoring, Videojet Do Brasil Comercio de Equipamentos Para Codificacao Industrial Ltda., Videojet Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Videojet Technologies Europe B.V., Videojet Technologies Inc., Viridor Waste Management Limited, Vision Systems Limited, Willett International, X-Ray Optical Systems Inc., X-Rite, X-Rite Europe GmbH, X-Rite Incorporated, X-Rite Switzerland GmbH, XOS, Yukon Hong Kong Holding Limited, and Zhuhai S.E.Z. Videojet Electronics Ltd..
The following companies are subsidiares of The Sherwin-Williams: Acquire Sourcing LLC, CTS National Corporation, Comex North America Inc., Compania Sherwin-Williams S.A. de C.V., Contract Transportation Systems Co., Deep Pride Limited, Dongguan Lilly Paint Industries Ltd, Duron, EPS (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., EPS B.V., EPS Polidrox Industria e Comercio de Resinas Ltda, Geocel Holdings, Geocel Limited, Guangdong Valspar Paints Manufacturing Co Ltd., Guangdong Yuegang Dadi Paints Company Limited, Guardsman Australia Pty Limited, Guardsman Industries Limited, Inver East Med S.A., Inver France SAS, Inver GmbH, Inver Industrial Coating SRL, Inver Polska Spoka Z O.O, Inver Spa, Invercolor Bologna Srl, Invercolor Ltd, Invercolor Roma Srl, Invercolor Torino Srl, Invercolor Toscana Srl, Isocoat Tintas e Vernizes Ltda, Isva Vernici Srl, Jiangsu Pulanna Coating Co. Ltd., Leighs Paints, M.A. Bruder & Sons, Omega Specialty Products & Services LLC, Oy Sherwin-Williams Finland Ab, PT Sherwin-Williams Indonesia, PT Valspar Indonesia, Paint Sundry Brands, Pinturas Condor S.A., Pinturas Industriales S.A., Plasti-Kote Co. Inc., Plasti-kote Limited, Productos Quimicos y Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Quest Automotive Products UK Limited, Quetzal Pinturas S.A. de C.V., Resin Surfaces Limited, Ronseal (Ireland) Limited, SWIMC LLC, SWIPCO  Sherwin Williams do Brasil Propriedade, Sayerlack, Sherwin Williams Colombia S.A.S., Sherwin-Williams (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Belize) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Caribbean) N.V., Sherwin-Williams (Ireland) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams (Nantong) Company Limited, Sherwin-Williams (S) Pte. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Shanghai) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (South China) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Sherwin-Williams (Vietnam) Limited, Sherwin-Williams (West Indies) Limited, Sherwin-Williams Argentina I.y C.S.A., Sherwin-Williams Aruba VBA, Sherwin-Williams Automotive Mexico S.de R.L.de C.V., Sherwin-Williams Balkan S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Bel, Sherwin-Williams Benelux NV, Sherwin-Williams Canada Inc., Sherwin-Williams Cayman Islands Limited, Sherwin-Williams Chile S.A., Sherwin-Williams Coatings India Private Limited, Sherwin-Williams Coatings S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Czech Republic spol. s r.o, Sherwin-Williams Denmark A/S, Sherwin-Williams Deutschland GmbH, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sherwin-Williams Diversified Brands Limited, Sherwin-Williams France Finishes SAS, Sherwin-Williams Italy S.r.l., Sherwin-Williams Luxembourg Investment Management Company S.a r.l., Sherwin-Williams Norway AS, Sherwin-Williams Paints Limited Liability Company, Sherwin-Williams Peru S.R.L., Sherwin-Williams Pinturas de Venezuela S.A., Sherwin-Williams Poland Sp. z o.o, Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, Sherwin-Williams Realty Holdings Inc., Sherwin-Williams Services (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Sherwin-Williams Spain Coatings S.L., Sherwin-Williams Sweden AB, Sherwin-Williams Uruguay S.A., Sherwin-Williams do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., Spanyc Paints Joint Stock Company, Syntema I Vaggeryd AB, TOB Becker Acroma Ukraine, Taiwan Valspar Co. Ltd., The Sherwin-Williams Acceptance Corporation, The Sherwin-Williams Headquarters Company, The Sherwin-Williams Manufacturing Company, The Sherwin-Williams US Licensing Company, The Valspar (Asia) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Australia) Corporation Pty. Ltd., The Valspar (Finland) Corporation Oy, The Valspar (France) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (France) Research Corporation SAS, The Valspar (Germany) GmbH, The Valspar (Malaysia) Corporation Sdn Bhd, The Valspar (Nantes) Corporation S.A.S., The Valspar (Singapore) Corporation Pte. Ltd, The Valspar (South Africa) Corporation (Pty) Ltd, The Valspar (Spain) Corporation S.R.L., The Valspar (Switzerland) Corporation AG, The Valspar (Thailand) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar (UK) Corporation Limited, The Valspar (Vietnam) Corporation Ltd., The Valspar Corporation, The Valspar Corporation Limitada, UAB Sherwin-Williams Baltic, Valspar (India) Coatings Corporation Private Limited, Valspar (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Valspar (Uruguay) Corporation S.A., Valspar (WPC) Pty Ltd, Valspar Aries Coatings S. de R.L. de C.V., Valspar Automotive (UK) Corporation Limited, Valspar Automotive Australia Pty Limited, Valspar B.V., Valspar Coatings (Guangdong) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Valspar Coatings (Tianjin) Co. Ltd, Valspar D.o.o Beograd, Valspar Inc., Valspar Industries (Ireland) Ltd., Valspar Industries (Italy) S.r.l., Valspar Industries GmbH, Valspar LLC, Valspar Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Valspar Paint (Australia) Pty Ltd, Valspar Paint (NZ) Limited, Valspar Powder Coatings Limited, Valspar Rock Company Limited, Valspar Specialty Paints LLC, Vantaco Oy, and ZAO Sherwin-Williams.
Jet Airways had bagged four routes in the second round of bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various operators.

Mumbai: Full-service carrier Jet Airways today offered fares starting as low as Rs 967 for the Udan flights which it plans to operate from next month.

The airline had on Monday announced the commencement of its operations under the government's regional connectivity scheme, Udan, from June 14 onwards, with the first flight to be operated on the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna sector.

Jet Airways had bagged four routes in the second round of bidding in January, in which a total of 325 routes were awarded to various operators.

Besides Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna, the airline will also fly on the New Delhi-Nashik, Nagpur-Allahabad-Indore and Lucknow-Bareilly-Delhi routes.

The fares for the Lucknow-Allahabad-Patna flight under the Udan scheme will be Rs 967, while the flights on the Patna-Allahabad-Patna route will cost Rs 1,216, Jet Airways said in a release today.

Similarly, the ticket price for a trip on the Nagpur-Allahabad-Nagpur route has been pegged at Rs 1,690, while the Indore-Allahabad-Indore flight will cost Rs 1,914, the release added.

The fare for a Delhi-Nashik-Delhi flight will be Rs 2,665, it said. With at least half of the seats in the Udan flights are offered at subsidised rates, the participating carriers get a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) - an amount shared between the Centre and the states concerned.

To fund the scheme, the civil aviation ministry is collecting a levy of Rs 5,000 per departure from airlines operating in major routes, including Mumbai and Delhi.

The government had in March 2017 awarded 128 regional routes to five airlines for launching flights under the Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, which aims at boosting air connectivity to the hinterland.

Under the scheme, the fares have been kept at Rs 2,500 for a one-hour journey.
Tribunal also dismissed a plea filed by the employees of Bhushan Steel opposing Tata Steel's bid and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday approved Tata Steel's bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel.

The tribunal also dismissed a plea filed by the employees of Bhushan Steel opposing Tata Steel's bid and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

The bench comprising NCLT President Justice M M Kumar and S K Mohapatra also dismissed the plea of engineering and construction major L&T seeking higher priority in recovery of loan and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh.

L&T, which is an operational creditor of Bhushan Steel, had sought higher priority in recovery of debt in the resolution process at par with the financial creditors.

The tribunal also rejected Bhushan Energy's plea to continue its power purchase agreement with Bhushan Steel.

The order was pronounced in court on Tuesday and detailed judgement is awaited. Earlier on April 11, the principal bench of the tribunal had reserved its order after hearing all the sides.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC) had approved Rs 32,500 crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in Bhushan Steel offered by Tata Steel.

However, some employees of Bhushan Steel had challenged it before NCLT contending that Tata Steel was not eligible under section 29 (A) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
The board asked the finance ministry to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.

New Delhi: In an emergency meeting on Tuesday, the Allahabad Bank board divested its CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian of all powers with immediate effect.

The decision was taken after a directive from the finance ministry as she was named in the CBIs chargesheet in PNB fraud case.

She was the CMD of Punjab National Bank till May 2017. ...The Board of Directors of the Bank in its meeting held on date has decided that Smt Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD & CEO be divested of all functional responsibilities of the Bank with immediate effect..., Allahabad Bank said.

The board asked the finance ministry to make suitable arrangements for smooth functioning of the bank.
Madhuri Dixit-Nene is the queen ruling over our hearts since the late 80s with her smile, charm, grace and poise. There are many songs to her credit and very few can emote just the way she does. While she achieved all that already, as she turns 51, Madhuri is now fulfilling a bucket list of her fans. Here are some of those:

Working with Sanjay Dutt again

Madhuri and Sanjay were quite a name during their Khalnayak times, and after their alleged break-up, we thought we would never be able to see them again. But they let bygones be bygones and are coming together for Kalank, thus making all fans happy.

After training Varun and Alia for Tamma Tamma, shes in a movie with them

(Photo: Twitter)

Last year, Madhuri was training Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt for her Thanedaar song Tamma Tamma which was being recreated for Badrinath Ki Dulhania and this year, she will be working with them in a movie!

KJo her new BFF

Guess who is responsible for all this happening? None other than Karan Johar! Karan has turned producer for her Marathi debut film Bucket List and is also producing Kalank. He is often seen bonding with Madhuri, which is expected seeing the number of films theyre doing together.

International TV project

Going the Priyanka Chopra way, Madhuri-Dixit Nene is all set for an International TV project which will narrate her life experiences in USA. Interestingly, Madhuri suggested Priyankas name for the project. Currently, there wouldnt be any better person since Priyanka is quite a name in the West and is also producing movies simultaneously.

Turns producer with Marathi film

Not only is she debuting with a Marathi film, but has also produced one called 15th August, which is slated to release this month. However the film in spite of being on patriotism is a family entertainer, just like one of her upcoming films Total Dhamaal.
Popular Tamil actor Vijay Antony, who is known to Telugu audience for his films Bichagadu and Saleem, will soon be seen in the film Kaasi directed by Kruthika.

Popular Tamil actor Vijay Antony, who is known to Telugu audience for his films Bichagadu and Saleem, will soon be seen in the film Kaasi directed by Kruthika. She was my classmate in college. When she came to me with this story, I liked it, Vijay said at the audio release of the film.

The actor is in town for the promotion of the Telugu version of the film, which releases on May 19. The family drama stars four actresses  Anjali, Sunaina, Amritha Aiyer and Shilpa Manjunath.

Many filmmakers are encouraging me to act in Telugu films, and I can say that this film wont disappoint anyone, the actor said.

He added that though there were a few problems during the making of the film, they were able to complete it because of the efforts of a few good people.
Alcohol makes the blood glucose levels to drop and this is found to happen for 12 hours after the drink. Hence diabetic patients have to check their blood glucose levels. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Alcohol provides 7 kcal per mg according to the guidelines released by Indian Council of Medical Research for managing diabetes and those who are consuming these empty calories are risking themselves as it causes fatty liver and worsens blood glucose levels.

The consumption of alcohol for those suffering from diabetes is included in the guidelines as these empty calories when taken in fasting state lead to hypoglycaemia.

With the burden of diabetes touching 72.9 million people in India according to International Diabetes Federation, the rising numbers require a set of strict guidelines in terms of food or calorie consumption, treatment and also prevention.

With the projected numbers to touch 134.3 million by 2045 and the younger generation to suffer from the disease burden there have been protocols issued to get blood glucose tests carried out for those in 30s.

The guidelines state that screening asymptomatic individuals for prediabetic stage with random blood tests is important if they are overweight or obese and first degree relative of the family having a history of diabetes.

The calorie distribution is 55 to 60 per cent of energy from complex carbohydrates, 12 to 15 per cent proteins and remaining should be from fats for the total energy required by the body. Dr G. Srinivas, senior diabetologist explained, Proteins include pulses, soy, grams, peas, low fat dairy, fish and lean meats are recommended. The reason alcohol has been mentioned in the guidelines is because many of them are found to consume it despite being heavily diabetic and that adds to the complications. Also the Indian gene types develop insulin resistance as they have higher body and visceral fat, lower skeletal mass and short legs making them prone to metabolic syndrome. 

Physical exercise is recommended for diabetics but they must have a carbohydrate snack before exercise so that the body is able to function properly. Dr G.H. Kishan, senior general physician explained, Many of them have abdominal obesity and are advised to work towards reducing it as the control over the glucose levels can be achieved. It also helps to control visceral fat. Hence 150 minutes of activity five days in a week are recommended. They do aerobic activity and also opt for flexibility exercises.
ABC News(DENVER) -- 911 calls capture a mother's desperation as she phoned police for help after her 5-year-old daughter was attacked by a bear on Sunday.



"My daughter was just attacked by a small brown bear," the mother says in the call. "I had to chase it through the yard."



The child, identified by her father as Kimberly Cyr, had gone outside of her home in East Orchard Mesa in the predawn hours to investigate noises she believed were coming from a dog, her mother told authorities.



The mother heard screams about 2:30 a.m. outside her home, which is above the Colorado River Corridor in Grand Junction, and went outside to investigate, according to a news release by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).



That's when she saw a bear dragging Kimberly, according to the release. The mother screamed at the bear, which then let her daughter go, the release said.



Kimberly was initially rushed to St. Mary's Medical Center with serious injuries, but was later upgraded to fair condition, according to CPW.



The girl underwent a nearly three-hour surgery to repair soft tissue injuries caused by the bear's teeth, according to Dr. Charles Breaux, the pediatric surgeon at St. Marys Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. She has "hundreds" of stitches, but no fractures, Breaux said.



Breaux said Kimberly has been the "calmest person in the room" all day.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Thomas Markel had reportedly suffered a heart attack but checked himself out earlier to prepare for the wedding. (Photo: AP)

London: Former Hollywood lighting director and Meghan Markle's father Thomas Markle has refused to attend her daughter's wedding to Prince Harry.

The bombshell revelation came as he admitted he was paid to pose for paparazzi pictures sold to news outlets worldwide.

As reported by the Sky News, Thomas took this decision after some pictures were released which showed him colluding with photographers which left him "deeply embarrassed".

Following this, the official Twitter handle of the Royal spokesperson Charlie Proctor said it is a personal moment for the family while requesting the people to understand Thomas.

"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation", the statement read.

Thomas Markle had reportedly suffered a heart attack but checked himself out earlier to prepare for the wedding.

Later a couple of pictures were leaked depicting Thomas was caught unawares being measured for his wedding suit, looking at pictures of his daughter and her husband-to-be at an internet cafe, and reading a book about Britain while out having a coffee.

As per media reports, Thomas is known to be a private person, a fact that had worried Meghan about how would he handle the pressures of being in a constant limelight.

Meghan's mother Ragland is reported to stay with Meghan at the Cliveden House Hotel upon her arrival.

Meghan and Prince Harry are set to tie a knot on May 19 at England's Windsor Castle.
According to reports, the father-of-the-bride now intends on checking back into hospital after suffering more chest pains. (Photos: AP)

According to reports Meghan Markles father has reportedly said that the US actress should be walked down the aisle by her mum when she weds Prince Harry.

Thomas Markle backed his ex-wife Doria Ragland to be by their daughter's side this Saturday after pulling out of the royal wedding as it was revealed he was paid to pose for paparazzi pictures sold to news outlets worldwide.

According to reports, the father-of-the-bride now intends on checking back into hospital after suffering more chest pains and he hasn't been able to speak to the star since his decision not to be by her side for the wedding of the year.

Thomas, 73, who also said he had a heart attack a week ago, insisted he will not walk Meghan down the aisle for fear of embarrassing her or the royals over the paparazzi deal.

Reports further say that Prince Harry is said to be blaming himself over the last-minute hitch - with Meghan pleading with her dad to change his mind.
A footage from the scene shows her calmly sitting on a wall with the weapon sticking out just below her right eye while passers-by come to her aid.

In a shocking incident, a teenager was found covered in bloof with a knife embedded in her cheek.

The 19-year-old shop assistant had finished work and was walking home when a robber confronted her.

According to reports, the man allegedly grabbed the girls handbag but she resisted. He grappled with her before plunging the kitchen knife into her face and fleeing with her valuables in Bukit Tengah, Malaysia.

A footage from the scene shows her calmly sitting on a wall with the weapon sticking out just below her right eye while passers-by come to her aid.

Police said the girl was still conscious and was rushed to Bukit Mertajam hospital where she was recovering after the attack.

According to sources, the unnamed woman had walked down a 'dark alley' when she was confronted.

Seberang Perai Central District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner, Mr Nik Ros Azhan Nik Abdul Hamid, confirmed the case and said they were searching for a 'well-built man' who had tried to steal the victim's handbag.
According to police officials, on January 9, Sumit and his friends took the girl for a ride in a Swift car, consumed alcohol at Ganga Canal, Murad Nagar and then strangulated her, using her stole, in the Mohiuddinpur area. (Repersentational image)

Ghaziabad: Five persons were arrested on Monday in connection with the alleged rape and killing of a 15-year-old girl who was missing from her house in the Krishna Nagar area in Ghaziabad since December 2017, police said.

Senior Superintendent of Police Vaibhav Krishna said that on December 27, a missing report was lodged by the parents of the girl at Modinagar police station.

On January 12, the minor's body was found in the jungle near Mohiuddinpur area of district Meerut, he added.

According to Hindustan Times report, the police arrested prime suspect Sumit Kumar, 21, his father Ramesh, 60, his friends Arif, 21, and Rajeev, 26, and driver Sonu, 26, whose Swift car was hired to take the girl to Meerut to execute the murder.

"The prime accused Sumit confessed he was in love with the girl and on December 26 he took her in Vijay Nagar area and cohabited with her after which she was mounting pressure on him for marriage. Upon rejection of the proposal she threatened lodge an FIR against him," a police official said.

The prime accused then decided to eliminate the girl, police claimed.

According to police officials, on January 9, Sumit and his friends took the girl for a ride in a Swift car, consumed alcohol at Ganga Canal, Murad Nagar and then strangulated her, using her stole, in the Mohiuddinpur area.

They also crushed her under their car, police added. Police recovered a motor cycle, a car, 2 country-made pistols, four live cartridges and the stole from the accused, officials said.

"All these things were used in the commission of the crime. Her ear rings and clothes were recovered from a sugar cane field where her body was thrown. The accused have been sent to jail in connection with the case registered under sections 376 (rape), 302 (murder) and other sections of IPC along with POCSO Act," SSP Krishna added.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief and directed administration to speed up rescue operation. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Varanasi: At least 16 people have died after portion of an under construction flyover collapsed near Cantt railway station in Varanasi on Tuesday.

Several people were feared trapped under the debris, police said.

"16 bodies recovered, 3 people have been safely rescued," Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said.

Several vehicles with people inside them are also reportedly trapped. Pictures and videos from the accident site shows passengers being pulled out from a car trapped under the collapsed portion of the flyover.

The injured have been rushed to nearby hospital.

Seven National Disaster Response Force teams of around 325 men have been deployed for relief operations and the death toll is expected to rise.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief and directed administration to speed up rescue operation.

Deputy Chief Minister KP Maurya and Minister Neelkanth Tiwari have been directed by the Chief Minister to visit the spot.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his tweet.

"I spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," the Prime Minister added.

"I was at a distance of 50 metres from the flyover when the flyover collapsed, trapping people under it. 4 cars, an auto-rickshaw and a minibus were crushed. The help came after an hour," news agency ANI reported eye-witnesses saying.
Bengaluru: With the Karnataka election results becoming all the more crucial, all eyes are set on the governor who will take the most important decision which will decide who will form the government in the state.

Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, a veteran politician was a former RSS man who joined BJP in Gujarat.

80-year-old Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was appointed as the Governor of Karnataka in 2014.

If the Governor follows convention, he is expected to invite the single largest party to form the government, which is the BJP. But this was not the case in states like Goa and Manipur, where the Congress turned out to be the single largest party in the assembly elections held in 2017. The Governor may also call two parties who together have a majority.

Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala had vacated his assembly seat Rajkot-II when Prime Minister Narendra Modi contested his first state election from in Gujarat in 2001. He had won seven elections from the seat.

In the 2002 assembly polls, PM Modi moved to contest from the Maninagar seat and Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was back to contesting from Rajkot West.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister in Gujarat, Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was a minister in his government. As the Gujarat finance minister, Vala presented the state budget 18 times. He also served as the speaker of the Gujarat Assembly from December 2012 to August 2014.

Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala had joined the RSS during his school days.

In 1975, Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala was elected to the Rajkot Municipal Corporation and served as the Mayor in the 80s and 90s. During the emergency, he was imprisoned in Sabarmati jail for 11 months.
'We dont have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form govt,' Congress leader G Parameshwara said. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Bengaluru: With the BJP falling short of the majority mark of 112 in Karnataka, the Congress has reached out to the JD(S) offering to support to it from outside. The JD(S) has agreed to the offer.

According to reports, the Congress has offered to support JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy as chief minister if the party agrees to an alliance.

With nearly 80 seats in the bag, and JD(S)' close to 40, the Congress will have more than the required 112 MLAs.

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together."

Also Read: Cong-JD(S) set for a deal as both sides explore options?

"We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," Congress leader G Parameshwara said.

Both parties will jointly meet the Governor in the evening today.

Congress leader KC Venugopal said, "We (Congress and JD(S)) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today."

An official announcement will be made soon after that meeting.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to comment on this new alliance. He said, "We will soon know the final figures and accordingly decide the plan of action."
A thick blanket of security has been put in place across Karnataka to ensure a free and fair counting of votes. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Bengaluru: The counting of votes and the results of 222 of 224 constituencies of Karnataka Assembly election will be declared today. The counting began at 8 in the morning.

A thick blanket of security has been put in place across Karnataka to ensure a free and fair counting of votes.

"We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centres to ensure law and order is maintained," OP Rawat, Chief Election Commissioner said.

Polling was held in Karnataka on May 12.

The police have banned celebrations, processions and bursting of crackers around the 38 counting centres in the state and deployed additional forces in the area around those centres.

An elaborate three-layer security arrangement has been planned, around the five counting centres in the capital city of Bengaluru.

The situation around the centre is said to be under control; however, the election-governing body, earlier, noted that a marginal percentage of Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) failures has been reported.

On Saturday, polling took place in 222 out of 224 assembly constituencies spread across 58,546 polling stations.

Elections in two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, both in Bengaluru District, were postponed earlier.

A total of 2,654 candidates, including 216 women candidates, are in the fray for the election, which is being looked at as a game changer for the Congress ahead of the general elections in 2019, and as a gateway into the South for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 112-seats to stake a claim to form the government.

Mixed predictions by exit polls have further increased curiosity about the results. Some have said the Congress led by its Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will emerge as the single largest party, while the others have shown the BJP with maximum seats.

However, most exit polls have predicted that former prime minister HD Deve Gowda led-Janata Dal (Secular) will emerge as the kingmaker post results.

(With inputs from ANI)
Bengaluru: Fielded against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah from Badami seat, BJP's B Sriramulu started the day with a round of prayers.

Counting of votes for the assembly election has started. In pictures early on Tuesday morning, Sriramulu is seen sitting in a prayer room, clad in saffron, an elaborate assortment of flowers and other offerings before him.

Like Siddaramaiah, Sriramulu is contesting from a second constituency Molakalmuru near Bellary. But the BJP's hopes of defeating the Chief Minister rest on Sriramulu and he was among the few candidates who were given a chopper to hop constituencies during the election campaign.

On Saturday, the day of election, Sriramulu was photographed while performing "gau pooja (cow worship)" before casting his vote. That ritual concluded his pooja session today as well.

Read: Before casting vote, high-profile BJP candidate B Sriramulu performs 'gau pooja'

The 46-year-old -- known to be extremely close to mining baron Reddy brothers and one of most prominent candidates in this election -- has been eyeing the post of Yeddyurappa's deputy if the party comes to power in Karnataka.

Also Read: Karnataka polls: Cong releases 'bribe' videos of Sriramulu, BJP calls it fake

Sriramulu's prospective boss, BS Yeddyurappa, has already announced a detailed itinerary that includes the date for his oath ceremony. He has claimed the BJP will win 125-130 seats.

With barely two days left for Karnataka polls, the Congress had released a video, claiming it shows Sriramulu negotiating a bribe with the son-in-law of a former Supreme Court judge for a favourable verdict in an illegal mining case involving the Reddy brothers. The BJP has dismissed it as a fake.
Bengaluru: Janata Dal (Secular) HD Kumaraswamy, the man who said he wants to be "king" and not a "king-maker", headed for the Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math on Tuesday morning before the counting of votes for the Karnataka assembly elections started.

Located in Mandya district, the math claims to have a 2,000 year-old history and is seen as the spiritual headquarters of the Vokkaliga community, to which the JD(S) leader belongs.

HD Kumaraswamy offers prayer at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

The 58-year-old leader, who is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies, was seen attending the morning havan (offerings to fire) and seeking blessings of the priests. He is leading from both constituencies.

Kumaraswamy has made it clear that he is in the race for becoming Chief Minister, with claims that his party will win full majority. But after exit polls predicted a hung house, where his party will play a crucial role in forming the next government, there is speculation that the JD(S) will angle for a deputy chief minister's post for him in return for its support.

The party the JD(S) is seen as comfortable with is the Congress. Kumaraswamy's father, former Prime Minster HD Deve Gowda has not ruled it out as stringently as he did the BJP. The party's senior leaders have even indicated that the overture must come from the Congress.

The Congress is seen as trying to clear a path to a tie-up, in view of Siddaramaiah's comment that he was open to stepping aside for a Dalit chief minister if the party leadership wants. Siddaramaiah had parted company with the JD(S) and joined the Congress after a disagreement with Deve Gowda over Kumaraswamy's elevation in the party. It is common knowledge that Deve Gowda is yet to forgive him for that.

After Saturday's election, Kumaraswamy went for a quick trip to Singapore - triggering speculation that he was conducting negotiations in view of a split verdict.
Hyderabad: The price of petrol touched a 56-month high in the city while diesel breached the historic mark on Monday after oil marketing companies revised fuel prices after a gap of 19 days. The daily price of fuel had been halted for 19 days ahead of the Karnataka elections.

On Tuesday, petrol will be sold for Rs 79.29 per litre and diesel for Rs 72.04 per litre. On Monday, petrol was sold for Rs 79.13 per litre and diesel Rs 71.80, and dealers expect the prices to climb higher on the back of increased crude oil prices and a weaker rupee.

Fuel prices were last revised on April 24, when the petrol price was increased from Rs 78.09 to Rs 78.95 and diesel from Rs 71.44 to Rs 71.55.

The price of petrol in the city had peaked on May 24, 2013, when it hit Rs 81.44 per litre. It again breached the Rs 80 mark on September 1, 2013, when it hit Rs 80.53 per litre.

The benchmark international diesel rates in the last fortnight climbed from $84.68 per barrel to $88.63. The rupee has weakened to Rs 67 per US dollar from Rs 66.62, making imports costlier.

Oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan had last month denied reports of a directive to state oil firms to absorb at least Rs 1 a litre hike by not raising prices in line with cost.

The prices at petrol pumps of state-owned fuel retailers like Indian Oil Corp were cut by 1-3 paise every day in the first fortnight of December 2017 before Gujarat went to the polls. They started moving up immediately after polling for assembly elections in Gujarat concluded on December 14, leading to speculation that government may have asked oil companies to hold the prices.
New Delhi: Four years after Sunanda Pushkar was found dead in suite number 345 of the Leela Palace Hotel in New Delhis Chanakya Puri, the Delhi police on Monday accused her husband, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, of abetting her suicide, and told a city court that his custodial interrogation was necessary as the investigation was yet to be concluded.

The police filed a nearly 3,000-page chargesheet in the court, naming Mr Tharoor as the only accused in the case and claiming there was enough evidence to proceed against him. The police also alleged that the Congress leader had subjected his wife to cruelty.

The chargesheet in the mysterious death of Sunanda Pushkar was filed before metropolitan magistrate Dharmendra Singh, who will consider it on May 24.

The police also urged the court to summon Mr Tharoor, Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, as an accused.

Terming the chargesheet as preposterous, the Congress MP said he intends to contest it vigorously.
The issue came to light when Padminis husband, Yogesh Kumar lodged a complaint at the Kilapuk police station when he turned suspicious over his wife.

Chennai: The child trafficking wing of the central crime branch (CCB) on Tuesday took the parents and the baby allegedly kidnapped from Uttar Pradesh and sold to a lawyers wife in Chetpet for Rs 50,000, to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) to perform DNA tests on them to confirm the biological parents of the kidnapped child.

The couple, Amit Sharma (33) and his wife Jaya Sharma (29) hailing from Shahdara in New Delhi allegedly sold the baby with the help of another couple, Komal Varma (33) and her husband Ricky Varma (33) of Ghaziabad, who had kidnapped the child in Delhi and sold it to one Padmini, a resident of Chetpet. She had paid them Rs 50,000.

Both the couples were held by the anti-child trafficking unit of the city police at the Egmore railway station following investigation into the case of a woman who faked her pregnancy.

The issue came to light when Padminis husband, Yogesh Kumar lodged a complaint at the Kilapuk police station when he turned suspicious over his wife. According to police sources, last year, his wife had reportedly told Yogesh Kumar that she had given birth to a boy at the Government Hospital for Women and Children, Egmore. Before her husband reached the hospital, Ms Padmini came home with a baby.

Preliminary investigations revealed Amit and Jaya to be the actual parents of the child and later police personnel obtained permission from the court to perform a DNA test on the couple and the child to confirm them as the biological parents of the baby. The report will be handed over to police after three months.
Hyderabad: IIT-Hyderabad is encouraging girl students to take up a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). It is hosting Vigyan Jyothi, a two-week residential training programme designed to give exposure to girl students for careers in STEM.

Funded by the department of science and technology, the programme will deal with mental and physical fitness, emotional resilience, personal health and hygiene and most importantly, exposure. Around 35 meritorious girl students of Class XI are taking part in the programme being held at IIT Hyderabad till May 29.
Bengaluru: At the end of counting of votes on Wednesday, Karnataka stared at a phase of political uncertainty with the Assembly polls throwing up a hung verdict as none of the major parties  BJP, Congress or JD(S)  was able to secure the magic number of 113 required to form a government though the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 104 seats.

Nevertheless, a BJP delegation, led by its CM face B.S. Yeddyurappa met Governor Vajubhai Vala, a former BJP minister from Gujarat, on Tuesday evening seeking a week to prove they had the numbers even as the Congress and Janata Dal(S) cobbled together a coalition with former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy of the JD(S) staking his claim to form the government with the support of the Congress.

Accompanying the JD(S) leader to Raj Bhavan were CM Siddaramaiah  who lost in Chamundeshwari by a massive margin  and Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Dr G. Parameshwar, the KPCC president who is tipped to become deputy CM, if the Congress chooses to be in government rather than support it from the outside as was being speculated.

Past animosities and the bitterness of the poll campaign were forgotten as the Congress  which had to be content with 78 seats compared to the 122 it had in the previous Assembly  and the JD(S) finalised formalities for government formation, a process which was initiated after polling day in Singapore where Mr Kumaraswamy met Congress emissaries.

Sources said the Congress has left the CM post to the JD(S) as it feels the mandate is not for the ruling party with as many as 16 ministers in the Siddaramaiah government biting the dust.

The CM himself managed to barely scrape through in Badami by 1,696 votes, the second seat he fought from, but the massive blow to the Congress prospects in central and north Karnataka proved that the Lingayat gamble of offering the dominant community in Karnataka minority religion status had not worked at all.

HORSE TRADING?

All eyes are now on governor Vajubhai Vala amid conflicting reports of horse-trading, with some reports suggesting that five Lingayat MLAs from the Congress are already missing. The BJP needs eight more MLAs to reach the 112 mark in the 222-seat Assembly, with polls yet to be held in two seats. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has reportedly whisked away its MLAs to a resort to make sure they are not poached upon by the BJP in its effort to scramble together a majority.

While the Congress and the JD(S) together have a comfortable majority - 116, three more than the halfway mark - it remains to be seen how the BJP, despite being the largest party, will get its required numbers with only two Independents winning the polls. "Wait and watch" was all that a top BJP source would say when asked how the party was planning to get the numbers. Any party or coalition staking claim to form the government will also have to prove its majority on the floor of the Assembly, probably in a couple of weeks.

In fact, Karnataka has faced a similar situation in the past. In 2004, the Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition government led by late Dharam Singh after no party could secure a majority though the BJP emerged as the single largest party. That government lasted for two years and was toppled by Mr Kumaraswamy, who led a JD(S)-BJP coalition government with the BJP's B.S.

Yeddyurappa as his deputy. The 20-20 month power-sharing arrangement did not last long either, with H.D. Kumaraswamy refusing to give up power to the BJP, which led to the collapse of the coalition in 2007.

Reports by Bhaskar Hegde, Bala Chauhan, Shyam Sundar Vattam, B. Aravinda Shetty, Vinay Madhav, N.B. Hombal
In a FB post and a tweet, Stalin also urged the new dispensation to release soon Tamil Nadus share of water from the Cauvery river.

Chennai: Ruling AIADMK and DMK on Tuesday greeted the BJP for its good showing in the Karnataka Assembly elections where the saffron party appeared headed for emerging as the single largest party.

Chief Minister K. Palaniswami greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for BJPs win in the Karnataka Assembly elections, an official release here said.

DMK working president M. K. Stalin greeted the BJP and its Chief Ministerial candidate B. S. Yeddyurappa on behalf of his party and expressed hope that the new government would ensure cordial ties with Tamil Nadu.

In a FB post and a tweet, Stalin also urged the new dispensation to release soon Tamil Nadus share of water from the Cauvery river.
Lucknow: A helicopter carrying UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to Kasganj was forced to land on a field instead of the helipad made in a school compound on Tuesday.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but was forced to land on a field a kilometer away because of technical problems.



As per reports, the helipad was surrounded by trees which created obstruction for the landing of the chopper.

Principal home secretary Arvind Kumar said the chief minister was safe and had proceeded to attend his scheduled programmes.

He was in Kasganj to meet the family whose three members had been murdered on Friday by robbers.

Meanwhile, the district administration has ordered an inquiry into the construction of the makeshift helipad and the technical glitches that forced the pilot to land the chopper on the fields.
Chennai: With over 500 visitors on weekdays and about 1,500 on weekends, the Chetpet eco-park welcomes the crowd with its beautiful landscape and pleasant breeze, away from all the urbanization around the area. Adding to its features, the eco-park will soon offer virtual reality and augmented reality experiences, while a new aquarium is under construction at the park and will be opened for public in next six months.

A 600sqm solar powered complex will have a virtual reality (VR) theatre, augmented reality (AR) dome and an aquarium, which is nearing completion. The VR and AR experiences will focus on nature, providing insights of natural ecosystems such as forests or underwater world with a single programme for about 20 to 30 minutes duration. The Aquarium will have three salt water and fresh water tanks each, said officials of the Department of Fisheries, the department that maintains the park.

The officials at the park say that the boating facility was a major attraction at the time when it was opened, the new initiative of introducing the aquarium and VR theatre is expected to boost the number of visitors coming to the park daily.

The 42 crore rupees project of Chetpet eco-park was opened in 2016 and has a separate angling pond that is 11 feet deep and facilitates activities like fishing, boating. This pond is maintained with imported aerators, which provide dissolved oxygen for fishes.

Sweltering heat in the city plays an evil role as the water levels go down, which is usually about 4 feet and causes the water from the angling pond to be diverted to the lake. Otherwise, the water levels are solely dependent on the rains the city receives every year. The lake is naturally maintained by dust-sucking fishes, which are made to coexist with the rest of the ecosystem, said lake management personnel of the eco-park.

With other facilities such as a food-zone offering the public a wide range of cuisines, and a multi-level car parking facility to counter any problems with regard to overcrowding, the new facilities would add to the attractions of the ec-park.
Chennai: Chief Priest Ramana Deekshithulu of the Lord Venkateswara shrine at Tirumala on Tuesday accused the Tirumala-Tirupati Board (TTD) of serious malpractices and demanded CBI probe into its administration, which he said should be taken over by an expert panel appointed by the Union Government to ensure that the Agama Sastra and other Vedas are strictly followed and the Lords divine belongings are not squandered away.

Addressing a select press conference at his sons residence here, Ramana Deekshithulu said, We are deeply anguished at whats going on there. The TTD administered by IAS officers is dictated to by their political bosses. They are not even allowing the sevas (poojas) to be performed as per the Agama Sastra and are rushing us to finish them in quick time to please the visiting VIPs, including politicians and film stars. Whereas earlier, the Board had only Hindu members on it, there were now complaints that even non-Hindus have been appointed.

The chief priest, known as Pradhana Archakulu and also the Agama Sastra adviser for the TTD, said until 1996, Lord Balaji and other deities in the shrine had been adored with the invaluable jewels gifted by kings and other wealthy devotees.

The Pradhana Archakulu was in charge of the jewels. He kept a record of all the valuables and made sure they were safe. But now we do not know where all those old jewels have gone as we find only the jewels given by the devotees subsequently are being used for adorning the Lord, he said, demanding a comprehensive CBI probe into the hundial collections, the jewels as well as the mode of administration at the TTD.

Ramana Deekshithulu said as per the Agama Sastra, all the offerings to the Lord should be used only for the purpose of his worship and the upkeep of his shrine whereas now due to political pressure, the funds are being diverted to building structures such as marriage halls in the constituencies of various politicians.

Lamenting that serious improper administration was hampering the service of the Lord as per the Agama Sastra and to the satisfaction of the true devotees, the chief priest said, There is now more politics and mis-administration and less of religion there; even the laddu has been made to appear more as commercial product than the holy prasadam it should be.

Because of all these bad things happening there, Lord Balaji is very angry and thats why so many calamities and misfortunes have occurred. Unless things improve quickly and completely, worse will follow, said Deekshithulu, prescribing a total takeover of the shrines administration by an expert panel appointed by the Union Government and comprising of reputed people from the Archeological Survey of India, devoted Central service officials and experts in temple jewels and other valuables.

Deekshithulu also released copies of the letter he had written to the TTD executive officer, detailing his anguish and objections and seeking remedial measures. He had sent copies of this letter to various high dignitaries, including the President of India, Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India.

Interestingly, some TN BJP functionaries were present at the press interaction, giving credence to the reports that the BJP has been keen on the Centre taking control of the TTD.
'I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi,' said PM Narendra Modi. (Photo: Twitter/@BJP4India)

Bengaluru: The sudden turn of political events in Karnataka has dashed the hopes of BJP chief minister aspirant BS Yeddyurappa, who derided the new-found friendship between the Congress and the JD(S) as an attempt to "grab power though the people had rejected Congress".

The BJP was nicely cruising towards the majority mark in early counting but it now looks the party will fall well short of the majority of 112 seats. It had managed 104 seats till early evening.

The Congress has offered outside support to the JD(S) to form government and keep the saffron party out of power.

According to reports, the Congress is ready to make JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda's son HD Kumarawamy the chief minister.

Here are LIVE updates of Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 results:

09:25 pm: HD Deve Gowda reaches Ashoka Hotel for meeting with senior Congress leaders in Bengaluru.

HD Deve Gowda arrives to meet senior Congress leaders. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

08:45 pm: Congress president Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter to thank party workers and the people who voted for Congress. He said, "A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you. Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication & untiring hard work in support of the party."

08:13 pm: I wish all party workers, Amit Shah and all the leaders gathered here a hearty congratulations: PM Modi concludes speech

08:11 pm: G Parameshwara of Congress to be the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnatak, says Baiju Narajan, Janata Dal (Secular)

08: 10 pm: I congratulate the party workers for their tireless efforts: PM Modi

08:08 pm: Language never became a barrier while campaigning in Karnataka. The people of Karnataka sat in scorching heat for rallies and did not mind. I want to congratulate the people: PM Modi

08:05 pm: I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased and assure that the government will do whatever it can to support these families: PM Narendra Modi

08:04 pm: PM Modi offers his deepest condolences to the families who have lost their beloved ones.

08:02 pm: PM Modi speaks about Varanasi flyover crash. Says he spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath and rescue operations are underway

08:00 pm: PM Modi addresses the crowd

07:55 pm: Amit Shah talks about the issue of "fake" voter IDs found in Bengaluru. In 2019 we will not only form the govt under the leadership of Modi Ji but also form a New India in 2022

07:54 pm: Congress tried to divide castes and played the Lingayat card in Karnataka elections

07:52 pm: Amit Shah while addressing party workers says, "This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win."

07:50 pm: BJP Parliamentary Board meeting at BJP headquarters in New Delhi begins

07:17 pm: Here's the party-wise vote share of political parties that contested Karnataka polls:

(Photo: eciresults.nic.in)

06:34 pm: Following the mandate, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.

I thank my sisters and brothers of Karnataka for steadfastly supporting the BJPs development agenda and making BJP the single largest party in the state. I salute the stupendous work of @BJP4Karnataka Karyakartas who toiled round the clock and worked for the party.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018

06:32 pm: BJP chief Amit Shah thanked his people of Karnataka after the mandate and also congratulated party workers

I thank people of Karnataka for voting BJP as the single largest party. This mandate clearly reflects that Karnataka has rejected Congress's corruption, dynastic politics and divisive casteism.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018

I congratulate each & every Karyakarta of @BJP4Karnataka unit and Shri B S Yeddyurappa ji for their relentless efforts. Like rest of the nation, the great land of Karnataka has shown their unwavering trust in PM @narendramodis clean, transparent and pro-development governance.  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) May 15, 2018

06:09 pm: Congress and JD(S) have the numbers and the Governor will take the decision according to the law of the land, said Siddaramaiah

06:03 pm: Talking to the media, Siddaramaiah said JD(S) and Congress have handed over letter to the Governor saying that Congress is ready to support JD(S) in forming the government in the state

06:02 pm: "Congress has taken decision to support JDS. JDS will be able to form the govt with the help of Congress," Siddaramaiah

05:51 pm: "JD(S) and Congress have enough numbers to form the government. BJP cannot form the government without the numbers," said M Veerappa Moily

05:48 pm: JD(S) legislative party meeting called at 6:15 pm today in Bengaluru

05:42 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge waits at Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. To meet Karnataka Governor shortly

05:39 pm: HD Kumaraswamy, Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and other Congress MLAs inside Karnataka Raj Bhawan

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

05:26 pm: "We have met the Governor as we are single largest party, and have asked him to allow us to prove majority in the Karnataka Assembly," said BS Yeddyurappa

05:10 pm: 100 per cent we will form the government said BS Yeddyurappa as he is scheduled to meet Karnataka Governor in some time

05:08 pm: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leaves for Raj Bhawan to meet Karnataka Governor in Bengaluru

04:55 pm: "I have taken an appointment with Karnataka Governor for 5 pm. We should be forming the govt as we are the single largest party," said BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa

04:38 pm: "I am here with our independent MLA. The independent MLA Nagesh and others MLAs are with us. We have the numbers. We want a secular govt in Karnataka," Congress leader DK Shivakumar said

04:20 pm: HD Kumaraswamy sought an appointment from the Governor of Karnataka for today evening.

In a letter, Kumaraswamy wrote that JD(S) has accepted Congress' support to form government in Karnataka

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

04:12 pm: Siddaramaiah submits his resignation to Karnataka Governor

04:10 pm: Addressing a press conference at BJPs Karnataka office, BS Yeddyurappa said despite being rejected Congress is trying to grab power in the state

He added, People of Karnataka have voted for change. People of the state have given mandate for a Congress-free Karnataka

Yeddyurappa also thanked his party workers and karyakartas who have helped the party achieve the mandate in the state

He added, Congress is trying to come to power through back door, people will not tolerate this.

Talking about the BJPs future course of action, Yeddyurappa said that the decision will be taken after consultation with leadership

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

03:31 pm: A Congress delegation led by G Parameshwara, who had gone to the Governor's House, did not get entry, turned back

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

03:29 pm: "Wait and watch, the cup will be ours," said JD (S) MLC Saravana

03:15 pm: "Shortly we will be knowing the final figures, then we'll decide the future plan. I don't want to talk about Congress or JD(S)," said BS Yeddyurappa

03:03 pm: "We (Congress and JDS) are jointly meeting the Governor in the evening today," Congress leader KC Venugopal said

02:57 pm: "We had a telephonic conversation with Deve Gowda ji and Kumaraswamy. They have accepted our offer. Hopefully, we will be together" senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

02:55 pm: "We accept the mandate of the people. We bow our heads to the verdict. We dont have numbers to form government. The Congress has offered to support JD(S) to form government," said Congress leader G Parameshwara

02:38 pm: UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath says, "The win in Karnataka is dedicated to all party workers. I also congratulate the people of Karnataka."

01:49 pm: BJP CM Candidate BS Yeddyurappa wins from Shikaripura seat by 35,397 votes

01:38 pm: "Many Congress people have won the election, you cannot write-off the Congress. It is, maybe, a set back for Congress, we will find out what is the cause of the setback," said Karnataka Minister KJ George

01:10 pm: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Working President of Karnataka Congress leading from Gandhi Nagar constituency by 6143 votes over his JDS rival V Narayanasamy

12:50 pm: "This is the third straight defeat of Rahul Gandhi since he became Congress president. He declared himself the PM candidate. Now if all opposition wants to unite toh hamare liye bhi ye theek hai ki desh ki jitni gandagi hai vo ek saath hate (then it is also good for us that the entire filth is removed together), said Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore

12:36 pm: "I would like to thank the people of Karnataka for this mandate. Also, credit goes to the hard work of PM Modi and Amit Shah ji, as well as state leadership, party workers and RSS cadre. BJP's southward march has begun. The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions, like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot," said BJP leader Ram Madhav

12:03 pm: Union Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad and Nirmala Sitharaman celebrate at party headquarters in Delhi

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

11:42 am: "People of Karnataka want good governance, that is why they have chosen BJP. This is a big victory for the party. Congress is losing state after state and we are winning state after state," said BJP Karnataka in-charge Prakash Javadekar

11:31 am: "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," said Karnataka minister DK Shivkumar

11:15 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Delhi as trends show the party is set to win Karnataka Assembly election

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

11:09 am: "People have rejected Siddaramaiah. He lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone & because of his loose talk," said GT Devegowda, JD(S) candidate who is leading over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari by 17,000 votes

10:55 am: "This is a historic win for BJP. I want to thank all the people of Karnataka for voting for us. Ab desh mein Congress khojo abhiyan chalega, kahaan rahegi pata nahi," Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh said

10:15 am: Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah is trailing from Chamundeshwari by over 12,000 votes, JD(S) GT Deve Gowda is leading. Siddaramaiah leading in Badami by over 160 votes

10:06 am: BJP workers celebrate outside party office in Bengaluru as trends show the party leading

09:57 am: "There is no question of alliance (with JDS) as we are already crossing 112 seats," BJP leader Sadananda Gowda said

09:51 am: "Correct position will be known at 11-11:30 am. I am going to discuss it (possibility of alliance with JDS) with Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot," Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said

09:40 am: JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7,000 votes in Ramanagara, he is also leading from Channapatna

09:37 am: Karnataka minister DK Shivakumar leading over JDS' Narayana Gowda by 2729 votes from Kanakpura

09:28 am: BJP chief minister candidate BS Yeddyurappa leading from Shikaripura seat by 3,420 votes over Congress' GB Malatesh

09:16 am: These are initial trends, we hope Congress will form the government in Karnataka and are confident of it, but yes all options (allying with JDS) are open, Congress leader Ashok Gehlot said

09:03 am: HD Kumaraswamy leading over the Congress candidate by 1,552 votes in Ramanagara

08:55 am: BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa offered prayers, earlier today ahead of the counting of votes

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

08:24 am: EVMs have been opened across counting centres in Karnataka

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

08:03 am: Counting of votes begin in Karnataka

08:02 am: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's younger son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is contesting from safe seat Varuna. He said, "Senior party leaders will decide on this (on possibility of post-poll alliance with JDS), but we are confident and hope to form Government on our own"

07:55 am: Congress workers performed 'havan' outside AICC office in Delhi, ahead of counting of votes

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:50 am: JDS' HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Adichunchanagiri Mahasamsthana Math in Nagamangala ahead of counting of votes. Kumaraswamy is contesting from Ramanagara and Channapatna constituencies

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:34 am: B Sriramulu, one of the most prominent candidates fielded by the BJP in the Karnataka election is seen praying before the counting begins. The 46-year-old parliamentarian from Bellary is contesting against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Sriramulu is extremely close to the Reddy brothers, and their association has stayed intact through the ups and downs with the BJP

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:32 am: 50,000 police personnel deployed across 38 counting centres in state, 11,000 in Bengaluru alone. 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies also deployed in Bengaluru

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

07:30 am: We have deployed Central Armed Police Forces(CAPF) in strong rooms, adequate security personnel presence will be there at all counting centres to ensure law and order is maintained, OP Rawat,Chief Election Commissioner

06:40 am: Karnataka election results: Key names and faces:

Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister, Congress

BS Yeddyurappa, chief ministerial candidate of BJP

HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (Secular)

HD Kumaraswamy, Janata Dal (Secular)

BR Sriramulu, BJP

06:37 am: Extensive arrangements have put in place to ensure free, fair and smooth counting of votes. There are 38 counting centres in 30 districts in Karnataka, including five in Bengaluru. Security has been tightened around all the strong rooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) have been kept

(Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Postal ballots will be counted first before the electronic voting machines are opened.
Fate of Yeddyurappa, HD Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah will be known today as counting of votes is underway in Karnataka. (Photo: PTI)

New Delhi: After months of hectic campaigning and back-and-forth jibes between the Congress Party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S), the fate of the key players like Siddaramaiah, BS Yeddyurappa and HD Kumaraswamy, will be known on Tuesday as counting of votes is underway in Karnataka.

On Saturday, 72.13 per cent of the 4.94-crore strong electorate exercised their franchise to decide the fates of 2,654 candidates, contesting for 222 seats out of 224 assembly constituencies.

This was the highest recorded voter turnout in the last 35 years. In 2013, the voter turnout was 71.45 per cent.

While Belagavi district had the highest number of voters (37,23,585), Kodagu district had the lowest voter share (4,33,846).

Hosakote assembly constituency in Bengaluru Rural recorded the highest polling percentage with 89.97 percent, while Dasarahalli seat in Bengaluru Urban had the lowest voter turnout, with only 48.03 per cent of voters casting their vote.

Incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has been leading the Congress campaign by travelling extensively across the state, is highly confident about his party's potential to retain the state by a huge majority.

The Karnataka chief minister is contesting from two seats - Chamundeshwari and Badami, which saw good voter turnouts of above 70 per cent, according to the Election Commission (EC).

Banking on his party's five-year development plan and "Kannada identity", Siddaramaiah announced that this would be his last election and said he was ready to give up his seat for a Dalit leader.

He would be hoping that his people would put faith in him and win the election to secure another five-year term, as well dealing a blow to the BJP's national expanding ambitions.

His son, Yathindra, who fought from the Varuna constituency, a seat from which his father had contested since 2008, saw a voter turnout surge above 75 per cent.

In Jewargi, former Karnataka chief minister N Dharam Singh's son Ajay Singh is contesting on a Congress ticket. A voter turnout of over 65 per cent was recorded in the constituency.

Similarly, Congress supremo Malikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge, who is contesting from Chittapur (SC), saw a voter turnout of nearly 60 per cent. Priyank is currently the Minister of State (MoS) for Information Technology (IT) and Tourism in Siddaramaiah's cabinet.

For the BJP, led by star campaigner Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has left no stone unturned by campaigning aggressively in Karnataka, by addressing over ten rallies and is hopeful that it would wrest back power from the Congress after a decade.

Its chief ministerial candidate, Yeddyurappa, who is contesting from the Shikaripura seat for the seventh time, has expressed confidence that his party will win 125 to 130 seats in the 224-member assembly. His constituency too saw a good voter turnout of over 70 per cent. It would be interesting to see whether the high percentage voting by the people translates into valuable votes for Yeddyurappa.

Very popular among the Lingayat community, Yeddyurappa will be hoping to win votes from the 50,000-strong community.

That the former chief minister is contesting the Karnataka polls has not gone down well with the Congress, which claims that the BJP is fielding tainted candidates like Yeddyurappa. It is to be noted that he was credited with helping the BJP to win the Karnataka elections for the first time in 2008.

For JD(S), the third force in the state, led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son, HD Kumaraswamy are optimistic of an electoral win, or to gain enough seats to play a kingmaker's role in the event of a fractured mandate. The party has already asserted that it would neither side with the BJP or the Congress.

The JD(S) is looking to establish itself once again in Karnataka politics and is expected to give a tough fight to both the BJP and the Congress.

Like Siddaramaiah, Kumaraswamy contested from the Ramanagaram and Channapatna constituencies respectively. The decision by the JD(S) leader to contest from these two seats in Ramanagaram district is seen as an opportunity for the party to return to the centre stage of Karnataka politics. Both the two constituencies saw a brisk voter turnout of about 70 per cent respectively.

Another seat to watch out would be the Koratagere seat, contested by Karnataka State Congress President G. Parameshwara. Contesting for the third time, Parameshwara belongs to a prominent Dalit family.

He was the home minister under Siddaramaiah's cabinet from 2015 to 2017, when he resigned to take over the party's campaigning for the election. For those unversed, Parameshwara lost his seat to the JD(S) in 2013. Winning the seat in this year's election will be a litmus test for him for being considered a potential chief ministerial candidate.

Another key electoral battle that will be keenly watched will be the B.T.M Layout seat in Bengaluru. Two-time MLA and Home Minister of Karnataka R Ramalinga Reddy is pitted against Lallesh Reddy, the nephew of the tainted Reddy brothers.

Reddy claimed that polling at a booth in the B.T.M Layout constituency was rigged by the state government officials.

While talking to news agency ANI, he said that few men who claimed to be officials of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) first gave voter identity cards to the people and collected it back when those people returned after casting their votes.

Other prominent players from the BJP to watch out are B Sriramulu and G Karunakara Reddy, the eldest of the mining baron Reddy brothers from Bellary.

Sriramulu was pitted against Siddaramaiah in Badami. He also contested from Molakalmuru, which is a Congress bastion. He is considered to be close to the Reddy brothers, who face allegations of illegal mining and corruption.

On a related note, the Karnataka Assembly has 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs 112 seats to form the government.

The elections in remaining two constituencies, Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar, has been postponed.

In Jayanagar, the polling has been deferred due to the death of a BJP candidate, BN Vijayakumar on May 4. The dates have not been announced yet by the EC.

In Rajarajeshwari Nagar, it has been postponed due to fake voter-ID row. The polls in RR Nagar will now be held on May 28 and the results will be out by May 31.

After the polling, various exit polls have predicted either a win for the Congress or the BJP or a possibility of a hung assembly.
Bengaluru: THE BJP, short of just nine seats needed to cross the halfway mark, and emerging as the single largest party, bagging 104 seats in 2018 Assembly elections, led the BJP's state chief B.S. Yeddyurappa to stake claim to form the government.

But the last thing he bargained for was the Congress staking claim alongside the JD(S) even before the final tally was announced by the Election Commission. It has clearly shocked Mr Yeddyurappa as well as the BJP party chief Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi who confidently addressed a pre-planned 'victory' rally at the BJP headquarters in the belief that their Mission 130 would come through, leaving them unable to call it off after the Congress-JD(S) launched their pre-emptive strike.

The move to stake claim before the final numbers were announced was apparently prompted by three telephone calls from three serving chief ministers to Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi who warned of the perils of waiting too long as the Congress had in Goa.

The chief ministers of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee, Telangana, K.C.Rao and Andhra Pradesh Chandrababu Naidu advised her to move before the BJP closed the deal with the Governor.

To checkmate a JD(S) headed Congress alliance government, BJP state President and party Chief Minister candidate B.S.Yeddyurappa had swiftly staked claim before the Governor Vajubhai Vala to form new government, claiming it had the support of two independent MLAs, and sought one week's time to prove its majority on the floor of the House.

After meeting the Governor, BJP senior leaders held a meeting to discuss future strategy to form the government by seeking the support of at least five Lingayats from the Congress and two Independent MLAs. Union Minister Ananth Kumar, D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Party Karnataka in charge Murlidhar Rao and Shobha Karandlaje held a brief meeting at party office to discuss party strategy to counter Congress and JD(S).

Party central leaders were also in touch with state leaders, with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh expected to arrived in the city to see that the party strategy will end with government formation, sources added. It's 'operation lotus', to attain power, the similar kind of strategy party conducted in 2008 Assembly elections when party scored 110 seats, the source said. But for any strategy or plan, party state leadership has to obtain permission from the Central leadership. Till late Tuesday, party central leaders have not spelled out their plan of action to attain power in Karnataka, with sources saying that left to Mr Yeddyurappa he would have stitched up the required numbers by now.

Speaking to media after party final tally restricted to 104, Mr. Yeddyurappa came down heavily on Congress for its attempt to form government with help of JD(S). "People have outright rejected the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah by defeating him with a big margin in Chamundeshwari constituency. But the Congress is making an attempt to retain power through the backdoor even though the mandate is against the ruling party", Mr. Yeddyurappa said. "We emerged as single largest party, and it was anti incumbency factor against the Congress government that helped the JD(S) to get considerable seats in old Mysuru region. This is wrong", Mr. Yeddyurappa said, while thanking party national President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for campaigning in the state.

Reports by Bhaskar Hegde, Bala Chauhan, Shyam Sundar Vattam, B. Aravinda Shetty, Vinay Madhav, N.B. Hombal
Hyderabad: The Karnataka Assembly elections results have dealt a big blow to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, who had asked Telugu voters to defeat the BJP.

Mr Naidu has broken off with the BJP-led NDA over the denial of special status to Andhra Pradesh.

Some BJP leaders said that due to Mr Naidus call, the party could not reach the magic figure 112 and fell short by eight seats. BJP candidates were defeated in some constituencies where Telugus were majority voters.

For this, the BJP leadership is said to be angry with Mr Naidu and wants to teach him a lesson in the Assembly elections in AP. The party had already planned to launch Operattion Andhra in AP after the Karnataka elections.

TD leaders are also anticipating some trouble from the Central government.

After breaking ties with the BJP and the NDA, Mr Naidu has been criticising Prime Minister Narendra Mo-di every day. BJP leaders feel that Mr Naidu is trying to damage the image of Mr Modi.

The TD leadership had thought that the image of Mr Modi had weakened among the public. The BJP against expectations emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 Assembly seats in Karnataka. But it could not cross the magic figure, and the BJP is blaming the TD for the loss of Telugu votes.

AP finance minister Yanamala Ramakrish-nudu said more than 60 per cent people in Telangana had opposed the BJP in Karnataka even though it had won more seats. He said that the Telugu Desam did not campaign in the Karnataka elections.
Hyderabad: The Karnataka Assembly results indicate the future of the Federal Font proposed by TRS chief and Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, his party claims.

The Telangana Rashtra Samiti claims that the people of Karnataka have supported the view of Mr Rao by not voting the BJP or the Congress into power absolutely. During the campaign Mr Rao had called on Karnataka voters not to vote for the BJP or the Congress and vote for the Janata Dal (S) headed by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

The main political line of the proposed federal front is anti-BJP and anti-Congress. TRS MP and its senior most political leader K. Keshava Rao said, Karnataka Assembly results are along the lines of what CM KCR said before elections. KCR clearly told Mr Kumaraswamy, the former Chief Mini-ster of Karnataka of the Janata Dal (S), that if they secure 40 Assembly seats he will become Chief Minister. The results indicate that the people of Karnataka have honoured KCRs call.

Some TRS leaders are of the opinion that given the poor performance of the Congress in Karnataka, the pro-Congress regional parties may come into the fold of the new Federal Front.

Mr Rao said that regio-nal parties will play a big role in national politics in future. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who is playing a key role to est-ablish a Front at national level to defeat the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections wants the Con-gress to be in the front. Recently she said: Con-gress should join the Federal Front, but not as a leader of the Front, as one of the partners.

On Tuesday, she called Janata Dal (S) chief H.D. Deve Gowda and asked him to support the Congress to defeat the BJP in Karnataka. Mr Rao, though, is adamant that neither major national party should be in the Front.
The Congress is trying to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in Karnataka by trying to form a government in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular). However, it is clear that it has not been able to defend its bastion in the face of the onslaught by the Bharatiya Janata Party. Even though it may not have won a sweeping majority in Karnataka, the BJP has shown that it is still a superior fighting force than the others in the field. The party has developed an unbeatable election template to manipulate public sentiment and convert it to votes. This should worry the Congress as well as several other Opposition parties. Having honed the art of booth management over the years in elections in Gujarat, the BJP has now extended the model to the rest of India. Karnataka was the latest example of this. The second aspect of its election template is money power. In Karnataka, the BJPs financial muscle was unmatched  as the ruling party at the Centre, it has an obvious advantage over others.

The third part of the BJPs election template is to deliver the final body blow using its best pugilist, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His no-holds-barred abusive approach with massive crowds in attendance has proved extremely useful in changing the public perception. This is what the BJP did by marginalising its scam-tainted chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa, leaving Mr Modi to deliver the knockout punch. The Congress was less than a match for this strategy. The party has not expanded its social base in Karnataka since 2013. The sole attempt at this by declaring the Lingayats a minority community backfired as the community elite feared losing political weight in the state. Congress president Rahul Gandhis dilemma was that he could not have left the campaigning entirely to the incumbent, now outgoing, chief minister Siddaramaiah. And at the same time, if he had done that, he would be seen running away from Mr Modis challenge.

In the event, he proved no match for Mr Modis public oratory, outright lies and willingness to abuse. In its over-confidence, the Congress did not seek a pre-electoral alliance with the JD(S). The latter tied up with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). The Congress had assumed that the dalits would fall into its lap given their anger against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre. They went instead to the JD(S). Now, way short of a majority, the Congress has had to go in sackcloth and ashes to the JD(S). If there is one important lesson to be learnt from this for the Congress and the Opposition as a whole, it is that any consolidation of Opposition votes must be brought about before an election. Had the BJP been offered a one-to-one contest, the result might have been entirely different. The Karnataka elections, therefore, underline the urgent imperative of Opposition unity.

The electoral performance of the Congress also means that it can no longer demand and sit at the head of the Opposition table. Unable to hold the state that it ruled, henceforth its ability will be questioned even more by the other Opposition parties. They will see no a priori reasons for submitting themselves to a Congress-led alliance for 2019. If the Congress is sensible, it will settle for a lesser role and be a part of a larger anti-BJP alliance. Alternatively, the regional parties can form an anti-BJP front and then opt for seat adjustments with the Congress on a case-by-case basis. What will make things difficult for the Congress is the general perception that the party has been hollowed from within and its exoskeleton should not be mistaken for a muscular body within. The party leadership at all levels consists of nominated dandies and dynasts. None of them have the ability to lead peoples protests or movements.

The Karnataka results would also diminish the position of Mr Gandhi within the party and lower his morale. He may proceed on another holiday for recuperation and rejuvenation, but that is unlikely to have a similar effect on the party. A loss of confidence in himself may push him to rely more on the old guard, damaging his leadership further. A weakened Congress may then prove to be no match for the BJP even in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. One should be cautious, though, in seeing the electoral performance of the BJP and the Congress in Karnataka presaging the outcome of the 2019 general election. The factors that determined voter behaviour in Karnataka may not work in other states. One does not know how the simmering anger against the BJP on unemployment, communal polarisation, violence against dalits and other issues might manifest.

However, the Karnataka performance may not be sufficient for the BJP to hold its flock together in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Having left the NDA, the Telugu Desam Party would find it difficult to change its mind while the BJPs overtures to its adversary, the YSR Congress, continue. The Shiv Sena will wait to assess the public mood before swallowing its pride to contest jointly with the BJP in 2019. The BJP may, however, gain some new allies south of the Vindhyas, such as a Rajinikanth in Tamil Nadu and a Jaganmohan Reddy in Andhra Pradesh. It could well be argued that this might have happened irrespective of Karnataka. The BJPs allies in the cow belt will keep a close watch on the direction of the wind. Most of them are freelancers in search of power with no ideological consideration. Whether the BJP will keep some of them or not will depend on the nature of the anti-BJP alliances that will take shape. One thing is sure that in the run-up to 2019, unless the leaders of the anti-BJP parties start suppressing their individual egos and start cooperating to ensure a unified challenge to the BJP, they will come a cropper. They will then have to shoulder the blame for the continuing divisiveness and polarisation that politicians with a Savarkarite mindset have imposed on this country.
In July 2016, the BJP-led government at the Centre had introduced the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to supersede the Citizenship Act 1955 with a partisan objective. It has come back to haunt the ruling party, specially in Assam (and elsewhere in the Northeast), and can lead to testing times politically. The bill sought to give Indian citizenship to Hindus (and some smaller religious groups, like Sikhs, Christians and Parsis) from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had already arrived in the country illegally anytime after Partition in 1947. This formal aspect of the exercise seemed a cover essentially to permit Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indian nationals  treating them as refugees  even if they came long after the 1985 Assam Accord, which permitted all Bangladeshi settlers in India (Hindu or Muslim) to stay if they had arrived by the March 1971 cutoff date. Muslim refugees were to be kept out. The notion of alien Muslims and our own Hindus was heavily played up by Narendra Modi in the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign. Subsequently, the communal theme got traction in the Assam Assembly polls in which the BJP badly beat the Congress. But now, in Assam, theres a problem, even a backlash of sorts.

The Hindu Assamese-speaker doesnt wish to be swamped by the Hindu Bengali-speaker from Bangladesh. Echoes of this were found in next-door Meghalaya as well, where BJP-backed CM Conrad Sangma declared his public rejection of the bill. In Assam, intense protests engulfed the state since the JPC headed by a BJP MP began public hearings on the bill a week ago. Around 100 organisations, including the All Assam Students Union and Asom Gana Parishad, are out on the streets. An unnerved chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal declared Sunday there was no point in his remaining CM if he couldnt safeguard the interests of the states people. The contours of an agitation that can spiral out of control are visible here unless the Narendra Modi government moves quickly to douse the flames. Assam has a history of huge mass mobilisation over the foreigner issue. The prolonged anti-foreigners agitation of 1983 is still fresh in the minds of people there. It was expressly against Bengali-speaking Muslim settlers from Bangladesh, but on a daily basis Bengali-speaking Hindu sections of the population had also been at the receiving end. It was at this point that the BJP first began to establish itself in the state on a serious basis by supporting the anti-foreigners agitation. This was convenient as the Congress was the ruling party. But that has changed. The BJP is now in charge in both New Delhi and Guwahati. The bill that was promoted is bad in spirit and should be withdrawn.
Karnatakas voters have given a fractured mandate. They didnt endorse the Congress return to power although Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Congress president Rahul Gandhi ran an impressive campaign against its principal challengers, the BJP, whose star in the poll battle was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In rejecting Mr Siddaramaiahs comeback bid, the state has stuck to its reputation of not electing a party in two consecutive elections, a trend which has held since 1978 when then Congress CM Devraj Urs won endorsement for a second consecutive term. Nevertheless, the BJP also failed to wrest power from the Congress, though it appears to have emerged as the largest single party, subject to official confirmation.

Although the BJP won many more seats than the Congress, in percentage terms the latter polled more votes than its main rival. Mr Modis high-voltage campaign and the BJP-RSS much-vaunted last-mile connectivity with the voter could not get the saffron party to the magic mark of 113 seats in the Assembly. Marking a politically tense day, the Election Commission had been unable to declare the final result till late in the evening. On a large number of seats, the gap between the principal rivals was fewer than 800 votes, and on a few less than 100.

The Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular), the regional party led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, have meanwhile struck a post-poll alliance and pressed their claim with the governor to form a government, seeking an opportunity to prove their majority on the floor of the House. The Congress has agreed to offer unconditional support to the JD(S) to form a government. If this move succeeds, Mr Deve Gowdas son H.D. Kumaraswamy expects to be the next CM. The BJPs CM-hopeful B.S. Yeddyurappa also met the governor, urging to be called first to prove his majority by virtue of being the party with the most MLAs. Unless elected MLAs break away from the Congress and/or the JD(S), the BJPs move cannot succeed. Horse-trading may be safely expected if Mr Yeddyurappa is given the first opportunity to take a shot at government formation.

In the past year, the Congress emerged as the first party after elections in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya, but the governors invited the BJP in all cases, arguing that the parties ranged against the Congress were a majority. A similar situation prevails in Karnataka now, with the role of the Congress and the BJP reversed. Will the Karnataka governor follow these precedents or not is the question. The Congress decision to support the JD(S) also appears motivated by the need to draw in non-BJP parties together with the next Lok Sabha election in mind. BSP leader Mayawati and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee have also endorsed the coming together of the Congress and the JD(S).
The Congress has been roundly defeated, but the BJP has been denied the laurels of victory. The Janata Dal (Secular) is in the enviable position where the two other parties which have got larger numbers have to find ways of dealing with the party that has the least numbers. Karnatakas voters, it seems, have a bowled a googly to the political parties, and the usually unfazed politicians are flummoxed. Pollsters have been proved right. It is a hung Assembly where no party has a simple majority, and therefore no party can form the government all by itself. But even before the counting was complete on Tuesday and the complete results could be officially announced  there have also been complaints about the slow counting  senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah have announced their unconditional support to the party with the least number of seats. Mr Azad said that the Congress would support a coalition government led by JD(S), and former chief minister Kumaraswamy Gowda had written to state governor Vajubhai Vala seeking an appointment to lay claim to forming the government. BJP chief ministerial candidate B.S. Yeddyurappa also sought time at Raj Bhavan. The post-election stratagems appear to have come into play a little too soon.

Every party is in a false position. The Congress should have accepted the fact that the people of the state have rejected the party, and it should have allowed the BJP and the JD(S) to sort out the deadlock. The BJP cannot claim that it has the mandate because quite clearly it does not have one. The JD(S) should feel ashamed even to claim to forming a government. But the whirlwind of cynical politics is such that everyone is looking at the possibilities of forming the government and refusing to read the meaning of the verdict. Both the politician and the political commentator are saying that the imperative to form the government allows the leeway to throw propriety out the of the window. Ideally, the three parties should not claim to form the government  on its own, as in the case of the BJP, or through a coalition like the JD(S) and the Congress. But there is no time left these days for political niceties, and the Congress is off the starting block in its bid to stall the BJP from forming a government, even if it means that the smallest party, the JD(S), is to lead the coalition government. Governor Vajubhai Vala, a BJP veteran from Gujarat, who had vacated his Assembly seat in 2001 to facilitate Mr Narendra Modi to become a member of the Legislative Assembly after the central leadership of the party parachuted Mr Modi to replace Mr Keshubhai Patel. It was natural that the party in power at the Centre appoints its own party folk as governors.

Mr Vala should be bending over backwards to prove that he is not going to show any favour to his former party and play strictly by the rulebook. The choices he makes in resolving the constitutional deadlock of a hung Assembly would either make or mar his reputation. Many of the governors in the past who were appointed either by the Congress or the BJP did not ever feel the compunction to be above board. Mr Vala can set a good example by breaking from the dubious precedents of partisanship. The Karnataka Assembly election has been seen as a prelude to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, and the argument is that it is a precursor of how things would be next year. If that is indeed the case, then it means that we may be looking towards a hung Parliament in 2019, where no party can form the government on its own. It does not mean that Congress president Rahul Gandhi can reckon with the possibility of becoming the Prime Minister in a coalition setup. If Karnataka is any indication, then the Congress is not going to do well in 2019. This election also shows that the Modi magic has waned. It has not worked as well as expected for the BJP in the state. The Prime Minister, through his aggressive, intensive and extensive  he addressed 21 rallies instead of the scheduled 15  campaign was only able to bring the BJP to the threshold of victory, but he could not deliver an outright victory itself.

In Gujarat, Mr Modi did pull the BJP out of the jaws of defeat in December 2017 and the party was able to emerge a victor because it was a contest between the BJP and the Congress. There was no third contender. In Karnataka, the JD(S) was literally the third force and Mr Modi could not outwit it. This should make the BJP wary about its total dependence on the leader. He cannot take them to victory in 2019 all on his own. One of the many things that this election has done is to dispel the illusions that each of the parties is harbouring about itself. The JD(S), which in the 1980s and the 1990s had won power in the state all on its own, is now reduced to the role of a small player. It leads to the conclusion that its earlier dominance was due to a tacit understanding with the BJP, justifying Mr Gandhis taunt that it is the B team of the BJP. The Congress and the BJP are playing divisive politics, each in their own way, to maintain their edge over the other. It appears that the people of the state have rejected both the parties for playing the caste and communal cards. It is unlikely, however, that the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) will draw the right lessons from the peoples reprimand. They will continue to play their dirty games under the garb of principles.
The findings support other evidence of plumes from Europa, whose ocean may contain twice the volume of all Earths oceans. (Photo: NASA)

A new look at old data is giving scientists a fresh reason to view Europa, a moon of Jupiter, as a leading candidate in the search for life beyond Earth, with evidence of water plumes shooting into space.

A bend in Europas magnetic field observed by NASAs Galileo spacecraft during a 1997 flyby appears to have been caused by a geyser gushing through its frozen crust from a subsurface ocean, researchers who reexamined the Galileo data reported on Monday.

Galileo was passing some 124 miles (200 kilometres) above Europas surface when it apparently flew through the plume.

We know that Europa has a lot of the ingredients necessary for life, certainly for life as we know it. Theres water. Theres energy. Theres some amount of carbon material. But the habitability of Europa is one of the big questions that we want to understand, said planetary scientist Elizabeth Turtle of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

And one of the really exciting things about detection of a plume is that that means there may be ways that the material from the ocean  which is likely the most habitable part of Europa because its warmer and its protected from the radiation environment by the ice shell  to come out above the ice shell. And that means wed be able to sample it, Turtle told a NASA briefing.

The research, headed by University of Michigan space physicist Xianzhe Jia, was published in the journal Nature Astronomy.

The findings support other evidence of plumes from Europa, whose ocean may contain twice the volume of all Earths oceans. NASAs Hubble Space Telescope in 2012 collected ultraviolet data suggestive of a plume.

NASA will get a close-up look from a new spacecraft during its Europa Clipper mission that could launch as soon as June 2022, providing a possible opportunity to sample plumes for signs of life, perhaps microbial, from its ocean.

Europa is considered among the prime candidates for life in our solar system, but is not the only one. For example, NASAs Cassini spacecraft sampled plumes from Saturns ocean-bearing moon Enceladus that contained hydrogen from hydrothermal vents, an environment that may have given rise to life on Earth.

A bit smaller that Earths moon, Europas ocean resides under an ice layer 10 to 15 miles (15 to 25 km) thick, with an estimated depth of 40 to 100 miles (60 to 150 km).

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Sony India has unveiled three new High Power Audio systems in an all-in-one box style design named  MHC-V81D, MHC-V71D and MHC-V41D in the Indian market.

These one box style High Power Audio systems feature an integrated spread sound generator. In addition, MHC-V81D is dustproof and its top surface is splashproof along with a 360-degree LIVE SOUND. The MHC-V71D is equipped with a LIVE SOUND feature which promises to give a high-quality music output. The MHC-V71D and MHC-V81D models have flashy 360-degree party lights. With additional 2x tweeters, the MHC-V81D claims to achieve 360-degree sound field.

The speakers are accompanied by Fiestable app, where a user can control party features that include DJ Control effects such as Sampler (Drums/Voice/etc.), and EQ.

On the connectivity front, the speakers support Bluetooth and NFC. The integrated Wireless Party Chain Bluetooth feature allows users to connect up to 50 compatible systems together. A user can also have multi-device connectivity and all the three systems are enabled with NFC for seamless streaming. The LDAC promises to allow sending approximately three times more data than conventional Bluetooth audio for a superior wireless listening experience. There's also a Music Centre app for browsing the music libraries. It also lets one control music and sound settings right from the phone. The Fiestable plug claims to put the user in charge of light colours and enables one to activate DJ and karaoke modes.

The design of these audio systems appears to be portable as it has wheels and handle bar to carry around. The systems are also embedded with an option for a built-in DVD/CD player and HDMI output.

The audio systems additionally feature a new TAIKO mode, as the name suggests in Japanese, allows one to use their High Power Audio one-box system like a drum. Furthermore, there's a new guitar input mode that promises to generate guitar overdrive sound effects without the use of a professional guitar amplifier. The user can plug a bass guitar into the High Power Audio system to boost the bass and produce awesome sounds.

All the High Power Audio one-box systems come with gesture control feature and lastly, the systems have Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE), which promises to help boost the quality of any compressed music files.

All of Sonys MHC series sound systems will be featured in a Black colour variant and the MHC-V41D is priced at Rs 30,990, the MHC-V71D and MHC-V81D are priced at Rs 41,990 and Rs 51,990 respectively.

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Gregory Connolly, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied iQOS technology and patents, said Philip Morris ability to gather user data could give the device remarkable power.

Tokyo/Neuchatel (Switzerland): In seeking regulatory approval for a new smoking device called iQOS, Philip Morris International is claiming the electronic gadget is less likely to cause disease than traditional cigarettes. But the iQOS holds another, less obvious advantage over regular smokes: the ability to harvest personal data about users smoking habits.

The tobacco giant is already building a database of iQOS customers who register with the company. And it has developed a software application that could take things a step further.

The initiative, if allowed by regulators, could extract information about a users smoking routine from the device and use it for marketing purposes, said a former project manager at the company who tested the software in Japan. That data would include the number of puffs and average consumption per day, said Shiro Masaoka, who worked at Philip Morris in Japan from 2012 to 2016.

Asked about Masaokas comments, Philip Morris said the software controls temperature and duration of use is not used for marketing purposes whatsoever.

A Canadian firm that specializes in reverse-engineering tech devices says the iQOS is equipped with two microcontroller chips, including one that, with modifications to the device, could support the storing of usage information that could then be transmitted back to Philip Morris. From the product description of the chips used, the data could include details like the number of puffs by a user and how many times a person smoked the device in a given day, according to TechInsights, which examined the iQOS innards for Reuters.

The firms inspection included the hardware and components; it did not test the functionality of the devices software.

Reuters is publishing TechInsights teardown report as part of a searchable repository, The Philip Morris Files, which includes internal company documents.

Presented with the TechInsights findings, Philip Morris said in a statement: No data information from the device is linked to a specific consumer, only the device.

A patent filed by a Philip Morris subsidiary in 2009 suggests how communication with the smoker would work. It describes an iQOS-like device as having an interface for establishing a communications link for uploading data to and downloading data from an Internet-enabled host.

Gregory Connolly, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied iQOS technology and patents, said Philip Morris ability to gather user data could give the device remarkable power.

What theyre going to have is a mega database of how Americans smoke, he said. Then theyll be able to reprogramme the current puffing delivery pattern of the iQOS to one that may be more reinforcing and with a higher addiction potential.

Told about those comments, Philip Morris referred to remarks in January by its vice president for scientific and public communications, Moira Gilchrist. I can reassure that theres no technology in there thats intended to manipulate in any way what is delivered from iQOS, Gilchrist told a panel of scientific advisers for the US Food and Drug Administration.

The only time the company extracts data from the device, Philip Morris says, is when trying to figure out why theres been a malfunction.

Gilchrist told the FDA panel that iQOS delivers roughly the same level of nicotine as a standard cigarette. Philip Morris says the devices nicotine delivery cannot be altered.

Gilchrist did say, though, that the company is able to capture data, such as the number of puffs taken on an iQOS, but doesnt do so unless its necessary to examine a device that has a technical problem. The number of puffs by a user and smoking time per tobacco insert are automatically regulated by the device, she said.

The company says that by heating tobacco instead of burning it, the iQOS significantly reduces a users exposure to the levels of carcinogens and other toxic substances found in a regular cigarette. As a result, the company claims, the device is likely to reduce the risk of smoking related diseases.

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The decision is the latest blow to Kaspersky, whose founder Eugene Kaspersky, firmly denies any cooperation with Russian intelligence.

The Dutch government said it had decided to phase out the use of anti-virus software made by Kaspersky Labs as a precautionary measure and was advising companies involved in safeguarding vital services to do the same.

In a letter to parliament, Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus said the decision was made because the Russian government had an offensive cyber programme that targets among others the Netherlands and Dutch interests. He also said Moscow-based Kaspersky was subject to Russian laws that could oblige it to comply with Russian state interests.

The decision is the latest blow to Kaspersky, whose founder Eugene Kaspersky, firmly denies any cooperation with Russian intelligence. Kaspersky could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Dutch decision follows a US Department of Homeland Security ban on the use of Kaspersky software by the US Federal government in 2017.

It also follows a warning by Britains National Cyber Security Centre for agencies and organizations not to use Russian anti-virus software if they were guarding classified information that the Kremlin could target.

In April, Twitter banned Kaspersky from advertising on its platform, citing US allegations of ties between the company and Russian intelligence.

The (Dutch) cabinet has carried out an independent review and analysis and made a careful decision on that basis, Grapperhaus said. Although there are no concrete cases of misuse known in the Netherlands, it cannot be excluded.

Grapperhaus said the government would consider revising the decision if circumstances justify doing so.

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A Tesla spokesman said: We are deeply saddened by this accident, and we are working to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation to local authorities.

Swiss firefighters said that the impact of a fatal accident involving a Tesla electric car may have set off a fire in the vehicles battery.

A 48-year-German driver died when his car hit the barrier in the central reservation of a motorway in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino, turned over and burst into flames.

The crash, which happened on Thursday, is one of several accidents to affect Tesla Inc vehicles in recent days.

The violent impact of Lithium-ion batteries could probably have caused a phenomenon called thermal runaway, i.e. a rapid and unstoppable increase in temperature, Ticino fire brigade said on its Facebook page.

Lithium-ion batteries can, under very exceptional circumstances, have a sudden and unstoppable increase in temperature, in a sort of chain reaction that leads to the complete destruction of the batteries and the car, said fire safety expert Guido Zaccarelli in an article quoted by the fire-fighters.

A Tesla spokesman said: We are deeply saddened by this accident, and we are working to establish the facts of the incident and offer our full cooperation to local authorities.

On Friday a Tesla Model S crashed at speed into a truck in South Jordan, Utah. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is also reviewing a Florida crash of a Tesla vehicle last week that killed two teenagers.

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According to the teasers by Cheng, we can expect this new Z5 phone more likely to be the new flagship device and not a concept. (Photo: Weibo)

Ever since Apple has launched the iPhone X with no bezel display, which the tech giant calls it an all-screen display, all the major contenders have chosen to blatantly adopt the same design element. However, the Essential is the one started this trend, which has the most minimal notch compared to all the other smartphones including the controversial iPhone Xs notch. Regardless of how small the notch might be it still isnt an all screen display. This barrier still exists until the Vivo Apex prototype has unveiled, which sported a no notch display with no bezels. But, still, that was a unique prototype with a pop-up camera on the top of the device and featured the first in-screen fingerprint scanner.

(Photo: Weibo)

After Vivo, Lenovo is aiming to get that no bezel display with its upcoming Lenovo Z5. The companys VP Chang Cheng has been teasing the latest Lenovo Z5 on Weibo, which appears to be featuring an all screen with no notch display. First spotted by CNET, Lenovo says that the Z5 has a 95 per cent screen-to-body-ratio. This claim technically beats the Xiaomis Mi Mix 2S, which has a 91.3 per cent screen-to-body ratio, which still has a small chin bezel design at the bottom to achieve that. According to the report, Lenovo has also released the sketch design of the Lenovo Z5, which also suggests the same design element, as stated earlier. The surprising element of this no notch bezel-less display is the front camera module, which according to the teasers cannot be seen. We can expect that the company might be implementing a new technology since the VP has already confirmed that the Z5s design is achieved by using four technological breakthroughs and 18 patented technologies, the report stated.

(Photo: Weibo)

According to the teasers by Cheng, we can expect this new Z5 phone more likely to be the new flagship device and not a concept. We can expect the Z5 to be featuring an in-screen fingerprint sensor on the front, similar to Vivo X21 and Apex.

As stated earlier, Vivo Apex and Apple iPhone X, has achieved this almost no bezel design smartphones, where Vivo Apex used a pop-up camera module to make the no bezel display to happen, while Apple used the foldable OLED panel to achieve this design element.

Its good to see Lenovo who also owns Motorola, coming up with this new no bezel-less display, while its contenders like Oppo, Huawei and Vivo has been adopting the iPhone X-like notch.

Disclaimer: The above report is completely based on online rumours and leaks from the respective sources. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Deccan Chronicle and/or other staff and contributors to this website.

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Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Mrs Trump, 48, underwent an embolization procedure to treat the kidney condition. (Photo: AFP)

Washington: President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, underwent a surgical procedure on Monday to treat a benign kidney condition and will remain at Walter Reed medical centre for the rest of the week, the first lady's office said.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Mrs Trump, 48, underwent an embolization procedure to treat the kidney condition.

"The procedure was successful and there were no complications," Grisham said. "The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere."

President Trump was expected to visit her at the hospital, which is located in Bethesda, Maryland, a Washington suburb, a White House official said.

"The president spoke with the first lady before the procedure, and the president has spoken with the doctor after the procedure," another White House official said.

The Slovenian-born first lady last week rolled out an agenda for her White House work focused on helping children.
The meet is scheduled at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the world's most heavily guarded border, separating the two countries. (Photo: AP)

Seoul: South and North Korea have agreed to hold high-level inter-Korea talks on May 16, confirmed South Korea's Unification Ministry.

"The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on May 16 in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss the implementation of 'Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification of the Korean Peninsula," several media reports quoted the Unification Ministry, as saying, in a statement.

The two sides are likely to discuss measures related to the implementation of agreements reached at the intra-Korean summit in April.

The meet is scheduled at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the world's most heavily guarded border, separating the two countries.

According to several media reports, Wednesday's inter-Korea talks will see North Korea send a 29-member delegation led by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of the 'Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the country'.

From South Korea, Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon will lead a team of five.

This comes ahead of North Korea's scheduled dismantlement of its nuclear test site later this month in a bid to uphold its previous pledge to discontinue nuclear tests.

A ceremony for the dismantling of the facility reportedly has been scheduled between May 23-25.

It is pertinent to mention that the announcement of the dismantlement of the nuclear test site came after US President Donald Trump announced that he will hold a meet with Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12.

Read: Donald Trump to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore on June 12
Captain Liu Chuanjian, hailed as a hero on social media after having to land the Airbus A319 manually, told the Chengdu Economic Daily his aircraft had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet when a deafening sound tore through the cockpit. (Representational Image)

Shanghai: The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday was sucked halfway out of the plane after a cockpit windshield blew out, local media reported citing the aircrafts captain.

Captain Liu Chuanjian, hailed as a hero on social media after having to land the Airbus A319 manually, told the Chengdu Economic Daily his aircraft had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet when a deafening sound tore through the cockpit.

The cockpit experienced a sudden loss of pressure and drop in temperature and when he looked over, the cockpits right windshield was gone.

There was no warning sign. Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window, he was quoted as saying.

Everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned ... and I couldnt hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges, he said.

The co-pilot, who was wearing a seatbelt, was pulled back in. He suffered scratches and a sprained wrist, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said, adding that one other cabin crew member was also injured in the descent. None of the planes 119 passengers were injured.

An investigation into how the incident occurred is underway.

The flight, Sichuan Airlines 3U8633, left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday morning and was bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the southwest city of Chengdu.

The crew were serving us breakfast when the aircraft began to shake. We didnt know what was going on and we panicked. Then the oxygen masks dropped... We experienced a few seconds of free fall before it stabilised again, an unnamed passenger told the government-run China News Service.

Im still nervous. I dont dare to take an airplane anymore. But Im also happy I had a narrow escape.

The windshield shattered about half an hour after the plane took off at 6.25 a.m. local time (1025 GMT), the Chengdu Economic Daily said. A separate report said the aircraft had accumulated 19,912 flight hours since entering service at Sichuan Airlines in July 2011.

Incidents involving cracked windshields do happen on a regular basis due to occurrences such as bird or lightning strikes but ones involving entire windshields coming off are rare.

In 1990, one of the pilots on British Airways Flight 5390 was blown partially out of the cabin window after its windshield blew out at 23,000 feet. He survived the incident, which occurred on a BAC-111 jet.
After Karnataka, the BJP is eyeing Andhra Pradesh for its next high voltage campaign to unseat the Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP government.

Assembly polls are due in the state, along with the Lok Sabha polls in 2019.

BJP chief Amit Shah is understood to have finalised plans for the party's campaign in the state, which will be rolled out in the next fortnight or so, party officials said.

Drawing on what the party managers say are "favourable" outcome of their strategy in Karnataka, Shah and his strategists have worked out ways to "demolish" the TDP's campaign against the BJP-led Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in particular.

Naidu broke away from the BJP in March, accusing the BJP-led central government on failing to deliver on its pledge to grant special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

He also accused the BJP of trying to hobnob with his arch-rival, YSR Congress led by Jagan Mohan Reddy.

'Babu-baiter'

As a first step to counter Naidu, Shah has handpicked a well-known "Babu-baiter" Kanna Lakshminarayana as president of its state unit.

His appointment, which took even the Andhra BJP leaders by surprise, comes two days after Shah's convoy was mobbed by TDP activists at Alipiri junction at Tirupati, where the BJP chief had gone to offer prayers after the Karnataka campaign.

The next day, Andhra Pradesh BJP leaders met state DGP M Malakondaiah in Vijayawada and demanded strict action against the TDP cadre who "attacked" Shah.

Even as state TDP leaders washed their hands off, the TDP city unit said its party workers expressed resentment to Shah over the injustice meted out by the Union government.

Two-way purpose

Besides being an influential Kapu community leader, 62-year-old Lakshminarayana's appointment as the state BJP chief is stated to have a two-way purpose, say BJP officials.

As Andhra BJP chief, he is expected to bring more ammunition to the party's campaign against Naidu and help boost the BJP cadre in a big way.

He will be instrumental in wooing the Kapu community, who are upset with the TDP for not doing enough for them, towards the BJP.

Traditionally, the TDP is seen as dominated by the Kamma community, to which the Andhra chief minister belongs.

As a balancing act, Shah also made Andhra BJP leader Somu Veeraraju as the state convenor of an election management committee.

K Hari Babu had resigned as Andhra Pradesh BJP chief on April 17 to pave way for a revamp.

Shah has already asked Ram Madhav, BJP general secretary, to focus on Andhra Pradesh in addition to holding charge of Jammu and Kashmir and the Northeast.
BJP, which had bagged only two seats in Central Karnataka region comprising four districts-Shivamogga, Chitradurga, Davangere and Tumakuru in the previous assembly election results, has bounced back strongly and emerged victorious in 21 seats out of 32. The formation of KJP by former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa had harmed BJPs polls prospects in the previous assembly polls. But the merger of KJP with BJP, the declaration of State BJP President B S Yeddyurappa as the chief ministerial candidate and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave proved highly beneficial for the saffron party in the region.

Shivamogga

BJP has put up highly impressive performance in Shivamogga district, which is known as its Shakti Kendra. Due to the formation of KJP, BJP had failed to win a single seat in 2013 out of seven. Shikaripura was represented by KJP. But the merger of KJP with BJP has helped the party to rise like a phoenix from the ashes.

For the first time, it has won six seats out of seven in the district. Congress has managed to win Bhadravathi. It had won three seats-Sagara, Shivamogga Urban and Thirthahalli in 2013. Surprisingly, JD(S) which had also won three seats-Soraba, Shivamogga Rural and Bhadravathi in the previous election, failed to open its account this time. It may be mentioned here that the BJPs earlier best performance in the district was five out of seven in 2008. But this, time, it has increased its tally from five to six. Among the seven seats-BJP has won six-Shivamogga Urban, Shivamogga Rural, Shikaripura, Soraba, Thirthahalli and Sagara. Congress has managed to wrest power from JD(S) in Bhadravathi.

The strong network of BJP at the grass-root level, Modi wave and the projection of B S Yeddyurappa as a chief ministerial candidate, who is from Shivamogga district, have played a key role in the victory of the party in six constituencies.

Davangere

BJP, which had not opened its account in Davangere in 2013, has won six seats this time. Of the eight seats, Congress had won seven and JD(S) one. But this time, BJP has won six seats-Davangere North, Channagiri, Honnali, Mayakonda, Harapanahalli, and Jagaluru. Congress has won two seats-Davangere South and Harihara. Lingayats have backed BJP to make their leader B S Yeddyurappa as the next chief minister. It may be mentioned here that majority of winners of BJP this time had faced the previous polls on KJP ticket. But they had lost it by narrow margin then. Now, they have embraced victory with the merger of KJP and BJP.

Chitradurga

BJP has improved its performance in Chitradurga from one to five seats. In 2013, out of six, BJP had won a single seat, Congress won the four and BSR Congress floated by former minister B Sriramulu one. But this time, BJP has won five seats-Chitradurga, Holalkere, Hosadurga, Molakalmuru, Hiriyuru and Congress has retained Challakere. Social Welfare Minister H Aanjaneya has failed to retain Holalkere seat. Voters belonging to Lingayat and Valmiki Nayaka community have backed BJP for Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu factors as both belong to two strong communities. Besides, anti-incumbency in four constituencies proved beneficial for BJP.

Tumakuru

BJP has increased its tally from one to four in Tumakuru district which has 11 assembly constituencies, Congress has slipped from four to three and JD(S) from six to four. Of the 11, BJP had won a single seat, JD(S)-six and Congress-four in 2013. But this time, BJP has emerged victorious in constituencies dominated by lingayats-Tumakuru city, Chikkanayakanahalli, Tipaturu, and Turuvekere. The defeat of law minister T B Jayachandra in Sira constituency and his son Santosh Jayachandra in Chikkanayakahalli turned out to be a major set back for Congress. KPCC President G Parameshwara managed to win Koratagere seat this time.

The failure of Congress candidates to get support from Ahinda voters(Dalits, minorities and backward classes) is the major reason for poor performance of Congress. JD(S) has won four seats-Madhugiri, Sira, Tumakuru Rural and Gubbi due to the party president H D Kumaraswamy wave and dominance of Vokkaliga community in old Mysuru region.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Salt Lake Tribune cut more than one-third of its newsroom staff on Monday.

Venerable names like columnists Paul Rolly and Michelle Quist, along with veteran reporters Ellen Fagg Weist, Jay Drew, Chris Smart, Mike Gorrell and Bob Mims were among 34 of 90 staff members who were let go or took retirement, according to the newspaper.

The layoffs included 14 reporters, seven editors, five support staffers, three photographers, two web producers, two columnists and one graphic artist.

"After almost 35 years at the Salt Lake Tribune, I got an email this morning telling me my services were no longer needed and my position was being eliminated.  It's not a shock  we knew things were bad  but I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around it," Gorrell posted on his Facebook page Monday. "I walked into the Green Sheet Newspaper/Murray Eagle right about 44 years ago now and have known since then I was meant to be a newspaperman. It's been a great career that I'm sad to leave."

The layoffs come six days after Tribune owner and publisher Paul Huntsman told newsroom staff about "impending changes and financial difficulties" facing the paper.

At the time, he told employees that in the two years since he acquired the paper, advertising revenues had fallen 40 percent as daily and weekend print circulation has declined, adding that he had personally covered losses for eight months after investing over $1 million to upgrade the paper's online and digital production capabilities.

In addition to the newsroom layoffs, the paper plans to eliminate its Utah news sections on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, having already eliminated its Monday version of the local news section, its website states.

Laying off talented and dedicated colleagues has been flat-out excruciating and represents a tremendous loss not only for this newsroom but also for our entire community, Editor Jennifer Napier-Pearce wrote in the paper's website. With fewer numbers, we simply cant be all things to all people or do things the way we used to. But losing a trusted news source, a Pulitzer Prize-winning independent voice in Utah, is absolutely not an option. Those of us who remain will continue to provide the high-quality journalism youve come to expect from the Tribune.

Napier-Pearce did not respond to the Deseret News' request for comment but described the layoffs as horrible in her online statement and said the "cuts are to the bone. She said those leaving would receive severance and buyouts of unused vacation.

For Mims, besides losing a job he loved, he worries that "without a vibrant, independent press, our Republic is in peril. This is true for Utah, and more generally for our nation."

He also lamented the loss of institutional knowledge of so many veteran journalists but said there is hope for the future.

"It could be a deficit initially, but those who remain are bright, dedicated and motivated people," he said. "They are willing to learn, and they will."

The Ogden Standard-Examiner announced similar layoffs last week as the newspaper let go of 29 employees as it undergoes a transfer to new ownership. The northern Utah newspaper reports that the employees were told Thursday their positions weren't included in the sale by Sandusky Newspaper Group to West Virginia-based Ogden Newspapers.

Among the terminated employees are five newsroom staff, 10 people from the circulation and customer service team, seven packagers, four salespeople and the publisher. Five other unfilled positions were also eliminated from the advertising and editorial departments.

The departures account for roughly 19 percent of the newspaper's staff. Ogden Newspapers own publications in at least 16 states. The sale is expected to close Sunday.

The Deseret News reduced its workforce by 43 percent in 2010.
SOUTH JORDAN  The driver of a Tesla Model S that last week slammed into a Unified Fire Authority vehicle stopped at an intersection said she had engaged the autopilot feature in the vehicle but was "looking at her phone prior to the collision," police reported Monday.

The woman, a 28-year-old Lehi resident, has not been identified and, according to police, suffered a broken right foot in the incident as well as some abrasions from the air bag deployment. The driver of the Unified fire repair vehicle was checked for injuries related to whiplash but was not taken to the hospital.

South Jordan Police Sgt. Sam Winkler said the driver told police she was looking for an alternate route on her phone in the moments before the crash and only looked up just before impact.

"The driver said she was heading to an address, and shed entered the GPS into the vehicle and she was comparing the address to her phone to see which was the shorter route," Winkler said. "She was looking at her phone and looked up just as the accident was about to happen."

The front end of the Tesla was completely crushed in the incident near 10400 S. Bangerter Highway on Friday, and police said the vehicle was traveling at around 60 mph when it hit the vehicle. Police say witnesses told them the driver of the Tesla did not brake or take any action to avoid the collision.

A Tesla spokeswoman declined to comment on the incident Monday but did share links to three tweets sent by Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk earlier in the day:

Its super messed up that a Tesla crash resulting in a broken ankle is front page news and the ~40,000 people who died in US auto accidents alone in past year get almost no coverage https://t.co/6gD8MzD6VU  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2018

Whats actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60mph and the driver only broke an ankle. An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death.  e^ (@elonmusk) May 14, 2018

It certainly needs to be better & we work to improve it every day, but perfect is enemy of good. A system that, on balance, saves lives & reduces injuries should be released.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2018

Winkler echoed some of Musk's comments, noting that even though the Tesla was extensively damaged, the driver's injuries were relatively minor.

"The vehicle frame was bent and there was significant damage," Winkler said. "But that goes to the Tesla safety features  that she was able to walk away with only the minor injuries that she did."

Winkler also said that Tesla staff had been highly cooperative in the post-accident investigation.

"Theyve been very helpful in this, very willing to send technicians out on short notice and interpret the data and get it back to us," Winkler said. "They said theyd put it at the top of their priority list."

Information that police are hoping to glean from that data includes confirmation that the autopilot was engaged, whether or not the brakes were ever applied, how fast the vehicle was going and what, if any, warnings or alerts were issued by the autopilot system to the driver. Winkler said they expect to see a report back from Tesla in a matter of days. He also noted that regardless of what onboard automation systems a vehicle has, drivers are still required to maintain physical control of their vehicles.

"Even in the owners manual for the Tesla  it says that theyre semi-autonomous and the driver must still be aware of the road at all times, be attentive to the road, and be in physical control at all times in case of the need to take evasive maneuvers," Winkler said. "And (the Tesla driver) could be facing a citation for failing to maintain control of her vehicle."

The accident is another in a series of issues that have plagued the company from Palo Alto, California, including a dust-up with the National Transportation Safety Board over the handling of data related to an investigation into a March 23 fatal accident involving a Tesla Model X in Mountain View, California.

The NTSB currently has four investigations looking at incidents involving Tesla vehicles, though not all of them involve issues with the company's autopilot systems. NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt released a statement explaining why his agency revoked Tesla's status as an official participant in that investigation.

"It is unfortunate that Tesla, by its actions, did not abide by the party agreement," Sumwalt said. "While we understand the demand for information that parties face during an NTSB investigation, uncoordinated releases of incomplete information do not further transportation safety or serve the public interest."

NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway told the Deseret News, as of Monday evening, the agency had not opened an investigation into the Friday crash in South Jordan but would make an announcement if that status changed.

In a March 30 company blog post, Tesla claimed its autopilot-enabled vehicles are involved in 1 automobile fatality every 320 million miles driven, versus 1 fatality for every 86 million miles driven in vehicles by all other manufacturers. If Tesla's safety record applied globally, the company said it would result in 900,000 fewer vehicle fatalities every year and that those driving Teslas equipped with autopilot hardware "are 3.7 times less likely to be involved in a fatal accident."
SALT LAKE CITY  Sen. Mike Lee, part of the nation's delegation in Jerusalem Monday to mark the relocation of the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv, called the move "a long overdue recognition of history and reality."

Lee, R-Utah, said the mood at the opening of the new embassy was "optimistic" and "upbeat," and described the deadly protests sparked by the controversial move as "unfortunate" and "tragic."

"It is unacceptable that people would choose to respond with violence to a move that is as innocuous as the United States moving its embassy to the actual capital of the host country. Think about how odd this is," he said.

A lot of people "are very excited this is happening," Lee said. "Sure there are naysayers. But those naysayers are those same people who wouldn't want the state of Israel in existence in the first place."

Jerusalem "is, in fact, Israel's eternal capital," he said during an interview with KSL Newsradio just before the ceremony began. "Pretending otherwise isn't going to fix anything."

In a news release, the senator said he continues "to hope for peace and longtime stability between Israelis and Palestinians, but the U.S. could no longer wait to do the right thing in recognizing the nation's rightful capital."

A photo tweeted by Lee showed him sitting at a table with senior White House advisors Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, as well as the other GOP senators on the trip, Ted Cruz of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and Dean Heller of Nevada.

"Honored to be here in Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, on this historic day. Thanks for the photo, @IvankaTrump!" Lee said in the tweet.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, spoke from the floor of the U.S. Senate about the new embassy and Israel's 70th anniversary, urging Americans to back President Donald Trump's efforts against Iran, one of Israel's "many enemies who seek its destruction."

"I applaud President Trump's decision to commemorate this historic anniversary with the opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem," Hatch said, adding that "Israel desperately needs allies."

The race to succeed Hatch, who is retiring from the Senate, has been stirred up by a tweet from the most prominent candidate, former GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

In the tweet Sunday, Romney, a Mormon, had harsh words for an evangelical pastor who delivered a blessing at the embassy ceremony.

"Robert Jeffress says 'you can't be saved by being a Jew,' and 'Mormonism is a heresy from the pit of hell.' He's said the same about Islam. Such a religious bigot should not be giving the prayer that opens the United States Embassy in Jerusalem," Romney tweeted.

But Romney's Republican primary opponent, Rep. Mike Kennedy, R-Alpine, called a news conference at the state Capitol to disagree.

"I stand with the president. We should celebrate what's happening not focus on the disagreements between individuals," Kennedy said, calling Mormons a forgiving people who recognize there are many who do not embrace their faith.

"I believe it's important for us to let bygones be bygones," the state lawmaker said. "The historic event is more important than statements made years ago by an individual who is participating in the ceremony."

Kennedy praised Trump for following through on his promise to move the embassy and said the president should "be able to pick who says the invocation for that event."

But the Democratic candidate in the Senate race, Salt Lake County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, said in a statement, "The Trump administration should not be providing a platform to someone with a record of hateful speech and bigotry."

Correction: An earlier version misspelled Sen. Lindsey Graham's first name as Lindsay.
SALT LAKE CITY  For the first time Monday, the members of a new state commission met at the state Capitol to discuss their work to create a long-term vision for higher education in Utah.

A bill passed by the state Legislature this year created the Higher Education Strategic Planning Commission  comprised of legislators, university presidents and other education stakeholders  and tasked the new body with crystallizing a "strategic plan" for "providing quality, accessible, and innovative postsecondary education that prepares Utahns for the 21st century."

The commission is also tasked with crafting a strategy for "maximizing the role of the state system of higher education in workforce and economic development" and addressing "governance of the state system of higher education, including ... recommending modifications."

Sen. Ann Millner, R-Ogden, the former president of Weber State University, said a critical part of the commission fulfilling its responsibilities would be its efforts to understand of Utah's fast-growing population and the impacts it will have on the demand for higher education in the next 20 to 25 years.

"When we think about the population growth our state is expecting the next few years ... we have lots of daunting issues. (Education) is just one of those issues," said Millner, the Senate chairwoman of the commission, citing changes to infrastructure as an additional example. "Let's take some of the demographic work that's been done already, but let's extrapolate that and look at the implications of that for higher education."

Val Hale, and executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Development, told fellow commission members that "there is no more important thing right now in our economy" than an educated workforce prepared to seize the opportunities that are there for the taking in Utah. Focusing on workforce readiness in education should be a key focus of the commission, he said.

"How can we help higher education to continue to align with industry, and figure out ways we can prepare workers? ... (Businesses) want go grow here," Hale said. "They love what they have in Utah, but the question is, can we get enough workers? Can we get enough qualified workers?"

Ronald Jibson, former chairman of Utah State University's board of trustees and recently retired Questar Corporation president and CEO, said the role of Utah's technical colleges would continue to be critical in the development a well-trained workforce and that their missions should be supported.

"Certainly we need our technical institutions to do what they're doing, and even more, for the jobs that are going to be (coming to) this state," Jibson told the commission.

Tami Pyfer, education advisor to Governor Gary Herbert, agreed it is important to promote a robust technical college landscape in Utah with plentiful opportunities for students, but cautioned those opportunities need to be accompanied by an "aggressive public information campaign" about the career paths offered through those schools.

"I think the real work comes ... in educating parents and students and the general public," Pyfer told the commission. "Getting the word out is really, really difficult sometimes."

Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, echoed Pyfer, saying high schools themselves need to become more knowledgeable about how to aptly advise students interested in a career path that utilizes a technical college.

"When Johnny comes to Mrs. Smith and says, 'What am I going to do with my life?' she needs to know what to tell Johnny," Vickers told the commission.

The commission is tasked with reporting the final version of its strategic plan to various legislative committees, as well as the governor, by the end of November 2019. Its next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 6.
SALT LAKE CITY  Gov. Gary Herbert unveiled his "Energy Action Plan" at the Utah Energy Summit Tuesday, setting in motion a blueprint on energy-related issues for the next two years.

The plan encompasses a target of increasing energy production in Utah by 25 percent by the end of 2020.

"We will be able to produce 25 percent more energy," Herbert said. "The question will be what will be the fuel of choice."

Herbert's blueprint features 10 goals that include emphasizing infrastructure development for conventional, unconventional and alternative sources of energy.

Building on his 10-year strategic energy plan in 2011, Herbert established objectives that include the realization of a solar battery system in southern Utah by 2019 as part of an effort targeting rural business development.

"We needed to have something here to get us through 2020 that is a little more specific, particularly for rural Utah," Herbert said.

The summit is a chance to showcase innovations in the energy sector, emerging trends and technology advances that are transforming the energy development landscape.

One of the keynote speakers was NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik. The summit also featured a variety of electric vehicles and other attractions.

At the summit, Herbert noted the abundance of natural gas, oil and coal in Utah, significant gains in renewable energy development, as well as the state's geothermal resources.

Utah, in fact, is one of two sites in the country vying for U.S. Department of Energy funding and the opportunity to develop an underground laboratory researching ways to tap man-made geothermal reservoirs.

The potential Frontier Observatory for Research in Geothermal Energy site at Milford has been monitored for seismic activity since 1981 and has been the subject of intense drill and geothermal investigation and activity for 45 years.

An announcement on the selection of the final candidate  either the University of Utah and the Energy & Geoscience Institute or Sandia Laboratories  is expected later this year.

Herbert said Utah's site is extremely competitive.

"I am optimistic. I think we are in a very good position. Our track record is good, and our resources are many," he said, adding "it does help rural Utah and further that goal of economic development."

Other goals in the plan call for improving the state's performance in the arena of energy efficiency. Since 2015, the state has improved its score from 26th in the country to 17th based on rankings from the Advisory Committee on Energy Efficiency.

The nexus between energy and air quality is also a cornerstone of the plan as the state continues to combat its air pollution problems.

With the coming introduction of cleaner Tier 3 fuels for Utah's gas market and tightening of regulations on sources of pollutants that come from paint strippers and other solvents, the state is trying to tackle its air pollution problem on many fronts.

Herbert said there is much work left to do, but Wasatch Front emissions have dropped 35 percent in the last decade.

At the summit, Gary Hoogeveen, senior vice president of Rocky Mountain Power, said I-15 throughout the entire state of Utah will be fully "electrified" with charging stations some time this summer, and other major corridors in the state will follow the next year.

Utah is one of seven states that are signatories to a memorandum of understanding to develop a regional electric vehicle corridor in the West.

Utah's energy economy contributes $20.9 billion a year and supports 60,000 jobs, according to the Governor's Office of Energy Development.

The state ranks third in the country for geothermal production, 11th in oil and natural gas production and is No. 6 in the country for installed solar capacity. It ranks No. 2 per capita in solar capacity.
SALT LAKE CITY  Smokey Robinson told a U.S. Senate committee Tuesday that it's "ludicrous" for digital music services not to pay artists for the songs they play that were made before 1972.

And the 78-year-old music legend also thanked "my fellow songwriter," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, for pushing copyright law reform in the industry. The two shared a hug before the hearing.

"My message is simple, Robinson told the Senate Judiciary Committee, of which Hatch is a member. "Musicians who recorded before Feb. 15, 1972, deserve to be compensated the same way as those who recorded after that date."

Robinson was among several witnesses testifying in support of the Music Modernization Act, a bipartisan bill that would update music licensing and copyright law and reform the way royalties are collected. It unanimously passed the House last month.

Hatch, a co-sponsor of the legislation, said licensing laws for too long have disadvantaged content creators and sowed uncertainty.

"Song-by-song licensing may have worked well enough in the days of the player piano or vinyl record, but in the digital age, where the catalog of a music service like Pandora or Spotify or Amazon or Apple Music runs into the millions of songs, its no longer practical," he said.

Hatch said the legislation would ensure that songwriters are compensated fairly for their work and that digital music services are able to operate without constant legal uncertainty.

The retiring 84-year-old senator, who has moonlighted as a songwriter and lyricist for years, attended the Grammy Awards in January.

During the event, his office tweeted, "Senator Orrin Hatch, writer of laws but also songs, enjoying Childish Gambino, Lady Gaga, Kendrick Lamar, and more at the 60th annual Grammy Awards." It followed up with a tweet to #StandWithSongwriters, who Hatch believes are paid far too little for their work.

Robinson testified Tuesday that he knows a lot of musicians, writers and producers who have fallen on hard times.

"It's not just about music. It's about lives, so they could really use that money," he said.

Robinson said some of his biggest recordings with the Miracles, such as "Shop Around" and "I Second That Emotion," were made before 1972, and to not be paid for them is "ludicrous."

A loophole in the law denies music copyright holders of songs recorded before 1972 the same federal protections as those afforded to copyright holders of music released after that date, he said

Robinson said an arbitrary date on the calendar should not be the arbiter of value.

"The records of the '50s and '60s arent called classics because of their age, theyre called classics because of their greatness," he said. "They still resonate today. They define the American sound."
SOUTH JORDAN  A man arrested in March for allegedly killing his 8-month-old puppy has now been formally charged.

Michael Anthony Fario, 25, of South Jordan, was charged last week in 3rd District Court with torture of a companion animal, a third-degree felony; and obstruction of justice, a class A misdemeanor.

On March 25, police were called to Fario's home by his stepfather. He told officers that "he has observed Fario punching Pip (his dog) repeatedly with closed fists" and on one occasion "heard a 'thudding' sound of punching" after the dog had peed on Fario's bed, according to charging documents.

After not seeing or hearing the dog for several days, the stepfather checked his home surveillance cameras and found the dead dog was placed inside a garbage can outside, the charges state.

Fario told investigators that "he had issues with Pip peeing on his bed every day for the last several days, so he 'smacked' and 'spanked' the dog," according to court documents.

Although Fario noticed the dog "acting strange" and not eating or drinking in the days leading up to its death, he did not call a veterinarian, the charges state. When he discovered the dog had died, he put it "in a trash bag in the outside garbage," court documents state.

An autopsy determined the dog suffered fractures to its ribs and liver, and had severe trauma to its thoracic and abdominal cavities.

Police said Fario had the Australian shepherd for six months before its death.

He originally told his family the dog had run away, and then told them he returned it to the person from whom he purchased the dog, according to police.

Fario was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on a warrant on Monday. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in court on Wednesday.

His mother has already submitted a letter to the court asking that her son be released from jail so he can continue drug treatment. Fario has struggled with drug addiction since he was a teenager, the letter states.

Fario needs to be held accountable for what he did, his mother wrote, "but I dont believe Michael is a danger to anyone. He acknowledges he should never own a pet again, at least until he has dealt with his anger & addiction issues. I believe Michael needs intensive counseling and classes geared toward drug addiction & anger management to deal with his problem. I know he is not an evil person.

"I know Michael is in extreme pain right now as he sits in jail and comes off methadone," the letter continues. "If released, I would ensure that Michael stays confined to our home until his trial date and that he does not go around any animals."
SALT LAKE CITY  The widow of murdered Utah Transit Authority worker Kay Ricks has filed a lawsuit against the two men responsible for her husband's killing as well as UTA for allegedly not doing enough to protect him.

In May 2016, Ricks, 63, a maintenance worker with UTA, was working at the Ballpark Station, 180 W. 1300 South, when he was kidnapped by Dereck James DJ Harrison, 23, and his father, Flint Wayne Harrison, 51. The Harrisons were on the run from police after kidnapping and assaulting a woman and her daughters in Centerville.

Using Ricks' UTA vehicle with Ricks tied up in the back, the Harrisons drove to a rural area about 16 miles outside of Kemmerer, Wyoming, off U.S. 189, slit Ricks' throat and beat him with a metal bar during a brutal 18-minute attack, and then left his body under sagebrush. His body was found five days later.

A manhunt for the Harrisons ended with their arrests in the Half Moon Lake area near Pinedale, Wyoming, several days later.

D. Brian Boggess, the attorney representing the Ricks family, said the family has filed the lawsuit in hopes of finding answers they are still seeking two years after Ricks' death, while encouraging UTA to protect others.

"Our hope is that through this lawsuit, not only will the Ricks family get some answers, but UTA and other entities like UTA will have a chance to re-examine their practices, and that re-examination will save lives in the future," Boggess said.

According to her lawsuit filed Friday  the day before the two-year anniversary of Kay Ricks' kidnapping  Lorie Jean Ricks said prior to her husband's death union representatives had warned "about the danger of UTA maintenance employees working alone in certain locations, including those locations serviced by Mr. Ricks."

Despite that, "UTA failed or refused to assign a second employee or apprentice trainee to work with its maintenance employees," the lawsuit states.

The company also failed to install GPS receivers in their maintenance trucks, court documents state.

Instead, UTA gave maintenance workers a "panic button" to use in emergencies, according to the lawsuit.

"Unfortunately, the panic buttons are only as good as the support staff monitoring those communications. Upon information and belief, UTA failed to provide adequate training, supervision or attention to the receiving end of 'panic button' communications, such that a distress signal sent via a panic button by Mr. Ricks was not received or acknowledged in anything close to a timely, reasonable manner," the lawsuit states.

"These failures on the part of UTA and its board, to implement a policy requiring a second employee to be with maintenance employees, to install GPS receivers in UTA maintenance vehicles and to monitor and respond to a distress signal, would prove to have deadly consequences," the lawsuit continued.

According to the lawsuit, Ricks attempted to use his panic button as he was being assaulted by the Harrisons, but "UTA failed to respond to the distress signal."

Boggess said Tuesday that following Ricks' disappearance, UTA was more concerned with finding the missing truck than figuring out what happened to Ricks.

"UTA's first concern after Mr. Ricks went missing was to find their truck. They believed Kay Ricks had stolen their truck, so that's what they were putting their resources in when they had received a distress call from Kay Ricks, and they should have done more to follow up on that aspect rather than their truck," Boggess said.

In addition to UTA, the lawsuit names the estate of Flint Harrison and DJ Harrison as defendants, as well as several John Does and Doe entities.

In 2017, DJ Harrison pleaded guilty to killing Ricks during the commission of a kidnapping, and to a second charge of confining him for the purpose of taking his truck. He also pleaded guilty in the Centerville case to five counts of aggravated kidnapping, a first-degree felony. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Flint Harrison committed suicide two months after his arrest while incarcerated at the Davis County Jail.

After DJ Harrison's sentencing in Wyoming a year ago, Lori Ricks issued a statement that said, in part, her family would forgive DJ Harrison so they don't have to speak or think of him again and can move on with their lives.

A spokesman for UTA said Tuesday that the agency had not officially received the lawsuit and would wait to read it before commenting.

Contributing: Andrew Adams
Bharti Airtel has finally completed its acquisition of Telenor India after receiving the relevant regulatory approvals.

Originally agreed in February 2017, the long-awaited deal has received final approval from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), which has transferred all of Telenor Indias 4G licences and liabilities to Airtel.

The approval is a swift turnaround from the DoT, which just days ago was demanding that Airtel should provide a bank guarantee of INR15 billion ($222 million)  the equivalent of one-time charges for spectrum allocated without an auction - before it would green-light the deal. The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal dismissed the condition, although Airtel has paid the requested INR2 billion for Telenors spectrum.

The acquisition will see the Airtel boost both its subscriber base and  significantly - its spectrum holding. Telenor India held 43.4MHz of 1.8GHz spectrum across seven telecom circles. The market leader confirmed that its next step will be to fold these operations into its own.

Airtel will absorb Telenor Indias 38 million mobile connections, bringing its total up to roughly 340 million and increasing its market share by 3% to a total of 28%. However, not all of Telenor Indias staff may be accommodated, with the Economic Times reporting that the market leader was very unlikely to fully absorb Telenor Indias near 1,200-odd staff.

Addressing this speculation, a spokesperson said: Airtel has already on-boarded 700 employees from Telenor India. The plan for the remaining employees will be communicated in due course.

The acquisition is part of a country-wide trend towards consolidation spurred by the entry of Reliance Jio into the market in September 2016, which shook up the market by offering 4G voice and data services for a very low cost. Airtel is aiming to compete more effectively against the newcomer and its established rivals, including Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, which are currently in the process of merging to create a new market leader.
Google recently announced Food Pick-up and Delivery Actions for the Google Assistant in the US, along with the ability to setup Routines, a feature which lets users automate the Assistants tasks. The announcement of the new features was made during the companys annual developer conference, I/O 2018, and while the features are definitely welcomed by users, Google seems to be a leg behind Amazon which already offers the same through its digital assistant Alexa.

In India alone, Amazons Alexa offers more than 15,000 skills which range from food ordering to cab bookings. These skills are what makes the Amazon Echo range of smart speakers stand out in Indias smart home market, while the newly launched Google Home seems to be struggling to form partnerships to offer third-party Actions in the country. For the uninitiated, Google Assistants Actions and Amazon Alexas Skills work in a similar fashion, allowing users to take advantage of voice commands to make the AI helpers complete tasks such as ordering food, finding cabs, booking movie tickets, bringing up music and more. Assistants Routines function also works pretty much the same as Alexas Routines, allowing users to automate tasks such as setting an alarm and turning on the lights at the same time.

While Indians have had a taste of both Skills and Routines thanks to Amazons growing presence in the smart speaker market, the same has not been the case with Google and its Assistant-wielding Home range of smart speakers. The Google Home launched in India with the Google Assistant carrying forward the same features we have already seen on smartphones. The launch of the Google Home seemed rushed and incomplete without essential features such as third-party service integrations and the ability to setup routines.

Did You Know: Google sees more usage of the Google Assistant on the JioPhone in India than all smartphones combined.

While Google does plan to bring these much needed integrations to Assistant in India, users will have to wait a while before it happens. Google feels that the lack of services and other features on the Assistant is a fair criticism from users in India, but because the Google Home is a speaker, its prominent usage is around Music and Media. With respect to the Google Home, having quality music and media services is Googles minimum bar to launch in a country. Productivity tools like setting reminders and alarms is a secondary consideration, while the third vital lookout is locally relevant answers from Google Search. Updating Assistants features is and was not one of Googles main consideration before the Google Home was launched in India.

Its not like third-party service integrations and Actions for Assistant are not important for Google, but because it involves working with partners and securing commercial deals, the process takes longer and will take some more time before users can see results in India. Googles strategy for bringing services to the Assistant in India and approaching potential partners is to wait before devices like the Home become more popular in the country. However, this shouldnt have stopped them from forming such partnerships given that the Google Assistant has been around on smartphones in the country (even feature phones now) for a while.

Nevertheless, Google wants to be more aggressive in internationalising the Assistant and will introduce new features to in India after testing the waters in the US. The Assistants Routines feature is also not headed to the country anytime soon, but Google is looking to use breakthroughs in its WaveNet technology to introduce new India-specific voices over the next year or so. The company is aiming to refresh Assistants voices worldwide in every language and introduce multiple voices for each language, including Hindi.

In India, Google, surprisingly, sees more usage of the Google Assistant on the JioPhone than all smartphones combined. The company has noticed that JioPhone users use the Google Assistant as the UI of the phone to perform basic navigational tasks and the number of queries seen everyday on the JioPhone is higher than any premium or high-end device in India.
In-display fingerprints sensors are apparently the next big thing in the smartphone world, as companies continue to fervently pursue the technology. Both Huawei and Vivo have managed to use in-display fingerprint sensors developed by Synaptic, but for the longest time, Samsung has been the one who everyone expected would implement the technology first. It seems that the Korean tech giant is yet again going to delay the use of the new technology, pushing it to the launch of the Galaxy S10.

Previous rumours had suggested that the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 would ship with an in-display optical fingerprint sensor. This piece of information comes from Chosun, who say that Samsung is going to wait for the technology to become more reliable and faster before implementing it in their flagship smartphones. The decision seems like a sensible one, given that various hands-on videos of the technology in use show that the in-display fingerprint sensor is noticeably slower than a capacitive fingerprint sensor. The report further says that Samsung is looking to implement the technology in more than just its smartphones, expanding the scope of use to appliances, IoT devices and more.

Rumours of Samsung using the in-display fingerprint sensor have been around for almost two years now. Initially, Apple was rumoured to use the tech for their upcoming special edition iPhone X, but when that did not happen, it was said that Samsung would beat Apple to the prize. Initially, reports said that the Samsung Galaxy S9, followed by saying that wouldnt be the case. Right after, there were suggestions that the Galaxy Note 9 would have the in-display fingerprint sensor, and now, were hearing that wont be the case because Samsung wants to wait.

Currently, in-display fingerprint sensors have been developed by Synaptic and Qualcomm. The Vivo X21UD comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner, which is an optical sensor instead of ultrasonic, resistive or even capacitive. When the user presses his or her finger against the display, the pressure is registered and the OLED emits light to illuminate the finger. The reflected light is captured by the optical sensor and high-resolution image of the fingers ridges are created for authentication purposes. Qualcomms implementation of the same technology employs ultrasonic waves that can travel through OLED panel up to 1200 m thick to accurately create a digital image of the fingerprint. While both implementations have their strengths, they share a common weakness - speed. Neither is as fast as the current capacitive fingerprint sensor that weve got so used to over the years. Given this, it makes complete sense for Samsung to hold off from putting in-display fingerprint sensors in their flagship phones.
Manipal-TGP steps in again with sweetened offer for Fortis Healthcare

In a fresh twist to the Fortis Saga, the combine of Manipal Hospital and private equity firm TPG Capital Management on Monday sweetened their bid to buy Fortis Healthcare Ltd, just days after the Fortis board said it favoured the rival Munjal-Burmans offer.

Fortis shares rose as much as 4.2 per cent to Rs155 this morning, marking their biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly two weeks. Fortis shares rose as much as 4.2 per cent to Rs155 this morning, marking their biggest intraday percentage gain in nearly two weeks.

Fortis late on Thursday said it planned to accept an offer from Hero Enterprise Investment Office (controlled by the Munjals) and the Burman Family Office that would invest Rs1,800 crore (266.5 million), valuing Fortis at Rs9,000 crore, subject to shareholder approval.

The move had reportedly dismayed many shareholders and sent shares in the cash-strapped hospital operator down almost 5 per cent.

Manipal-TPG, which was the first to make a binding offer, has also asked the board of Fortis Healthcare to reconsider its decision of recommending the Munjal-Burman deal to the shareholders of the company.

In a regulatory filing, Fortis said it has received revised offer from Manipal and TPG with a proposal to invest in the company, while making public a letter sent by Manipal Health Enterprises Pvt Ltd (MHEPL) to the Fortis board.

"For purposes of the merger, a value of Rs9,403 crore shall be attributed to FHL and a value of Rs6,070 crore shall be attributed to MHEPL as had been originally determined by the independent valuers of for the purpose of the transaction," MHEPL said in its letter presenting the revised offer.

It further said, "The preferential allotment shall be undertaken at a price of Rs180 per share."

MHEPL claimed that its modified new offer "is significantly better than any other offer / bid FHL has received to date, including the Hero-Burman offer", which it said did not address a host of issues plaguing the healthcare major.

"...unlike our offer, the Hero and Burman offer only partially solves the short-term liquidity concerns of FHL and fails to deliver any long-term benefits to FHL or solve the larger issues facing FHL," Manipal said.

The issues include FHL's payment obligations for the acquisition of the relevant Indian entities from RHT and the exit required to be provided by FHL to the private equity investors in SRL, it added.

Stating that Manipal-TPG have been following the developments of the past few days after the announcement by FHL and as reported in media, there has been negative reaction of FHL shareholders to the decision of the FHL board to accept the Hero and Burman offer, the letter said.

"In light of this procuring the approval of 75 per cent of FHL shareholders for the Hero-Burman offer is likely to be very challenging for the FHL board," Manipal said, adding its modified new offer is binding in its entirety and is valid till 29 May.

Comments from the Munjal-Burmans combine could not be immediately obtained.

Asking the board of FHL refer their "modified offer" to the company's shareholders, MHEPL said, "We request the Fortis board to reconsider its decision to refer the Hero and Burman offer to the shareholders."

See: On 6 May, Manipal Health Enterprises had revised yet again its offer for Fortis Healthcare Ltd (FHL), raising the value to Rs8,358 crore. It offered subscribe preferential allotment for Rs2,100 crore translating its proposed investment at Rs160 per equity share ( After IHH and Hero-Burman, Manipal-TGP too sweetens offer for Fortis ).

The consortium had initially valued the hospital business of the healthcare chain at Rs5,003 crore in its offer on 27 March.

Five suitors were in the race for Fortis but after the company's board decided to evaluate only binding offers, Malaysia's IHH Healthcare Berhad, Munjal-Burmans, Manipal-TPG and KKR-backed Radiant Life Care put in their bids.

The fifth bidder, Fosun Health Holdings, an arm of Fosun International, which made a non-binding proposal to invest a total of $350 million (over Rs2,295 crore) at a price up to Rs156 per share, had not revised its offer.

The Munjals and Burmans were chosen by the Fortis board on 10 May for their revised offer which proposed to increase their investment to Rs1,800 crore, without any due diligence, from a previously revised offer of Rs1,500 crore.

The keen interest in Fortis emerges as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi looks to implement a healthcare programme aimed at providing insurance cover to hundreds of millions of people in a country with a dearth of adequate medical clinics. The scheme is expected to make private hospitals, such as those run by Manipal and Fortis, accessible to millions of poor families.

The new offer is significantly better than any other offer or bid that Fortis has received to date, including the one by Hero and Burman, Manipal said in its statement, urging Fortis' board of directors to refer the offer to its shareholders.
Hinduja Group acquires green energy firm Kiran Energy

Hinduja Group power arm Hinduja Power Corporation has acquired Mumbai-based Kiran Energy Solar Power in an all-cash deal.

While the companies did not divulge the financial terms of the buy, various media reports pegged the deal at an enterprise value of about Rs900-Rs950 crore.

Yes Securities Sustainable Investment Banking Team (SIB) was the only adviser to the transaction.

Privately-held Kiran Energy operates solar power plants in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, with the company operating a total of 85 MW..

Kiran Energy is promoted by former head of KPMGs investment banking division in India, Ardeshir Contractor, a first-generation entrepreneur and technocrat, along with a team of co-founders and backed by leading Private Equity investors such as Bessemer Venture Partners, GKFF (Argonaut capital) and Rivendell PE (New Silk Route).

Kiran Energy always held the conviction that solar energy would evolve as a mainstream energy source for India. Over the last 7 years, it has been a tremendous experience to be at the forefront of this evolution. We are extremely pleased with our agreement with Hinduja Power and look forward to witnessing the growth of the business to new heights, Ardeshir Contractor, MD of Kiran Energy, said.

In 2010, Mahindra & Mahindra jointly ventured with Kiran Energy to jointly build three solar power plants and in 2013, First Solar Inc, USA, invested in a minority stake in three of Kiran Energy solar power plants.

Nishith Desai Associates and AZB & Partners acted as the legal advisor to Kiran Energy and Crawford Bayley & Co acted as the legal advisor to Hinduja Group for the transaction.

Yes Securities SIB specialises in private equity fund raising, merger & acquisitions, technology transfer, business advisory, corporate restructuring. It has successfully completed 35 transactions in the sustainability space with a cumulative transaction value of $7 billion.
Struggling US department store chain Sears to explore sale of Kenmore brand

US struggling department store chain Sears yesterday announced that it had formed a special committee to explore the sale of its in-house appliance brand Kenmore and its related assets.

The related assets include the Sears Home Improvement Products business of the Sears Home Services division and the Parts Direct business of the Sears Home Services division. The related assets include the Sears Home Improvement Products business of the Sears Home Services division and the Parts Direct business of the Sears Home Services division.

The move came after the board received a letter from Connecticut-based hedge fund ESL Investments, Inc. expressing interest in buying all or a portion of the sale assets.

Sears has appointed a special committee, made up of independent directors, to evaluate ESL's proposal, to actively solicit third-party interest for the sale of these assets, and to explore any other alternatives to maximise value for the company.

The special committee has retained Centerview Partners to serve as its investment banker and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to serve as its legal counsel.

Sears CEO Eddie Lampert had earlier written a letter to the board urging it to sell Kenmore along with other assets and offered to buy it himself through his hedge fund, ESL Investments,

Lampert owns a majority of shares in Sears Holding Corporation, the company that owns the Sears and Kmart chains.

Sears Holdings is the 23rd largest retailer in the US and operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co and Kmart Corporation, with full-line and specialty retail stores.

But analysts are sceptical about the sale of the Kenmore brand since all that will be left of Sears will be its inventory and whatever is left of its real estate.

In 2015, Sears had sold part of its real estate to Seritage Growth Properties, another Lampert-controlled company.
The Sinn Fein deputy Dail leader has called for the expulsion of the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland.

Teachta Pearse Doherty said: What happened in Gaza yesterday was a massacre; there is no other way to describe it. Live ammunition and tear gas were used against unarmed Palestinians who were demanding their right to return to homes and villages they were expelled from in 1948."

In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 60 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,200 were wounded at the Gaza-Israeli border yesterday.

Fifty eight people have been killed as a result of the actions of Israeli forces; including six children and more than 2,700 have been injured. It is shameful and on behalf of Sinn Fein, I want to wholeheartedly condemn the brutal and violent actions of Israeli forces. I also want to extend our solidarity to the Palestinian people," he said.

He said that he felt that the actions of Israel are undermining efforts to secure a sustainable and peaceful two-state solution and must be urgently challenged by the international community.

"Without sanction or an adequate diplomatic response, I fear more innocent civilians will be killed in the coming days," he said.

Deputy Doherty said that the onus is also on the Irish government to respond robustly.

There can be no impunity for Israels mass killing of Palestinians civilians and its continued illegal occupation of Palestine. The government must expel the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland in response to these murders and the flagrant disregard for international law, as well as recalling the Irish Ambassador to Israel in protest," he said.

The Derrybeg-based public representative said that the government must also now move to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

"A Sinn Fein motion to that effect was passed by the Dail in 2014. The Seanad did likewise, and despite a commitment in the Programme for Government, the government has dragged their heels. The government should do so at this critical time and to make a stand for peace and progress in the Middle East, he said.
Nissan is set to focus on SUVs and electric vehicles.

The Japanese brand announced that it will focus on high-riding family wagons and EVs in the future.

Nissan revealed the news during its announcement about the brand's withdrawal from Australian Supercars Racing, citing that the racing series no longer aligned with its current and future strategy in Australia.

"We have aligned our strategy to focus around EVs, SUVs and Nissan Intelligent Mobility, and that strategy will form our future course," said Nissan Australia boss, Stephen Lester.

Kelly Racing and Nissan Motorsport currently utilise Altima-based race cars, however, the Nissan Altima is no longer on sale in Australia. And the brand's withdrawal from the sport doesn't bode well for the next-generation machine's chances to make its way down under, which was recently revealed at the 2018 New York motor show in March and prmised a high-tech rival to the Toyota Camry. However, Nissan Australia would not rule out a return in the future.

"I would say with all product decisions we will entertain opportunities to bring those vehicles to market. At the moment I can not speculate whether or not Altima is on or off the table," said Lester.

As product plans go, it is a somewhat fluid process. My personal direction would be that we would not actually abandon [passenger cars]."

However, it was not just Altima that was culled from the local line-up, but all passenger cars including the Pulsar and Micra hatches. Lester did re-affirm the car maker's commitment to offering the new Leaf electric small car locally, which is more than likely to be the Japanese brand's solo local passenger car for the immediate future.

"I think with our announcement that the Nissan Leaf will be on sale this fiscal year you can see that we will bring passenger cars back to market."

Last year Nissan was put on notice by the Renault Nissan Alliance chief, Carlos Ghosn, who said the company would go on the offensive and that he could not believe that the brand could not grasp six per cent market share.

New Nissan Australia boss, Stephen Lester, ascertained that the car maker needed to change rapidly if it was to be successful and that that brand needed to focus on marketing and advertising its current crop of products rather than just bringing in new vehicles.

And it seems that the Nissan Pathfinder, X-Trail, Qashqai and Navara are to be to be Nissan's focus going forward.
Honda Australia has committed to offering its full suite of safety gear as standard on all next-generation models.

The brand says Honda Sensing, a comprehensive pack including autonomous emergency braking, active cruise control with a low speed following function, forward collision warning, lane keeping assistance and more, will be standard on every all-new model from the cheapest Jazz to premium sedans and SUVs.

Honda says the next-gen Jazz will benefit from the treatment when it arrives in 2020, but mid-life updates for current models such as the CR-V will not include the comprehensive package.

An upgraded HR-V set to arrive in coming weeks will feature improved safety credentials but not Honda Sensing, which was not engineered for the baby SUVs current platform.

Hondas decision will make it a leader in the safety stakes, moving a step beyond brands such as Mazda which offer autonomous emergency braking on all passenger cars.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins said the brand will have to educate consumers surrounding the benefits of advanced safety technology, as just 10 per cent of Honda customers placed driver aids toward the top of their list of requirements.

Honda is well known for its excellence in technology and while we are not first to market with this technology, we strive to ensure we are best to market, he said.

Im confident that our Honda Sensing package will provide Australian consumers with a system that is intuitive and effective in its role of driver assistance.

Unlike rival brands which offer technology such as autonomous emergency braking across a wide variety of models, Hondas current range only offers self-braking in a handful of models equipped with the full Honda Sensing suite.

Those cars include high-grade variants such as the Civic VTi-LX hatch and sedan, CR-V VTi-LX, Odyssey VTi-L and the Accord VTi-L and V6L duo. More affordable models miss out on AEB, which will be rolled out as existing vehicles are replaced with all-new alternatives.
Honda is targeting multicultural communities in critical metropolitan suburbs as part of its drive to remove deadly Takata airbags from Australian roads.

One man died in 2017 and at least one other person has been seriously injured in Australia as a result of faulty Takata airbags that can rupture when triggered in a crash, propelling lethal shrapnel toward vehicle occupants.

The Japanese manufacturer will focus on 10 postcodes in NSW and Victoria deemed to be the most critical for outstanding Takata airbag recalls.

As the site of Australias first and only fatal Takata incident so far, Cabramatta and its Western Sydney surrounds are number one on the list.

Nearby areas including Casula, Liverpool, Bankstown and Auburn all rank among the top five postcodes where Takata is struggling to get hold of people who own vehicles equipped with problematic parts.

Those suburbs represent some of the most ethnically diverse areas in Australia, prompting Honda to reach out to publications presented in a variety of languages including Arabic, Indian, Italian, Vietnamese and Chinese community newspapers.

In Victoria, St Albans, Hoppers Crossing, Werribee and surrounding areas represent challenges for the brand.

Honda has also worked in remote and regional communities by sending repair teams to areas such as Thursday Island, Mount Isa and Broome.

More than three million cars around Australia are affected by the nations largest safety campaign, an international scandal which triggered unprecedented mandatory recalls brought forward by the ACCC and Turnbull Government.

Honda has replaced 661,155 airbag inflators in 436,921 vehicles so far, at a rate of up to 7000 per week.

Some 44,719 Honda vehicles still need to be addressed including 7006 home to be the most dangerous Alpha variety of inflators.

Honda Australia director Stephen Collins said there were a number of reasons why people may have not brought cars in for free repairs, even if they have have received written recall notices.

Among them would be the age of the car, the vehicle not being known to our database and ultimately, in the case of some of these postcodes, where English is not the first language in the household, he said.

It doesnt matter how old your Honda is.

All Honda owners should check their vehicle and if its part of the Takata recall, then make arrangements to have the airbags replaced.

While many customers were initially asked to wait to receive spare parts, the manufacturer says it has a plentiful supply of replacement components manufactured by Diacel and Autoliv.

While the ACCC has previously been critical of car companies not doing enough to ensure deadly airbags are removed from vehicles, manufacturers have trawled through wrecking yards, sent people door-to-door with recall letters and established dedicated call centres, websites and social media campaigns to ensure the message gets through.

Several carmakers including Toyota, Mazda, Nissan and Honda have contributed to a central slush fund for a unified advertising campaign likely to start in the second half of the year.

Honda customers who require replacement airbags can arrange free repairs by contacting its recall hotline on 1800 789 839.

People requiring the use of an interpreter can contact the Honda language line on 1800 785 216.

Top 10 most critical postcodes for outstanding Takata repairs:

1. 2166  Cabramatta, Cabramatta West, Canley Heights, Canley Vale, Lansvale (NSW)

2. 2170  Casula, Casula Mall, Chipping Norton, Hammondville, Liverpool, Liverpool

South, Liverpool Westfield, Lurnea, Moorebank, Mount Prichard, Prestons, Warwick Farm (NSW)

3. 2200  Bankstown, Bankstown Aerodrome, Bankstown North, Bankstown Square,

Condell Park, Manahan, Mount Lewis (NSW)

4. 2144  Auburn (NSW)

5. 3021  Albanville, Kealba, Kings Park, St Albans (Vic)

6. 2145  Constitution Hill, Girraween, Greystanes, Mays Hill, Pemulwuy, Pendle Hill,

South Wentworthville, Wentworthville, Westmead (NSW)

7. 2176  Abbotsbury, Bossley Park, Edensor Park, Greenfield Park, Prairiewood, St Johns

Park, Wakeley (NSW)

8. 3029  Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit, Truganina (Vic)

9. 2165  Fairfield, Fairfield East, Fairfield Heights, Fairfield West (NSW)

10. 3030  Werribee, Werribee South, Cocoroc, Derrimut, Point Cook, Quandong (Vic)

Source: Honda Australia.


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Several countries -- including the United States, France and Germany -- have pointed a finger at Russia for meddling in their elections. Part 1 of this two-part series covers how Russia used social media as a big part of that effort.

Facebook has been scrambling to win back the public's trust since the Russia and Cambridge Analytica scandal. However, it's not clear what exactly hostile nation states have been up to on social media. For example, has Russia merely been making an opportunistic play on Facebook and capitalizing on users' gullibility? Or have we, the American public, been targeted as the virtual victims in a cyberwar?

Defining 'Cyberwar'

There are casualties and victims of election meddling. For example, the election of an anti-immigrant candidate in a conflict zone could result in refugees being turned away and left to die. A war hawk might spin up new wars or scale up existing ones, resulting in casualties in all affected countries.

Conversely, meddling to get someone elected who would lift trade sanctions or otherwise favor the interfering country could reduce the number of people adversely affected by shortages. All of this is to say that yes, elections have consequences. They affect people in the real world, and often all around the world.

That being the case, might Russia's meddling with the U.S. presidential and other elections constitute acts of war? Have we become pawns in a cyberwar, or even casualties of a sort?

"Russian meddling in U.S. elections is a serious problem, and their fake news on Facebook may be illegal if it is intended to sway elections," said W. K. Kellogg Associate Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.

"However, I would hesitate to call it 'cyberwar.' If political messaging to influence another country's population is cyberwar, then America's 'Voice of America' radio programming overseas would be cyberwar," he told the E-Commerce Times.

It appears that the U.S. government agrees that cyberattacks and social media manipulations do not in themselves constitute a state of war. The Department of Defense Law of War Manual defines the proper labeling of various aggressions and delivers guidance to the U.S. Armed Forces on such matters. This extensive tome addresses digital attacks with physical impacts, such as an attack on a dam or a power grid, but it doesn't consider theft of personal data or defacing websites as an act of war.

Others agree there must be a physical element with the cyberattack to qualify as cyberwar. Some argue that Russia's attacks on voting machines could be that qualifying element.

"To fully understand the risk to voting, one needs to understand the full lifecycle or cyber key terrain of elections," said Laura Lee, EVP for rapid prototyping at Circadence.

"In the case of nation state election voting, key terrain includes the vendor who manufactures the system, the voting registration database and software system, the end-point voting machine, and the back-end infrastructure that tallies and hopefully audits the system."

However, attacks on voting machines may not qualify as physical attacks either.

"A cyberwar is determined when a nation-state carries out an offensive and aggressive attack on another nation; however, it is typically used to ensure that traditional weapons are more successful by taking out any defensive or intelligence capabilities," explained Joseph Carson, chief security scientist at Thycotic.

"Cyber typically is used to weaken the target before carrying out other attacks," he told the E-Commerce Times.

"We are currently in a cyberoffensive, and cyberweapons are being used; however, we are not quite yet in a full all out cyberwar," Carson said.

"Cyber is typically only one element of war," he pointed out. When cyberweapons are "combined with traditional weapons, then we can confidently say yes -- we are in a cyberwar."

Cause and Attribution

Like most forms of nation-state sponsored aggressions, pinning the act to the right culprit is challenging -- and if you can't answer the whodunit question, it's hard to pinpoint a cause.

"Misdirection is often used in cyberattacks to create conflict or wrong conclusions, so the victim of the cybercrime is continuously looking in the wrong direction and wasting resources chasing after another victim," Carson explained.

"Attribution is actually one of the most difficult parts of cyberattacks. Without concrete and transparent evidence, we can only go on trust that the government has conducted effective digital forensics, and without doubt attribute those cyberattacks back to Russian government," he added.

Given the well-documented mistrust between the Trump administration and the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), it is unclear whether the administration would accept or act upon such digital forensics. Certainly, it has been loath to do so thus far.

However, the IC is unlikely to base attribution on digital forensics alone. It has other methods of deducing who is behind what action. Thus, its attributions are likely to be more certain than those of a private sector security research firm that does not benefit from government resources.

Unfortunately, the IC doesn't like to reveal its methods in court as part of discovery, which is why it is rare for formal criminal charges to be leveled against nation-state sponsored culprits. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's recent indictments of 13 Russians is one exception that proves the rule, but it is not the only exception. From time to time, the U.S. government has listed nation-sponsored cyberattackers on the FBI's Most Wanted List.

In other words, nation-state sponsored cyberattacks and social media manipulations have been treated as crimes rather than as acts of war.

"Russia's delivery of fake news is opportunistic. It applies Russian genius for propaganda to Western democracies' open, data-enhanced Internet delivery channels," said the University of Michigan's Toyama.

Social Media Propaganda

Several countries have attributed recent election meddling to Russia, and have identified social media as Russian President Vladimir Putin's biggest propaganda tools.

"Technology's primary impact is to amplify underlying human forces. Facebook amplified the effect of Russian meddling, whose underlying causes are political," said Toyama.

"There would be no Russian fake news scandal unless Russia were willing to fund the creation, dissemination, and targeted advertising of fake news abroad," he said.

While several countries have agreed that social media was at the crux of recent Russian attacks on elections, their strategies for dealing with it have differed. The European Union has launched voter education programs and adopted the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to help protect elections there. However, the U.S. has made no comparable effort, and it has no national data privacy protections at all.

Facebook had been working to appease the American public in the hope of avoiding stiff regulations. It recently suspended hundreds of apps in its effort to prevent another Cambridge Analytica user data abuse scheme.

However, those steps appear to have had little effect on restoring user trust.

Trust in Facebook has dropped by 66 percent since the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the downward trend has continued, a recent Ponemon Institute survey found.

It appears that the U.S. may need to follow the EU's lead on voter education and regulations if elections are to be protected from malevolent foreign influences.

"Regulations at least as strict as those that apply to broadcast media with respect to elections should apply to the Internet and social media," argued Toyama. "To begin with, there must be 'know your customer' rules for Internet advertising platforms -- it's not enough to accept ads from anyone with the money to pay for them."

Pam Baker has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2007. Her main areas of focus are technology, business and finance. She has written hundreds of articles for leading publications including InformationWeek, Institutional Investor magazine, CIO.com and TechTarget. She has authored several analytical studies on technology, as well as eight books, the latest of which is Data Divination: Big Data Strategies. She also wrote and produced an award-winning documentary on paper-making. She is a member of the National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists and the Internet Press Guild. Email Pam.


By Matt Davis

California's environmental protections are not for sale. That's the message California voters sent to out-of-state plastic bag manufacturers when they upheld Proposition 67 by 53 to 47 percent in November. But how did the Golden State manage to win a state-wide bag ban against a national political backdrop that went the other way?

We Were Massively Outspent, But Had Broader Support

Five out-of-state plastic bag makers spent more than $6 million on the campaign to repeal the ban. Whereas as the campaign to ban plastic bags had a meagre budget of $1.9 million.

"Rarely in California history do local organizations running a shoestring campaign beat out-of-state deep pockets," said Dan Jacobson, with Environment California, who spent weeks in the run-up to the election driving around the state with an enormous inflatable turtle, aiming to draw voters' attention to the risks plastic bags pose to wildlife.

Save the Plastic Bag Ban Campaign brought their inflated Turtle mascot on UC Berkeley campus to raise awareness about Prop 67 and the ban of single use plastic bags in California. Khaled Sayed

The bag-makers' campaign had just four contributors. The campaign to ban plastic bags was backed by more than 500 organizations, from environmental groups to business organizations and dozens of cities and counties. More than 70 percent of the campaign's funding came from contributions from the environmental community. More than 40 newspapers endorsed the campaign.

"For me personally, as a movement-leader, I was deeply impressed by the energy and organization of this diverse coalition," said Shana DeClercq from The Story of Stuff Project. "Cities, mayors, non-profits large and small, individual advocates all pulled together in a cohesive way."

The Save the Plastic Bag Ban Campaign began at the grassroots level long before the election, said Marce Gutierrez-Graudins, founder and director of Azul, an organization seeking to raise up Latino voices on marine conservation issues.

"Legislators told us Latinos were either 'too poor to care' or didn't support legislation to ban plastic bags at all," Gutierrez-Graudins said. "We actually knew better and this is where the bag campaign really took off."

Azul enlisted the help of civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, who penned a couple of op-eds on the issue, as well as Jose Hernandez, a very well-known former astronaut who signed an op-ed of his own, stressing the science behind bag bans.

Azul helped to organize a poll, which reached only people of color throughout the state, and showed an overwhelming support of Latinos and African Americans for a plastic bag ban. They ran in-language focus groups in Los Angeles and San Jose to refine messaging.

"We flipped the script, so to speak, where now Latino staff, elected and community leaders saw themselves as trend setters versus followers," Gutierrez-Graudins said.

"I believe it is extremely important to highlight the enthusiastic support from the Latino community for Prop 67," she said.

California Had a Huge Problem on Our Hands

"When Californians become fed up with a problem, we fix it," said Ryan Kallabis, a spokesman for Save Our Shores. "Nothing that is used for less than five minutes should pollute our environment for centuries."

And yet, plastic pollution was posing a huge problem for the world's sixth-largest economy. California Sec. of State Alex Padilla, who introduced SB-270, the legislation that led to the statewide ban, said that three years ago, California retailers were distributing 19 billion single-use plastic shopping bags every year.

"In 2017," he said, "that number will be zero."

In the weeks since the ban passed, an estimated 25 million plastic bags each day will have been eliminated from the waste stream.

We Started Local and It Worked

Plastic bags kill wildlife and pollute our environment. The evidence is overwhelming that banning plastic bags in local jurisdictions save wildlife and reduce pollution. At the time of the election, more than 40 percent of California communities were already living without plastic shopping bags through local ordinance. Those communities didn't want to roll back.

Ironically, the same bag makers behind trying to overturn our statewide ban have been working with the American Legislative Exchange Council to pass statewide bans on local bag bans. They say states should have the right to decide on bans as a whole, but local bans pave the way for state bans like in California, and are crucially important.

We Got Creative and Worked With Our Allies to Spread the Word

"We knew that because we were working with a small budget, the Yes on Prop 67 campaign would be won or lost on the outreach and free media components," said Wendy James, CEO of Better World Group, which chaired the statewide campaign. "We had to rely on our NGO partners. And we had to build a broad coalition. We never turned down a request for a speaking engagement or debate, an opportunity for a letter to the editor or op-ed, and we used our broad base of supporters in a statewide media tour the final month, doing close to 20 news conferences in every media market in the state."

Clean Water Action and our allies at Save The Bay led a loose coalition of Northern California environmental groups in brainstorming creative ways to get out the liberal Bay Area vote. The groups worked closely with Save The Bay and took thousands of plastic bags back to the headquarters of Novolex, the world's biggest plastic bag manufacturer, based in South Carolina, broadcasting the action in partnership with Courage Campaign on Facebook Live.

We worked with a local dance studio to stage a Thriller-themed plastic flash mob, taking over a downtown street in Oakland on the eve of Halloween.

More than 50,000 Californians signed a petition to the CEO of Novolex, Stan Bikulege, following a mass email organized in partnership with the Daily Kos. The Story of Stuff used its extensive global network to pump out our message to plastic pollution activists all over the world, and garner added support.

"The Story of Stuff global community was passionately interested in the outcome here," DeClerq said. "We heard voices all over the world encouraging Californians to stand up against Big Plastic. From Ireland to Buenos Aires to Botswana, people cheered us on."

Celebrities also got involved, said Dianna Cohen with the Plastic Pollution Coalition. Her organization's video of movie star Jeff Bridges was viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, drawing precious attention to the issue.

California Took the Lead

Statewide bans are now in the offing in Oregon and New Hampshire, and a state representative in North Carolina said he is planning to introduce legislation modeled on California proposition.

At Clean Water Action, we're keen to serve as guides for people considering similar laws around the country. We're also trying to stop waste at its source, by working with businesses and institutions to redesign the way they use single-use disposable packaging with our ReThink Disposable program.



If you'd like to learn more, please get in touch.

Matt Davis is the California communications director for Clean Water Action. He can be reached at [email protected].
Margot Kidder, the iconic actress who passed away Sunday at age 69, was most famous for playing Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve in the Superman films as an intrepid journalist who didn't let her lack of superpowers stop her from fighting for what she believed in. In real life, Kidder was similarly heroic in her commitment to protecting the environment.

Climate action activist and 350.org founder Bill McKibben took to Twitter Monday to honor her contributions to the movement.

In 2011, Kidder was arrested outside the White House as part of a protest against the Keystone XL pipeline designed to pipe crude oil from the Alberta tar sands to the Gulf Coast of the U.S., The Huffington Post reported.



The movement against the pipeline claimed a victory when President Barack Obama rejected it in 2015, but President Donald Trump reversed that decision upon taking office.

Kidder, who lived in Montana in latter life, protested the pipeline by refusing to leave a White House sidewalk with three other self-described "Montana grandmothers."

"We're the first state the pipeline goes through," Kidder said at the time.

"It's bound to leak, there's no way it's not going to ... they always assure us these things are safe, and they never are safe," Kidder said.

Kidder also spoke out against fracking, lending her voice and face to a video urging people to join her in Washington, DC for a July 2012 protest to Stop the Frack Attack.

In the video, Kidder spoke out against the fossil fuel industry as a whole.

"The problem is not just fracking," she said. "It's that the energy companies, oil and gas in particular, have been given pretty much a free reign to do whatever they want, even if that means destroying people's lives, their livelihood and the planet as we know it."

At the end of the video, she urged action based on a concern for future generations.

"My grandchildren's lives are going to be much tougher and much less beautiful than mine was, and so are yours, so join us in trying to save our planet before it's too late."

Kidder was born in Canada in the Northwest Territories. In a video explaining her participation in the Keystone XL protest, she mentioned her Canadian upbringing. "This affects me in two ways," she said, referring to her experience in both Northern Canada and Montana. She became a U.S. citizen in 2005.

In addition to supporting environmental causes, she also spoke out against the Gulf War in the early 1990s and the Iraq War in the early 2000s.

She died quietly in her sleep in her home in Livingston, Montana, Variety reported.
By Marnie Cunningham

The Pacific nation of Vanuatu is addressing its waste problem by banning certain plastic items. Prime Minister Charlot Salwai made a public declaration on Independence Day (July 30) that they would be phasing out the use of plastic bags and bottles.

According to the Vanuatu Daily Post, PM Salwai stated in his announcement that it was his government's priority to protect Vanuatu's environment and oceans and to keep the country "clean and safe."

When implemented the ban will mean that the country will no longer allow the use or importation of single use plastic bags and bottles. And if the ban does come into effect, Vanuatu will be the first Pacific countries to do so.

According to LOOP, Vanuatu will be joining American Samoa, the Marshall Islands and the Micronesian state of Yap in its fight against plastic pollution. Last week Northern Marianas passed a bill that means shops will now be fined if they offer shoppers plastic bags, with the Solomon Islands considering implementing similar penalties. Fiji will also be soon introducing a levy on plastic bags, which will now cost shoppers 10 Fiji cents per bag.



This announcement came after a campaign to ban plastic bags was run during National Environment Week in June. The online petition to ban bags drew attention to the damage plastic causes to oceans and marine life.



Back in 2015, during National Environment Week, the Vanuatu Environment Science Society held a nationwide "Clean Up Your Environment Day" encouraging people to pick up rubbish. They later sorted the litter that was collected and conducted a survey noting the different types of litter that was affecting different areas including underwater. The most common item found was plastic bags and plastic food wrappers.



Let's hope Vanuatu follows through on the ban and sets the bar for other Pacific nations to follow suit.

Reposted with permission from our media associate Global Citizen.
By Elliott Negin

With U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt's job now hanging in the balance, it is a good time to recall that, just after his Senate confirmation, he gave a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) that emphasized the three principles he said would stand at "the heart of how we do business at the EPA": process, rule of law, and federalism.

A little more than a year into his tenure, he has violated all of them.

Subverting Process

"Number one," Pruitt told his CPAC audience, "we're going to pay attention to process."

In fact, as we now know, Pruitt has a long track recordgoing back to his days in Oklahomaof flouting official procedures when it suits him.

Most troubling is Pruitt's disdain for EPA policy procedures, which have a considerable impact on public health. Just this week, Pruitt undercut the EPA's long-established process for drafting strong, protective regulations by proposing that the agency no longer accept studies if all of their data isn't publicly available. That would mean the agency would have to ignore most epidemiological studies, which rely on private medical information that cannot and should not be shared.

Polluter-funded members of Congress have tried to pass bills instituting this restriction for years, despite the fact that it would violate the EPA's obligation to use the best available science to protect public health. Sure enough, emails obtained by the Union of Concerned Scientists show that political appointees, not career staff or scientists, were behind the proposal, and they only considered its potential impact on industry. In response, nearly 1,000 scientists sent a letter to Pruitt asking him to back off.

Pruitt also packed the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) with industry scientists, overturning four decades of precedent by banning scientists who have received EPA grants from serving on the SAB or any other agency advisory panel. Why? Pruitt claims they have a conflict of interest. Pruitt did not renew terms for a number of respected members and dismissed several independent scientists before their terms were up, shrinking the SAB from 47 to 42 participants and more than doubling the number of its polluter-friendly members.

Likewise, Pruitt has little use for standard EPA administrative procedures. The Government Accountability Office, for example, recently found that he violated federal law by ordering a $43,000 soundproof phone booth. Political appointees, it turns out, have to clear office improvement purchases over $5,000 with Congress. Unlike his predecessors, he has routinely flown first class, and so far it has cost taxpayers more than $150,000. He tripled the size of the administrator's security team to 19 agents, and according to CNN their annual salaries alone cost at least $2 million. He has a 24-hour-a-day bodyguard. He rented a condo for $50 a nightwell below market valuefrom the wife of an energy lobbyist who met with Pruitt last July and lobbies EPA on behalf of his clients. The list of Pruitt's ethical infractions goes on and on.

Breaking the Rule of Law

"When rule of law is applied it provides certainty to those that are regulated," Pruitt explained during that CPAC speech. "Those in industry should know what is expected of them. Those in industry should know how to allocate their resources to comply with the regulations passed by the EPA."

It's hard to argue with that. Of course industrial facility owners should be clear about their responsibility to curb emissions. Under Pruitt, however, polluters can be certain about at least one thing: There's a good chance they won't be prosecuted. For Pruitt, the rule of law is made to be broken.

In its first year in office, the Trump administration resolved only 48 environmental civil cases, about a third fewer than under President Barack Obama's first EPA director and less than half under President George W. Bush's over the same time period, according to a February report by the Environmental Integrity Project. The Trump administration recovered just $30 million in penalties from these cases, nearly 60 percent less than the $71 million the Obama administration recovered in its first year.

A December analysis by The New York Times comparing the first nine months of the Trump regime with previous administrations also found a marked decline in enforcement. It determined that the EPA under Pruitt initiated about 1,900 enforcement cases, about a third fewer than during the Obama administration and about a quarter fewer than the Bush administration over the same time frame.

Meanwhile, Pruittwho sued the EPA 14 times to block stronger air, water and climate safeguards during his tenure as Oklahoma attorney generalis now trying to roll back environmental protections from the inside. Since taking office, he has moved quickly to delay or weaken a range of Obama-era regulations, including ones that protect the public from toxic pesticides, lead paint and vehicle emissions.

Ironically, Pruitt's cavalier attitude about following procedures has thus far blunted his wrecking-ball campaign. "In their rush to get things done, they're failing to dot their 'I's and cross their 'T's, and they're starting to stumble over a lot of trip wires," Richard Lazarus, a Harvard environmental law professor, told The New York Times. "They're producing a lot of short, poorly crafted rulemakings that are not likely to hold up in court."

Federalism for all but California

"So process matters, rule of law matters, but let me tell you this: What really matters is federalism," Pruitt told the CPAC faithful. "We are going to once again pay attention to the states across the country. I believe people in Oklahoma, in Texas, in Indiana, in Ohio, and New York and California, and in all the states across the country, they care about the air they breathe, and they care about the water they drink, and we are going to be partners with these individuals [sic], not adversaries."

California? He must have forgotten that when he lashed out at the state for embracing stronger vehicle fuel economy standards than what he and the auto industry would prefer. "California is not the arbiter of these issues," Pruitt said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in mid-March. California sets state limits on carbon emissions, he said, but "that shouldn't and can't dictate to the rest of the country what these levels are going to be."

California, which has a waiver under the 1970 Clean Air Act giving it the right to set its own vehicle emissions standards, reached an agreement with the Obama administration and the auto industry that established the first limits on tailpipe carbon emissions. The next phase of the standards calls for improving the average fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks to about 50 miles per gallon by 2025 in lab tests, corresponding to a real-world performance of about 36 mpg. By 2030, that would reduce global warming pollution by nearly 4 billion tons, akin to shutting down 140 coal-fired power plants over that time frame.

California wants to stick with the standards. Pruitt, echoing the specious claims of auto industry trade groups, announced in early April that he wants to roll them back. Putting aside the fact that the auto industry's own analysis concluded that carmakers can meet the 2025 targets primarily with conventional vehicles, what happened to Pruitt's "cooperative federalism" ideal, especially since California is not acting alone?

Thirteen states, mostly in the Northeast and Northwest, and the District of Columbia have adopted California's stricter emissions standards. Together they represent at least a third of the U.S. auto market. And in response to Pruitt's roll-back announcement, 12 state attorneys general and 63 mayors from 26 states released a declaration supporting the stronger standards. "Such standards are particularly appropriate given the serious public impacts of air pollution in our cities and states and the severe impacts of climate change," the declaration reads. "If the administration attempts to deny states and cities the basic right to protect their citizens, we will strongly challenge such an effort in court."

That declaration sounds a lot like what Pruitt endorsed at the conclusion of his CPAC speech, but of course he was referring to state efforts to weaken federal environmental safeguards, not strengthen them. "We are going to restore power back to the people," he said. "We are going to recognize the regulatory uncertainty and the regulatory state needs to be reined in, we're going to make sure the states are recognized for the authority they have, and we are going to do the work that's important to advance freedom and liberty for the future. It's an exciting time.

"The folks in D.C. have a new attitude," Pruitt continued. "It's an attitude that no longer are we going to dictate to those across the country and tell them how to live each and every day. It's an attitude that says we're going to empower citizens and the states. It's an idea of federalism and believing in liberty."

The CPAC crowd gave him a standing ovation, but the reception he's now getting from both Democrats and Republicans alike is considerably cooler. At this point, Mr. Pruitt may soon find himself out of a job.

Elliott Negin is a senior writer in the Communications Department at the Union of Concerned Scientists.


The growing movement to stamp out plastic straws is spreading to San Francisco.

Supervisors Katy Tang and Ahsha Safai plan to unveil on Tuesday legislation that prohibits restaurants, bars and coffee shops from serving plastic straws, stirrers or cocktail sticks with beverages, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Instead of the disposable items, the lawmakers suggested businesses hand out compostable or reusable alternatives.

A number Californian cities, including San Luis Obispo, Davis and Malibu already have ordinances regulating the use and distribution of plastic straws.

"Why do we have straws all the time?" Safai told the Chronicle. "And if we're going to have straws, it's easy to have an alternative that's much more recyclable or reusable or washable."

In the U.S., an estimated 500 million plastic straws are discarded every day, which can pollute oceans and cause harm to marine life.

"It's sort of this moment where everyone is realizing just how many straws people are using on a daily basis, and that we really need to get a handle on this, or else our environment is going to suffer," Tang also told the publication.

This past Earth Day, volunteers picked up hundreds of pounds of plastic trash, including numerous straws and lids, polluting the San Francisco Bay, as Bay Keeper executive director Sejal Choksi-Chugh tweeted:

Notably, Tang and Safai's bill goes beyond plastic straws. Beverage lids, condiment packets and napkins would only be available upon request or at self-serve stations, the Chronicle reported.

Additionally, events on city property with 100 people or more must have reusable cups as an option for at least 10 percent of attendees.

If approved, the bill would take effect in July 2019. The city's Department of the Environment would help businesses comply with the new rule by providing a list of suppliers that carry approved products.

San Francisco has an ambitious goal of sending zero waste to landfill by 2020. The famously progressive city has already banned plastic shopping bags and polystyrene foam, aka Styrofoam. Sales of single-use plastic water bottles are also prohibited on city property.

*Note: The 500 million straws a day statistic stated in this article comes from the nonprofit Eco-Cycle. The statistic has been widely used in other media outlets including The New York Times, Reuters, CNN, as well as by the National Park Service. The statistic has received criticism, and in July 2018, the New York Times published a story about the debate, stating that "market research firms put the figure between 170 million and 390 million per day."
Across the U.S., a growing epidemic of toxic algal blooms is polluting lakes and other waterways, according to a new report by the Environmental Working Group.

Toxic algal blooms occur when chemical pollution from farms and other sources runs off into waterways, forming a thick, green, soup-like substance on the surface. The blooms are hazardous to human health and can even kill pets. And they can make tap water unsafe to drink, as residents of Toledo, Ohio, learned in 2014, when a massive bloom blanketed Lake Erie and invaded the city's water supply.

"Toledo was a wake-up call for many people," said Craig Cox, EWG's senior vice president for agriculture and natural resources. "It was the first major city to declare its water supply unsafe for human consumption due to a toxic algal bloom. But many more Americans are experiencing the damage these blooms can wreakand the problem is getting worse."

No government entity tracks blooms nationwide, but EWG's analysis of news coverage and satellite imagery found that, since 2010, nearly 300 blooms have been recorded in lakes, rivers and bays in 48 states. The problem has grown exponentially during that period: 169 toxic blooms were reported in 40 states in 2017, compared to only three blooms in 2010.

The EWG report includes an interactive map of 288 blooms, as well as before-and-after satellite photos of 24 blighted lakes in 12 states and a short video about the Lake Erie bloom, which is now an annual phenomenon. And Lake Erie isn't the only place with a reliable yearly bloomin recent years federal regulators began issuing an annual "bloom forecast" for some coastal states and plan to expand the program.

Toxic algal blooms have erupted in every state. In California, state agencies recently raised alarm about the problem, noting 141 public health alerts by state and local authorities in 2017 alone. In 2016, Florida declared a state of emergency in four counties inundated by a huge bloom.

Algal blooms can cause fish die-offs and harm other marine life, and they can devastate local economies by curbing tourism and recreational activities like swimming, fishing and boating. Blooms often reach their peak in the summer, but can also occur well into the fall and winter. In many places, they are forming earlier each year. Changing weather patterns associated with climate change exacerbate the issue.

What's usually referred to as blue-green algae are actually photosynthetic organisms called cyanobacteria. And not all algal blooms are toxic. They become dangerous when they create byproducts such as microcystin, the toxin that contaminated Toledo's water. Short-term exposure to microcystins through skin contact, ingestion or inhalation can cause sore throat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and liver damage. Long-term exposure can lead to cancer, liver failure and sperm damage.

While algal blooms can happen naturally, the recent spike is indisputably linked to pollution from farms. When fertilizer and animal manure run off into lakes, streams and bays, chemicalsincluding phosphorouscan spur the unchecked growth of cyanobacteria, particularly in warm weather.

"Farmers are largely exempt from the Clean Water Act," Cox said. "And the rising number of blooms is directly related to the staggering intensification of crop and livestock production. Farmers get billions of taxpayer dollars each year through federal farm and insurance subsidies. It's more than fair to ask them to take steps to prevent pollution in return for such generous support from their fellow citizens."

Simple techniques like planting strips of grass next to streams and applying fertilizer using precision methods can cut water pollution from farms.

"Voluntary programs alone aren't getting the job done. It is far past time to expect landowners to meet basic standards of caring for their land and our water," Cox said.

At two hearings last month, Environmental Protection Agency Chief Scott Pruitt was repeatedly asked by lawmakers from Ohio about the EPA's plans to combat algal blooms under its authority from the Clean Water Act.
In less than two months, one of the toughest bans on single-use plastics in the Pacific will take effect.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai announced the initiative last year to ban plastic bags, drinking straws and polystyrene foam containers in order to protect the environment and oceans and to keep the country "clean and safe."

Starting this July 1, it would be an offense to manufacture, sell or give away such items on the nation, which consists of roughly 80 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean.

The only exception is for plastics that are used to contain, wrap or carry meat or fish.

In January, companies and retailers were given six months to adjust to the new rule and to use up their existing supplies.

Vanuatu's Daily Post reported Monday that the government is hosting a workshop this week to offer details of the ban and to increase the public's awareness of plastic pollution. The workshop will host representatives from across Vanuatu.

Vanuatu is famed for its beautiful beaches, clear waters and spectacular reefs. However, plastic pollution has become a growing problem. In 2015, during National Environment Week, the Vanuatu Environment Science Society held a nationwide "Clean Up Your Environment Day" that collected 5,126 pieces of litter in four sites. The most common item found was plastic bags and plastic food wrappers.

The government has ambitions to become completely free of plastic.

"We're also looking to ban all plastic knives, forks, straws, those kinds of things," Vanuatu's foreign affairs minister Ralph Regenvanu told Australia's ABC News in January.

"We are working with the private sector to make as sure as possible we don't adversely affect companies who are manufacturing plastic products in Vanuatu."

During Commonwealth Heads of State conference last month, Vanuatu and the United Kingdom established the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance to tackle plastic pollution.
Continuous improvement has quickly become a buzzword in K-12 policy and practice, as states, districts, and schools strive for systemic, long-term gains in student achievement, instead of looking for the next, shiniest silver bullet.

In fact, even without much meaningful prodding from the federal government, states have woven the strategy in various forms into their plans for implementing the Every Student Succeeds Act. Those plans, which go into effect this school year, will help guide goal-setting, accountability, and school improvement for the foreseeable future.

Although the emphasis on continuous improvement varies, We now have 50 plans that say, We have data, were looking at the data, were using it to set plans, were not just picking something out of a hat and hoping,  said Paige Kowalski, the executive vice president of the Data Quality Campaign, a research and advocacy organization that has conducted a forthcoming analysis of continuous improvement in ESSA plans.

See Also: A Primer on Continuous School Improvement

ESSA, which passed back in 2015, does not explicitly mention continuous improvement, a broad term for using certain structures and tools, especially data, to explore and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of systems and schools and pinpoint solutions over time in a sort of running feedback loop. And the application that the Trump administration gave states to use for federal plans doesnt ask about it specifically, either.

But ESSA supporters say the law is aimed at moving away from the compliance-driven system of its predecessor, the No Child Left Behind Act, giving states the chance to charge forward on their own visions. States must set long-range and shorter-term goals for student achievement and graduation rates, and come up with their own strategies for fixing low-performing schools, instead of relying on federally dictated interventions.

Rethinking Systems

A handful of states are using the law as an opportunity to rethink their systems through a continuous-improvement lens, according to experts who have analyzed the plans.

Some states are revamping their state education agencies, putting a greater focus on using data to support all schools and districts, not just the ones that are struggling the most. Others are using data and constant evaluationmajor tenets of continuous improvementto inform and refine their efforts to use evidence based interventions with the lowest-performing schools, as ESSA requires. And still others have pledged to keep revisiting and revising their ESSA plans.

Tailored Approaches Although the term isnt specified in the Every Student Succeeds Act itself, state plans for ESSA are embracing some form of continuous improvementsystemic changes, informed by data, aimed at helping schools, districts, and state education agencies bolster outcomes for students over time. Among the examples in ESSA plans submitted to the federal government: Tennessee

Developed a School Improvement Support Network as part of a redesigned Office of School Improvement to help districts craft plans to improve low-performing schools. The network trains district and state officials on understanding the needs of low-performing schools, and identifying the root causes of their problems, employing data in the school improvement process. New York

Set initial long-term goals for the first five years of ESSA plan implementation and will continuously update its goals for achievement and graduation rates annually. That way the goals can be regularly adjusted based on student outcomes over time. Ohio

Working with Proving Ground, an initiative out of Harvard University, to study the impact of evidence-based interventions on low-performing schools. New Mexico

Working to develop a real time data system that will help the state and schools answer questions like how many 9th graders are behind where they need to be in terms of credit, or how many students have transferred from one school to another. Has reached out to the education community to get feedback on the states submitted ESSA plan. Vermont

Districts and schools must submit continuous improvement plans to the state that take into account both quantitative data such as test scores and graduation rates and qualitative data from school quality reviews performed by neighboring educators. Sources: Data Quality Campaign, Education Counsel, Results for America, Bellwether Education Partners, Collaborative for Student Success, Education Week.

Still, some experts were disappointed with the quality of state plans on continuous improvement.

Incentivizing continuous improvement, I think, is actually the point of ESSA, and very few people are doing that well, said Joanne Weiss, who served as the chief of staff to former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Weiss participated in a review of state plans that focused in part on continuous improvement and that was spearheaded by Bellwether Education Partners, a consulting organization, and the Collaborative for Student Success, an advocacy group.

Most states are super vague. They just generally offer vague lists of evidence-based interventions that districts may use, Weiss said.

But Dan Gordon, a senior legal and policy adviser for EducationCounsel, an education consulting firm, noted that continuous improvement isnt something states were asked to address. Its not a strong theme in enough state plans, he said, but there are a number of states [where it is] at the heart of their theory of action, said Gordon, who has worked on an analysis of continuous improvement in ESSA plans for Results for America, a research organization, as well as a forthcoming look at the topic from EducationCounsel.

The states that spoke to it, some of them really spoke to it in deep and meaningful ways that are exciting for what it could be, he said.

Continuous improvement, which blends popular concepts from the business, nonprofit, and health-care worlds, is of deep interest to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates has or is currently providing funding for the Collaborative for Student Success, EducationCounsel, the Data Quality Campaign, and Education Week, although not always for the specific purpose of studying continuous improvement.

Some states have used ESSA as an opportunity to rethink how their state education agencies engage on school improvement across the board.

For instance, Georgia is making a shift from having one school improvement office focused on the schools with the biggest problems to having the entire state education agency consider the needs of all schools and districts in the statefrom long-flailing schools to the highest flyers. The state has divided its schools into four tiers, including one for schools that havent been identified for extra support under ESSA.

The law requires states and districts to give intensive help to schools in the bottom 5 percent of performers and those where vulnerable subgroups of students arent performing well. But it isnt as specific about what happens in schools that seem to be chugging along just fine.

Georgia though, wants to identify potential trouble spots early on. Were trying to be more proactive instead of reactive, said Matt Jones, the chief of staff to Richard Woods, the state superintendent of schools. Instead of waiting for a school to get on a list, how can we provide some services and support up front to all our schools and districts?

That means that even some high-performing schools have had state officials pop by to examine instruction or offer professional development, Jones said.

And the state is moving away from confining school improvement to a single office. Instead, it is tapping the expertise of staffers who focus on teacher quality, leadership, or curriculum, to help meet the needs of its schools, Jones said.

Other states are moving in a similar direction, according to Results for Americas analysis.

Continuum of Support

For instance, Ohio is planning to place all its districts in a continuum of support to figure out what kinds of extra help they need from their state education agency. In the Buckeye State, districts could get assistance in bolstering data quality, or tap the services of an improvement liaison with expertise in the sort of evidence based interventions ESSA calls for. And in Vermont, every school and district, whether it is low- or high-performing, must submit a continuous improvement plan to the state. Kentucky is taking a similar approach, according to the Results for America analysis.

In Vermont, these continuous improvement plans will be informed both by hard datalike test scores and graduation ratesand more holistic feedback that comes directly from educators in neighboring districts. For the past year, educators in the Green Mountain State have conducted school quality reviews, in which a team of outside educators works with a nearby district, giving feedback on everything from curriculum to social and emotional learning.

The reviews, which arent punitive, have sometimes identified significant differences in instruction from one school to another, even within the same small district, officials say.

Sometimes the school district is aware that there are disparities, but to hear that or have that affirmed by an outside group of educators, ... it really gives it some legs, said Jesse Roy, the education quality assurance coordinator at the Vermont education agency.

And New Mexico is piloting a real-time data system, with an initial 20 districts participating. The goal is to allow the state to probe beyond just reading and math achievement, figuring out, for example, the number of 9th graders who are behind where they need to be on their credits, or how many 6th graders have missed more than 10 days of school, said Christopher Ruszkowski, the states secretary of education.

That data will help inform the states policymaking and improvement process, Ruszkowski said. For instance, data could help officials figure out whats behind changes in a schools overall ratingwhy one school went from a B to a D on the states grading system over the course of just a few years, he explained.

When you have a strong performance management in place, you want to ask the next set of questions around whats driving performance, Ruszkowski said.

Other states have set up research partnerships to improve plan implementation, according to DQCs forthcoming analysis. For instance, Tennessee has partnered with outside academic researchers to help inform its school improvement vision. The partnerships run through the Tennessee Education Research Alliance at Vanderbilt University.

Struggling Schools

And of course, another key aspect of continuous improvement: How are states helping schools and districts support the low-performing schools and those where vulnerable groups of students are struggling?

ESSA requires districts to use evidence based interventions in those schools. Educators are supposed to carefully monitor these strategies to make sure that they are working.

Fifteen states said they plan to collect data on their interventions and regularly refresh the evidence base around them, according to the forthcoming analysis by the Data Quality Campaign. And six described those efforts in significant detail in their ESSA plans.

You didnt see a lot of school improvement around necessarily shutting a school down or turning it over [to outside operators] [in ESSA plans]. It was, We have tools and templates and data and information where we can sit down with the school and connect them with others and work with them with this information, Kowalski said. That is continuous improvement. Thats not, Pick from a menu of A through D. Its doing the hard work of improvement, which really is about digging in and coming up with a school-specific plan.

For instance, Ohio is teaming up with Proving Ground, a research partnership at the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, to help schools and districts quickly evaluate their interventions, according to forthcoming analyses by the DQC and EducationCounsel.

And Tennessee plans to take a hard look at its fastest-improving schools, so that it can better support schools that arent improving as quickly, according to Results for Americas analysis. The Volunteer State also has created a school improvement support network to help districts develop plans to overhaul foundering schools, in part by using data to pinpoint the root causes of schools lack of progress, according to the DQCs forthcoming analysis.

Revising ESSA plans

States are applying the concept of continuous improvement to ESSA plans themselves. For some, that means continually reaching out to the education community to see how the plan is playing out in practice. For instance, New Mexicos Ruszkowski conducted a New Mexico Rising tour of the state prior to the submission of its ESSA plan, to get feedback from educators on the ground. After the plan was implemented, he launched a sequel: the New Mexico Rising Returns tour, to explain where the state landed. Ruszkowski also visited every school in the state that got an A rating, and got educators takes on state and federal policy, including ESSA.

A number of states also plan to go back and look at data to see how their new ESSA accountability systems are playing out in practice. Thirty-one states mentioned this strategy in their plans, although most did not describe their plans in detail, DQC found.

For instance, ESSA requires states to look beyond test scores in gauging student achievement. Vermont is planning to take a hard look at how well the four school-quality indicators that it chose capture student achievement. The state wants to consider science, physical education, and two different college- and career-readiness indicators, much of which hasnt been measured in the state before.

Already, the state is aware that one of its metricstracking workforce and postsecondary outcomes for its graduatesmay be problematic, since the states current system may not capture whether a student has enrolled in college in nearby Canada or found work outside the state.

We may bring in some more indicators, said Patrick Halladay, an education project manager for the state education agency. We may get rid of some.

Forty states said they would consider revisiting their goals for student achievement, but only two provided details on this score, according to DQCs analysis. For instance, New York is planning to re-adjust its long-term goals for student achievement each year, setting a new endpoint, so that the goals always cover a five-year period. That way the goals can be informed by student achievement over time.

Some states are also planning to keep tabs on the measures they use to gauge school performance.

For instance, Rhode Island is rating its schools on a five-star system. The state is planning to randomly visit schools at different levels to see whether it is accurate.

Such accountablity tweaks are made possible by the flexibility in the law.

States get a lot more freedom under ESSA and a lot of them are using that to say we need to really commit to continuous improvement, Gordon said.
Eighteen years ago, Angela Henry decided to leave her job with an insurance company to head up an after-school program near her home in southeastern Kansas. Her parents and sister urged her to reconsider.

At the time, Henry was a single mom, making a steady $25,000 a year. The after-school programs funding depended on fickle grant money. Why would Henry want to take a job that might not be around in another two years, her family wondered?

Nearly two decades later, Henry is still the director of SAFE BASE, which currently serves low-income children in kindergarten through 6th grade.

Shes exposed her students to Spanish, French, and yoga. Shes gotten them front-row seats to the dissection of a pregnant shark carcass. She took them on a camping trip to Colorado, giving many their first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains.

But shes never shaken the feeling that her joband the program, which is currently financed in large part by the endangered $1.2 billion 21st Century Community Learning Center federal programcould disappear.

I have been on edge with funding for 18 years, said Henry. She spends a lot of time piecemealing smaller grants together and once postponed surgery for thyroid cancer to finish an application. Its always living on a wing and a prayer because we never know whether or not were going to be there.

SAFE BASE, which serves about 350 children, has been relatively fortunate in its longevity, Henry said. Similar programs serving poor children havent been so lucky.

Funding Precarious

Nationally, parents pick up most of the tab for after-school programs, providing about 76 percent of the funding through tuition and fees, according to an analysis by the Afterschool Alliance, a research and advocacy organization in Washington.

Federal funding through 21st Century Community Learning Centers can help low-income children gain access to the programs. But the federal programs fate is often in question, despite some ardent supporters on Capitol Hill.

Thats been especially true since President Donald Trump took office in early 2017. Hes sought to scrap the program.

So far, Congress has rejected that proposaland even boosted funding for 21st Century by $20 million in the most recent spending legislation, which primarily affects the 2018-19 school year.

But program directors arent breathing a sigh of relief. Trump has put the program back on the chopping block yet again in his most recent budget request, which generally affects the 2019-20 school year.

It isnt easy to get the community and potential partners and supporters to buy in to a program that is slated for elimination, said Veronica Willeto, the center coordinator for the Pryor Community Learning Center in Montana, just south of Billings, on the Crow Reservation.

It just kind of puts people in a mind frame that those dollars might not exist, and therefore, your program may not exist, so where else can we put our funds, said Willeto, whose program receives a $50,000 annual grant from 21st Century. Thats kind of the challenge for us. Theyre just not really sure whether or not well be sticking around.

And its disheartening to hear that leaders dont value the benefits that her program providesincluding tutoring, snacks, and enrichment activitiesto about 100 Native American students, all of whom qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

I do think its a little bit discouraging because we work really hard, and we try our best, and we see on a daily basis what an after-school program is doing for our students and how its making a difference for them, she said. People think theyre paying for another type of day care. Its more than that.

This isnt the first time that the program has come under threat. In 2015, when Congress was working on the Every Student Succeeds Act, House GOP lawmakers sought to consolidate the after-school grants into a broader, more flexible funding stream. But the Senate rejected that move.

And in 2004, the George W. Bush administration moved to slash the programs budget by 40 percent, to $600 million. Congress refused to go along with that plan, too. In general, financing for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program has hovered at a little more than $1 billion for about a decade.

Impact on Poverty

The federal government picks up just 11 percent of the tab for after-school programs overall. But those dollars are more likely to help children in poverty, who may derive the biggest benefit from after-school academic help and enrichment, experts say.

The nice thing about 21st Century is it provides high-quality after-care for parents who cant afford it, said Jodi Grant, the executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. In this day and age, the homework, the tutoring, the mentoring are essential skills. Wealthy parents pay through the nose for this stuff.

Forty-five percent of children in after-school programs in general qualified for free or reduced-price lunch, according to an analysis by the Afterschool Alliance using 2014 data. But 67 percent of the students served by the 21st Century program were eligible for those services, the Alliance found.

Participation in a high-quality after-school program can improve childrens academics, social-emotional skills, and even attendance, said Heather Weiss, the co-director of the Global Family Research Project, a research, advocacy, and practice organization in Boston.

People argue that the gap in achievement between lower-income and more economically advantaged [children] is in part based on their differential access to after-school and summer learning programs, she said.

State and Local Funding

State dollars make up a relatively small portion of the overall funding picture for after school, a little more than 3 percent overall, according to the Afterschool Alliances analysis. At least half a dozen states provided some funding for after school in 2017, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a research organization in Denver. California is the standout. It dedicates some $600 million to after-school programs, mostly focused on children in poverty. But when states face a funding squeeze, after-school programs can go by the wayside.

Both New Jersey and Washington state directed money to after school back in 2008, before the recession hit. But both states jettisoned the programs when money got tight, said Ashley Wallace, a program director with NCSLs education program.

More recently, Wyoming, which is now facing a budget crunch, decided to allow school districts to use $11.5 million initially provided for the Summer Bridges summer and after-school program as a block grant. That means the funds can go for other purposes, such as general teacher salaries.

Cities and towns make up an even smaller piece of the funding pie, about 2.4 percent, according to the Afterschool Alliances analysis. Many local leaders want to invest in after school, but the programs compete with police, fire, library, housing, and other city services, said Bela Shah Spooner, the manager for expanded learning at the Institute for Youth Education and Families at the National League of Cities.

Still, some cities have been able to find funding for the programs, including Denver; Fort Worth, Texas; Nashville, Tenn.; and San Francisco. Denver, for instance, has been using taxes from marijuana sales to help cover the costs.

After-school programs also benefit from the support of businesses, philanthropies, religious institutions, and other sources.

Still, the federal funding is still key for many programs that serve poor children. And even a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant is no guarantee of longevity.

Some states offer programs the opportunity to recompete for their five-year grants. But not every state runs a competition every year. Some programs are directed to find other sources of funding over the life of the grant, but five years isnt always enough time to ensure sustainability. Programs have had to cut way back on their services or have disappeared entirely when their grants ran out.

Thats what happened to the program at Echo Mountain Elementary School in Phoenix. Its grant expired, and the state didnt run another grant cycle. The program had to decrease its hours and services, said Tami Taylor, the former site coordinator.

I dont think that five years is horribly short, but it does go quick. Theres so many things on everyones plate, said Taylor, who now heads up another after-school program that also receives 21st Century money, at nearby Campo Bello Elementary. We have so little money in Arizona for education.

Most schools and districts dont retain the full-time grant writers needed to help the programs make up for the loss of federal funds, she said.

Debate Over Efficacy

Part of the reason the funding for after-school programs remain tenuous: Policymakers question whether the programs provide any academic benefit. The Trump administration said in budget documents that it wants to zero out the grants because this program lacks strong evidence of meeting its objectives, such as improving student achievement, in part because just two-fifths of program participants attend on a regular basis.

Mark Dynarski, who conducted a study of the 21st Century program for the research firm Mathematica in the early 2000s, said his review showed it doesnt get the academic outcomes for children that proponents claim.

There are very formidable ideological forces pushing in favor of the program, said Dynarksi, now a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. When I hear the evidence that they cite, I often find it to be highly selective.

But 21st Century could hold other benefits for communities, Dynarksi said, like providing a safe place for children to go while their parents are working. Thats just not the outcome the federal government touts.

Weiss of the Global Family Research Project, however, argues these reports were done many years ago and offer only a snapshot of the program in its early years. After-school programs, including those that receive 21st Century Community Learning Center funds, have gotten a lot more sophisticated since then, she said.

Weiss also contends that the programs shaky financial situation makes it harder for local leaders to plan for the future and get even better results.

Henry, the SAFE BASE director, agrees with that sentiment. Shes lost some good support staff over the years, including a future Kansas teacher of the year, because she couldnt offer the stability employees wanted.

If we didnt have to worry all the time about funding, how could we expend that energy? she wondered. We could have this great plan going forward.
With green building becoming a crucial part of developing smarter and more sustainable African cities, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is pleased to announce the Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) as a key participant and sponsor of RICS Summit Africa 2018, set for Sandton this month.

The councils association with the summit has seen an integration of green and sustainable building content in the programme as well as the addition of another key speaker. David Pierre-Eugene, Head of Group Facilities at Discovery, will be a new addition to the panel on optimising real estate costs. The panel will look at how improved workplaces are creating happier, healthier and more productive workforces, while driving cost and resource efficiencies for employers. Pierre-Eugene joins more than 20 other local and international speakers and panellists set to take part in discussions at the influential 2018 summit.

RICS Summit Africa, now in its fourth year, has entrenched itself as one of the main events on the global RICS calendar. More than 200 delegates are set to attend the two-day event, which is also sponsored by Broll Property Group, Cushman & Wakefield Excellerate and Colliers International. The annual event, which this year takes place on 30-31 May in Sandton Central, Johannesburg, brings together leading speakers and professionals in the built environment sphere from business, government, academia and the NGO sector.

Commenting on the GBCSAs support of this years event, TC Chetty, RICS South Africa country manager, said: As the preeminent green building organisation in Africa, the GBCSA was established over a decade ago and has pioneered the green building movement in South Africa and on the continent. Its great to have secured the GBCSA as participants and sponsors of RICS Summit Africa 2018, especially considering the theme of this years event being around sustainability and smart urbanisation.

He added: Besides its significant contribution to green building and sustainability in the property and built environment sector in South Africa, the GBCSA has also played an important role in supporting the establishment of green building organisations in other African countries. We have several sustainability experts already on the line-up to speak at the summit. However, the participation of the GBCSA is noteworthy considering its role in driving green building in both the private and public sectors, which ultimately contributes to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation.

GBCSA chief executive, Dorah Modise, said the council was excited about its association with RICS and proud to be supporting the RICS Summit Africa this year, to up the ante around green building and urban sustainability across Africa. Modise views sustainability in the built environment sector as a joint initiative, and said that it is through collaboration with industry bodies such as RICS that much bigger strides will be made.

We have had a head start in South Africa with the GBCSA having been launched in 2007. Today, more than 360 new and existing buildings have been rated by the GBCSA with the Green Star SA, Energy and Water Performance Tool as well as EDGE for residential buildings accreditation. This could not have been achieved without the support of the commercial property and broader built environment sector, as these green buildings have made a significant contribution to reducing our carbon footprint, enhancing wellbeing and productivity for those who live, work and play in them. However, we have a long way still to go towards entrenching green building across the African continent.

Collaboration is crucial to this, she said.

Modise added: The GBCSA currently chairs the Africa Regional Network of the World Green Building Council, and through this network we share lessons learnt in the establishment and running of Green Building organisations. To date, we have seen differing but great progress in Kenya, Mauritius, Zambia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Sudan, Namibian, Botswana, and Zimbabwe etc Different countries within the continent, use different certification tools, but the rate of green building certification is increasing exponentially.

As part of RICS Summit Africa, this years event will again include a Technical Tour and an opening Gala Dinner, which takes place on 30 May. The power packed full-day conference takes place the following day at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton Central. The Technical Tour is sponsored by JSE-listed, Attacq Limited, while the International Facilities Management Association is also a supporter of RICS Summit Africa again this year.

The Technical Tour will see delegates visit Attacqs Waterfall precinct, a signature mixed-use mega property development that is fast-becoming the centre of Gautengs commercial and logistics industries. Waterfall is setting new standards in real estate. The Technical Tour will allow participants to enjoy an introduction to the benchmark architecture and sophisticated space and operational efficiencies of several buildings in the precinct, including Waterfall Corporate Campus; PwCs new head office at Waterfall City; Deloittes new head office currently under constuction; Cummins buildings; Waterfall Park; and, a residential estate under construction. The tour culminates with refreshments and conversation with the RICS & Waterfall teams.

London-based RICS is a globally-recognised professional organisation that marks its milestone 150th Anniversary this year. RICS promotes and enforces the highest qualifications and standards in the areas of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure. As a public benefit organisation, RICS operates in all the worlds major financial hubs in delivering international standards and policy influence.

Chetty concludes: RICS is committed to Africa. We will continue to collaborate with property institutions, businesses and associations across Africa, working together to accelerate the professionalism of the land, construction and property sectors on the continent. In line with this, we are glad about our association with the GBCSA and working together to drive green building and urban sustainability in Africa - a continent with a burgeoning economy and rapid urbanisation.
The popular meme proclaiming that all dogs are puppies assumes that humans' adoration of canines is not conditional on their age. But a new study led by Clive Wynne, professor of psychology and director of Arizona State University's Canine Science Collaboratory, suggests otherwise.

In a paper published this month in Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of the Interactions of People and Animals, Wynne and colleagues describe the study, which found dogs' attractiveness to humans peaks at roughly eight weeks, the same point in time at which their mother weans them and leaves them to fend for themselves.

While spending time in the Bahamas, Wynne was able to observe the many street dogs there. According to him, there are around a billion dogs in the world, 80 percent of whom are feral. For those dogs, human intervention is crucial to their survival. Wynne wondered if there was a connection between pups' weaning age -- when they are at their most vulnerable -- and their level of attractiveness to humans. So he designed an experiment to test his query.

"It came out exactly as I'd hoped it would -- that there is indeed an optimal age of maximum cuteness, and that age does line up pretty closely with the age at which mothers wean their pups," Wynne said.

"This could be a signal coming through to us of how dogs have evolved to rely on human care. This could be dogs showing us how the bond between human and dog is not just something that we find immensely satisfying in our lives. ... But for them, it's the absolute bedrock of their existence. That being able to connect with us, to find an emotional hook with us is what actually makes their lives possible."

The study was carried out using a series of photographs of puppies at different ages, from the first weeks of life through young adulthood. Fifty-one participants were asked to rank the puppies' level of attractiveness in each photo. Three distinctive-looking breeds were ranked: Jack Russell terriers, cane corsos and white shepherds.

Results showed that the pups' attractiveness was lowest at birth and increased to a maximum before 10 weeks of age before declining and then leveling off.

Cane corsos showed a maximum attractiveness at 6.3 weeks of age; Jack Russell terriers showed a maximum attractiveness at 7.7 weeks of age; and white shepherds showed a maximum attractiveness at 8.3 weeks of age.

"Around seven or eight weeks of age, just as their mother is getting sick of them and is going to kick them out of the den and they're going to have to make their own way in life, at that age, that is exactly when they are most attractive to human beings," Wynne said.

The findings provide insight into the depth and origin of the relationship between humans and dogs, the oldest and most enduring of any human-animal relationship. And while some theories attribute the survival of the canine species to their intelligence, Wynne dissents.

"I think that the intelligence of dogs is not the fundamental issue," he said. "It's this tremendous capacity to form intimate, strong, affectionate bonds. And that starts at maybe eight weeks of life, when they're so compelling to us."

Though humans and other animals, such as cats and birds, have the capacity to form strong bonds, dogs in particular are especially suited to the task because of their gregarious nature. Even in hand-reared wolves, the species from which all dogs are descended, the willingness to engage humans does not match that of the domestic dog.

"It does seem to me that the dog has something rather special," Wynne said. "Dogs have a very open-ended social program. That they are ready and willing to make friends with anybody."

Wynne has thought of a couple of interesting ways to follow up on the cuteness study. One way is to show participants video of puppies at different ages, instead of still photos, to determine if perhaps there is something in the pups' movement that attracts people. Another is to determine what the pups' mother thinks about their level of attractiveness at different ages, though that is obviously easier said than done.

The takeaway from the study for Wynne is that extra piece of the puzzle that makes up the human-dog connection.

"[The study] doesn't mean to say that we stop loving our dogs past [eight weeks]," he said. "The eight-week point is just the point where the hook is biggest, the ability of the animal to grab our interest is strongest. But, having grabbed our interest, we continue to love them all their lives."

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Male researchers receive far greater funding for cancer research than their female equivalents, suggests a study published in the journal BMJ Open.

Within the European Union (EU), women represent nearly half of the workforce and more than half of all university graduates, but they are under-represented in senior positions in the workplace.

In science, research and development, the attrition rate among women exceeds that of their male counterparts at every stage of career progression, with women representing 46% of PhD graduates, 33% of career scientists and 22% of grade A researchers (the highest posts at which research is conducted).

Previous studies have explored gender imbalance and suggested that only a fifth of countries worldwide have achieved gender parity in scientific research.

A team of researchers from several institutions including Harvard University in the US, University of Oxford, University College London and Imperial College, led by Dr Mahiben Maruthappu, Professor Henrietta O'Connor, Dr Charlie Zhou, Dr Michael Head and Professor Rifat Atun, decided to investigate the issue.

They used data from several sources on public and philanthropic cancer research funding bodies including the Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Wellcome Trust, European Commission and medical research charities, awarded to UK institutions between 2000 and 2013.

They compared research investment totaling 2.3bn, award numbers, as well as the mean and median research award between male and female primary investigators (PIs).

Analysis showed that, of the studies included, 2,890 (69%) grants with a total value of 1.8bn (78%) were awarded to male primary investigators compared with 1,296 (31%) grants with a total value of 0.5 billion (22%) awarded to female PIs.

Grants to male PIs were 1.3 times greater than female counterparts and these apparent differences remained the same, regardless of cancer site, cancer type, stage of research, or by funder.

Similarly, the average grant value was around 38% greater for men than for women leading on cancer research.

For prostate cancer, male PIs received 13.8 and 3.5 times the investment of their female counterparts in total and average (mean) funding, respectively.

In cervical cancer research, men received 9.9 and 6.6 times the funding of women PIs in total and average funding, respectively, while in ovarian cancer research, there was a 4.6-fold and 5.7-fold difference between men and women in total and average funding, respectively.

The authors acknowledged that their study was dependent on the accuracy of original investment data from the funding bodies and that they could not openly access data of private sector research funding, nor obtain disaggregated data from Cancer Research UK, one of the largest funders of cancer research.

However, they concluded: "While the gender discrepancies in cancer research funding observed over the 13-year study period are likely multifactorial, this study is fundamentally descriptive in nature and does not allow us to postulate the underlying mechanisms responsible for the observed gender differences.

"Nevertheless, this study demonstrates substantial gender imbalances in cancer research investment. We would strongly urge policy-makers, funders and the academic and scientific community to investigate the factors leading to our observed differences and seek to ensure that women are appropriately supported in scientific endeavour."

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(Boston) -- Duo Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral associate at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), has received the highly competitive National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pathway to Independence (K99) Award. The award helps facilitate the transition of postdoctoral researchers from mentored positions to independent tenure-track or faculty positions and helps launch research careers.

Zhang's research focuses on bacterial-induced pneumonia, which causes an overwhelming inflammatory response in the lung. He plans to investigate a previously unidentified RNA molecular in lung inflammation with the goal of identifying therapeutic strategies for lung injury and inflammation. The $100,000 grant will assist him in launching this independent research.

"My long-term career goal is to become an independent scientist and investigator publishing my research in top-tier journals that will provide new knowledge about lung infection and inflammation and provide novel clinical approaches not only in diagnosis but also in treatments and therapies for lung infection and inflammation that significantly alter the course of the disease," said Zhang.

Zhang received his undergraduate degree in biological sciences from Nankai University in Tianjin, China. He received his PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Chinese Academy in Shanghai, China, where he developed an interest in understanding the role of microRNAs, which regulate many aspects of development and physiology.

Zhang moved to the United States in 2015 and became a postdoctoral associate in the Pulmonary Center at BUSM under Yang Jin, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine.

He previously has published his research on Duchenne muscular dystrophy in PLOS ONE and Journal of Cell Biology and was awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation for Young Scholars of China, which helped him pursue a research career. He also has published three manuscripts on the role of microRNAs in acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome.

"I am very grateful for the strong support from my mentor Dr. Jin and co-mentor Dr. Mizgerd, especially as a first-time applicant for an NIH grant," Zhang said. "This award will be instrumental in assisting me in achieving my goals."

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About Boston University School of Medicine

Originally established in 1848 as the New England Female Medical College, and incorporated into Boston University in 1873, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) today is a leading academic medical center with an enrollment of more than 700 medical students and 950 students pursuing degrees in graduate medical sciences. BUSM faculty contribute to more than 668 active grants and contracts, with total anticipated awards valued at more than $693 million in amyloidosis, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, infectious diseases, pulmonary disease and dermatology, among other areas. The School's clinical affiliates include its primary teaching hospital Boston Medical Center, the Boston VA Healthcare System, Kaiser Permanente in northern California, as well as Boston HealthNet, a network of 15 community health centers. For more information, please visit http://www.bumc.bu.edu/busm/
Tuesday, May 15, 2018, CLEVELAND: Can the genetic makeup of their cancers predict how patients with lung cancer will respond to radiation therapy? And can this information be used to advance a genetically guided strategy for patients with these tumors? Cleveland Clinic researcher and radiation oncologist Mohamed Abazeed, M.D., Ph.D., has been awarded a $2 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to delve into those and other related questions.

Dr. Abazeed's overall objective for this award is to identify new genetic markers calibrated on the basis of radiation therapy effectiveness and new drug-radiation therapy strategies that more precisely and effectively target the most resistant lung tumors to radiation.

"Current radiation therapy regimens use a 'one-size-fits-all' approach, not taking into account the genetic content of individual tumors," said Dr. Abazeed. "There is an urgent need to identify genetic markers that can recognize tumors that are more or less likely to respond to radiotherapy and translate these markers for clinical use. This more personalized approach not only can improve treatment responses, but it can also potentially reduce toxicity, resulting in an improved quality of life for survivors who received these treatments."

Efforts to predict the response to radiotherapy thus far have been limited in large part because the genetic features that regulate tumor survival - and their frequency across and within individual cancer types - had not been studied on a large-scale. In 2016, Dr. Abazeed's lab published results of the largest profiling effort of cancer cell survival after radiation, comprising a collection of 533 genetically annotated tumor cell lines from 26 cancer types. Results showed significant biological diversity in the survival of cancer cells after exposure to ionizing radiation, and offered evidence that new genetic features regulating cellular response to these treatments can be identified.

Dr. Abazeed's new NCI-funded investigation aims to advance the clinical translation of a short list of the most important regulators of radiation resistance in lung cancer. The molecular pathways implicated in their studies are found in as high as approximately 30% of patients or as low as 7%. His preliminary work suggests that specific mutations in these pathways confer a strong phenotype of radiation resistance in cells, human-derived mouse xenografts and patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Dr. Abazeed's profiling efforts have also demonstrated that some mutations that cause resistance to radiation can sometimes represent a minor component of the tumor, or are subclonal. Dr. Abazeed contends that these subclones can become dominant during the course of radiation. This treatment-associated subclonal evolution may have significant implications for the ability of radiation to effect complete tumor eradication. On the basis of these studies, Dr. Abazeed seeks to advance a genetically-guided radiosensitization strategy that makes tumor cells more sensitive to radiation therapy.

"If these hypotheses are correct, our results will demonstrate that radiotherapeutic sensitizers can be selected based on both the identity and type of genetic alterations identified in a patient's cancer, prompting an evolution in the use of radiation from a generic approach to one that is guided by the genetic composition of individual tumors," added Dr. Abazeed.

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About Cleveland Clinic

Cleveland Clinic is a nonprofit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, it was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. Cleveland Clinic has pioneered many medical breakthroughs, including coronary artery bypass surgery and the first face transplant in the United States. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Among Cleveland Clinic's 52,000 employees are more than 3,600 full-time salaried physicians and researchers and 14,000 nurses, representing 140 medical specialties and subspecialties. Cleveland Clinic's health system includes a 165-acre main campus near downtown Cleveland, 11 regional hospitals, more than 150 northern Ohio outpatient locations - including 18 full-service family health centers and three health and wellness centers - and locations in Weston, Fla.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, UAE; and London, England. In 2017, there were 7.6 million outpatient visits, 229,000 hospital admissions and 207,000 surgical cases throughout Cleveland Clinic's health system. Patients came for treatment from every state and 185 countries. Visit us at clevelandclinic.org. Follow us at twitter.com/ClevelandClinic. News and resources available at newsroom.clevelandclinic.org.

Editor's Note: Cleveland Clinic News Service is available to provide broadcast-quality interviews and B-roll upon request.
Research in the Andes has yielded evidence for a complex association between settlement sites and mortuary monuments, tied to concepts of death, ancestor veneration and water.

In the case-study Carved Rocks and Subterranean Burials at Kipia, Ancash, AD 1000 - 1532 published in De Gruyter's journal Open Archaeology, authors Kevin Lane, Emma Pomeroy and Milton Reynaldo Lujan Davila analyse the Prehispanic-Spanish Colonial multi-faceted site of Kipia, in the Ancash highlands in Peru.

The site contains two small settlements, a cosmological centre, and a funerary sector of subterranean tombs. The author's study reveals the stunning relation between ceremonial sites and cemeteries which underpins complex Andean concepts of death and renewal.

The authors paid special attention to the cosmological core of the site, which is arranged around a series of carved rocks - huanca -, a central huaca (deity/ancestor), and a communal subterranean tomb. It was discovered that the various features of the site can be related to the surrounding landscape, which is remarkable since archaeological examples establishing a direct link between site and landscape in the Andes are not common. Even more remarkable is the fact that the discovery is supplemented by bioarchaeological data (the analyzed subterranean tomb - pukullo - presented in the research).

In the Prehispanic Andes the landscape was innately animated, and Kipia is positioned at the center of its particular physical environment. In this sense, Kipia was not just a repository for the dead, but more widely a place of communion between the living and the departed, associated to the central huaca-huanca, and the other carved rock-faces.

The importance of Kipia lies in its role as a local huaca dedicated to the lightening deity in which overt manifestations of life and death cohabited. In turn, Kipia linked into a network of other larger potentially sacred sites, such as the lakes.

Excavated, comparative highland Late Intermediate Period (AD 1000-1450) tombs are limited, especially ones linked to important sacred sites. In synthesis, this study makes a valuable contribution to the very limited literature on the use of communal burial structures in the Andes that is based on excavation, detailed osteological analysis and is in direct connection with a particular sacred landscape.

Dr. Alexis Mantha, an expert on Andean Archeology from Universite Montreal, outlines: "This article provides a very interesting and rare case study of a complex animated ritual landscape in the highlands of Ancash, Peru, during late Andean prehistory. The authors convincingly examine the intricate ritual relationships among the skeletal content of a subterranean tomb (pukullo) and other features of the surrounding landscape such as a stone monolith (huanca), peaks and highland lakes."

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A collaboration between Oregon Health & Science University and the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has been chosen as a national center for a Nobel Prize-winning method of imaging that is revolutionizing structural biology.

The new Pacific Northwest Center for Cryo-EM is one of three national centers established by the National Institutes of Health with a $128 million federal investment in cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM. The others are located at the New York Structural Biology Center in Manhattan and at Stanford University. The NIH is putting an additional $1.5 million toward training users about the technology.

The centers are designed to boost access to an important and rapidly developing imaging technology that lets scientists see molecules with striking clarity. Using cryo-EM, scientists can see the individual atoms in a molecule or protein and can witness how networks of molecules are organized in fine detail. That's valuable to researchers in all sorts of ways, from designing a molecule that could slow a disease process to creating new compounds to speed or slow chemical reactions.

The cryo-EM revolution

The technology is based on electron microscopy, which works similarly to ordinary microscopy, except that a beam of electrons is sent through the sample instead of visible light. Because electrons have a much shorter wavelength than visible light, they can resolve molecular structures at an atomic scale.

Cryo-EM is an approach used by scientists to freeze a sample in solution so rapidly that the surrounding water does not crystallize but rather forms a thin glass-like layer. This cryogenic sample is then imaged with the electron beam to reveal details of its near-native structure. A steady stream of improvements has vastly enhanced the images from cryo-EM; just last year three researchers earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work that set the foundation for recent developments.

"There's been this enormous revolution. It's like the analogy of going from film cameras to digital," said Eric Gouaux, principal investigator of the new center, a senior scientist in the OHSU Vollum Institute and an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute,

The NIH centers will give more scientists around the nation better access to the technology. Thousands of scientists have projects that would benefit from cryo-EM, but high costs, scarce expertise and other factors limit their access to the technology. The centers will make the technology available to scientists around the nation to collect high-resolution data while also providing outreach and training. Overall costs to the users will be limited to the cost of shipping a sample or travel to/from the center. The costs for operating and maintaining the instruments is covered by the new funding. This improved level of cryo-EM access will ultimately make a difference in the lives of patients who will benefit from biomedical research that happens more rapidly and results in more accurate findings.

Complementary strengths of OHSU, PNNL

The OHSU-PNNL collaboration was a strong factor in the creation of the center, according to senior research scientist James Evans of PNNL, another principal investigator of the project. OHSU is an outstanding biomedical research institution with a long history of successful NIH-funded scientific research. PNNL has more than two decades of experience running EMSL, the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a DOE Office of Science user facility used by hundreds of scientists worldwide.

EMSL is home to more than 50 premier instruments coupled to supercomputing, data analytics, and storage capabilities that are used by researchers to investigate questions about biological systems, the environment, energy, and other areas. EMSL is also a hub of expertise for operating the instruments and interpreting the data that results.

"Merging the existing strengths and expertise at both institutions allows us to create a unique center and user experience streamlined for high-resolution structural analysis of isolated macromolecules and intact cells," said Evans.

The new cryo-EM center is part of a burgeoning collaboration between OHSU, in Portland, Ore., and PNNL, 225 miles to the east, upstream along the Columbia River. Recently the institutions announced a collaboration to advance precision medicine. Earlier this decade PNNL and OHSU created joint research centers devoted to cancer, undiagnosed diseases, and the development and application of new technologies for biomedical research.

The new center will add four powerful microscopes to OHSU's campus and will be jointly staffed by scientists from OHSU and PNNL. The center will be co-located with the existing Multiscale Microscopy Core, which is used extensively by the cancer research lab of Joe Gray, professor of biomedical engineering in the OHSU School of Medicine. The team expects the new center to be up and running late this year.

The center will draw on the high-performance computing, data analytics, and storage capabilities at PNNL. Data gathered through the instruments at OHSU will be streamed to PNNL. At the lab, EMSL's powerful Cascade supercomputer will construct initial 3-D images of the molecules under study, and those images along with the raw data will be made available to researchers. Part of the new funding will go to increasing Cascade's capacity and efficiency at processing the cryo-EM images.

"Ten years ago, you would have seen the general areas where the proteins were as blobs on a screen. Now we're able to see the atoms within those blobs," said Michael Chapman, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the OHSU School of Medicine and another principal investigator.

This work is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health's Common Fund, through the Transformative High Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy Program, and administered by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under Award Number U24GM129547.

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UK researchers investigating materials and molecular structures will be able to take advantage of new and highly precise scientific instrumentation that will be operating in eight UK universities thanks to a major 20 million investment in research infrastructure.

The investment in very high and ultra-high field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy was announced today by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) on behalf of three other research councils, the Biotechnology and Biosciences Research Council (BBSRC), Medical Research Council (MRC) and Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), who have supported the funding and also form part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government.

NMR is a key technique that has impact across a wide span of science from materials science to medicine.

The equipment includes two 1.0 GHz systems (currently the highest commercially available field) plus upgrades to a range of systems with field strengths between 800 MHz and 950 MHz. This will increase both the capability and capacity of solid and solution-state NMR across the UK.

UKRI's Chief Executive, Professor Sir Mark Walport said: "The UK's global stature in research and innovation is founded on access to internationally competitive infrastructure. This investment means researchers will have new systems that provide greater sensitivity and a greater understanding of molecular structures, with potential impacts in pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, materials science and biotechnology."

Professor Mark E. Smith, Vice Chancellor at Lancaster University, who wrote two reports on NMR infrastructure on behalf of EPSRC in 2013 and 2017, and helped EPSRC develop the call for proposals, said: "The UK has a longstanding reputation for excellence in the development and application of NMR.

"Recent reviews of NMR showed that, while there had been good levels of investment in NMR infrastructure, in recent years the UK had come off the pace in terms of the very highest fields available to our community compared to our major international competitors.

"This welcome and very substantial investment will provide the UK community with new cutting-edge facilities, while modernising existing facilities. This is a hugely welcome boost for UK research to be able to compete with the very best."

The full range of investments is as follows:

University of Birmingham:

A 1.0 GHz spectrometer solution state system configured for predominantly medical use.

It will be used in biomedical applications, such as real-time measurements of cancer cell metabolism, to develop new analytical methods, and for drug discovery and development activities.

University of Warwick:

A solid state NMR 1.0 GHz system configured for mixed use, predominantly in materials science to deliver advances in chemistry, biology and materials science.

It will provide new structural and dynamic information and provide potential for improved pharmaceutical formulations and drug delivery, and better quality materials for energy and catalysis.

The grant will take advantage of the existing broad academic and industrial user-base of the 850 MHz solid state NMR National Research Facility at the same site.

University of Oxford:

A new cryoprobe for an existing 950MHz system will provide greatly increased sensitivity allowing analysis of a wider range of scarce and low-concentration compounds.

It will permit improved understanding of molecular structures and functionality, be valuable to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies for screening programmes, provide greater throughput of samples and lead to improved links between existing biochemistry and chemistry communities at Oxford and elsewhere.

The facility involves support from the University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, Imperial College London and King's College London.

University of Edinburgh:

An upgraded 800 MHz system and probes will provide a focal point for NMR research primarily with the major Scottish universities as well as outreach to industry. The equipment will allow for increased capability and capacity in solution and solid-state NMR, with planned applications in chemistry, materials sciences and biology.

It also provides potential for the development of new materials, biomaterials and pharmaceuticals based on improved understanding of molecular structure.

University of Leicester:

An upgrade to an existing 800 MHz system will provide a platform for method development and the training of a new generation of NMR scientists, with plans to develop in-cell NMR technology - a unique capacity in the UK.

The development of new methods and techniques is based on improved capability.

Outreach and coordination with the wider community will take place through the existing Collaborative Computational Project for NMR (CCPN) network, led by Leicester.

University of Nottingham:

An upgrade of existing 800 MHz system will provide enhanced sensitivity and an increased range of applications.

Potential developments enabled by the technology cut across the physical and life sciences and include insight into catalytic processes, next-generation pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, energy materials, food and nutrition, and improved understanding of antibiotic resistance.

University of Liverpool:

An upgrade of the 800 MHz system will include additional solid state capacity.

This will provide enhanced liquid and solid state capability to investigate science linked to materials, personalised medicine, biotechnology, food science and animal health.

University of Sheffield:

The 800 MHz NMR facility will be upgraded with additional high-pressure analytical capability.

There will be planned research programmes to improve chemical manufacture, develop bioenergy materials, photosynthesis and green energy, cancer treatment and biopharmaceutical development.

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For further information please contact the EPSRC Press Office on 01793 444 404 or email pressoffice@epsrc.ukri.org

Notes to editors:

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)

The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is part of UK Research and Innovation, a non-departmental public body funded by a grant-in-aid from the UK government. For more information visit https://epsrc.ukri.org.

EPSRC is the main funding body for engineering and physical sciences research in the UK. By investing in research and postgraduate training, we are building the knowledge and skills base needed to address the scientific and technological challenges facing the nation.

Our portfolio covers a vast range of fields from healthcare technologies to structural engineering, manufacturing to mathematics, advanced materials to chemistry. The research we fund has impact across all sectors. It provides a platform for future UK prosperity by contributing to a healthy, connected, resilient, productive nation.
Inuit polar bear hunters report changes in their subsistence hunting patterns as well as polar bear ecology over the past decade, due to changing ice conditions and a quota system started in 2006

Inuit polar bear subsistence hunters from two East Greenland regions, Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit, report changes to their hunting patterns as well as polar bear distribution and behavior due to decreasing sea ice and the introduction of hunting quotas in 2006. The hunters have observed large climate changes in their hunting areas -- including warmer weather, less sea ice and disappearing glaciers - which the majority say have affected the polar bear hunt. More hunters are now using boats than dog sledges due to loss of sea ice. The hunters also note that more polar bears are coming into their communities looking for food, and that the bears are eating more seal parts than previously. Published in Frontiers in Marine Science, the study is the first in nearly 20 years to document traditional knowledge on polar bear catches and ecology in East Greenland - providing a valuable baseline for monitoring future changes as well as the polar bear population.

Inuit hunters have a strong understanding of the Arctic environment and can share information passed down from older generations as well as from their personal experiences. This is very valuable to management and conservation efforts.

Although traditional ecological knowledge about polar bears has been collected extensively in West Greenland, no comprehensive interview studies on polar bears have been carried out in East Greenland for close to two decades. Thus, current perspectives of polar bear hunters in this area are not well documented.

"Our research was motivated by the importance of obtaining local perspectives from subsistence hunters in East Greenland about the subpopulation of polar bears," says author Kristin L. Laidre, principal scientist at the Polar Science Center, University of Washington, USA. "There had not been an interview study for several decades so a new interview survey was important to conduct, especially before starting an assessment of the subpopulation."

In interviews conducted by the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, researchers gathered Inuit perspectives on polar bear subsistence quotas and hunting strategies from 25 full-time polar bear hunters in Tasiilaq and Ittoqqortoormiit. The aim was to gain an understanding of how climate change is affecting the polar bear subsistence hunt, and to document observed changes in polar bear distribution, abundance and biology over the last two decades.

All interviewed hunters reported that they had observed changes to sea ice conditions. They noted, for example, that there is less ice, that the sea ice does not form or that it forms later than before, and that it is now more dangerous. Fifteen Tasiilaq hunters also said that the glaciers are disappearing very quickly. All Tasiilaq hunters noted changes in the weather, marked by worsened weather, warmer temperatures, more storms and more wind. Similarly, 89% of Ittoqqortoomiit hunters reported changing weather with warmer temperatures and more humidity.

Seventy-three percent of Tasiilaq hunters and 88% of Ittoqqortoormiit hunters said that climate changes had affected the polar bear hunt. Furthermore, 100% of interviewed Tasiilaq hunters and 80% of Ittoqqortoomiit hunters reported that they hunt more with boats than with dog sledges compared to 10-15 years ago, due to decreasing sea-ice mass and larger extents of open water. One hunter said that he had gotten rid of his sledge, since he had no use for it anymore.

Neither Ittoqqortoormiit nor Tasiilaq hunters reported major changes in the bears' body condition, which is consistent with previous reports from indigenous people in other areas. However, Tasiilaq hunters noted that polar bears are consuming more seal parts than before, such as bones and skin.

In addition, 81% of Tasiilaq hunters and 78% of Ittoqqortoormiit hunters noted that more polar bears are coming into towns and settlements compared to 10-15 years ago. Moreover, hunters from both regions noted that more bears were caught near settlements than previously. While some hunters explained this as a result of the hunting quotas increasing the abundance of polar bears, others mentioned decreasing sea ice as a possible reason. Two hunters suggested that polar bears are coming closer to the towns because they have less to eat and are searching for food.

The researchers report that 40% of Tasiilaq respondents had caught between 10-19 polar bears in their lifetime, while 67% of Ittoqqortoormiit respondents had lifetime catches of more than 20 bears. The general consensus in Tasiilaq is that the quotas are necessary, whereas hunters in Ittoqqortoomiit do not view the quotas as necessary. Hunters in both areas would like to see a small portion of the quota used for trophy hunting, which is currently illegal in Greenland.

The researchers point out that understanding the impact of management decisions and the decreasing sea ice is essential for polar bear conservation and management, as well as for the human communities that rely on hunting polar bears. Thus, this research provides an important baseline for monitoring future changes and for managing the polar bear population.

"This information can be used to directly guide scientific lines of inquiry, improve management decisions, and overall ensure that traditional ecological knowledge is considered in the conservation and management of polar bears," concludes Laidre.

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A study led in part by physicists at the Indiana University Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter could provide new insight into the composition of the universe immediately after the Big Bang -- as well as improve calculations used to predict the life span of stars and describe the rules that govern the subatomic world.

The study, published May 11 in the journal Science, reports a highly accurate way to measure the decay rate of neutrons. An author on the study, Chen-Yu Liu, is a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics.

"This is a significant improvement compared to previous experiments," said Liu, who is a leader on the UNCtau experiment, which uses neutrons from the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center Ultracold Neutron source at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. "The data is far more accurate than what we've had before."

The rate of the decay of neutrons -- subatomic particles with no charge -- is significant because it is used to predict the proportion of hydrogen and helium in the universe a few minutes after the Big Bang. The number also affects calculations used to determine how quickly hydrogen atoms burn up inside stars and the rules that control the elementary particles like quarks and gluons. This is because during neutron decay, one "up" quark transforms into a "down" quark, a process that physicists don't yet fully understand.

Scientists currently use two methods to isolate neutrons and calculate their decay rates:

The "bottle" method: Counting the number of neutrons that remain over time after being trapped inside a container.

The "beam" method: Measuring the rate of protons that emerge from a neutron beam generated by a nuclear reactor.

Some physicists regard the beam method as more accurate because the bottle method risks miscounting neutrons absorbed into the container as disappearing from decay. But the study from Liu and colleagues uses an invisible container made from magnetic fields and gravity to eliminate the risk of interference from physical material. As a result, the experiment can measure a neutron's lifetime with a high level of precision.

"A neutron could technically live inside our trap for three weeks, which is much longer than any other previously constructed 'bottle' traps," Liu said. "This long trap lifetime is what makes it possible to achieve a highly accurate measurement."

The use of a "magneto-gravitational trap," in which the neutrons' magnetic charge and mass prevent them from escaping their container, also makes it easier to measure the neutrons because the bottle is "lidless," Liu said.

Liu's lab joined the UNCtau experiment in 2011 to help re-invigorate the project. The work required five years to design, fabricate, test and install their equipment at the neutron source in Los Alamos, after which the team began to run experiments and collect data. Members of Liu's lab regularly travel to New Mexico to test equipment, run experiments and record the results.

"Five years to get an experiment running and producing data is very fast in our field," Liu said. "We spent about six months on site and six months creating hardware each year. It was really a cycle of fast prototyping and improvement. We would never have been able to renovate the technology without the mechanical and technical support available at the IU Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter."

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Other IU authors on the paper are Ph.D. students Nathan Callahan, Evan Adamek and Daniel J. Salvat; mechanical engineer Walt Fox; and technician John Vanderwerp. Other IU contributors were Gerard Visser, electrical engineer; Frank Gonzalez, a graduate student; and Chris Cude, an undergraduate at the time of the study.

Additional authors come from Los Alamos National Laboratory, North Carolina State University, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, West Point Military Academy, the California Institute of Technology, Tennessee Technical University, DePauw University, the University of Washington, the Institut Laue-Langevin in France and the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Russia. The study was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and the IU Center for Spacetime Symmetries.
Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan say they have found a fast way to manipulate a cell's cilia, the tiny, fingerlike protrusions that "feel" and sense their microscopic environment. The experiments, performed in mouse cells, may advance scientists' efforts to not only understand how the nanosized antennae work, but also how to repair them.

A report of their findings appeared online April 30 in Nature Communications.

With few exceptions, most cells in the body have cilia or can grow them. The tiny antenna sense chemicals such as hormones and growth factors, which regulate cell health and growth. Cilia also detect mechanical and physical cues in the body, such as light, gravity, sound and the flow of blood and urine.

When cilia malfunction, a range of human diseases and conditions can occur. For example, problems with cilia in kidney cells can cause polycystic kidney disease, an incurable condition in which fluid-filled cysts interfere with kidney function and which is conventionally treated with dialysis.

Because cilia are so small -- 10,000 times smaller than a cell -- scientists have long found it challenging to squeeze their tools into such tight spaces to study them.

"When I was a postdoc, a colleague in a neighboring laboratory was studying cilia, and I hoped that by combining his knowledge of the biology of cilia with my expertise in cellular engineering, we could figure out how to manipulate cilia within their tiny spaces," says Takanari Inoue, Ph.D., professor of cell biology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and an author of the new report.

After years of work, he says they figured out a way to manipulate a chemical signaling pathway within cilia that controls how molecules are shuttled up and down the length of the tiny structure.

To do it, Inoue and his colleagues in Taiwan used a tool called chemically inducible dimerization, which they say is faster than efforts to manipulate the pathway by rewriting the cilia's genetic code. The tool, essentially, is a matchmaker -- it helps to mesh two specific chemicals together at specific sites within a living cell.

For the new study, Inoue and his colleagues added a protein called FRB to cells from mice grown in the laboratory. The FRB protein is capable of glomming onto a rigid structure within cilia, called a microtubule, which acts as a railway, shuttling proteins up and down the length of cilia.

Then they added a molecule called FKBP to the cells, which is attached to an enzyme that acts as an eraser for a chemical modification in the cilia called glutamylation. The FKBP and enzyme pair floats around the cell until scientists add a chemical called rapamycin, which causes FKBP to get trapped at FRB molecules within the cilia.

Once inside the cilia, the enzyme attached to the FKBP molecule selectively erases the glutamylation modification inside the cilia. It also ignores other signaling pathways.

The scientists call their molecule matchmaking STRIP, for spatiotemporal rewriting intraciliary post-translational modifications.

As a result of rapidly removing glutamylation in cilia, the scientists found that molecules flowed up the cilia, toward the tip, more slowly -- about .3 micrometers per second -- compared with .4 micrometers per second, using a dead enzyme that doesn't affect glutamylation.

"We think our technique is faster than existing means of tracking cilia activity and enables scientists to access cilia parts faster and dive into specific chemical modifications for certain amounts of time," says Inoue.

"Our STRIP system offers a new strategy for precisely controlling microtubule modifications in living cells. With this approach, it becomes possible to understand how microtubules regulate cellular functions and may also serve as a new way to treat human diseases in the future," says Yu-Chun Lin, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan.

Other diseases affected by flawed cilia include a brain disorder called Joubert syndrome, a kidney disorder called nephronophthisis, retinitis pigmentosa and a rare disorder called situs inversus, in which the internal organs of the body are in the reverse location of their normal position.

The scientists also found that microtubules in the mouse cells that are not located inside cilia were not affected when they tinkered with glutamylation.

Inoue and his colleagues also found that the genetic output of a developmental pathway called Hedgehog (which is connected to glutamylation) is decreased in cells treated with STRIP compared with their controls.

Inoue and his colleagues say they now plan to apply STRIP to human cells and look more closely at the molecular process of glutamylation in cilia. They may also use STRIP to control other chemical modifications within cilia.

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Co-authors include Cuei-Ling Wang, Shi-Rong Hong, Yao-Shen Huang, Yu-Chen Chang, Ya-Chu Chang, Chun-Yu Lin, Ning Hsu, Hsiao-Chi Cheng, Yueh-Chen Chiang, Wei-En Huang and Yu-Chun Lin from National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan; Ganesh V. Pusapati and Rajat Rohatgi from Stanford University and Nathan C. Shaner from the Scintillon Institute.

Funding for the study was provided by the National Institutes of Health (GM105448, GM118082, R01DK102910), the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, Program for Translational Innovation of Biopharmaceutical Development-Technology Supporting Platform Axis-nMACS Imaging and the National Tsing Hua University.
Vladimir Mostepanenko, Chief Research Associate of KFU Cosmology Lab and Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory, explains, "Despite graphene layers' extremely small width, it has proven to be a firm material which conducts electricity even under zero temperatures when density of charge carriers also equals zero. But something absolutely unexpected was that this residual conductivity can be expressed through fundamental physical constants - electron charge and Planck constant. Graphene has been used successfully in dozens of electronic devices and has been found in interstellar matter."

Graphene's unusual qualities led to speculation that the causality principle may not be observed for it. The authors, Vladimir Mostepanenko and Galina Klimchitskaya, proved that the principle is preserved for graphene. Through the direct analytic calculation it was shown that the real and imaginary parts of graphene conductivity, found recently on the basis of first principles of thermal quantum field theory using the polarization tensor in (2+1)-dimensional space-time, satisfy the Kramers-Kronig relations precisely.

The results are important for further inquiries into reflective and absorptive qualities of graphene.

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The team of researchers at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania are developing mathematical methods which could help diagnose breast cancer. Applying deep learning method, the researchers are aiming to "teach" computer to recognise malignant lesions, which would allow at least partially automatize and enhance the accuracy of diagnosing breast cancer.

In 2014, around 93.5 thousand people died from breast cancer in the EU, the vast majority (92.5 thousand) of them were women. Among women, breast cancer accounted for 3.7 % of all deaths. According to the World Health Organisation, more than 1 million new breast cancer cases are being diagnosed every year. The international community of medical professionals is warning that the incidence of oncological diseases is rising; in the last 15 years in Lithuania the cancer rate increased by 75%.

For better treatment and prognosis of cancer patients, early diagnosis is the key.

"Often in cancer diagnosis oncologists rely on visual information - the image of the tissue in question is being analysed in order to determine the nature of the lesions. This process is time consuming and the probability of mistake is not eliminated, which, in the case of cancer can be fatal. By developing mathematical methods for cancer diagnosis we aim to at least partially automatize the diagnosing procedure and to minimize the occurrence of mistakes", says Dr Tomas Iesmantas, postdoctoral researcher at Kaunas University of Technology (KTU).

For diagnosing breast cancer, he has adapted capsule neural network method introduced by the British researcher Geoffrey Hinton, one of the founding fathers of deep learning (machine learning method).

Dr Iesmantas, together with his postdoctoral research supervisor Professor Robertas Alzbutas, have analysed 100 microscope images of breast tissue provided by the University of Porto, Portugal. There were 4 types of images in the sample: those of non-cancerous tissue, of non-malignant tumour tissue, of non-invasive and invasive carcinomas. The aim of the investigation was to design a mathematical method for classifying the images into the 4 types mentioned.

"The early results are very promising - we have achieved 85% accuracy rate", says KTU researcher.

He will introduce the results of the research in the 15th International Conference on Image Analysis and Recognition in Portugal. According to Dr Iesmantas, although the ways of application of mathematical methods in medicine have expanded in recent years, and computers are being taught to diagnose lesions in lungs, to recognise metastasis in lymph nodes, and to localise brain tumours, it is not very likely that cancer diagnosing process will become fully automatized in the near future.

"The research is not only conducted on theoretical level, there are some cases where these methods have already been applied in clinical practice. Even though digitalisation will not replace human judgement, I believe that automatized computer diagnosis will become more common with time and will help to more accurately identify and diagnose certain types of cancer", says Dr Iesmantas.

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AI in healthcare is developing rapidly, with many applications currently in use or in development in the UK and worldwide. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics examines the current and potential applications of AI in healthcare, and the ethical issues arising from its use, in a new briefing note, Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare and research, published today.

There is much hope and excitement surrounding the use of AI in healthcare. It has the potential to make healthcare more efficient and patient-friendly; speed up and reduce errors in diagnosis; help patients manage symptoms or cope with chronic illness; and help avoid human bias and error. But there are some important questions to consider: who is responsible for the decisions made by AI systems? Will increasing use of AI lead to a loss of human contact in care? What happens if AI systems are hacked?

The briefing note outlines the ethical issues raised by the use of AI in healthcare, such as:

the potential for AI to make erroneous decisions;

who is responsible when AI is used to support decision-making;

difficulties in validating the outputs of AI systems;

the risk of inherent bias in the data used to train AI systems;

ensuring the security and privacy of potentially sensitive data;

securing public trust in the development and use of AI technology;

effects on people's sense of dignity and social isolation in care situations;

effects on the roles and skill-requirements of healthcare professionals; and

the potential for AI to be used for malicious purposes.

Hugh Whittall, Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, says:

"The potential applications of AI in healthcare are being explored through a number of promising initiatives across different sectors - by industry, health sector organisations and through government investment. While their aims and interests may vary, there are some common ethical issues that arise from their work.

Our briefing note outlines some of the key ethical issues that need to be considered if the benefits of AI technology are to be realised, and public trust maintained. These are live questions that set out an agenda for newly-established bodies like the UK Government Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation, and the Ada Lovelace Institute. The challenge will be to ensure that innovation in AI is developed and used in a ways that are transparent, that address societal needs, and that are consistent with public values."

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Notes to editors

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is an independent body that has been advising policy makers on ethical issues in bioscience and medicine for more than 25 years. As well as being a key UK partner on international networks of advisory bodies, the Council has an international reputation for advising policy-makers and stimulating debate in bioethics. The Council is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council, and Wellcome.

This is the third in a new series of bioethics briefing notes published by the Council. The previous notes focused on The search for a treatment for ageing and Whole genome sequencing of babies. We will publish further bioethics briefing notes this year on topics including the use of identification biometrics.

The Ada Lovelace Institute was announced by the Nuffield Foundation in March 2018. When the Institute becomes fully established, it will examine the ethical and social issues arising from the use of data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence, and ensure they are harnessed for social well-being.
Record numbers of American veterans diagnosed with non-aggressive prostate cancer are heeding the advice of international medical experts and opting out of immediate surgery or radiation to treat their cancer.

Instead, according to a study led by researchers at NYU School of Medicine, its Perlmutter Cancer Center, and the Manhattan campus of the VA NY Harbor Healthcare System, increasing numbers of these men are electing to postpone additional therapy unless their symptoms worsen -- a passive practice called watchful waiting -- or they are choosing so-called active surveillance. This program relies on regular check-ups, including blood tests, physical exams, and the occasional needle sampling of prostate tissue to check for any signs of a tumor getting worse, such as fast growth, before aggressive treatment is considered. The new study, summarized in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) online May 15, is one of the largest studies of its kind, involving a review of the medical records of 125,083 former servicemen, mostly over the age of 55, who were newly diagnosed with low-risk prostate cancer between 2005 and 2015.

It was during this time, researchers say, that widespread use of blood testing for prostate specific antigen (PSA) was roundly criticized for overdiagnosing the disease and leading to the treatment of the smallest, non-aggressive prostate cancers, highly unlikely to cause death.

Using data collected from the VA's Central Data Warehouse, researchers found that in 2005, only 27 percent of men under age 65 chose to forego immediate therapy, and just 4 percent chose active surveillance.

By contrast, in 2015, some 72 percent passed on immediate therapy, with 39 percent choosing active surveillance. Similar numbers were observed for study participants who were over age 65 and known to be less likely to pursue surgery or radiation, which carry a higher risk of side effects, such as bowel and bladder problems, as well as sexual dysfunction.

"Our study shows that the Veterans Affairs health care system has done a good job over the last decade in adopting 'conservative management' of men diagnosed with early-stage disease, with many men choosing active surveillance as an alternative to immediate therapy," says study senior investigator and urologist Stacy Loeb, MD, MSc. "This marks a historic reversal, at least at the VA, in the decades-long overtreatment of men with prostate cancers least likely to cause harm, and brings their care more in line with the latest best practice guidelines," says Loeb, citing a 2016 report from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, which discourages aggressive therapy for low-grade tumors.

Loeb, an assistant professor in the urology and population health departments at NYU School of Medicine and an attending urologist at VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, says the VA's success raises its standard of care of low-risk prostate cancer to levels seen in other countries like Sweden, where active surveillance rates top 70 percent. And it offers hope, she says, for many private clinics in the United States, which lag behind with as many as two-thirds of men at low risk undergoing early aggressive treatment, according to published estimates.

Loeb cautions that some men may opt for immediate treatment with "sound concerns" rather than active surveillance, especially men who had an infection after their initial biopsy, and fear it happening again with any further procedures. What is important, Loeb explains, is that patients and their physicians carefully review options after a diagnosis and that the risks of immediate treatment are understood when a "shared decision" is made.

Loeb credits the VA's success to several factors, noting that it is part of a national network of publicly funded hospitals, where many physicians are salaried, so there is little financial incentive to overtreat.

"The main conclusion to be drawn from the data is that if so many veterans can quickly adopt this less-risky disease-management strategy, then so too might other American men if they understood the potential benefits of this option," says Loeb.

Loeb says her team, in conjunction with the Prostate Cancer Foundation, which helped fund the current study, next plans to look at ways, such as use of online educational materials, to improve active surveillance rates.

The U.S. National Cancer Institute estimated that 26,000 American men would die from prostate cancer in 2017, with 161,000 new cases diagnosed, most in its earliest stages.

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Additional funding support for the study, which took four years to complete, was provided by New York State Department of Health grant DOH01 C30697GG-3450000; National Institutes of Health grants P30 CA016087 and K07 CA178258; and Veterans Affairs grants CDA 11-257 and CDP 11-254. Funding support was also provided by the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center, the Edward Blank and Sharon Cosloy-Blank Family Foundation, and the Gertrude and Louis Feil family trust.

Loeb has received consulting fees or travel reimbursements from several health care and pharmaceutical companies involved in cancer care or diagnostics, including Lilly, MDxHealth, General Electric, Astellas, Sanofi, GenomeDx, Minomic and Boehringer Ingelheim. Study co-investigator Danil Makarov, MD, MHS, has also served as an advisor to the FDA, which regulates prostate therapies and diagnostic tools. All relationships are being managed in accordance with the policies and practices of NYU School of Medicine.

Besides Loeb and Makarov, other NYU Langone and Manhattan VA investigators involved in the study were Nataliya Byrne, BA; Herbert Lepor, MD; and Dawn Walter, MPH.
PORTLAND, Oregon - OHSU will become a national center for an imaging technique that is revolutionizing structural biology.

In partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, OHSU becomes one of three national centers established by the National Institutes of Health in cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM. The others are located at the New York Structural Biology Center in Manhattan and at Stanford University. The NIH is investing $128 million to establish all three centers and expand the use of this Nobel Prize-winning method of imaging. The NIH is putting an additional $1.5 million toward training users.

"This puts OHSU on the map as a major player and participant in the national electron microscopy scene," said Eric Gouaux, Ph.D., investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a senior scientist in the OHSU Vollum Institute.

Gouaux is one of three principal investigators designated for the center at OHSU, along with Michael Chapman, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and molecular biology in the OHSU School of Medicine, and James Evans, Ph.D., senior research scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

The new Pacific Northwest Center for Cryo-EM will add four powerful microscopes to OHSU's campus and will be jointly staffed by scientists from OHSU and PNNL. The new center will be co-located with the cryo-EM facility in the OHSU Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine initially established by Joe Gray, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, with support from the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute and made available to OHSU investigators through the Multiscale Microscopy Core. The new center, slated to open in October 2018, will begin installing new cryo-EM instruments later this year in the Robertson Collaborative Life Sciences Building on OHSU's South Waterfront Campus.

"This powerful technology allows scientists to see molecules in breathtaking detail," said OHSU President Joe Robertson, M.D., M.B.A. "We're delighted that NIH is making this investment to make the technology more accessible to researchers. We are also gratified by the NIH's decision to establish a hub at OHSU for scientists from around the country seeking to understand disease at the molecular level and ultimately use that knowledge to improve human health."

Each of the three NIH centers will provide scientists across the nation with access to state-of-the-art technology and training, from sample preparation to microscope data collection and computational analysis. The joint collaboration between OHSU and PNNL was a strong factor in realization of the new award.

"Merging the existing strengths and expertise at both institutions will allow us to create a unique center and user experience streamlined for high-resolution structural analysis of isolated macromolecules and intact cells," Evans said.

Cryo-EM produces extremely detailed three-dimensional images of cells. How detailed?

"We use the term 'near-atomic' in describing the resolution," Chapman explained. "We can see where the atoms are in the protein." Given the excitement around the technique, Chapman also noted that "scientists will come here from the entire nation to work on different types of proteins."

As the technology continues to improve, scientists expect they'll get ever more detailed images of DNA, RNA, proteins, viruses and cells, revealing how they change shape and interact as they carry out the functions of life. Gouaux expects that researchers will be able to produce images of the cell's molecular complexes quickly, efficiently and in their natural state. That's in contrast to X-ray crystallography, the previous state-of-the-art technology in which billions of molecules had to be organized into crystals in order to get an image.

"There's been this enormous revolution," Gouaux said. "It's analogous to going from film cameras to digital."

Electron microscopy works similarly to ordinary microscopy, except that a beam of electrons is sent through the sample instead of visible light. Because electrons have a much shorter wavelength than visible light, they can resolve molecular structures at an atomic scale. Fostered by the efforts of a trio of researchers who earned the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017, the technology has in recent years matured to the point that scientists can now ascertain the form and function of molecules with striking detail.

"Ten years ago, you would have seen the general areas where the proteins were as blobs on a screen," Chapman said. "Now we're able to see the atoms within those blobs."

The NIH is establishing the centers to expand the work of scientists using cryo-EM to study biological molecules and, ultimately, the organization of these molecules within cells. Gouaux, for example, has established an international reputation for his work to improve basic understanding of the molecular structure and function of proteins that regulate communication between neurons in the brain, including the receptor involved in memory and learning, and the targets of therapeutic agents for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, as well as for schizophrenia and depression. Many of his previous breakthroughs involved the use of X-ray crystallography.

He's now a convert to cryo-EM because of the technology's unique ability to see how large networks of molecules are organized in fine detail. Gouaux and other researchers expect the technology will greatly accelerate the ability of researchers to develop effective treatments for a wide variety of conditions.

"Neuromodulators are the targets of many drugs," Gouaux said. "So understanding how they work will give us clues about how to build better ones."

This work is supported by funding from the National Institutes of Health's Common Fund and administered by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences under Award Number U24GM129547.

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Mortality rates were higher during the 9 months of military liberation of Mosul, Iraq, than during the 29 months of exclusive Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) control, according to a study published this week in PLOS Medicine. The population-based survey, conducted by Gilbert Burnham from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Riyadh Lafta from Al Mustansiriya University in Baghdad, and Maha A. Al-Nuaimi from the National Center for Research and Treatment of Blood Diseases in Baghdad, demonstrated that high mortality rates resulted from the military offensive despite the use of modern precision-targeted ordnance.

Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, was invaded by ISIS on June 4, 2014. Iraqi forces, supported by coalition artillery and airstrikes, regained control of the city after an offensive that lasted from October 17, 2016 to June 29, 2017. No official data are available on civilian deaths and injuries during ISIS control or during the Iraqi offensive. In their study, Burnham and colleagues undertook household surveys in Mosul immediately after the military campaign, to count injuries, deaths, and kidnappings during these periods.

The 1,202 sampled households included 7,559 people, and 628 deaths were reported for the full time period (June 4, 2014 to the time of the survey in 2017), a mortality rate of 2.09 deaths per 1,000 person-months. In the 29 months of ISIS-exclusive control, mortality rates were 0.71 and 0.50 reported deaths per 1,000 person-months for males and females, respectively. During the 9 months of the military conflict, these mortality rates jumped to 13.36 and 8.33 deaths per 1,000 person-months. The leading cause of reported deaths from intentional violence in the 1,202 households was airstrikes, accounting for 201 civilian deaths, followed by 172 deaths from explosions.

The estimates from this study are subject to many limitations, including survivor bias, the reliance on pre-conflict population distribution figures for sampling, and potential recall bias among respondents. Nonetheless, the estimates provide the first systematic evidence of the human losses associated with the occupation and liberation of Mosul. The authors state, "[o]ur findings should be viewed as providing an important, though necessarily an incomplete, picture of events associated with high intensity warfare in a densely populated city."

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Research Article

Funding:

The authors received no specific funding for this work.

Competing Interests:

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation:

Lafta R, Al-Nuaimi MA, Burnham G (2018) Injury and death during the ISIS occupation of Mosul and its liberation: Results from a 40-cluster household survey. PLoS Med 15(5): e1002567. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002567

Author Affiliations:

Department of Community Medicine, Al Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq

National Center for Research and Treatment of Blood Diseases, Baghdad, Iraq

Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America

In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper:

http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002567
A Queen's University Belfast student has developed software which can detect insurance fraud quickly.

Jiawen Sun, a PhD student in the School of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technologies (ECIT) at Queen's, has been working for the last three years to create a software system which can efficiently analyse graph-structured data.

In sifting through an organisation's data, the software can rapidly detect insurance fraud.

Jiawen Sun, who is from Tianjin, China, explains: "Organisations are collecting increasing amounts of data, which is usually represented by graphs and can be useful for detecting fraud. However, as data sets grow into the trillions of bytes and beyond, this creates problems in high-performance computing, making it very hard to use the computer at full capacity.

"The algorithm I have created means that we can now process this information quickly and efficiently, enabling organisations to tackle issues such as insurance fraud."

Through her research, Jiawen studied how to lay out the data in a computer's memory and how to assign parts of the computation to different processors.

She also came up with two solutions to change the order of how the data is processed, which allows the computer to be used to its full capacity. The first solution changes the order in which graph edges are processed, splitting the graph in a way where there is no interference between processors, making the process more efficient. The second solution changes the order of processing vertices, allowing analysis to be completed faster.

Dr Hans Vandierendonck, who was supervisor of the project, says the findings will have a positive impact for many organisations across the globe.

"Jiawen's work is extremely valuable for many organisations who are processing large volumes of data. These techniques accelerate graph analytics up to 10-fold, which is a game changer for many organisations, allowing them to tap into analysis that they have never used before and at a much faster pace."

Jiawen's work outperforms many state-of-the-art works including the Apache Open Source projects GraphX (Spark) by 21x, Giraph by 55x and GraphLab by 37x. It outperforms the academic systems GraphChi (EPFL) by 1386x, and Ligra (Carnegie Mellon University) by 3x, when calculating the importance and popularity of web sites in the .uk domain using Google's PageRank algorithm.

Jiawen recently received a Silver medal at the Association for Computing Machinery Student Research Competition, which is sponsored by Microsoft. The award offers a unique forum for undergraduate and graduate students to present their original research before a panel of judges and attendees at well-known conferences.

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Nyiragongo in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the world's most active volcanoes, with a persistent lava lake as one of its defining features. In a talk at the 2018 SSA Annual Meeting, Adrien Oth of the European Center for Geodynamics and Seismology discussed how he and his colleagues are using multiple methods to monitor lava lake levels at the volcano.

The researchers analyze seismic and infrasound signals generated by the volcano as well as data collected during satellite flyovers to measure Nyiragongo's lake level fluctuations. During the eruption in 2002, which caused a major humanitarian crisis, the lava lake was drained and the depth of the remaining crater was estimated between 600 and 800 meters. About four months after the eruption, the crater started filling up again. Nowadays, the inner crater floor is about 400 meters below the rim and the lava lake remains at high level.

"The lava lake level is, among other things, related to the variations of the pressure inside the magmatic system underneath Nyiragongo volcano," Oth and his colleagues explained." In that sense, the lava lake represents a window into the magmatic system, and its level fluctuations provide information on the recharge and drainage of the magmatic system, such as batches of fresh magma and/or gas, or lateral magmatic intrusions into the surrounding crust."

The different techniques used to observe the lava lake offer a more complete look at the volcano's activity, the authors said. The seismic and infrasound data, collected continuously, help researchers gauge pressure changes in magmatic activity. "Until very recently, very few high-quality data were available for this region," the researchers noted." Over the past few years, our consortium assisted the Goma Volcano Observatory to deploy one of the densest modern real-time telemetered monitoring systems in Africa. Combined with modern processing techniques, these newly acquired datasets provide unprecedented opportunities to investigate the behavior of this unique magmatic system."

In combination with seismic and infrasound data, the scientists are using high resolution synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) images captured by satellites passing over the volcano to directly measure the rise and fall of the lava lake level. These images measure the length of the shadow cast by the crater's edge on the lava lake surface, which can be used to calculate the lava depth.

The lava lake observations are only one piece of the puzzle within the regional volcanic system, and "will certainly be of key importance for successful eruption forecasting in the future," said Oth and colleagues. "At this stage, however, these observations need to be first put into the larger context of the magmatic system in order to allow their proper interpretation in terms of eruptive processes."

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The 2018 Annual Meeting, held May 14-17 in Miami, Florida, is a joint conference between the Seismological Society of America and the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission (LACSC).
Scientists monitoring the vibrations of natural rock arches have found that the resonant frequencies of arches undergo dynamic changes from day to day, according to research presented at the 2018 SSA Annual Meeting.

University of Utah doctoral student Paul Geimer and colleagues are analyzing these frequency changes to determine whether they can be used to predict when a natural bridge might be ready to collapse.

Natural rock arches, such as Rainbow Bridge, one of the world's largest, or the thousands that dot the desert of southern Utah, vibrate as wind, earthquakes and human disturbances shake them in minute ways.

"One of the main drivers of the research was the collapse of Wall Arch in 2008 in Arches National Park [in Utah], right along the trail," said Geimer. "It happened in the middle of a calm night in summer with no indication that anything was about to happen."

Geimer's advisor University of Utah geoscientist Jeff Moore had also received a request from the National Park Service and Native American tribes worried about the future of Rainbow Bridge, where tourism helicopters fly over nearby Lake Powell. "They wanted to see if we could tell them more about the potential dangers from helicopters, and about the vibration levels that the bridge might be experiencing from these manmade sources," Geimer said.

"Vibration monitoring of man-made structures to detect and measure damage is a well-established technique within civil engineering, and now we're able to apply many of the same methods to natural structures where we don't have the same level of prior knowledge about the stability of the structure or material properties," he noted.

One focus of Geimer's work has been Aqueduct Arch in Utah, where the researchers have collected a year's worth of continuous data on the bridge's vibration frequencies, detected by broadband seismic stations placed near the arch. The unusually long record allows the scientists to correlate frequency changes with changes in the environment and make predictive models for how environmental conditions alter the stresses within the rock.

"I have been surprised by the dynamic nature of the arch and how much frequencies shift," Geimer said. "The elastic daily and annual changes have been really dramatic."

Resonant frequencies peak both when temperatures drop below freezing and when ambient temperatures are their warmest in the summer. Geimer said these conditions alter the shell of the bridge and cause the rock mass to stiffen, changing how the arch vibrates.

While these changes are likely acting to weaken the arch over time, the researchers haven't yet been able to identify a frequency change that would indicate an imminent collapse of an arch. "We don't believe that we have measured a site with significant enough changes to indicate failure--all variations measured to this point have been caused by temporary, recoverable changes to the rock," said Geimer.

Not every arch is as dynamic as Aqueduct, he noted. "We've measured more than a dozen arches, and an outstanding question that we are still working to answer is why elastic frequency changes aren't common across all arches and what a lack of change means for long-term stability."

The 2018 Annual Meeting, held May 14-17 in Miami, Florida, is a joint conference between the Seismological Society of America and the Latin American and Caribbean Seismological Commission (LACSC).

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A Ph.D. candidate, Ryota Kondo, and Professor Michiteru Kitazaki at Toyohashi University of Technology, in cooperation with Professor Masahiko Inami at the University of Tokyo, Associate Professor Maki Sugimoto, and Associate Professor Kouta Minamizawa at Keio University have found that the visual-motor synchronicity of only the hands and feet can induce a sense of illusory ownership over an invisible body interpolated between virtual hands and feet. It can provide the illusory ownership over the invisible body at a distance, or enable the operation of one's own transparentized body in a virtual environment.

Illusory body ownership can be induced by visual-tactile synchronicity such as the rubber hand illusion (passive method) and by visual-motor synchronicity such as the full-body illusion (active method). These methods enable us to communicate in cyberspace as well as in real environments. Virtual reality technology enables us to experience the illusory ownership of bodies of different shapes, sizes, genders, ages, etc. The illusory ownership of an invisible body in a first-person perspective has been realized with the passive method, and it reduces social anxiety to an audience (Guterstam, Abdulkarim & Ehrsson, Sci. Rep. 2015).

However, it is not clear whether the ownership of an invisible and dynamic body can be obtained at a distance.

Currently, researchers at Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, in collaboration with the researchers at the University of Tokyo and Keio University, have developed a new method to induce a sense of illusory ownership over an invisible body by focusing on the body action.

They presented only the gloves and socks two meters in front of and away from the participants using a head-mounted display (Figure 1, left). Twenty naive volunteers answered a questionnaire after a five-minute observation with free body actions. The motion of the gloves and socks were synchronized or asynchronized with the participant's action. The illusory body ownership was rated higher when the virtual gloves and socks moved synchronously with their own movements than the asynchronous condition. They felt as if their own had become increasingly transparent when the motion was synchronized as compared to when the motion was asynchronized.

The experiments showed that the illusory ownership of the invisible body was not significantly different from the visible whole body (Figure 1, right), and that the proprioceptive self-location drifted toward the invisible body that was at a distance in front of the participants.

Ryota Kondo, a graduate student of the Program of Leading Graduate School at Toyohashi University of Technology said, "I want to create experiences of illusory ownership of various bodies. A person may have a negative feeling with his/her body, and he/she may want to have a different body from his/her current body. Virtual reality technology offers us the opportunities to have the different bodies that we desire." Professor Michiteru Kitazaki, a perceptual psychologist and the leader of the research at Toyohashi University of Technology explained, "Human behaviors and mind would change when they have the illusory ownership of different bodies. Thus, we must investigate how our communication would differ in the future society if our body ownership and appearance could be significantly modified during the course of our daily lives."

These findings suggest that we can own a distant invisible body only from our hands and feet. It is useful to show complex body skills to another person and in turn he/she can imitate them for learning because the invisible/transparentized body scarcely occludes the scene, and the body ownership may facilitate skill learning.

Human communication is affected by body gestures and appearance. This study proposes the idea that our communication would change and might become body-appearance free in the future if we could have different bodies daily in cyberspace.

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Reference: Kondo, R., Sugimoto, M., Minamizawa, K., Hoshi, T., Inami, M. and Kitazaki, M. (2018). Illusory body ownership of an invisible body interpolated between virtual hands and feet via visual-motor synchronicity. Scientific Reports, 8. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-25951-2 (15th May 2018)

Funding: This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (15H01701) and Grant-in-Aid for challenging Exploratory Research (16K12477) by JSPS, MEXT, Japan.

Further information

Toyohashi University of Technology

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Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, 441-8580, JAPAN

Inquiries: Committee for Public Relations

E-mail: press@office.tut.ac.jp

Toyohashi University of Technology was founded in 1976 as a National University of Japan, and is a leading research institute in the fields of mechanical engineering, advanced electronics, information sciences, life sciences, and architecture. Website: http://www.tut.ac.jp/english/
CINCINNATI--Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found that MRI fusion biopsy--coupling MRI and ultrasound to visualize suspicious lesions in the prostate gland and targeting the biopsy to that particular area--outperformed standard prostate biopsy in patients with a prior negative prostate biopsy.

This data, published in the May 10 advance online edition of the journal Urologic Oncology, could provide a new standard of care when screening men for prostate cancer and could lead to more efficient practices, saving time and money and improving diagnosis times for patients.

"In this study, we used a large multi-institutional sample size," says Abhinav Sidana, MD, director of urologic oncology and assistant professor in the Division of Urology at the UC College of Medicine and the corresponding author on this study. "In men with suspicion of having prostate cancer, standard (collecting 12 samples from the prostate), or saturation (collecting 20-40 samples from the prostate), biopsy, a more randomized approach, has traditionally been a principal method for diagnosis. However, this can lead to overdiagnosis of clinically insignificant cancer, meaning prostate cancer where treatment is not needed, underdiagnosis of clinically significant cancer, meaning prostate cancer where treatment is needed, and has a high false-negative rate, meaning tests that read negative for cancer when it is truly malignant.

"Patients with continued suspicion of prostate cancer and negative prior prostate biopsy are a diagnostic challenge, and around 38 percent will undergo repeat standard or saturation biopsy over five years in order to obtain a diagnosis. Unfortunately, repeating this has little efficacy in identifying cancerous lesions with only a 10 to 25 percent cancer detection rate even after the fourth repeat biopsy. These multiple re-biopsies also lead to increased cost, delayed diagnosis and could contribute to progression of a patient's disease."

Sidana, who is also a UC Health urologist and a member of the UC Cancer Institute, says that MRI fusion biopsy has emerged as a promising alternative because of its ability to help physicians identify clinically significant cancers and that several single-institution studies have found the benefit of this method in detecting prostate cancer in patients with prior negative prostate biopsies. However, the analysis in relation to the number of prior negative biopsies a patient had was limited.

"We wanted to investigate the efficacy of fusion biopsy in comparison to systematic biopsy in the detection of clinically significant prostate cancer and to determine the effect the number of prior negative biopsies had on cancer detection with each method," he says.

The cases of 779 patients--each with a history of one or more negative biopsies who also underwent MRI biopsy fusion--from four institutions were analyzed making it one of the largest studies in this population, says Sidana. Institutions included the National Cancer Institute in Maryland; Northwell Health in New York; University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine; and State University of New York Upstate Medical University.

The average age of patients was 63. Of the 779 patients, cancer was detected in 346 patients (44 percent), and the clinically significant cancer detection rate was 30.7 percent with fusion biopsy detecting 26.3 percent (205 cases) and systematic biopsy detecting only 4.4 percent (34 cases).

"Of all cancers detected by each method, fusion biopsy detected a higher proportion of clinically significant cancer when compared to standard biopsy," Sidana adds. "Fusion biopsy also outperformed standard biopsy in finding high-risk prostate cancer. While patients with a higher number of prior prostate biopsies had a poorer cancer detection rate on standard prostate biopsy, detection on fusion biopsy stayed constant and did not decrease in patients with a higher number of prior prostate biopsies, thus proving it to be more accurate in finding cancers."

Sidana says these results show that the fusion biopsy technique should be used in patients with suspicion of prostate cancer.

"These findings may work to change or improve standard of care and could help in avoiding unnecessary biopsies, saving patients and health care systems money, as well as helping to diagnose cancers earlier, improving patient care and quality of life," he says.

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This study was supported by an intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health. Authors cite no conflict of interest.
PHILADELPHIA - The battle between the human immune system and long-term, persisting infections and other chronic diseases such as cancer results in a prolonged stalemate. Over time battle-weary T cells become exhausted, giving germs or tumors an edge. Using data from multiple molecular databases, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have found nine distinct types of exhausted T cells ("Tex"), which could have implications for fighting chronic infections, autoimmunity, and cancer. They published their findings in Immunity this week.

"Exhausted T cells are a discrete cell lineage that have become important immunotherapy targets for chronic infection and cancer," said senior author John Wherry, PhD, a professor of Microbiology and director of the Institute for Immunology. "Now, we know that exhausted T cells are a vastly diverse set of immune cells."

Wherry's lab has spent the last decade describing these populations of fatigued cells. Overall, when normal T cells become exhausted, they develop defects in their germ- and tumor-fighting capabilities. Tex also express inhibitory receptor proteins on their surface that stall key biochemical pathways, provoke changes in control of gene expression, alter metabolism for making energy to fight infections and tumors, and prevent development of optimal immune function.

New, highly effective immunotherapies that target these inhibitory receptors expressed by Tex such as PD-1 or CTLA-4 have shown dramatic effects among patients with melanoma and other diseases, with potential to also combat breast, ovarian and other cancers. Although Tex have been implicated in the response to checkpoint blockade drugs in animal models, the underlying immunological mechanisms of their therapeutic response or failure in people is only now being studied in earnest.

"Exhausted T cells are quite diverse, as are all types of T cells," Wherry said. "This sheer diversity is the hallmark of the human immune system that has to essentially have a way to respond to every germ an individual might encounter in a lifetime."

Knowing this, the Penn team asked what the diversity in the Tex pool reveals about a disease itself and its course in a patient. They developed an assay to investigate the molecules that control gene expression in Tex by comparing them to other types of T cells and within a Tex population in blood from HIV patients whose viral load is well-controlled.

Next, they defined core exhaustion-specific genes and identified disease-induced molecular changes in Tex populations in HIV with uncontrolled disease and in human lung cancer. Using this data, the Tex fell into nine distinct clusters of similar expression patterns with regard to transcription factors and inhibitory receptors.

Because of the clusters' relationships to specific disease type and progression, the team's aim is to use the signature of a Tex cluster to assess a patient's overall immune health and likelihood of responding to a certain therapy. "We want to be able to select and tailor immune therapies according to a patient's exhausted T cell pool and its individual characteristics," Wherry said.

Applying this type of assessment to exhausted T cells in the context of immunotherapy clinical trials might identify patients more likely to benefit from specific types of combination immunotherapies and may point to underlying mechanisms in the specific types of exhausted T cells responding to an infection or cancer.

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These studies were led by first author Bertram Bengsch, a postdoctoral fellow in Wherry's lab. Other coauthors from Penn included Takuya Ohtani, Omar Khan, Sasikanth Manne, Shaun O'Brien, Ramin Sedaghat Herati, Alexander C. Huang, Kyong-Mi Chang, and Steven M. Albelda.

This work was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (AI105343, AI082630, AI112521, AI115712, AI117718, AI108545, and AI117950) and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy.

Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $7.8 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top medical schools in the United States for more than 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $405 million awarded in the 2017 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Medicine Princeton Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital - the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, a leading provider of highly skilled and compassionate behavioral healthcare.

Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2017, Penn Medicine provided $500 million to benefit our community.
The project is notable for having enjoyed the participation of more than 100,000 people around the world. Also, its conclusions will make it possible to communicate in a way that is impossible to spy on in the future

The review Nature has published an article, one of the authors of which was the University of Seville teacher Adan Cabello, which collects the results of the thirteen experiments carried out in November 2016 as part of the Big Bell Test project. For the first time, the thousands of decisions which each experiment requires were taken directly by humans, and not by machines. For this, the thirteen experiments had the help of more than 100,000 people. The Big Bell Test experiments will make it possible to communicate in a way that is impossible to spy on in the future.

On November 30th 2016, simultaneously in Australia, China, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina, Chile and the United States, thirteen quantum physics experiments were carried out using photons, atoms and superconducting devices in order to test the breaking of Bell's inequality, a limit discovered by the physicist John Stewart Bell. Breaking Bell's inequality shows us that in nature there are correlations between separate systems that cannot be explained by supposing that experiments reveal pre-existing properties.

The University of Seville has collaborated in one of the thirteen experiments, the Bell test with entangled photons in a temporary container carried out at the University of Concepcion in Chile. Among the contributions of the Big Bell Test, Cabello highlights, "the curious thing is seeing how very different physical systems, simultaneously subjected to very different questions in different parts of the planet, all follow exactly the same laws".

The novelty of these thirteen simultaneous experiments is that, for the first time, the thousands of decisions that each experiments require were taken directly by humans, and not by machines or physical devices that could be "in cahoots" with photons or atoms. For this, the thirteen experiments had the help of more than 100,000 people who, via the internet and using games and infrastructures created by the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Castelldefels (Barcelona), generated incredibly long sequences of zeroes and ones which told each laboratory what measurements they had to take. For this reason, 'The BIG Bell Test, exceeded all the scientists' expectations'.

The results of each and every one of the experiments who that Bell's limit was overcome, so confirming the predictions of quantum physics. Beyond the scientific results themselves, the initiative, known as the Big Bell Test, showed how global networks can allow tens of thousands of people to directly participate in cutting-edge scientific research.

The University of Seville teacher Adan Cabello believes that this is "probably the biggest experiment in the history of physics, if we measure it by the number of participants" and "it shows, in a way never seen before, that science is a collective business, which belongs to all of humanity".

The Bell tests mean that it will be possible in the future to have metropolitan communications that are impossible to spy on. "Quantum physics makes secure communications possible", Cabello explains. These communications are based on the laws of nature, and so it is impossible to break them. "The experiments show the best that spies could do" to intercept these communications. If these limits are surpassed, it will be possible to have communication which are impossible to intercept. However, the researchers warn that there is a long way to go before these ideas can be brought into practice.

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Even if certain crimes are merely attempted, foreigners may be expelled from the country as a result, ruled the Swiss Federal court in Lausanne on Tuesday.

The judges at Switzerlands highest court confirmed an earlier ruling by a cantonal court in Aarau which had ordered the deportation of a Georgian national for attempted burglary.

In October 2016, the man had attempted to break into a detached house with the help of two accomplices. They were disturbed by the returning homeowners and fled the property. Shortly afterwards, the trio were stopped and arrested by the local police.

According to Swiss law, theft in conjunction with trespassing is a criminal offence for which a compulsory expulsion is imposed.

Interpretation of the deportation law

The complainant subsequently filed a complaint with the Federal court against the ruling, arguing that he had only attempted to commit the offences.

In his complaint, the man wrote that Article 66a of the Swiss Penal Code only makes reference to completed criminal offences. The Federal Court rejected this on Tuesday, arguing that the Federal Council had explicitly stated in an addendum to the law that the expulsion must be imposed irrespective of whether the relevant offence had merely been attempted.

The controversial foreign criminal deportation lawwas implemented into the Swiss Criminal Code in October 2016. The changes in the law make it possible to expel foreign criminals from Switzerland for five to 15 years for certain criminal offences.
The canton of Geneva is set to test a system of self-driving public buses as part of an international project organised by the University of Geneva and part-funded by the European Commission.

Followingthe Swiss city of Sion, which was the first to test autonomous public service vehicles in 2015, Geneva will now also position itself as a leader in the futuristic field, announced the University and the European consortium AVENUE on Tuesday.

According to a press statement [insert link] published by the university, the four-year project will draw on a fleet of autonomous vehicles of sizes ranging from four to 12 places, and aims gather data reflecting the economic, logistic, and social implications of a self-driving network.

Run in collaboration with local authorities and the Geneva public transport services (TPG), the trial hopes to collect information around three major axes: autonomous driving (the security and adaptability of vehicles), optimization of itineraries (the user experience), and in- and out-of-vehicle services (catering to reduced mobility passengers, for example).

It will be conducted in suburban areas less frequently or conveniently serviced by existing routes. Autonomous vehicles will not go downtown, said Denis Berdoz, CEO of TPG.

Geneva, Switzerlands second-largest city, is particularly suited to such a trial because of the complex traffic situations it offers (a combination of jams, pedestrianized zones and bicycle lanes), as well as the well-mapped and GPS-ready nature of the region.

The project has a budget of some 22 million (CHF26.28 million), 16 million of which are funded by the European Unions Horizon 2020 research financing mechanism.
Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab plans to open a data centre in Switzerland by the end of next year to help address Western government concerns that Russia exploits its anti-virus software to spy on customers.

This initiative is the latest effort by Kaspersky, a global leader in anti-virus software, to parry accusations by the US government and others that it spies on customers at the behest of Russian intelligence.

Kaspersky Lab said part of the new facility would be based in Zurich, and the company had chosen Switzerland for its policy of neutrality and strong data protection laws.

Reuters first reported the plans in March, citing company documents which said Kaspersky Lab was setting up the centre in response to efforts in the United States, Britain and Lithuania to boycott the company.

The United States last year ordered civilian government agencies to remove Kaspersky software from their networks. Kaspersky has strongly rejected the espionage accusations and filed a lawsuit against the US ban.

Were addressing the question of trust by moving our data storage and processing facilities, as well as software assembly, to Switzerland, Kaspersky Lab CEO and founder, Eugene Kaspersky, said in written comments to Reuters.

The data of our customers from the US, Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia will henceforth be stored and processed in Switzerland. More countries will follow.

Eugene Kaspersky said he had received support from regional Swiss officials and the Swiss embassy in Moscow.

Suspicious files

The Zurich centre will collect and analyse files identified as suspicious on the computers of tens of millions of Kaspersky customers in the United States, European Union and Asia, Kaspersky Lab said.

The company believes moving these operations to Switzerland will ally concerns over legal loopholes that enable Russian security services to monitor data transmissions inside Russia, according to the internal documents seen by Reuters. It will also force companies to assist law enforcement agencies.

Kaspersky Lab said it also plans to open similar centres in North America and Asia by 2020, but declined to provide any further details.

It is possible the move could be derailed by the Russian security services, who might resist placing the data centre outside their jurisdiction, according to people familiar with Kaspersky Lab and its relations with the Russian government.

Western security officials say Russias FSB Federal Security Service, successor to the Soviet-era KGB, exerts influence over Kaspersky management decisions, though the company has repeatedly denied those allegations.













Reuters/ts






Switzerland is supporting a project that aims to drive innovation in Croatia and limit the emigration of talented young scientists. The programme was officially launched on Tuesday in the Croatian capital Zagreb in the presence of various ministers and the Swiss ambassador.

With a budget of CHF4.7 million ($4.7 million), the project was developed by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education, the Croatian Science Foundation (CSF), and various academic institutions in Croatia.

Not only do we want to encourage the talented pool of Croatian scientists living abroad to return home, but we also want to give young researchers a real chance, responsibilities and future prospects in their own country so they will no longer need to go abroad in order to have a successful career, said Olivier Kuttel, head of International Affairs at EPFL.

Following a selection process that began in March, four young and promising Croatian researchers will each receive CHF1 million to set up a laboratory, hire a team and put a research programme in place. If, after four years, the pilot programme is a success and the researchers live up to expectations, they will be given tenure.

Scaled back

The idea dates back four years, right after Croatia joined the European Union. The project, which was even more ambitious at the time, was submitted to the European Commission for funding through the Horizon 2020 programme.

Then, on February 9, 2014, Swiss voters narrowly backed an initiative against mass immigration and the project had to be re-thought and scaled back. In the end, the project will be funded through the CHF1 billion that Switzerland has contributed to the EU for Eastern European countries. The Croatian government will cover 15% of the projects cost in addition to providing appropriate research facilities.

There are high hopes that this measure will help reduce Croatias brain-drain, reduce migration to Switzerland, and serve as a model for other European countries.

These talented young scientists will certainly attract others like them, create jobs and startups, and ultimately give Croatias economy a real boost, said Kuttel. And since its a pilot project, it could be quickly rolled out in other European countries.
Pope Francis is making a rare one-day visit to Geneva on June 21, where he is set to meet the Swiss president and hold a mass at the airport. But before that hes going to the World Council of Churches (WCC) for talks. Why is he visiting this little-known religious body?

The last papal visit to Switzerland was in 2004, when Pope John Paul II came to Bern a year before he died. John Paul II had previously visited various international organisations in Geneva  aka the Protestant Rome  in 1984, including the WCC. Paul VI also went there in 1969.

Pope fever is mounting at the Geneva-based organisation, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year. Next months papal trip, which goes under the motto Walking, praying and working together, is the result of five years efforts by WCC officials following Pope Francis appointment in 2013.

The visit of his Holiness Pope Francis on this ecumenical pilgrimage to the WCC on our 70th anniversary is a historical milestone in the search for Christian unity and for the cooperation among the churches for a world with peace and justice, an excited Olav Fykse Tveit, WCC general secretary, told reporters on Tuesday.

Founded in 1948. the discreet religious organization brings together the worlds Orthodox, Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran and Reformed churches -350 member churches in all -but not the Roman Catholic Church, with whom it has had a complicated relationship.

Like the United Nations, the WCC was created after the two World Wars in the hope that Christians could put aside their doctrinal differences and help build a new world. The organisation, which has around 100 staff in Geneva, says it focuses on strengthening relationships with member churches and ecumenical partners, spiritual life, youth engagement, inter-religious dialogue and cooperation and building a just community of women and men.

The Roman Catholic Church decided not to join the WCC when it was set up, nor later in the 1960s when the issue of Christian unity was debated and the two bodies moved closer together.

Andrzej Choromanski, a representative of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said the decision not to join was taken for theological and practical reasons and it remains off the cards.

The Catholic Church is one universal global church with 1.2 billion members, whilst the WCC represents 500 million. Itd need to rethink its organisation and decision-making if the Catholic Church were to join, he told reporters.

Despite not being affiliated, the Vatican sends around 50 observers to participate in WCC committees dealing with issues such as peace promotion, migrants and refugees, religious doctrine and education.

Highly significant

Michel Grandjean, professor of Christian history at Geneva University, said the popes trip to Geneva was not a symbolic birthday celebration but a highly significant working visit. He added that it comes at a time when ecumenical issues need a boost.

I think there are many issues to be discussed such as how these federations of churches are organized, he told swissinfo.ch. Also, there are points of understanding to be discussed. The Roman Catholic Church still refers to itself as the church in the singular, as if it is the one authentic body while the others are tainted with suspicion; they are not seen as churches but simply ecclesiastic communities.

Despite religious differences, the organisers say the papal visit to Geneva sends an important sign of unity.

The Holy Father invests a great deal for Christians and tells us that we should promote a way of thinking together, saidChoromanski.

Geneva will be the second European visit by Francis with a clear ecumenical accent after his visit to Lund in Sweden in October 2016 to mark the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation alongside leaders of the Lutheran World Federation.
Germany on Tuesday signalled its support for an independent probe into the deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, after the United States blocked a UN Security Council statement calling for such an investigation.

It is our view that an independent investigation commission can clarify the violent incidents and the bloody violations at the border area, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Germany also blamed the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which controls Gaza for stoking the flames.

It is clear that everyone has the right to peaceful protest, but it is just as clear that this right to peaceful protest should not be abused in order to provoke violence. And Hamas has been pushing for an escalation of violence, added Seibert.

The United States on Monday laid the blame of the deadly unrest squarely on Hamas, which it said was intentionally and cynically provoking a response from Israel.
After months of suspense, Spain's government finally got the guarantee it needed that the 2018 budget would be approved after a Basque nationalist party said Wednesday it would vote in favour of the spending plan.

The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV), whose five lawmakers are key for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoys minority government in a parliamentary vote on the budget scheduled for later Wednesday, said in a statement it had decided, out of a sense of responsibility, to vote yes to the budget.

Approval of the budget is crucial for the survival of Rajoys government until the end of its term in 2020 when the next general election is due, according to analysts.

But the PNV, which rules the northern Basque Country region, had for months threatened to withhold its crucial support unless Madrid lifted its direct rule on Catalonia imposed last October after a failed secession bid.

Rajoy is not willing to give Catalonia back its autonomy after the regions new president Quim Torra named a new government that includes jailed and exiled former ministers who backed last years secession bid, a move the prime minister rejected.

The PNV, however, is deeply opposed to direct rule as it guards its own regions autonomy fiercely.

But while it kept up the suspense until the last minute, it is in the partys interest for the budget to be approved as it managed to persuade Rajoys Popular Party (PP) to include a significant pension rise in the spending plan.

The PNV, which has governed the northern Basque region for most of the past four decades, pressed the PP to agree to index the rise in state pensions to the inflation rate.

Tens of thousands of pensioners have taken to the streets of Spanish cities in recent months to demand higher pensions, with the protest especially large in the Basque region.
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The Kremlin on Tuesday said it was deeply concerned at Israel's killing of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza who were protesting the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem.

The situation, particularly the deaths of many dozens of Palestinians, cannot but provoke the deepest concern, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Moscow expressed concern from the start over the actions of the US that could lead to provoking tensions in the Middle East, Peskov said.

Unfortunately, thats how it worked out.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned in December that the US decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem does not help regulate the situation in the Middle East but instead destabilises the already-complicated atmosphere.

We are following the situation very closely and consider as before that all sides, all countries, especially the members of the Quartet, must avoid any actions, that provoke such outbursts of tensions, he said of the diplomatic grouping which includes the US, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.

Jerusalem is one of the most thorny issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with both sides claiming it as their capital.

Most of the international community does not formally recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital, and almost all embassies are located in Tel Aviv.
Lithuanian prosecutors on Tuesday called for five Russians, including an ex-defence minister, and a Belarusian to be sentenced to jail in absentia over a 1991 Soviet crackdown on the Baltic state's independence drive.

In a move that threatens to further strain bilateral ties, prosecutors said the former Soviet officials, including 93-year-old former defence minister Dmitry Yazov, were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors ask the court to convict the accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity and hand them the strictest punishment which is life imprisonment, prosecution spokeswoman Elena Martinoniene told AFP.

Moscow has described the trial as illegal and rejected requests to extradite the suspects and question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who is 87.

All six suspects were senior Soviet officials during a January 1991 attack on a Vilnius television that left 14 civilians dead and more than 800 people injured.

Soviet troops had entered the capital Vilnius to bring Lithuania to heel after its 1990 secession from the Soviet Union following five decades under Moscows thumb as a republic of the USSR.

The troops stormed the citys television tower as tens of thousands of people formed human shields to block their progress.

Prosecutors are also seeking jail terms ranging from 12 to 20 years for another 61 defendants.

Only two suspects are standing trial. Others are being represented by public defenders.

Ever since Lithuania won recognition from Moscow as an independent state in September 1991, it has sought justice for the victims of the crackdown.

While several Lithuanian Soviet-era officials have been convicted, other suspects have remained out of reach in Russia and Belarus.

The Baltic state of 2.8 million people has had a rocky relationship with Russia since independence, and in particular since Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
The Dutch government is phasing out the use of anti-virus software made by Russian firm Kaspersky Lab amid fears of possible spying, despite vehement denials by the Moscow-based cyber security company.

The Dutch Justice and Security ministry said in a statement late Monday the decision had been taken as a precautionary measure in order to guarantee national security.

But Kaspersky Lab, whose anti-virus software is installed on some 400 million computers worldwide, said Tuesday it was very disappointed by the move.

The firm, which is suspected by US authorities of helping the Kremlins espionage efforts, also announced Tuesday that it was moving its core infrastructure and operations to Switzerland.

Our new centre in Switzerland will strengthen the proven integrity of Kaspersky Labs products, (and) significantly improve the resilience of our IT infrastructure to any trust risk  even theoretical ones, the Russian company said in a statement.

Last year, the US federal government removed Kaspersky from its list of approved vendors, weeks after senior US intelligence agency and law enforcement officials expressed concerns about the safety of its software.

The Netherlands fears Kasperskys anti-virus software is deep in systems and any abuse could pose a major security risk.

Dutch officials also voiced concern that under Russian law companies such as Kaspersky are required to cooperate with the Russian government.

But the company hit back saying Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber espionage or offensive cyber efforts and adding it was being treated as guilty merely due to geopolitical issues.

It said it would try to arrange a meeting soon with the Dutch coordinator for security and counterterrorism to discuss the situation.

Dutch intelligence officials have increasingly warned however that they fear the Kremlin is trying to hack into Dutch companies and manipulate elections here.

Russia has an active offensive cyber programme focusing on the Netherlands and vital Dutch interests, the ministry warned, adding it had therefore concluded there was a risk of digital espionage and sabotage.
Preparatory work for the construction of a controversial Russian gas pipeline began off the German coast on Tuesday, just days ahead of a visit to Moscow by German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Nord Stream 2 AG today started the offshore preparatory works for the subsequent pipelaying in the Bay of Greifswald on Germanys Baltic Sea coast, the building consortium, led by Russian gas giant Gazprom, said in a statement.

It said the work was in line with planning approval granted by German authorities, and that similar offshore work had begun off the coast of Finland where approval has also been granted.

The pipeline, NordStream 2, will follow the track of the existing NordStream 1 pipeline and will double the amount of Russian gas arriving in the European Unions most powerful economy via the Baltic Sea when it is finished in late 2019 to 110 billion cubic metres per year.

The pipeline has proved controversial, in particular in eastern European EU states, who fear it could be used as a tool to boost Russian influence over the bloc.

Moscow notoriously used gas prices to pressure Ukraine during a mounting conflict with its former satellite which saw Russia annex the Crimean peninsula in 2014  prompting EU sanctions in response.

NordStream 2, by increasing Gazproms capacity to deliver gas directly to Germany, will give Moscow even more ability to route gas exports around Ukraine.

Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has declined since the first NordStream pipeline opened in 2011.

Merkel unexpectedly threw German support for the pipeline into question last month when she said it could not go forward unless their were guarantees for Ukraine concerning current overland gas transit.

While Gazprom signalled its willingness to maintain transit of gas via Ukraine, it only offered lower volumes, prompting Ukraine to reject the offer.

Merkel is to travel to the southern Russian city of Sochi on Friday to meet President Vladimir Putin where gas transit is expected to be discussed.

In Russia, the project has been criticised on environmental grounds by Greenpeace, which has called for the route to be changed to avoid the Kurgalsky wildlife preserve near Saint Petersburg.

It said on Tuesday work had been started illegally in the preserve, destroying dunes and wetlands, while also distrubing birds during the critical nesting season.

apo-rl/bmm
Preparatory work for the construction of a controversial Russian gas pipeline began off the German coast on Tuesday, said a consortium led by Russia's Gazprom, days ahead of a visit by German chancellor Angela Merkel to Russia.

Nord Stream 2 AG today started the offshore preparatory works for the subsequent pipelaying in the Bay of Greifswald on Germanys Baltic Sea coast, the consortium said in a statement.

It said the work was in line with planning approval granted by German authorities, and that similar offshore work had begun off the coast of Finland where approval has also been granted.

The pipeline, NordStream 2, will follow the track of the existing NordStream 1 pipeline and will double the amount of Russian gas arriving in the European Unions most powerful economy via the Baltic Sea when it is finished in late 2019 to 110 billion cubic metres per year.

The pipeline has proved controversial, in particular in eastern European EU states, who fear it could be used as a tool to boost Russian influence over the bloc.

Moscow notoriously used gas prices to pressure Ukraine during a mounting conflict with its former satellite which saw Russia annex the Crimean peninsula in 2014  prompting EU sanctions in response.

NordStream 2, by increasing Gazproms capacity to deliver gas directly to Germany, will give Moscow even more ability to route gas exports around Ukraine.

Transit of Russian gas through Ukraine has declined since the first NordStream pipeline opened in 2011.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel unexpectedly threw German support for the pipeline into question last month when she said it could not go forward unless their were guarantees for Ukraine concerning overland gas transit.

While Gazprom signalled its willingness to maintain transit of gas via Ukraine, it only offered lower volumes, prompting Ukraine to reject the offer.

Merkel is to travel to the southern Russian city of Sochi on Friday to meet with President Vladimir Putin where gas transit is expected to be discussed.

apo-rl/oc/spm
The EU said a new bridge linking mainland Russia to Moscow-annexed Crimea, which Russian President Vladimir Putin drove a truck over on Tuesday, was a fresh assault on Ukraine's territorial integrity.

The Russian Federation has constructed the Kerch Bridge to the Crimean Peninsula without Ukraines consent. This constitutes another violation of Ukraines sovereignty and territorial integrity by Russia, said a statement by a spokesperson for the office of the European Unions foreign policy service.

The construction of the bridge aims at the further forced integration of the illegally-annexed peninsula with Russia and its isolation from Ukraine of which it remains a part.

The bridge also limits sea traffic to Ukranian ports in the Azov Sea, the statement said.

Russian state television showed Putin dressed in jeans and a casual jacket sitting behind the wheel of a construction truck to drive across the bridge and officially open it.

The EU says it continues to refuse to recognise the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia.

It has also unleashed a series of sanctions against Moscow for its support for pro-Russian separatists in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, and on Monday added five more election officials there to the list.
1. Yes. There should be absolute certainty that the election was free and fair.

2. Yes. The audit could and should lead to stronger laws governing elections in the state.

3. No. Former President Trump wants the audit to further cast doubt on the 2020 vote.

4. No. Its a waste of money, an attempt by Abbott to gain favor among Trump backers.

5. Unsure. It seems unnecessary but it may provide some worthwhile findings.

Vote

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As writing organizations began to distance themselves from acclaimed San Antonio writer Bryce Milligan in the wake of accusations that he acted inappropriately with a former student, multiple other students he taught corroborated some of the allegations made against him.

Over the weekend, Milligan resigned from the Texas Institute of Letters, an organization that honors and provides monetary support to Texas writers. Carmen Tafolla, the groups president, said his resignation was largely symbolic because the institutes bylaws and tradition connote lifetime membership. The unprecedented circumstances prompted the institute to form an ethics committee to examine when a members conduct affects its activities.

As an institution, we stand firmly against abuse of any sort. We stand against sexual intimidation. We stand against disempowerment against any segment of our society, Tafolla said. Our job is to encourage ethical professionalism and excellence in the literary arts.

On Monday, literary arts center Gemini Ink announced that Milligan would not help moderate a discussion this month on San Antonios literary history. Tafolla will take his place.

Both actions were in response to a public account published online last week by Hailey Laine Johnson, a former student of Milligan when he taught creative writing in the early 2000s at the North East School of the Arts, a magnet program of North East Independent School District housed at Lee High School. Johnson said that during the 2001-02 school year, when she was a 14-year-old freshman, Milligan groomed her and engaged in improper conduct that included touching, verbal exchanges and late-night phone calls and emails.

Milligan taught at NESA for less than two years and resigned in March 2002 before he could be fired after an investigation prompted by a complaint by Johnson, according to the district.

In a written statement last week, Milligan denied making sexual advances toward Johnson and characterized their relationship as strictly platonic. He has not responded to interview requests, including one made Monday.

Half a dozen former students said it was common for Milligan, then in his late 40s, to be flirtatious with Johnson and pay an inordinate amount of attention to her, compared with other students. The nature of their relationship was widely known and was the subject of rumors and gossip, they said.

Former student Muriell Ramirez said the dynamic created jealousy among some students, including herself. Boundaries were crossed, and what occurred was inappropriate and not what one would expect to see in a healthy and safe classroom, she said.

Johnson was the only person that mattered in that classroom for Bryce, said Ramirez, 31. The class went from this amazing environment where we all trusted one another and challenged one another, to an environment where our teacher was very checked out and focused entirely on one student.

Several former students said Milligan would touch Johnson in class, which at the time was taught in a portable classroom building. Some said they witnessed Johnson sitting on Milligans lap and being playfully chased around the room by him.

Esther Welsh, who was then a sophomore, said she once saw Milligan nearly straddle Johnson while she leaned on a desk and he stood above her, with his legs on either side.

I thought that was really weird. I found it really unsettling, Welsh said.

On another occasion, Jonathan Fletcher, then a junior, said he saw Johnson and Milligan sitting together with their legs intertwined.

It was also not uncommon for Milligan to select female students to be his muse, a term that flattered at least one former student. Others, including Johnson, said it made them feel deeply uncomfortable.

One former student, who requested anonymity to protect her job as a city employee, said Milligan had referred to her as his muse when she was a 13-year-old freshman. She did not understand what it meant but said it accompanied behavior from Milligan that included him singing to her and buying her a computer so she could type her assignments.

She said that while she wrote in class, Milligan would stand over her shoulder, so close that she could feel his breathing on her neck and smell cigarettes on his breath.

It was not an appropriate distance. It was just way too close, she said.

The former student said she was relieved to no longer be the object of Milligans attention after Johnson joined the class the next year. Milligan had never touched her, but he would frequently touch Johnson, the former student said.

Everybody knew. Everybody in our class knew. The attention, the extra-special attention, the student said of Milligans behavior toward Johnson. He would be right up against her, like embracing her in class.

By many accounts, Mulligan was charismatic and inspiring to his students, many of whom looked up to him.

He had them call him by his first name and encouraged them to contact him outside of school hours by phone and email, including late at night. Former students say he ran unstructured classes with frequent workshops, prompted students to explore their creativity and introduced them to literary celebrity authors, including poet Donald Hall.

One former student said he had a knack for nurturing talent and creating a community but that some of his behavior fell into a gray area that was confusing and hard to define.

The environment was exciting for many students, including Claire Chilton, who said she also was one of Milligans muses. Chilton, a senior the year Milligan resigned, said his class provided students with valuable, nontraditional experiences not typically afforded to high school students, such as close mentoring and writing retreats.

Chilton was in Milligans class of juniors and seniors, not in the class with Johnson. She said she grew close to Milligan as a student, calling him in the middle of the night when she couldnt sleep. Her junior year she was his favorite, and she was the subject of his songs and poetry, with the approval of her educator parents  but their relationship, she said, was strictly mentor-student.

Its very easy for me to understand the convolution thats going on. But I can understand how it looks bizarre to an outsider, Chilton said.

Chilton and her mother, Toni Mullins, both support Milligan against Johnsons accusations. The said they believe that Johnson is lying about Milligans behavior toward her. When the district began investigating the teacher, both said they spoke to administrators in his defense.

Chilton said Johnson was the one to insinuate herself into Milligans life. She said an easy, unprovable verbal assault like Johnsons jeopardizes the case of legitimate (victims) with legitimate complaints.

Bryce is not capable of doing the things that she accuses him of. Its just not in his nature, Chilton said.

Mullins, a teacher at NEISD for more than two decades who retired from the district in 2011, taught an English class two doors down from Milligan during his time at NESA. She was a chaperone on Milligans field trips and described him as someone with a great deal of magnetism and care for others. Mullins said she saw nothing objectifying in the teachers conduct with her own daughter.

He always made me feel like I was the most interesting person that hed ever heard speak when I said anything, Mullins said. I saw him have that same kind of effect on other people. He was genuinely interested in other people.

Mullins said administrators did not give Milligan a chance to defend himself against the accusations from Johnson. She said older students thought that Johnson was sexually aggressive and a drama queen. She said hearing that other former students have confirmed parts of Johnsons story did not change her opinion.

Johnson, now 31 and living in New Mexico, said she went along with Milligans behavior but was too young to consent to it  she did not think she had the option of saying no to an authority figure.

Bryce abused the power dynamics of the classroom, Johnson said. He created a complex and difficult to navigate situation and imposed that onto children.

Lauren Caruba is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lcaruba@express-news.net | @LaurenCaruba
A Republican-led effort to impose stricter work requirements on those enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, prompted two congressmen to sound the alarm Monday over what the new rules would do to low-income families.

An idea has overtaken some in Washington that people who struggle financially are freeloaders, said U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, speaking at a news conference at the San Antonio Food Bank. What they dont realize is that many (who depend on SNAP) are often hardworking people.

Castro and and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, joined food bank CEO Eric Cooper to decry the proposed regulations, part of the 2018 Farm Bill, scheduled to be voted on by lawmakers in Washington later this week.

Unveiled in April by U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, chairman of the Houses Agriculture Committee, the rules would require all able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 59  including those with children ages 6 and above  to work at least 20 hours a week or take part in mandated job-training programs to receive benefits, starting in 2021.

The minimum number of required work hours per week would jump to 25 by 2026. Those found in violation would be kicked out of SNAP for a full year. Subsequent violations could result in expulsion from the program for three years.

The House plan includes millions budgeted for a state work-training program expansion.

Current rules already require able-bodied adults ages 18 to 49 without children to work at least a part-time job in order to receive food aid for more than three months in a three-year period. Other groups, such as people who are disabled or pregnant, are exempt from work requirements.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates those most likely to be affected by the stricter requirements would be able-bodied parents caring for kids who are 6 and older.

Before the news conference, Sky Gomez, 22, sat with 3-year-old daughter Giselle Metoyer in an upstairs seating area, waiting to be seen to renew her SNAP benefits, which have averaged about $400 a month.

Gomez, who also has a 5-year-old daughter, wouldnt be immediately affected by the work or training rule changes, since she has dependent children younger than 6. But talk of cuts to the SNAP program make her nervous nonetheless, given how often shes had to depend on it to feed her children over the last five years.

Ive worked lots of minimum-wage jobs, she said, noting she was recently hired at a store after a period of unemployment due to illness. But with those jobs, theres not a lot of money left over for food, after paying the rent, the bills, buying diapers. Thats true even if youre working more than one job at a time, which Ive done.

The father of her two children is incarcerated, she said, and unable to help out financially.

More than 1 million recipients would be thrown off the SNAP rolls or see their benefits reduced if the bill passes, studies show. The CBO expects the changes would cut about $20 billion from the program over the next 10 years, mostly through administrative costs related to making beneficiaries file more paperwork to maintain eligibility.

Cooper said the majority of those who receive SNAP benefits in Texas are children or the elderly or disabled, and many able-bodied adults already work, albeit at low-wage jobs that make food assistance necessary.

The cuts and requirements would add onerous paperwork, reduce federal funds that indirectly help farmers and retailers and ultimately drive up health care costs, as people lose access to healthy food, he added.

In Bexar County, some 300,000 residents depend on SNAP; 150,000 of them are children and 20,000 are senior citizens, he said.

In Texas, more than 4 million people use SNAP for nutrition assistance  about 10 percent of the entire program  as do more than 35,000 households in his congressional district alone.

The stakes are incredibly high for the people of Texas, he said.

Conaway has argued that the stiffer work regulations would help break the cycle of poverty, and would reduce waste and fraud in the food-assistance program.

Doggett said that any program is open to misuse, but there are safeguards in place with SNAP to ensure the money goes where it needs to go.

The proposed changes, he said, could harken a return to Hunger in America, a documentary made some 50 years ago that showed hungry families struggling to survive in Bexar County.

We dont want to go back to those times, he said.

SNAP and other nutrition programs account for about 80 percent of expenditures in the current farm bill, which Congress passed in 2014. The legislation  the 2018 package has a price tag of $867 billion  typically comes up for renewal every five years or so. It also includes subsidies for farmers and other agriculture programs.

Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | mstoeltje@express-news.net | @mstoeltje
A man who police say was pointing a gun at people on the East Side was killed Monday afternoon during a shootout with two officers.

San Antonio Police Department Assistant Chief Anthony Trevino said a nearby officer quickly responded to the call around 5:30 p.m. at South Pine and Iowa streets.

At the intersection the officer found a man in his 30s matching the description from the call, police said. The man was walking away from a bus stop.

The officer started honking at the individual, trying to get his attention, Trevino said.

The man, who had his back turned to the officer, immediately turned and started shooting at the patrol vehicle, investigators said.

The officer returned fire from the inside of his vehicle, shooting through his windshield, Trevino said.

After the initial volley of shots was exchanged, the officer repositioned himself and resumed shooting at the man, Trevino said.

A VIA Transit Police Department officer drove up as the SAPD officer was honking his horn. Police said the VIA officer got out of his vehicle and also started shooting at the gunman.

The individual traveled about 15 yards and fell in a vacant lot, Trevino said.

EMS arrived and pronounced the man dead, Trevino said. He has not been identified.

The SAPD officer who fired the shots is a 30-year veteran of the force, Trevino said. The VIA Transit officer has been with the department for one year, police said. Neither has been identified.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave by their respective agencies as police investigate the incident.

We dont know what wouldve happened if the situation had been prolonged, Trevino said. As soon as our officers arrived, this evolved really, really quickly. Were just glad there was nobody (else) that was injured.

jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA
In a highly unusual move, the Bexar County district attorneys office refiled a case Monday against local businesswoman Catherine Amato that charges her with driving while intoxicated  the same charge the DAs office had dismissed just last month.

LaHoods office in April had cited no probable cause for Amatos arrest as reason for the dismissal, despite a police report and affidavit detailing an officers reasons for arresting Amato as well as a judges assertion that the officer had probable cause for the arrest.

I was personally unaware of this situation, District Attorney Nico LaHood said in a statement released Monday. Once this matter was brought to my attention, I had our office conduct an immediate review of all the evidence in the case. I do not agree with the manner in which the original prosecutor handled this case and arrived at his decision. As such, in the interest of justice, I have directed that this cause, Case Number 566888 be refiled immediately.

Barbara Espinoza-Vera, a court services coordinator for the county, said LaHoods office Monday tried to refile the DWI against Amato under its original case number  566888  but if we had accepted it, it would have been double jeopardy, grounds for dismissal. We know they know that.

She added, Twenty-two minutes later, they closed it up again and said, Hold on, were going to file a new complaint  to refile the case.

Backstory: Local businesswoman with ties to Spurs, LaHood had DWI charge dismissed

Amato owns and operates multiple Subway and Ruby Tuesday restaurants in the area with her partners. She is the wife of Charlie Amato, chairman and co-founder of SWBC and a Spurs shareholder  although the couple apparently are in the midst of a divorce. Styled only as C. Amato and C.A. Amato, court records state that the couple ceased to live together as husband wife in April 2017 because of discord or conflict of personalities.

On Feb. 26, Amatos BMW was swerving on Northwest Loop 410, nearly colliding with other vehicles, according to the police report and affidavit. An officer, J. Portillo, wrote that Amato was swaying on her feet and had a strong odor of alcohol; he found open containers of vodka in her purse and car. Amato refused to provide a sample of her breath or blood, so the officer filed an affidavit for a search warrant, and a judge signed a warrant authorizing a forcible blood draw.

The DAs office has not released the results of the blood draw despite repeated requests.

The officer who arrested Amato was not notified about the charges dismissal; he first learned about it when the story was published in the newspaper Saturday, police union president Mike Helle said Monday.

He was very upset, Helle said. The way I responded to him was, basically, these situations are out of his hands.  And he at least was able to take a drunk driver off the street who wasnt able to kill a family or one of us.

Helle added, For some weird reason, they cant find the video (of Amatos arrest). It somehow mysteriously has vanished.  Somebody close to the case isnt even able to see the video. Its gone. Which is very, very, very unusual.

Other than his statement Monday, LaHood and his office have ignored repeated requests for comment about Amatos DWI, the second time in less than two years that she was charged with that offense.

Read more: Bexar County DA candidates weigh in on dismissal of prominent San Antonio businesswoman's DWI charge

In 2016, despite having refused to provide a sample of her breath and blood, Amato struck a plea deal with prosecutors, who granted her deferred adjudication and reduced her first DWI to a lesser obstruction of a highway charge.

After the dismissal of her most recent DWI, Amato was attempting to have all records of the case destroyed; an expunction hearing was set for next month.

Last week, County Clerk Gerry Rickhoff called the case a rogue event, noting its unusual speed through the system.

LaHoods refiling of the DWI charge was rarer still.

Very unusual, said Espinoza-Vera, who has worked in the courts for 22 years. This rarely happens. Ive never seen it myself.

bchasnoff@express-news.net
Throughout Ramadan, the holiest month of the Islamic calendar, Muslims fast from sunup to sundown and break those fasts each night at sunset after a melodic call to prayer.

Its followed by a feast; what Sakib Shaikh of the Muslim Childrens Education and Civic Center calls a festival every night for 30 days.

In at least two mosques in San Antonio, these iftars  Arabic for breaking fast  are open to the public.

And at both, Muslims observe a central tenet of the observance: charity. Charitable contributions are emphasized during Ramadan, which begins Wednesday and concludes June 15.

Those who attend an iftar at the Muslim Childrens Education and Civic Center or the Raindrop Turkish House will be involved in that giving.

At Raindrop, people are asked to bring a nonperishable food item for the San Antonio Food Bank. Its iftars will be held each night of Ramadan, usually with different faith or civic groups. People of no faith traditions are invited, too.

Its first iftar begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 4337 Vance Jackson Road. For tickets, email sanantonio@turkishhouse.org or respond at its Eventbrite invitation online.

Congregants from San Fernando Cathedral, Travis Park United Methodist Church, Temple Beth-El, Abiding Presence Lutheran Church and St. Philips Episcopal Church, among others, will break fast with Raindrop.

At the MCECC, 5281 Casa Bella, non-Muslims who fast and break the fast with its worshippers will earn $100 for a local charity. Last year, MCECC donated $11,000 to the nonprofit Center for Refugee Services, said Shaikh, a Houston-born IT analyst who is the mosques spokesman.

This year, it has designated MOVE San Antonio, a civic engagement group, as its charity.

By all accounts, iftars are joyous events.

Shaikh said Muslims enjoy seeing non-Muslims join in fasts. It boosts our own morale, he said. We become one community.

The MCECC will erect tents outdoors for all 30 days of Ramadan. Cooks will be in the kitchen each day preparing expansive meals.

The public invitations to iftars are deliberate efforts to engage the greater San Antonio community during Ramadan, which commemorates the revelation of the Quran, Islams sacred book, to the Prophet Muhammad.

Muslims pay homage by fasting from food, water and sex, meant to cleanse both mind and body and challenge the faithful physically and psychologically. Its a spiritual test of ones patience, too, as Muslims continue to work and perform their other daily routines during their fasts.

But Shaikh admits, You cant stop thinking about food.

Imam Beytullah Colak, who volunteers at Raindrop and serves as director of the Islamic Institute on its premises, said Muslims welcome people of faith and of no faith traditions.

Theres a lot of wisdom in fasting, said Colak, who was born in Turkey but lived in Argentina, where he knew the future Pope Francis when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

Ramadan is a busy time for Muslims.

Colak said that in addition to a regular work schedule  he also drives for a ride app service  Muslims must recite a litany of prayers at specific times of the day. They need reminders, so they often opt for apps on their cellphones.

Mine is called Prayer Time, he said.

Public iftars have become commonplace in cities where large populations of U.S. Muslim live.

Simran Jeet Singh, a Sikh who teaches religion at Trinity University, co-authored a 2017 study that recommended a citywide interfaith iftar during Ramadan to help ease the anti-Muslim sentiments and hate speech among San Antonians that the study revealed.

It found that Muslims dont feel welcome even in some interfaith groups and that San Antonios self-perception as inclusive and diverse can lead to complacency about the anti-LGBTQ and anti-Muslim biases that exist in the city.

Singh recommended that local governments, religious leaders and interfaith groups operationalize inclusion and double down against such sentiments.

Several said iftars expose faith in action and dispel myths that short-circuit better relations.

It sounds strange, but the challenge of 9/11 is over, Shaikh said.

Its the challenge of Trump now, Shaikh said. That people can say whatever they want now.

Everyone who has attended MCECCs iftars has enjoyed them, Shaikh said. City Councilman Manny Pelaez, whose District 8 encompasses an area where the majority of the citys 30,000 Muslims reside, is among them.

Every religious tradition has their different moments throughout the year that punctuate conversations about their faith, Pelaez said. Ramadan is the big one for them, and Ive been lucky to be part of that celebration.

Ive learned a lot, and the commonality between all faith is family, he said. Its beautiful to see the children, the wives and husbands, and the grandparents talking about spirituality and community.

Elaine Ayala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | eayala@express-news.net | @ElaineAyala
Refund Advisory Corp. has helped around 1,000 local homeowners file for homestead exemptions they were missing out on. In exchange, it wants to keep half of their value, which likely adds up to hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money.

The company, operating out of a strip mall in Plano, has come under scrutiny by Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector Albert Uresti and Bexar Chief Appraiser Michael Amezquita, who accuse it of taking advantage of homeowners and charging excessive fees. It started doing business in Bexar County again last year after leaving the market 15 years ago in the wake of an unsuccessful lawsuit from the local office of the state attorney general claiming deceptive trade practices, its president Richard Andro said.

Urestis office is trying to keep exemption refund checks from being sent to the company, which asks customers to sign power of attorney contracts in order to reroute their mail to its office in Plano. He emphasizes that homeowners can easily apply for the exemptions by themselves, at no cost.

What this is, basically, is theres people going out there charging you 50 percent to get something that you can get for free, Uresti said.

Andro says that Refund Advisory, which has around 20 employees, offers a valuable service to taxpayers by notifying them that they arent getting the exemptions they are entitled to. The company helps homeowners who often dont apply for exemptions because of a language barrier, distrust of government or lost paperwork, he said.

We go in and we help them. Ive known from decades of experience that (local officials) dont like that, Andro said. They say, Shut these people down... Theyre doing something for someone that could do it themselves for free. Well, guess what? They didnt do it for free, you didnt help them do it. Were the only ones helping them.

The Bexar Appraisal District has resources to help Spanish speakers apply for exemptions, Amezquita said.

I would say if they were performing a public service there wouldnt be a 50 percent fee, he said.

Refund Advisory has recruited about 1,000 customers in Bexar County, Andro said, while Amezquita said about 800 local residents have been affected.

Last year, the Texas legislature voted to increase the homestead exemption to $25,000 from $15,000, and to allow homeowners to file delinquent exemptions going back two years. That means Refund Advisory can file for three years of exemptions for its customers.

A typical exemption in Bexar County can run anywhere from $200 to $400, Amezquita said. The company could thus make roughly $450 by helping a homeowner get three years of exemptions; with 1,000 customers, it could potentially keep hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of exemptions for itself.

The company finds homeowners who are eligible for exemptions by analyzing public data, Andro said. It then sends them letters saying it can help them recover a certain amount of money, without letting on where the money would come from, he said. Amezquita said the letter is drawn up in a way that makes it appear like an official government document, and he suspects that the company is trying to deceive the elderly and uninformed homeowners.

Theres nothing tricky going on, Andro said. Were not going to spend our money to just mail out to everyone in the county to tell them how to go out and do this themselves. That makes zero sense.

Employees of Refund Advisory always meet with the customers and lead them through the process in detail before they sign a contract, Andro said. The company asks the customers to sign very limited power of attorney documents to make sure that the company receives their exemption refunds; it then passes along half of the amounts to the customers, Andro said.

Refund Advisory takes half of the exemptions for the current year and the last two years, but the homeowner will receive the full refund in future years, he said.

The Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collectors Office is refusing to send Refund Advisory the exemption refunds unless the power of attorney document is signed by the homeowners mortgage company, which is unlikely, Uresti said. The company has responded by sending invoices to the homeowners, he said.

Legally, they can do whatever they want to, as far as that goes, but where were stopping is were not sending them the money, he said.

Uresti said he is concerned that homeowners wont receive important documents, such as notices that their home values are increasing, because their letters are being sent to Refund Advisorys office in Plano. Andro said the company is careful to forward letters to homeowners quickly.

Refund Advisory has been operating under the same business model since the early 90s, according to news articles and an interview with Andro. It has attracted negative attention from state politicians and elected officials from Austin, Dallas and Houston. After the company entered the San Antonio market in the early 2000s, the late state senator Frank Madla introduced legislation requiring companies to meet with homeowners personally before helping them get exemptions, Andro said.

Over the decades, the company has helped tens of thousands of homeowners across the state apply for exemptions, Andro said.

Uresti has sent letters to hundreds of homeowners informing them that the company has changed their mailing addresses, while Amezquita said he has spoken with state representatives about possible legislation that would require companies to notify their customers that they are capable of applying for the exemptions for free.

We put in what we could to stop it, and we were pretty successful, and our hope is they move on and go somewhere else, Uresti said.

Richard Webner is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | rwebner@express-news.net | @RWebner
GREENWICH  A controversial project for Sound Beach Avenue in Old Greenwich has been stopped by the town Planning and Zoning Commission.

The commission did not have enough votes at a special meeting on Monday to grant municipal improvement status for a proposed bridge replacement as well as expansion of the traffic circle outside of Perrot Memorial Library. The project would also have raised Sound Beach Avenue to meet federal flood standards.

Neighbors and other town residents had blasted the project, saying it threatened the aesthetic beauty of the area and asserting there was not enough information released about its potential impact.

Municipal improvement status is necessary for any construction project affecting town property, and the commission needed four out of five votes to be able to move it forward. Ultimately only three commissioners, Chair Richard Maitland, Nick Macri and Andy Fox, voted in favor; two commissioners, Margarita Alban and Peter Levy, voted against.

Alban said she felt the balance between the town Plan of Conservation and Developments call to address bridge work and flooding problems and concerns about the character of Old Greenwich was not sufficiently struck by the plan. She said she wanted to make sure the plan addressed both sides of the coin.

Levy cited the objections of the neighbors and his own concerns about the plan in his decision not to support the MI.

Going forward together is something that is of the utmost concern to me, Levy said. It is important that we all feel that what were doing is worthwhile and that the way we do it is viewed by everyone to not only be a good process but a successful process. Thus far weve really identified mostly the lack of agreements, which is disconcerting to me. It would have been nicer to have a much less ambitious project in front of us.

The bridge has been rated as poor and, while still safely usable, has been slated for replacement for several years.

The plan also would have replaced the traffic circle outside Perrot Memorial Library with a larger, more traditional roundabout and raised Sound Beach.

We have a bridge thats failing, town Department of Public Works Deputy Commissioner James Michel said Monday at the meeting. We have an intersection that has some pedestrian and safety concerns and we have an emergency response into and out of Old Greenwich that is the purpose of this project.

Michel did not immediately comment after the meeting.

The Representative Town Meeting had been set to consider funding for the project at its Monday night meeting to vote on the proposed 2018-19 municipal budget.

The $5 million cost of the project was to be reimbursed by the state. Michel told the commission the state funding is scheduled to be canceled if the town does not move forward on the project by September.

More than 75 residents turned out to oppose the proposed project, as they have at previous meetings. Old Greenwich resident Will Morrison brought visual aids to demonstrate how raising Sound Beach Avenue two and a half feet would put traffic much closer to people using the library.

This will be a huge presence in this area, Morris said.

Leslee Asch Morrison, an Old Greenwich resident, told the commission that the neighbors had not received enough information and it was wrong for it to rule on the MI status without all of the data.

As you have heard from many unhappy residents, this is not an improvement but a degradation, she said.

Several neighbors close to the construction area voiced concerns about what would happen with flooding after the road was raised. Speakers claimed they have not received proper information from the DPW about what the flooding impact could be from water running off the newly raised road.

Kevin McCarthy, director of the Perrot Memorial Library, said the library supported the bridge replacement but wanted to see a full drainage study to see what the potential impact of flooding could be on its property, which is right next to the proposed roundabout.

Residents loudly cheered the decision of the commission, calling it a victory for the village.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
HARTFORD  In an elementary school cafeteria crowded with delegates, Democratic incumbent Jim Himes framed his fight for a sixth term as congressman for Connecticuts 4th district as one not against a specific challenger, but against a Republican national party led by a disastrous president.

We must win this November and the next and in 2020 so that purveyors of bigotry and anger and those who enabled them and those who turned a blind eye are gone from our public life, Himes said, speaking at Cesar A. Batalla School in Bridgeport Monday night. There is no negotiation with bigotry. There is no compromise with hate.

Washington is in a battle for the survival of democracy, Himes suggested. And Democrats too are fighting for a revival.

We lost a huge election, Himes said. An election that shouldnt have even been close. Weve lost touch with too many people who should put their hope in our hands. Lets not forget who we are fighting for.

Himes, embodying the Democratic fighter from Greenwich, won warm support at his partys convention again.

Jim is not afraid to stand up to the President when he is wrong, said Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling. Boy your legs must be tired.

The 135 local lawmakers and party loyalists thrust Himes posters in the air at his applause lines and waited after the speeches to pump his hand and take photos. More women were in attendance than usual, state Sen. Carlo Leone, D-Stamford observed.

The 4th District, which includes most of Fairfield County, has been in Democratic hands since 2008, when Himes, unseated then-Rep. Chris Shays, a Republican.

Harry Arora, an investment manager from Greenwich, accepted the Republican nomination to challenge Himes at the GOP convention over the weekend.

"This race is not an easy race. The incumbent is entrenched, Arora said. But I do intend to take the fight to him  house by house, street by street, Facebook friend by Facebook friend."

Arora will be challenging the most prolific fundraiser of Connecticut's congressional delegation; Himes has a campaign bank account of nearly $2.7 million, according to the most recent filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Prior to serving in Congress, Himes, 51, worked for Goldman Sachs and ran the New York City branch of an urban poverty nonprofit. Fluent in Spanish, he grew up in Peru and Columbia before moving to the U.S. at 10 years old.

emunson@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson
Hello from Hazard!

David Kasminsky, of Akron, Ohio, hazards a guess on Item No. 1102, saying it could by a do-it-yourself cane, using improvised parts from two things (drill bit and wooden piece from another tool). Since his is the only guess on the item, which weve been featuring for several weeks, if this isnt the use, it will go down as a true mystery item.

Bob Brown, of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, found it in a shed. Sorry, Bob!



Well move along to a new item shared with us by Blackie Sleeva, Flushing, Ohio. Item No. 1103 is about 3 1/4 inches high with two separate chambers (one accessed from the top and the other from the bottom). There is also a hole that goes through the center. It also has a brass filler plug on the bottom and brass nozzle on top. Its made of cast iron and is heavy, Sleeva adds.

Can anyone help Blackie identify the item?

Email us at editorial@farmanddairy.co m; or respond by mail to: Hazard a Guess, c/o Farm and Dairy, P.O. Box 38, Salem, OH 44460. You can also find Hazard a Guess on our website, www.farmanddairy.com, by keyword searching for Hazard.
In February, more than 100 dairy farmers were dropped by Dean Foods. Heres what happened next

SALEM, Ohio  I was beside myself when I got it.

Paula Snyder remembers the day earlier this year she got the letter from Deans Food Company, notifying her they would no longer take her milk, starting May 31.

Snyder and more than 100 other dairies in Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina, received the letter, dated Feb. 26.

I could have given up four years ago and chose not to. I thought to myself, I havent given up yet, but what am I going to do now?

Snyder, who farms in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, lost her husband, Todd, four years ago. She kept milking her mixed herd of 35 head with the help of her two daughters and several neighbors.

After she received the letter, she knew there was nothing she could do except reach out to other markets, so she did.

Every day, I called places. I got a lot of Im not sure, but I just kept fighting.

Some people were telling me I should start to get rid of them, but I couldnt do it, she said about the cows. They are part of my family. I guess I was just going to hold on until the very end.

She finally got in touch with Melissa Anderson, programs and operations manager with the Center for Dairy Excellence.

If it wasnt for her and the center, I wouldnt have gotten where Im at today, she said.

Several processors came out and toured the farm and talked with her  it was a long process, she said.

I just wanted a yes or no.

Snyders first meeting with Schneiders Dairy was April 28. Connie Oshop, Schneiders field representative, has helped many of the western Pennsylvania dairies, even the ones that didnt sign with her company.

Bill Schneider, owner of Schneiders Dairy, said hes been focusing on doing whats right.

We didnt need the milk, but I understand what it is like to struggle at times and be close to going out of business, he said.

In the end, Schneiders took on four dairies that would add a full tanker every other day to their processing facility. Then they worked out a deal to take on two additional farms, that would top off a milk haulers tank.

The same day Dairy Farmers of America called to say they couldnt help Snyder, Schneiders Dairy said they could.

It was months of prayers, Snyder said. The good Lord answered the prayer.

New chapter

Snyder will begin sending her milk to Schneiders Dairy June 1, after one more inspection and she signs on the dotted line.

The Center for Dairy Excellence has been working with Snyder and all of the producers and dairy markets to make connections, said Jayne Sebright, executive director.

In western Pennsylvania, there are 16 farms that were dropped. Seven found a market and nine are still looking, Sebright said.

In addition to the six picked up by Schneiders Dairy, the Farmers Union has added one.

In the eastern part of Pennsylvania, there were 26 dairies let go by Dean Foods. Nineteen found a new market, three are exiting the industry and four are still looking.

Harrisburg Dairy and Progressive Ag Cooperatives both picked up nine and Dairy Farmers of America has added one.

When Schneider was asked if he has had to turn some dairymen away, he said, Unfortunately, yes, we couldnt take them all, but we are still working behind the scenes every day to see what we can do.

Ohio

In Ohio, Scott Higgins, Ohio Dairy Producers Association and the American Dairy Association Mideast chief executive officer, credits the Dean Foods representatives in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, for helping the nearly 10 farmers find a new home for their milk.

They found a home for all of the farms, except for two, which were planning to sell out this summer anyway, Higgins said.

We continue to keep strong relationships across the dairy industry and that helps  from the farmers to the milk haulers, and processing plants, Higgins said.

Snyder also touts that connection.

If it wasnt for the other farmers around here helping me, I dont know where Id be, Snyder said.

If she didnt find a new market, she wasnt going to plant her crops this year. She couldnt justify spending money on the seed, if the cows werent going to be around to eat the harvest, she said.

Stay positive, it will work, is what I always tell myself, she said.

Now she talks with other farmers who send their milk to Dean Foods and they tell her she was lucky she got the one of the first letters, as they fear there will be a second round.
Agriculture in the Scottish Highlands and Islands could be faced with significant challenges post-Brexit, a new report has warned.

The report assesses the likely impacts of different Brexit scenarios on the economy. It concludes that existing trends such as declining agricultural activity, land abandonment and a shrinking agricultural workforce, could be accelerated by Brexit.

It calls for future policy and funding to respond to these challenges and reflect the distinctive needs and contributions of the Highlands and Islands.

The Highlands and Islands Agriculture Support Group (HIASG) which commissioned the report, is now calling on the Scottish Government to take note of its findings and ensure that future farming, land management and rural development policy provides a targeted response.

The report Post-Brexit Implications for Agriculture in the Highlands and Islands will be highlighted by Fergus Ewing, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy and Connectivity, who will speak about the report at an event in Edinburgh, which is being attended by representatives of farming.

Mr Ewing said the report highlights the distinctive challenges of farming in the Highlands and Islands, both in terms of the land and those available to work it.

It confirms what I have been saying ever since the Brexit referendum  that Brexit is going to be the biggest challenge that the industry and rural communities has faced for generations, Mr Ewing explained.

It is therefore vital that the special circumstances of the Highlands and Islands are not ignored, and that their unique social, economic and environmental conditions remain supported.

'Wake-up call'

Douglas Irvine, Economic Development Manager for Shetland Islands Council, said the report is a wake-up call and shows how important farming and crofting is to the economy, people and environment of the Highlands and Islands, but also how vulnerable it is.

The challenges faced here look set to increase rather than diminish, Mr Irvine said.

We urge the Scottish Government to ensure future farming and rural policy and funding responds effectively to the scale of the challenges faced by this region and is well targeted.

The Government must set out its thoughts on this as a matter of some urgency to give farmers, crofters and other rural businesses time to adapt to the changes that are coming.

Just over two-thirds of Scotlands High Nature Value farmland is located in the Highlands and Islands region due to extensive farming methods and small-scale farming and crofting.

The region has a high share of sites designated for their national and international environmental importance, benefiting birds such as corncrake and curlew, great yellow bumblebees and habitats such as machair and peatlands.

'Environmental importance'

Vicki Swales, Head of Land Use Policy at RSPB Scotland, said the continuation of traditional farming and crofting practices have helped to create a region that is of enormous environmental importance.

We call on the Scottish Government to ensure that, in future, the environmental land management carried out by farmers and crofters  and all the public benefits that provides  are properly supported and rewarded, Ms Swales said.

A recent public poll showed overwhelming public support for farmers being paid for managing their land in ways that are good for wildlife, reduces climate warming greenhouse gases and improves water quality, amongst other things. The Highlands and Islands are well placed to benefit from such an approach.
The UK is in serious danger of losing its local, traceable meat supplies as over a third of small abattoirs have closed in the past decade.

The start warning comes from the Campaign for Local Abattoirs (CFLA), a recently formed group of organisations and individuals concerned about the closure of many of the UKs smaller abattoirs.

The group says that over a third of small abattoirs have closed in the past decade, and a further 10% have already closed this year, or are about to close.

The group says smaller abattoirs are essential for local meat marketing because only they can slaughter animals for farmers and let them have meat and offal back for sale to their customers, who can be assured that they are buying local, traceable meat.

The CFLAs new paper explains that the benefits of smaller local abattoirs go way beyond simply slaughtering farm animals. They provide public goods including: higher animal welfare and lower emissions due to shorter journey times; increased economic benefits from keeping the profits of livestock production and butchery within local communities, and greater local employment. They also act as a catalyst for new local businesses to develop.

Critical level

Sustainable Food Trust policy advisor Bob Kennard coordinates the campaign, he said the UK has now reached a critical level.

As more and more small abattoirs close, the distances to the nearest suitable slaughterhouse increase, until it is no longer financially viable for farmers, and the farm shops, farmers markets, local butchers and mail order meat businesses they supply are also forced to close, Mr Kennard said.

We have now reached a critical level, with several blackspots around the country where smaller abattoirs simply do not exist.

The reasons for the crisis are complex, according to the report. However, it includes strong downward pressure on profitability from high volume abattoirs supplying supermarkets; increased costs of waste disposal; excessive regulation hitting smaller businesses disproportionately and low prices paid to small abattoirs for hides and skins.

Importance of small

The CFLA is calling on government to publicly recognise the importance of smaller abattoirs and to establish an enquiry to understand the multiple problems facing the sector.

It says with the help of the industry, government should come up with practical solutions, which could include mobile abattoirs which enable on-farm slaughter, especially in areas where smaller abattoirs no longer exist.

One short-term action by governments to avert a collapse of the network would be an immediate cash injection to smaller abattoirs in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, matching that committed by the Welsh Government.

The CFLA says this will give a breathing space for sustainable, longer-term solutions to be developed across the UK, through the proposed in-depth official enquiry.
A man has been sentenced to 26 months in prison for operating an illegal waste site on a farm in Worcestershire.

John Bruce, aged 45, was sentenced for 6 charges in relation to the operation of an illegal waste activity at Ridgeway Park Farm, Throckmorton Airfield, in Pershore.

Mr Bruce had pleaded guilty to these offences on an earlier occasion, and was referred to Worcester Crown Court for sentencing. He has now received an immediate custodial sentence of 26 months.

He ran a waste disposal operation centred on the site for 3 and a half years, between 2011 and 2014 without any permit.

He brought waste onto the site and either dumped it, buried it or burned it. The court heard that Mr Bruce purchased the site in July 2011 and ran a large scale illegal waste disposal operation at the farm.

Waste activities were first reported in 2011 and continued until December 2014 without any Environmental Permit.

Mr Bruce, who trades as UK Plant Services, operated under a fraudulent waste carriers registration number.

Heavy goods vehicles and articulated tippers removed waste from construction sites and permitted waste sites around the West Midlands. This was then deposited at the farm and disposed of on an industrial scale by burning and burial

Local complaints

Responding to complaints from local residents, Environment Agency officers met with Mr Bruce on a number of occasions, conducting site inspections and enforcing environmental regulations. Warnings were issued following evidence that burning had been taking place on the site.

Throughout March and April 2013, Mr Bruce treated and disposed of waste by burning large quantities of it at the farm.

For several weeks fires were continually burning at the site causing misery for local residents, endangering health and polluting the air in the area.

There was a major impact on the quality of life for local residents, as Mr Bruce burnt a large amount of plastic waste, causing plumes of putrid black smoke across the nearby village.

In April 2013, a fire at the site was attended by Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service and the Environment Agency, yet he still repeatedly ignored the interventions of the Environment Agency and the Fire Service.

The waste on site consisted mainly of construction and demolition waste, some of which included aluminium waste products, which is classified as a hazardous waste. In total, approximately 26,000 cubic metres of waste was brought onto the site by Mr Bruce during the offending period.

Cattle

Mr Bruce kept his herd of cattle on site grazing amongst the waste and in conditions where polluting effluent was not contained.

Environment Agency officers also noticed that waste gypsum powder was being used as animal bedding and advised him that this practice was unlawful. They also noted that the cattle bedding also contained mixed waste, electric cables, drink cans and plumbing parts.

The used bedding was spread to land, causing odour complaints and a risk of pollution to the watercourse and land. He was advised to stop using the waste but continued to ignore the advice given by officers.

Brown liquid was seen seeping from storage areas, pooling and flowing in the direction of a small watercourse, approximately 100m away. Officers reported evidence of hazardous waste buried and the potential for discharge substances to enter the groundwater and the Piddle Brook.

'Significant harm'

In sentencing, the Judge commented that this was serious environmental offending and that there was a clear need for a deterrent sentence. Mr Bruce was given some credit by way of a discount on his sentence as he had pleaded guilty and avoided the need for a trial.

Speaking after the case, an Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said that John Bruce operated a sustained large scale illegal waste site at his farm.

"He imported, burned, buried and spread unsuitable polluting waste, causing pollution to the land and air, harm to the cattle and significant harm and disruption to local residents and businesses," the officer said.

"Mr Bruce has shown a blatant disregard for the environment and local community, subjecting local residents to months of misery by bringing on large quantities of waste and burning it on the site."
The British poultry industry has today launched a new apprenticeship standard for poultry workers, creating a pipeline to bring skilled workers into the sector.

A cross-industry group, which includes the NFU, British Poultry Council (BPC) and Poultec, has launched the new initiative at the Pig and Poultry Fair.

It is a significant investment from the poultry sector in its workforce, and strengthens the existing Poultry Passport.

The apprenticeship places a greater emphasis on all-round development, which could include a work-based diploma and assessments which consider the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for an apprentice to be properly trained.

A higher level apprenticeship targeted at farm and hatchery managers will be launched later this year.

Apprenticeships are also being developed across the food supply chain, including food science, butchery, processing and engineering.

Next generation

NFU poultry board chairman Thomas Wornham said the poultry sector is a rewarding, innovative sector that can offer the next generation a fantastic career.

These new apprenticeship standards will play a huge role in attracting new talent to our sector, and allow us to develop our skills, Mr Wornham explained.

Apprenticeships offer farmers an excellent way to recruit new people and develop their skills, and ensure farm businesses can continue to be productive, profitable and progressive.

BPC chief executive Richard Griffiths said the new apprenticeship standards will help position the sector as responsible, and one that is fit for the future.

Recruiting, training and retaining high-calibre talent will not only take our sector from strength to strength but will also bolster the heart of Britains food supply and secure it for generations to come, he added.

Through the new apprenticeship standards poultry businesses will be able to review and put in place training plans to develop their whole workforce.

The standards will help grow the sectors skills base and offer apprenticeship opportunities to Britains school leavers.
The pig industry has welcomed latest figures which show it has reduced antibiotic usage in the UK by 28 per cent in 2017, bringing the total reduction in two years to more than 50 per cent.

According to the latest data taken from the electronic medicine book (eMB), which represents 87 per cent of pigs slaughtered in the UK, antibiotic usage on pig farms dropped from 183 mg/PCU to 131 mg/PCU within 12 months.

The mg/PCU is a unit of measurement developed by the European Medicines Agency to monitor antibiotic use and sales across Europe, which has also been adopted by the UK.

PCU refers to the Population Correction Unit and takes into account the animal population as well as the estimated weight of each particular animal at the time of treatment with antibiotics.

The 2017 reduction means the pig industry has more than halved its antibiotic usage within the last two years  with the latest figure building on a 34 per cent cut in usage between 2015 and 2016.

The news has been welcomed by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and pig industry bodies such as the National Pig Association (NPA) and the British Pig Association (BPA).

It comes just seven months after targets were announced by the Targets Task Force to reduce antibiotic usage in the pig industry by over 60 per cent between 2015 and 2020.

AHDBs Senior Veterinary Manager Mandy Nevel said: This is a great industry effort with all parties fully engaged and determined to demonstrate responsible use of antibiotics in pigs. We must keep up the momentum to reduce use further in order to achieve our target of 99 mg/PCU by 2020.

Electronic medicine book

Developed by AHDB Pork and the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD), the electronic medicine book is available to all UK producers and is supported by the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh levy bodies.

It provides an electronic version of the paper medicines book to record and quantify usage so producers can review and optimise their on-farm antibiotic use.

Since October last year, it became a Red Tractor requirement that quarterly antibiotic data are entered into eMB.

Prof Peter Borriello, Chief Executive Officer of the VMD, said: These achievements are the result of high level collaboration across the industry to deliver on a challenging and rigorous on-going plan to reduce and refine antibiotic use, while maintaining the health and welfare of pigs.

Christine Middlemiss, the UK Chief Veterinary Officer (CV), added: The reduction in antibiotic usage achieved by the UK pig industry over the last two years are excellent. This has been achieved by the sector working together and following a clear agreed plan of action, which is focused on responsible reductions alongside the prevention and management of disease.

This approach is essential for the sustainability of British agriculture and will help to maintain the effectiveness of antibiotics in the future.
The Rural Payments Agency is failing on multiple levels which in turn is causing significant difficulties for farmers, according to a new report.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee has launced its report, Performance of the Rural Payments Agency, which slams government performance.

The inquiry focuses on the Rural Payments Agency (RPA), which administers Defra subsidies to UK farmers.

The report found that the RPA is failing on multiple levels, causing significant difficulties throughout the UK for farmers.

The Committee is concerned that the RPA will be unable to effectively deliver the Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship scheme, and that it is not capable of rising to its post-Brexit challenges.

And up to 3,000 farmers still face delays in their payments, which the report says is unacceptable.

Communications with farmers and the complaints handling service remain poor, it adds. There are also widespread concerns over errors from recent mapping updates and inaccurate payments.

The report says changes to the way farmers will be paid once the UK leaves the EU will present further added challenges to the agency.

Suggested improvements

EFRA recommend that the RPA should set more stretching targets to encourage improved performance for the 2018 Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

The agency has been urged to make 98 percent of payments by the end of March each year.

The report calls on the RPA to set out a clear strategy detailing how it will improve communications and complaints handling.

RPA has also been urged to publish an ambitious set of key performance indicators for delivering the Countryside Stewardship and Environmental Stewardship schemes.

Neil Parish, Chair of EFRA said it is crucial that UK farmers can rely on consistent and accurate payments.

The farming industry relies on EU support for financial stability, and on the RPA to distribute subsidies on time, Mr Parish explained.

The RPA is failing on multiple levels, which is causing significant harm to farmers across the country. It is simply not good enough that over 3,000 farmers had not been paid by March 2018.

We have real concerns that the RPA is incapable of providing timely support payments in the pre and post-Brexit world.

Mr Parish added: Substantial improvements across the organisation are needed to address this. The RPA should set itself more stretching targets, set out a clear strategy for how it will improve handling of complaints, and detail how it will properly deliver the Countryside and Environmental Stewardship schemes.

RPA criticism

The RPA has been a frequent target of criticism from the industry. In November, the NFU urged the RPA to pay over 90% of BPS claims by the end of December as uncertainty began to surface over the agency's effectiveness of getting payments out on time

NFU Vice President Guy Smith said: We have not forgotten that thousands of farmers are still waiting and this causes real problems with cash flow when running a farm business.

The vast majority of those still waiting are doing so through no fault of their own. It is the RPAs process that is causing the delay.

Last year, RPAs chief executive publicly acknowledging the agency's shortcomings on how it manages farm support payments.
Restored renewable heat tariffs will trigger a new wave of on-farm green gas plants, according to the UKs green gas industry.

The restoring of higher tariff levels for the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has been described as a "vital boost" to the UKs ability to produce renewable green gas for heating homes and businesses through anaerobic digestion (AD).

Following the passing of the relevant legilslation through Parliament, from 22nd May AD plant operators will be able to claim a restored tariff of 5.6p per kWh of renewable heat generated for their Tier 1 biomethane (the first 40,000 MWh they inject into the grid per year).

And once their plant is commissioned they will receive a guaranteed tariff level for twenty years.

AD plants generate biomethane, or green gas, through breaking down organic wastes such as sewage, food waste, and agricultural waste and purpose-grown energy crops, which are often grown as part of an agricultural rotation. Green gas can then be burned to generate renewable heat.

Growth

Deployment of new green gas plants in the UK has been falling in recent years in line with decreases in RHI tariff levels.

However, the green gas industry is now forecasting that as many as 40 plants may be built over the next two years as a result of the restored tariff levels, generating up to an additional 2 TWh of renewable heat per year.

The green gas industry is currently contributing over 4 TWh of gas per year, but with the right support has the potential to meet around 15% of total UK gas consumption and heat 30% of UK households.

The restored RHI tariff, however, will only support new renewable heat projects until 2021, with no further support promised from government beyond the current RHI budget allocation.

'Vital boost'

Charlotte Morton, Chief Executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bioresources Association (ADBA), said the restored RHI tariffs will give a "vital boost" to the AD industrys ability to produce green gas over the next few years.

Green gas produced through AD not only produces much lower levels of emissions than natural gas but is also home-grown, allowing the UK to increase its energy security and be less reliant on energy imports from abroad. AD is already reducing gas imports by 2% and has the potential to reduce them by as much as 16%, Ms Morton explained.

But with emissions from heat accounting for a third of all UK greenhouse gas emissions and no clear government strategy yet identified for decarbonising heat, its imperative that the government commits to long-term support for green gas beyond 2020 while the industry works to bring down costs to become financially self-sufficient.
A review into the 160 million in CAP funding owed to Scottish hill farmers is to be delayed, the Scottish government has confirmed.

Despite agreeing to conduct a review following pressure from the Scottish government, the UK government has now written to Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing informing of the open ended delay.

Under the last CAP reform, the EU set out to redistribute direct payments more equally based on average Euros per hectare.

The UK only qualified for a 190 million uplift because Scotlands low payment rate per hectare, which brought the UK below the qualifying threshold.

To date, the UK government has only allocated around 30 million to Scotland, with the rest being distributed across the UK, despite the money being earned in Scotland.

Mr Ewing said the delay is unacceptable because Scottish hill farmers are owed 160 million. He said the UK Government has repeatedly ignored the issue.

I have been clear throughout that the money was earned in Scotland, and quite frankly should be returned to Scotland, Mr Ewing explained.

Our demand for the monies to be returned to Scotland is not against farmers in other parts of the UK, but is about setting a precedent for future agricultural funding within the UK. The lack of progress on this long-standing unresolved issue is disappointing, particularly at a time when we are about to enter a range of complex and critical future funding discussions with the UK Government.

He added: Having already secured the review and agreed its independent chair, it is disappointing to learn that the review is being kicked into the long grass.
GB pig prices fall sharply, latest figures show

Nearly 10p below where it was a year ago
Photographer Florian Wagner will cross the continent documenting critical water systems.

WOODSTOCK, Illinois, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- OWC, a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company, has announced their support for photojournalist Florian Wagner'sAfrican Waters 360 project. The photo-film mission will see Wagner flying 18,000km via helicopter across ten African countries, capturing 360 panoramic images of diverse African cities located near bodies of water and river systems that are meaningful for ecological balance.

The project will kick off on Friday, May 18th at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town, South Africa. At the event, Florian Wagner and other environmental collaborators will showcase works that explore how water impacts the human condition in resource-stressed and changing environments.

The goal of Wagner's African Waters 360 project is to document Africa's beauty while creating awareness of the need for responsible water policy. The program will also serve as a fundraising project for clean water charities, with a fundraising goal of $250,000.

OWC Founder and CEO Larry O'Connor said, "We are thrilled to support Florian Wagner in this important project. Not only is his work significant from an artistic point of view, but he shares OWC's commitment to examining the world around us, and finding ways to improve the environment on a local and global scale. We all share in that obligation, and OWC is dedicated to raising funds for organizations that provide local communities with access to clean water and improve the residents' standard of living. We are happy to continue those efforts through this venture."

OWC is supporting Wagner and his team with a line of workflow solutions that will ensure the images captured during their excursion remain safe and secure. Professionals and prosumers alike need assurance that the content they create can be backed up without worry, and the OWC Envoy Pro EX (VE) with Thunderbolt 3, OWC Mercury Elite Pro Mini and OWC ThunderBay 4 with Thunderbolt 3 allow Florian's team to keep their work securely stored. Wagner is a Leica Camera ambassador, and the African Waters 360 project is also supported by Garmin, Yeti, and Leatherman.

The event kick-off on May 18th is open to the public and will feature presentations on water and the environment as well as photographic exhibits, all hosted in the beautiful Two Oceans Aquarium. The event takes place from 6:30 to 9:00pm local time. Tickets can be purchased here.

About Florian Wagner

Florian Wagner is a photographer and helicopter pilot based in Munich, Germany. His work has been featured in such publications as National Geographic, GQ and Focus, and often explores wildlife and the environment. His trek across Africa can be followed at: African Waters 360.

About OWC

Having served the Apple community worldwide since 1988, OWC has become the reliable manufacturer and upgrade provider of choice for Apple and PC enthusiasts with its extensive catalog of accessories, storage, and memory upgrades for nearly every Mac made in the last decade. Recognized for award-winning customer service, OWC provides extensive U.S.-based technical support for Mac and PC users around the world and comprehensive step-by-step installation and support videos.

Get social: follow OWC and follow Florian's trek on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

 2018 Other World Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple and Mac are the trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Thunderbolt are trademarks of Intel Corporation registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other marks may be the trademark or registered trademark property of their respective owners.
ORNSKOLDSVIK, Sweden, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Clavister, a leader in high-performance network security solutions, has received an additional larger order from a previously communicated customer (March 9th, 2018 "Global Green-field Broadband Provider Selects Clavister's Virtual Security Solution for World-wide Roll-out").

The customer, a large-scale operator who's implementing Clavister solutions into their world-wide network deployment, is purchasing licenses for two datacenters as well as one lab, using the solution to create carrier grade security in its infrastructure. As Clavister's revenue model is predicated on the amount of data flowing across its solution, this order grows the customer to be its largest to date both by way of data use and commercial value.

This also follows the implementation and growth model of the virtual security solution orders that predicates a smaller first initial order with follow up orders of new solutions and increasing size as the solution proves its stability and reliability in the live environment. As such, more orders are to be expected within the scope of this broadband provider's expansion plans.

"It's always satisfying when our solution is seen to address the customer's needs and they have the confidence to place new orders. But what's also very encouraging about this service provider is that it's not a classical telco and that they're now using us to deploy in datacenters and other critical environments; in that regard it shows how Clavister can address many large organizations needing the ability to secure large data flows," says John Vestberg, President and CEO of Clavister.

For more information and media requests, please contact:

Sam Coleman

Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Communications

sam.coleman@clavister.com

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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STOCKHOLM, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Medicover has signed an agreement to acquire a majority stake of Spitalul Pelican, the major provider of healthcare services in Oradea, a city of around 200,000 people in the north-western part of Romania. The acquisition will turn Medicover into the leading private provider in the region, with a total catchment area population of some 1 million.

The agreement is for an 80% stake of the hospital and clinical business of Pelican. The cash flow impact is projected at EUR 23 million, including purchasing price, debt, transfer of certain assets and investments into operations. The remaining minority shareholders are the founding surgeons who are active in the business and will continue.

Revenue for 2017 was EUR 15 million with an EBITDA of EUR 3.7 million. The business will be consolidated predominately in the Healthcare Services segment. The transaction is subject to approval by the Romanian Competition Council. This transaction is the largest healthcare facility transaction in Romania since Mid Europa Partners acquisition of Regina Maria in August 2015.

Pelican has a fully equipped hospital with 130 beds, 5 operating theatres, imaging diagnostics and supporting activities. Established in 1992 by leading surgeons it is the foremost healthcare provider in the north-western part of Romania. The company is currently underway expanding a further 4,000 square-meter new-build adjacent facility, adding some 100 beds and a research facility. This will also include the area of highly specialised care such as interventional cardiology or 3D laparoscopic surgery since there are no other similar private providers.

"The acquisition of Pelican will significantly increase our footprint in the north-western part of Romania and the transaction is accretive and will create synergies both on the clinic, hospital and laboratory side. We will through the acquisition create a new platform for further growth.", says Fredrik Ragmark, CEO Medicover.

"We are delighted to join Medicover, who's belief in long term development of health services in Romania fits with our mission. We will together be able to further develop our infrastructure and services for the population in our region", says Dr. Cacuci, one of the founders of Pelican.

For further information, please contact:

Paula Treutiger

Corporate Communication & Investor Relations Director

+46-733-666-599

paula.treutiger@medicover.com

This information is information that Medicover AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 09.00 CEST on 15 May, 2018.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/medicover/r/medicover-acquires-leading-healthcare-provider-in-north-western-romania,c2519972

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LONDON (dpa-AFX) - ITE Group plc (ITE.L) announced a conditional agreement to acquire Ascential Events Limited from Ascential plc, based on an enterprise value of 300 million. This acquisition is expected to be completed in July 2018. ITE Group noted that this acquisition aligns with its continuing TAG Programme and specifically its strategy of making product-led acquisitions of scalable events brands. ITE expects this deal to be earnings enhancing in the first full year following completion. The company expects the enlarged group to be able to achieve annualised pre-tax gross cost synergies of 4 million - 5 million. ITE Group also reported its first half results, with revenue improving to 75.4 million from 69.6 million in the same period a year-ago. Headline profit before tax increased to 16.0 million from 15.4 million in the last year period. Profit before tax declined to 1.3 million from 3.1 million in the last year period. Headline diluted earnings per share totaled 3.7p, while loss per share was 0.7p. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
NEC Seiichiro Toda s-toda@cj.jp.nec.com +81-3-3798-6511

TOKYO, May 15, 2018 - (JCN Newswire) - NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) announced today successful transmission tests that took place over a commercial subsea cable measuring more than 10,000 kilometers using artificial intelligence (AI) and probabilistic shaping at a modulation of 64QAM.NEC, in a joint research publication with Google, has demonstrated for the first time that the FASTER open subsea cable can be upgraded to a spectral efficiency of 6 bits per second per hertz (b/s/Hz) in an 11,000km segment. This represents a capacity of more than 26 terabits per second (Tb/s) in the C-band, which is over 2 1/2 times the capacity originally planned for the cable, for no additional wet plant capital expenditure. In doing so, the authors set a spectral efficiency-distance product record of 66,102 b/s/Hz in a field trial performed together with live traffic neighboring channels.The team achieved this result using near-Shannon probabilistic-shaping at a modulation of 64QAM, and for the first time on a live cable, artificial intelligence (AI) was used to analyze data for the purpose of nonlinearity compensation (NLC). NEC developed an NLC algorithm based on data-driven deep neural networks (DNN) to accurately and efficiently estimate the signal nonlinearity."Other approaches to NLC have attempted to solve the nonlinear Schrodinger equation, which requires the use of very complex algorithms," said NEC's Mr. Toru Kawauchi, General Manager, Submarine Network Division. "This approach sets aside those deterministic models of nonlinear propagation, in favor of a low-complexity black-box model of the fiber, generated by machine learning algorithms. The results demonstrate both an improvement in transmission performance and a reduction in implementation complexity. Furthermore, since the black-box model is built up from live transmission data, it does not require advance knowledge of the cable parameters. This allows the model to be used on any cable without prior modeling or characterization, which shows the potential application of AI technology to open subsea cable systems, on which terminal equipment from multiple vendors may be readily installed."These field trial results were recently presented at the post-deadline session of the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exhibition (OFC) 2018 in San Diego, California. The experimental demonstration of NLC achieved a generalized mutual-information (GMI) capacity gain of -0.15 b/s/2-pol, which is equivalent to a capacity increase of 15 gigabits per second (Gb/s) in every 100GHz of fiber bandwidth. NEC announced plans to continue this AI-based research, with the dual aims of increasing system capacity while reducing the complexity of implementation. For more details about the paper, you may download the paper here.NEC has more than 40 years of experience in the submarine cable business and is recognized as one of the world's top submarine system vendors. NEC has laid a total of more than 250,000 kilometers of submarine cable, the equivalent of six trips around the earth. As a total system integrator, NEC produces optical submarine cable, optical submarine repeaters and equipment for connecting optical transmissions to land, in addition to carrying out ocean surveys, route design, laying optical submarine cable and training personnel for the handover of these systems.About NEC CorporationNEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society. For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.Based on its Mid-term Management Plan 2015, the NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/solutionsforsociety/message.html.Source: NEC CorporationContact:Copyright 2018 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved.
LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Puls Hospital, the only private multi-profile hospital in the Blagoevgrad region of Bulgaria, has announced it is partnering with TriNetX to expand its participation in clinical trials by getting involved earlier in the process.

"We are looking to better understand the clinical trial process from an earlier phase so we can attract more trials that are suited for us," said Vasil Shterev, Head of Clinical Research at Puls. "As we got to know TriNetX better, their relationships with biopharmaceutical companies appealed to us."

TriNetX offers the fastest growing collaborative network of over 70 healthcare organizations representing hundreds of facilities across 11 countries. TriNetX has presented over 1,500 clinical trial opportunities to its healthcare members.

Network members utilize TriNetX's cloud-based, health research platform to analyze patient populations and perform "what-if" analyses in real-time. As members, healthcare organizations are provided, at no cost to themselves, with all of the hardware, software and services that are needed to integrate with the TriNetX platform. TriNetX's unique integration methodology minimizes impact to the member's local IT resources and ensures a rapid and compliant approach, often building on existing data resources such as i2b2 and Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP). Researchers then have access to the institution's de-identified patient data through a user-friendly interface and a growing number of visualization and analysis capabilities.

Biopharmaceutical companies and CROs are presented with aggregate views, but each data point in the TriNetX network can be traced to healthcare organizations who have the ability to identify individual patients. This enables clinical researchers to develop virtual patient cohorts that can then be re-identified for potential recruitment into a clinical trial.

"We had looked at several other companies and determined that the TriNetX model and platform was a perfect match for us," said Shterev. "We have already started using the platform to answer questionnaires related to feasibility. After being live for only a week we were able to export additional patient cohorts to see if we missed any patients that could participate in several of our ongoing drug studies."

Puls Hospital was created and is driven by the desire to provide its European patient population with the highest health standards using next generation medical diagnostic equipment and experienced medical professionals. They are focused on patient dignity and delivering quality medical service by well-established specialists in a wide variety of disciplines.

"We are happy to have Puls Hospital join the growing TriNetX network," said Steve Lethbridge, Vice President, EMEA at TriNetX. "We are confident we can help Puls better understand their patient population which will expose them to a greater number of clinical trials and are extremely pleased they are already seeing benefits after such a short period of time."

About Puls Hospital

Puls Hospital is one of the top multi-profile hospitals in Bulgaria with 227 stationary beds in 13 medical departments-cardiology, internal diseases with nephrology and endocrinology, gastroenterology, surgery, urology, neurology, obstetrics & gynecology, neonatology, orthopedics & traumatology, anesthesiology & intensive care, hemodialysis, medical imaging and ER. With high-quality equipment and dedicated staff, Puls offers solutions for multiple medical problems in the above-mentioned departments. For more information, visit http://bolnicapuls.com/.

About TriNetX

TriNetX is the global health research network enabling healthcare organizations, biopharmaceutical companies and contract research organizations (CROs) to collaborate, improve research, enhance trial design, accelerate recruitment and bring new therapies to market faster. Each member of our community shares in the consolidated value of our global, federated health research network that connects clinical researchers in real-time to the patient populations which they are attempting to study. For more information, visit TriNetX at http://www.trinetx.com or follow @TriNetX on Twitter.

Media Contacts

Jeff Stoecker

Racepoint Global

(518) 265-8370

trinetx@racepointglobal.com

Puls Hospital

Vasil Shterev

+359 893-605-370

v.shterev@bolnicapuls.com

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FELTON, California, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Rapeseed Oil Market is segmented, By Application, into Biodiesel, Food, Feed, Others (Personal Care Products, etc). Rapeseed is an optimistic yellow highlight plant that is found all over the world. The plant is known to be used as a vegetable in Southern Africa and China. Rape crop is mostly cultured for its oil rich seeds and known to be the third main source of vegetable oil in the world. It is also sophisticated for the other benefits that are inclusive of large quantity of biomass, recovers soil tilth, and overpowers weed. Rapeseed oil is used for numerous applications such as manufacture of biodiesel, vegetable oil in food applications, and feed for animals among others.

The rapeseed plant is extensively educated across the globe for its oil-rich seeds that add to several health benefits. Changing consumer food habits, cumulative health consciousness, and taste preferences have driven the market demand and production of rapeseed oil globally. Rapeseed oil has been proven to be the fittest oil that has contributed to the increasing demand for rapeseed oil market. Rapeseed oil has a widespread application in food industry followed by personal care products owing to its nutritional assistances. Rapeseed oil market is foreseeable to witness a significant development during the forecast period owing to the altering consumer usage of vegetable oils.

Browse 129 page research report with TOC on "Global Rapeseed Oil Market" at:https://www.millioninsights.com/industry-reports/rapeseed-oil-market

The nutritional aids such as low soaked fat content, Vitamin E, high content of unsaturated fat, and antioxidants is predictable to majorly drive the rapeseed market in the years to come. Apart from food industry, rapeseed oil has a major application in the personal care products such as oils, cream, and lotions. The presence of Vitamin E and antioxidants in cosmetic products helps in plunging scar tissues, repairs injured hair, repairs skin circumstances such as itching, eczema, and acnes; thus promoting a healthy skin. Rapeseed oil is also used a juggernaut oil that can be applied topically. Food was the leading application of rapeseed oil in 2014, accounting for more than high of market revenue.

Biodiesel accounted to be the second main application of rapeseed oil in 2014; which is expected to gain strong foothold in the years to come. Rapeseed Oil Market is segmented, By End Users into Food Processing, (Vegetable Recipes, Oil Cake, Meat Recipes, Others), Cosmetic and Personal Care Products (Creams, Lotions, Oils (Hair / Body), Others), Biodiesel, Others. Rapeseed Oil Market is segmented, By Geographical Region into North America (U.S. and Canada), Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others), Western Europe (Germany, England, France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg), Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia), Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand), Middle East, and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa).

The geographical coverage for the rapeseed oil market comprises North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia pacific and China (APAC) and Middle East and Africa (MEA). Europe is at the forefront with respect to the production of rapeseed oil. England is the third-largest cultivator of rape seed. India and China are expected to be the chief consumers of rape seed in the years to come. Key players in the rapeseed oil industry include ConAgra Foods Inc., Yorkshire Rapeseed Oil, HELMIKE PLC, ADM and others.

This report studies Rapeseed Oil in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, focuses on top players in these regions/countries, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each player in these regions, covering

 ADM

 Bunge

 Cargill

 MSM Milling

 Northstar Agri Industries

 Resaca Sun Feeds

 Producers Cooperative Oil Mill

 Pacific Coast Canola

 Hart AgStrong

 Sunora Foods

 Atlantic Pacific Foods

 AusOils

 Cootamundra Oilseed

 Riverland Oilseeds

 Riverina Oils and Bioenergy

 Windemere Oilseeds

 Alba Edible Oils

 Goodman Fielder

 Merels Foods

 Peerless Food

 Adams Group

 Jinlongyu

 Luhua

 Fulinmen

 Liangyou Group

Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales (consumption), revenue, market share and growth rate of Rapeseed Oil in these regions, from 2011 to 2020 (forecast), like

 North America

 China

 Europe

 Japan

 Southeast Asia

 India

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Craft Cider Market

Probiotics Drink Market

Yogurt Drinks Market

Dairy Alternative (Beverage) Market

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Gold explorer Bluebird Merchant Ventures has seen "encouraging results" from its underground grab sampling at its Kochang project in South Korea. Bluebird's initial sampling program, undertaken over 1,300 metres on the two main levels, indicated a "substantial improvement" to the grade of the site through sorting, bumping its estimates for the gold project from 1.69 grams per tonne to 5.12. Bluebird examined a number of potential products when determining the viability of reopening the mine, one ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Investors in Cairn Energy were promised a 2018 year that would be "just as active" as 2017 on Tuesday, as they gathered for the company's annual general meeting in Edinburgh. The FTSE 250 firm, which achieved first oil from both the Catcher and Kraken developments in the North Sea, said both were now ramping up to achieve full-capacity production by mid-year. Between 17,000 and 20,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) was expected to Cairn over the 2018 year, with production continuing to grow into ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Ultra-low Temperature Transportation Will Facilitate the Growing Cell & Gene Market

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, North Carolina, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marken today announced the expansion of its cryogenic (liquid nitrogen) service locations to facilitate global cell & gene therapy trials. Marken's expanded network now includes facilities in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Frankfurt, Singapore and Tokyo.Johannesburg will be added later this year to complete the global network. The combination of its expanded locations and packaging fleet allows Marken to meet client demands in a rapidly growing industry.

Ultra-low temperature transportation has become an increasingly important supply chain requirement for cell, gene or immunotherapy-based medicines. The complex process of extracting human cells and transporting them across country borders under strict time and temperature requirements pose significant challenges for the logistics industry. Materials derived from patient samples are usually bio-hazardous, have a short shelf life and must reach the manufacturing site within 28-48 hours of the patient visit. Regulators also require 'chain of identity' assurance that each patient has received his or her own individualized medicine. Marken's expanded cryogenic network of liquid nitrogen filling locations and specialized fleet of packaging will allow its clients to recruit and treat patients from a greater number of countries around the world.

The global gene therapy market is projected to grow to $363m by 2022. An estimated 2,200 clinical trials are expected to drive this growth and will focus on oncology, rare diseases, Parkinson's, HIV, severe combined immuno-deficiencies (SCID) and hemophilia. The majority of these trials are projected to take place in the US, Europe, Canada and China1.

Wes Wheeler, Marken's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We continue to see an increase in the demand for cell and gene therapy trial shipments. We are committed to building the largest cryogenic service network in the clinical logistics industry in order to serve our clients who are engaged in immunotherapy research."

1 Global Gene Therapy Market Analysis & Forecast to 2022, Kelly Scientific Publications, March 2018

About Marken

Marken is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS. Marken is the only patient-centric supply chain organization 100% dedicated to the pharmaceutical and life sciences industries. Marken maintains the leading position for Direct to Patient services and biological sample shipments and offers a state-of-the-art GMP-compliant depot network and logistic hubs in 48 locations worldwide for clinical trial material storage and distribution. Marken's more than 860 staff members manage 50,000 drug and biological shipments every month at all temperature ranges in more than 150 countries. Additional services such as biological kit production, ancillary material sourcing, storage and distribution, shipment lane verification and qualifications, as well as GDP, regulatory and compliance consultancy add to Marken's unique position in the pharma and logistics industry.

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SELBYVILLE, Delaware, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Insulin Delivery Devices Market size is anticipated to surpass USD 19 billion by 2024; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights. Increasing prevalence of diabetes and adoption of insulin delivery devices are the major factors driving the insulin delivery devices market. Rapidly growing demand for needle free minimally invasive delivery system fuels market growth and should significant augment the overall industry expansion in foreseeable future.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/661916/GMI.jpg )

Rising diabetes diagnosis rate worldwide, especially in developing countries is generating demand for insulin and thereby delivery devices. Furthermore, insurance coverage and reimbursement by public sector organizations for diabetes management in number of countries will favour market growth.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/1649

Growing awareness about early disease detection along with increasing availability of delivery devices will positively impact insulin delivery devices industry growth over the forecast period. However, high cost of insulin and associated devices will continue to abstain patients from regular and optimum management of the disease, especially in resource poor regions.

Insulin pens' business segment dominated the market in 2017, valuing over USD 6.6 billion and is forecast to hold its position by 2024. Within the insulin pen business, reusable pens will growth with CAGR more than 6.5% during the forecast period.

Browse key industry insights spread across 140 pages with over 119 market data tables & 8 figures & charts from the report, "Insulin Delivery Devices Market Size By Product (Pumps {Tubed Pumps, Tubeless Pumps},Pens {Reusable, Disposable}, Pen Needles {Standard, Safety}, Syringes), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Canada, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, China, Japan India, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia), Application Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2018 - 2024" in detail along with the table of contents:

https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/insulin-delivery-devices-market

The demand for injection free minimally invasive systems will drive pumps' market growth over the forecast timeframe. Factors such as, ease of use, needleless insulin delivery and portability will result in rapid adoption of the same in coming 5-7 years. The insulin pumps market is forecast to grow with CAGR of over 7% during projection years.

UK insulin delivery devices market valued over USD 500 million in 2017 and is forecast to grow with a commanding CAGR during the projection years. Demand for insulin pens happens to be high across the nation; however, demand for pumps, which has been lesser popular devices, should rise significantly over the forecast timeframe.

India insulin devices market should witness 13.5% growth owing to high number of diabetic population being untapped and increasing incidences of the same. Improving healthcare system, growing disposable income and awareness will be some of the major factors driving market growth.

China insulin devices market will be the largest by the end of 2024, growing with a CAGR of over 13% from 2018-2024. With nearly USD 25 billion diabetes care expenditure, the country is targeting diabetes management better than any developing nation across the globe.

Some of the key industry players operating in global insulin delivery devices market are Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Novo Nordisk, Beckton and Dickenson, Roche, Medtronic, Insulet Corporation and Ypsomed. Specialized devices manufacturing companies such as Insulet Corporation focus on novel product development; innovation is their major stranger to gain market share. On the other hand, established bigger companies focus on geographical expansion, merger and acquisition to expand their foothold in the industry.

Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/1649

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Ministry renews commitment to supporting women, with interim financing for divorcees

The Saudi Ministry of Justice is planning to launch an alimony fund similar to the United Kingdom's Child Maintenance Service, in an attempt to empower mothers and provide sustainable living and support, for them and their children.

The alimony fund is dedicated to women who are divorced and facing difficulty in securing monthly expenses from their former husbands. The fund is designed to cover their expenses until a verdict can be reached as to the amount the husband should pay.

"I am so grateful for this fund," said Um Ahmed, a recently separated mother of three. "I am going through a divorce, with no stable source of income for me or my children. My main dispute with my husband was his lack of financial commitment towards me and my kids. This fund will force him to commit financially and will also ensure my children's needs are met."

The fund will be financed by divorced husbands, who are required by law to submit payments to the fund, which are then paid to enrolled women and children. Even if the husband fails to pay on time, the fund still covers the expenses of the enrolled mothers without delays and deducts the amounts from the husbands.

"We are looking forward to see this fund up and running," said the Ministry of Justice. "The ministry has planned well to ensure its sustainability. We researched many similar funds worldwide, such as the Child Maintenance Service in the UK, and used the experience to build a fund that is right for the country. We want to ensure the ministry can act quickly to provide practical solutions for divorced women and their children. We want to demonstrate our steadfast commitment to women in our society and move forward towards the realization of National Transformation Program and Vision 2030, which represents a better future for all our people."

According to the ministry's plan, the number of expected beneficiaries of the fund is expected to reach around 155,000 by 2022.

Saudi Arabia has recently launched several initiatives in support of women in general, and Saudi women in particular, both in civic life and in the workplace. The efforts by the Ministry of Justice are designed to complement those initiatives, delivering help for women in providing for, and raising, their children.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The global healthcare contract research organization (CRO) market is expected to reach USD 51.3 billion by 2024, according to a new study by Grand View Research Inc. Increasing drug development cost is expected to drive market demand over the forecast period. With the increasing number of patents expiring, increasing number of partnerships to identify biologics and new compounds and growing R&D costs, drug maker and sponsor companies are under pressure to replace the revenue loss specifically due to generics, which has further made drug development more expensive and complex.

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Moreover, owing to the increasing incidence rates of chronic diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's and other infectious diseases in children, government funding has increased, which have led to increasing R&D activities. For instance, in January 2015, the U.S. announced an investment of USD 215 million for precision medicine initiative. The investment was broken up for NIH (USD 130 million), NCI (USD 70 million), and FDA (USD 10 million).

In addition, growing pressure on industry players to follow stringent timelines has increased the demand for outsourcing of research activities. Even government organizations are outsourcing their clinical trial activities to CROs so that they can carry out the clinical trials with the required infrastructure, expertise, and minimize cost and timelines. In 2015, the Canadian Federal Budget made an investment of USD 1.33 billion for the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

Browse full research report with TOC on"Healthcare Contract Research Organization (CRO) Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Type (Drug Discovery, Pre-Clinical, Clinical), By Service, By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2024" at:https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/healthcare-contract-research-outsourcing-market

Further Key Findings From the Report Suggest:

Clinical trial services dominated the market in 2016 owing to the fact that it comprises four elaborate phases including human subjects. The increasing complexities in R&D trends have raised the need for expertise, thereby shortening the time required to commercialize the molecule.

In January 2016 , Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WIL Research for approximately USD 585 million . The acquisition is expected to strengthen Charles' ability to partner with global clients.

, Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire WIL Research for approximately . The acquisition is expected to strengthen Charles' ability to partner with global clients. The high R&D spending in oncology has also fueled the need for healthcare contract research outsourcing. Realizing this demand, France -based laboratory, XenTech increased its capacity of its animal care to 50% along with increasing collaborative research projects.

-based laboratory, XenTech increased its capacity of its animal care to 50% along with increasing collaborative research projects. North America was the largest regional market with revenue share estimated at over 40% owing to the presence of global industries, which invest maximum of their revenue in research activities. In addition, many academic institutes receive grants to undertake these activities. For instance, in July 2015 , the University of Toronto received USD 1.5 billion under the Medicine by Design initiative.

was the largest regional market with revenue share estimated at over 40% owing to the presence of global industries, which invest maximum of their revenue in research activities. In addition, many academic institutes receive grants to undertake these activities. For instance, in , the received under the Medicine by Design initiative. Europe was the second largest market in 2016. This is attributed to the tax benefits offered to the large and small-scale companies to promote more contract research outsourcing activities. The large companies can claim 30% deducible from the income of their R&D expenditure. In case of small and medium sized enterprises, it is 225% for the R&D expenditure.

was the second largest market in 2016. This is attributed to the tax benefits offered to the large and small-scale companies to promote more contract research outsourcing activities. The large companies can claim 30% deducible from the income of their R&D expenditure. In case of small and medium sized enterprises, it is 225% for the R&D expenditure. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing industry due to the reduced cost it offers in comparison to the U.S and other developed economies. Increasing incidence rate of chronic and lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and diabetes coupled with ease in patient recruitment and available expertise for the clinical trials are few drivers propelling growth of the Asian healthcare CRO market.

is the fastest growing industry due to the reduced cost it offers in comparison to the U.S and other developed economies. Increasing incidence rate of chronic and lifestyle diseases such as heart disease and diabetes coupled with ease in patient recruitment and available expertise for the clinical trials are few drivers propelling growth of the Asian healthcare CRO market. China and India are projected to witness tremendous growth in the contract research outsourcing market owing to their treatment naive patient pool coupled with disease prevalence rate. Furthermore, genetically diverse population, highly qualified English-speaking investigators, well equipped hospitals are other opportunities offered by India for global clinical trials.

and are projected to witness tremendous growth in the contract research outsourcing market owing to their treatment naive patient pool coupled with disease prevalence rate. Furthermore, genetically diverse population, highly qualified English-speaking investigators, well equipped hospitals are other opportunities offered by for global clinical trials. In July 2014 , Catalent Pharma Solutions opened its oral formulation development lab in Japan . The laboratory, which opened in September, also expanded its CMO manufacturing capacity in the same lab.

, Catalent Pharma Solutions opened its oral formulation development lab in . The laboratory, which opened in September, also expanded its CMO manufacturing capacity in the same lab. CROs are in a process of continuously improving their portfolio by integrating services with technology. This enables them to save more on time and deliver efficient and desired results to the clients. In October 2015 , PPD joined hand with Oracle to use its cloud technology named Oracle Siebel CTMS.

, PPD joined hand with Oracle to use its cloud technology named Oracle Siebel CTMS. In addition to offering improved services, CROs are in the process of collaborating to promote their services at a global level. For instance, in May 2014 , ClinDatrix, Inc. collaborated with six other CRO's to offer services to multinational clinical trials. The collaboration will strengthen its presence globally apart from the U.S. and Canada .

, ClinDatrix, Inc. collaborated with six other CRO's to offer services to multinational clinical trials. The collaboration will strengthen its presence globally apart from the U.S. and . Major contributors are Quintiles, Covance, Pharmaceutical Product Development, LLC (PPD), Parexel, Charles River Laboratories (CRL), ICON plc, inVentiv Health, Medidata Solutions, and Theorem Clinical Research. According to the US database of trials, Parexel, Quintiles and PPD are involved in large number of collaboration with the sponsors pertaining to clinical trials.

In April 2015 , Pfizer selected PPD as its third most preferred CRO. PPD has assisted Pfizer in extending its global reach that is expected to advance Pfizer's growing portfolio. Furthermore, in June 2015 Aeterna Zentaris selected Ergomed for phase III study to identify the efficacy of Macrelin, a novel orally active ghrelin agonist to evaluate AGHD.

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Grand View Research has segmented the global Healthcare Contract Research Organization (CRO) market report on the basis of type, service, and regions:

Type (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2024) Drug Discovery Target validation Lead identification Lead optimization Pre-Clinical Clinical Phase I Trial Services Phase II Trial Services Phase III Trial Services Phase IV Trial Services

Service (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2024) Project Management/Clinical Supply Management Data Management Regulatory/Medical Affairs Medical Writing Clinical Monitoring Quality Management/ Assurance Bio-statistics Investigator Payments Laboratory Patient and site Recruitment Technology Others

Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2024) North America U.S. Canada Europe Germany UK France Asia Pacific Japan China India Latin America Brazil Mexico Middle East & Africa South Africa



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4AutoInsuranceQuote has Just Released an Article that Names the Top 10 Car Insurance Companies for Teen Drivers

NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2018 / The founders of 4AutoInsuranceQuote, a top auto insurance quote provider, are devoted to saving people of all ages money on their insurance premiums. This goal inspired them to recently research and release a new article that looks at the best prices for teen car insurance.

To read the new article, which is titled "Top 10 Car Insurance Companies For Teen Drivers" in its entirety, please check out http://www.4autoinsurancequote.com/blog/top-10-cheapest-car-insurance-companies-for-teen-drivers/.





As most parents of teen drivers know all too well, teenagers are infamous for having some of the highest insurance rates in the country. But as the founders of 4AutoInsuranceQuote understand, just because someone is a young driver, it does not mean that he, she or the parents have to pay through the nose for auto insurance.

"By choosing the right car insurance company, you can pay cheap prices for car insurance even as a teenager," the new article noted, adding that parents and their teens definitely have budget-friendly car insurance options.

After looking at a number of car insurance companies, the team at 4AutoInsuranceQuote determined that Erie Insurance is one of the most affordable car insurance companies for teen drivers in the U.S.

"In virtually every state where Erie offers insurance, Erie was the best choice for teenage drivers," the article noted.

"The only drawback to Erie is that they're not available in every state. They're typically only available in the midwest, northeast, and parts of the south."

To view the states that are covered by Erie, readers can click on a link in the article to see if they can get insurance for their teenager.

Coming in at number two is The Cincinnati Insurance Company, an Ohio-based insurance company that offers budget-friendly rates for young drivers. As the article noted, The Cincinnati charges an average of $2,969 to teenage drivers, which is just a bit higher than Erie's average of $2,411 annually.

Other companies in the article include Chubb, which is based in Zurich, Switzerland; Grange Insurance Association and Nationwide.

About 4AutoInsuranceQuote:

4AutoInsuranceQuote.com is the premier auto insurance quote provider in the United States. In business since 2008, 4AutoInsuranceQuote has provided millions of free car insurance quotes to millions of American drivers. Please visit http://www.4autoinsurancequote.com for a free quote to see how much drivers can save on their monthly auto insurance bill.

Contact:

Michael Smith

webmaster@4autoinsurancequote.com

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SOURCE: 4AutoInsuranceQuote
PUNE, India, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new market research report "Cognitive Security Market by Component (Solutions & Services), Application (Threat Intelligence, Anomaly Detection & Risk Mitigation, Automated Compliance Management), Security Type, Deployment, Enterprise Size, Vertical, & Region- Global Forecast to 2023", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global market size is expected to grow from USD 3.62 Billion in 2018 to USD 17.09 Billion by 2023, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 36.4% during the forecast period.

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Browse 78 market data Tables and 54 Figures spread through 181 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Cognitive Security Market"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cognitive-security-market-82177606.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report.

The increasing number of security breaches and cyber-attacks, and the rising adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trends across verticals are some of the major driving factors for the Cognitive Security Market growth. Furthermore, the rising adoption of social media platforms in various business functions and the growing market for cloud-based business are expected to provide significant growth opportunities in the market.

The cybersecurity type is expected to be the larger contributor in the Cognitive Security Market during the forecast period.

Increase in digitalization and the rapidly growing connected devices are expected to be the major factors driving the growth of the overall Cognitive Security Market. These connected devices have made enterprise networks more prone to cyber-attacks. Therefore, the demand for cybersecurity solutions is expected to contribute more toward the overall Cognitive Security Market growth during the forecast period.

Inquiry Before Buying@https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=82177606

The anomaly detection and risk mitigation application is expected to have the largest market size during the forecast period.

Anomaly detection and risk mitigation involves the identification and prevention of abnormal events that can cause harm to the organizational data. Anomaly detection and prevention is a network security application that helps organizations carry out various processes, ranging from the identification of malicious activities to their reporting. Various factors such as government regulations and the increasing initiatives by various organizations toward strengthening their security measures are expected to drive the anomaly detection and risk mitigation application growth in the Cognitive Security Market.

North America is expected to account for the largest market size during the forecast period.

North America is the major revenue generating region in the global Cognitive Security Market. The region has witnessed the maximum adoption of cognitive security solutions, due to the increasing incidents of security breaches. In the North American region, enterprises in the US and Canada are expected to significantly adopt cognitive security solutions. Therefore, the region is expected to account for the largest market size during the forecast period.

The major vendors in the global Cognitive Security Market are IBM (US), Cisco (US), CA Technologies (US), Symantec (US), Check Point Software (US), DXC Technology (US), AWS (US), Expert System (Italy), Fortinet (US), Trend Micro (Japan), Google (US), Acalvio (US), Securonix (US), Sift Science (US), Feedzai (US), SparkCognition (US), Cybraics (US), Demisto (US), XTN (Italy), LogRhythm (US), ThreatMetrix (US), High-Tech Bridge (Switzerland), Deep Instinct (Israel), Darktrace (UK and US), Cylance (US), and McAfee (US).

Know more about the Cognitive Security Market

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Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

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Advanced contact center solution provides foundational element of $40.8M Digital First initiative

RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications and collaboration solutions, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, RingCentral UK, Ltd., has been selected by Arco, the UK's leading safety company, as the foundational technology for its new National Customer Engagement Center. RingCentral's Contact Center solution will be deployed as part of an ongoing Arco strategy of business investment with the aim of moving toward agile cloud infrastructure and process.

RingCentral Contact Center is an omnichannel solution that helps Arco's customers choose their preferred method of communicating, including voice, chat, social media, SMS, email and more. The platform includes intelligent interactive voice response (IVR) and self-service options that are tightly integrated with smart routing functionality. Those features are designed to help customers connect more quickly to the adviser who can best handle their needs. It also includes industry-leading tools to help Arco optimize staff scheduling, improve contact center efficiencies and generate surveys for customers.

"RingCentral offers us a best-in-class unified communications platform that will help us to continue delivering exceptional customer service across more communication channels," said Sacha Redman, Customer Experience Director for Arco. "This project is part of a wider $40.8 millionprogram of investment within our Digital First initiative that will ensure we are continually meeting our customer expectations when it comes to the selection and delivery of the right safety equipment and related services."

The new Arco National Customer Engagement Center in Hull, East Yorkshire, England, will be staffed by customer service specialists who will manage sales inquiries and orders while also supporting customers with product advice and order-tracking.

"Arco offers a great example of a forward-thinking business that has embraced the omnichannel approach to customer engagement that encourages customers to interact via the method they feel most comfortable with," said Steven Rafferty, Regional Vice President of Enterprise Sales, EMEA at RingCentral. "The upcoming RingCentral Contact Center deployment provides an open and flexible platform that will help Arco to adapt to modern retail imperatives and enable innovative new technologies such as AI and bots."

The full deployment of RingCentral Contact Center is expected to go live at the new Arco National Customer Engagement Center in July this year.

About RingCentral

RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE:RNG) is a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications and collaboration solutions. More flexible and cost-effective than legacy on-premises systems, RingCentral empowers today's mobile and distributed workforce to communicate, collaborate and connect from anywhere, on any device. RingCentral unifies voice, video, team messaging and collaboration, conferencing, online meetings and integrated contact center solutions. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading business apps and enables customers to easily customize business workflows. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices around the world.

2018 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral, RingCentral Contact Center and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc.

About Arco

Arco is the UK's leading safety company and has a core purpose of keeping people safe at work. Through its dedicated in-house experts, Arco helps to shape the safety world in order to ensure UK workers go home safe every night. It distributes a world-class range of over 170,000 quality assured, branded and own brand products, including personal protective equipment, workwear, safety footwear, gloves, workplace safety and hygiene products. It also provides professional services encompassing training, consultancy and site services.

Headquartered in Hull, Arco reaches its customers through its extensive product catalogue, interactive website and 47 strong retail store network. The company has sales of over 287m and employs approximately 1600 people nationwide.

Arco is committed to providing safety equipment that is genuine and compliant with relevant standards and regulations. To do this, it has a five-step product assurance process and is the only safety distributor with an independently accredited testing laboratory. Additionally, it is a member of the BSIF Registered Safety Suppliers Scheme.

Founded in 1884 and with a heritage spanning four generations, Arco demonstrates traditional family values and is dedicated to its Corporate Social Responsibility policy. It continually demonstrates its support of local business communities and charitable organisations, donating in excess of 1% of pre-tax profits annually. In 2007, Arco became a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) incorporating their internationally recognised code of labour practice into its own ethical policy and in 2010 became a member of Sedex, the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange. To ensure ethical standards are continuously met throughout its supply chain, Arco carries out regular audits amongst all suppliers and, working with the ETI and other regulatory bodies, the company plays a leading role in helping to eliminate modern day slavery across the globe. For more information, visit www.arco.co.uk.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005588/en/

Contacts:

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Mariana Kosturos, 650-562-6545

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Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSXV: BSR) (OTCQB: BBSRF) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional positive drill results from the surface and underground resource definition drill program underway, at its Cerro Blanco Gold project in Guatemala. The work is being undertaken as part of the Feasibility Study planned for completion by the end of 2018.

Drilling results continue to validate the historical high-grade vein intercepts drilled by previous operators and more recently by Bluestone (see Company Press Release dated April 17, 2018). Assay highlights in this release include 15.0 g/t Au and 32.5 g/t Ag over 10.0 meters including 32.0 g/t Au and 75.8 g/t Ag over 3.9 meters in hole UGCB18-82 that targeted multiple veins in the North Ramp area. Surface hole CB18-396 drilled numerous intercepts including 16.2 g/t Au and 20.6 g/t Ag over 14.1 meters from 167.1 meters, including 64.9 g/t Au and 76.9 g/t Ag over 2.0 meters representing deeper extensions of the sheeted vein swarms beneath the South Ramp.

Darren Klinck, President & CEO commented, "As we transition from resource drilling into the engineering phase of the Feasibility Study, the drilling results continue to solidify our understanding and confidence in the new geological model at Cerro Blanco and definition of individual vein wireframes. Importantly, the drilling continues to highlight broad zones of high-grade mineralization comprising multiple vein sets considered amenable for underground bulk mining methods in the PEA."

Three drill rigs stationed within the underground development are undertaking in-fill drilling within key areas in the north, central and south zones of the Cerro Blanco deposit. One drill rig continues to operate on surface targeting deeper and peripheral extensions to mineralization. Gold and silver mineralization at Cerro Blanco is associated with epithermal quartz-adularia veins and vein swarms that sit immediately below a silicified cap that form a low-lying hill.

Assay results from nine underground drill holes and two surface holes are presented in Table 1, totalling 1,829 meters. Drilling is designed primarily to provide additional information within key areas of the resource model and validate previous historical drilling. The underground results presented in this press release are additional fan holes drilled from Platforms 3, 4 and 10 which complement drill results announced previously. Drilling is ongoing with results from a further 13 underground and 7 surface holes pending. Over 10,000 meters of surface and underground drilling are anticipated to be completed which will be incorporated into the Feasibility Study expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Figures referred to in this press release including location of drill holes, drill sections and photos can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Underground drilling is ongoing and additional results will be reported when received. Assay results from the drill program will be incorporated into the new resource estimate planned for Q3 2018.

Table 1: Drill Results Table

HOLE ID FROM (m) TO (m) CORE INTERVAL

(m) EST. TRUE WIDTH (m) Au g/t Ag g/t UGCB18-77 53.75 58.2 4.45 4.10 4.1 18.8 59.21 61.5 2.29 2.22 3.5 8.8 161.25 162.25 1.00 1.00 3.7 3.7 UGCB18-78 83.9 85.4 1.50 1.5 2.1 6.5 96.2 97.3 1.10 1.0 2.7 7.6 UGCB18-79 11.31 20.82 9.51 9.48 5.6 33.9 incl. 11.31 15.33 4.02 4.02 8.3 33.7 and 19.69 20.82 1.13 1.13 16.4 90.4 36.63 37.63 1.00 1.00 32.3 91.1 UGCB18-80 2.96 3.96 1.00 1.00 6.0 9.2 40.64 41.64 1.00 1.00 7.1 31.4 47.77 63.8 16.03 15.98 4.3 47.8 incl. 47.77 53.25 5.48 5.4 9.3 105.3 85.95 88.47 2.52 2.5 13.9 85.2 UGCB18-81 25.5 27 1.50 1.10 14.3 33.0 43.5 46.5 3.00 3.00 4.2 6.0 56.61 59.69 3.08 3.0 4.4 9.6 77.52 78.52 1.00 1.0 23.7 31.6 100.5 105.07 4.57 4.5 20.8 46.9 107.29 108.29 1.00 1.0 8.0 13.4 116.64 117.64 1.00 1.0 10.0 16.0 122.18 125.2 3.02 2.8 11.2 13.1 129.2 130.15 0.95 0.95 4.2 6.1 UGCB18-82 16.49 17.65 1.16 1.1 4.1 4.1

25.65 27.15 1.5 1.5 4.3 2.9

71.16 81.18 10.02 9.97 15.0 32.5 incl. 77.26 81.18 3.92 3.69 32.0 78.8 97.27 100.27 3.0 2.97 4.4 8.2

112.0 113.0 1.0 1.0 4.6 4.2 120.8 122.8 2.0 2.0 17.9 10.2 UGCB18-83 No significant results

UGCB18-84 49.68 56.08 6.4 3.8 20.2 23.6 53.33 56.08 2.75 2.0 44.7 39.9 64.62 65.85 1.23 1.1 4.6 3.5 UGCB18-85 2.44 3.44 1.0 1.0 8.7 5.4

47.06 48.06 1.0 1.0 9.0 20.7 52.34 59.12 6.78 6.52 24.6 92.8 53.34 56.8 3.46 3.4 46.5 164.9 70.05 71.13 1.08 1.0 21.2 60.9

79.9 81.0 1.10 1.0 3.7 23.0 84.92 85.75 0.83 0.8 37.2 331.0 CB18-387 7.5 108.4 100.9 Silica Cap 0.5 7.4 CB18-396 89.25 90.75 1.50 1.5 11.6 5.2 103.08 108.15 5.07 5.01 7.1 24.7 153.37 154.71 1.34 1.28 12.2 9.7 167.14 181.41 14.27 14.1 16.2 20.6 incl. 167.14 169.16 2.02 2.0 64.9 76.9 189.31 191.9 2.59 2.5 3.5 18.9 196.95 197.95 1.00 1.0 11.0 6.9 243.47 245.48 2.01 2.0 7.6 14.7

Notes: Hole prefix UGCB18 denotes underground drillhole, CB18 denotes surface drillhole. Intervals in bold are cited in the text of the news release. A top-cut of 140 g/t Au as per PEA was applied with no effect on calculated intervals. Only intercepts averaging over 3 g/t Au when diluted to a minimum 3 m true width were included. A complete table with hole coordinates and azimuth/ dip information accompany the Figures attached to this release.

About Cerro Blanco

The Cerro Blanco project consists of 3.2 kilometers of underground development, including two underground declines from surface (North and South Ramps). Prior to the acquisition of Cerro Blanco by Bluestone in 2017, a total of 115,500 meters were drilled in 522 holes by previous operators.

Cerro Blanco is a classic hot springs-related, low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver deposit. Gold and silver bearing epithermal veins are hosted within a sequence of volcaniclastics and sedimentary rocks (Mita Group), composite veins of chalcedony, quartz, adularia and calcite. The bulk of the veins sit below a silicified cap approximately 100 meters thick comprising a sequence of plant-rich sandstones, conglomerates, phreatic breccias, and thin sinter horizons (Salinas Group). The current resource has a footprint of 800 meters x 400 meters between elevations of 300 meters and 500 meters above sea level. It occurs at the south end of a north-south corridor of hydrothermal alteration, about five kilometers long and one kilometer wide, which has potential for discovery of additional mineralization. This corridor has several other gold targets currently under investigation. The current resource comprises both high- and low-angle veins of colloform-banded chalcedony with minor adularia, dark grey bands of silver sulphides and bladed calcite replacement textures. These textures are all classic indicators of boiling fluids that deposited gold and silver.

Quality Analysis and Quality Control

Assay results listed within this release were performed by Inspectorate Laboratories ("Inspectorate"), a division of Bureau Veritas, which are ISO 17025 accredited laboratories. Logging and sampling is undertaken at site at Cerro Blanco by Company personnel under a QA/QC protocol developed by Bluestone. Samples are transported in security-sealed bags to Inspectorate, Guatemala City, Guatemala, for sample preparation. Sample pulps are shipped to Inspectorate Laboratories in Vancouver, BC, Canada or Reno, NV, USA, and assayed using industry-standard assay techniques for gold and silver. Gold and silver were analyzed by a 30-gram charge with atomic adsorption and/or gravimetric finish for values exceeding 5 g/t Au and 100 g/t Ag. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material, and replicate samples. Quality control is further assured by Bluestone's QA/QC program, which involves the insertion of blind certified reference materials (standards) and field duplicates into the sample stream to independently assess analytical precision, and accuracy of each batch of samples as they are received from the laboratory. A selection of samples is submitted to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Vancouver for check analysis and additional quality control.

Qualified Person

David Cass, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, is the designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and verified that the technical information set out above in this news release is accurate and therefore approves this written disclosure of the technical information.

About Bluestone Resources

Bluestone Resources is a mineral exploration and development company that is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Cerro Blanco Gold and Mita Geothermal projects located in Guatemala. The Cerro Blanco Gold project economics, as disclosed in the Company's Cerro Blanco Preliminary Economic Assessment which is available at www.sedar.com, and updated mineral resource estimate for Cerro Blanco, indicate a robust project with an expected nine-year mine life producing 952,000 ounces of gold and 3,141,000 ounces of silver. Initial capital expenditures in the PEA to fund construction and commissioning is estimated at US$170.8 million with all-in sustaining cash costs (as defined per World Gold Council guidelines, less corporate general and administration costs) estimated to be US$490 per ounce of gold produced. The Company trades under the symbol "BSR" on the TSX Venture Exchange and "BBSRF" on the OTCQB.

On Behalf of Bluestone Resources Inc.

"Darren Klinck"

Darren Klinck | President, Chief Executive Officer & Director

For further information, please contact:

Bluestone Resources Inc.

Stephen Williams | VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations

Phone: +1 604 646 4534

info@bluestoneresources.ca

www.bluestoneresources.ca

Cautionary Language

The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Bluestone Resources Inc. ("Bluestone" or the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation: the proposed timeline and benefits of the Feasibility Study; statements about the Company's plans for its mineral properties; Bluestone's business strategy, plans and outlook; the future financial or operating performance of Bluestone; capital expenditures, corporate general and administration expenses and exploration and development expenses; expected working capital requirements; the future financial estimates of the Cerro Blanco Project economics, including estimates of capital costs of constructing mine facilities and bringing a mine into production and of sustaining capital costs, estimates of operating costs and total costs, net present value and economic returns; proposed production timelines and rates; funding availability; resource estimates; and future exploration and operating plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to Bluestone and often use words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "may" or variations thereof or the negative of any of these terms.

All forward-looking statements are made based on the Company's current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. Generally, these assumptions include, among others: the ability of Bluestone to carry on exploration and development activities; the price of gold, silver and other metals; there being no material variations in the current tax and regulatory environment; the exchange rates among the Canadian dollar, Guatemalan quetzal and the United States dollar remaining consistent with current levels; the presence of and continuity of metals at the Cerro Blanco Project at estimated grades; the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices and within estimated delivery times; metals sales prices and exchange rates assumed; appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in economic analyses; tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation; the availability of acceptable financing; anticipated mining losses and dilution; success in realizing proposed operations; anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Bluestone. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: risks and uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing and amount of production and total costs of production; risks and uncertainties related to ability to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, permits, or surface rights; risks associated with technical difficulties in connection with mining development activities; risks and uncertainties related to the accuracy of mineral resource estimates and estimates of future production, future cash flow, total costs of production and diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources; risks associated with geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in Guatemala; risks and uncertainties related to interruptions in production; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; uncertain political and economic environments and relationships with local communities; risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the mineral identified as mineral resources from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in world metals markets; risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates; as well as those factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Amended and Restated Annual Information Form.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Bluestone disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Bluestone believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
NORTH READING, Massachusetts, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TraceLink Inc., the World's Largest Track and Trace Network for connecting the life sciences supply chain and providing real-time information sharing for better patient outcomes, today announced financial and company results for the first quarter of 2018.

Financial growth highlights for Q1 2018 include:

A 69 percent year-over-year increase in Q1 revenue, including revenue growth in the following regions:

386 percent revenue growth in APAC;



270 percent revenue growth in EMEA; and,



159 percent revenue growth in India .

. A 43 percent year-over-year increase in all bookings for Q1, including a 177 percent increase in EMEA bookings for the quarter;

A two-year revenue compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 70 percent; and,

A 38 percent annual increase in customers for a total of 821 customers across 35 countries, demonstrating the largest customer base for pharmaceutical track and trace and serialization, spanning all segments within the global life sciences supply chain, including:

54 percent representing pharmaceutical and contract manufacturers;



6 percent representing wholesale distributors and parallel importers; and



40 percent representing pharmacies, hospitals and health systems.

"I am extremely pleased with our Q1 performance. The investments we've made to grow our global business and serve customers in EMEA, APAC and the U.S. are paying off, enabling TraceLink to further advance its market share position as the only digital supply chain network for global serialization and track and trace," said Shabbir Dahod, president and CEO, TraceLink. "As transaction activity on our network grows through the increasing number of TraceLink customers that are serializing products and exchanging data with their ecosystems of trade partners, we are setting the stage for future business transformation with applications that will deliver a new paradigm of real-time digital information sharing across the entire supply chain."

Additional Q1 2018 growth highlights and milestones include:

Leading the market with the industry's most serialization-ready companies - with over 390 companies live and configured to go live with TraceLink solutions, as of the end of Q1.

with over 390 companies live and configured to go live with TraceLink solutions, as of the end of Q1. Demonstrating unmatched scalability by commissioning 43 million serial numbers in March, the highest month in Q1 for commissioned serial numbers - and a 106 percent increase in serial numbers commissioned year-over-year, for a total of 670 million serial numbers commissioned to date.

- and a 106 percent increase in serial numbers commissioned year-over-year, for a total of 670 million serial numbers commissioned to date. Accelerating company and trade partner connectivity as a result of the "network effect" on the Life Sciences Cloud with:

More than 200 contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) fully configured on the TraceLink Life Sciences Cloud and ready to exchange serialization data;



An additional 450 CMOs currently in active testing on the TraceLink network and projected to be serialization ready in a matter of months; and,



More than 4,600 links, or individual connections for serialization, between a customer and a trade partner, on the Life Sciences Cloud.

Processing global compliance reports for millions of product units - processing over 62,000 compliance documents for more than 186 million units of product in the EU, China , Brazil , India and South Korea .

processing over 62,000 compliance documents for more than 186 million units of product in the EU, , , and . Demonstrating the success of our easy-to-use system - with a total of 45,000 users regularly accessing the Life Sciences Cloud.

- with a total of 45,000 users regularly accessing the Life Sciences Cloud. Unveiling EU FMD Express, a purpose-built compliance solution for smaller pharmaceutical companies - providing a cost-effective, simplified solution designed specifically to address the needs of smaller pharmaceutical companies complying with the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD.)

providing a cost-effective, simplified solution designed specifically to address the needs of smaller pharmaceutical companies complying with the EU Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD.) Publishing the full analysis from the Global Drug Supply, Safety and Traceability Report, the industry's largest survey on life science companies' readiness for serialization deadlines - including data from 660 respondents in the pharmaceutical supply chain, and revealing a major disparity in industry's readiness to comply with track and trace regulations in the U.S. and EU.

including data from 660 respondents in the pharmaceutical supply chain, and revealing a major disparity in industry's readiness to comply with track and trace regulations in the U.S. and EU. Setting the stage for FutureLink Munich, by partnering with global visionaries and industry thought leaders to deliver over 20 speaking sessions - through two separate tracks focused on Global Serialization and Compliance and Digital Drug Supply, Networks and Value.

About TraceLink

TraceLink is the World's Largest Track and Trace Network for connecting the Life Sciences supply chain and eliminating counterfeit prescription drugs from the global marketplace. Leading businesses trust the TraceLink Life Sciences Cloud to deliver complete global connectivity, visibility and traceability of pharmaceuticals from ingredient to patient. A single point and click connection to the Life Sciences Cloud creates a supply chain control tower that delivers the information, insight and collaboration needed to improve performance and reduce risk across global supply, manufacturing and distribution operations. A winner of numerous industry awards including three consecutive years on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 (ranked number 177 in 2017), the Amazon AWS Global Start-Up Challenge Grand Prize, and the Edison Award for Innovation in Health Management, the Life Sciences Cloud is used by businesses across the globe to meet strategic goals in ensuring global compliance, fighting drug counterfeiting, improving on-time and in-full delivery, protecting product quality and reducing operational cost. For more information on TraceLink and our solutions, visit www.tracelink.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

TraceLink is funded by Goldman Sachs, FirstMark Capital, Volition Capital and F-Prime Capital.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/690309/TraceLink_Logo.jpg
PALM BEACH, Florida, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

MarketNewsUpdates.com News Commentary

The Canadian cannabis industry, already comprised of companies worth an estimated $23 billion, is set to explode as the country nears nation-wide legalization of the substance. According to CIBC, the Canadians will spend nearly $7 billion on cannabis in 2020, making the retail cannabis market larger than the hard liquor market in Canada. This boom is causing intense competition within the industry, as companies are vying for resources to maximize production in response to the anticipated spike in demand behind the inevitable legalization. Canada has set the "green standard" for legal cannabis growth as Health Canada has been responsible for approving growing licenses and ensuring that demand and supply have remained somewhat balanced. This has resulted in an increase in mergers and acquisitions in the space, as well as overall high activity on the stock markets in the cannabis sector. Active cannabis stocks in the markets include: Choom Holdings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTC: CHOOF), Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF), Newstrike Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: HIP) (OTC: NWKRF), The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (TSX: TGOD) (OTC: TGODF), Hiku Brands Company Ltd. (CSE: HIKU) (OTC: DJACF).

ChoomHoldings Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) BREAKING NEWS: Choom, an emerging fully-integrated cannabis company, is aggressively pursuing retail opportunities in the Canadian marketplace. Choom has secured the rights to an additional 8 retail locations in Alberta, increasing the total to 17 applications in the approval process with the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission ("AGLC"). These retail store locations are subject to licensing by the AGLC and the receipt of all other necessary governmental approvals. This follows the Company's news release regarding the build-out of its cannabis retail store network, disseminated April 17, 2018.

A strong retail footprint will be instrumental in determining the brands that thrive in this new economy and Choom will be poised to capitalize on the coming wave of cannabis distribution with our retail strategy.

"Our goal is to secure significant market share where private cannabis retail stores are permitted. Increasing our footprint in Western Canada naturally strengthens our reach to consumers," states Chris Bogart, president and CEO of Choom.

"With the coming recreational cannabis market, ensuring an elevated customer experience and positive initial impressions will be crucial. Our retail environments will be curated for an outstanding experience. We will continue to seek expansion opportunities to allow as many Canadians as possible to participate in the Choom experience of 'good times with good friends'." Read this and more news for Choom at:http://www.marketnewsupdates.com/news/choo.html

Additional industry related developments from around the markets:

Canopy Growth Corporation (OTC: TWMJF)(TSX:W EED.TO) recently announced it has applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company currently anticipates that, subject to the receipt of all required approvals, its common shares will begin trading on the NYSE before the end of May 2018 . In advance of listing on the NYSE, Canopy Growth will file a Form 40-F Registration Statement with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The listing of the Company's common shares on the NYSE remains subject to the approval of the NYSE and the satisfaction of all applicable listing and regulatory requirements. Canopy Growth's common shares will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "CGC" and will continue to trade on the TSX under the ticker symbol "WEED". A trading date will be made public once all regulatory formalities are satisfied.

Newstrike Resources Ltd. (OTC: NWKRF) (TSXV: HIP.V) recently announced the appointment of Jason Redman as Chief Financial Officer, subject to applicable regulatory and exchange approvals. Jason brings a broad range of skills in operations and financial management built over a career spanning more than 20 years. Most recently he served as Chief Financial Officer for Sirius XM Canada where he was instrumental in completing the organization's recapitalization go-private transaction. Prior to SiriusXM Canada, he served as President, Drainage Solutions at Armtec LP (a Brookfield company). In this role, Jason also served as President of the Corrugated Steel Pipe Institute and was an active member of the Management Committee of the U.S. Plastic Pipe Institute. Newstrike is the parent company of Up Cannabis Inc., a licensed producer of cannabis that is licensed to both cultivate and sell cannabis in all acceptable forms.

The Green Organic Dutchman Holdings Ltd. (OTC: TGODF) (TSX: TGOD.TO) recently announced it has added Cam Battley to its board of directors. Mr. Battley is chief corporate officer at Aurora Cannabis Inc., where he is the lead external-facing executive, responsible for establishing and managing relationships with various stakeholders operating in the cannabis sector. Mr. Battley is a member of the board of directors of Cannabis Canada, the trade association of licensed producers. With a background as a health sector management consultant, he combines experience in government, health care NGOs and the biopharmaceutical industry. Mr. Battley joined the company's board of directors effective May 1, 2018.

Hiku Brands Company Ltd. (OTC: DJACF) (CSE: HIKU.CN) announced last month the Company and WeedMD Inc. (WMD, WDDMF) they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge both companies, creating an industry leader. The Transaction combines two highly-complementary businesses and creates a unique and market differentiating vertically integrated company. Upon completion of the Transaction, existing Hiku and WeedMD shareholders will own approximately 51.75% and 48.25% of the combined company, respectively, on a fully-diluted basis. The combination of Hiku and WeedMD creates a premium cannabis brand house with fully vertically integrated operations, an expanding network of retail stores, a growing medical business and four scalable cannabis production facilities, two of which are currently licensed.

DISCLAIMER: MarketNewsUpdates.com (MNU) is a third party publisher and news dissemination service provider, which disseminates electronic information through multiple online media channels. MNU is NOT affiliated in any manner with any company mentioned herein. MNU and its affiliated companies are a news dissemination solutions provider and are NOT a registered broker/dealer/analyst/adviser, holds no investment licenses and may NOT sell, offer to sell or offer to buy any security. MNU's market updates, news alerts and corporate profiles are NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold securities. The material in this release is intended to be strictly informational and is NEVER to be construed or interpreted as research material. All readers are strongly urged to perform research and due diligence on their own and consult a licensed financial professional before considering any level of investing in stocks. All material included herein is republished content and details which were previously disseminated by the companies mentioned in this release. MNU is not liable for any investment decisions by its readers or subscribers. Investors are cautioned that they may lose all or a portion of their investment when investing in stocks. For current services performed MNU has been compensated forty five hundred dollars for news coverage of the current press release issued above by Choom Holdings Inc. by a non affiliated third party. MNU HOLDS NO SHARES OF ANY COMPANY NAMED IN THIS RELEASE.

This release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended and such forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. "Forward-looking statements" describe future expectations, plans, results, or strategies and are generally preceded by words such as "may", "future", "plan" or "planned", "will" or "should", "expected," "anticipates", "draft", "eventually" or "projected". You are cautioned that such statements are subject to a multitude of risks and uncertainties that could cause future circumstances, events, or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements, including the risks that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, and other risks identified in a company's annual report on Form 10-K or 10-KSB and other filings made by such company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You should consider these factors in evaluating the forward-looking statements included herein, and not place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements in this release are made as of the date hereof and MNU undertakes no obligation to update such statements.

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Denmark's fastest-growing robotics manufacturer and industry first mover in autonomous mobile robots expands to West Coast with San Diego office; Nicholas Temple to lead area sales

Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) today announced the opening of a new office in San Diego, the second U.S. office for the Danish-based robotics manufacturer and industry "first mover." The office, led by area sales manager Nicholas Temple, will better enable MiR to support distributors and current customers of its autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) while meeting increasing demand within the Western half of the United States as well as Central and South America.

"North America continues to be MiR's biggest market, accounting for a quarter of our worldwide sales last year and into the first quarter 2018," said Ed Mullen, VP of sales, North America, MiR. "We knew sales could be even greater if we had a solid West Coast team to handle the huge interest as more and more companies discover how automating internal transport with mobile robots help optimize workflow, increase productivity and reduce costs. The growth potential is enormous, and we believe Nicholas has the sales and industry knowledge to help us reach it."

Founded in 2013, MiR opened its first international office in New York in 2016, with Mullen helping to educate US companies on the benefits of AMRs over legacy automated guided vehicles (AGVs), which require expensive and inflexible installation of sensors or magnets into factor floors for guidance. MiR's flagship product the MiR100 and its more powerful MiR200, announced in 2017 are already installed in more than 40 countries by companies such as Airbus, Flex, Honeywell, Hitachi and Danone. As announced in January, worldwide sales grew by 300 percent from 2016 to 2017, primarily due to multinational companies returning for larger fleets after testing and analyzing the positive results of single MiR robots.

To meet the expected growth within the Western region, MiR will hire at least six new sales and technical support staff to work out of the San Diego office, more than doubling the number of current US employees.

"I've long been intrigued by the complexity of programming within the robotics industry, so when considering coming on board at MiR, I was especially impressed with how the company has made intuitive controls a prerequisite for its autonomous mobile robots," said Temple, who's spent the last several years at the UK-based B&R Industrial Automation. "Making them more user friendly greatly reduces the cost of integration and improves the return on investment for our customers, which is one of the primary reasons we're seeing such high demand from companies looking to more easily and cost effectively automate their facilities. If the few years continue as they are today, AMRs are going to continue to explode worldwide, and I'm excited to be a part of this new revolution in automation."

See how the MiR mobile robots transport materials across any warehouse here: http://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/en/resources/mir-videos/transport-anything-anywhere-with-mir-robots/

About Mobile Industrial Robots:

Mobile Industrial Robots (MiR) develops and markets the industry's most advanced line of collaborative and safe autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that quickly, easily and cost-effectively manage internal logistics, freeing employees for higher-value activities. Hundreds of mid-sized through large multinational manufacturers, along with several hospitals and nurseries around the world, have already installed MiR's innovative robots. MiR has quickly established a global distribution network in more than 40 countries, with regional offices in New York, San Diego, Singapore, Dortmund, Barcelona and Shanghai. MiR has grown quickly since its founding in 2013, with sales rising by 500% from 2015 to 2016, and 300% from 2016 to 2017. Founded and run by experienced Danish robotics industry professionals, MiR is headquartered in Odense, Denmark. For more information, visit http://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005157/en/

Contacts:

Press:

Hughes Communications, Inc.

Kelly Wanlass, 1+ 801-602-4723

Kelly@hughescom.net

or

Company:

Mobile Industrial Robots

Ed Mullen, 1+ 631-675-1838

emu@mir-robots.com
LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PremFina Ltd ("PremFina" or "the Company"), the UK's only premium finance company that makes its loan software available to insurance brokers as a standalone service, appoints David Wardle as its Chief Operating Officer.

Wardle was previously Finance Director at One Call Insurance Services Limited (OCIS), one of the UK's top 50 insurance brokers, for more than four years. OCIS specialises in motor vehicle and household insurance.

Prior to that, he was Chief Financial Officer of HomeLet, the largest unit within Barbon Insurance Group Limited (BIG) and a UK market leader in tenant referencing insurance products.

Wardle's appointment follows the joining of two former employees from industry competitor BNP Paribas SA, the UK's third largest premium finance provider. PremFina has previously recruited individuals from the insurance finance units of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Macquarie Group Limited.

"David joining us as a former client is a fantastic testament to our current business efforts and delivery of service," said PremFina's Chief Executive Officer, Bundeep Singh Rangar. "Partners and competitors are increasingly validating our business model."

Wardle brings with him a wealth of expertise in the insurance industry from his operational and finance roles across a variety of firms. His responsibilities will include streamlining operational processes to help PremFina become more efficient and grow in the UK and abroad.

"I'm delighted to be part of PremFina and to help it achieve its goals," said Wardle. "As a company experiencing exponential growth, this represents a very exciting challenge."

Wardle's designations include being a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

PremFina, which added 20 brokers to its growing list of clients during the first quarter of this year, will be present at Stand D77 at the British Insurance Brokers' Association's (BIBA) flagship conference in Manchester held on May 16 and May 17 this year.

About PremFina

PremFina Ltd is a UK-based premium finance company that promotes financial inclusion by enabling the payment of insurance premiums via instalments. It supplies insurance brokers with funding lines and also enables broker-funded and branded credit agreements via its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) affiliate IXL PremFina Ltd. With PremFina, brokers receive higher profit, greater autonomy and the opportunity to increase the lifetime value of their customers as well as cross-sell and up-sell additional products. PremFina's shareholders include global investors Rakuten Capital, Draper Esprit Plc, Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital, Rubicon Venture Capital, Talis Capital and the company's founder.

Website: http://www.premfina.com

For Marketing & PR Enquiries:

Natalia Zurowski

Strategic Marketing Associate

Natalia.Zurowski@PremFina.com

+44 203 500 3462

http://www.premfina.com

For Sales Enquiries:

Mia Constable

Head of Sales

Mia.Constable@PremFina.com

+44(0)-203-500-3462

http://www.premfina.com
The IoT Experience Available for Everyone

Today Sigfox, the leading IoT service provider, announced at IoT World in Santa Clara the commercial launch of its end-to-end IoT solution, Sens'it Discovery, which aims to accelerate the adoption of the IoT (internet of things) among business and technical professionals.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005783/en/

Sens'it device (Photo: Sigfox)

Through digital transformation, companies from all verticals seek to optimize their processes and performance, in terms of costs, battery life, and ease of industrial data collection. Finding solutions like this for millions of businesses is the reason why more and more developers and businesses start their journey into IoT. Aware of the challenges those developers and business executives face, Sigfox has launched Sens'it Discovery, a simple and effective solution to discover, experiment, and increase their knowledge of the IoT.

Sens'it Discovery

Sens'it Discovery is a customizable IoT solution that combines the Sens'it 3 device with the sensit.io application, along with Sigfox connectivity. It comes with 6 different sensors (thermometer, hygrometer, light meter, accelerometer, magnetometer, reed switch) and a central button for multiple use cases.

Sens'it Discovery is available for purchase today and includes:

1 Sens'it device and accessories

1-year application access

1-year Sigfox connectivity

The device works in any of the 45 countries where the Sigfox has coverage and can be configured to communicate in multiple regions (RC1, RC2, RC3, or RC4) without need of any local network, such as Wifi or Bluetooth. Battery life can last up to 1-year depending on use and frequency of messages. Full specs and distributors are available here.

Sens'It Discovery as a starting point for businesses

By using one or several Sens'it, business decision makers can discover how the IoT can be used to solve operational challenges, such as secure and monitor facilities, customer service, and environmental data.

Developers can turn the device into a development kit, create their own firmware, and fully re-configure the device thanks to a dedicated Software Development Kit SDK available on www.sensit.io.

They will be able to:

Get direct access to the device data on the Sigfox Cloud and create new application integrations.

Build custom embedded applications to completely change the device behaviour and adapt sensors' logic to create new uses and solutions.

For hardware engineers, Sens'it Device Sources are available for download, to be re-used in other device projects.

Additionally, Altyor, a long-time partner of the Sigfox ecosystem, offers the opportunity to purchase large quantities of Sens'its. Device can be then adapted for new use cases, with new embedded applications easily created with Sens'it SDK and with a customizable front panel to match with the targeted use case. For anyone who wants to start an experimentation with a few hundreds of connected sensors, it is by far the easiest and most cost-efficient way to start.

For additional information about Sens'it please visit: https://www.sensit.io/

For more information on Sigfox, please visit our website or find us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

About Sigfox

Sigfox is the world's leading IoT service provider thanks to its global network that connects billions of devices to the Internet while consuming as little energy as possible, as simply as possible. Sigfox's unique approach to device-to-cloud communications addresses the three greatest barriers to global IoT adoption: cost, energy consumption, and global scalability.

Today, the network is present in 45 countries and on track to cover 60 by 2018. With millions of objects connected and a rapidly growing partner ecosystem, Sigfox empowers companies to move their business model towards more digital services. Founded in 2010 by Ludovic Le Moan and Christophe Fourtet, the company is headquartered in Labege near Toulouse, France's "IoT Valley". Sigfox also has offices in Paris, Madrid, Munich, Boston, San Francisco, Dubai, Singapore, Sao Paulo and Tokyo.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005783/en/

Contacts:

Press:

Edelman for Sigfox

Caroline Giraud: 0780 576 0917

Eleanor Burgess: 0777 393 1979

SIGFOXhub@edelman.com
AIM-listed Lakehouse has been awarded a 55m contract with the Welsh government. The contract, which has an initial term of three years, is for 'Arbed 3', which is a programme of area-based schemes aimed at making improvements to more than 6,000 homes in areas throughout Wales, where households are more likely to be living in severe fuel poverty. In addition to improving the energy efficiency of homes, the scheme will also provide householders with a range of advice to help reduce their energy ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Alto Ventures Ltd. (TSXV: ATV) is pleased to announce that it has executed an Earn-in Agreement (the "Agreement") with Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSXV: HMI) ("Hinterland"), whereby Hinterland may earn an interest in Alto's 101-claim (4,010-hectare) Destiny property (the "Property") located approximately 75 kilometres ("km") north of Val-d'Or in the Abitibi Region of Quebec. An all-season paved road provides direct access to the Property. Excellent mining infrastructure and support facilities are locally available.

Richard Mazur, CEO commented, "We are pleased that a Quebec-based exploration company recognizes the multi-million ounce gold potential of this well located and underexplored region of the Abitibi. With this transaction, Hinterland has an opportunity to advance our Destiny project through to production."

The most important feature of the Property is the "DAC" deposit that is made up of higher grade gold-bearing quartz veins occurring within five parallel, altered shear zones that also carry gold at lower grades. In January 2011, a "Resource Estimate" report (1) calculated the gold content of the five parallel, altered shear zones in compliance with NI43-101 standards. The estimate used data from 68 of the total 167 holes drilled on the Property to date. At a cut-off grade of 1.0 grams per tonne gold ("gpt Au") from approximately 15 metres below surface to a depth of 400 metres, the DAC deposit was estimated to include:

3,858,800 tonnes at an average grade of 1.71 gpt Au Indicated (212,310 contained ounces gold); and

2,521,400 tonnes at an average grade of 1.53 gpt Au Inferred (124,390 contained ounces gold).

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and by definition do not demonstrate economic viability. The Resource Estimate used a number of variable parameters including stripping ratio, operating costs, long term gold price, currency conversion, gold recovery etc. The Resource Estimate report is available for viewing on Alto's SEDAR profile.

The DAC Deposit is one of several significant gold occurrences on the Property along the Despinassy Shear Zone: a gold bearing structure that has been traced by drilling and geophysics for 6.0 km of strike length on the Property. Some of the better defined zones include the "Darla", located approximately 1.0 km east of the DAC Deposit, and the "20" and "21" zones, located 3.5 km east of DAC Deposit. Gold mineralization was also found in a drill hole located 1.0 km west of the DAC deposit but has not been followed up.

Pursuant to the Agreement, Hinterland may earn a 50% interest in the Property by paying $150,000 cash ($10,000 on closing), issuing up to 4,000,000 shares (100,000 on closing) and completing $8,000,000 of exploration expenditures in stages over a three-year period (the "First Option"). Upon completion and exercise of the First Option, Hinterland may elect to earn an additional 25% interest (the "Additional 25% Interest") by paying $200,000 cash, issuing up to 4,000,000 shares and completing $8,000,000 of exploration expenditures in stages over a two-year period (the "Second Option").

Upon earning the Additional 25% Interest and exercising the Second Option, Hinterland and Alto will form a joint venture with initial respective participating interests to be 75% and 25%. If Hinterland elects not to earn the Additional 25% Interest or if Hinterland fails to complete the Second Option, then Hinterland and Alto will form a joint venture with initial respective participating interests to be 50% and 50%. In either case, the joint venture will be funded by each partner according to their respective interests subject to the terms and conditions of a joint venture agreement.

The transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, regulatory approvals, and a private placement financing of at least $750,000 by Hinterland on or before June 30, 2018.

Hinterland intends to start the first phase of exploration work immediately upon completion of the financing. To begin with, detailed geological modelling will be done on the DAC deposit and other gold-bearing zones on the Property. This will be followed by an initial 5,000 metre drill program. Hinterland is well-positioned to manage the Destiny exploration efficiently with an exploration office, personnel, vehicles and equipment located in Val-d'Or.

Alto's President, Mike Koziol, P. Geo. is a qualified person under the provisions of National Instrument 43-101 and approves the technical data and conclusions in this news release. The Resource Estimate referred to above is referenced as follows:

(1)McCracken, T., 2011: NI 43-101 Technical Report and Resource Estimate of the DAC Deposit, Destiny Property, Quebec

About Alto Ventures Ltd



Alto Ventures Ltd. is an exploration and development company with a portfolio of highly prospective Canadian gold properties. The Company is active in the Abitibi greenstone belt in Quebec on the Destiny gold property and is exploring in the Beardmore-Geraldton gold belt in Ontario. In Manitoba, the Company is focused on the gold and base metals potential of the highly prospective but relatively under-explored Oxford Lake property. For more details regarding the Company's projects, please visit our website at www.altoventures.com.



ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,



Richard J. Mazur, P. Geo.,

CEO



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.



For further information contact:



Mike Koziol,

President and Director

ALTO VENTURES LTD.

Unit 7 - 1351C Kelly Lake Rd

Sudbury, ON., P3E 5P5

Tel: 705-522-6372

Email: koziol@altoventures.com



Rick Mazur,

CEO and Director

ALTO VENTURES LTD.

Suite 615-800 W. Pender Street

Vancouver, BC, V6C 2V6

Tel: 604-689-2599

Email: mazur@altoventures.com


PUNE, India, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new market research report "Stem Cell Banking Market by Source (PSC, BMSC, ADSC, hESC, DPSC, NSC), Service Type (Sample Processing, Analysis, Collection, Storage), Application (Personalized Storage, Clinical (Autoimmune, Hematopoietic Disorders), Research) - Global Forecasts to 2023", The report studies the global Stem Cell Banking Market over the forecast period of 2018 to 2023. The market is projected to reach USD 9.30 Billion by 2023 from USD 6.28 Billion in 2018, at a CAGR of 8.2%.

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Browse 58 market data Tables and 31 Figures spread through 124 Pages and in-depth TOC on "Stem Cell Banking Market"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/stem-cell-banking-market-220680183.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report

Factors such as increase in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) procedures, increasing investments in stem cell-based research, and growing awareness on the therapeutic potential of stem cells are driving the growth of the Stem Cell Banking Market.

Based on source, the placental stem cells segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period

Based on source, the Stem Cell Banking Market is segmented into placental, bone marrow-derived, adipose tissue-derived, human embryo-derived, dental pulp, and other stem cell sources. The placental stem cells segment is projected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period; owing to the global rise in the number of placental and cord banks (especially the US and Europe) coupled with growing public awareness about the therapeutic potential of stem cells.

Based on application, the personalized banking applications segment is expected to account for the largest share of the Stem Cell Banking Market in 2018

By application, the Stem Cell Banking Market is segmented into personalized banking, clinical, and research applications. The personalized banking applications segment is poised to be the fastest-growing segment due to the premium pricing of service plans charged by service providers and specific advantages offered by personalized banking over community & public banking, growing adoption of precision medicine across developed countries, rising prevalence of blood and immune system-related disorders among newborns and children, and increasing public concerns regarding the clinical abuse of stored stem cell samples.

By service type, sample preservation & storage segment is expected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period

On the basis of service type, the Stem Cell Banking Market is segmented into sample collection & transportation, sample processing, sample analysis, and sample preservation & storage. The sample preservation & storage segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period owing to the growing adoption of stem cell banking services in major countries coupled with the rising number of stem cell banks across emerging countries, rising public awareness about the therapeutic applications of stem cells, increasing number of hematopoietic stem cell transplantations, increasing stem cell-based research, and high market penetration of stem cell banking services in major healthcare markets.

Ask for PDF Brochure @https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=220680183

North America is expected to dominate the Stem Cell Banking Market in 2018

Geographically, the Stem Cell Banking Market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World. North America is expected to account for the largest market share in 2018. The expanding network of stem cell banking services, ongoing approval of stem cell lines for various disease treatment, recent technological advancements in the field of stem cell collection and preservation techniques, rising public-private investments for stem cell researches, growing number of stem cell transplantation procedures, and increasing public preference for private stem cell banking over public stem cell banks are driving the growth of the Stem Cell Banking Market in North America.

As of 2017, major players in the global Stem Cell Banking Market include Cord Blood Registry (CBR) Systems (US), Cordlife Group Limited (Singapore), Cryo-Cell International (US), ViaCord (US), Cryo-Save AG (Netherlands), LifeCell International (India), StemCyte (US), Global Cord Blood Corporation (China), Smart Cells International (UK), Vita34 AG (Germany), and CryoHoldco (Mexico).

Know more about the Stem Cell Banking Market

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/stem-cell-banking-market-220680183.html

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W. CONSHOHOCKEN, Pennsylvania, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, ASTM International announced that the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC), based in Ansty Park, Coventry (United Kingdom), is joining ASTM International's recently-announced Center of Excellence in Additive Manufacturing. MTC will be the first non-U.S. founding partner and is supported by leading research organizations across Europe.

The UK government established the MTC in 2010 as part of a major investment in research centers called the High Value Manufacturing Catapult. The MTC now employs over 600 people who help bridge the gap between academia and industry by supporting R&D, training, and more. The MTC is home to the UK's National Centre for Additive Manufacturing and hosts the European Space Agency's Space AM Benchmarking Centre.

"We are thrilled to bring on board one of the world's most exciting new leaders in additive manufacturing," said Dr. Mohsen Seifi, ASTM International's director of global additive manufacturing programs. He noted that MTC's proposal was one of the highest-ranked among dozens of proposals submitted last year. "Clearly, MTC will play a key role in achieving the vision of filling industry gaps in AM standardization and driving innovation on global scale."

"We are excited to join this vitally important effort to build a strong technical foundation for the future of additive manufacturing," said Professor Ken Young, MTC's technical director. "Standards are critically important to enable industry to exploit AM technology. To be recognized by ASTM International for our AM capability and to be included as the first non-US partner is a great honor."

MTC's National AM Centre includes an industrial scale end-to-end facility encompassing metals, polymers, and ceramics technology. The MTC has expertise in material testing, process simulation, design, and part inspection, all of which support robust AM process chains.

Today's announcement coincides with significant expansion of the Centre, including a $20m UK-government funded project to develop the next generation AM factory for aerospace parts. Professor David Wimpenny, MTC's chief technologist, notes that the MTC also has strong links with research and industrial partners worldwide which will help strengthen the activities and amplify the investments made through ASTM International. In addition, Wimpenny says that MTC is interested in supporting the development of training courses to foster a workforce pipeline that will, in turn, support rapid industry growth.

The announcement was made today at the first meeting of the Center of Excellence's R&D Team at Auburn University in Alabama (USA). MTC's David Wimpenny, chief technologist, participated in the meeting along with the Center of Excellence's other founding members - EWI, Auburn University, and NASA - who were jointly announced in March.

The team discussed how it would plan priorities with respect to R&D projects that could be funded by ASTM International, industry consortia, and external sources. In addition, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Drug Administration, and the National Institute for Standards and Technology shared regulatory perspectives on certification of 3D printed products.

For an overview of ASTM International's leadership in AM standardization, visit here: www.astm.org/industry/additive-manufacturing-overview.html

ASTM International's committee on additive manufacturing technologies (F42) was formed in 2009. The committee, in conjunction with the International Organization for Standardization's (ISO) Technical Committee 261, has worked and continues to work closely with the Additive Manufacturing Standards Collaborative to identify and fill a variety of gaps across multiple industry sectors.

About ASTM International

Committed to serving global societal needs, ASTM International positively impacts public health and safety, consumer confidence, and overall quality of life. We integrate consensus standards - developed with our international membership of volunteer technical experts - and innovative services to improve lives Helping our world work better.

Media Inquiries:Dan Bergels, tel +1.610.832.9602; dbergels@astm.org

Center of Excellence Contact: Mohsen Seifi, mseifi@astm.org

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Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Royal Road Minerals Limited (TSXV: RYR) ("Royal Road" or the "Company") is pleased to announce initial deep auger soil sample results from its newly identified Caribe prospect in the Golden Triangle region of northeastern Nicaragua.

The Caribe prospect forms a part of the Company's 50-50 Strategic-Alliance agreement (see press release; September 6, 2017) with Hemco (a subsidiary of Colombia's Grupo Mineros S.A. MINEROS:CB) and is located in the highly prospective Golden Triangle of northeastern Nicaragua (Figure 1), a region characterized by epithermal style gold veins, skarn and porphyry-style mines that have combined to produce in excess of an estimated 8 million ounces of gold since the early 1900's. Hemco own and operate the Bonanza gold mine in the Golden Triangle and manage an innovative toll-treatment program which processes mineralized material from artisanal operations throughout the region. Royal Road Minerals is operator of the Strategic Alliance.

Royal Road's exploration team discovered the Caribe prospect during reconnaissance follow-up of airborne geophysical anomalies in February of 2018. Topographically the prospect area is relatively planar, outcrop is limited to creek exposures and there is no previous record of mineralization in the area. Initial grab sampling of strongly weathered, argillic-altered and variably-brecciated felsic volcanic float material returned anomalous gold with associated anomalous values in molybdenum and arsenic. Follow-up deep auger soil sampling was then conducted using a 3-meter long hand-auger to access the residual soil horizon located below the organic and saprolitic layers. Soil-sampling to-date has identified a strongly anomalous area of gold geochemistry (range 20 to 983ppb, mean 149ppb gold) of 600 by 400 meters in area which remains open to the north and east (see Figure 1). Additionally, 18 small 1 meter square and 2 to 3 meter deep shafts were dug in order to expose bed-rock, assist mapping and collect channel and grab rock-chip samples. The highest grab rock-chip sample collected from these shafts to-date returned 3.5 grams per tonne gold (range 0.01 to 3.536 grams per tonne gold; note grab samples are selective samples and are not necessarily representative of the mineralization hosted on the property) from quartz-veinlet stockwork hosted in strongly oxidized rhyodacite with potassium feldspar alteration.



Figure 1



To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit:

https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4008/34645_Figure soils.jpg

Shaft and float mapping reveal that gold mineralization is associated predominantly with stringer-style veinlets hosted in strongly argillic-altered felsic volcanic rocks located in the immediate roof and/or adjacent to dioritic intrusive rocks. Due to intense weathering the preservation of hypogene assemblages is highly localized, but where observed, suggests that hydrothermal alteration is represented by strongly pervasive chlorite, locally pervasive epidote and microcrystalline-quartz-rich stringers with associated potassic feldspar and pyrite.

Royal Road is currently extending the deep auger soil sampling at Caribe towards the north and east and is planning a ground magnetic and radiometric survey to assist in interpretation and drill-targeting.

"Early signs from the newly-discovered Caribe prospect suggest that it has the size-potential we are seeking," said Dr Tim Coughlin, Royal Road's President and CEO. "Given the paucity of outcrop, depth of saprolite and intensity of weathering, it is still too early to speculate on mineralization-style and underlying gold grades. However, the extension to the deep auger soil grid and the planned ground geophysical survey should aid our understanding significantly. It is worth noting that Caribe is one of several projects the exploration team is currently developing in Nicaragua which includes further targets in the Golden Triangle and the Los Andes porphyry project in the west."

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The information in this news release was compiled, reviewed and verified by Dr. Tim Coughlin, BSc (Geology), MSc (Exploration and Mining), PhD (Structural Geology), FAusIMM, President and CEO of Royal Road Minerals Ltd and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Royal Road Minerals employees are instructed to follow standard operating and quality assurance procedures intended to ensure that all sampling techniques and sample results meet international reporting standards. More information can be found on Royal Road Minerals web site at www.royalroadminerals.com.

Cautionary statement:

This news release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") including e statements relating to the Alliance and those describing the Company's future plans and the expectations of its management that a stated result or condition will occur. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, or developments in the Company's business or in the mineral resources industry, or with respect to the Alliance, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about, among other things, future economic conditions and courses of action, and assumptions related to government approvals, and anticipated costs and expenditures. The words "plans", "prospective", "expect", "intend", "intends to" and similar expressions identify forward looking statements, which may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements of the Company contained in this news release, which may prove to be incorrect, include, but are not limited to, those related to the Alliance, Hemco, and the Company's plans exploration plans.

The Company cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. There is no guarantee that the anticipated benefits of the Alliance and the Company's business plans or operations will be achieved. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: economic market conditions, anticipated costs and expenditures, government approvals, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators or other applicable regulatory authorities. Forward-looking statements included herein are based on the current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions of the Company management and, in part, on information provided to the Company by Hemco, and, except as required by law, the Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.

For further information please contact:

Dr. Timothy Coughlin

President and Chief Executive Officer

USA-Canada toll free 1800 6389205

+44 (0)1534 887166

+44 (0)7797 742800

info@royalroadminerals.com
LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Dilesh Mehta, Chairman and CEO of UK based Designer Parfums announced today that the Company has acquired the fragrance license of the Cerruti 1881 brand to add to their portfolio of prestige fragrances.

Dilesh Mehta says: "We are pleased to be adding Cerruti 1881 to the Designer Parfums collection of fragrance brands. The Cerruti 1881 brand was founded in 1967 by Nino Cerruti in Paris and is known the world over for the quality of its products in the world of fashion, accessories and fragrance. Our goal is to build on its strong heritage as we develop the brand for future growth."

Laurent Grosgogeat, Cerruti 1881 Executive Vice President says: "Cerruti scents have always been a major category for Nino Cerruti, opening the way for hugely successful fragrances in the past 40 years. In partnership with Designer Parfums, we look forward to continuing to build on Cerruti' s strong legacy as a leading lifestyle brand."

About Cerruti 1881

The Cerruti brothers founded the House of Cerruti in 1881 in Biella, Italy, manufacturing the highest-quality wools and luxurious textiles. Maestros of their craft, the Cerruti's reputation grew throughout the century, with the 20 year old Nino Cerruti taking up the baton in the 1950s. In 1967, he founded Cerruti 1881, creating a legendary impact on men's ready to wear. Today, the brand has almost 100 directly-operated stores globally and is stocked at leading retailers worldwide.

Cerruti has a long-standing expertise in the global Fragrance industry. The first Cerruti fragrance was launched in 1978 and since then the brand has had many successful fragrances for both men and women, particularly the 1881 range.

Since April 2011, Cerruti 1881 is part of the Hong Kong based Trinity Limited group, specialized in high-end men's pret a porter. Jason Basmajian was appointed Chief Creative Officer in October 2015. His vision of the Cerruti Man is sophisticated, a man of the times who appreciates style over trends. In 2017, Cerruti celebrated the 50 years of the brand.

About Designer Parfums

Designer Parfums has a strong assortment of premium fragrances and beauty products which are either wholly owned or operated under license. Whether creating a brand from the very beginning or acquiring a license, the combination of innovative marketing solutions and flawless execution have been the foundation for their global success. Their current portfolio is distributed across over 80 countries and covers a spectrum of classics with true heritage alongside designer and celebrity fragrance brands including Jean Patou, Aigner Parfums, Ghost, Jean-Louis Scherrer, and now Cerruti fragrances. Designer Parfums' expertise spans key fragrance markets including Europe, US, Asia and the Middle East.

http://www.designerparfums.com
Circular and Forms

If you are in doubt as to any aspect of this circular or as to the action to be taken, you should consult your stockbroker or other registered dealer in securities, bank manager, solicitor, professional accountants or other professional adviser.

If you have sold or transferred all your shares in Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd., you should at once hand this circular with the accompanying form of proxy to the purchaser or the transferee or to the bank, stockbroker or other agent through whom the sale or transfer was effected for transmission to the purchaser or the transferee.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited take no responsibility for the contents of this circular, make no representation as to its accuracy or completeness and expressly disclaim any liability whatsoever for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this circular.

ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD.

(AjointstocklimitedcompanyincorporatedinthePeople'sRepublicofChinawithlimitedliability)

(Stock code: 0576)

(1) PROPOSED GENERAL MANDATE TO ISSUE H SHARES

(2) ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS OF THE EIGHTH SESSION

AND

(3) NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

A notice for convening the annual general meeting (the "AGM") of the Company to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the PRC is set out on pages 12 to 16 of this circular.

A form of proxy for use at the AGM is enclosed. Whether or not you are able to attend the meeting in person, you are requested to complete and return the accompanying form of proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. In the case of H Shareholders, the proxy form shall be lodged with the Company's H Shares Registrar, Hong Kong Registrars Limited, at 17M Floor, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong, not less than 24 hours before the time for holding the AGM (i.e. no later than 10 a.m. on June 28, 2018) (or any adjournment thereof). Completion and delivery of the form of proxy will not preclude you from attending and voting in person at the AGM or any adjournment thereof should you so wish.

May 15, 2018

In this circular, unless the context specifies otherwise, the following expressions shall have the meanings stated below:

"%" per cent. "AGM" the 2017 annual general meeting of the Shareholders of the Company to be convened at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the People's Republic of China to, among others, elect Directors and Supervisors of the eighth session (other than Supervisors representing Shareholders), the notice of which is set out on pages 12 to 16 of this circular "Articles of Association" the articles of association of the Company "Board" the board of Directors "Circular" the circular to be despatched to the Shareholders "Communications Group" Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd., a wholly State-owned enterprise established in the PRC and the controlling shareholder of the Company "Company" Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd., a joint stock limited company incorporated in the PRC with limited liability "controlling shareholder" has the meaning ascribed to it under the Listing Rules "Director(s)" the director(s) of the Company "Group" the Company and its subsidiaries "H Shares" overseas listed foreign shares in the share capital of the Company with a nominal value of RMB1 per share, which are listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange "Hong Kong" the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the PRC "Latest Practicable Date" May 9, 2018, being the latest practicable date prior to the printing of this circular for the purpose of ascertaining certain information contained in this circular "Listing Rules" Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on the Stock Exchange "percentage ratio(s)" has the meaning ascribed to it under Rule14.04(9) of the Listing Rules "PRC" the People's Republic of China (for the purpose of this Circular, excludes Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) "RMB" Renminbi, the lawful currency of the PRC "SFO" Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong) "Shareholder(s)" holder(s) of the share(s) of the Company "Stock Exchange" The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited "subsidiary(ies)" the meaning ascribed to it under the Listing Rules "Supervisor(s)" the supervisor(s) of the Company

ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD.

(AjointstocklimitedcompanyincorporatedinthePeople'sRepublicofChinawithlimitedliability)

(Stock code: 0576)

Chairman

Mr. YU Zhihong Business Address

5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center 199 Wuxing Road Hangzhou City Zhejiang Province Executive Directors

Mr. CHENG Tao

Ms. LUO Jianhu The People's Republic of China 310020 Non-executive Directors

Mr. DAI Benmeng

Mr. YU Qunli

Mr. YU Ji Independent Non-executive Directors

Mr. PEI Ker-Wei

Ms. LEE Wai Tsang, Rosa

Mr. CHEN Bin

May 15, 2018

To the Shareholders

Dear Sir or Madam,

(1) PROPOSED GENERAL MANDATE TO ISSUE H SHARES

(2) ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS OF THE EIGHTH SESSION

AND

(3) NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

1. INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this circular is, among other things, to give you notice of the AGM and to provide you with information in relation to the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM to enable you to make an informed decision on whether to vote for or against those resolutions at the AGM.

2. PROPOSED GENERAL MANDATE TO ISSUE H SHARES

In order to increase operational flexibility and efficiency, and to give discretion to the Board in the event that it becomes desirable to issue H Shares, the Company proposes to obtain Shareholders' approval for the grant of the General Mandate to separately or concurrently allot, issue and/or deal with additional H Shares up to the limit of 20% of the H Shares in issue on the date of the passing of the relevant resolution at the AGM. Any exercise of the power by the Directors under the General Mandate shall comply with the relevant requirements of the Listing Rules, the Articles of Association and the applicable laws and regulations of the PRC.

The General Mandate shall be effective from the date of passing the relevant resolution until whichever is the earliest of:

(1) the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company;

(2) the expiration of the period within which the next annual general meeting of the Company is required by the Articles of Association or other applicable laws to be held;

(3) the date on which the authority set out in this resolution is revoked or varied by a resolution of the shareholders at any general meeting of the Company.

To timely and effectively promote relevant works, the Board is authorized to grant the General Mandate to the Chairman and General Manager (collectively referred to as the "authorized persons") to individually or jointly issue H Shares at their absolute discretion.

3. ELECTION OF DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS OF THE EIGHTH SESSION

Under the Articles of Association, the term of Directors and Supervisors of each session will be three years subject to re-election. Under the Articles of Association, all of the Directors and external Supervisors of a new session of the Board and a new session of the Supervisory Committee will be elected in a general meeting through resolutions adopted by more than half of the voting rights held by the Shareholders (including their proxies) attending the general meeting. The Supervisors representing the employees will be elected by the employees of the Company.

As the term of Directors and Supervisors of the seventh session will expire on June 30, 2018, the Board has proposed the nomination and election or re-election of the candidates set out in Appendix I to this Circular as Directors or Supervisors of the eighth session. The term of the new Directors and Supervisors will be three years commencing on July 1, 2018 and expiring on June 30, 2021.

The current session of the Board comprises nine Directors, including two executive Directors and seven non-executive Directors (including three independent non-executive Directors); whereas the supervisory committee of the Company ("Supervisory Committee") comprises five Supervisors, including three external Supervisors (including two independent Supervisors and one Supervisor representing Shareholders) and two Supervisors representing employees of the Company.

4. DIRECTORS AND SUPERVISORS' EMOLUMENTS

The proposed remunerations for executive Directors, which are fixed for their three-year term of service based on remuneration for the seventh session of the Board, are as follows:

First yearRMB Second yearRMB Third yearRMB Director/Party Secretary/General Manager



850,000



880,000



900,000 Director/Deputy General Manager 720,000 750,000 765,000

Non-executive Directors and Supervisors (other than Supervisors representing employees) do not receive any fixed remunerations from the Company, though all independent non-executive Directors are provided with a fee that is subject to their levels of participation in the Company's meetings, as determined by the Board at their discretion and there is no applicable standard for determining such fee.

5. FINAL DIVIDEND

Reference is made to the announcement of the Company dated March 16, 2018, in relation to, among others, the proposed payment of a final dividend of RMB30.0 cents per share to the Shareholders. The proposed payment of final dividend is subject to approval by the Shareholders at the AGM. Upon obtaining the approval of Shareholders at the AGM, the final dividend is expected to be paid to the Shareholders no later than August 31, 2018.

6. AGM

A notice for convening the AGM of the Company to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the PRC is set out on pages 12 to 16 of this circular.

A form of proxy for use at the AGM is enclosed. Whether or not you are able to attend the meeting in person, you are requested to complete and return the accompanying form of proxy in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. In the case of H Shareholders, the proxy form shall be lodged with the Company's H Shares Registrar, Hong Kong Registrars Limited, at 17M Floor, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong, not less than 24 hours before the time for holding the AGM (i.e. no later than 10 a.m. on June 28, 2018) (or any adjournment thereof). Completion and delivery of the form of proxy will not preclude you from attending and voting in person at the AGM or any adjournment thereof should you so wish.

7. RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

This Circular, for which the Directors collectively and individually accept full responsibility, includes particulars given in compliance with the Listing Rules for the purpose of giving information with regard to the Company. The Directors, having made all reasonable enquiries, confirm that to the best of their knowledge and belief the information contained in this Circular is accurate and complete in all material respects and not misleading or deceptive, and there are no other matters the omission of which would make any statement herein or this Circular misleading.

8. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Directors (including the independent non-executive Directors) consider that the proposed resolutions set out above are in the best interests of the Company and the Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors (including independent non-executive Directors) recommend that the Shareholders should vote in favour of the resolution in respect of all of the relevant resolutions to be proposed at the AGM.

Yours faithfully, For and on behalf of

Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd.

YU Zhihong

Chairman

NAME AND PROFILE OF THE CANDIDATES OF THE BOARD OF THE EIGHTH SESSION

The proposed candidates of the Board of the eighth session of the Company are nominated by the Board of the Company. Mr. YU Zhihong, Mr. CHENG Tao, Ms. LUO Jianhu, Mr. DAI Benmeng, Mr. YU Qunli, Mr. YU Ji, Mr. PEI Ker-Wei, Ms. LEE Wai Tsang, Rosa and Mr. CHEN Bin are members of the Board of the seventh session and have been nominated as candidates for re-election as members of the Board of the eighth session. The profiles of the candidates nominated to the Board of the eighth session are as follows:

Chairman

Mr. YU Zhihong, who was born in 1964, is a graduate from the Department of Electro-mechanic Engineering, Zhejiang University, and holds a Master's Degree in management from the Management Institute of Zhejiang University. Starting from 1985, Mr. Yu Zhihong worked at Xiushui Township in Xiucheng District of Jiaxing City as Deputy Manager of Township Industrial Company and Deputy Head of Township, from 1987 successively served as Secretary to Xiucheng District Office, Secretary of the Xiucheng District Youth League, Deputy Party Secretary and Party Secretary of Tanghui Township in Xiucheng District, from 1995 working as Deputy Director, Deputy Party Secretary, Director and then Party Secretary of Management Committee for the Economic Development Zone of Jiaxing City, from 2005 as Party Secretary of Haining City and as Member of Party Standing Committee of Jiaxing City, from 2010 as Deputy Mayor of Hangzhou City, Party Secretary of Qianjiang New Development Zone's Construction Committee, and then Party Secretary of Xiaoshan District, Member of Party Standing Committee of Hangzhou City, before he became the Deputy Party Secretary and then Mayor of Shaoxing City in 2013. Mr. Yu Zhihong assumed the position of Chairman and Party Secretary of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. since October 2016, and became Member of Provincial Party Committee since June 2017.

Executive Directors

Mr. CHENG Tao, who was born in 1964, is the party committee secretary of the Company. Mr. Cheng graduated from Changsha University of Science & Technology with a bachelor's degree in transportation engineering. He is a Senior Administration Engineer and Senior Economist. Mr. Cheng has been appointed as an Executive Director of the Company since July 2015. Mr. Cheng began his career in September 1983 and held the positions of Secretary of CYL Committee at Zhejiang Shipping and Technical School; Secretary of CYL Committee at Zhejiang Road and Bridge Engineering Office; Secretary of Party General branch at No.3 Company of Zhejiang Provincial Transportation Engineering & Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Party Committee Deputy Secretary of Zhejiang Provincial Transportation Engineering & Construction Group Co., Ltd.; Vice Chairman, Party Committee Secretary and Chairman of Zhejiang Provincial Transportation Engineering & Construction Group Co., Ltd.

Ms. LUO Jianhu, who was born in 1971, graduated from the Faculty of Law of the Hangzhou University with a bachelor's degree in law and later graduated from the National Accounting Institute with an EMBA degree, majoring in Financial Accounting. She is a lawyer and Senior Economist. Ms. Luo has been appointed as an Executive Director and the General Manager of the Company since June 2012. Since she started her career in August 1994, Ms. Luo had held such positions as the board secretary of Zhejiang Transportation Engineering Construction Group Co., Ltd., the Deputy Director, Director of the Legal Affairs Department, the Deputy Director, Director of the Secretarial Office to the Board, Board Secretary and the Manager of the Investment and Development Department of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Non-Executive Directors

Mr. DAI Benmeng, who was born in 1965, graduated from the Party School of the Zhejiang Committee of the Communist Party of China with a bachelor's degree specialising in economics and management and is a Senior Economist. He began working in February 1987 and has been a Director and the Deputy General Manager of Wenzhou Shipping Co., Ltd., a Director and the General Manager of Zhejiang Wenzhou Yongtaiwen Expressway Co., Ltd., a Director and the General Manager of Zhejiang Jinji Property Co., Ltd., the person in charge of Zhejiang Province North Zhejiang Expressway Management Co., Ltd., the Chairman of Zhejiang ShenSuZheWan Expressway Co., Ltd., and the General Manager of the Shanghai-Jiaxing-Huzhou- Hangzhou branch of the Communications Group. Mr. Dai is currently the Director of Party Work Department and the Department Head of Organization Department of the Communications Group. He has been a party committee member of Communications Group since April 2017.

Mr. YU Qunli, who was born in 1968, is a professor-level senior engineer. He graduated from Xi'an Roadway Institute with a Bachelor's Degree in Roads and Bridges Engineering. Mr. Yu Qunli also holds a Master's Degree in Structure Engineering and an MBA Degree in Business Administration, both from Zhejiang University. Mr. Yu Qunli started his career in 1990 at Zhejiang Provincial Roads and Bridges Bureau and Zhejiang Communications Engineering Construction Group Co., moved to Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. in 2002. Starting from 2005, Mr. Yu Qunli served as Deputy General Manager at Zhejiang Ningbo Yongtaiwen Expressway Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Zhoushan Bay Bridge Co., Ltd. Beginning from 2010, Mr. Yu Qunli served as Deputy Manager and Manager of Safety Production Monitoring Management Department at Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. He served as General Manager at Zhejiang Ningbo Yongtaiwen Expressway Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Taizhou Yongaiwen Expressway Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Zhoushan Bay Bridge Co., Ltd. from 2013. Since 2015, Mr. Yu Qunli served as General Manager of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. as General Manager at Communications Operations Management Department.

Mr. YU Ji, who was born in 1975, is an Engineer. He graduated from Zhejiang University with a Master's Degree in Structure Engineering. Mr. Yu Ji began his career at Jinwen Railroad Engineering Construction Project Management Division (Qingtian County Lianggang section) and General Headquarter from 1996, worked at Zhejiang Local Railroad Survey and Design Bureau and Zhejiang Tiezi Engineering Co., Ltd. from 1998, and became a Structure Design Engineer at Zhejiang Urban Construction Design and Research Institute from 2005. Starting from 2007, Mr. Yu Ji worked as staff, Deputy Manager and then Manager at Project Management Department of Zhejiang Railroad Investment Group Co., Ltd., and became General Manager of Railroad Project Department in 2015, Manager of Communications Investment Department of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd. in 2016. Since 2018, Mr. Yu Ji became General Manager of Strategic Development and Legal Affairs Department of Zhejiang Communications Investment Group Co., Ltd.

Independent Non-Executive Directors

Mr. PEI Ker-Wei, who was born in 1957, is a full Professor of Accountancy at the School of Accountancy at the W. P. Carey School of Business Arizona State University. Mr. Pei received his Ph.D. degree in Accounting from University of North Texas in 1986. He served as the chairman of the Globalization Committee of the American Accounting Association in 1997 and as the president of the Chinese Accounting Professors Association-North America in 1993 to 1994. Mr. Pei currently also serves as an External Director of Baosteel Group and China Merchant Group, and Independent Director of Want Want China Holdings (HK Stock Code: 00151), Zhong An Real Estate (HK Stock Code: 00672) and MMG Limited (HK Stock Code: 01208).

Ms. LEE Wai Tsang, Rosa, who was born in 1977, has been an Executive Director of Grand Investment International Ltd. (HK Stock Code: 01160) since June 1, 2005 and appointed as its Chairman for the period from May 1, 2013 to June 15, 2017. Ms. Lee holds a Bachelor degree from the University of Southern California. She also holds Master of Science in Finance from Boston College and MBA from University of Chicago. Ms. Lee has been working with Grand Investment International Ltd. since its incorporation in 2003 and overseeing its investment, operation and administration. Ms. Lee is a licensed person for the regulated activities of dealing and advising in securities and asset management under the Securities and Futures Ordinance ("SFO"). Ms. Lee is a Director of Grand Finance Group Company Ltd ("GFG"), and Tianjin Yishang Friendship Holdings Company Ltd.

Mr. CHEN Bin, who was born in 1967, is a graduate from University of South China in computer science. He also holds a second Bachelor's degree from Chongqing University in management engineering. Mr. Chen worked at Tianshi Network Company of TCL Group as Deputy General Manager from 1998 to 2004, at Webex Group as General Manager of China Investment from 2005 to 2006, and at Cybernaut China Investment Fund as Senior Partner from 2007 to 2008. Mr. Chen became Chief Executive and Funding Partner of Zhejiang Cybernaut Investment Management Co., Ltd. since 2008. Mr. Chen also serves as Director at Sundy Land Investment Co., Ltd., (a company listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, SH Stock Code: 600077) and Shenzhen Fountain Corporation (a company listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange, SZ Stock Code: 000005).

NAME AND PROFILE OF THE CANDIDATES OF THE SUPERVISORS OF THE SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE EIGHTH SESSION

The external Supervisors are elected and removed at a general meeting, whereas the Supervisors representing the employees are elected and removed by the employees of the Company. Mr. ZHAN Huagang and Mr. WANG Yubing are elected by the employees of the Company as the Supervisors representing the employees of the Supervisory Committee of the eighth session. The profile of the candidates to the members of the Supervisory Committee of the eighth session is as follows:

Supervisor Representing Shareholders

Mr. YAO Huiliang, who was born in 1972, graduated from the Zhejiang University and is a senior accountant. Since he started his career in August 1990, Mr. YAO had served as Project Management Manager at Zhejiang Zhetong Road Operation Co., Ltd., Finance Manager of the Management Committee of the Ningbo Second Phase of Yongtaiwen Expressway, Assistant to the General Manager and Finance Manager of the Zhejiang Ningbo-Taizhou-Wenzhou Expressway Co., Limited, and Deputy Manager of the Finance Management Department and General Manager of the Finance Management Center of the Communications Group. Mr. YAO currently serves as General Manager of the Industry Investment Management Department of the Communications Group.

Independent Supervisors

Ms. HE Meiyun, who was born in 1964, is a Senior Economist. She graduated from the Zhejiang University in 1986 and later received an Executive Master of Business Admiration (EMBA) in Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business. Ms. He had served as the Secretary of Youth League Committee at the Hangzhou Business School and as a Deputy General Manager, General Manager and Vice Chairman at Baida Group Co., Ltd., a company listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 600865). Ms. He currently serves as a General Manager of Ping An Securities Company Limited, Hangzhou Branch. She is also a Vice Chairman of the Professional Committee of the Board Secretary of Listed Company Association of Zhejiang.

Mr. WU Qingwang, who was born in 1965, is a PRC lawyer. He graduated from Hangzhou University with a Bachelor degree in law in 1989 and later received a Master's degree and a Doctoral degree in Civil and Commercial Law in Southwest University of Political Science and Law in 1995 and 2004, respectively. Mr. Wu had worked in Chun'an Justice Bureau since 1989 and in Zhejiang Securities Co., Ltd. from 1995 to 1996. Mr. Wu has been working in Zhejiang Xinyun Law Firm and is currently a Partner, specializing in civil and commercial litigation, arbitration and project negotiation. Mr. Wu is on the panel of arbitrators in China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission and Shanghai International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission. Mr. Wu serves as an Independent Director of the following companies: Yiwu Huading Nylon Co., Ltd. (a company listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, SH Stock Code: 601113), Top Choice Medical Investment Co., Inc. (a company listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, SH Stock Code: 600763) and Zhejiang Yankon Group Co., Ltd. (a company listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange, SH Stock Code: 600261), all companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. From August 2011 to April 2016, Mr. Wu served as an Independent Director of OB Telecom Electronics Co., Ltd (a company listed on Shenzhen Stock Exchange, SZ Stock Code: 300270), a company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Supervisors Representing the Employees (Elected by employees of the Company)

Mr. ZHAN Huagang, who was born in 1961, is the party committee member and labour union chairman of the Company. He is a professor-level Senior Engineer. Mr. Zhan graduated from Zhejiang University with a bachelor's degree of engineering in internal combustion engine from the department of thermophysical engineering. From July 1982 to June 1991, he worked at Zhejiang Province Vehicular Transport Company, Zhejiang Office of Motor Vehicles and Zhejiang Highway Management Bureau. From June 1991 to January 1996, he worked at Zhejiang Road and Bridge Engineering Office. From January 1996 to March 1997, he worked at the Operation Division and Maintenance Division of the Zhejiang Provincial Expressway Executive Commission as Senior Engineer. Since March 1997, he has been working at Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. as Deputy Manager and Manager of the Operations Management Department, Manager of the Investment Development Division, Manager of the Equipment Management Department, Manager of the Engineering Management Department and Head of the Maintenance Management Office. He is concurrently the Deputy General Manager of Zhejiang Expressway Investment Development Co., Ltd. and Chairman and General Manager of Zhejiang Expressway Advertising Co., Ltd.

Mr. WANG Yubing, who was born in February 1969, is a senior accountant. He graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in July 1991 with a bachelor's degree. From July 1991 to December 1992, he worked at the audit office of East China Investigation and Design Institute. From January 1993 to July 1996, he served as the head of finance department of Hangzhou KFC Ltd. From September 1996 to June 1997, he served as principal accountant of the finance department of Zhejiang Liantong Leasing Co., Ltd. Since June 1997, he has been working at Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. and has worked as head of the Financial Planning Department, head of the Internal Audit Department and assistant general manager. Currently, Mr. Wang is the deputy general manager of the Legal Affairs and Audit Department of the Company.

OTHER INFORMATION

Save as disclosed in the above, the proposed candidates for the Board and Supervisory Committee of the eighth session of the Company have no relationships with any Directors, senior management or substantial or controlling shareholders of the Company.

The proposed term of office of the Directors and Supervisors of the eighth session will be for a period of three years, commencing on July 1, 2018 and expiring on June 30, 2021.

None of the proposed candidates for the Board and Supervisory Committee of the eighth session of the Company has an interest in the shares of the Company (within the meaning of Part XV of the SFO).

ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD.

(AjointstocklimitedcompanyincorporatedinthePeople'sRepublicofChinawithlimitedliability)

(Stock code: 0576)

NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT the 2017 annual general meeting (the "AGM") of Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. (the "Company") will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, People's Republic of China (the "PRC"), for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing with or without modification or amendment the following resolutions:

AS ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS

1. to consider and approve the report of the directors of the Company (the "Directors") for the year 2017;

2. to consider and approve the report of the supervisory committee of the Company for the year 2017;

3. to consider and approve the audited financial statements of the Company for the year 2017;

4. to consider and approve final dividend of RMB30.0 cents per share in respect of the year ended December 31, 2017;

5. to consider and approve the final accounts of the Company for the year 2017 and the financial budget of the Company for the year 2018;

6. to consider and approve the re-appointment of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants Hong Kong as the Hong Kong auditors of the Company, and to authorize the board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") to fix their remuneration;

7. to consider and approve the re-appointment of Pan China Certified Public Accountants as the PRC auditors of the Company, and to authorize the Board to fix their remuneration;

8. to elect Directors of the Company, and consider and approve their remuneration and allowance package;

9. to elect supervisors of the Company, and consider and approve their remuneration and allowance package;

10. to authorise the Board to approve the proposed Directors' service contracts, the proposed supervisors' service contracts and all other relevant documents and to authorise any one executive Director of the Company to sign such contracts and other relevant documents for and on behalf of the Company and to take all necessary actions in connection therewith;

AS SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS

11. to consider and approve the grant of a general mandate to the Board to issue, allot and deal with additional H shares not exceeding 20% of the H shares of the Company in issue and authorize the Board to make corresponding amendments to the articles of association of the Company ("Articles of Association") as it thinks fit so as to reflect the new capital structure upon the allotment or issuance of H shares, the details are as follows:

"THAT:

(A) (a) subject to paragraph (c) and in accordance with the relevant requirements of the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, the Articles of Association of the Company and the applicable laws and regulations of the People's Republic of China, the exercise by the Board during the Relevant Period (as hereinafter defined) of all the powers of the Company to allot, issue and deal with, either separately or concurrently, additional H shares of the Company and to make or grant offers, agreements, options and rights of exchange or conversion which might require the exercise of such powers be hereby generally and unconditionally approved;

(b) the approval in paragraph (a) shall authorize the Board during the Relevant Period to make or grant offers, agreements, options and rights of exchange or conversion which might require the exercise of such powers after the end of the Relevant Period;

(c) the aggregate nominal amount of H shares of the Company allotted, issued and dealt with or agreed conditionally or unconditionally to be allotted, issued and dealt with (whether pursuant to an option or otherwise) by the Board pursuant to the approval granted in paragraph (a) shall not exceed 20% of the aggregate nominal amount of H shares of the Company in issue on the date of passing this resolution, other than pursuant to (i) a Rights Issue (as hereinafter defined) or (ii) any scrip dividend or similar arrangement providing for allotment of shares in lieu of the whole or part of a dividend on shares of the Company in accordance with the Articles of Association of the Company; and

(d) For the purpose of this special resolution:

"Relevant Period" means the period from the date of passing of this resolution until the earliest of:

the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company;

the expiration of the period within which the next annual general meeting of the Company is required by the Articles of Association of the Company or other applicable laws to be held;

the date on which the authority set out in this resolution is revoked or varied by a resolution of the shareholders at any general meeting of the Company.

"Rights Issue" means an offer of shares open for a period fixed by the directors to holders of shares on the register on a fixed record date in proportion to their then holdings of such shares (subject to such exclusions or other arrangements as the directors may deem necessary or expedient in relation to fractional entitlements or having regard to any restrictions or obligations under the laws of, or the requirements of any recognized regulatory body or any stock exchange in any territory outside Hong Kong) and an offer, allotment or issue of shares by way of rights shall be construed accordingly.

(B) The Board be authorized to make corresponding amendments to the Articles of Association of the Company as it thinks fit so as to reflect the new capital structure upon the allotment or issuance of shares as provided in sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (A) of this resolution.

(C) The Board is authorized to grant the general mandate to the Chairman and General Manager (collectively referred to as the "authorized persons") to individually or jointly issue H Shares at their absolute discretion."

By order of the Board

Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd.

Tony Zheng

Company Secretary

Hangzhou, the PRC

May 15, 2018

Notes:

1. Registration procedures for attending the AGM

(1) Holders of H shares of the Company ("H Shares") and domestic shares of the Company ("Domestic Shares") intending to attend the AGM should return the reply slip for attending the AGM to the Company by post or by facsimile (address and facsimile numbers are shown in paragraph 6(b) below) such that the same shall be received by the Company on or before June 8, 2018.

(2) A shareholder or his/her/its proxy should produce proof of identity when attending the AGM. If a corporate shareholder appoints its legal representative to attend the meeting, such legal representative shall produce proof of identity and a copy of the resolution of the board of directors or other governing body of such shareholder appointing such legal representative to attend the meeting.

2. Proxy

(1) A shareholder eligible to attend and vote at the AGM is entitled to appoint, in written form, one or more proxies to attend and vote at the AGM on behalf of him/her/it. A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company.

(2) A proxy shall be appointed by a written instrument signed by the appointor or an attorney authorised by him/her/it for such purpose. If the appointor is a corporation, the same shall be affixed with the seal of such corporation, or signed by its director(s) or duly authorized representative(s). If the instrument appointing a proxy is signed by a person authorized by the appointor, the power of attorney or other authorization document(s) shall be notarized.

(3) To be valid, the power of attorney or other authorization document(s) (which have been notarized) together with the completed form of proxy must be delivered, in the case of holders of Domestic Shares, to the Company at the address shown in paragraph 6(b) below and, in the case of holders of H Shares, to Hong Kong Registrars Limited at 17M Floor, Hopewell Center, 183 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong, at least 24 hours before the time designated for holding of the AGM (i.e. no later than 10 a.m. on June 28, 2018).

(4) Any vote of the shareholders of the Company present in person or by proxy at the AGM must be taken by poll.

3. Book closing period

For the purpose of the AGM and to determine the shareholders who qualify for the proposed final dividend, the register of members holding H shares of the Company will be closed from May 30, 2018 to June 28, 2018 (both days inclusive), and from July 6, 2018 to July 11, 2018 (both days inclusive).

4. Last day of transfer and record date

Holders of H Shares who intend to attend the AGM and qualify for the proposed final dividend must deliver all transfer instruments and the relevant shares certificates to Hong Kong Registrars Limited at Rooms 1712-1716, 17/F, Hopewell Center, 183 Queen's Road East, Hong Kong, at or before 4:30 p.m. on May 29, 2018 and on July 5, 2018, respectively.

For the purpose of the AGM and qualify for the proposed final dividend, the record date will be June 28, 2018 and July 11, 2018, respectively.

5. Dividend payable date

Upon relevant approval by shareholders at the AGM, the final dividend is expected to be paid out no later than August 31, 2018.

6. Miscellaneous

(a) The AGM will not last for more than one day. Shareholders who attend shall bear their own traveling and accommodation expenses.

(b) The principal place of business of the Company in the PRC is:

5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center

199 Wuxing Road

Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province People's Republic of China 310020

Telephone No.: (+86)-571-8798 7700

Facsimile No.: (+86)-571-8795 0329

As at the date of this notice, the Chairman of the Company is Mr. YU Zhihong; the executive Directors of the Company are: Mr. CHENG Tao and Ms. LUO Jianhu; the other non-executive Directors of the Company are: Mr. DAI Benmeng, Mr. YU Qunli and Mr. YU Ji; and the independent non-executive Directors of the Company are: Mr. PEI Ker-Wei, Ms. LEE Wai Tsang, Rosa and Mr. CHEN Bin.

========================================================================

ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD.

(AjointstocklimitedcompanyincorporatedinthePeople'sRepublicofChinawithlimitedliability)

(Stock code: 0576)

PROXY FORM FOR 2017 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Number of Shares related to this proxy form (Note 1) H Shares/Domestic Shares*I (We)

(note 2) _______________of _____________ being the holder(s) of (note 1) ___________ H Share(s)/Domestic Share(s)* of Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. (the "Company"), now appoint (note 3) ____________ (I.D. No.: ____________ of _____________ /the Chairman of the meeting as my (our) proxy, to attend and vote on my (our) behalf in respect of the resolution in accordance with the instruction(s) below at the annual general meeting of the Company (the "AGM ") to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the People's Republic of China (the "PRC "), for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the resolution as set out in the notice convening the AGM. In the absence of any indication, the proxy may vote for or against the resolution at his own discretion (note 4).

Ordinary Resolutions For (note 4) Against (note 4) 1. to consider and approve the report of the directors of the Company (the "Directors") for the year 2017; 2. to consider and approve the report of the supervisory committee of the Company for the year 2017; 3. to consider and approve the audited financial statements of the Company for the year 2017; 4. to consider and approve final dividend of RMB30.0 cents per share in respect of the year ended December 31, 2017; 5. to consider and approve the final accounts of the Company for the year 2017 and the financial budget of the Company for the year 2018; 6. to consider and approve the re-appointment of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Certified Public Accountants Hong Kong as the Hong Kong auditors of the Company, and to authorize the board of directors of the Company (the "Board") to fix their remuneration; 7. to consider and approve the re-appointment of Pan China Certified Public Accountants as the PRC auditors of the Company, and to authorize the Board to fix their remuneration; 8. to elect Directors, and consider and approve their remuneration and allowance package; I. Directors: a. Mr. YU Zhihong b. Mr. CHENG Tao c. Ms. LUO Jianhu d. Mr. DAI Benmeng e. Mr. YU Qunli f. Mr. YU Ji II. Independent non-executive Directors: a. Mr. PEI Ker-Wei b. Ms. LEE Wai Tsang, Rosa c. Mr. CHEN Bin 9. to elect supervisors of the Company, and consider and approve their allowance package; and I. Supervisor representing Shareholders: Mr. YAO Huiliang II. Independent Supervisors: a. Ms. HE Meiyun b. Mr. WU Qingwang 10. to authorise the Board to approve the proposed Directors' service contracts, the proposed supervisors' service contracts and all other relevant documents and to authorise any one executive director of the Company to sign such contracts and other relevant documents for and on behalf of the Company and to take all necessary actions in connection therewith. Special Resolution 11. To consider and approve the grant of a general mandate to the Board to issue, allot and deal with additional H shares not exceeding 20% of the H shares of the Company in issue; authorize the Board to make corresponding amendments to the articles of association of the Company as it thinks fit so as to reflect the new capital structure upon the allotment or issuance of H shares; and authorize the Board to grant the general mandate to the Chairman and General Manager (collectively referred to as the "authorized persons") to individually or jointly issue H Shares at their absolute discretion.

Date: ______________________ , 2018 Signature (note 5): ________________________

Notes:

1. Please insert the number of share(s) registered in your name(s) relating to this form of proxy. If no number is inserted, this proxy form will be deemed to relate to all of the shares in the capital of the Company registered in your name(s).

2. Please insert full name(s) and address(es) in BLOCK LETTERS.

3. Please insert the name and address of your proxy. If this is left blank, the chairman of the AGM will act as your proxy. Proxies may not be member(s) of the Company and may be appointed to attend and vote in the AGM provided that such proxies must attend the AGM in person on your behalf. Any alteration made to this proxy form must be signed by the signatory.

4. Please insert the number of share(s) you wish to vote for or against the resolution in the appropriate boxes. In the absence of any such indication, the proxy may vote or abstain from voting at his discretion.

5. This form of proxy must be signed under hand by you or your attorney duly authorized in that behalf. If the appointor is a corporation, this form must be affixed with its common seal or signed by its director(s) or duly authorized representative(s).

6. This form of proxy together with the power of attorney or any other authorization document(s) which have been notarized, must be delivered, in the case of a holder of domestic share(s), to the Company at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the PRC 310020, and in the case of a holder of H share(s), to Hong Kong Registrars Limited at 17M Floor, Hopewell Center, 183 Queen's Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong, at least 24 hours before the time designated for the holding of the AGM.

*Please delete as appropriate.

========================================================================

ZHEJIANG EXPRESSWAY CO., LTD.

A joint stock limited company incorporated in the People's Republic of China with limited liability)

(Stock code: 0576)

REPLY SLIP FOR 2017 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

I (We) ___________ of __________ telephone number: ____________ and fax number: ___________ being the holder(s) of __________ H Share(s)/Domestic Share(s)* of Zhejiang Expressway Co., Ltd. (the "Company"), hereby confirm that I (we) wish to attend or appoint a proxy to attend on my (our) behalf the 2017 annual general meeting of the Company (the "AGM") to be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, June 29, 2018 at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the People's Republic of China (the "PRC").

Signature: _______________________Date: ________________________ 2018

Note: Eligible shareholders who wish to attend the AGM are advised to complete and return this reply slip to the Company at 5/F, No. 2 Mingzhu International Business Center, 199 Wuxing Road, Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the People's Republic of China by post or by facsimile (facsimile no.: (+86) -571-8795 0329) such that the same shall be received by the Company on or before June 28, 2018. Failure to sign and return this slip, however, will not preclude an eligible shareholder from attending the AGM.

* Please delete as appropriate.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Marifil Mines Limited (TSXV: MFM) ("Marifil" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the expansion of its lithium exploration program with the entry into a definitive exploration agreement (the "Agreement") with Minera Esperanza S.A., a private Argentinean company ("Minera Esperanza"), respecting two lithium properties (the "Lithium Properties") located in the Province of Catamarca, Argentina. Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company has also acquired an option (the "Option") to purchase the Lithium Properties for US$1.86 million, upon the exercise of which, together with the Company's recently acquired Ratones and Fraile claims, the Company's lithium exploration portfolio will cover 15,267 hectares within the famed "Lithium Triangle".

"The addition of Carachi Pampa III and IV displays our Company's continued aggressive growth within the lithium space in Argentina," stated Robert Abenante, President and CEO of Marifil. "We now have access to lithium assets covering over 15,000 hectares, all located within the Lithium Triangle in Argentina," added Mr. Abenante.

The Lithium Properties cover southern portions of the Carachi Pampa salar in Catamarca and are composed of the Carachi Pampa III claim of 2,569 hectares and the Carachi Pampa IV claim of 6,170 hectares. The Lithium Properties are located approximately 90 kilometers south of FMC's Hombre Muerto lithium brine mine and adjacent to a maiden lithium brine drilling program being carried out by Lake Resources N.L. The Carachi Pampa salar is approximately 20 kilometers in diameter and lies within a large intermountain basin.

"The nearby young volcanic formations are an excellent source of lithium and boron. Indeed, the Carachi Pampa salar is an old boron prospect," stated Richard Walters, Vice President of Marifil. The Lithium Properties were formerly owned by Marifil and were sold to Minera Esperanza in 2013, subject to Marifil retaining a non-assignable 1% net smelter return (NSR) thereon.

The Agreement provides for Marifil's engagement over five years for exploration work respecting the Lithium Properties and provides that, upon exercise of the Option, Minera Esperanza will retain a 1.5% NSR (the "Minera NSR") on the Lithium Properties, to be subordinate to Marifil's current NSR. The Minera NSR may be re-acquired by Marifil in stages for US$2 million. The Agreement also provides for scheduled payments by Marifil towards the Option exercise price at six month intervals.

Additionally, Minera Esperanza is actively developing a fracking sand project on a part of the Carachi Pampa IV claim that lies south of the salar shoreline. On exercise of the Option, Minera Esperanza will retain its interest in non-brine minerals extracted from the Lithium Properties, such silica sands, provided that Marifil will maintain its original 1% NSR on such products. Minera Esperanza's sand fracking operations are partnered with a substantial Argentine private trucking company, with the aim to serve Argentina's burgeoning oil shale well drilling industry. The development of this high quality sand project has advanced to the stage of commercialization.

This press release has been reviewed and approved by Robert Abenante, CEO of Marifil, and by Richard Walters, Vice President of Marifil. Mr. Walters is Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ON BEHALF OF MARIFIL MINES LIMITED

"Rob Abenante"

Robert Abenante, President & CEO

Contact Information:

Phone: 604.424.8889

Email: info@marifilmines.com

Website: http://www.marifilmines.com

For further information regarding Marifil Mines Limited, please refer to the Company's filings available on SEDAR ( http://www.sedar.com ) or at Marifil's Website ( http://www.marifilmines.com ).

General Disclaimer

Marifil Mines Limited ("Marifil") has taken all reasonable care in producing and publishing information contained in this news release and will endeavor to do so on a periodic basis. Material in this news release may still contain technical or other inaccuracies, omissions, or typographical errors, for which Marifil assumes no responsibility. Marifil does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use, validity, accuracy, completeness or reliability of any claims, statements or information on this site. Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall Marifil be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages, including but not limited to, loss of programs, loss of data, loss of use of computer of other systems, or loss of profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of damage, arising from your use, or inability to use, the material from this news release. The information is not a substitute for independent professional advice before making any investment decisions. Furthermore, you may not modify or reproduce in any form, electronic or otherwise, any information on this site, except for personal use unless you have obtained our express writtenpermission.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements, including but not limited to comments regarding predictions and projections, the Company's plans with respect to the Agreement, the Option and its exercise, and the Company's acquisition of the Lithium Properties. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Video solutions firm Amino Technologies announced on Tuesday that it will support one of Slovenia's largest multi-service telecoms operators, T2, in its launch of the country's first 4K UHD TV services. The AIM-traded company said it will deploy technology that constitutes a major expansion to the current capabilities of T2's services, allowing the operator to provide 4K UHD content and value-added video on demand (VOD) and subscription- based VOD services. Amino's ENABLE software will power the ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
400 patients with severe forms of dRTA will be followed as part of the programme

Resulting data will be used to better understand issues affecting patient care

Advicenne's lead candidate ADV7103 targets dRTA as first indication

Regulatory News:

Advicenne (Paris:ADVIC), a specialist pharmaceutical company focused on the development of pediatric-friendly therapeutics for the treatment of orphan renal and neurological diseases, announces it has entered into a partnership with the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN). This partnership, which will initially last for 3 years, will enable data collection on distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA) in Europe.

This collaboration will be marked by the opening of a survey on the management of dRTA in Europe (mainly covering the 5 largest European countries). The database will gather real-life data on health evolution and care process of 400 dRTA patients with primarily the genetic form of the disease in Europe. The database will be used to provide compelling information on patient journey, diagnostic, alternative treatments and complications arising from dRTA. Data collected will be published to publications with the objective to share its findings with the health community.

Elena Levtchenko, ESPN Secretary General comments: "This partnership reflects our willingness to improve the knowledge available around renal diseases that affect children, and in this case around dRTA. The information gathered will allow us to improve patient journeys and quality of care of patients affected by dRTA in Europe."

We are delighted to start this collaboration with ESPN. It reflects our global approach and vision to improve the quality of life of patients with a renal orphan disease." said Luc-Andre Granier, co-founder and CEO of Advicenne.

About Advicenne

Advicenne (Euronext: ADVIC) is a late-stage pharmaceutical company developing pediatric friendly therapeutics for the treatment of orphan renal and neurological diseases. The Company's lead product is ADV7103, which has shown positive results in a European pivotal Phase III study in children and adults with distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA). Advicenne is planning to file ADV7103 for market authorization for dRTA in Europe in H2 2018 and anticipates its commercial launch around 2020 in Europe. A phase II/III clinical trial assessing ADV7103 in dRTA patients in the United States is expected to start in H2 2018. Commercial launch in the United States is anticipated around 2021.

ADV7103 is also being developed in a second indication, Cystinuria, an inherited renal tubulopathy. A pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial in patients with cystinuria is expected to start in 2018 in Europe.

Advicenne is listed on the regulated market of Euronext in Paris (ISIN: FR0013296746; Euronext ticker: ADVIC). The Company, which was established in 2007, is headquartered in Nimes (France).

For more information please visit: http://advicenne.com

About the European Society for Paediatric Nephrology

The European Society for Paediatric Nephrology (ESPN) is a network of hundreds of specialists from Europe, Russia and Turkey. This association aims to promote knowledge on renal pediatric diseases through various training and scientific events. The ESPN also organises annual conferences that gather the relevant health professionals.

About distal Renal Tubular Acidosis (dRTA)

dRTA is a disease that occurs when the kidneys do not properly remove acids from the blood into the urine. As a result, too much acid remains in the blood which generates an unbalanced pH that can lead to failure to thrive and rickets (a condition that affects bone development in children) as well as a range of additional clinical disorders such as a potassium deficiency (hypokalaemia) in the blood serum which alters the function of several organs and most prominently affects the cardiovascular system. In addition, a high concentration of calcium in the blood and urine (hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria) can lead to kidney stones and calcinosis that can potentially cause renal impairment, ultimately leading to renal failure. The disease, either genetic (usually occurring during childhood) or acquired as a result of autoimmune disease, is estimated to affect approximately 30,000-50,000 patients in Europe.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515006071/en/

Contacts:

Advicenne

Luc-Andre Granier, Sarah Delbaere, Julie Rachline

+33 (0)4 66 05 54 20

investors@advicenne.com

or

International media

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

+44 (0) 20 7638 9571

advicenne@citigatedewerogerson.com
Imcon and Partner One Planet Education Network (OPEN) Begin Connecting Classrooms Around the World for Project Based Learning Programs

ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2018 / Imcon International Inc. through its education partner, OPEN (One Planet Education Network) has sold and implemented Internet Backpacks in multiple New York City public schools, specifically in the Bronx, Brooklyn, as well as Syracuse, NY.

The Internet Backpack platform provides connectivity from New York City and Syracuse, NY classrooms to schools in USA and internationally that have little or no Internet. The versatile Backpack also serves as a mobile classroom, which remotely accesses and transmits data from any Internet of Things (IoT) sensor system to Cloud-resident servers for students and professional scientists for later retrieval and data analysis. The deployed Internet Backpacks in US-based schools will also be connected CO2 IoT monitoring systems that will register atmospheric levels of this potent gas in US-city settings to compare to readings in other cities around the world, as well as CO2 sensors our DR Congo (DRC) students will soon be deploying adjacent to an active volcano.

"We are on an epic journey. There is a major paradigm shift now taking place in education in the US and worldwide. Internet of Things will have millions of applications for our societies. And led by the work and education technologies of OPEN and Imcon International, facilitated by well-trained STEM educators, our children will be well-prepared for the ubiquitous IoT and Blockchain-managed decentralized Internet. Internet 3.0 is near upon us. Stay tuned teachers and administrators," said Dr. Wednaud J. Ronelus, NY City STEM Educator/STEM Educational Research Scientist.

On May 4th, 2018, Imcon Internet Backpack connected students and government officials in Monrovia, Liberia in real-time across 3 Continents to schools in New York City (Bronx) and to Scientists in Amsterdam. The Imcon Internet Backpack provided the hour and a half connection for multiple users including the live video session. The Backpack effectively demonstrated its capabilities to connect remote rural schools with little or no electricity by powering all local devices during an extended power failure at the host school site without interruption.

On May 21, 2018, select NYC schools, a Syracuse-based elementary school along with schools in Liberia and Haiti will participate in a groundbreaking International Distance Learning event via Skype. The event hosted by Imcon International and OPEN will feature students guided by local volcanologists in the DRC deploying the first of many IoT volcano sensor network devices at an active volcano.

In preparation for this event students from seven countries have studied OPEN programs to learn about new Internet of Things technologies and systems for applications that will help for their future careers and for their communities. Other systems and community service programs underway across OPEN and Imcon's seven country network include sustainable agriculture and forestry, beginning soon in the West Kenya farm region of Bungoma County, and soon after the Sapo National Park rainforest in Liberia.

Imcon International Inc. CEO Rob Loud stated, "I am thrilled with the deployments of Imcon's Internet Backpacks in multiple African countries along with several schools in the New York City area. It is exciting to imagine the possibilities for the students at these schools to have real-time Internet access and the ability to connect with students around the world. This is a fantastic first step at our goal of bringing the Internet and educational opportunities to students throughout the world!"

Stay tuned to the OPEN and Imcon Website for further updates and videos of the upcoming May 21st event. For more information visit oneplaneteducation.com, write info@oneplaneteducation.com, or call +1 617 818-7514.

About Imcon International Inc.

Imcon International, Inc., is an immediate connectivity solutions provider. We build mobile platforms that connect to a broad range of current and next generation networks in stressed environments or remote locations. Imcon also integrates a wide range of Internet of Things devices that require connections in distant locales.

About OPEN (One Planet Education Network)

OPEN's mission is to promote scientific and technological literacy to best prepare young students for the global challenges ahead. These include the modernization of critical infrastructure, sustainable community development, environmental remediation, the impacts of Biotechnology/Neuroscience/AI/robotics, and commercialization and colonization of space. We prepare the global community of learners for the realities of the 21st-century workplace and world, so they can help us resolve the major challenges confronting civilization.

For more information visit Imconintl.com.

Media contact: info@imconintl.com

Phone: 678-915-1759

SOURCE: Imcon International Inc.
SPRING, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 15, 2018 / True North Energy Corporation, a Nevada corporation (OTC PINK: TNEN) ("True North" or the "Company"), today provides further updates to the matters disclosed in its May 10, 2018 press release. Specifically, the Company announces that it has received a response to its letter from the owner of Kryptonite Korea Limited ("Kryptonite") wherein the Company proposed to rescind/cancel the Kryptonite acquisition and other commercial terms. Legal counsel for Kryptonite responded that Kryptonite was terminating the contract. Both parties reserve their rights for further action.

Additionally, the Company previously announced it had demanded payment on certain promissory note issued by migme ltd, an Australian company ("Migme") and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Amiki Pte Ltd. ("Amiki") to the Company. After further contemplation, the Company has decided not to proceed with that demand at this time.

About True North Energy Corporation

Traditionally, True North Energy Corporation has engaged in the identification, acquisition and development of oil and gas properties. Through its subsidiary, TN Energy Corp, a Texas Corporation, the Company holds overriding royalty interests on oil and gas properties located in Colorado and Oklahoma.

Contact

Synergy

Rick Severson

888.259.9173

rick@synergy-businessconsultants.com

This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including information about management's view of True North's future expectations, plans and prospects. In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words 'believes," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," or "may," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Any statements made in this news release, other than those of historical fact, about an action, event or development, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the results of True North, its divisions and concepts to be materially different than those expressed or implied in such statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. True North cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Finally, True North undertakes no obligation to update these statements after the date of this release, except as required by law, and also takes no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that are not paid for by True North.

SOURCE: True North Energy Corporation
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following President Donald Trump's decision last week to withdraw from the nuclear deal with Iran, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced Tuesday the U.S. is imposing sanctions on the head of the Islamic republic's central bank. The Treasury accused Iranian Central Bank Governor Valiollah Seif of conspiring to move millions of dollars on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force to the militant group Hizballah. 'It is appalling, but not surprising, that Iran's senior-most banking official would conspire with the IRGC-QF to facilitate funding of terror groups like Hizballah,' Mnuchin said. He added, 'It undermines any credibility he could claim in protecting the integrity of the institution as a central bank governor.' The Treasury also imposed sanctions on another senior central bank official, an Iraq-based bank and its chairman, and a key Hizballah official. Seif and the others were also designated as 'Specially Designated Global Terrorists' under an executive order that targets terrorists and those providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism. The move by the Treasury comes after Trump announced last Tuesday that the U.S. will withdraw from an international agreement intended to limit Iran's nuclear program. Trump harshly criticized the nuclear agreement in remarks from the White House and signed a memorandum re-imposing sanctions on Iran. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQX: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it will re-activate its 100% owned Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project, Thor Lake, NWT ("Nechalacho" or "the Project") in 2018 due to strong demand for the 'magnet rare earths' neodymium and praseodymium.

Rare earth magnets remain vital to many clean technology applications requiring high efficiency, lightweight electric motors and generators. This includes motors for electric vehicles, which can require 5-10kg of rare earth magnets per vehicle. The growing market for electric vehicles, especially in China, has created new demand for these high strength magnets, resulting in rising prices for neodymium and praseodymium, both now selling for over $100/kg in oxide form. The world still largely relies on China for rare earth supply, yet China has reportedly become an importer of neodymium concentrates.

While Avalon's 2013 Feasibility Study focused on the underground accessible, heavy rare earth-rich Basal Zone of the Nechalacho Deposit, the property hosts several other easily accessible, near-surface, rare earth mineralized zones including high grade, neodymium-praseodymium ("Nd-Pr") rich resources. These are located in the T-Zone and Tardiff Lake Zones. (See the location map within the Nechalacho presentation on Avalon's website). These zones have potential for near-term, small-scale, low-impact development to produce Nd-Pr rich concentrates for export and will be the focus of renewed development work planned for the Project in 2018.

Neodymium Potential

Previous work on the Project has identified high-grade, near-surface neodymium mineralization associated with the light rare earth ore mineral bastnaesite in both the North T Deposit and Tardiff Lake Zones of the Nechalacho Deposit. The former was drilled by previous owners of the property in 1982-85 and the Nechalacho Deposit was extensively drilled by Avalon in 2007-12. However, there was little systematic analytical work for rare earths during the early exploration in the 1980's.

In 2007, Avalon reported on historical resources in the North T Deposit which included a small, but high grade, neodymium resource in the F-Subzone, averaging 6.5% Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") including 1.5% Nd2O3. A decline was driven by previous operators into the North T Deposit to conduct underground exploration and recover a bulk sample. The decline also intersected the near-surface neodymium-rich F-Subzone closer to surface, making it readily accessible for additional bulk sample work, once it is partially de-watered.

The T-Zone also contains significant lithium resources (mainly in lepidolite), that historically were not considered an economic opportunity, but now deserve a more thorough evaluation.

In the near-surface North Tardiff Lake Zone, partially drilled by Avalon in the course of the Basal Zone work, bastnaesite-rich mineralization was intersected indicating resource potential for more than one million tonnes at 2.5-3.5% TREO with 8 kg/tonne Nd2O3+Pr2O3. Highlights from the drilling include 3.03% TREO over 27.9m starting from 14.1m and 4.97% TREO over 29.75m from 15.25m. Such mineralization, which starts at surface, is readily accessible for small-scale open pit mining.

The South Tardiff Lake Zone contains two trenches which gave surface chip samples ranging from 2.7-8% TREO, including 0.7-1.9% Nd2O3+Pr2O3. One nearby drill hole intersected 3.48% TREO over 9.8m including 0.86% Nd2O3+Pr2O3, starting from just 23m below surface, indicating similar small-scale open pit potential.

Development and Permitting Plans

Avalon plans to investigate the possibility of developing Nechalacho as a near-term, small-scale producer of Nd-Pr rich concentrates for export involving potentially a simple mining, crushing and optical sorting operation. This has significant advantages over the already-approved Project plan from an environmental standpoint.

The Company is currently participating in an independent scoping study, supported in part by the Territorial Government, on the East Arm-Yellowknife Road and hydro infrastructure corridor in order to provide clean power, year-round access to site and greatly simplified Project logistics. It would also provide significant cost savings to Nechalacho and northern communities such as Lutsel K'e through improved access. This is driven in part by Federal government initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that would result from replacing diesel power with clean hydro power.

Specific Company plans for 2018/2019 include:

confirming Nd-Pr resources in the F-Subzone and Tardiff Lake Zones and preparing a scoping study on a small-scale development model focused on Nd-Pr concentrate production;

re-sampling existing drill core from 1980's drilling to analyze for lithium and establishing an initial T-Zone lithium resource estimate;

investigating dysprosium (the other 'magnet rare earth') potential in the North T Deposit; and

continuing the permitting process and community engagement toward identifying local Indigenous business partners.

The known mineral deposits on the property are all located within Avalon's existing mineral leases. The Company has mineral claims adjacent to these leases covering the airstrip, part of the possible plant site and access roads. As part of the current program, these are in the process of being taken to lease. Legal surveying of these claims (an essential stage in this process) commenced this month.

The Company is also in the process of renewing its Land Use Permit ("LUP") for exploration work on the Project. This renewal is planned to include work on the extension of the existing airstrip. Other than visiting the site to carry out sample collection work, no other land disturbances are planned in 2018. Total budget requirements for the 2018 work program are estimated at $100,000.

Sustainability

As with Avalon's other advanced-stage projects, the Company's focus is on materials that enable clean technology, including solar and wind power. In order to do this sustainably, Avalon designs its operations to minimize environmental impacts, green house gas emissions and plans for rehabilitation and productive use of the land post closure. The Company also now applies a staged development approach to its cleantech materials projects, which involves starting production at a modest scale, to minimize project footprint and potential risks to environment, while also reducing investment risk and creating opportunities for our Indigenous business partners.

The technical information included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by the Company's Vice President, Exploration, Dr. William Mercer, P. Geo (Ont), a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.

Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian mineral development company specializing in niche market metals and minerals with growing demand in new technology. The Company has three advanced stage projects, all 100%-owned, providing investors with exposure to lithium, tin and indium, as well as rare earth elements, tantalum, niobium, and zirconium. Avalon is currently focusing on its Separation Rapids Lithium Project, Kenora, ON and its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Yarmouth, NS. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones.

For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@AvalonAM.com, or phone Don Bubar, President & CEO at 416-364-4938.

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to statements that Avalon will re-activate the Project, that zones have potential for near-term, small-scale, low-impact development to produce Nd-Pr rich concentrates for export, and will be the focus of the renewed development work planned for the Project in 2018, that Avalon plans to investigate the possibility of developing Nechalacho as a near-term, small-scale producer of Nd-Pr rich concentrates for export involving potentially just a simple mining, crushing and optical sorting operation, that this has significant advantages over the already approved project from an environmental standpoint. Its specific plans for 2018/2019, that its leases are in process of being taken to lease, that LUP renewal is planned to include work on the planned extension of the existing airstrip, that it designs its operations to minimize environmental impacts, green house gas production and plans for rehabilitation and productive use of the land post closure and that the Company now applies a staged development approach to its cleantech materials projects. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "potential", "scheduled", "anticipates", "continues", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "scheduled", "targeted", "planned", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be" or "will not be" taken, reached or result, "will occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Avalon to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable at the time such statements are made. Although Avalon has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from expected results described in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to market conditions, and the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated costs and expenses as well as those risk factors set out in the Company's current Annual Information Form, Management's Discussion and Analysis and other disclosure documents available under the Company's profile at www.SEDAR.com. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking statements have been provided for the purpose of assisting investors in understanding the Company's plans and objectives and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Avalon does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are contained herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
BOCA RATON, Florida, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Colony, a global investment firm focused on enabling the next generation of mobile and internet infrastructure, today announced the appointment of Steven Sonnenstein as Managing Director, effective immediately.

"Steven has significant transaction experience in communications infrastructure across many geographies and sectors in the digital ecosystem," said Marc Ganzi, Managing Partner of Digital Colony. "He will be a great addition to our growing investment team, and we look forward to leveraging his international deal making expertise."

Steven was most recently a Senior Director at PSP Investments (PSP), one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with over C$139 billion of assets under management, where he led numerous infrastructure investments globally. During his six years at PSP, he put in final bids worth more than C$7.5 billion of equity, closing on more than C$2.2 billion - predominantly in the telecom infrastructure sector - and co-led and asset managed over C$1 billion of additional investments.

"Having worked with many of the Digital Colony team members over the years, I've always been impressed by their keen perspective on the future of the mobile and internet infrastructure space, and admired their successful transaction experience," said Sonnenstein. "This is a dynamic sector, and I am excited by the opportunity to continue to invest in this space with this motivated and experienced team."

Before joining PSP, Steven worked for Brookfield Asset Management in its Private Equity and Infrastructure Groups with particular focus and experience in South America. Prior to that, Steven spent several years working in mergers and acquisitions and distressed advisory.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, and a post-graduate in Chartered Accountancy.

About Digital Colony

Digital Colony is focused on investing in the next generation of digital infrastructure. The firm invests in the mobile and internet infrastructure landscape worldwide, including macro cell towers, data centers, small cell networks, and fiber networks. Digital Colony's strategic investments help meet the demand for digital infrastructure capacity which is driven by growth in mobile data and video consumption, and the mega-trends of cloud computing, big data analysis, IT outsourcing and e-commerce. Digital Colony brings together the industry and investment expertise of Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC, and Colony NorthStar, Inc. (NYSE: CLNS). The Digital Colony executive leadership team has a history of successful operations in digital infrastructure across multiple platforms and continents.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Seeking to boost support for her nomination as CIA Director, Gina Haspel sent a letter to Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Virg., on Monday claiming she now believes the CIA should not have undertaken its enhanced interrogation program. 'While I won't condemn those that made these hard calls, and I have noted the valuable intelligence collected, the program ultimately did damage to our officers and our standing in the world,' Haspel wrote. 'With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior Agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken,' she added. 'The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that.' Haspel noted that if she is confirmed as CIA Director, she would refuse to undertake any proposed activity that is contrary to her moral and ethical values. The letter comes as Haspel has faced some criticism for failing to speak out forcefully enough against enhanced interrogations, which she oversaw as chief of a CIA black site in Thailand. Republican Senators Rand Paul, R-Ken., and John McCain, R-Ariz., have expressed opposition to Haspel's nomination over her role in the enhanced interrogations, which critics claim amount to torture. Meanwhile, Haspel has received support from Democratic Senators Joe Manchin, W-V., and Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., who are both up for re-election in states that President Donald Trump won in 2016. Trump suggested in a post on Twitter last week that Democrats oppose Haspel's nomination because she is 'too tough on terror.' 'My highly respected nominee for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, has come under fire because she was too tough on Terrorists,' Trump tweeted. He added, 'Think of that, in these very dangerous times, we have the most qualified person, a woman, who Democrats want OUT because she is too tough on terror. Win Gina!' The Senate Intelligence Committee is expected to vote on Haspel's nomination as CIA Director on Wednesday, with a vote in the full Senate likely next week. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Announces new release at IoT World

CORTE MADERA, California, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SL Corporation, a leader in advanced, real-time data visualization and monitoring since 1987, is proud to announce the general availability of RTView Cloud for IoT Users at the Internet of Things World Conference in Santa Clara.

Developers of IoT applications often struggle to provide their users with high-performance real-time visualization applications and dashboards. The most common approaches, including hard-coding of displays and use of open source tools, can have drawbacks and high implementation costs or high support costs. RTView Cloud addresses this gap with a cloud solution that enables users to reduce the time and effort required to quickly develop and deploy these visual applications. SL's RTView Cloud helps users harness their complex and often heterogeneous real-time IoT data to create beautiful visual applications quickly and easily. Users are able to easily access all the real-time information they need from a variety of sources, devices, and vendor platforms - all in one place.

RTView Cloud provides support for a number of different systems, including IoT Platforms, Cloud Platforms, on-premise systems, public APIs and streams, and new IoT devices connecting to existing infrastructure.

"SL has been providing real-time visualization solutions for mission-critical Process Control, Telecom, and Industrial Applications for more than 25 years," said Tom Lubinski, CEO of SL. "Many of the approaches and techniques we developed for these applications are highly effective with the new generation IoT applications. RTView Cloud enables us to provide these tools as a service in an easy-to-use framework for customers that need to quickly create high performing, ad hoc visualization."

SL is excited to participate in the Samsung ARTIK Partner Program and integration of their solution with Samsung ARTIK Cloud. The Samsung ARTIK IoT Platform is a secure, end-to-end IoT platform that makes it easier and faster for companies to build, develop, deploy and manage IoT products and services with significantly reduced risk.

"SL's RTView Cloud platform enables Samsung ARTIK customers to visualize ARTIK and non-ARTIK real-time and historical data in very appealing custom dashboards from multiple systems," said Praful Bhayani, VP Strategic Project and Business Development.

SL will be showing several product demos in conjunction with Samsung ARTIK for Industrial IoT (IIoT) and Building Automation projects.

For more information about RTView Cloud and how SL can help you quickly develop and deploy real-time visualization applications, please visit http://sl.com/solutions/iot-data-visualization/. To learn more about RTView Cloud and how it can quickly enable Samsung ARTIK users to deploy rich visual applications, visit http://sl.com/solutions/data-visualization-for-samsung-artik/. To schedule a media interview with an SL subject matter expert, please contact Gia Hodges at ghodges@sl.com.

About SL Corporation

SL is a San Francisco Bay Area-based software company that develops real-time monitoring, visualization and diagnostic software for Global 1000 and mid-market companies whose businesses depend on complex, high-performance applications.

SL is exceptionally proud of its relationships with more than 50 technology and reseller partners and distributors around the globe. Our partners are leaders in Enterprise Software, Financial Services, Industrial Automation, Telecommunications, and Systems Integration.

Press Releases, RTView, SL in the News

Contact:

Gia Hodges

ghodges@sl.com

Logo- https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/446255/SL_Logo.jpg
Oil & Gas names performed best on Tuesday as traders continued pushing crude oil futures higher in the face of simmering geopolitical tensions. Yet after meeting with the European Union's foreign policy czar, Federica Mogherini, Iran's minister for foreign affairs, Javad Zarif, said the two sides were on the right path to defending the interests of the remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Against that backdrop, analysts at UniCredit ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
SEOUL (dpa-AFX) - North Korea has reportedly threatened to cancel an historic meeting between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump over U.S.-South Korean military drills. Citing North Korean state media, South Korean news agency Yonhap said North Korea is also canceling high-level talks with South Korea planned for Wednesday. North's Korean Central News Agency described the drills between the U.S. and South Korean air forces as a rehearsal for an invasion and a provocation amid warming ties, according to Yonhap. In a post on Twitter last Thursday, Trump revealed the planned meeting with Kim would be held in Singapore on Tuesday, June 12th. Trump predicted that the meeting with Kim would be a 'very big success' and said the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula would be his 'proudest achievement.' While Trump previously referred to Kim as a 'maniac' and a 'madman,' he described the North Korean leader as being 'very open' and 'honorable' in remarks last month. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Phoenix, Arizona--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Excelsior Mining Corp. (TSX: MIN) (FSE: 3XS) (OTCQX: EXMGF) ("Excelsior" or the "Company") announces that Carlo Valente, the former Chief Financial Officer of the Company, has assumed the role of Interim CFO following the departure of Mark Distler, who has left the Company to pursue other opportunities. Excelsior has engaged international recruitment firm, Korn Ferry, to help secure a new CFO with the required production-related experience as Excelsior completes the transition from development company to copper producer. This recruitment process is advanced and is expected to be completed shortly.

Mr. Valente served previously as Excelsior's CFO from 2014 to 2016, during which time the Company purchased and integrated the neighboring Johnson Camp Mine. His previous experience with Excelsior Mining ensures continuity as the Company completes the final stage of the permitting process. Mr. Valente has over two decades of international business development, corporate advisory, M&A, corporate finance and accounting experience. Mr. Valente has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and he obtained his CA designation in 2000.

Excelsior remains on-track to become the next new copper producer in the United States. The Environmental Protection Agency ('EPA") is expected to grant an Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit prior to the end of the second quarter; this is the last permit required prior to the commencement of production.

The Company thanks Mr. Distler for his contributions during his tenure as CFO and wishes him well as he pursues other interests.

About Excelsior Mining

Excelsior Mining "The Copper Solution Company" is a mineral exploration and development company that is advancing the Gunnison Copper Project in Cochise County, Arizona. The project is an advanced staged, low cost, environmentally friendly in-situ recovery copper extraction project. The Feasibility Study projected an after-tax NPV of US$ 807 million and an IRR of 40% using a US$ 2.75 per pound copper price and a 7.5% discount rate.

Excelsior's technical work on the Gunnison Copper Project is supervised by Stephen Twyerould, Fellow of AUSIMM, President & CEO of Excelsior and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Twyerould has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

Additional information about the Gunnison Copper Project can be found in the technical report filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com entitled: "Gunnison Copper Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Feasibility Study" dated effective December 17, 2016.

For more information on Excelsior, please visit our website at www.excelsiormining.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE EXCELSIOR BOARD

"Stephen Twyerould"

President & CEO

For further information regarding this press release, please contact:

Excelsior Mining Corp.

Concord Place, Suite 300, 2999 North 44th Street, Phoenix, AZ, 85018.

JJ Jennex, Vice President, Corporate Affairs

T: 604-681-8030 x240

E: info@excelsiormining.com

www.excelsiormining.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" concerning anticipated developments and events that may occur in the future. Forward looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the timeline for, and the completion of, the permitting process; (ii) economic benefits from the Gunnison Project; (iii) the commencement of commercial production from the Gunnison Project; (iv) the results of the feasibility study; and (v) the ability to mine the Gunnison Project using in-situ recovery mining techniques.

In certain cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and mineral reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, copper and other metal prices, the timing and amount of future development expenditures, the estimation of initial and sustaining capital requirements, the estimation of labour and operating costs, the availability of necessary financing and materials to continue to develop and construct the Gunnison Project in the short and long-term, the progress of development activities, the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, the completion of the permitting process, the estimation of insurance coverage, and assumptions with respect to currency fluctuations, environmental risks, title disputes or claims, and other similar matters. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

Forward looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors include risks inherent in the exploration and development of mineral deposits, including risks relating to changes in project parameters as plans continue to be redefined including the possibility that mining operations may not commence at the Gunnison Project, risks relating to variations in mineral resources and reserves, grade or recovery rates resulting from current exploration and development activities, risks relating to the ability to access infrastructure, risks relating to changes in copper and other commodity prices and the worldwide demand for and supply of copper and related products, risks related to increased competition in the market for copper and related products and in the mining industry generally, risks related to current global financial conditions, uncertainties inherent in the estimation of mineral resources, access and supply risks, reliance on key personnel, operational risks inherent in the conduct of mining activities, including the risk of accidents, labour disputes, increases in capital and operating costs and the risk of delays or increased costs that might be encountered during the development process, regulatory risks, including risks relating to the acquisition of the necessary licenses and permits, financing, capitalization and liquidity risks, including the risk that the financing necessary to fund the exploration and development activities at the Gunnison Project may not be available on satisfactory terms, or at all, risks related to disputes concerning property titles and interest, environmental risks and the additional risks identified in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company's reports and filings with applicable Canadian securities regulators.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The forward-looking information is made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information.
SAN FRANCISCO (dpa-AFX) - Gap Inc. issued an apology to China after the apparel retailer came under fire for one of its T-shirt that is for sale in North America, which showed a wrong map of the country. Gap came under heavy fire from Chinese netizens for selling t-shirts depicting a map of China, which omitted Taiwan, disputed islands in the South China Sea and parts of the semiautonomous regions of Tibet. 'Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We've learned a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets mistakenly failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologize for this unintentional error,' Gap said in a statement, according to China's Global Times newspaper. 'As a responsible company, Gap Inc. strictly follows Chinese laws and rules,' Gap added. People's Daily,China tweeted 'American clothing retailer @Gapon Monday apologized for printing incomplete Chinese map on T-shirts for sales outside China, said the brand respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Pan Andean Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: PAD) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Sungbum Spencer Huh to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Pan Andean. Mr. Huh will also continue to serve as President and Director of the Company.

Gary Anderson will resign as Interim CEO and Executive Chairman of the Board, and will remain as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

"During our meetings and travels in North America and Korea over the last 4 1/2 months, Spencer has demonstrated his ability to access both capital and company building opportunities," said Mr. Anderson. "His experience in the capital markets and the strong relationships he has built over the past 20 years gives me confidence that Spencer is the right person to steer our company forward at this time."

Mr. Huh added, "I am excited to be a part of what I envision to be a robust growth period for Pan Andean and to lead the Company as we continue to explore the limitless opportunities available both in North America and abroad."

About Pan Andean Minerals Ltd.

Pan Andean is a Vancouver-based junior resource company that has been listed on the TSX Venture Exchange for 10 years and has at present a portfolio of properties in Peru and Yukon with the focus being Peru. The Company is currently pursuing alternative business opportunities.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Spencer Sung Bum Huh

President & CEO, Director

604-355-6463

sbhuh1450@gmail.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Aadhaar card is not mandatory for central government employees to get their pension, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has said

New Delhi: Aadhaar card is not mandatory for central government employees to get their pension, Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh has said.

In the 30th meeting of the Standing Committee of Voluntary Agencies in New Delhi recently, he said Aadhaar is an additional facility to enable the use of technology for submission of life certificate without the need for visiting banks.

His assertion assumes significance as there were reports of some retired employees facing difficulty in getting the pension in the absence of Aadhaar linkage with their bank accounts.

The minister clarified that Aadhaar has not been made mandatory for getting the pension for government employees, according to the minutes of the meeting.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit number, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), that acts as identification and address proof.

There are about 48.41 lakh central government employees and 61.17 lakh pensioners.

Singh cited various initiatives started by the central government for the welfare of its employees and pensioners.

"For instance, the minimum pension has been increased to Rs 9,000, the ceiling of gratuity has been increased to Rs 20 lakh, fixed medical allowance has been increased to Rs 1,000 per month," the minister said.

"Constant-attendance allowance has been increased from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 with effect from 1 July 2017. Some benefits relating to income-tax e.g. standard deduction, tax-rebate etc.on interest made available in the Finance Bill, 2018," he said.
The fund, named as the Industrial and Commercial Bank Credit Suisse India Market Fund, will 'invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and the US that are based on the Indian market.'

Beijing: The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, a top state-run Chinese bank has launched China's first India-dedicated publicly offered investment fund, urging the Chinese to invest heavily stating that the Indian economy is entering the "golden age of economic take-off".

The move, regarded as significant by observers to boost investments in India, comes just about a fortnight after the first ever informal summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, where the two leaders sought to give a new direction to the bilateral ties to tap their economic potential.

The fund, named as the Industrial and Commercial Bank Credit Suisse India Market Fund, will "invest in exchange-traded funds listed on more than 20 exchanges in Europe and the US that are based on the Indian market."

It is China's first publicly offered fund for investing in India, state-run Global Times reported. The fund will invest in the future of the Indian economy and track the distribution of the industrial structure across the Indian market, the report quoted a fund manager as saying.

The bank listed sectors for investments specifically, in terms of the major industries weighted distribution of the index.

The financial industry will account for the highest proportion, followed by information technology, alternative consumption, energy, essential consumption, raw materials, medicine, healthcare and other industries, it said.

The ICBC bank, the largest in the world with over $ 3.6 trillion in assets, has given an upbeat picture of India's economic growth path, while launching the fund.

According to the announcement of the offering, the ICBC Credit Suisse Indian Market Fund (LOF) will be available for sale at both the on-site and off-site markets from 7 May to 25 May.

"Across the overseas market, India, as the second largest emerging market economy, is entering the golden age of economic take-off, and has become an area where international and domestic capitals are competing to pursue," a write-up on the ICBC's website said.

The fund opened the way for domestic investors and "provided a good tool for low-threshold investment in India," it said.

"Since 2017, the global economy has entered a recovery, and the relative advantages of emerging markets have gradually expanded, with India showing remarkable performance," it said.

India has become the second largest economy in emerging markets, ranking seventh in the GDP world, ranking second only to China and the US in purchasing power parity, and third in the world, it said.

The report said in the context of the ageing population of the world's major economies, India's low labour costs and abundant labour supply have attracted much attention, and the capital market has given high expectations for its economic growth, it said.

"The larger marginal improvement formed by various structural reforms led by Modi government is expected to unleash India's abundant demographic dividend," it said.

Quoting IMF projections stating that India's economy will continue to lead the global economy for a long time to come, it said "at the same time, the Indian rupee value stability, guarantee the security of the investment in India, India's stock markets risk/reward ratio is high and a low correlation with the A-shares," it said.

A write-up in the Global Times by the fund manager said "as the most important emerging market overseas, the Indian stock market's long-term trend must be positive. For Chinese investors, the current moment offers the best opportunity to get started in Indian stocks."

"The certainty of India's growth is very clear. But considering the continuous acceleration of urbanisation and the expansion of the middle class, India's future value will be large," it said.

If estimated by purchasing power parity, India's GDP is already close to seven per cent of the world. The situation is similar to China when it started to rise a decade ago, it said.

"Now, investing in the Indian market means an investor can enjoy double-digit economic growth," it said and added that the Indian stock market underwent a correction in the first quarter, which means it offers a good opportunity for opening positions.

Recent research indicates that the Indian market has gradually become one of the best-performing markets in the world due to ongoing reforms, macroeconomic improvement and enhanced profitability, it said.

"Take March as an example. Due to trade friction between China and the US, foreign capital showed mostly net outflows from other Asian stock markets. However, India's capital inflows reached $ 2.1 billion, which was in sharp contrast to other markets in the region," it said.

"This shows that foreign investors recognise India's economic strength," it said.

Meanwhile, India is not affected by the trade friction between China and the US, and it has become a safe haven for funds. Chinese investors should pay close attention to the Indian stock market and seize new opportunities, it said.
By Julie Zhu and John Tilak HONG KONG/TORONTO (Reuters) - China's Tianqi Lithium is nearing a deal to buy a 24 percent stake in Chile's Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) , one of the world's biggest lithium producers, for about $4.3 billion, two people close to the transaction said. Chengdu-based Tianqi, which is building the world's biggest lithium processor in Western Australia, is looking to sign a deal to acquire the stake in SQM from Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd , the people said

By Julie Zhu and John Tilak

HONG KONG/TORONTO (Reuters) - China's Tianqi Lithium <002466.SZ> is nearing a deal to buy a 24 percent stake in Chile's Sociedad Quimica Y Minera (SQM) , one of the world's biggest lithium producers, for about $4.3 billion, two people close to the transaction said.

Chengdu-based Tianqi, which is building the world's biggest lithium processor in Western Australia, is looking to sign a deal to acquire the stake in SQM from Canadian fertilizer company Nutrien Ltd , the people said.

Nutrien, formed by the merger of Agrium and Potash Corp of Saskatchewan, must sell its stake in SQM by next March as part of a commitment to regulators approving the deal. Nutrien owns about 30 percent of SQM, which also has significant fertilizer production. [nL2N1PW1EH]

The more actively traded B-shares of SQM jumped as much 6.8 percent to a four-month high after the Reuters report. Nutrien shares extended gains, hitting a near two-month high, and were up 2.3 percent at C$66.19.

Based on SQM's market value of $14.8 billion at Monday's close, Tianqi would pay a roughly 22 percent premium for the shares in the world's lowest-cost producer of lithium.

Tianqi's interest comes as Beijing aggressively promotes electric vehicles - lithium is a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries - to combat air pollution and help domestic carmakers leapfrog the combustion engine to build global brands.

But the SQM stake purchase could hit snags.

Chile's former government in March asked antitrust regulator FNE to block the stake sale to Chinese firms, saying it would distort the global lithium market and give China an unfair advantage in securing strategic resources. FNE has until August, with the possibility of extensions, to determine whether to launch an investigation. [nL1N1QW02D] [nL2N1QR1S8]

China's trade representative to Chile told Reuters last week that Beijing suspects other countries have lobbied Chile to block Chinese firms from purchasing the SQM stake. [nL1N1SG0FS]

CITIC GROUP, GSR CAPITAL

Tianqi, which is in talks with several institutional investors and banks for financing, plans to fund the deal through bank loans, mezzanine loans and its own working capital, the people said.

Chinese state-run conglomerate Citic Group [CITIC.UL] and its unit China Citic Bank <601998.SS> are considering providing part of the capital for the stake acquisition, they added.

Chinese private equity firm GSR Capital has also been vying for the stake, two separate people familiar with the matter said. It was not clear if GSR was raising the financing for a deal of its own.

SQM, Tianqi, GSR, Citic Group and Citic Bank did not respond to requests for comment. Nutrien declined to comment. All the people declined to be identified as the deal details were private, and they cautioned that there is no certainty that a deal would be reached.

Nutrien said last week it expects to announce the sale of its stake in SQM by the end of the second quarter. [nL1N1SF0VM]

If the deal goes through, Tianqi would likely secure three seats on SQMs eight-member board, one of the sources said.

SQM currently has annual lithium carbonate production capacity of 48,000 tonnes in Chile, which it will expand to 70,000 tonnes by mid-2018 and to 100,000 tonnes in 2019. [nL3RV4RP]

Shenzhen-listed Tianqi, which has a market capitalization of $9.5 billion, plans to raise at least $1 billion from a Hong Kong float this year, IFR reported. Part of the proceeds would be used to finance its investments. [nL3N1RB3F4]

Tianqi makes a variety of raw materials for the battery industry. Its lithium project in Australia produces hard rock lithium, primarily for export to China.

(Reporting by Julie Zhu in HONG KONG, John Tilak in TORONTO; Additional reporting by Yan Jiang of Basis Point, Kane Wu and Tom Daly in HONG KONG, Dave Sherwood in SANTIAGO and Rod Nickel in WINNIPEG; Editing by Denny Thomas, Jennifer Hughes and Susan Thomas)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The Jaypee promoter submitted a bid of over Rs 10,000 crore to revive Jaypee Infratech.

New Delhi: A clear divide between home buyers of realty firm Jaypee Infratech has surfaced over the takeover bid made by the erstwhile promoters of the bankruptcy-hit firm.

While two associations of home buyers wanted Manoj Gaur-led promoter group to take over the company and complete the unfinished housing units, nine different associations on Monday came on a single platform to oppose any such move.

Neither side, however, wanted the liquidation of Jaypee Infratech.

Last week, Jaypee Infratech's lenders rejected the Rs 7,350 crore bid of Lakshwadeep, a joint venture between Sudhir Valia-led Suraksha Asset Reconstruction Company and Mumbai-based Dosti Realty, to acquire the company and complete all housing projects.

The Jaypee promoter submitted a bid of over Rs 10,000 crore to revive Jaypee Infratech.

Two associations -- Developers Township Property Owners Welfare Society and Aman Welfare Association -- said that Jaypee group flagship firm Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL) should be given "a second chance" if it is willing to honour all previous obligations.

"COC (committee of creditors) has already rejected the Suraksha's Bid after due deliberation. JAL has been allowed to make a bid by the Supreme Court of India, which is much higher than the Suraksha. Why JAL should not be given a second chance if it is willing to honour its all previous obligations?," Developers Township Property Owners Welfare Society President Arvind Jain said in a statement.

However, the representatives of nine associations, claiming over 2,400 buyers members, said that Jaypee promoter should not be allowed to takeover Jaypee Infratech and rather a credible bidder should acquire the company to complete stuck housing projects in Noida.

"We do not have faith in Jaypee group and it should not be allowed to develop our projects," said Aaditya Gutgutia, a lead volunteer of nine associations.

"We do not want liquidation of Jaypee Infratech. A credible bidder should acquire the company and complete all the pending flats," said Gutgutia, who represented Jaypee Kensington Boulevard Apartment Welfare Association.

Alleging that Jaypee group have diverted home buyers fund to other businesses, these nine associations demanded that Jaypee promoters should not be allowed to regain control of Jaypee Infratech.

Last year, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had admitted the application by an IDBI Bank-led consortium, seeking resolution for Jaypee Infratech under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

The tribunal had appointed Anuj Jain as Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) to mange the company's business.

Later, Jain invited bids from investors interested in acquiring Jaypee Infratech and completing the stuck real estate projects in Noida and Greater Noida.

Consequently, Lakshadweep emerged as a front runner to acquire Jaypee Infratech.
By Sharay Angulo and Dave Graham MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's economy minister said that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Thursday deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S. Congress

By Sharay Angulo and Dave Graham

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's economy minister said that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a Thursday deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S. Congress.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be notified of a new NAFTA deal by Thursday to give lawmakers a chance of approving it before a newly elected Congress takes over in January.

"It is not easy. We do not think we will have it by Thursday," Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told broadcaster Televisa on Tuesday.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau struck a more upbeat tone, telling reporters in Calgary a few hours later, "There is very much an eminently achievable outcome ... and we are very close."

"We are going to continue to remain optimistic," said Trudeau. He met with U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday and discussed the possibility of bringing NAFTA talks to a "prompt conclusion."

Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada have been in intense talks since last month to try to reach a deal before U.S. congressional elections in November. Mexico's presidential vote on July 1 also complicates the process.

"We will keep negotiating, and in the moment that we have a good negotiation, we can close the deal ... independent of which Congress (the current or new) that will vote on it," said Guajardo.

Mexico's peso sank to its weakest level in over a year on Tuesday, and the country's benchmark stock index fell about 1 percent to its lowest since early April.

Guajardo said the talks could be concluded before or just after the July 1 vote.

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is leading polls to win the presidential race, and his pick for economy minister, Graciela Marquez, said last month his administration would be willing to accept a deal struck before the election.

If that is not possible, she said it would be better to complete the negotiation after the next government takes office at the start of December. Guajardo said the next government's team would need to be involved in any talks after July 1.

Guajardo said negotiators were getting close to reaching a deal on rules for the auto sector under NAFTA.

However, talks still faced the hurdles of U.S. demands for a sunset clause that would allow NAFTA to expire if it is not renegotiated every five years, and the elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

More flexibility was needed for a deal, Guajardo said.

Kenneth Smith, the chief Mexican negotiator at the talks, said that for Mexico there were no deadlines.

Irrespective of the Thursday deadline mentioned by Ryan, there was still time to ratify a new NAFTA this year, Smith told broadcaster Enfoque Noticias.

Hanging over the talks is Trump's threat to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on its trade partners. Mexico and Canada have been spared so far, although the latest exemption for them will run out at the end of May.

Smith said his government would retaliate with equivalent measures "immediately" if tariffs or quotas were imposed.

(Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Dave Graham; Editing by Phil Berlowitz and Cynthia Osterman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's economy minister said on Tuesday that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a May 17 deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's economy minister said on Tuesday that he saw diminishing chances for a new North American Free Trade Agreement ahead of a May 17 deadline to present a deal that could be signed by the current U.S. Congress.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has said that the Republican-controlled Congress would need to be notified of a new NAFTA deal by Thursday to give lawmakers a chance of approving it before a newly elected Congress takes over in January.

"It is not easy, we do not think we will have it by Thursday," Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo told broadcaster Televisa.

"We will keep negotiating, and in the moment that we have a good negotiation, we can close the deal ... independent of which Congress (the current or new) that will vote on it," he said.

Negotiators from the United States, Mexico and Canada have been in intense talks since last month to try to reach a deal before upcoming U.S. congressional elections. Mexico's presidential vote on July 1 also complicates talks.

Uncertainty over the future of NAFTA and the election has put pressure on the Mexican peso, Guajardo said.

Mexico's peso sank to its weakest level in over a year on Tuesday and the country's benchmark stock index fell about 1 percent to its lowest since early April.

"There are different moments to close the negotiation," Guajardo said. "It could be before the Mexican election on July 1, it could be just after."

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is leading polls to win the presidential race, and his pick for economy minister, Graciela Marquez, said last month his administration would be willing to accept a NAFTA deal struck before the election.

If that is not possible, she said it would be better to complete the negotiation after the next government takes office at the start of December. Guajardo said the next government's team would need to be involved in any talks after July 1.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday discussed the possibility of bringing NAFTA talks to a "prompt conclusion."

Guajardo said negotiators were getting close to reaching a deal on rules for the auto sector under NAFTA.

However, talks still faced the hurdles of U.S. demands for a sunset clause that would allow NAFTA to expire if it is not renegotiated every five years, and the elimination of settlement panels for trade disputes.

More flexibility was needed for a deal, Guajardo said.

Kenneth Smith, the chief Mexican negotiator at the talks, said that for Mexico there were no deadlines in the revamp.

"Mexico's position since the start of the negotiation has been that we're not going to sacrifice the quality of the deal to conclude quickly," he told local radio.

Irrespective of the May 17 date mentioned by Ryan, there was still time to ratify a new NAFTA this year, Smith added.

"There's no question the possibility exists, we're interested and I think the United States and Canada share this view," he said, speaking to broadcaster Enfoque Noticias.

Hanging over the talks has been a threat by the Trump administration to impose steel and aluminum tariffs on its trade partners. Mexico and Canada have been spared so far, although the latest exemption for them will run out at the end of May.

Smith noted that Mexico ran a deficit with the United States in trade in both metals and that his government would retaliate with equivalent measures against the United States "immediately" if tariffs or quotas were imposed.

(Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Dave Graham; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The board of Allahabad Bank will meet today and is likely to divest its CEO and MD Ananthasubramanian of all powers. She was the managing director of PNB till 5 May last year.

New Delhi: The government today initiated the process to remove Allahabad Bank CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and two executive directors of Punjab National Bank in connection with $2 billion fraud perpetuated by diamond jeweller Nirav Modi in connivance with PNB officials.

Following the government's directive, which came within hours of CBI filing a chargesheet in the country's biggest ever banking fraud case, the PNB board divested its two executive directors, K V Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan, of all financial and executive powers.

The board of Allahabad Bank will meet today and is likely to divest its CEO and MD Ananthasubramanian of all powers. She was the managing director of PNB till 5 May last year.

The PNB fraud, which spanned over several years, started in 2011.

Briefing reporters, Financial Services Rajiv Kumar said there is a set process for removal and dismissal of directors from the board of banks and that has been initiated.

The government holds a little over 62 percent stake in PNB and close to 65 percent in Allahabad Bank.

Earlier in the day on Monday, the PNB board convened an emergency meeting on the insistence from the government's nominee director.

In a filing to BSE stock exchange, PNB said, "In view of the recent developments, the board of the bank in its meeting decided to divest the functional powers of Executive Directors, K.V. Brahmaiji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan and sought their replacement from the Department of Financial Services."

"The (PNB) board has decided to divest EDs of the functional and financial responsibilities and have also requested the government to replace them," Kumar said, adding the government is committed to taking strict action against erring officials.

The CBI filed its first chargesheet in the country's largest financial scam worth over USD 2 billion at PNB allegedly committed by billionaire jeweller Nirav Modi.

The chargesheet detailed the alleged role of PNB's former chief Ananthasubramanian in the scam. Ananthasubramanian was the MD and CEO of PNB from 2015 to 2017 and was questioned recently by the CBI in connection with the case.

"Today agencies have filed the chargesheet. Around 10 days ago we had asked explanations from the two executive directors at the PNB and the current MD and CEO in Allahabad Bank. This was essentially because of the fact that SWIFT and CBS integration was to take place based on the circular issued by RBI in 2016," Kumar said.

Jeweller Nirav Modi used fake letter of undertaking (LoUs) to defraud PNB of over Rs 13,000 crore in connivance with bank officials by exploiting the loophole of non-integration of SWIFT with the Core Banking Solution.

"This was the duty of the senior management to minimise the risk in the system. We issued notices and sought explantation 10 days back from top officials of these banks," he said.

Kumar said there is a set process for the removal and dismissal of directors from the board of a bank.

"One notice was issued 10 days back. Section 8 of Banking Regulation Act define how do you remove the director. We have initiated action for that (removal) also. So this is a clear message that we have to be responsible for what we do. We will only take action when we have substantive proof and not on hearsay," he said.

The government, he said, has taken a strict action which reflects its resolve to ensure the highest corporate governance in state-owned banks.

The department will not spare anyone involved in corruption and lapses, irrespective of his or her position and will take speedy action against them while honest officers have nothing to fear about, he said, adding the government would solidly stand behind honest officers.

When asked about action against two MDs named in the FIR related to loans given to Aircel by IDBI Bank, he said, "I would like to make it clear that you cannot take action only on hearsay. They are responsible person and its only a few who are into this kind of thing otherwise by and large bankers have contributed to the economic growth of the country."

The problem is generally in the large corporate side, while branches across the country by and large are corruption free, he said.

Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) booked Syndicate Bank MD and CEO Melwyn Rego, who was Deputy Managing Director of IDBI, along with several others in the Rs 600 crore IDBI loan default case.

The CBI has also booked former IDBI CMD Kishor Kharat, at present MD and CEO of Indian Bank, in the loan fraud case.

Expressing faith in the banking system, Kumar said banks have a strong, robust tradition and they follow highest standard of corporate governance barring few stray cases.

"The moment I have definitive information either from the regulation side, supervision side or investigation side, the government will not hesitate in taking action to protect people's trust in the banking system," he said.

Asked about the role of government nominee director, Kumar said, the government has decided that they are not part of lending or commercial decision.

"It was practised that government directors or nominees are not part of commercial decisions, so they are not part of the committee which sanctions the loan. further we have issued a circular saying that nobody would interfere anywhere in commercial decision," he said.
The agency has said then PNB MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and her top officials also failed to prevent the fraud despite having knowledge of the modus operandi, according to sources

New Delhi: Top honchos of Punjab National Bank "misrepresented" the factual position on letters of understanding (LoUs) to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and ignored its warnings when credit facilities worth over $2 billion were fraudulently cleared by its branch in Mumbai, according to a CBI charge sheet.

The agency has said then PNB MD and CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian and her top officials also failed to prevent the fraud despite having knowledge of the modus operandi, according to sources.

Diamond merchants Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi allegedly cheated PNB by availing credits worth over $2 billion from overseas banks, on the basis of fraudulent LoUs issued by PNB staff, which were siphoned off by them.

An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks having branches abroad to grant short-term credit to the applicant.

Ananthasubramanian, who is currently the MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank, Executive Directors of Punjab National Bank K V Brahmaji Rao and Sanjiv Sharan, and General Manager (International Banking) Nehal Ahad are four senior bank executives who have been charge-sheeted by the agency.

Giving details of the charges against Ananthasubramanian, the agency sources said she was the MD and CEO of PNB when a similar case of LoU fraud was reported from Indian Overseas Bank, Chandigarh in 2016 where credits were issued by PNBs Dubai branch on the basis of these guarantees.

The modus operandi in the IOB case was similar to the Nirav Modi case. Hence, the top brass of PNB had complete knowledge of the methods involved by fraudsters to cheat the banks using LoUs, the sources said.

After the IOB fraud had surfaced, the RBI had issued guidelines and circulars to prevent such frauds in the banks which were allegedly not implemented in PNB in its entirety, they said.

All these files were processed by Ananthasubramanian and three other top officers -- Rao, Sharan and Ahad, which shows they were completely aware of the modus operandi of such frauds being perpetrated, they said.

The Reserve Bank of India had sent a questionnaire to the officials seeking to know the status of LoU issuing process in their bank which was responded to by Ahad in concurrence with his seniors including Ananthasubramanian in which he had stated that all was well in the bank, they said.

This was a clear "misrepresentation" of facts to the RBI by top officials of PNB, they said.

The sources said naming of Ananthasubramanian, who was at the helm of affairs in Punjab National Bank during 2015-17, in the charge sheet did not mean that her predecessors had been cleared by the agency.

The agency said the time period of the scam was spread between 2011-17 and probe into the role of other officers was underway.

They said the present charge sheet, filed in a special court in Mumbai, primarily deals with the first FIR registered in the case relating to the fraudulent issuance over Rs 6,498.20 crore worth of LoUs to Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds.

The agency has not given in detail the role of Mehul Choksi in the present charge sheet. It is likely to come up when the CBI files supplementary charge sheets in the case related to the probe into his Gitanjali Group.

The CBI has registered three separate FIRs in connection with the alleged fraud of $2 billion in the public sector bank by the companies of Nirav Modi and Choksi.

Both Nirav Modi and Choksi had left the country before PNB filed the complaint with the CBI.

Senior officials of PNB did not implement the circulars and caution notices issued by Reserve Bank of India regarding safeguarding SWIFT operation through which messages were sent to overseas banks to issue loans to the companies of Nirav Modi, they said.

Reconciliation of banks core software (called CBS) and SWIFT messages was not done despite repeated circulars caution notices of the RBI which allowed a deputy manager to issue these guarantees bypassing any scrutiny by the bank, they said.
In January 2016, Reliance Power wrote to the Andhra Pradesh government that it wanted to terminate the project

Amaravati: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Power on Monday once again told the Andhra Pradesh government that it would pull out of the proposed Ultra Mega Power Project at Krishnapatnam in SPS Nellore district but did not submit any formal proposal in this regard, official sources said.

The 4000-MW UMPP was sanctioned by the Union government in 2007.

In January 2016, Reliance Power wrote to the Andhra Pradesh government that it wanted to terminate the project and asked the state government to take it over on the lines of the Tilaiya UMPP in Jharkhand. But the AP Power Transmission Corporation Limited asked the company to submit a "clear exit proposal" and said the case of Tilaiya and Krishnapatnam were different and could not be linked.

The Krishnapatnam UMPP involved five states as power produced from the plant was supposed to be sold to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Telangana, besides Andhra Pradesh.

Reliance Power did not submit any formal proposal over its exit from the KUMPP, said a top official overseeing the matter.

These issues came up for discussion during a meeting Anil Ambani had with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu at the Secretariat here this afternoon, official sources said.

"Reliance said it wanted to exit the project citing non-availability of coal and escalation of costs as the main reasons. But it did not submit any formal proposal as sought by the state government," the sources added.

The then Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government had in 2007 allotted 2400 acres of land to Reliance for the UMPP.

Earlier, Anil Ambani visited the hill shrine of Goddess Kanaka Durga, presiding deity of Vijayawada city, and offered prayers.
Experts largely believe that a finally tally that leaves the BJP just short of the majority mark in Karnataka is good for the market.

Key equity indices have largely erased the gains logged on Tuesday morning, when expectations of a BJP victory in the Karnataka assembly election boosted investor sentiment.

The NSE Nifty was trading 0.02% higher to 10,808.60 points at 02:54 pm, while the BSE Sensex was trading 0.05% higher to 35,574.03 points, after news that the rival Congress party is ready to support a JD(S) government in the southern state.

Leads coming in from Karnataka showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading in 104 out of the 222 seats that went to the polls last Saturday.

Earlier in the afternoon, the key Indian equity indices were trading around half-a-per cent higher. According to market observers, heavy buying was witnessed in banking, metal and IT stocks.

At 1.10 p.m., the wider 50-scrip NSE Nifty was trading at 10,853.80 points -- up 47.20 points or 0.44 per cent -- from the previous close of 10,806.50 points. The BSE Sensex, which opened at 35,537.85 points, was trading at 35,687.76 points (1.12 p.m.), higher by 131.05 points or 0.37 per cent from the previous day's close at 35,556.71 points.

Experts largely believe that a finally tally that leaves the BJP just short of the majority mark is good for the market. Earlier in the day, market veteran Porinju Veliyath hinted that he expects a BJP victory to provide a big boost for the market, providing opportunities for small and midcaps to bounceback.

#Karnataka - definitely a boost to market sentiment. After 4 months of significant underperformance, 'deserving' mid and small-caps are likely to bounce back strongly!  Porinju Veliyath (@porinju) May 15, 2018

The Sensex soared over 436 points in late morning deals on Tuesday, while the broader Nifty crossed the 10,900-mark, after the BJP looked on course to emerge as the single largest party in Karnataka.

With inputs from IANS
President Ram Nath Kovind said on Tuesday that the 12 'champion' services sectors including IT and tourism identified by the government hold a huge potential to attract global investors, promote India's economic growth and generate jobs

Mumbai: President Ram Nath Kovind said on Tuesday that the 12 'champion' services sectors including IT and tourism identified by the government hold a huge potential to attract global investors, promote India's economic growth and generate jobs.

In February, the central government had set up a Rs 5,000 crore dedicated fund to promote 12 'champion' services sectors.

The list...includes business areas with potential for drawing global attention and investment, as well as boosting growth and employment. It also aims to optimise India's skills and knowledge resources, Kovind said while inaugurating the Global Exhibition on Services here.

It is being organised by the Department of Commerce along with industry chamber CII.

The President said that services sector contributes 61 percent in gross value added and with young population and large talent pool, India has natural advantages in these sectors.

India's global services exports stood at 3.4 percent in 2016. I am given to understand that the target is a 4.2 percent share of global services by 2022. And frankly that is only the tip of the iceberg, he said.

He also said that by 2025, India hopes to double the size of its GDP to $5 trillion and of this...the services sector could be a $3 trillion contributor. Out of this number, the government estimates that the Internet economy, incorporating e-commerce and other applications, could be as high as $1 trillion, he added.

He said that programmes such as Start-up India and the Mudra Yojana have seeded a culture of entrepreneurship, largely in services.

I am confident that some of these start-ups will grow into giants in the years and decades to come. A billion mobile phone users; 500 million citizens on the Internet; and a determined push for financial inclusion using technology as well as for digital payments have collectively deepened India's services story, Kovind said.

Further, he said services like financial, business and professional, and R&D among others, have accounted for 57 percent of cumulative FDI inflows since April 2000.

In the first half of 2017-18, I am told they accounted for almost two-thirds of FDI inflows. These numbers are telling, he said.

The President also launched India services logo and a portal on these champion sectors.

The commerce ministry is working with different ministries to formulate separate plans for the 12 services to boost growth in these segments.

The 12 sectors include Medical Value Travel, Transport and Logistics, Accounting and Finance, Audio Visual, Legal, Communication, Construction and Related Engineering, Environmental, Financial and Education.
Tesla is at a critical juncture as it tries to fix an inauspicious launch of the Model 3 sedan, a mid-market car crucial to its success and future profitability that has been plagued by early production problems.

Washington: Tesla Inc chief Elon Musk told employees on Monday the company was undergoing a "thorough reorganisation" as it contends with production problems, senior staff departures and recent crashes involving its electric cars.

In his email to staff, Musk said Tesla was "flattening the management structure to improve communication," combining functions and trimming activities "not vital to the success of our mission" in the reorganization.

The company confirmed the contents of the email, which was first reported on by the Wall Street Journal.

Tesla is at a critical juncture as it tries to fix an inauspicious launch of the Model 3 sedan, a mid-market car crucial to its success and future profitability that has been plagued by early production problems.

Tesla shares fell 3 percent to close at $291.97 on Monday.

Amid the manufacturing problems, senior Tesla executives have departed or cut back work. Waymo, Alphabet Inc's self-driving unit, said on Sunday that Matthew Schwall had joined from Tesla, where he was its main technical contact with US safety investigators.

Last week, Tesla said Doug Field, senior vice president of engineering, was taking time off to recharge.

The company is developing multiple new vehicles, including a semi truck, and has registered a new car firm in Shanghai in a likely step toward production in China.

On a 2 May earnings call, Musk said Tesla would conduct "a reorganization restructuring" this month, without providing more details. He added that he would reduce the number of third-party contracting companies engaged by Tesla, equating them with "barnacles" needing to be scrubbed off.

Tesla will still rapidly hire people to fill critical positions "to support the Model 3 production ramp and future product development," Musk said in Monday's email.

Tesla faces a slew of other issues, from increased skepticism over its finances to safety probes by regulators.

Investors gave a rare rebuke to Musk after he cut off financial analysts on the earnings call, sending shares down 5 percent despite promises that Model 3 production was on track.

The company changed the terms of its borrowing agreement with banks to allow it to pledge its Fremont, California, auto plant as collateral.

A US traffic safety regulator on 2 May contradicted Tesla's claim that the agency had found that its Autopilot technology significantly reduced crashes.

Autopilot, a form of advanced cruise control, handles some driving tasks and warns those behind the wheel they are always responsible for the vehicle's safe operation, Tesla has said.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Musk denied a Wall Street Journal report that Tesla had rejected a system that would have tracked driver eye movement when using Autopilot for cost reasons.

Whats actually amazing about this accident is that a Model S hit a fire truck at 60mph and the driver only broke an ankle. An impact at that speed usually results in severe injury or death.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2018

"This is false," Musk wrote. "Eyetracking rejected for being ineffective, not for cost. WSJ fails to mention that Tesla is safest car on road, which would make article ridiculous. Approx 4X better than avg," Musk said. He said Tesla's record of a fatality every 320 million miles compared with last year's national average of 86 million miles, per safety regulators. Tesla's record of miles driven could not be confirmed by Reuters. In another Twitter message on Monday, Musk said the "probability of fatality is much lower in a Tesla," saying Tesla would begin reporting safety numbers beginning in the second quarter.

According to NHTSA, there was an automotive fatality every 86M miles in 2017 (~40,000 deaths). Tesla was every 320M miles. Its not possible to be zero, but probability of fatality is much lower in a Tesla. We will be reporting updated safety numbers after each quarter.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 14, 2018

On Monday, firefighters in Switzerland said a fatal accident involving a Tesla may have set off a fire in the car's battery. It was the latest accident involving a Tesla.

A Tesla Model S sedan was traveling at 60 miles (97 km) per hour when it smashed into a fire truck stopped at a red light about 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday night, according to police.

Police said on Monday that the driver, who suffered a broken ankle, said she had been using Autopilot before the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it was not investigating the Utah crash.

Tesla said it had not yet received car data and did not yet know the facts, including whether Autopilot was engaged.

The NTSB said last week it was investigating a Tesla accident in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on 8 May that killed two teenagers and injured another - the agency's fourth active probe into crashes of the company's electric vehicles.
EMarketers projections for 2022 show Uber with nearly 74 percent of customers and Lyft with 59 percent of ride-hailing customers. Some people use both services

San Francisco: Uber Technologies Incs growth has slowed as a series of scandals has allowed the ride-hailing companys chief US competitor, Lyft Inc, to grab more market share, digital research firm eMarketer said in a report on Monday.

The research firm has lowered its forecasts for Ubers growth for the next several years. It projects 48 million US adults will use Uber at least once this year, up 18 percent from last year but well off eMarketers earlier forecast of more than 51 million.

EMarketer based its analysis on data from Uber and Lyft, such as trip numbers and app downloads, as well as customer surveys from researchers at JP Morgan and other firms.

The report quantifies the effect of a series of scandals at Uber last year, which included an internal probe of sexual harassment and workplace behavior; a US Department of Justice investigation into whether Uber managers violated US laws against bribery of foreign officials; a lawsuit by Alphabet Inc alleging trade secrets theft that Uber settled for $245 million; and the departure of Ubers chief executive officer, who was pushed out by investors concerned about the growing list of problems.

Uber did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, Lyft has grown quickly, adding more than 160 cities last year, benefiting from Ubers tarnished image and as a later entry into markets where people are already familiar with ride-hailing services, eMarketer said. On Monday, Lyft said it has 35 percent of the national ride-hailing market, and in 16 U.S. markets its share exceeds 40 percent.

Ubers brand image took an even bigger hit than expected as it grappled with a series of scandals and PR disasters in 2017, said Shelleen Shum, eMarketers forecasting director. Lyft, which had been rapidly expanding its coverage, seized on the opportunity to brand itself as a more socially conscious alternative.

The research firm said it has lowered its forecast for Ubers growth every year through 2021, reflecting the companys competitive disadvantage after last years problems. EMarketers previous projections pegged the number of Uber users in 2017 at about 44 million, but the actual number ended up being fewer than 41 million.

Even so, Uber remains the dominant US ride-hailing company. At the end of this year it will have about 77 percent of the market, down from 90 percent in 2016, while Lyft will have 48 percent, up from nearly 29 percent, according to eMarketer.

EMarketers projections for 2022 show Uber with nearly 74 percent of customers and Lyft with 59 percent of ride-hailing customers. Some people use both services.

Lyft operates in roughly the same number of U.S. cities as Uber, as well as in Toronto. Uber operates across the globe, although it has retreated from Southeast Asia, Russia and China after losing billions of dollars competing with local rivals.
A boat with about 40 people on board capsized in the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh, according to multiple media reports.

A boat with around 40 people on board capsized in the Godavari river in Andhra Pradesh, according to multiple media reports.

According to a report in DNA, 17 people have been rescued while 23 people are still missing. Teams from the National Disaster Response Force and the State Disaster Response Force have been pressed into action.

A report in The News Minute cited a sudden whirlwind as the cause behind the accident.

The boat is said to be owned by Laxmi Venkateshwara boat services and the owner Khaja Mohinuddeen has surrendered before the police, according to the report.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to express grief over the incident:
The provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, are aimed at protecting the rights of women effectively and do not exclude Muslim women from its purview, the Bombay High Court has ruled

Mumbai: The provisions of the Domestic Violence Act, 2005, are aimed at protecting the rights of women effectively and do not exclude Muslim women from its purview, the Bombay High Court has ruled.

"The enactment of the Domestic Violence Act in no way intends to restrict its application to any particular category of women, but it intends to protect any aggrieved woman who is a victim of domestic violence," Justice Bharati Dangre said.

The high court was hearing a petition filed by a city-based Muslim man challenging a family court's order directing him to pay maintenance to his wife and children under the Domestic Violence Act.

The petitioner claimed that they are from the Alvi Bohra community and hence both the parties are governed by Muslim Personal Law and their personal relationship is governed by the Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937, the Dissolution of Muslim Marriage Act, 1939 and the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act.

The high court, however, in its order, passed earlier this month, refused to accept this contention.

"The definition and connotation of 'domestic violence' under the enactment does not indicate any intention, either expressed or implied, to exclude Muslim women," the judge said.

The high court observed that the scheme of the enactment does not restrict the applicability of the provisions of the Act to a particular category of women, nevertheless to a woman belonging to a particular religion.

It dismissed the man's petition and said the parties being governed by the Muslim Personal Law is not an impediment to the wife invoking the jurisdiction of the court under the Domestic Violence Act.
The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) is expected to declare the results for Class 10th board examinations at 4.30 pm on 26 June. Students can check the result on biharboard.ac.in.

The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) has released the results for Class 10th board examinations at 4.30 pm on 26 June. Students can check the result on the official board website, biharboard.ac.in. Students can also check their results at News18Bihar.com.

The board had announced the Class 12th results on 6 June.

The Bihar board Class 10th results were initially scheduled to be released on 10 May whereas the HSC +2 results were scheduled to be released on 12 May. The Class 10th result was then postponed to 20 May and Class 12th result postponed to 18 May.

A total of 17,70,42 lakh students sat for the BSEB Class 10th exams and 12,07,986 students appeared for the BSEB Class 12th board exam in 2018. The Class 10th exams were held from 21 to 28 February, while the Class 12th exams were held from 6 to 16 February.

Here is how Class 10th and Class 12th students can respectively check their results:

- Go to the board's official website: biharboard.ac.in.

- Click on the link displayed on the site for Class 10th results.

- Enter your roll number and other details and press submit.

- Take a printout of your results for future reference.

NDTV reported that this year, the Bihar board used bar-coded answer sheets instead of the normal ones to avoid cheating and other unfair practices. The board had also introduced 50 percent objective questions for which students were provided with a different OMR sheet. Officials have completed evaluating the answer sheets and are now decoding the same, the report adds.

According to a report in DNA, the BSEB conducts Annual Secondary School Examinations every year in the month of February/March and Supplementary School Examination in the month of August/September on the basis of course/syllabus as prescribed by the state government.

As has been observed over the course of the past few weeks, the dates and times of result announcements have been frequently changed around. The information above has not been independently verified. However, this article will continue to be updated to reflect official updates as and when they come in.
A Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was killed in ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Rangers on the international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.

Jammu: A Border Security Force (BSF) trooper was killed on Tuesday in ceasefire violation by the Pakistan Rangers on the international border in Jammu and Kashmir's Samba district.

"Pakistan Rangers started ceasefire violation at 1.30 am. They resorted to unprovoked firing at the BSF positions on the international border in the early hours.

"BSF constable, Devinder Singh, was injured in the firing. He succumbed to his injuries later," a BSF official said.

The Indian positions retaliated effectively and strongly. Firing exchanges between the two sides continued for nearly three hours, he added.

There had been comparative calm on both the Line of Control (LoC) and the international border for nearly two months in the Jammu region.

Tuesday's ceasefire violation disrupted the peace that the residents of border villages had been experiencing.
The results of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10th and Class 12th examination will directly be available on Google search for the first time this year, according to media reports. The Class 10 results will be declared today at 4 pm.

The results of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Class 10th and Class 12th examination will directly be available on Google search for the first time this year, according to media reports. The Class 10 results will be declared today at 4 pm.

Until now, students used to go to Google search, from where they were redirected to the portals hosting the results, and then they logged into the website to check their results

However, CBSE has now announced its partnership with Google for result declaration.

Speaking to NDTV, Senior Public Relations Officer of CBSE, Richa Sharma said, "We are collaborating with Google for smooth dissemination of results through an easy and secure platform.

The tech giant in a statement, according to Business Standard said, "Starting with the JEE Main exam results, the CBSE is enabling students to look up exam results directly on the Google search page. This will help students quickly, securely, and seamlessly locate their exam score on their smartphone or desktop".

According to India Today, students can check their CBSE results in the following way:

Step 1: Log on to the website, google.com

Step 2: Type CBSE 12, 10 Results 2018 in the space provided

Step 3: On selecting CBSE 12 result 2018 or CBSE 10 result 2018, a window would open

Step 4: Enter your roll number and date of birth

Step 5: Click on 'Check Exam Results'

Step 6: Results will be displayed on the screen
Eight students, including six girls, allegedly committed suicide in five districts of the state after the results of Class 10 and 12 Madhya Pradesh board examinations were declared on Monday, police said.

Bhopal: Eight students, including six girls, allegedly committed suicide in five districts of the state after the results of Class 10 and 12 Madhya Pradesh board examinations were declared on Monday, police said.

While four students were from Class 10, an equal number were those who had appeared for the Class 12 exams, they said, adding that two girls, who attempted suicide, are undergoing medical treatment.

While some of these students failed to clear their examinations, others took the extreme step as they had not fared as per their expectations, officials said.

Bhopal, Sehore and Bhind districts saw two student suicides each, police said, while one student each ended their lives in Ujjain and Chhattarpur districts on Monday.

Besides, two girls allegedly attempted suicide in connection with the exam results in Chhindwara and Damoh districts on Monday, police said.

Anuradha Rajawat (17) consumed poison at her residence in Nayapura area of Bhind district on Monday night and ended her life after failing her Class 12 examinations, additional superintendent of police Gurukaran Singh said on Tuesday.

Swati Bhadoriya (18) also failed her Class 12 examinations following which she committed suicide yesterday night in the district's Kirtpura area by consuming poison, Singh added.

Shivani Badhai (17), a Class 12 student who failed in the board examination, hanged herself at her house in Shanti Nagar locality of Khajuraho town in Chhattarpur district, Inspector Prashant Mishra said.

"Bhavna Raikwar (17) hanged herself in the kitchen of her house in Bhoipura locality in Bhopal for failing the Class 10 exams on Monday," said Taliya police station inspector Karan Singh.

Similarly, Class 12 student Karan Kande (20) jumped off the sixth floor of a building in Bhopal's Koh-e-Fiza, before the results were announced, as he feared that he would fail in the exams, another police inspector said.

Unfortunately for Kande, his premonition turned out to be true, with his friends claiming that he could not pass the exams.

Vinay Sharma (16), a Class 10 student, allegedly hanged himself in Mahidpur locality of Ujjain district after he failed in five subjects, police said.

In Sehore, two girls: Neha Chouhan (17), a resident of Amlaha village and Kiran Singh (16), a resident of Nasrullaganj area, allegedly committed suicide at their respective residences as they fared poorly in the class 10 exams, police said.

While Chouhan hanged herself, Singh ended her life by consuming poison, police said.

In Damoh district, Puja Ahirwar (18), who failed her Class 12 examinations, tried to end her life by consuming poison at her residence in Rasuli, police said.

She is undergoing treatment at a local hospital, an official said.

Similarly, 17-year-old Nithi Sharma, a resident of Chandamate area in Chhindwara district, allegedly attempted suicide by hanging but survived and was rushed to Nagpur in neighbouring Maharashtra for treatment, police said.

She had fared poorly in the Class 10 exams, police said.

Officials said that girls outshone boys in the merit list for the class 10 and 12 examinations.

The overall pass percentage stood at 66.54 percent and 68.07 percent for Class 10 and Class 12 respectively, they said.
Busting a fake ATM card racket allegedly run by a four-member gang of Romanians, police on Tuesday arrested two of them on the charge of defrauding 46 people here of Rs 35 lakh from their accounts using cloned cards.

Hyderabad: Busting a fake ATM card racket allegedly run by a four-member gang of Romanians, police on Tuesday arrested two of them on the charge of defrauding 46 people here of Rs 35 lakh from their accounts using cloned cards.

Vasile Gabriel Razvan and his friend Buricea Alexandru Mihai were the ones arrested. The other two, Ticu Bogdan Costinel and Puica Eugn Marian, are absconding and a search is on to nab them," Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar said.

Police acted on complaints from 46 persons over fraudulent cash withdrawal from their bank accounts in Mumbai.

During the investigation, they identified four ATM centres in Mumbai from where the amounts were withdrawn by the accused.

Explaining on the modus operandi of the accused, the commissioner said Gabriel hatched a plan to collect the debit cards data from ATMs by placing skimmers and shared his plan with the others.

Subsequently, he obtained business visas to his gang members to visit India, the commissioner said.

Gabriel and Alexandru came to Hyderabad in December 2017 and identified ATM kiosks having no security guards. As per Gabriel's instruction, Bogdan and Marian came here and placed the skimmers at various ATMs during February-March period.

After collecting the data, Bogdan and Marian left India in April. The same month, Gabriel and Alexandru went to Mumbai with the data, cloned the cards and withdrew Rs 35 lakh from different ATMs, he said.

The two were arrested on Monday when they again came to Hyderabad, the official added. Police seized cash totalling Rs 35 lakh, 196 skimmed cards, six ATM card skimmers and one laptop from the accused.
The informal dialogue held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, popularly dubbed as a strategic reset, besides paving way for unconditional talks, came with the expectation to fundamentally alter the Sino-Indian discourse at two levels: Addressing the bilateral irritants and working towards shaping the international order led by the two Asian powers.

The informal dialogue held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping at Wuhan, popularly dubbed as a strategic reset, besides paving way for unconditional talks, came with the expectation to fundamentally alter the Sino-Indian discourse at two levels: Addressing the bilateral irritants and working towards shaping the international order led by the two Asian powers.

Although no formal agreements were signed given the nature of the dialogue, the signalling was clear that it was high time both the sides needed a new methodology to assess the volatile relationship and look beyond the zero-sum nature the relationship bilateral ties were locked in.

As evident, the driving factors during the run-up to the new understanding stemmed from the need to take the bilateral relationship beyond Doka La-esque episodes and filling the vacuum created by Americas overstretched geostrategic entanglements, with the latter looming large in discussions.

The heavy vocabulary noted in the post-dialogue briefing by the Indian foreign office, describing the two leaders vision to work towards an open, multipolar pluralist participatory global economic order clearly points towards the weightage accorded to international issues.

On its part, New Delhi set the ball rolling by showing signs of rapprochement pre-Wuhan by tempering some of its hawkish policies, notably distancing itself from the Dalai Lama, as well as cutting down on the anti-Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) rhetoric in recent months, and increasing the frequency of high-level visits by Indian diplomats and senior Cabinet members, thus creating a conducive atmosphere for dialogue.

While this opens up a constructive space to redirect the bilateral strength on acting international, the idea, though conceptually appealing, has left several questions, on how both nations would view each others' contrasting strategic visions and fit them into a cooperative framework. A fundamental point missed in the entire narrative is the fact the very assumption of the potential for international cooperation outweighing the bilateral ones is subject to questions, since the potential chasms in the international domain happen to be equally contentious as the border issue, the Dalai Lama or China-Pakistan cooperation, which are blamed as traditional irritants hindering progress.

Since the summit had shaping global economic order high on the agenda, the first query pertains to how both the nations plan to enhance global economic partnership since New Delhis continued refusal to endorse the BRI citing the passage of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through a disputed territories  of Gilgit Baltistan and Jammu and Kashmir occupied by Pakistan  directly runs into Chinese global plans of a BRI-led economic order, which would have tremendously benefitted with Indias cooperation, given the 1.3 billion strong market it offers.

In contrast, New Delhi is part of the ongoing alternative designs to create alternatives to BRI, like the Asia-Africa Economic Corridor to be co-led by Japan (which remains in the ideational stage). Despite Chinese offers to address Indian concerns (through nominal proposals of Indian participation in the corridor, proposing an alternative corridor linking China through the Himalayan belt, or by even renaming the CPEC), New Delhi rejected any compromise.

Unless both nations agree to cooperate on issues other than BRI or New Delhi adopts the Japanese model of case-by-case cooperation on BRI projects, the idea of global cooperation with Indias simultaneous rejection of the BRI seems impractical. The stance might be unlikely to change, but hope still rests on the fact that New Delhi still exhibits faith in Chinese internationalism by being part of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), where it also happens to be largest borrower: With $1.5 billion borrowed last year and an addition $3 billion in the pipeline.

Similar to the BRI issue is the question of how the reset would encompass Chinas growing footprint in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and South China Sea issue, the concerns over which revived the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in 2017. The growing Chinese strategic depth in the South Asian littorals, especially the two signature cases of Hambantota and Gwadar Ports (and possibly Jiwani too) as well as its submarine proliferation has exhibited signs of undercutting Indias maritime ambitions in IOR, something it may not be prepared to retreat on.

The same goes for the rapid militarisation of South China Seas Islands. Interestingly, despite expectations of Australia joining this years annual Malabar Naval exercise, its requests were reportedly rejected by New Delhi, raising apprehensions whether New Delhi was doling out concessions to accommodate Beijings concerns.

Therefore, in case the newfound India-China bonhomie is to continue, New Delhi would be forced assess its hard-negotiated alliance with the Quad powers at a crucial juncture when Quad is in throes of conceptualising as a viable counter to Chinese expansionism. The last factor, which cannot be overlooked in the post-Wuhan context is how the new understanding would pan out in Afghanistan as well, in light of both leaders agreeing to undertake a joint economic project.

Given Beijings economic interests in Afghanistan and its quest for a stable neighbourhood in light of the persisting threats from Xinjiangs perspective and its proximity to Afghanistan, Chinas Afghan policy has towed the Pakistani line, as evident from its role in negotiating with the Taliban from time to time. While these policies will not change in the immediate term, the prospects of India-China partnership towards Afghanistans economic stability might prompt some introspection of Beijings Afghan policy vis-a-vis Pakistan.

While the dialogue was a success  in the sense it provided a much-needed platform to address issues of concern and discuss avenues to widen cooperation especially in the international domain  the accompanying geostrategic complexities endemic to Chinas rise may risk further complication of India-China ties, unless acknowledged and factored in during the future course of action.

Prateek Joshi is a research associate with Vivekananda International Foundation, a New Delhi-based public policy think tank.
A policeman was killed in a militant attack at Bijbehara town in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday

Srinagar: A policeman was killed in a militant attack at Bijbehara town in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday , an official said.

"Militants fired at a police vehicle in Bijbehara and the cops retaliated. In the attack, one policeman sustained injuries," a police spokesman said.

The injured policeman, identified as Bilal Ahmad, later succumbed to injuries, he said.

The area has been cordoned off and a search operation underway to track down the assailants, he added.
Blaming Siddaramaiah for his 'over-confidence', the Karnataka Energy Minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said the Chief Minister was advised against contesting from two seats but he still went ahead.

Bengaluru: Blaming Siddaramaiah for his "over-confidence", Karnataka energy minister DK Shivakumar on Tuesday said that the outgoing chief minister was advised against contesting from two seats but he still went ahead.

He said the Congress did not do even 10 percent of what the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) did during the campaigning.

"Rahul Gandhi (Congress president) did his best to come here and campaign in the state in the past three months. But it is not a good sign for the local leaders, who could not gauge the trend in their own constituencies," said Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah decided to contest from the Badami and Chamundeshwari seats as he felt he knew the constituencies well even as he was "advised internally against doing so," he said.

Asked if it was Siddaramaiah's "over-confidence", Shivakumar said: "Sure...It is his confidence which has taken (us down) to this level."

The outgoing chief minister lost from the Chamundeshwari constituency but has won a seat from Badami.

Asked whether Siddaramaiah was trying to reach out to Janata Dal-Secular, when he said he was open to a Dalit chief minister, Shivakumar said the party was keeping a tab on the numbers. "It is only after looking at the final figures that we will take a call."

At the same time, he said the party was "definitely" open to reaching out to the JD(S). "Why not? We want BJP to remain out of power," he said.

Shivakumar also denied that there was any Modi wave in Karnataka, and said: "Our defects became their pluses."
A Congress leader on Tuesday lamented that the party failed to plan for the Karnataka Assembly election and educate the people about the government's welfare schemes.

Bengaluru: A Congress leader on Tuesday lamented that the party failed to plan for the Karnataka Assembly election and educate the people about the government's welfare schemes.

"The party and its leaders, both in Bengaluru and Delhi, should have woken up much earlier and planned much better for the election to educate the people of the state about the Congress government's welfare schemes," Congress state unit Vice-President BK Chandrashekar told IANS.

"The good economic policies of Congress weren't communicated effectively to the people of Karnataka," he said.

Chandrashekar also said that the party's set-up was a reason for its defeat in the state election that took place on Saturday. The votes were counted on Tuesday.

"We should have strategised at least two-three years ahead of the elections by setting up a think tank in order to counter (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi's charm," he further said.

"The Congress failed in communicating to the people of the state that BJP's politics of communalism and nationalism must be rejected. The Congress now needs a structural reconstruction," he added.
Karnataka is grappling with income inequality, an agrarian crisis and child malnutrition even though its economy grew at 8.5 percent.

By Prachi Salve

Mumbai: Karnataka is grappling with income inequality, an agrarian crisis and child malnutrition even though its economy grew at 8.5 percent  second-highest among 10 states and union territories in 2017  to a gross domestic product of Rs 9.5 lakh crore ($141 billion) in 2017-18, according to the latest economic survey.

The 2018-19 budget for the state is Rs 2.09 lakh crore ($31 billion), which is 12 percent more than the budget estimate of Rs 1.86 lakh crore for 2017-18. There has been an increase in the states revenue as well. Karnatakas tax revenue for 2018-19, including goods and services tax (GT) compensation, is estimated to be Rs 1.03 lakh crore ($15 billion), an increase of 13 percent over the revised estimate for 2017-18.

The economic survey 2017-18 highlights Karnatakas progress on the per capita income front too. With a per capita income of Rs 142,267 per annum, Karnatakas citizens are Indias 10th richest, behind Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Kerala in 2015-16 according to national accounts.

This prosperity, however, has not led to equal distribution of wealth, robust agriculture or good access to public health systems.

Bengaluru city earns five times as much as poorest district, Kalaburagi

Income disparity is high in the state. Bengaluru urban is the richest pocket with a per capita income of Rs 320,346 per annum. Kalaburagi in the north is the poorest, with a per capita income of Rs 65,493 per annum, almost one-fifth that of the states capital city.

Source: Karnataka Economic Survey 2017-18; Figures in Rs

In primary education (grades I to V), Yadgir in north east Karnataka suffers a dropout rate  calculated by subtracting the sum of promotion and repetition from 100 in every grade  of 12.3 percent. In Bengaluru Urban, this rate is 2.9 percent. Yadgirs average primary dropout rate exceeds Mizorams (10.1 percent), according to the District Information System on Education (DISE) 2015-16.

Source: District Information System on Education 2015-16; Figures in %

This inequality is evident in health indicators as well. For example, in Dakshin Kannada, nearly 92 percent households reported improved sanitation in 2015-16. But in Yadgir, this rate stood at 18.1 percent, according to National Family Health Survey 2015-16.

Source: National Family Health Survey, 2015-16

Similarly, the percentage of institutional deliveries varied across districts. The district of Ramanagara (50 kiloemtres from Bengaluru) reported 99.3 percent institutional deliveries, the same as neighbouring Tamil Nadu. But Raichur in north east Karnataka reported only 79.7 percent, the same as Tripura.

Source: National Family Health Survey, 2015-16

Struck by repeated droughts, agriculture suffers

Agriculture declined marginally as a component of the states GDP, going from 11.5 percent to 11.1 percent, according to the economic survey 2017-18. The growth rate of agriculture declined to 4.9 percent in 2017-18 from 5.7 percent in 2016-17. This was on account of the decline in the area producing tur (pigeon peas) and paddy to 300,000 hectares and 200,000 hectares, respectively.

Drought continues to be a problem in the state. In 2016, 160 of Karnatakas 176 taluks were declared drought-hit during the rabi (winter crop) season, according to a 2016 Karnataka State Disaster Management Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) document. This was after 139 taluks had dealt with a drought situation during kharif (monsoon crop) season.

In the 15 years from 2001 to 2015, Karnataka escaped drought only in three  2005, 2007 and 2010  as per a 2017 KSNDMC drought vulnerability assessment report. In 2017-18, the average rainfall during April was 22 mm as against a normal of 35 mm, a deficit of 37 percent.

Adding to this, only 31 percent of the states cultivated area is irrigated. This compares poorly with neighbouring Tamil Nadu (56.5 percent) and post bifurcation Andhra Pradesh (50.5 percent) in 2015-16.

In 2016, Karnataka recorded the second-highest number of farmer suicides  1,212, behind only Maharashtra (2,550)  as IndiaSpend reported on 21 March, 2018. One of the main reasons for suicides is indebtedness due to bad crops as a result of drought according to this report in The Hindu.

Higher infant mortality, malnutrition than in Kerala, Maharashtra

The state has a maternal mortality ratio of 133 deaths per 100,000 live births, and fares worse than Kerala (61) and Maharashtra (68), but is performing better than the national average (167), according to this report by the National Health Profile 2017.

With an infant mortality rate (IMR) of 28 deaths per 1,000 live births, lower than the national average (41), Karnataka is behind Kerala (6) and competing with its neighbour Maharashtra (24) in 2015-16, according to the NFHS-4.

35.2 percent children under five years of age were underweight in the state in 2015-16  almost equal to the national average (35.7 percent)  1 percentage point above Maharashtra (36 percent) and behind Kerala (16 percent)  and down 2 percentage points from 37.6 percent in 2005-06.

Among the three states, Karnataka has the highest stunting rate (36.2 percent), low height-for-age, 1.8 percentage points more than Maharashtra (34.4 percent) and 16.5 percentage points more than Kerala (19.7 percent), according to NFHS-4. The state has reduced stunting by 7 percentage points from 2005-06 (43.7 percent).

The author is an analyst with IndiaSpend

Follow our LIVE blog on Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2018

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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a plea by three witnesses in the Kathua rape case, who have alleged harassment by state police

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will hear a plea by three witnesses in the Kathua rape case who have alleged harassment by state police. The witnesses initially gave their testimony, but before a magistrate said they were coerced into giving their statement by the police. Now, the police wants them to rerecord their statements.

This is not a new thing in India. For a large democracy like ours, we really don't take witness protection seriously. Why is a witness to a crime feeling harassed and withdrawing his or her initial statement? Why is there a climate of fear that overpowers a witness? This could be because in India, the State doesn't guarantee the protection of witnesses and their families.

Witness intimidation is a huge stumbling block when it comes to trials reaching their natural conclusion.

An intimidated witness could turn hostile on the stand or worse, go missing to avoid the persons who may be intimidating them.

India doesn't have a prosecution service that is at arm's length from its government. This could be one of the root problems behind the police being unable to prosecute effectively. Special Public Prosecutors are rare: The average work is left to the public prosecutor. Necessity has ensured that well off complainants manage to find private lawyers to assist the public prosecutor. However, even they face the problem of witness intimidation.

No person should need to be called "brave" to testify. A person who has witnessed a crime should be in a position where they have no qualms about testifying. This can only be achieved if India has an effective witness protection law along with a programme that helps highly sensitive witnesses (particularly in organised crime offences) be relocated and protected during and after trials.

An idea for this was actually mooted in Parliament. Four bills have been introduced in the Lok Sabha, but haven't yet been referred to committee: The Witness Protection Bill, The Witness (Protection of Identity) Bill, 2015, The National Witness Protection Bill, 2016 and the Witness Protection Program Bill, 2016.

None of these bills have been considered by the House. Kathua is just one of the many cases where India's witnesses need protection. If we, as a nation, are going to prosecute persons of power and influence, then witnesses need to be protected.

So far, the fact that these four bills are pending  no bill has ever been moved by any government  seems to indicate lacuna is to ensure those with power and influence are not prosecuted. This is something of national concern.
The Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) announced the results of HSLC (Class 10th) exams and HSSLC (Class 12th) examinations today (18 May)

The Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE) announced the results of HSLC (Class 10th) exams and HSSLC (Class 12th) examinations today (18 May). All the students who had appeared for the examinations can check the results through the official website, nbsenagaland.com.

Apart from it, the results will be available at examresults.net and indiaresults.com. This year, a total of 36,993 students appeared for both HSLC and HSSLC examinations.

According to The Indian Express, around, 15,281 students had registered for the HSSLC examination (Arts - 11339, Commerce - 1360, Science - 2582). The exam was conducted at 54 provisional centres across the state. A total of 10,437 boys and 11,275 girls had registered for the HSLC examination from 78 centres. The highest enrolment observed at Dimapur district with 7,094 candidates followed by Kohima with 3,619 candidates.

Here is how you can check your score for the NBSE Class 10th results 2018:

1) Visit the official website www.nbsenagaland.com

2) On the homepage, go to the Results section

3) A new page will open

4) Enter your exam roll number and date of birth (DOB)

5) Submit the entered information

6) Save your Nagaland HSLC result 2018

Last year, both the HSLC, HSSLC results were declared on 8 May 2017. The High School Leaving Certificate or the Class 10th examinations started from 15 February and ended on 27 February. Some 22,446 students appeared in the examination that was held in 76 centres across the state amid wide protest by the Nagaland Tribes Action Committee (NTAC), Kohima and the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC).
A portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed near Cantt railway station in Varanasi on Tuesday. Around 12 people have died.

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More than 12 people dead, several feared trapped after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi's Cantonment's area. Around 50 are feared to be still trapped under the debris.NDRF has been rushed to the spot. - ANI

Deputy CM KP Maurya and Minister Neelkanth Tiwari have been directed by chief minister to go to Varanasi's Cantt area

DGP OP Singh says, "We are in the process of evacuating the 50 people trapped under the debris. A majority of the people trapped are suspected to be the construction workers." Singh also recalls the Kolkata flyover collapse and goes onto say that rescue operations are on in full swing. - CNN-News 18

The priority is to rush the injured to hospitals and give them the required medical attention. Authorities believe once the collapsed chunk is lifted, it will be easier to make a head count of the injured.

More than 15 people lost their lives after an under-construction flyover collapsed. The district administration has rushed to the spot for rescue operation and more than a dozen cranes have been pressed into service.- Image courtesy- Saurabh Sharma

Police force of 9 police stations are at the site and wards of Cantt hospital and district hospital have been evacuated for the injured. -Input by Amit Singh

This flyover was being constructed by Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation and was supposed to be inaugurated last December. According to DM Yogeshwar Ram Mishra, five teams of NDRF have been deployed for the rescue.Police says one city bus, five cars, two auto rickshaws and many motorcycles are under the debris. The NDRF has rescued five critically injured people. (Inputs by Amit Singh)

According to an eyewitness, the girder flipped from the crane while being adjusted on the pillars. There was no diversion on the road and no arrangement of services like ambulance and safety at the site.According to an officer of UP State Bridge Corporation, the interlocking workwas underway when the accident happened arounbd 6 pm.- Input by Amit Singh

The fallen piece could not be moved yet and people are still trapped under that. There are around 12 cranes at the spot but only 8 have been pressed into service. A few of the people injured in the accident have been taken to Cancer hospital but the hospital is not equipped to handle such trauma cases. Meanwhile, boys from the Banaras Hindu University have reached the spot to help people. - Input by Amit Singh

Fallen piece has not yet been moved; people still trapped under it

Five bodies recovered from the debris of collapsed flyover in Varanasi, says official

Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar says 16 bodies have been recovered while three people have been safely rescued.- ANI

Former UP CM Akhilesh Yadav asks party members to reach the spot and help people

The District Magistrate office said the Varanasi District Administration may take help from the army for the rescue operation. Inputs by Mridula Srivastava

Varanasi District Administration may take help from the army for the rescue operation

Akhilesh Yadav says govt has to answer whether the incident is an accident or a result of corruption

Six dead bodies, including one of a woman, have been recovered from the spot. No one could be identified.- Input by Mridula Srivastava

Around 325 NDRF workers are helping in the rescue operations. NHAI workers have also reached for the rescue operation along with cranes. One injured, who was taken to the hospital, has succumbed to his injuries. - Input by Amit Singh

All the 18 bodies have been taken out and the injured have been rushed to the hospital. Among them, two dead bodies have been identified as Sanjay Kumar and Rakesh Kumar. Meanwhile, Deputy chief minister KP Maurya has reached Varanasi and has told media that culprits will not be spared.- Input by Amit Singh

Home Minister Rajnath Singh took stock of the situation in Varanasi where at least 18 people were killed when an under-construction bridge collapsed.

KR Sudan, Project Manager, says, "I cannot tell the reason of this incident till the investigation is done. Cranes are still coming, rescue operations are still underway."

"We have assured proper treatment for them. Maurya has taken preliminary action against responsible authorities," ANI quoted Adityanath as saying.

Addressing a press conference on the Varanasi flyover collapse, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that he has asked Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and the concerned minister to personally monitor rescue and relief work. He said that a committee has also been constituted to probe the incident and submit a report in 48 hours.

Raj Pratap Singh, member of the probe committee constituted by Uttar Pradesh government, is at the site of the incident. He refused to comment on the investigation. "Until we complete the investigation, talk to everyone and check all the records, it won't be right to say anything," he said. The panel has been given 2 days' time to submit a report.

According to reports , four officers including Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation's chief project manager, have been suspended following the flyover collapse.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Adityanath said that the state government sympathised with those who lost their family and loved ones in Tuesday's accident. However, while reports said over 18 died in the flyover accident, Adityanath, at the presser, said "11 people died".

While the state government has formed a panel to look into the flyover collapse which killed over 18 on Tuesday, an official of the UP State Bridge Corporation said that the body was set to pace up the work in order to complete the flyover by October. The piece of the flyover which fell was laid two months ago and interlocking work was being done, said K R Sudan, an official of UP State Bridge Corporation.

UP state bridge corporation was told to pace up work to complete the flyover by October

"After investigation it will be clear who is clearly responsible. The panel formed by the Uttar Pradesh government will also submit their report in 48 hours," he said.

Commissioner Deepak Agarwal has said that the order has been given to register an FIR against UP State Bridge Corporation and said that the named FIR will be filed after the probe is complete.

Speaking to reporters, District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra claimed that the death toll was 11 and not 15 or 18, as reported earlier. He has ordered to register an FIR against unknown persons under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC.

Kailash Ram from Bhajipur lost three family members to the tragedy. "I was watching TV when I came to know about the incident. My wife told me to confirm if our relatives who were supposed to return home were affected," he said. Ram's brother was travelling with two sons during the flyover collapse. "We blame the government. When a place is under construction, the SP and the DM are responsible for ensuring that there are no people around it.

Two NDRF persons who were in a city bus have also been killed in the accident. - Input by Amit Singh/Team 101 Reporters

Jiten Kumar Rao, present outside the place where post mortem is being conducted, says that staff has been asking family members to pay Rs 300 per body. "There were four members of a family that were killed. After the post mortem, the group of people who came to claim the bodies was asked to pay Rs 300 per body. The pradhan of their village was also among the group," he said.

According to reports , four officers including Uttar Pradesh Bridge Corporation's chief project manager, have been suspended following the flyover collapse.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Adityanath said that the state government sympathised with those who lost their family and loved ones in Tuesday's accident. However, while reports said over 18 died in the flyover accident, Adityanath, at the presser, said "11 people died".

While the state government has formed a panel to look into the flyover collapse which killed over 18 on Tuesday, an official of the UP State Bridge Corporation said that the body was set to pace up the work in order to complete the flyover by October. The piece of the flyover which fell was laid two months ago and interlocking work was being done, said K R Sudan, an official of UP State Bridge Corporation.

UP state bridge corporation was told to pace up work to complete the flyover by October

"After investigation it will be clear who is clearly responsible. The panel formed by the Uttar Pradesh government will also submit their report in 48 hours," he said.

Commissioner Deepak Agarwal has said that the order has been given to register an FIR against UP State Bridge Corporation and said that the named FIR will be filed after the probe is complete.

Speaking to reporters, District Magistrate Yogeshwar Ram Mishra claimed that the death toll was 11 and not 15 or 18, as reported earlier. He has ordered to register an FIR against unknown persons under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC.

Kailash Ram from Bhajipur lost three family members to the tragedy. "I was watching TV when I came to know about the incident. My wife told me to confirm if our relatives who were supposed to return home were affected," he said. Ram's brother was travelling with two sons during the flyover collapse. "We blame the government. When a place is under construction, the SP and the DM are responsible for ensuring that there are no people around it.

Two NDRF persons who were in a city bus have also been killed in the accident. - Input by Amit Singh/Team 101 Reporters

Jiten Kumar Rao, present outside the place where post mortem is being conducted, says that staff has been asking family members to pay Rs 300 per body. "There were four members of a family that were killed. After the post mortem, the group of people who came to claim the bodies was asked to pay Rs 300 per body. The pradhan of their village was also among the group," he said.

LIVE updates: A portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed near Cantt railway station in Varanasi on Tuesday. At least 16 people have died, according to media reports. Around 50 people are suspected to be trapped. Prime Minister Narendra Modi offers condolences, says Uttar Pradesh government is monitoring situation. Yogi Adityanath has set up a three-member committee to probe incident and Rs 5 lakh compensation for kin of dead. Home Minister Rajnath Singh took stock of the situation in Varanasi where at least 18 people were killed when an under-construction bridge collapsed.

SpotVisuals from #Varanasi: Portion of an under construction flyover collapses near Varanasi Cantt railway station, several feared trapped pic.twitter.com/126cWZhEbj  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 15, 2018

According to CNN News18, a girder of the flyover collapsed, trapping around 50 people, mostly labourers. A National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) team has reached the spot. GP OP Singh has said, "We are in the process of evacuating the 50 people trapped under the debris. A majority of the people trapped are suspected to be the construction workers." Singh also recalled the Kolkata flyover collapse and went onto say that rescue operations are on in full swing.

In 2016, around 24 people were killed 50 injured in a stampede on an overcrowded Rajghat bridge on the border of Varanasi and Chandauli.

In 2014, a flyover under construction in Kolkata collapsed crushing 22 people and injuring 78. Several people continue to be trapped under debris. The bridge collapsed at around 12.45 pm, on the congested road intersection in Burrabazar, in the city's northern section.
Eighteen persons were killed and more than 50 feared trapped as an under-construction flyover collapsed on Tuesday in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said.

Varanasi: Eighteen persons were killed as an under-construction flyover collapsed on Tuesday in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official said. The incident took place in front of the Varanasi Cantt Railway Station.

"Many cars are buried under the heap of rubble and over two dozen persons have been injured in the incident. The death toll may go up," a police official told IANS.

Three persons were pulled out alive of the crashed structure. Two persons admitted at a medical facility were said to be in a critical condition, an official spokesman told IANS.

Director General of Police (DGP) OP Singh said that additional police teams had been sent to Varanasi from neighbouring places to expedite the rescue operation.

According to Varanasi District Magistrate Rameshwar Mishra, the rescue operations were on in full swing.

A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has also been dispatched to help the authorities in clearing the debris and pulling out the injured from the debris.

Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said that seven NDRF teams comprising 325 rescuers have been deployed at the spot to carry out rescue operations.

"Sixteen bodies have been recovered so far. Three persons have been pulled out alive from under the debris," he told IANS earlier, adding that three-four people could still be trapped.

The flyover was being constructed by the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation between Chauka Ghat bus stand and Lahartara.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has formed a three-member committee to investigate the incident. The committee has been asked to submit its findings within 48 hours, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office.

Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya left for the site of the accident soon after the mishap occurred.

Mourning the loss of lives, Yogi Adityanath said: "My condolence to the affected families. I have sent Dy CM & minister Neelkanth Tiwari to the spot. Formed committee to look into the incident, report to come in 48 hours." The chief minister also said, "5 teams of NDRF (250 jawans) with full equipment rushed to the spot of the accident in Varanasi. Compensation of Rs 5 lakh for kin of those dead and Rs 2 lakh for seriously injured in the incident."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet mourned the deaths, saying: "Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected."

"I spoke to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The Uttar Pradesh Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," he said.

A compensation of Rs 5 lakh each has been announced for the families of the dead and Rs 2 lakh for critically injured.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow.

Kasganj: In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was on Tuesday forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school in Kasganj.

The chief minister was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow. "Yes, the chief minister is safe," he told PTI. The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problems it was forced to land on a field a kilometer away.

Adityanath reached Kasganj this morning on a day's visit to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered in Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed the developmental works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate. Meanwhile, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI, "The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully."
Karnataka Election commission data shows a tight contest between Congress' Siddaramaiah and BJP's Sreeramulu in Badami constituency with Sreeramulu leading by around 500 votes

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JD(S) candidate Hanamant Mavinmarad was, who won the election in 2013 was way behind in the race with 11,258 votes.

Based on Election Commision data available on their website, at 10:32 am, the difference between Indian National Congress candidate Siddaramaiah and BJP's Sreeramulu was around 500 votes with Sreeramulu leading the race with 20,720 votes. Siddaramiah had received 20292 votes.

B Sreeramulu leads against Siddaramiah in Badami by around 500 votes

B Sreemalulu, a close aide of the powerful Reddy brothers of Ballari, has been touted to become the next deputy chief minister if the BJP comes to power. The 46-year-old, who had performed a gau puja (cow worship) on election day on Saturday, began his day with elaborate puja rituals .

Which is why the optimists see Siddaramaiah's decision to contest from Badami as the glass half-full. He has the opportunity to emerge as north Karnataka's hero if he can get Mahadayi water to Badami and its neighbourhood.

There is a feeling that the Mahadayi agitation has not received adequate attention because it is too far away from the centre of power, Bengaluru  over 400 kilometres, to be precise. Moreover, most of the political leadership is concentrated in the south Karnataka region, making the northern part feel left out.

Dear Congressis, It's now clear why Siddaramaiah wanted to contest from Badami. Badami was chosen as a safe option as Chamundeshwari was bound to go. Yet, you had the audacity to compare it with PM Modi choosing to contest from two seats. Hope you have learned humility now

Based on Election Commission data, Siddaramiah is leading in Badami by over 2,800 votes. The incumbent chief minister was ahead with 48,845 votes, whereas, Sreeramulu was close in second place with 46,119 votes.

Siddaramaiah increased the margin of his lead over BJP's Sreeramulu by over 4,800 votes, with 57,962 votes till 12:15 pm - according to Election Commission website data. Sreemalulu was on 53,161 votes.

Gowda claimed that the people had "rejected" the Karnataka chief minister. "He (Siddaramaiah) lost because of his attitude, because of attacking everyone and because of his loose talk," GT Devegowda was quoted as saying by ANI.

According to the data on Election Commission of India's website, JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda has established an unassailable lead over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeswari, with his victory imminent.

Siddaramaiah's decision to contest from two constituencies backfires in Chamundeswari

The BJP, however, is ahead in 112 seats (leads plus wins) while the figure is 64 for Congress. This has been picked up by Congress spokespersons who are claiming moral victory for the party. During the Gujarat Assembly polls, the BJP managed around 49.1 percent vote share, which was a percentage more than its share in 2012 and yet its seats came down from triple digits (115) to double digits (99) in 2017.

Media attention has shifted to vote share in the Karnataka elections where the Congress, at 37.9 percent, according to data from IndiaSpend, is marginally ahead of BJP's 36.9 percent at around 20 minutes past noon.

Congress ahead in vote share but it has remained static while BJP has added to tally

JD(S) candidate Hanamant Mavinmarad was way behind in the race with 24,484 votes.

Based on Election Commision data available on their website, at 14:00 pm, the difference between Indian National Congress candidate Siddaramaiah and BJP's Sreeramulu was just around 1700 votes with Sreeramulu trailing the race with 65,903 votes. Siddaramiah had received 67,599 votes.

As remarked earlier, the BJP has the ability to retain states it has ruled for 15 years, as it has shown in large parts of northern and western India. In two of those states, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, along with Rajasthan, the party is going to the polls in a few months. The focus of 2019 and what is likely to happen there and all of the other reading of the tea leaves will soon shift there from Karnataka.

BJP proves yet again it is master of the 'ground game'

Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra won by over 50,000 votes in Varuna Assembly constituency, this is the third time Siddaramaiah's family retains the seat.Yathindra was going to take on BS Yeddyurappas son, BY Vijayendra, in Varuna but the BJP fielded Basavaraju instead at the last minute.

Badami Assembly Election Result 2018 LIVE updates: The contest is tight in Badami Assembly constituency with the incumbent chief minister and Congress candidate Siddaramaiah leading BJP's B Sreeramulu by around 1,875 votes.

Based on Election Commision data available on their website, at 12:14 pm, the difference between Indian National Congress candidate Siddaramaiah and BJP's Sreeramulu was around 1,875 votes. Siddaramiah had received 66,478 votes.

JD(S) candidate Hanamant Mavinmarad was, who won the election in 2013 was way behind in the race with 24,004 votes. Earlier, speaking with PTI, he had said, "Both Siddaramaiah and Sriramulu are outsiders. I will win with a good margin," said Mavinamarada, exuding confidence.

Badami has a significant presence of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes  the bedrock of Siddaramaiah's support base.

Siddaramiah decided to contest from the constituency along with Chamundeshwari. The incumbent chief minister gave up the Varuna constituency for his son Yathindra and is now contesting from Badami and Chamundeshwari.

With Sriramulu, a confidant of the resourceful and controversial Reddy brothers, joining the fray, the contest for Badami has become a big-ticket battle. For Sriramulu too, Badami is the second constituency he is contesting apart from Molakalmuru in Chitradurga district.

A political analyst said the Congress is hoping that the chief minister's presence in the fray here would infuse fresh energy into the party's campaign in north Karnataka.

The BJP considers the area its stronghold, especially the districts of Bagalakote, Vijayapura, Dharwad and Gadag. Congress leaders feel that Siddaramaiah's presence would encourage the fence-sitters to vote for the party.

Former minister and five-time Badami Congress MLA, BB Chimmanakatti, who is ailing, was reluctant to give up his seat initially but eventually fell in line.

Click here for live updates on Karnataka Election 2018

Click here for live results updates on Karnataka Election 2018

With inputs from PTI
10:32 (ist)

Siddaramaiah's move to contest from Badami an acknowledgement of how Chamundeshwari could get sticky

The decision to make Siddaramaiah contest from two seats is an indication of who calls the shots in Congress, as far as Karnataka affairs are concerned. It is also an acknowledgement of how Chamundeshwari could get sticky given how JD(S) and BJP seem to be having a tacit understanding to get the better of Siddaramaiah. For the record though, Congress points to Narendra Modi contesting from Varanasi and Vadodara in 2014, to undercut the BJP's taunts.

The BJP has fielded a little-known local RSS worker Gopal Rao against Siddaramaiah. The ruling party at the Centre has never won Chamundeshwari and is not known to be a force to reckon with in the constituency. But the impression it conveys is that BJP has virtually retired from the contest, in order to help GT Deve Gowda of JD(S) mount a significant challenge to the chief minister. What is interesting is that Gowda was Siddaramaiah's poll manager during the time when the chief minister was in the Janata parivaar.

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India's EVMs are totally dependable; no regime could have changed if these machines were manipulated, says former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi

Indias former chief election commissioner Dr S Y Quraishi said Indias electronic voting machines are totally dependable because they dont form part of a connected ecosystem unlike the far more dangerous smartphones in our pockets. "No regime could have changed if these machines could have been manipulated", Quraishi said during a talk on electoral management and inclusive democracy at the UN headquarters in New York City.

Quraishi and Nepals election commissioner Ila Sharma spoke at the New York event. Quraishi, a 1971 batch IAS officer, was Indias CEC from 2010 to 2012. His book An Undocumented Wonder - the making of the great Indian election came out in 2014.

Looking ahead to 2019, Quraishi said the next general election is likely to see more aggressive politics which means implementing the model code will become increasingly difficult for the EC.

Social media mischief will rise, says Quraishi, despite platforms like Facebook being reined in the embarrasment of an epic privacy scandal.

Quraishi, on a speaking tour in the US, has said often that any worry about security of Election Commission of India (ECI) data is unnecessary.

Questions have been raised if linking the ECIs data with Aadhaar will compromise privacy and security. There, too, my answer is no. The only objective of linking ECI with Aadhaar is to detect duplicate voters  a major concern. Biometrics will involve checking impersonation only, Quraishi wrote in The Indian Express.

Takeaways from former CEC Quraishis thoughts on the worlds most outsize election, barely 12 months away.

2014 election largest in world history

The Indian general election is often referred to as one of the biggest elections. That is not accurate. It is the worlds biggest election. The 2014 election was the largest in world history. At last count, we had 834 million voters of which 554 million voted. We have 11 million polling staff. You may find it hard to belive that they are neutral but we dont trust anybody except our government officials.

Everybody is a minority somewhere

We are a mini world. We have almost every religion, 22 official languages, 200 developed languages, 2000 dialectsWe have deserts, deep forests, snow covered mountains. We have to address that diversity effectively. Inclusion is a key word for the Election Commission. Everybody is a minority in India. Hindus are a majority across the country but are a minority in Kashmir.

Women's right to vote is a big deal

It took 144 years for the USA to give women the right to vote. India, at that time a poor country, gave women equal voting rights from Day One. It may not sound like a big deal today but it is.

Fait accompli is unacceptable

Fait accompli is simply not acceptable in case a booth is captured. Theres no way that there can be foul play and we get to know about it post facto. We have a fool proof method of communication which is layered down to painstaking detail. If all else fails, we have young men on the ready who will simply run all the way back to the nearest EC office and inform us.

Representative democracy?

"Party with third largest vote share, 20% (BSP in UP) ended up with zero seats! That does raise questions about representative democracy. Proportional Representation system like Germany, Sri Lanka and Nepal needs to be examined."
The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 will be taken up on Tuesday with pollsters saying they would likely go down to the wire, with a neck and neck race between the state's ruling Congress and challenger BJP.

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Several exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly, and said former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S) would play the role of the kingmaker. In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, 222 of the 224 seats went to polls on 12 May. Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

Counting of votes would begin at 8 am in nearly 40 counting centres, election office sources told agencies. The trends are likely to begin to trickle within an hour and all results are expected to be declared by late evening.

1) Siddaramaiah is hinting at Congress not getting a clear majority after Tuesday's vote-counting; 2) A coalition with the Janata Dal (Secular) is possible; 3) A Dalit alternative to him would facilitate such an alliance since he himself wouldn't be acceptable to that party. But there is possibly more than what meets the eye.

His statement was more than the familiar expression of loyalty to royalty, writes Srinivas Prasad in a Firstpost article . It has so far been interpreted to mean the following:

Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said on Sunday that it was fine with him if the Congress party decided to replace him with a Dalit candidate after election results are declared on Tuesday.

Both leaders reached Bengaluru and met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other party leaders. They are also likely to meet JD(S) leaders, including HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy, in case it fails to get a majority of its own.

The Congress is taking no chances ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election result and has sent in its top leaders to avoid a repeat of what happened in Goa and Manipur, where it failed to form government despite emerging as the largest party. The party has sent senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to the southern state where results of the Assembly election will be announced on Tuesday, reported News18.

Counting is being held across a total 38 centres in 33 election districts. Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru have two centres, Tumakuru has three and the rest of the districts one each.

On Monday, re-polling was held in two polling stations in Kushtagi due to incorrect listing of 275 voters. Total voters involved were 1,683 voters. Similarly in the polling booth in Lottegollahalli, the total voters who voted on Monday were 1,444.

All preparations are in place at the Government Junior College building in Yadgir where 270 employees have been deployed and 52 tables have been set up in 8 counting centres for four Assembly constituencies in the district.

50,000 police personnel have been deployed across 38 counting centres in state with 11,000 in Bengaluru alone. One Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have also been deployed in Bengaluru, reported ANI.

Here are some glimpses from BVB College in Bidar where counting has officially kicked off. Close to 9 lakh people cast their votes to decide the fate of the six Assembly constituencies under it.

The counting of votes across 38 centres in the state has begun on Tuesday, with postal ballots being counted first.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is currently trailing in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency, while JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda has taken the lead at present, as per CNN-News18.

As per official Election Commission trends, BJP leading in 10 seats, Congress in five seats, JD(S) and allied parties in one seat and others in one seat.

After the fourth round of counting in Chamundeshwari, JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda is currently leading with 11,624 votes.

These might be early trends but leads put BJP ahead of Congress in the Lingayat-dominated seats in the state. If these trends hold, it would indicate that Congress's Lingayat card has not provided desired results. Lingayats are counted among core BJP voters. The announcement of giving a 'separate religion' status to Lingayats should have taken a chunk off that core voter base in favour of Congress but Siddaramaiah's decision to play the card just before elections may have resulted in a counter-consolidation. The BJP certainly appeared very cautious and refused to take a stand. Amit Shah did a round of the mutts to control and assess the mood. It now appears that while Siddaramaiah's move was a clever one, he may have got the timing wrong. Consider the fact that UPA rejected such a status earlier and Siddaramaiah had then welcomed it.

Vote shares released so far by EC: Congress leads with 41.1%; BJP close behind at 40.7%

As per the latest EC trends, BJP is leading in 58 seats, Congress in 27 seats, JD(S) in 24 and Others in three seats.

In Madikeri, JD(S) candidate BA Jivijaya leading with 1,782 votes. Four time MLA and BJP candidate MP Appachu Ranjan secured 2,377 votes while Jivijaya secured 4,197 votes. In Virajpet, BJP candidate KG Bopaiah secured 4,218 votes while Congress candidate and former MLC Arun Machaiah secured 3,143 votes.

Among the 49 Mumbai-Karnataka seats, the BJP is leading in 30. Meanwhile, BS Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 3,420 votes. Goni Malathesha of Congress is trailing behind.

CNN-News18's DP Satish spoke to HD Deve Gowda, who told him that he would decide on the topic of post-poll alliances once all the results have been declared.

Both BJP and Congress are tied at 38.9 per cent vote share. Here are the absolute numbers: BJP - 6,22,840, Congress - 6,22,435. That is at this moment, BJP has just five, yes, five, votes more than Congress. So this is not an election to call in a hurry.

Heres a reality check: At 9.40 am, although the BJP is way ahead at 101 leads against Congress 60, its a dead heat as far as vote share is concerned.

There is a tough fight between JD(S) and BJP candidate in Bidar South Shailendra Beldale leading with 250 votes while Ashok Kheny lags behind.

JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy is leading over the Congress candidate Iqbal Husaain by over 7,000 votes in Ramanagara. He is also ahead in Channapatna constituency.

After the first round of counting for Varuna, S Yathindra leads with 4,526 votes, Abhishek S Manegar is second with 3,978 votes while Thottappa Basavaraju is trailing with 459 votes.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah is narrowly ahead of B Sreeramulu in Badami with a margin of 298 votes at 9.50am.

The BJP was leading in 51 seats while the ruling Congress was in the front in 26 constituencies in Karnataka, according to early trends.

Overseas, markets in Asia were trading mixed as investors assessed the outlook for trade relations between the US and China and tensions in the Middle East.

After opening lower, benchmark Sensex soared over 260 points in early trade today after the BJP took the lead in Karnataka election results.

Vote share of parties as of 10.30 am: BJP slightly ahead of Congress with 38.2%

This is BJP's best-ever result (assuming the numbers hold) in Karnataka and it reverses whatever narrative that may have formed post some bypoll defeats. It also demolishes the urban myth around BJP being a "north Indian" party and that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah's popularity is restricted to the north of Vindhyas.

As BJP seems to be inching closer to the magic figure of 112 (some channels show it has already crossed that mark in terms of leads), it is evident that Karnataka voters have kept alive their practice of changing governments every five years. But it would be a mistake to see this result only from the prism of anti-incumbency.

Shetty defeated Mohideen Bava of Congress. Till now, Congress has won one seat in MAnagluru while two other seats (Moodbidri and Mangalore North) have gone to BJP.

Fireworks, dancing and sloganeering is at full swing near the residence of JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda, who has gained an emphatic lead over Siddaramaiah in Chamundeswari.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister UT Khader has won the Mangalore seat for Congress with a lead of 18,426 votes.

According to official EC trends, the BJP is leading in 110 seats, Congress 56, JD(S)+ 39 , Others 02.

After 12 rounds of counting, JD(S)' GT Deve Gowda and Congress' S Yathindra both establish unassailable leads in the neighbouring constituencies of Chamundeswari and Varuna respectively. Victory is imminent for both.

Tweeting her congratulations for the winners in the Karnataka Assembly election, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that had both Congress and JD(S) entered into an alliance, the results would have been 'very different'. "Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," she wrote.

Result would have been different with Congress-JD(S) alliance, says Mamata Banerjee

Calling it a historic day for BJP, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said: "Today is a very historic day for BJP. The prime minister's intense campaign on development, and looking at uplifting people from the bottom-most layer, is what the people of Karnataka have chosen. People have rejected Congress' divisive and polarising politics."

Speaking to reporters, Congress minister DK Shivakumar conceded defeat and said, "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have encashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it."

Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who lost the polls: DK Shivakumar

According to latest trends, BJP is expected to win 18 out of 21 seats in Coastal Karnataka.

The two most important regions where BJP had lost were in Coastal Karnataka and Malnad region. In both these regions, the saffron party has done immensely well.

According to News18 , data suggests that the saffron party has won back the seats it lost during the last polls in 2013.

BJP has won back the seats it lost during last polls in 2013

Despite the fact that Congress has already conceded defeat, the Grand Old Party still has the highest vote share of 37.8 percent. On the other hand, BJP's vote share is 37.1 percent. JD(S) is far below, with 17.4 percent vote share.

"It is getting out of hand, and WhatsApp doesn't know what to do about it," the report quoted Dalit rights activist Nikhil Pahwa as saying. "The difficulty with WhatsApp is that it's impossible to know how this information is spreading. It's very easy for a political party to spread misinformation and no one can trace it back to them."

There is a dark side to this. Some of the messages doing the rounds on these WhatsApp groups have been false and inflammatory.

BJP and Congress claimed that they amassed over 20,000 WhatsApp groups during the run-up to the elections. They boasted that they could reach over 1.5 million supporters in a matter of minutes, according to The Washington Post .

When asked if the Karnataka results hint at a need for leadership change in the party, Gogoi said there is no question of any change. Rahul Gandhiji has proved to be a credible leader. He is the only Congress leader who can pull the party out of the situation it finds itself in, he said.

However, Gogoi said that the Karnataka Assembly poll results do not reflect on the relevance of the Congress in Indian politics. Even earlier, we had lost terribly and then had bounced back. This party will always remain relevant in the countrys politics no matter how poll results shape up.

It is an unexpected result. Our calculations have been proven wrong, and we will not emerge as the single largest party as we had expected, former chief minister and veteran Congress leader said Tarun Gogoi said.

Will talk once all the results are out, says Deve Gowda

Benake has won from Belagavi. He said he will get people jailed for raising pro-Pakistan slogans at Gandhi Nagar during campaigning of Congress candidate Feroz Sait.

At that stage, government formation in the southern state could descend down to the level of horse-trading and 'resort politics'. Therefore, unless the BJP clinches the deal by itself, it could be premature to predict a BJP government in Karnataka, just yet. Get ready for stings in the tail.

However, if the BJP manages to secure more than 100 seats and emerge as the single largest party, it is certain to be called up first for government formation and the Karnataka governor will give it enough time to prove its majority on the floor.

If the BJP fails to attain simple majority, a simple mathematical calculation takes Congress plus JD(S) past the mark where they can stake the claim to form the government. If this trend holds, anything is possible because the JD(S) stands to win by backing Congress instead of BJP because it can bargain for the chief minister's post in a post-poll alliance.

After soaring past the magic number of 113, BJP's figures (leads plus wins) have now settled at 105. Congress, at 10 minutes past 2 pm, has 75 while JD(S) has 39.

The Congress and JD(S), eager to seize control, decided to form the first coalition government in the history of Karnataka politics.

The last time there was a hung Assembly in Karnataka, it was during the 2004 state election, when BJP emerged as the largest party in the state with 79 seats. However, it failed to hit the majority mark of 113 in the 224-seat Assembly. This was a time when Siddaramaiah was still a JD(S) leader.

Should the two parties decide to form a post-poll alliance, here's what the numbers would like:

"We accept the mandate of voters of Karnataka because no party has claimed majority so far," said the Karnataka Congress chief G Parameshwara. "Therefore, Congress has decided to support the JD(S)...We will support them to form the government," he added.

"Counting is still on. We are waiting to asses all possibilities. The majority of voters have given us their mandate," said BJP's BS Yeddyurappa. "I don't want to discuss about the possible JD(S)-Congress alliance," he added.

The two parties have also claimed the support of two Independent candidates.

"The people's mandate is obvious. The JD(S) should form government," he said. "We are neither kings nor kingmakers. We are just sevaks of the people," he added.

"Who is BJP to decide our affairs? This is not Manipur, this is Karnataka," Tanveer Ahmed, JDS spokesperson, told CNN-News18.

"JD(S) has been brought to this position with support of the Congress but the people of Karnataka have clearly supported the BJP," he said. "People of Karnataka have voted for change," he added.

"We condemn the sort of politicking that the Congress is indulging and we will determine our next course of action after discussing matters with the party leadership," Yeddurappa said, as he addressed a press conference.

"Congress is trying to subvert popular mandate. Congress is trying to come to power through the backdoor," Yeddyurappa said.

"Talks are still going on and we are trying to find out what they JD(S) wants. It is likely that CM will be Kumaraswamy. But, party is working on finer details. After that, we will see whether deputy CM will be from Congress or not. Other portfolios will be worked subsequently," the leader said.

But talks are on to give it a concrete shape and work on finer details.

Looks like the Congress is not ruling out the possibility of BJP somehow wresting out power from their hands. Sources in the Congress party have told News18 that the party will go to courts if the governor does not invite JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy to form the government.

Will go to court if governor doesn't invite JD(S) to form govt, says Congress sources

Congress leader DK Shivakumar has reached outside the governor's residence with independent MLA Nagesh H Nagesh from Mulbagal to assert that the independent MLAs are also supporting the Congress.

"We are going to meet the governor. We are the single largest party. We are very happy with the verdict," Yeddyurappa told the reporters. He said he will meet the governor at 5 pm . However, it was not clear whether the party has sought an appointment with the governor or not. Earlier Governor Vajubhai Vala had canceled all appointments until all the numbers were out.

Surrounded by a throng of supporters, HD Kumaraswamy's car could be seen inching towards the Raj Bhawan in Bengaluru. Kumaraswamy had sought an appointment at 5.30 pm. The BJP has also announced that it will meet the governor at 5 pm.

Both HD Kumaraswamy and BS Yeddyurappa, contestants to the chief ministerial posts are enroute the governor's residence. It is not clear whether the Raj Bhawan has given a formal appointment to any one. Yeddyurappa said he had a meeting at 5pm while, Kumaraswamy has asked for an appointment at 5.30 pm.

According to ANI, BJP leaders BS Yeddyurappa , Ananth Kumar, Shobha Karandlaje and Rajeev Chandrasekhar have entered the Raj Bhavan. Before heading to the Raj Bhawan, Yueddyurappa has said that he will form the government 100 percent.

According to media reports, BS Yeddyurappa has appealed to the governor that being the leader of the single largest party he would like to stake a claim at forming the government. He said that he would like to prove his majority in at the floor of the House, CNN-News18 reported.

TMC leader Mamata Banerjee dialed HD Deve Gowda to congratulate him after the results were out. According to CNN-News18, she reportedly urged the JD(S) leader to accept Congress' proposal and stake claim to form government.

According to CNN-News18, Yeddyurappa has reportedly sought seven days time from the governor to prove majority in the House. The BJP, in the final tally, has won 104 seats, followed by the Congress at 78 while the JD(S) bagged 38 seats. The JD(S) and Congress combine come up to 116 well above the half-way mark of 112.

However, it is interesting to note that Manipur and Goa, both now ruled by the BJP, have thrown up different precedents in the past. Congress, despite emerging as the single largest party was not called to form a government. The BJP, which stitched up post-poll alliances was given time to meet the governor and staked claim to form the government.

Speaking to Times Now, constitutional expert and advocate Harish Salve has opined that there is nothing wrong if the governor invites the single largets party (ie the BJP) to form the government. He said the Constitution lays down that the single largest party that is closest to the power should be invited to form the government.

"Leaders of both parties have met the Governor. We have submitted our claim to the governor. The process will take over as soon as the governor makes known his decision. The modalities will be decided later," Parameswara told reporters.

All modalities to be decided later, given unconditional support to JD(S), says G parameswara

"A similar claim has been made to the governor by the JD(S)," he added.

Speaking to the reporters outsude Raj Bhawan, Siddaramaiah said, "We have also communicated our support to JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and we will start the process to form a government as soon as the governor makes his decision known,"

Siddaramaiah says process to form govt will begin as soon as governor takes a decision

"According to the norms stated by the EC, a 111 seats are required and our combined numbers meet these requirements so we have a legitimate claim to form the government," Siddaramaiah said.

"The fact that the BJP has made similar claims to revive operation Lotus appears to stem from a similar effort they tried in 2008," Kumaraswamy said.

"We had detailed discussion with the senior leadership of AICC, after which they extended full support to the JDS) to form the government. We then took this claim to the governor, who said that he will take a decision after EC formalizes all results," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

"They tried and succeeded the last time, this time they may try but they will not succeed. We have the support of 118 MLAs including the two independents. So because of the constitutional merit that our claim holds, we must be allowed to form the government," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Siddaramaiah, speaking to reporters said that the last time BJP tried to usurp power by running operation lotus but this time no such efforts will bear fruit as they are vigilant.

According to India Today, Amit Shah has called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the situation in Karnataka. The party's parliamentary panel is scheduled to meet at 7 pm to decide the future course of action.

Surjewala said that a similar situation had also prevailed in Meghalaya. "When the post-poll coalition came forward in Goa, Congress had raised objections, and said that the single-largest party should be invited," he said.

"In Goa, Congress emerged as the single largest party. BJP had 12 seats. But the governor invited the post-poll alliance involving BJP to form the government there," Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said. "In March 2017, BJP had won only 21 seats. Despite this, the governor invited the post-poll coalition involving BJP to form the government," he added.

"After consecutive wins, the day of victory in Karnataka is a very auspicious day for our party," Shah said. He claimed that the people of Karnataka has given a overwhelming verdict to oust the Congress.

"Congress used every crooked rule in the book to win the election. A lot of cash was found in raids, in fact, fake voter ID cards were also found. Despite all this the BJP's vote share almost doubled and there seats came down from a 122 to just 78," Shah said.

"I don't know by which analysis is Congress happy. They have lost the elections. Their sitting chief minister could hardly retain the safe seat and lost badly from his traditional seat, if this is not a loss I don't know what is," Shah said.

"This is the 15th election. BJP has already won the last 14 elections. This is the 15th consecutive election where BJP is going to win," Amit Shah told the BJP workers.

He said, "The win in Karnataka is unprecedented and extraordinary because there was a false perception spread by some people that BJP is a northern party, Hindi party. I am very happy that the people have broken such stereotypes."

Addressing the BJP workers, Narendra Modi said that those who tried to divide the people of Karnataka lost.

Congratulating the Karnataka BJP cadre, Narendra Modi said that electoral victories are a result of the cadres hard work. "The smell of their sweat and hard work are making the lotus bloom," Modi said.

"Congress spoke about the north-south divide. Such kind of politics is very harmful for the country. I was afraid that the lack of knowledge of language would hamper my expression. But people of Karnataka gave me so much love that language was never a barrier for me. I will always cherish the affection I received from them. I was able to connect with the public and the people have rejected such divisive politics," Modi said.

Modi said that while on one hand he was happy about the results of Karnataka elections, he was sad about a mishap in his constituency Varanasi. He also slammed the West Bengal government over the panchayat poll violence on Monday that killed over 12 people in different districts. "Not just BJP, workers of other parties were also troubled. Democracy was murdered in Bengal. Earlier, just uttering Bengal's name would incite pride among us, but now it has changed," Modi said.

News18 further reported that if given a choice between Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa, Lingayat MLAs in Congress are more likely to go with Yeddyurappa who is a prominent face of the Lingayat community.

According to CNN-News18, at least six Congress MLAs are unhappy with their party lending support to the JD(S) and relinquishing the CM's post. In addition to this, India Today reported that the BJP is in touch with the Congress legislators to explore all possibility of government formation.

Wait for polls in 2 more constituencies - The governor also has the option to keep the House in suspended animation until elections to RR Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies are held. That may put out a clearer picture but it is noteworthy that the BJP is 8 MLAs away from 112, the halfway mark in a full Assembly.

Call JD(S) to form govt - Armed with the support of 118 MLAs, including Congress' 78, the governor may call HD Kumaraswamy to form government as he has the support of maximum number of MLAs.

Invite BJP, being the single largest party - The Constitution lays down that in absence of a majority to a single party or coalition, the single largest party should be called to form the government. Constitutional experts say that there is nothing wrong in governor to calling the single largest party to form governemnt.

The BJP has called a legislative party meet where BS Yeddyurappa will be elected as the leader of the BJP legislators. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Tomorrow at 10:30 am in BJP legislative party meeting, I am going to be elected as party leader. After that all MLAs are going to meet the Governor to request him to allow BJP to form govt. Now the ball is in the court of the Governor. We will do as he decides."

Congress and JD(S) top brass have gathered at Hotel Lalit Ashok to work out the finer details of a hurriedly announced alliance. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge met to discuss the arrangement of the alliance under Kumarswamy's leadership.

According to CNN-News18, chances are that BJP is going to adopt a wait and watch policy instead of actively wooing legislators from rival parties as it do not want to be sucked into any legal troubles.

Union ministers JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan have been made observers for Karnataka legislative party meeting, which will be held at 10.30 am tomorrow in Bengaluru.

AAP candidates forfeited deposit in all 29 seats the party contested in Karnataka, giving yet another jolt to its attempts to spread its wings outside Delhi and Punjab. Prithvi Reddy, AAP's Karnataka convenor, who took on Congress heavyweight KJ George from the Sarvagnanagar Assembly constituency, could barely manage 1,861 votes coming a distant fourth.

HD Kumaraswamy, speaking to the press after a meeting with Congress leaders, said that the legislature meeting of the two parties will be held tomorrow, after which the MLAs will go and meet the governor again.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is short by around 7 MLAs to form a majority government, says that it is positive that the Raj Bhawan will call them to form the government. CNN-News18 quoted sources as saying that the BJP is planning to buy time by staking claim to form government and having to prove their majority later.

BJP confident to get a call from governor, Yeddyurappa says need time to get majority

Speaking on the precedent of government formation in Goa, Kashyap said that the single largest party in Goa failed to stake claim after which the governor called the coalition that had the majority.

Speaking to CNN-News18, constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said that the Constitution of India very clearly lays down that the governor must appoint the chief minister and that his discretion can't be challenged even by the Supreme Court. He said that the established procedure is that in event of a hung House, the single largest party may be given a chance to acquire majority.

The combined strength of JD(S) and Congress MLAs is going to assert before the governor that their coalition has the requisite majority. The meeting is expected to happen at around 4.00 pm today.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, who has been tasked by his party to explore the legal route, said that he is not assuming that the governor will not act constitutionally. But if so happens, Singhvi said that they will take the matter to Supreme Court.

Wait for polls in 2 more constituencies - The governor also has the option to keep the House in suspended animation until elections to RR Nagar and Jayanagar assembly constituencies are held. That may put out a clearer picture but it is noteworthy that the BJP is 8 MLAs away from 112, the halfway mark in a full Assembly.

Call JD(S) to form govt - Armed with the support of 118 MLAs, including Congress' 78, the governor may call HD Kumaraswamy to form government as he has the support of maximum number of MLAs.

Invite BJP, being the single largest party - The Constitution lays down that in absence of a majority to a single party or coalition, the single largest party should be called to form the government. Constitutional experts say that there is nothing wrong in governor to calling the single largest party to form governemnt.

The BJP has called a legislative party meet where BS Yeddyurappa will be elected as the leader of the BJP legislators. Speaking to reporters, he said, "Tomorrow at 10:30 am in BJP legislative party meeting, I am going to be elected as party leader. After that all MLAs are going to meet the Governor to request him to allow BJP to form govt. Now the ball is in the court of the Governor. We will do as he decides."

Congress and JD(S) top brass have gathered at Hotel Lalit Ashok to work out the finer details of a hurriedly announced alliance. JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda, his son HD Kumaraswamy and Congress leaders including Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad, DK Shivakumar and Mallikarjun Kharge met to discuss the arrangement of the alliance under Kumarswamy's leadership.

According to CNN-News18, chances are that BJP is going to adopt a wait and watch policy instead of actively wooing legislators from rival parties as it do not want to be sucked into any legal troubles.

Union ministers JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan have been made observers for Karnataka legislative party meeting, which will be held at 10.30 am tomorrow in Bengaluru.

AAP candidates forfeited deposit in all 29 seats the party contested in Karnataka, giving yet another jolt to its attempts to spread its wings outside Delhi and Punjab. Prithvi Reddy, AAP's Karnataka convenor, who took on Congress heavyweight KJ George from the Sarvagnanagar Assembly constituency, could barely manage 1,861 votes coming a distant fourth.

HD Kumaraswamy, speaking to the press after a meeting with Congress leaders, said that the legislature meeting of the two parties will be held tomorrow, after which the MLAs will go and meet the governor again.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, which is short by around 7 MLAs to form a majority government, says that it is positive that the Raj Bhawan will call them to form the government. CNN-News18 quoted sources as saying that the BJP is planning to buy time by staking claim to form government and having to prove their majority later.

BJP confident to get a call from governor, Yeddyurappa says need time to get majority

Speaking on the precedent of government formation in Goa, Kashyap said that the single largest party in Goa failed to stake claim after which the governor called the coalition that had the majority.

Speaking to CNN-News18, constitutional expert Subhash Kashyap said that the Constitution of India very clearly lays down that the governor must appoint the chief minister and that his discretion can't be challenged even by the Supreme Court. He said that the established procedure is that in event of a hung House, the single largest party may be given a chance to acquire majority.

The combined strength of JD(S) and Congress MLAs is going to assert before the governor that their coalition has the requisite majority. The meeting is expected to happen at around 4.00 pm today.

Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress, who has been tasked by his party to explore the legal route, said that he is not assuming that the governor will not act constitutionally. But if so happens, Singhvi said that they will take the matter to Supreme Court.

Karnataka Assembly Election Result 2018 LIVE updates: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah praised BJP workers for the Karnataka poll results.

The Congress-JD(S) combine has staked their claim to form a government with the support of 118 MLAs. The party's leader HD Kumaraswamy has garnered support of Congress (78) and two indepedent MLAs, he claimed.

JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is at the Raj Bhawan along with several Congress leaders. The JD(S) will stake claim to form the government with the support of 116 MLAs.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa has reached the governor's residence and are expected to stake a claim to form government. Meanwhile, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is also about to reach the Raj Bhawan shortly.

In a fresh turn now, BJP's BS Yeddyurappa too has sought an appointment with the governor to stake his claim to form the government.

HD Kumaraswamy has sought an appointment with the governor and has said that JD(S) has accepted Congress' support.

JD(S) spokesperson said that BJP had no role in deciding how JD(S) conducted its affairs. "This is not Manipur," said the spokesperson.

In a very significant development, JD(S) has said that it has accepted Congress' offer to form government in the state together.

The outcome of the Karnataka Assembly elections now hinges on whether Congress and JD(S) will indeed come together to form the government.

Siddaramaiah confirmed that the Congress has decided to support the JD(S).

According to news channels, Congress has now offered the chief ministerial post to JD(S)'s HD Kumaraswamy.

BS Yeddyurappa won from Shikaripura seat by over 35,000 votes.

HD Deve Gowda has said that he will talk about the elections once all the results are out.

While Congress is blaming 'personal attacks' made by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for the election defeat, BJP is saying there is a conscious effort to take credit away from the saffron party.

A report has said that BJP is set to win back the seats it had lost in the 2013 polls.

Speaking to reporters, Congress minister DK Shivakumar conceded defeat and said, "Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have encashed it in a proper way."

Tweeting her congratulations for the winners in the Karnataka Assembly election, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said that had both Congress and JD(S) entered into an alliance, the results would have been 'very different'. "Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different," she wrote.

According to official EC trends, the BJP is leading in 110 seats, Congress in 56 seats, JD(S)+ in 39 seats, and Others 2 seats. Meanwhile Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing by over 17,000 votes in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency.

BJP's Bharath Shetty defeated Mohideen Bava of Congress and clinched the Mangalore North constituency. So far, Congress has won one seat in Managluru while two other seats (Moodbidri and Mangalore North) have gone to BJP.

BJP workers erupted in celebration outside the party headquarters in Bengaluru after reports emerged of the party crossing the halfway mark of 112 seats in leads.

Chief Minister Siddaramiah is narrowly ahead of BJP's B Sreeramulu in Badami with a margin of 298 votes at 9.50 am. Meanwhile, his son S Yathindra, is leading with 4,526 votes after the first round of counting for Varuna. Abhishek S Manegar is second with 3,978 votes while Thottappa Basavaraju is trailing with 459 votes.

Among the 49 Mumbai-Karnataka seats, the BJP is leading in 30. Meanwhile, BS Yeddyurappa is leading in Shikaripura by 3,420 votes. Goni Malathesha of Congress is trailing behind.

According to officials Election Commission trends, the BJP is leading in 22 seats with the Congress trailing in 13 seats. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has a lead only in three seats, as per EC data.

JD(S) candidate GT Deve Gowda is currently leading with 5,016 votes in the Chamundeswari Assembly constituency while Siddaramiah trails behind him.

According to CNN-News18, the BJP is leading in Lingayat dominated areas across the state and coastal Karnataka as well. Meanwhile, JD(S) is gaining a stronger foothold in the southern parts of the state.

As per early trends, both BJP and Congress in Karnataka are neck-and-neck with leading 24 seats each. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, is trailing in Chamundeswari Assembly constituency.

The counting of votes across 38 centres in the state began on Tuesday, with postal ballots being counted first amid heavy security. As per CNN-News18, JD(S) chief ministerial candidate and party chief HD Deve Gowda's son, HD Kumaraswamy is currently leading in Ramanagara Assembly constituency.

As counting began across 38 centres in Karnataka, senior leaders from JD(S), BJP and Congress sought divine intervention to ensure their victory in the polls. With results being announced on Amavasya, JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda decided to perform Amavasya pooja to ward off "evil spirits". HD Kumaraswamy also offered special pooja on Tuesday at the Kalabhaireswara Temple in Mandya. Similarly, BJP's chief ministerial face, BS Yeddyurappa also received special prasad from the Yediyur Siddalingeshwara Temple. A 'havan' is being conducted at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.

Ahead of counting of votes in Karntaka, 50,000 police personnel have been deployed across 38 counting centres in the state with 11,000 personnel in Bengaluru alone. One Rapid Action Force (RAF) company and 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have also been deployed in Bengaluru, reported ANI.

Reports emerged on Monday about a large number of postal ballots being discovered in a hotel room in Badami in Karnataka. The Election Commission issued a clarification on Tuesday morning that an investigation by the Tahsildar and the Assistant Returning Officer yielded only two pages of instructions on how to exercise postal ballot but no postal ballots.

Counting for the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 will be held across a total of 38 centres in 33 election districts. Chitradurga, Dakshina Kannada and Mysuru have two centres, Tumakuru has three and the rest of the districts one each.

Security has been tightened across Karnataka with forces deployed outside counting centres ahead of counting of votes at 8 am on Tuesday.

The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018 will be taken up on Tuesday with pollsters saying they would likely go down to the wire, with a neck and neck race between the state's ruling Congress and challenger BJP.

Several exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly in Karnataka, and said former prime minister HD Deve Gowda's JD(S) would play the role of the kingmaker. In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, 222 of the 224 seats went to polls on 12 May. Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

Counting of votes would begin at 8 am in nearly 40 counting centres, election office sources said. The trends are likely to begin to trickle within an hour and all results are expected to be declared by late evening.

In case of a clear verdict in favour of the Congress, the grand old party will have broken the jinx of no political party retaining the reins of the state since 1985, when the erstwhile Janata Dal formed the government under Ramakrishna Hegde for a second consecutive term. It is, however, unclear if Siddaramaiah, a backward class leader with a formidable reputation, will be the next chief minister in the event of a Congress victory.

Though the Congress had said he would be its face in the elections, it stopped short of declaring him the party's chief ministerial candidate.

Siddaramaiah caused a political flutter when he said yesterday that he was ready to make way for a Dalit chief minister if the Congress high command so decided, a statement many felt was aimed at keeping the JD(S) in good humour so as to stitch an alliance in case of a fractured mandate.

Siddramaiah is a former JD(S) man and his ties with Deve Gowda's party continue to be strained.

"I am confident that the Congress would win the elections with a majority and I would be the chief minister," Siddaramaiah had told journalists earlier. However, when asked on Sunday if he was ready to make way for a Dalit leader as chief minister, he said,"I have no objection. I am not against anybody but the decision has to be left to the high command."

He, however, said the high command would also consider the views of the winning candidates before deciding the next chief minister.

Since the Congress had not declared its chief ministerial candidate, Dalit veterans in the party like its leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and state Congress chief G Parameshwara are being seen as possible alternatives. Kharge had recently told PTI he was ready to take up any role assigned to him by the party.

A victory in Karnataka would help boost the sagging morale of the Congress, which is on a downhill journey, losing state after state since Narendra Modi came to power at the Centre. Losing Karnataka will drastically weaken its claim for the leadership of a broader anti-BJP alliance that is being talked about.

A victory for the BJP, on the other hand, will reflect the enduring charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his capacity to power his party to victory across the country, clearing demographic and topographical obstacles.

It would also further galvanise the BJP cadre before the Assembly elections in party-ruled Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh later this year. The JD(S) has also claimed it would win a majority and that its chief ministerial candidate HD Kumaraswamy will be the "king" and not the "kingmaker".

The party may or may not win the elections, but will play the kingmaker if the electorate gives a split verdict, making Deve Gowda an important player in the state politics once again.

With the JD(S) having had partnered with both BJP and Congress in the past, it would be tough to predict which way it will go this time in the event of a hung House.

One of the possible scenarios could be the coming together of the Congress and the JD(S), as had happened in 2004 when they formed the government under Congress heavyweight Dharm Singh after the state elected a hung House. If that happens, JD(S) may not agree to Siddaramaiah heading a coalition government and likely want a Dalit leader at the helm

The Congress is taking no chances in Karnataka and has sent in its top guns to avoid a repeat of the Goa and Manipur fiascos in the past, where it failed to form a government despite emerging as the largest party. The party has sent senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to the southern state where results of the Assembly polls would be out on Tuesday. Sources said Azad and Gehlot have reached Bangalore and have met chief minister Siddharamaiah and other party leaders. They are also likely to meet JD-S leaders, including H D Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy, in case it fails to get a majority of its own.

Click here for more updates on Karnataka Assembly election 2018

With inputs from PTI
The campaign for the Karnataka elections and the period just preceding it gives us valuable insight on the reasons why BJP is doing well with the masses.

The results of the Karantaka Assembly elections have now decisively established that the BJP is a mass-based party and not just an urban party, as may have been the case previously. The decisive lead of the BJP also seems to be a matter of surprise for the community of political analysts.

The analysis of this election needs to take into consideration the factors which make the BJP a mass-based party. Such an analysis needs to go beyond the usual caste-based statistical analysis that we often lend our ears to.

The campaign for the Karnataka elections and the period just preceding it gives us valuable insight on the reasons why the BJP is doing well with the masses.

Objectively analysing the campaign of the Congress, we can broadly demarcate the issues on which the party was fighting the elections. Congress employed the age-old and time-tested electioneering techniques of fighting an election on the basis of considerations of caste and region.

Months before the elections, we saw that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government declared Lingayats as a religion separate from Hinduism. Any prudent person will know that this move was just to gain an electoral advantage and nothing else.

A similar example can be recalled, when the Congress-led Union government agreed to divide Andhra Pradesh and carve out Telangana as a separate state, just before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In Karnataka, the Congress government created a separate flag for the state. The government also created a controversy by pitting Kannada against Hindi. All this was just before the state Assembly elections.

An average voter in India is smart enough to recognise that these moves are just canvassing techniques. However, these techniques are still destructive and not constructive for the society. In the democratic form of polity, it is assumed at the policy level, that the political class will act with responsibility and that they will not exploit this loophole of the democratic process. These therefore, amount to misuse of the democratic process.

The Congress party should realise that winning an election is important, but it is not more important than the fate of our country itself. An electoral victory should never be at the cost of the integrity of our country.

The BJPs narrative on the other hand is diametrically opposite. A random campaign rally of the BJP, anywhere in India, will almost be always accompanied by huge cheering of slogans like Vande Mataram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai. This makes the election pitch of the BJP integrative and not destructive, wherein the country is prioritised over everything else. I assume that average Indians also are patriotic enough to put the cause of the nation before their personal interests, or the interests of their community, caste, religion or region. It is this fact which makes the continuous and exponential growth of the BJP possible and which leads to the decline of the Congress party.

It is important to mention that the Congress has not always used such methods in their campaigning. These are recent additions and the party has been in decline since then.

The Karnataka results are also indicative of the leadership crisis in the Congress. There is hardly any elaboration required on the situation of the central party leadership of the party. Rahul Gandhi has clearly come a cropper again. At the state level, at the time of filing this piece, chief minister Siddaramiah was himself trailing by more than 24,000 votes from Chamundeshwari, one of the two constituencies he has contested from.

Narratives aside, the BJP trumped the Congress in sheer hard work too. Union ministers like Prakash Javdekar and Piyush Goyal spent months in the campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself led from the front and decisively changed the electoral atmosphere, post his rallies, in his partys favour. Rahul Gandhi, Siddaramiah and other senior leaders of the Congress just didnt put in a similar amount of effort. Siddaramiah was too engaged in Chamundeshwari, the seat he is set to lose.

It is pertinent to mention that Karnataka has traditionally been a fertile ground for the Congress. The state has been its biggest bastion in the southern part of India. It may be recalled that Indira Gandhi herself had contested from Chikmagalur to make a comeback after getting defeated from Rae Bareli by Raj Narain in 1977. In 1999, Sonia Gandhi won from Bellary against Sushma Swaraj. In this election, the party is not doing well even in the Assembly segments of these two Lok Sabha constituencies.

Clearly, everything which could go wrong for the Congress has gone wrong. Only serious reasons can justify such a massive decline of a party once termed as the grand old party of India. It is high time the Congress introspects the reasons for its decline. It is in the interest of the nation that there is a formidable opposition.

The author is a Senior Fellow with the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Bombay, Mumbai. He can be reached at raghav10089@gmail.com, Twitter: @raghavwrong

Follow live updates on the Karnataka Assembly election results here.
Key constituencies of Chamundeshwari, Varuna, Badami & Shikaripura kept politicos on the edge with a high-voltage battle between heavyweights of Karnataka.

As Karnataka appeared to be headed for a hung Assembly on Tuesday, with the BJP set to emerge as the single largest party but falling short of a majority, the Congress sprang a surprise, declaring that it will back the JD(S) in forming the government.

Amidst all this commotion, key constituencies of Chamundeshwari, Varuna, Badami and Shikaripura kept politicos on edge with a high-voltage battle between heavyweights of Karnataka.

Chamundeshwari

According to the data on Election Commission of India's website, JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda from Chamundeshwari is set to return as MLA in the constituency as he won by 36,042 votes. As early trends favoured a win for Deve Gowda, he claimed that the people of Karnataka have "rejected" Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

JD(S) workers began celebrating outside Deve Gowda's residence as the counting of votes reached halfway. Gowda had left no stone unturned in Chamundeshwari, for it was not just any other seat but an ego tussle as he had said: "When you beat the sitting chief minister, it sends out a strong message."

All eyes were on Chamundeshwari from where Siddaramaiah  who is also contesting from Badami in Bagalkot  was seeking re-election in a keenly-fought electoral battle with Gowda.

Earlier, the chief minister had said he would win "easily" in Chamundeshwari, where he faced off against the popular Vokkaliga leader Gowda, India Today said. While the mood was tense in Chamundeshwari, in the neighbouring Varuna it was quite upbeat.

A look at the data of the previous election reveals the Congress has always had a consistent vote share of around 35-38 percent in Chamundeshwari. Though part of it went to Varuna after delimitation in 2008, in most elections, it is either Congress or Siddaramaiah as an Independent in 1983 and subsequently as a Janata or Congress candidate who triumphed.

Varuna

Varuna witnessed a triangular contest between Siddaramaiah's son Yathindra representing the Congress, BJP's Thotadappa Basavaraju, and the Janata Dal (Secular) party' leader Abhishek S Manegar. With Yathindra's victory by a margin of 58,616 votes, the Siddaramaiah family retained the seat for the third time, after 2008 and 2013.

Earlier, on 12 May, Yathindra had said that the people of his constituency were happy with the Congress government and its developmental works, ANI reported. Varuna is a state Assembly constituency in the Mysore district and Southern Karnataka region of the state and is a part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

Varuna was touted to be a contest between the first sons of Karnataka politics, Siddaramaiahs son and Yeddyurappas son Vijayendra. However, the BJP's sudden decision not to field Vijayendra pulled the curtains on this big showdown. The INC had won the Varuna seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly election with a margin of 29,641 votes (18.45 percent) securing 52.53 percent of the total votes polled. In 2013, the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 82.43 percent, reported News 18.

Shikaripura

BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa won Shikaripura seat by a margin of over 35,000 votes defeating Congress' Goni Malatesha. Yeddyurappa was "100 percent" sure of forming the next Karnataka government after 2008.

Yeddyurappa has been contesting from the constituency in Shivamoga district since 1983, having lost only once. He won the seat in 2013 as well by 69,126 votes  against HS Shanthaveerappagowda of the Congress.

People of Shikaripura had earlier questioned the side-lining of Yeddyurappa with some saying that he has not visited his constituency in last five years.

There are a total of 1,84,956 voters in the constituency that includes general voters, NRI voters and service voters. Amongst the general voters, 93,923 are male, 90,958 female and 15 others. BJP won this seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections with a margin of 24,425 votes (17.63 percent) securing 49.89 percent of the total votes polled.

In 2013, the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 80.24 percent. According to News 18, BJP won this seat in the 2008 Assembly Elections with a margin of 45,927 votes (36.43 percent) registering 66.22 percent of the votes polled. In 2018 elections this seat witnessed a voter turnout of 81.45 percent.

Badami

In a close race in Badami, Siddaramaiah defeated BJP strongman B Sriramulu by a margin of 1,696 votes. At the last moment, Siddaramaiah had chosen Badami as his second option after Chamundeshwari as he held several closed doors meetings with Dalit leaders, backward and linguistic groups. Badami has a significant presence of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes  the bedrock of Siddaramaiah's support base. Badami witnessed a close contest between the chief minister and BJP strongman B Sriramulu.

The BJP in Karnataka taunted Siddaramaiah on Twitter over his decision to contest in Badami saying,"It's now clear why Siddaramaiah wanted to contest from Badami. Badami was chosen as a safe option as Chamundeshwari was bound to go. Yet, you had the audacity to compare it with PM Modi choosing to contest from two seats. Hope you have learned humility now."

JD(S) candidate Hanamant Mavinmarad was, who had won the election in 2013, was way behind in the race with 24,004 votes. Earlier, speaking with PTI, he had said, "Both Siddaramaiah and Sriramulu are outsiders. I will win with a good margin," said Mavinamarada, exuding confidence.

With Sriramulu, a confidant of the resourceful and controversial Reddy brothers, joining the fray, the contest for Badami had become a big-ticket battle. For Sriramulu too, Badami was the second constituency he was contesting apart from Molakalmuru in Chitradurga district.

With inputs from PTI

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Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its 'stellar performance' in the Karnataka Assembly election

Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti on Tuesday congratulated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its "stellar performance" in the Karnataka Assembly election.

"Hearty congratulations to @BJP4India for their stellar performance in Karnataka," Mehbooba said in a tweet.

The BJP appeared headed for a simple majority in the Karnataka Assembly, with its candidates leading in 115 constituencies, leaving the ruling Congress way behind, according to the latest trends available for 220 of the state's 222 seats where polling was held.

Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

In the outgoing Assembly, the Congress had 122 seats, BJP and JD(S) 40 each, and smaller parties and independents 22.

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The Congress on Tuesday asserted that Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala has no option but to invite the JD(S)-Congress combine which has a 'clear majority' to form the government in the state based on constitutional and legal provisions.

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday asserted that Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala has no option but to invite the JD(S)-Congress combine which has a "clear majority" to form the government in the state based on constitutional and legal provisions.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference, cited "precedents" to emphasise that the post-poll coalition of his party and JD(S) must be given the opportunity to take over the reins of power in Karnataka.

"We expect Karnataka governor to invite JD(S)-Congress coalition which has a clear majority to form the government in the state. As per constitutional and legal provisions, the governor has no option but to invite the coalition," Surjewala said, adding that their coalition has a clear majority with 115 seats.

With election throwing a hung verdict, the Congress on Tuesday announced its support to HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S).

As per latest results and trends, the BJP has emerged victorious in 97 Assembly seats and was leading in 7 other segments out of 222 constituencies where elections had taken place.

Congress has won 74 seats and was leading in four others while JD(S) won 37 seats.

The Congress said the BJP's claim to form a government in Karnataka is demolished by three precedents in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Justifying its move to stake claim along with the JD(S) to form the government, Surjewala said his party had acted as per constitutional norms and traditions.

He also cited the instance of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was invited to form a government by the then president KR Narayanan, noting the guiding principle behind it was that a party or a combination of parties that has won the largest number of seats be invited.

"As Congress-JD(S) win 95 seats and lead in 20 seats, an absolute majority for the coalition is clear. Coalition also has 56 percent vote share," he said.

Surjewala said Narayanan had set a fair and constitutionally correct precedent by inviting Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form and lead a coalition government on 12 March, 1998.

Rejecting the BJP's charge it was trying to come to power through the backdoor, the party also cited the cases of Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, where the Congress could not form a government despite emerging as the largest party.

He tweeted:

3/n

BJPs claim of single largest party to be invited is demolished by 3 recent precedents set by them-: (1) Goa (March 2017)

Assembly Strength - 40.

Congress - 17.

BJP - 12. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition BJP+MGP+GFP.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

4/n (2) Manipur (March 2017) Assembly Strength - 60. Congress - 28. BJP - 21. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition. So much so, 1 independent MLA was detained at Imphal Airport through security agencies & handed over to BJP.  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday challenged the BJP to hold elections through ballot papers to clear doubts over the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs)

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday challenged the BJP to hold elections through ballot papers to clear doubts over the use of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

As votes for the Karnataka elections were counted and the BJP seemed set to emerge the single largest party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray agreed with Uddhav Thackeray.

"This is a victory for the Electronic Voting Machine," he tweeted.

Uddhav Thackeray pointed out that the BJP was losing bypolls but winning assembly elections.

"If you (BJP) trust yourself, hold elections through ballot papers once," Uddhav Thackeray said, reacting to the Karnataka election results.

"When so many people are asking for it, it will clear apprehensions (on the use of EVMs) once and for all," Uddhav Thackeray told reporters.

Elections come and go, he added when asked about the Karnataka elections being the first major poll battle after Rahul Gandhi became Congress president.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. One should keep working," he said.

The Sena leader congratulated the BJP for its success in Karnataka polls and hoped that people of that state would now witness 'acchhe din'.

Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said the Congress and the Janata Dal (S) could together form the next government in Karnataka.

"If statesmanship is shown, this can happen as we together have a majority in the Karnataka Assembly," the Congress leader told the media.

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With the Congress decision to approach JD(S) for a post-poll alliance in Karnataka, the move echoes what happened in 2004, when the same two parties came together, to overtake BJP, which had emerged as the largest party in the state.

By Tuesday afternoon, as it became clear the Bharatiya Janata Party was leading in more than a 100 seats across Karnataka, reports emerged that the Congress had approached JD(S) to form a post-poll alliance, which both parties were vehemently opposed to during the campaign.

According to CNN-News18, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad approached JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda and reportedly offered the chief minister's post to Gowda's son, HD Kumaraswamy.

This move echoes what happened in 2004, when the same two parties came together, to overtake BJP, which emerged as the largest party in the state. While Congress at that time led the alliance with N Dharam Singh at the chief minister, JD(S)' Siddaramaiah (at that time) was the deputy chief minister.

However, it was HD Kumaraswamy who had led the coup against the Congress coalition in the state and broke the alliance in 2006, barely 20 months after Dharam Singh took over.

As this Firstpost article points out, the two parties decided to form the alliance two weeks after the results were announced. Here is a rundown of what happened in 2004 and how the coalition collapsed subsequently.

Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2004

It was the second time, since 1983, that the electorate had thrown up a hung Assembly in Karnataka. The results were declared on 12 May, 2004, where the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state with 79 seats, followed by the Congress at 65 seats and JD(S) with 58 seats.

It was a surprise as in the 21 years prior to it, the state always voted ruling parties out of power.

The year 2004 was also the first time BJP had emerged as a major party in the south. However, denied a clear majority, it was up to Deve Gowda's JD(S) to side with either Congress or the saffron party.

In the run-up to the 2004 polls, Gowda had firmly asserted that he would not support either the BJP or the Congress. In an interview with The Hindu he said, "I am confident the JD(S) will form the government in Karnataka on its own. The party will maintain equidistance from both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party." Nevertheless, he changed his mind in a matter of 15 days after the results were announced.

For two weeks after the Assembly results were announced, Karnataka Congress Legislature Party leader, N Dharam Singh, held negotiations with Gowda in New Delhi, to enter an alliance and form a coalition government. The JD(S) supremo was known to be close friend of the erstwhile Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Both parties decided to bury the hatchet and "keep the fundamentalists out", according to an India Today report.

During this time, BJP's Arun Jaitley flew down to Bengaluru to open talks and negotiations with JD(S). Gowda's party was not convinced even when then BJP president M Venkaiah Naidu flew down to Bengaluru to support BJP's win in the state.

For Congress and JD(S), BJP was a common enemy and they decided that the two secular parties should keep "communal forces" out of the state.

According to The Hindu, the two parties agreed to follow the Maharashtra model of coalition with JD(S) leaders landing major portfolios such as Home, Finance and Power.

A chief ministerial aspirant, Siddaramaiah had to settle for the post of the deputy chief minister, after the Congress remained firm on its stand to nominate one of its party members as the chief minister. Incidentally, it was Kumaraswamy who convinced the former to accept the position.

Thus, on 28 May, 2004, N Dharam Singh was sworn in as the Karnataka chief minister.

HD Kumaraswamy breaks up coalition in 2006

Over the course of next 20 months, cracks developed between the coalition partners. It became evident when the Congress won the district and taluk panchayat elections across Karnataka but refused to tie-up with JD(S) at the local level, as per an India Today report.

The acrimony between the two parties reflected in the state government's workings where for nearly seven months since swearing-in, no ministers were appointed to 20 major portfolios. In all this time, both Singh and Gowda maintained that the coalition was safe and sound.

However, as much as JD(S) supremo Gowda expressed his disapproval of the BJP, his politically ambitious son Kumaraswamy had other plans. Kumaraswamy felt the Congress did not care about the JD(S) and did nothing to satisfy their demands.

When Gowda installed Kumaraswamy as the JD(S) state president, his directive was to build the party and remove the Congress from the equation in the next election. Except, Gowda didn't expect it to happen so soon.

In January 2006, gathering 46 JD(S) legislators and 77 BJP MLAs, Kumaraswamy decided to withdraw support from the Congress government and form a new one with BJP. "The Congress did not fulfill many promises and we had to dump them," India Today quoted Kumaraswamy as saying.

Incidentally, JD(S) then joined hands with the BJP and agreed to govern the remaining 40 months together with each party nominating a chief minister on a rotational basis of 20 months.

In February, Kumaraswamy was sworn-in as the 25th chief minister of Karnataka, and BS Yeddyurappa as the deputy chief minister, to accommodate the BJP, reported The Hindu.

Congress-JD(S) relationship goes as far back as 1996

When the Congress' PV Narasimha Rao lost the 1996 general election, the United Front (conglomeration of non-BJP and non-Congress parties) decided to form the government with the former's support. Unexpectedly, JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda found himself to be the 11th prime minister of India and the head of the 13-party United Front government.

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In the hullaballo over the Karnataka Assembly election, here is a breakdown on who stands where on the result tally

The results of the closely-contested Karnataka Assembly elections have sent the politicos in state in a tizzy. With the BJP emerging as the single largest party but falling short of a clear majority, efforts were on in state to woo Janata Dal (Secular) to form the government. For now, the Congress seems to have emulated the precedent set by the BJP in previous elections. The party has quickly stitched a post-poll alliance with JD(S) to keep BJP out of power, much like what the saffron party did in Goa and Manipur elections.

Congress' unconditional support to JD(S) comes notwithstanding the fact that Congress president Rahul Gandhi had on several times accused JD(S) of being the B-team of the BJP during the electoral campaign. Moreover, the Congress has decided to relinquish the chief ministerial post for JD(S)' HD Kumaraswamy despite emerging as the second largest party.

However, as has been proven in the past, there is many a slip between the cup and the lip in democracy. While the JD(S) has said it will stick to its claims that Kumaraswamy will be chief minister, Congress has said it will work to keep communal forces out of power. The BJP on the other hand has cried foul stating that Karnataka had voted for change.

In the hullaballo, here is a breakdown on who stands where on the result tally and how does the 2018 result compares with what each party got in 2013 Assembly polls.

Parties Seats won/ leading* Swing from 2013^ BJP 104 65 Congress 78 43 JDS+ 38 3 Others 2 20

*Data is subject to change following declaration of results at all 224 seats. ^Green signifies gains while red indicates decrease in number of seats since 2013

In terms of vote share, Congress emerged as the single largest party with the BJP trailing closely behind. JD(S) is the third largest party with 18.5 percent votes.

Parties Vote share* Swing from 2013^ Congress 38 1.41 BJP 36.2 16.31 JDS+ 18.4 1.79

Source: Election Commission of India

*Data is subject to change following declaration of results at all 224 seats. ^Green signifies gains while red indicates decrease in number of seats since 2013

In one of the most high-profile and bitterly fought elections in recent times, 222 of the 224 seats went to polls on 12 May. Polling for RR Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate. The elections to the two seats will now be held on 28 May.
After the Karnataka results, Rahul Gandhi and his advisors will realise that it easy to get carried away by cheerleaders, but voters are more discerning.

Though many, buoyed by the earlier close call in Gujarat, billed Karnataka as a Modi vs Rahul fixture, the underlying question was slightly different. On test were two propositions: first, whether or not the Modi magic had waned for the BJP; second, more importantly for some, if Rahul Gandhi has acquired the stature to take on Narendra Modi as a challenger to the position of prime minister.

The answer to the second question is probably more unequivocal than the first. Hopefully, after these results, Rahul Gandhi and his advisors would have realised that it is easy to get carried away by applause from cheerleaders saying hes getting there, hes getting there.. after some smart sound-bytes and cheeky tweets to fantasise about prospects of becoming prime minister, but ordinary voters are more discerning.

While the traction for Narendra Modi the electoral phenomenon remains undeniably powerful, increasingly, he has to work much harder for neutralising the anti-incumbency of BJP state governments and supplementing the efforts of local leadership. Demonetisation is history now and GST the new normal, as this writer has been saying for quite sometime, but slower than expected delivery of economic goodies on the ground is certainly putting a visible strain on him. However, this could change dramatically if the economy picks up after a normal monsoon as predicted and the new social welfare schemes like Ujala, Ujjwala and universal healthcare start bearing fruit.

Much has been said about Congress plunging into an existential crisis in the event of a setback in Karnataka. That moment of reckoning is here. However, this is more likely to be the plight of certain sections of the media, left intellectuals and liberal elite who remain heavily invested in Congress, hoping against hope that 2014 was an aberration that will be set right in 2019. But, they are masters at reinventing themselves; so one hears their tune already changed from Modi not invincible to BJP unstoppable.

What Congress really needs to worry about is a meltdown among the old guard, who had so long reluctantly accepted the imposition of Rahul Gandhi as their leader. Many of these veterans know that after 2019, they will be well past their sell-by date and would be in the league of Yashwant Sinhas. This would hold true even for many Opposition leaders like Sharad Pawar for whom 2019 will, probably, be the last hurrah. It is very much a now or never moment for them or as Mamata Banerjee had said some years back in a clarion call against the CPM  Ebar or Never. It would be surprising if they continue to put their money behind a proven loser like Rahul Gandhi for much longer. If they do, it might turn out to be a case of never ever for many of them.

That brings us to another important constituency  the moneybags. It was for all to see there has been a spectacular recovery in Congress financial strength since the Gujarat campaign started. This was remarkable since the party by its own admission was running on overdraft since 2014. It remains to be seen how they shall distribute their largesse after the Karnataka rout.

The resources of the underwriters will get further stretched if the third and fourth (southern) front becomes a reality. In any case, it was already being said that with Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra out of its kitty, Karnataka was the last remaining ATM for Congress, which too will now go dry. Therefore, rather than an existential crisis, Congress is likely to face a financial crunch  unless they find some truly altruistic and selfless benefactor whether at home or abroad.

In such a scenario, if Congress has to remain in the reckoning for 2019 it would need a quick and drastic overhaul of strategy. They would need to get off from the high horse and start engaging with other Opposition parties as an equal partner rather than from an assumed position of pre-eminence.

However, humility alone may not be enough to close ranks with potential alliance partners. Congress will also need to revisit its narrative. How far Rahul Gandhis Janeaudhari soft Hindu avatar will find favour with parties who are stridently pro-minority communities is a matter of conjecture.

The task for BJP is relatively simpler. It has to run with the spoils of the Karnataka election results and race towards 2019 without any more distractions on the way. Therefore, get ready for an early Lok Sabha polls along with Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh and, perhaps, Odisha as well.

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The BJP's emergence as the single-largest party in Karnataka reinforces the party's position as favourites to win another tenure at the Centre.

In the humdinger of a poll that the Karnataka Assembly elections finally turned out to be after Bharatiya Janata Party leaders prematurely claimed "victory", there is no certainty as yet on whether or not Omar Abdullah's prophecy will come true.

At this rate we might as well forget 2019 & start planning/hoping for 2024.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) March 11, 2017

While a clear majority would have put this question beyond the pale of doubt, the BJP's emergence as the single-largest party still does not dent the party's position as favourites to win another tenure at the Centre.

There however, may yet be a slip between the cup and lip. The BJP might have to sit in Opposition if the final round of dice does not roll in its favour and the Congress convinces Janata Dal (S) that it is prudent for the sake of its future to stay with a 'secular' coalition than a 'communal' one. But the BJP's emergence as the single largest party is surely a shot in its arm.

The lead of the BJP over the Congress party in Karnataka while not being stunning enough, settles several things, most importantly the continuing popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is evident that his 'last mile' campaigning played a significant role in the Congress losing seats significantly.

This was an election in which the Congress was more confident than the BJP but the result shows that somehow Modi prevented a Congress 'victory'. This was perhaps sensed by Siddaramaiah who came out with the statement, "I am okay with a Dalit chief minister" out of the blue.

The verdict also settles doubts over whether party president Amit Shah had lost the Midas touch and if he was no longer the astute electoral manager-cum-strategist rolled into one he was till last year when the BJP blew a veritable tornado across Uttar Pradesh.

Make no mistake, on the basis of the vote share available at the time of writing, the Congress did not do badly. Siddaramaiah, now most likely the outgoing chief minister, has not been decisively voted out because of an anti-incumbent sentiment.

There will be only a few post-mortem reports on the performance of the Congress which will be harsh on its president, Rahul Gandhi and the state leadership. For once, they made no mistake and managed to keep motor-mouths in the party with staggering capacity to shoot self-goals repeatedly completely out of campaigning and stay light years away from the electoral discourse. Gandhi even spoke the right things at the same time.

Indeed, the Congress and its leaders did well. What made the difference is that Modi and his team did it better!

Consider for instance, the dynamic vote share of the Congress since morning on the Election Commission website. It ranged from close to 38 percent at its best and slipped to around 36 percent at the lowest.

If one frames an average of this, against what the Congress polled in 2013, 36.59 percent, it is evident that the party has not done badly.

What has happened instead is that the BJP has done better. In 2013, the BJP had a share of 19.89 percent but this was a party that was minus Lingayat strongman, BS Yeddyurappa and tribal leader, B Sriramulu.

In 2013, they acted as veritable freethinkers with an intention to bleed the BJP, and they did: Yeddyurappa's Karnataka Janata Paksha polled 9.79 percent votes and won six seats while Sriramulu's outfit, Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress Party, bagged 2.69 percent votes and won four seats. The result would have been different if the three had not parted ways  the combined 32.39 percent would have fetched the BJP more seats that the fifty seats the three parties won separately.

In fact, computer simulations showed that there would not have been much to differentiate between the BJP and the Congress and the latter would have fallen short of majority.

The eventual difference in vote share of the BJP and the Congress this time is likely to be almost less than half of what it was in 2013 (BJP+KJP+BSRCP)  4.2 percent. But the significant gap in the number of seats between the two parties indicates that the BJP did their homework better. Clearly, the party appears to have paid greater attention to candidate selection. Vote share of the Congress remaining about the same suggests that the party's votes were 'wasted' while the BJP targeted seats where it had a chance of success.

The immediate effect the Karnataka verdict will be that the contest in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will turn out keener than where it was poised till now.

It will also make the call for formation of an anti-BJP front louder. Rahul Gandhi had made a bid for the prime minister's post during campaign. But he will have to scale down ambitions and announce this at the earliest.

The nature of campaigning of the BJP in Karnataka and the results it has achieved, also shows that it is time for Rahul Gandhi to learn a few more tricks.

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This brings all eyes will on Vajubhai Vala, the Karnataka governor, who is an old BJP hand from Gujarat and is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Congress and Janata Dal(Secular) vie for power in Karnataka, the focus has turned to Governor Vajubhai Vala. Vala, an old BJP hand who is considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has put all appointments on hold till all results are out.

According to news agency ANI, Vala did not meet a Congress delegation which went to Raj Bhavan. By simply granting his time to one party, Vala can affect the overall outcome of a fiercely contested election as the crucial time between declaration of results and a party staking claim can make or break governments.

Vala, who vacated his Rajkot II seat in Gujarat Assembly for Modi to win his first Assembly election from Gujarat in 2001, was appointed Karnataka's governor in September 2014 soon after the BJP stormed to power.

Born on 23 January, 1938, Vala was the finance minister for nine years in Gujarat cabinet and held various portfolios in the Gujarat Government from 1998 to 2012. He holds the record of presenting the budget in the Gujarat Assembly 18 times.

He was also the speaker of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly from 2012 to 2014 and the state BJP chief during 2005 and 2006. He was one of very few Keshubhai Patel confidantes to have survived the power transition in Gujarat BJP as Vala managed to secure his position in the Modi-led cabinet as well.

Vala, the son of a Rajkot businessman, started his career as a sangh pracharak while still in school. He joined the Jana Sangh at 26 and eventually won a seat in the Rajkot Municipal Corporation in 1975, and in 1983, he became Rajkot mayor, according to a report in The Indian Express.

Vala contributed much to the party's unassailable electoral record in the state by winning seven consecutive terms from Rajkot, turning it into a safe seat for the BJP, while making inroads into the then Congress-dominated Rajkot Nagrik Sahkari Bank, eventually going on to become its president. Vala is married to Manoramabahen and has two sons and two daughters.

Meanwhile, in an interesting aside, Vala's Wikipedia profile seems to be under assault. His Wikipedia bio, till 3.12 pm introduced him as a "Pakistani politician and the governor of Indian state Wadiya since the dawn of humanity'. His image was captioned Kabali, which is also the name of a Rajinikanth starrer Tamil film. The page has now been amended to reflect his current credentials.

BJP, Congress jockey for position

With the BJP falling short of the halfway majority mark in Karnataka Assembly elections, speculation is rife that the Congress is attempting to reach an understanding with Janata Dal (Secular).

The Congress, which has been accusing JD(S) of working tacitly with the BJP, reached out to the party and offered the chief minister's seat to HD Kumaraswamy in return for keeping the BJP out of power. Ironically, the BJP trumped the Congress party in a similar way in Goa and Manipur, where it formed the government by stitching up post-poll alliances despite Congress emerging as the single largest party.

Addressing the reporters minutes after trends suggested that BJP is falling short of a clear majority, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad announced that the HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy accepted their offer during a telephonic conversation and the two parties' leaders will meet in the evening. Meanwhile, certain sections of the media also claimed that the BS Yeddyurappa-led BJP has made a counter offer to the JD(S).
The NCP on Tuesday said the BJP's victory in Karnataka was 'unbelievable' as the results were not in sync with the situation on the ground.

Mumbai: The NCP on Tuesday said the BJP's victory in Karnataka was "unbelievable" as the results were not in sync with the situation on the ground. The Sharad Pawar-led party, which had extended support to the Congress in the Karnataka polls and did not field its own candidates, also demanded that elections in future be held through ballot boxes.

Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil said the Congress was well positioned in Karnataka and there was no anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah government.

"In this context, the BJP's victory is unbelievable. There is a difference between what was in people's mind and the situation that has emerged," Patil told reporters here.

He claimed that the image of the BJP and its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa was "not good" because of the allegations of corruption.

"The BJP's reach in Karnataka was limited. This result should be analysed properly," he said.

Wondering why the secular votes got divided, Patil said if the BJP got more votes where its strength was limited, then doubts over the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) were true.

"The Election Commission should conduct elections through ballot boxes to remove doubts. There will be a delay but doubts will be cleared. The EC should think over this," he said.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said the need of the hour is to ensure the Congress takes along all like-minded parties to defeat the BJP in future.
In the short term, Congress might end up doing to BJP in Karnataka what the BJP did to it in Goa and a few other places. But if the Congress is satisfied with this bit of smart realpolitik, it will have not learnt the lessons from this electoral drubbing.

At the time of writing, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the single largest party (104 seats) in Karnataka. But the Congress, lagging way behind (78 seats), seems poised to snatch victory from a massive defeat by going to bed with Janata Dal Secular (JDS). Whether this Congress strategy of keeping the BJP out of power by all means works out or not (a lot depends on what call Governor Vajubhai Vala takes), the fact remains that is has been trounced by the BJP in its last major bastion.

In the short term, Congress might end up doing to BJP in Karnataka what the BJP did to it in Goa and a few other places. But if the Congress is satisfied with this bit of smart realpolitik, it will have not learnt the lessons from this electoral drubbing. The creditable performance of BJP should remind Congress president Rahul Gandhi to work on a strong economic agenda beyond loan waivers and election freebies, if he is serious about 2019 national elections.

So far, Rahul has been focussing on blaming Modi or countering his speeches rather than putting forth his own plan on larger issues. A larger national narrative, whether it is economic or political, is absent. On the economic front, Congress has done little else than repeat allegations about mismanagement. Be it tackling parallel economy or addressing farmer woes, Rahul has, at no point, given us a clear indication of his plan. Even when he pitched himself as a prime ministerial candidate, Rahul failed to present a strong vision.

Now, what does the BJP performance tell investors who are eagerly looking at 2019 general polls for cues on political stability, policy continuity and the course of future reforms? As this writer pointed out in a Firstpost column, Modi has continued his run and has retained his popularity, perhaps with a little less fervour.

Investors will be happy about BJP retaining its momentum. One only need look at the bell-weather equity indices to understand investor sentiment. The benchmark equity index, Sensex, responded positively: Jumping over 400 points in the intra-day trade, and showed markets upbeat on a decisive BJP win.

There are a few major takeaways from the Karnataka polls from an economic perspective: First, the BJPs alleged economic mismanagement (read demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax), key points of allegation by Opposition parties is an old, is a forgotten story.

Karnataka is not an industry-heavy state like Gujarat. Even as faulty implementation of GST and demonetisation had their cascading impact here, voters chose to ignore those arguments. Interestingly, both were not even major election agenda items even for the BJP as an earlier Firstpost column highlighted.

Second, BJPs clear win in Gujarat will soothe nerves of investors big time as this adds to the belief of political continuity at the Centre in 2019. Although the outcome of a single state election cannot be treated as an indicator to judge the outcome of national polls, it surely indicates which way the wind is blowing; that the Modi magic is intact and chances are high that Modi will return to the Centre in 2019. This possibility is something foreign analysts such as those in Swiss financial services firm, UBS, have already priced in. Investors will be more confident now to think of putting money on the table for projects that have life beyond 2019.

Third, in his four years in office, Modi has taken up major reform tasks, mainly generating consensus to make Goods and Services Tax a reality. Karnataka should offer confidence to Modi administration to go ahead with the reform agenda and not turn to doling out goodies in the last year of its term.

Fourth, whatever little confidence moneybags would have reposed in Rahuls Congress would have taken a major hit with the party further losing its grip on the national scene. Rahul proved yet again he is no match for Modi when it comes to guiding the party to election victories. This will leave investors with no option but to back Modi going forward. Rahul paid the price of not having a national narrative beyond blaming Modi.
Emerging trends and results of Karnataka Assembly polls have, yet again, proved that Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity and connect with ordinary voters continues to soar.

Results of Karnataka Assembly polls have, yet again, proved that Prime Minister Narendra Modis popularity and connect with ordinary voters continues to soar. He is only leader today who can swing electoral outcome in his partys favour and has capability to outmaneuver all his political rivals. The laddoos distributed at BJP headquarters and elsewhere as Karnataka results came in would be even sweeter for Modi and party workers and supporters as it comes just days ahead of the party and the government celebrating four years in power at the Centre.

It was Modis charisma that convinced Karnataka voters to defy the decades old norm  having different governments at the Centre and state  and to align state and Centre. A loud and clear victory in Karnataka makes Modi and BJP go into the next round of elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram with renewed vigour and enthusiasm.

A victory as emphatic as the one in Karnataka makes two things very clear: First, Modi reigns supreme, he does not have a real rival worth a name. Rahul Gandhi is a leader only at All India Congress Committee headquarters in Delhi or in state capitals, not or perhaps never among public.

The Congress president loses no opportunity to prove that he has become a spent force much before showing any spark. Modi will thus have an unchallenged position when he goes forth to seek votes for 2019 elections. Second, Modi is biggest vote catcher of modern times. He can swing outcome of an election in any part of India, be it North East, down south, west or north.

Indira Gandhi was last Indian leader who could win elections for her party on her own. But then there is a great deal of difference between Modi and Indira Gandhi. She inherited the legacy of her father Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, his post and social support base. Then there was a sympathy factor: Not just because she lost her father and had a rather uneasy personal life but also because a large number of people thought that the lonely lady was being wronged by her own party veterans. After riding high on power, it was during Indiras era that regional parties started coming to the fore.

Modi, by contrast, is a self-made man, a man of most humble origin, a man without any caste support base, a man who remained to be most vilified political personality for around a decade and half, someone who rose to the top not because he was handpicked by a patron but because ordinary BJP workers believed he was the only one who could steer party in turbulent times and turn the tide. And finally, because people of India overwhelmingly believed in him and placed their trust in him. When he became prime minister in 2014, BJP on its own or with allies ruled six states. Today, it rules 21 states and Karnataka is BJP's gateway to the south.

This result also proves that Modi has actually been prophetic on two counts: "Congress-mukt Bharat" and Congress turning into a "PPP party": Puducherry, Punjab and Parivar. After facing defeat in Karnataka, Congress presence is now limited only to Puducherry and Punjab.

Karnataka was only large state the Congress had. It was also the state  as some party leaders privately concede  where most of the party's resources came from. Punjab, under Captain Amarinder Singh, is in any case an autonomous entity. Amarinder is part of Congress but not beholden to the Gandhi-Nehru dynasty.

Puducherry is a Union Territory, a half-state where Lieutenant Governor Kiran Bedi and not Chief Minister Narayanasamy is ruler. The defeat in Karnataka is thus yet another step forward in Modis Congress-mukt Bharat slogan. That leaves the parivar, Congress first family or Gandhi-Nehru dynasty in a rather precarious position. In these elections, the narrative the Congress tried to set: Karnataka would set the tone for 2019 parliamentary polls and Rahuls unilateral proclamation that he'd be prime minister in 2019 proved to be beneficial for Modi and BJP and detrimental to himself and Congress.

The central message of Karnataka results and Modis campaign  during this election and other state elections in past four years  is that the prime minister is positioning himself as the messiah of underprivileged sections of society and highlighting schemes that concerns common men and women: Toilets, rural electrification, free cooking or LPG gas connections, Mudra bank loans, Ayushman Bharat or health insurance of up to Rs five lakh to poor people. His core support base (the middle class) may be disappointed with him for not doing enough despite the fact that they solidly backed him.

But Modi has opened up new frontiers in both rural and urban areas. As for pockets of disappointed supporters in urban areas, the key question is: Will their disenchantment with some policies of Modi government influence their voting pattern? Emerging trends in Karnataka and results in Gujarat suggest a section of people might have some grievances against Modi government, but when it comes to voting they still trust Modi and no one else. Once again, Modi has proved political pundits, who endlessly talked of a hung House in Karnataka with clear edge to the Congress, wrong.

For his part, Modi yet again displayed his capacity to take his tough calls for the BJP and the government. He was not guided by the perception of certain sections of the media: His decision to name Yedyurappa as chief ministerial candidate and give additional charge of finance ministry to Piyush Goel besides his regular charge of rail and coal. By shunting Smriti Irani from Information and Broadcasting ministry, Modi sent a clear message that perception of closeness is not a factor in a decision making process which impacts governance.

Modi has placed himself in such a position where "Modi versus the rest" scenario in 2019 may make BJP workers and supporters more aggressive than ever.

Follow live updates on the Karnataka Assembly Election 2018 here.
Karnataka has once again underlined Rahul Gandhi's inability to win elections. He should accept his failures and rule himself out of the race for PM's job.

What does the road for Rahul Gandhi look like after the Congress' poor showing in Karnataka? The Congress president has just one option left now  he should mentally prepare himself for the role of a junior partner in an anti-BJP coalition.

Karnataka has once again underlined Gandhi's inability to win elections. It has become clear that if he has to taste victory, India is perhaps not the right place for him. He doesn't understand India's ground reality, can't provide an alternate narrative to the voters and has no plan to take on the BJP.

Gandhi has been trying to win elections for almost six years. But he fails every time. Obviously, nothing about him has changed during this period. He is still the same person with the same flawed ideas and strategy. With all these handicaps, he should stop dreaming of becoming India's prime minister in the near future.

The problem with Gandhi, as the Karnataka and Gujarat results show, is that he doesn't have the ability to inspire people to vote for the Congress. In fact, there is growing belief that voters who may have been inclined to consider the Congress as an option ultimately tilt towards the BJP because of Gandhi's lack of charisma and political heft.

Many opinion polls had indicated the absence of anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah government. His social welfare schemes were believed to be quite popular. Yet, the Congress failed to retain the state  as per latest trends. This happened primarily because the BJP succeeded in converting the election into a 'Gandhi vs Narendra Modi' contest. And since Modi towers miles above Gandhi, the BJP benefitted from the strategy.

Gandhi's other failure was that he failed to advise Siddaramaiah on two crucial issues that ultimately led to the Congress' defeat. One, he could not foresee that the gamble to divide the Lingayats by recommending minority status for them would backfire as it would lead to counter-consolidation among other castes.

Two, he failed to restrain Siddaramaiah from playing the regionalism card by evoking Kannadiga pride. This was suicidal because the Congress is a pan-India party  even if now it is confined to just Punjab, Puducherry and Mizoram  and its embrace of regionalism reduced it to the level of a desperate provincial party that could reject its own history and ideals for votes.

Siddaramaiah may have had his own reasons for making these two blunders. He was perhaps blinded by his regional satrap status and the inability to look beyond Karnataka. But, as a leader, Gandhi should have had the foresight to see how these two moves could undermine the Congress campaign by making it look divisive and parochial. That he failed to do so underlines his lack of vision and grasp of politics.

After every election, the Congress laments its lack of organisational strength. Its leaders come out on TV channels and argue that they do not have an answer to the BJP's election machinery and the numerical strength of the RSS cadres. But, in spite of being aware of its problems, Gandhi has failed to address them, proving his lack of problem-solving abilities.

The problem with Gandhi is that he sees himself as a natural claimant for the role of Modi's opponent. This has happened because in its desperation to find a challenger to the prime minister, the media and anti-Modi voices have seen in Gandhi qualities he lacks. In many ways, the anti-Modi voices have reflected their own hopes and dreams in Gandhi. Unfortunately, just because there is a vacuum in the Opposition space, it doesn't entitle Gandhi to claim he is entitled to being Modi's principal adversary.

A loss in Karnataka would cut Gandhi further down to size. Opposition leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Mayawati and Akhilesh Yadav would refuse to accept the leadership of a person who has not been able to win a single election. In fact, they would now refuse to see him as an asset or a star-campaigner.

Ideally, the Congress should have looked beyond the Gandhis after the 2014 rout. The party should have realised that the dynasty does not appeal to young voters and the urban population. For them, they represent an outdated brand that is more a symbol of failure than success. But, the Congress failed to see the writing on the wall. Having promoted Gandhi as the president, it now has no option but to continue having the dynasty as the proverbial albatross around its neck.

Ironically, the only person who can save the Congress from extinction and the Opposition from disintegrating is Gandhi himself. If he wants to remain politically relevant, he should humbly accept his failures and rule himself out of the race for India's top job. He should accept the reality of India's politics and position the Congress as a junior partner to regional heavyweights. He should politely accept the leadership of somebody with a proven record of winning elections, rejuvenating a party and converting fence-sitters into supporters.

Karnataka has shown that there can be just one outcome of a 'Gandhi vs Modi' contest. It is time for someone else to replace step into the ring and save Gandhi from the heavy pummeling.
Muzaffarnagar's Dalits say that instead of ensuring such situations do not recur in the future, politicians seek to draw maximum mileage from them.

Editor's note: The BJP, its ideological lodestar RSS, and even the BSP, a party with moorings in Dalit identity, have, in recent months, outdone themselves to court the Dalit constituency. The community itself has found new ways to assert its leverage over Indian political parties and reinforce its place in society. Firstpost will travel across Uttar Pradesh, the test bed of India's Dalit politics, to record how these changes have altered life in its villages, towns and cities.

A local news reporter from Muzaffarnagar narrated an incident that occurred about two years ago. As the story goes, an elderly person from the Dalit community who made a living by shining shoes had lost his mobile phone. Like anyone else, he went to the police station to lodge a complaint. The clerk asked him what he did for a living, to which the old man replied that he repaired and polished shoes. The clerk then ordered him to polish the shoes of all the constables at that police station, something the old man had to comply with, because it was only after this that his complaint was lodged.

The incident was captured on camera by a person who was present at the police station. The video went viral on social media and caused enormous embarrassment to the police administration. However, if the police clerk had asked for vegetables from a vegetable vendor, or asked a tailor to stitch some clothes, or sought food ration from a shopkeeper who tried to get a complaint registered, it may not have spiralled into such a major controversy.

But the sensitivity with which Dalit issues are tackled is missing from the depths of the system. Muzaffarnagar's Dalits say that instead of ensuring such situations do not recur in the future, politicians seek to draw maximum mileage from them.

Bhupkhedi is a village located at a distance of around 30 kilometers from Muzaffarnagar. Located in the Khatauli tehsil, the population of the village is a mix of Dalits, other backward castes and upper castes, although Thakurs are the majority community. Villagers talk about similar Thakur domination in 24 such villages on the border between Meerut and Muzaffarnagar districts, and this conglomeration of villages, locally referred to as the 'Thakur Chaubisi', lies in an area of influence of Sardhana BJP MP Sangeet Som.

Two of these villages, Bhupkhedi and Mujahidpur, are adjacent to each other, with Thakurs and Dalits cohabiting both villages. About a year ago, the Thakurs of Bhupkhedi had placed an embargo on Dalits getting haircuts and shaves. A tense situation arose, with the village barber under pressure from the Thakurs, refusing to attend on the Dalits, forcing them to go to a barber in the neighbouring village.

A Dalit youth from the village, Sanjiv Kumar, spoke of how that the Thakurs of the village evicted the barber who used to provide haircut services, forcing the Dalits to go to the neighbouring village for a haircut. It was then that they resolved to prevent any barber from operating in the village unless he also attended to them. The Dalits also trained a youth from their community in hair-cutting, shaving etc., and it was only after that that the issue was resolved.

There's now a new saloon in the village which is run by a Muslim youth who caters to all castes and communities. Such are the fights that take place between Thakurs and Dalits. The atmosphere in the village is vitiated due to such politics and is so tense that such incidents occur at a frequency of once every six months or a year.

Subodh Som, who hails from the Thakur community, admits that the barber incident was politically motivated and had been raised intentionally, though there wasn't any problem of any significance.

There are people of other castes residing here as well, but the issues are mainly between the Thakurs and the Dalits. There is a statue of Bhimrao Ambedkar in the Dalit basti, which had been installed by Anita Som, a Thakur herself, and the prospective gram pradhan (village head), though it has her husband's name endorsed on it.

Villagers say that about seven months ago, a person from the Thakur community had thrown a stone at the statue after which a fight ensued between the Thakurs and Dalits in which the Dalits were badly beaten up. Stretching out his battered hand, Santosh, who has a deep scar from a a wound that required 22 stitches to heal, said he and his son were both thrashed badly and that he wasn't able to work with that hand. The Dalits added that every time such an incident takes place, they are compelled to reconcile with the Thakurs, against whom no action is ever taken against.

On 14 April, Ambedkar Jayanti was celebrated in the the Dalit basti. But Dalits were required to obtain prior permission from the administration to hold the function, during which there was police presence. For fear of tensions arising in the village, Dalits chose not to take out a tableau procession.

Subodh Kumar, another Dalit youngster from the area, said there is discrimination against them at every stage. The village has a school with classes upto Class VIII. On walls of the school classroom hang paintings of Independence leaders, except Ambedkar's. He alleged that Thakurs didn't give them the permission to hang Ambedkar's painting on the wall.

The Dalits' grievances are not heard or redressed by any leader on the grounds that they cast their votes to the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). But they say that even BSP leaders neither ask about their welfare nor respond to their phone calls. The one question they ask is if these leaders will only show up on their doors before the elections. The Dalits know the answer to their question, and understand the inevitability of what goes on in their world.
Congress' Vishwajeet Kadam's election from Palus-Kadegaon seat in the bypoll became a formality after all the other candidates in the fray withdrew their nominations.

Sangli/ Mumbai: Congress nominee Vishwajeet Kadam's election from Palus-Kadegaon Assembly seat in the bypoll scheduled for 28 May became a formality on Monday after all the other candidates in the fray withdrew their nominations.

Vijay Deshmukh, subdivisional officer, Sangli district, who is also the Returning Officer for the bypoll, confirmed the development.

"All the candidates, including BJP's Sangramsinh Deshmukh, on Monday withdrew their nominations. Now the Congress' Vishwajeet Kadam is the only candidate in the fray," he said.

The official added that an announcement of Kadam being elected from the constituency would be taken after consulting authorities. "It is just a technical matter now," he said.

The winner of the bypoll will hold the office for just over a year, as the term of the current Assembly ends in October 2019.

The bypoll, scheduled on 28 May, was necessitated because of the death of sitting Congress MLA and former minister Patangrao Kadam.

The BJP had earlier finalised the candidature of Sangramsinh Deshmukh, president of Sangli Zilla Parishad and deputy chairman of Sangli District Cooperative Bank, for the bypoll.

On the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers, state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil told reporters at Kadepur taluka in Sangli that the BJP will not contest the bypoll. The Shiv Sena had last week announced its support for the Congress nominee.

The Congress' Kadam had unsuccessfully contested from the Pune Lok Sabha seat in the 2014 elections.

He inherits a strong legacy from his father in the form of control over a Sangli-based cooperative sugar mill, several dairies, educational institutes and cooperative societies in the western Maharashtra district.
Smriti Irani's gaffe marred tenure as information and broadcasting minister is coming to an end, with the Narendra Modi government replacing her with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the helm of the ministry

Smriti Irani's gaffe marred tenure as information and broadcasting minister has come to an end, with the Narendra Modi government replacing her with Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore at the helm of the ministry. Irani was given the ministry as an additional charge, in addition to the textile ministry, in July last year during the previous Cabinet reshuffle, necessitated by M Venkaiah Naidu's elevation as vice-president.

And it's been rough sailing for her ever since, with the minister getting embroiled in numerous controversies. In August, within a month of taking charge of the ministry, Irani pulled up news agency PTI for releasing a photograph of men wearing masks belonging to Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi on the occasion of 'Friendship Day'.

Irani took umbrage to the photograph and shot off a tweet expressing her displeasure and questioning PTI's "official stand". PTI then deleted the tweet, and though it released the photograph separately to media outlets, also issued a 'kill' alert, which is media jargon for withdrawing a picture. They also issued an apology and said that they had withdrawn the picture.

The move was roundly criticised, with the journalist Karan Thapar, writing a column for The Hindu, saying "she not only lacks judgment but needs a better sense of humour" as well. "Clearly, the I&B Minister did not accept a news agency's right to release a picture it thought the public wanted to see. More significantly, she did not accept politicians could be mocked. Most obvious of all, she felt she could admonish the media without contradicting her governments commitment to honour free speech," he wrote.

In December last year, the I&B ministry was at it again, this time asking television channels to not air advertisements promoting condoms between 6 am and 10 pm, since they are "indecent, especially for children, and can create unhealthy practices among them".

"In view of the above, all TV channels are hereby advised not to telecast the advertisements of condoms which are for a particular age group and could be indecent/inappropriate for viewing by children. Indecent, vulgar, suggestive, repulsive or offensive themes or treatment shall be avoided in all advertisements," she wrote.

Critics again panned the decision and said awareness regarding condoms is essential in order to promote safe sex, and is important in the battle against unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

If it was her gaffes that were once the target, it was her silence on another issue that also earned her censure. While the Padmaavat controversy was raging and miscreants indulged in violence in the states of Haryana and Rajasthan, the I&B ministry didn't release a statement. The Congress party issued a statement questioning her silence. "Vandalism to stop release of Padmaavat is despicable, reprehensible and utterly nauseating," tweeted Congress leader Manish Tewari. "Question why is it happening primarily in BJP-ruled states after even Supreme Court has green signalled the film? Is something beyond Padmaavat at play? Why is the I&B minister not standing up to enforce CBFC clearance?"

In April this year, the I&B ministry issued guidelines against fake news. Irani said that the Centre is willing to engage with journalists' bodies or organisations to fight the "menace". "PIB accreditation guidelines asking Press Council of India (PCI) and News Broadcasters' Association (NBA) to define and act against 'fake news' have generated debate," she said on Twitter.

However, the ministry's actions, which had called for penal actions against journalists or media organisations found indulging in fake news, was widely derided. It had also said the accreditation of journalists could be permanently cancelled if s/he was found to be generating or propagating fake news.

The Editor's Guild of India said it "remained disturbed" that faith continues to be reposed on the Press Council of India to deliver justice on such issues. "By notifying that the I&B Ministry will initiate such proceedings, the government was arrogating for itself the role of policing the media. It would have opened the door for frivolous complaints to harass journalists and organisations to fall in line," it added.

Congress leader Ahmed Patel also questioned the government's intentions, and asked whether the move was aimed at preventing journalists from reporting news "uncomfortable to the establishment". He also asked who would determine if a reported news item is "fake" and expressed apprehension that rules might be misused to harass reporters.

With inputs from agencies
Varuna (Gen) is a State Assembly/Vidhan Sabha constituency in the Mysore district and Southern Karnataka region of Karnataka and is a part of the Chamarajanagar Parliamentary/Lok Sabha constituency.

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After 12 rounds of counting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra established an unassailable lead in the Varuna constituency. Victory imminent for him.

Although the winner hasn't been officially declared, S Yathindra is currently leading by 39,000 votes.

Yathindras victory comes after his father Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah vacated the Varuna seat for his younger son. A doctor, Yathindra stepped into politics after the death of his brother Rakesh and is seen as Siddaramaiahs successor. Yathindra was going to take on BS Yeddyurappas son, BY Vijayendra, in Varuna but the BJP fielded Basavaraju instead at the last minute. With the win, this is the third election the Siddaramaiah family has won from Varuna after the 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections when Siddaramaiah had won the seat by a convincing margin.

According to Deccan Herald reports, Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra is leading by over 50,000 votes in Varuna Assembly constituency, this is the third time Siddaramaiah's family retains the seat.Yathindra was going to take on BS Yeddyurappas son, BY Vijayendra, in Varuna but the BJP fielded Basavaraju instead at the last minute.

The BJP was leading in 51 seats while the ruling Congress was in the front in 26 constituencies in Karnataka, according to early trends.

Overseas, markets in Asia were trading mixed as investors assessed the outlook for trade relations between the US and China and tensions in the Middle East.

After opening lower, benchmark Sensex soared over 260 points in early trade today after the BJP took the lead in Karnataka election results.

As of 11.15 am, following are the vote share percentages for the parties:

From playing the Lingayat card, caste card, rooting for a separate state flag, leading a tirade against Hindi to slamming BJP leaders such as Yogi Adityanath as "outsiders", Congress tried every trick in the book to divide the electorate and rule over it. The result (BJP is just touching the majority mark) shows voters have refused the divisive politics of the Congress.

With the BJP poised to gain simple majority in 112-seat Karnataka Assembly, the biggest lesson to emerge from the elections is voters' rejection of Congress's divisive politics. Siddaramaiah-led Congress ran a campaign based on Nitish Kumar's 'Bihari vs Bahari' model and miserably failed to capitalise on the narrative (enthusiastically spread by a section of the media) that "BJP is a north-Indian party" and that "affluent" south Indian states are "funding regressive north Indian states".

After 12 rounds of counting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra established an unassailable lead in the Varuna constituency. Victory imminent for him.

Despite the fact that Congress has already conceded defeat, the Grand Old Party still has the highest vote share of 37.8 percent. On the other hand, BJP's vote share is 37.1 percent. JD(S) is far below, with 17.4 percent vote share.

Although the winner hasn't been officially declared, S Yathindra is currently leading by 39,000 votes.

The INC won the Varuna seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly election with a margin of 29,641 votes (18.45 percent) securing 52.53 percent of the total votes polled. In 2013, the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 82.43 percent, reported News18.

INC won the Varuna Assembly constituency in the 2008 Assembly election with a margin of 18,837 votes (13.16 percent) registering 50.23 percent of the votes polled, as per News18.

Yathindras victory comes after his father Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah vacated the Varuna seat for his younger son. A doctor, Yathindra stepped into politics after the death of his brother Rakesh and is seen as Siddaramaiahs successor. Yathindra was going to take on BS Yeddyurappas son, BY Vijayendra, in Varuna but the BJP fielded Basavaraju instead at the last minute. With the win, this is the third election the Siddaramaiah family has won from Varuna after the 2008 and 2013 Assembly elections when Siddaramaiah had won the seat by a convincing margin.

According to Deccan Herald reports, Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra is leading by over 50,000 votes in Varuna Assembly constituency, this is the third time Siddaramaiah's family retains the seat.Yathindra was going to take on BS Yeddyurappas son, BY Vijayendra, in Varuna but the BJP fielded Basavaraju instead at the last minute.

Varuna Election Results 2018 LIVE updates: Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra won by over 50,000 votes in Varuna Assembly constituency, this is the third time Siddaramaiah's family retains the seat.

After 12 rounds of counting, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's son S Yathindra established an unassailable lead in the Varuna constituency. Victory imminent for him, as per reports.

Hours after counting in the 2018 Assembly election in Karnataka began, current trends show Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leading in over 110 seats, while Congress looked set to retain their stronghold over some constituencies such as Varuna.

In Varuna, Congress' Yathindra S, who is also the chief minister's son, is leading with 9,096 votes ahead of the JD(S) and BJP candidates who have gathered 6,928 and 5,159 votes respectively, Election Commission of India's latest .

Varuna is a State Assembly constituency in the Mysore district and Southern Karnataka region of the state, and is a part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

According to News18, there are a total of 2,13,812 voters in the constituency that include general voters, NRI voters and service voters. Among the general voters, 1,08,249 are male, 1,05,547 female and 13 others. The electorate sex ratio in the constituency is 97.5 and the approximate literacy rate is 61 percent.

Until the last week of April, it was touted to be a contest between the first sons of Karnataka politics, Siddaramaiahs son Yathindra and Yeddyurappas son Vijayendra from this seat. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) sudden decision not to field Vijayendra pulled the curtains on this big showdown. The decision reportedly came as a shock to many in the BJP, and even resulted in some of the workers resorting to violence. Now, 56-year-old Lingayat candidate Thotadappa Basavaraju, is contesting from BJP's ticket.

Basavaraju, who is a graduate, has assets worth Rs 40,38,465 crores and liabilities worth Rs 6,50,000 crores to his name, states a report in The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, 37-year-old Yathindra is contesting elections for the first time. A pathologist by profession, he has net assets of worth Rs 23,00,30,043 crores and liabilities worth Rs. 8,78,47,109 crores, according to the report.

Other contestants from this seat include Abhishek S Manegar from the Janata Dal (Secular) and Nirmala Kumari from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

Varuna constituency is made up of 122 villages and 2 towns. The constituency is named after Varuna village, located in the outskirts of the Mysuru, with little over 500 families.

According to estimates, Varuna has 55,000 Lingayats, 12,000 Vokkaligas, 35,000 Kurubas, 43,000 Scheduled Castes, 23,000 Scheduled Tribes and 12,000 OBCs.

In 2013, Indian National Congress (INC) won this seat with a margin of 29,641 votes securing 52.53 percent of the total votes polled. The voter turnout in 2013 was 82.43 percent.
The West Bengal unit of the BJP on Tuesday slammed the TMC for 'murdering democracy' in the state during Monday's panchayat polls that left at least 12 people dead and several injured.

Kolkata: The West Bengal unit of the BJP on Tuesday slammed the TMC for "murdering democracy" in the state during Monday's panchayat polls that left at least 12 people dead and several injured.

State BJP president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the law and order situation under the present government has completely collapsed in West Bengal.

"The TMC along with SEC (West Bengal State Election Commission) has murdered the democracy in the state. They have snatched away the democratic rights of the masses. If the TMC is so confident of the development it has done then why didn't it allow the masses to vote freely," Ghosh said.

Widespread violence during the panchayat polls on Monday left at least 12 people dead and 43 injured, even as more than 73 percent of the electorate turned up to cast their vote.

Opposition parties have accused the TMC of unleashing "a reign of terror and destroying democracy". The TMC has termed the allegations "baseless".

"Initially, they didn't allow people to file nominations. And those who managed to do so were threatened by TMC and were asked to withdraw. The people who didn't withdraw were attacked. This is nothing but a complete destruction of the democratic process in the state," he said.

The youth wing of the BJP has on Tuesday called a candlelight march in the city to protest against Monday's violence.

Click here for LIVE updates on the West Bengal panchayat election

West Bengal Panchayat Election RESULTS
WHY DONT YOU READ THESE?
The West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) ordered repolling in 568 booths on Wednesday following complaints of violence during the pancahayat polls

Kolkata: The West Bengal State Election Commission (SEC) on Tuesday ordered repolling in 568 booths on Wednesday following complaints of violence during the panchayat polls held on Monday.

"We have ordered repolling in 568 booths spread across 20 districts of the state," an SEC official said.

Widespread violence during the panchayat polls in West Bengal on Monday left at least 12 people dead and 43 injured.

The state government and the police have been asked to make elaborate security arrangements so that polling can be held in a free and fair manner, the SEC official said.

Repolling has been ordered in 10 booths in Hooghly, 28 booths in West Midnapore, 52 booths in Coochbehar, 63 booths in Murshidabad, 60 booths in Nadia, 59 booths in North 24 Parganas, 55 booths in Malda, 73 booths in Uttar Dinajpur, 26 in South 24 Pargans, among others.

The SEC official also said that the final voting percentage on Monday had gone up to 82.13 percent from 73 percent.

Opposition parties have accused the TMC of "unleashing a reign of terror and destroying democracy". The TMC, however, has termed the allegations as "baseless".

"I have come here to inform the SEC about yesterday's violence in my locality. Free and fair election did not take place in my area," said Etajul, an independent candidate from Bhangore in South 24 Parganas district.

Candidates from political parties also met the SEC officials to request repoll in their seats.

Various non-political organizations conducted sit-in demonstrations outside the SEC office today in protest against Monday's violence.

Click here for LIVE updates on the West Bengal panchayat election

West Bengal Panchayat Election RESULTS
The BJP looks set to storm to victory in Karnataka with a simple majority, thereby being in a position to form government on its own without any help from allies. If it does so, BS Yeddyurappa will become chief minister for the third time

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) looks set to storm to victory in Karnataka with a simple majority, thereby being in a position to form government on its own without any help from allies. If it does so, BS Yeddyurappa, the party's pre-poll chief ministerial candidate, will take oath to become chief minister for the third time.

Incidentally, the BJP leader and party's MLA from Shikaripura constituency, had confidently predicted a victory back on 2 May, even spelling out the details of his oath-taking ceremony.

In an address to party workers at Shivamoga on 2 May, Yeddyurappa had said, "17 May is a Thursday and 18 May is a Friday. We have to look at the convenient time of the prime minister. Chief ministers of other states too will attend the event... My oath-taking at Vidhana Soudha as chief minister of Karnataka is inevitable. Nobody should have any doubt about it."

Back when he made this announcement, the state was still on a knife's edge, and Yeddyurappa's confidence was seen as premature. However, the victory for BJP would make it appear like he had played his cards right.

Playing the Lingayat card

The Congress state government had declared minority religion status to the Lingayat community in Karnataka, a move that would have purportedly given the party an edge over the BJP when it comes to securing the Lingayat vote. Lingayats, along with the numerically strong Veerashaivas, number over 17 percent of Karnataka's population, as this report from India Today has argued. It said that Lingayats are the dominant community in over 100 out of the state's 224 constituencies, most of them from north Karnataka. Nine of its chief ministers have been Lingayats.

But with Yeddyurappa having been the BJP's face in the state for over three decades, time in which he has been sent to the Karnataka Assembly on six different occasions, the party has always been in pole position to clinch the community's vote. It was believed that Congress' attempt to give the community a religious minority card was an attempt to draw some of this support away from the saffron party. Clearly, it has not worked.

Speaking to Firstpost in April this year, Yeddyurappa had said as much. He denied that the community would tilt towards the Congress, and warned the party that it would be taught "a lesson of a lifetime". "Congress will taste a lesson of a lifetime for its misadventure in this religious issue. The anger and resentment of the people throughout the state is intense and widespread. Even ardent supporters of Congress are angry and want to teach Siddaramaiah a lesson for interfering in religious affairs. Nobody tolerates dividing the society. BJP draws strength and support from all religious denominations cutting across caste and creed and all rungs of the society," he said.

Conviction and arrest

The Congress had also used the issue of Yeddyurappa's arrest and jail stint for a land grab case in 2011 to criticise the BJP. Yeddyurappa was accused of denotifying government land for monetary gain. Two Bengaluru advocates had filed five cases against Yeddyurappa, his two sons, son-in-law and others, accusing them of denotifying the government land.

Yeddyurappa became the first accused in all the five cases of illegal land denotification for monetary gains. He became the first former chief minister in the state's history to have an arrest warrant against his name. He then went on to spend 25 days in jail, before being released from Bangalore Central Prison.

Later, in 2016, a CBI court had cleared Yeddyurappa and his sons. The Karnataka High Court had initially quashed all charges against Yeddyurappa, following which the Samaja Parivartana Samudaya NGO moved the Supreme Court, which asked the CBI to re-investigate the matter.

In the run-up to the Assembly election, Yeddyurappa hit back at Congress and Siddaramaiah for bringing up the issue of his stint in jail. He said he was acquitted by multiple courts. "Moreover, Siddaramaiah has conveniently forgotten that his own party leaders Rajiv Gandhi and Oscar Fernandes had taken bail to avoid jail sentences," he added.

Follow all the LIVE updates from the Karnataka election here

Track all the latest results here
Overdrive

The Honda CBR1000RR may receive a bit more than the usual MotoGP-inspired paintwork option in its next update. Reports suggest that the Japanese manufacturer may introduce a MotoGP-derived V4 engine configuration to its litre-class superbike. If this happens, it will be the biggest update to the Honda CBR1000R, which currently comes powered by a 999 cc liquid-cooled inline four engine.

The reason for this major update is that Honda will celebrate its 70th Anniversary in 2019, which is when the new CBR1000RR is due. The motorcycle could subsequently reach India by the end of 2019, if not by 2020 in time for the next Auto Expo.

The engine in question will be based on the Repsol Honda RC213V race bike, ridden by factory riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa. That should get the fanboys going. The last big update to the CBR1000RR came in 2017, but the changes were more evolutionary than all-new. It is no timid motorcycle making close to 200 PS with the ability of smoothly going from 30 kmph to 300 kmph. Read our first ride review of the 2017 CBR1000RR here.

The next-gen Honda CBR1000RR even turn out to be a proper homologation special like its predecessors the RC30 and RC45. Ducati had previously introduced its new flagship the Panigale with a V4 engine last year. The Honda CBR1000RR competes with the Yamaha YZF-R1, Suzuki GSX-R1000, Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R, BMW S1000RR, and the Aprilia RSV4.
tech2 News Staff

Honor, a sub-brand of Huawei, has had a very meteoric rise in the Indian smartphone market due to its great hardware and highly aggressive pricing strategy. It has been neck-to-neck in competition with rival Xiaomi, and its previously launched Honor 9i and Honor 9 Lite were quite successful.

Now Honor is ready to unveil its newest flagship to the global audience, the Honor 10. Here's what we can expect from the launch, which will happen today at an event in London at around 6.30 PM IST. For information on where and how to watch the event live, click here.

To recall, the Honor 10 has already seen the light of day in China, where it was launched on 19 April, so we know what exactly to expect from the phone in terms of specifications. It is only the price which is still shrouded in mystery.

In accordance with the 2018 trend, we see that the phone has a common notch design which sits on top of the 5.84-inch FHD+ LCD display having 19:9 aspect ratio.

On the bottom, there is a small chin where Honor has placed an invisible ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, which can also be used for navigation through the phone. In tech2's opinion, Honor 10 and the Huawei P20 Lite look very similar from the front.

In terms of internal hardware, the Honor 10 is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 970 chipset, which incidentally is also inside the Honor View 10, Huawei Mate 10 and, the Huawei P20 and P20 Pro. In China, the phone had two variants namely 6 GB RAM + 64 GB storage and 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage. We are hoping similar variants will be unveiled for the global audience as well.

In software terms, the phone is expected to run Huawei's custom EMUI 8.1 skin which is based on Android 8.1 Oreo.

Coming now to the optics, the Honor 10 will sport a horizontally laid out dual camera system which has a 24 MP and 16 MP sensor along with an LED flash. Both the sensors have an f/1.8 aperture and PDAF enabled as well. On the front, we see that the phone has a 24 MP sensor and it offers portrait light effects just like on the iPhone X.

In terms of connectivity, the phone has a dual-SIM 4G VoLTE slots along with USB Type-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 5.0, Wi-Fi and GPS capabilities. The entire setup is powered by a 3,400 mAh battery which has fast charging support.

The phone was launched in China at a price of CNY 2,599 (approx Rs 27,000), so we can expect the pricing to be around the same for India as well. In terms of competition, the phone is expected to challenge the upcoming OnePlus 6, which will be unveiled tomorrow in London. Honor 10 was earlier spotted on Flipkart which makes it certain that the phone is coming to India.
tech2 News Staff

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo, in a bid to challenge rival Xiaomi, is launching a new sub-brand which will be aimed at the budget audience. The brand is called Realme, which sounds quite like Xiaomi's Redmi. (We see what you did there Oppo!) The first phone under this new sub-brand is launching today has been christened as the Realme 1.

Here's how to watch the launch live.

The event will be streamed on Realme's official YouTube channel and the video has been embedded below. Apart from that, you can also check out Realme's official social media channels such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for a live stream of the event. The Realme 1 will be an Amazon exclusive.

While the official specifications of this new smartphone cannot be confirmed for now. We did come across a tweet from Twitter user @bang_gogo that has leaked out other smartphone related details in the past. Still, we recommend that you take these leaked specifications with a pinch of salt.

The phone is expected to sport a 6-inch FHD+ IPS LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio. The phone should be powered by the Helio P60 chipset and will have a 6 GB RAM + 128 GB storage variant with the option to increase storage using a micro-SD card.

In terms of camera, the phone will sport a single lens 13 MP sensor on the back and an 8 MP sensor on the front. The Realme 1 will come with Android 8.1 Oreo which will be overlayed by Oppo's custom ColorOS 5.0. The phone is not expected to have a fingerprint sensor and is expected use face authentication to unlock the device similar to the Oppo A83.

#Oppo #Realme1 6.0"

18:9 FHD+

2160 x 1080

IPS LCD

403 ppi

MT6771

6GB RAM

128GB ROM

MicroSD

Hybrid SIM slot

Android 8.1 (ColorOS 5.0)

13MP rear (PDAF, depth effect)

8MP front (Portrait mode)

Micro USB

Bluetooth 4.2

FM Radio

3410 mAh

Face unlock

No fingerprint sensor     (@bang_gogo_) May 11, 2018

In terms of connectivity, the phone should have dual-SIM 4G VoLTE slots along with Bluetooth 4.2, FM Radio, micro-USB 2.0 OTG port, Wi-Fi, and GPS. The entire setup is expected to be powered by a 3,400 mAh battery. No details are available on pricing, but the phone has been marketed and frequently compared to Redmi devices in the budget segment, so we can expect it to be priced in the same range.
tech2 News Staff

Samsung is going to delay the application of an in-display fingerprint sensor in its smartphones. In a report by a South Korean daily Chosun, the in-fingerprint display will not come in Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and one can expect it to be in Samsung Galaxy S10, which is rumoured to come in 2019.

According to the report, Samsung wants to be certain about the implementation of technology before putting it on display for the consumer. Samsung is reportedly taking its own time and wants to implement the technology not only for smartphones, but also to its other products and IoT devices.

Dubbed Fingerprint on Display (FoD) technology, according to Chosun, the technology is used to capture the details in the skin with the help of ultrasound. It provides increased accuracy and durability. On the other hand, the technology adopted by its counterparts use chipsets from companies like Synaptics and Gudix. In the technology used by these companies, a light is shot from below the display, which captures the fingerprint. This capture is reportedly found to be inaccurate. It is, however, easier to implement. This technology was reportedly adopted by Vivo in its X20 Plus UD and Vivo APEX, which were shown off at Mobile World Congress 2018.

KGI Securities analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo had also claimed previously that Samsung would not use the technology on its devices owing to technical issues.
The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting to address the violent clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel

United Nations: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will hold an emergency meeting to address the violent clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces along the Gaza Strip's border with Israel, a Palestinian envoy said on Monday.

Speaking to reporters at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, said the meeting will take place "possibly within the next 24 hours."

"We condemn in the strongest term this atrocity by the Israeli occupying forces using this massive fire power against civilians who have the right to demonstrate peacefully," Xinhua quoted Mansour as saying.

Fifty five Palestinians were killed, including eight under the age of 16, and more than 2,000 were injured in violent clashes with Israeli forces on Monday when the US moved its embassy to Jerusalem, which triggered the escalation of conflict at the Gaza border.

The escalation has brought the number of casualties since 30 March, when the Palestinians first held the "Great Return March" protests, to almost 100 dead and more than 11,000 injured.

He further demanded international protection for the civilian population and called on the security council to condemn "this massacre" and to provide security to the Palestinians.

When asked about forming an independent investigation that he had earlier urged, Mansour said 14 members of the security council were receptive to the idea but one member "was obstructing the council from doing so."

He added the UNHCR in Geneva, the world body's human rights organ, may undertake the task of establishing such an investigation commission.

Mansour said he expects the Palestinian leadership later Monday to decide on whether to refer to the recent events as war crimes, as recommended by the Palestinian National Council.
In a jarring contrast, Israeli forces shot and killed at least 55 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,200 during mass protests on Monday along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

Gaza City, Gaza Strip: In a jarring contrast, Israeli forces shot and killed at least 55 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,200 during mass protests on Monday along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

It was by far the deadliest day of cross-border violence since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, and further dimmed the already bleak prospects for President Donald Trump's hoped-for peace plan.

Throughout the day, Gaza protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism for using excessive force against unarmed protesters, said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released a video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

Monday's protests culminated more than a month of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade. But, the US Embassy move, bitterly opposed by the Palestinians, added further fuel.

There was barely any mention of the Gaza violence at Monday's lavish inauguration ceremony for the new embassy, an upgraded consular building located just 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials joined an American delegation of Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser, headlined the U.S. delegation with his wife and fellow White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and four Republican senators. Republican super-donor Sheldon Adelson was also present, and evangelical pastors Robert Jeffress and John Hagee delivered blessings.

"A great day for Israel!" Trump tweeted earlier on Monday.

In a videotaped address, Trump said the embassy move, a key campaign promise, recognises the "plain reality" that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Yet, he added the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement."

But, Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move in the Arab world raised new doubts about Trump's ambitions to broker what he called the "deal of the century." More than a year after taking office, Trump's mideast team has yet to produce a long-promised peace plan.

Trump says recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital acknowledges the reality that Israel's government is located there as well as the ancient Jewish connection to the city. He insists the decision has no impact on future negotiations on the city's final borders.

But, to both Israel and the Palestinians, the American gesture is widely seen as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their longstanding conflict.

"What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history," Netanyahu told the inauguration ceremony.

"You can only build peace on truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state," he added.

The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as their capital, have cut off ties with the Trump administration and say the US is unfit to serve as a mediator. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognised.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, furious over the embassy ceremony, said he "will not accept" any peace deal proposed by the Trump administration.

The Palestinian president also urged the international community to condemn what he said were "massacres" carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza, and officials said the Palestinians would file a war crimes complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court over settlement construction.

By nightfall, at least 55 Palestinians, including a young girl and four other minors, were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said. It said 1,204 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, including 116 who were in serious or critical condition.

Egypt, an important Israeli ally, condemned the killings of Palestinian protesters, while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, decried the "shocking killing of dozens."

Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador to the United States over the US Embassy move, saying it "disregarded the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and would "not serve peace, security and stability in the region." It also recalled its ambassador to Israel following what it called a "massacre" of Palestinians on the Gaza border.

South Africa, a fervent supporter of the Palestinians, also recalled its ambassador for consultations, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and show restraint, while also urging Hamas to ensure any protests remain peaceful. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a similar appeal.

At the US Embassy ceremony in Jerusalem, Kushner placed the blame on the Gaza protesters.

"As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution," he said.

Israel says the blockade of Gaza, imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas overran the territory in 2007, is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its military capabilities. But, it has decimated Gaza's economy, sending unemployment skyrocketing to over 40 percent and leaving the territory with just a few hours of electricity a day.

The Israeli military estimated a turnout of about 40,000 at Monday's protest, saying it fell short of what Hamas had hoped for. But, officials described what they called "unprecedented violence" unseen in previous weeks.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said hundreds of protesters carried out "concerted, coordinated" attacks on the border fence.

Although the crowd did not manage to break through, he said they caused "significant damage." The army released video showing demonstrators setting a cargo crossing on fire and appearing to climb on the fence as they lobbed flaming objects into the Israeli side.

Conricus also said Hamas militants disguised as protesters tried to infiltrate, and there were at least three instances of armed Hamas gunmen trying to carry out attacks. Israeli aircraft and tanks struck seven Hamas positions.

Monday marked the biggest showdown in years between Israel's military and Gaza's Hamas rulers along the volatile border. The sides have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war  their third in a decade.

Since the protests began on 30 March, 105 Palestinians have been killed, most of them protesters. Israel said it killed three militants trying to plant a bomb along the fence, and Palestinian security officials said several Hamas militants were also killed by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests would continue "until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved."

Throughout the day, sirens wailed as the wounded were carried to ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

The timing of Monday's events was deeply symbolic to Israel and the Palestinians.

The US said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment.

But, Tuesday also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. A day of mourning and mass funerals was planned on Tuesday.

A majority of Gaza's 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the "Great March of Return" to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

The new embassy will temporarily operate from an upgraded, existing US consulate building, until a decision is made on a permanent location. Even the current location is sensitive, located partially in an area designated "no-man's land" in a 1949 armistice agreement. The UN considers that land to be occupied territory, though the US says in practice the area has been in continuous Israeli use since 1949.
In a jarring contrast, Israeli forces shot and killed 57 Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 during mass protests Monday along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem

Gaza City, Gaza Strip: In a jarring contrast, Israeli forces shot and killed 57 Palestinians and injured more than 2,700 during mass protests Monday along the Gaza border, while just a few miles away Israel and the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new American Embassy in contested Jerusalem.

In addition, a baby died from tear gas inhalation, the Gaza Health Ministry said, bringing the overall death toll to 58.

It was by far the deadliest day of cross-border violence since a devastating 2014 war between Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers, and further dimmed the already bleak prospects for President Donald Trump's hoped-for peace plan.

Throughout the day, Gaza protesters set tires ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli troops across the border. The Israeli military, which has come under international criticism for using excessive force against unarmed protesters, said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

Monday's protests culminated more than a month of weekly demonstrations aimed at breaking a crippling Israeli-Egyptian border blockade. But, the US Embassy move, bitterly opposed by the Palestinians, added further fuel.

There was barely any mention of the Gaza violence at Monday's lavish inauguration ceremony for the new embassy, an upgraded consular building located just 50 miles (80 kilometers) away. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other top officials joined an American delegation of Trump administration officials and Republican and evangelical Christian supporters.

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser, headlined the US delegation with his wife and fellow White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, as well as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and four Republican senators. Republican super-donor Sheldon Adelson was also present, and evangelical pastors Robert Jeffress and John Hagee delivered blessings.

"A great day for Israel!" Trump tweeted earlier Monday.

In a videotaped address, Trump said the embassy move, a key campaign promise, recognises the "plain reality" that Jerusalem is Israel's capital. Yet, he added the United States "remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement."

But, Monday's steadily climbing death toll and wall-to-wall condemnation of the embassy move in the Arab world raised new doubts about Trump's ambitions to broker what he called the "deal of the century." More than a year after taking office, Trump's Mideast team has yet to produce a long-promised peace plan.

Trump says recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital acknowledges the reality that Israel's government is located there as well as the ancient Jewish connection to the city. He insists the decision has no impact on future negotiations on the city's final borders.

But, to both Israel and the Palestinians, the American gesture is widely seen as siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their longstanding conflict.

"What a glorious day. Remember this moment. This is history," Netanyahu told the inauguration ceremony.

"You can only build peace on truth, and the truth is that Jerusalem has been and will always be the capital of the Jewish people, the capital of the Jewish state," he added.

The Palestinians, who seek east Jerusalem as their capital, have cut off ties with the Trump administration and say the US is unfit to serve as a mediator. Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war and annexed the area in a move that is not internationally recognized.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, furious over the embassy ceremony, said he "will not accept" any peace deal proposed by the Trump administration.

The Palestinian president also urged the international community to condemn what he said were "massacres" carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza, and officials said the Palestinians would file a war crimes complaint against Israel in the International Criminal Court over settlement construction.

At least 58 Palestinians were killed, the Gaza Health Ministry said. It said the toll included 57 killed by gunfire and a baby who was overcome by tear gas inhalation.

Six of those killed by gunshots were minors, the ministry said. In addition, 1,360 Palestinians were wounded by gunfire, including 130 who were in serious or critical condition.

Egypt, an important Israeli ally, condemned the killings of Palestinian protesters, while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, decried the "shocking killing of dozens."

Turkey said it was recalling its ambassador to the United States over the US Embassy move, saying it "disregarded the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people" and would "not serve peace, security and stability in the region." It also recalled its ambassador to Israel following what it called a "massacre" of Palestinians on the Gaza border.

South Africa, a fervent supporter of the Palestinians, also recalled its ambassador for consultations, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the "principle of proportionality in the use of force" and show restraint, while also urging Hamas to ensure any protests remain peaceful. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a similar appeal.

At the US Embassy ceremony in Jerusalem, Kushner placed the blame on the Gaza protesters.

"As we have seen from the protests of the last month and even today those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution," he said.

Israel says the blockade of Gaza, imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas overran the territory in 2007, is needed to prevent Hamas from building up its military capabilities. But, it has decimated Gaza's economy, sending unemployment skyrocketing to over 40 percent and leaving the territory with just a few hours of electricity a day.

The Israeli military estimated a turnout of about 40,000 at Monday's protest, saying it fell short of what Hamas had hoped for. But, officials described what they called "unprecedented violence" unseen in previous weeks.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, a military spokesman, said hundreds of protesters carried out "concerted, coordinated" attacks on the border fence.

Although the crowd did not manage to break through, he said they caused "significant damage." The army released video showing demonstrators setting a cargo crossing on fire and appearing to climb on the fence as they lobbed flaming objects into the Israeli side.

Conricus also said Hamas militants disguised as protesters tried to infiltrate, and there were at least three instances of armed Hamas gunmen trying to carry out attacks. Israeli aircraft and tanks struck seven Hamas positions.

Monday marked the biggest showdown in years between Israel's military and Gaza's Hamas rulers along the volatile border. The sides have largely observed a cease-fire since the 2014 war  their third in a decade.

Since the protests began on 30 March, 100 Palestinians have been killed, most of them protesters. Israel said it killed three militants trying to plant a bomb along the fence, and Palestinian security officials said several Hamas militants were also killed by Israeli shelling in northern Gaza.

Ismail Radwan, a senior Hamas figure, said the mass border protests would continue "until the rights of the Palestinian people are achieved."

Throughout the day, sirens wailed as the wounded were carried to ambulances. Groups of young activists repeatedly approached the fence, but were quickly scattered by gunfire and tear gas.

The timing of Monday's events was deeply symbolic to Israel and the Palestinians.

The US said it chose the date to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel's establishment.

But, Tuesday also marks the anniversary of what Palestinians call their "nakba," or catastrophe, a reference to the uprooting of hundreds of thousands who fled or were expelled during the 1948 war surrounding Israel's creation. A day of mourning and mass funerals was planned Tuesday.

A majority of Gaza's 2 million people are descendants of refugees, and the protests have been billed as the "Great March of Return" to long-lost homes in what is now Israel.

The new embassy will temporarily operate from an upgraded, existing US consulate building, until a decision is made on a permanent location. Even the current location is sensitive, located partially in an area designated "no-man's land" in a 1949 armistice agreement. The UN considers that land to be occupied territory, though the US says in practice the area has been in continuous Israeli use since 1949.
Given that Pakistan is believed to have the fifth-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, the question is just how secure their nuclear assets are.

The United States has periodically expressed concern that nuclear weapons and materials in Pakistan could land up in the hands of terrorist organisations. This concern has become more aggravated with the development of tactical weapons which will be distributed to the lowest rung of the Pakistani army.

Only last week, US authorities reiterated their apprehension of potential contact between Pakistans nuclear scientists and extremist groups. This is a matter of great concern for the Indian defence establishment which remains sceptical about whether Pakistan will be able to keep its nuclear weapons safe from terrorists.

Both India and Pakistan continue to share a volatile border, with cross-border firing having stepped up during the Modi regime. India is only too aware that Pakistani army is using asymmetrical warfare whereby terrorist networks are used by the military and ISI to further their objectives.

But given that Pakistan is believed to have the fifth-largest nuclear arsenal in the world, the question is just how secure are their nuclear assets given the fear that a 'dirty bomb could land up in the wrong hands?

Security expert Dr Bharat Karnad, Research Professor in National Security Studies at the Centre for Policy Research and author of two books on India s nuclear policy, says, "The concern of a rogue nuke has been there for some time. This is a matter of concern for the Indian government. What can you do? There is always the possibility of terrorists taking over a nuclear installation," said Dr Karnad.

But he went on to emphasise, "Pakistans nuclear assets are looked after by the Strategic Arms Division. SAD has its own security organisation which is extremely professional...The Pakistan army is an extremely professional one and its nuclear assets are its crown jewels. There is no way they will allow these to be made vulnerable. The Pakistan army has insulated both the ISI and the SAD from Taliban outfits."

To a question on whether China has any access to Pakistans nuclear assets, Dr Karnad replied, "China has no say in their nuclear program. China is only a supplier. The plutonium producing reactors in Khushab have been set up with Chinese assistance.

On the issue of Indias response to a rogue attack, Dr Karnad said, "Unlike Pakistan, Indias own Ministry of Defence is not in the picture. Nuclear response is in within the ambit of the PMO and the NSA."

Dr R Rajaraman, emeritus professor of theoretical physics at JNU and co-chair of International Panel in Fissile Materials believes Pakistans heavy water reactors at Khushab can together produce only 105 kg of Pu in a period of five years and there is no way they can reach the figure of 200 warheads by 2020 as has been projected by some security analysts.

On the crucial issue of these weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, Dr Rajaraman replied, "I don't think terror groups like the Taliban can get their hands on a Pakistani bomb. They may have launched some attacks at the gates of some military bases. But that is a far cry from penetrating the rings of security that Pakistan must undoubtedly have to guard its weapons."

Dr Rajaraman is more concerned about the use of the Nasr missiles given that there is no clear command and control status of these battlefield nuclear missiles. He goes on to say, "Because it is a battlefield weapon, there is an increased possibility of terrorists getting hold of it in transit or in the heat of battle and that can be an extremely dangerous development."

Elaborating on this point, Dr Rajaraman maintains that while the `button is controlled by a collection of people from the apex political and military sections of Pakistan, how this chain of command will prove effective in a battlefield weapon is a different issue.

He further said, "The field commander will be given some level of on-the-spot decision making on its launch but this also increases the probability of an accidental development. Its use represents a very unwise move which raises the level of nuclear danger in the subcontinent, he added.

Dr Anil Kakodkar, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, believes that the apprehension of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorist groups is not misplaced. "I think we have to be always on the alert on how to deal with such situations and our response to such a development will naturally be very complex, said Dr Kakodkar.

He refused to spell out what this response mechanism would be except to say, "We have enough mechanisms in place to deal with such a situation.. We can only hope that anyone who acquires nuclear weapons shows higher degrees of responsible behaviour, said the eminent scientist.

Prof Srikumar Banerjee, Chancellor, Homi Bhabha National Institute and former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, is circumspect about such a development. He believes multiple checks are maintained in the national boundaries of nations with nuclear arsenal and nuclear materials.

"The safety of this material is the responsibility of the concerned governments. That is why every nuclear reactor or production facility is protected and the material counted down to the last milligram, said Banerjee.

Citing the example of India, he said, "There is complete accounting which is done very vigorously and cannot be deviated from. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also laid down very strict norms which each nation has to follow.

Prof MV Ramana,theoretical physicist, who has authored a book on India's nuclear power does not rule out the possibility of non-state actors acquiring nuclear weapons.

Prof Ramana said, "I don't think one can rule out the possibility of non-state actors in Pakistan or, for that matter, in India, obtaining nuclear weapons. However, they do not, as far as I know possess any nuclear weapons. Nor do I think will it be easy for them to get their hands on nuclear weapons. All countries try to protect their nuclear weapons to the extent possible."

On several occasions, Pakistani intellectuals have also expressed their apprehensions on this possibility. Pakistan Air Commodore Tariq Ashrafs book Evolving Dynamics of a Nuclear South Asia highlights the absence of a civilian and bureaucratic involvement in Pakistan Nuclear Control Authority.

Other neighbouring countries apart from India are concerned about the likelihood of such an event. It has now come to the fore that following the Taliban attack on an army-run school in Peshawar three years ago, Pakistans Atomic Energy Commission wrote a letter to the SPD expressing concern about such a development given that Pakistan is home to hundreds of terrorists.

Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf has gone to the extent of claiming that nuclear stockpiles were not being collected to be used at the time of a festival. Meanwhile, even as Pakistan maintains its nuclear force is being built up to deter a conventional attack by India, it is also being used as a cover for terrorist attacks it sponsors in India such as the infamous Mumbai attack
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's state security prosecutor ordered on Monday the detention of 20 people for 15 days pending an investigation into their roles in protests at Cairo metro stations last week after the government raised fares, state news MENA reported. There were small but rare protests at metro stations across Cairo on Saturday after fares more than tripled for some commuters as the government tightens spending and implements measures to achieve IMF-backed economic reforms. Cairo has since deployed heavy security around stations to prevent further unrest.

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's state security prosecutor ordered on Monday the detention of 20 people for 15 days pending an investigation into their roles in protests at Cairo metro stations last week after the government raised fares, state news MENA reported.

There were small but rare protests at metro stations across Cairo on Saturday after fares more than tripled for some commuters as the government tightens spending and implements measures to achieve IMF-backed economic reforms.

Cairo has since deployed heavy security around stations to prevent further unrest.

The metro system has accumulated losses of 618.6 million pounds, according to MENA.

On Sunday, a public prosecutor ordered 10 people accused of demonstrating to remain in custody for four days pending investigations into illegal protesting.

Monday's state security order brought the number of people jailed so far as part of the metro protests to 30.

The state security prosecutor is also investigating the 20 individuals for working with an organisation "established outside the provisions of the law," according to MENA, a likely reference to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood, which some government officials have blamed for the demonstrations.

Protests have become extremely rare in Egypt since a law passed in 2013 banned demonstrations not approved by the Interior Ministry, taking away a right earned in the 2011 uprising that toppled long-time autocrat President Hosni Mubarak.

A charge of illegally protesting can carry a prison sentence of up to five years.

The government said higher fares were needed to keep the metro running and to finance extensions being built to serve more of the capital city's 25 million people. More than three million people use the metro every day.

(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan and Ahmed Tolba; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Toni Reinhold)

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By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, coupled with the killings of dozens of Palestinian protesters on Monday, makes the odds of a U.S.-brokered peace even more remote, analysts said

By Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The move of the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, coupled with the killings of dozens of Palestinian protesters on Monday, makes the odds of a U.S.-brokered peace even more remote, analysts said.

"Somewhere between zero and none," Martin Indyk, a former U.S. special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in the Obama administration, said of the chances President Donald Trump might bring the two sides together and broker what he has called the "ultimate deal."

Israeli troops fatally shot dozens of Palestinian demonstrators on the Gaza border on Monday as the U.S. Embassy formally moved to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The embassy move fulfilled a Trump campaign promise but infuriated Palestinians and drew criticism that Washington had undercut its own peace efforts.

Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel was acting in self-defence against the coastal enclave's ruling Hamas group.

"Its hard to see how any Palestinian leader could go back to an American-sponsored peace process" given the embassy move and the Gaza killings, said Khaled Elgindy, a former adviser to the Palestinian leadership now at Washington's Brookings Institution think tank.

"If and when the administration puts forward a peace plan, it is most likely DOA (dead on arrival)," he added, saying Trump had done nothing to calm matters. "At a minimum, that would require urging the Israelis to stop using lethal force against unarmed protesters."

BLAMING HAMAS

Rather than calling for restraint by Israel, as both France and Britain did, the United States blamed Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group.

"Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response," White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters, adding the United States did not believe the opening of the embassy or the latest violence would affect its peace plan.

Hamas denied instigating the violence.

Trump has argued that by recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Americas close ally, he had "taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table" and formalised realities on the ground.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognised internationally, as its "eternal and indivisible capital."

Most countries say Jerusalem's status should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal. The Trump administration has said the embassy move does not aim to prejudge Jerusalem's final borders.

But Senator Tim Kaine, the 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee, told Reuters that "most in the region view the U.S.s position as were no longer interested in playing the role to broker peace, and that just compounds a lot of despair and its tragic.

Dan Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt who now teaches at Princeton University, suggested Trump's administration could regain some credibility among the Palestinians if it were to pledge to open a U.S. embassy in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as their capital, when a Palestinian state came into being.

"If he says that, then the U.S. is back in business," he said. "What is the likelihood of that? ... Pretty meagre."

Washington's regional allies have publicly expressed dismay about the embassy move, but they share a determination with Washington to thwart what they view as Iran's expansionism in the region. They also count on the United States for their security.

WIDE SCEPTICISM

"Its not just that it's provoked violence or that it's made the United States look like the biased broker instead of the honest broker," Indyk said of the embassy move, "but it also has set the process back in a way that all this loose talk about how its going to advance peace is ludicrous."

Trump administration officials have said their peace plan, whose chief architects are the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, is nearly complete.

"The peace plan will be brought forward at the appropriate time. It can be evaluated on its merits," said Shah, the White House spokesman.

But it had drawn widespread skepticism even before the latest developments. The Palestinians have boycotted the process since Trump's Jerusalem announcement in December.

Indyk said the decision "hasnt advanced peace at all.

"The idea that ... it's going to convince the Palestinians that now they should come back to the table is a fundamental misrepresentation of what they've done," he added. "They've driven the Palestinians away from the table and given them the excuse not to come back."

(Reporting by Arshad Mohammed and Matt Spetalnick; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and and Peter Cooney)

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CAIRO (Reuters) - Four Egyptian workers were killed and two injured, when a land mine exploded east of Cairo in an area where the government is constructing a new administrative capital, security sources said. The sources said the mine was likely a remnant of the 1973 war Egypt fought with Israel for control of the Sinai peninsula. Egypt's ambitious plan to construct a new metropolis 45 km (28 miles) east of Cairo was announced in March 2015 as part of a plan to lure back foreign investors who fled after its 2011 uprising

CAIRO (Reuters) - Four Egyptian workers were killed and two injured, when a land mine exploded east of Cairo in an area where the government is constructing a new administrative capital, security sources said.

The sources said the mine was likely a remnant of the 1973 war Egypt fought with Israel for control of the Sinai peninsula.

Egypt's ambitious plan to construct a new metropolis 45 km (28 miles) east of Cairo was announced in March 2015 as part of a plan to lure back foreign investors who fled after its 2011 uprising.

(Reporting by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Andrew Roche)

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BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Monday a missile salvo into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last week marked a new phase in the Syrian war and showed Damascus and its allies would not let Israeli attacks in Syria go unanswered. Israel has said the attack from Syrian territory was carried out by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which set up Shi'ite Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982.

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah group said on Monday a missile salvo into the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights last week marked a new phase in the Syrian war and showed Damascus and its allies would not let Israeli attacks in Syria go unanswered.

Israel has said the attack from Syrian territory was carried out by Iran's Revolutionary Guards, which set up Shi'ite Hezbollah in Lebanon in 1982. Iranian forces and Hezbollah have deployed to Syria in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Israel said it had attacked nearly all of Iran's military infrastructure in Syria in response to the attack, which marked the first time Iranian forces have fired at Israeli-held territory. It was the most extensive military exchange ever between the foes.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a televised speech, said 55 missiles were fired in the attack last Thursday - nearly three times more than the 20 missiles which Israel said were shot down or had not reached their targets in the attack.

He did not say if Hezbollah had taken part in the attack.

"The message delivered ... is that neither the Syrian leadership, nor the Syrian army, nor the Syrian people, nor the allies of Syria will allow Syria to remain exposed to Israeli attacks and they are ready to go to the furthest extent," Nasrallah said.

Israel had tried to disguise the scale of the attack, he said. The rocket attack had set the stage for "an entirely new phase", he said.

Israel, which fears Iran and Hezbollah are turning Syria into a new front against it, has struck targets in the country many times during the war, hitting the Syrian army, Hezbollah and what it has characterized as Iran-backed positions.

Ahead of last week's attack, Iran had vowed to respond to an Israeli attack which it said had killed seven of its military personnel at a Syrian air base in April.

Addressing Israel, Nasrallah said: "If you thought that you could kill and bomb without receiving a response, then you are wrong and misguided, and the response will be in the appropriate form and time."

Israel said the attack was carried out by the Quds Force, an external arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. The White House said Iran's deployment of offensive rocket and missile systems in Syria aimed at Israel was "an unacceptable and highly dangerous development for the entire Middle East".

Nasrallah said Israel had not struck strategically significant targets during its attacks in Syria.

He added that a message had been delivered to Israel via an international party that if it crossed "red lines" then the "next bombardment would be in the heart of occupied Palestine".

He was referring to Israel's borders on the eve of the 1967 war. Nasrallah did not spell out what the "red lines" were.

Earlier on Monday, Nasrallah's deputy, Sheikh Naim Qassem, said the attack had affirmed "the balance of deterrence" between Israel and its adversaries.

(Reporting by Tom Perry and Laila Bassam; Editing by Andrew Roche and Hugh Lawson)

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By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams GAZA-ISRAEL BORDER (Reuters) - Palestinians buried the dead on Tuesday from the bloodiest day in Gaza in years, after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border during demonstrations against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Israeli forces shot dead two more Palestinians on Tuesday, although protests were quieter than the previous day.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams

GAZA-ISRAEL BORDER (Reuters) - Palestinians buried the dead on Tuesday from the bloodiest day in Gaza in years, after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians near the Gaza-Israel border during demonstrations against the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces shot dead two more Palestinians on Tuesday, although protests were quieter than the previous day. It appeared that many protesters had gone to mourning tents rather than back to the scene of Monday's bloodshed. Mourners marched through the strip, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge.

"With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs," they shouted.

Hundreds marched in the funeral of eight-month-old Leila al-Ghandour, whose body was wrapped in a Palestinian flag.

"Let her stay with me, it is too early for her to go," her mother cried, pressing the baby's body to her chest. The family said she died of inhaling tear gas.

At Gaza's hospitals, families crowded the halls and spilled out of rooms as patients awaited treatment. Bassem Ibrahim, who said he was shot in the leg by Israeli troops, said at one stage he had feared losing the limb because of the delays.

"There are not many doctors. They are unable to see everyone, with all the injuries," said Ibrahim, 23. "The number was unbelievable and they did not have time."

On the Israeli side of the border, Israeli sharpshooters took up positions to stop any attempted breach of the fence should demonstrations break out again. Tanks were also deployed.

But if the violence tapered off, it still had a forceful impact internationally, with countries criticising both the Israeli use of deadly force and the U.S. decision to open its new embassy at a ceremony attended by President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador, and Israel expelled the Turkish consul-general in Jerusalem. President Tayyip Erdogan exchanged heated words on Twitter with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinians summoned home their representative in Washington, citing the embassy decision.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for provoking the violence. "Theyre pushing civilians  women, children  into the line of fire with a view of getting casualties. We try to minimize casualties. They're trying to incur casualties in order to put pressure on Israel, which is horrible," Netanyahu told CBS News

For the past six weeks, Palestinians have been holding Gaza border demonstrations demanding access to family land or homes lost to Israel when it was founded in the 1948 Middle East war. Israel rejects that demand, fearing it would deprive the state of its Jewish majority.

Palestinian medical officials say 107 Gazans have now been killed since the start of the protests and nearly 11,000 people wounded, about 3,500 of them by live fire. Israeli officials dispute those numbers. No Israeli casualties have been reported.

Palestinian leaders have called Monday's events a massacre, and the Israeli tactic of using live fire against the protesters has drawn worldwide concern and condemnation.

The United Nations Security Council met to discuss the situation.

Israel has said it is acting in self-defence to protect its borders and communities. Its main ally, the United States, has backed that stance and both say that Hamas, which rules Gaza, instigated the violence, an allegation denied by the militant group opposed to Israel's existence.

The Israeli military said at least 24 of those killed on Monday were "terrorists with documented terror background" and most of them were active operatives of Hamas.

The Islamic Jihad militant group posted portraits of three uniformed members whom it said were killed when they took part as non-combatants in the protests, and the Hamas-led interior ministry posted pictures of 10 of its security men killed in the protests whom it said were unarmed and monitoring the crowds.

On Tuesday morning, mourners marched through Gaza, waving Palestinian flags and calling for revenge.

"With souls and blood we redeem you martyrs," they shouted.

May 15 is traditionally the day Palestinians mark the "Nakba", or Catastrophe, when hundreds of thousands fled or were driven from their homes in violence culminating in war between the newly created Jewish state and its Arab neighbours in 1948.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the Gaza Strip, more than two-thirds of them refugees. Citing security concerns, Israel and Egypt maintain tight curbs on the enclave, deepening economic hardship and raising humanitarian concerns.

On the Israeli side of the border, Israeli sharpshooters took up positions to stop any attempted breach of the fence should demonstrations break out again. Tanks were also deployed.

A senior Israeli commander said that of the 60 Gazans killed on Monday, 14 were carrying out attacks and 14 others were militants.

He also said Palestinians protesters were using hundreds of pipe bombs, grenades and fire-bombs. Militants had opened fire on Israeli troops and tried to set off explosives by the fence.

Many casualties were caused by Palestinians carrying devices that went off prematurely," he said.

"We approve every round fired before it is fired. Every target is spotted in advance. We know where the bullet lands and where it is aimed," said the commander, who spoke on condition that he not be named, in accordance with Israeli regulations.

"However, reality on the ground is such that unintended damage is caused," he said.

In Geneva, the U.N. human rights office condemned what it called the "appalling deadly violence" by Israeli forces.

U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said Israel had a right to defend its borders according to international law, but lethal force must only be used a last resort, and was not justified by Palestinians approaching the Gaza fence.

The U.N. rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Michael Lynk, said Israel's use of force may amount to a war crime.

YOUNG VICTIM

Many shops in East Jerusalem were shut throughout the day following a call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a general strike across the Palestinian Territories. A 70-second siren was sounded in the occupied West Bank in commemoration of the Nakba.

Most Gaza protesters stay around tent camps but groups have ventured closer to the border fence, rolling burning tyres and throwing stones. Some have flown kites carrying containers of petrol that spread fires on the Israeli side.

On Tuesday the number of protesters gathered at the frontier was estimated by the Israeli army at 4,000, well down on Monday.

Monday's protests were fuelled by the opening ceremony for the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem following its relocation from Tel Aviv. The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognised the city as Israel's capital.

Palestinians envision East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Israel regards all of Jerusalem, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which it later annexed, as its "eternal and indivisible capital".

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Netanyahu on Monday praised Trump but Palestinians have said the United States can no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process. Talks aimed at finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Trump said on Monday he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. His administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence. Hamas denied instigating it but the White House backed Netanyahu, saying Hamas "intentionally and cynically provoking this response".

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have expressed "outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians" and called for an independent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

In the British parliament, junior foreign office minister Alistair Burt said the United States needed to show more understanding about the causes of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas' role in the violence must be investigated, he added.

(Additional reporting by Stephen Farrell, Writing by Maayan Lubell, Jeffrey Heller and Ori Lewis, Peter Graff, Editing by William Maclean)

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By Alice Popovici NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York nanny convicted of fatally stabbing two young children in her care was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime that has been described as every parent's nightmare. In a case that drew national headlines, Yoselyn Ortega, 56, was found guilty by a jury in April of murdering both Lucia Krim, 6, nicknamed Lulu, and her 2-year-old brother, Leo, and leaving their bloody bodies in a bathtub in their luxury Manhattan apartment in October 2012

By Alice Popovici

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York nanny convicted of fatally stabbing two young children in her care was sentenced on Monday to life in prison without the possibility of parole for a crime that has been described as every parent's nightmare.

In a case that drew national headlines, Yoselyn Ortega, 56, was found guilty by a jury in April of murdering both Lucia Krim, 6, nicknamed Lulu, and her 2-year-old brother, Leo, and leaving their bloody bodies in a bathtub in their luxury Manhattan apartment in October 2012.

Judge Gregory Carro on Monday called the case "pure evil" before issuing the sentence, the stiffest available.

The two-month trial at state Supreme Court in Manhattan featured testimony by the children's mother, Marina Krim.

She recalled the shock of returning to the family's Upper West Side apartment to find her children slain and their nanny standing over them stabbing her own neck with a kitchen knife. Krim had come home with the children's 3-year-old sister, Nessie, after Ortega failed to show up with the children at Lulu's dance lesson.

"I just wanted to wake up from this nightmare that I knew wasn't a nightmare. It was real," Krim told jurors. "It's like a total horror movie."

The motive, prosecutors said, was Ortega's overwhelming financial problems after bringing her 17-year-old son from the Dominican Republic and her resentment toward Marina Krim, married to then-CNBC executive Kevin Krim, for being the mother "she could never be."

In 2012, in the aftermath of the killings, the Krims founded the Lulu & Leo Fund, which supports creativity in schools. Their family now includes two more children: Felix, born in October 2013, and Linus, born in January 2016.

Ortega's lawyers had failed to convince the jury she was not guilty by reason of insanity.

(Writing by Barbara Goldberg and Jon Herskovitz; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Lisa Shumaker)

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said it was suspending high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for later in the day on Wednesday due to U.S.-South Korean military exercises that it said went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - North Korea said it was suspending high-level talks with South Korea scheduled for later in the day on Wednesday due to U.S.-South Korean military exercises that it said went against the trend of warming North-South ties.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency also cast doubt on whether next month's summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump could go ahead as planned, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

"This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula," Yonhap quoted KCNA as saying.

"The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities."

Wednesday's meeting was due to focus on plans to implement a declaration that emerged from an April 27 inter-Korea summit in the border village of Panmunjom, including promises to formally end the Korean War and pursue "complete denuclearization," the South's unification ministry, which handles ties with the North, said on Tuesday.

KCNA called the U.S.-South Korean "Max Thunder" air combat drills, which it said involved U.S. stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, a "provocation" and said Pyongyang had no choice but to suspend the talks.

(Reporting by David Brunnstrom and Tim Ahmann; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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North Korea canceled a high-level meeting Wednesday with South Korea and threatened also to call off a historic summit planned later this month with the United States due to ongoing military exercises between the South and the U.S., South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Seoul: North Korea canceled a high-level meeting Wednesday with South Korea and threatened also to call off a historic summit planned later this month with the United States due to ongoing military exercises between the South and the U.S., South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

The two Koreas were set to hold a meeting later Wednesday at a border truce village to discuss setting up military and Red Cross talks aimed at reducing border tension and restarting reunions between families separated by the Korean War.

But hours before the meeting was to take place, Pyongyang canceled the meeting and also questioned whether next month's talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump would happen, Yonhap reported, citing North Korea's Korean Central News Agency.

"The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-U.S. summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities," KCNA reported.

The two-week military exercise between the U.S. and South Korea started Friday and included about 100 warplanes, Yonhap said.

On Tuesday, South Korea's military said North Korea was moving ahead with plans to close its nuclear test site next week, an assessment backed by U.S. researchers who say satellite images show the North has begun dismantling facilities at the site.

The site's closure was set to come before Kim and Trump's summit, which had been shaping up to be a crucial moment in the global diplomatic push to resolve the nuclear standoff with the North.
By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thirty-four Chilean bishops summoned to the Vatican over a cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy began crisis meetings with Pope Francis on Tuesday that could result in a purge of Chile's Catholic hierarchy. 'We feel pain and shame,' Fernando Ramos, an auxiliary bishop of Santiago, told a news conference ahead of the three days of closed-door meetings

By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thirty-four Chilean bishops summoned to the Vatican over a cover-up of sexual abuse by clergy began crisis meetings with Pope Francis on Tuesday that could result in a purge of Chile's Catholic hierarchy.

"We feel pain and shame," Fernando Ramos, an auxiliary bishop of Santiago, told a news conference ahead of the three days of closed-door meetings.

The scandal has devastated the credibility of the Church in the once staunchly Catholic country. It has also hurt the pope's own image because this year he strongly defended a bishop accused in the alleged cover-up before reversing his position.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Gonzalez of the city of San Bernardo said he could not rule out some of the tainted bishops resigning or being sacked, as many Chileans have demanded.

"It does not depend on us. Each person must decide this together with the pope," he said.

One of the key bishops in the crisis is Juan Barros, whom the pope appointed to the southern city of Osorno in 2015 despite allegations that he had covered up sexual abuse of minors by his mentor, Father Fernando Karadima. Barros has said he was unaware of any wrongdoing.

Luis Badilla, a Rome-based Chilean commentator for the Vatican-affiliated blog "Il Sismografo", called for "exemplary and educational decisions" by the pope to put the Chilean Church back on course.

A Vatican statement said that at the start of the meeting the pope handed each bishop a list of themes on which they should meditate and pray before the start of the next encounter on Wednesday.

During his trip to Chile in January, the pope said he had no proof against Barros, believed he was innocent, and that accusations against him were "slander" until proven otherwise.

But days after returning to Rome, the pope, citing new information, sent sexual abuse investigator Archbishop Charles Scicluna of Malta to Chile to speak to victims, witnesses and other Church members. He produced a 2,300-page report that will be discussed at the Vatican meetings.

VICTIMS FELT DEMONISED, DISCREDITED

Victims have also accused other bishops of either covering up the abuse by Karadima, of delaying investigations, or of discrediting victims in the media and demonizing them in private conversations and emails.

Last month, Francis held four days of meetings with Juan Carlos Cruz, James Hamilton and Jose Andres Murillo, three men abused by Karadima when they were teenagers in Santiago.

They said in a statement afterwards that they had been "treated as enemies" by Chilean Church leaders for 10 years.

Karadima, who trained some of the bishops for the priesthood decades ago, was found guilty in a Vatican investigation in 2011 of abusing boys in Santiago in the 1970s and 1980s.

He never faced civilian justice because of the statute of limitations. Now 87 and living in a nursing home in Chile, Karadima has always denied the allegations.

At the pre-meeting news conference, Gonzalez said he had met many victims and knew the three who met the pope last month.

One of the victims, Cruz, later tweeted: "I've never seen him before in my life. The truth according to the bishops of Chile is very different from what we all have lived."

In a stern statement last Saturday, the Vatican indicated that the pope intended to be tough.

It spoke of "cover-ups and grave omissions regarding the victims" and said the meetings would seek to determine "collective and individual responsibility for these devastating wounds".

In a homily at his daily morning Mass on Tuesday, without specifically mentioning Chile, Francis said every bishop should know "when its time to take his leave and step down".

(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday was sucked halfway out of the plane after a cockpit windshield blew out

Shanghai: The co-pilot of a Sichuan Airlines flight that was forced to make an emergency landing on Monday was sucked halfway out of the plane after a cockpit windshield blew out, media reported, citing the aircrafts captain.

Liu Chuanjian, hailed a hero on social media after having to land the Airbus A319 manually, told the Chengdu Economic Daily his aircraft had just reached a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet when a deafening sound tore through the cockpit.

The cockpit experienced a sudden loss of pressure and drop in temperature and when he looked over, the cockpits right windshield was gone.

There was no warning sign. Suddenly, the windshield just cracked and made a loud bang. The next thing I know, my co-pilot had been sucked halfway out of the window, he was quoted as saying.

Everything in the cockpit was floating in the air. Most of the equipment malfunctioned and I couldnt hear the radio. The plane was shaking so hard I could not read the gauges.

The co-pilot, who was wearing a seatbelt, was pulled back in. He suffered scratches and a sprained wrist, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said, adding that one other cabin crew member was also injured in the descent. None of the planes 119 passengers was injured.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) said Frances BEA accident investigation agency and Airbus would send staff to China to investigate, according to CAAC News which is affiliated to the aviation regulator.

Sichuan Airlines Flight 3U8633 left the central Chinese municipality of Chongqing on Monday bound for the Tibetan capital of Lhasa. It made its emergency landing in the southwest city of Chengdu.

The crew were serving us breakfast when the aircraft began to shake. We didnt know what was going on and we panicked. Then the oxygen masks dropped. We experienced a few seconds of free fall before it stabilized again, an unnamed passenger told the government-run China News Service.

Im still nervous. I dont dare to take an airplane anymore. But Im also happy I had a narrow escape.

The windshield shattered about half an hour after the plane had taken off, the Chengdu Economic Daily said. A separate report said the aircraft had accumulated 19,912 flight hours since entering service at Sichuan Airlines in July 2011.

CAAC also said that the windshield was part of the original aircraft and had no previously recorded faults.

Incidents involving cracked windshields do happen on a regular basis due to bird or lightning strikes but ones involving entire windshields coming off are rare.

In 1990, one of the pilots on British Airways Flight 5390 was blown partially out of the cabin window after its windshield blew out at 23,000 feet. He survived the incident, which occurred on a BAC-111 jet.
By Mostafa Salem AL-OUR, EGYPT (Reuters) - Tears mixed with joy on Tuesday as the remains of 20 Christians were laid to rest in Egypt's Minya province more than three years after they were kidnapped and beheaded in Libya in an attack that provoked rare Egyptian air strikes. The return of the bodies of 20 Egyptian Copts has brought families in rural Egypt a chance for some closure after years in mourning with little hope of having the bodies of their loved ones being recovered for burial

By Mostafa Salem

AL-OUR, EGYPT (Reuters) - Tears mixed with joy on Tuesday as the remains of 20 Christians were laid to rest in Egypt's Minya province more than three years after they were kidnapped and beheaded in Libya in an attack that provoked rare Egyptian air strikes.

The return of the bodies of 20 Egyptian Copts has brought families in rural Egypt a chance for some closure after years in mourning with little hope of having the bodies of their loved ones being recovered for burial.

"Everyone stood beside the martyr that belongs to him and cried a little, but they were tears of longing, nothing more," said Bishri Ibrahim, father of Kerolos, one of the victims, at the funeral service at a church in the village of al-Our in Minya province, where they were all laid to rest.

"But we are happy and joyful that they have returned to the village. This is a blessing for the country and to all Copts all over the world," he added.

Thirteen of the 21 Libya victims came from al-Our, a rural town of around 10,000 people south of Cairo.

President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi ordered the Church, named The Church of the Martyrs of Faith and Homeland, to be built soon after the incident and dedicated in their memory.

Sisi also ordered a wave of air strikes on the Islamic State's militant bases in Libya.

The remains of the victims, who were flown from Libya about a private jet to Cairo on Monday night, were placed inside cylinder-shaped containers covered in velvet cloth with the names of each victim and interred under the church altar.

Families said the burial place would be opened as a shrine for visitors.

The victims had been among the many poor Egyptians who risked their lives to find work in the lawless chaos of Libya following the downfall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and civil war.

A video posted by Islamic State in January 2015 showed 21 people -- 20 Egyptian Copts and one Ghanaian Christian -- lined up on a Libyan beach in orange jumpsuits before they were executed.

"I wanted to see Milad come back from Libya on his feet after his struggle and hard work to earn a living in a harsh life abroad," 55-year-old Zaki Hanna, the father of one of the victims.

"But thanks be to God, he died a hero, did not beg anyone to spare his life and he and his brothers, the martyrs, did not abandon their faith or homeland."

Bashir Estephanos, whose two younger brothers were killed by Islamic State in Libya, said all Christians in al-Our village had been praying for the past three years for the bodies of the "martyrs" to be found.

Libyan authorities recovered the bodies in October after the area where they were buried was recaptured from the militant Islamist group.

"Our prayers were answered, so thanks be to God from the bottom of our hearts," he said, speaking before the bodies arrived in the village.

The head of the Coptic Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II, was at the airport to receive the remains when they arrived in Cairo on Monday night.

(Reporting by Mostafa Salem; writing by Sami Aboudi; editing by Richard Balmforth)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Gleb Stolyarov THE KERCH STRAIT (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, driving a truck, unveiled the auto section of a new road-and-rail bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula on Tuesday, defying Ukraine which said the move showed cynical disregard for international law. Putin, at the wheel of an orange heavy KAMAZ dump-truck, drove 19 km (12 miles) across the bridge from the Kerch Strait

By Gleb Stolyarov

THE KERCH STRAIT (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin, driving a truck, unveiled the auto section of a new road-and-rail bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula on Tuesday, defying Ukraine which said the move showed cynical disregard for international law.

Putin, at the wheel of an orange heavy KAMAZ dump-truck, drove 19 km (12 miles) across the bridge from the Kerch Strait. Some Russians are calling it "Putin's bridge", designed to link Crimea into Russia's transport network.

At a ceremony broadcast live on state TV, Putin, dressed in blue jeans, was met by cheering workers on the Crimean side after driving the truck in a convoy of vehicles.

"At last, thanks to your talent, this project, this miracle, has happened," Putin told the workers.

In Kiev, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said: "The illegal construction of the Kerch bridge is the latest evidence of the Kremlin's disregard for international law.

"It is particularly cynical that its opening is happening on the eve of the latest anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean-Tatar people by the Stalin regime."

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, drawing sanctions and prompting a deterioration in ties with the West. Many in Russia saw the move as restoring Moscow's rule over a historically Russian region.

Built at a cost of 223 billion roubles ($3.60 billion), the bridge will be the longest dual-purpose span in Europe. The Kremlin said it would be opened to cars on Wednesday and the rail section was due to be completed at the end of 2019.

"Putin initiated this project himself. Many didn't believe these plans were possible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday ahead of the ceremony.

"This is an extremely important day from this point of view and in a practical sense and in symbolic terms."

The road stretch of the bridge was due to be completed by the end of 2018, but the opening was brought forward at Putin's request.

Putin inspected the bridge in March ahead of the presidential election he won by a landslide, saying it was important to have the link to the Black Sea peninsula open for the summer tourist season.

The opening ceremony drew criticism from the West.

"France condemns the construction by Russia of the Kerch Bridge, which deprives Ukraine of full access and the use of its internationally recognized territorial waters," a French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

U.S. State Department Spokeswoman Heather Nauert in a statement on Tuesday said the "bridge serves as a reminder of Russias ongoing willingness to flout international law" and said it was an attempt by Russia "to solidify its unlawful seizure and its occupation of Crimea" and impede navigation of the Kerch Strait.

The spokesperson of the European External Action Service said in a statement on Tuesday the bridge was "another violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

"The European Union continues to condemn the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia and will not recognise this violation of international law," the spokesperson said.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; Additional reporting by Natalia Zinets in Kiev, Richard Lough in Paris and Lisa Lambert in Washington; Editing by Janet Lawrence and James Dalgleish)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Turkey on Tuesday told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave after Ankara reacted with outrage to the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli troops on the Gaza border

Ankara: Turkey on Tuesday told the Israeli ambassador to temporarily leave after Ankara reacted with outrage to the killing of dozens of Palestinians by Israeli troops on the Gaza border, in the worst crisis since a 2016 reconciliation deal.

Ambassador Eitan Naeh was summoned to the Turkish foreign ministry and told to "return to his country for a period of time", said a foreign ministry official, who asked not to be named.

The official said that this was also in line with Turkey recalling its ambassador to Tel Aviv for consultations.

Naeh had been in his post only since December 2016 after a reconciliation deal earlier that year ended a dispute over the May 2010 deadly storming of a Turkish ship by Israeli commandos that saw ties downgraded for over half a decade.

That deal was strongly backed by the United States, which was keen to see Israel make up with one of its very few key Muslim partners.

Ankara has reacted with fury to the killing on Monday of 60 Palestinians in clashes and protests, on the same day as the US formally moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, currently on a visit to Britain, had on Monday stepped up his rhetoric, accusing Israel of of "state terror" and "genocide" over the killings.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then hit back at Erdogan, saying that as a leading supporter of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas "there's no doubt he's an expert on terror and slaughter."

While Turkey under Erdogan has never completely severed ties with Israel, the Turkish strongman has also never shied away from the strongest criticism.

He famously walked out of a January 2009 debate in Davos with then Israeli president Shimon Peres, complaining he was not given enough time to respond and repeatedly saying "one minute".

Turkey on Tuesday began observing three days national mourning declared by Erdogan for the Palestinian dead, with flags flying at half mast and cultural events cancelled. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim had earlier urged Islamic countries to review their ties with Israel and said Ankara was calling an extraordinary summit of the world's main pan-Islamic body, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), on Friday.

"The Islamic world should move as one, with one voice, against this massacre," he added.

Cavusoglu held telephone talks with around a dozen counterparts from the Islamic world.

They included the foreign ministers of Jordan, Indonesia and Iran as well as the OIC secretary general Yousef bin Ahmad al-Othaimeen, foreign ministry sources said. Erdogan regards himself as a champion of the Palestinian cause and last year hosted an OIC summit in Istanbul to denounce US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The summit declared East Jerusalem  which the international community regards as annexed by Israel  "as the capital of the State of Palestine" and urged the world to follow suit.

Yildirim said that after the summit at 3:00 pm (1200 GMT) a giant rally would be held at the vast Yenikapi meeting area in Istanbul under the slogan of "Stop the Oppression" to express solidarity with the Palestinians. Hundreds of people also held protests for a second day in Istanbul and Ankara against Israel's actions with slogans including "Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine", AFP correspondents said.

The demonstrations in Turkey passed off peacefully, although one man was arrested in Ankara for throwing eggs and stones at the residence of the Israeli ambassador. In Istanbul, demonstrators held placards with the slogan "the world is bigger than five", in reference to Erdogan's repeated complaints about the power of the UN Security Council.
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this week, the government spokesman said on Monday, after Israeli forces killed of dozens of protesters in Gaza. Ankara wants the emergency meeting to be held on Friday, spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) this week, the government spokesman said on Monday, after Israeli forces killed of dozens of protesters in Gaza.

Ankara wants the emergency meeting to be held on Friday, spokesman Bekir Bozdag said.

On the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since the Gaza conflict in 2014, Israeli troops shot dead 55 Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday as the United States opened its embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.

(Reporting by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Edmund Blair)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. diplomat who was involved in a fatal traffic accident has left Pakistan, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Monday, two days after the diplomat reportedly was barred from leaving the South Asian country.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. diplomat who was involved in a fatal traffic accident has left Pakistan, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said on Monday, two days after the diplomat reportedly was barred from leaving the South Asian country.

"We can confirm that the American diplomat who was involved in a tragic car accident on April 7 in Islamabad has departed Pakistan," the spokesperson said in an email to Reuters.

The spokesperson did not identify the U.S. diplomat and provided no further details of the case.

Pakistani newspapers reported that the American, identified as a military attache, was blocked on Saturday from leaving Pakistan, forcing the U.S. military aircraft sent on his behalf to depart without him.

On Friday, an Islamabad court ruled that the American's diplomatic immunity might not apply in the traffic accident in which his vehicle hit a motorcycle, killing the 22-year-old driver, the Nation and the Express Tribune newspapers said.

(Reporting by Jonathan Landay; Editing by Sandra Maler and Leslie Adler)

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By William James LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan not to go too far in his crackdown on those believed to be behind a failed 2016 coup attempt, speaking after a meeting in London marked by human rights protests. Rights campaigners have accused May of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in pursuit of trade deals after Brexit. In Turkey's case they point to the jailing tens of thousands of people after the attempted coup.

By William James

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday warned Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan not to go too far in his crackdown on those believed to be behind a failed 2016 coup attempt, speaking after a meeting in London marked by human rights protests.

Rights campaigners have accused May of turning a blind eye to human rights abuses in pursuit of trade deals after Brexit. In Turkey's case they point to the jailing tens of thousands of people after the attempted coup. Erdogan's government has said its actions are necessary to combat the threat it faces.

May said Britain's relationship with Turkey was indispensable, praising the impact of security cooperation and the prospect of close post-Brexit trade ties.

But she added a diplomatic warning on the need for restraint.

"It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice," May said, speaking alongside Erdogan in her Downing Street office following their meeting.

"But it is also important that in the defence of democracy, which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism, Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend."

She said she had underlined the need for Turkey to uphold democratic values and its human rights obligations.

Erdogan's visit is part of May's charm offensive to shore up relations with countries outside the European Union as Britain prepares to leave the bloc and secure at least the promise of future trade deals to bolster her all but stalled Brexit plans.

Erdogan, the most popular - and divisive - politician in recent Turkish history, has ruled for 15 years, overseeing a period of sharp economic growth and a widespread crackdown against his opponents. Last month he declared snap elections for June 24, bringing the polls forward by more than a year.

Erdogan deflected a question from a British journalist about his country's ability to hold a free and fair election. He said those arrested in Turkey were being processed by the judiciary.

PROTESTS

Just hours before the leaders were due to meet, around 100 protesters waved banners outside May's office depicting Erdogan as a puppet master with blood on his hands. Another said "tamam", or enough.

About 20 metres away, separated by barriers and a police cordon, a similar number waved Turkish flags in the direction of the anti-Erdogan protesters, chanted and played loud music.

The two sides briefly scuffled.

Last year, May secured a commitment for Britain and Turkey to work on post-Brexit trade.

Speaking on Tuesday, Erdogan welcomed a transition deal agreed between London and the EU to ease Britain's departure from the bloc. He said the two leaders had agreed trade could be increased to $20 billion annually, up from the 2017 level of around 16 billion.

Ties between the EU and Turkey are increasingly strained, with Brussels saying that Erdogan is leading his country away from the path to membership, while some Turkish officials say they feel betrayed by some of the bloc's leaders.

(Reporting by William James, additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Hugh Lawson)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
A young woman arrives with her wealthy older  married  boyfriend at his getaway house in the desert. (Where are they? It could be New Mexico. It could be South Africa. The film was shot in Morocco; it could be there, too.) Shes not a child, but shes pretty Lolita-esque, right down to her coquettish deployment of a lollipop. Then Richards (Kevin Janssens) deeply creepy pals, Stan (Vincent Colombe) and Dimitri (Guillaume Bouchede), arrive days early for their planned hunting trip, and Jen (Matilda Lutz) proceeds to flirt outrageously with them. This is perhaps to demonstrate to the viewer that Jen is just a naive innocent who doesnt realize the fire she is playing with; or perhaps it is to set her up as a stereotypical cocktease, the kind of young woman who exists more in fevered male fantasies than in reality, a kitten of a girl who knows exactly what shes doing when she deliberately turns a man on only to turn him away.

Its difficult to find too feminist a spin on what happens next, because French writer-director Coralie Fargeat, making her feature debut, lets her camera objectify Jen in a way that undermines any attempt to see Revenge as her protagonists attempt to reclaim control over her own body and her own life. After Jen is raped by Stan while Dimitri does nothing to stop it  an assault that, thank goodness, Fargeat does not depict as sexy  and then Richard takes their side in the most violent way possible, she embarks on a rage- and adrenaline-fueled hunt across the desert landscape to wipe them all out. And fair enough: if there is one overriding theme to Revenge, it is that men are gross and garbage and need to die, and its tough to say otherwise about these three.

Still. When Jen is doing her coquette/cocktease routine with Stan, and the movie looks upon her lasciviously, I thought: Okay, this is the movie trying to mislead the presumed-horny-male viewer into thinking this is going to be a different sort of story than it is. It is hoping to lull the viewer into a lusty daze before it says to him, Nuh-uh, she is not your toy. But then the movie gets Jen down to her underwear as shes running around the desert trying to survive and plotting her vengeance. Fargeat fetishizes Jens terror and her bravery, turning it into something sexy in a way that is all about her nearly naked body. The camera is right up her ass on a regular basis when there is absolutely no in-context justification for it (not that there mostly ever really is), like that the camera is standing in for disgusting Stan checking her out. Nope: Fargeat is just allowing us to check her out. Her body is not her own here. Its not a strong, capable tool for dishing out payback. Its something for us to slobber all over.
International exposure is an important part of a well-rounded stock portfolio, but it can be tricky to evaluate and select foreign companies to invest in. However, through Canadian-based Toronto-Dominion Bank (NYSE:TD) and well-known insurer Aflac (NYSE:AFL), you could get lots of great geographic diversification without venturing outside your comfort zone.

In this clip from Industry Focus: Financials, analyst Michael Douglass and Fool.com contributor Matthew Frankel discuss the two companies.

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on May 14, 2018.

Michael Douglass: We've talked a lot about international investing. Time to talk through some companies with significant international exposure. First one, Matt, one of your favorites and one that, we joked before the episode, you always look for an opportunity to bring up, TD Bank.

Matt Frankel: It's just a great bank stock. Ignore the international exposure, it's still a great bank stock. TD, if you're not familiar, Toronto Dominion Bank is the official name. If you live on the East Coast, you've probably seen a TD Bank branch, but they're not throughout the United States yet, which is one of the big reasons I like the stock.

TD Bank is one of the biggest banks in Canada. It's the sixth-biggest bank in North America. They're based in Canada -- which brings up, out of the five stocks we're going to talk about, this is the only one that's not based in the U.S. Currency headwinds are more of a factor here. Specifically, I get paid dividends in Canadian dollars from TD Bank. So, as the Canadian dollar has weakened, it looks like my dividend is going down, but that's really not the case.

Anyway. TD Bank has a lot of room to grow in the United States, has a very nice revenue division between Canada and the U.S. They have some growth catalysts. Like I said, they're only in pretty much the East Coast right now, and they've done a great job of growing both organically and through acquisitions. They recently acquired Target's credit card portfolio, just to name a couple. Scottrade is the other one I was going to bring up. They just really have a long avenue for growth for such a big bank.

Douglass: Yeah. There's a lot of reasons to like TD Bank. And it's the only one on our list that's actually not a U.S.-based company. Let's turn to Aflac.

Frankel: This is one that people in America, especially, are usually surprised to find out is not predominantly an American company. In fact, America is a small portion of Aflac's revenue. They're big in Japan. Aflac is actually the No. 1 health and cancer insurer in Japan. They're a big, big company over there. We know them for their accident insurance, short-term disability insurance, things like that. Aflac, great example of, if you want exposure to another developed market -- Japan, in this case. Aflac is a dividend aristocrat. They've paid dividends for over 30 years in a row. They have a very low payout ratio, really good business fundamentals, and like I said, really great developed market exposure.

Douglass: Yeah. That's one of the things here to really highlight, I think -- Japan being their big market. That turns on its head the thing that we usually tend to see across a lot of, not just financials but a lot of sectors, where the U.S. is the big market, and a lot of others are the second-biggest or the third-biggest.

Frankel: Just to name one other statistic I forgot to mention, one in four Japanese households is an Aflac customer.

Douglass: Wow, talk about market share. That's pretty impressive.
Fresh from battling to third place in Spain on Sunday, Red Bull's Max Verstappen clocked the fastest time on Tuesday as the teams commenced a two-day, post-race test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. But it was by the narrowest of margins, with Verstappen finishing up just 0.034s on his closest rival, Renault driver Carlos Sainz.

The Dutchman jumped to the top of the leaderboard after lunch, taking the advantage on the supersoft tyre compound after Sainz, the Spanish driver who finished seventh in his home Grand Prix just two days ago, had gone quicker than Ferraris Sebastian Vettel.

And the top three remained that way, while Mercedes Lewis Hamilton had to settle for P6, as all 10 teams developed their set-ups in what is the first in-season test of 2018. Indeed, eight of them clocked up over a century of laps at this familiar track, and it was Hamilton who did the most with 151 in his Silver Arrow.

Vettel ran 136 laps in the SF71H, with the German and his Italian team looking to understand their car more after a disappointing race in Spain saw them struggle for pace behind the dominant Mercedes.

Romain Grosjean set the pace in the morning segment, and that time was enough to put the Haas driver fourth overall. It was a welcome boost for the Frenchman after his Turn-3 spin wiped him, Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly out of Sunday's race on the opening lap.

Force India's Nicholas Latifi enjoyed an impressive first run in the VJM11, finishing ahead of Hamilton  winner of the Spanish GP  and seventh-placed Stoffel Vandoorne in the McLaren, who managed 85 laps on day one.

Antonio Giovinazzi guided Sauber to eighth, and will return to the circuit on Wednesday to take over from Vettel in the Ferrari. British talent Oliver Rowlands debut for Williams was respectable, with 121 laps en route to P9.

Pirelli's 2019 tyre development programme is also taking place alongside this test schedule, with McLaren and Force India each providing a car. For the former Lando Norris shared day-one duties with fellow Brit Oliver Turvey, while at the latter Mercedes junior George Russell was at the wheel.

Norris set the tenth-quickest lap of the day, but it was a frustrating session for Toro Rosso and their driver Sean Gelael. A chassis-related issue forced them to change their power unit as a precautionary measure, and ultimately restricted them to just 50 laps.

The Spain test continues on Wednesday. For line-up details, click here - and for minute-by-minute timesheet updates from Barcelona download the Official F1 App and go to Results> Testing. For more information, click here.
Wayback Burgers Featured in Wall Street Journals Special May Focus on Franchising Feature

EVP Bill Chemero Quoted for Leveraging Franchise Experience into Corporate Leadership

May 15, 2018 // Franchising.com // Cheshire, CT - Wayback Burgers, Americas Favorite Hometown Burger Joint and one of the nations fastest growing burger franchises, was recently featured by The Wall Street Journals special May Focus on Franchising Feature.

The compelling article, entitled The Lure of Emerging Brands, discussed why specific fresh and exciting franchises, such as Wayback Burgers, are emerging and how they are contributing to local economies across the country. Wayback Burgers Executive Vice President, Bill Chemero, was interviewed alongside other C-level executives who discussed the importance of having executives who can leverage their previous franchise experience into success for the company nationwide.

In his conversation with Wall Street Journal franchising reporter, Julie Bennett, Chemero analyzed Wayback Burgers progress from when he and President and CEO John Eucalitto purchased the franchise to where it is today.

We knew that a franchise company must be built on solid systems and strong relationships with its franchisees, said Chemero, a veteran of the franchising space. The original owner sold two franchises in two years. We sold 17 units in our first year and now have 152 restaurants open with more under development.

In the article, Bennett explored the appeal of emerging brands for potential suitors weighing their options and considering established brands, too. An emerging brand presents an opportunity for greater growth compared to an established franchise that may lack territory availability. Bennett discovered Wayback Burgers is prospering in part because of the leaderships strong franchising experience.

There are several factors contributing to Wayback Burgers rapid growth, says Chemero. John and I have more than 60 combined years of experience in franchising. We understand the importance of our franchisees and how to make our company and brand appealing to potential franchise partners interested in joining the Wayback family.

Not only that, but we understand how to capitalize on cutting edge food trends that appeal to our guests; helping our franchise partners generate more in-store traffic. Were proud of what weve accomplished, and were excited about what the future has in store for everyone at Wayback!

For more information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/

For more information about Wayback Burgers franchise opportunities, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/franchising/.

About Wayback Burgers

Founded in 1991 in Newark, DE, Wayback Burgers is a Connecticut-based fast-casual franchise with a reputation for fresh, never frozen, cooked to order burgers and thick, hand-dipped milkshakes, served in an environment that hearkens back to a simpler place and time - when customer service meant something and everyone felt the warmth of the community.

Wayback Burgers currently operates in 29 states with over 152 locations nationally and internationally in Argentina, Brunei, Sudan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Pakistan and Malaysia. Through its executed master franchise agreements, Wayback Burgers plans to open in 37 provinces/countries in the Middle East, Northern Africa, South Africa, Argentina, Brunei, Bangladesh, Ireland; Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada; and the Netherlands.

For more information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://waybackburgers.com/.

For franchising information about Wayback Burgers, please visit https://franchise.waybackburgers.com/.

Media Contacts:

Graham Chapman

919-459-8157

gchapman@919marketing.com

Patrick Conlin

203-649-3387

pconlin@waybackburgers.com

SOURCE Wayback Burgers

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After a four-year run, Boss Key Productions is no more, as Cliff Bleszinski announced on his latest post on social networks. The studio has been in charge with LawBreakers and Radical Heights, which suffered unfortunate launches on PS4 and PC via Steam.

As of today, Boss Key Productions is effectively no more. Four years ago I set out to make a world class video game studio and I hired some of the best talent in the videogame industry. They worked tirelessly to produce quality products and, while we had our ups and downs, Id like to think we had fun doing it, he told his followers on Facebook.

LawBreakers was a great game that unfortunately failed to gain traction, and, in a last ditch attempt we scrambled to do our take on the huge battle royale genre with Radical Heights which was well received, however, it was too little too late.

He further explained that this means that he will take some time off from the video games industry, probably due to the fatigue of the experience and the will to be for quite a long time off the radars.

As for myself, Im going to take some time off and reflect. I need to focus on myself and family as well as my Aussie, Teddy, who is slowly fading from us. Videogames will forever be a part of who I am and I hope to make something new again someday, however, I need to withdraw and take this time.

To those of you who have supported myself and the studio these last four years, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart and everyone who came to work for me.

For those among you wondering, Bleszinski was quick to point out that servers for Radical Heights will remain active for the time being, so you can still play it if you have downloaded the client, or plan to, on Steam.
Fuckup Nights is back with new series of events - GeorgianJournal
The first protest expressed through massive rave to electronic music in Tbilisi - GeorgianJournal
Xiaomi planning separate camera division for its smartphones News oi-Vishal Kawadkar Xiaomi wants to amplify the camera performance of its smartphones.

Xiaomi might soon establish a separate camera division to amplify the camera quality of its smartphones. At least that's what the leaked internal email suggests. The email was allegedly sent by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, which says that the goal of this new camera department will increase camera quality of their smartphones.

In the email, Lei Jun notes that the smartphone cameras have become key components today. With the launch of the new division, the company is looking planning to enhance the camera experience. This doesn't mean that Xiaomi phone cameras are bad, on the contrary, the latest launches have quite the camera performance. The Mi Mix 2S scored a high score on DxOMark, and also brings better functionality over its predecessor.

Besides the camera division, Xiaomi might also be planning what industry giants have done in the past. Samsung did it with its Galaxy S series, and Oneplus did it with its series. Now it seems Xiaomi is also going to skip a model number for its forthcoming Mi series smartphones.

Traditionally, we should be looking at Mi 7 launch this year. However, the popular blogger from China, Mocha RQ claims that Xiaomi will skip 7 in favor of naming it Mi 8. He explains that the company wants to bring its flagship series with its 8th anniversary. Further, he adds that the device will be unveiled in May and will hit the shelves in June.

There are reports surrounding a special anniversary smartphone. The device is said to launch alongside the Mi 7 (or Mi 8). Regardless of the naming, we know for sure that the company will soon be launching a new smartphone. It will be the first Android smartphone to boast 3D facial recognition crammed into the notch. Other important features include Snapdragon 845 processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB ROM. The device is expected to launch in May and we can expect the teaser in the next few days.

Xiaomi's Global Mi Home Experience Store in Delhi: Products Rundown

Xiaomi has also announced the launch of its Redmi S2 on June 7. The 3 GB RAM and 32 GB storage model was launched in China for the price of 999 Yuan (Rs 9,999) and the company is likely to launch the smartphone around the same price tag.

(source)

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Xiaomi teases a launch event in China: Mi 7 and 8th Anniversary Edition expected News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Xiaomi is all set to host an event in China in the near future.

Xiaomi is expected to announce its flagship smartphone, the Mi 7 later this month. Initially, the launch was supposed to happen in the first quarter of the year. But Xiaomi announced the Mi Mix 2S, which pushed the launch of the Mi 7 to this quarter. Recent reports tipped that the company might come up with the 8th Anniversary edition smartphone too along with this one.

Now the Chinese manufacturer has posted a new teaser on Weibo. This teaser suggests that the company will host a launch event in Shenzhen in the coming days. Though the date is yet to be revealed, the Mi 7 and the 8th Anniversary Edition smartphones are anticipated to be announced at the event.

The new teaser does not reveal any further details regarding the launch date or timing of the launch event. Also, it remains to be known which devices will be announced by the company.

What to expect?

Based on the recent teasers, the Xiaomi Mi 7 is expected to be unveiled by the end of this month in China. The device is rumored to be launched alongside the Mi Band 3. Soon after this report, the 8th Anniversary Edition started surfacing in media reports.

Xiaomi Mi 7 rumored specs

The Xiaomi Mi 7 is the next big smartphone from the company. It is expected to get the power from a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC. This processor could be paired with 6GB or 8GB RAM as its rivals from other companies. The device is also said to arrive with a display notch as seen on the iPhone X.

Xiaomi's Global Mi Home Experience Store in Delhi: Products Rundown

The Mi 7 is rumored to be the first Android smartphone to feature 3D facial recognition. The smartphone might support wireless charging as it appears to have a glass back. It is also seen to have dual-cameras at the rear with the two sensors positioned vertically. There are speculations that it might have an under-display fingerprint sensor.

8th Anniversary Edition phone

While there are numerous reports about the Mi 7, there is no word regarding the 8th Anniversary Edition phone. It is likely to be an advanced one than the Mi 7. Probably, it could be the Mi 7 Plus. However, we need to wait for an official confirmation regarding the device.

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GREENWICH  Tickets are still available for the annual meeting of the League of Women Voters of Greenwich, which is set to take place Wednesday night at the Riverside Yacht Club.

The focus will be on the situation facing journalists today as keynote speaker Kevin Convey tackles the theme of The Crisis in Media and the Future of the Fourth Estate.

The meeting is set to be a celebration, though, with dinner and drinks accompanying Conveys message.

The meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m., with cocktails at 6:30 and dinner at 7:30.

The meeting is held every year, league member Jara Burnett said, and will focus on league business. There will be an update on the leagues work, a vote on the budget and updates on various projects, including its ongoing work on Representative Town Meeting efficiency, and on topics such as clean water and moderate-income housing.

The league remains a nonpartisan political organization that is designed to encourage informed and active participation in government while educating residents about major public policy issues and influencing policy through education and advocacy.

After the meeting, the focus will turn to dinner and the events guest speaker.

Burnett said she is interested to hear what Convey has to say in his area of expertise. With the national discussions on the role of the media, Burnett said it was a very timely topic for the league to examine.

"We feel the subject is very important," she said. There has been a lot of talk about fake news and about the importance of a free press. This topic is one that is of a lot of interest to our members and to the members of the public that we hope will attend.

Convey teaches at Quinnipiac Universitys School of Journalism after a career that included serving as editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News and the Boston Herald.

He also was editor-in- chief at the Community Newspaper Co. in Needham, Mass., where he was in charge of the editorial operations for more than 100 community weeklies and four suburban dailies.

He is the author of the forthcoming book The Digital Editor: A Complete Guide to Contemporary Newsroom Leadership, Management and Organization, which is scheduled to be published in 2019.

The meeting is closed the public, but the dinner is not just for league members. It is open to the public and tickets are $100.

To get tickets, contact Barbara OShea via email at barbara636@Mac.com or call 203-618-3134.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
When a medication being developed to treat a heart condition gave patients erections, drugmakers knew they had a winner - not for angina, but for erectile dysfunction. That drug is now known as Viagra.

Figuring out that a drug developed for one ailment can be effective for another was once a matter of chance. In the case of Viagra, for example, the discovery emerged by observing an unintended but beneficial side effect. Now, technological and scientific advances are allowing researchers to rely more on science and less on luck in hopes of cutting the time and expense involved in getting new treatments to patients.

Scott Spangler, chief data scientist for life sciences at IBM Watson Health, said the approach is "especially promising" for patients with neglected diseases, including tubercuis, malaria and certain tropical diseases, which impose significant social and financial burdens on developing countries. The repurposing process could also lead to new treatments for the thousands of diseases that are rare or have specific genetic mutations, which often lack treatment options. "The financial incentive for drugmakers to develop new drugs or vaccines for these diseases just isn't there," Spangler said.

The development of new drugs is a long, costly and risky process that most often ends in failure. Recent estimates suggest that the development of a new drug costs at least $1 billion over 10 years, with only a 10 percent chance of gaining approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

"Ask any parent who has been told their child has a fatal disease with no treatments, and they'll tell you the traditional approach to drug development is not working," said Bruce Bloom, CEO of Cures Within Reach, a nonprofit that funds repurposing research.

Developing a new treatment typically begins in the laboratory, where the drug is tested in biological specimens and animals to discover how it works and whether it is likely to be safe in humans. The drug is then given to people in clinical trials to assess its safety and efficacy.

By contrast, drug repurposing picks up somewhere in the middle of this process, building upon previous research. Drugs tested for repurposing include those that may have already been approved to treat a different disease, such as inexpensive generic drugs, along with drugs that have been put through millions of dollars' and years' worth of testing - some of which have proven safe in clinical trials - but were shelved before getting FDA approval.

"If you think of it as a race, you're starting that much cer to the finish line," Bloom said. "Because these drugs have already been extensively studied, including some testing in people, they are often able to skip preclinical testing requirements and, possibly, Phase I clinical trials, saving time and getting treatments to patients faster," he said.

Compared with new drugs, Bloom said, repurposed ones are more than twice as likely to make it to patients, on a shorter time frame and at a fraction of the cost.

Viagra is just one of many repurposing successes. Others include raloxifene, an osteoporosis treatment that was later found to be effective in preventing breast cancer, and thalidomide, a discontinued morning-sickness medicine that caused severe birth defects but is now used to treat leprosy and multiple myeloma, a blood cancer.

Drugmakers develop new drugs to target a particular condition, but almost all drugs have "off-target activity," with some drugs affecting several hundred genes and other biological processes, said Joel Dudley, director of the Institute for Next Generation Healthcare in New York. "The downstream effects of a drug for one disease could actually be the treatment for another," he said.

Until recently, Dudley explained, finding new uses for existing drugs has been a mostly serendipitous process. "Today, instead of these discoveries occurring by chance, we can be purposeful in our approach," he said.

Dudley said this is possible due to an "expion" of available data - such as DNA sequences, imaging studies and health-care billing data - computer power, and sophisticated algorithms that mine data sets to predict how likely a drug is to treat another condition.

One example of computer power used in repurposing is IBM's Watson, the machine-learning system that famously destroyed human competitors on the "Jeopardy" game show. It "can read, understand and draw parallels between among millions of articles - in minutes," Spangler said. After the supercomputer was trained on drugs that have shown promise in treating Parkinson's disease, it was able to identify several other drugs that might be repurposed to treat the neurodegenerative disorder.

Atul Butte, director of the Institute for Computational Health Sciences at the University of California at San Francisco, also attributes a more systematic approach to repurposing to "an ever-increasing understanding" of the human genome, which has enabled researchers to reclassify diseases based on their genetic or molecular abnormalities rather than on their organ of origin. Genetic similarities that occur across diseases "can potentially be targeted by the same compound," Butte said.

Butte's lab developed an "opposites attract" computer algorithm to match drugs that move the activity of genes in one direction with a disease that moves genetic activity in the opposite direction. "It's .com for drugs and diseases," he said.

Last year, researchers in Butte's lab used the computer algorithm to identify four drugs with potential for treating hepatocellular carcinoma, or HCC, the most common form of liver cancer and a leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Further testing showed that all four had anti-cancer effects, but one in particular, pyrvinium pamoate, which is approved for the treatment of pinworms, significantly reduced the growth of liver-cancer tumors in laboratory mice.

Whether the drug will prove effective in people with HCC remains to be seen. That would require a clinical trial, and funding is not always easy to come by.

Pharmaceutical companies rarely offer funding for repurposing generic drugs. Finding a second use for a drug, Bloom said, typically does not provide the same monetary returns as does creating new drugs, which are protected financially by patents. "No profit, no incentive," he said.

As a result, financial backing often falls to philanthropic organizations, such as Bloom's Cures Within Reach, which itself is funded exclusively by not-for-profit sources, or disease-based research organizations, such as the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Global Cures and the Britain-based Findacure.

"The good news is that repurposed drugs don't necessarily require the time and expense of seeking FDA approval to help patients and be considered a success," Bloom said. In fact, the majority of repurposing efforts funded by his organization do not seek FDA approval for a new indication but aim to provide enough evidence to treat patients "off-label," which doctors can do at their discretion, particularly if no approved therapies exist or the patient has exhausted available treatment options.

That's how children with autoimmune lymphoprolifertive syndrome, or ALPS, an extremely rare and sometimes deadly autoimmune genetic disease, are now often thriving. Without treatment, children with ALPS suffer from swollen and painful lymph nodes and spleen, uncontrolled bleeding and increased infections.

After sirolimus, a drug used to prevent rejection in organ transplants, showed promise in slowing ALPS in mice, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia conducted a pilot clinical trial to study the drug's effect in children and adolescents with the disease; five of the six patients enrolled in the trial were in complete remission of the disease in a matter of months. Sirolimus is now used routinely to treat ALPS.

As for drugs that have failed initial trials, Dudley said that most drugmakers "want to let bad drugs lie," even if there is evidence that drug could be repurposed to treat another disease. "I always make the joke that a failed drug is like Voldemort. If you try to talk about the drug, nobody wants to even hear its name anymore."

Dudley says he's optimistic that is changing through programs such as the Discovering New Therapeutic Uses for Existing Molecules program at the Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, or NCATS. Pharmaceutical companies partnering with the program have agreed to release abandoned drugs from their pipelines to researchers.

The program has supported 13 repurposing projects since it was established in 2012, including studies aimed at treating schizophrenia, thyroid cancer and Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal muscle disease. Ten have led to clinical trials that continue to enroll patients.

Christine Colvis, director of drug development partnership programs at NCATS, said availability of these drugs will "encourage researchers to be creative in turning them into drugs for diseases that lack treatments."

One of the program's early successes involves testing saracatinib, originally developed by AstraZeneca as a cancer drug, as a treatment for people with Alzheimer's. Just months after demonstrating that saracatinib reversed brain problems in mice with Alzheimer's, researchers began testing it in humans - "a process that typically takes years," said Colvis. Results of the trial are expected later this year.
NORWALK  On a recent Tuesday morning, David Hudson, a research scientist at the Maritime Aquarium, spotted a lions mane jellyfish in the Norwalk Harbor. It was a translucent bell attached to a riot of orange, cloud-like tentacles  the lions mane  and it was soon joined by a dozen more. He took out his cell phone to text his colleague, Rachel Stein, to see if she wanted him to snag one.

Shes the jelly expert, Hudson said.

Stein is sometimes called the Jellyfish Mom, and her expertise recently took her all the way to Colombia in an effort to save the loggerhead sea turtle, an animal that can grow up to six feet across and is at risk of becoming endangered.

As it turns out, loggerheads also love jellyfish.

So Stein and Hudson traveled from Norwalk to Santa Marta, Colombia, home of Mundo Marino Aquarium. Mundo Marino has been working to save the loggerhead sea turtles since 1999.

What happens is in July, the hurricanes come in and they wash out the beaches where the loggerheads lay their eggs, Hudson said. To prevent such large-scale loss, as storms approach, scientists rush out to save nests in danger of being washed away, rescuing anywhere from 500 to 1,000 eggs.

The turtles are nurtured by the aquarium until theyre a year old, when they are strong enough to release back to the sea. Last fall, the Maritime Aquarium began running a sea turtle nursery of its own, but Mundo Marinos nursery operates on a much larger scale.

We have one little loggerhead, Hudson said. They have 500.

All of those young loggerheads have got to eat, and thats where Stein came in. Most of the jellyfish pulsing through the Maritime Aquarium are cultivated by Stein on site, and in Colombia, she set about creating a similar system to raise local jellyfish for the turtles.

Jellies are something they eat in the wild, Stein said. Its about getting them that predatory instinct.

To get the local jellyfish, the Stein and Hudson headed down to the beach. There, fishermen were pulling in nets filled with fish and picking through their catch as yellow-footed egrets gathered nearby in hopes of a meal. Along with the fish, the nets had pulled in a large number of jellies, and the Maritime Aquarium staff were able to nab five-gallon buckets full of the bycatch, including a surprising find. When they dumped the buckets into the holding tank, they discovered the creator of one of the most dangerous venoms in the world: a box jellyfish.

It was sort of an adventure, because every time I reached my hand into the tank, I had to make sure I know where it was, Stein said.

In addition to the box jellyfish were the much less dangerous jellyfish the young sea turtles, the lantern jellyfish. Stein showed the staff at Mundo Marino how to harvest gonadal tissue from the male and female lanterns in order to fertilize jellyfish eggs, the first step to creating a colony of polyps, each of which can create a large number of jellyfish.

The hope is the new lanterns that the Maritime Aquarium helped cultivate will be ready in time to start feeding next years cadre of turtles.

As for this years, they were released on April 28. Five hundred loggerhead sea turtles who had almost washed to sea before they were born had each grown to the size of two hands. One by one, they were placed onto the sand, and slowly, determinedly, they began to paddle back out into the world.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
A quarterly report from Canalys shows pretty strong Samsung position in African smartphone market and a huge 42% growth in year-over-year but Chinese brands under the Transsion umbrella take a big market share as well in Q1 2018.

Collectively, Tecno, iTel and Infinix, which are all sub-brands of Transsion Holdings, overtake Samsung with 38% market share in Q1 2018,compared to the 23% slice for the Korean giant.

Anyway, from the top 5 list we see another familiar Chinese brand - Huawei. It seems that its performance in Q1 this year is pretty much on par with the first quarter of 2017 - just a small 3% decrease in sales but still holds a respectable 7% of the market share.

Source
Today Google has decided to create a special brand just for its expanded storage options: Google One. You still get 15GB free to share between Gmail and Drive with every Google account. If you want more, then you can pick between these new Google One tiers:

 100GB = $1.99 per month

 200GB = $2.99 per month

 2TB = $9.99 per month

 10TB = $99.99 per month

 20TB = $199.99 per month

 30TB = $299.99 per month

Additionally, you will have access to "Google experts" for customer support, for any Google One paid tier. The support won't be limited to Google One either, you will apparently be able to get in touch to discuss other Google services too (which you're using on the same account).

With Google One you will be able to share your storage with up to five family members. Everyone gets their own private storage space. Extra benefits like credits on Google Play or deals on select hotels in Google Search are on the way to Google One customers too.

All paid consumer Google Drive storage plans will be upgraded to Google One "in the next few months", starting in the US and then expanding globally. You'll receive an email confirming your upgrade once the rollout reaches your account. The way you use Drive to store and share files won't change.

Source
Introduction

Announced a few weeks ago in its homeland, Huawei's Honor 10 has now made the trip to Europe. We were there for the launch party in the UK, and we got to spend some time with it on the event floor gathering initial impressions to share with you. But first let's go over the specs.

For starters, it's the Kirin 970 in charge - the Honor 10 gets Huawei's in-house flagship-grade chipset, much like the Honor View 10, careful not to mix up the two. There are 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage on board, but don't be surprised if those numbers are different in your particular market - like 6GB of RAM, or 64GB of storage. In any case there's no microSD slot, which is a bummer.

The similarity of the non-View 10 to the View 10 continues into the camera department, where the Honor 10 brings a 16MP primary cam that shoots in color, and an extra black and white one. Only here, the monochrome camera is 24MP as opposed to the View 10's 20MP. On the front there are even more megapixels, too many perhaps - the 24MP camera seems to have been snatched off straight from the P20 (and we weren't exactly thrilled with this one).

The Honor 10 comes with a 3,400mAh battery, 10% less than the View 10, but then the display on this one is slightly smaller - it's a 5.84-inch IPS LCD with rounded corners and the mandatory notch (sigh).

Huawei Honor 10 specs:

Body: Aluminum frame, glass back, 149.6 x 71.2 x 7.7 mm, 153g

Aluminum frame, glass back, 149.6 x 71.2 x 7.7 mm, 153g Screen: 5.84" 2280x1080px (19:9) IPS LCD, 432ppi, notched

5.84" 2280x1080px (19:9) IPS LCD, 432ppi, notched Chipset: HiSilicon Kirin 970, Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G72 MP12 GPU

HiSilicon Kirin 970, Octa-core (4x2.4 GHz Cortex-A73 & 4x1.8 GHz Cortex-A53), Mali-G72 MP12 GPU Memory: 4GB RAM, 128GB of storage (these may vary by market though), no microSD slot

4GB RAM, 128GB of storage (these may vary by market though), microSD slot Camera: Dual: 16MP RGB (f/1.8) + 24 MP B/W, phase detection autofocus, 2160p @ 30fps video

Dual: 16MP RGB (f/1.8) + 24 MP B/W, phase detection autofocus, 2160p @ 30fps video Selfie cam: 24MP (f/2.0), 1080p video

24MP (f/2.0), 1080p video OS: Android 8.1 Oreo with Huawei EMUI 8.1 + AI features

Android 8.1 Oreo with Huawei EMUI 8.1 + AI features Battery: 3,400 mAh non-removable, Huawei Super Charger (5V@4.5A)

3,400 mAh non-removable, Huawei Super Charger (5V@4.5A) Connectivity: Dual Nano-SIM; USB-C (USB 2.0), NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS

Dual Nano-SIM; USB-C (USB 2.0), NFC, Bluetooth 4.2, GPS, GLONASS Misc: IR Blaster, front-mounted fingerprint sensor with gesture navigation, single bottom-firing loudspeaker

That's most of the important numbers taken care of, let's move on to the hands-on area.
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All Nokia phones from Nokia 3 up are now going to be part of the Android One program
HMD Global is announcing the Nokia X6 tomorrow in China, but apparently isnt doing a great job of keeping the phone a secret.

It already appeared twice yesterday - with its price tag on Suning and with its chipset and RAM on Geekbench. Today press renders and promo images unveiled all the specs left, including the dual camera setup, screen resolution and all the other nitty-gritty features.



Nokia X6 promo images

Nokia X6 will arrive with Snapdragon 636 that has eight Kryo 260 CPU cores, clocked at 1.8 GHz, coupled with Adreno 509 GPU. The screen is 5.8 in diagonal with Full HD+ resolution and a notch, leading to the trendy 19:9 ratio. The cutout on the top houses one camera, tiny earpiece and a proximity sensor.

The dual camera on the back will have a 16 MP primary sensor, while the secondary is 5 MP. The setup supports HDR and AI, but we have to wait until the actual launch to see if the machine learning is bringing something new. Selfie snapper is 16 MP with some beauty filters and intelligent 3D blur.



More Nokia X6 promo images

The battery in the Nokia X6 has a capacity of 3,060 mAh and comes with Quick Charge 3.0, that allegedly delivers a 50% top up in 30 minutes. The OS is Android Oreo and the device is most likely to join other Nokia phones in the Android One program for prolonged support and timely security updates.

The announcement might be tomorrow, but the actual sales on Suning will begin on Monday, May 21. We already know the retailer will offer the 4/64 GB version for CNY1,499 (about 200/$235), but the variant with 6 GB RAM should cost a bit more.

Source (in Chinese) | Via
A few weeks back, a new entry-level Samsung device with model number SM-J260G surfaced on a Geekbench, showing a quad-core CPU and 1GB of RAM but with Android 8.1 Oreo pre-installed. This could mean only one thing - the handset runs the slimmed-down version of the OS, dubbed Android Go.

As it turns out, the device will most probably carry the Samsung J2 Core name and the most recent report claims that the device is going to hit four markets - India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. These are all countries with a high share of budget-oriented phones.

The company previously used its in-house Tizen OS for the most affordable segment, but that one seems well forgotten now and the Korean will turn to Android Go to try and tackle increasing competition from Chinese makers.

Via
Published on 2018/05/15 | Source

Added episodes 17 and 18 captures for the Korean drama "Shall We Live Together" (2018)

Advertisement

Directed by Yoon Chang-beom

Written by Park Pil-joo

Network : KBS

With Yoo Dong-geun, Jang Mi-hee, Han Ji-hye, Lee Sang-woo, Park Sun-young, Yeo Hoe-hyun,...

50 episodes - Sat, Sun 19:55

Also known as "Marry Me Now"

Synopsis

The story explores the relationships between generations in a family; between parents, parents and children, and all the process by which all of them learn to relate to each other.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2018/03/17

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James Myron Black passed away peacefully May 4, 2018, surrounded by loved ones. He was 81 years of age.

Jim was born July 16, 1936, in Cole, Montana, to Helen and Oscar Black. He went to work at the Great Northern Railroad (BNSF) in 1952. In October of 1956, he married Margaret A. Seaman in Havre, Montana, where they welcomed four children. In 1967, they moved to Kelso, WA where he worked at the Longview Fibre Paper mill as a furnace operator until his retirement at the age of 58. He loved to travel, spend time with his family and go deep-sea fishing.

He is survived by his five brothers and three sisters, four children, Vernon Black, Cheryl Benson, Russell Black and Brian Black, and four grandchildren.

A celebration of Jim's life will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2018, in Longview, Washington.
Roy L. Keough, 83, passed away due to natural causes Friday, May 11, 2018, at Northern Montana Care Center.

Cremation has taken place, and at Roy's wishes, no services will be held at this time. His family has suggested that memorial donations be made in Roy's name to a charity of the donor's choice. Holland & Bonine Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements.

Please visit Roy's online memorial page and leave a message of condolence for his family at http://www.hollandbonine.com.

Roy was born Oct. 26, 1934, in Opheim, Montana, to Clarence and Bernice (Stowell) Keough. He was raised on the family farm outside of Opheim, attending school through the eighth grade. After eighth grade, Roy left school to work on the family farm. He married Harriet Rennick Sept.17, 1955, in Glasgow, and the couple moved to Havre where they spent the past 63 years. The couple had three children, and Roy worked diligently for the city of Havre until his retirement in 1989.

Apparently retirement didn't take well because Roy soon began working for Prince Inc. of Forsyth, MT, where he remained for the next 15 years, retiring in 2004.

In his younger years, Roy enjoyed hunting and working on engines. In more recent years, he enjoyed coffee at PJs, and camping and riding motorcycles and snowmobiles with Harriet. The couple also made many trips to Glacier. Roy was quite the Mr. Fix-it and could be called upon to help at any given time. He was a quiet, but very laid-back man who didn't get angry very often. He will be missed by all his friends and family.

He was preceded in death by his young son Tommy Keough; parents, Clarence and Bernice Keough; and sisters Sharon Keough, Velva Sharp and Louise Robbins.

Roy is survived by his wife of 63 years, Harriet Keough of Havre; children Gwenda (Thomas) Gehlen of Lewistown and Leroy Keough of Havre; three grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; siblings Ila Hensler of Missoula, Mavis Robbins of Cut Bank, Bert (Connie) Keough of Glasgow, Earl Keough of Plentywood, and Gerald and Bob Keough of Glasgow; and numerous nieces and nephews.
First off, low unemployment rates are really impacting the talent market. As such, employers need to create talent communities which are automated. In fact, 51% of organizations plan to spend more on talent acquisition this year.

Video interviewing will enjoy a 55% uplift in spend for companies. I also really believe that bots are coming into recruitment in a big way. Having spoken to a lot of our clients, theyre interested in having automated tolls on their websites which will talk directly to the candidate.

On the flip side, in regards to the recruiter angle, Lazar revealed that automation will come into play. AI will help recruiters talk to more people and remove the manual work theyre doing. Lazar added that predictive analytics and reporting will see more a focus.

Lazar also shared the archaic practices he still believes are in use in the industry  with on in particular annoying him the most.

If you still have an applicant tracking system thats not mobile optimized, this really needs to change quickly, he told HRD Canada.
Our challenge was to find a molecule thats almost exclusively present on activated T cells  not just any T cell  because there are many T cells that just sit around resting, Gambhir said. By coincidence, the molecule he found was the same one that Levy harnessed in his vaccine, a protein on the surface of activated T cells called OX40.

Boiled down, Levys cancer vaccine is a package of two stimulating agents. One coaxes T cells into producing OX40 on their surface; the other binds to OX40 and enables the cell to engage with tumor cells. Together the tag-team agents essentially prod loafing immune cells into high gear.

Once the tracer is injected, it scours the entire body, including the immune system, in search of cancer-killing T cells  but only those laden with OX40. Upon meeting, the tracer binds to OX40 and, when hitched together, the radioactive complex glows under a PET scan, revealing only those T cells that have been successfully activated, ready to ravage the tumor. If the scan comes back with low to no signal in the tumor or tumors, its an indication that doctors (in theory, as the vaccine and tracer have only been tested in mice) ought to reevaluate the immunotherapy dosage or change the treatment course altogether.

The power of PET

Gambhirs lab tested the tracer first in cell cultures. They found that the compound was able to suss out activated T cells about 95 percent of the time. Later in mouse models, they still saw success overall, but it was a bit more subdued. In a group of about 50 mice, the PET tracer performed accurately upward of 90 percent of the time.

Its really only now that this tactic is coming into play; the PET scan is usually focused on assessing only the tumor cells, said Gambhir. But now, with new imaging agents like this, were able to image the immune cells, and thats really the second half of the equation.

Gambhir acknowledges that one could simply wait to see physical changes in the tumor volume to determine whether the therapy is working. But that poses a problem. It may take weeks, or even months, to definitively see whether the cancer is responding to the treatment. Say the vaccine doesnt work. In the time it took to find out, the cancer would have continued to spread, becoming more molecularly heterogeneous and even more difficult to treat the next time around. Knowing sooner gives the patient more time to try other options, hopefully leading to better outcomes.

Clinical trial

Levy has moved his vaccine into a phase-1 clinical trial. In the next few months, Gambhir plans to move this new OX40 tracer into that same clinical trial, so that the tracer and therapy can be tested in conjunction.

We were able to predict what was going to happen in mice several weeks out by looking only 48 hours from the start of the immunotherapy. We could figure out which mouse was going to respond to the immunotherapy and which wasnt before they actually did or did not respond, Gambhir said. And thats exactly what were trying to do. Were trying to show that this approach can, in humans, allow us to image early and thereby let us evolve the therapy quickly.

Were trying to show that this approach can, in humans, allow us to image early and thereby let us evolve the therapy quickly.

Gambhir also is pursuing work to establish the OX40 tracer as a diagnostic for other applications, such as the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. Its important to remember that this is a really general approach to visualizing activated T cells  this shouldnt be thought of as specifically for cancer immunotherapy alone, he said. Thats just one important application.

The work is an example of Stanford Medicines focus on precision health, the goal of which is to anticipate and prevent disease in the healthy and precisely diagnose and treat disease in the ill.

Other Stanford co-authors of the study are Idit Sagiv-Barfi, PhD, instructor of oncology; Kezheng Wang, MD, PhD, a visiting faculty member in the Gambhir lab; postdoctoral scholar Ophir Vermesh, PhD; Debra Czerwinski, life science research assistant; Emily Johnson, life science research professional; and Michelle James, PhD, assistant professor of radiology and of neurology and neurological sciences.

Gambhir and Levy are members of Stanford Bio-X and the Stanford Cancer Institute. Gambhir is also a member of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute and the Stanford Neurosciences Institute.

A researcher at Harbin Medical University also contributed to this work.

The study was funded by the Ben & Catherine Ivy Foundation, the Canary Foundation, the National Cancer Institute (RO11CA201719) and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Stanfords Department of Radiology also supported the work.
University of Birmingham Enterprise announces the formation of a new spinout company, Viatem Ltd, to develop and exploit the therapeutic potential of PEPITEM (Peptide Inhibitor of Trans-Endothelial Migration).

The announcement coincides with the presentation of new research showing that synthetic PEPITEM can prevent or delay the onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in animal models of disease, and restore regulation of white blood cell migration in human tissues.

RA is an autoimmune disease that affects over 20 million people worldwide. It results in extensive damage to joints and causes significant disability. Currently there is no curative treatment.

PEPITEM is a 14 amino acid peptide, and a naturally occurring mediator in the adiponectin pathway which controls the recruitment of immune cells into inflamed tissues. The pathway was discovered by researchers at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham, and described in their seminal paper in Nature Medicine in 2015.

The adiponectin pathway is believed to be pivotal in protecting inflamed tissues from excessive damage, and is disordered in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and type 1 diabetes, all of which are characterised by chronic inflammation that destroys the patients own tissues.

According to Dr Jonathan Watkins, Head of IP at University of Birmingham Enterprise, it was the foundational nature of the science that first attracted the attention of the Universitys technology transfer and commercialisation teams. He commented: It is extremely rare that a completely new regulatory pathway is discovered, and that it is possible to modulate it through an identified target.

Dr James Wilkie, CEO of University of Birmingham Enterprise, commented: Despite substantial innovation over the last few decades, there are still significant unmet needs in rheumatoid arthritis treatment. We are delighted to be commercialising this novel therapeutic target which is supported by a robust and increasing body of evidence.

The new research, presented today at the Latin-American Association of Immunology in Cancun, Mexico showed the administration of synthetic PEPITEM:

When administered prophylactically: inhibition of the onset of collagen induced arthritis (CIA) in mouse models (measured by clinical score, autoantibody, bone erosion and incidence) compared to controls

When administered therapeutically: reduction in disease severity in CIA mouse models (measured by clinical score, ankle and footpad thickness, leukocyte infiltration, bone erosion, and autoantibody) compared to controls

Improved regulation of T-cell recruitment in ex vivo human peripheral lymphocytes taken from newly presenting RA patients (measured by T-cell migration and response to adiponectin).

The University has licensed the technology to the newly formed spinout company Viatem Ltd. The University is a shareholder in the company, which has received funding from Innovate UK, the West Midlands Academic Health Science Network and the University of Birminghams Enterprising Birmingham Fund.

Viatem is located in the BioHub Birmingham, the Universitys bioincubator, which is based at the Birmingham Research Park.

The researchers will be presenting further data at EULAR 2018.

ENDS

For further media information please contact Ruth Ashton, Reputation & Communications Development Manager, + 44 (0) 121 414 9090.

For further investment information please contact Nick Gostick, Spinout Development Manager, + 44 (0) 121 414 8619

About PEPITEM and the adiponectin pathway.

The adiponectin pathway was discovered by a research group led by Professor Ed Rainger of the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of Birmingham, UK. The pathway modulates the migration of T-cells (white blood cells) from the blood stream into body tissues, and PEPITEM is its key regulator.

PEPITEM is a potential novel therapeutic for T-cell mediated inflammatory diseases:

In response to adiponectin, B-cells release PEPITEM

PEPITEM binds to cadherin 15 on EC

Triggering formation and secretion of S1P via SPSN2

S1P binds S1PR1 on T-cells inhibiting their migration

University of Birmingham
Cardiff University doctors are on a mission to improve diagnosis times and treatment for women in Wales who suffer anal sphincter injuries in childbirth.

There is currently a large discrepancy between services in Wales and the rest of the UK, with patients in Wales not having routine access to treatments such as physiotherapy, and a large variation in the amount of training and support that is offered to midwives and obstetricians.

By hosting the first MASIC (Mothers with Anal Sphincter Injuries in Childbirth) training day, the first of its kind in Wales, the doctors at Cardiff Universitys National Surgical Training Centre for Wales hope to improve awareness amongst clinicians of the full impact of the condition on women and their families, and start the first patient support group for women in Wales to access information and advice.

An anal sphincter (AS) injury commonly affects first-time mothers who give birth vaginally. Approximately 3.7% of child births in Wales result in such injuries with over 10% of mothers who give birth through the birth canal developing some form of faecal incontinence, such as inability to hold wind or stools. There may also be urgency issues and associated anxiety.

Women rarely volunteer information about their injury because of the embarrassment and associated social stigma. They often suffer in silence and are very alone. Depression, anxiety and a multitude of psychological effects may also impact heavily on a woman with an AS injury.

The new workshop is designed to build networks of interested clinicians, provide training and developing clear pathways which will allow patients to access investigations and treatments more quickly. Currently it is estimated that it takes 7 years on average for a patient to be diagnosed and referred to an appropriate specialist.

This condition not only affects the woman but has a ripple effect that can damage family relations, bonding and physical contact, not only with the partner but also with the child. Feelings of isolation, degradation and irritability are common for women with faecal incontinence.

The workshop is being clinically lead by Mrs Julie Cornish, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, and Mrs Nadia Bhal, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Cwm Taf University Health Board.

I attended the launch of the MASIC foundation in London and the most vivid recollection is from listening to a MASIC mums story on how living with faecal incontinence affected not only her life, but her partners and her children. As clinicians it is too easy for us to focus on the physical injury but the MASIC workshops allow staff to gain a holistic view of the condition. It has really inspired me to drive service improvement in Wales, said Mrs Julie Cornish, Consultant Colorectal Surgeon, Cardiff and Vale UHB.

Mrs Nadia Bhal, Consultant in Obstetrics and Gynaecology Cwm Taf UHB, added: As an Obstetrician with a special interest in Perineal trauma I have been involved in national and international work to deliver training and support for midwives and doctors. Attending the launch of MASIC was different. Listening to the brave MASIC mothers stories really moved me.

MASIC ignited my passion to continue working in raising awareness, provide training in evidence based practice, to do everything we can to prevent these injuries from happening and provide the best level of care for MASIC mothers following childbirth.

Cardiff University
Israeli troops killed at least 55 Palestinians during mass protests on the Gaza border yesterday as the US opened its new Jerusalem embassy.

At least six children under the age of 18 were among the dead and about 2,700 were wounded as the protests quickly turned to bloodshed.

Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has angered the Palestinians and been labelled a setback to peace efforts.

But at the ceremony to open the embassy in the holy city, Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the US president for "having the courage to keep your promises".

"What a glorious day for Israel," Mr Netanyahu said. "We are in Jerusalem and we are here to stay."

Mr Trump was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka - whom he has appointed as a senior adviser - and her husband Jared Kushner.

In a recorded message played at the ceremony, the president said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

But on the border of the Gaza Strip, the number killed quickly rose to the highest death toll in a single day since protests by Palestinians demanding to be given the right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel began on March 30.

The latest casualties raised the Palestinian death toll to 91, marking the worst bloodshed since the 2014 Gaza War. No Israeli casualties have been reported.

France called on Israel to show restraint and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned".

Smoke

Tens of thousands of Palestinians had streamed to the coastal enclave's land border, some approaching the Israeli fence - a line Israeli leaders said they would not be allowed to breach.

Clouds of black smoke from burning tyres rose in the air as demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces,.

They hit back with volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

"Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever," said science teacher Ali, who refused to give his last name.

Mr Trump's recognition of the contested city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process with Israel.

Palestinians seek to have East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they want to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city as its "eternal and indivisible capital".

The Palestinians shot dead yesterday included a medic and a man in a wheelchair who was seen using a slingshot.

The army claimed three of those killed were armed militants who tried to place explosives near the fence.

Some protesters flew flaming kites to try and torch bushes on the other side and distract Israeli marksmen. Hundreds of Palestinians were treated for tear gas inhalation.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Forces) will act forcefully against any terrorist activity and will operate to prevent attacks against Israelis," the military said in a statement.

The killings have drawn much criticism in recent weeks, but the US has echoed Israel in accusing Gaza's ruling Hamas movement of instigating the violence, an allegation it denies.

Violations

Spokesman Raj Shah accused Hamas' leaders of making a "gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt" that led to the clashes in Gaza at the same time the US was opening its new embassy in Jerusalem, a move that has fueled Palestinian anger.

At a White House briefing, Shah also declined to join with other countries, including France and Britain, in calling for Israel to exercise restraint in its response to the protests.

The White House instead reiterated the Trump administration's refrain, in response to weeks of violence on the Israel-Gaza border, that Israel had a right to defend itself.

"The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas," Shah said. "Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response."

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah accused the United States of "blatant violations of international law".

"Choosing a tragic day in Palestinian history to open the embassy shows great insensibility and disrespect for the core principles of the peace process," Mr Hamdallah wrote.
Charlotte reacts angrily when she discovers Kerri-Ann is the killer in tonights Fair City episode

The residents of Carrigstown are left reeling when Kerri-Ann is arrested in tonight's Fair City.

Riddled with guilt, she cracked and finally told her husband, Decco, that she murdered Karen.

However, he did not react the way she had hoped and ended up trashing the house in a rage.

He accuses his wife of using him, as she begs him to stand by her. The couple have been in turmoil after Decco discovered Kerri-Ann had cheated on him.

Meanwhile, Dolores is surprised when she hears about Kerri-Ann's plans to leave for Spain immediately, so she can start a new life and escape the speculation surrounding Karen's death. Things end up going from bad to worse for her when she realises the murder weapon has gone missing.

Viewers saw Kerri-Ann obsessively clean the screwdriver to get rid of any evidence, while Yates interrogated the likes of Oisin, Sean, Wayne and Orla over Karen's death.

Kerri-Ann turns the house upside down looking for the missing screwdriver, as she begs Decco to help her make an escape before Detective Yates closes in. Decco's sister, Sash, interrupts their search and is shocked when Decco tells her the truth. His other sister, Charlotte, reacts furiously when she learns Kerri-Ann is the killer.

Handcuffs

The whole family looks on in horror as Yates arrives and leads Kerri-Ann away in handcuffs.

Yates and fellow officer Deegan had been conspiring to catch Kerri-Ann for some time, and their opportunity arises when they see her in McCoy's pub. In panic, she quickly leaves and Yates takes her glass for fingerprinting. Carol, who had been another suspect in the murder, spots Kerri-Ann and calls Robbie to let him know.

Speaking about the dramatic storyline, actress Jenny Dixon, who plays Kerri-Ann, said her character put all her faith in her husband, hoping he would stand by her.

"She believes her husband, Decco Bishop, will know what to do to save her," she said.

Fair City is on RTE One tonight at 8pm
A sister and brother are trying to evict a group of squatters from their 250,000 Dublin cottage.

Retired nurse Lorraine Lyons and her businessman bro- ther Peter Harte inherited the cottage in Shamrock Street, Phibsborough, from their aunt, Judge Jacqueline Linnane was told yesterday.

The siblings' barrister, Owen Donnelly, told the Circuit Civil Court that they want to sell the property now that house prices are on the rise.

However, agents acting for them had been unable to gain access to the cottage because a group of people, led by a Mr Sean Fitzgerald, were illegally occupying it.

Ms Lyons, of Kangaroo Point, Sylvania, Sydney, Australia, said in a statement submitted to the court that she and her brother were seeking vacant possession of the cottage.

In September 2016, it was found that locks had been changed and Mr Fitzgerald claimed to be squatting in it with a group of other people.

Obstructing

Mr Donnelly said Mr Fitzgerald and a number of unknown people in occupation of the cottage had received warning letters, but had refused to move out.

Ms Lyons and Mr Harte have asked Judge Linnane for orders directing Mr Fitzgerald and all others in occupation to vacate the cottage and restraining them from further trespass or obstructing agents from taking possession of the property.

Mr Fitzgerald told the judge that he was homeless and had nowhere else to live other than in the cottage.

He asked for an adjournment to allow him to deal with the application for vacant possession before the court.

Judge Linnane said she had to check a number of people at the back of the court who had sought to treat the application "as a bit of a joke".

The court had been told that Mr Fitzgerald and others were in unlawful possession of the cottage, and the judge had learned from court documents that the group involved had squatted in other properties and had been ejected by court order.

She told Mr Fitzgerald that she would deal with the matter.
Two women who pleaded guilty to killing a man by suffocating him with a plastic bag have been sentenced to six years in prison.

Anna Marie Pezzillo (35), of no fixed abode, and Rachel Comiskey (35), of Dodsboro Cottages, Lucan, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Ian Quinn (32) at Annally Grove, Ongar, Dublin 15, between May 30 and 31, 2014.

Frighten

Their pleas were accepted by the State on March 5, and Justice Patrick McCarthy sentenced them yesterday at the Central Criminal Court

He said the mitigating factors in the case were their guilty pleas and interviews they gave to gardai detailing what happened on the night Mr Quinn died.

The women told gardai they had been drinking heavily and taking drugs. A fight broke out and they put the bag over Mr Quinn's head to frighten him.

Justice McCarthy sentenced Pezzillo to eight years, with two suspended, and Comiskey to six years, with none suspended.

He said he was giving Pezzillo a longer sentence as she has 112 previous convictions and has shown "that over many years she was a person who had no respect at all for, or capacity to obey, the law".

The final two years of Pezzillo's sentence will be suspended on the condition that she abides by the directions of the Probation Service, abstains from illegal drugs and submits to any recommended drug treatment programme.

Both sentences were backdated to when the women first went into custody.

Before delivering his sentence, Justice McCarthy said the deceased had a relationship with Comiskey for about 12 years.

The judge added that Mr Quinn was a person who had advantages in life but he took a wrong turn at an early age, causing trouble for his family.

His lifestyle involved the use of drugs and alcohol and he lived on the streets or in homeless accommodation from time to time.

However, he added, his family's trauma at his death has not been diminished by the fact his life did not adhere to the standards they would have hoped for.

Vengeance

He noted that Pezzillo had 112 previous convictions while Comiskey had 12, all of which were dealt with at District Court level.

The judge said sentencing is not an exercise in vengeance and that the factors he must consider are the need to punish the offender, set a deterrent and provide for rehabilitation.

"People do not lose their humanity because they have committed a serious crime," he added.

He also said that the two-year suspension of Pezzillo's sentence would help her to be reintroduced into society.
Freddie Thompson has denied the murder of David Douglas, who was shot dead in 2016

Freddie Thompson's legal team is seeking to have CCTV footage thrown out of his trial for the murder of David Douglas because they claim it was illegally created and breaches his right to privacy.

Mr Thompson's lawyer has also questioned the identification of the accused from CCTV footage, arguing "not even his own mother" would recognise him from the "grey blur".

Mr Thompson (37), of Loreto Road, Maryland, Dublin 8, denies the murder of Mr Douglas (55), who was shot six times at his partner's shop in Bridgefoot Street, Dublin 8, on July 1, 2016.

It is the State's case that Mr Thompson provided logistical support in the planning and execution of a murder and was the driver of one of two "spotter" vehicles.

Failure

Two detectives told the Special Criminal Court they had identified Mr Thompson in CCTV footage taken in the hours prior to the murder of Mr Douglas.

Detective Sergeant Adrian Whitelaw and Detective Garda Seamus O'Donovan both positively identified Mr Thompson as the driver of a silver Ford Fiesta at 10.48am at Merton Avenue, and at 3.53pm on Donore Avenue, on the day in question.

Defence lawyer Michael O'Higgins SC said the Data Protection Act provides for a process of registering CCTV systems and failure to do so was a criminal offence.

He said the operators of CCTV must also alert people to the fact that recording is in place and indicate the uses to which the recording can be put.

The court has already heard from nearly 30 operators of the CCTV footage, and nearly all were unaware they should be registered with the Data Protection Commissioner.

As a result, Mr O'Higgins added, gardai were "harvesting material unlawfully obtained".

He argued the evidence had been "illegally created", and the CCTV was in breach of a citizen's, and his client's, constitutional right to privacy.

Mr Justice Tony Hunt put it to Mr O'Higgins the CCTV had not been unlawfully obtained by An Garda Siochana.

Mr O'Higgins said the law, in relation to the registration of CCTV, was not being complied with by CCTV operators and gardai were "getting the benefit of illegally-created evidence".

He claimed that gardai must be aware of this.

Mr O'Higgins also argued that any individual's movements, particularly in an urban area, can be readily tracked by linking CCTV cameras.

"This gives rise to an issue that it's an invasion into one's privacy," he said.

"By walking from A to B, and subsequently looking at cameras, you can find out what a person did, where they were, who they spoke to, and it is all recorded."

The lawyer further argued about the quality of the identification evidence, arguing at least one of the images of Mr Thompson was a "grey blur".

In his submission, prosecutor Sean Gillane SC said there "isn't an authority in the western world which supports what Mr O'Higgins is asking the court to do".

Criminal

Mr Gillane said the Supreme Court had ruled, numerous times, that when investigating a crime, An Garda Siochana had a duty to get all the evidence.

He further argued that Mr Thompson had no reasonable expectation of privacy in these circumstances because there is "no privacy in a criminal offence".

"If a person puts a CCTV system in place in their home because they suspect their childminder is stealing, and the footage shows the childminder assaulting a child, can it be said the CCTV is an invasion of the childminder's privacy? I submit not," he said.

Mr Gillane further argued that when a person is in a public place they had "no reasonable expectation of privacy at all".

The trial continues.
Members of the Gardai and an Air Accident Investigation Unit examine the wreckage

Tributes have been paid to the seven-year-old boy who died in a tragic plane crash

Kasper Kacprzac, a pupil at Sacred Heart of Jesus NS in Blanchardstown, was killed alongside UK pilot Niall Bowditch when their plane nosedived into a forest in Co Offaly.

The horrific accident is believed to have happened just minutes after the youngster's dad and 15 others had safety parachuted to the ground.

Kasper, whose family is Polish, lived in the Huntstown area of Dublin 15.

His father, Kris, is a regular parachutist and instructor with the Irish Parachute Club.

He made his scheduled jump from the plane shortly before it "torpedoed" to the ground.

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Destroyed

The bodies of Kasper and Mr Bowditch were recovered from the wreckage in an isolated bogland near Clonbullogue, at about 10pm on Sunday night, just before darkness fell.

Staff at little Kasper's primary school were visibly upset yesterday, as they learned the terrible news that Kasper had died. Residents in the close-knit Dublin community also expressed their disbelief that the young child from their area had died so tragically.

"I just can't believe it," said Huntstown mother Caroline Anderson. "As a mother myself, I can only imagine what this poor boy's parents are going through. They must be absolutely destroyed. All I can do is offer my sincerest condolences.

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"I've no doubt that the people living in this estate will do everything they can to help this family cope with their tragic loss."

A Polish woman living in Huntstown Wood was brought to tears upon hearing the news.

"It's just so sad. I didn't know the boy or his family, but my heart goes out to them. To hear in detail what happened to everyone involved is extremely upsetting," she said.

Another neighbour said she's sure that the many children within the Dublin West estate have lost a friend.

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"There are dozens of children always playing outside their homes around here," she said.

"I don't recognise the little boy, but I've no doubt that many of the kids here do."

Local representatives also offered their condolences.

"I'm sure the community will now rally round the family and lend its full support," Councillor Tania Doyle said.

"We cannot imagine the family's grief and can only stand by them and support them."

Shocked

Fingal Mayor Mary McCamley added: "I'm just so shocked and saddened to hear this news.

"I'm extremely sorry that this family has to experience such a devastating loss, but Huntstown is a very good community to live in and I'm sure they will do whatever they can for them.

"I'm on the board of Huntstown Community Centre and I've been in that boy's school numerous of times.

"I'm sure they will also rally around this family and treat the situation with the utmost respect and sensitively."

The aircraft had been scheduled to land at Clonbullogue Airfield, but lost contact at around 2pm. At this stage there is nothing to suggest that the pilot attempted to contact air traffic control or send out a distress signal when the aircraft got into difficulty.

Investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) were last night continuing to examine the wreckage of the Cessna aircraft, which will be brought to the unit's facility in Gormanstown for a thorough technical examination.

Investigators have not yet established if the aeroplane, which was built in 2005, was equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, although a source with knowledge of such aircraft said that smaller planes are not usually required to have such recording devices.

The cause of the crash has not yet been established, and it may take investigators several weeks to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.

Speed

"It appears that the aircraft crashed into bogland at speed, which made it difficult for emergency services to recover the two fatalities and the wreckage," a source said.

"However, after several hours, the two casualties were recovered from the front of the aircraft."

Meanwhile, it is understood that relatives of the deceased pilot will arrive in Ireland today.

Mr Bowditch is understood to be well-known in the area and had stayed in a local bed and breakfast. He was a very experienced pilot.

It comes as parts of the Cessna aircraft were moved to a local warehouse to allow for a forensic examination.

It is believed that part of the plane may be more than four metres under the surface of the bog.
Meghan Markle's father will not walk her down the aisle, latest reports have claimed.

Thomas Markle (73) had been due to fly to Britain to take a prominent role at his daughter's wedding to Prince Harry on Saturday.

Mr Markle, a former TV cinematographer, would have met his future son-in-law for the first time on the trip.

However, reports in the US yesterday quoted him as saying he had decided not to go after being caught co-operating with paparazzi "because he doesn't want to embarrass the royal family or his daughter".

Respect

Prince Harry and Meghan last night appealed for "understanding and respect" to be given to the American actress' father amid the speculation.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding.

"She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

Celebrity gossip website TMZ also claimed Mr Markle told its reporter he had been planning to travel despite having a heart attack just six days ago.

TMZ quoted Mr Markle, who lives in Mexico, as saying he meant no harm to Meghan or Harry by taking part in an arranged photo-shoot with a paparazzi agency.

He allegedly claimed he had not done it for money, but to improve his image after a series of unflattering photos were taken.

Previously, actress Meghan's half-sister had taken the responsibility for the photo shoot.

Samantha Grant said she had suggested her father pose for "positive" photographs.

Ms Grant, who is not in contact with Meghan, wrote on Twitter: "The media was making him look bad so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family.

"We had no idea he would be taken advantage of."

Pressed on whether he had been paid, she said: "I have no idea, but if he did I'm going to assume it was a pittance, because they don't pay that much. It was really so that the world could see him doing the healthy things that he's doing."

Asked about the effect on Kensington Palace, after aides repeatedly insisted Mr Markle did not wish to be photographed, she conceded: "I can understand why it would be awkward."

It has previously issued warnings to the media not to publish pictures of Mr Markle or Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, taken "under circumstances of harassment".

However, a series of photos were printed in the tabloid press showing Mr Markle exercising in public, reading a photographic book about Britain, being measured for a suit and looking up pictures of his daughter in an internet cafe.

At the weekend, published CCTV images appeared to show him collaborating with a photographer, walking into the cafe with him and setting up the best angle.
Maurice McCabe arrives for a session of the tribunal accompanied by his wife Lorraine

Journalists have denied being fed smear stories about garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe, the Disclosures Tribunal was told.

Former garda press officer Supt Dave Taylor claims to have given negative briefings about Sgt McCabe to a number of reporters, on the orders of then commissioner Martin Callinan.

He says he was ordered to tell them that the whistleblower - who exposed the force's penalty points scandal - had been at the centre of a child sexual assault investigation.

However, the tribunal was told that five of the nine journalists listed by Supt Taylor denied being briefed in this way.

The other four cited journalistic privilege and have not corroborated Supt Taylor's claims.

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The five who deny being briefed are Paul Williams of the Irish Independent and Newstalk, Paul Reynolds and John Burke of RTE, Juno McEnroe of the Irish Examiner and Michael O'Toole of the Irish Daily Star.

Mr O'Toole said he wanted to claim journalistic privilege, but no senior garda had ever smeared Sgt McCabe to him.

The journalists who cited privilege are Conor Lally of the Irish Times, John Mooney of the Sunday Times and Cormac O'Keeffe and Daniel McConnell of the Irish Examiner.

Under questioning from tribunal counsel Diarmaid McGuinness, Supt Taylor was unable to say where and when he briefed journalists about Sgt McCabe.

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Some briefings would have taken place on the phone while others would have been on the margins of press conferences.

Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton asked if he could give details of the specific reaction of any journalist, but Supt Taylor said the journalists "just took the information".

He said the briefings began after he was given an order by Mr Callinan in mid-2013 and ended in March 2014 when the commissioner resigned.

At the time he did not believe what he was doing was wrong, but subsequently realised it was.

Supt Taylor said Mr Callinan was "deeply frustrated" that the penalty points issue was not dying down.

He said he discussed the order with then deputy commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan and also told garda communications director Andrew McLindon.

Ms O'Sullivan and Mr Callinan have denied any knowledge of or involvement in a smear campaign, while Mr McLindon says he was never told by Supt Taylor of any order to brief negatively against Sgt McCabe.

The tribunal heard there was a conflict between the evidence of Supt Taylor and that of Paul Williams, who in 2014 published an interview with the young woman who had alleged Sgt McCabe sexually assaulted her as a child.

Sgt McCabe had been cleared of the allegation in 2007.

Mr Williams has said he contacted Supt Taylor about a week after meeting the woman with a number of questions.

However, Supt Taylor said he thought Mr Williams contacted him on the day of the interview, not with questions but to let him know it had taken place.

Agitated

Earlier, the tribunal heard how Mr Callinan was annoyed when an article appeared in the Irish Independent in April 2013 saying the commissioner had penalty points quashed.

The journalist who wrote the article said she called to the commissioner's house to check that the Martin Callinan living at that address was him.

Mr Callinan was "agitated" and felt it was a breach of his privacy, Supt Taylor said.

He added that a few days later, he passed on this "annoyance and concern" at a meeting with a newspaper executive.
Posters calling for a Yes and No vote in next weeks referendum

Legalising abortion could be a disaster for the health service, it has been claimed.

Doctors and nurses who are opposing the Government's move to liberalise abortion laws claimed Health Minister Simon Harris had not consulted those who would be carrying out the procedures.

They also said that about 2,000 surgical abortions could be carried out in Ireland in the first year of the new law.

Next week, we will go to the polls to vote on whether to repeal the Eighth Amendment of the constitution, which makes an abortion illegal in all but exceptional circumstances.

Pills

If the public votes in favour of repealing the amendment, the Government will table legislation to permit abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

GPs supporting the Save the 8th campaign say the Government has overestimated the impact of abortion pills in delivering the terminations that will be required.

They claimed that in the UK, almost four in 10 abortions before 12 weeks are surgical. Using the Yes campaign's figures of 5,000 abortions annually, "this would translate to about 2,000 surgical abortions in Ireland in the first year of a new law".

GP Neil Maguire said it was not acceptable that Mr Harris had not consulted them.

"Minister Harris has not spoken to us about what role he expects us to fulfil, and what is more, he has explicitly refused to discuss it until after a referendum has been passed," he said.

Nurse Marie Donnelly said: "The lies about the abortion pill in this debate can no longer be ignored. It is not a magic tablet that makes pregnancies go away. I am challenging the minister this morning - come out of hiding."

On Saturday, doctors who favour repeal in the referendum held a Together for Yes summit in the city.

They unveiled a declaration which had been signed by more than 1,000 doctors in Ireland, calling for the end of the Eighth Amendment.

Spokesman Dr Mark Murphy said: "Doctors across Ireland want change. We want repeal.

"We are here to say the Eighth Amendment isn't working - it puts doctors in a constitutional straitjacket which holds us back from providing proper care to our patients."

The event was attended by Mr Harris, who is one of the key political figures in the Yes campaign. He insisted claims that the proposed legislation would pave the way for unrestricted abortions were untrue.
Gunfire in Hagerstown leads to I-70 chase, arrest

A Washington, D.C., man was arrested early Friday after police say he fired a handgun in a Hagerstown residence, then led police on a chase on I-70.
Karnataka has thrown up a hung assembly with the BJP emerging as the single largest party but still short of a majority. At the time of going to press, it is unclear whether the party will be able to form a government. The Congress has extended support to the regional Janata Dal (Secular) to form and head a government. Things are very fluid with developments moving ahead at a rapid pace. The BJP is insisting that as the single largest party in the new assembly, it should get the first shot at forming the government, but Congress and JD(S) say that together they have numbers which go past the halfway mark.

Whichever way one looks at it, the BJPs performance has been very commendable. From a mere 40 seats in the outgoing 224-member assembly, to striking distance of attaining a simple majority is no mean achievement. Naturally the BJP has credited this to the magic of the Modi-Shah duo. For the BJP, the win in Karnataka was crucial for several reasons. For quite some time now, the BJP has looked at Karnataka as its beachhead into south India. After the recent fallout with the TDPs Chandrababu Naidu, it did not have a single southern state in which it was in power either by itself or in alliance with a partner.

While becoming the single largest party is an achievement, on closer examination it looks more like the Congress lost the state more than the BJP won it. Party spokespersons have been attributing the BJPs performance to the charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the organisational skills of BJP President Amit Shah. Again while these might be true, on closer examination the real reason for its performance maybe more mundane and predictable.

Karnataka has had a history of changing governments every five years. The last time a government was re-elected was the Janata Party one headed by Ramakrishna Hegde in 1985. Since then, no government in the past 33 years has managed to beat anti-incumbency. So this weighs heavily on any ruling party in the state. Siddaramaiah was battling history when he was aiming for re-election.

If the Modi-Shah effect were the only key reason, then this would have played out across the state. In the Old Mysuru region, where the party has been historically weak, its performance has not dramatically improved. In fact, some of its imported Vokkaliga leaders such as CP Yogeshwar have lost. The BJP has done really well in its traditional strongholds such as coastal Karnataka, northern Karnataka and urban areas such as Bengaluru.

Second, the vote share of the Congress is marginally better than that of the BJP. This is in spite of the Congress getting a significantly fewer number of seats. This is because the Congresss support base is more broad-based and diffused across the state. The BJPs vote base is more concentrated, allowing it to have a greater strike rate. So while the Congress might have lost the election, the BJP has not decisively won the mandate.

Third, for the BJP, this is a replay of its 2008 scenario when it was close to a majority but did not reach the magic number of 113 in the 224-member assembly. In 2013, the BJP had split three ways. The original loyalists had stayed back in the parent party. B S Yeddyurappa, who was upset with the treatment meted out to him, walked out with his supporters to form the Karnataka Janata Party, and the Reddy brothers with their acolyte, BS Srirramalu, formed the BSR Congress. All the three splinter parties coming together has meant that the votes divided in the previous election have aggregated to give the party its current numbers.

Though no analyst predicted this, there was a huge anti-establishment anger also reflected in the fact that 21 of the 32 ministers in the state cabinet who contested, have lost elections. The chief minister himself lost from one of the seats, Chamundeshwari, he was contesting and barely scraped through in Badami. Several Congress stalwarts such as TB Jayachandra, Ramnath Rai, Umashree, Santosh Lad and Basvraj Rayareddi have been defeated. Even the chief ministers close cabinet associates such as HC Mahdevappa, a veteran of several elections and H Anjenaya, who formed the backbone of the Congresss AHINDA (a Kannada acronoym for backward classes, minorities and Dalits) coalition also lost.

The fact that anti-incumbency was at work was clear from the performance of the JD(S). The regional party has held on to its numbers in spite of eight of its MLAs defecting to the Congress. Six of those eight MLAs of the JD(S) who defected to Congress have been defeated in the elections. In the districts of Southern Karnataka, the JD(S) did significantly better than the Congress where it was in direct contest with the party, as the BJP is a peripheral force here. This was also an indication that this was more an anti-incumbency wave rather than a pro-BJP one. If it was in favour of any one party, it would have got a full majority.

The irony is that now to stave off the BJPs quest to seize another state from it, the Congress has been forced to extend unconditional support to the JD(S) to form a government. Both the JD(S) and the Congress have overlapping areas of support where they fiercely contest against each other. The JD(S) is hardly a player in other parts of the state outside of its southern Karnataka stronghold.

Even an independent sitting MLA that the Congress had poached, Ashok Kheny from Bidar South, has come in third place, again indicating that it was classic anti-incumbency at play. While the BJP deservedly can claim credit that the intense campaign it unleashed in Karnataka, especially with the Prime Minister himself doing 21 rallies in 10 days, equal credit or more should be given to the anti-incumbency factor which plagues most governments in Karnataka.

venkatesha.babu@hindustantimes.com
Irrespective of which side they were on in Karnataka, most people agreed on one thing in the final lap of campaigning -- Narendra Modi could turn the election.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders said that they had one trump card, one issue in this election -- Modi. Congress leaders knew that Modis rallies were making a difference, but wondered whether it would be enough to help the BJP overcome local challenges. As one Congress leader put it, their party was sure of 110 seats before Modi really hit the campaign trail.

The Karnataka results show that BJPs trump card worked, helping the party emerge as the single largest force. The Congresss worries were real. Prime Minister Modi made this his election yet again, and won it for the BJP.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

How did he do it?

1. Increase in rallies: The PM had first scheduled 15 rallies in Karnataka. But as the campaign entered its final leg, he stepped it up to 21 rallies. Many interpreted this to be a sign of weakness. But others suggested that this was a result of the party recognising that it was ahead, that the PMs rallies were making a difference, and all it needed was one final push. Past electoral experiences show that Modi thrives in election campaigns and is willing to invest in them, be it launching a campaign blitzkreig in Gujarat with over 30 rallies or spending three days in Varanasi in the final lap of the Uttar Pradesh elections. The increase in rallies helped and could well have been the turning point. What added to it was that in each of these rallies, Modi had speeches tailored to the region, paying deference to local cultural icons, and speaking of the partys commitment to addressing local needs.

2. Turning the corruption narrative: The BJP had been defensive on the question of corruption. BS Yeddyurappa, who has confronted corruption charges, was their CM face and the Reddy brothers and their associates had been awarded tickets and political space. This allowed the Congress, despite being the incumbent, the opportunity to occupy the anti-corruption narrative against the BJP. Modi changed it in two ways. For one, his clean image helped in neutralising any local disadvantage. Modi made it a point to say he was fighting against black money and the corrupt; that those who had looted the poor would have to return money; and that moves such as demonetisation were geared towards this end and that is why the Congress opposed it. Two, he went on the offensive against Congress itself, and at a rally in Hubli, told his audience, and Karnataka, of the fact that Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were out on bail (in the National Herald case). Coupled with the consistent attacks on Siddarammiah and Congresss culture of deals and alleging it sold tickets, Modi ensured that on corruption, the BJP was not in the dock alone.

3. Welfare: Siddaramaiahs big selling point in this election were the welfare schemes he had initiated. This, the Congress had calculated, would consolidate the poor behind the party. Modi came into the fray and projected, vigorously, his own record on welfare and pro-poor initiatives. Welfare has emerged as a consistent theme now with all BJP leaders. But when Modi, projecting his humble roots, speaks on the subject, it appears to have a different kind of resonance with the electorate. He spoke about gas connections; he spoke about electrifying rural India; he spoke about toilet construction; he spoke about providing health benefits; he spoke about housing for the poor; he spoke about opening bank accounts; and he claimed it was these schemes which were percolating down to the poor. From Siddaramaiah monopolising the welfare narrative and attacking the BJP for being insensitive to the poor, Modi ensured that the BJP could also lay claim to being sensitive and addressing the core needs of the subaltern.

4. Dalit push: The BJPs biggest worry in this election was Dalit anger and unrest. The election was happening soon after the Supreme Court order on the prevention of atrocities act, which triggered a Bharat bandh. Karnataka has 16% Dalit population. A consolidation of the community in favour of the Congress would have propelled it to victory. Dalits were indeed a key leg of Siddaramaiahs AHINDA (a Kannada acronym) social coalition of backwards and minorities. Modi recognised this.

And a consistent theme of his speeches was the BJPs focus on Dalits. He spoke about the partys commitment to BR Ambedkar and recognising sites associated with the Dalit icon; he spoke about the Congresss supposed antipathy to Ambedkar; he spoke about how welfare schemes had helped SCs most; he spoke about how his government had actually strengthened the SC/ST Act; he spoke about how President Ram Nath Kovind was a Dalit leader and the BJP enabled his election, while Sonia Gandhi had not even paid him a courtesy visit. On the last day of the campaign, in a sign of the importance they placed on the communities, Modi spoke to the BJPs SC, ST, backward and slum morcha through his app.

5. The Hindu card: The Congress banked on key Hindu caste groups along with Muslims backing the party. The BJP needed a degree of Hindu consolidation to overcome this challenge. This consolidation could happen only if the Congress was portrayed as anti Hindu, appeasing the minorities, at the cost of public order. Modi added his voice to this narrative. By repeatedly alleging how, under the Congress government, BJP workers were killed with no action against perpetrators; by pointing out that the Congress was out to divide Hindus and make brother fight brother, in a reference to the move to grant Lingayats separate a religious status, Modi was aggressively seeking to consolidate the BJP constituency. It appears to have worked.

With Karnataka, Modi has shown, yet again, that he is one of the most formidable election winners India has ever seen. He has shown his appeal transcends regional boundaries. And he has shown that four years into his term, his personal popularity can swing even the most difficult election around.
Filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who turned 95 yesterday, talks about depicting the reality of India in his films. He says that he misses the golden era of the film fraternity when everyone stood by each other.

THE MAVERICK SPEAKS

Often I hear acquisitions that Satyajit Ray and I marketed Indias poverty to win international awards and encomiums. Nothing amuses me more than this. We have always depicted reality and life as it is in the nation through our films. What does one mean by selling poverty? Is it a commodity to be marketed at a price? Neither Ray nor I believed in depicting larger than life situations or characters which box-office-oriented popular cinema does. To us, life is larger than art. If art is honest, life follows it.

I really miss the golden 50s, 60s and 70s when the film fraternity was tied together in an affectionate bondage. Eminent filmmaker Ajay Kar approached me to pen a script for him. I obliged him by writing the script of Kanch Kanta Heera. He transformed it into a memorable film. There were master filmmakers then, like V Shantaram, Ritwik Ghatak, Tapan Sinha, Asit Sen and Shyam Benegal. For me, the first three names in Indian cinema are Ray, Ray and Ray.

Have you ever heard me speaking of myself as a political filmmaker? Ive never done that. In all my films, Ive taken up social issues rooted in the soil of my country. The political upheaval of the early 70s formed the backdrop of my Calcutta trilogy. Besides Bengali, I also directed Hindi and Telegu cinema to reach a wider audience.

Like Ray, I never believed in chairing or being a part of the National Awards Jury. I have been a jury member in almost every international film festival outside India. I shared good vibes with Gregory Peck and Sophia Loren. Similarly, I had differences of opinion with Alan Parker whom I hold in high esteem. If Charlie Chaplin is a cinematic idol to me, I highly appreciate the works of Ingmar Bergman, Stanley Kramer and Akira Kurosawa. Cinema is never the same without them.

CONTEMPORARIES SPEAK ABOUT MRINAL SEN

Ranu Mukherjee

My father, Hemanta Mukherjee, composed the haunting song Neel Akasher Neeche for Mrinaldas film of the same name in the middles 50s. I still get goose pimples when I see the sequence. A shattered Kali Banerjee, walking the streets of Kolkata at night. The song brought out the pathos of the city after partition. Each of the shots canned to picturise the song was meaningful. Mrinalda proved his mastery over the language of cinema.

Simmi Garewal

Actor Simmi Garewal.

After working with Satyajit Ray in Aranyer Din Ratri, it was another honour for me to have worked with Mrinal Sen in Padatik. I was not being able to give the right Bengali diction and was faltering in saying, Ekta Poisa. Initially Mrinalda wanted to dub my voice. Later, he decided to take a bold step and experiment with me. He did so with care and effectively. Mrinaldas handling of actors is unique. He is disciplined, uncompromising, yet very affectionate.

Govind Nihalani

Filmmaker Govind Nihalani.

The grand trio of Ray, Ghatak and Sen are my mentors in cinema. I still marvel at the use of freeze shots by Mrinalda in Akash Kusum. The jump cuts in Calcutta 71 and Interview are so well executed. I personally supervised and restored Khandahar frame by frame at the National Film Achieves at his request. A sheer poetry on screen, Khandahar was highly applauded at Cannes Classic Section in 2010.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
The Niti Aayog recently launched the first round of rankings on key social indicators for 100-plus poorest districts. These rankings, to be updated every quarter, are the pivot for a new flagship project: the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP), designed to accelerate development in Indias poorest districts. A real-time data dashboard to monitor progress will support the ranking effort.

The emphasis on district-level data is welcome. The lack of regular, granular data at the district level, the focal point of implementation in our administrative architecture, has been a serious impediment to administrative efficiency. Moreover, the indicators identified combine an output and outcome focus. This is a marked shift from the typical government tendency to conflate outputs (for example, the number of anganwadi centres built) with outcomes (reduction in stunting) and a starting point for introducing outcomes-focused performance management systems.

But, this effort also raises critical questions about the role (and limits) of data: can better data lead to improved outcomes without significantly changing the administrative architecture responsible for outcome failures? Is data the catalyst or the substitute for administrative reform? I would argue that most data-driven reforms do not pay adequate attention to the implementation conditions under which such data can be leveraged effectively. Consider the ADP. The stated objective of the district database is to empower districts to identify their needs and tailor interventions to local conditions. Rankings are expected to incentivise districts to compete in a race to the top thereby accelerating impact. But are the enabling conditions in place?

Take the district-intervention strategy. The real barrier to tailoring development interventions to district needs is not data (although it certainly is part of the story) but the centralised financing and decision-making structure that districts are embedded in. As this column has repeatedly highlighted, districts have little discretion over funds received from the central and state governments so much so that if a district wants to use funds allocated for toilet construction under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to promote waste management as its primary strategy to achieve sanitation goals, the rules wont allow it. How then can a district tailor interventions to suit local needs?

The ADP hopes to bypass this institutional failure by appointing an officer (prabhari) at the state and central level charged with converging state and central scheme funds with district priorities. But centralised financing has created an accountability culture that privileges micro-management. Ministries have fought hard to keep these culture alive, introducing rules to control district flexibility.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, for instance, introduced a flexible budget for district innovation but with clear guidelines on how districts ought to use this money (50% was reserved for computer-aided learning). Even an attempt by the Niti Aayogs Sub-Committee of Chief Ministers attempted to make 25% of central scheme funds discretionary has been ignored. In this context, is it realistic to expect a single prabhari to challenge entrenched cultures, induce flexibility and bring funding to districts? Data in this case can highlight the gaps and create pressure points but without reforms in district financing perhaps an unrestricted aspirational grant, change is unlikely.

Another strategy to bypass funding and implementation constraints is to collaborate with private sector and civil society organisations. This may yield short-term gains but unless the vision is to create a permanent parallel structure, sustaining these successes will require institutional reforms.

The expectation that district rankings could induce competition is an exciting proposition. But consider the incentive structure. Collectors have, at best, three short years in which to make a mark. An average district has more than 100 schemes running at any given time and usually suffers from weak implementation capacity. In this ecosystem, focusing on the politically visible priority, rather than competing with other districts, may well be the rational choice for a collector. Moreover, in a centralised system where national political priorities and associated targets are closely monitored is it feasible for districts to compete? After all, can a district realistically resist focusing on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and concentrate on education, even if thats what the rakings suggest?

On first principles, competitive federalism requires a genuinely decentralised environment where elected local governments, incentivised by their accountability to voters and empowered with resources, compete to deliver public goods linked to local preferences. Despite its rhetoric, the ADP seeks to undermine rather than promote decentralisation. Panchayats have no stated role in this programme and in its current articulation the ADP seeks to strengthen the role of the collector (and state and central governments) in planning, financing and implementing the priorities. Genuine competition without genuine decentralisation is hard to sustain.

In building an outcome-focused, data-driven framework Niti Ayog has taken an important step. But data is not a substitute for entrenched administrative failure. Rather it amplifies the need to invest in administrative reforms and build implementation capacity. In the absence of these investments, the ADP runs the risk of being no more than an aspiration.
Garbage continued to pile up in residential areas and on the main roads in Dehradun amid the ongoing weeklong strike by municipal sanitation employees, forcing harried residents to hit cyberspace with their woes.

Overflowing garbage bins and the streets strewn with waste have also worried the ruling BJP, which is focusing on the Tharali by-election and the impending local body polls.

On May 4, the term of urban local bodies expired and district administrations took their charge. From May 8, the contractual sanitation workers of the Dehradun Municipal Corporation (DMC) went on the strike, demanding that their jobs be regularised.

About 610 sanitation workers are demanding promotion and 408 contract staff are pressing for regularisation. The 759 permanent employees also joined the strike, leaving the city in a mess.

State Congress president Pritam Singh met the protesting workers on Tuesday, seeking a settlement to their issues. He said, The Congress government had issued an order in 2016 for inclusion of contractual sanitation staff in permanent posts. But the BJP hasnt acted upon the order due to which the residents of capital are facing the inconvenience.

The sanitation workers burnt an effigy of the government. Former Congress legislator Raj Kumar and Aam Aadmi Party district president Uma Sisodia supported the workers.

The corporation began cleaning work with the help of 120 members of the nullah gang and 75 night workers, but that isnt enough.

Its not easy to replace us. The city needs at least 1200 sanitation workers. Engaging a handful people for the day task is like a drop in the ocean, said Dheeraj Bharti, president of the contractual sanitation staff.

Deputy municipal commissioner Neeraj Joshi claimed to have engaged 290 outsourced staff in cleaning.

On May 10, the district magistrate (DM) directed night workers to return to work within 24 hours and issued a no work-no pay order. The DM divided the city into six sectors and handed over responsibilities to administrative officers. The outsourced employees were engaged in the cleaning job, but the effort fell short of the task at hand.

Expressing concern, BJP legislator Umesh Sharma Kau demanded a solid plan. Mayoral candidate Sunil Uniyal Gama, who is close to the CM, reached the protest spot and assured the workers to take up their demands.

Social networking website Facebook is filled with pictures of city streets piled up with garbage. Jatin Sabharwal, a user, posted on Monday a picture of Tehsil Road strewn with garbage. The post reads, Please take care of this (garbage pile) officials. Dont be ignorant. Similar pictures are circulating in local groups as well.

Dehradun Resident Welfare Front president Mahesh Bhandari has requested the government to address employees demands and save the city from garbage and pollution.

We are trying to look into the matter. There are various technicalities involved and we hope to find a solution shortly, urban development minister Madan Kaushik said.

Former BJP city president Umesh Aggarwal said, If the government accepts the demands of this union, then other unions will start asking for the same. We discourage outsourcing of employees, but the union has left the government with no choice.
In a landmark judgment, the Uttarakhand high court on Tuesday directed the state government to ensure that police personnel do not work for over eight hours at a stretch and give at least three promotions to a policeman.

The high court, in its 67-page order, also ordered the government to create a corpus within a period of three months for welfare of policemen and appoint a psychiatrist in each district to counsel policemen.

The order was issued by a double bench of justices Rajiv Sharma and Sharad Kumar Sharma while disposing of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Arun Kumar Bhadoria in 2017. HT has a copy of the court order.

The PIL had sought better and humane conditions of service for Uttarakhands police personnel.

Besides, the court directed the government to provide sufficient recreational facilities like gym and swimming pool etc at police stations as well as police housing colonies and medically examine all police personnel after every three months to assess their fitness.

The order issued mandatory directions to the government, citing reports of various commissions, committees and research bodies on police reforms and condition of police in India and the state.

The HC order pointed out that according to section 42 of clause 1 of the Uttarakhand Police Act, 2007, police officers are supposed to work for 24 hours.

The bench said: Section 42 of the Uttarakhand Police Act, 2007, has to be interpreted in a reasonable and humane manner. What it implies is that a police officer should be available for 24 hours but it does not suggest that he has to work uninterruptedly for 24 hours. The stress and strain is the same of police officer/personnel.

The long duty hour takes a toll on the morale, motivation and self-esteem of staff. The overall frustration manifests itself in the offensive conduct and behaviour with the public at times. It is the duty cast up the State to make provisions for securing just and humane conditions of work under Article 42 of the Constitution, the order stated.

The bench has also directed the state government to pay at least 45 days extra salary to improve conditions of service of the police personnel for undertaking the arduous duties, make suitable amendments in the rules by providing at least three promotions to a policeman to remove stagnation and for improving efficiency, and recruit qualified doctors specifically for the police force.
As dozens of bricks and mortar landed on 19-year-old Rohit Kumar in southeast Delhi during Sundays storm, eyewitnesses chose to take pictures instead of providing help, said the victims friend who was with him during the accident.

Debris falling from the third floor of a house in southeast Delhis Jaitpur area cracked open Rohit Kumars skull on Sunday evening, according to his friend Deepak Varun (16).

Recounting the incident leaves him more angry than sad, he said. How can people be so apathetic? There are some two dozen houses in the vicinity where the accident happened. Yet, no one stepped forward to help Rohit. I kept screaming and pleading but no one tried to help us. Instead, people came out, took pictures, filmed videos and then either left the scene or simply stood there doing nothing, said Varun, who was accompanying Kumar to a shop at the time of the incident.

Varun says he will have to live with the regret of not pulling Kumar away from the bricks at the last second.

As the first set of bricks fell near my feet, I was alarmed. I screamed, warning Rohit to move away, but as he had headphones on, he could not hear me. Before I could rush and drag him away, he was crushed under the bricks, said Varun.

Varun said he did not have a cellphone, so he could not call the police himself. Kumars phone did not have the balance to make a call, he added.

The only option left was to run home and ask for help. I ran back to Rohits house which is little over half a kilometre away and alerted his family. I went back to the accident spot with some of his family members. By that time, someone had made a PCR call and a police team rushed Rohit to a hospital, said Varun.

The police said Kumar was rushed to Apollo Hospital where he was declared brought dead.

Varun said that he thinks the delay in hospitalisation led to Kumars death.

HT visited the accident spot and spoke to a few residents. They said there was not much they could do to save Kumar. He was lying motionless. So we presumed he was dead. I dont know what else we could have done, said Kalawati, a housewife who said she was one of the many people who witnessed the accident that killed Kumar.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday partially modified its March 6 order by which it had stayed further progress in amending the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 and directed the Centre to give a 15-day window for inviting objections to the proposed changes.

A bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Navin Sinha also asked Attorney General K K Venugopal, who appeared for the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), whether the concerned officials of the department would be immediately suspended if unauthorised constructions come up in the areas under their jurisdiction.

Venugopal sought modification of the March 6 order and referred to the concept of separation of powers. He said the statutory authorities cannot be prohibited from framing laws.

The apex court asked the Centre to give 15 days for inviting objections for the proposed amendments and said the government should take a final call after considering all aspects.

The bench posted the matter for further hearing on May 17.

The Master Plan-2021 is a blueprint for urban planning and expansion in the metropolis to ensure overall development.

The proposed amendments are aimed at bringing a uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residential plots and complexes on par with residential plots. FAR is the ratio of a buildings total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built.

The apex court had on March 6 stayed any further progress in amending the Delhi Master Plan 2021 to protect unauthorised construction from the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital, sternly observing that this dadagiri (bullying tactics) must stop.

The apex court had earlier said any interference in the functioning of the court-appointed monitoring committee would amount to contempt, observing that the rule of law over sanction to construct buildings in Delhi had completely broken down while expressing concern over illegal construction.

It had also ordered restoration of its monitoring panel to identify and seal offending structures. The committee, comprising K J Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission, Bhure Lal, chairman of the Environment Pollution Control Authority, and Major General (Retd) Som Jhingan, was set up on March 24, 2006, by the apex court.
Holding three resident doctors guilty of negligence, leading to the death of a pregnant nurse at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), the Delhi Medical Council (DMC) has struck the names of two resident doctors from the state medical register for a month. The council has also asked its West Bengal counterpart to do the same for the third doctor who is registered with it. By law, the doctors cannot practice medicine without their names on the medical register.

The DMC has also rapped AIIMS for hiring a doctor not registered with the state council.

In January 2017, nurse Rajbir Kaur was admitted to AIIMS with full-term pregnancy. While under observation, the foetal heartbeat dropped and she was taken for an emergency surgery. She had a cardiac arrest on the table and died 16 days later of multi-organ failure and severe blood infection.
The Karnataka election results need to be seen in two dimensions. The first is a mix of the mathematical and the political.

The Congress, which won 78 seats, has announced its decision to back the Janata Dal(S), which won 38 (including one seat of its partner the BSP), effectively signalling its willingness to be the minority partner of the latter, or even support its government from outside. The JD(S) has said that it will accept this backing, and that HD Kumaraswamy will be the chief minister of the state.

There are also reports that the Bharatiya Janata Party, which won 104 seats, and is the single largest party in the 222-member assembly (voting in two constituencies has been deferred), has reached out to the JD(S).

Both the Congress and the BJP are clearly desperate to keep the other party out.

The focus now shifts to the governor. He has met both parties and will likely take a call on Wednesday. It is possible that he will call the single largest party to form the government, ignoring the claims of the Congress and the JD(S) because they did not have a pre-poll alliance. That wont be without precedent. Of course, he could also choose to invite the JD(S) and the Congress, despite them not having an alliance ahead of the polls. That, too, wouldnt be without precedent. The governors discretion clearly matters, but given that he is an appointee of the NDA government, he will likely go with the first option. The BJP will then have to prove its majority within a certain time frame, perhaps a week. That means Karnataka should get ready for a week of whats popularly known as resort politics, with one grouping trying to prevent its legislators from being influenced or poached by the other. To prove its majority, the BJP will either have to get 40% of the legislators of the JD (S) or the Congress to break away or get some to abstain when the voting happens in the house.

The second is the message in the verdict, which should not be obscured by all the manoeuvering currently on.

The results proved, though, that public memory isnt short; that 18 months of election-focused work cant erase 36 months of inefficiency. Of the 30 Cabinet ministers in Siddaramiahs government, 17 lost in the elections (the CM himself lost in one of the two constituencies from which he contested). Thats as strong an anti-incumbency wave as can be.

For almost three-and-half years of his tenure in Karnataka, Chief Minister Siddaramiah didnt do much. An agrarian crisis, aided by two successive droughts, took its toll. Public infrastructure, in Bengaluru and other parts of the state, crumbled. Meanwhile, Congress legislators appeared to be getting richer (although, to be fair, this seems to be a universal truth for legislators across the country and across party lines).

In the last 18 months of his tenure, though, Mr Siddaramiah went into overdrive. He launched a rash of welfare schemes. The weather gods were kind to him too: last year, Karnataka received normal rainfall (another drought would have been disastrous). He hired a really smart social media team that always seemed to have the last word in repartees with Prime Minister Narendra Modis own team. And for everyone looking for someone who could take the fight to Mr Modi (and many were), Mr Siddaramiah became the man.

Those 18 months, with the benefit of hindsight, may have only bettered the Congress tally in the elections (which means it could have done worse otherwise), but ahead of the polls, they only served to exaggerate the partys chances.

The Congress decision to back the JD(S) isnt surprising. Its been clear for some time now that the only way to defeat the BJP is for all its relevant major rivals to come together. This happened in the by-elections in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress must be ruing the fact that it didnt strike an alliance with the JD(S).

Still, neither the Congress nor the BJP is likely to be celebrating the JD(S) performance. The partys strong showing could strengthen calls for a non-BJP, non-Congress federal front in 2019, although such third fronts usually flatter, only to deceive. Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati campaigned along with the JD(S) in Karnataka, with the latter indicating support for her prime ministerial aspirations in 2019 that already seem to have the silent endorsement of the Samajwadi Party. Other possible constituents of such a front, including Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, also have similar ambitions  one reason why such partnerships rarely last  but the continued relevance of strong regional parties, if only in pockets, will remain an irritant for both the Congress and the BJP.

The BJP has another big worry as well  one that was evident during its campaign. Its win in Karnataka was largely on account of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Many of its other leaders failed to connect with the electorate. And while its chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa won his own seat comfortably, he was not at the forefront of the partys campaign; Mr Modi was. Indeed, the BJP seemed to be fighting two campaigns in Karnataka, one with Mr Modi as the star campaigner and party president Amit Shah as the backroom brain; and another with Mr Yedyyurappa and the Reddys of Bellary, both tainted by corruption scandals dating back to when the BJP was last in power in the state, but still very politically relevant. Mr Modi carried the day for the BJP, which, while it adds to the mans own myth, should also worry the party at one level. Even factoring in Mr Modis obvious (and phenomenal) stamina on the campaign trail, how much can one man do?
The results of the matriculation or Class 10 board examinations conducted by Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will not be declared on Tuesday, sources said.

More than 17 lakh students appeared for the matriculation or Class 10 board examination that began on February 21 and ended on February 28. To stop students from cheating this year, the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), which conducts the exams, asked students not to wear shoes or socks and enforced several other measures.

Candidates were frisked at the entry gate of the exam venue and again after they sat in their allotted seats. They were monitored by video while writing the exam at all centres where extra force and home guards had been deployed.

The exam was conducted in two sittings in 1,426 centres across the state for 17,70,042 candidates -- 8,91,243 boys and 8,78,794 girls. There were 74 centres in state capital Patna where 82,566 candidates appeared.
Class 10 and Class 12 students will be able to directly check their results for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations on Google search this year.

CBSE has partnered with Google for the first time to host the boards Class 10 and Class 12 results on the search engine. So for the first time, the CBSE board results window will be available both on Google as well as CBSE official result website cbseresults.nic.in, CBSE spokesperson Rama Sharma told Hindustan Times on Tuesday.

This has been done keeping in mind the convenience of the students, she said.

Students will be able to check their results quickly by visiting the Google website and searching for CBSE Class 10 or CBSE Class 12 result. They will have to key in the required details to login and check their results. Previously, students were required to go to the CBSE official website to check their results.

This year, Google had provided a window to check JEE main result 2018 too.

CBSE board exam results are expected in the last week of May. Around 28 lakh candidates had registered for CBSE Class 10 and Class 12 examinations this year. A total of 16,38,428 candidates had registered for Class 10 examinations conducted at 4,453 centres across India and 78 centres outside India. For the Class 12 exam, 11,86,306 candidates had registered and the exams were held at 4,138 centres in India and 71 centres abroad.
The United States continues to remain the top international destination for Indian students who make up for 17% of all international students there, according to the US India Education Foundation (USIEF).

United States remains the top international destination for Indian students, hosting over 186,000, twice as many as a decade ago. Indians make up 17% of all international students in the US today, a statement by the USIEF said.

Ambassador Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State, visited the USIEF over the weekend to underline the importance the US government places on promoting educational exchanges between the worlds two largest democracies.

The meeting came at the start of Ambassador Galts week-long visit to India and Bhutan, the statement added.

Galt also met with Fulbright Program students, including Americans studying in India as well as Indian alumni of US colleges and universities. The Indian graduates shared their experiences studying abroad and discussed how they benefitted from the US education.

Education USA advisers reported to the Ambassador that, contrary to some reports, the appetite for studying in the US remains high among Indian students. Prospective applicants report that they are most attracted by high-quality of education, the international value placed on US degrees, the opportunity to form a lifelong connection with the country, the statement said.
At Cannes Film Festival 2018, there have been numerous stylish actors vying for the title of red carpet queen. Weve been in total awe of the way Deepika Padukone manages to effortlessly switch from goth glam to casual chic while fawning over Aishwarya Rais punk princess-inspired gows with dramatic trains and the all-over sequined jumpsuit and saree Kangana Ranaut wore.

A post shared by Alberta Ferretti (@albertaferretti) on May 15, 2018 at 2:25am PDT

Aside from these three ladies, there is a fourth stylish celeb who is absolutely slaying at the annual film festival  Mahira Khan, who walked the Cannes red carpet for LOreal Paris on Monday, wearing a strapless black taffeta gown by Alberta Ferretti with Chopard jewellery for the screening of BlacKkKlansman.

A post shared by A Fashionista's Diary (@afashionistasdiaries) on May 14, 2018 at 8:48pm PDT

The Pakistan-born actor and first-time attendee is in the South of France to represent LOreal. And its not surprising that Mahiras outfit choices at Cannes (like, casually taking a stroll in this Nicolas Jebran gown post Mondays Chopard party) are incredible and also showcase her demure style.

A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on May 14, 2018 at 4:02am PDT

With her Cannes looks, Mahira has been proving that maintaining a sophisticated look while staying cool is a challenge, but it is far from impossible. The actor has been looking elegant and, best of all, weatherproof wearing a series of summer-friendly looks, including a strapless white floral Blumarine maxi dress. So cute.

A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on May 14, 2018 at 12:10am PDT

Though each of Mahiras outfits has been different, theyre all united by a refined and restrained colour palette. Whether her streak of perfect summer dresses will continue through the rest of her Cannes days remains to be seen  but judging by her Instagram post on Monday in a seriously chic and sophisticated blush saree by Karachi-based designer label Menahel and Mehreen (pictured above), shes probably got a few more great looks on the horizon.

Read on to see what else Mahiras worn to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival so far...

A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on May 12, 2018 at 11:22pm PDT

1. Mahiras ivory-hued crossover bustier and matching high-waist, harempants set accessorised with a vibrant floral-print kimono is too gorgeous for words. We know we can always count on the stylish actor to teach us new effortless ways to sneak in a pop of brightness, even into the most neutral look. She posted pictures of her look on Saturday.

A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on May 13, 2018 at 7:42am PDT

2. Arresting and unexpected, the beauty of Mahiras pyjama-esque floral coordinated pant and shirt from from Leonard Paris is they make a statement and look luxe. A cosy-meets-classy combination like this is certain to be a conversation starter at any event. Mahira looks so loungey chic it hurts.

A post shared by Mahira Khan (@mahirahkhan) on May 13, 2018 at 5:37am PDT

3. Mahira showed how a bright top and wide-leg pants are perfect to show off your shoes and we dont know if our fangirling hearts can take it. She opted for a more put-together yet trendy look on Sunday, wearing a pair of wide-leg black pants and matching black Louboutins. But rather than finishing off her look with something youd expect, like a crop top, Mahira wore a statement sunflower yellow-hued blouse with a long and flowy cape sleeve.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
A special NIA court on Tuesday sentenced 18 SIMI members, including its leader Safdar Nagori, to seven years rigorous imprisonment (RI) after they were found guilty of organising an arms training camp for the banned outfit in Kerala in 2007.

Special NIA court Judge Kauser Edappagath also sentenced them to varying terms of imprisonment under different sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Explosives Substances Act (ESA) and Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

They were sentenced to one-year RI under Section 10 and five years under Section 38 of the UAPA, seven years RI under Section 4 of the ESA and seven years under the IPCs Section 120(B). The sentences would run concurrently.

Fourteen convicts, who have been in judicial custody for more than seven years will get the benefit of set off allowed by the court, a defence lawyer said.

The court had on Monday acquitted 17 others in the case.

The case was registered by the Kerala Police against Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) members for holding an arms training camp in December 2007 at Thangalpara in Keralas Wagamon.

The charge-sheet filed by National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the participants at the secret training camp had engaged in physical training, firing practice, training in explosives, motorcycle racing, rope climbing, besides classes on jihad in India.

The court had rejected the NIAs charges against the accused under IPC sections 122 (collecting arms with intention of waging war against the Government of India), 124-A (attempts to spread disaffection towards the government) and 153-A (spread enmity between communities).

Besides 48-year-old Nagori, the others sentenced today were Saduli, P A Shibily, Mohammed Ansar and Abdul Sathar (all from Kerala); Hafeez Hussain, Mohammed Sami Bagevadi, Nadeem Sayeed, Dr H A Asadulla, Shakeel Ahammed and Mirza Ahmed Baig (Karnataka); Aamil Parwaz and Kamaruddin Nagori (Madhya Pradesh); Mufti Abul Bashar (Uttar Pradesh); Danish and Manzar Imam (Jharkhand); Mohammed Abu Faisal Khan (Maharashtra); and Alam Jeb Afridi (Gujarat).

Nagori, founder member of SIMI in India, is believed to have been radicalised after the Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992.

Son of a policeman from Madhya Pradesh, his name first surfaced in police records in 1998 for alleged anti-national activities.

He continued playing hide and seek with the police till his arrest in Madhya Pradesh in 2008.

SIMI had been banned in 2001 as a terror outfit for being suppliers of cadres to terror groups such as the Taliban, the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Harkat ul-Jihad-e-Islami in carrying out activities in India and Afghanistan.

The case was originally registered at Mundakayam on June 21, 2008, and the probe was handed over to the NIA in January 2010.

The first charge-sheet was filed in 2011, followed by supplementary charge sheets in 2013 and 2015 against 38 people.

The trial commenced in January last year and 33 accused persons lodged in prisons in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Bhopal and Bengaluru were produced through video-conference, while the remaining two accused were produced in person.

One charge-sheeted accused, Wasik Billa, a resident of Uttar Pradeshs Azamgarh, has been absconding, while another, Mehboob of Madhya Pradesh, was killed in an encounter in Bhopal in October, 2016.

Another accused, Abdus Subhan Qureshi alias Tawqeer, a resident of Mumbai, was arrested in the case recently.

The prosecution examined 77 witnesses through whom 252 documents and 43 material objects got exhibited, while the defence examined three witnesses during the trial.
This is not the first time that Karnataka stares at a possible coalition government with two parties  in this case the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular)  coming together to try and form a government in the state.

Other experiments of this nature neither managed to last long nor offer good governance due to problems of power sharing. Here is a look at two previous coalition governments in Karnataka and how they fared:

Congress-JD(S) coalition

2004-06: After the 2004 Karnataka polls, when the SM Krishna-led Congress was reduced to 65 seats from 132, the party tied up with the JD(S), which had finished third, but with its best performance of 58 seats.

With Dharam Singh as chief minister and Siddaramaiah as deputy chief minister, the government was going strong until HD Kumaraswamy engineered a coup and decided to withdraw support to the government.

One of the factors for the failure of this government was the increasing influence Siddaramaiah was wielding in the JD(S) and his perceived shift towards the Congress.

Both party patriarch HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy were angered by Siddaramaiahs alleged attempts at trying to sideline them.

Kumaraswamys ambitions of becoming chief minister only added to the alienation between the two partners, and ended up bringing down the government.

JD(S)-BJP coalition

2006-08: Immediately after the Congress-JD(S) alliance was brought down, Kumaraswamy formed a government with the BJPs support, even attracting his fathers ire in the process.

The coalition was formed after Kumaraswamy housed his party legislators in a resort to stop them from switching to the Congress, beginning the infamous resort politics of the time.

With Yeddyurappa as deputy chief minister, the coalition worked on the basis of a power-sharing plan under which Kumaraswamy and Yeddyurappa were to be chief ministers for 20 months each. This was the first time the BJP had been a part of any government in a state and in the south.

Despite his 20 months as chief minister having elapsed, Kumaraswamy refused to give up the chief ministers post and the BJP, feeling hard done by, decided to withdraw support a year before the term was to end.

In the ensuing election, the BJP almost reached a simple majority, basing its campaign on the betrayal by Kumaraswamy in denying a Lingayat leader the chief ministers post.

The BJP formed the government with the support of independents.
An explosion in the ammunition dump of Indian Armys base camp in Unchi Bassi near Dasuya on Jalandhar-Pathankot highway on Tuesday killed a technician and injuring at least seven other members of the inspecting team from Ordnance Factories Jabalpur.

The blast occurred around 3.30 pm when a team from Ordnance Factory was inspecting the ammunition as a routine procedure, police officials of the district said.

The deceased has been identified as Ajay Pandey, a technician, who is said to be from Madhya Pradesh. His body has been kept in the Dasuya civil hospital mortuary. As per information, while nine who were injured include a Subedar rank Army official whereas rests were non-commissioned officers.

Injured Anurag, Malkan Praj- apat and Baljinder Singh were ru- shed to Dasuya civil hospital whereas Parvendra Singh and Kuldip Singh were shifted to Capitol hospital in Jalandhar, where they are in serious condition.

Subedar Davinder Singh, who brought the body to the civil hospital in Dasuya said that two more injured had been admitted to military hospital Pathankot.

No army officer was available for comments. The public relation wing of the camp, feigned ignorance about the incident. The army men who were attending on the injured refused to talk to the media. Defence spokesperson at Chandigarh, Anil Gour, when contacted, expressed helplessness in giving any details pertaining to the accident.

Senior superintendent of police, Hoshiapur, J Elanchazhian too said he had no official word from any of the army officials regarding the incident .

What we have gathered is that a team from the Ordnance factory was on an annual inspection since about a week. As the blast took place inside the army camp, the police were neither called on the spot nor any details were shared with us, he said.
A Border Security Force (BSF) constable died of injuries he had received in a ceasefire violation by Pakistan along the international border in Jammus Samba sector on Monday night.

The soldier has been identified as constable Devendra Singh.

A BSF jawan was injured during ceasefire violation in Samba on IB near Manguchak post of 173 Battalion at around 0120 hrs (1.20am) late Monday night, said an intelligence official.

A senior BSF official said constable Singh was admitted to Military Hospital for bullet injuries but could not survive.

On May 10, a 22-year-old civilian was killed in small arms firing by Pakistani forces along the line of control (LoC) in Poonch district.

Monday nights incident came barely 24 hours after BSF noticed suspicious movement of a group of five persons, believed to be terrorists and attempting to sneak into this side, along the IB in Hiranagar sector of nearby Kathua district, prompting a massive search operation and sounding of a high alert in Jammu.

Army also pressed helicopters into service during the search operation which entered the second day today, the official said.

Singhs death took the number of persons killed in over 700 incidents of Pakistani shelling along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in the state -- highest this year -- to 33. The deceased included 17 security personnel.

There has been a lull in firing along the IB over the past three months after intense border skirmishes in January and February, which led to many casualties and forced civilians to flee their homes.

However, the frequent ceasefire violation by Paksitan was going on along the LoC.

(With agency inputs)
The Congress on Tuesday asserted that Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala has no option but invite the JD(S)-Congress combine which has a clear majority to form the government in the state based on constitutional and legal provisions.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, cited precedents to emphasise that the post poll coalition of his party and JD(S) must be given the opportunity to take over the reins of power in Karnataka.

We expect the Karnataka governor to invite the JD (S)-Congress coalition which has clear majority to form government in the state. As per constitutional and legal provisions, the governor has no option but to invite the coalition, Surjewala said, adding their coalition has a clear majority with 115 seats.

With the election throwing a hung verdict, the Congress on Tuesday announced its support to the HD Kumaraswamy-led JD(S). As per latest results and trends, the BJP has emerged victorious in 97 assembly seats and was leading in 7 other segments out of 222 constituencies where elections had taken place.

Congress has won 74 seats and was leading in four others while JD(S) won 37 seats. The Congress said BJPs claim to form a government in Karnataka is demolished by three precedents in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

Justifying its move to stake claim along with the JD(S) to form the government, Surjewala said his party had acted as per constitutional norms and traditions.

He also cited the instance of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was invited to form a government by the then president KR Narayanan, noting the guiding principle behind it was that a party or a combination of parties that has won the largest number of seats be invited.

2/n

President, K.R.Narayanan had set a fair & Constitutionally precedent by inviting Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form & lead a coalition Govt on 12th March, 1998.



Presidents Communique states clearly and is a guiding light-: pic.twitter.com/i0DKXvLorN  Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) May 15, 2018

As the Congress-JD(S) has won 95 seats and is leading in 20 seats, absolute majority for the coalition is clear. The coalition also has 56% vote share, he said.

Surjewala said Narayanan had set a fair and constitutionally correct precedent by inviting Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form and lead a coalition government on March 12, 1998.

Rejecting the BJPs charge it was trying to come to power through the backdoor, the party also cited the cases of Goa, Manipur, Meghlaya, where the Congress could not form government despite emerging as the largest party.

BJPs claim of single largest party to be invited is demolished by three recent precedents set by them:

(1) Goa (March 2017) Assembly Strength - 40. Congress - 17. BJP - 12. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition BJP+MGP+GFP, he tweeted earlier.

(2) Manipur (March 2017) Assembly Strength - 60. Congress - 28. BJP - 21. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition. So much so, 1 independent MLA was detained at Imphal Airport through security agencies & handed over to BJP.

(3) Meghalaya (March 2018) Assembly Strength - 60. Congress - 21. BJP - 2. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in post poll coalition with NPEP+UDP+PDF+HSDPDP, he tweeted.
One of the most controversial issues going into the Karnataka assembly election on May 12 was the state governments decision in March to grant the status of a minority religion to the Lingayat community, which was backed by chief minister Siddaramaiah himself.

With the election results out on Tuesday, it became clear that in the Mumbai-Karnataka, Hyderabad-Karnataka and Central Karnataka regions, where the community is dominant, the Congress had emerged as the biggest loser.

The Congress had banked on the support of the influential mutts (monasteries) of the community to back its decision and help sway a significant chunk of Lingayat votes in its favour. The Congress managed to win only 39 of the 104 seats in the regions, a significant reduction from the 67 seats it won in 2013.

The defeats of ministers Vinay Kulkarni and Sharan Prakash Patil, who had been part of the Lingayat campaign seeking recognition as a separate religious group, showed the limits of the movement. Other leaders like SR Patil and BR Patil also lost in the polls, as did minister SS Mallikarjun, son of Lingayat leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, showing that even the Veerashaiva community leadership did not escape unscathed from the backlash.

SM Jamdar, leader of the Jagatika Lingayat Mahasabha, which spearheaded the movement, said that, if anything, the Congress was saved by the Lingayat movement, else it would have been completely wiped out in the Lingayat-dominated regions.

If not for a minor sway of votes in its favour, the Congress would have fared even worse, Jamdar said. In the victory of MB Patil you can see that the failure to capture the Lingayat votes was not because of the rallies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Patil could not be defeated in Babaleshwar. It was rather the failure of the Congress to reap the benefits of the move, Jamdar said.

A senior Congress leader, close to the movement and some Lingayat mutts, said there was much disappointment at the failure of the mutts to back the government.

While many influential seers had backed the governments move at a convention in the state capital in April, the Congress leader said the party was let down by these seers as they had not mobilised the community.

Many of these mutts only claim (12th century Lingayat philosopher) Basaveshwaras legacy but are in fact Veerashaivas in practice. We had banked on a public expression of support by these seers, which did not come about, the Congress leader said on condition of anonymity.

Such was the miscalculation on the Lingayat issue that a Lingayat leader from southern Karnataka said Siddaramaiah had banked on the support of the Lingayats in the Varuna constituency to sail through. But it is believed that the Suttur Mutt decided to not back him and there has anyway been significant resentment against him for having alienated both the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats through the majority of his tenure, the leader said.

This is clearly reflected in the margin of his loss (in Chamundeshwari), which at 36,000 points towards a significant consolidation of Vokkaliga and Lingayat votes, he added.

Siddaramaiah decided to vacate the Varuna seat, which was cleaved out of the Chamundeshwari seat in 2008 after the delimitation exercise was conducted, in favour of his younger son Yathindra. Siddaramaiah had earlier won the Chamundeshwari seat in 2006 by a small margin of around 250 votes.

Jamdar said the view among Lingayats was that the chief minister had done precious little in the first four years. He incurred the ire of the Vokkaligas and the Lingayats in the beginning because he openly threatened the dominance of these communities, Jamdar said.

Added to this, the Congress leader quoted above said, was Siddaramaiahs decision to contest the Chamundeshwari constituency. We had expected him to tour in the northern regions because that would have galvanized Lingayat voters. But with none of the other senior Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and G Parameshwara uttering a single word on this, it looked like nobody in the party wanted to own up to the move, the leader said.
The Supreme Court has asked the Uttarakhand Police to produce in the court on Wednesday a 20-year-old woman who converted to Islam to marry after her husband sought her release from her parents custody, in what appears to be a re-run of the Hadiya case.

Requesting the court to reunite him with his wife, 23-year-old Mohammad Danish on Monday told a bench-led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra that he was arrested for the abduction of his wife, Aisha alias Shweta Bhist, and was lodged in the Haldwani jail since April 20.

We want to talk to the girl and know what she wants. Does she want to stay with her parents or otherwise, CJI Misra said, ordering Aisha be in the court on Wednesday.

Danish and Aisha, who both hail from Haldwani, were pursuing bachelors in business administration in Bheemtal when they fell in love.

Also read | Kerala love jihad case: Hadiya says she converted to Islam, married Muslim man of her free will

Aishas parents were opposed to the relationship so they eloped and got married in Delhi on April 19 as per Islamic customs, the petition says.

Bisht took the name Aisha after converting to Islam of her own free will and they got the marriage registered in Ghaziabad, it says.

Her parents lodged an abduction complaint against Danish and the Uttarakhand Police arrested the couple from Delhi the next day.

The Uttrakhand government rubbished Danishs petition. The marriage certificate and the nikahnama are fake and it is a case of abduction, deputy advocate general Manoj Gorkela said.

Danish said apprehending trouble, Aisha had emailed an affidavit to inspector general of police and Nanital senior superintendent of police informing them of her marriage and conversion.

In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court in March upheld the marriage of Hadiya, a 26-year-old Kerala woman who converted to Islam and wed a Muslim man, upholding a womans right to choose a partner.

On her fathers petition, the Kerala high court had quashed the marriage and ordered Hadiya in her parents custody.

A bench led by Misra, after hearing Hadiya, ruled an individuals right to marry a person was a matter of privacy, intrinsic to right to life and state and society had no role in determining the choice.

Also read | Hadiya family feud: A battle of rights vs relationships
Karnatakas political theatre has just drastically opened up in a matter of hours. If early leads in the assembly election results suggested a clear win for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), enabling it to form a majority government, latest trends suggest that the BJP may fall short of the majority mark.

The Congress has used this gap and extended support to the Janata Dal (Secular) with an offer of the chief ministers post.

Here is what could happen in Bengaluru:

1. JD(S)-Congress government: With the second and third-largest parties coming together, at 3:15 pm, the Congress and JD(S) make it to 115 seats (EC data; out of the 222 seats which went to polls -- polling for two seats will be held later). This makes it the largest combine in the house. Together, they can stake claim to form the government, submit a list of signatures of all MLAs to the governor Vajubhai Vala, and on that basis, the governor could invite the JD(S) legislative party leader -- which will in all likelihood be HD Kumaraswamy -- to form the government and prove his majority on the floor of the house.

2. BJP government: The BJP is clearly the single-largest party in the Karnataka assembly. The BJP leader of the assembly, which will, in all likelihood be BS Yeddyuruppa, could stake the claim to form the government. The governor may decide that since the BJP is the single largest force, it deserves the first chance.

Once Yeddyuruppa is sworn in, he will have to prove his majority on the floor of the house. In this scenario, it will be instructive to watch if the JD(S)-Congress coalition can stay together, or if a section of JD(S) splits and moves away to BJP, or if a section abstains. In the second and third situation, if BJP can win over a section of the MLAs from JD(s) and independents, the party is through.

3. BJP-JD(S) government: Given that the JD(S) is the key swing force, tables may turn if the BJP decides to make a corresponding offer to the JD(S). This could be of a rotational chief ministership; it could entail plum portfolios at the centre besides a stake at the level of the state. While this is not the most likely scenario at the moment, it cannot be ruled out entirely.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis
Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily on Tuesday described early trends suggesting a BJP victory in the Karnataka election as quite disappointing and attributed his partys loss to wrong caste management.

The Congress should not have raised the Lingayat issue before the polls, Moily said, adding that the party had not managed caste equations well in its electoral strategy.

He also defended Congress president Rahul Gandhi and praised him for engaging in a positive campaign as against the negative campaign carried out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah in the run-up to the May 12 election.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

The BJP appears headed for a simple majority in the Karnataka Assembly, with its candidates leading in 106 constituencies at 2 pm, leaving the ruling Congress way behind, according to trends in 220 of the states 222 seats.

The result is quite disappointing. Had it been on a development ground or a social justice ground, the Congress should have had won. I think somewhere there was something wrong with caste management in Karnataka. That plays an important role, Moily told news channels.

The BJPs negative campaign had won the election for the party, the Congress leader added .

They (Modi and Shah) never raised development issues. But at the same time, we should acknowledge somewhere we have not managed the caste equations very well, he added.

Moily said a section of party members had been voicing concern at various levels over the Congress taking up the Lingayat minority status issue.

...Maybe that is one factor that has backfired on us. We need to examine that. I think on the Vokkaliga front also... somewhere we did not handle it well, he said, adding that there was need for introspection.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka had written to the Central government, recommending that it consider representations of the Lingayat and Veerashaiva community for recognition as a religious minority.

The Karnataka government had made the demand after the state cabinet decided to recommend to the Centre that a religious minority status be granted to Lingayats and Veerashaiva Lingayats.

The decision was seen by the BJP and other political opponents as a move by the Siddaramaiah government to cut into the vote bank of BJP, which banks significantly on the support of the Lingayat community.
The emergence of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the largest party in the Karnataka assembly after the May 12 election is an indication of the peoples faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modis administration and is a popular riposte to vote bank and caste politics that pit Hindus against each other, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders said while summing up the verdict in the southern state.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

Senior RSS functionaries, some of whom spoke to Hindustan Times on condition of anonymity, said the BJPs performance was a sign of Hindu consolidation and evidence that the Congress bid to divide the Hindu vote by proposing the status of a separate religion for Lingayatism had backfired.

Just ahead of the assembly election, the Congress government, by pushing for a separate religious status for the Lingayats in the state, tried to woo the community. This strategy clearly failed as the people saw through their plan and chose to go with the BJP. The Hindus in the state saw it as a ploy to divide them, said a senior RSS functionary who has served in Karnataka.

The RSS, which perceives the proposal to recognise the Lingayats as a religious minority as a move to divide the Hindu electorate, has, however, maintained a diplomatic stance on the issue. Rajesh Padmar , RSS functionary in Karnataka, said the RSS believes it should be decided on the basis of a consensus between the Lingayats and Veerashaivas.

Arun Anand, author of the book, Know about RSS, also attributed the BJPs gains to the coalescing of the Hindu vote. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose energetic campaign n Karnataka, where he addressed over 20 election rallies, gave the party an electoral fillip, Hindu consolidation was a key factor, he said.

People dont fall for the Congress soft Hindutva, which is used only for electoral gains. This election result is also an indication of what to expect in 2019, he said.

While the RSS asserts that it steers clear of involvement in electoral politics, leaving that for the BJP leadership to handle, it does not shy away from admitting that its foot soldiers help bolster the partys campaign. BJP general secretary and former RSS spokesperson, Ram Madhav, also credited the Sanghs volunteers for helping the BJP notch up gains in Karnataka. Madhav told new agency ANI that Sangha Parivar cadres helped the party enormously. In certain regions like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot, he said.

In the case of Karnataka, the RSS cadre drove the campaign to highlight perceived administrative failures of the Congress government in the state, functionaries said. Another issue that was raised by the RSS repeatedly was that of killings motivated by ideological differences.

The RSS petitioned the Karnataka governor and the government at the Centre to investigate and deliver justice to the families of RSS volunteers who were allegedly killed in the state. Those opposed to the RSS ideology were behind there murders, but the government did not take action. In five years, the state has had four home ministers, none of whom could ensure law and order, said the functionary quoted in the first instance.

Padmar said people in Karnataka had the example of governance in BJP-ruled states as a point of reference.

People wanted a change because the last five years of the Congress rule were marked by failure of law and order; we saw 24 murders of Hindus, of whom 14 were directly linked to the RSS. The administration failed on several other fronts such as education and health care, he said.
Tribal leader B Sriramulu could be appointed the deputy chief minister in the next Karnataka government, two Bharatiya Janata Party leaders said on Tuesday, as the saffron party touched the halfway mark in leads and was ahead in 112 seats as votes were being counted in the assembly elections.

We see a big role for him in the state. He could be made deputy chief minister. A final decision is yet to be taken, the first BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said.

He is certainly going to get promoted as one of the key faces. He will get an important assignment, such as that of deputy CM, in the next government, the second leader of the party said requesting anonymity.

The 46-year-old Sriramulu belongs to the north Karnataka region, where the party has done pretty well. The return of Lingayat strongman BS Yeddyurappa and Sriramulu to the BJP seems to have helped consolidate anti-Congress votes and propel the saffron party closer to power in Karnataka, election data shows.

Sriramulu became a councillor in Bellary at the age of 25 in 1996 and there has been no stopping for him since then.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

He made his debut in Karnataka assembly in 2004 and got elected four times before entering Parliament in 2014. He walked out of the BJP in 2012 and floated his own BSR Congress Party to contest the 2013 assembly election only to return ahead of the 2014 parliamentary elections.

A promotion for Sriramulu is in line with the strategy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah to promote leaders from outside the dominant community of a state.

Sriramulu belongs to the Nayaka tribe of Karnataka, whose politics is dominated by Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders.

The BJP had appointed a Punjabi as the chief minister in Jat-dominated Haryana, a Vaishya in tribal-populated Jharkhand and a Brahmin in Maharashtra where Marathas command control.

We need to groom leaders for future and look beyond the Lingayat-Vokkaliga axis of Karnataka politics, the first leader said.

Sriramulu was the only Lok Sabha member after the BJPs presumptive chief minister BS Yeddyurappa who was fielded in the assembly election.

He was the first to be given a ticket to contest from Molkalmuru in Chitradurga districts and, later, fielded against chief minister Siddaramaiah when he chose to contest from Badami in Bagalkot district.

Sriramulu was leading in Molkalmuru at around 12pm with a margin of over 20,000 votes and trailing Siddaramaiah in Badami by less than 3,000 votes.
Suspense continues over formation of government in Karnataka, with the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) announcing a post-poll alliance that takes them past the halfway mark, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remains upbeat about its performance, calling it unprecedented and historic.

Leaders from the party say that its emergence as the single-largest party  comfortably ahead of the Congress and close to the magic number of 112 against a strong state leader such Siddaramaih -- has already given the BJP enough reasons to cheer ahead of the assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

Our victory is not going to stop. We will win all coming election and the 2019 general election for the Lok Sabha with a margin bigger than 2014, BJP president Amit Shah told party workers on Tuesday. The BJP believes it can still form the government in the state and has already staked its claim before the governor on the grounds that it is the largest party.

The performance in Karnataka has three broad takeaways for the party:

First, it believes that the downward slide of the Congress continues, evidenced by how it finished far behind despite having the sitting chief minister Siddaramaih putting up a spirited fight. The Congress, which is the main opposition in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh  all three under BJP rule  therefore faces the daunting task of unseating the incumbent governments in these three states and emerge as the anchor of an anti-BJP front in 2019. BJP leaders say they will use the Karnataka victory to energise the party cadre.

Second, the BJP managed to overcome its internal differences and put up a united face ahead of the election. The central leadership reconciled internal differences by unambiguously clarifying that BS Yeddyurappa would be the CM face, while giving other leaders such as B Sriramulu prominence during the campaign and ensuring a respectable place for senior Karnataka figures such as Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda in the central Cabinet.

The Karnataka success might embolden the BJP leaders to opt for a similar course correction in Rajasthan, where the BJP lost by-elections to a Lok Sabha and an assembly seat this year. Chief minister Vasundhara Raje faces anti-incumbency and there have been demands for a leadership change.

The BJP has not been able to find a replacement to its state unit chief Ashok Parnami and, people familiar with the developments say, Shahs immediate task is to accomplish that job. He will have to take into account Rajes sensitivities while ensuring that the views of her critics within the party and the Sangh are not overlooked.

Third, an early start in Karnataka helped the BJP identify its strengths and weaknesses well ahead of the election and gave it time to work on them. With Karnataka behind it, the BJP has already turned its focus to the three states. Shah held a meeting on Monday with national office-bearers with instructions on how to approach the next set of polls.
Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala will have to decide whom he invites to form the next government in the state after the elections resulted in a hung house with the Bharatiya Janata Party emerging as the single largest party with 104 seats but short of a majority by 8 seats. The Congress, which won 78 seats, in a surprise move extended unconditional support to the Janata Dal (Secular) which won 38 seats to form and head a government. Both the BJP and the JD(S)-Congress met with Vala.

Elections were held to 222 of the 224 assembly seats in the state. A party or coalition needs the support of 112 members to have a simple majority in the house.

Vala is yet to decide on who to invite to form the government and is expected to wait for the list of winners from the Election Commission, and discuss the issue with constitutional and legal experts. There is no law on this, but there are precedents and conventions of both the single largest party and a post-poll alliance with the numbers being invited to form the government.

The Congress seemed visibly relieved that it had moved fast to strike a partnership with the JD(S) and stake claim to form the government and followed up with a press conference in New Delhi to argue why the JD(S)-Congress should be invited to form the government. It also didnt miss the opportunity to point out that this is exactly what the BJP has done in Goa, Manipur, and Meghalaya, where the party was part of a post-poll alliance invited, ahead of the single largest party, to form the government.

When asked what they would do in case the Governor does not invite them, Randeep Surjewala, Congresss chief of communication department, said, We will explore all options, hinting at moving court.

Speaking at party HQ in New Delhi, BJP president Amit Shah said the mandate in Karnataka was for a Congress-free state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the BJPs win unprecedented. I assure the people of Karnataka- we are with them in their development journey. We will work for the progress of Karnataka, he added.While neither commented on it, Hindustan Times learns that the BJP is confident Vala will invite it to form the government and that it will be able to prove its majority on the floor of the house. A party leader in Delhi said on condition of anonymity: We expect the governor to invite us. Once this happens, we will have time, a week or so, to prove our majority. I think many MLAs in the opposition will recognise that the mandate is with us.

The BJPs chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa declared that as the single largest party, the governor was duty bound to invite his party to form the government. The verdict was against the Congress party. They are trying to get into power through the backdoor, he said

Addressing the media in Bangalore after meeting Vala, outgoing CM Siddaramaiah and the alliances new CM contender, H D Kumaraswamy, said that they had the necessary numbers to form the government. The parties said they have submitted letters of support to the Governor. Siddaramaiah said: Apart from the 78 seats of Congress and 38 seats of JD(S), we also have the support of both the independents who have won election, which means that we have the magic number required to form the government. Kumaraswamy confirmed that his party had decided to accept Congress offer of support and JD(S) was ready to form a government.

BJP rushed its senior leaders and union ministers, Dharmendra Pradhan and Prakash Javadekar, to ensure that the party formed the government in the state.

While the Congress and JD(S) did not rule out the possibility of the BJP trying to get some of their legislators to defect, Siddaramaiah said it would be difficult. They have done this in the past in 2008 as well, so it cant be ruled out, he told reporters, referring to the infamous operation lotus allegedly carried out by the BJP in 2008, when it fell short of a simple majority by five seats.

Earlier in the day, the BJP ran away with the lead and, at one point of time, was leading in 117 constituencies. The BJP did well in Mumbai Karnataka and Central Karnataka, indicating that there was substantial Lingayat consolidation behind the party and the Congress move to award separate status to the community had not worked. It also swept the coastal regions of the state, where communal polarisation was high. The Congress has managed to offer some fight in Hyderabad Karnataka but was laid low by anti-icnumbency. Even Siddaramiah lost in one of the two constituencies from which he contested. The JD(S) has done exceedingly well in the southern parts of the state comprising Old Mysuru districts, which is the traditional base of its Vokalliga base.
Slow to react in Goa , Manipur, and then Meghalaya, where it was the single largest party, yet ended up on the opposition benches, the Congress moved quickly in Karnataka when it realised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would end up as the single largest party, but without a clear majority.

By 11 in the morning, the Congress knew for sure that the BJP would fall short of the majority mark of 112; it immediately reached out to the Janata Dal (Secular), which until a few hours ago the party called a B-team of the BJP.

Two senior Congress leaders, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot, who were rushed to Bengaluru on Monday, swung into action and got into a huddle, a party leader familiar with the developments said.

Azad spoke to Congress president Rahul Gandhi and United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and both of them agreed to a plan giving unconditional support to the JD(S) in forming a coalition government headed by HD Kumaraswamy, the only guaranteed way of getting that party on board, while, at the same time, preventing the BJP from forming another government.

The priority was to prevent the BJP from forming the government and for that we were ready to give the leadership role to the JD(S), the leader said, asking not to be identified.

Outgoing chief minister Siddaramaiah, who was considered the only stumbling block in the entire plan, given his history with the JD(S), especially Kumaraswamy, was taken on board and informed about the high commands decision.

Siddaramaiah accepted. He knew the repercussions of vetoing the plan were bigger than any individuals ego. It was a unanimous decision. We wanted to change tomorrows newspaper headlines and we succeeded in that. We had to stop the BJP at any cost, said another Congress leader who was part of the deliberations and who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Azad, who is known to share cordial relations with leaders across the political spectrum, then called up former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his son Kumaraswamy. Azad also ensured Siddaramaiahs presence when he and other senior Congress leaders went to meet Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy.

Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy later jointly addressed reporters outside the Raj Bhavan after meeting the Governor and staking their claim to forming the government.

Not content with that, the party also held a press conference in New Delhi, building its case for why the JD(S) and the Congress need to be invited to form the government.

Claiming that Goa, Manipur, and Meghalaya, where the BJP, despite not being the single largest party, nor having a pre-poll alliance, was invited to form the government as part of a post-poll alliance, are precedents, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala made a case for the JD(S)-Congress post-poll alliance to be invited to form the government.

He also cited extensively from the Supreme Courts hearing on the Goa assembly case, where the bench told the Congress counsel that the convention of inviting the single largest party was subject to numbers.
The new equation that has emerged between Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress in Karnataka on Tuesday has the potential to invigorate a larger anti-BJP alliance for 2019, according to leaders from several Opposition parties.

These parties are now viewing the JD(S), which has been able to retain nearly its 2013 tally in the assembly elections and has chosen a non-BJP path in a bid to form the next government in the state, as a strong regional powerhouse that is ready to work with the Opposition in the next Lok Sabha elections.

People familiar with the developments said that several Opposition leaders had kept communication channels open with former prime minister Deve Gowda and his son, HD Kumaraswamy, even during the run up to the Karnataka polls, and reached out to him immediately after the results became clear.

For example, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who went to campaign in Karnataka, steered clear of taking a dig at JD(S) while targeting the BJP during rallies, and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee wasted no time in calling the JD(S) patriarch on Tuesday afternoon.

Clearly, JD(S) held its ground and our performance in terms of vote share have been much better. If we are in an alliance in Karnataka, its obviously for 5 years. And this unity will also reflect at the national level. Remember, the Congress had supported Deve Gowda as prime minister in 1996, said Ramesh.

Parties such as the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, DMK, Telangana Rashtriya Samithi, Trinamool Congress (TMC), and Communist Party of India (Marxist) are keen to see a broad-based pact ahead of the 2019 general elections in a bid to keep the BJP out of power. And after Tuesdays developments, Deve Gowda is widely seen as the newest entrant in this Opposition grouping.

It is now clear that what was seen as BJPs ability to form government has met its match. The election in Karnataka has sent a clear message that Opposition parties must unite. This is the mood of the electorates. JD(S)s role in Karnataka is an important step for Opposition unity, said CPI(M) politburo member, Mohammad Salim.

There is a difference in the approach of some these parties even they all want to defeat the BJP. TMC chief Banerjee, for one, wants the Congress to extend support to a federal front of regional parties. But the Congress has made it clear that if it emerges as the biggest party, Rahul Gandhi will step ahead as the prime minister.

A senior TMC leader said from Kolkata that the party feels that JD(S) will remain a key partner in the federal front and the Congress must accede the drivers seat to a regional party just as it has done in Karnataka. Banerjee, on her part, tweeted on Tuesday: Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday congratulated the BJP on its likely victory in the Karnataka election, but pointed out that the outcome would have been very different if the Congress had joined hands with the Janata Dal (Secular).

Banerjee, however, did not specifically name the saffron party. Congratulations to the winners of the Karnataka elections. For those who lost, fight back. If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different, she tweeted around 11am.

Banerjee had predicted barely four days ago that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy would become the next chief minister of Karnataka after the elections throw up a hung house in keeping with exit poll predictions. I think there will be a hung situation in Karnataka, with both the Congress and BJP getting a similar number of seats. The role of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda will become crucial in such a situation. He can win 28-30 seats. I think his son will become the next chief minister, Banerjee had said in an interview with a Bengali television channel.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

The Karnataka results are being seen as a setback for the Trinamool Congress chief, who has been trying to cobble up an anti-BJP front of regional parties in the run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Reiterating her arguments for the federal front on May 11, Banerjee had said that next years general elections will witness an erosion of the BJPs support base. She also predicted that the BJP will go downhill in the Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh elections this year.

If Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav unite in Uttar Pradesh, around 50 to 60 seats will go to the alliance. I believe Lalu Prasad will do well in Bihar, no matter how many times you put him in jail. The DMK will be a factor in Tamil Nadu. I will not be surprised if they win 38 out of 39 seats, she stated.

The Bengal chief minister claimed that the BJP cannot win the elections in Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha and Tamil Nadu because they have strong regional forces. If these regional parties unite to form the government, there will be political stability in the country. Regional parties can make the Congress and BJP rectify their flaws, she added.
In a tweet now deleted, the Kerala governments tourism department invited newly elected lawmakers in neighbouring Karnataka to unwind at its resorts after the rough and tumble of the Karnataka assembly elections, results for which were announced on Tuesday.

The tongue-in-cheek offer came as the Karnataka verdict threw up a hung assembly, leaving political parties scrambling to make up numbers for a majority. As the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) came together to try and keep single largest party the BJP out, there were murmurs about the need to sequester MLAs to prevent defections.

After the rough and tumble of the #KarnatakaVerdict, we invite all the MLAs to unwind at the safe and beautiful resorts of Gods Own Country, Kerala Tourism tweeted, with the hashtags Karnataka verdict and Come Out And Play. A photo of a stunning backwater resort in Kerala accompanied the tweet.

Before Kerala Tourism withdrew the tweet, it had been retweeted almost 5,500 times and liked by almost 9,000 people, Press Trust of India reported. In comments, many suggested Kerala Tourism was trolling Karnatakas MLAs.

Political parties often whisk lawmakers away to luxury resorts to prevent rival parties from poaching. Lawmakers of Tamil Nadus ruling AIADMK vacationed twice last year at resorts as the party navigated splits and mergers.

Ahead of Rajya Sabha elections in Gujarat last year, the Congress flew its MLAs from the state to a five-star resort in Karnataka capital Bengaluru.

On Tuesday, the BJP was the single largest party in the Karnataka assembly while the Congress came in second followed by Janata Dal (Secular). JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy has, however, staked claim to form government with what the Congress called its unconditional support.

The BJPs BS Yeddyurappa too has staked claim to form government, asserting that the Governor is obliged to invite his party first as it is the single largest. Now the all is in the Governors court, he said.
A policeman was killed and another injured in a suspected militant attack in south Kashmirs Anantnag district on Tuesday afternoon.

Officials said that special police officer (SPO) Bilal Ahmad was critically wounded when militants fired at a police vehicle in Bijbehara, Anantnag. The SPO succumbed to his injuries while a constable is being treated at a hospital, an official at the police control room in Anantnag said.

A Twitter handle of Kashmir police zone said that the cops also retaliated to the militants fire. The area was immediately cordoned off to trace the attackers. Police did not say how many attackers were involved in the shooting.

J&K Police pays rich tribute to the martyr Bilal Ahmad. J&K Police stands by the family of martyr in this time of grief, it tweeted.

The incident came three days after a CRPF man was killed and a civilian was wounded during a gunfight between militants and security personnel at Chinar Bagh village in Pulwama district on Friday night.

Forty-one people including militants, civilians and security personnel were killed in various instances of violence across Kashmir in April. This month, 23 people including three personnel of security forces and eight civilians have been killed so far.
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday expressed its distrust for electronic voting machines, stating that the BJPs performance in the Karnataka polls was unbelievable because the results were not in sync with the ground situation.

PTI quoted Maharashtra NCP president Jayant Patil as saying that the Congress was well-positioned in Karnataka, and the Siddaramaiah government did not face any anti-incumbency. In this context, the BJPs victory is unbelievable. There is a difference between what was in the peoples mind and the situation that has emerged, he told reporters, demanding that future polls be held through ballot boxes.

The Sharad Pawar-led party had extended support to the Congress without fielding its own candidates in the Karnataka polls.

Patil maintained that the image of the BJP and its chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa, was not good due to allegations of graft. The BJPs reach in Karnataka was limited. This result should be analysed properly, he said. The election commission should conduct elections through ballot boxes to remove doubts. There will be a delay, but doubts will be cleared.

The Congress also expressed a similar sentiment. I have been saying this from day 1. There is no political party in India that has not raised questions on EVMs (electronic voting machines), and even the BJP has done it in the past. Now, when all parties are doubting EVMs, then what problem does the BJP have with conducting polls through ballot? asked party leader Mohan Prakash.

However, these doubts regarding voting machines are not echoed by every non-NDA party. Please save this tweet for future reference. If I win, it was all my charm and hard work. If I lose, its all down to those blasted EVMs, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah remarked in a tongue-in-cheek tweet.

(With agency inputs)
Even as the broad opposition front of the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bhaujan Samaj Party (BSP) in Uttar Pradesh has expanded to include the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) for the Kairana bypolls, the Congress, which unilaterally offered its support to the RLD candidate, remains outside the alliance.

The RLD has fielded Begum Tabassum , a former Lok Sabha MP from the BSP who was then with the SP, in Kairana and Mayawati is most likely to announce support for her closer to the election. The three parties and its leaders were involved in negotiations, but the Congress was kept out of the discussion. In a sign of opposition unity, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will campaign with RLD vice president Jayant Chaudhary after May 20, said a person familiar with the matter.

The Congress, whose candidates lost their deposit in the recent by-elections to Gorakhpur and Phulpur, decided to stay out of the race in Kairana. Local leader Imran Masood, considered a rival of Tabassum, announced he would support any candidate who has the potential to take on the BJP.

Leaders of the Congress, SP and BSP in the state attribute the unclear place Congress occupies to a set of reasons.

For one, Rahul Gandhi was Yadavs ally in last years assembly polls, but the poor show led to a chill in ties, said multiple leaders from the Congress and SP. While the consensus in SP is that the alliance was a mistake, Congress leaders insist the SP would have fared even worse without it. The Congress did not deserve over 100 seats in the assembly. We gifted that (election) away to BJP, said a SP leader. A leader who works closely with Rahul Gandhi said, SP would have suffered the same fate as the BSP and got even fewer seats but for us.

Two, the SP feels the Congress has not reciprocated the gesture in other states. Yadav, a close confidant of the former CM said, wanted Rahul to invite him to campaign in Gujarat, but received a cold response.

Three, as the SPs proximity to the BSP grew, its distance from Congress deepened.

Akhilesh and Mayawati are working in tandem. The former is cautious not to hurt the latter, and the BSP chief recognizes that Yadav is different from the SP leadership she dealt in the past, said a BSP leader.

Yadav, said the leader, will not go overboard to accommodate the Congress in an opposition alliance without taking Mayawati into confidence. This was visible during the bypolls in Gorakhpur and Phulpur.

A Congress leader said that the party had reached out to Yadav and suggested that he withdraw from the weaker of the two seats. Yadav brushed it off.

Four, UPs dominant players say that the Congress does not have the strength to take on the BJP. SP patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav, who opposed the SP-Congress alliance in 2017, recently said, Congress is not worth more than 2 seats, hinting at Rae Bareilly, Sonia Gandhis pocket borough and Amethi (Rahul Gandhis seat). An SP leader said the alliance can offer five-eight (of 80) seats to the Congress. The Congress, one of its top leaders said, will not agree to anything less than 15 seats. This (5-8 seats) is an insult, he added.

And finally, there are some within the SP-BSP combine who believe that keeping the Congress out is better since the party, through upper caste candidates, can wean away a section of votes that would go to the BJP otherwise.

Senior UP Congress leader Pradeep Mathur however, said the party was busy with the Karnataka polls. Karnataka elections were more important than the bypolls. All our top leaders were busy in Karnataka and, therefore, could not devote much time to Kairana talks.

Badri Narain, professor at the GB Pant Social Science Institute in Allahabad, says, This is a nascent stage of alliance-formation. Negotiations for 2019 have not started in all seriousness. And therefore, we cannot conclusively say if Congress will be a part of the alliance or not.
The situation in Maharashtras riot-hit Aurangabad city on Tuesday remained tense, but under control, four days after the violence claimed two lives and left over 60 people, including 12 policemen, injured.

The police have registered six cases in which nearly 3,000 unidentified people were booked for offences like arson, rioting and damaging public property, an official said.

Internet services were restored this morning and prohibitory orders clamped under Section 144 of the CrPC revoked in the central Maharashtra city, he said.

Besides the local police, seven State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) battalions were deployed in the violence-affected areas, the official said.

Additional Director General of Police Bipin Bihari, after reviewing the situation in the city, located in the Marathwada region, admitted that the police had failed to prevent and contain the spread of violence and to take action against the rioters.

Acting Commissioner of Police Milind Bharambe will conduct an inquiry into the allegations against a city police inspector for not preventing the violence and ignoring complaints about it, Bihari told reporters here on Monday.

Earlier, a purported video of some police personnel walking with rioters during the violence surfaced, prompting the state police to order an inquiry into it.

We have asked people (who have the video recording) to deposit the footage to the police. We will check its authenticity and appropriate action will be taken if we find their (policemens) involvement, Bihari had said.

Two persons - a 65-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy - were killed and around 60 others, including a dozen policemen, injured in clashes between groups of two communities over illegal water connections on May 11.

Several shops and scores of vehicles were torched during the riots in the city, located about 350 kms from Mumbai.

Bihari said that a senior police official, who was seriously injured in the violence, had been shifted to Mumbai by air ambulance for further treatment.

The 17-year-old boy was killed allegedly in police firing.

Besides, the other deceased elderly man was trapped in his house when an adjoining shop was set on fire by rioters, an official had earlier said.

Petrol bombs and kerosene-soaked balls made of rags were found during a search operation, the police said.

Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve yesterday assured that an inquiry would be conducted into the cause of riots and the culprits would not be spared.

Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil had earlier said that a high-level committee would inquire into the incident.

The Shiv Sena on Monday dubbed the riots as a communal and pre-planned act of violence.

The BJPs bickering ally also rapped the state Home department, headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, over the security lapses and failing to appoint a police commissioner for the city, which is considered a highly sensitive area.

Aurangabad Police Commissioner Yashasvi Yadav was sent on compulsory leave in March this year due to his alleged failure to handle a riot-like situation in the city over the garbage disposal issue.

The clashes between groups of two communities started in Moti Karanja area around 10 pm on May 11 and spread to Gandhi Nagar, Raja Bazaar, Shah Ganj and Sarafa localities, a police official had earlier said.

The police fired in the air and lobbed teargas shells to control the situation, he said.

Tension was brewing in Moti Karanja area for the last few days as the municipal corporation was carrying out a drive against illegal water connections, according to sources in Aurangabad.

It got a communal colour when an illegal water connection at a place of worship in the area was removed, the sources said.

The violence appeared to be pre-planned as shops were targetted selectively in some areas, a senior police officer said.

A building in the Raja Bazar area was set ablaze to allegedly evacuate some tenants staying there, according to the police.

A local leader alleged that a history-sheeter had taken supari (contract) for the evacuation and rioting.

Meanwhile, the father of the deceased 17-year-old boy demanded an inquiry into the incident and action against the history-sheeter under charges for murder.

Leader of Opposition in the state assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, demanded the arrest of Chandrakant Khaire, the Shiv Senas Lok Sabha member from Aurangabad, for his statements on riots.
The Delhi police have used the psychological analysis report of five persons, including Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and his domestic help, to establish the couples strained relationship which led Tharoors wife, Sunanda Pushkar, to overdose on anti-depressants, as per the chargesheet submitted to a Delhi court on Monday.

The police have attached a final report from AIIMS with the chargesheet. The report has mentioned Alprax depressant tablets as one of the possible reasons for Pushkars death.

A police officer, who did not wish to be named, said that the analysis report, though not admissible as evidence in court, supports other evidence such as medical and autopsy reports, statements of those who knew the couple and the phone messages they have retrieved.

Tharoor has termed the police chargesheet preposterous and said he would contest it vigorously.

A team of psychological experts spoke to the five persons who knew the couple and met them before Pushakars death. We did have evidence of the couples strained relationship and scuffle, which is admissible in court. To substantiate that, the psychological profiling of these five characters helped build our case, said a police officer.

Our case is based on the circumstances in which she, Pushkar, took her life. She had seen the messages her husband exchanged with another woman. They were having regular fights, which she had confided in other persons too. We have established this from psychological analysis and have attached all these reports to the chargesheet, the officer.

Pushkars death probe has seen many flip flops since 2014. One year into the investigation, the police had called it a murder but did not name any accused. In its chargesheet on Monday, the police told the court that Pushkar killed herself and charged Tharoor with abetment to suicide. The chargesheet also named Tharoor as prime suspect.

Explaining the changes in the police theory, a senior police officer said, This is not the first time when a case of alleged murder turned out to be a suicide. This involved a politician and a celebrity so everyone knows about it. We registered a murder case so that we do not miss out on any thing in our investigation.
The Kerala high court on Tuesday expunged all remarks and findings by the commission that probed the multi-crore solar panel scam based on a letter reportedly written by the main accused Saritha Nair alleging sexual harassment against former chief minister Oommen Chandy.

The court observed that the charges of sexual assault raised by Nair will not come under the preview of the Justice G Sivarajan Commission. It, however, refused to quash the commissions report altogether as sought by Chandy.

The state government cannot file any case against the Congress leader after the courts verdict.

Chandy moved the court after the inquiry commission that probed the scam prepared a report treating the letter written by Nair while she was in jail as the main evidence. He contended that the findings of the commission based on her letter were arbitrary in nature and prepared without hearing him.

Chandy lauded the verdict and said it shows truth will prevail.

The report was based on the letter written by her. Since the court expunged her letter and related remarks now the report has turned redundant, he said.

Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the government will take necessary action after examining the high courts verdict. The state government had decided to file criminal cases against Chandy, four of his ministers and 11 others soon after the commission submitted its report last year.

Justice Sivarajan submitted his report to the government on September last year, four years after the previous Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government constituted the commission to probe the scandal, which was one of the main reasons for the exit of the Congress regime in the southern state.

The commission indicted them for allegedly helping Nair to cheat businessmen with the promise of installing solar power plant units.

The solar scam made headlines five years ago with the arrest of Nair and her partner Biju Radhakrishnan, who allegedly floated a fictitious company Team Solar and conned businessmen by flaunting their high-level connections, including with Chandy who was the chief minister at the time.

It surfaced in June 2013 after reports said that three staff in the chief ministers office had contacts with the couple, who cheated many investors of money after promising to supply solar panels to them and stakes in a fictitious firm.

Nair, who is facing at least 30-odd cheating cases, claimed during the investigation she was sexually exploited by many including Chandy in a letter to the commission.
The police have arrested seven members of Chippi gang in connection with the murder of Karor village resident Anand Malik, who was shot dead on April 27. Chippi gangs head and main conspirator of the murder, Anil Chippi, who is serving life sentence at Sunariya jail, has also been taken on production warrant, police said on Monday.

Must read | Two families, 19 murders: Decade-old Rohtak blood feud not over

The police said that it was discovered that those arrested were involved in 16 cases, including murder, attempt to murder and robbery. The police also claimed to have averted six murders that were being planned by the arrested men.

Kingpin of the gang, Anil Chippi, was taken on production warrant. (Manoj Dhaka/HT)

The police said families of deceased Anand Malik and accused Anil Chippi have been involved in a gang war from a long time over dominance. HT had recently reported that since 2002, as many as 19 people have been murdered in the blood feud between these two families.

Continuing the feud, the Chippi gang had recently murdered Anand when he was going to his fields in Karor village. A case was registered against 20 people, of which, seven have been nabbed by police.

The arrested accused have been identified as Vikas alias Bhadu (19); Vikas alias Bagga (20); Mohit (21) all from Karor village, Deepak (25); Sachin alias Shooter (19); Mohit alias Pehalwan (19) and Pradeep alias Poppy (19)  all from Sonepat district. All of them had several criminal cases registered against them.

Rohtak SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said they took Anil Chippi on production warrant and interrogated him about his accomplices who committed the murder. Based on the input, the seven members of his gang were arrested from a room in Suncity where they had gathered to plan their next criminal activity.

The police also recovered six country made pistols of .315 bore, two country made pistols with magazine, 11 live cartridges of .315 bore and five live cartridges of .32 mm from the accused men. The police said Anands family, too, has been accused in 14 cases of murders.
Disappointed with their final results, six students committed suicide, while three others survived suicide attempts, within hours of the Madhya Pradesh Board announcing the Class 10 and 12 results, according to police reports from different districts.

Two deaths took place in Bhopal, two in neighbouring Sehore district and two in Chhattarpur district. The attempted suicides were reported from Gwalior and Damoh.

Bhopal police said that Karna Kanade, a student of class 12 jumped from the fifth floor of the residential building in Koh-e-Fiza. Police said according to preliminary information, Karna had failed in the exam last year also and when he failed to clear the exam this year too he committed suicide.

Bhavna Raikwar resident of Talaiya area of Bhopal committed suicide by hanging herself after she found she had failed in the class 10 exam, police said.

Class 10 student of Amlaha village, Sehore district, Neha Chauhan hanged herself in her home after failing the board exam, police said. In another case in Tikamor village of Sehore, Kiran Barde of Class 10 consumed poison and was hospitalized. She died a few hours later.

Mamta Kushwaha and Jyoti Kushwaha both students of class 10 of the same school and living in Sanjay Nagar of Gwalior attempted suicide after they failed in the exam. They were rushed to the hospital where their condition is said to be critical, police said.

Similarly in Rusali village of Damoh, Pooja Ahirwar of Class 12 attempted suicide by consuming poison and has been hospitalised, according to police reports.

Last year, 12 students had killed themselves, while three others attempted suicide after the MP Board declared the Class 10 and 12 results.
Three Maoists, one of them carrying a cash reward on his head, were arrested from two places in Chhattisgarh, while two other rebels surrendered in Bijapur district in the state on Tuesday, police said.

Two cadres identified as Kunjam Anda (35) and Hemla Lakhma (31) were arrested from the forest of Timapur village under Basaguda police station limits when a team of local police was out on area domination operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

Cordex wire, electric wire, batteries, couple of detonators and Maoist literature were recovered from their possession, he said.

Of them, Anda, who was active as a member of the military platoon no 10 of Maoists, was allegedly involved in the Burkapal attack in Sukma, wherein 25 CRPF personnel were killed in April last year, he said.

He was carrying a reward of Rs 2 lakh on his head, the SP said.

Besides, the duo was also allegedly among those who had attacked two policemen with sharp weapons and looted one Insas rifle and one AK 47 rifle from them in Basaguda weekly market in December 2014, he added.

During their interrogation, the duo revealed that they were tasked with conducting a recce of security forces in the weekly market and planning attacks on police teams, he said.

In a separate operation, a Maoist identified as Avlam Sukku (25) was arrested from the forest near Gadamali road under Jangla police station area by local police, he said.

Besides, two rebels- Balram Pungati (22) and Budhu Kursam (26)- both carrying cash reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their head, today turned themselves in before Garg.

The surrendered cadres in their statement cited disappointment with the hollow ideology of Maoists and violence.

They were also impressed with the provisions of the surrender and rehabilitation policy of the state government, the SP said.

A cash of Rs 10,000 was also given to each of the surrendered rebels as encouragement money, he said adding that all of them will be facilitated as per the surrender and rehabilitation policy.
After the intense thunderstorm activity on Sunday that left more than 80 people dead, the Met office has predicted thunderstorms and gusty winds on Tuesday in some parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and east Uttar Pradesh.

As many as 80 died in five states due to thunderstorms and lightning strikes since Sunday, with Uttar Pradesh alone recording 51 deaths.

The Met office said parts of Rajasthan could also experience dust storms and isolated areas of West Bengal, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and most of north east India can also expect thunderstorms and strong winds.

In south India, coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, interior parts of south Karnataka, north Tamil Nadu and Kerala will see thunderstorm activity.

The weather turbulence will subside by Wednesday, however, a fresh round of scattered thundershowers may hit the Western Himalayan region, east India and south peninsular India early next week, the Met office forecast said.

In addition to storm warnings, the weather agency has issued an alert for a low pressure area that has developed over southwest Arabian sea and the cyclonic circulation resulting from it. The path of the low pressure area, that is likely to intensify into a depression, means it is unlikely to affect the Indian mainland. However, fishermen have been advised to remain clear of the southwest Arabian Sea.
Two months into power, differences have cropped up between Tripuras ruling partners, BJP and Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura (IPFT) over the nomination of chairmen of block advisory committees (BAC).

The posts under the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) have become a bone of contention between the two parties.

While IPFT has demanded 60% of the BAC chairmens posts for their party workers, BJP wants the nominations based on the credentials of candidates.

A group of IPFT supporters blocked the national highway at Sabroom in South district on Tuesday in protest, but withdrew the agitation later.

They had gheraoed Lefunga block in West district on Monday too, besides the Champahoar police station in Khowai district demanding the release of three IPFT workers, arrested over a clash with BJP three days ago.

Chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday warned the IPFT to stop the violence.

My people are my first priority. Such agitation or violence by IPFT that hamper peoples daily lives are not encouraged. My government will not tolerate if any such incident occurs further from their side, Biplab Deb told HT, hinting at taking a drastic step.

Deb talked to cabinet minister NC Debbarma, the president of IPFT, on the issue.

Debbarma said the blockade was lifted after getting assurance of looking into their demands.

Their demands are under consideration, he said.

A new coordination committee, comprising three members of BJP and two of IPFT, was constituted to maintain harmony among the coalition partners last week following violent incidents over the past two weeks.
Life has come a full circle for Siddaramaiah, particularly since his ouster from JD(S) in 2005.

Back then, he was against the rise of H D Kumaraswamy, the son of the party chief H D Deve Gowda.

Having formed his own party, the All India Progressive Janata Dal, which later merged with the Congress, he rose through the ranks to become the leader of the opposition party and then the chief minister of Karnataka.

Now, 13 years after getting kicked out of JD(S), the 69-year-old leader from Kuruba community, has offered the coveted post to the man he once opposed, Kumaraswamy, whose party finished a poor third with barely 37 seats in its kitty.

The move was forced although Congress had 78 seats but which was well under the magic mark of 112. Together with JD(S)s 37, the coalitions tally stood at 115, and Siddaramaiah had to concede to the smaller partners demand to make Kumaraswamy the CM of Karnataka.

Also read: Track the Karnataka election results on our live blog and interactive maps that provide real-time data and analysis

Born into a poor farming family in Siddaramanahundi village in 1948, Siddaramaiah, the second of five siblings, did not have formal education initially, and joined school in Class 5.

Overcoming adversities, he did his BSc and obtained a degree in law. He practised law and even taught it for a while in Mysuru.

Siddaramaiah, who goes by the single name, joined politics under the influence of Nanjunda Swamy, a farmer leader who campaigned against agricultural patenting by multinational corporations.

He made his debut in the assembly in 1983 from Chamundeshwari constituency on a Lok Dal ticket. He later joined the Janata Dal.

Admired for his canny political sense and his rustic, down-to-earth personality, Siddaramaiah climbed up the ladder in the Janata Dal, and served as minister in the partys governments. He also served as deputy chief minister twice.

A seven-term legislator, Siddaramaiah followed his mentor H D Deve Gowda after the Janata Dal split and the former prime minister formed the JD(S).

But the differences over the growing influence of Kumaraswamy  and his active participation in the AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) movement  meant he had to be expelled. Castes and communities constituting the AHINDA were considered the bedrock of the Congresss support base in Karnataka.

Siddaramaiah later floated his own party, All India Progressive Janata Dal, which later merged with the Congress.

In the 2006 Assembly elections, he contested from Chamundeshwari on Congress ticket and won by a wafer thin margin of 257 votes against the JD(S) candidate. However, he had exacted a sweet revenge.

He was appointed chairman of the publicity committee of the Congress in the 2008 assembly polls, which the BJP won. He was then appointed the leader of the opposition, a reflection of his growing clout in the Congress.

The BJPs stint in power was marred by intra-party feuds and allegations of corruption.

When the BJP lost the 2013 polls, Siddaramaiah was appointed the chief minister. Despite being considered an outsider by a section of the Karnataka Congress for his socialist roots, he became the first chief minister since Devraj Urs (1972-77) to complete a full five-year term in office.

Known for taking bold decisions, Siddaramaiah decided to celebrate Tipu Jayanti, a move denounced by the BJP as appeasement politics.

His government also took the controversial decision of recommending religious minority status for the influential Lingayat community in the run up to the polls.

The Congress leader launched a plethora of populist schemes like the Annabhagya for free distribution of rice, Ksheeradhare subsidy for milk, Vidyasiri hostel facilities for students, and many others.

The Siddaramaiah government also substantially raised the budgetary allocations for Dalits.

These populist measures were expected to effectively insulate Siddaramaiah against allegations of corruption as Modi mounted an aggressive assault, calling him a Seedha rupaiah government and 10 per cent commission government.

The charges did puncture his sway, as he suffered a humiliating defeat in Chamundeshwari to G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) by over 36,000 votes, but managed to win Badami by a slender margin of 1,696 votes against BJPs B Sriramulu, a sitting BJP MP and close aide of the controversial Reddy brothers.

(With PTI inputs)
The Gujjars will hold a mahapanchayat at Pilupura in Bharatpur district on May 23 to take a final decision on launching an agitation over their demand for 5% reservation.

The announcement came after a three-hour-long meeting of the community leaders at Adda village in Bharatpur district on Tuesday.

Talking to reporters, Gujjar leader Col Kirori Singh Bainsla said that the Gujjar community members will gather in Pilupura to pay tribute to the martyrs killed during the previous agitation in 2008.

I urge the people of my community to assemble in large numbers in Pilupura for a direct fight for quota, he said. Adding, I am not happy with the talks held with the government. I want them to carve out 5% reservation out of OBC quota. I am also trying to protect the members of my community and dont want a repeat of the incidents that took place in 2008.

More than 72 people have been killed since 2007 when the Gujjars, who form 7% of the states population, launched an agitation demanding 5% reservation in government jobs and educational institutions.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened in Bharatpur. Five companies of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) and three companies of Railway Protection Force (RPF) have been deployed in Bayana.

Adequate security arrangements have been made, and we will ensure that similar security arrangements are in place on May 23 too, Bharatpur SP Anil Kumar Tank said.

Section 144 has been imposed in Bharatpur district till May 31 and additional police force sought in view of the mahapanchayat in Bayana, Bharatpur divisional commissioner Subir Singh said.

Talks between the government and a 15-member delegation of Gujjars held in Jaipur on Monday failed to achieve a breakthrough.

The Gujjars are demanding a separate 5% reservation within the 21% OBC quota. Himmat Singh, spokesperson of the Gujjar Arakshan Sangarsh Samiti, expressed his disappointment and said they have not made much progress during the talks.

In Rajasthan, the total reservation is 49% in three categoriesOBC (21%), SC (16%) and ST (12%).

Meanwhile, another group of Gujjars, led by Akhil Bhartiya Gurjar Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, has announced a panchayat in Moroli village against the mahapanchayat called by Bainsla.

Bidhuri, a former MLA from Badarpur in Delhi, said the Moroli panchayat will decide on launching a non-violent agitation to demand reservation.

Earlier, community members from 80 villages had announced to boycott the agitation call given by Bainsla.

The Rajasthan Assembly had in October last year passed a bill to raise OBC reservation from 21 to 26 per cent to provide five per cent quota to Gujjars and other castes. However, the high court stayed the bill as it would have increased the reservation to 54 per cent. Later, the Supreme Court also directed the state government not to exceed the 50 per cent reservation limit.
The Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday rejected a plea seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the Bheem Singh encounter case.

The court has ordered the investigating officer to conduct a fair probe following the Supreme Court guidelines. However, in case the petitioner is not satisfied with the inquiry, the court also gave liberty to the petitioner to file a petition before the district and sessions judge of Jalore district.

The high court was hearing a petition by Vimla Kanwar, wife of deceased Bheem Singh, in which it was alleged that the encounter by the Andhra Pradesh police was fake.

Suspect Bheem Singh was wanted for looting Rs 5.5 crore in Kurnool on September 14, last year. He was killed in a firing by the Andhra Pradesh police in Sanchore area of Jalore district on October 27.

A woman was also killed after being hit by the suspects vehicle, which was being chased by the Andhra Police. The Jalore police had said that the Andhra Pradesh police had not given any information about the firing; they had got the information from locals.

During the hearing on the petition, CBI counsel, Sachin Acharya told the court that the CBI has refused to investigate the case considering it not to be worth investigating. He also said that the Supreme Court has set some grounds for a CBI probe, and the case does not fit those parameters.

After the hearing, Justice Vijay Bishnoi had reserved judgment. On Tuesday, Justice Bishnoi ordered the inquiry officer to investigate the Bheem Singh encounter case fairly in accordance with the guidelines given in the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) Vs State of Maharashtra and Others case by the Supreme Court.
A Rajasthan MLA from the ruling BJP has targeted his own partys Member of Parliament and son of chief minister Vasundhara Raje for neglecting the Rajput community. Ladpura MLA Bhawani Singh Rajawat was also critical of the state government for not giving prominent posts to the members of Rajput community in the state bureaucracy.

Its a fact that the Rajput community is feeling neglected. While there are about 2.5 lakh Rajputs in Hadauti region, Jhalawar MP finds time to meet only people from other communities that dont have a significant presence, Rajawat said targeting Dushyant Singh.

There is no Rajput collector or SP in the entire state. There was a time during the regime of former chief minister Bhairon Singh Shekhawat when the Rajputs used to hold their head high. This is no longer the case, the MLA said.

Rajasthan panchayati raj minister and Rajput leader Rajendra Rathore dismissed Rajawats statement. The party has done a lot for Rajput community and also for other communities. No one is above the party and we have to work together to ensure the partys victory in the coming elections, he said.

Dushyant Singh could not be contacted for comment.

The Rajput community is upset with the ruling party and task seems to be cut out for Raje-led BJP government ahead of the assembly polls scheduled in state later this year.

In a meeting held in Sikar last week, the Rajput community leaders had decided to launch BJP hatao, Rajasthan bachao (remove BJP, save Rajasthan) campaign from June 3. The community is upset with the state government for not paying heed to its various demands and also for imposing urban development tax on Rajput Sabha Bhawan in Jaipur.

Shri Rashtriya Rajput Karni Sena, an I fluential Rajput outfit, has decided to send over 10,000 postcards to BJP national president Amit Shah urging him to appoint Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, a Rajput, as partys state unit chief.

Ahead of the by-elections to two parliamentary and one assembly seats in January, Rajput organisations had announced their support to the Congress and some community leaders had also campaigned for the Opposition candidates on all three seats. The Congress had won the three bypolls.

This is not the first time that Rajawat has stirred a controversy. The MLA was in news two months ago when he had asked BJP workers to tie to tree officials who slap penalty on farmers for power theft or overload.
About three years ago, a school with just one teacher run by Vanabandhu Parishad started in a nondescript Shiva temple at Hatipota on the banks of the Jayanti river in the buffer zone of Buxa Tiger Reserve in north Bengal. The informal school called Ekal Vidyalaya imparted free tuition to tribal children of state-run primary schools. A committee was formed with the guardians to discuss village development and create awareness about government schemes.

Villagers were trained to produce organic fertiliser and grow vegetables. Shree Hari Satsanga Samiti, an RSS-inspired NGO, established a Sanskar Kendra to organise religious events and impart nationalistic moral teachings.

Read: Water from India is a poll issue in these tea gardens along the Bhutan border

Now, such school-centric village development activities are taking place in 60 villages Kumargram block alone. In the whole of Alipurduar district, there are 210 schools, nearly 100 of which were opened during the past two years.

As the panchayat polls draw near, BJP looks all set to reap benefits of the ground work done by the RSS-inspired organisations.

Significantly, comprising 54 of the states 294 assembly seats (8 of 42 Lok Sabha seats), north Bengal is the only zone beyond the steamroller of Trinamool Congresss dominance. This is the region that gave the opposition 30 of their 54 assembly seats.

Read: BJP fields record number of Muslim candidates for Bengal panchayat polls

People from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribes together comprise more than 45% of the regions population, north Bengal is one of the most backward regions of the state.

There were 120 Ekal Vidyalayas in Cooch Behar in 2013. There are 270 now. In Darjeeling district, 100 schools will be added by October to the 186 we have now. In North Dinajpur, 30 schools in 2015 have grown to 270 now, said Rahul Deb Barman, office secretary of Vanabandhu Parishad, Alipurduar.

Shree Hari Satsang Samiti and Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, too, are active in the tribal-dominated pockets running pre-primary informal schools and hostels for tribal students and secondary and higher secondary schools and holding social events as mass marriage.

Read: Amit Shahs strategy: BJP treating Bengal rural polls as quarter-final match before 2021 assembly election

In areas dominated by Scheduled Castes, organisers of RSS jagran wing holds meetings with members of various Dalit communities. RSS Dalit wing, Samajik Samrasta Manch, are also active. Arogya Bharati, RSS health wing, conducts free medical camps in tribal and Dalit-dominated areas.

In April 2018, RSS organisers in Malda district, where Muslims, SCs, STs comprise 51%, 21% and 8% of the population, held meetings with members of cobbler and barber communities.

Our focus in north Bengal is set on the Dalit and tribal population. The idea is to create a sense of oneness among all sects and castes of the Hindu society. Helping these impoverished villages to become self-reliant and getting its residents imbibed in the spirit of nationalism are other reasons behind our focus on these areas, said Tarun Kumar Pandit, spokesperson of RSS north Bengal unit.

Read: Stakes are high for Trinamool Congress and BJP in upcoming Bengal rural polls

Pandit said that RSSs daily shakhas have more than doubled in numbers in the Muslim-majority districts of Malda and Uttar Dinajpur since 2015.

BJP has always benefitted from RSS work. All over India, tribal belts now have our MPs and MLAs. North Bengal will be no exception, said BJP Bengal president Dilip Ghosh, who was a RSS pracharak.

We are confident of capturing several gram panchayats and panchayat samities. If people can vote freely, we may even win the Alipurduar zilla parishad (district council), said Manoj Tigga, whose victory from the tribal-dominated Madarihat assembly seat in 2016 gave the first signs of RSS ground work reaping benefit for BJP.

The developments did not escape chief minister Mamata Banerjees eyes. I urge you to stay away from those informal schools and so-called Satsang Samitis that are working to create communal hatred, she said in a public meeting in Alipurduar.

According to Trinamools Alipurduar MLA Sourav Chakraborty, a prominent leader of north Bengal, the party and the administration took steps following the chief ministers public speech.

We have managed to close down some of their informal schools but they are opening new ones at new places. We are keeping watch, said Chakraborty.
Two men allegedly involved in the rape and killing of a 64-year-old woman in West Bengal have been arrested from the citys Colaba area, police said. Subhankar Sikdar (35) and Govind Sarkar (28) were arrested near Regal Cinema in Colaba on Friday, police said.

Police said, on May 7, the two had entered into an argument with the victim in Coopers Camp area of Ranaghat subdivision in West Bengals Nadia district. They assaulted the 64-year-old woman and rendered her unconscious following which the two accused allegedly raped her, police said.

When the victim regained consciousness and cried out for help, Sikdar and Sarkar strangled her to death, police said. After killing her, the two fled to Mumbai on May 10, said Sukhlal Varpe, senior inspector of Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station.

He added that the two were produced before a court which remanded them in police custody.
When girls of her age are enthusiastic about fashion and elegance, Amrata, 23, took the tough path of saving mothers and their unborn children.

In the last one year, she has met, counselled and guided women to keep healthy and get their health rights  issues that women in rural parts of the state face every day.

I met about 6,000 women seeking health services in one year in Rae Bareli district where I primarily work. Majority feared they wont get someone to listen to their woes, says Amrata, an Agrimaa with the community empowerment lab and a native of Rokha village in Rae Bareli.

Agrimaas (meaning torchbearers) are girls who devote two years of life to serve the women. There are 200 of them in the state.

Amrata, who saw the problems faced by women, decided to opt for this service and came across many practical problems that had ready solutions women were deprived of it due to poor accessibility.

Her dedication made her a common face among the medical staff. The benefit is she gets issues resolved fast. Often she has to conduct counselling sessions for women in distress. Her village does not have good education facilities beyond junior schooling. Amrata is pursuing graduation.

She meets women and gathers information about their problem

Her daily routine starts with visit to one of the community health centres. She meets women and gathers information about their problem and then gets them solved with the help of authorities concerned. She works at 18 such health centres in the district and visits the district hospital when required.

I have seen VIPs and affluent people getting preference. Though the poor also get facilities but their turn comes late, she said.

Amratas remarkable maturity and presence in the face of tremendous challenges belies her age. Amrata is the youngest of four siblings from an impoverished family. She leads a union of young rural women (Agrimaas) like her who have discovered a beautiful outlet to channelise their angst and sense of disempowerment borne out of extreme hardship.

Moved by the plight of mothers while giving birth in callous environments, Agrimaas have decided to postpone their own marriage and devote two years of their life to the selfless service and care of mothers and babies from rural areas.

UP loses more than 200,000 newborn babies each year to preventable causes.

Recognising the devotion and missionary zeal of Agrimaas, the National Heath Mission has invited them to promote Kangaroo Care  a technique that can prevent 25% of newborn deaths by harnessing the natural power of mothers to protect and nurture their babies by holding them in skin-to-skin contact against their breasts.

Over the last year, Agrimaas have been involved in the care of about 20,000 mothers, and have intensively supported 1,000 mothers in providing Kangaroo Care across public health facilities in Lucknow and Rae Bareli.

Their offering to mothers and newborns is an experience that has been sorely lacking in the health system  of love, empathy and respect.

Agrimaas have won over the hearts of mothers and families

Agrimaas have won over the hearts of mothers and families  a number of baby girls have been named Agrimaa in their honour. Their presence has gradually shifted the norm in public health facilities towards greater empathy and respect.

Their deep devotion for mothers and babies transforms them into fearless warriors, channelling their unschooled rawness that fuels their fight for the rights of every mother and baby.

Agrimaas have been awarded for their exemplary service and their work has been recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Agrimaa Amrata had the honour of being invited as a speaker at the International Conference on Women Leaders in Global Health organised by Stanford University in 2017.

In helping mothers heal after giving birth, Agrimaas have found their own healing, and in helping women experience the power of motherhood, they have found expression of their own inner power. Together, these young women are proving that every woman in every village has the power to give something to the world.

Her dream now is to make a large network of Agrimaas. I believe there should be one Agrimaa in each house so that none of the women have to wait to get their due rights. Once done maternal and child mortality will come down.
An amalgamated air-conditioned mall with an AC food plaza, automated scanners at entry points, a VIP lounge, a bank, a post office and many more such facilities resembling posh township will enhance the travel experience of passengers when the state-of-the-art Alambagh bus station is inaugurated, possibly in the next two weeks or so.

Being touted as the countrys best bus station in terms of passenger amenities, it is ready for operations three years after the work started.

Usually, the very thought of a bus station draws in ones mind images of passengers bumping into each other, baggage scattered here and there, dingy buses parked under a shade and dirty toilets.

But it is claimed the UP State Road Transport Corporations (UPSRTC) first bus station built under the public-private partnership may change peoples perception of bus stations in the state.

Once the issue with regard to user charges is settled, the modern Alambagh bus station, full of passenger amenities, will be opened for bus operations, UPSRTC managing director P Guru Prasad said.

The developer wants to levy user charges on passengers while we are against the proposal. The matter has been referred to the state government for arbitration, he explained.

The state government was expected to give the green signal to the inauguration of the bus station by the month end pending the dispute, people familiar with the matter in the UPSRTC said.

Developed and designed by Shalimar Malls Pvt Ltd, a private company, at a cost of over Rs 200 crore, the Alambagh bus station is spread over 26,500 sqmt.

The new bus station was built after dismantling the earlier one as part of an agreement signed between the developer and the UPSRTC in April 2015.

The developer will own the bus station for 32 years and the lease period is expandable for the next 30 years more on the first right to call basis.

Apart from an AC mall that is under construction, the Alambagh bus station also has an AC food plaza, canteen, eating points, a concourse area, automated bus in-shedding and out-shedding boom barrier regulated entry, automated passenger information service and the like. Besides, there are 50 bus departure platforms and underground parking for idle buses.

Our Alambagh bus station is not only the states first PPP bus station but perhaps the countrys best one in terms of scale of passenger amenities, claimed a UPSRTC official.

He said the corporation was going to float bids for the construction of 21 similar bus stations in various cities. They include two more in Lucknow (Gomti Nagar and Charbagh), one each in Kanpur, Bareilly and Aligarh, two each in Allahabad, Meerut and Ghaziabad and three in Agra. All of them will be developed on PPP, said the official.
If pursuing your passion is life then this is what Usha Shanker, 70, fondly known as Nani Maa has been doing all these years.

The winner of HT Woman Awards 2018 in the uniquely-abled category, Usha, partially paralysed for many years, is all about spreading love and education among the lesser fortunate children.

I always knew I was born to teach kids. In fact, the journey started when as a little girl I used to teach kids around. I enjoyed so much if I was able to make them learn even a single word.

Recalling her initial days, she says, I was born to a freedom fighter Shambhu N Dixit who on Gandhijis call adopted a village Burhnamau near Farrukhabad. Earlier to that my father married my mother a master degree holder in Sanskrit on behest of politician Acharya Kriplani, husband of Sucheta Kriplani, Indias first woman chief minister.

When I was born my parents settled near Marine Drive in Bombay (now Mumbai). Life was all good till my father decided to adopt a village and we all shifted with him. And then my brother and I both were brought up in the village, she says.

Usha remembers the time when discrimination was witnessed almost everywhere and how her father used to oppose it.

My father started up a primary school as the village had maximum population of SC/ST and nobody was ready to teach them. It was really tough for my father to persuade teachers to teach kids and parents to send them to school. I still remember how tough it was for my mother to live in that environment with thatched roof house and earthen pots to cook and eat, she says.

My mother was a scholar and married in Bombay. She was made to live in such a tough surrounding with so many struggles and yet she supported my father. She appointed a Christen governess for me and my brother so she could teach us simple etiquettes and English. It was then that I started teaching little kids around my house, she says.

What hurts this social activist till date is passing away of her younger brother at the tender age of 19.

My father was a man of principles. The village life didnt go down well with my brother and he turned into a rebel. He died early and after his death my father too couldnt live long.

Usha Shankar receiving HT Woman Awards 2018 from UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath. (Subhankar Chakraborty/HT Photo)

After her schooling, Usha completed her science graduation from Lucknow University and was married to army officer Maj SL Sharma at the age of 19.

After relocating with my husband to various cities I finally settled in Lucknow as I had kids and by that time my mother was all alone so she too shifted with me. Lucknow was so different at that time, we lived at Mahatma Gandhi Marg and to commute I drove around on a Bajaj scooter, the every first model. I was the only woman scootering around in Lucknow then. As my husband was away I had to take care of my household and kids both but still wanted to do something in the field of teaching. My mother asked me to look for a job as financially too we needed support as at that time salary of army personnel was quite less.

I got to know about a vacancy in Samaj Kalyan Vibhag and applied. I was extremely lucky as I got the job and became a Child Development Project Officer and was posted at Chinhat area in Lucknow in 1982-83.

Mothers are the sunlight that illuminate the home and sustain life. I am proud to be a daughter of a mother who is as strong as steel and as malleable as gold. Never have I seen her deterred by adversity. From her I have learnt that happiness lies within us and we have the power within us to transform the place we are in right now into a paradise. I nominated my mother for HT Awards because I knew she will win and see she did thats the bond we both mother-daughter share. --Daughter, Ujjwala Sadana

During her tenure as CDPO under the Ministry of Woman and Social Welfare, she over-achieved targets for vaccination of women and children, ligation and elementary childhood education at the Anganwadi centres which were highlighted in her Annual Confidential Reports. I worked really hard to support people in getting TB eradicated from Siraiyya (a village in Sarojini Nagar) with the help of doctors from PHC and KGMC. Also my centre, Semra (in Chinhat) was showcased to the then Prime Minister Dewe Gowda during his Lucknow visit.

It was a challenge to bring education of government and private institutes at par but Usha had her plans. To amalgamate the children with the mainstream I myself wrote English conversation modules for each class and ensured smart classes for all children. I regularly counselled on issues ranging from female health and hygiene, skill development and empowerment has to be seen to be believed, she claims.

She took voluntary retirement in 2006 to pursue her dream of teaching women and children of slums and rural areas. Later, she started to take care of her school that was opened by her mother to provide education to rural children at very nominal costs.

My mother came up with Holy Shrine Inter College and after my VRS I started to look after the school completely. After I suffered partial paralysis, I stated living in the school premises. Now all my time is with the kids here. My daughter Ujjwala is married and settled and my son lives with me as he keeps unwell.

On winning HT award

I was completely overwhelmed, I feel so proud of myself especially after winning this award. I feel that I have really done something big in my life to be recognized and being conferred with HT Woman Award.
Banarsi paan seller Vikas Chaurasias joy at the birth of his daughter three-and-a half years ago lasted only a few hours as he soon came to know that the infant had a congenital heart ailment (a hole in the heart).

When doctors advised surgery, Chaurasia began arranging funds for the same.

In the meantime, a well wisher suggested that he seek help from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the Varanasi MP.

He sent an application with details of his daughters illness and the funds required for treatment to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) in September last year.

He recalled, A sum of Rs 50,000 was sanctioned from Prime Ministers national relief fund around nine months back. I also got a call from the Sir Sunder Lal (SSL) Hospital, BHU, for my daughters treatment. She underwent surgery at the BHU (hospital) in November last year and heart defects (two holes) were repaired. My daughter Aradhya is hale and hearty now.

Chaurasia, who wants Rs 50,000 more for medicines required after surgery, is not the lone beneficiary.

Vibhuti Narayan, a truck driver afflicted with heart disease, too got Rs 50,000 for treatment from the PM relief fund. He belongs to Bhopapur village in the PMs constituency.

In all, PM Modi provided funds worth Rs 4, 16, 42, 500 (Rs 4.16 crore) from PM relief fund to over 350 patients, mainly of cancer, heart and kidney ailments during 2017-18, an official said, adding that these patients belong to PM Modis constituency Varanasi and adjoining districts, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra among others.

Over 150 of them were cancer patients, people familiar with the matter at the Sir Sundar Lal Hospital said.

A senior official, who did not wish to be named, said Rs 56,50,262 (Rs 56.50 lakh) had already been transferred to the accounts of patients who underwent treatment.

The remaining Rs 3, 39, 92, 237 (Rs 3.39 crore) was being transferred to the accounts of patients, he said.

Many of the 350 patients had already received treatment at SSL Hospital while others were undergoing treatment, he said.

Dr OP Upadhyay, superintendent of the SSL Hospital, confirmed the figure.

Funds provided to the patients by PM Modi from PM relief fund helped patients. Many patients have got timely treatment and recovered well, he said.

After 2014, there has been a considerable change in procedure. Now, funds are sanctioned within three weeks of the application being registered and accepted by PMO. Fifty per cent of the amount is sanctioned on the day application is registered, Upadhyay said.

He said as soon as an application for funds is registered, the SSL Hospital receives a letter with details of the patient and the funds to be sanctioned to the patient.

Immediately afterwards, the patient is informed and called for advanced treatment.

Dr Upadhyay said though treatment at the SSL Hospital was free, the money provided from the PM relief fund helped patients buy expensive medicines for cancer, heart and kidney ailments.
Although he figures on the Rashtriya Lok Dals (RLD) list of star campaigners, there is suspense over whether Samajwadi Party (SP) national president and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will campaign for the two parties joint candidate for the Kairana Lok Sabha seat that goes to by-polls on May 28.

There are indications that he may resort to press conferences and written appeals to reach out to voters in Kairana, instead of personally holding election meetings there.

We have learnt that Akhilesh Yadav will like to stay away from holding election meetings jointly or separately for our candidate in Kairana and he will do it remotely through media, a senior RLD leader said, adding We are trying to persuade the SP chief for active campaigning.

Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary confirmed Akhilesh Yadav, as of now, had no plan for addressing poll meetings in Kairana.

His written appeals are already being distributed to voters, exhorting them to vote for the SP-RLDs joint candidates in Kairana and Noorpur and he is also holding a press conference here in Lucknow on Tuesday, he said.

Chaudhary hastened to add, But progarmme for his public meetings in Kairana and Noorpur will be finalised soon.

Sources said RLD chief Ajit Singh and party vice-president Jayant Chaudhary had already started hectic door-to-door campaigning in Kairana for their candidate Begum Tabassum Hasan but they were yet to visit Noorpur to canvass for RLDs Naeemul Hasan.

Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) national general secretary Trilok Tyagi said leaders of both the parties would campaign for the candidates they had jointly fielded.

The public meetings are being chalked out. Janyat Chaudhary is slated to address a meeting in Noorpur assembly constituency on May 20, he said, adding, The SP-RLD alliance will win both Kairana and Noorpur.

Sources, however, said the SP chief might shy away from active canvassing in Kairana for the reason that alliances candidate there was contesting on the RLDs symbol, unlike in Phoolpur and Gorakhpur, where SP candidates supported by several other parties fought on the SP symbol only.

Like Mayawati, who deployed her party workers in support of SP candidates in Phoolpur and Gorakhpur, instead of herself campaigning there, Akhilesh Yadav may also adopt the same strategy, sources said.

The list of star campaigners submitted to the election commission by RLD chief Ajit Singh had Akhilesh Yadavs name, besides those of other SP leaders Azam Khan, Ahmad Hasan and Balram Yadav.
The World Bank may fund the $570 million Core Road Development Project with a road safety component, in Uttar Pradesh.

Negotiations for the project began in 2013, but could not reach a logical conclusion. Now, the Yogi Adityanath government had taken up the project afresh with the World Bank, sources in the government said.

A World Bank team on Monday held meetings with the officials of PWD, Home and transport departments to discuss various projects that the international institution may fund. Things are expected to take a final shape during a wrap-up meeting to be presided over by the chief secretary here on May 17.

People familiar with the matter said as per the proposal, the World Bank would provide $ 400 million as a soft loan to the state government that would contribute the remaining $170 million.

According to principal secretary, Aradhana Shukla, $60 million was proposed to be spent on various road safety projects.

Setting up of a highway policing, removing blacks spots, strengthening the road safety cell setting up driving training schools etc are among the road safety projects that the World Bank may fund, she said.
In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath was on Tuesday forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school in Kasganj.

The chief minister, however, was safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, principal secretary (home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow. Yes, the chief minister is safe, he told PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problems, it was forced to land on a field a kilometre away.

The chief minister reached Kasganj on Tuesday morning on a days visit to meet a family whose three members were recently murdered in Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed developmental works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate.

Kasganj superintendent of police Piyush Srivastava told PTI, The chief minister distributed cheques and all the programmes were held successfully.
A month after two suspected rabies deaths were reported from JJ hospital, a nine-year-old boy from Bhiwandi died of the disease at Nair hospital on Monday. The boy, Sujit Wadia, had been bitten by an infected stray dog in April.

His family said he was one of the five people bitten by the same infected dog. Later the same day, the dog was killed by locals.

Sujit had stepped out of the house, when the dog bit his back, hands and legs. Not a single hospital in the vicinity was ready to admit him, so we rushed him to Thane Civil Hospital, where he was treated in the out patient department (OPD), said Sujits father Amrut.

As per treatment guidelines, the first anti-rabies vaccine must be administered soon after the incident followed by three doses on the 3rd, 7th and 28th day. However, three days before his last vaccine, Sujits condition deteriorated and he slipped into coma on Sunday.

The family rushed him to Thane Civil Hospital from where he was referred to Nair Hospital for further treatment.

The patient was brought in a comatose state. According to his parents, the boys speech had become incoherent before he slipped into coma. However, there was no record of hydrophobia (fear of water  a common symptom in rabies cases), said Dr Sushma Malik, head of paediatric department, Nair hospital.

Sujit was diagnosed with rabies encephalitis at Nair, which caused his death within 24 hours of admission, on Monday.

Statistically, more than 80% of those infected with the virus progress to encephalitic rabies (furious rabies), which is characterised by episodes of hyperactivity, hallucinations, agitation, confusion, muscle spasms, altered functioning of the heart, bladder, intestines, sweat glands, pupils, and blood vessels, and hydrophobia (fear of water).
The Aarey police, probing the death of a police inspectors son Atharva Shinde, 20, till Tuesday, has recorded the statements of 30 people. However, there has been no headway so far.

Atharva had attended a party at a bungalow in Royal Palms, Goregaon (East) on Monday night last week and on Wednesday morning, his body was found 500 metres away from the bungalow.

Apart from these 30 people, we have questioned 50 more people, but nothing has come out of it. We are investigating keeping the murder angle in mind. But things will be clear once the exact cause of death is ascertained based on the chemical analysis report from the forensic laboratory, said a police officer.

Multiple CCTV footages show that on May 8, around 7am, Atharva left the bungalow and struggled to return home. He was inebriated and was vomiting continuously. Around midnight, he collapsed near a bungalow and was found dead at the same spot.

At least three people saw Atharva in a troubled state but none offered help, which police said could have saved his life. The post-mortem report revealed that Atharva had severe injuries on his chest, head and around his eyes. Based on the nature of injuries, police suspected Atharva was beaten at the party after a scuffle and registered a case of murder. They questioned 20 youngsters, who were at the party, however, nothing suspicious came out of it.

The Aarey police is also awaiting the medical reports on drug consumption of 12 youngsters who stayed overnight at the bungalow. Alcohol and various drugs were served at the party, which was organised by a Marathi film producer for his daughters birthday. The producer had arranged for liquor, but had no idea about the drugs, police said.

Atharvas girlfriend was a friend of the producers daughter and so the couple was invited. The medical test of Atharvas girlfriend revealed she had consumed seven types of drugs, a police officer said.

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The statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel that stands in the middle of a prominent junction in Shahaganj, surrounded by 40 footwear shops, may have been the root cause of communal tension in Aurangabad, according to the police.

There has been a long-standing disagreement between members of one community, who want to reinstate the statue and beautify the surrounding area by demolishing these shops, and the owners belonging to another community.

Milind Bharambe, police commissioner, said, It [the statue] is the main reason behind communal tension. It has been going on for long. Shopkeepers moved court and got the demolition stayed.

The 40-odd shops surrounding the statue square were the first to be set on fire during the riots, after a brawl in the neighbouring Moti Karanja, a police official said. Since 2015, a Shiv Sena corporator from the area, Yashashri Bakhriya, has been pushing the civic body to demolish the shops. The shop owners have encroached upon the municipal corporation land. They are within 15m of the statue. We plan to reinstate the statue which is in bad shape, clear the surrounding area and beautify it, but we have been facing opposition from the shop owners.

Following notices of eviction from the municipal corporation, the shop owners got a stay order two weeks ago. After this, we got communal threats, said shop owner Mohammad Shakil .

Bakhriya wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, seeking his intervention. Laxmi Narayan Bakhriya, Shiv Sena leader and Yashashris father, said, There shouldnt have been any encroachment on it, when the statue is right behind it. The land was first owned by the collector. I got it transferred to the municipal corporation, so we could take action.

Explaining why the statue matters, the corporator said, Vallabhbhai Patel was the founding father of Aurangabad. He is very important to us.

Then Union home minister Patel had stepped forward to annex Aurangabad, ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, into the Union of India after 1947. The square in Shahaganj that has the statue was considered the main city centre of Nizam-ruled Aurangabad, and has the oldest mosque in the city adjoining it.
Three people sustained injuries in Mankhurd when two groups clashed following a road accident on Monday. Five people have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The police have registered cross complaints against both the groups involved. According to the police, the incident occurred around 2.30pm at Sathenagar in Mankhurd.

Police said they have registered a case under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 307 for attempt to murder against Sanjay Sasane, 46, and his two sons Ramesh, 19, and Pradeep, 21. All three have been arrested.

Ramesh was riding the bike triple seat when the bike dashed two pedestrians, said Sanjay Vernekar, senior police inspector, Mankhurd police station. He said that a brawl had ensued.

The two pedestrians Mehfooz Khan and Mustafa Shaikh  working as labourers got into an argument with Ramesh and two others. The labourers asked Ramesh to ride properly, which led to an argument. During the altercation, Ramesh and the two others slapped each other in a fit of rage, said a police officer.

Ramesh raised an alarm, following which his father and brother, who live near where the incident occurred, arrived at the scene. A full-fledged fight ensued in which sharp weapons were used, police said.

Khan and Shaikh sustained injuries on their head and stomach. Pradeep, too, was injured. Based on a complaint by Sasane, the police registered a case against Khan and Shaikh under IPC section 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means). They were arrested on Tuesday. One more accused who is a friend of Ramesh has been booked and the police are searching for him.
It may have emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly polls, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra is still wary about elections in the state in 2019 for two reasons.

First, a likely pre-poll alliance between the two big opposition parties in the state, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and second, its ally Shiv Senas plans to go solo in the 2019 polls. What could make it worse for the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP is if the Karnataka governor invites the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress combine to form government in Karnataka, as this would bolster plans of opposition parties to put up a united front in Maharashtra.

As the results poured in on Tuesday, the Sena was firm about its decision to fight the 2019 elections on its own. The Sena has its own agenda and we are going ahead under the guidance of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, senior Sena leader and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai said.

Desai said Maharashtra and Karnataka could not be compared as they have different political and social factors. There is no reason for the Sena to reconsider its stand to contest polls solo in Maharashtra in the backdrop of the Karnataka results, he said.

The BJP is still confident of winning in the Centre in 2019 . Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said PM Narendra Modi has emerged as the most popular leader of the country in post-independence era. The ray of hope created by PM Modi in 2014 has been converted in to a ray of trust with the results in Karnataka, Fadnavis said. This indicates the BJP and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will get more seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as compared to 2014. While the BJPs return to power in Gujarat and its impressive show in Karnataka boosts the partys morale in the state, the Maharashtra government is currently struggling to handle farmers issues and rural distress effectively.

As far as the Senas position goes, political experts believe the party may change its mind by the end of the year, as the BJP is keen on taking them on board for the 2019 elections. The stand of both the BJP and Shiv Sena so far has been that they will continue their alliance despite the differences and in-fighting all these years. Hence, the Sena may just go with the BJP, as the latter is showing all the desperation to be in alliance with it, said Pratap Aasbe, a political analyst.

The Congress and the NCP in the state, meanwhile, may take lessons from the joint vote share the Congress and Janata Dal (S) managed to gather in Karnataka  another for them forge a pre-poll alliance in Maharashtra.

Aasbe said the Karnataka Assembly election results will further help the Congress and NCP cement ties for polls in the state. After looking at these results, both parties will ensure an alliance in Maharashtra as they are now fully aware of the BJPs strength.

The states Congress president, Ashok Chavan, said to fight the BJP, division of secular votes has to avoided. Definitely, a coalition has its limitations, but we had a coalition with the NCP for more than 15 years, except in 2014, Chavan said. Our coalition will definitely bring good results in the state, he said, and added that talks with of an alliance with the NCP was moving in the right direction.

The NCPs chief spokesperson Nawab Malik also said both Congress and NCP did not want votes to be divided. While the BJP has emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka polls, division of votes has come as a major factor for its better performance than others, Malik said. Now, both Congress-NCP will certainly make sure a pre-poll alliance becomes a reality. The Karnataka elections have also made way for the Janata Dal (Secular) to become a part of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) in the 2019 general elections, which will increase its strength, Malik said.

Both the Congress and NCP are contesting May 28 Lok Sabha bye-elections together.

Shiv Sena, others raise suspicion over EVM

With Karnataka Assembly elections done, the debate over authenticity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) has again once again got a push with political parties demanding that the ballot paper system should be brought back. Shiv Sena even challenged its ally to contest elections without EVMs to clear the air. Reacting to the Karnataka poll results, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray said, The election results were considered according to the current situation across the country. However, results that have come today are different. There are allegations made by Opposition parties over EVM manipulations as well. Just one time, I want the BJP to head into elections with ballot papers and not EVMs. Let all the apprehensions go.

Earlier, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray alleged that the EVMs had been tampered with. In tweets in English and Marathi, Raj said, Karnataka elections. Victory of the EVMs.

The NCP too demanded that once for and all, BJP should conduct Lok Sabha elections through ballot paper system to clear all the apprehensions.

At grassroot levels, there was lot of sympathy for Congress based on the work done by its government in the last five years. I am surprised with the Karnataka results. In fact, lots of people are also blaming EVM for this result. If people feel there is something fishy about EVM that can be manipulated, then there is no harm in bringing back ballot paper system back, Patil said.
Internationally acclaimed artist Jivya Soma Mashe, who popularised the Warli art form, died in his native village in Ganjad near Dahanu on Tuesday due to age-related ailments. He was 87.

He is survived by two sons, Sadashiv and Balu, both Warli artists, and a daughter.

Mashe was given a state funeral at his ancestral home in Ganjad, which was attended by tribals and lovers of Warli art on Tuesday afternoon.

Born on March 13, 1931, Mashe was fascinated with the tribal art of living and decided to propagate the rich tribal life through Warli paintings, which is the traditional tribal form of painting.Since he was 11 years old, Mashe was particularly fascinated with tribal weddings and would portray scenes from weddings through his paintings, said Narendra Patil, a social activist who knew Mashe. His paintings adorn the drawing rooms of fans spread across Russia,Italy, Germany, Japan, China, UK, Belgium and many other countries,said Patil.

In 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi told Bhaskar Kulkarni,a senior member of the Crafts Board, Delhi, to find a traditional painter who could depict the tribal way of life, Patil said. Kulkarni came across Mashes paintings and presented him before the late PM, who was fascinated with his work, and encouraged him to spread Warli paintings worldwide, Patil said. In 1976, the then President of India Fakruddin Ali Ahmed allotted 3.5 acres of land to Mashe in the then undivided Thane district to propagate Warli art. However, Mashe got the land only after 35 years, in 2011, after the intervention of then Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

When Mashe was 7 years old, he lost his mother and was rendered speechless for a few years due to the trauma. Due to the tragedy, Mashe and his family shifted from Dhamangaon in Talasari to his present home in Kalambipada in Ganjad, said Ramakant Patil, another social worker who knew Mashe. When he was speechless, he would communicate with people by drawing images on paper and on the sandy ground,Patil said.

Mashes work was highly acclaimed and he won a host of awards. Navnath Zare, resident district collector, Palghar, said Mashe was awarded the Padmashri in 2011 for propagating the Warli art form. In 1976, he received the National Award for Warli art. In 2002, he received the Shilp Guru award, a Government of India award given to master craftsmen. In 2009, he was the recipient of the Prince Claus Award fro Warli tribal painting, said Zare. The Prince Claus Awards are presented by the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development to honour artists, thinkers and cultural organisations in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, whose artistic and cultural work makes a positive contribution to the social development within their country. Mashe was also given a cash award of Rs17 lakh by the Queen of Belgium for his traditional Warli painting skills and was felicitated by Tokio Hasegave, the founder director of Mithila Museum,Tokamachi, Japan.

He is survived by two sons, Sadashiv and Balu, who are carrying on the legacy of their father, and a daughter.
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has restrained the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) from carrying out any debris dumping, reclamation of land and felling of trees at the area allotted for the Metro-3 car shed in Aarey Milk Colony till July 10.

At a hearing in New Delhi on Monday, the NGT upheld the order issued by the tribunals Pune bench in August 2015, saying it cannot be breached. While activists have welcomed the tribunals decision, there remains a lack of clarity about whether there is a stay order in place to prevent MMRCL from going ahead with its plan of constructing a car shed in Aarey Milk Colony. MMRCL will examine the NGT order and shall take necessary steps after studying it, said a MMRCL spokesperson.

There is finally some relief for us, said Stalin D, one of the applicants in the matter and director of the NGO Vanashakti. MMRCL insisted there was no stay order but the judge refused to entertain the contention and reaffirmed that there is a status quo, which must be complied with, he said.

Aarey Milk Colony is one of the last remaining green lungs in the city. A 30-hectare patch has been allocated to build a car-shed for the Metro-3 line (Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ). Vanashakti and another NGO, Aarey Conservation Group, filed a petition with NGTs Pune bench, in June 2015. They sought long-term protection for Aarey Milk Colony and asked that it be categorised as a forest for its protection.

In August 2015, NGTs Pune bench passed a status quo order restraining any construction activity inside Aarey Milk Colony and directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and the forest department to not issue further no-objection certificates for construction within this eco-sensitive zone. Abhishek Jebraj, counsel for the applicants, said this August 2015 order was reiterated on Monday by the NGT in New Delhi. The government agencies must have respect for the sanctity of the NGT orders, he said.

MMRCL was anyway not carrying out any of these activities (debris dumping, cutting down trees and land reclamation), and we told the bench the same through an affidavit, said advocate Kiran Bhagalia, counsel for MMRCL, responding to NGTs decision on Monday. MMRCLs attempts to delay and deny justice has been seen through by the NGT. Even today, they continue to work on the ground without any permission and are trying to stand above the law. They are bulldozing the land only to show custody and generate floor-space-index (FSI) profits, said Stalin.

MMRCL, on Monday, submitted an affidavit denying the charges that it had cut down trees or dumped debris in the disputed area since July 2017. MMRCL also stated that the status quo order from August 2015 had no directions against MMRCL and under authority of the state and various laws, MMRCL had full authority to carry out construction. It also denied that the area was a forest. The affidavit will be discussed on July 10.
As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerges as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly polls, its ally Shiv Sena on Tuesday reiterated its decision on contesting the 2019 elections on its own.

Senior Sena leader and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) Anil Desai said that while election trends suggest that the BJP has an edge over the others in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Karnataka cannot be compared as the two states have different political and social factors.

The Sena has its own agenda and we are going ahead under the guidance of Uddhav Thackeray. There is no reason for the party to reconsider its stand to contest polls solo in Maharashtra in the backdrop of the Karnataka results, Desai said.

Interestingly, political rivals Uddhav Thackeray and Raj Thackeray raised questions about tampered Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).

Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray challenged the BJP to contest elections without EVMs to clear the air. Reacting to the Karnataka poll results, he said: The election results were considered according to the current situation across the country. However, results that have come today are different. There are allegations made by Opposition parties over EVM manipulations as well. Just one time, I want the BJP to head into elections with ballot papers and not EVMs. Let all the apprehensions go.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was far more blunt, alleging that the EVMs had been tampered with.In two tweets in English and Marathi, Raj said: Karnataka elections. Victory of the EVMs.

#KarnatakaVerdict

Its a victory for the Electronic Voting Machine !  Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) May 15, 2018

This is not the first time that the MNS chief has claimed that the BJPs victory in the polls is because of tampered EVMs. Before the Gujarat polls too, he had claimed that if the BJP won the elections, the victory would be a miracle of EVMs.

The BJP in Maharashtra will have to worry about a pre-poll alliance between the two major Opposition parties, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), as well as the Senas plans to go solo in the 2019 polls.
A 25-year-old man working in the USA with a popular cruise company was arrested on charges of rape and cheating after his girlfriend alleged he had raped her on the pretext of marrying her. The complainant also told the police that the accused took 1.3 lakh from her.

In her complaint to the Shahu Nagar police, the 28-year-old woman said she met the accused near her residence around two years ago through her landlord. The accused and the woman eventually became friends and six months later, got into a relationship, she said.

In December 2016, the accused, left to work for the US-based cruise company and returned to the city in June last year. The complainant said that upon his return, he promised to marry her and they got into a physical relationship.

The woman also alleged that he raped her at a five-star hotel in Colaba after returning from the US. He subsequently started asking for money as he claimed to be in need of cash and took 1.3 lakh in total from her, police said.

When he returned to the US, the complainant asked him about their marriage after which he told her that they belong to different religions. He told her he would take permission from his relatives about the same. However, he subsequently told her he would marry her only if she converts, the complainant said.

Meanwhile, the accused had stopped talking to the woman and when he returned to India in late March, the complainant lodged a police complaint.

The accused was produced before a metropolitan court on Monday.

The medical examination of the accused is yet to be done. The police also need to investigate as to which places he took her to commit the offence, submitted public prosecutor Priti Jagtap.

The metropolitan court has remanded him in police custody till Friday.
The on-duty personnel of the Mumbai police will soon be allowed to travel in suburban local trains for free. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) will be signed between Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Mumbai Police later this month. The MoU will be for a year.

The railways, in a bid to increase police personnel on trains, has put forth a condition for the free travel. The city police personnel should react and help commuters during any emergency, it has said.

Presently, Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel are deployed in womens compartments from 9pm to 6am on both the Central and Western Railway. They have been given orange jackets. The Mumbai Police personnel are likely to be given a different colour jacket which would help commuters identify them.

The police personnel will have to be in the uniform and display their batches to board a train. Their presence will definitely increase passengers security, said a senior railway official.

The demand to allow Mumbai police staffers to travel for free in local trains was made by the commissioner of police during a meeting chaired by railway minister Piyush Goyal after Elphinstone Road station stampede last year.
In another high-value Mumbai Metropolitan Region real estate deal, property major Ascendas India Trust is set to buy 1.4 million sqft in two under-construction buildings for Rs 930 crore at an information technology park in Navi Mumbai.

The deal to buy the buildings in the Aurum Platz IT Park comes just weeks after Essar Group sold its Equinox Business Park at Bandra-Kurla Complex to Brookfield Asset Management for Rs2,400 crore.

The Aurum Platz IT Park is located on Thane-Belapur Road, close to the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport, and existing road and rail networks, said Ashish Deora, founder-CEO of Aurum Ventures, explaining why the buildings fetched a premium.

Ascendas said the acquisition will begin its IT Park business investment in Navi Mumbai. The properties are located on the Thane-Belapur Expressway, a key IT corridor in Mumbai, said Sanjeev Dasgupta, CEO and trustee-manager.

The construction of the first building is expected to be completed later this year, and the second in 2020.

Real Estate analysts said such deals show positivity in commercial real estate. Big players are picking up spaces as they see good returns, unlike residential complexes, said Pankaj Kapoor, CEO of real estate research firm Liases Foras. Firms with deep pockets are making these investments, keeping in mind long-term prospects.
In a meeting held last week, Maharashtra State Wakf Board (MSWB) decided to appoint seven lawyers to represent the board in all the cases pending across seven divisions in Maharashtra. These lawyers will be assisted by other advocates and represent the board in district courts, Wakf tribunal, high courts and Supreme Court.

Earlier, Minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi had announced that Wakf boards in each state have been asked to appoint six employees, whose salary will be paid by the Centre so that they can look after digital process, survey and give legal advice.

Khalid Babu Qureshi, a member of MSWB, said, Cases against the board are not properly defended in courts owing to which orders are passed without representation and the board is losing out on properties which then get into wrong hands.

Qureshi added, as of March 2018, around 4,000 cases were pending in various courts.

Shabbir Ahmed Ansari, president, All India Muslim OBC Organisation, who had earlier locked the office of the MSWB, said around 1,100 change reports, 1,300 scheme applications pertaining to various Masjids, 1,500 registrations of Masjids and 650 court cases were pending.

The board meeting took place for the first time in one year and we had expressed concern over various issues before the meeting took place. We hope the lawyers, who will be appointed, will work as per law and not be asked to support builder lobby like in case of property at Lalbaugh, Ansari said.

According to Wakf Act 1995, a Wakf board has the right over administration and jurisdiction over Muslim religious properties.

In the meeting, the board also decided to raise monthly salary of Imams from 5,000 to 10,000 in 175 institutions, and hike the bonus paid to them on Eid. Emphasising on education for children of Imams, Qureshi said 10,000 would be provided yearly for education of the first two children of Imams and to the third girl child.

Salaries of staff will be raised and pending dues will also be cleared, Qureshi added.
State minister of cooperation, marketing and textile, Subhash Deshmukh, on Monday said stern action will be taken against those who import sugar from Pakistan.

The warning comes in the wake of protests, including those by the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), Nationalist Congress party (NCP), and the Congress, against the imports when there has been bumper sugar production in the country.

Speaking at a function in the wholesale APMC market on Monday, Deshmukh said, The sugar production in the country has been very good. While farmers are struggling to sell the huge stocks at prices that can cover their cost, the arrival of sugar stock from Pakistan has hit them further. Strict action will be taken against those found involved in any malpractice, he said.

The MNS, led by its Navi Mumbai president Gajanan Kale, on Monday, burnt effigies and protested against the import of sugar. Kale said, We have reports that around 60 to 65 lakh metric tonnes of sugar was imported by APMC traders with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.

Chief of state Congress unit, Ashok Chavan also reiterated that the BJP government brought sugar from Pakistan. This year, production of sugar is record high and the stocks are lying unsold. Ignoring this fact, the government allowed importing tonnes of sugar from Pakistan. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has brought sugar instead of bringing terrorist Dawood Ibrahim, he said, referring the PMs 2014 poll promise.

Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar said the government could have imposed 50% import duty to stop sugar import considering its high production. NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad from Thane also protested the import from Pakistan by tearing sugar bags stored in a godown in Navi Mumbai, police said.
In a circular issued on Tuesday, University of Mumbai MU said the LLB exams for all semesters will commence from the beginning of June instead of May-end.

This comes after Student Law Council (SLC), a students organisation, protested against the previous timetable and asked the MU to reschedule exams.

The varsity also declared the semester 5 results of the Third Year LLB/ BLS examination and the semester 1 of the First Year LLB/ Gen LLB examination on Tuesday.

One set of students had written to MU, opposing any changes in the previous examination schedule. They were afraid that the change in the dates would affect their internship and higher education plans. They too had floated an online petition and had collected around 400 signatures.

Vinod Malale, public relations officer, MU said, We had received so many letters from individual students, as well as student organisations. They required sufficient time to study, as there was a delay in the announcement of some results. So, it was only fair that the exams were rescheduled.

Earlier this month, the University had rescheduled the repeat examinations for Semesters 1, 3 and 5, upon continuous requests from students.
Nearly five months after the body of a 15-year-old girl was recovered from the fields of Mohiuddinpur in Meerut, the Ghaziabad crime branch arrested five persons, including girls boyfriend and his father, for the murder.

The girl was a Class 9 student from Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad.

The crime branch on Monday arrested prime suspect Sumit Kumar, 21, his father Ramesh, 60, his friends Arif, 21, and Rajeev, 26, and driver Sonu, 26, whose Swift car was hired to take the girl to Meerut to execute the murder.

Kumar alleged he had planned the murder as the girl was forcing him to marry her. He also suspected that she was dating other boys.

Police said Sumit and his accomplices were first picked up for questioning after the girl had gone missing on December 26, 2017, but could not establish anything.

Sumit, who runs a salon in Modi Nagar, said he met the girl in November 2017 during a wedding.

We met frequently. I gave her a mobile phone which was noticed by her mother. She left her house, called me and asked me to marry her. I was ready and asked her to stay at my friends house at Vijay Nagar till the issue subsided. After police picked me up initially, I came to know she had more boyfriends, Kumar claimed.

I changed my plan and planned to murder her. On January 8, I roped in driver Sonu for Rs 200 and a bottle of alcohol. We picked her up from Vijay Nagar and took her to Meerut. My father and I strangled her. Kumar said. Kumar said they also ran the car over her with the help of Sonu.

There was a huge public outcry after girls mutilated body was recovered on January 12 this year.

Renewed investigation by the crime branch established the role of the accused. The girl was abducted by Sumit, who sexually assaulted her at his house on the same night. Later, she was confined to the house of Sumits friend (Rajeev) at Vijay Nagar in Ghaziabad. Then the accused took her in a hired car and strangled her. She was put under the wheels of the car after which her body was later thrown in the fields, said Vaibhav Krishna, senior superintendent of police, Ghaziabad.

The police booked the accused for criminal conspiracy, abduction, murder, rape and provision of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

We started investigation and looked at evidence afresh. The girls mother beat her up on December 26, 2017 after she found a mobile phone . Angered, she left her house and called Sumit from a PCO, said Dinesh Yadav, in-charge, crime branch.

Sumit took her on a bike with the help of his friend Arif. Later, they dropped her at another friends house at Vijay Nagar where she was made to stay till January 10. The initial call on Sumits mobile was a major clue which led us to him. Upon questioning, he broke down, Yadav said.
Vishwajeet Kadam, Congress party candidate and youth Congress president, has been elected unopposed in the Palus-Kadegaon assembly bypolls, after Sangram Deshmukh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate, withdrew his nomination on Monday.

The elections for Palus-Kadegaon bypolls were necessitated after the demise of Patangrao Kadam, senior Congress leader and Vishwajeets father.

Kadam said that he was happy with BJPs decision to withdraw its candidate as a mark of respect. The BJP respected peoples sentiments in the constituency and decided not to fight the elections. Eventually, the Election Commission declared me elected, said Kadam.

The BJP decided to withdraw its candidate from the fray after senior leader and revenue minister Chandrakant Patil held a meeting with Deshmukh.

BJP decided to withdraw its candidate to follow the tradition of not pitting candidates in seats where elections have been necessitated by demise of a sitting legislator, said Patil.

Following the BJPs decision, the Congress party congratulated Kadam for being elected unopposed. Last week, senior Congress party leader Harshawardhan Patil had urged BJP not to field a candidate, but BJP decided to contest elections after Congress fielded a candidate in the Palghar Lok Sabha bypolls, where elections were necessitated by the demise of Chintaman Vanga, BJP MP from Palghar.

Earlier, the Shiv Sena extended its support to Kadam after he spoke with Uddhav Thackeray, Shiv Sena executive president, over the phone on the matter.
A man was arrested on Monday for trying to sell his infant daughter hours after her birth.

Dr Jaideep Brar, on emergency duty at the Civil Hospital in Mohali, alerted the police after Jaspal Singh from Amritsar, living on rent in Ballomajra, adjoining the Chandigarh-Kharar road, and father of two other boys, approached him on Monday night at 10 pm, saying he wanted to sell the child.

A case was registered at the police station in Balongi, Mohali, on the basis of the doctors statement, under section 317 (Exposure and abandonment of child under 12 years, by parent or person having care of it) of the Indian Penal Code and section 75 (cruelty to child) and 81 (Sale and procurement of children for any purpose) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

Jaspal said his wife was ill and he needed money for her treatment so wanted to sell the child. He said he was the father of a newborn male child, but handed over a female child that he was carrying in a polythene bag, Dr Brar told the police.

Navin Pal Singh Lehal, station house officer (SHO), Balongi, said the accused had been arrested. If convicted, he faces a maximum imprisonment of seven years and a fine of about 1lakh.

The infant has been kept under observation at the hospital as she was vomiting when her father got her there but is now reported to be doing fine.

The mother, Manjit Kaur, is at home and has not been included in the case, police said

Working as a loader in a Kharar mall, Jaspal confessed to the police that Manjit Kaur had delivered their third child at 2 pm on Monday at home. We have two sons, one aged 10 and the other five, so we could not afford a third child. Thats why my wife asked me to go and sell the newborn baby, he claimed.

Jaspal also he spent hours searching for someone to take the baby, first choosing a prominent hospital in phase 6, Mohali. Some employees over there advised him to go to a destitute home and give up the child.

He had been wandering in the emergency ward of the Civil Hospital for an hour before he met Dr Brar.

The police also said the CCTV cameras in the Civil Hospital emergency ward were not working so they could not get footage of the man and his daughter.
Gangster-turned-activist Lakha Sidhana on Monday met Punjabs minister for jails, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and gave him suggestions for reforms, but also left him red-faced with digs at chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and the Congress government.

Who is Lakha Sidhana? In 2004, Lakha Sidhana, who derives his surname from his village in Rampura Phul segment of Bathinda, was facing at least 25 cases of kidnapping, loot and murder. Now, three cases under the Arms Act remain pending as he got off in the others, mostly for lack of evidence. He was once considered close to Akali leader Sikander Singh Maluka, who was MLA from Rampura Phul. Maluka has denied any involvement with his criminal activities. In 2012, Sidhana unsuccessfully contested assembly election from Rampura Phul on ticket of PPP led by Manpreet Singh Badal, who later merged it into Congress and is now the states finance minister. As chairman of Malwa Youth Federation, an organisation floated by him, Sidhana recently made headlines when his supporters smudged English language on signboards on highways, demanding that Punjabi be put on top. During his stay in a Faridkot jail for a case of vandalism registered over the smudging of boards, Sidhana was further booked when he went live on Facebook from the barracks. In the video, he urged farmers to shun the practice of burning paddy straw that causes pollution!

Sidhana had taken an appointment with the minister to share his personal experience inside jails and suggest necessary changes. Officials said Sidhana invited some media channels, too, to the Markfed office where Randhawa held the meeting. Things turned awry for Randhawa when Sidhana, in his presence, gave interviews to multiple channels in which he raised some questions, chief among them being on the commitment of the government to eradicate the drug menace.

Saying that he is a fan of Randhwas style of immediate disposal of issues, Sidhana said his appreciation for Randhawa should not be taken as praise for Congress. Sidhana had contested the 2012 assembly elections on the ticket of Peoples Party of Punjab (PPP) that was merged into the Congress before last years polls by its leader Manpreet Singh Badal, who is now the states finance minister.

I am also questioning why Amarinder has downsized special task force (STF) head Harpreeet Sindh Sidhu after he conducted a probe against former Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) minister Bikram Singh Majithia in the drug case, Sidhana said.

Standing next to him, Sidhana asked Randhawa about his allegations of drug peddling against Akalis. When in opposition, Congress used to say chitta (white powder or heroin) is supplied in red-beacon (official) vehicles of Akali leaders! I ask them (government), and even the minister (Randhawa): Whats wrong now? Why has there been no action against those leaders?

At this, Randhawa intervened with claims that the government will take action against Majithia. The probe against Majithia was completed on the directions of the chief minister. Whatever action I am taking against illegal activities in jails is also on the directions of the CM, he said.

Impulse on display

Earlier, in discussion with the minister, Sidhana told him that his department had deputed a tainted officer as superintendent of the high-security jail at Nabha, and said the officer is facing a case of attempt to murder. He asked the minister to call up additional director general of police (ADGP), jails, IPS Sahota to order his removal.

When Randhawa called, the ADGP told him its not entirely true. I told Sir (minister) that its an old case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In that case, too, various probes have already been conducted and the officer, who was suspended for a few months, was reinstated later, the ADGP told HT.

After the episode, Randhawa, when contacted, explained, As he is a former gangster, I only gave time to him to listen to his experiences inside jails. But a section of electronic media took the issue to a different direction. And I never asked the ADGP to suspend Bhullar. I only ordered to probe the matter and submit a detailed report.
The Savitri biopic Mahanati, which features Keerthy Suresh in the titular role, is having a dream run at the box-office. With the film having won over audiences and critics alike, the team is buoyed by the overall response. While theres no denying that it is Keerthy Sureshs career-best performance, its also worth mentioning that Dulquer Salmaan as Gemini Ganesan has stunned one and all, especially filmmaker SS Rajamouli, who cant stop raving about the film.

At a meet organized by Telugu filmdom to celebrate the success of Mahanati, Rajamouli spoke at length about Dulquers performance. Dulquer is mind-blowing even in the smallest scenes. As a director, I wouldnt know how to make my actors perform some of the scenes in the film. Its not easy to sell the philosophy of Gemini Ganesan, but Dulquer sold it with his performance.

Dulquer has been earning praise for his performance from all quarters. He had recently said in an interview that he took up the role because he feels uncomfortable doing safe roles. Talking to news agency IANS, he said: We all knew we were doing something important, something very special. To tell the story of legendary actress Savitri was something I believed in. This was a role away from my home territory in Kerala, hence an added challenge.

Meanwhile, the film has grossed over Rs 20 crore in its opening weekend and has emerged as a blockbuster. Directed by Nag Ashwin, the film was dubbed and released in Tamil as Nadigayar Thilagam. The film also stars Samantha Akkineni, Vijay Deverakonda, Rajendra Prasad and Shalini Pandey in key roles.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

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The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Indonesias second city Surabaya Monday, according to the SITE monitoring group.

A family of five, including a child, carried out the suicide bombing which wounded 10 people, police said, a day after a deadly wave of attacks on churches in the same city staged by another family also claimed by IS.

A martyrdom-seeking operation with an explosive-laden motorcycle hit the gate of an Indonesian police headquarters in the city of Surabaya in East Java province in Indonesia, ISs official Amaq news agency reported, according to SITE.
The White House has squarely blamed Palestinian group Hamas for the killing of 58 protesters by Israeli forces, and stated that the West Asia peace plan the United States is working on will not be impacted either by the violence or the relocated American embassy in Jerusalem that caused it.

The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters at the daily briefing on Monday, referring to the Palestinian group that the United States and its western allies have designated as a terrorist outfit.

Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response. And as the secretary of state said, Israel has the right to defend itself, Shah said, going on to accuse the group of fomenting violence as a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt.

Shah was echoing the sentiments of Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and senior advisor, to some extent. As we have seen from protests in the last month, and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution, Kushner had said at the opening ceremony of the embassy in Jerusalem.

Kushner was part of a large US delegation that also comprised his wife Ivanka Trump, whose visuals at the unveiling ran in split-screen format on most American TV news telecasts, with the other half focused on protesters and tear gas shells arching into their midst from the skies.

Trump, who addressed the event through a recorded video message, never once mentioned the violence in multiple tweets posted on Monday. A tweet from the President even provided information on the television channels airing the event live, one of which  predictably  was Fox News.

Trumps silence, however, was in marked contrast to condemnation that came from other western capitals and allies. French president Emmanuel Macron lamented the large number of Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza today and over the past few weeks, his office said in a statement.

He condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against demonstrators, the French presidency added in its statement from Macron, who has emerged as the western worlds emissary to Trump. Macron is expected to personally register his outrage in this regard with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The White House, on the other hand, blamed the killings on Hamas as well as the protesters, and appeared to be in no mood to spread the blame as some in the US media and policy circles said was needed.

The Trump administration also sought to insulate its West Asia peace initiative from the blowback from the embassy relocation. Asked if the White House feared the ongoing protests and killings undermined the plan, Shah said, No, we dont. Look, the peace plan will be brought forward at an appropriate time. It can be evaluated on its merits. But the actions today, both the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem and these tragedies in southern Israel, we dont think will impact the peace plan.

While the Trump administration has provided no details of the peace plan, it has continued to garner outsized attention due to the involvement of his son-in-law Kushner, who has been designated by the president as his lead guide.
Britains National Crime Agency (NCA) has identified Pakistan as one of the countries whose politicians invest money allegedly derived from corruption in the UK.

Naming Pakistan in its 2018 assessment of serious and organised crime, the NCA said: The UK is a prime destination for corrupt foreign Politically Exposed Persons to launder the proceeds of corruption, particularly those from Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Investment in UK property, particularly in London, continues to be an attractive mechanism to launder funds. The true scale of PEPs investment in the UK is not known, however the source countries that are most commonly seen are Russia, Nigeria and Pakistan, it added.

Under a new anti-corruption provision , the NCA is investigating money-laundering linked to the assets held by an unnamed foreign politician worth nearly 22 million. It secured two unexplained wealth orders to investigate in January.

Based on open source information, anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International has identified assets allegedly owned by former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif, among five major suspect properties in London.

The NCA assessment also named Pakistan over concerns of money-laundering: The overseas jurisdictions that have the most enduring impact on the UK across the majority of the different money laundering threats are: Russia, China, Hong Kong, Pakistan, and the UAE.

Some of these jurisdictions have large financial sectors which also make them attractive as destinations or transit points for the proceeds of crime.

In NCAs assessment, UK-registered companies continue to bribe overseas to improperly secure new businesses, extend existing contracts or to obtain sensitive information about competitors.

As the UK moves towards exiting the EU in March 2019, UK-based businesses may look to increase the amount of trade they have with non-EU countries. We judge this will increase the likelihood that UK businesses will come into contact with corrupt markets, particularly in the developing world, raising the risk they will be drawn into corrupt practices, it said.

The NCA said the scale of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK is continually and gradually increasing.

Its 2017 figures reveal that the number of Indian citizens referred as potential victims of trafficking and modern slavery had increased from 100 in 2016 to 140 in 2017, ranking India among the top 10 countries in the list. India is 9th in the list topped by the United Kingdom. The figures for Indian citizens include 90 for labour exploitation, 25 for domestic servitude, 18 for sexual exploitation and 7 categorised as unknown exploitation.

NCA director-general Lynne Owens said: Criminals are continuing to develop international connections to increase the reach of their activity, and to maximise profits. We are also seeing ever-increasing crossover between crime threats, with finance at the heart of this.

Organised criminals involved in smuggling of people or firearms also supply drugs, and the relationship between organised immigration crime and modern slavery is becoming more apparent.

The increasing sophistication of crime groups, coupled with the changing nature of their geographical reach, demonstrates more than ever the requirement for an increasingly co-ordinated response.
This weekends carefully planned wedding of Britains Prince Harry and to his fiancee Meghan Markle was mired in confusion on Tuesday after the father of the American actress told a celebrity news website he was no longer coming.

Harry, 33, Queen Elizabeths grandson and the sixth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, will marry on Saturday at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle in a ceremony that has sparked huge global media interest.

Markles father Thomas, 73, was due to walk his daughter down the aisle in front of 600 guests including all the senior Britains royals and smattering of celebrities.

However, the TMZ website reported on Monday that he had decided not to attend the glittering wedding at the castle, the home of English and British monarchs for almost 1,000 years.

He told TMZ he did not want to embarrass his daughter or the royal family after reports he had staged pictures with a paparazzi photographer for a fee. He also said he had suffered a heart attack a week ago.

This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding, Kensington Palace, Harrys office, said in a statement. She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation.

A spokeswoman for the prince declined to comment directly on the TMZ report or to say whether the statement meant Markles father would be at the wedding.

Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle watch a performance by a Welsh choir in the banqueting hall during a visit to Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, Britain, January 18, 2018. (Reuters File Photo)

The bride-to-bes parents are divorced and while Harry has been pictured with her mother Doria Ragland, 61, there had been speculation about how Thomas Markle, a former lighting director for TV soaps and sitcoms, would feature.

However, Harrys communications secretary told reporters last week he would have an important role and would give away his daughter on the couples big day. He had also been expected to meet the queen, her husband and the other senior members of the Windsor family this week.

Thousands of journalists from across the world are descending on the genteel town of Windsor for the wedding, and Thomas Markle told TMZ that the media attention had taken its toll. He said he had been offered up to $100,000 for interviews and been ambushed by paparazzi whose snaps had shown him buying beer and looking dishevelled.

TMZ said he had agreed to the staged pictures, which showed him looking at images of the couple on a computer and being sized up for a suit, because he hoped they would improve his image.

Prince Harry and his elder brother Prince William have both made clear in the past their dislike of the press, fuelled by the death of their mother Princess Diana in a Paris car crash in 1997 as her limousine sped away from chasing paparazzi.

Kensington Palace has limited press access to the ceremony itself and strictly controlled the release of details about the wedding to the media.

If her father does not come, British newspapers suggested that Markles mother, with whom she is spending the night before the ceremony at a nearby luxury hotel, would walk her daughter down the aisle.
Former premier Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday rejected the condemnation of his controversial remarks on the 2008 Mumbai attacks by Pakistans top civil-military body, saying the leadership should instead look at the impact of terrorism on the country.

Sharifs remarks questioning the policy of using Pakistan-based terrorists for cross-border attacks such as the assault on Indias financial hub, made during an interview with Dawn newspaper, stirred a hornets nest. On Monday, the National Security Committee (NSC) condemned the comments and described them as incorrect and misleading.

Speaking to reporters outside an anti-corruption court in Islamabad, Sharif described the stance adopted by the NSC as painful and regrettable because it was not based on facts.

He said, I reject the NSCs May 14 statement as it is based on misperceptionI am not an ordinary citizen but a three-time prime minister elected by the people of Pakistan. Hence, I am privy to realities.

Sharif said it was time the country knew who was responsible for the current state of affairs. What have we turned this country into? Who introduced terrorism to this beautiful country? he said.

Against the backdrop of allegations by the opposition that he had gone against the countrys interests, Sharif demanded the formation of a national commission to decide who had committed treason. A decision should be made about who is a patriot and who is a traitorWe should find out who laid the foundation of terrorism in the country, he said.

Who led Pakistan towards isolation and has brought the country to a stage where the international community is not ready to accept Pakistans narrative? The national commission should be tasked to find the cause of these issues.

Sharif also said he had raised the issue of terrorism resulting in Pakistans isolation during an NSC meeting that led to Dawn Leaks after the matter was reported by the newspaper.

Even at that time, the same things, getting our house in order, were being discussed in an NSC meeting, he said, referring to a meeting of the body in 2016.

Shortly after Sharif spoke to the media, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi defended the ousted premiers comments in the National Assembly or lower house of Parliament. Abbasi said the PML-N chiefs comments were misreported and misinterpreted.

He added: Whatever was said during that interview and whatever was written by the reporter was misinterpreted by the Indian media in order to serve Indias own purposes.
North Korea threw into question next months unprecedented summit between Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump, denouncing on Wednesday US-South Korean military exercises as a provocation and calling off high-level talks with Seoul.

A report on North Koreas official KCNA angrily attacked the Max Thunder air combat drills, which it said involved US stealth fighters and B-52 bombers, and appeared to mark a break in months of warming ties between North and South Korea and between Pyongyang and Washington.

The Max Thunder drills, aimed at boosting the capability of pilots, would go on as planned and were not aimed at attacking a third party, the Souths defence ministry said.

Any cancellation of the June 12 summit in Singapore, the first meeting between a serving US president and a North Korean leader, would deal a major blow to Trumps efforts to score the biggest diplomatic achievement of his presidency.

Trump has raised expectations for a successful meeting even as many analysts have been sceptical of the chances of bridging the gap due to questions about North Koreas willingness to give up a nuclear arsenal that it says can hit the United States.

The KCNA report called the air drills a provocation that went against the trend of warming ties.

This exercise, targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula, KCNA said, referring to a joint statement from an April 27 inter-Korea summit.

The United States will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities, KCNA said.

Warming ties

A Trump-Kim summit until recently had looked impossible given the insults and threats the two leaders exchanged last year over North Koreas development of nuclear missiles capable of hitting the United States.

Kim Jong Un had said previously that he understands the need and the utility of the United States and the Republic of Korea continuing in its joint exercises, US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing.

We have not heard anything from that government or the government of South Korea to indicate that we would not continue conducting these exercises or that we would not continue planning for our meeting between President Trump and Kim Jong Un next month, she said.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said the United States would examine the North Korean statement and continue to coordinate closely with our allies.

South Koreas National Security Office head Chung Eui-yong said after meeting Kim in early March that the North Korean leader understood that routine joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States would continue in spite of warming ties.

That was widely considered to be a major North Korea concession, although Pyongyang never publicly withdrew its long-standing demand for an end to the drills.

Kims latest move could be aimed at testing Trumps willingness to make concessions ahead of the summit, which is due to be preceded by a visit to Washington next week by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

A US government expert on North Korea said Kim may also be trying to gauge whether Trump is willing to walk away from the meeting that has prompted the presidents supporters to suggest he deserves to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Any acquiescence by Trump to a North Korean demand for a halt to joint drills would likely undermine South Korean and Japanese trust in his commitment to their security. Kim has also shown a desire to win international approval for his diplomatic outreach, and any sign that he is sabotaging the talks could damage this effort.

Suspended North-South meeting

KCNA said North Korea was suspending a ministerial-level North-South meeting, which had been due to be held on Wednesday to focus on plans to implement the inter-Korea summit declaration, including promises to formally end the 1950-53 Korean War and pursue complete denuclearisation.

The US should make efforts to create an atmosphere for mutual respect and confidence before dialogue, not resorting to a foolish farce that may reverse the good trend created with much effort, it said.

South Korea said the Norths decision to unilaterally postpone the talks was regrettable.

Such action of the North is inconsistent with the fundamental spirit and purpose of the Panmunjeom Declaration agreed by the South and North leaders on April 27, the Souths Unification Ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said.

The Pentagon said the May 14-25 Max Thunder exercises were routine and defensive in nature. A spokesman said the exercises would take place at Gwangju air base and would be at a scale similar to that of the previous years.

Last year, Max Thunder involved about 1,500 US and South Korean personnel flying aircraft including F-16 fighter jets, according to a US Air Force website.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if it agreed to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons programme, a move he said would create economic prosperity that would rival that of South Korea.

North Korea said on Saturday it would dismantle its nuclear bomb test site some time between May 23 and May 25 to uphold its pledge to cease tests.

Joshua Pollack, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California, said Pyongyang appeared irritated by the US administrations vow to maintain sanctions in spite of North Korean concessions.

The North Koreans want a change in tone from the US, and at least so far, theyre not hearing one, he said.

A South Korean presidential adviser warned on Tuesday that an incremental North Korean approach to denuclearisation would not be acceptable to Trump or the South Korean public.

Bonnie Glaser, of Washingtons Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank, said Kim may be being influenced by Chinese President Xi Jinping after two recent meetings with the Chinese leader, who has advocated a freeze in North Koreas nuclear programme in return for a freeze in US-South Korean drills.

The fact this issue is back on the table suggests Xi Jinping may have raised it with Kim, and that Kim is carrying Xis water, she said.
North Korea will join international efforts to ban nuclear tests, its ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, told the Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday.

North Korea, which is believed to have tested six nuclear weapons, has said it will dismantle its only known nuclear test site this month ahead of a meeting on June 12 between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un.

Discontinuation of nuclear tests and follow up measures are an important process for global disarmament and DPRK will join international disarmament efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests, Han told the disarmament forum, using his countrys official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Han did not explicitly mention the Comprehensive nuclear Test-Ban Treaty aimed at introducing that total ban.

North Korea is one of the so-called Annex 2 states that must ratify that treaty for it to come into force. The United States is another, though Washington has signed the treaty, which Pyongyang has not.

DPRK will further make peace efforts to achieve the development of inter-Korean relations, defuse acute military tensions and substantially remove the danger of war on the Korean peninsula, Han said.
South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel on Monday after at least 55 Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli forces during protests over opening of the United States embassy in Jerusalem.

Given the indiscriminate and grave manner of the latest Israeli attack, the South African government has taken a decision to recall Ambassador Sisa Ngombane with immediate effect until further notice, South Africas foreign ministry said in a statement.

The victims were taking part in a peaceful protest against the provocative inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem, it said, condemning violent aggression carried out by Israeli armed forces.

This latest attack has resulted in scores of other Palestinian citizens reported injured, and the wanton destruction of property, it added.

More than 2,400 Palestinians were wounded and the dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations.

It was the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war.
Thieves siphoned hundreds of millions of pesos out of Mexican banks, including No. 2 Banorte, by creating phantom orders that wired funds to bogus accounts and promptly withdrew the money, two sources close to the governments investigation said.

Hackers sent hundreds of false orders to move amounts ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pesos from banks including Banorte, to fake accounts in other banks, the sources said, and accomplices then emptied the accounts in cash withdrawals in dozens of branch offices.

One source said the thieves transferred more than 300 million pesos ($15.4 million). Daily newspaper El Financiero said about 400 million pesos had been stolen in the hack, citing an anonymous source.

It was not clear how much of the money transferred was later withdrawn in cash. Some of the attempts to fraudulently transfer funds were blocked, the sources said.

Mexicos central bank Governor Alejandro Diaz de Leon told journalists late Monday that the attack on the payment system was unprecedented and that he hoped that measures being taken would stop future incidents.

Theres no evidence that would allow us to say with certainty that this is over, he said. Were taking corrective and mitigating action.

Diaz de Leon declined to name banks or confirm amounts stolen, but said the central bank is still investigating what happened.

He later said in a radio interview that all the evidence, which is so far only partial, pointed to a cyberattack.

Lorenza Martinez, head of Banxicos payment system, told Reuters on Friday that five institutions saw unauthorized transfers.

Inter-bank transfers slowed in later April, feeding worries that Latin Americas second biggest economy could be the latest victim in a global wave of cyber attacks.

Hackers may have had help inside bank branches, since such big cash withdrawals are uncommon, one source said.

In terms of the security of the banks offices, I think that is part of the analysis that each bank is doing, Martinez said.

He said that the central banks SPEI interbank transfer system was not compromised but that the problem had to do with software developed by institutions or third-party providers to connect to the payment system.

Many banks have migrated to an alternate, slower technology to connect to the payment system, she said.

A Banorte spokeswoman declined to answer questions from Reuters on Monday, and pointed to a May 9 statement from the bank that said clients deposits were not affected by the incident.

Mexicos SPEI system is a domestic network similar to the SWIFT global messaging system that moves trillions of dollars each day. Hackers have used SWIFT connections to attack banks around the world.

The central bank also said that no clients had been affected so far. Martinez said that the transfers hit accounts of financial institutions in the central bank.
A county in southwest Chinas Sichuan province has banned Tibetan monks it says were wrongly educated in India from teaching Buddhism to prevent the spread of separatist ideas.

Litang county officials recently issued the ban, the first such move outside the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the nationalistic Global Times tabloid reported. Sichuan is located close to the TAR.

As some monks received education overseas from the 14th Dalai Lama clique  whom China regards as separatists  it is necessary to tighten supervision so as to prevent the clique from using local Buddhists to conduct separatist activities, Zhu Weiqun, former head of the Ethnic and Religious Affairs Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference, was quoted as saying.

It was not immediately clear how many India-trained monks were banned.

Beijing considers the Dalai Lama a secessionist engaged in anti-China activities and plotting to secure Tibets independence, a charge he denies. The spiritual leader says he only wants autonomy for Tibet.

The county conducts patriotic education classes every year for those educated and awarded the Gexe Lharampa  the highest academic degree in Tibetan Buddhist studies  in India, an official from Litangs ethnic and religious affairs bureau told Global Times.

Those who behave improperly at patriotism classes or show any signs of separatist intent are strictly monitored and banned from teaching Buddhism to the public, the report said.

While Gexe means knowledgeable, Lharampa is the highest of all four ranks in the Gexe system of Tibetan Buddhism.

Some 105 monks in TAR have been awarded the Chinese Buddhist version of the degree since 2004, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The test was suspended after Tibetan activists allegedly instigated a riot during the event in 1988.

Litang county, a prominent seat of Tibetan Buddhism, is home to leading religious figures such as the seventh and tenth Dalai Lama. Litang Temple has about 800 monks and can accommodate more than 4,300 students, news site china.com reported.
An American defence attache involved in a fatal road accident in Islamabad was allowed to leave Pakistan after the US embassy concluded a diyat or blood money deal with the victims family, according to media reports on Tuesday.

The family of the man who died when his motorcycle was hit by the US diplomats SUV will be paid blood money in exchange for not pursuing the matter in court, the Urdu daily Jang quoted its sources as saying.

The amount will be paid by the US embassy. However, the exact amount and when it will be paid was not known, the report said.

The Express Tribune too reported on its website that the US military attache, Col Joseph Emanuel Hall, was allowed to leave Pakistan on a special flight on Monday after a settlement was reached.

On April 7, Halls SUV jumped a red light and rammed into a motorcycle, killing 22-year-old Ateeq Baig. He was let go by police after the accident as he had diplomatic immunity.

Arsalan Khan, a cousin of Baig, confirmed a settlement had been reached and differences had been resolved, The Express Tribune reported. Khan refused to speak on the issue of payment of blood money.

Under Pakistans qisas (retribution) and diyat (blood money) law, persons accused of killing someone can escape punishment if they are forgiven by the victims kin after the payment of blood money. The law, passed in 1990, was used in the case of Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor who shot two men dead in Lahore in 2011.

The killings triggered a diplomatic row that was resolved when Davis was pardoned in return for a payment of $2.4 million.

In Halls case, the agreement was reached several days before he was allowed to leave Pakistan but the details were kept secret, the media reports said. Pakistan had accepted the US viewpoint that Hall had complete diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention.
Pipeline

15 May 2018

Movenpick Hotels & Resorts has announced the signing of a landmark new property in Ho Chi Minh City, as the Swiss hospitality company continues to expand its portfolio across Vietnam.

Movenpick Hotel Ho Chi Minh City is an exciting new development that will comprise 815 keys  288 hotel rooms and 527 serviced apartments  plus an extensive collection of upscale business and leisure facilities.

Scheduled to open in 2020, the outstanding project will form the centrepiece of Kenton Node Hotel Complex, a major new mixed-use development currently rising on the Rach Dia river bank, Nguyen Huu Tho Street, Saigon South, just 10 minutes from downtown Ho Chi Minh City.

In addition to an extensive, varied inventory of rooms and residences, Movenpick Hotel Ho Chi Minh City will feature a choice of stylish restaurants and bars, an outdoor infinity swimming pool, a private spa, state-of-the-art fitness centre, and extensive conference and banqueting facilities including a ballroom and several meeting rooms.

In addition, the surrounding 84,000 square metre Kenton Node complex will boast high-end retail malls, restaurants, a multiplex cinema and other leisure facilities, plus office space, residential units, a marina, riverside promenade and parks. The development will become a major new landmark for Ho Chi Minh City, attracting locals and international visitors alike.

The signing of Movenpick Hotel Ho Chi Minh City forms a key part of a major phase of expansion for Movenpick Hotels & Resorts in Vietnam. At present, the company is established in the capital city Hanoi, but the next few years will see the launch of a series of new hotels and resorts in key destinations across the country, including Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Quy Nhon, Quang Binh, Danang and Lang Co.

In the first four months of 2018, Vietnam welcomed 5.5 million international arrivals  29.5 percent more than the same period last year, according to data from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT). This puts the country well on track to exceed the record 12.9 million visitors it achieved last year.

The Vietnamese government also recently announced plans to extend its successful visa waiver programme for several European countries. Meanwhile, the expansive new Long Thanh International Airport is due to be completed within the next decade, significantly boosting tourist capacity for Ho Chi Minh City and the entire southern region.
Appointment

15 May 2018

Swiss-Belhotel International has announced the appointment of Alban Dutemple as the General Manager of Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain. Alban is a seasoned hotelier with over three and a half decades of outstanding experience in the industry with some of the world's leading hospitality brands. Out of this, his longest stint was with the Accor Group where he spent nearly 19 years serving various hotels in different capacities.

Laurent A. Voivenel, Senior Vice President, Operations and Development for the Middle East, Africa and India for Swiss-Belhotel International, said, "We are very pleased to welcome Alban who has an extremely strong local and international experience and a proven track record in the industry. We are confident his expertise and dynamic approach will be instrumental in exceeding our guests' expectations while delivering the highest level of service and standards."

Thanking the outgoing General Manager Herve Peyre who was also the group's Area General Manager in Bahrain, Laurent stated, "The team at Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain has done a tremendous job under the leadership of Herve in positioning the hotel as a market leader and winner of several accolades including the 'Best 4-Star Hotel in GCC' at the Food & Travel Awards for three consecutive years, 2016-18. We are very grateful to Herve for his contribution and hard work and wish him the very best for the future."

Upon joining Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain, Alban said, "I feel very excited and motivated, and look forward to working closely with the team to build on the exceptional success of Swiss-Belhotel Seef Bahrain. We all know continued investment in tourism infrastructure is transforming Bahrain's tourism sector. It is wonderful to be in the Kingdom at this exciting time. I love the spirit and culture of Bahrain and look forward to discovering more about the local customs and traditions."

A French national, Alban entered the hospitality industry as Chef de Partie at a Michelin star restaurant in France in 1978 and rose quickly in his career. He moved to Mexico in 1993 joining the Hotel Nikko in Mexico City as Executive Chef. In 1997, Alban took up the role of the Executive Chef at the Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City. He moved to Brazil in 1999 as the Food and Beverage Director of Sheraton Rio De Janeiro. In 2001 Alban returned to Paris with the position of Food and Beverage Director of Sofitel Paris Porte De Sevres.

In 2004, Alban took his first role in the Middle East moving to Dubai as Resident Manager of Sofitel City Centre Hotel & Residence. In 2006, he was assigned the responsibility of Hotel Opening Project Manager for Accor Middle East. In 2008, Alban was promoted to the position of VP F&B Sofitel for Africa, Middle East & Indian Ocean. In 2009 he went back to Brazil as the General Manager of Sofitel Rio De Janeiro Copacabana. After three years he returned back to his home country in 2012 as VP F&B for Pullman Europe & Worldwide strategy based in Paris. Alban left the Accor Group in 2014 to join as General Manager at Leylaty Catering and Restaurants Group in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia where he stayed until December 2017.
Supplier News

15 May 2018

Data Travel, LLC, a hotel technology company comprised of hospitality technology industry veterans, integration experts and data scientists, has unveiled a transformative data streaming, integration and enrichment platform designed to solve the hotel industry's rapidly expanding data management challenges. Appropriately named HAPI, the comprehensive new platform aggregates the plethora of data that is collected by disparate hotel systems and acts as a central hub for these hospitality data streams.

"Data and system complexity in the global hospitality market has undergone exponential growth in recent years," said Luis Segredo, president and CEO or Data Travel, LLC, the developer of HAPI. "Traditional sources of operational data from property systems like the PMS can be augmented by the vast volume of data from an array of outside sources, such as IoT systems, social activity and publicly available data points. HAPI is the answer to managing these multiple data streams and leveraging their combined power to create better guest interactions, property efficiency and profitability."

Photo: HAPI (Data Travel, LLC)

The HAPI data streaming platform is based on the most advanced and robust technologies available, including Apache Kafka, the same proven technology that runs some of the world's largest social media and security-conscious business services, such as LinkedIn, PayPal, Cisco and many others. To this proven foundation, multiple layers of encryption, authentication and governance are added to ensure maximum data security and efficiency.

HAPI PMS connectors consume PMS data and convert it into a simple common message type that can be enriched and then consumed by hotel companies and technology providers in a consistent fashion. In its simplest form, this protocol facilitates integrations for new technology vendors in a cost-effective way that accelerates adoption. By providing data enrichment, connection options, scalability, and security, HAPI unleashes a potential for innovation that has never been seen before in the industry.

Data Travel is unique in its focus on data. "Our mission is not to build the next killer app. Our mission is to accelerate and fuel all future killer apps," said Nikolai Balba, CTO. "We are relying upon the diverse network of hospitality solution partners to build around the data connections and insights that HAPI offers."

Nearly a dozen partners are already building connectors for the HAPI platform, including four PMS providers, and more are in development. The types of solutions consuming HAPI's enriched data streams today are CRM and guest service systems. Further details on certifications and capabilities will be released within the next month.

"We look forward to sharing our solution with the industry in order to drive positive change in the way that hotels interact with their guests," Segredo concluded.

To learn more about the HAPI data streaming and integration platform, please schedule a demo at HITEC Booth # 2810 in Houston, June 19-21 or visit hapicloud.io.
Opinion Article

15 May 2018

Corporate governance has been a hot topic for many years in the US and Europe as corporations, whether in finance or the hospitality industry, grapple with their supervisory structures.

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Since 2000, the audit committee has been put forward as an effective mechanism to limit fraudulent financial reporting. Following financial scandals such as Enron and WorldCom, the US Congress issued the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures.

Sarbanes-Oxley requires publicly traded companies to have:

the CEO and CFO certifying the financial statements;

an effective internal control system put in place and maintained;

an audit committee in charge of the oversight of the financial reporting process and of the engagement of the external auditor. The audit committee must be wholly composed of independent members sitting on the board of directors.

In Europe, the audit committee's composition rule is different. The European Commission (EC) mandated in 2006 that each 'public-interest entity' should have an audit committee with at least one independent member. In 2014, the EC amended this regulation by mandating companies should be at least 50 percent comprised of independent members.

In a recent article in the Journal of Accounting Literature, we examine whether the percentage of independent members sitting on audit committees, in different institutional settings, has an impact on the credibility of earnings.

For this study, we examined a large sample of 7,656 earnings announcements by 1,420 listed companies in 15 European countries during the period 2006-2014.

To measure the strength of the institutional setting, we used an index developed by Brown et al. (2014), which - in our view - is able to explain differences in earnings management across countries.

We also used the World Bank's Governance Indicators to control for potential limitations of the index.

Our key findings were as follows:

Stock market reaction to earnings announcements is greater when firms have more independent members sitting on the audit committee;

The percentage of independent members sitting on the audit committee very significantly affects investors' reaction in countries with weaker legal protection of shareholders' interests (i.e. weak institutional setting), but not in the case of stronger legal protection.

Thus, our results suggest that the institutional setting does have an impact on the effectiveness of the audit committee. In weak institutional contexts, managers have more incentives to distort financial information to acquire private benefits, and investors may therefore rely on the independence of the audit committee to assess the credibility of earnings.

Overall, by highlighting the impact of the institutional context on the independence of the audit committee, our results are particularly interesting for European regulators. They should also be interesting for boards of directors, which are in charge of the oversight of the financial reporting.

As for the hospitality industry in Europe, we would encourage boards of listed hotel firms to opt for fully independent audit committees.

Access the full study:

Audit committees' independence and the information content of earnings announcements in Western Europe. Journal of Accounting Literature. Poretti, C., Schatt, A., & Bruynseels, L. (2018).
Fresh off the release of his new Deadpool 2 collaboration with Lil Pump & Diplo, French Montana hit Zane Lowe with a barrage of intriguing information regarding his future plots. While many have come to view "Unforgettable" as French's peak, the Jungle Rules rapper feels otherwise. When asked about his 2018 recording plans, French is all smiles, confirming that he's "almost done recording. I already got my first and second single." He then fires off a shocking claim, which can't help but feel like classic rapper exaggeration. "I'm like twenty mixtapes in, two albums in. I might just go mixtape or album, it just depends."

Regardless of his chosen direction, rest assured we'll be receiving at least two memorable cuts. "I have a record I just cut, me, Chance The Rapper, and Quavo," he reveals, before confirming the track will be produced by Ben Billions. "I have a record called "No Stylist" which is going to be my single, and I have another one just like "Unforgettable" with me and Swae Lee." He admits that "Unforgettable" set the bar a little higher, and seems more than up for the task.

Check out the brief video clip below, and sound off. Are ya'll checking for French Montana? The man has already given us one undeniable summer anthem. Perhaps history is destined to repeat itself.
Ever since Kanye West hopped back on to Twitter, he flipped the world upside down. For about a week or two, he stirred up a whole lot of controversy with his support for Donald Trump, the MAGA hat selfie and his comments about slavery. Shortly after all of that, his activity on social media died down tremendously and he headed back to Wyoming to work on music. It looks like in order to focus, he had to hop off social media and end all contact to the human world.

Kanye West took to Twitter to send a message to everyone who's been trying to contact him. "for anyone whose tried to text or call me in the past 2 weeks I got rid of that phone so I could focus on these albums," he tweeted. It's probably a good move because cell phones cause distractions that you probably won't need if you're working on some of the most anticipated albums of the year. 'Ye previously announced that he's dropped his own album in June, followed by a collaborative effort with Kid Cudi. In addition, he's also handling all of the production on Pusha T and Teyana Taylor's forthcoming project as well as Nas' album which is due out in June.

Thankfully, the rapper is off of social media and back in the studio. Hopefully, we'll receive a new single from him ahead of his album's release. It's about to be a Cruel Summer.
Kodak Black has had a rough 2018 so far and it looks like we won't be seeing him until the fall. The rapper was arrested on guns and drugs charges but later struck a plea deal. The rapper plead guilty to two probation violation counts of driving with a suspended license and "associating with people commuting crimes." A few weeks after the report of his sentencing came, the rapper claimed that police took hard drives of unreleased music, jewelry and a whole lot of cash during the raid. Fortunately, the police are being ordered to return the belongings back to Kodak.

According to TheBlast, the items seized during the raid at Kodak Black's home will be returning to the rightful owner. They've confirmed that a judge has now ordered the police to hand over the seized items to Kodak Black. While he was mainly concerned about the money, music and the jewelry, the judge has ordered that they return art, electronics and clothing they took from his home.

The items include:

iPhone and iPad

Red backpack

A FedEx envelope with bank documents

Check from Lexus

LG phone and chargers

Hard drive containing original music

$2,000 found in a desk

$152 found on a nightstand

$680 found under a mattress

$442 found in a bag

$23,253 found in a safe

Pair of purple and orange shoes

Gold metal Sniper Gang emblem with chain

Sniper Gang sweaters, vests, and t-shirts

Wall art with Sniper Gang logo

Painting with person kneeling and the words kill bill and project baby

Painting with two faces on it

Small painting with a face and highlighted gold teeth

ZTE flip phone

In other Kodak Black news, the rapper is apparently still recording music from jail. His engineer revealed that he's been recording verses through the phone. He also just dropped off a new song with Jadakiss and TXS, "Mama."
Supreme is one of the most popular fashion brands on the planet right now. The skatewear company began in 1994 in New York, and has grown to become both an Urban and pop sensation. Consumers rock everything from Supreme backpacks and hoodies, to Supreme jeans and hats. Now, another item will be offered by the prestigious brand, just in time for the Summer.

The Summer is almost here, and sunglasses will be more than just a trendy accessory. Keep your eyes shaded in style with the new Supreme collection of sunglasses. The collection features five models, the Plaza, Royale, Exit, Astro, and Booker. Each pair has been handcrafted in Italy. The glasses will be available in-store and online on May 17 in New York, Brooklyn, London and Paris, and in Japan on May 19.

Each style offers something different for the consumer. The styles range from classic and retro, to bright and trendy. While some designs are more bloated with large plastic features, others are more elegant, sporting slick metal frames. Each of the five selections come in a number of colors, including black, yellow, red, blue, green, and leopard print. They all feature anti-reflective coating for maximum clarity. Check out the new styles below.
British rock musician and video director Kevin Godley is to make his feature film debut with The Gate, a film that looks at Orson Welles early acting career at the Gate Theatre, Dublin.

According to Screen International, the film will shoot in Ireland and will tell the story of how Welles, as a teenager, made his acting debut at the Gate Theatre in Dublin in 1931.

The story starts in 1985, just as Barbara Leamings biography about Welles is being published. The filmmaker, close to death, is haunted by memories of his lost youth in Ireland.

The film is expected to have a predominantly Irish cast and to shoot on the West Coast of Ireland and in Dublin. The producers are looking to work closely with the Gate Theatre.

As well as writing and directing, Godley will also oversee the film's music. For me, Ireland was Welles personal Rosebud, Godley told Screen International. His own lost innocence was buried under a contradictory lifetime of achievement and diminishing returns so I want the audience to feel that loss from the beginning.

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The project has, in part, received development funding from the Irish Film Board.

In the past, Godley has directed pop promos for bands ranging from U2 to Elbow. He also has a new album, Muscle Memory, shortly to be released through Pledge Music.
A Chinese nonprofit plans to open an innovation center in the Texas Medical Center to focus on fostering cutting-edge biomedical companies.

The proposed China U.S. Biotechnology Innovation Center, also known as CUBIC, will serve as a bridge for Chinese companies looking to invest in Houston, and vice versa. Jiangsu Industrial Technology Research Institute, or JITRI, a nonprofit group based in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, plans to invest $3 million to $4 million a year to fund research and help companies expand their footprint abroad.

No matter if a Chinese or American company, we should really work together to face the challenges of the future, JITRI president Qing Liu said. We need to work together to have a green earth and better life for all human beings.

To commemorate the partnership, Liu and city officials from Houston and Suzhou, China, plan to sign a memorandum of understanding on Tuesday morning in support of JITRIs endeavor. The agreement also aims to foster deeper relations between Houston and China, including future trade missions, joint projects and exchange programs.

Houston chief development officer Andy Icken and U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land plan to attend the signing ceremony.

JITRI has been working for about a year to establish an innovation center that would connect Houston and Suzhou, located about 60 miles northwest of Shanghai. Suzhou and Jiangsu province, home to many high-tech companies, have been looking to partner with Houston, which has one of the worlds largest medical districts, Liu said.

JITRI, one of the top industrial technology research centers in China, has 39 research facilities that specialize in IT, biomedicine and nanotechnology, as well as more than 6,000 personnel and a $300 million research and development budget.

The independent nonprofit, which is funded in part by the Jiangsu government, has an innovation center in Denmark called the Innovation House.

CUBIC in Houston will have a staff of about 10, including two employees from JITRI in China. Participating U.S. startups and companies will be able to work in the center and collaborate with Chinese investors and manufacturers looking to do business in the U.S.

Liu has identified a 100,500-square-foot space in the Texas Medical Center, but he did specify the location.

He hopes to open CUBIC sometime this year.

This center will act as a bridge for companies looking for investments, manufacturing partners and business partners, Liu said. We really hope we can attract some Chinese companies to come to Houston.

The partnership is the latest in a string of announcements that aims to position Houston as the third coast for biotechnology and biomedicine after the northeast and the West Coast.

Last month, the leaders of the Texas Medical Center unveiled plans for a medical research campus that brings together the medical center, Baylor College of Medicine, Texas A&M University Health Science Center, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to propel Houston into an international hub for biomedical innovations. The 30-acre TMC project would open as early as 2022.

Also in April, Rice University officials announced plans to transform the former Sears property in Midtown into an innovation center for digital startups. TMCx, a medical startup accelerator managed by the Texas Medical Center, will place a data science division in the new $100 million center.
WASHINGTON - The White House is moving to try to avoid a lengthy court battle with California over regulations requiring U.S. vehicles to burn a lot less gasoline.

President Donald Trump has asked Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to begin talks with California officials, who have pledged to carry through on raising vehicle standards aimed at improving fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, despite objections from the White House.

Their orders are to work with the industry and with the state of California on developing a single national standard so that domestic automakers do not have to comply with two different regulatory regimes, Helen Ferre, a White House spokesman, said Monday.

California is the nation's largest car market, which has long set stricter car emissions targets than the federal government. The two standards would have been aligned under new fuel efficiency regulations set in place by the Obama administration in 2012 requiring new cars and trucks to get 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Such a standard would almost certainly mean losses for the U.S. refining sector, which is centered around Houston and the Gulf of Mexico. In 2012 the White House estimated the new mileage standard would reduce U.S. oil consumption by 2.2 million barrels a day in 2025 - more than 10 percent of the current total.

Oil and gas lobbyists have joined automakers in fighting to block the standard. In 2016 the American Petroleum Institute told the government that the regulation contained a number of incentives that appear to reflect an attempt to pick winning and losing technologies in the marketplace, an action which could potentially limit consumer choice and increase societal costs.

Pruitt announced earlier this year that the EPA would revise the Obama-era standard, which he said, didnt comport with reality, and would also be reviewing the decades old federal waiver that allows California to set tougher air pollution standards than the rest of the country.

Earlier this month, California and 16 other states sued the EPA in an attempt to derail any move to lower car efficiency standards.

The evidence is irrefutable: today's clean car standards are achievable, science-based and a boon for hardworking American families, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a statement. But the EPA and Administrator Scott Pruitt refuse to do their job and enforce these standards."

That set the stage for a long legal fight, which would leave car manufacturers in limbo awaiting a ruling from the courts.

Trump's move to begin talks with California officials followed a meeting at the White House Friday with the CEOs of General Motors, Ford and Fiat Chrysler, as well as senior executives from other auto manufacturers.

Afterwards, Mitch Bainwol, president of the Auto Alliance, a trade group representing car manufacturers, said in a statement, said the executives appreciate the Presidents openness to a discussion with California on an expedited basis.

james.osborne@chron.com

Twitter: @osborneja
A national publication is being pressured to release testimonies on sexual harassment in the theater industry that include complaints related to former Alley Theatre artistic director Gregory Boyd.

A Change.org petition titled Times Up TCG! Publish Our #MeToo Stories is asking American Theatre magazine to release reporting by senior editor Diep Tran, who received testimonies last fall from more than 100 individuals detailing instances of sexual abuse and misconduct in the theater industry.

Some of those stories detail allegations of abuse at the Alley Theatre, as well as examples of how leaders at the Alley responded to  or failed to respond to  complaints.

Tran spoke to both survivors and current management regarding the culture at the Alley Theatre as a component of her national reporting. Her reporting adds to what is already known about Boyds behavior at the Alley, said American Theatre magazine editor-in-chief Rob Weinert-Kendt. Tran referred questions for this story to Weinert-Kendt.

But because her reporting, taken as a whole, included potentially damaging information on several prominent leaders in theater, American Theatre decided it didnt have the capacity to verify, legally vet and safely publish those reports.

Thats heavy lifting that, when it comes to a trade publication like ours, has never been done, said Weinert-Kendt. We heard about behavior at the Alley and at Long Wharf (Theatre). The reports were stunning. This felt like serious stuff that both demanded a response but also was so big it was going to be hard to take on.

RELATED: Dean Gladden's full conversation about changes at the Alley Theatre

American Theatre magazine is a trade publication primarily focused on advocating for theater. It has an editorial staff of five, according to its online masthead, and is owned by by the nonprofit theater organization Theatre Communications Group. More than 700 theaters in the U.S., including the Alley Theatre, are member theaters of TCG.

The Change.org petition was written after some of Trans sources realized the magazine decided not to publish the testimonies. Co-authored by several prominent American playwrights, the open letter says the magazine reduced and anonymized Trans article and put two follow-up stories into publication limbo.

It is time for you to ask yourselves what your mission really is  whether it moves beyond protecting relationships with the very people who have institutionalized the silence that keeps the cycle of sexual misconduct alive, and goes towards building greater trust and equity with the artists who constitute the theaters you represent, the petition said. It is time for you to publish Diep Trans articles and give your writers the freedom to further investigate these issues.

The petition has more than 1,400 signatures as of May 15. Co-signers include playwrights Lynn Nottage (Ruined), Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues) and Stephen Adly Guirgis (The Last Days of Judas Iscariot). It also includes Emily Trask  the former Alley Theatre actress who spoke out about Boyds behavior to the Houston Chronicle in January.

Teresa Eyring, the executive director of TCG, says her organization is looking at expanding American Theatres legal and journalistic capacities.

We felt we needed to establish some level of internal structure and capacity to be able to act upon those reports, she said. Its taken us some time to shift the thinking. Were operating in a different context than we were a few decades ago. We have a responsibility to the field that the magazine can help us fulfill.

Eyring couldnt say whether American Theatre will be able to publish Trans reported revelations in the future. She also couldnt say if there were reports on the Alley regarding abusers other than Boyd.

Theres a smaller number of cases were aware of that we think could benefit from initial investigation, she said. In a new structure, any story that came forward would have a process, which we havent fully articulated and approved yet. Id become aware of the issue and discuss possible solutions  talking to the theater, intervention, or a story, at which point I wont be involved in it.

RELATED: Actors describe toxic, bullying atmosphere during Alley productions

The larger issue at hand might be that the American Theatre situation reveals a machinery of enablement within the American theatre industry, said playwright Monica Byrne, a critic of TCGs decision not to publish Trans reports.

This is a very clear example of enablement of sexual abusers, Byrne said. People abdicating responsibility because theyre scared. The only way things change is when people name names. Weve given names to TCG, and them not publishing them is inexcusable.

The #MeToo movement has forced Eyring to reconsider TCGs mission and the magazines role in the national landscape.

When people heard about us considering this shift in the way we report, a lot of them said, how can you do that? Eyring said. Youre a trade association. You have all these grantees. What happens if someone from one our theaters is trying to get advice, meanwhile the magazine is investigating them?

What I concluded is that, we need to do this, she said. It cant be about me and how I feel about somebody calling me up or avoiding me at a social event or my job. It cant be about that.  Were operating in a different context than we were a few decades ago. We have a responsibility to the field that the magazine can help us fulfill.

Eyring did not specify if those steps would include meeting the petitions specific demands. In a May 10 post on americantheatre.org, Eyring and Weinert-Kendt wrote that the magazine will be dedicating a full issue to the #MeToo movement sometime in the fall.

wchen@chron.com
Mayor Sylvester Turner's speech to University of Houston graduates last week was delivered free of charge.

Turner, a UH alumnus, signed no contract and received no compensation for his commencement address on Thursday to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, the university said.

His address covered his experience at UH and lessons learned from Hurricane Harvey.

"The road will not always be easy -- sometimes it will be highly challenging," he said. "But Cougar Pride don't turn back."

From 2015 through 2017, UH had a university-wide commencement ceremony that brought in speakers including actor Matthew McConaughey and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Schwarzenegger's contract initially outlined a $40,000 fee to speak at commencement, but he declined that payment as the ceremony approached.

The university paid actor Matthew McConaughey's $135,000 to deliver a speech in 2015. McConaughey donated $130,000 of the fee to the Just Keep Livin Foundation.

President Renu Khator announced early in the semester that UH called off the university-wide ceremony to allow all students to walk across the stage.

"While assembling in a single, large venue to share the common experience is important, nothing is more important than allowing each student to walk across the stage amid the applause of his or her family and friends," Khator wrote to faculty and staff. "With the ever-expanding number of graduates at each ceremony, it is impossible to honor both practices without forcing students to wear regalia twice."
Avenida de las Americas used to be nine lanes wide. The street in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center was the city's best chance to make an impression on out-of-towners. What did they see?

Concrete, mostly. Oil-stained concrete.

Pedestrians had to scramble across it to get to Discovery Green and the hotels, restaurants and shops beyond. But Avenida wasn't just unsafe; it was boring. The street didn't give you a reason to walk there.

Now, after a three-year, $175 million redesign led by SWA Group was completed in 2017, it does. The city gave up some of the street, and the space filled with the city. Now, Avenida has just two lanes of traffic that move much more slowly  and more safely. Sycamores sway. Fountains splash. Its wide pedestrian plaza has outdoor furniture, art and  you can barely believe your eyes  actual pedestrians.

SWA Group / Jonnu Singleton

When the award-winning redesign was completed, Geoff Carleton, a principal with Traffic Engineers, Inc., remembers that Mayor Sylvester Turner said that what downtown needed next was a street just like it on the west side, where the city's performing arts and civic buildings are concentrated.

One year later, that is the hope behind $22 million more that downtown will spend to redesign Bagby Street.

BAGBY'S A LOT like Avenida used to be. It's not meant to be a "through" street you take all the way across the city, but it does move cars well  an analysis prepared by Traffic Engineers and other firms found that it performs at an "acceptable or better level-of-service." The one snarl happens at Walker, where cars are trying to merge on I-45 after work. (That, Carleton says, should be taken care of when TxDOT completes the North Houston Highway Improvement Project.)

What Bagby doesn't do is move people, not in any sense of the word. It's a patchwork of typical Houston problems (it's boring, it's unsafe), nowhere worse than when it passes beneath Bayou Place, where wheelchair ramps are crumbling and the sidewalk is barricaded by dumpsters and a shipping container.

"I see a street that is not hospitable or inviting to people surrounded by uses that should attract them," Carleton says.

GRAY MATTERS: I want to walk. But Houston won't let me.

Uses: He means that Bagby passes by Sesquicentennial Park, the aquarium, the Hobby Center, City Hall and Hermann Square, the library, Sam Houston Park and Tranquillity Park  all major civic attractions  but it doesn't connect them. Even as it touches all these places you want to be, it's not a place you want to be.

You want to get it over with.

But preliminary renderings prepared by SWA Group of the Bagby Street Improvement Project show new, 21-foot-wide sidewalks, native plantings, interpretive signage, improved crosswalks and a two-way bicycle lane that could change that.

SWA Group

Soon, you'll be able to walk or bike safely and interestingly from Franklin to Dallas. The project was inspired in part by the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, which is about an "experience," Carleton says. "You can think of telling a story as you travel the corridor."

The Downtown Redevelopment Authority has hired engineering and consulting firm Jones|Carter to see the project through. More design and construction  including the modernization of the just-as-important-after-Hurricane-Harvey below-the-street infrastructure  should be completed by June 2021.

When it's done, Houston will have the first part of the Green Loop, a five-mile transportation and recreation network that will connect downtown, inside and out.

Unlike Avenida, which was a response to investments in and around Discovery Green, the Bagby project, says Bob Eury, the executive director of Downtown Houston and president of Central Houston, is "anticipating the other improvements to come. Every month, you see more evidence of the direction we're headed."

Courtesy of the Houston Downtown Management District

IN THE past, you might have been able to blame Houston for only developing what's derided as "drive-to urbanism." We have theaters and museums, restaurants and parks  but you had to get in your car to get there.

But the Avenida and Bagby projects are just urbanism. They connect. They try to answer questions Houston hasn't always been good at asking: Can a street become more than just a way to move cars? Can it become a place people want to be?

LISTEN: Designing a more walkable Houston

Even as Houston continues to garner praise for its investment in public spaces  downtown, Jones Plaza is set to be transformed from a hot, barren thing into a grassy park where people will want to linger before and after shows  it hasn't invested in the public realm. Sidewalks are in bad shape  or they're not even there. Crosswalks are few and far between. Intersections are designed for speed.

Meanwhile, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities pile up. Frustration is boiling over.

Discovery Green showed us that major investments  even risky ones  can pay off. Skeptics didn't think anyone would use it. Since then, there has been a $1.3 billion net increase in property value around the park. Will an investment in Bagby pay off in the same way?

Allyn West runs Gray Matters. Find him on Twitter @allynwest or email him at allyn.west@chron.com.

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The cost of cancer drugs in the United States has ballooned to levels many experts find troubling.

The average price was less than $10,000 per year before 2000. By 2015, that had increased to $140,000 per year. According to Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Center for Health Policy and Outcomes, the average cost of new cancer drugs approved by the FDA in 2016 was $172,000.

Why? The pharmaceutical industry tries to defend these higher prices because of the need for investment in research and development. Advocates for higher prices say that it costs $2.6 billion to develop a new cancer drug and take it to the market.

A new study, though, has shown that to be a far cry. It costs only a fraction of the $2.6 billion, researchers found. Even the CEO of the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, Andrew Witty, said that Big Pharma's claim of drug development costs is exaggerated and "one of the great myths of the industry."

Still, business has been booming. The pharmaceutical industry has one of the highest profit margins of any industry. And these profits, the industry claims, are supposed to be fueling innovation.

"This is not true," says Dr. Hagop Kantarjian, chair of the Department of Leukemia at the University of Texas-MD Anderson Cancer Center and a health policy expert at Rice University's Baker Institute. "Innovation continues regardless."

"Besides," he adds, "most of the profits have been returned to their executives and shareholders."

Instead, Dr. Kantarjian argues that taxpayers fund the vast majority of basic research, and half the discoveries happen at academic institutions. "Drug companies only invest 1.3 percent in basic research," he says. "They invest 20 percent in marketing and advertising," which drives costs even higher.

Additionally, there is little regulation in market pricing. The sky becomes the limit on what drug companies can charge. And the profits have made those shareholders and executives very happy, indeed.

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Take the case of the hepatitis C drug, Sovaldi. Untreated, hepatitis C can lead to cirrhosis, liver cancer and the need for a liver transplant. More than 70 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C.

So when a small pharmaceutical company in New Jersey called Pharmasset developed Sovaldi, it had potential to be a significant breakthrough. The giant pharmaceutical company Gilead pounced on its potential and bought Pharmasset for $11 billion. Pharmasset had estimated Sovaldi to be valued at $36,000 per treatment. Gilead knew there was little to prevent them from naming whatever price they wanted. Once they acquired the drug, they charged $84,000 instead. Sovaldi now cost $1,000 a pill.

Sovaldi and the acquisition of Pharmasset turned out to be a blockbuster for Gilead. The company saw stunning profits in just one year.

So it's not that high prices spur innovation; they spur high profits. This has become a common strategy in the industry, which has in fact discouraged investment in high-risk innovative drug development.

But you might be tempted to think that high prices must be a result of the drugs causing profound cures and survival. That's not exactly the case.

Though there have been some new remarkable drugs, many have had marginal benefits. A 2014 study showed that the 72 cancer drugs approved by the FDA between 2002 and 2014 gave patients only two more months of life compared with older drugs. A 2015 study found no correlation between the cost of new cancer drugs and their effectiveness.

The sad irony of all of this is that the American taxpayer subsidies most of the research and discoveries in cancer for the benefit of the world. But American patients and the healthcare system end up paying somewhere between 50 percent and 500 percent more for these drugs.

Why? Dr. Kantarjian explains that because of free market policies and the lobbying power of Big Pharma, the government is prevented from negotiating drug prices. In 2003, Congress and President George W. Bush signed off on the Medicare Reform Act, which prevented Medicare from negotiating drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Meanwhile, European countries allow their governments to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies and obtain drugs at 20 percent to 50 percent of U.S. prices.

According to the CBO, if the government were allowed to negotiate drug prices with Medicare, it would save $145 billion in the next 10 years.

LIFE EXPECTANCY: Two Texas counties. In one, you'll live almost a decade longer.

U.S. law also forbids the import of drugs from other countries. This gives pharmaceutical companies a monopoly. They figure, "Where else are patients going to get it from?"

Take the cost of the life-saving drug Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia. A 2016 study showed that a third of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia were unable to fill their prescriptions for Gleevec or its two generic versions. The cost of Gleevec and its generics in the U.S. are $146,000 and $140,000 per year.

The cost of the generics in Canada? $8,000 per year. In India? $400.

Another reason why costs are higher is that regulating bodies like the FDA and Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) are not allowed to consider cost-effectiveness when evaluating new drugs. If a drug is effective, and it passes the safety standards, it will likely be approved. Cost is irrelevant.

This is a reasonable strategy on first thought; if I have cancer and a new drug is effective and safe, my oncologist should be able to prescribe it.

But what if the drug is found to be no more effective than what is already out there and costs 1000 times more? Shouldn't fair pricing or the value of this new drug be questioned during the review process?

So what can be done about the soaring drug prices? In 2015, a group of 118 of the nation's leading cancer experts published recommendations in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. They proposed that Congress make changes. A bill could be passed allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical industry. A law could be passed that allows Americans to import cancer drugs from other countries safely. The federal government could create a post-FDA drug approval review mechanism to propose a fair price for new treatments, based on the value to patients and healthcare.

One promising move this year was made by FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb to expand the generic drug competition in the market. Dr. Kantarjian agrees with this step; the FDA can help decrease costs of cancer drugs by simplifying and shortening its process to approve multiple generics. Dr. Kantarjian says the market "needs four to five generic drugs for a drug to get lower prices."

For now, though, many Americans have become fed up with the exorbitant prices of cancer drugs, and they want something done. It has real consequences. In a 2013 study of cancer patients, a quarter avoided filling all their drug prescriptions because of costs, and an additional 20 percent only partially filled their prescriptions.

A recent survey showed that 91 percent of Americans are concerned that the costs of cancer drugs are too high. A large majority of Americans want the government to negotiate drug prices for Medicare. In the meantime, grassroots movements have been created like Concerned Citizens creating petitions demanding action.

A large majority of Americans would not object if elected officials took a stance against the pharmaceutical industry's steep pricing. But the billions of dollars of lobbying money spent by Big Pharma might explain why no legislative proposal has been passed.

The CEO of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Clifford A. Hudis, said: "In what, undoubtedly, is one of the most difficult times in their lives, individuals with cancer should be focused on getting the best care possible, not worrying about financial strain on their families."

Dr. Behrouz Zand (@Behrouz_Zand) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Gynecologic Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. He also blogs about the health care system, patient experiences and population health.

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A Montgomery County grand jury indicted a Harris County woman last week on two charges of illegal voting after law enforcement alleges she obtained documents to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally register to vote.

Laura Janeth Garza, 38, who is registered as a Mexican National, was arrested Friday on a warrant for her arrest on two counts of election fraud related to the November 2016 presidential election in Harris County.

A joint investigation by Attorney General Ken Paxtons office and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) determined that Garza obtained documents to steal the identity of a U.S. citizen and illegally register to vote in Harris County. She cast ballots in 2004, 2012 and 2016.

This case demonstrates my offices commitment to protecting the integrity of elections, Paxton said in a release sent out regarding the case. We will continue to do everything in our power to safeguard the electoral process in Texas.

According to information provided by the Attorney Generals Office, the election fraud investigation launched when a Montgomery County citizen attempted to obtain a U.S. Passport, only to discover that Garza had already done so using the womans identity.

Now Playing: Lori Brown reports. Video: Fox4

The Courier filed an Open Records Request with the Attorney Generals Office on Friday. The entity has 10 days to file that request or release the information sought.

The AGs Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division will continue to work together on the investigation and prosecution.

Garza remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a $150,000 bond, $75,000 per illegal voting charge. If convicted, she faces two to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
After an hour of deliberation, a Montgomery County jury found a 34-year-old New Caney man guilty of murder Monday for the 2015 death of his girlfriend.

John Dee Weter Jr. was found guilty for using a machete to kill his girlfriend, Michelle Becker, 33, outside of their home that they had moved to weeks prior in a New Caney RV Park on Aug. 6, 2015.

DENIED: Death row inmate loses two late-stage appeals ahead of execution

Following the jurys guilty verdict, the trial progressed to testimony in the punishment phase from law enforcement officers and Beckers family members who choked back tears as they shared how her death has affected everyone.

The jury returns Tuesday to hear the charge and deliberate Weters punishment.

Now Playing: Video from Aug. 6, 2015, the day Michelle Becker, 33, was killed in a machete attack at an RV park in New Caney. Her alleged attacker, John Dee Weter, 34, was ruled competent to stand trial in Becker's murder by a jury on April 12, 2018. (Media: Scott Engle/Montgomery County Police Reporter) Video: Scott Engle/Montgomery County Police Reporter

I cant believe my baby is gone, Beckers mother, Rhonda Turner, said through tears on the witness stand. I told her not to go back with (Weter) because he would hurt her, but she still went back.

This conversation was not long before she received the call from her daughter in the early morning hours on Aug. 7 that Weter had killed Becker with a machete in front of her two young children.

I hope he spends life in prison, Turner said.

Vince Kopecky, the father of Beckers two children, also testified as to how her death affected them and the day he had to tell the children that their mother was dead.

I waited until we were back home; it was the worst thing Ive ever had to do. They didnt believe me at first then, they started screaming and crying, Kopecky said. They believe Weter will kill them if hes released from prison.

As a rebuttal, Weter apologized to Turner and Kopecky, adding, Im sorry for what has happened to your family. Id be happy to die with my wife (sic) for my country.

The prosecutor, Andrew James, introduced new evidence during the testimony of the punishment phase which included two phone calls Weter made from the Montgomery County Jail to Kopekcy the Monday before the trial started and this past Saturday where he inquired if Beckers family members had decided to change their testimony and attempted to manipulate the witnesses.

When James asked Kopecky if this was a surprise for him, he responded with, no, I wouldnt expect anything less considering what he did to Becker.

According to documents filed by the state to introduce evidence, Becker told a friend she tried to leave earlier in the day with her daughters, but Weter allegedly said he had to go somewhere and took the only vehicle she had access to and she was unable to leave.

Deputies were called to the home later that night and found the woman with multiple injuries related to a machete attack. Becker was rushed to Kingwood Hospital where she later died. After the attack, Weter allegedly drove away from the scene in a white Kia Rio before he was spotted by an officer with the Roman Forest Police Department and arrested, police said.

Weter, who elected to serve as his own defense council with the assistance of attorney Denny Yates, elected for the jury to decide his punishment. The punishment could range 5-99 years of life in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or if the jury elects to include the enhanced punishment paragraph due to Weters extensive criminal history, the sentence could be 15-99 years or life in prison.

Throughout the course of trial, Weter has stated numerous times that Beckers death and his previous arrests are related to a government conspiracy put in place by his previous work with the Drug Enforcement Agency as a confidential informant.

I was framed by the government; they put a hallucinogenic drug in my drink or in my cigarettes that made me black out and not know what I was doing, Weter said during his testimony. This is a conspiracy by the Drug Enforcement Agency to overthrow the government put in place by the Democrats and President Barack Obama.

jennifer.summer@hcnonline.com
Harris County Sheriff's Office

Police in central Texas are searching for a missing Spring man believed to be in grave and immediate danger, authorities said.

Domingo Alcaraz, 45, of Spring, was visiting Dripping Springs, Texas, on May 5 in the 6800 block of Fitzhugh Road. Dripping Springs is about 20 miles west of Austin.
Ten weeks ago, Michael Avenatti was a California lawyer known for his successes in class-action lawsuits. Then he sued President Donald Trump on behalf of adult-film actress Stormy Daniels and - through an extraordinarily aggressive media campaign - parlayed a narrow dispute about a one-night stand into a news cycle-dominating assault on the president of the United States.

The take-no-prisoners approach has turned Avenatti into a darling of the political left, which is hungry for anti-Trump heroes and gleeful at the notion that the president could be taken down by a porn star. Many of Avenatti's fans believe he is just as likely to unearth damaging revelations about Trump as Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the probe into Russian influence in the 2016 election.

To become one of Trump's chief adversaries, Avenatti has carved a Trumpian path. He taunts his opponents. He uses Twitter to make explosive accusations. And he is omnipresent on cable news.

Yet Avenatti's tactics and visibility carry risks that could undermine his ability to represent his client, who is suing longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen and the president to be released from a nondisclosure agreement. Scrutiny of his business record and of his motives has provided grist for distracting headlines in recent days. And his publication last week of Cohen's banking history - hard-to-get information touching on some of the most sensitive issues before the White House - could jeopardize his ability to represent Daniels in court, some experts say.

"Nothing he has been doing in the last four to six weeks with his multiple television appearances advances the interests of his client in the California action," said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who specializes in ethics. "He's catapulted himself to be the story. There are dangers when a lawyer becomes so publicly vocal."

Gillers described Avenatti's media presence as highly unusual for an American lawyer, not only because of his frequent television appearances but also because his arguments are more sweeping than his client's narrow complaint. "I really cannot think of an equivalent," he said.

The spotlight has brought attention to Avenatti's past.

In recent days, news accounts have examined his ownership stake, along with actor Patrick Dempsey, in the parent company of the Seattle-based chain Tully's Coffee. The chain closed stores in March, a year after IRS liens of $5 million were filed against the parent company. Avenatti said in March that he had sold his stake and was serving as general counsel, and he has attributed the liens to "payroll companies that failed to do their job."

Others accounts have detailed Avenatti's financial disputes with partners at his former law firm. That firm emerged from bankruptcy last month after agreeing to pay $4.85 million - guaranteed by Avenatti - to a former partner, court records show. Avenatti called the bankruptcy "completely irrelevant."

"I'm not a candidate for public office or a party to the lawsuits against Mr. Trump," Avenatti said of questions about his business record. "Who cares?"

Last week, Cohen said that because Avenatti published his private banking transactions, he should not be permitted to represent Daniels in a federal court in New York. Daniels is seeking to intervene in the case, which involves material seized by the FBI in an April 9 raid of Cohen's office and residences. The raid captured records relating to a $130,000 payment Cohen made to Daniels shortly before the 2016 election to secure her silence about her alleged affair with Trump.

In an interview, Avenatti rejected the notion that he has gone too far, saying that he acts in the best interest of his client and that the strategy is working.

"I don't think we've taken a risky approach at all," Avenatti said. "We've been aggressive, but I also think we've been strategic and thoughtful, and without that approach, we wouldn't be where we are now. We've created a situation where the other side continues to make mistake after mistake."

Plenty of other lawyers have taken turns in the spotlight when trying high-profile cases. Avenatti is different because of the way he has elevated a discrete lawsuit into part of the national daily conversation, according to experts who praised his media tour as effective advocacy for his client.

"He's done a brilliant job of painting her as a very sympathetic party, and that's no small task given her history," said Deborah Rhode, a professor at Stanford University's law school who has donated to Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton in 2015. "He comes across as consistent and credible and single-minded in his concern for his client's interest."

Yet, in some quarters, Avenatti has become a subject of escalating suspicion. Mark Penn, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, last week asked in the Hill publication whether Avenatti is truly representing his client as a lawyer or "just using her as cover to wage a political operation." Fox News host Laura Ingraham asked the same question on her show, all but accusing Avenatti of acting as a Democratic operative.

Avenatti responded forcefully on Twitter, saying he is paid only by Daniels and a crowdfunding campaign that has raised more than $485,000. "No political party or PAC is funding this effort. No left wing conspiracy is behind this. And no big fat cat political donors are leading the charge," he wrote. "Get over it."

Perhaps his most unorthodox move involved the decision to publicize the details of Cohen's banking transactions. Under the old rules of Washington, a lawyer might have leaked that sensitive information to a trusted journalist who would vet it and publish it, perhaps in a way that could not be traced to the lawyer.

But this is the Trump era. Avenatti turned to Twitter.

The upside: He ignited a media firestorm as journalists scrambled to report a scoop that reverberated for days, yielding revelations damaging to both Cohen and his clients. The president's fixer had accepted a half-million dollars from the U.S.-based affiliate of a company founded by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, money that was deposited into the same bank account Cohen had used to pay Daniels.

In the days since Avenatti dropped his bombshell, leaked documents showed that the telecommunications giant AT&T had struck a $600,000 deal with Cohen to provide advice on an array of issues before the federal government, including its $85 billion merger with Time Warner. AT&T apologized for its "serious misjudgment" and ousted its top lobbyist.

Pharmaceutical company Novartis said it had erred in paying Cohen $1.2 million for his advice on health care. Both AT&T and Novartis said they had provided information to Mueller's team as part of the Russia probe.

But there were also downsides. As Cohen's lawyers noted in their court filing, the dossier contained mistakes, including several transactions by other Michael Cohens. That meant Avenatti had publicized details about the banking histories of people who had nothing to do with Daniels.

Not unlike Trump, Avenatti is loath to apologize. "I don't agree that it was confidential, per se," he said. And of the millions of dollars in financial transactions detailed in his dossier, he said, the errors amounted to no more than $25,000.

"Aside from that, our record has been impeccable," he said. "I don't regret it."

He has declined to identify the source of his information. The Treasury Department inspector general is investigating whether the confidential Suspicious Activity Reports that banks submit to the federal government were leaked.

Avenatti, who is licensed to practice in California, has asked for permission to represent Daniels in New York. Gillers said that while it's rare for a judge to deny a lawyer's request to practice out of state, the allegations against Avenatti, if true, could be a valid basis for the New York judge, Kimba Wood, to deny the request. Unlike journalists, he said, lawyers may not use or disclose documents that they know were illegally obtained even if the lawyer does nothing unlawful to get them.

Rhode, of Stanford, agreed that Avenatti could face problems with his request to practice in New York if he cannot satisfy questions about how he obtained the financial information.

If Wood raises questions about how Avenatti obtained the information and he cannot answer them to her satisfaction, "there's a very good chance she will deny" his request to practice, said Gillers, who has not in recent years given to federal campaigns.

On Monday, Avenatti said in court papers that Cohen's effort to block him from representing Daniels in New York was "completely devoid of merit." Avenatti said he has a First Amendment free speech right to publish information about matters of public concern and that Cohen had cited no legal authority to back up his argument.

In an interview, Avenatti said the flow of money to and from Cohen is relevant to Daniels' case because it involves the same bank account. He said he was "highly confident" he would face no penalty for publishing the information.

Asked about potential professional ramifications, he responded: "Over what? Speaking the truth?"

While in college and later in law school, Avenatti spent five years working for a political consulting firm run by Rahm Emanuel, a Democratic operative who later became President Barack Obama's chief of staff and is now mayor of Chicago. Avenatti said that while at Emanuel's firm, he worked on Democratic and Republican campaigns.

After law school, Avenatti worked for lawyer Daniel Petrocelli, who had represented the family of victim Ron Goldman in the O.J. Simpson case, the highest-profile trial of its time. Avenatti later worked at a boutique litigation firm in Los Angeles before founding his own firm. In 2005, Avenatti worked on a team of lawyers who sued Trump and the producer of "The Apprentice" on behalf of a man who said they stole his idea for the hit show. The case ended in a settlement.

In an interview, Avenatti said comparing him to the president is "absolutely outrageous."

"Trump is about form over substance. I may appreciate form, but I also have a hell of a lot of substance," he said. "Maybe in some ways I have the approach they thought they were getting when they voted for him. . . . Thus far, I don't think there's any question as to who has had the better of the fight."

Avenatti has managed to keep his client's case in the news almost daily over the past two months. When he wasn't on television, he was on Twitter.

Avenatti said that ousting the president is not the goal of his efforts - but that it might end up being the outcome.

"If the president is, quote, taken down, unquote, he will have no one to blame but himself and Michael Cohen," Avenatti said. "I do not think the president will serve out his term."
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS  A hunter and taxidermist, Steve Bradbury is a proud gun owner who thought about getting a license to carry a handgun but never considered it a priority.

That changed after Bradbury, a San Antonio firefighter, was driving past First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs the day of the Nov. 5 massacre that killed 26 people and stopped to help first responders take care of the victims. After that, he had a different mindset: I said, All right, thats it, Im getting it.

About a month later, Bradbury took a couple of tests, one on paper and one at a shooting range, and got his license to carry, along with five or so buddies.

Others were inspired in the same way. Residents of Wilson County, with a population of 49,304 that includes Sutherland Springs, filed 222 gun license applications in November, an increase of 167 percent from the previous November, according to Texas Department of Public Safety data obtained by the San Antonio Express-News through an open records request.

It was the highest per capita increase of permit requests in the state among counties with a population of 10,000 or more. An additional 175 people requested licenses in December, a 150 percent increase over the same month in 2016.

The spike came after several months of declining requests in the small county southeast of San Antonio. The surge pushed the county tally to 1,245 permit requests last year  253 more than in 2016  also the largest increase in the state. By comparison, the number of requests declined by more than 200 in Bexar County last year and by more than 37,000 statewide, a 10 percent decrease.

If somebody went into a church or a movie theater, and you had no way out  you need to have that option to defend yourself, Bradbury said, standing outside the VP Racing Fuels gas station near the church last Thursday. After seeing the destruction somebody can do by themselves, and nobody stopping them, I thought, I need to do it.

Across the country, data analyses have consistently shown that many Americans react to large-scale, tragic events by arming themselves. Wilson County, Bexar County and Texas as a whole followed that trend after the Sutherland Springs massacre. The number of applications spiked in Bexar County in November to 2,147, from 1,690 in October.

Frequently after some incident, people realize that its a dangerous world and one of the rights that we have as citizens under both the U.S. and Texas Constitution is to bear arms in defense of ourselves or the state, said Richard Briscoe, legislative director of Open Carry Texas.

That application surge continued into January and February this year  in Wilson County, Bexar County and Texas as a whole.

Hurricane Harvey also appears to have affected the numbers. September  the month after Hurricane Harvey hit Aug. 25  yielded a surge in applications across the state. There were 36,378 applications received by DPS that September, the highest month for 2017, closely followed by November at 34,005. The year before, the number of statewide requests was 23,502 in September and 24,132 in November.

Across the country, theres been a steady rise in applications for license to carry since the 1990s, according to a recent study by The Southern Sociological Society. As the number of guns in America increases, the number of households with them has decreased  meaning the majority of the countrys guns are concentrated in a small number of homes.

In the United States, theres a shift toward understanding in the response to a mass shooting, said Harel Shapira, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. The growing response is not passing legislation to make it more difficult to acquire guns, but the opposite: that the only way to respond to this is by further arming the population.

With more requests for permits came more demand for firearms training in Wilson County. In March, the Sheriffs Office responded with a training session it called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events, held at Sutherland Springs River Oaks Church.

It began with a prayer.

We come together to learn in the midst of tragedies, Pastor Paul Buford said. We ask you (God) to bless tonight, watch over us, give us the wisdom tonight to understand whats going on, and what we need to do.

A part of the session, which also walked attendees through national mass shooting statistics and typical fight/flight/freeze responses, was dedicated to addressing the armed citizens in the room.

Theres probably several in here that have it  which is great, said Stephen Moore to murmurs of agreement from people who were armed. But how does the armed citizen fit into this whole equation?

Moore said people who are armed should take it upon themselves to train beyond what the test requires to obtain the license. The couple hours spent shooting a paper target, he said, doesnt cut it in an active-shooter situation. And even then, he said, the weapon should be used as a last resort.

The mantra stressed by the Sheriffs Office and other local law enforcement is Avoid, Deny, Defend. And as Moore pointed out, avoiding the situation by checking exits or running away and denying the gunman access to you by erecting barriers or turning off lights come before defend.

Were not looking really for you to be an offensive person in these type of instances, said Gary Laughlin, another investigator. Youre basically there to defend yourself and the people that are with you. You just dont have the training to go out and focus on that person and start shooting at someone.

Briscoe of Open Carry Texas said his organization strongly recommends additional training beyond the basic class but that we do not believe training is a precondition to exercise the enumerated constitutionally protected right to bear arms.

To avoid the police confusing the good guy with a gun and the bad guy with a gun, Moore urged attendees to immediately drop their guns in an active-shooter event once law enforcement arrives.

Show us your hands. Thats one of our things, he said. The hands will kill you.

Stephen Willeford, a National Rifle Association certified instructor who is hailed as the good guy with the gun in the Sutherland Springs massacre, sat in the front row of the training and nodded vigorously.

That gun is not worth your life, Willeford said, adding, What you need for training, youre not going to get in one day.

Frank Pomeroy, pastor of First Baptist Church, where the massacre occurred, gifted his wife, Sherri, a handgun for Christmas. David Colbath, a survivor, is learning to shoot with his left hand because his right was badly injured in the shooting. Some members of the congregation now bring their handgun to services every Sunday.

. In 1999, the majority of surveyed gun owners said they used their guns for hunting, but last year the majority of owners said protection was their main priority, with hunting second, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center study.

Shapira, the UT-Austin professor, called this a new gun culture, organized around self-defense and connected to a broader trend toward militarization in the U.S. He emphasized that the reaction to mass tragedies is culturally driven  those who grew up with guns, and with a certain mentality about them, are more likely to respond to a mass shooting like the one in Sutherland Springs by applying for their license to carry than those who didnt grow up in that environment.

Its not just that someone one day wakes up and says, Oh, Im going to get a gun or This massacre happened and Im going to get a gun. Its people who have already been socialized in a particular way that guns are the accurate response to this, and  probably already have guns, Shapira said.

Such is the case for Bradbury, who grew up with guns and said of his recent license: Its my legal right to have it, and I want to protect my family. He said he has three shotguns, two deer rifles, an AR-15, two small rifles and two handguns.

But Julie Workman, a survivor of the massacre, felt differently. She wont be pursuing her license, mostly because she said she could never take another human life.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net | @SilviaElenaFF

Staff Writers John Tedesco and Luke Whyte contributed to this report.
A UFC fighter and Green Beret recently got waterboarded to prove the disturbing interrogation method isn't torture.

"We did this yesterday for almost 45 minutes," tweeted Tim Kennedy, sharing a video of himself being sprayed with a hose while laying on a table with a towel over his face.

"This wasn't an attempt to demonstrate bravado," he clarified in another tweet. "Just trying to show people what this is. It really is nothing. Strap me down, do it in a basement, it's still just questioning."

Now Playing: A UFC fighter and Green Beret recently got waterboarded to prove the disturbing integration method isn't torture. Video: Tim Kennedy, Houston Chronicle

Posting the video on Facebook, Kennedy described the experience as a "baptism in freedom."

"It's not torture!!!!," he wrote "Hell we had elk tacos and wine afterwards. Wake up people."

The live-streamed demonstration was an effort to support Donald Trump's pick for CIA Director, Gina Haspel, who has been criticized for her involvement in Bush-era torture.

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A 2013 Washington Post report detailed that Haspel had an "extensive role" in post-9/11 torture programs and ran a "secret prison in Thailand where two detainees were subjected to waterboarding and other harsh techniques," and also "helped order the destruction of videotapes of those interrogation sessions."

While Kennedy hopes to prove that waterboarding isn't torture, one former counterterrorism and intelligence officer for the U.S. government thinks the UFC fighter's online stunt isn't waterboarding at all.

"Wrong. That's not how it's done," replied Malcolm Nance to Kennedy. "As a former SERE instructor & #Waterboarding qual'd resistance team member I can tell you it's about aggression, intent, tiedown, pour technique, rate of flow & other factors. It's a Nazis/Commie torture. Deal w/it."

Donald J. Guter, president and dean of South Texas College of Law Houston, recently weighed in on Haspel's confirmation in an opinion featured in the Houston Chronicle, arguing that "Haspel's record of torture makes her unfit to serve."
If youve been a bit preoccupied with the tension and political squabbling happening in Austin, or Washington D.C., you might not have noticed that over the last few weeks, our political, business and nonprofit leadership have come together in some very significant ways. Houston, it appears, has found that the secret sauce to moving forward and promoting progress is simple: Ignore the naysayers and embrace partnerships.

Following the snub by Amazon, some questioned whether Houston could truly be a leading modern city. Sure, we are large and expanding, but our poor infrastructure, lack of a tech worker base and struggles with our public education system have held us back. In a direct response to those concerns, Houston is beginning to make a pivot that looks to change the fundamental course of our city.

For years city leaders have lamented the lack of a strong tech presence. With a dearth of knowledge workers and little technology infrastructure to support the ones we had, tech based innovation was lagging. Stepping in to fill that void is the creation of the new Innovation District. Anchored at the historic Sears building on Main Street, this new development and partnership led by Rice University, with investments by the city, sits on 9.4 acres.

EDITORIAL: Amazon shrugged, Houston lost

It will house entrepreneurs and researchers in data science and digital technologies focused on the energy, industrial, healthcare and logistics industries. The district is part of a larger partnership that brings together all area institutions of higher education, the first time that has happened in Houston. Linking the University of Houston system, Texas Southern University, the University of St. Thomas, Houston Baptist University, South Texas College of Law Houston, Houston Community College and Lone Star College, the new district will help develop the technology businesses of the future while supporting a new vibrant base of tech workers.

While technology is on the minds of most people as the way forward, Houston remains the home of the largest medical center in the world. While patient care remains critical to the future, advancing bioscience and developing commercial applications in this area has been missing. To bridge that gap, the Texas Medical Center is moving forward on a project that might be as significant to the longterm future of Houston as the ship channel was decades ago. TMC3 unites higher education, private businesses, and nonprofits to create a new biomedical research campus that is projected to inject nearly $5.2 billion into the economy and provide 30,000 new jobs.

The center will expand the TMC from a medical care provider and education venue, to a comprehensive biotechnology center that brings together researchers, entrepreneurs and businesses in a new direction. This vision looks at six key areas of collaboration: innovation, health policy, clinical research, regenerative medicine, genomics and a city center for translational research.

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OPINION: Amazon and Houston are a perfect match

As we look to develop the industries of tomorrow, we cant forget the need to improve the every day lives of Houstonians and the role technology can play. This month, Microsoft Corp. signed a first of its kind partnership agreement with an American city partnering with the city of Houston. The tech giant will work with schools to provide computer literacy for students, host digital camps for young workers, provide software support to local startup companies, work with the City of Houston to develop smart city initiatives and teach computer literacy to parents, veterans and workers transitioning to one career to another. Houstons ability to succeed rests on the education of her population.

In his state of the city speech, Mayor Sylvester Turner alluded to this new spirit of partnership as examples of Houstons can-do spirit. Its an approach not just confined to technology. Its also helping promote civic life by assisting the redevelopment of Jones Plaza, improving Memorial Park and helping with street and road improvements across the city. In that same address, he also announced one more partnership that is potentially the most significant. His office will be looking at ways to help Houston schools with the creation of a new nonprofit that would bring together the city, philanthropic and educational communities modeled on what has been done in Los Angeles to help improve and operate our lowest-performing schools. Its a bold approach that deserves exploration.

Houstons ability to move forward, rests on uniting the talent and skills of all its institutions and people. Our collective success depends on coming together as a city. This move towards embracing partnerships is a step in that direction.

Aiyer is an assistant professor of political science and public administration in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. He is the co-host of Houston Public Media's Podcast, Party Politics.
It seems like a common convenience in a digital age: a car that can be powered on and off with the push of a button, rather than the mechanical turning of a key. But it is a convenience that can have a deadly effect.

On a summer morning last year, Fred Schaub drove his Toyota RAV4 into the garage attached to his Florida home and went into the house with the wireless key fob, evidently believing the car was shut off. Twenty-nine hours later, he was found dead, overcome with carbon monoxide that flooded his home while he slept.

After 75 years of driving, my father thought that when he took the key with him when he left the car, the car would be off, said Schaubs son Doug.

Schaub is among more than two dozen people killed by carbon monoxide nationwide since 2006 after a keyless-ignition vehicle was inadvertently left running in a garage. Dozens of others have been injured, some left with brain damage.

Will self-driving cars put tow trucks out of business?

SCOTT MCINTYRE/NYT

Keyless ignitions are now standard in over half of the 17 million new vehicles sold annually in the United States, according to the auto information website Edmunds. Rather than a physical key, drivers carry a fob that transmits a radio signal, and as long as the fob is present, a car can be started with the touch of a button. But weaned from the habit of turning and removing a key to shut off the motor, drivers  particularly older ones  can be lulled by newer, quieter engines into mistakenly thinking that it has stopped running.

Seven years ago, the worlds leading automotive standards group, the Society of Automotive Engineers, called for features like a series of beeps to alert drivers that cars were still running without the key fob in or near the car, and in some cases to shut the engine off automatically.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposed a federal regulation based on that idea, a software change that it said could be accomplished for pennies per vehicle. In the face of auto industry opposition, the agency let the plan languish, though it says a rule is still under consideration.

For now, regulators say they are relying on carmakers to incorporate such warning features voluntarily. But a survey of 17 car companies by The New York Times found that while some automakers go beyond the features recommended by the standards group, others fall short.

Safety measures have been a matter of contention among automakers, sometimes even internally. Toyota, for example, has a system of three audible signals outside the car, and one inside, to alert drivers getting out of a vehicle that the motor is still running. But when Toyota engineers determined that more effective warning signals were needed  like flashing lights or a unique tone  the company rejected the recommendation, according to testimony in a wrongful-death suit.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/NYT

Toyota models, including Lexus, have figured in almost half of the carbon monoxide fatalities and injuries identified by The Times. Toyota says its keyless ignition system meets or exceeds all relevant federal safety standards.

Some automakers have designed newer models that alert drivers more insistently when the engine is left running  or that shut it off after a certain period. Fords keyless vehicles now have a feature that automatically turns off the engine after 30 minutes of idling if the key fob is not in the vehicle, the company said recently. (According to a federal lawsuit, Ford began introducing the feature in 2013.)

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But many older vehicles have not been retrofitted to reduce the hazard, despite the modest expense of doing so. It cost General Motors $5 per car to install the automatic shut-off in a 2015 recall, according to a GM report to the safety agency.

Regulations require automakers to address other hazards associated with keyless vehicles  theft and rollaways  and those measures might also reduce the carbon monoxide danger. But the safety agency has found shortcomings and inconsistencies by automakers in meeting those rules.

As the number of carbon monoxide deaths grows, the hazard is no secret. A Florida fire chief saw so many cases that he took to handing out carbon monoxide detectors. And litigation against the companies is mounting.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/NYT

Were going to continue to see deaths and injuries, said Sean Kane, founder of Safety Research and Strategies, an auto safety research group. And the manufacturers will continue to settle cases.

The exact number of deaths related to carbon monoxide from keyless-ignition vehicles left running is unknown, as no federal agency keeps comprehensive records. Through 2016, the most recent year for which data is available, the safety agency had investigated only four fatal incidents. From news reports, lawsuits, police and fire records and incidents tracked by advocacy groups, The Times has identified 28 deaths and 45 injuries since 2006, but the figures could be higher.

SCOTT MCINTYRE/NYT

Carbon monoxide is odorless and colorless, depriving the heart, brain and other vital organs of oxygen. Victims are sometimes found with a cherry red rash, a symptom of carbon monoxide molecules attaching to red blood cells. Some who survive live with irreversible brain damage. One couple described a life where they now struggle with severe memory loss and are dependent on hired assistants.

The gas level in Fred Schaubs home was at least 30 times the level that humans can tolerate. His body was found in his bed, with a rash on his head and chest.

Houston joins 'smart' cities program to study transportation, technology

The plants inside the house lost their leaves, said Doug Schaub, his son.

 A Risk Detected Early

The keyless ignition was introduced as a luxury feature in Mercedes-Benz vehicles in Germany in 1998, a year after Daimler-Benz filed for a German patent, and entered the U.S. market in 2002. Some carmakers called it the smart key, a wireless device sending a code to the cars computer so the driver can start the engine with a button, instead of a mechanical key. It was meant as an additional selling point for luxury cars: no more fumbling for keys.

The risk identified initially was theft, because drivers might leave the key fob in the vehicle by accident. (In conventional ignitions, under regulations adopted in the 1990s, the key cannot be removed unless the car is in park.)

ANDREA MORALES/NYT

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations general counsel warned automakers in 2002 that keyless ignitions would be prone to mishaps arising from human error. In 2006, the agency updated its regulations to state that with keyless ignitions, a warning must be sufficient to catch a drivers attention before he or she exits the vehicle without the keys.

Two weeks later, a 70-year-old Florida woman, Jeanette Colter, failed to notice that she had left her keyless Toyota Avalon running in the garage. The home filled with carbon monoxide and she collapsed and died between the bedroom and the kitchen, according to her daughter Vickie. Her 89-year-old husband, David, died in the bedroom. They appear to have been the first victims of carbon monoxide poisoning linked to keyless vehicles.

By 2009, a number of such incidents had come to the attention of the Society of Automotive Engineers, which formed a panel to develop recommended practices to address keyless ignition hazards. The objectives included minimizing user-instigated errors like exiting the vehicle while the propulsion system is enabled.

The engineering groups recommendations, issued in January 2011, called on carmakers to install an externally audible or visual alert  implying an unspecified number of beeps, or a warning light  when all doors are closed, the key fob is not present and the engine is still running. If the engine automatically shuts off, the alerts are not necessary.

more techburger Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Subscribe to the Chronicle for regular access to TechBurger stories and to be able to comment. See More Collapse

How can we prevent another fatal crash with self-driving cars? [Analysis]

The same year, the traffic safety administration proposed a key fob rule that would require car manufacturers to provide additional internal and external warning beeps. In addition to protecting against rollaways, it said this would reduce incidents of carbon monoxide poisoning. Although it made no provision for an auto-shutoff function  an option that the Society of Automotive Engineers cited  the agency said its own proposal would be more enforceable.

Compliance would cost the industry less than $500,000 a year in software coding for millions of keyless vehicles,the traffic safety administration said, adding, Preventing even one serious injury over three years would make the proposed rule cost-beneficial.

The auto industry opposed the proposal, and a trade group asserted that the regulators use of vehicle owners questionnaires to compile a database of defects did not meet the evidence standards of federal vehicle-safety law.

The traffic safety administration released a video two years ago that highlighted the risks of keyless vehicles, including carbon monoxide poisoning. But the agency has postponed adoption of the keyless ignition regulation three times, and in the meantime at least 21 people have died.

Once NHTSA has finished its review and determined the best path forward, NHTSA will take appropriate action, the agency said in a statement in March.

 I Couldnt Breathe

A bad dream woke Michael Sobik on Oct. 8, 2015, at his home in Miramar Beach, Florida. The smell of fumes filled his nostrils and he looked over at his wife, Jamie, realizing his motor skills were slow. Car fumes and carbon monoxide emitted from Jamie Sobiks Lexus had filled the garage overnight and flooded the home.

They were overcome by nausea as their blood cells were starved of oxygen. Michael Sobik stumbled through the house to the garage and was knocked by a rush of fumes. Unable to make sense of what was happening, he opened the garage door and went back into the house.

Jamie Sobik, in the meantime, had fallen out of bed in an attempt to stand up. I couldnt breathe, I was gasping, she said, recalling that her husband shouted at her to get outside. Next thing you know hes dragging me onto the grass.

Disoriented and vomiting, she asked if they were about to die.

When will the companies behind self-driving cars listen to the public?

I remember the fear in telling her no because I didnt know, Michael Sobik said. When fire marshals arrived, the gas reading inside the house was 80 times the tolerable level for humans, and over 100 times inside the Lexus.

Others have experienced similar episodes. One couple, Timothy Maddock and Chasity Glisson, were found motionless on the bathroom floor of Glissons Florida home in 2010 after she unwittingly left her Lexus running in the garage. Glisson died, and was found covered in a rash. Maddock survived and now lives with a brain injury.

Its just been so hard, said Glissons mother, Kimberlin Nickles. All Ive ever wanted is something to be done for the cars to be safer.

In Palm Beach County, Florida, which has a large number of older residents, the fire department noticed a spike in incidents as keyless ignitions became common.

They were literally driving their own vehicles into the garage and closing the door, said Doug McGlynn, a veteran firefighter. McGlynn says such incidents became so numerous in Palm Beach County, where he is a district chief for the Fire Rescue Department, that his unit began handing out carbon monoxide detectors and signs for residents to display in their garages, with a clear message: Carbon Monoxide Kills. Is Your Car Off?

The tactic appears to have worked. The department started a public information campaign in 2015, and from March 2016 to October 2017 it recorded a 30 percent decline in carbon monoxide incidents caused by vehicles, most with keyless ignitions. But despite the local progress, deaths and injuries are mounting across the country.

The Sobiks live with severe brain injuries and have hired assistants to help them carry out day-to-day tasks. Jamie Sobik, a former figure skater, can no longer run. Her husband once prided himself for running circles around people as a businessman, but now routinely forgets to return calls.

Memory loss has been absolutely terrible, he said. I have to think: Have I eaten lunch today? Did I take vitamins this morning? I find myself doing things and Im not sure where Im going. Its a very frightening and very scary aftermath.

 No Adequate Punishment

With no standard in place for alerts or other features that would address the problems of keyless vehicles left running in confined spaces, the traffic safety administration has said repeatedly that it is convinced that automakers intend to meet the Society of Automotive Engineers recommended practices. And some do.

But it can be difficult to determine with precision what measures automakers have taken on their own  even when they are asked directly.

You cant trust car corporations to police themselves, said John Uustal, a Florida-based lawyer involved in two keyless ignition cases. Theres no adequate punishment.

Even among cars from the same automaker, there is inconsistency. Fiat Chrysler said that on its keyless cars, a dashboard warning is displayed if the key fob is removed while the motor is running, and that on certain 2018 model year vehicles, an internal chime sounds for 30 seconds. (For older models, it said, the chime sounds until the key fob returns to the vehicle.) But a spokesman would not discuss the feature on a model-by-model basis.

At Mazda, keyless ignition is now standard, and some vehicles have an advanced keyless entry system that helps alert the driver to a running engine. If the driver gets out, the doors are closed and the engine is running, six repetitions of a double beep sound inside and outside the car, and a warning light activates on the instrument panel. On other Mazda vehicles in the same circumstances, the external warning sounds only if the key fob is still in the vehicle.

And neither Mazda nor Fiat Chrysler has incorporated a system that automatically shuts off the engine after a certain time of idling.

Even when precautions are in place, some safety experts, lawyers and victims say the automakers need to do more. At Toyota, such voices came from inside the company.

According to testimony in a wrongful-death lawsuit, Toyota began an investigation into its keyless technology, conducted by its technical center in Michigan, after an employee drove 250 miles to Chicago in 2007 and realized that the remote key was still in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (The witness did not know how this happened  for example, whether the fob was close enough to send a signal, but not inside the vehicle, when the car started.) Toyota engineers noted that Mazda vehicles beeped externally six times, as opposed to three external beeps in Toyota models. According to a company document cited in a deposition, they concluded that Toyota vehicles do not have adequate smart-key-absent warning system.

Shaun Austin, a quality control manager for Toyota in North America who testified in a wrongful-death suit, stressed the issue internally. A Toyota team in North America was in touch with corporate headquarters in Japan about adding flashing lights and a unique tone that would alert the driver if the car was still running without the key fob present, he said in a court deposition, but all those suggestions were rejected.

Contacted for this article, Austin directed questions to Toyota. When asked why the suggestions were rejected, Toyota declined to comment.

Its three external beeps satisfy the engineering societys recommendations.

 An Inquiry Without Action

At one point, the traffic safety administration appeared to start taking a keener interest in the hazards. It undertook an investigation of seven automakers in 2013-14, conducting tests and asking for documentation of their safety features for keyless vehicles. But the inquiry was quickly and inconclusively wound down.

In a statement in March, the agency said it was evaluating comments on the proposed rule and the data for carbon monoxide deaths and injuries.

In the meantime, in a society increasingly growing older, the hazard is likely to be compounded by demographics.

At the funeral of Fred Schaub, his family said farewell while he lay in the coffin wearing a New York Police Department hat from his detective years. It partly covered the rash on his head.

My dad isnt going to be the last one who passes away from this, Doug Schaub said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Get more tasty tech news at TechBurger. And follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

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Her findings reveal a system that failed to provide proper care and support for sexual harassment claims made by staff, confirmed Justice Minister Andrew Little.

While the report found evidence of some sexual harassment within the commission, Little said it was not a prevalent or endemic issue. However, he also pointed out that the policy used to investigate the October 2017 incident was aged and outdated.

While a new policy has since been introduced, the report also pointed out that staff members had not been consulted in its creation and a poor relationship between employees and leaders could easily hinder its implementation.

Staff members lack of information and trust in management to deal appropriately with their complaints is a potential impediment to the successful implementation of the Prevention and Response to Sexual harassment 2017 policy, said Little.

There is a deep divide between some staff and some managers and a lack of trust in the management and the commissioners among some staff, he continued.
I'm never one to turn down a castle visit. From England's Windsor Castle to Namhansanseong in South Korea, if a travel destination has a royal residence -- currently inhabited or long abandoned -- I'll add it to my to-tour list.

But after spending time in Scotland earlier this fall, I think I've found the most beautiful castle in the world: Eilean Donan.

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Located near the village of Dornie on Scotland's northwest coast, Eilean Donan sits on an island along a popular route for travelers heading to the picturesque Isle of Skye and the other Hebrides islands.

Today one of Scotland's most photographed sites, Eilean Donan sat abandoned for nearly 200 years after a 1719 Jacobite uprising left the castle in ruins; it wasn't until 1911 that work began to restore the building to its former glory.

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Visitors can pay 6.50 to tour the castle, the official residence of the Clan MacRae, which features Scottish hunting lodge-meets-Grandmother's bedroom decor, plus a kitchen straight out of Downton Abbey.

For the most extraordinary views of Eilean Donan, take a short stroll to Ardelve Point where you're guaranteed to get a good shot in sun,

storm,

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or snow.

Is Eilean Donan the most beautiful castle in the world? Check out some of its competition in this slideshow and let us know what you think in the comments below:
The modernization and decarbonization of the electricity grid are setting a big challenge for the electric grid operators. To integrate and update the electricity grid, energy storage devices are one of the main solutions adopted, allowing the storage of the excess electricity produced by renewable energy sources, besides providing ancillary services, and stabilising the grid.

Within the different energy storage technologies, the electrochemical devices are one of the most common choices because of their location flexibility, efficiency, and scalability. From different electrochemical devices available, the Redox flow batteries (RFBs) are one of the most chosen solutions for medium and large-scale applications. The fast time response (in the range of milli seconds), a long cycle life (more than 20,000 cycles), and their easily recyclable components, allow the RFBs to steadily increase their adoption on the market.

While the stationary energy storage market is currently dominated by Li-ion batteries, redox flow batteries are slowly being adopted with an increasing number of projects all over the world.

The redox flow batteries have been developed for more than 40 years, and available on the market for almost 20 years. The flow battery producers, in particular vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) manufacturers, have abundantly developed, tested, and demonstrated the technology over the years, reaching an overall installation of roughly 70MW of power and 250 MWh of energy. Flow battery producers keep receiving funding to expand manufacture, improve their products and reduce the technology cost. Moreover, solid collaborations between flow battery manufacturers, OEMs, and chemical and mining companies are taking place all over the world, with the common target to make this technology competitive on the market.

To better understand the flow battery market and forecast future developments, IDTechEx performed an in-depth analysis of the different types of flow batteries, investigating the historical development of each technology and related flow battery market evolution. Moreover, to understand the technological development, and the adoption of this technology in the next years, several companies were profiled.

The results of these studies, presented in this report, revealed a market dominated by one of the oldest technologies, the vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB), which accounts for more than 50% of the available companies commercialising flow batteries. Besides the VRFB, other flow battery manufacturers are developing flow batteries based on different electrolytes, like the Organic flow battery (ORFB), and All-iron (Fe-RFB), Hydrogen/Bromine or Zinc/Bromine flow batteries (ZBB). In the report a summary of the main properties of each electrolyte are presented.

The reader will understand the possibilities and the challenges of each type of electrolyte, explained in a simple and concise way. It will allow to evaluate himself/herself the characteristics of each technology, and related chances to conquer its share of the market.

Besides the investigation of different electrolytes, an analysis of the battery electrode stack, one of the core parts of this technology, is provided. The different components of the electrode stack are explained, together with investigating the different possible materials employed. This would allow investors, OEMs and chemical companies, to understand the different materials involved, and where further improvements will be required.

Besides the technical prospective of the technology, IDTechEx investigated why, and how, different countries are involved in the adoption of RFBs. Therefore, Chapter 5 provides an overview of different countries, covering Europe, US, Africa, and China, where it is explained how these countries are approaching the flow battery technology.

From these wide and in-depth techno-economic analysis, IDTechEx aims to facilitate investors, OEMs and chemical industries to understand the current redox flow battery market, and its future development between 2020-2030.
Imperial Valley News Center

President Donald J. Trump Keeps His Promise To Open U.S. Embassy In Jerusalem, Israel

Washington, DC - "Today, we finally acknowledge the obvious: that Jerusalem is Israels capital." ~ President Donald J. Trump

FULFILLING A PROMISE: President Trump kept his promise by recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital and opening the U.S. Embassy there.

On December 6, 2017, President Trump kept his promise, announcing that the United States would begin recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and officially open our Embassy there. Congress urged the President to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel with the bipartisan 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act  a call unanimously reaffirmed by the Senate in 2017. After decades of past Presidents committing to move the Embassy to Jerusalem on the campaign trail, only to renege on those promises while in office, President Trump has fulfilled his promise to support one of Americas strongest allies. More than two decades of waivers delaying the Embassy move brought us no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. President Trump has made clear that old challenges demand new approaches, and that he will keep his word to the American people.

On May 14, 2018, the United States officially opened our Embassy in Jerusalem, Israel, 70 years to the day that President Truman recognized Israel as an independent country, making the United States the first nation to do so.

President Trump has recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and advanced peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Announcing Jerusalem as Israels capital is simply a recognition of reality. Israel is a sovereign nation and, like every other sovereign nation, has the right to choose its own capital. Yet for 70 years we neglected to extend this basic courtesy to Israel that we extend to other countries. Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli Parliament and the Israeli Supreme Court. It is the location of the official residence of the Prime Minister and President, as well as the headquarters of many government ministries.



STRIVING FOR PEACE: The Trump Administration continues to work to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The Trump Administration remains committed to achieving a lasting and comprehensive peace agreement.

Recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital is a necessary condition for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

President Trump has been clear that his recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel does not mean the United States has taken a position on final status negotiations. The Trump Administration believes that such decisions should be worked between Israelis and Palestinians. The Trump Administration supports the status quo at Jerusalems holy sites.



FULFILLING PROMISES QUICKLY AND EFFICIENTLY: After announcing the United States recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, President Trump quickly and efficiently opened the Embassy in Israel at a low cost to taxpayers.
Imperial Valley News Center

Secretary Perdue Appoints New Members to National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods

Washington, DC - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced the appointment of 18 new members and 12 returning members to the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (NACMCF).

Food safety and ensuring public health continue to be at the forefront of USDAs mission, said Perdue. The committee members represent a diverse group from academia, consumers, the food industry, laboratories, consultants, and government agencies all of which play an important role in providing scientific advice and expertise to USDA on food safety and wholesomeness.

NACMCF was established in 1988 by the USDAs Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the Department of Commerce (National Marine Fisheries Service), and the U.S. Department of Defense. NACMCF is a discretionary advisory committee that provides impartial scientific advice and peer reviews to food safety agencies on public health issues related to the safety and wholesomeness of domestic, imported and exported foods.

The newly appointed NACMCF members to serve two-year terms are:

Mr. Aaron Asmus, Hormel Foods Corporate Services, LLC

Ms. Peggy Cook, Wheatsheaf Group

Ms. DeAnn Davis, Church Brothers Farms

Dr. James Dickson, Iowa State University

Dr. Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, University of Georgia

Dr. Joseph Eifert, Virginia Tech

Dr. Philip Elliott, Kellogg Company

Dr. Wendy McMahon, Silliker, Inc.

Dr. Kathleen Glass, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, North Carolina State University

Ms. Patty Lewandowski, Florida Department of Health

Dr. Angela Melton-Celsa, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Dr. Haley Oliver, Purdue University

Dr. Jenny Scott, Food and Drug Administration

Dr. Scott Stillwell, Tyson Foods, Inc.

Dr. Valentina Trinetta, Kansas State University

Dr. Alissa Wilma, Department of Defense

Dr. Francisco Zagmutt, EpiX, Analytics, LLC

Reappointed NACMCF members are:
Support for the Opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem

Washington, DC - Support for the Opening of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem:

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI): Today, more than five decades after the reunification of Jerusalem, this holy city will be home to our embassy. This is concrete affirmation of Americas commitment to the Jewish state and her people. America stands with Israel in recognizing Jerusalem as its eternal capital.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): In a long overdue move, we have moved our embassy to Jerusalem. Every nation should have the right to choose its capital. I sponsored legislation to do this two decades ago, and I applaud President Trump for doing it.

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA): The U.S. finally followed through on a commitment made decades ago to stand with the Jewish State of Israel and move our embassy to Jerusalem. By taking this important action, @POTUS has followed through on a promise other leaders have merely paid lip service to for years.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA): A bipartisan majority in Congress has been calling for this important action since the 1990s. Israel is one of our closest security partners. The United States will not allow it to be isolated. Nor will we stand by idly as its enemies seek to wipe it from the map. Together, Israelis and Americans will continue to promote peace and stability in a very dangerous region.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY): I welcome the opening of the United States embassy in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel. This move is long overdue, and I look forward to visiting  I look forward to the construction of a permanent embassy, and as Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I will do everything in my power to support the next steps.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): Today is truly a historic day for Americas unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel  The unequivocal recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital comes after presidents in both parties stalled our embassys rightful relocation to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. So I truly appreciate the Trump Administration for implementing U.S. law and finally moving our embassy.

Sen. David Perdue (R-GA): Jerusalem is unquestionably Israels capital, and its past time the United States recognize that fact. I applaud President Trump for fulfilling yet another promise he made to the American people. After eight years of weak support from the Obama Administration, this presidents actions send a powerful message to the world  the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with Israel.

Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV): We fought with President Trump to finally make this a reality and now the U.S. embassy in Israel is where it should be, in Jerusalem. It was a privilege to be there for the opening and celebration on this historic day.

Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH): #Jerusalem has always been the capital of Israel. Ive long supported moving the U.S. embassy there, and am pleased to finally see the new U.S. embassy opening in #Jerusalem today.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA): Today, one of our closest allies and partners in peace in the Middle East, Israel, celebrates its 70th year of independence. It is fitting to mark this occasion by opening our embassy in Israels rightful capital, Jerusalem.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): For over 20 years, it has been American policy to recognize Jerusalem as the capital, but it wasnt until today  and the leadership of President @realDonaldTrump  that we had an embassy in Jerusalem.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD): Today is a historic day. Moving our embassy to #Jerusalem  the one, true capital of Israel  sends a strong message that the U.S. and Israels bond is unshakable.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): I have long advocated that the United States take this action, and commend President Trump for fulfilling this campaign promise. Presidents of both parties had made the same promise, and repeatedly failed to follow through. Finally, 70 years later, America is at last recognizing Israels true capital.

Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-AL): An exciting day for the US-Israel partnership as we celebrate the opening of @USEmbassyJLM!

Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL): What a historic day for the United States and our great ally Israel  I am proud that the U.S. Embassy has officially been opened in Jerusalem, and I look forward to years of continued friendship between our nations.

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL): Thank you, @realDonaldTrump! Congrats to Israel!

Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ): A historic day for the United States and Israel. I again applaud @POTUS @realDonaldTrump for his decision to move the U.S. embassy to Israel, and I pray for a peaceful transition. #USEmbassyJerusalem

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ): On the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel, the relocating of the US Embassy to #Jerusalem sends a clear message that America stands with Israel.

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO): America continues to stand with Israel. May God bless the embassy move! This is a great day for Israel, America, and the world.

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL): The establishment of our embassy in Jerusalem fulfills long-standing US policy as enacted by the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. It was an honor to be there at this historic occasion! Thanks President Trump for being first president to honor his promise to establish this embassy.

Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL): Like every other sovereign nation, Israel has the right to determine its own capital. The United States is finally recognizing the truth by moving our embassy to the center of freedom in the Middle East and the capital of Israel, Jerusalem!

Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA): Americas new embassy in Jerusalem testifies to our enduring relationship with Israel and its people. Again, @POTUS makes a good promise and keeps it, to the benefit of our country and our ally.

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN): Today is a historic day as the U.S. opens our embassy in Jerusalem  the rightful capital of Israel. America is proud to stand with our cherished ally.

Rep. Todd Rokita (R-IN): This embassy move demonstrates our commitment to both our strong ally and our commitment to peace. We will always stand with the nation of Israel.

Rep. Ralph Abraham (R-LA): President Trump kept his promises by moving the embassy to Israels rightful capital, Jerusalem. This is a bold, courageous move shows that the US & Israel are repairing the special relationship that was strained under Obama. The world is safer when our countries work together.

Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-MI): After years of promises by previous Administrations, today  on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel  the United States is finally moving its embassy to Israels capital of Jerusalem.

Rep. Vicki Hartzler (R-MO): Historic day as the U.S. moves our embassy to #Jerusalem. Is long overdue to recognize Jerusalem as the Capitol of Israel.

Rep. Gregg Harper (R-MS): Breaking News: U.S. opens embassy in Jerusalem. Thank you @POTUS for standing up for Israel.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC): Historic day in Israel. Since 1995, it has been the law that the American Embassy should be relocated to Jerusalem, Israels eternal capital. Thank you to @POTUS for finally making this long overdue move, a reality.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC): America stands with Israel once again. Honored to witness an amazing moment in history this morning as the United States opens our Embassy in JerusalemIsraels true undivided capital.

Rep. Mark Walker (R-NC): Today, we finally recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. Thanks @POTUS.

Rep. Peter King (R-NY): Historic day for USA and Israel as American Embassy opens in Jerusalem. Congrats to @POTUS Trump and @netanyahu for standing tall to do what is morally and strategically right.

Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA): Today @realDonaldTrump fixed decades of broken promises by other presidents [with] the opening of our embassy in Israels capital. Today we clearly recognized the Jewish peoples historical connection to Jerusalem and reaffirmed Americas alliance [with] Israel.

Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC): The front page of the Jerusalem Post says it all: Promises Made, Promises KEPT!

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN): Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel and thats where our embassy belongs. Thank you @realDonaldTrump for another promise kept.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX): This is a powerfully historic moment in time. Along with the recognition of Jerusalem as Israels rightful and eternal capital, the dedication ceremony that took place is an enormous milestone in history not only for Israel but for America as well.

Rep. Tom Garrett (R-VA): Despite Congress consistently voting in favor of recognizing #Jerusalem as #Israels capital, every president since 1995 has delayed the #JerusalemEmbassy Act. Glad to see the president fulfill the promises that we, as a Nation, have made to Israel.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA): Israel is our greatest friend and ally in the Middle East, a country whose history and culture are at the center of our civilization. Now the U.S. Embassy officially and proudly stands in its capital, the great holy city of Jerusalem.

Rep. David McKinley (R-WV): We applaud President Trump for taking this action and for his commitment to strengthening the bond between our two nations.

Cabinet Members and Administration Officials

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo: Today I am proud to celebrate the opening of the United States Embassy to Israel in Jerusalem. This significant event fulfills a promise made by President Trump. As he proclaimed on December 6, 2017, Seventy years ago, the United States, under President Truman, recognized the State of Israel. Since then, the State of Israel has made its capital in Jerusalem  the capital the Jewish people established in ancient times. It is therefore appropriate for the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital. We remain committed to advancing a lasting and comprehensive peace between Israel and the Palestinians. I am delighted to have visited Israel on my first trip overseas as Secretary of State. I look forward to returning soon to visit our new U.S. embassy and Ambassador Friedman in Jerusalem.

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin: Seventy years ago, the U.S. recognized the State of Israel and we are thrilled to mark such a significant anniversary with the move of the #USEmbassyJerusalem.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan: The opening of the #USEmbassyJerusalem is a long overdue recognition of reality. It is also essential to creating a roadmap for peace in this region.

United States Ambassador to Israel David Friedman: So many have worked so hard and for so long for this day to come and they all deserve our thanks. But make no mistake, todays historic event is attributed to the vision, the courage, and the moral clarity of one person to whom we owe an enormous and eternal debt of gratitude, President Donald J. Trump.

Senior Advisor to the President Jared Kushner: While Presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American Embassy once in office, this President delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it.

State Officials

Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR): Today is an extraordinary chapter in Americas long-time friendship with Israel. I applaud @realDonaldTrump for keeping his promise by opening the U.S. Embassy in Israels capital of Jerusalem. This is an important step & necessary condition to achieve lasting peace in the area.

Gov. Rick Scott (R-FL): Proud to join @netanyahu to celebrate the U.S. Embassy being moved to Jerusalem, where it belongs. Today is a great day for Florida, Israel and the United States. FL will continue to stand with Israel.

Gov. Jeff Colyer (R-KS): In honor of todays historic embassy opening, I am proud to have signed a proclamation declaring it Jerusalem Day in the State of Kansas. Thank you @POTUS for making this day happen!

Gov. Matt Bevin (R-KY): The world witnessed a historic moment today  Thankful for the leadership shown by @POTUS administration in honoring this long-standing promise between the United States and Israel.

Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX): Todays groundbreaking for the relocated U.S. embassy in Israel is a monumental event and one that is long overdue. Its a great day for Israel and for the U.S.

Gov. Henry McMaster (R-SC): Today we celebrate the historic opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem and underscore our nations commitment to one of our closest allies. President Trump fulfilling this important promise is a clear victory for freedom and liberty.

Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (R-WI): We stand with Israel again today as the United States reaffirms its historic commitment in a new way by opening its embassy in Jerusalem.

Israeli Officials

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu: Thank you, President Trump, for having the courage to keep your promises. Thank you, President Trump for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever.

President of Israel Reuven Rivlin: President Trump, the Israeli people thank you for keeping your word, for your courage, for your determination, and for your firm, unwavering stand alongside the state of Israel.

Israeli Minister of Education and Minister for Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett: President Trump: On behalf of the Israeli People, and the grateful & ancient Jewish Nation, You will forever be remembered as   The Great Friend of the Jewish State. God bless you, God bless America and Israel, and God bless Jerusalem!

Advocacy and Policy Organizations

American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC): We are grateful to President Trump for officially recognizing Jerusalemthe historic and spiritual capital of the Jewish people for more than 3,000 yearsas Israels capital last December and for opening our embassy there today.

American Jewish Committee (AJC): For decades, American leaders said they would acknowledge truth & recognize #Jerusalem as the capital of [Israel]. They promised but they didnt deliver. Today it happened. Israel is no longer the only country in the world denied the right to choose its own capital. Thank goodness.

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt: ADL long has advocated for this recognition. We express our deep appreciation to the Trump Administration and the U.S. Government for making and implementing this long overdue move.

Bnai Brith International: Today we celebrate the U.S.-Israel relationship, which is now stronger than ever.

Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee President and CEO Penny Nance: Thank you, President Trump, for making good on your promise to the American people, to Israel, and for paving the way for other nations to follow our example.

Faith & Freedom Coalition Chairman Ralph Reed: We are deeply grateful to President Trump for finally recognizing the reality that Jerusalem is the eternal, indivisible capital of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, and that the United States Embassy belongs in Jerusalem, the seat of the Israeli government. The President continues to deliver on his promise to the American people to strengthen the solidarity between the United States and the people of Israel. We are so grateful for President Trumps pro-Israel stance and his bold leadership in opening the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins: This is a very significant day. For over 20 yrs its been the stated policy of the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, but until now we havent had an administration willing to make that move. This sends a strong message that America stands by her ally, Israel.

Republican Jewish Coalition National Chairman Norm Coleman: This is a day that the RJC has been working towards for over thirty years. But the credit for today goes to our President, Donald J. Trump. We have been told by administrations, both Republican and Democrat, that they would take this monumental step, only to be disappointed every six months, when a President would sign another waiver. Not President Trump: he made sure that this year we are finally in Jerusalem!
White House Press Secretary on the Visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres

Washington, DC - White House Press Secretary on the Visit of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres:

President Donald J. Trump will welcome United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the White House on May 18, 2018. The meeting between President Trump and Secretary-General Guterres will reaffirm the commitment of the United States to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations. The two leaders will discuss issues of mutual interest, including North Korea, Syria, and reform of the United Nations, as well as other common threats and challenges.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's Participation in a Meeting of the Lima Group

Washington, DC - Secretary Pompeo participated via videoconference yesterday in the Lima Group foreign and finance ministers meeting, which was hosted by Mexico and included representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Saint Lucia. Representatives from the European Union and Spain also participated.

Secretary Pompeo and these regional partners affirmed the hemispheres support for the Venezuelan people and their right to have a voice in their government through free and fair elections. He urged his counterparts to hold the Maduro regime and its corrupt leaders accountable for their unconstitutional interruption of Venezuelas democratic order by cutting off their access to our financial systems and barring them from our nations. Participants agreed on the need for a strong regional response to Venezuelas undemocratic actions.
Celebrity Durga Puja Pandals in Mumbai to Look Out For This Festive Season
Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight from Denver were terrified this weekend when the oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling, and the plane quickly landed at Dallas Love Field.

It's apparently the third emergency landing on a Southwest plane in the last month, and it's still not clear what caused the "pressurization issue in flight,"as the airline apparently called it. But this time, there's some really good news.

First, of course, there's the fact that nobody was injured--nothing more than four passengers who reported earaches, apparently from the rapid descent.

But there's also something that eagle eyed social media followers noticed when the inevitable parade of photographs started popping up on Facebook and Twitter.

It's that barely a month after flight crew and other observers called out passengers aboard Southwest Flight 1380 for not using their oxygen masks correctly, the images from this flight show something different.

Passengers sitting still--and wearing the masks correctly, so that it covers both the nose and mouth.

All, apparently, without being given much guidance by the flight crew.

"I had no idea what was going on or what the outcome was going to be," passenger Glen Eichelberger told CBS 11 in Dallas, adding, "I didn't know if we were were going to make it or not. There was no communication what so ever from the flight attendants or from the cockpit as far whether we were in mortal danger."

Again: disconcerting to say the least. You can certainly imagine that if you're on a flight where the masks drop, you'd like to hear a reassuring word or two from the flight crew as you descend.

But still, using the masks correctly is important. Without them, if the cabin loses pressure you only have about 30 seconds of breathable air, if the plane doesn't descend quickly enough.

With masks, you can instead hold on for between 12 and 20 minutes--more than long enough for pilots to get the plane below 10,000 feet, where the air is breathable.

So, yes, Southwest is going through a rough time, with three headline-grabbing incidents aboard its flights in the last month.

But if there's a bright side about all the incidents and coverage, maybe it's this. Millions of people have seen these articles and watched the videos showing what not to do in the event of an emergency.
Another year, another horrifying film causes film festival goers to abandon screenings midway through due to disgust.

At Cannes, Lars Von Triers latest has done exactly that. A psychological horror, The House That Jack Built follows that titular character, a serial killer played by Matt Dillon, committing gruesome murders over the course of twelve years.

Walkouts at the French film festival were reportedly so numerous many journalists lost count. However, one put the number at around 100 people, while another reportedly likened the movie to spending two hours in hell.

The trailer for the head-turning movie  our four-star review of which you can read here - has reached the Internet and showcases the terrifying nature of the film. Watch above but, be warned, theres a lot of blood.

27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Show all 27 1 /27 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Black Panther Released: 12 February 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh 12 JanuaryMartin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones > Twentieth Century Fox 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Coco Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Downsizing Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Early Man Released: 26 January 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Annihilation Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Dark River Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Columbia Pictures 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ready Player One Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch 1 JuneDavid Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Soldado Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson

The House That Jack Built does not have a release date, but does have a catchy tag-line: The greatest cathedrals have sublime artwork hidden in the darkest of corners for only God to see... so does MURDER! Read our reviews round-up of the apparently vomitive film here.
Spike Lee has criticised Donald Trump's response to the Charlottesville riots, calling the President a "motherf**ker" following a screening of his new film BlacKkKlansman.

Refusing to say Trumps name at the Cannes Film Festival press conference, the director spoke at length about the response to the white nationalist rally and the violent aftermath.

That motherf**ker was given a chance to say we are bout love, and not hate, and that motherf**ker did not denounce the motherf**king Klan, the alt-right, and those Nazi motherf**kers, he told the Cannes audience, according to Variety.

It was a defining moment, and he couldve said to the world that we were better than that.

He added: We look to our leaders to give us direction, to make moral decisions, and I like to say this is not just something that pertains to the United States of America, this bulls**t is going all over the world. We have to wake up. And we cant be silent.

27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Show all 27 1 /27 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Black Panther Released: 12 February 12 February Director: Ryan Coogler Cast: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Forest Whitaker, Danai Gurira, Martin Freeman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Greatest Showman Released: 1 January 1 January Director: Michael Gracey Cast: Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Darkest Hour Released: 12 January 12 January Director: Joe Wright Cast: Gary Oldman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Mendelsohn 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Released: 12 January Director: Martin McDonagh 12 JanuaryMartin McDonagh Cast: Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Caleb Landry Jones > Twentieth Century Fox 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Coco Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Lee Unkrich ,p>Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael Garcia Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Renee Victor 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Downsizing Released: 19 January 19 January Director: Alexander Payne Cast: Matt Damon, Christopher Waltz, Jong Chau, Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Early Man Released: 26 January 26 January Director: Nick Park Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hiddleston, Maisie Williams, Timothy Spall 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Fifty Shades Freed Released: 9 February 9 February Director: James Foley Cast: Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Kim Basinger 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Released: 9 February 9 February Director: Wes Ball Cast: Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Brodie Sangster, Kaya Scodelario, Giancarlo Esposito, Aidan Gillen 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Shape of Water Released: 16 February 16 February Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Sally Hawkins, Octavia Spencer, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlbarg, Doug Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Annihilation Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Alex Garland Cast: Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Lee, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Oscar Isaac 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Dark River Released: 23 February 23 February Director: Clio Barnard Cast: Ruth Wilson, Mark Stanley, Sean Bean 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Red Sparrow Released: 2 March 2 March Director: Francis Lawrence Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Joel Edgerton, Jeremy Irons 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Tomb Raider Released: 16 March 16 March Director: Roar Uthaug Cast: Alicia Vikander, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Dominic West, 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 A Wrinkle in Time Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Ava DuVernay Cast: Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Zach Galifianakis 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Pacific Rim: Uprising Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Steven S. DeKnight Cast: John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Roman J Israel, Esq Released: 23 March 23 March Director: Dan Gilroy Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo Columbia Pictures 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Isle of Dogs Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Wes Anderson Cast: Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ready Player One Released: 30 March 30 March Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Ben Mendelsohn, Mark Rylance, Simon Pegg 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Avengers: Infinity War Released: 27 April 27 April Director: The Russo Brothers Cast: Robert Downey, Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Untitled Han Solo Film Released: 25 May 25 May Director: Ron Howard Cast: Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Released: 8 June 8 June Director: J.A. Bayona Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Chris Pine, B.D. Wong, Toby Jones 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Deadpool 2 Released: 1 June Director: David Leitch 1 JuneDavid Leitch Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz, Josh Brolin 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ocean's 8 Released: 22 June 22 June Director: Gary Ross Cast: Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Paulson, Anne Hathaway, Olivia Munn, Helena Bonham Carter, Rihanna, Matt Damon 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Peyton Reed Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Douglas, Michelle Pfeiffer 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 Soldado Released: 29 June 29 June Director: Stefano Sollima Cast: Benicio del Toro, Josh Brolin, Jeffrey Donovan, Catherine Keener, Matthew Modine 27 films to look out for in the first half of 2018 The Incredibles 2 Released: 13 July 13 July Director: Brad Bird Cast: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Sarah Vowell, Samuel L. Jackson

Set in the early 70s, BlacKkKlansman tells the true story of Ron Stallworth who, after becoming the first African-American detective on the Colorado Springs Police Department, sets out to infiltrate and expose the Ku Klux Klan while posing as a racist extremist.

The director said the movie  which received rave reviews and an eight-minute standing ovation at the film festival  was on the right side of history, later commenting on how the story connects with the politics of the present day.

Lee said that CNN footage of Charlotesville acted as the coda for the film and that he asked the mother of Heather Heyer  a woman who died at the march  to use footage of the death in the movie. I was not gonna put that murder scene in the film without her blessing, he said.

He also commented on how BlacKkKlansman was framed by the idea that America was built upon the genocide of native people, and slavery, calling it the fabric of the United States of America. Lee added: Whats happening did not just pop up out of thin air.

The film, which is produced by Get Out's Jordan Peele, stars John David Washington, Adam Driver and Topher Grace in the lead roles.
Its been 25 years since Spike Lee was last in competition at Cannes with Jungle Fever. In the run-up to the festival, hes been talking about how it still burns that Do The Right Thing, arguably one of the greatest films of the 20th Century, didnt win the Palme dOr in 1989.

Its been many years since Inside Man, the New York-based directors last box-office hit and two of his most recent films, Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014) and Red Hook Summer (2012), have not even been released in the UK. His return to Cannes with BlacKkKlansman is also a magnificent return to form.

The film is a hugely entertaining and humourous story about a black police officer, Ron Stallworth (played by Spike Lee regular Denzel Washingtons son John David Washington) who infiltrates the Klu Klux Klan.

Recommended New Spike Lee film receives the longest Cannes standing ovation yet

It is loosely based on the true story and memoir of Stallworth, which has been given a Spike Lee makeover and packs a powerful punch when it absconds from being a 1970s-set farce to make a comment about the Charlottesville rally and the current racial divide in Trumps America. Its the directors most controversial ending since Do The Right Thing.

With the election of Trump and before that the #BlackLivesMatter campaign there has been a feeling that the divided race politics of present-day America has finally caught up with the opinions being spouted by Lee throughout his career and in his movies.

Lees politicking has made him a divisive figure, both loved and hated in equal measure, depending on what side of Malcolm X Boulevard you are sitting on.

With BlacKkKlansman, a rare effort from the director in which he has been hired in on a project, he has finally been handed a story where the race question feels integral to the action rather than the director tagging on a social comment that he feels compelled to impose on a tale.

The film starts with Alec Baldwin playing a racist leader practicing a speech proclaiming white power in front of movie clips of images that could have been one of the montages from Lee's highly underrated Bamboozled (2000) Baldwins bashing of black people is a hilarious cameo, a warm-up act before the main event.

Most of the movie is about Stallworth becoming the first African-American police officer in Colorado and being fast-tracked into the undercover team when they need a person of colour to infiltrate a student politics meeting being hosted by Kwame Ture. There he meets the head of the students union Patricia (Laura Harrier) and gets his head turned, politically.

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To infiltrate the KKK, Stallworth needs someone to be his avatar. In the most unlikely twinning since Arnold Schwarzenegger was matched with Danny DeVito, Adam Driver plays his fellow cop and Stallworth double. They are a great match in a film that has a 70s aesthetic that is pointedly more Starsky and Hutch than Blaxploitation.

France was where the auteur theory was born and while its unusual to see Lee make an out-and-out comedy, there are also many of his signatures, including the constant breaking of the fourth wall and his trademark dolly shot. There is also a lovely use of movie posters as Patrice and Stallworth debate on a date.

Lee does something quite remarkable throughout. The film could easily have been a fun escapade but the director throughout makes comments on the present day American political divide with ironic jokes.

Then comes the Charlottesville footage and an ending that makes it clear that the America of today is as divided along race lines as it was in the Civil Rights era. This is Lee taking President Trump to task.
Artificial intelligence researchers have called on Google to abandon a project developing AI technology for the military, warning that autonomous weapons directly contradict the firms famous Dont Be Evil motto.

The experts join more than 3,100 of Googles own employees, who signed an open letter last month protesting the companys involvement in a controversial Pentagon program called Project Maven.

The partnership between the technology giant and the US Military involves using customised AI surveillance software to analyse data from drone footage in order to better recognise target objects, such as distinguishing between a human on the ground and a vehicle.

Around a dozen employees have reportedly resigned in protest at Googles refusal to cut ties with the US military, each one citing ethical concerns to Gizmodo. Google did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.

In their letter last month to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the employees wrote: "We believe that Google should not be in the business of war... We cannot outsource the moral responsibility of our technologies to third parties."

The researchers warn that the military could ultimately remove human oversight from drone strikes entirely, if Googles technology proves effective.

As military commanders come to see the object recognition algorithms as reliable, it will be tempting to attenuate or even remove human review and oversight for these systems, the letter states.

If ethical action on the part of tech companies requires consideration of who might benefit from a technology and who might be harmed, then we can say with certainty that no topic deserves more sober reflection - no technology has higher stakes - than algorithms meant to target and kill at a distance and without public accountability.

In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Show all 7 1 /7 In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamics describes itself as 'building dynamic robots and software for human simulation'. It has created robots for DARPA, the US' military research company In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Google's self-driving cars Google has been using similar technology to build self-driving cars, and has been pushing for legislation to allow them on the roads In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history DARPA Urban Challenge The DARPA Urban Challenge, set up by the US Department of Defense, challenges driverless cars to navigate a 60 mile course in an urban environment that simulates guerilla warfare In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Deep Blue beats Kasparov Deep Blue, a computer created by IBM, won a match against world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. The computer could evaluate 200 million positions per second, and Kasparov accused it of cheating after the match was finished In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Watson wins Jeopardy Another computer created by IBM, Watson, beat two champions of US TV series Jeopardy at their own game in 2011 In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Apple's Siri Apple's virtual assistant for iPhone, Siri, uses artificial intelligence technology to anticipate users' needs and give cheeky reactions In pictures: Artificial intelligence through history Kinect Xbox's Kinect uses artificial intelligence to predict where players are likely to go, an track their movement more accurately

Other fears detailed in the letter include the possibility of Google integrating the personal data of its users with military surveillance data for the purpose of targeted killing.

The use of such data would violate the public trust that is fundamental to the operation of Googles business and would put the lives and human rights of its users in jeopardy, according to the researchers.

"The responsibilities of global companies like Google must be commensurate with the transnational makeup of their users," the letter states.

"While Google regularly decides the future of technology without democratic public engagement, its entry into military technologies casts the problems of private control of information infrastructure into high relief."
Cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee says he fears for his life and is on the run after claiming the US government is out to get him.

In a series of videos posted online on Tuesday, Mr McAfee said issues with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had forced him into hiding.

Mr McAfee, who is best known for creating the eponymous antivirus software, has recently been involved with various cryptocurrency companies and was served with a subpoena by the SEC in 2016.

"We are in a five vehicle motorcade," Mr McAfee told The Independent. "All vehicles driven by ex-military special forces and filled to the brim with heavily-armed security personnel.

"I purposely and publicly committed a felony this morning to call the SEC out [in the videos]. I'm mad as hell and I'm not taking any more s*** from corrupt-to-the-core government agencies."

More details about his problems with the SEC were given in the first video, posted from an unknown location and filmed on Monday evening.

The SEC was never intended to have this power, please God America, wake up and see what has happened, Mr McAfee said.

The SEC is in charge of our entire industry, our companies, our manufacturing, our distribution, our creativity, our entrepreneurship. When it was created, in the wisdom of the creators, it had only civil powers. If it got p***ed off at you, it could sue you, end of story.

Now, with the cooperation of the justice department, the SEC can get involved, or bring people in who can punish you beyond a civil suit. The SEC owns America, please God, wake up people. And if you think that an agency of the US government would not stoop to assassination, kidnapping, threats, then what are you smoking?

In an email exchange with The Independent in April, Mr McAfee mentioned his concerns, saying: I know that Im in the crosshairs of the SEC.

Mr McAfee has previously claimed that violent cartels have attempted to kidnap him on several occasions over the last few years, most recently in September. Those attempts, he says, relate to his time in Belize when he was caught up in the investigation of the murder of his neighbour in 2012.

As a result, Mr McAfee lives with armed security guards at his heavily fortified home in Lexington, Tennessee.

His latest fears of kidnapping relate to his involvement with cryptocurrency, which he says is a threat to the power wielded by the SEC and the financial elite.

In an interview with his business associate Rob Loggia, Mr McAfee said his public advocacy of cryptocurrency has made him a target.

The SEC wants to destroy a revolution  a movement of the people  by making an example out of me, Mr McAfee said. I cannot allow that to happen."

In the final video posted on Tuesday, Mr McAfee explained his views on the government agency.

We have a pyramidal power system that is corrupt at the core, Mr McAfee said. You think the SEC has no power, but every single major industry and business in America is under the thumb of the SEC.

The SEC is one of the most powerful agencies in the world. It is out of hand, and it does not anymore represent American values or the American people.

The SEC did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent.
Sitting behind your desk at work for hours on end can be an extremely laborious task.

As you feel your body start to ache and your concentration begin to dwindle, it may be worth taking a few minutes out of your day to simply close your eyes, breathe and put your body through a few subtle movements that will make you feel surprisingly invigorated.

Shona Vertue, former personal trainer for David Beckham and founder of the Vertue Method, has devised an eight-step sequence of what she describes as desk yoga.

The aim of desk yoga, as Vertue explains on her blog, is to rid your desk-bound body of its familiar aches and pains, all the while boosting your brain power and enhancing your ability to focus.

According to Vertue, several studies have shown that the human brain reaches a break zone after 45 minutes of work, meaning that youre only able to remain fully focused for 45-minute intervals.

With this in mind, she recommends practising desk yoga every 45 minutes to reconnect with your body and energise your mind.

While she acknowledges that doing actual exercise such as hitting the gym or going for a leisurely walk can do wonders for your wellbeing, not everyone has the luxury of time to spare.

Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Show all 8 1 /8 Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga Cat looks on during the yoga session Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga Cats exploring during the session Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga People carry out their yoga session whilst cats wander about Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga A participant strokes a cat Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga Two boys play with one of the cats Edmund Vallance Cat yoga in Santa Barbara Cat yoga A cat during the yoga session Edmund Vallance

Thats why this quick and easy desk yoga sequence could prove an extremely beneficial addition to your daily routine in the long run.

Heres the eight-step desk yoga sequence that Vertue has created to keep your body moving and to provide your brain with a much-needed boost of energy:

Step one

First, Vertue says to close your eyes and breathe in deep three times, taking three seconds to inhale and then three seconds to exhale.

The breath is very closely linked to the state of your nervous system, so keeping a calm and rhythmic breath can help to relax your body while awakening the mind, she said.

Step two

While your eyes are closed, turn your head to the left.

At the same time, lift your chest up and feel your right shoulder pulling away from your body.

Repeat this process on the right hand side.

Step three

Next, lock your fingers and place your hands behind your head.

As youre doing this, lift the centre of your chest upwards, making sure to not let your head drop too far backwards.

Step four

Take your right hand and place it on the outside of your left thigh, which gives your body a nice rotating stretch.

Once youre in this position, raise your left arm and turn your head to face the left, before leaning your body to the right.

Repeat this process on the left hand side.

Step five

The fifth part of the sequence involves doing a simple seated twist on both sides.

Its important to ensure that you keep your chest lifted while doing your seated twists.

Step six

As strange as it may sound, the next element of the sequence is yawning.

Its really good for you, Vertue explained.

It helps the brain to reset, in fact when you yawn, youre actually stimulating a neural area of the brain that plays a significant role in being more conscious and alert (while also relaxed).

Step seven

Lock your fingers together once more and stretch them towards the ceiling.

Step eight

Lastly, finish off the routine by rolling your ankles and wiggling your toes.

According to Vertue, doing this helps to stimulate the blood in your feet, which in turn will elevate your overall energy levels.
The last time Gian Power spoke to his father was the day before the general election in 2015. Ranjit Singh Power was 54 at the time and heading to India on business. The two men spoke on the phone before Ranjit boarded the plane.

Gian had frequently travelled with his father, who lived between Dubai and the UK, in what he thought of as their father-son time.

It was a real privilege, Power says. As I grew up he wanted to expose me to as many cultures and different ways of thinking, so we would travel. He learned about his fathers childhood, born to Indian parents who had moved to England, sharing fish and chips in the evening when times were tough.

Ranjit Singh Power was an entrepreneur. He started with petrol stations and moved into hotels, eventually owning property in Dubai. He never worked for anyone else, Gian says. I always admired that drive to succeed.

Just a few weeks after their final phone call, Gian, aged just 23, found himself in a room at the Foreign Office leading an investigation across two continents into his fathers murder.

For years, there has been no time to grieve, Power says, Ive just been in fight mode. I had to find out why this had happened to my father and find out about my own self.

The family spent two years trying to find out what happened and bring a body home. Power was a young graduate at PwC trying to run the murder investigation while holding down a job in financial restructuring. Recently, he made the decision to focus on himself and to leave PwC to start his own company.

I made a decision that life is for living, Power says. In February he launched The Lions Club, a collective of 25 speakers with a mission to share their stories and encourage others to do the same.

Speakers include George Bullard, a world record-breaking explorer who walked the longest unsupported polar journey, aged just 19; transgender rights activist Jacqui Gavin; and Lis Cashin, who speaks about mental health and overcoming adversity using her personal history of growing up with emotional abuse and a tragic accident in which she accidentally killed a friend, aged just 13.

Power recruited each speaker to provide memorable moments at corporate events. He says: It motivates the employees, helps put things in perspective and creates an environment to tackle workplace issues.

Corporations hire motivational speakers to shake employees out of their routines, to inspire new ways of thinking and to increase productivity. Power believes that the right speaker can also increase employees resilience, making them better able to cope with difficult moments in their lives and give them different ways of viewing things.

We get employees and their bosses thinking about the people and the diversity in the teams they work with and what people might be dealing with outside of work, Power says. As a byproduct of that, they want to get to know each other more.

The Lions Club comes as corporations are increasingly looking for workplace schemes to promote better wellbeing and mental health among employees. The UK government estimates that poor mental health costs employers between 33bn and 42bn a year. A global industry of workplace schemes has emerged to address this issue, worth $43bn (32bn) in 2017, according to the Global Wellness Institute.

Power learned the hard way how to keep his head above water. In July 2015 the Indian authorities arranged for the body to be flown to the UK, and Power arranged a funeral. But when the body arrived, DNA testing confirmed it was not Powers father. He was trying to balance the murder investigation with his consulting job and his accountancy exams.

At this point I just needed to get away, Power says. Someone suggested meditation and it really worked. I thought, wow, Id never known about this and it really balances my mind.

In New York he discovered Inscape Meditation, a luxury centre described by its founder as a cross between fourth century monasteries, the temple at Burning Man, and the feeling you get when you look at the horizon.

Power loved the space, which uses ambient lighting and sounds to create an immersive experience for those meditating. It was a cocoon that smelt amazing, he remembers. You didnt feel like you were on 24th Street.

He came back to London and searched for something similar, but there was nothing. So he launched a multi-sensory meditation space in the City called Unwind London. The idea is that people can drop in for sessions, rather than signing up for long, expensive courses.

I have had friends at financial companies who have been hospitalised in the last few months from stress and exhaustion, Power says. The UK mindfulness and meditation market is a billion-dollar industry.

Hes testing the market with Friday and Saturday lunchtime sessions at Unwind, to see if London is ready for meditation that feels like the fourth century crossed with Burning Man.

While the two companies keep him busy, Power has adopted his own travelling ritual to make sure he remembers whats important in life. Every month he takes a trip  this year he has been to Berlin, Milan, Hong Kong and Toulouse  and on his way home he asks himself four questions: how happy he is, how well business is going, whether this is the life he planned when he left PwC, and what changes he needs to make.

Its important to stop and reflect on life, he says. Ive never felt closer to my dreams than I did jumping out from PwC.
German mathematician Maria Reiche (1903-98), known for her pioneering work into Peru's ancient Nazca Lines, was born in Dresden 115 years ago today.

Honoured in today's Google Doodle, Reiche became obsessed with solving one of Latin America's greatest mysteries: why did the land's ancient people carve giant bird and animal geoglyphs into the desert plains?

She had first arrived in Peru in 1932 after completing her studies, having accepted a job as governess to the children of the German consul in Cuzco.

She quickly became enraptured by the country - despite losing a finger to gangrene after being pricked by a cactus - visiting the Andes and the high plains of southern Peru before relocating to Lima in 1934.

Here she worked as teacher of German and befriended American ex-pat Amy Meredith, who would become her partner and who ran a fashionable local coffee shop where she first encountered New York academic Paul Kosok.

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It was Kosok who introduced her to the strange line drawings of creatures in the sands of Nazca, 248 miles from the capital. First discovered by Peruvian archaeologist Toribio Mejia Xesspe a decade earlier, Kosok had photographed them from the air and realised their true form.

Reiche was transfixed by his account and, after visiting the 140 square mile site, committed herself to their study as Kosok's side, describing the landscape as "a huge blackboard where giant hands have drawn clear and precise geometric designs".

Spending many nights camping in the desert, Maria became an object of curiosity herself: "The locals either thought I was a spy or completely mad. Once a drunk threatened me with a stone, so I took out my sextant and pointed it at him. He ran off screaming, and the next day the local papers ran the story of a mad and armed German spy in their midst."

Reiche and Kosok's study of the Nazca Lines in the 1940s led to the dramatic conclusion that the beasts were actually roughly equivalent to the signs of the zodiac and that they together comprised an early astronomical calendar, mapping out the celestial bodies in the heavens.

The geoglyph of a monkey is seen on the plains of the Nazca desert in southern Peru (Reuters)

Her book The Mystery of the Pampas (1949) detailed the theory that the giant monkey geoglyph was the Nazca interpretation of the Great Bear constellation, whose movement across the night sky was used to mark time and predict the onset of the rainy season. Her work debunked a myth popularised by Swiss conspiracy theorist Erich von Daniken that they were made by extraterrestrials.

Although Reiche's conclusion has now been largely sidelined in favour of the idea that the geoglyphs served a more earth-bound ceremonial purpose, she nevertheless played a vital role in preserving them, sweeping the lines, preventing vehicles from driving over them and ensuring they received Unesco protected status in 1994.

"The Lady of the Lines" spent her days living in a Nazca tourist hotel, was granted Peruvian citizenship in 1992 and published her complete scientific findings Contributions to Geometry and Astronomy in Ancient Peru in 1993 at the age of 90. She died of ovarian cancer in June 1998, a beloved figure in her adopted homeland.
The information commissioner has threatened to bring legal action against police forces using controversial facial recognition technology, to protect the publics privacy and human rights.

The watchdog issued its warning following research by The Independent that showed 98 per cent of returns by software used by the Metropolitan Police were false positives.

A report by Big Brother Watch branded the technique dangerous and inaccurate in a report presented in parliament, calling for all public authorities to stop using the surveillance camera technology.

Speaking at the event, Tottenham MP David Lammy said such powers must have scrutiny to ensure that they are not abused.

That is clearly not the case here, he added. This is not effective policing, this is not efficient policing, and innocent members of the public are getting harassed by the police in being asked to prove their identity and innocence.

Mr Lammy voiced concern about the potential for conscious and unconscious bias and profiling of black communities after his own review found inequalities at all stages in the criminal justice system.

Police leaders have defended the software, saying that they do not arrest suspects based on a match alone, have checks and balances in place and delete images that do not generate an alert.

Scotland Yard has deployed its system at the Notting Hill Carnival and Remembrance Sunday commemorations, while South Wales Police used it at last years Champions League final in Cardiff.

A police officer watches revellers at Notting Hill Carnival (PA)

Elizabeth Denham, the information commissioner, said the reach of facial recognition technology (FRT) was increasing because of its ability to link to mobile and fixed cameras in real time.

There may be significant public safety benefits to enable the police to apprehend offenders and prevent crimes from occurring, she added.

But how facial recognition technology is used in public spaces can be particularly intrusive. Its a real step change in the way law-abiding people are monitored as they go about their daily lives.

There is a lack of transparency about its use and a real risk that the public-safety benefits derived from the use of FRT will not be gained if public trust is not addressed.

She listed many unanswered questions around the technology, including over its accuracy, bias, effectiveness and a lack of national coordination.

The commissioner, who has raised concerns with the Home Office and National Police Chiefs Council, warned that any police force using it must prove it solves a specific problem in a way that less intrusive methods cannot.

Should my concerns not be addressed I will consider what legal action is needed to ensure the right protections are in place for the public, she added.

Big Brother Watchs report, which was supported by more than a dozen other groups, said the technology had been rolled out over the past two years in city centres, at political demonstrations, sporting events and festivals.

Its research claimed that use of the software has been lawless and could breach the right to privacy under the Human Rights Act.

South Wales Police has defended its use of FRT after it was revealed that 2,000 people at the 2017 Champions League final were wrongly identified as potential criminals (PA)

Scotland Yard wrongly identified 95 people as potential criminals at the 2017 Notting Hill Carnival alone but plans seven more deployments this year, it said, while a separate system used by South Wales Police was found to be 91 per cent inaccurate.

Researchers said the force stores photos of innocent people that do not flag up on police databases for a year, without their knowledge.

The software used in Britain has not yet been tested for demographic accuracy, but in the US concerns have been raised that facial recognition is less reliable for women and black people.

Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, said: Real-time facial recognition is a dangerously authoritarian surveillance tool that could fundamentally change policing in the UK. Members of the public could be tracked, located and identified  or misidentified  everywhere they go.

Were seeing ordinary people being asked to produce ID to prove their innocence as police are wrongly identifying thousands of innocent citizens as criminals.

It is deeply disturbing and undemocratic that police are using a technology that is almost entirely inaccurate, that they have no legal power for and that poses a major risk to our freedoms.

This has wasted millions in public money and the cost to our civil liberties is too high. It must be dropped.

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Norman Lamb, chair of the Science and Technology Committee, called on the government to review its approach to facial recognition technology.

The Liberal Democrat MP said misidentification was being caused because of technical inadequacy and the failure to remove acquitted peoples images from a police database that holds more than 19 million photos.

It is wrong that the police are using technology which has the potential to wrongly incriminate individuals on UK streets, he added. We have already discovered that the systems currently in use are not up to the task, and that law enforcement is unable to effectively manage the images they possess.

The Metropolitan Police said it was trialling facial recognition technology to help officers identifying known offenders in large events in order to protect the wider public.

A spokesperson said deployments will be overt, rather than hidden, and fully evaluated when the experiment ends later this year.

There have been no arrests resulting from the use of facial recognition technology, he added.

Regarding false positive matches  we do not consider these as false positive matches because additional checks and balances are in place to confirm identification following system alerts.

Recommended India using fingerprint identification system for food and benefits

All alerts against the watchlist are deleted after 30 days. Faces in the video stream that do not generate an alert are deleted immediately.

South Wales Police has also defended its capability, which it said helped fight crime and protect the public  generating more than 2,000 positive matches in nine months, helping secure successful convictions and finding vulnerable people in mental health crises.

Technical issues are common to all face recognition systems, which means false positives will be an issue as the technology develops, the force added.

No one has been arrested where a false positive alert has occurred and no members of the public have complained. This is due to importance we place on human judgement.

In all cases, an operator will consider an initial alert and will either disregard it, which happens in the majority of cases, or dispatch an intervention team where a match is considered to have been made.
A former soldier has been jailed for a speech where he incited people to free England from Jewish control.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) initially decided against bringing charges against Jeremy Bedford-Turner, but reversed the decision after a judicial review was launched by the Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA).

The 48-year-old, who is well-known for his involvement in extreme right-wing groups, gave the speech in central London in July 2015.

At the end of a protest which claimed to be against the Shomrim Jewish civilian patrol group, his rambling 15-minute tirade included a string of conspiracy theories about Jewish people.

This is England, this is our land We want our country back and we are going to take it back, Bedford-Turner said, before calling on a small group of supporters to free England from Jewish control.

He added: Listen soldiers, its time we liberated our own country.

Most of his supporters were outflanked by counter-protesters, but he reached a wider audience after a video of his speech was uploaded to YouTube.

Jeremy Bedford-Turner, 48, was jailed for inciting racial hatred with a speech in 2015 (YouTube)

Bedford-Turner, of Lincoln was jailed for a year at Southwark Crown Court after a jury convicted him of stirring up racial hatred.

He bowed and saluted about 35 supporters including musician Alison Chabloz, who is also on trial, accused of writing and performing antisemitic songs.

Bedford-Turner, who served for 12 years in the Army, was given a standing ovation as he was led to the cells.

Under cross-examination during his two-day trial, he had admitted wanting all Jews including children to leave the UK.

Prosecutor Louis Mably QC said the defendant was absolutely obsessed with Jewish people and that he despised them.

Judge David Tomlinson described Bedford-Turner's speech as sinister and poisonous, adding that he did intend to stir up racial hatred through his comprehensive characterisation in a derogatory way of an entire race.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism said verdict was a damning indictment of the CPS and its outgoing head Alison Saunders.

The real question is why the Director of Public Prosecutions and CPS got this so dismally wrong, said its chairman Gideon Falter.

CAA had to battle the CPS in court since 2015 to force them to prosecute this case, but a speech that took us and a jury moments to understand as a clear-cut case of incitement was repeatedly and wrongly dismissed by the CPS as not only not an offence of incitement, but not even a lesser offence.

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This was always a matter of basic law and common sense.

Mr Falter said that British Jews were losing faith in the authorities to prosecute antisemitic hate crimes amid rising reports to police.

A CPS spokesman rejected the claims, and said the DPP had made tackling hate crime a priority, pointing out that it prosecuted more than 12,000 offences that were racially or religiously-aggravated last year, with a conviction rate of 84 per cent.

It is categorically untrue to claim the CPS does not take prosecuting anti-Semitic crime seriously, he added.

After campaigners reported Bedford-Turners speech to the Metropolitan Police, they said he was interviewed by lawyers but senior CPS lawyers decided not to take the case forward because they believed there was no realistic prospect of conviction for racial or religious hatred.

The CAA issued judicial review proceedings at the High Court and on the eve of a hearing in March last year, the CPS agreed to quash the original decision and put a more senior lawyer on the case.

Recommended As a Jewish Labour MP I know the impact unchallenged antisemitism has

Bedford-Turner gloated about not being sent to prison and remaining just within the law at a London Forum event in January 2016.

But in February last year, he chaired another meeting of the group that was infiltrated by an undercover Independent reporter.

It saw Holocaust denier David Irving speak alongside other antisemitic conspiracy theorists who claimed Auschwitz was like Disneyland and that the Holocaust was gossip, propaganda and a rumour.

United Against Fascism said Bedford-Turner claims to have previously been involved with the National Front and the British National Party, and been thrown out of the Army after officers discovered he was a fascist.

Additional reporting by PA
A pair of teenagers who choked a student and forced him to apologise for being gay, have been spared jail.

Will Mayrick and a female friend were travelling through London to a Halloween fancy dress party when they were accosted on the tube by the 16 and 17-year-old.

The 20-year-old told Bexley Youth Court that he feared for his life as he was left gasping for breath, when the 16-year-old put him in a headlock and forced him to apologise about his sexuality.

Along with a third male who has never been identified, the court heard that the pair stood directly in front of Mr Mayrick and his 25-year-old female friend after boarding the train, despite the carriage being empty. They were all drinking from bottles of Lambrini.

Mr Mayrick's friend was punched and pushed to the ground by the 17-year-old when she tried to intervene, said prosecutor Samantha Mitchell, although the blow was aimed at another member of her group.

"The victim had a headband on, some shorts and a top and a jacket on, so all you could see was his bare legs," Ms Mitchell said. "He had not seen any of the males before, they all had large bottles of Lambrini in their hands and they positioned themselves in the aisle in front of them."

She added that the boys started using homophobic insults such as "faggot" and "queer", and became violent when one of his friends told them that it was not acceptable.

 BBC takes on 'bible bashers' in anti-homophobia video

Mr Mayrick, she said, "felt a right arm around his neck, gripping really tightly, he felt like he was being strangled and was struggling to breathe."

She added: "A male took his phone out of his hand, and another male said 'f*cking apologise you f*cking queer'."

Both of the victims managed to film some of the assault on their mobile phones and although at one stage Mr Mayrick's phone was snatched from him, it was later returned.

The attackers were not arrested until April this year following an appeal by the British Transport Police.

In court last week, the 16-year-old admitted assault by beating of the male victim, while his co-defendant admitted using threatening language towards the 25-year-old woman, but was not charged with assaulting her.

Both apologised, when questioned by magistrate Glenford Shipley-Younan. They said they had been very drunk at the time of the incident - but have since quit alcohol. The court heard that the younger defendant is due to sit his GCSEs this summer and plans to train as a mechanic, while the 17-year-old is training as a bricklayer.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. 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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA

Mr Shipley-Younan told them had they been older they would have probably faced a custodial sentence.

Ordering them to attend youth offender meetings for 12 months, he said: "You are both in court for a very nasty and unprovoked attack on a train late at night on people who were just going about their social evening. The people who were attacked and abused by yourselves would have been extremely upset and frightened by that behaviour.

"Both of you said you had been drinking that night, therefore your inhibitions had been lost. This must not happen again."

Both boys, who were accompanied by their parents, were ordered to pay 150 compensation to their victims as well as 20 each in costs.

Speaking after the trial, Mr Mayrick told the Evening Standard: They were so young, and I cant help but think that if they had had some sort LGBT education then the attack might never have happened. If it was made compulsory that children were taught about it they could widen their knowledge and get a better understanding.

He said: "I don't think I deserve to be assaulted simply for being gay, and in this day and age I would have expected society to be more accepting."

Additional reporting by PA
Detained British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe could appear in an Iranian court to face fresh charges, her family says.

The 40-year-old charity worker has been told by prosecutors further charges against her could be resurrected by authorities as early as next week, according to her husband, Richard Ratcliffe.

Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe is being held at Evin Prison in Tehran following her arrest in April 2016 as she attempted to return home from a holiday with her 21-month-old daughter Gabriella.

The Iranian government has never disclosed the exact nature of the crimes it alleges Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe has committed, although it insists she has been detained on legitimate grounds.

The latest development in the case appears to contradict statements Tehran made to the United Nations in March, insisting she would not face further charges.

Todays news did surprise me, and then it didnt, Mr Ratcliffe said.

The judge is right that Nazanins case is a truly made up case. There isnt anything in her file  we remain stuck as a bargaining chip.

Iran has exploited a gaffe by Boris Johnson, who falsely claimed Mz Zaghari-Ratcliffe was teaching journalism, using it to defend the decision to hand her a five-year jail term.

The blunder led the foreign secretary to announce he would leave no stone unturned in his attempts to facilitate her release.

Mr Johnson and European counterparts are expected to meet Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels later on Tuesday to discuss the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA), following Donald Trumps decision to withdraw the US from the agreement.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. 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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 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PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA

Mr Ratcliffe believes there is a connection between the meeting and the decision by authorities in Iran to reopen further investigations against his wife.

I have no clue why they have started all this nonsense again. They know Boris is coming, he said Ms Zaghari-Ratcliffe had told him in a phone call early on Monday morning.

Please take me out of this, please. My parents have had enough. I want my daughter back. She needs both of us. So tell the world. Enough of this nonsense.

Recommended The UK must pressure Iran to release unfairly sentenced prisoners

Mr Ratcliffe called on Mr Johnson to put the plight of British citizens detained in Iran at the top of his priority list during the talks.

The foreign secretary promised to leave no stone unturned in his efforts to solve this issue, he added.

Yet from leaving no stone unturned, we are again in the midst of a new phase of stone collecting.

The UK needs to do better by British Iranians  at the moment it is failing to protect them. UK policy is not making it safe for British citizens. Iranian policy is not making it safe for Iranian citizens.

He should not just do his utmost to protect British commercial interests. He should also commit to protecting British citizens.

We hope the foreign secretary visits Iran as soon as possible, for the safety of all British citizens. We hope this time a way can be found for him not to return again empty handed.
Mobile phone provider O2 has apologised after racist leaflets and sim cards were sent to a British-Iraqi family, addressed to "Mr Isis Terroriste" and "Mr Getout Ofengland".

"We were really saddened to come across these letters, especially having a younger child in the house who we don't want to grow up witnessing such hateful language, the family from Wembley in North London, said in a statement.

"It's even sadder to think that such hate speech has become normalised despite living in such a uniquely multicultural and diverse city like London."

After news of the leaflet emerged, a representative of the Muslim Council of Britain told The Independent that the organisation was concerned Islamophobic bigots are finding more and more ways to spread hatred.

"These Islamophobic bigots are finding more and more ways to spread their hatred," said Miqdaad Versi, its assistant secretary general. "In recent times, we have seen hate mail, a rise in physical violence against Muslims and even the UN special rapporteur on racism saying these extreme views have gained ground. The reality is that hate has become normalised within sections of British society.

"And whilst it is imperative that corporates upgrade safeguards to prevent such incidents recurring, these are indicative of broader concerns and we continue to hope Government will finally start taking Islamophobia seriously."

Sura Jawad, a lawyer and friend of the family, also expressed her deep concern.

I was completely horrified by it, she told the BBCs Victoria Derbyshire show. I was talking to the gentleman that received it and he mentioned, in passing almost, what he had been sent in the mail."

His reaction to receiving the letters demonstrated how a hateful discourse has been normalised in the UK, she added.

He was almost quite defeatist [in his] mentality, she said, adding that it was "very 'what can you do, these things happen'.

"It's horrible to think that there are people who have so much hatred in them that they set out to deliberately make others feel isolated and unwelcome or who take comments like these light-heartedly. This shouldnt be something that just happens."

An O2 spokesperson told The Independent that the company had "a rigorous data cleansing process in place to prevent any of our free products being sent to addresses with obscenities or offensive names and so this is a rare occurrence."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 8 October 2021 WW II veteran, 96-year-old Lorna Cockayne, who served in the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), popularly and officially known as the Wrens, as a Bletchley Park codebreaker, poses for a photograph with the Legion d'honneur after receiving it during a ceremony at the Pear at Parley in Ferndown, Bournemouth PA UK news in pictures 7 October 2021 British comedian Jo Brand poses with cut-out silhouettes representing women outside the Metropolitan Police headquarters New Scotland Yard, to highlight violence against women by male police officers or former police officers AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA

They added: "We are shocked by the letters that have been received and apologise to the family involved. If they decide to report this case, we will work closely with the police as part of their investigation. "It is understood that these Pay As You Go SIM cards were ordered online via the O2 website on 13 August 2017. To order a free SIM card online, a form must be completed identifying the name and address that the SIM is to be sent to.

"The family involved has been assured that O2 will work closely with them and the police to assist any future investigation if they choose to report the letters."

This was the latest in a number of recent hate mail incidents, which have seen mosques, politicians and individuals targetted.

Earlier this year, MPs received Punish a Muslim letters, some of which offered rewards for throwing acid, burning or bombing a mosque and pulling the head scarf off a Muslim woman.

The United Nations last week warned that the UK has experienced a growth in racism since the Brexit, which has contributed to the increased prominence of extreme views.

Some people might experience [Islamophobic abuse] when theyre walking down the street and just brush it off, said Jawad.

But when it comes from a company like O2 or any sort of big organisation then to ignore it almost gives it a platform and legitimises it further. So it shouldnt be ignored and it should be reported.

Even just for the purposes of statistics, people should know that these things are happening.
Sergei Skripals niece has been refused a visa to visit Britain for a second time as he continues to be treated for nerve agent exposure.

A Home Office spokesperson said: We have refused a visa application from Viktoria Skripal on the grounds that she did not meet the requirements of the immigration rules.

Viktoria Skripal previously attempted to gain a visa to travel from Moscow in early April and was turned down on the same basis, with her cousin Yulia publicly saying she did not wish to see her.

Ms Skripal has appealed to the government to let her visit her uncle and cousin, who are recovering following the attack in Salisbury on 4 March.

In April she revealed what was claimed to be recorded comments from phone conversations, but in a statement released last month Yulia said that no one speaks for me, or for my father, but ourselves.

I thank my cousin Viktoria for her concern for us, but ask that she does not visit me or try to contact me for the time being, she added.

I have access to friends and family, and I have been made aware of my specific contacts at the Russian embassy who have kindly offered me their assistance in any way they can.

At the moment I do not wish to avail myself of their services, but, if I change my mind I know how to contact them.

Mr Skripal remains at Salisbury District Hospital, where officials said his condition is improving and he is no longer in a critical condition.

His daughter was discharged last month and is recovering in an undisclosed location.

Russian officials have repeatedly attempted to cast Yulias situation as forced isolation and cast doubt on whether statements really belong to Yulia.

The Kremlin has repeatedly denied any role in the nerve agent attack on Mr Skripal, a former double agent who was jailed for treason in Russia before moving to the UK following a 2010 spy swap.

Police concluded that nerve agent had been smeared on the door handle of his home in a quiet Salisbury cul-de-sac, affecting both him and his daughter during her visit from Russia.

Members of the emergency services, including DS Nick Bailey, were also affected by the substance and decontamination work continues across the Wiltshire city to rid sites they visited of any traces.

Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Members of the emergency services in hazard suits fix the tent over the bench where Sergei and Yulia Skripal were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March 2018. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Sergei Skripal The retired Russian colonel and former double agent for MI6 was in a critical condition in hospital for more than two months after being exposed to novichok in Salisbury. He was given refuge in the UK after being jailed in Moscow for treason. Mr Skripal came to Britain as part of a high-profile spy swap in 2010 in which four men were exchanged for ten Russian "sleeper agents" in the US. In this image he is speaking to his lawyer from behind bars in Moscow in 2006. AP Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Yulia Skripal Yulia Skripal was struck down by a novichok poison alongside her father Sergei. Facebook Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack A police officer stands guard outside a branch of the Italian chain restaurant Zizzi where the pair dined at before falling ill. It was boarded off whilst investigators worked on the building and later found traces of the chemical weapon within it. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Scene of attack Large areas of central Salisbury were cordoned off by police following the discovery of the Skripals. Traces of nerve agent were also found in The Mill pub. PA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Victim - Nick Bailey Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, rushed to the aid of the Russian ex-spy and his daughter who were targeted with a nerve agent. He was hospitalized after aiding them and didn't leave until three weeks after the attack. Wiltshire Police/Rex Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - Skripals home Police believe they were poisoned at home, and detectives found the highest concentration of novichok on the front door of Mr Skripals house. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Theresa May visits scene of attack Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May spokes with Wiltshire Police's Chief Constable Kier Pritchard near where the Skripal's were found. Britain expelled 23 Russian diplomats over the nerve agent poisoning and suspended high-level contacts, including for the World Cup on March 14. Theresa May told parliament that Russia had failed to respond to her demand for an explanation on how a Soviet-designed chemical, Novichok, was used in Salisbury. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Skripal days before attack Sergei Skripal days before he was exposed to Novichok, that has left him fighting for life. ITV News Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation - military involvement British soldiers were deployed soon after the attack to help a counter-terrorism investigation into the nerve agent attack. One of the places they were asked to help out with was Skripal's home and it's surrounding. They were asked to remove a vehicle connected to the agent attack in Salisbury, from a residential street in Gillingham. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation Personnel in protective coveralls and breathing equipment cover an ambulance with a tarpaulin at the Salisbury District Hospital. AFP/Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The investigation extended to the grave of Sergei Skripal's son Alexander in London Road cemetery. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Police investigation The Counter Terrorism Policing Network requested assistance from the military to remove a number of vehicles and objects from Salisbury. EPA Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Home Secretary visits scene of attack Home Secretary Amber Rudd visited the scene of the nerve agent attack at the Maltings shopping centre on 9 March. Getty Skripal attack aftermath  in pictures Yulia Skripal speaks for the first time Yulia Skripal, speaking for the first time, said she felt lucky to have survived the nerve agent attack in Salisbury which left her fighting for life. Ms Skripal said her life had been turned upside down by the assassination attempt. But the Russian national added she hoped to return to her homeland one day, despite the Kremlin being blamed for the attack. Reuters

The British government has accused Russia of culpability after identifying the nerve agent used as one of the Soviet-developed novichok group and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed its analysis.

Investigators have not yet identified who carried out the poisoning, the national security adviser told MPs earlier this month.

Sir Mark Sedwill said police were reviewing the security of all defected Russian spies living in the UK in the wake of the unprecedented attack.

He insisted that authorities had acted much faster than following the murder of another former Russian spy, Alexander Litvinenko, with radioactive polonium in 2006.

Little over a week after the attack in Salisbury, Russian businessman Nikolai Glushkov was found strangled at his London home. No one has been arrested in relation to his death and police investigations continue.

Scotland Yard said there was no immediate evidence of a link to the attack on Mr Skripal, but Mr Glushkovs links to Russian dissident Boris Berezovsky sparked fresh scrutiny over a string of suspicious deaths.
Theresa May has pledged to publish a white paper setting out precise explanations on key aspects of Britains Brexit vision.

Brexit secretary David Davis hailed the promised document to come next month as our most significant publication on the EU since the referendum.

Aides have indicated it will cover future trade, financial services regulation and clearly establish the UKs position on the vexed issue at the heart of withdrawal negotiations  future customs relations.

The paper is an attempt to get on the front foot in Brussels amid fears that EU negotiators too often set the agenda, to reassure Tory MPs that Ms May has a coherent plan and give civil servants a framework upon which to take decisions.

But it comes amid deadlock in cabinet over customs relations, stalemate in parliament in efforts to pass Brexit legislation and claims from the EU that no progress has been made in negotiations since March.

The prime minister confirmed to her cabinet on Tuesday that that the government is producing the white paper on its proposed future relationship with the EU.

 EU minister says little progress has been made on Brexit since March

Mr Davis told the meeting: This will be our most significant publication on the EU since the referendum.

It will communicate our ambition for the UKs future relationship with the EU, in the context of our vision for the UKs future role in the world.

He went on to tell senior ministers that it is an opportunity to set out clearly to both a domestic and an EU audience the reasoning behind our approach, including where we think it is clearly in the EUs interests as well as our own.

The document will include detailed, ambitious and precise explanations of our positions ... it should set out what will change and what will feel different outside the EU.

The Independent understands that officials have been tasked to wrap a broad array of issues into the document, such as future dispute settlement, cooperation with EU bodies, the security partnership, law enforcement and defence and foreign policy.

 Jeremy Corbyn risks becoming 'Midwife of Brexit', says David Miliband

It will also cover digital and broadcasting issues, science, transport and energy and the aims of the future UK/EU economic partnership, taking in the Britains services sectors, financial regulation, goods, agricultural, food and fisheries products.

Critically, it will also look at customs arrangements  despite British cabinet ministers still being split down the middle over whether to diverge from the EUs customs union or opt for closer arrangements.

Another meeting of the cabinets Brexit subcommittee ended on Tuesday without ministers agreeing to a clear plan on which of Ms Mays two options on customs relations to adopt.

Brexit so far: in pictures Show all 53 1 /53 Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson led the VoteLeave campaign PA Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson MP, Labour MP Gisela Stuart and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell address the people of Stafford in Market Square during the Vote Leave Brexit Battle Bus tour on 17 May 2016. Their lead line on the tour was: We send the EU 350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead. Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Voting day A man shelters from the rain as he arrives at a polling station in London on 23 June 2016. Millions of Britons voted in the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Referendum results Leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, reacts at the Leave EU referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London as results indicated that it was likely the UK would leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Protesting the result A young couple painted as EU flags and a man with a sign reading Im not leaving protest outside Downing Street against the voters decision to leave the EU on 24 June 2016 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures David Cameron resigns British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 24 June 2016 after the results of the EU referendum were declared and the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Theresa May Becomes the new Conservative Party leader Theresa May receives a kiss from her husband Philip, after becoming the new Conservative Party leader on 11 July 2016. May became Prime Minister two days later and although she voted to remain in the referendum was keen to lead Britains Brexit talks after her only rival in the race to succeed David Cameron pulled out unexpectedly. May was left as the only contender standing after the withdrawal from the leadership race of Andrea Leadsom, who faced criticism for suggesting she was more qualified to be prime minister because she had children AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Lancaster House keynote speech on Brexit British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London on 17 January 2017. Where she spoke about her offer to introduce a transition period after the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019. Despite repeating the pro-Brexit mantra of no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister claimed she wanted a tone of trust between the negotiators and said Britain was leaving the EU but not Europe. She said there should be a clear double lock needed for the transitional period to make sure businesses had time to prepare for changes to their trading relationships with the EU Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Triggering of Article 50 British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on 29 March 2017 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Gibraltar nonsense Tensions have risen over Brexit negotiations for the Rock of Gibraltar. The European Council has said Gibraltar would be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with the agreement of Spain. While former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory. Spain's foreign minister stepped in only to assert that there was no need for the dispute Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Shock snap election Soon after triggering Article 50, Theresa May called on 18 April 2017 for a snap general election. The election would be on 8 June and it came as a shock move to many, with her reasoning to try to bolster her position before tough talks on leaving the EU AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Dissolution of Parliament for General Election Campaign Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after returning from Buckingham Palace on 3 May 2017. The Prime Minister visited the Queen to ask for the dissolution of Parliament signalling the official start to the general election campaign Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Conservatives lose parliamentary majority An arrangement of British daily newspapers showing front page stories about the exit poll results of the snap general election. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on 9 June 2017 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loomed. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Labour gains Britains opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a tumbs up as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London on 9 June 2017 after the snap general election results showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit negotiations begin Brexit Minister David Davis and European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations Michel Barnier address a press conference at the end of the first day of Brexit negotiations in Brussels on 19 June 2017 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May speaks in Florence British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on 22 September 2017, in Florence. May sought to unlock Brexit talks after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  insufficient progress German Chancellor Angela Merkel joins other EU leaders for a breakfast meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on 20 October 2017. The EU spoke about Brexit and announced that insufficient progress had been made AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures DUP derails settlement on the withdrawal part of Brexit DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds walks off after speaking to members of the media as a protester holding flags shouts after him outside the Houses of Parliament on 5 December 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to pull out of a deal with Brussels after the DUP said it would not accept terms which see Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May suffers defeat over EU (Withdrawal) Bill Theresa May suffers defeat in parliament over EU (Withdrawal) Bill on 13 December 2017. The Government was defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation. MPs amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill against Theresa May's will, guaranteeing Parliament a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels. Ms May's whips applied pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305 Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  sufficient progress Britain's Prime minister Theresa May arrives to attend the first day of a European union summit in Brussels on 14 December 2017. European leaders discussed Brexit and announced there was finally sufficient progress at the end of the two days AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures The game moves to transition Brexit Secretary David Davis gives evidence on developments in European Union divorce talks to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Portcullis House, London, on 24 January 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures Trade deal is what May wants French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after they hold a press conference at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, on 18 January 2018. May and Macron agreed a new border security deal, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores on 18 January 2018 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Transition period agreed The UK and EU agree terms for Brexit transition period on 19 March, 2018 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures No agreement on Irish border The EU and UK however failed to reach an agreement on the Irish border during the successful talks on other Brexit issues AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU attacks Mays fantasy strategy For months after the March deal is struck there is little significant progress in talks. One senior EU official tears into Britains fantasy negotiating strategy and accuses Theresa May of not even having a position on a variety of important issue Getty Brexit so far: in pictures UK releases Ireland plan Britain releases a new customs plan to solve the Northern Ireland border but Michel Barnier says it leaves unanswered questions and would not prevent a hard border EbS Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan agreed The cabinet agrees on a plan known as the "Chequers deal" on July 6 2018. The plan seeks regulatory alignment on goods and food, divergence on services, freedom from the European Courts of Justice and an end to free movement. Many were surprised that the hard Brexiteers of the cabinet would agree to this plan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan sparks resignations Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and numerous ministers resign in the days following the Chequers agreement Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Davis out, Raab in On 9 July, Dominic Raab replaces David Davis as Brexit Secretary. Raab is a keen Brexiteer and was a housing minister before taking over from Davis Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Barnier's "deal like no other" EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier claims on August 29 2018 that they are prepared to offer Britain a trade deal like no other, though he stressed that they will not divide or change the single market to accommodate Britain AP Brexit so far: in pictures "My deal or no deal" In an interview on Panorama on September 17, the Prime Minister insists that any Brexit deal will be offered to the EU on her terms. She asserts this amongst continued attacks on her approach to Brexit by Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, headed by Jacob Rees Mogg BBC/Jeff Overs Brexit so far: in pictures EU leaders reject Chequers Quite the blow was dealt to the Prime Minister at a EU leaders summit in Salzburg on September 20. European Council President Donald Tusk stated that the Chequers deal "will not work" Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures May demands respect Following the rejection of her Chequers plan the day before, the Prime Minister voiced her anger that the EU had dismissed it without offering an alternative. She stated that throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it." Getty Brexit so far: in pictures People's Vote march As the People's Vote campaign and The Independent's Final Say campaign gain traction, 700,000 people turn out in London to demand a final say on the UK's Brexit deal on October 20 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures More resignations As the Prime Minister settles on a Brexit deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigns along with Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey and many other ministers Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Final Say petitions delivered to Downing Street People's Vote supporting MPs Chukka Umunna, Justine Greening and Caroline Lucas and The Independent editor Christian Broughton deliver over a million signatures in favour of a People's Vote to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on December 3 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures May delays vote On December 10, the Prime Minister delayed the vote on her Brexit deal as it was near certain not to pass through the Commons due to Tory rebels and lack of DUP support AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures No confidence motion Tory MPs triggered a confidence vote in the Prime Minister on December 12. She won by 200 votes to 117 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Commons rejects the deal Following the delay, the Prime Minister's deal was rejected in the Commons by a historic 230 votes AFP Brexit so far: in pictures Corbyn tables a no confidence motion Following the rejection of the Prime Minister's deal, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government, which the government won by a margin of 19 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Plan B The Prime Minister won the support of the commons to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop on January 29. In the same sitting, MPs also voted against a no-deal Brexit in a non-legally binding motion PA Brexit so far: in pictures EU council president savages Brexit campaigners who failed to plan for departure: Special place in hell There is a special place in hell for pro-Brexit campaigners who demanded Britain leave the EU without explaining how it should happen, Donald Tusk has said. The European Council president launched the scathing attack as he accused anti-EU campaigners of pushing for Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Mr Tusk also dismissed suggestions that the EU could reopen negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop, dealing a blow to Theresa Mays hopes of securing fresh concessions as she tries to get her exit deal through parliament. Speaking in Brussels alongside Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said: Ive been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for people who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. He also tweeted the accusation moments later Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU and UK announce talks to restart after Theresa May visits Brussels Both have agreed to restart Brexit talks to find a way through the deadlock in Westminster, following a visit by Theresa May to Brussels. In a joint statement the British government and European Commission said Ms May had had a robust but constructive meeting with president Jean-Claude Juncker, and that the pair would meet again before the end of the month. But the EU again refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement and its controversial backstop  with any negotiations expected to focus on the future relationship between the UK and EU instead Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit strategy lost MPs voted down May's Brext plans, with a majority of 45. The prime minister did not appear in parliament to see another defeat PA Brexit so far: in pictures Labour and Conservative MPs resign and create the Independent Group Back row of Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes, middle row of Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Ann Coffey and front row of Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Joan Ryan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Non-biding votes on amendments to Brexit motion On February 27 he house held a series of votes, unanimously calling for the UK and EU to guarantee citizens rights in a no-deal scenario AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Attorney General publishes legal advice A hammer blow for May as Geoffrey Cox said her renegotiated deal can still leave UK in backstop against its will. Mr Cox did say the prime ministers efforts had reduced the risk of the UK being trapped in the backstop indefinitely. MPs went on to vote against her deal by 391 to 242 UK Parliament/PA Brexit so far: in pictures No-deal off the table MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit by 43 votes on March 13, with cabinet ministers rebelling in another humiliating defeat for Theresa May. A day later they voted in favour of the prime minister seeking an extension to Article 50 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures House speaker bans May from third Commons vote on same Brexit deal John Bercow sensationally told Theresa May he would stop her making another attempt to pass her Brexit deal unless she has secured changes. The Speaker said a further meaningful vote would be ruled out of order if the motion was the same or substantially the same  under an ancient convention to stop the government bullying parliament on issues MPs have rejected Parliament Live Brexit so far: in pictures May writes to Tusk The prime minister wrote to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to ask for a three-month extension to give her more time to try to get her deal through parliament. However the European Commission advises the EU27 should offer a short extension to May 23 or a longer one meaning the UK would participate in European elections 10 Downing Street/AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures European Council summit Theresa Mays request to extend triggering Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by the EU, and instead offered a shorter time frame. She accepted the offer of a delay until May 22 if her withdrawal deal is approved by Parliament. If MPs rejected it for a third time, the EU said Britain must propose a new plan by April 12. Ms May said she will not support a long delay because it would mean Britain participating in elections for the European Parliament Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brussels confirms preparations for a no-deal Brexit are completed They warned that it is increasingly likely the UK will crash out. In a statement the European Commission (EC) said preparedness and contingency work, which the EC has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement came days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UKs Brexit date AFP Brexit so far: in pictures May resigns Reuters

Sources told The Independent that working groups set up to study each the options were yet to do any detailed work on developing them in a bid to find a cabinet compromise, with efforts to now focussing on the process they will follow to reach a consensus.

While ministers have not been given a timeframe in which to come to a mutual agreement on customs, the emergence of the white paper next month indicates they will have to make progress in the coming weeks.

On Sunday Ms May wrote a piece for The Sunday Times asking for voters to trust her to get a good deal for Brexit.

The day after she held a string of meetings with Tory backbenchers to try and assure them progress is being made.

But insiders say the white paper is also about trying to grease the wheels of Whitehall, with decisions on Brexit related issues taking a long time and other matters being held up due to broader uncertainty.

It is hoped that the document will give civil servants a clear framework upon which to take decisions across a range of policy areas, allowing the processes of government to begin moving more freely.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

It comes as Labour launched a new bid to force the government to release details of its proposals for post-Brexit customs arrangements and the Irish border.

Jeremy Corbyns party tabled a motion in the Commons for debate on Wednesday, which if passed would require the government to release to parliament all papers prepared for the Brexit subcommittee on Ms Mays two options: a customs partnership, with closer EU customs ties to avoid an Irish hard border; or max fac, with looser customs ties, but a harder border.

It is the latest in a string of Labour motions using an arcane parliamentary procedure to make the vote binding on the government by issuing a humble address to the Queen asking her to require ministers to comply.
Britain has called for a UN investigation looking at why such a volume of live ammunition was used by Israeli troops against Palestinian protestors in Gaza.

Foreign minister Alistair Burt said UK diplomats were already urgently working towards trying to establish an inquiry, after violence that left 58 dead followed Donald Trumps move to formally recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital.

But the UK stopped short of linking the deaths of protestors to the US decision, as it attempted to walk a tight diplomatic line between condemning the violence and not directly apportioning blame.

Recommended Israel faces international condemnation after 58 Palestinians killed

In a statement released after meeting her cabinet, Theresa May focussed both on action from Israels armed forces and extremist elements that were seeking to exploit the protests on the Palestinian side.

Mr Burt was speaking to the Commons during an emergency session called by shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who had cited allegations of excessive violence from Israeli soldiers.

The minister said: The United Kingdom has been clear in calling for, urgently, a need to establish the facts of what happened, including why such a volume of live fire was used.

We are supportive of that independent, transparent investigation. Already, our team at the United Nations are in work with others in relation to what we can do in relation to that.

 Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests

There are different forms of inquiry that are possible through the United Nations, but we have to find the right formula.

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, who asked the question, said the violence was the culmination of a calculated and deliberate policy to kill and maim unarmed protesters who had posed no threat to the forces on the Gaza border.

If we are in any doubt about the lethal intent of the Israeli snipers working on the border, Im afraid we only need to look at the wounds suffered by their victims Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry

She argued that many of the victims had been shot in the back, hundreds of metres from the border, and pointed out that many of them were children.

In hard hitting comments, she went on: And if we are in any doubt about the lethal intent of the Israeli snipers working on the border, Im afraid we only need to look at the wounds suffered by their victims.

On hunting websites in America, they regularly debate the merits of 7.6mm bullets versus the 5.5mm bullets. The latter, they say, is effective when you want to wound multiple internal organs, while the former is preferred by some because, and I quote, it is designed to mushroom and fragment, to do maximum internal damage to the animal.

 Palestinian photographer Ahmad Abu Hussein shot by Israeli forces in Gaza

And it was this ammunition, it is alleged, that was used in Gaza yesterday against men, women and children.

Labour MP Andy Slaughter later urged the government to suspend arms sales to Israel and give an unqualified condemnation of its actions, while Tooting MP Rosena Allin-Khan called on the government to condemn Mr Trumps decision and cancel a pending visit from the president next month.

Ministers discussed the situation in Gaza at the weekly meeting of the cabinet where Ms May urged both sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence.

In a statement, the prime ministers official spokesperson said the government was extremely concerned by the scale of the violence, describing the loss of life and injuries to the Palestinians as tragic.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

It is extremely worrying that the number of those killed continues to rise. Such violence is destructive to peace efforts. We call on all sides to show restraint and refrain from any further violence, he said.

Palestinians have the right to protest but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements may be seeking to hijack peaceful protests to further their own objectives.

Israel has the right to defend its borders and we do not question that. However the use of live fire is deeply troubling and has led to significant loss of life. We urge Israel to show greater restraint.

The spokesperson also set out the governments position on the US moving its embassy to Israel to Jerusalem, saying the UK disagreed with it and that Britains diplomatic centre in the country would remain in Tel Aviv.

But pressed on whether the UK believed the violence was directly caused by Mr Trumps embassy move, the spokesperson said only: Its a complex picture. I dont have that information.
Boris Johnson and his EU counterparts will meet with the Iranian foreign minister on Tuesday evening in a bid to save the Iran nuclear deal following Donald Trumps decision to take the US out of the agreement.

The Foreign Secretary, as well as his French, German, European Commission counterparts will meet with Mohammad Javad Zarif in Brussels to explore ways to shield Iran from the effects of new US sanctions threatened by Washington.

Speaking ahead of the meeting Mr Johnson urged the US to hold off from further destabilising the agreement, which the European Commission said last week Mr Trump had no power to unilaterally scrap.

The US president said he was ashamed of the deal, which was struck by his predecessor Barack Obama. The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which would see Iran dramatically slash its nuclear capability in exchange for a gradual end to crippling sanctions, is highly politicised in the US, and is also rejected by Israel, a close American ally in the region.

International observers, who have been given access to Iranian nuclear facilities under the plan, say their inspections show Iran has been holding up its part of the bargain.

The EU showdown with Mr Trump comes amid a backdrop of worsening trade relations with the US. The right-wing US president has said he will impose tariffs on EU and other countries still, with European trying to negotiate an opt-out.

This deal is not a bilateral treaty, it is a UN security council resolution, and it belongs to the entire world Federica Mogherini, EU high representative for foreign affairs

Crucially, the US has not ruled out sanctioning European companies that continue to trade with Iran when it imposes new sanctions.

Speaking as he arrived in Brussels Mr Johnson said: The UK and our European partners continue to view the nuclear deal as vital for our shared security, and remain fully committed to upholding it.

We are working with France and Germany to explore the best way forward. We will look at potential options for supporting continued sanctions relief for Iran to ensure we meet our commitments under the deal, as well as calling on Iran to continue to abide by the restrictions the deal places upon their nuclear programme.

 EU remains committed to Iran nuclear deal despite US withdrawal says Federica Mogherin

Our meeting with Iranian FM Zarif in Brussels is a chance to discuss how we can continue to support sanctions relief with Iran while they maintain their nuclear agreement obligations, but also raise our worries about Irans wider, disruptive, behaviour in the Middle East region.

I also call on the US to avoid any actions that could prevent the remaining parties to the agreement from meeting their commitments under the deal  including delivering sanctions relief through legitimate trade.

Earlier this week Mr Johnson said Mr Trump would deserve a Nobel peace prize if he solve the Iranian issue and brought reconciliation to the Korean peninsula.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Federica Mogherini, the EUs top diplomat, said: I believe we have a responsibility and a duty, I would say, to do all we can  and we can do a lot  to presser the nuclear deal with Iran.

Ive been saying for one year now, probably more, especially to our friends in the US administration, that this deal is not a bilateral treaty, it is a UN security council resolution, and it belongs to the entire world.

The consequence of that is that no single country along can destroy the deal or undo the deal, because all the others stay in. This is what we are seeing in these days: the reaction of the international community, almost unanimously backing the full continuation of the full implementation of the deal.
Parliamentary authorities have announced plans to introduce a latte levy on takeaway coffee cups and a complete ban on plastic water bottles from the summer of 2018

The radical action to rid parliament of more than 750,000 disposable coffee cups and 125,000 plastic bottles from the estates annual waste aims to virtually eliminate plastics from the building by 2019.

It follows a campaign launched earlier this year by The Independent to encourage the introduction of reusable coffee cups and calling for coffee shop companies to introduce the 25p charge on disposable cups to combat waste.

Mary Creagh, the Labour MP and chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, who has also been leading a charge for a latte levy, welcomed the move as an important step to creating the worlds first plastic-free parliament.

She continued: Parliaments action stands in stark contrasts to ministers who consult, announce and reannounce but never seem to do anything to turn back the plastic tide.

Parliaments action will include stopping the purchase of all non-recyclable coffee cups, replacing them with a compostable alternative.

For a trial period, a 25p charge will be added to hot drinks in the new cups, which authorities hope will encourage long-term behaviour away from single-use plastics.

And in order to move away from the use of plastic water bottles on the estate, authorities added that the availability of water dispensers will be increased as it stops the sale of bottled mineral water.

Sir Paul Beresford, the Conservative MP and chair of the Administration Committee, which recommended the proposal for the Commons, said he was delighted to introduce the measures, adding: Our aim is to remove, as far as possible, disposable plastic items from the parliamentary estate.

Our challenging targets reflect parliaments commitments to leading the way in environmental sustainability, he said.

His counterpart in the upper chamber, Lord Laming, said: Parliament has acknowledged the damaging effect single-use disposable plastic is having on the environment and that it must lead the way in valuing our environmental future over convenience.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA

This review has taken a holistic approach to plastic reduction, considering everything from disposable cutlery to packaging. The House of Lords has already substituted plastic straws with compostable paper ones, and eliminated plastic condiment sachets. I am delighted that parliament will now be going much further to reduce the impact we make on the environment.

We all have a responsibility in this, so its time to really start to think about the steps everyone can take to reduce their plastic use. I hope that the measures parliament will implement over the next 12 months will inspire other organisations and people to make changes in their everyday lives.

Authorities all said that the House of Commons will follow the Lords in discontinuing sachets of condiments  estimated to be around 335,000 per year. Plastic carrier bags will also be phased out and replaced by paper carries bags in shops frequented by tourists on the parliamentary estate.

The action comes after Ms Creaghs committee recommended the government introduce a latte levy on disposable coffee cups across the UK and a complete ban on their sale by 2023.

The committee criticised the government, claiming it had sat on its hands as the country threw away 2.5 billion single-use coffee cups a year.
Sadiq Khan has pledged to build 10,000 new council homes in London over the next four years.

The mayor of London will use funds from a 1.67bn pot he secured from the government in its spring statement to increase the number of homes in the capital.

He is also allowing London councils to bid for grant funding at a special rate, which will allow them to offer new homes based on social rent levels more easily, his office said.

Mr Khan criticised the government for failing to give councils in London the freedoms they require to ensure homes sold under the Right to Buy scheme are replaced.

Since Right to Buy was introduced in 1980, 306,000 social homes have been sold by councils in London, according to the Ministry of Housing.

During the same time, only 62,000 new homes have been built at social rent.

 Number of social housing properties in England drops 11 per cent in one year

Mr Khan said: I grew up on a council estate and I know first-hand the vital role social housing plays in London.

"Council homes for social rent bind our city together, and they have been built thanks to the ambition of Londons councils over many decades.

Back in the 1970s, when I was growing up, London councils built thousands of social homes, providing homes for families and generations of Londoners.

"But the government has turned its back on local authorities, severely hampering their ambition to build by cutting funding and imposing arbitrary restrictions on borrowing."

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 October 2021 A protester, wearing a mask of Johnson, holds a sign reading Question it all on the final day of the Tory conference Getty UK news in pictures 5 October 2021 Members of Insulate Britain outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, before a hearing over the injunction banning the environmental activists from blocking the M25 PA UK news in pictures 4 October 2021 A delegate passes a street cleaner on the second day of the annual Conservative Party Conference being held at the Manchester Central convention centre AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 3 October 2021 Margaret Thatcher-themed mugs for sale at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester EPA UK news in pictures 2 October 2021 A couple make their way through a flooded underpass in Bristol as a yellow weather warning for rain and wind is issued for parts of the UK Tom Wren/SWNS UK news in pictures 1 October 2021 A driver talks to members of the media after passing his HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) driving test at National Driving Centre in Croydon, south London AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 30 September 2021 The centrepiece One Thousand Springs by Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota is seen ahead of the beginning of the Japan Festival, a celebration of the countrys plants, art and culture running from 2-31 October, at Kew Gardens in London PA UK news in pictures 29 September 2021 The family of Betty Campbell unveil the bronze sculpture of her during the unveiling of the statue in Central Square, Cardiff, of Betty Campbell, Wales' first black headteacher PA UK news in pictures 28 September 2021 A sign referring to the lack of fuel is placed at the entrance to a petrol station in London AP UK news in pictures 27 September 2021 Police officers detain a protester from Insulate Britain occupying a roundabout leading from the M25 motorway to Heathrow Airport in London PA UK news in pictures 26 September 2021 Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer watches the Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur match at The Font pub in Brighton PA UK news in pictures 25 September 2021 Scottish pro-independence supporters hold a march and rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK news in pictures 24 September 2021 Police officers remove two protesters from the top of a tanker, as Insulate Britain block the A20 in Kent, which provides access to the Port of Dover in Kent. The environmental activists have moved location after been banned from campaigning on the M25 motorway in London PA UK news in pictures 23 September 2021 Gabriella, the seven year old daughter of imprisoned British-Iranian Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, joins in a game on a giant snakes and ladders board in Parliament Square, to show the ups and downs of her mothers case to mark the 2,000 days she has been detained in Iran AP UK news in pictures 22 September 2021 A new sign hangs on the Millicent Fawcett statue after it was altered by CrackTheCrises coalition activists to highlight the climate crisis as a feminist struggle in Parliament Square in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 September 2021 Gabriella Diment prepares a monumental bronze patinated fibreglass wall sculpture depicting household cavalry soldiers on horseback which is expected to be sold for 12,000-18,000 when it goes up for auction at Summers Place Auctions in Billinghurst, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 September 2021 Florist Judith Blacklock puts the finishing touches to a floral carousel installation in Halkin Arcade, which she has designed with Neill Strain for the Belgravia in Bloom festival, running from September 20-26, in London PA UK news in pictures 19 September 2021 Bubbles surround Manchester Uniteds Cristiano Ronaldo before the match against West Ham at London Stadium Action Images/Reuters UK news in pictures 18 September 2021 Children take part in the Settrington Cup Pedal Car Race as motoring enthusiasts attend the Goodwood Revival, a three-day historic car racing festival in Goodwood, Chichester, Reuters UK news in pictures 17 September 2021 Hugo, 7, from London rides past a 4x7 metre rainbow arch, made entirely of recycled aluminium cans, which has been installed by recycling initiative 'Every Can Counts', in partnership with The City of London Corporation in front of St Paul's Cathedral in London, to encourage members of the public to recycle their drinks cans ahead of recycling week, which starts on 20 September PA UK news in pictures 16 September 2021 Sheikeh MOhammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, leader of Abu Dhabi, leaves Downing Street after meeting with Boris Johnson PA UK news in pictures 15 September 2021 Children pose by ice sculptures depicting people collecting water by charity Water Aid to show the fragility of water and the threat posed by climate change in London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 14 September 2021 Heavy rain covers the A149 near Kings Lynn in Norfolk PA UK news in pictures 13 September 2021 Luke Jerram's 'Museum of the Moon' at Durham Cathedral PA UK news in pictures 12 September 2021 Inspirational young fundraiser Tobias Weller crosses the finish line, near his home in Sheffield, as he completes his latest epic feat where he swam and triked his way to the end of his awesome year-long Ironman Challenge. This is the third challenge Tobias, who has cerebral palsy and autism, has completed, raising more than 150,000 for his school and Sheffield Children Hospitals charity PA UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 British player Emma Raducanu, holds up the US Open championship trophy winning the women's singles final of the US Open in New York AP UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA

Mr Khan added: I am proud to launch Building Council Homes for Londoners  the first ever City Hall programme dedicated to new council housing.

"I want to help councils get back to building homes for Londoners again, and Im doing that with support from the 1.67bn fund I secured from government to help get 10,000 new homes underway over the next four years.

I am offering councils expertise and resources from City Hall to scale up their homebuilding programmes, and I will help them to replace homes sold through Right to Buy.

"The government is failing to enable councils to replace the hundreds of thousands of council homes sold through Right to Buy, and so I will do all I can to help councils replace as many of them as possible.
The Scottish parliament has voted against backing Theresa Mays key piece of Brexit legislation, paving the way for a constitutional crisis.

Politicians at Holyrood refused to grant consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill, meaning Downing Street may have to take the unprecedented step of overruling the Edinburgh assembly to make Brexit happen.

There is still a chance that Westminster and the Scottish National Party administration may strike a deal in a row about powers returning to the UK from Brussels after withdrawal.

Recommended No significant progress made on any Brexit issue in talks since March

It comes amid stalemate in Brussels Brexit talks, in efforts to pass the withdrawal bill and others through parliament and in the cabinets attempts to compromise on what kind of future customs relations to seek.

There is a battle between London and Edinburgh about what happens to powers currently held in Brussels after Brexit, with the SNP claiming some relating to agriculture and fisheries that should go to Scotland, will be usurped by London under Ms Mays bill.

Scottish Brexit minister Mike Russell told MSPs they needed to defend the progress which has been made in the 20 years of devolution.

He said: It is our job to ensure that it is not cast aside because of a Brexit which Scotland did not vote for and which can only be damaging to our country.

 David Davis writes last minute letter to Tory MPs in attempt to prevent EU withdrawal bill defeat

Today the challenge of Brexit  or rather the challenge of the proposed power grab by the UK government under the guise of delivering Brexit  puts our devolved settlement at risk.

A Scottish government motion making clear that Edinburghs assembly does not consent to the EU Withdrawal Bill was approved by 93 votes to 30.

SNP, Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat MSPs all voted against consent, with only the Scottish Conservatives arguing that changes already made to the bill go far enough to protect devolution.

If no deal between Edinburgh and London is reached, Westminster has the option of enacting the legislation against the wishes of the Scottish parliament  something which has never been done before and which could spark a constitutional crisis.

The move would also strengthen the hand of the SNPs Nicola Sturgeon as she continues to make the case for Scottish independence.

Mr Russell said the vote will not be the end of the process, adding that he will now write to Ms Mays de facto deputy, David Lidington, calling on him to come to Scotland and hear the concerns of all parties.

Brexit so far: in pictures Show all 53 1 /53 Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson led the VoteLeave campaign PA Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson MP, Labour MP Gisela Stuart and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell address the people of Stafford in Market Square during the Vote Leave Brexit Battle Bus tour on 17 May 2016. Their lead line on the tour was: We send the EU 350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead. Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Voting day A man shelters from the rain as he arrives at a polling station in London on 23 June 2016. Millions of Britons voted in the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Referendum results Leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, reacts at the Leave EU referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London as results indicated that it was likely the UK would leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Protesting the result A young couple painted as EU flags and a man with a sign reading Im not leaving protest outside Downing Street against the voters decision to leave the EU on 24 June 2016 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures David Cameron resigns British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 24 June 2016 after the results of the EU referendum were declared and the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Theresa May Becomes the new Conservative Party leader Theresa May receives a kiss from her husband Philip, after becoming the new Conservative Party leader on 11 July 2016. May became Prime Minister two days later and although she voted to remain in the referendum was keen to lead Britains Brexit talks after her only rival in the race to succeed David Cameron pulled out unexpectedly. May was left as the only contender standing after the withdrawal from the leadership race of Andrea Leadsom, who faced criticism for suggesting she was more qualified to be prime minister because she had children AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Lancaster House keynote speech on Brexit British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London on 17 January 2017. Where she spoke about her offer to introduce a transition period after the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019. Despite repeating the pro-Brexit mantra of no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister claimed she wanted a tone of trust between the negotiators and said Britain was leaving the EU but not Europe. She said there should be a clear double lock needed for the transitional period to make sure businesses had time to prepare for changes to their trading relationships with the EU Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Triggering of Article 50 British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on 29 March 2017 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Gibraltar nonsense Tensions have risen over Brexit negotiations for the Rock of Gibraltar. The European Council has said Gibraltar would be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with the agreement of Spain. While former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory. Spain's foreign minister stepped in only to assert that there was no need for the dispute Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Shock snap election Soon after triggering Article 50, Theresa May called on 18 April 2017 for a snap general election. The election would be on 8 June and it came as a shock move to many, with her reasoning to try to bolster her position before tough talks on leaving the EU AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Dissolution of Parliament for General Election Campaign Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after returning from Buckingham Palace on 3 May 2017. The Prime Minister visited the Queen to ask for the dissolution of Parliament signalling the official start to the general election campaign Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Conservatives lose parliamentary majority An arrangement of British daily newspapers showing front page stories about the exit poll results of the snap general election. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on 9 June 2017 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loomed. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Labour gains Britains opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a tumbs up as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London on 9 June 2017 after the snap general election results showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit negotiations begin Brexit Minister David Davis and European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations Michel Barnier address a press conference at the end of the first day of Brexit negotiations in Brussels on 19 June 2017 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May speaks in Florence British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on 22 September 2017, in Florence. May sought to unlock Brexit talks after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  insufficient progress German Chancellor Angela Merkel joins other EU leaders for a breakfast meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on 20 October 2017. The EU spoke about Brexit and announced that insufficient progress had been made AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures DUP derails settlement on the withdrawal part of Brexit DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds walks off after speaking to members of the media as a protester holding flags shouts after him outside the Houses of Parliament on 5 December 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to pull out of a deal with Brussels after the DUP said it would not accept terms which see Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May suffers defeat over EU (Withdrawal) Bill Theresa May suffers defeat in parliament over EU (Withdrawal) Bill on 13 December 2017. The Government was defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation. MPs amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill against Theresa May's will, guaranteeing Parliament a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels. Ms May's whips applied pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305 Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  sufficient progress Britain's Prime minister Theresa May arrives to attend the first day of a European union summit in Brussels on 14 December 2017. European leaders discussed Brexit and announced there was finally sufficient progress at the end of the two days AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures The game moves to transition Brexit Secretary David Davis gives evidence on developments in European Union divorce talks to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Portcullis House, London, on 24 January 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures Trade deal is what May wants French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after they hold a press conference at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, on 18 January 2018. May and Macron agreed a new border security deal, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores on 18 January 2018 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Transition period agreed The UK and EU agree terms for Brexit transition period on 19 March, 2018 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures No agreement on Irish border The EU and UK however failed to reach an agreement on the Irish border during the successful talks on other Brexit issues AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU attacks Mays fantasy strategy For months after the March deal is struck there is little significant progress in talks. One senior EU official tears into Britains fantasy negotiating strategy and accuses Theresa May of not even having a position on a variety of important issue Getty Brexit so far: in pictures UK releases Ireland plan Britain releases a new customs plan to solve the Northern Ireland border but Michel Barnier says it leaves unanswered questions and would not prevent a hard border EbS Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan agreed The cabinet agrees on a plan known as the "Chequers deal" on July 6 2018. The plan seeks regulatory alignment on goods and food, divergence on services, freedom from the European Courts of Justice and an end to free movement. Many were surprised that the hard Brexiteers of the cabinet would agree to this plan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan sparks resignations Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and numerous ministers resign in the days following the Chequers agreement Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Davis out, Raab in On 9 July, Dominic Raab replaces David Davis as Brexit Secretary. Raab is a keen Brexiteer and was a housing minister before taking over from Davis Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Barnier's "deal like no other" EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier claims on August 29 2018 that they are prepared to offer Britain a trade deal like no other, though he stressed that they will not divide or change the single market to accommodate Britain AP Brexit so far: in pictures "My deal or no deal" In an interview on Panorama on September 17, the Prime Minister insists that any Brexit deal will be offered to the EU on her terms. She asserts this amongst continued attacks on her approach to Brexit by Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, headed by Jacob Rees Mogg BBC/Jeff Overs Brexit so far: in pictures EU leaders reject Chequers Quite the blow was dealt to the Prime Minister at a EU leaders summit in Salzburg on September 20. European Council President Donald Tusk stated that the Chequers deal "will not work" Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures May demands respect Following the rejection of her Chequers plan the day before, the Prime Minister voiced her anger that the EU had dismissed it without offering an alternative. She stated that throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it." Getty Brexit so far: in pictures People's Vote march As the People's Vote campaign and The Independent's Final Say campaign gain traction, 700,000 people turn out in London to demand a final say on the UK's Brexit deal on October 20 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures More resignations As the Prime Minister settles on a Brexit deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigns along with Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey and many other ministers Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Final Say petitions delivered to Downing Street People's Vote supporting MPs Chukka Umunna, Justine Greening and Caroline Lucas and The Independent editor Christian Broughton deliver over a million signatures in favour of a People's Vote to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on December 3 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures May delays vote On December 10, the Prime Minister delayed the vote on her Brexit deal as it was near certain not to pass through the Commons due to Tory rebels and lack of DUP support AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures No confidence motion Tory MPs triggered a confidence vote in the Prime Minister on December 12. She won by 200 votes to 117 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Commons rejects the deal Following the delay, the Prime Minister's deal was rejected in the Commons by a historic 230 votes AFP Brexit so far: in pictures Corbyn tables a no confidence motion Following the rejection of the Prime Minister's deal, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government, which the government won by a margin of 19 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Plan B The Prime Minister won the support of the commons to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop on January 29. In the same sitting, MPs also voted against a no-deal Brexit in a non-legally binding motion PA Brexit so far: in pictures EU council president savages Brexit campaigners who failed to plan for departure: Special place in hell There is a special place in hell for pro-Brexit campaigners who demanded Britain leave the EU without explaining how it should happen, Donald Tusk has said. The European Council president launched the scathing attack as he accused anti-EU campaigners of pushing for Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Mr Tusk also dismissed suggestions that the EU could reopen negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop, dealing a blow to Theresa Mays hopes of securing fresh concessions as she tries to get her exit deal through parliament. Speaking in Brussels alongside Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said: Ive been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for people who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. He also tweeted the accusation moments later Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU and UK announce talks to restart after Theresa May visits Brussels Both have agreed to restart Brexit talks to find a way through the deadlock in Westminster, following a visit by Theresa May to Brussels. In a joint statement the British government and European Commission said Ms May had had a robust but constructive meeting with president Jean-Claude Juncker, and that the pair would meet again before the end of the month. But the EU again refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement and its controversial backstop  with any negotiations expected to focus on the future relationship between the UK and EU instead Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit strategy lost MPs voted down May's Brext plans, with a majority of 45. The prime minister did not appear in parliament to see another defeat PA Brexit so far: in pictures Labour and Conservative MPs resign and create the Independent Group Back row of Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes, middle row of Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Ann Coffey and front row of Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Joan Ryan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Non-biding votes on amendments to Brexit motion On February 27 he house held a series of votes, unanimously calling for the UK and EU to guarantee citizens rights in a no-deal scenario AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Attorney General publishes legal advice A hammer blow for May as Geoffrey Cox said her renegotiated deal can still leave UK in backstop against its will. Mr Cox did say the prime ministers efforts had reduced the risk of the UK being trapped in the backstop indefinitely. MPs went on to vote against her deal by 391 to 242 UK Parliament/PA Brexit so far: in pictures No-deal off the table MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit by 43 votes on March 13, with cabinet ministers rebelling in another humiliating defeat for Theresa May. A day later they voted in favour of the prime minister seeking an extension to Article 50 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures House speaker bans May from third Commons vote on same Brexit deal John Bercow sensationally told Theresa May he would stop her making another attempt to pass her Brexit deal unless she has secured changes. The Speaker said a further meaningful vote would be ruled out of order if the motion was the same or substantially the same  under an ancient convention to stop the government bullying parliament on issues MPs have rejected Parliament Live Brexit so far: in pictures May writes to Tusk The prime minister wrote to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to ask for a three-month extension to give her more time to try to get her deal through parliament. However the European Commission advises the EU27 should offer a short extension to May 23 or a longer one meaning the UK would participate in European elections 10 Downing Street/AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures European Council summit Theresa Mays request to extend triggering Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by the EU, and instead offered a shorter time frame. She accepted the offer of a delay until May 22 if her withdrawal deal is approved by Parliament. If MPs rejected it for a third time, the EU said Britain must propose a new plan by April 12. Ms May said she will not support a long delay because it would mean Britain participating in elections for the European Parliament Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brussels confirms preparations for a no-deal Brexit are completed They warned that it is increasingly likely the UK will crash out. In a statement the European Commission (EC) said preparedness and contingency work, which the EC has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement came days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UKs Brexit date AFP Brexit so far: in pictures May resigns Reuters

While Mr Lidington has said he is open to suggestions that would improve the bill the UK government has repeatedly refused to drop the clause from the legislation which is at the centre of the dispute.

Ministers in London say no powers will be held back from Edinburgh in the future, but that the process set out in the bill is necessary to ensure a smooth Brexit.

Conservative MSP Adam Tomkins said: Its profoundly regrettable that we dont have a deal in Scotland to allow us to move on.

The blame for that lies entirely with the SNP. Nicola Sturgeon has refused to compromise. Its not in Scotlands interests that the SNP prefers picking fights to making a deal.
The Turkish president has accused the United States of stoking violence in the Middle East with its embassy move.

In his strongest condemnation yet, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said history will judge the Trump administrations contentious decision to relocate the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The comments came as he stood alongside Theresa May at Downing Street; she had earlier stopped short of linking Palestinian deaths to the decision.

In her remarks, Ms May reiterated her call for an independent and transparent inquiry into the killing of at least 60 Palestinians by Israeli forces in Gaza, saying the use of live fire and the resulting loss of life is deeply troubling.

During their joint appearance the Turkish president said he would never accept the embassy move, claiming the US had contributed to the conflict.

The US claims to be powerful. You are powerful, but you are not right. History will not forgive you. This is the fact that we will observe in the future, he added.

Israel will not be forgiven. Thats what we are going to witness in the future too. It all boils down to the fact of making a choice  are we going to side with the strong or side with those who are right?

President Erdogan added that the Israeli ambassador to Ankara had been expelled on Tuesday afternoon and its own ambassador to Tel Aviv has been recalled for instructions from the government.

While Ms May urged Israel to show restraint, she stopped short of blaming Mr Trumps embassy decision as directly contributing to the bloodshed in the last 24 hours.

Palestinians have the right to protest, but these protests must be peaceful. We are concerned that extremist elements are seeking to hijack legitimate protests to further their own objectives, she added.

Their comments came after Ms May had shook hands and posed for photographs with Mr Erdogan outside Number 10 as protestors demonstrating against human rights abuses in Turkey could be heard shouting Turkish state, fascist state and waved placards on Whitehall.

Pro-Kurdish groups raised concerns about human rights abuses by Mr Erdogans government and urged Ms May to distance herself from the Turkish leader, who has been accused of purging opponents, sacking thousands of officials and jailing critics and journalists.

Ms May meeting Mr Erdogan on the steps of 10 Downing Street (Rex Features)

But during their joint appearance, the Turkish president denied reports that over 200 journalists are currently detained in the country following the failed coup against his administration in 2016.

You have to make a distinction between terrorists and journalists, he said. We are talking about ... Those who have been caught red-handed bearing weapons, those who have been killing people.

Are we supposed to call them journalists just because they bear the credentials and identity cards? They are not fit to do anything they want to do under the sun, are they?

 Turkish President Erdogan: 'Jerusalem, Mr. Trump, is a red line for Muslims'

Currently, the Turkish judiciary is prosecuting and sentencing individuals who have been associated with terrorism and involved in terrorist actions.

At the press conference Ms May said she had raised human rights issues with Mr Erdogan, adding: It is right that those who sought to overthrow the democratically elected government are brought to justice but it is also important that in the defence of democracy, which has been facing extraordinary pressures from the failed coup, instability across the border from Syria and from Kurdish terrorism, Turkey does not lose sight of the values it is seeking to defend.

That is why today I have underlined to President Erdogan that we want to see democratic values and international human rights obligations upheld.

She also said the UK would remain a true friend to Turkey.
Florida police are searching for a teenage girl who was last seen being pulled into a large vehicle, according to a tweet.

Police have issued an amber alert  an American emergency response system that rapidly sends out information about missing people, generally children  for the girl, who is said to be a 15-year-old.

The tweet announcing the missing girl said that she was last seen Tuesday between 7.30am and 8.30 am in Titusville, Florida.

Recommended Facebook Amber Alert notifies babysitter the boy he is looking after

At that time, she was being pulled into a charcoal coloured SUV.

The 15-year-old was reportedly wearing a green polo and khaki pants, according to police. She has dreads, those officials said, and also has a single white stripe in her hair.

Police do not have license plate numbers for the vehicle that took the girl, but did say that it was a newer vehicle and it had a tyre on the back.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

A photo of the teenager has not yet been released, and other details were withheld as well.

The FBIs National Crime Information Centre Missing Person File says that there were 88.089 alive missing person records, including 32,121 of those being children under the age of 21, as of the end of last year.

The Department of Justice, in a study released in 2002 analysing data between the years 1997 and 1999, found that there were roughly 797,500 children reported missing every year during that period, including 203,900 who were abducted by a family member.

The Amber Alert system has been credited with the safe recovery of 897 children between 1997 and 2017.

Every state in the US have Amber Alert plans in place to help find children who are missing and potentially in danger. They are joined by Washington, and Puerto Rico.

The system was named in the honor of Amber Hagerman, who was murdered after being abducted in 1996.
A giant new fissure in Hawaii's Kilauea volcano has been filmed blasting ballistic rock and "lava bombs" more than 100ft (30m) into the sky.

Measuring about 1,000 feet (300 meters) long, lava from the huge crack also tore through farmland towards a coastal dirt road - one of the last exit routes for around 2,000 residents in the southeast area of Hawaii's Big Island.

An "unidentified structure" was destroyed as the molten rock travelled east-southeast towards the coastal road - Highway 137 - the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said. To date, around 40 structures have been destroyed by the lava.

Hawaii County Civil Defence issued an emergency alert after the fissure was discovered and officials called for more evacuations as fears grew about a potential major eruption at volcano's summit.

More fissures are expected to open among homes and countryside some 25 miles east of Kilauea's smoking summit, possibly blocking one of the last exit routes, Highway 132.

Residents in the immediate area were told to evacuate and two nearby community centres were serving as shelters for people and pets.

Lava spread across hundreds of yards of private land and loud explosions rocked the neighbourhood not far from Leilani Estates subdivision, where more than a dozen other active vents have opened in the past week.

"I've actually seen rocks fly over the tree line and I can feel it in my body," said resident Richard Schott, 34. "It's like a nuclear reaction or something."

The US Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said new fissures, ground deformation and abundant volcanic gases indicate eruptions on the eastern flank of Kilauea are likely to continue.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Two more fissures opened in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 19.

"It's optimistic to think that this is the last fissure we're going to see," said Hawaiian Volcano Observatory Deputy Scientist-In-Charge Steve Brantley. A similar seismic event in 1955 lasted 88 days, he said.

"The appearance of the fissures in the past couple of days does not change the overall picture or concern," USGS scientist Steve Brantley said.

The US Geological Survey has reported nearly 20 active fissures.

The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reported the fissures opened just east of the Puna Geothermal Venture energy conversion plant, where steam and hot liquid are brought up through underground wells to feed a turbine generator to produce electricity.

Agencies contributed to this report
A man who spent 18-years in prison for a murder he did not commit, has finally been freed.

David Robinson told CBS News that he had "been a living nightmare" and that life had "been an up-and-down roller coaster", but he was nonetheless delighted to be cleared.

In 2001, he was found guilty of shooting Sheila Box outside the bar she co-owned in the Missouri city of Sikeston, before stealing the day's takings.

Despite little physical evidence to link him with the murder, authorities claimed Mr Robinson, who had a history of drug related crimes, had killed her after a drug deal.

At his trial, a police informant testified that he had witnessed Mr Robinson commit the murder. It later emerged that they had been paid to give evidence and received hundreds of dollars in expenses.

An inmate who shared a cell with him as he awaited trial, also testified that he had confessed to the crime. Mr Robinsons attorney claimed the pair had never been placed together, so this could not be feasible.

But he was found guilty and sentenced to life without parole.

Four years after his conviction, another man confessed on tape that he was the real killer.

Romanze Mosby said he was selling Ms Box drugs and panicked when he noticed she had a gun. He then went on to take his own life in 2009.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

As repeated attempts to appeal his case were denied, Mr Robinson remained behind bars.

But in February 2017, a judge ruled that the evidence clearly showed that Mr Robinson was not responsible for the murder and over a year later, he has finally been released.

Mr Robinson said what "bothered me more than anything", was "to be wrongfully accused of killing a woman.

Asked what he wants to do when he is finally a free man, he said: "Hug my mother."
Mysterious letters have been sent to people in Pennsylvania threatening to expose them if they do not vote in the upcoming primary elections.

Containing publicly available information showing whether they and their neighbours voted or not in three recent elections, the letter contains a list of 10 names and addresses of local people, including the recipients.

An updated version will be sent out after this week's election, which will see a number of officials elected into an array of public offices.

The letter does not advise residents on who to vote for.

Instead, it says: What if your friends, your neighbours, and your community knew whether you voted?

Why do so many people fail to vote? Weve been talking about the problem for years, but it only seems to get worse. This year, were taking a new approach. Were sending this mailing to you, your friends, your neighbours, your colleagues at work, and your community members to publicise who does and does not vote.

This chart shows the names of the people you know and their voting histories. After the May 15th election, we intend to mail an updated chart. You and your friends, your neighbours, and other people you know will all know who voted and did not vote.

It adds: Do your civic duty - vote!

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The letter is from an unknown group calling itself the Pennsylvania State Voter Program, but it does not indicate specifically who is behind the effort.

Printed on headed notepaper, this could lead some people to believe its coming from an official government office, according to LancasterOnline, a local news outlet.

All of the information it presents is on the public record, and available from the Pennsylvania Department of State for $20 (15).

The information is frequently used by parties and candidates to examine patterns and target voters in specific areas.

Elaine Swords who along with her husband received the letters over the weekend, told Lancasteronline: I just feel uncomfortable about the whole thing".

Although she acknowledged the information was on the public record, she said but as far as having it sent in the mail like this, I dont think thats right.

Recommended Republicans scramble to explain Democrat lead in Pennsylvania election

She also pointed out that some of the information in the letters appeared to be wrong. Some of the neighbours listed, appear to be people who live in distant towns and for the 2016 primary record, the letter states it was held in March 2016, when in fact it was held on 26 April.

This year, Democratic Governor Tom Wolf is running for his second term. The vote is uncontested, but the ballot will include three Republicans voters can choose between to challenge Mr Wolf.

Voters can also cast ballots for the states Lieutenant Governor, as well as for candidates for several seats in the US Senate and the House of Representatives.

The Pennsylvania Department of State has said it is looking into the letters.
Donald Trumps pick to lead the CIA has secured enough votes to be confirmed, despite concerns over her involvement in a controversial post-9/11 interrogation programme that some have called torture.

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Heidi Heitkamp pledged their support for nominee Gina Haspel on Tuesday, all but ensuring that the career intelligence officer would be confirmed as CIA director in her forthcoming Senate vote.

Mr Warner had been critical of Ms Haspel, a 33-year CIA veteran and the first woman nominated to lead the agency. He called the decision to support her nomination difficult, but said it was informed by her decades of service at the agency.

Over the last year Ive had the opportunity to work with Ms Haspel in her role as Deputy Director, and I have always found her to be professional and forthright with the Intelligence Committee, said Mr Warner, the vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Most importantly, he added, I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral  like a return to torture.

 Gina Haspel confirmation hearing: Haspel promises not to restart CIA programme

Ms Haspel vowed in her Senate confirmation hearing never to reinstate the CIAs interrogation programme, which employed tactics like waterboarding in the wake of 9/11. Ms Haspel briefly oversaw an American "black site" prison in Thailand where at least one prisoner was waterboarded.

Ms Haspel refused to fully disavow the programme during her hearing, dancing around questions over whether the CIA's previous methods were immoral. In a letter to Mr Warner this week, however, Ms Haspel said the agency should never have used those tactics.

With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken, she wrote, according to CNN.

Ms Haspel has held numerous one-on-one meetings with senators in recent days, and participated in a classified Senate hearing. Mr Warner told reporters that the sentiments in her letter were closer to those she had expressed in private.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

But Ms Haspels answers at her public confirmation hearing frustrated several senators, including Republican Senator John McCain, who urged his fellow GOP legislators not to support her confirmation. Mr McCain, a US Navy veteran who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, called her public comments on the interrogation programme disqualifying.

Ms Heitkamp acknowledged Mr McCains words on Tuesday, calling Ms Haspels involvement in the programme deeply troubling. But she added that Ms Haspel had assured her that the agency should not have employed those tactics in the past, and would not do so in the future.

While I trust her word, I will also verify, helping to ensure Congress conducts robust oversight of the CIA under her leadership, Ms Heitkamp said.

So far, four Democratic senators have said they will support Ms Haspel. Two Republican senators  Mr McCain and Kentucky Senator Paul Rand  have said they will not. One is undecided.

Ms Haspel is scheduled for a Senate Intelligence Committee vote on Wednesday, and will then proceed to a full Senate vote.
The US Ambassador to the UN has claimed no country would act with greater restraint than Israel, as the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli troops passed 60 and officials said 2,700 had been wounded.

While the shooting of mostly unarmed Palestinian protesters at the Gaza border fence received widespread international condemnation, criticism within the US was muted.

Nikki Haley repeated a claim made the day before by the White House, and said Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, was responsible for the deaths and injuries.

Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday, she said: Lets remember that the Hamas terrorist organisation has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy.

She added: This is what is endangering the people of Gaza. Make no mistake, Hamas is pleased with the results from yesterday.

While reports from Gaza suggested the majority of protesters were unarmed, Ms Haley called attention to the tactics employed by some, which included the use of Molotov cocktails attached to kites. She also accused Hamas of making use of loudspeakers to urge protesters.

She added: No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has.

 Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests

The Palestinian ambassador, Riyad Mansour, addressed the council. How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? When are you going to act, he said, according to the Associated Press.

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon later responded: You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer.

United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres said Mondays killing of more than 60 people showed the need for a political solution to the conflict. Speaking at the headquarters of the European Union, he said the way out of the standoff was a two-state solution allowing Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace and security together.

The pro-Israel lobby is a powerful influence in the US and groups such as Christians United for Israel and American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spend millions of dollars to further their causes. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has spoken several times at AIPACs annual conference, most recently in March.

You remember people talked about Israels isolation? You remember that, he said. Israels isolation? Pretty soon, the countries that dont have relations with us, theyre going to be isolated. There are those who talk about boycotting Israel? Well boycott them.

The demonstrators in Gaza have been protesting since the US announced unilaterally last December that it was recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and moving its embassy there from Tel Aviv. For decades, the international community had insisted that the final status of Jerusalem had to be part of a broader settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

Donald Trump, who pleased his evangelical supporters by recognising Israel as the nations capital and who had vowed to do so during the 2016 election campaign, said the move was merely responding to a reality on the ground.

While the White House refused to even urge Israel to show restraint, some US politicians did criticise its actions

This is a staggering toll. Hamas violence does not justify Israel firing on unarmed protesters, senator Bernie Sanders said in a statement. The United States must play an aggressive role in bringing Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and the international community together to address Gazas humanitarian crisis and stop this escalating violence.

Democratic minority leader Nancy Pelosi condemned Hamas and said Israel had the right to defend its borders, but added: We hope Israel will use all appropriate restraint, as we urge both parties to move towards negotiations that will ensure the safety and wellbeing of both Israelis and Palestinians.

The United States has long supported efforts to help Israeli and Palestinian leaders find a way towards a permanent two-state solution with two peoples living side-by-side in peace and security. It is profoundly disappointing that the administration chose to undermine this goal.
A Republican candidate for governor of Georgia is driving a deportation bus around the state, promising to fill it with undocumented immigrants and send them back to where they came from.

Michael Williams a Georgia state senator and, according to his website, the first elected official in the state to endorse Donald Trump  announced this week that he would drive a bus around the state to raise awareness of the overwhelming problem of illegal immigration.

Throughout his bus tour of sanctuary cities, Williams will expose how dangerous illegal aliens ruin local economies, cost American jobs, increase healthcare costs, and lower education standards, a statement on his Facebook page reads.

A campaign video announcing the tour shows Mr Williams descending from the bus, which appears to be a refurbished school bus emblazoned with a Michael Williams Deportation Bus Tour logo.

A message painted on the back of the bus reads: Danger: Murderers, rapists, kidnappers, child molesters and other criminals onboard.

Were not just gonna track em and watch em roam around our state, Mr Williams says, slapping the bus for emphasis. Were gonna put em on this bus and send em home.

It is unclear how Mr Williams intends to execute this plan, or whether he actually plans to detain the immigrants himself. Immigration arrests are generally made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, and deportation proceedings are processed through special immigration courts.

In the video, Mr Williams said he would implement a 287(g) deportation plan  a reference to a federal law that allows local police officers to collaborate with the federal government on immigration enforcement.

Mr Williams previously made headlines for a CNN interview in which he claimed Delta airlines gave discounts to members of Planned Parenthood  a network of womens health clinics that provides abortions, among other services. No such discount exists.

The senator did not respond to a request for comment.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Just days before Mr Williams released the video, one of his opponents  Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp  debuted another ad focusing on illegal immigration.

I got a big truck, just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take them home myself, Mr Kemp says in the 30-second spot.

Yep, I just said that, he adds. If you want a politically incorrect conservative, thats me.

Both Mr Kemp and Mr Williams are vocal supporters of Mr Trump, who campaigned on a hard-line anti-immigration platform. The president has famously referred to Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and rapists, and promised to build a wall along the southern border.

Mr Williams said his bus tour will focus on a frequent topic of concern for Mr Trump: sanctuary cities. These cities  like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York  limit their cooperation with federal immigration officials in order to protect the undocumented immigrants living there.

Mr Trump has repeatedly lambasted such cities, most recently tweeting that soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept.

Research from the University of California, Riverside has shown there is no significant difference in crime rates between sanctuary and non-sanctuary cities. A 2017 analysis from the Centre for American Progress and the National Immigration Law Centre found sanctuary cities had lower crime rates and stronger economies than non-sanctuary cities.

There are only two sanctuary counties in Georgia, according to the Centre for Immigration Studies.
President Donald Trumps head of environment Scott Pruitt has had round-the-clock security detail since his first day in office, contrary to his prior claim.

Mr Pruitt, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), read aloud a list of alleged threats he had received in 2017 in front of a Congressional panel as a reason for spending in excess of $3m in taxpayer money on his extensive security. However, emails obtained by the Washington Post show that there was no proper threat assessment done prior to Mr Pruitts security detail in place.

In a letter to Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Thomas Carper earlier this week, EPA inspector general Arthur Elkins said that: EPAs Protective Service Detail began providing 24/7 coverage of the Administrator the first day he arrived. Mr Elkins also said his office played no role in this decision and that Mr Pruitt requested the detail.

Mr Pruitt and the EPA have defended the high costs - which included first-class plane tickets and several special agents - and said "these are threats that the [Inspector General of the EPA] has documented," Mr Pruitt told Congress just last month. The agency issued a statement last month that read: "According to EPA's assistant inspector general, Scott Pruitt has faced an unprecedented amount of death threats against him and his family. Americans should all agree that members of the President's Cabinet should be kept safe from these violent threats.

The emails actually showed that the detail was requested by Don Benton, a former state senator from Washington and a Republican who had been working as the agencys White House adviser just ahead of Mr Pruitts February 2017 appointment. The threat assessment was only done once, in August 2017.

The newspaper reported: "there were no confirmed threat cases open the day Pruitt took office, according to an individual with direct knowledge of the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of retaliation".

Mr Benton said in a February 2017 email: There will be several Executive Orders signed when [Pruitt] is sworn in that will likely stir the hornets nest and with the security issue in the Atlanta office last week as well as the lady who threatened former administrator [Gina] McCarthy not showing up for court and at large in DC it is best to be on the safe side".

As a result the number of agents in the criminal and investigative unit of the agency had to be double to 16. Mr Pruitt's Cabinet position is not normally one that receives such extensive protection like the Secretaries of Defence, Homeland Security, and State. His predecessor Ms McCarthy guard was roughly a third of the size of Mr Pruitt's and she said in a recent interview that she kept her detail to a "minimum".

What has stirred even more controversy in addition to spending taxpayer money was that the special agent in charge Eric Weese, who had predicted the increased security would be a "major disruption," was replaced at the request of Mr Pruitt.
Vermont has passed a law requiring that single-user bathrooms in the US state be labelled as gender-free.

Republican governor Phil Scott signed the bill late last week after it was unanimously passed by the state Senate and a large majority of the state House. The measure will go into effect 1 July.

Two years ago, when I was running for governor, I was asked in a debate whether I would support gender-neutral bathrooms in public places or not. I responded with a one-word answer, a simple yes. Because to me it was just that simple ... And now two years later I am honored to be able to sign that legislation into law, he said as signed the bill.

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Mr Scott remarked that the new law was especially important for kids who have experienced bullying school over being transgender.

Treating others in this way is not who we are as Vermonters, and I hope the signing of this bill will send a powerful message that thats not the way we act, he said, surrounded by LGBTQ activists at the bill signing ceremony.

The law does not apply to bathrooms with more than one toilet or stall, but all single bathrooms in schools, public buildings, restaurants, offices, and other workplaces will need to allow all-gender access.

 Transgender Day of Visibility: Trans people share their stories

State Senator Becca Ballint told the Burlington Free Press newspaper that not just transgender or non-gender conforming people would benefit but also men and women stuck in long bathroom lines, it provides access to any available single-user bathroom. And for caregivers and their charges, whether children or folks with disabilities needing assistance, it provides access to a bathroom that is not marked for one particular gender, thus alleviating the anxiety thats caused by needing to choose a gendered bathroom.

Transgender in Pakistan Show all 16 1 /16 Transgender in Pakistan Transgender in Pakistan Dancing at Shakeela's party, an event to celebrate a transgender life in middle-age Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Venue staff members watch people dance at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Security searches guests as people arrive at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Members of the transgender community dance at Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Shakeela, a member of the transgender community, works in the kitchen at home in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan 'It's the first time a transgender party has been held openly,' says activist Farzana Jan Transgender in Pakistan Farzana Jan, a member of the transgender community, poses for a photographer ahead of Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Guests at Shakeela's party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Money thrown by the guests is used by people to help them start a new business or project Transgender in Pakistan Rani smiles from behind her make-up as she prepares for the party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Shakeela resting at her home in Peshawar Reuters Transgender in Pakistan A photo hangs on the wall in the home of members of the transgender community in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Make up lies on the floor as members of the transgender community prepare for Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters Transgender in Pakistan A guest counts money she plans to throw at Shakeela's party Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Bubbly helps Shakeela with her dress as members of her own family watch on Reuters Transgender in Pakistan Chahat, a member of the transgender community, prepares for Shakeela's party in Peshawar, Pakistan Reuters

Several states, North Carolina in particular, have passed or attempted to pass laws restricting bathroom access to transgender people, particularly students in schools, to that persons gender at birth rather than who they identify as.

The bill directly defies the administration of President Donald Trump, which has eliminated or attempted to eliminate LGBTQ equality language in government equal employment or healthcare legal language.

In May 2016, the previous administration of Barack Obama had issued a letter to all schools receiving federal funding to allow transgender students to use the bathroom of their choice. The backlash from that letter led to the Trump administrations February 2017 letter rescinding that policy "in order to further and more completely consider the legal issues involved. The administration said the underlying law, called Title IX, may not protect gender identity.
Another staff shakeup may be coming to the White House in the wake of recent media leaks, presidential counsellor Kellyanne Conway has said.

Ms Conway spoke out after multiple outlets reported that a White House aide had made disparaging comments about ailing Senator John McCain during an internal meeting. The comments drew outrage from Mr McCains family and supporters, but the administration focused its outrage on the staffers who relayed the comments to the press.

President Donald Trump for example, tweeted on Monday that White House leakers were traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!

Asked if she foresaw personnel changes at the White House over the leak, Ms Conway said: I do, actually. Yes, I do.

There are all kinds of leaks, the presidential adviser told Fox News' Martha MacCallum, adding that she had spoken with Mr Trump about the issue earlier that day.

Some leaks exist to hurt, I guess, colleagues, some leaks exist because they disagree with the policies that are being put forth, but none of them are helpful," she said.

 Meghan McCain questions how Kelly Sadler could 'still have a job' after joking about 'dying' father

Ms Conway said the leaks were a change from the early days of the White House, when officials would not leak information so much as use the media to shiv each other.

That was going on quite a bit at the beginning of this administration and its less so now, she said.

Multiple sources told The Hill last week that communications aide Kelly Sadler had made mocking comments about Mr McCain, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer last year. Responding to Mr McCains criticisms of Gina Haspel, the administration's pick to lead the CIA, Ms Sadler reportedly said: It doesnt matter, hes dying anyway.

The White House did not deny the comments, but also refused to apologise, saying only that the issue was being handled internally.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

The comments drew criticism from Mr McCain's family, and from politicians on the left and right. Both Republican Senator Lindsey Graham  a longtime friend of Mr McCain  and Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders lambasted the White House for failing to apologise for the remarks.

It is one thing in the White House for somebody to say something crude and stupid and disrespectful about an American hero, it is another thing for them not to apologise, Mr Sanders told CNN.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has told reporters she will not comment on the issue, but reportedly called a meeting last week to berate White House staff over the deluge of leaks.

If you aren't able in internal meetings to speak your mind or convey thoughts or say anything that you feel without feeling like your colleagues will betray you, that creates a difficult work environment, deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters on Monday. I think anybody who works anywhere can recognise that.

New York Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman added her own thoughts on the situation on Monday, tweeting: "Sometimes the person yelling the most about leakers is doing the leaking,
The American clothing giant Gap has apologised following a social media backlash for selling T-shirts that sported a map of China which omitted contested territories such as south Tibet, Taiwan and the South China Sea islands.

Pictures of the T-shirt surfaced online after a user on the Chinese social media network Weibo noticed it was on sale in Canada. The post sparked hundreds of complaints, leading Gap to issue a statement saying it would implement rigorous reviews to prevent such an incident happening again.

Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. Weve learned that a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologise for this unintentional error, it said in a statement posted on its Weibo account on Monday evening.

It said the products had been destroyed following their withdrawal from the Chinese market, although the fate of the T-shirts being sold in the rest of the world was unclear.

According to the Global Times newspaper, the English-language edition of the state-owned People's Daily, "hundreds of Weibo users (were) protesting the company's act of disrespect to China's territorial sovereignity."

One user branded the company "stupid", while others called for the firm to withdraw the T-shirt from the market.

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"Stupid, rubbish company, " said one comment. "Get out of China if you don't recognise its borders."

Another user wrote: "Resist such a rubbish company! And withdraw this T shirt from all markets."

The Chinese government in Beijing considers self-governed Taiwan to be an integral part of its territory and comes down hard on any suggestions to the contrary.

Gap becomes the latest Western company to offend consumers in its Chinese markets. Last month Beijing demanded various foreign airlines respect Chinas sovereignty claims and change the way they refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.

This forced an apology from Delta Airlines, among others, but the White House was strident in its condemnation of the move.

The US dismissed the South Asian nations claims as "Orwellian nonsense" and rebuked Beijing for attempting to subject American companies and American citizens to its "political correctness".

Mercedez-Benz apologised in February for quoting the Dalai Lama on the company's Instagram page. The Tibetan spiritual leader is reviled by Beijing, and Mercedez-Benz issued a statement admitting it had "hurt the feelings" of the Chinese people.

The Independent has contacted Gap Inc for comment on this story.
The Hindu nationalist party of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has won a major victory in a key state election, boosting his odds of success at next years general election and emboldening his at-times divisive policy agenda.

Mr Modis Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was leading with 105 seats in Karnataka compared to the opposition Congresss 75, according to the latest Election Commission of India figures.

Both the prime minister and the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi have personally campaigned in recent weeks in Karnataka, a state with a population roughly equivalent to that of France.

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Critics accused Mr Modi of using divisive rhetoric to encourage Hindus to turn out and vote for the BJP, while Mr Gandhi was said to have failed to mobilise a local Congress party that had not done much wrong as incumbents in the state.

Late on Tuesday, with the last votes being counted, Congress made a last-ditch bid to form a coalition with a regional party that placed third. Congress spokesman Randeep Surjewala said the pair in coalition held a clear majority of the states 225 seats.

But the more likely scenario would see the state governor offer the BJP the first chance to form a government, as the best-performing single party.

The result certainly bodes well for Mr Modi in 2019, said Ajay Mehra, a political science lecturer at Delhi University. It gives the BJP control of 22 out of the countrys 29 states  a record number, though the total number of states has grown over the years.

Every victory is significant, and if you look at the map of the country, every dot turning saffron [the colour of BJP] is signifiant at this stage, Mr Mehra told The Independent.

The Karnataka vote is the first in a number of important state elections this year, and some commentators suggested the wave of Hindu nationalist sentiment that bore Mr Modi to power in 2014 might already have broken, amid criticism over an overnight ban on high-value banknotes in 2016 and an unpopular nationwide sales tax.

But on the best turnout for a state election since the 1950s, that seems not to be the case, and Tuesdays result makes for grim reading for Congress supporters.

There are lots of middle class Indians who feel each victory for the BJP is making them bolder, said Mr Mehra. There is the impression that it is emboldening them to do things they should not be doing  dividing society along religious lines.

For Mr Modis grassroots supporters, his ability to reach beyond the educated middle classes is one of his strongest appeals. And to do that, Mr Mehra said, the BJP has shown an extraordinary ability to organise and mobilise its political activists to reach into every home.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Karnataka vote has been described in some reports as Indias first WhatsApp election, and while it is impossible to say that social media won the day for the BJP, it certainly played its part.

Both Congress and the BJP claimed to have created more than 20,000 WhatsApp groups dedicated to discussing the election in the state, though Mr Modis party is generally considered to be more effective as an earlier adopter of social media electioneering.

Those WhatsApp groups have, according to various reports, carried a mixture of inflammatory and false messaging, often designed to divide communities. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, said in a statement to The Washington Post that it was stepping up its efforts to tackle such usage ahead of the 2019 election.

Between now and the general election, Mr Modis newfound confidence may manifest itself in new economic reforms. The World Bank has called on India to revamp its labour sector and change the rules around land acquisition, things the prime minister has previously been wary of doing.

The result provides some reassurance to the BJP that its popularity remains intact, Shilan Shah, a senior India economist at Capital Economics, told Reuters. That could embolden the government to pursue reforms in future, including loosening foreign direct investment restrictions and moves towards privatisation.

And for Congress, the result will raise serious questions about the position of Mr Gandhi, the fifth generation of politicians from the famous Nehru-Gandhi dynasty.

His authority is weakened and it is difficult for the Congress now to stake a claim on the leadership of the opposition, said Satish Misra, a political analyst at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

Mr Mehras assessment for the party as a whole was bleak. If they cannot win these elections, in spite of so much anti-government feeling, then Congress appears to be shutting up shop, he said.

Party spokesman Sanjay Jha admitted Congress was disappointed by the result but defended Mr Gandhis campaigning. He raised issues that mattered, unlike PM Modi, who indulged in hollow rhetoric, he said.
A Japanese rail company has apologised for any inconvenience caused to customers after a train left the station 25 seconds early.

Japan has one of the most punctual railway services in the world, and so it was deemed an incident worthy of a public press release, apology and an internal investigation when the 7.12am train at Notogawa Station left at 7.11am and 35 seconds.

West Japan Railways (known as JR-West) did point out that the train, destined for Nishi-Akashi Station in Hyogo prefecture, arrived at its next stop after Notogawa precisely at the prescribed time.

But a spokesperson nonetheless described the incident as truly inexcusable, after several customers were unable to board the train and one complained to a station attendant, who referred the matter up to JR-West headquarters.

It comes after a similar incident in autumn last year, when a train from Tokyo to the eastern city of Tsukuba departed 20 seconds early, prompting the operator of the Tsukuba Express to issue a public apology.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

No customers had actually complained in that particular incident, but the apology was widely shared on social media and compared to the less-than-satisfactory performance of Western rail companies.

JR-West said in its press release that it had investigated Fridays incident and found that the conductor had misunderstood the departure time and signalled too early. The company said it would be providing training to prevent similar events from happening again.
Five staff at an Italian hotel popular with tourists have been arrested over the alleged drugging and gang rape of a British woman.

Police are questioning the workers from a hotel in the resort of Meta di Sorrento, near Naples, who were seized in dawn raids.

The 50-year-old woman and her daughter were on the last night of their stay when a barman at the four-star Mar Hotel Alimuri served them drinks laced with date rape drugs, investigators said.

Recommended Hundreds of flights between UK and Italy grounded by strikes

The man then sexually abused the mother near a swimming pool before handing her to another employee, who took her to a staff bedroom where at least 10 men were waiting and took turns to rape her.

The attack was filmed and photographed by members of the gang with mobile phones. Police said they were able to reconstruct the attacks thanks to the the footage.

The gang had posted photos and videos in a social media chat group labelled "bad habits". One picture allegedly showed a crown-shaped tattoo on the neck of one of the attackers, like one described afterwards by the woman, who was left covered in bruises.

DNA testing ordered by police when she returned home to Kent also helped investigators identify the suspects.

The attack happened in October 2016, and Italian police said they have been working since then with colleagues in Kent to identify the men, all of whom are current or former hotel staff.

Prosecutors say the use of a date-rape drug, benzodiazepine, as well as other drugs, was an aggravating factor.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

DNA samples taken when she was back in the UK were allegedly matched with the five suspects. Analysis of her urine and hair showed which drugs she had been given.

The postcard-pretty town of Meta di Sorrento, popular with British holidaymakers, offers views of the Bay of Naples and is a popular spot for exploring the Amalfi coast and the island of Capri.

Photographs on the hotels website show plush, luxury rooms overlooking the sea. A one-night stay there in a double room is advertised on Expedia for 448.

The five suspects are Antonino Miniero, Davide Gennaro Gargiulo, Fabio De Virgilio, Raffaele Regio and Ciro Francesco D'Antonio.

Earlier this month police launched an investigation after a British tourist on holiday in Sardinia was raped.
The United States has blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that called for an independent and transparent investigation into Israels killing of Palestinian protestors on the Gaza border.

The statement, drafted by Kuwait ahead of a meeting on Tuesday, expressed outrage and sorrow" at the deaths of at least 58 people during demonstrations over the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem.

It also demanded all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council resolution calling on them not to station diplomatic missions in the contested holy city.

Recommended Israel faces international condemnation after 58 Palestinians killed

A US delegation including Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner attended the embassys inauguration ceremony on Monday, pledging commitment to lasting peace as dozens of Palestinians were shot dead 50 miles away in the regions bloodiest day since the 2014 Gaza war.

More than 1,200 people were injured as Israeli troops fired live ammunition and tear gas at demonstrators. The dead included a 14-year-old boy, said Palestinian medics.

Israel said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas militants of using the protests as a cover for attacks. It said 40,000 Palestinians had taken part in "violent riots" along the border and that some had tried to breach security fences.

It was not immediately clear what might come of Tuesdays Security Council session, called by Kuwait to discuss the violence. No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March.

Two UN diplomats, speaking anonymously, told Associated Press that members failed to reach a unanimous agreement on the proposed statement.

The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest, the draft text reads.

The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability.

The statement also called on all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

It stressed actions which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect.

Palestinians seek East Jerusalem as the capital of a state they hope to establish in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem  a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians  should be determined in a final peace settlement and that the relocation of the US embassy prejudices any such deal.

It was not clear if Security Council members other than the US rejected the statement drafted by Kuwait.

France, one of the councils five permanent members, has condemned the violence of Israeli armed forces against demonstrators and said president Emmanuel Macron would speak to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

Alistair Burt, the UKs minister for the Middle East, described the Palestinian death toll as extremely worrying and called on Israel to show greater restraint. But he said Britain would not waver from our support for Israels right to defend its borders.

On Monday, 10 of the councils 15 members wrote to UN secretary-general to express profound concern that a 2016 resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building on land that Palestinians want for an independent state was not being implemented.

The Security Council must stand behind its resolutions and ensure they have meaning; otherwise, we risk undermining the credibility of the international system, wrote Bolivia, China, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, France, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, the Netherlands, Peru and Sweden in a joint letter.

A month before President Trump took office in January 2017, the council adopted a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlements, with 14 votes in favour and one abstention by Barack Obamas administration. Mr Trump had denounced the resolution and called for the US to wield its veto.

UN Middle East envoy Nickolay Mladenov reported last year that Israel was continuing to flout the demand for an end to settlements, which is prohibited by international law.
 Close Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests

Israel has faced widespread international condemnation after 58 people including a baby were killed in protests in Gaza, where Israeli soldiers met rocks thrown by Palestinians with live ammunition.

A 51-year-old man was also killed in Tuesday's more muted demonstrations, along with another protester, bringing the total number of dead to 60.

The US joined Israel in blaming Hamas for the deaths, with the Israeli military suggesting the terrorist group attempted armed violence under cover of the demonstrations against Donald Trumps move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkey and South Africa, staunchly aligned with the Palestinians, recalled their ambassadors to Israel while Boris Johnson said: We understand that some have been provoking that violence but on the other hand there has got to be restraint in the use of live rounds.

Khaled Batch, the head of the organising committee of protests, said Tuesday would be a day for funerals. It is also what Palestinians call the Nakba day, the anniversary of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displacement following Israels founding.

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Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to condemn what he called massacres carried out by Israeli troops in Gaza.

Of the 59 Palestinians killed, six were children, Gaza's health ministry said. Some 1,360 Palestinians were wounded by bullets, including 130 who were in serious or critical condition.

Egypt, an important ally of Israel, condemned the killings while the UN human rights chief, Zeid Raad al Hussein, decried the shocking killing of dozens.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, called on Israel to respect the principle of proportionality in the use of force and show restraint, while also urging Hamas to ensure any protests remain peaceful.

Additional reporting by agencies
If Reem Abu Ermana had her way, her 14-year-old daughter Wissal would never have made her fateful journey to the Israeli border at the Bureij refugee camp on Monday.

But she was overwhelmed by Wissals persuasive powers.

First I locked the door and told her not to go, she explains. I said, Why dont you go on Tuesday instead? But Wissal had insisted that this is the day and she eventually let her go at around 9am, accompanied by her 11-year-old brother Mohammed.

It had been Mohammed who had returned home at around noon to tell his mother that Wissal had been shot in the head by an Israeli snipers bullet.

Telephoned by another relative to say that her daughter had only been injured, she rushed to the Al-Aqsa, the main hospital for central Gaza, frantically searching through the wards until someone suggested that she try the morgue, where indeed she found the dead body of her youngest daughter. Scores of Palestinians were killed on Monday, in the worst violence since the last Gaza war, in 2014.

Wissal hadnt been doing particularly well at school. But she was a deeply affectionate, cheerful girl, her mother says, who loved to look after her much younger nephews  and to tease her older sisters.

Abu Ermana, 43, divorced from her husband of 23 years who has been treated for mental illness  sits straight-backed at her mothers house in the Meghazi refugee camp surrounded by mourning relatives and neighbours, trying to explain why her daughter had become so preoccupied by the border protests that she had joined them every Friday, carrying a small bag of stones and ferrying water  and sometimes wire-cutters  to the young men on the front line.

Like so many Gazan Palestinians of her generation, Abu Ermana is the granddaughter of refugees who were forced from or fled their homes in the war of 1948.

The family supports not Hamas but  as the yellow flag hanging inside the front door attests  Fatah, which has long wanted a two-state solution to the conflict. They are also desperately poor.

Her ex-husband had not seen their daughter for four years, she says, did not give them money and had even appropriated the familys monthly food ration from the UN Relief and Works Agency until it granted it to her and her children two months ago.

She lives with her six children  now five  in a single room in Meghazi, often moving within the camp because it is so difficult to pay the rent.

Her 21-year-old son left school without graduating in the hope of supplementing the family income, but has no job.

Wissal, who would often pray and read the Quran, had originally wanted no more than to become a stay at home mother, have children and above all live in a house of her own.

But she was badly affected by her fathers absence, often saying that he doesnt want us, and honouring her much loved maternal grandfather as her real father  even though he had died when she was only four.

While attracted by the idea of getting to Jerusalem  which she had never visited  and by the Great March of Returns mantra of refugees returning to their ancestral homes, she would also repeatedly say, since the protests began on 30 March: I want to be a martyr, her mother recalls. She would add that, in death, she would become less of a burden to her mother, and I will bring honour to the family. If I die in hospital I want to be buried next to the grave of my grandfather.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

Initially, at least, Abu Ermana said she had not taken her seriously, teasing her that while it might be all right for her to be a martyr and go to God, she would have problems, as a big girl for her age, if she was merely injured.

The only time Abu Ermanas eyes  the only visible feature of her face, covered with a niqab  filled with tears was when she played a recording from her phone of Wissal singing a song she practised every day recently.

It is called Ommi Janni  My mother is paradise. Annoyed, Abu Ermana once asked her daughter why she kept singing it. Wissal replied that she was rehearsing it so I can sing it for you on your birthday.

Abu Ermana said she hadnt even thought about compensation until someone had mentioned it to her this morning. (Hamas said after the first two protests that it would pay $3,000 (2,200) to the bereaved families; but its not clear whether this will continue. Moreover she had no idea as yet who to apply to or whether any such payment would actually be made to her husband.)

She expressed  perhaps a little cautiously  the hope that the protests, God willing (inshallah), would lead to our getting our rights back, that God would grant the Palestinians the victory he had promised in the war that is continuing and that her daughters death would not be in vain.

But looking back on the Oslo accords, signed between Yasser Arafat and Yizhak Rabin when Abu Ermana was in her early twenties, she added, sadly: We had high hopes then that there would be peace and that we would have a better life than this.
Irans foreign minister heralded a good start to talks with Europe to preserve the 2015 nuclear deal even as the US imposed a second round of new sanctions, illustrating the divergent approaches of America and its allies.

Donald Trumps decision to exit the nuclear disarmament pact, which was one of Barack Obamas central achievements, has drawn denunciations and vows to preserve the deal from both European leaders and Tehran.

Following through on Iranian pledges to try and uphold the pact even without Americas participation, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif emerged from a meeting with officials from Britain, France, Germany and the European Union projecting optimism.

We are on the right track, Mr Zarif said, adding that a lot will depend on what we can do in next few weeks".

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the two sides were working on solutions to keep the deal alive as well as international commerce involving Iran that depends on it. The UK foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, told reporters the nuclear agreement has value even in America's absence.

We will be looking at a package of measures that we may be able to devise as Europeans to encourage the Iranians to stay in the deal, Mr Johnson said.

Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty

As European powers were dispatching representatives to negotiate with Iran, America was condemning the regime and seeking to curtail its influence with a fresh round of sanctions.

The parallel announcements hinted at a post-Iran deal world in which America adopts a more aggressive stance even as its allies continue to pursue diplomacy.

New penalties announced by the US Treasury Department target prominent officials with Irans central bank, saying the financial entity channelled millions of dollars to Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group that the US considers to be a terrorist organisation.

The United States will not permit Irans increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system. The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies," the treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, said.

Last week the Treasury Department announced it was imposing sanctions on members of what it called a currency exchange network used to fund Iranian clients.

Taken together, the actions signal the Trump administrations more aggressive approach to Iran in the aftermath of Mr Trump pulling the US from the nuclear deal.

 Syrian military video shows air defences trying to intercept Israeli missiles

Mr Trump and Republican allies in Congress have condemned the deal as an unacceptable concession to an Iranian regime that continues to project influence by sponsoring armed groups across the region.

Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pours resources into exporting destabilising influence throughout the Middle East, even as the Iranian people are victims of a struggling economy, the White House said in a statement last week after a rocket strike on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights that Israel blamed on Iran.

The attack, which followed Israeli striking Iran-linked targets in Syria, fuelled fears of a widening regional conflict.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned in a televised speech that the rocket assault marked a new phase in the Syrian war.
A populist coalition formed by nationalist Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has taken a surprise lead in Iraqs election, putting a dent in prime minister Haider al-Abadi's re-election bid.

The country's electoral commission released results for 10 of the 19 provinces on Sunday evening, but has given no indication as to when more returns would be announced.

Mr al-Sadr appears to have tapped into growing public resentment in what some perceive as a corrupt political elite at the head of government.

Running a campaign highly critical of both the United States and Iran, the controversial cleric and militia leader has struck a chord with millions of poor Shia voters.

The 44-year-old will not become prime minister if his coalition wins as he did not stand in the election, but would be in a position to play kingmaker in the increasingly likely event of victory.

An election win would mark a stunning comeback for Mr al-Sadr, sidelined by Iranian-backed rivals as Tehran began asserting its influence in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Husseins regime in 2003.

Virtually unknown outside his home nation before the US invasion, Mr al-Sadr soon became a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation.

Much of his authority derives from his family, including his father, the grand ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, who was assassinated for defying Saddam in 1999.

He became the first to form a Shia militia to fight against American troops after the 2003 war.

The Pentagon would later call his Mehdi army the biggest threat to Iraqs security after he led two uprisings against US forces.

As news spread of Mr al-Sadr's gains at the ballot box, some of his followers celebrated in Baghdad, chanting Iran out.

Iraq is rich, the country doesnt need Iran, it can stand on its feet and be prosperous it just needs good management, said Mohammed Sadeq, a trader in the city of Hilla who voted for Mr al-Sadr's list.

The cleric struck unlikely alliances in the formation of his coalition, shocking many by siding with secularists and the Iraqi Communist Party to form the bloc.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Known as Sairoon, Arabic for On the Move, the group has said it would focus on rebuilding infrastructure and providing health and education to the poor.

The importance of this vote is that it is a clear message that the people want to change the system of governance which has produced corruption and weakened the state institutions, said communist party secretary general, Raed Fahmy.

By contrast, incumbent prime minister Mr al-Abadi has performed poorly, placing third or fourth in many provinces and finishing as low as fifth in Baghdad.

In a national address on Monday, he vowed to keep the country safe under his command until a new government is formed.

I call on Iraqis to respect the results of the elections, he added.

Only 44 per cent of voters turned out, the lowest in the four elections since the removal of Saddam.

Under the Iraqi system, one of the dozens of coalitions formed for the election must gain a majority of the 329 seats in parliament in order to choose a prime minister and form a government, a process that may take months.

Political power in the country is traditionally divided along sectarian lines among the offices of prime minister, president and parliament speaker.

The Shia majority has held the position of prime minister in elections since the fall of the Saddam regime, while the Kurds hold the presidency and the post of parliament speak is held open for Sunnis.

Under the Iraqi constitution, no less than a quarter of the parliamentary seats must be held by women, with nearly 2,600 running for office this year.

Additional reporting by agencies
Muqtada al-Sadr, the nationalist populist Shia cleric, has once again defied predictions as the coalition he leads outperformed rival parties in the parliamentary election on 12 May. His supporters successfully campaigned for social and political reform and against a corrupt and dysfunctional political establishment.

It was the latest surprise in the career of a man who barely survived the murder of his father, the revered Shia religious leader Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr, and his two brothers, on the orders of Saddam Hussein in 1999.

Four years later, after the US invasion of Iraq, he was in danger once again of being killed, this time by American forces who twice besieged him in the holy city of Najaf in 2004.

Mr Sadr will be very much the kingmaker  though he will have no official position  in the formation of a new Iraqi government.

His coalition, which includes the Iraqi Communist Party, independents and secularists as well as his religious followers, appealed strongly to Iraqis who feel that, with the war won against Isis, they need to rebuild their country.

The Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi hoped to win the election  though no party was ever likely to win an absolute majority  by appealing to voters as the leader who recaptured Mosul from Isis last year.

He followed this up with a largely bloodless reoccupation of Kirkuk, held by the Kurds since 2003, and the restoration of a large measure of government authority in Iraqi Kurdistan.

The political movement formed out of the largely Shia paramilitaries, the Hashd al-Shaabi, which came second in the polls, had, like Mr Abadi, hoped to win more votes through their role in the war against Isis.

But the drop in violence to a level not seen since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein means that Iraqis are focusing on the theft by the political elite of hundreds of billions of dollars in oil revenues that should have been used to improve the supply of water, electricity, waste disposal as well medical care and education.

Mr Sadr has been frequently underestimated as a political leader since he first emerged from house arrest in Najaf at the time of the US invasion.

He was described by the western media as a maverick or firebrand cleric, but his views were always more sophisticated and flexible than he was given credit for.

The origin of Mr Sadrs influence was his familys role as religious leaders and the martyrdom of many of them, beginning with the execution of Mohammed Baqr al-Sadr in 1980.

His father led a movement that appealed to the Shia poor of Baghdad and southern Iraq, combining religious revivalism with social and political radicalism. From the start, Sadrism had a strong element of Iraqi nationalism in opposition to all foreign interference in Iraq, be it American, British or Iranian.

In an interview with The Independent in Najaf in 2013  the first he had given face to face to a Western journalist for 10 years  Mr Sadr spoke graphically of the ill effects of Iraq inviting in different foreign powers to try to solve its problems.

He compared this to somebody who found a mouse in his house, then he kept a cat, then he wanted to get the cat out of the house so he kept a dog, then to get the dog out of his house he bought an elephant, so he bought a mouse,

Mr Sadr created the Shia paramilitary Mehdi Army to resist the Americans. He was later to stand this down during the Sunni-Shia sectarian mass killings of 2006-7, saying that it had been infiltrated by people not under his control.

He was denounced by the US as a pro-Iranian proxy, but he has made clear over the years that he opposes Iranian interference as well as that of other countries.

The Sadrist success in the election this month will be unwelcome in both Washington and Tehran.

The US had done everything it could to back Mr Abadi as a victorious war leader and a sort of Iraqi Winston Churchill  forgetting, perhaps, that Churchill lost the British general election in 1945.

Mr Sadrs influence over an incoming government in Baghdad puts in doubt the future of the 10,000 American troops and military contractors in Iraq, though a Sadrist spokesman said after the election that US training and the weapons procurement from the US could continue.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. 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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. 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Iran, for its part, has close links with the Hashd al-Shaabi and the group led by the former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and will be wary of Mr Sadrs Iraqi nationalism.

Mr Abadi stays in power until the formation of a new government, which he may lead in an alliance with the Sadrists.

Mr Sadr is perceptive about political developments in Iraq. When I interviewed him five years ago he warned against Sunni-Shia sectarianism and foreign interference. He said: The Iraqi people will disintegrate, its government will disintegrate and it will be easy for foreign powers to control the country. This prediction was to be fulfilled six months later when Isis took Mosul and the Iraqi army broke up.

Mr Sadr said that sectarianism was spreading at street level and if it spreads among the people, it will be difficult to fight.

Iraqi politics is still largely based on sectarian or ethnic identity  Shia, Sunni and Kurd  but the religious parties that were in the ascendant after 2003 have discredited themselves. The majority Shia community is also more confident, after its military victories last year, that it is firmly in control and is not going to be dispossessed from power.

Mr Sadr said that the problem was that the Iraqi psychology had been shaped by a constant cycle of violence: Saddam, occupation, war after war, first Gulf war, the second Gulf war, then the occupation war.

The election this month, in which so many voters gave priority to social rather than security issues, may show that, as violence ebbs, Iraqis are becoming less traumatised.
Israel is facing almost universal international condemnation after two days of violence on the border with Gaza which left 59 unarmed Palestinians dead after being shot by Israeli troops.

Palestinian families buried their dead on Tuesday morning, including an eight-month-old baby who reportedly died after inhaling tear gas. Three days of mourning have been declared for what the Palestinian Authority described as a massacre of its people.

The toll of 58 dead and around 2,700 injured  many shot in the legs  was the steep price paid by those who protested at the security fence which separates the blockaded Palestinian enclave from Israel on Monday. One 51-year-old died after being shot on Tuesday.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

Israeli troops were ordered to use live fire on the 40,000 people who protested both the USs embassy move to Jerusalem and the Nakba, or catastrophe  the Palestinian anniversary of Israels founding.

Although the air force dropped leaflets warning people their lives would be in danger if they protested at the border, and said the protests were being used by Gaza-based militant group Hamas as cover for attacks, the resulting heavy casualties have been strongly criticised by the international community.

South Africa and Turkey recalled their ambassadors to the country, and Belgium has summoned Israeli ambassador Simona Frankel over her comments that all those killed were terrorists.

Turkey also took the step of expelling the Israeli ambassador to Ankara for an undetermined length of time.

The UK has called on the UN to launch an investigation into why such a volume of live ammunition was used against unarmed Palestinian protesters, but stopped short of linking the deaths of protesters to Washingtons decision to move its embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The UN Security Council will meet later on Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it is not clear what action might come out of the session.

The killings betray both Gazas desperation after 11 years of a crippling blockade and the Israeli militarys heavy-handed tactics, human rights organisations said.

A Palestinian woman flashes the V for victory sign during protest near the border fence on 15 May (AFP/Getty)

The policy of Israeli authorities to fire irrespective of whether there is an immediate threat to life on Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, caged in for a decade and under occupation for half a century, has resulted in a bloodbath anyone could have foreseen, Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watchs Middle East and North Africa division, said in a statement.

Tuesdays protests did not reach anywhere near the size or intensity of Mondays.

Haaretz reported that Hamas, the militant organisation in control of the Gaza Strip, had sent messages to Israeli officials suggesting it may tone down the planned protests for the Nakba day itself.

 Alistair Burt says an investigation should be launched into why live fire was used at Gaza border

Officials from US president Donald Trumps administration, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner, have also drawn international criticism for celebrating the opening of the new US embassy in the contested city of Jerusalem while just 40 miles away Gazans were dying at the border as they protested the move.

The White House has explicitly blamed Hamas for the violence.

Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response and as the secretary of state [Mike Pompeo] said, Israel has a right to defend itself, White House deputy press secretary Raj Shah told reporters on Monday night.

Also on Monday, the US blocked the UN Security Council from adopting a statement calling for an independent probe into Mondays violence.
South and North Korea plan to conduct high-level talks this week as the estranged nations work towards a peace deal, the South Korean ministry of unification has said.

The two nations agreed to again have officials meet at the so-called neutral truce village of Panmunjom, which straddles their border.

The South and North will hold a high-level inter-Korea meeting on 16 May in the Peace House in Panmunjom, to discuss implementation of Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, the ministry said in a statement

Representatives of the two countries would be returning to a site where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un dramatically crossed the border into South Korea last month for a meeting with his southern counterpart, President Moon Jae-in.

That unprecedented foray by a North Korean leader helped fuel hopes for a pact amid a swiftly changing diplomatic landscape.

In preceding months, missile tests and sabre-rattling from Pyongyang sparked fears of a nuclear conflict or renewed clashes on the Korean peninsula.

Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Show all 25 1 /25 Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in raise their hands after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un heads towards Moon Jae-in to shake his hand between the military demarcation line, at the Joint Security Area on the Demilitarized Zone in the border village of Panmunjom in Paju EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Koreans react while watching a screen reporting the Inter Korean Summit Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un chat as they arrive at the Peace House Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un was escorted by bodyguards from the North to the Military Demarcation Line that divides the two Koreas to meet with his South Korean counterpart at the truce village AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un crosses the military demarcation line to meet with South Korean President Moon Jae-in AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in shake hands Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after Kim crossing the military demarcation line Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the Joint Security Area EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speak with two South Korean children who presented Kim Jong-un with a bouquet of flowers EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting Moon Jae-in Kim Jong-un pose for photographers at the Joint Security Area (JSA) EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un signs the guest book as South Korean President Moon Jae-in looks on Getty Images Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-uns entry in the guestbook. The writing reads A new history starts now. An age of peace, from the starting point of history Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-In and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un talk during their summit meeting at the Peace House EPA Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un smiles AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for a photo inside the Peace House AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in prepare to plant a pine tree near the military demarcation line AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un applaud after planting a tree at the truce village Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un and South Koreas President Moon Jae-in take a walk after they planted a tree AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un talks with South Koreas President Moon Jae-in at a bench on a bridge next to the military demarcation line at the truce village of Panmunjom AFP/Getty Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in sign on a joint statement Korea Broadcasting System via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in embrace each other after signing on a joint statement Korea Summit Press Pool via AP Korea Summit: Kim Jong-un crosses border for historic meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, and South Korean President Moon Jae-in shake hands after their joint announcement AP

But the isolated nation pivoted to a more conciliatory stance, using the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang to establish contact and lay the groundwork for inviting Donald Trump to meet Mr Kim. The American president has accepted the high-stakes summit.

Amid that thaw, Korean officials have spoken of forging a formal end to the Korean War, which split the peninsula in two after ending in an armistice.

 Mike Pompeo confident US and North Korea have 'shared understanding of ultimate objectives from summit'

Donald Trump has endorsed that prospect and projected enthusiasm about striking a deal to dismantle North Koreas nuclear programme, although he has warned the US is prepared to walk away if Pyongyang is not negotiating in good faith.
North Korea has announced it is suspending scheduled talks with the South due to US-South Korean military drills, which it called a provocation.

North Koreas state-run Central News Agency (KCNA) said the so-called Max Thunder drills between the South Korean and US Air Force were simply a rehearsal for [an] invasion of the North and a provocation amid warming inter-Korean ties.

This exercise targeting us, which is being carried out across South Korea, is a flagrant challenge to the Panmunjom Declaration and an intentional military provocation running counter to the positive political development on the Korean Peninsula, KCNA said.

The [US] will also have to undertake careful deliberations about the fate of the planned North Korea-US summit in light of this provocative military ruckus jointly conducted with the South Korean authorities.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said planning for Mr Trumps June meeting with Mr Kim would continue as planned despite the warning from Pyongyang.

The talks, scheduled for 16 May, were meant as a follow-up to the historic and opulent ceremony during which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in signed the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity, and Unification of the Korean Peninsula during last months Inter-Korean Summit.

The signing took place in the neutral Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas and officially ended the war that began when the north and south split in a battle over communism and democracy that began on 25 June 1950.

Pictures of Mr Kim and Mr Moon holding hands and smiling made headlines as hopes grew for South Koreas promise of a sunshine policy, or improved economic relations with the North.

 Mike Pompeo confident US and North Korea have 'shared understanding of ultimate objectives from summit'

The suspension comes just one month before the first scheduled meeting between Mr Kim and the US president, Donald Trump, on 12 June.The Singapore summit will allow both leaders to discuss North Korea halting development of its nuclear weapons programme.

Ms Nauert confirmed that North Korea had not said anything to the US about cancelling the Singapore summit as yet.

Pyongyang had previously threatened to strike the US territory of Guam or Hawaii, and even the West Coast of the US with intercontinental ballistic missiles.

North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Show all 21 1 /21 North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Pukguksong-2 missile - 2 May 2017 A solid-fuel "Pukguksong-2" missile lifts off during its launch test in North Korea on May 22, 2017. They said that it was examining operational plans for attacking Guam, an angry reaction to UN punishment for previous North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile tests and a US suggestion about preparations for possible preventive attacks to stop the North's nuclear weapons program. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-12 -16 September 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. Kim vowed to complete North Korea's nuclear force despite sanctions, saying the final goal of his country's weapons development is "equilibrium of real force" with the United States, state media reported on September 16, 2017. AFP/Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Donald Trump address South Korean assembly - 7 November 2017 President Donald Trump talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-In during their joint press conference at the presidential Blue House on November 7, 2017 in Seoul.Trump was the first US President to address the South Korean National Assembly since President Clinton in 1993. He addressed Kim Jong Un warning him to not underestimate the US and that for talks to materialize then Pyongyang would need to take steps into denuclearization. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Demilitarized Zone Haean-Myeon, is a small military town near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and border between North and South Korea, in Gangwon province. The zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula and was created after the 'Korean Armistice Agreement'. Any negotiations between the two countries tend to take place in this zone. AFP/Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Declared state sponsor of terrorism by Trump - 20 November 2017 President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a cabinet meeting at the White House on November 20, 2017, where he officially designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. North Korea had previously been on the list, however was removed in 2008. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 The North Korean government launches it's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea on November 29, 2017. It is supposedly capable of reaching all parts of the US. Korean Central News Agency via AP North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un celebrating the launch of the Hwasong-15 missile on November 29, 2017. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Kim Jong-Un New Year's speech - 1 January 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivering his New Year's speech. He vowed North Korea would mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message on January 1 suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions. Korean Central News Agency via AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Intercontinental ballistic missile ice sculpture - 1 January 2018 Fireworks are seen above the Taedong River during New Year celebrations as visitors pose for a photo in front of an ice sculpture of an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Pyongyang Ice Sculpture Festival in Kim Il Sung Square in North Korea on 1 January, 2018. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures US-South Korean military drills postponed - 4 January 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with US President Donald Trump on January 4, 2018 in Seoul. South Korea and US agreed to delay the annual "Foal Eagle" military drills until after the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in an effort to "de-conflict" the Games and "focus on ensuring the security" of the event. South Korean Presidential Blue House via Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Vehicles transporting the South Korean delegation, led by South Korean Unification Ministrer Cho Myoung-Gyon, drive past a checkpoint on the road connecting South and North Korea at the Unification Bridge, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating them both on January 9, 2018 in Paju. They began their first official face-to-face talks in two years. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Members of the South Korea delegation (R) shake hands with members of the North Korean delegation (L) during their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas on January 9, 2018. They focused on the forthcoming Winter Olympics after months of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula - 16 January 2018 Foreign Ministers from twenty countries from North and South America, Asia, and Europe pose for a photo at the Vancouver Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, in Vancouver on January 16, 2018. The US urged an escalation in pressure on North Korea over its nuclear missile program, despite a more cautious tone from key US ally South Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, co-hosted the event with Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, and called for North Korean ships to be intercepted and for new punitive measures to be implemented every time Pyongyang tests new weapons. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea and South Korea to march together at Winter Olympics - 20 January 2018 PyeongChang 2018 Olympics President Lee Hee-beom, North Korea's Sports Minister and Olympic Committee president Kim Il Guk, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan and South Korea's National Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung join their hands as they pose during a signing ceremony at the Olympic Museum on January 20, 2018 in Lausanne. North Korea will send 22 athletes to the Winter Games in the South. The two nations will also march together at the opening ceremony. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea activists protest delegation arrival - 22 January 2018 Anti-North Korea activists burn a portrait of leader Kim Jong-Un during a rally Seoul Station as a North Korean delegation arrived to check out performance venues for the Winter Olympics on January 22, 2018. Protesters led by the Korean Patriots Party gathered and complained that the talks to encourage North Korea's participation is stealing the spotlight from their country to the benefit of the regime. Donga Daily via Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Panmunjom - 7 February 2018 South Korean soldiers stand guard at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea on February 7, 2018. In a sign of thawing bilateral ties, North Korea today announced that Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korean ferry arrives in South Korea - 6 February 2018 North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approaches a port in Donghae, South Korea, February 6, 2018. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea protest - 6 February 2018 A member of a conservative civic group tears a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea protest as the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approached. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea at the athletes village - 8 February 2018 A North Korean flag is seen hanging on a building at the Winter Olympics athletes village in Gangneung, South Korea. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Olympic Welcome ceremony - 8 February 2018 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Vice Sports Minister Won Gil-woo receives a gift from mayor of the Olympic Village Kim Ki-hoon during the welcome ceremony ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Games at the Olympic Village on 8 February, 2018 in South Korea. Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Mike Pence meets Moon Jae-in - 8 February 2018 US Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea on 8 February, 2018. REUTERS

In 2017, the two-week Max Thunder drills involved approximately 1,000 US military personnel and 500 South Korean personnel. Fresh drills were scheduled to take place during the 2018 Winter Olympics, which took place in Pyeongchang, South Korea from 9 to 25 February.

Both sides agreed to delay the drills in an effort to encourage North Koreas participation in the Games.

This years drills will run from 14 to 25 May, the US military said in a statement, adding that the exercises are routine and defensive in nature.

Athletes from both Koreas marched together during the opening and closing ceremonies and Mr Kim sent his sister, Kim Yo Jong, as a representative to meet with Mr Moon for the first time.

Tensions between Mr Trump and Mr Kim appeared to ease during the Games, with the US vice president, Mike Pence, and White House adviser, Ivanka Trump, sent to South Korea as emissaries.

It was after the closing ceremony that a possible meeting between the leaders  who had for the previous year traded insults and branded each other Rocket Man and dotard  was announced.
 Close Royal wedding: Fans explain why they've come to Windsor to see Harry and Meghan marry

After months of build-up, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are now married and hold the titles the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The ceremony, which drew heavily on Meghan's African American heritage, took place at noon at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle and was watched by millions around the world.

100,000 people descended on Windsor, with many camping overnight in a bid to catch a glimpse of the royal couple.

Royal weddings have long been occasions steeped in tradition and ceremony, but when Harry and Meghan joined in marriage, it was diversity which was centre stage.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle kiss on the steps of St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding (WPA Pool/Getty)

The influence of African-American culture was apparent throughout the service at St George's Chapel in Windsor, from the rousing address of black Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry to the spine-tingling performance of a gospel choir.

Such departures from the conventional Church of England wedding indicates the impact Meghan has had on the House of Windsor.

For she is far from a conventional royal bride.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave St Georges Chapel at Windsor Castle after their wedding (PA)

Born in Los Angeles, California, to a white father and African-American mother, Meghan rose through the world of showbusiness with a plum role in the TV series Suits. By the time she met Harry, she was a divorcee, and today became the first mixed-race member of the royal family.

Few things illustrated the disparate cultural beginnings of bride and groom better than the religious figures who appeared at their wedding.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby officiated with the measured solemnity common to Church of England services, while Chicago-born Bishop Curry riveted the congregation with a fiery delivery of his "Power of Love" address.

His speech touched on issues including slavery and poverty, even channeling the spirit of another celebrated black orator, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

While the bishop's performance may have been a break from the norm for the royal family, it delighted viewers in America.

US journalist Elamin Abdelmahmoud tweeted: "A black reverend preaching to British royalty about the resilience of faith during slavery is 10000000% not what I thought I was waking up for, the royal wedding is good."

Staples of gospel music sat alongside traditional church hymns on the order of service handed out to wedding guests.

Bishop Michael Curry delivered a passionate sermon during the royal wedding ceremony (PA)

Karen Gibson and The Kingdom Choir captivated viewers around the world with a performance of Stand By Me, written by African-American singer Ben E King, and This Little Light Of Mine, a tune which coloured the sound of the civil rights movement.

Ms Gibson later told Sky News: "Both of those are gospel staples you know, they are very well known. Etta James has done this arrangement.

"We really enjoyed it, we really rocked up to that one you know? It was great fun."

Praising the address of Bishop Curry, she added: ""It's what we're actually used to that's the flavour of preachers we're used to, so we were getting very excited."

As the couple slipped away for the signing of the register during the service, another talented black musician, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, took centre stage.

The British cellist - winner of BBC Young Musician 2016 - held the attention of the chapel as he performed several moving pieces which had been selected by the palace.

The 19-year-old later told the broadcaster: "It's such an honour and it's something that you could never expect.

"I still don't quite believe it, so it's just an amazing experience."

In further break from tradition Meghan was due to make a speech at the lunchtime reception hosted by the Queen on behalf of herself and new husband Prince Harry.

(Getty Images)

The royal newlywed was one of three people due to address around 600 guests at the event, being held at Windsor Castle's St George's Hall.

Her new husband and the Prince of Wales will also make speeches, Kensington Palace said.

Harry's best man and brother, the Duke of Cambridge, will act as compere, it said in a statement.



(PA)

To read how we covered the day's festivities please read what was our live coverage below. If it was all a bit too much for you, please read our alternative live blog of the day below - it was a bunting-free zone.
Just before the ceremony to mark the move of the United States embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Pastor John Hagee, a leading American evangelical, CEO of a mega church in San Antonio, Texas, and big time tele-preacher, predicted that President Trump would, as a result, historically step into immortality ... He will be remembered for thousands of years for his act of courage.

Nearly right, pastor. For the president is certainly going to be remembered for his decision, and for a long time, but not exactly in the way he had in mind. Indeed for those of a religious disposition, it is quite conceivable to imagine Donald Trump ending up spending thousands of years in an afterlife even warmer and less hospitable than the fires burning today across the occupied territories.

When a single act of arrogant diplomacy can, utterly predictably, contribute to dozens of deaths  including, possibly, that of an eight-month-old infant from teargas poisoning  then, yes, there are special places reserved for such political leaders.

In this context it is worth reminding ourselves of the worldwide wave of revulsion against chemical weapons we have seen in recent weeks. Palestinian victims deserve the same sympathy and protests as anyone else when their children suffer from gassing.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

It is especially regrettable that the US has vetoed a UN resolution condemning the violence in Gaza and the West Bank. The moral parallels and ironies when recalling their objection to the Russian veto on the Syrian bombing, though that was in a different order of magnitude, remain clear.

In reality, even opinion in the United States is turning against the president, and sometimes in less predictable quarters. There will be those, certainly, in the more thoughtful parts of the Republican Party and the state department who will have been dismayed by the scale of the damage to peace. That much is to be expected, but across the US media there are expressions of outrage at what is happening  acts of violence against protesters, scores of fatalities, the risks being run with regional and world peace, and the safety of US interests and citizens at home and abroad put into fresh jeopardy.

More than any of that, though, is a sense that America is not living up to its highest standards and is abandoning its ambitions as a blessed peacemaker, that it is betraying its values as well as many friends and allies around the world. There is a growing body of opinion at home too that America is quite simply doing the wrong thing and, with no provocation and with much planning, quite unnecessarily.

Since Vietnam, foreign policy, even in the Middle East, rarely intrudes too decisively in American politics, but it can still move opinion and votes. It is ironic that both presidents Trump and George W Bush campaigned on a policy of mild isolationism only to find their administrations overwhelmed by global events. If the public senses that the White House has behaved in a way that makes America less safe, or is actually losing a war, whether it is just or not, a president will lose credibility and support.

 Israeli drones fire tear gas as clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests

If nothing else, the Jerusalem policy will have cemented even more firmly his existing opposition, and motivated the presidents many critics to campaign ever more vigorously to free America of his influence  in the mid-terms this autumn and in the next general election. Beyond that, many moderate, independent swing voters will be wondering if this is what America should be doing in the world. On a nation so sharply and narrowly divided, alienating that constituency could prove politically costly. Even the apparently hopeful initiative in Korea will not outweigh the moral stain of the Jerusalem policy.

Some decades ago the Great Communicator, Ronald Reagan, who Mr Trump yearns so badly to emulate, won successive elections by asking Americans: are you better off today than you were four years ago? No doubt Mr Trump will do the same, but many of his fellow Americans will also ask whether they and their world feel s safer now that Mr Trump has set the Middle East alight, and given the Iranians every incentive and excuse to develop nuclear weapons.

As many American commentators on many sides are now noting, President Trump has killed stone dead any remaining hopes of peace and a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, and given Isis and other Islamist terrorists just the boost they need just as they were being extirpated. For Donald Trump an inglorious kind of immortality beckons.
It was terrible, it was a massacre, Sarah, were Remas first words when I finally reached her at her Gaza home this morning. I was relieved to hear her voice as I knew shed been to the buffer zone with her family to protest yesterday.

But she sounded sick. Its the tear gas, but Im OK. But my little brother was shot in the leg. We didnt know where hed gone. He disappeared in the crowd. Then we lost him. Then someone said hes in Shifa [hospital], go quick. We found him there. He was OK, thank god. His injury wasnt so bad. But the bodies were everywhere.

I asked how the rest of the family were.

Were all OK. My mums OK, but shes frightened. She knew they were going to shoot us all. She predicted that.

Looking at the media coverage of the Gaza protests it might appear that the world will intervene now to stop further slaughter.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

The horror of the Gaza killings have dominated many front pages, along with protests from the United Nations and other world leaders calling for restraint and describing the shooting of unarmed Palestinians tragic and sad.

But the Palestinians of Gaza need more than expressions of sympathy if the killing is to stop. And they are well aware that world attention will move away from them again as soon as the drama of the killing fields dies down. They know also that any light shed on their own story will soon move away and their lives under siege will continue, hidden behind the barrier wall.

The Palestinians lost the military war with Israel as long ago as 1948 when they were expelled from their lands. In recent years, they lost the battle for most of their remaining land, as Gaza has been carved off the West Bank where Jewish settlement increases by the day.

More recently, the Palestinians have held out some hope that they might be winning back the narrative war. Following the collapse of the Oslo accords and the demise of the two-state solution, the younger generation of Palestinians in particular have had some success in reviving the narrative of their 1948 dispossession.

To some extent the Great Return March was intended to force the injustices of 1948 into the public eyes, as the centrepiece of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe).

Instead, events of the recent weeks, and particularly recent days, have shown that the Palestinians have lost the most important objective of all: to be treated as human beings.

I first encountered the human beings of Gaza when I visited the strip in 1993 and reported on the tail end of the first intifada. My first story in The Independent was headlined: Gaza children live and die under the gun. The situation was of course already tragic, but at least at that time the people of Gaza held a sense of pride in their ability to resist the occupation and there was a chance of peace, as talks were under way, issuing in the Oslo accord.

Moreover, the world still recognised the ground rules of the Palestinian case: that the Israeli occupation of Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem was illegal and contrary to the Geneva Convention and to international law.

I returned in 2014 for the first time in many years to find those hopes of peace buried in the rubble of a war which had left nearly 2,500 people in Gaza dead. In the aftermath of the 2014 conflict world leaders expressed the same outrage they are expressing today but took no action, and the human misery deepened as the siege intensified.

On recent visits to Gaza I witnessed growing evidence of the despair that has led people to risk their lives by protesting at the buffer zone. The words of a Gaza teacher speaking earlier this year summed up the feeling: People dont think the world knows who they are any more. Nobody knows our story or cares. A young woman lawyer put it like this: They think we are animals and live under a stone.

Recommended Palestinian man killed by Israeli forces in second day of violence

In early March I went to the buffer zone and spoke to some young protesters who were already risking their lives by throwing stones close to the fence. They seemed to have little care if they lived or died.

On my way out of Gaza a few days later I drove along the Israeli side of the border and saw Israeli soldiers, training with drones and establishing sniper positions. It was a sunny day and they seemed to be having a nice time. Looking back I realise they were preparing to shoot and kill the human beings who were planning to protest on the other side of the fence.

During my conversation with my friend Rema this morning, she also said she had been looking through the list of the dead from yesterday, and had seen the name of a neighbour. She was so frightened of seeing other names she knew she stopped reading. But I looked on the Facebook posts of some of those killed and found they had written about how they were going to the buffer zone, and didnt care if they died.

What are people saying is going to happen next? I asked her. Nobody knows, she said. But my mum thinks theyre going to bomb us next. Something more terrible will happen. A lot of people are saying that. What do you think? she asked me.

I replied that I didnt know. But given that the people of Gaza are not even viewed as human beings any more, her mum could be right.
Not since the days of Margaret Thatcher has a trade union been so comprehensively outmanoeuvred.

In 2013 the petrochemical giant Ineos announced that its Grangemouth refinery, Scotlands biggest industrial site, was losing money. To restore profitability, the management demanded cuts to employees benefits, including an end to their final salary pension scheme.

The workforce refused and, represented by the Unite union, voted to strike. But when Ineos threatened to shut down the entire plant in response they caved in, agreeing, against the advice of the union, to swallow all of the managements terms, including a pledge not to strike for three years.

The founder of Ineos and the man who broke the resistance of those Scottish fitters and labourers was Jim Ratcliffe, named by the Sunday Times at the weekend as Britains richest man, with his 60 per cent stake in the company valued at around 20bn.

The media has made much of Ratcliffes humble origins, growing up in a council house in Oldham, and being publicity-shy. Yet his reticence in promoting his interests should not be exaggerated.

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There was a disturbing coda to the Grangemouth showdown. Documents revealed last year (thanks to a rare freedom of information request that was not frustrated by officials) show that in the months before the 2013 industrial action, Ratcliffe had been privately lobbying the former chancellor, George Osborne, on the need to erode union rights. The Ineos man urged Osborne to remove the right to strike, directly or indirectly over threats to workers pensions.

Billionaire business owners can get a private audience with a chancellor in which to push their preferred policies. How many trade unions have had similar opportunities in recent years? The beer and sandwiches these days are for reserved for executives.

We can speculate on why Osbornes door was open to Ratcliffe. Ineos had ostentatiously shifted its headquarters out of the UK to Switzerland in 2010 in order to trim the companys corporation tax bill. Personal pique also seems to have played a role in the departure. Ineos, struggling with a large debt burden in the wake of the global financial crisis, had asked earlier that year for a special VAT tax break from the UK government. The favour had not been granted. Ratcliffe vented his frustration at that time at not being able to make his case directly to a government minister (although he apparently did get access to the powerful cabinet secretary Jeremy Heywood).

As part of that 2013 capitulation, Grangemouths workers agreed to a three-year pay freeze. Thats a microcosm of the wider economy over the past decade. In real terms average wages are more than 6 per cent below where they were 10 years ago  this has been the worst decade for pay growth since the Napoleonic wars. And official projections suggest the pre-recession peak for wages will not be reattained until well into the next decade.

Theresa Mays preferred form of Brexit  leaving the single market and the customs union  will, according to the governments own projections, compound this economic damage to living standards. Incidentally, Ratcliffe is a fan of Brexit, and has been lobbying the government to reduce environmental taxes on companies like Ineos when Britain leaves the European Union.

Wages and living standards for most people in Britain remain under severe pressure. But some arent doing too badly. The combined wealth of Britains 1,000 richest residents rose 10 per cent in 2017 according to the Sunday Times calculations. Thats a 66bn increase, with 15bn of that jump accounted for by Ratcliffe alone. Its hard to credit that Ratcliffes wealth has risen so dramatically in only a year; his net worth was either under-measured before, or possibly overestimated now. Much remains opaque since Ineos is a privately held company.

Yet, whatever the truth about his fortune, Ratcliffe makes a suitable figurehead for the modern British economy. Soaring wealth for the union-busting, tax-avoiding, regulation-reviling boss with ready access to the ear of the countrys top politicians and policymakers. Stagnant wages, hollowed-out pensions and chronic insecurity for his workers.

Theresa May said she wants to create an economy that works for everyone. At the moment, it feels like a country that works for the likes of Jim Ratcliffe.
One of the more curious campaign videos from Donald Trumps battle for the White House was released at the end of January 2016, and was a direct appeal to Iowas Christian evangelicals.

Trump held up what he said was a bible given to him by his mother. She wrote the name and my address and its just very special to me, he said, in a quiet voice. He then referred to polls showing his strong support among evangelicals and added: I want to thank the evangelicals. I will never let you down.

The following day, Trump went to church in Council Bluffs and confused the silver communion plates that were passed around with the offering plates, reaching for dollar bills from his pocket and leading some to question just how frequently he attended such services.

It did not matter. Trumps appeal had worked. After he claimed a surprise victory that November, it would emerge he had secured the support of 81 per cent of white evangelicals.

This week, as the US controversially moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and scores of Palestinian protesters were shot dead by Israeli snipers and soldiers, the evangelicals received their reward.

Those seeking to reconcile how a group of conservative Christians could support a thrice-married casino owner who bragged about sexually assaulting women and whose lawyer would feel obliged to pay hush money to an adult actress on the eve of the election, need look no further than the reaction from evangelicals to the embassys opening, amid slaughter in Gaza.

We are deeply grateful to President Trump for finally recognising the reality that Jerusalem is the eternal, indivisible capital of Israel, the homeland of the Jewish people, and that the United States Embassy belongs in Jerusalem, wrote evangelical Ralph Read, chairman of the Faith and Freedom Coalition and director of the powerful Christian Coalition during the 1990s.

 Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu hail US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

The Rev David Swaggerty, leader of CharismaLife Ministries in Columbus, Ohio, told the Religion News Service, that the embassy relocation was not simply a geopolitical bonus. We see the embassy as crucial to Gods timing to bring about the revelation of the messiah, he said.

Robert Jeffress, the controversial pastor who previously suggested Jews and Muslims might be heading to hell, was asked to pray at the embassys opening. Israel has blessed this world by pointing us to you, the one true God, through the message of her prophets, the scriptures, and the messiah, he said.

In essence, some evangelicals believe the transfer of the embassy and the recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital will help bring about the so-called rapture, an event in which they believe all Christians, living and dead, will join with God. As news website Vox pointed out, these interpretations based on the books of Revelation and Daniel, suggest the return of Jesus will take place once the Jewish temple in Jerusalem is rebuilt and Israel is made an exclusively Jewish state.

Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian mourners carry the dead body of Mukhtar Ebu Hamas, 25, killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on 14 May Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian woman flashes a victory sign during a protest near the border fence AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli soldiers guard on top of a watch tower along the Israel-Gaza border AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators react to fired tear gas Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian demonstrators run for cover Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US President's daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner arrive for the controversial inauguration of the US embassy in Jerusalem. The United States moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem after months of global outcry, Palestinian anger and exuberant praise from Israelis over President Donald Trump's decision tossing aside decades of precedent. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a demonstrator injured during clashes AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman speaks during the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives ahead of the dedication ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem. Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters lying on the floor during clashes Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian protesters burn tires AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his wife Sara, Senior White House Advisor Jared Kushner, US President's daughter Ivanka Trump, US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and US ambassador to Israel David Friedman attend the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man assists a wounded protestor AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man holding his national flag walks in the smoke billowing from burning tyres AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Ivanka Trump unveil an inauguration plaque during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians carry a protester injured AFP/Getty Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stand next to the dedication plaque at the US embassy in Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling to hurl stones at Israeli troops during a protest against U.S. embassy Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A female Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Ivanka Trump attends the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinian medics and protesters evacuate a wounded protester AP Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier aims his weapon at Palestinian demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Gazans carry an injured protestor Rex Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors gather to demonstrate Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures An Israeli soldier fires tear gas at demonstrators Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator poses with a slingshot Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protestors carry tires Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A demonstrator kicks a burning tire Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Palestinians congregate prior to their demonstration against the US moving their embassy to Jerusalem Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Female Palestinian demonstrators react to tear gas fired by Israeli troops Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator reacts Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian man throws leaflets dropped by the Israeli military during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, at the Israel-Gaza border, east of Gaza City Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A boy holds a Palestinian flag as he stands amidst smoke Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator tries to put out a fire caused by objects dropped from Israeli drones during a protest against the US embassy move to Jerusalem and ahead of the 70th anniversary of Nakba, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip Reuters Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures A Palestinian demonstrator with a slingshot REUTERS Gazans protest as US embassy moves to Jerusalem  in pictures Protesters look up at falling tear gas cannisters dropped by an Israeli drone AFP/Getty

Pastor John Hagee told Fox News: I can assure you that 60 million evangelicals are watching this promise closely because if President Trump moves the embassy into Jerusalem, he will historically step into immortality. He will be remembered for thousands of years for his act of courage to treat Israel like we already treat other nations.

There may, of course, be other reasons for Trumps actions. In carrying out a promise he made on the campaign trail, the US president has strengthened his relationship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels hawkish prime minister, who had pushed for the US to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

Trump claims that somehow the move will also help the US broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians. To anyone who watched the scores of Palestinians killed and the hundreds wounded by Israeli troops, such remarks feel like a preposterous, sick joke. (The White House repeatedly refused to condemn Israels actions and instead blamed Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza.)

No, it is clear that Trump cares more about the November midterms and his chances of re-election in 2020, than he does about the basic rights or lives of the millions of Palestinians who feel cheated by his move to ignore decades of international agreement and unilaterally recognise Jerusalem as Israels capital  something nations collectively believed should be decided by Israelis and Palestinians as part of a broader peace accord.

It is also clear Trump knows he needs those evangelicals to turn out and vote.

A few weeks ago, one unofficial but influential evangelical adviser to Trump, Johnnie Moore, was asked by The Independent to square the communitys support for the president, with his scandalous, seemingly unchristian antics.

Evangelicals are very focussed on the issues, he said. They have a way of not being distracted by what the media may be talking about every day.
Brexit talks are back in high-stakes territory as Brussels reissued a warning to Britain over the Border resolution.

EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier reconfirmed to Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney that there "will be no withdrawal treaty if there is no backstop".

There had been some hope the British Brexit war cabinet could finally agree on a solution for maintaining independence outside the EU while managing its affirmed position not to allow a border on the island of Ireland.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May split the Brexit committee into two groups.

One side was charged with examining the possibility of introducing technology or "max-fac" (maximum facilitation) solutions, and the other with looking into a possible customs partnership.

Both teams are due to report their conclusions today, but no resolution is expected, according to Brexit sources.

Worryingly, this delay comes as formal negotiations are due to recommence next week ahead of June's major summit.

Last night, senior hard-line Tory MP Jacob Rees Mogg warned that if Brussels forced the UK to choose between a customs union and a hard Brexit, it would choose to leave the EU without a deal.

"It would be helpful if everyone could unite to ensure that we secure the best outcome for the whole of the United Kingdom and Ireland, otherwise there will be a high economic price to be paid, primarily by Dublin," he warned.

Meanwhile, the Irish Government is adamant there must be credible progress on the backstop issue by the June summit, otherwise there won't be a withdrawal agreement.

The backstop - which was agreed in December by the EU and UK - states that in the event there is no viable trade deal between the EU and UK after Brexit, Northern Ireland will retain the same regulations as the rest of Ireland and Europe, in order to prevent the need for a customs border.

It has since been rejected by the British after it was translated into a legal-binding protocol.

Mrs May subsequently agreed there should be a backstop, but that the British government would come up with its own legal translation to be agreed by the EU.

So far, this has not materialised and Brussels is piling pressure on the British to get this part in place at least.

Speaking following a lengthy meeting with Mr Barnier in Brussels, Mr Coveney said: "There needs to be a backstop that deals with the Irish Border.

"That backstop needs to be in the withdrawal agreement and we need to find a wording that is acceptable to both sides which ensures there is no border infrastructure of any kind or related checks or controls.

"It has been committed to by the British prime minister, and we want to try to progress hat."

But he added: "The approach is a matter for the British government to find a way of delivering, it's not my job to do that."

He said the future relationship, which may or may not include a customs partnership, "is more than likely an issue for the future relationship negotiations which of course is going to take a lot more time".

In relation to possible solutions, Irish Brexit sources say "max-fac" isn't a viable option as it would mean simplifying the Border with technology.

This would ignore the fact that the object of the talks is to find a way to ensure there is no interruption to the status quo, meaning no new checks or demarcation lines that would inhibit the spirit or the law of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Government's preference is for the UK and EU to share the same customs territory.

"It would make some of the other problems that are difficult to solve right now a lot easier to resolve but that can't happen unless the British government bring it forward through negotiation to achieve that outcome," said Mr Coveney.
Demand for meat in China has quadrupled over the last 30 years. Stock image

IRISH beef will have to stand out in order to break the growing Chinese ecommerce retail store market, according to Bord Bia.

In April, Ireland became the first European beef exporter in 18 years to secure access to China's fast-growing consumer market.

Yesterday, delegates on an Irish trade mission to China visited JD.com in Beijing, which is China's second largest ecommerce retailer in both transaction volume and revenue terms, and is growing fast. In 2017, its net revenues were 48bn - up 33pc on the previous year.

A spokesperson for JD.com said that at present it can deliver 99pc of its products to a customer's door within 24 hours of ordering, and 57pc of orders can be filled in six hours or less.

Those products include fresh, frozen and chilled groceries, including meat.

Bord Bia's Trade Marketing Manager based in Shanghai, Conor O'Sullivan, told the Irish Independent that for Irish beef to enter these dynamic new retail networks it will have to have offer "cuts that stand out".

"Companies like JD are most interested in products that help them stand out. There are lots of competing platforms and there's still a concern with poor quality or fakes so they're interested in bigging up the legitimacy of the product," he said.

"They're most interested in beef, they sell more beef than pork online. Around 77pc of meat sold online is beef. It's growing, and the bestselling cuts are steak cuts and brisket."

JD has recently turned its attention to imported food as a major growth opportunity. In recent years, it has invested in shareholdings with two of China's major supermarkets, Walmart and Yonghui.

In December it opened its first high-tech grocery retail outlet, 7Fresh, which focuses on high-quality, imported food and provides another market opportunity for Irish products. The demand among well-to-do Chinese consumers is for high-quality, traceable products.

There currently only two 7Fresh outlets, but the plan is to get that number to 30 by the end of the year and to 1,000 in four years. The challenge for Irish producers is to be there as that new market opens up.

Demand for meat in China has quadrupled over the last 30 years. However, beef consumption remains relatively low at 4kg per person per year, compared to 19kg per person here.

Beef imports to China increased from under 100,000 tonnes in 2012 to around 700,000 tonnes last year and are expected to double by 2020.
A national fodder census will be completed this summer to establish winter feed levels on the country's farms.

This was one of the key decisions from a new stakeholder group tasked with preventing a recurrence of last winter's fodder crisis - the second in five years.

The inter-agency group, which met for the first time in Tullamore last Friday, is led by Teagasc and includes the Department of Agriculture, dairy and meat processors, the banks, Veterinary Ireland and the farm organisations.

Replenishing exhausted fodder stocks and building a two-month buffer of feed on livestock farms is a key goal of the initiative.

However, the consensus from the meeting was that this would not be achieved this summer and could take a further year.

Teagasc staff told the meeting that farmers should aim to maximise returns from first-cut silage, and harvest the crop as close as possible to the target cutting date.

While the wet and cold weather between August and April was the primary cause of the recent fodder crisis, the failure to harvest second-cut silage on many drystock farms in the northern half of the country, and overstocking on intensive dairy units in the south, were identified as major contributory factors.

The meeting was told that stocking levels on grass-based dairy farms should be limited to 4.0-4.5 cows per hectare.

Drystock farmers with low stocking densities were advised to close 50-60pc of their holdings for first-cut silage, while more intensive operators should close between 40pc and 50pc.

The meeting was told that all farmers should be encouraged to draw up a winter fodder budget, to establish the feed requirements for their holding.

This winter's crisis resulted in thousands of tonnes of fodder being imported to feed dairy and drystock herds through the late spring.
A Sheep farmer claims hes being forced off his own land by a man who left a woman paralysed in a savage rape attack 30 years ago.

Mark Thornton was threatened not to come near a small farm he owns in Bellanaleck, Co. Fermanagh, last year by Bernard Quigley, he claims.

Quigley and his family claim they had a gentlemans agreement in place to buy the land  which they previously owned  back and they deny any hate campaign against Mr Thornton.

Quigley (58) was once sentenced to seven years in jail for a rape attack that shocked Ulster at the time when his victim  who had just attended her daughters wedding  was left in a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

Last week Quigley was arrested after Mark Thornton claimed he had been assaulted on his own land  where livestock belonging to the Quigley family has been grazing for several months.

A PSNI spokesperson said: On Tuesday, 1 May, police received a report that at approximately 8.30pm a man, aged in his thirties, was assaulted by another male in a field in the Rossavally area of Fermanagh. A 58-year-old man was arrested by police and is assisting with inquiries.

The Sunday World has heard a taped recording of a phone call between Bernard Quigley and Mark Thornton where Mr Quigley admits that an altercation had taken place with Mark.

And Quigley is heard saying: Youll get worse if you dont sort this out Mark.

And when asked by the Sunday World why Mark Thornton had been assaulted he said: Well he shouldnt have been on that land.

VIOLENCE

Amid fears that tensions could escalate into more violence police say they are trying to resolve the matter.

Inspector Hoy said: We take our responsibility to keep people safe seriously and we are proactive in our efforts to deter and detect criminality. Police have been working with parties involved in this incident in an effort to resolve this matter, and with the support of the community we can help build a safe, confident and peaceful society.

But Mark says he feels he has been let down by the Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) as well as the PSNI.

Tensions have been mounting since last March, according to Derrylin farmer Mark, whose family own around 300 acres across Co. Fermanagh and roughly 800 sheep.

Thorntons predecessors had bought the land  around 30 acres beside the Quigley home  from the Quigleys in 1983 but last year they said they wanted to buy it back.

The Quigleys have told the Sunday World they had a gentlemans agreement with Marks uncle Alan to buy the land last year while confirming no deal for the land was ever struck and no money ever changed hands.

And speaking to this paper Alan Thornton says he changed his mind about the deal because of the Quigleys aggressive behaviour and instead he transferred the deeds of the land to Mark.

Mark says instead of agreeing a fair price to buy the land from him he has been subjected to a sinister hate campaign.

That has included a number of assaults, threats, criminal damage to property at the farm and having his own livestock put off the land.

A spokesperson for the Quigley family denied they had been intimidating Mark Thornton, saying nobody had been charged and there was no evidence to say they were behind the damage carried out on the farm.

Mark Thornton has several enemies  you are trying to make a victim out of a rogue, said the family representative.

Last night the police confirmed allegations of assault had been made by Mark and added the PSNI has been working with parties involved in this incident in an effort to resolve this matter.

DAMAGE

Mark Thornton says he hasnt been able to farm his own land for the last year and tens of thousands of pounds of damage has been done to fencing.

They started putting their own cattle on the land and wouldnt take it off. If I went and put my sheep on someone elses land the department wouldnt be long in telling me about it, says 30-year-old Mark.

Yet this man has had his animals on my land for ages and nobody seems to care.

I had to go to court to get an order to force them to remove their livestock which worked for a while but then they just went back to putting their own animals on the land.

Then fences were cut between the fields, grass was sprayed with weedkiller and a contractor was threatened to stop cutting silage on the fields.

The cattle crush was destroyed and the outside fence was removed completely. Farm machinery has been badly damaged by rocks and stones.

The Quigley family spokeperson accepts that damage was done to the farm but say theres no evidence they were involved.

Mark says when he put his own animals on the land the Quigleys removed them into another field or out onto the road.

The Sunday World has seen a video taken by Mark last July showing Mark driving his jeep on the land.

Rocks can be heard hitting the vehicle and in the video is an unidentified man standing with a balaclava over his head, standing on the other side of the fence with Bernard Quigley. That incident happened around the same time Mark claims he was punched by a member of the Quigley family.

The police told us: On 27th July 2017 police received a report of an assault on a man aged in his thirties. A 38-year-old man was arrested and a file forwarded to the PPS.

No charges were brought on that incident and Mark says he has contact the PSNI dozens of times over a series of incidents but he says they keep telling him its hard to do anything without solid evidence.

BLOOD

Its frustrating because farming has been in this family for generations, its in the blood. They want to intimidate us off the land so they dont have to pay for it.

Me and my father have offered them several chances to buy the land. Meetings have been arranged but they never turn up. All they need is a solicitor and the right money and we can end this but they arent serious about buying it. They think they can intimidate me but Im going nowhere.

The Sunday World has learned the issue of illegal cattle on Marks land has been sent to the enforcement division of DAERA but nothing has been done.

However, a spokesperson for the department would only say: We dont discuss individual cases.

Mark says: I honestly think the fact Im a Protestant farmer down at the border goes against me. I dont think the department have taken my case seriously.

The Sunday World contacted Bernard Quigley but in a bizarre move he handed his mobile phone to someone else who pretended to be him.

Bernard Quigley was found guilty of causing GBH and rape to a woman on her daughters wedding day and sentenced to seven years in jail.

In his defence it was argued at Enniskillen Crown Court that there had been no premeditation and that he had drunk seven or eight pints of beer.

Quigley claimed it had started out as consensual sex but that he didnt restrain himself when the woman complained she was in pain.

The judge said the victims injuries were quite catastrophic as she would be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Your victim must have been caused agonising pain. Short of causing death it is difficult to imagine worse consequences of an assault.
The bacteria which causes Lyme disease is called Borrelia and is passed to humans from infected ticks.

May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month and the HSE Health Protection Surveillance Centre is advising farmers, in particular, to take precautions in order to avoid contracting this disease which is spread by tick bites.

"Although the great majority of cases of Lyme disease are very mild (in fact, some people may not even know they have been infected) resulting in a skin rash; in a small number of cases however, the infection can be more severe, leading to serious nervous system, heart and joint disease," says specialist in Public Health Medicine, Dr Paul McKeown.

Only a minority of ticks carry infection. If a tick is removed within the first few hours, the risk of infection is low. The entire tick, including any mouthparts which might break off, should be removed with a tweezers by gripping it close to the skin.

"Cases of a more severe form of Lyme disease - neuroborreliosis - have to be reported to the HPSC by doctors and laboratories in Ireland. There are approximately 10-20 cases of neuroborreliosis notified in Ireland each year. However, as some people will not be aware that they are infected or will not seek medical help when unwell, the true incidence of Lyme disease is not known. It is likely there are at least 100-200 cases of the milder forms of Lyme disease in Ireland annually," added Dr McKeown. Beekeepers issue infection warning

Beekeepers across the country are being advised to remain vigilant after an outbreak of American Foulbrood (AFB) was identified in East Cork last week.

AFB is an infectious, notifiable disease of honey bee larvae and pupae. Infected bee colonies slowly become weak and die.

Lab testing is necessary for definitive diagnosis, but a good field test is to touch a dead larva with a toothpick or twig. It will be sticky and "ropey". Foulbrood also has a characteristic odour, and experienced beekeepers can often detect the disease upon opening a hive.

"It is highly contagious and sadly there is no cure," commented Eleanor Attridge, Bee Health Officer with the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations.

"Now that the weather is improving slightly beekeepers are starting to open hives." Two hives in Cork were found to be infected. "Bees in an infected hive will die but if others invade the hive before it is cleaned out and disinfected, they will spread it further," she added.
Farm consultants and Teagasc advisors are battling to lodge the last of the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) applications before the midnight deadline tonight (May 15).

Around 9,500 farmers had still to submit BPS applications yesterday, with the Department of Agriculture confirming that it had received 120,300 applications by 12 noon (Monday).

Around 130,000 farmers apply for the BPS in total each year, with close to 1.2 billion paid out under the CAP scheme.

Last week the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, urged farmers, who were applying online for the BPS for the first time, to make sure they were registered with the Department of Agriculture on www.agfood.ie. The last in a series of clinics to help farmers through the online application process will be held at the Department's offices in Drumshambo, Co Leitrim today from 9.30am to 5.30pm.

Department officials will be available to sit down on a one-to-one basis with farmers and help them to lodge their application. Department clinics have already been held in Cavan, Claremorris, Longford and Limerick. And the Department will assist in the Transfer of Entitlements applications at its Portlaoise offices up to midnight tonight.
Irish Defence Forces cadets take part in the clean-up after the 'Beast from the East' (Niall Carson/PA)

Bord Gais Energy owner Centrica said its overall performance so far this year has been boosted by colder than normal weather that raised power demand.

But the group warned that intense competition persists as it lost 62,000 consumer accounts in the first four months of the year across all its markets.

"High levels of competitive intensity continue in our core markets, however net consumer customer account losses in the year to date have slowed materially relative to the average of 2017," it noted ahead of its annual general meeting yesterday.

CEO Iain Conn said that the group is making "good progress" against cost-efficiency targets.

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He also noted that while the outcome of regulations to impose a temporary cap on all default energy tariffs in the UK remains uncertain, the company has continued to participate in the consultation process.

Centrica is assuming the tariff cap will be in place by the end of the year.

"We continue to believe that price controls in competitive energy markets are not good for customers," the group added.

Mr Conn said that Centrica's focus "remains on performance delivery and financial discipline and we remain on track to achieve our 2018 group targets".

In February, Mr Conn announced that Centrica would axe 4,000 jobs, mainly in its UK energy supply business, as he attempts to remedy what he said was a "very poor shareholder experience" in 2017.

The firm has previously described its group performance during 2017 as "weak", when it was weighed down by its operations in the US and UK.

Its adjusted operating profit slumped 17pc to 1.25bn (1.4bn) last year, while revenue edged 3pc higher to 28bn (31.7bn).

Profits at Bord Gais Energy fell 4pc to 54m last year, with its total customer account numbers dipping 2pc, or 13,000 to 679,000 during 2017.

The group confirmed yesterday that it lost 62,000 consumer accounts in the first four months of 2018.

Energy supply accounts tumbled by 110,000 in the UK, which Centrica said was largely due to switching trends.

The company has almost 13m energy supply accounts in the UK.

"Account holdings in Ireland, UK services and North America services were broadly stable," it added.

Among the new competitors in the UK power market is the ESB, which has tentatively stuck its toe in the consumer energy business there. It's pitched itself as a "value energy supplier".

"Our pledge, very simply, is to be the most innovative, responsible and easy to deal with energy supplier in Great Britain," it tells customers.
An Irish-based fintech is helping customers of Spain's postal service get access to Google Pay with their prepaid debit cards.

The relationship between Prepaid Financial Services Limited (PFS) and Correos began three years ago when the post office launched its prepaid offering.

Hundreds of thousands of holders of the prepaid Mastercard, available across 2,400 post offices in Spain, can now purchase using Google Pay functionality.

Deputy Head of Corporate Development at Correos, Martin Gonzalez de Haro, said that PFS technology and the collaboration with Correos allows citizens to experience these mobile transactions without being a member of a traditional bank.

"Correos, as a company, is focused on providing cardholders with the most innovative payment services and this integration with Google Pay certifies Correos as the first prepaid programme to be enrolled on mobile payments, making access to this new technology easy," he said.

PFS CEO Noel Moran said that the launch places financial tech at the heart of Spain's ecosystem.

"Correos is the country's 5th largest employer with 53,000 employees and we are honoured to continue our partnership with the post office network.

"Correos continues to welcome advanced solutions and versatile payment products for an increasingly tech-savvy customer base," he said.
Irish-owned coffee roaster Java Republic has been awarded a six-figure contract to provide coffee and tea services at the new Center Parcs Longford Forest resort.

Its one of a number of local firms to strike contracts with the holiday park.

Java Republic managing director Grace O'Shaughnessy said her team was "delighted to have been awarded this high-profile and valuable contract from Center Parcs".

Family-owned Briody Bedding, based in Co Meath, has also secured a contract to supply beds and mattresses for the 466 lodges and 30 apartments at the resort.

The business, established in 1974, employs 100 people and won this year's Small Firms Association National Small Business Award.

Director David Briody said the contract was a "testament to the dedication and hard work of our experienced team who have perfected their craft over the past 40 years".

O'Haire Bus Hire will transport Center Parcs housekeeping staff to and from the resort once it opens.

In total, the contracts with the 2,500 guest capacity resort are worth more than 1m.

The 395-acre holiday resort near Ballymahon, Co Longford, will begin operations next year.

Irish construction group Sisk is the main contractor on the 223m construction scheme.

In March, a multi-million-euro contract for holiday lodges was won by Northern Ireland firm FastHouse.

FastHouse, part of the Lagan group, is a modular construction company based in Limavady, Co Derry.
Banks operate in a bubble. For this reason they would be well advised, when they intend to announce something or change some aspect of their operations, to test it in advance to see how it is likely to go down in the real world.

A good tester would need cop-on, and a keen sense of social justice, along with a dose of cynicism.

These are qualities that are in short supply in banks.

Such a person would have flagged up the stench being generated by the ongoing mess that is the tracker fraud.

Whether or not banks would have acted on this is another matter.

However, if even some of the warnings were heeded the final bill for the tracker scandal may not have topped 1bn.

AIB would also have been warned by the Cop-On Tester that its recent ill-timed attempt to bring back banker bonuses was doomed to failure.

And any sensible person looking at AIB Group's ham-fisted attempts to snoop on individual customer social media accounts would have seen the dangers a mile off.

But bankers exist in their own little self-congratulatory world.

That is why AIB, the largest mortgage lender in the State, has ended up being accused of playing Big Brother with its customers after it emerged it had been seeking to spy on customers' social media accounts.

This implies the lender trawling through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media accounts held by customers for comments on its service.

The bank has been telling customers that the move "helps us understand your behaviour".

As part of the mortgage application process, customers were required to sign a consent form, which gives permission for a range of things, and allows their social media accounts to be looked at.

Now the bank has backtracked and altered its mortgage consent form, dropping any reference to data analytics or looking at customer social media accounts.

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But mortgage broker Karl Deeter, who revealed the bank was seeking permission to monitor social media accounts, said the lender had been forced to change tack due to a backlash.

"I believe the exposure got the bank to change. It just shows that the media can help achieve a good outcome for customers," he said.

It is not before time. There was already a backlash against the move when it was exposed by this publication.

AIB insists it never intended to analyse individual social media accounts.

"AIB does not monitor individual customer social media accounts and as such never makes decisions using individual customer's social media data," said a spokesman

"The only individual social media data that's used by the bank is when a customer contacts us on AIB Group social channels and we respond to specific queries from customers as is normal practice."

However, the bank said yesterday it monitors macro social media trends and sentiment towards its brand on social media.

The bank's denial about trawling through individual social media accounts is despite it telling customers up to last week that "we analyse the information that we collect and hold on you through channels our analysis helps us to offer you products and services content we believe will be of interest to you".

Well, if the bank was not analysing individual accounts, how would it know what products to offer that "would be of interest to you"?

You can't tailor products to an individual by looking at aggregated social media content.

Anyway, that sort of activity was always likely to fall foul of the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data privacy laws coming in this month, something the bank was well aware was on the way.

The change of tack is to be welcomed.

If only the bank had asked anyone with some street smarts, it would have realised that it was on a hiding to nothing by initially telling customers it wanted to look at their social media accounts.

There may be lots of cents knocking around in banks in this country, but common sense is in short supply.
Employees of ZTE, China's second-biggest telecoms equipment maker, reportedly cheered a tweet by US President Donald Trump that suggested a resolution is in sight to reverse a devastating US ban on sales to the Chinese company.

In an unexpected reversal of a hardline US stance, President Trump tweeted on Sunday that he and Chinese President Xi Jinping were working together to give ZTE "a way to get back into business, fast", and cited the risk of the loss of many jobs in China.

ZTE had been hit by Washington, which forbade US firms supplying the Chinese company with components and technology after it was found to have illegally shipped goods to Iran.

In the wake of that, ZTE said that it has suspended its main business operations.

The Chinese firm doesn't sell its branded handsets into Ireland. However, it is a supplier to Irish-owned Digicel, Denis O'Brien's mobile telecoms and communications group.

That company said last week that it was working with ZTE on an audit to assess any impact on Digicel from the US action.

But on Sunday, Donald Trump's tweet - indicating a rapid US reversal - was widely reposted on social media by ZTE employees.

"Wow! Breaking good news!" a ZTE manager wrote on her WeChat account, pointing to Trump's remark that the US "Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done".

"Almost there," wrote another ZTE employee.

According to a source close to the company, ZTE management welcomed the latest development and planned to negotiate with the US for a resolution under the guidance of the Chinese government.

The news boosted telecoms and semiconductor-related stocks in China, which were among the best performing on Monday.

Edison Lee, an analyst with Jefferies, expressed caution about the news in a investors' note, saying that "it does not mean the tech-focused trade conflict between China and the US is over".

Lee said Trump appeared to have made the move as a goodwill gesture at China's request in order for trade talks to continue and because he expected concessions from China. (Reuters)
Director Spike Lee poses for photographers during a photo call for the film BlacKkKlansman at the 71st international film festival in Cannes (Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP)

US director Spike Lee has hit out at President Donald Trump over his response to last years violent white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia.

In an expletive-ridden monologue at the Cannes Film Festival, Lee told reporters that following the events in Charlottesville, Mr Trump had the opportunity to denounce the Ku Klux Klan and the alt-right.

Instead, Mr Trump had said there was blame on both sides in the unrest between neo-Nazi groups and counter-protesters.

The 61-year-old filmmaker said Mr Trump  whom he refused to call by name  had a chance to say we are about love and not hate, and sharply criticised him for not denouncing the KKK.

It was a defining moment and he could have said to the United States and the world that were better than that, said Lee.

His new film BlacKkKlansman premiered at Cannes on Monday night to a rousing standing ovation.

The 1979-set film, loosely based on a true story, is about black police detective Ron Stallworth (played by Denzel Washingtons son John David Washington) and a Jewish detective (Adam Driver) who together infiltrated a Ku Klux Klan cell in Colorado. Topher Grace plays former KKK leader David Duke.

The film, produced by Jordan Peele, concludes by connecting the period tale with today.

BlacKkKlansman ends with actual footage from Charlottesville, as well as Mr Trumps televised response.

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The final image is an upside-down American flag that fades to black and white.

Focus Features will release the film in August, on the anniversary of Charlottesville.

Having already wrapped the film, Lee added the Charlottesville coda after the unrest last summer.

Right away, I knew that this had to be the coda for the film, but I had to do something first, said Lee.

Before inserting footage of the car that ploughed through crowds in Virginia, killing counter-protester Heather Heyer, Lee said he telephoned Heyers mother.

I was not going to put that murder scene in the film without her blessing, said Lee.

Lee called Charlottesville an ugly, ugly, ugly blemish on America, but he also repeatedly stressed to the international Cannes media that the racism depicted in BlacKkKlansman is not unique to the United States.

This right-wing (expletive) is not just America. Its all over the world. And we have to wake up, said Lee.

We cant be silent. Its not black, white, or brown. Its everybody. We all live on this planet, and this guy in the White House has the nuclear code. I go to bed thinking about it.

At the premiere, Lee was outfitted in a shiny purple-and-orange tuxedo and wore one ring declaring love on one hand, and hate on the other, paying homage to the jewelry won by the character Radio Raheem in his previous film Do The Right Thing.

He bounced into the premiere at the Palais announcing: Brooklyns in the house!

Lee has frequently debuted films at Cannes, including Do The Right Thing in 1989.

He hopes BlacKkKlansman shakes people from their slumber.

I know it in my heart, said Lee. Were on the right side of history with this film.
Springwatch star Chris Packham has revealed he could go deaf after a diving accident later developed into Menieres disease (Shout Communications/PA)

Springwatch star Chris Packham has revealed he could go deaf after a diving accident resulted in him developing Menieres disease.

The naturalist, 57, told the Daily Mirror he suffers constant worry that the disease, which causes tinnitus and vertigo, could spread from his right ear to his left.

Total deafness could put his career as a TV presenter at risk.

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He told the newspaper: There is a danger that the Menieres which I suffered from in this ear could spread to the other one and I could lose my hearing in that ear as well.

Its something that gives me constant worry.

Packham, who last year told of his battle with Aspergers, revealed his colleagues on both Springwatch and Autumnwatch are aware of his hearing problems.

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He explained how the condition rules him out of certain situations and he has to work around them.

Packham spoke out in a bid to raise awareness of deafness as he teamed up with Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.

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He added: I can relate to the fact that many people who are deaf struggle with loneliness and isolation. It excludes you from so much that so many just take for granted.
Laura Bourne at home with her six month old son Noah in Greystones. Picture: Steve Humphreys

Laura Bourne at home with her six month old son Noah in Greystones. Picture: Steve Humphreys

Ive never been one for cliches.

But on October 28, 2016, when my husband and I met our baby boy Archie for the first and final time, in a room lit up with fairy lights on a quiet floor of Liverpool Womens Hospital, it struck me that this experience would either be the making or breaking of me.

Id like to point out from the outset that I am not a volunteer for the Together for Yes campaign and I have no political affiliations.

Im a mother who has travelled what personally feels like a very challenging road to reach parenthood.

And given the timing, I believe this is an important story to tell.

Aged 29, less than six months after getting married, my better half and I were over the moon when we got pregnant, and naturally couldnt wait to embark on this next chapter as first-time parents.

We were both healthy individuals and had no difficulty conceiving  a blessing when compared to so many couples we know who are put through trauma to have a family.

When we got our positive pregnancy test 12 hours into our summer holiday, the excitement was truly overwhelming.

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It consumed us, and we began to visualise life as a trio.

As the first grandchild on both sides, our parents and siblings all shared in our joy that come February 2017 there would be another addition to the group.

It was one of the happiest summers I can remember.

Getting to the 12-week milestone felt like an eternity but despite the nerves, we cleared it with flying colours.

Baby was lying low, we were told, as if in a hammock, but everything seemed fine. Why wouldnt it be fine? People have babies all the time. Perfectly healthy babies.

In the weeks after that, my husband and I had started to plan a nursery when the opportunity to buy his family home arose. Imagining our precious bundle growing up in daddys old house, sleeping in daddys old bedroom and learning to ride their bike on the green where daddy did, had us constantly grinning from ear to ear.

So, when October 4 came around, the date of our 20-week anatomy scan, we didnt feel much anxiety at all.

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Of course, wed heard people say that until you pass the halfway mark you dont really know if everything is OK. But we were more concerned in finding out if we would be decorating in pink or blue.

We laughed with the sonographer about putting bets on regarding the gender and the atmosphere was jovial as I settled myself on the gurney.

I was beside myself with giddiness at finding out what I was carrying.

They always say the 20-week scan is a day to remember for any parents-to-be. And it is.

Unfortunately, ours was one to remember for a different reason because within five seconds of placing the gel and probe on my belly, we heard the worst possible news any couple can receive.

I dont think we will ever forget the poor womans face or the way she sadly and swiftly said No when my husband casually asked, So is everything all right?

Disbelief and utter shock took hold of us.

Instead of finding out whether our baby was a boy or girl, we were told that our precious bundle had a very serious problem. A fatal problem. One we couldnt fix.

We were in a rare percentile of pregnancies and baby had a severe form of anencephaly, a fatal foetal abnormality which means the skull and brain do not properly develop.

The phrase not compatible with life is one of the few things I recall clearly from the rest of that day.

We learned that baby either would die during delivery or moments after being born.

As long as he was in the womb he would continue to grow and thrive  completely and blissfully unaware of his condition.

And because of this fact, there would be no chance that we could safely deliver our little man in our chosen hospital, in our home country.

The only way I could physically give birth in Ireland was to go full term.

They could not induce me because I was healthy.

We were also informed that by going to 40 weeks the birth would certainly be far more traumatic, for both baby and myself.

After listening carefully to the expert medical advice, we decided that we simply loved our baby too much to put him through the suffering of coming into this world, gasping for air and shrieking in pain.

If I wanted to deliver in Dublin, I would need to return to routine, to normal life, and endure all the friends, colleagues and strangers asking how bump was doing, what names wed picked out, or what our birthing plan was.

All the while knowing that the only thing coming was grief and there would be no son or daughter returning to daddys old house at the finish line.

So not only did we have to figure out how to cope with the idea that the beautiful child we made would never go on to live a full and fruitful life; at almost six months pregnant we had to make a decision that would affect us forever.

Our consultant and bereavement midwife were very sympathetic and caring. Their hands were tied. Legally, there was nothing they could do. Instead of making us feel shameful for thinking about termination, they advised us of possible options  for us it was to attend a clinic overseas, the Liverpool Womens Hospital.

We would travel to England because Irish law did not support us and would not allow us to deliver our baby in familiar surroundings, with the comfort and support of our families nearby.

And to top it all off, wed have to wait three weeks before travelling. Why? Because all the rooms in Liverpool were full with bookings, many of which like ours.

The wait I can only describe as torturous.

Almost as soon as our booking was confirmed the baby started kicking constantly in my tummy.

I also bumped into a former teacher of mine whose face lit up when she saw my blossoming belly and immediately began asking questions.

Trying to get the words out to explain our situation through the tears was too much to bear, to be honest.

It all just felt so devastatingly unfair.

Unless you have arranged accommodation or a flight and paid to attend a maternity hospital overseas, you will never understand how crucial it is that this situation stops.

No individual should have to go through the physical and emotional horror that accompanies this.

After paying a fee to attend a Dublin hospital for what we thought would be the most thrilling journey of our married life, we paid another 4,000 to meet and then say goodbye to our angel in a foreign place.

One of the many gut-wrenching moments as you make your way to Liverpool and home again is travelling on a packed plane where 95pc of your fellow passengers are booze-fuelled stags and hens gearing up for a weekend on the town.

However, once we did get there the only thing I can say about the care at Liverpool Womens Hospital is that it was exemplary.

The staff think about your well-being down to the most minute details.

I didnt see one other pregnant person throughout our entire two days there.

My husband was given a bed to sleep next to me for the entire time.

A separate nursery off our suite was decorated with bunting and poetry delicately scrawled across the walls.

And when Archie arrived still-born, it was in a calm, if very sad, environment with the twinkle of dozens of bulbs hanging like a canopy around us.

He was dressed in white and pictures taken of him, as well as imprints of his hand and footprints. He was brought in to us in his wicker Moses basket and a local vicar then came in and blessed him.

We flew home without Archies body, opting instead to have him cremated at the hospital.

We arranged to collect the ashes on what would have been his due date. We made our second trip to Liverpool in February 2017 to bring home the remains of our darling little boy.

Wonderfully and as if heaven-sent, we were almost seven weeks pregnant at the time with his little brother  our rainbow baby Noah.

I do not know the exact number of Irish couples that take up rooms in that hospital on a weekly basis.

But I do know that when we made our second trip there were four other couples from Ireland in the birthing suites upstairs. On one single day in 365.

It is utterly despicable that women cannot choose to give birth in Ireland in the case of fatal foetal abnormality or in any case. We need support in whatever decisions we make  because they are never made lightly.

That is why I am voting Yes on repealing the Eighth Amendment.

Again, Ive never been one for cliches. But it is true: What doesnt kill you only makes you stronger.
Sandra Cullinan outside the Coroners Court with a photo of her son Stevie Cullinan who died in Mullingar Regional Hospital aged two days old. He was named after his father who had recently passed away. Photo: Tony Gavin

A mother whose new born son died just days after his birth at a regional hospital has settled her High Court action over his death.

Stevie Cullivan was named after his father who died following a heart attack months before his son's birth and death three years ago.

His mother, Sandra Cullivan sued the HSE for shock induced psychiatric injury she says she suffered over the death of her baby.

Ms Cullivan's counsel Oonah McCrann told the court on Tuesday it has been a very traumatic time for the widow and mother.

The terms of the settlement are confidential.

Ms Cullivan was 36 when she went to Midland Regional Hospital in Mullingar to be induced on April 28 2015.

Stevie Cullivan was born at 11.59pm, but he died two days later on April 30.

A verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest in to the death of baby who suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain shortly before birth.

Outside court, in a statement, Ms Cullivan said it had been a very long and hard road to get answers.

"Stevie had only two days in this world. No words can express my grief but with the help of my legal team I got answers," she said.

She added: I would encourage all women and families to insist on answers and not be afraid to to get help in asking tough questions."

The Midland Regional, through its general manager Shona Schneemann, apologised to Ms Cullivan by letter and offered sincere and deepest sympathy on the sad loss of Stevie.

"The hospital would like to again convey our sincere apologies for the deficits in care that were identified as part of the review that took place.

" I can confirm the recommendations outlined in the review have been fully implemented," Ms Schneemann said in a letter.

In her action, Ms Cullivan, Ribbontail Way, Longwood, Co Meath, claimed her labour was chaotic and allegedly inadequately supervised with no proper midwife assistance.

Cardiotocography (CTG) monitoring, it was alleged, was grossly inadequate.

Signs of fetal distress in the second stage of labour iwere not identified and the baby suffered a hypoxic ischaemic insult, it was claimed.

There was also alleged sub-standard care and an alleged failure to ensure proper midwife attendance during the labour,

There was also alleged failure to have in place continuous CTG monitoring.

Liability was admitted in the case.

Ms Cullivan, whose husband Stevie had died in December 2014, was admitted to Midland Regional on April 28, 2015 with her mother by her side as her birth partner.

Approving the settlement, Mr Justice Kevin Cross offered his sympathy to Ms Cullivan on her "terrible succession of tragedies."
Anglo Irish Bank's share price dropped by nearly half the day after it released a summary of its 2008 financial results to the stock market, a trial has heard.

The price went down 28pc on the day the bank's preliminary year-end figures were published, but went on to drop by 48pc the next day.

Stockbrokers asked to analyse the results said if 7.2bn was taken from Anglo's customer deposit total, it would have negatively affected the bank's loan-to-deposit ratio - a "key metric" for investors.

Financial analysts Eamonn Hughes and Ciaran Callaghan were giving evidence in the trial of Anglo's former CEO David Drumm, who is accused of taking part in a plot to defraud during the 2008 financial crisis.

Mr Drumm (51) denies conspiring to dishonestly create the impression that Anglo's customer deposits were 7.2bn larger than they really were in September 2008.

The case at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court centres on a series of interbank deposits that circulated between Anglo and Irish Life and Permanent.

Mr Hughes, of Goodbody Stockbrokers, said Anglo's preliminary results were released to the stock market on December 3, 2008. His firm's analysis gave Anglo's share price at 94c. The year-on-year deposit growth figures were down 2pc, while loan growth was up 9pc.

A second analysis a day later had a share price of 67c.

It stated that "progress must be made on Anglo's loan-to-deposit ratio" (LDR), which had gone up to 140pc and was "higher than anticipated".

Paul O'Higgins SC, prosecuting, asked Mr Hughes what the effect on the LDR would have been if you took 7.2bn from the deposits figure.

"That ratio would go up by 23pc points to 163pc," he said.

On December 4, the share price dropped to 48c, which was just short of a 50pc fall.

"A higher loan-to-deposit ratio would be perceived more negatively by the market," Mr Callaghan, of NCB stockbrokers, said. He agreed with Bernard Condon SC, defending, that there were other metrics in a bank's performance and a focus at the time was unpaid loans.

Mr Callaghan said if you subtracted 7.2bn from the deposits, the LDR would increase.

"It would have been a warning sign that deposits were under pressure or loans were growing faster," he said.

The trial continues.
Reporting restrictions were lifted allowing Garrett Phillipss identity to be revealed by the media

A former 'Ros na Run' actor is to be sentenced for orally raping a young woman who fell asleep in his van as he gave her a lift home.

Garrett Phillips (46), of St Mary's Terrace, Taylor's Hill, Galway, was convicted after a four-day trial at the Central Criminal Court of orally raping the woman, then aged 20, on the outskirts of Galway city in the early hours of November 5, 2015. He had pleaded not guilty.

The court heard that the father of two worked in his family's business before getting into acting. He had been appearing on stage as Frank Sinatra in a West End production called 'Rat Pack - Live from Las Vegas' before his trial.

Reading from her victim impact statement, the woman said her life was destroyed by the attack.

"I was high-achieving. My life was a train on a track in the right direction," she stated.

She said the court process, during which she had to sit inches away from her attacker, was one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. She said she was made to feel like a liar when giving her evidence.

Det Garda Evelyn Barratt said Phillips approached the woman as she sat alone and upset on a park bench and offered her a lift home.

The woman took the lift, and on the way Phillips asked her if she had ever seen an overview of the city lights. The woman replied that she hadn't, fell asleep and when she woke up, Phillips was standing over her orally raping her.

The detective said the woman reacted strongly, got out of the van, memorised the registration and then ran to a nearby home for help.

During the trial, the jury heard that Phillips claimed the encounter was consensual. He told gardai that it had started off "very tender" and felt "chemical" between him and the woman.

He told gardai that he drove off feeling "panicky" when the woman got out of his van.

Defence counsel Barry White SC submitted to Ms Justice Creedon that there had been "great difficulty" in getting Phillips to realise the gravity of matters and there was a lack of realisation on his part.

Yesterday, Mr White submitted that Phillips wished to "unreservedly apologise for his behaviour". Mr White said his client had not informed his wife about the matter until the evening before his trial last month.

He asked the judge to keep reporting restrictions on his client's identity until the sentence was finalised in consideration of his family. Mr Burns submitted that there were no exceptional circumstances in the case.

Ms Justice Creedon lifted the restrictions and adjourned the sentence to July when the matter will be finalised. She ordered a Probation Service report and remanded Phillips on continuing bail until that date.
A 23-year-old inmate died a drug related death after he was passed a package during a visit from his fiance.

Kevin Byrne (23), an inmate at Wheatfield Prison, Dublin 22 was found collapsed in his cell on Christmas Eve 2014.

In September 2016 the mans fiance Danielle Hayes received a three month suspended sentence for unlawfully conveying drugs into the prison.

Dublin Coroners Court heard evidence from a number of prison officers who responded to a call that Mr Byrne had been passed a prohibited article during a visit from his fiance on December 23 2014.

Prison Officer Mark Lydon told a resumed inquest into Mr Byrnes death that he responded to a call for staff assistance to the visiting area at 11.20am.

The prisoner was on the floor face down. I was informed the prisoner had received an article from his visitor. He was repeatedly asked to spit out the article he had placed in his mouth. He refused to give up the article, Mr Lydon said

The package was not recovered.

I was aware it was in his mouth. I was not aware if it had swallowed it, Mr Lydon said.

Asked why he did not remove the package from the prisoners mouth, Mr Lydon replied that he did not want to be bitten.

Its a cavity search, Im not going to put my fingers into somebodys mouth and have them bitten off. You can't expect someone to physically invade someones body, he said.

The inquest heard from a prison nurse who said she examined the prisoner physically at 11.30am.

His breathing was normal. There were no injuries. He stated he was fine.

"I was of the opinion that no further treatment was required at this time, the nurse said.

The prisoner was checked regularly overnight. The next morning he was found unresponsive in his cell when staff brought his breakfast at 8.10am.

Wraps were found on the floor beside the prisoner in his cell.

A post-mortem performed by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy found Mr Byrne had heroin and benzodiazepines in his system and died due to inhalation of gastric contents.

The inquest continues.
None of the journalists former Garda press officer Superintendent Dave Taylor claims to have briefed negatively about Sergeant Maurice McCabe have corroborated his story, the Disclosures Tribunal has heard.

Supt Taylor claims he was ordered by then-Garda commissioner Martin Callinan to smear Sgt McCabe's reputation by telling journalists the whistleblower had been at the centre of a child sexual assault investigation.

He gave the tribunal a list of nine journalists who he claims to have negatively briefed about Sgt McCabe.

The tribunal heard five of these journalists had denied ever being briefed in this way.

The other four have not corroborated Supt Taylor's claims and cited journalistic privilege.

The five who deny being negatively briefed are Paul Williams of the Irish Independent and 'Newstalk', Paul Reynolds and John Burke of RTE, Juno McEnroe of the 'Irish Examiner', and Michael O'Toole of the 'Irish Daily Star'.

Mr O'Toole said he wanted to claim journalistic privilege but that no senior garda had ever smeared Sgt McCabe to him.

Other journalists who cited privilege were Conor Lally of 'The Irish Times', John Mooney of the 'Sunday Times', and Cormac O'Keeffe and Daniel McConnell of the 'Irish Examiner'.

Under questioning from tribunal counsel Diarmaid McGuinness SC, Supt Taylor said he was unable to say where and when he had briefed journalists about Sgt McCabe. He said briefings were opportunistic and random.

Tribunal chairman Mr Justice Peter Charleton asked if he could give details of the specific reaction of any journalist, but Supt Taylor said the journalists "just took the information".

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He said briefings began after he was given an order by Mr Callinan in mid-2013 and ended in March 2014 when the commissioner resigned. At the time, he did not believe what he was doing was wrong but he subsequently realised it was.

Supt Taylor said Mr Callinan was "deeply frustrated" by the penalty points issue, highlighted by Sgt McCabe, was not dying down. He said he discussed Mr Callinan's order with then deputy commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan and also informed Garda communications director Andrew McLindon.

Mr Callinan and Ms O'Sullivan have denied knowledge of a smear campaign, while Mr McLindon says he was never told by Supt Taylor of any order to brief negatively against Sgt McCabe.

The tribunal heard there was a conflict between the evidence of Supt Taylor and that of journalist Paul Williams, who in 2014 published an interview with the young woman who alleged Sgt McCabe sexually assaulted her as a child.

Sgt McCabe had been cleared of the allegation in 2007 following a Garda investigation.

Mr Williams has given evidence that he contacted Supt Taylor about a week after meeting the woman with a number of questions about the investigation. But Supt Taylor said he thought Mr Williams had contacted him on the day of the interview, not with questions but to let him know it had taken place for information purposes.

Supt Taylor said he had not instructed Mr Williams to go there, but was pleased "because it would feed into the narrative, that a story would be written that would be negative to Sgt McCabe".

Earlier, the tribunal heard how Mr Callinan was annoyed when an article appeared in the Irish Independent in April 2013 saying the commissioner had had penalty points quashed.

Mr McGuinness told the tribunal that the journalist who wrote the article said she called to the commissioner's house to check that the Martin Callinan living at that address was him.

Mr Callinan was abroad at the time, but was "quite agitated" and felt it was a breach of his privacy, Supt Taylor said.

Supt Taylor said he didn't speak to the journalist, but did meet a few days later with then Independent News and Media managing editor Michael Denieffe. At the meeting, he said he and Deputy Commissioner John Twomey "passed on the annoyance and the concern of the commissioner".
A UK man convicted of sexually abusing two girls targeted them when they were being neglected by their mother and moved the family to Ireland to avoid detection, a Dublin court has heard.

The 37-year-old man was found guilty of three counts of rape and eight counts of sexually assaulting the two girls at addresses in Dublin and Louth between December 3, 2010 and March 10, 2011 when they were aged 10 and 12.

Following a 12-week Central Criminal Court trial, the jury took just three hours to return the unanimous verdicts last month. He cannot be named to protect the victims' identity.

The man fled to Chile in 2011 and he was later extradited from the US in 2014.

The older victim, now 19, said she was treated like "a princess by day and abused by night". She is "angry" at her mother, who she believes was deliberately "pimping" out the girls.

At the man's sentence hearing yesterday, the court heard the girls were living with their mother and younger siblings in the UK. Their mother was "disinterested and unengaged" and neglected her children.

The man, a family friend, came into their lives in early 2010 and shortly afterwards, the family moved into his house in a nearby upmarket area. He showered the children with gifts and holidays.

UK social services had already been involved with the mother and children. They became concerned that the man had daily control of the children and appeared to be involved in their "physical grooming".

In November 2011, when UK social services ramped up its intervention, the family left with the man and moved to Louth.

The mother was often absent from the home and the man regularly sexually assaulted both girls in bed at night and this progressed to rape.

Detective Garda Michael Scanlon said in December 2010, the man and the older girl travelled to Dublin and got caught up in snow. They stayed in a hotel and the man sexually assaulted and raped the girl in the room.

Later that night, when the girl was asleep, gardai called to the room to check on her. This was due to a notification in the system from UK social services.

They found nothing untoward and left. Afterwards, the man woke the girl up and sexually assaulted her again.

Teachers also became concerned when they saw the man kissing the youngest girl on the lips. In March 2011, the man told a social worker that he wasn't in a relationship with the children's mother. Shortly afterwards, the alarm was raised when the man took the children out of the jurisdiction while their mother was in hospital.

The children were returned to Ireland and placed in foster care. Their mother is facing prosecution in relation to her care of the children.

In her victim impact statement, the younger girl said she thought the man was her "saviour" when he improved their lives. "Then I learned this was at a cost," she said.

The matter will return to court on June 20.
The prosecution in the trial of former Anglo Irish Bank CEO David Drumm has closed its case.

The jury was told this morning that evidence for the prosecution has now been completed, after testimony from the final witnesses was heard yesterday.

This brings to an end more than three months of evidence since the State opened its case in the long-running fraud trial in February.

The jurors have been sent home for the day while Judge Karen OConnor hears an application being made by the defence in their absence.

Mr Drumm (51) is pleading not guilty to conspiring to defraud by dishonestly creating the impression that Anglo's customer deposits were 7.2bn larger than they really were in September 2008.

He is alleged to have conspired with Anglos former Finance Director Willie McAteer and head of Capital Markets John Bowe, as well as Irish Life and Permanents then-CEO, Denis Casey, and others.

The case centres on a series of interbank deposits which circulated between Anglo and ILP.

The transfers were routed through Irish Life Assurance (ILA), returning to Anglo where they were then treated as customer deposits, which are a better indicator of a banks health.

Mr Drumm also denies false accounting, by providing misleading information to the market.

When the jury of ten men and four women took their seats at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today, prosecutor Paul OHiggins SC addressed the court.

The prosecution has completed its evidence and the prosecutions case is closed, he said.

At this point there is a defence application the court will have to consider, Brendan Grehan SC, defending said.

The prosecutions evidence has concluded in this case and there is a matter I now have to hear in your absence, Judge OConnor said.

She told the jury she was not yet able to answer an earlier question they had about days that they might not be required to come to court.

She said she would be in a much stronger position tomorrow or on Thursday to indicate the remaining timeframe.

The jury was sent out for a short time and when they returned, Judge OConnor said she was not going to detain them any further today and asked them to return tomorrow.

The jury was sworn in in January and had been hearing evidence since the prosecution's case opened before them on February 9.

Yesterday, final evidence was heard from two stockbrokers who attended Anglos presentation of its end of year preliminary results on December 3, 2008, and analysed them for investors.

Eamonn Hughes and Ciaran Callaghan gave evidence that if 7.2bn were taken from Anglos customer deposits, it would have negatively affected the bank's loan to deposit ratio - a key metric for investors.
A Brazilian rickshaw driver who sexually assaulted a fellow hostel guest while she was trying to gain access to her room has been jailed for 18 months.

Pedro Miguel Dos Santos E Silva (25) admitted to gardai that he had attempted to take down the victim's jeans and had tried to get her to perform oral sex on him.

He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to sexual assault at the Dublin city centre hostel on January 20, 2018. He was living in the hostel at the time and has been on remand in custody since.

Garda Karl Colgan told Genevieve Coonan BL, prosecuting, that gardai were called by staff at the hostel after the victim, a student from the Netherlands, approached them. The staff had nominated Dos Santos E Silva as a suspect after they viewed CCTV footage and had already taken his passport from him.

Gda Colgan said the victim returned to the hostel from a night out with her friends at 2.45am and was trying to get into her room when Dos Santos E Silva approached her. He initially tried to help her get into her room but then took her key from her.

He later removed her hat and scarf before he went into the female toilets nearby. The victim then sat down on the floor outside her room before Dos Santos E Silva returned and tried to kiss her.

She turned her head away from him and he tried to remove her jeans. She resisted and he moved off again into the female toilets. He came back to the woman again, having removed his top before he tried to take off her jeans again.

Gda Colgan said Dos Santos E Silva then removed his tracksuit bottoms and exposed himself to the woman before putting his penis in her face. The assault came to an end when the victim became very distressed.

The man's bedroom was later searched by gardai and a small amount of MDMA powder was found in his bag.

Gda Colgan agreed with Kieran Kelly BL, defending, that Dos Santos E Silva has no previous convictions from Ireland and had been living in the hostel for four days before the assault.

Counsel said his client was not proud of his actions on the night and said he wished to apologise for his actions.

Mr Kelly said Dos Santos E Silva, who is originally from Sao Paulo, was working as a rickshaw driver at the time of his arrest.

He doesn't know why he did what he did, counsel told Judge Martin Nolan before he added that his client wants to return to Brazil as soon as he can.

Judge Nolan said the incident thankfully stopped before it became more serious but that Dos Santos E Silva deserved a custodial sentence for what he did. He accepted evidence that he was probably under the influence of MDMA at the time.

The sentence of 18 months was backdated to when Dos Santos E Silva first went into custody in January this year.
A Dublin City University student has been given leave by the High Court to challenge a decision by college authorities to exclude him from his course over inappropriate behaviour, which he says could be explained by "cultural differences".

Lifeng Han, a Chinese national who is a PhD student in computing, was formally excluded by the college authorities last February over what a disciplinary committee decided was unacceptable and inappropriate behaviour.

Yesterday, Mr Justice Seamus Noonan granted Frank Callanan, for Mr Han, leave to challenge the decision of the disciplinary investigation. The application was made on a one-side-only represented basis.

Mr Callanan said his client was excluded from classes and college.

However, Mr Han also lives on campus and now fears that his accommodation, as well as a 16,000 stipend he receives for living expenses, could be under threat.

His exclusion was formally notified following a disciplinary hearing last February. He sought to appeal the decision but was refused last month.

Mr Callanan said it was their case that he was denied fair procedures, partly because a member of the disciplinary committee also had a prosecutorial role in the matter.

Mr Han said the allegations "could be explained by way of cultural differences". However, he never got the opportunity to make that case, counsel said.

Mr Justice Noonan granted leave to bring the proceedings and also granted liberty to him to apply for an injunction in the event of any immediate danger to his accommodation.

The case comes back in October.
Nicola Kenny was killed in motorway crash just one day after becoming the new proud mum of Baby Lily Rose

A TRUCK driver who suddenly veered off the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway and struck a car stopped on the hard shoulder, killing a young mother on her way to see her sick newborn baby in a Dublin hospital, avoided a prison sentence.

Tipperary Circuit Criminal Court heard that Nicola Kenny (26) died instantly from multiple injuries in the collision between the truck and the car in which she was a back seat passenger - just seconds after she heard from Temple Street Children's Hospital that her 24 hour old baby Lily Rose was fine and she didn't need to make the trip to Dublin to see her.

Truck driver Ciaran McBride (33) pleaded guilty before Tipperary Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing death between Junctions 10 and 9 on the M8 Dublin-Cork motorway on September 5 2016.

Judge Tom Teehan, in imposing a suspended 18 month prison sentence, said the evidence indicated it was most likely the truck driver momentarily fell asleep at the wheel rather than being distracted by a fit of sneezing as claimed.

"(It was) much more consistent with falling asleep at the wheel," he said.

Judge Teehan said the consequences for the Kenny family of the accident were truly enormous.

"The greater the size of the vehicle, the greater the onus on the person driving it," he said.

"He is somebody who is going to have to live for the rest of his days with the knowledge that he has caused the death of another human being and caused life changing effects to an entire family."

The 2001 Volvo truck driven by Mr McBride of Carna, Keady, Co Armagh ploughed into the rear of the Ford Focus, stopped on the hard shoulder, which contained Ms Kenny, her mother, Ann, a front seat passenger, and her aunt, Irene Whelan Slattery.

Ms Kenny had given birth to a baby girl, Lily Rose, in Clonmel Hospital on September 4.

However, the little girl became ill and was rushed to Temple Street in Dublin.

Ms Kenny had just been collected by her Thurles-based mother and aunt and was on her way to see the infant in Dublin.

Mrs Whelan Slattery suffered a traumatic brain injury in the collision and had to be airlifted to University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

She now suffers from severe memory problems.

In hard-hitting victim impact statements, Nicola's parents, Ann and Paddy, said their lives had been left devastated by the tragedy.

"The death of Nicola as a young mother was devastating both for myself and my entire family," her mother said.

"Life will never be the same again."

Nicola's father, Paddy, said they are now raising Lily Rose instead of her mother/their daughter.

"It has left a huge hole in our lives - Nicola's death is a big loss to our family and Lily Rose will have to grow up without her mother," he said.

Family members did not attend the sentencing hearing.

Judge Teehan was told that the defendant indicated to Gardai he would plead at a very early stage and co-operated fully with the investigation.

Mr McBride had contacted the Kenny family, through an Armagh priest, and offered to attend Nicola's funeral.

However, he agreed not to do so when he learned of the Tipperary family's wishes.

Defence counsel Philip Sheahan said his client was deeply remorseful and was now suffering Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

"Remorse and regret - sorrow is profound for Mr McBride," he said.

"But it pales in comparison to the level of pain and suffering visited on the victim's family."

Mr Sheahan said his client was a hard-working family man who now employs five people.

He no longer works as a truck driver.

The court heard that the defendant has a number of previous convictions, most of which occurred in his teens.

In 2012, he was convicted in France in relation to smuggling a person in his lorry though the court heard he was not aware of the individuals who had broken into his vehicle and had no knowledge of them when he was stopped by French police.

Sergeant Declan Corrigan told the court the Ford Focus had pulled over onto the hard shoulder around 12.25pm that day to allow Ms Kenny, seated in the back, to take an urgent phone call from Temple Street.

"The call was to tell Nicola the baby was fine and there was no need to travel to Dublin," he said.

Seconds after the call finished, the Ford was truck from the rear by the Volvo truck driven by the defendant.

A passing motorist, Pat Foley, told Gardai he saw the lorry "slowly veering off the road and onto the hard shoulder."

Mr Foley saw the tragic collision in his rear view mirror.

Weather, speed, alcohol or drugs were not factors in the tragedy.

Garda Corrigan said the tachograph on Mr McBride's lorry was found not to be working properly because the recording disc had been incorrectly inserted.

The court heard that the truck driver had gone to bed at midnight and gotten up at 4.30am to go to work that day.

He drove from his Armagh home to Kells, then onto Cork and was on his way back to Kells when the tragic collision occurred.

The defendant had driven a total of 470km since he left home that day.

The driver insisted to Gardai he had taken the required breaks of 15 minutes and 30 minutes during that period.

Because the tachograph was not working properly, Gardai could not verify from it all the travel and stoppage details of the lorry.

However, Garda Corrigan said officers had to dispute the stop periods claimed as the lorry was equipped with a toll payment scanning device - and when Gardai recreated the journey from its details through five toll plazas, they found the trip did not match the driver breaks as claimed.

A Garda forensic investigation into the accident found that it was due to driver error.

Both the car and truck were in proper mechanical condition.

Mr McBride insisted at the scene and to Gardai that the accident was caused when he suddenly suffered a bout of sneezing.

"He sneezed - it was on account of that it would appear his vehicle slightly veered onto the hard shoulder," Mr Sheahan SC said.

"He had been caught by a bout of sneezing."

Another witness who was in a car behind Mr McBride's lorry said they only spotted the Ford Focus on the hard shoulder a short time before the impact.

The witness said the lorry driver appeared to be trying to correct and adjust his driving angle when the collision occurred.

The car was on the hard shoulder and completely off the motorway.

After the impact, it was driven up on the grass embankment.

The lorry was fitted with a 90kph speed limiter.

Judge Teehan described it as a desperately tragic case with terrible consequences for the Kenny family.

He imposed an 18 month suspended prison sentence and disqualified Mr McBride from driving for five years.

He also imposed a compensation order, in favour of Paddy and Ann Kenny, whereby Mr McBride must pay the victim's parents Euro 2,000 a year for five years, to a total of Euro 10,000, by 2023.
Irish Rail services have resumed following a "tragic incident" on the railway line at Howth Junction this morning.

Full DART, Commuter and Enterprise services to resume, Irish Rail confirmed.

It is expected delays will remain for a short while but will soon ease.

The disruption affected commuters throughout this morning's peak times.

Update: tragic incident at Howth Junction being attended by emergency services



No DARTs between Malahide/Howth and Harmonstown



Northern Commuter operating Newry/Dundalk/Drogheda to Malahide only



Dublin Bus will accept rail tickets but significant capacity issues expected  Iarnrod Eireann (@IrishRail) May 15, 2018

Speaking on RTE Radio One's Morning Ireland, Iarnrod Eireann spokesperson Barry Kenny said they apologised to customers, but the incident is a tragic one.

"An out of service train struck and fatally injured a man at Howth Junction," Mr Kenny said.

"There will be major disruption for the entirety of this morning's peak, this means no DARTs operating from Malahide or Howth.

"Dublin Bus are accepting rail tickets but obviously with typical volumes there will be significant pressure and capacity.

"If commuters can opt for alternative routes, we would advise them to do so."

Mr Kenny said they do expect the incident, which occurred at 6.20am, to cause disruption throughout this morning's peak commuter period.

He continued; "We have had experiences similar to this in the past, it is not unusual for the line to be closed for two or two and a half hours.

"This would indicate disruption right through this morning's peak.

"We apologise to customers but the circumstance is a tragic one, and the disruption is unavoidable."

Meanwhile, Belfast Enterprise will have Bus transfer between Dublin Connolly and Drogheda.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article please contact Samaritans on Freephone 116 123, text 0872609060 (standard text rates apply), or email jo@samaritans.ie (ROI) or jo@samaritans.org (NI)
A controversial church regarded by some as a cult is coming to Belfast, after receiving planning permission from the council for a place of worship in the city.

The Universal Church of God (UCKG), which is banned in several countries, will be establishing itself in Equality House in the Donegall Pass area.

Founded in Brazil in 1977 by self-styled Bishop Edir Macedo, the UCKG has around 12 million members in 200 countries.

Over the years, however, it has also been involved in several controversies.

The church places a strong emphasis on money and employs tithing, a practice whereby members of their congregation donate a fraction of their income to the church.

The tithe is 10 per cent of all income, and it belongs to God. This is a very ancient practice followed by God-fearing people everywhere, according to the UCKG website.

This has led to accusations of charlatanism against the church and, according to Forbes magazine, has also made Bishop Edir Macedo a billionaire.

The UCKG was previously banned in Zambia by the government after allegations that it was involved in satanic rituals.

In 1997 the Advertising Standards Authority banned a church poster that claimed:

Constant headaches, depression, insomnia, fears, bad luck, strange diseases These are just a few symptoms caused by demons.

In 2009 another poster was banned for claiming blessed oil could cure heart problems.

The UCKG has several HelpCentres in England, where it is registered as a charity with an annual income of 15m, and a small presence in the Republic of Ireland, however it has no permanent base in Northern Ireland.

It isnt just financial or advertising standards issues the UCKG has found itself in hot water over.

Almost two decades ago, the church fell into controversy after the death of 8-year-old Victoria Climbie in London, in what is still regarded as one of the UKs worst abuse cases.

Victoria was taken to a UCKG centre in February 2000 for an exorcism by her great-aunt, Marie Therese Kouao.

Kouao was found guilty of her murder in January 2001. The church was later cleared of any wrongdoing, however the Charity Commission recommended the UCKG implement child protection policies in the future.

In December 2017, Portugals Attorney Generals Office opened an inquiry into the alleged illegal adoption of babies arranged by a centre run by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God.

A seven-month inquiry by a Portuguese TV station alleged that at least ten Portuguese children were stolen from their biological mothers in the 1990s from a UCKG reception centre in Lisbon.

Allegedly, the babies were taken from Portugal and adopted by couples based overseas.

The Attorney General's Office has stated that "there is an investigation related to this matter, and it has been referred to the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action of Lisbon for investigation." The inquiry is ongoing.

Denying these allegations, the church says any such claims are the result of a defamatory campaign of lies.
A HEARTBROKEN woman whose mother died after receiving inaccurate smear test results has said she was "devastated" that her mum wasn't alive to see her get married.

Grace Rattigan's mother Catherine Reck went for a routine smear test in November 2010 and the results didn't show a cause for alarm at first but just ten months later she was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer.

Last week Grace and her family discovered Catherine was one of 18 women who died without knowing that the results of their CervicalCheck screenings were incorrect.

Grace was originally supposed to tie the knot in Spain in August 2012 but when Catherine became unwell she moved her big day froward to July 2012, and changed the venue to Enfield in Co Meath in the hope her beloved mother could be there.

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It wasn't to be as Catherine tragically passed away on April 13, 2012 at the age of 48.

Speaking on The Ray D'Arcy Show on RTE Radio One, Grace said: I still tried to plan the wedding, we were going to get special chairs and the hotel were like We can do anything for you, she can have a room for the day, she explained.

Following her mothers passing, Ms Rattigan said that while her wedding was still a special day but it was a bittersweet experience.

She said: Everybody was really respectful to the situation and it was a good day, well it wasnt really the day I wanted and it never will be.

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When the news about the cervical cancer test misreadings broke, Grace said she tried to distance herself from the situation at first.

Speaking to Independent.ie earlier this week, Grace said: I had seen something was going on but I took myself away from it at the start. It wasn't until last Tuesday when I got a news bulletin on my phone to say '17 women are dead' that I called my dad and told him we had to get in touch with Cervical Check just in case.

Grace said that she and her family got in contact with CervicalCheck and were invited to Tallaght Hospital last week to speak with Catherines doctor.

"We were brought into a colposcopy examination room with the doctor that originally diagnosed Catherine. The nurse was empathetic, but the doctor was almost shaking.

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"She knew she was the one that withheld the information from us after our mother died. It was the way we were dealt with it, that unit was not somewhere I wanted to be. By the time we got into that room we were seething with anger."

Grace and her family were told that the doctors were informed of the test discrepancies in 2016 and questioned why they werent told straight away.

"My dad asked them 'who found this out?'. She said she felt that maybe we wouldn't want to know since my mam had already passed. But it isn't their choice to morally make.

"They didn't not tell us to protect us, they hid it to protect themselves."

Despite the discrepancies with her mothers smear test that cost her life, Grace said she hopes women will still continue to regularly checked. She started a blog a year and a half ago to encourage women to get their smears.

"I still have faith in the system, I speak to women every day that have had abnormalities that were resolved.

"Something needs to be reformed, particularly the process in which it's done and how people are dealt with. I would hate to see the smear uptake stop, I can't stress enough how important it is that people still need to get smears.

"We're not out for blood or attention, we're not those type of people. We just want change, we just dont what any more women or families to go through what Catherine did."

A HSE spokesperson told Independent.ie that they cannot comment on individual cases.
One of the victims has been named locally as Kacper Kacprzak, a pupil at Sacred Heart of Jesus NS in Blanchardstown, Dublin.

A GoFundMe campaign has been started for the families of the pilot and the young boy killed in the plane that crashed in Offaly on Sunday.

The campaign, which has raised nearly 22,000 in 19 hours, will be split between the families of the deceased, seven-year-old Kacper Kacprzak and UK pilot Niall Bowditch.

Allaiouti Hassan, who started the online campaign, said he originally started the page just for Kacpers family, but knew the funds and support should be shared with both families after the overwhelming response from the public.

Mr Hassan told Independent.ie that the Irish Parachute Club has felt the loss of both individuals deeply: Kacper basically grew up in the club, he was part of the family here. And Billy (Niall) was just such a gentleman and a one in a million pilot.

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Whatsapp Tragic Kasper Kacprzac was killed when the Cessna aircraft crashed into bogland near Clonbullogue

Everybody is on the same page during such a difficult time. Its going to be really hard for the families for a while and we cant fix everything, but if we can offer support at least to help cover funeral costs and the costs of living for the next few months, its one less thing for the families to worry about.

The plane nose-dived into a forest near Clonbillogue at about 2.30pm on Sunday.

Kris Kacprzak, Kacpers father, is a regular instructor and parachutist with the Irish Parachute Club and jumped from the plane shortly before it fell to the ground.

Kris is such a great guy and my heart breaks for him and his family, said Mr Hassan. He and Kacper loved to visit the club together and its just devastating that this could happen to their family.

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The bodies of Kacper and Mr Bowditch were recovered from the crash site in an isolated bogland just before nightfall at about 10pm on Sunday.

It is understood that the family of Mr Bowditch was due to travel from the UK to formally identify the body.

The aircraft was scheduled to land at Clonbullogue airfield, but lost contact at around 2pm. There is currently no suggestion that the pilot attempted to contact control or send out a distress signal when the aircraft ran into difficulty.

Investigators from the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) were continuing to examine the plane wreckage, which will be brought to the units facility in Gormanstown for a thorough technical examination, but it may take up to several weeks to determine the circumstances surrounding the tragic incident.

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Dublin City Council (DCC) has no way of blocking the controversial development of 500 homes in north Dublin, after receiving legal advice on the matter.

Council chief Owen Keegan had sought legal advice on whether DCC could request a judicial review of An Bord Pleanala's decision to grant permission for the development.

Mr Keegan had recommended that the planning application for the Crekav Trading-led project at St Paul's College, Raheny, be rejected.

"The proposed development is not considered to be consistent with the Dublin Development Plan 2016-2022 and with the proper planning and sustainable development of the area," he said.

In March, planning permission was granted for 104 houses and 436 apartments.

However, Senior Counsel Conleth Bradley concluded that it is not open to DCC to challenge the validity of the decision.

It's understood this is due to a fast-track system put in place by former Housing Minister Simon Coveney in 2016 which meant developments of more than 100 flats go directly to an Bord Pleanala and bypass DCC.
An elderly Palestinian man falls on the ground after being shot by Israeli troops during a deadly protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (Khalil Hamra/AP)

Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli troops during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (Adel Hana/AP)

Israeli and Palestinian protesters wave signs and chant outside the new US Embassy in Jerusalem (Eyal Warshavsky/AP)

A Palestinian boy holding his national flag looks at clashes with Israeli security forces near the border. Photo: Getty

Palestinians run from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Palestinian protesters gathered during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Palestinian protesters burn tyres during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Palestinians protest as dignitaries applaud at the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (AP)

ISRAELS actions on the Gaza border have been roundly condemned as "outrageous" in Leinster House.

Calls have been made for the Government to expel the Israeli Ambassador to Ireland Ze'ev Boker.

Sinn Fein said that in the face of death and destruction in the region it would be the only acceptable response from Ireland.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border yesterday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

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Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney met with Mr Boker early this morning and expressed "Irelands shock and dismay at the level of death and injury yesterday on the Gaza Strip".

The Minister also called for restraint from Israel in the hours and days ahead.

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But Mary Lou McDonald said its "not enough to simply to symbolically call in the Israeli ambassador".

Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin said the Government should seek to influence the EU approach to the situation.

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He said Palestinian people had been "cut down by snipers" for protesting and its a "shocking reality for the whole world to address".

"For most right thinking people it made our blood run cold,2 he said.

"I think its think for Ireland to make a stand."

Mr Howlin said the Government should be seeking to act alongside the EU but if that isnt possible then we "have to consider what we do independently".

Fianna Fails Niall Collins said the EU and United Nations "cannot stand back and let this further escalate".

"All the hand wringing in the world will not solve this issue. Those of us in the European Union who desperately want a peaceful Middle East must be willing to step up to the mark to act as a counterbalancing force to the one-sided approach of the current US administration.

"The Trump Administrations is now part of the problem. It has a blinkered view of the Middle East that must be counteracted by a balanced EU response," Mr Collins said.

Israels ambassador to Ireland will not be expelled after troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters yesterday, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

Mr Varadkar told the Dail this afternoon that the government will actively seek a peace agreement in the Middle East that involves dialogue and engagement. He said a move to expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland would not help such a process.

Mr Varadkar condemned the Israeli actions and the border yesterday.

He said that while the protests may not have been peaceful, the use of live ammunition was an inappropriate response.

He supports an independent international investigation of events at the Gaza border yesterday.

I am profoundly shocked at the death toll and injuries inflicted on people in Palestine, said Mr Varadkar.

The blockade of Gaza is inhumane and must end, he added.

The Taoiseach said removing the Israeli Ambassador would be met with Irelands Ambassador being expelled from the Middle East, effectively shutting down communications between the two countries. He said this would have negative consequences.

Our view as a government is that you solve conflict with dialogue and dialogue requires engagement and it requires an interlocular.

We will continue to engage with Israel and Palestine and try to be part of a future peace process.

We will also act through the UN and we have given our support to the UN secretary general in his call for an independent investigation in to this matter.
Israels ambassador to Ireland will not be expelled after troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters yesterday.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dail the government will actively seek a peace agreement in the Middle East that involves dialogue and engagement. He said a move to expel the Israeli ambassador to Ireland would not help such a process.

Mr Varadkar condemned the Israeli actions and the border yesterday.

He said that while the protests may not have been peaceful, the use of live ammunition was an inappropriate response.

He supports an independent international investigation of events at the Gaza border yesterday.

I am profoundly shocked at the death toll and injuries inflicted on people in Palestine, said Mr Varadkar.

The blockade of Gaza is inhumane and must end, he added.

The Taoiseach said removing the Israeli Ambassador would be met with Irelands Ambassador being expelled from the Middle East, effectively shutting down communications between the two countries. He said this would have negative consequences.

Our view as a government is that you solve conflict with dialogue and dialogue requires engagement and it requires an interlocular.

We will continue to engage with Israel and Palestine and try to be part of a future peace process.

We will also act through the UN and we have given our support to the UN secretary general in his call for an independent investigation in to this matter.
A Dublin man has been searching the country for a new home for what could be Ireland's biggest egg cup collection.

Paul O'Hara's late mother Anne began collecting egg cups almost 48 years ago, despite not actually liking to eat eggs. There is believed to be over 1,500 egg cups in the collection, but Paul thinks there could be more.

"It was something to do that was relatively inexpensive. She could go out to the shop, pop out around with the buggy and pick up one or two little egg cups for a pound or whatever they were at the time," Paul told Independent.ie.

"Over time, it built up from there. We would pick her up little bits for Christmas and as we got older and got a bit more money, we'd get more extravagant ones."

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Paul explained that the collection had created many fond memories for the family over the years. From hand washing the ornaments every year to bomb scares, each egg held a special place in Anne's heart.

"Her favourite ones were the ones we all gave her, from her four sons and her daughter. This one time, the oldest brother Chris, about 10 years ago he went travelling around Europe in his van.

"Chris put the egg cups he had collected for her in in his van and continued on his travels. When he went into Kosovo they suspected it was a bomb and he was held down on the ground at gun point until the issue got resolved."

When Anne passed away in 2012, she told her children that none of the egg cups were to be separated.

"About a year or two before she passed away, she asked me would I build a large shed, putting in cabinets to display them and so on, so people could come and visit the egg cup museum because there wasn't one here in Ireland. I had to decline, I couldn't be building a museum and a car park and spending my weekends hanging around for people to look at egg cups.

"So she accepted that and asked would I just arrange it so they're kept together, that nobody divides them up or separates them. She wanted people to enjoy them, that was it.

"People loved coming to see them, the grandkids enjoyed it more than anybody. They'd come and look at all the colours and different shapes and sizes and characters. Thats what mattered to her, that people were going to enjoy them. She hated the idea that they'd end up in a box."

Paul finally decided to ask Dermot and Dave on TodayFM for help this week, where their call for someone to take the collection was answered.

"They're hopefully going to a museum up in Leitrim, the Glenview museum. It seems like that's where they're going to go and they're delighted to be getting them.

"I think Mam would be delighted and I think the rest of the family would be too. She'd be delighted that it's getting a bit of coverage and that people would want to go see them."
Although I'll happily drink bubbly all year round, it does feel particularly summery. And if you want to be on trend this summer, crack open a bottle of cava.

Word is, we've hit peak prosecco. Its frothy bubbles and light peachy flavours were fun, but now we're ready to rediscover something a little more serious. But serious in the best possible way, because what makes cava that bit more interesting is the fact that it's made in the same way as Champagne. That means, unlike prosecco, the second fermentation, which is responsible for creating the bubbles, happens in the bottle, not an industrial tank.

When it comes to production, prosecco is the Speedy Gonzalez of the sparkling wine world. As soon as the bubbles appear, it is bottled fresh out of the tank and is winging its way to a shelf near you, while the bottles of cava are just beginning to settle in, lying on "lattes" (on its side on slats), and ageing in the bottle for a minimum of nine months to develop the richer, more complex flavours it is known for.

That's my type of fizz.

While you'll find plenty of easy drinking styles of cava at the inexpensive end of the market, there are different levels of quality, and for a few quid more, you could be drinking a very interesting bottle indeed.

Cava's history goes back to 1872 when Josep Raventos returned from France after spending time learning about Champagne production and was the first to produce a sparkling wine in Spain made from indigenous grapes, using the traditional method.

There are a number of grape varieties that can be used in the production of cava, but the big three are Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, which are typically blended together to give cava its characteristic flavour.

I know, not grapes we're particularly familiar with, but generally it's held that Macabeo provides the fruit, Xarel-lo brings structure, good acidity and an earthy quality, and Parellada brings a perfumed top note.

Like Champagne, cava can be aged for a number of years, and if you look carefully at the label, you'll be able to get an indication of the age of the wine in the bottle, which is similar to the classification system used in Rioja.

Entry level cava, classified as traditional, is aged for nine months; reserva is aged for 15 months; gran reserva is aged for 30 months; and the new premium classification, cava de paraje calificado, stipulates that the cava must be aged for a minimum of 36 months. In fact, many of these cavas are aged for much longer, so it's worth checking to see if the number of months is also mentioned on the label. So far, just 12 cavas have been awarded the cava de paraje calificado, which not only requires extended ageing but is also terroir-driven, as all of the grapes must be hand-harvested and come from a single vineyard.

What you might not know is that it's very easy to visit some of the cava cellars and it is well worth doing. While cava can be made in a number of regions in Spain, 95pc of it is made in the Penedes region. So if you've ever been to Barcelona, it's just a 40-minute drive out of town (and there are organised trips you can book), or if you've been to Sitges, it's right on your doorstep. With the stunning mountain of Montserrat in the background, vineyards dominate the landscape, reaching from the plains up into the hills where there is a patchwork of recently revived vineyards producing top quality grapes.

On a recent trip to the Penedes region (pictured left), I was amazed to see how many different styles of cava there are and how much experimentation is going on there. Organic farming has become increasingly popular and there is a move towards biodynamic viticulture among some of the smaller houses. I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit Pares Balta, a family-owned traditional winery.

Run by brothers Joan and Josep Cusine, they both had the incredible good fortune to marry oenologists, so the wines here are made by their wives, Elena Jimenez, who originally trained as a chemical engineer, and Marta Casas, who is a pharmacist.

As we headed up a dirt road in Joan's SUV into the hills of a nature reserve above the village of Torrelles de Foix, past tiny pockets of land cultivated in sporadic parcels, we stopped to take a look in the shed where they keep some of the biodynamic treatments they use in the vineyard. A huge compost heap by the side of the road was releasing earthy puffs of steam into the warm air, and Joan explained that it was ready to be spread in the vineyards over the coming days. In the shed, with light streaming in, Elena showed me the horsetail and yarrow they had collected which were hanging up to dry - they would be used in other preparations later in the year.

In a copse further up the hillside, we stopped to see the remains of a kiln dating back to 400BC. Apparently there are numerous similar sites on the mountain and as grape seeds have also been discovered in the same area, it is possible that these kilns were used to make amphora, the traditional urn for fermenting wine. To continue the tradition, they have had an amphora custom-made from the clay from this hillside and they are using it to age wine made from Xarel-lo.

The wines from Pares Balta are not yet available in Ireland, but it's worth looking out for them if you're visiting the region. I picked up a bottle in a good wine bar in Sitges, so I'm looking forward to cracking it open some sunny evening.

If you're looking to do a tour when you're there, the cellars of Agusti Torello Mata are well worth visiting. They make very highly regarded organic cava, which is available in Ireland (see above right) and it's a really cool space to visit as it's not a huge operation.

Juve y Camps, which makes a cava de paraje calificado, is also worth visiting, and for the cava big guns, check out Codorniu. With stunning architecture, a museum and miles of cava-filled tunnels which you can travel through on a small train, this has a touch of Disneyland to it.

In the meantime, why not do your own cava-tasting at home? Get a group of friends together, split the costs and buy some of the more unusual bottles, and you'll get a good idea of how different the styles can be.

8 Cavas to try

M&S Vintage Cava Brut, 20

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12pc, from Marks & Spencer

While the word 'vintage' has little meaning in the context of cava, as it is typically made from the grapes in one year, this is a nicely made cava with complexity on the nose and flavours of crunchy apple, earthy fennel, and a touch of nuts adding richness.

Juve y Camps Cava Gran Reserva de la Familia Brut Nature 2012, 25.99

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11.5pc, from Celtic Whiskey Shop, Fresh, Jus de Vin, Martins, Kellys, Blackrock Cellar, Nectar Wines, McHughs, Dicey Reillys, Celtic Whiskey Bar Killarney

Made with zero dosage (the addition of a small amount of sugar which is typical in Champagne), this has notes of lime marmalade and brioche on the nose, and is fresh on the palate with flavours of apple, lemon, blanched almonds, dried apricot and a touch of wax on the finish.

Recaredo terrers brut Nature Gran Reserva, 49.95

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11.5pc, from Terroirs

Another top zero dosage cava, this is aged for 89 months and is a blend of 58pc Macabeo, 39pc Xarel-lo and 3pc Parellada. With deep tertiary flavours and layers of rich complexity, this still retains some freshness to balance the flavour profile.

Llopart Original 1887 Brut Nature Gran Reserva, 41.75

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11.5pc, from DrinkStore, Redmonds, The Corkscrew, Blackrock Cellar, Lilac Wines, all Dublin; and Bradleys, Cork

Based on the first Llopart Cava produced in 1887, and aged for 50 months, this has a creamy texture with evolved flavours of dried apricots, nuts, lime, hay, wax and a chalky saline finish. A very interesting, complex cava.

Contevedo Cava brut, 10.49

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11.5pc, from Aldi

I recommended this for easy entertaining - if you're looking for simple, inexpensive bubbly, this will do the trick with its easy flavours of lemon, lime and ripe apple. Quaffable and better quality than prosecco.

Albet i Noya Petit Albet Brut, 22.70

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11.5pc, from Clontarf Wines, Dublin; Organico, Bantry, Cork; Little Green Grocer, Kilkenny; and Mortons of Galway

This winery broke away from the cava denomination of origin in 2014 and is the first to become organic in Spain. This is a superb sparkling wine with fine flavours of lemon, quince and a touch of marmalade.

Agusti Torello Mata Brut Reserva, 23.50

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11.5pc, from Sheridans Cheesemongers, Dublin, Galway and Meath

This elegant cava has a purity of flavour with layers of red and green apple, lemon, grapefruit, fennel and dill melding together with a golden touch of toast.

Maria Casanovas Pinot Noir brut nature, 32

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11.5pc, from Green Man Wines, 64 wines, Red Island Wines, Clontarf Wines

Made from 90pc Pinot Noir and 10pc Chardonnay, this rose has a generous, creamy texture and is packed with intense flavours of ripe strawberry and cherry with a rich, savoury note on the finish.
The luxury cruise liner Queen Victoria is docking in Irish ports this month and here is a peek inside the huge ship.

The Cunard boat is captained by Tomas Connery who told Independent.ie that every guest gets to enjoy the amazing facilities.

"Every guest, from the top grade suites to the normal cabins, they all get the luxuries on board," he said.

"We have formal nights, people on a Cunard ship get dressed up and out of 13 nights on board we will have five 'formal nights'. Black tie, ballroom dresses, we do a 'Roaring 20s' night too."

The ship, which holds 2,000 guests, boasts a theatre, a library, a gym, two swimming pool and a spa.

The cruise ship will call to Killybegs on Sunday, May 20.
The US fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, leaves after attending a service of commemoration and thanksgiving to mark Anzac Day in Westminster Abbey in London on April 25, 2018

Prince Harry's girlfriend Meghan Markle (right) is pictured with her mother Doria Ragland during the Invictus Games Closing Ceremony Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada

Its expected the royal children will be involved in the wedding of Harry and Meghan. Photo: Alexi Lubomirski

Meghan Markle and her mother Doria Radlan watch the closing ceremonies for the Invictus Games in Toronto, Ontario, September 30, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Geoff RobinsGEOFF ROBINS/AFP/Getty Images

Meghan Markle is reportedly "embarrassed" and "devastated" that her father will no longer attend her upcoming wedding after being embroiled in a paparazzi photo scandal.

On Sunday, it was reported that the bride-to-be's father Thomas Markle Sr (73), a retired lighting director living in a retirement community in Mexico, had agreed to take party in staged photographs with an American photographer. The photographs were sold for more than 100,000, but it's unclear whether or not he profited from their sale.

His daughter Samantha Markle, Meghan's half sister from whom she is estranged, said on Twitter yesterday that the staged shots were her idea in a bid to create a more positive public image for their father.

After TMZ reported that he would no longer be attending the wedding, claiming they had an on the record interview in which he also said he suffered a heart attack six days ago, Kensington Palace released an unprecedented statement pleading for privacy.

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"This is a deeply personal moment for Ms Markle in the days before her wedding," it said. "She and Prince Harry ask again for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr Markle in this difficult situation."

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that her father would walk her down the aisle, but it's now believed her mother Doria Ragland will do the honours if she cannot convince her father to attend.

Meghan and fiance Harry are said to be "doing everything they can to help him" and are concerned about the public pressure he is under. The palace already issued a warning to the global media outlets urging them not to publish pictures of Meghan's parents, who have no interest in pursuing the spotlight.

"This is not what she wants. She obviously wants her dad there. And the idea of contemplating him not being there now is not something that she wants to have to do," a source told the Daily Mail.

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Whatsapp The US fiancee of Britain's Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, leaves after attending a service of commemoration and thanksgiving to mark Anzac Day in Westminster Abbey in London on April 25, 2018

"She and Prince Harry are begging for people to give him some space. They have been saying this for weeks, while trying to offer him support and help. He is clearly feeling under immense pressure. The concern for him is real and genuine."

"He is a proud man who wants to be a father and not be taken care of, but it's quite difficult. Everyone needs to pause and think what this is doing to them and, more importantly, to him. It is a really worrying, scary situation."

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Another source told the paper that Harry is "devastated" and wants to protect his partner, but is frustrated with the lack of control he has in how others perceive them from the outside.

Meghan and Harry are due to wed this Saturday, May 19 at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle.
Tom Wolfe, the white-suited wizard of New Journalism who exuberantly chronicled American culture from the Merry Pranksters through the space race before turning his satiric wit to such novels as The Bonfire Of The Vanities, has died aged 88.

Wolfes literary agent Lynn Nesbit told The Associated Press that he died of an infection in a New York City hospital on Monday. Further details were not immediately available.

An acolyte of French novelist Emile Zola and other authors of realistic fiction, the stylishly attired Wolfe was an American maverick who insisted that the only way to tell a great story was to go out and report it.

Along with Gay Talese, Truman Capote and Nora Ephron, he helped demonstrate that journalism could offer the kinds of literary pleasure found in books.

His hyperbolic, stylised writing work was a gleeful fusillade of exclamation points, italics and improbable words.

He was a sweet and generous man. Not just a great writer but a great soul. He didn't just help me to become a writer. He did it with pleasureAuthor Michael Lewis

An ingenious phrase maker, he helped brand such expressions as radical chic for rich liberals fascination with revolutionaries, and the Me generation, defining the self-absorbed baby boomers of the 1970s.

Wolfe was both a literary upstart, sneering at the perceived stuffiness of the publishing establishment, and an old-school gentleman who went to the best schools and encouraged Michael Lewis and other younger writers.

When attending promotional luncheons with fellow authors, he would make a point of reading their latest work.

What I hope people know about him is that he was a sweet and generous man, Lewis, known for such books as Moneyball and The Big Short, told the AP in an email on Tuesday.

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Not just a great writer but a great soul. He didnt just help me to become a writer. He did it with pleasure.

Wolfe scorned the reluctance of American writers to confront social issues and warned that self-absorption and masters programmes would kill the novel.

So the doors close and the walls go up! he wrote in his 1989 literary manifesto Stalking The Billion-Footed Beast.

We are deeply saddened to hear of Tom Wolfes death. He was a brilliant essayist, pioneering journalist and author of several iconic books. His legacy will live on and our heartfelt condolences are with his family at this sad time. pic.twitter.com/HAs1C1PbrB  Penguin Books UK (@PenguinUKBooks) May 15, 2018

He was astonished that no author of his generation had written a sweeping, 19th-century-style novel about contemporary New York City, and ended up writing one himself, The Bonfire Of The Vanities.

His work broke countless rules but was grounded in old-school journalism, in an obsessive attention to detail that began with his first reporting job and endured for decades.

Nothing fuels the imagination more than real facts do, Wolfe told the AP in 1999.

As the saying goes, You cant make this stuff up.

Wolfes interests were vast, but his narratives had a common theme.

Whether sending up the New York art world or hanging out with acid heads, Wolfe inevitably presented man as a status-seeking animal, concerned above all about the opinion of ones peers.

Wolfe himself dressed for company  his trademark a pale three-piece suit, impossibly high shirt collar, two-tone shoes and a silk tie. And he acknowledged that he cared  very much  about his reputation.

My contention is that status is on everybodys mind all of the time, whether theyre conscious of it or not, Wolfe, who lived in a 12-room apartment on Manhattans Upper East Side, told the AP in 2012.

'You never realize how much of your background is sewn into the lining of your clothes.'

- Tom Wolfe, 1931-2018 pic.twitter.com/29pVXcXBwh  Waterstones (@Waterstones) May 15, 2018

His literary honours included the American Book Award (now called the National Book Award) for The Right Stuff and a nomination for the National Book Critics Circle prize for The Bonfire Of the Vanities, one of the top 10 selling books of the 1980s.

Its 1998 follow-up A Man In Full was another best-seller and a National Book Award nominee.

Wolfe satirised college misbehaviour in I Am Charlotte Simmons and was still at it in his Eighties with Back To Blood, a sprawling, multicultural story of sex and honour set in Miami.

Wolfe, the grandson of a Confederate rifleman, began his journalism career as a reporter at the Springfield (Mass.) Union in 1957.

But it was not until the mid-1960s, while a magazine writer for New York and Esquire, that his work made him a national trendsetter.

As Wolfe helped define it, the new journalism combined the emotional impact of a novel, the analysis of the best essays, and the factual foundation of hard reporting.

He mingled it all in an over-the-top style that made life itself seem like one spectacular headline.

She is gorgeous in the most outrageous way, he wrote in a typical piece, describing actress-socialite Baby Jane Holzer.

Her hair rises up from her head in a huge hairy corona, a huge tan mane around a narrow face and two eyes opened  swock!  like umbrellas, with all that hair flowing down over a coat made of zebra! Those motherless stripes!
"Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)" by Amedeo Modigliani, was auctioned at Sotheby's in New York for more than $157 million (Sotheby's via AP)

A NUDE portrait by Amedeo Modigliani sold for $157.2 million (131.7m) at Sothebys on Monday, achieving the 4th-highest price for any work of art at auction but failing to set a new record for the artist.

The painting was owned by Irish billionaire John Magnier, RTE News reports that the the Coolmine Stud owner bought the piece for $26.9m in 2003.

Sothebys had estimated Nu couche (sur le cote gauche) to sell for in excess of $150 million (125.85m), which made the 1917 oil painting the highest-estimated work of art in auction history.

But in merely meeting expectations and failing to set a record even for a Modigliani, the canvas fell short of a handful of recently auctioned trophy works, most notably Leonardo da Vincis Salvator Mundi, which soared to $450.3 million (377.8m) at rival Christies in November after several top-tier collectors competed furiously.

That work carried a pre-sale estimate of about $100 million (83.9m).

Sothebys was quick to note, while the auction was still live, that Nu couche had achieved the highest price of any work in the 274-year-old auction houses history.

And in a sign of soaring prices at the art markets highest echelons, the same work sold in 2003 for $27 million (22.65m).

But it could not be denied that only a handful of collectors at most bid for the work, which fell short of the $170.4 million (143m) record for a Modigliani set in 2015.

Officials were relegated to characterizing the sale as measured, a tacit admission that it was devoid of the free-spending frenzy that has marked recent auctions at both Sothebys and Christies.

It was not an exuberant room, Simon Shaw, co-head of Impressionist and modern art, told Reuters afterward. But he added that it was an ordered, efficient sale which achieved a total within its estimated range.

Indeed the auction took in $318.3 million (267m), just beating the $307.4 million (257.9m) low pre-sale estimate. Of the 45 lots on offer, 71 percent found buyers.

Other highlights included Pablo Picassos Le Repos, which achieved $36.9 million and beat its high estimate of $35 million (30m), and Claude Monets Matinee sur la Seine, which fetched $20.55 million(17.24m) , at the low end of the $18 million (15m) to $25 million (21m) estimate.

Georgia OKeefes Lake George with White Birch soared to $11.3 million (9.5m), or nearly twice the high estimate, but another Picasso, Femme au chien estimated at $12 million (10m) to $18 million (15m), failed to sell when no bids exceeded $11 million. (9.23m)

The spring auctions continue on Tuesday when Christies holds its Impressionist and modern art sale.
The owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks has slumped into the red with half-year losses of 95 million after taking a hit from the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal.

The owner of Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks has slumped into the red with half-year losses of 95 million after taking a hit from the payment protection insurance (PPI) scandal.

Leeds and Glasgow-based CYBG  which is in talks over a potential 1.6 billion takeover of Sir Richard Bransons Virgin Money  was left nursing the loss after recently taking an extra 350 million charge for PPI mis-selling claims ahead of the complaints deadline.

The new provision, which was revealed last month, saw CYBG take a 202 million pre-tax charge for the first half, as it said 148 million was covered by a conduct indemnity deed with National Australia Bank.

CYBG also put by another 18 million for other legacy conduct issues during the half-year to March 31.

Its pre-tax losses came against profits of 46 million a year earlier.

On an underlying basis, it posted a 28% rise in half-year pre-tax profits to 158 million.

Shares fell 4% after the results.

CYBG cautioned it expects trading conditions to remain challenging, with slowing consumer spending and borrowing and a competitive mortgage market.

It said: Spending has slowed and businesses have been holding back investment, which has had some impact on demand, but with credit conditions remaining benign.

In the mortgage market, the economic uncertainty has reduced customer demand, while competition has remained intense and this has resulted in a challenging pricing environment.

Its net interest margin  a key measure for retail banks  slipped in the fist half, highlighting the pressure on challenger banks such as CYBG and the rationale behind its proposed takeover of Virgin Money.

The deal, which was revealed earlier this month, would see Virgin Money shareholders own around 36.5% of the new business.

It could mean a major payout for founder Sir Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group holds a controlling stake in the lender.

But it is by no means a done deal, according to banking expert Gary Greenwood at Shore Capital, whose concerns include price and complications of combining IT systems.

He said: We think it is by no means certain that CYBG will make its proposal formal when the deadline for making such an offer expires on June 4.

Even then, we think it may need to sweeten its offer in order to get the recommendation of Virgin Moneys management, with a larger premium meaning that more of the benefits would accrue to Virgin Moneys shareholders.

Half-year results showed CYBG grew gross mortgage lending by 6% year-on-year in the first half, with overall customer lending growth rising to 32.7 billion from 32 billion a year ago.

But it warned that mortgage lending could slow further in its third quarter after some disruption to broker applications following a move to bring mortgage processing back on-shore late last year.

It now expects mortgage growth at the lower end of its expected range over the full year as it also faces a subdued mortgage market and fierce competition.

CYBG chief executive David Duffy told the Press Association the wider mortgage market was now stabilising but at a competitive level.

He added Britons were being cautious ahead of some clarity from the Brexit negotiations, with consumer spending slowing and business investment on pause.

But Mr Duffy remained tight-lipped on its plans for a formal bid for Virgin Money, ahead of its June 4 deadline to make a firm offer or walk away.
BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated handout file photo issued by Warwickshire Police of Patricia McIntosh as he estranged husband Andrew McIntosh, 54, is set to stand trial at Warwick Crown Court accused of her murder. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Issue date: Monday May 14, 2018. See PA story COURTS Pilot. Photo credit should read: Warwickshire Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.

A COMMERCIAL pilot battered his estranged wife to death when she wouldn't lower the asking price of their home, a court has heard heard.

Andrew McIntosh, 54, is accused of murdering mum-of-one Patricia McIntosh, known as Trish, 56, in a fit of "rage, anger and frustration."

She was found dead in the kitchen of her 300,000 (340,000) bungalow in Knightcote, Warks, by police in a pool of blood having suffered multiple facial injuries.

McIntosh, who worked for UK airline TUI, was arrested half an hour later at 9.45pm on November 15 last year after being stopped in his car 18 miles away in Rugby, Warks.

He admitted to police he had "battered" his wife when she would not agree to dropping the sale price of the property - called Grassyard - where she was still living.

Warwick Crown Court heard McIntosh had stopped living at the marital home - which the couple moved into after their marriage three-and-a-half years ago - when they separated.

Despite earning more than 100,000 a year McIntosh was "under financial pressure" due to paying costs to his first wife, the mortgage on the marital home and his own rent.

McIntosh said after he asked her to drop the price of the home he "lost control" and grabbed a saucepan from the stove full of peas and water. He told police "I smashed her with it" and repeatedly kicked her before describing how his wife made "dull screams" and "gurgling sounds" as she lay dying.

Prosecutor Peter Grieves-Smith said: "The prosecution say he was consumed with rage when he attacked her and intended to kill her."

Alexander Kolar, Home Office forensic pathologist, highlighted 34 external injuries to Patricia McIntosh's body, including a fractured nose and significant bruising.

Father-of-two McIntosh, of Woolscott, Warks, denies murdering his wife, who worked as a nail technician, claiming manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

The trial, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Now at peace: Family handout photo of Alfie Evans cuddling his mother Kate James. Photo: PA

HUNDREDS of well-wishers lined the street outside Everton FC's stadium to say farewell to 23-month old Alfie Evans.

Members of the public and "Alfie's Army" broke into applause as the funeral cortege passed the Goodison Park ground en route to a private burial of the youngster in Liverpool.

Last month, doctors at Alder Hey Children's Hospital stopped providing life-support treatment to Alfie after his parents, Tom Evans and Kate James, lost two rounds of fights in the High Court, Court of Appeal, Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights.

Mr Evans and Ms James had hoped to take Alfie, who had a degenerative brain disease, to a hospital in Rome.

On Monday, an invitation-only funeral service was held in the city before people gathered to pay their respects publicly in Walton Lane.

As the cortege passed, people placed flowers on the lead two hearses which carried floral tributes to Alfie spelling out the words Warrior, Our Hero, Son, Nephew, Grandson and Blue.

His coffin sported images of toy soldiers and the Everton club motif.

Earlier, members of Alfie's Army tied purple and blue ballons to the Dixie Dean statue outside the stadium and a bow in the same colours to the gates behind.

Expand Close Flowers, pictures and messages left outside Everton's Goodison Park as the cortege of Alfie Evans goes past Photo: Andrew Price/PA Wire / Facebook

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A number of cards were also left at the foot of the statue with one reading: "Alfie. Sleep well wee man. Fly high with the angels. Love Emma Boyne."

Another bore a picture of Alfie with the words 'twinkle twinkle Little Star".

Mr Evans is a fervent supporter of the Premier League club and had spoken of his hopes to take his son to watch the Blues in action.

Merseyside Police had a small, low-key presence in Walton Lane as the cortege passed peacefully in glorious sunshine.

During the protracted legal battle, Alder Hey Children's Hospital said staff had experienced "unprecedented personal abuse" as it found itself at the centre of a "social media storm" as a result of the case.

Protesters attempted to storm the hospital on one occasion and blocked the road outside during demonstrations against the withdrawal of his life-support treatment.

Expand Close People carrying floral tributes wait for the funeral cortege of toddler Alfie Evans to pass Photo: REUTERS/Phil Noble / Facebook

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Ahead of the funeral service, Alfie's uncle Daniel Evans posted a message on the Alfie's Army Facebook page in which he thanked everyone for their support on behalf of the family and said only family and close friends would attend the ceremony.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrives for a meeting of the E-3 and Iran at the Europa building in Brussels (Thierry Monasse, Pool Photo via AP)

Irans foreign minister said he had a very good and constructive meeting with the EUs foreign policy chief, as the bloc seeks to save the nuclear agreement following last weeks US withdrawal.

Mohammad Javad Zarif talked with Federica Mogherini to prepare a bigger meeting later on Tuesday with the three other EU partners in the landmark deal  Germany, France and Britain.

The EU hopes to convince Iran to continue to respect the landmark nuclear pact.

Expand Close EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini meets Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Brussels (Thierry Monasse, Pool Photo via AP) / Facebook

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After an hour-long meeting at EU headquarters, Mr Zarif said he believed both side were on the right track to make sure that the interests of the deals remaining participants, particularly Iran, will be preserved and guaranteed.

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the United States would withdraw from the deal and said he would impose tough economic sanctions on Iran.
Israeli police officers detain a demonstrator during a protest outside the US embassy in Jerusalem (Mahmoud Illean/AP)

Israel faced a growing backlash and new charges of using excessive force on Tuesday, a day after Israeli troops firing from across a border fence killed 59 Palestinians and wounded more than 2,700 at a mass protest in Gaza.

Turkey expelled Israels ambassador, while Ireland and Belgium summoned Israeli envoys.

Leading European countries and the UN human rights office called for an investigation of the bloodshed.

Israel says it has the right to defend its border against a possible mass breach and accuses Gazas Hamas rulers of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.

#Hamas alone is responsible for the loss of life in the violent riots on the Israel-#Gaza fence. It has already acknowledged that many were its own operatives. pic.twitter.com/l3RJJ5ghUX  Israel Foreign Ministry (@IsraelMFA) May 15, 2018

A military spokesman said on Tuesday that 14 of those killed a day earlier were involved in attacks.

Monday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 cross-border war with Israel, and was part of a high-stakes campaign by the Islamic militant Hamas to break a decade-long border blockade.

The Gaza Health Ministry, which provided the toll from Mondays violence, said a nine-month-old girl died from tear gas exposure, but medical officials later cast doubt on that claim, saying the infant had a pre-existing medical condition.

It remained unclear on Tuesday where and how the child died.

In jarring contrast to the Gaza bloodshed, the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for a new US Embassy in contested Jerusalem at the same time on Monday, just several dozen miles away.

Expand Close US President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (Sebastian Scheiner/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp US President Donald Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump and US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin attend the opening ceremony of the new US embassy in Jerusalem (Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

The juxtaposition of violence on the Gaza border and festivities attended by a Trump administration delegation  captured on split screens in TV broadcasts around the world  briefly drew attention to the plight of Gaza and its two million people.

The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the deal of the century.

The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

The high casualty toll revived international criticism of Israels open-fire policies.

Rights groups have said the use of potentially lethal force against protesters who pose no immediate threat to soldiers lives is unlawful.

The military has said presumably less lethal rubber-coated steel pellets are not effective in keeping demonstrators from the fence.

Germany, Belgium and Ireland called for an investigation of the violence.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Charles Michel called the Israeli actions unacceptable violence and said there was a clear lack of proportionality.

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Mr Michel said the violence and killings would be moved onto the calendar of the European Union summit in Sofia on Wednesday and Thursday.

German spokesman Steffen Seibert said the violence concerns us greatly, but also accused Hamas of cynically escalating the unrest.

Irelands Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express shock and dismay.

Turkey asked Israels ambassador to leave temporarily and the country lowered flags to half-mast to mark three days of mourning.

China called on Israel to exercise restraint. On Monday, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice.

The UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters from its border with Gaza, suggesting its forces should instead arrest those who reach the fence.

The UN Security Council planned to meet on Tuesday to discuss the violence, though it was not clear what might come out of the session.
A Palestinian boy holding his national flag looks at clashes with Israeli security forces near the border. Photo: Getty

Yahya Sinwar is a man used to being boxed in. The 55-year-old leader of Hamas in Gaza spent half his life in an Israeli prison cell for abducting and killing two Israeli soldiers. Today, the militant fighter finds himself in another tight spot with few good options.

He is ruling over a desperate population of two million people in the Gaza strip. Unemployment is at 45pc - the highest in the world - and Gaza has only a few hours of electricity every day. In public, Gazans blame Israel for their woes but much of their anger about the situation is directed at Hamas.

The Islamist group's international backers like Qatar, Turkey, and Iran are distracted with their own issues and have less time and money to devote to the Palestinian cause. The Arab world is fractured and its leading states - Egypt and Saudi Arabia - are drawing ever closer to Israel.

Hamas' armed forces have enough rockets to start a war with Israel. But they don't have the weapons to win it. Hamas knows that a shooting war with Israel's superior military will end only in more destruction of Gaza's shattered infrastructure and more anger among the people.

And so the Hamas chief has turned to a new tactic: massive protests along the Gaza border with Israel.

The demonstrations, which began in late March, were originally the idea of a group of independent activists. The activists centred the marches around the 'Right of Return' - the demand that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their forefathers' land in what is today Israel.

But Hamas quickly seized on the protests and put its organisational muscle behind them.

The group hoped to get more than 100,000 people to the Gaza border yesterday and - according to Israeli intelligence - send hundreds or even thousands of them breaking through the fence.

Large demonstrations may seem unambitious for a group that has an arsenal of rockets and hopes one day to destroy Israel.

But from Hamas' perspective the marches potentially achieve a number of goals.

Firstly, they channel public anger in Gaza outwards against Israel, not inwards against Hamas.

People in Gaza are frustrated, angry, and desperate. The marches are a way of channelling those feelings against Israel.

The 'Right of Return' is a unifying idea that all Palestinians can agree on, regardless of whether they support Hamas or not. And the large number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces has galvanised rage against Israel.

The marches also tip the scales in Hamas' favour in its internal Palestinian struggle.

Hamas has been locked in a decade-long struggle with its rivals in the Palestinian Authority (PA), the internationally recognised body based in the occupied West Bank. The marches allow Hamas to present itself as the real resistance against Israel, while the PA co-operates closely with Israel on economic and security issues.

The PA has watched the marches with deep discomfort. It doesn't want to say it is supporting protests that are being driven by Hamas. But it also can't afford to ignore the demonstrations because there is much popular support for them.

Hamas made a serious effort at reconciling with the PA earlier this year but its entreaties were largely spurned by its rivals. By being seen as the owners of the popular marches, Hamas strengthen its hand against the PA.

Finally, the protests push the Palestinian issue back up the international agenda.

The Palestinian cause has been overshadowed for years by the war in Syria, the rise and fall of Isil, and the rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The demonstrations are a way of refocusing the world's attention back on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hamas hopes to pressure its international backers to once again rally to its cause.

The Palestinian death toll has also drawn Western criticism of Israel - another win from Hamas's perspective.

There is one other benefit the protests bring to Hamas: they buy time.

Hamas is in a desperate situation, perhaps the lowest its been since it won Palestinian elections in 2006 and seized control of Gaza by force a year later. Anything it can do to buy time right now is welcome.

The group wants to keep a lid on discontent in Gaza, hope that its external situation improves and, most importantly, live to fight another day. ( Daily Telegraph London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Palestinians run from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

The opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem was overshadowed yesterday by bloodshed in Gaza, where at least 55 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in the deadliest day since the end of the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Less than 80km from where Ivanka Trump and other American dignitaries gathered in the afternoon sun to celebrate the embassy opening, the Gaza border was transformed into a scene of fire and chaos as tens of thousands of protesters faced Israeli snipers.

Israel's military said that it opened fire to stop Hamas, the Islamist militant group that controls Gaza, from using the protests as a distraction to break through the border fence and carry out attacks inside Israel.

Palestinians said the overwhelming majority of those killed were unarmed demonstrators while the Palestinian Authority accused Israel of carrying out "a terrible massacre" and called for international intervention to stop the killing.

Despite the bloodshed, US President Donald Trump hailed the opening as "a great day for Israel" and said he believed his decision to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem would ultimately help forge peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

"For many years we failed to acknowledge the obvious. The plain reality that Israel's capital is Jerusalem," Mr Trump said in a video played at the ceremony. "Our greatest hope is for peace. The US remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement."

Expand Close Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. Photo: AFP/Getty Images / Facebook

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Many Arab and Muslim countries strongly condemned both the US and Israel.

"The United States has chosen to be a part of the problem rather than the solution with its latest step and has lost its mediating role in the peace process," said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, in a speech in London.

Raj Shah, the White House deputy press secretary, pointed the finger at Hamas and said "Israel has the right to defend itself".

He told a press briefing: "The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response."

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He later added: "This is a gruesome and unfortunate propaganda attempt. I think the Israeli government has spent weeks trying to handle this without violence."

Palestinian health officials said 55 people were killed along the Gaza border, including six children under the age of 18. The youngest fatality appeared to be a 14-year-old boy named Ezzaldeen al-sammak. More than 1,200 others were shot and wounded during yesterday's protests, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Around 100 Palestinians have now been killed in Gaza since protesters began a series of marches six weeks ago demanding the "Right of Return" - the right for Palestinians to go back to their forefathers' homes in what is today Israel.

Around 40,000 protesters gathered at 13 different locations along the barbwire fence which separates Israeli from Gaza, according to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), a far larger crowd than seen previously.

Expand Close An injured protester is carried away after Israeli forces opened fire. REUTERS / Facebook

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The IDF said it opened fire to prevent to stop the crowd from bursting through the fence. While the fence was damaged in places, no Palestinians came through. "We do not target anyone who does not pose a threat, either by trying to tear down the fence or running into Israel," said Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, an IDF spokesman.

'Bloodbath'

Human Rights Watch criticised Israel for using live rounds when there was no immediate threat to Israeli troops or civilians and said the policy had "resulted in a bloodbath that anyone could have foreseen".

Several Palestinian journalists were reportedly shot while covering the demonstrations.

Israel carried out a series of airstrikes on Hamas positions in response what it said were Hamas activities along the border, but the majority of the Palestinian fatalities were caused by sniper fire. The IDF said it had opened fire on three "terrorist squads" of Hamas operatives who were carrying guns and explosives and trying to breach the fence.

One Israeli soldier was lightly injured by a rock or a piece of shrapnel.

Khalil al-Hayya, a senior Hamas official, said that the protests would continue on today. "We say clearly today to all the world that the peaceful march of our people lured the enemy into shedding more blood," he said.

The idea of the weekly marches were originally conceived by independent Palestinian activists, but Hamas quickly put its organisational muscle behind them. The Islamist group is struggling with widespread discontent over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, but lacks the military strength to confront Israel and so has embraced the idea of large scale demonstrations.

Few of the speakers at the embassy ceremony made any mention of the violence in Gaza even as television networks carried the two events simultaneously in a jarring split screen.

"As we have seen from the protests of the last month, and even today, those provoking violence are part of the problem and not part of the solution," said Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and point man on Middle East peace, in one of the few references to the situation in Gaza. ( Daily Telegraph, London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
An injured protester is carried away after Israeli forces opened fire. REUTERS

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border on Monday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it a massacre.

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gazas ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli militarys actions as self-defence of his countrys borders.

Big day for Israel. Congratulations!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the foreign relations subcommittee that covers the region, told Reuters the situation was tragic and said Its not viewed as the U.S. trying to solve a problem, its viewed as the U.S. just stepping away from the problem, and thats sad.

the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

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Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process.

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A senior Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, said at a border encampment that Mondays protest was timed to coincide with the deplorable crime of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

He said: Our people went out today to respond to this new Zionist-American aggression, and to draw by their blood the map of their return.

In Gaza, Palestinian protests quickly turned into bloodshed. Tens of thousands had streamed to the edge of the coastal enclaves land border, some approaching the Israeli fence.

Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever, said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name.

Clouds of black smoke from tyres set alight by demonstrators rose in the air. Demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces, who fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday, the day Palestinians mourn as the Nakba or Catastrophe when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of them were driven out of their homes or fled the fighting around Israels creation.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence.

Every country has an obligation to defend its borders, he wrote on Twitter. The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens.

Hamas denied instigating the violence, but the White House backed Netanyahu. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response, White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters.

In a small protest outside the White House, some protesters chanted Palestine will be free.

The Israeli military said in a statement: Rioters hurled firebombs and explosive devices at the security fence and Israeli troops. The soldiers response, it said, was in accordance with standard operating procedures.

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The dead included at least six people under 18 years of age, including one girl. The total number of fatalities since a series of protests to demand Palestinians right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel is now 103.

They also included a medic and a man in a wheelchair who had been pictured on social media using a slingshot. The Israeli military said three of those killed were armed militants who tried to place explosives near the fence.

Sirens of ambulances carrying casualties to hospitals wailed almost non-stop all day. In Gaza mosques, loudspeakers mourned the dead, who were carried for burial in funeral marches.

These war crimes should not go unpunished and the international community has a responsibility to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Israel said it would reopen the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, which provides vital supplies for the enclave, from Tuesday. It was shut after Gaza protesters vandalized it on Friday night when they set fire to a gas pipeline and a goods conveyor.

CALLS FOR RESTRAINT

Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Kushner said it was possible for both sides in the conflict to gain more than give in any peace deal. Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together, he said in a speech.

But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem. He announced a general strike on Tuesday.

Unlike the previous administration of former president Barack Obama which had a strained relationship with Netanyahu, Trump has firmly supported the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu has long been a critic of the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump abandoned last week despite complaints from other U.S. allies.

The Pentagon confirmed it had deployed additional U.S. Marine guards to temporarily bolster security at several U.S. embassies after the violence but declined to say which ones. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deployments bolstered security at U.S. embassies including Israel, Jordan and Turkey.

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French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to talk to all involved parties in the region over the next few days.

Britain said it had no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and disagreed with the U.S. decision to do so. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the U.S. move flouted international law.

Turkey accused Israeli security forces of carrying out a massacre and said the U.S. embassy move had encouraged them.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians and called for an independent and transparent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel.

The Trump administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.
Israeli border guards push back Israeli Arab protestors in front of the new United States embassy in Jerusalem. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney expressed dismay at the use of "disproportionate" force by Israeli forces against Palestinian protesters and called for a UN probe into the violence.

His comments came as Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United States had forfeited its authority to broker a solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and had become "part of the problem, not the solution".

Mr Erdogan's comments were among the most strongly worded of a series of diplomatic protests as governments around the world condemned Donald Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem.

The US formally opened the embassy yesterday afternoon after Mr Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital last year.

Palestinian health officials said 52 people were killed and more than 1,200 injured by Israeli fire during protests over the embassy opening.

Mr Coveney said he was "profoundly shocked" by yesterday's violence. He added: "I have repeatedly expressed my dismay at the ongoing deaths of Palestinians in Gaza due to Israel's use of live ammunition in response to demonstrations. I am profoundly shocked that ... dozens more have been shot dead by Israeli forces. Thousands have suffered life-changing injuries.

"I reiterate that an independent investigation is urgently needed, as called for by the UN Secretary-General.

"It is essential that Israeli forces show restraint if this tragic death toll is not to climb even higher."

Mr Erdogan, who is in London on a three-day visit for talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May, said the embassy move could "ignite an even greater fire between communities".

"With its latest step, America has chosen to be a part of the problem, not a solution, and lost its mediator role in the Middle East peace process," he said in a speech at Chatham House.

"We are rejecting again this decision which violates international law and which is against UN resolutions," he said. "The international community must do its part as soon as possible and take swift action to put an end to Israel's increasing aggression," he said.

Separately, Mrs May called for "restraint" and criticised the move, but avoided Mr Erdogan's direct condemnation.

"We urge calm and restraint to avoid actions destructive to peace efforts," a Number 10 spokesman said.

"The prime minister made her views clear in December that we disagreed with the decision [to move the US embassy]. We believe it is unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region."

But other governments took a much stronger line.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, called the embassy move a violation of international law and of UN Security Council resolutions. Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian deputy foreign minister responsible for Middle Eastern affairs, called the move "short-sighted" and said the US was to blame for yesterday's "sharp escalation" of violence in Gaza.

The Palestinian Authority, which controls the West Bank but not the Gaza strip, called the killings a "massacre" and demanded an emergency meeting of the UN Security council. "If a similar massacre [by an occupying power] happens in any other nation, it would trigger a massive global outrage. Palestine should not be an exception," said Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN.

Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have also urged a UN emergency meeting.

Zeid Ra'ad al Hussein, the UN high commissioner for human rights, called the violence in Gaza "shocking" and demanded that Israel halt the use of live rounds.

Iran, which is locked in a diplomatic and military confrontation with Israel over its presence in Syria, called it "a day of shame".

"Israeli regime massacres countless Palestinians in cold blood as they protest in world's largest open air prison. Meanwhile, Trump celebrates move of US illegal embassy and his Arab collaborators move to divert attention," said Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister.
A Palestinian boy holding his national flag looks at clashes with Israeli security forces near the border. Photo: Getty

Palestinians run from tear gas during clashes with Israeli security forces near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

An injured protester is carried away after Israeli forces opened fire. REUTERS

Palestinian protesters gathered during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Palestinian protesters burn tyres during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

The Israeli ambassador to Ireland was summoned to a meeting by the Government in the wake of the violence and death along the Gaza border.

Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney met with Ze'ev Boker early this morning when he expressed "Irelands shock and dismay at the level of death and injury yesterday on the Gaza Strip".

The Minister also called for restraint from Israel in the hours and days ahead.

Israeli troops shot dead dozens of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza border yesterday when the high-profile opening of the U.S. embassy to Israel in Jerusalem by the Trump administration raised tension to boiling point after weeks of demonstrations.

Big day for Israel. Congratulations!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018

In the bloodiest single day for Palestinians since 2014, Palestinian Health Ministry officials said 58 protesters were killed and 2,700 injured by live gunfire, tear gas or other means.

In a statement a spokesperson for Mr Coveney told Independent.ie: "The ambassador has been informed of Irish demands for an independent international investigation into yesterdays deaths lead by the UN.

"Our mission in Ramallah reports that emergency responders in Gaza and the strips health services are overwhelmed with the level of casualties.

"The health system was already facing major challenges due to lack of equipment and essential medicines."

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He said Ireland is also "very disturbed" by the injuries suffered by health workers as reported by the WHO.

There were 211 recorded attacks against health workers in Gaza, attending the large numbers of injured during mass demonstrations at the border fence.

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Nine suffered sustained bullet wounds, 13 were injured by tear gas canisters and 189 suffered with tear gas inhalation. Twenty-five ambulances were also damaged.

'Massacre'

The bloodshed drew calls for restraint from some countries, including France and Britain, and stronger criticism from others, with regional power Turkey calling it a massacre.

The White House declined to join in urging Israel to exercise caution and pinned the blame squarely on Gazas ruling Hamas group, backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who described the Israeli militarys actions as self-defence of his countrys borders.

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In siding squarely with Israel, Washington put distance between itself and its European allies for the second time in a week, after angering France, Germany and others last Tuesday by abandoning an international nuclear deal with Iran.

In contrast to the violent scenes in Gaza, Israeli dignitaries and guests attended a ceremony in Jerusalem to open the U.S. Embassy following its relocation from Tel Aviv.

The move fulfilled a pledge by U.S. President Donald Trump, who in December recognized the holy city as the Israeli capital.

Netanyahu thanked Trump for having the courage to keep your promises.

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, the top Democrat on the foreign relations subcommittee that covers the region, told Reuters the situation was tragic and said Its not viewed as the U.S. trying to solve a problem, its viewed as the U.S. just stepping away from the problem, and thats sad.

the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Israel regards all of the city, including the eastern sector it captured in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed in a move that is not recognized internationally, as its eternal and indivisible capital.

Most countries say the status of Jerusalem - a sacred city to Jews, Muslims and Christians - should be determined in a final peace settlement and that moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.

Peace talks aimed a finding a two-state solution to the conflict have been frozen since 2014.

Trumps recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital in December outraged Palestinians, who said the United States could no longer serve as an honest broker in any peace process.

A senior Hamas leader, Khalil Al-Hayya, said at a border encampment that Mondays protest was timed to coincide with the deplorable crime of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.

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He said: Our people went out today to respond to this new Zionist-American aggression, and to draw by their blood the map of their return.

In Gaza, Palestinian protests quickly turned into bloodshed. Tens of thousands had streamed to the edge of the coastal enclaves land border, some approaching the Israeli fence.

Today is the big day when we will cross the fence and tell Israel and the world we will not accept being occupied forever, said Gaza science teacher Ali, who declined to give his last name.

Clouds of black smoke from tyres set alight by demonstrators rose in the air. Demonstrators, some armed with slingshots, hurled stones at the Israeli security forces, who fired volleys of tear gas and intense rounds of gunfire.

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are scheduled to culminate on Tuesday, the day Palestinians mourn as the Nakba or Catastrophe when, in 1948, hundreds of thousands of them were driven out of their homes or fled the fighting around Israels creation.

Netanyahu blamed Hamas for the Gaza violence.

Every country has an obligation to defend its borders, he wrote on Twitter. The Hamas terrorist organization declares it intends to destroy Israel and sends thousands to breach the border fence in order to achieve this goal. We will continue to act with determination to protect our sovereignty and citizens.

Hamas denied instigating the violence, but the White House backed Netanyahu. The responsibility for these tragic deaths rests squarely with Hamas. Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response, White House spokesman Raj Shah told reporters.

In a small protest outside the White House, some protesters chanted Palestine will be free.

The Israeli military said in a statement: Rioters hurled firebombs and explosive devices at the security fence and Israeli troops. The soldiers response, it said, was in accordance with standard operating procedures.

The dead included at least six people under 18 years of age, including one girl. The total number of fatalities since a series of protests to demand Palestinians right to return to their ancestral homes in Israel is now 103.

They also included a medic and a man in a wheelchair who had been pictured on social media using a slingshot. The Israeli military said three of those killed were armed militants who tried to place explosives near the fence.

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Sirens of ambulances carrying casualties to hospitals wailed almost non-stop all day. In Gaza mosques, loudspeakers mourned the dead, who were carried for burial in funeral marches.

These war crimes should not go unpunished and the international community has a responsibility to provide international protection for the Palestinian people, senior Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said after a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank town of Ramallah.

Israel said it would reopen the Kerem Shalom goods crossing, which provides vital supplies for the enclave, from Tuesday. It was shut after Gaza protesters vandalized it on Friday night when they set fire to a gas pipeline and a goods conveyor.

Trump, in a recorded message, said he remained committed to peace between Israel and the Palestinians. He was represented at the ceremony by his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, U.S. envoy to the Middle East.

Kushner said it was possible for both sides in the conflict to gain more than give in any peace deal. Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together, he said in a speech.

But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said the United States had opened an American settlement outpost in East Jerusalem. He announced a general strike on Tuesday.

Unlike the previous administration of former president Barack Obama which had a strained relationship with Netanyahu, Trump has firmly supported the Israeli leader.

Netanyahu has long been a critic of the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump abandoned last week despite complaints from other U.S. allies.

The Pentagon confirmed it had deployed additional U.S. Marine guards to temporarily bolster security at several U.S. embassies after the violence but declined to say which ones. A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the deployments bolstered security at U.S. embassies including Israel, Jordan and Turkey.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he plans to talk to all involved parties in the region over the next few days.

Britain said it had no plans to move its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and disagreed with the U.S. decision to do so. French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said the U.S. move flouted international law.

Turkey accused Israeli security forces of carrying out a massacre and said the U.S. embassy move had encouraged them.

The United States on Monday blocked a Kuwait-drafted U.N. Security Council statement that would have expressed outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians and called for an independent and transparent investigation, U.N. diplomats said.

More than 2 million people are crammed into the narrow Gaza strip, which is blockaded by Egypt and Israel.

The Trump administration says it has nearly completed a new Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is undecided on how and when to roll it out.
President Trumps senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump at the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

Given all of the Trump administration's big foreign-policy announcements in recent weeks, the official move of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem yesterday seemingly flew under the radar. It shouldn't have.

The embassy move is a historic - and potentially explosive - act with plenty of regional ramifications. But it also offers an insight into what may be the guiding principle of President Donald Trump's foreign policy: making splashy foreign-policy decisions that deliver for his domestic base but seem to be causing massive diplomatic headaches and long-term problems.

Call it "buy now, pay later" - a phrase that can apply literally and figuratively.

In the case of the Jerusalem embassy, Trump has insisted he could build a new embassy on the cheap with his business acumen. For example, at a campaign rally in Elkhart, Indiana, on Thursday he repeated his story about slashing the cost of the move from $1bn down to about $400,000.

That's only true if you look at the short term: the 'Washington Post reported earlier this month the $400,000 only accounted for the first phase of moving the embassy to the existing consular building in Jerusalem, but that's likely to be a temporary home.

Building a much larger permanent embassy - and spending as much as a billion dollars to do so - could take another 10 years, by which time Trump's time in office will have ended.

His erroneous boast is a telling indicator of how he views the literal costs of his foreign policy decisions. More important, he appears to have underestimated their long-term political costs too.

Trump, like many presidents before him, came into office pledging hard work and a fresh approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - "the toughest deal of all," as he called it - that would finally lead to peace. Instead, the administration has yet to unveil its peace plan, and Palestinian officials have refused to talk to their US counterparts since Trump announced his embassy decision in December.

Yesterday's opening came just before Palestinians mark the anniversary of what they call the Nakba, or "catastrophe", used to refer to the founding of Israel in 1948. Violent protests have taken place in Gaza for weeks, and boiled over into widescale bloodshed yesterday, with scores of Palestinians shot dead and thousands injured.

It's another sign the United States may finally be discredited as a neutral party in any agreements on Middle East peace, making it all the more difficult for any lasting solution to be found. For now, Trump has the plaudits he wants at home and in Israel.

His short-termism isn't confined to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. His decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran rather than renegotiate left many observers - including other critics of the agreement - feeling there was no "plan B". The administration, they argued, has mostly set up more problems for the future.

Trump's push for peace talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un may also betray the same kind of thinking. They are due to meet on June 12 in Singapore, an event that will give Trump much of the television coverage he favours.

But the actual deal with will likely wind up being a messy affair. It will have to deal not only with the denuclearisation of North Korea, but also potential economic support for North Korea, regional security guarantees and other issues.

As many have noted, a deal with Kim may end up looking similar to not only prior failed agreements with North Korea but also the Iran agreement Trump so loathes.

Indeed, there is a worry it could be much worse than the latter. It took years of painful negotiations to reach the Iran deal, but Trump has shown neither much inclination to be patient nor interest in long, intricate diplomatic wrangling. A hastily crafted deal with Pyongyang may only create more problems in the years down the line.

In making these moves, Trump's decision-making seems to hinge on the concerns of his domestic audience, hoping to stoke his base, get positive headlines and differentiate himself from his political predecessors.

Academics such as Paul Musgrave and Dan Nexon have noted the foreign-policy community in the United States has become politically polarised in recent years.

IT'S become far harder to create a consensus about any international agreements, which in turn leads to a far greater risk that major decisions and agreements will be overturned by a subsequent administration.

Of course, there's probably an argument that former president Barack Obama worried too much about the long-term impact of his decisions, trying to find consensus where there was never likely to be any.

But a rushed, short-term approach seems even riskier, potentially sending US foreign policy down the same road of tit-for-tat gridlock that's currently the norm in Washington. If "buy now, pay later" really is Trump's plan, the eventual price tag may be far bigger than we know. ( Washington Post)
A lakeside party has been thrown at the location where a white woman called police on a black family  because they were barbecuing.

Video footage of the unidentified woman went viral after she reported the al fresco diners, ostensibly because they were using a charcoal grill in a non-charcoal area.

A friend of the family  Michelle Snider, who is also white  recorded the bizarre events at Lake Merritt, in Oakland, California, on April 29.

She accuses the woman of harassing the barbecuers because they are black.

The woman rejects the claim but many online believed the charcoal vigilantism was the latest example of black people being reported to authorities while going about their business. Just days ago a black Yale University student had police called on her after falling asleep in a common room, while two weeks before that, three Airbnb guests were apprehended by officers while checking out of their apartment.

Police in Oakland attended the barbecue and questioned the family for an hour  but took no further action.

Now, an all night party has been thrown at the location.

In video footage of the celebration also posted online, revellers can be seen doing the Electric Slide to the classic 'Before I let Go', by Frankie Beverly And Maze, and enjoying grilled meats.

It remains unclear if a charcoal grill was used during the party.
Palestinians are observing a general strike to mourn dozens killed by Israeli army fire in the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 war.

Organisers said the day would be set aside for funerals and that turnout for any new protests on the border with Israel would be low.

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The Islamic militant Hamas group, which rules the territory, had initially said mass border protests would continue on Tuesday.

The day marks the 70th anniversary of what Palestinians call their nakba, or catastrophe  the uprooting of hundreds of thousands in the Middle East war over Israels 1948 creation.

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On Monday, the world witnessed scenes of jarring contrast. Israeli forces killed 58 Palestinians, most by gunfire, and injured more than 2,700 during protests along the Gaza border, while a few miles away Israel and the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for the new US embassy in contested Jerusalem.

The high toll in Gaza revived international criticism of Israels use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, while the opening of the embassy, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the Middle East deal of the century.

The UN Security Council is meeting to discuss the violence, although it is not clear what might come out of the session.

Two UN diplomats said members could not reach unanimous agreement on a proposed statement, circulated by Kuwait, that would have expressed outrage and sorrow over the killings and sought an independent investigation.

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The Gaza Health Ministry said 58 Palestinians were killed on Monday, including 57 by Israeli fire and a baby who died from tear gas inhalation.

More than 2,700 were hurt, 1,360 by gunfire, the ministry said. Of the wounded, 130 were in serious or critical condition.

Israel has defended its actions, saying troops were defending its border. It also accused Hamas militants of trying to carry out attacks under the cover of the protests.

The Israeli military said its aircraft had struck 11 terror targets in a Hamas military compound a day earlier, and that tanks targeted two Hamas posts.

It said protesters used 10 explosive devices and firebombs against troops and that shots were fired at soldiers positioned along the border.
Major European powers and Tehran have committed to keep working together to save the Iran nuclear deal despite US president Donald Trumps determination to kill it off.

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said after talks with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif that salvage efforts focused on economic, business and banking issues could produce practical solutions in the next few weeks.

There was awareness of the urgency, Ms Mogherini said after the meeting in Brussels.

If I can use the metaphor that some raised around the table, we all have a relative in intensive care and we all want to get him or her out of intensive care as soon as possible, she said.

Germany, France and Britain all are signatories of the 2015 deal, which was meant to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

The US pulled out of the pact last week and promised to impose tough economic sanctions on Iran.

Constructive meeting with EU High Rep & E3 ministers in Brussels, following successful Beijing & Moscow visits. Positive start with solid political commitments. All agreed that much remains to be done in coming weeks to practically guarantee economic benefits for Iranian people. pic.twitter.com/SFJx3bnjIb  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) May 15, 2018

Ms Mogherini said expert talks on relevant financial and economic issues such as banking transactions and oil would begin soon and the deputy foreign ministers from the three European nations and Iran would meet in Vienna next week.

We reaffirmed together our resolve to continue to implement the nuclear deal in all its parts, in good faith, and in a constructive atmosphere, she said.

Mr Zarif: We are on the right track. A lot depends on what we can do within the next few weeks.

The steps forward underscored the EUs hopes that diplomacy and the promise of economic benefits might keep Iran in the fold of a nuclear deal that Europe sees as essential to security.

It wont be easy, thats clear to all of us. But if we want to stay in this agreement and ensure that Iran stays in this agreement and abides to the terms of the agreement, then we need to talk about this, German foreign minister Heiko Maas said.

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At the same time, the European diplomats wanted to show they were not gullible and would not drop other divisive issues with Tehran, including its role in the Syria conflict.

I want to stress we are under no illusion about the stuff Iran gets up to in the region, in the Middle East. We have no illusions about Irans disruptive behaviour, but we think we can tackle those in other ways, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said.

Ms Mogherini agreed at the end of a long day of diplomatic meetings.

As you know very well, we have many other disagreements, she said. But, she added, with the nuclear deal in place we have better chances to address any other issues we have to address with Iran.

Mr Trumps withdrawal from the deal has imperilled not only the accord, but the threat of sanctions could trickle down to European companies doing business with Iran.

We have to accept, be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extraterritoriality and how that can serve as a deterrent to businesses, Mr Johnson said.

The European Commission has been examining measures to counter the introduction of any US sanctions that could harm European businesses. The commission is expected to unveil them to EU leaders at a summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Wednesday.

Among them is the possible use of an EU blocking regulation which would, in essence, ban European companies from respecting American sanctions when the sanctions might damage EU interests, notably trade and the movement of capital.

The regulation, which has been brandished as a threat in the past but never used, was drawn up more than 20 years ago and would have to be revised.

It is unclear how well the measure could be enforced, given that big multinationals are likely to be doing more business in the US than they are in Iran and may be unwilling to compromise that market access.

The EUs energy commissioner is also traveling this week to Iran to discuss strengthening European energy support to Iran.
Palestinian protesters run for cover from teargas fired by Israeli forces near the border fence, east of Khan Younis, in the Gaza Strip (AP)

Two Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during protests near the border in Gaza, health officials said.

The shootings come amid growing international uproar over the Israeli militarys use of deadly force against unarmed protesters.

More than 100 Palestinians have been killed and hundreds wounded by live fire in a series of weekly protests led by the ruling Hamas militant group.

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On Monday alone, nearly 60 people were killed in the deadliest day of violence since a 2014 war.

Palestinians resumed their protests on Tuesday, but only dozens turned out. The health ministry said the two fresh deaths occurred in separate incidents in central Gaza.

Israel claimed it is defending its border and accuses Hamas of using demonstrations as cover to carry out attacks against Israeli targets.

Netanyahu is the PM of an apartheid state that has occupied a defenseless people's lands for 60+ yrs in violation of UN resolutions.



He has the blood of Palestinians on his hands and can't cover up crimes by attacking Turkey.



Want a lesson in humanity? Read the 10 commandments.  Recep Tayyip Erdogan (@RTErdogan) May 15, 2018

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has asked the Turkish consul general in Jerusalem to temporarily leave the country.

The move came after the Turkish foreign ministry temporarily expelled the Israeli ambassador in protest over Mondays killings and the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan tweeted that Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu has the blood of Palestinians on his hands.

Mr Netanyahu retorted in a statement: Erdogan is among Hamass biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us.

Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest that he not preach morality to us  Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 15, 2018

Israeli and Palestinian ambassadors at the United Nations have accused each others countries of violating international law.

The envoys spoke at a UN Security Council meeting which ended without any joint statement or action.

Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour addressed the council: How many Palestinians have to die before you take action? When are you going to act?

Israeli ambassador Danny Danon told the council: You must tell Hamas that violence is not the answer.

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Monday marked the deadliest day in Gaza since a 2014 cross-border war with Israel, and was part of a high-stakes campaign by the Islamic militant Hamas to break a decade-long border blockade.

The Gaza health ministry, which provided the toll from Mondays violence, said a nine-month-old girl died from tear gas exposure, but medical officials later cast doubt on that claim, saying the infant had a pre-existing medical condition.

In jarring contrast to the Gaza bloodshed, the US held a festive inauguration ceremony for a new US embassy in contested Jerusalem at the same time on Monday, just several dozen miles away.

The juxtaposition of violence on the Gaza border and festivities attended by a Trump administration delegation  captured on split screens in TV broadcasts around the world  briefly drew attention to the plight of Gaza and its two million people.

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The relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv, condemned by Palestinians as blatantly pro-Israel, further dimmed prospects of what President Donald Trump had once touted as plans to negotiate the deal of the century.

The Palestinians seek Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as a capital.

The high casualty toll revived international criticism of Israels open-fire policies.

Rights groups have said the use of potentially lethal force against protesters who pose no immediate threat to soldiers lives is unlawful.

The military has said presumably less lethal rubber-coated steel pellets are not effective in keeping demonstrators from the fence.

Germany, Belgium and Ireland called for an investigation of the violence.

In Brussels, Prime Minister Charles Michel called the Israeli actions unacceptable violence and said there was a clear lack of proportionality.

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Mr Michel said the violence and killings would be moved onto the calendar of the European Union summit in Sofia on Wednesday and Thursday.

German spokesman Steffen Seibert said the violence concerns us greatly, but also accused Hamas of cynically escalating the unrest.

Irelands foreign ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to express shock and dismay.

China called on Israel to exercise restraint. On Monday, South Africa recalled its ambassador to Israel until further notice.

The UN human rights office said Israel has repeatedly violated international norms by using deadly live fire to repel protesters from its border with Gaza, suggesting its forces should instead arrest those who reach the fence.

The UNs Middle East envoy, Nickolay Mladenov, told the Security Council there is no justification for the killing. He called on Israel to recalibrate its use of force and to use lethal force only as a last resort.

He also urged Hamas not to use protests as cover to plant bombs and create provocations.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the session given deep divisions between most of the world and the US, Israels close ally.

US ambassador Nikki Haley said no member would act with more restraint than Israel has in its confrontation with Palestinians at the Gaza border.
Palestinian protesters gathered during a protest at the Gaza Strips border with Israel (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

The UN Security Council plans to meet on Tuesday to discuss violence along the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip, following the deadliest day there since a 2014 war.

At least 58 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,700 injured during mass protests along the Gaza border on Monday while the US opened its new embassy just a few miles away.

Israel said its troops were defending its border and accused Hamas militants of trying to attack under the cover of the protest.

It was not immediately clear what might come out of the council session, which had been called for by Kuwait.

No joint statement or action followed a similar meeting after protests in March, and two UN diplomats said members could not reach unanimous agreement on Monday on issuing a proposed statement circulated by Kuwait.

The draft statement, obtained by The Associated Press, would have expressed outrage and sorrow at the killings, sought an independent and transparent investigation, and called on all sides to exercise restraint.

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It also would have demanded that all countries comply with a decades-old Security Council resolution that called on them not to have embassies in contested Jerusalem. The United States inaugurated its embassy there on Monday.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution in December that would have required president Donald Trump to rescind his declaration of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

Earlier on Monday, the Palestinian UN envoy urged the United Nations most powerful body to condemn the killings. Israel, meanwhile, called on the council to condemn Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules the coastal strip and led the protests.

Israel is not a council member, nor are the Palestinians.

Mondays violence came as the US and Israel celebrated the embassy opening, the first official recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital after 70 years. The move infuriated Palestinians, who seek eastern Jerusalem as a future capital of their own.

A great day for Israel! Mr Trump tweeted.

A tragic day for the Palestinians, retorted their UN ambassador, Riyad Mansour. In remarks to reporters and a letter to the Security Council president, he called on the council to make its voice heard to stop the carnage, bring those responsible to justice and protect civilians.

Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon said the council needed to speak out against Hamas.

Every casualty on the border is a victim of Hamas war crimes, every death is a result of Hamas terror activity, and these casualties are solely Hamas responsibility, he said in a statement.

The demonstration came after a weeks-long Palestinian campaign against a blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. Protesters set tyres ablaze, sending thick plumes of black smoke into the air, and hurled firebombs and stones toward Israeli soldiers across the border.

The Israeli military said Hamas tried to carry out bombing and shooting attacks under the cover of the protests and released video of protesters ripping away parts of the barbed-wire border fence.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in Vienna that he was deeply concerned about the developments in Gaza, and a spokesman later underscored a call for restraint.

With tensions high and more demonstrations expected in the coming days, it is imperative that everyone show the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life, deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said.
Melania Trump was last seen in public on Wednesday at a White House event (Danny Lawson/PA)

US president Donald Trump has said his wife, Melania, is doing really well although she remains in hospital following a medical procedure to treat a kidney condition the White House described as benign.

Mr Trump said he expected the first lady back home at the White House before the end of the week.

The president also praised her doctors for doing a fantastic job.

Melania is doing really well. Shes watching us right now, Mr Trump said as he addressed an annual tribute to law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.

The ceremony at a police memorial near the Capitol was broadcast live on cable TV.

And I want to thank the incredible doctors They did a fantastic job, he said.

During a later appearance at the Capitol to join Republican senators for their weekly lunch, Mr Trump reiterated that his wife is really doing well.

The procedure was really successful, he said.

Mr Trump had tweeted earlier that the first lady will be leaving hospital in 2 or 3 days.

Her spokeswoman had said in a statement announcing the embolisation procedure that the first lady was likely to remain in hospital for the duration of the week.

The president and first lady spoke by telephone on Monday, before the procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre near Washington, and on Tuesday, the White House said.

He also spent time with Mrs Trump at the hospital on Monday evening after she had been treated.

The White House declared the procedure successful but has withheld additional information about her condition, citing the first ladys right to privacy.

US vice president Mike Pence, however, said in a speech Monday night that the procedure was long-planned.

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Two urologists who have no personal knowledge of Mrs Trumps condition said the most likely explanation for the embolisation procedure is a kind of non-cancerous kidney tumour called an angiomyolipoma.

Dr Keith Kowalczyk of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital said the condition is not common, but tends to occur in middle-aged women and can cause problematic bleeding if the tumours become large enough. Mrs Trump is 48.

The treatment of choice is to cut off the blood supply so the growth shrinks, added Dr Lambros Stamatakis of MedStar Washington Hospital Center. Doctors do that with an embolisation, meaning a catheter is snaked into the blood vessels of the kidney to find the right one and block it.

Most of the time, these benign tumours are found when people undergo medical scans for another reason, but sometimes people have pain or other symptoms, Dr Kowalczyk said. Many times, embolisation patients go home the same day or the next.

The first lady was last seen in public at a White House event on Wednesday where she and the president honoured military mothers and spouses for Mothers Day.
The US says it is also imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif (Niall Carson/PA)

The Trump administration is designating the head of Irans central bank as a terrorist and hitting him with sanctions intended to further isolate Iran from the global financial system.

The Treasury Department accuses Valiollah Seif of helping transfer millions of dollars to Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Seif is the governor of the Iranian central bank. He is being named a specially designated global terrorist, along with another senior official, Ali Tarzali, who works in the central banks international division.

The global community must remain vigilant against Iran's deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxiesTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Seif covertly funnelled money from the Irans Revolutionary Guards through al-Bilad Islamic Bank in Iraq to help Hezbollah.

The Iraqi bank and its chairman is also being punished with sanctions.

The US says it is also imposing so-called secondary sanctions on Seif.

That means anyone who does business with him could be cut off from the US financial system.

The move comes as Donald Trumps administration, after deeming the 2015 nuclear deal insufficiently tough on Iran, seeks to construct a global coalition to place enough pressure on Tehran that it comes back to the negotiating table to strike a better deal.

The sanctions targeting Irans central bank executives are some of the first actions by Mr Trumps administration since pulling out of the deal to start ramping up that economic pressure.

The United States will not permit Irans increasingly brazen abuse of the international financial system, Mr Mnuchin said.

The global community must remain vigilant against Irans deceptive efforts to provide financial support to its terrorist proxies.

The exact ramifications of the sanctions for Irans economy were not immediately clear.

The US said that the sanctions did not extend to Irans central bank itself.

Still, the US said it was imposing so-called secondary sanctions on the Iranian bank officials, which could significantly increase Irans isolation from the global financial system.

Typically, when the US punishes individuals with sanctions, it prohibits Americans or US companies from doing business with them.

Secondary sanctions also apply to non-Americans and non-US companies. That means that anyone, in any country, who does business with Seif or Tarzali could themselves be punished with sanctions, cutting them off from the US financial system.

Seif, as the central banks governor, has helped guide Irans economy through the web of sanctions in place on that country.

In the aftermath of the 2015 deal, in which nuclear sanctions on Iran were lifted, he was a prominent voice complaining that Iran was still being kept out of the global financial system and not receiving the economic benefits it was promised in exchange for curtailing its nuclear programme.

The Treasury said that Seif undermined the central banks credibility by routing millions of dollars from the Quds Force, the expeditionary unit of Irans hard-line Revolutionary Guards, to al-Bilad Islamic Bank, which is based in Iraq.

Those funds were then used to enrich and support the violent and radical agenda of Hezbollah, the Treasury said.

Al-Bilad Islamic Bank and its chief executive and chairman, Aras Habib, were also hit with US sanctions, as was Muhammad Qasir, who the Treasury said is a Hezbollah official who has been a critical conduit for transferring funds to Hezbollah from the Revolutionary Guards.

Lebanons Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite guerrilla force that is also a prominent political player in Lebanon, has long helped carry out Irans foreign policy objectives in the Arabic-speaking world.

Most recently, the US has been concerned about the role that Hezbollah fighters are playing in Syria to help prop up President Bashar Assad.

Hezbollah fought a war with Israel in 2006, and Israeli officials have been deeply concerned about the prospect of another confrontation.
US clothing retailer Gap has apologised for selling T-shirts bearing what it says was an erroneous map of China that did not include self-ruled Taiwan, in the latest example of corporate kowtowing to Beijing.

In a post on Chinas Weibo microblogging platform late on Monday, the company said it had discovered that some T-shirts sold overseas had an erroneous design of Chinas map.

We are truly sorry about this unintentional mistake, Gap said, promising to carry out more rigorous reviews in the future.

Gap took action after photos began circulating on Chinese social media of a T-shirt with a map that did not include Taiwan, a self-ruled island that Beijing regards as Chinese territory.

The map also appeared to leave out southern Tibet and the disputed South China Sea, the state-owned Global Times said, adding that it drew hundreds of complaints on Weibo.

The company also said all the shirts in China have been recalled and destroyed.

It was unclear if the shirts in all of Gaps markets worldwide would also be destroyed. Company representatives at Gaps Shanghai office could not immediately be reached for comment.

The photos were taken at a Gap shop in Canadas Niagara region, Chinas state-owned Global Times said.

It said the Gap China headquarters in Shanghai told it: The T-shirt in question has not been released in China.

Gap is the latest of several companies that have apologised for perceived slights to Chinas sovereignty.

Delta Air Lines, hotel operator Marriott, and fashion brand Zara are among businesses that have said sorry to China for referring to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tibet as countries on websites or promotional material.

Mercedes-Benz apologised for quoting the Dalai Lama on social media. The Tibetan spiritual leader is reviled by Beijing.

The US has started pushing back against Beijing, with the White House condemning Chinas efforts to control how American airlines refer to Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau as Orwellian nonsense.
The third edition of Tax, Accounting and Audit in India is updated for 2017, and provides an overview of the f...
Kolkata, May 15 (IBNS): Two-wheeler manufacturing company Okinawa Scooters recently showcased three of its top offerings at the 6th edition of the eco-friendly expo on electric vehicles, the Evexpo East 2018.

Organised by Altius Auto Solutions, with the support of International Centre for Automotive Technology, the event took place between May 11 and 13 at Science City, J.B.S. Haldane Avenue, Kolkata.

Okinawa scooters presented its best-in-breed Ridge 30, Ridge and Praise vehicles at the event and also offered test rides to the buyers, sellers, manufacturers, traders, retailers and importers who participated.

Okinawa scooters has been at the forefront of developing highly efficient, powerful and ecologically sustainable electric two-wheelers that have staked their claim as the future providers of Indias mobility requirements. Its products Ridge 30, Ridge, and Praise received an overwhelming response from e-vehicle enthusiasts at the expo, who appreciated the scooters for their performance, sturdiness, and sustainability.

Okinawa scooters also took the opportunity to bolster its ongoing campaign called #iStand through this event and sought to garner greater support for its endeavours to enhance awareness about environmental issues. EVEXPO EAST 2018 was the perfect confluence of ideas and innovations, dovetailing perfectly with Okinawa scooters vision and its campaign that seeks to create a better tomorrow for the future generations of the world.

Commenting on Okinawas participation, Jeetender Sharma, Managing Director, Okinawa Scooters, said, EVEXPO EAST 2018 was the latest event at which we could showcase the efforts Okinawa has made and the solutions we have developed to usher in the e-vehicle revolution in India. We have successfully busted the myth that electric vehicles dont perform as well as their counterparts run on conventional fossil fuels. Our innovative solutions and designs have become famous across the EV world. This event strengthens our position as Indias leading EV innovator, and the heartening response to our #iStandcampaign makes it clear that the public has great appreciation for the environment and is welcoming to the eco-friendly solutions to our environmental problems that Okinawa is offering.
Varanasi, May 15 (IBNS): At least 12 people died and many are feared trapped as an under construction flyover collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi city on Tuesday.

According to media reports, two pillars of the under construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi's Cantt area.

As a result of the accident, a huge slab of concrete of the flyover came down, crushing cars and a local bus under it.

Many of those trapped are believed to be labourers who were working on the flyover.

The Centre has deployed five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to carry out the rescue operations.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the incident and informed that the Uttar Pradesh government is monitoring the situation closely.

I spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected.  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 15, 2018
New Delhi, May 15 (IBNS): Even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) failed in touching the magic numbers to form the government in Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded his party workers in the state and said their 'win' is unprecedented and extraordinary.

Modi started his speech at the BJP headquarters in Delhi on Tuesday evening by expressing grief over the collapse of the under construction flyover in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi city.

Speaking on the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the Prime Minister said the people of the south Indian state gave a huge blow to the Congress party.

He accused the Congress party of trying to damage the federal structure of India.

On his party's performance in Karnataka polls, Modi said: "They said the BJP is a party of Hindi speaking states. Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the Northeastern states Hindi speaking states? No, BJP represents India and our proud diversity."

They said the BJP is a party of Hindi speaking states. Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra, the Northeastern states Hindi speaking states? No, BJP represents India and our proud diversity: PM @narendramodi https://t.co/LUXQbdXjtE  BJP (@BJP4India) May 15, 2018

The PM said he never face problem due to language.

"Though I don't not know Kannada, yet language has never been a barrier for me," said he.

Furthering attacking the Congress party, Modi said: "Oppositions indulge in repeated lies about the BJP. Congress has also instigated North-South animosity."

He also thanked the party workers for their efforts during the election.

"I want to thank the people of Karnataka. I also want to thank our party karyakartas. They have worked so hard in the elections. Our national president Amit Shah ji worked so hard," said Modi.

I want to thank the people of Karnataka. I also want to thank our party karyakartas. They have worked so hard in the elections. Our national president @AmitShah ji worked so hard: PM Shri @narendramodi https://t.co/LUXQbdXjtE pic.twitter.com/l52kQFJf3t  BJP (@BJP4India) May 15, 2018

Earlier BJP India President Amit Shah thanked all party workers, leaders and voters of Karnataka for their support.

In a day of dramatic change of political fortunes in Karnataka, the Congress has roped in the Janata Dal (Secular) to form an alliance government in the state after the prospects of the BJP suddenly nosedived in the later stage of the counting, even as it seemed initially that the saffron was heading for a clean sweep.

To keep the saffron brigade out of power in the southern state, the Congress adopted a strategy which was followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa and Manipur in 2017.

At 11 am on Tuesday, celebrations were taking place at the BJP headquarters as the party was all set to uproot the Siddaramaiah government to install its own in Karnataka.

But much like a T20 match, the political game turned around with the BJPs gaining 104 seats in the 224 memeber Assembly, slipping below the majority mark (113) within an hour or so.

The distribution of sweets by the BJP leaders- Nirmala Sitharaman and Ravishankar Prasad- were substituted by an utter disappointment with the alteration of political arithmetic in the Karnataka assembly poll.

The Congress, which trailed the BJP by many seats in the state polls, quickly got in touch with former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowdas JD(S), which has managed 38 seats.

The Congress, which won 78 seats, did not delay in establishing connection with the JD(S) to discuss over the possible coalition government.

Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi contacted the JD(S) leaders and offered Gowdas son Kumaraswamy the Chief Ministerial post while the latter promptly accepted it.

The Congress effort suddenly reminded how the BJP, which appeared second in both Goa and Manipur state polls last year, managed to escalate to power by forging a post-poll alliance with other regional parties.
New Delhi, May 15 (IBNS): Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday thanked those people who voted for them in the Karnataka Assembly elections.

He also thanked his party workers for their support during the election.

A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you.



Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication & untiring hard work in support of the party.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 15, 2018

In a day of dramatic change of political fortunes in Karnataka, the Congress has roped in the Janata Dal (Secular) to form an alliance government in the state after the prospects of the BJP suddenly nosedived in the later stage of the counting, even as it seemed initially that the saffron was heading for a clean sweep.

To keep the saffron brigade out of power in the southern state, the Congress adopted a strategy which was followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Goa and Manipur in 2017.

At 11 am on Tuesday, celebrations were taking place at the BJP headquarters as the party was all set to uproot the Siddaramaiah government to install its own in Karnataka.

But much like a T20 match, the political game turned around with the BJPs gaining 104 seats in the 224 memeber Assembly, slipping below the majority mark (113) within an hour or so.

The distribution of sweets by the BJP leaders- Nirmala Sitharaman and Ravishankar Prasad- were substituted by an utter disappointment with the alteration of political arithmetic in the Karnataka assembly poll.

The Congress, which trailed the BJP by many seats in the state polls, quickly got in touch with former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowdas JD(S), which has managed 38 seats.

The Congress, which won 78 seats, did not delay in establishing connection with the JD(S) to discuss over the possible coalition government.

Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi contacted the JD(S) leaders and offered Gowdas son Kumaraswamy the Chief Ministerial post while the latter promptly accepted it.

The Congress effort suddenly reminded how the BJP, which appeared second in both Goa and Manipur state polls last year, managed to escalate to power by forging a post-poll alliance with other regional parties.
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Varanasi, May 15 (IBNS): At least 18 people died and several are still feared trapped after a portion of an under construction flyover collapsed in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Tuesday, media reports said.

According to media reports, two pillars of the under construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi's Cantt area.

As a result of the accident, a huge slab of concrete of the flyover came down, crushing cars and a local bus under it.

Many of those trapped are believed to be labourers who were working on the flyover.

The Centre has deployed five teams of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to carry out the rescue operations.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the incident and informed that the Uttar Pradesh government is monitoring the situation closely.

"I spoke to UP CM Yogi Adityanath Ji regarding the situation due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," the PM tweeted.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," Modi added.
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Hyderabad, May 15 (IBNS): Several people are missing and many are feared dead as a boat carrying 40 people capsized during inclement weather in Andhra Pradeshs East Godavari district on Tuesday evening, media reports said.

The district authorities reached the accident site along with National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams to conduct rescue operations.

"While 10 passengers, including two women, swam to the riverbank, the remaining passengers are feared drowned and their whereabouts were not known till last reports came in, The Hindustan Times reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives due to capsizing of the boat.

Anguished by the capsizing of a boat in Andhra Pradeshs East Godavari district. Condolences to the bereaved families. I pray for the safety of those missing ", the Prime Minister said.


New York, May 15 (IBNS): Action to combat climate change could create millions of new job opportunities and more than offset losses in traditional industries, the UN labour agency said on Monday.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) made the announcement at the launch of its annual flagship report on the state of the global job market.

Its forecast that 24 million new posts will be created globally by 2030, contains the caveat that the right policies to promote a greener economy must also be in place for this to happen, along with better social safety nets for workers.

The ILO report predicts that the transition to a green economy will also lead to the loss of six million jobs in industries that are heavily reliant on carbon-based production.

ILO Deputy Director-General, Deborah Greenfield, insisted in a statement that the green economy can enable millions more people to overcome poverty and deliver improved livelihoods for this and future generations.

But she warned that jobs also rely heavily on a healthy environment, something that is at risk from rising global temperatures which ILO believes will lead to a two per cent global loss in hours worked by 2030.

Most sectors of the economy will benefit - out of 163 analysed in total, according to ILO - but 14 will face losses of more than 10,000 jobs worldwide.

Two sectors, namely petroleum extraction and refining, are set to see job losses of one million or more.

In line with the historic Paris Agreement on climate change accord of December 2015, UN Member States pledged to respond to destructive climate change, by keeping temperature rises to below two degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels.

This should lead to more new jobs in the sustainable energy sector through public policy shifts - as well as private sector development - ranging from the promotion of electric cars to energy-efficient buildings, according to the ILO report.

It indicates that the regional winners from investment in energy use and production will be Asia and the Pacific, with 14 million jobs created, the Americas (three million) and Europe (two million).

In contrast, negative job growth is forecast in the Middle East (minus 0.48 per cent) and Africa (minus 0.04 per cent) if the reliance of these regions continues, respectively, on fossil fuels and mining.

Catherine Saget, lead author of the report, underlined the need to help low and middle-income countries offset the potential short-term employment losses in countries attempting to make the transition to environmentally sustainable economies.

Social dialogue between employers, workers and Member States is also crucial, according to Saget, adding that it has played a key role in reconciling social and economic objectives with environmental concerns in some situations.

Measures that could help workers include cash transfers, better social insurance and even limits on fossil fuel use, according to the ILO report, which states that this policy mix would lead to faster economic growth, stronger employment creation, fairer income distribution and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The reports other findings include a call for governments to take urgent action to train their workforces so that they have the right skills to make the transition to a greener economy possible.

World Bank/ Ivelina Taushanova
UN Photo/Violaine Martin (file)

New York, May 15 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the commitment by the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea to dismantle its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri as an important confidence-building measure that that will support efforts towards sustainable peace and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking to the press in the Austrian capital, Vienna, Guterres also expressed hope that the positive momentum will be consolidated during the summit between the United States and North Korea, scheduled for next month.

This proves that even when things seem without solution, even when there is apparently no hope for the problems of the world to be faced with success, when there is concerted international action - when the Security Council is able to act together, when international cooperation works - problems can be solved, he said.

Guterres also expressed hope that progress over shutting down North Koreas nuclear programme would provide an impetus to address other challenges elsewhere in the world.

Recent traction towards lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula would formally end one of the worlds longest unresolved conflicts, which began in June 1950. An armistice brought about a ceasefire in 1953, but the war never officially ended because the parties failed to reach agreement over a peace treaty.
New York, May 15 (IBNS): Following reports that dozens of Palestinians have been killed, demonstrating along the border of the Gaza Strip on Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to show restraint.

The Secretary-General is profoundly alarmed by the sharp escalation of violence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the high number of Palestinians killed and injured in the Gaza protests, said UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq in a statement.

Israel security forces must exercise maximum restraint in the use of live fire. Hamas and the leaders of the demonstrations have a responsibility to prevent all violent actions and provocations, the statement added.

According to media reports, more than 50 Palestinians were killed and more than 2,000 wounded in Gaza  the Palestinian enclave occupied by Israel, as the Israeli army fired live ammunition and tear gas at protesters assembled along the fence with Israel.

It was the highest Palestinian death toll in a single day since Hamas-led demonstrations began along the border fence on March 30; and the highest number of casualties inflicted since the 2014 conflict with Israel inside Gaza.

During the six-weeks of demonstrations which organizers have called the Great March of Return, thousands of Palestinians have converged at the border to protest the long-standing blockade of the enclave. Israel has accused Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other militants of using the protests  involving women, children, and elderly civilians - as a pretext to infiltrate Israel and carry out terrorist attacks.

In the Mondays march, many Palestinians were protesting the official move of the United States embassy, from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People does not recognize Israels claim that the entire city of Jerusalem is its capital.

The Committee considers that the status of Jerusalem must be settled through negotiations that take account of the political and religious concerns of all sides.

With tensions high and more demonstrations expected in the coming days, it is imperative that everyone show the utmost restraint to avoid further loss of life, including ensuring that all civilians and particularly children are not put in harms way, said the Deputy UN Spokesperson.

The ongoing violence underscores the urgent need for a political solution. The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no viable alternative to the two-state solution, with Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace, each with its capital in Jerusalem, he added.

Meanwhile, the UN body monitoring implementation of the convention on eliminating racial discrimination has urged Israel, which is a State party, to immediately end the disproportionate use of force against Palestinian demonstrators in the Gaza Strip, refrain from any act that could lead to further casualties and ensure prompt and unimpeded access to medical treatment for those injured.

The body  known as the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination - also urged Israel to initiate an impartial and independent investigation into the use of force against Palestinian demonstrators and ensure that all Palestinians under its effective control, enjoy full rights under the Convention, without discrimination.

Suhair Karam/IRIN
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

New York, May 15 (IBNS): Efforts to calm tensions between Belgrade and Pristina that came to a head with the arrest, theatrical parade and expulsion of a lead negotiator from Kosovo, must be redoubled if real progress is to be made on the ground, a senior United Nations official said on Monday.

There is no other viable option. However, for that to happen there is a clear need for exercising leadership, to stand up to challenges even if there are short-term political costs, said Zahir Tanin, the head of the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), addressing the Security Council on Monday.

A new focus by Brussels [the European Union] at all levels provides a mutually beneficial opportunity for Pristina and Belgrade to leave the current difficult moment behind and to take the dialogue to the next stage of real progress, he added.

In his quarterly briefing to the 15-member Council on the situation in Kosovo and the work of the UN Mission, Tanin said that UNMIK continues to focus on creating an atmosphere which allows for compromise in good-faith.

Our efforts are aimed at sustaining peace, ensuring we remain at the forefront of monitoring and analysing the situation and reinforcing strategic coordination with members of all UN entities, as well as international partners alongside the authorities in Kosovo, he said.

Multiple focus groups worked to strengthen understanding across community divides. The resulting outcomes identified by participants provided a roadmap for objectives to be implemented in Kosovo, recalled Tanin of the Forum, urging all leaders in Kosovo to move forward with more trust, compassion, understanding, and clarity.He described the recent Kosovo Trust-Building Forum, which brought together UNMIK, the European Union Rule of Law Mission, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and more than 100 community leaders, to discuss ways of building a positive path for the future.

Turning to Kosovos relations with the rest of Europe, Tanin, who is also the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Kosovo, said a number of steps must be taken, including a security agreement with Montenegro and strengthening the rule of law and human rights portfolios.

In that vein, he noted the approval of a new draft of the Kosovo criminal code, introducing stricter penalties for offences related to corruption and misuse of official duty.

Concerning the protection of cultural heritage, he described progress in the so-called special protected zones and said the world was watching how the Government was handling construction near the Visoki DeAani Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in western Kosovo.




UN Photo/Mark Garten

New York, May 15 (IBNS): The UN body focussing on crime prevention and criminal justice, opened its annual session in Vienna on Monday, calling for a more integrated global response to continuing and emerging challenges, including cybercrime.

Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted the importance of cooperation for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and countering the rising threat of crime online:

An international effort to improve law enforcement capacities in all countries, to prevent and counter cybercrime, are vitally necessary, he said.

I am proud to say that the Commission and UNODC have pursued effective and pragmatic partnerships to strengthen practical efforts in these areas, he added, highlighting training for police officers, prosecutors and judges to educate communities and protect people, most of all children, he added.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, on his first official visit to Vienna leading the organization, also addressed the Commission.

Cybercrime is an area in which there is much work to do and no time to waste, Guterres said.

New technologies, including big data and analytics, artificial intelligence and automation, are ushering in a transformative era, sometimes called the fourth industrial revolution, he added, explaining that despite the benefits such progress brings, it also enables new forms of crime.

Cybercrime is estimated to generate some $1.5 trillion in revenue per year. And as with most crime, it targets the most vulnerable, he said, stressing the need for a major collective effort to ensure that these technologies are used for everyones benefit.

Over the coming days, the session will discuss resolutions addressing crime prevention and criminal justice in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; preventing and countering human trafficking; access to legal aid and restorative justice, among other challenges.




New York, May 15 (IBNS): The United Nations humanitarian chief urged the international community to step up life-saving humanitarian support to 7.1 million vulnerable Sudanese on Monday, and invest more in the countrys social-economic development.

Millions of people face serious and growing humanitarian needs, said UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock, at the end of a three-day visit to Sudan, stressing the importance of unimpeded, sustained humanitarian access.

Many have suffered for the past 15 years, but we cannot let them slide back into a situation where they become completely dependent on humanitarian assistance, he added, underlining the need to scale up longer-term development aid to help the country make itself more resilient.

During his mission, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs met Government officials, welcoming their efforts to improve humanitarian access to remote areas, including those controlled by non-State armed groups.

Lowcock also spoke with humanitarian partners and visited settlements for those internally-displaced in Murta and Kulba, in South Kordofan.

While unilateral ceasefires have improved security across Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile, recent skirmishes between armed groups in pockets of Darfurs Jebel Marra region have caused a wave of internal displacement, said the relief chief.

It is critical to strengthen social protection mechanisms for the most vulnerable, including returnees, internally displaced people and host communities, he said, highlighting his particular concern for the protection of women and children who are vulnerable to sexual violence.

Lowcock commended the Sudanese Government and people in hosting some 1.2 million refugees this year, including over 770,000 from war-torn South Sudan. Price increases mean that many cannot afford to buy food, while recent fuel shortages have impacted the ability of aid convoys to reach many in need.

He urged the international community to provide more support to the 2018 UN-coordinated Humanitarian Response Plan, which is appealing for $1.4 billion. So far this year, donors have provided some $229 million.

UN OCHA/Sari Omer






Rome, May 15 (IBNS): Anti-abortion posters linking it with femicide have appeared in Italy's capital city Rome, inviting scathing criticism from women.

Appealing to the mayor Virginia Raggi, feminist groups have called the posters disgraceful.

Abortion is legal in Italy and has been so for nearly four decades.

The campaign, run by Madrid-based CitizenGo group, has said that it has timed it to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Italy's Law 194, which legalised abortion within the first 12 weeks of conceiving.

Some critics have objected to the word femicide the group has used in its posters.

However, relentless in its campaign, CitizenGo has said that abortion has long been used in Italy to suppress women, leaving "millions of babies killed and women injured".

Targeting its critics, the group has also said that the former are able to pick on the latter as 'they had not been aborted themselves'.



Image: twitter.com/stanzaselvaggia
Washington, May 15 (IBNS): US First Lady Melania Trump underwent a kidney surgery on Monday, media reports said.

She is currently admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington, DC.

"This morning, first lady Melania Trump underwent an embolization procedure to treat a benign kidney condition. The procedure was successful, and there were no complications," the first lady's communications director, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement as reported by CNN.

She also tweeted: "Thank you to the amazing medical staff @WRBethesda for taking such good care of @FLOTUS! And a sincere thank you to everyone who has reached out w good thoughts & prayers. She is in good spirits & doing well!"

During the surgery, US President Donald Trump reportedly remained in the White House.

Trump said his wife was in a 'good spirit' after the surgery.

"Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!" tweeted the President.

Image: Melania Trump Twitter page
Global crude oil prices jumped to their highest level since mid-2014 as United States pondered over renewed sanctions against crude oil exporter Iran. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced that US will exit from the pact made with Iran and re-impose sanctions on the major oil exporter. Under the deal, US and six of its other co-signatories agreed to lift sanctions on Iran on the condition that it would scale back its nuclear program.



This sanction comes at a time when oil market has already seen strong demand from the largest oil consuming region Asia, amid lower supplies as producers, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, have begun restricting supplies. Analysts surveyed by S&P global Platts believe that the immediate impact of the sanctions will be disruption of 200,000 b/d and block less than 500,000 b/d after six months.



Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, surged beyond the $78/barrel mark and was trading at $78.88 /barrel, up 0.83% from the close. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were trading at $71.37/barrel, up 0.52% from their last settlement. Brent crude oil prices have risen nearly 18% till date this year, as tensions between the US and Iran mounted. Iran supplies nearly 4% of the worlds oil supplies.



Last week, official data showed that US crude oil inventories have decreased in the week to May 4. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said that US commercial crude oil inventories decreased by 2.2mn barrels.



Impact on India



India is the second largest consumer of oil after China. India imports nearly 80% of its oil needs. Not only will rising oil prices exacerbate the countrys current account situation, it will also lead to a depreciation of the domestic currency. As far as Indian companies are concerned, sectors like oil refiners, aviation, tyres, paints may have to bear the burden of rising crude prices as crude and crude derivatives are essential raw materials for companies within this sectors.



For aviation stocks, a jump in crude oil prices will lead to a hike in ATF fuel costs, which constitute nearly 40% of an airlines operating costs. For oil refiners, higher crude prices compress gross refining margins and thus impact profitability. Tyre stocks will also be affected as Crude and crude oil derivatives, especially synthetic rubber, form nearly 35% of their raw material costs. Paint companies to use several crude oil products as raw materials. Titanium dioxide and other crude oil derivatives such as Phthalic Anhydride and Penraerythritol account for 50% input costs.



However, there are some sectors which will benefit from the rise in crude prices. Companies involved in oil exploration, drilling and extraction will benefit with the uptick in crude prices.



Sr.No

Company Name

Latest Market Cap (Cr.)

Latest Price(Rs.)

52 Wk High Price (Rs.)

52 Wk Low Price (Rs.) 3yr CAGR Return(%) 1 Asian Oilfield Services Ltd. 403.80 137.00 297.45 132.00 52.69 2 Alphageo (India) Ltd. 502.75 789.90 1101.00 707.00 18.55 3 Engineers India Ltd. 9,447.08 149.50 206.20 140.95 17.31 4 Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd. 1,783.19 136.65 153.75 66.65 51.73 5 Oil & Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. 2,41,713.98 188.35 212.90 155.30 -4.16 6 Oil India Ltd. 26,781.69 236.10 259.23 172.00 -1.11 7 Selan Exploration Technology Ltd. 420.47 249.90 277.50 154.10 0.10

Given below are select stocks which may benefit from the jump in crude oil prices:





1) Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC):

ONGC dominates Indias oil & gas production with over 2/3rd share of the countrys production of oil and oil equivalent gas. It contributes ~78% and ~73% to total oil and gas production, respectively, in India. In FY17, ONGC Domestic (Standalone+JV) had711 mmtoe of proved reserves and 1,114 mmtoe of 2P reserves, while OVL had 217 mmtoe of proved reserves and 704 mmtoe of 2P reserves. Its total production for FY17 aggregated 61.6 mmtoe (Standalone: 44.3 mmtoe, JV: 4.5 mmtoe and OVL: 12.8 mmtoe).

2) Oil India Ltd (OIL):

Oil India Ltd is the second largest listed hydrocarbon exploration and production company after ONGC. The company has over 100,000 square kilometres (39,000 sq mi) of licensed areas for oil and gas exploration In recent years, OIL has stepped up E & P activities significantly in the North-East India. OIL has set up the NEF (North East Frontier) project to intensify its exploration activities in the frontier areas in North East, which are logistically very difficult and geologically complex. Presently, exploration activities are in progress along the Trust Belt areas of Arunachal, Assam including Mizoram. OIL operates a crude oil pipeline from Duliajan to Barauni, in Bihar.



3) Selan Exploration Ltd (Selan):

Founded in 1985, Selan is an established hydrocarbon producing company operating 5 oil & gas fields in prolific Cambay Basin in Gujarat, India. At present, the company has ~170mm BOE oil in place. It owns 100% of its assets. It is expected to produce 5.3 mm BOE more of oil and gas in the near term. The cumulative production of 3 major fields owned by Selan has been 2.9MM BOE.



4) Hindustan Oil and Exploration Company Ltd (HOEC):

HOEC is the largest private sector company oil producer in the north-east region of India. Presently, HOEC is an operator in five onshore and two offshore blocks, apart this, recently it has expressed interest in 2 offshore blocks too. Recently, the management said that it will increase net production by more than three-fold from 1800 BOEPD to 8000 BOEPD in the next three years. HOEC is targeting an overall investment of around $35mn for the same completely funded through internal accruals given that it is a debt free company with cash reserves of $1.3bn.



5) Alphageo India Ltd:

Alphageo (India) Ltd. is the largest onshore integrated seismic service provider and enjoys a market leadership in seismic survey. The company has robust order book of Rs1,700cr (~8x its TTM sales) which is likely to be executed in next 36 months. The order book of company is largely secured with PSU clients like ONGC & Oil India etc. There is limited competition in seismography service segment with only 2-4 players are bidding for orders.



6) Asian Oilfield Services Ltd:

Asian Oilfield is a reservoir imaging firm, offering a suite of geophysical services specialising in land and well seismic services targeted at the onshore oil & gas and mining industries. Its services include 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition, processing and interpretation, topographic survey, core drilling for mineral and CBM exploration, wire-line logging and directional core drilling to target shallow horizons.



7) Engineers India Ltd:

EIL was incorporated in New Delhi on March 15, 1965. The company primarily focused on hydrocarbons and petrochemicals; however, it is diversifying into infrastructure and water. The consulting business formed 55% and turnkey business formed 45% of its order book (as of Q3FY18). EIL has a strong order book of Rs8,301cr, giving it revenue visibility for the next couple of years. The capital expenditure of oil marketing companies (OMC) is about to increase over FY18-20E, reflected in the strong order pipeline. We expect the companys order inflow to rise by 12% over FY18-20E backed by rising capex of OMCs. The company is anticipated to report a revenue CAGR of 22% over FY18-20E. EIL is estimated to maintain operating margin at 21.5% for the same period. We expect EIL to report PAT CAGR of 20% over FY18-20E. Moreover, government's aim of integrating other PSU consultancies with EIL would further provide a competitive edge to the company. The stock is currently trading at 16.6x FY20E EPS.
Three men accused of raping a 9-year-old Native girl were found not guilty after a trial in Utah last week.

Larson RonDeau, 38, Randall Flatlip, 28, and Jerry Flatlip, 31, were each charged with first-degree felony counts of rape of a child and sodomy upon a child. Though the victim testified about being assaulted via video, defense attorneys said there was no evidence to connect them to a crime.

"Not a shred of physical evidence. No DNA or anything," one defense attorney said at closing arguments last Tuesday, The Desert News reported.

According to the Uintah County Sheriff's Office , the incident took place as the girls' mother was smoking methamphetamine at a home in Vernal. The mother subsequently reported the rape after being told about it by her daughter.

Vernal serves as the county seat in Uintah County. The area was set aside for the Ute Tribe but state and local officials claim it is no larger a part of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation.

The defendants all appear to be Native. The victim, now 11 years old, is also Native -- she was taken from her mother following the incident and is now in the care of an unidentified tribe, The Associated Press reported.

Read More on the Story: Three accused of gang-rape of 9-year-old girl found not guilty (The Desert News May 9, 2018) After waiting two years behind bars for a trial, three Utah men are found not guilty of gang-raping a 9-year-old girl (The Salt Lake Tribune May 9, 2018) Men accused of gang-raping 9-year-old girl found not guilty (Fox13 May 9, 2018) 3 men found not guilty of raping girl, 9, as mom smoked meth (The Associated Press May 9, 2018)

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It is one thing to dream of achieving something, and quite another to actually work towards it and make it to the finish line. It might be scary and daunting but that's exactly what sets winners apart.

A Chinese climber who lost both legs to frostbite on Everest four decades ago finally reached the summit on Monday, just months after the revocation of a controversial ban on double-amputee climbers attempting the world's highest peak.



Xia Boyu, 69, summited Everest early Monday in his fifth attempt to reach the top of the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain.

"He reached the summit this morning, along with seven other members of his team," said Dawa Futi Sherpa of Imagine Trek and Expedition, who organised Xia's Everest bid.

Xia's dream of standing at the top of the world was nearly thwarted by the Nepal government, which last year banned double amputee and blind climbers from summiting its mountains. The ruling was overturned by Nepal's top court in March, which branded it as discriminatory towards people with disabilities.

Chinese climber, Xia Boyu, 69, who lost both legs to frostbite on Everest four decades ago has finally reached the summit https://t.co/ikAtLWG3FG pic.twitter.com/sHUPNuwoSe  AFP news agency (@AFP) May 14, 2018

Xia first attempted to summit Everest with a Chinese government-backed team in 1975 but was thwarted by bad weather. He became stuck in the frigid low-oxygen environment near the top of Everest and suffered severe frostbite, losing both his feet.

In 1996 his legs were amputated just below the knee after he was diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. The tenacious climber returned to Everest in 2014 and 2015 but Nepal's climbing season was cancelled both years due to disasters.

Double amputee Xia Boyu reached the summit of Everest on Monday on his fifth attempt climbing the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountainhttps://t.co/ikAtLWG3FG

AFP graphic on the main southern route to the summit of Mount Everest pic.twitter.com/n9WyO3Z6Lc

 AFP news agency (@AFP) May 14, 2018

Bad weather forced him to turn back during his previous attempt in 2016 when he was just 200 metres from the summit. "Climbing Mount Everest is my dream. I have to realise it. It also represents a personal challenge, a challenge of fate," Xia told AFP last month before heading to the mountain.

The only other double amputee to summit Everest is New Zealander Mark Inglis, who achieved the feat in 2006. Xia is among the first of hundreds of climbers expected to summit Everest this month during a narrow window of good weather.

Never give up! Xia Boyu, a double amputee who lost both his legs to frostbite in 1975, became the first Chinese to successfully reach the top of Mount Everest with prosthetic legs on May 14, after four previous attempts across 43 years. pic.twitter.com/UuZOoLWzbP  People's Daily,China (@PDChina) May 14, 2018

Nepal has issued 346 permits for this year's spring climbing season, which runs from mid-April to the end of May. Most Everest hopefuls are escorted by a Nepali guide, meaning about 700 climbers will try to reach the top in coming weeks.

Double amputee Xia Boyu scaled the world's highest peak #Qomolangma on Monday on his fifth attempt climbing the 8,848-metre mountain. https://t.co/uzmKl2v8hC pic.twitter.com/jjL9T2ArUW  China Plus News (@ChinaPlusNews) May 14, 2018

Another 180 climbers are preparing to summit Everest from its north side in Tibet, according to the China Tibet Mountaineering Association. Last year, 634 people made it to the top and seven died trying.
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor recently got married to Delhi businessman Anand Ahuja on May 8 in Mumbai. While everyone expected she would have super lavish functions, she kept them traditional and warm, after her aunt Sridevi's untimely demise in March.

Right After their wedding, the duo could not leave for their honeymoon as Sonam Kapoor had to join her brigade of girls from Loreal at Cannes. Hitting back work immediately, the actress walked the red carpet in a Ralph and Russo bridal lehenga and teamed it up with a parandi.

Soon after, for the auction dinner for NGO Positive Planet with Jacques Attali, Sonam chose a floral dress intricately designed by Delpozo. Here's taking a look at her magnificent appearances.

#1 Sonam teamed up her light blue costume with bright red heels and a clutch.

#2 She chose to keep her hair open and straight unlike her previous look. We love how she even wore emerald green earrings, a clear contrast.

#3 Sonam flaunted her mehendi on hands and legs with utmost ease. Not to miss the stunning wedding ring

#4 Sonam Kapoor gave us a little tour of her make up and hair while she was getting for the charity dinner

Instagram/Sonam Kapoor

Internet had a feild day commenting on her photos from Cannes. And like always, were not surprised by some really awful comments.

But Sonam Kapoor's fans were far more in number and were cheering for her.

The newly wed actress even met Mahira Khan on the red carpet as these two are brand ambassadors for the same cosmetic giant. Mahira is the first Pakistani actress to make a debut at Cannes and we couldn't be more proud of the duo.

Here's to more such women making a difference on a world class level. More power to them!
In yet another senseless and shameful act, about 24 trees were cut down to increase the visibility of an advertising hoarding of a builder in Bengaluru's Bellandur.

The incident came to light on Thursday after the residents noticed the trees in on stretch fallen by unknown persons.

Indiatimes

Alerted by the locals, environmentalist and tree doctor Vijay Nishanth who examined the fallen trees said it was yet another incident were it was done to make advertisement hoardings more visible.

Indiatimes

The city, especially the same stretch of road has a long history of such acts in the past too, he added.

But unlike in the past, this time around the locals say they have had enough of this vandalism of nature for corporate greed.

Indiatimes

Based on the complaint filed by residents the Municipal authorities on Monday brought down the hoarding which was illegally erected. They are also planing to take the builder on legally for their act.

Indiatimes

Nishanth who examined the trees said they can be revived and brought back to life.

"There were a total of 24 trees which are aged around 2-3 year old, from three varieties  Tabebuia, Pongamia oiltree and Pride of India. The trees have been damaged, but not beyond repair. By applying fungicide on stumps as well as the bark, we can prevent infection on trees. They can grow again without any infection as they have good growth capacity, he said.

Indiatimes

He also lauded the efforts of local residents, who came out in big numbers to protest the chopping of the trees.

"This is not the first time threes have been destroyed here for increasing the view of hoardings. But this time, what is different is the attitude of the people. To my surprise a lot of them came out to protest against the act. I see this as a positive sign," Nishanth said.

Indiatimes

In the past, Nishanth has treated and revived trees which were cut and poisoned to make way for hoardings.

The environmentalist who has been fighting such vandalism said at the Lokayukta, he will demand exemplary punishment for the builder to discourage other companies from committing such acts.

Reacting to the criticism online, the company, Sobha Developers said the cutting down of trees was unfortunate and the company is not connected with it.
Indias Multidimensional Poverty (MDP) has significantly dropped. India now ranks 26 which is a huge improvement from its earlier position at 54 among 102 developing countries.

Between 2005-06 to 2015-16, the poverty level came down from 55% to 21%, improving the countrys MDP ranking of India which, is an international measure of acute poverty is calculated based on three key categories- health, education and living standards.

AFP/Representational Image

According to a study titled Estimates of Multidimensional Poverty in India: Evidence from National Family Health Survey-4 (2015-2016) India has seen a poverty decline of 34 percent in one decade, thanks to impressive performances by five southern states.

While the national average MDP is 21 %, southern states have an average of 9 %.

BCCL/ Representational Image

State wise, Kerala has performed the best with an MDP of just 1%, Tamil Nadu 6%, Karnataka 11%, Telangana 14% and Andhra Pradesh 13%.

Kerala which had an MDP of 12 % in 2005-06 had the fastest rate of poverty decline at 91 percent in the period of study.

BCCL/ Representational Image

In contrast to the south, Bihar was the poorest state in India with an MDP of 43% followed by Jharkhand 36%, Uttar Pradesh 31%, Rajasthan 31%, Odisha 29%, Madhya Pradesh 28% and Assam 25%.

Bihar's MDP stands between Congo and Yemen while UP's between Vanuatu and Ghana.

Of the 640 districts, 31 districts in eastern or central India have over 50 per cent MDP.
The Supreme Court has been told that 22 models of electric cars of various vehicle manufacturers would be available in India soon and companies like Tata and Mahindra were pushing very hard for it.

The top court, which was hearing a pollution related matter, was apprised about it after a bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta asked vehicle manufacturers, "what are you doing about electric cars?"

"They say that in auto shows, all kinds of electric cars are there," the bench asked, following which one of the lawyers said that "cost is an issue".

bccl/representational image

However, another lawyer said that companies like Tata and Mahindra were pushing hard for this and, in Delhi, several electric vehicles were being already used in government departments.

"Electric vehicles are coming in a big way in India. 22 models of various manufacturers will be in the market very soon," the lawyer said.

"Tell your clients (manufacturers) to switch (on electric)," the bench observed and said it would deal with this issue on July 13.

bccl/representational image

The apex court had earlier questioned the subsidy on diesel and imposition of 150 per cent import duty on electric vehicles in India.

The court was hearing the application filed in a 1985 PIL by environmentalist M C Mehta who had raised the issue of air pollution in the Delhi-national capital region.
Almost 239,000 girls under the age of five die in India each year due to gender bias. The cause of death is societys preference for a male child and the subsequent neglect of a female child, a gender discrimination study has found.

The figure does not include those aborted simply for being female.

Gender-based discrimination towards girls doesnt simply prevent them from being born, it may also precipitate the death of those who are born, said study co-author Christophe Guilmoto of the Paris Descartes University.

Gender equity is not only about rights to education, employment or political representation, it is also about caring, vaccination, and nutrition of girls, and ultimately survival.

The report is the first-of-its-kind to examine the number of deaths among girls under five in India at a district level, showing specific geographic patterns of avoidable female mortality across India's 640 districts.

Excess or avoidable mortality is the difference between observed and expected mortality rates.

Researchers used the UN population data from 46 countries to calculate the difference between the expected mortality rate for girls aged under five in areas of the world without gender discrimination and the reality inside India.

Also read: Decline In Sex Ratio At Birth Indicates Rampant Gender-Selective Abortions In India. Not Enough Beti Bachao?

Representational Image

The study found that 29 out of 35 Indian states had excess mortality in girls under five. All India states and territories, apart from two, contained at least one district with excess mortality.

The average level of excess mortality in girls aged 0-4 in India between 2000-2005 was 18.5 per 1,000 live births, or close to a quarter of a million deaths a year. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) a scientific institute based in Austria, said that the problem was most pronounced in northern India, where the four largest states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh, accounted for two-thirds of the total excess deaths of infant girls under five.

Low level of education, high population densities and high birth rates in rural areas are the prime factors driving gender discrimination deaths.

In January, the Indian government said that there were more than 63 million women missing from its population and that 2 million go missing across age groups every year because of abortion of female fetuses, disease, neglect and inadequate nutrition.

There are also 21 million unwanted girls, the government said.

Also read: After Modis Nari Shakti, India's 'Pink' Economic Survey Outlines Obsession With Male Child

The annual economic survey pointed that Indias preference for male child has produced a man-made demographic bubble of excess males, with a long-term impact on crime, human trafficking, the overall savings rate and the ability of these excess males to find brides.

Representational Image/Pinterest

Indians have a meta son preference, which means that if they have girls, theyll keep on having children until they get a boy.

Indias male child preference has not gotten better at improving socio-economic conditions. Instead, it has worsened. The problem does not only occur in poor rural families but also in middle and upper-middle classes, where a son is expected to carry on the family business or inherit property, all of which can legally be done by a girl.

In the northern farming states of Punjab and Haryana, for example, the sex ratio among infants to 6-year-old is 1,200 men per 1,000 women, even though they are among the wealthiest states.

Perhaps the area where Indian society  and this goes beyond governments to civil society, communities, and households  needs to reflect on the most is what might be called son preference where development is not proving to be an antidote, the survey suggested.

Consequently, India has one of the most skewed sex ratios in the world.
We go to Gaza for a live update from Sharif Abdel Kouddous as tens of thousands of Palestinians have gathered near the heavily fortified border with Israel for nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassys opening in Jerusalem. At the time of our broadcast, the Israeli military had killed at least 30 Palestinians, and least 1,000 had been injured. No one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers.  And yet these killings continue, Kouddous says. This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the embassys opening.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin todays show in Gaza, where the Israeli military has killed at least 30 Palestinians, at this count, today, amidst the massive nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassys opening in Jerusalem, later, after this broadcast. At least 1,000 people have been injured. Israeli soldiers are currently firing live ammunition into the crowd of tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters, who have gathered in Gaza near the heavily fortified border with Israel. The Israeli military has also been dropping tear gas from drones over Gaza.

This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the opening of the U.S. Embassy, including President Trumps daughter Ivanka Trump, White House senior adviser; her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner; and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Jared Kushner is expected to lay out the Trump administrations plan for Middle East peace in the coming weeks. The Trump administrations decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has sparked widespread international condemnation, while its been praised by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke on Sunday.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Move your embassies to Jerusalem, because it advances peace. And that isthats because you cant base peace on a foundation of lies. You base peace on the foundations of truth. And the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia, and the capital of our state from its inception; the truth is that, under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israels capital.

AMY GOODMAN: Two controversial pastors have been chosen by the Trump administration to lead prayers at the U.S. Embassys opening. The right-wing preacher Robert Jeffress, who has previously said, quote, Islam is a false religion inspired by Satan, and that, quote, You cant be saved by being a Jew, hes anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Mormon, anti-gay.

For more, we go to Gaza, where were joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent.

Sharif, welcome back to Democracy Now! Explain whats happening in Gaza right now, as the U.S. Embassy is about to be opened, symbolically, in Jerusalem.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, theres just a simply massive protest all along the eastern border of Gaza, the border with Israel, throughout the entire length of the Strip, from the north in Beit Hanoun, to the south in Rafah. I was at the biggest protest site, which is just east of Gaza City. There are thousands of people converging on the sitemen, women and children. And its a really surreal scene. There are people gathering, mostly young men and boys, up near the border, where there is barbed wire, three sets of barbed wire. And you can see, just a couple of hundred yards away, Israeli soldiers, you know, under these canopies, on mounds of sand, sometimes in jeeps, and they are picking people off withsnipers are literally picking people off. Ive seen people who werent even close to the fence being shot. Most of the people are being shot in the lower extremities, in their legs. I saw one person shot in the throat. The latest numbersthey keep going upsomewhere between 28 and 30 killed, including a paramedic and a disabled person. Theres a thousand wounded today, including nine journalists. That brings the total, since this movement began, this kind of somewhat unprecedented movement in Gaza, since March 30th, to 74 people killed and over 9,000 injured.

And, you know, theresno one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers. Theres nothing I have seen that poses any threat to the Israeli military. Not a single Israeli soldier has been injured. And yet these killings continue. People insist that this is peaceful. There are no military uniforms allowed. There are no weapons allowed. Despite the fact that there are very heavily armed groups in Gaza, this was a decision that was made by a group ofby the committees that are running this movement. People throw rocks. They burn tires, large tires, which send huge plumes of black smoke into the air, to try and block the view of the snipers. They also send these kites and balloons, which have either a burning rag or an improvised Molotov cocktail dangling off the end, and they try and guide it over, over the border.

And what most people are doing, its just the very act of walking to the border. Some people go and place the Palestinian flag on the barbed wire. Some people do go and cut the wire and try and cross, saying that they are implementing the right of return themselves. But its also a wayyou know, we have to remember that people are trapped in Gaza. Theres really no way out. Many people have never left the Strip, because all border crossings are closed to them, and theyre not allowed to leave. And so this is a way of pushing their bodies up against their confinement. And this is also happening, all of this, in a buffer zone. We have to remember that Israel imposed a buffer zone a couple of hundred meters from the border in Gaza. And so, over the years, farmers and people living on that side of the Gaza Strip have been regularly shot at by Israeli troops from the other side. And so, even reclaiming this space in Gaza itself is, in itself, an achievement. But its a veryits a very difficult situation.

And as you mentioned, there arewell, and theyre using these high-velocity sniper bullets, which cause a lot of damage. Also, a couple of doctors told me that theyre using fragmentation bullets, which break apart upon impact. And they have seen injuries with fist-sized holes in the exit wounds. And most of this is beingpeople are being shot in the legs. They were talking about nearly 10,000 people injured, many of them by live ammunition, many being hit in the legs. You know, it kind of reminds me of the first intifada. Israelis would break the arms of Palestinians who were throwing stones. And now its Palestinians walking towards the border, and so theyre taking out their legs. We were in Shifa Hospital. If you just walk there, I mean, there was a wailing of pain in the orthopedic wards and young men and boys walking around on crutches, many of them lying in beds, their legs bandaged up with rods and pins protruding out. One doctor told me that theyre creating a new generation of cripples. Theres been almost 30 amputations.

And also theres the fact of the tear gas. Tear gas comes in three different ways. Its fired by jeeps, which fire in multiple rounds, five at a time, at the crowd. Theyre also fired by the normal kind of rifle, that goes much further. But theres a new method, which I saw twice today, is tear gas being fired from drones. And this is a new method that Israel experimented with just a couple of weeks before these protests started. It was first used in Gaza in March. And military officials were reported as saying that they were experimenting with this, but it looks like its now operational. And this also fits a trend of Israel kind of experimenting its tools of occupation on the bodies of Palestinians. And those tools are usually exported elsewhere. And I wouldnt be surprised if we start seeing tear gas drones in other places, as well. But a really chaotic situation here.

AMY GOODMAN: So, youre talking about whats happening on the Gaza-Israel border. The embassy is opening in Jerusalem, Sharif. Do you know about any protests there? Its opening just after the broadcast, actually, of this show. The protest in Gaza, while today is the most deadly day of the Israeli military gunning down Palestinian protestersthe numbers, we think, around 30, as you saidwere nearing 80 Palestinians killed by Israeli snipers and the Israeli military since the ongoing nonviolent protest of March 30th, that are supposed to be culminating tomorrow, although expected to go on from there.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, being here in Gaza, its hard to know whats happening in Jerusalem, just with everything thats happening on the ground and also a lack of access to the internet. But what I can tell you is that Jerusalem is a main factor in whats driving this. You know, theres a number of reasons that this kind of new movement is happening in Gaza. Its the accumulation of a number of things and the convergence of a number of events.

You know, first of all, theres the siege, of course, where the situation in GazaIve been coming here since 2011, and every time I come, the situation is much worse. Its really now intolerable. This has been a siege for 11 years. It has affected everythingthe economic situation, humanitarian situation, the right to travel. On top of that, in summer, the Palestinian Authority and President Mahmoud Abbas imposed sanctions on Gaza, worsening the economic situation and things like electricity, in a bid to force Hamass hand. And, you know, everyone knew that this was unsustainable. People were talking about it. And so, thats one of the reasons this has risen up.

But another one, in a broader context, and from speaking with a lot of people here, theres a sense that the very core of the Palestinian cause is under threat, that the essence of the Palestinian cause is under threat. So you have Jerusalem, which is at the very core of the Palestinian cause, with Trump moving the embassy to Jerusalem, the U.S. Embassy, and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that is a huge insult to Palestinians. And theres also the issue of the right of return. Many people here spoke of whats called the deal of the century, thats supposedly being worked on by Trump and other countries. Theres been several leaked versions of it. But many of them do away with the right of return, and treat Palestinian refugees as a humanitarian situation. If you take away Jerusalem and the right of return, you know, whats left for the Palestinian cause? So thats really driving this, as well.

And it also comes in a context of a divided leadership, Palestinian leadership, with Fatah and Hamas really nowhere near reconciliation, that was supposed to happen a few months ago. It comes in a context of a region where Arab countries, like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, are aligned with Israel, in many ways. And its coming on the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, of 70 years of waiting for the right to return not being realized.

And finally, Gaza has seen itself, historically, as responsible for the national cause. Yasser Arafat is from Gaza. Gaza gave birth to the first intifada. It gave birth to Fatah. It gave birth to Hamas. It gave birth to Islamic Jihad. It isall of this came out of Gaza, and it sees itself as part ofyou know, responsible for the Palestinian cause. And so, thats why the demands here are not just lifting the siege. They go to the very essence of it, and theyre calling for the right of return, as well.

AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to ask you about the significance of the opening of the embassy in Jerusalem. An anti-gay, pro-Trump pastor from Dallas, Pastor Robert Jeffress, was chosen by the Trump administration to lead the prayer at the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. Pastor Jeffress has a history of making hateful comments against Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Mormons, the LGBTQ community. This is just a few of the statements hes made over the years.

DONALD TRUMP: Where is Pastor Jeffress? Hes around here someplace. What a good guy! Where is he? Well, come here. I love this guy!

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Heres the deep, dark, dirty secret of Islam. It is a religion that promotes pedophilia, sex with children.  Mormonism is not Christianity. It has always been considered a cult by the mainstream of Christianity.

ANDERSON COOPER: Hindus and Buddhists, Islamcults?

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Yes, absolutely.  Muhammad was nothing but a bloodthirsty warlord who beheaded 600 Jews who would not follow him into battle.

IMAM MOHAMMAD ALI ELAHI: That is not true.

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Islam is wrong! It is a heresy from the pit of hell. Mormonism is wrong. It is a heresy from the pit of hell. Judaism, you know, you cant be saved, being a Jew.

JIM ACOSTA: And Mormons do say they are Christians.

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Yeah.

JIM ACOSTA: They say that. They believe in Jesus Christ.

PASTOR ROBERT JEFFRESS: Well, a lot of people say theyre Christians, and theyre not.  Homosexuality is degrading. Its a degenerative practice. .. Homosexuality is a perversion. They are engaged in the most detestable, unclean, abominable acts you can imagine.  Marriage should be between a man and a woman. Whenever you counterfeit something, you cheapen the value of the real thing.  Around the world today, you have Muslim men having sex with 4-year-old girls, taking them as their brides, because they believe the prophet Muhammad did it.

AMY GOODMAN: Thats Reverend Jeffress, in that compendium put together by Media Matters. Mother Jones reports Jeffress, who runs the First Baptist Dallas megachurch in Texas, has referred to both Islam and Mormonism as a heresy from the pit of hell, believes Islam, Mormonism, Hinduism and Buddhism are all cults, that Catholicism represents the genius of Satan. Jews, he believes, are going to hell. You cant be saved by being a Jew, he said. Islam, he said, is a religion that promotes pedophilia, sex with children, he said, among other things. This is the man who will be doing the opening prayer today at the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, Sharif. Also, President Trumps children, son-in-law and daughter, Ivanka Trump and Jared [Kushner], will be there, along with the treasury secretary, Steve Mnuchin. Apparently, Jared Kushner, whos under investigation in the United States, his son-in-law, will be unveiling a Middle East peace plan in the next few weeks, Sharif.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, what can you say? I mean, you know, Jerusalem, it goes to, like I said, the very core of the Palestinian issue. And this is being doneI mean, speaking with people here in Gaza, you know, and not justwell, I mean, the fact that the decision was made in this way, but also the arrogance in the way that it is being done, will not be, I thinkyou know, pass easily here. Its not something that Palestinians are just going to let slide.

You know, theres been a slow and very determined movement to displace Palestinians from Jerusalem. Palestinians who live in Jerusalem have a separate kind of identity card. They have to constantly prove whats called a center of life there. If they travel abroad for a length of time, they can lose that residency, and then it will go to a Jewish person, a settler. If they marry someone from the West Bank, then they cant live together in Jerusalem. So theres a whole raft of laws and rules and different ways that theyve been slowly chipping away to take over Jerusalem.

And then, you know, this, the move of the embassy, is just another kind of slap in the face. And its one of the main three issues that Palestinians have been calling for. And its also recognized under international law, you know, that its not going to go to either state, that its going to be a shared capital, if we go by what the United Nations resolutions have said. So, you know, what can you say whenand also you get this kind of pastor here?

And Ive just been handed, Amy, the death toll number here in Gaza has now just gone up to 37 just today. So this killing continues.

And, you know, I just have to point out also, in a lot of the coverage Ive seen, its always Gaza is equated with Hamas, and its just that this is a Hamas movement and so forth. And, you know, Gaza is much more than Hamas. And especially whats happening now, this is a mass movement of all sectors of Palestinian society. Hamas is involved, but so is Fatah, so is PFLP, so is Islamic Jihad, you know, all those political parties. But more than that, there are womens committees, youth committees, civil society committees, legal advocates. All of them are taking part and making these decisions of how to move forward and how to run this movement. There are no party flags allowed. I didnt see any Hezbollah flags. Theyre not allowed. Only the Palestinian flag. And in the back of the protest, further away from the border just a couple of hundred yards, theres a festive atmosphere. Theres cultural events. Theres art. Theres music. Theres celebrations of Palestinian heritage. So, this is really more of a broad-based, grassroots movement. I dont think, even if Hamas wanted this to stop, that it could stop it. And

AMY GOODMAN: Sharif?

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Go ahead.

AMY GOODMAN: We just have this report from AP. You were describing the drones that are releasing tear gas, and youve got the butterfly bullets that explode within a persons body. The latest number of people dead since March 30th is, we believe, around 84. Just today alone, in the deadliest day of the Israeli militarys attack on this nonviolent protest in Gaza, 37 people dead. And AP is saying, Witnesses say Israeli drones have dropped incendiary materials, setting ablaze tires that had been collected for use in a planned Gaza border protest. They say the drones set tires ablaze in two locations early Monday, releasing large clouds of black smoke.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: I wouldnt be surprised. This morning, drones flew over and set fire to, early in the morning, two encampment sites, trying to set fire to the tents themselves. Some sewage water was sprayed in the tent encampment in Khan Younis. And, you know, when we talk about crossing borders, the military does regular incursions into Gaza all the time and commits these things.

But, yeah, I mean, theseyou know, Israel is always coming up with kind of these new weapons. And the drones, I saw one, you know, for the first time today. It flew over, and then, all of a sudden, maybe six canisters, tear gas canisters, dropped out of the drone. Theyre spinning, because theyre spewing out the gas, and so they kind of spread over a large area. And you have people, you know, men, women and children, just kind of fleeing everywhere. Its quite, quite terrifying. And again, you know, this isthe resistance of this movement is reallyits just rocks, its kites and balloons, its some Molotov cocktails. But nowhere near can they reach the Israeli soldiers, who are sitting behind these ramparts and picking people off with sniper rifles.

So, you know, and the burning of these tires, there have been kind of changes of tactics. You have what they call the tire brigade, and youll see all these young men and boys run up with all these tires, and they put them in these holes that theyve dug in the ground, so they can hide down and not be hit by the bullets. And then theyll light one on fire, and a young man will drag it, sprinting out to the front and hoping not to get shot, and then run back. And then, once that tire is burned, theres a huge plume of black smoke, and it really does bar the view of the snipers. And so, theres this kind of, you know, resistance thats trying to counter this violence. But again, yeah, today, as I said, the number now is up to 37, so, by far, the bloodiest day. And tomorrow theres also supposed to be a massive mobilization. Tomorrow is the 70th anniversary of the Nakba. And we dont know what will

AMY GOODMAN: And when you say Nakba, Sharif, just to be clear, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, for Palestinians, seeing this as the 70 years starting with the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Explain what Nakba means.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Yeah, Nakba was whathow Palestinians refer to the founding of Israel and the forced expulsion and mass displacement of something like 750,000 Palestinians from Palestine. And so, you know, this year marks the 70th anniversary of that. You know, in Gaza itself, over 80 percent of the residents of Gaza are refugees or the descendants of refugees who fled from their homes and were forced into Gaza back in 1948.

So, you know, you have these young men who keep trying to cross. They say, I want to go back home, even though theyve obviously never been there. But they say, This is our land. And I asked one of them, you know, Youre going to cut this wire, and youre going to cross. You dont have anything with you. I said, Youre going to get hurt, or youre going to die. He said, I knew I was going to get hurt. But Im not afraid, and Im going to go. So theres also a sense of despair involved, as well. I mean, theres these young men going, knowing that theyre going to be either crippled or be killed, but they kind of keep doing it.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Sharif, we will continue to talk to you tomorrow, as this massive mobilization continues. Today, on this day of the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, opposed by many countries around the world, Palestinians protesting by the thousands. Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent, reporting to us from Gaza.

This is Democracy Now! When we come back, well be joined by Reverend Theoharis and Reverend William Barber on a new Poor Peoples Campaign in this country. Stay with us.
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Compared to the first quarter of 2017, total revenues were up 0.7% to 36.5 billion. Allianz said internal revenue growth, which adjusts for currency and consolidation effects, was 4.9% with all business segments contributing positively.

For property and casualty insurance, for instance, gross premiums written for this years first quarter increased by 1.1% to 17.9 billion. The underwriting result improved as well, even with higher claims from natural catastrophes.

Solvency II capitalisation ratio stood at 225%.

Allianz enjoyed a good start into 2018, said Bate. We had increases in both the top and the bottom lines, even if market volatility was visible at an operating level in the first quarter. This good performance puts Allianz on track to meet its 2018 yearly targets.

Last month saw the delisting of Euler Hermes shares from Euronext Paris as Allianz concluded the acquisition of the credit insurers minorities  a move described as an important step in the acquirers capital deployment strategy. Allianz has also recently completed its second share buyback programme.



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Apart from the new offering, XL Catlin has established a multi-disciplinary Global Autonomy Centre of Excellence. This new team of experts will provide a knowledge pool, combining talent, expertise and capabilities in data analytics, underwriting, claims and risk engineering from around the world, the company said in a release. The team will provide support to the companys underwriters, brokers, and clients across the globe.

Autonomous technologies are changing the world around us, the way companies operate and the risks they face. We recognise the new and complex risks that are emerging and, as underwriters, we know we have the expertise to develop and deliver the right insurance solutions, said XL Catlin CEO Mike McGavick. We are dedicated to doing so because we also recognise the incredible, positive impact this technology will have on society as a whole from creating safer working environments to providing mobility for those most in need.

This is not the first time XL Catlin has delved into the autonomous market  the company in 2016 signed an agreement with tech company Oxbotica to support the commercial adoption of mobile robotic solutions and assess their impact on risk management.

Our partnership with Oxbotica and our many client-focused innovation initiatives have highlighted the fact that Artificial Intelligence is permeating all parts of our lives, commented XL Catlin Accelerate chief executive Vincent Branch.

Many companies have started incorporating autonomous technologies into their operations, in one form or another, be it to move merchandise within a factory or a warehouse or to shuttle staff from a site to another, remarked XL Catlin global chief underwriting officer Nancy Bewlay. We have learned, working with some of these early adopters, that while there are no two similar uses of autonomy and each requires a tailor-made approach, there is a real need for a structured solution spanning our expertise across multiple classes of insurance.

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This is a thrilling time for NFP, said Paul Saich, NFP regional president for California. This acquisition expands NFP P&Cs presence in southern California, adds infrastructure to our growing Palm Springs operation, and diversifies NFPs broader employee and client base to include individuals and businesses with significant ties to the LGBT community.

We are proud of the high level of service were able to provide to our clients, and now by joining with NFP, we are even better positioned to meet our clients needs, Santora said. The extensive network of resources that NFP provides aligns with our core principles for valuing not only our clients, but the people in our community. This new chapter enables us to tap into NFPs offerings and expertise in the area, and will allow us to provide our clients with enhanced services and capabilities.

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In Hawaii, although there is constant volcanic activity, the overall losses have been limited because the most endangered regions are well known and therefore sparsely populated, said Alexander Allmann, head of section  property for Munich Re. A larger loss potential would be a big earthquake that could impact a broader geographic area.

Over the past four decades, the most substantial losses from volcanic activity have been incurred in Japan, Indonesia, the United States, and the Philippines, added Allmann, and while the insured portion from the events has been rather low at 10%, most of the eruptions have resulted in significant casualties, with the event in Nevado del Ruiz in Colombia claiming 25,000 lives.

Volcanic eruptions stand out among other natural catastrophes because, even though they happen less frequently than hurricanes, for example, no other natural events can devastate such wide areas with the intensity and suddenness of volcanic eruptions, according to Munich Re. Hawaiians are nonetheless familiar with these types of events exactly because of the high likelihood of an eruption occurring in the region and the potential for total destruction of nearby structures.

You can see the lava coming and therefore you can save your life, but not your home, explains Allmann.

For those wondering about coverage for the deadly eruptions, Hawaiis businesses and homeowners might be protected under their insurance, but the devil is in the details.

All risk policies would typically cover this type of loss, said Allmann. Dependent on the individual policy wording, losses could also be covered under a fire policy  at least if the property catches fire. In addition, losses from earthquakes related to the volcanic activity can be covered by earthquake insurance.

The fact that the area around the Kilauea volcano is known to be a hotbed of volcanic activity could cause issues for hopeful insureds.

The problem with houses that are affected right now is the extremely hazardous location they are built in, said Allmann. The affected region is classified as a very high hazard zone and it might be very costly to purchase coverage.

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc will face difficult questions at its annual general meeting next week after an investor-advisory group urged shareholders to challenge executive pay and the companys response to a fatal accident in Pakistan.

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., an influential adviser on corporate governance, has recommended investors reject Shells pay report at its AGM on May 22, saying it was initially silent on the Pakistan incident. ISS also said it could only offer qualified support to the re-election of the independent director looking after corporate social responsibility.

While Shell has explained the accident was connected to a sub-contractor and therefore shouldnt be included in its executive-pay calculations, ISSs position suggests the AGM might not run smoothly. The Anglo-Dutch oil major is already facing a battle on climate change, after a shareholder group filed a resolution asking the company to set specific emission-reduction targets.

We strongly disagree with several of the concerns set out in ISSs voting recommendation, a Shell spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. Shell takes safety extremely seriously. Last years tragedy in Pakistan has been discussed by Shells Board of Directors, and we continue to assess the lessons we can learn from it.

Fatal Accident

The catastrophe occurred last June, after a fuel truck being driven by a Shell sub-contractor rolled over in Punjab province. People from a nearby village approached the site to collect spilling fuel, which then ignited, killing more than 200 and injuring dozens of others.

Shell paid a $2.4 million fine to Pakistans industry regulator following the accident. While the company said it would work with aid agencies to provide relief to affected communities, ISS said Shell could improve disclosure around how the tragedy affected remuneration.

ISS also raised other concerns about incentive payments, saying Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden reached only 70 percent of the targets required to receive his full bonus but will get a payout totaling 80 percent. Further, Shell lagged behind the market in publicizing cash-flow goals.

The oil company said its pay report reflects policies approved by shareholders  and ISS  in 2017. Van Beurdens total direct remuneration climbed to 8.54 million euros ($10 million) last year, a 3.4 percent increase as profit almost tripled.

Not Binding

If shareholders follow ISSs recommendation to reject executive pay, the outcome of the vote would be non-binding.

The groups views run counter to those of another shareholder-advisory firm, Glass Lewis & Co., which urged stockholders to approve remuneration because it had no material concerns.

Both organizations rejected the shareholder resolution on climate targets, which was filed by a Dutch group called Follow This. Some smaller investors, including the Church of England, have come out in support of the proposal.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
Andy Trench made $2,000 a day in 2015 taking sky-high photographs along the East Coast with a drone he made himself. Now, that same work fetches about $175.

Its apparent that a lot of this industry is a race to the bottom, said Trench, a Rhode Island entrepreneur whos been operating remote-controlled aircraft for more than a decade.

Three years after federal regulators began allowing commercial drone flights, the fever to cash in has turned into a pitched battle for business. Prices for collecting airborne data have plummeted amid a flood of competition equipped with cheap, hi-tech aircraft that practically fly themselves. Thats pressuring operators, while handing customers new opportunities for affordable drone inspections, pictures and other services.

The challenge for providers is to figure out how to profit. Companies are rushing to carve out turf in an industry thats convulsed by fast-paced breakthroughs in sensor capabilities and machine learning, while at the same time being throttled by slowly evolving regulation focused on keeping the skies safe.

General Electric Co., Intel Corp., Verizon Communications Inc., and well-funded startups including PrecisionHawk and Airware are among drone companies vying with scrappy, low-overhead entrepreneurs that helped give birth to the industry. Theyre fighting over a pool of customers still limited by laws restricting unmanned aircraft to short daytime flights below 400 feet.

Shakeout Begins

If smaller drone pioneers want to survive the shakeout, theyll have to figure out how to compete in a field increasingly tilted toward larger companies with deep pockets that can buy expertise to build their business more quickly.

PrecisionHawk bought Droners and AirVid last year to build out its network of pilots. Airware, a drone software services company, purchased a French data analytics firm called Redbird. Measure, a drone specialist backed by business intelligence consultant Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp., purchased Pilatus Unmanned and Helivideo Productions to expand its offerings in film and engineering.

More companies may fall out if their business model depends on the Federal Aviation Administration allowing long-distance flights. Drones are currently restricted to flying within sight of their human pilots, and companies that are more limited under current rules are likely to run out of cash before the agency makes any significant change, said Brad Declet, chief executive officer of Measure.

Smarter, Cheaper

Drones are enabling industrial companies to slash 25% off the cost of infrastructure inspections, which in the past required humans flying planes and helicopters, or dangling in harnesses beneath bridges. The price charged for a drone inspection of an industrial site has dropped to about $5,000  a third of what it was two years ago, said Alex Trepper, who founded GES new venture, Avitas Systems.

Trepper estimates that the intelligent inspection market for the power, rail, aviation and oil-and-gas industries currently tops $27 billion globally, with the new business of analyzing the collected data adding another $20 billion.

Even with prices dropping, the sheer size of the market is attracting lots of people into the business to offer basic services like roof inspections or aerial photography, said Phil Finnegan, an industry consultant with the Teal Group. There are very low barriers to entry.

Technology itself is proving to be one of the biggest competitive threats. As drones become more automated and easier to operate, some would-be customers are deciding to buy their own aerial robots to fly themselves.

Expanding Scope

Thats driving companies such as Avitas to think beyond the aircraft. Were much more interested in the data and data analytics, Trepper said.

Avitas plans to offer automated data analysis to detect corrosion and cracks in surveys of infrastructure like storage tanks  and even predict where a railroad track might fail, Trepper said. The startup also can leverage its parents market clout by offering its services to GEs customers.

Measure is rolling out a franchise of trained pilots to win work that includes inspections, law enforcement support and filming sport events. Data analysis is done at the companys Washington, D.C., headquarters.

The company aims to create a recognized brand capable of fending off low-ball pricing from one-person outfits that can jump into the business for less than $1,000  the cost of a small drone and a remote pilots license, said Declet, Measures CEO.

Having a highly skilled pilot at the controls is important when youre inspecting a $15 million wind turbine or youre flying over a newly commissioned solar farm, Declet said. No one wants to take any risks when it comes to aircraft falling or crashing into critical infrastructure.

Rethinking Strategy

Small outfits like that of Trenchs operation in Rhode Island are adjusting, too. His answer is to relaunch his drone business as Vertspec, a provider of low-cost inspections for infrastructure like mobile-phone towers, wind farms and power transmission lines.

Trench, 37, who started building his own drones as a hobby 16 years ago, is taking advantage of increased automation to reduce the cost of hiring operators. To compete with the big companies, hes subcontracting for data analysis to third-party software companies.

I have lower overhead than they do and Im more agile on development, Trench said. The large companies up in the castles might be surprised when they get undercut by small ones.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics InsurTech Aviation
Lainie R. Dorneker has been appointed president of IronHealth, the healthcare professional liability unit of Ironshore. She assumes the role from Matthew Dolan, who was recently named president of Ironshore U.S. Operations.

Dorneker joined Ironshore in 2009 as product manager for IronHealths custom account facility, where she oversaw IronHealths alternative risk transfer and risk financing solutions for healthcare organizations, which include loss portfolio transfers, stand-alone tails, fronting policies, and other custom products. In addition, she later assumed the role of Midwest regional manager for IronHealth. She most recently served as chief operating officer of IronHealth, responsible for all key strategic and tactical initiatives in support of IronHealths production, profit, distribution and claims activities. In addition to identifying and implementing operational efficiencies and best practices, Dorneker was charged with new product development, cross-sell, professional development and training, and sales and service excellence.

Dorneker has nearly 20 years of experience in the insurance industry. Prior to joining Ironshore, she worked for Zurich N.A. in various roles, including as professional liability counsel and senior underwriter. She also worked as an attorney in private legal practice.

In her new role, Dorneker will continue to report to Dolan.

Ironshore, a Liberty Mutual Company, provides broker-sourced specialty property/casualty insurance.
Atlanta-based INSUREtrust has added Sam Hoppenbrouwer as a Professional Lines broker on the production team of Executive Vice President Christiaan Durdaller.

Hoppenbrouwer brings with him four years of wholesale experience in professional, cyber, and tech E&O.

Before joining INSUREtrust, he worked at insurance company Genesee General as a cyber liability broker.

According to Durdaller, Hoppenbrouwer brings more wholesale experience to his team and will assist with the growth of some new strategic partnerships.

INSUREtrust, located in the Atlanta metro area, is a national insurance wholesaler covering commercial risks generated with using the internet  such as privacy and security breaches.

Topics Agencies Professional Liability
Officials say five children have died from injuries in a weekend fire in North Carolina.

Two children died Saturday after the blaze at a Greensboro apartment.

A nursing supervisor at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center told local media three children died Sunday at Brenner Childrens Hospital in Winston-Salem.

Greensboro Assistant Fire Chief Dwayne Church said in a news release Monday the children ranged in age from 18 months to 9 years-old. Their names have not been released.

It took Greensboro firefighters 25 minutes to extinguish the flames around 4 a.m. Saturday.

According to the Greensboro Fire Department, the apartment in which the fire erupted early Saturday morning had smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms but they were not working at the time of the fire, according to a statement from the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

Chief State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor is currently in Greensboro to assist with the fire investigation.

Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Mike Causey said North Carolina law requiring all rental properties have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims family and our sincere gratitude goes out to the firefighters and emergency responders who dealt with this incident, said Causey. This horrific tragedy is a startling reminder of the importance of having working smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms. Everyone should remember to check alarms on each floor, change the batteries frequently, and have an emergency preparedness plan and a way to get out in case of a fire.

A man was treated at a Greensboro hospital and released.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics North Carolina
San Francisco, Calif.-based Woodruff Sawyer has named Dan Burke vice president and cyber specialist.

He will expand Woodruff Sawyers cyber liability resources for clients to include new partnerships with cyber security experts, expanded loss control tools, and benchmarking resources.

He has 12 years of experience in cyber liability. He was previously cyber product head for Hiscox USA.

Woodruff provides property/casualty, management liability, cyber liability, employee benefits and personal wealth management services.

Topics California Cyber
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What Is the Heritage and Stabilization Fund (HSF)?

The Heritage and Stabilization Fund is a sovereign wealth fund that was established in March 2007 by the government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It was previously known as the Interim Revenue Stabilization Fund, which was set up in 2000. The primary objectives of the fund are to save and invest surplus petroleum production revenues to support and sustain public expenditures during periods of revenue downturn and to provide a heritage for future generations of the nation.

1:10 What Are Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs)?

Understanding the Heritage and Stabilization Fund (HSF)

The Heritage and Stabilization Fund is denominated in U.S. dollars and its fiscal year ends in September. The fund provides a cushion to the economy of the islands in times when the price of oil or natural gas has fallen. By the end of 2019, the fund had net assets of $6.3 billion, compared with a value of $1.4 billion in 2007.

Rules of the Fund

According to its governing legislation, the fund is intended to "(a) Cushion the impact on or sustain public expenditure capacity during periods of revenue downturn whether caused by a fall in prices of crude oil or natural gas; (b) Generate an alternate stream of income so as to support public expenditure capacity as a result of revenue downturn caused by the depletion of non-renewal petroleum resources; and (c) Provide a heritage for future generations of citizens of Trinidad and Tobago from savings and investment income derived from the excess petroleum revenues."

Following a sharp drop in energy prices in 2015, the fund reported that it withdrew approximately $375 million to contribute to its annual budget. This was the first such net withdrawal since the fund's inception. In its 2016 annual report, the fund stated that is cumulative annualized return since inception was 5.34%, outperforming the benchmark of 4.87%.

Under the legislation that established the fund, withdrawals are "limited to 60% of the amount of the shortfall of petroleum revenues for the relevant year; or 25% cent of the balance of the Fund at the beginning of that year, whichever is the lesser amount. The Act precludes any withdrawal where the balance standing to the credit of the Fund would fall below one billion US dollars if such withdrawal were to be made."

Withdrawals are allowed "Where the petroleum revenues collected in any financial year fall below the estimated petroleum revenues for that financial year by at least 10%, withdrawals may be made from the Fund."
What Is a Load-Adjusted Return?

A load-adjusted return is the investment return on a mutual fund that has been adjusted for the fund's sales loads and specific other charges, such as 12b-1 fees. Loads, or fees charged by some mutual funds for marketing or buying and selling shares, are like all other investment fees in that they have a significant effect on an investor's returns.

Key Takeaways A load-adjusted return is a more accurate calculation for mutual fund gains and losses that account for sales loads and charges, which reduces the nominal return.

Loads, which may be tacked on to a mutual fund at purchase or else at sale, are marketing and sales fees paid to brokers.

Many actively managed funds have loads, but there are a growing number of no-load funds as well, especially among passive or index funds.

Understanding Load-Adjusted Returns

A load-adjusted return is how much of an actual return an investor sees after accounting for fees and sales charges are deducted from a mutual fund's performance. This return is therefore calculated after investment fees charged to buy and sell shares of mutual funds are subtracted from investment returns.

For example, if an investor puts $6,000 into a no-load mutual fund and earns a 10% return the first year, they will have earned $600 in capital gains if they decide to cash out. But if the mutual fund charges a 1% front-end load to buy shares, the investor would have to pay $60 when the fund shares were purchased, leaving $5,940 to invest. The same 10% return would then earn only $594, reducing it to a 9.9% load-adjusted return.

Active Funds and Load-Adjusted Return

Index funds do not charge a fee just to invest in their funds. Actively managed mutual funds do charge investors a fee, commonly referred to as front-end load, just to invest in their funds. Some actively managed mutual funds charge other types of fees, such as back-end loads or marketing and distribution fees, that may or may not apply depending on whether an investor withdraws all or part of their investment in the fund before a specified period.

Many investors advocate sticking to mutual funds that have no loads, no 12b-1 fees, and low expense ratios.

Index Fund Fees and Loads

An index fund is a type of mutual fund with a portfolio constructed to match or track the components of a market index, such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). An index mutual fund is said to provide broad market exposure, low operating expenses, and low portfolio turnover. These funds adhere to specific rules or standards (e.g., efficient tax management or reducing tracking errors) that stay in place no matter the state of the markets.

Investing in an index fund is a form of passive investing. The primary advantage of such a strategy is the lower management expense ratio on an index fund. Since expense ratios are directly reflected in the performance of the funds, actively managed funds and their higher expense ratios are automatically at a disadvantage to index funds. As a result, many actively managed funds struggle to keep up with their benchmarks.

As a historical example, for the five-year period ending in 2015, 84% of large-cap funds generated a return less than the S&P 500. In the 10-year period ending in 2015, 82% of large-cap funds failed to beat the index.
What Is an Open Ended Investment CompanyOEIC?

An open-ended investment company (OEIC) is a type of investment fund domiciled in the United Kingdom that is structured to invest in stocks and other securities. The company's shares list on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the price of the shares are based largely on the underlying assets of the fund. These funds can mix different types of investment strategies such as income and growth, and small cap and large cap, and can constantly adjust their investment criteria and fund size.

OEICs are called "open-ended" because they can create new shares to meet investor demand. Also, the fund will cancel shares of investors who exit the fund.

Key Takeaways An open ended investment company (OEIC) is a type of fund sold in the United Kingdom, similar to an open ended mutual fund in the U.S.

OEICs offer a professionally managed portfolio of pooled investor funds that invests in different equities, bonds, and other securities.

OEICs are priced once a day, based on the net asset value of their underlying portfolio assets.

Most OEICs carry sales charges and annual management fees, known as the ongoing charges figure.

Understanding an Open Ended Investment Company

An open-ended investment company pools investors money and spreads it across a wide range of investments, such as equities or fixed-interest securities. This diversification helps reduce the risk of losing an investors principal. OEIC funds offer the potential for growth or income. They usually function as a medium to long-term investment, held for five to 10 years or longer.

Any U.K. investor, 18 years or older, may invest in a wide range of funds managed by industry experts. As in the United State, there are various levels of risk available for capital growth, income generation, or a combination of both. Shareholders may invest for themselves or for their children. When children turn 18 years old, they hold the investment in their own right.

Charges for OEIC Shares

As of 2021, investors pay an initial charge of between 0% to 5% when buying new shares. This type of front end load lowers the amount of money going into the fund to purchase shares. In addition, there is an annual management charge (AMC) of around 1% to 1.5% of the value of an investors shares. The AMC covers the fund managers services. Funds that are not actively managed, such as index trackers, have much lower fees.

Most funds quote a total expense ratio (TER) or an ongoing charges figure (OCF). Each charge includes the AMC and other expenses used for comparing different products. The TER and OCF do not include dealer charges that can add significantly to annual costs if the fund has a high turnover rate.

There may also be an exit charge for selling shares, based on a percentage of the total value of the sale. However, many OEICs do not charge exit fees.

Investing in OEICs

OEICs are useful for investors who do not have the time, interest, or expertise to actively manage their investments. Investors may invest a single payment or monthly payments with minimum amounts depending on the fund. Also, access to funds online or over the phone is generally easy. Further, shareholders may pay a fee when moving between funds.

Pros Offer professional money management

Have diversified portfolios, mitigating risk

Are highly liquid

Feature low investment minimums Cons Carry high annual fees, sales charges

Incur taxes

Must maintain cash reserves, restricting returns

Require mid-to-long-term investment horizon

OEIC are not tax-advantaged; so, interest and dividends are taxable, and selling shares may incur a capital gains tax. Of course, the amounts involved must exceed dividend and capital gains tax allowances. Also, shareholders may hold OEICs tax-free in an Individual Savings Account (ISA) or other U.K. pension plan.

However, investment values and resulting income are not guaranteed and may increase or decrease, depending on investment performance and currency exchange rates for funds investing in foreign markets. Therefore, a shareholder may not get back the original amount invested.

U.S. residents may not hold shares in OEICs. U.S. shareholders must have the OEIC sell their shares or transfer their investments to U.K. residents.

OEICs vs Unit Trusts

In the United Kingdom, unit trusts (UTs) and OEICs are the two most common types of investment funds, and they also have much in common.

Like OEICs, unit trusts consist of a manager who buys stocks and bonds for holders of a fund, in an open-ended format. The two mainly differ in the way they are priced. Unit trusts will have two prices:

The bid priceprice per unit received for each unit sold back to the fund The offer pricethe price to purchase each unit of the fund

OEICs have only one price per day, based on the net asset value (NAV) of the underlying assets of the fund. OIECs tend to have lower fees than UTs because they have a simpler structure. Many investment companies have been converting unit trusts into OEICs for this reason.

Real World Example of OEICs

British OEICs are comparable to American mutual funds, and many U.S. investment companies that do business in the U.K. offer them. One such is Fidelity International, an overseas division of Fidelity Investments. In July 2018, the division announced it was instituting variable management fees for five UK-domiciled OEICs, including the Fidelity Special Situations, Fidelity European, Fidelity Asian Dividend, Fidelity Global Special Situations, and Fidelity American funds.

The change effectively reduced the base AMC of the funds by 10%.
By Tom Tuite

An Indian businessman and his pretend bride from Latvia have been spared jail over a sham marriage which allowed him remain in Ireland and set up a successful chain of sandwich bars.

Pankaj Pandey, 29, with an address at Kings Court, Mungret Street, Limerick and his wife through a marriage of convenience, Dace Beikmane, 29, who now lives at Gleneagles Avenue, Leicester, in England were given suspended sentences on Tuesday.

They were arrested by detectives as part of Operation Vantage  a crackdown on immigration offences and marriages of convenience.

Judge Bernadette Owens heard at Dublin District Court that Pandey runs five Subway sandwich bars and one Four Star Pizza branch and now employed 30 people.

He came to Ireland on a student visa in 2006 but after completing his studies wanted to remain here and after paying a facilitator about 7,000 he married Beikmane in 2012. She had come here looking for work and was easily led, the court was told.

He was then able to get a visa allowing him residency in the State having married an EU citizen. Within months she left and has been living in England with her fiancee since 2013.

The couple were arrested on Monday by detectives from the Garda National Immigration Bureau Naturalisation & Immigration Service Registration at Burgh Quay, in Dublin city-centre.

She had returned this week to present to the authorities with Pandey to let on they were still married.

They pleaded guilty to charges under the Civil Registration Act.

In an outline of the prosecution evidence Judge Owens was told a marriage of convenience was defined under the Act as being for immigration advantage for a non-national.

Dublin District Court heard Pandey was from India and Beikmane was Latvian. In June 2012 they signed marriage registration forms at the civil registrations offices in Galway in which they claimed they were living together as a couple at Pandeys address in Limerick.

To avoid suspicion they had also gave false and misleading information by providing a letting document to give the impression that they had had lived at that address.

The civil marriage ceremony took place on Sept. 27, 2012

Beikmane left the State after her supposed husband was granted a visa in 2013 and did not return until earlier this week, the court head. She had been permanently residing in the UK with her fiancee since then, Judge Owens was told.

They had no prior criminal convictions and did not address the court.

Pleading for leniency Pandeys solicitor Michael French asked the court to note that his client had come here to and completed accounting and business studies courses. He ran five Subways and one Four Star Pizza branch and employed 30 people.

The court heard that he was now applying for citizenship but his future in Ireland was at risk as a result of this prosecution.

Solicitor Tracy Horan, for Beikmane, asked the court to note the woman was vulnerable and had come to Ireland genuinely looking for work. The facilitator who helped organise the marriage had been the beneficiary of the bulk of the money paid by Pandey.

The prosecution accepted she had been vulnerable and she spoke little English.

She has been working as a sandwich packer since she moved to England in 2013.

The judge noted they had co-operated with the investigation and were remorseful.

The court heard that Operation Vantage has led to a number of prosecutions but most of them had have resulted in suspended sentences.

Sentencing, Judge Owens said the prosecution could have potentially serious ramifications for Pandey and he had made a serious misjudgement in trying to regularise his position.

She imposed a four-month sentence but suspended it on condition he does not re-offend in the next two years.

The judge said Beikmane's situation was slightly different, however, she did participate in the crime. She received a two-month suspended sentence.

They did not address the court during the hearing.
Michella McCollum has announced that she's given birth to twins.

The 25-year-old, who was arrested for drug smuggling in Peru in 2013, shared the news on Instagram with the caption, "My little darlings, one week old today."

The twins, who were born on May 8, are shown snuggled to her chest in a hospital bed.

The gender of the babies is still unknown.
By Ann O'Loughlin and Louise Roseingrave

A mother whose new born son died just days after his birth at Midland Regional Hospital has settled her High Court action over his death.

Baby Stevie Cullivan was named after his father who died following a heart attack months before his son's birth and death three years ago.

Sandra Cullivan who had hoped a part of her husband would live on in their son had sued the HSE for shock-induced psychiatric injury she says she suffered over the death of her baby three years ago.

Sandra Cullivan's counsel Oonah McCrann SC with Doireann OMahony BL told the High Court today it has been a very traumatic time for the widow and mother. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

Sandra Cullivan was 36 when she went to Midland Regional Hospital, Mullingar to be induced on April 28, 2015.

Her baby Stevie Cullivan, named after his father who died following a heart attack the previous December, was born at 11.59pm, but he died two days later on April 30.

A verdict of medical misadventure was returned at the inquest in to the death of baby Stevie who suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain shortly before birth.

Outside court today, Ms Cullivan in a statement said it had been a very long and hard road to get answers.

Stevie had only two days in this world. No words can express my grief but with the help of my legal team I got answers.

She added: "I would encourage all women and families to insist on answers and not be afraid to get help in asking tough questions."

The Midland Regional Hospital apologised to Ms Cullivan by letter and offered sincere and deepest sympathy on the sad loss of Stevie.

"The hospital would like to again convey our sincere apologies for the deficits in care that were identified as part of the review that took place. I can confirm the recommendations outlined in the review have been fully implemented," the hospital general manager Shona Schneemann said in a letter.

Sandra Cullivan (40), of Ribbontail Way, Longwood, Co Meath had sued the HSE over the death of her new born son.

She claimed her labour was chaotic and allegedly inadequately supervised with no proper midwife assistance. The CTG monitoring, it was alleged was grossly inadequate.

It was claimed signs of fetal distress in the second stage of labour were not identified and the baby suffered a hypoxic ischaemic insult.

Sub-standard care it was claimed was provided to Ms Cullivan and her unborn child and there was, it was claimed a failure to ensure proper midwife attendance during the labour and an alleged failure to have in place continuous CTG monitoring.

Liability was admitted in the case.

Ms Cullivan's whose husband Stevie had died on December 2014 was admitted to Midland Regional Hospital on April 28, 2015 with her mother by her side as her birth partner.

Early CTG monitoring was reassuring but it was claimed there was no CTG recording at certain points.

Her side contended had there been one to one midwife care there would have been early warning signs of fetal distress and the opportunity to intervene before the hypoxic ischaemic episode had damaged the baby that he was beyond resuscitation.

Baby Stevie was deliverd at 23.59 on April 28 and was intubated and resuscitated and referred to a Dublin hospital where he died on April 30 2015.

Ms Cullivan suffered severe shock when she was told her baby boy had died and was extremely traumatised and suffered psychiatric injury consequent to the shock.

Approving the settlement Mr Justice Kevin Cross offered his sympathy to Ms Cullivan on her "terrible succession of tragedies".

'Demanding information and speaking up are the only ways to bring about change'

Speaking after the conclusion of her medical negligence case, Ms Cullivan called on women to speak up and demand answers from the HSE. She said the process of dreadful communication with the HSE added to her distress following the loss of her baby.

I know that they knew from the beginning it was due to negligence. They didnt admit that until just before the inquest. They knew all along that they didnt monitor me or Stevie. They were just hoping Id get tired, that Id get fed up and give up, she said.

Sandra and Stevie Cullivan

Ms Cullivan engaged with solicitors Callan Tansey, who helped her get answers.

I would encourage all women and families to insist on answers and not be afraid of asking the tough questions. Demanding information and speaking up are the only ways to bring about change, she said.

Stevie was my last chance to have a baby with Stephen, I am utterly devastated, Ms Cullivan said at the Dublin Coroners inquest last November.

The inquest heard the infant was being treated as a precious baby because of the recent loss of the babys father. Ms Cullivan had been allocated a private room in the post-natal ward. However, she was left alone for 90 minutes before staff returned to find her in advanced labour.

The loss continues to affect her everyday, Ms Cullivan said.

You get up in the morning and you should be getting up to a baby and youre not. Chloe (Stevies older sister) should be enjoying time with her brother and shes not. I should be enjoying him growing up and Im not. We should be putting his name down for schools and football training and weve lost out on all of that.

Mullingar Regional Hospital apologised to Ms Cullivan for the deficits in care identified as part of a review into the case and confirmed that all recommendations have been fully implemented.
Free Wi-Fi hotspots are on the way to public spaces across the country.

The EU is making 120m available for local authorities over the next three years as part of the Wifi4EU scheme.

Local authorities can apply for vouchers worth 15,000 to provide free public wi-fi in town centres, parks, libraries and museums.

Sean Kyne, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, confirmed that his department will be co-funding local authorities who are successful recipients of the vouchers.

"With co-funding of up to 15,000 from my Department, local authorities that are successful under the EUs Wifi4EU scheme will now be able to receive up to 30,000 per project to invest in providing free Wi-Fi in public areas," said Mr Kyne.

"The first phase of the Wifi4EU scheme launched today with a number of local authorities, joining their counterparts across Europe, in applying to the scheme. This first call by the EU will see 1,000 vouchers issued with Ireland set to receive at least 15 vouchers under the first call.

"Each local authority that successfully receives a Wifi4EU voucher will automatically be guaranteed a matching payment of up to 15,000 from my department subject to a maximum of four vouchers per local authority area.

"My department  the Department of Rural and Community Development  is co-funding this initiative as part of a range of measures to support the implementation of local digital strategies."

- Digital Desk
Although Gaelscoil de hIde has been occupied by staff and pupils for over a year, the official opening of the Fermoy school was only celebrated last Friday.

The school is going from strength to strength but securing a new building for almost 400 pupils had been a hard-fought challenge, effectively over several decades.

A group of individuals had a dream in 1982, said principal Sean McGearailt.

That dream was finally realised in February 2017 when we moved into this fabulous state-of-the-art school.

But its been a long journey with many twists and turns along the way.

The muinteoiri, parents, and indeed the wide community of Fermoy and its hinterland were united in our one goal and that was to have a permanent home  where the pupils of the school would get an excellent education through the medium of Irish.

The high-profile campaign co-ordinated by Gaelscoil de hIde New School Action Group finally came to fruition and the imposing new school is a far cry from a cramped building which students and staff endured previously school in McCurtain St.

The school building boasts 16 spacious classrooms and a pupil body of close to 400, with adequate space to accept more. Furthermore, it now has special education rooms, disability wet rooms, along with ample multi-purpose and storage space.

With a staff of 22, as well as six special needs assistants, two secretaries, and a caretaker, Gaelscoil de hIde is going from strength to strength.

And with continued support from the community and businesses in Fermoy, sufficient funds were raised to provide an all-weather astro-turf pitch.
A total of 757 dead fish have been removed from the Lough, and 207 have also been removed from the privately owned Belvelly fishery, near Cobh, Co Cork.

Both fisheries were hit by an outbreak, which was confirmed last week as the carp edema virus. It has resulted in the disposal of an estimated 3.8 tonnes of dead fish.

The outbreak has virtually wiped out the Loughs entire stock of carp.

Brian Brazier, secretary of the Cork Carp Anglers Club, said the outbreak has completely removed its high value as a national angling resource.

Technically these carp, which were an Irish strain, are irreplaceable given the current lack of national supply in Ireland and the lack of similar sized carp in such numbers available for transfer from any other angling water in the country, he said.

Based on current market value in the UK... these fish were worth approximately 176,700 or 200,600, and this is a conservative estimate.

We, the Cork Carp Anglers Club, along with the rest of Irelands carp/coarse angling community and no doubt the general public of Cork, look forward to working in conjunction with the Marine Institute, Inland Fisheries Ireland, and Cork City Council to purchase a smaller amount of replacement carp stock than just lost to rebuild and redevelop the Lough as a premier public carp fishery for all.

However, Mr Brazier said there are a number of major issues to address before restocking water quality of the lake, rubbish clearance, de-silting, aeration, and biosecurity.

In a report to city councillors last night, the citys director of services in environment and recreation, Valerie OSullivan, said the council, which manages the Lough, will be guided by Inland Fisheries Ireland in conjunction with the Marine Institute on the problem.

In the meantime, parks staff are in daily contact with officials from both organisations, she said.

Angling remains suspended at the Inniscarra and Carrigadrohid reservoirs in a bid to minimise the risk of a spread of the virus.
Garda HQ set up a winter phase of Operation Thor, as a result of an increase in home break-ins in September and October, 2017.

A focus was to target travelling criminal gangs that specialise in burglaries, and which use high-powered vehicles as getaways.

In a statement, An Garda Siochana said provisional figures showed there were 43% fewer reported burglaries of homes in March 2018, compared to October 2017, following the implementation of the winter phase of Operation Thor.

It said the initiative was set up after a spike in residential burglaries in September and October.

The statement said the winter phase involved the undertaking of targeted enforcement and preventative activity, designed to prevent potential burglars from exploiting the reduced hours of daylight.

The provisional figures show burglaries dropped from 1,427 nationally, last October, to 806 in March.

When compared year on year, the first quarter of 2018 (January to March) recorded 25% fewer residential burglaries, compared to the first quarter of 2017.

The statement said that burglaries are about 20% more likely to occur in the winter. It said a key aspect of the winter phase was to target organised crime gangs involved in burglaries:

Operation Thor activities have led to numerous arrests of inter-regional, travelling criminals, where high-powered getaway vehicles were identified and intercepted.

It said that Garda case managers examined repeat offenders, resulting in the effective use of bail legislation.

Assistant Commissioner, Special Crime Operations, John ODriscoll, said: We are particularly aware of the vulnerability of older people, for whom a burglary can be a very traumatic experience, and we are determined to identify and apprehend those who exploit their vulnerability .

He said he met senior detectives in each garda region and the Garda Analysis Service to review the winter phase and plan the next part. He said both the Criminal Assets Bureau and Forensic Science Ireland attended those meetings.

Garda HQ said the figures were provisional and that official crime data is published by the CSO.

The CSO resumed publishing qualified garda statistics last March, after a nine-month gap.
More than 90% of primary schools across the country remain in the hands of the Church despite attempts to give parents more choice in how children are educated.

Fianna Fail and Labour hit out at the Government for not fully addressing an issue which means parents have no option but to send their children to a Catholic school.

The Programme For Government commits to reaching 400 multi-denominational and non-denominational schools by 2030. It says this will be done through a combination of divestment and construction of schools to meet an increasing school-going population.

Of the schools divested by the Church in the past six years, just one was handed over in the last 12 months, while the remaining 10 happened between 2012 and 2016.

A system set up by Education Minister Richard Bruton in January 2017 to speed up divestment of schools has yet to survey parents to establish where there is a demand for greater choice.

Educate Together criticised these plans, claiming they could not be any less focused on the actual needs of families and Irish society in general, or any more suited to the Catholic Church.

A spokesperson for Mr Bruton said: There have been previous efforts at transferring patronage but we have to be honest and admit that they havent worked. Only 10 schools transferred to multi-denominational patronage as a result of the previous process set up by minister Ruairi Quinn in 2012.

The spokesperson said parents of preschool children in 16 areas across the country will soon be surveyed on the type of schools they want in their area.

This process is designed to build on the lessons learned from the previous process and deliver more multi-denominational and non-denominational schools, and that is what we believe it will do.

Fianna Fail education spokesman Thomas Byrne said that, given the low number of schools handed over to date, there is still no guarantee that any divestment will happen under the new system.

Labour senator Aodhan O Riordain said: The department has to talk tough with patrons. Unless the patron body is absolutely convinced that it needs to change, its not going to happen.

While he said, in general, bishops recognise there is a need to divest, they have come up against pressure from individual school bodies. This was echoed by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, who recently said: Ive met resistance, not among the bishops but among some of the bureaucracies involved in school policy. Until that happens, theres going to be no real choice.

As part of the system, Education and Training Boards (ETBs) have been asked to survey parents. The department hopes this can be completed by June. Each ETB will then prepare a report outlining the level of demand for diversity in its area.

This model will focus on live transfer of schools, to allow schools continue with staff, pupils, and the majority of the board of management while it transfers from the patronage of one organisation to another.

In most cases, it is envisaged that the transfer would be by way of voluntary live school transfer, rather than the amalgamation and closure model which was followed previously, with all of the complications and legal difficulties and time delays involved. It is expected that in many cases the school property will be leased from the existing landowner, said the department spokesperson.

Educate Together called on Mr Bruton to reconsider this plan. It believes it will give Catholic bishops the final say in whether they transfer schools and to whom they transfer.

This gives the Church continued undue influence on education that is inappropriate for Ireland in the 21st century, said the groups Luke OShaughnessy.
Speaking at a yes event in Dublin alongside former tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald, Mr Harris said a conscientious objection provision will apply, should the people decide to repeal the Eighth Amendment on May 25.

Mr Harris referred to a gathering of doctors at the weekend in favour of repeal, saying the group made it clear that the status quo is not working.

There will be conscientious objection, he said.

Mr Harris also said it was important to realise that one vote in every ballot box in the 1995 divorce referendum could have altered the result.

Eight members of the Rural Independent group of TDs held an event to urge voters to vote no on May 25.

At a launch yesterday, Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry), Michael Collins (Cork South West), Mattie McGrath (Tipperary), Sean Canney (Galway East), and Noel Grealish (Galway West) posed for a photograph.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway), Michael Healy Rae (Kerry), and Kevin Boxer Moran (Longford-Westmeath) were absent, but back the campaign.

The LoveBoth campaigns Cora Sherlock branded comments by senator Aodhan O Riordain and Fianna Fail TD Lisa Chambers as fake outrage. Mr O Riordain and Ms Chambers had repeated requests from Down Syndrome Ireland for the issue to be left out of campaigning.

Ms Sherlock said her colleagues had put up new posters in the past 24 hours relating to Down syndrome.

The fake outrage by Aodhan O Riordain and Lisa Chambers is another sign of the reluctance of those pushing for repeal to address this issue in any serious way, said Ms Sherlock.

Meanwhile, the chair of the Referendum Commission said the body has no role to regulate or control advertisements and posters and it is not the job to police the material in these posters.

Judge Isobel Kennedy said that while the Commission is not in the position to challenge inaccurate material, people can check posters or material from either side against the Commissions own neutral information on its website.

She said that any future legislation must be passed by a majority of the Dail and Seanad, and that any free vote is a matter for each party or group.

Should the referendum proposal pass, any legislation passed by the Dail and Seanad will then be forwarded to the President to be signed into law.
Jason Dunne was given a four-year suspended prison sentence at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

Detective Garda Sean Minihane said Dunne was stopped at Castletreasure Grove, Donnybrook, Douglas, on July 11, 2011.

There was a smell of cannabis coming from the car and a search was conducted. Dunne, who was 23 at the time and is now 29, admitted having the cannabis for sale. It had a street value of 12,000.

He was dealing to make money to pay for his gambling, which was out of control.

After admitting to gardai that he was dealing drugs, he left the country because his life was in danger from people with whom he had been involved. His car was burnt out and he was threatened.

Niamh Stewart, defending, said the threats were also extended to his family. At one stage, they moved out of their home at Pinecroft in Douglas.

Det Garda Minihane said Dunne was arrested last month on a European arrest warrant in Amsterdam and brought back to Ireland where he was charged for the first time with this drug dealing offence.

He pleaded guilty immediately.

Det Garda Minihane accepted that Dunne had matured and was no longer the young man who got into this situation in 2011.

Ms Stewart said Dunne was leaving Ireland immediately to a new life outside the country and had no plans to return.

Judge Gerard OBrien noted that Dunne was addicted to gambling but he said he should have sought help long before his problems spiralled out of control.

The judge imposed a four-year suspended jail term.
Vice-chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Alan Kelly, has said he asked for the information on May 3, before the Scally investigation was established.

However, Health Minister Simon Harris responded by stating that the question related to matters which are now the subject of a scoping inquiry and so could not provide these details.

Mr Harris wrote that this inquiry would examine the facts, including details of the non-disclosure to patients relating to CervicalCheck clinical audits and the level of knowledge of various parties including the HSE and the Department of Health.

Dr Scally will report to me by the end of next month setting out his findings, wrote Mr Harris.

Mr Kelly said: The department came back last Thursday and said that because of the Scally review they are not going to answer. This is completely unacceptable. There is no reason whatsoever for my questions not to be answered.

It makes me wonder what have they to hide.

Mr Kelly said he has since contacted Mr Harris again as well as the Ceann Comhairle and secretary general of the Department of Health in a bid to receive the information.

He said he has asked for the details to be supplied before senior officials in the HSE and Department of Health appear before the PAC on Thursday where they will be asked to reveal who was notified of the audits and when.

I want to know when hospital managers found out about these audits, I think this is crucial information. They are critical pieces of the jigsaw.

The PAC is to meet in private today ahead of its crunch meeting with health officials over the scandal.

The interim director general of the HSE, John Connaghan, and other senior officials are to face a grilling from committee members who are still smarting over the revelations in the memos which led to Tony OBriens departure.

PAC members have rejected Government fears about the committee carrying out a parallel investigation while the scoping inquiry chairman Dr Gabriel Scally conducts his work.

He is to prepare an initial report next month and examine why cancer warnings were missed and why those misses were not notified to the women.

The belief among some in Government is that the Scally inquiry should be allowed to carry out its work.

We have updated information for GPs, smeartakers, health care workers and partner organisations in relation to #CervicalCheck https://t.co/uXxBc7VoL0 pic.twitter.com/m6oBQBrtFr  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) May 12, 2018

They have argued that the Dails spending watchdog should not be allowed to run a parallel investigation or muscle in on Dr Scallys work.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Mr Harris are also expected to come under more pressure in the Dail today at leaders questions after it emerged they were not made aware of the three memos which revealed CervicalCheck was developing responses to possible headlines that would read screening did not diagnose my cancer.

The memos also stated that letters to the women affected would be paused and the order and volume of dispatch would be decided on to mitigate potential risks.
Education Minister Richard Bruton and Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone declined to back Dr Holohan a number of times yesterday, saying they want to wait until the Governments scoping review is complete before passing judgment.

Last Thursday, Dr Holohan confirmed to the Dail Public Accounts Committee he was aware of the 2016 HSE memos which ultimately led to ex-HSE director general Tony OBriens departure.

The memos have led to a public outcry and calls for more people to be removed from office due to the fact they called for letters to women to be paused.

They also referenced public relations strategies on how to respond to stories about how screening failed to identify cancer cases, and warned some women may go to the media to tell their story.

At the PAC meeting last week, Dr Holohan admitted he knew about the memos two years ago and did not pass them onto either then health minister and now Taoiseach Leo Varadkar or current Health Minister Simon Harris.

Asked if they still have confidence in Dr Holohan at a launch yesterday, Mr Bruton and Ms Zappone said they want to wait until the Governments scoping exercise into the wider cervical cancer scandal ends next month before passing judgment.

Both ministers repeatedly declined to say Dr Holohan still has their support.

We want to get at the truth of what has happened here and let responsibility lie where it lies. We have to wait and see the work of Dr Gabriel Scally [scoping exercise chair] to identify what happened and ensure it never happens again."

I think we have to wait and see what evidence comes from the inquiry... The evidence is going to be scrutinised and then there will be questions about who is accountable. You dont set up an inquiry and draw conclusions beforehand, Mr Bruton said when asked if he has confidence in Dr Holohan.

Asked the same question, Ms Zappone said I think we need to wait to hear the detail of what happened in terms of the information provided and how it was responded to, adding: So I am going to wait until that is determined before offering that judgment.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been forced to defend his personal response to the cervical cancer crisis, saying he wants to reassure the public the Government is getting on top of this issue.

Speaking to reporters at a separate event yesterday morning, Mr Varadkar admitted the issue caught the Government off guard as it was not one we were able to prepare for because we didnt know about it in advance.

He described the drip-drip information release from the HSE as not a desirable situation to be in, but stressed all ministers want to get the facts and the only way we can do that is through the Scally inquiry.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar speaks about the Government measures being put in place to assist women and families affected by the Cervical Cancer controversy. pic.twitter.com/WjWZGH9USv  MerrionStreet.ie (@merrionstreet) May 11, 2018

At a pro-choice abortion referendum campaign event, Health Minister Simon Harris said he has found the cervical cancer scandal very troubling, but defended the Governments response saying I dont think its fair to say it took two weeks to act.

Mr Harris said what has happened to at least 209 women across the country is horrific but insisted the Government has listened to the opposition on the issue and will take all steps to find out who is responsible.

The cervical cancer controversy is expected to dominate cabinet again this morning with Mr Harris due to bring forward plans to restore the HSE board and add in new accountability levels in the organisation.

It is also expected to be raised in the Dail and during a private meeting of the public accounts committee, which is due to meet with key officials on the matter on Thursday.
Battery storage compounds capture surplus energy from wind farms during high winds, releasing it back into the power stations when the turbines are slack. The technology is relatively new in Ireland.

The application by Lissarda, Co Cork-based Redfaze Ltd is for up to 40 battery storage units, equipment, and transformers to be installed in the townland of Ballynahulla, 3km from the Sliabh Luachra village of Ballydesmond.

Landowner Thomas Herlihy of Ballynahulla has given permission for the development on his lands, according to the planning application file to Kerry County Council.

Huge objections have been mounted in the past decade to large wind turbines which mushroomed in the Sliabh Luachra area. A proposed large project by Tralee company Silverbirch Renewables is still, a year later, with An Bord Pleanala.

Fred OSullivan of Gneeveguilla, a member of the Sliabh Luachra Wind Awareness group, has written to the county council claiming the area is already awash with wind farms.

He said residents felt they were being pushed out of our homes.

Locals, he said, are concerned about a battery storage proposal and are still conducting research on guidelines in other countries.

"This kind of battery storage is at its infancy stage in Ireland."

The lithium batteries used in compounds, he said, are prone to explosion, causing major fires and toxic cloud, he stated in documents submitted to the council.

Mr OSullivan noted that, in Australia, regulations advise batteries must be placed underground due to risks and, in the US, they must be 10 miles from buildings.

He further believes prevailing south-westerly winds could blow a toxic conflagration into the heart of Ballydesmond village within minutes of an incident occurring.

The objection, meanwhile, is also critical of the lack of public consultation for such a new venture saying residents discovered the site notice on a little-used roadway.

Sliabh Luachra, said Mr OSullivan, had been settled by native Irish refugees fleeing from the plantations in the better lands near Killarney and north Cork and became a repository for music and culture. It was ironic that 500 years later, he said, their way of life was threatened once again.

Our townland is already awash with wind turbines and we feel we are being pushed out of our homes. Sliabh Luachra has been turned into an industrial minefield, according to the groups objection.

The closing date for objections to Kerry County Council is this weekend.

Around 54 wind turbines are currently located in the Sliabh Luachra area while the, as yet undetermined, Silverbirch Renewables application is reportedly likely to stretch across 8km in an area between Ballydesmond and Gneeveguilla.

The company is seeking planning for 14 turbines which will have a blade tip up to 150m from ground level.

Meanwhile, Redfaze has also applied for a smaller battery storage compound in Co Clare near an electricity substation at Knockalassa, Miltown Malbay.
Burma Analysis: ARSA Conspicuous in Its Silence

A screen grab from an ARSA propaganda video.

YANGON  On Jan. 31, the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army posted a press statement on Twitter with the heading, Notice to other armed groups, dacoit (bandit) groups, human trafficking groups, drug trafficking groups and some other groups commissioned by the Burmese terrorist government operating in disguise as ARSA.

In its statement, the Muslim armed group, which earlier claimed responsibility for attacking 30 police outposts in northern Rakhine State in August last year, warned members of the abovementioned groups not to tarnish ARSAs image in the eyes of the international community by disguising themselves as belonging to the Rohingya group.

ARSAs attacks in August triggered clearance operations in the area by the Myanmar military that caused nearly 700,000 Rohingya to flee to nearby Bangladesh.

Since that post, the group  denounced by the Myanmar government as a terrorist organization  has been silent on Twitter, their sole public relations platform.

Yangon-based political analyst U Maung Maung Soe said ARSAs silence was probably a reflection of the upper hand they had gained on the issue internationally.

He explained that ARSA is predominantly an instrument for Rohingya lobbyists at home and abroad to draw international attention to their movement.

Now the issue is on the UNs agenda. So ARSA has kept a low profile since the Rohingya exodus attracted huge international attention. If they kept promoting the armed group, it could draw criticism, he said.

Despite the groups silence, the Rohingya issue has continued to attract international attention. The EU and US have imposed sanctions against certain Myanmar military leaders. Recently, the UN Security Council dispatched a team to Bangladesh and Myanmar to investigate the issue. The delegation urged Naypyitaw to allow the safe return of the Rohingya.

U Maung Maung Soes comments on ARSAs silence were echoed by another Yangon-based analyst, David Scott Mathieson.

In his recent Asia Times article The Curious Disappearance of Myanmars Rohingya Rebels , he writes: Clumsy or revealing messaging could undermine its calls for an International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the militarys abuses, or, as some have suggested, a possible UN intervention as seen in former Yugoslavias Kosovo that carves out a Rohingya homeland in Rakhines Maungdaw district.

Mathieson observes that, while the rebel groups initial statements espoused jihadist rhetoric, much of its late 2017 statements were appeals to international organizations for assistance.

He adds that ARSAs aims and objectives  including indigenous native ethnic status for Rohingyas, issuance of citizenship identity cards, allowances for bona fide Rohingyas to return to Rakhine from diaspora communities worldwide, and the granting of full human rights, the ability to form political parties, employment in civil service jobs and return of confiscated land  were in line with many international calls for the protection of the rights of Rohingya.

Mathieson continues that ARSAs social media silence coincides with an emerging narrative that ARSA never existed. Rohingya and Western rights activists are now spreading a narrative that purports the August 25, 2017 attacks were a so-called false flag operation by the Myanmar security forces to justify its brutally disproportionate area clearance operations.

Thats raising questions about the degree of cooperation or collusion between the armed group and outside peaceful activists and whether the rebel groups deafening new silence on its once active Twitter account is more of a collective than individual decision, he said.

Another reason ARSA stopped tweeting, Mathieson says, is that the insurgent outfit is regrouping and training in neighboring Bangladesh in preparation for a fresh round of assaults it doesnt want to tip off through public communications.

U Maung Maung Soe warned that ARSA may resurface once the international communitys concern over the Rohingya issue fades.

Daw Pyone Kathy Naing, a Lower House lawmaker and member of the International Relations Parliamentary Committee, warned that despite its current silence, the armed group could make a return at any time.

ARSA is a key actor in the issue and their silence is quite weird. Myanmar and other regional countries should not lose track of it.
Burma Dozens of Jade Miners Detained in Kachin After Wage Dispute Turns Violent

Jade mine workers gather at the offices of the Yadana Shwe Eaik mining company to demand their wages in the Lone Khin region of Kachin State on Monday. / Ko Zaw Moe Htet / Facebook

MANDALAY  A police officer in the Lone Khin jade mining region of Kachin State said 50 miners were detained on Tuesday after a dispute over unpaid wages with their employer, Yadana Shwe Eaik, turned violent the night before.

According to witnesses, more than 100 mine workers gathered on Monday afternoon at the companys offices to demand their wages and when tempers flared they destroyed some of Yadanas heavy machinery and set fire to a building.

The workers said they did not received their daily wages and salaries yet, and the arguments turned into a protest in the evening. The police were there negotiating between the workers and the company, and the company promised it would pay the daily wages and salaries on Tuesday, said Ko Thein Han, a witness.

We dont know what sparked the chaos. Some angry men threw stones and destroyed the heavy machinery. Later, the recreation building for the workers was set on fire and the flames spread to the garage and nearby buildings, he added.

Witnesses said dozens of workers rushed into the garage once it caught fire to steal the jade stored inside but were eventually dispersed by police who fired warning rounds into the air.

We got away from there when the situation started to get bad. We heard the gunfire from afar and later learned that police opened fire to drive away the workers who tried to steal the jade from the burning garage, said Ko Aung Moe, a mine worker.

The fire ended at about 11 p.m. and police are searching for the suspects who stole jade from the burning garage, he added.

A local police officer, who asked that his name not be used because he was not authorized to speak with the media, said 50 mine workers were detained on Tuesday and would be sued on several counts, including vandalism, arson, theft, unlawful gathering and insulting police.

He said three civilians received minor injuries during the violence and that police were investigating reports that one man had died.

We still dont know about the dead person. Since the investigation is ongoing with the detained workers and the company staff, I cannot provide any more information, the officer said.

He said police estimated the value of the stolen jade and property damage at about 114 million kyats ($84,700).

Company representatives could not be reached for comment.

Locals said security remained tight on Tuesday as police continued to search for more suspected thieves. They said wage disputes between the areas jade mine workers and their employers were common but added that Monday nights violence was rare.
Burma Ne Wins Grandsons Charged With Assaulting Bus Driver

Kyaw Ne Win (looking toward camera) inspects a fleet of new buses delivered to Omni Focus Company at Yangons Peoples Park in May 2017. / Myo Min Soe / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Two grandsons of former military dictator Ne Win are to appear in court on May 25 on charges of assaulting a man who worked as a driver for a company they own.

U Aung Myat, who was formerly employed as a bus driver by Omni Focus YBS Co., claims he was beaten by Kyaw Ne Win and Zwae Ne Win after the bus he was driving was involved in a minor accident with another one of their companys vehicles, adding that he was unfairly dismissed from his job.

The brothers deny the claims and have opened their own case against U Aung Myat alleging careless driving.

U Aung Myat told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the brothers kicked him while wearing boots, and hit him on the head during the assault.

Prior to the incident I was involved in a minor accident. I was driving out of a repair shop when another car drove in at the same time. The accident left the other car with a broken window, he said. The vehicle he was driving was also damaged.

After the incident, he and his friend drove back inside the auto shop to have the damage to their vehicle repaired. While they were waiting, he said, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwae Ne Win arrived by car.

U Aung Myat said Kyaw Ne Win, Zwae Ne Win and their driver began beating him and his friend. Kyaw Ne Win kicked him while wearing boots, leaving him with injured ribs on his left side, he said.

I felt pain and was unable to breathe properly after he kicked me. I couldnt even talk for a while, U Aung Myat said.

U Aung Myat made a complaint against the two brothers at a police station in Hlaing Tharyar Township on May 11, accusing them of assault. The court accepted the case for investigation.

The plaintiff claims Zwae Ne Win also punched him near his ear, while Kyaw Ne Win gripped him by the neck.

Kyaw Ne Win dared him to attempt to take legal action against the pair, he said.

I told them [the collision] was an accident, and that I had not intended to do it, but they hit me while I was speaking, U Aung Myat said.

As a result of the incident, U Aung Myat said, Kyaw Ne Win and Zwae Ne Win had him fired from Omni Focus YBS. They also confiscated his driving license and refused to pay him salary he was owed, he alleged.

Kyaw Ne Win denied U Aung Myats claims against him and his brother, telling Burmese-language newspaper 7Day Daily in an article published on Monday that he will fight for justice.

Police charged the brothers with violating Article 202 of the criminal code. The brothers opened their own case against U Aung Myat accusing him of violating Article 277 by driving carelessly.

All three are due to appear in court on May 25, according to U Aung Myat.

As an employer, he should not beat a worker like this. He could have docked my pay or [taken proper steps to] dismiss me from the company, he said. Such a physical assault is illegal, he said.

Relatives of Ne Win, including his grandsons, have been in trouble with the law in the past, and have drawn accusations of using their grandfathers name to shield them from prosecution.
News Gap Apologizes for Selling T-shirt With Incorrect Map of China

Bags and clothes are seen at Hong Kong's first Gap Store before its opening in the financial Central district, November 25, 2011. / Reuters
News Tatmadaw Continues Attacks in Kachin State

A KIA outpost. / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Myanmar Army launched three air attacks on Battalion 6 under the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)s Brigade 2 on Monday morning, said Major Awng Ja, the Battalion 6 commander.

[The military] dropped bombs around the hill where Battalion 6 is stationed. Clashes are quite fierce, the major told The Irrawaddy.

The attacks caused neither civilian casualties nor damaged villages, he added.

Monday was the third day of attacks carried out by the Myanmar Army, or Tatmadaw, against Battalion 6. The government troops are also currently launching attacks on KIA outposts elsewhere in Kachin State, said U Hsan Awng of the Kachin Peace-talk Creation Group (PCG).

[The military] has been attacking several [KIA] battalions, he told The Irrawaddy.

The Irrawaddy was not able to obtain comments from the Defense Ministry regarding the attacks.

The commander of the Northern Command Major-General Teza Kyaw in a meeting with local and foreign media on Friday said the Tatmadaw has to carry out attacks for regional stability in Kachin State as well as in response to ambushes by the KIA on Tatmadaw troops.

In fact, we are only carrying out counterattacks against the KIA, said Maj-Gen Teza Kyaw.

Clashes are likely to continue in Hpakant and Tanai, as the Tatmadaw has brought in reinforcements, said KIA Major Awng Ja.

Their troops are growing, and we therefore try to avoid clashes as much as possible. But clashes could break out anytime if their troops advance, said the major.

We would like to mediate, but the Tatmadaw doesnt seem to want to. So, we will wait and see. Only when both sides are willing can we mediate. Weve asked both sides to negotiate repeatedly, but have received no reply. So, we wait, said U Hsan Awng of the PCG.

The Tatmadaw launched attacks on gold and amber mines that it said were being illegally operated by the KIA in Kachin States Tanai in June 2017.

Clashes stopped for a while after KIA Battalion 14 retreated from its headquarters in Hukawng Valley in Tanai on March 14. But on April 6, KIA Battalion 6 attacked the Tatmadaw soldiers providing security in Hpakant, which was followed by military attacks in a number of places including Tanai and Hpakant, forcing thousands of people from their homes.

With the assistance of China, a Tatmadaw delegation led by Lt-Gen Tun Tun Naung and a KIA delegation led by its chairman General NBan La met in Yunnan Province on Feb. 1. No agreement was reached at the meeting.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko.
News US Criticizes China for Shielding Myanmar from UN Action

Rohingya refugees line the streets as a United Nations Security Council convoy passes by, outside Kutupalong Refugee Camp in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, April 29, 2018. / Reuters

UNITED NATIONS  The United States indirectly criticized China on Monday for shielding Myanmar from strong UN Security Council action over a military crackdown against mainly Rohingya Muslims that the US and other countries have denounced as ethnic cleansing.

US Ambassador Nikki Haley did not mention China by name, but China proposed substantial amendments to a British-drafted Security Council statement on Myanmar last week. The 15-member council eventually agreed on a weaker statement.

The Security Council met on Monday to discuss a visit by envoys to Myanmar and Bangladesh two weeks ago.

Rohingya insurgent attacks on security posts in Myanmars Rakhine State in August last year sparked a military operation that sent nearly 700,000 Rohingya fleeing to camps in Coxs Bazar in Bangladesh.

Some members of the council have kept us from taking action for cynical and self-interested reasons, Haley said. Some undermined the unity of the council demonstrated during the trip with unhelpful edits that only weakened the councils message.

Speaking before Haley, Chinas UN Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu told the Security Council that Myanmar and Bangladesh should be encouraged to solve the crisis bilaterally to make sure it doesnt drag on or become more complicated.

The council should continue to encourage Myanmar and Bangladesh to increase consultations and cooperation for the early implementation of the bilateral arrangement, he said.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of the refugees within two years but differences between the two sides remain and implementation of the plan has been slow.

Diplomats said Russia has also backed China in council discussions on Myanmar.

Speaking after Haley, Russias deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the unity of the council on the issue was important and he hoped some members will not fall prey to the temptation of using this situation to pursue their narrow, domestic political aims.

Fleeing refugees have reported killings, rapes and arson on a large scale. Myanmar denies ethnic cleansing and has said its operations in Rakhine were a legitimate response to attacks on security forces by Rohingya insurgents.

The government of Myanmar has stated time and again that no violation of human rights will be condoned, Myanmars UN Ambassador Hau Do Suan told council on Monday. Allegations supported by evidence will be investigated and action taken in accordance with the law.

The United States and Canada have imposed unilateral sanctions against a general in Myanmars military for his role in the crackdown and the European Union is preparing individual sanctions.

Haley, who did not travel to Myanmar and Bangladesh, said that the Security Council had unique tools to encourage Burma to take real steps towards resolving this crisis, though she did not elaborate.

We should move quickly to adopt a resolution that institutes real steps to resolve this enormous and growing humanitarian and human rights crisis, Haley said.
ICT services company Hills has extended its exclusive distribution agreement for Australia and New Zealand with Genetec, a provider of security and public safety solutions across Australia and New Zealand.

Hills has deployed Genetec unified security solutions to major sporting venues, law enforcement, government, transport and healthcare sites across ANZ and, as part of the distribution agreement, provides training, technical support, pre-sales support and software development for Genetec installers.

Hills chief executive and managing director David Lenz said the extension of the agreement until October 2020 would enable Hills to invest and drive the continued development of the ANZ market in close collaboration with Genetec.

World-leading technology from Genetec, supported by Hills expertise and technical support, is a winning combination for integrators, he said.

Genetec continues to innovate and introduce new solutions including retail analytics, operational intelligence, access control and automatic number plate.

They have pioneered cloud based security products, making Hills uniquely placed to offer a complete security solution to integrators, from smart video analytics and surveillance, to networks, server hardware and CCTV cameras.

Genetec managing director of Asia Pacific and Japan, Daniel Lee, said the Hills Genetec relationship had delivered double digit growth in the past three years.

For 21 years, Genetec has been delivering a consistent flow of clever innovations, which started with our IP video management system and has expanded to our fully open-architecture, unified security platform, Security Centre.

Genetec and Hills share a common vision of innovation and service, which positions us well for continued growth and momentum over the next three years.
The Dutch Government is the second to ban Kaspersky software from the public service.

The Netherlands has joined the US in deciding to ban the use of anti-virus software from Kaspersky Lab in the country's public service.

In a letter sent to the parliament, Justice Minister Ferdinand Grapperhaus put the decision down to the fact that Russia had an offensive cyber programme that targets among others the Netherlands and Dutch interests, Reuters reported.

The measure was said to have been taken "as a precautionary measure".

Grapperhaus also said that as a Russian company, Kaspersky Lab was obliged to follow Russian laws that may make it compulsory to co-operate with the Kremlin.

The USthe use of Kaspersky's software in the public service in September last year. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre has advised agencies and organisations against using the software.

Grapperhaus said: The (Dutch) cabinet has carried out an independent review and analysis and made a careful decision on that basis.

Although there are no concrete cases of misuse known in the Netherlands, it cannot be excluded.

He added that consideration would be given to reversing the decision if circumstances justify.

Contacted for comment, a Kasperksy Lab spokesperson told iTWire the company was very disappointed with "this decision by the Dutch Government based on theoretical concerns, especially given that today's announcement from Kaspersky Lab of a new Transparency Centre in Switzerland is designed precisely to address any fears that people or organisations may have.

"We will contact the Dutch National Co-ordinator for Security and Counter-terrorism (NCTV) shortly to arrange a meeting to overcome the ban after today's announcement of the Transparency Centre.

"Our new centre in Switzerland will strengthen the proven integrity of Kaspersky Lab's products, significantly improve the resilience of our IT infrastructure to any trust risk - even theoretical ones, and increase our transparency to current and future customers, as well as the general public.

"The Global Transparency Initiative reflects Kaspersky Lab's ongoing commitment to assuring the integrity and trustworthiness of its products. Trust is essential in cyber security and Kaspersky Lab understands that trust is not a given; it must be repeatedly earned through transparency and accountability. Kaspersky Lab remains willing to answer any questions about the business, its leadership, expertise, technologies and methodology.

"But yet again, Kaspersky Lab is caught up in a geopolitical fight and still no credible evidence of wrong-doing has been publicly presented by anyone or any organisation to justify such decisions. Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyber espionage or offensive cyber efforts, and it's disconcerting that a private company can be treated as guilty merely due to geopolitical issues."
The first known Australian casualty of the Drupal vulnerabilities which came to light recently has been revealed, with Family Planning NSW announcing that its website had been compromised and the personal information of about 8000 clients exposed.

These include women who had inquired about abortions, contraception and other services. The FPNSW site is now offline and has a legend reading: "Our website is getting a security update. Thank you for your patience, we'll be back online as soon as possible. It's business as usual at our clinics."

But it does not seem to have been business as usual over the last month with the site being breached by attackers on Anzac Day. Data that had been submitted to the site over the past 2-1/2 years is said to have been at risk.

The website has been built and is managed by Adelphi Digital.

Drupal runs some high-profile websites, among them the White House; some 450 Australian Government sites run a customised version of the content management system known as, crafted by the Boston-based open source company, Acquia.

The first Drupal vulnerability came to light on 28 March, with the project behind the content management system warning that it was highly critical and affected versions 7.x and 8.x.

The second vulnerability, made public on 25 April, was again remotely exploitable on systems running Drupal 7.x and 8.x, with the Drupal project saying a few hours after the initial report that it was being exploited in the wild.

In early May, researcher Troy Mursch, who works with Bad Packets Report, warned that attackers were using these vulnerabilities to break in to systems and use them for mining the monero cryptocurrency.

Patches for both vulnerabilities have been available from the dates they were announced and warnings had been issued about applying them as soon as possible.
Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab says by the end of 2019, data from users of its software in Australia, North America, Europe, Singapore, Japan and South Korea will be stored in a data centre in Zurich, with more countries to be added to this list.

The information was provided as part of the company's announcement that it would change its infrastructure to move a number of core processes from Russia to Switzerland, which it said was part of a Global Transparency Initiative. A total of 60 staff are expected to operate at the new centre where 800 data servers are to be installed.

As iTWire reported in March, the Swiss centre is being set up in order to avoid the constant allegations of spying from Western nations.

Kaspersky Lab software has been banned from use in the US public sector since September last year. Today the Netherlands announced a similar ban, while the UK's National Cyber Security Centre has advised agencies and organisations against using the software.

In a statement, Kaspersky Lab said it would will relocate its "software build conveyer"  a set of programming tools used to assemble ready to use software from source code  to Zurich.

"Before the end of 2018, Kaspersky Lab products and threat detection rule databases (AV databases) will start to be assembled and signed with a digital signature in Switzerland, before being distributed to the endpoints of customers worldwide. The relocation will ensure that all newly assembled software can be verified by an independent organisation, and show that software builds and updates received by customers match the source code provided for audit," it said.

The company will also make available the source code of Kaspersky Lab products and software updates for review by responsible stakeholders in a dedicated Transparency Centre that would also be hosted in Switzerland and is expected to open this year.

"This approach will further show that generation after generation of Kaspersky Lab products were built and used for one purpose only: protecting the companys customers from cyber threats," the company statement said.

It added that arrangements were being made for data storage and processing, software assembly, and source code to be independently supervised by a third party qualified to conduct technical software reviews.

"Since transparency and trust are becoming universal requirements across the cyber security industry, Kaspersky Lab supports the creation of a new, non-profit organisation to take on this responsibility, not just for the company, but for other partners and members who wish to join," it added.

Kaspersky Lab chief executive Eugene Kaspersky said: In a rapidly changing industry such as ours, we have to adapt to the evolving needs of our clients, stakeholders and partners. Transparency is one such need, and that is why weve decided to redesign our infrastructure and move our data processing facilities to Switzerland.

"We believe such action will become a global trend for cyber security, and that a policy of trust will catch on across the industry as a key basic requirement.

Graphics: courtesy Kaspersky Lab
The new receiver being tested in the CSIRO's anechoic chamber

New technology installed on CSIROs Parkes radio telescope will let astronomers hear a wider range of radio waves from objects in space, which the CSIRO says opens the way to new science.

The new equipment is a receiver, a bionic ear for the cosmos which catches radio waves and turns them into electrical signals for astronomers to analyse.

The $2.5 million instrument was developed by CSIRO and a consortium of Australian universities led by Swinburne University of Technology, with funding from the Australian Research Council, Germanys Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The CSIRO and Swinburne each designed and built parts of the system.

Stars and galaxies sing with different voices, some high, some low, CSIRO astronomer Dr George Hobbs said. Its like a choir out there.

A receiver determines which radio frequencies the telescope can hear.

Until now weve had receivers that heard just one part of the choir at a time, Dr Hobbs said. This new one lets us listen to the whole choir at once.

He said the new receiver covers a very wide frequency range, 700 MHz to 4 GHz, and it does the work of several existing receivers and also covers extra frequencies that they dont.

The CSIRO says Parkes has been continually upgraded throughout its lifetime and is already one of the worlds most productive radio telescopes.

The telescope is now 10,000 times more sensitive than when it was built in 1961 and has found most of the known pulsars and most of the "fast radio bursts" that still mystify astronomers.

It also helped reveal the nature of bright sources called quasars and discovered a new spiral arm in our Galaxy.

"Most of the projects the new system will be used for are forefront astronomical science," Swinburnes Professor Matthew Bailes, who led the university consortium, said.

The projects include searching for gravitational waves from black holes in the early Universe, studying the insides of neutron stars, and mapping the magnetic fields that run through our Galaxy  and the new receiver will let the telescope do different projects at the same time.

While some of us are timing a pulsar, other astronomers could be looking for the signs of newborn stars, Dr Hobbs said.

The expertise built up in these technologies will enable Australia to compete effectively into the era of the Square Kilometre Array, the worlds largest radio telescope.

Swinburne engineers designed the data processor for the Parkes receiver using experience gained through work for the Square Kilometre Array.

The CSIRO is recognised as a world leader in receiver design, and CSIRO and recently worked together with engineers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to develop a receiver for Chinas Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope.
A dozen Google employees have quit their jobs in protest against the company's involvement in Project Maven, a US Defence Department program that uses artificial intelligence to interpret video images and assist in targeting enemies in drone strikes.

According to a report on Gizmodo, the employees were concerned both over the use of AI in drone warfare and the company's political decisions and the degree to which the trust of users would be eroded by this decision.

As iTWire reported last month, rank-and-file workers, along with senior engineers, had submitted a letter to senior management to protest against the company's involvement in Project Maven.

The letter had more than 3100 signatures and was published by The New York Times.

Many of those who resigned had written down why they had decided to do so and these accounts had been described to Gizmodo by a number of sources, the website said.

Among the reasons cited was that executives at the company had become more opaque about controversial business decisions and less inclined to discuss them with rank-and-file employees.

GOOGLE MOTTOS: A HISTORY



1999: Don't Be Evil

2003: Try Your Hardest To Not Be Evil

2008: Make A Reasonable Effort To Avoid Being Evil

2013: What Is Evil, Really, When You Get Down To It, I Mean Really

2018: *just a series of high-pitched giggles*  MGK Hockey 1234 (@mightygodking) 28 March 2018

Some employees felt that using AI for the purposes outlined in Project Maven was wrong, that humans should be doing what could be lethal work, and that Google should have no part of military work at all.

Apart from Maven, Google is also trying to win a US$10 billion cloud contract from the US Defence Department which is to be awarded before the end of the year. But many employees believe there would be strong objections to providing cloud services to support combat operations.

Gizmodo quoted one employee who quit as saying: "Over the last couple of months, Ive been less and less impressed with the response and the way peoples concerns are being treated and listened to."

Another said: "Its not like Google is this little machine-learning start-up thats trying to find clients in different industries. It just seems like it makes sense for Google and Googles reputation to stay out of that.

Apart from the Google employees, a coalition of workers in the technology industry launched a petition in April asking Microsoft, Amazon, IBM and Google not to get involved in Defence Department projects.

Their petition said: "We believe that tech companies should not be in the business of war, and that we as tech workers must adopt binding ethical standards for the use of AI that will let us build the world we believe in. Google should break its contract with the Department of Defence.

"DoD contracts between Google, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon break user trust and signal a dangerous alliance. Tech companies that have vast quantities of sensitive data from users across the globe shouldn't build offensive technology for one country's military."
The shares of Australia's biggest telco, Telstra, hit a seven-year low on Tuesday following a big drop on Monday after the company said its earnings for the current financial year would come in at the bottom end of guidance  between $10.1 billion and $10.6 billion.

The company's shares fell 4.9% to $2.87 on Tuesday as analysts warned that there were no obvious solutions to the problems faced by the telco, the Australian Financial Review reported.

The downgrade of the expected results was announced by chief executive Andy Penn on Monday, saying the company was facing a difficult trading period ahead due to the challenging dynamics of the rollout of the national broadband network and increasing pressure on its margins from competitors.

Penn issued his warning in remarks to a JP Morgan summit in Boston where he also stressed that increased competition in the market, and the NBN, had eaten into Telstras profits.

The AFR cited analysts as saying they needed clarity on how Telstra would handle the growing price competition in mobile services, the effect of TPG's entry into the mobile market, how the big telco would react to the increasing loss of revenue to the NBN market and how it would deal with the increasing investment by Optus in network quality.

Citi analysts were quoted as saying: "In our view Telstra needs to be more aggressive with cost-cutting, and could consider more drastic actions including asset sales, tower-sharing agreements and even providing competitors with access to core infrastructure in order to boost wholesale revenues.

"We see 5G providing cost savings due to efficiency gains over 4G; in the current competitive environment this simply allows for continued data limit growth rather than improved profitability.

"Similarly with NBN competition so intense, we think any wholesale price cuts are likely to be competed away rather than delivering margin expansion for retail service providers."

Analysts from UBS said: ""In recent weeks we've seen TPG reveal aggressive new mobile plans, and the industry launch 'unlimited' mobile data plans for the first time. [Telstra's announcement] added another feather to the bow for the bears.

"Based on status quo, we only see downside to our long-term EPS of 22 per share ... upsides [such as NBN failing to respond to technology threats] are long-dated  with potential regulatory/commercial fetters for Telstra. In the meantime, catalysts look negative."
Illinois Wesleyan Announces National Search for School of Music Director as Pelusi Steps Down

Current Director Changing Roles After 20 years at IWU

May 15, 2018

Bloomington, Ill  Illinois Wesleyan University will launch a national search for a new director of its School of Music, as Mario Pelusi, director for 20 years, steps down to fully focus on his passions for composing music and teaching.

Effective June 1, Pelusi will embark on a one-year sabbatical to develop composition projects, and will return to teaching full-time at the IWU School of Music in the fall of 2019. While the search begins for his successor, Vickie Folse 86, Director of the School of Nursing and Caroline F. Rupert Chair of Nursing, will take on the additional role as Interim Director of the School of Music. Bill Hudson, Head of the Voice and Choral Department and Assistant Professor of Music, will serve as Associate Interim Director.

"I have always considered it a privilege to work with esteemed colleagues and with our wonderful students and to serve as Director of the School of Music," Pelusi said in a letter to colleagues and students. "Because of my innumerable time-consuming administrative responsibilities, it has not been possible for me to devote as much time as I would have liked, over the years, to composing new musicmy first passion in the world of musicand to teaching, about which I also feel very passionate."

He will continue to direct the highly praised IWU Summer Music Composition Institute , a one-week program for high school students interested in composition, which he founded 13 years ago.

"We are grateful to Mario for his many years of service to Illinois Wesleyan University, which brought our nationally recognized School of Music into its 150th year and beyond," said Provost Mark Brodl. "I appreciate his continued dedication not only to his personal passion for music, but also to passing on this passion to future generations of students.

"We share his pride in Illinois Wesleyan as one of the few universities in the country where young musicians can combine the professional training of an accredited school of music with an outstanding, broad-based education at a top-ranked liberal arts college."

Pelusi was appointed Director of Illinois Wesleyans School of Music after a national search in 1998. Prior to joining Illinois Wesleyan, he held teaching positions at The Ohio State University, Reed College, the University of Southern California, the Lawrenceville School, and the New Jersey Governors School of the Arts, and he was chair or director of the music programs at four of these institutions. Pelusi has also held executive leadership positions with national music organizations, including the Association of Illinois Music Schools, the National Association of Schools of Music, the College Music Society, and Pi Kappa Lambda.

Contributing to the local community as well as the IWU campus, Pelusi served on the City of Bloomingtons Cultural District Commission Board and its building and executive search committees, making possible the creation of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts where IWU's premier ensembles continue to perform.

Pelusi holds master of fine arts and Ph.D. degrees in composition from Princeton University, and bachelor's and master's degrees in composition from the University of Southern California. He has composed numerous commissioned chamber and orchestral works for some of this countrys leading performers of new music and is the recipient of many grants, prizes, and fellowships.

In addition to his work in composition , Pelusis research interests include non-tonal theory, music analysis, rhythm in music, the process of creativity, music and mathematics, music and linguistics, and music entrepreneurship.

By Ann Aubry
On May 10 Dorchester Paws recognized several members of the community by naming portions of the facility in their honor. Honorees were: France
Summerville, SC (29483)

Today

Cloudy early with scattered thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 76F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will become overcast overnight. Low 64F. Winds light and variable.
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(The Conversation) Viewed from Palestine, its hard to disagree that weve perhaps seen one of the most inflammatory weeks in recent memory. In just a few days, several extremely sensitive events have coincided to devastating effect: the culmination of weekly protests in the Gaza Strip, the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the 70th anniversary of the 1948 Nakba (from the Arabic, Immense Catastrophe) and the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Throw in for good measure Israel and Irans recent clash over the occupied Golan Heights and it seems that more than ever, the region is something of a tinderbox.

As 800 guests arrived in Jerusalem to bear witness to the US embassys relocation  33 of them representatives from foreign embassies  protesters in the Gaza Strip were being shot and killed. In whats been dubbed the Great March of Return, Palestinians in Gaza (the vast majority of whom are refugees, or descended from refugees) have amassed at the edge of the territory to demand their right of return, a right that is protected under international law. So far, their demands have been met with a brutal show of force, with more than 50 Palestinians shot dead, including children, paramedics and journalists.

Much is being made of the USs decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and perhaps rightly so. Undoubtedly, that change is symbolically resonant. But there is a risk that focusing too narrowly on that issue will obscure a far deeper issue: the continued destruction of the fabric of Palestinian society and ongoing attacks on Palestinian civil liberties.

As others have reported, the embassy move does little to change the actual reality of Palestinians living under occupation in the city. What it does do is remove any naive notion that the US is acting as an honest broker for peace.

Those who are calling the embassy move the death of the two-state solution would do well to look more critically at recent history. Israel has aggressively ramped up the construction of settlements; the Israeli military has killed scores of Palestinian protesters in Gaza (not just this week), and civilian infrastructure has been damaged and destroyed across the Occupied Territories. All the while, world governments have failed to hold Israel to account.

Instead, as Israel entrenches its occupation, the Palestinian National Authority continues its state-building efforts and the international development industrys failures become clear, the Palestinians are being asked to develop a greater capacity for resilience.

The resilience agenda

Resilience, it seems, is the buzzword of the day. Its particularly popular in the field of international development, where its used to evoke a capacity to bounce back, survive, or more optimistically thrive in the face of extreme adversity. International organisations have turned their attention to promoting resilience both individually and at community level, to better equip people to cope and overcome adversity.

Looking at the state of Palestinian society and standards of living today, its abundantly clear that the international development sector has failed in its mission. And yet a resilience industry has taken hold in Palestine, and the discourse of resilience is everywhere. It has crept into the operational language of major international organisations, including the United Nations Development Programme, an organisation that recently hosted two major international conferences focusing on the development of Palestinian resilience.

This agenda is disingenuous on a number of levels, and as it becomes a driving force in the international development agenda in Palestine, it needs to be viewed more critically than it currently is. For a start, its not clear how its achievements are to be evaluated. But more than that, Palestinians dont need lessons in resilience from an international community that has utterly failed in its stated mission.

By promoting Palestinian resilience instead of holding Israel accountable for its multiple breaches of international law, and its involvement in the destruction of Palestinian society, the international community is masking its own failures  and shamefully abdicating its responsibility to the people it claims to be helping.

Dr Emma Keelan contributed to this article. She is currently pursuing an MA in Global Health at the University of Manchesters Humanitarian Conflict Response Institute. Her research involves conducting fieldwork on Palestine, resilience and international NGOs.

Brendan Ciaran Browne, Assistant Professor and Course Coordinator MPhil Conflict Resolution, Trinity College Dublin

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Democracy Now!: aza: Israeli Soldiers Kill 30+ Palestinians Protesting Nonviolently as U.S. Opens Jerusalem Embassy
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 15, 2018) - Bluestone Resources Inc. (TSXV: BSR) (OTCQB: BBSRF) ("Bluestone" or the "Company") is pleased to announce additional positive drill results from the surface and underground resource definition drill program underway, at its Cerro Blanco Gold project in Guatemala. The work is being undertaken as part of the Feasibility Study planned for completion by the end of 2018.

Drilling results continue to validate the historical high-grade vein intercepts drilled by previous operators and more recently by Bluestone (see Company Press Release dated April 17, 2018). Assay highlights in this release include 15.0 g/t Au and 32.5 g/t Ag over 10.0 meters including 32.0 g/t Au and 75.8 g/t Ag over 3.9 meters in hole UGCB18-82 that targeted multiple veins in the North Ramp area. Surface hole CB18-396 drilled numerous intercepts including 16.2 g/t Au and 20.6 g/t Ag over 14.1 meters from 167.1 meters, including 64.9 g/t Au and 76.9 g/t Ag over 2.0 meters representing deeper extensions of the sheeted vein swarms beneath the South Ramp.

Darren Klinck, President & CEO commented, "As we transition from resource drilling into the engineering phase of the Feasibility Study, the drilling results continue to solidify our understanding and confidence in the new geological model at Cerro Blanco and definition of individual vein wireframes. Importantly, the drilling continues to highlight broad zones of high-grade mineralization comprising multiple vein sets considered amenable for underground bulk mining methods in the PEA."

Three drill rigs stationed within the underground development are undertaking in-fill drilling within key areas in the north, central and south zones of the Cerro Blanco deposit. One drill rig continues to operate on surface targeting deeper and peripheral extensions to mineralization. Gold and silver mineralization at Cerro Blanco is associated with epithermal quartz-adularia veins and vein swarms that sit immediately below a silicified cap that form a low-lying hill.

Assay results from nine underground drill holes and two surface holes are presented in Table 1, totalling 1,829 meters. Drilling is designed primarily to provide additional information within key areas of the resource model and validate previous historical drilling. The underground results presented in this press release are additional fan holes drilled from Platforms 3, 4 and 10 which complement drill results announced previously. Drilling is ongoing with results from a further 13 underground and 7 surface holes pending. Over 10,000 meters of surface and underground drilling are anticipated to be completed which will be incorporated into the Feasibility Study expected to be finished by the end of the year.

Figures referred to in this press release including location of drill holes, drill sections and photos can be accessed by clicking HERE.

Underground drilling is ongoing and additional results will be reported when received. Assay results from the drill program will be incorporated into the new resource estimate planned for Q3 2018.

Table 1: Drill Results Table

HOLE ID FROM (m) TO (m) CORE INTERVAL

(m) EST. TRUE WIDTH (m) Au g/t Ag g/t UGCB18-77 53.75 58.2 4.45 4.10 4.1 18.8 59.21 61.5 2.29 2.22 3.5 8.8 161.25 162.25 1.00 1.00 3.7 3.7 UGCB18-78 83.9 85.4 1.50 1.5 2.1 6.5 96.2 97.3 1.10 1.0 2.7 7.6 UGCB18-79 11.31 20.82 9.51 9.48 5.6 33.9 incl. 11.31 15.33 4.02 4.02 8.3 33.7 and 19.69 20.82 1.13 1.13 16.4 90.4 36.63 37.63 1.00 1.00 32.3 91.1 UGCB18-80 2.96 3.96 1.00 1.00 6.0 9.2 40.64 41.64 1.00 1.00 7.1 31.4 47.77 63.8 16.03 15.98 4.3 47.8 incl. 47.77 53.25 5.48 5.4 9.3 105.3 85.95 88.47 2.52 2.5 13.9 85.2 UGCB18-81 25.5 27 1.50 1.10 14.3 33.0 43.5 46.5 3.00 3.00 4.2 6.0 56.61 59.69 3.08 3.0 4.4 9.6 77.52 78.52 1.00 1.0 23.7 31.6 100.5 105.07 4.57 4.5 20.8 46.9 107.29 108.29 1.00 1.0 8.0 13.4 116.64 117.64 1.00 1.0 10.0 16.0 122.18 125.2 3.02 2.8 11.2 13.1 129.2 130.15 0.95 0.95 4.2 6.1 UGCB18-82 16.49 17.65 1.16 1.1 4.1 4.1 25.65 27.15 1.5 1.5 4.3 2.9 71.16 81.18 10.02 9.97 15.0 32.5 incl. 77.26 81.18 3.92 3.69 32.0 78.8 97.27 100.27 3.0 2.97 4.4 8.2 112.0 113.0 1.0 1.0 4.6 4.2 120.8 122.8 2.0 2.0 17.9 10.2 UGCB18-83 No significant results UGCB18-84 49.68 56.08 6.4 3.8 20.2 23.6 53.33 56.08 2.75 2.0 44.7 39.9 64.62 65.85 1.23 1.1 4.6 3.5 UGCB18-85 2.44 3.44 1.0 1.0 8.7 5.4 47.06 48.06 1.0 1.0 9.0 20.7 52.34 59.12 6.78 6.52 24.6 92.8 53.34 56.8 3.46 3.4 46.5 164.9 70.05 71.13 1.08 1.0 21.2 60.9 79.9 81.0 1.10 1.0 3.7 23.0 84.92 85.75 0.83 0.8 37.2 331.0 CB18-387 7.5 108.4 100.9 Silica Cap 0.5 7.4 CB18-396 89.25 90.75 1.50 1.5 11.6 5.2 103.08 108.15 5.07 5.01 7.1 24.7 153.37 154.71 1.34 1.28 12.2 9.7 167.14 181.41 14.27 14.1 16.2 20.6 incl. 167.14 169.16 2.02 2.0 64.9 76.9 189.31 191.9 2.59 2.5 3.5 18.9 196.95 197.95 1.00 1.0 11.0 6.9 243.47 245.48 2.01 2.0 7.6 14.7

Notes: Hole prefix UGCB18 denotes underground drillhole, CB18 denotes surface drillhole. Intervals in bold are cited in the text of the news release. A top-cut of 140 g/t Au as per PEA was applied with no effect on calculated intervals. Only intercepts averaging over 3 g/t Au when diluted to a minimum 3 m true width were included. A complete table with hole coordinates and azimuth/ dip information accompany the Figures attached to this release.

About Cerro Blanco

The Cerro Blanco project consists of 3.2 kilometers of underground development, including two underground declines from surface (North and South Ramps). Prior to the acquisition of Cerro Blanco by Bluestone in 2017, a total of 115,500 meters were drilled in 522 holes by previous operators.

Cerro Blanco is a classic hot springs-related, low sulphidation epithermal gold-silver deposit. Gold and silver bearing epithermal veins are hosted within a sequence of volcaniclastics and sedimentary rocks (Mita Group), composite veins of chalcedony, quartz, adularia and calcite. The bulk of the veins sit below a silicified cap approximately 100 meters thick comprising a sequence of plant-rich sandstones, conglomerates, phreatic breccias, and thin sinter horizons (Salinas Group). The current resource has a footprint of 800 meters x 400 meters between elevations of 300 meters and 500 meters above sea level. It occurs at the south end of a north-south corridor of hydrothermal alteration, about five kilometers long and one kilometer wide, which has potential for discovery of additional mineralization. This corridor has several other gold targets currently under investigation. The current resource comprises both high- and low-angle veins of colloform-banded chalcedony with minor adularia, dark grey bands of silver sulphides and bladed calcite replacement textures. These textures are all classic indicators of boiling fluids that deposited gold and silver.

Quality Analysis and Quality Control

Assay results listed within this release were performed by Inspectorate Laboratories ("Inspectorate"), a division of Bureau Veritas, which are ISO 17025 accredited laboratories. Logging and sampling is undertaken at site at Cerro Blanco by Company personnel under a QA/QC protocol developed by Bluestone. Samples are transported in security-sealed bags to Inspectorate, Guatemala City, Guatemala, for sample preparation. Sample pulps are shipped to Inspectorate Laboratories in Vancouver, BC, Canada or Reno, NV, USA, and assayed using industry-standard assay techniques for gold and silver. Gold and silver were analyzed by a 30-gram charge with atomic adsorption and/or gravimetric finish for values exceeding 5 g/t Au and 100 g/t Ag. Analytical accuracy and precision are monitored by the analysis of reagent blanks, reference material, and replicate samples. Quality control is further assured by Bluestone's QA/QC program, which involves the insertion of blind certified reference materials (standards) and field duplicates into the sample stream to independently assess analytical precision, and accuracy of each batch of samples as they are received from the laboratory. A selection of samples is submitted to ALS Chemex Laboratories in Vancouver for check analysis and additional quality control.

Qualified Person

David Cass, P.Geo., Vice President Exploration, is the designated Qualified Person for this news release within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 and has reviewed and verified that the technical information set out above in this news release is accurate and therefore approves this written disclosure of the technical information.

About Bluestone Resources

Bluestone Resources is a mineral exploration and development company that is focused on advancing its 100%-owned Cerro Blanco Gold and Mita Geothermal projects located in Guatemala. The Cerro Blanco Gold project economics, as disclosed in the Company's Cerro Blanco Preliminary Economic Assessment which is available at www.sedar.com, and updated mineral resource estimate for Cerro Blanco, indicate a robust project with an expected nine-year mine life producing 952,000 ounces of gold and 3,141,000 ounces of silver. Initial capital expenditures in the PEA to fund construction and commissioning is estimated at US$170.8 million with all-in sustaining cash costs (as defined per World Gold Council guidelines, less corporate general and administration costs) estimated to be US$490 per ounce of gold produced. The Company trades under the symbol "BSR" on the TSX Venture Exchange and "BBSRF" on the OTCQB.

On Behalf of Bluestone Resources Inc.

"Darren Klinck"

Darren Klinck | President, Chief Executive Officer & Director

For further information, please contact:

Bluestone Resources Inc.

Stephen Williams | VP Corporate Development & Investor Relations

Phone: +1 604 646 4534

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.bluestoneresources.ca

Cautionary Language

The PEA is preliminary in nature, it includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Bluestone Resources Inc. ("Bluestone" or the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future including, without limitation: the proposed timeline and benefits of the Feasibility Study; statements about the Company's plans for its mineral properties; Bluestone's business strategy, plans and outlook; the future financial or operating performance of Bluestone; capital expenditures, corporate general and administration expenses and exploration and development expenses; expected working capital requirements; the future financial estimates of the Cerro Blanco Project economics, including estimates of capital costs of constructing mine facilities and bringing a mine into production and of sustaining capital costs, estimates of operating costs and total costs, net present value and economic returns; proposed production timelines and rates; funding availability; resource estimates; and future exploration and operating plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company based on information currently available to Bluestone and often use words such as "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "may" or variations thereof or the negative of any of these terms.

All forward-looking statements are made based on the Company's current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. Generally, these assumptions include, among others: the ability of Bluestone to carry on exploration and development activities; the price of gold, silver and other metals; there being no material variations in the current tax and regulatory environment; the exchange rates among the Canadian dollar, Guatemalan quetzal and the United States dollar remaining consistent with current levels; the presence of and continuity of metals at the Cerro Blanco Project at estimated grades; the availability of personnel, machinery and equipment at estimated prices and within estimated delivery times; metals sales prices and exchange rates assumed; appropriate discount rates applied to the cash flows in economic analyses; tax rates and royalty rates applicable to the proposed mining operation; the availability of acceptable financing; anticipated mining losses and dilution; success in realizing proposed operations; anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and, even if such actual results are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Bluestone. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: risks and uncertainties related to expected production rates, timing and amount of production and total costs of production; risks and uncertainties related to ability to obtain or maintain necessary licenses, permits, or surface rights; risks associated with technical difficulties in connection with mining development activities; risks and uncertainties related to the accuracy of mineral resource estimates and estimates of future production, future cash flow, total costs of production and diminishing quantities or grades of mineral resources; risks associated with geopolitical uncertainty and political and economic instability in Guatemala; risks and uncertainties related to interruptions in production; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; uncertain political and economic environments and relationships with local communities; risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the mineral identified as mineral resources from that predicted; variations in rates of recovery and extraction; developments in world metals markets; risks related to fluctuations in currency exchange rates; as well as those factors discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Amended and Restated Annual Information Form.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it was made, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Bluestone disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although Bluestone believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and accordingly undue reliance should not be put on such statements due to their inherent uncertainty. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Mining Gold Corp. (TSX:FF) (OTCQX:FFMGF) (FRANKFURT:FMG) (First Mining or the Company) is pleased to announce this fourth set of Phase 2 infill drilling results, comprising 11 drill holes, from its diamond drill program within Zone 1 (see Tables 1 and 2) at First Minings 100% owned Goldlund Gold Project (Goldlund), located near the town of Sioux Lookout in northwestern Ontario, Canada.

The Company is now planning to move forward with the next phase of its 2018 exploration programs, which will include mapping, sampling and drilling of the northeastern and southwestern extents of the known strike length on the Goldlund property. This summer, First Mining plans to conduct an exploration drill campaign in these areas of approximately 14 holes for 2,000 metres of diamond drilling.

Jeff Swinoga, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Mining, stated, These latest drill holes complete the 16,000 metre Phase 2 infill drilling campaign designed to provide greater confidence in the gold mineralization within Zone 1 at Goldlund. During this phase, 33 of 38 holes intersected gold mineralization and the drilling was confined to a strike length of only 2 to 3 kilometres, whereas the total strike length of the Goldlund property is estimated to be approximately 50 kilometres. We are very excited to proceed with our next phase of exploration drilling on several highly prospective and underexplored areas along the strike length of the Goldlund property and outside of the known resource area.

The 11 drill hole results (Figure 1) presented in this news release represent the final round of infill holes which targeted gold mineralization in Zone 1. All 11 holes encountered gold mineralization. As with some of the other previously reported holes targeting Zone 1, these holes were positioned to avoid intersecting several levels of historic underground workings from previously mined areas of Zone 1. Accordingly, we believe some of the holes may not have reached the key mineralized zones which occur closer to the footwall of the zone.

The 2017/2018 drilling campaigns at Goldlund have been designed to accomplish four primary objectives:

Convert Inferred Mineral Resources within the resource area (Zones 1, 5 and 7) into the Indicated Mineral resource category;



Test drill deeper exploration targets within Zone 7;



Identify and add additional mineralization within areas that are adjacent to the current resource boundary; and



Test drill additional exploration targets within other areas (outside of the current resource boundary) within the Goldlund Gold Property.

Gold observed during the current drilling program at Goldlund occurs both as fine disseminations in quartz vein stockworks and as more discrete larger grains up to 2 mm spatially associated with pyrite in the quartz veins. Calaverite, a gold telluride mineral, has been noted occasionally in higher grade intervals on fracture surfaces in the quartz veins. Higher grade gold distribution in the granodiorite dike is often, but not always, associated with zones of more intense quartz stockworking and potassic alteration. Figure 2 below displays a cross-section of the geology and gold mineralization for drill holes GL-17-117, GL-17-139 and GL-18-140 (results reported in the Companys previous news releases dated February 8, 2018 and April 17, 2018), plus GL-18-141, GL-18-142 and GL-18-143.

Table 1. Drill Hole Assay Results from Goldlund

Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au g/t GL-18-141 GL-18-141 316.0 352.0 36.0 0.71 inc 320.0 322.0 2.0 1.11 and inc 332.0 334.0 2.0 4.13 and inc 344.0 346.0 2.0 1.24 and inc 350.0 352.0 2.0 2.87 and 372.0 410.0 38.0 0.29 inc 372.0 374.0 2.0 1.33 GL-18-142 GL-18-142 126.0 136.0 10.0 0.59 inc 134.0 136.0 2.0 1.92 GL-18-143 GL-18-143 286.0 288.0 2.0 1.94 and 324.0 326.0 2.0 1.84 and 358.0 426.0 68.0 0.28 inc 386.0 388.0 2.0 2.27 and inc 408.0 410.0 2.0 1.04 and inc 424.0 426.0 2.0 1.84 GL-18-144 GL-18-144 7.18 47.0 39.82 0.55 inc 7.18 9.0 1.82 3.89 and inc 23.0 29.0 6.0 1.20 and 191.0 231.0 40.0 0.28 and inc 221.0 223.0 2.0 2.50 GL-18-145 GL-18-145 112.0 134.0 22.0 0.28 inc 112.0 114.0 2.0 1.05 and 234.0 246.0 12.0 0.23 GL-18-146 GL-18-146 11.0 19.0 8.0 0.78 inc 17.0 19.0 2.0 1.43 and 155.0 161.0 6.0 1.04 inc 155.0 157.0 2.0 2.81 and 175.0 205.0 30.0 0.27 inc 195.0 201.0 6.0 0.50 and 227.0 229.0 2.0 1.70 GL-18-147 GL-18-147 100.0 156.0 56.0 0.18 inc 138.0 140.0 2.0 2.89 GL-18-148 GL-18-148 14.0 16.0 2.0 1.06 and 110.0 206.0 96.0 0.43 inc 110.0 112.0 2.0 1.09 and inc 126.0 128.0 2.0 1.38 and inc 150.0 156.0 6.0 0.99 and inc 184.0 196.0 12.0 0.90 and inc 204.0 206.0 2.0 1.03 GL-18-149 GL-18-149 48.0 72.0 24.0 0.54 inc 52.0 60.0 8.0 0.99 and inc 70.0 72.0 2.0 1.18 GL-18-150 GL-18-150 4.0 26.0 22.0 0.35 inc 14.0 16.0 2.0 1.08 and inc 18.0 20.0 2.0 1.54 and 162.0 200.0 38.0 0.28 inc 162.0 164.0 2.0 2.24 GL-18-151 GL-18-151 106.0 124.0 18.0 0.50 inc 108.0 110.0 2.0 3.08

Assaying for the 2017/2018 Goldlund drill programs is being done by SGS at their laboratories in Red Lake, Ontario and Burnaby, BC. Prepared samples are analyzed for gold by either Bulk Leach Extractable Gold (BLEG) assay techniques or by lead fusion fire assay with an atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) finish. Multi-element analysis on the mineralized zones is also being undertaken by two-acid aqua regia digestion with ICP-MS and AES finish.

Figure 1. Plan Map



Table 2. Drill Hole Locations

Hole ID Azimuth  Dip  Final Depth

(m) UTM East UTM North Section GL-18-141 0 -90 410 547100 5527430 547100E GL-18-142 0 -90 290 547150 5527500 547150E GL-18-143 0 -90 449 547150 5527480 547150E GL-18-144 0 -90 335 547200 5527540 547200E GL-18-145 0 -90 359 547200 5527520 547200E GL-18-146 0 -90 305 547250 5527560 547250E GL-18-147 0 -90 371 547250 5527540 547250E GL-18-148 0 -90 251 547300 5527590 547300E GL-18-149 0 -90 302 547300 5527570 547300E GL-18-150 0 -90 200 547350 5527610 547350E GL-18-151 0 -90 251 547350 5527590 547350E

Figure 2. Cross-Section through the Goldlund Project



QA/QC Procedures

The QA/QC program for the 2017/2018 drilling programs at Goldlund consists of the submission of duplicate samples and the insertion of certified reference materials and blanks at regular intervals. These are inserted at a rate of one standard for every 20 samples (5% of total) and one blank for every 30 samples (3% of total). The standards used in the 2017/2018 program consist of 5 different gold grades ranging from 1 to 9 g/t, and are sourced from CDN Resource Laboratories in Langley, BC. Blanks have been sourced locally from barren granitic material.

Field duplicates from quartered core, as well as coarse or pulp duplicates taken from coarse reject material or pulverized splits, are also submitted at regular intervals with an insertion rate of 4% for field duplicates and 4% for coarse or pulp duplicates. Additional selected duplicates are being submitted for screened metallic fire assay analysis and to an umpire lab for check assaying. SGS also undertake their own internal coarse and pulp duplicate analysis to ensure proper sample preparation and equipment calibration.

Dr. Chris Osterman, P.Geo., COO of First Mining, is the qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101) and he has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release.

ABOUT THE GOLDLUND PROJECT

The Goldlund deposit is situated within a land package of approximately 280 square kilometres (28,000 hectares) referred to as the Goldlund Gold Project. The Property has a strike-length of over 50 kilometres in the Wabigoon Subprovince. Goldlund is an Archean lode-gold project located in northwestern Ontario, approximately 60 kilometres from the township of Dryden. The claims that make up the land package cover the historic Goldlund and Windward mines.

On January 9, 2017, the Company announced an initial mineral resource estimate for Goldlund that was prepared by WSP Canada Inc. in accordance with NI 43-101. At a 0.4 g/t Au cut-off grade, the Goldlund deposit contains pit constrained Indicated Mineral Resources of 9.3 million tonnes at 1.87 g/t gold, or 560,000 ounces of gold. At a 0.4 g/t gold cut-off grade, the Goldlund deposit contains pit constrained Inferred Mineral Resources of 40.9 million tonnes at 1.33 g/t gold, or 1,750,000 ounces of gold. The technical report for this resource estimate, which is titled Technical Report and Resource Estimation Update on the Goldlund Project and is dated February 7, 2017, is available under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and is also available on the Companys website at www.firstmininggold.com.

ABOUT FIRST MINING GOLD CORP.

First Mining Gold Corp. is an emerging development company with a diversified portfolio of gold projects in North America. Having assembled a large resource base of 7 million ounces of gold in the Measured and Indicated categories and 5 million ounces of gold in the Inferred category in mining friendly jurisdictions of eastern Canada, First Mining is now focused on advancing its assets towards production. The Company currently holds a portfolio of 25 mineral assets in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

For further information, please contact Jeff Swinoga, President and CEO at 604-639-8854, or Derek Iwanaka, Vice President of Investor Relations at 604-639-8824, or visit our website at www.firstmininggold.com.

ON BEHALF OF FIRST MINING GOLD CORP.

Keith Neumeyer

Keith Neumeyer

Chairman

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information and "forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation including the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects, "anticipates, "believes, plans, projects, "intends, "estimates, envisages, "potential, "possible, strategy, goals, objectives, or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements in this news release relate to future events or future performance and reflect current estimates, predictions, expectations or beliefs regarding future events and include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: (i) the estimated amount and grade of Mineral Resources at Goldlund; (ii) future exploration activities by First Mining on other regional targets on the Goldlund property that are outside the current resource boundary; (iii) the potential for exploration upside at Goldlund; (iv) the Companys plans to conduct a step-out drill campaign consisting of 14 holes for 2,000 metres of diamond drilling in the northeastern and southwestern extents of the known strike length on the Goldlund property areas; and (v) the Company moving forward with the next phase of its 2018 exploration program. All forward-looking statements are based on First Mining's or its consultants' current beliefs as well as various assumptions made by them and information currently available to them. The most significant assumptions are set forth above, but generally these assumptions include: (i) the presence of and continuity of metals at Goldlund at estimated grades; (ii) the capacities and durability of various machinery and equipment; and (iii) success in realizing proposed drilling programs. Although the Companys management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.

By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that estimates, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved or that assumptions do not reflect future experience. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual outcomes to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates assumptions and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be generally stated as the risk that the assumptions and estimates expressed above do not occur as forecast, but specifically include, without limitation: (i) risks relating to variations in the mineral content within the material identified as Mineral Resources from that predicted; (ii) general risks related to exploration drilling programs; (iii) developments in world metals markets; (iv) risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar; (v) managements discretion to refocus the Companys exploration efforts and/or alter the Companys short and long term business plans; and (vi) the additional risks described in First Mining's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, and in First Minings Annual Report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC on EDGAR.

First Mining cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to First Mining, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. First Mining does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by the Company or on our behalf, except as required by law.

Cautionary Note to United States Investors

This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which differ from the requirements of U.S. securities laws. Unless otherwise indicated, all resource and reserve estimates included in this news release have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101) and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy, and Petroleum 2014 Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves. NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Canadian standards, including NI 43-101, differ significantly from the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC), and mineral resource and reserve information contained herein may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by U.S. companies. In particular, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the term "resource does not equate to the term "reserves. Under U.S. standards, mineralization may not be classified as a "reserve unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time the reserve determination is made. The SEC's disclosure standards normally do not permit the inclusion of information concerning "measured mineral resources, "indicated mineral resources or "inferred mineral resources or other descriptions of the amount of mineralization in mineral deposits that do not constitute "reserves by U.S. standards in documents filed with the SEC. Investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into reserves. U.S. investors should also understand that "inferred mineral resources have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimated "inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an "inferred mineral resource exists or is economically or legally mineable. Disclosure of "contained ounces in a resource is permitted disclosure under Canadian regulations; however, the SEC normally only permits issuers to report mineralization that does not constitute "reserves by SEC standards as in-place tonnage and grade without reference to unit measures. The requirements of NI 43-101 for identification of "reserves are also not the same as those of the SEC, and reserves reported by the Company in compliance with NI 43-101 may not qualify as "reserves under SEC standards. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
Vancouver, BC / TheNewswire / May 15, 2018 - Miramont Resources Corp. (CSE: MONT) (OTCQB: MRRMF) (FRA: 6MR) ("Miramont" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its Environmental Impact Statement (known by the Spanish acronym as "DIA") for the Cerro Hermoso gold-copper project has been approved by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. The Company is now in the process of filing all required notices with the appropriate authorities to begin drilling. Miramont has contracted AK International Drilling to begin mobilizing all drilling equipment to the project area.

Miramont will complete an initial 5,000 meter drill program at Cerro Hermoso.

Bill Pincus, Miramont's President and CEO said, "Our team has worked diligently to develop the priority targets at Cerro Hermoso. With approval of the DIA and filing of related documents all that's left to do is drill. We have designed an extensive program at Cerro Hermoso and excitedly await the first results."

Cerro Hermoso is a diatreme hosted gold-copper prospect in southern Peru. Miramont geologists have defined three primary targets that will all be tested during the upcoming drill campaign. Targets include the gold-rich central breccia zone, the copper-gold stockwork zone and the polymetallic carbonate replacement zone. Further information can be found on the company's website (see News Release Jan 10, 2018).

National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. William Pincus, CPG, President and CEO of Miramont and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Miramont Resources Corp.

Miramont is a Canadian based exploration company with a focus on acquiring and developing mineral prospects within world-class belts of South America. Miramont's key assets are located in southern Peru. The Cerro Hermoso property hosts a 1.4km diameter breccia pipe targeting gold - polymetallic mineralization, while the Lukkacha property is targeting porphyry copper mineralization.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

MIRAMONT RESOURCES CORP.

"William Pincus"

William Pincus, President and CEO

For more information, please contact the Company at:

Telephone: (604) 398-4493

Facsimile: (604) 815-0770

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.miramontresources.com

Reader Advisory

This news release may contain statements which constitute "forward-looking information", including statements regarding the plans, intentions, beliefs and current expectations of the Company, its directors, or its officers with respect to the future business activities of the Company. The words "may", "would", "could", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to the Company, or its management, are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future business activities and involve risks and uncertainties, and that the Company's future business activities may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, fluctuations in market prices, successes of the operations of the Company, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. There can be no assurances that such information will prove accurate and, therefore, readers are advised to rely on their own evaluation of such uncertainties. The Company does not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking information except as required under the applicable securities laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nevada Copper Corp. (TSX:NCU) ("Nevada Copper" or the Company) is pleased to announce results from the first two holes of its 2018 open pit diamond drill program, at the Company's 100%-owned, fully-permitted Pumpkin Hollow Project in Nevada. The previously announced program aims to expand the North Pit deposit and convert previously untested areas, historically classified as waste, to ore.

Both holes have encountered multiple zones of wide mineralization at shallow depth. Hole NC18-01, located in the previously undrilled Northern Extension Zone of the North Pit, intersected multiple zones of copper mineralization, including 42.7 meters true thickness averaging 2.05% copper. This mineralization is wider and of higher grade than adjacent holes and extends mineralization into areas previously classified as waste.

Results Highlights

Strong start to 2018 drill program: The first two holes encountered multiple zones of mineralization, including intersections that are both wider and higher grade than adjacent holes. Includes hole NC18-01, with zones such as 42.7 meters true thickness averaging 2.05% copper. Further drilling is ongoing in Northern Extension and Core Area Zones.





The first two holes encountered multiple zones of mineralization, including intersections that are both wider and higher grade than adjacent holes. Includes hole NC18-01, with zones such as 42.7 meters true thickness averaging 2.05% copper. Further drilling is ongoing in Northern Extension and Core Area Zones. Mineralization expanded at high-grade North Pit: Hole NC18-01 expands mineralization to the north into previously undrilled areas, and Hole NC18-02 has encountered multiple new zones of mineralization below the existing deposit.





Hole NC18-01 expands mineralization to the north into previously undrilled areas, and Hole NC18-02 has encountered multiple new zones of mineralization below the existing deposit. Demonstrates waste-to-ore conversion: The Northern Extension Zone is currently classified as waste due to the absence of any prior drilling. The 2018 drill program aims to successfully convert waste to mineralization, which has the potential to reduce stripping costs and extend the ore body. Hole NC18-01 supports the thesis of converting material currently defined as waste to ore.





The Northern Extension Zone is currently classified as waste due to the absence of any prior drilling. The 2018 drill program aims to successfully convert waste to mineralization, which has the potential to reduce stripping costs and extend the ore body. Hole NC18-01 supports the thesis of converting material currently defined as waste to ore. Upgrading inferred category ore: Portions of the core area of the North Pit were previously classified as inferred resource due to wide drill spacing. The 2018 drill program also aims to successfully upgrade inferred mineralization to indicated category and above in order to enhance project economics. Hole NC18-02 supports the future ability to upgrade resource classification in certain zones.

The Importance of the Northern Extension Zone: The Northern Extension Zone covers a large area adjacent to existing North Pit mineralization. The Northern Extension Zone was not previously drilled due to the now completed land transfer process. As a result, this large area within the existing North Pit shell was classified as waste in previous technical studies. Subsequent geological analysis has shown the Northern Extension Zone to be a highly-prospective area. The 2018 drill program aims to add mineralization to the open pit deposit, which has the potential to further enhance open pit economics by reducing stripping costs and extending the ore body.

Matt Gili, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, We are pleased to see this successful start to the 2018 open pit drill program. These first holes both expand mineralization to the north and in the core of the North Pit, and are part of an ongoing drill program with the objective of extending mineralization and converting waste to ore in the open pit.

North Pit Drilling  Detailed Results

Drill hole NC18-01, located in the Northern Extension Zone, intersected multiple zones of mineralization along the hole. Mineralization is expanded to the north with the largest and shallowest zone intersecting 42.7 meters true thickness averaging 2.05% copper. Not only is this mineralization higher grade and thicker than adjacent holes it also extends into material previously classified as waste (see figure 1). Additional off set holes are planned as part of the ongoing drill program.

Drill hole NC18-02 is located in the core area of the North Pit. The drill hole targeted areas below existing mineralization, and within the pit limits, that were previously classified as inferred and waste due to drill spacing. The hole successfully intersected new zones of mineralization. The upper intersections confirmed existing mineralization, with intersections such as 84.4m at 0.57% Cu, and the lower intersections defined three new zones of mineralization below the existing deposit.

The 2018 drill program complements the open pit optimization work currently being undertaken by Golder Associates. The open pit optimization study will leverage existing feasibility-level work on the open pit and incorporate the drilling program completed by the Company in 2015, with the aim of defining a reduced-capex, staged-development approach to the open pit project.

The table below summarizes the current assay results. The 2018 drill program is ongoing and assays for the subsequent drill holes will be posted as results are received.



Hole #

From

To

Length True

Length

Cu

Gold

Silver

CuEq* (m) (m) (m) (m) % (g/t) (g/t) % NC18-01 94.5 137.2 42.7 42.0 2.05 0.061 5.8 2.12 150.6 169.1 18.5 18.2 0.30 0.016 0.9 0.31 201.0 209.0 8.0 7.9 0.70 0.021 2.6 0.73 220.6 232.6 12.0 11.8 0.43 0.012 1.3 0.44 271.3 285.6 14.3 14.0 0.86 0.039 2.2 0.89 356.9 367.3 10.4 10.2 0.34 0.025 1.3 0.36 NC18-02 106.7 135.9 27.2 27.2 0.37 0.030 1.1 0.39 141.7 226.1 84.4 84.4 0.57 0.047 1.7 0.61 236.5 252.7 16.2 16.2 0.23 0.022 0.5 0.24 364.5 410.2 45.7 45.7 0.19 0.028 1.0 0.21 478.8 488.3 9.5 9.5 0.23 0.031 1.1 0.25 504.1 514.3 10.2 10.2 0.17 0.024 0.8 0.19

* Cu Equivalent using Cu $3.10, Au $1300 and Ag $17; recoveries 89.3%, 67.3% and 57.3% respectively.

About Nevada Copper

Nevada Copper (TSX:NCU) owns Pumpkin Hollow - the only major, shovel-ready and fully-permitted copper project in North America. Located in Nevada, USA, Pumpkin Hollow has substantial reserves and resources including copper, gold, silver, as well as a large iron resource.

Its two fully-permitted projects include: the high-grade Pumpkin Hollow underground mine which is expected to move into construction shortly with a view to near-term commencement of copper production; and the Pumpkin Hollow open pit, a large-scale copper deposit which is currently undergoing an optimization program to target a reduced-capex, staged-development approach.

Additional Information

For further information please visit the Nevada Copper corporate website (www.nevadacopper.com) and visit our Pumpkin Hollow virtual tour.

Qualified Persons

The technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Gregory French, P.G., Vice-President, Exploration & Project Development and Robert McKnight, P. Eng., Executive Vice-President and CFO of Nevada Copper, all of whom are Non-independent Qualified Persons within the meaning of NI 43-101.

NEVADA COPPER CORP.

Matt Gili, President and CEO

For further information call:

Rich Matthews,

VP Marketing and Investor Relations

Phone 604-355-7179

Toll free: 1-877-648-8266

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We seek safe harbour.
TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /CNW/ - First Cobalt Corp. (TSX-V: FCC; ASX: FCC; OTCQX: FTSSF) (the "Company") is pleased to announce it has expanded its review of muckpile material to include third party muckpile material from the Canadian Cobalt Camp. This expanded review is intended to assess processing opportunities using the First Cobalt mill and refinery complex. First Cobalt and Cobalt Power Group Inc. (TSX-V: CPO; OTC Pink: CBBWF) will collaborate on a review of historic waste rock on Cobalt Power's land package to identify its suitability as potential feedstock.

Trent Mell, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We are pleased to share our knowledge with Cobalt Power as they undertake a sampling program of historic waste rock from past mining operations. The First Cobalt Refinery is the only permitted cobalt refinery in North American capable of producing battery materials and we welcome the opportunity to work together with our neighbours in the Camp towards the objective of accelerating our timeline to potential production."

First Cobalt announced an extensive sampling program in 2017 at a number of historic mining operations in the Cobalt Camp (see press release November 15, 2017). The program is intended to provide insights into the distribution of cobalt, silver, nickel and copper from underground waste material brought to surface at historic mining operations. The Company has agreed to share the preliminary results and methodology employed with Cobalt Power to assist with a sampling program of muckpile material located on their properties. The intent is to identify potential feed for processing using the mill equipment and the First Cobalt Refinery.

Muckpiles are mine rocks that have been broken by blasting during mining operations (Image 1). The majority of historic mines in the Cobalt Camp were narrow underground operations and muck not considered high grade silver ore was generally left on surface as uneconomic waste rock. First Cobalt has reported numerous high grade cobalt and other base metal assays from selective sampling programs near past mining operations, including grades of up to 3.9% cobalt, up to 1.63% zinc, and up to 4,990 g/t silver from the Juno and Drummond mines (see press releases October 26, 2017 and December 4, 2017) and high grade cobalt values in fracture and disseminated material, including grades of up to 3.76% cobalt from near Bellellen mine (see press release September 28, 2017).

Image 1. Muckpile material at Keeley mine.

The First Cobalt Refinery is the only permitted cobalt refinery in North America designed to produce battery materials. The facility is a hydrometallurgical cobalt-silver-nickel refinery located approximately five kilometres east of Cobalt, Ontario. The facility is located on a 40-acre property that can be expanded to 120 acres. The facility is fully permitted for processing feed containing elevated concentrations of arsenic, such as those from the Canadian Cobalt Camp, the Idaho Cobalt Belt and elsewhere in North America.

The flowsheet and timeline for a potential restart of the Refinery are the focus of a recently announced study, following the announcement of a friendly merger with US Cobalt Inc. (TSX-V: USCO, OTCQB: USCFF) (see press releases April 19, 2018 and March 14, 2018). US Cobalt's primary asset is the Iron Creek cobalt project in Idaho, which has a historic mineral resource estimate (non-compliant with NI 43-101) of 1.3 million tons grading 0.59% cobalt and 0.3% copper. A 10,700 metre drill program was recently completed at Iron Creek to confirm this historic estimate and a current mineral resource estimate is expected during 2018. US Cobalt's securityholders will vote on the proposed transaction on May 17, 2018.

Qualified and Competent Person Statement

Peter Campbell, P.Eng., is the Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 who has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release. Mr. Campbell is also a Competent Person (as defined in the JORC Code, 2012 edition) who is a practicing member of the Professional Engineers of Ontario (being a 'Recognised Professional Organisation' for the purposes of the ASX Listing Rules). Mr. Campbell is employed on a full-time basis as Vice President, Business Development for First Cobalt. He has sufficient experience that is relevant to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code.

About First Cobalt

First Cobalt aims to create the largest pure-play cobalt exploration and development company in the world. The Company controls over 10,000 hectares of prospective land covering over 50 historic mines as well as mineral processing facilities in the Cobalt Camp in Ontario, Canada. The First Cobalt Refinery is the only permitted facility in North America capable of producing cobalt battery materials.

First Cobalt seeks to build shareholder value through new discovery, mineral processing and growth opportunities, with a focus on North America.

On behalf of First Cobalt Corp.

Trent Mell

President & Chief Executive Officer

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (together, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable securities laws and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Generally, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "plans", "expects', "estimates", "intends", "anticipates", "believes" or variations of such words, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance and opportunities to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements. In particular, forward-looking information included in this news release includes, without limitation, the anticipated closing date of the Transaction, the receipt of final court approval and other regulatory approvals. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements are set forth in the management discussion and analysis and other disclosures of risk factors for each of First Cobalt and US Cobalt, filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although First Cobalt and US Cobalt believe that the information and assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed times frames or at all. Except where required by applicable law, First Cobalt and US Cobalt disclaim any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Historic Estimates

US Cobalt considers the cobalt and copper tonnage and grade estimates above as historical estimates. The historical estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM Definition Standards. They were prepared in the 1980s prior to the adoption and implementation of NI 43-101. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and US Cobalt is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources. More work, including, but not limited to, drilling, will be required to conform the estimates to current CIM Definition Standards. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Iron Creek property. US Cobalt has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical estimates nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. US Cobalt believes that the historical estimates are relevant to continuing exploration on the Iron Creek property.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 5, 2017) - Grande Portage Resources Ltd. (TSXV: GPG) ("Grande Portage" or "the Company") is pleased to announce that it has now completed twelve holes and 3700 metres of its recent "step-out" (all beyond the limits of the existing resource)... Read More
Lithuanian prosecutors on Tuesday called for five Russians, including an ex-defence minister, and a Belarusian to be sentenced to jail in absentia over a 1991 Soviet crackdown on the Baltic states independence drive.

In a move that threatens to further strain bilateral ties, prosecutors said the former Soviet officials, including 93-year-old former defence minister Dmitry Yazov, were guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Prosecutors ask the court to convict the accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity and hand them the strictest punishment which is life imprisonment, prosecution spokeswoman Elena Martinoniene told AFP.

Moscow has described the trial as illegal and rejected requests to extradite the suspects and question ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who is 87.

All six suspects were senior Soviet officials during a January 1991 attack on a Vilnius television that left 14 civilians dead and more than 800 people injured.

Soviet troops had entered the capital Vilnius to bring Lithuania to heel after its 1990 secession from the Soviet Union following five decades under Moscows thumb as a republic of the USSR.

The troops stormed the citys television tower as tens of thousands of people formed human shields to block their progress.

Prosecutors are also seeking jail terms ranging from 12 to 20 years for another 61 defendants.

Only two suspects are standing trial. Others are being represented by public defenders.

Ever since Lithuania won recognition from Moscow as an independent state in September 1991, it has sought justice for the victims of the crackdown.

While several Lithuanian Soviet-era officials have been convicted, other suspects have remained out of reach in Russia and Belarus.

The Baltic state of 2.8 million people has had a rocky relationship with Russia since independence, and in particular since Lithuania joined the European Union and NATO in 2004.
The Arab Leagues Permanent Committee on Human Rights on Tuesday urged the International Criminal Court prosecutor to urgently investigate the crimes of the Israeli occupation against Palestinians.

Israel is an oppressive and murderous entity and its politicians and officers must be taken to the International Criminal Court, Amjad Shamout, the committees chairman, said in a statement.

Shamout was referring to the killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces during protests and clashes on Monday over the deeply controversial opening of a US embassy in Jerusalem.

The Arab League will hold emergency talks Wednesday to discuss what it has called Washingtons illegal relocation of its embassy to the disputed city.

Jerusalems status is perhaps the thorniest issue in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israel considers the entire city its capital, while the Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
The opening of a new US embassy in Jerusalem sparked deadly demonstrations on the Gaza border as Israeli forces shot and killed dozens of Palestinians, with violence continuing Tuesday amid global condemnation.

Here is an overview.

 Israel warns, clashes erupt 

Several hours before the opening Monday afternoon of the controversial US embassy, tens of thousands of protesters gather at the Gaza-Israel border despite warnings from the Israeli army to keep away.

The border has been a flashpoint for deadly demonstrations that began on March 30, with some protesters attempting to breach the fence as part of demands that Palestinian refugees be allowed to return to their homes now inside Israel.

The first clashes erupt in the late morning as groups of youths approach the fence and begin to hurl stones, with Israeli snipers positioned on the other side.

The first death is quickly reported, after a 21-year-old Palestinian is shot dead by Israeli fire.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman had said in a message to Gazans earlier we will protect our civilians with all our means and not enable the fence to be crossed.

 Massacre 

In less than two hours, 16 Palestinians have been killed.

The death toll increases by the hour. By the end of the day on Monday, 59 Palestinians, including eight children, are killed, most of them by Israeli sniper fire.

At least 2,400 are wounded, either by bullets or from inhaling teargas.

An eight-month-old baby dies overnight after inhaling teargas.

It is the deadliest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority condemns the terrible massacre and calls for immediate international intervention.

European nations call for calm, and Amnesty International condemns the abhorrent violation of human rights.

Turkey and South Africa recall their ambassadors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends the use of force.

Every country has the obligation to defend its borders, he says on Twitter, accusing Gazas ruling Islamist Hamas group of pushing the protesters into action.

Hamas is intentionally and cynically provoking this response, US President Donald Trumps administration adds.

 The embassy opens 

As the violence extends into the afternoon, the embassy is officially opened when the US presidents daughter Ivanka unveils a plaque and a seal.

Trump hails it as a great day for Israel and says in a video message: Our greatest hope is for peace.

For Israel, the relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv formally recognises all of Jerusalem as Israels capital, and is a crushing blow to Palestinians who see east Jerusalem as their capital.

In his address to the crowd at the embassy opening, Netanyahu tells Trump: By recognising history you have made history.

 Investigations demanded 

Protests continue with less intensity Tuesday on the Gaza border, with another two Palestinians killed in the afternoon, as some of Mondays dead are buried.

Calls mount for an inquiry into the violence, with Britain and Germany among those demanding an independent investigation. Berlin also blames Hamas for pushing an escalation of violence.

After the Arab League urges the International Criminal Court to investigate the crimes of the Israeli occupation, the ICC chief prosecutor says the tribunal is recording any alleged crime and will take any action warranted to prosecute crimes.

Belgium summons the Israeli ambassador and Turkey, whose President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused Israel of state terror and genocide, tells the Israeli ambassador to leave.

But at the United Nations, US ambassador Nikki Haley defends Israel at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, saying it had acted with restraint in the face of provocation from Hamas.
Leading the way: Survey finds Kansas State University provides best value for educational buck in Kansas

Tuesday, May 15, 2018



According to a survey by SmartAsset, Kansas State University is the top educational value in Kansas for the fourth year in a row. In the survey, the university's average starting salary of new graduates and student retention rates were tops in the Sunflower State.



MANHATTAN  For the fourth year in a row, Kansas State University tops a national study of the best educational value in Kansas.



The study by SmartAsset determines which schools provide the best bang for the educational buck based on tuition, living costs, average scholarships and grants, starting salary upon graduation, and retention rates. In the Sunflower State, the study found Kansas State University to be the best value among the 10 schools surveyed. SmartAsset is a financial data and technology company.



"It comes as no surprise that the university in Kansas that provides the best return on investment also is the No. 1 choice of Kansas high school graduates," said Pat Bosco, Kansas State University vice president for student life and dean of students.

According to SmartAsset, Kansas State University graduates are earning the highest starting average salary among the Kansas schools at $50,000, which is up $1,700 from last year's state-leading $48,300 starting salary. That increase also dovetails with the university's latest postgraduate report, which finds that 95 percent of Kansas State University's 2016-2017 graduates were employed or continuing their education within six months of their graduation.



"Year after year, our graduates are in demand by employers and professional schools as shown by our high job placement and continuing education rates," Bosco said. "To achieve this high output is a recognition of the excellent teaching and academic culture offered by K-State, which is designed to bring out the best in our students."



Kansas State University also has the highest student retention rate in the state at 85 percent, which is 4 percentage points higher than the second-place school. Student retention is a priority and the university's high retention rate shows the success of K-State First, the university's first-year student success program. The university also offers other programs and services for student success, such as First Scholars for first-generation students, the Academic Assistance Center and the Career Center. In addition, Kansas State University students receive more than $230 million in financial aid each year.



Other Kansas schools surveyed by SmartAsset include the University of Kansas, Washburn University, Baker University, Pittsburg State University, Mid-America Nazarene University, Fort Hays State University, Wichita State University, Emporia State University and Southwestern College.






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Why some physicians thrive and some struggle to survive

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Im sitting in the waiting area across the endoscopy room of a major hospital. Mindless talk show TV runs in the background. Patients are waiting patiently. They anxiously look up every now and then from their phones towards the reception desk.

Its a scene Ive experienced for years while working in health care while waiting for doctors.

But theres something different in the air now.

Patients, like those around me, will encounter a doctor whos excited and enthusiastic. But some will meet another whos dreading her career.

Health care is changing faster than ever before.

Its just not about technology disruption. There are many forces at play: Changes in patient and societal behavior. Challenging finances. Evolving policy. Dichotomy of unmet supply and unmet demand for care.

Why some thrive and some struggle to survive

The doctor Im about to meet is in the thriving category. He and his colleagues are excited about creating a new field  endoscopic surgery. Yes, its what you think it is. Surgery while inserting a tube into your gut. Complex. New. Innovative.

And just the other day, I was scheduled for a video chat with a group of doctors at another hospital. A couple of days prior to the call, I learned that the hospital suddenly terminated their contract. Its possible that they are being replaced by nurse practitioners to save money.

I come across doctors from both ends of the spectrum  excited on one end, Depressed on the other. Some even leave medicine for good.

How does this happen?

Doctors start making real money only in their mid-30s. After accumulating significant student loans. At that point in their career, they either choose to join private practice or find a job at a hospital.

The problem of being employed

Earlier, more doctors were inclined to go solo by developing their own practice. Newer generations of doctors increasingly want the comfort of a regular paycheck and lifestyle.

However, being employed doesnt take away from the fact that doctors are fiercely independent. While they are taught to give instructions in residency, they end up taking instructions from hospital administration about the number of clinical procedures they must perform, the number of patients they must see and so on.

Eventually, they are disillusioned with the system. Medicine is not what they had signed up for. However, they are stuck because they need the money for paying off their student loans, mortgages, car loans, saving up for their childrens college fund and so on.

The problem of private practice

When in private practice, doctors are overwhelmed by the many balls that they need to juggle just to stay in the same place. They need to worry about getting paid correctly from insurance companies, hiring and training staff, getting their clinical codes right, credentialing themselves with insurance panels, fighting denials and guarding themselves from lawsuits and audits, interpreting long-winded health care laws (like MACRA). Not to mention dealing with complex technology.

Its a tough life to go it alone.

Forgetting to unlearn and relearn

Eventually, doctors find a certain area within a specialty where they can make a predictable income. For example, there was a time when cardiologists made money from imaging. Despite an environment of declining cardiology reimbursements, some doctors continue to rely on income from reading EKGs.

Imagine what would they do when portable EKG bands becomes mainstream. People with heart conditions might wear one and be measured by a system continuously. New findings suggest that conditions such as atrial fibrillation and hyperkalemia can also be detected from the data.

Its all changing too fast.

The entire health care industry is in for a massive disruption. The key to ride such a wave is to forget fast. Because if you hang on to the past, youll be run over.

Losing meaning and purpose

After working hard to become doctors, many lose their way. There are many challenges that the health care industry poses before a doctor gets to simply see her patient. In navigating those challenges, doctors figure out ways to survive. And in surviving, they sometimes forget why they became doctors in the first place.

The relationship with patients becomes a routine, near commercial transaction. Not laced with the purity they had imagined in college. They adapt to circumstances. Medicine becomes a vocation. Not intellectually stimulating or challenging. And they enter a long tunnel of career stagnation  only to be shaken up rudely by industry changes. Sometimes its technology. Sometimes its financial. Sometimes its regulatory or legal.

The other day, I was catching up with a friend on the West Coast. Shes not in health care. She works at a large company that hasnt kept up with the many changes in their industry.

I asked, The Bay Area seems desperate for talent in machine learning. Why not take up an online course and get up to speed? Shes those brainy ones. This would be right up her alley.

Oh, I dont get time from family, work and myself, she said.

Dont mind me saying this  but whatll you do if they start layoffs? I asked with concern.

Maybe, Ill take a break from everything and learn stuff. Maybe like machine learning.

Why not do it now? Before that desperate point comes.

I dont know. No time I guess 

And thats how it goes. Even in health care.

Praveen Suthrum is president and co-founder, NextServices and blogs at redo | healthcare.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
2FM DJ Louise McSharry is encouraging Kilkenny people to take up the Relay For Life baton to support people in Ireland who are affected by cancer.

Relay For Life is a 24 hour event that brings the community together to celebrate the lives of cancer survivors, remember those lost to the disease and fight back by increasing knowledge of cancer and raising money to fund vital research and services of the Irish Cancer Society.

Louise was joined by Josephine Kelly, Chair of Relay For Life Kilkenny, as she helped launch the Irish Cancer Societys 2018 Relay For Life events  including the Kilkenny Relay which takes place in Kilkenny Rugby Club on 21st and 22nd July.

Louise said that being diagnosed with cancer at the age of 31 was a huge shock. "Like most people I never expected cancer to affect me. Very quickly I realised that cancer knows no boundaries  it can happen to anyone at any time. Thats why its so important that we come together at a community level to raise awareness and show support.

Here in Kilkenny a fantastic committee host Relay For Life to celebrate, remember and fight back. Cancer can be extremely difficult, but knowing your local community is behind you is uplifting, and thats what Relay For Life is all about.

Irish Cancer Society Night Nurse Josephine Kelly, local Chair of Relay For Life Kilkenny said, I first heard about Relay at the Night Nurses annual conference in 2012 and I instantly thought it sounded like a wonderful event to be involved in. As a Night Nurse I see the grief and pain caused when someone dies from cancer. I have lost many relatives to cancer too. But Relay is a very positive and uplifting event. Theres a great sense of community and together we are removing the stigma we once had around cancer in Ireland.

Averil Power, Chief Executive of the Irish Cancer Society said, There are over 165,000 people in Ireland living with and beyond cancer, and by 2020, one in two people will receive a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime. Relay For Life brings communities together in a very powerful way to fight against an illness that can make a person feel so alone. Get involved in your local Relay and join the fight back against cancer.

Last year over 700 survivors were celebrated at Relay For Life events around the country, while thousands of people were remembered at special Candle of Hope ceremonies held at each Relay. The events also help raise awareness of services available locally, ways of reducing risk of cancer, and how people can help fund crucial supports and research.

Each Relay For Life event is organised by a dedicated local volunteer committee, supported by Irish Cancer Society. Anyone is welcome to get involved in Relay for Life. For more information on Relay For Life see www.cancer.ie/relayforlife

Registration for Kilkenny teams is still open and contact facebook or relayforlifekilkenny@gmail.com or 0872925805.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider subscribing to our ePaper and/or free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
At ifac Financial Solutions we know farmers and the business of farming. We have been looking after farm families for over 40 years.

We know that when you are in the thick of it running a busy farm it's not always easy to see how change might affect you or how you can protect yourself and your farm from a big financial hit like the loss of income through injury or illness.

We work with thousands of farmers around the country to ensure that they have valuable protection in place for their business, their family and themselves.

We help you to protect you, your farm and your family by asking questions such as:

Could you afford to pay someone to run your farm if you got injured and couldnt work for a long period?

if you died would your family have access to a life insurance pay-out?

if you suffer a serious illness what impact would this have on your family and business?

if you are unable to work due to an accident or injury, how will your business cover the cost?

At ifac we work with farmers every day looking at their individual circumstances and helping them to understand their options to help protect their farms. We help to deliver peace of mind by providing a range of valuable and practical farm protection supports such as:

Income protection

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Get in touch with one of our experts today

At Ifac Financial Solutions we work closely with you to help you to take control of your financial worth and we provide a full and comprehensive financial planning and insurance service.

Our client focused service ensures that we advise on what is right for you, your farm and your family. We are expert in what we do and we care about getting the right solution for you.

Get In Touch

Located in Cillin Hill, our Kilkenny team deliver a personal level of service with their in-house expertise. At ifac, we pride ourselves in providing a specialist service through highly experienced professionals on a local level. Please give us a call or send us a message if you have any questions or would like more information on what ifac can do for you. ADDRESS: Cillin Hill, Dublin Road, Kilkenny, Co. Kilkenny

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Ben Fogarty, Partner, Kilkenny.

Why income support for farmers is worth taking seriously

Key Facts

Farmers are 7 times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than other occupations

Farmers offered free heart health checks at marts in 2013/14

82% of farmers reported being aware of family history of heart disease or diabetes.

46% had high blood pressure

46% had raised total cholesterol levels

80% of farmers had four or more cardiovascular disease risk factors.

79% were advised to visit their GP.

Source: Irish Heart Foundation  Farmers Have Hearts Programme

1 in 3 people in Ireland will develop cancer during their lifetime (By 2020 that is estimated to be 1 in 2)

40,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed in Ireland each year

Skin Cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland

Source: Irish Cancer Societ

24 of the 46 work related fatalities recorded in 2017 were Agriculture related

Source: Health and Safety Authority, January 2018

Dont leave it to chance. Get income protection in place so that you, your farm and your family are cared for no matter what the future brings.
Japanese media's reporting on North Korea's denuclearization on April 22. North Korea announced it was willing to denuclearize the day before. / Yonhap



By Jung Da-min



Japan has been sidelined from the ongoing peace process and North Korea's denuclearization effort.



The latest development is the North's decision to keep Japanese media out during the dismantling of the Punggye-ri nuclear site, planned for May 23 to 25.



The North's foreign ministry said North Korea would invite journalists from six countries, including five member countries of the six-party talks, except Japan. The U.K. is on the list instead.



Japanese media have remained calm.



"Japanese media have responded to North Korea's announcement very calmly by just reporting this news," said Kosuke Takahashi, Tokyo correspondent of IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.











Kosuke Takahashi, Tokyo correspondent for IHS Jane's Defence Weekly.
What's more urgent is to push for defense reform



Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo revealed during a recent debate on the national defense budget that South Korea will take over wartime operational control (OPCON) of its armed forces from the U.S. in 2023 when a "national defense reform" project is completed.



It is the first time for Song to make public the timing for the recovery of OPCON, now held by the commander of the Republic of Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command who is commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK).



The minister's remark has drawn much attention as it comes at a time when talks about North Korea's denuclearization have started in earnest following the April 27 inter-Korean summit at the truce village of Panmunjeom. The North Korea-U.S. summit is scheduled to be held in Singapore on June 12.



It cannot be overemphasized that South Korea should recover OPCON at an early date as a sovereign nation by fulfilling the necessary conditions as soon as possible, such as the building up of the ROK Armed Forces' capability to lead the ROK-U.S. combined defense, among others.



Of course, there will be less need for the USFK to have OPCON, if North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons for a denuclearized Korean Peninsula through the upcoming summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un.



But what is more urgent than recovery of OPCON is modernizing the nation's weapon systems and military power through bold and efficient defense reforms. A hasty action without full preparation will only cause trouble. The military has to solidify its combined readiness posture through ROK-U.S. mutual assistance and cooperation.



It is needless to say that the nation should cooperate with international society to counter possible misjudged provocations by North Korea. The Ministry of National Defense should waste no more budget on the grounds of reforming national defense. The prerequisite for OPCON recovery is to push the long-awaited reform of the defense system.




New Delhi [India], May 15 (ANI): Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, who on May 14, was appointed as the new Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister, on Tuesday said that the media is an important pillar of democracy and needs to self-regulate itself.

"Prime Minister is clear that media is one of the very important pillars of our country and democracy. The media has to self-regulate itself. We all together are the eyes and ears of the government," Rathore said after he took the independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

In a Cabinet reshuffle late last evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi assigned the Information and Broadcasting portfolio to Rathore replacing Smriti Irani.

Earlier, Irani was Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. She will now only hold the portfolio of Minister of Textiles. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Voting for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 was held on May 12 at 56,696 polling booths across the state. The 2018 Karnataka assembly election is a majorly a power contest between the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). The Elections Commission of India will announce the results today. The southern state is one of the three states where Congress managed to be in power while the BJP rose to power in rest of the states and Union territories in the country. Watch live streaming of Karnataka Assembly Election Results 2018 on Kannada TV9, via the embedded link below. As the counting is all set to begin at 8 am, catch live updates of the elections results here.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who is leading the campaign in the state has expressed his confidence in Congress coming to power with a huge majority. The CM who travelled at the length of the state wooing voters never left any opportunity to take a dig at BJP with his scathing comments. Watch the live streaming of Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 on TV9 Youtube Channel here.

Meanwhile, the BJP led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ensured his promises thoroughly echoed across the state ahead of the elections. Attacking the Congress on numerous occasions, he has promised to make a Nava Karnataka (New Karnataka) if the party comes to power. Meanwhile, the JD (S), led by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who also plans to rule to the state is a tough competition to the other national parties.

Karnataka has a 4.96-crore electorate, including 2.44 crore women this year. The single-phase polling in 222 constituencies included 36 reserved for the Scheduled Castes (SC) and 15 for the Scheduled Tribes (ST) and 26 in Bengaluru. Over 15 lakh people are first-time voters in the 18-19 age group. Tight security was in place to ensure smooth polling. The majority mark for any party to form the government is 112. A total of 2,654 candidates are contesting for 222 assembly seats in Karnataka.

Among the six major opinion polls released ahead of the elections, five have predicted hung assembly in the state. While the Siddaramaiah government wants to come back to power, in Karnataka, in the past, an incumbent government has never been re-elected since 1985.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2018 07:06 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
TMC, Left Front and Congress are among the main political parties, which are in the fray in West Bengal Panchayat Election 2018. Stay tuned with results here | (Photo Credits: PTI)

Belgaum, May 15: The counting of votes for Karnataka assembly elections 2018 was held on Tuesday and results for the same were declared by the Election Commission of India later in the day. Earlier in the day, the Congress and the BJP were in a neck and neck race. Out of the 18 constituencies, BJP won 11 seats while Congress won 7 seats.

Balachandra Lakshmanarao Jarakihol of the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Arabhavi constituency, the Congress party was leading in Athani, Bailhongal, Abhay Patil of the Bharatiya Janata Party was declared a winner from Belgaum Dakshin constituency.

Meanwhile, in Belgaum Rural, Laxmi R Hebbalkar of the Indian National Congress has won the seat while in Belgaum Uttar Anil S Benake of the Bharatiya Janata Party won the seat. In Chikkodi-Sadalga, Ganesh Prakash Hukkeri of the Indian National Congress has won the seat while in Gokak Jarkiholi Ramesh Laxmanrao of the Indian National Congress, in Hukkeri Umesh Vishwanath Katti of the Bharatiya Janata Party have won the election. In Kittur, Doddagoudar Mahantesh Basavantaray of the Bharatiya Janata Party has won the seat.

The Belgaum (Belagavi) District, which comprises of Arabhavi, Athani, Bailhongal, Belgaum Dakshin, Belgaum Rural, Belgaum Uttar, Chikkodi-Sadalga, Gokak, Hukkeri, Kagwad, Khanapur, Kittur, Kudachi, Nippani, Ramdurg, Raybag, Saundatti Yellamma, Yemkanamardi. Catch LIVE Updates of Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 Here

About 11,000 police personnel, 1 Rapid Action Force (RAF) company & 20 Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP) companies have been deployed across Bengaluru. The city of Belgaum is the district headquarters in North Karnataka, housing the second legislative building, where the Karnataka Legislature will meet once a year. This space would be updated in real time, as soon as the Election Commission begins releasing the early trends and results. Readers are recommended to keep refreshing the page for the live news and updates.

Belgaum (Belagavi) District Election Results 2018:

Arabhavi Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Athani Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Bailhongal Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Belgaum Dakshin Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Belgaum Rural Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Belgaum Uttar Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Chikkodi-Sadalga Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Gokak Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Hukkeri Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Kagwad Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Khanapur Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Kittur Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Kudachi Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Nippani Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Raybag Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Saundatti Yellamma Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Saundatti Yellamma Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Yemkanmardi Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Ramdurg Election Results 2018 LIVE:

Belgaum Dakshin constituency lies in North Karnatakas Belgaum district. The fight is between BJP's Abhay Patil and Congress candidate MD Lakshmi Narayana. C-Voter exit poll predicted BJP to emerge as the single largest party with 103 assembly seats. Congress is projected to win 93, JD(S) 25 seats, and Others 1. CNX exit poll results also said that BJP is likely to emerge as the winner with 106 seats, Congress 75, Janata Dal (Secular) 37.

In the 2013 Assembly Election, the election was held in a single phase for 223 seats out of total 224 seats. The Bharatiya Janata Party also contested for 222 seats and obtained the same result. The Indian National Congress won the majority of seats under the leadership of former Janata Parivar leader Siddaramaiah. The party won 122 seats out of 223 contested seats, which was 9 seats more than the majority mark of 113 seats which helped the Indian National Congress to form a government in Karnataka State Legislative Assembly and return to power after nine years with Siddaramaiah as the Chief Minister.

In the 2013 elections, voting in Periyapatna Constituency was adjourned due to the death of the BJP candidate Sannamogegowda, a day before the polling took place. Janata Dal (Secular) contested for 222 seats and won 40 seats in the Elections.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2018 04:41 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Bengaluru, May 15: The results of Karnataka assembly elections 2018, one of the bitterly fought electoral battles in recent times, will be declared today. The Election Commission of India is scheduled to begin the counting of votes at 8 am. The early trends are expected to follow thereafter. Although the official results would be declared later in the day, the trends in the first couple of hours would reveal whether Karnataka has reposed faith in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress, or paved the way for BS Yeddyurappa to ride back to power on a Modi-Shah-led BJP wave. The Janata Dal (Secular), on the other hand, was predicted by most exit polls to play the role of kingmaker. Stay tuned here for all the live updates, trends, news and results emerging from the counting centres.

Voting for the Karnataka assembly polls was held in 222 of the 224 legislative constituencies. The two seats where voting was deferred are Jayanagar, where the death of BJP candidate led to the cancellation of polls and Rajarajeshwari (RR) Nagar, where the seizure of over 9,000 fake voter ID cards forced the Election Commission to countermand the polls.

Karnataka Election Results: Will Congress halt the Modi-Shah juggernaut?

Post the BJP's victory in 2014 general elections, the party has been claiming one state after another, leaving Congress with only four states, including the minor Puducherry and Mizoram. A defeat in Karnataka would further dent the Congress' stature as a national party as it would be left with only Punjab as a major state to be ruled.

Predicting the dismal performance of the Rahul Gandhi-led party, PM Modi in a poll rally in Dharwad had said, "Very soon, this Congress will be PPP Congress." By 'PPP' he referred to Punjab-Puducherry-Parivar (family).

On the other hand, a victory for the Congress would shift the momentum in favour of the grand-old party, ahead of the upcoming Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh assembly elections later this year.

Speaking at a poll rally in Hubli, Rahul Gandhi had said, "I don't make overstatements. Mark my words: The BJP will be defeated in Karnataka. They will be defeated in MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Then, they will be defeated in 2019."

What exit polls had predicted the outcome of Karnataka elections 2018?

Exit Polls BJP Congress JD(S) Todays Chanakya 120 73 26 Republic-Jan Ki Baat 95-114 78-92 26-35 Times Now-VMR 94 97 28 ABP News-C Voter 97-109 87-99 21-30 India Today-Axis 79-92 106-118 22-30 POLL OF POLLS 102 92 27

Majority among the post-election surveys hinted towards a fractured mandate, with no party crossing the half-way mark of 112. Two among the six major surveys predicted a slim majority for the BJP, whereas, one exit poll predicted the Congress to retain power.
Bengaluru, May 15: Out of the nine seats in Karnataka's Gulbarga district, five have been won by the Congress, whereas, four were bagged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The seats won by the Congress are: Afzalpur, Chincholi, Chittapur, Gulbarga Uttar and Jevargi. The BJP has bagged the constituencies of Aland, Sedam, Gulbarga Rural and Gulbarga Dakshin. For live updates and results of all 222 constituencies of Karnataka, read here.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Indian National Congress (INC) emerged victorious from seven of these constituencies - Afzalpur, Chincholi, Chittapur, Gulbarga Rural, Gulbarga Uttar, Jevargi and Sedam. The now-dissolved Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP) had won the seat of Aland, whereas, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had bagged Gulbarga Dakshin.

Gulbarga district elections results 2018:

Afzalpur election results

Aland election results

Chincholi election results

Chittapur Election Results

Karnataka - Chittapur Result Declared Candidate Party Votes PRIYANK KHARGE Indian National Congress 69700 VALMIK NAIK Bharatiya Janata Party 65307 DEVARAJA V K Bahujan Samaj Party 1218 RAJU HADNOOR All India Mahila Empowerment Party 1136 SABANNA B DODDAMNI Independent 615 SHANKAR CHAWAN Independent 612 VINOD ANNA Independent 418 RUKKAPPA K LEADER Independent 311 None of the Above None of the Above 1052

Gulbarga Rural Election Results

Gulbarga Uttar Election Results

Gulbarga Dakshin Election Results

Karnataka - Gulbarga Dakshin Result Declared Candidate Party Votes DATTATRAYA C PATIL REVOOR APPU GOUDA Bharatiya Janata Party 64788 ALLAMPRABHU PATIL Indian National Congress 59357 BASAVARAJ DIGGAVI Janata Dal (Secular) 14359 SURYAKANT NIMBALKAR Bahujan Samaj Party 1853 RIZWAN UR RAHMAN SIDDIQUI Independent 597 MAQBOOL KHAN HEERAPUR Independent 479 M S UDANOOR Indian New Congress Party 288 PRAHLAD MATMARI Independent 259 SYED ABDUL BARI Welfare Party Of India 252 JAGANNATH M CHAWAN National Development Party 229 RATNA SUKHJINDER SINGH All India Mahila Empowerment Party 184 VIRANNA KORALLI Shivsena 179 DHARMAVEER S PUJARI Independent 171 CHANDSAB MAKTUMSAB BHIMALLI Independent 138 RAMADEVI RAJKUMAR MADGI Shramajeevi Party 115 None of the Above None of the Above 1114

Jevargi Election Results

Karnataka - Jevargi Result Declared Candidate Party Votes AJAY DHARAM SINGH Indian National Congress 68508 DODDAPPAGOWDA S. PATIL NARIBOL Bharatiya Janata Party 52452 KEDARLINGAYYA HIREMATH Janata Dal (Secular) 35691 PRABHU KALAPPA All India Mahila Empowerment Party 856 VAKIL PATEL S/O KHAJAPATEL Independent 813 SIDDAPPA HUGAR Independent 732 PRAVEENKUMAR BASAYYA KUNTOJIMATH Shivsena 478 RAMU S/O CHATRU CHAVHAN Independent 318 BHIMAYYA SOMAYYA Independent 238 NAGESH S/O VEERANNA Independent 229 DARMAN Independent 121 None of the Above None of the Above 1310

Sedam Election Results

This space would be updated in real time, as soon as the Election Commission begins releasing the early trends and results. Readers are recommended to keep refreshing the page for the live news and updates.

Gulbarga, along with other districts of Karnataka, went to polls on May 12. The region, part of the Kalaburagi division, witnessed a triangular poll fight between the Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and the BJP. Noteworthy, the KJP which had won one assembly seat from the district had merged with the BJP. The party was founded in 2012 by BS Yeddyurappa, who made his way back to the saffron party in 2014. A year ahead of the recently conducted assembly polls, he was announced as the BJP's prospective chief minister.

Key facts to know about Gulbarga district: The region houses a population of 25.6 lakh people. The administrative headquarters are located in the city of Gulbarga, where nearly 5.37 lakh people reside as per the 2011 survey. The total area encompassed by the district is 10,951 square kilometres.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2018 08:50 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Afghanistan, May 15: At least thirteen Taliban militants have been killed during separate clashes which erupted in three northern provinces of Afghanistan in the last 24 hours, the country's defence authorities have confirmed. At least seven Taliban militants have been killed and four others have been wounded during a clash in Khanabad district in northern Kunduz province, reported Khaama Press, citing, the Afghan military, as saying.

One Taliban militant has been killed and two others wounded during a separate clash erupted in Suzma Qala district of northern Sar Pul province.

At least five militants have been killed and three others have been wounded during another clash that took place in Chahar Bolak district of northern Balkh province.

According to the report, some weapons, ammunition and other equipment to Taliban were also destroyed during the same operations. No comments have been received from the anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban militants in connection with this report by far. This comes in tandem with various ongoing counter-terrorism operations in certain northern provinces as the militant and terrorist groups are attempting to expand their insurgency activities in the north. The US military based in Afghanistan also conduct regular airstrikes against the IS, Taliban, and other militant and terrorist groups. The US forces conduct airstrikes by using unmanned aerial vehicles in the province to clamp down the militants, according to the reports.
Sanaa, May 15: Yemeni tribal and security officials say a missile fired by a suspected US drone has killed three al-Qaeda militants who were driving in a vehicle in the country's south.

They say the operatives were killed when an unmanned aircraft targeted their vehicle late Monday in the province of Shabwa. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak to the press.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, as the Yemen affiliate is known, has long been considered the global network's most dangerous branch, and has been implicated in a number of attempted attacks on the US homeland. Yemen was plunged into civil war more than three years ago. Al-Qaeda and an Islamic State affiliate have exploited the chaos to expand their presence.
May 14, 2018, 5:04pm ET

Alfa Romeo readying bigger SUV, Giulia coupe?

Both projects are expected to be publicly confirmed in June.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is said to be ready to make a few significant Alfa Romeo announcements at an event in June, marking CEO Sergio Marchionne's 14th year at the helm, according to Autocar.

The Italian marque is said to be working on a new flagship Giulia coupe with 641 horsepower and F1-derived KERS hybrid powertrain technology.

The 'coupe' could be offered in two- and five-door variants, mimicking German automakers.

A new large SUV is rumored to be included in the announcement. It is expected to boast a 48-volt mild hybrid system, providing extra power for an electrically assisted turbocharger and helping improve fuel economy.

The SUV is likely being fast-tracked to production, with a rumored arrival of late 2019. A five-seat package will be the first to appear, potentially followed by a seven-seater.
May 15, 2018, 12:08pm ET

Audi won't enable new A8's semi-autonomous features in US

Hinting at a fear over Tesla\'s attention-grabbing fatal accident on a California highway, Audi says America\'s patchwork of different state-level infrastructure standards plays into its decision.

Audi is apparently hesitant to launch its new A8's semi-autonomous Traffic Jam Pilot technology in the US market.

The SAE Level 3 system was supposed to be one of the highlight features on Audi's latest flagship sedan. It will initially be available only in Europe, however.

In a statement to Roadshow, the company outlined a long list of concerns including "uncertainty to consumer deployment (insurance requirements, local laws on vehicle design and performance, reporting standards)" and a patchwork of different state-level standards for infrastructure standards such as lane markings and road configurations.

The infrastructure concerns hint at possible concerns over the recent fatal Tesla Autopilot crash in which a Model X appeared to be confused by degraded lane markings on a California highway, causing the car to steer itself into a concrete divider and killing the driver.

It is unclear if there is also a cultural element at play, as many American drivers appear to be ignoring disclaimers and warnings to pay attention to the road at all times while highly-automated assistance systems are taking care of steering, accelerating and braking tasks.

"Consumer understanding of automated vehicle technologies and driver responsibilities certainly also can be further informed," the spokesperson added. Audi believes it will avoid Tesla's troubles, however, "because our system is fundamentally different, we won't be adding to the storylines that have been pretty pervasive lately."

The German automaker has not outlined a timeframe for bringing Traffic Jam Pilot to its US vehicle fleet. To be clear, it will not be a simple software update for the 2019 A8, as the necessary hardware components have been omitted on US-bound vehicles.
IDA's poor record of jobs in in Laois can be amended by backing a Portlaoise enterprise site says the Laois County Council CEO.

Laois County Council is in continuous contact with the IDA to get it involved in bringing jobs to the Togher motorway site in Portlaoise.

Three Laois winners in national final of Irish Restaurant Awards

Council CEO John Mulholland says Togher is a chance to 'put right' the poor record of IDA backed jobs in Laois.

Dont forget we are only catching up, as regards IDA, we only have 119 IDA supported jobs in the county, so we have to put that right.

We are working, particularly since Christmas, we are in continuous contact with IDA and we are doing everything we can to underline the benefits of this site and others, he told the Leinster Express.

Portarlington is also prime for IDA backed business investment

That doesnt exclude Portarlington either, we have that in the back of our minds as well, Mr Mulholland said.

Big jobs potential at 250acre Portlaoise motorway site
A student and a teacher from Portlaoise have been awarded a prestigious national award, in recognition of their work in promoting global justice and an equal world.

Alegra Seawar and her teacher Ann Byrne, from Scoil Chriost Ri were jointly awarded a WorldWise Global Schools Diplomatic Passport.

The award is in recognition of their extra-curricular work in development education, which included holding a Climate Change Awareness day at the girls school.

The prize was presented at an annual schools conference at the Galmont Hotel in Galway in April.

The WorldWise Global Schools Director is Rita Walsh.

The school, under Alegra and Anns leadership, is undertaking development education work across every aspect of school life. They have organised a Climate Change Awareness Day in the school, amongst other activities, she said.

The Portlaoise duo were amongst 300 students and teachers from 70 secondary schools who attended the 5th annual Irish Aid WWGS annual conference.

Fifty of the schools were awarded WWGS Global Passports.

The conference  led by TV presenter Michael Carey  consisted of school exhibits, interactive workshops, plenary discussions and debates.

The event was aimed at providing a platform for Irish secondary school students to speak out and take action on critical global issues, and to call for the Irish government to take the issue of sustainability seriously.

The day focused on the UNs 17 Sustainable Development Goals that provide the framework for reducing poverty and inequality globally by 2030. Some of the goals focused on climate action, responsible production and consumption and reducing inequalities.

Mountrath student displays autism friendly headphones at Student Entrepreneur national final.

Development Education provides schools with the opportunity to really explore global issues and to identify appropriate action they can take in response to inequality and injustice.

All of the students and teachers who are at the conference today have demonstrated their commitment to making the world more just and sustainable  which is inspiring for us all, said Rita Walsh.

The event was hosted by Worldwise Global Schools (WWGS), the organisation charged with delivering Irish Aids schools Development Education programme.
A GoFundMe campaign launched to support the families of pilot Niall Bowditch and 7-year-old Kacper Kacprzak who were killed in a plane crash in Offaly on Sunday afternoon.

Bowditch was an experienced pilot and flight instructor and was a regular at the Irish Parachute Club in Clonbullogue, while Kacper was the son of a club member who was one of 16 parachutists that had jumped from the Cessna Caravan aircraft moments before it crashed near Mount Lucas at 3pm on Sunday.

SEE ALSO: Pilot and boy (7) killed in Offaly plane crash named locally

Allaiouti Hassan set up the GoFundMe page on Monday with a 20,000 target, and as of Tuesday lunchtime, it had surpassed that amount.

Launching the campaign page, Allaiouti said: "We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy [Niall], a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot."

"This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident. I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyones heart," he continued.

"Please everyone lets support their families at this tragic time. Every donation counts, no amount is too small or too big. Lets show these families what they mean to us all. Please feel free to share this GoFundMe page with all your family and friends."

Air crash investigators remained on the scene of a fatal light plane crash in Offaly on Monday, May 14 before the plane itself was taken away for further examination. The cause of the crash continues to be the subject of their inquiries.

The single-engine plane came down at 3pm on Sunday on bogland approximately 2km from the Clonbullogue airfield where it had taken off from the Irish Parachute Club minutes earlier. The site of the crash is located between Daingean and Edenderry, not far from Mount Lucas.

The bodies were recovered from the site on Sunday evening.
A Kildare teacher in Beijing, who was detained at a prison in the Chinese city over a visa mix up, will be released early this week.

Kildare South TD Fiona OLoughlin confirmed to the Leader that she has spoken to the Department of Foreign Affairs and to the Irish Ambassador in China.

She is being treated well and hopefully she will be freed early this week, Deputy OLoughlin said.

She is from west Kildare and is among 11 people, including a woman from Offaly, who were all arrested over visa issues just over a week ago.

The Kildare woman, who is in her twenties, was teaching on a working visa in a Beijing school but ran into trouble when she took up a second job at an unlicensed private school.

Its understood she took the job in good faith although Chinese police are known for raids on schools that may hire foreign teachers through illegal means.

The two Irish ladies took up the extra tuition hours not realising that the school was not licensed.

They then got caught in the middle, Deputy OLoughlin added.

The Department of Foreign Affairs is working with the embassy on it and they have spoken to the women who are being treated well.

Despite reports that she was being held in a single cell and had not been allowed to call home, her family have since been reassured that she is being treated well. They have appealed for privacy at this time.

It is not known yet if the west Kildare teacher will be deported immediately after her release later this week or if she will be allowed to return to work, however working illegally is cited as one of the biggest reasons for deportation from China.

The family are asking for privacy at this time.
Commuters using the Sallins train service to and from Dublin face five more years of overcrowding.

Thats according to Fianna Fail TD James Lawless, who is a regular user of the Sallins-Naas service.

He cited information from the National Transport Authority, which expects that the tender process to acquire new trains will be started before the end of this year  with the fleet manufacturing contract awarded during 2019. It added: However the process of having rail fleet built is a lengthy one and it will take between three and four years after the award of the contract before the new fleet will start to be delivered , either 2022 to 2023.

The NTA also indicated that it is also addressing whether there is any second hand fleet available internationally that could be bought and put into service in the short term.

However because of the unusual gauge of the Irish railway network, the options for acquiring suitable used fleet are limited.

The NTA was responding to a Dail question raised by Dep Lawless. He has criticised the delay in providing the carriages.

The delay is not good enough. The government has been lax about improving the rail fleet serving Co. Kildare.

It is scandalous that time and again the Taoiseach and Minister for Transport hears form TD, senators and most importantly the commuters about the dangerous levels of overcrowding on train services from Sallins, Hazelhatch, Kilcock and Maynooth. Yet they have done nothing about it.

He wants the Minister to intervene immediately adding we have a growing workforce and a necessity to have those employees into work on safe and comfortable trains. The Government must act to allow this to happen. South Kildare TD Fiona OLoughlin (FF) also criticised the delay and further called for more parking spaces at the rail station in Newbridge. She said both car parks serving commuters there are full before 8am.
Local cancer survivor Stephanie Powell, the face of the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day campaign this year, has thanked the people of Kildare for their generosity as total funds raised for cancer patients have reached over 3m.

With more funds still to be banked the Society is hopeful of reaching its target of 4m over the coming weeks to ensure it can provide critical services for those in need.

Last year the Society saw increased demand for services and had 1.3m interactions with people affected by cancer. The Society receives just 2 per cent of its funding from the State and needs to raise one fifth of its income through Daffodil Day donations alone to meet the growing demand for support.

This will include funding the Night Nursing service locally, which delivered 209 nights of care in Kildare last year. It will also help support those recently affected by CervicalCheck controversy through the provision of counselling and support on the Cancer Nurseline.

Stephanie Powell credits funds raised on Daffodil Day with supporting her through her own cancer experience. She said, Five years ago I could never have imagined Id get involved in something like this. But in 2011 I was told I had breast cancer. After that I realised just how important fundraising days like this are. Without people like you taking part in Daffodil Day I might have a very different story to tell. I am so grateful to be alive and here to be part of my grandchildrens lives. I genuinely believe thats down to cancer research, which is funded by people like you supporting Daffodil Day. Whether you sold daffodils on the street, held a coffee morning or fundraised at work, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Daffodil Day, the Societys longest running collection day in the country, was proudly supported by Boots Ireland. Colleagues in all 86 stores around Ireland got involved by holding cyclathons, bake sales and raffles to raise funds.
A GoFundMe campaign launched to support the families of pilot Niall Bowditch and 7-year-old Kacper Kacprzak who were killed in a plane crash in Offaly on Sunday afternoon.

Bowditch was an experienced pilot and flight instructor and was a regular at the Irish Parachute Club in Clonbullogue, while Kacper was the son of a club member who was one of 16 parachutists that had jumped from the Cessna Caravan aircraft moments before it crashed near Mount Lucas at 3pm on Sunday.

Allaiouti Hassan set up the GoFundMe page on Monday with a 20,000 target, and as of Tuesday lunchtime, it had surpassed that amount.

Launching the campaign page, Allaiouti said: "We are heartbroken by the loss of two cherished members of our family at the Irish Parachute Club, little Kacper, son of our dear friend and fellow skydiver Kris, and Billy [Niall], a true gentlemen and a thoughtful and great pilot."

"This is a difficult time for us all. I know that our skydiving family and the wider community want to come together and do what we can to support the families affected by this tragic accident. I myself have a son the same age as Kacper who loves planes. Having met Kacper at the club I know he was such a beautiful boy who would touch anyones heart," he continued.

"Please everyone lets support their families at this tragic time. Every donation counts, no amount is too small or too big. Lets show these families what they mean to us all. Please feel free to share this GoFundMe page with all your family and friends."

Air crash investigators remained on the scene of a fatal light plane crash in Offaly on Monday, May 14 before the plane itself was taken away for further examination. The cause of the crash continues to be the subject of their inquiries.

The single-engine plane came down at 3pm on Sunday on bogland approximately 2km from the Clonbullogue airfield where it had taken off from the Irish Parachute Club minutes earlier. The site of the crash is located between Daingean and Edenderry, not far from Mount Lucas.

The Irish Parachute Club, based in Offaly, released a statement on Monday offering their condolences to the families.

"The board of directors, members and friends of the Irish Parachute Club are deeply saddened at the death of the occupants of the aircraft that was operating on behalf of the club."

"Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected. We would like to thank the Air Accident Investigation unit and the emergency services who are continuing their investigaton at this very difficult time," they continued.

The bodies were recovered from the site on Sunday evening.
A flag which is a replica of a one used by rebels in the 1798 rebellion was presented to Prosperous Heritage Festival organisers by Kildare Mayor Martin Miley yesterday evening.

The Heritage Festival, which commemorates the part played by Prosperous in the 1798 rebellion, takes place over the course of the weekend of Friday to Sunday, May 25, 26 and 27 and will include talks, re-enactments, presentations and tours of local houses.

The flag is an exact replica of the flag held high by the rebels in the village 220 years ago.

Entry in Freeman's Journal dated June 21, 1798, is the inspiration for the replica of the flag.

Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee, as part of their Irish Military Seminar is supporting the Heritage Festival and commissioned two of the flags, based on the original description in the Freemans Journal, Mario Corrigan of KDCC explained.

And Colrs Padraig McEvoy and Brendan Weld of the Kildare Decade of Commemorations Committee were present in Prosperous, alongside the County Librarian, Marian Higgins.

Mr Corrigan explained that one of the flags is for the people of Prosperous,and the other will be presented at the Seminar.

The festival committee thanked the Mayor, Kildare County Council and Prosperous Community Association whose chairman Paul Reilly spoke in advance of the presentation.

Without them and their backing, this project would have never happened, the festival committee explained. The same goes for our many local businesses who have sponsored us.

On the Friday and Saturday of the Festival weekend, there will be a show at the Drama Hall starting at 8.30pm which will involve a history talk by Mr Corrigan.

Young Cillian Cullen, Prosperous's youngest Pikeman!

The local Drama Society, fresh from their All Ireland winning performance, will act out particular scenes from the lead up to the battle.

There will also be 20 minutes of 1798 songs, including one called the Battle of Prosperous, said Darren Brereton of the Heritage Festival. Mr Brereton said that Battle of Prosperous had no known music to it, but that researchers had come across the words to it and he put it to music.

We will probably record it in the coming weeks, he told the Leinster Leader.

On the Saturday after, at 2pm, there will be a talk at Downings House including a guided tour of the period building. That building was the residence of Henry Starmars who was the landlords agent at the time, having taken over when Robert Brooke, the founder of the village, left. The tour will include the secret escape tunnel and Starmars vault (where he was discovered hiding and murdered), the houses original basement.

In more recent times, Christy Moore recorded his album, Prosperous, in the house. Historians Seamus Cullen and Mario Corrigan will give talks there.

Sunday is the big day, Mr Brereton explained. The area of the village street down around Larrys bar and the ICA hall will feature battle reenactments with groups from all over the country coming to the area.

The battle will be from 3pm and there will be farmer and craft markets in the area, Mr Brereton explained. The ICA hall will be a temporary 1798 museum and will have weapons, uniforms, a video slideshow and pike heads on display.

The R406 which goes through Prosperous, from the Church to Londis, will be closed to a new hours on the Sunday, and diversions will be in place.

Its for all amateur and professional historians or even just for anyone with a passing interest in history or the village. Everyone is very welcome, said Mr Brereton.

The organisers are locals Joe Murphy, Ciaran Healy, Brian Moran and Darren Brereton and are a subcommittee of Prosperous Community Association.

For tickets to events in the drama hall, text 0851615590.

Read more: COLUMN: New festival could point way to 'prosperity' for Prosperous
Three Kildare solicitors received awards at the Irish Law Awards 2018 in Dublin last Friday.

Tim Kennelly, of Tim Kennelly Solicitors won the 'Excellence in Client Service Leinster' category, while Luke Hanahoe of Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors picked up the award for Leinster Law Firm of the Year 2018.

Allan Shine, CE of Kildare Chamber said,  We are delighted that two members of the Chamber are celebrating this week with winning these prestigious awards.

Susan Webster of Susan Webster & Company Solicitors won the Leinster Family Law Solicitor of the Year Award.

She said; I am absolutely delighted to win the Irish Law Award 2018 for Leinster Family Law Solicitor of the Year. It is a huge honour. Susan Webster & Company Solicitors continues to grow and serve clients in Kildare and nationwide. Many thanks to all my clients and colleagues for their continued business, support and well wishes.

The Irish Law Awards were established in 2012 with the aim of identifying, honouring, and publicising outstanding achievements, while also recognising those who have dedicated their lives to serving in the legal profession.

The Irish Law Awards 2018 were held in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road last Friday May 11 with a black tie gala dinner hosted by Miriam OCallaghan.

SEE ALSO: Newbridge Silent Walk in support of woman affected by cervical cancer sandal

Luke Hanahoe with his award
Anne Brady (nee Redmond), Old Greenfield, Maynooth.

May 13. Peacefully at the Mater Hospital. Deeply regretted by her loving husband Joe, daughter Sarah, sons Kieran and Paul, daughter in law Nicky, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.Reposing at Reilly's Funeral Home, Leinster Street, Maynooth on Tuesday from 2-8pm with Rosary at 7pm. Removal from her residence on Wednesday morning at 11.15am to arrive at St. Mary's Church, Maynooth for 12 noon Funeral Mass, followed by burial in Laraghbryan Cemetery.

Thomas Pascal T.P. Burns, Landfall Paddocks, The Curragh.

May 14. Peacefully after a short illness under the wonderful care of the staff at St. Vincent's Hospital Athy. Beloved husband of the late Christine. Sadly missed by his loving sons James and Tom, his sister Stella, grandchildren Tommy, Elodie and Anna, daughter-in-law Helen and James' partner Lia.Reposing at his home (Landfall) tomorrow (Tuesday, May 15th) from 1 o'clock until prayers at 8 o'clock. Funeral Mass on Wednesday morning at 11 o'clock in St. Brigid's Church, The Curragh. Burial afterwards in Tynaclash Cemetery, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow. Donations, if desired, to the Irish Injured Jockey's Fund. Donations box in the church.

Joseph (Joe) Magee, Gilltown, Donadea, / Palmerstown, Dublin.

May 11. Peacefully at his daughter's residence, beloved husband of the late Pat. Deeply regretted by his loving son Patrick, daughters Ann, Catherine & Moira, sons-in-law Philip & Brian, daughter-in-law Janet, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, relatives & friends. Reposing at Reilly's Funeral Home, Prosperous on Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm, with rosary at 7pm. Removal on Thursday morning at 11.30am to arrive at St. Benignus Church, Staplestown for 12 noon Funeral Mass, followed by burial in Bohernabreena Cemetery.

Eva Mullally (nee Sweeney), Drumeva, Kinneagh, The Curragh

May 13. Peacefully with her family by her side, in the wonderful care of the nurses and staff of St. James's Hospital; sadly missed by her loving husband Michael, sons and daughters Jennifer, Stephen, Leah, daughter-in-law Becky, Jennifer's partner Peter, Leah's partner Paul, grandchildren Jordan, Freya and Louie, sisters Annette and Rosaleen, brother-in-law Eoin, Annette's partner John, nieces and nephews, extended family, relatives and friends. She will be very dearly missed by all of her loving family. Reposing at Anderson & Leahy's Funeral Home, Newbridge from 2 o'clock on Wednesday with Removal at 6.15 o'clock to arrive at St. Brigid's Church, The Curragh for 7 o'clock. Funeral Mass at 11 o'clock on Thursday with burial afterwards in St. Conleth's Cemetery, Newbridge. Family flowers only please. Donations, if desired, to the Irish Cancer Society. Donations box in the Church.

https://www.cancer.ie/get-involved/fundraise/how-to-donate

Thomas (Tom) Nevin, Ballymore Eustace

May 14. Loving husband of Sheila and devoted father of Shane, Claire, Emma, Carol and Thomas. Will be dearly missed by his family, daughter in law, sons in law, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, brothers in law, sisters in law, nieces, nephews, extended family, relatives and friends.

Reposing at his home on Wednesday from 3pm to 8pm. Removal on Thursday morning (house private) to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Ballymore Eustace, arriving for 11am Funeral Mass, followed by cremation in Newlands Cross Crematorium. No flowers, by request. Donations, if desired, to the Alzheimers Society.
Dromod native Paul Dockery, one of Ireland's youth delegates to the UN, was present at the Department of Foreign Affairs yesterday for the publication of a new report, 'A Generation for Change.'

According to the report, poverty, quality employment and homelessness are among the issues most concerning young people in Ireland.

The launch aims to highlight youth issues for the Irish Government ahead of its Voluntary National Review (VNR) at the July 2018 session of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development.

The report A Generation for Change is the outcome of a year of consultation carried out by Irelands youth delegates to the UN, Lauren Flanagan (24) from Manor Kilbride, County Wicklow and Paul Dockery (22) from Dromod. It includes quantitative data from over 600 young people surveyed, as well material from consultations at over 22 youth events including the National SDG Youth Summit in Croke Park last November.

Speaking at the launch, Ms Lauren Flanagan said, This report provides a snapshot of some of the main issues that young people in Ireland face; the issues they are most concerned about globally; and how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development may offer a road map to tackling some of these key concerns.

Mr Paul Dockery said, The aim of this report was to give young people a voice on the issues that matter to them most and bring their voices to the attention of the policy makers, politicians, diplomats and international institutions like the UN.

We can be the first generation to end extreme poverty, the most determined generation in history to end injustice and inequality, and the last generation to be threatened by climate change. This is a really important time to listen to young voices and to empower young people to be a force for good in Ireland and in the world.

Also speaking at the event Minister of State for European Affairs, Helen McEntee, TD, said:

I would like to welcome and to thank Lauren and Paul, for all of the hard work and research they have put into this report and for being such exemplary representatives for Ireland over their terms as UN Youth Delegates.

The issues raised in the report are of great importance and, indeed, some are issues that we are yet to fully tackle here at home. It is through this understanding that one is quickly reminded that the SDGs are not merely a series of objectives intended for developing countries, this is a universal agenda and the Goals help us all see and work towards bringing about needed changes in our own society. These are goals that we share globally.

Young people have perhaps the most important role to play as this is the world, and the Ireland, that they will inherit, and their voice has every right to be heard across all Government departments, concluded Minister McEntee.
A councillor has warned Leitrim County Council of an "accident about to happen" in Mohill if action is not taken to widen the road.

Cllr Des Guckian said Leitrim County Council "will have to be held responsible" if an accident occurs at Springfield, Mohill.

The independent councillor brought a motion this week to extend and widen a small lay-by at the townland on the approach of Mohill to "cater for the many wide silage trailers and big lorries that often meet near the summit of that hill."

His motion was seconded by Sinn Fein Cllr Seadhna Logan who added that a main pipe is repeatedly bursting at the location and water flow is damaging the road.

Leitrim County Council said it is common practice to construct lay-bys on roads when there is a grant applicable. "Unfortunately, there is no grant on this road for 2018." The councillor was advised to include the toad for consideration in the 2019-2021 restoration improvement grant programme.

Senior Engineer Darragh O'Boyle said he will contact Irish Water over the pipe issue.
Lee Hanifa of The Cottage Restaurant has won the award for Best Restaurant Manager in Connaught while Flynn's Bar in Carrick-on-Shannon has taken the regional award for Pub of the Year.



The announcements were made at the All-Ireland Finals of the Irish Restaurant Awards which took place in the Clayton Hotel Burlington Road,on Monday night where the premier restaurant and hospitality establishments in Ireland for 2018 were named.



MacNean House & Restaurant took the national award for Best Cookery School.

Over 1,000 restaurateurs and staff attended the sold out, black tie event which celebrated the achievements and perseverance within the industry over the last 12 months.

Now in its tenth year, the Awards have continued the trend of growing in both attendee numbers and industry esteem.



Staff of The Cottage celebrate award

Over 90,000 online nominations were received for Irish restaurants and hospitality businesses this year. Awards were received from 21 categories that included all areas of the sector and keeping with recent movements, the awards introduced their newest category this year, Best Free From, which received an impressive response from nominees and the general public.

During the initial stage of the awards members of the public voted to nominate their favourite restaurants, hotels and hospitality personal. These nominations were independently assessed by BDO.

The judging panel, made up of industry experts, food writers, culinary academics and critics, then narrowed down the list of nominations to the final regional winners.

A mystery guest the visited the premises.



The National Judging Academy, made up of representatives from each of the regional judging panels, met in early May to judge the county winners. The Academy members include food writers, journalists, bloggers, culinary academics and hospitality magazine editors.


Cancer survivor Stephanie Powell, the face of the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day campaign this year, has thanked the people of Leitrim for their generosity as total funds raised for cancer patients have reached over 3m.

With more funds still to be banked the Society is hopeful of reaching its target of 4m over the coming weeks to ensure it can provide critical services for those in need.

Last year the Society saw increased demand for services and had 1.3m interactions with people affected by cancer. The Society receives just 2 per cent of its funding from the State and needs to raise one fifth of its income through Daffodil Day donations alone to meet the growing demand for support.

This will include funding the Night Nursing service locally, which delivered 53 nights of care in Leitrim last year. It will also help support those recently affected by CervicalCheck controversy through the provision of counselling and support on the Cancer Nurseline.

Stephanie Powell credits funds raised on Daffodil Day with supporting her through her own cancer experience.

She said, Five years ago I could never have imagined Id get involved in something like this. But in 2011 I was told I had breast cancer. After that I realised just how important fundraising days like this are.

"Without people like you taking part in Daffodil Day I might have a very different story to tell. I am so grateful to be alive and here to be part of my grandchildrens lives. I genuinely believe thats down to cancer research, which is funded by people like you supporting Daffodil Day.

"Whether you sold daffodils on the street, held a coffee morning or fundraised at work, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
St Clare's Comprehensive School and Manorhamilton student Rachel McPartlin, age 16 with the business 'Rachels Heavenly Homemades', which is a Gluten Free Bakery, has won the Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2018 today, Tuesday 15th May.

The competition was hosted by Foroige, the leading youth development organisation in Ireland, in the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, Kildare St., Dublin.

Rachel McPartlin took the title after competing against twelve hundred other young entrepreneurs throughout Ireland.

Also at the event CycleSafe, founded by Breda Magner & Evan Condon, from Limerick won the Best Innovation Award for their business which produces a product that helps increase the safety of cyclists at night, by using lasers to create temporary cycle lanes.

A Special Recognition Award was awarded to Davey Feeney, Tom Flanagan and Fraser Gaine who are founders of the business Kard in Sligo. Their business produced a discount student card to help secondary students live within their means. The boys were nominated by their CET Dervilla Casey, a teacher in their school, Summerhill College.

Sean Campbell, CEO Foroige, said the Foroige NFTE Entrepreneurship Programme has multiple positive impacts on the young people who take part in it. Career aspirations increase; interest in attending college increases; business knowledge increases; leadership behaviour increases; and a belief that attaining goals is within their control significantly increases.

Empowering young people is what Foroige does, and we are more than proud of everything the young people here today have achieved.

The companies represent Leitrim, Donegal, Sligo, Laois, Offaly, Dublin, Cork, Tipperary, Waterford and Westmeath.
The senior first prize in Life Science at the 11th annual SciFest@ITSligo science fair was recently presented to Ella Sloane from St Claire's Comprehensive School, Manorhamilton.

Her project was Habitat Study: An Investigation Into The Correlation Between Increased Red Grouse Numbers And High Ling Heather Average Heights In Leitrim Boglands.

Rachel McPartlin from the same schoool was second with her project 'Investigation Into Calcium Ion Levels In The Anatomy of Adult Fracture in Patients and awareness of osteoporosis among students.

Teacher Edel McPhelim teaches both students.

Niamh Carolan and Emma Birney from Magh Ena College in Bundoran, Co Donegal took top prize at the event which was held last Wednesday, May 9.

The duo, who were accompanied by their teacher Yvonne Higgins, were chosen from 150 other projects exhibited by approximately 370 students from across the North West to win the Science Foundation Ireland Best Project Award.

They now progress to the national final in Dublin where they will compete for the Boston Scientific Medical Devices Grand Award on 9 November.

Their project was called The Attraction of Maglev Trains, a study into the thermos-magnetic properties of negatively accelerating objects. They were presented with their coveted prize by Dr Brendan McCormack, president, IT Sligo.

Dr Bill Crowe, SciFest@ITSligo organiser, said the quality of the projects exhibited illustrated a passion for STEM among second-level students in the North West.

He said: As always, the projects entered by the students in SciFest were impressive, engaging and thought-provoking. Its clearly evident from the high standard of research that has gone into the entries this year that second-level students from across the region are passionate about science, technology, engineering and maths.

"SciFest is a competition that aims to encourage students to develop an interest in STEM, while prioritising inclusivity and inquiry-based learning. We are proud to support such a valuable programme.

The SciFest science fairs programme is a national initiative founded in 2006 to encourage a love of STEM through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning.

The programme offers an innovative way to expose students to, and enhance their understanding of, STEM subjects.

IT Sligo, which has hosted the North West regional finals since 2008, was one of 16 regional science fairs taking place across the country, illustrating a surge in STEM popularity among second-level students in Ireland.

Niamh and Emma will be looking to follow in the footsteps of 2017 national award winner Aaron Hannon from St. Muredachs College in Ballina whose project EnableArm, a unique shaving device for people with limited hand dexterity, was named best in the country. Aaron is travelling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this week to represent Ireland at the International Science and Engineering Fair.

The 2018 national winner will represent his or her country in Phoenix, Arizona next spring.
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A NEW installation created from an original turbine used as part of a historic Irish power scheme has been unveiled at the University of Limerick.

As part of a new partnership between ESB and UL, an art installation created from the runner of an original Francis Turbine has been unveiled in the courtyard of the Bernal Institute.

The turbine, which was used during the Shannon Hydroelectric Scheme at Ardnacrusha Power Station, generated clean electricity for 66 years, before it was decommissioned in 1995.

It was donated by ESB to UL in 2010.

The installation at UL is a fitting reminder of the important role played by the Shannon Scheme in triggering major social and economic change in Ireland, according to ESB chief executive Pat ODoherty.

One of the most visionary projects of the last century, it helped to change a way of life that had existed for generations, Mr ODoherty said.

The installation was unveiled as part of a new partnership between ESB and the university which will see UL energy researchers financially supported by the company over the next four years.

Three PhD students Cian Murphy, Hamid Hafizi and Indraneel Roy Chowdhury, whose energy related research will receive funding from ESB through the new partnership.

My research focuses on the use of smart materials in composite structures and my vision is that one day we will all be generating our own clean electricity, just by walking down the street, Mr Murphy said.

Im excited that my curiosity might now lead to a real benefit to our society, and this funding support from ESB will greatly assist me in this goal.

ESB has also become an industry partner to Science Foundation Ireland-funded projects with the Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy at UL.

ESB will also fund an annual visiting lecture that will bring international experts to UL to share insights and the latest international thinking on research to tackle climate change.
A MAN who is charged in connection with a violent attack in Limerick during which another man sustained serious injuries is to stand trial at the circuit court.

Liam Higgins, aged 49, of no fixed abode, is accused of assaulting Anthony ODonovan at Garryglass Avenue, Ballinacurra Weston on November 1, last.

The 30-year-old victim sustained a number of serious injuries to one of his hands as a result of the assault, which happened shortly before 12.30pm.

Gardai believe incident was connected with a local dispute which had erupted in the locality a number of months earlier.

It is alleged the defendant was one of three men who got out of a car and set upon Mr ODonovan who had been walking with his girlfriend.

The victim was initially treated at University Hospital Limerick before being transferred to Cork University Hospital where he was treated by a plastic surgeon.

Previously, Limerick District Court was told Mr ODonovan also sustained significant lacerations to his scalp, lower back, thigh and to his abdomen.

Having hearing heard evidence from Detective Garda Paul Crowley that he had served a copy of the book of evidence on the defendant, Judge Marian OLeary formally sent the matter forward to the present sittings of Limerick District Court.

If the matter is to be contested, it is unlikely to be heard until early next year.
FIRST-HAND accounts of life on the River Shannon as told by Limericks fishermen are to be heard for the first time in a new online oral history archive.

Almost forty interviews have been recorded with fishermen and women, reed cutters and boat builders as part of a collaboration between Mary Immaculate College, Limerick City and County Council and the Limerick Archives.

The recording of these stories and memories on and near the River Shannon is invaluable, according to Dr Maura Cronin, from the MIC Department of History.

It allows us to celebrate the skills and experiences of ordinary people; it helps today's and tomorrow's generations to understand the rhythms of a life now disappearing, Dr Cronin said.

Participants in the project were interviewed by Limerick historians Ruth Guiry and Sharon Slater.

These interviews are now available in both the MIC Oral History Collection and the Fishermans Tales section of Limerick City and County Councils new online Oral History Archive.

Thanks to these interviews, the history and tradition of fishing, reed cutting and boat building on the Shannon will be preserved forever, according to Limerick archivist Jacqui Hayes.

Among these interviews are stories on the fishermens techniques and methods as well as tales of their camaraderie and friendship, Ms Hayes said.

This is the first time that oral history interviews have been published online, with other oral history interviews relating to other projects now also available, Ms Hayes added.

As well as the Fisheries Project, interviews that were conducted as part of the Pigtown Project, Ranks Project, and St. Josephs Hospital Archive Project will be put up online for the first time.

The interviews are now available on the Limerick Archives website at www.limerick.ie/oral-history-archive.
THE HUGE efforts of volunteers tackling mental health issues in Limerick should not go overlooked.

That is according to Deputy Maurice Quinlivan, who called for more funding for resources in the area in Dail Eireann recently.

He made the calls at Leinster House as deputies discussed the proposed Mental Health Bill. He said that it gave TDs an opportunity to highlight the totally inadequate funding for mental health and the continued reluctance of this government to address the problems in this area.

Nationally, there are more than 2,600 children waiting for an appointment with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team, which treats those with moderate to severe mental health problems.

This is due in large part to a failure to recruit staff needed to fully operate a CAMHS team. At present and for quite some time now, around half of the positions in CAMHS teams across the country are vacant. Figures released to Sinn Fein also show the child and adolescent mental health team in the Limerick region is operating with only 58.7% of the recommended staff in the Vision for Change strategy, he said.

According to the National Suicide Research Foundation, the average rate of suicide in Limerick city was 23.7 per 100,000 between 2014 and 2016.

It is both shocking and upsetting that the suicide rate for Limerick city is more than twice the national average which stands at 10.5. The sad reality is that without adequate resources and the provision of proper services for those in acute mental distress, the figures for death by suicide and self-harm will only continue to increase.

Deputy Quinlivan commended Jigsaw Limerick and Limerick Suicide Watch for its efforts locally.
LIMERICK City and County Council has given conditional planning permission to a new housing estate on the northside.

Eoin Ryan, the statutory receiver to the previous owners of a patch of land off the Condell Road, has received the green light from local planners to construct 88 houses and 22 apartments.

The controversial plans could see a second entrance to the Condell Road built, sparking fears among residents of increased traffic congestion in the area.

Some 15 residents objected to the proposals, citing fears over anti-social behaviour, as well as the impact on the environment, with the site lying close to the Westfields Wetlands.

However, according to the planning conditions, a proposal to link the northern end of the estate by a pedestrianised street will not happen after residents indicated this could be used as a gathering spot for anti-social behaviour.

Local Fine Gael councillor Michael Hourigan welcomed the possibility for housing, but said he has concerns for those who live there.

Any new development cannot have a negative effect on their quality of life, he said. Id also have a concern about extra traffic and access to the Condell Road. These would be my two major issues.

Residents had engaged the services of Adam Kearney Associates, a Corbally-based planning consultancy, to object on their behalf.

In his submission, he said: As urban sites go, this is remote and poorly served in terms of safe and acceptable footways and cycleways.

He said its essentially legacy land from the Celtic Tiger era being pushed by a receiver.

Limerick City and County Council afforded planning permission, subject to 42 conditions.

This includes a stipulation that a bond of 495,000 is lodged to secure the satisfactory completion or maintenance of any part of the development.

On top of this, the developer has been requested to pay 241,348 in respect of public infrastructure and facilities.

Builders will not be able to construct outside the hours of 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 4pm on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays, unless they get permission from the planning authority.

Sound levels from any machinery working on homes should also not exceed various decibel levels throughout the day, while mechanical machinery systems should not produce clearly audible tonal noises at night-time.

Privacy Walls, the authority stipulated should be built between each house.

Other conditions include road markings and traffic calming measures.
LIMERICKS Willie ODea has dismissed a Political Rich List ranking the financial value of every TD in Ireland as low-grade gossip.

The seven TDs that represent Limerick City and County are worth more than 9.8m, according to a special report published by the Sunday Independent.

The special report ranked the wealth of every Irish politicians assets, including the value of their pensions, their properties, their businesses and their interests in shares.

Fianna Fails Willie ODea, who was ranked number 13 on the list, told the Leader he doesnt believe it was very fair to include pension value.

I paid my contribution to my pension over a long period of time. I dont see what the purpose of it is or how it adds to political discourse or political debate. I think it's just low-grade gossip.

According to the report, Deputy ODea was found to have a total value of more than 3.3m, of which 3.06m was attributed to the value of his pension.

He was also attributed with 78,000 in shares and 184,787 in property.

I was a junior minister for a long, long time, Deputy ODea said. I hope I wont have to avail of my pension for a long time, he added.

According to the report, former Finance Minister Michael Noonan is worth 2.96m, including a pension worth more than 2.7m, with shares worth 91,000. Former Education Minister Jan OSullivan has a pension worth 2.3m and Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan is valued at 126,469.

The report also found that Fianna Fail deputy Niall Collins has a pension estimated at 567,899, while Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan is valued at 366,297 - including 26,000 in shares - while first time TD Tom Neville is valued at 164,709.
TOP Limerick funnyman Karl Spain is to play one of the best new festivals on the Irish scene this August.

Spain has been booked on the comedy line-up for the brand new All Together Now, taking place on the August Bank Holiday Weekend in Curraghmore Estate, County Waterford.

The superb looking new festival set on the grounds of the leafy Curraghmore Estate has already announced music acts Fleet Foxes, Underworld, Roisin Murphy, Villagers, Mogwai, Mura Masa, First Aid Kit, Chaka Khan, Jimmy Cliff and Jape and the comedy line-up is shaping up to be equally impressive at the inaugural August Bank Holiday Festival.

Joining Karl Spain in the Spiegeltent are some of the biggest names in Irish comedy, including Tommy Tiernan, the Viper Higgins, the Steve Frost Improv All Stars, Lords of Strut, David McSavage, the Dirty Circus, Kevin McAleer, Joe Rooney, the Nualas, Colm ORegan and many more.

As well as the Spiegeltent, there will be a further nine stages including an alfresco crystal ballroom and a multitude of hidden and quirky gems on a 3,000 acre world that is home to lakes, fields, tree lined lanes, an intricate shell house, stone circles, crystals, courtyards, streams, fountains, woodlands, lawns  the perfect scene for the 15,000 capacity event, which takes place from August 3-5.

Limited tier three tickets for the three day camping festival are on sale now, see www.ticketmaster.ie for more.
iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump tweeted on Monday that the "so-called leaks" from the White House are a "massive exaggeration" and that he will find out who the leakers are.



"The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!



The president did not specify to which leaks he was referring or who on his own staff he considered "traitors and cowards." But the drama surrounding White House aide Kelly Sadler over the weekend highlighted the fact that the leaks to the press from inside the White House continue unabated despite Trump's aggressive and public pledges to crack down on chatty staff.



White House press secretary Sarah Sanders scolded her staff on Friday for the derogatory comment about Sen. John McCain that was leaked from a closed-door meeting, according to multiple senior White House officials who shared details of that meeting to ABC News.



Sanders called the comment "unacceptable," but sources said she appeared to be more upset that the comment was leaked by a West Wing staffer to make another West Wing staffer look bad.

In an interview with Fox News Monday night, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway was asked if she thought there would be any personnel changes in the White House as a result of recent leaks, to which she replied, "I do actually, yes I do."



"If you work at the pleasure of the president, like we all do here, and you have the privilege and the blessing of coming every day to work in this White House on behalf of the nation that we all love then you want to be competent, you want to be loyal and you ought to be able to reinforce the agenda that prevailed here," Conway told host Martha MacCallum.

The Sadler episode -- the latest in a series of damaging and embarrassing leaks -- highlights what has become an intractable problem for the Trump White House, which has said shutting down leakers is a top priority.



While every White House has been subjected to occasional leaks, Trump has presided over a near-constant flow of confidential information to media outlets. And the president himself has shared information with friends and associates that's later spilled into public view.



Trump declared last year that he personally called the Justice Department and asked them to "look into" leaks to the media.



"Those are criminal leaks," the president said during a press conference last February.



Former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci boldly declared last July that he would consider cleaning house to stop leaks to the press.



"I'm going to fire everybody, that's how I'm going to do it," he said. "You're either going to stop leaking or you're getting fired."



Following those remarks, Michael Short resigned his position as assistant press secretary in the first indication of a shake-up in the press office, however there was no indication Short was among those who had leaked information.



In January, chief of staff John Kelly ordered a new ban on personal cell phone use within the West Wing, with an eye on bolstering cyber-security protocols and curbing leaks.



Among recent leaks to the press were the Trump legal team's list of 49 questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask the president in a potential interview, alleged comments that Kelly called Trump an "idiot" in private meetings -- reports Kelly called "total BS -- and the president calling certain African countries "s---holes" during an Oval Office meeting.



Last June, U.S. intelligence agencies took the significant step of formally referring as many as six recent leaks to the Justice Department for criminal investigation amid multiple reports that linked Russian operatives to associates of Trump, according to sources familiar with the matter.



The president tweeted: "After many years of LEAKS going on in Washington, it is great to see the A.G. taking action! For National Security, the tougher the better!



During that February press conference Trump suggested the leaks were coming from people who'd been appointed to positions during the Obama administration.



"I think you'll see it stopping because now we have our people in," he said, vowing to punish the leakers. "They're going to pay a big price for leaking."



A former White House official during the Obama administration called blaming those appointed during the previous administration an "excuse."



"Blaming phantom holdovers from a previous administration seems to be a feckless excuse for the clear disorder, lack of effective leadership and poor policies coming from the Trump White House," the former White House official said. "If the current White House is having trouble retaining information, those same individuals need not look further than their senior staff meetings or the mirror."



John Kelly has been a target of many damaging leaks, and has made an effort over the past year to crack down on private information flowing from the White House to the press.



Former White House aide Sebastian Gorka warned on cable television last year that Kelly told staffers "loose lips sink ships and if you leak there will be consequences."



One White House official didn't seem too confident the leaks would end.



"We can all hope," the official said.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
People overlook downtown San Francisco as fires roar across the city after the 1906 earthquake. This quake was likely a magnitude 7.9 and ruptured 296 miles (476 kilometers) along the San Andreas fault.

Northern California's Hayward Fault is often called the most dangerous fault in America: It's the country's most urbanized fault, meaning an earthquake there has the potential to cause significant destruction, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Geologists say earthquakes happen there about every 160 years, and the last big quake on the fault happened 150 years ago, in 1868.Meaning we're due.

But are we, really? How accurately can researchers predict when an earthquake is expected to strike?

The answer is less straightforward than many people might think. Forecasting an earthquake's approximate date assumes earthquakes follow some kind of pattern  that faults release pressure in a predictable way. But the more scientists look at faults, the less this seems to be true. In fact, most experts now say it's impossible to guess where the next "big one" will occur. [Image Gallery: This Millennium's Destructive Earthquakes]

"[In] some places, the Earth might be well enough organized that we get this more or less regular behavior, and in other parts, it's completely random," said William Ellsworth, a geophysicist at Stanford University who has spent decades looking for patterns in faults that might help engineers prepare for the big one. "It gets messy once you move away from these simple, well-behaved parts of the fault."

In 1906, the San Francisco Bay's notorious Hayward fault  a part of the San Andreas fault  caused an earthquake that buckled the pavement and curbstones on the corner of 18th Street and Lexington Street. (Image credit: AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Take the San Andres Fault, the famous 750-mile-long (1,200 kilometers) fault that runs through California. One of the "well behaved" sections of this fault lies in the town of Parkfield, in central California. Parkfield played host to the world's largest earthquake forecasting experiment more than 20 years ago. In 1985, experts looked back at a series of large quakes that struck the region  in 1857, 1881, 1901, 1922, 1934 and 1966  and predicted that another would hit before 1993 and that the pressure would bend the ground around it beforehand, as it had in past earthquakes.

Scientists descended on Parkfield to set up monitoring equipment, but 1993 came and went without shaking. Eleven years later, in 2004, a magnitude-6.0 quake hit Parkfield without warning. Critics say this proves that earthquakes are fundamentally unpredictable. Others, like Ellsworth, say the prediction was still pretty close, in geologic time. He says the problem is that seismologists need to think on the scale of 50 years, not five, no matter what previous earthquake patterns suggest.

Ramon Martinez, of Monterey Co. Public Works, checks a crack in a bridge from an earthquake in Parkfield, California. (Image credit: Gary Kazanjian/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Also, it's not clear which is more likely to rupture  a fault that regularly breaks or one that hasn't broken in a long time. Many scientists in Mexico say the Guerrero Gap  a fault line on the country's southwest coast  hasn't broken in a while and is due to rip, which could potentially devastate the coast and Mexico City. On the other hand, the fault may just have found other, quieter ways to release pressure  for instance by so-called silent earthquakes, which are slow-moving tectonic shifts that barely ripple the Earth's surface.

The same question applies to the U.S. Pacific Northwest, which may be due for a massive magnitude-9.0 earthquake because it has been relatively calm for about 300 years. Or maybe not. Scientists still don't agree on whether earthquakes are inherently predictable, but one thing there is consensus on is that we won't be able to do it accurately anytime soon.

"Earthquakes are going to be extremely difficult to predict with any type of short-term prediction," Ellsworth told Live Science. "That may just simply be beyond our reach."

Original article on Live Science.
Bacteria that "eat" your flesh are also hijacking your pain receptors for their own benefit.

The microbe Streptococcus pyogenes causes strep throat, but it's also responsible for a deadly "flesh-eating" disease called necrotizing fasciitis. During the initial stages of the flesh-destroying infection, the bacteria emit a toxin that causes excruciating pain. And this awful side effect is very useful to S. pyogenes; the chemical that causes the intense pain also hampers the hosts immune system and creates a more hospitable environment for the microbe to thrive and reproduce, scientists recently discovered. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

But the chemical weapons that make S. pyogenes so formidable may also contain the means to defeat it. By investigating the bacteria's toxic arsenal, researchers may have also figured out how to turn that mechanism to a patient's own advantage, according to a new study, published online May 10 in the journal Cell.

Other types of bacteria can cause necrotizing fasciitis, including Clostridium, Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, but S. pyogenes, also known as Group A strep, is the most common culprit, the study authors reported. Infection usually sets in after the bacteria enter the body through a break in the skin, and the disease attacks fascia  the connective tissue surrounding nerves, muscles, blood vessels and fat  and spreads rapidly. In its earliest stages, it brings pain that is "out of proportion" to the infection. In later stages, the infection has a mortality rate as high as 32 percent, the researchers wrote.

Terrible pain signals to an infected host that something is wrong. But in the case of S. pyogenes, its method for inflicting pain also benefits the bacteria by shielding it against host defenses that would normally attack microscopic invaders, the researchers discovered.

A chemical disruption

In experiments using mice, the scientists found that S. pyogenes produced a toxin called streptolysin S (SLS), which activated certain pain-related neurons to trigger extreme pain. But the toxin also prodded the same neurons into emitting a peptide that disrupted communication with the immune system. In doing so, S. pyogenes effectively muted the body's call to action for disease-fighting cells, leaving the bacteria free to multiply and kill off even more tissue, according to the study.

The peptide also interfered with normal function in the immune cells that did manage to reach the infection site, preventing them from dispensing an enzyme that would kill the invasive bacteria, the scientists reported.

"This neuronal signal silences the alarm system that normally calls on the bodys infection fighters to curb infection," the study's senior author Isaac Chiu, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunobiology at Harvard Medical School, said in a statement.

Based on this observation, the researchers suspected that they could sideline the bacteria's battle plan and treat necrotizing fasciitis with compounds that interacted with neurons  suppressing pain and muffling the release of the peptide that switched off the host's defense responses.

They injected mice with S. pyogenes, as well as another compound: botulinum neurotoxin A, a protein used to smooth facial wrinkles and treat muscle spasms. Botulinum toxin  also known as Botox  works by blocking nerve signals. In the infected mice, this prevented the bacteria from gaining the upper hand, regardless of whether the mice received the nerve-blocking agent before or after they were exposed to S. pyogenes.

In another experiment, the scientists introduced another compound, which blocked the release of the neurotransmitter that paused the host's immune system, also preventing the bacteria from going undetected.

Their work revealed not only that neurons play a pivotal role in the progression of necrotizing fasciitis, but also suggested that manipulating neurons might be a path to treating this terrible disease, the researchers concluded.

"Our findings provide a striking example of how closely intertwined the nervous and immune systems are and how intricate their interaction can be in the setting of infection," Chiu said in the statement.

"Our study also underscores the therapeutic potential of modulating one system to affect the other as a way to treat infection."

The study was done in mice, so more research is needed to confirm whether the same mechanisms apply in humans.

Original article on Live Science.
These conjoined twin fawns are the first known deer to be born with two heads, two hearts and a full coat of spots.

In May 2016, a Minnesota man was hunting for mushrooms in a forest near the Mississippi River when he stumbled upon something a little more unusual than fungi. Nestled dead in the underbrush was what looked like a single newborn baby fawn, carrying two heads on one body.

The baby deer was actually a pair of conjoined female twins with a body about 23 inches (60 centimeters) long from tail to heads. Their body was patterned with the telltale spots of other white-tailed deer and appeared to have been recently groomed. Yet the fawns lay alone, dry and freshly dead on the ground with no signs of their mother in sight. [Photos: See the World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]

The mushroom hunter delivered the deer to the nearby Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, knowing he had discovered something remarkable. Now, a new case study published in the April issue of the journal The American Midland Naturalist explains just how remarkable the conjoined fawns truly are. According to the new study, this discovery marks the first documented case of two-headed white-tailed deer twins brought to full term and birthed.

"It's amazing and extremely rare," study author Gino D'Angelo, assistant professor of deer ecology and management at the University of Georgia, told The Independent. "We can't even estimate the rarity of this."

A CT scan of the fawns (A) revealed where their shared spinal column split into two individual necks and heads. A necropsy (B) showed twin sets of organs, including two hearts nestled in the same sac (a). (Image credit: Gino DAngelo et al/University of Georgia)

For their new study, D'Angelo and his colleagues conducted computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans on the conjoined twins, then conducted a full necropsy.

The MRI scans revealed that the twins shared a single spinal column that forked into two distinct necks and heads about halfway up. During the necropsy, researchers found that the fawns had two hearts nestled inside a single pericardial sac. They had two esophagi and forestomachs (the first compartment of the stomach where food is partially digested to be regurgitated as cud), one of which ended in a closed-off tube.

"Their anatomy indicates the fawns would never have been viable," D'Angelo told The Independent. "Yet, they were found groomed and in a natural position, suggesting that the doe tried to care for them after delivery. The maternal instinct is very strong."

D'Angelo said he suspects the fawns were likely delivered stillborn  but the mere fact that they were delivered at all is a scientific first. According to the new study, most female white-tailed deer carry twins, but observations of conjoined twins are extremely rare in the scientific literature. A 2008 review of studies looking as far back as 1671 found only 19 cases of conjoined twins in nondomestic land mammals, just two of which were white-tailed deer. In both cases, the mother doe and her children all died while the twins were in utero.

Originally published on Live Science.
It came from the depths of the ocean and has since mystified onlookers: the decaying, truck-size body of a hairy sea monster.

What it is, no one can yet say. But the beast, which washed ashore on a beach in the Philippine province of Oriental Mindoro on May 11, is likely the remains of a whale, fishery law enforcement officer Vox Krusada told The Sun. However, DNA testing is needed to pinpoint the exact species, Krusada said. [13 Bizarre Things That Washed Up on Beaches]

Until the species is officially identified, people are calling the 20-foot-long (6 meters), grayish and white carcass the "globster." And, like any rotting corpse, it smells terrible.

"I really experienced the full power of its smell because I'm the one who took the tissue samples," Krusada told The Sun. "I almost puked. I felt better after taking a bath, but the stench still lingers in my nose."

People used rope to pull the mysterious blob onto the beach. (Image credit: ViralPress)

The globster is about 4 feet (1.2 m) wide at one end and about 2 feet (0.6 m) wide at the other, The Sun reported. Passersby posted a video of it on YouTube before the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources disposed of the animal, The Sun noted.

This is hardly the first mysterious monster that's washed ashore in the Philippines. In February 2017, the decaying, blobby body of another 20-foot-long marine creature washed ashore in the Dinagat Islands (part of the Philippines), The Sun reported. A later investigation revealed that the roughly 4,400-lb. (2,000 kilograms) animal was a whale.

Like the newfound specimen, last year's discovery also had hair-like strands coming off its body. These features are likely decomposed muscle fibers, National Geographic reported.

The strands on the mysterious creature's body may be decomposed muscle fibers. (Image credit: ViralPress)

National Geographic also posted a video (see below) of yet another so-called sea monster that washed ashore on the Indonesian island of Seram in May 2017. This bizarre, 49-foot-long (15 m) creature was definitely a baleen whale  possibly a Bryde's whale, blue whale or fin whale, Live Science previously reported.

It's not uncommon for whale remains to mystify the public. Earlier this year, whale watchers boating off the coast of Hawaii saw a goopy mass that turned out to be a humpback whale placenta, Live Science previously reported.

Original article on Live Science.
Fashion logistics specialist Expo Freight Logistics (EFL) has signed an agreement with Qatar Airways Cargo for the operation of weekly scheduled charter freighter services between Bangladesh and the US, taking their partnership to the next level.

The Doha-based carrier, through its QR Charter services, this week began operating a dedicated Boeing 777 freighter service for EFL once every week from Dhaka to New York, transporting more than 100 tonnes of garments per flight. The freighter service commenced on 13 May and will continue for a period of one year.

Hanif Yusoof, EFL founder and chairman, said: We are pleased to announce this new service from Dhaka for our USA customers. Bangladesh has been a very attractive sourcing market for retailers and the development of better and faster supply chain solutions will further strengthen its reputation in the region. We look forward to developing more customised solutions for our key customers.

The majority of apparel exports out of Dhaka on the freighters consist of sportswear, lingerie, loungewear, bridal wear, workwear, swimwear and childrens wear, the companies said, which would be transported to New York to major retailers in the United States.

Bangladesh is the worlds second-largest exporter of readymade garments, which form the countrys largest source for export earnings.

Qatar Airways Cargo operates seven weekly freighters from Dhaka that connect to its network of more than 150 destinations via Doha. It also offers belly-hold space on three-times daily wide-body passenger flights, offering a combined capacity of over 900 tonnes out of Bangladesh each week for local exports.

Founded in 1982, EFL is part of Expolanka PLC based in Sri Lanka, and now part of the larger SG Holdings Group, a leading logistics group in Japan. SG Holdings includes 24 locally incorporated subsidiaries in 14 countries outside Japan including China, Vietnam and Singapore.
In a blow to Oakland and its environmental agenda, a federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday cleared the way for a company to export coal from a port in the city.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria said city officials breached a contract with developer Phil Tagami and his Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, or OBOT, project when they instituted a prohibition on coal handling and storage within city limits two years ago and then retroactively applied the ban to the marine terminal project.

In 2013, OBOT signed an agreement with the city giving the company the rights to build a $250 million shipping terminal near the Bay Bridge toll plaza. City officials said they had gotten assurances from the company that coal wouldnt be stored or shipped there.

The contract was executed prior to the city passing any ban on coal, but it contained an exception that allowed the city to impose future regulations if they were necessary for health and safety reasons.

Chhabria, however, said there was insufficient evidence to support the City Councils contention that coal and petroleum coke operations pose a substantial danger to people in Oakland.

In fact, the record is riddled with inaccuracies, major evidentiary gaps, erroneous assumptions, and faulty analyses, to the point that no reliable conclusion about health or safety dangers could be drawn from it, he wrote. Perhaps a more thorough investigation could result in a lawful determination that coal operations may be restricted at the facility, but in this case, the record was inadequate.

The project, which would be the first coal facility of its kind in Oakland, calls for hauling the fossil fuel from mines in Utah, Wyoming and elsewhere and storing it at the waterfront site before shipping it overseas.

I am delighted with the prompt and dispositive ruling, said Robert Feldman, a lawyer for the shipping company.

The amount of coal and coke passing through the terminal is expected to be 5 million metric tons a year  more than what all of California currently exports.

The shipping terminal is a key piece of a 130-acre development that Tagamis company, California Capital & Investment Group, has undertaken at the old city-owned Oakland Army Base. Tagami is a longtime friend of Gov. Jerry Brown and owns the seven-story building near Oakland City Hall where Brown and his wife, Anne Gust Brown, were married in 2005.

Concerns about the project surfaced in 2014, after Tagamis shipping operator, Terminal Logistics Solutions, entered talks with four coal-mining counties in Utah. Leaders of those counties promised to invest $53 million in the Oakland terminal, on the guarantee that Utah coal would be exported from Oakland.

City Councilman Dan Kalb, the lead author of the ban, said City Attorney Barbara Parker would bring the council a set of options later this month to consider how to proceed with the litigation.

There was more than substantial evidence that shipping this much coal through this one location has substantial health and safety impacts, Kalb said. We need to do whatever it takes within the law to hold firm in our opposition to this ridiculous proposal. The residents in that area, the workers of Oakland and the entire world need us to stop this export terminal.

Mayor Libby Schaaf likewise said the legal battle isnt over.

This is a fight for environmental justice and equity, she said in a statement. Oaklands most vulnerable communities have unfairly suffered the burden of pollutants and foul air for too long.

Lawyers for the city argued that coal dust  particulates that fly into the air when pieces of coal are jostled against each other  would be particularly hazardous for low-income neighborhoods of West Oakland through which the material would be transported. Children in that industrial area are already prone to high rates of asthma and other illnesses.

But Chhabria said a consultant, Environmental Science Associates, hired by the city to study the possible pollution effects, failed to adequately consider the mitigation techniques promised by the company.

For instance, the judge said, the city ignored how the use of railcar covers and chemicals to suppress dust emissions would impact air-quality estimates. Chhabria said that was a big mistake, and called the floated concern that covered coal could be prone to spontaneous combustion nothing more than generalized speculation.

San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Bob Egelko contributed to this report.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
San Antonio-based refiner Valero Energy Corp. has signed a new deal to export fuel to northern Mexico from two of its Gulf Coast refineries.

The refiner, currently the largest in the U.S., will export gasoline and diesel to northern Mexico using a recently announced expansion by San Antonio-based NuStar Energy LP. Valero expects to begin shipping the fuels into northern Mexico by the end of 2018, and did not provide the amount it expects to send.

NuStar, which operates crude oil and refined product pipelines and storage terminals, announced in April that it will be expanding its South Texas pipeline system and the terminal it operates in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Valero and other U.S. refiners have been making a push into Mexico and other countries. After almost 80 years of state control, Mexico started opening its energy market to competition in 2014. The sweeping energy reform is intended to boost oil and gas production and fuel electricity generation, and the overhaul includes everything from oil fields to pipelines, storage terminals and retail gas stations.

Valero also signed a deal in August with IEnova, a subsidiary of San Diego, California-based Sempra Energy, to utilize a new $155 million, 1.4 million barrel refined product storage facility in the Gulf of Mexico port of Veracruz.

IEnova will build another pair of terminals for $120 million that will allow product imports by rail to the Mexico City market.

U.S. exports of gasoline into Mexico increased fivefold between 2007 and 2017, when a record 153.5 million barrels of gasoline were exported to Mexico, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Exports of distillates  which can be either diesel or fuel oil  have increased sevenfold in the last decade to a record 91.3 million barrels in 2017. The export numbers have fluctuated widely from year to year.

On Monday, Valero announced it had purchased Pure Biofuels del Peru S.A.C. from Pegasus Capital Advisors, which it said is the third largest fuels importer into Peru.

The purchase included two Peruvian fuels terminals in Callao and Paita, and Valeros President and CEO Joe Gorder said the purchase demonstrates our continued interest in expanding international product exports and wholesale fuels volumes.

Rye Druzin is a San Antonio Express-News energy reporter. Read more of his stories here. | rdruzin@express-news.net | @druz_journo
The city block that includes the Woodlawn Theatre and the Classic Theatre is off the market.

The building was purchased by 1920 Woodlawn Partners, a limited liabilty company formed by Austinite Trevor Titman; his father, Sheridan Titman; and Sherry Wehner. Wehner previously had owned the theater with her then-husband, Kurt Wehner.

(The new) LLC bought out the other LLC, Sherry Wehner said.

She and Trevor Titman declined to say how much they spent. The asking price in the original real estate listing through Phyllis Browning Co. was $1.95 million.

RELATED: $1.35M Boerne home for sale dubbed 'Castle on a Hill'

The building encompasses the Woodlawn, including the auditorium, offices, dance studio and the academy space on the corner; Classic Theatre, including the black box performance space and an annex down the block used for storage, as a shop and for rehearsals and some events; and the 17,000-square-foot Burgundy Ballroom. Other storefront spaces include a pet grooming business and a boutique.

The owners would like to add a gallery and perhaps a cafe or coffee shop to the mix in hopes of helping to turn the neighborhood into an arts destination.

We want to bring tenants in there that mesh well with the Woodlawn Theater and the Classic, Trevor Titman said. Those are cultural anchors for the property and the whole area.

Plans also are being made for some needed repairs.

The building is still not in perfect shape, Trevor Titman said. All the love went into the theater section. Hopefully, we can do more to the other spaces.

The building went on the market in December. The Wehners, who purchased it in 2012, had divorced and Kurt Wehner wanted to sell it. Sherry Wehner made it know that she was hoping to find a partner who would help her buy the building.

The Titmans ran across the listing while looking for real estate opporunities in San Antonio. Trevor Titman took a tour of the building and explored the neighborhood. He saw a lot of potential in the Deco District, he said, so he and his father put in a bid on the building. Trevor Titman also wrote a letter to Sherry Wehner, letting her know that they hoped to find a way for her to stay involved with the property.

RELATED: 'Hamilton' hits San Antonio's Majestic Theatre in May 2019

It took a week or two to get together, and I met Sherry in person and I realized that she comes with the building, he said. So instead of a hypothetical partnership, it had to be a full partnership.

Her continued involvement and the ideas for new additions to the block have sparked a lot of excitement for the theater companies.

Christopher Rodriguez, the artistic and executive director of the Woodlawn, said news that the building was being sold had created a lot of concern for patrons, performers and students.

Its been a stressful time, said Rodriguez, who has been with the theater since 2011 and has run it since 2016.

The sale eases things, he said.

Now that everythings official, were really excited about it and the endless possibilities that Trevor and Sherry are going to be able to offer the block, he said.

Kelly Hilliard Roush, executive and artistic director of Classic, said she is delighted to be able to focus on continuing to produce strong work without fretting about possibly being displaced by a new owner.

It means we keep motoring along in a very excited way now that we have landlord partners who are all in in making this a destination block, Roush said.

She noted that the plans for the building jibe with the ongoing evolution of the neighborhood. A dance studio opened recently across the street from the theater, and other arts-oriented businesses would fit right in.

You can really feel something going on, and I think Trevor felt that and wanted to be a part of it, she said.

Deborah Martin is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | dlmartin@express-news.net | @DeborahMartinEN
Step away from the TVs and smart phones.

It's summer and just because school is out and it's vacation season doesn't mean you should spend your time becoming one with your living room couch.

Take some time to explore and see new things, and there is no better place to start than the Lone Star State. With more than 50 state parks, there is plenty to see, do and explore with a wide variety of parks for every kind of camper.

COOL OFF: Best swimming holes in the Lone Star State




Homeland Security Investigations special agents have arrested a Mexican citizen for allegedly stashing nearly 4 tons of marijuana at a local warehouse in central Laredo.

Jose Angel Polo-Hernandez, 49, was charged with possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute the controlled substance.

He made an initial appearance Monday in a Laredo federal court.

On May 10, HSI special agents and task force officers responded to reports of a suspicious shipment that arrived at a warehouse near Gale Street and Cerrito Prieto Circle. Special agents discovered narcotics hidden within a commercial shipment that had been imported from Mexico on May 4.

READ ALSO: LCC trustee, Martin High School teacher arrested on DWI charge

Surveillance video showed a man arriving in a black Chevrolet pickup to inquire about the shipment. Special agents later identified him as Polo-Hernandez, a Mexican citizen with a visitor visa.

He requested an invoice so that he could pay for any applicable storage fees, court records state. Special agents allegedly discovered that Polo-Hernandez entered and exited the country on May 10. Authorities placed a lookout on him and the pickup.

On May 11, special agents established surveillance after they received information about Polo-Hernandez entering the country. He met with a man with prior narcotics history at a convenience store on Mined Road.

He then drove to U.S. 59. Special agents approached him at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Freer. Polo-Hernandez allegedly agreed to talk to authorities without an attorney.

RELATED: LPD: Man found with pot arrested after evading arrest attempt

He stated that a man recruited him in Mexico to coordinate the delivery of commercial shipments containing marijuana within pallets of merchandise, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday.

He allegedly stated he was to be paid $5,000 to coordinate the shipment's delivery from Mexico to a warehouse in Laredo. He added that his employer gave him specific information to distinguish the pallets containing the narcotics from the others, court documents state.

Polo-Hernandez stated that 15 out of 61 pallets contained marijuana. Special agents said they seized 621 bundles of marijuana weighing 8,621 pounds. The contraband had an estimated street value of $6,465,750.
Defense attorneys in the trial of a Laredo man accused of killing his landlord are arguing that their client acted in self-defense.

Nelson Anthony Jasso's trial began Monday in the 341st District Court. He was indicted on a murder charge in connection with the fatal shooting of Juan Antonio Gutierrez, 38.

In his opening statement, Assistant District Attorney Rene Benavides said the evidence would show that Gutierrez was shot with an AR-15 rifle, and that Jasso denied shooting Gutierrez or owning the gun. Jasso told police that Gutierrez had attacked him with a knife and that maybe the landlord was accidentally stabbed with the knife when Jasso tried to defend himself, according to Benavides.

Jasso had Gutierrez's blood and gunshot residue on him and the gun also had Gutierrez's blood on it, Benavides added.

READ MORE: Laredo man accused of fatally shooting landlord with high-powered rifle pleads not guilty

Marcel Notzon III, Jasso's attorney, asked jurors to keep an open mind and listen to all the evidence. He said the evidence would show that his client was acting in self-defense after Gutierrez showed up trying to collect money from him and attacked him with a knife.

"This was a bad situation that my client didn't ask for," he told the jury.

LPD Officer Priscilla Almanza testified that she was the first officer at the scene. She said she received an unknown traffic call, so she approached it with caution since it could be a dangerous or violent situation.

Almanza said that at about 7:35 p.m. Feb. 22, 2017, she arrived at a duplex in the 2300 block of Cortez Street and approached the driveway.

Rodolfo Martinez, who lived in the back residence, approached her holding a knife in his hand with the tip of it pointing down to the ground, Almanza testified. She said she did not feel threatened because of the man's demeanor.

Martinez appeared to be scared and was yelling and talking really fast in Spanish, according to Almanza. She said she told Martinez to stop and asked him what had happened and he dropped the knife. Almanza said Martinez told her, "he's crazy."

Almanza then saw Jasso come out from the back of the residence and said he was also screaming and was covered in blood.

She looked past Jasso and saw Gutierrez lying on the ground, Almanza testified. Gutierrez was not moving and there was a lot of blood around him.

Jasso was yelling in Spanish and all she could make out was that he said, "He attacked me," according to Almanza. She said she handcuffed him and he did not resist and was compliant.

A picture from the scene showed the knife located near a faucet. Almanza testified that this was not the original place where Almanza had dropped the knife when she initially made contact with him.

Notzon questioned Almanza about whether she had moved the knife or knew if someone had moved the knife from its original location. She denied knowing how or who had moved the knife.

Almanza added that she initially thought Gutierrez had been stabbed, until she got a better look of the body.

"He had a big hole in his chest," Almanza said.

Fermin Martinez, Rodolfo Martinez's nephew and Jasso's next door neighbor, testified that on the day of the shooting, he came home from work and his uncle was cutting the grass.

He said he talked to his uncle for about an hour and then he said they both heard a loud noise. Fermin Martinez said he thought it was a single gunshot but that his uncle believed it was fireworks.

He added that his uncle died in March from cancer.

Martinez said Brenda Gutierrez, his cousin and Gutierrez's wife, owned the property Jasso was renting.

READ ALSO: Arrest made in connection with drive-by shooting in south Laredo

LPD Officer Mario Casares Jr. testified that he answered a stabbing call at the residence where Gutierrez was found dead.

Casares said Rodolfo Martinez, an elderly man, was holding a knife but dropped it after Almanza ordered him to do it. He said Martinez told him "the crazy guy is in the back" and he pointed toward the back residence.

After seeing Gutierrez's body, Casares said he saw Jasso and that he told the deceased, "Wake up" and "get up."

Casares said he secured the scene. He said he found a rifle, a box of ammunition and magazines in a vacant lot in the back of Jasso's house. He said there was blood on the muzzle of the gun.

The trial will resume today.

Joana Santillana may be reached at 956-728-2528 or jsantillana@lmtonline.com
A massive apartment fire in north Harris County displaced several families and damaged a dozen units Tuesday afternoon, authorities said.

The blaze appears to have been sparked by smoking materials that were thrown over a second-floor balcony, according to the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office.

DEADLY CRASH: Fatal wreck shuts Katy Freeway near Texas 6

The fire was reported at the Pecan Square Village on Cranbrook apartments near Ella Boulevard and Kuykendahl Road, the office tweeted. Firefighters were met with heavy smoke and flames as they tried to tackle the blaze.

The Red Cross was called out to the scene to assist families who are now homeless, officials said.

At least one firefighter received minor injuries while fighting the fire, officials said.

Jay R. Jordan is a breaking news reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JayRJordan.
Kathleen "Amina" Deady stood in front of a pastry counter in Riverside, California, holding a key fob and wearing a veil across her face.

Only her eyes peeked through the veil. In Islam, it is called a niqab, though the man standing in front of Deady at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on Friday had other words for it.

"Is this Halloween or something?" he asked Deady, leaning in toward her and scowling as she began to record on her phone.

Behind the counter, two baristas looked up with concern.

"Why did you say that?" Deady asked the man, still quiet and cheerful in her tone.

"Why wouldn't I?" the man replied, and looked back toward the register.

Deady asked him again: "Why would you say that?"

"Because I want to."

"Why? What's wrong with me?"

"You tell me what's wrong with you."

"Do you know I'm a Muslim?" she asked.

The man looked back at her. "Yeah, I do."

It was around this point that other customers scattered around the coffee shop took notice. Barry Landau, a self-described regular, would later tell KTLA that he had often noticed Deady in the shop - usually reading.

"Books about cardiology and such," Landau said. He figured Deady was studying to be a doctor, but on Friday, he told the station, he paid more attention to the man in a T-shirt yelling at her.

"It upset me," Landau recalled. "Any time you see people explicitly hating people, it's shocking."

Deady, however, stood her ground and continued to record.

"What's your problem with me?" she asked the man, who has not been publicly identified.

"I don't like it, how's that?" the man replied, snapping his head close to the camera and gritting his teeth. "I don't like your religion. It says to kill me, and I don't want to be killed by you. How's that?"

"Have you read the Koran?" Deady asked.

"I've read enough of it to know," the man replied. He was holding a $10 bill out to baristas behind the counter, but no one took it.

Now the conversation was flowing along the lines of many others that have taken place in the United States, in an age of rising anti-Muslim rhetoric.

The man's comment partially echoed the words of President Donald Trump, who as a candidate once said without evidence, "Islam hates us."

When Deady asked the man why he thought she wanted to kill him, he didn't reply. He might have been referring to a Koran verse that is often distorted by those who insist Islam wants a war on unbelievers.

The man was ignoring (or unaware of) verses that explicitly forbid murder - such as "if any one killed a person, it would be as if he killed the whole mankind," as a Muslim language arts teacher once explained in The Washington Post.

Deady, who The Post was not able to interview before publication, then asked the man: "Are you a Christian?"

He was silent for a moment.

Still, no one behind the counter would take his money.

"Absolutely," he finally said.

"Let's talk about your Bible," Deady said. "Do you know in your Bible, Jesus says to bring the people who don't believe, to kill them?"

She may have been referring to a parable in the Book of Luke, in which case it is was a nobleman - not Jesus - who said, "Those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me."

In any case, the vast majority of Christians, like the vast majority of Muslims, do not cite their faith to justify murder.

But it was far too late for reconciliation at the Coffee Bean by now.

The man shoved a hand in Deady's camera lens. He didn't want to talk. She began to yell, "You are committing hate speech!"

A barista reached across the pastry counter and tried to physically separate the two, to not much effect.

Across the room, Landau recalled to KTLA, a "radical Christian" woman with whom he was acquainted began to scream at Deady. So Landau chose a side, and was heard in the video screaming and cursing at the man: "Get out of here! Get out of here! . . . Racist!"

The man began to swear, too, and two workers behind the counter appeared to be consulting with each other before Deady's camera briefly cut off. A sort of interlude.

"The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is fully committed to ensuring the wellness and safety of its customers, team members and business," the chain later wrote to Newsweek, after Deady's video had gone viral. "We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination of any kind, and have the right to refuse service to any person who makes customers or team members feel endangered in any way."

This statement went some way toward explaining the final scene in Deady's video.

She turned her camera back after several minutes had apparently passed - as the man once again stood before the cash register, now holding a small takeout container in his hand.

"Who's the manager here?" he asked.

"I'm the supervisor on duty," said a woman behind the counter.

She gave the man her name, and smiled uncertainly as Deady asked from behind the camera:

"Why are you not serving him?"

The supervisor tugged distractedly at a plastic glove on her hand.

"Because he's disrupting a public space," she replied, and glanced up to watch the man storm out the front door.

"And being really racist," the supervisor added, when he was gone.

There was no more yelling now. In her video, which would be viewed by 2 million people on Twitter and make news across the United States in coming days, Deady nodded at the supervisor.

"Thank you," she said, and panned the camera once more around the Coffee Bean, where everyone seemed to have returned to their own business.
A judge ordered a halt Tuesday to Californias right-to-die law for terminally ill patients, ruling that it was illegally taken up and passed during a special legislative session devoted to health care funding. Unless a higher court intervenes, the law, in effect since June 2016, will become unenforceable next week.

The law allows a dying adult patient to take lethal medication that a doctor has prescribed. Before that, two doctors must have determined that the patient would die within six months and was mentally competent to choose death.

State health officials reported that between June 2016 and the end of that year, 173 Californians were prescribed life-ending drugs by their doctors and 111 of them took the drugs. Similar laws are in effect in six other states and the District of Columbia.

A group of doctors represented by the Life Legal Defense Foundation challenged the California law, arguing that it lacked safeguards and could be exploited by greedy relatives. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Daniel Ottolia refused to block the measure from taking effect in 2016, citing its requirements for medical evaluation, but refused to dismiss the suit and expressed concern over how the law had been adopted.

On Tuesday, Ottolia agreed with opponents that the Legislature had lacked authority to consider and enact the bill during a special session that Gov. Jerry Brown called in 2015 to address emergency needs in the states health care system  specifically, funding shortages for Medi-Cal, disability care and in-home nursing care.

The judge had not yet issued a written ruling by deadline. But in comments during last years hearing quoted by opponents, Ottolia said the right-to-die law did not appear to be related to improving the health of Californians, Browns stated overall purpose for the session. Lawyers for both sides said Ottolia expressed similar views at Tuesdays hearing.

Bills considered in a special session require the same majority vote as in normal legislative sessions, but are generally reviewed more quickly and take effect sooner than standard legislation. However, the right-to-die bill, which Brown signed in October 2015, was drafted to take effect in June 2016.

A special-session measure does not receive the same degree of scrutiny and debate, Stephen Larson, a lawyer for opponents of the law, said Tuesday.

He noted that state lawmakers had defeated four right-to-die measures during regular sessions after state voters rejected an assisted-dying law in 1992. Opposition to the law has been led by some religious groups and advocates for the disabled.

The legislation gained new support in California from the plight of Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old schoolteacher from Alamo who was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2014. Facing a painful death, she moved to Oregon, where the nations first such law was passed two decades ago, and legally obtained a doctors prescription for the drug she used to end her life.

I made a promise to my wife Brittany that I would continue her fight to authorize medical aid in dying, her widower, Dan Diaz, said Tuesday in a statement released by Compassion & Choices, the nonprofit group that sponsored the California law. He said he would try to persuade Brown, the state attorney generals office and the courts to keep the law in effect.

There was no immediate comment from California Attorney General Xavier Becerras office, which has defended the law in court. But Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, D-Stockton, the author of the state law, said she has learned that Becerras office, with Browns support, would ask the Fourth District Court of Appeal for a stay of the ruling and a prompt review of the laws validity.

If this isnt Californians health care, I dont know what is, said Eggman, a former social worker at hospices, who disputes Ottolias conclusion that her bill should not have been considered during the special session. The judge is not the governor, she added, noting that Brown had decided the measure was related to health care when he signed it into law.

Asked for a comment, Browns office said Ottolias current assessment of the right-to-die laws relationship to public health was different from his analysis in 2016, when he let the law remain in effect.

In his earlier ruling, Ottolia said: Even though improving the health of Californians might seem far removed from assisted suicide, it is sufficiently related to health care and the efficiency and efficacy of the health care system for the court to consider the act to be within the scope of the authorization for the (special) session.

Compassion & Choices also released a statement from Matt Fairchild, whom it described as a 48-year-old retired Army staff sergeant from Burbank who has been diagnosed with terminal melanoma that has spread to his bones, lungs and brain.

I pray the attorney general successfully appeals this decision, so hundreds of terminally ill Californians like me dont have to suffer needlessly at lifes end, he said.

Larson, the lawyer for the Life Legal Defense Foundation, applauded the courage demonstrated by the judge in finding the law unconstitutional. If the ruling stands, he said, lawmakers could reconsider the issue at a regular session and set tougher standards for doctors to diagnose terminal illnesses and determine that a patient is mentally competent.

We are hopeful that the state accepts this decision and that the matter is referred back to the Legislature for further consideration, Larson said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @BobEgelko
Croat Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic resigned from her post amid allegations of conflict-of-interest tied to her role in the state-led restructuring of Agrokor, the country's biggest company.

"Deputy Premier Dalic and I have agreed that she resign from her post," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said at a news conference in Zagreb Monday. Dalic, who accompanied him, said she had stepped aside to avoid being a burden to the government.

A 50-year-old former banker who is also Economy Minister, Dalic said in February that she wrote Lex Agrokor, a special law that allows the government to take over large failing companies to protect the rest of the economy. Last week, Zagreb-based portal Index published what it said were private emails from 2017, showing Dalic consulted legal and financial experts while drafting the law, some of whom were later hired as subcontracting advisers in Agrokor's restructuring.

This is the second blow to Plenkovic's government in connection with Agrokor's collapse. In an attempt to shield the economy from the potential bankruptcy of privately-owned Agrokor, parliament approved the law last year and the government appointed consultant Ante Ramljak to lead the restructuring. Ramljak, one of the people Dalic consulted in drafting the law, resigned in February amid criticism over fees paid to his former company, which was also hired as an adviser at Agrokor.

Plenkovic said the government engaged experts who could help prevent a worst-case scenario of cascading bankruptcies. Those experts were later engaged as subcontracting advisers in Agrokor.

"That wasn't ideal, and I regret that there wasn't more time and more transparency," he said. "But we achieved our basic strategic aim, which was saving the economy and saving jobs."

The governing coalition is seeking to finalize a settlement for Agrokor by July 10, when the state's oversight expires, according to Ivan Vrdoljak, leader of the junior coalition member People's Party.

"Our priority is continuing with the settlement process and finalizing the settlement by the deadline," he said by phone.

The special law, known as Lex Agrokor, is recognized in the U.K. but not in Serbia and Montenegro, while an initial affirmation in Slovenia is under appeal. Croatia's constitutional court last week affirmed the law's legality.

With two key figures connected to Agrokor's restructuring gone, the government now risks that unhappy creditors may file lawsuits, challenging the validity of the entire restructuring process, Danko Sucevic, an analyst at Zagreb-based financial consultancy Infokorp, said by phone.

"If the lawsuits start appearing, then we will be able to estimate the full impact and possible damage of Lex Agrokor, and the prime minister is now exposed to the full responsibility," Sucevic said. "Some bankruptcy experts had warned the government about it from the start."

Agrokor's creditors, represented in the temporary creditors' council, in April agreed on a basic settlement model. Under the company plan, a final proposal will be submitted next month to creditors, two-thirds of whom must approve it. The deal then requires a go-ahead from the courts by the end of the extraordinary administration period on July 10. The debt restructuring will then be completed by the end of the year.
To paraphrase Donna Summer, you work hard for your money. After all, it's what you need to pay your bills, eat and have fun. Despite this, little more than 20 percent of employees in the United States feel they are paid fairly, according to PayScale's 2018 Compensation Best Practices Report.

Related: The Do's and Don'ts of Asking for a Raise

Chances are, you've felt this way from time to time. But that pay raise you really deserve typically isn't going to just fall in your lap. You have to do your part to earn it, and more often than not, you'll also have to communicate to your employer why you deserve it.

In some cases, simply presenting your case can be enough to get your boss to recognize your value and give you the pay raise you deserve. If he continues to brush aside your concerns, however, it's probably time to start looking for a better job.

Do you think you might deserve to be paid more? It's well worth considering -- after all, this is your money we're talking about. Here are seven signs that you desperately deserve a pay raise, whether your boss wants to give it to you or not.

1. You nailed the performance review.

While a lot of people dread their annual performance review, this is also a good time to gauge how your boss views your overall performance. However, these meetings can be much more than simply a time to get tips for improvement or receive verbal praise. This also provides an opportunity to show how you've increased your skills or contributed to the company's growth.

Performance reviews are often a time when your boss will give you new responsibilities or a new project. Be mindful of how this will change your work. More often than not, it could provide the perfect segue into discussing why you need a raise.

Related: 8 Ways to Negotiate Your Way to a Higher Salary

2. You consistently exceed goals.

Dependability is frequently cited as one of the most important attributes any employee can have. In fact, a survey from CareerBuilder listed dependability as one of the top soft skills employers value, with 73 percent of those surveyed selecting it as a key hiring factor.

From sales quotas to tight deadlines on major products, being someone who consistently follows through on requests and exceeds expectations is one of the best ways to deliver value to your employer.

This is a great thing to bring up in performance reviews, and is definitely a top reason why you would deserve a raise. Demonstrating your dependability time after time will make your employer far more willing to do whatever is necessary to keep you onboard.

3. Customers are happy.

While not everyone has a client-facing role, there's no denying that customer satisfaction is often a direct reflection of your own quality work. If your efforts are resulting in highly satisfied customers (and as a result, increasing company revenue), you're certainly justified in asking for a raise.

Related: How to Ask for a Raise -- and Get It

4. You've increased your own skills.

Whether you've earned extra certifications or completed additional coursework by taking night classes at a local college, going the extra mile to improve your own knowledge and skills should typically qualify you for a raise. Your new abilities will allow you to contribute even more to your company -- don't be afraid to communicate that.

John Rampton, founder and CEO of Due, used this mindset in hiring and retaining high-quality freelancers as he grew his business. "Over time, as their skills, knowledge and expertise increased, I compensated them for that," he explains. "I now have several earning nearly double what their employee friends are making ... and it's totally worth it on my side."

5. You just helped your company to a "big win."

Whether you made a big sale or helped finalize a successful product prototype, helping your company to a "big win" is a clear demonstration of how you bring value to the team. After all your hard work on behalf of your company, this is often the perfect time to ask for a pay raise.

If you haven't been much of a contributor to your company's successes, you're not likely to qualify for that raise. Because of this, digital marketing expert Jonha Revesencio recommends that "instead of thinking of ways to get out of the company, try various ways to increase your value within the organization by providing more impact than you used to."

Related: Can You Convince Your Boss to Pay You a Bigger Salary?

6. You're getting enticing offers from other recruiters.

Even if you're not actively looking for a new job, it isn't unusual to get messages from industry recruiters trying to lure you away to a different company. Unsurprisingly, those recruiting pitches are going to sound a lot more enticing if they offer a higher salary and better benefits than what you currently receive. Websites like Salary.com and Paysa can also provide insight into industry averages for your position.

While applying for new positions can be somewhat intimidating, it can make a big difference for your short-term and long-term financial well-being. Don't be afraid to look into these other opportunities, but before you go, try asking for a raise before accepting a new job offer. This additional leverage will create a compelling argument for getting a raise without leaving your current job.

7. You've seen your company making other investments.

As companies grow and experience success, it isn't unusual to see them start investing in new tech tools or making upgrades to make the office look nicer. While such improvements can certainly be helpful, the fact remains that people are by far the most important investment any business can make.

As the Harvard Business Review reports, "Higher levels of productivity allow society to reinvest in human capital (most obviously, though not exclusively, via higher wages), and smart investments result in higher labor productivity."

If your company appears to be hitting a financial high point, this is a good time to remind your boss of the value of investing in the resources (or people) that ultimately make the biggest difference.

Related: How to Get Paid More Today

Working hard and getting paid

Regardless of what industry you work in, there's no reason why you should continue to be underpaid. By highlighting the ways you bring value to your company and contribute to its growth, you are much more likely to convince your boss that you deserve a raise.

By evaluating your own performance, you can also find ways to keep improving or gain the motivation you need to start looking for a higher-paying job. Either way, by taking action now so you get paid what you deserve, you'll be that much closer to achieving your financial goals.

Related:

If You're Doing These 7 Things, You Desperately Deserve a Pay Raise

The Do's and Don'ts of Asking for a Raise

8 Ways to Negotiate Your Way to a Higher Salary



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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday that he had spent part of the past weekend with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., telling senators that he "didn't want to miss the opportunity to tell him what his friendship meant to me."

"John and Cindy and I had a chance to sit on their back porch and reminisce," said McConnell on the Senate floor. "He still had plenty to say about work, I assure you. He misses his colleagues. He'd rather be here. And I told him, we miss him, too. All of the jokes, the smart-alecky comments; he's a joy to be around."
Pennsylvania Democrats took a major step toward upending the state's all-male, Republican-dominated congressional delegation Tuesday, nominating competitive candidates, including women intent on breaking barriers two years after the state rejected Hillary Clinton.

In a state crucial to their shot at House and Senate majorities, Democrats turned out in high numbers to settle crowded primaries. They put themselves in position to gain as many as half a dozen House seats in November and are all but assured of sending at least three women to Congress.

But President Donald Trump's presence could still be felt in the state, as a close ally, Rep. Lou Barletta, won the GOP Senate primary. His victory sets up a showdown with two-term Democratic Sen. Robert Casey Jr., who has stockpiled nearly $10 million for the race. Trump had recorded an automated telephone message praising Barletta that was sent to voters just before the election.

"The media said that Donald Trump could not win in Pennsylvania, and Pennsylvania put Donald Trump in the White House," Barletta told his supporters in Hazleton. "They say I can't beat Bob Casey, and I'm going to beat Bob Casey."

Democratic turnout was running far ahead of Republican turnout in Pennsylvania late Tuesday, even though the Democrats had just one competitive statewide race - the usually sleepy lieutenant governor's contest. With nearly 90 percent of precincts reporting, Democrats had cast nearly 100,000 more votes than Republicans. In Erie County, where Republicans saw one of their most dramatic surges in 2016, Democrats cast 5,000 more votes than the GOP.

The general election in Pennsylvania will serve in part as a test of Trump's appeal two years after he became the first Republican presidential nominee to win the state in 28 years - a victory he still talks about.

Trump met with Senate Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday and spoke optimistically about the party's Senate prospects in November. The GOP holds a razor-thin 51-to-49 advantage, but leaders are increasingly bullish about adding to their majority as Trump's approval ratings have ticked up.

Pennsylvania is one of 10 states Trump won where a Democratic senator faces a reelection race this year. But strategists in both parties think Casey has the advantage.

The state has shown signs of trending Democratic since Trump's historic defeat of Clinton. In March, Democrat Conor Lamb won a special election in a Pittsburgh-area district where Trump had defeated Clinton by 20 percentage points.

A redrawn congressional map and a string of House Republican retirements have given Democrats more reasons to be optimistic about Pennsylvania. There, they are hoping to pick up a chunk of the 23 seats they need to win the House majority.

Ballots were cast Tuesday in four states where primary outcomes provided fresh signs about voters' mood less than six months before Election Day. In addition to Pennsylvania, there were nominating contests in Nebraska, Idaho and Oregon.

The president used Twitter to urge Nebraska Republicans to "make sure you get out to the polls and VOTE" for Sen. Deb Fischer, who defeated four little-known challengers. Fischer is favored to hold her seat in November. She will face Democrat Jane Raybould, who attracted widespread attention when she repeatedly refused to say in a television interview whether she would have voted for the sweeping GOP tax law.

In Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, a pickup opportunity for Democrats, former congressman Brad Ashford, D, was trying to make a comeback. But he was in a tight race with nonprofit executive Kara Eastman. The winner will face Rep. Don Bacon, R.

Nebraska Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts easily defeated his primary challenger. He is favored to win a second term in November.

In Pennsylvania, the retirement of Rep. Ryan Costello, R, the resignation of Rep. Patrick Meehan, R, and a revised map ordered by the state Supreme Court have led the GOP to effectively cede two House districts in the Philadelphia area.

Democrats Chrissy Houlahan, Mary Gay Scanlon and Madeleine Dean were nominated in districts that Democrats are favored to win in November. In another district Democrats are aggressively contesting, they nominated Susan Wild.

All told, Democrats nominated seven women for the House in Pennsylvania. Republicans nominated one.

"We're beyond thrilled at what is going on tonight," said EMILY's List President Stephanie Schriock.

Scanlon and Wild defeated male candidates backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who involved himself in several of Tuesday's contests.

Elsewhere, Democrats were trying to unseat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R, in a swing district. Wealthy philanthropist Scott Wallace won the Democratic nomination against him.

Republican Rick Saccone, who lost to Lamb, was denied a chance for redemption in a primary for a Pittsburgh-area district that favors the GOP. He lost to state Sen. Guy Reschenthaler. Lamb opted to run in a different district near Pittsburgh that is less conservative. He will face Rep. Keith Rothfus, R, in November.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf will face Republican state Sen. Scott Wagner in the general election. Voters also decided the outcomes in contested primaries for lieutenant governor in both parties.

In the Democratic race, John Fetterman, the longtime mayor of a struggling industrial town who was backed by Sanders and who ran on universal health care and legalizing marijuana, defeated Lt. Gov. Mike Stack by an unexpectedly large margin. Stack had been dogged by reports that he and his wife mistreated state employees.

Republicans nominated businessman Jeff Bartos for lieutenant governor.

While strategists in both parties are monitoring the Senate race in Pennsylvania, most are not counting on the seat flipping Republican.

In the phone message he recorded, Trump called Casey the "hand-picked guy" of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., using a strategy Republicans have deployed in other states to tie candidates to party leaders.

But Democrats were not as worried about those attacks resonating in Pennsylvania, compared with some other states Trump won. And Casey has built a much bigger campaign account than Barletta, giving them another reason to be confident he will prevail in November. As of late April, Barletta had about $1.3 million in his campaign account. Casey had more than $9.9 million.

In Idaho, a competitive Republican primary for governor featured three leading candidates: Rep. Raul Labrador, a founding member of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus; Lt. Gov. Brad Little, who had the support of outgoing Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter; and Tommy Ahlquist, a businessman and physician who ran with the backing of 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

With most of the vote yet to be tallied, Little led the pack late Tuesday.

The leading Democratic candidates were Paulette Jordan, a former state lawmaker who would be the country's first Native American governor; and A.J. Balukoff, the party's 2014 nominee. Jordan led with nearly a fifth of the vote tallied.

"People are ready for something new," Jordan said in an interview. "I'm not about the party; I'm not about the system."

Farther west in Oregon, incumbent Democratic Gov. Kate Brown defeated a pair of primary challengers. She will face state legislator Knute Buehler, who won the Republican nomination.

Oregon is a heavily Democratic state, and Brown is favored to retain the governorship this fall.
BAD AXE  A prosecutor handling a sexual abuse investigation involving priests from the Diocese of Saginaw denies threatening the Diocese in a 2004 letter.

Mark Gaertner is a former Huron County prosecutor who now works as an assistant prosecutor in Saginaw County. The Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office is working with law enforcement regarding investigations of prior sexual abuse of minors by priests in the Diocese.

Gaertner was the Huron County prosecutor when Bad Axe Police investigated a former Bad Axe Priest, Jack E. Leipert, following allegations of sexual abuse while serving at Sacred Heart Church in 2000. In that case, the county elected to not file charges against Leipert.

At the time, a 21-year-old Caseville man claimed Leipert sexually molested him.

The Diocese told the Tribune this week that it was that complaint that led to Leipert's removal from the ministry in 2001.

"By what we can deduce, it was the determination of the Diocese at that time  2001  there appeared to be credible complaints involving the sexual abuse of minors against Jack Leipert from his earlier years in ministry," stated Erin Looby Carlson, director of communications for the Diocese of Saginaw, in an email to the Tribune.

"... Following the incident in 2000 (at Sacred Heart), he was permanently removed  restricted from all priestly ministry, unable to present himself as a priest," Carlson stated.

No charges sought locally

Leipert, known as "Father Jack," was a pastor at Sacred Heart from July 1990 to January 2001.

The Bad Axe Police Department, with assistance from the Huron County Sheriff's Office, investigated Leipert for allegedly molesting the 21-year-old Caseville man in November 2000.

Details of that case were reported by the Tribune in a May 2 article, "Former Bad Axe priest investigated locally for alleged sex abuse."

Gaertner on Tuesday told the Tribune that the case against Leipert was not strong enough to win at trial.

An attempt to gather evidence by recording Leipert talking with the alleged victim was unsuccessful for two reasons, Gaertner said.

Not only did the audio recording fail, Gaertner said, but the alleged victim did not ask Leipert all the questions provided by law enforcement.

"The recordings have to be dead on, otherwise, you have a he-said, he-said situation," Gaertner said.

Gaertner said he made many decisions about the case alongside former Bad Axe Police Chief John L. Bodis.

"We made the decision that we don't have a case ... We didn't talk to the priest ... because the priest was not going to tell us anything," Gaertner said.

A confession was unlikely, Gaertner added.

"He would have denied it," he said.

He said the prosecution may have succeeded in getting Leipert charged, but the case would not have succeeded at trial because Gaertner did not feel he had proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

"Some people say, 'A jury should have decided that,'" he noted. "When you're a prosecuting attorney ... it's not ethical for me to dump a case onto a jury (without convincing evidence)."

Gaertner also noted the alleged victim contacted an attorney regarding a civil lawsuit during the criminal investigation.

"You jeopardize a criminal investigation if you (begin a civil suit) during a criminal investigation," he said.

Bodis agreed that a conviction would not have come in the case.

"This is not a case that I would expect to result in a conviction," Bodis told the Tribune.

Following the investigation, Gaertner and Bodis met with Bishop Kenneth Untener, according to the police report.

Prosecutor pens letter to Diocese four years later

The Tribune obtained a 2004 letter by Gaertner to a Diocese lawyer via a Freedom of Information Act request to the Huron County Prosecutor's Office.

"... While there may have existed factually and legally sufficient evidence to sustain the initial charging level of probable cause, the prosecution most likely would not be able to meet the higher burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and thus the case would not be trial worthy," the letter states.

Gaertner wrote the letter to attorney David Masud, four years after the case was closed.

In it, Gaertner said he considered the Leipert matter "to be closed until recently when Timothy J. Rutkowski announced his intentions to once again seek the public office I now hold."

Gaertner complained to Masud about Rutkowski's brother, Rev. William J. Rutkowski, who was employed with the Diocese.

Rev. Rutkowski had been critical of Gaertner in letters to the editor in the Huron Daily Tribune and Bay City Times.

Gaertner questioned Masud about Rev. Rutkowski's involvement in "political matters," and said he had been approached by "some members of the community, including principals involved in the Leipert investigation."

"The general feeling is that the Diocese should not allow a priest to engage in, and influence, political matters especially in light of the fact the way (sic) Huron County law enforcement handled the Leipert matter in a discreet and professional manner. Some individuals have remarked, and I paraphrase, 'Is this the way the Diocese thanks us?'"

Gaertner closed the letter by stating, "My desire is to have Rev. Rutkowski not to be engaged in public comment during this election cycle, as it will resurrect the prior matter involving Rev. Leipert."

Geartner told the Tribune he was concerned about members of the community and those involved with the Leipert investigation resurrecting the Leipert matter, and that he had no intention of doing so himself.

He said the letter was not intended to be a threat, but was meant to warn the Diocese.

"I personally wouldn't have cared if (Rev. Rutkowski) wrote another letter in the 2004 campaign ..." Gaertner said. "What I was trying to convey to Masud was this is going to get churned up in the public again. Not because of me, but because people are going to be talking about it again."

"I did not want to see Sacret Heart receive unnecessary publicity," he added.

Timothy J. Rutkowski beat Gaertner for the position of Huron County Prosecutor in 2008, after he ran against Gaertner for a third time. He still holds the position of Huron County Prosecutor.

Prior investigations uncovered after Diocese goes public

It wasn't until last month that the Diocese publicly announced Leipert was suspected of sexual abuse.

An investigation by the Tribune revealed the alleged incident in 2000 on May 2.

"Subsequently, (in 2006), (Leipert) went through a process under Church (Canon) Law known as laicization. When a priest is laicized, it formalizes his return to status of a layperson; it severs his ties to the Diocese," Carlson explained.

The Diocese announced in March a total of five priests, including Leipert, were removed from the ministry as a result of sexual abuse allegations against minors.

Two others  Robert J. DeLand and Ronald J. Dombrowski  are on administrative leave "related to allegations under investigation," according to the Diocese.

Drombrowski, 72, served at several Thumb area churches from 1978 to 2001. He was suspended by Bishop Joseph R. Cistone because an allegation of sexual abuse against Dombrowski is being investigated.

Drombrowski served at St. Mary of Czestochowa, Kinde; St. Edward the Confessor Parish, Kinde; Ss. Peter & Paul, Ruth; St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Vassar; St. Bernard, Millington; St. Mary, Parisville; St. Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, Port Sanilac; St. John Chrysostom, Forestville; and Sacred Heart Parish, Caro.

Other former priests who served at area churches and have been removed from the ministry were: Stanislaus A. Bur and Leonard F. Wilkuski. Wilkuski served as pastor at St. Mary of Parisville from July 1983 to July 1990. He had his faculties withdrawn in April 2002. He was laicized in February 2006.

Bur served as pastor of St. Edward in Kinde and St. Felix of Pinnebog from August 1973 to May 1974. He stopped functioning as a priest in October 1992, and underwent permanent suspension of faculties in November 2005. He died in February 2009.

DeLand was recently bound over in Saginaw on charges of criminal sexual conduct, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, and distributing an imitation controlled substance.

However, he has not ever served in the Upper Thumb.

Michael J. Talbot, recently retired chief judge of the Michigan Court of Appeals, was appointed last month by the Saginaw Diocese as special independent delegate for sexual abuse of minors and misconduct in the Diocese.

Law enforcement resources

Saginaw area police and Huron County Sheriff Kelly J. Hanson previously stated that anyone who has been a victim of abuse should contact local law enforcement. Gaertner echoed that sentiment.

Gaertner said there is a special investigations team with a number of detectives from various agencies for the Diocese investigation. There are three prosecutors from the Saginaw County Prosecutor's Office on that team.

"I guess you could say I'm the most senior of those three prosecutors," Gaertner said, while

denying that he is the lead prosecutor for the Diocese investigation.

Complaints can be lodged with team members, who can be reached at the following email addresses:

 Scott Jackson, Saginaw Township Police Department: sjackson@saginawtownship.net

 Brian Berg, Tittabawassee Township Police Department: bberg@tittabawassee.org

 Chris Siegert, Michigan State Police: siegertc@michigan.gov

 Jeff Hunger, Michigan State Police: hungerj@michigan.gov

The Huron County Sheriff's Office can be reached at 989-269-6500.
ISTANBUL - Turkey's government on Tuesday ordered the Israeli ambassador to leave the country, retaliating for Israel's killing of dozens of Palestinian protesters in the Gaza Strip and underscoring the growing international fallout from the bloodshed.

The ambassador, Eitan Naeh, was told by Turkey's foreign minister that it would be "appropriate" if he returned to Israel "for a while," according to Turkey's semiofficial Anadolu news agency, citing unnamed sources. Hours later, Israel's Foreign Ministry said it had summoned Turkey's consul general to Jerusalem and advised him to return to his country - also "for a while."

The Turkish decision marked one of the strongest diplomatic responses after Monday's deadly confrontations along the border fence separating Israel and Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade for more than a decade. At least 60 people were killed and more than 2,000 injured, Gaza officials said.

Turkey's move also set off a testy war of words between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who traded insults on Twitter.

The diplomatic pressures on Israel, which has been harshly criticized for its use of live ammunition against the protesters, also grew on other fronts as officials around the world denounced the Gaza killings and called for inquiries. In Paris, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described the situation in the Middle East as increasingly "explosive."

Kuwait's ambassador to the United Nations, Mansour al-Otaibi, said he planned Wednesday to propose a U.N. Security Council resolution on "protection of the Palestinian civilians." He said the plan does not include peacekeeping forces, but he gave few other details. Any possible Security Council action against Israel probably would face a veto by the United States.

A draft statement circulated late Monday would have expressed the Security Council's "outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest" and would have called for a "transparent" investigation. But the United States blocked it.

Turkey maintains diplomatic ties with Israel, but relations have been severely strained in recent years over issues including the treatment of Palestinians.

In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish-operated passenger vessel, the Mavi Marmara, that was on a course to breach Israel's naval blockade of Gaza. The raid killed nine activists.

On Monday, thousands of Turks attended a protest in Istanbul. Meanwhile, Turkish officials announced that Turkey's ambassadors to Israel and the United States were being recalled for consultations in protest over the Gaza killings.

Erdogan, speaking during a trip to Britain, called the Gaza killings "a genocide."

"They are not committing this genocide for the first time," he said, adding that the killings "have shown the ugly face of Israel."

A Turkish government minister and spokesman, Bekir Bozdag, also accused Israel's most powerful ally, the United States, of helping fuel Palestinian outrage by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Palestinians want part of the city to become the capital of a future state.

"The blood of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of the United States," Bozdag told parliament, according to The Associated Press. "The United States is part of the problem, not the solution."

Reacting on Twitter, Netanyahu said: "Erdogan is among Hamas's biggest supporters and there is no doubt that he well understands terrorism and slaughter. I suggest he not preach morality to us." Hamas is a Palestinian militant organization that controls the Gaza Strip.

Israel's education minister, Naftali Bennett, also writing on Twitter, called on Israelis to cancel trips to Turkey, a popular holiday spot.

"Israel will no longer hold back from defending its honor and will safeguard its borders and citizens," he wrote.

Eli Shaked, a former diplomat who served as Israel's consul general in Istanbul and charge d'affaires in Ankara, called relations between Turkey and Israel "anything but normal."

"Especially since President Erdogan was elected, the relations are very tense, with many ups and downs, whenever there is a small or a big crisis between Israel and Palestinians in general - and the Palestinians in Gaza in particular," he said.

But recent complaints in Turkey about Israel's actions have come from not only Erdogan and his supporters, but from figures across the political spectrum as they prepare for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. The relative unity of the message suggested, to some degree, that the anger over the killings in Gaza resonated with the Turkish public.

Muharrem Ince, a presidential candidate with Turkey's main opposition party, vowed to travel to Gaza if elected. "The republic of Turkey must act with good sense while Muslims are being killed in Palestine," he said.

- - -

Eglash reported from Jerusalem. The Washington Post's Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
U.S. clothing retailer Gap is the latest company to apologize to China for failing to reflect Beijing's territorial claims - on a map shown on a T-shirt for sale in North America.

The offending T-shirt showed a map of China without including Taiwan, the self-ruled island that Beijing says is an integral part of the country. It also failed to show what China calls "Southern Tibet" - a huge swathe of territory it claims in the northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh - and failed to draw a line around China's territorial claims in the South China Sea. That drew the ire of some Chinese Netizens after a photo of the T-shirt on sale in Niagara, Canada, was posted online.

Gap quickly apologized, even though it appears the T-shirt is not for sale in China.

"Gap Inc. respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. We've learned a Gap brand T-shirt sold in some overseas markets mistakenly failed to reflect the correct map of China. We sincerely apologize for this unintentional error," Gap said in a statement, according to China's Global Times newspaper.

"As a responsible company, Gap Inc. strictly follows Chinese laws and rules," Gap said in the statement sent to the paper, adding that the company is committed to more rigorous reviews in the future to avoid similar incidents again.

In a tweet, People's Daily showed the offending T-shirt alongside what it considers to be the correct map.

People's Daily,China tweeted "American clothing retailer @Gapon Monday apologized for printing incomplete Chinese map on T-shirts for sales outside #China, said the brand respects China's sovereignty and territorial integrity"

China has engaged in a campaign this year to force international companies to toe the line when it comes to Taiwan and its "One China" policy. On April 25, it sent dozens of international airlines a written threat of severe punishments if they don't change their websites to declare that Taiwan is part of China - a move that provoked a strong pushback from the White House.

"This is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies," the White House said in a statement. "China's internal Internet repression is world-famous. China's efforts to export its censorship and political correctness to Americans and the rest of the free world will be resisted."

In January, Marriott International apologized profusely to China after sending a letter to rewards club members that listed Tibet, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as options on a question asking customers their countries of residence.

Fashion brand Zara and Delta Air Lines drew Beijing's ire and apologized for listing Taiwan and/or Tibet as countries on drop-down menus on their websites. Last year, German carmaker Audi was in hot water for omitting Taiwan and parts of western China on a map used at their annual meeting, while Mercedes-Benz apologized in February for quoting the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, on Instagram.

In the statement sent to the Global Times, Gap said the T-shirt has been pulled off shelves in the Chinese market and destroyed. But Gap's China headquarters in Shanghai said the T-shirt had not been released in China.

It is available online on the Gap Factory U.S. website, as part of the "City T-shirt in Jersey" range. Other T-shirts in the range show San Francisco, Paris, Japan and Canada but are decorated with national flags rather than maps.
TOKYO - The world's first cow to be cloned from the somatic cells of an adult cow has died at the age of 19 years and 10 months, according to the Ishikawa prefectural government.

Named Noto, the cow was cloned in 1998 and attracted attention worldwide. The average life expectancy of a cow is about 20 years, and Noto is believed to have died of old age.
Through 15 years of darkness, June Castillo has seen flashes of hope.

Once, a man showed up at her door claiming to have proof of her son's innocence. Another time, a stranger called to offer an apology from the "real" killer.

There were the whispered prayers, and the cancelled executions.

"You get so scared," she said. "The bad days come and you think, 'What am I going to do?' And then there's the good days  and then the devil hits again."

And that's what it felt like on Monday when the 73-year-old's son  death row inmate Juan Castillo  was denied a bid for clemency, and lost two different late-stage appeals. Now, the condemned lovers' lane killer is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Wednesday.

"It is deeply disappointing," Castillo's clemency lawyer Greg Zlotnick said late Monday, urging the governor to issue a 30-day reprieve so a legal team can continue fighting the case in court.

The now-37-year-old was sent to death row in 2005 for the slaying of rapper Tommy Garcia, Jr. two years earlier.

Prosecutors said Castillo and three others had teamed up to plan a robbery in a deserted San Antonio lovers' lane. It was Castillo's girlfriend, Debra Espinosa, who lured the 19-year-old musician to a secluded spot with the promise of sex and drugs, according to court filings.

READ MORE: My life still has value: San Antonio death row inmate begs for clemency 2 weeks before execution

As they sat in the car making out, two men in ski masks  later identified as Castillo and his friend Francisco Gonzales  stormed the Camaro. They tore Garcia from the vehicle and Castillo shot him seven times, according to court records.

Afterward, Espinosa ran to a nearby house and started banging on the door for help. She and Gonzales were picked up not far from the scene.

They both agreed to testify in exchange for a reduced sentence, while the fourth suspect  Gonzales' girlfriend Teresa Quintero  netted a 20-year term for robbery.

But Castillo has long maintained that he didn't do it. In fact, he said, he wasn't even there. Before trial, he said he spent the night with a friend  though the man never agreed to testify, according to court records.

And in the years since his conviction, some pieces of the case have become a little hazier. Investigators never had forensic evidence tying him to the scene, and one of the key witnesses against him  a jailhouse informant  recanted his testimony.

In recent months, defense lawyers made that recantation a cornerstone of their appeals, including one that won him a stay of execution. But when the case was sent back to a lower court, the judge rejected it within a day, before the defense had a chance to weigh in.

Last week, attorneys entered a filing poking holes in two other state witnesses and accusing prosecutors of withholding evidence. But on Monday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals turned down that claim, hours after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal centered on the recanted testimony.

Amanda Marzullo of Texas Defender Services, the non-profit legal group handling his appeals, expressed dismay at Monday's court outcomes.

"There are serious issues with his case, which was no court has given meaningful review," she said.

Wednesday's execution date is Castillo's fourth in a year. Last May's date was rescheduled after prosecutors failed to give 90-day notice to the defense. Then, a September execution was pushed back in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, and a December death date was called off in light of the jailhouse snitch.

"I have cried so doggone much for the past month," June Castillo said. "I can't cry anymore."

As of Monday evening, there were no pending appeals in the case.

If everything continues as scheduled, Castillo will be the sixth man executed in Texas this year  and his mother plans to be there to watch.
A week after a former students allegations that San Antonio writer Bryce Milligan acted inappropriately when he was her teacher, other writers are canceling work with his publishing house, Wings Press.

On Tuesday, playwright and actor Amalia Ortiz called for Milligan to step down as the owner of Wings Press, with whom she had arranged to publish her upcoming book, The Cancion Cannibal Cabaret.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Ortiz said she has put the project on hold while she searches for a new publisher, and appealed to Milligan to let go of the business.

RELATED: Prominent S.A. woman's dismissed DWI gets refiled

Speaking up is the right thing to do, even against my personal interests, she wrote. Wings Press has been too important to San Antonio, to Texas, and to Latinx authors and readers to allow it to be yet another casualty of patriarchal power.

I am asking other members of our community to stand together in working to separate the future of Wings Press from the future of its current publisher.

Last week, Hailey Laine Johnson posted a detailed recounting of Milligans creative writing class at the North East School of the Arts when she was a 14-year-old freshman. Johnson, 31, who now lives in New Mexico, said he made her his classroom favorite and lavished her with attention that included late night phone calls and texts. At one point, she said, Milligan expressed a desire to have sex with her. Her complaint prompted an investigation that led Milligan to resign in March 2002 before he could be fired, a North East Independent School District spokeswoman said.

Milligan issued a prepared statement denying he ever made sexual advances toward Johnson, calling their interaction strictly platonic. He has declined interview requests. After the accusation surfaced, several former students said they saw Johnson sit in Milligans lap and described other inappropriate touching in class.

He has since resigned from the Texas Institute of Letters, and the writing non-profit Gemini Ink removed him as a moderator from an upcoming discussion.

RELATED: CEO said streaker ruins Alamo experience for tourists

David Bowles, an author, translator and poet, wrote on Twitter that he had been in talks with Wings Press about his book ROMANCES DE LOS SENORES DE LA NUEVA ESPANA, a translation of Aztec texts, but would no longer work with the publishing house.

I stand with all women against those men who would manipulate, gaslight, objectify, marginalize, or abuse them, Bowles wrote.

Also looking for a new publisher are editors of The Latinx Archive, a two-volume fiction anthology by Latino and Latina writers that Wings Press was to print in 2019.

We completely support the brave women who are coming forward to denounce those who have persecuted them. said a statement by the editors, Alex Hernandez, Matthew David Goodwin and Sarah Rafael Garcia.

Lauren Caruba is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | lcaruba@express-news.net | @LaurenCaruba
A federal jury will begin deliberating Tuesday whether the top two former national leaders of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club headed a racketeering conspiracy and authorized or sanctioned members to commit extortion, robbery, assault, drug dealing and murder.

In closing arguments Monday of the nearly three-month trial in San Antonio, prosecutors painted Jeffrey Fay Pike, who was national president of the Bandidos from 2005 until January 2016, and then-vice president John Xavier Portillo, as crime bosses of a secretive gang of outlaw bikers who claimed Texas as their territory.

But lawyers for Pike, 63, of Conroe, and Portillo, 58, of San Antonio, countered that the defendants headed a fraternal, social club of motorcycle enthusiasts, and that the group had some bad apples who committed crimes for which neither Pike nor Portillo are responsible.

RELATED: Suspected killer gives eerie answers after arrest in S.A. woman's roadside slaying

In their world, these defendants were kings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Fuchs told the jury. They led the Bandido nation ... where power, respect and territory mattered more than anything. ... It was under the direction of these two defendants, under the culture these two had built and sustained, that the Bandidos maintained that feeling of superiority.

Fuchs argued that Pike and Portillo set wheels in motion that resulted in crimes like the killing by Bandidos of a man in Austin in 2006 who reportedly was trying to set up a chapter of the Hells Angels and intimidating, extorting or beating rival bikers over territory or wayward Bandidos who got crossways with the leadership.

These kinds of acts are expected because thats the Bandido way. Thats the culture, Fuchs said. This is the mafia on two wheels.

Fuchs said the prosecutions evidence showed Portillo served as a buffer, helping distance Pike from criminality. Fuchs said Pike sometimes met in secret with confidants like Portillo, and added that communication was compartmentalized  information was shared only with those who needed to know.

During the trial, three former national sergeants at arms  Justin Forster and Johnny Downtown Romo of San Antonio and William Gerald Big G Ojemann of Houston  testified about the inner workings of the Bandidos and how they carried out orders from Pike and Portillo for assaults, discipline and intimidation.

Pike and Portillo are named in a 13-count indictment. Both are charged with racketeering conspiracy, including authorizing attacks that included the December 2014 death of Geoffrey Brady, a supporter of the rival Cossacks Motorcycle Club who was beaten and shot at a Fort Worth bar by members of the Bandidos Fort Worth chapter.

Pike and Portillo are also charged with murder and use of a firearm in the aid of racketeering murder of the 2006 shooting of purported Hells Angels member Anthony Benesh. The two ex-leaders also are charged with passing down orders for a war against the Cossacks, who had been wearing patches on their vests saying Texas.

Among those assaults was a Cossack who was stripped of his biker vest after being beaten with a claw hammer west of Fort Worth in March 2015, the beatings of Cossacks members at a bar in Port Aransas in August 2015 and an unsuccessful attempt to find Cossacks in Crystal City, also in fall 2015.

The ex-Bandidos leaders are also accused of ordering Bandidos to go to Odessa as a show of force against the Cossacks in April 2015. Law officers said more than 200 Bandidos showed up, though police warned Cossacks before to leave the area and no confrontation ensued.

That incident took place five weeks before the infamous May 17, 2015, shootout involving Bandidos, Cossacks and police at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco in which nine bikers were killed and 20 others were injured.

These defendants are not charged in that, Fuchs said. But it is important that a Bandido was killed there because it provides context to everything that happened afterwards. The intent was retribution.

Portillo is also charged with murder in the January 2002 shooting death of Robert Lara, who had reportedly killed a Bandidos member months earlier. Portillo is also charged with being a felon in possession of a gun and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

If convicted, the pair could face up to life in federal prison without parole.

Pikes lead lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, and Portillos lead attorney, Mark Stevens, cautioned the jury to not convict their clients based on guilt by association or guilt by lifestyle.

In any group, theres going to be some bad apples, but that doesnt make the entire group a criminal enterprise, DeGuerin said. The Bandidos are not on trial

DeGuerin called Pike a good family man who is not guilty.

It is not enough that he is simply president of the Bandidos (to convict Pike), DeGuerin argued. He has to have some knowledge and intent. There was no evidence of that.

DeGuerin said Pike was an agent of change who tried to reform the Bandidos by bringing in more mainstream members of society and doing away with how the club referred to women as property. DeGuerin also said Pike split the clubs U.S. chapters from those in Canada, Europe and Australia because he disliked that they had done some bad things.

DeGuerin and Stevens each attacked the credibility of the governments key witnesses, claiming they lied and implicated Pike and Portillo so the witnesses could avoid charges or long prison time for crimes that included murder.

Without those witnesses, theres not much meat on the bone, Stevens said.

Stevens argued that there was no physical evidence to prove Portillo was involved in most of the crimes listed in the indictment. But Stevens said Portillo, who was convicted of possession of less than a gram of cocaine in 2006, admits to one of the charges  being a felon with a firearm  because agents found guns in Portillos Southeast San Antonio home when they arrested him in January 2016.

Stevens also said Portillo wont challenge evidence that white powder agents found in the raid was 1 ounce of cocaine, but Stevens left it to jurors to decide if Portillo is guilty of possession with intent to distribute cocaine, or a lesser included offense of simple possession.

John Portillo did not murder anybody, Stevens said. Hes not a big time drug dealer and he was not at war, in the offensive sense, with anybody.

Guillermo Contreras is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | gcontreras@express-news.net | @gmaninfedland
Animal Care Services said a Northeast Side resident accused of not being truthful about bobcat kittens taken from Atascosa County will be cited for giving a false statement about the incident.

Jane Dinscore will face a misdemeanor charge of falsifying a record, according to Shannon Sims, ACS assistant director. Sims said the charge could result in a fine of $300-$2,000.
By EMMANUEL AINEBYOONA.

Religious leaders have taken a strong position against governments move to tax religious reading materials like Bibles, Qurans, prayer and hymn books.

This follows a decision by the Uganda Revenue Authority to abolish a long-standing tradition of not taxing materials used by clerics to preach the word of God to their followers.

The URA Commissioner General Doris Akol in an April 19th letter, told Church of Uganda officials that the exemption was an anomaly.

Her letter was a response to the a March 18th petition from the Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, asking URA to have a consignment of over 9,000 prayer and hymn books from Nairobi exempted from VAT.

Inter-Religious Council of Ugandas Secretary General, Joshua Kitakule says in a country whose Motto affirms For God and My Country, and

where about nine out of 10 of the citizens subscribe to a religion, the tax is going to influence the prices of these items upwards by about Shs3, 000.

However, the Finance Ministry Spokesperson Jim Mugunga, says the tax body is simply widening the tax base through its constitutional mandate.

URA has been expanding its tax base, including new taxes on social media as one of the new tax measures of weaning the country from donor dependency.
Houston's struggles with sewage spills are no secret: City officials are negotiating a multi-billion dollar agreement with federal regulators, which would be only the latest crackdown driven by the boomtown's inability to provide the infrastructure needed to keep up with its growth.

There are myriad ill effects of the city's sewer overflow issues, from residents' using the restroom at grocery stores for days due to blocked pipes to poor neighborhoods bearing the brunt of the problem.

As the City Council will see this week, even mundane fixes can create problems.

On Feb. 5, Houston Public Works used motorized equipment to try to clear a sewer line in the southeast Houston neighborhood of Edgebrook, a procedure that often leaves residents' homes smelling like sewage but with clear sewer lines.

This time, more than air blasted out of two residents' toilets or bathtub drains. The neighbors, who share a back fence in the Sun Valley subdivision, both sued the city, claiming the raw sewage backup had damaged their homes and possessions.

The city legal department proposes settling with Huong Kim Phan for about $70,800 and with Linda Wofford for about $51,000. Council must approve the proposals. The former was pulled from this week's agenda on Monday; it's unclear when or whether it will reach a vote.

Also on the agenda is an $80,000 settlement with resident Tanisha Green, who required medical attention after she was rear-ended by a Houston police officer on Texas 288 in November 2012; local governments routinely settle such cases when law enforcement officers or other employees cause accidents on the job. {UPDATE: The Turner administration also pulled this settlement from the week's agenda on Tuesday afternoon.}

Less routine is the case the council agreed to settle for $125,000 last week.

Southwest Houston resident Dwight Fields sued the city after a September 2016 incident in which, an HPD officer directed a canine to attack him rather than a suspect who had led police on a car chase and then ditched his vehicle on Fields' street; Fields said he was trying to help officers locate the suspect when he was mistaken for the target of the chase.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON  In Episode 18 of the Warriors Off Court podcast , Golden State beat writer Connor Letourneau and Jonathan Feigen  the Rockets beat writer for the Houston Chronicle  break down the Warriors' Game 1 win in the conference finals and look ahead to Game 2.

They examine what went wrong Monday for Houston, and what possible adjustments the Rockets can make. Also, Letourneau and Feigan discuss what this Rockets team means to the city of Houston.
Climate change is happening. Summers are getting hotter and drier, winters are getting shorter, and storms are getting more destructive. Our economy is already starting to be affected by more droughts, more roads being washed away, and more crops being damaged.

Everyone knows that climate change is a real threat and one that we need to act on. I agree with my colleague, Rodney MP Mark Mitchell (HM May 2) that we should be continuing to work hard to combat climate change. But the last National Government had nine years to take action and did nothing.

The world is moving away from fossil fuels and we have a great opportunity to lead on addressing climate change. As Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said: this is our nuclear-free moment. For that reason, this Government has committed to becoming a net zero emission economy by 2050.

It cant be done overnight of course. Much of our energy currently comes from fossil fuels, and many Kiwi jobs depend on them. I agree with the Prime Minister that we cant afford to repeat the mistakes of the 1980s, when rapid economic transformation led to enormous social damage. But we do need to begin our energy transition if we are to make a difference in time.

We need a fair, just transition to a clean energy future.

Thats why the government has announced we are ending new offshore oil and gas exploration in New Zealand. This doesnt affect existing exploration permits or existing wells, nor will it affect the jobs of the approximately 4500 workers in the industry. But it is an important part of our move away from fossil fuels.

Acting now on climate change is estimated to save the country $30 billion in the future. Whats good for the environment is ultimately good for the economy. The big international oil and energy companies know this. Thats why theyre investing billions into clean and renewable energy.

The interests of working people are always top of mind for this Government. Well make sure new job opportunities are created as we move away from fossil fuels. The Government has already announced $20m in funding for Taranaki through the Provincial Growth Fund to create new jobs and diversify its economy. Well work with Taranaki to help transition to new industries and opportunities over the next thirty years.

The Government has chosen a sensible path that gets the balance right. Were protecting current workers from a sudden change, were protecting the energy supplies New Zealanders need, and were addressing climate change to protect future generations from a rising tide.

Thats how were tackling this issue, and Im proud to be a part of it.
Cabra managing director Ian Boocock, right, hands the keys for two brand new homes to Hibiscus Coast Community House chair Carol Laidlaw. The homes have been furnished with donations made to the community house. From left, Shirley Parker of Steps Forward, Community House manager Christine Alesbury and Age Concern Rodney chief executive Catherine Smith. The three organisations are working together to make the best use of the new homes.

Two newly built, three bedroom homes have been leased to the Hibiscus Coast Community House in a project designed to help locals in crisis.

The homes were built by local developers Cabra  one was designed specifically for older people and one for families. The company is leasing them to the community house at a peppercorn rental so that they can be used by the elderly and families in need of short-term emergency accommodation.

Handing over the keys on May 1, Cabra managing director Ian Boocock said it is the most significant community project that the company has worked on in the 30 years that it has been on the Hibiscus Coast.

There are conditions in the lease that ensure the occupants come from the local area, and that the homes are used for short-term accommodation only.

Community House manager Christine Alesbury says her organisation keeps hearing of families and individuals who need this  including those who may be living in garages or cars. The community house is working closely with Steps Forward and Age Concern Rodney and, as its a new initiative, sources of funding and how it will run are still being worked out.

Hibiscus Coast Community House chair Carol Laidlaw says that the community house will manage the houses but, crucially, the three organisations together will provide wrap around social services to help people get back on their feet during their stay.

She says the ongoing support of the community  including local businesses  will be vital if the scheme is to be successful. We are still unsure how those wrap around services will be funded and thats what were now looking into, including approaching larger businesses.

The biggest dilemma is finding sufficient funds to run these homes as, in order to qualify for Work & Income NZ funding, we would have to take people from all over New Zealand. However, it is important to all of us that this offers support only for the Hibiscus Coast so we have to find a way to make that work.

She says the Orewa Theosophical Society has already given $1000 towards the project.

I encourage our community to help us support this amazing gift with financial donations, Carol says. It really is a unique opportunity to support other locals who are having a difficult and stressful time.

Info: phone the community house, 426 3598.
By Ivan Ssenabulya.

Civil Society Organizations are up in arms over the operations of the Electronic Crime Counter Measure Unit, which monitors internet users in the country.

The report released today by the Unwanted Witness shows that 25 people arrested since its establishment in 2011, such as Dr. Stellah Nyanzi, Red Pepper journalists among others none of their case has been successfully prosecuted with conviction.

The organizations Chief Executive Officer Dorothy Mukasa says the operations of the unit are illegal, with intent to create fear among internet users.

She has asked Uganda police to also make the units operations open for public scrutiny and accountability.

Unwanted Witness is now calling for a legislation which will protect peoples privacy on the internet.

However the Unit was established to enforce the computer Misuse Act and many have been arrested and charged through the law.
The reef heron is relatively rare and sightings on Orewa Estuary have excited bird watchers. Pied shags are frequently seen on the estuary. Photos, Martin Sanders

For the first time, Orewa Estuarys birdlife will form part of a national count of wading birds.

The count has been conducted around the country by The Ornithological Society of NZ for around 50 years, providing valuable information that is shared with scientists and the public, increasing knowledge about shorebirds.

Wading birds on Orewa Estuary will be counted by volunteers, led by Richard Chambers of Hibiscus Coast Forest & Bird, and the data will then be fed into the national bird count.

Richard says the information will also be valuable locally. As residential development takes place all around the estuary, the bird count can be used in submissions related to the effects on the environment including issues such as siltation.

Richard says that it will require people to observe, using telescopes and binoculars, what is in the main flocks of wading birds on the sand islands in the estuary and record that data on paper or an emailed sheet.

Volunteers will also go around other parts of the estuary to see what scattered birds  non-waders, such as herons, geese or spoonbills  are present.

He says few people realise just how much bird activity there is on the estuary  this included a flock of around 200 godwits, before they left for Alaska in March.

Also, banded rails are being seen more often, even before pest control has really begun, which shows the value of the estuary margins and mangrove forest, Richard says.

The count will take place on June 10. Anyone interested in taking part can meet outside Estuary Arts Centre, at 3pm. The group will then walk along towards Crocodile Island. Anyone taking part will need to bring binoculars and/or a camera.

If the weather on June 10 is bad, the date will be shifted to June 24, also at 3pm.

So that migratory birds, such as the godwits and pied oystercatchers, are included, there will be another count undertaken at the estuary after those birds return in November.
Arrest Made in Connection with Stabbing Death of Freeport Man, Police Say

Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

Officials: Roy Christmas, 36, has been charged with 2nd Degree Murder.

NCPD reports the arrest of Roy Christmas, 36, homeless, for a Homicide.

According to detectives, Hempstead police responded to a call for a man stabbed on Warner Avenue. The male victim, William Pinckney of Freeport , 57, was transported to Nassau University Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased by a staff physician at 4:57 a.m.

Roy Christmas is charged with Murder 2nd Degree and will be arraigned Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at First District Court, Hempstead.
Local News, National & World News, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

Zeldin: I was honored to be part of the United States delegation in Israel's capital today for the move of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem."

Long Island, NY - May 15, 2018 - Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) released the following statement after attending the opening of the United States Embassy in Israel, which now has officially been moved from Tel Aviv to the capital city of Jerusalem. During the Congressional Delegation visit to Israel, Congressman Zeldin attended several other meetings and events, including a private meeting Monday morning for over an hour with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 14 Members of Congress from the United States Senate and House of Representatives participated in the Congressional Delegation visit to Israel, along with a Presidential Delegation led by Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin, White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and First Daughter, White House Senior Advisor, Ivanka Trump.
Local News, Crime, Business & Finance, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

Kaminsky, Curran continue to push for relief from Albany, extension of NY Rising Deadline.

Long Beach, NY - May 15, 2018 - Nassau County Executive Laura Curran today joined with Nassau County Legislator Denise Ford, Commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Consumer Affairs Greg May and Gale Berg of the Nassau County Bar Association to wage war on crooked Superstorm Sandy contractors and urge residents who have not yet reported Sandy scams to do so.

Six years later and the number of victims is still climbing, said County Executive Curran. With Senator Todd Kaminsky, we continue to push Albany to help these residents put Sandy behind them and recoup what has been lost.

Currently, Nassau County as received 185 Complaints related to Super Storm Sandy, with the number updated daily. Of those, 116 are currently open and 69 are closed. Of the closed cases 37 were referred to the Nassau County District Attorney.

Sen. Todd Kaminsky, who lives in Long Beach , has tirelessly fought to protect residents who have not put the pieces back together since Sandy and have been victims of Sandy-related scams.

Fraudulent contractors have stolen much more than money from the Sandy victims who have endured hardship for nearly six years, said Kaminsky. If you believe that you have been a victim of fraud and/or entitled to a hardship waiver from NYRising, please contact my office and we will try to help restore the peace of mind that was wrongfully taken from you. Thank you to County Executive Curran and District Attorney Singas for ensuring their agencies are properly focused on helping Sandy victims get justice.

The residents thought that Super Storm Sandy was horrible, but for so many the nightmare continues by being taking advantage of thru unscrupulous contactors, said Legislator Ford. Thank you, County Executive Curran, for your initiative in helping to address this issue.

County Executive Curran named several contractors, including JBJ General Contracting (not licensed and 43 open complaints), Turnkey Contractor Solutions (license suspended and 33 open complaints), VAR Home Improvements (license suspended and 6 open complaints), and Erins Pride Construction (not licensed and 4 open complaints). VAR Home Improvements believes JBJ General Contracting fraudulently pulled permits under their license.

Turnkey Contractor Solutions owner, Cody Lawrence, has been arrested in Texas on a Louisiana warrant for contractor fraud that also included 36 complaints.

Many of the crooked contractors placed unlawful liens on victims homes. Currently, nine liens have been filed on seven properties, including JBJ with five liens by subcontractors; Turnkey with three liens by subcontractors; and ANS Contracting with one lien. Seven liens have been filed by VAR and is believed to be on properties assigned to it by contract with JBJ.
NCPD: Elderly Man Arrested After Threatening Use of Gun at Oceanside Kindergarten

Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

Kenneth Geller of Rockville Centre, 72, continuously pressed the schools doorbell and covered the security camera with his hand, cops say.

Oceanside, NY - May 15, 2018 - The Fourth Precinct reports the arrest of a The Fourth Precinct reports the arrest of a Rockville Centre man that occurred on Monday, May 14, 2018 at 5:06 pm in Oceanside

According to patrol officers, an unknown male arrived at Oceanside School #6 / Kindergarten Center located at 25 Castleton Court. The subject told a district employee he was there to pick up his grandson. The subject was advised he needed to produce identification for security and safety reasons. He then stated he was returning to his car get his I.D. and gun.

The subject returned to the front door and continuously pressed the schools doorbell and covered the security camera with his hand. School staff became fearful and called police.

A subsequent investigation was conducted and Kenneth Geller, 72, was arrested without incident.

Defendant Geller is charged with Falsely Reporting Incident 3rd Degree. He was issued an Appearance Ticket for Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at First District Court, Hempstead
By Andrew Bagala.

The over 300 Flying Squad Unit operatives will know their fate today after it was disbanded last week by the Inspector General of Police.

According to the CID spokesperson Vincent Ssekatte, the operatives most of whom are civilians and special police constables are supposed to assemble at the Criminal Investigations Department headquarters in Kibuli, with all their equipment to get further instructions.

The IGP Martin OkothOchola established a new unit dubbed Organized Crimes headed by Senior Superintendent of Police Mark Odong.

This unit that is yet to get personnel, will deal with tasks that the Flying Squad unit was handling.
Local News, Business & Finance, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

$5 billion could be refunded to ratepayers statewide.

Massapequa, NY - May 15, 2018 - Today, Senator John Brooks (SD-8) called on the Public Service Commission to facilitate immediate tax relief for New Yorkers stemming from the windfall tax relief public utilities are set to receive under the new federal tax plan.

The Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees public utilities in New York, is currently reviewing recommendations for how public utilities will operate with $5 billion in excess funds from ratepayers. One of the recommendations being deliberated by the PSC would obligate utilities to issue immediate rebate checks for ratepayers. Senator Brooks issued a written comment as part of PSCs open comment period on this issue.

Long Islanders have long suffered from high utility rates without any significant relief, said Senator John Brooks. The federal tax plan imposes unfair restrictions on already struggling Long Island families, while rewarding utility corporations with an income tax cut -- including a windfall of more than $5 billion for utility companies in New York. This money should be promptly rebated to ratepayers.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 substantially modifies federal income tax structure and provides tremendous tax relief to major corporations, while devastating already struggling middle-class families across Long Island. As part of options being explored by PSC on how public utility companies should return funds to ratepayers who essentially overpaid, the PSC is exploring directing utilities to issue immediate rebate checks to ratepayers. Senator Brooks is urging the PSC to act in ratepayers best interest and adopt an immediate rebate check to ratepayers. Families would experience immediate relief with a physical rebate check from their utility company, as opposed to a vague promise of lower rates in the future.
Local News, Business & Finance, Travel & Local Attractions, Politics

By Long Island News & PR Published: May 15 2018

"New York City residents are too often plagued by delays and interruptions when commuting to and from work each day."

Long Island, NY - May 15, 2018 - Congressman Tom Suozzi (D-L.I./Queens) has sent a letter to CEO Mr. Richard H. Anderson asking for Amtrak to prioritize and fast-track the crucial East Side Access Project. Congressman Joe Crowley (D-Queens, the Bronx), Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) joined Mr. Suozzi to stress the urgent need for expanded transportation options in Long Island and Queens.

Congressmembers Suozzi, Crowley, and Maloney issued the following statement on the effort:

New York City residents are too often plagued by delays and interruptions when commuting to and from work each day. Nowhere is this problem more prevalent than in those boroughs underserved by our existing transit systems. Fast-tracking the East Side Access project, which will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal and provide more frequent and reliable service, is a critical step forward to improve transportation access for the Long Island, Queens, and Bronx communities.
Apples Worldwide Developers Conference is right around the corner, and we all have our lists of things were hoping to see: better Siri, a modular Mac, cheaper HomePod, Face ID on the iPad Pro. But theres one product in desperate need of an update that would instantly generate an extended applause break from the keynote crowd.

No, Im not talking about the Mac mini. Im talking about iCloud.

iCloud has been a bone of contention for Apple users ever since its debut at WWDC 2011. A replacement for the MobileMe paid servicewhich replaced .Mac, which replaced iToolsiCloud was supposed to be the free online storage we all wanted. Like the services of yore, it included backup, email, and online storage starting at 5GB and going up to a terabyte or more for a monthly fee.

Google If you pay for Google Drive, Google One is the new home for your files.

That was fine back in 2011. But while Apple has added things like iTunes Match, Photo Library, and Keychain to iCloud to build it into a fuller-featured service, it still lags in comparison to the online storage offered by Google and Dropbox. And now Google is beefing up its own paid storage plans in an effort to put even more distance between it and iCloud. And its getting harder and harder to defend iCloud.

iCloud everywhere

Anyone who already pays for a Google Drive account will be automatically upgraded to Google One, bringing a smattering of additional features for the same (or less) money. That includes one-tap access to experts and access to extras from other Google products, like credits on Google Play or deals on select hotels found in Google Search. And Google promises more benefits over time. Google has also added family sharing to match Apples own Family Sharing feature. That means for just $3 a month, five family members can get 40GB of storage a piece. And if they want even more space, two terabytes costs $10 a month on either service. In fact, the two services are remarkably similar when it comes to monthly cost:

iCloud

50GB: $0.99

$0.99 200GB: $2.99

$2.99 2TB: $9.99

Google One

100GB: $1.99

$1.99 200GB: $2.99

$2.99 2TB: $9.99

But pricing and freebies arent the main appeal of Google One. It remains to be seen what Google will add to the service in the way of freebies, but as it stands, Google One is everything iCloud isnt, namely an extension of your phone, PC, or Chromebook. Its a way to access all of your files wherever you are. It doesnt matter what device youre using or even what platformall of your files, photos, and video are accessible wherever you go. Even on a Mac, it offers a great way to keep your files and photos synced at all times.

Apple iCloud does a fine job with photo syncing, but it could do so much more.

Google One isnt just a simple rebranding of Google Drive, it represents a philosophy of convenience that used to be ingrained in Apples products too. iCloud Drive is available on Windows, but wheres the Android app? Apples iOS backups are far better than they are on Android, but on the Mac, iCloud backups are little more than syncing of your services. I understand that 5GB is far too little space for a full PC backup, but why not offer iCloud Mac backups as an option for paid accounts?

With its new One plans, Google is sending a message to its users that there is no better place to store your files. Thats not the case with iCloud. Power users maybe able to use it to its full extent, but from its lame free tier to its value-poor subscription plans, Apple offers little incentive for the average user to upgrade for any other reason than to stop receiving out-of-space alerts.

Adding value

Google is putting convenience first. I understand that Apple needs to sell way more iPhones than Google needs to sell Pixel phones, but developing iCloud into a full-featured, standalone cloud service isnt going to push anyone over to Android. If anything, itll get some Android users to switch.

Even if you ignore the fact that Google offers three times the free storage space that Apple does (15GB versus 5GB), the real difference between the two plans is that iCloud doesnt give any real incentives for upgrading to a paid plan. Back when iTools turned into dot-Mac, I was happy to pay $99 a year for a full suite of services, including Backup for all of my devices, iDisk, and a cool email address. Now I groan a little each time I get my monthly email from Apple informing me that it has charged my account $3.

I recently convinced my dad to pay $1 a month to increase his iCloud storage to 50GB, but it wasnt an easy sell. He wanted to know why he needed to pay just to have enough space to back up his three iOS devices. Its a good question. I eventually won the argument by breaking it down to pennies a day, but there should be a better answer. Heres hoping that Apple provides one at WWDC.
Brain-computer interfaces (BCI), which are able to read brain activity and turn the data into real actions such as moving a wheelchair, have the potential to liberate many severely disabled people. While a lot of progress has been achieved in this field, BCIs are still extremely limited in what theyre able to achieve and how well they respond to the user.

Now researchers from Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Geneva, Switzerland, have shown that by having the person and the computer that it interfaces with both learn how to work with each other can quickly improve performance. Two individuals were put through repeat training using a BCI, while the BCI was made to adapt to the individuals unique brain patterns.

The study, published in journal PLOS Biology, is a follow-up to an event held at the Cybathlon competition in Switzerland, in which people with disabilities compete using a variety of high-tech assistive devices.

Study in PLOS Biology: The Cybathlon BCI race: Successful longitudinal mutual learning with two tetraplegic users

Via: EPFL
The Urinary Catheter Market covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the market for 2018-2025. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sales of Urinary Catheter Market in key applications areas of the Medical Device Industry. The report considers the revenue generated from the sales of market products as Foley, Condom and Intermittent.

The Urinary Catheter market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% and reach US$ 4.81 Bn by 2025 driven by the growth in the number of surgical procedures and urinary incontinence, rising per capita healthcare expenditure, technological advancements, and positive reimbursement policies for urinary catheterization.

Order a copy of Urinary Catheter Market to 2025  Global Analysis and Forecasts by Product (Foley, Condom, and Intermittent); Applications (Spinal Cord Injury, Urinary Incontinence, Bladder Dysfunction, and Benign Prostate Hyperplasia,); Gender (Male and Female); and End Users (Long-Term Care Facilities, Hospitals, and Others) research study at https://tinyurl.com/ycoxauh6

The Global Urinary Catheter Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Urinary Catheter industry with a focus on the global market trend. Urinary Catheter is a medical device used to drain urine from bladder into drainage bag. These catheters are used during surgeries and by patients with spinal cord injury, urinary incontinence, bladder dysfunction, and benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH). It is inserted in the lower part of the stomach through a tube that carries urine from the bladder. Some of the common types of urinary catheters include foley, condom, and intermittent catheters.

The Prominent Players in Urinary Catheter Market includes:

1. Boston Scientific Corporation

2. Medtronic PLC

3. Convatec Group PLC

4. International, Inc.

5. Urocare Products, Inc.

6. Cure Medical, LLC

7. Medical Techologies of Georgia

8. Bactiguard

9. B. Braun Melsungen AG

10. Hollister Incorporated

Get Sample Copy for more Professional and Technical insights https://tinyurl.com/y7hp73dr

The Urinary Catheter market research report aims to provide an overview of global urinary catheter market with detailed market segmentation by product, application, gender, end user, and geography. The global urinary catheter market is expected to witness lucrative growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.

The Urinary Catheter market report provides a detailed overview on the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global urinary catheter market based on product, application, gender, and end user. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall urinary catheter market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South & Central America. The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 13 countries globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.

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The Urinary Catheter market report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South & Central America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.

The Urinary Catheter market report also includes the profiles of key urinary catheter manufacturing companies along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. In addition, the report focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.

11 North America Urinary Catheter Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025  Country Analysis

11.1 North America Urinary Catheter Market Overview

11.2 North America Urinary Catheter Market Revenue Forecasts and Analysis (US$ Mn)

11.3 North America Urinary Catheter Market Volume Forecasts and Analysis (000 units)

11.4 North America Market Forecasts and Analysis  By Product

11.5 North America Market Forecasts and Analysis  By Application

11.6 North America Market Forecasts and Analysis  By Gender

11.7 North America Market Forecasts and Analysis  By End User

11.8 North America Market Forecasts and Analysis  By Countries

About Us:

The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.

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By Ssebuliba Samuel.

The ministry of education has decried the increasing creation of sub countries that straining their development budget.

According to the 2016 NRM manifesto, government pledged to build a primary school in all parishes, a secondary school in all sub counties and one technical school in all constituencies.

Now according to the minister for education Janet Museveni, creation of new administrative units have stretched their budget because new sub counties are waiting for schools as promised.

She however says that despite all challenges, 50% of promises has been fulfilled in this sector.
by Sara Guaglione , May 15, 2018

Indian Country Today, a publication that covers indigenous peoples, will relaunch this June on the public media model, after closing last September.

Indian Country Today Media Network announced Friday it will unveil its new logo and mobile platform on June 4 at the National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Conference in Kansas City.

Indian Country Today is ready for its next chapter, leading in the digital, mobile space, editor Mark Trahant said in an Indian Country Today article. Our primary focus will be the mobile phone, a platform where our readers are already migrating. We are eager to deliver the best journalism content and technology.

Indian Country Todays content will be free for readers and available for distribution by tribal newspapers, radio networks and digital publications. The web address www.IndianCountryToday.com will stay the same.

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In February, Indian Country Todaylaunched an Indiegogo campaign to have readers support indigenous journalism. The campaign aims to raise $100,000 by Wednesday. As of Monday morning, it had raised over $37,700.

The public media model includes a mix of financial support from readers, advertisers and grants from foundations, corporations and tribes.

We will have some advertising but most of our resources will come from members and non-profits, Trahant wrote in the campaign description.

Once owned by the Oneida Nation of New York, the publication changed hands last fall and is now owned by the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C.

Last September, publisher Ray Halbritter described how Indian Country Today Media Network was facing the "same challenges that other media outlets have faced. It is no secret that with the rise of the Internet, traditional publishing outlets have faced unprecedented adversity.

These economic headwinds, he continued, meant the publication was operating at an enormous  and unsustainable  financial loss, and had to go on hiatus.
by Tanya Gazdik , May 15, 2018

Bridgestone Retail Operations is showing off its best asset  its genuinely passionate employees  in a marketing campaign that broke Monday.

The campaign, from Leo Burnett, Chicago, showcases real, unscripted Firestone Complete Auto Care technicians discussing the passion and care they hold for their work, and is a response to the common consumer distrust and skepticism of employees within the auto service category.

Leo Burnett took an intentionally authentic approach by foregoing storyboards and scripts, leveraging a documentary-style filmmaker and sourcing technicians through a series of personal interviews.

The campaign features 13 actual technicians sharing their expertise and passion for providing trusted tire and automotive care.

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Titled Crew," the campaign shines a light on the important role trust plays in every aspect of the service experience at Firestone Complete Auto Care locations nationwide. Technicians offer unscripted thoughts on the importance of putting a personal touch on their work, while also sharing their deep commitment and sense of pride in providing high-quality service.

The Fixed Right, Priced Right, Right on Time "Triple Promise, as well as the brand's focus on keeping customers cars running newer and longer are brought to life through each employee's personal experiences and anecdotes.

"Our employees are our greatest asset," said Jeffrey Lack, vice president, marketing and merchandising, Bridgestone Retail Operations in a release. "Trust isn't built in a vacuum. It is built through personal connections and a shared sense of community, a handshake or a conversation. By featuring real technicians, unscripted and passionate, we are showing drivers that we take caring for their vehicles as personally as they do.

The campaign includes 15- and 30-second broadcast spots as part of an integrated initiative that includes digital and radio advertising, in-store signage and recruitment materials.
by Sara Guaglione , May 15, 2018

Reader-funded, Netherlands-based news site De Correspondent has raised $950,000 from Omidyar Network to help launch an English version of the Dutch site that will be based in New York.

De Correspondent has raised a total of $1.8 million for the English-language expansion.

Omidyar Network is an investment firm created by eBay cofounder Pierre Omidyar. The firm also funds First Look Media, The Intercept and Honolulu Civil Beat.

De Correspondent launched in 2013 with a crowdfunding effort that raised $1.7 million from about 19,000 backers. The site now has 60,000 paying members and is ad-free.

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About 85% of its revenue comes from readers, memberships and events, cofounder Ernst-Jan Pfauth told CJR.

Pfauth added the latest round of funding will support a marketing campaign for De Correspondents expansion and find new members for its English version.

The campaign will be led by Blue State Digital, the agency behind Barack Obamas digital campaigns for president, and Momkai, a Dutch design firm and founding partner of De Correspondent.

Pfauth told CJR he hopes to build a U.S.-based editorial team with an estimated five to 10 full-time reporters. De Correspondent has about 20 writers, and Pfauth said it is "close to being profitable."



New York University professor Jay Rosen is advising De Correspondent's U.S. efforts and studying member-funded journalism.
by Melynda Fuller , May 15, 2018

Through May 25,, Amorepacific U.S. will be displaying its wares at its first global beauty pop-up shop in New York City, in partnership with Marie Claire.

In an exclusive grand opening last week in the West Village, the shop opened to attendees who browsed a selection of Amorepacific brands, like Laneige, a skincare line that uses Water Science Technology, Mamonde, flower-inspired skincare and Iope, a Korean skincare line, in addition to Amorepacific, Annick Goutal and Sulwhasoo.

The pop-up is the first time these brands have been available in the same space, part of the companys goal to celebrate global beauty.

The Marie Claire May issue celebrates the same topic and was launched along with the pop-up shop. The launch was led by Marie Claire's executive beauty editor Jennifer Goldstein, Amorepacific U.S. president Jessica Hanson and cofounder-chief curator of Soko Glam Charlotte Cho.

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The pop-up will continue to offer special activities, such as meet and greets with beauty experts and products sampling, through May. Visitors receive a 10% discount.

In addition to exploring beauty around the world, Marie Claires global beauty issue includes its Prix d'Excellence de la Beaute awards. Amorepacific won the award for their Essential Creme Fluid.

"Through our Global Beauty platform, Marie Claire has been dedicated to discovering products, ingredients and technologies that help women around the world feel more beautiful," stated Nancy Berger, Marie Claire vice president-publisher and Chief Revenue Officer.

Amorepacific was founded in 1945 and includes a portfolio of over 20 cosmetics, personal care and health care brands. Its brands span markets in Asia, North America and Europe.
by Steve McClellan @mp_mcclellan, May 15, 2018

He may be a man without portfolio for the moment, but that hasnt stopped former WPP CEO Martin Sorrell from maintaining a visible presence as a speaker at industry gatherings.

For the second time in two weeks, Sorrell has spoken at a New York tech conference.

Todays presentation was at Luma Partners Digital Media Summit, where he provided a little more insight, but not a lot of detail on what he intends to do next.

When asked about his future plans. The Drum quoted him as saying hell, look at where are the opportunities from a technology point of view and look at the opportunities from a geographical point of view, and put the two together.

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Sorrell declined to discuss any of the particulars surrounding his abrupt departure last month from WPP, after 30-plus years as CEO. It was followed by a company investigation into an allegation of personal misconduct on his part.

WPP has also declined to provide any detail, much to the consternation of some, including a major shareholder advisory group that is now urging investors not to re-elect WPP chairman Roberto Quarta, given the lack of transparency surrounding the affair.
Necrotizing pancreatitis is a condition where parts of the pancreas die and may get infected. It is a complication of acute pancreatitis. In this article, we look at the symptoms and causes of necrotizing pancreatitis, as well as how doctors treat it.

Understanding necrotizing pancreatitis Share on Pinterest The pancreas produces enzymes used in the digestion of food. Necrotizing pancreatitis occurs when pancreatic tissue dies due to inflammation. When a person has necrotizing pancreatitis, bacteria may spread into the dead tissue and cause an infection. The pancreas is an organ behind the stomach that makes enzymes to help digest food. When the pancreas is healthy, these enzymes pass through a duct into the small intestine. If the pancreas becomes inflamed, these enzymes may leak into the pancreas and damage the tissues. This is called pancreatitis. If the damage is severe, blood and oxygen may not be able to reach some parts of the pancreas, leading to tissue death.

Symptoms The primary symptom of necrotizing pancreatitis is abdominal pain. A person may feel abdominal pain in several places, including: at the front of the abdomen

near the stomach

around to the back Pain may be severe and can last for several days. Other symptoms that may accompany pain include: swollen abdomen

fever

nausea

vomiting

dehydration

low blood pressure

rapid heart rate Necrotizing pancreatitis may lead to a bacterial infection and sepsis if left untreated. Sepsis is a condition where a persons body reacts adversely to bacteria in their bloodstream, possibly causing the body to go into shock. Shock may be life-threatening, as it reduces the blood flow to major organs. This may damage them temporarily or permanently. Without treatment, a person may die from sepsis. Necrotizing pancreatitis may also cause a pancreatic abscess.

Causes Share on Pinterest Gallstones cause the majority of acute pancreatitis cases. Necrotizing pancreatitis is a complication of acute pancreatitis. It may happen when acute pancreatitis is untreated, or treatment is ineffective. Pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas. The most common causes of pancreatitis are drinking too much alcohol or having gallstones. Gallstones are small stones, often made of cholesterol, that form in the gallbladder. The two main types of pancreatitis are: Acute pancreatitis , which is when symptoms come on suddenly. About 20 percent of people with acute pancreatitis go on to develop complications, including necrotizing pancreatitis.

, which is when symptoms come on suddenly. About of people with acute pancreatitis go on to develop complications, including necrotizing pancreatitis. Chronic pancreatitis, which is when symptoms are reoccurring. In rare cases, it may cause necrotizing pancreatitis. In Europe and North America, 50 percent of acute pancreatitis cases are caused by gallstones, and 25 percent are caused by alcohol. Pancreatitis may also be caused by: injury to the pancreas

tumor in the pancreas

high levels of calcium

high levels of fats called triglycerides in the blood

pancreatic damage from medicine

autoimmune conditions

hereditary conditions that affect the pancreas, such as cystic fibrosis When a person has pancreatitis, digestive enzymes leak into the pancreas. This causes tissue damage and prevents blood and oxygen from reaching those tissues. Left untreated, parts of the pancreas may die. Nearby bacteria may then infect the dead pancreatic tissue. Infection is what causes some of the more severe symptoms of necrotizing pancreatitis.

Diagnosis To diagnosis necrotizing pancreatitis, a doctor may examine a persons abdomen and ask questions about their symptoms. They may also do blood tests to look for: pancreatic enzyme levels

sodium, potassium, or glucose

triglycerides levels They may also use the following tests to look at the pancreas: abdominal ultrasound

computed tomography (CT) scan

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) If these tests show that a part of the pancreas has died, the doctor may take a biopsy to test for infection.

Treatment Doctors treat necrotizing pancreatitis in two stages. Firstly, they treat the pancreatitis. Doctors then treat the part of the pancreas that has died separately. Treating pancreatitis Share on Pinterest Medication, including pain relievers, may be prescribed to treat pancreatitis. Treatments for pancreatitis include: intravenous (IV) fluids

pain relieving medication

rest

medication to prevent nausea and vomiting

nasogastric feeding Nasogastric feeding is when a person is fed liquid food through a tube in their nose. Feeding a person in this way gives the pancreas a rest from producing digestive enzymes. Treating dead or infected pancreatic tissue The second stage of treatment for necrotizing pancreatitis targets the dead part of the pancreas. Doctors may need to remove dead tissue. If the tissue has become infected, a doctor will also prescribe antibiotics. To remove dead pancreatic tissue, a doctor may insert a thin tube called a catheter into a persons abdomen. They will remove the dead tissue through this tube. If this does not work, open surgery may be required. According to a 2014 study , the best time to perform surgery is 3 or 4 weeks after the onset of the condition. However, if a person is very unwell, surgery to remove the dead or infected tissue may need to happen sooner. Treating sepsis If a person develops sepsis from an infection caused by necrotizing pancreatitis, this may be life-threatening. To treat sepsis, a doctor will give a person: IV fluids

antibiotics

breathing support Treating the early signs of infection is the best way to prevent sepsis.

Prevention It is not always possible to prevent pancreatitis and its complications. However, they are less likely to occur if a person has a healthy pancreas. The following may help support the health of a persons pancreas: not drinking too much alcohol

maintaining a healthy weight

avoiding crash diets

not skipping meals If a person has any symptoms of pancreatitis, they should speak to their doctor. Early treatment is the best way to reduce the risk of necrotizing pancreatitis or other complications.
In this article, we look at the possible causes of bleeding between periods, possible ways to prevent spotting, and when to see a doctor.

Bleeding between periods refers to any bleeding that occurs after the period ends, or before the period is due to begin. When this happens, a person may notice light brown spotting in their underwear or a heavy flow resembling a regular period.

Vaginal bleeding between periods is not usually a cause for concern. If the blood flow is light, it is called spotting. Bleeding between periods can have a range of causes, including hormonal changes, injury, or an underlying health condition.

Share on Pinterest There can be a variety of reasons for breakthrough bleeding, most of which are no cause for concern.

The medical term for bleeding between periods is metrorrhagia. It is also known as spotting or breakthrough bleeding.

The menstrual cycle refers to the time between the first day of one period and the first day of the next. The cycle typically lasts between 25 and 30 days but can be longer or shorter.

A period refers to the time when a woman bleeds each month, which usually lasts between 2 and 7 days. Periods are different for every woman.

There is a variety of reasons for bleeding between periods:

Hormonal contraceptives

Hormonal contraceptives are a common cause of vaginal bleeding between periods. If they do cause irregular bleeding, it usually only occurs for the first 3 months of using the contraceptive.

Some examples of hormonal contraceptives include:

intrauterine device (IUD)

birth control patch

vaginal ring

contraceptive pill

contraceptive implant

If bleeding between periods is very heavy or lasts for longer than 3 months, it may be a good idea to seek medical advice. Changing to an alternative form of contraception can often stop breakthrough bleeding.

Bleeding between periods can happen if a person does not take their hormonal contraception according to the instructions. For example, a woman may miss taking a contraceptive pill, or have a problem with a birth control patch. This can sometimes cause spotting.

Emergency contraception

Using emergency contraceptive may also cause bleeding. This applies to both forms of emergency contraceptive: the morning after pill and the IUD.

Implantation bleeding

Some women experience spotting shortly after becoming pregnant, marking the moment when the fertilized egg implants into the lining of the uterus. This is called implantation bleeding. They may also feel a slight cramping in the uterus.

Miscarriage

Bleeding between menstrual periods is one early sign of a miscarriage. Miscarriages can occur at any time during pregnancy and may happen before a woman is aware that she is pregnant.

Termination

Many people experience some bleeding after having a termination or abortion. Spotting may last for several weeks after having an in-clinic procedure or taking the abortion pill. If bleeding is very heavy, seek medical advice.

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs)

Some sexually transmitted infections (STIs) can cause vaginal bleeding. Chlamydia is a typical example. As well as spotting between periods, chlamydia can cause bleeding during or after sex.

Injury

If the skin or tissue of the vagina is damaged, it can bleed. The most common way for this to happen is during penetrative sex. It is much more likely if the vagina is dry.

The body produces a natural lubricant that prepares the vagina for penetrative sex. Vaginal dryness can be caused by many factors including a lack of arousal, changing hormone levels due to menopause, diabetes, or cancer treatment.

Menopause or perimenopause

Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55. It is marked as the time at which a woman has not had a period for 1 year.

Perimenopause is the period leading up to menopause. This can last for up to 10 years as hormone levels in the body change.

Hormone levels are often unstable during perimenopause. This can cause irregular periods, spotting, and heavy bleeding.

Polyps in the cervix or vagina

Polyps are small growths. They can develop in the uterus or on the cervix, which is the structure between the vagina and uterus. In some cases, polyps can cause bleeding and may need to be removed.

Certain cancers

In most cases, bleeding between periods is not a cause for concern. However, vaginal bleeding between periods is one possible symptom of certain types of cancer. Cervical cancer can affect women of any age. It is most common in sexually active women between the ages of 30 and 45.

Bleeding between periods or after sex is usually the first symptom of cervical cancer. Other early symptoms include pain or discomfort while having sex, or unpleasant-smelling vaginal discharge.

Uterine or womb cancer tends to occur in women over 50. Vaginal bleeding is also an early symptom of this type of cancer, especially if the bleeding occurs after menopause.

Uterine cancer mostly affects women who have reached menopause. This means that they no longer have periods. For this reason, any vaginal bleeding after menopause should be noted as unusual.

If women have not reached menopause, bleeding may happen between periods. Sometimes bleeding is heavier than usual. Less common symptoms include pain during sex or pain in the abdomen.

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a condition that can cause irregular periods, as well as some bleeding between periods. Other symptoms include fertility problems, weight gain, and oily skin or acne.

Endometriosis or adenomyosis

Chronic conditions that affect the uterus, such as endometriosis or adenomyosis, can cause bleeding or spotting between periods. These conditions may also cause heavy or painful menstrual periods and cramps between periods.
Nine in ten (89.1%) of the drug users reported a pleasurable experience when using heroin at home

Fewer than four in ten (39.1%) of the drug users reported a positive state when taking heroin outside the home

A little over a quarter (26.9%) of the drug users reported a positive state when taking cocaine at home

Half (50%) of the drug users reported a pleasant or mixed state (17.3%) when taking cocaine outside the home

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The neuroscientists asked the first group of 53 people to recall a typical drug episode and indicate how arousing and pleasant their experience was with each drug (heroin or cocaine) in two different settings (at home or outside the home). With guidance, the second group of 20 people imagined using the drugs in each setting while their brain activity was measured with functional magnetic resonance imaging.The results show:The brain scans showed that during drug imagery that the same setting produced opposite neural responses for each of the two drugs in the brain regions involved in processing reward and context: the prefrontal cortex, caudate and cerebellum. The researchers conclude that the emotional and neural response to addictive drugs changes as a function of both the substance and of the setting of use.The neuroscientists are calling on governments and therapy providers to take into account the impact of different environmental factors on different classes of addictive drugs. They hope this will lead to more effective treatment and fewer people suffering relapses.Dr De Pirro, who undertook this study for her PhD at the University of Sussex, said: "The findings related to the cerebellum are particularly interesting because that part of the brain helps us understand the context of our emotional experiences, so it may explain why the effects of drug taking vary by setting."This also has important implications for the therapeutic treatment of drug abusers. Considering the interaction between drug type and location could help to prevent relapse. Governments should adapt policies to ensure that therapies take into account the impact of the environmental factors on the risk of relapsing, and on its role in supporting recovery from addiction."Professor Badiani, Director of SARIC at the University of Sussex, says: "These findings challenge the classic view that all drugs produce identical changes in the reward regions of the brain and that they are addictive because of their ability to induce an extremely pleasurable state."This study shows that the provision of methadone alone is not sufficient for treating heroin addiction. Treatments should also tackle important social and environmental factors. For example, evidence-based intervention such as cognitive behavioral therapy and 'ecological momentary interventions' (such as smart phone applications that people can access anywhere at any time in their real life when they feel an urge to abuse drugs) should be a critical part of the treatment process."Source: Eurekalert
Raise your hand if you've been repeatedly ashamed of your body odour and sweaty hands? Yes, you may blame it on the sweltering heat but it is up to you to hide the embarrassment! Use a body talc to combat dryness, itchy skin, acne or excessive sweating. MensXp provides you with the 10 best talcum powder for men that will help you survive this summer heat.

The Top Scented Talcum Powders For Men

Denver Ice Cold Talc

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The Denver brand has always delivered great results and this product is no exception! This talc imparts a pleasant, cooling sensation that contains some bacteriostatic elements to manage the body odour. The talc is laden with an engaging fragrance and a UV radiation protection formula, which works throughout the day. Without any hesitation, this is one of the popular talcum powders for men.

Price: Rs 140, 300g

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Yardley London  Gold Deodorizing Talc For Men

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The best product to beat the heat during summer time would be the Yardley London talc as mentioned above. Basically, this feels like a cooling deodorant in a powder form that will instantly perk up your mood! The fresh, fragrant appeal of it paves the way for a luxurious, classy look. This is one of the best talcum powders for men available in our country.

Price: Rs 160, 250g

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AXE Denim Cologne Talc

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AXE is a huge favourite among Indian men, specially for the teenagers or college goers because of the reasonable pricing. The invigorating, fruity scent renders a clean feel and is best used after taking a shower. The talc stays on for a long, long time and keeps you feeling fresh and energized.

Price: Rs 125, 300g

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NIVEA Pure Talc

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This product is comprised of basic talcum powder with a mild scent, which is not too overpowering. Undoubtedly, this is one of the cheapest talcum powders available in the Indian market. The NIVEA Pure Talc can be a staple item that does its job fairly well: absorbing moisture caused due to humidity and sweating, reducing itching or irritation and controlling the body odour. Moreover, NIVEA is one of the most trustworthy brands that never circulates a bad product!

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Wildstone Aqua Fresh Talc

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Now, who hasn't come across a sexy Wildstone ad? Indeed, the product will boost your confidence and appeal with its aquatic freshness. This deodorant talc will heighten your masculinity and help you achieve that magnetic charm you longed for. The long-lasting fragrance will spice up a boring day. Also, this is suitable for all skin types and has no fear of side-effects. Plus, this is real cheap!

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Yardley London - Gentleman Talc For Men

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Honestly, the name couldn't be more apt. This product is especially targeted to achieve that smart, suave look that will make pretty ladies swoon for you! This perfumed talc pampers your skin with a soft, smooth feel that will make you appear more well-groomed. For men, the classic, elegant look never goes out fashion and this talc makes you smell heavenly. Every Indian guy can use it and say, ab Raju ban gaya gentleman!

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Avon Mesmerize For Men Talc Powder

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Another scintillating product by Avon, 'Mesmerize' truly has an enchanting signature scent. With musky and warm notes of lime, cinnamon and patchouli, this talc keeps you dry and smelling great throughout the day. The subtle fragrance and soothing texture makes it an extremely popular buy among men. If you are on the prowl for the best talcum powder for men, you should give this a shot!

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Balla Powder Talc For Men Fragrance-Free

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If you're looking for pure functionality and no frills, Balla Powder for men is the talc to root for. Known for its lack of fragrance, Balla powder wields an effective antibacterial formula, which keeps sweat at bay, leaving you fresh and dry to take on the world in style. The durable performance lends it the popularity that it has earned. It is perfect for date nights or occasions that involve high-physical activity with least deterioration in appearance.

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Avon Men's Body Talc Powder  Black Suede

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Black Suede encompasses a rich and smooth fragrance with a hint of earthy flavours. The spicy tones in the background combine with the citrus tang result in a fragrance so irresistibly fresh that it cannot help but increase your overall appeal. The lasting fragrance is only but one facet of its greatness. The wonderful odour absorbing formula keeps you dry for 24 hours straight. The talcum powder for men is an amazing product that surely needs your wise investment!

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Avon Wild Country Body Powder

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This wonderfully fresh talcum powder has a refreshing fragrance to keep you smelling good all day long. With earthy notes and an antibacterial formula, Wild Country is a treasured must-have for all men. The scent is soothing and far from overbearing. Use after a bath for better results. So, if you are still searching for that perfect talcum powder for men, this is The One!

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By Benjamin Jumbe.

The Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Keith Muhakanizi has castigated leaders who exempt themselves from tax.

Speaking at the launch of the World Bank Uganda Economic Update in Kampala this morning, Muhakanizi said such leaders are responsible for Ugandas failure to raise domestic revenue.

He says those who earn higher income should ideally pay more tax to reduce the burden on low income earners.

Muhakanizi says the ministry and URA are under immense pressure to raise revenue domestically so there is need for leaders to be exemplary if the country is to move forward.

Making a presentation earlier, Moses Kajubi Public Sector Specialist at the World Bank has urged government to fight corruption if Ugandans are to be motivated to pay tax.

He says tax compliance can be boosted through use of effective domestic mobilization strategies once Ugandans can see the real value of their taxes reflected in social services.
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs Giorgos Katrougalos participated in todays meeting of the EU General Affairs Council, which held a preliminary discussion of the Commissions recent proposal for the new EU Budget for 2021-2027.



In his intervention, Mr. Katrougalos thanked the Commission for its efforts, stressing, however, that the proposal is not as ambitious as is required to meet the existential challenges Europe is facing. The Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs also welcomed the increase in funding for new policies in support of research and development, migration, the digital economy, and European defence, underscoring, however, that this increase cannot be made to the detriment of traditional policies such as those of the Common Agricultural Policy and Convergence. He stressed that, on the contrary, we need a union with a social profile, internally cohesive, to strengthen its competitiveness and international influence, with a concurrent reduction in inequalities within and between the member states. Solidarity and respect for rule of law should be reflected in all of the EUs policies and, from this perspective, Greece is not opposed to linking the budget to respect for rule of law, particularly if combined with other bold measures, such as the EUs accession to the European Convention on Human Rights.



His position was similar on the matter of the implementation of article 7 of the Convention in the case of Poland. However, regarding any conditionality on cohesion policies, he expressed the Greek governments reservations in view of the need to ensure avoidance of linking the reforms to the deregulation and further downgrading of the social state.



The establishment of real new EU Own Resources, Mr. Katrougalos stated characteristically, is the only choice for the EU, so that a definitive end can be put to the logic of fair return on the part of wealthier states  the so-called net contributors  which continues to poison every negotiation on the budget. Such new Own Resources, which will not burden European citizens, include, indicatively, taxing the financial transactions of large internet companies in the countries where they provide their services, and establishment of a common corporate tax base.



Finally, Mr. Katrougalos stated that our country supports the European Commissions proposal for the completion of the negotiations by the elections in 2019.



Regarding preparation of the June European Council, Mr. Katrougalos stressed the need for a comprehensive solution on the migration issue; a solution that protects European values and ensures equal sharing of responsibility for dealing with migration pressures, alleviating the disproportionate pressure countries of first reception have come under. Moreover, he referred to the very important meeting held in Sounion  where the EU member states of the Balkans and the Visegrad countries talked with the accession-candidate countries of our region  as a successful exercise in strengthening the unity of the European Union via a systematically organized dialogue.

Before the Council session, Mr. Katrougalos participated as an observer in the preparatory meeting of the Home Affairs ministers of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary of the UK Labour Party, also took part in this meeting. Mr. Katrougalos invited Mr. Starmer to visit Greece, acknowledging Labours very positive role, under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, in renewing progressive ideas in Europe.
BAD AXE  The president and CEO of what used to be Huron Medical Center and will now be called McLaren Thumb Region was optimistic about the move on Tuesday.

"Becoming part of McLaren Health Care is an extremely positive development for our community," stated Michael E. Johnston, president and CEO of McLaren Thumb Region. "We are excited to offer residents of the area the services of McLaren Health Care while maintaining our commitment to the local community that has always been our mission."

The Bad Axe hospital officially announced on Tuesday that it will become a subsidiary of McLaren Health Care, one of Michigan's largest integrated health systems.

However, Johnston told the Tribune about the move last week during a public meet-and-greet event in Bad Axe.

On Tuesday, the hospital announced Huron Medical Center will now be named McLaren Thumb Region.

The decision to join the 14-hospital system comes as a result of Huron Medical Center's goal to expand services to the community, states a press release issued Tuesday. This includes providing improved access to physicians, expanded service offerings for patients and enhancements to the facility's infrastructure and equipment. The 58-bed acute care hospital in Bad Axe serves residents of Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.

"One of the key benefits of this acquisition is the shared belief that the provision of health care should principally staylocal," the release states. "McLaren Thumb Region will continue to be governed by their local Board of Trustees, and all funds raised by the Foundation will remain local. As in the past, McLaren Thumb Region will make business decisions based on the needs of the community and, at the same time, will gain the support of a large, successful healthcare system."

"We are honored to welcome McLaren Thumb Region as the newest member of our growing health system," stated Philip A. Incarnati, president and CEO of McLaren Health Care. "I want to personally thank the members of leadership and governance for the trust they have placed in McLaren. Together, we will continue to provide the level of patient care excellence that this region of the state has come to expect."
MIDDLETOWN  Community Health Center, Inc.s domestic violence services, New Horizons, is pleased to announce the receipt of a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Middlesex County for food and personal supplies for shelter residents.

New Horizons residents and families often come to the shelter without basic necessities like clothes and toiletries due to the urgency of their situation. With this grant New Horizons will be better able to support the needs of victims of domestic violence and their children.

The grant is funded by the Community Foundation of Middlesex County/Sari A. Rosenbaum Fund for Women and Girls, Mary Klaaren Fund for Women & Girls, and the Bee & Missionary Society Fund for Women & Girls.

Chester War Memorial repairs needed

CHESTER  On Route 154 entering Chester are Chesters War Memorials. Dedicated in 1939, the World War I memorial features a granite doughboy figure atop a monument listing local veterans. In 2004, American Legion Post #97 unveiled an elegant granite monument honoring Chester residents who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and post-Vietnam conflicts.

Over the years maintenance and minor repairs have been funded by the Town of Chester, volunteers and American Legion Post #97. But 14 years have taken their toll on the memorial. Post #97 members have identified some issues that need to be addressed, most importantly is the fence on the front perimeter of the memorial. The pressure treated wooden fence is rotting away and needs to be replaced. Plans are to use granite posts and black chain which will be less susceptible to the weather.

Members are asking residents and friends to donate towards the replacement of the fence and ensure the memorial remain a proud focal point. Any contribution, however small, will be welcome. Donors may request to be added to a donor list that will be published in the local paper at the conclusion of our project. The goal is $6,000 for the new fence at the Chesters War Memorial. If more funds are donated then what covers the price of supplies and installation of the fence, members will use those funds to repair the flagpoles. Donations may be made out to American Legion Post #97 and mailed to PO Box 122, Chester, CT 06412. All donations are tax deductible.

Open House for Net Zero Energy House set

HIGGANUM  Jamie Wolf of Avon-based Wolfworks, award-winning designers and builders of a number of net zero new homes and deep energy retrofits, will lead an Open Walls Open House workshop on Saturday, May 19 at a net zero home being built in Higganum, where tours and a talk will take place at both 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. This workshop offers a way to see and learn about what makes this possible and what is needed to make homes like this more common. It will highlight how Wolfworks constructs a super-insulated and air-sealed building envelope; the high-performance net gain triple-glazed European windows they use; their small but efficient heating and cooling system; and a constant fresh air system with heat recovery. Visit homesthatfit.com to learn more

Middlefield launches solar program

MIDDLEFIELD  The Town of Middlefield is participating in the award-winning residential solar program that makes going solar easy and affordable. Solarize Connecticut has helped thousands of Connecticut residents save money on energy bills by going solar. Solarize Middlefield also offers residents access to financing options that make going solar affordable with no upfront costs.

Solarize Middlefield is a coordinated effort across the community, supported by the Town of Middlefield and managed by the non-profit organization, SmartPower. Through a competitive selection process, Middlefield has selected Ross Solar as their solar installer. Ross Solar will provide the solar installations in Middlefield at special discount pricing in exchange for outreach and education from the Town.

The Solarize Middlefield program will kick off with a workshop on Thursday from 7 - 8:30 pm, at the Middlefield Community Center Auditorium, 405 Main Street, Middlefield. Residents can learn about the program, meet their solar installer, learn about financing options, and see if their house is good for solar.

Homeowners who want to find out if their home is good for solar can go directly to Solarizect.com/Middlefield. Durham residents are welcome to participate in the Solarize Middlefield program. In Connecticut Solarize is managed by SmartPower (www.smartpower.org).

Follow the Fibers to Bushnell Farm

OLD SAYBROOK  The family that occupied the 1678 Bushnell House in Old Saybrook were weavers as well as farmers. Each spring Bushnell Farm hosts activities that that allow visitors to step back to a time when hand-woven cloth was derived from the familys own plants and animals.

On Saturday, visitors to this privately-owned 22 acre farm site can witness Warner Lord demonstrate the difficult, multi-step process that turned the flax plan into a thread that could then be woven into linen on the family loom. The Loom House, with weaver Bev Lewis, is one of the six original buildings on the property that will be open to the public.

Sheep owned by Herb and Sherry Clark of Essex, who own the property, will be shorn of their winter wool by Lara Sullivan of East Haddam, who has a busy shearing schedule and she hopes to be at Bushnell Farm around 11:30 a.m. Westbrooks Gary Noth, a life-long archaeologist and primitive technologist, will be at the wigwam in the Grove at the Farm talking about Indian tool technology and their preparations for spring. In the Bushnell Farm House, one of the five oldest houses in Connecticut, theyll be turning out the bedbugs from the mattresses; ironing without electricity; and taking advantage of the early fish run. In the barn, well be sharpening the tools for haying and looking over the seeds saved from last years crops and getting ready to plant.

Bushnell Farm is an educational site that provides school and public programs devoted to preserving the agricultural and enterprising past in Connecticut through seasonal events and hands-on activities. For information, call 860-767-0674.
By Benjamin Jumbe.

The Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Keith Muhakanizi has defended governments move to tax bibles and Korans.

This comes as religious leaders and other stakeholders raise concern over the move which they argue is in bad taste.

Speaking at the launch of the 11th World Bank Uganda Economic Update, Muhakanizi said there is nothing wrong with taxing these items because government is under immense pressure to raise domestic revenue.

Currently Uganda collects only 14% of GDP in tax, which is about 40% less than its tax potential.

Mukahanizi says without increasing domestic revenue government will not be able to improve quality of service delivery.

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Clerics protest taxes on religious books
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis expressed alarm last week at reports of failures to address a growing problem of sexual assaults on military bases among dependent children and teens.

"That, to me, is something that must be rooted out. It's important we stand up and say what we stand for. On this one, it's even more important we say what we will not tolerate," he said at a Senate Defense Appropriations subcommittee hearing last Wednesday.

Mattis made the comments in an exchange with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, who cited a March investigation by The Associated Press that found nearly 600 cases since 2007 in which dependent children were sexually assaulted by other children on military installations and in Department of Defense Education Activity schools.

Murray said that more than 30 of the nearly 600 cases were in her home state of Washington "and just recently, the Army released information on 86 additional cases."

"Even more shocking, it appears that these children and their families have no recourse" since dependent children do not come under military law and there can be jurisdictional problems with local civilian authorities, she told Mattis.

Murray said she had written a detailed letter to Mattis in March asking "some straightforward questions about the scope of the problem and the department's response," but had yet to receive an answer. "So I'm concerned that the department is not taking this seriously."

Mattis said he wasn't aware of the letter but promised a quick response. "Senator, first of all, you'll have an answer within the week. I was unaware of that, but thank you for bringing it up."

He said the military has to accept that casualties will occur on the battlefield, but "I do not accept a single casualty in the Department of Defense out of sexual assault. That is intolerable. So I don't know if it's a unique problem to us" but "how do we stop it is the bottom line."

Murray interjected: "Well, that's what I wanted to ask you, who has legal jurisdiction over military children on the military installations both here and abroad?"

"Let me get back to you specifically because I think it's also different depending on where it's located," Mattis said, but "we will get back to you with the full answer."

In her March letter to Mattis, Murray said the AP investigation "reveals an inscrutable system that fails these children at every level: Military investigators do little to follow up on reported assaults; federal prosecutors are loathe to pursue juvenile sexual assault cases; and local authorities rarely have the capacity to take on these cases."

According to the AP investigation, the documented cases of sexual assaults among children on military bases showed that they can occur "anywhere children and teens gather on base -- homes, schools, playgrounds, food courts, even a chapel bathroom. Many cases get lost in a dead zone of justice, with neither victim nor offender receiving help."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
The U.S. Army's top official told Congress on Tuesday that the service does not have the authority to deal directly with the recent spate of child-on-child sexual assaults on its installations.

Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee's Defense subcommittee, Army Secretary Mark Esper said, "There is going to be no toleration of that type of activity," referring to recent reports of hundreds of cases involving dependent children being sexually assaulted by older dependent children on military bases and in Defense Department schools.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, expressed her "alarm" at the cases, citing Army Criminal Investigation Command's list of "223 juvenile cases world-wide beginning since 2007."

Eight of those cases occurred on Army installations in Alaska, she said.

Last week, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told lawmakers that such activity is "intolerable" and "must be rooted out."

Murkowski asked Esper to describe how the Army is working to "prevent and deter these sorts of incidents, making sure that investigations are conducted with a timely manner."

Esper said it will not be an easy problem to solve.

"The challenge, as my legal folks tell me, is we do not have the authority to prosecute," he said.

"In most cases, what happens is the Army Criminal Investigation [Command] ... will immediately investigate. We will provide services for the victims. We will provide help for the family," Esper explained. "But we also refer the case, depending on the agreements, to local, state or federal authorities."

Beyond that, the Army's options are limited, he said.

"What we then have to do is hand that off to others for prosecution," Esper said. "We have some authority, but it's mainly administrative. So what we could do is bar that kid from being on post or we could move the family from the post."

He said additional authority over the cases "really reside[s] outside of the military."

"I think that is something we need to take a look at," Esper said.

Murkowski suggested the Army should focus on providing more help for the victims of such crimes.

"We are seeing numbers go up; we don't know if it's more incidents or better reporting, but the need for victim services clearly is rising," she said, adding that more resources should be given to efforts such as the Army Special Victim Counsel.

"Last year, there were 2,706 victims reported in the Army," an average of 52 victims per counselor, Murkowski said.

That exceeds the recommended caseload of no more than 25 current cases, she added.

"It would seem to me that we need to look at bringing on more that can help on the victim's side," Murkowski said.

Esper agreed.

"Yes, ma'am. I will take a look at those numbers. We do need to make sure we have adequate support, whether it is counselors or advocates," he said. "Again, there is zero tolerance for that [type of crime] in the service."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
Top U.S. Army leaders assured lawmakers Tuesday that the service is taking steps to help spouses gain employment, to include extending some soldier assignments to more than three years.

Lawmakers on the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee wanted to know what the service is doing about the challenges many Army spouses face while seeking employment.

Employers are often reluctant to hire spouses because frequent assignment changes mean military families cannot stay in one place for long. Some spouses avoid mentioning that they are married to a service member in an attempt to get employers to consider them for jobs, lawmakers said.

Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, asked Army Secretary Mark Esper and Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley what the service is doing "to assist military spouses with professional development seeking employment."

Esper said the issue is "top priority for me, something I discuss with spouses at nearly every post I visit."

"This issue comes up over and over again, and I will tell you personally, when I was on active duty, my wife was discriminated against for work because they knew I was rotating," he said.

Currently, it takes an average of 140 days for the Army to hire spouses, or civilians, for on-base jobs, "which is unacceptable. So I am taking a number of initiatives at my level to reduce that," Esper said.

A large part of the problem is the vetting process the Office of Personnel Management oversees for civilian employment on base, he added.

"The OPM process is clunky and inefficient ... if we could either reform that or move it to [the Defense Department] or let the Army hire direct, it would really give us a greater advantage of reducing that 140-day average down to about 30 days," Esper said. "What happens is spouses become frustrated, and they give up searching for a job."

President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order on May 9 ordering federal agencies to more aggressively utilize a personnel rule that speeds the hiring of military spouses to certain positions. That personnel rule was originally issued by President George W. Bush in late 2008.

Another hurdle facing spouses looking for employment is the lack of "long-term stabilization of assignments," Milley said. "That is probably the biggest impediment to stabilizing the spousal employment in a local area -- the constant churn of two- [to] three-year assignments works against spouse employment."

The Army is examining a plan for longer assignments, but the change would not be for everyone, he said.

For enlisted soldiers, "we think we can probably achieve longer than three-year assignments," Milley said. "For the officers, it is significantly more of a challenge because of career development opportunities that we want for our officers."

Milley gave no timeline of when longer assignments might become a reality.

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, pointed out that there are not enough jobs on base to solve the spouse employment problem.

"It's not just a DoD issue," she said. "We need the communities and the private sector to really step up and meet their part of this obligation. I am looking at ways we can engage the private sector to help them become more responsible citizens."

Murray said that one spouse told her, "She sent a number of resumes and didn't hear anything back. She sent them [again] to the same people and didn't put her military spouse affiliation on her resume and heard back.

"I think we really need to look at the private sector too," she said. "The opportunities for military spouses are often rare ... and I don't think we should ever be in a position where military spouses can't find work."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
This Sikh Marine Is Ready to Sue the Service to Wear a Beard and Turban at All Times

First Lt. Sukhbir Toor applied in March for a religious accommodation to wear a beard and turban and to not cut his hair.
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon sent Marines to bolster security at American compounds overseas as the United States formally moved its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, military officials said Monday.

Marines were deployed to "several U.S. embassies" on temporary assignments to augment security during a "heightened threat environment," said Navy Lt. Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Pentagon spokeswoman.

The controversial move Monday of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem sparked bloody clashes between Palestinian protestors and Israeli forces along Gaza's border. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital. The Associated Press reported more than 50 Palestinians were fatally shot by Israeli soldiers and some 2,400 others were wounded in the exchanges, which included firebombs lobbed at Israeli troops by protestors.

Rebarich said the Pentagon could not say how many Marines were deployed or to which embassies, citing security concerns. The Marines were deployed from the Marine Security Guard Augmentation Unit from Quantico, Va., a unit designed specifically to respond to such security threats worldwide at the State Department's request, a Marine official said.

NBC News reported the additional Marines were sent to embassies in Israel, Jordan and Turkey, citing five unnamed defense officials. They reported only modest increases of more than 10 but less than several dozen Marines at each location, according to three of the unnamed officials.

The Department of Defense "takes necessary steps to mitigate threats to U.S. personnel, embassies and consulates around the world," Rebarich said. "... Augmentation is conducted regularly when a diplomatic post faces a heightened threat environment."

The Pentagon bolstered its embassies in some Middle Eastern countries with additional Marines in December following President Donald Trump's announcement of the impending embassy move in Israel. Some clashes occurred following the announcement, but none as violent as those on Monday.

In the event a U.S. embassy or consulate were to come under the threat of attack, Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Teams, known as FAST companies, would be deployed to respond, according to the Marine Corps. The teams are designed to prevent or react to an overrun of U.S. government assets and protect employees and property. FAST units typically deploy as platoons of about 50 Marines.

After the 2012 Benghazi consulate attack, for instance, a FAST unit was sent to guard the U.S. embassy in Libya.

In recent years, FAST troops also have provided reinforcement for embassies in Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, and Iraq, according to Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team Central Command.
As the free ID cards from the Department of Veterans Affairs for all honorably discharged veterans began to appear in mailboxes this month, veterans likely noticed something unusual on the back: the Office Depot logo.

The logo, which also appeared on a mock-up card last year, appears under an advertisement for the VA's crisis hotline and the words "Saluting you today and every day. Thanks for taking care of business."

Office Depot is printing and shipping the cards for free, Andrew Tomlin, vice president of print services for Office Depot Inc., said in a statement.

"Office Depot is partnering with the Department of Veterans Affairs to produce and ship VA ID cards at no cost," he said.

But Tomlin said the company does not offer a veteran discount for those who have the card. "At this time, there is no discount tied to the ID cards," he said.

According to the Office Depot website, the company instead offers a 20 percent veteran discount to members of the private discount company Veterans Advantage.

Congress in 2015 ordered the VA to provide the free cards as a way to help veterans show proof of service to private businesses without carrying their DD-214 discharge papers, which contain sensitive personal information such as their Social Security number. Lawmakers, however, did not approve any additional funding for the VA to produce or ship the cards.

VA officials said Office Depot agreed to provide the cards through until the end of fiscal 2020.

"Office Depot recognizes the sacrifices that our veterans have made, and its logo represents the company's support as well as its partnership in print production and delivery of the ID cards," Curtis Cashour, a VA spokesman, said in a statement. "Office Depot will cover the cost of printing and mailing the Veteran ID Card until September 2020."

The front of each card features a photo of the veteran, the veteran's name, the title "Choose VA," two official seals and an identification number. It also states, "This card serves as proof of service in the Uniformed Services of the United States and does not reflect entitlement to any benefits administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs."

The card program has faced a series of technical challenges since starting last November, when its online server crashed under a glut of applications. Officials closed and then reopened applications early this year. The cards, which were originally to be mailed beginning in March, were instead sent to approved applicants starting May 4, officials said.

About 98,270 veteran applications for the card have been received as of May 14, Cashour said. Of those, 26,034 had been approved and 10,735 had been mailed.

Veterans must apply for the card online. Card applications are not available at VA facilities. Veterans can also download and print a version of the card directly from the VA's website.

-- Amy Bushatz can be reached at amy.bushatz@military.com.
U.S. Army physicians, located far from a field hospital, could soon be performing delicate, highly specialized surgery on wounded soldiers using robotics and other forms of telemedicine.

Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Nadja West said recently that the demands of future battlefields will force the military medical community to prepare for operational environments that are vastly different.

"We might not have the life-saving 'golden hour' evacuation system we have been accustomed to for the past 17 years," West told an audience recently at an Association of the United States Army function.

"Our soldiers may be isolated for 72 hours or more, requiring prolonged field care if injured in an austere environment," she said.

Enemy air superiority may not allow the U.S. military to fly critically wounded soldiers to well-equipped hospitals in far-off countries, so field hospitals may have to rely on new, robotic technology to save patients, West added.

Robotic surgery, which is currently used in non-invasive procedures, could be adapted to meet the Army's battlefield needs, she said.

"There is robotic surgery that's going on right now," West said, adding that the challenge will be "how quickly we can scale it all throughout our enterprise."

The Army performed its first robotic surgery in 2016 at the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, using the da Vinci Xi surgical system. The four-armed, minimally invasive robotic surgery system can be controlled by a surgeon using a high-definition 3D imaging system, which displays a magnified view of the patient's anatomy.

Using other forms of telehealth technology will allow a specialist to walk a medical professional through a critical procedure using satellite technology, West said.

"We actually tested this at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. ... There was a soldier in a very remote area that had something called a peritonsillar abscess, which is a surgical emergency," she said.

The procedure usually requires an ear, nose and throat, or ENT, specialist to perform what can be a delicate surgery, West said.

"There was a scope put down the soldier's throat. There was an ENT a thousand miles away looking at it, telling the medical professional where to make the incision because you have to drain it," she explained.

The procedure prevented the patient from having to be evacuated, West said, adding that the Army medical community must be able to adapt to situations like this in the future.

"We must always be ready and prepared to perform in non-traditional settings and in ways that might be outside of our comfort zone," she said.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to show the first robotic surgery at William Beaumont Army Medical Center was performed in 2016.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.
The U.S. Air Force is using predictive analysis at its test centers to scrutinize data trends in an effort to stop the next aviation mishap, a top general said Tuesday.

The idea is to accumulate data and check for something that stands out on an aircraft's maintenance overhaul that may help predict or define a root cause for the next big incident, said Gen. Ellen M. Pawlikowski, commander of Air Force Materiel Command.

Her comments come as the service is conducting a one-day stand-down ordered by Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein on May 7 to give units "the chance to identify issues that they can work and elevate up to the [major command level] ... and the Air Staff if necessary," said Maj. Gen. John T. Rauch, chief of safety for the service and commander of the Air Force Safety Center.

Pawlikowski added that she has also ordered the service's test centers to "take a look at all of the data sources that we have that we use on a regular basis to look at the health of our weapons systems."

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"We have a program called the Air Force Structural Integrity program, and that is an effort that we've been doing for 40 years, which uses predictive models and analysis to look at where we might have structural issues that we want to look at and do inspections or do repairs on before we get to an accident," Pawlikowski told reporters during a breakfast in Washington, D.C.

"I've asked that we do an 'out of cycle look' to see what has happened there, and ... I've asked the sustainment center [to report] on what they have seen as airplanes have come in," she said.

For example, if a KC-135 Stratotanker comes in for routine maintenance at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, Pawlikowski said the service is monitoring whether that aircraft stays a little longer due to "unplanned work," and whether other tankers going through the depot show a similar trend.

"So I ask them to go in and look at that data: Are there places where we've seen any spikes or unusual behavior?" she said.

The test and sustainment centers have until July to report their findings, she said, adding that the Air Force's approach has been "not to panic" amid a recent bout of aviation accidents.

The service recently said Class-A mishaps -- defined as involving fatalities, severe damage totaling $2 million or more, or a complete loss of the aircraft -- have declined in recent years, but Pawlikowski noted that a spike in accidents since January has "got our attention."

"We don't consider it a crisis, but we have elevated interest in making sure that we aren't missing anything," she said. "Safety is always first."

Pawlikowski said she is skeptical whether cuts under sequestration are directly linked to recent accidents. The Air Force has lost 18 service members since November, including nine WC-130 aircrew in a fatal crash outside Savannah, Georgia.

As of May 2, manned aviation Class-A mishaps have increased 48 percent in fiscal 2018, officials said.

"Our systems are designed to failsafe, [meaning] if under sequestration we had to reduce the number of airplanes that went through the depot, which would mean some planes would be flying longer without their regularly preventive maintenance, we would not fly those airplanes in an unsafe mode," Pawlikowski said.

"We would ground that particular airplane until we were able to do that maintenance. So even though do we did take reductions in areas with respect to sustainment during sequestration, I would be surprised to find a direct correlation," she said.

Separately, lawmakers recently approved language in the fiscal 2019 National Defense Authorization Act that would require an independent national commission on military aviation safety.

The House Armed Services Committee on May 9 voted to include an independent legislative body to assess the spike in accidents between 2013 and 2018, as well as physiological episodes. The legislation will come before the Senate Armed Services Committee for markup later this month.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
VA Helps Entrepreneurs

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is working with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide self-employment guidance, assistance and on-the-job training to Veterans with disabilities. To qualify for the program, Veterans must meet three conditions: a service-connected disability, an employment handicap and acceptance into VA's Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program. In some cases, training opportunities are available for Veterans to work with existing businesses and gain valuable business skills through the Non-Paid Work Experience program. For more information on the VR&E programs, visit Military.com's Vocational Rehab and Employment page.
Military members and veterans can get up to four free months of Apple Music through the Apple Music military discount -- but...
Mineral List

Rock Types Recorded

Note: this is a very new system on mindat.org and data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

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Regional Geology

On the 28 January 1871, the richest patch of gold ever discovered in New Zealand was uncovered in this mine.The Caledonian Gold Mining Company was one of the early companies on the goldfield, registered only shortly after the gold discovery at Shotover in 1868. By 1870 the shaft was already down to 90 feet, and was paying healthy dividends, regardless of the rich patch about to be discovered.Six bags full of specimen stone was carried out at the end of that shift from the Caledonian No. 1 Reef. The patch extended 80 feet long to a depth of 50 feet. The centre of the vein was almost solid gold 18 inches wide, but with rich gold also surrounding it. The patch extended towards the neighbouring Tookey lease however the patch cut out just before the boundary, and the reef in Tookeys proved barren.It was an open secret in town that miners where carting out billycans full of gold at the end of their shifts. Strict Methodist mine manager Billy Rowe turned a blind eye. Neither were the directors concerned who were voting themselves large pay increases for 'services rendered', or shareholders who were obtaining large dividends. Over half a million pounds in dividends was issued within a few months. Monthly gold crushings during this short period were 25,255 ounces, 34,437 ounces, 27,241 ounces, 17,035 ounces, 24,171 ounces and 19,329 ounces, before yields decreased. The share price rose 200%.Irishman Dennis Delaney lived in a humpy with his wife and children along the foreshore path between the town and mine. His poverty was in part due to his liking for whiskey. Early one morning he spied three Caledonian miners walking back from the mine carrying their billycans. He grabbed a club, and demanded they hand over the billycans, otherwise he would call the police. He obtained 150 ounces of gold from the robbery, which was spent on whiskey within a few weeks.The patch gradually became exhausted, and one day at the end of a shift four directors and a detective turned up, and demanded the men be brought to the surface. Rowe refused stating mining rules required a new shift go down first to replace the old shift. When the old shift men were searched at the surface, no gold was found on them. Rowe left shortly after, and was replaced by Australian Stephen Richards who put an end to the theft. For months afterwards, parcels of gold were found stashed in remote parts of the underground workings, for retrieval later.The Caledonian Gold Mining Company lasted until 1892. The English based Kuranui-Caledonian Company in 1896 took over the Caledonian, Kuranui, Otago, Red Queen, Hazelbank, Inverness, Albion, All Nations, Junction, Long Drive, Don Pedro, and part of the Golden Crown claims and the original reward claim at Thames, the Shotover leases. The Kuranui lease contained a 20 stamp battery. However, the reefs were near exhaustion, and by 1901 the mine was being worked by tributers. The company was still alive in 1912, when it asked the warden for protection, and is thought to not have lasted much longer past this.By this stage the main Caledonian shaft had reached a depth of 470 feet, worked from four levels, in a maze of underground workings. The shaft was in the southern part of the Kuranui valley, with the northern portion worked by tunnels and adits at a shallower level.The country rock is pyroxene andesite, highly propylitised, with lenticular masses of harder un-altered andesite. The most productive veins were called Caledonian 1 and 2 in the southern section, and the All Nations Reef in the northern section. Other gold bearing reefs included the Red Queen, Wheel of Fortune, Kellys, Caledonian 3, Darbys, Young American, Duffs, and Poverty.Au-Ag values become uneconomic below 150 metres from the surface, with the veins massive fine grained quartz, with common cavities in the upper levels, and comb quartz crystals. Ore was found as in some cases abundant free gold, and also in electrum and pyrite, which averaged 67% Au and 33% Ag. Electrum is found as fine disseminations, or jagged shreds, plates, granular aggregates and filaments. Pyrargyrite frequently accompanies the electrum in the richer areas, and very locally sphalerite. Minor stibnite is found in the caledonian reefs, as tabular crystals.The original Caledonian Mine is near the Thames Gold Mine Experience, a local tourist attraction with operating stamp battery, photographs, mine buildings and underground tours, in part accessing the Caledonian workings.6 valid minerals.

This geological map and associated information on rock units at or nearby to the coordinates given for this locality is based on relatively small scale geological maps provided by various national Geological Surveys. This does not necessarily represent the complete geology at this locality but it gives a background for the region in which it is found.

Click on geological units on the map for more information. Click here to view full-screen map on Macrostrat.org

Data and map coding provided by Macrostrat.org, used under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License

This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Sort by Year (asc) | by Year (desc) | by Author (A-Z) | by Author (Z-A) Auckland Star newspaper (1896) Kuarnui, Vol. XXVII, issue 232, 01 October 1896. Otago Witness newspaper (1901) Kuranui, issue 2442, 02 January 1901. Kuranui Caledonian Gold Mining Co. Ltd. (1902), The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Auckland Provincial District), The Cycopedia Company Limited, Christchurch. New Zealand Truth newspaper (1906) The Thames Goldfields, issue 58, 28 July 1906. Fraser, C. (1910) The Geology of the Thames Subdivision, Hauraki, Auckland. New Zealand Geological Survey, Bulletin No. 10 (New Series), New Zealand Government, Wellington, 136 pages. Kalgoorlie Western Argus newspaper (1916) Famous New Zealand Mine. Ton of Gold a Fortnight, 20 June 1916. New Zealand Herald newspaper (1927) Old Thames mines which yield gold to the value of millions, Vol. LXIV, issue 19701, 29 July 1927. Grant, D. (1997) Bulls Bears and Elephants. A History of the New Zealand Stock Exchange, Victoria University Press, p29. Simpson, M.P., Mauk, J.L., Merchant, R.J. (2011) Bonanza-grade epithermal veins from the Coromandel and Thames districts, Hauraki goldfield. AusIMM New Zealand Branch Annual Conference 2011, Queenstown, New Zealand.

External Links
LANSING, MI -- Protective sleeves will likely be wrapped around dented portions of the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline, which was damaged last month by a suspected anchor strike.

A timeline for the fix is not currently available, as Enbridge Energy still has to confirm plans with regulatory officials, according to company spokesperson Ryan Duffy.

A section of the Line 5 pipeline crosses the Straits of Mackinac in Lake Michigan.

The Line 5 damage occurred April 1 when, according to a lawsuit filed by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette, a boat owned by an Escanaba-based shipping company dragged its anchor through the Straits, causing the damage.

Although visible "impacts" to the company's twin pipelines crossing the Straits of Mackinac haven't compromised line integrity, it did warrant a precautionary reducing of maximum operating pressure, Duffy said.

The line's eastern leg sustained a dent of a little more than three-fourths of an inch and an abrasion to the outer coating, according to Peter Holran, Enbridge director of U.S. government affairs.

The two dents on the western leg were a little less than three-quarters of an inch and under a half-inch, he said. On both legs, the impacts were spaced about 24 inches apart.

The pipes are 20 inches in diameter and have a wall thickness of 0.8 inches, Holran said.

An underwater photograph of Enbridge Line 5's eastern leg shows what the company calls "apparent contact areas," which are circled, believed to be damage resulting from an April 1 incident in the Straits of Mackinac.

Once the protective sleeve is implemented, the maximum operating pressure precaution will be lifted, Duffy said.

The suspected strike also damaged American Transmission Company's high-voltage power cables running through the straits. An estimated 600 gallons of dielectric fluid leaked into the water as a result.

Jerome Popiel, a representative from the U.S. Coast Guard, categorized the spill as "minor" with negligible environmental effects.

"It wasn't a big deal in terms in what actually happened," Popiel said. "What could've happened is getting everyone's attention."

Popiel declined to give further information about the incident, citing the ongoing investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Line 5 pipeline, built in 1953, runs 645 miles from Superior, Wisconsin, to Sarnia, Canada, and transports up to 540,000 barrels of light crude oil and natural gas liquids per day.

The April 1 incident and the possibility of a major spill renewed calls for the aging pipeline to be shut down.

There are no restrictions to dropping or dragging anchor in the Straits of Mackinac, only an advisory.

"Mariners should use extreme caution when operating vessels in depths of water comparable to their draft in areas where pipelines and cables may exist and when anchoring, dragging or trawling," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states.

At the Michigan Pipeline Safety Advisory Board's May 14 meeting, the first since the Straits incident, the possibility of a "no-anchor zone" to protect from further, and possibly worse, anchor-strike incidents was briefly mentioned.

"I think that's definitely being looked at," said Scott Dean, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "I think everyone is very focused on never seeing this happen again."

A problem with any anchor-drop ban, Dean said, is there must be stipulations that ensure protection of human life in cases where, for example, a ship is headed for collision with the Mackinac Bridge.

Dean cited awareness and warning campaigns as additional options.

Holran declined to say whether he's in favor of an anchor-drop ban in the Straits.

He told the board that Enbridge is working with the state and looking into safeguards which ensure vessels aren't acting "recklessly" or "negligently."

Mike Shriberg, Great Lakes executive director for the National Wildlife Federation and a member of Michigan's Pipeline Safety Advisory Board, said he supports an anchor-drop ban in the Straits, with the only exceptions being emergencies of life or death.

"We know that this is the No. 1 risk factor," Shriberg said. "We don't know how many times anchors have been dropped in the Straits."
U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton / REUTERS



U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton said Sunday there will be no benefits to North Korea before it fully dismantles all elements of its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.



U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un are set to meet in Singapore next month to discuss the issue of the North's denuclearization.



The U.S. will be putting on the table the dismantlement of North Korea's nuclear weapons and equipment, as well as its ballistic missile program and chemical and biological weapons, Trump's top national security aide told ABC News.



"I think the implementation of the decision means getting rid of all the nuclear weapons, dismantling them, taking them to Oak Ridge, Tennessee," Bolton said, referring to the site of a nuclear weapons plant, which stores Libya's dismantled nuclear weapons equipment.






North Korean scientists work at a nuclear facility in Yongbyun, North Pyongan Province. / Korea Times file, screen capture from YTN



By Ko Dong-hwan



North Korea has taken to the road to complete denuclearization  at least superficially  after announcing it would demolish its nuclear test site in front of invited international media outlets.



However, while the communist state's unexpected step has raised expectations of peace across Northeast Asia, the objective will take longer than many have hoped because the future whereabouts of North Korean scientists  the cerebral foundation behind North Korea's nuclear weapons  remains a critical point as Pyongyang waits for the June summit with the U.S. and further meetings with leaders from other countries involved in the geopolitical issue.



Experts in Korea and other countries say that "dismantlement of intelligence" involving up to 10,000 scientists  including 200 core leaders, 2,000 experts and 6,000 technicians  is required along with the demise of test site in Punggye-ri scheduled for May 23-25.



But questions linger whether North Korean leader Kim Jong-un who, according to North Korean experts, considers the scientists "the state's last card," will agree to this.



When U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited North Korea in May and met Kim to discuss the summit, Washington asked Pyongyang to move the North Korean scientists overseas and destroy nuclear weapons program data to make sure North Korea carries out denuclearization most effectively, according to Asahi Shimbun on May 10.



The Donald Trump administration, insisting on a "permanent, verifiable and irreversible dismantling (PVID)," is concerned that as long as its scientists remain, Pyongyang could restart its nuclear program.



South Korean presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said Monday Pyongyang must "permanently dismantle its nuclear weapons or move the nuclear wastes to the third country." Seoul and Washington want the North to remove its nuclear waste material as part of any denuclearization.




Punjab National Bank | PNB, the second largest of the 17 public sector banks, has written off Rs 44,565.59 crore as technical write-offs in a four-year period starting FY17. As against these write-offs, the bank managed to recover just Rs 12,027.97 crore, data obtained by Velankar under the Right to Information (RTI) Act revealed. (Image: PTI)

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The countrys second-largest state-owned lender Punjab National Bank on Tuesday achieved a dubious distinction. It became the first major bank in the country whose net worth fell below the amount of non-performing loans on its books.

As on March 31, the bank had net non-performing loans totaling over Rs 48,000 crore on its books, against a net worth of around Rs 41,000 crore.

To be sure, PNB is not the first bank in the country to have witnessed this kind of misfortune. Smaller public sector banks like Oriental Bank of Commerce, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India and UCO Bank, among others, have already crossed that bridge.

But the fact that a lender the size of PNB, which has loans of around Rs 4.33 lakh crore on its books, has deteriorated to such an extent that it has more bad loans than it is worth is a point of concern.

Moreover, the banks asset quality has worsened quite a bit over the past couple of years, forcing it to provide more and more for bad and doubtful loans. Most of the deterioration in asset quality was due to the Reserve Bank of Indias directive in 2016, which mandated banks to report all their bad and doubtful loans.

Also, the Delhi-based bank recently reported a bank fraud of over Rs 13,000 crore that had been taking place under its roof since 2011. PNB said it had detected "fraudulent and unauthorised transactions" at one of its branches in Mumbai and that it had filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation.

According to the complaint, a set of partnership firms -- Diamond R US, Solar Exports and Stellar Diamonds -- approached the lender in January with a set of import documents and requested buyer's credit in lieu of them to make payments overseas. Diamantaire Nirav Modi, his brother Nishal Modi, his wife Ami Nirav Modi, and uncle Mehul Chinubhai Chokshi were the registered partners of these firms.

Ever since, the CBI has been investigating all parties involved actively and has filed a charge sheet pertaining to the case.
ITC | Supratim Dutta is appointed as the Chief Financial Officer of the company. (Image: Reuters)

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Cigarette-to-soap maker ITC Ltd is likely to register year-on-year (YoY) rise of 6.36 percent in net profit to Rs 2,839 crore, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

The expansion in bottomline could be driven by growth in the company's non-cigarette businesses on the back of favourable base and improved realisations from cigarettes.

ITC is set to detail its earnings for the March quarter on May 16.

The Kolkata-based company's net sales for March quarter is seen at Rs 12,126 crore, 9 percent higher on year, according to the Reuters estimates.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) is expected to grow 9 percent YoY to Rs 4,236 crore.

Most brokerages reports have stated the companys cigarette business is likely to register a YoY decline in sales volume. Cigarettes are the mainstay business of the company, contributing 86 percent of total PBIT.

ITC is a diversified conglomerate also having a business interest in FMCG, paper, hotel, and agri.

According to analysts almost all of these businesses are expected to report healthy YoY growth.

Most brokerage houses expect the company's cigarette volumes to decline 2 percent on year in the March quarter.

The key trends to watch out for in the results will be cigarette volumes and operating margins for the FMCG segment, along with profitability for each segment.

Shares of ITC today closed 0.8 percent lower at 282.30 rupees on the National Stock Exchange.
An Indo-Pacific trilateral infrastructure forum has been launched here to find new, creative and efficient ways of leveraging the power of the private sector in India, the US and Japan to fill the massive gap in infrastructure and connectivity in the region.

Launched by the US Chamber of Commerce's US-India Business Council (USIBC) along with US-Japan Business Council, the Indo-Pacific Infrastructure Trilateral Forum is a private sector platform that is seeking to partner with some of the government initiatives.

The United States, India and Japan have a government to government trilateral, which is increasingly focusing on infrastructure, said Nisha Desai Biswal, the president of the USIBC.

According to Biswal, the US Chamber of Commerce is creating a private sector counterpoint that can help bring in more of the private companies, whether they are infrastructure companies are finance companies, operators, maintainers into conversation.

"We decided to launch this Indo-Pacific Trilateral Initiative at the US India Business Council because it is important that we find new, creative and efficient ways of leveraging the power of the private sector in all three countries to meet what I think is a very critical need, which is this massive gap in infrastructure and connectivity," Biswal told PTI after the Forum was formally launched here.

"If we want to be relevant to the geopolitics of Asia, we have to be engaged on the geo-economics of Asia. So, the United States, India and Japan bring very powerful tools that are both government, but also increasingly the private sector that can help do that," said Biswal, who also served as the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia in the previous Obama Administration.

The launch event was attended by representatives from companies that reflect the private sector from the three countries.

"In terms of projects, what we're looking to do is find ways that are private sector members can engage on some of these public private frames," Biswal said.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu today pitched for inclusion of the trade facilitation pact on services in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) saying it would help promote growth of the global economy.

We are working on trade facilitation in services sector at WTO. We feel WTO will not be doing full justice to the economic development of the world unless services sectors are taken on board, so we are trying to work on that, he said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of Global Exhibition on Services, organised by the commerce ministry and industry body CII.

He said that the proposed agreement would help professionals move smoothly from one place to another.

On the lines of the trade facilitation pact in goods, India has submitted a detailed proposal to the WTO to negotiate a trade facilitation agreement in services (TFS).

The TFS proposal aims at liberalising rules for movement of professionals and other steps to reduce transaction costs with a view to boost growth of the services sector.

It will focus on issues like liberalised visa regime, long-term visas for business community and freer movement of professionals for the greater benefit of both India and the world, among others.

India is pitching for this pact as the sector contributes over 60 percent to the GDP and 28 percent to total employment.

Prabhu also said that the commerce ministry is working on state-wise plan to promote the services sector.

He said the country's economy would reach USD 5 trillion in the coming years and out of this services segment would contribute about USD 3 trillion.

Speaking at the event, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the services sector will help in leapfrogging economic growth of the country.

He also called upon the importance of creating proper infrastructure for promoting the growth of the sector as it has the potential to create more jobs.

If India has to grow to USD 5 trillion economy by 2025, Maharashtra has to grow to a USD 1 trillion economy by 2025 and I think our strategy towards making Maharashtra first trillion dollar economy has already been rolled out, he said.

He said that this is achievable by giving special focus on services sector.
Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta today termed the BJP's win in the Karnataka Assembly elections a "trailer" of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and said the party would secure a majority on its own in the general elections. It's a trailer of 2019. The BJP will retain power and form government on its own strength, Gupta told reporters here.

Asked about the BJP's prospects in the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the party would win more than its present number of 25 seats.

Gupta along with Director General of BSF K K Sharma, Director General of J&K Police S P Vaid and other senior paramilitary, police and civil officers laid wreath at the coffin containing the mortal remains of BSF Constable Devender Singh Baghel, killed in Pakistani firing, at the frontier headquarters of the force.

"I salute the sacrifice of Baghel and other jawans who laid down their lives safeguarding the borders of the country, the deputy chief minister said.

The security forces were doing their job "quite satisfactorily" and they were alive to the situation, he said, when asked about five terrorists infiltrating into the Hiranagar sector of Kathua district from across the International Border (IB) on Sunday night.

It is the duty of the security forces to deal with such threats and they are doing their job very well. They are alive to the situation and are fully capable to tackle any eventuality, he said.

Gupta said he would chair a meeting to review the security situation in the state ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state on May 19.

Asked about opt-repeated statements of Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti for dialogue with Pakistan despite frequent ceasefire violations, Gupta said, "Dialogue should be held with Pakistan, but the offer should come from that side."

In response to another question about amnesty to stone-pelters and the demand for ceasefire during the holy month of Ramzan, he said, "Amnesty has already been given to the (first time) stone-pelters. As far as the Ramzan ceasefire is concerned, the demand should come from the other side (militants and separatists).
Counting of votes of the Karnataka assembly polls commenced early on May 15 as the BJP, Congress and JD(S) waited for initial figures with bated breath. (Image: PTI)

Early figures gave the BJP a major lead, and party workers in capital New Delhi burst into celebrations. (Image: PTI)

Celebrations began at the BJP headquarters in Bengaluru as well, and party cadres were of the view that the saffron party would obtain majority and form the government. (Image: PTI)

In fact, by noon, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje went on air and confirmed that the party would go ahead and form the government without seeking any outside support. (Image: PTI)

There were more celebrations following the statement as BJP seemed to be heading towards obtaining majority. (Image: PTI)

However, the tide soon turned in favour of the Congress, who approached the JD(S) and offered support to form an alliance. Congress MP Ghulam Nabi Azad reportedly met with HD Deve Gowda to hold talks in this regard. (Image: PTI)

Meanwhile, BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa reportedly stated that the BJP would not form an alliance with any other party and would form the government. (Image: PTI)

Late afternoon, Siddaramaiah announced that Congress had offered support to the JD(S) to form the government. (Image: PTI)

Pouring cold water on the BJP's celebrations, JD(S) spokesperson Tanveer Ahmed confirmed that the party had accepted Congress'offer and HD Kumaraswamy will be the CM. (Image: PTI)
Giant 9-ton aluminium ingots are seen at the Rusal Sayanogorsk aluminium smelter outside the Siberian town of Sayanogorsk, Russia, March 15, 2017. Picture taken March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ilya Naymushin - RTX3196N

Rain Industries reported a disappointing set of numbers for the March quarter as sales of carbon products witnessed a sequential decline. However, the company's pricing trend remained strong and it also announced that it would be raising its capacity to manufacture adhesive resins. The improving outlook for the US aluminum industry has acted as a key lever.

Volume growth mixed: CTP positive but CPC meets a bump

Source: Company

For the quarter ended March, Rain Industries' net sales were up 34 percent year-on-year. The 3 percent decline it witnessed in volumes, both annually and sequentially were offset by higher realisations.

The lackluster volumes of carbon products sold were mainly due to calcined petroleum coke (CPC), sales of which declined by 10 percent quarter-on-quarter because of delays in shipments to domestic clients. The delays were primarily due to negotiations about the pass through of higher import duty.

Sale volumes of coal tar pitch (CTP) remained strong, rising 10 percent sequentially due to healthy demand.

While the company's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew 50 percent on year, it came in lower than its EBITDA in the December quarter as the contribution of CPC products to overall sales fell.

Rain Industries also reported a fall in its finance cost, which was a result of the company refinancing its debt at the beginning of 2018.

Table: Product volume trend

Source: Company

Regrouping of segments

The company has created a new segment, called advanced carbon materials (ACM), which includes its erstwhile chemical segment and some value added products from the carbon segment.

The March quarter proved to be a good one for the new segment, as sales realisations improved 10 percent sequentially. Robust demand for resin from the adhesives industry was an important driver.

The strong demand for resin has also prompted the company to announce that it would be expanding its capacity to manufacture water-white resin (dicyclopentadiene) by 30 kilotons. The resin plant would be set up in Germany with a fund outlay of $66 million.

Other capacity expansion plans

The expansion of the company's coal tar distillation facility in Belgium is on track and the additional capacity is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2018. However, its 370-kiloton calcination plant in Vishakhapatnam has been delayed and is expected to be operational only by July-September next year.

Aluminum production restarts in the United States

While the prices of CPC may be nearing their peak, the biggest driver of volumes for CPC products is the potential restart of aluminum production in the United States. Given the Trump administrations emphasis on curtailing imports and encouraging domestic aluminum production, Rain Industries' management expects the United States' aluminum production capacity to increase to around 1.3 million tons in 2018, from 768,000 tons in 2017. This augurs well for the companys CPC plant in USA, which has a production capacity of 1.5 million tons.

Outlook

We have revise our estimates on Rain Industries for the medium term, taking into account its weak quarterly numbers and the delay in the commissioning of its CPC plant. However, we remain constructive on the stock, given end market trends, revival of demand in the USA, elevated pricing trends, and the advance carbon materials segment's improving margins.

The stock is currently trading at 7.2 times its estimated earnings for 2019. Other stocks in the non-ferrous metals segment are trading at an average of nine times their estimated earnings for 2019. Given the current consolidation, this provides a decent opportunity to enter the stock, in our view.

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IRB Infrastructure Developers | In 2020 so far, the share price has moved up 76 percent to Rs 131.20. It's trailing twelve months (TTM) P/E was 6.40 multiple while 5-year average P/E was 8.30 multiple.

The Central Advisory Council (CAC), set up by the government for effective implementation of the real estate law in the country, in its first meeting today expressed concern over some states diluting key provisions of the legislation, a senior official said. It also expressed concerns over some of the states not yet notifying their real estate rules and not setting up permanent real estate regulatory authority, the official of the Union Housing and Urban Affairs ministry said.

The official said only 27 states have notified their rules under the Real Estate Regulation (and Development) Act, 2016 amid reports of some of the states diluting provisions of the law in favour of builders.

However, all Union Territories (UTs) have notified the rules.

As many as 10 states have established their permanent regulatory authority, while 19 states have set up interim authority, the official said.

At the meeting, it was also decided that the ministry will write to the states, asking them to upload the comprehensive list of projects under RERA on their website, the official said.

Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri tweeted, "There will be 3 regional consultations & follow ups. Let me make it clear, RERA has been enacted to clean the mess accumulated in the unregulated construction sector for decades. This is also an important requirement for builders who play by the rules."

A member of the council explained that India will be divided into three zones where the CAC will hold meetings with various stakeholders in the states that comes under the zone to pursuade them to implement the real estate rules in letter and spirit.

It was also decided to establish a national portal where links to websites of all states and Union Territories on RERA will be provided.

"I can say with certainty that when the history of real estate is written, it will clearly be demarcated in terms of a Pre RERA & Post RERA phase. Interests of homebuyers is central to this Act which will rein in the unscrupulous builders & bring decorum to this key sector," Puri said in another tweet.
Ascendas India Trust has entered into a forward purchase agreement with Aurum Platz IT Park to acquire 1.4 million sq ft in Navi Mumbai for Rs 930 crore, the company said in a release.

Aurum Platz IT Park is a subsidiary of Aurum Ventures, a conglomerate with interests in real estate and mineral exploration.

Ascendas India Trust will acquire approximately 30 percent of the total development potential in Q PARC. On certain leasing milestones, based on a purchase price to be determined in accordance with a pre-agreed formula which considers key factors such as rent, occupancy, and capitalisation rates, it said.

The 6 lakh sq ft will be ready for occupation by second half 2018 and 8 lakh sq ft is expected to be completed by early 2020.

Navi Mumbai is attracting major multinationals and captive technology businesses with its existing robust rail and road infrastructure, the upcoming international airport, availability of talent pool and quality housing. Aurum Platz IT Park is developing a premium campus having the most technologically advanced buildings in Navi Mumbai, says Ashish Deora, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Aurum Ventures.

Aurum Platz IT Park is a 5 million square feet mixed-use development in Navi Mumbai branded as Q PARC. It is located on Thane-Belapur Road, a key IT corridor in Mumbai. The park boasts of technologically advanced energy efficient buildings with predictive maintenance, acres of green spaces, club, health spa, an amphitheatre with mountainscape, creche amongst other amenities.

The IT SEZ is attracting rentals around Rs 55 per sq ft.

The proposed acquisition of the two buildings in AURUM IT SEZ marks our foray into the IT Park business in Navi Mumbai, which is an important market for large multi-national corporations. The properties are strategically located on Thane-

"Belapur Expressway, a key IT corridor in Mumbai. The property is in close proximity to the Mumbai suburban network train station and in close proximity to campuses of other large Indian corporates. The acquisition will further diversify our portfolio and is expected to contribute positively to the financial performance of the Trust," says Sanjeev Dasgupta, chief executive officer of the Trustee-Manager.
India Sothebys International Realty, a luxury real estate advisory services provider, owned by Realpro Realty Solutions (RRSPL), has raised $5.5 million in a Series-A funding from an ultra-high-net-worth individual, the company said in a statement without disclosing the terms of the deal.

We are extremely pleased to announce this equity partnership. The investment reinforces our confidence in making India Sothebys International Realty a formidable player in not just Indian luxury real estate, but the entire South Asia, said Amit Goyal, Founder of RRSPL, in a statement.

The investor is reportedly a Rs 10-billion diversified business group, which is leading the power solutions market in India.

Earlier this year, India Sothebys International Realty raised $2 million from a high net worth individual and last year it raised $6 million.

In 2017, RRSPL acquired the license to become an exclusive franchise of Sothebys International Realty for India. The company recently made its first overseas expansion by signing a 25-year exclusive franchisee license to operate Sothebys International Realty brand in Sri Lanka. The capital infusion will be used to fund the companys expansion into Sri Lanka and other Indian markets, namely Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Pune and Goa.
IG Petrochemicals Ltd.

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IOL Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals is our top pick from pharma sector. Its business is comprised of two segments, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. The chemical segment manufactures Ethyl Acetate, Iso Butyl Benzene (IBB), Acetyl Chloride and Mono Chloro acetic Acid (MCA), while under pharmaceuticals the company manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient (APIs) i.e. Ibuprofen.

Company sells branded formulation and ibuprofen in export markets like Europe, Latin America and Middle East. Apart from Ibuprofen, it also manufactures Metformin Hydrochloride, Lamotrigine, Fenofibrate and Clopidogrel Bi sulphate.

It is one of the largest producers of Ethyl Acetate (87,000 TPA) and ISO Butyl Benzene in India with over 30% of the global market share and a major player in Ibuprofen. It has forward integrated this vertical to the pharmaceutical segment with end products such as IBB (9000 TPA), MCA (7200 TPA) and Acetyl Chloride (5200 TPA) used as key raw materials for Ibuprofen. It is the world's only backward-integrated Ibuprofen producer (8,000 TPA) that manufactures all intermediates and key starting materials at one location.

It has augmented its pharma business by moving up the value-chain by entering into lifestyle drugs for pain management, anti-depressant, anti-diabetic, anti-platelet and anti-convulsion.

Currently, 6 APIs are already commercialized and 10 APIs are in the advance stage of development. The chemical and pharmaceutical segments contribute equally to the revenue. We have initiated coverage at Rs 95 with Target of Rs 175. For short term one can buy with target of Rs 125 keeping stoploss of Rs 98.

The author is Founder of Equity99. The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
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ICICI Direct's research report on Marico

Consolidated sales for the quarter grew 11.9% YoY to Rs 1480.1 crore (below our estimate of Rs 1654.8 crore) led by a sharp price increase in parachute portfolio (up ~30%). The India business reported growth of 12% YoY while the international business grew 13% YoY. Parachute, Saffola witnessed volume de-growth of 5% and 1% YoY, respectively but VAHO portfolio clocked 11% YoY volume growth With more than 50% increase in copra prices, gross margins declined 580 bps. However, 170 bps saving in overhead spend to sales, 50 bps savings in advertisement spend to sales and 40 bps lower employee expenditure to sales partly neutralised the impact of a sharp decline in gross margins. Operating margins were down 260 bps to 17.0% Net profit for the quarter grew 7.2% YoY to Rs 183.2 crore against our estimate of Rs 212 crore. Though copra prices have cooled off ~10% from the peak in January 2018, we believe its impact on price cuts would only reflect in the next two quarters. However, we remain positive on the growth prospects of the companys core hair oil/edible oil business.

Outlook

We are positive on the growth prospects with visible signs of demand shift from the unorganised to the organised market. We expect Marico to report healthy revenue and PAT CAGR of 16% and 18.2%, respectively, in FY18-20E. We recommend BUY with a target price of Rs 362/share.

For all recommendations report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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Angel Commodities' report on Gold

Spot gold prices traded lower by 0.4 percent on Monday as firm dollar weighed on the yellow metal. Also, SPDR Gold holdings fell 0.17 percent to 856.17 tonnes on Monday. Gold prices were supported earlier by weaker CPI numbers from the US, suggesting that rate hikes would not be as aggressive . Gold - backed exchange - traded funds in the US have registered inflows in April at their highest level since September 2017, with safe - haven purchases ushered in by a trade stand - off between the United States and China, Syria tensions and worries about possible U.S. sanctions on Russia. On the other side, U.S. President Donald Trump has said he had high hopes of "doing something very meaningful" to curtail North Korea's nuclear ambitions at a summit in Singapore next month, after Pyongyang smoothed the way for talks by freeing three American prisoners.

We expect gold prices to trade lower today as positive comments by Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester in support of gradual rate hikes will exert pressure . On the MCX, gold prices are expected to trade lower today, international markets are trading flat at $ 1313 per ounce.

For all commodities report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

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The Supreme Court today set up a three-member panel headed by former Delhi High Court judge Justice S N Dhingra for "expeditious" auction of real estate major Unitech Ltd's unencumbered immovable properties of over 600 acres to refund the money to hassled home buyers. Considering the plight of home buyers who are "waiting with concern to get their money refunded", a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra gave the liberty to Justice Dhingra to nominate a Chartered Accountant and a valuer for speedy auction of over 600 acres of unencumbered land of the firm.

"We constitute a Committee headed by Justice S N Dhingra, former Judge of the High Court of Delhi. Justice Dhingra would be at liberty to nominate a Chartered Accountant and a valuer accredited with the Delhi High Court or this Court.

Catch Karnataka Election Result Live updates here

"Justice S N Dhingra shall formulate suitable terms and conditions for auction of the above properties on as-is-where is basis, to be notified in the newspapers," the bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said.

Unitech Ltd has recently given a list of its unencumbered land properties located at Agra, Varanasi, Bangalore and near Chennai.

The bench also asked lawyer Pawanshree Agarwal, who is assisting the court as the amicus curiae, and Abhinav Agrawal, the counsel for the real estate firm, to assist the Justice Dhingra panel in the auctioning of over 600 acre of land of the Unitech Ltd.

"The purpose of nominating of two counsel is that the Committee can function smoothly. We request Justice Dhingra to proceed with the auction as expeditiously as possible, as the home buyers are waiting with concern to get their money refunded. The auction shall be subject to confirmation by this Court. The expenditure incurred by the Committee, including the fees, shall be met from the accrued interest....," the bench said.

The bench also took note of the fact that some home buyers wanted to take possession of their flats.

Referring to its earlier order, the bench said the home buyers can be handed over the possession of their homes on "as is where is basis".

The bench considered the submission of amicus curiae Agarwal that Rs 40 crore has been deposited with the apex court registry by one Pioneer Urban Land and Infrastructure Limited (PULIL), which has taken up certain projects in joint venture with Unitech.

However, the bench did not agree to the opposition of PULIL that it had only 40 per cent stakes in the joint venture projects with Unitech Ltd and hence the home buyers cannot be given the entire compensation from the money deposited by it.

"It may be stated here that the Amicus Curiae as per the order of this Court has created a portal in respect of the aforesaid categories.

"We do not intend to make any distinction amongst the said categories and, accordingly, it is directed that amount be disbursed to the home buyers whose names find place in the portal created by the amicus curiae concerning the five projects and there has been no cavil over the same by the Pioneer Urban Land & Infrastructure Limited.

"The list of the names shall be submitted by Pawanshree Agarwal to the Registry and the amount shall be disbursed on pro rata basis...," the bench said.

The home buyers of five projects in Gurgaon in Haryana -- The Close (South), South City II Floors, Escape, Fresco, and Harmony -- would be refunded from the Rs 40 crore deposited by PULIL, the court ordered and posted the matter for further hearing on July 5.

Earlier, the apex court had ask all directors of Unitech Ltd and its subsidiaries to furnish details of their personal assets and warned them that if Rs 100 crore was not deposited by May 11, their assets would be auctioned.

It had also said that the unencumbered properties of the real estate firm would be auctioned to realise the dues of the hassled home buyers.

It had asked the real estate firm, which has already given the list of unencumbered properties, to also provide details of their encumbered assets with specific information about the "extent of loans or encumbrances".

The apex court had on April 9 taken note of the list of all the unencumbered assets of Unitech Ltd and ordered that a public notice be issued inviting objections for auctioning them to realise the dues of the hassled home buyers.

Sanjay Chandra, the MD of the firm, is seeking interim bail from the apex court after the Delhi High Court on August 11 last year had rejected the plea in a criminal case lodged in 2015 by 158 home-buyers of Unitech projects' -- 'Wild Flower Country' and 'Anthea Project' -- situated in Gurgaon in Haryana.
Tata Steel

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Tata Steel, whose bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel was approved by NCLT, would implement the resolution plan through its step-down subsidiary Bamnipal Steel Ltd. Bamnipal Steel would invest in the debt-ridden company and acquire control on closing date, Bhushan Steel Ltd said in a regulatory filing. "As per the terms of approved Resolution Plan, Bamnipal Steel Limited (BNPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Steel, will initially subscribe to 72.65 per cent equity share capital of BSL at face value i.e. at Rs 2 per share, for an aggregate amount of Rs 158.89 crore," Tata Steel said in a filing to the BSE.

In an identical filing, Bhushan Steel confirmed the development saying Tata Steel shall implement the resolution plan through Bamnipal Steel Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Steel.

It further added: "Pursuant to the resolution plan, Bamnipal Steel would invest in, and acquire control of, the company on closing date." The principal bench of NCLT today has approved Rs 32,500-crore deal along with 12.27 per cent equity in Bhushan Steel offered by Tata Steel. Bamnipal Steel will subscribe to the equity share capital of Bhushan Steel on a preferential basis at a price of Rs 2 per share, and provide additional funds in the form of inter-corporate loans of which up to Rs 9,000 crore loans have an option of conversion into equity shares of BSL. "The aggregate funds received from this investment will be to the tune of Rs 35,132.58 crore, which will be used to settle the existing debts of the Company," it added.

This would also include the cost of corporate insolvency resolution process and all outstanding employee dues, but exclude operational creditors settlement Amount of Rs 1,200 crore as per the resolution plan.

"Upon implementation of the resolution plan, Bamnipal Steel will initially subscribe to approximately 72.6 per cent of the fully paid up equity share capital of the company," the filing said.

It further added: "The outstanding redeemable preference shares of the company would be purchased by Bamnipal Steel, and to the extent not transferred to Bamnipal Steel, would be redeemed by the company on the closing date, in terms of the resolution plan.
Two major developments -- the 9/11 terror attack and Y2K bug -- brought India and the US together in a post-Cold War era, India's envoy to the US has said.

As India was slapped with US sanctions in the aftermath of the Pokhran nuclear tests, the two countries were initiating dialogue in the years thereafter, the Indian Ambassador to the US, Navtej Singh Sarna, told a Washington audience.

Pokhran-II was the series of five nuclear bomb tests conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range in May 1998. It was the second Indian nuclear test; the first test, code-named Smiling Buddha, was conducted in May 1974.

"Those were the days of Y2K and suddenly Indian computer engineers began to solve problems and actually set things right all over the United States. And we went up in respect. The diaspora had become about one and a half million and was beginning to be heard not only in companies and in hospitals but also on the Hill. So that's where it all began," Sarna said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

The Y2K bug or the Millennium bug was a problem in the coding of computerised systems that was projected to create havoc in computers and computer networks around the world at the beginning of the year 2000.

"Then somehow, a couple of years later the most significant thing happened, a tragic event actually, but it brought us together was 9/11 because we had known terrorism and cross-border terrorism and the evils of terrorism for the last three decades before that.

"But in a very unfortunate way terrorism was brought transatlantic and hit America at home. I think the kind of understanding and the bonding that created on that has been a very important factor in bringing the two countries together, Sarna said.

The Indian Ambassador was speaking at an event titled 'US & India: From Estranged Democracies to Natural Allies' organised yesterday by the CSIS to mark the 20th anniversary of the Indian nuclear tests.

Sarna said now India is at a point when Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi can stand up in the joint address to the US Congress as he did in 2016 and say that the two countries have overcome the hesitations of history.

"We are at a time when President Trump can declare that the relationship between India and US has never been stronger, has never been better; that we can be designated as a major defense partner by the United States; that we can be actually conducting more military exercises with the United States done with any other country;" he said.

"(We are at a time when) we can be proclaimed from this stage itself as the other Asia bookended of stability of the Indo-Pacific," he said.

India is now seen as a huge market; middle class will be half a billion strong by 2025. India is as a source of professionals as a source of investment and so many other things.

"And a four million strong Indian American community getting stronger in political terms, besides the economic terms, he said.

In addition to that is the 70-year-old factor that both are democracies; that there is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multilingual society which sees the world in the same way as America does, Sarna said.

Noting that objective changes did take place, Sarna said India unleashed its potential through economic reforms and other changes and global conditions changed to help this. "Fundamentally what changed was that we opened our minds to each other. That we began to trust each other and not to second guess each other. That we actually began to talk to each other rather than talk at or talk past each other, which we often had done in the past, Sarna said.
BSF

A 28-year-old BSF jawan was killed as Pakistani troops fired at forward posts to push infiltrators across the International Border (IB) in the Samba sector of Jammu and Kashmir, BSF chief K K Sharma said today. The infiltration bid in the Manguchak border outpost area was scuttled by the alert personnel, Sharma told reporters after attending a wreath laying ceremony of the deceased jawan at the BSF headquarters here.

However, a search operation was on as a group of terrorists is suspected to have crossed the border in an another Pakistan-backed infiltration bid on Sunday night.

The latest ceasefire violation by Pakistani forces today comes barely four days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The jawans at the Manguchak border outpost noticed suspicious movement last night and fired illuminated bombs before firing from Light Machine Guns (LMGs) on the infiltrators who, however, managed to flee away, Sharma said.

Suspicious movement was again noticed and the action was repeated by the alert personnel. But this time, Pakistani troops also fired and Constable Devender Singh Baghel, who was firing his LMG, was hit by a bullet, through the loophole, in the left eye. He was immediately evacuated to a hospital and later achieved martyrdom, Sharma said.

Earlier, a senior BSF official said that Pakistani rangers resorted to unprovoked and indiscriminate firing around 11.30 pm last night and the heavy firing between the two sides continued for an hour.

The incident comes barely 24 hours after BSF noticed suspicious movement of a group of five persons, believed to be terrorists, along the IB in Hiranagar sector of nearby Kathua district, prompting a massive search operation and sounding of a high alert in Jammu.

Sharma said the presence of a group, comprising five members, was confirmed by high sensitive thermal imaging.

I am sure that they will be detected and neutralised, Sharma said.

"Two infiltration attempts were made along the international border since Sunday night. There is a possibility that a group of five (terrorists) managed to sneak into this side through a tunnel on Sunday night. We have not so far detected any tunnel but we are looking for it. The anti-tunneling exercise is going on, he said.

The Army pressed helicopters into service during the search operation which entered the second day on May 15, the official said.

The BSF jawan's death took the number of persons killed in over 700 incidents of Pakistani shelling along the IB and Line of Control (LoC) in the state to 33.

The deceased include 17 security personnel.

Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to arrive in Jammu and Kashmir on May 19.

There was a lull in firing along the IB over the past three months after intense border skirmishes in January and February. However, the frequent ceasefire violations by Pakistan were going on along the LoC.

Deputy Chief Minister Kavinder Gupta, JK Director General of Police S P Vaid and other senior officers also today laid wreath at the coffin of the jawan whose body was later sent to his home town in Uttar Pradesh for last rites.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has released a new feature for Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).

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Tech MNC consultant Ashish Kaul had to face the music courtesy two tweets calling for rape and trafficking of women which he published on May 8 and May 11.

Within a week, Ashish Kauls social media account was suspended by Twitter, he has been booked by Jammu and Kashmir police and has lost his job.

The US-based multi-national company for which Kaul used to work suspended him after a complaint was registered to them.

Development Dimensions International in a statement said, On Friday, May 11, DDI was alerted to the fact that an employee who worked as a consultant in India had made statements on social media that condoned violence against members of the community in the Kashmir region.

We were shocked and saddened by the nature of these posts, which are in direct violation of our mission and values. As soon as we learned about the social media posts, we immediately suspended the employee and launched an investigation to determine the full scope of the issue. As of May 12, we have accepted the individuals resignation.

The company added that it deeply regret[s] the incident.

Kaul, in his May 8 tweet, had resorted to hate speech to vent out his anger against Kashmiri women.

DDI and Twitters step was lauded by users of social media.

Its not, however, the first instance the corporate community has hit back at hatemongers. Kotak Mahindra Bank had in April sacked one of its employees, Vishnu Nandukumar, after he had justified the rape of 8-year-old victim in Kathua.

Its better to kill her now otherwise tomorrow she may become a human bomb against India, Nandkumar had allegedly written in Malayalam.

It is extremely disheartening to see such comments being made in the aftermath of such tragedy by anyone including an ex-employee. We strongly condemn this statement, bank spokesperson Rohit Rao had said.

We have terminated Nandukumar from the services on Wednesday, April 11, 2018 for poor performance, he added.
The United Kingdom was pushing for more investments in India, connecting entrepreneurs from both the countries, a senior UK diplomat said here today. "We are trying to encourage investment rather than focusing on individual big deals," British Deputy High Commissioner, Bharat Joshi told reporters.

He was responding to a query on the impact of Walmart's acquisition of online retailer Flipkart for USD 16 billion last week. Elaborating, he said, "to be honest, all those big deals do not require involvement of government participation. They happen between businesses."

"What we are trying to do is connect entrepreneurs in both directions," he said. In the biggest deal in the booming e-commerce sector, Walmart had on May 9 announced that it was buying 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about USD 16 billion (Rs 1.05 lakh crore).

Later in a brief interaction with PTI, Joshi who would be leaving office in September upon completing his tenure, said it was an amazing experience to serve a diversified country like India. "We have loved it. It is such an amazing country. I have fallen in love with India twice. First, when I had come in 1992 and got graduated and second in a different way (as Deputy High Commissioner)," Joshi who is of Indian origin, said.

The role played by Deputy High Commission on the release of few British nationals, Estonians and Ukranian sailors after their ship was impounded by local authorities of Tamil Nadu coast was also one of the highlights last year, he said.

"We were working with the group of people for four years. I am very happy that they were able to go back to their families (following their acquittal)," he said. In November 2017, the Madras High Court acquitted 35 crew members of a private US Ship, 'Seaman Guard Ohio' convicted for illegally entering Indian waters in 2013 with weapons.

The arrested included 25 foreign nationals and 10 Indians. On employment generation by Indian companies in the UK, he said, "5,500 jobs were created in the United Kingdom by Indian companies and one in 20 jobs in the formal sector was created by a UK company in India."

To a query on the outlook for current year, he said, "we will be doing a lot more in health care. I think, we will be seeing a lot more investments coming in digital healthcare, services in the Indian market."

Joshi noted that the investments from Tamil Nadu and Kerala were high in United Kingdom and lot of Information Technological companies were setting up back offices for their global businesses.

He said the High Commission was also supporting the proposal to set up a Financial Services Centre of Excellence in Chennai, by Software Technological Parks of India along with Government of Tamil Nadu. "We are also supporting that process.

We are looking at how we can use UK Financial Service expertise to help create that park," he said. On the number of visas processed last year, he said it stood at 5.50 lakh, with an increase of 11 per cent compared to previous year.
Representative image

The government is awaiting inputs from the states to finalise an export policy for agri products, the draft of which is already in the public domain, commerce secretary Rita Teaotia said today.

Addressing exporters at an event organised by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) here, Teaotia asked the authority to explore possibilities to multiply exports of agri products with the sea route as it is cheaper.

Noting that despite growing multiple varieties of mangoes-as many as 1,000 varieties, only two-three varieties are being exported now, she asked Apeda to take initiatives to promote export of multiple varieties of mangoes.

The country is the largest producer of mangoes in the world around 41 per cent of production. Mangoes are exported to over 50 countries which in FY17 touched 52,761 million tonne.
May 25, 2018 / 03:52 PM IST

Yeddyurappa used impolite words: Kumaraswamy

Replying to Yeddyurappa's speech, chief minister Kumaraswamy said, I have listened to Yeddyurappa's speech carefully. But he has given wrong information and used impolite words in the House. I will not indulge in personal attacks. Listening to him, I feel the people will not give the BJP power and his speech was perhaps a rehearsal for some drama company, according to The Hindu.
BS Yeddyurappa Siddaramaiah HD Kumaraswamy BJP Congress JDS Karnataka 2018

Karnataka has voted and now we await the results. The state recorded the highest voter turnout since the 1952 assembly elections, with 72 percent coming out to vote. After an exhausting campaign, the public and the three contesting parties looked forward to the exit polls, since the pre-poll surveys had left many confused.

India Today-Karvy did an opinion poll in April that predicted a hung assembly in the state. The exits, however, confused people even more, since analyses foresaw the same split verdict in the assembly.

In simple words, a hung assembly means that no party could attain a complete majority in the assembly. Out of the 224 seats, any party has to attain at least 113 seats to form a government. The pre-poll report showed that Congress will secure 90-101 seats, BJP will bag 78-86 seats and JDS will get 34 to 43 seats.

The exit polls estimated the same numbers, with only a few favouring either Congress or BJP as the frontrunner.

Also read: Will Karnataka voters repeat their mistake of electing a coalition government?

What is a hung assembly?

If an election results in a hung assembly, then fresh elections are announced and conducted as soon as possible. Till the time a majority is achieved and a party is ready to come to power, the state is under Presidents rule.

In India, Presidents rule leads to suspension of the respective state government and imposition of the rule of the central government in a state. The Constitution allows for this to happen when a state government is not functional for a given reason. Executive authority in the state is exercised by the centrally appointed governor.

Political analysts have said a hung assembly in Karnataka will give a chance to regional parties to gain greater power since the verdict might be split between two major parties in the elections.

Also read: A look at possible post-poll scenarios

What is the next step for the parties?

To form a government, the parties are going to have to make allies out of parties with lower vote share to reach the magic number in the assembly. Due to this, the importance of JD(S) has spiked since whoever it chooses to make an alliance with, makes the next government in Karnataka.

HD Deve Gowda had told News18 before the elections that his party will have nothing to do with Yeddyurappa. He had said JD(S) will not back anyone. We will sit in opposition if we dont get the majority.

Recent reports, however, suggest that Congress has approached JD(S) for a post-poll alliance, in the event of a hung assembly. The report has also suggested that JD(S)s HD Kumaraswamy has flown to Singapore and has been negotiating from there.

Also read: A look at Deve Gowda, the former prime minister who may hold all the cards

CM Siddaramaiah had on Sunday said he is open to making way for a Dalit chief minister if the Congress high command decides so, hinting that the Congress was seeking an alliance with the HD Deve Gowda-led party.

The BJP has maintained a confident front, saying it is confident of forming a government in the state and will not need any alliance with other parties.

On Sunday, BS Yeddyurappa said he could give in writing that BJP would win a clear majority of seats in Karnataka. We expect to win 125-130 seats. Congress will not cross 70 and JDS 24-25. These are my figures. My calculations have never gone wrong in my political career," he said.
Former chief minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Mehbooba Mufti

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today congratulated the BJP for its "stellar performance" in Karnataka assembly elections. "Hearty congratulations to @BJP4India for their stellar performance in Karnataka," Mehbooba said in a tweet.

The BJP appeared headed for a simple majority in the Karnataka Assembly, with its candidates leading in 115 constituencies, leaving the ruling Congress way behind, according to the latest trends available for 220 of the state's 222 seats where polling was held.

Catch Karnataka Election Result Live updates here

Polling for R R Nagar seat was deferred on account of alleged electoral malpractices, while it was countermanded in Jayanagar seat following the death of the BJP candidate.

In the outgoing Assembly, the Congress had 122 seats, BJP and JD(S) 40 each, and smaller parties and independents 22.
Breaking News

A portion of an under-construction flyover near the railway station here collapsed today killing at least 18 persons while more were feared trapped under the debris, officials said.

Eighteen bodies have been recovered from the Varanasi flyover collapse site, UP Relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar told PTI in Lucknow.

"It is feared that several people are buried under the rubble," an official said, adding rescue teams were at spot to rescue those trapped.

Some vehicles, including a bus, were crushed in the collapse, they said. At least three persons had been rescued, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) official said.

Over 50 labourers are trapped under its debris, ANI reported.

Rescue operations have commenced at the site, with local authorities reaching the spot to examine the situation. A boundary wall neighbouring the flyover was demolished by authorities to make way for larger machines to assist in the rescue operations.

The chief minister expressed grief on the incident and directed deputy CM KP Maurya and State Minister Neelkanth Tiwari to visit the site of accident, UP minister Sidharth Nath Singh told the press.

The Uttar Pradesh Bridge Construction Corporation was constructing the 2261-metre-long bridge at a cost of Rs 129 crore, officials said. The span which fell today was laid barely three months ago, they added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi in the Lok Sabha, and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the deaths.

Meanwhile, the opposition targeted the state government over the tragedy in the "top-priority constituency of the country".

Chief Minister Adityanath set up a three-member committee to probe the flyover collapse. Adityanath also announced a Rs five lakh ex-gratia to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs two lakh to the seriously injured, an official said.

The chief minister also directed the district administration and PWD officials to take all necessary steps for relief and rescue operations.

"Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected," Modi tweeted.

In another tweet, the prime minister said he had spoken to Adityanath. "The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected," he said.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and Governor Ram Naik too condoled the deaths.

Opposition Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the state government over the incident.

"This is the reality of development in the top-priority constituency of the country. The ministers of the state used to visit this district for regular inspections. Is this incident an accident or result of corruption? This should be told to the people of Varanasi by the state government," the SP chief said.

Yadav appealed to his party workers to cooperate with the administration in relief and rescue. The incident should be probed "honestly", he demanded.

(With inputs from PTI)
Fraud

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After a delay of over two months, public sector banks are expected to submit to Centre details of all non-performing account holders who owe more than Rs 50 crore to the banks.

A senior government official told Moneycontrol that the list should be with the government by the end of May.

We are expecting the first report to be with us by second or third week of this month, the official said, requesting anonymity.

Department of Financial Services had asked, in February, all public sector banks to detect bank frauds and consequential willful default for loan accounts above Rs 50 crore.



PSB MDs directed to detect bank frauds & consequential wilful default in time & refer cases to CBI. To examine all NPA accounts > Rs. 50Cr for possible fraud. Involve ED/DRI for PMLA/FEMA/EXIM violations if any. #EASE #NewIndia @FinMinIndia @PMOIndia @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/ZURiWu4D5T

 Rajeev kumar (@rajeevkumr) February 27, 2018

In a tweet, Rajeev Kumar, secretary, DFS had said that banks could refer the cases to central bureau of investigation (CBI) for probe along with involving enforcement directorate (ED) and directorate of revenue intelligence (DRI) if required.

The government had swung into action after the banking sector was hit by over Rs 13,000 crore fraud at Punjab National Bank, countrys second largest PSB.

Also read: PNB fraud case: Govt asks boards of PNB & Allahabad Bank to take action against officials named in CBI chargesheet

PNB had reported, in February, fraudulent transactions worth over Rs 13,000 crore by diamantaire Nirav Modi and Uncle Mehul Choksi at Brady House branch in Mumbai. The fraud highlighted lapses in the banks lending process where several fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoUs) had been issued to the duo since 2011 by compromising SWIFT (society for worldwide interbank financial telecommunications) network. SWIFT was not linked to banks core banking solution (CBS) system, leading to transactions go unrecorded.

This was followed by string of scams involving Rotomac Global Pvt Ltd and Simbhaoli Sugars Ltd. In the former case, a consortium of seven state-owned banks lodged a complaint against the company for alleged loan default of Rs 3,695 crore, the latter involved case against Simbhaolis chairman Gurmit Singh Mann, deputy managing director Gurpal Singh and others in connection with an alleged bank loan fraud of Rs 97.85 crore.

Finance ministry, in February, gave a 15 day deadline to PSBs to develop blueprint to enhance preparedness for rising operational and technological challenges.

15 day deadline for PSBs to take pre-emptive action & identify gaps/Weaknesses to gear up for rising Ops & Tech risks; To learn from best practices & pinpoint strategies including tech solutions; Clear accountability of senior functionaries.#EASE @PMOIndia @FinMinIndia @PIB_India pic.twitter.com/tankAMtBem Rajeev kumar (@rajeevkumr) February 27, 2018

The ministry directed boards of PSBs to assign clear accountability to senior functionaries for implementation, do comparative assessment of their banks practices with best practices, identify weakness in existing system and provide corrective action plans.

Banks were also directed to examine cases in light of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Foreign Exchange management Act (FEMA) and export-import (EXIM) regulations.

Banks also have to seek borrower status report from Central Economic Intelligence Bureau on accounts turning NPA, the directive said.
The Supreme Court today convicted Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu for voluntarily causing hurt to a 65-year-old man but spared him a jail term in the 1988 road rage case.

A bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul said Sidhu is guilty of Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC and is fined Rs 1,000 for the offence.

Catch Karnataka Election Result Live updates here

"A1 (Sidhu) is guilty of Section 323 of IPC. Awarded no sentence but fine of Rs 1,000 for the offence. A2 (Rupinder Singh Sandhu) is acquitted," the bench said.
Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of India's most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, addresses the audience after inaugurating power projects in Allahabad

In a major security lapse, the chopper carrying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was today forced to land on a field instead of the makeshift helipad at a school here.

The chief minister was, however, safe and proceeded for the scheduled programmes, Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar said in Lucknow. "Yes, the chief minister is safe," he told PTI.

The chopper was scheduled to land on the grounds of the Kasturba Gandhi Vidyalaya, but because of some problems it was forced to land on a field a kilometer away.

The chief minister reached here this morning on a day's visit to meet the members of a family whose three members were recently murdered in Pharauli village under Sahawar tehsil of the district.

He also reviewed the developmental works and law and order situation in the district at the collectorate. Meanwhile, SP Kasganj Piyush Srivastava told PTI, "The chief minister distributed the cheques and all the programmes were held successfully.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa met Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala and staked claim to form the next government in the state.

The BJP fell short of a simple majority, after initial results showed that winning in Karnataka would be a cakewalk for the saffron party.

However, even as the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state, it did not win enough seats to form a next government on its own.

The Congress party, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah concluded well below the 100-seat mark while the Janata Dal (Secular) finished with 38 seats.

As a result, the Congress agreed to support a government led by JD(S)s HD Kumaraswamy, in a bid to keep the BJP away from power. Kumaraswamy along with senior Congress leaders also met the governor to stake claim.

The election witnessed several key one-on-one battles between the Congress-BJP and Congress-JD(S). However, some seats witnessed little resistance. Heres a look at the biggest winners in terms of margin:

R Akhanda Srinivasamurthy

This former JD(S) MLA, contesting on a Congress ticket trumped his JD(S) opponent B Prasannakumar by 81,626 votes to win the Pulakeshinagar seat. This is the highest victory margin in this election.

Pulakeshinagar is a constituency in Bengaluru (Urban) and is a part of the Bangalore North Parliamentary constituency.

DK Shivakumar

Shivakumar, who is the energy minister in the outgoing government, defeated JD(S)s Narayana Gowda by 79,909 votes to clinch the Kanakapura seat, the constituency in the Ramanagaram district and Bengaluru region.

On May 15, Shivkumar was one of the first Congress leaders to concede defeat. Speaking to a news channel, he had said that Rahul Gandhi did his best.

Abhay Patil

BJP candidate Patil won the Belgaum Dakshin seat with a margin of 58,692 votes. He defeated MD Lakshminarayan of the Congress.

Belgaum Dakshin constituency is situated in the Belgaum district and is part of the Mumbai Karnataka region.

Yathindra Siddaramaiah

Outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiahs son Yathindra defeated BJPs T Basavaraju by 58,616 to win the Varuna constituency. The seat was previously held by Siddaramaiah, who chose to fight this election from Badami and Chamundeshwari.

Halady Srinivas Shetty

BJP candidate Shetty won the Kundapura constituency on Tuesday by beating Rakesh Malli of the Congress. Shetty won with a margin of 56,405 votes.

Kundapura constituency is situated in Udupi district in Coastal Karnataka region and is a part of the Udupi Chikmagalur Parliamentary constituency.
Karnataka Energy Minister and Congress Campaign Committee Head DK Shivkumar told media persons on Tuesday that the defeat in the Assembly polls was because of the inadequacies of the local leadership in the state.

When reporters asked him as to why the Congress lost despite extensive campaigning by party chief Rahul Gandhi, Shivkumar asserted that the Congress defeat cannot be attributed to Gandhi. He said that Gandhi had visited the state to offer help to the local leaders who have failed today to strike a chord with the electorate.

Karnataka Elections 2018 verdict: Catch live updates here

On the contrary, Congress general secretary CP Joshi congratulated Rahul Gandhi on the moral victory in Gujarat Assembly Elections last year. He had told the press, Agreed, we did not succeed in uprooting the banyan tree but we have certainly given it a good shake. Rahul Gandhi has managed to do that he has arrived. The Congress had won 77 seats as against BJPs 99.

The trends for the election results are indicating that the BJP is well on its way to cross the halfway mark of 113.
The fee hike is set to be implemented from October 2, 2020

A recent move by the United States government to protect US workers from fraud will likely result in increased oversight and scrutiny of Indian technology services firms, according to Nasscom.

On May 12, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that oversees legal immigration in the country, formalised a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice to expand their collaboration "to better detect and eliminate fraud, abuse, and discrimination by employers bringing foreign visa workers to the United States".

As part of the agreement, US agencies will share more information with each other to facilitate fraud detection.

This also includes dedicated tip lines for reporting H-1B and H-2B visa fraud, and abuse, and expanded its site visit programs.

This means the H-1B visa, which is most commonly used by Indian technology professionals to work at client sites in the US, will come under greater scrutiny.

In the spirit of President Trumps Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American, todays partnership adds to the Civil Rights Divisions tools to stop employers from discriminating against US workers by favoring foreign visa workers, said Acting Assistant Attorney General John M Gore of the Civil Rights Division in a note from the USCIS late on Friday.

The H-1B visa has been the preferred visa for Indian IT companies, which has helped them keep costs down and gain a margin advantage over multi-national players by sending its engineers to the US.

However, IT services firms have been accused of misusing the lottery-based system, which allows for 65,000 visas for the general category and a further 20,000 to those with a US Masters degree from an accredited institution.

"The major Indian and India-centric IT services companies abide by all of the rules and regulations governing high-skill worker visas," said Shivendra Singh, Vice President, Global Trade Development at IT industry body National Association of Software and Services and Companies.

He added the new move by USCIS and DOJ will increase oversight and scrutiny.

"Like all sponsors of high-skilled workers on H-1B visas, Nasscom member companies are subject to hundreds of requests for evidence (RFEs) and site inspections per year and comply with the due process of law. Nasscom supports efforts to combat any violation of the law. As USCIS reports have found, willful violators have normally been those relatively small US companies with 50 or fewer employees  not the mid-size or large multinationals, and not any NASSCOM member company," said Singh.

Indian IT companies have upped their hiring in the US market, which is weighing on margins, but they have largely figured they can no longer rely solely on H-1B visas for transfer of skilled labour.

"But these increased bureaucratic burdens won't affect the underlying market demand for skilled labour and transformative solutions that Nasscom member companies deliver to their customers in the US and around the world," said Singh.
BS Yeddyurappa, Siddaramaiah and HD Kumaraswamy

Till an hour ago, the BJP government was all set to form the government. Early leads had put the saffron party across the magic mark of 113, and celebrations had begun across the country.

However, there is a twist in the tale. Leads for the BJP have now dropped to 104, and the Congress-JD(S) combine stands at 116.

Incumbent CM Siddaramaiah, along with senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, addressed a press conference where they announced that they would offer support to JD(S) in forming the government. Who sits on the coveted CM's chair will also be decided by the HD Deve Gowda-led party. Siddaramaiah is slated to resign at 4pm, while Ghulam Nabi Azad has sought an appointment with Governor Vajubhai Vala to stake claim for the government.

"The people's mandate is clear that JD(S) should be in the government. Congress has offered Kumaraswamy to be the CM and we have accepted it," said Tanveer Ahmed, spokesperson of the JD(S), thus confirming the alliance.

BS Yeddyurappa also addressed a press meet, where he said he would talk to senior leaders and then make a decision. BJP President Amit Shah has rushed senior leaders like Prakash Javadekar, Piyush Goyal, JP Nadda and Dharmendra Pradhan to Bengaluru to take stock of the situation.

What are the rules?

According to the rulebook, Governor Vajubhai Vala should call the single largest party (which, in this case, is the BJP) or pre-poll alliance to form the government.

He should then ask them to prove their prove their majority on the floor of the house within a stipulated time.

If they fail the trust vote, then the Governor can ask the next biggest formation to take up the ropes.

Are post-poll alliances allowed?

A post-poll alliance (which here is the Congress-JDS alliance) does not count and cannot be called to form the government ahead of the single largest party, according to the rulebook.

However, Congress may try and argue their way out of this since the BJP has done just the same during the Goa and Manipur assembly elections.
Various works by Indian artists have been on the global art connoisseurs map for some time now and the late MF Husain's paintings have been a favourite whenever they have gone under the hammer.

Dubai-based online art auction house Artiana has concluded its first white glove (100% sold) sale, thanks to Husain. The artworks that fetched the top two bids came from the Indian modern artist.

Around 60 works that were on the block at the Artiana South Asian Art auction were sold fetching close to Rs 11.1 crore. The works were estimated to rake in around Rs 10 crore.

Not surprisingly, one third of the auction proceeds came from Husains works. At an Asian auction if Husain is on the block there is very slim chance of any other artwork making it to the top buys, said Lavesh Jagasia, founder at Artiana, UAEs first home-grown auction house for art and luxury collectibles.

The top two artworks were sold to two UAE residents where Husain and is very popular. We had a hectic four day bidding session where we saw a lot of new buyers taking interest in Indian artworks. India and UAE is where most of the buyers came from, added Jagasia.

Artists that made it to the top-10 included Husains new to the market Trinity of Mother Teresa that fetched Rs 2.2 crore followed by another of his untitled painting that fetched Rs 1.5 crore. Other entries on the list included Krishen Khannas Thou Sayest So, Sayed Haider Razas Dhayan and Zarina Hashmis Home is a Foreign Place that collected Rs 95 lakh, Rs 81.5 lakh and Rs 40.8 lakh, respectively.

Ram Kumar, Jamil Naqsh, Francis Newton Souza, K. Laxma Goud, Bhupen Khakhar were other artists who saw maximum bids. Their lots made close to Rs 1.8 crore.

Krishen Khanna's Thou Sayest So

With a No Buyers Premium Policy where buyers do not have to pay a commission for the artwork purchased, Artiana has streamlined the online auction process offering clients important elements of traditional auction house services such as expertise, gallery viewings and printed catalogues.
Representataive Image

China has brought up the issue of its telecom equipment giant ZTE at various levels with the US, and President Donald Trump has asked Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to look into it, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, the White House said today.

"This is part of a very complex relationship between the US and China that involves economic issues, national security issues and the like. It's an issue of high concern for China that's been raised with the US government and with our administration at various levels," White House Deputy Press Secretary told reporters at a news conference.

Catch Karnataka Election Result Live updates here

Shah was responding to questions on a tweet by Trump in which he had said that he was working with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to give China's telecom giant ZTE a way to get back into business.

"The matter has been brought up at a number of levels, you know, as part of bilateral talks on a number of issues," he said.

Shah, however, refrained it from linking the ZTE issue with the upcoming trade meetings between the US and Chinese officials.

"It's part of again the US relationship with China, which is complex. It has economic factors, it has national security factors. This is just one of many factors, and again the President is asking the Secretary of Commerce to look into the matter consistent with laws and regulation," he said.

The White House strongly refuted allegations that Trump was giving any kind of "concession" to the Chinese companies.

Responding to a question on "how does the President Trump's statement that too many Chinese jobs are at risk square with his campaign promise that China is stealing American jobs?"

Shah replied, "I don't think this has frankly any bearing on the President's campaign promises...The President has overseen an economy in which we have the lowest unemployment rate since 2000. It's at 3.9 per cent, over two million jobs have been created since this President took office,"

"With respect to trade with China, he's been tough. Let's put this into context. I mean this President has taken China to task for its unfair trade practices through this Section 301 investigation. He's introduced and proposed or rather up to USD 150 billion of tariffs on China for intellectual property theft, dumping in a range of you know inimical Chinese economic action. So he's been tough and he's confronted them, he added.
Vodafone

British telecom major Vodafone said today that Nick Read will be the next CEO of the company, succeeding Vittorio Colao.

Read, currently the group's CFO, will take over from October 1.

"Effective 1 October 2018, Vittorio Colao will be succeeded by Group Chief Financial Officer Nick Read," Vodafone said in a statement.

"At the date of the Group's Annual General Meeting on 27 July 2018, Deputy CFO Margherita Della Valle will succeed Nick Read as Group Chief Financial Officer and will join the Board, and Nick Read will become Group Chief Executive-Designate," it said.

Colao was appointed Group Chief Executive in July 2008.

Vodafone said that over the last ten years, he has overseen a strategic reshaping of the group, exiting minority shareholdings to focus on controlled and co-controlled assets while growing mobile customer numbers from 269 million to 536 million (plus 19.7 million broadband customers) over 25 countries, including significant businesses in India, Egypt, Turkey and across Africa, Vodafone said.

Read was appointed the group's CFO and joined the Vodafone Group Plc Board in April 2014. He was previously the Group's Chief Executive for the Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific region and served as a board member of a number of Vodafone's emerging markets subsidiaries including Vodacom Group and Vodafone India.

Read joined Vodafone in 2001 as Vodafone UK Finance Director before being appointed Vodafone UK Chief Commercial Officer then Vodafone UK Chief Executive. Prior to joining Vodafone, Nick Read held senior global finance positions with United Business Media Plc and Federal Express Worldwide. He is a Fellow Chartered Management Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant with a BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance.

Valle was appointed Deputy Group Chief Financial Officer in 2015. She was previously Group Chief Financial Controller, Chief Financial Officer for the Europe region, and Chief Financial Officer for Vodafone Italy.

"On behalf of the Board, I would like to express our gratitude to Vittorio for an outstanding tenure. I would also add that the appointment of Nick and Margherita serves as a testament to the strength and depth of the Vodafone senior leadership team that Vittorio has assembled and led over the last decade," Vodafone Group Chairman Gerard Kleisterlee said.
Kim Jong Un, leader of North Korea

North Korea plans to join international efforts to implement a total ban on nuclear weapons tests, an ambassador for the country told the United Nations disarmament body today.

"DPRK will join international desires and efforts for a total ban on nuclear tests," North Korea's ambassador to the UN in Geneva Han Tae-song said in an address to the Conference on Disarmament, using North Korea's official acronym.
Midland County commissioners on Monday took action extending the county burn ban. Though the approval keeps the ban in effect through mid-July, the county could revisit fireworks restrictions before Independence Day.

Theres still an ability for us to ban rockets and fireworks with fins, said Commissioner Robin Donnelly of Precinct 2. That is still up in the air. Thats the thing that would spread a grass fire.

Dale Little, Midland County fire marshal, recommended the burn ban extension. He said the forecast calls for hot, dry weather with high winds and that storms are predicted in the next few days.

If we go with the 60-day option on it, if we get rain, we can always cancel, he told commissioners during his presentation.

The Commissioners Court approval extended a burn ban that was authorized in March. Donnelly said it now continues through July 15.

We dont see anything on the horizon this time that would change our conditions  our weather conditions, Donnelly said. So, we think that would be a judicious thing to do.

The Commissioners Court could revisit the burn-ban issue before mid-June. Fireworks are usually sold a week or so before Independence Day and other major holidays, according to the Texas Department of Insurance.

Marchs burn-ban order doesnt prohibit outdoor cooking in approved containers or outdoor burning related to public health and safety, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram story. Those instances include: firefighter training; public utility, natural gas pipeline or mining operations; planting for harvesting of agricultural crops; and burns that are conducted by a certified prescribed burn manager.

Violations constitute a Class C misdemeanor, according to the story.

Also during Mondays meeting, commissioners:

--approved the creation of an environmental investigator position for the Midland County District Attorneys office.

Theres some environmental work that needs to be done for certain chemicals that are being placed out in the county, Donnelly said. We need to find whos responsible for doing it. The other thing is that weve had some saltwater spills and stuff like that that we want to follow up on.

At a future meeting, commissioners will address the funds needed for the new position. The proposal will depend on the experience and tools needed for the job.

--tabled a discussion about the purchase of new equipment from Election Systems & Software. Deborah Land, Midland County elections administrator, said it would cost $1.175 million to update the entire election system.

As our costs are going up on maintaining the current equipment, we are hearing concerns from voters that they dont have a paper trail, Land told commissioners. They are really wanting to see that. This system has that.

Land said the system under consideration is an upgrade to equipment that is 11 to 13 years old and would eventually reduce the demand for workers.

Her office wants the equipment by June or July so it will have time for election workers to become familiar with it before the November election. Since the item wasnt budgeted for this fiscal year, county officials will review options.

Wed have to figure out some other way to get it because it will be budgeted for next year, to replace that equipment, Donnelly said. Its just a matter of theyre trying to work a situation in which they give us the equipment earlier.
Michigan Tech receives $10,000 to launch strategic approaches for recruiting and retaining women in computing.

Michigan Technological University is one of four institutions to receive the 2018 National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Surging Enrollment Seed Fund. The fund expands diversity of incoming computing students in the face of increasing enrollment in computing programs.

Michigan Techs Department of Computer Science and Admissions Office are developing a program to match admitted women students with current women students. The programs goal is to increase the percentage of accepted female students that enroll at Michigan Tech.

Computing disciplines continue to grow in popularity among all student populations, said NCWIT CEO and Co-founder Lucy Sanders. Universities and colleges must look for ways to handle heightened demand for these programs without inadvertently leaving underrepresented populations behind.

In the U.S. in 2016, women earned 57 percent of all bachelors degrees; less than one-fifth of those degrees were in computer and information sciences and engineering. Engaging tech-related activities and opportunities can help to reverse this trend by appealing to a variety of students by building on their existing interests.

According to Dr. Linda Ott, professor of computer science at Michigan Tech, The Computer Science Department has been delighted to see an increase in the number of women enrolling in our undergraduate programs the last few years. There has been disappointment, however, as weve watched the number of applications from women rise much faster than our enrollments. We are very excited to have this award to develop this mentoring program. We believe that the mentoring program will develop stronger personal connections, so that more of our applicants will feel comfortable coming to Michigan Tech.

Allison Carter, director of admissions, agrees. Theres tremendous potential in engaging prospective female students with a current student within their same academic department while the student is still in high school. Peer-to-peer communication offers valuable opportunities that prospective students are more likely to engage in. Current students are excited about the program and will be involved in all aspects of outreach and engagement.

Programming will begin in the fall 2018 semester and continue through the first semester of enrollment for new first-year students.

About NCWIT The NCWIT Surging Enrollment Seed Fund awards NCWIT Academic Alliance members at non-profit, US institutions (excluding US territories) with start-up funds (up to $10,000 per project) to develop and test approaches to increasing diversity of incoming computing students despite the current enrollment surge in computing disciplines. Find out more.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is a nonprofit community of more than 1,100 universities, companies, nonprofits, and government organizations nationwide working to increase girls and womens meaningful participation in computing. NCWIT equips change leaders with resources for taking action in recruiting, retaining, and advancing women from K12 and higher education through industry and entrepreneurial careers. Find out more.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, the University offers more than 125 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
Anti-gay bill: It's not who they ...
During the Democratic Weekly Address, Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) discussed prescription drug prices and argued Republicans should join Democrats in taking action to lower drug prices.

Stabenow was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. Here are her words

Transcript as Follows:

Today, President Trump is scheduled to speak about the need to fight rising prescription drug prices and thats a good thing. But you and your family dont need more words. You need more action.

Democrats believe that health care is a basic human right, and that includes the ability to afford your prescriptions. As we know, for many people, this is a matter of life and death.

Unfortunately, the pricing of prescription drugs is the ultimate example of a rigged system in my home state of Michigan as well as all across the country.

We have more pharmaceutical and health product lobbyists than for any other industry  1,488 lobbyists last year! Thats almost 15 for every member of the United States Senate.

And their job is to stop competition and to keep prices high. And they made sure that Big Pharma was a huge winner in the Republican tax giveaway. Because of it, they have been able to put $50 billion, $50 billion, into the pockets of their CEOs and big investors through stock buybacks. But I dont know even one person whos seen the cost of their prescriptions go down.

Its time to unrig the system. And Democrats are taking the lead on a number of important policies that will bring prices down.

Id like to touch on three actions that could bring your costs down right away:

First is our legislation to allow Medicare to use its group purchasing power to negotiate the lowest drug prices.

Currently, Medicare isnt allowed to negotiate the best price for you and your family. And frankly thats ridiculous! Its time to harness the bargaining power of 41 million American seniors to bring down prescription drug costs.

Second, we are committed to unrigging the system by ensuring that you and your family are paying the lowest possible price at the pharmacy.

Many times customers have no idea that a prescription to treat diabetes or high blood pressure or cancer might cost less if you pay out of pocket instead of paying the co-pay on your insurance. I have talked to people who have told me they could pay only $8 out of pocket instead of $20 or $50 or $100 using the copay through their insurance.

And thats because often pharmacists are banned by contracts from telling their customers that they could save money by paying out of pocket.

After Michigan Pharmacists brought this to my attention, I introduced legislation with other Senators to ban these gag clauses. Its just plain wrong! And a study released this year says that people are paying more than they need to ..23% of the time.

And finally, were pushing President Trump to immediately lower the cost of naloxone. This lifesaving drug that is used to reverse opioid overdoses has been around for more than 45 years and could be purchased for $1 in 2005.

Yet thanks to the rigged system, as the need has gone up  as the opioid crisis has gone up  the cost has gone up  and up! One version now costs more than $4,000!

I urge President Trump to listen to his own Commission on the Opioid Crisis, which recommended empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate the lowest possible price for naloxone and do it now.

Democrats promise to keep doing everything we can to bring down the cost of the medications you need. Its time for our Republican colleagues to join us.
Sonora, CA  Following a social media posting of a video taken by a motorcyclist, who was heard alleging his group was being profiled, Clarke Broadcasting reached out to City of Sonora Police for a response.

Acting Police Chief Turu VanderWiel describes actions taken by police on Washington Streets sidewalk beat early last week ahead of the Mother Lode Round-Up as simply, some intelligence gathering. Officers encountering several bikers parked downtown at one point took some photos of motorcycles and their plates, which particularly set off some of the group members who were wearing jackets that carried Jus Brothers logo insignia.

One of the bikers recorded and posted a video on YouTube that has since circulated, receiving nearly 6,900 views. Warning: before viewing be aware that it contains audio of motorcyclists uttering profanities while making physical threats to the police on scene. Audible audio at the end includes a biker yelling to departing police an accusation that their actions were profiling, further threatening to report and publicize the activities as such.

Profiling Under California Law

Chief VanderWiel emphatically states that the officers activities in the field do not fall under the category of profiling as it is defined in California. Under current state law peace officers are prohibited from engaging in racial or identity profiling and under recently enhanced laws, there are training requirements and reporting accountabilities when complaints are made to maintain specific records of alleged profiling activities. The categories involve race, ethnicity or nationality; gender, age or religion; gender identity or expression; sexual orientation; mental or physical disability.

While Assembly Bill 2972, proposed to address motorcycle profiling claims was introduced back in February and made it through the Public Safety Committee, it failed by a 28-21 vote to pass the Assembly after a third reading. It awaits a motion to reconsider made on April 19.

The bill specifically sought to have the Vehicle Code amended prohibiting peace officers from engaging in motorcycle profiling while also creating a private right of action for individuals subjected to such profiling. The definition of motorcycle profiling, as proposed was: deciding to stop and question, take enforcement action, arrest, or search a person based on the fact that the person rides a motorcycle or wears motorcycle related clothing, without having any individualized suspicion of the particular person.

Chief VanderWiel comments that while the posted video preceded the Mother Lode Round-Up weekend festivities, it did not seem to put any damper on them. Downtown was busy, particularly for Saturdays parade, which experienced a great turnout, he reports. He adds, Everybody had a great time and there were very few law enforcement incidents  and we look forward to next year on that.
Disgraced former lawyer Todd Prins  whose downward spiral is among the more spectacular in San Antonios legal community  said his life began to drift following the deaths of his parents.

He began to slowly embrace (the) lifestyle of some of his unethical clients who operated outside the law, Prins recounted in an undated letter to Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Ezra.

That unethical behavior eventually morphed into criminal behavior, Prins explained.

While practicing law, Prins strung along some of his clients by forging judges signatures and fabricating court documents in their cases. He also admitted to stealing, shifting funds around and raiding his law firms trust account for his own use.

On Tuesday, Ezra sentenced Prins to six years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Prins pleaded guilty to wire fraud last June. As part of his plea, Prins agreed to make almost $3 million in restitution to former clients and others. The judge allowed Prins, 52, to turn himself in by June 28 to begin serving the sentence.

I cant even begin to count the number of the provisions of the code of professional conduct that Mr. Prins violated, the judge said. Its almost beyond comprehension.

Prins had asked for a sentence of 51 months. The U.S. Probation Office said recommended sentencing guidelines called for Prins to serve from 63 to 78 months and pay a fine of up to $250,000. But Ezra refused Prins request for a shorter sentence and declined to fine him, saying he wanted any money to go to the victims.

Mr. Prins activities and his utter disregard, not only of federal and state criminal law, but also of his many duties and responsibilities as an attorney, have tainted the good reputation of every lawyer in this community through no fault of their own, Ezra said.

In addressing the court, Prins apologized and accepted full blame for everything.

I created a horrible ripple effect, he said. It was a ripple effect that damaged clients, friends, family, everyone around me. Im truly sorry for that.

Prins said he was out of control, but also admitted to being very calculating.

That led Ezra to interrupt and say he was having a hard time understanding Prins actions.

I look back, your honor, and I have a hard time understanding why I did what I did, Prins answered. He then blamed greed and selfishness.

Prins showed no emotion when Erza handed down the sentence.

Staff Writer Guillermo Contreras contributed to this report.

For the complete story, click here to visit our sister site, ExpressNews.com

Patrick Danner is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | pdanner@express-news.net | @AlamoPD
Note: This is a Just a Taste review, which the Express-News does soon after a restaurant or bar opens to give our first impressions.

Its hard not to root for chef Lattoia Massey. The 2016 Culinary Institute of America-San Antonio grad and her husband, Cornelius Massey, opened The Jerk Shack on the West Side Friday.

I wasnt born here, the Jamaica native told a large crowd gathered outside for a ribbon cutting ceremony. This is my American Dream.

I was among the throng hoping to sample her cheffed-up take on island fare that night, and among the many who didnt get a chance to do that due to an hours-long wait. A return visit on Sunday wasnt much better. I arrived around 12:30 p.m. It was 4:15 p.m. before the last part of my requested six dishes arrived.

RELATED: Review: Thai Vegan serves OK Thai, terrific vegan options on the North Side

The Jerk Shack has taken ownership of this reality, the following posted to its Facebook page over the weekend:

ATTN: Jerk Shack Customers. Please expect long wait periods for your food everything is made to order and we refuse to sacrifice quality over quantity. There is a good chance we may sell out of your item during your wait period. We apologize in advance and wish we could serve everyone but we all know thats impossible for any restaurant.

Yes, some of the food served was inventive and well executed. And the Masseys, along with their crew of employees and friends chipping in to help with the debut, are gracious hosts. But there were enough missteps  both in the customer experience and on the plate  that The Jerk Shack is a tough sell for this critic at the moment.

On the menu: The Jerk Shacks foundation is jerk chicken and pork, both sold at $14 per pound or $8 for a half pound. The chicken, served coarsely hacked into bone-in nuggets, is nicely brined, full of flavor and joined by a trio of tasty sauces.

I had the pork in a taco ($4) dressed with pineapple relish, pickled onions and a creamy cilantro, lime and avocado sauce. The adornments did little to improve the cold and tough flour tortilla and, more critically, dry and crumbly pork lacking the chickens splendor.

Chef Masseys culinary flair is better demonstrated in the Jamaican Escovitch Fish ($24). A whole red snapper, deep fried, with crisp skin and tender, juicy meat. That gets dropped atop a pile of sauteed chayote squash, red pepper and onions doused in a pungent, spicy vinegar sauce with a few showy edible flowers to finish.

READ MORE: Review: McAdoo's Seafood rides a strong wave in New Braunfels

Its one of the best seafood dishes Ive had in San Antonio this year.

Sides and appetizers were a mixed bag. Where Salt Fish Fritters ($5) were a flavorful melange of crunch and funk, the beef Jamaican Patty ($3) was flaky but tough with a bland and pasty filling.

The rice and peas that came with my fish had a lovely nose of allspice, but little if any salt. The Mac N Cheese ($4) was appropriately ooey and gooey with perfectly cooked pasta, and that more than made up for the rices missing salinity.

The Jerk Shack obviously has big ambitions. The menu is designed to elevate casual Jamaican food to chef-driven heights, and in several cases, does just that.

But the grueling wait in the hot sun (I have the sunburn to prove it), frequent sell-outs and menu execution quirks all conspire to my suggesting to give this newcomer a couple more weeks at least to work out the kinks before braving the line.

Location: 117 Matyear St., 210-776-7780, Facebook: @thejerkshacksatx.

Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (or until sold out) Tuesday through Sunday.

Paul Stephen is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of his stories here. | pstephen@express-news.net | Twitter: @pjbites | Instagram: @pjstephen
A local Houston activist known fighting for equal housing rights and preserving low-income housing in historically black neighborhoods died Friday night, his friends said on Monday.

Lenwood Johnson died at a hospital Friday night after what friends described as a series of strokes that followed several months of illness. He was 75.
Contributed / Bridgeport Hospital

The Bridgeport Hospital Auxiliary announced proceeds of more than $80,000 from its April 27 spring gala Dancing with the Hospital Stars, at Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield. Nearly 140 people attended and the event. The proceeds will benefit the Allison Family Neonatal Intensive Care Unit modernization project and the REACH outpatient psychiatry program at Bridgeport Hospital.

The highlight of the gala was a dance contest that paired hospital staff members with professional partners. Ivette Cabrera, program assistant, Norma Pfriem Breast Center, was voted the winner by guests at the gala.
Autumn Driscoll / Autumn Driscoll

DANBURY  A retired Israeli military official will lead a talk, 35 Years of Making the Case for Israel: A Personal Perspective, at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Congregation Bnai Israel.

Ambassador Arthur Koll retired from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2016 after 35 years as a diplomat. He served as Israels ambassador to Serbia and Montenegro, among other positions.
Ernest Medina, an Army captain who was charged with overall responsibility for the My Lai Massacre, when soldiers under his command in Vietnam slaughtered hundreds of civilians, but who was later acquitted at a court-martial, died May 8. He was 81.

Thielen Funeral Home, near Capt. Medina's home in Marinette, Wisconsin, confirmed the death but did not provide additional details.

Medina was the commanding officer of Charlie Company, in the Americal Division's 11th Infantry Brigade, when the unit was tasked with securing a Vietnamese hamlet on March 16, 1968. In the months since his arrival in Vietnam, Medina had been lauded by his superiors for his energetic leadership style and playfully known as Mad Dog by his men.

But his company, known as the Charlie Cats, was still green.

Three of its four platoon leaders were recently installed - including a young lieutenant, William Calley - and in February six of its men were killed after walking into a mine field. ( Medina, who later received the Silver Star, performed first aid on the wounded and led them to safety.)

He recalled that in early March, he had received intelligence reports that a battalion of Viet Cong guerrillas occupied a community known as My Lai 4 (pronounced ME-LYE), part of a larger village called Son My in Vietnam's South Central Coast.

North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces had swept through the countryside beginning in late January as part of the Tet Offensive, and Medina said he had been given permission to "destroy the village" as part of a search-and-destroy effort aimed at depriving the North Vietnamese of resources and manpower.

The destruction that ensued formed one of the darkest chapters in U.S. military history.

In place of Viet Cong forces, Medina's men found only unarmed men, women and infants, many of them cooking rice for breakfast. While Medina was initially stationed at a nearby landing zone, Calley and other members of his unit rounded up civilians and shot them with machine guns. Some were stabbed with bayonets, and several of the women and girls were raped and then murdered. Bodies filled a drainage ditch.

"After the shootings," journalist Seymour M. Hersh wrote in a 1972 account of the massacre, "the G.I.s systematically burned each home, destroyed the livestock and food, and fouled the area's drinking supplies." A report to headquarters claimed that 128 Viet Cong were killed and three weapons were captured, and the engagement, Hersh noted, "was reported to the world's press as a significant victory."

In the United States, an Army investigation eventually concluded that 347 men, women and children had been killed in the slaughter. A Vietnamese memorial at the village places the death toll at 504.

The killings were brought to light by Ron Ridenhour, a helicopter door-gunner who learned what had transpired from friends present at My Lai and sent letters to military and political leaders detailing the massacre. A military inquiry ensued, and in September 1969 Calley became the first of 25 people charged with participating in or covering up the murders.

Calley, who was charged with the murder of 109 Vietnamese civilians, testified that he was following the orders of his commanding officer.

Medina said he neither ordered nor saw "any slaughter at My Lai-4 that day." He faced a court-martial and slew of charges, including the murder of more than 100 civilians (the charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter) and the murder of an unarmed Vietnamese woman. (He said he shot on instinct, believing she was armed.) An additional charge of covering up the massacre was dropped after two weeks.

Medina testified that he had indeed ordered his company to "destroy" My Lai, following orders from his task-force commander, but "clarified this to say destroy the village by burning the hooches, to kill the livestock, to close the wells and to destroy the food crops."

When one of his men asked whether they ought to kill noncombatants, Medina recalled saying: "No, you do not kill women and children. You must use common sense. If they have a weapon and are trying to engage you, then you can shoot back. But you must use common sense."

Some in his company remembered the orders differently. In a 1998 interview with Newsday, Michael Bernhardt said Medina "didn't actually say we were to kill every man, woman and child, but it was clear that he wanted us to wipe the place out."

Two other men - Hugh Thompson Jr., a helicopter pilot who issued a radio alert that helped end the killing, and Lawrence Colburn, who was riding alongside Thompson - told CBS News in 1998 they saw Medina kill a wounded Vietnamese girl. He "walked up to her, nudged her with his foot, stepped back and blew her away," Thompson said.

Medina, who was represented pro bono by star lawyer F. Lee Bailey, was acquitted of all charges in 1971. Maj. Gen. Samuel W. Koster, commander of the Americal Division, and Col. Oran K. Henderson, commander of the 11th Infantry Brigade, were among those acquitted as well. Both men passed over My Lai in helicopters on the day of the attacks.

Calley, convicted of murdering 22 noncombatants, became the only person found guilty as a result of the incident. Seen as a scapegoat by many Americans, his sentencing to life at hard labor launched a "Free Calley" movement and the release of popular pro-Calley pop songs.

Instead of a life sentence, he served about three years, much of it under house arrest. He later worked as a jeweler in Georgia.

Medina said he had to resign his commission, despite the acquittal.

In his testimony, the New York Times reported in 1971, he effectively acknowledged trying to cover up the killings, explaining that he saw about two-dozen bodies in My Lai but failed to investigate the carnage his troops had wrought.

"No. 1," he said, "I realized exactly the disgrace that we brought upon the Army uniform that I am very proud to wear. No. 2, I also realized the repercussions that it would have against the United States of America. Three, my family, and No. 4, lastly, myself, sir."

Ernest Lou Medina was born in Springer, New Mexico, on Aug. 27, 1936. His mother died of cancer several months after he was born, and his father sent the boy and a sister to live with their grandparents in Montrose, Colorado, while he worked as a sheepherder.

He enlisted in the Army in 1956 and later told the Times he initially turned down an offer to attend Officer Candidate School because he felt he was too inexperienced and lacked a college degree. He ultimately graduated from the school fourth in his class.

After leaving the military, Medina was a vice president of Enstrom Helicopter Corp., which Bailey acquired during the My Lai trial. He later joined a real estate business run by his wife, the former Baerbel Dechandt, whom he met while stationed in Germany.

In addition to his wife, survivors include three children, Ingrid Medina, Greg Medina and Cecil Medina; a sister; and eight grandchildren.

"I have regrets for it, but I have no guilt over it because I didn't cause it," Capt. Medina told the Associated Press in 1988, looking back on My Lai. "That's not what the military, particularly the United States Army, is trained for.

"But then again, maybe the war should have never happened. I think if everybody were to look at it in hindsight, I'm sure a lot of the politicians and generals would think of it otherwise. Maybe it was a war that we should have probably never gotten involved in as deeply as we did without the will to win it."
BRUSSELS - The European Union's chief diplomat took a defiant stance Tuesday after meeting with Iran's foreign minister and other top European diplomats to try to salvage the Iran nuclear deal following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States.

Federica Mogherini, who negotiated the deal on behalf of the European Union, listed a string of proposals that taken together may not be enough to convince Iran's leaders to hold to the deal but probably will be seen in Washington as a raised fist against U.S. policy.

The Trump administration has announced that it will be reimposing sanctions on Iran and is seeking to prevent companies around the world from doing business there.

Comparing the 2015 nuclear agreement to "a relative in intensive care," Mogherini said ideas under consideration include plans to deepen Europe's economic relationship with Iran, shield banking transactions with Tehran, keep purchasing Iranian oil and gas, and use EU financing for investments there.

"We are operating in a very difficult context," Mogherini said after an intense day of diplomacy that included meetings with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany. All of those countries were signatories of the deal that aimed to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon in exchange for economic incentives. She said European leaders hoped to have a firm plan within a few weeks.

Trump's decision to pull out of the agreement unilaterally has created one of the biggest foreign policy crises of his presidency, infuriating Washington's closest allies in Europe.

This week, European leaders will consider whether to order European companies doing business in Iran to ignore U.S. sanctions. That would be the diplomatic equivalent of a slap in the face.

And it may have limited effectiveness, since many companies would prefer access to the larger U.S. market over Iran's relatively small one.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson warned Tuesday that Washington's sanctions may be able to strike around the world because of the long reach of the U.S. financial system.

"We have to be realistic about the electrified rail, the live wire of American extraterritoriality, and how that can serve as a deterrent to business," he said.

Despite the EU efforts to save the nuclear agreement, Zarif was noncommittal on his way out of Brussels.

"It's a good start. We're not there. We're beginning the process, and we need to receive those guarantees," he said, striking a gloomier tone than he did at the outset of the day, when he appeared to be optimistic that the deal could be buttressed.

Trump's decision has created a tricky game of strategy for other countries that remain committed to the agreement, which was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council after years of negotiations.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has staked his political legacy on delivering prosperity for Iranians through the deal, which is now threatened by the new U.S. sanctions. Iranian hard-liners who always felt the agreement made too many concessions may be emboldened to restart nuclear enrichment, but they could risk airstrikes from the United States and Israel if they did so.

The Iranian split was clear Tuesday, with some leaders in Tehran making threats even as Zarif indicated an openness to the talks in Brussels.

"We have the capacity and we are ready to resume our nuclear activities to a much higher level if the talks fail with Europeans to save the nuclear deal after America's exit," Iranian Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted as saying by Iran's Fars news agency, Reuters reported.

In Europe, leaders are faced with a decision about whether to treat their longtime closest ally, Washington, as an adversary, marshaling their economic might to engage in full-out economic conflict. They remain deeply dependent on the United States for security guarantees against Russia - something Trump has grumbled about - and are in the middle of negotiations over an exemption to new U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum. Many also share U.S. concerns about Iranian behavior in the Middle East and its ballistic missile program, but they are divided on how to deal with the issue.

"We have experienced a break in German-American, in European-American relations," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a labor union congress in Berlin on Tuesday. "The agreement against nuclear weapons in Iran is an agreement that certainly has weaknesses, but an agreement that we should stand for."
A new grant received by the Jacksonville Police Department could save the city $45,555 on the purchase and installation of new in-car camera equipment.

Police Chief Adam Mefford explained that the city already had $120,000 budgeted for the cameras whenever the time came for their purchase. However, Mefford said he was informed last Friday that the department was awarded a camera grant from the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board.

I had applied for the camera grant from the state of Illinois and, in the process, I removed it from the agenda to have more specifics for the next meeting, Mefford said. The problem is I have to bring it up tonight because the deadline on us to accept the grant money is May the 30th, and by June the 30th we have to supply them with the serial numbers of the equipment we intend on purchasing in order to be reimbursed.

The server that must be purchased for the in-car cameras is compatible with their interview room cameras that were due for an upgrade as well, Mefford said. Since the new server would have the storage space, he advised that the council consider upgrading those cameras along with the in-car cameras.

City aldermen took a verbal count of who was in favor of the purchase of the equipment and all council members seemed to be on board, with no criticism against the move. The purchase of the equipment will come before the council at a future meeting.

In other business, Les Ballenger, superintendent of municipal services, advised the council that the Brooklyn Avenue bridge will have to be demolished as it is a public safety hazard.

The bridge fell down maybe three feet, Ballenger said.

Ballenger has received one proposal for the bridges demolition at $12,000.

The council also approved the purchase of two heating, ventilation and air conditioning units for the Jacksonville Fire Department substation at $10,975 from Doyle Plumbing and Heating, saving the city $3,000 from what was originally budgeted to replace the original units from 1972.

Due to the next city council meeting falling on Memorial Day, the next city council meeting will be held on May 21.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.
LONDON - When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stand before the altar at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, a refuge of the British monarch for a thousand years, the Archbishop of Canterbury will tie the knot with vows from the Common Book of Prayer that read "to have and to hold . . . until death do us part."

Not so very long ago, this wedding - with this service and this officiant at this place - would have been impossible.

Not because Markle is an American and a commoner, marrying a prince now sixth in line for the throne. And not because the actress is biracial, raised Episcopalian and attended Catholic school in Los Angeles.

No, such a service would have been opposed by the Church of England hierarchy because Markle is divorced and her former husband, Hollywood producer Trevor Engelson, is still alive.

"That would have been a no-no," said Andrew Goddard, an Anglican priest at St. James the Less in London and an authority on the history of Christian attitudes toward marriage.

Even though the Anglican church was founded by a king wanting to rid himself of his queen, the British royal family and the religion it heads have been struggling with divorce and remarriage for centuries.

"It's not until the last half of the 20th century that divorce becomes common and the stigma begins to falls away," Goddard said, adding that there are still traditionalists in the Church of England who believe that "marriage means forever," full stop.

Harry and Markle's ceremony on Saturday will be the first full-blown royal wedding of a divorced partner to take place with the loving embrace of the fusty English church.

Rather than voice opposition, or negotiate compromise, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his joy at the upcoming nuptials. "I am so happy that Prince Harry and Ms. Markle have chosen to make their vows before God," said the Most Reverend Justin Welby.

The Daily Mail's chief royal correspondent broke the news that Welby baptized Markle using holy water from the River Jordan in a "secret ceremony" in March at the Chapel Royal, with Harry by her side. A quiet confirmation followed - which allows Markle to take communion.

This is a historic moment for a bedrock British institution. Church and crown, at various points, have resisted its arrival. But the House of Windsor has also generated a century's worth of headlines - and teachable moments - about adultery, separation, divorce and remarriage. Embarrassing as their scandals have been, the royal family's lapses have mirrored those in greater British society, and some say helped the church leadership to modernize.

Americans tend to forget - the British less so - that Queen Elizabeth II is not only the sovereign but the "supreme governor" of an official state religion, the Church of England.

At her coronation in 1953, church officials draped her in the Imperial Robe and placed in her hand the Sovereign's Orb, brought to her from the altar at Westminster Abbey, a cross above a globe that represents, according to the Crown Chronicles, "'Christ's dominion over the world,' as the Monarch is God's representative on Earth."

Her role may be mostly ceremonial, but it's far from meaningless. The queen still approves the appointments of each bishop in her church. She's not divine, she's not a British pope, but Elizabeth's many titles include "Defender of the Faith," passed down to her from Henry VIII.

Henry, you may recall, had six wives. As the ditty goes: One died, one survived, two de-wedded, two beheaded. When he broke with the pope and declared himself head of a new church in 1533, it was because he wanted to "annul" his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon, who had failed to produce a male heir. (Henry's remains rest in St. George's Chapel, right below Harry and Meghan's feet, alongside Jane Seymour, the only one to give him a legitimate son.)

What was permitted for Henry, however, wasn't okay for just anyone, including - or especially - other royals.

Oliver O'Donovan, a scholar-priest who taught at Oxford and Edinburgh, offered coffee and biscuits and an hour's tutorial on divorce in the den of his home in Scotland.

O'Donovan explained that the Church of England was very much opposed to divorce from the medieval age to the 19th century. Asked what British marrieds with irreconcilable differences did back in the day, O'Donovan raised an eyebrow and said, "I should think of mistresses and poison."

Couples wishing to formally divorce needed an Act of Parliament. This was a rich man's game. In her essay "The Heartbreaking History of Divorce" in Smithsonian magazine, historian Amanda Foreman reports that before 1857 and the passing of new laws on ending marriage, only 324 couples successfully petitioned for divorce - and only four instances were initiated by women.

Even after divorce became legal, remarriage remained a thorny question.

In 1936, Edward VIII, a popular royal and notorious playboy, abdicated the throne when his proposed marriage to Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American, could not be reconciled with his role as head of the Church of England.

Edward's brother, George VI, ascended, to be followed by daughter Elizabeth.

The queen is a devout Christian. She's also a model of matrimonial endurance, married for 70 years. And she tried mightily to avoid echoes of her uncle's scandal.

In 1953, not wanting to be seen as condoning divorce, she withheld her approval of the hoped-for union between her sister, Princess Margaret, and the divorced Capt. Peter Townsend. Elizabeth later worked out a deal whereby Margaret could relinquish her place in the line of succession to the throne, thus avoiding the need for the queen to sign off. The Church of England would not officiate - Margaret would marry at a government register's office in London. In the end, Margaret let Townsend go (though she did wed and subsequently divorce, too).

It wasn't until 2002 that the Church of England's conservative governing body, a synod composed of clerics, bishops and laity, accepted - after three failed attempts dating back to the 1960s - that divorce is a sad reality of the modern age and allowed its priests to offer second and even third "further marriages" in "exceptional cases" to divorced members whose former spouses were alive.

The "exceptional" is now routine.

Britain's divorce rates are about the same as in Europe and the United States. The Office of National Statistics says 4 in 10 marriages in England and Wales end in divorce, although the rate is down from its peak in 1992. (Why? Mostly because there are more singles and more couples living together out of wedlock.)

Three of Queen Elizabeth's four children have divorced: Princess Anne in 1992. Prince Andrew in May 1996 (though he and Sarah Ferguson are rumored to remain very, very close). And later that year, after a string of infidelities, tabloid exposes, leaked tapes, tell-all biographies and separation, Prince Charles and Princess Diana finally divorced, with the queen's blessing (or, according to Diana's allies, insistence).

Anne and Charles have remarried - but not in the style that will be afforded to Harry and Meghan.

In 1992, Anne wed her second husband, British naval commander Timothy J.H. Laurence, in a private service before 30 guests at Crathie Church near the royal Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Notably, Elizabeth is not head of the Scots church.

In 2005, Charles married his longtime love, Camilla Parker Bowles, also divorced. They took their vows in a civil service and afterward received a blessing by the archbishop of the Church of England.

Robert Lacey, a royal biographer, said divorce today is not the crisis it once was, even for the "totemic, idealized" royal family who in the past were expected to be "the last to surrender."

As evidence, Lacey points out that Britain's royally obsessed tabloids have mostly given Markle's divorce a pass: "You can see from reaction of our most popular and troublemaking newspapers the fact that it remains a mystery as to why Ms. Markle's marriage to Mr. Engelson ended when it did - nobody is digging very deep."

"The monarchy changes with the times," said Dickie Arbiter, the queen's former press secretary. "The fact that Harry is marrying a divorcee who has a living spouse, who is biracial, whose parents are divorced, is just the way things have moved on."

He added, as a practical matter, "You also have to recognize that Harry is No. 6 in line to the throne, so is quite far removed from the thought of him ever having to become king" - and supreme governor of the Church of England.

O'Donovan, who was involved in the Church of England's drafting of new rules for remarriage in 2002, said he thinks the Anglicans got it right now: "The church defends marriage. It is a solemn, lifelong commitment. Those are the vows but . . . "

He quotes from the House of Bishops, that some marriages do fail, not by chance or accident, but "the fruit of lovelessness and carelessness" and that for a person to be married again in the church they must "search themselves honestly" and come to a mature understanding why the break occurred.

"The idea is that this is an opportunity for growth," the priest said, and not pat explanations, such as "we just grew apart."

Mark Burkill, vicar at Christ Church in Leyton and a leader of an evangelical movement within the Church of England, is among the holdouts.

"I have never in the 34 years of my ministry remarried a divorced person in church. When people have come to me seeking this, I have explained that I want to uphold the lifelong commitment involved in marriage and that it is very difficult to properly assess individual cases," he said. Instead, he offers a service of blessing on a marriage after a register office ceremony.

Burkill said requests for church weddings at his inner-city London parish "has massively declined over the years. I feel now that I want to focus more on encouraging those living together to get married!"

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are among those who have been cohabiting - in their case, in Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace.

The Archbishop of Canterbury said he has been counseling and praying with the couple, and all requirements have been met to launch this further marriage.

He told ITV news, "Unlike recent weddings, I must not drop the ring. And I must not forget to get the vows in the right order, as I did at the rehearsal for one of my children's weddings."
WASHINGTON - Gina Haspel appears to have secured enough votes to be confirmed as the country's next CIA director after stating in a letter to a top Democrat that the agency never should have detained terrorist suspects and employed brutal interrogation techniques against them.

In announcing his support for Haspel, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said Tuesday he had asked her to write down her views because he believed that in one-on-one meetings she had expressed greater regret, and more resolute moral opposition to the agency's interrogation program than she had communicated during her confirmation hearing last week.

"I believe she is someone who can and will stand up to the President if ordered to do something illegal or immoral - like a return to torture," Warner said in a statement, citing his past interaction with Haspel and the overwhelming support for her among the agency's rank and file and the wider intelligence community. He added that he also had "respect" for those "who have made a different decision" about her nomination.

Warner's support for Haspel provides more opportunity for her to gain the backing of other lawmakers who were conflicted about her nomination. Several Democrats facing tough re-election battles this year, as well as Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, have been caught between the pressures of an administration and agency forcefully lobbying for Haspel's confirmation and the admonitions of senior senators such as John McCain, R-Ariz., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who have said that a vote for Haspel is effectively telling the world that the United States condones torture.

Minutes after Warner's announcement, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D. - one of the GOP's prime targets in 2018 - announced that she, too, would be supporting Haspel.

"This was not an easy decision. Ms. Haspel's involvement in torture is deeply troubling as my friend and colleague, John McCain, so eloquently reminded us," Heitkamp said in a statement. "However, Ms. Haspel explained to me that the agency should not have employed such tactics in past and has assured me that it will not do so in the future."

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who is also up for re-election this year, announced late Tuesday afternoon that he too would vote for Haspel.

Warner said in an interview that he had "been wrestling with his" decision in light of warnings about the message that endorsing someone with Haspel's record would send. He said those concerns were "all fair points."Haspel, who played an integral role in the CIA's interrogation program, pledged during her confirmation hearing last week that she would not restart it if approved to lead the agency. She refused to say, however, that the program had been immoral or wrong, defending the agency's actions - and her own - as legal.

But he stressed that Haspel "had been more forthcoming in private," and that for a career spy like Haspel, it must have been "hard to have that kind of debut in that public a setting" and address every question perfectly.

"With the benefit of hindsight and my experience as a senior agency leader, the enhanced interrogation program is not one the CIA should have undertaken," Haspel wrote in her letter to Warner.

She stopped short of condemning the people "that made these hard calls," and again cited "valuable intelligence collected" through the program - despite the findings of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on torture, released in 2014, which concluded that the CIA's interrogation methods were not a viable means of gaining information. Those omissions - plus the fact that almost all records related to her career have not been declassified - will probably keep dozens of Democrats from voting for her.

But in saying the CIA never should have embarked on the program in the first place, she is putting distance between herself and other senior intelligence officials, many of whom acknowledge that the CIA made mistakes but defend the interrogation program as legal, presidentially authorized and a legitimate response to the immediate threat of attacks by al-Qaeda.

"The United States must be an example to the rest of the world, and I support that," Haspel wrote.

In written answers that the committee released Tuesday, Haspel also said that she would disobey a direct order from Trump to waterboard a detainee, and alert Congress if she ever came under political pressure to change an intelligence assessment. She said it "was a mistake not to brief the entire Committee at the beginning" of the program, acknowledging criticism that the CIA didn't do enough to keep more than a handful of congressional overseers up to speed. At the same time, she appeared to implicate those members who did know about the interrogation program.

"Both the Committee and the Agency shared the goal of obtaining the critical intelligence needed to thwart another attack," Haspel wrote.

Haspel played an integral role in the CIA's program, both as a senior leader in the agency's Counterterrorism Center and a supervisor of a secret facility in Thailand. While she was there, the CIA subjected one detainee to waterboarding.

Notably absent from Haspel's letter was any statement about her role in destroying 92 videotapes of interrogations carried out at the Thailand facility.

Haspel has said she drafted a cable authorizing the destruction, which was sent by her boss, former operations director Jose Rodriguez, in 2005. But Haspel claims she believed Rodriguez would first get permission from the CIA director and its top lawyer before dispatching the cable. Rodriguez has said publicly that Haspel knew he intended to take the matter into his own hands and issue the order, because he believed he had the authority to do so.

But she stressed in her written answers that she has, over her 33-year career, crossed her superiors before, delivering "unwanted news to CIA directors, Cabinet secretaries and the president."

Haspel also wrote that Iran has "continued to substantially meet" the commitments it made under the nuclear deal that, Trump announced last week, the United States intends to abandon.
NORWALK  When Norwalk native Kathleen OBrady was a starry-eyed child, she loved reading about outer space.

Shed check out books on the galaxy from the library and clip space-related articles from the newspaper  it was the first years of the Hubble Space Telescope, a time when countries overcame political differences to work together on the International Space Station.

OBrady got her first telescope around the age of 8 and watched the Hale-Bopp comet blaze across the sky, so bright she could see its tail; on the bus ride home from a Fox Run Elementary School field trip to the Challenger Learning Center in Bridgeport, where OBrady and her classmates simulated a mission, she thought to herself that working in the space industry would be the coolest thing ever.

In short, she was the type of kid that compelled adults to ask, Do you want to be an astronaut?

And my answer is still yes, she said with a laugh.

Fast forward three decades, and OBrady, a Brien McMahon High School graduate, is a NASA certification system engineer, working in Florida on one of the newest frontiers  commercial spaceflight.

In fact, her work with Boeings Starliner and SpaceXs Crew Dragon, commercial spacecraft designed to fly NASA astronauts to the International Space Station, has drawn national recognition with an Early Career Stellar Award nomination. The prestigious prize is decided by a team of scientists, engineers, managers and academics, who mull over whose work has the greatest promise for furthering future activities in space.

While OBrady did not win the award, she earned the nomination for her work tackling a thorny question: What does it take for a commercial spacecraft to meet NASAs standards?

NASA had 275 requirements for a spacecraft that would carry its astronauts to the International Space Station, and OBradys job was to shuttle back and forth between engineers, human health professionals and other experts at all the organizations involved to hammer out exactly what those requirements entailed. For example, one basic requirement was that the spacecraft would have to carry four crew members to the space station.

So you have four crew, OBrady said. Do you have enough room to carry those people? Do you have enough supplies for those four people? Each of these requirements requires a certain strategy. ... Youre defining the minimum of what you need to keep the crew safe and alive for the whole duration.

Thats what makes her work so unique, said Marie Lewis, NASAs public affairs officer. Literally, youre defining something thats never been defined before.

Yeah, its kind of crazy, OBrady said.

Since she created a certification plan for Boeing and SpaceX, the focus has turned to implementation. Every item on the checklist she has drawn up needs to be designed, tested and proven. The process is painstaking.

Not everyone has started working Saturdays yet, but there will be times when we get to that point, OBrady said.

Hard work aside, she approaches her job with excitement and anticipation.

Ive had the opportunity to watch a proposal from a company from a concept to actual hardware being produced, she said.

About seven miles away from her office, parts of both Boeings Starliner and SpaceXs Crew Dragon are being built at the Kennedy Space Center. She described the experience of seeing the processing facility for the Starliner transform as surreal. The empty, warehouse-like space got broken up into office spaces, and a Boeing mural was splashed across the wall. A strange structure, vaguely resembling a domed litter box enveloped in a golden lattice, came into being, surrounded by people actively testing various parts.

They day it leaves Earth, OBrady will have played a crucial role.

When we fly these test flights and these crews, its going to be super emotional and awesome, she said.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
SEBEWAING  The former Satow Furniture and Mason Music store on Main Street, Sebewaing, will be the first branch in Michigan of a non-profit agency that has 26 regional branches across the country.

"As the most recent owner of that building, it has been my hope the building would be utilized in a way that would positively impact the community," said Sally Comer. "I have chosen to facilitate this endeavor and gifted the building to the Orphan Grain Train, a nonprofit Christian volunteer network that shares personal and material resources with needy people in America and around the world."

Pastor David Reed, who served Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sebewaing, will be the Orphan Grain Train branch manager running the Sebewaing center when it opens.

"Sebewaing is the first Michigan location for Orphan Grain Train. Pastor Reed will be working hard to develop a network of resources to establish the organization's Sebewaing branch," said Comer.

"I encourage all to welcome Orphan Grain Train to our community and actively participate in any way you can to help their mission to provide "Relief for Human Need Worldwide."

Comer's sister, Cathy Mason of Chicago, supports the new use for the building.

"The response has been positive. We have gotten a lot of nice feed back in supporting the organization," said Mason.

The store has been in the sisters' family for three generations.

Their grandfather, Erwin Satow, built the two-story section of the store in 1946. In 1953, their mother, Betty, married Dick Mason. They built an addition in 1958 to the original business to help house a music store. The 8,000-square-foot store closed in 2007.

When Reed started thinking about retirement, a fellow pastor suggested the Orphan Grain Train to him as an avenue for his time and energy.

"The Orphan Grain Train is a network of volunteer Christians who coordinate shipping food, humanitarian aid for both foreign and for local disasters," Reed explained. "I met with all of the pastors in the Thumb area and Saginaw Valley region. I have gotten unanimous support in helping with the effort."

And, Orphan Grain Train is a recognized service organization of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

"Orphan Grain Train volunteers gather donations of clothing, medical supplies, food, Christian literature, and other aid to meet real needs," said Comer.

As the branch manager, Reed will oversee the development of the Sebewaing branch, along with building a leadership team, establishing a board of directors, coordinating building and shipping supervisors, and advocating to get word out about the organization.

Setting up the Orphan Grain Train in Sebewaing is just in the beginning stages.

"It won't happen overnight. It will take a lot of legwork to get a network of people to get this going. Churches will not be the only ones involved. It will also include other organizations and communities," Reed said. "Volunteers will help sort and pack the donated items. Contributors donate money to ship cargoes of hope where most needed. Volunteers at the other end of the journey place these gifts in the hands of needy people."

Shipments have been sent to disasters in cooperation with Lutheran Hour Ministries, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod World Mission, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod World Relief, and other Christian ministries. Since Hurricane Katrina, Orphan Grain Train helped deliver 147 semi loads of supplies to the Gulf Coast to support the recovery efforts. Assistance has been provided to Joplin, Missouri, after tornado devastation, as well as Florida, Houston, Texas, and Puerto Rico after hurricanes, among many other disaster areas.

The Orphan Grain Train works with many church denominations, community groups, youth groups and individuals to form a diversified volunteer base, Reed explained.

Since 1992, Orphan Grain Train's 26 regional locations have delivered more than 18 million meals and 2,858 shipments of humanitarian aid to needy people in various states and 66 countries on five continents.

An additional 330 semi-loads of hay and forage products were delivered in 2002-03 to drought-stricken farmers in the Midwest during Operation Hay and Grain Lift.

All of this is done by volunteers and individual contributors.

For more information, call Reed at 989-600-2264; email dreed@ilcmi.org; or visit www.ogt.org.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is getting heat from inside and outside the agency stemming from scores of field office closures and poor customer service.

Bipartisan leaders of a special Senate committee want Social Security to explain why so many facilities have been shuttered, while a new internal watchdog report documents long processing times at hearing offices.

In letters to SSA and the General Services Administration (GSA) on Monday, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, the chairwoman and ranking Democrat, respectively, of the Senate Special Committee on Aging said, "as some 10,000 seniors turn 65 each day and file for Social Security and Medicare, we should be expanding access to services, not reducing access."

Instead, Social Security has closed about 125 field offices since 2000 and, the senators said, "service hours at field office locations have also been cut while wait times have risen and hearing backlogs have grown."

That was detailed in a SSA inspector general's (IG) report that examined two regional Social Security hearing offices and found both had "high average processing times (APT), had below-average staffing levels, low morale, and issues with telework, claimant representatives, and the quality of the support staff's work."

The regions were New York, which covers 16 hearing offices in New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico; and Atlanta, with 37 hearing offices in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee.

These regions "had a disproportionate number of the lowest-ranking hearing offices in terms of average processing time," Acting Inspector General Gale Stallworth Stone said in a letter with the report. In fiscal 2016, 88 percent of the offices in the New York region had above average processing times, as did 65 percent of the Atlanta region, a trend that continued through fiscal 2017.

"It is our view that the availability of conveniently located and adequately staffed Social Security field offices is crucial to providing good service to America's seniors, people with disabilities, and their families," the senators wrote, "and to maintaining the public's trust in Social Security, Medicare, and other programs that SSA administers."

The report, however, demonstrates that the availability of an office alone doesn't ensure good service. But without a convenient office, it could be difficult for many to get any service at all.

Collins and Casey included GSA in their letter, because that agency acts as the government's real estate agency and landlord.

"Particularly concerning are reports that in at least some of the locations where offices were closed, the reason cited for the closure was the inability of GSA to locate acceptable real estate within the geographical area served by the closed or consolidated offices," Collins and Casey said. "This is reportedly the case even in areas where there were signifiant vacancy rates in commercial real estate." They said offices in Arlington, Baltimore, Chicago and Milwaukee are targeted for closure or consolidation.

The GSA did not respond to a request for comment. SSA spokesman Mark Hinkle would not discuss the senators' letter, except to say the agency will respond to them directly.

"Regarding the IG report, Social Security continues to make progress in lowering the hearing pending level. For 16 consecutive months, from January 2017 through April 2018, we have reduced the number of people waiting for a hearing decision. The number of cases pending is now under 1 million, at about 968,000 as of the end of April 2018," Hinkle said. "We will use the information in this report, as well as other information, to continue to identify areas for business process efficiency and improvement in our hearings operation. We will also work closely with the New York and Atlanta Regional Offices and their hearing offices to address the issues identified in this report."

The senators' letter followed, and in some wording closely tracked, one to them from the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare asking for hearings into service issues. "It is difficult to overstate the importance of local Social Security field offices in providing service to the American people," Max Richtman, the committee's president and chief executive wrote last month. "Whether it's time to file a claim for benefits or whether something has gone wrong regarding someone's Social Security benefits, the availability of a convenient network of nearby offices is an essential element in SSA's system of delivering services to the American people."

Marilyn Zahm, a Buffalo administrative law judge in the New York region, who is president of the Association of Administrative Law Judges, cited, by email, "inadequate staffing as the number one problem; many of the ills cited in the report (such as teleworking causing problems and deficient work products) actually flow from this factor."

The IG report confirmed that, saying "we found a general correlation between the support staff ratio and APT."

More support staff was, by far, the most suggested way to improve processing time in 96 interviews the IG did with employees, including management officials, judges, and hearing office staff, for the report.

Insufficient staffing also was a factor in low employee morale that contributes to long processing times and decreased productivity, along with overwork, regional office micromanagement and lack of accountability for poor performers, among others.

Regional office authorities, according to the inspector general's report, "generally agreed with our findings, except for the claims of micromanagement," as might be expected.

Collins and Casey expressed their "deep concern that the recently announced closures of multiple field offices continues a trend that will significantly affect the quality of service that the Social Security Administration (SSA) provides."
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Gaza residents buried their dead Tuesday as the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces at the Gaza boundary fence climbed to at least 60 after several succumbed to injuries overnight, according to local health officials.

Monday's demonstrations, which coincided with the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, were marked by a level of bloodshed not seen in Gaza since a 2014 war with Israel. Israel's use of live ammunition has drawn widespread condemnation, notably from Turkey, which expelled the Israeli ambassador Tuesday after recalling its envoys to Israel and the United States.

Gunfire rang out over Gaza City on Tuesday as rounds were fired during funeral processions.

Further protests were planned as residents attended funerals and prepared to mark the anniversary of Israel's founding, known to Palestinians as the "Nakba," or "Catastrophe." More than two-thirds of Gaza's population is descended from refugees who were displaced at the time of Israel's creation 70 years ago.

However, crowds at the border were thin after the organizing committee for the demonstrations called for a day of mourning to bury the dead. Demonstrators were asked to go home early as the death toll climbed.

Monday's killings more than doubled the number of Palestinians slain in Gaza during six weeks of demonstrations, dubbed the "March of Return." More than 2,700 people were injured, the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said, about half of them from live ammunition. At least six of the dead were under age 18, the ministry said, including a girl whose family said she was 14.

The Health Ministry also reported that a baby died after inhaling tear gas at the main protest area in Gaza. An unidentified doctor told the Associated Press on Tuesday that the baby, Layla Ghaben, had a preexisting medical condition and that he did not believe her death was caused by tear gas.

One more person was killed in demonstrations on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said.

Speculation was rife that crowds were thinner because Egypt had pressured Hamas to order people home. Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was summoned to Cairo on a last-minute trip Sunday night, and senior leaders were noticeably absent from Monday's demonstrations.

Egypt controls Gaza's southern border, which opens only sporadically, while Israel has blockaded its boundary with the territory for the past 10 years. Ahmed Yousef, a former senior adviser to Haniyeh, said it was likely that Egypt warned Hamas to prevent an escalation.

He said Hamas may have secured some short-term concessions from Egypt in return, such as a sustained opening of the Rafah crossing point with Egypt, which has been open in recent days.

"This is the minimum they can ask," Yousef said of Hamas.

Israeli officials, however, justified the military's tactics as necessary to stop the Palestinians from breaking through the border into Israel, which blockaded Gaza after Hamas took control of the enclave in 2007.

Rupert Colville, spokesman for the Office of the U.N . High Commissioner for Human Rights, said Tuesday that while Israel has a right to defend itself, lethal force should be a last resort and was not justified against people who were just approaching the fence. He condemned Monday's "appalling deadly violence."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas condemned a continuing "massacre" of the Palestinian people. South Africa joined Turkey in announcing it was recalling its ambassador from Israel.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called on Muslim countries to review their ties with Israel in the wake of the violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later attacked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter, saying that he "is one of the great supporters of Hamas, and there is no doubt that he understands terror and the massacres well, and I suggest that he not preach morality to us."

Israeli newspapers on Tuesday contrasted the upbeat inauguration ceremony for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem with pictures of the violence on the border but characterized the Israeli reponse to the demonstrations in terms of self-defense.

"Every country must protect its borders," Netanyahu wrote in a tweet. "Hamas is a terrorist organization that states its intention to destroy Israel and it sends thousands of people to breach the border fence to realize this goal. We will continue to act firmly to protect our sovereignty and our citizens."

He was backed by the Trump administration, which blamed Hamas for the loss of life.

Yaakov Amidror, Israel's former national security adviser and a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies, said people around the world condemning the violence need to understand that the Gaza demonstrations are not like protests in Europe.

"They do not take into consideration that this is a cover for a terrorist organization that is attempting to stop Israel from building a system that would stop their underground terror tunnels," he said.

Asked if Israel could use less lethal methods to contain the protesters, most of whom were unarmed, Amidror said that such a question was a good example of those who "can sit in an air-conditioned office, drinking coffee and give advice to the Israeli army that is facing off against many thousands of Palestinians."

Tens of thousands of Palestinians had gathered on the edges of the enclave from midmorning Monday. Many came to demonstrate peacefully, but some protesters appeared to be more aggressive than in previous weeks.

Israeli snipers opened fire, ostensibly to prevent any breach of the border fence, and protesters began to fall. No Israeli soldiers were injured.

In Gaza, Hamas backed the demonstrations, called to protest the loss of Palestinian homes and villages when Israel was formed in 1948.

Commenting in the Israeli daily Yedioth Aharonoth, however, journalist Ben-Dror Yemini said the situation was "self-inflicted" and called on Palestinians to get over the events of 70 years ago.

"There was a Nakba. The Arabs of Palestine underwent expulsion. Tens of millions of people throughout the entire world, including Jews, underwent similar expulsion. But only the Palestinians adopted an ethos of rejectionism, victimhood, suffering and death," he wrote. "They aren't looking to improve things for themselves."

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Eglash reported from Jerusalem.

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Video: On May 14, Israeli soldiers killed dozens of Palestinians and wounded at least 1,600 others demonstrating along the Gaza border fence as the U.S. embassy opened in Jerusalem.(Joyce Lee/The Washington Post)

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Two decades ago, Dana Bashara joined Alamo Heights ISD as a fifth-grade teacher at Woodridge Elementary School.

After years of climbing up the ranks, she'll soon head the district as its superintendent.

The Alamo Heights ISD Board of Trustees named Bashara as the lone finalist for the position, according to a news release Tuesday. She will officially begin job after a 21-day waiting period.

RELATED: U.S. News ranks the top high schools in San Antonio

Bashara, who previously served as principal at Cambridge Elementary School and assistant principal at Alamo Heights Junior High School, was most recently the district's assistant superintendent.

In that role, Bashara led the District Education Advisory Council and chaired the District Design Team.

"(Bashara) has excelled in every role she has taken on - including teacher, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent  and has been instrumental in helping the district develop and implement its strategic plans," Board of Trustees President John Tippit said in the news release. "We are delighted to name her as our next superintendent and have full confidence that she will lead this district to even greater heights for many years to come."

Bashara will succeed Kevin Brown, who was the superintendent since June 2008. Brown was recently named as the Texas Association of School Administrators' executive director.

Brown earned $265,000 in the 2017-2018 school year. It wasn't clear what Bashara's salary will be.

The board decided on Bashara after a search process that included public input from the community.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
Elizabeth Conley/Staff

A man was shot while sitting in his car in south Houston late Monday, according to police.

Trevion Winfree was rushed to the hospital in unknown condition after the gunfire broke out around 10:20 p.m. in the 7100 block of Martin Luther King.
Each January, there is a count of the number of people who are homeless in San Antonio and Bexar County, which helps determine how federal money each government gets to combat the problem.

As this map shows, most people without homes -- including those living on the streets, in cars and abandoned buildings -- tend to gravitate to the downtown area. But they also cluster in encampments throughout the city and even in outlying neighborhoods.
Though he had a keen mind for business, Dr. Pedro R. Miniel decided to become a doctor, a decision he never regretted.

For him, medicine was fun; it was never work, said his daughter Sally M. Arroyo. He never felt like he worked in his life.

A general practitioner, Miniel took care of whole families, delivering babies and performing surgeries to remove tonsils and gall bladders.

He was probably one of the early Hispanic doctors in San Antonio, his daughter said.

Miniel died May 8 at 99.

Born and raised in Kingsville, Miniel was an orphan before he reached his teens.

Just months old when his father died of influenza during the pandemic of 1918, Miniel, an only child, was left alone after his mother died about 12 years later.

She developed pellagra, a diseased caused by a lack of niacin, Arroyo said. She added that had it been just a few years later, it could have been treated.

More Information Dr. Pedro R. Miniel Born: Nov. 27, 1918, Kingsville Died: May 8, 2018, San Antonio Preceded by: Wife Nori Miniel; daughter Melissa Lizette Miniel; parents Pedro and Teresa Miniel Survived by: Daughters Ana T. Morlet, Sally M. Arroyo and Melinda M. Lopez; sons Peter E. Miniel and Robert "Bob" Miniel; 10 grandchildren; three great-granddaughters; a great-great- grandson Services: Memorial at noon June 1 at Sunset Funeral Home Chapel, 1701 Austin Highway, followed by burial at Sunset Memorial Park, 1701 Austin Highway See More Collapse

Miniel was able to stay in school because of his mothers foresight in buying a life insurance policy for $1,000.

She had delegated the principal at the school (where she worked) to handle her sons finances, Arroyo said. Every year, he would give him a small amount of money; he took care of my dad for 15 years.

Miniel was attending what was then Texas A&I University when he received the last $25 of the insurance money.

Miniel already was supplementing his income by working as a lab assistant and selling hamburgers at a nearby plaza.

By the time the first summer was over, he was buying 300 ButterKrust buns every Friday, charging 10 or 15 cents  per hamburger, Arroyo said. He was pretty resourceful.

Graduating with degrees in physics and mathematics in 1939, Miniel was teaching in Falfurrias when he was drafted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Marrying his fiancee at Christmas, Miniel was sent to the University of California at Los Angeles to study meteorology before being stationed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Settling up meteorological stations at the air fields in the area, Miniel and his wife were entertaining all the brass that were flying to Africa, Arroyo said. It was one of the best time of their lives.

Returning to Texas after the war, Miniel enrolled at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, attending classes the first year in an abandoned Sears building while the school was being finished.

Graduating in 1950, Miniel moved his family to San Antonio to complete a residency at Robert B. Green Hospital before opening a practice in the Alameda Theater building

Later, he and another doctor  started a practice together, Arroyo said. They built the first medical building on San Saba, right behind Santa Rosa Childrens Hospital.

Practicing medicine for more than 30 years, Miniel also invested in various properties around the city, including ranches and apartment buildings.

After losing his youngest daughter in a car accident in the late 1970s, Miniel and his wife began selling some of their assets, including the home in Olmos Park in which they had raised their six children.

It was just the two of them, so they decided to sell it and bought a smaller home, Arroyo said.

Retiring from medicine in the early 1980s, Miniel and his wife traveled all over the world.

They had a great life, Arroyo said.

mheidbrink@express-news.net
A megachurch televangelist from San Antonio who claimed that Hitler was part of Gods plan to return Jews to Israel and a Dallas evangelical pastor who once said that Jewish people are going to hell both played prominent roles Monday in the opening ceremony of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Robert Jeffress, who spoke at President Donald Trumps private inaugural prayer service and is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, delivered a prayer at the opening ceremony Monday, while the Rev. John C. Hagee, a televangelist who founded Christians United for Israel and leads a San Antonio megachurch, gave the closing benediction.

Despite their comments about Jewish people, the two pastors are among the leading pro-Israel voices in the evangelical Christian world. Some evangelicals believe that U.S. foreign policy should support Israel to help fulfill biblical prophecies about the second coming of Christ.

The decision by Trump to move the embassy from Tel Aviv fulfilled a major campaign promise and handed a victory to hard-line pro-Israel Americans, as well as conservative and evangelical Christians who have long wanted the United States diplomatic home to be in Jerusalem.

But critics say the move, which broke from almost seven decades of U.S. policy, could risk peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, who both claim Jerusalem as their capital. Mass protests broke out along the border fence with Gaza in the hours before the embassy opening Monday, and Israeli soldiers shot and killed more than 50 Palestinians, the Health Ministry reported.

In their prayers at the ceremony Monday, both pastors praised Trump. Jeffress said the president stands on the right side of you, God, when it comes to Israel. Hagee said the new embassy made a clear statement: Let every Islamic terrorist hear this message: Israel lives.'

Here are some of the most incendiary remarks they have made in the past.

Hagee: Hurricane Katrina punished New Orleans for its sins

After Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in August 2005, killing more than 1,200 people, Hagee said the storm was Gods punishment for its sinful ways, a common trope among conservative evangelists. Those sins included a gay pride parade that was scheduled for the same day Katrina made landfall.

New Orleans had a level of sin that was offensive to God, and they were recipients of the judgment of God for that, Hagee said in an interview on NPR in 2006. Hurricane Katrina was, in fact, the judgment of God against the city of New Orleans.

In the NPR interview, Hagee spoke about his affection for Israel and how he believes Jews will be saved during the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which he has long said is imminent. While Jews do not believe in Jesus as their savior, Hagee said, they will accept him when he appears and they will weep as one weeps for his only son for a period of one week.

But he had a less sympathetic view of Muslims. Islam in general, those who live by the Quran have a scriptural mandate to kill Christians and Jews, he told NPR, adding that about 200 million Muslims wanted to come to America or invade Israel to crush it.

Hagee: Hitler was part of Gods plan for Israel

Hagee has also taken a leading role in conservative politics and threw his support behind Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the 2008 presidential election. But McCain later disavowed Hagees endorsement after the pastors past remarks about Hitler and the Holocaust surfaced.

In a sermon in the late 1990s, Hagee said the Bible made clear that Hitler and the Holocaust  when about 6 million Jews were killed  were part of Gods plan to return Jews to Israel. How did it happen? Because God allowed it to happen, he said, referring to the Holocaust. Why did it happen? Because God said my top priority for the Jewish people is to get them to come back to the land of Israel.

Jeffress: You cant be saved being a Jew

Jeffress, who leads one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in the country, suggested in a 2010 interview with the Trinity Broadcasting Network that some churches might shy away from saying anything thats going to offend people to try to grow their congregations. He made it clear he was going to preach what he believes the Bible says.

Islam is wrong. It is a heresy from the pit of hell, Jeffress said in the interview. Mormonism is wrong. It is a heresy from the pit of hell.

He added: Judaism  you cant be saved being a Jew. You know who said that, by the way? The three greatest Jews in the New Testament: Peter, Paul and Jesus Christ. They all said Judaism wont do it. Its faith in Jesus Christ.

In the past decade, Jeffress has assumed a prominent role in conservative politics, appearing frequently on Fox News and urging in sermons and on television to elect a Christian as president. Non-Christian religions are sending their followers to hell, he preached in a September 2008 sermon.

Not only do religions like Mormonism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism  not only do they lead people away from the true God, they lead people to an eternity of separation from God in hell, Jeffress said. Hell is going to be filled with good religious people who have rejected the truth of Christ.

Jeffress: Mitt Romney is part of a cult

Three months before the start of the 2008 Republican presidential primaries in 2008, Jeffress said in a sermon that the candidate Mitt Romney, a Mormon, was part of a cult.

Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and dont let anybody tell you otherwise, Jeffress said in September 2007, according to The Dallas Morning News. Even though he talks about Jesus as his Lord and savior, he is not a Christian. Mormonism is not Christianity. Mormonism is a cult.

After the pastor said on Fox News over the weekend that he would give the opening prayer at the embassy ceremony, Romney called him a religious bigot.

Jeffress: Gay Is Not OK

Before Jeffress joined First Baptist Dallas, he led the First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas, near the Oklahoma border. He made national news in 1998 when he refused to return two books about children with gay parents to the citys library.

A church member gave him the two books  Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddys Roommate  and then Jeffress sent a $54 check to the library for the cost of the books. We wanted to highlight the problem in our community, Jeffress told The Associated Press in May 1998. I really hope people will look at the book and see what their tax dollars are supporting.

He said he was trying to protect children because homosexuality causes the deaths of tens of thousands every year through AIDS.

A decade later in Dallas, he gave a sermon titled Gay Is Not OK, which led to protests outside the church. Even though culture changes, Gods word doesnt change, he told The Dallas Morning News.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Animal Care Services has forwarded a case to the Bexar County District Attorneys Office involving three people caught on video abandoning five dogs in a Southwest Side neighborhood.

ACS Assistant Director Shannon Sims said the agencys recommendation for the trio and the owner of the animals was for Class A misdemeanor charges, which brings a punishment of one year in jail and up to a $4,000 fine.
A man who police say was pointing a gun at people on the East Side was killed Monday afternoon during a shootout with two officers.

San Antonio Police Department Assistant Chief Anthony Trevino said a nearby officer quickly responded to the call around 5:30 p.m. at South Pine and Iowa streets.

At the intersection the officer found a man in his 30s matching the description from the call, police said. The man was walking away from a bus stop.

RELATED: SAPD: Gunmen on the loose after slaying near school

The officer started honking at the individual, trying to get his attention, Trevino said.

The man, who had his back turned to the officer, immediately turned and started shooting at the patrol vehicle, investigators said.

The officer returned fire from the inside of his vehicle, shooting through his windshield, Trevino said.

After the initial volley of shots was exchanged, the officer repositioned himself and resumed shooting at the man, Trevino said.

A VIA Transit Police Department officer drove up as the SAPD officer was honking his horn. Police said the VIA officer got out of his vehicle and also started shooting at the gunman.

The individual traveled about 15 yards and fell in a vacant lot, Trevino said.

EMS arrived and pronounced the man dead, Trevino said. He has not been identified.

The SAPD officer who fired the shots is a 30-year veteran of the force, Trevino said. The VIA Transit officer has been with the department for one year, police said. Neither has been identified.

Both officers were placed on administrative leave by their respective agencies as police investigate the incident.

We dont know what wouldve happened if the situation had been prolonged, Trevino said. As soon as our officers arrived, this evolved really, really quickly. Were just glad there was nobody (else) that was injured.

jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA
There's been an "unusual" update to the case of a San Antonio businesswoman with ties to the Spurs and District Attorney Nico LaHood who had a DWI charge from February dismissed in April, despite police reports and a search warrant affidavit indicating she was intoxicated.

A police report said Catherine Amato - known as the "Subway Queen" because she owns multiple local Subway restaurants - was swerving in traffic, nearly hit a San Antonio police officer's patrol car, swayed on her feet during a traffic stop and had open containers of vodka in her purse and car.
The Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD informed district parents and students that it has postponed a decision to phase out the districts International Baccalaureate program.

A May 3 letter signed by Clemens High School Principal Missy Sosa was sent to parents of students in the IB program and states that after much reflection and data analysis the district would begin phasing out the program due to a decline in student interest and participation by as much as 50 to 75 percent over the past five years.

The IB program is is designed to challenge highly motivated secondary students. The effectiveness of IB is due to the depth of the individual courses and the comprehensive nature of the program, the districts website states.

The program is a fit for students who want to be academically challenged by a college-preparation curriculum, according to the website.

The May 3 letter said student interest in the IB program has declined while overall high school enrollment has increased. The letter detailed a phaseout plan in which current Clemens sophomores would be the last students able to enroll in IB classes and complete the two-year diploma program. No pre-IB or IB coursework would be available to current freshmen, who are members of the Class of 2021.

After word circulated among parents and students, the district backtracked on the immediacy of the programs phase-out plan.

A May 11 letter said a final decision regarding the future of IB has been postponed.

Over the past week, information was shared regarding the phasing out of the  IB program at Clemens High School, the follow-up letter said. The program has been under review to determine its cost effectiveness as a way to deliver advanced coursework for our high school students.

The letter stated that a committee was formed to help balance the effectiveness and efficiency of district operations with overall program sustainability, student needs and interest.

The May 11 correspondence confirms that no decision has been made on the future of the IB program.

We will continue to offer the same courses for the classes of 2020 and 2012, current freshmen and eighth-graders, while a final decision regarding the future of the IB program is made, the unsigned May 11 letter stated. The IB coursework begins during a students junior year.

No timeline was released by the district as to when a decision might be made, or if parents and students will receive further communication or updates on the programs longevity.

jflinn@express-news.net
Each year, Texas A&M University-San Antonio holds a special Patriot Cord Ceremony for our graduating students who are serving in the military or are veterans. At this years ceremony today, May 16, one of the brave men and women we will honor is Cadet Command Sgt. Maj. Jose Michel.

Michel, 34, is a first-generation college student who is participating in the U.S. Armys Green to Gold Active Duty Option Program, a two-year program that allows eligible enlisted soldiers to earn a commission as an Army officer by completing a baccalaureate degree or a two-year graduate degree.

In a city thats proud of its military heritage and during a month when our nation honors those in uniform, Michels story of hard work and sacrifice is both inspiring and instructive.

After attending community college for two years, Michel joined the Army at age 20. There he learned the value of discipline, not only to help him complete a mission but also to make progress toward his goal of becoming an Army officer. For 14 years, as he progressed through the enlisted ranks, he took one college course after another. Along the way, he came to recognize the complementary nature of education and military service.

The more educated the soldiers are, he noted, the better the military experience is and the more they can give back to their community.

Having grown up with my family on a military installation in Alaska called Naval Air Station Adak, I developed a deep appreciation for the men and women living in remote parts of the world to protect our country. My time there allowed me to witness the sacrifices that our servicemen and servicewomen make when they are separated from their loved ones for long periods of time.

I also came to appreciate the vital support that universities such as A&M-San Antonio provide when those in the military return home to pursue their education. Each year, I am moved by the remarkable stories of grit and academic excellence that come from our military-connected students.

One of those students has been working diligently to complete his coursework for a bachelors in emergency management, while at the same time serving as cadet command sergeant major of the ROTC program that includes cadets at A&M-San Antonio, Wayland Baptist University, Alamo Colleges and UTSA. I am happy to say that Jose Michel will be pinned the rank of second lieutenant by the U.S. Army shortly before he walks across the stage of A&M-San Antonios spring commencement on Friday, May 18.

In doing so, he will not only fulfill a lifelong goal but also set an example for all those servicemen and -women following in his footsteps.

Cynthia Teniente-Matson, Ph.D., is president of Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
A 19-year-old woman was arrested Monday after an unnamed witness gave police a recording of her admitting to fatally shooting a 20-year-old woman with help from a fellow gang member, court records say.

Paola Perez was arrested Monday on a charge of a first-degree murder in the death of Brianna De La Cruz. She was booked into the Bexar County Jail, where she will join her alleged partner in the shooting, Kedreen Pugh, who was arrested in April.

Records released after Perez' arrest provide more details about the killing.

De La Cruz's body was discovered in the 800 block of South Foster Road around 5 a.m. on March 29 by a man who saw her crawling along the side of the road, "trying to reach up for help," according to court records. By the time paramedics arrived, she had died.

RELATED: SAPD ID hotel-robbing couple accused of smashing into police cruiser head-on during NW side chase

Days later, a witness told police Pugh had admitted to shooting De La Cruz because she had stolen money from him and Perez. He said she was "crawling for her life" after he shot her, according to his arrest affidavit.

Before police arrested Pugh, they interviewed Perez, who implicated Pugh and an unknown woman in the shooting. Pugh, a documented gang member, was arrested and charged with murder on April 4.

On May 9, police contacted Perez again to talk to question her about a human trafficking case in which she was a potential victim. She told police that she and De La Cruz had met Pugh together and that he was their pimp. They had to placate his "bad temperament" by making money for him, otherwise he was prone to "extreme violence," according to records.

She also told police that Pugh "became infatuated" with De La Cruz. Perez said she knew De La Cruz was stealing money from Pugh and begged her to stop, but she ultimately told Pugh about the stolen money because she was scared of him, court records show.

RELATED: Disgraced ex-San Antonio lawyer Prins gets six-year prison sentence

Five days later, an unnamed witness contacted police, claiming they had a recorded confession from Perez. In the recording, Perez allegedly says she and Pugh gunned down De La Cruz together.

During the same recording, she claimed she and Pugh were Bloods gang members and had done drug deals together. She also admits to killing another person during a botched drug deal, though details on that are not available, authorities said.

The witness who gave police the recording said Perez had coordinated with her father to flee Mexico after confessing her crimes. Before she was able to do so, police obtained an arrest warrant for her and booked her into jail.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

Caleb Downs is a crime reporter for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here.| cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
SAN ANTONIO - A second suspect was arrested Monday in the fatal shooting death of a woman who was found dead in March on an East Side road.

Paola Perez, 21, was charged with murder in the death of Brianna De La Cruz, police said. Kedreen Marque Pugh, 30, was arrested and charged with murder on April 4, according to previous reports.

De La Cruz was found dead in the 800 block of South Foster Road on March 29 by a passing motorist.

RELATED: 20-year-old woman found shot to death on East Side road is identified

Evidence at the scene led detectives to believe she had been shot several times there before she was left for dead, police said.

"We believe Miss Perez was with Mr. Pugh the same night of the shooting," said Douglas Green, a spokesman for the San Antonio Police Department.

Investigators said the two took De La Cruz to Foster Road where both of them shot her multiple times with handguns.

Greene said Perez and Pugh thought that De La Cruz had stolen money from them.

"That led to an argument, which subsequently led to the shooting," Greene said.

RELATED: Affidavit: Gang member said 20-year-old S.A. woman was 'crawling for her life' after he shot her

Detectives learned of Perez's involvement when they received information from an anonymous source Monday, police said.

She was arrested on the West Side near Culebra Road, Greene said.

As Perez was being led by officers to a police vehicle at Public Safety Headquarters Monday night, she said she knew De La Cruz.

She shrugged her shoulders at reporters and said that she didn't know what led to the shooting.

Asked by reporters if she had any regrets or remorse for what occurred, she responded "no."

"(Del La Cruz) didn't care about my family, she didn't care about my children, she didn't care about me," Perez said. "She's the one who put herself in that situation."

jbeltran@express-news.net | Twitter: @JBfromSA
AUSTIN  Former Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez out-raised Houston businessman Andrew White heading into early voting in their gubernatorial runoff but he still has considerably more in his coffers, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Texas Ethics Commission.

Valdezs campaign said Tuesday she raised $208,000 from Feb. 25 - just ahead of the March 6 primary - through last Friday. White raised $178,936 during that same period.

The amount raised by Valdez is lower than the $290,655 she initially listed on a report filed with the Texas Ethics Comission. Administrative errors that led to the discrepancy were caught after the report was filed, said Kiefer ODell of Valdezs campaign. He said she was filing an amended report.

Early voting started Monday for the May 22 runoff, in which Valdez and White are competing for the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in November.

The campaign finance reports showed that White maintained more cash on hand than Valdez, thanks to a $1 million loan he made to his campaign before the primary election. He reported having $980,943 after spending $166,309 in the last finance period.

Valdez initally reported having $258,196 in cash on hand. But after correcting the administrative errors, ODell said, her actual cash on hand was $115,282.

The numbers are an indication of the uphill climb either Democrat will have against Abbott, who at last count had more than $41 million in cash on hand. A Democrat hasnt won a statewide election in Texas in nearly a quarter of a century.

While competing against Gov. Abbotts record will be easy, the harsh reality is the Democratic nominee will have to also compete against his war chest. If nominated on May 22nd, this election will be a true David v. Goliath fight, and were picking out a smooth stone, White said in a statement. I am so thankful to our supporters and Im humbled to have earned their trust. Right now, were sprinting toward the finish line.

Valdezs campaign didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.

Peggy Fikac is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | pfikac@express-news.net | @pfikac
Its a rare occasion when you find me without a James Avery cross on my neck or a ring around my finger. As a kid growing up in Kerrville, home of the original James Avery store, I looked forward to each birthday and Christmas. I knew that I would find a pale-yellow gift bag with copper paper with my name on it.

James Avery jewelry has been a part of my life as long as I can remember.

I got my first cross necklace (Fleuree cross) shortly after I was baptized on Feb. 6, 2000, two weeks before my 10th birthday. Thats still my favorite one to wear, although my collection of James Avery crosses has grown since then.

OPINION: To treat the Earth with disrespect is blasphemy

But James Avery jewelry has helped me beyond my Christian faith. Before my husband left for Afghanistan, I knew that I needed some symbol for our bond. He was my fiance when he left to serve; we planned to marry when he came back. So it was important to me that both of us had a token of our connection. My engagement ring is beautiful and spectacularly unique and precious, but I wanted something that reminded me of Gods protection over both of us. We went into the nearest James Avery store to purchase a long-chain silver necklace and charm for me and a silver ring for him that read, God be with us together and apart.

I wore that necklace every day of his tour. When I knew he was on a mission and facing danger, I held that necklace in my palm as I read and reread Psalm 91, Gods promise of protection. I admit it was a relief the day he came back and I didnt feel the need to wear that charm anymore, but I keep it handy for when my husband heads out on business trips, just in case. Because we arent exactly in a typical business. We work for a nonprofit development and disaster relief organization called LiveBeyond in Haiti  a place where Christian faith is persecuted.

RELATED: Jesus' teachings  not his appearance  matter most

On some of the work trips Ive taken for development work, I couldnt openly wear a cross because local culture had somehow syncretized its meaning with the unholy. But that long chain necklace came in handy because it meant I could wear my cross beneath my clothes.

My James Avery crosses have never been about fashion, although they are quite fashionable. They are about faith. They symbolize my personal faith walk with God. It may seem like just a piece of jewelry, but its more than that  its a reminder of the closeness of God and his desire for connection with his people.

While he lived, James Avery crafted each cross in his jewelry collection with care and precision, a work that continues today. I hope to share this artistry with my own children, just as my parents did with me.

James Avery was a pillar in the Kerrville community. He touched the lives of others through his artistry and his generosity. He used the financial blessings given to him through James Avery Jewelers to support local arts endeavors and offered scholarships to graduating high school seniors. He also worked closely with the Hill Country Youth Ranch, even serving on the board of trustees.

It is my hope that his legacy of giving lives on in his business and his jewelry.

Devin Vanderpool is the director of communications for LiveBeyond, a nonprofit humanitarian organization founded by David and Laurie Vanderpool in 2005, dedicated to providing clean water, medical care and adequate nutrition to the poorest of the poor.
Texas lawmakers habitually try to avoid discussing the A word  abortion. They have flashed a green light for religiously based foster care homes to fall silent when a youth seeks help with an abortion. Some Child Protective Services workers have said privately that state policy makers fervent opposition to abortion makes them reluctant to help the abused and neglected girls in state care seek one.

When lawmakers absolutely must tolerate having the A word mentioned  and in the Womens Right to Know booklet that theyve ordered every woman in Texas to read as a condition of having one, it was unavoidable  they make sure the information provided about abortion is inaccurate and misleading.

And now, that misleading information is being forced into the hands of young immigrants across the country. According to the Dallas Morning News , the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement wants to take the Texas booklet, inaccuracies and all, coast to coast. ORR has instructed that every pregnant immigrant minor in ORR custody, in facilities outside of Texas as well as within the state, read the booklet when considering their pregnancy options.

Yes, Texas has a habit of exporting bad policy.

Last fall, ORR, under the direction of Scott Lloyd, held one of our clients hostage for more than six weeks. ORR tried  unsuccessfully in the end  to force her to continue a pregnancy she did not want to continue. Janes Due Process helped this Jane Doe who was fleeing a violent home and neighborhood in El Salvador receive a judicial bypass for abortion. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Jane Doe finally was able to get an abortion  however, not before the feds decided to tell her abusive parents about her pregnancy and force her to go to a crisis pregnancy center, a faith-based facility where the medical staff prayed over her.

The case went up to a federal district court in Washington, D.C., where a judge ruled that ORR could not block access for our Jane or the other Janes seeking abortions who are being held in the agencys privately operated detention facilities across the country.

If not for the fact that Scott Lloyd has made imposing his anti-abortion beliefs on vulnerable youth a hallmark of his leadership at ORR, it would be shocking that federal refugee officials consider the Womans Right to Know booklet, as it is known, an ideal briefing paper for youth who are seeking asylum. Forty-eight percent of the information it gives about a womans first trimester is inaccurate, the Rutgers Informed Consent Project found. Multiple physicians organizations have dinged the booklet for supplying inaccurate information on incidence of breast cancer and infertility after abortion.

But, following Texas lead, ORR wants to scare, shame and mislead young women, including those who were sexually assaulted on their way north to escape abusive households or violent gangs.

Adding insult to injury, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission is updating the infamous pamphlet with an add-on about the judicial bypass process.

Titled So You Are Pregnant, Now What?, HHSC recently opened the supplemental booklet aimed at teens to comment. Numerous groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and the Texas House Womens Health Caucus, have urged the commission to get it right.

In the hit TV series The Handmaids Tale, a dystopian story of a future America where women are reduced to birthing vessels, the government closely monitors the menstrual cycles of the women it controls. Today, not in fiction but in reality, ORR director Scott Lloyd has asked staff to keep a spreadsheet of all the pregnant young women in his care.

Creepy? Yes. Young women in immigrant holding facilities, foster care and in the population at large deserve much, much better treatment than the Trump administration and Texas are dishing out.

Tina Hester is executive direct of Janes Due Process, which provides legal representation for pregnant minors in Texas. Information about the nonprofit can be found at janesdueprocess.org.
The one area in which any president has almost complete latitude is foreign affairs. Lord save us.

Lord save the world, actually. President Trump is making rash and risky moves that promise either brilliant success or catastrophic failure. Given that its Trump were dealing with, I do not like the odds.

I can only applaud his achievement in securing the release of Kim Dong-chul, Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, the three Americans who were being held in North Korea on baseless charges  apparently as bargaining chips.

OPINION: Mr. Fix-It, Jared Kushner, destined to fail

We want to thank Kim Jong Un, who was really excellent, Trump said. It was an odd way to describe a dictator who leads one of the most brutal and secretive regimes on earth  a man whose nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, according to Trump and his advisers, pose a grave and unacceptable threat to the United States and its allies.

Trump announced later Thursday that he and Kim the Excellent (formerly known as Rocket Man) will hold their much-anticipated summit on June 12 in Singapore. I remain skeptical that Kim will ever give up his hard-won nukes and missiles, even for an ironclad U.S. promise never to attack or seek regime change, which is what Kim says he wants.

Kim is finally getting one thing that North Korean leaders have always sought  one-on-one negotiation with a U.S. president as equals. I believe Trump was right to agree to a summit, since the policy of not talking hasnt worked. But a lot more groundwork should have been laid, and I fear Trump will return with a bright, shiny package full of promises that turn out to be empty..

RELATED: Iran deal better for Israel than no deal

I understand why Kim would want to get out from under international sanctions and offer his oppressed people enough economic growth to make his own position more secure. I also understand why he might want to signal officials in neighboring China that if they are not more forthcoming with money, technology and other goodies, North Korea has another suitor knocking at the door.

But theres no reason to prejudge the summits outcome when we dont even really know the agenda. Kim has already declared a pause in his provocative nuclear and missile testing. Maybe he and Trump will emerge with a pact to reach a more substantive agreement at a later date. That would be a good thing  while were talking, were not shooting  and Trump would have achieved something worthwhile.

That credit is negated, however, by Trumps unjustifiable and reckless decision to renounce the Iran nuclear deal. Of all the bad decisions Trump has made as president, this is the most dangerous. He seems to be trying to start an unthinkable war.

Officials in Germany, France and Britain have pledged to try to keep the agreement alive. But with the Trump administration already threatening to sanction European firms that continue to do business with Iran, it is unclear if the deal can survive without the worlds leading economic power and most important reserve currency.

MORE: Trump should not withdraw from Syria

It is customary to insert the caveat that the Iran agreement isnt perfect, that it has obvious flaws. But actually it is, or was, quite good. It has provided an unprecedented window into every nook and cranny of the Iranian nuclear program; divested Iran of its stocks of highly enriched uranium that can be easily made into fuel for bombs; and halted Irans steady progress toward nuclear weapons for at least a decade.

Put yourself, for a moment, in the Iranian regimes position. You know that the full economic benefits of the deal will never come through. You see the U.S. administration aggressively promoting your rival, Saudi Arabia, as a dominant regional power that is bristling with advanced new weapons and backed by other Sunni states. You see nuclear-armed Israel effectively joining in as a member of an anti-Iran coalition.

Iranian officials can just surrender. Or they can intensify their campaigns of asymmetrical warfare, using groups such as Hezbollah, while also secretly resuming work on a bomb.

I fear that Trumps decision greatly increases the likelihood of a major war in the Middle East  not because he has a better idea, but because he cant bear living with a landmark pact signed by Barack Obama.

eugenerobinson@washpost.com
There has been plenty of public discussion about the merits of San Antonio bidding to host the Republican Partys 2020 National Convention, but the one conversation that really mattered took place behind closed doors.

That was a mistake by Mayor Ron Nirenberg and City Council. It may have also violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. To that end, this newspaper has filed a complaint with the state Attorney Generals Office requesting a review of whether the closed meeting violated state law, and if so, to remedy such closed government.

District 6 City Councilman Greg Brockhouse has requested that District Attorney Nico LaHood investigate any legal violations. But legal or not, the meeting should have been public. Interest in this topic remains high.

It hasnt helped that Nirenberg has been clear as mud about the meeting. On one hand, he has said there was no decision to make. There was nothing to approve or reject. It was just a discussion about the economics of hosting, and the strain 40,000 visitors might place on the community.

Yet, the mayor also said Council decided not to bid, which strikes us as a course of action  a bad one, but one nonetheless.

But theres a catch: City Attorney Andy Segovia has said the decision to bid resides with Visit San Antonio, the private nonprofit tasked with promoting the city.

Until 2016, it was known as the Convention & Visitors Bureau and was part of the city. At that time, we argued vociferously against privatizing the CVB out of concern about a situation such as this. By turning the CVB into a private nonprofit  one that still receives significant public funding  city officials could shut out the public from governance.

Thats just what happened. After Nirenberg and City Council held its closed-door meeting, Visit San Antonio officials then held a meeting and decided not to pursue a convention bid.

The city of San Antonio should be bidding to host the 2020 Republican National Convention (and any other national convention). The economic impact has been estimated at $200 million. With ample hotel and convention space, San Antonio would have made a great host.

Disagreement with President Donald Trump  and readers know we have many  are not reason enough to cast aside opportunity. This includes the opportunity to model political discourse and dissent.

But Nirenberg and the City Council, surprising no one, chose to not bid on the convention. Or maybe, technically, that decision was made by staff at Visit San Antonio.

Either way, its a discussion, and a decision, that should have been made in public.

This editorial has been updated to reflect this papers formal complaint to the Texas Attorney Generals Office. That complaint calls for a formal review of whether the citys closed-door meeting violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.
JERRY LARA /San Antonio Express-News

The nation is just shy of three decades since the 1991 Gulf War. Since then, there has been mounting evidence that unique events in that short war have had long-lasting health effects on the service members who served.

And, this will surprise no one familiar with the nations history on believing veterans when they say their ailments are service connected. Many veterans of that war are still fighting the Veterans Administration for compensation and for disability rulings.
Re: Nominee defends CIA actions; But Haspel says the spy agency should never resume torture, front page, Friday:

How dare Democrats such as Sen. Kamala Harris ask if enhanced interrogation methods are moral!

This line of questioning from the same people that approve of dismemberment abortion  where a babys limbs are literally ripped from its body during the procedure.

I ask all of you abortion-backing Democrats  is that moral?

David Gay

Who are these guys?

Don Blankenship, two-bit thug and minor individual, has proven that even he can pull off 20 percent of the Republican vote in West Virginia. Even after calling the Senate Majority leader a cocaine person and his wife a China person. You may be gone, Don, but you will never be a forgotten person. At least not by this remembering person. Who the devil are those 20 percent persons?

Mark A. Hall

Trump gets it done

Former President Obama traded five high-ranking Taliban detainees at Guantanamo for an American soldier who walked off his post in Afghanistan. President Trump (and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo) brought three innocent American hostages home from North Korea without surrendering anything. What a difference competence makes!

Jerry Garber
THE British Government has dismissed as absurd conspiracy theories claims by former Cabinet Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo that the United Kingdom is backing President Mnangagwa and his party Zanu-PF ahead of the countrys harmonised elections.

Instead, the UK said it was impartially advocating for a free and fair electoral process and was funding civil society organisations to promote a credible election.

In a series of tweets on Sunday, Prof Moyo who fled into exile during Operation Restore Legacy in November last year  accused the British Government and its Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Ms Catriona Laing of supporting President Mnangagwas administration.

He even attacked Ambassador Laing for wearing a scarf with Zimbabwean flag colours claiming it was confirmation that she had endorsed President Mnangagwa.

https://twitter.com/ProfJNMoyo/status/995697173072367617

The scarf shot to fame in January when President Mnangagwa started wearing it at various public engagements.

Ambassador Laing and the United Kingdom Government used the same platform to dispel Prof Moyos absurd theories with the British envoy saying she was one of the first people to own the scarf after it was presented to her as a Christmas gift by its designer in December last year.

@ProfJNMoyo Sorry to put a spanner into your absurd conspiracy theories but my scarf in Zimbabwe flag colours was a Xmas present from the designer so I had it long before anyone else. Im not supporting anyone or anything other than a better future for #Zimbabwe, tweeted Ambassador Laing.

The UK Government also shot down Prof Moyos claims that it was supporting President Mnangagwa to win the countrys elections.

Prof Moyo had claimed that the BBC Hardtalk interview with MDC Alliance presidential candidate Advocate Nelson Chamisa was biased against the MDC-T leader.

The UK government pointed out that if it did not want a credible election  as Prof Moyo was claiming it was not going to pour millions to capacitate civil society organisations towards the holding of free and fair elections.

@ProfJNMoyo knows the BBC is ruthlessly impartial and takes pride in giving all politicians  including and perhaps especially British ones  a hard time. The idea they would take instructions from @ukinzimbabwe is laughable, tweeted a spokesperson for the UK Government.

Any actual substantive evidence of bias? We are spending 24 million on support to civil society this election cycle  to try and support #freeandfairelections. Would we bother if we wanted one candidate to win?

Prof Moyo, one of the G40 kingpins, went into self exile last November at the height of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Operation Restore Legacy meant to target criminal elements that were surrounding former President Mugabe who resigned in the same month.

He has been rabidly tweeting from parts unknown, attacking everything pro-Zanu-PF to the point of paranoia.

 Chronicle

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EUROPEAN donors are ready to inject funding into Zimbabwe once the MDC Alliance is elected into government, former finance minister Tendai Biti has said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader was addressing an MDC Alliance campaign rally at Bambazonke Business Centre in Marange on Sunday.

Sundays rally came after the alliance leaders returned from a trip to the United Kingdom where they held meetings with British government officials.

This election is about finding a new development partner, said Biti

We were in England recently where we received an overwhelming response from donors who want to inject their funds and bring Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into our country. There are a lot of donors awaiting the MDC Alliance government.

We saw some elders in UK who promised us that if Chamisa wins the forthcoming polls they will bring funding and FDI straight away to Zimbabwe.

The ruling Zanu PF must be held criminally responsible for under-developing Zimbabwe, particularly areas such as Bocha and Chiendambuya, Biti added.

It`s so sad that $15 billion (in diamond revenues) was stolen yet Bocha is poor and under-developed.

Zanu PF must be held criminally responsible for under developing the country. Thats indictment because they have failed the people of Zimbabwe.

He also lamented the poor state of Zimbabwes infrastructure, noting that only 10 percent of the country`s roads were tarred.

What was left by Ian Smith is what is still there or dilapidated. There is no meaningful development to talk about in the country, said Biti.

Statistics released by United Nations agencies on childrens and women`s health in Zimbabwe were also disconcerting.

The statistics by UNICEF with regards to health of children and women in the country are not pleasing considering that its now 38 years after we attained independence as a country, said Biti.

He added; We want people to choose their leaders freely without fear.

Soldiers must go back to their barracks. We want SADC, European Union (EU), and United Nations to be guarantors of these elections.

We dont want a previous situation where our President Morgan Tsvangirai won the election but failed to take up power.

 NewZimbabwe

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- Suspected herdsmen numbering over fifty stormed two villages in Kogi state on Monday, May 14, morning

- The armed men reportedly killed 10 people and left several injured during the attack

- Goods worth several millions of naira were also reportedly destroyed

Gunmen suspected to be herdsmen have reportedly killed ten people and wounded several others during an early morning attack on two Tiv settlements in Ijumu local government area and Mopamuro of Kogi state on Monday, May, 14.

One of the communities affected is in Ilai, the outskirts of Mopamuro, and the other in Ido-Gbede, according to a report by This Day.

The herdsmen, numbering over 50, invaded the two communities, brandishing AK47 rifles and destroying goods worth several millions of naira.

READ ALSO: 2 Boko Haram terrorists killed as brave soldiers rescue old man during gunfight

The local government administrator of Mopamuro LGA, Honourable Moses Sunday David, said the attack came barely a week after the community had a peace and security meeting at the Elulus palace to forestall such unfortunate occurrence.

He said: We shall work with the security agencies to see that we rejig security architecture to ensure that people and properties are safe."

The police PRO of the state police command, William Ayah, when contacted on the attack, however, said he was not aware of the attack on the two communities.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, the Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, has once again reiterated his accusation that the leadership of the herdsmen group, Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, are responsible for the incessant killings of farmers and villagers in the state.

Legit.ng gathers that Ortom made this statement while fielding questions from journalists on his return from China after a two-week leave.

The governor said he has instituted criminal proceedings against the leaders of Miyetti Allah at the high court in Makurdi and they would be charged with the murder of the 73 victims killed on New Year in the state.

Benue IDPs: Education amidst crisis on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- The EFCC has arrested six suspected internet fraudsters, aka Yahoo-Yahoo boys, in Abuja

- The arrests were carried out on Friday, May 11, following an intelligence report on the activities of the suspected fraudsters

- Various items were recovered from the suspects, who will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded

Six suspected internet fraudsters, aka Yahoo-Yahoo boys, have been arrested in Abuja, by operatives of the advance fee fraud section of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), The Cable reports.

The development was made public by the spokesman of the anti-graft agency, Wilson Uwajuren, who disclosed that the suspects were picked up at one of their hideouts in the Kubwa area of the FCT.

READ ALSO: I have achieved more in 3 years than PDPs 16-year misrule - Buhari

Legit.ng gathers that the suspects have been identified as Ihoeghian Aghasomwan, Precious Osarumen, Enabulele Osazee Frank, Osahon Scott, Efe Ehieorobo and Peter James.

Uwajuren said the arrests were carried out on Friday, May 11, following an intelligence report on the activities of the suspected fraudsters.

He stated: Surveillance was carried out and the identity and location of the fraudsters who specialize in defrauding innocent citizens both within and outside the country through internet was identified.

On arrest, some of [the] items recovered from the suspects include  one Toyota Camry 2009, 10 laptop computers, 4 ECOWAS International passports, 17 mobile phones, 2 flash drive, HP printer and Certificate of Award of Asian Professional Security Association in favour of Sun Yaje.

Also recovered was a travelling bag and Air Peace check-in bag suggesting Abuja as its destination dated March 19, 2018 labelled with two paper clearance certificate of Custom Controlling Department, International Affairs China, No: 00548 and TDK courier service worldwide express service shipment details with track No: ME103178131."

According to the anti-graft agency, as soon as it concludes investigations, the suspects will be charged to court.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Lagos zonal office, in the early hours of Friday, May 11, arrested over 12 suspected internet fraudsters in the Ikoyi area of Lagos.

A statement by the EFCC said its operatives stormed the popular Club 57 on Awolowo Way, Ikoyi, where the suspected Yahoo-Yahoo boys were rounded up, following intelligence report.

While some of the suspects abandoned their exotic cars to avoid arrest, others put up resistance, thereby turning the environment into a war-like zone of sorts.

Busted: Over 300 suspected hoodlums, criminals and prostitutes paraded in Lagos - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit
- The campaign groups of President Buhari and the Kebbi state governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu have reportedly clashed in the state

- The disagreement is said to have happened because of underhand plans by the two groups for recognition

- The development has also polarised the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2019 general elections

There was a pandemonium in Kebbi state as the campaign groups of President Mohammadu Buhari and governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu reportedly clashed in the state over underhand plans by the two groups for recognition.

Leadership reports that the disagreement came up as the two rival campaign organisations that are campaigning for the re-election of President Buhari and governor Bagudu.

READ ALSO: Armed bandits kidnap 87 passengers along Kaduna highway

The groups are the Four Plus Four Group under the leadership of Alhaji Kabiru Giant, and Buhari Bagudu Support Organisation (BBSO) under the leadership of the governors personal assistant Faruk Enabo.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The rivalry stemmed from an earlier agreement that all political support groups agitating for the re-election Buhari and Bagudu should collapse their activities into one platform for better management and funding, which the rival groups rejected due to mutual suspension.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that Alhaji Danladi Pasali, national coordinator, Buhari campaign organisation said the organisation will compel the president to re-contest in 2019. Pasali said this in Bauchi on Saturday, February 17, while inaugurating BCO northeast zonal secretariat and officials that would run the affairs of the secretariat.

Pasali said this in Bauchi on Saturday, February 17, while inaugurating BCO northeast zonal secretariat and officials that would run the affairs of the secretariat.

2019 reelection bid: Should President Buhari heed Obasanjo's advice? on Street Gist on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- Nigeria is likely to begin exportation of fertilizers

- The country is said to have begun exportation to border nations like Chad, Niger Republic, Benin Republic, among many others

- Local production of fertilizer increased from 500,000 metric tonnes pre-2015 to two million in 2018

Various indications showed that Nigeria might be on the path of becoming the net exporter of fertilizer within the next two years.

The possibility was announced by the chairman of the Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Thomas Etuh.

Etuh said Nigeria is currently selling agro input to Benin Republic, Chad, Cameroon and Niger Republic.

READ ALSO: 2019: Shehu Sani names 6 men who have integrity like President Buhari (list)

In a statement, the FEPSAN chairman said the expand will help restore Nigeria's position as the food basket of the West African sub region. He said the export opportunity would be made possible through the increased local production of fertilizer from 500,000 metric tonnes pre-2015 to two million in 2018.

Before the conceptualization and activation of the PFI, we had a situation where there were 32 fertilizer blending plants in Nigeria that were moribund. Out of this number, only five blending plants were functional and even then, they were producing at 10 percent capacity on the average and that was because of excessive emphases on importation.

READ ALSO: German police crack down on Nigerian men, others as dozens of raids are carried out to uncover fake marriages

"This also meant, by its very implication, that we were exporting our jobs even when we cannot provide jobs here in Nigeria. Foreign Exchange that is scarce is spent building other peoples economies," Etuh said.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria's agricultural sector is set to benefit from the federal government's plan to set up a nuclear research center.

An agriculturist, Ijeoma Njimezi, said that besides serving as an eco-friendly means of generating electricity, nuclear technologies, which the proposed research center would offer, it could be adapted into different areas of agriculture.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Njimezi said this would include insect control, food preservation and increasing crop yield.

Nigerias agricultural revolution kick-starts in Nasarawa state on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
President Muhammadu Buhari has departed Dutse in Jigawa after a 2-day working visit to the state and has arrived in Abuja to commission the new ultra modern head office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad disclosed this on Twitter on Tuesday, May 15.

While in Jigawa, the president had on Monday, May 13, launched the N9 billion Hadejia Valley Irrigation Scheme (HVIS) rehabilitation project in Auyo local government Area of Jigawa.

President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the new EFCC Headquarters in Abuja. Credit: Facebook, Aso Rock Villa.

READ ALSO: 2019: Shehu Sani names 6 men who have integrity like President Buhari (list)

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki and secretary general of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland were present for the commissioning.Credit: Facebook, Aso Rock Villa.

Recall that sometime last year, the speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, gave an assurance that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission will get the funds needed in the 2017 budget to complete its head office by December.

President Buhari check a notice board at the new EFCC head office: Credit: Facebook, Aso Rock Villa.

Legit.ng had also reported that Yakubu Dogara on Wednesday, May 9, visited the new head office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) located at plot 301/302 Research and Institution Cadastral District, Jabi, Abuja.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

Dogara who was on a working visit described the building as a dream come true, noting that the project was justified considering the quality of infrastructure put in place and the fine finish of the work.

Expressing his joy at the infrastructure, he said: You can see now, we have an excellent facility. I want to commend all who have contributed to the successful completion of this project particularly the acting chairman, EFCC, and his team. For me, it is a dream come true. This is the kind of thing we want to see.

The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit
Political operative James Carvilles version of a classic political saying is: When your opponent is drowning, throw the son of a bitch an anvil.

So why is Jeremy Corbyn instead grabbing an anvil and jumping in the deep end of the pool too?

UK based readers who know the ins and outs of party infighting no doubt will have plenty more to offer, but the short version of the story is that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is now officially backing a hard Brexit.

During the Brexit referendum, Corbyn was a not-terribly-enthusiastic Remain supporter. In the tumultuous fight in Lords over the nowhere-near-as-important-as-everyone-made-out fight over whether the UK should try to stay in a customs union with the EU, Corbyn instructed Labour Lords to abstain. About 80 defied him and voted for a customs union.

Yesterday, Corbyn rejected the so-called Norway or EEA option, which is tantamount to supportig a hard Brexit. From the Guardian:

Jeremy Corbyn has told Labour MPs that a Norway-style option cannot be considered by the party, but faces a party split after rebel Lords passed an amendment to the EU withdrawal bill which would keep membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) as an option. Speaking at a private meeting of MPs in parliament, Corbyn told them there were significant issues with the Norway-option, which could leave Britain as rule taker without influence at EU level. He emphasised the need to unite both leave and remain supporters, according to a senior Labour source. EEA membership, often described as the Norway option gives countries full access to the EUs internal market, allowing it to trade goods with EU states without customs fees, except food and drinks which are subsidised by the EU. Iceland and Liechtenstein are also members of the EEA, but the terms mean accepting freedom of movement and, as a non-EU state, the UK would have to accept EU regulations with no seat at the table in Brussels.

Due to the late hour, unfortunately I will not be providing the backup from Richard Norths voluminous work on Brexit, but he has roundly dismissed the idea that the UK would be a mere rule taker in the EEA:

Sadly, not only do we get this low drone of ignorance, it embellished by the the same tedious mantra, that the UK also would have to fully implement EU laws and regulations  while losing any say in drafting or vetoing them  again an egregious untruth.

For instance, in his Flexcit proposal, North contends that the UK would have quite a bit of control over immigration under EEA rules while still getting the benefit of Single Market access.

It is also important to yet again note, that the hard versus soft Brexit debate of recent weeks is completely unhinged from a policy standpoint. So I worry about reinforcing confused political and press discussions. So let us stop here and remind ourselves that the big fight of the last three weeks or so over whether Parliament can force May into negotiating a Brexit in which it stays in the customs union, is not going to produce the outcome its backers say it will, that of having frictionless borders. A customs union is just about tariffs. It does not get rid of non-tariff barrier like, Chlorinated chicken is not on and we are going to inspect to make sure you arent trying to ship that in. To have all of the various procedures in place way upstream before anyone gets near a border so as to make a border a nothingburger, you need to be in the internal market too.

But back to the main plot. Its hard to know how much of Corbyns position is due to realpolitik versus misguided British old left positions.

A lot of the left, from old Stalinists to other doctrinaires, hate the EU as a neoliberal project and object strenuously to some of its core ideas, like freedom of movement (which creates the opportunity for wage suppression) and EU strictures against nationalization of industries.

While this is all true, the idea that the UK is or would be less neoliberal than the EU, particularly with the Tories having meaningful influence, is daft. Did they miss the memo that the big reason for UKIP and Tory enthusiasm for Brexit (outside the little Englanders) is they want to gut EU labor and environmental regulations, among other things, to squeeze workers even more? And did they also manage to miss that non-EU immigration to the UK is greater than EU immigration?

I also wonder the fact that Blairites, as allies of the City, favor a soft or better yet no Brexit, is clouding Corbyns perspective. Just because the Blairites are mainly wrong does not mean that they are always wrong. There are many young people who live in the Southeast who arent employed in finance jobs, vote Labour, and grew up with being able to visit and work in Europe and will miss that under Brexit, to the degree that some are emigrating.

Another Guardian story, an opinion piece by Rafael Behr, gave some additional theories for Corbyns move:

Three reasons stand out. First: a fear of being cast as Europhile saboteursLabour is not polling well enough in areas that voted for Brexit to risk letting off a remain-themed firework in parliament. Second: squeamishness about immigration policy  EEA membership would preserve free labour movement. That doesnt have to mean totally unregulated borders: there are mechanisms such as work permits for managing migration from within the single market. But to advertise them, Labour would have to take the initiative on a subject that is fraught with risk Third: there is ideological hostility to single market rules prohibiting certain forms of industrial subsidy. Those restrictions, it is argued, would obstruct a radical-left economic programme. Whether that is true depends on how radical and how left you want to go. Everything in Corbyns 2017 manifesto could have been implemented within existing EU rules. The leaders office might be fizzing with more drastic anti-capitalist plans, but no one says what they are.

In the end, the debate over what kind of Brexit is likely to be seen with the benefit of hindsight as yet more reckless misrule. The UK is still in denial about the fact that there is no solution to the Ireland border problem save the politically explosive sea border solution, and the deadline for confronting that is fast approaching. What happens in June when it becomes harder and harder to ignore that the choices are crash out or what the UK would scream is capitulation? No one outside Ireland seems to be trying to prepare the public for this outcome.

So it isnt at all clear if Corbyn giving May a break of sorts she isnt entitled to matters in light of the bigger forces at work. Since the machinations of UK party jousting are over my pay grade, I hope you Brits will help educate the Statesiders.
Dear patient readers,

Links are a bit light at official launch time. Start now and refresh your browsers at 8:00 AM for a full ration.

Top 100 Economics Blogs of 2018 Intelligent Economist. NC is on the list again!

The Jaguar Is Made for the Age of Humans Atlantic (J-LS)

Plastic Bag Found at the Bottom of Worlds Deepest Ocean Trench National Geographic

California is turning farms into carbon-sucking factories Grist

The future of urban transport (the bike) Wired (PlutoniumKun)

We dont take cash: is this the future of money? Financial Times (Li)

NYT: More than 2 dozen people killed by carbon monoxide after leaving on their keyless cars WSFB

Cod and Immune Broth: California Tests Food as Medicine New York Times

Exercise is good for you  unless its part of your job Guardian (PllutoniumKun)

How Lakewinds Food Co-op is carving out a niche in the competitive suburban grocery scene MinnPost (Chuck L)

What to do if you find yourself chokingand no ones around thetakeout.com (J-LS). The problem is people probably need to know how to do the Heimlich maneuver in the first place. One of my pet peeves is that everyone should be taught this plus CPR in high school, and for older people, their first day at a job.

North Korea

Recent Chinese Tech IPOs Have Been Tanking Bloomberg

Australia

East Coast rail franchise to be scrapped by transport secretary Guardian (JTM)

Bolivian President Evo Morales Warns of Plan to Invade Venezuela by US, OAS teleSUR (furzy)

Mexicos education reforms flounder as more spent on PR than teachers Guardian (JTM)

Syraquistan

Imperial Collapse Watch

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

Tariff Tantrum

A World Apart: Charting the Gulf Between Chinese and U.S. Tariffs Wall Street Journal

Trump Transition

You Should Pay Attention to the Messy Pennsylvania Primaries Vice

Legal sports betting set to explode after court ruling. But get ready for a battle over the dollars Los Angeles Times

Teslas top engineer takes break; Elon Musk begins reorganization Autoblog (EM)

Tesla Model S Driver Says Autopilot Was On Before Crash Into Firetruck: Police Jalopnik. Kevin W: Thats two red firetrucks now.

Time to wipe out the absurd credit default swap market John Dizard, Financial Times (Li)

Investors Are Wary as Companies Ramp Up Capital Spending Wall Street Journal

Guillotine Watch

Class Warfare

Antidote du jour. A belated Mothers Day entry. MGL:

Love this scene, at a distance

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wildlife/2018/05/13/tis-the-season-of-newborn-moose-calves-in-anchorage-heres-your-annual-reminder-to-steer-clear/ A mother moose and her twin newborn offspring rest next to the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson along the Glenn Highway in May 2017. (Bob Hallinen / ADN) Anchorage Daily News

And a bonus antidote:

See yesterdays Links and Antidote du Jour here.
Readers may recall that we posted last week on the fact that CalPERS Charles Asubonten was on CalPERS board meeting agenda to run most sections of todays Finance and Administration Committee meeting, per our Daily-Mailish headline: CalPERS Has Chief Financial Officer Charles Asubonten, With Verifiable Misrepresentations on His Resume, Presenting to the Board Next Week. What Gives?

We asked California readers to write their state legislators, and include the heads of the Senate and Assembly pension committees, the State Treasurer and Controller, who also sit on the CalPERS board, and CEO Marcie Frost. Many of you got right on it and sent out postal letters and e-mails.

Your messages elicited a response. Reader Brandon e-mailed me yesterday:

From: Brandon Subject: To Yves  RE: CalPERS Has Chief Financial Officer Charles Asubonten, With Verifiable Misrepresentations on His Resume, Presenting to the Board Next Week. What Gives? Date: May 14, 2018 at 7:46:04 PM EDT To: blogger@nakedcapitalism.com I thought you might like to see this She replied to me AND ALL the Senators, Assemblyman, Congressional Representives, etc that I included in my email. Ha! Response from Marcie Frost: Good afternoon, I assure you we have taken the questions regarding Mr. Asubontens employment background seriously. I wanted to respond to your concern immediately but must be limited in my response at this time. Our board is meeting this week and Officer in Charge, Marlene Timberlake DAdamo, is presenting to the Finance and Administration Committee tomorrow . Ms. Timberlake DAdamo has served as the interim CFO in the past. Marcie Frost CalPERS CEO



Sent from my iPhone ^ and send from her iPhone? These are the people I included in my email and that she reply-alld to: Jim Cooper < assemblymember.cooper@assembly.ca.gov ,

Richard Pan < Senator.Pan@senate.ca.gov ,

Mike Morrell < assemblymember.morrell@assembly.ca.gov ,

Connie M. Leyva < Senator.Leyva@senate.ca.gov ,

John M. W. Moorlach < Senator.Moorlach@senate.ca.gov ,

Anthony J. Portantino < Senator.Portantino@senate.ca.gov ,

Freddie Rodriguez < assemblymember.rodriguez@assembly.ca.gov ,

Travis Allen < assemblymember.allen@assembly.ca.gov ,

Sabrina Cervantes < assemblymember.cervantes@assembly.ca.gov ,

Ken Cooley < assemblymember.cooley@assembly.ca.gov ,

Patrick ODonnell < assemblymember.odonnell@assembly.ca.gov ,

John Chiang < john.chiang@treasurer.ca.gov ,

Betty Yee < b.t.yee@sco.ca.gov ,

It would appear that CalPERS initiated a disciplinary process, as they are called in California Department of Personnel Administration speak, presumably for:

Fraud in securing appointment

.

Includes falsification of information on an application or health questionnaire to such an extent that an employee would not otherwise have qualified for the job, or omission of required information pertaining to criminal or adverse work history; also covers cheating on examinations or using other illegal means to obtain employment

The Supervisors Handbook contains a very detailed description of how the process works. Bear in mind that because Asubonten is still on probation, the bar for misconduct necessary for him to be dismissed is comparatively low. Readers who have any knowledge of these procedures, please pipe up!

Two things seem certain:

If CalPERS has decided to dismiss Asubonten, he will not be able to keep his job. As we showed with extensive, supporting documentation, Asubonten told multiple, verifiable lies on his resume. He also filed a Form 700, a financial conflicts of interest form that does not comply with the required standards. Finally, even a heavily redacted version of his employment application showed additional misrepresentations. Employment applications are filed under penalty of perjury. Perjury is a felony. Asubonten will still try to sue CalPERS. Even though by any logical standards, Asubonten has no case, not having a case does not prevent people from showing up in court. And Asubonten has a history of being litigious and behaving in bad faith. Recall that we discussed that he tried suing his former employer Palabora Mining Company and Rio Tinto for supposedly underpaying his bonus and denying him and his family the benefit of return flights to the US. If your read the filing, it is hard to fathom how Asubonten ever got the idea in his head that he might win. It was astonishing that Asubontens case was not dismissed, since as a condition of his separation, he had signed an agreement waiving the right to all claims, meaning forswearing litigation. And this was after Rio Tinto had been much nicer to him than they had to be, by letting him stay in a company house and paying his kids tuition for three months longer than they were required to. However, there is one reason Asubonten might not sue: if CalPERs attorneys in discovery can go full proctological in discovery on Asubontens private equity business, or more accurately, what his sources of income were after he returned to the US, and whether his reported income was high enough to support his lifestyle. Asubonten has not held up well under scrutiny. A well-constructed response could allow CalPERS attorneys to go over Asubontens history with a fine-toothed comb and make it public record. Given how Asuboten has gone to unusual lengths to hide information about his business, like not even publicizing a business name phone number, or office address, he might want to think twice before doing even more damage to himself.

Finally, it appears that CalPERS staff is trying to mislead the board on the level of media coverage that laffaire Asubonten has received. If you look at the latest CalPERS

Office of Public Affairs Strategic Communications Report, to be presented today, you will see in the microtype below, the headline to the Michael Hiltzik story, Questions about new CalPERS CFOs background and experience should be taken seriously by the pension fund. The table shows the story as appearing in the Burbank Leader. Only if you look at the barely readable footnote number 4 (difficult to interpret even with the font size greatly enlarged) and then go find the actual footnote, two pages later, in even teenier type, do you see that the story ran in the Los Angeles Times.

In keeping, there is no listing whatsoever for the April 20 Sacramento Bee story, Inflated-resume claims prompt review of top CalPERS official.

This was the same behavior that the CalPERS Office of Stakeholder Communications exhibited with its now defunct, copyright violating Daily News Summary. Around 2014, on the occasions when we looked at it, it provided a decent news roundup and also included all major CalPERS news stories, whether favorable or not. As CalPERS started getting more critical coverage of its private equity program, the selection of CalPERS articles became very much skewed towards the positive ones. It looks like the bubble-blowing machinery is still very much in use at CalPERS.
Significant progress has been made on the provision of an extension to South Tipperary General Hospital in Clonmel, with the announcement that the contract for the construction of the new 40-bed unit has been awarded.

Healthcare Accommodation and Staffing Solutions (HASS), a company based in Hertfordshire in England, and which has an office in Dublin, has been awarded the contract to build the extension, which was sanctioned by Health Minister Simon Harris last September to deal with chronic overcrowding at the Clonmel hospital.

https://www.nationalist.ie/news/home/270638/minister-harris-anounced-forty-bed-modular-unit-for-clonmel-hopsital.html

The news has been welcomed by Tipperary Deputies Michael Lowry and Seamus Healy.

Approximately 80 jobs will be created when the new unit opens towards the end of this year or early next year.

It's expected that the extension will improve conditions at the hospital, which has experienced one of the highest rates of overcrowding in the country for the last few years.

https://www.nationalist.ie/gallery/local-news/307184/simply-out-of-control-overcrowding-at-south-tipperary-general-hospital.html

"The project is well underway", says Deputy Lowry.

"It's happening, it's a reality and I'm delighted that it has been delivered and that the work is ongoing".

He said that the layout and design drawn up by HASS for the new building was now ready to be signed off by the HSE and hospital management.

"The enabling works are already underway and already there's a lot of activity on the site".

Deputy Lowry said that Nevin Construction had levelled the site and were providing the water, sewage and drainage works to service the new building.

It's anticipated that an application for planning permission will be lodged in the middle of June.

He said the procurement of the equipment was also underway and he expected the unit to be commissioned by the end of November or early December.

Deputy Lowry said tremendous progress had been made and he paid tribute to the "huge level of inter-action and spirit of co-operation" between the HSE, hospital management and the hospital consultants, which had advanced the project to this stage.

Deputy Seamus Healy, meanwhile, said that the extension was something that the Save Our Acute Hospital Services had requested for a long time.

The committee had met several Health ministers, including James Reilly, Leo Varadkar and current Minister Simon Harris, in their campaign to have the new unit approved.

They had also asked the Minister to facilitate meetings with hospital management and management of the HSE's south west hospital group to keep the pressure on.

Deputy Healy said that a lease contract had been agreed, which meant that HASS would build the unit and maintain it for up to five years before it was transferred into the ownership of the HSE.

He said the 80 jobs that would be created in the operation of the unit would include nurses, healthcare assistants, cardio technicians, radiography and support staff.

Deputy Healy said it was hoped to have the extension up and running by next January. Staff would be recruited and the equipment procured so that the new building would "hit the ground running" once it was built.

He said there would be a separate contract to build a bridge connecting the unit with the existing hospital.
A convicted killer who subjected a woman to a sexual assault that was likened to "rape with a machete" has lost an appeal against his conviction.



Walter Morrissey, aged 70, of Upper Bridge St, Callan, Co Kilkenny, was found guilty in 2013 of leaving his former partner with life-threatening injuries after an aggravated sexual assault at his home.



During his trial in 2013 the Central Criminal Court heard medical evidence that Morrissey had used his fist to tear a 6cm rip in the womans vagina. When she was brought to hospital, a doctor remarked that he did not know how she was still alive.



Gynaecologist Ray OSullivan said it was an injury more likely to be seen in women raped with machetes in Sub-Saharan Africa.



In 1977 Morrissey was convicted of the double manslaughter of a father and son by deliberately driving his car into them. Morrissey drove over his neighbour, Francis McEnery, who was out walking with his four-year-old son Marcus in Mullinahone, Co Tipperary, and received a four-year jail term for the killings.

In 1999 he was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault of a woman. He was jailed for 13 years in 2013 when Mr Justice George Birmingham described him as a cunning, devious, and manipulative man who represents a significant threat to the public.

Morrissey appealed his conviction on four grounds. He said that the trial judge had erred in not giving him sufficient time to instruct a new solicitor after Morrissey sacked his legal team on day eight of his trial. The trial judge told Morrissey that if he wanted to sack his legal team he could, but he would not be given a new one and would have to represent himself.

Morrissey further claimed the judge should have given greater regard to concerns he raised after two jurors were discharged during the trial, leaving only ten to deliver the final verdict.



He also stated that the judge should have discharged the jury after the victim revealed during cross examination that Morrissey was a sex offender and "on the sex offender list".



Justice John Edwards sitting with Justice Alan Mahon and Justice John Hedigan at the Court of Appeal refused all grounds and upheld the conviction. Dealing with the claim that Morrissey was prejudiced when the injured party revealed that he was on the sex offender's register, they noted that the defence team did not immediately object and ask for the jury to be discharged.



Instead, Justice Edwards said, the defence team took a tactical decision to continue with the trial, only making the application to discharge the jury later. The judge accepted that the comment was "of the most prejudicial type" but said the decision not to object at the time precludes the Court of Appeal from considering it as a basis for overturning the conviction now.



They dismissed Morrissey's concerns regarding the two discharged jurors having noted that his legal team consulted him before the judge discharged the jurors and he told them he had no objection. Addressing his complaint that the trial should not have gone ahead after Morrissey sacked his legal team, the Justice Edwards said the trial judge "acted correctly and properly".

He added: "It should not be open to an accused, who senses that a trial may be going against him, to seek to up-scuttle the proceedings and secure a retrial before a new jury by discharging his legal team."



As he was led away to continue his 13-year sentence Morrissey called to the judges and said, "this is a 100 per cent insult" and "heap of crooks. Liars."
Cancer survivor Stephanie Powell, the face of the Irish Cancer Societys Daffodil Day campaign this year, has thanked the people of Tipperary for their generosity as total funds raised for cancer patients have reached over 3m.

With more funds still to be banked the Society is hopeful of reaching its target of 4m over the coming weeks to ensure it can provide critical services for those in need.

Last year the Society saw increased demand for services and had 1.3m interactions with people affected by cancer. The Society receives just 2 per cent of its funding from the State and needs to raise one fifth of its income through Daffodil Day donations alone to meet the growing demand for support.

This will include funding the Night Nursing service locally, which delivered 375 nights of care in Tipperary last year. It will also help support those recently affected by CervicalCheck controversy through the provision of counselling and support on the Cancer Nurseline.

Stephanie Powell credits funds raised on Daffodil Day with supporting her through her own cancer experience. She said, Five years ago I could never have imagined Id get involved in something like this. But in 2011 I was told I had breast cancer. After that I realised just how important fundraising days like this are. Without people like you taking part in Daffodil Day I might have a very different story to tell. I am so grateful to be alive and here to be part of my grandchildrens lives. I genuinely believe thats down to cancer research, which is funded by people like you supporting Daffodil Day. Whether you sold daffodils on the street, held a coffee morning or fundraised at work, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Mark Mellett, Head of Fundraising, Irish Cancer Society said, We are so thankful and heartened by the generosity of Tipperary people and our sponsors Boots for the support they have shown for our most crucial fundraiser. Money raised on Daffodil Day funds lifesaving cancer research and vital supports services for the 165,000 people living with cancer in Ireland today. People are still holding events and collecting funds in communities around Ireland so we are hopeful of reaching our target. This money is essential to ensure we can meet the growing demand so that no one has to face cancer alone.

Daffodil Day, the Societys longest running collection day in the country, was proudly supported by Boots Ireland. Colleagues in all 86 stores around Ireland got involved by holding cyclathons, bake sales and raffles to raise funds.

Bernadette Lavery, Managing Director, Boots Ireland added, The support of our colleagues and customers across our 86 Boots stores in Ireland this Daffodil Day was fantastic. In addition to the fundraising activities of our colleagues, our Cancer Beauty Advisors and Cancer Information Pharmacists were on hand offering advice and information. It was an extraordinary day and the generosity of our customers was simply amazing. Our partnership with the Irish Cancer Society is incredibly important to us in helping to make a real difference to the lives of families affected by cancer in our communities.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg thanked President Emmanuel Macron for his strong personal commitment to the transatlantic relationship and France's substantial contributions to the Alliance. At a meeting at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday (15 May 2018), Mr Stoltenberg highlighted France's contribution to the NATO battlegroup in Lithuania and to Baltic Air Policing, as well as the country's role in the fight against terrorism, including in Iraq and the Sahel. 

Mr Stoltenberg and President Macron had a strategic discussion on current challenges and the preparations for the Brussels Summit in July. They addressed NATO's continued adaptation and modernisation, as well as burden sharing within the Alliance. The Secretary General thanked France for its leadership on defence spending, including by outlining a clear plan to spend 2 percent of GDP on defence by 2025.

France also shows leadership on cyber defence, by organising the first Conference on the Cyber Defence Pledge in Paris, with the participation of the Minister for the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, and the North Atlantic Council. Cyber defence is a priority for the Alliance, which deals with cyber-attacks on daily basis and whose members have faced large-scale cyber-attacks over recent years.

In his keynote speech at the conference, the Secretary General highlighted the new challenges brought by cyber-attacks, such as the need to have a full spectrum of responses. For almost 70 years, NATO has been the bedrock of transatlantic security. Whether on land, at sea, or in the air. The same is now true in cyberspace, he said. Mr. Stoltenberg underscored Frances strong commitment to the Cyber Defence Pledge. France is leading the way, investing 1.6 billion euros and employing thousands more cyber experts, added the Secretary General.
The NATO Deputy Secretary General, the Honourable Rose Gottemoeller will meet the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mr. David Zalkaliani and the First Deputy Minister of Defence of Georgia, Ms. Lela Chikovani at the new NATO HQ on Wednesday, 16 May 2018. They will both attend the NATO-Georgia Commission.

There will be no media opportunity.

Still and video images will be available on the NATO website after the event.

Follow us on Twitter (@NATOPress and @Gottemoeller)
(As delivered)

Minister Parly,

Ambassadors,

Ladies and gentlemen.

May I start by thanking France for hosting us today.

France is a strong NATO Ally, contributing to our shared security and our collective defence in many different ways.

You have high end capabilities.

You have professional, dedicated forces.

You have the resolve and the will to deploy them when needed.

And also in cyber space we see France leading the way.

And just the fact that France is organising this conference.

The first annual conference on the Cyber Defence Pledge.

Shows Frances strong commitment to our collective defence and also to the efforts to strengthening our cyber defences.

And to implement the Cyber Defence Pledge.

So therefore it is really a great honour and pleasure to be part of the opening of this conference.

Moving NATO forward when it comes to adapting to the many threats and challenges we see in cyberspace.

From the moment a rock was first used as a hammer, society has been driven by technology.

Todays great leap forward is not physical, but it is digital.

In just a few decades, the digital revolution has given more people access to communication, education and news than ever before.

But there is a dark side to this technology.

In recent years, we have seen many large scale cyber-attacks.

Here in France, TV-Cinq Monde was taken off air by hackers.

Fancy Bear, a group associated with the Kremlin, hacked the main political parties in the United States.

In a brazen attempt to influence the 2016 election.

Last years WannaCry attack forced Renault to halt production at several of its factories.

And brought hospitals in the United Kingdom to a standstill.

The very nature of these attacks is a challenge.

It is often difficult to know who has attacked you.

Or even if you have been attacked at all.

There are many different actors.

Governments, but also criminal gangs, terrorist groups and lone individuals.

Nowhere is the Fog of War thicker than it is in cyberspace.

Low cost and high impact, cyber-attacks are now a part of our lives.

Some seek to damage or destroy.

If these were hard attacks, using bombs or missiles instead of computer code, they could be considered an act of war.

But instead, some are using software to wage a soft-war.

A soft-war with very real, and potentially deadly consequences.

***

For almost 70 years, NATO has been the bedrock of transatlantic security.

Whether on land, at sea, or in the air.

The same is now true in cyberspace.

Today, NATO has three key roles to play in cyberspace.

To drive progress across the Alliance.

To act as a hub for information sharing, training and expertise.

And to protect our networks.

First, driving progress across the Alliance.

In 2014, NATO leaders agreed that a cyber-attack could trigger Article 5 of our founding treaty.

Where an attack on one Ally is treated as an attack on all Allies.

Traditionally, an Article 5 attack would be with tanks, aircraft and soldiers.

Now it can come in the form of a cyber-attack.

Placing cyber at the very heart of what we do.

In 2016, NATO leaders designated cyberspace as a domain, alongside land, sea and air.

This meant re-examining everything we do, from top to bottom.

Whether we are in Afghanistan or the Baltic countries, cyber is now a core part of our operations.

Also in 2016, leaders agreed to the Cyber Defence Pledge.

The focus of this conference.

As a result, in less than two years, almost every Ally has upgraded their cyber defences.

France is leading the way, investing 1.6 billion euros and employing thousands more cyber experts.

But Allies are not working alone.

Throughout NATO, they are working together, pooling their knowledge and experience, and helping each other.

The Cyber Pledge has a multiplier effect across the Alliance.

With the results being far greater than the sum of their parts.

The Pledge is also helping nations to look at their cyber-defences in a far broader, more holistic way.

Involving government departments, public sector organisations, private companies and individual citizens.

Each of them has an important role to play.

***

NATOs second role is as a hub of operational information and expertise.

We share information about cyber threats in real-time.

As we did with the European Union, nations and private companies during last years WannaCry and NotPetya attacks.

As part of our new Command Structure, we are setting up a Cyber Operations Centre.

To integrate cyber into our planning and operations.

And I welcome the contribution by some Allies of their national cyber capabilities to NATO, as Minister Parly just mentioned.

I hope that more Allies will make similar offers at our next Summit in July.

NATO Cyber Rapid Reaction teams are on standby to assist Allies, 24 hours a day.

And the NATO Centre of Excellence for Cyber Defence in Estonia leads on research, education and training.

The Centre of Excellence also organises large-scale cyber exercises, such as last months Locked Shields, the worlds largest, live-fire cyber exercise.

It gave participants the chance to test their systems and critical infrastructure against world-class opponents.

The exercise consisted of 30 teams and more than a thousand cyber-experts.

And I am delighted  and a little relieved!  to say that the NATO team won!

And since Im in Paris, Im also glad to say the French team came a very close second!

***

Finally, NATOs final role is to defend its own networks.

NATO has hundreds of experts protecting our networks and systems around the clock.

And we need them.

NATO is attacked every single day.

And the threat is evolving all the time.

***

Being strong in cyberspace is as important for our deterrence as our conventional forces have always been.

The idea of deterrence is simple.

To make the potential costs of an attack too high.

And make the potential gains of an attack too low.

By making cyber a domain

By encouraging Allies to develop their own cyber capabilities

And by agreeing that a cyber-attack can trigger an Article 5 response

We can make the potential cost of action by an aggressor high.

And, in that way, strengthen our deterrence, defence and resilience in cyberspace.

I am often asked, under what circumstances would NATO trigger Article 5 in the case of a cyber-attack?

My answer is: we will see.

The level of cyber-attack that would provoke a response must remain purposefully vague.

As will the nature of our response.

But it could include diplomatic and economic sanctions, cyber-responses, or even conventional forces, depending on the nature and consequences of the attack.

We need a full spectrum response.

So we can respond to serious cyber-attacks even if they dont cross the Article 5 threshold.

But whatever the response, NATO will continue to follow the principle of restraint.

And act in accordance with international law.

Knowing who has carried out an attack can often be difficult  initially at least.

But attribution can also play an important role in helping to deter future attacks.

We must also lower the potential gains of any attack.

The Cyber Pledge increases investment in new, secure systems.

But even the best system is only as secure as its users.

Some of the biggest cyber-attacks have only been possible because of human error.

Such as picking up an infected USB Drive placed in a car park, and plugging it into a computer.

Or clicking on a bad link in a phishing email.

It is time we all woke up to the potential dangers of cyber threats.

In the Second World War there was a popular saying.

Loose lips sink ships.

Today it is weak passwords, failing to add software updates, or opening unfamiliar emails.

Simple things.

But if we get them right, we go a long way to protecting ourselves.

***

So, ladies and gentlemen, the digital revolution has improved our lives in many ways.

But like the physical world, there are dangers that we must guard against.

We are making real progress.

Nations are investing resources where it counts.

And people the world over are increasingly aware of the importance of being secure online.

Todays conference focusses on NATOs Cyber Pledge.

A pledge that is driving progress across the Alliance.

And making us all safer as a result.

I hope you have a productive conference and help drive that progress even further.

Thank you so much and all the best with the conference.
Ed, a Humboldt County pot farmer was outside a friends house last year when he was assaulted and robbed at gunpoint. He says he was followed to the East Bay home after making a delivery to a San Francisco dispensary.

The guy came up to me and said, give me the bag, Ed said.

Then came the beating and the gun, said the grower, who asked that his last name not be used for safety purposes.

He hit me a couple of times, Ed said. His friend got out of the car with a gun and said, give me the bag. And at that point, I gave him the bag and got clocked in the face.

The $15,000-worth of weed in Eds bag was gone in a matter of minutes. He was left empty handed, needing seven stitches on his lip.

Ed, who owns the company Quantum Genetics, says he had to be on alert when doing business. If he wasn't carrying bags full of product, his bags would be full of cash. Under Prop 64, Ed is no longer handling those transactions because the law mandates distributors transport product on his behalf. But industry insiders say the vast majority of those transactions still revolve around cash, so the risk remains for those involved.

NBC Bay Area

Despite the legalization of marijuana in California, cannabis remains illegal under federal law, which means most banks wont touch weed money. The lack of a banking system still looms like a dark cloud over the industry, a problem that shows no signs of being solved anytime soon.

The Trump administration last year reversed course on an Obama-era policy that took a more hands-off approach to marijuana enforcement in states where its legal. While California is trying to come up with some banking workarounds for the pot industry, officials say their hands are mostly tied until the federal government removes cannabis from the list of Schedule I drugs.

As a result, the industry is largely cut off from even the most basic banking services, such as checking accounts, applying for loans, and accessing credit.

While dispensaries and growers have grappled with a cash-only enterprise for years, many in the industry tell NBC Bay Area the lack of a banking solution creates unnecessary danger and stifles growth.

Business in a Cash-Only Economy

Ed says growers have to get creative if they want to avoid keeping large sums of cash around. The Humboldt County bank where he used to keep his money shut down his account.

Within two months it closed, and I was asked to pick up all my money, he said. I was told it was a high-risk account.

He now drives his cash more than 600 miles to a bank in Los Angeles that hasnt linked him to the cannabis industry.

I drive it down there to put it into an account because up here they see me with $7,000 in cash, with $20 bills, and its very obvious Im in the cannabis industry, Ed said.

He says growers have also come up with other ways to stash their cash, like turning it into cryptocurrency. A handful of California credit unions have decided to work with people in the cannabis industry, but some complained they can charge exorbitant fees and only work with well-established businesses.

The Risk

Ed says compared to some growers, he is working with smaller stacks of cash because he invests the majority of his profits back into his budding business. Still, threats of robbery are a high risk for any grower.

Thats why in recent years an entire industry of cannabis security companies has emerged, aimed at relieving clients of the danger of moving cannabis products and large sums of cash.

Hardcar Security is one of those companies. The companys agents, most of whom are military veterans, carry sidearms, pepper spray and wear bullet-proof vests. They pick up product from cultivators and manufacturers and distribute it to dispensaries across California.

They also haul large amounts of cash to the bank for several established clients with accounts at local credit unions.

The biggest issue is these big-time criminals; they know the cannabis industry doesnt accept any kind of banking, Hardcar co-founder Jeff Breier said. So, they know all these businesses are sitting on hundreds of thousands, if not millions, at any given moment.

Hardcar Security is one of the companies being used to pick up product from cultivators and manufacturers and distribute to marijuana dispensaries across California. The companys agents, most of whom are military veterans, also haul large amounts of cash to the bank for several established clients with accounts at local credit unions. Investigative Reporter Liz Wagner takes you inside an...

NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit rode along with Breier and a team of well-armed agents as they took a delivery of product from their East Bay client Triple Js to BASA Collective, a San Francisco dispensary.

Hardcar operates a fleet of unmarked vans so as not to draw attention, but theyre decked out with armor plating and blast-proof floors.

Breier says many of his clients have been robbed at gunpoint.

Youve got a commodity that is attractive, he said. Everyone wants cannabis for themselves or to be able to make money with it. So theres a lot of criminal gangs, and when they see a soft target, they are going to go after it.

Breier said the stakes are especially high during tax season. Where any other business would write the government a check, his clients have to pay cash.

That also affects the government agencies that have to collect those taxes. California estimates $1 billion in cannabis tax revenue and most of that will be paid in cash.

Tax Time Problems

In Monterey County, for example, officials had to spend $300,000 on security guards, new machines and a new facility to accommodate for the flood of cash coming from marijuana businesses.

It was very hectic, trying to work on securing facilities, making sure we have software to manage all this and having staff in place because [we were] already working at capacity, said Monterey County Treasurer Mary Zeeb.

Zeeb said her office handles all cash transactions in a secure room monitored by surveillance cameras. Zeeb said armored cars then rush those cash payments to the bank so their office doesnt become a target for thieves.

Monterey County invested in a state of the art cash machine for handling cash from the cannabis industry.

She says local governments wouldnt be drowning in cash if the federal government took marijuana off the list of Schedule I drugs, which would allow cannabis companies to use banks and credit cards like traditional businesses.

It most certainly would make life a lot easier for us because we can facilitate electronic payments just like everybody else, she said.

Limited Solutions

With no federal solution to the banking problem in sight, California officials are scrambling to find solutions to the industrys cash problem. State Treasurer John Chiang says the federal governments position on cannabis creates a lot of headaches.

Here you have legit people wanting to run a mainstream legal business, and you are holding them up, Chiang said.

While the state cant force banks to take marijuana money, Chiang says his office is studying possible workarounds, including systems for safely transporting large amounts of cash. The possible creation of a state-run bank that would work with the cannabis industry is also on the table. His office published a report of their findings last November.

This was an issue [voters] chose on the ballot and I view that as a public responsibility to make sure their will is not thwarted by those who are unwilling to tackle difficult issues.

Chiang concedes some of these potential solutions are just temporary bandages until the federal government decides to take action. A state-run bank, he says, would be a massive undertaking and take years to complete.

Chiang said a lack of subject matter experts may have slowed down potential solutions, but hopes California lawmakers will make the banking issue a priority.

There are clearly these critical issues that are left unaddressed, but well see how they respond now, Chiang said.

In the meantime, progress comes slowly.

Newly proposed legislation would allow state-licensed banks to issue special checks to weed businesses. There are also several credit unions in the state that are currently working with people in the cannabis industry, and officials hope that number keeps growing.

While Ed waits for an end to his banking problems, he says growers will continue relying on prohibition-era solutions, some as simple as a shovel and a hole in the ground.

There must be a billion dollars buried in the hills up here, Ed said. At least.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors held a public hearing Monday on the radiation cleanup scandal at the Hunters Point Shipyard. Representatives from the U.S. Navy, Environmental Protection Agency and a state regulatory agency answered questions from supervisors. But an official from Tetra Tech, the Navy contractor accused of botching the radiation cleanup, was kicked out of the hearing.

Im not going to waste our time with this, Supervisor Jane Kim said.

Supervisor Malia Cohen, whose district includes Hunters Point, called the hearing and had apparently asked Tetra Techs chief engineer to explain the events that led to the Navy losing confidence in the companys radiation test data. But Tetra Techs attorney  who has been working on the Hunters Point cleanup issue for just a few months  showed up instead. That didnt sit well with supervisors, who refused to hear his testimony.

I was prepared to answer questions that the supervisors posed, Preston Hopson, the companys vice president and general counsel said in the hallway just outside the hearing room. Unfortunately they did not give us that opportunity; they chose to grandstand.

The supervisors tried to piece together a timeline of events involving the radiation cleanup saga on the shipyard, a superfund site thats slated for parks, shops and tens of thousands of homes. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit has been uncovering the chain of events for four years.

In 2014, NBC Bay Area exposed that two years earlier the Navy found discrepancies in some of Tetra Techs soil sample data. The company later learned two workers took fake soil samples in an attempt to pass off areas of the shipyard as clean when they werent. Tetra Tech took corrective action and cleaned up the areas that needed further remediation. The former employees pleaded guilty last year to falsifying cleanup records. Earlier this month, they were sentenced to prison.

Then in 2016, a former worker came forward to NBC Bay Area, alleging the fraud was much more widespread. Its a claim the company denies. But the whistleblowers accusations prompted the Navy in 2017 to re-examine all of Tetra Techs radiation data.

Weve learned more information that led us to pause and halt and do a comprehensive evaluation, Laura Duchnak, the Navys head of base cleanups told supervisors.

In January, the Navy announced nearly half of the companys data had inconsistencies, and some of it is likely fraudulent. When asked how Tetra Tech could explain that, Hopson said the Navy was looking at preliminary data.

The information you cite is based on draft reports, he said. It does not reach any conclusions in these draft reports.

But the Navy lost confidence in Tetra Tech. Officials decided to retest the parts of the shipyard where Tetra Tech performed radiological work. The Navy expects to have a plan to retest the first parcel, Parcel G, within a month, Duchnak said.

Tetra Tech stands by its work and even offered to pay for an independent third-party  chosen by the Navy  to resample the shipyard. Hopson told NBC Bay Area the same thing after he was dismissed from the hearing.

The Navy said it will retest areas of the shipyard where Tetra Techs radiological data was used to determine whether the land is clean, and that the company conducted radiological work at other locations that will not be retested because subsequent activities by other contractors proved the areas are clean.

But community groups again called for a complete retesting of the shipyard. They also want the Navy to test Parcel A  the area of the shipyard where people are already living in condos. The land was transferred to the city in 2004.

The Navy says Parcel A is safe; there wasnt any radiation contamination there to begin with. Cohen called on the Navy to test the land anyway. San Francisco congresswoman Nancy Pelosi also urged the U.S. EPA to test Parcel A.

This has been a decades-long cleanup process, and there is still no end in sight, Cohen said. Public trust has been completely eroded by a terribly opaque process. The Navy needs to do the right thing.

Duchnak said any radiation contamination that existed at Hunters Point is low-level and does not pose a danger to the public. But many people who live near the shipyard say theyre not convinced.

Seven whistleblowers have come forward alleging misconduct by Tetra Tech  claims the company denies. NBC Bay Area first reported accusations from whistleblowers that workers tampered with radiation detection machines and that radioactive soil may have gone right back into the ground at the shipyard. The company says those claims are untrue.

If you have a tip for the Investigative Unit email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS. Follow Liz Wagner on Facebook and Twitter.
It's time to dust off those wacky costumes and break out the running shoes.

The 107th running of Bay to Breakers featuring well-conditioned athletes as well as those fixed on flashing their creative costumes is slated to fire off in San Francisco this Sunday.

While much of the race remains the same  12km course spanning from the edge of the Bay Bridge to Ocean Beach  this year's event will feature an added 3km stretch along the Great Highway for those runners interested in pushing the envelope.

All runners will hit the pavement starting at 8 a.m. from the intersection of Main and Howard streets. From there, they will run west along Howard Street, attempt to conquer Hayes Hill and its steepest grade of 11 percent, snake through Golden Gate Park and finish with a sprint to the Ocean Beach parking lot.

Before loading into the starting gate, racers will have to register. As of Tuesday, those 18 years of age and older will need to fork over $79.99 in order to participate. Children and teenagers between the ages of 3 and 17 will have to cough up $37.99. Racers participating in centipedes  13 or more people running together as a linked unit  will have to pay $74.99.

Online registration is scheduled to close at 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. People can still complete in-person registration on Friday and Saturday at the Orig3n Health and Wellness Expo located at Pier 35.

Racers are not allowed to run with any bags, backpacks or containers. The only exception is if the bag, backpack or container is clear and smaller than 8.5 x 11 x 4 inches.

Participants can wear running belts and fanny packs. Don't think about bringing a CamelBak hydration backpack or hydration vest that can be worn over the shoulder. Those are not allowed on the course.

Alcohol and any illegal substances are also forbidden on the race course.

For a complete breakdown of Sunday's event, visit the Bay to Breakers website.
Santa Clara City Councilman and candidate for the county District 4 supervisor seat Dominic Caserta has resigned from his position and withdrawn his bid for supervisor amid sexual harassment allegations.

Caserta issued a statement Tuesday morning saying in part that the release of his personnel file by the Santa Clara Unified School District, with whom he is employed as a high school teacher, caused "irreparable harm" to him and his family.

He said that harm has stripped him of the ability to effectively serve his constituents, so he has resigned his seat on the Santa Clara City Council "against every instinct in my body."

"It has been my honor and privilege to serve," he wrote.

Caserta said that while he was a front-runner for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors seat, he can no longer effectively talk about issues he is campaigning for, meaning he will no longer campaign at all.

Caserta continued to deny all allegations that he may have harassed or acted inappropriately in the presence of previous campaign staff or female underage students at Santa Clara High School.

Lydia Jungkind, a political science student of Caserta's at Foothill College and his former campaign supervisor volunteer, who accused Caserta of sexual harassment said she is "relieved by the resignation but appalled he casts himself as the victim of witch hunt."

"I hope police investigations continue and he faces criminal charges," Jungkind told NBC Bay Area.



Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor reported Monday at a news conference at City Hall that nine police reports had been filed against Caserta since the city sent out a notice asking for those who had been victims of Caserta's alleged actions to come forward.

"I must now work to preserve my family, livelihood and health," Caserta said in his statement. "In the next few months, the allegations against me will be put to the test and my name will be cleared."

Last Tuesday, Caserta issued a news release on his campaign website for the District 4 supervisor seat denying all allegations and stating that portions of his personnel file from the Santa Clara Unified School District had been released to everyone in the district without his knowledge or consent.

In that file, details on previous allegations and mistakes such as sending home an Advanced Placement test that disqualified his students from the rewards of good testing were included.

Caserta said in his statement that the allegations were investigated by the school district and that he was exonerated.

"Rehashing things that occurred 12 to 16 years ago is a waste of time," the councilman stated.

Santa Clara Unified School District assistant superintendent Andrew Lucia said that due to the confidentiality of the report, he could only confirm that a personnel file was leaked and not whom the file pertained to.
The murder trial of a teen accused of raping and killing his 8-year-old neighbor in Santa Cruz in July 2015 has been delayed once again as the defense appeals a judges ruling that the suspect be tried as an adult.

It's been nearly three years since 8-year-old Maddy Middletons body was found in a dumpster at the Santa Cruz apartment complex where she lived. Prosecutors say Adrian Gonzalez, 15 at the time, raped and murdered her before dumping her body.

Gonzalez, appearing in the court Monday wearing the colors of an adult inmate, pleaded not guilty to the charges.



Maddy's family says theyve been waiting too long for justice, and their frustration only grew after Monday's appeal.

"Theres a videotaped, recorded confession, and nothing has happened positive in two and a half years, so, thats our legal system," said Bruce Jordan, Maddy's grandfather.

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney had already made the decision of prosecuting him as an adult, but then Proposition 57 passed, and the DA needed a judge's ruling. After nine weeks, a judge agreed and moved Gonzalez back to adult court.

"Were talking about one of the most heinous crimes this county has ever seen," deputy DA Jeff Rosell said. "Luring, raping, kidnapping, and murdering a child and then dumping her body with complete disregard for anything."

With Monday's appeal, it might be another three months before an appellate court rules on trying Gonzalez as an adult.

"The grounds for the appeal are that (the judge) misapplied the law and focused more on the crime and less on the child or the kid," Public Defender Larry Biggam said. "And Prop. 57 really wants to give the kid who commits crimes more treatment and rehabilitation rather than prison punishment."

Gonzalez is due back in court on July 31 to set a preliminary hearing.
A suspect linked to the fatal shooting of a Vacaville man in a parking lot near the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on Sunday night has been arrested, according to police.

Javier Calvo, 18, of Vacaville, was taken into custody on suspicion of shooting and killing Isaac Lopez, 19.

Santa Cruz PD

Initial reports about the fatal shooting indicated the victim was a 17-year-old boy.

Investigators determined that Calvo and Lopez knew each other and had come to Santa Cruz earlier in the day with friends, police said.

Calvo and Lopez were in a parked car with two other people at Second and Cliff streets. A pistol that was discharged struck Lopez, at which time one of their mutual friends called 911 to report the shooting at 6:41 p.m.

When police responded, they located a vehicle reported as involved in the shooting and found Lopez unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound to his torso.

Santa Cruz police and paramedics attempted to give him medical aid before he was transported to Dominican Hospital. However, he was pronounced dead there.

The loaded handgun and additional ammunition were found in connection with the shooting, police said.

Santa Cruz police are continuing to process evidence and interview witnesses, officers said. Investigators are working to determine how Calvo came to possess the pistol and who owned it.
A clinical psychologist hired by Travis Air Force Base in California to help military veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder has been arrested and charged with raping patients.



The psychologist, identified in court documents as Heath Sommer, 41, is accused of using "exposure therapy" on patients who had been sexually assaulted while deployed. He was ordered Monday to stand trial on three felony sexual assault charges after he allegedly targeted female service members in 2014 and 2015 while working at the base's David Grant Medical Center.

"Many of these victims were war veterans diagnosed with PTSD due to various forms of trauma, sexual and non-sexual, while active duty in the U.S. Air Force. As their therapist, the defendant was in a position of power," according to the complaint. "While some victims were strong enough to stand up to the defendant and refuse his advances, others weren't. Those victims, especially the victims of sexual assault, are now even more traumatized due to the defendant's actions."

The alleged abuse spans from 2010 to 2016, according to court documents.

Travis Air Force Base Deputy Chief of Public Affairs Tonya Racasner provided the following statement to NBC Bay Area on Monday:

"There is zero-tolerance for sexual assault across the Air Force. Base administration is working with local authorities to make sure that all the victims in this case are taken care of. The suspect is a civilian contractor who worked for the Air Force."

Solano County Sheriff's Office records show Sommer was booked into Stanton Correctional Facility in Fairfield on May 3rd, with bail set at $750,000. Sheriff's Office records also show Sommer faces multiple charges, including sexual battery, rape and oral copulation.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

A telephone message for his attorney, Thomas Maas, seeking comment was not immediately returned. Maas told the judge at a hearing Monday in Fairfield, California, that the sex was consensual, according to The Daily Republic newspaper. Maas said his client had not committed a crime and the actions were part of his therapy work.

Sommer was vetted by the contracting company, Aloha Health Joint Venture, and the Air Force also did a background check, Air Force officials said.

"Nothing popped up during the background check," said Tonya Racasner, a base spokeswoman.

As soon as Air Force officials learned of the allegations, they took immediate action and suspended him, she added.

"We take sexual assault very seriously," Racasner said.

In light of the case, she said the base is looking at its procedures and also reviewing the treatments given at its medical center, she said, adding that exposure therapy usually entails writing a narrative about one's experience.

"We don't really condone exposure therapy," she said.

The base also reached out to all of Sommer's patients to offer help, she said.

The case comes as sexual assault continues to be a pervasive problem in the military.

According to an annual Pentagon report released in April, the number of reported sexual assaults grew by about 10 percent, while sexual harassment cases were up by 16 percent over the previous year.

Pentagon officials say the increase in reporting reflects a broader confidence in the system and is a positive trend because sexual assault is a highly underreported crime. But it's unclear if the jump in harassment and retaliation complaints reflect a similar confidence or simply represent a growing problem.

Travis Air Force officials say they are encouraging victims to continue to come forward and hope the Sommer case does not deter them from seeking help.

"We know this is an on-going issue worldwide, and not just in the Air Force," Racasner said. "We just feel for us, it's all about educating folks, and ensuring individuals are being effectively taken care of."

Air Force officials said military investigators are working with the Fairfield police on the Sommer case.
A federal judge in California on Tuesday struck down the city of Oakland's ban on coal shipments at a proposed cargo terminal, siding with a developer who wants to use the site to transport Utah coal to Asia.

In a scathing ruling, U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco said the information the city relied on to conclude that coal operations would pose a substantial health or safety danger to the public was "riddled with inaccuracies" and "faulty analyses, to the point that no reliable conclusion about health or safety dangers could be drawn from it."

The decision cheered coal proponents while opponents said they would continue to fight for cleaner air. Oakland is reviewing its options and may appeal, said Justin Berton, a spokesman for Mayor Libby Schaaf.

The issue over coal has rocked then San Francisco Bay Area city that is environmentally friendly but also economically depressed in spots.

City leaders approved construction of a rail and marine terminal in 2013 as part of a larger makeover of an Army base that was shuttered in 1999. The $250 million project in west Oakland is expected to bring thousands of jobs to a historically African-American neighborhood that is among the poorest and most polluted in the region.

Oakland officials said coal was never mentioned as a possibility but lawyers for developers said city officials always knew there would be a mix of goods, including coal.

Concerned about pollution caused by coal dust, the city moved in 2016 to ban shipments of coal and petroleum coke, a solid derived from oil refining. The decision came after Utah lawmakers approved a $53 million investment to help ship the state's coal through Oakland to Asia.

Utah Sen. David Hinkins, a Republican who represents coal-producing counties, applauded the decision on Tuesday. "It would be good for my little depressed area," he said.

Many Utah mines are now shipping through Mexico to reach markets in Japan and Korea, as the U.S. market wanes, but a California shipping point would be closer and less expensive, he said.

Utah's $53 million would still be on the table, pending a committee approval, he said.

The government-watchdog group Alliance for a Better Utah, meanwhile, said they were disappointed in the ruling, and said the public money would be better spent on local water systems or fire trucks rather than the port.

In a statement, Schaaf vowed to continue the fight. Alex Katz, chief of staff to Oakland's city attorney, said they will discuss options with the City Council.

One of the developers of the project is Phil Tagami, a close friend of California Gov. and former Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown. The governor's environmental efforts have made him a global leader in the fight against climate change, but he hasn't spoken out publicly against the project.

Chhabria agreed with attorneys for developers that the city relied on a flawed analysis to justify its ban. As an example, he said the city failed to factor in covers on the coal-carrying rail cars in its emissions estimates for the project.

It also had no meaningful assessment of how emissions would affect air quality in Oakland, he said.

The city's opposition to coal operations appeared to stem largely from concerns about global warming, but it was "facially ridiculous to suggest that this one operation resulting in the consumption of coal in other countries will, in the grand scheme of things, pose a substantial global warming-related danger to people in Oakland," the judge said.
The body of a 5-year-old Maine boy has been recovered nearly three weeks after he was swept away by the Androscoggin River.

Valerio McFarland fell into the river in Auburn on April 24. His 10-year-old brother, Maxim, jumped in to try to save him. Maxim was rescued that day, but authorities could not find Valerio, who was presumed drowned.

Monday, five miles downstream in Durham, Christopher Lane of Litchfield found Valerio's body while kayaking. He told authorities he was looking for the boy because he wanted to bring closure to the child's family.

Helena Gagliano-McFarland said last weekend that her son didn't deserve to be left in the river like a piece of trash. She said Republican Gov. Paul LePage's office had ignored her, and she wanted the Maine Warden Service to seek help from the National Guard.

The family had been working with a nonprofit search and rescue organization.

The Maine Warden Service thanked the Auburn Police Department and other responders and volunteers who assisted in the search.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars fly in and out of Logan International Airport every day. Customs and Border Patrol officers eye passengers boarding and exiting planes, looking for specific behaviors that can indicate someone is trying to bring something through the port they arent supposed to.

Customs brought the NBC10 Boston Investigators behind the security line to show some of the odd places people stash their cash.

At Logan earlier this month, officers greeted passengers, reviewed declaration forms, checked packages and bags and counted the cash passengers carried on them.

"They can travel with as much money as they please; however, money in excess of $10,000 requires them to do an additional form," Customs Officer Ross Hartnett said.

Officers said large amounts of cash can point to big time crime, including organized crime, drug syndicates and international money laundering.

Consequences of not declaring the money over $10,000 include Customs seizing all the money on site and keeping it unless the traveler can prove through a job or bank it came from a legitimate source.

Not only can travelers lose the money, they can face civil and criminal penalties, including fines.

Earlier this month, agents at Logan arrested two Romanian citizens wanted in the United States trying to flee the country. Customs said the men had $32,000 of unreported cash.

In January, a 51-year-old man traveling from Israel to Boston had $10,000 sewn into his pants, according to Customs. He had declared $14,000, but Customs said it found more than double that  $29,000  on him.

Customs seized all of the cash.

Officers said some passengers even hide cash on their own kids, including $7,000 in a kid's backpack. One thing that tipped them off? The adult became sensitive when an agent opened one of the boxes in the backpack. Among vials of ginseng, the agents said they found an envelope with $5,000. They found more as they searched.

Another red flag? When people walking together or getting bags together suddenly split up.

"We definitely want to ask more questions," Hartnett said.

On a typical day last year at all ports across the country, Customs and Border Protection currency seizures averaged $265,205.

At all ports in New England, Customs seized $2.05 million last year.

One man entering Logan claimed he had only $500. Agents found more than $9,000, but they did not seize it.

Customs officers consider a number of things when deciding whether to seize unreported money, like the travelers history and whether there's any evidence the money might be from illegal sources, according to a spokesman.

Harnett said the most he's ever found at one time was $68,000.

"Generally, counterfeit bills we find coming from South America," he said. "We see substantial money coming from Asia, also going out to India, the Middle East."

Any money that travelers cant prove is legal goes into the U.S. Treasury.

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story mistakenly labeled the Custom and Border Patrol officers at Logan Airport as agents. Their title is officer.
A Chicago alderman said Monday that the girlfriend of a man who was brutally beaten on the Lakefront Trail saved his life during the attack.

The 21-year-old victim, who has not been identified, was walking with his girlfriend at around 5:30 p.m. on May 5 in the 1200 block of North Lake Shore Drive, near Oak Street Beach in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood, when the attack took place, according to police.

Chicago police are still searching for the man believed to be responsible, releasing surveillance footage on Monday in an effort to find him.

Officials said two groups of people exchanged words before the attack, blaming a miscommunication for a delay in reporting the incident, initially believing the victim had simply fallen to the ground.

"The victim did suffer a fractured skull from a sucker punch," 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins said, adding that he fell to the ground and was "immediately unconscious and unable to defend himself." [[482606971,C]]

His girlfriend "realized right away that he couldn't defend himself," Hopkins said, and she took action.

"She literally dove on his body to protect him from further attacks," Hopkins continued.

"And the condition that he was in, one more kick to the head could possibly have been fatal, so it's really not an exaggeration to say that his girlfriend might have in fact saved his life," he added.

The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital after the attack, officials said.

Hopkins spoke with the victim's loved ones Monday, he said, revealing that the man was released from intensive care but is still fighting for his life with a fractured skull. He remained in critical and guarded condition on Monday, authorities said.

No one is in custody in connection with the beating and the investigation remained ongoing, according to police, who asked anyone with information to contact detectives at (312) 747-8380.
Yes, there's more to Wisconsin than just cheese - there's also a lot of booze.

That's according to a report released Monday by 24/7 Wall St., a news site that examined drinking rates in hundreds of metro areas across the United States to find the "drunkest" and "driest" cities in the country.

According to that study, the four "drunkest" cities in the U.S. are all in Wisconsin, which boasts a total of 10 out of the top 20 cities on the list.

24/7 Wall St. came to that conclusion by reviewing several factors in 381 metro areas: the percentage of adults who reported heavy drinking within a 30-day period, plus the number of bars and restaurants, as well as the share of driving deaths that involved alcohol.

Madison, Wisconsin, was named fourth "drunkest," with just under 26 percent of adults drinking to excess and a whopping 1,464 bars and restaurants.

The study noted that as the home of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, college students were likely contributing to the city's overall excessive drinking rate - but the Badgers didn't make the top three.

Appleton, Wisconsin, came in third, and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in second, both with 26.2 percent of adults reporting that they drink to excess - which the study noted was actually the statewide average. For reference, the national average was 18 percent, according to 24/7 Wall St.

And the number-one drunkest city in America is none other than Green Bay, Wisconsin, with 26.5 percent of adults saying they binge drink.

As to how Wisconsin could rank so highly on the list overall, the report noted that "social factors" likely play a role.

"In Wisconsin, alcohol consumption is, for many, an integral part of the states culture," the study said.

On the other end of the spectrum, four of the top five "driest" cities in the US were in Utah, with Provo-Orem - the home of Brigham Young University - claiming the top spot.
Even Wisconsin police had to applaud a group of high school seniors for their hilarious prank before graduation.

Senior pranks are often the thing of spring for high school graduates, but the latest one from Cumberland High School seniors is making waves for its creativity.

According to photos posted by local police, the seniors took what appears to be the back half of a vehicle and placed it outside their principals office, using a tarp and placing bricks around the vehicle to make it appear as though a car drove into the building.

The back of the vehicle had CHS Class of 2018, Were Bustin Out written on it and side windows read C-ya May 19, 2018.

Hats off to the Cumberland High School Class of 2018 on your senior prank. Congratulation Class of 2018 on one of best senior pranks that Cumberland High School has seen, Cumberland police wrote on Facebook.

According to a Facebook post from the school district, the vehicle involved in the prank was an old junker.

Using tape and a black tarp, the students created the illusion of damage, making it look like the car crashed into the side of the building, the district wrote. The best part? This prank included absolutely no damage at all to school property, which is why police singled it out.
A Wethersfield resident said drivers constantly run through the stop signs in his neighborhood, and reached out to NBC Connecticut for help.

There is a three-way stop at Dale and Olney Roads in Wethersfield. But neighbor Steven Miller told NBC Connecticut there are more cars traveling on Dale Road than Olney, so drivers often dont bother to stop.

Stop sign is a stop sign. They should obey the rules, Miller said. Im concerned about the kids in the neighborhood getting run over by the cars not slowing down or stopping for the stop sign, he added.

Miller said at rush hour the problem gets worse because drivers use the streets as a shortcut.

NBC Connecticut brought Millers concerns to Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran. He said he knows of the intersection, but this was the first time hes heard the complaint.

Its not a heavily traveled road like the Silas Deane Highway or Ridge Road, but if theres a problem, well address it, Cetran said.

Cetran said his patrol division will look into it.

We cant put and officer at every intersection in Wethersfield but we can address the ones we have a known issue with, Cetran said.
Environmental hazards at our public schools happen more often than you think:

Devin McHenry was one of those students at the Glastonbury elementary school. She and her mom Darcy remember the day well.

I was panicking and driving as quickly as I could to find out, anything, said Darcy McHenry.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters looked at years of school data, and found some troubling trends when it comes to the air quality issues at local schools.

We obtained a copy of the states most recent school facilities survey. School districts fill out the survey which includes 17 different categories addressing school air quality.

Out of more than 1,000 public schools, more than 300 had a deficiency in the 2013 survey, the last one done by the state.

We reached out to the 300 schools with deficiencies, and at least 40 are still in the process of fixing them, some five years later.

p { text-align:left; color: black; font: 12px 'Verdana'; font-weight: 300; }

The state provided schools with a School Facilities survey that collected information on a variety of topics, including indoor air quality (IAQ) issues. Based on the 2013 data, over 300 schools reported problems related to IAQ. Below is a map detailing schools that received a poor or fair rating in one or more areas. NBC Connecticut reached out to every district to see what action has been taken. Click on a point for more information.

Key:

1 (Poor) A problem has been identified and has not yet been addressed

2 (Fair) A problem has been identified and is scheduled for repair

3 (Good) A problem has been identified and corrected

4 (Excellent) No Problem

While he didnt review these particular incidents, Dr. John Santilli, who has researched indoor air quality, said cases like these are often the result of poor maintenance by school districts.

While there is plenty of equipment these days to detect and treat problems with school air, Kosta Diamantis, head of the states office of school construction, said the problems shouldnt exist in first place.

Its the simple stuff. Its things that are allowed to get into the air, and it's things that couldve been addressed.

According to the school data, schools across the state are dealing with maintenance issues such as leaky roofs, poor ventilation, chipping floor tiles, and sagging drop ceilings.

Newington Superintendent Dr. William Collins says while most of his schools use computers to regulate air flow, Anna Reynolds Elementary still has 1950s technology.

The buildings are in very good shape so people dont notice it but over time as you start to let things slip, it just starts to snowball on you, Collins said.

Collins said two years with no budget increase from the town left the board of education with no choice but to cut school maintenance. He said protecting student programs is the priority and something had to be cut.

Newington Mayor Roy Zartarian said the school board just has to live within its means.

We appropriate a sum of money. How the board of education decides to spend it, is entirely up to them, Zartarian said.

Going forward, towns like Newington may have no choice but to beef up their maintenance budget, if they want state help when it comes to building schools.

The state is now buckling down on districts wanting money for schools. Theyre asking districts if they have a consolidation plan, and how much they set aside for school maintenance, which normally, should be about 2 percent to 4 percent of an overall school budget.

There are many districts that are building rich, and, they just have too many school buildings, said Diamantis.

Closing some of those buildings could free up millions of dollars for maintenance.

Darcy McHenry said its a worthwhile investment if it will mean cleaner, safer school air for her daughter and her classmates.

Especially dealing with kids, high concentration of people in a smaller space, its something that you should be more diligent with, she said.
Some people in Dallas watched Monday as the City of Seattle passed a head tax on big employers to help pay for solutions to that citys homelessness.

Seattles City Council unanimously passed a compromise to charge employers like Seattle based Amazon $275 dollars per employee.

In Seattle the most recent homeless census available was 11,643 in 2017. The 2018 Dallas homeless census was 4,140, up from 3,789 in 2017.



We are in a pivotal position right now to not have our experience here in Dallas look like Seattle, said David Woody, CEO of The Bridge.

The City of Dallas shelter and homeless assistance center, which celebrated a 10 year anniversary Monday, serves around 8,500 people each year.



The Dallas Street Choir performed at The Bridge as part of Monday's festivities. Michael Brown was one of the signers. He recently received a UNT-Dallas college degree in Criminal Justice after spending several years homeless on the streets of Dallas. He received 8 months of shelter at The Bridge.

The Bridge is a good program to help you get started toward independence because its a process, Brown said.

Woody said Dallas is improving at the task of getting homeless people off the street and into shelters and assistance programs.

But getting folks through our programs is difficult because at the end theres no housing, Woody said.

Dallas voters in 2017 approved an additional $20 million in bond money to help provide more facilities. City leaders are still deciding exactly how to use the money. It could build more permanent supportive housing for the homeless. Another approach is getting more landlords to accept housing vouchers which private property owners are allowed to refuse in Texas.

I think we need to talk to our state leaders about the fact that they can discriminate based on source of income, Dallas City Council Member Mark Clayton said.

Clayton has been appointed to help deal with the issue of rising poverty in Dallas, which now affects nearly one in four people. Homelessness is a growing consequence.

At the same time, Dallas is among 20 finalists for a second Amazon headquarters. The company has said it may scale back hiring in that city because of the new head tax.

I dont think that would fly here, Clayton said. And I dont think we need to do that.

Seattle residents face an extremely high cost of housing which some blame on Amazons rapid hiring of highly paid workers in recent years. It helped spark the push to make large employers share the cost of Seattle homelessness.

Clayton said Dallas is better suited to absorb a large employer like Amazon.

We have a Southern sector that has affordable housing and also has affordable land that can be developed and I think anytime you can get an anchor company like Amazon youd be foolish not to at least consider it, Clayton said.

At The Bridge, David Woody said the Dallas strategy on homelessness is to make better use of the resources now available and sell the public on the need for attention to the problem.

What do we present to folks that is reasonable, that is palatable, but we can demonstrate to them that it would have an impact as well. Woody said.

Michael Brown said he avoided the trap of drugs or alcohol on the street and now has a home and a job.

He hopes to become a lawyer someday with benefit of the experience he has had living homeless.

Its a challenge but youve got to create that challenge into a positive choice, Brown said.

The Bridge has an annual budget of around $11 million dollars, $2 million of it from in kind donations. All homeless service providers in Dallas spend a combined $24 million a year on services. So the $20 million additional investment from the City of Dallas could be a substantial boost.
A woman was taken to the hospital after a bullet was fired through a window of her North Oak Cliff home early Tuesday morning, police say.

Dallas police were investigating the shooting in the 800 block of West 10th Street, about two blocks south of the Bishop Arts District.

Police said the woman was inside the home when a shot was fired through a window. Her injuries were not considered life threatening, police said.

Police did not identify the woman.
Ten airline workers at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport have been indicted in an FBI undercover operation for allegedly plotting to smuggle methamphetamine, explosives and guns onto planes, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Seven of those indicted worked for Envoy Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines, and two worked for Spirit Airlines, prosecutors said.

A tenth suspect has not been arrested yet.

A federal grand jury has returned an Indictment charging ten individuals for their role in conspiring to traffic contraband through D/FW Airport, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, at a press conference Tuesday.

We have zero tolerance for employees who seek to undermine and evade the security protocols at airports, said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox.

The undercover operation began in August 2016 and continued until February, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eric Jackson.

As part of the operation, those involved thought they were smuggling 66 kilograms of methamphetamine to airports including Newark, Phoenix and Charlotte, prosecutors said.

No actual drugs were involved.

The workers also agreed to smuggle explosives and weapons, but investigators decided to end the operation and make arrests before it reached that point.

Those indicted were Nelson Pabon, 47; Jean Loui Vargas-Malave, 28; Juan Camacho Melendez, 22; Ruben Benitez-Matienzo, 45; Jose Luis Gaston-Rolon, 24; Joshua Israel Pagan Zapata, 21; Domingo Villafane Martinez, 30; Luis Javier Collazo Rosado, 21; and Cristian David Cruz-Rodriguez, 23.

Mugshots of Airline Workers Indicted in D/FW Airport FBI Sting

In a statement to NBC 5 Tuesday afternoon, American Airlines said all airport employees undergo a criminal background check as part of the onboarding process. The employees named in the indictment, the airline said, are on administrative suspension pending the outcome of the investigation; their travel privileges have also been suspended.



At American and Envoy Air, we have an unwavering commitment to the safety and security of our customers and team members. We take this matter very seriously and are cooperating with law enforcement during their investigation.



The airline said they are cooperating fully with federal investigators and referred all questions about the investigation to the FBI and U.S. Attorney's office.

Unsealed Indictment


The Mayor of West Covina is under investigation by the Costa Mesa Police Department after he was found unconscious in a hotel room with controlled substance items nearby.

Police were called to the Holiday Inn Express in the 2000 block of Newport Boulevard shortly after midnight on May 4 and found two people inside the room, including Mayor Mike Spence, Costa Mesa police spokeswoman Roxi Fayad told the Orange County Register.

Neither Spence or the other person in the room were arrested, but Spence was taken to the hospital, Fayad said.

Spence has denied any wrongdoing. He told the paper he thinks the information about him being found unconscious was leaked by a member of the City Council in an effort to harm his political career.

He told the Register he had been taking public transportation to the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego and decided to stay the night of May 4 in Costa Mesa.

He said that as he was getting ready to go to the hotel gym after dinner, he became unconscious. When he awoke, he was surrounded by people. The Register reported Spence said he knows his belongings were searched and he did not want to be taken to the hospital.

The department plans to submit its investigation to the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Spence's city website bio online says he was born and raised in West Covina, is an Eagle Scout, is a Merit Badge counselor and is a leader in his church. He's married and his two children.
A woman involved in an extramarital affair with Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens will be allowed to testify at his felony invasion of privacy trial next week, a St. Louis judge ruled Monday.

Circuit Judge Rex Burlison rejected claims from Greitens' attorneys that the woman's testimony was tainted because of missteps by the prosecution's investigator, William Tisaby. They've accused Tisaby of lying and withholding evidence.

The married Republican governor is accused of taking an unauthorized photo of the woman while she was partially nude during a sexual encounter in 2015, before he was elected.

Her testimony is crucial because prosecutors haven't obtained the photo she says Greitens took. The alleged incident came to light when the woman's ex-husband in January released an audio recording of her discussing it. Authorities have not released the woman's name.

The circuit attorney's office acknowledges missteps by Tisaby but has denied that his actions tainted the case.

Tisaby has repeatedly declined to reply to phone messages and emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Greitens also faces another criminal charge, multiple investigations, two criminal charges and the prospect of impeachment during a special legislative session later this month.

He is charged with felony computer data tampering for allegedly using a donor list from the veterans' charity he founded, The Mission Continues, to raise money for his 2016 gubernatorial campaign without the charity's permission. A trial date in that case has not been set.

Republican state House and Senate leaders announced last week that they had enough signatures from each chamber for a special session beginning May 18. It marks the first time in Missouri history that lawmakers have called a special session, which are typically called by the governor.

If the House votes to impeach Greitens, the Senate would appoint a panel of seven judges to conduct a trial on whether to remove him from office. No Missouri governor has ever been forced out of office.

Greitens, once considered a rising star in GOP politics, admitted in January that he had an affair with his St. Louis hairdresser. He was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury on invasion of privacy in February.

His problems escalated in April when a special House committee released a report on the relationship. The woman told the committee that Greitens had restrained, slapped, shoved, threatened and belittled her during a series of sexual encounters in 2015 that at times left her crying and afraid.

Last week, the same committee released a report on Greitens' alleged misuse of the charity donor list. The report included testimony from a former Greitens aide indicating the campaign also falsely identified the source of the donor list in a settlement with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

CORRECTION (Monday, May 7, 2018, 2:29 p.m. ET): An earlier version of this story misstated when the special session to consider impeachment will be held. It is slated for later this month.
What to Know Lori Alhadeff and Ryan Petty will make the announcement at a Tuesday morning press conference.

Alhadeff is a former school teacher while Petty works in telcom and was recently appointed to a state board investigating the shooting.

The parents of two children who were killed in the Parkland, Florida, school shooting over three months ago are making a run for seats on the Broward School Board.

Lori Alhadeff and Ryan Petty made the announcement at a Tuesday morning press conference in Fort Lauderdale. Alhadeff will run for the District 4 seat  which includes Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were her daughter Alyssa was among 17 people killed  against incumbent Abby Freedman.

Petty, who lost his daughter Alaina in the tragedy, is running for a countywide seat against incumbent Donna Korn.

Alhadeff is a former school teacher while Petty works in telecommunications and was recently one of three parents appointed to a state board investigation the February 14th shooting.

"I am running for office to do everything I can to ensure the Broward school system is the best in the nation and to honor the memory of my daughter," Petty said in a statement.



Both parents are supported by a group called Concerned Citizens of Broward County, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The group was formed to express school security concerns before focusing on voting out school board members they say werent responsive to their issue.

The group is supporting newcomers in two other districts while reportedly supporting one incumbent  Nora Rupert  who has been critical of Broward Schools superintendent Robert Runcie.
South Florida has been known for years as the recovery capital of the country but it has been a community plagued with corruption and abuse. A recent crackdown on the industry has led to a handful of sober homes getting shut down and dozens of people arrested. But the new oversight brings a whole new set of problems.

The crackdowns making it more difficult for addicts to get the legitimate help they need. Plus, other states are trying to lure patients from South Florida.

Getting Paid for Treatment

Addicts have been known to move between treatment centers multiple times, sometimes for money.

Isaac, 23, says hes been to more than two dozen treatment centers across the country before settling in South Florida. He says hes now been sober seven months. His addiction: cocaine and heroin.

Ive been to 25 different treatment centers and I finally got it right this time, said Isaac.

He tells NBC 6 hes been paid three times to go to inpatient drug treatment centers in California for his addiction. He believes those payments are an incentive to relapse.

At the most, Ive been paid 2,500 dollars, he said.

Isaac says patient brokers linger outside of treatment centers and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings trying to persuade people like him to move to a different facility to get the insurance money.

I finally realized I cant keep relying on people and getting paid to go to treatment centers because its just keeping me in the same cycle of getting high, said Isaac.

Rehabbing Rehab in South Florida

After paramedics were called to so many overdose deaths in South Florida over the past few years, a Sober Homes Task Force was created to look at ways to reform the system and put better safeguards in place.

In 2017, lawmakers passed a new law strengthening restrictions on patient brokering and deceptive marketing practices for rehab centers.

Its not as prominent in the state of Florida, its being cleaned up, said Isaac.

Now, other states like California are recruiting patients in South Florida. They dont have the same laws in place, which has created a new problem with it comes to patients trying to get reimbursed for legitimate drug treatment.

Battling Insurance Companies

Insurance has certainly been a big uphill battle, said Dr. Dawn Silver, of Comprehensive Wellness Centers.

Dr. Silver said the insurance companies typically reject about half of the claims for patients.

Its certainly serving a disservice to the client and the community for legitimate facilities like ours as whole to have that be the predicament were all in, she said.

Before, she says many doctors fought to get 28 days of inpatient addiction treatment covered by insurance.

Im begging for two days right now with insurance companies, said Dr. Silver.

Therapist Rachel Simpson-Marquez Trying says trying to get insurance claims processed put her practice out of business last month.

They had been abused, so the fight was on, said Simpson-Marquez about insurance companies.

She shut down her treatment center in Oakland Park that was geared towards the LGBTQ community. Its a center she opened after losing her own brother to addiction.

We were chasing money morning noon and night, said Simpson-Marquez. They just sat and denied everything over and over and over again.

Shes now working on opening a smaller private practice in Broward County geared toward keeping sober patients clean.

Doctors Push for Change Nationwide

Most of the doctors and therapists in South Florida agree the new laws and scrutiny are better for the industry as a whole, but also say its making it difficult for legitimate patients to get the help they need.

We want to streamline the entire industry, not just Florida but nationally, said Dr. Silver.

As for Isaac, he finally found the help he needed at a center in Florida.

Hes been sober for more than seven months, got a job and a place to live.

Hes now working on removing the tattoos he got while he was addicted.

People look at me with disgust or fear and honestly it bothers me, he said.

He wants the outside of his body to match how hes feeling on the inside.
What to Know A 29-year-old woman has been arrested, accused of driving into a Queens home while intoxicated

Witnesses say she was half-naked and screaming

The home has been partially vacated while officials investigate

A runaway SUV plowed through the garage of a Queens home Monday afternoon, injuring a family of three, and witnesses say the driver was a half-naked screaming woman who appeared to be intoxicated.

The vehicle was driving at high speed when it tore through the two-family home on Baisley Boulevard in South Jamaica, according to police. The SUV destroyed the garage, leaving behind a gaping hole where a bedroom used to be.

A 17-year-old neighbor named A.J. told News 4 that the SUV missed him by just a few feet: "Something just told me to move, something in my brain," he recalled thinking as he watched the vehicle approach.

A.J. said he saw the pieces of the wall crumple onto a teen living in the home: "The debris fell on him, he's about 14 years old, and the debris fell on him, toppled on him."

Witnesses said the driver, a 29-year-old woman identified by police as Shanna Shaw, got out of the vehicle wearing only her underwear. She seemed disoriented and under the influence.

"She was just screaming, just screaming," said A.J. "No words at all."

Police said the woman tried to leave the scene but was arrested. All of the injured are expected to survive.

But there are even more victims: A.J. and his family may have lost their home, since it's been deemed no longer safe to live in.

"We have to move or vacate the apartment until further notice," he said. "It takes a toll on everybody, but you gotta live through it, I guess."

A.J. and his family are staying with friends for now. The driver, Shaw, has been charged with driving while imparied and with two counts of fleeing the scene of an accident.

Attorney information for Shaw was not immediately clear.

Messages left for the building landlord were not immediately returned. The Department of Buildings said during investigation at the crash scene, they learned the home had been illegally converted and didn't have adequate egress. As a result, a partial vacate order was issued for the first floor and garage.
What to Know A 16-year-old boy has been arrested on a felony charge for allegedly threatening to blow up Westfield Day School in Armonk

State Polie say he made several threatening texts to another student, including sending a photo of himself holding an apparent rifle

Four legally owned rifles were located at the residence, and they were subsequently removed from the residence by the State Police

A 16-year-old Chappaqua boy has been arrested on a felony charge for allegedly threatening to shoot up a Westchester County school, officials said Monday.

Investigators said they first got a tip that the teenager had made the threats to shoot up Westfield Day School, a grades 6-12 school for children in need, in Armonk, according to the State Police. After further investigation, the threat turned out to be direceted at Somers High School, in which the teen allegedly said: "Let's go back to your school and kill everyone."

A joint investigation between New York State Police and the North Castle Police Department found the boy had made several threats via text to another student, including one in which he sent a photo of himself holding an apparent rifle.

Cops tracked the boy down at his home, where they say he admitted making the threats. He allegedly admitted to state troopers that he wanted to kill himself before they arrived.

State Police then arrested him on charges of making a terroristic threat, a felony, and aggravated harassment, a misdemeanor.

Four legally owned rifles were removed from the home.

The boy was remanded to the Westchester County Jail after his arraignment. The teen was expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation in jail, and is on suicide watch. Three orders of protection have been issued against him.

We take school threats very seriously and will continue working closely with New York State Police and other law enforcement agencies to keep our children safe," Westchester County District Attorney Anthony Scarpino, Jr. said in a statement. "In this case, we commend the New York State Police Intelligence Center and North Castle Police Department for their swift action."

Attorney information for him wasn't immediately clear but his father had no comment after the boy was arraigned.
What to Know A federal criminal investigation is underway into some executives and doctors at major Hudson Valley healthcare company Crystal Run

Investigators want to know if campaign finance laws were broken as the company was seeking more than $25 million in New York State grants

Several executives, doctors or their families donated $400,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomos campaign, according to US Attorney

A federal criminal investigation is underway into some executives and doctors at major Hudson Valley healthcare company Crystal Run.

Investigators want to know if campaign finance laws were broken as the company was seeking more than $25 million in New York State grants after several executives, doctors or their families donated $400,000 to Gov. Andrew Cuomos campaign.

The $25 million grant was awarded in 2016 through a bidding process through the state Department of Health which controlled more than $1 billion in grant funds. The Albany Times Union first reported on the questions surrounding the Crystal Run-related donations.

Now, Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman wants to know if those political donors amounted to being straw donors and whether they were improperly reimbursed by the company or others.

A Crystal Run spokesman denies there was ever any pay-to-play. The spokesman says the company itself is not the target.

Over a year ago, we received a subpoena requesting documents, and we have since complied. We have no reason to believe that we are the focus of a current federal investigation, Loren Riegelhaupt, Crystal Run spokesman, said.

The allegations of campaign finance irregularities were first raised in a civil lawsuit by a group of doctors against Crystal Run as the company sought to combine with the Montefiore Health System.

The doctors civil lawsuit was settled earlier this month, which also resulted in a confidentiality agreement. However, those doctors are expected to be among those who tell what they know to federal officials.

As we have said repeatedly, any suggestion of a pay-to-play is entirely false, Riegelhaupt said. We remain focused on providing our patients with the quality, affordable care they deserve.

A US Attorney spokesman declined to comment when asked what individuals inside Crystal Run are facing scrutiny. To date, no criminal charges have been filed.

The Albany Times Union first reported on the questions surrounding the Crystal Run-related donations.


A Russian weapon the U.S. is currently unable to defend against will be ready for war by 2020, according to sources with direct knowledge of American intelligence reports.

The sources, who spoke to CNBC on the condition of anonymity, said Russia successfully tested the weapon, which could carry a nuclear warhead, twice in 2016. The third known test of the device, called a hypersonic glide vehicle, was carried out in October 2017 and resulted in a failure when the platform crashed seconds before striking its target.

The latest revelations come more than two months after Russian President Vladimir Putin touted his nation's growing hypersonic arsenal as "invincible."
A severe line of spring storms barreled through the Philadelphia region at highway speeds pummeling neighborhoods with intense lightning, hail and 60+ mph wind gusts.

The National Weather Service issued a flurry of emergency weather warnings including a tornado warning for a short period of time as well as severe thunderstorm warnings throughout the night.



The line of storms screamed across the area at more than 50 mph. More than 500 lightning strikes were recorded over the span of several minutes while more than 29,800 customers were without power in our region at one point.

There were also several reports of downed trees and storm damage in neighborhoods across the area, including Montgomery County.



The warnings came after the NBC10 First Alert Team issued a First Alert from 4 p.m. to midnight for the entire area.

Nearly the entire region (except Sussex County, Delaware, and the Poconos) is under a Flash Flood Watch until 2 a.m. Wednesday.



The best way to stay safe is to be weather wise! Watch updates with each of our newscasts as our team of meteorologists closely tracks the storms development, and keep your NBC10 App on alert. It will let you know when heavy rain or lightning is near you.

Storm Clouds and Rainbows Over Our Region
Season three of the reality show "Below Deck Mediterranean" sets its sails this evening against the beautiful backdrop of Italy as Captain Sandy Yawn and her crew voyage upon the 178 foot "Talisman Maiton" yacht.

The show features Chief Stew Hannah Ferrier and Chef Adam Glick as well as a whole new crew of deckhands as they travel across the country from Naples to Capri and Positano.

Ferrier, who has been on the show all three seasons, says the breathtaking atmosphere of Italy and the unique and genuine crew aboard the yacht this season has been one of the best experiences she has ever had.

"To me, Italy is the best of everything we've had so far," Ferrier said. "We've had the really chilled out laid back atmosphere like Greece and it's so much more beautiful than Croatia. And on top of that, you have the food and the wine so you really can't go wrong."

The Sydney, Australia native explained that being a part of a crew on a yacht is challenging. She's dealt with clashing personalities and balancing her work and personal life during her eight years as a stewardess. But Ferrier embraces her role as a leader and says in order to survive in the industry crew members must have the right attitude and an indelible work ethic.

"If you want to join yachting you need to dedicate your entire life to it. You need to be committed for at least five years. You need to do whatever it takes to get the job done and I think the most important thing is your attitude." Ferrier said.

"If you're going to come in and complain about the long work hours or the bad living environment or the chef's food you're just not going to survive. You need to be very strong at your core."

Below Deck Mediterranean season three premieres May 15th on Bravo at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
When most of us donate our time or money to a nonprofit, we expect it to go to a mission we support, but a News4 I-Team investigation found some of the world's biggest environmental groups have been investing in the oil and gas industry for years.

This information came to light as a result of the Paradise Papers, a trove of 13 million leaked documents that offer a rare glimpse into the secretive world of offshore investing.

One such document, a credit agreement, shines light on some members of a $2 billion private equity fund invested largely in things like oil drilling and exploration, which directly contradicts their environmental mission.

"When I heard it, I was appalled and shocked," said Gracie Brett, a rising senior at American University. She's fighting to get her school to pull its investments out of fossil fuels and has volunteered with a number of environmental groups.

"I would be livid if I was giving my money and then found out it was going to something like that," she told the I-Team.

In promotional videos on its website, World Wildlife Fund touts its public mission to combat climate change and its opposition to the fossil fuel industry.

"Oil companies want to drill for oil and gas deep beneath the sea bed. It's a dreadful idea," says a narrator in one video.

But the leaked documents show the DC-based WWF privately invested more than $2 million with Denham Capital, an international private equity firm that's specialized in oil and gas, mining and energy investments.

"You're literally handing money to polluters. That makes zero sense," Brett said.

The fund is called Denham Commodity Fund Partners Group V, and its initial collection of funds from investors totaled $2 billion. The Paradise Papers document lists 152 separate entities comprised the original investor group, including nonprofit organizations, foundations, universities, other investment firms and a handful of wealthy individuals.

Denham Capital, which manages the fund, declined NBC's request for comment.

World Wildlife Fund declined our request to speak on camera. By phone, WWF told the News4 I-Team it started unloading its oil and gas investments five years ago, but found some, like the Denham fund, posed a greater challenge.

"Those funds are set up to last you know up to, say, 10 years, and those are going to be extremely difficult to divest from and maybe even costly," said NYU professor of entrepreneurial finance Robert Whitelaw.

World Wildlife Fund said that agreement started in 2008 and is slated to expire by 2020. The nonprofit pointed out that Denham also funded some renewable energy projects.

WWF also created a separate financial instrument to offset income  so it's not profiting from its fossil fuel investments  but acknowledges that doesn't negate its funding of mining, drilling and other practices it deems harmful to the planet.

WWF said it spends money it gets from donors fairly quickly, so donor money does not go into these long-term investments. It's also shifting toward investments in sustainability and renewable energy and has vowed to avoid any new investments in funds that include a hydrocarbon focus, like oil and gas.

The American Museum of Natural History in New York City committed $5 million to the Denham fund despite featuring numerous exhibits on global warming and touting itself as a leader in the public understanding of climate change.

"It feels very disjointed, I don't see how their financial investments reflect their public-facing mission," said Maggie Wiggins, who bought a family membership to the museum. "We are going to look for an organization that tries to do really good things in the front of the house and the back of the house."

The museum said it's been working to reduce its fossil fuel investments and actively consider opportunities to invest in companies that advance renewable energy.

"It's hypocrisy at its core," said divestment advocate Ellen Dorsey. "Any fund that is channeling resources to those industries is part of the problem."

Dorsey runs the $156 million Wallace Global Fund, which supports environmental causes and began divesting from the fossil fuel industry in 2009 as an ethical decision.

"We said it was not OK as a leading climate funder to be invested in the companies driving the problem," said Dorsey.

She admits breaking ties with private equity can take longer, but she said it is doable and it's also a sound financial decision as fossil fuels become riskier.

"There is a plethora of investment funds that are fossil fuel free with good performance returns," she added.

NYU professor Whitelaw said there is no definitive proof whether investing based on your values helps or hurts your portfolio. But he says an "ESG approach" focused on environmental, social and governance factors has gained recent popularity in investing.

"The data right now suggests that even in the U.S. about one in every five dollars is invested with some ESG component," he said.

Dorsey said 170 foundations around the world have committed to join what she calls a "movement" to divest from fossil fuels and instead invest in energy solutions, like solar and wind.

"It's a direct connection: You own fossil fuels, you own climate change," Dorsey told the I-Team, but she knows many investors remain committed to that industry.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation defended its $50 million investment in a fund which finances oil and gas projects, saying fund managers have complete discretion to maximize profits. It has given grants to the Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Defense Counsel.

The William Penn Foundation awarded grants to dozens of environmental projects last year including some that fight fossil fuels. But it has millions invested in an offshore fund that supports oil and gas exploration. A Penn Foundation spokesperson said the group doesn't comment on its investments.

The University of Washington in Seattle also declined to explain the $9 million it committed to the Denham fund. The university is part of a highly touted coalition to combat climate change.

The documents show the University of Virginia's Investment Management Company also committed $50 million to the same Denham fund. The institution has publicly said it continually strives to be a global leader in sustainability across all aspects of the university, including efforts to reduce its carbon footprint and building energy use. But after an extensive review of the possibility of divestment, it opted to instead stick with its current investment strategies.



Gracie Brett said divesting would send a better message.

"I think especially with universities they have even greater of a responsibility to divest because they're in the business of young people," she said.

The Paradise Papers are leaked documents from the Bermuda-based law firm Appleby, which specializes in offshore financial deals. The leaks were obtained by German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which selected and organized collaboration among news organizations around the world, including NBC News, to sift through and research the millions of files.

NBC News found more than 200 nonprofits listed in the trove of documents. They include museums, charities, universities and others  with endowments worth more than half a trillion dollars.

All of these nonprofits said the fossil fuel investments represent a small sliver of their total endowments.

The tax forms nonprofits file do not require a detailed list of private equity investments, so many would have remained hidden without the Paradise Papers leak.

"It's really great to see the truth come out and so people don't get duped," said Brett.

Reported by Jodie Fleischer and shot and edited by Jeff Piper.
A former Virginia middle school teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with a 14-year-old girl in 2014 was charged in November, Fairfax County police said.

When the allegations against 40-year-old Timothy Threlkeld first were reported by a relative of the victim, his teaching license was revoked, but police said there was insufficient evident to file charges.

In 2017, Threlkelds accuser provided police with more details about how he inappropriately touched her, police said, and Threlkeld was charged with four counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.

He is accused of sexual misconduct and dating the student.

When he was arrested in November, he was working as an auto mechanic in another state.

Threlkeld's lawyer said he denied any sexual contact with the accuser.

Threlkeld resigned from his position as a shop teacher at Langston Hughes Middle School in 2015, police said.

Fairfax County Public Schools said no communication was provided to parents during the summer of 2014 because Threlkeld was not facing criminal charges at the time and because there was not a disruption to the classroom.

"It happened years ago, before our children were in this school, so it has nothing to do with the parents as of now," Langston Hughes Middle School parent Jennifer Fisher said. "If you were a parent in that school year, then yes, they should have been notified as soon as it happened."

His next court date is Aug. 27.
A congressman had a minor stroke within a few hours of leaving the funeral of a county executive in Maryland.

Rep. Anthony G. Brown (D-Md.) is expected to make a full recovery, spokesman Matt Verghese said.

His office said in a statement that Brown had experienced dizziness and nausea shortly after returning home from the funeral of Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz. His wife, Karmen Walker Brown, called 911.

The first-term-congress man was taken to University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center, admitted for two nights and released Sunday.

The 56-year-old is recovering at home and has not set a definite date for his return to Capitol Hill.

"The Congressman is in good spirits, staying active and is recuperating at home," Verghese said in a statement. "He spoke to his staff this afternoon, and is already eager to return to Washington."



Brown was elected to Congress in 2016 after winning a six-way Democratic primary.
In the years following the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, the young cleric Muqtada al-Sadr burst onto the scene as a renegade champion of poorer Shiites, leading militant fighters who carried out deadly attacks on American forces and were notorious for sectarian killings against Sunni Muslims.

Now al-Sadr appears set to secure the most significant victory of his political career after a strong showing in parliament elections held over the weekend.

It is the latest stage in al-Sadr's political evolution. In recent years, he has gained popularity as a nationalist voice, opposing Iranian influence and waging a public campaign against corruption. For this election, he ran a non-sectarian campaign focused on issues of social justice, allying with secularists and Iraq's communist party, and broadening support beyond his traditional base.

"We are moving to a free and independent Iraq," al-Sadr said just before Saturday's voting in a televised address from his office in the Shiite city of Najaf. "We are going to move to an Iraq safe from corruption, terrorism and militias."

He warned that if there were manipulation and fraud in the election, "we will make the earthquake beneath the feet of the cheaters and corrupt."

Partial election returns announced Sunday showed al-Sadr's political alliance as the current front-runner, leading in four provinces, including Baghdad. An alliance of candidates linked to Iraq's powerful paramilitary groups appears set to come in second with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi trailing in third.

Al-Sadr himself did not run for parliament and so cannot be a candidate for the prime minister's post. But a significant number of seats for his movement would give him a strong voice in building the next government.

Muqtada al-Sadr has dipped in and out of Iraqi politics for over a decade, repeatedly reinventing himself. But he has consistently leveraged a deep popular appeal, closely tied to his lineage as well as his personal achievements and demands of his base.

Born to a prominent family of Shiite clerics, al-Sadr's relative Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Sadr was executed by Saddam Hussein in 1980. In 1999, al-Sadr's father Mohammed Sadiq al-Sadr was shot dead along with two of his sons in Najaf.

After the 2003 invasion, Muqtada al-Sadr led an uprising against the presence of U.S. forces in the country. His core support in Baghdad lives in Sadr City, a sprawling, poor, Shiite dominated neighborhood on the capital's edge renamed after the cleric's family following the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

His militia, known as the Mahdi Army, battled repeatedly over the years with U.S. and Iraqi government forces in Baghdad and around Shiite holy sites in the south. It also participated in some of Iraq's most violent sectarian blood-letting; its fighters were accused kidnapping, torture and killings of Sunnis.

Throughout that time, his movement participated in elections, sometimes holding places in successive governments. Al-Sadr always showed his ability to mobilize millions, whether for political rallies or for elections.

Following the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State group in 2014, he resurrected his militia under a new name  the Peace Brigades  to fight the militants.

His forces were largely sidelined in the battle, even as other militia commanders were propelled to new heights of power. Militias with closer ties to Iran such as the Badr Brigades, Asaib Ahl Haq and Kataib Hezbollah were flooded with munitions, supplies and dispatched to high profile battles from Iraq's far west to the country's north.

Al-Sadr's forces maintained their own chain of command and were as a result delegated to largely operate in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad, with the duty of protecting one of Shiite Islam's holiest shrines.

In 2016 al-Sadr remerged as a central figure in Iraq's political scene by taking a lead role in the anti-government protest movement that bubbled up amid a deepening economic crisis as the war against IS dragged on. Al-Abadi's efforts to address demands for better government services and greater employment prospects have been stymied by political gridlock in Baghdad.

In April of that year, al-Sadr rallied thousands of supporters who stormed Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone to demand political reforms. The protests rocked Baghdad and forced al-Abadi to pull troops from the frontline against IS back to the capital to secure the city's streets.

While many observers expected al-Abadi to win votes by campaigning on his role overseeing the military defeat of IS in Iraq, al-Sadr tapped into long-simmering frustration with Baghdad's inability to improve the lives Iraqis far from the frontline fight.

"After security improved, (Iraqis in Baghdad) began to notice how shabby the city is and the lack of utilities and the general failure of government to reconstruct anything since 2003," said Patrick Cockburn, a journalist for The Independent who wrote a 2008 book on al-Sadr and interviewed him a number of times.

The physical evidence of those government failures is readily visible in Sadr City. Tangles of electrical wires hang from the crumbling facades of dusty store-fronts and narrow, overcrowded homes. Bright blue banners for al-Sadr's election alliance jostle for space along streets lined with martyr posters and images of al-Sadr and his father.

"From the beginning Sadr was always underestimated by both Iraqis and foreigners," Cockburn explained. "But in previous elections the organization of the Sadrists has always been pretty impressive, they've always been good at elections."

Associated Press reporters Philip Issa and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.
Massachusetts' attorney general is launching an investigation into the collapse of Mount Ida College, a small liberal arts college embroiled in controversy following its closing announcement last month, as its counsel admits the college won't be able to make its payroll unless its deal with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst goes through by Wednesday.

Attorney General Maura Healey announced her office will investigate Mount Ida's senior administrators and its board of trustees and whether they violated fiduciary duties as they addressed the college's financial condition and carried out the Newton-based college's educational mission.

"We are extremely disappointed in the way Mount Ida handled this closure," Healey said in a statement.

Attorneys for Mount Ida College told Healey's office the liberal arts college will have to declare bankruptcy in the event its deal with UMass Amherst fall through. The deal was scrutinized by state lawmakers in an oversight hearing last week.

The revelation came to light in a letter from the attorney general's office regarding the asset transfer to UMass and fair value of the transaction, which is required by the state's charities law.

"Your treatment of your own students is particularly upsetting and extremely unfair to them," officials from the attorney general's office wrote in a letter to Mount Ida attorneys about the transaction, which was approved.

The attorney general's Student Loan Assistance Unit has been working with hundreds of families affected by the closure.

Students at Mount Ida expressed shock to NBC10 Boston last month after the announcement.

"[Mount Ida President] Barry Brown had nothing to say to us," one student said after a closed-door meeting for students. "It was just noise. I don't think they have answers for us."

After it was announced that the college was closing, students learned that those in good academic standing can go to UMass Dartmouth, a university about an hour's drive away and does not offer the same majors in certain cases.

However, Tuesday's letter from Healey's office showed that students in these certain majors have been accepted to other schools in the University of Massachusetts system.

UMass Amherst's plans to purchase the campus has also upset students and faculty at UMass Boston, where there has been a student-led walkout and a faculty declaration of no confidence to protest a decision they argue will result in the campus taking more of a backseat as the university faces an expected $30-million budget shortfall.

"Students have been forgotten, students have been taken advantage of, and they have been let down by grown-ups," UMass Boston undergrad student president Katelyn Mitrano said.
Tornado watches and warnings were active for much of Tuesday in three New England states, but all had expired by the evening.

The warnings were in effect in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

Severe thunderstorm watches and warnings were also in effect in much of New England throughout Tuesday. Click here to see the latest weather advisories.

If your neighborhood is in a tornado watch, remain weather aware by keeping up with the forecast and the latest radar and be prepared to immediately seek shelter in the lowest level of a sturdy building if a tornado warning is issued. Those warnings will be issued if a tornado is confirmed or imminent.

Showers will precede the storms for some in central New England, while no severe weather is expected in northern New England, where numerous showers are falling with embedded thunder.

As thunderstorms swept through the region, power was knocked out to many. More than 130,000 customers were without power in Connecticut as of 8 p.m., with more than 3,300 in Massachusetts.

Storms will depart overnight, leaving fog for some and cooler air on Wednesday, with highs only in the 50s east and 60s west with lots of clouds.

After a fair and pleasant Thursday, Friday brings advancing rain from the south by late day into the night, likely to last with cool temperatures through Saturday before breaking up into showers Sunday, allowing temperatures to rebound a bit for the end of the weekend.

Our exclusive Early Warning Weather 10-day forecast puts temperatures in the 70s for the start of next week.

Stay up to date with the NBC10 Boston and necn apps.
For restaurants like Brody's Diner on Route 20 in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Styrofoam is a big part of business  from coffee cups to take-out containers.

"We have a lot of to-go orders, especially on the weekends," said Brody's Diner employee Nina Cantin.

But next week, Shrewsbury will be voting on whether to ban single-use to-go containers made of "expanded polystyrene Styrofoam in food establishments.

"It'll be more expensive for us to get the supplies that they want us to use," said Brody's Diner employee Christina Gonzales.

"I guess if the prices are higher on the cost going out, we have to raise our prices, too," Cantin said.

Juniors at Shrewsbury High School who petitioned for the change think the costs will be minimal compared to the health risks.

"It leeches chemicals into your body once you eat off those trays or cups," said petitioner Anish Warty.

"Do we really want to be feeding our kids something that we know causes cancer?" asked fellow petitioner Siddhant Dosi.

The superintendent has been supportive of their efforts and the district crunched the numbers on what it would cost to make the change.

With approximately 425,000 Styrofoam trays used annually, there would be a roughly $24,000 annual cost increase for alternatives, which would be about a 10-to-20-cent increase per meal.

"What we need to look at is the health and the future for Shrewsbury as a whole," said Rahul Razdan, who started the petition.

"We think that it's sending a message to businesses that you can be competitive without Styrofoam," added fellow petitioner Anirudh Iyre.

And some restaurant owners say although it may mean finding a cheaper alternative, theyre not opposed to it.

"They had the ban about the plastic bags, we pulled them out, we used paper, the same thing happened with Styrofoam," said Pepperoni Express House of Pizza manager Georgios Sofikidis. "I think it's a good move."
Members of the unionized part-time faculty from the Community College of Vermonts 12 learning centers statewide demonstrated Tuesday outside the office of the chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges System, asking for raises and greater job security.

Were at the forefront of educating Vermonters, said CCV adjunct faculty member Jill Mudgett, a humanities instructor.

Mudgett said the faculty wants pay boosts that would bring experienced community college instructors equal with or closer to what part-time peers make on campuses in the state college system.

Theyre also looking for more assurances about their positions in a first-ever contract, Mudgett said.

If we say yes to teaching a course, if were offered a course, and then that course doesnt run, we dont get the money for the course, Mudgett said. And we dont know that were not going to be getting the money until usually about two weeks before the course starts. So it throws peoples budgets into chaos.

Jeb Spaulding, the chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges System, pointed out the contract will be between the faculty and CCV, not the state colleges.

When you look at the salaries for the CCV faculty, who we care very much for, they are already paid more than in New Hampshire, more than in Maine, more than the New England average, and significantly above the national average, Spaulding told necn.

Spaulding noted that funding from taxpayers is comparatively low in Vermont, so he said CCV needs to operate in fiscally prudent ways.

If salaries go up, theres only one inescapable conclusion: that tuitions will go up, Spaulding said. And we are concerned that CCV remain affordable for our students.

A mediator is working with both sides and has a June meeting scheduled. Until then, the bargaining teams are sharing proposals by email.
After a second suspected Israeli strike killing Iranian forces in Syria, the Islamic Republic has few ways to retaliate as its leaders wrestle with both unrest at home and the prospect of its nuclear deal collapsing abroad.

Though it has long made threats about Israel's existence, Iran doesn't have a modern air force to take on Israel. Launching ballistic missiles also remains a question mark, considering Israel's anti-missile defense system, the near-certainty of massive Israeli retaliation and the risk of further alienating the West as President Donald Trump threatens to withdraw the United States from the atomic accord.

Meanwhile, Iran's long-favored strategy of relying on allied militant groups and proxies faces limits as well. Hezbollah, now bloodied and battered from Syria's long war, may not have the appetite for another conflict as the Shiite militant group tries to further integrate into local Lebanese politics.

Here's a look at what happened and the challenges confronting Iran as it weighs its response:

THE ATTACKS

On April 9, a suspected Israeli jet fighter targeted Syria's T4 air base in central Homs province, hours after a suspected poison gas attack on a rebel-held Syrian town. That strike killed 14 people, including seven Iranians.

On Sunday, just before midnight, another attack struck Syrian government outposts further north, in Hama and Aleppo provinces. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes, which targeted an arms depot containing surface-to-surface missiles belonging to Iranian militias in Hama province and a military base in Aleppo province, killed 26 pro-government forces, most of them Iranians.

Suspicion for both attacks immediately fell on Israel, which, in keeping with tradition, has neither confirmed nor denied carrying out the strikes. If Israeli jets carried out the latest assault, it would mean the country's fighters are flying deeper and deeper into Syrian territory, as Hama is some 180 kilometers (110 miles) from Israel.

IRANIAN MILITARY LIMITS

While Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the April 9 attack "a crime" and other officials threatened revenge, there are significant limits to Iran's conventional military forces.

Iran's air force, in particular, has suffered since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The backbone of its air power remains pre-revolution American F-4s, F-5s and F-14s, with a mix of other Soviet, French and aging aircraft. That fleet is outgunned by the modern U.S.-supplied fighter jets flown by Israel and the Gulf Arab states.

To counter that, Iran has put much of its money toward developing a ballistic missile force it says provides a defensive deterrent to a direct air attack. Iran's Revolutionary Guard, a hard-line paramilitary force answerable only to Khamenei, controls those ballistic missiles, which can reach Israel.

There is recent precedent for Iran launching ballistic missiles to avenge attacks. Last June, six Iranian Zolfaghar missiles targeted Islamic State group positions in Syria in revenge for an IS-claimed attack on the Iranian parliament and the mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic's founder. However, Israeli media later reported only one made it to its target, something denied by the Guard.

Israel, in cooperation with the U.S., also has developed a multi-layer system of missile defense that could protect it against incoming Iranian fire. While no missile defense is perfect, Israel could defend itself. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, long a hawk on Iran, also likely wouldn't hesitate to launch a massive retaliatory strike.

NUCLEAR DEAL IN THE BALANCE

A missile attack on Israel would draw an immediate response from the West, in particular the U.S., which long has acted as the guarantor of Israel's safety. Trump has pledged "we have no better friends anywhere" than Israel and is moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, a move that has angered Palestinians, who claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future state, and their Arab backers.

Any military action would further isolate Iran as Trump faces a self-imposed May 12 deadline to decide what to do about the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. That deal allowed Iran to sell crude oil on the international market and regain access to the world's banks. Losing it could mean further economic problems for Iran, which has already seen its currency, the rial, crater against the U.S. dollar.

While average Iranians haven't experienced any direct benefit from the nuclear deal, they have felt the currency crisis. Iranian government officials recognize that anger, coupled with still-smoldering resentments after nationwide protests swept the country in December and January, could further challenge their rule. That could grow with a fumbled direct attack on Israel.

PROXY PROBLEMS

Iran could fall back on its regional militant allies or proxies to launch an attack, a strategy it has used with great success after its ruinous 1980s war with Iraq. After the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, the U.S. blamed Iran for training Iraqi militants to build so-called explosively formed projectiles, which penetrated armored vehicles to maim and kill soldiers. Tehran denied doing this. Western nations and U.N. experts also say Iran has supplied the Shiite rebels now holding Yemen's capital with weapons, from small arms to ballistic missiles, something Tehran also denies.

Iran's greatest proxy achievement, however, is Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group and political organization that pushed occupying Israeli forces out of Lebanon in 2000. Since then, Hezbollah has remained an adversary of Israel and fought one war against it in 2006. Southern Lebanon's rolling hills bordering Israel remain Hezbollah's stronghold.

Iran could retaliate through Hezbollah, but the group has been battered in the Syrian war. Supporting embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad has seen hundreds of its fighters killed and wounded.

Hezbollah also wants to further integrate into local Lebanese politics as the nation votes on Sunday for a new parliament for the first time in nine years. Launching a new war could endanger its political support base, including possibly among its Shiite constituency, which is wary of another ruinous war with Israel.

WHAT HAPPENS NOW?

For now, Iran continues to threaten retaliation. If none comes, Israel may feel emboldened to launch strikes even deeper into Syria to clear out major Iranian bases before that country's war ends. But continuing strikes risk further escalation on all sides, with Hezbollah still heavily armed just across the Israeli border. How Russia and the U.S. would respond to any escalation remains a question as well.

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.
In capital cities in more than 30 states Monday, demonstrators called for a new national focus on ending poverty, saying it is immoral to allow tens of millions of Americans to remain stuck and suffering.

In Vermont's capital city, Montpelier, activists temporarily shut down busy State Street in front of the Statehouse, demanding an end to poverty and what they termed systemic injustices that keep people down  such as racism and gender inequality.

Police set up detours for traffic while the protest took over a crosswalk on State Street.

"People are taking a stand and saying we can't be silent any more," said Amanda Sheppard of the Vermont Workers' Center. "Poverty has gone on too long, and we can't keep fighting the poor  we have to fight poverty."

Their call was part of the national Poor Peoples Campaign, which aims to revive the unfinished work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The issue of income inequality is fresh again in Vermont, with Republican Gov. Phil Scott now considering whether to veto or authorize a bill passed by the legislature that would raise the minimum wage in the state to $15 an hour by 2024, along with additional legislation to create paid family leave policies for many workers.

"I feel strongly this would have unintended consequences that wouldn't be good for Vermont," Gov. Scott said Monday when asked by necn affiliate NBC 5 News about the minimum wage bill.

Scott has been critical of the proposals, saying he doesn't want new burdens on taxpayers.

The governor also has said he worries that small business owners simply won't be able to shoulder additional costs.

"When they have to compete against tax-free New Hampshire, that'll put a lot of businesses out of business," Gov. Scott warned.

Demonstrators at the rally in Montpelier encouraged the governor to authorize the minimum wage and paid family leave legislation.

"There are many people in Vermont who are working one, two jobs and yet still are not able to meet the basic human needs of their family," said rally participant Bishop Tom Ely of the Vermont Episcopal Diocese. "This is not about people being lazy. This is about people not having enough money to live in this state."

After more than 45 minutes, the demonstrators cleared State Street without any problems, allowing normal traffic flow to resume.

The group also pledged to keep up the fight for what they see as economic justice, and related causes of racial and gender equality and environmental protection.

Other actions are planned in Vermont communities over the next several weeks as tie-ins to the national Poor People's Campaign, an organizer said.
The tech industry got a jolt last week worse than the 3.5 magnitude quake that hit Oakland, California, on Monday. A report by Bloomberg, citing the usual anonymous sources, said that after a whole lot of R&D and hype, Qualcomm was looking to shut down or sell its Centriq line of ARM-based data center processors.

Qualcomm launched the 48-core Centriq 2400 last November. At the time, potential customers, such as Microsoft, Alibaba and HPE, took to the stage to voice their support and interest.

Qualcomm stops talking about Centriq

Since then, nothing. Qualcomm hasnt said a word about Centriq on two earnings calls since then. A check with Mercury Research and IDC, which both follow market share numbers pretty closely, found no measurable sales of Centriq products. And none of my usual analysts have heard a word beyond the Bloomberg story.

If youve followed any industry, you know that when a company stops talking about a product, its probably doomed. The company loses faith before they kill off a product, and silence is a major indicator of it. Weve heard nothing from them about wins or deployments, and nothing about the next generation.

Cavium launches its own ARM-based processors

By contrast, Cavium, a much smaller player than Qualcomm, last week launched its own ARM-based processors, the ThunderX2, and had all kinds of support for it from Cray, HPE, and Microsoft.

It could just be that Qualcomm, which specializes in low-power, embedded processors for handheld devices, simply decided it didnt have the spare money and resources for a protracted fight with Intel and the now-revitalized AMD over the data center.

On its most recent earnings call, Qualcomm CEO Steve Mollenkopf told analysts that the is focused on spending reductions in its non-core product areas. Clearly data centers would be non-core.

Qualcomm is still fending off a hostile takeover of Broadcom and is struggling to buy NXP Semiconductors for $44 billion. NXP owns Freescale, which has its own ARM business but mostly on the embedded side, so its more synergistic. Plus, Qualcomm authorized the buyback of $10 billion in shares to fend off Broadcom. Thats $10 billion not available for a protracted fight with Intel.

Can anyone compete with the x86

Its not a good showing for ARM in the data center. Broadcom had a line, called Vulcan, which it sold off to Cavium and now makes up the ThunderX2 line. AMD was working on an ARM chip for the data center called K12 but hasnt talked about it in years. And Calxeda, the first attempt at a data center chip based on ARM, crashed and burned spectacularly.

The business question then becomes, can anyone compete with the x86 hegemony? Intel owns virtually everything, but there are indications AMD is about to start nibbling at its lunch again. The unpleasant reality is that even if Centriq can offer better price performance than Skylake, it still means a code rewrite, and the server side is the most resistant to change and disruption.

If that is indeed the case, how much traction can Cavium expect to gain? Not much, I suspect. It will probably do well in new deployment scenarios, but as a replacement for Xeon, I dont think its going to happen. Not that they cant get some decent sales out of it. I just dont think ARM in the data center is going to be the revolution some have hyped it to be.

Finally, who would buy the Centriq line? Cavium/Marvell would undoubtedly love it. They would have the market all to themselves, and no one can claim monopoly or antitrust issues here. But the Marvell merger might preclude that. A data center monster like Amazon, Google, Facebook, or Microsoft could do it. They all have their own custom chip designs as is and could easily adapt their cloud services to ARM.

If that happens, and it seems more likely, then dont expect to see those chips on the market. Like Googles TPU and Facebooks forthcoming AI processor, these chips will power their data center, but the vendors will keep them for themselves.
Children meet the wolf who escaped from his enclosure earlier this year

TORAK, the wolf who led police on a five-and-a-half-hour chase after escaping from his enclosure in Beenham earlier this year, was visited by some excited neighbours recently.

Year 3 pupils from Beenham Primary School were invited to visit the UK Wolf Conservation Trust to meet the wolves  including Torak  on Monday, April 30.

The school backs on to the trust and is located just an eight-minute walk south of the site.

The Alaskan timber wolf has become something of a celebrity after capturing media attention around the world when staff discovered him missing from his enclosure in January.

It sparked a search across West Berkshires countryside and schools were advised to keep children indoors, while people were told not to approach Torak if they spotted him.

Trust director Tsa Palmer wrote to the school and invited the pupils to visit.

Mrs Palmer also enclosed photographs and a biography of Torak, who now has a display dedicated to him in the school entrance.

The school has always enjoyed a close relationship with its neighbours and even adopted a wolf as its emblem.

The trust announced recently that it would be closing its doors to the public at the end of August.
Group of vehicles arrived late last night

A GROUP of travellers descended on Stroud Green late last night (Monday).

The group of about 10 caravans and various cars set up on the green. In August 2017 travellers were on the green for six days costing an estimated 2,000 to taxpayers.

West Berkshire Council placed bollards around the green in 2014 in a bid to protect the green from travellers.

Greenham Parish Council chairman Julian Swift Hook said: "I was in contact with the police immediately, and the police attended very quickly.

"I received updates throughout the evening, and this morning West Berks Council officers will attend to put in motion the process of removing the travellers.

"I will be in touch with both the police and the Council (as landowners) throughout the day, but meanwhile, if anyone experiences any problems, please contact the police on 101, quoting "ref 1383 of 14/5/2018.

"It's disappointing that the bollards around Stroud Green have proved ineffective once again.

"Once the travellers have left I will be pressing West Berks Council for a full review of the maintenance of the bollards to try to ensure that it doesn't happen again."

West Berkshire Council said: "The council has served a Direction Order under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act giving the travellers the required notice to move on by Thursday morning.

"If this does not happen, the council will need to lodge a complaint with the Magistrates Court."

More caravans arrived on Stroud Green this morning and others have parked up on land at the junction of Greenham Road and Pinchington Lane.
WASHINGTON  Career intelligence officer Gina Haspel can count on a few Democratic supporters in the Senate to win confirmation as CIA director.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal will not be one of them.

At her confirmation hearing last week, Haspel attempted to sway skeptical senators that the CIA would not engage in what was euphemistically called enhanced interrogation techniques  torture  if she won confirmation.

And she doubled down on the promise, pledging she would not obey an order from President Donald Trump to do so even if it were technically legal.

But Blumenthal said he was troubled by her refusal to state that past use of torture in the post-9/11 era and destruction of videotapes depicting harsh tactics were morally wrong. Haspel, who was actively involved in the techniques and disposal of the tapes, gave nuanced answers to questions that some senators, including Blumenthal, saw as dependent on legalisms.

The failure to clearly state that those decisions were morally wrong, not just politically mistaken, was important to me, Blumenthal said in an interview Monday, shortly after his press office released a statement. At this moment in history and with this president in the white House, moral grit is particularly important.

Another likely opponent, Sen. Chris Murphy, has not yet decided whether to vote for or against Haspel, his spokeswoman said Monday.

Trump nominated Haspel to replace Mike Pompeo, who won confirmation earlier this month as secretary of state. The CIA itself has mounted an unprecedented effort to win confirmation for one of their own, a 30-year-plus veteran of the spy agency.

With the Senate divided 51-49 in favor of Republicans, Haspel can ill afford to lose Republican votes. But shes lost two so far _ those of the ailing Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and libertarian Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

The loss of McCain, who himself was subjected to torture while a prisoner of war in North Vietnam, was a significant blow to Haspels confirmation hopes.

But the GOP losses were offset by support from two Democrats, Sens. Joe Donnelly, R-Ind., and Joe Manchin, D-W.Va. Both are running for re-election in Red States handily won by President Trump in the 2016 election.

Some in the pundit world muted their criticism of Haspel and her role as a senior CIA officer in the agencys post-9/11 phase. They argued that given Trumps general preference for hard-charging, politicized nominees, confirmation of Haspel would ensure an experienced and cool hand on the tiller of the CIA.

But her answers at the confirmation hearing didnt give me the confidence that she appreciates the moral gravity of the (torture) mistake, Blumenthal said.
A variant of the APOE gene may be linked to worse psychiatric symptoms in people who have had a traumatic brain injury, found a Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System study. Study participants with both the gene variant and at least one TBI had more severe symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression than comparison participants.

The results appeared online Feb. 20, 2018, in the Journal of Neurotrauma.

TBI has long been connected with increased risk of psychiatric disorders such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. A past study of more than 13,000 veterans by the Minneapolis VA Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research found that more than 80 percent of those who had suffered a TBI also had a diagnosis of a psychiatric disorder. The same study found that veterans who had a TBI were three times more likely to have PTSD than those who had not.

The new San Diego study also found that patients with TBI had greater PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms than those without. The researchers sought to build on that finding by delving into the biological link between TBI exposure and psychiatric disorders.

Apolipoprotein E is a protein that transports and metabolizes lipids such as cholesterol in the central nervous system. It is involved in the maintenance, growth, and repair of neurons. The protein is encoded by a gene referred to as APOE. APOE has three possible variants. One form of the APOE gene (APOE4) is considered a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Previous studies have shown in Vietnam veterans and Iraq/Afghanistan veterans that the APOE4 gene may increase the risk of PTSD.

The researchers set out to test whether the APOE4 gene puts people at greater risk of psychiatric distress when combined with TBI. They collected DNA from 133 veterans of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to test for the APOE4 gene. Of these participants, 79 had a mild or moderate TBI, while 54 had no TBI history.

In the participant group with TBI, those with the APOE4 gene had significantly higher symptom scores for PTSD, depression, and anxiety, compared with those with a different variant of APOE. The APOE4 variant was linked to worse symptoms for participants with both mild and moderate TBI.

In the group without a TBI, the researchers found no differences in depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms between those with or without APOE4.

Dr. Victoria C. Merritt, first author on the paper, concludes, "Genetic risk may help to explain the poorer long-term clinical outcomes often observed in veterans with neurotrauma histories."

The results are interesting because APOE4 seems to be linked to worse psychiatric symptoms only when TBI is involved, according to the researchers. Beyond suggesting a connection between APOE4 and the three conditions studied, the results "also lend support to the broader theory that genetic risk factors influence psychiatric distress following TBI," they write.

The researchers suggest several possible explanations for why those with APOE4 may be at higher risk for psychiatric distress after TBI. First, the APOE4 variant may primarily affect the frontal subcortical regions of the brain, which are often impacted following TBI. These regions are involved in emotion regulation and psychiatric distress. Second, it is possible that APOE4 increases the risk of vascular disease, which has been shown to increase the risk of depression. Third, the presence of APOE4 may cause neurodegenerative effects, whereas the other forms of the gene do not. While more research will be needed to narrow down the cause, "the findings suggest that there may be a [genetic] basis for the complex presentation of symptoms often observed in this vulnerable population," says Merritt.

The study is the first to explore the link between APOE and psychiatric symptoms specifically connected to TBI. More studies are needed to fully understand how this gene interacts with head trauma to contribute to mental health symptoms, say the researchers.

The San Diego VA team is furthering this work by examining the relationship between APOE4 and cognitive outcomes in veterans with and without TBI histories. They are also looking at whether APOE4 affects post-concussion symptoms such as headaches and dizziness. Future research will also examine the how these findings relate to the biology of the brain using advanced neuroimaging methods.

Merritt explains that the work will add important insight on TBI, and may eventually point toward new treatments.

"Ultimately, we feel that this research is essential to developing a more complete understanding of the multitude of factors that impact recovery following neurotrauma," she said, "and such work may have relevance to the development of future treatments."
A new article published in the Cell Reports describes how a new drug is able to reduce the symptoms and activate the dormant neurons characteristic of Rett Syndrome in preclinical models. The study, led by Dr. Manel Esteller, Director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program (PEBC) of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA Researcher and Professor of Genetics of the University of Barcelona, and Dr. Sonia Guil, researcher at the same IDIBELL group, has been possible thanks to the support from the Catalan and Spanish associations of the Rett Syndrome, the Carla Regatta, a Verkami crowfunding campaign, the Jerome Leujene Foundation and the Dischrom project funded by EU.

Rett Syndrome is the second most frequent cause of intellectual disability in women, only after Down Syndrome. The main genetic cause of Rett Syndrome is the appearance of mutations in the embryo affecting the MECP2 gene, a regulator of the expression of other genes in the genome. There is no specific pharmacological treatment for the disease, so current efforts are focused on trying to control its most serious manifestations, such as epileptic and respiratory crises.

"We knew for some years that the brains of Rett syndrome girls were inflamed, so we decided to test whether a drug that inhibits a central neuroinflammatory protein called glycogen synthase kinase-3B (GSK3B) could reverse part of the symptoms. As with any experimental treatment, we started with a preclinical model of the disease, studying it in mice that have the same MECP2 deficiency as in human Rett syndrome" says Dr. Manel Esteller.

"The results have been very promising; agent SB216763 has been able to lengthen the life of the animals, significantly reducing tremors, breathing difficulties and mobility limitations. But what is really remarkable is that the inhibition of GSK3B also causes an "awakening" of the sleeping neurons of the syndrome: these brain cells are now beginning to regain contact between them and communication between neuronal synapses increases", explains the IDIBELL researcher, and he concludes: "Our findings provide a new way of improving the quality of life of these patients and now it is the neurologists' job to demonstrate their applicability in patients with Rett Syndrome. In any case, we have to be aware that the mutation in the MECP2 gene is still there, and only by correcting it would we arrive at a definitive treatment of the disease."

Source: http://www.idibell.cat/modul/news/en/1076/a-new-drug-shows-preclinical-efficacy-in-rett-syndrome
An article published in Nature Medicine with the collaboration of the research group of Dr. Manel Esteller, director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program of the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), ICREA Researcher and Professor of Genetics of the University of Barcelona, and Drs. Dave Monk and Isidre Ferrer, from the same center, shows that the inheritance of small changes in DNA alters the expression of the PM20D1 gene and is associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

"Over the last seven years, we have created a detailed map of the epigenetic alterations that occur in the brain of people affected by Alzheimer's and other dementias such as those associated with the so-called Lewy bodies or Parkinson's disease. That allowed us to collaborate with Dr Johannes Graff's group in Lausanne, who noticed how one of the molecular lesions we had discovered was caused by inheriting a variation in the DNA sequence"- states Dr. Manel Esteller, co-author of the Nature Medicine study.

"This variation is associated with the loss of activity of a neuroprotective gene called PM20D1; whoever possesses the variation has a greater probability of suffering from Alzheimer's disease, so people carrying these variants could be excellent candidates for clinical prevention trials of the disease in the future"- adds the IDIBELL researcher.

"The results obtained demonstrate the need for international scientific collaboration, mixing the different areas of experience in epigenetics, genetics, bioinformatics and neurosciences of each group. We are looking at an example of the usefulness of multidisciplinary research to tackle diseases as complex and devastating as dementia", concludes Esteller.

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative pathology increasingly frequent due to the progressive aging of the population in Western countries. There are no effective treatments for its cure and only certain drugs are able to relatively slow the progression of the disease if they are administered in the early stages. Beyond advanced age, the factors that cause it are unknown. The hereditary factor associated with high risk constitutes a minimum proportion of cases, but there appears to be a certain aggregation of cases in the same family higher than what would be expected by chance.

Source: http://www.idibell.cat/modul/news/en/1077/scientists-discover-a-variation-of-the-genome-predisposing-to-alzheimers-disease
"Our medical system is structured to individually and systemically favor white physicians and patients in ways that white people are trained to ignore," states family medicine resident Max Romano, MD, MPH. Reflecting on his medical training, Romano describes how he, a white physician, has benefited from the racial privileges he has been afforded. Among the privileges he identifies are the pervasive belief that people of his race can become doctors; the ease with which he found professors and academic role models of his race during college and medical school; and patients' assumptions that, when he enters an examination room with a person of color, he is the physician in charge, even if that is not the case. He calls on other white physicians to speak out against the racism from which they have benefited and to work towards racial justice for clinicians and patients in the medical system.

White Privilege in a White Coat: How Racism Shaped My Medical Education

Max J. Romano, MD, MPH

MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center Family Medicine Residency, Baltimore, Maryland

http://www. annfammed. org/ content/ 16/ 3/ 261. full

In a related editorial, Joseph Hobbs, MD, chair of family medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, cautions against allowing concepts such as white privilege, unconscious and implicit bias, and institutional racism to provide a means for avoiding personal responsibility for racism. In the health care setting, recognition of white privilege is a first step, he states, and should be accompanied by individual and institutional efforts to eliminate privilege and disparities in quality of care based on race. He calls on health care professionals to be aware and take action: "To experience implicit or unconscious bias in the professional and personal settings of health care and fail to address it is a missed opportunity to facilitate change."

White Privilege in Health Care: Following Recognition With Action

Joseph Hobbs, MD

Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, Augusta, Georgia

http://www. annfammed. org/ content/ 16/ 3/ 197. full?sid= dc9f0c58-ed85-42cb-99b5-1ace0f7427f0
A new model for improving how clinical trials are developed and conducted by bringing together academic cancer experts and pharmaceutical companies is being tested by research experts at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

An assessment of the alternative research model was published in the May 14 online issue of Cancer. The model was piloted in a multi-study leukemia research program established between MD Anderson and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) and revamped how studies were designed and carried out.

Current methodology often limits patient access to and eligibility for studies, slows down drug development and increases costs. Since the 1980s, drug companies have employed Contract Research Organizations (CROs) - outside groups that have limited input from academic cancer experts and that focus on the one-drug, one-cancer approach to designing clinical trials with restrictive guidelines for patient eligibility.

The model allows researchers to arrive at findings more quickly, to conduct multiple clinical trials of pharmaceutical company drugs across several cancer types, to lessen expenses and to increase the likelihood of finding medical solutions more quickly. MD Anderson has more than 50 research partnerships and alliances with pharmaceutical companies, managed through its Strategic Industry Ventures group.

Hagop Kantarjian, M.D., chair of Leukemia and co-author, Ferran Prat, Ph.D., J.D., senior vice president for Research Administration and Industry Ventures, believe the new research model addresses these needs.

"This cancer research model is flexible and modifiable according to existing needs because it does not pretend to create a 'one-size-fits-all' approach," said Kantarjian. "These types of alliances have significant variations that accommodate the partnering drug company - its drug pipeline, research needs, financial benefits and other considerations."

MD Anderson's collaboration with BMS led to simultaneous trials using combinations of immunotherapies and other treatments for several leukemia types including chronic lymphocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, chronic myeloid leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome. The trials include the first "triplet" immunotherapy study for leukemia, with results for all trials being analyzed by MD Anderson's top immunotherapy researchers.

The collaboration has already led to the establishment of a new standard of care for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia with an altered dose of the chemotherapy dasatinib, which has proved more effective and less toxic.

The BMS collaboration has resulted in unique study approaches including:

Allowing MD Anderson leukemia researchers exploration of BMS' immune-oncology pipeline across multiple blood malignancies.

Providing high-risk patients, typically excluded from BMS-sponsored studies due to CRO restrictions, access to trials at the discretion of leukemia experts.

Granting a set level of funding for all trials tied to MD Anderson research programs with BMS without the need to negotiate on a trial-by-trial basis

"The success of this initiative has resulted in program expansion in a number of directions," said Prat. "BMS extended the program to other clinical and research departments at MD Anderson, and is partnering with other academic cancer treatment institutions. Our Leukemia department and other MD Anderson programs have also established similar alliances with leading drug industry partners."
The sky is getting brighter as a ball of fire begins to peek out in the horizon, the trees are passing by in a blur, the people havent woken up yet leaving the roads wide open and there is this sound of a particular in-line three-cylinder engine thats keeping company on a machine called the Triumph Street Triple RS. It has a fancy instrument cluster which just changed contrast as it understands that the night is being taken over by sunlight and decides, by itself, on the choice of colours which would make it easy for me to read the information being displayed. Talk about pampering.

Realising that the morning sun will soon become too harsh for fancy pictures, I put the motorcycle into Track mode  which is one of a total of five riding modes which have been named in a self-describing manner (Sport, Road, Rain, Rider, Track)  in order to reach the destination I had planned out, a bit quicker. The roads throw a bit of twisties at us. Challenge accepted. This, was the moment when the Street Triple RS really came into its own.

A British motorcycle at heart, the Triumph Street Triple RS is actually the more performance-oriented version of the Triumph Street Triple S  which we have already reviewed and came away impressed with. There are quite a few significant tweaks to the model which are not evident right away. The reason is that the RS model looks very similar to the S model, which in turn looked very similar to the previous generation Street Triple. The difference in the RS as compared to the S, visually, is that the motorcycle gets a silver colour paint option and several RS stickering across the motorcycle. Then theres the TFT instrument cluster which the S misses out on, the sub-frame of the RS is painted in matte aluminium finish, the seat has contrast stitching  which, by the way, looks gorgeous  and the biggest giveaway is the underbelly cover which is body-coloured. Look harder and you will be able to spot finer changes like the wind deflector which is a bit different and meant to aid the rider when fully tucked in, the wheels have a subtle red rim tape and the silencer has been tweaked about too, to give it a sportier look.

Triumph Street Triple RS is the most powerful Street Triple ever made. (Photo: Manav Sinha/News18.com)

While these changes make the RS look different, what makes it ride differently is perhaps the more interesting part.

First of all, the 765cc engine has been tuned to deliver about 10 PS of power and 4 Nm of torque more than the S version  both of which is delivered slightly higher up in the RPM band. This takes the total power output to an impressive 123 PS at 11,700 RPM and 77 NM at 10,800 RPM. Then, comes the different kit being donned by the Street Triple RS. The motorcycle gets Showa big piston forks (BPF) at the front and Ohlins at the back  both of which are fully adjustable allowing for a rider-specific feedback. The front twin 310mm disc brakes are now coupled with Brembo M50 4-piston radial Monobloc callipers. While usually you only have to make with an adjustable clutch lever, the Street Triple RS also gets Brembo MCS span and ratio adjustable lever. The Tyres are Pirelli Diable Supercorsa SP and there is a quick-shifter too, which is simply one of the most refined units out there. This makes for seamless upshifting without using the clutch lever to help you save on precious time for those quick sprints wherein you would have wasted the same time by operating the clutch lever. Phew.

Triumph Street Triple RS comes with a 5-inch TFT instrument cluster. (Photo: Manav Sinha/News18.com)

Triumph could have stopped here as these changes are enough for manufacturers to call their offering a sportier offering of an existing offering but they did not. The motorcycle has traction control and ABS, and thankfully, you have the option of turning both of these completely off for no electronic intervention during track days. The seat height now lies higher by 15mm and the rake and trail has been made tighter too, while the wheelbase remains the same. Speaking of same, what calls for a pat on the back for Triumph is that they have managed to keep the weight identical as the Street Triple S, and they didnt even decrease the fuel tank capacity  which stays at 17.4 litres. Now thats a serious engineering achievement as this makes the Street Triple RS about 40 kilograms lighter than its competition on an average.

And with a power output and the equipment like that, well, it brings us back to the chase taking place during sunrise.

As soon as the twisties came, the bike wanted to be pushed harder. It mocks, almost. It has better suspension  one of the best, really. The steering is sharper, the rider is placed higher up and the feedback coming from the motorcycle as a whole is almost telepathic. The slick gearbox allows for a slick downshift and while the footpegs could have been grippier, the electronic nannies were trusted upon and with a gulp inside the helmet, I lean the motorcycle into the corner.

Triumph Street Triple RS has a sporty stance. (Photo: Manav Sinha/News18.com)

The roads a bit uneven but thats alright as the wheel travel, both front and back, is lesser than before and the bike absorbs the bumps well. And once the apex has been clipped, I wring the throttle open and the RS squats down at the back and the sticky tyres pull you out as if you were being launched along with a rocket. The front wheel is not shy of going up in the air and as the end of the RPM band approaches, I can upshift without even thinking about the clutch lever  putting all of my concentration for the straight road up ahead. The first two gear ratios are shorter which means the acceleration is as engaging as it is thrilling.

Well, I did reach the place I wanted to reach and did so well in time. The sun was still only halfway up from the horizon and bringing the bike to a halt, I realise that there is no brake fade whatsoever. Having taken the pictures that I wanted to take and accepting my satisfactorily average photography skills, I had a bit of time left to simply enjoy the sunrise.

Also Watch: Triumph Street Triple S Video Review

The question in question is whether it is worth spending Rs 11,13,000 (ex-showroom) on the Street Triple RS, as opposed to the S which costs almost Rs 1.8 lakhs less. Well, the Triumph Street Triple RS has a lot going for it. It has one of the best power to weight ratios of any street naked motorcycle and a refined in-line three-cylinder engine which has an unholy intake howl, and the equipment it offers, is honestly, something that you wont always need. But it is still worth going for it.

Let me explain the why this way. You wont always buy an army combat knife to cut a potato. You just like to have it lying around somewhere knowing that when the time comes, youll cut one heck of a potato. Similarly, the Street Triple S gets the job done, But the RS is just the bigger sword in the scabbard and the fact that it is so much more than just a street bike, makes it all the more desirable.

Also Watch: Triumph Bonneville Speedmaster Video Review

Right, with that wrapped up, it is time to get back on road  only after I spend 46 minutes to figure out how to put the key in the ignition port and not let the wire going over the port come in my way. Not that I mind, though.
New Delhi: On Monday, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference leader Omar Abdullah asked people on Twitter to congratulate his 'charm' if he won and to blame EVM machines if he did not.

Interestingly, on the day of counting in the Karnataka Assembly elections, Congress, which is trailing BJP by quite a margin, was quick to accuse the BJP of winning on the basis of hacked EVMs'.

Please save this tweet for future reference. If I win it was all my charm & hard work. If I lose its all down to those blasted EVMs.  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) May 15, 2018

As counting of postal ballots started early on Tuesday, initial trends in the first hour were in favour of the Congress. But the BJP hijacked the lead as soon as the Electronic Voting Machines were opened up, adding fuel to Congresss speculation that BJP had tampered with the EVMs.

Congress leader Mohan Prakash asked that since the merit of EVMs had been attacked by every political party in the past, why would the BJP still use EVMs?

I am saying it from day 1, there is no political party in India which has not raised questions on EVMs, even BJP has done it in the past. Now when all parties are doubting EVMs then what problem does BJP have in conducting polls through ballot?: Mohan Prakash,Congress pic.twitter.com/t70xtsaHoX  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

In fact, questions against the functioning of the EVMs were raised from Election day itself when Congress leader Brijesh Kalappa tweeted the following:

There are 5 booths opposite my Parent's apartment at RMV II Stage, Bengaluru. In the 2nd booth, any button pressed registers a vote ONLY to kiwi mele Kamala i.e Kamal ke phool. Angry voters are returning without casting their vote.  Brijesh Kalappa (@brijeshkalappa) May 12, 2018

Karnataka went to polls on May 12 and on that day, several EVMs and Voter-Verifiable Paper Audits (VVPAs)were reported to have malfunctioned, causing disruptions in polling in various constituencies.

Faulty VVPAs disrupted polling in Lottegollahalli in Hebbal constituency and Paduvalahippe in Holenarsipur constituency in Hassan district, where the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda is a voter, along with his son and former Minister H.D. Revanna and other family members. Faulty EVMs delayed polling at Mylanahalli in Nelamangala in Bengaluru Rural district.

At least 380 balloting units, 348 control units, and 1,200 VVPAT units had to be replaced by the Election Commission, the Hindu reported. However, the BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy, when asked about the EVM-tampering speculations, simply laughed.

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy's reaction when asked about Congress raising questions on EVMs #KarnatakaElections2018 pic.twitter.com/ZWGSrdwaD8  ANI (@ANI) May 15, 2018

Congress leaders are not the only ones to have accused BJP of winning an election due to EVM tampering. In 2017, after BJP won the Gujarat election, Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) leader Hardik Patel had said that the party had won by tampering with EVMs.
Lucknow: A portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi cantonment area on Tuesday. Rescue teams have pulled out 18 bodies so far while several others are still feared trapped under the collapsed structure.

NDRF teams have also managed to pull out three people, including a woman, in critical condition.

The incident took place under Sigra police station near Lehartara Cancer Hospital where a part of an under-construction bridge collapsed, trapping many people who were passing underneath it. A few cars and a bus ferrying passengers are also trapped under the debris.

Speaking to News18, UP DGP OP Singh said, "It's an unfortunate incident. NDRF team has reached the site and rescue work is underway. All emergency services have been roped in. Traffic routes have been diverted to ease the relief-and-rescue operation. It is difficult to say exactly how many people have been trapped as of now. Rescue work is on and our focus is to take out the people from under the rubble."

The police and NDRF team are struggling to pull out people from under the collapsed part of the bridge. Some locals were angry as police personnel allegedly reached the spot late.

Meanwhile, UP CM Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the incident and will be meeting with the families of the deceased on Wednesday.

UP deputy CM Keshav Prasad Maurya announced a Rs 5 lakh compensation for the deceased and Rs 2 lakh for the injured. He also said that a committee was being set up to investigate the incident, which will be submitting a report in 15 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to the families of the victims in a tweet and said that he was extremely saddened. He also said that he had spoken to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath regarding the situation. The UP Government is monitoring the situation very closely and is working on the ground to assist the affected, he wrote.

President Ram Nath Kovind also tweeted to offer condolences. Shocked to learn about the tragedy at flyover construction site in Varanasi. Condolences to the bereaved families. Administration is making all efforts to rescue and help those affected, he said.

"I appeal to all party workers to cooperate with the rescue operations in Varanasi. I appeal to the government to conduct an inquiry into the matter," said former CM and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
Hyderabad: Around 30 persons are missing after a service motor boat capsized in Godavari River near Devipatnam in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday evening.

Officials told CNN-News18, that the boat was carrying 40 people when the mishap occurred. About 10 of them swam to safety, but the rest are feared drowned. The incident happened at about 5:30pm due to bad weather conditions, officials said.

National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams from Vijayawada & Visakhapatnam and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams from Kakinada & Visakhapatnam have been deployed for rescue operations

YSRCP Chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has expressed anguish over the mishap and has instructed party cadre to help in the rescue works.
New Delhi: As the top leadership of Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) huddle to stake claim to forming the government in Karnataka, Kerala has come up with a novel way of engaging the other MLAs of the parties. In an open invitation, the tourism department in Gods own country has thrown its resorts open to the MLAs to relax.

Taking to Twitter, Kerala Tourism started the resort politics, which basically means the trend of moving MLAs to resorts and undisclosed locations to prevent them from defecting. After the rough and tumble of the #KarnatakaVerdict, we invite all MLAs to unwind at the safe and beautiful resorts of Gods Own country. #ComeoUtAndPlay, the tweet said.

The tweet has gathered 4200 retweets and 6500 likes within an hour after it went public.

The post came just hours after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan asked the JD(S) and the Congress to form government. Resort politics is not new in India and the first instance of such a move goes back to 1983 when Karnataka Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hedge protected his MLAs from Congress. A year later, NT Rama Rao-led Telugu Desam Party was hit by an internal tussle, he sent all their MLAs to Bangalore and then Delhi. Similar instances have happened in 1995 when Chandrababu Naidu moved his MLAs and again in 2002 when then Maharashtra CM Vilasrao Deshmukh sent his MLAs to Mysore.

Just last year, Sasikala, in the face of a possible defection of her team to O Panneerselvams side, moved her MLAs to a resort near Chennai. Congress too, in August 2017, flew more than 40 of its MLAs to Bangalore.
The Tamil Nadu's DGE Directorate of Government Examinations will announce the Tamil Nadu Result 2018, TN HSC +2 Results 2018 today (May 16) at 9:30 am. The Tamil Nadu Board will release the Tamil Nadu Results 2018, TN Class 12 Result 2018 on its official website tnresults.nic.in. *The Tamil Nadu +2 Result 2018 declared on tnresults.nic.in. The TN HSC +2 Result pass percentage was 91.1%. Virudhnagar tops district with 97%, Erode comes second with 96.3%. 6754 school achieve 100% results.

The Tamil Nadu Results 2018, Tamil Nadu Plus Two Result 2018 will also be available on examresults.net, tamil-nadu.indiaresults.com, nresults.nic.in, dge.tn.gov.in, dge1.tn.nic.in. The DGE Directorate of Government Examinations Board conducted the TN Board HSC Exam from March 1- April 6.

How to Check Tamil Nadu Plus Two Results 2018, Tamil Nadu Results 2018

Step 1: Click on the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Government Examinations website tnresults.nic.in.

Step 2: Look for the tab Tamil Nadu Plus Two Results 2018, Tamil Nadu Result 2018

Step 3: Click on the link which says Tamil Nadu 12th Result 2018, Tamil Nadu Board Class 12 Result 2018

Step 4: Enter roll number

Step 5: Download the result and keep a printout for future reference
At a time when Indian cinema continues to tread the waters of balancing self-censorship and CBFC bans, several filmmakers refuse to bow down to the diktats, and make it a point to create content they wish to see. Raj Amit Kumars Unfreedom, which was banned by the CBFC, owing to its explicit lovemaking scenes, the depiction of lesbian relationships, Islamophobia and religious fundamentalism, finally saw the light of the day with its Netflix release last month.

In a society torn apart by political, religious and sexual turmoil, Unfreedom combines two stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance. One follows a Muslim terrorist Husain (Bhanu Uday), attempting to silence a liberal Muslim scholar Fareed (Victor Banerjee). The other story is about a young woman Leela (Preeti Gupta), who defies her devout father Devraj (Adil Hussain) and escapes an arranged marriage because she is secretly involved in a lesbian romance with Sakhi (Bhavani Lee).

The thought behind naming his film Unfreedom was simply to question what freedom truly means in the current scenario, says Kumar. It is about making choices and having the courage to make them. In an existentialist sense, we always have the freedom to make a choice no matter what situation we are in, even when we are in a prison or a gun pointed to our head. Husain makes a choice to kill, and push his father figure Fareed to pick violence. Fareed, also a Muslim, makes a choice to not pick violence even when his wife is being slaughtered in front of his eyes. Leela makes a choice, knowing that she will be raped, to not give up on her lover and her sexual identity. Devraj makes a choice to get his daughter raped to cure her. These are all choices. You, as an audience, can ask yourself which choice defines freedom and which defines Unfreedom. It is up to your interpretation, he explains.

Kumar says he was well aware he was crossing boundaries with the film, averring But I was optimistic and had faith that we do have a basic human right of expression in India. When Unfreedom was banned, I distinctly remember thinking how will I make my cinema in India? Is that how we should keep making films in India that we should first think what Censor Board will approve of?

It became very clear that how subservient Indian filmmakers have been to the moral police of Indian Cinema for seven decades. And it became clear that we do not have a basic human right to the freedom of speech and expression in India when it comes to Cinema, he adds.

Kumar shares that the CBFC, then led by Pahlaj Nihalani, had offered several cuts to his film as they were of the opinion that "the film will ignite unnatural passions and incite rapes and communal violence in India", but he decided not succumb to the pressure. They offered I should cut the whole climax of my film. But it doesnt matter what they offered. Even if they offered to cut a single frame from the film, I was not going to do that, and I did not. Thats why it got banned.

Imagine now the possibility of our cinema and the heights we may have reached if we did not give in to this Censor Board, a totally stupid organization that is, by the way, unconstitutional as well, remarks Kumar.

He also adds that the idea of a new jury or chairperson bringing any change to censorship in India is only laughable and thats why he didnt revisit the CBFC post the committee change. It is ridiculous to frame censorship in India like that and hope for improvements in name of changing people in the board, changing to different committee reports and rules such as this new Shyam Benegal Committee Report. I would like to add if the Shyam Benegal Report is accepted to be the new censorship method, we are actually even going backwards then where we are.

It is all ridiculous and a sham because engaging in any of this reframing of censorship- yet not getting away from it- is against our basic human right of freedom of expression. The existence of this board is what needs to be addressed. Not that the people in it should be changed and some guidelines to Censorship should change, but the Censor Board institution needs to be abolished and thrown in the garbage, he says.

On being asked if this ban would impact his future films, Kumar says that the goal of any censorship is self-censorship and that is what is to be resisted, noting, They ban one, telling all others to fall in line and self-censor their content. If I give in to that, it is the victory of evil censorship in India. I believe there should be a movement of filmmaking, where Indian filmmakers should start a campaign to just make some films that break all Censor guidelines. We have to resist this idea of self-censorship.

Even though his film is now available on Netflix, Kumar shares that filmmakers dont just make films for Youtube or Netflix, they helm it for broader reach including theaters and television.

You are commercially choking filmmakers by keeping the possibility of largest revenue stream away from them. Because of the online space, dissemination of CBFC un-certified content is easier and wider in reach. However, the moment you ban a content, you have killed the commercial viability of that project when it comes to theaters and TV which still has the largest number of eyeballs when it comes to cinema content in India. The goal should be creating an environment where all kinds of voices can exist. No matter how discomforting, offensive, and vulgar content it may seem to others. Freedom of expression has to be absolute, and in all spaces, he says.
Noted film actor Manoj Bajpayee says attacks on films and filmmakers dont bother him as creative minds cannot be bent or broken. The spate of incidents involving protests against films and filmmakers in India doesn't seem to have rattled Manoj, who said that filmmakers are born rebels who choose the creative line in face of stringent opposition from their families and society and hence don't bend to protests and opposition of any kind.

"I don't think any creative person would be fearful enough to stop making films just because some hooligans have become a problem. They will not. Creative persons have chosen this field by revolting against the norms of the society. They have been rebellious since their childhood. Their parents may have wanted them to become something else, doing a normal 9 to 6 job, but they opted for uncertain world of the cinema. So they are used to protests, they are used to obstructions, used to restrictions. They have left everything to do what they are doing now. They are creative because they are rebels," he said.

"You cannot bend or break them. I don't know of a single film or form of art that has been abandoned due to protests or opposition," Manoj, here to promote his upcoming film "Bhonsle" at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival, told this correspondent

Dressed in a jet black jacket and dark sunglasses to go with, Manoj looked dashing against the backdrop of an azure blue sea and bright skies at the Majestic Beach at Cannes where he released the first look, in the form of a poster, of Bhonsle.

"We didn't release a trailer or a teaser as our concentration here is to pitch the film to the organisers and programmers of film festivals, to the journalists and to the sales and marketing persons from this industry. We want to excite them about the film and the people associated with this project as well as excite them about the intention behind this film. Cannes opens doors to all festivals and markets around the world," he said.

Manoj said Bhonsle was about an old policeman who does not want to retire from his job. But forced to retire, he goes to this place where no one knows him or about his past and he is all alone. The backdrop of the film is completely political. Yet, in the midst of all this loneliness set in a noisy background, he develops a special, but undefined, relationship with a migrant girl who lives next door to his house. This film is about this relationship.

The actor said he chose to act in the independent film due to the challenges posed by the script and the role.

"If there is no challenge, then why do an independent film? Independent films have ample scope to test any great actor or test the acting skills of anyone. They push you not only to do better, but also to learn a few more skills that are needed to do those roles. These come from young film directors who have been watching these kinds of films, from all over the world, right since their childhood," he added.

Manoj is also very optimistic about the fate of independent cinema in India.

"Definitely, the situation of independent cinema in India has improved a lot. You can see the presence of Indian independent filmmakers and their films all over the world in various international film festivals. It is amazing. The way it has been growing multifold and in leaps and bounds, it has been amazing," he said.

"I really feel that in a place like Cannes new filmmakers from India, from different languages, should make it a point to come here together and show their presence, show their strength. And also tell the world that the Indian film industry is not only about song and dance, it is also about very strong content and has lots of very creative young filmmakers," he added.

Manoj said that though he could not rule out directing a film at some stage, at present he was focused on acting. "At this point of time, there are really some great characters and some good roles to be performed, so my mind is just focused on the acting."

On the question of exploitation of women in the cinema industry and the #MeToo revolution, he said women have been vulnerable all over the world.

"The #MeToo movement is not the creation of India, it is an American creation. That, itself, says that women all over the world are vulnerable. Women in India have been speaking out too. Just that you may not have heard about it."
The Humble Farmer fulfilled his vow to humble the mean, immoral politician he had once nurtured in the Janata Dal. Having put Siddaramaiah out to pasture, former prime minister H D Deve Gowda's next step would be to checkmate the man he once publicly dubbed as a b___ - BS Yeddyurappa - the BJP chief ministerial candidate, who is near and yet so far from a simple majority.

The sweetness of the BJP's triumph in Karnataka has been diluted by a small shortfall in numbers, thereby affording the Congress-backed Janata Dal(S) an opportunity to stake its claim. Regardless, the party's seventh consecutive electoral success (not counting the presidential election) will doubtless underscore the storied invincibility of the Modi-Shah duo and give them added traction in the general elections.

Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala's scope for action is limited. He can invite the BJP and give it time to prove a majority. Or he can accept the JD(S)' claim, which is loosely based on the Goa model  that is, a post-electoral coalition which outnumbers the single largest party. In this case, the gap between the winner (BJP) and runner-up (Congress) is so wide, however, that he must exercise his discretion carefully, with the objective of ensuring a stable government.

So imperative is the Congress' need to retain some kind of lien on Karnataka that the party, like Abraham sacrificing Isaac, was ready to offer up Siddaramaiah at the altar of political expediency even before counting. Deve Gowda played hardball because he knew he could. He can now stand tall in a coalition of regional forces, whereas the Congress is at a disadvantage vis-a-vis the Federal Front.

Just when analysts thought the Congress was at rock bottom, with no place to go but up, it drilled even deeper. As a result, the party will find it difficult to stake a claim to lead a coalition of opposition parties in the general elections.

In positioning Karnataka as a pivotal battle, the Congress set itself up to lose its right to the pole position in an anti-BJP front. Nor can it assume that it will recoup its losses in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, as the possibility of a general election in December, 2018, is very real.

Pilloried for having failed to explore a pre-electoral alliance with the Janata Dal (S), with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Bannerjee tweeting an I told you so earlier in the day, the Congress had no option but to kowtow to Deve Gowda.

Beggared without a chief minister in Karnataka, the Congress no longer has the luxury of choosing its allies. The boot is on the other foot. Its only hope is that the relentless march of the BJP will force the non-NDA opposition (like the SP and BSP) to coalesce and offer the Congress reasonable terms.

The most worrying aspect is that the loss was not through a lack of effort, overconfidence or arrogance. Congress president Rahul Gandhi campaigned relentlessly and gave Siddaramaiah a free hand. He couldn't have done any more than he did. But nothing in the Congress arsenal could counter the BJP, particularly in the absence of any overt communal polarisation. Not to mention the fact that, at the outset, the odds were heavily stacked against the BJP.

The obvious popularity of the Prime Minister, whose 21 high-voltage rallies turned the campaign around, made it clear that in a Modi vs Rahul battle, the latter stands to lose. The party may have done better in a straight 'Siddu' versus 'Yeddy' contest.

Party president Rahul Gandhi will have to think outside the box, for the first time in his political career. Getting out of the hole in which the party finds itself post-Karnataka, will demand both Herculean vigour and Hanuman-esque humility.

To be fair, the BJP was helped along by the Congress missteps and the Janata Dal (S) upswing. A high voter turnout and a three-cornered contest helped immensely in the 80-plus seats where the margin of victory in 2013 was narrow. Shah focused his efforts on these seats.

Siddaramaiah was on a favourable pitch; how did he mess it up? Everything seemed to going well, from the Feburary 16 Cauvery case judgment, giving 5 per cent more water to hydrologically-challenged Karnataka, to the BJP's self-goals. Yeddyuruppa was hardly a unanimous choice for CM and allocation of tickets to the Bellary khandaan nullified the anti-corruption plank.

Did Siddaramaiah's divisive politics and pandering to Kannada pride prove counterproductive? Certainly, his social engineering gambit, to win over the Lingayats by according them minority status, did not have the desired results and annoyed the Vokkaligas. He had had hoped to more than make up for it with OBCs, minorities, tribals and the 'right hand' dalits, through his free rice scheme.

But he simply could not overcome agrarian angst and the Bengaluru meltdown. Flawed ticket distribution didn't help matters and Karnataka's three-decade old pattern of anti-incumbency was repeated.

As for the BJP, with a general election coming up, it must consider the well-known fact that Karnataka historically votes against the national trend. It won Karnataka in 2008, only to lose the Lok Sabha in 2009. Five years later, it was vice-versa. Perhaps the Modi magic will prove strong enough to break the pattern.

(The writer is a senior journalist. Views are personal)




Particularly during my sojourns in South Africa, it may not be possible for me to perform the moderation function speedily. I regret the necessity of moderation but it has been rendered inevitable by the behaviour of a particular commentator whose contributions will always and without exception be rejected.





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New Delhi: Gujarat governor Vajubhai Vala has given BS Yeddyurappa 15 days to prove his majority on the floor of the House and this has led to both the Congress and the JD(S) crying foul. But there is a sub-plot.

In 1996, Gujarat BJP Government was dismissed by the President on the advice of the PM. Vaghela split the BJP to form government with backing of Congress. Interestingly, the name of the BJP state unit head was Vajubhai Vala and the PM was HD Deve Gowda. This was pointed out by Yashwant Deshmukh, the managing director and chief editor of Centre for Voting Opinion & Trends in Election Research (CVoter).

The tables have now turned completely.

Vala, the former Gujarat BJP leader, had once vacated his seat for Narendra Modi and later served as Finance Minister in CM Modis cabinet, would also recall this episode from the years gone by.

Rajkot in Gujarat had been a Congress stronghold. But in 1985, the newly-formed BJP wrested this seat from the Grand Old Party. Since then, the BJP has not lost here. The last time Congress won this seat was back in the year 1980, when Manibhai Ranpara won after polling 19,755 votes. Vajubhai Vala, who was the BJP candidate, was not so far behind with 17,762 votes. In the 1984 elections, Vala finally won the seat by beating Congress candidate Harshdaba Chudasa. Vala remained the MLA from Rajkot West till the year 2002, when he vacated the seat for BJPs CM-designate Narendra Modi. The future PM won the election from Rajkot West after polling 45,298 votes. His opponent, Congress leader Ashwini Maheta polled 30,570 votes in the bypoll.

When the BJP formed the government at the Centre in 2014 and Modi finally ascended the high seat in Delhi, Vala was rewarded for keeping the BJP fortress intact and was made the Governor of Karnataka. In the 2014 bypoll, the seat was then passed on to Vijay Rupani, who won the seat by polling 81,092 votes. He beat his Congress opponent Jayanti Kalriya, a patidar, by over 23,000 votes.

In August 2016, when Chief Minister Anandiben Patel resigned, Rupani was elevated to CM. Rupani retained the seat against his opponent, Indranil Rajyaguru, in the 2017 Gujarat Assembly polls.
New Delhi: "The power of money is what matters the most during elections," said 33-year-old Yogesh Babu, while campaigning for Karnataka election, adding especially if you are pitted against a close aide from the Janardhan Reddy clan.

But for Congress leader Yogesh Babu, who contested against BJPs B Sriramulu from the Molkalmuru constituency, the money will come from the public. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, the SM & Digital Communications team of the Congress decided to launch a crowd-funding campaign to support Babu's candidature with an aim to bring more transparency into electoral politics.

Yogesh Babu, a PhD scholar in Sanskrit and native of Molkalmuru, is a debutante in electoral politics but has worked his way up from the grassroots level. He is known for his 'clean image' and is a popular youth icon in the region. The Congress leader believes that he would rather have the people choose between the dirty politics on offer or clean politics he has to offer.

My opponents spoilt the voters with their money, which is why the money I get through this platform will be used towards the good works for the people of the area," said a confident Yogesh Babu.

The party had set a target of Rs 28 lakhs for Babus crowd-funding, which is also the amount permitted by the Election Commission for a candidate to spend on campaign activities
New Delhi: The Bhartiya Janata Partys plan to hand out tickets to the scam-tainted Reddy brothers and their close ones seems to have brought in mixed results. Out of the seven tickets that were handed out to Reddy family, only three won.

Somashekara Reddy

The youngest of the Reddy brothers, Somashekara contested from Bellary City. The businessman-turned-politician, who is currently out on bail, won by over 16,000 votes. Somashekara is accused of bribing a judge in the cash-for-bail case that also involves his brother, Janardhana Reddy.

Karunakara Reddy

The eldest among the Reddy brothers, Karunakara won by just under 10,000 votes from the Harapanahalli constituency.

B Sriramulu

A close friend of the Reddys, Sriramulu is a Lok Sabha MP from Bellary. While he lost the Badami seat to outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Sriramulu won the Molakalmuru seat by a handsome margin.

TH Suresh Babu

Sriramulus nephew and a two-term MLA from Kampli, Babu lost by about 5,000 votes to Congress' JN Ganesh. He is accused of trying to bribe a CBI judge to get bail for Janardhana Reddy.

Sanna Fakkirappa

Sanna is Sriramulus uncle and a close associate of Somashekara. He lost Bellary Rural by about 3,000 votes.

Saikumar

An actor and close associate of Janardhana Reddy, Saikumar lost by a huge margin from Bagepalli to Congress' SN Subbareddy. He is known for his emceeing at various important ceremonies of the Reddys, including Janardhanas daughters wedding in 2016.

Lallesh Reddy

A close relative of Janardhana Reddy and a realtor, he lost from BTM Layout constituency to Congress' Ramalinga Reddy.

Who Are The Reddys?

It was in 2010 that Siddaramaiah led the famous padayathra to Bellary and held a massive rally against the Reddy brothers mafia. The event changed public perception and the Reddy Empire began to crumble. A year later, BS Yeddyurappa was forced to quit as the Chief Minister over the Rs 50,000 crore mining scam while the Reddys were arrested by the CBI and sent to jail. Two years later, when Siddaramaiah led the Congress to victory in Karnataka, Janardhana Reddy was cooling his heels at Chachalguda jail in Hyderabad. His empire was in shambles and Reddy was a persona non grata for the BJP.

After spending almost four years in jail as an undertrial, Janardhana Reddy managed to get bail c but the BJP was not ready to touch him. Add to it that the Siddaramaiah government sent him to jail once again in relation to other mining cases.

After a few months, he came out of jail and declared before his inner circle that it was now a personal battle between him and Siddaramaiah. He vowed to teach him a lesson in the next Assembly elections.

As promised, Janardhana Reddy effectively and efficiently led the BJP campaign in Karnataka.

Political analysts argue that after they realised that bringing the BJP back to power is an uphill task, the party high command reluctantly went back to the infamous Reddy brothers to achieve its goal.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is all set to become the single largest party in the state of Karnataka, reducing Congress to yet another defeat in a state election.

As the people of the state have affirmed their faith in the saffron party, a look at the data suggest that BJP has won back the seats they had lost during the last elections in 2013 when the party was reduced to a mere 40 seats as blatant corruption, aggressive Hindutva and factionalism had led to the demise of the saffron party in the southern state.

The 2013 Assembly elections witnessed a record voter turnout of 71.29%, the second highest since 1978 when almost 71.9% people voted. When the verdict was out, the BJP saw a loss of 13.96 % of the vote share. This was in contrast to 2008 Assembly elections when 88.57 lakh voters endorsed the BJP, eventually helping the party come in power for the first time in the state. However, in 2013, more than 26.25 lakh voters (30% of voters who voted for the BJP in 2008) did not vote for the party.

The two important regions where the BJP had lost heavily, both electorally and politically, were in the Coastal Karnataka and the Malnad region. These are the same areas where BJP has done immensely well this time around.

In Coastal regions of Karnataka the BJP has made strong gains this time around. According to the latest trends, the party is expected to win 18 out of 21 coastal seats. It is the same region where BJP witnessed a whitewash in last elections. In Dakshina Kannada, the BJP had lost all the eight Assembly segments to the Congress and in Udupi, it won just a single seat out of five. This time, however, the party is set to draw a big hole in Congress seats in the region.

The Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) resurgence in the state of Karnataka has also much to do with its dominance in the urban and semi-urban parts of the state, data suggest.

In fact, according to the latest trends, BJP is set to almost win 17 of the 28 seats in Bengaluru city.

According to Election Commission data, Karnataka consists of 70 urban and 154 rural assembly constituencies.

Many poll pundits had earlier projected that urban-rural divide, other than the caste dynamics, would be a key to the Karnataka poll outcome.

Mumbai-Karnataka is another region where the BJP has put up an impressive performance. The latest trends suggest that the party will get more than 30 seats in the region out of 50.

In 2013, the Congress had swept the BJP out of Mumbai-Karnataka region, comprising seven districts of north Karnataka.

Out of a total 56 seats, the Congress went beyond its own expectations by bagging 34 seats. While the BJP has managed to retain just 14 from the 38 seats it was won in the 2008 elections.

In Central Karnataka too, the BJP is expected to win more than 24 seats, current trends suggest.

The region has 35 seats and in 2013 elections Congress party came out with an astounding results with its candidates winning more than half of the seats. It had won 18 of the 32 seats. However, the party might be limited to less than 10 seats after a surge in BJP votes in the region.

The biggest gains for the BJP might as well come from the Hyderabad-Karntaka region. The latest trends suggest that the party can win 16 seats out of the 31 seats in the region.

In 2013, the BJP had won only four seats from the region.
Hyderabad: The BJP may have fallen short of the majority mark, but its emergence as the single largest party in Karnataka has made it clear that its ambitions of making inroads into southern states are not far-fetched.

For its political significance ahead of 2019, the election was being closely watched by all political parties, particularly by those in the two neighboring Telugu states. The result in BJPs favour has certainly set the alarm bells ringing in the ruling camps of TRS in Telangana and TDP in Andhra Pradesh.

Eyeing a national role, Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has been making efforts to gather support of different regional parties to form a non-BJP and non-Congress Federal Front ahead of 2019 elections.

Speaking to CNN-News18, senior TRS leader Keshav Rao said, There is no alternative as of now. Rahul cannot challenge Modi. In 2019, it will be Modi vs regional parties. To challenge the party in power, coalition of regional parties is needed. Regional parties should unite under one agenda and go forward with national outlook.

Taking the agenda of federal front forward, the chief Minister of Telangana had visited Bengaluru to meet JDS chief Deve Gowda and extended support to the party. KCR had also appealed to the people in Karnataka to vote for JDS.

The JDS won more seats because of TRS party support. KCR had made open appeal and that helped in party winning more seats, Keshav Rao said.

The result is also bad news for TDP, a friend-turned-foe of the BJP. TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and other leaders from the party had also made open appeals to the Telugu population in Karnataka not to vote for the party that cheated the state and did injustice to people.

Despite the appeals, the BJP managed to more improve its tally in the Telugu-dominated Hyderabad-Karnataka region immensely.

In Karnataka, TDP and Chandrababu Naidu have used all tactics to dissuade Telugu voters from supporting BJP. But in Hyderabad-Karnataka region where most Telugus live, BJP has increased its tally from 6 to 20 plus. People have rejected CBN's politics. Our southward march has begun, BJP national general secretary Ram Madhav tweeted.

TDP spokesperson Mullapudi Renuka dismissed the suggestion and told News18 that people voted on local issues. People have shown confidence in Modi but they dont realize that promises that BJP made have not been fulfilled. Modi is a political choreographer and this election was issue of prestige so they used all means to win. But Karnataka result is not the mood of the nation. It will not be repeated in other states. Their own allies are unhappy, be it Shiv Sena or Akali. They will lose in 2019, Renuka said.

The two Telugu states go for elections along with general elections. BJP has already announced that their next target are the states of Telangana and Andhra Prdaesh. The party is strengthening its base in both Telugu states.

However, both TDP & TRS claim that they dont see BJP as a challenge in their respective states.

Taking a dig at BJP's claim, TRS leader Keshav Rao said, TRS should be credited for BJPs victory because their manifesto was copied from TRS manifesto. They copied the development schemes that are in Telangana and touch people directly. Modi is a strong campaigner and there was nobody in Karnataka that can match up to him. In Telangana TRS is strong, we have leadership and I dont see BJP as a challenge at all.

In Andhra Pradesh, BJP has a minor share. The mood of Andhra Pradesh is that Modi cheated the state. Nobody will vote for BJP in upcoming election in Andhra. We want people of Andhra to help us win all 25 seats so Chandrababu Naidu can have a role in national politics.", TDP spokesperson Renuka added.
New Delhi: The Congress party on Tuesday cited Arun Jaitleys old tweets and quotes to justify its move to stake claim along with the JDS to form the government in Karnataka.

Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said that what was constitutionally right for the Governor to do in Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur, must also apply in Karnataka. She tagged a news report in which Jaitley said the governor is constitutionally right in case of a hung verdict in inviting the leader of the majority coalition.

Jaitley had tweeted in March last year, after the Goa election, "In a hung assembly, if majority of the elected MLAs form a coalition, the Governor would be constitutionally right in inviting the leader of the majority coalition to form the government and prove their majority within a short period."

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also tweeted a screenshot of Jaitleys old tweets, saying, BJP govt appointed Governors didnt invite Single Largest Party in either Goa, 2017 (INC, 17 out of 40 seats), Manipur 2017 (INC 28 of 60) or Meghalaya 2018 (INC 21 out of 60). Union ministers gave arguments supporting them. The precedent is there to follow, right? #Karnataka (sic).

BJP govt appointed Governors didnt invite Single Largest Party in either Goa, 2017 (INC, 17 out of 40 seats), Manipur 2017 (INC 28 of 60) or Meghalaya 2018 (INC 21 out of 60). Union ministers gave arguments supporting them. The precedent is there to follow, right? #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/F4fXKxAhix Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) May 15, 2018

The Congress said the BJP's claim to form a government in Karnataka is demolished by three precedents in Goa, Manipur and Meghalaya.

Party spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also cited the instance of BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was invited to form a government by the then president KR Narayanan, noting the guiding principle behind it was that a party or a combination of parties that has won the largest number of seats be invited.

"As Congress-JD(S) win 95 seats and lead in 20 seats, absolute majority for the coalition is clear. Coalition also has 56% vote share. Coalition leaders met Governor to stake claim as per established constitutional norms in Karnataka's interests," he said.

Surjewala said Narayanan had set a fair and constitutionally correct precedent by inviting Atal Bihari Vajpayee to form and lead a coalition government on 12th March, 1998.

He also cited the president's communique that "states clearly and is a guiding light which said that a combination of parties winning the most seats should be invited to form a government".

Rejecting the BJP's charge it was trying to come to power through the backdoor, the party also cited the cases of Goa, Manipur, Meghlaya, where the Congress could not form government despite emerging as the largest party and

"BJP's claim of single largest party' to be invited is demolished by 3 recent precedents set by them-: (1) Goa (March 2017) Assembly Strength - 40. Congress - 17. BJP - 12. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition BJP+MGP+GFP," he tweeted.

"(2) Manipur (March 2017) Assembly Strength - 60. Congress - 28. BJP - 21. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in a post poll coalition. So much so, 1 independent MLA was detained at Imphal Airport through security agencies & handed over to BJP," he wrote in another tweet.

"(3) Meghalaya (March 2018) Assembly Strength - 60. Congress - 21. BJP - 2. BJP was invited to form the Govt by Governor in post poll coalition with NPEP+UDP+PDF+HSDPDP," he said on Twitter.
Bengaluru: During his whirlwind tour of Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw an open challenge to Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Speak for 15 minutes on the achievements of the Congress government in Karnataka, Modi dared Gandhi. The Congress hit back at the PM within minutes, but the reply did not come from Rahul Gandhi. It was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who slammed Modi in a series of tweets, challenging the PM to join a debate with him ahead of Karnataka election.

The next day, he even asked Modi to talk about the achievements of the previous Yeddyurappa government for 15 minutes without looking at a piece of paper, which was hailed by the Congress as a masterstroke.

The BJP was trying hard to make this election campaign a Modi versus Rahul Gandhi fight. The PM was attacking the Congress president and his predecessors in his election speeches, not saying much about Siddaramaiah or the state Congress.

According to political analysts, the BJP has realised that their local cadre led by B S Yeddyurappa has failed to enthuse the voters and mount a powerful campaign against the Siddaramaiah government.

The BJP central leadership also felt that instead of taking on Siddaramaiah, launching a blistering attack on Rahul Gandhi will benefit them more. Therefore, the Assembly election campaign looked more like a Parliamentary election, in which larger national issues are debated, they said.

But the Congress is aware of the dangers of allowing the BJP to make it a Modi versus Rahul fight, and refuses to walk into that trap. It has asked Siddaramaiah to take on Modi, asking him questions about the state and his governments contributions.

A senior leader said, The state BJPs morale is low. They seem to have accepted the defeat even before the voting. Their only hope is PM Modi. But he knows that there is nothing to talk about the previous BJP governments achievements because it was the most corrupt and criminal government.

He further said, The Siddaramaiah government has done a lot and looks formidable because of that the PM is trying to make it a Modi versus Rahul Gandhi battle. But we dont want to walk into that trap and Siddaramaiah is leading the attack.

BJPs attempts to turn Karnataka Assembly elections into a fight between Modi and Rahul has not gone down well with many Kannadigas.

Ramachandra Maharudrappa, an independent political observer, said that it was a state election and only state-related issues should be discussed and debated, not the national issues. He said, Modi and Rahul are not issues here. Siddaramaiah, Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy are the real issues here. All parties must discuss them.

But the BJP depended more on Modi to turn the tide in their favour in a tough election. Earlier, Modi planned to address 15 rallies in five days but later agreed to address 21 rallies in eight days. They also roped in UP CM Yogi Adithanath to play the Hindutva card in the elections.

BJPs chief ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa, who played the second fiddle to top national leaders of the party, said that there was nothing wrong in Modi leading the campaign. Narendra Modi is our undisputed leader. He is the tallest leader. With his electrifying campaigning we will come to power in Karnataka, he said.

However, Yeddyurappa dismissed the claims that the BJP is trying to turn it into a Modi versus Rahul contest. Rahul Gandhi is a non-issue in this election. Siddaramaiah is no match to Modi. We are not worried about them, BJPs CM candidate said.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah had been attacking both Modi and Yeddyurappa ridiculing them for endorsing corruption and corrupt leaders just to come to power at any cost. He is challenging them to talk about the state and not about national issues.

He said, Even if Modi comes hundred times, the situation will not change. People are with the Congress and we will return to power.

Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha M Mallikarjuna Kharge said that Karnataka BJP was malnourished and Modi was bringing an energy tonic from New Delhi to keep it alive till the voting day.
New Delhi: The prediction by most pollsters seemed to be confirmed as early trends, after an hour of counting, hinted at Karnataka heading towards a hung Assembly. Poll pundits were nearly unanimous on a hung House, with neither the BJP nor the Congress getting a clear shot at forming the government, post May 12 Karnataka election.

While the BJP and the Congress were neck and neck in the Mumbai-Karnataka region, the saffron party had a solid lead in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, coastal Karnataka and central Karnataka. Southern Karnataka region, however, is witnessing a tight race between the Congress and the JD(S). In the Bengaluru region, which accounts for 36 seats, the Congress seemed to have the lead.

The JD(S), which was tipped to be the kingmaker, is trailing at the third spot. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is trailing in Chamundeshwari, but Badami offered hope with the CM leading there. His son Yatheendra is leading in Varuna constituency in his debut election. BJPs chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is leading from Shikaripura in Shimoga. The Congress is taking no chances in Karnataka and has sent in its top guns Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to avoid a repeat of the Goa and Manipur fiascos over post-poll scenarios.
New Delhi: Politicians have a long and a hard memory. They do not forget. Nor do they forgive easily. But if need be, they can be malleable as putty.

A long and arduous day lay ahead for BS Yeddyurappa as he gingerly plonked the steaming hot idlis into grasshopper green chutney before washing the morsel down with some filter coffee. Others around the table, including former minister Katta Naidu, donning the trademark karakul fur cap listened in with all attention.

At 75, the former CM was making one last bid for the top post. His party had for one made a special concession overlooking the age bar set for holding an executive position.

I meet people every day. 365 days a week. Thats precisely which keeps me going, BSY told a small group of journalists sharing tiffin the August morning last year.

In another fifteen minutes he was seated in his car for a day long campaign in five assembly segments in in Kolar district.

Politicians display a pugilist like tenacity. This resolve to fight back is something which probably keeps them afloat for decades, despite many crippling setbacks in their career.

BSY will hold a unique position in BJPs pantheon of leadership party has developed in the last two decades. He was the first party CM south of the Vindhyas.

After a protracted battle with the party then controlled by L K Advani, BSY broke away from the BJP ahead of the last Assembly polls only to inflict a comprehensive defeat on the party. He could wean away as many votes as were necessary to show the BJP his political worth and hand over a comfortable victory to the Congress.

BSY returned to the party fold just ahead of 2014 general elections, won his Lok Sabha election and was hoping to find a berth in the Narendra Modi cabinet. Agriculture ministry  his close aides thoughtwas his next destination.

When just days ahead of the oath, an emissary from Delhi informed him that he would not be accommodated in the first BJP full majority government at the Centre.

Longevity of a politician is independent of the number of elections he wins. It depends on his capacity to remain relevant and in discourse, whether in power or in opposition.

BSY, like many others from his generation personifies that. He remained in contention. Till the very last, kept his calm even when his son was denied ticket at the last moment.

In the last seven years, BSY survived many battles- both within and outside the party- to fight another day.

Finally when it mattered the most, hes come up trumps.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka elections witnessed a grand swap of sorts, with 60 candidates jumping ship. These Aaya Rams, Gaya Rams have emerged as key contenders to watch as the results pour in on Tuesday.

Vittal Katakadonda was busy organising rallies for the BJP till some time ago. As Bijapura district BJP president, he was in charge of the party in the entire district, including what he presumed would be his own seat. After the BJP announced its list of candidates, he continued the campaigning. The difference was that he was campaigning for the Congress against the BJP.

After the saffron party denied him nomination from Nagathana SC reserved seat at the last minute, an angry Katakadonda defected to the Congress securing the ruling partys nomination. His friends turned enemies and enemies became friends.

Former BJP MLA M Y Patil, from neighbouring Gulbarga district, was a diehard BJP man. He had even started the campaign months ago. After the party chose sitting Congress MLA Malikaiah Guttedar over him, Patil crossed over to the Congress securing the hand as his election symbol.

Former MLA B Prasanna Kumar was campaigning for the Congress, hoping for re-nomination from Pulikeshinagara Assembly seat in Bengaluru. After Chief Minister Siddaramaiah picked sitting JD (S) MLA Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy over him, Kumar secured the JD (S) ticket from the same seat.

These are not rare cases. There are about 60 such candidates in the fray in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Sworn enemies have become friends and opposition cadres have become partymen.

Perhaps for the first time in many years, Karnataka is witnessing this kind of political turnover. The ruling Congress alone has fielded 18 defectors from the BJP and the JDS. Some of them have joined a few months ago and others jumped ship just one or two days before the nomination process, earning the title instant candidates.

The main opposition BJP has also welcomed 20 such instant candidates, some even after the nomination process began. Former deputy speaker of the Assembly and veteran Congress MLA N Y Gopalakrishna who was shouting Congress Jindabad slogans till April is now contesting on the lotus symbol from Kudligi in Bellary district.

The third player JD(S), which is moving heaven and earth, to ensure a hung Assembly has given tickets to 22 such defectors. Some have joined them just a day or two before the nominations were closed.

The Congress has fielded eight JD(S) MLAs, it has also fielded five BJP men. The BJP has given tickets to five JD(S) and seven Congress leaders, including sitting MLAs.

The JD(S) which always scouts for the rejects from the Congress and the BJP has fielded 12 Congressmen on its ticket and has also nominated 10 BJP faces.

These last minute switches have added to the confusion and even the most experienced political analysts are finding it difficult to gauge the mood of the voters. Even if half of them win, it can change the composition of the entire Assembly. These candidates actually decide the fate of the next Assembly. They are untested. Just because they won many times on a particular party symbol, there is no guarantee that they will win this time too, said R Bharatadri, a veteran political analyst.

Since the election is a do or die battle for all three major parties, throwing ideologies and policies to the wind, they have embraced turncoats just to win. If this experiment clicks, one can expect their numbers to go up in the coming elections.

A senior leader of the Congress said, Aaya Ram, Gaya Rams are perfectly acceptable as long as they win. Like every vote counts, every seat counts too.
New Delhi: The Bahujan Samaj Party opened its account with a win in Karnataka after its state president N Mahesh won the Kollegal seat by polling 31,326 votes or 40.26% of the total votes in the constituency. His nearest rival AR Krishna Murthy of the Congress polled 24,764 votes or 32.07% of the total votes. The BSP had contested this election in alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular).

Kollegal (SC) is a State Assembly/Vidhan Sabha constituency in the Chamarajnagar district and Southern Karnataka region of Karnataka and is a part of the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency.

There are a total of 2,09,122 voters in the constituency that include general voters, NRI voters and service voters. Amongst the general voters 1,04,023 are male, 1,05,053 female and 13 others. The electorate sex ratio in the constituency is 100.96 and the approximate literacy rate is 65%

The Congress won this seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections with a margin of 10,193 votes (6.96%) securing 32.36% of the total votes polled. In 2013, the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 76.47%.

The Congress won this seat in the 2008 Assembly Elections with a margin of 11,798 votes (9.06%) registering 28.72% of the votes polled. In 2018 elections this seat witnessed a voter turnout of 78.92%.
Bengaluru: With poll pundits predicting a hung assembly in Karnataka election, speculations over post-poll scenarios have heated up.

Even though all three major players  ruling Congress, main opposition BJP and the third player JD(S)  claim that they will form the government on their own, some of their own leaders and the political analysts are furiously debating several post-poll scenarios.

In a highly caste-ridden state like Karnataka, all election debates finally lead to caste analysis slicing them into small pieces. The Siddaramaiah-led ruling Congress is confident of being back in power and has been throwing all kinds of theories at the media to back its claims.

The BJP is also ready with its own data and hopeful of a win. The JDS is also claiming that it will come to power and is making its own calculations.

But most agree that there can be only four post-poll scenarios.

Scenario One

The Congress wins again. If the Congress has to win again, it must get at least 40% of the total votes and push the BJP below 35% and JDS below 20%. Many political observers feel that if there is a big upper caste mobilisation against the Siddaramaiah government, he will have to make his core vote bank AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes and Dalits) rally behind him in large numbers.

According to leaked caste census, upper castes have about 35% population and the AHINDA, including STs, has 60% population. But it may not make the job easier for the Congress because this combination has too many sub-castes and sects. The OBCs (Other Backward Classes) alone have 99 castes. Siddaramaiahs caste Kurubas constitutes 7% of the total population and about 30% of the OBC population. Even among the OBCs there is a caste hierarchy and some castes are considered lower and some are considered upper. If there is an upper caste backlash, the Muslims, Christians, Dalits, Kurubas and STs stand behind the Congress, the hand can easily ride to power. The Muslims are about 16%, Christians 2-3%, Kurubas 7%, Dalits 19.5% and STs 5% are a formidable combination.

The same combination of the Congress led by Devaraja Urs had put an end to upper caste Lingayat and Vokkaliga hegemony in Karnataka politics in the early 1970s. In the last 20 years the same combination has got disintegrated and has not actually voted as a block to any single political party. Siddaramaiah dismisses all these theories as an academic exercise and claims that all castes and religions vote for the Congress and he wont believe in these things.

All castes and religions have rich and poor. All have their own ideologies. It would be unfair to say one particular caste votes for a particular party. The Congress is for all. We have done a lot for AHINDA. I am proud to say that I am with AHINDA. But at the same time, I am not against other castes, mainly upper castes. Our government schemes have benefited all including the Brahmins, Lingayats and Vokkaligas. I am sure all of them will back us, the Chief Minister said.

The political analysts believe that if 2/3 of AHINDA voters back Congress, a small portion of the upper caste vote is good enough for the Congress to sail through.

Scenario Two

The BJP wrests power. The BJPs core vote bank is Lingayats, who constitute about 14% of the states population. Some Lingayat organisations claim that they are over 17%. The separate religion fight and Congress full backing to that demand have complicated the matters this time. The Congress argues that many Lingayats no longer view BJP as their party and they may vote for the Congress in this election. But the BJP is confident of getting majority Lingayat votes this time too. If it manages to split OBCs and Dalit votes plus STs, with the strong backing of Lingayats and other smaller upper castes the BJP can romp home. It is a fact that the BJP has been getting the support of several OBC and Dalit sub-castes for the past 15 years and the Congress no longer has a monopoly over it. A major breach in its Lingayat fortress and a moderate OBC, Dalits and ST backing can deny the BJP power this time. Otherwise, the BJP can put up a good fight and it can even win the state for the second time.

Scenario Three

The JDS surge creates a badly fractured Assembly. For that, the JD(S) needs its core vote bank Vokkaligas plus others. According to leaked caste census, Vokkaligas are just 11% of the total population in Karnataka. However Vokkaligas claim that they are 15-16%. Massive mobilisation of the Vokkaligas behind the JD(S) can get them a good number of seats, but to cross the 40 seats Gowdas party needs the backing of non-Gowda castes and minority votes.

In 2004, the JDS won 58 seats creating a badly hung Assembly with the support of OBCs, Dalits and Muslims. And Siddaramaiah was with them then. The splitting of OBCs, Dalits and minorities votes among the Congress, the BJP and the JDS can throw up a badly hung Assembly. Former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda is hoping for that to remain relevant in the state and at the Centre.

Scenario Four

The Congress or the BJP cross 100 or go above 90 seats and the runner-up will be close behind with JD(S) a distant third. It can happen only if the upper castes, OBCs and Dalits more or less equally divide their votes between the Congress and the BJP. And the JDS fails to get non-Vokkaliga votes in a big number. In that case the JDS will be vulnerable and may even face a split.

One thing is certain that political pundits and the political leaders alike will continue to debate these scenarios throughout the day and they do post-mortem based on the same caste combinations after that.
New Delhi: During the 2010 Monsoon Session of the Karnataka Assembly  8 years before Karnataka election 2018  the then Opposition party leader Siddaramaiah attacked the Reddy brothers over mining mafia and other alleged criminal activities on the floor of the House.

The entire Reddy clan, led by then minister Gali Janardhana Reddy, reacted angrily, daring Siddaramaiah to visit their fiefdom Bellary if he had the guts. They even threatened that they would beat him to death if goes there.

Thumping his chest, Siddaramaiah warned the Reddy brothers that he would lead a 350-km-long march of the Congress party to Bellary to teach them a lesson.

Siddaramaiah led that famous padayathra to Bellary in August and held a massive rally of the Congress against the Reddy brothers mafia. That event changed public perception in favour of him and the Reddy empire started to crumble.

A year later, BS Yeddyurappa was forced to quit as the Chief Minister over the Rs 50,000 crore mining scam while the Reddys were arrested by the CBI and sent to jail. Two years later, when Siddaramaiah led the Congress to victory in Karnataka, Janardhana Reddy was cooling his heels at Chachalguda jail in Hyderabad. His empire was in shambles and Reddy was a persona non grata for the BJP.

After spending almost four years in jail as an undertrial, Janardhana Reddy managed to come out of it but the BJP was not ready to touch him even with a barge pole and the Siddaramaiah government sent him to jail once again in other mining cases.

After a few months, he came out of jail and declared before his inner circle that it was now a personal battle between him and Siddaramaiah and that he would teach him a lesson in the next Assembly elections.

As promised, Janardhana Reddy is now back in full form. He efficiently led the BJP campaign in Karnataka, threatening to unseat Siddaramaiah.

Seven members of the Reddy clan secured BJP tickets just two weeks after BJP chief Amit Shah disowned Janardhana Reddy in a press meet in Karnataka.

Political analysts in the state argue that after realising that bringing the BJP back to power is an uphill task, the party high command reluctantly went back to the infamous Reddy brothers to achieve its goal.

It is going to be a tough election. Every seat counts. Had we not taken them back in the party, they would have worked against us, defeating the BJP in at least 10-12 seats. Yeddyurappas magic is also not working in the state. Left with no other option, we have welcomed them back, giving them seven seats, a senior leader of the state BJP had said.

The Reddy brothers still enjoy a lot of clout in Bellary, neighbouring Chitradurga and Raichur districts. Their Man Friday and Bellary MP B Sriramulu is a popular leader among the Scheduled Tribes.

Despite negative comments from the public and media alike, the BJP has taken them back keeping the election outcome in mind, said a local BJP leader.

In 2008, the Reddys were credited with bringing the BJP to power in a southern state with their money and muscle power. Within a month of coming to power, they started making impossible demands with Yeddyurappa and finally led to the disintegration of the BJP three years later.

Proving his political obituary writers completely wrong, Janardhana Reddy has come back roaring and that too with the promise that the BJP will rule once again. His younger brother G Somashekhara Reddy has got the ticket from Bellary city, Man Friday B Sriramulu is contesting from two seats  Molakalmuru and Badami, his relatives Sanna Fakeerappa and Suresh Babu have also got tickets, Reddys elder brother G Karunakara Reddy, who is not on good terms with the clan, has also secured party ticket from Harapanahalli and one more relative Lallesh Reddy has got nomination from BTM Layout in Bengaluru.

Interestingly, Sriramulu is taking on Siddaramaiah in Badami and Lallesh Reddy is facing Home Minister R Ramalingareddy in BTM Layout.

For the first time, seven members from the Reddy clan are in the race for Vidhana Soudha, making many BJP leaders uncomfortable. It was a high command decision. What can we do? We are embarrassed, but helpless, said a spokesman.

The ruling Congress has made the return of the Reddys a big election issue, calling the BJP a corrupt party that is promising a corruption-free Karnataka. It has also taken a dig at Yeddyurappa who could not secure a nomination even for his son Vijayendra against Siddaramaiahs son Yatheendra in Varuna.

The Congress has also accused the BJP-led Centre of helping the Reddy brothers by diluting serious criminal charges against them for political benefits.

Reddy brothers also have a personal reason to side with the BJP because of the Siddaramaiah governments decision to reinvestigate the iron ore export scam even after the CBI closed the case.

The Congress engineered the defection of two Reddy loyalists during party president Rahul Gandhis visit to Bellary and fielded them on party ticket. It has also unnerved the Reddy camp. It fears that if the Congress retains power, it can spell doom for their family. In the crucial battle for Karnataka, both the BJP and the Reddys are fighting for their survival.

Curiously, the JD(S), which was earlier vocal about the Reddy brothers, is maintaining total silence over the Reddys second innings.

If the Reddys win, Siddaramaiah may face trouble. If Siddaramaiah retains power, Reddys will surely be in trouble once again.
New Delhi: In her first and only public rally after almost two years, Sonia Gandhi gave PM Narendra Modi a back-handed compliment when she lauded him for being the finest speaker, ahead of Karnataka election. Immediately after, she said such speeches are not good enough to provide food, shelter and medicines to the poor.

Gandhi also slammed Modi for his idea of Congress-mukt Bharat, saying it was as if the bhoot (ghost) of Congress-mukt Bharat has consumed the PM.

"Narendra Modi is proud that he is a good orator, I agree with this. But he speaks quite like an actor. I will feel happy if his speeches can end hunger in the country. But it simply cannot. Just as it cannot empower women or heal the sick, said Sonia Gandhi, addressing a huge crowd at Bijapur city, which has been a traditional stronghold of the Congress party until BJPs Appu Pattanshetty won the seat in 2008.

Forget Congress-mukt Bharat, Modi cannot tolerate anyone in front of him, she said. Gandhis sharp attack on Modi came at a time when BJP raked up her foreign-origin issue on the day of her first election rally in Karnataka.

Sonias jibe at Modi was a counter to Karnataka BJPs tweet: Today, Ms. Antonio Maino is here in Ktaka to save her last citadel from falling! Madam Maino, Ktaka needs no lessons from the person who was solely responsible for wastingIndias 10 precious years. And to Congress, need to remind you of your import jibe?

Significantly, BJPs tweet had come as a counter to Congress charge that BJP was importing North Indian leaders to Karnataka to win elections in an obvious reference to series of rallies by Yogi Adityanath - the Hindutva poster-boy of the party.

Both Modi and Sonia had held rallies in the crucial Lingayat stronghold, which has been a focal point of these elections, on the same day.

Addressing people in the Lingayat heartland, Gandhi reminded the public that she is aware of the fact that she is addressing the people of Bijapur, which is a land of great Basavanna. Gandhi, who has been at the helm of power in the Congress and has been party president for almost 20 years, decided to pave way for her son Rahul Gandhi, who was elected the partys national president unopposed late last year.

She has opted out of election campaigns avoiding several Assembly elections ever since she had to abruptly end her election campaign in Varanasi in May 2016 due to health issues.

In Karnataka, Congress has left the election management in the hands of Siddaramaiah, who was given a free hand in ticket distribution and has been the main campaigner for the party even though Congress president Rahul Gandhi also criss-crossed the state covering almost three dozen rallies in the last three months.

Sensing the importance of the Lingayats, it was Siddaramaiah who recommended religious minority status for the powerful Lingayat sect last year. It forced the BJP not only to go back to its old face Yeddyurappa, who doesnt quite enjoy a corruption-free image, but also forced party president Amit Shah to focus on Lingayat mutts and seeking blessings of several Lingayat seers during the first phase of campaigning.

Party insiders say Sonia Gandhis rally in Bijapur was strategically planned in Bijapur city as PM Modis rally was already scheduled in Sarawad, a small town about 17 kms away from Bijapur City.

Sonias Bijapur rally was planned by Congress leader from Bijapur MB Patil, who has been keen in establishing himself as a Lingayat face of the Congress party though has not met with much success. It was Patil who last year lead the thousands of Lingayats gathered in Bidar and demanded minority status for their faith. Patil, who is a four-time MLA and also water resources minister, was the main organiser of Sonias rally in Bijapur.

While addressing the huge rally in Sarawad in Bijapur, Modi invoked the name of social reformer Lord Basaveshwara and attacked Congress of betra12th-centuryh century philosopher and saint.

Last month, sensing the importance of Lingayats in Karnataka polls, Modi even chose to pay homage to the Lingayat saint and unveiled the statue of Lord Basaveshwara at the banks of river Thames during his visit to the UK.

A dominant group in North Karnataka, Lingayats are a decisive force in around 85 to 90 of the 224 seats in the Assembly and a number of Karnataka CMs have belonged to the Lingayat community.
Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made remarkable inroads into Karnataka and emerged as the single largest party on Tuesday, but fell short of the magic number. The party that started the day with cheers and celebrations, was found counting numbers and running to the Governors house later in the day in a bid to stake claim to the government, despite having won 104 seats in the 224-member Assembly.

Towards the end of the counting, BJP fell 9 seats short of a majority in Karnataka while the Congress dramatically announced its support for arch-rival JD(S) and was even willing to let it head the government in a post-poll alliance.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together has a clear majority in the Assembly. JDS (+BSP) has won 38 seats while Congress has won 78 seats and together they have 116 MLAs along with an additional support of 2 Independent MLAs.

According to sources, in case the Governor fails to invite JD(S)-Congress to form the government, Congress will move its MLAs to a resort near Bengaluru after its legislative party meet on Wednesday. BJP, on the other hand, has decided to wait and watch as the drama unfolds.

BS Yeddyurappa met Vala and asked for seven days time to prove majority on the floor of the House. Sources say, BJP is looking at offering the Deputy CMs post to a JDS leader who can come with some of his MLAs. BJP has also apparently approached six unhappy Lingayat MLAs from Congress.

Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12 while polling for the remaining two will be held later.

Both sides rushed to meet Vala on Tuesday, their vehicles slowly cutting through the throngs of party workers and supporters assembled outside the Raj Bhavan gates, and staked claim to power even before the Election Commission could announce the final tally.

Addressing BJP workers in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who undertook a vigorous campaign, hailed the party's win in Karnataka as "unparalleled and unprecedented".

"We had to be ready for any eventuality. So when there was a window, we chipped in," Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said. "...when the JD(S) and the Congress numbers swelled up, that was the time we felt we can make it."

Azad's comments sums up the breathtaking daylong developments in an election seen as a bellwether for the 2019 general elections at a time when the saffron wave is sweeping the country.

Several BJP and Congress leaders rushed to Bengaluru from the national capital on Tuesday as the results kept coming in.

The swift political manoeuvring by Congress in reaching out to JD(S) showed that it had learnt its lesson after the debacle in Manipur and Goa where it failed to form the government despite being the single largest party because of BJP's shrewd moves.

"We have all together discussed and decided this... This is the opinion of the All India Congress party. Congress will support JD(S) because there is a hung Assembly situation here as no party has been given clear majority by the people," outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah told reporters after submitting his resignation. Siddaramaiah lost his key constituency Chamundeshwari while Badami proved to be his saving grace where he won with a meagre over 1,696 votes.

Siddaramaiah, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mallikarjun Kharge along with JD(S) state Chief H D Kumaraswamy met Vala and submitted a letter seeking an opportunity to form the government. Later, they met at a 5-star hotel in Bengaluru to discuss the modalities while waiting for the Governor to decide.

BJP's chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, has meanwhile, accused Congress of trying to grab power unfairly as the Congress kept reminding the saffron party of its own actions in forming the Goa and Manipur governments.
New Delhi: About six month ago, some Karnataka Congress leaders used to joke in private that they might do better minus Rahul Gandhis campaign in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Now, however, Gandhi has a different image. The Congress president led the party from the front, giving hope to the cadres across Karnataka.

And the party men explain that after Gujarat Assembly elections they are seeing a different Rahul Gandhi who is fully charged and ready to do leg work for the Congress. Rahul Gandhi kicked off his Karnataka tour in the last week of January from Bellary district and travelled the entire length and breadth of the state, covering all 30 states.

Unlike Modi and Amit Shah of the BJP, he mostly travelled by a special bus to easily mingled with the people. He took a bus ride from Bellary to Gulbarga, covering a distance of over 400 km and holding public and corner meetings at several places. His first leg was a success and the party decided to stick to the same formula.

In February, he toured Lingayat dominated Mumbai  Karnataka region, comprising seven districts, again in a bus using helicopters occasionally. That leg was also a success. In the third, fourth and fifth leg also Rahul Gandhi mostly used a bus to travel length and breadth of the state.

He is a bundle of endless energy. He inspires both party leaders and workers. He leads us from the front. Wherever Rahul Gandhi campaigned in the last two months, we have got a very good response, Karnataka state Congress working president Dinesh Gundurao said.

Rahul Gandhi has travelled all 30 districts of the state, a record for the president of a national party.

His temple run has also been a big hit among Congress supporters. He has visited over a dozen big temples and Mutts during his Karnataka tour and is likely to visit a few more before Karnataka votes on May 12.

The BJP was spreading rumours that Rahul Gandhi is lazy, he cant do hard work, he is not for Hindus etc. But Rahul Gandhi has proved them wrong. The BJP and RSS lies have been exposed. They are now rattled by the response he is getting all over Karnataka, said a senior leader of the Congress.

Unlike in the past, Rahul Gandhi is now using high-end technology to connect with the people. All his tours and rallies were beamed live on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. His Hindi speeches were translated into Kannada by a senior leader of the party at every place.

Rahul Gandhi also met block Congress and district party presidents in each district and discussing the poll scenario. He is trying to endear himself to the cadre and local level leaders. It was not the case earlier. We are happy with this. We can frankly exchange our views with him. He listens to us and takes decisions, said a district Congress president.

One has to wait and see if the support he is drawing gets translated into votes for the Congress.
New Delhi: The Karnataka elections might be state level, but Congress and BJP have truly made it a pitch for 2019. Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that he was ready to become the Prime Minister if his party won a majority in 2019. PM Narendra Modi, however, was quick to call out his arrogance. Modi mocked Gandhis readiness and said his ambition is nothing but arrogance.

He said I am going to be PM! He came like those bullies, barging his way ahead when there are others who have many years of experience. How can someone just declare himself as the PM? This is simply nothing but arrogance, said Modi during a campaign rally in Bengarpet in Karnataka. Modi's attack came a day after Gandhi said he was ready to occupy the PM's post if his party emerged as the "biggest" party in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Soon after Gandhis remark, the BJP took potshots, saying the Congress president, who is harbouring "lofty dreams" despite his party's losing spree, should first try to win state elections. "There are leaders waiting for 40 years... he came all of a sudden and placed his bucket, and said I will become the Prime Minister," Modi said during the final lap of his campaign blitz. The Prime Minister asked the gathering whether it was not a reflection of the Congress president's "arrogance".

He also wanted to know whether it did not show the state of internal democracy in the Congress party. Speaking about attempts to forge an anti-BJP front, the PM said, To remove Modi, there are big meetings being held. How will the big leaders who attend these meetings react to this sudden announcement by one 'Naamdaar' that he is going to be PM.

Earlier, during the campaign, Modi had likened Rahul to a "naamdaar (one with a big name)". "Rahul-ji, you are naamdaar (one with a big name), we are kaamdaar (focused on work), Modi had said earlier.
The BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly elections, but fell short of the halfway mark of 112. Queering the pitch for it, the Congress and JD(S) have decided to come together and have a crack at government formation.

As was speculated earlier that in the case of a hung Assembly, JD(S) Kumaraswamy will play the kingmaker. Apparently, the Congress reached out to the JD(S) and has agreed to let Kumaraswamy be the CM, hence propelling him from the kingmaker to the king.

The BJP is currently ahead in 104 seats, followed by the Congress at 78 and JD(S) at 38.

Congress leadership instructed Ghulam Nabi Azad and KC Venugopal to speak to JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda. After hectic parleys, the JD(S) has agreed to Congress offer and Kumaraswamy, a former CM, is heading to meet the Governor.

Kumaraswamy, in his letter to the Governor, declared that he has accepted Congress support for JDS to form the government.

Earlier, exit polls had predicted a hung House, but gave BJP the advantage.

ABP TV had predicted a tally in favour of the BJP with a seat count between 97-109 seats; 97-99 seats for the Congress and between 21 and 30 for the JD(S). India Todays exit poll had predicted 106-118 seats for Congress; 79-92 seats for BJP; 22-30 for JD(S) and 1-4 seats for the others.

Aaj Tak exit polls had also gone in the favour of Congress and had given Congress 106 to 118 seats; BJP 72 to 76 seats; JD(S) 25 to 30 seats and others 4 to 8 seats. NDTV's 'Poll of Polls' based on eight exit polls, predicted BJP to be the single largest party with 101 seats, Congress second with 84 seats followed by the Deve Gowda-led JD(S) with 33 seats.

Newsx-CNX, on the other hand, predicted that BJP could be ahead of the Congress. Its exit poll has given BJP 102 to 106 seats; Congress 72 to 75 seats, JD(S) 35 to 38 seats and Others 3 to 6 seats.

The most liberal of estimates, the Republic TV poll, had given the JD (S) between 32-43 seats. At 2 pm, the JD (S) had leads on 38 seats.
New Delhi: Bengaluru may be Indias science, tech and innovation city, but in Karnataka elections, the only thing that matters in the countrys third-most important city is the caste and religion of candidates.

The caste factor, which takes a backseat after polls, always becomes an important issue during every election. Be it Assembly or Lok Sabha elections or even civic polls, caste decides the tickets for candidates. The Congress, BJP and JD(S) deftly play the caste card to win votes in the state capital.

The 2018 Assembly election is no different and all three parties have carefully selected their candidates keeping the caste arithmetic in mind.

The city has 28 Assembly seats in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits and has eight more seats in the outskirts. Except for 3-4 exceptions, caste and religion has been the deciding factor for the candidates in this election.

The ruling Congress fielded Roshan Baig and Zameer Ahmad Khan from the Muslim-dominated Shivajinagar and Chamarajpet seats, respectively. Another Muslim MLA, NA Haris, also got renominated from Shantinagar considering the fact that his constituency has a large number of Muslims and Christians.

Senior minister KJ Georges constituency Sarvagna Nagar also has a large number of Muslims and Christian votes and Congress has fielded a Christian candidate from here.

Basavanagudi, Malleshwaram, Jayanagara, Rajajinagara, BTM Layout, Byatarayanapura, Vijayanagara, Govindarajanagara, Mahalakshmi Layout and Yeshwantpur are known as upper caste seats and all major political parties field only Brahmins, Vokkaligas or Reddys from these constituencies.

The Other Backward Classes (OBCs) also get the chance to try their luck from some of the seats where they are have substantial numbers. Scheduled Castes (SCs) contest from the seats reserved for them.

While many progressive citizens of Bengaluru have tried to break the stranglehold of caste in the elections here, they have failed miserably in the past. Some of them had contested as Independents and lost badly because of no caste support.

It is foolish to believe that caste decides everything in rural areas and that the big city people are above caste and religion. Actually, they are more casteist and tend to back their religion in the bigger cities. A closer look at the candidates prove one thing  no caste or religion backing, no chance, even if you are the best candidate, said Mathew Anand Paul, a Bengaluru-based political analyst.

But well-known civic issues activist Ravi Krishnareddy disagrees. Ravi, a former state leader of the AAP and a US-returned technocrat, is contesting as an Independent from Brahmin and Vokkaliga-dominated Jayanagara Assembly seat in south Bengaluru.

Speaking to News18, he said, Except a few seats, voters of Bengaluru are above caste considerations. They will definitely go beyond their caste and religion to vote. But the political parties have stereotyped it. They still believe that the people vote for their caste. It is a misconception and we want to change that.

Dinesh Gundurao, four-time MLA from the city and working president of the state Congress feels that a lot of people have moved away from caste and religion these days. People vote for good candidates or at least who they think are good in many seats. Not all vote on caste lines. But caste also plays a role. It is a reality and we cant escape from that, he said.

Interestingly, Dinesh is one of the very few politicians who has actually proven that even without a major caste backing, one can win an election. The son of late chief minister R Gundurao and a Brahmin, Dinesh has won four consecutive elections from Gandhinagara Assembly seat in central Bengaluru. This seat has only a few thousand Brahmin votes and that has not come in the way of his successive victories.

The economic boom in Bengaluru has attracted millions of people from all parts of India in the last 25 years and many of them are registered voters in the city. Local politicians argue that these outsiders vote based on personal beliefs or ideology rather than castes as they dont belong to any local castes or sects in Karnataka.
New Delhi: Narendra Modi's ability to influence electoral outcome in Karnataka election through sheer tenacity and rhetoric in the last lap of canvassing has no match in the current line-up of political leadership across party lines.

BJPs election strategy, fine-tuned by the Modi-Shah duo over the last five years, can broadly be delineated into two distinct phases. Phase-I involves a long-term preparation, which starts one year before the elections are due in a state. This phase primarily involves caste mobilisation of the core BJP base coupled with disruptive measures to make inroads into the opposition vote base.

For instance, in Karnataka, BS Yeddyurappa as the BJP CM face was entrusted to rally the Lingayats and also impinge on Congress' core constituency, especially the Dalits. The former chief minister, thus, made it a point to dine at Dalit homes as he criss-crossed the state on his rath last year.

The attempt to mobilise smaller backward communities feeling alienated by dominant OBC castes in power is another crucial aspect of this strategy.

Phase II of BJPs campaign in the last many elections revolved around Modi's 'shock and awe' tactics, involving a series of rallies, meetings and road shows in the last two weeks before the polling.

These events are generally seen to be high on optics and rhetoric aimed at dazzling the fence-sitters. The Prime Minister using a sea plane during Gujarat campaign is one such instance.

BJPs campaign trajectory is broadly defined by the groundwork of Amit Shah and capped by PMs rallies. By sticking to this form of build-up, culminating in a crescendo of sorts, the BJP thus far has reaped rich electoral dividends in a vast majority of the states.

However, there have been two distinct exceptions to this rule  Delhi and Bihar in their respective assembly elections in 2015.

There were a lot of similarities in the two election campaigns. The opposition in both instances was led by a strong provincial leader, pitted against the Prime Minister. The leader in question was leading a non-Congress party and had a clean image. By the end of both the campaigns, the elections had turned broadly into a bipolar contest.

Both Arvind Kejriwal and Nitish Kumar were able to convince the voters that the elections were being held to elect a Chief Minister, who would cater to local needs and not for the Prime Minister of the country.

In the build-up to the Karnataka elections, Siddaramaiah has happily played along with the BJP's attempt to make it a CM vs PM contest. He's quite consciously weaved a sub-nationalist undertone to his poll narrative. The CM has attempted to disrupt the BJP's core consolidation by giving a go-ahead to a recommendation on recognition of Lingayats as a separate religious group.

All this notwithstanding, every election is a unique exercise in socio-political-economic churning.

In the last five years, very few states have given a fractured verdict; not even Punjab last year where the contest was genuinely multi-cornered between the AAP, the Congress and the Akali Dal.

Karnataka is a high stakes battle for both BJP and the Congress and it will test Congress' ability to challenge the BJP in a direct contest. Most importantly, it will make or mar the Congress' efforts to appropriate leadership of the alternative front against the NDA in 2019.
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Page: 1 2 3 4 Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 05:13 AM











Post: #16 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

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In Australia, voting is compulsory for all adult citizens so they don't require an ID.



Stay the hell out of American politics, you dumbass roo. The Australian OP thinks minorities are too stupid to get an ID.In Australia, voting isfor all adult citizens so they don't require an ID.Stay the hell out of American politics, you dumbass roo. Hrd2Stbd

Registered User

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 05:13 AM



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Post: #17 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Anybody with a modicum of common sense should be able to understand how ludicrous it is to argue against properly identifying yourself before voting. This is 2018. Everybody has some kind of identification. Ol' Eddie up there damn sure didn't have trouble identifying himself when he cashed checks or used public facilities. And funny how he decides to move all of a sudden, at age 58, to another state during (gasp) an election year.



Then here come the lying sons of bitching liberals with their virtue signaling, telling us how HORRIBLE it is to expect people to identify themselves. What a crock of sh*t. "The First Amendment is first for a reason. The Second Amendment is just in case the first one doesn't work out."



-Dave Chappelle







Be August Landmesser SevenThunders

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User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 05:17 AM



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Post: #18 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

This has been completely debunked. Voter ID laws do not suppress the votes of legitimate citizens.



Watch and learn how ignorant and racist white liberals are:





The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number,

and mighty is the army that obeys his command.

The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 05:21 AM











Post: #19 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Hillary lost because she's a dirty candidate, even other democrats despised her for what she did to Bernie. Get over it. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 05:44 AM











Post: #20 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 05:21 AM) Hillary lost because she's a dirty candidate, even other democrats despised her for what she did to Bernie. Get over it.

Exactly. Their gal Hillary didn't motivate the dems in economically depressed states to vote for her.





Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didnt Vote  and Dont Regret It

https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/11/21/us...et-it.html Exactly. Their gal Hillary didn't motivate the dems in economically depressed states to vote for her.Many in Milwaukee Neighborhood Didnt Vote  LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 06:40 AM











Post: #21 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Exactly who is this law "suppressing"? Do you think that minorities are incapable of getting drivers licenses or other forms of ID? I know Democrats like to compare these laws to the Literacy tests and Poll taxes of the Jim Crow south (which were imposed by....DEMOCRATS) but there is really no comparison.



Poll taxes and literacy tests were designed to keep people who were legally allowed to vote from voting.



Voter ID laws are designed to keep people who are NOT legally allowed to love from voting, while protecting the right of those who are.



Please explain to me how voter ID laws suppress anyone's right to vote, other than those people who are legally not allowed to vote. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 06:42 AM











Post: #22 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Lower Black turnout in 2016 is not evidence of suppression. It is evidence that Black people realized Hillary (and most Democraps) don't give a f*#k about Black people and take the Black vote for granted. spo snouou

Vocem sine nomine audivit!

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 07:21 AM



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Post: #23 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 05:13 AM) The Australian OP thinks minorities are too stupid to get an ID.



In Australia, voting is compulsory for all adult citizens so they don't require an ID.



Stay the hell out of American politics, you dumbass roo.

aw.. bloody hell

where is Spank when you need him?





you fked that up mate, it's the parrots that are the dumbarses.



aw.. bloody hellwhere is Spank when you need him?you fked that up mate, it's the parrots that are the dumbarses. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 07:24 AM











Post: #24 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

spo snouou Wrote: (05-15-2018 07:21 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 05:13 AM) The Australian OP thinks minorities are too stupid to get an ID.



In Australia, voting is compulsory for all adult citizens so they don't require an ID.



Stay the hell out of American politics, you dumbass roo.

aw.. bloody hell

where is Spank when you need him?





you fked that up mate, it's the parrots that are the dumbarses.



link to image: https://pics.me.me/maybe-come-to-austral...005391.png

Those are just the cute furry animals. What about the countless abominations with more than four or less than one legs? Those are just the cute furry animals. What about the countless abominations with more than four or less than one legs? Looky

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 08:37 AM











Post: #25 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Hrd2Stbd Wrote: (05-15-2018 05:13 AM) Anybody with a modicum of common sense should be able to understand how ludicrous it is to argue against properly identifying yourself before voting. This is 2018. Everybody has some kind of identification. Ol' Eddie up there damn sure didn't have trouble identifying himself when he cashed checks or used public facilities. And funny how he decides to move all of a sudden, at age 58, to another state during (gasp) an election year.



Then here come the lying sons of bitching liberals with their virtue signaling, telling us how HORRIBLE it is to expect people to identify themselves. What a crock of sh*t.

SevenThunders Wrote: (05-15-2018 05:17 AM) This has been completely debunked. Voter ID laws do not suppress the votes of legitimate citizens.



Watch and learn how ignorant and racist white liberals are:







TELL-A-VISION PROGRAMMING

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 08:42 AM











Post: #26 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

The only reason demonrat libturds dont want voter id is so they can commit voter fraud.

Period LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 09:12 AM











Post: #27 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

Banks suppressed millions of withdrawals with requirement of a valid ID. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 09:15 AM











Post: #28 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 09:12 AM) Banks suppressed millions of withdrawals with requirement of a valid ID.

THIS.



Convenience stores suppressed people buying tobacco or alcohol without valid ID.



Gun stores suppressed people from buying guns without valid ID.



Cops suppressed people from walking around on the street without valid ID (that one is unconstitutional but still happens)



GROW THE f*#k UP THIS.Convenience stores suppressed people buying tobacco or alcohol without valid ID.Gun stores suppressed people from buying guns without valid ID.Cops suppressed people from walking around on the street without valid ID (that one is unconstitutional but still happens)GROW THE f*#k UP LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 444811

06-07-2018 02:15 AM











Post: #29 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016









If you are too stupid to apply for an ID you are too stupid to vote. Surpressed 200k fake votes maybe.If you are too stupid to apply for an ID you are too stupid to vote. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 434171

06-07-2018 02:32 AM











Post: #30 RE: Wisconsins Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016

spo snouou Wrote: (05-15-2018 03:38 AM) A new study shows how voter-ID laws decreased turnout among African-American and Democratic voters.



Quote: The study compared turnout in states that adopted strict voter-ID laws between 2012 and 2016, like Wisconsin, to states that did not.



While states with no change to voter identification laws witnessed an average increased turnout of +1.3% from 2012 to 2016, Wisconsins turnout (where voter ID laws changed to strict) dropped by -3.3%. If turnout had instead increased by the national no-change average, we estimate that over 200,000 more voters would have voted in Wisconsin in 2016.



This reduction in turnout particularly hurt Hillary Clintons campaign.



The lost voters skewed more African-American and more Democrat. For example, Wisconsins 2016 electorate was 6.1% more Republican, and 5.7% less Democrat, than the group of lost voters. Furthermore, the WI electorate was 3.7% more White and 3.8% less African American than the group of lost voters. This analysis suggests that the 200,000 lost voters would have both been more racially diverse and have voted more Democratic.



(Priorities USA is a progressive advocacy group and Super PAC that supported Clinton in 2016 and Barack Obama in 2012. The study was conducted by Civis Analytics, a data science firm founded by the chief analytics officer for Obamas reelection campaign in 2012.)



Though Wisconsin saw the most dramatic reduction in turnout among voter-ID states, it was reflective of a worrisome broader national trend.



In states where the voter identification laws did not change between 12 and 16, turnout was up +1.3%. In states where ID laws changed to non-strict (AL, NH, RI) turnout increased less, and was only up by +0.7%. In states where ID laws changed to strict (MS, VA, WI) turnout actually decreased by  1.7%.



[img=500x300]https://www.thenation.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Overall-effects-680x258.png



more: https://www.thenation.com/article/wiscon...-by-23000/

Bullhockey.



People can't live without an ID of some kind. What it did was prevent people from voting twice.



If you think there's a load of poor black democrats in WI that don't have ID how do you think they live? You can't cash a check without ID. So these mysterious people get no benefits from the government, ride the bus everywhere they go for free, don't pay any rent or write a check for anything, no utilities, nada. They manage to keep warm in the winter despite the zero income. How? When it's 40 below zero how do these IDless people keep warm hmm?



I can guarantee you that the poor in WI have all the ID they need to cash their welfare checks and then some. This is about people CHEATING.







Shame on you for reposting drivel. Bullhockey.People can't live without an ID of some kind. What it did was prevent people from voting twice.If you think there's a load of poor black democrats in WI that don't have ID how do you think they live? You can't cash a check without ID. So these mysterious people get no benefits from the government, ride the bus everywhere they go for free, don't pay any rent or write a check for anything, no utilities, nada. They manage to keep warm in the winter despite the zero income. How? When it's 40 below zero how do these IDless people keep warm hmm?I can guarantee you that the poor in WI have all the ID they need to cash their welfare checks and then some. This is about people CHEATING.Shame on you for reposting drivel. Advertisement


















New Delhi: The results for the Karnataka elections will be declared on Tuesday. Pollsters are nearly unanimous on the fact that the state will throw up a hung Assembly, with neither the BJP nor the Congress getting a clear shot at forming the government. News18 takes a look at the factors that may decide the final outcome.

IT IS A WAVELESS ELECTION

The one thing that normally strikes you whenever there is a perceptible anger or anti-incumbency against a ruling government is that people usually talk about it. Even if they dont talk to you on camera, once the flashlights are switched off, they tend to open up. This time there is no perceptible anger or anti-incumbency against Siddaramaiah. There may be local level anger against sitting MLAs but not against the CM. Which is why the battle for Karnataka is going to be an aggregate of mini-battles in 224 constituencies. Those are the hardest to predict.

SIDDARAMAIAH ASSUMES MANTLE OF PAN-KARNATAKA HERO

Win or lose, Siddaramaiah has come into his own in this election. From positioning himself as a Kannada mascot to the trolling of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter, Siddaramaiah has positioned this as a battle of himself versus the rest. He is setting the agenda, others are being forced to respond to him. He has been out-thinking, out-tweeting and out-strategising the BJP. And it also helps that the opposition has not been able to find any allegations of personal corruption against the CM, which the saffron party, unfortunately, cannot say about their own CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa.

MODI IS STILL BJPS BIGGEST CALLING CARD

Before the last leg, the BJPs campaign in Karnataka was looking like a train that was coming off the wheels. A state leader who was lacklustre, a general who simply couldnt come to terms with the local dynamics of the election and the infighting amongst their own. Thats when Modi happened. He straightaway drew both huge and responsive crowds which is perhaps why the BJP has increased the PMs rallies from 15 to 21. If the BJP has a fighting chance in Karnataka, it is thanks to him.

BJPS CRUCIAL MISTAKES IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS

While the BJP campaign seems to have regained some mojo in the last two weeks thanks to Modi, they have also made some critical mistakes. For one, denying Yeddyurappas son a ticket has sent a very negative message both among BSY supporters as well as some sections of Veerashaivas that even if BJP were to come to power BSY would not be CM for a full five-year term. The buzz in the community is BSY could be replaced closer to the 2019 general elections.

RETURN OF THE REDDY BROTHERS

No matter how the BJP spins it, no matter what incremental gains theyll get in and around the Bellary region of 10 to 15 seats, the fact is the return of the Reddy clan is going to hurt the BJP. It makes senior leaders of the party like PM Modi and Amit Shah look hypocritical when they say zero tolerance against corruption and yet 8 members of the Reddy clan have been given tickets.

LINGAYAT CARD IS NOT WORKING FOR CONGRESS

This was billed as Siddaramaiahs last-minute masterstroke to divide the biggest vote bank of the BJP. Unfortunately for him, this strategy is showing little dividends on the ground. Most Lingayats are unhappy at the artificial division created between them and Veerashaivas. Lingayats, particularly in North Karnataka, are far more bothered about local issues than minority religion status.

DEVE GOWDA WILL CONTROL KEYS TO VIDHAN SOUDHA

To me, he is the most important figure. If JD(S) ends up with any more than 40 seats it will automatically align with the BJP and form the next government. If JD(S) has less than 40 then it means the Congress has the best shot at coming back to power. By praising Deve Gowda, PM Modi has uncannily played into the Congress narrative that the JD(S) is the B team of the BJP. Other than hardcore Vokkaliga supporters, who are solidly behind the JD(S), other fence sitter voters may think twice if a vote for the JD(S) is indirectly a vote for the BJP.

KANNADA IDENTITY TRUMPS POLARISATION POLITICS

By highlighting issues of a separate flag, removal of Hindi signages on Namma Metro and primacy for the Kannada language in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah has successfully managed to blunt the Hindutva polarisation of the BJP. Communal polarisation, like the kind we saw in Uttar Pradesh, will not work in Karnataka other than in the three coastal districts. Which perhaps explains why UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had a tough time in rallying the masses in Karnataka. His rallies hardly had the kind of resonance they did in Gujarat

INDIRA-AMMAS GRANDSON RISES

Rahul Gandhi has played second fiddle to Siddaramaiah for much of this election. But his rallies too have been attracting substantial crowds, just like they did in Gujarat. His oratory has also improved substantially. On the bus ride from Shimoga to Davengere, the entire road was lined up with people on either side who had come to see Indira-Ammas grandson. Indira Gandhis resurrection after the Emergency began from Chikmagalur. People in these parts dont seem to care too much about dynastic politics.

NEVER UNDERESTIMATE DALIT-MUSLIM CONSOLIDATION

This is a factor that will never get captured in TV discussions or pre and post-poll surveys. But given the recent events around the country involving persecution and violence against Dalits and Muslims, there could be a very strong undercurrent against the BJP. If these two communities, who make up close to 35 percent of the population, come together, this election is as good as over. Plus Owaisi and Mayawati are not major factors in Karnataka so theres little fear of them undercutting Congress votes in a big way.
New Delhi: The chances of BJP forming a new government in Karnataka are looking bleak now. Yet, the party has started its dominance down south. And next in the BJPs plans could be the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

According to the election results, in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which has 31 seats, the BJP managed to bag 12 in their kitty. This is a phenomenal increase from their 2013 tally when they had won only six seats from the region.

The numbers themselves should be enough for the BJP leadership of the state and the Centre to feel proud of their performance, however, what is more interesting is that the win in this region can open doors for the BJPs ever-so-waited march down south.

About 15% of Karnatakas population is estimated to be Telugu speaking and their votes, as suggested by the early trends, have made difference to the electoral outcome in at least 12 districts  Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Ballari, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar. The Hyderbad-Karnataka districts also have a sizeable Muslim population that has a historical and cultural connect with neighbouring Telangana.

Karnataka was touted as waveless election, where every seat was slated to witness a cut-throat competition. And in this bitter battle for Karnataka, Telugu votes playing a significant role was like the elephant in the room.

Earlier, political leaders from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who were at loggerheads over the division of Andhra Pradesh not too long ago, had set an aggressive campaign among Telugu-speaking population of Karnataka with a common agenda: vote against the BJP.

However, the BJPs performance in Hyderabad-Karnataka region has proved otherwise. If the party manages to hold on to the trends and win half of the seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, it could be a strong indicator that the Telugu population in the region has shown some sort of acceptance to the saffron party.

What also makes this success all the more important for the party is that the BJP managed to get Telegu votes in large number irrespective of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) exiting the NDA and Chandrababu Naidu blaming Narendra Modi for being insensitive towards the demands and needs of Telugus.

In fact, the partys performance in the region has made Ram Madhav, the National General Secretary, BJP tweet about his plans down south.

Tweeting about his party success in the region, Madhav wrote: In Karnataka, TDP n Chandrababu Naidu have used all tactics to dissuade Telugu voters from supporting BJP. But in Hyderabad Karnataka where most Telugus live, BJP has increased its tally from 6 to 20+. People have rejected CBNs politics. Our Southward March has begun.[sic]

Madhav might as well be right in saying that the Southward March has begun. On May 13, just two days before Karnataka results, BJP president Amit Shah appointed Kanna Lakshminarayana as the party president for Andhra Pradesh.

Lakshminarayana comes from the Kapu community, a group the BJP is eyeing to make inroads in the state.

The Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held together with the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Bengaluru: The Varuna Assembly constituency in Karnataka will decide more than just their next MLA. For Yatheendra Siddaramaiah, the younger son of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka election will be a legacy battle. Can he step into the shoes of his late brother Rakesh and claim his political legacy?

The day Siddaramaiah took oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka five summers ago, life was as usual for his younger son Dr Yatheendra. After breakfast at home, he took out his Maruti Swift car from the garage and drove to his diagnostic centre in the middle-class area of Basaveshwara Nagar in Bengaluru.

Even as his father was taking oath before a 50,000-strong crowd at the Kanteerava Stadium, Yatheendra was busy attending to his patients. After a hectic day at work, he drove back home and was stopped by police security men at his house. Fortunately, someone recognised him and the gates were opened, claims a family aide.

Speaking to this reporter a week later, Siddaramaiah proudly said that his younger son was shy and brilliant. Yatheendra is a rank student. He never used my name anywhere. He is shy, somewhat a recluse and brilliant, he had said.

The political heir apparent of his famous and powerful father, Yatheendra was an unknown person even to some of Siddaramaiahs close circles till his elder brother Rakesh died in Belgium in mid-2016. He was busy with his medical practice and had no interest in politics. He had literally shunned public life.

Yatheendra is closer to Parvathi Siddaramaiah, his mother and the reclusive wife of the CM. He has never visited his fathers office at Vidhana Soudha and entertained no one from his Assembly seat till early 2017.

Rakesh, who died at the age of 38, was said to be his fathers favourite son and Siddaramaiah had decided to groom him as a successor in politics. He died suddenly during a visit to Belgium and his younger brother was forced to come out of his secluded life.

According to family members, Yatheendra was initially reluctant to take the plunge into politics and had tried to avoid the topic for a few months. But Siddaramaiah wanted him to look after his Assembly constituency Varuna in Mysore district. It was earlier handled by Rakesh.

When Yatheendra first came to Varuna, nobody knew him. He knew no one. He was so shy. He ran away from the media. He is polite to a fault gives a lot of respect to everyone. He has now understood local politics and freely mingles with the people. He is certainly not like his father who is daring and irreverent, said a Mysore-based journalist.

According to some close aides of Siddaramaiah, Yatheendra was not interested in contesting the elections from Varuna, but reluctantly agreed after his father persuaded him.

Commenting on his sons entry into electoral arena, the CM said it was the wish of the local people and he was not pushing his son into politics. No one will vote for him just because he is my son. They will elect him only if he has got good qualities. I am proud of my son. He is liked by one and all in the constituency. I am sure he will win, said Siddaramaiah.

Yatheendras name, however, had figured in a controversy two years ago. A lab in which Yatheendra was also a partner had bid for a contract to operate a laboratory at government-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru. After it became an issue, Yatheendras company decided to withdraw the bid.

One of his friends had defended him saying that just because he is the CMs son, it was unfair to event him from doing legal business. He would have provided affordable medical services to poor patients. The politics came in the way. He is a highly qualified doctor. He does not need to run a lab outside a government hospital for money, said one of his friends.

Siddaramaiah has been highly active on social media these days and some people see Yatheendras behind this sudden change in his fathers attitude. Yatheendra is personally involved in social media activities of his father. He wont tweet for him, but oversees things and handles many related issues, said a friend.

Speaking to News18 about his entry into politics, Yatheendra said he was wholeheartedly accepted by the people of Varuna constituency and being Siddaramaiahs son was not the only criteria for him.

Even if your father is a Chief Minister, you need to have leadership qualities. Otherwise you wont succeed in politics. People accept you, if you are good to them, he said.

Yatheendra explained that in the last one-and-a-half years, he has travelled across the constituency familiarising himself with local issues and people.

He refused to comment on his BJP rival and former chief minister BS Yeddyurappas son Vijayendra, saying he knows nothing about him and is not in a position to say anything. Even if I lose, please dont blame my father for it. It would be my defeat. Not my fathers. But I am winning certainly, said Yatheendra.

Tabu Rao, his close friend and wife of KPCC working president Dinesh Gundurao, said Yatheendra would do very well in politics because he is too humble and gentle.

You will never see a man like him. He is a gentle soul, extremely good. No Chief Ministers son can be so down-to-earth like him. He will do well in public life. Yatheendra is also sharp and intelligent. He knows what is happening and how to handle tricky situations, she said.

Former Congress leader H Vishwanath, who joined the JD(S) over serious differences with Siddaramaiah, said that Yatheendra was more like his mother. His mother Parvathi is known for humility and simplicity.

Santhosh Jayachandra, son of Law and Parliamentary Affairs minister TB Jayachandra, said that once he had seen Yatheendra and his mother travel in a city bus in Mysore.

I was waiting at a traffic signal. A government bus was also waiting there. I was shocked to see mother and son sitting in that bus, he said.

Will the MLA post change him if he wins from Varuna? Only time will tell.
The BJP is set to storm the southern barrier as well with the party emerging as the single-largest one in Karnataka Assembly election result 2018. As per the latest trends, the Janata Dal (Secular) has emerged as the kingmaker, as predicted by exit polls. Going with the BJP would mean tapping into the Modi wave in 2019 elections, while an alliance with the Congress puts the Deve Gowda-led party in a position to bargain. Interestingly, the Congress has the highest vote share so far at 38%, while the BJP is at 36.7%.

Here are top 10 developments:

1) The Congress leadership has instructed Ghulam Nabi Azad and KC Venugopal to speak to JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda. The Congress is exploring possibilities of forming a government in Karnataka.

2) The votes for Karnataka Assembly Elections are still being counted, but it is quite clear that the BJP has outstripped both the Congress and the JD (S) in terms of seat share. However, a comment from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sparked speculation that the state of Karnataka may still slip out of the BJPs hands. JD(S) and Congress can come together and form a government. But we need to wait a while to see the final result," said Vijayan.

3) Even after putting a brilliant show in the Karnataka elections, the BJP hasnt yet managed to beat the vote share of the Congress. This also shows the strategic strength is the BJP poll machinery which manages to get more seats even with a lower vote share.

4) BJP workers have already begun victory celebrations, with supporters waving the party flag and raising triumphant slogans at BJP offices in Bengaluru. The BJP is presently at 103 and the majority mark is 112.

5) If Congress had gone into an alliance with the JD(S), the result would have been different. Very different, tweeted Mamata Banerjee, soon after results became clear.

6) The Karnataka Assembly election result could lend a major boost to the Mamata Banerjees attempts to forge a national anti-BJP alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections. In March, she had camped in Delhi for three days and met several opposition leaders from the Congress, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Sharad Pawar.

7) With BJP just a few seats away from winning Karnataka again, the Congress will have a lot to think about. It will also prove to a huge blow to Rahul Gandhis assertion that BJPs losing streak will begin right here from Karnataka.

8) BJP Parliamentary Board to meet at 6 pm at party headquarters in Delhi today.

9) As expected the Lingayats backed the BJP fully because of their caste leader Yeddyurappa and the Vokkaligas supported the JDS in large numbers. The BJP getting Reddy brothers on board also seems to have worked in favour of the saffron party.

10) The Karnataka election results will now set the tone for more battles later this year in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, and the national election in 2019.
New Delhi: While the BJP was trying to turn this into a Modi versus Rahul fight, the Congress wanted to keep the narrative to the respective regional leaderships of the two parties. After all, the scam-tainted 75-year-old BS Yeddyurappa of the BJP was finding it hard to compete in the Karnataka election with the aggressive Siddaramaiah of the Congress who was positioning himself as a pan-Karnataka leader.

For the Grand Old Party, the Karnataka Chief Minister was its best bet to retain the state. But come election day, the Congress partys face in Karnataka failed to pull his own weight.

During his whirlwind tour of Karnataka, Prime Minister Narendra Modi threw an open challenge to Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Speak for 15 minutes on the achievements of the Congress government in Karnataka, Modi dared Gandhi. The Congress hit back at the PM within minutes, but the reply did not come from Rahul Gandhi. It was Chief Minister Siddaramaiah who slammed Modi in a series of tweets, challenging the PM to join a debate with him ahead of Karnataka election.

The next day, he even asked Modi to talk about the achievements of the previous Yeddyurappa government for 15 minutes without looking at a piece of paper, which was hailed by the Congress as a masterstroke.

The BJP was trying hard to make this election campaign a Modi versus Rahul Gandhi fight. The PM was attacking the Congress president and his predecessors in his election speeches, not saying much about Siddaramaiah or the state Congress. According to political analysts, the BJP has realised that their local cadre led by B S Yeddyurappa has failed to enthuse the voters and mount a powerful campaign against the Siddaramaiah government.

Before the election, the Congress announced that the Chief Minister was going to contest from both Chamundeshwari and Badami seats. Soon after the announcement, Siddaramaiah tweeted a reply to BJPs P Muralidhar Rao and said that leaders with pan Karnataka appeal do not fear any part of the state". People will decide my fate in both the constituencies, you dont worry about it, he wrote after Rao said that Siddaramaiah was afraid of losing in Chamundeshwari which is why he is contesting from two seats.

But as the results poured in, the CM was trailing from the Chamundeshwari seat, which was the only seat he was initially supposed to contest. In Badami, his lead appeared to be very thin and even wavered at one point in the morning. From the way the trends came in, it seems Congresss trump card failed to fire on Tuesday.
Bengaluru: BS Yeddyurappa, the BJPs CM candidate for Karnataka, hit out at the Congress party for being desperate to grab power.

The leader was referring to the Grand Old Partys last-minute support to the Janata Dal (Secular) in forming the government, despite the latter managing just about 1/6th of the total seats.

"The people of the state have rejected Congress and voted for a change. People are moving towards 'Congress-mukt (Congress-free) Karnataka. Despite being rejected, they are desperate to grab power," Yeddyurappa told reporters.

Anti-incumbency against the ruling Congress government was so strong that outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself lost from Chamundeshwari seat in his home district of Mysuru, Yeddyurappa pointed out.

The current trends indicate that the BJP is the single largest party in the state with 104 seats, followed by the Congress with 78 and JD(S) at 38.

Congress General Secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad told the media in the company of outgoing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah that the JD(S) had accepted the Congress offer of support.

"We will meet the Governor and stake claim (to form a government). Our numbers put together will be more than the BJP's," Azad said.

(With PTI Inputs)
Bengaluru: Prime Minister Narendra Modis Karnataka election speech at Santhemarahalli in Chamarajanagara was different. Modi spoke in Hindi but he had a Kannada translator, a first for him.

Kannada activists have hailed it as a huge win, claiming that their consistent efforts seeking primacy for Kannada in Karnataka are finally paying dividends. The Prime Minister who never had a translator in Karnataka in the past was forced to get his speech translated because of their relentless pressure, they argued.

Earlier, the BJP people used to argue that the flow of PM Modis speech will be lost if he gets a translator. We told them that if the speech does not reach the people, it will serve no purpose even if it is good. Rahul Gandhi has used Kannada translators all over the state. Now, even Modi has agreed to have a translator. It is a big win for us, said Arun Javagal, one of the leaders of the Banavasi Balaga, an organisation fighting for primacy of Kannada.

Girish Kargadde, a software professional and a Kannada activist, called it a welcome move. We are happy that finally the Prime Minister has understood the diversity of India and decided to have a translator. Hope it wont end once the elections are over, he said.

Political observers said that this affinity for Kannada is not sudden and the BJP has been softening its stance slowly.

They reminded that the same party had stayed away from backing Kannada issues and argued that it was being used by the Congress to divide the country on the lines of language. When public protests had erupted last year over Centres alleged Hindi imposition in last July and August, the BJP had taken a strong objection to it. Some of its leaders and social media handlers had launched an attack on those who were demanding the removal of Hindi signboards from Bengaluru Metro.

The BJP had also opposed Siddaramaiah governments proposal for a Kannada flag to celebrate the state's culture. However, as the Assembly elections approach, BJP seems to have realised that primacy of Kannada in Karnataka is a potential election issue and ignoring or opposing it can be counterproductive.

Young and tech-savvy Kannada activists said some social media activists who criticised them for taking up Kannada-related issues have now gone silent.

Arun Javagal, said, We ask people to vote for the parties which fight for Kannada and Karnataka. We have no agenda. We support no political party. The BJPs U-turn proves that they have also realised that there is a strong backing for our movement.

PM Modi, apart from uttering a few words in Kannada, also paid tributes to Kannada icons in his speeches. BJP national president Amit Shah had also toured the MumbaiKarnataka region two weeks ago. The visit was more Kannada-centric.

Shah visited the memorials of Kannada icons in the region, deftly playing the Kannada card. He even tweeted in Kannada, quoting a famous poem of one of the all-time greats of Kannada literature, D R Bendre, who was from Dharwad.

Shah also visited Kumaravyasas birthplace, DR Bendres house and the memorials of freedom fighters Sangolli Rayanna and Kittur Rani Chennamma in the last two days.

The BJP chief also took a helicopter ride to Kuppalli, the birthplace of Kannada poet laureate K V Puttappa, popularly known as Kuvepmu, during his visit to Shimoga two weeks ago. Even party election in charge, ministers Piyul Goel and Prakash Javadekar, have started tweeting in Kannada.

Commenting on their new found love for Kannada, a state BJP leader said, Initially we thought that it was a politically motivated agitation restricted only to social media. Later we realised that it is indeed a serious issue and a lot of people are backing it. The Siddaramaiah government has already hijacked it playing it to the Kannada sentiments. In a crucial election like this, we dont want to be seen as an anti-Kannada party.

Siddaramaiah has dismissed BJPs Kannada outreach as an election gimmick. He said that the entire state was aware of BJP and RSS disdain for regional languages, cultures and diversity.

No one will believe them. They are good at fooling people but they have been exposed this time. They opposed the Kannada flag. Did they not? the chief minister asked.

Meanwhile, the JDS, a Karnataka-based party, which had stayed away from Kannada movements has also joined the debate. JDS state chief H D Kumaraswamy has attacked both the Congress and BJP for using Kannada for the votes.

Both are national parties and have no respect for Kannada or Karnataka. After elections, they forget Kannada and go back to the same old Hindi politics. Kannadigas should be careful about these Delhi people, he said.

Another prominent Kannada activist, Vasanth Shetty, said that their fight for language equality and primacy of Kannada in Karnataka will continue irrespective of election results. Our movement is apolitical. We will continue to fight in a democratic manner till our goal is achieved, he said.
Bengaluru: To translate a live speech of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguably one of Indias finest political speakers, is arduous if not an impossible task.

This is the story of a BJP legislator who got a call from his party on May 4 and was asked to live translate PMs speech from Hindi to Kannada. A day before the event, the veteran RSS worker was told to be on stage with Modi during his massive rally in Shimoga. To make matters worse, the exact transcript of Modis speech was delivered to the legislator just three hours before the rally.

BN Bhanuprakash is a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council and belongs to the central Karnataka district of Shimoga. He was busy campaigning when he got a call from the local party office that his name was being sent to the Prime Ministers Office (PMO). Bhanuprakash was being recommended for being Modis translator for the Shimoga rally.

Initially, I did not believe it, says Bhanuprakash but realisation soon dawned upon him that this was a blessing. The MLC had joined the RSS way back in 1975 and had worked his way up to become the partys state vice-president, before falling out with BS Yeddyurappa.

MLC BN Bhanuprakash photographed standing behind PM Narendra Modi.

After finishing his commitments for the day, Bhanuprakash reached home around 9 pm and asked his son Yadava Krishna to show him Modis speeches on YouTube.

My son speaks much better Hindi than me. He told me to listen to Modi jis speeches carefully. We both watched the PMs speeches till 1 am, especially the one in Udupi. I carefully observed Modi jis body language, how he paused in between sentences and how he modulated his voice.

The idea was not just to translate what Modi ji was saying but to convey it in the same feeling.

Despite being up from 6 in the morning, Bhanuprakash received PM Modis speech only three hours before the PM was to go on stage. Having received the speech via email, the MLC rushed to the party office to take a printout. It was a 20-page Hindi script, which only had salient features of the speech.

Just before the PM was to take the stage, Bhanuprakash was told that Modi would speak from the podium on the right, while the MLC would take the podium on the left. At the last moment, it was swapped due to security reasons.

I studied Hindi as one of my subjects during graduation. I have watched Hindi films and as a Sangh karyakarta have heard innumerable Hindi speeches by RSS functionaries. Translating Modis speech, though, was altogether a different experience, said Bhanuprakash.

On stage, during the initial bit, I would translate the first few sentences and then look at Modi ji. I soon realised I could not continue this as the PMs aura was distracting me. The legislator then decided to only look at the crowd and carefully note down what Modi was saying without looking at the leader.

Bhanuprakash did not get to speak to PM Modi before the event. It was left to the MLCs years of experience in public life to find a way to ensure that the Prime Ministers message was delivered to the people in the proper intended manner.

Hindi words are not difficult but speech modulation often becomes difficult, explains Bhanu. Translation becomes doubly difficult as the PM uses puns quite often and sometimes speaks off script.

So, how does it feel to be a translator for the Prime Minister? Modi ji uses simple language that connects with the people," says Bhanuprakash, comparing the PMs language to late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan.

Hindi spoken in Mumbai and Delhi is much easier to understand than that spoken by politicians from Bihar and UP. I hardly understood what Kalyan Singh said, he quips.

The legislator did manage to speak to PM Modi after the rally and even invited the leader to his village  Mathor in Shimoga. Modi ji did not say anything to me. He just looked at me, smiled and swiftly moved away as the PM had to go address another rally, says Bhanuprakash.
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New Delhi: The Congress, which has suffered a thrashing if one goes by the emerging trends, may take solace from its near-certain defeat in Karnataka Assembly elections.

A 29-year-old unbroken historical trend has ensured that the party that wins Assembly elections in Karnataka loses in the subsequent general polls and vice-versa.

Lets take a look at the trends since 1989 when general and Assembly polls were held together.

1989

VP Singh stitched together a coalition of parties with various ideologies to defeat Rajiv Gandhi who had enjoyed immense popularity in the country. The Janata Dal led coalition defeated the Congress with outside support by the BJP. Karnataka was one of the states that Janata Dal swept during the general polls.

In the assembly elections, however, Congress returned to power with a huge majority, winning 178 of the 224 Assembly constituencies and trounced the Janata Dal in process.

1994

Elections were held in 1991 after Congress pulled its support from Chandra Shekhar led coalition. In the ensuing elections, Congress won with a narrow margin, and supported by the left, managed to put up a ruling coalition at the Centre with Narsimha Rao in the drivers seat.

But in the subsequent Assembly polls in Karnataka, held in 94, Janata Dal government led by HD Deve Gowda managed to beat Congress and return to power in the state.

1999

Shortly after the battle of Kargil, NDA government led by AB Vajpayee went to polls after losing a no-confidence motion by 1 vote. The NDA went on to win the elections but Congress held on to Karnataka both in general elections, where it won 18 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats, and in the subsequent Assembly elections, where it won 132 out of the 224 Assembly seats.

2004

After remaining out of power for eight consecutive years, Congress returned to power in 2004 general polls. Manmohan Singh was appointed the Prime Minister of the victorious coalition. However in Karnataka, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 79 seats and together with the JD(S) claimed power in the state.

2008

After JD(S) pulled out of the coalition the state was forced into mid-term polls. The regional heavyweight decided to support the Congress this time and it bring it to power.

2013

Some had started sensing a shift away from the Congress at national level. A year later, the BJP, led by the current Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was to roar to power in New Delhi. But as Karnataka went to polls, the BJP, hurt by infighting and factionalism lost out to the Congress, which led by Siddaramaiah assumed power with a comfortable majority of 122 seats.
New Delhi: As Karnataka heads for nail-biting finish, two other candidates who are leading in their constituencies can come into the picture if the BJP falls short by a few seats.

As per the trends, R Shankar of Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janatha Party (KPJP) and N. Mahesh of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), are leading in their respective constituencies of Ranebennur and Kollegal.

Both the candidates are leading from the constituencies, which were with the Congress after the 2013 elections in the state.

In Ranebennur, R. Shankar is leading with 63910 votes, slightly ahead of Krishnappa Bheemappa Koliwad of the Congress party, who has got 59572 votes.

Congress won this seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections with a margin of 6,788 votes (4.26%) securing 33.79% of the total votes polled. In 2013 the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 79.31%.

In Kollegal, N. Mahesh is leading with 31362 votes, while as A.R. Krishna Murthy is at distant second with 24764 votes.

Congress won this seat in the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections with a margin of 10,193 votes (6.96%) securing 32.36% of the total votes polled. In 2013 the seat witnessed a voter turnout of 76.47%.

If, by any means JD(S) doesnt give support to the BJP, and the party misses out on the majority mark by two candidates, like it did in 2008, these two candidates can become an important part of the government formation.
Bengaluru: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state JD (S) Chief HD Kumaraswamy were sweating it out in their respective assembly segments during the Karnataka Elections campaign, but one man seemed at ease on his home turf. Why is BJPs chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa hopeful of an easy ride in his constituency of Shikaripura in Shimoga district?

This is courtesy of the lightweight Congress candidate in his constituency. The local Congress leaders in Shimoga were hoping that the party would field a strong candidate against the BJP stalwart. But when the list was announced, they were in for a rude shock as local municipality member and block Congress president GB Malatesh, popularly known as Goni Malatesh, was nominated to take on mighty Yeddyurappa.

Malatesh is not well known even in Shimoga district and when compared to Yeddyurappa, he is a political nobody, claim his own party workers.

Since Shikaripura is a Lingayat-dominated seat, Congress workers had been demanding that a powerful Lingayat leader be fielded to take on Yeddyurappa there.

The names of former MLA Mahalingappa, Nagarada Mahadevappa and former MLC Shanthaveerappa Gowda were also doing rounds till last week.

Mahalingappa had defeated Yeddyurappa on a Congress ticket in 1999 and Shanthaveerappa Gowda had lost to Yeddyurappas son BY Raghavendra by about 6,000 votes in 2014 Assembly bypolls.

Shanthaveerappa Gowda returned to the BJP recently and some Congress workers were hoping that the party would lure him back.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was planning to field local MLC and former district Congress president Prasanna Kumar from Shikaripura. The name of Malatesh was nowhere under consideration and his candidature has led to a furious debate in political circles.

Ramesh Appanna, a local Congress supporter, said that his party had given Shikaripura to Yeddyurappa on a platter. Malatesh is a nobody. He is a Kuruba by caste, not a Lingayat. He wont be able to take on Yeddyurappa. We know that it is very difficult to defeat Yeddyurappa. But we expected the Congress to field a candidate with some stature. The party has let us down.

He claims that someone in the Congress is helping Yeddyurappa for reasons best known to them. I heard that a senior minister has helped him by fielding a weak candidate against him. These are all rumours. I cant confirm anything, he said.

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) dismisses these claims as imaginations of some disgruntled elements in the party.

Shimoga district Congress president TN Srinivas rubbished the claims of an understanding with Yeddyurappa, saying that a Kuruba candidate like Malatesh can mobilise Backward Class, Muslim and SC/ST votes against Yeddyurappa.

On the contrary, the JD(S), which the Congress has called the B team of the BJP, has fielded a much stronger candidate, HT Baligar, who is a Lingayat. He is campaigning across Shikaripura, enthusing the party workers.

The neighbouring Soraba MLA and JD(S) leader Madhu Bangarappa is behind Baligars candidature. Speaking to News18, Madhu said he was confident of giving a tough fight to Yeddyurappa.

In 1999, my father late S Bangarappa had got both Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa defeated. Nobody is invincible. We will ensure that Yeddyurappa will have to sweat it out this time, he said.

Current BJP MLA and Yeddyurappas elder son BY Raghavendra was handling his fathers campaign in the constituency.
New Delhi: The election results in Karnataka have thrown up a hung Assembly as both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can claim to form the government with support from the JD(S). However, at the center of all this is the man who might be the one to take a call on which party can form the government: Vajubhai Vala, the Governor of Karnataka.

As per the election results at the time of filing this report, there are two possible scenarios: a) BJP can form a government with JD(S) and B. S. Yeddyurappa becomes the chief minister of the state, or b) Congress forms a government with the JD(S) and H. D. Kumaraswamy becomes the chief minister.

The BJP is currently ahead in 104 seats, followed by the Congress at 78 and JD(S) at 38.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has already asked senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad to speak to the JD(S) about her party's willingness to crown H. D. Kumaraswamy as the chief minister of Karnataka.

However, only the Governor of Karnataka can take a call on whether to ask the BJP to form the government, as the party has emerged as the single largest party in the state. The Governor can also take a call on whether to ask JD(S) and Congress to come together to form a government under an alliance.

This wont be the first time a Governor of the state will take the crucial call on the government formation in an Indian state.

In March 2017, Manipur Governor Najma Heptullah invited the BJP to form government in the state, despite Congress emerging as the largest party in the state after the Assembly elections.

Congress had won 28 seats (35.1% share of the electorate) in the 60-member Manipur assembly; the BJP got victory in 21 seats (36.2% of the vote share). But, it was BJP which was formed the government in the state.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Goa as well.

In the same year, the BJP under Manohar Parrikar cobbled up an alliance comprising some local parties and Independents to install its government, even though the saffron party had won 13 seats against the Congress tally of 17 in the elections held for the 40-member House.

The Parrikar government proved its majority on floor of the Assembly on March 14 with the support of 13 MLAs of BJP, and three legislators each of Maharashtravadi Gomantak Paksha (MGP), the Goa Forward Party (GFP), besides three independents.

After the formation of the government in Goa, Goa Governor, Mridula Sinha, had confessed to having called Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley before inviting the BJP to form the government in the coastal Indian state.

Sinha, a former member of BJPs national executive, had come under severe criticism from Congress, which blamed her for not inviting the party that had emerged as the single largest entity post Assembly elections.

However, one such incident is contrary to what happened in Goa and Manipur last year. In 1967, the then Rajasthan Governor, Sampurnanand, refused to accept independents supporting a claim because they did not belong to a political party.
Bengaluru: There was no visible wave. But the undercurrent worked in BJPs favour, except they fell short just by a whisker. At first it seemed like a repeat of 2008 when the BJP came to power in Karnataka for the first time. Then it was B S Yeddyurappas victory. Now, it is PM Modi and BJP chief Amit Shahs victory. Because B S Yeddyurappa played the second fiddle to both and allowed them to lead the campaign.

Till the last week of April, the BJP campaign was uninspiring. The PM Modi landed in Karnataka in the last week and unleashed a blitzkrieg. The ruling Congress was in denial. The Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was confident of a win. But Yeddyurappa started looking more confident and declared at every rally that he would be the Chief Minister and he would have had had the BJP juggernaut not come to a halt just before the finish line. Notwithstanding, BJP's dramatic halt just when victory seemed easy, Yeddyurappa did win handsomely.

As expected the Lingayats backed the BJP fully because of their caste leader Yeddyurappa and the Vokkaligas supported the JDS in large numbers. The BJP getting Reddy brothers on board also seems to have worked in favour of the saffron party.

The Congresss populist schemes, localised campaign and the Lingayat religion issues have not yielded the desired results. Siddaramaiah even lost the Chamundeshwari contest but Badami saved him from complete embarrassment. The ModiShah led BJP turned the same things against Congress and ran a powerful campaign. It was more about national issues with a local touch.

To counter Congress Kannada pride, the BJP also deftly played the Kannada card. Both Modi and Shah quoted extensively from Kannada literature and even visited several memorials of Kannada icons during their campaign trail.

Yeddyurappa, who had dealt a body blow to the BJP in 2013 by quitting the party to form his own KJP, returned to mother party before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls. In 2016 he became BJP state chief and a year later he was officially made the CM candidate.

But the campaign and strategy were handled from Delhi and Yeddyurappa was just a face. Speaking to this reporter a month ago, Yeddyurappa had said that BJP high command had backed him fully and he was grateful for that.

Both PM Modi and Amit Shah have faith in me. They have backed me fully. Without them it was difficult for us to take Siddaramaiah, he had said.

Yeddyurappa is now 75 and has already declared that it is his last election. Because of our own internal fighting we lost the power in 2013. I want to salvage myself by bringing the party back to power this time, he had said.

The Gowda clan has taken a revenge on Siddaramaiah for insulting them in the last five years. But they too have lost by failing to create a hung Assembly. And Yeddyurappa does not like both.
Lucknow: It was Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah who had started the insider versus outsider debate and raked up Kannada pride when he accused BJP of "importing north India leaders" like UP CM Yogi Adityanath and PM Modi to campaign in the state. Little did he know at the time that Yogi's campaign would prove costly for him.

"BJP Karnataka by waiting for north Indian imports like PM Modi and UP CM Adityanath Yogi Adityanath is admitting that they have no leaders in the state," Siddaramaiah had tweeted.

As it turns out, the 33 seats on which Yogi Adityanath had campaigned seem to be going in the kitty of BJP.

BJP decided to bank on Yogi following his religious appeal.

The Nath sect which Yogi represents is also seen as a reform movement within Hinduism. It is part of Shaivism. Nath movement is also anti-Brahminical and against caste oppression.

Being a religious leader Yogi has a personal connect with some of the top leaders of Lingayat community. BJP hoped that with this background Yogi will have a far larger appeal than others in the state and the results seem to agree with that assessment.

During his campaign for BJP in Karnataka, Yogi toured Sirsi, Sagar, Balehonru, Belur, Honahalli, Haliyala, Mudebihala, Mudhol, Terdal and Dharwad, Bhalki, Humanabad, Gokak, Khanpur, Yamaknamradi and Belgaum Rural.

He also addressed meetings at Bindur, Bhatkal, Mudabidre, Virajpet, Suliya, Hirekeruru, Haspet, Attibele, Sahakarnagar, Indi, Chadachan along with holding a road show at Bantawal. Interetsingly, BJP is leading on all of these seats as of now.

Relying on Yogi's hardline Hindutva image is not new to BJP. He was extensively put to use during the Gujrat elections and before that in Kerala when the BJP and the RSS were engaged in a political show of strength with ruling Left Front.
The fast-emerging field of Artificial Intelligence, which has suddenly caught the attention of the IT industry and the governments across the world, is facing a large skills shortage, a top Microsoft official has said. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also facing the challenge of appropriate use of data, group programme manager of Microsoft Learning Matt Winkler told PTI. "There is a pretty large skills shortage. Lots of folks are talking about it (AI). A lot of folks are very, very excited about it and then they want to go and make that real. And when they go to make that real, there's a really large skills shortage," Winkler said.

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That's why it's so exciting to be trying to bring these technologies to more developers because it's going to bring more people into the mix, he said. Winkler said the second challenge is really around data. "How do you get the data in the right shape? How do you prepare the data? Because all of the AI in the world is based on data, and so what makes it interesting is the data that you have, the data that your business has, that what you understand about your customers. So how do you most effectively use that data to go and produce models," he said. Then within kind of any individual product project, one of the key challenges is the same thing that the industry has seen with software, which is, if one tries and do too much, the project gets much harder.

"And so we'll often times see failed projects, which are the result of trying to create just the most amazing thing having done nothing," he said. At the recently concluded developer's conference Build 2018 Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella talked about how to make AI accessible for everyone. "Our guidance to a lot of customers to pick a domain and pick a used case where you have a high, high-quality data and that it is really well understood. Start there, get some wins with that and then start expanding the use cases so far," Winkler said. Microsoft is partnering with multiple players in both the private and governmental sectors to use AI for the public good. "Absolutely, AI is being used for public good. For instance, it is being used in school districts in order to predict drop-out rates in India. "We see a ton of healthcare applications: patient re-admission rates is very very popular one. We have seen medical image analysis.

Also Read: Oppo Realme 1 vs Asus Zenfone Max Pro (M1) vs Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro: Battle of The Budget Phones

We are doing some really interesting work doing diabetes prediction through scans of retinas," Winkler said. Microsoft is working with the Snow Leopard Trust, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the preservation of the snow leopard and parts of Nepal and India to analyse in real time the presence of snow leopards. "So it's fundamentally changed the way they do their research," he said, adding that the Microsoft is working with three-four other conservation agencies doing similar things. "For a lot of the customers, what AI is enabling is not just an incremental... but It's something they fundamentally couldn't do before. So it really does introduce a step change for the things that they want to do in their business," Winkler added.

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Chinese smartphone manufacturer Oppo is all set to launch a new sub-brand in India today, called Realme. The phone will be launched at 12:30 pm today and can be streamed live on the company's official Facebook and YouTube page and the smartphone will be available exclusively on Amazon India. The first Realme device, set to come with the name Realme 1, has been confirmed to come with a 6-inch Full HD+ display along with a MediaTek processor. The company had also earlier confirmed that the smartphones in the Realme series will be priced within the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 range.

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A Twitter user has posted the complete specifications of the Realme 1 ahead of its launch and if the leaks come out to be true, the device is set to carry a 6-inch FullHD+ IPS LCD display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a 2160x1080 pixels resolution and a 403 ppi. It will be powered by a MediaTek MT6771 SoC and will come with a 6GB RAM coupled with 128GB internal storage. It will run the latest Android 8.1 operating system with ColorOS 5.0 on top. The smartphone will be backed by a 3410 mAh.

As for its optics, the Realme 1 will come with a 13-megapixel primary camera at the back with PDAF and depth (Bokeh) effect and an 8-megapixel selfie shooter at the front that will also support Bokeh effect. Security features on the smartphone will include a Face Unlock but surprisingly, skips out on a fingerprint sensor. Connectivity options on the smartphone include a microUSB slot, Bluetooth 4.2, FM Radio and a hybrid SIM slot for dual-SIM connectivity.

The Realme 1 is set to launch in India on May 15 and with this, Oppo is looking to enter the online retail space and challenge its Chinese counterpart Xiaomi. The Oppo sub-brand will be online exclusive, and its smartphones will only be available on Amazon India website and will be priced between the Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000 range.

Also Watch: Apple Watch 3 Cellular First Impressions Review
Islamabad, Pakistan: A US diplomat, who killed a Pakistani motorcyclist in a road accident last month, has left the country amidst controversy over his immunity from prosecution.

Defence attache Colonel Joseph Hall killed a motorbike rider and injured another on April 7 in Islamabad after jumping a red signal. A case was registered but he was never formally arrested due to diplomatic immunity.

The government reportedly took the decision after the US government assured that Colonel Hall will be tried under US laws, the diplomatic sources were quoted as saying by Dawn News.

The diplomat has since left for Afghanistan on a special flight.

The US Embassy in Islamabad also confirmed that the US diplomat has left Pakistan, the report said.

Diplomatic sources further confirmed that Colonel Hall was a US diplomat who held absolute immunity as per the Vienna Convention of 1972 and the privileges Pakistan extends to diplomats.

Relatives of the victims had asked the government to prosecute Colonel Hall for murder. The Islamabad High Court ruled on Friday that Hall's immunity was not absolute and ordered the government to add his name to the list that bars anyone from leaving Pakistan.

Washington refused to withdraw the immunity of the diplomat but promised to hold him accountable under its domestic laws, the sources said.After the assurance, Hall was allowed to leave yesterday and apparently flew to Afghanistan initially to go to America, according to sources.
Jerusalem: Unfazed by the prospect of Israel being dragged to the International Criminal Court following the death of 59 Palestinians in Gaza in violent clashes with Israeli forces, a top Israeli minister has said that her country is not worried as it "operates by international law".

Palestinian leadership has accused Israel of a "massacre" in Monday's deadly riots and many countries have condemned Israel's reaction to the protests as excessive.

Asked during an interview if Israel should be worried about lawsuits at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said that the troops had done "nothing illegal" in the face of demonstrators' violence.

"Israel Defence Forces (IDF) are acting very very well, acting by the open-fire protocols and it is all within the boundaries of judiciary and law," Shaked told Army Radio.

"Security forces are doing a very good job and containing events," she said adding, "Hamas is sacrificing its people for political purposes, but the IDF can handle the situation. I hope they got the message yesterday and things don't get out of control".

She even went on to the extent of saying that if Israel wanted "the Gaza border to be completely quiet, there is no choice but to conquer the Strip", but promptly added, "I don't think that should be done at this time".

The right-wing politician also played down mounting international criticism saying, "It is unpleasant, but we have a lot of experience, and we can deal with it".

Several other Israeli leaders and legislators also defended Israel's conduct and placed the blame for yesterday's death toll, the highest since 2014 Operation Protective Edge, squarely on the shoulders of Palestinians.

Ultra-nationalist Defence Minister, Avigdor Liberman, said Israelis' celebration in Tel Aviv last night of the recent Eurovision win was a prime example of the differences between Israeli and Palestinian mindsets.

"Yesterday tens of thousands of Israelis gathered at Tel Aviv's Rabin Square for a musical performance," he tweeted.

"In Gaza, on the other hand, thousands gathered to infiltrate Israel to commit acts of terror. That's the difference between Israel's culture of life and Hamas's culture of death in Gaza," Lieberman said.

Israeli forces were gearing up today for a second straight day of Palestinian protests and the prospect that they may spread while Gazans prepared to bury their dead.

May 15 is observed by the Palestinians as the Nakba day, or the day of catastrophe commemorating the displacement of Palestinian Arabs during the 1948 war with Israel, and was expected to be the culmination of seven weeks of ongoing protests at the Gaza Strip border fence.

Israel has blamed Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip since June 2007 when it ousted rival Fatah faction in a bloody struggle, for the deadly violence saying the terror group encouraged and led the protests that included attacks on Israeli troops and attempts to breach the border fence.

Likud lawmaker Avi Dichter, chairman of the Knesset's (Israeli parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said he believed protests had not yet reached their peak.

"We are not seeing things winding down," he told Army Radio. "Nakba Day will be the climax", Dichter emphasised adding, We can't allow a wave of riled up people breaching the fence.

Israel's left-wing Meretz party, however, called for restraint and did not condone Israel's actions on the border.

Arab Israeli lawmaker Ahmad Tibi echoed the Palestinian Authority in his condemnation of the Israeli military action calling it a "massacre" of unarmed people.

Tibi rejected Israel's accusations that Palestinians were attacking troops and trying to commit terror acts as a spin.

"Even if five people had crossed the fence, they could have been arrested," he said.

Several countries have condemned the escalating violence, questioning disproportionate use of force by Israel while urging Hamas to refrain from violence.

The EU called for "utmost restraint" by all sides. As per local media reports, South Africa and Turkey have recalled their ambassadors from Israel, with Ankara accusing Jerusalem of "genocide".

The United States has blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of the violence.

The council is due to hold an emergency meeting on the violence today at the request of Kuwait.
Bethesda, Maryland/Chicago: President Donald Trump's wife, Melania Trump, underwent a surgical procedure on Monday to treat a benign kidney condition and will remain at Walter Reed medical center for the rest of the week, the first lady's office said.

Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement that Mrs. Trump, 48, underwent an embolization procedure to treat the kidney condition. "The procedure was successful and there were no complications," Grisham said. "The first lady looks forward to a full recovery so she can continue her work on behalf of children everywhere."

President Trump spoke with his wife of 13 years before the procedure and talked to the doctor after it was completed, a White House official said.

Trump later traveled by his Marine One helicopter to Walter Reed to visit his wife.

"Heading over to Walter Reed Medical Center to see our great First Lady, Melania. Successful procedure, she is in good spirits. Thank you to all of the well-wishers!" he tweeted.

An embolization is a minimally invasive procedure often used to block the flow of blood to a tumor or an abnormal area of tissue.

Dr. Keith Kowalczyk, a urologist at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, said that based on available information it appeared that Melania Trump was treated for a benign tumor known as an angiomyolipoma.

"It's the most common benign tumor that's out there. It is a tumor, which means it's a growth. There's no worry for it to spread or metastasize. Once it's treated, it's treated," he said.

Kowalczyk said women in their mid to late 40s make up 80 to 90 percent of the cases of angiomyolipomas.

"It kind of all fits. But I don't know. Any time you are doing an embolization, it's because something might bleed. She's young and healthy and I can't really think of any other reason you would embolize someone like that."

Kowalczyk said angiomyolipomas are most commonly found by chance.

"Usually, with embolization there is over a 90 percent success rate," he said.

The Slovenian-born first lady last week rolled out an agenda for her White House work focused on helping children.

A CNN/SSRS poll found last week that Melania was viewed favorably by 57 percent of Americans, up from 47 percent in January. Her husband's job approval rating lags behind hers at 50 percent or less.
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SpaceX CEO explains technical specifications of Falcon 9 Block 5 Rocket which positioned Bangabandhu-1 to orbit

New Delhi : It was a few days back when SpaceX CEO Elon Musk came forward to explain all the improvements experienced by latest version of the Falcon 9. His speech mentioned details including redesigning a pressure vessel which was associated in the explosion of rocket in 2016.

In a press brief, Musk said the Block 5 is designed to be "the most reliable rocket ever built."

"That is the design intent," he said. "I hope fate doesnt punish me for these words, but that is unequivocally the intent. And I think our most conservative customers would agree with that."

Elon said that a last-minute hassle on May 10 postponed the Block 5 Falcon 9's debut launch 24 hours to May 11. SpaceX blamed "a standard ground system auto abort" for halting the countdown 58 seconds before liftoff. The rocket lifted off successfully May 11 at 4:14 p.m. EDT, landed its first stage 11 minutes later and positioned Bangladesh's first telecom satellite, Bangabandhu-1, to geostationary transfer orbit just under 34 minutes later.

Musk said the scientists at SpaceX put their best effort into creating extremely reliable COPVs, or composite overwrapped pressure vessels, used to store helium to pressurize the propellant tanks in the launcher's second stage.

In September 2016, a Falcon 9 exploded during preparations for a static fire test and destroyed a telecom satellite for Israeli fleet operator.

SpaceX found the cause to liquid oxygen in the upper stage tank that got entrapped between the COPV overwrap and liner and ignited either from resistance or other mechanisms. SpaceX has since worked to redesign those pressure vessels in support with NASA in order to address the agency's concerns about using that design on later Falcon 9 commercial crew launches.

"This is by far the most advanced pressure vessel ever developed by humanity," Musk said. "It's nuts. I've personally gone over the design; I can't count how many times. The top engineering minds at SpaceX have agonized over this  I think we are in a good situation."

Musk said the COPVs now have a burst pressure "more than twice what they are actually loaded to on the pad." SpaceX has a contingency design that would involve switching from high-strength carbon fiber with an aluminum liner to the superalloy Inconel, but that is "unlikely to be necessary,"

While its the fifth iteration of the Falcon 9, Musk said the Block 5 "is arguably Falcon 9's version 6" based on how improvements have been made over time.

"The word 'block' is a bit strange. We kind of adopted it from the Russians," he said.

Musk said the each of the nine Merlin engines used to power the Falcon 9's first stage now have an 8 percent increase in thrust at sea level to 190,000 pounds-force. The single vacuum-optimized Merlin engine on Falcon 9's second stage has a 5 percent thrust increase to 220,000 pounds-force, he said.

In comparison, the Block 5 Falcon 9 is twice as powerful as the Falcon 9 that first launched a demonstration resupply mission for NASA in 2010. The Merlin engines on that first version had 95,000 pounds of thrust for each first-stage engine and 92,500 pounds of thrust for the second-stage engine.

The first stage of Block 5 rockets are designed to be far more reusable than previous versions which so far have only flown twice before retirement.

"In principle, we could refly Block 4 probably upwards of 10 times, but with a fair amount of work between each flight," Musk said. "The key to Block 5 is that it's designed to do 10 or more flights with no refurbishment between each flight. The only thing that needs to change is to reload propellant and fly again."

With some refurbishment, a Block 5 first stage should be able to launch 100 times, Musk said.

In addition to greater reusability, SpaceX's Block 5 Falcon 9 is designed to meet NASA commercial crew requirements and Air Force national security launch criteria. It's also designed for easier manufacturing.

Musk said the Falcon 9's octaweb structure, supports all nine first stage engines and provides compartmentalization in case one or more fails, is now much stronger. The octaweb is made with bolted instead of welded aluminum and has greater thermal protection to prevent melting, he said.

Musk said the rocket's interstage features a hydrophobic thermal protection developed by SpaceX that is highly reusable and doesn't require paint. Placed between the first and second stages of the rocket, which are painted white, the jet-black carbon fiber interstage harkens back to SpaceX's first rocket, the Falcon 1.

"Obviously, aesthetics are a minor factor in rocket design, but I still like the fact that we've returned for nostalgic reasons to having a black interstage," Musk said.

"There will not be a Block 6," Musk said. "We intend to stabilize on the Block 5 platform and have no major upgrades."
UNREAL: America-hating NYT attacks Pompeo for rescuing American hostages from North Korea

By this point, its difficult to deny the fact that the New York Times is anything but a Trump-hating, left-wing publication that exists solely to tear down the conservative agenda. In a recent article titled At a Key Moment, Trumps Top Diplomat is Again Thousands of Miles Away, author Gardiner Harris took several passive-aggressive jabs at President Trump and his administration, criticizing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for not being present during Trumps announcement that the United States would be withdrawing from the Iran deal.

Senior State Department officials were momentarily speechless on Tuesday when asked why Mr. Pompeo did not delay his trip by a day to be in Washington during Mr. Trumps Iran deal announcement, Harris wrote, apparently not realizing the fact that the State Department officials likely didnt want to leak details of Pompeos trip to the media.

Harris went on to note that Pompeos absence left many European allies perplexed, adding that diplomats were privately complaining that they were having trouble getting answers from Washington. The reality, though, is that Mr. Pompeo had a very good reason to be thousands of miles away  he was in North Korea securing the release of three Americans who had been held captive there.

As Trump noted on Twitter: I am pleased to inform you that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the air and on his way back from North Korea with the 3 wonderful gentlemen that everyone is looking so forward to meeting. They seem to be in good health. Secretary Pompeo and his guests will be landing at Andrews Air Force Base at 2:00 A.M. in the morning. I will be there to greet them. Very exciting!

In other words, in a moment that should have been celebrated by all Americans regardless of party affiliation, the pathetic New York Times was attacking Mike Pompeo for not being present during Iran deal withdrawal announcement. How sad. (Related: The biggest story of the year is media dishonesty and hatred of the American public.)

Mainstream media rarely has anything positive to say

If nothing else, this article published in the New York Times provides further proof that the mainstream media would do and say virtually anything to discredit and tear down President Trump and his administration. They cant afford to let him succeed, because if Trump were to succeed in making America the strong, prosperous nation that it once was, then they risk losing more and more would-be democratic voters to the conservative movement. Therefore, publications like the New York Times and networks like CNN and MSNBC do everything in their power to make the Trump presidency fail.

According to a study conducted by the Media Research Center, between Inauguration Day (January 20, 2017) and the end of that year (December 31, 2017), evening broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC aired 3,430 stories about President Trump and his administration, totaling 99 hours, 3 minutes of airtime (roughly 34 percent of all evening news in 2017). MRC found that the media covered the investigation into so-called Russia collusion ten times more than the second-most covered topic, which was the response to violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Related: The purpose of the mainstream media is thought control and the suppression of the truth.)

Perhaps most notably, however, was the fact that an astonishing 90 percent of the media coverage on President Trump and his administration has been hostile, while only 10 percent was positive. If the mainstream media really was full of a bunch of independent journalists that reported balanced and unbiased news, then that ratio would be closer to 50:50. If this isnt indisputable proof that the media is out to bring down the Trump administration, then what is?

Read Journalism.news for more coverage of the stunning bias of the left-wing media.

Sources include:

PJMedia.com

CNSNews.com
Ville Juurikkala / Contributed photo

It was only three years after they formed that the Finnish orchestral rock band Apocalyptica released their ground-breaking debut, Apocalyptica Plays Metallica By Four Cellos. The 1996 work not only put a novel spin on some heavy metal classics, such as Enter Sandman and Master of Puppets, but ushered in a new genre - the intersection of classical and heavy metal music.

The group arrives at the Ridgefield Playhouse next week to pay tribute to that debut record, which launched the groups successful 20-plus year career and was the start of millions of records sold. In 2016, the band released a remastered version of the record, which included bonus tracks.
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May 15, 2018: The highlight of the article says - by pulling out of the accord, the US has forfeited all its rights under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for Irans nuclear program, the Russian top diplomat says.



European countries have come under the gun from Washington over the Iranian nuclear deal, Russias Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday.



Lavrov highlighted that Moscow could see pressure being exerted on them. And that "ultimatums have been issued citing the need to stop trade with Iran, including the exports of certain goods and the imports of Iranian oil, the deadlines of 60 and 90 days have been set. This is some sort of plan to exert powerful pressure," the Russian top diplomat pointed out. (BattleForWorld: That means they have until July and August 2018 before the Trump administration along with their shadow allies, the Necons and the Zionists, start making mischief openly, fulling threats against France, Great Britain, Germany, China, etc. to all cancel from the Iran nuclear deal. This appears as if it is going to end very badly.)



"However, our European counterparts tell us they are getting ready to become independent from the US in relation to their trade and economic ties with Iran," the Russian top diplomat went on to say. "We are interested in discussing the issue with all countries remaining within the agreement on Irans nuclear program," he noted.



"We will see how resilient the Europeans will be this time, for in the past there were times when they eventually gave in to Washington, damaging their own legitimate interests," Lavrov added.





http://battleforworld.com/2018/05/10/pre...alcracking US will be left all alone soon. Wrong policies.May 15, 2018: The highlight of the article says - by pulling out of the accord, the US has forfeited all its rights under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action for Irans nuclear program, the Russian top diplomat says.European countries have come under the gun from Washington over the Iranian nuclear deal, Russias Acting Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference on Tuesday.Lavrov highlighted that Moscow could see pressure being exerted on them. And that "ultimatums have been issued citing the need to stop trade with Iran, including the exports of certain goods and the imports of Iranian oil, the deadlines of 60 and 90 days have been set. This is some sort of plan to exert powerful pressure," the Russian top diplomat pointed out. (BattleForWorld: That means they have until July and August 2018 before the Trump administration along with their shadow allies, the Necons and the Zionists, start making mischief openly, fulling threats against France, Great Britain, Germany, China, etc. to all cancel from the Iran nuclear deal. This appears as if it is going to end very badly.)"However, our European counterparts tell us they are getting ready to become independent from the US in relation to their trade and economic ties with Iran," the Russian top diplomat went on to say. "We are interested in discussing the issue with all countries remaining within the agreement on Irans nuclear program," he noted."We will see how resilient the Europeans will be this time, for in the past there were times when they eventually gave in to Washington, damaging their own legitimate interests," Lavrov added.
















Adapted from Gender Ambiguity in the Workplace: Transgender and Gender-Diverse Discrimination (Praeger, May 2018).

Even as pop culture and mass media feature more and more transgender representation, the workplace remains a hotbed of discrimination. In a 2015 study, 30 percent of trans people reported being fired, denied a promotion or otherwise mistreated in the workplace due to their trans identity, and 77 percent reported hiding their trans identity or quitting jobs in response.

Related: The Myriad Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace

In our journey to uncover the explanations behind trans discrimination, we explored dozens of industries and talked to trans people spanning race, age, gender identity and work experience. The stories we heard made it clear to us that addressing trans discrimination requires two things: culture and leadership.

The unhireable executive

Alex (she/her) had been looking for employment for the entirety of the two years she had lived in the Bay Area. A former executive of a multinational corporation, the trans woman we met described to us how her subtle experiments with a more feminine appearance went south when her manager responded with confusion and concern. When a coworker came out in her workplace as transgender, Alex watched as that coworker's career dead-ended due to constant discrimination.

Alex quit her job and moved to San Francisco. Months later, when she began her new job hunt, Alex learned that her executive-level experience could not have prepared her for interviewing while trans. As the months passed with no offers, her frustration with what had to be trans discrimination grew. A meeting with an old colleague confirmed her fears: "Don't bother going through any recruiters because they're not going to touch you," he said. "If they present a candidate that has any deficiencies, it reflects on them as a recruiter." When we last spoke with Alex, she was still job-hunting.

Related: 5 Ways You Can Create a More Inclusive Workplace Immediately -- and Why You Should

The ex-journalist

Jessie (no pronouns), a nonbinary trans Latinx person ("Latinx" is a gender-neutral complement to Latina/Latino), didn't become a freelancer by choice. As an out trans person writing for a Spanish newspaper, Jessie faced probing stares, misgendering with he/him pronouns and other brief but exhausting encounters in the workplace. Jessie went, as many employees seeking help at work do, to HR. It wouldn't be the last time. Over the next few months, Jessie would speak to HR again and again, while the uncomfortable interactions and misgendering continued. Finally, Jessie decided to act independently, and began insisting to coworkers, "I want she/her pronouns."

The retaliation was swift and harsh: increased scrutiny, micromanaging and a heavier workload. "They were obviously just looking for any excuse they could think of [to get rid of me]," Jessie explained, and it worked. Jessie quit the job and, after a long stint of unemployment, began working as a freelance writer. After hearing this story, we wondered out loud if Jessie had considered filing a complaint. "I was concerned about possible consequences elsewhere ... sometimes if you file a complaint with one employer, all the people in the same field or the same industry can hear about it." The answer was no.

Related: How We Increased Gender Diversity In Our Boardroom

Doing it right

When the client looked at Robin (she/her) and said, "What is its problem today?" before walking away, Robin felt a sense of exhaustion. As the first and only out trans woman in her union, Robin bore the brunt of ignorant and prejudiced comments from coworkers and clients like this one every day. In her work as an audio technician, transitioning on the job had led to pay cuts and decreased opportunities, but Robin had persevered despite the financial challenges. This client would be ignored.

"Hey!" came a voice. It was Robin's supervisor for the assignment. As Robin would later learn, this supervisor called out the client for his treatment of Robin and made it clear that his behavior would not be tolerated. He would not be a return client. "That makes me feel really good, when [bosses] support you like that," Robin said afterward. And that wasn't all. As Robin shared, "[At this workplace] I don't get called by my old name, I very rarely get misgendered, and if I do, it's not by anybody on the staff." Robin felt doubly supported by a manager willing to fight for her and a workplace environment that included her. Inclusion left a strong impression on her.

Related: Why Tech Needs to Stop Blaming the Pipeline for Its Lack of Diversity

Culture and leadership

Your workplace can empower people of all genders to bring their authentic selves to work by harnessing the power of culture and leadership. How? Start with these three steps:

1. Create a timeline for improvement. Survey the current state of inclusion in the workplace and take note of strengths and areas for growth. Work with trans employees to set ambitious but achievable milestones toward a more inclusive workplace.

2. Invest in and train trans-inclusive executives and managers. Make inclusion a priority among your hiring and leadership development criteria and train leadership to set a positive example.

3. Work together with your colleagues to create an inclusive company culture. Develop, implement and normalize inclusive behaviors; build an environment where employees trust in each other; and make it safe to make mistakes in good faith. Trans inclusivity is a value, not an endpoint.

Whether you're a leader or an entry-level employee, we all have a part to play in creating trans inclusion in the workplace. When we work together, we can create organizations that reflect our inclusive values and improve the experience of work for all of us.

Related:

Want to Create a Trans-Inclusive company? Invest in These 2 Things.

Achieving Diversity Demands Less Talk and More Action. And Good Intentions Alone Won't Do It.

Good Company Culture Removes Barriers Hindering Success



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
Israel celebrates its 70th anniversary this month, and indeed Jews and others throughout the world celebrated Yom Yerushalayim just this past Sunday.

For centuries, Jews around the world prayed for a return to Zion. We are the lucky ones who have seen those prayers answered. The establishment of the state on May 14, 1948; the fulfillment of its envisioned role as home and haven for Jews from anywhere and everywhere; its wholehearted embrace of democracy and the rule of law; and its impressive scientific, cultural, and economic achievements are extraordinary accomplishments.

And when one adds that Israels neighbors tried from day one to annihilate it, the story of Israels first 70 years becomes all the more remarkable. And, tragically, with the rockets being fired by Iranians into the Golan Heights and the riots on the Gaza Israeli border, Israel is once again reminded that it finds itself in a very dangerous neighborhood.

No other country on earth has faced such overwhelming odds against its very survival, or experienced the same degree of never-ending international demonization by too many nations ready to throw integrity and morality to the wind.

Yet Israelis have never succumbed to a fortress mentality, never abandoned their deep yearning for peace or willingness to take unprecedented risks to achieve that peace  as was the case with Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994; in the unilateral withdrawal from Gaza in 2005; and one day, lets hope, in a deal with the Palestinians if and when their leadership finally accepts the reality of Israel and the legitimacy of Jewish self-determination. Sadly, the late Abba Ebans words still ring true, The Palestinians never pass up on opportunity to pass up an opportunity.

To be sure, nation-building is an infinitely complex process. In Israels case, it began against a backdrop of tensions with a local Arab population that laid claim to the entire area, and, tragically, refused a UN proposal in 1947 to divide it into Arab and Jewish states (the original two-state deal); as the Arab world sought to isolate, demoralize, and ultimately destroy the state; and as it was forced to devote a vast portion of its limited national budget to defense expenditures, even as it coped with forging a national identity and social consensus among a geographically, linguistically, socially, and culturally diverse population.

Like any other vibrant democracy, Israel is a permanent work in progress. To be sure, it has its shortcomings, including the excessive and unholy intrusion of religion into politics, the inexcusable marginalization of non-Orthodox Jewish religious streams, and the unfinished, if undeniably complex, task of integrating Israeli Arabs into the mainstream.

But such challenges, important as they are, cannot be allowed to overshadow Israels remarkable achievements in just 70 years; Israel has established a thriving democracy unique in the region. This includes a Supreme Court prepared to overrule the prime minister or the military establishment, a feisty parliament that includes every imaginable viewpoint, a robust civil society, and a vigorous press.

It has built an enviable economy increasingly based on mind-blowing innovation and cutting-edge technology, whose per capita GNP far exceeds the combined total of its four contiguous sovereign neighbors  Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. It has joined the OECD, become a global hub of research and development, and is a magnet for foreign direct investment.

It is home to universities and research centers that have contributed to advancing the worlds frontiers of knowledge in countless ways and won a slew of Nobel Prizes in the process.

It has created one of the worlds most powerful militaries  always under civilian control  to ensure its survival in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood. At the same time, it strives to adhere to a strict code of military conduct that has few rivals in the democratic world, much less elsewhere, even as its enemies send children to the front lines and seek cover in mosques, schools, and hospitals.

It is ranked among the worlds healthiest nations, with a life expectancy higher than that of the U.S., not to mention a consistently top ranking in the annual happiness index for countries.

It has forged a thriving culture admired far beyond Israels borders, and has lovingly taken an ancient language, Hebrew, the language of the prophets, and rendered it modern to accommodate the vocabulary of the contemporary world.

It has built a climate of respect for other faith groups, including Bahai, Christianity, and Islam, and their places of worship. Can any other nation in the area even begin to make the same claim? Israel is ultimately a metaphor for the triumph of enduring hope over the temptation of despair.

Rabbi Jon Haddon is a resident of Danbury.
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Page: 1 2 3 The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them? birdysong

lop guest

User ID: kaput

05-15-2018 11:01 PM











Post: #1 The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Advertisement Drudge report posted an article today stating that the border patrol is tasked with separating the children from illegals who cross the border. They are holding them in military bases and then putting them in foster care? Why? Why don't they simply turn these families back? Why the need to steal the children. It feels like there is some kind of really dark agenda behind this. I live in NM and have a friend that is in border patrol. This person is shaken to the core by this new policy. They do not tell the parents they are taking the kids and then they separate them into different rooms...and that is the last time the parents see the kids. It's horrifying. It's not ok. They also will not disclose to the patrol officers WHERE they are taking the children. WTF??? Anyone have anymore information on this? This isn't ok. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:03 PM











Post: #2 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

birdysong Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:01 PM) Drudge report posted an article today stating that the border patrol is tasked with separating the children from illegals who cross the border. They are holding them in military bases and then putting them in foster care? Why? Why don't they simply turn these families back? Why the need to steal the children. It feels like there is some kind of really dark agenda behind this. I live in NM and have a friend that is in border patrol. This person is shaken to the core by this new policy. They do not tell the parents they are taking the kids and then they separate them into different rooms...and that is the last time the parents see the kids. It's horrifying. It's not ok. They also will not disclose to the patrol officers WHERE they are taking the children. WTF??? Anyone have anymore information on this? This isn't ok.

Childless couples pay a fortune to buy children. Childless couples pay a fortune to buy children. Hrd2Stbd

Registered User

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05-15-2018 11:03 PM



Posts: 3,807









Post: #3 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Probably because they can't turn them out into the desert with no one to care for them. I'm sure they are transported and turned over to responsible parties in Mexico. This could be prevented if these people stop trying to sneak in illegally. "The First Amendment is first for a reason. The Second Amendment is just in case the first one doesn't work out."



-Dave Chappelle







Be August Landmesser Spiddy

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05-15-2018 11:04 PM



Posts: 18,171









Post: #4 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Us satanists need to eat too...

At least we're eating kids Christian Trump voters don't care about.

How about y'all give us a break eh?

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.





H.L. Mencken 1920. prosthetic brain

apothegmatic equanimity

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05-15-2018 11:04 PM



Posts: 10,425









Post: #5 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

dont know anything about it but would like to hear more if anyone has any information . Liberty cannot be established without morality, nor morality without faith.

 Alexis de Tocqueville



"True friends are rare to come by these days; a show of friendship very often hides some private ends. Man's mind is defiled by self-interest. So, becoming disillusioned, roam alone like a rhinoceros." --Gautama Buddha Hrd2Stbd

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05-15-2018 11:06 PM



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Post: #6 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?



The majority of unaccompanied children encountered at the border are apprehended, processed, and initially detained by CBP. Unlike adults or families, though, unaccompanied children cannot be placed into expedited removal proceedings.



Children from non-contiguous countries, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, are placed into standard removal proceedings in immigration court. CBP must transfer custody of these children to Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within 72 hours, as described below.



Each child from a contiguous countryMexico or Canadamust be screened by a CBP officer to determine if he or she is unable to make independent decisions, is a victim of trafficking, or fears persecution in his home country. If none of these conditions apply, CBP will immediately send the child back to Mexico or Canada through a process called voluntary return. Return occurs pursuant to agreements with Mexico and Canada to manage the repatriation process.



Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concern that CBP is the wrong agency to screen children for signs of trauma, abuse, or persecution. The public justice group Appleseed issued a report that stated, as a practical matter CBP screening translates into less searching inquiries regarding any danger they are in and what legal rights they may have. Appleseed also expressed concern that the U.S.-Mexico repatriation agreement has been geared towards protocols of repatriations logistics, rather than best practices for child welfare.



https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.o...-responses What happens to unaccompanied children once they are in U.S. custody?The majority of unaccompanied children encountered at the border are apprehended, processed, and initially detained by CBP. Unlike adults or families, though, unaccompanied children cannot be placed into expedited removal proceedings.Children from non-contiguous countries, such as El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, are placed into standard removal proceedings in immigration court. CBP must transfer custody of these children to Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), within 72 hours, as described below.Each child from a contiguous countryMexico or Canadamust be screened by a CBP officer to determine if he or she is unable to make independent decisions, is a victim of trafficking, or fears persecution in his home country. If none of these conditions apply, CBP will immediately send the child back to Mexico or Canada through a process called voluntary return. Return occurs pursuant to agreements with Mexico and Canada to manage the repatriation process.Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have expressed concern that CBP is the wrong agency to screen children for signs of trauma, abuse, or persecution. The public justice group Appleseed issued a report that stated, as a practical matter CBP screening translates into less searching inquiries regarding any danger they are in and what legal rights they may have. Appleseed also expressed concern that the U.S.-Mexico repatriation agreement has been geared towards protocols of repatriations logistics, rather than best practices for child welfare. "The First Amendment is first for a reason. The Second Amendment is just in case the first one doesn't work out."



-Dave Chappelle







Be August Landmesser HardTruth

Get your wisdom on or GTFO of the way

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:06 PM



Posts: 3,321









Post: #7 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?







. Payment in exchange for alien technology? If it seeketh, expects, or demands worship, it is not divine!!



Anyone that believes Earth has the only intelligent life in the whole of the cosmos, is a f*cking moron, and shouldn't be allowed an opinion about anything else!!



Galaxy LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:08 PM











Post: #8 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

It was Very Well explained in PIZZA GATE!

You Know DAMNWELL where these Kids end up!

With Bill Clinton and Jeffrey Epstein on PEDO Island.

And all the other FILTHY Debaucherous Liberal SEXSLAVE CAMPS! LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:16 PM











Post: #9 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

HardTruth Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:06 PM) Payment in exchange for alien technology?



link to image: http://i.imgur.com/Dk9Ru5X.gif

.

The children are taken to Dulce where they are processed for consumption by the 4-5-6. The children are taken to Dulce where they are processed for consumption by the 4-5-6. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:18 PM











Post: #10 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Spiddy Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:04 PM) Us satanists need to eat too...

At least we're eating kids Christian Trump voters don't care about.

How about y'all give us a break eh?

BAN THIS FILTH! BAN THIS FILTH! LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:18 PM











Post: #11 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Spiddy Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:04 PM) Us satanists need to eat too...

At least we're eating kids Christian Trump voters don't care about.

How about y'all give us a break eh?

A delicacy compared to your yorkshire pudding flops. A delicacy compared to your yorkshire pudding flops. Spiddy

Registered User

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05-15-2018 11:20 PM



Posts: 18,171









Post: #12 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:18 PM) Spiddy Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:04 PM) Us satanists need to eat too...

At least we're eating kids Christian Trump voters don't care about.

How about y'all give us a break eh?

BAN THIS FILTH!

Pray for it and see what happens. Pray for it and see what happens.

As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.





H.L. Mencken 1920. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:22 PM











Post: #13 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Spiddy Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:20 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:18 PM) BAN THIS FILTH!

Pray for it and see what happens.

DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR SOUL YOU LIMEY TWAT DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR SOUL YOU LIMEY TWAT HardTruth

Get your wisdom on or GTFO of the way

User ID: 1337

05-15-2018 11:28 PM



Posts: 3,321









Post: #14 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?

Spiddy Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:20 PM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-15-2018 11:18 PM) BAN THIS FILTH!

Pray for it and see what happens.

Casting spells, that never works!!







. Casting spells, that never works!! If it seeketh, expects, or demands worship, it is not divine!!



Anyone that believes Earth has the only intelligent life in the whole of the cosmos, is a f*cking moron, and shouldn't be allowed an opinion about anything else!!



Galaxy Pookie

New Jacques City

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05-15-2018 11:33 PM



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Post: #15 RE: The US is stealing children...what are they doing with them?





[ ] Trump administration preparing to shelter migrant children on military bases [/size]





by Nick Miroff and Paul Sonne



<50% sample:



Quote: The Trump administration is making preparations to warehouse migrant children on military bases, according to Defense Department communications, the latest sign the government is moving forward with plans to split up families who cross the border illegally.



According to an email notification sent to Pentagon staffers, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will make site visits at four military installations in Texas and Arkansas during the next two weeks to evaluate their suitability for child shelters.



The bases would be used to hold minors under age 18 who arrive at the border without an adult relative or after the government has separated them from their parents. HHS is the government agency responsible for providing minors with foster care until another adult relative can assume custody.



The email characterized the site visits as a preliminary assessment. No decisions have been made at this time, it states.

the rest:



https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nat...28b434334f Original Article[ ][/size]by Nick Miroff and Paul Sonne<50% sample:the rest: Advertisement


















WATERBURY  Simsburys Mary Glassman edged out Waterburys Jahana Hayes in the Democratic Party endorsement for U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Estys seat at Mondays Democratic nominating convention.

But Hayes and Glassman will battle again in the mid-August Democratic primary to see which candidate will challenge Republicans for what is traditionally Connecticuts most competitive Congressional seat.

When Elizabeth Esty decided not to run, I stepped up  I didnt wait, Glassman said shortly before delegates voted at Crosby High School in Waterbury. There is no time to wait, there is too much at stake for the people of the 5th District and the people of the United States.

Glassman, a former Simsbury first selectman, has impressed Democrats with her organization, raising more than $100,000 since jumping into the race in early April. Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year from Waterburys John F. Kennedy High School, has also impressed party leaders, including U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who encouraged her to run.

Both candidates sought the partys nomination to replace Esty, a three-term incumbent who dropped her bid for a fourth term earlier this year after admitting she covered up an office abuse scandal.

Delegates from the 41 cities and towns that make up the 5th District gave Glassman 173 votes, just enough needed to meet the 50 percent threshold to win the nomination.

Hayes received 167 votes, more than the needed 15 percent to earn a spot in the Aug. 14 primary, when the 5th Districts 133,000 Democrats will have the final say about who runs in the November election.

My greatest gift to you is my lack of political experience, said Hayes, who was treated to a rousing performance before the convention by the 30-member Berkeley Heights youth drum corps. Because when I go to Washington I will work for you and for no one else.

A state Democratic official said the candidates had recharged the party.

We are excited about the enthusiasm that this race has generated, and we are excited about the candidates, said Christina Polizzi, communications director of the state Democratic Party.

Mondays nominating convention comes three days after Republicans nominated former Meriden Mayor Manny Santos at the GOP convention at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Republicans also gave enough support to political newcomer Ruby ONeill of Southbury to force a GOP primary in August.

The district stretches from greater Danbury to the Massachusetts border, and as far east as New Britain.

Democrats will nominate candidates for governor and statewide offices on Friday and Saturday in Hartford.

There is more attention on the 5th District this year because of Estys surprise withdrawal from the midterm elections  a decision that her office insists she is sticking to.

Esty, who had $1.5 million raised when she dropped her re-election campaign in early April, admitted it was a mistake to cover up sexual harassment and abuse allegations against her former chief of staff. Esty admitted that she compounded her mistake by recommending her chief of staff for a job with Newtown-based Sandy Hook Promise.

As a result of Estys exit, Democrats and Republicans scrambled to find candidates. Sandy Hook Promise co-founders Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden briefly considered a run for Democrats but declined. State. Rep. William Petit, and former Newtown First Selectman Pat Llodra also briefly considered a run for the GOP but thought better of it.

Last week, former two-time Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Curry said he was not going to run for Estys seat.

Other Democrats vying for the nomination were New Britain Alderman Emmanuel Sanchez and former Newtown Rabbi Shaul Praver.
WOODBRIDGE  Sixth-graders at Ezra Academy recently got a lesson in the Civil Rights Era that they will never forget.

During a five-day trip to Alabama, specifically Selma, Birmingham and Montgomery, they spoke to people who lived the struggle and visited sites such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, Rosa Parks Museum, Ell Legacy Museum, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.

They learned in detail about historical events such as Bloody Sunday, the Selma to Montgomery March and important figures such as John Lewis, Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Gwendolyn Webb.

The trip was powerful, according to teachers and the 15 students from Ezra who took the journey. Students said they came away seeing that while progress has been made, theres a lot more that needs to be done.

They also learned about Jews who traveled to help the cause in those early days of marches and protests  regular people  and the more well-known among them, such as Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who was busy marching one day as the congregation waited for him to start a service.

A poster in the classroom, of Heschels legs and feet in marching stride, quotes him: When I marched in Selma, I felt my legs were praying.

Marcy Thomaswick, teacher of secular studies and Jewish Lifecycle class, said part of the purpose of the trip was, to help convey they are responsible for making the world a better place.

The students came away with the message that stereotypes and prejudice are still alive, she said, noting, the trip made it real.

Rabbi Amanda Brodie, also a teacher at the school, said the most impactful element to her was not the sites, but talking to people who brought it all to life.

In my teaching, I think its a moral imperative that we take a trip like this, she said. She said its part of the moral code of Judaism to try to make a difference.

Brodie, harkening back to Egypt, said slavery is significant in Jewish history, as well.

One of the students, Tav, said: I learned that even though the Civil Rights Era played a big part in bringing justice, were still fighting injustice today. Its a puzzle thats not complete and hopefully, were the last piece.

School administrators didnt want to use the last names of students.

Another student, Miles, said he learned while there were many distinct moments  notable happenings and people such as Rosa Parks and King  he was quite impressed with the lesser known people who risked imprisonment and contributed so much.

Student Ethan said he was shocked how much effort and time African Americans spent on finding justice.

I think weve taken big steps, he said.

Another student, Eli, noted there is still a lot of segregation and prejudice even though there are laws against it. He learned on the trip about how people who want to discriminate may find the time to show property to a white person, but not an African-American, thereby excluding them from certain neighborhoods. Eli also said these days a black man with a cell phone might have it mistaken for a gun and get shot.

Another student, Katie, will always remember seeing the statue of four black girls killed in a church bombing in September of 1963 by a Klansman. The statue, Four Spirits is located in Kelly Ingram Park and was part of the trip.

It just touched me, Katie said. They werent doing anything except getting ready for church. Blacks were targeted because of the color of their skin.

Student Eydan enjoyed hearing the spirituals at one of their stops.

The images of protestors being struck by firehoses really got to him.

I thought it was very sad, he said.

For Henry, another student, it was a lynching memorial.

It showed how many people died and I was surprised, Henry said. The scale of how many people were killed because they were black is ridiculous. Today, he said, there is police brutality against African Americans.

Melanie Waynik, head of school, said sixth-graders from two other Jewish schools from out-of-state also took the trip that will become an annual event. She said its part of a social justice program she and heads of the other schools have designed for grades six through eight.

To read the student blog from the trip or view pictures, go to ezraacademyct.org.
NEW HAVEN  U.S. Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-3, was nominated unanimously to run for another term by delegates from towns in her district Monday night, and promised to continue fighting for issues important to Connecticuts middle class and women.

When women and families succeed, America succeeds, DeLauro told several hundred delegates gathered in the auditorium at Hill Regional Career High School. I take this (nomination) not as a reward for things I have done in the past, but as a challenge to do more in the future. I do not take you trust for granted and I continue to promise not to shy away from these hard-fought battles; I never have and I never will. 
A leading environmental group, several renewable energy businesses and a number of utility ratepayer groups have filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent the Connecticut legislature from raiding energy efficiency and clean power programs in an effort to balance the states budget.

The Connecticut Fund for the Environment and other participants in the litigation announced the filing of the lawsuit in U.S. during a press conference in front of U.S. District Court in Hartford Tuesday. There are a total of 12 plaintiffs in the case, including CFE, New Haven-based Fight The Hike and Connecticut Citizen Action Group, and they are suing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, state Treasurer Denise Nappier and state Comptroller Kevin Lembo.

Malloy said the legal challenge to the energy fund raid should come as a surprise to no one, and blamed legislative Republicans for pushing for the maneuver.

I have long maintained that these shortsighted sweeps would increase energy costs for consumers and businesses and cause untold harm to our green energy economy, the governor said in a statement. While the administration in Washington attacks environmental protections and investments in clean energy, we should be cementing our role as a national leader in our efforts to combat climate change and protect our communities. The energy sweeps ... represented a massive step backwards, and I continue to strongly oppose them.

Roger Reynolds, chief legal director for CFE, said the lawsuit was triggered by a decision by Connecticut lawmakers last year to take $155 million in money utility customers pay on their electric bills and is used for specific energy efficiency and clean energy services.

Curt Johnson, executive director for CFE, said the lawsuit is based on the contracts clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Ratepayer dollars which are set aside for a purpose like this constitute a contract under the U.S. Constitution, Johnson said. This (taking if the funds) represents an unconstitutional violation of the contract clause.

He said the raid on the clean energy and efficiency funding is also illegal because nonprofits pay into the fund.

There are strict laws against the taxation of nonprofits , Johnson said.

Connecticut lawmakers authorized the raid on the funds last October to fill a hole in the state budget. The money, however, wont start to be collected until next month.

Mike Trahan, executive director of the trade group Solar Connecticut, said this is not the first time state lawmakers have raided the clean energy and efficiency funds.

Were not letting it go this time, Trahan said. If this raid is not stopped, it will add to the hundreds of millions that state lawmakers have quietly taken from people who pay a UI or Eversource electric bill over the past 10-plus years. That money was supposed to be returned back to ratepayers in the form of low cost clean energy and energy efficiency products and services.

Reducing the funding for clean energy and efficiency efforts, could cost the state more than 6,600 jobs in each of the next two years, according to officials with the groups that are filing the lawsuit.

New Haven resident Frank Panzarella, a member of the consumer group Fight The Hike, called the funding raids a major rip off that threatens the health of residents in the city.

We have some of the highest asthma rates in the country, Panzarella said.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
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Page: 1 2 Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Chinese Cuisine TicklePickle

Registered User

User ID: kaput

05-16-2018 12:05 AM



Posts: 1,352









Post: #1 Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Chinese Cuisine

Advertisement



This is absolutely f**king ridiculous, there's no reason for this:



Men roast dog alive with blow torch in China:



(WARNING: GRAPHIC ANIMAL CRUELTY)

https://www.liveleak.com/view?t=NOs9_1526329634



What kind of soulless, heartless cretin could do such a thing to another animal?

Why cause unnecessary pain & suffering? What is the point? I won't criticize another culture because they choose to eat a certain animal that no one in my culture would ever think about eating, but I have to offer criticism when they cause unnecessary suffering.This is absolutely f**king ridiculous, there's no reason for this:(WARNING: GRAPHIC ANIMAL CRUELTY)What kind of soulless, heartless cretin could do such a thing to another animal?Why cause unnecessary pain & suffering? What is the point? (This post was last modified: 05-16-2018 12:07 AM by TicklePickle .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:10 AM











Post: #2 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

Just like minority rights, women's rights, LGBTQABCDEFG rights, and any other rights you can think of, the West seems to be the only culture that even gives an afterthought to animal rights. Sad but true. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:12 AM











Post: #3 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

But ....all cultures are equal. TicklePickle

Registered User

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:13 AM



Posts: 1,352









Post: #4 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:10 AM) Just like minority rights, women's rights, LGBTQABCDEFG rights, and any other rights you can think of, the West seems to be the only culture that even gives an afterthought to animal rights. Sad but true.





How long do we have to wait for the rest of the world to evolve? How long do we have to wait for the rest of the world to evolve? LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:16 AM











Post: #5 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

TicklePickle Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:13 AM) LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:10 AM) Just like minority rights, women's rights, LGBTQABCDEFG rights, and any other rights you can think of, the West seems to be the only culture that even gives an afterthought to animal rights. Sad but true.

link to image: https://i.imgflip.com/uhk6d.jpg



How long do we have to wait for the rest of the world to evolve?

As it stands, I'm just worried about preserving what we have. The most ironic part of all of this is that every liberal should be against mass-immigration and demographic replacement, because those two things will (if left unchecked) permanently remove liberalism from the planet. As it stands, I'm just worried about preserving what we have. The most ironic part of all of this is that every liberal should be against mass-immigration and demographic replacement, because those two things will (if left unchecked) permanently remove liberalism from the planet. TicklePickle

Registered User

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:18 AM



Posts: 1,352









Post: #6 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:12 AM) But ....all cultures are equal.





Joke of the day. Joke of the day. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:24 AM











Post: #7 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...





They are savages. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:29 AM











Post: #8 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

A few people doing something does not make it a cultural norm.

Got anything proving it is?



because this thread looks like bait. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:32 AM











Post: #9 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...





warning of course, even though it is Fox and doesn't make you press a warning button



http://video.foxnews.com/v/4030583977001...show-clips Muslims despise dogs as well as pigs ... but ... ISIS fries humans alive too.warning of course, even though it is Fox and doesn't make you press a warning button LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:33 AM











Post: #10 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:24 AM) They are savages.





That was out in the open too. Seems the public walking around didn't think anything of it. That was out in the open too. Seems the public walking around didn't think anything of it. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:47 AM











Post: #11 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:29 AM) A few people doing something does not make it a cultural norm.

Got anything proving it is?



because this thread looks like bait.

It's pretty common amongst Asian peoples. The more you are around Asian folk the more you will see it. Empathy for non-humans is uncommon. It's pretty common amongst Asian peoples. The more you are around Asian folk the more you will see it. Empathy for non-humans is uncommon. TicklePickle

Registered User

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:49 AM



Posts: 1,352









Post: #12 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:29 AM) A few people doing something does not make it a cultural norm.

Got anything proving it is?



because this thread looks like bait.

Sadly, it is the norm in China:



https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news...ed-8788111 Sadly, it is the norm in China: TicklePickle

Registered User

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:53 AM



Posts: 1,352









Post: #13 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:47 AM) It's pretty common amongst Asian peoples. The more you are around Asian folk the more you will see it. Empathy for non-humans is uncommon.

I've seen Japanese people who are empathic toward animals.

But the Japanese tend to be smarter and more culturally evolved than their Chinese counterparts.



Japan has tough laws against animal cruelty. I've seen Japanese people who are empathic toward animals.But the Japanese tend to be smarter and more culturally evolved than their Chinese counterparts.Japan has tough laws against animal cruelty. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:53 AM











Post: #14 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

who cares. only anglos care about dogs like they are humans. LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 1337

05-16-2018 12:54 AM











Post: #15 RE: Dog Roasted Alive in China ("GRAPHIC VIDEO") -- Horrifying Reality of Ch...

LoP Guest Wrote: (05-16-2018 12:29 AM) A few people doing something does not make it a cultural norm.

Got anything proving it is?



because this thread looks like bait.

Living under a rock? Obviously not every single person will approve of this, but it is certainly a cultural norm over there to treat animals like sh*t. Living under a rock? Obviously not every single person will approve of this, but it is certainly a cultural norm over there to treat animals like sh*t. Advertisement


















NEW HAVEN  Two science projects, one testing whether red and yellow will mix to form orange and the other an attempt to modify usnic acids molecular compound to eradicate liver cancer, are on display this week in James Hillhouse High Schools field house, as part of the 235 projects selected for the 24th annual New Haven Science Fair.

The projects were first judged at the school level in either a physical or biological category by grade.

Natasha Robles and Vanessa Berruecos, pre-K students at the Dr. Reginald Mayo Early Childhood School, placed two arches of paper towels in three cups, with both pieces meeting in the middle cup. After dying water in the two cups on either end red or yellow, they watched as the water climbed up the paper towels into the middle, where the water mixed to form orange.

Meanwhile, Engineering and Science University Magnet School junior Prastik Mohanraj, who received a perfect score on the AP Chemistry exam as a sophomore, said he worked during school hours on his project targeting liver cancer.

My school has the resources, but it was pretty hard, Mohanraj said. The reaction was successful, but theres not enough data to see if it would work.

Richard Therrien, supervisor of science for New Haven Public Schools, said the 600 students make it to the city fair from about 8,000 students who entered their schools fairs.

Whether students are mixing colors or researching cures for cancer, Therrien said the most important curricular benefit is for students to learn the scientific process and the importance of science in society.

There are a lot of projects about health and the environment, he said. And this gives them the experience of talking about science with an adult.

Jack Crane, director of the science fair, said the scientific method is a tool for all students that they should learn.

He said a concern in the American public school system is that many students dont see their learning as relevant to their careers, which leads them to becoming disengaged from school. By giving students relevant experience, such as discussing their experiments with judges who are involved in sciences in the local universities, New Havens students are receiving crucial tools for career success.

John C. Daniels School first-graders Carla Huber, Mei-Lin Nunez and William Hutchinson tested the most optimal water for grass to use to grow. Using tap water, pond water, cooking oil and gray water  bath water that teacher Kacey Mason collected after bathing her daughter  the students found their hypothesis that tap water would work best was correct.

You should only use tap water for vegetables, because you could get sick, Mei-Lin said.

Carla said she was both proud and surprised that her team had conducted a successful experiment.

Beecher School eighth-grader Bryan Cruz also grew plants for a project, testing the quality of organic cilantro seeds against non-organic seeds.

I wanted to see something come to life, he said about his approach.

Ultimately, the organic cilantro yielded a taller and denser crop, something Bryan said would impact his future cilantro consumption.

One of the biggest takeaways for several of the students was about how to be a better educated consumer. Edgewood School sixth-grader Zelda Hoffman, a self-proclaimed punk, measured the quality of five brands of red hair dyes on hair.

I love to dye my hair and want to know what lasts longest, she said. I chose the color based on molecular stability, and red has a high molecular stability.

Although she was surprised to see her favorite brand didnt yield her favorite results, she said she remains committed to multiple brands of hair dye.

Three fourth-grade students from Hill Central, a neighborhood school that doesnt have a STEM theme like the majority of the districts magnet schools, also put two brands to the test: two varieties of detergent.

The students  Steven Torres, Luis Serrano and Nagellie Guzman  tested the quality of two detergent brands, one pricier than the other, with a control of water. Ultimately, they concluded they believed the cheaper brand did a better job of cleaning a mustard stain.

It was fun doing the project and at the same time we learned something, Steven said. Its not money, its how it works. You have to see the things people say, if theyre true or false.

Luis said he would like to be a scientist one day.

Cristopher Rodriguez, a senior at Wilbur Cross High School, built a bicycle for his project and made a coil to generate an AC current. Subsequently, he said, he began thinkinghis bicycle could be used for electrolysis to separate hydrogen from oxygen in water to create hydrogen for renewable energy purposes.

Therrien said he believes New Havens curriculum was ahead of the new state science standards, which introduces more engineering concepts into curriculum and places an emphasis on talking about science to help refine and articulate ideas.

brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  A small but vocal group of protesters marched along Church and Elm streets in the city Monday, calling for an end to what they call Israeli apartheid.

The protest began on the steps of the U.S. District Court building on Church Street and ended at U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauros office at 59 Elm St. The protest came on the same day the United States formally relocated its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israels capital.

The relocation set off violent clashes between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters. At least 58 Palestinian protesters were killed and more than 2,700 were injured, according to the New York Times, in clashes along the border fence between Gaza and Israel.

The dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem by Trumps daughter, Ivanka, came on the 70th anniversary of the formation of Israel.

Protestors criticized DeLauro for not using her trip to Israel earlier this spring to pressure Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The groups had held a similar protest in New Haven last month, according to organizers.

You havent said a word of criticism to the Israeli government, Stanley Heller, administrator of Promoting Enduring Peace, said of DeLauro as the group waited on the sidewalk outside the congresswomans office. Shame on you!

Shelly Altman, chairman of Jewish Voices for Peace New Haven, was one of three people from the protest march who went inside DeLauros offices, looking to meet with the congresswoman. But DeLauro was across town preparing for the Third Congressional District nominating convention at Hill Regional Career High School.

The U.S. government is complicit with what is going on, Altman said. For 70 years, they (the Palestinians) have essentially been living in what is an open air prison.

DeLauro later issued a statement about the clash between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian protesters, saying President Trumps actions have undermined efforts to bring peace and stability to the region.

Regrettably, the Presidents irresponsible decision to move our nations embassy to Jerusalem this year has undermined that goal, and led to the unnecessary and tragic loss of life, DeLauro said in her statement. We have to condemn actions that cost so many lives and pain to so many families. The President needs to lead by laying out a vision to achieve a comprehensive and durable two-state solution rooted in peace and mutual recognition.

Altman said a trip he took to Israel last year convinced him that many Palestinians have nothing against Jews.

But in order to reach a point where the two sides can live together in some level of harmony, Altman said the Israeli government needs to acknowledge some basic truths.

The Palestinians had their homeland taken away from them, he said. You have to stop denying the original cause.

Rabbi Herb Brockman of Congregation Mishkan Israel in Hamden, who was not part of the protest march, said since Israels creation, U.S. political leaders have always recognized Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

But theyve never taken the step of locating the embassy in Jerusalem because previous administrations have always sought to be a honest broker working with the two sides toward some kind of settlement, Brockman said. Doing this (moving the embassy to Jerusalem) is a little like sticking your finger in somebodys eye and expecting them not to respond.

The embassy relocation is an attempt by Trump to appease his political base, particularly right-ing Jews in the United States, he said. And Brockman said elements with in the Palestinian and Israeli power structures continue to encourage provocative actions against the other side.

And as long as that continues, were going to continue to see people continuing to die as a result, he said.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
HARTFORD  It has been a long journey for Denia Perez.

Brought here by her parents from Mexico when she was 11 months old, not only has she now graduated from law school, she and her law professor mentor Monday secured a rules change that will make it possible for Perez and certain other non-citizens to practice law in the state.

After a public hearing and a short period of deliberation, the Rules Committee of the Superior Court passed a revision to the practice book as to who is eligible to be admitted to the bar.

The change takes into account young undocumented immigrants who have protection under DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), under which they get Social Security cards and can work here legally for a period of time.

The revised rule allows a citizen to apply for admission to the bar, as well as an alien lawfully residing in the United States, which shall include an individual authorized to work lawfully in the United States.

Sheila Hayre, a visiting associate professor of law at Quinnipiac University School of Law, said she and Perez have been working on the amendment to the Connecticut Practice Book for well over a year.

They argued in the proposed amendment that almost a half-century ago the U.S. Supreme Court found that a state could not constitutionally limit bar eligibility to U.S. citizens.

Connecticut now will soon join California, Florida, New York, Colorado, Pennsylvania and New Jersey in agreeing to take bar applications from DACA recipients.

Friends and family cheered Hayre and Perez as they left the courtroom where the committee not only approved the revision, but waived two procedures so it can be considered by all the Superior Court judges in mid-June and adopted when it is published within a month after that.

Hayre said approval by the judges is usually pro-forma once it has been recommended by the rules committee.

The usual 60-day notice was bypassed, as well implementing the change in January, which moved the issue with unusual speed.

There is a lot of criticism of the system bring slow. But I think when you get buy-in from the ground up and really talk to people about the issues, make them understand the human aspect of things, it shows that the state of Connecticut can come together, Hayre said.

The professor said the approval is in keeping with legislative action on behalf of DACA recipients brought here as children, who not only now pay in-state college tuition rates, but also qualify for state financial aid.

I feel that this movement is growing in strength and we are sort of defining ourselves in terms of these decisions as to who we are as a community, Hayre said. I think the movement behind this helped the judges see if we need to move mountains, we need to make this happen. Justice was on her side.

Hayre said she was proud of Connecticut as other states had taken two to three years to make this change and also went through protracted court battles.

As disappointed as we are with what is going on in the political system, it (the vote) suggests Connecticut is coming behind the idea that these are our kids and ... they deserve that we support them, she said.

It also made sense to allow them to make a living as lawyers after all the state support in educating them. Anything else, Hayre called irrational.

Perez, 28, was joined in the Supreme Court by other students and faculty from the school, as well as Jon Bauer, head of the Asylum and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Connecticut, and her family, who had attended her graduation from law school Sunday.

In his testimony, Bauer referenced a New York appellate court ruling which said a persons immigration status does not, alone, suggest that the applicant is not possessed of the qualities that enable attorneys to vigorously defend their clients interests within the bounds of the law, nor does it suggest that the applicant cannot protect ... the rule of law and the administration of justice.

Perez told the panel of Superior Court judges on the committee that she wanted the change so students like her could continue to contribute to this place we call home and be part of the profession.

Going forward, she said she wants to help change immigration policy.

As someone who likes rules and structure, it is important to have rules that make sense. A lot of our immigration rules dont make sense, Perez said.

She said the decision in Connecticut should give other immigrants hope especially in this horrible climate where immigrants are vilified and targeted. It is a really positive thing for young people to see even though there is all this uncertain and all this hate. There is a light and they should continue to work hard. Just persist.

Perez said she has gotten a two-year fellowship through the Immigrant Justice Corps, where she will do removal defense work in Brooklyn. Her host organization is Make the Road New York.

Perez had the support of some heavy hitters, including the deans of all three Connecticut law schools.

There were many twists and turns as she pursued courses toward a college education when she had saved enough money to do so in California. She graduated from San Francisco State University in 2012 and had a full scholarship to Quinnipiac.

Her parents now have green cards having been sponsored by their eldest son, while her other two brothers are also citizens, leaving her as the only undocumented member of her family.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com; 203-641-2577
Royal Wedding watch parties in New Orleans: Where to see it
North Augusta, SC (29841)

Today

Considerable cloudiness. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 78F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies. Low around 65F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph.
May 14, 2018

INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE: Meet the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshores fire crew and learn about their jobs and equipment at several national lakeshore locations this spring and summer. The programs will start at 11:00 am on the following Saturdays: May 19 at West Beach, June 16 at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center, July 14 at the Dunewood Campground, August 11 at the Paul H. Douglas Center, and September 8 at the Dunewood Campground.



Upon completion of this 30 minute, hands-on program, children will receive their very own Junior Wildland Firefighter activity book and a Junior Wildland Firefighter patch.



The Indiana Dunes Visitor Center is located at 1215 North State Road 49, about one mile north of Interstate 94. For more information on this or other programs at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, call 219-395-1882 or visit our website at www.nps.gov/indu and our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ IndianaDunesNL.



www.nps.gov



The Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is one of 417 units of the National Park System ranging from Yellowstone to the Statue of Liberty. Located in Northwest Indiana, the park includes 15 miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and 15,000 acres of biodiverse beaches, woods, prairies, and marshes. Up to 2 million visitors come to the Indiana Dunes each year.




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Whoops. O.K., O.K.  I once called you crusty,  Mr. Thompson wrote. But youve also been decent & honorable enough to resist the constant Lets You and Him fight kind of pressures that these swine are constantly putting on both of us.

Crusty or not, Mr. Wolfe seemed to some readers of his early books like a countercultural Virgil  one of the really free people, right there in the vortex of Wow-everythingness!, as one correspondent put it. In 1970 a young man wrote seeking advice on which commune to join; a young woman sent a postcard reporting that she had read parts of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, Mr. Wolfes rollicking 1968 account of Ken Keseys Merry Pranksters, to a toddler she was babysitting for. (She liked it, the woman wrote.)

But then came Radical Chic, Mr. Wolfes scathing account of a fund-raiser for the Black Panthers held in Leonard Bernsteins luxurious Park Avenue apartment. The article caused a firestorm when it first appeared in New York magazine in 1970. Suddenly, the author seemed to some less like a freewheeling guide to youth culture than a reactionary  Wolfe in White Clothing, as a tongue-in-cheek place card for another Park Avenue dinner party in the archive puts it.

The thick file of responses to the article and the subsequent book version include congratulatory notes from Mr. Talese (signed Don Corleone), Katharine Graham and Raymond Price, a special assistant to Richard M. Nixon. A writer from Marvel Comics wrote to ask whether Mr. Wolfe would be interested in collaborating on a comic book about a fictitious bunch of Radical Chic social leaders who align themselves with a militant (nonblack) group which turns out to be bent on world domination. (The result, surely one of the strangest cameos in comics history, shows the impeccably white-suited author taking notes as the Incredible Hulk works an Upper East Side drawing room.)

Others were far less amused. A woman with the surname Ortiz forwarded a note canceling her subscription to New York magazine, saying, We are not pet animals!

And while Barbara Walters wrote to thank him for portraying her with such accuracy, other guests who attended the party were scathing. One, signing her name only as Ash Blond (a reference to Mr. Wolfes description of her), sent a three-page blast defending the partys good intentions. If we all do not work hard for constructive change, she wrote, future events will make the Panthers look like an old-ladies tea party.

Mr. Bernsteins sister, Shirley, accused him of writing as if on order from Mssrs. Agnew and Hoover and, perhaps worse, bringing an uninvited tape recorder into a private party.
At this point in the art market, its hard not to get inured to the superlatives: the most valuable private collection sold at auction (the Rockefeller sale last week at Christies); the highest price ever paid for a painting ($450 million for Leonardo da Vincis Salvator Mundi in November at Christies) and what Sothebys had confirmed was the highest estimate ever placed on a work at auction: $150 million for Amedeo Modiglianis 1917 painting, Nu Couche (Sur Le Cote Gauche).

The Modigliani barely made it past that figure Monday evening at Sothebys, selling for $157.2 million with fees at a sale that otherwise featured what many agreed were B+ offerings.

You cannot find any more masterpieces, said the dealer David Nahmad, adding of Sothebys, Considering what they had, they did well.

Although it was the highest auction price ever for a work sold at Sothebys, equally noteworthy is that the painting also carried the highest guarantee ever given by the company. This meant that the auction house was willing to assure a minimum price to the owner, potentially risking millions. Sothebys was able to offload that risk to a third party, who became the buyer at the auction.
Yet all of those options have challenges. So heres a practical idea that should be considered more than just a thought experiment:

What if the big banks that have provided financing to Remington during its bankruptcy were to back  and partner with  one or more of the big private equity firms in an effort to transform the company into the most advanced and responsible gun manufacturer in the country?

After all, virtually all the banks have a social impact unit or at least an initiative meant to do good. And so do many private equity firms, like TPG and Bain Capital.

And they would not be out to kill the business; quite the opposite: They could create a profitable model for the rest of the industry using technology and sound sales policies to reinvent the modern-gun manufacturer.

A reimagined Remington with a new management and mandate could develop smart-gun technology. It could back fingerprint technology meant to prevent anyone who is not the guns owner from shooting it, a measure that could greatly reduce suicides and the potential for guns to be stolen. It could add an identity stamp to ammunition fired from any of its guns. It could also establish and standardize responsible sales policies for retailers to sell its firearms.

What would happen, for instance, if a consortium were to come together so that the banks offered the buyer a below-market loan, giving a socially responsible investor the advantage of a lower cost of capital? What would happen if one of the big retail chains like Walmart and Dicks  both of which have already established that they only want to sell guns in a responsible way  were to guarantee distribution, sales and marketing support?
A state appellate judge issued a temporary order on Monday blocking the New York Police Department from releasing video from officers body cameras to the public.

The order, by Justice Rosalyn H. Richter of the Appellate Division in Manhattan, had been sought by the Patrolmens Benevolent Association, the citys largest police union, which this month lost its lawsuit seeking to have the videos classified as personnel records that state law exempts from public disclosure without a court order. The order will remain in effect until a full panel of judges decides the unions appeal of that ruling.

The Police Departments current policy is to release some footage on a case-by-case basis at the commissioners discretion, and it has done so in three police-involved shootings. But critics of the policy, including city police unions and transparency advocates, say the decisions are politically motivated.

Each time the N.Y.P.D. illegally and arbitrarily releases body-worn camera footage, they are harming police officers safety, the publics right to privacy and the interests of justice in ways that cant be undone, Patrick J. Lynch, the president of the patrolmens union, said in a statement. The Legislature enacted laws limiting public disclosure of police officers personnel records to guard against exactly this scenario.
The district attorneys in Manhattan and Brooklyn are weighing plans to stop prosecuting the vast majority of people arrested on marijuana charges, potentially curbing the consequences of a law that in New York City is enforced most heavily against black and Hispanic people.

The Brooklyn district attorneys office, which in 2014 decided to stop prosecuting many low-level marijuana cases, is considering expanding its policy so that more people currently subject to arrest on marijuana charges, including those who smoke outside without creating a public nuisance, would not be prosecuted, one official familiar with the discussions said.

The Manhattan district attorneys office, which last year decided to lighten penalties for some marijuana offenders, would join its counterparts in Brooklyn and decline to prosecute the vast majority of low-level marijuana cases under the plan, with some exceptions for people with serious criminal histories, a second official said.

Those changes, if put into practice, would amount to a forceful disavowal by two high-profile prosecutors offices of criminal penalties for an offense that has been taken off the books in some states and that in New York City is enforced overwhelmingly against black and Hispanic people. The discussions have been prompted in part by concerns among prosecutors about the continuing racial gap in marijuana arrests.
And even when the Israelis uprooted settlements in Gaza in 2005, they did so without negotiating an agreement that would have empowered a more moderate Palestinian government. They acted to increase Israeli security in the short term while increasing Palestinian despair and the power of militant groups like Hamas. For years, Israeli governments have insisted they have no peace partner on the other side, while behaving in a way that perpetuates that reality. The possibility of peace has continued to recede, and Israels democratic character has continued to erode under the pressure of a long-term occupation of millions of Palestinians who lack sovereignty of their own.

Mr. Trump has repeatedly promised a grand peace plan without delivering, and he has now lent Americas weight to this maximalist Israeli strategy. For decades, the United States prided itself on mediating between Israel and the Palestinians. Successive administrations urged a peace formula in which the two parties would negotiate core issues  establishing boundaries between the two states; protecting Israels security; deciding how to deal with refugees who fled or were driven away after Israeli statehood in 1948; and deciding the future of Jerusalem, which was expected to become the shared capital of Israelis and Palestinians.

Mr. Trumps announcement that he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital, and moving the embassy from Tel Aviv, swept aside 70 years of American neutrality.

The ceremony on Monday marking the embassy opening could hardly have been more dismissive of Palestinians. It was timed to make the American bias clear, coming on the 70th anniversary of Israels independence in 1948  and the day before Palestinians observe Nakba, or Catastrophe, the expulsion of their ancestors from the newly formed Jewish state. The fact that Robert Jeffress, a Dallas pastor who has denigrated Jews, Mormons and Muslims, and the Rev. John Hagee, a megachurch televangelist who has claimed Hitler was descended from half-breed Jewsand was part of Gods plan to return Jews to Israel, had prominent roles in the ceremony should embarrass all who participated.
Across New York City, for example, the police arrested black people on low-level marijuana charges at eight times the rate of whites over the last three years, with Latino people arrested at five times the rate of whites. The race effect was especially clear in Brooklyn, where officers arrested people for marijuana possession in the Canarsie precinct, which is 85 percent black, at four times the rate of the precinct that includes Greenpoint, where only 4 percent of the residents are black, despite the communities producing marijuana complaints by telephone at the same rate.

A similar picture emerged in Queens, where the police precinct covering majority-black Queens Village had an arrest rate more than 10 times that of the precinct that serves Forest Hills, where blacks are a tiny portion of the population, even though the rate of complaints was the same.

These disparities are all the more indefensible because low-level marijuana arrests have no public safety benefit. A 2017 analysis by Harry Levine, a sociology professor at Queens College, debunked the oft-heard claim that petty marijuana arrests get serious offenders off the street, noting that 76 percent of those arrested for marijuana possession during the previous year had never been convicted of any crime.

But such arrests do immense damage to people who often have had no other contact with the criminal justice system. The charges are typically dismissed if the person stays out of trouble for a year, but over that period, having an open court record can get the person shut out of housing, job opportunities or entry into the armed services. In addition, people who journey to court to answer charges that the system intends to dismiss end up losing hundreds of dollars in wages.

Beyond that, the arrest disparities are strongly reminiscent of the ones that persuaded a Federal District Court judge to rule in 2013 that the citys stop-and-frisk practice violated the Constitution by illegally detaining and frisking minority citizens over a period of many years. If the city isnt careful, it could find itself hauled into court again  this time for marijuana arrests.
People who read this column know my political ideology: Im a Whig. If progressives generally believe in expanding government to enhance equality, and libertarians try to reduce government to expand freedom, Whigs seek to use limited but energetic government to enhance social mobility.

Back in the 19th century, during their heyday, Whigs promoted infrastructure projects, public education, public-private investments and character-building programs to create dynamic, capitalist communities in which poor boys and girls could rise and succeed.

Whigs admired people and places that are enterprising, emotionally balanced and spiritually ardent. They had a great historic run  inspired by Alexander Hamilton, led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster, embodied most brilliantly in the minds of Abraham Lincoln and the early Theodore Roosevelt.

And then the Whig tendency disappeared from American life.

Theres a promising effort called the Modern Whig Party trying to revive the movement, but until last week I was under the impression that there were basically only 24 of us left.
SAN DIEGO  The United States-Mexico border, as we know it today, began with a party: a three-day shindig in 1849 that was attended by the surveyors from both countries who worked together to establish and map the frontier.

When the surveyors work was done, they erected a marble marker overlooking a lonely beach on the Pacific Ocean. The first iron fence erected at the border in California was a cage to protect that monument from vandals.

The United States built the first truly formidable border barrier here in the 1990s. In March, President Trump traveled to the border to stand before eight prototypes of the wall he wants to build there.

But, a wall already exists all along the border. Mr. Trumps proposed big, beautiful barrier would be overkill, and little more than an act of political symbolism. It would be a taxpayer-funded work of colossal conservative conceptual art running across the North American continent. (In fact, in January, a nonprofit group circulated a petition to protect the prototypes from demolition, arguing that they should be characterized as a major Land Art exhibition of significant cultural value.) In the same way certain pretentious art drives practical-minded people crazy, the idea of this Pharaonic project infuriates people like me.
SEATTLE  After intense lobbying by local businesses and a bold threat by Amazon to curtail development in its hometown, the Seattle City Council on Monday approved a smaller and more limited tax on big companies than originally envisioned.



The new tax  dubbed the Amazon Tax by locals  will fund affordable housing and homeless services in a city whose economic boom, driven in no small part by Amazon, has priced many residents out of the area and forced some onto the streets.

Amazon, which halted two major expansion projects in Seattle in protest over the larger tax increase, said it was disappointed even with the smaller tax package, although the company said it would restart the planning process for one of its new buildings. It was still exploring the possibility of subleasing a second building that a developer is currently building.
In a Detroit neighborhood called Black Bottom, at the heart of a club district called Paradise Valley, a trumpeter called Blue runs a joint called Paradise, where he fronts a quartet whose sidemen include a drummer called P-Sam and a pianist called Corn.

The bassist has quit, perhaps because his name was just Joe.

Everything is overripe like that in Paradise Blue, the jazz noir play by Dominique Morisseau that opened on Sunday at the Signature Theater. The names are the least of it  though the two women involved in the mens lives go by Pumpkin and Silver, as if they were paint chips.

Pumpkin (Kristolyn Lloyd, late of Dear Evan Hansen) is Blues girlfriend and the clubs chatelaine: cleaning, cooking and starching the sheets for the musicians and boarders living upstairs. Shes a go-along gal, happy to serve her troubled man and his difficult art while repressing her own ambitions and talents.

But Silver (Simone Missick) represses nothing; she is a black widow (in both senses of the phrase) who shows up at the club one day in 1949 oozing erotic charisma like Kathleen Turner in Body Heat. Born in Louisiana, Silver arrives with every noir mystery womans attendant cliches: a lubricious walk, a wad of cash in the bosom of her complicated lingerie, a languorous way of lighting cigarettes  and a gun.
Instead of taking Jerusalem off the table, they have made Jerusalem the table.

AARON DAVID MILLER, a vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, on the diplomatic repercussions of the United States opening its embassy in Jerusalem.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration hit back on Monday against critics of President Trumps plan to reduce prescription drug prices, saying his ideas would be far more effective than remedies championed by Democrats.

Democrats have long supported two proposals that Mr. Trump endorsed during the 2016 presidential campaign. The government, they say, should directly negotiate with drug manufacturers to obtain lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. And consumers, they say, should be allowed to import pills from Canada and certain other developed countries where brand-name drugs often cost less.

In a speech on Monday, the secretary of health and human services dismissed those solutions, which Mr. Trump backed away from when he announced his plan on Friday, as quack remedies.

The only way that direct negotiation could possibly save money is by doing something this administration doesnt believe in: denying access to certain medicines for all Medicare beneficiaries through rationing, or setting prices for drugs by government fiat, said the secretary, Alex M. Azar II. We dont believe either of these proposals would put American patients first. They would move us toward the kind of socialized medicine systems that have such a notorious reputation for poor quality and access.
According to a senior White House official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal deliberations, this ethos is again behind the White Houses lack of an apology over the remark made by Kelly Sadler, a special assistant to the president, in a meeting last week.

In off-the-cuff comments that were quickly leaked to the news media, Ms. Sadler assessed Mr. McCains opposition to Mr. Trumps nominee for C.I.A. director: It doesnt matter, she said. Hes dying anyway.

Two other forces are driving the decision not to apologize, that official said: The first is that White House officials believe that the Obama administration apologized for the United States behavior on the world stage too often. And the second is a pervasive feeling of frustration among aides who fear their every word will be leaked to the news media. (An impassioned plea made last week by Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, to keep internal discussions private was leaked to the website Axios by five aides within hours.)

Anger over leaks starts with the president.

The so-called leaks coming out of the White House are a massive over exaggeration put out by the Fake News Media in order to make us look as bad as possible, Mr. Trump said on Twitter on Monday. With that being said, leakers are traitors and cowards, and we will find out who they are!

That anger trickles down. When he took to the podium to speak to reporters on Monday, Raj Shah, a deputy White House press secretary, reinforced the idea that the leaks coming from the White House were the main source of frustration internally, not the content of Ms. Sadlers remarks.

If you arent able, in internal meetings, to speak your mind or convey thoughts or say anything that you feel without feeling like your colleagues will betray you, Mr. Shah said, that creates a very difficult work environment. I think anybody who works anywhere can recognize that.

Mr. Shah added that he understood the focus on this issue, but declined to offer specifics that Ms. Sadlers remarks were being addressed internally. Ms. Sadler, who works in the communications office and focuses on immigration, is still at work and is sending emails to the staff as usual, according to a White House official.
PARIS  Beware that basket of limp crust put in front of you. Not all French bread is created equal. So sacred is the classic baguette that French law strictly codifies it, protects it and regulates it.

There are in fact few things more closely associated with France than the baguette, that long crusty stick that announces its nationality like no other bread.

So the mastering of that symbol of Frenchness by Mahmoud Mseddi, an immigrants son and this years winner of the Grand Prize for Best Parisian Baguette, is about more than great baking. At a moment when President Emmanuel Macron is taking a toughening line against immigration, Mr. Mseddis triumph challenges the very notion of what it means to be French.

Ask him whether there was any significance in the fact that his father arrived from Tunisia more than 30 years ago, and he will snort an indignant denial: Im French. This is my home.
Just days before one of the most anticipated weddings in years, Kensington Palace issued a statement on Monday asking for understanding and respect after a report that Meghan Markles father had decided to skip the ceremony and would not walk her down the aisle.

Ms. Markle, an American actress, will marry Prince Harry on Saturday at St. Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle at a ceremony that will be attended by celebrities and be covered by media outlets around the world.

But Ms. Markles father, Thomas Markle, will not attend, the celebrity news website TMZ reported on Monday  a revelation that has spurred a fresh round of gossip and speculation about who will take his place.

In a statement, released soon after TMZs report was published, a Kensington Palace spokesman appeared to acknowledge the reports existence but stopped short of confirming it.
JERUSALEM  Across the Gaza Strip on Monday morning, loudspeakers on minarets urged Palestinians to rush the fence bordering Israel, where they were met by army snipers. At least 60 were killed and thousands injured, local officials said  the worst day of carnage there since Israel invaded Gaza in 2014.

Hours later, a beaming Ivanka Trump helped unveil a stone marker etched with her fathers name on the new American Embassy in Jerusalem, keeping his campaign promise to officially acknowledge Jerusalem as Israels capital. An audience of 800 religious conservatives and right-wing politicians from both countries sang Hallelujah.

What a glorious day, exulted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The two scenes, only an hours drive apart, illustrated the chasm dividing Israelis and Palestinians more than at any moment in recent history.

[Read the latest updates on the protests in Gaza.]

For generations, both sides of the conflict have been locked in competing, mutually negating narratives, with only sporadic flickers of hope for peace despite the efforts of a long list of presidents and secretaries of state.
Bill Cosbys sentencing is set for September, five months after he was convicted of drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home near Philadelphia in 2004, according to a ruling Tuesday by the Pennsylvania judge who presided at Mr. Cosbys criminal trial.

Judge Steven T. ONeill of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas filed a written order scheduling the sentencing hearing for Sept. 24-25 in Norristown, Pa.

Mr. Cosby has been confined to his home outside Philadelphia since April 26, when a jury convicted him of three counts of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, who was a Temple University employee at the time of the assault in 2004. He has been fitted with a GPS monitor and Judge ONeill limited him to travel only within surrounding counties for medical reasons or to see his lawyers.

Mr. Cosby faces up to 10 years in prison for each of the three felonies, but Judge ONeill could decide that he serve any sentence concurrently.
In the second act of Mean Girls on Broadway, something oddly familiar happens. Damian, the almost too gay to function drama nerd, sings a song called Stop, advising other high school students against impulsive choices like trolling and tattoos. Then he sells his message with a big tap number, the only one in the show.

Whats familiar about this has nothing to do with the 2004 movie from which the musical is adapted. It is oddly familiar only if you notice its similarity to numbers in otherwise dissimilar shows. How dissimilar? How about SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, based on the popular cartoon, and Escape to Margaritaville, the laid-back musical made out of Jimmy Buffett songs?

All these shows, believe it or not, have tap numbers that resemble one another, above all in tone. The fact, for example, that Damian is tapping and inspiring others to tap is treated as at once absurd and worthy of an ovation. What could be more ridiculous? the number seems to say, while at the same time insisting, Isnt it fabulous?! This is a big tap number, in quotation marks, and a symptom of what tap has come to mean on Broadway.

At first, the trend might seem to be just another case of everybody imitating the popular kid. As Ben Brantley noted in his review of Mean Girls in The New York Times, Casey Nicholaw, who choreographed and directed the show, borrows in Stop from the 2011 megahit The Book of Mormon. So, it seems, do the choreographers of SpongeBob (Christopher Gattelli) and Margaritaville (Kelly Devine).
After watching seven specials meant to illuminate and revel in the impending nuptials of Prince Harry and the actress Meghan Markle, I can offer a variety of knowledge and wisdom to those who seek it. For starters, avoid all of these shows. They are repetitive and absent of meaningful insight. I gleaned only one fact that had any emotional effect on me whatsoever: The flavor of the royal wedding cake will be lemon elderflower. Heartbreaking.

Kensington Palace actually tweeted this detail in March  it escaped my notice until I saw it in Inside the Royal Wedding: Harry and Meghan, debuting Wednesday on NBC. It is probably the classiest and most informative of the specials, but not all that classy or informative, strictly speaking. In a scene meant to convey insider bona fides, one of Ms. Markles friends, the actress Janina Gavankar, holds up her phone to show off a selfie of the two of them. Except the Google URL is plainly visible; Ms. Gavankar has image-searched the photo that would ostensibly be on her own phone. This is the inside scoop? I have Google, too.

But still, it was more enlightening than When Harry Met Meghan: A Royal Engagement (TLC); Meghan Markle: American Princess (CBS); Prince Harrys Story: Four Royal Weddings (NatGeo); Meghan Markle: An American Princess (Fox); Harry and Meghan: A Very Modern Romance (BBC America); and Lifetimes fictionalized film version, Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance. (These shows already debuted on television but are available to stream on network sites and elsewhere.)
A long-running internal conflict on the set of Foxs Lethal Weapon spilled out into the open this week, as one star got replaced and another tweeted out his side of the story.

Reports of a rift between Damon Wayans, who plays Roger Murtaugh in the TV adaptation of the classic buddy cop film, and Clayne Crawford, cast as Martin Riggs, had circulated for weeks, casting doubt on whether the show would return for a third season.

It will, but Mr. Crawford will not. Warner Bros. Television, the producing studio, and Fox announced Sunday that the actor was being replaced with Seann William Scott (Goon, American Pie).

Our partners at Warner Bros. came to us about three weeks ago to tell us that they could not deliver Lethal Weapon as weve known it, that there were some real challenges in the cast, Dana Walden, the head of 20th Century Fox Television, said Monday at the networks upfront presentation, according to TVLine. The upfronts detail a networks coming season for ad buyers.
Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous nights highlights that lets you sleep  and lets us get paid to watch comedy. If youre interested in hearing from The Times regularly about great TV, sign up for our Watching newsletter and get recommendations straight to your inbox.

Build the Ramp!

Stephen Colbert has said at various points throughout the Trump presidency that he cant believe hes still surprised. But on Monday, he found himself stunned by some of the tweets President Trump had sent out over the weekend. In one, Trump decried a loss of jobs  in China, not the United States.
A new documentary captures Steven Tylers transition from Aerosmith frontman to country solo artist. And New Girl wraps up its seven-season run.

Whats Streaming

STEVEN TYLER: OUT ON A LIMB (2018) on iTunes, Amazon, FandangoNOW, Google Play and Vudu. Named after Steven Tylers 2016 tour promoting his album Were All Somebody From Somewhere, this documentary follows that rocker as he embarks on a solo career and finds a new country-music sound after decades of leading Aerosmith. The film arrives a month before Mr. Tyler begins a summer tour with the Nashville-based Loving Mary Band.

42ND STREET (1933) on iTunes, Amazon, FilmStruck, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube. Adapted from Bradford Ropess novel of the same name, 42nd Street traces the creation of a musical that faces one hiccup after another. Julian (Warner Baxter), a Broadway director, wants to deliver his final hit before retiring. But when his lead actress fractures her ankle before opening night, Julian entrusts the fate of the production to her replacement, the starry-eyed newcomer Peggy (Ruby Keeler), who goes on to steal the show. Despite opening when audiences were growing tired of the musical genre, this Oscar-nominated film broke new ground with its elaborate dance numbers and innovative film techniques. It went on to become a classic and inspired a Tony-winning musical in 1980.
Though there are many histories of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this is perhaps the most up-to-date, and our reviewer wrote that Black has a gift for summary and synopsizes events in sharp, fast paragraphs filled with vivid detail. He covers the major milestones in the decades-long conflict, including the Six-Day War of 1967 and the first and second Intifadas  Palestinian uprisings against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Black presents a balanced account, relating, for instance, that historically, some Israeli leaders have been empathetic to the Palestinian opposition or the ways in which Palestinian leaders have harmed their cause.

Image

JERUSALEM

City of Mirrors

By Amos Elon

286 pp. Little, Brown & Company. (1989)

This is a biography of the city that, at the time of Elons writing, as well as today, was emblematic of the ongoing conflict. But, Elon writes, in the early days of the Jewish state, its founding fathers were disinterested in Jerusalem; Israels first president said, I would not take the Old City [even] as a gift. Elon presents Jerusalem as one enmeshed in its own myth and for which there have always been simultaneously held conflicting images. Despite Elons use of metaphor in describing the city, however, our reviewer wrote that he never feigns indifference to the realities of today, and realistically explores the effect that violence and cultural resentments have had on the daily lives of its residents.

Image

PALESTINIAN WALKS

Notes on a Vanishing Landscape

By Raja Shehadeh

240 pp. Scribner. (2008)

In this book, Shehadeh, a Palestinian lawyer and human rights activist, documents his walks in the West Bank. He structures the chapters around six hikes taken between 1978 and 2006, and captures how the conflict in the region has affected both the landscape and his ability to move freely through the land. During one outing with his 10-year-old nephew, the child picks up an unexploded missile; on another, he and his wife come under prolonged gunfire. Shehadeh won Britains Orwell Prize for this work.
1. In a sudden move, North Korea pulled out of high-level talks with South Korea  and warned that Kim Jong-uns meeting with President Trump next month could be in jeopardy.

The North was protesting a joint South Korean-U.S. Air Force drill, and informed the South of the decision in a phone call shortly after midnight local time. The news injected sudden tension and uncertainty into what had been months of warming relations on the Korean Peninsula. Above, Mr. Kim, left, with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea last month.

The State Department said the U.S. had no information about the postponement and would move forward with its planning for the historic meeting. Check back for updates on this developing story.
Eddie C. Brown, the founder and chief executive of Brown Capital Management, has watched the neighborhood evolve.

Mr. Brown arrived in Baltimore 1973 to work for T. Rowe Price. Ten years later, he founded his investment management firm and moved it to refurbished office space in Mount Vernon. His firm has since expanded to several adjacent buildings.

When a city-owned former mansion in Mount Vernon caught his eye, Mr. Brown decided to expand his portfolio. The quality and history of these buildings is just incredible, he said.

Three years ago, he opened the Ivy Hotel, where rooms can cost $600 a night, with a spa and the upscale Magdalena restaurant.

Another entrepreneur, Dennis Richter, immigrated to Mount Vernon with his mother from Germany in 1987 when he was 14. After spending the past decade buying small properties and turning them into apartments and a coworking space, he is planning a $40 million mixed-use development. His project would add about 120 apartments and about 15,000 square feet of commercial space in the heart of Mount Vernon.
Negotiations between the two companies soon hit an impasse over both the price of a deal and who would run the combined company. CBS has wanted Leslie Moonves, its chief executive, to run the combined company and his chief operating officer, Joe Ianniello, to hold that position at the new firm. Viacom has pressed for its C.E.O., Bob Bakish, to hold that spot, and Ms. Redstone had largely sided with Viacom.

On Sunday, CBSs special committee determined that a deal with Viacom was not in the best interests of CBSs shareholders.

CBS said it filed the lawsuit because it was worried Ms. Redstone would block a meeting of the special committee taking place on Thursday. At the meeting, the committee is set to consider issuing a special dividend to all shareholders that would neutralize Ms. Redstones special voting powers. While National Amusements owns just over 10 percent of CBSs overall shares, Ms. Redstone and her family effectively have just under 80 percent of the companys voting power. The special dividend would lower Ms. Redstones voting interest to about 17 percent.

The lawsuit was pre-emptive, CBS said, because Ms. Redstone had considered replacing CBSs board if it continued to resist a merger with Viacom. In a statement, National Amusements denied it had any intention of replacing the CBS board or forcing a deal that was not supported by both companies.

National Amusement also said that CBS and Viacom had even reached a provisional agreement on valuation. Viacoms investors would receive 0.6135 CBS shares for each Viacom share they own, according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the negotiations. The valuation marked a compromise for both sides and is a sign that CBS had previously supported exploring a merger of the two companies.
The Second Circuit pointed out that residential mortgage-backed securities are marketed to large, sophisticated financial institutions, which use computer models to value the securities. Each side knows the types of mortgages backing the securities and can assess the future returns based on the value of the mortgages. No one is getting taken for a ride in the negotiations, so what a trader might say about the purchase price should not affect the underlying valuation, the judges said. Unlike the first appeal, this time the appeals court seemed to be saying that lies in this area did not really matter.

The Second Circuit found that Jeffries and its customers did not owe each other any obligation to disclose their true positions, so the buyer (or seller) should not rely on what the opposing party says about the value of the asset. As in any negotiation, when the other side says this is my best offer, you dont always believe that to be true.

The decision sends a strong message to federal prosecutors that Mr. Litvaks case should not be tried a third time. When two sides are negotiating a deal, and they have equal access to information, then what one side says  or misstates  about value may not be enough to prove fraud.

Mr. Demos also was accused of misleading investors about what his firm had paid for residential mortgage-backed securities it was selling. The jurys decision to acquit him sent an even stronger message that those who deal in these securities have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

In most cases, jurors accept the governments argument that a misstatement is enough to prove a fraud, but here they found there was insufficient evidence of an impact on the transaction. That does not bode well for future cases trying to hold defendants liable when sophisticated parties are involved in the transaction.

So do parties in a negotiation get a free pass on what they say, even if it is not the truth? An April 2016 decision by the federal appeals court in Chicago in United States v. Weimert answered that question in the affirmative. The court overturned the conviction of David Weimert for wire fraud for misleading both sides in a real estate transaction. The judges pointed out that in a negotiation the two sides will often try to mislead the other party about the prices and terms they are willing to accept. Such deceptions are not criminal.

The decisions have left the Justice Departments effort to crack down on misstatements among sophisticated investors teetering.
Theres something almost eerie about the unwavering nature of the Republican system of belief.

The nationalists who propelled President Trump into office may appear locked in an existential battle with the partys pro-trade globalists. In truth, the Republican Party is still driven by the two propositions that have guided it for decades: cutting government aid will free poor Americans to shake dependency and get ahead, and cutting taxes on the well-to-do will bring prosperity to all.

In December, Republicans dusted off the old trickle-down slogans to justify a nearly $2 trillion tax cut, blithely ignoring a virtual consensus among economists and glossing over a 40-year body of evidence that the only people who benefit from tax cuts for the rich are, well, the rich.

Now, the party is moving on to the government-aid part of the canon. In January, the Trump administration freed states to demand that Medicaid beneficiaries get a job, a move likely to bump hundreds of thousands of poor Americans off their health insurance.

It was just the beginning. As early as this week, Republicans in the House could vote for a new farm bill that would impose work requirements for recipients of food stamps, dropping maybe two million Americans from the program, according to the liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, and cutting benefits by $23 billion over 10 years, according to government estimates.
A Gap T-shirt showing a map of China that omitted territory the country claims as its own has prompted a strong apology from the retailer, the latest in a string of mea culpas from businesses wary of offending the Chinese government.

Chinese social media users on Monday posted photos of the shirt, which did not include Taiwan, parts of Tibet and islands in the South China Sea that, in Beijings view, belong to China. Within hours, Gap posted a statement on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo in which it said it was extremely sorry for the shirts erroneous design.

Gap, which is based in San Francisco, called the shirt an unintentional mistake that had been marketed in select overseas markets and said that it respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of China. The retailer, which opened its first store in China in 2010 and now has more than 300 stores in Asia, said that the garment was pulled from shelves and that related products in the Chinese market were destroyed.

Photos of the shirt that circulated on Weibo had been taken at an outlet store in Canada, according to the accompanying post. Gap, in its apology, said it was investigating what went wrong with the shirt and thanked customers and the government for their attention and support.
In a joint statement, a Fox News spokeswoman and Douglas H. Wigdor, a lawyer for the employees involved, said, The parties have reached mutual agreements that resolve various cases involving former Fox News employees.

Mr. Wright informed Fox News on Tuesday of his desire to pursue new opportunities, the network and Mr. Wigdor said in statements. In the statements, the network thanked Mr. Wright for his contributions over the years; and Mr. Wright thanked Fox News and wishes it well as he moves forward to the next phase of his career.

The agreement represents a push by Fox News and 21st Century Fox to move past the negative attention drawn by scandals  including sexual harassment claims  that led to sweeping changes at the top of the network: the ousting of the networks founding chairman, Roger Ailes; Bill OReilly, the top-rated host on cable news; and several other employees. The controversy also prompted a criminal investigation into Fox Newss handling of sexual harassment complaints.

The drama burst into public view in July 2016, when the former anchor Gretchen Carlson sued Mr. Ailes for sexual harassment. After Mr. Ailes was forced out of the network and Ms. Carlson received a $20 million settlement, several other employees came forward with sexual harassment and gender and racial discrimination claims. Some disputes were settled confidentially, while others became public lawsuits, leading to a steady drumbeat of negative headlines and mounting legal costs. By the end of last June, 21st Century Fox had incurred about $50 million in costs in the previous year that were tied to the settlement of sexual harassment and discrimination allegations at Fox News.

Several of the lawsuits were handled by Mr. Wigdor, a self-described conservative Republican who has said that he was at war with Fox News. Mr. Wigdor has been a vocal critic of what he described as a systemic culture of discrimination at Fox News, frequently speaking to the media and even testifying before the British regulators reviewing 21st Century Foxs $15 billion bid for Sky, the European satellite giant. (Mr. Wigdors firm also represented clients in a racial discrimination suit against The New York Times.)
Shell does not plan to stop selling oil and gas anytime soon. So to reach its goals, it needs ways of delivering cleaner energy products that will dilute the overall emissions from those fossil fuels. For a company as sprawling as Shell, which is Europes largest company, that can take many forms: having electric charging points and hydrogen, a clean fuel, available at its filling stations, and generating large amounts of green power from wind and solar installations to sell to industrial customers.

Still, some environmentalists and investors are skeptical about Shells intentions, noting that the $2 billion a year that it proposes to invest in new energies is still relatively small.

Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, a Dutch shareholder activist group, said that accepting responsibility for the emissions of its products was an industry-leading move by Shell. But he added that the plan that Mr. van Beurden had outlined, which would allow oil and gas production to grow, was not enough given the dangers of global warming.

For Shells annual meeting on May 22, Follow This has proposed a resolution asking the company to set specific targets for meeting the Paris goals on climate change. Aegon, a large Dutch insurer, and Actiam, a fund manager, have already said they would support the resolution. Last year, a similar Follow This proposal won a small but notable 6 percent of the vote.

On April 16, Shell directors advised shareholders to reject the proposal, saying that it might tie the hands of management to a rigid standard and that Shells efforts in the area were already more progressive than what Follow This was advocating.

Critics, though, continue to say Shell is overly wedded to fossil fuels.

At the moment, the scale between their oil and gas business and their alternative energy business is still pretty disproportionate, said Charlie Kronick, a senior adviser for Greenpeace in Britain. You cant really have it both ways.
The state is still finalizing its climate strategy. In October, Gov. Bill Walker, a former Republican who won election as an independent in 2014, created a task force headed by Lieutenant Governor Mallott that would propose specific policies to reduce emissions and help the state adapt to the impacts of global warming. The recommendations are due by September.

In addressing climate change, Alaska will have to grapple with its own deep contradictions. Roughly 85 percent of the states budget is funded by revenues from the production of oil, which is primarily exported to the rest of the United States, and local politicians have largely been unwilling to curtail the supply of fossil fuels. Both Governor Walker and Lieutenant Governor Mallott supported the recent decision by Congress to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, a move opposed by environmentalists.

The state will continue to be an energy producer for as long as there is a market for fossil fuels, the men wrote in a recent op-ed for the Juneau Empire. But, they added, We should not use our role as an energy producer to justify inaction or complacency in our response to the complex challenge of climate change.

To that end, the states climate task force released a draft in April that included a proposal for Alaska to get 50 percent of its electricity from renewable sources like solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal by 2025, up from 33 percent in 2016. The draft also proposed cutting statewide greenhouse gas emissions one-third below 2005 levels by 2025, tackling sectors like transportation and natural resource development, which includes oil drilling operations.
All procrastibakers do not bake alike.

Procrastibaking  the practice of baking something completely unnecessary, with the intention of avoiding real work  is a surprisingly common habit that has only recently acquired a name. Medical students, romance writers, freelance web designers: Almost anyone who works at home and has a cookie sheet in the cupboard can try it.

I started procrastibaking in college as a way to feel productive while also avoiding my schoolwork, said Wesley Straton, a graduate student in Brooklyn. Baking feels like a low-stakes artistic outlet.

Some procrastibakers like to make long, slow recipes that break up the entire day, returning to their spreadsheets or study guides in between steps like proofing, chilling and rising. Those who use baking as a transition into a creative state of mind are more likely to stir up a quick banana bread or pan of brownies.
One upshot of this unlikely overlap is that the space under my desk doubles as a library, for books sent to me by aspiring Op-Ed writers, and a liquor cabinet, for samples sent to my work address. (Contrary to the old saw about the booze-soaked deadline, they stay under there, usually.)

Another is the inevitable question: How exactly do you become a spirits writer, anyway?

A great thing about being a journalist is getting paid to write about your passion. For me, the passion came first.

In the early 2000s, long before I was writing about it, I was exploring the craft spirits scene, which was still in its geeky, below-the-radar infancy.

I was also getting to know Americas whiskey heartland. My brother and I grew up in Nashville, and when we were back home we would take trips up into Kentucky, where our dads family has lived since before statehood, poking around the distilleries and whiskey bars of Bardstown and Lexington.

A few years later I was doing some freelance writing for The Atlantic, mostly about politics and culture. One day my editor, Corby Kummer  who, in addition to helping run the magazine, is one of the countrys great food writers  got to talking about whiskey, and he encouraged me to contribute a few pieces about Americas emerging craft spirits scene. When I moved to The Times, I started to do the same for my editor here, Patrick Farrell.
CANNES, France  Anyone from Oscar-worthy actresses to stargazing fans can call the Cannes Film Festivals new sexual harassment hotline, where three women are on hand to field calls until 2 a.m. each day.

Tote bags come with fliers warning that misconduct can lead to prison or a hefty fine. Lets not ruin the party, the handouts say in French. Stop harassment!

The main jury has more women than men and is led by the Australian actress Cate Blanchett. And on Saturday, 82 women  one for every female-directed film ever selected to compete for the main prize, or less than 5 percent of the total  took over the red carpet for a rally.

Women are not a minority in the world, yet the current state of our industry says otherwise, Ms. Blanchett told the crowd in a message that was read out in French by the filmmaker Agnes Varda. Standing on the festivals carpeted staircase, lined with photographers and camera crews, Ms. Blanchett added, Ladies, lets climb!
CANNES, France  The filmmaker Spike Lee railed against President Donald J. Trump at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, using a volley of expletives to accuse him of exacerbating racial tensions. He spoke at the news conference for his movie BlacKkKlansman, which had its world premiere on Monday.

Based on the true story of an African-American police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s, BlacKkKlansman ends with images of the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., last August, where the 32-year-old counterprotester Heather D. Heyer was killed. This sequence is included in the movie even though the Charlottesville episode happened after the director had finished shooting.

In opening remarks packed with expletives, Mr. Lee told reporters that after the killing in Charlottesville, Mr. Trump was given a chance to say we are about love and not hate. He could have told the world that we were better than that, Mr. Lee added.

Instead, Mr. Lee said, the president did nothing to denounce the alt-right movement and far-right groups.
Getting the needling nature of such a maneuver may require a little context: In July 2013, Mr. Cuomo, faced with a barrage of corruption charges and convictions in the Capitol, proposed a Moreland Commission to probe systemic corruption and the appearance of such corruption in state government, political campaigns and elections in New York State.

It did not work out that way: The following spring, Mr. Cuomo abruptly shut down the commission at the tail end of budget negotiations, saying the Legislature had passed the ethics proposals he had wanted.

Government watchdogs were furious, and federal prosecutors  including the United States attorney at the time, Preet Bharara  were troubled, even more so when an investigation by The New York Times revealed that Mr. Cuomo had interfered in the workings of the commission. It was not until early 2016 that Mr. Bharara said Mr. Cuomo would not face federal charges over his handling of the commission, but the political and public relations damage to the governor had already been done.

The strategy of attacking an incumbents missteps is a political staple as old as Monday night fund-raisers, and carries with it a certain risk for Ms. Nixon: While she has proved adept at goading Mr. Cuomo  just last week, she basically taunted the governor, Whats it going to be, Andrew? while calling for a one-on-one debate  she risks being seen primarily as an antagonist, rather than a progressive leader of her own making.

In the coming months, Ms. Nixon needs to convince voters that she can manage the unwieldy state government, its forest of official policies and its labyrinthine legal framework. (Her announcement on Moreland contains two legal citations about the powers vested in such a commission, which date from 1907.)
As his career progressed, he expanded his instrumentation, sometimes modifying conventional instruments to suit his needs. In his Symphony No. 3 (Gloria, 1983), he affixed electric guitar pickups to harpsichords so he could both amplify and modify the instruments delicate, plucked sound. In his Fourth Symphony (Physics, 1984), he modified a piano, adding a movable bar that could glide over the strings to change their pitches. His Fifth Symphony (Describing Planes of an Extended Hypersphere, 1984) called for mallet guitars, played percussively.

What I most respect about Glenn Branca is that hes an absolute original, the composer Steve Reich told The Times in 1995. There are very few people who put a clearly defined stamp on their music  but right when you walk in, you know thats Branca.

Glenn Gilbert Branca was born in Harrisburg, Pa., on Oct. 6, 1948, and began playing guitar when he was 15. His main musical interest at that point was rock, and he formed his first band, the Crystal Ship, while a student at York College in Pennsylvania in 1967. More than music, though, Mr. Branca was interested in theater, which he later studied at Emerson College in Boston.

While in Boston, he helped start the Bastard Theater, an experimental troupe for which he wrote plays  usually, he later said, without characters or plot  as well as directing and creating tape collages to be used as incidental music.

He also worked in a record store, where, he said, he listened to virtually every album in stock. Along the way he fell in love with the Mahler symphonies, the Beethoven piano sonatas and works by Varese, Messiaen and John Cage, as well jazz musicians like Miles Davis and New York punk-rockers like Patti Smith, the Ramones and Television.

Soon after moving to New York, in 1976, Mr. Branca joined forces with Jeff Lohn, a classically trained guitarist who was more interested in experimental music than pop; they formed the Static and, shortly thereafter, Theoretical Girls. Both groups became leaders of the so-called No Wave movement, adopting punks noise but discarding conventional song forms.
What does it take to intern half a million members of one ethnic group in just a year? Enormous resources and elaborate organization, but the Chinese authorities arent stingy. Vast swathes of the Uighur population in Chinas western region of Xinjiang  as well as Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and other ethnic minorities  are being detained to undergo what the state calls transformation through education. Many tens of thousands of them have been locked up in new thought-control camps with barbed wire, bombproof surfaces, reinforced doors and guard rooms.

The Chinese authorities are cagey and evasive, if not downright dismissive, about reports concerning such camps. But now they will have to explain away their own eloquent trail of evidence: an online public bidding system set up by the government inviting tenders from contractors to help build and run the camps.

Uighurs have more in common, culturally and linguistically, with Turks than Han Chinese, and many Uighurs are Muslim. Resentful of Chinas heavy-handed rule in the region, some have resisted it, usually through peaceful means, but on occasion violently, by attacking government officials and, exceptionally, civilians. The state, for its part, fuels Islamophobia by labeling ordinary Muslim traditions as the manifestation of religious extremism.

Over the last decade, the Xinjiang authorities have accelerated policies to reshape Uighurs habits  even, the state says, their thoughts. Local governments organize public ceremonies and signings asking ethnic minorities to pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party; they hold mandatory re-education courses and forced dance performances, because some forms of Islam forbid dance. In some neighborhoods, security organs carry out regular assessments of the risk posed by residents: Uighurs get a 10 percent deduction on their score for ethnicity alone and lose another 10 percent if they pray daily.
Like so many other black men in the United States, Eric Garner has been denied justice even in death.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is considering, but is expected to reject, federal civil rights charges against Daniel Pantaleo, the police officer whose use of a chokehold on Mr. Garner led to his death on a Staten Island street in 2014.

A state grand jury declined to indict Officer Pantaleo on homicide charges in 2014. Obama Justice Department officials sat on the case for nearly a year, as civil rights prosecutors in Washington feuded with federal prosecutors in New York who didnt think the evidence was strong enough. The Justice Department asked the city to delay police disciplinary proceedings while it was considering the matter. The case landed on Mr. Rosensteins desk in recent weeks when civil rights prosecutors recommended bringing charges over the objections of the prosecutors in New York.

Hope for any justice probably lies in Mayor Bill de Blasio and his police commissioner, James ONeill, doing what should have been done years ago: firing Officer Pantaleo.

But the bigger question is why, given his record, Officer Pantaleo was on the street the day he wrapped his arm around Mr. Garners throat, and why New York police officers so often avoid real discipline for wrongdoing.
President Trumps decision to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement is likely to add fuel to the fires of sectarianism in the Middle East.

From the cataclysmic wars in Syria and Yemen to the volatile assemblages of Iraq and Lebanon, Sunni-Shiite relations are at a breaking point. But the cause of this spike in tensions is recent, not ancient. It is rooted in politics, not piety.

To stop it from aggravating, we need a clearer understanding of the forces driving sectarian conflict. The Saudi-Iranian regional rivalry is central to it, and the Trump administration  in both its rhetoric and its policies  is aggravating rather than ameliorating it.

Saudi Arabia and Israel had aggressively discouraged the Obama administration from pursuing the Iran nuclear deal. The Saudis were thrilled when Mr. Trump  who attacked the Iran deal during his campaign  was elected. Last May, during his visit to Riyadh, Mr. Trump echoed the Saudi view that Iran alone was to blame for all of the regions troubles and must be stopped at any cost.
Bret Stephens: Hallo from Berlin, Gail. The weathers perfect, the cabdrivers are friendly and you could eat off the floor of the train station (and probably not regret it). Just like New York City.

Ive been thinking a lot about John McCain. His political hero, Teddy Roosevelt, believed the good life should be lived in the arena, and even now he seems to be living that creed to its fullest. Hes still a force in the Senate, he has a new book and hes planning his own funeral (like his other hero, Winston Churchill). The president is not invited. Your thoughts?

Gail Collins: Ive been thinking about the first time McCain ran for president in 2000.

It was the absolute best political event I ever covered. Not sure it was entirely a race, since he was up in New Hampshire for months and months all by himself, just going to town meetings and talking about campaign-finance reform.

Bret: The best political hour and the most tedious political subject. Go on.

Gail: It was what everybody imagines an underdog campaign would be like  a few reporters and the candidate, driving around in a bus, telling jokes, talking about issues, and of course arguing about where to eat dinner that night. But it was also a crusade  McCain thought if you reformed the way politicians raised money to run for office you could change the world.
And Ms. Markles mother, Doria Ragland, will not be the first royal mother-in-law to have worked as a flight attendant. The Duchess of Cambridges mother, Carole Middleton, was also a flight attendant  reportedly given the nickname of Doors to Manual by rude young aristocrats. If Ms. Ragland is ever called the same, she and Carole Middleton can commiserate with each other and, ideally, fight back with shoes.

In fact, be proud of your daughters career. Ms. Markle is not the first television actress to join the royal family, though with Suits, she is the most successful one. Queen Elizabeth IIss cousin Lord Frederick Windsor married Sophie Winkleman, who portrayed a waitress/actress called Big Suze in a British television comedy called Peep Show. And the queens grandson Peter Phillips is married to Autumn Kelly, who played something called Tigrette No. 3 in a 1995 movie called Rainbow, which I have not seen.
CBC Radio One, 89.3-FM, 990-AM. Nice to hear the kids on the first day back to school Day 2 on the cycle in the Winnipeg downtown. Its nine degrees. At the airport its just two. [singing] O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. All right. Good morning, everyone. E.A.L. and learning how to speak and practice English is a big part of why youre here. And so its the first day of school. Sometimes its a little bit challenging. No. Oh my God. Hi. Welcome. Come on in. How are you? Good. Come on in. Well, I think what Id like to do to get started is to give you a little questionnaire to fill out. The first question says, Do you have brothers or sisters and if so, how many? Do you want a break? O.K. Do you want to take a break and try again? Looks good. So are you going to start stretching more at home? I will try. Yeah? Because its better if you do it every day, right? Mm. One. O.K. Hi. My name is Sara. My [inaudible] number is 85002. Ill be your interpreter. How may I assist you? Im treating Suleimans son for physiotherapy, and I was wondering if youd be able to interpret a question that he has for me. Yeah, sure. What are the chances that the leg is going to get longer? So is there like a hope that maybe 10%, 50% of the leg would get longer? I dont think so. The orthopedic surgeon would be a better person to ask about the long-term bone growth. Thank you very much to the interpreter and to you. [school bell ringing] Good afternoon [inaudible]. All students should be in their afternoon classes. Mustafa al [inaudible]. Not here yet. Ibraheem? Ibraheem? Ibraheem, yes. Ibraheem. What is the word we would use to describe big countries? Huge? How do we measure big? I dont know, America. Theres a word called area. Do you know what area is? Yeah. So area is a measurement of size. So when we talk about Canada being big, theres a lot of area, a lot of space. But there is no people. In Canada. Only 30 millions, yeah. So were the second biggest country in the world. Shouldnt that mean that were the second most populated? What words do you know to describe family? If you just raise your hand and tell me. Yes? Like a tree. So like a tree. You can work on this, Ibraheem, 10 things about your family. O.K.? If thats too hard, and I understand that that might be, you can just leave this alone. O.K.?
By contrast, Trumps team is made up of maximalists. They want to limit Irans ballistic missile program, reverse its imperialistic reach into the Sunni Arab world, require Iran to accept terms that would ensure it could never ever enrich enough uranium for a nuclear bomb, and, if possible, induce regime change in Tehran.

But Trump has left many key questions unanswered: Who is going to take over in Tehran if the current Islamic regime collapses? One thing we have learned from the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled their leaders is that in almost every country the alternative to autocracy turned out not to be democracy, but disorder or military dictatorship. If Iran, a country of 80 million people, was to go the way of Syria, it would destabilize the entire Middle East, and refugees would pour into Europe.

It is true that Iran has projected its power deep into the Arab world. But that was not because of money it got from the nuclear deal and sanctions relief, as argued by Trump & friends. It was because of the weakness of the Sunni Arab states and their internecine fighting, which created power vacuums that Iran has filled with its network of Shiite proxies. Thats how Iran today has managed to indirectly control four Arab capitals: Beirut, Baghdad, Damascus and Sana.

Is Trump going to use U.S. forces to push Iran back? No. Does he have Arab forces to do so? No. And now, does he have European allies to do so? No. So how exactly is this Iranian tide going to be reversed?

To his credit, Trump has drawn attention to Iranian misbehavior in ways the Europeans never have. Israel gets censured for implanting settlements deep into the West Bank. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates get censured for contributing to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen. But the Iranians have gotten away with murder, mass murder, at home and abroad  with virtually no censure.

Irans clerical regime has stifled one of the great civilizations, preventing so many of Irans youth from realizing their full potential, and mercilessly jailing and killing the regimes opponents. In Syria, Irans special forces and its mercenary recruits  Hezbollah militiamen from Lebanon and Shiite hired guns from Central Asia  have helped President Bashar al-Assad perpetrate a ruthless genocide against Syrian Sunnis, including the use of poison gas, in order to maintain a pro-Shiite, pro-Iranian dictatorship in Damascus. Millions of Syrians have been made refugees with Irans help.

A column last month in the Lebanese daily Al-Nahar, titled Hizbullah Resettling in Syria, by Ahmad Ayyash detailed exactly how Iran, with the help of Hezbollah, has engaged in ethnic cleansing in Syria: The aim  is changing the demography of Syria by settling Iranian-backed Shiite militiamen from Afghanistan, Lebanon and other countries in the region  to fill the demographic vacuum left by the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who have fled their civil war.
AMHERST, Mass.  In their efforts to escape authoritarianism, Venezuelans have run out of options. The opposition has tried everything on the books to restore democracy. Nothing has worked. The regime has become more authoritarian with every passing day.

But on May 20, Venezuelans will have another chance. The government is allowing a presidential election to take place. Some in the opposition are calling for abstention. This is understandable but wasteful. By failing to vote, the opposition will waste the only chance in years to break this dictatorship.

The call for abstention is based on an accepted fact: The election is a sham. Everyone knows this. The rules, if one could even speak of rules in this kleptocracy, are indecently stacked in favor of the incumbent, President Nicolas Maduro.

Under normal circumstances, the dignified thing to do on May 20 would be to stay home. But these are not normal circumstances. Venezuelans do not really face a choice when it comes to containing the regime, because choice assumes that there are alternatives. There is nothing, at this point, that can stop Mr. Maduros authoritarianism.
CHICAGO  What makes people leave the gang life for good?

The conventional wisdom is that a young man who is part of the gang life in a violent community, standing on a corner, perhaps selling drugs, does so out of choice. On the corner he makes money. Hes respected and feared. A minimum-wage job picking up trash in the park? Thats for chumps and losers.

That conventional wisdom might be wrong. The reasons the young man stays on the corner might be completely different from what we imagine. He might, after all, want that park job, and want to get off the corner, but not know how.

Baten Phillipss job is to show him how.

Mr. Phillips himself has two unusual  but both typically Chicagoan  jobs. At night hes a comedian who trained in improv at Second City, and goes by Baldhead Phillips. He hosts a regular show on Wednesdays at a Chicago club, headlines in other clubs around the city and has appeared on national television shows like Martin Lawrence Presents 1st Amendment Standup. His routines are hilarious (and not for the fainthearted about obscenities).

But during the day in Englewood, one of Chicagos most dangerous neighborhoods, his job is serious. Hes got a tattoo on his left arm: Englewood Hustler. He served four and a half years in prison in Minnesota on drug charges, including a year in solitary, which he calls lucky. I read a lot of religious books, he said. I was thinking for the first time in my life that I really was not supposed to be there.
Background reading:

 At least 58 Palestinians were killed and 2,700 injured on Monday as demonstrators clashed with Israeli forces along the Gaza border fence.

 Meanwhile, an hours drive away, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel celebrated the new American embassy in Jerusalem at a ceremony attended by Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner.

 Here are images of the two contrasting scenes, which illustrate the widening chasm between Israelis and Palestinians after 70 years of conflict.

Tune in, and tell us what you think. Email us at thedaily@nytimes.com. Tweet me at @mikiebarb. And if youre interested in advertising with The Daily, write to us at thedaily-ads@nytimes.com.

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When ASAP Ferg was still a teenager in Harlem, he started making crystal-studded pendants. He would sketch designs of characters like Bart Simpson and Mega Man, then hand the drawings over to Earl Harley (also known as Harley, the buckle man). Mr. Harley would create the bases for Ferg, who would then add Swarovski crystals and sell the pendants. They cost him about $200 to make; he sold them for about $700 a piece.

A decade later, Ferg, born Darold Ferguson Jr., is hawking pricier gems. This month, he became the first male rapper to appear as a spokesman for Tiffany & Co., the luxury jeweler. Ferg, 29, is not yet a megastar nor the most famous artist in the ASAP crew (that would be Rocky). But in collaborating with him, Tiffany has aligned itself with a princeling of Harlem fashion who aims to honor the legacy of his father, the designer Darold Ferguson Sr., by out-accomplishing him.

During a recent interview at The Blue Box Cafe at the Tiffany flagship store on Fifth Avenue, Ferg was frank about the mutual interest driving the partnership.

I feel like we open up doors for each other, he said of Tiffany. I show them my world, they show me their world.
On June 6, 1998, HBO broadcast its first episode of Sex and the City, introducing the world to Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha  four single women who took Manhattan by storm.

Much has been written about how the show changed television, particularly in how it depicts female relationships and sexuality.

Less remarked upon is how the show spurred a generation of young, ambitious and single women to move to New York to chase their own Sex and the City dreams  whether that meant finding their Mr. Big, landing a fashion P.R. job or sipping cosmopolitans in Manolo Blahniks while summering in the Hamptons.

Were you among those transplants? What made you move to New York? Who did you identify with: Carrie, Samantha, Miranda or Charlotte? How did it turn out? We want to hear your story.
SAN FRANCISCO  Facebook has been under pressure for its failure to remove violence, nudity, hate speech and other inflammatory content from its site. Government officials, activists and academics have long pushed the social network to disclose more about how it deals with such posts.

Now, Facebook is pulling back the curtain on those efforts  but only so far.

On Tuesday, the Silicon Valley company published numbers for the first time detailing how much and what type of content it takes down from the social network. In an 86-page report, Facebook revealed that it deleted 865.8 million posts in the first quarter of 2018, the vast majority of which were spam, with a minority of posts related to nudity, graphic violence, hate speech and terrorism.

Facebook also said it removed 583 million fake accounts in the same period. Of the accounts that remained, the company said 3 percent to 4 percent were fake.

Guy Rosen, Facebooks vice president of product management, said the company had substantially increased its efforts over the past 18 months to flag and remove inappropriate content. The inaugural report was intended to help our teams understand what is happening on the site, he said. Facebook hopes to continue publishing reports about its content removal every six months or so.
Hidden Views

In contrast to those sprawling food halls, the entrance to my one cant-miss restaurant of the trip, El Five, was located in an actual parking garage in LoHi. Go early or make a reservation and you can breeze past the host and up the elevator to the fifth floor (L5, get it?). The Mediterranean tapas cuisine was excellent, but youre there for the spectacular three-sided views. Best of all is the wallpaper, made of reclaimed Egyptian movie posters, surrounding diners with forlorn, beautiful faces who look like they could use a drink.

Gathering Spot

The $54 million renovation of Union Station, a 1914-vintage train depot, has turned it into something like New Yorks Ace Hotel  a hip gathering spot  only with transportation schedules. The stations lobby is filled with library-like long tables and comfy leather chairs where a diverse cross-section of the city types away on their laptops. I loved the farm-to-table sandwiches at light-filled Mercantile Dining & Provision so much I went twice.

The same company behind Union Square, Sage Hospitality, also runs Denvers newest hip hotel, The Maven, where I stayed (for $169 to $209, plus tax and a $20 a night amenities fee) next to Coors Fields on a historic site called the Dairy Block that once housed a dairy. The lobby has a similar library-like feel, plus an indoor Airstream trailer that sells coffee and breakfast burritos.

Hotel or Museum?

You know a hotel is doing something right when museum directors ask if youve visited it. The Art, a Hotel, where I stayed one night for $235 has a mesmerizing Leo Villareal light-design installation at its entrance, one of Deborah Butterfields life-size metal horses that looks like it was woven with twigs, and a video of dogs going up and down the elevator with you. Its in walking distance of all major art institutions.

Museum or Living Room?

Tired of seeing art displayed in plain white rooms? Make a special trip to the vastly expanded and newly reopened Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. Named after the late abstract painter and Denver resident Vance Kirkland, it features the work of some 1,500 artists and designers, laid out in a unique salon style. Diamond-shaped chairs by Frank Lloyd Wright and an undulating cardboard ottoman from Frank Gehry might be next to a painting from an obscure Colorado surrealist. All the paintings are from Colorado artists, and the collection of midcentury modern decorative pottery is particularly charming. Organizing principals are loosely chronological, and never boring.

A Singular Collection

The will of the pioneering Abstract Expressionist painter C lyfford Still (1904-1980) stipulated that his collection be awarded to an American city that presented the best plan for a museum solely dedicated to showing it in its entirety. Denver won, and the result is the Clyfford Still Museum, an impressive concrete structure with huge walls for displaying the artists immense canvases, and textured ceilings that let in daylight in fractured patterns.

On the Street and On Tap

The best way to see Denvers booming art scene is to simply walk around RiNo, where many businesses commission murals to draw in customers, and an art event literally puts a fresh coat of paint on the neighborhood each year  resulting in something amazing to see on nearly every public wall. I toured with Alex Roth, a Colorado native who works for the luxury travel club, Inspirato, and offered to be my guide. He also introduced me to the art of wandering into Denvers many microbreweries, such as Our Mutual Friend, which itself had a mural storefront of neon-colored camouflage.
Policies that exempt high-unemployment places, but not people who face other obstacles to work, selectively acknowledge barriers for only some of the poor. In effect, they suggest that unemployment is a systemic problem in struggling rural communities  but that in poor urban neighborhoods, its a matter of individual decisions.

The hardships of areas that have seen industry leave are very real; the hardships of rural areas that have had jobs automated away are real, said David Super, a law professor at Georgetown University, who studies public welfare programs. But so are hardships that come from a lack of child care or transportation, he said. It is troubling that one set of conditions are being taken seriously and another are being scoffed at.

In Michigan, the proposed exemptions would also effectively protect the constituents of some state legislators who have advocated work requireme nts.

Whats so galling here in Michigan is the social meaning of this exemption could not be more clear to people who live here, said Nicholas Bagley, a professor at the University of Michigan Law School, who has argued in a series of blog posts and in a New York Times op-ed that the policy would run afoul of civil rights laws. It is a way of extending solicitude to people who live in the hard-bitten white rural counties, he said, but not to black residents in poor urban neighborhoods.

Other states with work requirements that have already been approved could face similar challenges soon. The federal governments approval letters have said that exceptions could be devised for economically troubled places.

But regions that have declined to invest in public transportation, or where policies have increased the costs of urban car ownership, have created the very definition of a structural barrier to employment.
SAN FRANCISCO  Many San Francisco renters I met while reporting an article on affordable housing lotteries had responded to the regions housing crisis by putting up with great discomfort: They crammed in with family; they split apartments with strangers. Some even lived out of their cars.

Why, lots of readers wanted to know, didnt they simply move away instead?

Many have. High-cost California has long been losing population to domestic migration, particularly its poorer residents (who head to cheaper places like Arizona, Nevada and Texas).
Baltimore lost its third police commissioner in three years on Tuesday, the latest blow to the citys efforts to come to grips with a host of serious problems, including the nations highest big-city murder rate; a shocking corruption scandal; abusive police practices documented in a Justice Department investigation; and the lingering aftermath of the death of Freddie Gray.

The commissioner, Darryl De Sousa, 53, a career Baltimore officer, had been in the post for just four months. He resigned after being charged by federal prosecutors in Maryland with willfully failing to file income tax returns for 2013, 2014 and 2015. The charges are misdemeanors, with a maximum sentence of up to one year in prison and a $25,000 fine for each of the three counts.

When the matter first came to light last week, the mayor of Baltimore, Catherine Pugh, backed Mr. De Sousa, who acknowledged that he had failed to file the returns but said he had paid his taxes through withholding. He said there was no excuse for failing to file, and attributed what he had done to failing to sufficiently prioritize my personal affairs.

But a day later, after others in the community expressed serious concerns about having the citys police force led by someone under the cloud of federal charges, the mayor suspended him.
WASHINGTON  The Justice Department and the F.B.I. are investigating Cambridge Analytica, the now-defunct political data firm, and have sought to question former employees and banks that handled its business, according to an American official and other people familiar with the inquiry.

Prosecutors have questioned potential witnesses in recent weeks, telling them that there is an open investigation into Cambridge Analytica  which worked on President Trumps election and other Republican campaigns in 2016  and associated U.S. persons. But the prosecutors provided few other details, and the inquiry appears to be in its early stages, with investigators seeking an overview of the company and its business practices.

The investigation compounds the woes of a firm that has come under intense scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators in the United States and Britain since The New York Times and Observer in London reported in March that it had harvested private data from more than 50 million Facebook profiles, and that it may have violated American election laws. This month, Cambridge Analytica announced that it would shut down and declare bankruptcy, saying that negative press and cascading federal and state investigations had driven away customers and made it impossible for the firm to remain in business.

Cambridge Analytica, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.
In court in January, a prosecutor, the assistant United States attorney Matthew J. Laroche, said that the government immediately had enough evidence to make Mr. Schulte a target of the investigation. He said that the investigation was continuing, and that it involved in part how Tor, software that allows anonymous communication on the internet, was used in transmitting classified information.

Image The prime suspect, Joshua A. Schulte, has not faced charges in the breach, though prosecutors have charged him in a separate child pornography case.

Mr. Schultes lawyers have repeatedly demanded that prosecutors make a decision on the Vault 7 leak charges. Prosecutors said in court last week that they planned to file a new indictment in the next 45 days, and Mr. Schultes lawyer Sabrina P. Shroff, of the federal public defenders office, asked the court to impose a deadline on any charges that the government sought to bring under the Espionage Act for supplying the secret C.I.A. files to WikiLeaks.

This case has been dragging since August 2017, Ms. Shroff said in an interview. The government should be required to indict so Mr. Schulte has the opportunity to defend himself. Otherwise he is just languishing.

Spokesmen for the C.I.A. and the Justice Department declined to comment. When WikiLeaks began to post the stolen documents last year, the C.I.A. said in a statement, The American public should be deeply troubled by any WikiLeaks disclosure designed to damage the Intelligence Communitys ability to protect America against terrorists and other adversaries.

Family members, who have spent much of their savings on legal fees, say they believe that Mr. Schulte is a scapegoat for the C.I.A.s inability to secure its most sensitive files. They say the child pornography charges, based on his actions nine years ago when he was 20, are a thin pretext for keeping him incarcerated.

I am just scared to death, said Roger Schulte, Mr. Schultes father, who lives in Lubbock, Tex. I think hes innocent of all these crimes, as far as everything Ive seen. The elder Mr. Schulte said that his son was in college when he built the server later found to contain child pornography, and that he had so many people accessing it he didnt care what people put on it.

Far from leaking classified information, his father said, Mr. Schulte had actually complained about security vulnerabilities at the C.I.A., first to his superiors and later to the agencys inspector general and to a House Intelligence Committee staff member. Family members shared with The Times evidence of those contacts, which predated the Vault 7 release.
Subpoenaed to testify under oath before a state legislative committee investigating the governor, the woman said that she went to Mr. Greitenss home on his invitation one morning, where he suggested that they work out together; then he blindfolded her, taped her hands to pull-up rings and began kissing her. He then tore off her shirt, pulled down her pants and took a picture of her with his cellphone, she said.

But in mid-May, with a jury already being picked for a trial that was scheduled to begin in a matter of days, prosecutors suddenly dropped the invasion-of-privacy case against the governor. They said they had no choice but to drop the case because the prosecutor, Kimberly Gardner, was being called as a witness by Mr. Greitenss defense team.

A week later, a St. Louis judge appointed a special prosecutor, Ms.s Baker, to consider whether to refile the charge.

Legal experts have said the case had other problems all along  not least that the prosecutors had not come up with the photo that was said to be at the center of the case, despite searches of the governors phone.

What else was Greitens facing?

The governor had also faced a second, unrelated felony charge. In April, Mr. Greitens was accused of illegally obtaining a donor list from a charity he founded and using it to raise money for his 2016 campaign. Ms. Gardner, the circuit attorney in St. Louis, charged him with one count of tampering with computer data; Mr. Greitenss lawyer called the charge absurd. Shortly after the governor announced his resignation, Ms. Gardner said in a statement that she had reached a fair and just resolution of the charge against Mr. Greitens, and that details would be announced Wednesday.

Then there was the threat of impeachment in a State Capitol where both chambers are dominated by Republicans; lawmakers had convened a special session earlier this month.

In Missouri, leaders are subject to impeachment for a broad array of failings  crime, misconduct, habitual drunkenness, willful neglect of duty, corruption in office, incompetency, or any offense involving moral turpitude or oppression in office.
Our officers were read their rights, they cooperated, they gave statements, Sheriff Lopinto said. I understand that at the end, this investigation will be under a microscope. I understand it fully.

Sheriff Lopinto, who declined to identify the detectives who are subjects of the inquiry, reached his decision to reassign the deputies after the parishs coroner classified Mr. Robinsons death as a homicide. The ruling  a medical judgment, not a legal one  reverberated loudly through the New Orleans region. More than 100 people protested on Monday evening in Jefferson Parish, among the most populous Louisiana parishes.

The coroner, Dr. Gerald Cvitanovich, said the findings of his offices preliminary autopsy were that Mr. Robinsons death was consistent with compressional asphyxia. A final autopsy report is not expected for several weeks.

Louisiana has had particularly tense debates about police conduct and race in recent years. Mr. Robinsons death came less than three months after the Louisiana authorities declined to charge two Baton Rouge police officers in connection with the fatal shooting of Alton B. Sterling in July 2016. Federal prosecutors have also refused to bring charges in that case, which led to large protests in Baton Rouge, the state capital.

In Jefferson Parish this week, civil rights activists welcomed the inquiry into Mr. Robinsons death. Gaylor A. Spiller, the president of the local N.A.A.C.P. chapter, said she was so far satisfied with the coroners review and the sheriffs decision to reassign the deputies.
A day after prosecutors dropped a felony charge against Gov. Eric Greitens, Missouri lawmakers had a message for the governor on Tuesday: Dont celebrate quite yet.

Mr. Greitens has, for now, survived a legal battle over a felony invasion of privacy charge stemming from accusations that he took an explicit photograph of a woman with whom he had an affair, without her consent. But in the Republican-dominated Missouri Legislature, where Mr. Greitens, a Republican, has few friends and many adversaries, the threat of impeachment has only intensified.

Legislators declared that the dismissal of the criminal charge against Mr. Greitens would not deter them in their plan to continue investigating the governor and, if necessary, remove him from office, something no Missouri Legislature has done before. On Friday, the Missouri House will gavel in for a monthlong special session to consider disciplining the governor. Sometime in the next several weeks, it is likely that the chamber will vote on impeachment.

That timeline was unchanged after the decision on Monday by Kimberly Gardner, the St. Louis circuit attorney, to drop the invasion of privacy charge. A bipartisan House committee that has been investigating Mr. Greitens for months could decide at any time to make a recommendation on whether to impeach the governor. If a majority of House members voted to impeach, the State Senate would select a special commission of judges to try the case.
There are generally three types of National Guard deployments.

Troops can be called to active duty by governors in a state duty status, by presidents in a federal status or in a hybrid role known as Title 32, named for a Guard-related section of the United States Code intended for homeland defense.

Mr. Trumps National Guard mobilization on the border is a Title 32 deployment, in which the soldiers are under the command and control of their governor, but the federal government finances the operation. In a purely federal deployment, troops can perform their duties anywhere in the world, but in a Title 32 mobilization, soldiers are limited to the continental United States, and foreign intelligence collection cannot be part of such an operation.

Guardsmen in Title 32 status do not have the authority nor is that the intent, said Colonel Davis, the Defense Department spokesman. At this time there is no effort to update the policy, he added.

In April, in rural Starr County in South Texas Rio Grande Valley, the soldiers stationed at two observation posts appeared to be following the guidelines.

The troops stood on rocky, muddy cliffs on the rivers edge, peering through binoculars and focusing most of their attention on the banks and the brush on the American side. The official boundary between the two countries at that point is not the border fence but the middle of the Rio Grande, and several of the troops at the outposts stood facing east and west, but never directly focused their binoculars south across the river into the brush in Mexico.

National Guard officials said the troops were carrying out their approved mission, and they did not view the surveillance rules as a prohibition or restriction but simply as part of the parameters of the deployment.

Their mission, National Guard officials said, is to monitor and detect, and to perform many of the administrative, logistical, maintenance and surveillance tasks that Border Patrol agents would be doing, so those agents can be freed up to be out in the field. Officials refer to the troops support role as being a force multiplier.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.  The scrutiny after the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., immediately fell on law enforcements failures to heed warnings about the confessed gunmans troubling behavior and prevent him from carrying out his deadly rampage. It took weeks for the focus to turn in earnest on the shortcomings of another level of government that knew Nikolas Cruz well: the Broward County Public Schools.

And now the parents of two 14-year-old students who were among those killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have concluded that the best way to fix what they think went wrong  and to prevent another massacre from ever taking place  is to run for the school board themselves.

Lori Alhadeff, who lost her daughter, Alyssa, and Ryan Petty, who lost his daughter, Alaina, announced their candidacies side-by-side on Tuesday, pledging to hold the district accountable for making its schools safe. Their campaigns are a direct response to lingering questions about whether the district could have done more to stop Mr. Cruz, a former student, from killing 17 students and educators in February.

Like many of the families, weve dedicated ourselves to changing the system that would allow someone like Nikolas Cruz to slip through the cracks, Mr. Petty, a telecom executive, said at a news conference outside the Broward County Governmental Center shortly after he and Ms. Alhadeff filed for the Aug. 28 election.
Ms. Haspels written responses also briefly addressed other important issues that did not come up at her hearing. Asked about the Iran nuclear deal that Mr. Trump withdrew from last week, she said that Iran had continued to substantially meet its commitments. She also said she agreed with the intelligence communitys assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 election and pledged to fully cooperate with the investigations into it, including by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III.

But most of the written questions, like those in her hearing, addressed issues related to the C.I.A.s defunct torture program and her role in it. Several addressed apparent discrepancies in her testimony.

For example, Ms. Haspel had testified that she was briefed about the interrogation program only after a year. But the agency developed its torture techniques in the summer of 2002 and she was running a prison where they were used later that year.

Asked about that disconnect, she wrote that she meant she was told about the program a year after President George W. Bush had signed a then-classified memorandum of notification authorizing the C.I.A. to capture and detain terrorists after the Sept. 11 attacks. The agency considered its interrogation program to derive from that authority.

Ms. Haspel also faced questions about her role in the C.I.A.s destruction, in 2005, of 92 videotapes of detainee interrogation sessions. As chief of staff to the head of the agencys Counterterrorism Center, Jose Rodriguez, she drafted an order he issued to destroy the records as congressional scrutiny of the program increased.

During the hearing, she said only one detainee was depicted on those tapes. But declassified documents have indicated that two of the tapes recorded the interrogations of Mr. Nashiri, the detainee tortured in her custody, and the rest were of another prisoner, Abu Zubaydah.

Asked about that apparent discrepancy, Ms. Haspel disclosed that a C.I.A. lawyer who reviewed the tapes in 2002 found that there were no viewable videotapes of the interrogation of Mr. Nashiri, so only one detainee was depicted on them when they were destroyed. (Several of the tapes were blank and two were broken, but it has never been made public which ones; she did not explain how both of the Nashiri tapes were rendered unviewable.)
While the opening of the American Embassy in Jerusalem has triggered violence and political debate this week, it also stands as a sharp reminder of the close ties between the Trump administration and evangelical Christians  and of the victories that Mr. Trump has delivered for his evangelical base.

Against a backdrop of violence on the Gaza border, with Israeli soldiers killing dozens of Palestinians, a whos who of Mr. Trumps evangelical backers were present in Jerusalem to celebrate the formal relocation of the embassy from Tel Aviv on Monday. The split-screen images of fury and jubilee were striking, with many of the American guests trying to keep the focus on the achievement of their long-held goal.

Penny Young Nance, president of Concerned Women for America, said she has been praying for 20 years that this day would come. As she walked out of the opening ceremony, she saw hugs and smiles all around.

Theres a sense of unity, she said on her way to a party at the David Citadel Hotel that was hosted by the Republican Jewish Coalition, Christians United for Israel, and the Jewish Policy Center.
WASHINGTON  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Tuesday that he was lifting the State Departments hiring freeze, ending the Trump administrations unpopular effort to slash funding and staffing levels for the United States diplomatic corps.

The move, Mr. Pompeo wrote in a morning email to staff, will give our domestic bureaus and missions overseas the flexibility to fill positions that are essential to promoting the departments mission and the United States foreign policy goals worldwide on behalf of the American people.

Mr. Pompeo had already ended a hiring freeze on diplomats family members  such as husbands, wives and adult children  who work in embassies around the world and generally do so for far less money than normal rates.

The moves have been met with relief by diplomats and State Department observers, who were outraged by former Secretary of State Rex W. Tillersons attempts to severely cut the departments budget and staffing.
Voters on Tuesday will cast ballots in primaries in four states: Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon and Pennsylvania. The New York Times will have live results beginning Tuesday evening.

[Follow our primary and elections calendar here.]

Idaho has seen tremendous growth recently, bringing changes to the economics, politics and demographics of a state that has long been dominated by Republicans. No one is expecting that dominance to change on Tuesday, but when The Times visited Boise recently, political analysts pointed to some local positions there that were competitive for the first time in recent history. Read what the residents had to say here.

Statewide, the main story is the race for governor.

Gov. C.L. Otter, a Republican popularly known as Butch, is retiring after 12 years. The leading contenders for the nomination to replace him are Lt. Gov. Brad Little, United States Representative Ra u l Labrador and Tommy Ahlquist, a physician and businessman in Boise.

On the Democratic side, former State Representative Paulette Jordan is facing off against a longtime school board member, A.J. Balukoff.
If you look at whats happening with trade in China, it hasnt been fair for many, many years. When President Trump rails against China, he says things like, Our country is being taken advantage of, or, We lost years ago by presidents and others allowing this to happen. Hes probably referring to the past four decades, when China has grown faster than any major economy in history and gone from a poor, developing country to an economic powerhouse that is challenging Americas spot at the top of the international food chain. Its emergence as a global power was so sharp and so extreme, faster than the world can handle, in some ways faster than China can handle. The U.S. and other Western nations kick-started much of Chinas rise by opening up trade. What they havent figured out is how to get this fundamentally different economic system to play by free market rules. A pivotal moment came in 2001 after 15 years of negotiations. China joined the World Trade Organization, which sets the rules for free and fair trade between member countries. All of the countries that were in the club at the time put enormous demands on China for what they needed to do. The Chinese committed to sharply lower tariffs and reduced some of the governments role in how business gets done. But they argued then, as they still do now, that China is a developing country and so should be held to less stringent free trade standards. The hope was that these first steps would lead to even more sweeping changes. Why did we assume that? The experience of communism was through the lens of the Soviet Union and its satellite states, which was ultimately not a success. And so the presumption was, Chinas going to want to become like us, more market oriented. After China joined the W.T.O. in 2001, you saw this enormous surge of Chinese exports to everywhere in the world, and to the United States in particular. They were kind of an elephant hiding behind mice with respect to other countries in global trade negotiations at the time. The U.S. and other countries complained that China was not opening its markets enough, and keeping the value of its currency artificially low to make Chinese exports more attractive. China has been making great strides using tools that are really not acceptable under the global trade system. China has continued to operate as a centrally planned economy. The government owns, influences or subsidizes major industries, giving them an artificial competitive edge. There are heavy restrictions on foreign investment, and foreign companies are pressured to share their technologies. China has become more market oriented, but dating back to probably 2007, 2008, I think it was recognized that China wasnt on the path to become more like us. And so then countries began to think about, well, what do we do instead? Some view the rise of Asia-Pacific with suspicion and fear. America doesnt. Enter the Trans-Pacific Partnership, initiated by Bush, signed by Obama. When implemented, It wont just boost trade and support jobs in our 12 countries. It will help set stronger rules for trade across the Asia-Pacific. Put less politely, It was also supposed to be a bulwark to Chinas growing economic power. The idea was that China would want to join this great trading pact, and so they would have this incentive to reform their economy. This is the one that President Trump ripped up on his third day in office. The first one is withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. I had seen the erosion of popular and congressional support for trade for many years. But Id never seen anything like Donald Trump. Our founding fathers understood trade much better than our current politicians, believe me. Trade is generally accepted by economists as win-win for countries on the whole. But Trump says that China is winning and the U.S. is losing. He and people in his administration argue that past approaches to dealing with China havent worked. Its not actually that profitable to negotiate with them. We need to focus on this much bigger trade measure, and then we can really hit them with a very aggressive, forceful action. He seems intent on generating a moment of crisis. We put a $50 billion tariff on, then we put a $100 billion tariff on. And you know at a certain point, they run out of bullets. But dynamics have changed. Today, China sees its economy as strong enough to withstand almost anything the U.S. can throw at it.
Farah, a city of 50,000, would be the second Afghan city to fall to the insurgents since the war began. The northern city of Kunduz fell twice to the Taliban, in 2015 and 2016, but was retaken by the government both times.

In Kabul, Afghan officials said they would quickly expel the Taliban from Farah. We are hoping to get control of the fighting in the city, General Radmanish said at a news conference. Our reinforcements are trying to use their capabilities to overcome the situation.

By the end of the day that had not happened, but General Radmanish insisted the center of the city remained in government hands. The governors office, the police headquarters, the National Directorate for Security, the university and the airport are under our control, he said. We are using all of our capabilities to change the situation there.

Residents reached by telephone inside Farah late Tuesday all said the insurgents appeared to control most, if not all, of the city, other than the governors offices. It is amazing how easily the Taliban managed to enter the city, said one resident, Dill Agha. They are telling residents to remain in their homes, that they are not hurting civilians or any military or police who surrender themselves.

Fareed Bakhtawar, head of the Farah provincial council, said that he had joined volunteers to fight the Taliban but that the insurgents had taken large areas of the city. There is no extra force to help us, and the situation is getting worse, Mr. Bakhtawar said.

Fighting has been intense for months in the western province  much of which, outside of military bases, has already fallen under Taliban domination  with hundreds of police officers and soldiers killed. The fighting has increased in Farah because of Taliban reinforcements sent from neighboring Helmand Province, where the insurgents have fared less well in recent months, according to Afghan officials.

[Read how the Taliban and Iran have struck up an unlikely alliance in Farah Province.]

Qasim, a resident of the city who worked for a foreign organization, said he and friends tried to flee but were advised to hide in their homes because the insurgents were checking identification in order to find people like him. The fighting is very fierce and it is very dangerous to go out, he said. All the people we know are trapped in their homes. We were told not to even peek outside.
When North Korea threatened to back out of the nuclear summit with President Trump, they pointed the finger at one person  John Bolton  and blasted his calls for the so-called Libya model. Not even Boltons boss is happy with it. Well, the Libyan model isnt a model that we have at all. So just what is Boltons so-called Libya model? It started in 2003, when Libya decided to dismantle its fledgling nuclear weapons program. The country even shipped parts to a warehouse in Tennessee. These are aluminum vacuum tubes in which the centrifuge machinery themselves operate. And according to John Bolton, it all went down in one fell swoop. No half-steps, no concessions. His take was that Muammar Qaddafi simply made a strategic calculation: Give up the nukes, and Libya would no longer be a global pariah  and avoid the fate of Saddam Husseins Iraq. What actually happened with Libya is a matter of debate, but it became Boltons go-to model for how to disarm rogue states like North Korea. Is it a requirement that Kim Jong-un agree to give away those weapons before you give any kind of concession? I think thats right. I think were looking at the Libya model of 2003, 2004. The implementation of the decision means getting rid of all the nuclear weapons, dismantling them, taking them to Oak Ridge, Tenn. Why is Boltons Libya model so offensive to North Korea? First, its a dig at the regimes crowning achievement. As the official North Korea statement says, It is absolutely absurd to compare North Korea, a nuclear state, to Libya, which had been at the initial state of nuclear development. Its true that Libya was barely a nuclear startup. And North Korea actually has warheads, ballistic missiles and a vast network of labs and development sites. Second, North Korea calls Boltons model a sinister move to impose on our dignified state the destiny of Libya or Iraq. A few years after Libyas nukes were shipped to Tennessee, U.S.-backed airstrikes helped overthrow Qaddafi: a vivid reminder to Kim Jong-un of what happens to leaders who give up their defenses. So why is Bolton invoking a reference thats clearly so inflammatory? There are some who speculate that Bolton is intentionally sabotaging the North Korea talks, just as he did in 2003, because he believes North Korea cant be trusted. This is him on Fox News just a few weeks before becoming national security adviser. Why in the world would they agree to not halt the program, to give it up completely? It just doesnt logically make any sense. Because theyre lying. You know, theres an all-purpose joke here. Question: How do you know that the North Korean regime is lying? Answer: Their lips are moving. According to Bolton, this is their real goal. They want to buy time. Three months, six months, 12 months, whatever it is they need to get across the finish line. Bolton says this was part of his life as a pundit. Now his job is to help the president achieve his goals. Which by all measures seems to include cutting a historic deal with North Korea. It could be that Bolton simply believes the only way to prevent North Korea from playing games is to demand a Libya-style playbook. But what is clear is Boltons repeated talk about the Libya model is antagonizing the North  and now apparently the White House. The Libyan model that was mentioned was a much different deal. This would be with Kim Jong-un something where hed be there, hed be in his country, hed be running his country.
SEOUL, South Korea  North Korean officials have a tremendous sense of optimism about their countrys recent turn toward diplomacy and have promised to work more openly with humanitarian aid groups, according to the head of the World Food Program, who visited the country last week.

David Beasley, the executive director of the United Nations agency, also said that while malnutrition continued to be a problem in the impoverished North, he saw no evidence during his four-day trip of the kind of extreme food shortages that killed more than two million people there in the 1990s.

What I did not see was starvation, Mr. Beasley said Tuesday at a news conference in Seoul. I saw none of that. Is there undernutrition? Of course there is.

Mr. Beasley said he spent two days visiting farms, villages, schools and nurseries in the poverty-stricken countryside and another two days in Pyongyang, the capital, talking with officials. The trip came a month before the Norths leader, Kim Jong-un, is scheduled to meet with President Trump in Singapore, on June 12.
NEW DELHI  A section of an overpass under construction collapsed on a heavily trafficked road in the northern Indian city of Varanasi on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people, the authorities said.

The collapse happened around 6 p.m. and trapped a bus, cars, motorcycles, auto rickshaws and pedestrians underneath the concrete slabs. About 300 soldiers with heavy rescue equipment were on the scene and recovered several bodies from cars and the bus, officials said.

The state government ordered an investigation and announced monetary compensation for the injured, the number of whom was not immediately clear, and for the families of the dead.

Varanasi is a city sacred to Hindus in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a political base of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who said in a tweet: Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon.
HONG KONG  A Sichuan Airlines plane heading for Tibet made an emergency landing on Monday after its windshield shattered and a co-pilot was partially sucked out of the cockpit, the local news media reported.

Flight 8633 left the southwestern metropolis of Chongqing at 6:26 a.m. and was scheduled to land at 9:05 a.m. in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, around 1,500 miles west, according to the flight tracking website FlightView.com.

But the windshield later shattered with a loud sound, the pilot, Liu Chuanjian, said in a video posted by the news outlet Chengdu Business News. When I looked over to my side, half of my co-pilots body was hanging out of the window.

Fortunately, he was wearing a seatbelt, Mr. Liu said.

The plane made an emergency landing at 7:42 a.m. in the southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu.
To understand the twists and turns of doing business in Iran, look no further than the Peugeot 405. This boxy, mid-sized car is everywhere in Iran. But its had a bumpy ride. Thats because doing business there can be unpredictable. Peugeots a French company thats been making cars for over 100 years. Because you dont get to be the second-oldest carmaker in the world by making second-rate cars. But it didnt start in Iran until the 1990s. In Tehran it partnered with Iran Khodro, an automaker thats partly owned by the Iranian government. It was a huge success. By the beginning of 2012, Peugeot was all in on Iran. It had 30 percent of the automobile market and Iran was a major source of revenue for Peugeot, second only to France. And among Irans middle class, owning a Peugeot meant that you had made it. But all that changed when the U.S., European Union and United Nations imposed tough sanctions to make Iran curb its nuclear program. International companies were blocked from working in Iran, and Peugeot was forced out. Our company was also a victim of the sanctions. Seeing an opening, Chinese car makers leapt to take Peugeots place. And back home in France, Peugeot is in decline, partly because it lost access to the Iranian market. By 2014, the company was slashing jobs and scrambling for new financing. Then this happened. Breaking overnight, a historic deal. We have a real opportunity to achieve a comprehensive peaceful settlement. Iran signed a historic nuclear deal in 2015. As long as the country met stringent restrictions on its nuclear program, foreign investment could restart. It was a big opportunity for Peugeot and the company quickly moved to take advantage. In 2016, Peugeot began investing hundreds of millions of dollars as part of a renewed partnership with Iran Khodro. It is a real comeback of PSA in Iran. And business was booming once again. These new deals helped double sales in the region that year. But then  We will be instituting the highest level of economic sanction. Now that the U.S. is pulling out of the nuclear deal, Peugeot may be going back to where it started. This country, which has been tied to so many of the companys ups and downs, might be off limits again. Its a cautionary tale for investors looking to cash in on Iran.
The bad press over my father doing staged photos is my fault, Samantha Markle said. The media was unfairly making him look bad, so I suggested he do positive photos for his benefit and the benefit of the royal family. We had no idea he would be taken advantage of. It was not for money.

Image Ms. Markles half brother, Thomas Markle Jr., was arrested in Arizona in January. He recently called Ms. Markle a jaded, shallow, conceited woman. Credit... Michael Ochs Archives, via Getty Images

Reports that Mr. Markle would not attend the wedding came Monday night from the American celebrity news website TMZ. Kensington Palace, while neither confirming nor denying the report, soon released a statement that asked for understanding and respect to be extended to Mr. Markle in this difficult situation.

Even before the publication of The Mail on Sunday article, Kensington Palace had already tried to crack down on media coverage of Ms. Markles parents, sending a confidential letter to British editors imploring the tabloids to stop harassing them. Ms. Markles mother, Doria Ragland, has remained silent but has also been hounded by paparrazi, even on her way to and from work.

Ms. Ragland is already set to accompany her daughter to the wedding site  a break with tradition  but, if Mr. Markle does not come, she could wind up walking her down the aisle, too.

Having lured the family into their trap, the tabloids are now adding to the abuse. Writing Tuesday in Mail Online, Piers Morgan, the television presenter, accused Ms. Markles family of having already behaved like the worst kind of vile, dysfunctional, money-grabbing misfits in the run-up to her marriage.

It has to be said that others in Ms. Markles family  particularly ancillary members who have not been invited to the wedding  have not helped. Ms. Markle is estranged from her two half siblings, products of her fathers first marriage; they are the ones currently making the most mischief, egged on with promises of fame and with monetary compensation from the tabloids.
In terms of tourism, however, many Russians who visited Crimea during the first two summers after the annexation concluded that the quality of service there was poor. Significant delays completing other major infrastructure projects like power plants compounded its woes. They preferred vacations in Sochi, the Russian resort on the Black Sea rebuilt for the 2014 Winter Olympics, or in Turkey for the budget-minded.

It will be easier to get to Crimea, but the basic level of the facilities, the basic infrastructure along the coast there remains low, Ms. Zubarevich said.

Locals, however, who were expected to start using the bridge on Wednesday, were ecstatic. It lifted the sense of isolation that they have felt since Ukraine cut off railroad links and made the border crossing difficult in the wake of the annexation. Crimeans were dependent either on airplanes or the ferry across the Kerch Strait, where volatile weather in winter and long lines in summer often caused lengthy delays and drove up prices for basic goods.

Critics of the bridge said a new high-speed ferry service would have been far cheaper, but the idea of a physical link carried the day.

People see it as a fantastic dream that came true, Natalya V. Bykovskaya, deputy director of the historical museum in Kerch, where the bridge lands in Crimea, said in a telephone interview. People expect a change for the better. The mainland will become closer, not just mentally but physically.

Russias state-controlled media went out of its way to lavish praise on the bridge, calling it the construction project of the century and a work of art. We have been waiting for the Crimean bridge for over 1,000 years, gushed one television correspondent, adding that the opening of the bridge was the main global news development of the day.

In Ukraine, President Petro Poroshenko called the bridges construction illegal and the latest evidence of the Kremlins disregard for international law, adding that it could be useful for a swift withdrawal of Russian forces.
WARSAW  Under intense political pressure and the threat of legal sanctions, George Soross Open Society Foundations said on Tuesday that it had become impossible to work in Hungary, whose prime minister has blamed Mr. Soros for the countrys problems, and that the foundations would move their operations to Berlin.

The foundations, which promote democracy, free expression and civil rights, have come under growing political and legal pressure from Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has stifled dissent and declared last week that the era of liberal democracy is over. The foundations have been a frequent target of the Hungarian government, and Mr. Orban himself has painted Mr. Soros as a shadowy figure seeking to undermine the countrys sovereignty.

The government of Hungary has denigrated and misrepresented our work and repressed civil society for the sake of political gain, using tactics unprecedented in the history of the European Union, Patrick Gaspard, president of the foundations, said on Tuesday.

The decision to close the groups offices in the country of Mr. Soross birth  they will continue to operate in many other countries  is the grim culmination of years of struggle to work in an increasingly hostile environment. Mr. Soros, 87, a Jew who survived the Nazi occupation of Budapest during World War II, later made a fortune in the financial markets, and he created the foundations and donated billions of dollars to them.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration accused the head of Irans central bank of funneling money to Hezbollah and designated him as a global terrorist on Tuesday, placing further financial constraints on Tehran a week after President Trump called for reimposing sanctions that were lifted as part of an Obama-era nuclear deal.

The new designation is separate from the nuclear sanctions that were reinstated last week against Iran. But after Mr. Trump announced his decision to back out of the nuclear deal, he promised to impose sanctions on any companies  including banks  that do business with Iran.

Last week, the United States Treasury Department, in coordination with the United Arab Emirates, sought to disrupt an Iranian currency exchange network that transferred money to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps to help fund Hezbollah, which the United States considers a terrorist group. The exchange system worked with Irans central bank, and the Treasury Department said Tuesdays actions were a continuation of attempts to disrupt it.

It is rare to place a governor of a central bank on the global terrorist list. The Treasury Department said the governor of Irans central bank, Valiollah Seif, covertly funneled millions of dollars to support Hezbollah from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps through Iraqs al-Bilad Islamic Bank.
BAGHDAD  The front-runner in Iraqi elections, the populist Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr, wasted little time trying to prove to potential allies that he is serious about shaking up the government and cleaning up corruption as he worked to cobble together a governing coalition.

His spokesman, Saleh al-Obeidi, said in an interview in Baghdad on Tuesday that Mr. Sadrs movement is seeking allies who agree to its three-plank manifesto: ending the practice of awarding ministries on sectarian quotas, fighting corruption and allowing independent technocrats to manage key government agencies.

Saiid Moktada wants to bring Iraq out of crisis and out of misery, Mr. Obeidi said, using an honorific. We want to start a whole new way of doing things.

The surprising upset in elections this weekend by Mr. Sadrs unlikely alliance of communists, Sunni businessmen and pious community activists comes amid long-simmering anger at the established politicians who have controlled the government since Iraqs first democratic election in 2005 after the fall of Saddam Hussein. Mr. Sadr, who once called for attacks on American forces, capitalized on this widespread discontent by rebranding himself in recent years as a champion of the poor, a firebrand against corruption and a patriot who rails against outside interference by Iran as well as America.
Ambassador Mansour Ayyad Al-Otaibi also criticized the Security Council for not agreeing to Kuwaits request for an independent investigation of the Gaza deaths, adding that his country might instead seek an investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Office. Diplomats said that Kuwait had circulated a statement calling for an independent inquiry, which would require unanimous approval, but the United States had disagreed.

Defending Israel, Ambassador Nikki R. Haley of the United States denounced what she called the double standard that other nations applied to Israel. Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? she asked. No country, she said, acted with more restraint than Israel.

She said that Hamas had been to blame for inciting protesters to storm the fence, and insisted that there had been no connection between the violence and celebrations on Monday for the opening of the American embassy. President Trumps recognition of the Israeli position that Jerusalem is Israels capital, she said, makes peace more achievable, not less.

Addressing the council, Nickolay Mladenov, the U.N. special coordinator for Middle East peace, found fault with both sides.

Israel has a responsibility to calibrate its use of force, to not use lethal force, except as a last resort, under imminent threat of death or serious injury, he said. He added that Hamas must not use the protests as cover to attempt to place bombs at the fence and create provocations; its operatives must not hide among the demonstrators and risk the lives of civilians.

Lebanon is also the site of a Palestinian demonstration.

Thousands of Palestinian refugees rallied in southern Lebanon on Tuesday in commemoration of the Nakba and in solidarity with the Gaza demonstrations.

Many were bused in from the longstanding refugee camps of Lebanon.

Palestinians have a complicated history with Lebanon. The influx of refugees in 1948 exacerbated Lebanons delicate sectarian balance and their presence is often cited as a major contributing factor to Lebanons 15-year civil war.

Now, more than 450,000 of five million registered Palestinian refugees worldwide live in Lebanon. Legally, their rights are limited: Palestinians cannot own property or attend public schools, and are banned from working in more than 30 professions.
"We are delighted to become the only truly global law firm with a presence in Dublin. DLA Piper is renowned for its global footprint and commitment to high-quality service, our meritocratic and business-focused approach, innovation and diversity - all of which present significant opportunities for ambitious, talented solicitors and tax advisers in Ireland who have, or are looking to develop, an international practice, commented global co-chair Andrew Darwin.

Senior hires for Corrs LTS group

Corrs Chambers Westgarth has added significant strength to its Legal Technology Solutions Group.

International e-discovery lawyer Maureen Duffy, formerly with Orbit, has joined the firms Melbourne office as head of LTS. And former Korda Mentha forensics manager Harvinder Singh will head of the LTS team in the Perth office.

Both Maureen and Harvinder bring a unique combination of legal, technical and leadership expertise which enables them to analyse and plan the most appropriate approach to evidence collection, discovery, evidence management and trial support, resulting in commercial success for the firm's clients, said Brian Borskjaer, Director of the LTS Group.

Aussie startup school returns to Herbert Smith Freehills

Australian entrepreneurs are being given a new opportunity to get to grips with legal risks for their startup businesses from a global law firm.
Bitten by Meghalaya, Goa bug, Congress rushes senior leaders to Karnataka

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Congress has rushed its senior leaders to Karnataka to ensure that it can form the government in case of a hung house. The Congress learnt bitter lessons from experiences in Meghalaya and Goa when it was unable to form the government despite being the single largest party.

The Congress rushed Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot on Monday to oversee the situation. Counting of votes for the hard-fought Karnataka election takes place today.

Azad, who is the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha is close to H D Deve Gowda, the supremo of the JD(S). He would oversee the talks with the JD(S) in case Karnataka throws up a hung house. In such an event, the JD(S) would play kingmaker.

On the other hand, H D Kumaraswamy sparked off speculation with his Singapore visit. He left for Singapore immediately after polling on May 12 with son Nikhil Gowda. Although Kumaraswamy maintained that it was for a routine medical check, there was speculation that he was in talks with some leaders in case of a hung verdict.

Depending on how the numbers shape up, no party would waste any time in seeking an appointment with the Governor of Karnataka. Congress sources admit that they had gone slow both in Goa and Meghalaya as a result of which they could not form the government despite being the single largest party.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 6:36 [IST]
To get the numbers, here is what BJP is doing in Karnataka

Karnataka floor test: Will Yeddyurappa sail through or be a 'one day CM' like Jagdambika Pal

As Yeddyurappa faces floor test, here is what Rules 340, 346 say

BJP heading for victory, way ahead of Congress in vote share

India

oi-Madhuri

Despite the fact that Congress has already conceded defeat, the ECI via Nielsen data shows the BJP has the highest vote share of 48.2% percent. On the other hand,Congress vote share is 32.6% percent. JD(S) is far below, with 17 percent vote share.

Meanwhile, EC data shows Congress' vote share is marginally higher than the saffron party's.

As per the latest trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 105 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 76 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular), which is emerging as the tie-breaker, is leading in 39 seats.

BS Yeddyurappa, the man tipped to become the next Karnataka Chief Minister, is scheduled to take a special flight to Delhi in the evening to join grand celebrations planned by the party.

Meanwhile, in more heartbreak for the Congress, the incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah lost in Chamundeshwari in hometown Mysuru against his main rival GT Deve Gowda of the JD(S). However, he won in the Badami assembly constituency in north Karnataka.
BJP is the boss: Karnataka gets soaked in saffron?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: It looks like Karnataka is playing Holi (the festival of colours) once again within a period of a few months and the southern state is all soaked in saffron. Thanks to the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) likely win in Karnataka, saffron, the colour associated with the right-wing party, is glowing bright across the state.

Most of the exit polls predicted a hung Assembly in the state. However, on Tuesday, the early election result trends clearly showed that the BJP will form the next government in the state. While filing this report, the BJP was leading in 119 seats out of 222 for which the voting took place on Saturday. The Karnataka Assembly has a total of 224 seats and a party or an alliance needs at least 113 seats to form the government.

Political experts opine that the trend is unlikely to change much and the BJP will easily win at least 105 seats. If the party fails to reach the 113 mark on its own, the Janata Dal (Secular) is likely to join hands with the saffron party.

The incumbent Congress is staring at a major blow in Karnataka as result trends show that party is leading in only 60 seats. Even incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress is leading in Badami but trailing in Chamundeshwari as counting of votes is underway. The incumbent CM is contesting elections from two seats.

As the result trends suggested, the BJP is likely to win in all the main regions--the south, the north and the coastal--of the state. If the BJP forms the next government in the state, it will be its second government in Karnataka after 2008. In 2013, the Congress won the elections as the BJP was hit hard by several controversies including corruption allegations against its top brass.

The BJP has already started celebrating in Karnataka and other parts of the country as the result trends are in its favour. The BJP workers are giving Prime Minister Narendra Modi the credit for the party's likely victory in Karnataka. PM Modi extensively campaigned in the state before the elections which took place on Saturday.

Experts say Modi wave worked well in Karnataka. Congress president Rahul Gandhi too vigorously campaigned in Karnataka, but it seems it did not work in favour of the grand old party.

The Karnataka election is dubbed as a curtain raiser before the all-important 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Political analysts say that the party which will win Karnataka will have an edge in the 2019 elections. For the time being, it looks like the victory chariot of the BJP is not going to stop any time soon.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 11:17 [IST]
'BJP will not allow the vikas yatra to stop', says PM Modi

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a victory speech after the stupendous performance in Karnataka assemble elections, thanked people of Karnataka and assured the people of Karnataka that BJP will not allow the 'vikas yatra' to stop.

At the outset, PM Modi paid condolences to the people died in Varanasi tragedy. PM said, "I am happy about Karnataka's victory but on the other hand, I am saddened by the loss of lives in Varanasi. I extend my condolences to the families of the deceased and assure that the government will do whatever it can to support these families."

"The BJP workers have worked very hard in Karnataka, I salute them. How one can win elections by organisational skills and hard work is amazing," said PM Modi.

About his emotional connection with southern state, PM Modi said, "They say BJP is a party of Hindi speaking states. Are Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra states in North East Hindi speaking states? No, BJP represents India. There was no barrier between people of Karnataka and me. I'll always cherish the affection I received from them."

With reference to violence during panchayat polls, he said, " Violence that erupted in West Bengal during Panchayat Polls, was directed towards murdering democracy in the country. Election workers and innocent civilians were killed, this is serious."

"People weren't allowed to file nominations. It isn't only BJP people who suffered. People from all the leading parties except the one that rules Bengal suffered. This is serious. A land as great as West Bengal has to see such sights, it is unfortunate," he added.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 21:04 [IST]
Congress decimated, but Rahul not to be blamed for Karnataka loss

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Congress is staring at massive defeat in Karnataka assembly elections and if the trends translate into final result then the grand old party would manage just over half the number of seats what they won in 2013 elections.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi travelled the length and breadth of Karnataka, addressed rallies, met religious leaders, visited temples and left no stone unturned to attack PM Modi. But, it turns out that all were in vain. He even publically expressed his willingness to become the next Prime Minister.

All in all, if Siddaramaiah led the Congress campaign in Karnataka, then Rahul, as the party president, also played a pivotal role. So now that the Congress has been decimated and reduced to less than 70 seats, as per latest updates, then Rahul also must take as much blame for the loss as Siddarmaiah does. But, this logic does not seem to apply, as senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar said that election was lost due to "local leadership".

"Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have en-cashed it in a proper way and because of which we lost it," Shivkumar told ANI.

Most exit polls predicted a hung assembly in Karnataka and many of them forecasted that the Congress would emerge as the single largest party. It has been four hours into the counting now, and it looks like the BJP has proved all such polls wrong. The BJP is leading in 114 seats and the Congress is lagging far behind with leads in 63 seats.

If we compare it to last time's election, then the BJP has almost tripled the number of seats it may end up winning. The opinion polls that came out weeks before polling had failed to take into account the impact of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who addressed over 20 rallies after May 1.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 12:43 [IST]
To get the numbers, here is what BJP is doing in Karnataka

Cong supports JD (S) to form the govt in the state; BJP to take a call after Parliamentary board

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi: Hethectic parleys started at the central Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in Delhi with the party emerging as the single largest party in the Karnataka Assembly elections. Former Karnataka chief minister B S Yedyurappa's Delhi visit has been canceled and three senior BJP leaders are reaching Karnataka instead. The BJP will have Parliamentary Board meeting today to take a call on the Karnataka issue. The Congress also jumped into the ring by supporting JD (S) to form the government in the state.

Sources informed One India that leaders were informed about Parliamentary Board meeting where the next course of action will be decided by the BJP leadership. However, as far as the chief ministerial candidates was concerned, it was decided even before the election that Yeddyurappa would be the CM if the BJP wins. Party leader Sanjay Mayukh clearly said that in the case of BJP forming the government it is Yedyurappa who is going to be the next chief minister of the state.

Senior Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad met with Sonia Gandhi to discuss the issue of Karnata. Azad said that the number of the Congress and the JD (S) was more than the BJP so the Governor must invite the combination to form the government. However, a political analyst Rajvir Sharma told One India that since this is not a pre-poll alliance so the government was not bound to invite the alliance but the single largest party.

After the parliament board meeting in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also be present, the PM will also address party workers. However, the confusion started prevailing with the BJP falling sort of a couple of MLAs to form the government in the state as Congress leader G Parmeshwaran announced supporting Janata Dal (Secular). He argued that since no party has got the clear majority so the Congress is with the JD (S).

The BJP is waiting for the final results to be declared before taking any decision on the matter. Union human resource development minister and in-charge of Karnataka Prakash Javdekar attributed this victory to the PM, party president and people of the state. He said that the BJP is once again proved its southern reach.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 15:36 [IST]
To get the numbers, here is what BJP is doing in Karnataka

Karnataka floor test: Will Yeddyurappa sail through or be a 'one day CM' like Jagdambika Pal

As Yeddyurappa faces floor test, here is what Rules 340, 346 say

Even in 2015 BBMP polls, Congress-JDS had joined hands to keep BJP out

India

oi-Madhuri

With the results out, Karnataka Governor Valubhai Vala has granted appointments to the two claimants to power - BJP and the JDS-Congress combo. BS Yeddyurappa had met Governor Vajubhai Vala and has left. He has said that he wants to prove BJP's majority on the floor of the Karnataka Assembly.

However, HD Kumaraswamy, who has been backed by the Congress to be CM, will meet him at 5.30pm. Meanwhile, the Congress had said that if the Governor does not invite the JDS-Congress combo to form government, they would move the court.

As per the latest trends, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is leading in 104 seats, while the Congress is ahead in 77 seats. The Janata Dal (Secular) is at third place with 39 seats.

It may be recalled that, during 2015 BBMP polls, even after BJP winning 100 of 198 seats in the August 22 BBMP polls, Congress bagged 76 seats and managed to win the mayoral elections with the help of JDS support.

Karnataka is ruled by the Congress after the party snatched power in 2013. Months later, in the national election, the BJP won 17 of the state's 28 seats, sweeping all three Lok Sabha seats in Bengaluru.

However, the BBMP results was a lesson to BJP ahead of crucial Bihar Assembly Election that becoming largest party in the poll battle is just not enough.

Now with a similar scenario emerging in Karnataka, the BJP is questioning the Congress on the support it has declared to the JD(S). The Congress is however reminding the BJP of what happened in 2015 BBMP polls.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 17:44 [IST]
Gujarat: Here Hindu, Muslim couples tie the knot under one roof to spread the message of unity

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Gandhinagar, May 15: At a time when political parties are openly supporting "divisive politics", a Muslim group in Vadodara, Gujarat is doing its bit to spread the message of communal harmony among various religious groups.

The group, which organises wedding ceremony of couples belonging to lower-income groups, brings together Hindu and Muslim men and women under one roof and solemnizes their marriages.

Recently, the Muslim organisation helped 11 couples to get hitched in a mass marriage ceremony in the city. Out of the 11 couples who tied the knot, eight were Muslims and the other three were Hindus.

The mass marriage ceremony was organised by a Muslim organisation in Vadodara where eight Muslim and three Hindu couples tied the knot, reported ANI. The family and relatives of all the couples were also present at the wedding venue to bless them on the day, added ANI.

A Muslim cleric, who supervises the mass marriage ceremony, said, "We used to organise mass marriage of Muslim couples. In 2016, I suggested we also include Hindu couples from poor economic background to set an example for Hindu-Muslim unity."

Gujarat: Mass marriage ceremony was organised by Muslim org in Vadodara where 8 Muslim&3 Hindu couples tied knot. Muslim Cleric says 'We used to organise mass marriage. In '16, I suggested we also include Hindu couples with poor economic conditions, example of Hindu-Muslim unity' pic.twitter.com/M6jUlNSx7z  ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2018

All the weddings were solemnized as per the rituals followed by the couples. A Hindu couple, whose wedding was hosted by the Muslim organisation recently, said that the group helped them in their marriage. "We are too poor to have a normal wedding. The organisation took care of the expenditure of our marriage. We are thankful to them. It is nice to get married with 10 other couples belonging to different religions. The wedding venue was a perfect example of Hindu-Muslim unity," said the groom.
Go get them is govts message to security agencies on targeted killings in J&K

J&K: Cop killed after terrorists fire at a police vehicle in Anantnag

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

One policeman was killed on Tuesday after terrorists fired at a police vehicle in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district. The incident took place at Pazalpora area in Bijbehara. The policeman was initially injured, succumbed to his injuries later, said reports.

On Saturday (May 12), one CRPF personnel was killed in a gun battle between the security forces and terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama. The terrorists had then managed to escape taking advantage of stone pelting by the locals.

On May 7, one CRPF personnel was injured after terrorists hurled a grenade at Tahab Chowk in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district. The grenade was lobbed at police and CRPF personnel who were deployed at Tahab Chowk to maintain law and order.

On May 4, terrorists hurled a grenade at a police station in Pulwama. The grenade exploded outside the police station and no one was injured in the incident.

On April 12, terrorists had lobbed a grenade at a police station in Pulwama in which two policemen were left injured. Following the incident, the security forces cordoned off the area and launched a hunt to nab the attackers.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 166 per cent more civilian fatalities due to militancy while there was a 42 per cent rise in the number of terrorists neutralised in 2017 compared to the previous year, the Home Ministry said in April. The annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs for 2017-18, released in April, said that since the advent of militancy in Jammu and Kashmir in 1990, a total of 13,976 civilians and 5,123 security personnel have lost their lives till December 31, 2017. In 2017, there were 342 violent incidents in Jammu and Kashmir in which 80 security personnel, 40 civilians and 213 terrorists were killed.
Ktaka polls: Along with Siddaramaiah, are there at least half a dozen CM aspirants in Congress?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: One post and half a dozen chief ministerial aspirants. This in nutshell is the dilemma of Congress in Karnataka, where all are waiting for the Assembly election results to be declared on Tuesday.

Even before the results of the highly-contested elections--which got over on Saturday--are out, at least leaders from the Congress are openly expressing their desire to sit on the "hot seat", if the grand old party comes to power once again in the southern state.

All these days, incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah has been openly saying that the Congress will come to power in Karnataka for the second time in a row and he will get the coveted post once again. The Congress, however, did not declare any chief ministerial candidate ahead of the polls.

Hours after the voting for 222 seats (out of the 224 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka) took place last week, in a U-turn Siddaramaiah told reporters that he is open to the idea of a Dalit Congress leader to become the next CM.

Was the incumbent CM trying to woo the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) to the Congress' fold as exit polls have predicted a hung Assembly? Political observers say the JD(S) is never going to support the Congress if Siddaramaiah is the CM face of the alliance.

Siddaramaiah shares great animosity with the first family of the JD(S) as he left the party to join the Congress. So a Dalit leader as the CM of Congress-JD(S) alliance will be more acceptable to JD(S) supremo and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda and his clan.

On Monday, in an exclusive interview to NDTV, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara told that there are at least half a dozen CM aspirants in his party. Parameshwara minced no words when he said that he is also one of the CM aspirants which left the reporter of NDTV little surprised as politicians never express their ambitious so openly in public platform.

"There are at least half a dozen chief ministerial candidates in our party," Parameshwara told NDTV. Along with Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara, the other two Congress CM aspirants are senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge and Congress minister in Karnataka DK Shivkumar.

We are not revealing the other two names, as we are not sure about them and their aspirations. In fact, both Kharge and Parameshwara are Dalits and perhaps more acceptable to the JD(S) too. A few days before elections, Shivkumar said that he too could become the next CM of Karnataka.

It is pretty interesting to see how political bigwigs from the Congress are vying for the top post when there is no guarantee whether the party would form the next government or not in the state.

On their part, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders are maintaining that former CM BS Yeddyurappa, who is also the party's CM candidate, will be the next head of the southern state. The BJP is confident of getting majority (at least 113 seats) on its own and form the next government in the state.

However, there are whispers that even if the BJP forms the next government in the state on its own, Yeddyurappa won't remain the CM for long. In the BJP too there are many CM aspirants, prominent among them are Ananth Kumar, DV Sadananda Gowda and Anant Kumar Hegde--and all three of them are Union ministers.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 8:19 [IST]
To get the numbers, here is what BJP is doing in Karnataka

Karnataka: Congress reaches out to JD(S), offers CMs post

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Congress is reportedly reaching out to the JD(S) in a bid to form the government in Karnataka. The Congress it is said is ready to offer the post of Chief Minister to the JD(S) in a bid to keep the BJP which is the single largest party out of power.

While initial leads suggested that the BJP would easily breach the magic number, trends towards afternoon showed that the party was finding it hard to reach the magic number.

The BJP however sounded confident that it would form the government in Karnataka. With polling held only to 222 assembly constituencies, the magic number for now is 112 and the BJP stands at 6. The Congress on the other hand has 73 and the JD(S) 48. The others have won 2 seats.

The Congress had sent two of its senior leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot to oversee the possibility of setting up a government. The Congress has already sent feelers to the JD(S) and is even said to have offered the post of CM. There have also been a round of talks held between Sonia Gandhi and H D Deve Gowda.

The BJP has however not commented on the developments as yet.
In the 2013 Karnataka elections, the BJP fought under the leadership of Jagadish Shettar while the Congess campaign was headed by Siddaramaiah. Congress got clear majority by winning over 120 seats and BJP failed to touch even 50 seats mark. The BJP's dismal show in 2013 was attributed to BS Yeddyurappa severing ties with the saffron party just before the elections. After parting ways, the Lingayat strongman contested the polls under a new party - KJP. After elections, BSY and BJP patched up and KJP was merged into the BJP. So this time, with BSY at helm, it needs to seen how bjp performs. All in all it looks like a neck to neck battle between the the two national parties.
Karnataka election results: Is Congress-mukt bharat a reality?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: Since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, it is the same old story. The Congress has been losing elections after elections. Karnataka was one of the last few states where the Congress was in power. On Tuesday, the grand old party got another major jolt after result trends showed it has been reduced to double-digit in the state Assembly.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in all likelihood is coming to power in the southern state with over 110 seats. On Saturday, voting took place for 222 seats out of the total 224 Assembly constituencies in the southern state.

All these indicate that the BJP's ambitious plan to erase the Congress' presence from across the country has been turning into a reality. The BJP came out with its famous slogan--Congress-mukt bharat (Congress-free India)--after 2014. It was dubbed as a "psychological warfare" against the Congress which the saffron party well-executed on the ground, thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaigning abilities and BJP president Amit Shah's planning skills.

Along with Modi and Shah's leadership skills, it is the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) cadres who whole-heartedly worked on the ground to realise their dream of ruling in every nook and cranny of the country.

Today, the BJP is already ruling in 21 states and if it wins (which is it sure to) Karnataka, the saffron party will be in power in 22 states in the country. The Congress is in power only in Punjab, Mizoram and Puducherry (an union territory).

Recently, during an election campaign in Karnataka, PM Modi mocked the Congress saying that once it loses Karnataka it will become a "PPP (Puducherry, Punjab and Parivar (family)) Congress". "After May 15 (when the poll results will be declared), the Indian National Congress will be reduced to 'PPP Congress'-- P for Punjab, P for Puducherry, and P for Parivar (family)," Modi told an election rally in Gadag, where he predicted the state's ruling party would be decimated in the elections.

After the exit poll results were declared late on Saturday evening, BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa refused to acknowledge the theory of a "hung assembly" in the state. He stated that the Congress will be exited from the state. He added that the BJP will win more than 120 seats and form the government on its own.

Yeddyurappa, a veteran Lingayat politician with strong grassroot connection, was more accurate than any pollster. He got a sense of a crushing defeat of the Congress well in advance than many others.

On Tuesday, "Congress Mukt Bharat" was trending on Twitter. Here we bring you a few tweets:

The Modi & Shah duo has taken India one more step closer to Congress Mukt Bharat. Congress still arrogant and not ready to concede that it's a failure of the #RahulGandhi leadership. They are busy blaming #EVMs & claiming Moral Victory, instead of introspecting.#KarnatakaVerdict  Jagrati Shukla (@JagratiShukla29) May 15, 2018

This is truly Congress mukt Bharat. They rule just 2.5 states and regional parties rule bigger states than them! Massive! BJP Now 110  Abhisar Sharma (@abhisar_sharma) May 15, 2018

Arnab started his program at 7 AM.. and now taking his first break only after BJP crossed the majority mark.. when it would come to 'Congress Mukt Bharat'.. Arnab's name will be written in Golden Words...just next to Rahul Gandhi..#KarnatakaVerdict #KarnatakaElectionResults2018  Paresh Rawal fn (@Babu_Bhaiyaa) May 15, 2018

Rahul Gandhi has now proven to be the ultimate brand ambassador of Congress Mukt Bharat. #May15WithArnab #KarnakataElections2018  Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) May 15, 2018

A Congress Mukt Bharat is now a very real possibility. After everything he tried in Karnataka @RahulGandhi will wonder if theres anything he can do to stop this from happening. @narendramodi & @AmitShah giving the Congress a masterclass in election management.  Rahul Kanwal (@rahulkanwal) May 15, 2018
Karnataka election results: JD(S) is not 'kingmaker', but 'king'?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: Over the last few months, the HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) had a rollercoaster ride in the wake of the Karnataka Assembly elections 2018. On Tuesday, as the nation waits for the full and final results of the Assembly elections in the southern state, the suspense surrounding the JD(S)' future as a political powerhouse is still hanging precariously.

Dubbed as the "kingmaker" by one and all, the JD(S) is fast emerging as the "king", as a rattled Congress, which has been reduced to double-digit figures in the elections, is ready to support a JD(S) government in the state. The BJP, which according to the result trends is likely to get around 104 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, will emerge as the single largest party in the state where an "anti-incumbency" wave left the Congress high and dry.

Reports stated that Congress leaders met former PM and JD(S) patriarch Deve Gowda to give support to a JD(S) government. The JD(S), which has been cautiously observing all the developments, seems to have agreed to the Congress' offer. As per the Congress-JD(S) agreement, HD Kumaraswamy will become the next chief minister of the state.

If that is the case, the JD(S), which has formed an alliance with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) for the polls, with around 40 seats will be at the helm of affairs in the state. Reports added that soon leaders from the JD(S) and the Congress will meet Karnataka governor Vajubhai Vala to stake their claim to form the next government.

The BJP, on its part, stated that it too will meet the governor to stake its claim for government formation. A restrained BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa stated that he would wait till the final results are out.

"I will look at all possibilities. A lot of people have blessed us with their votes. I do not want to discuss about the JD(S) and the Congress. I will consult all-Indian leaders and make the decision accordingly," said Yeddyurappa.

Reports indicate that the BJP, if it misses the majority mark, might get in touch with "rebel leaders" from both the JD(S) and the Congress for their support.
Karnataka election results: JD(S) maintains maun vrat, in dilemma to support BJP?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: The position of Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)) in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 has been a precarious one. Dubbed as the third force in the highly-contested elections, the JD(S) has faced the wrath of both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress.

Before the polls, both the Congress and the BJP alleged that the JD(S) is the "B-team" of their respective opponents. However, the regional party denied any such understanding and expressed confidence of winning the elections on its own. The JD(S) has formed an alliance with Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) before the elections.

While political experts have called JD(S) the "kingmaker" (as the party is likely to support either the BJP or the Congress in case of a hung assembly), its leadership maintains that the regional party is the "king".

As counting of votes is underway in Karnataka on Tuesday, trends are clearly in favour of the BJP. While filing this report, the BJP has already won 13 seats and is leading in another 98 seats. The Congress has won five seats and is leading in 65 seats. The JD(S) has won one seat and is leading in 38 seats.

On Saturday, voting for 222 constituencies out of 224 took place in Karnataka. A party or an alliance needs at least 113 seats to form the government in the state.

A political analyst told OneIndia that the JD(S) is likely to give support to the BJP even if the saffron party gets majority on its own. "It is unlikely that the BJP will get 113 seats. So it needs the support of the JD(S). In the current situation when the Congress has been reduced to 60-65 seats, the JD(S) has no other option but to align with the BJP," he added.

However, if the JD(S) joins hands with the BJP it has to do a lot of explanation to its election partner, the BSP. The alliance between the JD(S) and the BSP was forged keeping an eye on the big 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"Perhaps that is why the JD(S) is taking its own sweet time before revealing its cards. My hunch says it will be the BJP-JD(S) combine to rule Karnataka this time," stated the political analyst who regularly writes for Kannada newspapers.

According to a report by The Indian Express, there seems to be a lull at the JD(S) headquarters in Bengaluru.

"As JD(S) hopes to become kingmaker, it's party office in Bengaluru is largely silent. Security official tells me leaders are inside possibly watching results and waiting for Kumaraswamy who will come very shortly. Cops stationed here are glued to their mobiles watching TV," tweeted the English daily's reporter Vishnu Verma.

As JD(S) hopes to become kingmaker, it's party office in Bengaluru is largely silent. Security official tells me leaders are inside possibly watching results and waiting for Kumaraswamy who will come very shortly. Cops stationed here are glued to their mobiles watching TV. pic.twitter.com/rEzKhfcU14  Vishnu Varma (@VishKVarma) May 15, 2018

We have to wait till Tuesday evening to get a clear picture of whether the BJP will actually need the support of the JD(S) or not. If not, the JD(S) will have to remain in the third spot in Karnataka politics.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 12:44 [IST]
If Mishra is not sacked, it sends out message that people in power can do anything: Priyanka Gandhi

Karnataka election results: Will Modis high-voltage, intimidating speeches help BJP win?

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

Bengaluru, May 15: "When nothing works, Modiji (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) definitely delivers". The statement made by a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker at an election rally of the PM in Bengaluru, Karnataka recently sums up the importance of "Modi, the election campaigner for the saffron party."

Almost two weeks before Karnataka voted on May 12, PM Modi came to the state, stayed in Karnataka till campaigning ended and attended 21 public rallies covering the length and breadth of the "beautiful and diverse" region of India.

Initially, he was supposed to attend 15 rallies, but the BJP, which was on the back foot till the PM made his "grand entry" into the state, decided to play the "Modi card" to the hilt and increased his rallies to 21.

In the Karnataka Assembly elections, the complete results of which will be declared by Tuesday evening, the BJP almost had no major issues to target the incumbent Congress government. The anti-incumbency wave against the Siddaramaiah government too was not very apparent, nonetheless it was there.

Although the BJP alleged that the incumbent chief minister was corrupt and gave him monikers like "seedha rupaiya CM" and a "10 percent CM", the allegations fell flat as the saffron party made BS Yeddyurappa (who was sent to jail for his role in mining scam during the BJP government in the state from 2008-2013) its chief ministerial candidate and gave tickets to eight persons belonging to the gang of infamous mining barons of Bellary.

The BJP did play its favourite "communal card" as its leaders dubbed the elections a fight between the Hindus and the Muslims in the southern state. But nothing actually was working in its favour till it decided to change its track and bring Modi to attack the Congress.

It was a delayed visit of Modi to Karnataka, but it definitely rejuvenated the BJP cadres on the ground as rallies after rallies of the PM saw huge crowds. In every rally, Modi began his address in Kannada and was constantly accompanied by a translator to translate his speeches from Hindi to Kannada for the crowd.

From invoking the names of Basavanna, the 12th-century Lingayat philosopher, social reformer and statesman, to M Visvesvaraya, the great engineer and Bharat Ratna awardee, local was the flavour in all Modi speeches in Karnataka.

However, what actually worked for Modi in Karnataka is not his praises for the state through the eyes of a "tourist", but his high-voltage speeches attacking the Gandhi parivar (family) and his controversial remarks on historical figures.

A political analyst in Bengaluru told OneIndia that several facts in Modi's speeches were historically inaccurate but the crowd enjoyed them as they are too naive and gullible.

"Modi has this ability to raise passion among the crowd. When he speaks everyone listens in silence. His speeches are full of lies, intimidation and bigotry. We know the fact, but masses are not aware. They believe him 100 per cent. That is the problem and the sad reality," said the political analyst, who did not wish to be named.

A day ahead of the Karnataka Assembly election results, on Monday, top Congress leaders led by former PM Manmohan Singh submitted a petition to President Ram Nath Kovind alleging that Modi had used "threatening and intimidating" language against them during the Karnataka poll campaign.

"It is too little and too late a step taken by the Congress against the PM. As the election trends show the BJP is leading in Karnataka, and thanks to Modi wave, we are forming the new government here," said a party leader manning the business of the BJP in Karnataka.

While filing the report, the BJP was leading in 106 seats and the Congress in 71. Out of the 224 Assembly constituencies in the state, voting took place for 222 seats on Saturday. A party or an alliance needs at least 113 seats to stake claim to form the next government in Karnataka.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 10:18 [IST]
Amarinder Singh to join BJP? Former Punjab CM likely to meet Amit Shah in Delhi today

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Karnataka elections 2018: BJP BS Yeddyurappa wins in Shikaripura

India

oi-Madhuri

BJP chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa won in Shikaripura constituency over Congress's GB Malatesh, as per initial trends flashing across media reports.

Yeddyurappa had predicted massive win for BJP in advance and was confident about BJP's win in the state.

Yeddyurappa, ahead of counting, had clearly said that he will meet PM Modi on Tuesday to fix time for swearing-in ceremony. He became the 19th Chief Minister of Karnataka after leading BJP to a victory in the 2008 Karnataka Assembly elections. Yeddyurappa is popular for winning Bharatiya Janata Party its first government in down south state.

The Election Commission on Tuesday started counting of votes for declaring the Karnataka assembly election results 2018. Exit polls have predicted a close contest between the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

After a high-decibel campaign, 222 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka legislative assembly witnessed voting on May 12. The Election Commission postponed voting in two seats due to alleged irregularities in one and the death of a candidate in the other.
A Look back at CMs who completed full 5-year term in history of Karnataka

Karnataka elections 2018: Siddaramaiah wins Badami constituency

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Incumbent chief minister Siddaramaiah wins from Badami constituency, as per media reports.

What made this constituency a safe seat for Siddaramaiah is the number of Kuruba voters in this constituency. Siddaramaiah himself belongs to the Kuruba community. The constituency also has a significant presence of scheduled castes, scheduled tribes Muslims and other backward castes - the bedrock of Siddaramaiah's support base.

For the Kuruba community, Siddaramaiah is a favourite. They have not had a mass leader from their community for a long time. They would like to re-elect the Congress so that he becomes the CM again. Moreover analysts are of the view that Siddaramaiah could have a sway over the voters in the Mumbai-Karnataka region, if he contests from Badami.

In Badami there are around 45,000 Kurubas. The next biggest community are the Lingayats with a population of 38,000. There are 36,000 SC/STs while the Muslims account for 18,000.

Playing it safe, the Congress party allocated a second constituency to chief minister Siddaramaiah Badami in Bagalkot district. The incumbent chief minister gave up the Varuna constituency for his son Yathindra and is now contesting from Badami and Chamundeshwari.

In 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections, Bhimappa defeated Janata Dal (Secular)'s Mahantesh Gurupadappa Mamadapur by 15,113 votes.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 13:40 [IST]
UP government changes its earlier stand, allows Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi to visit Lakhimpur Kheri

Karnataka elections: Rahul thanks Congress voters, says will fight for them

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

In his first reaction on the Karnataka assembly election results, Congress President Rahul Gandhi thanked the voters, party workers and leaders for untiring hard work.

He also praised the party workers and leaders for their dedication and hard work in the Karnataka assembly elections.

"A big thank you to all those who voted for the Congress in these elections. We appreciate your support and will fight for you.

"Thank you also to our workers and leaders for their dedication and untiring hard work in support of the party," he said on Twitter.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party but fell short of simple majority. The Congress and the JD(S) jointly staked claim to form the government. The BJP has also staked its claim separately after the keenly-contested election.

All eyes are now on Governor Vajubhai Vala who will have to decide whether to call BJP, the single largest winner of seats, to try to form the government or go with the JD(S)-Congress combine, which together have a clear majority in the 224-member Assembly. Elections were held for 222 seats on May 12.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 23:08 [IST]
Lingayat card fails to impress, BJP heading towards victory in North

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

According to initial trends, it is clear that the Lingayat card played by CM Siddaramaiah is not yielding expected results to the Congress party.

To remain the contest the Congress has to grab more number of seats out of 90 assembly seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka and Bombay-Karnataka region. Hyderabad-Karnataka 40 seats and Bombay-Karnataka 50 seats where dominant Lingayat community play a pivotal role.

In 2013 assembly elections, the Congress had won 23 seats and BJP got only 5 seats. The JDS remained in the third position with only 5 seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

In Bombay-Karnataka, Congress managed to get 31 and suffered a massive defeat to get only BJP-13, KJP-1, BSR-2 JDS 5, BSR 1

However, the initial trends tell a different story. The BJP is leading in most of Lingayat belt, the minority status given by CM Siddharamaiah is not helping the Congress.

As per the latest reports, Congress leading in 73, BJP -73 and HD Deve Gowda's JDS+ is ahead in 33 seats.
Karnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

Is it chief minister Kumaraswamy or chief manager of Congress Ktaka ATM? BJP has an answer

All is well between Congress, JD(S)? Kumaraswamy meets Rahul as Karnataka waits for full cabinet

Siddaramaiah now becomes 'victim' of Chamarajanagar jinx

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Though Siddaramaiah created history by becoming the first Chief Minister of Karnataka to complete his full term in office in the past 40 years, the Chamarajanagar jinx seems to have caught up with him.

The Bharatiya Janata Party( BJP) is set to return to power in its southern bastion, Karnataka, as its candidates crossed the half-way mark in vote count, stunning and ousting the ruling Congress and leaving the JD-S at the third spot. The Congress has now been virtually decimated in Karnataka.

The jinx attached to Chamrajanagar is well known in the political circle. It is believed that politicians lost power after a visit to Chamarajanagar town.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not visit the town during his recent trip to the district, Siddaramaiah said he was afraid that he would lose his chair.

There are examples which prove superstition attached Chamrajnagar to be true. It is said former CMs D Devaraj Urs, R Gundu Rao, Ramakrishna Hegde, SR Bommai, Veerendra Patil and Kumaraswamy lost power soon after visiting the town.

Even former CM H D Kumaraswamy was the last CM to visit the town in June 2007 and a couple of months later, the JD(S)-BJP government fell. On the other hand, former CMs across political parties did not visit the city out of fear of losing power. Former CMs S Bangarappa, M Veerappa Moily, HD Deve Gowda, JH Patel, SM Krishna, N Dharam Singh, BS Yeddyurappa and DV Sadananda Gowda avoided visiting Chamarajanagar.

When Chamrajnagar was carved out of Mysore district in 1998, then CM JH Patel inaugurated it at a function organised in MM Hills in Kollegal, 40 km from Chamarajanagar.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 15:37 [IST]
Uttar Pradesh: Under construction flyover collapses in Varanasi, 16 dead

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

At least 16 were people killed and several feared trapped after a portion of an under-construction flyover collapsed in Varanasi's Cantt. area on Monday. Rescue operations are underway.

Three people have been safely rescued, sais relief Commissioner Sanjay Kumar. Five teams of NDRF (250 jawans) with full equipment have been rushed to the spot of the accident.

ANI quoted an eye-witness at Varanasi's Cantt area, saying, "I was at a distance of 50 m from the flyover when it collapsed, trapping people under it. 4 four-wheelers, an auto-rickshaw & a minibus were crushed by it. The help came after an hour."

#Visuals from the site of collapse of portion of an under construction flyover, in Varanasi's Cantt. area; 12 people dead, several feared trapped, death toll expected to rise pic.twitter.com/5ABKL6hB4v  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 15, 2018

PM Modi tweeted, "Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to the collapse of an under-construction flyover in Varanasi. I pray that the injured recover soon. Spoke to officials and asked them to ensure all possible support to those affected."

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief at the tragic incident. in Varanasi. The CM has directed the district administration to do all possible help for the people by speeding the rescue work. Deputy Chief Minister Keshava Prasad Maurya will arrive in Varanasi sometime.

More details awaited.
What are the options before Karnataka Governor?

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The assembly elections in Karnataka has reached anti-climax by afternoon. The BJP which leading with highest number of seats fell short of majority mark of 111. On the other hand, Congress though put up a dismal performance, still striving hard to retain power by striking alliance with Janata Dal (Secular). Congress got 76 and JDS 37 seats.

The Congress has formally announced to form alliance with the JDS. However, JDS yet to make its stand clear. If the talks are successful both the parties will approach the Governor to stake a claim to form the government. Given this unexpected political scenario, the final call rests with the Governor.

What options Governor has in such scenario?

The Punchhi Commission has laid down significant guidelines for the appointment of Chief Ministers. And uphold the view that a pre-poll alliance should be treated as one political party; it lays down the order of precedence that ought to be followed by the Governor in case of a hung House:

i) Call the group with the largest pre-poll alliance commanding the largest number;

ii) the single largest party with support of others;

iii) the post-electoral coalition with all parties joining the government; and last

iv) the post-electoral alliance with some parties joining the government and

remaining including Independents supporting from outside.

However, the BJP has set different precedent during Goa and Manipur assembly elections. In Manipur, the BJP had won 21 constituencies and the Congress 28 constituencies out of 60 Constituencies. But BJP managed to form an alliance. In Goa, the BJP had won 13 seats and the Congress won 17 seats out of 40 constituencies. Here also, BJP overtook the Congress to form an alliance.

As a result, the Congress Party protested at the Governor's decision to invite the BJP to form the government in Goa. This triggered a debate about the role of the governor in government formation in the states.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 16:17 [IST]
26/11: Nawaz Sharifs defiance shows he is not ready to spare Pakistani Army

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Former Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif's sustained stand on the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai that left 166 people dead despite a strong backlash from inside Pakistan shows that the ousted leader is living up to a definite game plan and he is doing it courageously.

Sharif held on to his position on Monday, May 14, three days after he gave an explosive interview to a leading Pakistani daily slamming Islamabad's failure to stop terrorists from crossing the border and cause a mayhem in Mumbai and also in completing the trial. He said he did not say anything wrong although his spokesperson said the former PM, who was disqualified in July last year on charges of corruption, said his statement was grossly misinterpreted.

That Sharif succeeded in rattling his internal enemies, especially the Pakistani Army, was evident when the general huddled on Monday along with Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to reject the former's statement as misleading. The army, along with Sharif's own former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Khan, blamed it on India accusing it of not cooperating with Pakistan on the 26/11 attacks and running a campaign to vilify Pakistan in front of the world.

It is a point of no return for Sharif

For Sharif, it is a point of no return now. The leader has been cornered to a great political disadvantage and could even find himself completely irrelevant in Pakistani politics in days to come. So, as somebody who was floored by his internal foes on multiple occasions and has little to lose now, Sharif went for the counter-attack and remained defiant. He has donned the mantle of a statesman to discredit the army, which has influenced Pakistan's fate for most period since independence, before the common people as his last-ditch effort to stay afloat.

Sharif, however, has let down his own party in this individual-versus-institution tussle as his reiteration of what he said in the interview left the PML-N, which tried to save him saying the account was "misleading", leaves it red-faced. But that is only a collateral damage for Sharif, a man who is now almost alone to fight his own battle.

It will not be easy for Sharif to win this battle because the army is still the dominating force in Pakistan, even if it chooses to play its shots indirectly nowadays. But Sharif's ploy of placing the matter in the people's court hoping that it would spark a moral backlash against the men in uniform conveys the message that Pakistan's democracy is slowly coming of age. May be a decade of undisturbed civilian rule has made it possible. But Sharif certainly did something that an elected representative should do - call for accountability.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 13:38 [IST]
If Mishra is not sacked, it sends out message that people in power can do anything: Priyanka Gandhi

A day before Modi made BJP No.1 in Karnataka, foreign media sees him a leader with potential

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

On a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP emerged as the single-largest party in Karnataka Assembly elections, the Indian prime minister was dubbed by a foreign media in a piece as a leader who could make an impact.

UK-based Financial Times came up with a balanced piece on Monday, May 15, titled 'How India's Narendra Modi will shape the world" which said though strongman leadership was setting up a pattern across the world and people like Xi Jinping (China), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Donald Trump (US), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (Turkey) and Rodrigo Duterte (the Philippines) were making it evident, whether India's Modi also featured in that list "matters a lot".

The FT piece penned by Gideon Rachman said as the leader of the third-largest economy and also soon-to-become most populous country in the world, Modi's "position on the autocracy-democracy spectrum is ambiguous". It said the Indian PM's style is not "thuggish" as that of Putin or Erdogan and neither as "wild" as Trump and Duterte and that he is also "subject to far more checks and balances" compared to Jinping.

Yet, Rachman said from the talks he had during his visit to India last week, he felt there was a similarity with the experience he had in countries like the US, China and Turkey.

"There was the same anxiety among liberals about threats to press freedom and the independence of the courts. And there were familiar concerns that their country's leader is deliberately polarising society to fire up his political base," he wrote.

He said a comparison with Trump could be "most suggestive" for Modi as both have rose to power by campaigning in favour of a "silent majority", against "corrupt elites" and "allegedly pampered minorities". They are also said to be associated with a political discourse which is becoming increasingly extremist; "used identity politics to rally support" and saw Muslims as the "out group" who they can campaign against.

The FT article said this ploy is akin to "playing with fire in India" for the country has 180 million Muslims - the largest minority in any country of the world. It also pointed out the fact that not a single Muslim among 282 BJP members who were elected to the parliament in 2014 is a Muslim and every now and then, a fresh controversy comes up stirring up communal tensions.

It also mentioned about the recent event in Kathua in Jammu and Kashmir where an eight-year-old Muslim girl called Asifa was gang-raped and murdered.

"Some local BJP leaders took part in marches and rallies in support of the accused killers, who were Hindus. Yet Mr Modi was slow to speak out. The case prompted 49 senior retired civil servants to write an open letter to the prime minister, accusing him of fomenting a "frightening climate of hate, fear and viciousness in India", adding that in "post-independence India, this is our darkest hour"," said the piece.

Modi's supporters are of the opinion that some horror stories will occur in a country with more than a million inhabitants.

"However, the fears of nationwide violence that accompanied Mr Modi's ascent to office in 2014 have not been borne out. Indeed, India saw much worse examples of inter-communal violence in the pre-Modi era, such as the anti-Sikh riots and killings in 1984," the FT article said.

Modi's friends believe that the PM's real agenda is development and economics and not those that are cultural. His allies in the business community were impressed by his reputation as an economic reformer as the chief minister of Gujarat who meant business.

The article further said Modi's performance nationally was a mixed bag. While the demonetisation drive of 2016 did not deliver as per expectations, other reforms like the good and services tax were likely to help India's long-term economic prospects.

"The GST is over-complicated. Even so, it has helped to break down barriers to trade between India's states, and widened the country's tax base," it said.

"A combination of strong economic growth, Mr Modi's personal popularity and relative social peace have helped to burnish the prime minister's reputation, turning him from a near pariah, who was once banned from entering the US for allegedly supporting communal violence in Gujarat, into a respected international figure," Rachman further added.

The piece concluded by saying that if Modi wins his second mandate in 2019, it would cement his position as one of the leading political leaders internationally but at the same time, would not end the worry that comes about his "political project".

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 19:29 [IST]
At Delhi govt school, Melania Trump says she is inspired by Happiness Curriculum

Health issue hits Melania Trump just when she started to become a busy FLOTUS

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Just when she started to show her more busy face as the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Melania Trump has been hit by health ailment. The 48-year-old was hospitalised following a treatment of kidney condition which is benign, the White House informed on Monday, May 14.

Stephanie Grisham, Melania Trump's spokesperson, said the embolization process was successful.

Trump is undergoing the treatment at Walter Reed National Military Military Center in Washington DC and is likely to remain there for a week.

The White House, however, did not divulge further details about the FLOTUS's conditions, reports said.

Trump recently launched her "Be Best" initiative for children's development though her speech related to it was accused of plagiarising one given by former first lady Michelle Obama.

Trump was initially hesitant to shift base from New York to Washington DC since it would mean midyear changing of school of Barron, her son with US President Donald Trump. They eventually shifted to the White House in June 2017 and the FLOTUS now is being seen working on improving her public profile.

In April, she accompanied the president to host Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan, at the Trumps' Florida estate for a two-day summit while she personally took care of the preparations for the first state dinner that the Trump presidency saw in the honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

She also represented the current presidency at the funeral of former first lady Barbara Bush where a number of former presidents were also present.
If Mishra is not sacked, it sends out message that people in power can do anything: Priyanka Gandhi

Modi to meet Putin over informal talks: How Trump is helping rest of the world to come closer

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

It's time for yet another informal meeting. After his informal talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan city of China on April 27-28, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now all set to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for another 'informal summit' in the resort town of Sochi in Russia on May 21.

The meeting also comes less than two weeks after US President Donald Trump pulled out of the multilateral nuclear deal on Iran called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval was in Moscow for talks in the wake of the US's pulling out of the deal.

On Monday, May 14, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed Modi's visit to Russia in a statement saying it would take place at the "invitation" of Putin.

Modi's visit would take place at a time when New Delhi's defence purchase from Moscow could be hit by American sanctions imposed under CAATSA (Countering America's Adversaries through Sanctions Act), a newly enacted law, a report in the Indian Express said on Tuesday, May 15, pointing out the S-400 missile defence system deal the negotiations over which are said to be in an advanced stage.

The MEA said the meeting would see the two leaders exchange their views on matters of international importance "in a broad and long-term perspective with the objective" to strengthen India and Russia's "special and privileged strategic partnership".

Trump's foreign policy conduct has created such wide reverberations that its enemies and most allies have huddled together to chalk out ways to keep the world safer. European powers like the UK, France, Russia and Germany and Asian powers like China and India have come closer to each other discuss ways to counter Washington's extreme foreign policy measures - be it protectionism in trade or immigration or pulling out of a crucial deal which promised containment of reckless nuclear ambitions and hence peace.

The trend of having informal meetings side by side formal summits has also become widespread with the US's growing unpredictable and irresponsible behaviour. The diplomatic surge in the Korean Peninsula where the US has taken an initiative to disarm North Korea though has happened from a positive reasoning, but one never knows which way the tide will turn as long as Trump is in charge of affairs.

The Iran deal has shown it and now, it seems every other key players on the international stage are trying to find an alternative to good relations with the US and it doesn't matter whether the new found ally is a democracy or a dictatorship. Trump has evolved almost as a common threat to everybody else - directly or indirectly - and this has given rise to diplomacy of a new kind across the table.

India although is not a direct party to the P5+1 deal which former US president Barack Obama and others had made with Iran but the latest crisis on Iran is certainly going to affect New Delhi's own economic and geostrategic interests centred around Iran. Thus, if PM Modi also shows an intent to discover an alternative group of friends in Russia and China, one wouldn't be surprised.

Regarding India-Russia relations, although the two countries have been allies over several decades, the change of times has seen India getting closer more to the West than Moscow, resulting in creation of new equations between Russia and Pakistan. But with Trump around, it might not take long for every other line of division to get erased.

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Story first published: Tuesday, May 15, 2018, 9:42 [IST]
A change of guard in the ISI and what it would mean

Uneasy neighbours Pak, Afghanistan kick off peace & solidarity programme

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Their bilateral relations are badly dented, so much so that even an influential power like China has not succeeded in making them negotiate for peace. But on Monday, May 15, Pakistan and its western neighbour Afghanistan made operational their new bilateral engagement framework - Afghanistan-Pakistan Action Plan for Peace and Solidarity (APAPPS) in quest for peace in one of the most volatile regions of the world, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.

"Both sides agreed that effective and full implementation of APAPPS would contribute towards the common objectives of eliminating terrorism and achieving peace, stability, prosperity and development of the people of the two countries," the report quoted a statement jointly issued by the foreign ministries of Pakistan and Afghanistan as saying.

The statement came after the Pakistani Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua led a delegation to meet Afghanistan's Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai and his team over APAPPS. Pakistan and Afghanistan have been working on the framework for some time but it was only after Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi visited Kabul in April at an invitation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani that they decided to operationalise the agreement.

The two heads of government asked their respective foreign ministers and security advisers to give the pact the finishing touches.

The agreement has seven principles of understanding between the two sides, the Dawn reported, and some of them are: Pakistan would support Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation; joint undertaking of actions against fugitives and irreconcilable forces that pose threat to the security of either of the two countries or both; disallowing use of their respective territory by any country, group, network or individual; not indulging in blame game publicly, etc.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have also put in operation six working units to look after the well-being of APAPPS, which reportedly has backing of both the US and China.

The Haqqani Network factor

The relation between Kabul and Islamabad has witnessed a deterioration over the latter's alleged backing of the Taliban who are at loggerheads with the Afghanistan government. The two countries have specifically clashed over Pakistan's alleged harbouring of the Haqqani Network, the Taliban-affiliated faction which is considered a major threat to Afghanistan's stability.

Pakistan reportedly backs the Taliban to scuttle India's chances to play a constructive role in Afghanistan while Kabul and Washington back New Delhi as a key player in the reconstruction of the war-torn country.
Talks with China will not help says USA NSA on situation on Ladakh

20 members of a family removed from US flight after mask of 1 slipped under nose

US blocks call for independent Gaza inquiry at UN: diplomats

International

pti-PTI

United Nations, May 15: The United States blocked the adoption of a UN Security Council statement that would have called for an independent probe of deadly violence on the Israel-Gaza border, which erupted as the new US embassy in Jerusalem was opened, diplomats said.

"The Security Council expresses its outrage and sorrow at the killing of Palestinian civilians exercising their right to peaceful protest," read a draft of the statement, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

"The Security Council calls for an independent and transparent investigation into these actions to ensure accountability," read the text. In the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since a 2014 Gaza war, at least 55 Palestinians were killed in the clashes and more than 2,400 Palestinians wounded.

They erupted before Israeli officials and a White House delegation including President Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka formally opened the embassy in Jerusalem, and the bloodshed continued throughout the day.

The dead included eight children under the age of 16, according to the Palestinian envoy to the United Nations. The Gazan health ministry provided the overall death and injury toll.

"The Security Council expresses its grave concern regarding recent developments in the Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the context of the peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip and the tragic loss of civilian lives," the draft statement read. "The Security Council calls upon all sides to exercise restraint with a view to averting further escalation and establishing calm," it said.

"The Security Council calls on all States not to undertake any steps that further aggravate the situation, including any unilateral and unlawful measures undermining the prospects of peace."

It also said that any decisions and actions "which purport to have altered the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect" -- a reference to the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.

PTI
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From Our Future

The world at large knew virtually nada about Sylvia Bloom for 96 years. Then she died in 2016. Now, just a little too late, Sylvia Bloom is getting her belated -- yet richly deserved -- 15 minutes of worldwide fame.

The New York Times has just published a heart-warming story of the caring, upright life Sylvia Bloom lived, and the remarkable -- and hidden -- fortune she quietly accumulated over the course of her 67-year career as a Manhattan legal secretary.

That fortune totaled, in the end, over $9 million. The bulk of that wealth, the Times account reveals, is going -- per Bloom's wishes -- to help students from poor families advance their educations.

None of Bloom's surviving relatives or law firm colleagues or fellow volunteers at the Henry Street Settlement, the social services agency set to get $6.24 million from her bequest, had any idea that their unassuming loved one and friend had saved anything remotely close to multiple millions.

Counting Pennies

Bloom lived frugally all her life in Brooklyn and commuted, by subway, to her job. The "high life" never interested her in the least. She led a simple existence. She counted her pennies. In the end, she put them all to good use.

Stories like Bloom's have been popping up regularly over recent years. Leonard Gigowski, a Wisconsin shopkeeper, died three years ago at age 90, and left behind a "secret $13 million fortune" that's currently funding scholarships. Grace Groner passed away in 2010 at age 100. She spent most of her life in a one-bedroom Illinois home, shopped at thrift stores, and left $9 million for her alma mater.

Convenient Tales

Our popular culture can't seem to get enough of these life-affirming tales of modest multi-millionaire seniors. These stories make us feel good. They also, unfortunately, reinforce a message that our society's richest -- and their cheerleaders -- find enormously convenient.

You don't have to be money-hungry, commit vile acts or have remarkable talents to become wealthy, the tellers of all these stories of hidden millions suggest. You just have to be frugal; almost anybody, in other words, can become rich.

And if you don't happen to become rich, the media coverage of these stories not so subtly hints, just look in the mirror for the reason why. You, too, could have resisted temptation and counted your pennies.

You, too, could have built a huge personal fortune. Shame on you. You chose not to.

The Millionaire Next Door

A couple of decades ago, two academic researchers -- Thomas Stanley and William Danko -- made themselves not insignificant personal fortunes by wrapping up that same theme in reams of statistics. Their 1996 book, The Millionaire Next Door, has so far sold over 4 million copies.

That thrifty fellow down the block with a six-year-old Ford, The Millionaire Next Door related, could well be worth millions. And those millions, the book stressed, all begin with frugality.

Conservative pundits have always loved this basic frugality-pays thesis. Stanley and Danko, the argument goes, have served up the ultimate secret to getting rich. "Hardly any" of the self-made rich the pair profiled in The Millionaire Next Door, as one commentator noted a few years ago, "had expensive tastes." Instead, these millionaires avoided "new homes and expensive clothes" and "often invested 15 to 20 percent of their net income."

Any of us could follow that lead, this analyst would add, so long as we understand "that building wealth takes discipline, sacrifice, and hard work."

Reaping Rewards

But if "discipline, sacrifice, and hard work" build wealth, why do so many millions of disciplined, sacrificing, and hard-working Americans today have so little of it? Why is the "millionaire next door" -- especially for our millennial generation -- becoming a vanishing species?

Sylvia Bloom's life offers some clues. Yes, Bloom lived frugally, sacrificed, and worked hard. But she also matured in a society -- mid-20th century America -- that endeavored to help disciplined, sacrificing, and hard-working people.

That help came in many different forms. Sylvia Bloom attended Hunter College, part of a system of free public higher education in New York City. She and her husband, a firefighter and later teacher, lived in a rent-controlled apartment. She commuted, for just a few dimes per day, on the world's most extensive public transit system.

Sylvia Bloom's young adult counterparts today? They confront a totally different reality. The sky-high costs of attending college have turned 21st-century young adults into life-long debtors. To find an affordable place to live, they squeeze into tiny apartments close to their jobs or plop themselves in distant exurbs, fighting traffic jams all the way to work -- if not paying big bucks daily for scarce transit options.

Austerity Trumps Frugality

These millennials aren't living the frugal life. They're living the austere life -- and not by choice. Our elected leaders have thrust this austerity upon them, with decades of public policies that have rewarded the rich with tax cuts at every turn and whittled away public services at every opportunity.

If Sylvia Bloom had been born a millennial, she'd be pinching pennies today to pay off her college debts. She'd be looking forward to years of hard work and sacrifice, with no hope of ever saving up enough to become a significant invester.

In her actual life, Sylvia Bloom had the good fortune to live her early adult years in a society much more caring than ours. She cared back -- and chose to devote her own financial good fortune to helping others to the same support that so helped her.
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Will Trump scrap Iran nuclear deal? President Donald Trump warned media on Thursday that they were witnessing the .calm before the storm.. This comes in the midst of hints that the Iran nuclear deal may be .de-certified.....

(Image by YouTube, Channel: RT America) Details DMCA



Signers to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

Today foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany are to meet Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif in Brussels exactly a week after Trump pulled the US from the Iran nuclear deal. This after Trump snubbed the appeals of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who met separately with Trump in late April pleading with him to keep the US from reneging on the deal.

Well this may be Europe's moment of truth particularly with the concomitant threats coming from the Trump crowd set to impose sanctions on European companies continuing to do business with Iran.

These threats by the US need to be seen by the Europeans for what they are. The US could care less about Europe. It's do as we say or else. We reign and you Europeans are vassals.

If the Europeans have any notions of being independent of US hegemony it's absolutely essential for the three European signatories to the Iran deal do what's best in their economic interest and not surrender to US threats.

All three countries being signatories to the Iran nuclear deal-along with Russia and China-have said they will continue to honor the deal even without the US.

We'll see.

Though the US has threatened European companies in Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands doing business with Russia's Gazprom over the building of Nord Stream II-the natural gas pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea from Russia into Germany-strong resistance has come from the Europeans to what they see as US interference into strictly European economic affairs. Yet despite the US threats the project has kept going due for completion by the end of 2019. So Europe has been able to withstand US pressure at times but a break with the US over the Iran nuclear deal may be the real test of Europe standing up to the US.

As we know the Iran nuclear deal was an internationally agreed upon pact that shouldn't be broken if all parties adhere to it. IAEA inspectors have confirmed Iran has been in full compliance. It's the US with Trump in particular that's unnecessarily created the rift with Iran.

Last year the US unilaterally imposed new sanctions on Iran over its development of conventional missiles. Iran's testing of these missiles was not part of the nuclear deal. It was just something Trump used as the basis for rejecting the deal . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman also joined the Trump bandwagon obsessed as they are with Shiite Iran.

Now Trump in league with this unholy alliance of Netanyahu and bin Salman, there's the war mongering neo-con John Bolton as the "Donald's" national security advisor, Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State along with a Congress beholden as they are to the Israeli lobby, Iran is surely in the crosshairs for a potentially catastrophic new war.

But and it's big but, if Germany, France and Britain uphold the nuclear deal with Iran fending off US threats of sanctions against them while continuing to do business with Iran a serious fissure in the Atlantic Alliance could very well develop. Then that would put Europe fully in tune with Russia and China on the Iran nuclear deal. Their alliance on the deal could prevent the US , Israel and Saudi Arabia from initiating a world catastrophe which a US led war on Iran would surely bring about.

Let's hope today's meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels produces a favorable outcome for continuing the Iran nuclear deal.
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Me and BD read Shakespeare 2011

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Whoever White House Brief is, asking this question of "leftists": Gaza is Israel's Warsaw Ghetto. Influential advisors to One-State-Solution proponent Benjamin Netanyahu like the bloodthirsty Ayelet Shaked want Israel to "not leave stone on stone." 1.7 million Gazans are living in about 89 still livable square miles, the rest having been rendered unlivable by Israeli bombing.

The Likud has passed a non-binding resolution endorsing annexation of the West Bank. Trump's ambassador to Israel is one of the greatest single conflicts of interest in the entire panoply of Trumpian conflicts of interest: David M. Friedman, Trump's former bankruptcy attorney, is a multi-millionaire investor in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. We are being misruled by cheats, opportunists and criminals, and in no area or facet of United States foreign policy are we being more blatantly misruled and misdirected than this one.

Is Trump a Nazi? Do many people consider him to be that? His backing of the unjust goals of Eretz Israel and of their most rapacious proponents does not disqualify him. And he certainly has certain personality traits and established behaviors that remind one of Herr Hitler, including a lust for revenge when he is criticized. Hitler was in fact less ignorant than this silver-spoon racist wannabe-mobster who has never read a full book in his life is.

But Trump is dangerous to the nation and the planet in a whole complex of existential ways that Hitler never posed, in large part because the technologies that make the threats Trump represents effective did not exist in the pre-Hiroshima Era.

And not just the various ballistic and explosive technologies that mean that with the wrong decisions, human beings can end life on the planet in one great paroxysm.

Hitler never considered the environment. Nobody much did in his day. Trump actively wants to open the last unclaimed areas to catch-as-catch-can plundering of all non-renewable natural resources.

It is, to use the title of Michael T. Klare's crucial book, "The Race for What's Left: The Global Scramble for the World's Last Resources." And his cabinet appointments-- Pruitt, Perry, Zinke-- his pulling the US out of the Paris Accords, his action on the Dakota Access Pipeline within 8 days of being inaugurated, all say he wants it all done NOW.

Hitler was a nationalist. Trump is a nationalist. Now, the degree to which either or both actually felt sincere love for country, or used the position that they did in cynical ways to aggrandize themselves and arrogate power to themselves, can be debated. Personally, I figure Hitler had more reason to have become the nationalist leader of Germany, he was a decorated and wounded (gas) combat veteran, than Trump, who has never done anything more serious than a "Reality" Show, and never did jack diddly for his country.

Hitler was way more real than Trump is. Trump has not really shown yet that he is willing to outright countenance or do murder in his own country, as Hitler did, and today Kim Jong-Un has done, in order to maintain and enhance his political power. And Josef Goebbels was in his own league as an advisor, though John Bolton has not done his worst, I fear.

And I maintain that America is not really ready, not the fertile ground, for full-scale dictatorship that Depression-Era Weimar Germany was. Shelves aren't empty enough. And there is an inherent democratic spirit in the US that wasn't truly present in a Germany that had only unified in the previous 50 years from a collection of Kings and Dukes, and was still ruled by a King (Kaiser Wilhelm) until he abdicated at the end of The Great War.

So, no, Trump isn't a Nazi, if you like. But his insane ambitions are more dangerous to the world today than Hitler's were to the world then, bad as those were. And given the current Israel, which, regardless of its plural-party political culture and system, is actively working toward the ethnic cleansing of the "Jewish Homeland" (including the West Bank) of Palestinians, "Trump supports expansionist ends at the expense of other peoples that the Nazis would support" fits pretty well for me.

(Article changed on May 17, 2018 at 20:12)
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Women have been fighting for equal rights under federal law for over a century. Ratifying the ERA requires only two more states. The Illinois House of Delegates is going to be holding an ERA hearing on Wednesday, May 16 at 8 am. We visited with Kamala Lopez President of Heroica Films and Executive Director of Equal Means Equal to find out more about what this means and how to help.

Meryl Ann Butler: Thanks for visiting with us, Kamala. You've asked women to fill out witness slips letting them know that we support equality in advance of the ERA hearing tomorrow. Can you share with us why that's important, and how it will help?

Kamala Lopez: Thank you, Meryl Ann! The Delegates in Illinois who are either on the fence about voting "yes" on ERA or are voting "no" need to realize that the country is watching what they are doing and that we care. The sad reality is that the state of Illinois already has an ERA for its women but refuses to grant those same rights and protections to the rest of the country's citizens. That is truly improper. Those who would oppose equality for all must not be allowed to remain in office in the United States. This is a very important fight -- both on principle and in practice.

MAB: If someone wants to participate in supporting this, what should they do?

KL: Please fill out a witness slip here right away -- the Hearing is Wednesday morning and they will tally the count on both sides and announce it. For the first hearings, where I had the privilege to testify, there were 3471 Proponents and 319 Opponents. I would love to see the number of proponents hit six figures. Here are some guidelines for filing out the form:

If you want to list EqualMeansEqual.org as who you are representing, that is fine, or just put "self"

In the "Representation" section: write in "self" or feel free to say that you are part of Equal Means Equal.

In the "Position" section: select PROPONENT

In the "Testimony" section:

If you will not be in Illinois, check the "Record of Appearance Only" box or "File a Written Statement" if you would like to share your views on why you support ERA and equal rights for all Americans.

If you will be in Illinois, check oral if you would like to speak/attend.

Please commit now to getting 10 friends to fill out a witness slip and tag us @equalmeansequal on social media and let us know that you did! Filling out the witness slip is free, but the outcome could be priceless!

MAB: I'm confused about the "Record of Appearance Only" section. I'm not going to be in Illinois so I won't "appear""can I still check that box?

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Author's Note

The story of fascism in the old United States in my view begins with the accession to the Presidency of Carnathon Pine, The Last Re pub li can, in the year 2001. And thus the drama as we will see it in some detail begins in earnest in the next Chap ter, constructed around that personage's Inau gu ral Address. However, before dramas can pro ceed, the stage must be set.

For this book, I have chosen to do that with an essay written by our friend Dino Louis in 1995. As you can see, Louis was never short on opinion and interpretation of facts. The bare facts he occasionally cites throughout the essay were taken primarily from a feature article that ap peared in the then leading weekly printed newsmagazine Time early in that year (Hull, et al). I hope, dear reader, that you will find this essay help ful in understanding from whence fascism arose in our na tional ancestor.

Is the Stage Being Set for Fascism?

by Dino Louis, 1995

Politics Now

A spectre is haunting the United States of America. But it is not the spectre of communism. It is the spectre of fascism.



Fascism - could happen here, for real. And it would likely look something like this.

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Elections '94. The Republicans win. The message is clear. Grinchism, developed by Newt Gingrich and his fellows as a meaner, harsher version of Reaganite"'Bushism, is triumphant. The people have spoken. They and the Grinchites have clearly identified what's wrong with the country: government is too big, taxes are too high, the "unde serv ing poor" are "stealing bread from our table," people "different from us" have set out to destroy "our nation."

And on the "moral" side? Well, that slasher of national domestic spending Rep. John Kasich of Ohio, tells us (Nelson):

"The American people in their guts, mothers and fathers across this country, know that over the last couple of decades we have removed the speed limits from the highways, the lines on the highways, the yes and the no, the black and the white and the rights and the wrongs. And Americans are beginning to say that . . . culture has slipped and it's time once more to assert that Judeo-Christian tradition of rights and wrongs and values that guides our nation in the 21st Century."

The proposed solutions to these problems? Shrink government. Cut taxes. Slash government spending, especially on the poor. End toler ance, reinvigo rate prejudice. On the "moral" side? Follow the Chris tian Coali tion (Nelson) and outlaw freedom"'of"'choice in the outcome of pregnancy, require voluntary school prayer, make divorce more diffi cult (except for the leading Republican Presidential candidates), prohibit pornography (ex cept for aspiring Republican Supreme Court nominees), ban sex education and contraception. And oh yes, above all free the "free market."

The "mainstream" Democratic response, enunciated by the Demo cratic Leadership Council and more or less followed along by the Presi dent? "Yes, for the most part, on the economic side, at least, you're right. Although we may disagree on some details of both problem anal ysis and program prescrip tion, you are basically right. And we can be even more Republican than the Republicans. Just let us show you how."

But pause for a moment. Did "the people" as a whole really speak in the 1994 election? Well, no. The message of Reaction was support ed by less than 20% of the eligible electorate. Not voting in droves were those who potential ly benefit most from government intervention in the econo my, and government protection of their rights in the soci ety. It seems safe to assume that they did n't vote because even the Clinton Administration, with its emphasis on deficit cutting not growth stimulation, on being liked not aggressively protect ing rights, did not seem to give them anything much to vote for in either interven tion or protection.



Newt Gingrich - Historic Figure. And still having influence (at least on Trump TV).

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And then consider, have the Grinchites identified the real problems the country faces? Well, no. Since Clinton was elected in 1992 the basic problem list has remained unchanged (Thurow): a declining in dus trial base; the export of manufacturing jobs, to be replaced, if at all, by lower paying service jobs; a continually deteriorating national infra struc ture; serious problems in health services, education, and environ mental protection and preservation; the ever-increasing gap between the have"'a"'lots and everyone else.

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[Suggestion on video, start at 10 minutes in and go to 60 minutes.]

The most important question in human history will be answered in this generation. Will organized human life survive?

After Aug 6, 1945, and the destruction of Hiroshima with a single bomb, Noam Chomsky (NC) was horrified by the announcement, and equally so by the people's casual reaction, as they went about their business. NC went to woods to ponder the horror that we'd achieved, with the obvious conclusion that not long in the future we'd soon have the capacity to literally destroy civilization.

William Perry is now travelling and talking around the country, doubly terrified by the threat of nuclear war and the overwhelming lack of concern. Smedley Butler calls this "omnicide," as opposed to genocide, as it will take out all higher life forms on earth.

We've so far somehow survived, by skill, luck, and divine intervention--with NC putting his bet on divine intervention, or whatever you might call a miracle. We've come close to total disaster, from leaders and accidents. NC is aware of well over 100 near incidents of total destruction, via nuclear war, and he gives a small handful of examples, that you likely never heard of.

The Doomsday Clock is explained. It was set at seven minutes to midnight in 1947. On Jan. 17, 2016, after Trump's election, it was set at 2.5 minutes to midnight, then to 2 minutes not long after. The danger has moved yet further with Trump, though the clock not adjusted.

We have survived miraculously on that score.

Now we are in the Anthropocene era, where humans are rapidly destroying the environment that life on earth depends on. This carries it with it the 6th extinction of animal life, and we are well advanced in this process.

Global warming could increase many degrees this century, and will if present trends continue, as we do nothing about it. [Check what I consider to be the world's leading climatologist, Dr. Guy McPherson, who based on serious evidence, claims we will be gone by 2026. Try as I might and do to disbelieve him, whilst contemplating unthought of ways to do this, the facts are on his side, barring some miracle not yet conceived of. dg]

C02 is now at the highest level, in 2016, in 800,000 years. The situation is now without precedent. We are rapidly increasing the final destruction, leading to severe habitat demolition, literally day by day.

Sea level was 30 to 60 feet higher 3 million years ago, and we are exceeding that now in terms of greenhouse gases. [There is a time delay of over ten years for the greenhouse gasses we've already released, and no known way to remove them].

Permafrost melting will further release both C02 and methane, a gas is 50x more "effective" than CO2, though shorter lived [i.e., about 50 years rather than tens of thousands. This is a self-accelerating process].

The prospects are extremely serious. And what are we doing? The world has taken some steps, however inadequate. Of prime importance is the federal government--it is committed to using the most destructive practices toward global destruction. This should be screaming headlines every day, but take a look to find the most major news confronting us, or that ever has.

This situation is most imminent, yet we race toward it and do absolutely nothing serious about it [save crank out more humans, aimed for 10 billion by 2050]. Even Saudi Arabia, a major dictatorship, just committed $7B to wind and solar, highlighting just how isolated we are from the rest of the world.

We are uniquely insane. Every Republican candidate denied global warming, save one or two such as Jeb Bush and Governor Kasich--neither one of them willing do anything about this. The media ignored this.

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If you do a daily web search for "impeachment," here's what you'll get used to seeing. Most use of impeachment is outside the United States. Most use of impeachment within the United States is outside of Washington, D.C. Most media mention of impeachment in relation to Trump is strongly opposed to it and to the small-d democratic threat it holds for those in power. And the very worst members of both major parties (yes, including the "resistance") are leading the charge against any such challenge to the establishment.

From the pardoning of Nixon and whitewashing of Watergate on through the failure to punish anyone for Iran-Contra and dozens of such outrages, and the refusal to impeach any recent president for any of their major abusive policies (while impeaching one for sex), a bipartisan swarm of swamp creatures has consistently closed ranks against any serious change in the systems of legalized bribery, war profiteering, and wealth concentration. Trump's unprecedented financial corruption, one of numerous indisputable grounds for impeachment, is so far off limits as to be effectively erased by virtually all media discussions of impeachment, which instead focus on Russiagate conspiracy theories (in the dubious use of that phrase to refer to allegations that are dubious, not just activities that involve two or more people).

When you want to know what threatens those who have normalized permawar, concentrated wealth and power beyond medieval levels, and ravaged this poor planet possibly beyond the point of recovery, one reliable approach is to listen to what they say threatens them. Nothing has elicited as many warnings from powerful political players since the Occupy movement as has the possibility of the impeachment of Donald Trump. To take one typical example of thousands, a column in The Hill recently warned:

"Democratic voters overwhelmingly want to impeach Trump. A Quinnipiac poll last month found that the vast majority, 71 percent, of Democratic voters want the party to begin the impeachment process if they win control of the House in the 2018 midterm elections. Moreover, Democratic voters are willing to prove their desire for a Trump impeachment come Election Day by favoring candidates that would make it a reality. . . . Yet, if the Democrats do win back the House and pursue impeachment against the president, there is little on the record to suggest House Democrats have enough evidence to get a conviction in the Senate."

The above ridiculous claim is based on two factors. First, the author, like some other authors, seems to mean by "evidence" the slightly different concept of "Senate seats held by Democrats." Second, the author, like virtually all other authors, clearly means by "evidence" the limited concept of "evidence of working with Vladimir Putin to steal a U.S. election."

Russiagate has not simply been a boon to weapons dealers and a sort of pseudo-therapy for establishment and non-establishment fans of Hillary Clinton. And it has not merely distracted from numerous factors that actually decided the 2016 U.S. presidential election (the Electoral College, the media, voter ID laws, racist removal of names from rolls, disastrously bad candidates, dubious vote counts, rigged primaries, etc.). Russiagate has also served to distract from proven Trump offenses requiring no investigations whatsoever, much less years of media and government obsession.

Various polls do fall short of overall majorities now in favor of a Trump impeachment. That would be very unlikely to remain the case were Congress to move forward on documented impeachable offenses.

Impeach Trump efforts launched on Trump's inauguration day in part by RootsAction.org, which I work for, have long since provided drafts of several articles of impeachment, a non-Russiagate strategy, and a FAQ answering the most popular concerns. I say concerns, plural, to be super-inclusive, as 99% of the concern out there consists of one word only: Pence. In other words, while the U.S media is overflowing with the idea that a Trump impeachment would harm bipartisan consensus and establishment effectiveness, members of the U.S. public are, in contrast, focused on the idea that impeaching Trump would make them look like chumps who lack the basic awareness that Mike Pence is an anti-democratic authoritarian religious fanatic and war monger.

If a nuclear war were to soon put an end to all of us, I'm convinced that many a last word, interspersed with goodbyes to loved ones, would consist of essentially this: "What? Would you rather have had Mike Pence?" For fear of Pence, even a Pence as president in a revolutionized system of government capable of proper use of the power of impeachment, people are allowing a certifiable madman to accelerate the U.S. and global race toward a military and ecological cliff.

The U.S. Congress has held hearings in which every voice in the room has claimed that Congress has no power to prevent a presidential nuclear war. In reality, should it choose to act, Congress has the power of law, the power of the purse, and the power of impeachment. People diverted from demanding such actions, derailed into partisan Cold War paranoia, or knowingly warning of the Pence danger, do not of course deserve apocalypse -- but they very well may bring it on in the name of challenging the very powerful players who are openly telling them what an actual challenge would look like.

And if the world ends, and a media outlet or two survive momentarily on cruise control, we're sure to see this headline: "Destruction of earth said to be a major victory for Russia, sources say."
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We go to Gaza for a live update from Sharif Abdel Kouddous as tens of thousands of Palestinians have gathered near the heavily fortified border with Israel for nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassy's opening in Jerusalem. At the time of our broadcast, the Israeli military had killed at least 30 Palestinians, and least 1,000 had been injured. "No one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers. " And yet these killings continue," Kouddous says. This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the embassy's opening.

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: We begin today's show in Gaza, where the Israeli military has killed at least 30 Palestinians, at this count, today, amidst the massive nonviolent protests against the U.S. Embassy's opening in Jerusalem, later, after this broadcast. At least 1,000 people have been injured. Israeli soldiers are currently firing live ammunition into the crowd of tens of thousands of Palestinian protesters, who have gathered in Gaza near the heavily fortified border with Israel. The Israeli military has also been dropping tear gas from drones over Gaza.

This comes as senior members of the Trump administration have gathered in Jerusalem for the opening of the U.S. Embassy, including President Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump, White House senior adviser; her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner; and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Jared Kushner is expected to lay out the Trump administration's plan for Middle East peace in the coming weeks. The Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has sparked widespread international condemnation, while it's been praised by the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke on Sunday.

PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Move your embassies to Jerusalem, because it advances peace. And that is -- that's because you can't base peace on a foundation of lies. You base peace on the foundations of truth. And the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia, and the capital of our state from its inception; the truth is that, under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel's capital.

AMY GOODMAN: Two controversial pastors have been chosen by the Trump administration to lead prayers at the U.S. Embassy's opening. The right-wing preacher Robert Jeffress, who has previously said, quote, "Islam is a false religion inspired by Satan," and that, quote, "You can't be saved by being a Jew," he's anti-Muslim, anti-Semitic, anti-Mormon, anti-gay.

For more, we go to Gaza, where we're joined by Sharif Abdel Kouddous, independent journalist, Democracy Now! correspondent.

Sharif, welcome back to Democracy Now! Explain what's happening in Gaza right now, as the U.S. Embassy is about to be opened, symbolically, in Jerusalem.

SHARIF ABDEL KOUDDOUS: Well, Amy, there's just a simply massive protest all along the eastern border of Gaza, the border with Israel, throughout the entire length of the Strip, from the north in Beit Hanoun, to the south in Rafah. I was at the biggest protest site, which is just east of Gaza City. There are thousands of people converging on the site -- men, women and children. And it's a really surreal scene. There are people gathering, mostly young men and boys, up near the border, where there is barbed wire, three sets of barbed wire. And you can see, just a couple of hundred yards away, Israeli soldiers, you know, under these canopies, on mounds of sand, sometimes in jeeps, and they are picking people off with -- snipers are literally picking people off. I've seen people who weren't even close to the fence being shot. Most of the people are being shot in the lower extremities, in their legs. I saw one person shot in the throat. The latest numbers -- they keep going up -- somewhere between 28 and 30 killed, including a paramedic and a disabled person. There's a thousand wounded today, including nine journalists. That brings the total, since this movement began, this kind of somewhat unprecedented movement in Gaza, since March 30th, to 74 people killed and over 9,000 injured.

And, you know, there's -- no one is carrying any weapons here. There are no bullets being fired by Palestinians on Israeli soldiers. There's nothing I have seen that poses any threat to the Israeli military. Not a single Israeli soldier has been injured. And yet these killings continue. People insist that this is peaceful. There are no military uniforms allowed. There are no weapons allowed. Despite the fact that there are very heavily armed groups in Gaza, this was a decision that was made by a group of -- by the committees that are running this movement. People throw rocks. They burn tires, large tires, which send huge plumes of black smoke into the air, to try and block the view of the snipers. They also send these kites and balloons, which have either a burning rag or an improvised Molotov cocktail dangling off the end, and they try and guide it over, over the border.

And what most people are doing, it's just the very act of walking to the border. Some people go and place the Palestinian flag on the barbed wire. Some people do go and cut the wire and try and cross, saying that they are implementing the right of return themselves. But it's also a way -- you know, we have to remember that people are trapped in Gaza. There's really no way out. Many people have never left the Strip, because all border crossings are closed to them, and they're not allowed to leave. And so this is a way of pushing their bodies up against their confinement. And this is also happening, all of this, in a buffer zone. We have to remember that Israel imposed a buffer zone a couple of hundred meters from the border in Gaza. And so, over the years, farmers and people living on that side of the Gaza Strip have been regularly shot at by Israeli troops from the other side. And so, even reclaiming this space in Gaza itself is, in itself, an achievement. But it's a very -- it's a very difficult situation.

And as you mentioned, there are -- well, and they're using these high-velocity sniper bullets, which cause a lot of damage. Also, a couple of doctors told me that they're using fragmentation bullets, which break apart upon impact. And they have seen injuries with fist-sized holes in the exit wounds. And most of this is being -- people are being shot in the legs. They were talking about nearly 10,000 people injured, many of them by live ammunition, many being hit in the legs. You know, it kind of reminds me of the first intifada. Israelis would break the arms of Palestinians who were throwing stones. And now it's Palestinians walking towards the border, and so they're taking out their legs. We were in Shifa Hospital. If you just walk there, I mean, there was a wailing of pain in the orthopedic wards and young men and boys walking around on crutches, many of them lying in beds, their legs bandaged up with rods and pins protruding out. One doctor told me that they're creating a new generation of cripples. There's been almost 30 amputations.

And also there's the fact of the tear gas. Tear gas comes in three different ways. It's fired by jeeps, which fire in multiple rounds, five at a time, at the crowd. They're also fired by the normal kind of rifle, that goes much further. But there's a new method, which I saw twice today, is tear gas being fired from drones. And this is a new method that Israel experimented with just a couple of weeks before these protests started. It was first used in Gaza in March. And military officials were reported as saying that they were experimenting with this, but it looks like it's now operational. And this also fits a trend of Israel kind of experimenting its tools of occupation on the bodies of Palestinians. And those tools are usually exported elsewhere. And I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing tear gas drones in other places, as well. But a really chaotic situation here.

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Iran: a victory for the War Party

Events are unfolding as expected. Donald Trump tore up the Joint Comprehension Plan of Action (JCPOA). Pundits are wondering what may come next. Some believe the time has come for Europeans to assert themselves and put a stop to American unilateralism. Daniel Lazare argues that only a Russo-German accord may save the deal. For Philip Weiss, it is a blessing in disguise in that it shows in broad day light that the Israeli tail is wagging the American dog. John Kiriakou sees Trump's decision as a prelude to a US-Iran war. Whatever it is, it is first and foremost a victory for the War Party.

The War Party, also known as the neoconservatives, is an amorphous group whose members believe in the exceptionalism of a chosen people destined to lead the world while pocketing enormous profits on the way to hegemony. The Party consistently opposed attempts to appease foreign relations, as in 1976 when the Jackson-Vanick Act hobbled the Nixon/Ford administrations' move to reduce tension with the Soviet Union. Post-World War II Presidents campaigned on domestic issues and favored peaceful international relations. Yet, many were caught in wars not of their own making. Lyndon Johnson's most cherished theme was the Great Society. The Tonkin Incident made him the man responsible for the Vietnam War. George W. Bush ignored international issues in his campaign. The 9/11 attack put the responsibility of the seventeen-year war in the Middle East squarely on his shoulders. Going back in time, the scenario repeats itself. Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt campaigned on anti-war themes. John Kennedy advocated peaceful relations in his June 1963 speech at the American University which ended up as his death knell.

The Party's members are well known: Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, John McCain, Lindsey Graham, John Bolton, William Kristol, Robert Kagan, Elliott Abrams, and many others. They control Trump's administration. Within three months of his presidency, Donald Trump the populist, musing on Barack Obama's comment: "I don't want to end up like John Kennedy", dropped his campaign rhetoric and moved to the War Party. Whatever Teheran decides, its fate is doomed. If it re-starts its nuclear defense program, it will be destroyed by American and Israeli missiles. If it doesn't, it will be bombed under some other pretext. Senator John McCain once yelled: "bomb, bomb, bomb Iran". Echoing him, the Israeli Defense Secretary, Avigdor Liberman, is now shouting "Iran, Iran, Iran".

Once Iran is done for, it'll be Russia's turn. The War Party will tell Vladimir Putin to surrender or else" If he does, his generals will remove him. That's when General Buck Turgidson of Doctor Strangelove's fame comes in with his first strike proposal:

Mr. President, I am not saying we would not get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than ten to twenty million [Americans] killed, tops".

The War Party (General Ripper) won't wait for the President's OK. It'll launch its missiles, and humanity will be history. The War Party is an unchallenged power with a messianic mission. Unchallenged powers self-destruct in an apocalyptic cataclysm.
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From Paul Craig Roberts Website

I have explained Russian President Vladimir Putin's Christian practice of turning the other cheek to Western provocations as a strategy to convey to Europe that Russia is reasonable but Washington is not and that Russia is not a threat to European interests and sovereignty but Washington is. By accommodating Israel and withdrawing from the multi-nation Iran nuclear-nonproliferation agreement, US President Donald Trump might have brought success to Putin's strategy.

Washington's three main European vassal states, Britain, France, and Germany, have objected to Trump's unilateral action. Trump is of the opinion that the multi-nation agreement depends only on Washington. If Washington renounces the agreement, that is the end of the agreement. It doesn't matter what the other parties to the agreement want. Consequently, Trump intends to reimpose the previous sanctions against doing business with Iran and to impose additional new sanctions. If Britain, France, and Germany continue with the business contracts that have been made with Iran, Washington will sanction its vassal states as well and prohibit activities of British, French, and German companies in the US. Clearly, Washington thinks that Europe's profits in the US exceed what can be made in Iran and will fall in line with Washington's decision, as the vassal states have done in the past.

And they might. But this time there is a backlash. Whether it will go beyond strong words to a break with Washington remains to be seen. Trump's neoconservative pro-Israel National Security Adviser John Bolton has ordered European companies to cancel their business deals in Iran. Trump's ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has ordered German companies to immediately wind down their business operations in Iran. The bullying of Europe and blatant US disregard of European interests and sovereignty has made Europe's long vassalage suddenly all too apparent and uncomfortable.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, previously a loyal Washington puppet, said that Europe can no longer trust Washington and must "take its destiny into its own hands."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that Washington's leadership had failed and it was time for the EU to take over the leadership role and to "replace the United States." Various French, German, and British government ministers have echoed these sentiments.

The cover story of the German news magazine Der Spiegel, "Goodbye Europe," has Trump giving Europe the middle finger. The magazine declares that it is "Time for Europe to Join the Resistance."

Although European politicians have been well paid for their vassalage, they might now be finding it an unworthy and uncomfortable burden.

Whereas I respect the virtue of Putin's refusal to reply to provocation with provocation, I have expressed concern that Putin's easy acceptance of provocations will encourage more provocations that will increase in intensity until war or Russian surrender become the only options, whereas if the Russian government took a more aggressive position against the provocations, it would bring the danger and cost of the provocations home to the Europeans whose compliance with Washington enables the provocations. Now it seems that perhaps Trump himself has taught that lesson to the Europeans.

Russia has spent several years helping the Syrian Army clear Syria of the terrorists that Washington sent to overthrow the Syrian government. However, despite the Russian/Syrian alliance, Israel continues illegal military attacks on Syria. These attacks could be stopped if Russia would provide Syria with the S-300 air defense system.

Israel and the US do not want Russia to sell the S-300 air defense system to Syria, because Israel wants to continue to attack Syria and the US wants Syria to continue to be attacked. Otherwise, Washington would call Israel off.

Several years ago before Washington sent its Islamist proxy troops to attack Syria, Russia agreed to sell Syria an advanced air defense system, but gave in to Washington and Israel and did not deliver the system. Now again in the wake of Netanyahu's visit to Russia we hear from Putin's aide Vladimir Kozhim that Russia is continuing to withhold modern air defenses from Syria.

Perhaps Putin believes he has to do this in order not to give Washington an issue that could be used to pull Europe back in line with Washington's policy of aggression. Nevertheless, for those who do not see it this way, it makes Russia again look weak and unwilling to defend an ally.

If Putin believes that he will have any influence on Netanyahu in terms of selling peace agreements with Syria and Iran, the Russian government has no understanding of Israel's intent or Washington's 17 years of war in the Middle East.

I hope Putin's strategy works. If it doesn't, he will have to change his stance toward provocations or they will lead to war.
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From WSWS

Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly announced Saturday that he would vote to confirm Gina Haspel as director of the CIA, virtually assuring that her nomination will be confirmed by the Senate when it is brought to a vote sometime in the next two weeks.

The Senate Intelligence Committee is to vote Wednesday at a closed-door session to approve Haspel's nomination and send it to the full Senate. Haspel was assured of a favorable vote from the committee, which has an 8-7 Republican majority, when Republican Susan Collins of Maine and Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia announced they would support her nomination.

Both Donnelly and Manchin are running for reelection this year in states that President Trump carried easily in 2016, and Donnelly, in particular, was being attacked for his supposed opposition to Haspel as late as Thursday, when Trump spoke at a campaign rally in Elkhart, Indiana and called for a vote for his Republican opponent, millionaire businessman Mike Braun.

Donnelly, who had been publicly "undecided" on Haspel, announced his support less than 48 hours after the Elkhart rally. Referring to Haspel's role in overseeing torture and then ordering the shredding of videotapes of torture sessions, Donnelly said, "I believe that she has learned from the past and that the CIA under her leadership can help our country confront serious international threats and challenges."

He also cited the support for Haspel by former CIA directors under the Obama administration, Leon Panetta and John Brennan, and General Michael Hayden, first appointed director of the National Security Agency by Democratic President Bill Clinton and later CIA director under George W. Bush.

While Manchin's vote made the outcome of the Intelligence Committee vote a certainty, Donnelly's public support was more important, because it means that the two Republican senators opposed to the nomination, John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky, are now offset by two Democrats.

With the Republican Party holding only a 51-49 margin in the Senate, cut to 50-49 in practice because of McCain's long absence due to terminal brain cancer, the shift of even one senator had the potential to torpedo the nomination.

While most Senate Democrats, including Intelligence Committee veterans like Dianne Feinstein, have announced their opposition to Haspel's nomination, their pretensions to oppose torture and demand a higher moral standard in the CIA leadership are belied by their own records.

Feinstein, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were among the leading Democrats given regular briefings on the use of torture during the period between 2002 and 2007 when waterboarding, "walling" and other forms of physical abuse of prisoners were common practice in CIA secret prisons.

None of them objected to what was being done in the name of "national security," nor did any of them inform the public. When one CIA agent, John Kiriakou, did reveal the use of torture, the Democrats supported his prosecution and imprisonment under the Obama administration.

It remains the case that the only person in the CIA who has been tried and convicted in relation to the widespread use of torture is the agent who sought to blow the whistle on this barbarism. It was President Obama who decided that John Brennan, Jose Rodriguez, Gina Haspel and others involved in the torture program should not face prosecution. On the contrary, Brennan was eventually picked by Obama to head the CIA and now Haspel is set to follow in his footsteps.

One Republican senator at last Wednesday's public hearing for Haspel before the Senate Intelligence Committee took the measure of this Democratic Party hypocrisy, asking Haspel sarcastically, "If Hillary Clinton had won and nominated you to be CIA director, how many votes do you think you would have gotten?" He was suggesting, and with good reason, that a Clinton nomination of Haspel would have produced a unanimous vote.

One remark by Haspel clearly demonstrates the real contempt of the career CIA operative to the moralizing over torture by Senator McCain and others. She declared that she would not go along with any effort to revive the waterboarding program, not because it would cause undue suffering to the victims of the torture, but because it might harm the torturers. "I would not put CIA officers at risk by asking them to undertake risky, controversial activity again," she said.

Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia, Hillary Clinton's running mate in 2016, announced his opposition to Haspel, although he had previously voted for Mike Pompeo to head the CIA (with Haspel as his deputy director, giving her day-to-day control over the agency).

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Systech Illinois latest Coulometric sensor technology in oxygen transmission rate analyzers.

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Virtual Pipeline Systems 2018 Global Industry Key Players - GENERAL ELECTRIC , Hexagon Composites ASA , Luxfer Holdings PLC , Galileo Technologies S.A Market Analysis And Forecast To 2025

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Global Virtual Pipeline Systems MarketThis report studies the global Virtual Pipeline Systems market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Virtual Pipeline Systems market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Request a Sample Report @This report focuses on the global top players, coveredGENERAL ELECTRICHexagon Composites ASALuxfer Holdings PLCGalileo Technologies S.APentagon Energy LLCLightSail EnergyCimarron CompositesXPRESS NATURAL GAS LLCNG Advantage LLCCompass Natural GasBroadwind EnergyREV LNGMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoOrdinary TypeSpecial TypeMarket segment by Application, Virtual Pipeline Systems can be split intoIndustrialTransportationCommercial and ResidentialThe study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Virtual Pipeline Systems in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Virtual Pipeline Systems are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersVirtual Pipeline Systems ManufacturersVirtual Pipeline Systems Distributors/Traders/WholesalersVirtual Pipeline Systems Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, Researcher offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Virtual Pipeline Systems market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Table of Contents-Key Points CoveredGlobal Virtual Pipeline Systems Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Virtual Pipeline Systems1.1 Virtual Pipeline Systems Market Overview1.1.1 Virtual Pipeline Systems Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Virtual Pipeline Systems Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 Europe1.2.3 China1.2.4 Japan1.2.5 Southeast Asia1.2.6 India1.3 Virtual Pipeline Systems Market by Type1.3.1 Ordinary Type1.3.2 Special Type1.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Industrial1.4.2 Transportation1.4.3 Commercial and Residential2 Global Virtual Pipeline Systems Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Virtual Pipeline Systems Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 GENERAL ELECTRIC3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 Hexagon Composites ASA3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 Luxfer Holdings PLC3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4 Galileo Technologies S.A3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5 Pentagon Energy LLC3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.6 LightSail Energy3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.7 Cimarron Composites3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.8 XPRESS NATURAL GAS LLC3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.9 NG Advantage LLC3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.10 Compass Natural Gas3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Virtual Pipeline Systems Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.11 Broadwind Energy3.12 REV LNGContinued..Complete Report Details @Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Hydraulic Oil Press Market Forecast 2018-2025 Komatsu, Tianduan Press, Enerpac, Hare Press

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Recently added detailed market study "Global Hydraulic Oil Press Market" examines the performance of the Hydraulic Oil Press market 2018. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Hydraulic Oil Press market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report analyzes the potential of Hydraulic Oil Press market in the present and the future prospects from various angles in detail.The Global Hydraulic Oil Press Market 2018 report includes Hydraulic Oil Press market Revenue, market Share, Hydraulic Oil Press industry volume, market Trends, Hydraulic Oil Press Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report. It shows manufacturing capacity, Hydraulic Oil Press Price during the Forecast period from 2018 to 2025.Firstly, the report covers the top Hydraulic Oil Press manufacturing industry players from regions like United States, EU, Japan, and China. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions.Market Forecast Report on Top Manufacturers companies are Schuler, Komatsu, Enerpac, Yeh Chiun, Beckwood, Hare Press, Dake, Neff Press, Tianduan Press, Haiyuan Machinery.To Get Sample Report Click Here:Hydraulic Oil Press Market By Application are Household Manufacture, Small Size PlantHydraulic Oil Press Market By Type are Double-Barrel Type, Single-Barrel TypeFurther, the Hydraulic Oil Press report gives information on the company profile, market share and contact details along with value chain analysis of Hydraulic Oil Press industry, Hydraulic Oil Press industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Hydraulic Oil Press Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Browse Full Report Here:The Hydraulic Oil Press research report includes the products that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme and contribution to the Hydraulic Oil Press market revenue worldwide.Finally, Hydraulic Oil Press market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About US:"GlobeInfoResearch.com" is a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us:3626 North Hall Street (Two Oak Lawn),Suite 610,Dallas, TX 75219, USAContact No. +1-214-661-1669Web:Email: sales@globeinforesearch.com
Hysteroscopy Instruments Market Expand across Globe by 2025

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Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market: OverviewHysteroscopy can be defined as the assessment of the uterine cavity with the help of an endoscope that is inserted through the cervix. This procedure is done in order to diagnose or treat the possible abnormalities in the body. In the last few years, the developments in the medical technology has made is easy to perform in depth assessment of the uterine cavity without anesthesia and is being primarily done with the help of hysteroscopy instruments.The overall growth in the population of older women and increasing cases of gynecological diseases can be seen as one the key driving factors for the development of the global market for Hysteroscopy Instruments.The global market for Hysteroscopy Instruments could be segmented in terms of the different product types and usability. The global market could also be segmented in terms of the application end user, and by region. Such in depth and decisive segmentation of market of the global Hysteroscopy Instruments is offered by the report aids in understating the overall growth prospects and the future outlook of the different segments of the market and thus, helping the potential buyers to make informed decisions while investing in the market.Request Sample Copy of the Report @The report on Global Hysteroscopy Instruments market offers the analysis and forecast on regional as well as global level. It offers historical data of the Global Hysteroscopy Instruments market with the anticipated data of 2022, and a forecast data up to year 2022 in terms of volume and revenue generation. The research report also offers important driving and impeding factors for the overall growth of the global Hysteroscopy Instruments market and their effect on each region over the course of the given forecast period. The report also gives the value chain analysis of the market with a list of manufacturers of raw materials, drum manufacturers, IBCs manufacturers, and crates and pails manufacturers. The research report on the global market for Hysteroscopy Instruments offers vital prospects of development and prominent growth trends and opportunities that may come up in the market over the course of the given forecast period. The research report is the result of in-depth and extensive primary as well as secondary research methodologies backed by crucial market insights offered by the industry professionals.Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market: Trends and Opportunities:The overall development of the global Hysteroscopy Instruments market can be attributed to the growth in the female geriatric population and the increasing disorders in females related to gynecology. Some of the other key factors expected to drive the overall growth of the global market of Hysteroscopy Instruments include growing uptake of treatments that are minimally invasive, deployment of favorable government initiatives and growing uptake of office hysteroscopy.Request TOC of the Report @Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market: Market PotentialRecently, an Iranian researcher named Soroush Barmooz, developed a hysteroscopic surgical instrument that will be able to treat multiple types of benign tumors of uterine cavity and fibroids in women with nominal invasive technique. This is expected to be a huge step towards the overall development of the Global Hysteroscopy Instruments as such new products and developments are expected to boost the uptake as well as fuel the growth of the market.Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market: Geographical SegmentationGlobal Hysteroscopy Instruments Market can be segmented into key regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. North America market is expected to dominated the global market followed by Europe.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players in the Global Hysteroscopy Instruments Market include Hologic, CooperSurgical, Medicon, Hospiline Equipments, and Ethicon among others.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes 2018 Global Industry Key Players - JM Eagle , Chevron Phillips Chemical Company , Aliaxis , WL Plastics , Jain Irrigation Systems Market Analysis And Forecast To 2025

Global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Market

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Global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes MarketThis report studies the global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes market status and forecast, categorizes the global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in North America, Europe, Japan, China and other regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America, and Middle East & Africa).Request a Sample Report @The major manufacturers covered in this reportJM EagleChevron Phillips Chemical CompanyAliaxisWL PlasticsJain Irrigation SystemsPipelife InternationalNandi GroupBlue Diamond IndustriesNational Pipe & PlasticsKubota ChemiXFLO-TEKOlayan GroupPexmartGodavari PolymersLESSOCangzhou MingzhuJunxing PipeGinde PipeChinaust GroupBosoar PipeNewchoice PipeShandong Shenbon PlasticsJinniu Power Industry Science and TechnologyERAQingdao Yutong PipelineGoodyHongYue Plastic GroupEspecially Nick TubeARON New MaterialsZhejiang WeixingGeographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanOther Regions (India, Southeast Asia, Central & South America and Middle East & Africa)The regional scope of the study is as follows:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPE80 PipePE100 PipeOtherOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingWater SupplyOil and GasSewage SystemsAgricultural ApplicationsOthersThe study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes capacity, production, value, consumption, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);Focuses on the key High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes manufacturers, to study the capacity, production, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersHigh Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes ManufacturersHigh Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Distributors/Traders/WholesalersHigh Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, Researcher offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Table of Contents-Key Points CoveredGlobal High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Market Research Report 20187 Global High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 JM Eagle7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 JM Eagle High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Chevron Phillips Chemical Company7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Chevron Phillips Chemical Company High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Aliaxis7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Aliaxis High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 WL Plastics7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 WL Plastics High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Pipes Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Complete Report Details @Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Intravascular Temperature Management Market Elongate over 2025

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Global Intravascular Temperature Management Market: OverviewOf late, the global market for intravascular temperature management has witnessed a noticeable rise and it is poised to experience a phase of positive growth in the years to come. The rising awareness among consumers and the increasing initiatives by the governments in various economies are likely to boost this market significantly over the next few years.Global Intravascular Temperature Management Market: Key TrendsThe two main types of intravascular temperature management solutions are intravascular warming and intravascular cooling solutions. Currently, the demand for intravascular warming is relatively higher and is expected to continue like this in the near future. Intravascular warming solutions find extensive application in preoperative care and this trend is projected to remain so over the forthcoming years, thanks to the rising awareness pertaining to the advantages of preoperative warming in surgical units. Similarly, intravascular cooling solutions are also projected to find significant application in preoperative care segment over the next few years.Request Sample Copy of the Report @Global Intravascular Temperature Management Market: Market PotentialThe global intravascular temperature management market has been gaining considerable impetus from the increasing number of awareness initiatives by governments and private organizations. The noticeable rise in the uptake of intravascular warming and cooling solutions is also propelling the growth of this market significantly.Over the coming years, the market is expected to benefit substantially from the geographical expansions of leading participants in this market. The launching of novel solutions on regular intervals is also projected to boost the growth of this market in the years to come.Request TOC of the Report @Global Intravascular Temperature Management Market: Regional OutlookThe global market for intravascular temperature management reports its presence across North America, Asia Pacific (APAC), Europe, and the Rest of the World (RoW). North America, among all, has surfaced as the leading contributor to this market, thanks to the presence of a state-of-art domestic healthcare infrastructure and established market players. With the investment on research and development of novel technologies in the field of medical and healthcare and the emergence of the U.S. as the key domestic market for intravascular temperature management solutions, North America is projected to retain its leading position over the next few years. Among other regional markets, Europe and Asia Pacific are likely to register a significant rise in the years to come.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @Global Intravascular Temperature Management Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global market for intravascular temperature management demonstrates a moderately fragmented market with a significant number of participants. Zoll Medical Corp., Smiths Medical, Stryker Corp., 3M Co., Medtronic PLC, Becton, Dickinson and Co., The Surgical Co. Group, Gentherm Corp., Belmont Instrument Corp., and Biegler GmbH are some of the leading players in this market. These companies are currently focusing on technological advancements to hold their footings in this market. However, their focus is likely to shift towards strategic partnerships in the near future, in a bid to expand their reach.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Acute Pancreatitis Market Size 2018; Increase in Research Activities with Significant Rise in Healthcare Industry by 2022 | by Types of Testing - Transabdominal Ultrasound, Endoscopic Ultrasound and more.

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This report provides in-depth qualitative and overall analysis of the Acute Pancreatitis Market on a regional level from 2018 to 2022. The study also provides a comprehensive review of restraints, Market Dynamics, drivers and opportunities along with their impact on the overall market. The report segments the Industry and Key developments and strategies for key players.Global Acute pancreatitis Market - OverviewAcute pancreatitis (AP) is a systemic immunoinflammatory response to auto-digestion of the pancreas and peri-pancreatic organs. This condition is common and life threatening disease. With an annual incidence of 4.973 cases per 100000 people worldwide. The males are predominantly affected at young ages with a ratio of 2.5:1. The mortality rate for pancreatitis is between 1.5% and 4.2% according to large epidemiological studies, but is a frequent gastrointestinal disease with a morbidity rate of 30% in severe cases.To get sample copy of Report Click Here @Regardless of the technological advances in critical care drugs in the course of recent years, the death rate has prevailed to approximately 10%. Acute pancreatitis is confirmed by medical history, physical examination, and typically a blood test (amylase or lipase) for digestive enzymes of the pancreas. The diagnosis of pancreatic is often difficult and treatments are therefore delayed because the organ is relatively inaccessible. The testing of acute pancreatits include techniques such as transabdominal ultrasound, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). Surgery has no role in mild acute pancreatitis or in severe pancreatitis with sterile necrosis. Surgical therapy in infected necrosis can be considered, based on the availability of other therapeutic options and the consistency of the necrotic material.According to the 2013 American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) guidelines, antibiotics are usually not recommended in patients with acute pancreatitis, regardless of the type or disease severity. Infection must be suspected in patients who have signs of deterioration such as fever, increasing WBC count. Most infections in pancreatic necrosis are caused by single bacterial species from the gut. In patients with infected necrosis, antibiotics known to penetrate pancreatic necrosis, such as carbapenems, fluoroquinolones, and metronidazole, are recommended. Byetta (exanitide) is a drug from Eli Lily and Company that is FDA approved to treat acute pancreatitis.Key Participants:Some of the key players in this market are: Abbott Laboratories (US), McNeil Consumer Healthcare (US), Sun BioPharma, Inc (US), universitys and institutes are also included in the treatment of acute pancreatic like Radboud University, University Medicine Greifswald and others.Segmentation:Global Acute Pancreatitis market has been segmented on the basis of types of testing which comprises of Transabdominal ultrasound, Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), Computerized tomography (CT) and others On the basis of type of treatment which consists of Fluids, Nutritional Support, Treatment of Underlying Issues, Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and others.All the queries about this report can be asked @On the basis of type of therapy which consists of Massage Therapy, Therapeutic Touch, Acupuncture and othersGlobal Acute pancreatitis Market  Regional:Geographically, the regional market is segmented into America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.The North America dominated the global acute pancreatitis market with the U.S. holding the largest market share owing to numerous developments in the medical sector, and rising numbers of research institutes for better treatment of this diseases. The reported annual incidence of acute pancreatitis has ranged from 4.9 to 35 per 100,000 population. Acute pancreatitis is the leading gastrointestinal cause of hospitalization in the United States.In Europe, the market for multiple sclerosis is expected to exhibit positive growth during the forecast period. The incidence of acute pancreatitis varies across Europe with gallstone dominantly spread across southern Europe and alcohol in Eastern Europe. In Western countries, the most common cause is alcohol, accounting for 65 percent of acute pancreatitis cases in the US, 20 percent of cases in Sweden, and 5 percent of those in the United Kingdom. In August, 2014, BSV BioScience GmbH, Germany received orphan designation for ulinastatin by the European Commission for the treatment of acute pancreatitis. This grant will help the company to acquire market share and enhance the customer base in Europe. The incidence of acute pancreatitis is increasing in many European and Scandinavian countries due to increased alcohol consumption and better diagnostic capability.Whereas Asia Pacific is expected to be a growing market for Acute Pancreatitis market and expected to grow at a rapid rate. The developing countries such as China and India are leading this market due to the fast growing healthcare sector and large unmet needs over the forecast period. The Middle East & African market especially, the African region is expected to witness a poor growth owing to the lack of knowledge in medical sector, and less development in medical facilities in Middle East & Africa will have limited growth in the market.Key Questions Answered In This Report:What will the market size and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Get Marvelous Discount @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Food Ingredients Sterilization Market Growth of the Market over 2024

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Food ingredients sterilization equipment is used to sterile the food ingredients. There are different processes through which food ingredients are processed such as heat, moisture, radiation etc. in order to reduce or destroy the micro-organisms present in food ingredients. Increasing demand for and increasing demand for processed and packaged food from last few decades has led to increasing in demand of food ingredients in global food and beverage industry. In addition, the demand for food ingredients sterilization also rising to increase shelf life of treated food ingredients. Growing demand for spices, herbs, meat, poultry, cereals, pulses etc. in the food industry is expected to drive the growth of food ingredients sterilization in developing regions. In terms of value, it is expected that North America accounts for the majority of share in global food ingredients sterilization market and Asia-Pacific is expected as the fastest growing market.Report Overview @Global Food Ingredients Sterilization Market: Market DriversSome of the key drivers influencing the demand for food ingredients sterilization the global market are driven by the food safety and health protection. Proper sterilization of food keeps the food products safe and also increases the potential of food manufacturers to deliver quality food with extended shelf life. On the other side, the increasing trend of packaged and prepared food in developing region has led to increasing in demand for food sterilization among food manufacturers as it adds significant shelf life to food ingredients and keeps the packaged food safe for the longer period of time. Demand for food ingredients sterilization also increasing in the global market due to stringent food safety norms of government regarding the use of sterilization equipment in food and beverage industry. In near future, the demand for food ingredients sterilization is expected to create better opportunities in food industry as advancement in sterilization technology and development of new sterilization products is creating opportunities for the food manufacturers to develop new food products to meet growing demand of consumers.Global Food Ingredients Sterilization Market: Market SegmentFood ingredients sterilization segment have been segmented on the basis of ingredients and sterilization method. Market segment by ingredients, it includes spices, herbs and seasonings, dried fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, seafood, dairy ingredients, cereals and pulses, tea blends and nuts. Market segmentation, on the basis of sterilization method, its market is segmented by heat, moisture, radiation and others. Further, on analyzing the demand for food ingredients sterilization market, it assessed that the demand for food ingredients sterilization equipment is expected to increase in spices, herbs and seasonings as they have wide application in food processing industry. On the other side, food ingredients sterilization by heat is expected to account largest share in the global market followed by radiation method. Moreover, the regulations of government regarding food safety and health concern led to support the growth of food ingredients sterilization equipment in the global food industry.Request for Table of Contents @Global Food Ingredients Sterilization Market: Regional segmentOn the basis of regional segment, food ingredients sterilization market is segmented into five regions including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific & Japan and the Middle East and Africa. On analyzing the demand for food ingredients sterilization market, it is expected that North America and Europe accounts for the largest market share in the global food ingredients sterilization market in terms of value. Moreover, demand for food ingredients sterilization is also expected to increase in Asia-Pacific & Japan in near future due to an increasing number of food manufacturing plants in the region.Global Food Ingredients Sterilization Market: Key playersSome of the key players in food ingredients sterilization market are Sterigenics International LLC, Croll Reynolds, Balchem Corporation, Global Sterilization and Fumigation, Wenda Ingredients, Namah Steam Sterilization, Napasol AG, Cosmed Group, Safe Spice and ATTEC Food Technology among others.Get Sample Copy of this Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Animal Antimicrobials and Antibiotics Market Key Driving Factors are Increasing Demand for Livestock Products

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The global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market is growing significantly due to the increasing companion animal ownership, large scale livestock production, and high incidences of animal diseases outbreaks. The increasing demand for pet animals and massive unexplored market in the emerging economies, such as India and China are creating ample opportunities for the growth of the global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market, at a considerable rate in the coming years.Explore Full Report Description At:Based on animal type, the global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market can be categorized as companion animals, food producing animals, and others animals. Based on mode of administration, the animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market can be categorized, as oral powders and solutions, premixes, intramammary preparations, injections, and other mode of administration.The global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market can be categorized on the basis of product type as penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, sulfonamides, and others. The tetracyclines category holds the largest market among all the products of the global antimicrobials and antibiotics market.Geographically, North America leads the global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market, due to high incidences of animal diseases outbreak, excessive livestock product consumption, high companion animal ownership, and increased awareness for animal diseases outbreaks. Moreover, the Asia-Pacific animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market is growing, due to increasing disposable income and companion animal ownership, and increasing government involvement in countering animal diseases outbreaks in the emerging countries, such as India and China.Download Free Report Sample At:Some of the major players operating in the global animal antimicrobials and antibiotics market are Bayer AG, Vibrac, Merck & Co. Inc., Vetoquinol, Ceva, Novartis AG, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Eli Lilly and Company, Sanofi, and Zoetis.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY  10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Mobile WLAN Access Points Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2016-2026

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With growing number of smart devices over the years, number of connections to a particular network has risen. Access points are devices that serve as a transceiver between the wireless local area network (WLAN) and a wired network. Routers are mostly not capable to provide strong signal after certain distances because of various interference causing attenuation of signal, thus access points are then needed to strength the signal further. With a specific network area, every access points are capable of serving multiple users. A user is automatically shifted to another access point as it moves beyond the range of a previous access point. Basically, wireless access points are designed to ensure a reasonably strong signal at any given time throughout a wireless network area. Furthermore, the number of access points to be installed depends on the number of users and the physical size of the network.Increasing trends of mobility in the organizations has infused the use of smartphones, tablets, laptops, cloud and social media applications in business environments, and thereby increasing the demand for mobile WLAN access points. In addition to this some of the prominent drivers for mobile WLAN access points market are factors such as higher disposable income enablinabling users to adopt smart technologies, as well as growing installations of outdoor WLAN, among others. On the other hand, factors such as threat of cyber-attack, and complying with stringent regulation may act as a restraint for the mobile WLAN access points market.Request Report Sample @Mobile WLAN access points market can be segmented on the basis of standard, location, end-users, and regions. On the basis of standard the market can be segmented into IEEE 802.11 a/b/g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE 802.11 ac, and others. The mobile WLAN access points market by location can be segments as indoor and outdoor. Whereas the end user segment in the Mobile WLAN access points market may include consumer and enterprise. Regionally, mobile WLAN access points market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East and Africa.Mobile WLAN access points market is dominated by the North America, and Western Europe region. Western Europe is expected to grow at a significantly as compared to the other region in the mobile WLAN access points market and will see a good growth rate in the future. North America has a wide presence of key mobile WLAN access point providers, as well as U.S. is considered as the high adopter of connected technology. Asia Pacific Excl. Japan as well as Japan region is expected to witness a significant growth in the mobile WLAN access points market. Eastern Europe and Latin America is expected to see a moderate growth rate in the mobile WLAN access points market.Among the key players involved in mobile WLAN access points market, companies such as TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd. and NETGEAR, Inc., among others are focusing on organic as well as inorganic strategies to strengthen their position in the market. For instance, TP-Link Technologies Co., Ltd recently introduced a multi-band router based on 802.11ad which is the most innovative wireless technology. Whereas, NETGEAR, Inc. launched an easy-to-use, cost effective Dual Band 802.11ac Wireless Access Point particularly for small offices and home offices (SOHO) enabling the customers to improving their wireless network coverage.Request For Table Of Content @Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
GiftaLove.com Recently Launched the Exclusive Collection of Fathers Day Gifts 2018!

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After winding up with Mothers Day gift collection, GiftaLove.com is back again to cater awesome gifting solutions to its customers with recently introduced range of Fathers Day Gifts 2018. The range is offering myriad gifting solutions with free shipping services nationwide.New Delhi, India:- Now when the people across the globe are over with the celebration of Mothers Day, there comes the turn of honouring another parent that is Father with grand celebration of Fathers Day. With similar reason of celebration, Fathers Day will be celebrated this year on June 17. Thus, now when the celebration of Fathers Day is approaching fast, people are soon to get started with Fathers Day celebration preparations.GiftaLove.com has thus, introduced its exclusive line of Fathers Day Gifts 2018 (). Like every year, the range will be offering impressive line of Fathers Day gifts that are excellent to make fathers feel loved and honoured on the special day. Moreover, the range will be facilitating people to send Fathers Day Gifts to India and worldwide as well.During a discussion about the elite Fathers Day Gifts collection, one of the gifting experts of the gift store commented, On Fathers Day, everyone desires to gift a heartwarming token of love to loving father and honor his affection, love and care. Its the day of thanking father and making him feel loved and cared a lot. Thus, we have created an exclusive and very wide range of Fathers Day gifts that are inclusive of wonderful gifting solution for surprising dearest father. In fact, we are offering Fathers Day gifts that can match up with distinctive preferences and budget of people for surprising father with a token of love. Moreover, there is the facility for Fathers Day gifts delivery in India and worldwide that people can avail to convey love to distant father on the special day.From the myriads of options in Fathers Day gifts range, people get extensive choices for gifting options that are impressive, heart winning and unique as well. Thus, people can buy selections for personalized wooden plaques, printed cushions, photo frames, perfumes, chocolate hampers, set of Tie and cufflinks, Cake and flower combo, personalized coffee mugs and plenty of other wonderful gifting options online. People can also buy Fathers Day special sweets combos online.Along with Fathers Day Gifts, some of the most preferred gift ranges among the online gift shoppers of GiftaLove.com are Anniversary gifts, spiritual gifts, personalized gifts, good luck gifts, printed mugs and cushions, birthday gifts (chocolate bouquets, photo frames, teddies, anniversary flowers and many other wonderful gift catalogues too.GiftaLove.com is Indias much preferred online gifting stores that caters people with extensive gifting options for the celebrations falling across the year. This time for the upcoming occasion of Fathers Day, the portal has introduced its line of Fathers Day Gifts online that is inclusive of wonderful gifting solutions to make every father feel loved and cared on the special day. In addition to widest range for Fathers Day gifts, the portal also facilitates the customers to buy and send gifts to India and pass on heartiest wishes to distant father residing in India or across the globe. Browse the website of the gift store for more details about the portal.Company Name: GiftaLoveContact Person: SoniyaEmail:- support@giftalove.comWebsite:-Phone:- 8882001155Address:- Mayur Vihar Phase -1City: New DelhiCountry: India
Asia-Pacific and Global Research; Flat Steels Market Industry Analysis 2023 | United Steel Corporation, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation, Essar Steel, Tata Steel Ltd, Hyundai Steel Co., POSCO, SSAB

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Market research future published a raw research report on Flat steels Market that contains the information from 2014 to 2022. Flat steels market is expected to grow with the CAGR of approximately 6% from 2016 to 2022, and with this it is predictable to cross USD 640 billion by 2022.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 85 market data tables and figures spread in 140 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Flat steels Market Information from 2014 to 2022"Download Brochure@Continuous modernization, up gradation of existing infrastructure and power plants are the key drivers for the growth of flat steel market. Additionally, cost effective and highly efficient steel making technologies, uplifted the flat steel market. Flat steels market is expected to cross USD 640 billion at the end of the forecasted period and is expected to grow at CAGR of 6% from 2016 to 2022.Asia-Pacific is the largest growing marketAsia-Pacific region dominates the market with its largest market share for flat steels. In APAC region vehicle manufacturing, construction & infrastructural sector is growing rapidly because of rapid urbanization which is ultimately driving the flat steel market.Access Report Details @Key player United Steel Corporation Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation Essar Steel, Tata Steel Ltd Hyundai Steel Co. POSCO SSAB ArcelorMittal Voestalpine ThyssenKruppThis report includes the product portfolios of the same.This research report has provides the insights, on various levels of analyses such industry analysis, market share analysis leading market players and their profiles. This report also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments and market conclusion. Together the market data comprise and discuss with the basic assessments on the competitive scenarios & strategies, of the flat steels market, including the high-growth regions, countries and their political, economic and technological environments. Furthermore the project report also provides the views over the historical market values as well as, pricing and cost analysis of the same.Do Enquiry and Ask for Discount@About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Electronic Cartography Market to Gain a Stronghold by 2026

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https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/12832

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The growing trend towards modern marine navigation for efficient marine operation translates the need for electronic navigation a massive market opportunity for Electronic Cartography. Electronic Cartography / Electronic Navigation Systems is a navigational tool with GPS navigator integrated to navigational databases. Displays high-quality satellite images onscreen, provides interactive data chart used to enhance navigational experience and auto reporting in marine environment.Designed to find the best course for navigation, seamless information transfer between ships, between ship and shore. Deploying electronic navigation systems helps to standardize maritime reporting, increase safety & security, logistic efficiency, incident analysis and improved investigation. The electronic cartography market is expected to witness a tremendous growth due to its various benefits and International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations.Report Overview @Electronic Cartography Market in Marine industry: DriversIncreasing global connectivity through satellite communications and growing need for optimization of marine transportation in terms safety, efficiency and transparency in operation is accelerating the growth of electronic cartography market. Rising awareness regarding potential benefits of electronic navigation systems such as fleet management, cargo monitoring and optimized logistics operations to enhance harbor efficiency are some of the growth factor anticipated to boost the growth of electronic cartography in marine industry.Also the growing awareness of continuous correction and updating of navigational chart is identified as an obvious growth factor driving the Electronic Cartography Market in Marine industry. Furthermore, strategy implementation plan (SIP) for e-navigation by International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the moving trend moving towards electronic charts from paper charts are the major potential growth factors which drives the electronic cartography market in marine industry. However, adaptability to electronic navigational system and lack of expertise is likely to deter the progression of Electronic Cartography Market in Marine industryRequest for Table of Contents @Electronic Cartography Market: Segmentation:Electronic Cartography Market is segmented on the basis of End User, Components, and region. On the basis of end user electronic cartography market is segmented into commercial and defense market. On the basis of components the electronic cartography market is segmented into navigation charts and navigation system. The navigation charts can be sub-segmented into Direct and Pay as You Sail (PAYS) licensing. By navigation system the electronic cartography market can be sub-segmented into Electronic Chart Systems (ECS), Raster Chart Display Systems (RCDS) and Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS). Regionally, Electronic Cartography Market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) and Japan.Electronic Cartography Market: Regional OutlookThe worldwide Electronic Cartography Market expected to witness significant growth in all major regions including North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Countries in Asia Pacific such as China and India forecast to dominate the electronic cartography market during the forecast period, as increasing investment for marine infrastructure & vessel safety, industrialization, economic expansion and increasing ocean trade activityElectronic Cartography Market: Competition LandscapeThe key vendors in the Electronic Cartography Market include Honeywell International, Inc., Rockwell Collins, Inc., Furuno, Jeppesen (C-MAP), Raytheon Anschutz, Thales Group, Northrop Grumman (Sperry Marine), Navionics, Transas, IIC Technologies, Garmin Ltd.Get Sample Copy of this Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
SDN and NFV Technology in Telecom Network Transformation Market Registering a Strong Growth by 2026

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https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/12835

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SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation and network function virtualization (NFV) are two separate networking technologies that are becoming backbone of any communication network now-a-days. These technologies provide ease in operating a communication network. While SDN facilitates a telecom operator to reduce the network complexity and bring down the overall management cost, NFV makes a particular network completely software agnostic. Enterprises, cloud service providers, and telecommunication service providers are biggest beneficiaries of this.In telecommunication sector, there is a lot of margins pressure on service providers, due to the changing needs of consumers such as data consumption and usages of OTT services. Conventional networks of service providers are not capable to handle this particular demand from consumers. Thats why they are reconfiguring their network with the help of SDN and NFV technologies, in order to manage the challenges of traffic explosion and increase the average revenue per user (ARPU).Report Overview @Global SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation in Telecom Network Transformation Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major reason behind the adoption of SDN and NFV by service providers in their network transformation is because SDN and NFV technologies are synergetic and they offer improved programmability, faster service enablement, and most importantly lower down the overall CAPAEX and OPEX for the service providers. SDN and NFV provide a complete digital network that is essential to increase customer satisfaction level. SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation emerged as paradigm that has potential to transform service providers networks by delivering cloud style nimbleness and innovation.The communication network telecom service providers are generally more complex, multilayer, and have variety of users that require high network availability and performance. As compared to data centers, a more stringent set of requirements will need to be met, in order to deploy SDN and NFV in these network.Request for Table of Contents @Global SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation in Telecom Network Transformation Market: SegmentationSDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation in telecom network transformation market can be segmented on the basis of component, technology, and region. Component category include software and different types of services such as professional services and managed services. On the basis of technology, the market can be segmented into SDN and NFV. Region wise, the Market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Middle East & Africa.Cisco System Inc. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM Corporation, Juniper Networks, Pica8, Inc., Intel Corporation, and Big Switch Networks, Inc. are some of the big players of global SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation market.Regional OverviewNorth America is the largest SDN and NFV market as most of the technology providers such as Cisco, IBM, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise are based in the North America region and are making huge investment over there. Also, due to the ongoing advancements in 4G and 5G technologies the US, telecommunication service providers are deploying SDN and NFV at every layer of their network.In Europe region, technology service providers have already understood the value proportion of SDN and have already started deploying SDN in their networks but enterprise market still remain gloomy in terms of adoption of SDN.In Asia Pacific region, growth in countries such as China, India, and Japan are immensely contributing in the market. In India, the telecommunication services industry is going through the transformation and service providers have started to deploy SDN and NFV technology in telecom network transformation at massive scale.Get Sample Copy of this Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Mobile Payment Transaction Market will Register a CAGR of 23.2% through 2020

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Mobile payments are defined as any payment transactions whether in store or remote executed on the mobile phone. In the recent years, increased penetration of smartphones across the globe, comfort in using the applications and busy lifestyle is increasing the usage of mobile payment systems. Owing to its essential nature in todays fast and busy lifestyle, mobile payments are gaining speed across the globe. The changing attitude of consumers and urge for faster transaction is creating positive impact on the mobile payments market. Declining profits from traditional sources of income is also driving the financial institutions to look out for alternative income options. Telecom providers are also trapped by declining margins from voice segments due to competitive call rates, both these entities play a major role in the value chain mobile payment system market, and all these factors have pushed mobile payments market globally.Request For Report Sample:Increasing e commerce industry is one of the key factor behind the growth of mobile payments. Hence, amongst all application areas merchandise purchase is anticipated to contribute a significant share followed by ticketing. Globally, considering the number of users, mobile payment transactions market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 23.2% through 2020. Eastern Europe is estimated to hold a small portion of user base however is set to witness a high growth rate of 29.1% through the forecast period. In 2014. APAC held maximum number of mobile payment system users in 2014, and is estimated to continue the same trend growing a CAGR of 22% through 2020.Mobile payments market was valued at US$ 392 billion in 2014, and is expected to reach US $ 2849 billion by 2020. Growing at a CAGR of 39.2% over the forecast period. The growth of mobile payment market is mainly attributed to the growing ubiquity of mobile phones and their increasing features replacing the physical wallet. Additionally consumers are increasingly getting comfortable with using their smartphones for applications other than voice.Request For Table Of Content @Technology wise WAP/WEB is anticipated to hold more than 40% of the total market share followed by SMS. However, NFC communication is set to grow with a high growth rate of approximately 46% through 2020. Key players of this market include GoogleWallet, Visa, MasterCard, PayPal, and Braintree to name a few. Easy user interface and ease of operations is expanding the number of mobile payment users across the globe.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Imaging Technology For Precision Agriculture Market on Track to US$ 1,165.9 Mn by 2024

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https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/12016

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Owing to escalating population across the world, the need for food will continue to increment until a foreseeable future. Sadly, growing environmental pollution has considerably decreased the percentage of arable land and hence, in order to meet the overflowing food demand, the practices pertaining to increasing farming and livestock yield are gaining popularity. Precision agriculture is the usage of latest technologies that can make the farming process more controlled and accurate, and imaging technologies, particularly multispectral and hyperspectral, are gaining popularity across the world.A recent study by Persistence Market Research (PMR) has projected that the demand in the global imaging technology for precision agriculture market will multiply at a notable CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period of 2016 to 2024, by the end of which the opportunities in the market are estimated to translate to a revenue of US$1,165.9 mn. The analysts of the report have notified that that the market for imaging technology in precision agriculture produced a revenue of US$567.4 mn in 2016, which in itself was a 6.2% raise from the previous year, 2015.Report Overview @The recent advent of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has been a boon for the vendors providing imaging technology for precision agriculture in various parts of the world, developed and developing countries alike. These UAVs have the potential to significantly reduce the overall cost of agriculture in comparison to traditional methods, enabling swift monitoring of crop health and irrigation equipment, identification of weed and pest, variability in fertility rate, and environmental impact. On the other hand, the cost of equipment and the pertaining services remains the primary restraint that is obstructing the proliferation of the technology across various developing countries. In addition to that, the need for technological expertise to operate these products, lack of standardized regulation for the commercial usage of UAVs, and lack of awareness in several agriculture driven countries are challenging the market from flourishing.Technology-wise, the analysts of the PMR report have segmented the global imaging technology market for precision agriculture into multispectral technology and hyperspectral technology. Over the course of the forecast period, the hyperspectral technology segment is projected to constitute the maximum demand, which is a reflection of decreasing cost of this technology and vast information it can provide. In 2015, the market for hyperspectral technology generated a revenue of US$434.1 mn in 2016, up from 408.4 mn that it did in 2015. The pattern is expected to continue in the near future too.Request for Table of Contents @Product-wise, the market has been bifurcated into sensors, cameras, software, and others. Among these, the cameras segment is currently most in-demand and is expected to remain so until 2024 too, primarily because its ability to provide elaborated information on the real-time. That being said, sensors segment is also expected to remain profitable in the near future.Geographically, the developed country of the U.S. makes North America the most profitable region, promising to produce a demand share of 54.2% by the end of the forecast period, 2024. The strong adoption rate of new technology in the U.S. and presence of prominent vendors of this market in the country are a few factors favoring the North America imaging technology market in precision agriculture. That being said, vastly populated and agriculture dependent region of Asia Pacific is also expected to generate substantial revenue from this technology as various governments are promoting the methods that increment farming yield.Get Sample Copy of this Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
BRIC Organic Baby Food Market will Register a CAGR of 19.5% through 2020

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Future Market Insights (FMI) has released a new report titled, Organic Baby Food Market  BRIC Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2015-2020. According to the report, the global organic baby food market is expected to account for US$ 5.6 Bn by 2020, registering a CAGR of 10.5% during the forecast period. On the other hand, the BRIC organic baby food market is projected to reach US$ 3,528.7 Mn at a CAGR of 19.5% over the forecast period.Rapid urbanisation, rising parental concern to feed their child with healthy and chemical free products, health awareness programmes by regional governments, emphasis on natural nourishment, and aggressive product branding will contribute to drive the growth of the global organic baby food market over the forecast period.The BRIC organic baby food market is driven by factors, such as rising number of working mothers, increased organic components, harvesting, and government support in the form of subsidies and other benefits. Moreover, consumer demand for specialised and healthy products is expected to fuel the market growth of organic baby food in BRIC region.The BRIC organic baby food market report mainly covers three segments: product type, distribution channel, and countries in BRIC region. On the basis of product, the market is further sub-segmented into milk formula organic baby food, ready to feed organic baby food, dried organic baby food, prepared organic baby food, and others. Milk formula organic baby food is expected to be the highest contributor to the market of BRICS organic baby food in terms of revenue, followed by prepared organic baby food. Milk formula organic baby food is anticipated to witness a CAGR of 20.3% through 2020 and reach a valuation of US$1,109.6 Mn.Request For Sample@On the basis of distribution channel, the sub-segmentation comprises speciality outlet, supermarkets, internet or online selling, chemist/pharmacies/drugstores, and others. Among all the aforementioned distribution channels, the supermarket sub-segment is expected to dominate the market, accounting for US$ 1,414.6 Mn revenue by registering a CAGR of 21.2% in the forecasted period. The ease and convenience of buying products through internet will provide an impetus to the internet or online selling distribution channel and make it a favourable distribution channel for organic baby food, thereby accounting for 19.7% CAGR growth by 2020.Key countries for BRIC organic baby food market include India, China, Brazil and Russia. China represents the most lucrative market, followed by India. China is expected to contribute US$ 2,119.0 Mn revenue in the forecasted period. Growth of the market in China is supported by food safety issues. For example, thethe melamine scandal in baby food prompted consumers to turn towards healthy and hygienic food.Assessing the various factors driving this market, FMI Lead Analyst said, Increasing consumer awareness regarding benefits of greener products, rising parental concern, and doctors recommendation for organic baby food are expected to fuel the demand for organic baby food in BRIC.Key players profiled in this report include Nestle S.A, H.J. Heinz Company, Groupe Danone, British Biologicals, Abbott Laboratories, Bellamys Australia Limited, Campbell Soup Company, Otsuka Holdings Co., Ltd and others.Request For Table Of Content @Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Managed Security Services Market Expected to Success US$ 100,878 Mn by 2026

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https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/methodology/12100

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The ever-growing list of cyber threats is resulting in the companies in various sectors to opt for managed security services. The two most important factors driving the global managed security services market are cost and complexity. The complexity of threats continues to grow and the shortage of security skill and absence of experienced security professionals are resulting in the outsourcing to the managed security services providers. Evolution of advanced technologies including Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality and virtual reality is resulting in new threats, thereby, fueling the growth of the global market for managed security services.Managed security service providers are also working on introducing solutions for new threats such as IoT-based DDoS and ransomware. Managed security service providers are also focusing on balancing device management, incident response, risk, and compliance functions. Customized service is also one of the growing trends in the global managed security services market. Companies are providing services customized to the regional requirements including language support, and data sovereignty.Report Overview @The market is highly fragmented due to the presence of small players. Hence, large vendors are entering the niche markets by acquiring small vendors in the global market for managed security services. Managed security service providers are also adopting network behavioral analysis and predictive analysis to detect unknown threats and events likely to take place in the future in systems and network.As per the report by Persistence Market Research (PMR), the global managed security services market is expected to see a robust growth between 2017 and 2026. The global market for managed security services is also estimated to reach more than US$ 100,800 Million revenue by 2026 end.Managed Security Services to Find Large Application in BFSI SectorBased on the application, managed security services are likely to find the largest application in the BFSI sector. By the end of 2026, BFSI is estimated to reach close to US$ 36,300 Million revenue.By the organization type, compared to the small & medium enterprise, large enterprise is expected to emerge as the largest users of managed security services. By the end of 2026, large enterprise is likely to exceed US$ 65,600 Million revenue.Request for Table of Contents @Based on the service type, IPS/IDS is likely to witness the highest growth in the global managed security services market. By the end of the forecast period, IPS/IDS is projected to surpass US$ 25,500 Million in terms of revenue.On the basis of deployment type, web-based deployment is expected to gain the highest traction in the market during 2017-2026. Web-based deployment is estimated to exceed US$ 66,000 Million revenue by 2026 end.North America to Rule the Global Market for Managed Security Services During 2017-2026Presence of the leading managed security services companies in the U.S. is driving the growth of the market in the region. Companies in the region are also focusing on developing new security solutions to fight new cyber-security threats in the market. North America is projected to exceed US$ 35,000 Million revenue by 2026 end. Meanwhile, increasing risk of cybercrime in the developing countries due to low-security strategies and services also presents a huge growth opportunity for managed security service providers.Key Companies in the Global Managed Security Services MarketIBM Corporation, Fortinet Inc., Symantec Corporation, Accenture PLC, Computer Science Corporation, AT&T Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., Intel Corporation, Trustwave Holdings Inc., and Checkpoint Software Technologies Limited, are some of the companies operating in the global market for managed security services.Get Sample Copy of this Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
ONYX Hospitality Group Appoints Gen McKenzie as Executive Vice President of Human Resources

Genevieve McKenzie, EVP Human Resources - ONYX Hospitality Group

www.onyx-hospitality.com

Bangkok - ONYX Hospitality Group has appointed Gen McKenzie as its new Executive Vice President of Human Resources. With over two decades of experience in HR strategy and talent management both in hospitality as well as marketing and advertising, Gen joins ONYX from integrated marketing and communications agency MullenLowe Group, where she led the global firms regional HR agenda as Regional Head of Talent Management, based in Singapore.Starting her career in hospitality, Gens first role was at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay, before being subsequently appointed to a cluster role as Director of Human Resources for Four Seasons Resorts in Bali. She was then appointed to the Four Seasons Southeast Asia regional office as Area Director of Human Resources and Training. Following 12 years with Four Seasons, Gen went on to serve in a variety of senior HR leadership roles at Mandara Spa, Alila Hotels & Resorts and SilverNeedle Hospitality Group.Commenting on her new role, Gen said: Hospitality is where my heart is and Im excited to be returning to this dynamic industry at a time when ONYX Hospitality Group is expanding rapidly into new markets and territories. I look forward to being a part of the Group's growth and its renewed focus on company culture and employee engagement as we continue our journey of becoming the top medium-sized hospitality player in the Asia-Pacific region.Based in Bangkok, ONYX Hospitality Group has a growing regional portfolio of 47 operating properties across three core brands in eight countries. The Group has a robust development pipeline of close to 30 new properties in markets such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Australia, and has set a target of having 99 hotels by 2024 as part of its medium-term road map.###About ONYXPart of Italthai Group, ONYX Hospitality Group operates several diverse yet complementary brands Amari, Shama and OZO  each catering to the distinctive requirements of todays business and leisure travellers. ONYX reaches beyond its Thai roots to offer innovative management solutions across the Indian Ocean, Arabian Gulf and Asia-Pacific regions. VisitFor more information or high-resolution photography, please contact us:Email: onyx.pr@onyx-hospitality.comFollow us on Twitter: @OHG_PRFollow us on Instagram: @onyx.prONYX Hospitality Group847 Petchburi Road, Bangkok 10400, Thailand
Companies are keen to innovate

www.daidalos.blog

Hanover Trade Fair 2018: C&F draws positive conclusionDusseldorf, May 15, 2018  Under the motto "Integrated Industry  Connect & Collaborate", the Hanover trade fair from 23 to 27 April provided information on the interaction between automation and energy technology, intralogistics, IT platforms and artificial intelligence. With 210,000 trade fair visitors and 5,800 exhibitors, the organizers drew a positive conclusion after five exciting days: "Once again, the trade fair week has shown that Hanover is the global hotspot for the digital transformation of the industry," said Dr. Jochen Kockler, Chairman of the Executive Board of Deutsche Messe AG, at the end of the fair.For the law firm Cohausz & Florack (C&F), the fair was once again a good opportunity to present itself and its services to a broad public. At the joint NRW stand in Hall 16, C&F provided information on the value of intellectual property and the benefits of intellectual property rights. "Companies are very keen to innovate  this was confirmed by the discussions at our stand," says Hendrik Bucker, Patent Attorney and Partner at C&F. "The pronounced inventive spirit is good for the economy and allows individual companies to survive in the competitive environment."The visitors were particularly interested in the online platform "Daidalos", where numerous innovations  from technical marvels to practical everyday inventions  are presented (see). Students had the opportunity to get in touch with C&F at the stand and to get to know the firm's fields of work better. Among other things, they learned that the career of a patent attorney is open to graduates of technical and scientific subjects and involves a wide variety of exciting tasks.About Cohausz & Florack:Cohausz & Florack is a law firm founded in 1954 comprising 28 patent attorneys and attorneys-at-law as well as about 100 employees. The multidisciplinary law firm is having offices in Dusseldorf and Munich. The firm supports its clients - international companies as well as medium-sized companies in Germany - in all matters relating to intellectual property (IP) rights and unfair competition. This includes, among other services, the application for, administration and licensing of extensive IP portfolios, searches for third-party IP and the associated Freedom-to-Operate expert opinions as well as cooperation agreements. C&F also represents its clients in proceedings concerning the infringement and validity of IP rights. To this end, the 24 patent attorneys and 4 attorneys-at-law possess particular expertise in their respective fields and work together on an interdisciplinary basis. C&F thus combines all technical fields under one roof. This is where current standards, for example Industry 4.0 or the Internet of things, always play a role. In this way, C&F makes a decisive contribution to ensuring that companies invest in develop-ments and remain competitive.Press contact:Christiane HeringCOHAUSZ & FLORACKBleichstrasse 1440211 DusseldorfTelefon: +49 211 90490-266
SOS Childrens Villages of India Celebrated Mothers Day

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New Delhi: "No man is poor who has a Godly mother", Abraham Lincoln once opined. The unconditional love of 'mothers' for 'their children' at SOS Children's Village justifies his opinion. To celebrate this bond, SOS Childrens Villages of India, a globally operational not-for-profit organisation paid tribute to the SOS Mothers with daylong celebrations across 32 Childrens Villages in India, yesterday, May 10.The event started with felicitation of mothers for her selfless love, devotion and care towards the once parentless or abandoned children and for nurturing them into becoming contributing members of the society. The celebration witnessed the participation of SOS family members in all the 32 projects including children, mothers and employees showcasing strength of 100 to 250 people.SOS Childrens Villages were founded by Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, an Austrian, who pioneered the concept of bringing up children without a family and parental care not just in a regular orphanage, but giving them the security and quality care of a home, the love and care of a "Mother" and a framework of sibling relationships providing them emotional security for a lifetime. Presently 585 Mothers are busy in bringing over 7000 children across 22 states at 32 SOS Children Villages. Their values, love and care reflects in the successful settlement of four generations of children through career.The celebration also witnessed cultural performances presented by the children of SOS Childrens Villages India for their mothers. Overwhelmed by their performance, mothers also participated by playing games and dancing with the children. In order to make the day memorable for the mothers, children shared their word of gratitude for their mothers and exchanged gifts with them.On the special occasion of Mothers Day, Ms. Anuja Bansal, Secretary General of SOS Childrens Villages of India said, At the core of everything we do are our mothers. l salute every mother in the SOS Family for her relentless hard work and the selfless love and care that she provides to her children. It is this commitment from our mothers that helps shape lives of all the children at SOS Childrens villages of India and makes them into confident contributing citizens of the society. I thank you on behalf of all everyone in the SOS India Family!About SOS Childrens Villages of India:With 54 years of committed care and service provided to once parentless, abandoned and underprivileged children, SOS Childrens Villages of India is one of the largest self-implementing NGOs with pan India presence across 32 projects in 22 states. It provides direct care to over 27,000 children annually. Established in 1964, SOS India is a non-government, non-profit, voluntary child care organization. It has since been involved in providing children in distress a home-like environment with a loving mother, brothers and sisters, as well as a home and a community. The mission of the SOS Childrens Villages of India is to build families for children without parental care so that they grow up with love, respect & security. It is a well-known credible organization in India and the first child care NGO to get a CRISIL accreditation for very strong delivery capability and high financial proficiency. In March 2016, SOS India was certified by TRACE, worlds leading anti-bribery standard setting organization, which demonstrates a commitment to commercial transparency which was renewed in March, 2018. For more information please visit:Lexicon Public Relations & Corporate Consultants (P) Ltd14 Community Centre, East of Kailash, New Delhi - 110065, IndiaWeb:
EVOTEC enclosure family extended by another standard size as well as a wall suspension element

EVOTEC enclosure family

www.okw.com

With the new enclosure size 100, the range of Evotec enclosures by OKW Gehausesysteme has grown further. The small EVOTEC 100 is ideal for applications that require a reduced installation volume. The enclosures are particularly robust and are suitable for harsh working environments. The enormous variety of applications is rounded off by a wall suspension element for the sizes 200/250. Examples of possible applications would be measurement and control engineering, control technology, GSM modules, networks, medical and laboratory technology or information technology.The new EVOTEC 100 enclosures are available with 2 flat top parts that differ only in height. The EVOTEC 150/200 or 250 from the standard range are suitable for even more installation volume, and desktop versions with/without recessed surfaces are available in the sizes 200 and 250. The dimensions of the EVOTEC 100 enclosure are 100 x 62 x 26/31 mm (L x W x H). The other versions are available with the following dimensions: 150 with 150 x 93 x 35/45 mm, the 200 version with 200 x 124 x 45 mm and the EVOTEC 250 with 250 x 155 x 54 mm. Pleasant contours guarantee an elegant appearance. All versions are made from high-quality ASA+PC-FR with high UV protection. Thanks to the optional seal, the enclosures achieve protection class IP65. Rubber feet included in the supply ensure reliable desktop positioning.With the new suspension element, suitable for the versions 200/250, the enclosures can now be mounted quickly and easily on the wall. One part of the suspension element is mounted on the rear side of the EVOTEC. Its "counterpart" is screwed to the wall. You can now easily click the enclosure onto the wall element or also remove it again. A screw connection of the two wall suspension components from below provides for more safety and protects the enclosure from unauthorised removal. Applications with the suspension element are conceivable in the field of wearables or also wireless communication. Additional modifications, such as mechanical processing for interfaces, lettering, painting/special colours and printing or EMC coating allow the enclosure to be customised according to the user's individual ideas.The core competences of OKW Gehausesysteme are the development and distribution of solution-oriented plastic enclosures and tuning knobs.Odenwalder KunststoffwerkeGehausesysteme GmbHFriedrich-List Str. 374722 Buchen/GermanyLisa BinningerE-Mail pr@okw.comInternet
Key dynamics driving the demand of Sustainable Packaging in Global Food,Beverages & Packaging Industry | Growth Drivers | Strategic Analysis

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Market Drivers: Government Initiatives towards Sustainable Packaging Shift in Consumer Preferences towards Recyclable and Eco-Friendly Materials Downsizing of Packaging Breakthrough in New TechnologiesApplication Food & Beverage packaging Healthcare packaging Personal care packaging Others (electronic appliances and home care packaging)Download PDF Brochure on recent studies 2018@Sustainable Packaging plays a very important part in retaining a long shelf life of products along with decreasing the negative impact of plastic and other chemical packaging on the environment. Sustainable Packaging is also known as Eco Friendly or Environmental or Green Packaging. Sustainable packaging is the development and use of packaging which results in improved sustainability. This involves increased use of life cycle inventory (LCI) and life cycle assessment (LCA) to help guide the use of packaging which reduces the environmental impact and ecological footprint.The sustainable packaging market was valued at USD 201.60 billion in 2014, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.17% from 2015 to 2020.Sustainable packaging plays a very important part in retaining a long shelf life of products along with decreasing the negative impact of plastic and other chemical packaging on the environment.Stringent regulations regarding sustainability, coupled with changing preferences towards more sustainable packaging materials are some of the major factors for growth of the sustainable packaging industry. Degradable packaging is the fastest-growing process in the sustainable packaging market.Request Sample@Key Players:Amcor Limited (Australia), Bemis Company, Inc. (U.S.), Tetra Laval International S.A. (Switzerland), Mondi plc (South Africa), WestRock Company (U.S.), BASF SE (Germany), Sonoco Products Company (U.S.), Smurfit Kappa Group PLC (U.S.), Sealed Air Corporation (U.S.), and Huhtamaki OYJ (Finland).MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.Mr. RohanMarketsandMarkets INC.630 Dundee RoadSuite 430Northbrook, IL 60062USA : 1-888-600-6441sales@marketsandmarkets.com
Pod Group Expands into Central American Market with Offices in Mexico and Nicaragua

www.podgroup.com

Pod Group, a provider of platforms, software and connectivity services for the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected enterprises has today announced that it has expanded its geographical presence into Central America, with the opening of two new offices in Leon, Mexico and Managua, Nicaragua. From these offices the company will serve the whole of Central America with its multi-network IoT connectivity and centralized management platform as well as offering its new hierarchical billing platform, designed to help companies generate recurring revenue from the IoT.The new offices will add to Pod Groups existing global offices in the UK, Spain and North America and build on the companys long trajectory in the M2M/IoT space since its inception in 1999. Both of Pod Groups specialist divisions, PodM2M, the global MVNO and Pod Solutions, the customized solutions arm of the company will be represented by local sales and support teams on the ground.Following the initial establishment of the local offices, Pod Group has signed an agreement with SuKarne, the largest Mexican meat producer. The company will use PodM2Ms highly resilient multi-network solution in its connected devices to track and monitor goods as they are transported across borders.Tomas Lomas Rios, Senior Vice President of Asset Protection at SuKarne commented; For us, the priority is to offer a product that meets quality regulations, so having reliable coverage that gives us visibility of our devices to guarantee the correct distribution of our product is extremely important. With PodM2M we dont have to worry about coverage or changes in pricing as we cross borders, because they offer us a flat rate product across the whole of the Americas, from Nicaragua to the USA.Gerardo Trejo, Director of Business Development, Mexico, explained; Pods agnostic connectivity is a perfect solution for companies with connected devices in remote locations or those that require connectivity across borders, since the SIMs automatically connect to the best signal and thereafter swap networks if signal is lost to ensure maximum uptime. This functionality, combined with Pods centralized management platform and hierarchical billing platform gives customers all the tools they need to manage their connected devices and create new subscription-based IoT services.About Pod GroupWe develop platforms for the people connecting our world. Our platforms and connectivity services are customized for people, by people who understand the challenges facing connected enterprises. Through our specialist divisions, we bring over 20 years of experience, research and innovation to the mobile connectivity market, designing tools that capture real recurring revenue for your business. PodM2M provides connectivity tailored to IoT applications, Pod Solutions creates custom tools to solve the most confusing billing, security and connectivity problems. These services, combined with our hierarchical billing platform, Pod Billing, give you every tool you need to profit from your connected enterprise. For more information, please visitPod Group1161 Mission St.San FranciscoCA, 94103USAAmy Garcia RendleEmail: amy.garcia@podgroup.comUS: +1 415 707 0500Skype: amygarciarendleUK: +44 (0) 1223 850 900
Chilled Beam System Market Consequential rise in valuation 2025

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Global Chilled Beam System Market  OverviewIn the recent times, the global market for chilled beam systems has been reporting a significant rise in its valuation. The rising demand for energy efficient buildings and the increasing need for enhanced occupant thermal comfort, indoor air quality, and floor-to-floor space saving is boosting the growth of this market considerably. However, the dearth of consumer awareness about these systems and high initial cost associated with them may hamper the market in the near future.Request Sample Copy of the Report @This market study is an analytical research of the performance of the global market for chilled beam system in past and during the period from 2018 to 2028. The research especially emphasize on the driving forces, growth barriers, challenges, opportunities, and the prominent trends in this market in order to determine its future status.Global Chilled Beam System Market  Key Trends and OpportunitiesThe rising need for energy conservation in a number of home applications is propelling the global market for chilled beam systems, considerably. However, the complex nature of the trade-off between temperature and latent load, to prevent condensation over the beams, may limit the usage of these systems in the years to come, reflecting negatively on the global market. However, the augmenting awareness about the benefits that these systems offer, such as low noise levels and good indoor air quality may support the market in registering a steady rise over the near future.Global Chilled Beam System Market  Market PotentialThe key market players are focusing aggressively on collaborations and partnerships with an aim to increase their reach as well as market size in various regions, which is likely to translate into a high growth of the worldwide market for chilled beam systems over the next few years. The increasing frequency of new product launches and upgradation made in the existing products are also projected to supplement the global market in the years to come.Request TOC of the Report @Global Chilled Beam System Market  Regional OutlookOn the basis of the geography, the worldwide market for chilled beam system registers its presence mainly across Latin America, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Latin America is dominated by Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina. North America has its leading domestic markets in the U.S. and Canada. Japan, China, and India has acquired the most prominent position in Asia Pacific market for chilled beam system and the Middle East and Africa market is led by North Africa, GCC, and Southern Africa. Europe features the U.K., France, and Germany as its key domestic markets.Global Chilled Beam System Market  Competitive AnalysisThe global market for chilled beam system has been demonstrating a highly competitive vendor landscape. The presence of a large pool of players has intensified the degree of competition between them. Swegon AB (Sweden), Trox GmbH (Germany), Flakt Woods Group SA (Switzerland), Ftf Group Climate (U.S.), Caverion Corp. (Finland), Lindab AB (Sweden), Dadanco Pty Ltd. (Australia), Halton Group (Finland), Systemair AB (Sweden), and Titus Hvac (U.S.) are some of the key vendors of chilled beam systems across the world. New players constantly entering the market is likely to intensify the competition further in the near future.Read Comprehensive Overview of Report @About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:TMR Research,3739 Balboa St # 1097,San Francisco, CA 94121United StatesTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) Market Registering a Strong Growth by 2020

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The term immunoglobulin refers to the breakdown of blood plasma that contains antibody. IVIg is a blood product which is administered intravenously. It contains polyvalent IgG antibodies which are extracted from the plasma of more than thousand of blood donors. Individuals who are unable to produce adequate amount of antibodies, such as patients with common variable immunodeficiency, Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome, X-linked agammaglobulinemia and other forms of hypogammaglobulinemia, get benefit from IVIg to maintain the appropriate level of antibodies in the body.The global market of IVIg is categorized based on plasma protein and by therapeutic area. The plasma protein segment is further sub-segmented in polyvalent IVIg, albumin, Factor VIII, hyperimmunes (IM&IV) and Factor IX. Polyvalent IVIg sub-segment holds the largest market share in global IVIg market. Moreover, the therapeutic area segment includes immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases and acute infections. The immune deficiency sub-segment comprises major diseases, such as, hypogammaglobulinemia (primary immune deficiencies), X-linked agammaglobulinemia and acquired compromised immunity conditions (secondary immune deficiencies), featuring low antibody levels. The autoimmune disease sub-segment includes immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and Inflammatory diseases.Request for Table of Contents @In terms of geography, North America is the largest market for IVIg followed by Europe and Asia. In North America, the U.S. represents the largest market for IVIg. In Europe, Germany, France and the U.K. covers the major share of IVIg market. Asia represents the fastest growing market for IVIg, due to increasing aging population. Elderly people are more susceptible to antibody deficiency diseases.Globally, IVIG market is witnessing a strong growth due to increasing number of patients with bleeding disorders, rising geriatric population and increasing number of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) patients. Moreover, increasing investment in healthcare sector is also supporting in growth of IVIg market. In addition, increasing number of patients suffering with autoimmune diseases and other pathological conditions are also supporting growth of IVIg products in the market.However, stringent regulations hamper the growth of the IVIg market. Several government associations have imposed strict guidelines for appropriate usage of IVIg products. For instance, Canadian Blood Services and National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products of Canada provide practice guidelines on the usage of IVIg products in hematological diseases.Request to View Sample of Research Report @In addition, high treatment cost also impedes growth of IVIg market. Some patients cannot afford IVIg products, due to high cost of their treatment. IVIg products are very expensive as the materials required to produce them cost more and the manufacturing process requires a significant amount of blood samples from donors. The collection of large amount of blood samples is a very complex and tedious process. Furthermore, high risks of side-effects associated with IVIg treatment also restrain growth of the IVIg market. Some of the major side-effects of IVIg treatment are headache, migraine, dizziness, fever, nausea, vomiting, fast heart rate, itching, high blood pressure, cough and abdominal pains. These side-effects inhibit the acceptance of IVIg products by many patients.Some of the key players operating in IVIg market are Baxter International Inc., Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Co., Ltd., Biotest AG, China Biologic Products, Inc., CSL Limited, Guizhou Taibang Biological Products Co., Ltd., Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., Ltd., Octapharma AG, Grifols, S.A, Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., OMRIX Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. and Kedrion S.p.A.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Liver Disease Treatment Market Higher Mortality Rates by 2020

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The liver is one of the most important organs of the human body and performs major functions, such as removal of harmful substances from blood, maintains adequate level of chemicals in the body and stores nutrients for all cellular and biological activities. Improper functioning of liver cause many severe diseases, such as hepatitis A, B, C, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis and tumors. Some inherited diseases, such as Wilsons Disease, Alagille Syndrome and Hemochromatosis are also occurred by improper functioning of liver. Some of the major reasons for improper functioning of liver are genetic disorder, excessive alcohol consumption and obesity. Some of these may also lead to permanent damage of liver.The global market of liver disease treatment is categorized based on various drugs type and by disease. The drug type segment is further sub-segmented in vaccines, antiviral, corticosteroids, anabolic steroids, antimetabolites, anti-rejection drugs, immunosuppressive agents, immune globulins and chemotherapy. The antiviral drug represents the largest sub-segment in global liver disease treatment market. Moreover, the disease segment includes hepatitis, autoimmune diseases, liver tumor, alcohol induced liver disease, chronic liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The treatment of hepatitis is the largest and fastest growing sub-segment in global liver disease treatment market.Request for Table of Contents @Under geographic analysis, North America is the largest market for liver disease treatment drugs followed by Europe and Asia. In North America, the U.S. represents the largest market for liver disease treatment drugs. In Europe, Germany, France and the U.K. covers the major share of liver disease treatment market. Moreover, Asia represents the fastest growing market for liver disease treatment drugs, due to increasing geriatric populations. The liver has a significant ability to regenerate and maintain function in elderly age. However, changes in cellular and physiological function during aging inhibit the normal function of the liver and cause diseases. Furthermore, Asia is one of the strong oncology markets accounting for nearly half of all new cancer cases in the world. These increasing cases of cancer also comprise liver cancers. This increasing number of liver cancer cases in the Asian countries requires huge amount of liver disease treatment drugs for prevention and treatment of liver cancer and tumors.Globally, liver disease treatment market is growing with moderate growth rate due to aging population, excessive alcohol consumptions and increasing prevalence of liver diseases. Moreover, high unmet needs for the treatment of liver cancer also supports in growth of liver disease treatment market. However, side-effects and risk associated with medications impede growth of the liver disease treatment market. Moreover, stringent FDA approvals procedure and other government regulations also impede growth of the liver disease treatment market. Furthermore, availability of alternate treatment procedure is one of the key challenge for global liver disease treatment market.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Some of the key companies operating in the liver disease treatment market are Abbott Laboratories, Actavis Inc., Aton Pharma, Bayer Schering AG, Biotest, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly, Forest laboratories, Inc., Glaxosmithkline PlC, Merck & Co., Mylan, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Zydus Pharmaceuticals Inc.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Ophthalmology Devices Market Anticipated to Grow at a Significant Pace by 2020

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Ophthalmology is the branch of medicines which deals with anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. Some of the major eye diseases include haloes, distorted vision, eyelid abnormalities, glaucoma, retinal disease and cataract. The ophthalmology device market is categorized based on various diagnostic and monitoring devices, surgical devices and vision care products. These segments comprise several devices used for treatment of eye diseases. The diagnostic and monitoring device segment is further sub-segmented into fundus cameras, pachymeters, specular microscopes, optical coherence tomography scanners, keratometers, ophthalmic ultrasound imaging systems, wavefront aberrometers, tonometers, slit lamps and corneal topographers. The surgical device segment includes refractive device, vitreoretinal surgery device, cataract and glaucoma devices. The vision care segment comprises spectacles and contact lenses.North America is the largest market for ophthalmology devices market followed by Europe and Asia. Asia is the fastest growing market for ophthalmology devices due to increasing number of eye surgeries for treatment of eye diseases. Moreover, many government initiatives are supporting in growth of ophthalmology devices market in the Asian countries.Request for Table of Contents @Global ophthalmology device market has emerged as one of the growing segments in medical devices market, due to increased demand of ophthalmology devices for treatment of eye diseases. Moreover, increasing prevalence of eye disorders, aging population, increasing government investment towards research activities and technical advancements are some of the key drivers for ophthalmology device market. Developing counties, such as China and India, have large number of aged people. Aged people are more susceptible towards eye diseases, such as cataract and age-related macular degeneration. This aging population requires more effective ophthalmology devices for the treatment of eye diseases.Moreover, several government associations are also increasing awareness towards ophthalmic diseases. Advancement in ophthalmology devices like mydriatic, non mydriatic fundus cameras and femtosecond lasers holds immense potential for growth of ophthalmology device marketRequest to View Sample of Research Report @However, various factors, such as lack of awareness towards eye diseases, high risks associated with the eye surgeries hamper the growth of ophthalmology devices market. In addition, there are some problems associated with the use of ophthalmology device such as changes made to the cornea cant be reversed after LASIK surgery.Some of the major companies operating in the ophthalmology devices market are Abbott Medical Optics Inc., Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Bausch & Lomb Inc., Essilor International S.A, Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems AG and Topcon Corporation.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Huge revenue opportunities in the cloud encryption industry as technology progresses

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Research beam recently published a report titled, Global Cloud Encryption Market. According to the report, global cloud encryption market is expected to register a remarkable CAGR of 32% in the period 20182022. The report offers an in-depth analysis of the market size, trends, opportunities, and challenges based on closely monitoring the current market trends and future market potential. The report analyzes the major factors that affect the global cloud encryption market such as drivers and restraints. Furthermore, it offers an analysis of the market scope, revenue comparison of the active key market players in the global cloud encryption market. The report is a vital source of information to the market players, investors, and entry-level organizations.View complete report:The growth of the global cloud encryption market is governed by the increasing adoption of cloud-based solutions among the IT companies. The growing need of security capabilities provided by encryption has boosted the growth of the global cloud encryption market. IT shadow is increased in the recent years along with the rapid digitization, which drives the global cloud encryption market. In order to speed up processes, several market companies tend to bypass the security measures, which opens the back door to software vulnerability. This may lead to permanent damage to the system or cost huge amount of money. Therefore, companies are opting for cloud encryption. Moreover, the surge in adoption of innovative data storage technology by small and medium enterprises in the developing countries and increasing inclination toward software as a service (SaaS) distribution model has increased the growth of global cloud encryption market. However, rise in the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies are the biggest challenge in front of the global cloud encryption market. On the other hand, growing adoption of biometric encryption is expected to boost the global cloud encryption market.Request for sample report:The global cloud encryption market report is segmented and sub-segmented based on service model, industry vertical, and geography. On the basis of service model, the report is divided into IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS. Moreover, by industry vertical, the report is bifurcated in BFSI, Government and Utilities, Retail, Healthcare, Telecom and IT, and Aerospace and Defense. A detailed analysis of the revenue generated by each industry vertical is provided in the report with the help of tabular representation. The global cloud encryption market report is divide into three main regions such as U.S., APAC, and EMEA. An accurate comparison of the region-wise revenue generation is provided in the global cloud encryption market report.The study provides a comprehensive study of the market players, including Gemalto, Sophos, and Symantec.With the arsenal of different search reports, we help you here to look and buy research reports that will be helpful to you and your organization. Our research reports have the capability and authenticity to support your organization for growth and consistency.With the window of opportunity getting open and shut at a speed of light, it has become very important to survive in the market and only the fittest and competent enough can do so. So, we try and provide with latest changes in the market that can suit your needs and help you take decision accordingly.Global Head Quarters5933 NE Win Sivers Drive,#205, Portland, OR 97220United States
Intravenous (IV) Iron Drugs Market to Reflect Steady Growth Rate by 2020

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Iron is one of the most important mineral present inside the human body. It carries oxygen throughout the body via the blood, which is further utilized by cells and tissue to get energy for all vital biological processes. Moreover, deficiency of iron leads to severe health problems, such as anemia and also affects mental or other memory functions in youths. To overcome this problem, oral iron supplements are recommended to maintain the iron level in the body. However, in some cases, oral administrations are not capable of maintaining the iron level in the body. For these cases, IV iron therapy is used to as part of which iron is directly injected inside the body with a needle through a vein.The global market of IV iron drugs is categorized based on various product types and by therapeutic area. The product type segment is further sub-segmented in low molecular weight iron dextran, ferric gluconate, iron sucrose and ferric carboxyl maltose. Ferric carboxy maltose is the fastest growing sub-segment. Moreover, the therapeutic area segment includes nephrology, gynecology, gastroenterology, oncology, chronic heart failures and surgeries. Nephrology represents the largest segment for the use of IV iron drug and therapies. Under geographic analysis, North America is the largest market for IV iron drugs followed by Europe and Asia. In North America, the U.S. represents the largest market for IV iron drugs. In Europe, Germany, France and the U.K. covers the major share of IV iron drugs market.Request for Table of Contents @Global IV iron drugs market is witnessing a significant growth due to it improves the quality of treatment outside the dialysis, increasing the number of dialysis patients, growing number of diabetic patients worldwide and growing aging population. Moreover, increasing cases of hypertension, rising investment in the healthcare sector, higher spending on medicine are also supporting in the growth of IV iron drugs market. In addition, dialysis clinics are gaining importance in IV iron drugs market, as they form a very significant customer group for intravenous iron drugs. These types of dialysis clinics also administer iron dosages and attract patients for reliable and safe IV iron drug administration.However, stringent regulations and side-effects associated with IV iron products impede the growth of the market. Several government associations, such as FDA and European Medicines Agency have stringent regulations for IV iron drugs approval and usage. These approval processes are complex and time taking, where every new drug is required to fulfill the mandatory stringent regulations. Moreover, nausea, muscle cramps, vomiting, constipation, joint pain, headache, back pain and cough are some of the major side-effects of IV iron drugs.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Some of the key players operating in the IV iron drugs market are Actavis, Inc., AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Galenica Ltd., Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. KGaA, Vifor Pharma Ltd., American Regent, Inc., Luitpold Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Pharmacosmos A/S, Rockwell Medical Technologies, Inc., and Sanofi.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IVIg) Market Promising Growth Opportunities over 2020

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The term immunoglobulin refers to the breakdown of blood plasma that contains antibody. IVIg is a blood product which is administered intravenously. It contains polyvalent IgG antibodies which are extracted from the plasma of more than thousand of blood donors. Individuals who are unable to produce adequate amount of antibodies, such as patients with common variable immunodeficiency, Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome, X-linked agammaglobulinemia and other forms of hypogammaglobulinemia, get benefit from IVIg to maintain the appropriate level of antibodies in the body.The global market of IVIg is categorized based on plasma protein and by therapeutic area. The plasma protein segment is further sub-segmented in polyvalent IVIg, albumin, Factor VIII, hyperimmunes (IM&IV) and Factor IX. Polyvalent IVIg sub-segment holds the largest market share in global IVIg market. Moreover, the therapeutic area segment includes immune deficiencies, autoimmune diseases and acute infections. The immune deficiency sub-segment comprises major diseases, such as, hypogammaglobulinemia (primary immune deficiencies), X-linked agammaglobulinemia and acquired compromised immunity conditions (secondary immune deficiencies), featuring low antibody levels. The autoimmune disease sub-segment includes immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and Inflammatory diseases.Request for Table of Contents @In terms of geography, North America is the largest market for IVIg followed by Europe and Asia. In North America, the U.S. represents the largest market for IVIg. In Europe, Germany, France and the U.K. covers the major share of IVIg market. Asia represents the fastest growing market for IVIg, due to increasing aging population. Elderly people are more susceptible to antibody deficiency diseases.Globally, IVIG market is witnessing a strong growth due to increasing number of patients with bleeding disorders, rising geriatric population and increasing number of Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy (CIDP) patients. Moreover, increasing investment in healthcare sector is also supporting in growth of IVIg market. In addition, increasing number of patients suffering with autoimmune diseases and other pathological conditions are also supporting growth of IVIg products in the market.However, stringent regulations hamper the growth of the IVIg market. Several government associations have imposed strict guidelines for appropriate usage of IVIg products. For instance, Canadian Blood Services and National Advisory Committee on Blood and Blood Products of Canada provide practice guidelines on the usage of IVIg products in hematological diseases.In addition, high treatment cost also impedes growth of IVIg market. Some patients cannot afford IVIg products, due to high cost of their treatment. IVIg products are very expensive as the materials required to produce them cost more and the manufacturing process requires a significant amount of blood samples from donors. The collection of large amount of blood samples is a very complex and tedious process. Furthermore, high risks of side-effects associated with IVIg treatment also restrain growth of the IVIg market. Some of the major side-effects of IVIg treatment are headache, migraine, dizziness, fever, nausea, vomiting, fast heart rate, itching, high blood pressure, cough and abdominal pains. These side-effects inhibit the acceptance of IVIg products by many patients.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Some of the key players operating in IVIg market are Baxter International Inc., Beijing Tiantan Biological Products Co., Ltd., Biotest AG, China Biologic Products, Inc., CSL Limited, Guizhou Taibang Biological Products Co., Ltd., Shanghai RAAS Blood Products Co., Ltd., Octapharma AG, Grifols, S.A, Hualan Biological Engineering Inc., OMRIX Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. and Kedrion S.p.A.ABOUT US:Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.CONTACT:Persistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Compensation Management Software Market 2018 Key Players: Ultimate, Workday, CuroComp, PeopleTicker, Oracle.

Compensation Management Software Market

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Compensation Management Software Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Compensation Management Software Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2025reports to its database.Executive SummaryThis report studies the global Compensation Management Software market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the global Compensation Management Software market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredUltimateWorkdayCuroCompPeopleTickerOraclePayScaleHRToolbenchSAP SuccessFactorsSecureSheetCuroMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoPCCloudOtherMarket segment by Application, Compensation Management Software can be split intoSMEsLarge OrganizationOtherRequest Sample Report @The study objectives of this report are:To study and forecast the market size of Compensation Management Software in global market.To analyze the global key players, SWOT analysis, value and global market share for top players.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, end use and region.To analyze and compare the market status and forecast between China and major regions, namely, United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Rest of World.To analyze the global key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Compensation Management Software are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersCompensation Management Software ManufacturersCompensation Management Software Distributors/Traders/WholesalersCompensation Management Software Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, We offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Compensation Management Software market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.Table of Content:Global Compensation Management Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Compensation Management Software2 Global Compensation Management Software Competition Analysis by Players3 Company (Top Players) Profiles4 Global Compensation Management Software Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)5 United States Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook6 Europe Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook7 China Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook8 Japan Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook9 Southeast Asia Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook10 India Compensation Management Software Development Status and Outlook11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2018-2025)12 Compensation Management Software Market Dynamics13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Research Finding/Conclusion15 AppendixContinuousFor further information on this report, visit Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Aluminum Sulfate Market to Soar at a CAGR of 4.4% to 2023

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MarketStudyReport.com published ' Aluminum Sulfate Market' from its database which covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years.Global aluminum sulfate (Alum) market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 4.4% by 2023, according to a new report published by Gen Consulting Company. The report segments the market and forecasts its size, by volume and value, on the basis of application (paper making, water treatment, chemical processing, etc.), and by geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, MEA and South America).The report covers forecast and analysis for the aluminum sulfate market on a global and regional level. The study provides historic data of 2013-2017 along with a forecast from 2018 to 2023 based on both output/volume and revenue. The study then describes the drivers and restraints for the aluminum sulfate market along with the impact they have on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of opportunities available in the aluminum sulfate market on a global level.The report has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global aluminum sulfate market collected from specialized sources. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. Company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, new project launched, recent development analysis are the parameters included in the profile.Get Sample Copy of this Report:Global Aluminum Sulfate Market is a detailed report, which presents a combination of industry knowledge and research expertise based on regions too. This report delivers the market trends along with the market size for every individual sector. The report commences with the Aluminum Sulfate markets overview and provides detailed information on the historical data pertaining to the market coupled with information about the present scenario. Additionally, the report incorporates the various drivers as well the factors impeding the growth of this market during the forecast period. The report, provides the opportunities in the market and their substantial impact on the major players dominating the market.The following part of the report elaborates the detailed segmentation of the Aluminum Sulfate market. Valuable data and information related to the key segments along with their sub-segmentation have been established via this market research report. Size along with the revenue share coupled with insightful forecasts for the major segments and the other significant sub-segments have been detailed via this report. The trends affecting the Aluminum Sulfate market in developing regional sectors have additionally been elaborated in this study. The current findings and recommendations the analysts suggest for the future growth of the Aluminum Sulfate market have also been evaluated in this report. The key industry players that have contributed to the Aluminum Sulfate market have also been detailed in this report.The report has been prepared based on the synthesis, analysis, and interpretation of information about the global Aluminum Sulfate system market collected from specialized sources. The competitive landscape section of the report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. Company overview, financial overview, product portfolio, new project launched, recent development analysis are the parameters included in the profile.The study provides a decisive view on the Aluminum Sulfate system market by segmenting the market based on applications. All the application segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated fromEnquire For Discount on Aluminum Sulfate Market Research Report @Demand for this market rises from the paper making, water treatment, chemical processing, and other applications. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market is estimated from 2018 to 2023. Relevantly, the report and company profiles specify the key drivers that are impacting the demand in global aluminum sulfate market.Key Applications- Paper Making- Water Treatment- Chemical ProcessingKey Regions- North America- Europe- Asia Pacific- Middle East and Africa- South AmericaKey Vendors- Affinity Chemical- C&S Chemical- Chemtrade Logistics- GAC Chemical- GEO Specialty Chemicals- Holland Company- Kemira- Sierra Chemical Company- request free sample to get a complete list of companiesFor More Info on Market Research @Part 1. Exclusive SummaryPart 2. Methodology2.1 Research Methodology2.2 Geographic Scope2.3 Years ConsideredPart 3. Introduction3.1 General Information3.2 Fields of Application3.3 Manufacturing Process3.4 Raw Materials3.5 Cost AnalysisPart 4. Competitive Landscape4.1 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market, by Volume 2013-20184.1.1 Overview4.1.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market, by Volume, by Company4.1.3 Top 3 Companies by Volume Share4.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market, by Revenue 2013-20184.2.1 Overview4.2.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market, by Revenue, by Company4.2.3 Top 3 Companies by Revenue SharePart 5. Market Dynamics5.1 Market Drivers5.2 Challenges5.3 Market TrendsPart 6. Segmentation by Application6.1 Overview6.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market by Application (Volume)6.3 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market by Application (Revenue)Part 7. Supply by Region7.1 Global Aluminum Sulfate Volume by Region7.1.1 North America7.1.2 Europe7.1.3 Asia-Pacific7.1.4 Middle East and Africa7.1.5 South America7.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Revenue by Region7.2.1 North America7.2.2 Europe7.2.3 Asia-Pacific7.2.4 Middle East and Africa7.2.5 South AmericaPart 8. Consumption Pattern8.1 North America8.1.1 Overview8.1.2 by Application8.1.3 by Country (U.S., Canada, etc.)8.2 Europe8.2.1 Overview8.2.2 by Application8.2.3 by country (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, etc.)8.3 Asia-Pacific8.3.1 Overview8.3.2 by Application8.3.3 by Country (China, Japan, India, Korea, Australia, Indonesia, etc.)8.4 Middle East and Africa8.4.1 Overview8.4.2 by Application8.4.3 by Country (Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, UAE, etc.)8.5 South America8.5.1 Overview8.5.2 by Application8.5.3 by Country (Brazil, Argentina, etc.)Part 9. Aluminum Sulfate Market Forecast9.1 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market Size 2018-20239.2 Global Aluminum Sulfate Supply by Region 2018-20239.2.1 North America9.2.2 Europe9.2.3 Asia-Pacific9.2.4 Middle East and Africa9.2.5 South America9.3 Global Aluminum Sulfate Consumption 2018-20239.4 Global Aluminum Sulfate Market by Application 2018-2023Part 10. Key Vendors10.1 Company Profiles10.2 Market Share10.3 FinancialsPart 11. Industry Activity11.1 M&As, JVs and Partnership11.2 Other DevelopmentsPart 12. Appendix12.1 Abbreviations12.2 DisclaimerRelated Reports: -2018 Global Activated Carbon Filter Base Paper Industry Report - History, Present and FutureThe global market size of Activated Carbon Filter Base Paper is $XX million in 2017 with XX CAGR from 2013 to 2017, and it is expected to reach $XX million by the end of 2023 with a CAGR of XX% from 2018 to 2023. 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Clinical Trial Management System Market 2018 Competitive Landscape Analysis with Trends, Application, Growth, Technology, Analysis and Forecast to 2025

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High cost involved with launch of new drugs along with extended timelines has fostered the need to improve operational efficiency of clinical trials. Increasing reliance of industry sponsors on advanced IT-based clinical trial management solutions to improve managerial control in clinical trials will boost CTMS market growth. Outsourcing of clinical trials to contract research organizations offering quality of services will spur market size. However, prohibitive cost of clinical trial management systems will hinder industry growth over the forecast timeline.The Global Clinical Trial Management System Market is expected to reach USD 1508.7 Million by 2025 from USD 588 Million in 2017 growing at a CAGR of 12.50% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2017, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025Get Free Sample copy of report atSome of the major players operating in the global clinical trial management system market are Bioclinica, Oracle Corporation, eClinForce Inc., Medidata Solutions, DATATRAK International, Inc, Guger Technologies Inc, PARAXEL International Corporation, MedNet Solutions, Inc. ChemWare Inc., iWEb Technologies, Data MATRIX, Jade Global Solutions, Integrated Clinical Solutions, MAJARO InfoSystems, BioOptronics, Inc, Forte Research Systems and ICON plc, Merge healthcare incorporated, Bio-Optronics, DSG INC, eClinForce, ArisGlobal, ERT Clinical and among others.Clinical trial management system (CTMS) involves management of clinical trial records in clinical research. CTMS starts from planning of research proposal to preparation, conduct of trial, report generation, CTMS maintenance and managing the clinical trial data. CTMS reduces the communication period for a multi-centered clinical trial. The main advantage of CTMS system is that it sponsors or client can access their trial progress from anywhere. CTMS provides the valuable information like Clinical trial program/ project management, trial and site planning site and subject management, study management, investigator management, study financials and investigator grants and payments management lastly clinical trial performance and reporting. In 2004, International Committee for Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) made it mandatory to fulfill all publications required for study for the clinical trial registration. As per of outsourcing Pharma 2014, out of the 111 clinical studies listed under U.S. FDA, more than 70 were handled by CROs. Since 2006, Massey Cancer Center by utilizing the CTMS Platform securely accesses the clinical trial progress via internet. In August 2016, Bioclinica announced the complete acquired sition of Cinven. Through this agreement Bioclinica expand its services and products and strategies in the CTMS. In September 2017, Pamplona Capital Management, LLP completed acquisition of PAREXEL. This agreement allowed better growth and deep healthcare expertise and great achievement in healthcare sector.Access More Details atThe global clinical trial management system market is highly fragmented and the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of clinical trial management system market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Major Market Drivers and Restraints:- Growth of healthcare IT sector.- Increase in the research and development expenditure in the life sciences- Growth in clinical research organization- High prevalence of chronic diseases- Increase adoption of CTMS solutions- Advancement in technology and software for clinical trial management system- Synchronization of hospital information system (HIS) with CTMSStrict regulations for clinical trial protocolsInquire before buying atNote: If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Contact Info:Name: Data Bridge Market ResearchEmail: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.comPhone: +1 888 387 2818Data Bridge set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road, HadapsarPune  411028Maharashtra, India
Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Market Sales, Size, Leading Player & Forecast to 2025

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An up-to-date research report 2018 has been disclosed by Market Research Hub highlighting the title Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Sales Market Report 2018 which provides an outlook for current market value as well as the expected forecast including Rate on Investment (ROI) together with the growing CAGR near XX% during 2018-2025. The report studies the Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) Sales market worldwide, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, size, growth, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions.Request Free Sample Report:Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) sales volume, Price (K USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingFalck Schmidt Defence SystemsHoneywell InternationalJenoptikMicroturboDewey ElectronicsKinetic Aviation LLCThe Marvin Group...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoShaft Power Output TypeCompressed Air Output TypeOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingCommercial AircraftBusiness JetsRegional AircraftMilitary AircraftBrowse Full Report with TOC:Table of Content:Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales Market Report 20181 Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU)1.2 Classification of Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) by Product Category1.2.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Shaft Power Output Type1.2.4 Compressed Air Output Type1.3 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Commercial Aircraft1.3.3 Business Jets1.3.4 Regional Aircraft1.3.5 Military Aircraft1.4 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market by Region1.4.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 China Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 Europe Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025)2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Aerospace Auxiliary Power Unit(APU) (Volume) by Application.. @@ ContinuedAbout Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of machinery market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.com
Polyurethane (PU) Adhesives Market to Record Sturdy Growth by 2026

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Adhesive is the substance applied on to different surfaces to bind them together. Use of adhesives has eliminated the demand for welded parts, rivets, and other mechanical parts in many equipment. The incorporation of polyurethane adhesives helps to reduce the overall manufacturing cost. Manufacturers have been using polyurethane adhesives due to superior product performance, improved product life, and reliability.Polyurethane adhesives are used in multiple industries such as construction, electronics, footwear, furniture, automotive, packaging, and so on. Nowadays, vehicles contain more of plastic parts over mechanical fasteners.Use of polyurethane adhesive makes vehicle parts light in weight and thus enhances the fuel efficiency. In automotive arena, the consumption of polyurethane based adhesives is significantly growing.Polyurethane adhesives are well accepted in many end-use applications, since they provide excellent adhesion to different substrates and binds them immediately. Polyurethane based adhesives are preferred over other adhesives due to fast curing. The demand for polyurethane adhesives is driven by growth in automotive and building & construction industry. Thermoplastic polyurethane adhesives are widely used for different applications as it offers enhanced flexibility and improved adhesion. However, thermoplastic polyurethane based adhesives are costlier.Request for Table of Contents @Rising demand for housing and government spending on infrastructure in China and India boosts the demand for Polyurethane adhesives. Industrial development and growing demand of customers for packaging, automotive, and electronics in terms of adhesives is expected to drive polyurethane adhesives market over the forecast period of 2016-2026.Demand for polyurethane adhesives from end-use industries such as footwear, automotive, building & construction, packaging, and electronics has significantly increased over the past few years. The key driver of polyurethane adhesives market is the rapidly growing construction and renovation activities. There is significant growth in the building & construction industry of India, China, and Brazil, which results in propelling the demand for polyurethane adhesives.Increasing government expenditure on construction and growing economy are anticipated to boost the demand for Polyurethane adhesive market over the next few years in these countries. Growth of automotive industry due to rise in production of passenger and commercial vehicles with increasing demand for light weight components has impelled the demand for polyurethane adhesives. In Asia-Pacific region, significant automotive growth is observed in the past few years due to economic growth and rise in disposable income. The demand for automotive is likely to continue in next few decades in this region and thus drive the demand for polyurethane adhesives over the forecast period.Rising income, change in life style, consumer preference, and improving standard of living fuels the demand for electronics appliances, which in turn boosts the demand for polyurethane adhesives market. Asia-Pacific is the rapidly growing region for automotive and electronics segments of the polyurethane adhesives market. Growth in other end-use industries such as footwear, furniture, and packaging is supporting the demand for polyurethane adhesives across the world. The product development and innovation will be the keys to increase the customer base and market share of polyurethane adhesives market. New products with superior solutions and eco-friendly features are the major demand drivers of polyurethane adhesive market.Make an Enquiry @Examples of some of the market participants in the Global Polyurethane Adhesives Market identified across the value chain include, 3M, BASF, ADCO Global Inc., Avery Dennison Corp, Arkema S.A., Ashland Inc., H.B. Fuller, Henkel AG & Co, Huntsman Corporation, Illinois Tool Works Inc., Pidilite Industries, American Biltrite Inc., Adhesives Research Inc., Chemence, Ellsworth, RPM International Inc., Beardow & Adams (Adhesives) Ltd., Scott Bader Company Ltd., Ninghai Dingcheng Adhesive Co Ltd., Sika AG, and Dow Chemical Company among others.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India. FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Market to 2025  Analysis by QYResearchReports

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Market Research Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.The global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.The major manufacturers covered in this report:-RHI AGMagnesita RefratariosMagnezit GroupSMZ JelsavaMartin Marietta Magnesia SpecialtiesKumas-Kuthaya Magnesite WorksNedmag IndustriesGrecian MagnesiteNavarras SAPrimier MagnesiaBaymagDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:The research report also includes an assessment of the competitive landscape. It includes an elaborate evaluation of the financial outlooks, research and development statuses, and business and marketing strategies of the key players. It also provides an understanding of the entry barriers to the new players and the challenges faced by the existing ones. The research report maintain an equanimity throughout with help useful research methodologies. Furthermore, it also gives the readers a chance to see the overall market objectively and make their individual inferences.Table of ContentsGlobal Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Market Research Report 20181 Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4)1.2 Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Dead-Burned Magnesium Oxide (DBM)1.2.4 Fused Magnesium Oxide (FM)1.2.5 Caustic Calcined Magnesium Oxide (CCM)1.2.6 Synthetic Magnesium Oxide1.3 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Segment by Application2 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)3 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)4 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)5 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Price by Type (2013-2018)5.4 Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production Growth by Type (2013-2018)Complete table of content is available at:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4)Figure Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production (K MT) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2013-2025)Figure Global Magnesium Oxide (CAS 1309-48-4) Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2017Figure Product Picture of Dead-Burned Magnesium Oxide (DBM)Table Major Manufacturers of Dead-Burned Magnesium Oxide (DBM)Figure Product Picture of Fused Magnesium Oxide (FM)Table Major Manufacturers of Fused Magnesium Oxide (FM)Figure Product Picture of Caustic Calcined Magnesium Oxide (CCM)Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Project Planning Software: Market 2018 Global Analysis By Key Players  NetSuite OpenAir, Clarizen, Project Insight, Smartsheet, KeyedIn Projects, Workfront, Mavenlink, Wrike, Replicon PPM, Deltek

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Project Planning Software Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Project Planning Software industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Project Planning Software market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Project Planning Software market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Project Planning Software players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Project Planning Software Market Players: NetSuite OpenAir Clarizen Project Insight Smartsheet KeyedIn Projects Workfront Mavenlink Wrike Replicon PPM Deltek One2Team Easy Projects Sciforma LiquidPlanner Procore InFocus OracleGet Sample Copy of This Report Now @Market segment by Type, the product can be split into On-premises Cloud-BasedMarket segment by Application, Project Planning Software can be split into Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Large EnterprisesMajor regions are as follows: United States Europe China Japan Southeast Asia IndiaThe report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Project Planning Software market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Project Planning Software market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire before Buying @Also, key Project Planning Software market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Project Planning Software market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.Inquire for Discount @Contact Us:Call: +1-888-236-2744Email: sales@qyresearchgroups.comAbout Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Room B1510, Shiji Kemao Building,No.66 Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing,100190, China.
Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Overview, Opportunities, In-Depth Analysis by QYResearchReports

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 to its huge collection of research reports.This report focuses on the global top players, coveredGE Healthcare (U.S.)Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands)Siemens Healthineers (Germany)Toshiba Medical Systems Europe (Germany)Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA (Germany)TBS Group S.p.A. (Italy)Alliance Medical Group (U.K.)Pantheon Group (Italy)Technologie Sanitarie S.p.A. (Italy)Avensys UK Ltd. (U.K.)Grupo Empresarial Electromedico (Spain)Download Free exclusive Sample of this report:The report also includes a detailed analysis of the prevailing competition. It therefore profiles some of the leading players in the global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance market. Their strengths and weaknesses are analyzed in detail and insights into key threats and opportunities that these companies are likely to witness are included. To provide an in-depth analysis, the report uses various industry-leading analytical tools. Furthermore, in covers information obtained from various industrial sources. In addition to this, the global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance market is segmented in terms of various parameters, which also included region. This is carried out to help companies identify the most lucrative pockets in the Endoscopic Devices Maintenance market. The report includes recommendations to enable the market players identify the best ways of capitalizing on the prevailing opportunities. For the purpose of the study is also includes valuable insights from industry veterans. The report is therefore compiled to enable stakeholders get key information on the prevailing trends in the global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance market.Table of ContentsGlobal Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Endoscopic Devices Maintenance1.1 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Overview1.1.1 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.3 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market by Type1.3.1 Preventive Maintenance1.3.2 Corrective Maintenance1.3.3 Operational Maintenance2 Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 GE Healthcare (U.S.)3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands)3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 Siemens Healthineers (Germany)3.4 Toshiba Medical Systems Europe (Germany)3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview4 Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Endoscopic Devices Maintenance in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Endoscopic Devices MaintenanceComplete table of content is available at:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2013-2018)Table Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Global Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)Figure United States Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Europe Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure China Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Japan Endoscopic Devices Maintenance Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Joint Compound Market to See Incredible Growth During 2016-2026

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Joint compound is the white color powder made up of plaster of Paris or gypsum. The compound also is known as mastic or drywall compound. The compound is mixed with water at the time of use which will become a hard stone-like consistency in less than an hour. The compound is used for sealing joints between walls and creating a seamless base for interior walls. The global joint compound market is expected to have significant growth rate, attributed to growing construction industry across the globe. Asia-Pacific except Japan accounts for significantly high revenue share in the global joint compound market, attributed to growing population and robust marketing of the product in the region over the forecast period.The growth of the global joint compound market is driven by growing construction and adhesive industry. The macroeconomic factor responsible for the growth of the global joint compound market is the rapid rate of urbanization and rising disposable income. The advantages of a joint compound including be easy-to-use, hand-applying simple textures, and skim coating also fueling the global joint compound market. Joint compound may lead to delamination problem if not used according to specification with high price can result in restraining global joint compound market.The company providing the joint compound have significantly high opportunity in regions such as North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, owing to the significant demand for a joint compound with growing construction industry in the regions. The joint compound market also has a significant opportunity in Latin America and the Middle East and Africa region as these are the emerging market, attributed to rising disposable income of consumers in these regions.Basically, the global joint compound market is segmented on the basis of product type, end-use, distribution channel, and region. On the basis of product type, the global joint compound market is segmented as single joint compound and ready-to-use. Among the product type segment, single drywall compound contribute for the significant revenue share over the forecast period in the global joint compound market, whereas ready-to-use has significant growth rate over the forecast period.On the basis of end-use, the global joint compound market is segmented as industries and household, wherein industries segment have relatively high revenue share whereas household segment is growing at a significant growth rate. On the basis of distribution channel, the global joint compound market is segmented as e-Commerce and retail shop. Retail shop segment is further sub-segmented as hypermarket or supermarket, independent shop, and convenience store. Among the distribution channel segment, hypermarket/supermarket segment contribute for the significant revenue share over the forecast period in the global joint compound market.Based on the geographies, the global joint compound market is fragmented into seven key regions  North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific except Japan, Japan, and the Middle East & Africa. Among the regions, North America accounts for a significant share of the global joint compound market, owing to relatively high-value share of the region in the construction. Western Europe is followed by North America region in the global joint compound market. The Asia-Pacific except Japan region accounts for significantly high volume share in the global joint compound market, owing to the rapid rate of urbanization in the region. Eastern Europe and Japan also accounts for significant value share in the global joint compound market.Request for Table of Contents @The developing economy such as Middle East Africa and Latin America have a moderate opportunity in the global joint compound market, owing to the substantial growth in the construction industry over the forecast period. Overall, the outlook for the global joint compound market will have a positive growth over the forecast period, owing to the increasing demand for the joint compound in the construction industry as an anti-counterfeiting measure.Request Report Sample @Few players in the global joint compound market include United States Gypsum Company, Irrational Propensity Renovations, Sheetrock, Georgia Pacific, USG, Wickes.co.uk, ASG, Everbuild, Drywall, DuPont, and Continental.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India. FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Data Integration Tool Market: Project in United States, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Data Integration Tool Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 to its huge collection of research reports.This report focuses on the global top players, covered-SAP SE (Germany)SAS Institute Inc. (US)Cisco System Inc. (US)Information Builders (US)Actian Corporation (US)Syncsort (US)Pitney Bowes Inc. (US)IBM (US)Informatica Corporation (US)Oracle Corporation (US)Talend (US)Microsoft Corporation (US)Denodo Technologies (US)HVR Software (US)Get Report Sample and Customization:In order to study the global market for Data Integration Tool further in-depth, the report then goes on to segment it based on different parameters. Those include products, applications, technologies, and end users. It then slices and dices each segment to understand which ones hold out solid promise. Based on geography too, the report segments the market into North America, South America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. It tries to uncover the region that spells maximum opportunity for savvy players and on what grounds.Table of ContentsGlobal Data Integration Tool Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Data Integration Tool1.1 Data Integration Tool Market Overview1.1.1 Data Integration Tool Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Data Integration Tool Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.3 Data Integration Tool Market by Type1.3.1 On-Premises1.3.2 On-Demand1.4 Data Integration Tool Market by End Users/Application2 Global Data Integration Tool Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Data Integration Tool Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 SAP SE (Germany)3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Data Integration Tool Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2 SAS Institute Inc. (US)3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Data Integration Tool Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3 Cisco System Inc. (US)3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Data Integration Tool Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4 Information Builders (US)3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business OverviewComplete table of content is available at:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Global Data Integration Tool Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2013-2018)Table Global Data Integration Tool Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Global Data Integration Tool Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)Figure United States Data Integration Tool Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Europe Data Integration Tool Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure China Data Integration Tool Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Japan Data Integration Tool Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Get discount copy @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Push to Talk (PTT) 2018 Global Market Key Players -Verizon, AT&T, Sprint Corporation, Ericsson, Iridium, China Telecom -Analysis And Forecast To 2025

Push to Talk (PTT) Market 2018

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Push to Talk (PTT) Market 2018Wiseguyreports.Com Adds Push to Talk (PTT)  Global Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Manufacturers, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2025 To Its Research Database.Description:This report studies the global Push to Talk (PTT) market status and forecast, categorizes the global Push to Talk (PTT) market size (value & volume) by manufacturers, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top manufacturers in United States, Europe, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan and other regions.The global Push to Talk (PTT) market is valued at xx million US$ in 2017 and is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.The major manufacturers covered in this reportVerizonAT&TSprint CorporationEricssonIridiumChina TelecomChina Mobile Communications CorporationC SpireGRID Communications Pte LtdKPNMaxisHipVoiceSmart CommunicationsCCM Systems Company LimitedRequest for Sample Report@Geographically, this report studies the top producers and consumers, focuses on product capacity, production, value, consumption, market share and growth opportunity in these key regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanOther RegionsThe regional scope of the study is as follows:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into3G4GWi-FiOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingPublic SafetyTransportGovernmentBusiness & CommercePAMR (Operator)OtherEnquiry before Buying @If you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table Of Content:Global Push to Talk (PTT) Market Research Report 20181 Push to Talk (PTT) Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Push to Talk (PTT)1.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 3G1.2.4 4G1.2.5 Wi-Fi1.3 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Segment by Application1.3.1 Push to Talk (PTT) Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Public Safety1.3.3 Transport1.3.4 Government1.3.5 Business & Commerce1.3.6 PAMR (Operator)1.3.7 Other1.4 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Push to Talk (PTT) (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025).7 Global Push to Talk (PTT) Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Verizon7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Verizon Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 AT&T7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 AT&T Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Sprint Corporation7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Sprint Corporation Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Ericsson7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Ericsson Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Iridium7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Iridium Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 China Telecom7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 China Telecom Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 China Mobile Communications Corporation7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 China Mobile Communications Corporation Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 C Spire7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 C Spire Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 GRID Communications Pte Ltd7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 GRID Communications Pte Ltd Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 KPN7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Push to Talk (PTT) Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 KPN Push to Talk (PTT) Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 Maxis7.12 HipVoice7.13 Smart Communications7.14 CCM Systems Company LimitedContinued..Contact US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:: Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt Ltd: Pune  411028: Maharashtra,: Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Sodium Chloride Market Predicted to be worth US$19.37 bn by 2024, Food and Beverage and Chemical Industries to Remain Key End-users

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In an intensely fragmented and competitive sodium chloride market, top six players held 35% of the overall market in 2015. Savvy players are engaged in product development, production innovation, and are exploring new regions for growth, says Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new market study. In addition, key players as well as some regional players are engaged in integrated operations to boost their profit marginsRead Report Overview @Key companies to name in the global sodium chloride market are Cargill Incorporated and K+S AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT. These companies lead the market due to investments for building production facilities in new regions and adoption of technologically advanced brine manufacturing systems.Some other companies operating in the sodium chloride market are Akzo Nobel N.V., Compass Minerals International Inc., Tata Chemicals Limited, Wacker Chemie AG, and INEOS Salts.As per a TMR report the global sodium chloride market is predicted to clock a CAGR of 3.8% between 2017 and 2024, for the market to be worth US$19368.5 mn by 2024. The demand in the market was worth US$14891.6 mn in 2017. Application-wise, chemical intermediates is the most lucrative segment in the sodium chloride market; chlorine and caustic soda manufacturers are leading consumers of sodium chloride in the chemical industry. In terms of grade, the others segment comprising mechanically evaporated salts is likely to remain attractive through 2024. However, solar salt is expected to expand at a notable growth rate between 2017 and 2024. Region-wise, Asia Pacific is a key market for sodium chloride and is likely to remain this way during the forecast period.Extensive Use for Food Flavoring and Food Preservation Applications Benefits MarketPrimarily fuelling the global sodium chloride market is the rising demand for chlor-alkali products in Asia Pacific. The growth of the chemical industry in the region has resulted in increasing demand for chlor-alkali products such as soda ash, chlorine, and caustic soda. Emerging domestic markets of Asia Pacific such as China and India are key producers and consumers of chlor-alkali products to cater to economic development.Salt is widely used as a primary ingredient for manufacture of chlorine and sodium hydroxide for commercial use as it is relatively inexpensive. Chlorine finds extensive use in various industries such as textile, agrochemical, and plastics. Moreover, chlorine is used in the manufacture of numerous consumer goods.Rising demand for packaged food bodes well for the growth of sodium chloride market. Commonly known as salt, sodium chloride is used in food and beverages as a flavoring agent and as a preservative. Food & beverages account for a major share in the overall sodium chloride market. It has a significant role in the preservation of pickles and processed meats. Massive production of canned food and packaged food to serve the changing lifestyle in emerging economies bodes well for sodium chloride market.Request to view Sample Report:Lastly, extensive use of salt in cold countries for de-icing applications boosts the sodium chloride market.Weather Uncertainties for De-icing Applications Hampers GrowthOn the flip side, in cold countries, uncertainties pertaining to snowfall impacts demand for sodium chloride for de-icing applications. Salt is consumed in massive amounts for de-icing which is totally weather dependent. Salt is difficult to store for longer periods due to lump formation, which results in major losses for manufacturers. This is having a negative impact on the sodium chloride market.Low profit margins for product manufacturers of sodium chloride is also challenging the growth of sodium chloride market.The review presented here is based on the findings of a TMR report, titled Sodium Chloride Market (Grade - Solar Salt, Rock Salt, and Vacuum Salt; Application - Chemical Intermediate, Deicing, Flavoring Agent and Food Preservative, Water Treatment, and Animal Feed Additive) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017  2024About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Data Centers Market to Set Phenomenal Growth by 2025

Data Centers Market

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HTF Market Report released a new research document of 55 pages on industry titled as 'Data Centers - Global Thematic Research' with detailed analysis, Competitive landscape, forecast and strategies. The study covers geographic analysis that includes important players/vendors such as Keysight Tech, Lenovo, LivePerson, LogMeIn. The report will help you gain market insights, future trends and growth prospects for forecast period of 2018-2025.Request a sample report @Cloud computing, machine learning, augmented reality, internet TV, the Internet of Things, robotics, cryptocurrencies, voice, blockchain and cybersecurity. These are the big investment themes of tomorrow and they all have one thing in common: they generate huge amount of data.Cisco estimates that the world generates 122 exabytes of internet data traffic per month. This data traffic is growing at 24% per annum and 82% of it is consumer generated. Most of this data traffic could be monetised via a rapidly growing band of hyperscale, internet-facing data centers around the world.Inside this report, we look at the key players impacted by this theme, drilling down into the value chain and identifying winners and losers.Scope- This report is part of our ecosystem of thematic investment research reports, supported by our thematic engine.- About our Thematic Research Ecosystem- HTFs has developed a unique thematic methodology for valuing technology, media and telecom companies based on their relative strength in the big investment themes that are impacting their industry. Whilst most investment research is underpinned by backwards looking company valuation models, HTFss thematic methodology identifies which companies are best placed to succeed in a future filled with multiple disruptive threats. To do this, HTFs tracks the performance of the top 600 technology, media and telecom stocks against the 50 most important themes driving their earnings, generating 30,000 thematic scores. The algorithms in HTFss thematic engine help to clearly identify the winners and losers within the TMT sector. Our 600 TMT stocks are categorised into 18 sectors. Each sector scorecard has a thematic screen, a risk screen and a valuation screen. Our thematic research ecosystem has a three-tiered reporting structure: single theme, multi-theme and sector scorecard. This report is a Single Theme report, offering in-depth research into a specific theme. It identifies winners and losers based on technology leadership, market position and other factors.Get Customization in the Report, Enquire Now @Reasons to buy- Our thematic investment research product, supported by our thematic engine, is aimed at senior (C-Suite) executives in the corporate world as well as institutional investors.- Corporations: Helps CEOs in all industries understand the disruptive threats to their competitive landscape- Investors: Helps fund managers focus their time on the most interesting investment opportunities in global TMT.- Our unique differentiator, compared to all our rival thematic research houses, is that our thematic engine has a proven track record of predicting winners and losers.Buy this report @Companies Mentioned in the Report21 Vianet, Acacia Comms, Adlink, Adtran, Adva Optical Networking, Aixtron, Akamai, Alibaba, Alphabet, Amazon, AMD, AMS, Analog Devices, Applied Optoelectronics, Arista Networks, Arris, ASML Holding, Bazaarvoice, Box, Broadcom, Brocade Comms, Ciena, Cirrus Logic, Cisco, Citrix Systems, Cloudera, Commscope, CommVault, Cray, Cypress, Dawning, Dialog, Diodes, Equinix, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, F5 Networks, Fabrinet, Finisar, Fujitsu, Gigamon, GMO Internet, GoDaddy, Himax, Hitachi, Hortonworks, HP Enterprise, IBM, Imagination Tech, Infineon, Infinera, Inspur Electronic, Intel, InterDigital, Interxion, J2 Global, Juniper Networks, Keysight Tech, Lenovo, LivePerson, LogMeIn, Lumentum, Macom, Marvell, Maxim, MediaTek, Melexis, Microchip, Micron, Microsemi, Microstrategy, Mitel Networks, Mobileye, Monolithic Power Systems, Motorola Solutions, Nanya Tech, NEC, NeoPhotonics, NetApp, Netgear, NetScout, Nokia, Nutanix, Nvidia, NXP, Oclaro, On Semiconductor, PayPal, Pure Storage, Qorvo, Qualcomm, Realtek Semiconductor, Renesas, RingCentral, Samsung Electronics, Seagate, Sercomm, Shopify, Silicon Labs, Silicon Motion, Silver Spring, SK Hynix, Skyworks, SMIC, STMicroelectronics, Teradyne, Texas Instruments, Tokyo Electron, TSMC, Twilio, Ubiquiti Networks, UMC, United Internet, Vanguard, Viavi, VMware, Vonage, Web.com, Western Digital, Xilinx, Xunlei, Zayo, ZTEContent from TOS.PLAYERSTRENDSIndustry growth driversHardware trendsSoftware trendsINDUSTRY ANALYSISThe Internet of Things, the cloud and AI are driving growth in the data center industryThe mobile revolution is spreading all the wa....ContinuedView Detailed Table of Content @It's vital you keep your market knowledge up to date. If you have a different set of players/manufacturers according to geography or needs regional or country segmented reports we can provide customization accordingly.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com
Geographic Information System (GIS Software) Market Excellent Growth Scope Witnessed in the World

Geographic Information System (GIS Software) Market

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An extensive analysis of the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System (GIS Software) market strategy of the leading companies in the precision of import/export consumption, supply and demand figures, cost, price, revenue and gross margins. The report starts by an introduction about the company profiling and a comprehensive review about the strategy concept and the tools that can be used to assess and analyze strategy. It also analyzes the companys strategy in the light of Porters Value Chain, Porters Five Forces, SWOT analysis, and recommendation on Balanced Scorecard for supply chain analysis.Porters Five Forces model is a powerful tool that combines five competitive forces which limit any industrys profit according to external factors. These forces are the threat of new entrants, the customer bargaining power, the supplier bargaining power, the substitution to an alternative product or service, and the intensity of competition among current rivals inside the industry.Get Access to sample pages @Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market by application is being dominated by xxx which holds market value of XXX billion. This market is expected to grow at XXX billion by the end of forecast period with XX.X% of CAGR.The future trends also introduced in the report which elaborates key factors of Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) such as market opportunities, future market risk, benefit, loss and profit, customer perspective, Innovation, Short Term vs. Long Term goals etc. The detailed manufacturer profiles are included with sales, revenue, and price of Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) .This report covers the current scenario and growth prospects of Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market for the period 2018  2023. The study is a professional and in-depth study with around n- no. of tables and figures which provides key statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the domain.Enquire for customization in Report @Research Parameter/ Research MethodologyPrimary Research:The primary sources involves the industry experts from the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) industry including the management organizations, processing organizations, analytics service providers of the industrys value chain. All primary sources were interviewed to gather and authenticate qualitative & quantitative information and determine the future prospects.In the extensive primary research process undertaken for this study, the primary sources  industry experts such as CEOs, vice presidents, marketing director, technology & innovation directors, founders and related key executives from various key companies and organizations in the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) in the industry have been interviewed to obtain and verify both qualitative and quantitative aspects of this research study.Secondary Research:In the Secondary research crucial information about the industries value chain, total pool of key players, and application areas. It also assisted in market segmentation according to industry trends to the bottom-most level, geographical markets and key developments from both market and technology oriented perspectives.Buy this research report @Some extract from Table of Contents Overview of Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2013-2025) Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025) Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2013-2025) Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Sales, Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2025) Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Competitive Situation and Trends Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/Suppliers Players/Suppliers Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Type Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) Manufacturing Cost Analysis Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersCheck complete table of contents with list of table and figures @Key questionsWho are the Leading key players and what are their Key Business strategies in the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) market?What are the key consequences of the five forces analysis of the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) market?What are different opportunities and threats faced by the dealers in the Global and Chinese Geographic Information System(GIS Software) market?What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com
Sandwich Panel Market 2016. Analysis, Research, Share, Growth, Sales, Trends, Supply, Forecast to 2023 - Market Research Future

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Market ScenarioThe global Sandwich Panel market is driven by the growth in construction and industrial sector. The Sandwich Panel market is highly dependent on its applications such as storage, warehouses, manufacturing plants, etc. With rising industrialization, the need for less time consuming construction solutions is growing. This fuels the market for sandwich panels globally. Furthermore, features such as insulating properties, weather proof, leak proof, noise insulation and cost efficient augments the market for sandwich panels. The global sandwich panel market is expected to and reach US$ Million at the end of the forecasted period and is expected to show a staggering growth at CAGR of from 2016 to 2021.Request a Sample Report @Key Player Safal Group Paroc Group SHMICO Rautaruukki Corporation Dana Steel Processing Industry LLC Building Component Solutions LLC. Multicolor Steels (India) Pvt. Ltd. Pioneer Coldstore & Cladding Pvt. Ltd. ArcelorMittal Construction Areco, Pt. Kyung Heung Indonesia Dalal Steel Industries sarl Vibgyor SteelStudy Objectives of Global Sandwich Panel Market To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segment by Material, Type, Application and by Region. To provide strategic profiling of the key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Sandwich Panel MarketSegmentsGlobal Sandwich Panel market is segmented on the basis of Material, Type, Application, and Region. On the basis of material it is segmented as polyurethane, mineral wool, and others. On the basis of type it is segmented as wall panels, roof panels, facade panels, and others. On the basis of application it is segmented as commercial, industrial, and others. Additionally on the basis of region, it is segmented as North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Regional Analysis of Global Sandwich Panel MarketAPAC dominates the Global Sandwich Panel market with its fast growing market worldwide. It will expand at a CAGR over the forecast period. The region is expected to show rapid industrial growth. With lot of investments in the regions of China and India, the construction sector is growing. This widens the scope of sandwich panels market in the region.Browse Full Report Details @The report covers brief analysis of geographical region includesNorth America US CanadaEurope Germany France Italy Netherlands U.K. Rest of EuropeAPAC China India Japan Rest of Asia-PacificRoW South America Middle East AfricaThe report for Global Sandwich Panel Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regionsAsk for Discount @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Immersion Oil Market to Reach around US$ 88 Mn by 2025; Rise in Usage of Microscopes in Life Science and Health Care Industry to Drive Market Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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The global immersion oil market was valued at around US$ 55 Mn in 2016 and is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of more than 5% from 2017 to 2025, according to a new report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR) titled Immersion Oil  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 20172025. Expansion of the global immersion oil market is driven by the rise in demand from diagnostics laboratories and pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies. The immersion oil market in Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a CAGR of more than 6% during the forecast period. Innovations in microscopy sciences and the rise in usage of microscopes in life science and the health care industry are likely to propel the immersion oil market in the region.Read Report Overview @Rise in Usage of Microscopes in Life Science and Health Care IndustryRise in the usage of the microscopes in the life sciences and health care industries are likely to propel the immersion oil market. Presently, various researches are being carried out mostly in the field of cell biology and histology. Rapid developments such as improvements in sample labelling, contrast, illumination, resolution, signal detection, and data processing have occurred at all stages of microscopy experiments and are expected to significantly boost the market. However, very small number of research studies carried out on immersion oils, individually, is likely to hamper the immersion oil market.Rise in Demand for High and Low Temperature Sustaining Oil is Boosting the Demand for Synthetic OilBased on type, the immersion oil market can be segmented into paraffin oil, cedar wood oil, synthetic oil, and others. Synthetic oil has possesses numerous properties in comparison to other oils, such as it has high temperature resistance and it does not change its color with age. Synthetic oil segment is anticipated to hold a major share of the immersion oil market, as it is replacing the traditionally used cedar wood oil. Synthetic oil is widely used in normal light microscopy and for the elevated temperatures due to its properties mentioned above. Developing countries such as China, India, and Japan are expected to witness an increase the usage of synthetic oil, leading to increase in its demand.Normal Light Microscopy Application Segment to Dominate the Global Immersion Oil MarketIn terms of application, the immersion oil market can be divided into normal light microscopy, automated hematology system, inverted, inclined, projection, and long focus instruments, fluorescence microscopy, elevated temperatures, and others. The normal light microscopy segment is anticipated to dominate the market during the forecast period. The normal light microscope employs visible light to detect small objects that are not visible to the naked eye. Usage of immersion oil for the microscope provides a clearer picture of the object, offering a finer resolution and brighter image of the object. A normal light microscope is mostly employed by various end-use industries such as hospitals & clinics, academic & research institutes, diagnostic laboratories, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, and others.Rise in Pharmaceutical Product Development Expenditure to Fuel Expansion of Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology CompaniesIn terms of end-use industry, the market is divided into hospitals & clinics, pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, diagnostics laboratories, academic & research institutes, and others. The pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment dominated the immersion oil market in 2016. The trend is expected to continue during the forecast period. The hospitals & clinics segment is likely to follow the pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies segment, in terms of market share, during the forecast period. The segment accounted for more than 23% share of the market in 2016. Expansion of the segment is attributed to the increasing number of biotechnology companies and rising partnerships among market players in order to expand their global presenceRequest to view Sample Report:Large Customer Base in Developing Regions such as Asia Pacific to Create OpportunitiesIn terms of region, the global Immersion oil market can be categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe accounted for a prominent share of the Immersion oil market, as most pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies are well-established in these regions. The market in Asia Pacific is estimated to expand at a rapid pace due to rapid development in microscopy science and the research activity in developing economies such as China and India. The market in Middle East & Africa and Latin America is expected to expand at a sluggish pace during the forecast period.Key players operating in the immersion oil market include Cargille Labs, EMD Millipore Corporation, Flinn Scientific, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Azzota Corporation, Nikon Instruments INC., Honeywell International Inc., Leica Microsystems, Olympus Corporation, and Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd. Companies are investing heavily in the development of microscope immersion oil. For instance, Cargille Laboratories, Inc. invested in the development of its microscope immersion oil, Type NHV, which is utilized for inverted, inclined, projection, and long focus instruments. Leica Microsystem launched SP8 DIVE system, the worlds first spectrally tunable solution for multi-color, multiphoton deep tissue imaging.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Interactive Projector Market 2018 Global Key Leaders: Seiko Epson Corporation, BenQ Corporation, ViewSonic Corporation, Dell Inc, NEC Corporation

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Market Highlights:The Interactive Projector technology is emerging at a very fast pace in the global market. The merits of interactive technology in the world of gaming is its ability to turn a basic game into an interactive display by using projection mapping.Players can customize the arena and all other specifications which in turn bring out creativity among gamers. Interactive walls and dining tables are upgrading the dining experience to another level. Innovators use projector driven digital surfaces to deliver a delightful experience to their guests.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players: Seiko Epson Corporation (Japan) BenQ Corporation (Taiwan) ViewSonic Corporation (U.S.) Dell Inc. (U.S.) Hitachi, Ltd. (Japan) Optoma Corporation (Taiwan) Christie Digital (U.S.) NEC Corporation (Japan) Touchmagix (U.S.) Sony Corporation (Japan) Touchjet, Inc. (U.S.) Panasonic Corporation (Japan)Regional Analysis:The global market for interactive projector is estimated to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period from 2017 to 2023. The geographical analysis of Interactive Projector Market is covered for the regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world. However, due to technological advancements, North America is expected to emerge as the leading region during the forecasting period. Education and government are the two major industries which will be seen using this technology extensively. APAC and Europe are little slow in adopting the technological upgrades but will advance in the upcoming period.Epson seems to be leading in the Indian market as well as worldwide due to its 3LCD technology which provides three times higher color brightness as compared to other interactive projectors. Some Government schools in India are making efficient use of this interactive technology wherein the school is assigned with a tutor who teaches students and teachers how to operate the projector and carry out learning sessions thereof. Everything is connected to server and students can easily access and share their notes.Segmentation: By Display Type, the market is segmented into DLP (Digital Light Processing), LCD (Liquid Color Display) and LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon). By Projection Distance, the market is segmented into Ultra-Short Throw, Short Throw, and Standard Throw. By Resolution, the market is segmented into XGA, Wide XGA, HD and Wide UXGA. By Dimension, the market is segmented into 2D and 3D. By Application, the market is segmented into Education, Healthcare, Media & Advertisement, Hospitality & Tourism, Enterprises and Others.Access Report Details @Intended Audience: Educational institues Research organizations Corporate firms OEM End users Raw material vendors Distributors Component providers ManufacturersTable of Contents1 Executive Summary2 Scope of the Report2.1 Market Definition2.2 Scope of the Study2.2.1 Research Objectives2.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations2.3 Markets Structure3 Market Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Secondary Research3.3 Primary Research3.4 Forecast ModelContinued.List of TablesTable1 World Population by Major Regions (2017 To 2023)Table2 Global Interactive Projector Market: By Country, 2017-2023Table3 North America Interactive Projector Market: By Country, 2017-2023Continued.List of FiguresFigure 1 Global Interactive Projector Market SegmentationFigure 2 Forecast MethodologyFigure 3 Porters Five Forces Analysis of Global Interactive Projector MarketContinued.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our clients to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Solutions, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Wide Body Aircraft MRO Market 2018 by MRO Type (Airframes and Modification), By Platform and Region  Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1576

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wide-body-aircraft-mro-market-1576

Market Highlights:Widebody aircraft MRO market is crucial for sustaining and extending the life of the aircraft. It Aircraft Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul (MRO) is crucial for sustaining the lifespan of wide-body aircraft. It consists of maintenances, overhauls, routine checks, repairs, and modifications disbursed on wide-body aircraft and their elements. MRO services assure the crashworthiness of an aircraft. However, there are some shortcomings in the global wide-body aircraft MRO market, such as government regulations, aircraft retirement, and environmental hazards.The global wide-body aircraft MRO market comprises of the maintenance and repair of wide-body aircraft components, engines and air fins. Moreover, the aerospace industries are early adopters of emerging market trends in maintenance service, which has led to the development of aircraft MRO system. The rise in popularity of MRO outsourcing and IT-enabled MRO is estimated to drive the market during the forecast period.The factors that are responsible for the growth of the global wide-body aircraft MRO market are older fleets and focus of OEM on engine and aircraft MRO. Other key drivers expected to contribute towards the growth of wide-bodythe market are growth in growing fleet size of airlines.Download a Sample Report @Major Key PlayersGE Aviation (U.S.),Honeywell Aerospace (U.S.),Lufthansa Technik (Germany),Pratt & Whitney (U.S.),Rolls-Royce (U.S.),Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (UAE),Air France Industries KLM Engineering and Maintenance (France),MTU Aero Engines (German), and Singapore Technologies Aerospace (Singapore).Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:May 2017:- France-based OEM Services signed a contract with the South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines, to support the future fleet of Airbus A350-900 aircraft, over a 15-year period.November 2015:- Emirates signed a contract with GE Aviation for maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of the GE9X engines that will power the airlines fleet of 150 Boeing 777X aircraft, over a period of 12 years. The contract is worth USD 16 billion.Market SegmentationThe global wide-body aircraft MRO market is segmented based on MRO type, platform, and region. On the basis of MRO types, the engine MRO is widely used and captures the majority of global wide-body aircraft MRO market due to need for proper maintenance of engines and engine components. On the basis of platform, the commercial segment is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.The market is segmented based on North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America. Asia Pacific region is expected to dominate the market in future due to the growth in air traffic in the international long-haul routes. North America is second to Asia Pacific in the global wide-body aircraft MRO aircraft market due to the presence of major MRO service providers, such as Airbus and Honeywell. Thus, the global wide-body aircraft MRO market is estimated to grow at approximately 4.5% CAGR during the forecast period of 2017-2023.Browse Complete Report @The report for Global Wide-body Aircraft MRO Market of Market Research Future comprises extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Commercial Aircraft Propeller Systems Market 2018 by Solution (Blades, Hub Systems, and Digital Electronic Controls) and by Geography - Forecast To 2021

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1642

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/commercial-aircraft-propeller-systems-market

Market Highlights:Commercial aircraft propeller systems find their application in piston-engine and turboprop-powered aircraft. The systems include blades, hubs, and electronic controls. The number of blades in a propeller system ranges from three to six (in a commercial aircraft). The blades are either made of aluminum or composite. The key advantage that composite-based propeller blades offer is reduced weight, which in turn reduces the fuel consumption.In commercial aviation, turboprop aircraft are primarily used for short-haul regional flights. As of 2015, turboprop accounted for 40% of the total global regional aircraft fleet (including regional jets). The average age of turboprop aircraft fleet is 19 years. North America and Europe have historically been the primary market for turboprops. However, the demand in APAC and the Middle East has further helped the market growth.The market for turboprops had lost momentum with the rapid rise of regional jets since the mid-90s. However, they have started to regain the market share primarily in the regional transportation segment (aircraft with up to 100 seats).A turboprop is considered to provide better fuel efficiency as compared to regional jets. Thus, with the rise in global fuel prices, turboprop is bound to become more popular among the regional airlines and low-cost carriers mostly operating in point-to-point short haul routes. Cost pressure plays an important role in airlines' choice for aircraft as it helps determine the operational cost.Download a Sample Report @Major key PlayersAirmaster,Dowty Propellers,Hartzell Propeller,McCauley,UTC Aerospace Systems,Culver Props,Curtiss-Wright,Electravia, and WhirlWind Propellers.Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:December, 2017:- Dowty Propellers signed a contract with AVIC Aircraft Co. Ltd. for the design, development, production, and in-service support for the propeller system on the MA700, a twin-engine airliner.June, 2014 - Dowty Propellers signed a contract with India's SpiceJet airline company, to provide a complete support package for the propeller systems equipped on the airline's 15 Bombardier Q400 regional aircraft.Regional AnalysisAPAC region has emerged as one of the potential markets for turboprop sales. As a result, manufacturers are focusing their new product launch targeting this region. For example, ATR, one of the leader in turboprop sales in the APAC market has launched two new versions of its ATR 72-600 in the region. The launch customers for both the versions are from APAC region, namely Cebu Pacific from Philippines and Air Niugini from Papua New Guinea.ATR 72-600 consists of 568F-bladed propellers from Hamilton Sundstrand (merged with Goodrich in 2012 to form UTC Aerospace Systems). The company provides complete propeller system solutions including blades, hubs, and digital electronic controls that incorporate aerodynamics as well as control dynamics.China, India, and the Philippines are some of the emerging aviation and aircraft propeller systems market in the APAC region, and their growth rates are expected to surpass other regions (EMEA and Americas) over the period 2016-2021. The aircraft propeller systems market is expected to grow in the future because of increased aircraft demand, aviation MRO activities, and aircraft parts production capability.Few of the countries in APAC are aggressively pushing for policies and reforms to attract the US and European aircraft and parts manufacturers to establish local operations in their respective countries. Since 2010, Malaysia has been offering corporate tax exemptions and other investment schemes to companies that invest in the local aviation industries. Many of the commercial aircraft suppliers are now concentrated in Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand and are continually adding a wide range of parts manufacturing capacity to their portfolio.Browse Complete Report @Commercial Aircraft Propeller Systems Market  SegmentsFor the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding; the commercial aircraft propeller systems market is segmented in to two key dynamics:Segmentation by Solution: Blades, Hub Systems, and Digital Electronic Controls.Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions Americas, Europe, APAC and Middle East and Africa.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Server Virtualization Market Global 2018  2023 Key Leaders: IBM, Microsoft Corporation, VMware, Inc, Citrix Systems, Inc, Oracle Corporation

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3981

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/server-virtualization-market-3981

Global Server Virtualization Market Overview:Server Virtualization can be termed as the conversion of a physical server into a number of individual virtual spaces that can be taken up by multiple users as per their respective requirements. Conceptualized out of the need to optimize the space consolidation and optimizing server capabilities and with the intervention of cloud platforms like computing & SaaS (Software as a Service), the Server Virtualization is perfected by Screening the actual numbers and identity of physical servers through a software application.Once used as a tool in testing and development environments, Server Virtualization has become one of the widest ecosystems in production servers today. Although gradually, businesses have started to move to cloud infrastructures and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) products, relying completely on a virtualized environment. Saving a substantial cost a physical server would demand while giving an excellent performance by building a private cloud computing environments, server virtualization has evolved significantly.Becoming an integral part of IT companies, Server Virtualization has become mainstream in recent years and attracting several vendors to join the stream. In a nutshell, the Server Virtualization market is already caught the momentum and demonstrating significant growth prospects. The augmenting uptake and growing number of businesses provide impetus to the market growth to an extent.Accrediting the potential of the Server Virtualization Market to grow & expand further in the years to come; Market Research Future (MRFR) recently published a brilliant study report giving out the complete market insights up till 2023. MRFR, in its analysis, asserts that the global Server Virtualization market will accrue approx. USD 8 Billion by 2023, registering a massive CAGR of 7% during 2017 to 2023.In addition, factors that drive the market growth include, the software maintenance revenue coupled with the increasing adoption of on-premise server virtualization software. The proliferation of technology such as cloud computing and OS container-based virtualization is one of the key factor propelling the Server Virtualization market. The demand for hyper-converged integrated system and emergence of software-defined data center solution foster the market growth extensively.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players:The Global Server Virtualization Market is driven by some of the leading players including Microsoft Corporation (US), VMware, Inc. (US), Oracle Corporation (US), Red Hat, Inc. (US), Citrix Systems, Inc. (US), Amazon.Com, Inc. (US), Google Inc. (US), Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. (China), Odin Inc. (US), and IBM (US). Profiling them in its analysis MRFR finds out their strategies. Helping to keep them at the forefront of the market competition.Global Server Virtualization Market Competitive Analysis:The embryonic market of Server Virtualization appears to be fiercely competitive and fragmented. Several large and small key players are churning the competition to gain competitive edge accounting for a substantial market share. Collaboration, Acquisition, partnership, product/ technology launch & expansion, remain the prevailing strategies of market players.Industry/Innovation/ Related News:April 18, 2018  VMware, Inc. (US) a subsidiary of Dell Technologies & leading provider of cloud computing and platform virtualization software and services announced the release of vSphere & vSAN updates (version 6.7 ), focusing on hybrid cloud management capabilities, a mix of on-premises, private cloud and public cloud services. vSphere serves as VMwares hypervisor and virtualization management platform while vSAN serves as companys virtual storage technology.Global Server Virtualization Market Segmentation:For the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding; MRFR analysis is segmented into 6 key dynamicsBy Servers: Comprises - Hypervisors, & Virtual Private Servers.By Services: Cloud Service Provider, Managed Service Provider, Telecom & Communication Service Provider, among others.By Deployments: On Cloud & On-Premise.By Types: OS-level Virtualization, Full & Para Virtualization.By Organization Size : Small and Medium Enterprises & Large Enterprises.By Regions: North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Access Report Details @Global Server Virtualization Market Regional Analysis:The North America market leads the global Server Virtualization market with the largest market share. Attributing to the wide uptake & advancement of technology coupled with the increasing investments transpired in the cloud-based solutions; the region is likely to retain its dominance over the forecast period.While the Europe market stands the second largest market for Server Virtualization, attributing to the implementation of advanced technology in small and large enterprise especially, in the UK, Germany, France & Italy. Continuing with the same growth trends the market will register the highest CAGR in the next six years.Whereas Asia Pacific region, emerging as the fastest growing market for Server Virtualization, is poised to account for a substantial market share in the next six years. The regional market growth attributes to the rapidly advancing countries such as China, Japan, and India coupled with the improved economy that has spurted the industrialization across the region. Presence of major server virtualization vendors present in the region along with the increasing IT infrastructure development is fuelling the regional market.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Solutions, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Directed Energy Weapon Market 2018 by Platform, Type, Applications and Region  Global Forecast Till 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3203

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/directed-energy-weapon-market-3203

Market Highlights:According to a recent study report published by Market Research Future, the global market for Directed Energy Weapon market will grow at a rapid pace over the forecast period. The market is expected to witness slow but steady growth until 2023, which will be a growing fast at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period (2017 -2023).The high demand for directed energy weapon market is due to the growing need for high quality, integrated, precise and cost-effective energy weapons by defense forces, thus increasing the participation of manufacturers. Rapid technology advancement, along with the increased focus of OEMs on strengthening aircraft capabilities, is expected to result in an increase in aircraft expenses and add to the growth of the market. However, high development cost of the weapons and susceptibility to degradation by external environments act as a barrier to the growth of directed energy weapon market.Directed energy weapon is the weapon that emits highly focused energy, consists of laser, microwave, and particle beams, to damage the target. Several applications such as anti-personnel weapon systems, and missile defense systems, have used the weapons for defense purpose such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear emergencies. This has consequently resulted in increased R&D expenditure for the development of directed energy weapons.Request a Sample report @Major key PlayersLockheed Martin Corporation (U.S),Raytheon Company (U.S),Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S),Boeing Company (U.S),BAE Systems PLC (U.K),Textron Inc. (U.S.),Rheinmetall AG (Germany),L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc. (U.S.),Moog Inc. (U.S.), and Quinetiq Group PLC. (U.S.).Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:March, 2018  Lockheed Martin signed a contract with U.S. Navy for development, manufacture and delivery of two high power laser weapon systems, including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and counter-unmanned aerial system capabilities.November, 2016  Northrop Grumman Corporation signed a contract with U.S. Air Force to used the directed energy systems for self-protection on aircraft developed by Air Force Research Laboratory.April, 2016  Rheinmetall signed a contract with Bundeswehr to equip with new laser duel simulators for staging combat training exercises.Global Directed Energy Weapon Market  SegmentationThe global directed energy weapon market is segmented into 4 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Platform : Comprises Airborne, Ground-based, and NavalSegmentation by Type : Comprises Lethal Weapons and Non-Lethal WeaponsSegmentation by Applications : Comprises Military and Homeland SecuritySegmentation by Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America.Browse Complete Report @Directed Energy Weapon Market: Regional AnalysisNorth American region is dominating the market of the global directed energy weapon market due to technology advancements in warfare platforms and increasing defense budgets.Europe is referred to as the second-largest directed energy weapon market due to factors such rise in the military spending in countries such as Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Algeria have fuelled the demand for global directed energy weapon market.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Military Communications Market by Product Types, Application, Platform and Region  Global Forecast till 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3219

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/military-communications-market-3219

Market Highlights:According to a recent study report published by Market Research Future, the global market for military communications market will grow at a rapid pace over the forecast period. The market is expected to witness slow but steady growth until 2023, which will be a growing fast at a moderate CAGR during the forecast period (2017 -2023).The high demand for military communications market is due to the growing need for security and confidential of accurate and real-time data in the military communication, thus increasing the participation of manufacturers. Rapid adoption of emerging technologies such as Ka-band and artificial intelligence is expected to add to the growth of the market. However, multiple standard devices and difficult to achieve interoperability among so many different systems and technologies act as a barrier to the growth of military communications market.A military communications involve all aspects of communication of data used by armed forces for efficient functioning, military command, and secure and robust system. The rise in popularity of security of data in military industry is expected to drive the market during the forecast period. Hence, the military communications system must integrate with emerging technologies to improve the delivery of the right information to the right location and at the right time. Military aircraft operators are investing in the military communications system at a rapid rate in order to improve the functioning of the system.Request a Sample Report @Major Key PlayersNorthrop Grumman Corporation (U.S.),Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S.),BAE Systems (U.K.),Thales (France),Alcatel (France),Raytheon (U.S.),Rockwell Collins (U.S.),General Dynamics (U.S.),Harries corporation (U.S.), and Airbus Group (Netherlands) are some of the leading players operating in this market.Global Military Communications Market  SegmentationThe global Military Communications market is segmented into 4 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Device Type : Comprises Military SATCOM, Radio System and SmartphonesSegmentation by Application : Comprises Command & Control, and Situational AwarenessSegmentation by Platform : Comprises Airborne, Ground Based and NavalSegmentation by Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America.Global Military Communications Market: Regional AnalysisNorth American region is dominating the market of the global military communications market due to rapid deployment of armed equipments in warfare regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Seria.Asia Pacific is referred to as the second-largest military communications market due to factors such as growing concerns for border security have fuelled the demand for global military communications market.Browse Full Report @Target Audience: Manufactures Raw Materials Suppliers Aftermarket suppliers Research Institute / Education Institute Potential Investors Key executive (CEO and COO) and strategy growth managerAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Helicopter Tourism Market 2018 by Tourism Type, Ownership, Regional Analysis, Service Providers and End Users - Global Forecast to 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4495

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/helicopter-tourism-market-4495

Market Highlights:Helicopter tourism is a new dimension of tourism. The tours are offered to the passengers/tourists by the helicopters over the popular places or less crowded places, in a country, giving them the time and opportunity to capture the scenic aerial view. During the last decade, the introduction of new tourist destinations has brought about a revolution in the global tourism industry. With the increase in the number of the tourism service providers, there has been a significant growth in the demand for air travel and a simultaneous rise in the number of aircraft and helicopter. Some countries, such as Australia, France, Spain, South Africa, Hong Kong, Indonesia, U.K., and U.S. have been major beneficiaries of global tourism, over the years.The market has been analyzed based on tourism type, ownership, and region. On the basis of type, customized tourism segment has dominated the helicopter tourism market during the forecast period due to the growth in tourism sector. Traditionally, the tourists used to opt for the first deal that was offered to them by the tourism companies. However, technology advancements and the rise in the number of social media users, have enabled tourists to choose from an array of tourism destinations, resorts, and airlines, and overall packages. With the growth of social media and the internet penetration, people have infinite possibilities and opportunities, which has also empowered them for picking their best deals. Also, they can now demand customization of desired services. Consequently, the tourism companies adapt to and take advantage of the opportunities.Download a Sample report @Major Key PlayersAirbus (Netherlands),Bell Helicopter Textron Inc (Texas),Leonardo  S.p.A (Italy),Russian elicopters JSC (Moscow),Sikorsky (U.S),AVIC (China),Enstrom Helicopter Corp (Michigan),MD HELICOPTERS, INC (Arizona),Robinson Helicopter Company (California), and Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc (Turkey), .The Helicopter Tourism Market is expected to reach USD 941.6 million by 2023 at a CAGR of 4.17% during the forecast period.On the basis of ownership, fractional ownership segment has dominated the market during the forecast period because fractional ownership requires a lower up-front capital expenditure as compared to the full purchase of helicopters. Helicopters used in fractional programs operate for more hours as compared to general helicopters and, therefore, have a lower-than-average residual value. Fractional programs cover fixed costs by charging a monthly fee, which is set by the management of the company without the owner intervention.This research report provides insights, on various levels of analysis such as industry analysis, and market share analysis for the leading players along with their profiles. It also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments. The market data comprises the basic assessment of the competitive scenarios & strategies in the global construction lift market, including high-growth regions and/or countries, and political, & economic environments. The project report, further, provides views on both the historical market values and pricing & cost analysis.Browse Complete Report @Helicopter Tourism Market  SegmentsFor the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding; The Helicopter Tourism Market is segmented in to 3key dynamicsSegmentation by Tourism Type: Customized Tourism and General Tourism.Segmentation by Ownership: Fractional Ownership, Charter Service, and Joint ownership agreements.Segmentation by Regions: Comprises Geographical regions  North America, Europe, APAC and RoW.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Marine Navigation Systems Market to Provide Over USD 1,927.97 million Revenue Post 2022

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4890

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/marine-navigation-systems-market-4890

Market Highlights:The global marine navigation system market has seen a rising demand for marine navigation systems owing to its growing demand from its application sectors such as commercial and military. The global market is majorly influenced by the factors such as growth of marine industry, increasing demand for accuracy in navigation, technological advancements, increasing marine activities, and growing investment. Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the need of higher accuracy in navigation. As a result the demand for marine navigation system has increased steadily. Moreover, in the last few years, the technology has upgraded which has made the voyage much easier and safer.As per MRFR analysis, the global marine navigation system market has seen a significant growth in the last couple of years and it has been observed that, the market will remain in the growing phase till forecast period. This market was valued at USD 1,370.47 million in 2016, and is expected to reach USD 1,927.97 million by 2022 with the CAGR of 5.85%.Download a Sample Report @Major Key PlayersDANELEC MARINE,FLIR Systems, Inc.,Kongsberg Maritime,Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine B.V.,Raytheon Anschutz,FURUNO ELECTRIC CO. LTD.,Honeywell International,Icom America Inc.,Periskal group, SevenCs GmbH, Transas, and Tresco Engineering bvba.For this study, the global marine navigation system market has been segmented, based on types and applications.On the basis of type, the market has been segmented as chartplotter, weather satellite system and radar. Among these types, chartplotter has accounted the largest market share of 48.54%, in 2016, followed by radar and weather satellite system. The growing demand for chartplotter in marine navigation system, has pushed the market growth.On the basis of application, the market has been segmented as commercial and military. Among these, military application has registered the largest market share in 2016. The increasing investment on marine industry, has fueled the demand for navigation systems.Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.The major players operating in global marine navigation system market, who have adopted the strategies such as geographic expansion, mergers, and acquisitions are Teledyne Marine, Icom America, Simrad, Consilium, Kongsberg Maritime, Northrop Grumman, SevenCs, QPS (SAAB), Raytheon Anschuetz and Tresco.This research report has provides the insights, on various levels of analyses such industry analysis, market share analysis leading market players and their profiles. This report also helps in studying the target segments by providing views on emerging & high-growth segments and market conclusion. Together the market data comprise and discuss with the basic assessments on the competitive scenarios & strategies, of the global marine navigation system market, including the high-growth regions, countries and their political, economic and technological environments. Furthermore the project report also provides the views over the historical market values as well as, pricing and cost analysis of the same.Browse Complete Report @Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:January, 2018:- France-based iXblue, a prominent company of the market, was selected by French Navy, to equip five of their new 4000-ton frigates, developed by Naval Group, with new marine navigation systems.December, 2017:- Lockheed Martin signed a contract with the Canada-based OSI Maritime, to provide its integrated bridge and navigation system (IBNS) for the US Navys Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS) programme.December, 2017:- Booz Allen signed a five-year contract worth USD 67.5 million, with the US Coast Guard and the US Navy, to provide and integrate the intelligence tools across navigation, positioning, and timing programs.February, 2017:- FLIR Systems, Inc. signed an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract, worth USD 50 million, with the U.S. Coast Guard, to provide marine electronics systems over a five-year period.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Natural Gas Refueling Infrastructure Market, by Station Type (CNG and LNG) - Report Examines Latest Trends and Key Drivers Supporting Growth through 2022

MRRSE

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https://www.mrrse.com/natural-gas-refueling-infrastructure-market

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been acting as an impressive data source when it comes to evaluating various industrial verticals. The research report titled Natural Gas Refueling Infrastructure Market offers a clear insight about the Natural Gas Refueling Infrastructure assessed over the global platform. This analysis proves beneficial for readers & new investors who are aiming to enter the market for Natural Gas Refueling Infrastructure in the near future.Visit for Free Sample Report @The report states that the global natural gas refueling infrastructure market will amount to 29,688 units by 2022, increasing from 19,396 units in 2013, at a CAGR of 4.80% from 2014 to 2022. The valuation of the market, which was US$21.4 bn in 2013, will rise to US$50.2 bn by 2022, expanding at an impressive 10.17% CAGR from 2014 to 2022.This research study analyzes the market for natural gas refueling infrastructure in terms of volume and revenue. The natural gas refueling infrastructure market has been segmented on the basis of station type and geography. For the research, 2013 has been taken as the base year while all forecasts have been presented for the 20142022 period. Market data for all the segments has been provided at the regional as well as country-specific level for the 20132022 period. The regional segments have been further divided into country level segments, which include the major players in the global natural gas refueling infrastructure market. The report provides a comprehensive competitive landscape and features companies engaged in the natural gas refueling infrastructure business. This report includes the key market dynamics affecting the overall natural gas refueling infrastructure industry globally. The report also provides a detailed analysis of the global natural gas refueling infrastructure market with the help of the Porters Five Forces model. The Porters Five Forces analysis aids in understanding the five major forces that affect the industry structure and profitability of the global natural gas refueling infrastructure market. The forces analyzed are the bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat from new entrants, threat from substitutes, and degree of competition.The high-level analysis in the report provides detailed insights into the natural gas refueling infrastructure business globally. Major drivers, restraints, and opportunities in the natural gas refueling infrastructure market were analyzed in detail and are illustrated in the report with the help of supporting graphs and tables. There are currently numerous growth drivers for the natural gas refueling infrastructure industry. One of the most prominent drivers is the no emissions and government initiatives boost the demand for natural gas as transportation fuel. Apart from this, low cost of natural gas results in attractive return on investments. This factor also contributes to the overall growth of the natural gas refueling infrastructure market. Market attractiveness analysis was done on the basis of geography. Market attractiveness was estimated on the basis of common parameters that directly impact the market in different regions.The natural gas refueling infrastructure market was further segmented on the basis of station type. Stations included in this report are compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). The natural gas refueling infrastructure market was analyzed across six geographies: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. Regional data has been provided for each sub-segment of the natural gas refueling infrastructure market. Key market participants in the natural gas refueling infrastructure market include Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Apache Corporation, BP plc, Indraprastha Gas Limited, Trillium CNG, Gazprom, PETRONAS, ENN Energy Holdings Limited, Gas Natural Fenosa, Fuel System Solutions, Inc., Blu LNG, Cryostar SAS, GE Oil & Gas, Clean Energy Fuels, and GNC Galileo. The report provides an overview of these companies, followed by their financial details, business strategies, and recent developments.Get Complete Research Report with TOC @The global natural gas refueling infrastructure market has been segmented as follows:Natural Gas Refueling Infrastructure Market: Station AnalysisCNGLNGNatural Gas Refueling Infrastructure Market: Region AnalysisNorth AmericaS.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeGermanyItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificPakistanBangladeshRest of Asia PacificSouth AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle EastIranRest of Middle EastAfricaEgyptRest of AfricaSend an Inquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Oil and Gas Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Global Facility Management Market Market is expected to increase at 11.1% CAGR forecast to 2025 Top Key Players Like CA Technologies, IBM, SAP SE, Planon, Oracle

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In this Report Facility Management Market and industry examination, estimate, diagram, development, viewpoint, ace highlights, top players, contenders investigation and application its assistance to develop your business at universal level.The Global Facility Management Market accounted for USD 34.61 billion in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.For In depth Information Get Free Sample Copy of this Report@Complete report on Global Facility Management Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresMarket Definition: Global Facility Management MarketThis market report defines the market trends and forecast the upcoming opportunities and threats of the facility management market in the next 8 years. Facility management alludes to the integrated administration of numerous interdisciplinary advances, procedures, faculty and frameworks. It promotes proficient and collective environment in order to satisfy and meet the key goals and mission of an association. Facility management ensures that everything works suitably together whereas; facility manager is responsible for keeping the office alive. Facility managers use office administration programming to identify and plan the tasks, make facilities decisions, keep records and others. In January, 2016, Global Helpdesk (TGH) launched an elite residential facility management services through which it offers concierge services to residential societies. In February, 2017, Verdantix launches the real estate, energy, and facilities information management (REEFIM) practice. It will help the service providers and building owners to improve the performance of individual facilities. Moreover, it considerably assists in worker productivity enhancement and in financial management optimization of portfolio of buildings. This will help the global facility management market to rise notably in the coming years.Global Facility Management Market, By Solution (Facility Environment Management, Building Information Modeling, Integrated Workplace Management System, Facility Property Management,), By Service ,), By Organization Size, By Deployment Type, By End User, By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East & Africa) Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Key Questions Answered in Global Facility Management Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Facility Management Market in 2025? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Facility Management Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Facility Management Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Facility Management Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Facility Management Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Facility Management Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Request for Detailed TOC:Top Key Players: CA Technologies IBM SAP SE Planon Oracle Indus Systems Inc. Jade Track Inc. Trimble Inc. FM:Systems Group, LLC. Hippo CMMS ARCHIBUS, Inc. MAINTENANCE CONNECTION FacilityONE Technologies NEMETSCHEK SE MetricStream Inc. Accruent FMX Officespace Apleona MCS Solutions Archidata Emaint Autodesk and FSI (FM Solutions) Limited among others.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Rising demand of integrated facility management and development of the sustainable infrastructure Increasing adoption of connected devices as well as IoT for building automation Shifts in virtual workplace and mobility Advent of the Saas deployment model Dependence on in-house facility management team and lack of managerial awarenessKey Reasons to Purchase: To gain insightful analyses of the market and have comprehensive understanding of the Global Facility Management Market and its commercial landscape. Assess the Facility Management production processes, major issues, and solutions to mitigate the development risk. To understand the most affecting driving and restraining forces in the Facility Management Market and its impact in the Global market. Learn about the market strategies that are being adopted by leading respective organizations. To understand the future outlook and prospects for Global Facility Management Market.Inquire Before Buying @Customize report of "Global Facility Management Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global Facility Management Market is segmented on the basis of Solution Services Organization Size Deployment Type End-User GeographyMarket Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Solution, the global facility management market is segmented into facility environment management, building information modeling, integrated workplace management system, facility property management, facility operations and security management.On the basis of Services, the global facility management market is segmented into consulting, support and maintenance, deployment and integration, auditing and quality assessment and service level agreement management.On the basis of Organization Size, the global facility management market is segmented small and medium sized enterprises and large enterprises.On the basis of Deployment Type, the global facility management market is segmented into cloud, on-premises.On the basis of End-User, the global facility management market is segmented into banking, financial services, and insurance, government, energy and utilities healthcare, IT and telecommunication, manufacturing, retail, education, construction and others.On the basis of Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCompany Share Analysis: Global Facility Management MarketThe global facility management market is consolidated due to the presence of limited number of players concentrated in few countries. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.Speak to Author of the report @Other ReportGlobal Innovation Management Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Innovation Management Market, By Geography; Type (Software, Services); Organization Size (Large Enterprises, Small & Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)); Deployment Model (On-premises, Cloud); Application (Product Research & Development Platforms, Marketing, Design, Idea Platforms, Collective Intelligence & Prediction Platforms, Human Resource & Freelancers Platforms); Vertical (Banking, Financial Services, Insurance, IT, Media & Communication Technology, Aerospace & Defense, Public Sector & Education, Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Retail & Consumer Goods, Automotive & Manufacturing, Transportation & Logistics)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Overview of Office Furniture Market Production, Consumption, Revenue and Market share, Reviewed till 2022

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A freshly compiled business intelligent report, titled Office Furniture Market Forecast, Trend Analysis & Competition Tracking  Global Review 2017 to 2022 has been publicized to the vast archive of Fact.MR online repository. This 170-page study delivers all the vital details and information required to know about office furniture market current as well as future prospects. The analysts of the study have gone through extensive research methodologies in order to generate data and information that reflects the latest market undercurrents and industry trends. For a deeper understanding of the market, a sub-category level analysis has been elaborated, by which readers and investors of the report will able to know that where the market stands to gain.Request for Sample Report-Office furniture is a functional furniture that is designed specifically for workspace. Office furniture consists of desks, chairs, tables, drawers, cabinets, etc. Office furniture is designed according to the job function such as furniture for reception area is different from furniture in a meeting room or boardroom. Companies are adopting modular furniture with vibrant colors to enhance productivity and encourage innovative thinking by making the workplace more interesting. According to a study by Fact.MR, the global office furniture market is expected to experience steady growth. The market is estimated to reach US$ 30,501.2 million revenue towards 2022 end. Owing to the rise in the development of commercial complexes across the globe, the demand for office furniture is also increasing. Offering comfort and flexibility, manufacturers are designing furniture that can be integrated with technology. Meanwhile, fitness in the workspace is also being focused on by providing furniture offering comfort and supporting correct posture, thereby eliminating back problems.Office Furniture to Witness Highest Sales through Retail StoresAccounting for nearly one-third of the revenue share, retail stores is expected to emerge as the most lucrative sales channel for office furniture. Towards the end of 2022, retail stores are projected to bring in nearly US$ 9,600 million revenue. Although sales of office furniture through direct to customer sales channel is also expected to experience above-average growth during the forecast period 2017-2022.Regional OutlookAsia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ) is projected to witness impressive growth, exceeding US$ 14,700 million revenue by the end of 2022. Increasing development of corporate offices, rise in a number of MNCs building new offices, and growing number of startups and new entrants resulting in more number of employees are some of the factors driving the growth of office furniture in the region.Office Chairs- Top-Selling ProductCompared to other office furniture such as tables, office systems furniture, storage furniture, etc., office chairs are expected to emerge as a top-selling product. Witnessing a steady growth, office chairs is estimated to surpass US$ 8,800 million value by the end of 2022. Meanwhile, office tables are also expected to account for nearly one-third of the revenue share by 2017 end.Competition TrackingThe report offers a detailed profile of various companies that are expected to remain active in the expansion of global office furniture market through 2022, which include Herman Miller Inc., Steelcase Inc., Knoll, Inc., Okamura Corp, HNI Corporation, Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd, INABA SEISAKUSHO Co., Ltd, Itoki Corp, Fursys, Inc., and UE Furniture Co., Ltd.Browse Full Report with TOC-Table of Content:1. Global Office Furniture Market  Executive Summary2. Global Office Furniture Market Overview2.1. Introduction2.1.1. Global Office Furniture Market Taxonomy2.1.2. Global Office Furniture Market Definition2.2. Global Office Furniture Market Size (US$ Mn) and Forecast, 2012-20222.2.1. Global Office Furniture Market Y-o-Y Growth2.3. Global Office Furniture Market Dynamics2.4. Cost Structure2.5. Pricing Analysis2.6. Market Opportunities2.7. Product Innovations2.8. List of Distributors2.9. Key Participants in the Market By Region3. Global Office Furniture Market Analysis and Forecast By Product Type3.1. Global Office Furniture Market Size and Forecast By Product Type, 2012-20223.1.1. Office Chairs Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.1.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.1.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.1.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By Region3.1.2. Office Tables Market Size and Forecast, 2012-20223.1.2.1. Revenue (US$ Mn) Comparison, By Region3.1.2.2. Market Share Comparison, By Region3.1.2.3. Y-o-Y growth Comparison, By RegionContinued.Check Discount on This Report-About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized Retail & Consumer Goods market reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; thats why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MRSuite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandTelephone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.comWeb:Get More Industry Insights At:
Global Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market Boosting CAGR of +11.4% by 2024 with Top Manufacturers, Growth, Size, Analysis, Competitive Landscape and Forecast till 2024

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In this Report Geotechnical Instrumentation and Monitoring Market and industry examination, estimate, diagram, development, viewpoint, ace highlights, top players, contenders investigation and application its assistance to develop your business at universal level.Data Bridge Market Research provides new industry report "Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market" accounted for USD 2.25 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.Request for Free Sample Report @Complete report on Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresGlobal Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market, By Geography; Offering (Hardware, Software, Services); Structure (Tunnels Bridges, Buildings Utilities, Dams); Technology (Wired Networking Technology, Wireless Technology); Application (Pore Water Pressure, Soil Stresses, Lateral Deformation, Vertical Deformation), End-Users (Building, Infrastructure, Energy, Power, Oil, Gas, Mining)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Key Questions Answered in Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Report:-Our Report offers:- What will the market growth rate, Overview and Analysis by Type of Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market in 2024? What are the key factors driving, Analysis by Applications and Countries Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market? What are Dynamics, This Overview Includes Analysis of Scope, and price analysis of top Vendors Profiles of Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market? Who are Opportunities, Risk and Driving Force of Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market? Who are the opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market? Business Overview by Type, Applications, Gross Margin and Market Share What are the Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market opportunities, market risk and market overview of the Market?Major market drivers: Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Increasing rate of disastrous failure of the geotechnical structures Increasing awareness and superior benefits of GTIM Increasing infrastructural investment across various countries all over the world Rigid environmental regulations pertaining to the sustainability of structures Errors in readings lead to inaccurate results High cost involved in the installation and monitoringRequest for TOC:Top Key Players: Cowi A/S Deep Excavation LLC DST Consulting Engineers Inc. Eustis Engineering LLC. Fugro Geocomp Corporation Geokon Incorporated Geomotion Singapore Geosig Ltd James Fisher and Sons plc Keller Group plc Nova Metrix LLC RST Instruments Ltd. SISGEO S.R.L. Smart Structures Geotechnical Instrumentation Durham Geo Slope Indicator, Inc.For more Insightful information visit@Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Company Share Analysis:The Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Report include detailed vendor level analysis for market shares in 2016 for Global, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and South America specifically. Also impact and development analysis of key vendors is registered in the market and factored on the basis of Vendor Positioning Grid Analysis which measures the vendors strengths and opportunities against present market challenges, measure providers ability to identify or satisfy present market needs, map providers market vision to current and upcoming market dynamics among others. The report also measures technology life line curve and market time line to analyze and do more affective investments.Market Segmentations:Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market is segmented on the basis of Structure, Networking Technology, Application End-Users Geography.Market Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Structure tunnels and bridges, buildings and utilities, dams, and other structures.On basis of Application, the geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is also segmented into pore water pressure, soil stresses, lateral deformation, and vertical deformation.On the basis of Networking Technology the global geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is further segmented into wired networking technology, and wireless technology.On the basis of End-user, the geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is further segmented into building and infrastructure, energy and power, oil and gas, mining, and others.On the basis of Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCustomize report of "Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market" as per customers requirement also available.Speak to Author of the Report @Other ReportGlobal Fitness Equipment Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Fitness Equipment Market, By Type (Cardiovascular Training Equipment (Treadmills, Elliptical Trainers, Stationary Cycles, Rowing Machines, Stair Steppers, Others), Strength Training Equipment (Single Stations, Plate Loaded Equipment, Free Weights, Benches and Racks, Multistations, Accessories), Body Composition Analyzers (Bioimpedance Analyzer, Skinfold Caliper, Dual Emission X-Ray Absorptiometry (Dexa), Hydrostatic Weighing, Air Displacement Plethysmography), Fitness Monitoring Equipment), By End-User (Health Clubs, Gyms, Home Settings, Corporate Settings, Apartments, Hotels, Hospitals, Clinics), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, Rest of the World)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024.Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Endoscopy Devices Market 2018-2025: Analysis by Key Players (Olympus, Karl Storz, Stryker, Boston Scientific, Ethicon, Fujifilm, Medtronic, Smith & Nephew, Richard Wolf GmbH, Cook, and B. Braun)

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Endoscopy devices are used to view the internal body for therapy and diagnosis of various diseases. Endoscopes are directly inserted into the body parts to visualize the internal parts. Various types of endoscopy devices used to perform an endoscopy procedure include endoscopes, visualization systems, accessories, and other endoscopy devices.Increasing preference for minimally invasive procedures, technological advancements in endoscopes, rising usage of endoscopes for diagnosis & therapy of various diseases, and growing awareness on advantages of endoscopy procedures are the major drivers that are likely to aid the growth of endoscopy devices market. Innovation in capsule endoscopes is expected to add new opportunities for this market in the coming years.Complete Report is Available@The Global Endoscopy Devices Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the endoscopy devices industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global endoscopy devices market with detailed market segmentation by product, application, end user, and geography. The global endoscopy devices market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Top Key Players:1. Olympus Corporation2. Karl Storz GmbH3. Stryker Corporation4. Boston Scientific5. Ethicon6. Fujifilm7. Medtronic8. Hoya9. Smith & Nephew10. Richard Wolf GmbHFree 20% customization on Pre-Booking@The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global endoscopy devices market based on product, application, and end user. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall endoscopy devices market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South & Central America. The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 13 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.The report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South & Central America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Inquiry for Report@The report also includes the profiles of key endoscopy device manufacturing companies along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. In addition, the report focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.We are committed to providing highest quality research and consulting services to our customers. We help our clients understand key market trends, identify opportunities, and make informed decisions by providing market research solutions at an affordable cost.Our syndicated research content is focused towards providing global and regional market forecasts and analysis. All our syndicated reports provide analysis of key trends, market size and shares, and competitive landscape analysis. We provide detailed segmentation of market by geography, technology, product or service which helps our clients get a deeper market analysis.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.com
Worldwide Erythropoietin Drug 2018 Topmost Key Merchant Kyowa Hakko Kirin, BIOSIDUS, 3SBio, Hospira etc Insight 2023

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Global Erythropoietin Drug market research report, by product type (biosimilars, first generation formulation and second generation formulation) by application (oncology, renal diseases, HIV and other) and by end user (hospitals and pharmacy) - Forecast Till 2023Global erythropoietin drug market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.5% during forecasted period.KEY PLAYERS FOR ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKETHoffmann-La Roche (Switzerland), Johnson & Johnson (US), Amgen (US), Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Intas Pharmaceuticals (India), Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Israel), Biocon (India), Emcure Pharmaceuticals (India), Celltrion, Inc. (South Korea), Hospira (US), Dahua Pharmaceutical (China), LG Life Sciences Ltd. (Korea), 3SBio, Boehringer Ingelheim (US), BIOSIDUS (Argentina).Get sample Report @MARKET SCENARIO FOR ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKETErythropoietin drugs are also known as hematopoietin. It is a glycoprotein hormone that controls erythropoiesis or production of RBC. They are used in treatment of different diseases like cancer, chronic renal diseases, AIDS, anaemia and many more. Global erythropoietin market is driven by increasing prevalence of diseases like cancer, AIDA and renal diseases. Beside this introduction of new drugs and different government initiatives for research are also has synergistic effect on growth of the market. Whereas high cost of treatment and side effects of the treatment may restrain the growth of market.SEGMENTATION FOR ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKETGlobal erythropoietin drug market is segmented on the basis of type of product into biosimilars, first generation formulation and second generation formulation. On the basis of application market is segmented as oncology, renal diseases, HIV and other and on the basis of end user they are segmented into hospital and pharmacy.REGIONAL ANALYSIS FOR ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKETOn regional basis, global erythropoietin drug market, North America contribute the largest market which is followed by Europe. Due to continuously increasing cancer population and patient suffering from renal diseases in North America helped to grow this market in North America. Beside this technological advance and governmental initiatives for research has provided fuel for the growth of the market. Asia Pacific is the third largest market and is the fastest growing market for erythropoietin drug market. While Middle East and Africa has the least contribution in global erythropoietin drug market.Get Discount @MAJOR TOC FOR ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKETCHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS1.2.2.1 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.2.2 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURECHAPTER 2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS:2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCHCHAPTER 3. MARKET DYNAMICS3.1 DRIVERS3.2 RESTRAINTS3.3 OPPORTUNITIES3.4 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORSCHAPTER 4. MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS4.1 PORTERS FIVE FORCES MODEL4.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS4.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS4.4 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS4.5 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES4.6 INTENSITY OF RIVALRYCHAPTER 5. GLOBAL ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKET, BY PRODUCT5.1 BIOSIMILARS5.2 FIRST GENERATION FORMULATION5.3 SECOND GENERATION FORMULATION.6. GLOBAL ERYTHROPOIETIN DRUG MARKET, BY APPLICATION6.1 ONCOLOGY6.2 RENAL DISEASES6.3 HIV6.4 OTHERTOC Continued.Ask to Expert Inquire @About Us:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact Us:Market Research Future, Office No. 528,Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar, Pune - 411028 Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
North America Air Quality Monitoring Market: Global Research Report, 2012-2022

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The North American AQM market valued $1.4 billion in 2015 and is expected to attain a value of $2.5 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of 8.5% during the period 20162022. Between the two types of AQM products, indoor monitors accounted for the larger share in the North American AQM market in 2015, due to their high rate of adoption in pharmaceutical and other industries owing to the need for controlled environment. Based on the type of pollutants monitored in 2015, chemical pollutants monitoring generated the largest revenue in the AQM market, followed by physical and biological pollutants monitoring.Access Detailed Report Summary@The North American AQM market accounted for the largest share in the global AQM market in 2015 mainly due to rising pollution levels in the region, growing number of patients with respiratory disorders, and increasing awareness about environmental and healthcare implications of air pollution. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 324,000 new cases of lung cancer were reported in North America in 2012 and the number is estimated to reach approximately 541,000 by 2030.Request to Get the Sample Report@Technological advancements by scientists and engineers in the field of AQM are changing the way air quality is monitored. Low-cost, portable air sensors are being developed to monitor pollutants in the air, especially in roadways, rail yards, ports, and industrial areas that abide by air quality standards. However, limitations of AQM products, such as limited temporal and spatial coverage by air quality monitors hindering the complete assessment of air pollutants and their health hazards, are impeding their market growth in the region.Make Enquiry Before Buying the Report@Some of the other key players operating in the North American AQM market are the 3M Company, General Electric, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., TSI Inc., Emerson Electric Co., Teledyne Technologies Inc., Cerex Monitoring Solutions LLC, PerkinElmer, Inc., and Tisch Environmental Inc.About P&S Market ResearchP&S Market Research is a global market research and consulting company. We provide market research reports, industry reports, business intelligence and research-based consulting services across a range of industries.With the help of our professional corporate relations with various companies, our market research offers the most accurate market forecasting. Our analysts and consultants interact with leading companies of the concerned domain to substantiate every single data presented in our publication. Our research assists our client in identifying new and different windows of opportunity and frame informed and customized strategies for expansion in different regions.Contact:P&S Market Research347, 5th Ave. #1402New York City, NY - 10016Toll-free: +1-888-778-7886 (USA/Canada)Email: enquiry@psmarketresearch.comWeb:
Global GPS Tracking Device Market Growth by 2018  Report Includes (Types, Applications, Manufacturers, Drivers, Opportunities, Challenges) Top Vendors profile anf future Forecast of 2024

GPS Tracking Device Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024

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Global GPS Tracking Device Market including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis. The report then estimates 2018-2024 market development trends of Global GPS Tracking Device Market. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Global GPS Tracking Device Market before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2018-2024 Global GPS Tracking Device Market covering all important parametersGlobal GPS Tracking Device Market accounted to USD 1.5 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 13.0% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.FREE | Sample Copy is Available@A GPS tracking unit is a device, normally carried by a moving vehicle or person, that uses the Global Positioning System to determine and track its precise location, and hence that of its carrier, at intervals. The latest trend in this market is growth in commercial vehicle leading to the growth of GPS system, they are in small in size, easy to carry, which may further develop the market in future. There is need of GPS tracking devices for several applications like Transportation & Logistics, Construction, Oil & Gas, Metals & Mining, Government; others will create a huge market for the GPS tracking devices.Global GPS Tracking Device Market By Type (Standalone Tracker, PBD Device, Advance Tracker) By Deployment type (Commercial Vehicle, Cargo and Container, Others), By Application (Transportation & Logistics, Construction, Oil & Gas, Metals & Mining, Government, Others) By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Europe, South America, Middle East and Africa)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Major Market Competitors: Calamp Corporation, Sierra Wireless, Inc., Orbocomm Inc., Queclink Wireless Solutions Co., Ltd, Shenzhen Concox Information Technology Co., Ltd, Laird PLC., Tomtom International Bv, MeitrackGroup, Teltonika UAB, Atrack Technology Inc., Trackimo LLC,Geotab Inc., Shenzhen Coban Electronics Co., Ltd, Xirgo Technologies, Inc., Maestro Wireless Solutions Ltd., Ruptela UAB, Spy tech, Inc., Verizon Wireless among others.In 2017, Volkswagen sign a deal with Sierra wireless Inc. to use the GPS tracking devices in their cars.Competitive Analysis:GPS Tracking Device Market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and clinical results of products. Hence the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, clinical trials, market initiatives, high expense on research and development, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of flow cytometry market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Commercial Vehicles increment leading to large supply of GPS system Smaller Size, Longer Life, and High ROI Low Prices Several Environmental Factors Leads to Poor User Experience Advancement in the SoftwareSpeak to our Expert for more Details @Some Major Countries Covered in This Report:- U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil among others.In 2017, North America is expected to dominate the market.Read More @About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Data Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Hop Extracts Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast During 2017 - 2025

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Hop Extracts is a brewing component used commonly in making beer for commercial and personal purposes. In the year 2000, a journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry listed hops as anti-oxidant. Later in 2005, Journal of Molecular Nutrition listed Hops as Anti-Infective. Due to its properties, Hops became a critical ingredient in beer production and achieved a significant role in the same. In 1405, Hops was first legalized in Flanders (currently Belgium) which witnessed high growth in production since then. In 1516, REINHEITSGEBOT (German Beer Purity Law) passed a bill in Bavaria State of Germany which requires only water, barley malt, hops, and yeast may be used for crafting beer. This is one of the oldest law still applied globally. Almost all the countries have a market for Hop and Hop Extracts. During the time, many unique Hop Extracts are developed in order to satisfy the taste buds of people and their preferences.Hops are used to give flavor, aroma, color and taste to a beer when mixed in appropriate proportions during the brewing process. While many factors create overall beer flavors, hops will have the biggest impact on how beer is perceived. Hop Extracts market is strong in Americas and Europe because a large portion of the population consumes beer which is driving the Hop Extracts market. While a large population of APEJ and MEA still don't drink alcoholic beverages which have restricted the Hop Extracts market in these regions. However, countries like India, have shown significant growth in beer consumption; India is the most growing beer market in the world is likely to become next home of many international Hop Extracts producers in next 5 to 10 years. Although, India doesnt produce Hops which create a great opportunity for companies to start producing hops in the country. Apart from India, China and Hong Kong are also one of the most growing markets of Hop Extracts in APEJ region due to their historical relation with beer. Hop Extracts market is expected to witness an escalating demand among the consumers because of its significant use and increasing presence of beer, ale and other beverages throughout the globe.Read Report Overview @Hop Extracts: Market DynamicsGrowing demand for beer and ale is driving the Hop Extracts market globally. Consumers all around the world are getting attracted towards Hop Extracts because of its ease and low production costs which is driving the market. Hop extracts save time and energy while producing beer. Hops are generally added in Wort in order to give bittering, aroma and flavour to beer. Countries like China, India, and Hong Kong, are the future markets for alcoholic beverage and thus a promising market for Hop Extracts. Perception towards alcoholic beverage in the Middle East and APEJ is changing, and with the rise of per capita income, people changed their way of living and shifted towards beer from fruit juices. Hop Extracts serves best for the purpose of brewing when one needs to save time which won't be possible without Hop Extracts. Hence, Hop Extracts market is expected to grow during the forecast period due to its versatile benefits.However, Hop Extracts comes along with some restraints. Hop Extracts cannot be easily found in developing markets. Most of the people have no knowledge of Hop Extracts in most of the countries which is a big restraint for this market because of limited advertisement. People also fears of dangers such as change in alcoholic content, conversion of liquid to poison or acid and others that they perceive in using Hop extracts instead of pellets or hop fruit.Request Report for TOC @Hop Extracts market has an opportunity to expand in APEJ and MEA region. In the past decade, hundreds of Hop Extracts players entered China because of decent Hop production in the country and all of them are doing great. There is a need to increase the presence throughout the region.Hop Extracts: Market SegmentationHop Extracts market can be segmented on the basis of types, which include:OilPelletsAromaHop Extracts market can be segmented on the basis of Hop variety, which include:CascadeNuggetWillametteCitraCrystalClusterCentennialOthers (Chinook, Columbus, Mosaic, etc.)Hop Extracts market can be segmented on the basis of Applications, which include:BrewingHerbal TreatmentPharmaceuticalHop Extracts: Segment OutlookHop Extracts market can be segmented on the basis of type which includes oil, pellets and aroma. Hop Oil is the most commonly used ingredient in beer. Hop Extracts market can be segmented on the basis of Hop variety which includes Cascade, Nugget, Willamette, Citra, Crystal, Cluster, Centennial and Others (Chinook, Columbus, Mosaic, etc.). Hop Extracts market can also be segmented on the basis of types of applications which includes brewing, herbal treatment and pharmaceutical.Request to Sample Report @Hop Extracts: Regional OutlookRegional coverage for Hop Extracts market includes North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ) and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). Hop Extracts market witnesses a high demand in North America and Europe because of the high consumption of beers in the region. However, the Hop Extracts market is expected to grow significantly in APEJ region as consumers have widely adopting beer and ale.Hop Extracts: Market PlayersThe market players in Hop Extracts market are Hopsteiner, BSG, Northern Brewers, The Malt Miller, MoreBeer, Charles faram and many more.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Cloud Access Security Broker Market: Market Advancements and Innovations by 2025

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The cloud access security broker market is growing significantly due to the rising adoption of cloud based applications. There has been rise in the usage of cloud based applications in various businesses as these are less costly and can be accessed on real time basis. Cloud access security broker solutions are used to provide data security, compliance management, network management, and other monitoring and controlling solutions to cloud based applications. These solutions are also used for data leakage prevention and cloud data encryption.The cloud access security brokers are the solutions that are cloud based and on-premises based solutions used to combine and implement enterprise security policies such as single sign-on service, authentication, credential mapping, encryption, tokenization, malware detection, device profiling and others.Read Report Overview @Enterprises at all level, are adopting cloud computing technology for certain benefits such as cost cutting, but security is a big challenge that faced by these enterprises while implementing cloud based business applications. Large enterprises are continuously adopting cloud access security broker platform and this trend will increase in next five years with the adoption by small and medium enterprises.Software Defined Security Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major factor driving the adoption of cloud access security brokers is the rising concern among enterprises for the security of cloud based applications. Many organizations are moving towards the adoption of cloud technology, due to which they are in a need of strong network security, data security and threat management solutions that can be easily managed, identify threat, customized and provides security without control of any physically-oriented elements such as hardware. Other driving factor for cloud access security brokers is increasing demand for real-time security.The key challenge in the cloud access security broker market is the limited awareness of CASB solutions for cloud based environment. This approach is still in its introductory phase due to which many organizations do not know about its benefits and usage. There are limited number of companies that are using cloud access security broker solution for threat management, compliance management and for visibility of data. Moreover, there are very less number of vendors providing cloud access security brokering solutions due to which it is not cost-effective.Request Report for TOC @Cloud Access Security Brokers Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of Service model:Infrastructure as a servicePlatform as a serviceSoftware as a serviceSegmentation on the basis of applications:Threat DetectionCompliance ManagementData ProtectionData encryptionControl and monitoring servicesData loss preventionKey Contracts:In September 2016, Oracle acquired Palerra, a cloud access security broker. This acquisition will help Oracle to expand its identity cloud services with Palerra to provide cloud security automation platform to the clients.In June 2016, VMWare has partnered with five cloud access security brokers named as Blue Coat Systems, CloudLock, Netskope, Palo Alto, and SkyHigh networks. The integration of these five companies will help VMWare to provide collaborative solution for mobile, cloud security and secure digital workspaces from cloud.In February 2016, Sookasa, cloud access security broker has entered into the partnership with Microsoft Office 365. This partnership will allow enterprises to identify security risk and help those enforcing data loss prevention policies on Office 365 platform, Microsoft OneDrive and Outlook.In Cloud access security broker market there are many vendors some of them are Palo Alto networks, Oracle, SKyhigh networks, Blue Coat systems, Cloud Lock, Netskope, CipherCloud and othersRegional OverviewPresently, North America is holding the largest market share for cloud access security brokers due to high adoption of cloud computing technologies among enterprises. The adoption of other service models such as platform as a service and software as a service is also impacting the market for cloud access security broker in a positive manner. Companies such as Blue Coat systems and Oracle are also working towards the development of cloud access security broker platforms with the partnerships and acquisitions in this market to enhance market opportunities.Request to Sample Report @In Europe region, the market for cloud access security broker is witnessing high growth rate due to the increasing demand for data loss prevention and security solutions without hardware maintenance.The Asia Pacific region is following the Europe region in cloud access security broker market. This market is expected to have the highest growth rate in coming years due to the adoption of security services and the growing adoption of cloud based business applications.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Travelers Vaccines Sales Market Report 2018: Top Key Players GSK, Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Merck

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This report studies the global Travelers Vaccines market status and forecast, categorizes the global Travelers Vaccines market size (value & volume) by key players, type, application, and region. This report focuses on the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia India and Other regions (Middle East & Africa, Central & South America).In 2017, the global Travelers Vaccines market size was xx million US$ and it is expected to reach xx million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of xx.x % between 2018 and 2025.The main objective of this report is to aid the user in understanding the market as a whole, its definitions, segmentation, market potential, influential trends, and the barriers that it is facing. Meticulous research and analysis were an important part of the report preparation. Those reading the report will be able to get a detailed understanding about the market. Industry experts have verified and checked the data and information that have been taken from credible sources like websites, annual reports of companies, journals, and other resources. In order give the facts and data a pictorial form, diagrams, graphs, pie charts, and other representations have been used. That augments the visual appeal of the report and makes understanding it much easier.Request for sample copy of this report @The major players covered in this reportGSKSanofi PasteurPfizerMerckSanofi Pasteur MSDCNBGBiokangtai...Geographically, this report studies the key regions, focuses on product sales, value, market share and growth opportunity in these regions, coveringUnited StatesEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaThe regional scope of the study is as follows:North AmericaUnited StatesCanadaMexicoAsia-PacificChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaAustraliaIndonesiaSingaporeRest of Asia-PacificEuropeGermanyFranceUKItalySpainRussiaRest of EuropeCentral & South AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaMiddle East & AfricaSaudi ArabiaTurkeyRest of Middle East & AfricaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMeningococcal VaccineJapanese Encephalitis VaccineRabies VaccineTyphoid VaccineYellow Fever VaccineHepatitis B VaccineHepatitis A VaccineCholera VaccineOther VaccinesOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingTouristsStudentsWorkersOthersRequest for complete report TOC @The study objectives of this report are:To analyze and study the global Travelers Vaccines sales, value, status (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2025);To analyze the top players in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Southeast Asia and India, to study the sales, value and market share of top players in these regions.Focuses on the key Travelers Vaccines players, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in future.Focuses on the global key manufacturers, to define, describe and analyze the market competition landscape, SWOT analysis.To define, describe and forecast the market by type, application and region.To analyze the global and key regions market potential and advantage, opportunity and challenge, restraints and risks.To identify significant trends and factors driving or inhibiting the market growth.To analyze the opportunities in the market for stakeholders by identifying the high growth segments.To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trend and their contribution to the marketTo analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the marketTo strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.In this study, the years considered to estimate the market size of Travelers Vaccines are as follows:History Year: 2013-2017Base Year: 2017Estimated Year: 2018Forecast Year 2018 to 2025For the data information by region, company, type and application, 2017 is considered as the base year. Whenever data information was unavailable for the base year, the prior year has been considered.Key StakeholdersTravelers Vaccines ManufacturersTravelers Vaccines Distributors/Traders/WholesalersTravelers Vaccines Subcomponent ManufacturersIndustry AssociationDownstream VendorsAvailable CustomizationsWith the given market data, QYResearch offers customizations according to the company's specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report:Regional and country-level analysis of the Travelers Vaccines market, by end-use.Detailed analysis and profiles of additional market players.View full report @MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Synthetic Monitoring Market is Set to Experience Revolutionary Growth by 2027

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Synthetic monitoring market is growing significantly due to increasing site monitoring services and end to end performance services. Usage of Synthetic monitoring help users in testing web, non-web, mobile, streaming and other cloud based applications before production to ensure performance.Synthetic monitoring which is also called as proactive monitoring are used to create behavioral scripts to stimulate the steps which end-user will take on website. This is done with the help of web browser emulations.Read Report Overview @Synthetic monitoring is used to measure service level agreement, to understand the performance impact of third parties, benchmarking the performance, quantifying the performance and to attain mature APM competencies.Synthetic Monitoring Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe major factor driving the adoption of modern technologies such as software as a service, and other used for used for monitoring static backend systems. Synthetic monitoring is used at various stages of application development such as launch of new application, or website to third party component updates. Moreover, with the rising demand for rich user experience, companies are using synthetic monitoring for providing rich user experience on third party components such as web analytics, social networking, search engine optimization and others.Request Report for TOC @The key challenge for Synthetic monitoring is to implement or to manage its solution. It is quite challenging to manage synthetic monitoring solutions due to high cost of implementation, false positives and incorrect alerts, lack of real-time monitoring, difficulty for post implementation management and emulator based monitoring.Synthetic monitoring Market: SegmentationSegmentation on the basis of monitoring applications:SaaS application monitoringWeb application monitoringAPI monitoringMobile apps monitoringKey Contracts:In May 2016, iTrinegy, an application risk management provider has entered into the partnership with Tricentis. This partnership will help iTrinegy in providing joint market solution for enterprises to test mobile app behavior and network deployment cycle.In March 2016, Rigor, a synthetic monitoring solution provider has entered into the partnership with Soasta, Real user monitoring technology provider. This partnership will allow Rigor to integrate with Soastas digital performance monitoring and optimization platform with their mPulse product.In Synthetic monitoring market there are many vendors some of them are Dell, Dynatrace, Microsoft, HPE, IBM, Riverbed technology, CA technology and othersRegional OverviewPresently, North America is holding the largest market share for synthetic monitoring market due to high adoption of digital technologies among individual. The adoption of software as a service model platform is also impacting the market for synthetic monitoring in a positive manner. Companies such as IBM is also working towards the development of synthetic monitoring platforms with the partnerships and acquisitions in this market to enhance market opportunities.Request to Sample Report @In Europe region, the market for synthetic monitoring is witnessing high growth rate due to the increasing demand for testing mobile base apps and monitoring website.The Asia Pacific region is following the Europe region in synthetic monitoring market. This market is expected to have the highest growth rate in coming years due to the adoption of API monitoring services and SaaS based servicesAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Log Homes Market with manufacturers, regions and SWOT Analysis Forecast to 2023

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Summary:This report focuses on the Log Homes in Global market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Scenario:Log home, or called log house, is a structure built with horizontal logs interlocked at the corners by notching. Logs may be round, squared or hewn to other shapes, either handcrafted or milledRequest For Free Sample Of The Report @Report gives a review of qualities, size and development, division, regional breakdowns, focused sight, patterns and methodologies for this market. The market characteristics area of the report describes and clarifies the market. The estimate segment gives the Log Homes showcase incomes, covering both the significant development of the market.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers North America (United States, Canada and Mexico) Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy) Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia) South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.) Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)Obtain Details @Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into Household Market Commercial MarketAbout UsFuture Generic Reports is a market research and consulting organization, offering premium collection of market research reports, custom research and consulting services to corporations, no-profit organizations and government institutions across the globe.The wide range of information is presented by a team of well-trained researchers of specific sectors through exhaustive research. We deliver premier market research services that cover all industry verticals, including chemicals and material, automotive, healthcare, electronics & semiconductor, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals and technology and media.We believe in building an eternal bond with our clients through offering them inclusive research study meeting their specific requirements. Our services are tailored specifically to our clients by proposing them the potential outcome, based on our in-depth analysis and insights for exploring the growth strategies through providing the best possible decision for quality production.Contact Us :244 , Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesPhone: +1- 347-983-9688E-mail: sales@futuregenicreports.com
Cloud Migration Services Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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A number of enterprises from different industries have started understanding and adopting advanced technologies pertaining to IT. One of the most popular trend amongst these are enterprises migrating to cloud. Cloud computing helps enterprises serve their customers via internet, at the same time offering a flexible and cost friendly alternative. However, before migrating to cloud, enterprises need to thoroughly analyse and understand the different aspects of cloud migration, such as financial, security, and technical aspects.Read Report Overview @Cloud Migration Services Market: Drivers and RestraintsCloud migration is becoming popular amongst SMEs as well as large enterprises owing to the fact that it offers a cost-effective alternative and business agility. Moreover, cloud computing enables enterprises to offer improved IT services in a shorter duration of time, hence enhancing business efficiency. Furthermore, many could service providers are introducing new payment schemes, such as pay-as-you-go model, in order to promote cloud services amongst SMEs. These factors are expected to significantly drive the growth of cloud migration services market. However, many enterprises are reluctant to migrate to cloud as they associate cloud migration services with increase in expenditure, such as those pertaining to licensing and the dismissal of existing data centers. These are a few factors that are expected to act as restrain for cloud migration services market.Cloud Migration Services Market: SegmentationThe market for cloud migration services can be segmented on the basis of types of cloud servers, type of cloud computing models, end users, and region. Types of cloud servers include public, private, and hybrid cloud servers. Cloud migration services can be further segmented on the basis of cloud computing models as SaaS, PaaS and IaaS. On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into SMEs and large enterprises. On the basis of region, the market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East and Africa.Request Report for TOC @Cloud Migration Services Market: Regional OutlookNorth America is expected to dominate cloud migration services market, owing to their developed IT and telecommunications infrastructure, followed by Western Europe. However, cloud migrations services market in Asia Pacific excluding Japan and Japan are expected to witness rapid growth owing to the increasing number of SMEs in these regions and increasing penetration of advanced technologies.Request to Sample Report @Cloud Migration Services Market: Competition LandscapeSome of the key players in cloud migration services market include Microsoft Corporation, IBM Corporation, Amazon Web Services, Inc. and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. among others. Majority of the players follow business strategies such as merger and acquisition, price differentiation, product introduction and partnerships to gain a competitive edge.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Flow Chemistry Market: Industry Development Scenario and Forecast to 2023

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Flow ChemistryVisit for Free Sample Report with TOC @Traditional manufacturing processes primarily based on batch and semi-batch operating modes carry economic, environmental and production drawbacks. Over a period, new developments in the field of synthesis of chemicals have taken place for sustainable production. Flow chemistry is anticipated to be the potential solution to address environmental and productivity challenges. In flow chemistry, a chemical reaction is carried out by constant pumping of a stream with dissolved reaction mixture through a reactor. Flow chemistry offers various benefits to manufacturers. These include improved reaction time, better temperature control, multi-step production and safety & environmental profiles.Based on product segments, the market for flow chemistry has been classified into microreactor systems, continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), plug flow reactor (PFR) and microwave reactor, among others. Continuous stirred tank reactor accounted for over 40% of the global flow chemistry market in 2013. The market for flow chemistry is primarily driven by increasing need to lower operating costs and adoption of sustainable technologies by manufacturers. Flow chemistry offers various advantages vis-a-vis batch reactors, including superior heat and mass transfer. These advantages lead to controlled reactions, higher purified products, low raw material consumption and significant savings in installation costs. Microreactor systems is expected to be the fastest growing product segment in the flow chemistry market during the forecast period. Microreactor systems offer higher purified products and reaction yields compared to other flow chemistry equipment. However, issues related to scaling-up of the technology for commercialization and need to meet government regulations in the pharmaceutical industry are likely to hamper market growth during the forecast period.Send an Inquiry @The chemical segment has been dominating the demand for flow chemistry over the past few years. In terms of revenue, the segment accounted for over 35% of the global flow chemistry market in 2013. Rising demand for flow chemistry in complex chemical reactions coupled with the need to adopt green manufacturing technologies is projected to drive demand for flow chemistry in this segment. Pharmaceutical is anticipated to be the second-largest end-user of flow chemistry during the forecast period. Increasing demand for flow chemistry by manufacturers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is estimated to boost the flow chemistry market. Flow chemistry is also expected to enhance the E-factor in the manufacture of APIs. Pharmaceutical is likely to be the most lucrative end-user segment in the flow chemistry market. Academic & industrial research is also projected to be one of the major outlets for flow chemistry in the next few years. Flow chemistry has the ability to enhance the purity and refining properties of products in the petrochemical industry. Other major end-users for flow chemistry include polymers, dyes and nanostructured materials.North America was the largest regional market for flow chemistry, accounting for over 35% of the global demand in 2013. Rising demand for flow chemistry in pharmaceutical and chemical industries is driving the flow chemistry market in the region. Asia Pacific was the second-largest market for flow chemistry in 2013. Increase in chemical, pharmaceutical and industrial research activities is projected to boost the demand for flow chemistry in the region. Demand for flow chemistry in Europe is rising, due to higher number of academic & industrial research activities coupled with increase in manufacture of nanostructured materials. Rest of the World is expected to be the fastest growing region in the flow chemistry market during the forecast period. Countries such as Brazil, Saudi Arabia and South Africa are anticipated to offer better opportunities for the flow chemistry market, due to high demand for flow chemistry in chemical and petrochemical industries.Get Complete Report details with List of Tables and Figures @Companies such as Syrris Ltd., ThalesNano Inc., Uniqsis Ltd., Vapourtec Ltd., FutureChemistry Holding BV, Chemtrix B.V., AM Technology, Royal DSM and Lonza Group are the major manufacturers in the flow chemistry market. Most manufacturers offer continuous stirred tank reactors, plug flow reactors and microreactor systems, among others.About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Chemical Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Automotive alternator Market 2018 Global Major Key Players: Valeo, Denso, Bosch, Remy, ISKRA, Mando, Mitsubishi, Hitachi Automotive, Magneti Marelli, Motorcar Parts of America, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., and Lucas Electrical.

Automotive Alternator Market 2018

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Automotive Alternator Market 2018Automotive Alternator Market Share, Size, Trends, And Business Opportunity Analysis Report 2018 include historic data, with forecast data to 2022. Automotive Alternator Market report is helpful for future strategy development, and to know about Market Drivers, Restraints, Opportunities, And Global market size, share, Growth, Trends, key players forecast to 2022Global Automotive Alternator Market Information by Type (Single Phase and Three Phase), by Technology (Belt-driven alternator and), by Vehicle Type (Passenger and Commercial) and by Region - Forecast to 2022Market ScenarioAutomotive alternator is a generator which generates power to the electrical component of the vehicle. The increasing usage of electrical power in the cars and the rise in electrical and electronics device in the vehicles is expected to surge the market for automotive alternator. Moreover, increasing global demand for vehicles has a significant contribution in the growth of automotive alternator market. Asia-Pacific is estimated to have the largest market for automotive industry due to government initiated FDI for international automotive players, favorable economic conditions, and presence of major automotive manufacturing industries which in turn is expected to drive the demand in the automotive alternator market. The global automotive alternator market is expected to show a growth at CAGR of about 5.5% from 2016 to 2022.Get Sample Report of Automotive Alternator Market@Key PlayersThe key players of Global Automotive alternator Market report include- Valeo, Denso, Bosch, Remy, ISKRA, Mando, Mitsubishi, Hitachi Automotive, Magneti Marelli, Motorcar Parts of America, Hella KGaA Hueck & Co., and Lucas Electrical.Market HighlightsThe increasing usage of electrical power in the cars and the rise in electrical and electronics device in the vehicles is expected to surge the market for automotive alternator. Moreover, increasing global demand for vehicles has a significant contribution in the growth of automotive alternator market. Asia-Pacific is estimated to have the largest market for automotive industry due to government initiated FDI for international automotive players, favorable economic conditions, and presence of major automotive manufacturing industries which in turn is expected to drive the demand in the automotive alternator market. The global automotive alternator market is expected to show a growth at CAGR of about 5.5% from 2016 to 2022.Asia-Pacific is the major regions for the automotive alternator market. Asia-Pacific is expected to be fastest growing market for the automotive alternator. Emerging economies like China, India, and South Korea are expected to drive the market due to government initiative in FDIs for international automotive players, increasing individuals disposable income & purchasing power is expected to drive the market for automotive alternator. It is followed by European region due to presence of biggest automotive players in the region.Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:October, 2017 - Remy Power Products announces it has added a new line of starter and alternator part numbers for 2002 to 2016 Sprinter van applications. Remy starters and alternators for Sprinter vans are made for the aftermarket with the same precision as the original equipment. Designed to fit perfectly and perform flawlessly, they are as good, or better, than the parts they replace.Oct, 2015- DENSO Products and Services Americas, Inc., a division of leading global automotive supplier DENSO Corp., is now shipping PowerEdge, its new series of high-amp alternators developed for medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks. Compact and fuel-efficient, PowerEdge alternators have a durability rating of more than 400,000 miles.June, 2015 - Bosch Group plans to realign Starter Motors and Generators division. The division develops and manufactures starters and alternators for passenger cars and commercial vehicles which help reduce fuel consumption, for example as part of the start-stop system. It employs around 6,500 associates at 13 manufacturing sites and multiple sales locations worldwide.March, 2015- Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced it will invest approximately 33 million USD, in its subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. to expand and newly construct facilities for the increased production of high-efficiency alternators. The move is the latest step in an ongoing expansion of Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc. North American market.June 2004- Valeo starter-alternator won automotive engineers award. The trophy was presented to the company's research and development team at the annual reception of the SIA, the French Society of Automotive Engineers, in Paris.Automotive Alternator Market  SegmentationThe Automotive Alternator Market can be segmented in to three key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Type - Single Phase and Three PhaseSegmentation by Vehicle type - Passenger and CommercialSegmentation by Regions: North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.The report for Global Automotive alternator Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Get Complete Report Details of Automotive Alternator Market@Table of ContentsREPORT PROLOGUEINTRODUCTIONRESEARCH METHODOLOGYMARKET DYNAMICSAUTOMOTIVE ALTERNATOR MARKET, BY TYPEAUTOMOTIVE ALTERNATOR MARKET, BY VEHICLE TYPEAUTOMOTIVE ALTERNATOR MARKET, BY REGIONCOMPANY LANDSCAPECOMPANY PROFILEMRFR CONCLUSIONAPPENDIX.ContinuedAbout Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR) and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have the prime objective to provide optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies depending on products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments enables our clients to know more consequently do more, which gives them answer for their each and every important question. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industryCONTACT US:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Interceptor Missiles Market Trend to 2024 Profiling Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Raytheon Co., Aerojet Rocketdyne, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems

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Interceptor Missiles Market Size, Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook (U.S., Germany, Romania, UK, France, Russia, Italy, Poland, Netherlands, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Japan, India, South Korea, and etc,), Application Development status, Price Trend, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017  2024.Global interceptor missiles market is expected to cross 3,000 units till 2024. Continuously increasing threat of attacks from rival countries has resulted in proliferating demand for interceptor missiles over the forecast timeframe. Multiple countries across the globe including Netherlands, U.S, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, etc., have purchased patriot interceptor missiles to strengthen their defense inventory, impacting the industry positively. Interceptor Missiles Market is estimated to surpass USD 14 billion by 2024; according to a new research report.Enquiry Before Buying @Countries across the globe have witnessed a considerable increase in their defense budget. For instance, in 2015, the defense budget of China was USD 131 billion, which was increased by 11% and crossed USD 145 billion in 2016 and was further increased by 7% in 2017. This will accelerate the revenue generation owing to their enhanced purchasing power for defense systems. However, high initial investment and high manufacturing costs may restrain new entrants from entering the interceptor missile market.Industry is witnessing regular upgradations and innovations in interceptor missiles. For instance, HQ-19 is a significant upgradation of HQ-9 and has gained prominence in 2017. It is capable of targeting satellites and ballistic missiles in lower earth orbit and is featured with kinetic kill vehicle. Moreover, it can intercept the ballistic missiles from a range of 3,000 kms. These innovations are anticipated to induce immense growth potential to the interceptor missiles market over the coming years.Surface to air missiles are expected to capture maximum interceptor missiles market revenue share of more than 80% by 2024. Some of the benefits offered includes light-weight and portability which in turn will drive the industry demand. Water to air missiles will exhibit approximately 7% CAGR owing to rising adoption of these missiles in various countries across the globe for naval border protection.Interceptor missiles of up to 125 kms range are anticipated to dominate the interceptor missiles market, generating a demand of over 2,000 units till 2024. Continuously increasing penetration of missiles conforming to this range such as PAC-3, Iron Dome, and SM-3, from MEA including UAE, Israel, and Saudi Arabia will primarily support the industry dominance. Interceptor missiles of range above 200 kms will exhibit over 18% CAGR in terms of revenue owing to rising deployment of advanced missiles such as HQ-19. Regular innovations in these missiles in countries such as China will further strengthen the industry penetration over the forecast timeframe.Request a Sample Copy of Global Interceptor Missiles Market Research Report @PAC-3 is expected to account for highest interceptor missile market share crossing USD 6 billion over the coming years. Proliferating demand of these missiles, especially in developed countries will primarily support the revenue generation. For instance, in January 2013, the U.S. army entered into several contracts worth USD 755 million for purchasing 168 PAC-3 missiles and associated services and equipment. HQ-19 will exhibit over 40% CAGR till 2024 owing to its continuously rising usage as an upgradation of HQ-9. Its enhanced features as compared to its counterparts will further support the industry growth till 2024.MEA interceptor missiles market will showcase dominance over the next eight years owing to rising threat of enemy attacks across the region. Collaborations of various countries with industry players for purchasing of these missiles will further contribute towards the high revenue generation. For instance, UAE and Qatar are anticipated to enter an agreement with Lockheed Martin for supplying patriot missiles. Europe will witness over 7% CAGR till 2024 owing to rising sales of interceptor missiles from countries including Sweden and Poland.Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co., Raytheon Co., Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems are among the major industry players. Regular product innovations is among prominent strategies implemented by these participants. For instance, in January 2018, Lockheed Martin made enhancements in Aegis missile that is anticipated to result in rapid detection of threats and reduction in reaction time.For more information on this report, Please visit at:Data TablesTABLE 1 Global interceptor missiles industry 360 synopsis, 2013  2024TABLE 2 Global interceptor missiles market (units) (USD Million), 2013 - 2016,TABLE 3 Global interceptor missiles market (units) (USD Million), 2017 - 2024,TABLE 4 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by surface (units), 2013 - 2016TABLE 5 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by surface (units), 2017 - 2024TABLE 6 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by surface (USD Million), 2013 - 2016TABLE 7 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by surface (USD Million), 2017 - 2024TABLE 8 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by range (units), 2013 - 2016TABLE 9 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by range (units), 2017 - 2024TABLE 10 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by range (USD Million), 2013 - 2016TABLE 11 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by range (USD Million), 2017 - 2024TABLE 12 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by technology (units), 2013 - 2016TABLE 13 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by technology (units), 2017 - 2024TABLE 14 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by technology (USD Million), 2013 - 2016TABLE 15 Global interceptor missiles market estimates by technology (USD Million), 2017 - 2024 ..Related Reports: -Global Missiles and Missile Defense Systems Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022This report studies the global Missiles and Missile Defense Systems market, analyzes and researches the Missiles and Missile Defense Systems development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeMore Report At:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study Report4 North Main Street,Selbyville, Delaware 19975USAPhone: 1-302-273-0910US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email:sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:Blog:Industry News: news.marketsizeforecasters.com
Organic Baby Food Market Overview, Industry Analysis, Key Players Review, Size, Share, Growth, Trend and Forecast 2018  2027

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Market Overview:Global Organic Baby Food Market is expected to grow at the CAGR of 11.73%. Demand for clean labelled food & beverages products has been increasing in recent years, these factors will drive the organic baby food market. With growing consumer awareness and increasing incidence of diseases coupled with emerging trend of food traceability throughout the production and distribution involved in the supply chain in order to identify & address risks and protect public health will further accelerate the demand of organic baby food.Organic baby food is nothing but soft, and easily consumable food, other than breast milk or infant formula which comes in diverse formulation and multiple varieties and tastes. It is considered as total or partial substitute for breast milk for infants or toddlers under two years and helps in babys growth and initial body development. Organic baby food is prepared and processed without any artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.The growing demand for organically produced food is growing rapidly which is influencing the demand and consumption of organic baby food. Evolving consumer buying habits, growing consumers concerns regarding health, the environment, and animal welfare, along with their willingness to pay premium price for healthy food is supporting the growth of organic baby food market in Asia-Pacific region. Even at the global level, market is driven by factors such as increasing consumer awareness about benefits associated with its consumption, adoption of organic farming methods, and implementation of organic regulations. The presence of organic food & beverages has increased over the years in conventional food supply chains due to the development of private labels and growing interest of large retailers such as Wal-Mart and Tesco.Receive a Sample Report @Major Key Players:This report includes a study of strategies used in the market, mergers and acquisitions in juice concentrate, multiple product launch by organic baby food market players. It further includes product portfolios and developments of leading major players which includesKraft Heinz Foods Company (U.S.)Nestle S.A. (Switzerland)Hain Celestial Group (U.S.)Danone S.A. (France)Hero Group (Switzerland)Abbott laboratories (U.S.)Bellamys Australia (Australia).The market players have increased their level of investment in R&D to identify right formulation and to improve product functionality in order to capture lions share and create brand recognition in organic baby food market. Manufacturers indulge in maintaining transparency and allow food traceability in order to manage and mitigate risk and lowering the impact of recalls and lowering liability costs. The global organic baby food market is segmented on the basis of product type, ingredients, distribution channel and regions of organic baby food.Regional Analysis:The global organic baby food market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the world. Among these, Asia Pacific is projected to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period. Robust economic growth, rising urbanization, explosion of in the middle class population are the significant factors of the growth of organic baby food in Asia Pacific region. China is projected to register a healthy CAGR over the forecast period. The growth is contributed by the increasing per capita disposable income and growing awareness of organic food among the consumer. However, Europe is projected to experience a substantial growth of 11.63% of CAGR during the review period.Ask for your specific company profile and country level customization on reports.Target Audience:Baby food manufacturersRaw material suppliersEnd usersRetailers and wholesalersE-commerce companiesTraders, importers and exportersAccess Report Details @Key Findings:Asia Pacific is estimated to retain its dominance throughout the forecast period and to grow at a substantial CAGR of 11.87%. Increasing birth rate coupled with the evolving awareness of organic food is anticipated to fuel the sales of organic baby food in developing nations of Asia Pacific during the review period.Organic baby food manufactures find a massive opportunity in the India, China and ASEAN countries. Key players are emphasizing to expand the distribution channel in the untapped market in order to upsurge the customer base.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Barlows Syndrome Market 2018 Global Key Players  Key Players Edward Lifesciences Corporation, Sorin Group, TTK HealthCare, and JenaValve Technology, Inc Forecast to 2023

Barlows Syndrome Market

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Market Scenario:Barlows syndrome is an abnormality of the mitral valve of the heart. It is a condition in which the leaflets of the mitral valve swell and shifts towards to the left atrium of the heart as the valve closes during ventricular contraction. This abnormality prevents the valve from closing suitably, which causes it to leak.Barlows Syndrome can be caused by various reasons, some of them are calcium buildup, congenital heart defects, radiation treatment, and tumors. Additionally, traumatic injury, disease, or infection can lead to Barlows Syndrome.The global Barlows Syndrome market is estimated to lead a healthy growth. The global Barlows Syndrome market is majorly driven by increasing geriatric population, rising global population, and rising cardiovascular disorders. According to a report published by the U.S. Population Reference Bureau, nearly 46 million people aged 65 years or more in 2014, and the report estimates that this number would double to reach nearly 98 million people by the end of 2060. Similarly, the 65-and-older age group would reach up to nearly 24% by 2030 from 15% as of 2015.View Reports Sample @Global Barlows Syndrome market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9% during the forecast period.Intended Audience Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Suppliers Medical Research Laboratories Research and Development (R&D) Companies Market Research and Consulting Service Providers Potential InvestorsSegmentsThe global Barlows Syndrome market is segmented on the basis of type, treatment, diagnosis, and end-users.On the basis of the type, the market is segmented as mitral valve stenosis, mitral valve prolapse, and mitral valve regurgitation.On the basis of the treatment, the market is segmented into medications and surgery. The medications are further sub-segmented into beta-blockers and calcium blockers. Beta-blockers further sub-segmented into Atenolol and Metoprolol. Calcium blockers further sub-segmented into Verapamil and Diltiazem.On the basis of the diagnosis, the market is segmented into X-ray, Electrocardiogram, and Echocardiogram.On the basis of the end user, the market is segmented into hospitals & surgical centers, research institutes, and specialty clinics.Check for Report Discount @Regional AnalysisNorth America holds the maximum share of the global Barlows Syndrome market in the Americas region. On a regional basis, the Americas region is segmented into North America and South America. North America is segmented into the U.S. and Canada. Increasing geriatric population, rising number of cardiovascular disorders, and growing population have increased the scope of the Barlows Syndrome market in the North American market.Europe holds the second largest share of the global Barlows Syndrome market. The European market is expected to grow at a healthy growth during the forecasted period. Various Factors such as availability of advanced treatment facilities, increasing cardiovascular diseases, and skilled medical professionals are propelling the growth of Barlows Syndrome market in the European region. For instance, according to the European Heart Network, cardiovascular disorders accounted for 45% of the total deaths in 2015. Additionally, increasing government healthcare initiatives and growing research and development activities supported by the government to provide better healthcare treatments are likely to boost the market growth.The Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market owing to increasing incidence of chronic diseases, and fetal disorders. India is the fastest growing region owing to increasing population and increasing geriatric population. Rising awareness, growing standard of living, and availability of new treatment methods are likely to drive the market growth in this region.The Middle East & Africa is expected to show steady growth in the market . Major factors that are affecting the growth are lack of awareness, and limited access and availability of treatment facilities. In the Middle East, United Arab Emirates has accounted for the largest market share owing to the development of healthcare infrastructure, skilled healthcare providers.Send An Enquiry @Key PlayersSome of the key players in the barlows syndrome market are Abbott, Medtronic, CryoLife, Inc., Lepu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Boston Scientific Corporation, Micro Interventional Devices, Inc., Neovasc, Inc., Edward Lifesciences Corporation, Sorin Group, TTK HealthCare, and JenaValve Technology, IncMarket Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Technology Spending Administration Healthcare Market to Grow at a CAGR of 5.7% through 2024

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The field of core administration solutions for the healthcare industry is highly fragmented owing to the presence of a large number of established players offering hardware, software, and services, says Transparency Market Research in a recent report. Considering the vast growth opportunities in developing regions such as India, Brazil, and China, players are focusing on diversification opportunities across these countries through mergers, acquisitions, and consolidation practices. To encash the vast growth opportunities in the core administration segment in the healthcare industry, owing to various government norms like Obamacare or Affordable Care Act (ACA), competitors are also focusing on extensive product development to offer differentiated services.According to Transparency Market Research, the global technology spending on core administration in healthcare market sector will exhibit a 5.7% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024, rising from US$25,900 mn in 2015 to US$42,317 mn by 2024.Obtain Report Details @Of the key end users of core administration solutions in the healthcare industry, the payers segment accounted for over 88% of the overall market in 2015 and is expected to remain the key driver of technology spending on core administration in the healthcare industry throughout the forecast period. Geographically, North America dominated, accounted for over 50% of the overall funds spent on enabling technologically advanced core administration solutions in the healthcare industry in 2015. The trend is expected to remain strong over the forecast period as well.Rising Demand for Value-based Reimbursement Modules to Drive adoption of IT Solutions in HealthcareRising convergence of a variety of digital platforms for managing and processing the ever-expanding healthcare data, continuously changing healthcare reimbursement reforms and regulations, and digitally empowered consumers are collectively making the healthcare administration space increasingly complex. While at one point cost competition is at the peak in the healthcare industry, payers (insurance agencies) are pressing healthcare providers to switch from a volume-based (payment for service) to a value-based reimbursement module (payment for value).Request for Sample Copy of Report @By requiring that healthcare providers deliver services at lowest costs to patients, value-based reimbursement modules entail more financial risks for providers and critically necessitate the effective management of core administrative processes to cut costs. The situation demands a robust IT infrastructure and an integrated platform wherein the payers can streamline workflows for provider contracting and engagement. In the next few years, the increased need for such platforms will emerge as one of the key drivers of technology spending on core administration in the healthcare sector.Outdated Technology and Applications Discourage Technological Advancements in Healthcare IT InfrastructureHowever, the overall global spending on technology for core administration in the healthcare sector is expected to be negatively impacted due to factors such as the presence of outdated technology and applications across several data collection and delivery nodes, continuously changing healthcare reforms, and ever-changing ways of financial transactions.Enquiry for discount on this report @The inability of healthcare professionals in using complex or time-consuming features in technologically advanced digital healthcare applications is another key factor deterring the adoption of IT solutions for managing core administrative processes in the healthcare sector. The use of IT solutions by health professionals is growing at a steady pace globally, but it is not uniform. A substantial gap exists between the numbers of providers, which is relatively small presently, the number of consumers who actively use the Internet for any purpose, which is on rise at a rapid pace, and the much larger group of patients and healthcare providers that has not used it or cannot use it.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Radiofrequency Ablation Devices Market to Reach Approximately US$1,114.5 Million by 2024

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A recently compiled business intelligence report developed at Transparency Market Research (TMR) has detected that the shares in the radiofrequency (RF) ablation devices market for pain management are heavily consolidated among a handful of global players. The report has identified St. Jude Medical, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Halyard Health, Inc., Stryker Corporation, and Diros Technology, Inc. as the top five companies in the global radiofrequency ablation devices market for pain management, with the former three considerably ahead of the curve.St. Jude Medicals position of dominance in this market is due to the companys diversified product portfolio, extensive geographical presence, and acquisition strategies that it frequently undertakes. Additionally, the Company has a strong focus on research and development to offer innovative and efficient medical device product to their customers. On the other hand, with increasing competition and decreasing reimbursement rates, Boston Scientific Corporation competes on the basis of price, value, and efficiency in the radiofrequency ablation devices market for pain management. Current trends in health care are likely to exert pressure on the companys offerings having differentiated clinical and economic outcomes. As for the new players, high cost of production and significant capital and expertise in R&D activities is expected to keep the entry barriers high.Obtain Report Details @Demand Projected to Expand at CAGR 12.9% during 20172024According to the estimations of the TMR report, the global radiofrequency ablation devices market for pain management will be worth US$1,114.5 million by the end of 2024, with the demand projected to increment at a CAGR of 12.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. As of 2017, the disposables were the key product segments whereas hospitals generated most of the demand in terms of end-users. Geographically, Europe and North America are expected to produce the most prominent chunk of demand, although the Asia Pacific radiofrequency ablation devices market is primed to prosper at a much stronger growth rate.Increasing Percentage of Geriatrics to Sustain Strong DemandNumerous factors are expected to formulate a healthy progress in the RF ablation devices market for pain management, but none bigger than the growing percentage of geriatrics who commonly suffer from joint disorders such as arthritis. According to the United Nations, people aged over 60 years constituted for 13% of the worlds population as of 2017 and the percentage will continue to mount in the near future. The analyst of the report has also observed that the demand for minimally invasive procedures are on the rise as they offer quick relief without the need for longer hospital stay. The field is being rigorously researched thanks to increased investments by multinational companies and new products are being approved and launched, which will bear fruits in the near future.Request for Sample Copy of Report @Availability of Alternatives Obstructing Markets GrowthOn the other hand, compliance with the laws and regulations set by regulatory authorities that are associated with clinical trials, product approval, commercialization, design, and development has been a major concern among ablation device manufacturers. Ablation devices fall under class III medical devices category in the U.S. and Europe. Hence, safety and efficacy of devices such as generators and catheters and other associated products are paramount for regulatory agencies. Such stringent regulations not only delay the approval and launch of the product, but also increase the cost of the devices to meet the set standards of the FDA, CE, and other regulatory agencies. Availability of various other pain management therapeutics such as opioids, NSAIDs, anticonvulsants, and antidepressants are also restraining the market from attaining its true potential.Key Takeaways:A few global companies have a stronghold over the competitive landscape of the RF ablation devices market for pain management, with little scope for new entrantsEscalating cases of arthritis and growing preference of minimally invasive surgeries will drive the demand in the near futureAvailability of alternative therapies and high cost obstructing the market from flourishingEnquiry for discount on this report @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Lepidolite Market Brief Analysis and Application Set to Attain Growth by 2026

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Lepidolite is a hard mica mineral composed of lithium, potassium, and aluminum silicates. It is usually violet colored mineral; however, it can be yellow or grey depending upon the quantity of lithium and other trace elements. Lepidolite is an ore of lithium; thus, it is a precursor for lithium production. The mineral has pearly texture, and is significantly used in jewelry due to its vibrant colors and appearance. Lepidolite is also known as a healing crystal; it is believed to reduce stress and bring prosperity. Therefore, demand for this mineral is high. Lepidolite is also employed as heat insulator in the industrial sector. The mineral is largely found in Brazil, the U.S., Russia, and several countries in Africa.View Report Preview:Lepidolite is significantly used in the production of lithium metal. Lithium is the lightest metal, which is employed in the manufacture of ultra-lightweight lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries for hybrid cars, mobile phones, laptops, and other portable devices. Rise in disposable income coupled with expansion of the middle class is expected to propel the demand for consumer goods. This, in turn, is anticipated to drive the lepidolite market during the forecast period. Increase in demand for high efficiency and lightweight storage batteries in several applications such as electronics, automotive, and aerospace is estimated to fuel the demand for lepidolite. Lepidolite is largely used in the industrial sector due to its beneficial thermal insulation properties. The stone also has substantial use for mineralogy and geological research. Thus, development in geological research is estimated to propel the lepidolite market during the forecast period. However, the composition of lepidolite varies significantly from one region to another. An ore with low amount of lithium is not feasible for lithium extraction. This is projected to hamper the lepidolite market in the near future.Based on end-use, the lepidolite market can be segmented into manufacturing, jewelry, and research. Manufacturing is the key end-use segment of the lepidolite market due to the high demand for lithium in automotive, electronics, and aerospace battery applications. The jewelry segment also holds substantial share of the lepidolite market, as the mineral is attractive, lustrous, and vibrantly colored. Based on application, the lepidolite market can be divided into specimen, thermal & electric insulator, ornamental use, lithium production, and others. Lithium production is the prominent application segment of the mineral, due to significant importance of lithium metal in batteries. Specimen is also a major application segment of the lepidolite market.In terms of geography, the market for lepidolite can be segregated into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Developed regions such as North America and Europe are the key consumers of lepidolite due to the large disposable income of consumers and strong growth in industries. Asia Pacific is also a sizeable market for lepidolite, led by the rapid industrialization, urbanization, increase in population, and presence of fast-growing economies. High demand for lithium ion and lithium polymer batteries in Asia Pacific, North America, and Europe is projected to offer immense opportunities for the lepidolite market in these regions. High demand for jewelry and ornaments in GCC is also a major factor likely to boost the lepidolite market in Middle East & Africa during the forecast period.Key players operating in the global lepidolite market are Lithium Australia NL, Hallgarten & Company, Hangzhou J&H Chemical Co. Ltd, SVS Chemical Corporation, Cristian Grup Srl, Mc Chemical Co., Ltd, and Univar.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
+29.4% CAGR of Global eSIM Market Industry Analysis Report 2018: Gemalto NV, STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors

Global eSIM Market 2018-2025

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Global eSIM market is consolidated due to the presence of limited number of players concentrated in few countries. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.The Global eSIM Market accounted for USD 180.3 million in 2017 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 29.4% during the forecast period of 2018 to 2025. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2016, the base year of calculation is 2017 and the forecast period is 2018 to 2025.To request a free sample copy or view summary of this report, click the link below @Major Market Competitors:Some of the major players in global eSIM market are Gemalto NV, STMicroelectronics, Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Telefonica S.A., NTT DOCOMO, INC., Singtel, Sierra Wireless, AT&T Intellectual Property, Apple Inc., CLX, Etisalat, IDEMIA, Cisco Systems, Inc., Orange, SAMSUNG, among others.Major Market Drivers and Restraints: Rising prominence for remote sim provisioning for M2M Advent and adoption of IoT technology Encouraging government regulations Growing security concerns Lack of regulationAn eSIM is a new protected element designed in order to remotely manage multiple mobile network operator subscriptions and be amenable with GSMA specifications. The eSIM can be integrated in any kind of device. The growing demand and importance of eSIM has promoted and provided ways for various companies to launch eSIM. For instance, in 2016, The Samsung Gear S2 3G, launched wearable device to feature an eSIM. In September 2017, Optus announced eSIM card technology on its mobile network. Furthermore, Telstra publicized the capability of adding phone call, data, and text messaging to wearable devices by launching Telstra One Number product using embedded SIM (eSIM) card technology.To Understand Complete Table Of Content, Tables And Figures @Market Definition: Global eSIM MarketThis market report defines the market trends and forecast the upcoming opportunities and threats of the eSIM market in the next 8 years. An eSIM is a SIM-card that is embedded with the mobile devices. It comes in the form of an integrated SIM chip and need not be removed from a device. It has wide application in connected cars, laptops, m2m, smartphones, tablets, wearables, others. Apple is one of the first manufacturers that started to use an eSIM. The Apple SIM was announced in iPads in the United States.Market Segmentation: Global eSIM Market Based on application, the global eSIM market is segmented into connected cars, laptops, M2M, smartphones, tablets, wearables and others. On the basis of vertical, the global eSIM market is segmented into automotive, energy & utilities, manufacturing, retail, consumer electronics, transportation & logistics. Based on geography, the global eSIM market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies such as North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others.Looking for more insights from this report? click the link below:Related ReportGlobal Access Control Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2025Global Access Control Market, By Component (Hardware and Software), By Service (Installation and Integration, Maintenance and Support and Access Control as a Service (ACaaS)), By Vertical (Commercial, Military and Defense, Government and others) and By Geographical Segments (North America, Asia Pacific, South America and others)- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: sopan.gedam@databridgemarketresearch.com
Anti-graffiti Coating Market Projected to Gain Significant Value by 2025

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Graffiti has become a global concern, as it has resulted into the defacement of public or private property with a wide range of markings, etchings, and paintings. Rising prevalence of graffiti in many countries across the world has negatively impacted the state and local governments, local communities, police, public transport, and utility providers. Therefore, graffiti has been considered as one of the most visible forms of community crime and anti-social behavior. It is commonly found on trains, subways, buses, vehicles, walls facing streets, traffic signs, statues and monuments, bridges, park benches, trees, and billboards. The motives of graffiti include anger, psychological need, or hostility towards society.View Report Preview:Rising criminological research for graffiti offences and offenders have led to development of crime prevention strategies by government, and opportunities for various chemical companies to develop anti-graffiti products. Rising popularity for graffiti, despite government initiatives has resulted into the increasing need for graffiti removal, which is driving the demand for anti-graffiti coatings. Anti-graffiti coatings are invisible coatings that prevent the graffiti paint from adhering to the surface. These coatings are paints developed using nanoparticles and polymers, which function as water and oil repellent when added on the existing paint. Companies are focusing on developing anti-graffiti coatings with increased durability, transparency, and dirt resistance.Increasing technological advancements in nanotechnology and high investments by companies to manufacture ultra-thin, non-toxic, environment-friendly coatings are key factors that are fueling the expansion of the anti-graffiti coatings market significantly. Nanotechnology has been improving the physical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, and corrosion properties of anti-graffiti coatings at low costs. Furthermore, anti-graffiti coatings are increasingly employed by automobile manufacturers to offer additional protection to the vehicle body. The rapidly increasing global demand for automobiles and increasing incorporation of anti-graffiti coatings in automotive manufacturing processes are key factors driving the expansion of the market.Strict government regulations imposed on the usage of the petrochemicals, which form a major part of the anti-graffiti coatings restrain the expansion of the market. Chemical companies are focusing on employing bio-based coatings, which are in line with the current trend of environmental safety, to create potential growth opportunities for the anti-graffiti market.In terms of geography, the anti-graffiti market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Increasing advancements in nanotechnology and presence of key chemical companies in North America and Europe have led to the regions accounting prominent share of the global anti-graffiti coatings market. However, stricter legislative environment imposed by the government incurs high costs for the companies to develop products in these strict compliances, which results in sluggish expansion of the market in these regions. The Asia Pacific region is characterized by rising infrastructure, lenient public and environmental laws, rapidly expanding automobile industry, and increasing expansion of major chemical companies in this region due to abundant availability of raw materials and low cost labor. These factors lead to considerable expansion for the anti-graffiti coatings market.Key companies operating in the anti-graffiti coatings market are E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, BASF SE, the 3M Company, Akzo Nobel N.V., the Sherwin-Williams Company, Hydron Protective Coatings, the Valspar Corporation, Sika AG, Protective Coatings International Ltd., and CSL Silicones Inc.Request to view Sample Report:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Cloud Access Security Brokers Market SWOT Analysis by Key Players including Business overview, Strategies & Future Demands

Cloud Access Security Brokers Market

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HTF MI recently introduced Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Market study with in-depth overview, describing about the Product / Industry Scope and elaborates market outlook and status to 2023. At present, the market is developing its presence and some of the key players from the complete study are Imperva, Inc., Bitglass, Cloudlock, Ciphercloud, Skyhigh Networks, Netskope, Protegrity, Adallom & Perspecsys etc. The market Study is segmented by key regions which is accelerating the marketization.Request Sample of Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @:This report studies the Global Cloud Access Security Brokers market size, industry status and forecast, competition landscape and growth opportunity. This research report categorizes the Global Cloud Access Security Brokers market by companies, region, type and end-use industry.Browse 100+ market data Tables and Figures spread through Pages and in-depth TOC on " Cloud Access Security Brokers Market by Type (Control and Monitoring Cloud Services, Risk and Compliance Management, Data Security & Threat Protection), by End-Users/Application (Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Education, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Retail and Wholesale, Telecommunication and IT & Others), Organization Size, Industry, and Region - Forecast to 2023". Early buyers will receive 10% customization on comprehensive study.In order to get a deeper view of Market Size, competitive landscape is provided i.e. Revenue (Million USD) by Players (2013-2018), Revenue Market Share (%) by Players (2013-2018) and further a qualitative analysis is made towards market concentration rate, product/service differences, new entrants and the technological trends in future.Enquire for customization in Report @Competitive Analysis:The key players are highly focusing innovation in production technologies to improve efficiency and shelf life. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be captured by ensuring ongoing process improvements and financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Company profile section of players such as Imperva, Inc., Bitglass, Cloudlock, Ciphercloud, Skyhigh Networks, Netskope, Protegrity, Adallom & Perspecsys includes its basic information like legal name, website, headquarters, its market position, historical background and top 5 closest competitors by Market capitalization / revenue along with contact information. Each player/ manufacturer revenue figures, growth rate and gross profit margin is provided in easy to understand tabular format for past 5 years and a separate section on recent development like mergers, acquisition or any new product/service launch etc.Market Segments:The Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Market has been divided into type, application, and region.On The Basis Of Type: Control and Monitoring Cloud Services, Risk and Compliance Management, Data Security & Threat Protection.On The Basis Of Application: Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Education, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Retail and Wholesale, Telecommunication and IT & OthersOn The Basis Of Region, this report is segmented into following key geographies, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share, growth rate of Cloud Access Security Brokers in these regions, from 2013 to 2023 (forecast), covering North America (U.S. & Canada) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Latin America (Brazil, Mexico & Rest of Latin America) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Europe (The U.K., Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Sweden & RoE) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of Asia) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Middle East & Africa (GCC, South Africa, North Africa, RoMEA) {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Share (%) and Opportunity Analysis} Rest of World {Market Revenue (USD Billion), Growth Analysis (%) and Opportunity Analysis}Buy Single User License of Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 @Have a look at some extracts from Table of ContentIntroduction about Global Industrial Pump Rental Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017 Cloud Access Security Brokers Market by Application/End Users Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2013-2023) table defined for each application/end-users like [Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI), Education, Government, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Retail and Wholesale, Telecommunication and IT & Others] Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2023) Cloud Access Security Brokers Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application Cloud Access Security Brokers (Volume, Value and Sales Price) table defined for each geographic region defined. Global Cloud Access Security Brokers Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales DataAdditionally Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors list is being provided for each listed manufacturers Market Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018) table for each product type which include Control and Monitoring Cloud Services, Risk and Compliance Management, Data Security & Threat Protection Cloud Access Security Brokers Manufacturing Cost Analysis Cloud Access Security Brokers Key Raw Materials Analysis Cloud Access Security Brokers Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers, Industrial Chain Analysis Market Forecast (2018-2023) ........and more in complete table of ContentsBrowse for Full Report at:Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.About Author:HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837Phone: +1 (206) 317 1218sales@htfmarketreport.com
Costume Jewelry Market to Register a Progressive CAGR Globally In Near Future

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Costume jewelry (also known as fashion jewellery, trinkets, junk jewelry, fake jewelry and fallalery) is a jewelry made of less valuable materials as compared with valuable materials such as gold, diamond, platinum and other precious metals and gem. The raw material used for these jewelleries include base metals, glass, plastic, synthetic stones, semi-precious stones, beads, ivory, lac, leather, terracotta, pearl and metals such as silver, aluminum and brass. On the basis of products, the costume jewelry industry is broadly categorized as bracelets, brooch, earrings, necklaces, chokers, bangles, finger rings, toe rings, anklets and pendants.Request Report for Table of Contents @The costume Jewelry industry operates as a true global industry as the raw materials are mostly sourced from Australia, Africa, Russia and Canada, manufacturing takes place in China, India, Italy and Turkey whereas the largest markets is North America, followed by Europe.The developing economies such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the fasted growing market with double digit growth rates. Asia Pacific is the largest producer of costume jewelry and expected to take over North America in terms of consumption in the coming years. High growth rate in Asia Pacific region is attributed to the rising income of the consumers in these countries. Further, with the massive urbanization and westernization taking place, the consumers are now becoming more fashionable and trendy. Moreover large population of young consumers (average age is 29 year and 37 year respectively for India and China) are also a key contributor in overall growth of costume jewelry in these countries.The key drivers for the costume jewelry include increasing prices for gold and other precious gems and pearls, internationalization of brands and increasing demand of men costume jewelry. Some of the key challenges for the costume jewelry industry include rising raw material cost and fad sensitive market of fashion jewelry. The unorganized supply chain of the raw materials in costume jewelry industry also act as a major restraint for the industry as it sometimes lead to steep hike in the prices of raw materials. Online channels, which are still new trend, offer new opportunity for the market.For More Information Request a Brochure of the Report @Some of the major player in operating in the industry includes, Buckley Jewellery Limited, The Colibri Group, Avon Products Inc, Swank Inc, H. Stern Com. & Ind. S.A., Cartier SA, Channel S.A., Louis Vuitton North America, Inc., Stuller, Inc., Yurman Design, Inc., Billig Jewelers, Inc. and Gianni Versace S.p.A.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Clinical Decision Support Systems Market to Partake Significant Development by 2020

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A clinical decision support system is a part of clinical knowledge management technologies. It is an application which is used to analyze data to help healthcare providers make clinical decisions. A clinical decision support system can be used by nurses, physicians and healthcare providers to prepare and review diagnosis for improving final outcomes. These systems are designed to incorporate patient data and medical knowledge base. There are two types of clinical decision support systems, first is knowledge base decision support systems and the other is without knowledge based decision support systems. Knowledge based decision support systems implement rules to patient data with the help of inference engine and demonstrate the results to the end user. Whereas, without knowledge based decision support systems depend on machine learning to analyze the clinical data.Request for Table of Contents @North America dominates the global market for clinical decision support systems. This is due to early adoption by healthcare service providers, availability of advanced technologies and rising investment from healthcare IT players. China, India and Japan are expected to show high growth rate, due to increase in aging population and rising number of chronic diseases. In addition, increase in government funding for healthcare IT systems are also expected to drive growth in these markets.Some of the key drivers which are responsible for growth of clinical decision support systems marketinclude rising aging population and rising government initiatives. In addition, growing need of integrated healthcare IT system, improved quality of care and clinical outcomes and rising incidence of various fatal diseases and medication errors are also expected to increase the demand of clinical decision support systems. However, lack of experienced professionals, privacy and security issues, interoperability issues and high maintenance and service expenses are some of the factors inhibiting the growth of clinical decision support systems market.Emergences of cloud computing and increasing government initiatives have opened new opportunities for clinical decision support systems market. In addition, emerging markets such as China, Japan and India hold immense potential for the growth of clinical decision support systems. Rising number of collaborations and partnerships by healthcare IT providers, increasing number of mergers and acquisitions and new products launches are some of the trends that have been observed in the clinical decision support systems market.Get Sample Copy of this Report @Some of the major market players in clinical decision support systems include Agfa Healthcare, athenahealth, Inc., Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc., Carestream Health, Inc., Cerner Corporation, GE Healthcare. In addition, McKesson Corporation, MEDITECH, NextGen Healthcare Information System LLC, Philips Healthcare and Siemens Healthcare also have significant presence in clinical decision support systems market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Digital Forensics Market Insights Covering Market Dynamics and Competitive Scenario through 2027

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In order to study the various trends and patterns prevailing in the overall market for Digital Forensics, Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has included a new report titled Digital Forensics Market to its wide online database. This research assessment offers a clear insight about the influential factors that are expected to transform the global market in the near future. Readers can access the regional as well as segment-wise analysis for acquiring precise information about the global market structure.Visit for Free Sample Report with TOC @The global digital forensics market includes various types of forensics such as computer forensics, mobile forensics, network forensics, database forensics, and forensic data analysis. Among these, the computer forensics market was seen leading the global market till 2016, as computers were used widely by digital forensics teams to collect critical evidences from digital data and identify the culprits responsible for a particular crime. While the use of computer devices remains the same in the corporate sector, the mobile devices market keeps growing given an increase in the demand for mobile phones all over the world. This has also impacted the digital forensics market, with mobile devices being widely used now to gather useful evidence from digital data.According to Future Market Insights analysis, mobile device forensics has taken over the market with a projected valuation of more than US$ 2,300 Mn by 2027, up from just about US$ 507 Mn in 2017. The mobile device forensics market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.4% during the period of study.Rising digital crime and concerns about information security to widen the scope of the digital forensics marketCyber criminals employ a combination of sophisticated technologies to be successful in their target crime missions. Cyber criminals target individuals as well as businesses and rewards achieved are much greater with security protocols being somewhat lax at the other end. Not only this, cyber criminals use multiple channels and mislead security by a series of attacks that takes off the attention of security personnel from the main crime site. Moreover, rising information security concerns by individuals and businesses are expected to increase in the digital forensics market. The information provided by people on various social media platforms has increased, which has led to a rise in concerns regarding the safety of critical and sensitive personal information.Digital transformation is also a major driver of the market, which will eventually reform some of the business activities that will transform business processes and provide new revenue models using digital technologies, which includes information security, forensics technologies, data governance, cyber security, big data, cloud technologies, social media and mobility and IoT technologies. Manufacturing and retail industries are an early adopter of digitalisation. Digital forensics tools have been the most commonly embraced platform for tracing hacks, recovering data from damaged or erased hard drives, gathering and maintaining digital evidence and in investigation analysis. Increasing technological transformation across various industries will positively impact the growth of the digital forensics market.Complete Report details with List of Tables and Figures @As the cloud is a convenient and cost-effective way to store critical business data, its adoption is increasing among SMEs and large enterprises worldwide. Consequently, the demand for cloud security solutions such as cloud network forensics is also growing. As on-premise security solutions are expensive, their adoption is limited among SMEs due to budget constraints, limited resource availability, and the lack of expertise to address security problems. Cloud-based network forensic solutions scan the data traffic before it reaches the network, providing better protection and reduced bandwidth congestion. Cloud-based network forensics solutions do not require any hardware or software and can be controlled remotely, making them cost-effective for end users. These solutions also respond faster to new security threats and unauthorised access.About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Overview of E-Prescribing Systems Market 2018-2023 | Surescripts , Allscripts, iMedX Inc., Athena health Inc., and Henry Schein e-prescrib

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Market Scenario:E-prescribing or electronic prescribing is a technology that helps in the generation and electronic transmission of prescriptions from a physician to pharmacists. E-prescribing helps in improving the safety and quality of patient care and enable access to patient history to ensure better care.The global e-prescribing systems market is estimated to register a healthy growth. The market is majorly driven by the increasing government initiatives and incentive programs to improve quality of healthcare, to cut healthcare cost, and reduce prescription errors. Additionally mandate healthcare programs and projects in the developed countries are propelling the growth of the global e-prescribing systems market.View Reports Sample @The Global E-Prescribing systems market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 21% during the forecast period.Figure: Global E-prescribing systems market, by region, 2017 (%)E-Prescribing Systems Market Research Report- Forecast to 2023 -Report image 00Source: World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expert interview, market research future analysis, annual report, white paper, company presentationIntended AudiencePharmaceutical Manufacturers and SuppliersMedical Research LaboratoriesResearch and Development (R&D) CompaniesMarket Research and Consulting Service ProvidersPotential InvestorsResearch Methodology:Check for Report Discount @SegmentsThe global e-prescribing systems market is segmented on the basis of system type, mode of delivery, component, and end users.On the basis of the system type, the market is segmented as Stand-alone system, and Integrated system.On the basis of mode of delivery, the market is segmented into Cloud-based, Web-based, and on-premise.On the basis of by component, the market is segmented into Software, Hardware, and Services.On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into Hospitals, Clinics and Pharmacy.Regional AnalysisNorth America holds the maximum share of e-prescribing systems market in the Americas region. On a regional basis, the Americas is segmented into North America and South America. North America is segmented into the U.S. and Canada. Rising government initiatives and funding has increased the scope of the E-prescribing systems market in North America.Europe accounts for a healthy market share due to factors such as rising healthcare networks and healthcare related projects. Growing healthcare expenditure and infrastructure is driving the e-prescribing systems market in Europe. For instance, adoption of the European Patient Smart Open Services in 2013, has led to the electronic submission of patient summaries and prescription.Asia Pacific is the expected to register the fastest growth rate for the e-prescribing systems market. The high growth rate is attributed to rising healthcare organizations, growing healthcare programmes, and projects to enhance patient care and safety. Additionally, active inclination towards digitization to reduce human errors and frauds, increasing healthcare expenditure, and demand for new technology is fuelling the market growth.The Middle East & Africa is expected to show slow growth in the market . Major factors that are likely to hamper the growth are lack of awareness regarding patient management software, and limited access and availability of treatment facilities. In the Middle East, United Arab Emirates has garnered the largest market share owing to the development of healthcare infrastruture and rising number of specialty care centers.Send An Enquiry @Key PlayersSome of the key players in the e-prescribing systems market are Aprima, Cerner Corporation, eClinicalWorks, Practice Fusion, Inc., eMDs, Inc., Surescripts , Allscripts, iMedX Inc., Athena health Inc., and Henry Schein e-prescribe.Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Sickle Cell Disease Pipeline Drugs Assessment: Clinical Trails Analysis, Player Profiles, Collaborations, Key Targets, Geographic Focus, and Data Publications, 2018

Sickle Cell Disease Pipeline Drugs

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Sickle Cell Disease Pipeline Drugs Assessment Overview:Sickle-cell diseases (SCD) are types of blood disorders which are usually inherited genetically. One of the common types of SCDs is the sickle-cell anemia or SCA. It essentially gives rise to an irregularity in hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen in the blood. Hemoglobin is found typically in the red blood cells of the body. As a result, a sickle-like shaped cell is formed under certain conditions. Tribulations in sickle cell disease usually start to take shape at a very early age (within the first year of birth). This might lead to various health problems including pain attacks also known as the sickle-cell crisis, swelling in the limbs, microbial infections, and in certain cases, stroke. SCD is diagnosed by blood tests and Hb electrophoresis. Hydroxyurea is the only FDA approved drug for treatment of Sickle-cell diseases.A sample of this report is available upon request @Segmentation:By Trial Phase, Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs are segmented as: Preclinical Trials Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4By Company, Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs are segmented as: Eli Lilly and Company NKT Therapeutics AstraZeneca Novartis bluebird bio BioMarin Pharmaceutical Imara, Inc. Mast Therapeutics, Inc. Pfizer Sanofi Endo Pharmaceuticals OthersBy Drugs, Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs are segmented as: Prasugrel Sevuparin L-Citruline Ticagrelor Docosahexaenoic Acid sapropterindihydrochloride Treprostinil Deferiprone OthersBy Type of Disease, Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs are segmented as: Sickle cell anemia Sickle cell hemoglobin C disease Sickle cell thalassemia diseaseBy Route of Administration, Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs are segmented as: Oral ParenteralTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Space Analysis: In December 2017, Novartis Pharmaceuticals released results of post hoc subgroup analysis of the Phase II SUSTAIN study of crizanlizumaban investigational humanized anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody determined that crizanlizumab delayed the time to first sickle cell pain crisis in patients vs. placebo in key subgroups of adult patients with sickle cell disease In February 2017, bluebird bio Announces First Patient Treated with LentiGlobinTM Drug Product under Amended Study Protocol in HGB-206 Phase 1 Study of Patients with Severe Sickle Cell Disease.Report Description:Sickle Cell Disease Pipeline Drugs Assessment report studies the various therapeutics under clinical development for Sickle Cell Disease treatment along with targets for various drug candidate. The report provides plethora of information pertaining to trail phases, companies involved in the Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs development. This report studies the dynamics of the Sickle Cell Disease Pipeline Drugs i.e. drivers, challenges and opportunities which are significantly impacting the product development. The report provides various information pertaining the clinical trials such as designation, grants, patents, and technology among others. Moreover, the report on Sickle Cell Disease pipeline drugs assessment comprehensively presents the geographic location, trial status information along with key players involved in the therapeutics development.Need more information about this report @Key Features of the Report: Provides the information related to universities and research institutes working in the therapeutics development Report comprehensively covers the all active and discontinued studies Studies the entire pipeline with special emphasis on companies actively involved in the therapeutics development Presents the prominent targets for drug development in each stage of clinical trial Provides the in-depth analysis on the each drug candidates in the clinical trial phasesGet access to full summary @About Precision Business InsightsPrecision Business Insights is one of the leading market research and business consulting firm, which follow a holistic approach to solve needs of the clients. We adopt and implement proven research methodologies to achieve better results. We help our clients by providing actionable insights and strategies to make better decisions. We provide consulting, syndicated and customised market research services based on our client needs.Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Website @
Thrombin Market is Likely to Reach US$ 690.1 Million by the End of 2025

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In a new study, Transparency Market Research (TMR) revealed the fragmented vendor landscape of the global thrombin market, with a dispersed presence of several players across various nations. The study has identified companies such as Johnson & Johnson Services Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals as dominant players within the global thrombin market. Other prominent players operating in the market include Shanghai RAAS blood products co., Ltd., Japan Blood Products Organization, and Mochida Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. These companies have found a stronghold in Asia Pacific.Request for Sample Copy of Report @According to TMR, the global thrombin market is likely to reach US$690.1 mn by the end of 2025, as compared to US$496.1 mn in 2016. Between 2017 and 2025, the global thrombin market is likely to expand at a steady 3.8%. Holding nearly 57.5% of the global thrombin market, North America emerged dominant in 2016. In North America, the US emerged as a highly lucrative market, exhibiting a rather high adoption of hemostatic thrombin products influenced by the high healthcare spending included in overall national budget, easy access to advanced technologies, and high awareness among consumers. Among end users, the hospitals segment is likely to contribute the highest revenue to the global market.Demand for Thrombin Poised to Rise in Response to Rising Surgical Cases WorldwideAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), road traffic accidents account for around 1.25 million deaths globally every year. Globally, hemorrhage or excessive bleeding is responsible for over one third of pre-hospital deaths and around 40% of deaths within the first 24 hours of trauma or onset of bleeding. Rise in number of surgical cases globally is expected to drive thrombin market. The patient pool with different chronic diseases is also growing rapidly across the world. This is likely to increase the number of surgical procedures, consequently propelling the thrombin based hemostasis products market in the near future. Preoperative hemostasis is vital and required for effective management of blending during invasive and other operative procedures which involve the use of blood products such as thrombin-based hemostats and other hemostatic agents to enhance patients natural blood clotting ability. Adoption of these thrombin-based hemostats for effective control of bleeding during surgeries in countries such as the U.S. is likely to fuel the growth of the thrombin market during the forecast period.Enquiry for discount on this report @Thrombin is used in various diagnostic procedures such as coagulation assays, defibrination of blood plasma, and clotting factor tests. Thrombin is also used in research and development of fusion of recombinant proteins, medical, and biochemical research applications. Rising use of thrombin in diagnostic tools is anticipated to support growth of global thrombin market and in addition will create new opportunities in the near future.High Cost of Thrombin may Negatively Impact its Sales across WorldHigh cost as compared to substitute and conventional hemostats is likely to hamper the growth of the global thrombin market. High cost of standalone thrombin based hemostats limits adoption of thrombin therapy in regions such as the U.S., Asia Pacific, and Europe. Thrombin immunogenicity has been observed in patients in the U.S. and has become a challenge where all three (bovine, human, and recombinant) thrombin available in the market. Therefore, postoperative complications is a major factor hampering the growth of the global thrombin market. A major challenge faced by protein drug substances and peptide drug product manufacturers is absence of uniform and harmonized set of guidelines to define the level of impurities permissible in peptide therapeutics.Report Overview @About UsTransparency Market Research is a next-generation market intelligence provider, offering fact-based solutions to business leaders, consultants, and strategy professionals.Our reports are single-point solutions for businesses to grow, evolve, and mature. Our real-time data collection methods along with ability to track more than one million high growth niche products are aligned with your aims. The detailed and proprietary statistical models used by our analysts offer insights for making right decision in the shortest span of time. For organizations that require specific but comprehensive information we offer customized solutions through adhoc reports. These requests are delivered with the perfect combination of right sense of fact-oriented problem solving methodologies and leveraging existing data repositories.TMR believes that unison of solutions for clients-specific problems with right methodology of research is the key to help enterprises reach right decision.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Deep Learning, Type and Application, Forecast to 2025

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Global artificial intelligence in retail market is expected to grow from US$ 712.6 million in 2016 to US$ 27,238.6 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 51.2% between 2017 and 2025.Inception of exponential technologies such as sensors, robotics, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence in the retail industry has enabled the retailers to enhance their interactions with consumers and transformed the way retail operations were performed. This change in the industry is prominently driven by the seismic shift in the shopping pattern of the consumers, and their preferences backed by demographic dividend across regions.FREE | Request Sample Copy is Available at:-The report focuses on an in-depth segmentation of this market based by retail format, technology, and application. The geographic segmentation of the report covers five major regions including; North Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SA). The regional market has been further bifurcated by respective countries. By application segment customer experience and management accounted for the largest share of the artificial intelligence in retail market in 2016; whereas, APAC region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.The report aims to provide an overview of global artificial intelligence in retail market with detailed market segmentation. Also, it analyzes the current artificial intelligence in retail market scenario and forecasts the market till 2025. The report covers market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, the report analyzes the competitive scenario, geographic trends, and opportunities in the markets with respect to all geographic regions. The report also includes the detailed company profiles of the key players in the market along with their market strategies. The report also provide PEST analysis of all five regions along with the SWOT analysis for all company profiled in the report.North America is one of the prominent regions in artificial intelligence in retail market which will contribute highest revenue globally owing to the massive transformation of region under the influence of internet and accessibility to various devices such as tablets, laptops and smart phones. Rapidly growing economies in Asia-Pacific (APAC) with significant growth in IT infrastructure and will pave the path for increasing adoption and propel the market for artificial intelligence in retail market. The APAC region is expected to lead the market with highest CAGR during the forecast period.The List of companies:1. Sentient Technologies Holdings Limited2. Manthan Software Services Pvt. Ltd3. Focal Systems Inc4. Microsoft Corporation5. ViSenze6. Tata Consultancy Services Limited7. Salesforce.com, Inc8. Plexure Ltd.9. Google,Inc10. IBM Watson GroupSome of the key players of artificial intelligence in retail market include Sentient Technologies Holdings Limited, Manthan Software Services Pvt. Ltd, Focal Systems Inc, Microsoft Corporation, ViSenze, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Salesforce.com, Inc., Plexure Ltd., Google,Inc., and IBM Watson Group, among others.Save and reduce time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the growth, size, leading players and segments in the global artificial intelligence in retail market- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the artificial intelligence in retail market, thereby allowing players across the value chain to develop effective long term strategies- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to client products, segmentation, pricing and distribution- Examine the political, economic, social and technology impact of the five regions namely: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa and South America.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables 91.2 List of Figures 102 Introduction 142.1 Scope of the Study 142.2 The Insight Partners Research Report Guidance 143 Key Takeaways 164 Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market Landscape 184.1 Market Overview 184.2 Market Segmentation 194.2.1 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  By Retail Format 214.2.2 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  By Technology 214.2.3 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  By Application 214.2.4 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  By Geography 214.3 PEST Analysis 234.3.1 North America PEST Analysis 234.3.2 Europe PEST Analysis 264.3.3 Asia Pacific PEST Analysis 294.3.4 Middle East & Africa PEST Analysis 314.3.5 South America PEST Analysis 345 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  Key Industry Dynamics 365.1 Key Market Drivers 365.1.1 Startups are at the forefront, driving the adoption of AI in retail industry 365.1.2 Rapid adoption of game-changing technologies across the retail - value chain 375.1.3 Tremendous growth in mobile market is expected to encourage the widespread adoption of AI in retail 375.2 Key Market Restraints 385.2.1 Lack of in-house knowledge and cultural readiness hold back AI adoption 385.2.2 High cost and difficulty of implementing new technologies 385.3 Key Market Opporunities 395.3.1 Rising investments in speech analytics technology 395.4 Future Trends 395.4.1 Artificial intelligence to bridge the gap between online and offline retailing 395.4.2 Artificial intelligence enabled virtual mirrors to be major traction in fashion retail industry 405.5 Impact Analysis of Drivers and Restraints 416 Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market  Global 426.1 Global Artificial Intelligence Market Overview 426.2 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market Forecast and Analysis 427 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market Analysis  By Retail Format 447.1 Overview 447.2 E-commerce 457.2.1 Overview 457.2.2 Global Ecommerce Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 (US$ Mn) 457.3 Brick n Mortar 477.3.1 Overview 477.3.2 Global Brick n Mortar Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 (US$ Mn) 478 Global Artificial Intelligence in Retail Market Analysis  By Technology 498.1 Overview 498.2 Chatbots 508.2.1 Overview 508.2.2 Global Chatbots Market Revenue and Forecasts to 2025 (US$ Mn) 508.3 Recommendation Engines 528.3.1 Overview 52Inquire For Reports At:-About Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Automotive and Defense.Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.com
Laboratory Centrifuge Market: is Rising to a Valuation of in 2025

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Laboratory Centrifuge Market: OverviewMultiple types of laboratory centrifuge are available to meet the specific requirement of component separation. These are usually classified as the microcentrifuge, medium capacity centrifuge, and large capacity centrifuge. The widening applications of laboratory centrifuges are expected to drive the global market in the coming years. The growing number of diagnostic centers is expected to be the key growth driver for the global market. According to the research report, the global laboratory centrifuge market is expected to be worth US$1,833.29 mn by the end of 2025 as it climbs up from US$1,400.00 mn in 2016. During the forecast years of 2017 and 2025, the global laboratory centrifuge market is expected to rise at a CAGR of 3.1%.Download PDF Brochure of Report:Microcentrifuge to Remain Popular as Hospitals and Diagnostic Centers Show Steady UptakeThe global laboratory centrifuge market is segmented into five broad segments on the basis of capacity, components, temperature, end-user and geography. By capacity, the market is segmented into microcentrifuge, medium capacity centrifuge and large capacity centrifuge. Microcentrifuge segment accounted for leading share and is projected to slightly lose its market share to medium capacity centrifuge by the end of 2025. Hospitals and diagnostic centers are the key shareholders of microcentrifuges. Medium capacity centrifuge segment is anticipated to record highest growth rate during the forecast period owing to multiple applications of these equipments in the life science industry and its ability to accommodate different types, sizes and volume of centrifuge tubes. Large capacity centrifuges are widely used by the biopharmaceutical companies for batch production, sample preparation, cell harvesting and microfiltration of aqueous solutions. Also large capacity centrifuges are being frequently used by the blood banks for blood component separation.The global laboratory centrifuge market by component is segmented into instruments and rotors. Instruments segment dominated the market and is projected to lose its market share to rotors segment. The rotors are further sub-segmented into fixed angle rotors, swing out rotors and fixed angle rotors. The swing out rotors segment is projected to record highest growth rate during the forecast period and is anticipated to marginally gain its market share by the end of 2025. By temperature, market is segmented into refrigerated centrifuge and non-refrigerated centrifuge. The end-user for laboratory centrifuge includes the hospitals and diagnostic centers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, blood banks and academic and research institutes.Request to View Sample of Report Investments in Healthcare Segment of Asia Pacific to Boost Regional MarketGeographically, the global laboratory centrifuge market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. The developed regions such as North America and Europe accounted for leading share of global laboratory centrifuge market in 2016. The large base of biopharmaceutical industry and diagnostics laboratories in these regions led to leading share of these regions. Moreover rapid expansion and increasing number of diagnostics labs in these regions would propel the demand for laboratory centrifuge during the forecast period. Asia Pacific region is projected to expand at exponential growth rate owing rapidly improving healthcare facilities in the countries like India, China, South Korea, and Malaysia. Japan dominated the Asia Pacific laboratory centrifuge market whereas China is anticipated to record exponential growth rate during the forecast period. Latin America and Middle East & Africa regions are projected to maintain steady growth rates during the forecast period.Request to View Discount Major players operating in the laboratory centrifuge market include Sartorius AG, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Eppendorf Group, Andreas Hettich GmbH & Co.KG, QIAGEN N.V., Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (Subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd.), Beckman Coulter, Inc. (Subsidiary of Danaher Corporation), Sigma Laborzentrifugen GmbH, KUBOTA Corporation, and Cole-Parmer Instrument Company, LLC.( Subsidiary of GTCR firm).About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Human Microbiome Market: to touch by 2025

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Global Human Microbiome Market: SnapshotWith ample unmet needs, the global market for human microbiome exhibits high potential of growth. The market is set to emerge as a lucrative business in the near future, thanks to the increasing emphasis on diagnosis and treatment of various underrated diseases. The worldwide human microbiome market will be US$2.2 bn in 2020. The lack of targeted drugs for specific conditions, such as ulcerative colitis and C.difficile infection across the world makes this market highly opportune for players to set their innovative drug ideas on the path to commercial success. Driven by these factors, the opportunity in this market is slated to rise at a CAGR of 9.80% between 2020 and 2024 and reach US$3.2 bn by the end of 2024.Download PDF Brochure of Report:Microbiome diagnostics and microbiome therapeutics are the two prominent sections of the global human microbiome market. Currently, the market is in the budding phase, with most of the therapies still being in preclinical or clinical (phase I or phase II) stage. The diagnosis technology is also in the development phase and the leading companies have begun to allocate funds for the research and development and the management of clinical studies for their innovative class of therapies. All these factors are likely to propel this market significantly over the next few years. The human microbiome therapeutics market is likely to report a CAGR of 9.20% during the period of 2020 to 2024, whereas the market for human microbiome diagnostics is anticipated to rise at an 8.60% CAGR between 2018 and 2024.Request to View Sample of Report human microbiome diagnostics marketNorth America to Report Continued LeadershipNorth America, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Latin America are the key regional markets for human microbiome across the world. Thanks to the presence of a state-of-art medical and healthcare industry and early adoption of technology, North America has occupied the top position in the global market. Researchers expect that the rising number of venture-capital funded start-ups and the increasing investments by leading players for research and development of drugs will support the North America market for human microbiome over the forthcoming years, ensuring its dominance. The human microbiome therapeutics market in North America is anticipated to report a rise at a CAGR of 9.10% between 2020 and 2024 while the regions human microbiome diagnostics market will progress at an 8.80% CAGR from 2018 to 2024.Europe, which acquired the second position in the global human microbiome market, is projected to maintain its position over the years to come. The U.K. and France have emerged as the key domestic markets for human microbiome in Europe. The high investments by companies in this domain are expected to boost both these domestic markets in the next few years. Apart from this, countries, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, are also anticipated to contribute well to the Europe market for human microbiome market in the near future.Metagenomic Sequencing to Outpace 16s rRNA in FutureOn the basis of technology, the global market for human microbiome is classified into 16s rRNA sequencing and metagenomic sequencing. Both the technology are equally popular platforms for detection in the microbiome-based diagnostics. However, the metagenomic sequencing segment is likely to surpass the 16s rRNA segment over the next few years, albeit by a small margin, as a large number of companies are opting for the diagnosis of a more comprehensive microbiome profile.At the forefront of the global market for human microbiome are Vedanta Biosciences, Synthetic Biologics Inc., Seres Therapeutics, Second Genome, uBiome Inc., Rebiotix Inc., Osel Inc., MicroBiome Therapeutics LLC., Metabiomics Corp., Enterome Biosciences SA, and AO Biome LLC. Some of the other prominent participants in this market are Metabogen AB, Becton Dickinson & Co., Evelo Biosciences, ARTPred, MaaT Pharma, Blue Turtle Bio Technologies, Axial Therapeutics, Whole Biome, 4D Pharma, Symbiotix Therapies, Phi Therapeutics, Synlogic, and Biospherex LLC.Request to View Discount About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Corporate Wellness Market: to gain by 2024

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Corporate Wellness Market: SnapshotThe corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific is predominantly driven by the increasing prevalence of obesity, the growing number of smokers, and the rising awareness levels among employers about corporate wellness. The number of key players entering the market is increasing consistently owing to the high demand for corporate wellness services in multinational companies and mid-sized firms. The market in the region was valued at US$3.4 bn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$7.4 bn by the end of 2024. If these values hold true, the corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to register a strong CAGR of 9.0% during the forecast period.Download PDF Brochure of Report:Immense Scope for Growth offered by Smoking Cessation ProgramsVarious services are available under corporate wellness programs, such as health risk assessment (HRA), fitness, smoking cessation, health screening, weight management, nutrition, and others, including stress management, diabetes management, and vaccination.The fitness segment took the lead in the corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific in 2015 owing to the rising incidence of chronic diseases, increasing medical cost related to obesity, and the growing awareness about health and fitness among the population of various countries.On the other hand, the smoking cessation segment is projected to expand at an impressive CAGR during the forecast period. An estimated 5.8 trillion cigarettes were consumed globally in 2014 and the consumption is still on the rise. China ranks first in the top ten countries in terms of cigarette consumption. This list also includes other countries in Asia Pacific such as Indonesia, Japan, India, and South Korea.Request to View Sample of Report Strong Government Support Contributing to Japans Corporate Wellness MarketChina led the corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific in 2015 and the market in the country is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 9.1% from 2016 to 2024 owing to the increased development and high adoption of wellness programs. Changing lifestyles, an increase in the incidence of chronic diseases, rapid economic development, and large-scale urbanization are some of the other factors responsible for the growth of the corporate wellness market in China. A large number of public and private players have been providing corporate wellness services in China.Japan is also a prominent market for corporate wellness in Asia Pacific and is likely to remain a key contributor to the APAC market primarily due to the amendments in Japans Industrial Safety and Health Act in December 2015. According to the law, health checkups are mandatory for workers and employees. This is likely to drive the corporate wellness market in Japan during the forecast period. Moreover, sufficient government support to address the issue of employee health in a clear and effective manner has created a demand for corporate wellness programs in the country.Another lucrative market for corporate wellness in Asia Pacific is India. The rising number of corporate enterprises in the country is significant to the growth of the corporate wellness market. The willingness among corporate organizations to conduct wellness programs, the growing awareness among individuals about health and well-being, and the increasing incidence of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart attacks are expected to accelerate the growth of the corporate wellness market in India.Key players operating in the corporate wellness market in Asia Pacific include Central Corporate Wellness, ComPsych Corporation, Optum, Inc., JLT Australia (Recovre Group), Truworth Wellness, SOL Wellness, Sodexo, ConneXions Asia, and Bupa Wellness Pty Ltd.Request to View Discount About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices Market to Witness Widespread Expansion by 2019

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A new Transparency Market Research report states that the global Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices Market was valued at US$12.3 bn in 2012 and is predicted to reach US$19.6 bn by 2019. It is expected to expand at a CAGR of 6.90% between 2013 and 2019. The title of the report is Elderly and Disabled Assistive Devices Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019.As per the report, the increasing disabled population and geriatric population, rising funding by governments, and launch of new cutting-edge products including powered wheelchairs, implants, sensor-based door openers, and portable reading machines have fuelled the market for elderly and disabled assistive devices. On the other hand, the expansion of the market may be inhibited in the coming years due to rising product prices. For instance, advanced hearing aids such as bone anchored aids cost about US$10,000 per device at present.The report segments the elderly and disabled assistive devices market on the basis of type, product, and geography.Request to View Sample of Report -On the basis of type, the market is segmented into medical mobility aids and ambulatory devices and medical furniture and bathroom safety products. Medical mobility aids and ambulatory devices include mobility scooters, wheelchairs, cranes and crutches, transfer lifts, door openers, walkers and rollators, and others including pillows, back supports, and cushions.On the other hand, medical furniture and bathroom safety products include medical beds, ostomy products, bars and railings, commodes and shower chairs, and others including pool lifts, bath lifts, hearing aids, and vision and reading aids. Hearing aids are further segmented into receiver-in-the-ear (RITE) aids, in-theear (ITE) aids, behind-the-ear (BTE) aids, cochlear implants, and bone anchored hearing aids. Vision and reading aids are further segmented into reading machines, braille translators, video magnifiers, and others including kitchen appliances and books.Request to View Brochure of Report -Amongst these types, in 2012, the segment of hearing aids held the biggest share in the elderly and disabled assistive devices market. This is owing to the huge number of people suffering from hearing impairments. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 5% of the population of the world suffers from hearing loss. On the other hand, the segment of medical mobility aids and ambulatory devices is the second biggest segment and is predicted to exhibit expeditious growth in the forecast horizon.On the basis of geography, the market is segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Amongst these, in 2012, North America held the biggest share in the elderly and disabled assistive devices market. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is expected to experience the highest growth rate during the forecast horizon and is predicted to rise at a 6.0% CAGR. This is due to the rise in the disabled and elderly population, increasing disposable incomes, and rise in government funding.According to the report, the prominent players dominant in the market include William Demant Holding A/S, Sonova Holding AG, Sunrise Medical LLC, Invacare Corporation, Ai Squared, and GN ReSound Group, among others.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Grow Light Market: Pin-Point Analysis For Changing Competitive Dynamics

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A grow light is an electric lamp that operates as an artificial light source used to stimulate plant growth. Grow lights emit electromagnetic radiation in the evident light spectrum to simulate the process of photosynthesis, which is vital for the plant growth. It is very useful in the places where the amount of natural light is insufficient to support the plant growth.According to the report, the grow light market is expected to reach US$ 6,596.0 Mn by 2025 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 8.46% during the period from 2017 to 2025.global grow light marketLED Lights to Witness Most Promising Demand GloballyThe grow light market is segmented on the basis of technology and application. On the basis of technology, the grow light market is segmented into LED, fluorescent, high intensity discharge (HID), and others. Others include plasma and induction grow light. LED grow light is expected to grow at a significant growth rate during forecast period, owing to the many advantages including less energy consumption, increased lifetime, and many more.Get PDF Sample of the Report @Furthermore, LED grow light precisely mimics the spectrum of light required for the plant growth. LED grow light provide a balanced and broad spectrum of light for the plant growth. Additionally, many LED grow lights have a built in switch to swap the vegetative and flowering growth cycles of the plant with ease.On the basis of application, the grow light market is segmented into indoor farming, vertical farming, greenhouse, research, turf, and others. Others segment includes grow light used for the growth of landscape plant and plant in space. Indoor farming is expected to hold a higher market share, owing to the significantly booming indoor farming industry around the world.Indoor farming is used to fuel the local food supplies by growing vegetables under the atmosphere, which is completely controlled and healthy. Indoor farming uses an artificial or grow lighting to provide sufficient amount of light to the plants, which they would only get when grown outdoors.Get TOC of This Report @Europe to Remain Key Consumer of Grow Lighting SystemsEurope is the major contributor to the global grow light market. The presence of major industry players, growing urban farming practices, and increasing adoption of the grow lighting for the growth of vegetables, fruits, flowers and many more is expected to drive the market in this region. The higher revenue share in Europe is accountable from the countries namely UK, and the Netherlands.Furthermore, horticulture is very significant across the European region especially in the Netherlands that results in the proliferation of well-established companies providing grow lighting solutions and components. These well-established players include Philips Lighting, Lumileds Holding B.V, Heliospectra AB, and OSRMA Licht Group.North America is the second largest region in terms of market share owing to growing adoption of grow lights by large number of indoor and vertical farmers across the region. Furthermore, the higher market share across North America is mainly due to the rise in the indoor farming practices and the cultivation of the medical marijuana. The higher revenue in North America is accountable from the U.S. and Canada.View Report@Additionally, it is a home to some of the well-known players providing grow lighting solutions such as LumiGrow Inc., General Electric Company, and many more. Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a significant rate during the forecast period. The growth in Asia Pacific region is accountable from the countries such as India and China. Additionally, this growth is attributed to the growing use of grow light by the increasing vertical farming industry across the region.The key players operating in the global grow light market profiled in this report include LumiGrow Inc., Philips Lighting, General Electric Company, Lumileds Holding B.V, Fluence Bioengineering, Inc., Heliospectra AB, Gavita International B.V., Illumitex, OSRAM Licht Group, and Sunlight Supply, Inc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:Research Blog:
Hospital-acquired Pneumonia Drugs Market: to reach over by 2020

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Hospital-acquired Pneumonia Drugs Market: OverviewNosocomial or hospital acquired infections have created numerous complications for patients in hospitals throughout the world, as these infections are caused by multidrug resistant microorganisms, the recuperation of a patient is drastically reduced and accompanied by several comorbidities. Being multidrug resistant, these organisms are immune to the conventional antibiotics hence difficult to treat. Pneumonia is one of the prominent infections caused in hospital premises. Cases of hospital acquired pneumonia are common in immunocompromised patients, post surgical infections, enteral feeding, elderly and infant patients. As hospital acquired pneumonia is mainly caused as a result of prolonged exposure to ventilator air, it is also called as ventilator associated pneumonia. Major causative pathogens include methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA), multi drug resistant (MDR) P. aeruginosa, Klebsiella and Acinetobacter. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has also been found to be a major causative agent of nosocomial pneumonia in new borne.Request to View Sample of the Report Currently there are four drugs authorized for treatment of hospital acquired pneumonia; these include Zosyn (piperacillin/tazobactam), Zyvox (linezolid), Tygacil (tigecycline), and Vibativ (telavancin). Consistent research and development is being conducted in view of introducing more effective treatment options. There are five investigational drugs and one vaccine in stage III clinical trials, while ten other candidates in early stage, which mainly include biological drugs.Request to View Brochure of the Report Tedizolid phosphate and ceftolozane/tazobactam by Cubist Pharmaceutical, ceftazidime/avibactam by AstraZeneca PLC, amikacin inhale by Bayer Healthcare, plazomicin by Achaogen, Inc. and Synflorix by GlaxoSmithKline are the phase III candidates. Considering the antibacterial efficiency, and current market competition, tedizolid phosphate is expected to be the most preferred drug for treatment of nosocomial pneumonia. Amikacin inhale, an aerosolized drug is intended for sale as a drug device combination. Majority of the drugs in the late stages are biological drugs. Aridis Pharmaceutical holds four investigational drugs against various causative agents of hospital acquired pneumonia, each being monoclonal antibody therapy.Request For Discount On This Report:Key companies in the market include Achaogen, Inc., Aridis Pharmaceutical, AstraZeneca PLC, Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd., Bayer Healthcare, Cubist Pharmaceutical, GlaxoSmithKline, Meiji Seika Pharma Co., Ltd., Merck & Co., and Valneva SE.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Equine Healthcare Market Size will Observe Substantial Growth by 2025

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Owing to the large number of companies manufacturing the same product varieties, the vendor landscape of the global Equine Healthcare Market has become largely fragmented and highly competitive, observes Transparency Market Research in a recent report. Companies can benefit from putting an increased emphasis on geographical expansion and targeting regional markets with promising growth opportunities such as Asia Pacific.Some of the leading players operating in the global are Bayer AG (Bayer Animal Health), Boehringer Ingelheim, Ceva Sante Animale , Eli Lilly and Company (Elanco) , EQUINE PRODUCTS UK LTD , Merck & Co. (Merck Animal Health), Sanofi (Merial), Purina Animal Nutrition LLC., Vetoquinol S.A. and Zoetis.According to the report, the global equine healthcare market was valued at US$601.7 mn in 2016 and is expected to register a CAGR of 4.2% from 2017 to 2025, rising to an estimated valuation of US$862.7 mn in 2025.Request to View Sample of Report -Veterinary Hospitals and Clinics to Remain Most Preferred Distribution Channels for Equine Healthcare ProductsOf the key distribution channels that supply equine healthcare products, the segment of veterinary hospitals and clinics is estimated to hold the dominant share in the overall market in 2016 owing to the vast availability of drugs and vaccines. Owing to the emerging trend of dispensing of equine healthcare products through pharmacists, the market share of the retail pharmacies and drugs stores is also expected to grow during forecast period.Geographically, the market in North America accounted for the dominant sharer in the global market in 2016 and is likely to witness a vast surge in its valuation by the end of the reports forecast period. The highly popular trend of horse riding among adults in North America and the steadily expanding equestrian industry owing to the high popularity of horse riding in the region are expected to continue to drive the regional market for equine healthcare.Request to View Brochure of Report -Rising Growth Opportunities in China and Australia to Remain Key to Global Market DevelopmentThe global equine healthcare market is driven by the trend of horse-racing that refuses to die down across a number of countries despite several regulations by governments, high incidence of equine infections, and global animal health development management programs. While a large number of horse-owners across regions such as Europe and North America are showing waning interests in joining equine shows, events, and racing, increased focus on raising high quality breeds of horses to cash in on the high returns opportunity by exporting them to locations such as China could act as a driver for the market.Rising per capita incomes, increased expenditure on animal healthcare, and the reviving horse racing industries in countries across Asia Pacific is also likely to have a positive impact on the global equine healthcare market in the near future. China has been expanding the capacity of equine industry and investing in horse racing by importing high quality breeds from other countries. Thus China can emerge as a leading market for equine healthcare products, as large volumes of nutritional supplements, drugs, and vaccines are needed for race horses. Moreover, the highest animal healthcare expenditure in Australia also makes it one of the key driving forces for the global equine healthcare market.View Report -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Disc Packaging Wallets Market: Pin-Point Analysis For Changing Competitive Dynamics

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Disc packaging wallets are compact disc protection solutions. Compact discs being extremely delicate, require protection from water, chemicals, tear, and other varieties of physical damage. Disc packaging wallets are packaging solutions that can contain more than one compact discs. Disc packaging wallets enjoyed wide usage about until a decade ago, after which, a decline was witnessed.This was due to the rise of alternative storage devices such as external hard drives, which could store more than what is achievable with the help of a compact disc. Despite that, a significant amount of todays population use compact discs. The packaging industry has undergone rapid transformation in the last decade, with consumer preference inclining more towards convenient packaging solutions.Disc packaging wallets manufacturers emphasize on features such as compatibility with full color printing, to create a vibrant look. Also, competition among manufacturers have led them to prefer raw materials with special features, such as anti-static properties. Factors which contribute to high preference for disc packaging wallets is their ability to pack more than one compact discs, without compromising on safety and protection against damage.Get Report DetailsThe global disc packaging wallets market is poised to decline further over the forecast period, due to increase in the number of people with access to internet. However, manufacturers of disc packaging wallets across the world are expected to use the opportunity to increase their presence in regions with limited or no internet access.The global compact disc market has witnessed a steady decline in the last decade. However, it would be too early to term compact discs obsolete. Several companies use compact discs as a means to communicate media to target buyers, by placing them in places with high foot traffic, such as pharmacies, retail stores and supermarkets, among others. This is one of the key factors expected to generate demand for disc packaging wallets, over the forecast period.Obtain BrochureThe global disc packaging wallets market is expected to have more penetration in regions with least internet access. According to a survey by International Telecommunications Union in 2016, nearly 47% of the world population had internet access. Of these, internet enjoyed more than 80% penetration in the developed countries, while the figure was half, in developing regions.Therefore, the developing countries are expected to be at the epicenter of marketing strategies for compact disc manufacturers and disc packaging wallets manufacturers. The global disc packaging wallets market is also expected to be driven by demand for music albums worldwide. They are mostly used to contain a full music album, or a collection of compact discs.Obtain Table of ContentA key factor for high preference for disc packaging wallets is their portability. Disc packaging wallets are manufactured in a variety of configurations, all of which are aimed at increasing convenience as well as maximize disc protection. In 2015, more than 80% of the revenues generated from music sales in Japan, were in compact disc format. Therefore, in terms of penetration, disc packaging wallets enjoy higher demand in Japan.Despite the decline, the global disc packaging wallets market manufacturers are expected to target the internet deprived population, over the forecast period. Availability of alternative disc packaging solutions such as disc packaging sleeves, might hamper growth of the global disc packaging wallets market.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Tuesday 15 May 2018 11:08am



St Francis Xavier School Principal Carmel Jolly and Catchments Otago Project Leader Dr Cynthia Winkworth.



Peripatus (Velvet Worm). Photo: University of Otago Department of Zoology.

Researchers from Catchments Otago  a University of Otago Research Theme  are embarking on a year-long study with three Dunedin primary schools into the mysterious ancient velvet worm  peripatus  thanks to a $20,000 grant from the from the Ministry for Business Innovation and Employments Participatory Science Platform (PSP).

Sounding like a villain in a childs fantasy (or perhaps horror) story, peripatus emerges at night and shoots its insect prey with poisonous spit before devouring them. In 2011 the Dunedin peripatus  labelled vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature  brought the Caversham motorway development to a grinding halt, as the worms known habitat stood in the proposed roadways path.

A subsequent study assessing peripatus habitats across different urban landscapes identified key factors for assisting conservation efforts. However, Dr Cynthia Winkworth from Catchments Otago says questions still need to be answered regarding how widespread are peripatus across Dunedin, and do habitats best for peripatus also show the highest invertebrate biodiversity.

For conservation efforts to be successful, you need to have good baseline information about your organism, like where it lives and why it chooses to live there. What factors make one habitat more desirable over another? says Dr Winkworth.

Primary students from Green Island, St Francis Xavier and Abbotsford Schools will assess urban Dunedin greenspaces for key peripatus habitat factors and overall invertebrate biodiversity, and compare these sites to their own school grounds. Working with the scientists from Catchments Otago (University of Otago) and the Otago Museum, the children will identify habitat features Dunedin peripatus prefer that also show the highest invertebrate biodiversity. The children will work to create such habitats on their school grounds and also produce flyers using their results to show others how to create peripatus-friendly habitats at home.

This is a fantastic opportunity for some of our children to roll up their sleeves and get involved in some real science. This is a win-win as we will be helping to preserve the peripatus in our city, and pupils will be gaining real-world scientific experiences and knowledge, Steve Hayward, Green Island Principal, says.

For further information, contact:

Dr Cynthia Winkworth

Associate Research Fellow

Catchments Otago

University of Otago

Email cynthia.winkworth@otago.ac.nz

Mark Hathaway

Senior Communications Adviser

University of Otago

Mob 021 279 5016

Email mark.hathaway@otago.ac.nz
Goose Creek, SC (29445)

Today

Mostly cloudy...isolated thunderstorms developing this afternoon. High 76F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Mainly cloudy. Low 64F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Individuals aged 50 and over are invited aboard a Saginaw Valley State University organization-sponsored 15-day guided cruise and tour across the Adriatic Sea and Eastern Europe next winter.

SVSUs Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which offers educational programs and trips to its membership of individuals aged 50 and over, will sponsor the overseas trek from Feb. 26 to March 12, 2019. Individuals who are not members of OLLI are invited on the trip, which includes a boat cruise and land-bound tours to historic and scenic sites across Bosnia, Croatia, Herzegovina and Montenegro.

This is a very unique opportunity that not everyone is going to have on their bucket list  but they should, said Shelley Wegner, associate director of OLLI. There is so much to see. So much natural beauty and history.

To prime those individuals unfamiliar with the region and its history, OLLI this week will invite an expert to speak on the topic at SVSU. Mindy Morgan, an associate professor of anthropology at Michigan State University, will visit SVSU at 5 p.m Wednesday, May 16 in Curtiss Hall, room 129.

She will discuss the language, culture, cuisine and geography of Croatia and the Dalmatian Coast region. Wegner encouraged individuals considering the trip to attend Morgans talk, which is free and open to the public.

While typically only members are able to attend OLLI-sponsored trips, the unique destination of Eastern Europe led OLLI leaders to offer the opportunity to anyone over 50.

Tickets range from $4,585 to $4,885, which includes costs relating to travel, lodging and most meals. Cancellation insurance is available.

The trip plan includes spots for 50 people. Once overseas, the travelers will split into two guided tour groups of 25 people.

Even though it is a group tour, we want to keep it small enough that it will be an intimate experience for all involved, Wegner said.

The trip will begin when the group departs from SVSU to Detroit Metropolitan Airport for an overnight flight to Zagreb, Croatia. Upon arrival, the group will meet with the guided tour director and stay one night in a hotel before boarding the cruise ship on the Adriatic Sea the following morning.

Once the cruise sets sail, the vessel will dock at various spots along the western coasts of Montenegro and Croatia, where members will view sites such as the waterfalls and canyons of the Krka National Park as well as the historical monument of the Imperial Palace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.

After spending 11 nights aboard the ship and exploring several countries, the last two nights of the vacation will be spent in a hotel in Istria, Croatia.

There is plenty of time built into the schedule for people to explore on their own, Wegner said. Whether its shopping or taking in the local sites, there is free time and you dont always have to do whats on the itinerary."

OLLI leaders said the trip will involve walking up to 3 miles and include between six to eight hours of activity daily.

OLLI organized the trip through Grand Circle Travel, a Boston-based travel agency.

Those interested in learning more can visit the OLLI office at SVSU in Curtiss Hall, room 111, or contact the office at 989-964-4475 or olli@svsu.edu. Detailed print brochures for the trip are available.
Jessica Alba took to social media to express her thoughts on motherhood and opened up on the challenges, joys, and heartache of being a mother of three.

Motherhood According To Jessica

Alba commemorated Mother's Day by sharing an adorable photo of herself with her three kids on her Instagram on Saturday, May 12. The actress is a mother to daughters Honor Marie, 9, and Haven Garner, 6, with husband Cash Warren. The couple also recently welcomed a baby boy to the family on Dec. 31.

She captioned the shot with a touching message about motherhood. She first opened up on the struggles that come with being a mother or a parent.

"Motherhood: it's a doozy, isn't it? Your world gets turned completely upside down," Alba wrote.

The 37-year-old actress talked about how motherhood turns the most mundane things into "the greatest luxuries." These include eating, sleeping, and sitting down to eat an actual meal. Alba then reflected on how being a mother has changed her and her perception of love. She said motherhood brings a certain kind of heartache.

"Little people change you. To love and need someone that much and have them love and need you just as much...it's the best and hardest and most heartbreaking thing there is," Alba added.

Cherish The Moments

The Honest Co. co-founder then reflected on how time flies by so fast because her eldest child is almost 10 years old. Alba admitted that it is a heartache knowing that she does not need her as much as she used to. The actress then reminded herself and other mothers out there about cherishing every moment with their children because time is so fleeting and they grow up so fast. Having this in mind is a reminder for her to be present and cherish "every messy moment," including "every tantrum, every tired cry."

Alba also opened up about being a perfectionist when she first became a mom. However, as time goes by she has learned to accept that motherhood can be challenging. The Fantastic Four star ended her Mother's Day post with a reminder that motherhood is not going to be perfect but applauded moms for doing an amazing job at it.

For Mother's Day, Alba celebrated the holiday with a slumber party with her daughters in their living room. She also took her son out for a walk and made sure to thank her husband for the bouquet of roses that he gave.

Aside from being a hands-on mom, Alba also makes sure to spend time with Warren. She said it is important for them to have some "us" time so she tries to get home from work early for bath time and to put the kids to bed. Then she sits down with him over dinner and they talk about their day.
Nicole Smith-Holt of Richfield, Minnesota spent the eve of Mother's Day on the steps of the Minnesota Capitol and rallied against the increasing prices of prescription medicines including the diabetes drug insulin, an epidemic that killed her son Alec Smith.

Insulin Price Surge

Smith-Holt joined other protestors in what has been billed as the Insulin Day of Action to call on lawmakers to lower the prices of insulin and other prescription drugs in the United States, which has skyrocketed by 100 percent in the past 10 years. Joined by her husband James, the bereaved mother called for a legislation that would prevent excessive price increases for medications needed for Americans to survive, including insulin and epinephrine allergy injections.

"I thought it was only fitting that I'd spend my day doing the things he loved to do to make me happy," Smith-Holt said of her son, whom she said died from lack of insulin.

Alec Smith died at the age of 26 in his Minneapolis apartment on June 27 just weeks after aging out of his parents' insurance coverage. An autopsy revealed that he died from a critical shortage of insulin called diabetic ketoacidosis. He was unable to afford the $1,300 refill on his own so begun rationing diabetes medication until his next paycheck without his parents' knowledge.

Mother's Day

This is the first time that Smith-Hold celebrated Mother's Day without her son. She admitted that it is heartbreaking since he would always spend the day with her. She recalled that Alec would always show up at her job to bring her a bouquet of flowers or take her out for dinner on Mother's Day.

"I should be with my son. I should not have had to bury him at such a young age. No one should have to bury a child," the anguished mother said.

The rally came after President Donald Trump unveiled his plan to lower the medication prices with a focus on private competition instead of under Medicare. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar criticized the president's plan for not doing enough negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry.

Klobuchar said that Alec's story is not isolated. She also vowed to help Smith-Holt and the others in their plight to lower the prices of pharmaceutical medicines.

"The pharmaceutical companies own Washington. We're not going to take this anymore. We're going to stand up against the drug companies," Klobuchar said.
The fact is, gentlemen, it seems there must really exist something that is dearer to almost every man than his greatest advantages  which is more important and more advantageous than all other advantages, for the sake of which a man if necessary is ready to act in opposition to all laws; that is, in opposition to reason, honor, peace, prosperityin fact, in opposition to all those excellent and useful things if only he can attain that fundamental, most advantageous advantage which is dearer to him than all.

-Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes from Undergound

First, I apologize for the Dostoevsky. I mean no assholery, and I ask you to just bear with me for the next few paragraphs while I set this thing up. Because the question the great Russian writer wrestles with in Notes from Underground (which is short enough to actually finish) suddenly matters a great deal to us now. This week, even.

The question he asks is this: Whats a human beings most advantageous advantage? That is, whats our ace in the hole? Our existential H-bomb? To Dostoevsky, it turns out its as simple as Im taking my ball and going home. As simple as saying Id prefer not to to literally everything. As simple as suicide.

In other words, its free choice. Our unlimited and unfettered freedom to choose is the advantage against which all systems and theories are continually being shattered to atoms. And when you follow this to its conclusion, it means that at your very weakest moment you still have your hydrogen bomb, your greatest power and one that no one can ever take from you: Your freedom to be irrational, the freedom to act even against your own interests, if thats what it takes to preserve your independence.

We like to think were rational creatures, but were not. We dont want rational choice. What man wants is simply INDEPENDENT choice, Dostoevsky says, whatever that independence may cost and wherever it may lead. And choice, of course, the devil only knows what choice.

Actually, who needs Dostoevsky when youve got Shel Silverstein? He makes basically the same point:

Now I lay me down to sleep

I pray thee Lord my soul to keep

But if I die before I wake

I pray thee Lord my toys to break

So none of the other kids can use em.

You see where this is going, right?

Last week Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran deal. If it wasnt clear by now, that should have done it: This is the weakest America has been in decades, or at least as far as I can remember. Id argue its the weakest weve been going all the way back to the Great Depression. Weve sloughed off our global superpower cape and were going back to our job at the Daily Planet, which is now a propagandizing subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting. Even if Trump recognizes that we need to take part in the world to stay on the top of the world  which Im not sure he does  he doesnt want that. Trump, and the people who put him in power, dont want rationality. They want independence.

Problem is that were so interconnected that the only way we can achieve independence is to break away from everything. And you dont strengthen a system by pulling out of it, and you cant make a bad system better if youre not a part of it.

Trump isnt an isolationist. Hes a segregationist. Or as Dostoevsky might point out, a suicidal segregationist. He acts with extreme and irrational prejudice, with the destructive desperation of a person too weak and inept to build a system that works in his favor. If this isnt clear to you yet, lets just look at one case in point: Iran.

It wasnt a perfect deal, but it was the product of seven years of negotiations between not just Obama and Iran, but between many leaders from many countries. It was only made possible by some insane sanctions that didnt just come from the U.S., but from the international community, whom we convinced to work with us. The deal went through the U.N., and somehow we even got Russia and China on board.

But contrary to what Trump says, it wasnt a good deal for Iran, either. Many Iranians think it was a bad deal for them, and a good deal for us. Our withdrawal, then, will empower the extreme factions in Iran who never trusted the U.S., and will give more weight to their argument that its time to break out and build the bomb.

But regardless of where you stand on the deal, segregation doesnt help. We cant improve it by pulling out of it. In fact, pulling out of it accomplished the very thing Trump and company were so upset about in the first place: The deal had an expiration date, 2028. Trump bumped that the expiration date up a decade. For some reason.

Well, per Dostoevsky: It was an act of predictable and desperate irrationality from a frustrated and weak man with no other ideasexcept to undo stuff Obama did.

Of course, this idea of extreme free choice is fine in theory, especially on an individual level. Romantic even. But when it comes to something like war? My god. Its insane: Trump has no backup plan here, beyond, of course, reinstating sanctions. (Ironically, that was Obamas plan.) But sanctions wont work now for three reasons. First, wed have to sanction our allies, which will cause problems for global markets and our own economy. Second, Iran wont want to negotiate with us because they wouldnt trust Trump to stick to a deal. And third, wed just be rolling the clock back to 2009, when we used sanctions to bring Iran to the table the first time. Problem here is, it wasnt our sanctions that got them talking  it was only the combined pressure of sanctions from the most powerful economies in the world that made Iran say uncle.

In other words, Trump just made us weaker. He also just made the sandcastle-stable Middle East even shakier, and well be less equipped to shore it up when the time comes.

The Saturday before Trump dumped the deal, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a full withdrawal might well destabilize the region and lead to war. The day after Trump pulled out of the agreement, Iranian forces in Syria reportedly launched a rocket attack on Israels Golan Heights. Israel responded with strikes they claimed took out most of Irans military infrastructure in Syria.

This is a big deal because Israel has been pounding Iranian targets in Syria for a long time, having since 2012 reportedly launched more than 100 rocket, missile, and airborne attacks. But until now Iran has nevernot oncefired back at Israel. But now the proxy war the two countries have fought for years in the shadow of the Syrian conflict is out in the open, and the timing isnt coincidental.

As Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, put it to Vanity Fair, I am sure a part of the reason [the Iranians never responded] is that they dont want to give the Americans any reason to leave the deal. Now that [the Americans] have done so, I assume that the gloves are off for the Iranians, and it makes mutual military escalation between the Israelis and the Iranians much more likely.

Compounding the chances of region-wide conflict, the Saudis vowed to start a nuclear weapons program (i.e., buy weapons from the Trump administration) if Iran were to restart its program. And though the Iranian Foreign Minister said that Iran will negotiate with the remaining members of the deal, he also said Iran is prepared to restart its program.

In other words, these incentives could combine to trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Except now we can do exactly nothing to stop it, save taking military action, which an agreement is designed to prevent in the first place. Trump says he wants a deal, which means hed prefer peace to war. But in irrationally scrapping the deal entirely, he set the table for war.

And now we see another way this weakened the United States:

The fact that we left the deal made it much more difficult, if not impossible, for the U.S. to do anything about military or nuclear escalation short of taking military action ourselves, or materially supporting such action from the Israelis or Saudis. In other words, were at the mercy of the interests, will, and whim of other countries. We cant negotiate a peace because we have no bargaining chips to negotiate with anymore (beyond bombs). Does Trump believe we can starve a mistrustful Iran into accepting a new, more austere deal, while at the same time theyre under new threats from our allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia? Those things oppose each other, and Iran, Israel, and Saudi Arabia will all just tell us to GTFO. If they want war, were now responsible for war.

In the name of appearing tough on Iran, Trump made it impossible to be tough on Iran. Were at the mercy of hardline governments in Israel and Saudi Arabia who believewith good reason, thanks to usthat Iran is now likely to restart its nuclear program. Theyll use this as a reason to pre-emptively attack, or acquire their own nukes, which will provoke Iran, etc etc. And the Israelis and Saudisnow with the understanding that wed be responsible for supporting them, and with no diplomatic recourse available to anyonewould have every incentive to use force. Backed, as they assuredly would be, by the mighty United States military.

A mighty military which, given the scope here, would probably be backed by the mighty U.S. military draft.

Retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark noted the same thing, writing that Israel has several times sought U.S. help, or at least U.S. support and backup in striking Irans nuclear program. Under the Obama Administration, the answer was, No. Under President Trump, and with the emerging condominium of interests between the Saudis and the Israelis, the possibility of war between Israel and Iran is rising President Trumps actions in quitting the Iran accord would place a large share of the responsibility on the United States, increasing the likelihood that the U.S. would, in fact, support and reinforce Israel. He added, I dont believe that Donald Trump wants war.

But it doesnt matter whether Trump wants war. By pulling out of the Iran deal hes created the basic conditions for one, and hes neutered our ability to influence those conditions. After all, everyone has their own most advantageous advantage, including Iran and Israel. The Iranians once had incentive to behave because they didnt want to tank the nuclear accord, but when we tanked it on our own it threw off the regional balance of power. The U.S. understandably doesnt want to be in charge of war in the Middle East, but we just made it clear that we dont want to be in charge of peace, either.

Thats troubling, because if not us, someone will take advantage of the opportunity to assume leadership. And that someone will be China.

Trumps abdication of the Iran deal gives China the opportunity to push us away from Europe in a key region, secure oil and trade, and demonstrate capable leadership. It also gives them the upper hand in any peace negotiations with North Korea, which Trump tried to solve by threatening nuclear war. That didnt bring Kim Jong Un to the table: The opportunity to partner with China and push us out of East Asia did.

Hopefully its becoming clear that the way to stay on top of the world is to work with the world to shape it in our image. To put it in harsh realistic terms, we should be rigging the system, albeit in an ultimately benevolent way. When we remove ourselves, we lose the support of others, which weakens us. More importantly, we also weaken the international system, creating a vacuum another country will exploit with its own leadership and economic model. That country will shape the world to its own benefitin other words, they will screw us.

If we isolate ourselves diplomatically and economically, the only thing we could do to shut such a challenger down is fight a war. Thats the last resort of countries who are in too weak a position to get what they want any other way.

But theres good news: The American public doesnt have the appetite for a war, and despite the newly empowered hawks, I dont think Congress will lead us into war in the Middle East. Well let other people handle it, and in the process quietly give up the crown.

In other words, the end for Trumps belligerent isolationism will be a whimper, not a bang.

Think we can just turn inward? Well.

Look what else Trump has pulled out of:

He pulled out of the TPP. He pulled out of the Paris climate accord. He promised to pull out of NAFTA, and likely will find some way to do it. His commitments to international organizations such as NATO and the U.N.and even to our domestic international relations organization, the State Departmentare pretty much in name only. Hes threatened trade wars with who knows how many countries, including our closest trading partners and allies. His commitment to our military, however, is, as Im sure he imagines, the stuff of poetry. And its no coincidence that military action is by definition antagonistic, not cooperative.

Its the same pattern at home: Trump is rending the fabric of our government and society. Hes dismantling the EPA, shredding social safety nets, chipping away at health care and the public school system. Hes also attacking our own international community by inspiring xenophobia, arresting as many foreign people as he can, and stopping as many from coming here as he can. Hes literally building walls. He has empowered homophobes, white nationalists, Nazis, sovereignists, and constitutionalists such as Sheriff Joe Arpaiopeople who literally believe that sheriffs can independently override the federal court system. Which is anti-constitutional. And Trump pardoned Arpaio, overriding a federal court himself mere weeks after that court found Arpaio guilty of, yes, violating the constitution.

Trump regularly attacks our own institutions: The intelligence community, congress, political parties, diplomats, the media. He actively undermines our law enforcement leadership while at the same time lionizing the police with a not-exactly-subtle racist (i.e., isolationist and segregationist) subtext.

What about the economy? The tax bill Trump passed will in the short term inspire some hiring, but will ultimately starve the government of revenue and in so doing explode the deficit and increase the national debt. That bill, and other pervasive and perverse pro-corporate policies, will drive deeper the wedge of wealth that has already fractured American society. See the stock market going up? Those profits dont go to regular Americans. Almost all of it goes to the top.

And sure weve got low unemployment, but what about underemployment? Thats a segregating force as well, along class lines. The economy is in a strong phase, but recessions and depressions are unavoidable. By segregating ourselves from the rest of the world we also lose the strength of mutually beneficial partnerships. If and when something goes wrong, we will lose control over the global economy and, after a long and painful recovery, we will be replaced.

Trump, in the span of a year, has transformed the United States into a target.

Is it our fault? Yes. Is it reversible? Who knows. Is it predictable? Yes, as our old friend Fyodor knew:

I, for instance, would not be in the least surprised if all of a sudden, A PROPOS of nothing, in the midst of general prosperity a gentleman with an ignoble, or rather with a reactionary and ironical, countenance were to arise and, putting his arms akimbo, say to us all: I say, gentlemen, hadnt we better kick over the whole show and scatter rationalism to the winds, simply to send these logarithms to the devil, and to enable us to live once more at our own sweet foolish will! That again would not matter, but what is annoying is that he would be sure to find followers  such is the nature of man.
Israel is in my Passport, but is it in Me?

By Emily Matchar

Taking advantage of a free trip to Israel, a casual American Jew encounters pressure, pleasure, and the conundrum of marrying outside the tribe.





Flickr photo by Orin

Just hours after landing in Tel Aviv, all 300 of us were sitting in the fluorescent-lit conference room of a 1970s-era hotel in the Judean Hills, listening to a man named Momo talk about love.

"This trip is a gift," said Momo. "All we ask in return is that you fall in love with Israel, you fall in love with a Jew, you marry Jewish, you make Jewish babies, you make aliyah and move to Israel. Is that so much to ask?"

I snorted. Was this guy serious?

Momo was Shlomo "Momo" Lifshitz, a retired IDF officer and president of Birthright Israel, an organization designed to introduce young American Jews to the homeland. With a bald head, linebacker's build and gruff, Israeli-accented baritone, Momo's had what you might call "stage presence." Much of the audience seemed rapt by his words. Or maybe that was the jetlag.

I was 24 years old and visiting Israel for the first time on a free Birthright Israel trip. Though as a travel writer I was used to traveling alone and often by the seat of my pants, I wasn't one to turn down a free trip to a new foreign country, even if it meant traveling on a tour bus with a strict minute-to-minute itinerary.

But I wasn't counting on all the love and marriage and move-to-Israel talk. Apparently, I should have known  Birthright Israel is often jokingly referred to as "Birthrate Israel" because so many former trip participants (there are some 250,000 alums) go on to marry and eventually procreate with each other.

As a non-religious North Carolina-raised Jew who hadn't seen the inside of a synagogue in years, the very idea of "marry within the tribe" or "Israel-as-homeland" seemed the antithesis of all my liberal multicultural values. In fact, when I left for Israel, I'd recently begun dating an a non-Jewish grad student, a blue-eyed, blond-haired son of the American West whose forbearers had trekked across the country on covered wagons nearly a century before my ancestors fled the shtetls of Galicia. It had only been a few months, but I thought there might be something special there.

The day after Momo's speech, I filed into a bus with two dozen or so other twenty-somethings, and set out to see the country. And within a few days, I began to wonder if there was something wrong with me; despite our group leader's strenuous efforts, I wasn't falling in love with Israel.

At a kibbutz in the Galilee, I rolled my eyes through a group bonding exercise which involved trying to cross a moat with a rope. In Tel Aviv, I yawned through what was meant to be a rousing lecture on Israeli history and foreign policy. In Eilat, the "Vegas of Israel," I sat bored in the corner of a cheesy bar while Israelis dressed like Gucci models gyrated on the dance floor. In Jerusalem, our tour leader yelled at me for straying from the pack for a minute to buy a disposable camera from a street vendor. Somewhere along a stretch of desert highway, I rolled my eyes as the boy behind me on the bus began to make out noisily with one of the young Israeli soldiers brought along on the trip (both male and female), presumably for this express purpose.

At the Western Wall, the men and women split up to visit their respective sections of the old temple. As we approached, we passed Orthodox women in their long-sleeved t-shirts and head scarves walking backwards in the opposite direction.

It's custom to walk backwards when leaving the wall, rather than turn your back to a holy site, someone explained.

I reached out and touched the wall. It felt rough and chilly under the cold white December sun. Next to me, a tiny elderly woman in black prayed silently, her chapped lips moving as she rocked back and forth with her eyes closed.

Afterwards, a woman from my group asked me if I could "feel it" when I touched the wall.

"Feel what?" I asked.

"The power," she said. Some kind of thrilling, voltaic energy lit her eyes from behind.

"I could tell that it's a very powerful place for a lot of people," I said, limply.

"No," she said, turning those shiny eyes on me. "There was definitely something there. Something that can't be explained."

"OK," I said.

What was my problem? Did I lack a sense of awe? Was I so disconnected from my roots that I couldn't sense the power that has drawn thousands of years of my ancestors to this place?

Is This My Tribe?

But then something started to happen. I began spending long hours on the bus sitting with Jeff, a Yale medical student, the two of us geeking out over our mutual love of bad 1980s kids movies. I bonded with several of the other women on the trip after we were forced to share a tiny room one night on a kibbutz in the Golan Heights. Our group clown, a computer programmer named Avi, bought Pop Rocks-studded chocolate bars at a grocery store one afternoon and passed out pieces down the aisle of the bus, all of us giggling as the candy exploded in our mouths. Someone gave me a nickname. I've never had a nickname.

Suddenly, I felt like part of a group. It was a novel feeling for me  I was always the kid at summer camp hiding in the bunk with a novel while everyone else linked arms and swayed to the camp anthem during Singalong time. It was kind ofnice.

Continue to Page 2
Health department: Case trend summary highlights importance of vaccination, mask wearing

The Health Department of Northwest Michigan is sharing data trends among COVID-19 cases, including age distribution, hospitalizations and vaccination status.
What They Won

Mens Riding Kit

Women's Riding Kit

Giro is going to deck out the two lucky winners in their riding apparel.Men's Giro Enduro Kit Roust Jersey: $60 USD Arc Short: $100 USD Blok MTB Goggle: $100 USD Montaro MIPS Helmet: $150 USD Remedy X2 Glove: $40 USD Riddance Mid: $140 USDWomen's Giro Riding Kit W Roust 3/4 Jersey: $70 USD Havoc Short: $120 USD Tazz MTB Goggle: $55 USD Switchblade MIPS Helmet: $250 USD Xena Glove: $35 USD Riddance Shoe: $130 USD
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. High 78F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening. Partly cloudy skies after midnight. Low near 65F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
MOUNT PLEASANT  A broken cable in a historically problematic bridge over the Wando River has closed westbound Interstate 526 for at least two days, snarling traffic throughout East Cooper.

The faulty cable that helps hold together concrete blocks in the James B. Edwards Bridge was discovered Monday morning during a weekly review, the S.C. Department of Transportation said.

A more thorough evaluation was expected to take two days, DOT officials said. Depending on those findings, the bridge running from Mount Pleasant to Daniel Island could be closed for longer, they added.

About 35,000 cars travel over the span on an average day, and they will be diverted elsewhere.

Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said commuters traveling to work, students riding school buses and truck drivers making deliveries to the Port of Charleston's Wando Welch Terminal can expect longer trips. Beginning Wednesday, gate hours at the terminal will be adjusted to alleviate truck traffic during rush hours.

Haynie made his remarks during a Monday afternoon news conference that had started late because some officials were stuck in traffic.

"This will affect traffic all over Mount Pleasant," he said. "There's nobody in Mount Pleasant that is not going to be affected. ... This is a time for us to be courteous, a time for us to be patient."

Similar problems cropped up on the 7,900-foot-long bridge about two years ago, but the span has been marred with trouble throughout its nearly 30-year history. The $32 million bridge was designed by FIGG Bridge Engineers, the Tallahassee-based company that designed the pedestrian bridge that collapsed in March near Florida International University in Miami, killing six people.

Made up of concrete segments connected by 92 cables, it is the only bridge of its kind in South Carolina, DOT Deputy Secretary for Engineering Leland Colvin said.

The cable that snapped was one of eight main cables across the span of the bridge.

A repair job on a similar cable that had corroded in the same location was completed in October 2016, resulting in limited closures, Colvin said. Since then, the state has conducted weekly reviews of the bridge. Monday's issue was discovered during one of those reviews, he said.

Most bridges in the Palmetto State are inspected at least once every two years, Colvin said. A thorough evaluation of the Wando River bridge was done last month, and it found no such ruptured cables.

Once the problem was discovered Monday, state and town authorities worked to close the bridge promptly.

Westbound traffic was diverted to Long Point Road, which leads to U.S. Highway 17. From there, drivers either could head southbound on Highway 17 toward Charleston and Interstate 26 or turn north to S.C. Highway 41, then to Clements Ferry Road, where they could re-enter westbound I-526.

The detours choked the roads Monday afternoon, eliciting honking and yelling among some. As the evening wore on, drivers using social media continued to complain about the gridlock and said they dreaded the Tuesday morning commute.

Mount Pleasant Police Chief Carl Ritchie said additional officers would closely monitor traffic along the towns main arteries over the next few days and take special measures, such as overriding stop lights, if necessary. Towing companies have been deployed to three sections of the town to quickly address fender benders and other wrecks.

"Our intention is to keep it flowing the best we can," he said.

Problems with the Wando River bridge arose a few years after it opened to traffic in 1991. Workers at the time alleged that work on the highway was poorly done.

In 1995, the aluminum joints connecting concrete sections of the span started breaking and had to be replaced.

A detailed history of inspections over the decades since then was not immediately available.

Colvin said the special review program that pinpointed the damaged cable Monday is "rigorous." The effort has revealed some water intrusion in the structure and deterioration, he added, but what caused the busted cable remains a mystery.

The DOT vowed to expedite its assessment and repairs, apologizing in a statement for the significant inconvenience.

At a Waffle House on Long Point Road, Daniel Island resident Kirk Shaw Jr. finished up a plate of pork chops and toast early Monday evening as cars crept past outside.

He and a friend had figured a bad wreck was to blame for the heavy traffic. Shaw shook his head upon learning that the interstate he regularly travels would be closed for at least two days.

So now I got to go all the way around, when I live right there, he said. We just came to get a quick bite to eat. ... It sucks because I gotta be somewhere at a certain time.
State and local officials on Tuesday were continuing to reroute Mount Pleasant-area motorists who were bound for the Charleston peninsula to two designated detours.

South Carolina transportation officials on Monday closed westbound Interstate 526, citing a broken cable on the James B. Edwards Bridge. The damaged cable forced officials to close that portion of the interstate for emergency repairs on the bridge, which stretches over the Wando River.

On Tuesday morning, large swaths of traffic crawled through the East Cooper area and along detour routes.

The following are alternative routes identified by the S.C. Department of Transportation:

Using southbound U.S. 17 to cross the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to I-26 in Charleston

Using northbound U.S. 17 to Highway 41 to Clements Ferry back to I-526.

For those in the Mount Pleasant area who are trying to get onto the Ravenel and potentially avoid southbound U.S. 17, they're also able to access Coleman Boulevard, said city police inspector Chip Googe.

The barricades with SCDOT crews are at the closed ramps at Long Point Road.  SCDOT (@SCDOTPress) May 15, 2018

Tuesday morning, motorists coming from the greater Mount Pleasant area bound for the peninsula endured snarled traffic conditions that, in some cases, added several hours to what is usually a zippy commute. Now, to get home, motorists may have a similar road ahead.

By noon, southbound traffic on the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge had intermittent periods of congestion. By 2:30 p.m., traffic had again become backed up on the bridge after a brief reprieve. Southbound traffic was moving, on average, between 5 and 8 mph, according to Waze.

Similarly, southbound motorists were experiencing bumper-to-bumper traffic on Johnnie Dodds Boulevard before the Ravenel Bridge.

Officials warned that conditions were likely to become congested again during evening commute hours.

While work in underway, we urge our residents to exercise caution and give themselves extra time to travel during morning and evening peak hours," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie. "Modify your commute time and leave early  15 to 20 minutes can make a big difference.

Googe said he anticipated evening traffic coming off the peninsula would resemble Monday evening's commute.

In anticipation of the traffic, however, Googe said that  beginning no later than 2:30 p.m.  officials from the Mount Pleasant Police Department, Charleston Police Department, Charleston County Sheriff's Office and S.C. Highway Patrol would be manually operating traffic lights at major intersections on highways 17 and 41.

It wasnt immediately clear how long the closures would last, but high-ranking state authorities indicated that traffic may continue to be significantly restricted for several weeks.

State officials said that a more definitive timetable was likely to be clarified Wednesday afternoon during a briefing. Engineers are entertaining several options, including reopening parts of the bridge or allowing traffic in opposite lanes.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 15:00:15

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for ATI AirTest Technologies Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Delta, British Colombia (FSCWire) - ATI AirTest Technologies Inc. (TSX Venture:AAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:AirTest Announces Suspension of TradingTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on ATI AirTest Technologies Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/ATI AirTest Technologies Inc.Source: ATI AirTest Technologies Inc. (TSX Venture: AAT)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 9:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of ATI AirTest Technologies Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 14:03:05

The firms Global Transaction Advisory Group Expands in France to Meet Local Market Demand and address growing cross-border M&A requirements

Alvarez & Marsal Appoints Four New Managing Directors in Its Paris Office

Alvarez & Marsal

Helene Willberg, +46 70 589 9763

Managing Director

or

Sandra Sokoloff, +1 212-763-9853

Senior Director of Global Public Relations

or

Margaret Cameron-Waller, +44 (0)207 7155202

Director of Marketing U.K. & Europe

Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has announced the appointment of four Paris-based Managing Directors, Jonathan Gibbons, Guillaume Martinez, Frederic Steiner and Donatien Chenu, to the firms Global Transaction Advisory Group.These appointments advance A&Ms strategic expansion plans to meet local market demand in France, enhance its cross-border M&A offering and help clients address increasingly complex regional, European and global regulatory requirements.

The addition of Messrs. Gibbons, Martinez, Steiner and Chenu, all formerly with one of the Big Four in France, completes the latest phase of A&Ms European strategic growth plan following the launch of the firms Stockholm officeand Nordics expansion in 2017 that added to existing transaction advisory activities in the U.K., Germany, and Netherlands. They will bolster A&Ms suite of integrated global transaction advisory services that provide clients with a differentiated offering for due diligence and transaction advisory requirements.

A&Ms market share continues to expand with the firms European practices experiencing strong growth over the past two years leading to work on a range of flagship European private equity deals. With A&Ms operational focus and market leading capabilities in Private Equity and Corporate Performance Improvement, A&M is uniquely placed to provide a differentiated approach to due diligence and take on the challenges of current market conditions faced by clients.

Antonio "Tony" Alvarez III, Managing Director and A&Ms European Practice lead, said, These appointments support our global expansion strategy along with our capability building plans in France and Europe. New audit regulation and rotation rules are impacting the provision of non-audit services and generating greater conflicts in providing those services to clients. As growing numbers of Big Four professionals across Europe look beyond the traditional firms, A&Ms platform is acknowledged to be less restrictive enabling greater access for practice growth.

Paul Aversano, Managing Director and Global Practice Leader of A&Ms Global Transaction Advisory Group, said, The growth of our transaction advisory presence in France supports the firms commitment to meet local market needs and global market M&A demands with our unique and differentiated approach. These appointments are the latest of several growth areas in France and Europe for A&M to enable us to continue our European expansion.

Managing Director and European Practice Lead with A&Ms Transaction Advisory Group, David Evans, added, Jonathans, Guillaumes, Frederics, and Donatiens in-depth knowledge advances our ability to help private equity firms and corporate clients maximize value on a pan-European basis. We expect the French team to grow rapidly as client needs continue to escalate.

Tarek Hosni, the France country leader and Managing Director with A&M Paris, stated, The addition of these senior transaction professionals will enable us to increase our scale and service for French private equity firms as well as France based multinationals. A leading protagonist of positive transformation in France, we now also intend to deliver in France our internationally recognized expertise in transaction advisory services. This marks the start of our future growth plans for A&M France.

A&Ms new Transaction Advisory Managing Directors have extensive cross-border and global transaction experience working with private equity and multi-national corporations throughout Europe and the world. The teams collective experience spans numerous sectors including TMT, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods and financial services. For more information on Messrs. Gibbons, Martinez, Steiner and Chenu, please click on the links to their bios below:

Jonathan Gibbons

Guillaume Martinez

Frederic Steiner

Donatien Chenu

About Alvarez & Marsal

Companies, investors and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) when conventional approaches are not enough to make change and achieve results. Privately held since its founding in 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services.

With over 3000 people across four continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. Our senior leaders, and their teams, help organizations transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action. Comprised of experienced operators, world-class consultants, former regulators and industry authorities, A&M leverages its restructuring heritage to turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage of growth.

When action matters, find us at alvarezandmarsal.com. Follow A&M on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Note to Editor:

About Alvarez & Marsal Global Transaction Advisory Group

A&Ms Global Transaction Advisory Group provides investors and lenders the answers needed to get the deal done. We combine our firms deep operational, industry and functional resources with Big Four-quality financial accounting and tax expertise to assess key deal drivers and focus on the root cause of any critical deal issues. As the largest transaction advisory practice outside the Big Four, our global integrated teams help private equity, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and hedge funds as well as corporate acquirers unlock value across the investment lifecycle.

The firms Global Transaction Advisory Group includes over 350 professionals in 22 offices throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, India and Asia. Our global team has extensive industry knowledge across multiple sectors including, but not limited to, dedicated industry verticals in healthcare, software & technology, energy and financial services.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 23:25:17

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Armada Data Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Mississauga, Ontario (FSCWire) - Armada Data Corporation (TSX Venture:ARD). has issued a press release with the following headline:Armada Data Announces Three Top-Tier Hires Aimed at Driving Future GrowthTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Armada Data Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Armada Data CorporationSource: Armada Data Corporation (TSX Venture: ARD, ISIN: CA0420841037)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 5:23 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Armada Data Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 13:03:01

NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alton Aviation Consultancy is celebrating its successful first year as an independent boutique advisory firm focused on the aviation and aerospace industries.

Experienced consulting executives Adam Cowburn and John Mowry set out to serve the aviation community with an agile, client-centric approach that aligns with rapidly changing global market dynamics. They have been joined by seasoned aviation consultants Laetitia Achille and Jonathan Berger, both Managing Directors, in addition to Directors Ma Min and Adam Guthorn, and a global team of managers and associates.

"Alton is dedicated to delivering the objective, data-driven guidance and insight that our clients require to inform business decisions regarding capital allocation, resource prioritization, and risk management," said Mowry, who previously was a leader of the aviation consulting practice at SH&E and ICF, and began his career with General Electric.

Alton advises aviation and aerospace companies across the entire value chain on strategy and business plan development, financial transaction support, and operational performance improvement. Clients include: airlines; lessors and aircraft financiers; aerospace manufacturers; maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) and aftermarket service providers; and the financial and investment community.

As a privately-held independent firm, Alton has no joint ventures, affiliations, or other business associations that divert principals from their singular mission - serving the best interests of their clients.

"Our independence, global market coverage, and experience across the entire aviation and aerospace value chain provide Alton with unique insight into the challenges faced by our clients, in addition to their end customers," said Cowburn, former head of Asia-Pacific for aviation consulting firms SH&E and ICF.

"We are dedicated to making Alton synonymous with deep aviation domain expertise and a relentless focus on delivering tangible results for our clients," said Berger. Prior to joining Alton, Mr. Berger was a vice president at SH&E and ICF, where he launched and led their global MRO advisory practice. Before that, he was the general manager of Delta Air Lines' maintenance & engineering business responsible for the Europe, Africa and Middle East region.

Since its inception, Alton has performed numerous engagements supporting its aviation clients on a wide range of strategic, commercial, and operational matters. Engagements have ranged from commercial due diligence of aircraft lessors and their portfolios to strategic planning for independent MRO providers, due diligence support for private equity investors in aviation assets and operating businesses, and product studies for aerospace manufacturers seeking to bring new offerings to the market.

Headquartered in New York, Alton operates globally with offices in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Tokyo, providing clients a global perspective with local expertise.

To download Alton's logo and photos of principals, click here: http://bit.ly/2KSliMz

Contact for Alton Aviation Consultancy:

Andy McGowan of Watkins McGowan

c: +1.404.834.3481

andy@watkinsmcgowan.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/7d693089-1cce-4f35-a03d-0adf36edfbef

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Alton Aviation Consultancy via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 13:55:01

Partnership leverages global insights and local expertise to re-humanize business

NEW YORK, TORONTO and LONDON, May 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bond Brand Loyalty, a leading customer engagement agency, and Madrid- and Munich-based Buljan & Partners, a customer-centric management, customer experience, and engagement consultancy, announce a strategic partnership.

Bond and Buljan are excited about pairing their global insights and extensive suite of services, accelerating each firm's growth globally.

Through the combination of knowledge and regional expertise, the partnership will strengthen the market position for both organizations and increase the value to clients entering and operating internationally.

Both organizations will gain a deepened knowledge base and invaluable global insights, services, and capabilities. Insights from combined studies include Buljan's Automotive Customer Experience study, Bond's annual Loyalty Report-the largest of its kind globally- along with a new Human Experience study that launched this year. Together, these assets are a powerhouse of comprehensive intelligence that inform client plans and decisions.

"North America is the most mature loyalty and customer experience market globally, and we look forward to combining Bond's expertise, leadership, and reputation with our extensive customer-centricity frameworks and experience to bring increased value to our clients," said Silvana Buljan, Founder and CEO, Buljan & Partners. "This allows us to help our clients differentiate their customers' experience, and we're excited to take the expertise that has served our clients so well in Europe to North America."



"We continue to expand our global footprint through the growth of our team in the U.K. and strategic alliances with organizations such as Buljan-whose people become a natural extension of Bond," said Bob Macdonald, President and CEO of Bond. "When in discussions with Buljan, we saw a partner that shared our philosophy to design, build, and operate customer and employee engagement solutions across human and digital channels in order to increase brand loyalty and customer lifetime value."

With complementary competencies, both Bond and Buljan are focused on re-humanizing business and are poised to provide their respective clients with the depth of services that responds to the demands of global brands today and in the future.

About Bond Brand Loyalty

Bond Brand Loyalty is a global customer engagement agency that specializes in building brand loyalty for the world's most influential and valuable brands. Our mission is to make marketing more rewarding for customers, richer and more resilient for brands, and to deliver profitable business outcomes for our clients. We build measurable, authentic, and long-lasting relationships through a combination of services that includes loyalty solutions, customer experience, marketing research, customer analytics, live brand experiences, and proprietary technology platforms. Visit our website, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, or contact us at 1-844-277-2663.

About Buljan & Partners

Buljan & Partners is an international consultancy that is passionate about customer and employee experience, customer engagement, and customer-centric management. We support our customers by applying a unique three-phase approach (START, CREATE, ENGAGE) that we consider the framework companies need to apply to position themselves as customer-centric. Our multicultural and multidisciplinary team accompanies our clients on their way to true Customer Orientation at all organizational and functional levels, considering each project a unique challenge. Buljan & Partners methodology has been evolving over the past 15 years, making companies a better place for customers and employees. Find out more on our website.

Contact:

Bond Brand Loyalty

Richard Lane, Marketing Director

Richard.Lane@bondbrandloyalty.com

+1 (905) 696.5319 M. +1 (416) 844.9658

Buljan Buljan & Partners

Lisa Rottmann

rottmann@buljanandpartners.com

+34 914 488 882

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/50edd25a-2a21-48ff-ae9d-6ddec4e904cb

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Bond Brand Loyalty via Globenewswire


The report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical & forecasted epidemiology and market size drug wise for Cystic Fibrosis disease with a forecast till 2024

Pharmascroll Research and Consulting Private Limited

PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 08:39:56

Press Information

Pharmascroll Research and Consulting Private Ltd

Hi Tech City



Hyderabad



India



Zip- 500084



Bhawna Gupta

Consultant

+919776868067

email

https://pharmascroll.com/cystic-fibrosis-disease-insights-and-market-forecasts-to-2024/





# 583 Words

Hi Tech CityHyderabadIndiaZip- 500084Consultant+919776868067

Cystic Fibrosis: Disease Insights and Market Forecasts to 2024 report delivers an in-depth understanding of the disease, historical & forecasted epidemiology of Cystic Fibrosis disease in the US, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK), and Japan and the historical & forecasted market size, for Cystic Fibrosis, drug wise in $ sales and patient numbers at global level and in the US, EU5 (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK), Australia and Canada till 2024.Geographies covered:USGermanyFranceItalySpainUKJapanAustraliaCanadaDrugs coveredOrkambiPulmozymeKalydecoSymdeko (Tezacaftor + Ivacaftor)TobramycinVX-659 + Tezacaftor + IvacaftorVX-152 + Tezacaftor + IvacaftorVX-440 + Tezacaftor + IvacaftorQR-010ABBV-2222GLPG1837Disease Indication Overview:This section of the report gives the overview of Cystic Fibrosis disease indication in detail. The section highlights the basic definition, causes and symptoms of disease and details the types of Cystic Fibrosis disease. Further details on the profile of Cystic Fibrosis patients, Symptoms experienced by the patients, and disease progression in patients are outlined in the report. The report further highlights the multiple methods through which the patient can be diagnosed for Cystic Fibrosis disease.Epidemiology Forecasts to 2024:This section of the report provides the overview of Cystic Fibrosis diagnosed prevalent and treated patients in the US, EU5 and Japan market year wise starting from 2015 till 2024. The epidemiology numbers in the report have been derived based on numerous studies, survey reports and views of key opinion leaders.Drugs Overview and Attribute Analysis:This part of the report highlights the importance of factors influencing the physician prescription decisions in Cystic Fibrosis disease including efficacy factors, Tolerability factors, Monitoring requirements and pricing factors.The report further details the drugs prescribed or expected to be prescribed in Cystic Fibrosis disease by the physicians in terms of details about the formulation, molecule, mode of administration and mechanism of action of the drugs, their patent and trial details and the expected impact of drug in the Cystic Fibrosis market.The report further conducts a detailed drug attribute analysis of the drugs currently prescribed or expected to be prescribed in the disease on the parameters of Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability, Convenience of Monitoring and Dosing and Drugs coverage of the target patient pool.Drugs and Market Forecast to 2024:The report in its last section provides sales and patient numbers forecast for the overall Cystic Fibrosis market and drug wise forecasts from 2015 till 2024 at Global level and in the US, EU5, Australia and Canada markets. The forecasts are developed based on the detailed drug attribute analysis, conducted by Pharmascroll, as shared in the previous section. It is important to note that the Forecasts conducted by Pharmascroll are not based on simple projections, and are developed meticulously based on a complex forecasting model, owned by Pharmascroll, using multiple assumptions related to launch dates of the products in the market, price of the products, adherence and compliance rates of the products, dosages of the products etc. The forecast models are at the country level and can be developed at the regional level as well.Why Purchase the Report: Robust Market and Drug forecast available at country level Forecast in terms of both $ sales and Patient Numbers Current and Forecasted Drug treated and Diagnosed Prevalent Patient pool Detailed Drug Attribute analysis on multiple Clinical Parameters Multiple Countries coverage Current Marketed and Pipeline Drugs coverage Detailed Disease Insights coverageTo read more about the report please visit https://pharmascroll.com/cystic-fibrosis-disease-insights-and-market-forecasts-to-2024/ To enquire about the report or to make a purchase for the report please write to enquiry@ pharmascroll.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 15:15:19

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Far Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Far Resources Ltd. (CSE:FAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Far Resources Prepares to Mobilize Drill to its High-Grade Hidden Lake Lithium Project, NWT and Retains Renmark Financial Communications Inc.To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Far Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Far Resources Ltd.Source: Far Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT, FWB: F0R, WKN: A2AH8W, ISIN: CA30734R1001, OTC Pink: FRRSF)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 9:15 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Far Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 15:04:01

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ITS TERRITORIES AND POSSESSIONS, ANY STATE OF THE UNITED STATES OR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canamex Gold Corp. (the "Company" or "Canamex") (CSE:CSQ) is pleased to announce that it has launched a non-brokered private placement to accredited investors, of GOLDUSA ("GOLDUSA" or "Token" ticker symbol "GOLD") Ethereum ERC20 Crypto Tokens via a Security Token Offering ("STO").

This is the first time ever that a gold-asset-backed crypto security token has been offered by a North American Exchange listed public company. The Company invites accredited investors, to join the next wave of the cryptocurrency revolution, with this GOLDUSA security token paving the way, and setting the "gold standard" for asset-backed security tokens.

Further general details of this initial STO, are as follows:

GOLDUSA Tokens offered at a significant 40% discount to $US 1350 per oz. gold price, but limited to the first week of subscriptions.



Exposure to gold-asset-backed token. Each GOLDUSA Token represents 1/200 oz. gold.



Price offered is only $US 4.00 per token, limited to the first week of subscriptions. This is 40% discount to $US 6.75 value per token, based on $US 1350 per oz. gold price.



Minimum subscription: 2000 GOLDUSA Tokens.



Purchase methods accepted: Fiat currencies, Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).



For whitepaper, FAQs, and other considerations: https://canamexgold.com/goldusa/



For subscription: https://ezclosing.ca/private-placements/canamex-goldusa/



GOLDUSA (symbol GOLD) ERC20 security token Etherscan technical details are as follows: https://etherscan.io/token/0xe341e1a59a75f74f344c5461c8b2e55a75152833

NOTE: This pricing is available for a LIMITED TIME only from the launch date, being Tuesday, May 15th, 2018. After that date, the Company reserves the right to increase the initial STO subscription offer price, in accordance with the following indicative schedule, or earlier depending on demand:

From Date Offer Price Offer Price Spot premium Offer Price per token per oz. to Offer Price Discount to Spot Tuesday, May 15, 2018 USD 4.000 USD 800 69 % 41 % Tuesday, May 22, 2018 USD 4.125 USD 825 64 % 39 % Tuesday, May 29, 2018 USD 4.250 USD 850 59 % 37 % Tuesday, June 5, 2018 USD 4.375 USD 875 54 % 35 % Tuesday, June 12, 2018 USD 4.500 USD 900 50 % 33 % Tuesday, June 19, 2018 USD 4.625 USD 925 46 % 31 % Tuesday, June 26, 2018 USD 4.750 USD 950 42 % 30 % Tuesday, July 3, 2018 USD 4.875 USD 975 38 % 28 % Tuesday, July 10, 2018 USD 5.000 USD 1,000 35 % 26 % Tuesday, July 17, 2018 USD 5.125 USD 1,025 32 % 24 % Tuesday, July 24, 2018 USD 5.250 USD 1,050 29 % 22 % Tuesday, July 31, 2018 USD 5.375 USD 1,075 26 % 20 %

Assumption: Gold Spot price $USD 1350 per oz. but which fluctuates daily with the market

Subscription

Purchase methods accepted: Fiat currencies, Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). The accredited investor subscription process is digital, via an online portal here: https://ezclosing.ca/private-placements/canamex-goldusa/.

Comments from David Vincent, Chief Executive Officer of the Company: "Our company has seen the significant scaling potential for this innovative financing technique because of its sheer simplicity for creating win-win situations for all the stakeholders and investors involved. This innovative crypto-token royalty streaming model provides far more value, transparency, better terms and conditions and better profit margins within a GOLDUSA ecosystem (GOLDUSA token holders, shareholders, other junior mining companies and investors), than can be offered by traditional existing models, relying on legacy ideas."

Considerations and Risks

An investment in the GOLDUSA Tokens offered via this STO, should be considered speculative due to various factors, including the nature of the industry in which the Company operates. Risk factors relating to the Company are discussed in certain of public disclosures of the Company which are available for review on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com Risk factors should be carefully reviewed and considered by an investor before a decision is made to invest in the GOLDUSA Tokens. Relevant considerations and risks associated with the STO are comprehensively detailed in the whitepaper here: https://canamexgold.com/goldusa/

Gold Royalty Token Holder - Conversion Offer

On February 2nd, 2018, the Company announced a non-brokered private placement of unlisted Gold Royalty Tokens, to accredited investors, and this is now closed with effect May 15th, 2018; with the launch of this STO. All Gold Royalty Token subscriptions received prior to May 15th, 2018, will be processed, and the subscribers will be offered to convert into this STO at a discount to the STO price, by offering Gold Royalty Token holders an additional 25% in GOLDUSA tokens. For example, Gold Royalty Token holder has 2000 tokens, and elects to convert to GOLDUSA tokens. Gold Royalty Token holder receives 2500 (2000+25% bonus) GOLDUSA tokens, under the same terms as this STO. The Gold Royalty Tokens converted, will be cancelled, and the holder will be issued GOLDUSA tokens. This will also provide better liquidity and transferability for Gold Royalty Token holders, by electing to convert to GOLDUSA tokens. The company will write to each Gold Royalty Token holder, with details on the conversion offer.

About the Company

Canamex Gold Corp. is a public listed company registered in British Columbia, Canada, trading on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), and is engaged in fast-tracking toward development of the Bruner Gold Development Project in the prolific gold jurisdiction of Nye County, Nevada. The region is home to several producing and past-producing mines along the Walker Lane Trend. Canamex completed a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on the Bruner Gold Development Project in 2016. Based on additional drilling conducted on the property, the company completed an updated PEA in 2018, which increased the resources and improved the economics of the project. Canamex is now moving the Bruner Gold Project forward into permitting and development on the strength of this positive updated PEA and the improving gold price environment. The second asset is the Silverton Gold property, a gold exploration project, in Nevada, which has geological similarities to the Long Canyon gold deposit in Nevada, being mined by Newmont Mining. The Company has signed Agreements with Harmonychain AS, for Ethereum Blockchain Smart Contract Security Tokens for Gold and Silver, as an alternative means of raising capital, potentially without equity dilution. The Agreements secure the exclusive rights to various Ethereum Token domain names, ticker codes, and associated smart contracts, for Gold and Silver. The rights also extend to patents pending and trademarks associated with these security token financing models, including ChainDelivery(TM) royalty stream delivery queuing systems. Further information is available at https://canamexgold.com

Greg Hahn (CPG#7122), President & COO of the Company is the qualified person who has reviewed and approved all technical disclosures in this release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

David Vincent

Chief Executive Officer and Director

david.vincent@canamexgold.com

Mike Stark

Chairman of the Board

Contact: (604) 833-4278

mike.stark@canamexgold.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Canamex Gold Corp. via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 22:30:19

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# 390 Words

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Flexible Solutions International Inc--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Victoria, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Flexible Solutions International Inc (NYSE MKT:FSI). has issued a press release with the following headline:FSI Announces First Quarter, 2018 Financial ResultsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Flexible Solutions International Inc, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Flexible Solutions International IncSource: Flexible Solutions International Inc (NYSE MKT: FSI, FWB: FXT, ISIN: US33938T1043, WKN: 541522)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 4:30 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Flexible Solutions International Inc and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 11:54:35

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# 397 Words

ACN Newswire+65 6304 8926

HONG KONG, May 14, 2018 - (ACN Newswire) - Coinsuper, a leading crypto exchange in Hong Kong, is announcing that Clipper Coin Capital (CCCX) will have its global exclusive premier listing on Coinsuper on May 14th, 2018.Coinsuper is the largest digital asset trading platform based in Hong Kong, providing crypto trading services to individuals and institutions. It has built a professional crypto exchange with strict listing standards, and ensures stakeholders safety with state-of-the-art digital security technology. Coinsuper has a team of professionals with broad experience in financial services, wealth management, and blockchain technology.Clipper Coin Capital is a decentralized brokerage and investment bank focusing on cryptocurrency markets. Clipper Crypto Rating helps crypto participants avoid ICO scams and trade in the future of blockchain technology. Clipper Coin Capital has created crypto market indices and is working on Crypto ETFs. It also provides investment banking services to promising blockchain projects.As a leader in promoting the public trust in the crypto currency market, Coinsuper is dedicated to creating a better and more secure exchange platform, especially for new ICO listings, to ensure a scam-free crypto environment, and to provide crypto participants with financial education and advisory services.About CoinsuperCoinsuper is a leading digital asset trading platform based in Hong Kong. We are a global elite team with extensive experience in financial advisory, compliance, wealth management and most importantly, cryptocurrency and financial technology. Coinsuper adopts methods such as SSL encryption technology, multi-signature cryptocurrency wallets, offline capital management to ensure the security and stability of the platform. We also adopt google authenticator in customer login and fund/BTC withdrawal to ensure that our customers' assets and account information well protected.Website: www.coinsuper.com Telegram: https://t.me/CoinsuperExAbout Clipper Coin CapitalClipper Coin Capital is an innovative crypto brokerage and investment bank with global reach. Clipper Crypto Rating helps crypto participants avoid ICO scams and trade in the future of blockchain technology. Clipper Coin Capital has created crypto market indices and is working on Crypto ETFs. It also provides investment banking services to promising blockchain projects. Clipper Coin Capital will be listed on Coinsuper as CCCX.Website: www.clippercoin.com Telegram: https://t.me/CCC_officialTopic: Press release summarySectors: Currencies, FinTech/Chains, Banking, Venture CapitalFrom the Asia Corporate News NetworkCopyright  2018 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Asia Corporate News Network.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 15:21:16

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Hinterland Metals Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Val-d'Or, Quebec (FSCWire) - Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSX Venture:HMI). has issued a press release with the following headline:Hinterland to Acquire Interest in Destiny Gold Property, Quebec from Alto Ventures Ltd.To view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Hinterland Metals Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Hinterland Metals Inc.Source: Hinterland Metals Inc. (TSX Venture: HMI)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 9:20 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Hinterland Metals Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 14:13:01

Stockholm, Sweden, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, recently released the report Insight to Action - The future of the professional services industry. The report looks at the challenges the professional services industry faces and sets clear action points for firms that want to stay ahead of the curve.



The professional services industry has always been deeply rooted in ground-breaking expertise and innovation. But as Deltek's research shows, many firms are having difficulty keeping pace with evolving operational models, client pressures and new technologies which are disrupting the industry.



Deltek carried out this research to gain a deeper understanding about the current and future state of the professional services industry as a whole, and the key opportunities and challenges that firms are facing. The results show that:



 91% of CEOs don't feel that their business is prepared for regulatory risk

 54% of business leaders say that increasing profitability is a top priority moving forward

 81% of business leaders feel unprepared for the risk of disruptive technology



In addition, the report identifies the key business and industry opportunities and threats from the survey data of 700 senior decision-makers including divisional heads to CEOs, CFOs and COOs, from more than a dozen countries around the world including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Sweden. These business leaders have worked for a variety of companies including boutique consultancies up to enterprises with revenues of over $1B.



"Deltek commissioned this study because it's important that business leaders have the latest concrete context as they navigate change and mitigate risk," said Perry Hardt, Senior VP and CMO at Deltek. "Many of the business leaders we surveyed are concerned with their firm's readiness to take full advantage of the most current operational model and latest technology transformational trends. They expressed the need to strengthen internal systems, technology capabilities and processes, to enhance lead generation, improve resource planning, ensure legislative compliance and support efficient control over increasingly complex projects. The survey results clearly show that C-Level and other business leaders need more foresight to prepare effectively for what lies ahead."



Insight to Action reveals current business challenges and provides guidance and recommendations across various areas of focus including navigating change, regulatory risk, taming project complexity, managing talent and protecting profit margins - enabling professional services firms to attack issues head on.



Visit Deltek's website here for more information or a copy of the report.



About Deltek

Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and solutions for government contractors, professional services firms and other project-based businesses. For decades, we have delivered actionable insight that empowers our customers to unlock their business potential. 23,000 organizations and millions of users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek to research and identify opportunities, win new business, recruit and develop talent, optimize resources, streamline operations and deliver more profitable projects. www.deltek.com

Lauran Cacciatori Deltek 703-885-9947 LauranCacciatori@Deltek.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 17:26:01

Financial report for Q1 2018

NNIT delivers an operating profit margin of 8.7% while revenue declines by 2.3% despite a revenue increase of 12% from non-Novo Nordisk customers

Performance highlights for Q1 2018

Revenue from non-Novo Nordisk customers increased by 12% supported by strong growth from both enterprise and international life sciences customers of more than 20%. However, due to decline in revenue from the Novo Nordisk Group of 20% and the timing of Easter total revenue declined by 2.3% in reported currencies

Adjusted for the timing of Easter revenue development was almost flat

The share of revenue from non-Novo Nordisk customers increased from 55 % in Q1 2017 to 63% in Q1 2018

Operating profit margin was 8.7% in reported currencies compared to 10.5% in 2017

Adjusting for the timing of Easter the operating profit margin was 10.5%

Net profit of DKK 46m in Q1 2018 was a decrease of 18% compared to Q1 2017. Adjusted for the timing of Easter net profit increased by 1.4% compared to last year

Free cash flow for Q1 2018 was DKK 143m compared to DKK 163m in Q1 2017

Order backlog for 2018 at the beginning of Q2 2018 was DKK 2,487m, an increase of 2.8% compared to the same time last year. The backlog for the following two years increased by 20%

Outlook for 2018 is: Revenue growth of 3-6% in constant currencies (previously 4-7%) Expected operating profit margin of 10-10.5% in constant currencies The expected level of investments in 2018 is 6-8% of total revenue



Based on the strong cash flow NNIT will pay out an interim dividend in August 2018 of DKK 49.1m in cash equal to DKK 2 per share of a nominal value of DKK 10

Per Kogut, CEO at NNIT says about the results for the first three months of 2018: "I am encouraged by the continued strong growth in particular the enterprise and international life sciences customer groups. The decline in revenue from the Novo Nordisk Group was larger than expected and we have therefore adjusted our revenue growth guidance for 2018 to 3-6%. Under these circumstances, I am pleased that we have maintained our operating profit margin guidance of 10-10.5%."

Conference call details

NNIT will host a teleconference May 16, 2018 at 10:30 CET about the financial report for Q1 2018. Please visit the NNIT webpage at www.nnit.com to access the teleconference, which can be found under 'Investors - Events & presentations'. Presentation material will be available on the website approximately one hour prior to the start of the presentation.

Conference call details

https://nnit.eventcdn.net/20180516

Participant telephone numbers:

Denmark: +45 3544 5583

United Kingdom: +44 20 3194 0544

Sweden: +46 8 5664 2661

United States: +1 855 269 2604



Financial Calendar 2018

August 17, 2018 Interim report for the first six months of 2018August 22, 2018 Interim dividend ex dividend dateAugust 23, 2018 Interim dividend record dateAugust 24, 2018 Interim dividend payment dateOctober 25, 2018 Interim report for the first nine months of 2018

Contacts for further information

Investor relations:

Klaus Hosbond Skovrup

Head of Investor Relations

Tel: +45 3079 5355

ksko@nnit.com

Media relations:

Helga Heyn

NNIT Communications

Tel: +45 3077 8141

hhey@nnit.com

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: NNIT A/S via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 08:00:45

Press Information





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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Anglo Pacific Group PLC--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---London England (FSCWire) - Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LSE:APF). has issued a press release with the following headline:Q1 2018 Trading UpdateTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Anglo Pacific Group PLC, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Anglo Pacific Group PLCSource: Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LSE: APF, TSX: APY, OTC Bulletin Board: AGPIF, FWB: HGR, WKN: 871733)Date: May 15, 2018Time: 2:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Anglo Pacific Group PLC and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-14 23:00:15

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FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Renaissance Gold Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---White Rock, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Renaissance Gold Inc. (TSX Venture:REN). has issued a press release with the following headline:Renaissance Gold Strong Demand Increases Size of Private PlacementTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Renaissance Gold Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Renaissance Gold Inc.Source: Renaissance Gold Inc. (TSX Venture: REN, OTC Bulletin Board: RNSGF, FWB: 4RG, WKN: A1C7Z0, ISIN: CA75971J1057)Date: May 14, 2018Time: 5:00 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Renaissance Gold Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
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PR-Inside.com: 2018-05-15 13:52:01

Veeva Nitro eliminates the time and effort of custom data warehouse development and maintenance with new industry-specific cloud solution

Veeva Introduces Next-Generation Commercial Data Warehouse for Life Sciences

Veeva Systems Inc.

Sue Glanville

sue@catalystcomms.co.uk

+44 (0) 7715 817589

or

Cate Bonthuys

cate@catalystcomms.co.uk

Cate Bonthuys

+44 (0) 7746 546773

Veeva Commercial & Medical Summit, North America  Veeva Systems (NYSE:VEEV) today introduced a new commercial data warehouse for life sciences. Veeva Nitro eliminates the burden of custom-built data warehouses with an industry-specific data model and standard integrations that unify companies most important data sources. Now the life sciences industry will have a ready-to-use commercial data warehouse in the cloud that is tailored to its needs with the ease of implementation, configuration, and ongoing enhancements that come with a packaged software solution. With Veeva Nitro, the industry will finally have the right commercial data foundation for artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics to deliver business insights faster.

Custom data warehouses are inherently inflexible, so it can take weeks to get answers to important questions every time a new data source is added or systems change, said Dan Utzinger, vice president and CIO at Intra-Cellular Therapies, and former VP of IT at Eisai. An industry-specific commercial data warehouse in the cloud provides a significant opportunity to accelerate speed to value by delivering actionable insights for better decision-making, as well as lay the foundation to fully leverage the power of advanced analytics and AI.

Because of the lack of a high-quality, packaged commercial data warehouse solution, companies build and maintain their own, requiring significant time and resources. These custom-built solutions are not quickly adaptable as business requirements evolve and data structures and sources change. This delays insights from reaching the business and leaves organizations ill-equipped to support AI.

A packaged commercial data warehouse in the cloud has the potential to be a game changer for life sciences, said Eric Newmark, program vice president for IDCs cloud, SaaS, and industry cloud practice. Its encouraging to see the next evolution of industry cloud software will include a data warehouse built for life sciences in an effort to finally make custom data warehouses the exception, not the rule.

Veeva Nitro is a global solution that meets organizations unique regional requirements, including specialized data sources and business processes. Its extensible data model is based on deep industry best practices, while seamless integration with Veeva CRM Suite and Veeva Vault PromoMats automatically syncs all customer activity data and information about a companys content and its usage into the data warehouse. Also, industry data connectors are capable of bringing together data from the most common sources such as prescription, sales, formulary, and claims data, including regional data from IQVIA and Encise.

Veeva Nitro is analytics-ready so companies can get business insights faster. Customers have the flexibility to use the business intelligence (BI) and AI tools of their choice, as well as deliver tailored data visualization to field teams through Veeva CRM MyInsights, to immediately generate insights and drive informed action.

Veeva aims to eliminate the burden of custom-built data warehouses to help customers execute with much greater speed and agility, said Peter Gassner, Veeva CEO and founder. Veeva Nitro will bring the right data together so customers can uncover insights that were never before possible and enable intelligent customer engagement.

Veeva Nitro is built on Amazon Redshift  powerful petabyte-scale data warehouse infrastructure in the cloud  to ensure the highest levels of scalability and fast-query performance even on the largest data sets.

In other news today, Veeva announced new mobile innovations in Veeva CRM to empower field teams with the right information they need from any device. Read our press release to learn how Veeva CRMs new real-time architecture and Sunrise user interface improve field execution and productivity.

Veeva Nitro is available today in Japan, and is expected to be available in North America by the end of 2018. Learn more at veeva.com/eu/Nitro.

What the Industry is Saying:

The current explosion of data comes as a double-edged sword. It can offer customer insights in ways that were never before possible, but it can also overwhelm and frustrate organizations that are not equipped to harness it, said David Ehrlich, president and CEO of Aktana. Veeva Nitro will modernize data warehousing and establish a flexible cloud foundation that enables Aktana to better anticipate and serve the decision support needs of our customers.

Increasing datas availability and reliability enhances analytics value in driving more opportunities. Combining Veeva Nitro with Qliks associative engine will enhance life sciences ability to execute at a higher level across the organization and in the field through analytics, said Mike Potter, CTO at Qlik. As a longtime Veeva partner, were excited about the tremendous potential of Veeva Nitro to help life sciences customers derive more insights and outcomes from their data.

Life Sciences companies are challenged to address data sourced from increasingly diverse, disparate, and rapidly changing sources, said Andy De, Senior Director, healthcare and life sciences at Tableau Software. Veeva will empower Pharma companies with the agility to manage the variety and volume of their data with an industry-specific data warehouse and visual analytics from Tableau that will evolve and keep pace with their business.

Additional Information

For more about Veeva Nitro, visit: veeva.com/eu/Nitro

Connect with Veeva on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/veeva-systems

Follow @Veeva_EU on Twitter: twitter.com/veeva_eu

Like Veeva on Facebook: facebook.com/veevasystems

About Veeva Systems

Veeva Systems Inc. is a leader in cloud-based software for the global life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva has more than 600 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. Veeva is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. For more information, visit www.veeva.com/eu.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements, including the market demand for and acceptance of Veevas products and services, the results from use of Veevas products and services, and general business conditions, particularly in the life sciences industry. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release are based upon Veevas historical performance and its current plans, estimates, and expectations, and are not a representation that such plans, estimates, or expectations will be achieved. These forward-looking statements represent Veevas expectations as of the date of this press announcement. Subsequent events may cause these expectations to change, and Veeva disclaims any obligation to update the forward-looking statements in the future. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. Additional risks and uncertainties that could affect Veevas financial results are included under the captions, Risk Factors and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in the companys filing on Form 10-K for the period ended January 31, 2018. This is available on the companys website at veeva.com under the Investors section and on the SECs website at sec.gov. Further information on potential risks that could affect actual results will be included in other filings Veeva makes with the SEC from time to time.

###

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005
An Edo High Court in Benin on Tuesday fixed June 28 for continued hearing in a suit filed by Ernest Izevbigie, against the Nigerian Breweries Plc over alleged deception.

Justice Esohe Ikpomwen, the Chief Judge of the state, adjourned the case till the date for the defendant to opens his case.

Mr Izevbigie, a professor of Biochemistry, had accused the company of allegedly inscribing misleading information, low sugar, on the can of one of its non-alcoholic drinks, Amstel Malt.

The case was filed through the claimants lawyer, Okonkwo Emmanuel, of Henry Idahagbon and Co. (Trinity Chambers).

Mr Emmanuel said that a laboratory investigation revealed that the product contained more sugar than the company claimed in the inscription on the brand.

He urged the court to order the company to tender a written apology to his client as he had been injured by the alleged deception.

Mr Izevbigie prayed the court to pronounce that the inscription on the product is misleading to the public.

According to him, during a medical check-up he recently undertook it was discovered that he had an increase in his blood sugar level.

The claimant said that the increase in his blood sugar level was traced to his regular intake of the malt drink.

Mr Izevbigie, during cross-examination by L. O. Ogiefere, counsel to the defendant, told the court that Amstel Malta did not merit the low sugar label, as proved by a clinical research.

According to him, the drink contained 10 cubes of sugar as against the 10 and a half to 10 and one-quarter cubes contained in other malt drinks.

(NAN)
Turkey and Israel expelled each others senior diplomats on Tuesday in a dispute over the killing by Israeli forces of 60 Palestinians a day earlier during protests on the Gaza border.

Turkey told Israels ambassador to leave the country on Tuesday after Israeli forces killed 60 Palestinians during protests on the Gaza border against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.

Turkey has been one of the most vocal critics of Israels response to the Gaza protests and of the U.S. Embassy move, recalling its ambassadors from Tel Aviv and Washington and calling for an emergency meeting of Islamic nations on Friday.

President Tayyip Erdogan described Mondays bloodshed, the deadliest for Palestinians since the 2014 Gaza conflict, as genocide and called Israel a terrorist state.

The government declared three days of mourning.

The Israeli ambassador was told that our envoy to Israel was called back for consultations, and was informed that it would be appropriate for him to go back to his country for some time, a Turkish Foreign Ministry source said.

Hours later Israels Foreign Ministry said the Turkish Consul-General in Jerusalem had been summoned and told to return to Turkey for consultations for a period of time.

The dispute appears to mark the worst diplomatic crisis between the two regional powers since Israeli marines stormed an aid ship to enforce a naval blockade of Gaza in 2010, killing 10 Turkish activists and prompting a downgrade in diplomatic ties that lasted until 2016.

Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Twitter Erdogan was in no position to preach morality to us because he supported the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas which rules Gaza.

There is no doubt he well understands terrorism and slaughter, Mr Netanyahu tweeted.

Mr Erdogan tweeted back that Netanyahu was the leader of an apartheid state that occupied defenceless peoples lands for more than 60 years in violation of UN resolutions, adding that he was criticising Turkey to deflect attention.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said that Muslim countries should review their ties with Israel after Mondays violence.

There have been demonstrations against Israel in Istanbul and in the capital Ankara.

Mr Erdogan, who is campaigning for presidential and parliamentary elections in June, said a rally would be held on Friday to protest the killings.

Turkish government spokesperson, Bekir Bozdag, told parliament the rally will once again show that the Turkish people will not remain silent in the face of injustice and cruelty, that they defend the victims in the face of the cruel.

The plight of Palestinians resonates with many Turks, including with the nationalist and religious voters, who form the base of Erdogans support.

Bozdag said that Turkey held the U.S. equally accountable for Mondays violence.

The blood of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of the U.S., he said. The U.S. is part of the problem, not the solution.

Relations between Ankara and Washington, two NATO allies, have been deeply strained over the embassy move, disagreements over military deployment in north Syria, and court cases against Turkish and U.S. nationals in each country.

(Reuters/NAN)
Uneasy was the contenance on Ebele Nwaka as she struggled to climb down one of the stairs of Asokoro District Hospital.

Mrs Nwaka is carrying a seven-month old pregnancy and she is an albino.

As our correspondent helps her down the stairs, she complained bitterly.

I came to see my doctor but none of the nurses who normally help me are around. They say they are all on strike. I am going through pains.

The Asokoro facility where Mrs Nwaka receives antenatal care is one of the many state hospitals in the country that last Thursday, joined the Health Workers strike which has been on for a month now.

When the strike commenced on April 17, federal hospitals across the country were crippled, until last Thursday when the situation worsened as the states and local governments joined, in a bid to force the government to act.

As the strike continues unabated, the situation is worsening for pregnant women and nursing mothers in dire need of either post or ante-care. This is because essential staff, nurses and midwives  some of the most influential members of JOHESU  have all downed tools.

Pregnant women may be cared for by an Obstetrician but the role of midwives and nurses during and after pregnancy can never be over-emphasised and Mrs Nwaka is living the pain of their absence.

There were beats of blood on her toes as she was helped out of the almost empty facility.

Some of the administrative staff at the reception were all chatting in a jolly mood. There was no work to do or patients to attend to.

An attendant over the registration counter who was busy playing video game on his phone told our correspondent that the facility is only open for emergency.

Only our emergency and accident ward is fully open.

Armed security men were at the gate. They say they are there to make sure the striking health workers do not disturb doctors attending to patients.

Kubwa General Hospital

The situation was the same at the Kubwa general hospital in Abuja. Services were halted as most of the staff were not on duty.

As compared to the usual crowded corridors and waiting rooms, the hospital environment was quite empty.

Most of the waiting rooms were open but there was nobody inside.

A few doctors were seen on ground, especially at the emergency ward, attending to patients

The male surgical ward had less than five patients while there was no patient at all at the Eye clinic and physiotherapy section.

However the cash point at the accident and emergency section was opened for patients who have to pay for services.

Speaking to the cashier who refused giving her name, she said though health workers are on strike, they are performing skeletal services.

Empty post/antenatal reception at Wuse District Hospital

A nurse who pleaded anonymity said though they are on strike, she decided to come around because she pities the patients.

The nurse who was not in her uniform said many patients still visit the hospital in spite of the strike.

People still come, not knowing health workers are on strike. I am not happy about the strike, but what can we do than to join them.

I am not aware of any fatality at the moment, but its unfair because many people have been seeking professional help from private hospitals and that is very expensive. Many people cannot afford the bills, she lamented.

The head of nursing at the facility refused speaking with our reporter.

According to her, she is not liable to talk about the strike or the effect it has on the hospital.

Like Maitama, like Wuse District Hospital

Both Maitama General Hospital and the Wuse District hospital in Abuja bear a tell-tale sign of desertion.

While the post/antenatal care section at the Wuse hospital was shut, the Maitama facility was practically empty, starting from the reception.

It was observed that both facilities are performing skeletal operations.

The nationwide strike was called by JOHESU (Joint Health Sector Union) an association comprising all other health workers except doctors.

Their demand, among others is for the government to increase their pay.

In the first week of the strike, PREMIUM TIMES observed the level of compliance across federal health institutions in Abuja.

Empty reception at Asokoro District Hospital

Then, a woman in labour was seen struggling with her condition and nurses and midwives were not around to attend to her.

Government Dilemma

The government is now in dilemma on how to end the strike especially because of the threat of doctors. The doctors union, NMA, says it would commence strike if the federal government accedes to the request of JOHESU on salaries.

On Monday, the health workers union, in response to the doctors threat, accused the NMA and the health ministry of sabotage.

Negotiations are, however, ongoing between the government and the health workers to resolve the strike.
The federal government has directed all heads of medical institutions to provide adequate security for the working members of staff to prevent harassment and molestation by members of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU).

According to a press statement issued by the ministry of health on Tuesday, Isaac Adewole, the health minister, gave the directive after his attention was drawn to a press briefing by the President of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Ugochukwu Chinaka, who accused members of the Joint Health Sector Union JOHESU of harassing and molesting members of NARD and other medical officers at their respective duty posts.

The minister, in the statement, cautioned the members of the striking union not to harass or molest medical officers at their duty posts and ordered all heads of medical institutions to urgently provide adequate security for the working members of staff.

According to the statement, Mr Adewole was also informed that JOHESU members were accused of locking- up government health facilities to prevent those who are not on strike from gaining access to the facilities.

In view of this, the minister stated that in as much as members of JOHESU have the right to embark on strikes, they do not have the constitutional right to harass other health workers including members of JOHESU who choose to work.

He also said JOHESU members do not have right to lock-up government facilities.

The federal government would not accept nor condone any act of irresponsibility and disobedience to constituted authorities. All locked health facilities should be opened immediately to enable the facilities provide required services while negotiation continues, Mr Adewole said.

The minister reiterated that any person found disturbing the peace in any health facility should be made to face the law.

The national chairman of JOHESU, Biobebelemoye Josiah, had accused doctors and the ministry of health of sabotage and insincerity in handling their demands.

The chairman had said that Nigerian doctors are planning to frustrate ongoing talks to end the four-week-old strike embarked upon by the union.

Due to the ongoing JOHESU strike, many tertiary and secondary health institutions across the country have been shut down while many are performing below maximum standard. This is due to the fact that all other health workers are not on duty and only doctors have been attending to patients.
The Senate on Tuesday adopted various resolutions to prevent an outbreak of ebola virus in Nigeria.

Part of the resolutions was to urge two ministers to be pro-active in preventing an outbreak of the disease already ravaging the East African country of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday said it has been authorised to use an experimental vaccine to combat an outbreak of Ebola in the DRC, where at least 19 people have been killed by the virus.

To forestall an outbreak in Nigeria, as experienced in Nigeria in 2014, Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos-APC) presented a motion on the issue on Tuesday.

Mrs Tinubu flashed back to the 2014 situation where a carrier immigrant from Liberia transferred the disease to Nigeria.

She said, The Senate recalls with great distress that an infected immigrant who arrived Nigeria on the 23rd of July was the index case of the ebola virus in Nigeria. With varying symptoms ranging from fever to diarrhoea, there were a total of 869 contacts and 20 laboratory confirmed cases were recorded.

The Senate is be reminded that the tide was stemmed by quick response of the Nigerian government vid declaration of emergency, collaboration of federal and states Ministries of Health, use of incidence management approach, identification and follow up contacts.

The Senate is saddened that in spite of quick measures taken, the epidemic claimed eight lives including those of medical personnel who put their lives at risk to contain the disease.

The Senate is disturbed that recent reports of media outlets and the World Health Organisation show that the disease is back in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo with 19 dead and 39 casualties recorded so far.

The Senate is further reminded that DRC is 445 kilometres by air from Abuja, is easily accessible via a flight from Lagos that takes less than three hours.

Senate also notes report of WHO stating that Nigeria and other African countries are at modest risk of spread.

The Senate is worried that unless we prepare our hospitals properly equipped with the ebola vaccine where necessary, this is an epidemic we might be unable to take up and will only cause untold hardship.

The Senate is further worried that if we do nothing, given our population, we may well be on our way to creating a global situation.

Adopting the three recommendations in the motion, the Senate urged the Minister of Interior to take necessary steps to check immigration

It also urged the Minister of Health to ensure alertness to combat disease in whatever cases may rise and get the ebola vaccine ready for an emergency while advising Nigerians who travel to other African countries to ensure utmost level of care to avoid getting infected.

In an additional prayer by Chief Whip, Olusola Adeyeye, the Senate called for a quick resolution of the ongoing crisis in the health sector.
The National Chairman of JOHESU, Biobebelemoye Josiah, has alerted the public on purported efforts by Nigerian doctors to frustrate ongoing talks to end the four-week-old strike embarked upon by the union.

Mr Josiah, who raised the alarm when he fielded questions from journalists in Abuja, also accused the Ministry of Health of collaborating with the doctors in suppressing JOHESUs legitimate demands from the government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that JOHESU had on April 17 embarked on industrial action to press home its demands bordering on improved healthcare facilities and welfare.

The strike by the union has so far crippled healthcare delivery in public health institutions across the country.

But the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, had on Wednesday confirmed that negotiations were on with JOHESU to end the strike.

He said: Negotiations are still on with JOHESU and the Minister of Labour is leading the negotiation, and we expect that we will conclude on all issues very soon.

However, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) had in a statement threatened to withdraw their services across health institutions in the country if the federal government acceded to the demands of JOHESU and other health workers.

The doctors statement read in part: The NMA wishes to draw the attention of the Federal Government to our correspondence of April 21, 2014, on the above, in which we reminded Government of the collective bargaining agreement we had with the Federal Government of Nigeria in January 2014.

It is also pertinent to once again remind Government about the concluding part of our letter no. NMA/PRE/SG/03/0751 of 21st March 2014, which states, `In view of the above, the NMA painfully wishes to inform the Federal Government of Nigeria that any award to the non-medically qualified health professionals that violates the January and July agreements of 2014 shall result in the resumption of the suspended withdrawal of service of 2014. Please take this as a notice, Sir.

The above reminder is predicated on the extension of the ongoing strike action embarked upon by the amorphous body called `JOHESU, to States and Local Government Councils, the basis of which is to strengthen its callous and ill motivated agitation for pay parity between her members and doctors with the resultant erosion of relativity and further hierarchical distortion in the health sector vis-a-vis her clandestine romance with some top government officials.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Nigerian Medical Association wishes to restate her positions on the various demands of JOHESU:

We oppose vehemently, any adjustment in CONHESS SALARY SCALE with resultant pay parity between doctors and healthcare professionals allied to medicine, and hereby reaffirm that relativity is sacrosanct, the statement read in part.

The president of JOHESU, however, alleged that the two ministers of health were not serious in ending the strike in view of their position in support of the demands of the doctors at the detriment of JOHESU.

Prof. Isaac Adewole. Minister of Health

He said: This very agreement was entered into and then a memo was made to Mr President as they claimed even though they gave us a copy later.

When they made this memo it was in December and the ministry of health defended her budget in February, but did not deem it to include that the amount it worked for the payment or settlement of this very issue.

This goes a long way to show that there was dishonesty, insincerity from the beginning on the part of the ministry (Federal Ministry of Health) because most probably the minister is a doctor; minister of state (Health) is a doctor and minister of labour who is supposed to be the chief negotiator, is also a medical doctor.

It would be recalled that JOHESU had on Friday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately intervene in the ongoing industrial action embarked upon by the union.

The National Vice Chairman of JOHESU, Ogbonna Chimela, made the call when he fielded questions from State House correspondents at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Vice Chairman of the Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), Ogbonna Chimela

Mr Chimela, who is also the National President of Nigeria Union of Allied Health Professionals (NUAHP), said the call was informed by the fact the meeting between the union and the officials of the Federal Ministry of Health had ended in a deadlock as there was no common ground reached to resolve the crisis.

He, therefore, stated that Mr Buharis intervention had become necessary to avert possible collapse of the nations health system.

According to him, the president was being blanketed from vital information concerning the situation in the health sector.

From our investigation and from what we know now, we have discovered that our president, President Muhammadu Buhari, has not been well informed of the happenings in the health sector, is like some information are being blanketed; not getting to him because we know whom he is.

He is a sincere man who has the love of an average Nigerian at heart.

We know that he is humane and he cannot toy with the lives of Nigerians if he is well aware of this present situation in the health sector we know he would go direct in arresting the issue and resolve it.

So, we are calling on Mr President to quickly intervene in this matter because JOHESU and its members are not strike mongers, we dont love strike, he said.

(NAN)
The Senate and House of Representatives joint ad-hoc committee investigating the April 18 Senate invasion has summoned two senators.

Ovie Omo-Agege (APC, Delta) and Ali Ndume (APC, Borno) were summoned for allegedly aiding the invaders who stole the Senate mace.

Some minutes into the Senate plenary on April 18, the chamber was invaded by men who made away with the mace.

The raiders ran out of the chamber and left the National Assembly in a convoy of four vehicles with the mace, the Senates symbol of authority.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported security complicity in the event.

The police recovered the mace and said they had arrested six suspects, while investigation was still ongoing.

Senate President Bukola Saraki later inaugurated the ad-hoc committee to investigate the invasion and mace theft.

He vowed that the lawmakers will work to restore the integrity of the institution, adding that the violation of the upper chamber will not be ignored.

The chairman of the investigating committee, Bala Ibn NaAllah (APC, Kebbi), issued the summon to the two senators at the committee meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.

This followed testimonies from heads of different security agencies within the National Assembly alleging that Mr Omo-Agege led seven unauthorised persons into the red chamber and disrupted plenary.

A witness was also alleged that Mr Ndume hindered the mace keeper from taking away the mace to safety.

Based on the testimony of the Sergeant-at-arms before the committee, you (Mr Ndume) are alleged to have prevented the mace keeper from taking away the mace to safety.

The committee has, therefore, deemed it necessary to invite you in order to respond to that allegation.

As regards to Omo-Agege, based on the testimony of the DPO, the SSS and the Sergeant-at-arms, you are alleged to have entered the National Assembly accompanied by seven persons who allegedly took the mace of the Senate during plenary session on April 18, at about 11:30 a.m.

All those who testified, stated that the said people were cleared into the chamber based on your confirmation that they were with you.

The committee, in pursuance of this, has deemed it necessary to formally invite you to respond to these allegations on Wednesday, May 16 at 11:00am, Mr NaAllah read out the format of the letter to be issued to the summoned lawmakers.

Prior to the summon, the Director of the State Security Service, National Assembly, Bulus Achi, read out the SSSs report upon investigation.

He established that Based on the testimony of the Sergeant-at-arms before the committee, you (Mr Ndume) are alleged to have prevented the mace keeper from taking away the mace to safety.

The committee has, therefore, deemed it necessary to invite you in order to respond to that allegation.

As regards to Omo-Agege, based on the testimony of the DPO, the SSS and the Sergeant-at-arms, you are alleged to have entered the National Assembly accompanied by seven persons who allegedly took the mace of the Senate during plenary session on April 18, at about 11:30 a.m.

All those who testified, stated that the said people were cleared into the chamber based on your confirmation that they were with you.

The committee, in pursuance of this, has deemed it necessary to formally invite you to respond to these allegations on Wednesday, May 16 at 11:00am, Mr NaAllah read out the format of the letter to be issued to the summoned lawmakers.

Prior to the summon, the Director of State Security Service, National Assembly, Bulus Achi, read out the SSSs report upon investigation.

He stated that there was no official communication from the management to the SSS directing them to stop the suspended senator from entering the National Assembly following his suspension.

He established that Mr Omo-Agege came in with seven unidentified persons dressed in black and native wears as he said six of them were arrested with him while one of the suspects escaped using the Presidential Villa gate.

Mr Achi also said at the entry point to the chamber, there was confrontation between staff of sergeant at arms, Mr Omo-Agege and his people.

There was no official communication to us directing us that the senator should not be allowed into the complex following his suspension.

After grabbing the mace, security personnel were taken unaware of their exit as they had no clue what was happening inside the chamber, he said.

The director further disclosed that the surnames of the six suspects confirms that they are all Urhobo.

Complaining, however, Mr Achi said there was no proper means of communication after the thugs left and there was no standby vehicle to pursue the suspects.

The barricades at the Presidential Villa is not strong enough, that is why they were able to pull it down and pass through and lawmakers take offence when you want to search them or their visitors.

Staffs refuse to wear ID cards. Most lawmakers send their legislative aides at odd hours (at night) to the National Assembly, which is not supposed to be.

The standing rule is No visiting on Wednesdays, but Omo-Agege came in with seven visitors. They also refused to use dedicated car parks, he lamented.

He added that staff of Sergeant-at-arms are not properly trained and oriented and lack the capacity to prevent such happenings.

The panel also queried the Sergeant-at-arms, Muktar Usman, for leaving his duty post (which was primarily to guide the mace) to attend to injured colleagues during the raid.

Last week, the National Assembly Divisional Police Officer, Sulu-Gambari Abdul, accused lawmakers of conspiring with thugs who invaded the Senate chamber and took away the mace last month.

Mr Sulu-Gambari said the Senate invasion was an act of internal conspiracy among some security agencies and some lawmakers, confirming an earlier PREMIUM TIMES report that revealed the complicity of security agencies in the invasion.

The Senate invasion was condemned by most Nigerians including the federal government. The two chambers of the National Assembly subsequently set up a joint committee to investigate the incident.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday recalled events leading to his ouster as Nigerias military head of state and eventual incarceration for three years by a military government that succeeded him.

Mr Buharis short stint as Nigerias military ruler ended in August 1985 following a palace coup by unhappy elements within the military ranks led by his Chief of Army Staff, Ibrahim Babangida.

He said it was a battle he lost against corruption.

Speaking at the commissioning of new office complex for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Buhari repeated his claim that his removal was due to his stance against corruption.

He said he is not deterred by the notion that when you fight corruption, corruption would fight back.

My first attempt to fight corruption, corruption fought back successfully. I was removed from office and detained for three years, he said.

The president said in spite of that experience, his objective of fighting corruption remained steadfast.

Mr Buhari explained that since his coming to office as elected president in 2015, he has made very conscious decisions to pursue the fight against corruption.

Citing recoveries of trillions of naira he said his government has made from corrupt officials, the president gave himself a pass mark, saying he has made significant progress in the fight against corruption.

He said there is now a realisation that corrupt officials would be brought to justice no matter how long it takes.

In indirect response to allegations of bias in the governments fight against corruption, Mr Buhari said his administration never intended and does not engage in with-hunting but will call people to account within the law.

He urged the National Assembly to add more verve to the governments effort by reviewing archaic provisions that would address lapses in the legal frameworks.

Dogara Calls For Better Welfare

In his goodwill message, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, asked the federal government to turn its attention to improving the welfare of EFCC staff in order to insulate them from corruption.

Mr Dogara, whose short remarks received thunderous applause from staff of the commission, said building a headquarters for the commission, as important as it is was not enough commitment to the fight against corruption.

We have the ardent responsibility to insulate officers of this agency from temptation, he said.

He also spoke on the need to change the corruption narrative in Nigeria saying there are millions of Nigerians who do not bow before the god of corruption.

Nigeria Inspiring  Commonwealth Scribe

In her remarks, the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, said the determination of Nigeria is inspiring other countries to spur up the fight against corruption.

She hailed President Buharis example and his commitment to Nigerias efforts at recovery of stolen asset.

Ms Scotland also charged officials of the EFCC to remain determined and sustain the current momentum of the anti-corruption campaign.

We hope that this building will not only take the angels but will send all the corrupt [persons] to where they rightly belong, she said.

Magu Reveals Scorecard, Hails Predecessors

In his address, the acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu, said under his watch, the commission has recorded 486 convictions, in the last two and half years.

He said, this year alone, the EFCC has secured 89 convictions and for the first time in Nigeria, a senior advocate is convicted of corruption.

Mr Magu added that the commission has also recovered N500 billion, explaining that all monies recovered for the federal government were duly remitted into the federation account and those for individuals were given back to them.

He saluted the effort and commitment of his predecessors, from the founding chairman of the commission, Nuhu Ribadu, who got the commission its first building in Wuse, Abuja.

He said a new and bigger headquarters for the EFCC became a necessity in view of expansion over the years, as well as the need for security and confidentiality for the commissions operations.
Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has said that the defection of members of the nPDP from the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), cannot affect the chances of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2019 election.

Members of the New PDP who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to the APC in 2013, include five governors, some former governors, then Speaker of the House of Representatives and some members of the National Assembly.

Last Wednesday, some members of the nPDP wrote a letter to the National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, lamenting the lack of appreciation of their contributions to the success of the APC and Mr Buhari in the 2015 general elections.

A splinter group of the nPDP has since distanced itself from the claims of marginalisation. This faction, led by a former governor of Nasarawa State, Abdullahi Adamu, made this known on Monday at the national secretariat of the ruling party after it submitted a letter noting the fortunes of the nPDP bloc under President Muhammadu Buharis administration.

Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with Mr Buhari on Tuesday, the Kaduna governor said the president had been winning states where the former governors came from since 2003.

He also said Mr Buhari will win those states, with or without the support of the ex-governors.

Mr El-Rufai also spoke on last Saturdays local council elections in Kaduna State in which electronic voting was used for the first time.

Excerpts:

Why did you deploy electronic voting in your state for the local government elections?

I didnt come about it, it was the chairman of the state independent electoral commission, Saratu Dikko Audu, who was my chemistry teacher in the university that proposed the idea of electronic voting. She felt that since we used the card readers in the 2015 elections, the next logical step is to connect the card reader to an electronic voting system and we supported it.

They went on a study tour to Brazil, India to study their own voting systems and they finally ended up with a manufacturer in China. The same manufacturer that manufactured the card reader, designed and manufactured the electronic voting machines for us.

The Independent Electoral Commission of Kaduna State, brought in 300 of the machines and spent some months going round the state, market places, peoples homes to test the use of the machines to show that ordinary people can use it.

It cost us a lot of money, the entire election cost us in the region of N4 billion. But, mind you with the electronic voting now we dont need ballot paper, so we saved N1.7 billion in ballot papers alone. And, these machines can be used for three or four more elections because they can last for 10 years. All we need is to upgrade the software to add more parties and so on.

So, we believe that overall, it is good value for money and it has worked very well. What we are very happy about is that ordinary people could use it, the interface was friendly, simply and you can finish voting for the chairman and councellor in less than 15 seconds.

So what difference did it make in terms of credibility?

I think it gave people the confidence that their votes mattered and for many people that didnt even want to go out to vote in the elections, curiosity of the electronic voting machines brought them out.

It made a lot of difference because the electronic voting machine has a record of how many people have voted and once the time for voting closes, it closes and you cannot take it and add more votes. Of course human factors intervened, some people abducted the presiding officers with the machines and engaged in multiple voting.

Some people tried to change the results and of course we are still doing manual collection. But the data in the electronic voting machine can still be used to discredit some of those changes during the tribunal process. And in areas where there were gross abuses in some of the wards and local governments, KASIEC (Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission), has decided that there will be bye-elections.

One of the problems that led to the human factor problems that I mentioned was because INEC denied us the use of the card reader. When we were designing the machine, we had the option of integrating the card reader, so that you come with your voters card, put in your voters card biometrically, confirm that it is your card and then the machine will open for you to vote.

But we thought that will be too complicated since people are used to being accredited separately, it is better we take INECs card reader for accreditation and then our machine for voting. But a week to the election, INEC said they are not going to give us the card readers. The reasons they gave to me were not acceptable.

I called the chairman and I tried to persuade him to make it available to us but we didnt get the card reader. I am hoping, I have spoken to him again, that for the bye-elections, the two local governments and the other wards, we are going to get the card readers so that the human link that is subject to abuse would be eliminated and then you cannot change anything.

If you change anything the card reader, it will expose the number of those accredited and that number must tally with the number of people that voted, otherwise the result gets automatically cancelled. So we are working on that. I have just seen Mr President, I have briefed him on this and he has expressed his pleasure at the way and manner as a party in Kaduna, we are allowed free and fair elections.

The president believes in free, fair and credible elections and he said it doesnt matter if you lose some local governments, what is important is for the elections to be free and fair. This is an APC government, it is a government of fairness and justice.

Some people are also saying that the electoral law does not support electronic voting. What do you have to say to that?

I dont agree with that. There is an amendment to the Electoral Act that President (Goodluck) Jonathan signed a few days before he left office which legitimises the use of the card readers and other electronic systems for voting. So, in my view, the current Electoral Act has provision for the electoral voting.

But, that is not even what we used in Kaduna. In Kaduna, we enacted our own electoral law that made provision for electronic voting machines and card readers, everything was totally legitimised and passed by our State House of Assembly and I think every state can do the same. But, I also believe that the current legal framework allows for it.

Are you recommending the use of electronic voting generally?

Absolutely. I recommend it highly to everyone, I have already offered to my colleagues state governors that are yet to conduct local government elections that they can come to Kaduna and we can give them the machines on mutually acceptable terms.

All you will need is to change the software, it will have the logo of the state and the number of parties active in the state and they can use it. It is easy. At the federal level, I will recommend it as well because with the card reader and the electronic voting machine, the era of rigging elections is almost over and I think that is when people will have confidence in the process.

The machines have already been manufactured, the designs are there, you only need to place the orders to the Chinese and Im sure they will deliver them in no time. But, you need some months to go round and do some advocacy, to show people how to use it. I think it may be possible to use it in the next elections but I am not INEC. INEC has a better appreciation of their logistics challenges. I can only give my own opinion.

Some people are saying with the grievances of the nPDP, the presidents electoral value will diminish. Do you agree with that?

I dont agree and I want to go back to 2003. What are we talking about? Who are these new PDP people that are threatening? This is Kwara, Kano, Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers but I dont think (Rotimi) Amaechi is part of them. So lets take these four states, go back to 2003 and check.

President Buhari [Photo Credit: Buharis Twitter page]

Buhari then under ANPP won in all these four states. Go back to 2007, Buhari won in these four states. Even when Shekarau was running as a presidential candidate in 2011, Buhari defeated him in Kano. And, I have no doubt in my mind that even if the people threatening to leave, leave, it will have absolutely no impact on the presidential elections. The president will win Sokoto, Kwara and Adamawa easily. Kano is already in the bag.

I mean, if you saw the crowd that welcomed the president. Without the former governor (Rabiu) Kwankwaso, Kano has always been the presidents base. To me that is not the issue, the issue is that they have written, they have expressed grievances, some of the grievances are legitimate and should be looked into. But to threaten to leave the party is neither here nor there.

If they are honest with themselves they know that President Buhari will win those states with or without them. But if you have a grievance, we are a party and politics is a game of addition not subtraction, so we dont want to lose anyone.

So, I think those the letters were addressed to ought to study it and look into what is reasonably possible to accommodate them because politics as I said is a game of addition.
The Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) will on Thursday formally launch the countrys online investors guide.

The Executive Secretary of NIPC, Yewande Sadiku, said the portal, which is already running, could be accessed through the NIPC website.

She said the platform would allow investors from around the world have access from anywhere and at any time. Basic information would be available for potential investment opportunities in Nigeria.

Ms Sadiku said the online portal was part of a series of initiatives by the investment promotion agency towards investment facilitation in the country.

Through the online platform, she said investors would get information and regular updates about the latest economic indices from agencies, such as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), approvals from National Agency for Food & Drug Administration & Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), infrastructure regulatory concession agency and others.

Operations at the one-stop investment centre established since 2006, have been updated to allow potential investors visit a single location to do a number of businesses with about 27 different federal and regional agencies, Ms Sadiku said.

Some of the services available through the centre include business registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); obtaining Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) tax identification number (TIN) and certificate of business registration, among others.

She said officials from different sectors of the economy, like the Nigeria Immigrations Service and Nigeria Customs Service were also available at the centre with equipment to show the duties and rules applicable to investors dealing with them.

In 2017, the executive secretary said a compendium of incentives was produced in collaboration with FIRS to provide investors information on the various incentives available in Nigeria based on tax laws, duties and other sector specific benefits.

Although the reform of the pioneer status incentives was completed last year, Ms Sadiku said the report was yet to be made public until a validation process was completed.

The reform, which began in 2016, is to ensure greater transparency, accountability and better guidance to the pioneer status incentive process.

It was also to give greater clarity to the pioneer status incentive process, by sector, state, number of employees, others.

The pioneer status incentive approval process involves 12 stages, seven of which are with the NIPC, involving a period of 18 weeks.

Other five stages involve industrial inspectorate department of the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Investment over seven weeks.

Ms Sadiku said the NIPC was working with public sector partners, namely Finance and Investment Ministries, FIRS and NBS as well as other international agencies to carry out an impact assessment on pioneer status incentives.

She said the exercise would determine whether the incentives achieved the objectives for which they were approved in the different sectors of the economy.

Following the completion of the reform, the NIPC scribe said approval was given for additional incentives to the list, which has not been updated since its initial approval by the Executive Council of the Federation in 2006.

Also, a review of the regime of incentives is to be carried out on a biennial basis to determine what sectors or industries needed to be added or removed, based on their maturity levels.

While efforts would be sustained to continue attracting foreign direct investments to Nigeria, the executive secretary said the NIPC would not neglect its commitment to encourage Nigerians to invest in their country.

As part of that commitment, she said the NIPC was working with the NBS on a domestic direct investment drive aimed at tracking and collating information on investment opportunities to provide Nigerian investors a data base on the volume of investments from the country.

Since the beginning of this year, Ms Sadiku said her commission has been engaging with states investment promotion agencies to collate and profile investment opportunities across the country.

The arrangement, she said, was to give the states equal opportunity to showcase their potential to prospective investors.

This would ensure Nigerian investors were not made to become bystanders in the development of the investment potentials in the country.

Also, the commission was working with these agencies to harmonize their investment efforts to ensure both were working together in the same direction.

There are a number of initiatives to strengthen the states to promote investments in their domains, she said.

These include the Nigerian investment Certification Programme for states, which involves states being taken through three standards on information, property and marketing.

The commission also has a document that summarizes investment prospects for each State of the federation, showing the competitive advantages of each, investment opportunities and State demography as well as ease of doing business information.

Since January last year, she said, the NIPC began tracking the various investment announcements in the country on different sectors of the economy showing the investment information and interests in the country in the different quarters of the year.

Based on the data captured, she said quarterly reports were prepared highlighting areas of interest to investors to enable the Commission follow up on as they mature from announcement to investment opportunity.

In the first quarter of 2017, the report showed about 112 projects were tracked in 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory, valued at about $66.36 billion.

These are only investment announcements. Not actual investments. Its possible an announcement is made, MoU signed, but the investment that actually comes in is less than the amount that was originally announced or does not even happen at all, she explained.

In the corresponding period in 2018, the report showed about $17.9 billion worth of investment opportunities in 32 projects across eight states were tracked.

This is about thrice the number tracked in same period in 2016 where only about $6.3 billion of investment announcements were made.

Details of the announcements showed that oil and gas accounted for 72 per cent, valued at $12.9 billion; services $4.5 billion, or 25.3 per cent; manufacturing $440 million, or 2.5 per cent and agriculture $10 million, or 0.1 per cent.

Announcement by country of origin basis showed that $9 billion, or 50.3 per cent of the investors came from the UK; followed by Nigeria ($4.21 billion) or 23.6 per cent; U.S. ($2.35 billion) or 13.2 per cent and China ($1.2 billion), or 6.7 per cent.

The report said announcements involving the states showed that the bulk was from Lagos ($3 billion), and then Ogun ($1.04 billion), Niger ($754.7 million), Gombe ($315 million) and Kano ($174.6 million).
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday said his administration would not disappoint Nigerians, saying everything possible was being done to ameliorate their hardship.

Mr Buhari stated this during an All Progressives Congress(APC) rally in Dutse as part of activities of his two day working visit to Jigawa.

He said that he was aware of hardship faced by people as a result of the economic crunch and hike in prices of essential commodities.

The president said the federal government has stopped the importation of rice to encourage the local

encourage local production and empower farmers.

He thanked the government and people of Jigawa for their warm reception and support to the administration.

In his remarks, Governor Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa State reminded the people that President Buhari had been doing his best. He said the economy of the country was in a mess when he (Buhari) took over.

Mr Badaru said as part of his contribution, the state government would continue to embark on projects that would impact positively on the lives of the people.

Recently, we introduced social security allowances of between N50,000 to N100,000 in all political wards

to cater for immediate problems of people before approaching the government for intervention, he said.

He said these problems included minor repairs of boreholes and medication, among others.

The governor said that the present administration would continue to remain focused in line with the policies and

programmes of the federal government.

(NAN)
The FCT Police Command has confirmed the arrest of 60 members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in the territory during a violent protest on Monday in Abuja.

The group defied warning from the police and staged the violent protest to demand the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who had been detention since 2016.

The spokesman of the police in the FCT, Anjuguri Manzah, a deputy superintendent of police, confirmed the arrest to journalists in an interview on Tuesday at the Garki Hospital.

Mr Manzah was in the hospital to see how the two personnel of the command, who sustained varied degree of injuries while dispersing the protesters, were recuperating.

They are Linus Ogah, a superintendent of police, who had bruises on his face and could hardly speak or open his eyes, and Mary Ameh, an inspector, who sustained injury in one of her hands.

The spokesperson said that bullet had been removed from Ms Amehs hand, adding that the protesters also destroyed some police operational vehicles.

During the Monday protest, members of IMN or otherwise known as Shiites engaged police and haul stones at police personnel deployed to disperse them.

They also smashed some vehicle glasses parked around the Federal Secretariat, he said.

On April 16, the police had arrested 115 members of the sect when they embarked on a similar violent protest to demand that their leader be freed.

Mr Manzah, who said that though citizens had right to protest, advised that they should do that in a civil manner and not disturb public peace.

He said that the command had taken proactive measures to check violent protest in the territory.

(NAN)
A professor of Islamic Studies, Abdulrasaq Abubakre, says it is against the tenets of Islam to receive salary for the period one has not worked.

Mr Abubakre said this in Ilorin on Tuesday while speaking against the backdrop of the ongoing national strike by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

JOHESU is demanding an upward adjustment of CONHESS Salary Scale, arrears of skipping of CONHESS 10 and employment of additional health professionals.

JOHESU is also asking for implementation of court judgments and upward review of retirement age from 60 to 65 years.

But the don, who recently retired from the University of Ilorin, said unions in Nigeria should find ways of resolving grievances with the government rather than resorting to strike.

If you pay zakat on the salary you received and did not work for, you will not receive the intended reward from God.

The perspective of Islam is that of trust, trust is very crucial in Islam. JOHESU members are entrusted with the concern and care of patients across hospitals in Nigeria.

Money is important but it is secondary, secondary in the sense that your primary role is to save lives.

Health workers must understand that it is God that heals and they must have this at the back of their minds, he said.

He also said the country must develop a culture of responsibility and response, urging the government to also be alive to its responsibilities.

The don condemned what he said was JOHESUs demand for parity with medical doctors, saying it was unreasonable. Mr Abubakre said the foundation of JOHESUs strike was weak, urging its leaders to be serious and reasonable in their negotiations.

He, however, called on the federal government to be proactive and always prevent strikes from happening rather than finding solutions to industrial disputes.

Also a Christian cleric, Cornelius Fawenu, also corroborated the views of Mr Abubakre, saying the position of Christianity on receiving salaries for the period one did not work was clear and unambiguous.

From the biblical perspective, the scripture is clear; it says he who does not work must not eat.

I am sure it is from the salary that you eat from, it is not wise and it is not moral that you expect to be paid for the work you have not done.

The scripture also says that when you hire a labourer to work for you, his sweat must not dry up before you pay him.

The wages must be commensurate with the work done, the reverend said.

The former Secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Kwara, said health workers must consider the nature of their profession before embarking on strike.

These people should know that even though they have grievances, the humane side of them should be able to come to play.

Those who are suffering now are not in government; when those in government want to access medical care, they know where to go, he said.
Nigerian Navy (NN) acquired 173 assorted boats, including Epenal boats, Rigid Hull Inflatable boats and Hydrographic Survey boats in 2017 to boost its operations in the maritime domain, the Chief of Naval Staff, Ibok-Ete Ibas, said.

The naval chief disclosed this at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja as part of activities to mark Navys 62nd anniversary celebration taking place between May 23 and June 1.

Mr Ibas, a vice admiral, said the theme of the 2018 Navy Week celebration is Enhancing an Integrated Maritime Strategy for Security in the Gulf of Guinea.

Represented by Begroy Ibe-Enwo, a rear admiral and Chief of Naval Transformation, Mr Ibas said the boats had enhanced navys capacity to police and carry out surveillance of Nigerias maritime environment.

He said boosting the navy fleet had been a top priority consideration of his leadership.

He added that it is my great pleasure to inform you that NN concomitantly acquired the 173 assorted boats, including Epenal boats, Rigid Hull Inflatable boats, and Hydrographic Survey boats in the last one year.

The navy also acquired ships from some foreign countries and complemented local construction of ships and boats.

In addition, defective NN ships are being refitted at the Naval Dockyard Limited Victoria Island, Lagos and the Naval Shipyard Limited Port Harcourt to ensure availability.

The NN recently acquired six ocean fast patrol boats from France which will be inaugurated soon.

Mr Ibas said the navy had also carried out several notable exercises and operations in 2017.

He added that such operations were specifically aimed at checking crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, piracy/sea robbery and illegal fishing, among others.

Operation Tsare Teku and River Sweep are ongoing operations to address illegalities in the Blue and Brown waters respectively.

He noted that the maritime exercise had assisted the NN in reducing the menace of piracy and other criminal activities in the Gulf of Guinea since its inception in 2011.

He disclosed that at least 42 vessels had been arrested so far for involving in various illegalities in Nigerias maritime domain and were undergoing various stages of investigations for subsequent prosecution.

Furthermore, NN personnel were involved in various internal security operations in some states of the federation, including Borno, Yobe, Adamawa and Plateau states.

He noted that the navy had been unrelenting in its operations to protect the nations maritime environment against all forms of threats, stressing that in this regard, NN routinely carries out surveillance and patrol of the maritime area with available surveillance systems, ships and helicopters.

He explained that the navy also upgraded its maritime surveillance equipment, including the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability (RMAC) and the Falcon Eye systems to improve maritime domain awareness.

On activities for the 2018 Navy Week celebration, Mr Ibas said the week would commence inauguration of some projects in the commands such as the Nigerian Navy Military School, Ikot Ntuen in Akwa Ibom, to be

inaugurated on May 23.

He noted that special jumaat prayers for the week activities would be held in Abuja area and the commands would hold theirs on May 25.

He said there would be inter-denominational Church service in Abuja and same would be held simultaneously in the commands on Sunday, May 27.

Additionally, some NN ships will be open to visitors on May 28 in major naval bases at Lagos, Calabar and Port Harcourt.

The ships will remain open to visitors till Wednesday, May 30, when the 2018 Regional Maritime Exercise (REMEX) will be launched at Naval Dockyard Limited, Victoria Island, Lagos.

The naval chief said the celebration would round off on June 1 with a Ceremonial Sunset in Lagos.

The Ceremonial Sunset is a symbolic traditional naval ceremony, which usually marks the conclusion of special events, he said.

(NAN)
The federal government on Tuesday signed $6.68 billion contract agreement for the Ibadan-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line with China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC).

The information is in a statement by Yetunde Sonaike, the Director, Press, Federal Ministry of Transportation in Abuja.

Mrs Sonaike stated that the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, signed the contract and said the agreement was for the implementation of Addendum no. 4, indicating the Ibadan-Kaduna segment of the Lagos-Kano rail line.

The director quoted Mr Amaechi as saying this agreement is for the Ibadan-Kaduna rail line, which is part of the Lagos-Kano rail line, the completion time of the contract should be between two to three years, depending on availability of funds.

Mr Amaechi promised that the ministry would be able to provide its counterpart funding between 2018 and 2019 budget provision, stating that the contract was a fulfillment of Federal Governments plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project.

He added that the Ibadan-Kaduna standard gauge line will pass through Oshogbo-Ilorin-Minna to Kaduna, with a single track branch line from Oshogbo to Ado-Ekiti.

This contract is in fulfillment of federal governments plan to complete the Lagos-Kano rail modernisation project started in 2006 and broken into segments for implementation.

The segmentation phase commenced from Abuja-Kaduna rail line in 2011, which was completed and commissioned into commercial operation by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016.

The federal government in March 2017 commenced the second leg of the Lagos-Kano line that is currently ongoing and planned to be completed by the end of 2018.

The signing of the IbadanKaduna segment contract agreement today concludes all outstanding segments of the Lagos-Kano rail line.

(NAN)
The Delta Central senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, who was previously suspended for 90 days, will be allowed to resume is office in accordance with a court ruling, the Senate said late Monday.

In a statement by its spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi, the Senate said it has been briefed by lawyers on the court judgement nullifying Mr Omo-Ageges suspension.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court nullified the suspension of Mr Omo-Agege last week Thursday.

Mr Dimgba said the Senates decision regarding the suspension, as well as the pattern adopted by the National Assembly, was constitutionally defective.

Following the judgement, an aide to Senate President Bukola Saraki, said the Senate has approached the court to appeal the ruling and institute a stay of execution.

Mr Omo-Agege in reaction on Monday said the appeal will not hinder his resumption as the stay of execution which the Senate applied for has not been granted.

In its statement late on Monday, the Senate said it would allow the senator resume in obedience to the court order.

The Senate leadership has been briefed by our lawyers on last Thursdays judgement of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on whether the Senate has the legal authority to suspend a member for certain misconduct or not.

We have equally filed an appeal against the judgement of the court and a motion for stay of execution of the judgement at the Court of Appeal.

As an institution that obeys the law and court orders, the Senate has decided that it will comply with the judgement of the Federal High Court and do nothing to stop Senator Ovie Omo-Agege from resuming in his office and at plenary from tomorrow May 15, 2018, pending the determination of the application for stay of execution.

The Senate has been advised that since the motion for stay of execution of the Thursday (May 10, 2018) judgement shall be heard and possibly determined on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, we shall therefore respect the subsisting High Court judgement and await the appellate courts decision on the pending motion.

On Monday, NAN reports that security was beefed up at the National Assembly in anticipation of Mr Omo-Ageges resumption.
Contrary to expectation, Delta Central Senator, Ovie Omo-Agege, failed to resume at the Senate plenary on Tuesday.

Mr Omo-Agege was expected to resume plenary and other legislative duties on Tuesday after a federal high court last week quashed his suspension from the Senate.

But he did not not show up at the close of plenary, even though the Senate had also stated it would not stop him from resuming his seat.

As early as 9:30 a.m., journalists stationed their cameras around the entrance of the Senate chamber to catch on tape the resumption of the senator.

By 10:55 a.m. when plenary started, Mr Omo-Agege did not show up. He did not till the end of the plenary some minutes after 1p.m.

Mr Omo-Agege was also not in his office.

When PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited Tuesday afternoon, a female receptionist was on hand to receive visitors.

The Senate in April suspended Mr Omo-Agege, for accusing his colleagues of working against President Muhammadu Buharis re-election plans in 2019. The senator made the accusation after his colleagues adopted the amendment to section 25 of Electoral Act outlining a change in the sequence of elections.

A week after, Dino Melaye (Kogi-APC) drew the attention of the Senate specifically to the comments made by Mr Omo-Agege.

The matter was referred to the Committee on Ethics and Privileges to investigate which recommended 181 days of suspension.

The committee said the punishment was imperative because the senator took the issue to court after it was referred to the committee.

The days of suspension was however reduced to 90 after pleas by Senate President Bukola Saraki. The Senate said it suspended Mr Omo-Agege for dragging the matter to court.

Mr Omo-Agege had approached the court to determine whether the Senate has authority to investigate and even discipline a senator, whose case is already before a court of law.

Justice Nnamdi Dimgba of the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court in a pronouncement last week Thursday said the Senates decision regarding the suspension, as well as the pattern adopted by the National Assembly, was constitutionally defective.

Following the judgement, an aide to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, said the Senate has approached a higher court to appeal the ruling and institute a stay of execution.

Mr Omo-Agege in reaction on Monday said the appeal would not hinder his resumption as the stay of execution which the Senate applied for has not been granted.

Late Monday, the Senate in a press statement by its spokesperson Sabi Abdullahi, said it would not stop Mr Omo-Agege from resuming his office and at plenary.

Commenting on the matter in a statement earlier on Tuesday, lawyer Femi Falana described the Senates decision to comply with Mr Dimgbas judgement as a commendable obedience to the rule of law.

He said the Senate had demonstrated leadership by example by complying with the judgment without any conditions whatsoever. But he also advised the lawmakers to withdraw their appeal of the judgement.

This is highly commendable in a country where official impunity has since been institionalised, he stated.

Having regard to the settled position of the law as expoused by our courts in not less than five cases wherein the suspension of legislators by legislative houses was annulled and set aside the Senate should withdraw the appeal filed against the judgment of the Federal High Court in the case of Senator Omo-Agege.

That was the matured approach adopted by the Dimeji Bankole-led House of Representatives in the case of Hon Dino Melaye & Ors v House of Representatives.

Mr Falana further called on the Executive branch of the federal government to emulate the good example of the Senate by complying with all valid and subsisting judgments of all courts in Nigeria.

In particular, the Executive should, as a matter of urgency, purge itself of contempt of court by complying with the judgment of the Federal High Court delivered on December 2, 2016 which directed that Sheik Ibraheem Elzakzaky and his wife, Hajia Zeinab Elzakzaky be released from the illegal custody of the State Security Service.

In the same vein, Colonel Sambo Dasuki ought to be released on bail in line with the orders of the Federal High Court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory and the Community Court of Justice Economic Community of West African States, Mr Falana stated.
The death toll of Nigerians killed in South Africa has continued to climb with two young Nigerians being the latest victims.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the latest killing brings the number of Nigerians killed in the former apartheid enclave since February 2016 to 118.

Up to 800,000 Nigerians, mostly young people, reside in South Africa, according to unofficial estimates.

The Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Union in South Africa, Habib Miller, told NAN in a telephone interview that two additional Nigerians were killed in South Africa in the past eight days.

Mr Miller, who spoke with NAN from Pretoria, South Africa, identified the latest victims as Francis Ochuba, a native of Ngodo community in the Umnneochi Local Government Area of Abia.

He named the other victim as Chidi Ibebuike, a native of Uturu in the Isikwuato Local Government Area also in Abia.

Ochuba, a property owner, was shot dead alongside his estate agent, a female South African on May 5. They were shot dead as they visited the tenant occupying Ochubas house to collect rent.

The incident occurred in Central Johannesburg, while Ibebuike was shot dead at the entrance to his house at Hazyview in Mpumalanga on May 13.

Ibebuikes car was subsequently, snatched by yet to be identified gunmen.

The chairman of the Nigeria Union in Mpumalanga Province, Mr Amadi in company of other compatriots, have reported the incident to the South African police authorities and investigation is underway.

Mr Miller said the latest killings came on the heels of the cold-blooded murder of ThankGod Okoro, a native of Ogbaku in the Agwu Local Government Area of Enugu State on April 9 and that of Clement Nwaogu, a native of Njikoka in Anambra on April 22.

He recalled that Okoro was reportedly shot dead by a member of the South African Police Flying Squad at Florida in Johannesburg while Nwaogu was burnt alive by a mob in Rustenburg in the North West Province.

The spokesman said that a violent group in Rustenburg had earlier given Nigerians notice to vacate the area or get killed.

He said that since the order was issued, there had been numerous cases of Nigerians being kidnapped with ransom paid to their abductors.

The incessant looting and killings in the area, prompted 14 Nigerians to protest the injustice and the lack of police protection from the South African Police.

The 14 Nigerians were attested and had been detained since January 21 in Rustenburg.

The extra-judicial killing of Nigerians in South Africa is however, a stark contrast to the general goodwill and protection South Africans and their businesses enjoy in Nigeria.

There have been no record of looting of South African businesses in Nigeria.

While South African companies transfer billions of dollars in profit made from doing business in Nigeria, Nigerians in South Africa are sending body bags of murdered breadwinners back home to Nigeria to dejected families, Mr Miller said.
President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to approve the payment of terminal benefits to ex-staff of Nigeria Airways, an official has said.

The Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, stated this while appearing before a Senate committee on Tuesday, according to a statement by her spokesperson.

There has been a misconception in the media that the president had approved the payment of N45 billion terminal benefits to the workers.

There is no presidential approval and no appropriation yet for the payment of N45 billion to the ex-workers, she was quoted in the statement by her spokesperson, Oluyinka Akintunde.

Read Mr Akintundes full statement below.

The Honourable Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said on Tuesday that the federal government would settle the inherited debts and contractual obligations to local contractors between 2006 and 2015.

The minister made this known while appearing before the ad-hoc committee of the Senate on Promissory Note Programme and Bond Issuance.

The committee is chaired by the Deputy Chief Whip, Francis Alimikhena.

She explained that the debts owed to various classes of contractors, including the terminal benefits of ex-Nigerian Airways workers, would be repaid through promissory notes and bonds issuance.

The minister stated that the unpaid federal government obligations constituted a drag on economic activity across many sectors, adding that the present administration was determined to address the problem.

She listed the unpaid obligations to include obligations to pensioners and salary & promotion arrears to civil servants; obligations to contractors and suppliers who in turn owe banks increasing the quantum of non-performing loans, and unpaid electricity bills by the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Others are exporters owed funds under the Export Expansion Grant Scheme and unpaid refunds due to state governments in respect of projects undertaken on behalf of the federal government.

The federal government is working towards settling these inherited debts. The Small and Medium scaled Enterprises are the lifeline of our nation. The federal government will be stimulating the economy by paying these legacy debts, Mrs Adeosun told members of the Ad-Hoc Committee.

The federal government, according to her, has approved the issuance of promissory notes and bonds to settle its contractual obligations subject to the approval of the National Assembly.

On the ex-Nigerian Airways workers, the minister explained that their terminal benefits were reconciled and agreed at N45 billion following verification.

She debunked claims by the ex-workers that there was a presidential approval for the payment of terminal benefits of N45 billion to the workers.

There has been a misconception in the media that the president had approved the payment of N45 billion terminal benefits to the workers. There is no presidential approval and no appropriation yet for the payment of N45 billion to the ex-workers, she said.

Earlier, the representative of the Accountant General of the Federation, Mohammed Usman, had told members of the Senates Ad-Hoc Committee that the government paid N34.2 billion to clear the promotion arrears to workers in the MDAs.

Mr Usman, who is the Director of Funds in the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, added that the payment process was still ongoing.

These payments were made to the accounts of the beneficiaries in the MDAs after detailed verification of all documents attached as proof of promotion, he said.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved N10 billion for the rehabilitation of communities affected by violent attacks in parts of the country.

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the disclosure Tuesday during a visit to two internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Benue State.

Several communities in Benue, Taraba, Zamfara and Kaduna have suffered violent attacks as a result of conflicts between farmers and herders; as well as attacks by bandits.

Mr Osinbajo arrived Benue Tuesday afternoon where he visited the IDP camps and met with various groups in the state.

According to his spokesperson, Laolu Akande, in a series of tweets, the Vice President took with him a message of hope and restoration.

He said Mr Osinbajo was received by Governor Samuel Ortom, accompanied by the Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, and the Director-General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and other federal government officials.

Mr Osinbajos first port of call was Abagena camp which houses more than 34,000 persons.
The Maiduguri Division on Borno State High Court on Monday granted bail to Saadatu Muhammad, wife of Borno politician, Grema Terab.

Also, twenty other associates and family members arrested by the police alongside Ms Muhammad were each granted bail at N100,000 each, Mr Terab told PREMIUM TIMES.

The decision came a month after Ms Muhammad was arrested at her residence in Maiguduri. The police accused her of not reporting a murder that allegedly occurred outside her home during a political meeting convened by her husband.

The police also said they warned Mr Terab, a Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirant in Borno, not to hold the April 15 political gathering at his residence because it could turn violent, a warning the politician allegedly defied.

But Mr Terab told PREMIUM TIMES earlier this month that the polices account was grossly inaccurate and challenged them to produce evidence to back it. He said he wrote the police that the event would take place at his residence and officers were provided to maintain order.

Mr Terab, a former head of Borno State Emergency Management Agency, also said the event had ended and his supporters had largely departed his residence before some suspected political thugs arrived and caused mayhem.

Ms Muhammad, who had been pregnant for two months, had a miscarriage a day after being thrown in police custody amidst harsh conditions.

The police said they had court order to hold her in custody until appropriate bail was secured, adding that doctors certified her fit to be kept in custody even after losing her pregnancy.

Her detention was condemned by civil rights activists who said the police were wrong to detain her for not reporting a crime. The police described her offence as criminal negligence and also detained some other family members who were at home at the time.

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and national chieftain of the PDP, condemned the arrest as undemocratic and an abuse of power.

It is an abuse of power and a violation of her constitutionallly guaranteed rights to due process by keeping her in detention for 18 days without charging her. https://t.co/VfhfGb699y pic.twitter.com/8BY14eqVyQ  Atiku Abubakar (@atiku) May 4, 2018

Mr Terab left Maiguduri shortly after the violence broke, accusing the police of being on a mission to frustrate his political ambition.

But Borno police commissioner, Damian Chukwu, fiercely rejected the notion that the arrest had any political motives.

After several adjournments that saw Ms Muhammad languish in what her husband described as filthy police cells, she was granted bail on Monday.

The judge, Abdullahi Sanya, set N100,000 bail for Ms Muhammad and each of the 20 other associates and family members held in custody. They were also to produce a surety each in the like sum with affidavit of means.

Each of them also submitted two passport-size photographs. That they will attend all court hearings on the case and report to Court Room 9 every Friday until the final determination of the case.

The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people, but the silence over that by the good people Mr Terab quoted Martin Luther King in a victory statement he sent to PREMIUM TIMES. We remain grateful for your show of courage in the face of injustice and the tyranny of the oppressors.
The Army on Tuesday said it arrested a suspected spiritual head of a militia armed group in Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State after destroying some of the groups camps in Ugya village in the area.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Texas Chukwu, gave the name of the suspect as Angulu Idaku in a statement in Abuja.

Mr Chukwu stated that seven locally made guns, 12 cartridges, 200 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition, 76 rounds of 7.62mm NATO special ammunition and four knives were recovered from the group.

Others, he said, were 15 cutlasses, six mobile phones, one DSTV decoder set and four solar panel sets.

In another development, Mr Chukwu said troops of Operation Lafiya Dole neutralised six Boko Haram terrorists and wounded some others during a clearance operation in the North-east.

He, however, said two soldiers sustained injuries during an encounter with the insurgents.

He added that one anti-aircraft gun, four AK47 rifles, six AK47 magazines, two mortar bombs and two gun trucks were recovered from the terrorists.

Mr Chukwu also said that the troops had successfully cleared Gambori, Dumbawa, Damsu, Awardi, Kanaram, Laridi, Malumdi and Yuramdi villages and recovered one refrigerator, one 14inch TV two DVDs and a box filled with drugs.
Governor Abubakar Bello of Niger State on Tuesday said that the state government had procured 130 tractors and accessories worth N2.2 billion, to boost agricultural mechanisation ahead of the 2018 farming season.

Mr Bello made this known while inaugurating the 2018 farming season, fertiliser sales and distribution of tractors in Minna.

He said the measure would ensure food security in the state and the nation at large.

The state government in its deliberate efforts toward boosting agricultural mechanisation activities has procured 130 tractors valued at N2.2 billion, he said.

The governor said the equipment would be distributed to genuine farmers at 25 per cent subsidy.

Mr Bello said the state government would soon take delivery of another set of 100 tractors through the Central Bank of Nigerias Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) programme.

He said the state government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Machine Equipment Consortium Africa (MECA) and Tractor Owners and Operators Association of Nigeria (TOOAN) to manage the tractors until full payments were made by beneficiaries.

The governor said government had also procured 50 rice threshers for free distribution to farmers cooperative societies and unions to reduce post-harvest loss in rice production.

We need to encourage all-season farming.

To this end, we are intensifying partnership with some Chinese firms to utilise the 17 existing irrigation sites in the state, while developing new ones, he said.

Mr Bello said government had also collaborated with Tak Fertliser Company, to secure 15,000 metric tonnes of NPK 20:10:10 fertilisers for the 25 local government areas in the state.

He, however, warned that the fertilisers must be sold at government-approved price of N5, 500 per bag, noting that anybody caught selling above this price would face the law.

Earlier, Haruna Dukku, the state Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said government was determined to achieve self-sufficiency in food production and employment generation.

Shehu Galadima, Chairman, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) in the state, commended the state government for the gesture and promised that farmers would put the tractors into good use.

(NAN)
An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Magnus Abe, on Monday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the internal conflict rocking the party in Rivers State.

The senator made this call at a news conference in Abuja where he explained that some members were forced to go to court when it became clear all internal conflict resolution processes within the party had been compromised at the altar of individual power.

The call comes shortly after the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen, said that the recent attack on the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt was an indication that democracy in Nigeria is under threat.

Noting that the attack took place as judges, magistrates, staff and lawyers reported for duty, Mr Onnoghen said such show of shame should not be encouraged by right thinking members of the Nigerian public.

He called on Mr Buhari to intervene to save the party from men without conscience. Mr Abe noted that following the alleged compromise of APCs internal conflict resolution, aggrieved members were advised to seek redress in court.

I have decided to address you this afternoon because it has become clear that my party, the All Progressives Congress, has reached a point where it must take a decision either to live up to the values of our leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, and do the right thing or abandon our values and destroy our soul in order to please man, he said.

Mr Abe explained that the South-south caucus of the party had met at the home of the Minister of Transportation, (Chibuike Amaechi,) in Abuja and directed that certain steps be taken by leaders in the states to build confidence in the process before the congresses should begin.

He disclosed that the caucus had agreed to have an all-inclusive meeting between Thursday and Friday preceding the ward congresses. The meeting was to include all tendencies in the party and the modalities for congresses be discussed and agreed upon.

It was also directed that the congress committee from Abuja should meet with stakeholders on arrival and be briefed on arrangements and agreements already reached in the state.

None of this was done in Rivers State, rather a faction of the party, led by the minister, proceeded with the exercise in disdain of rights and privileges of other members. Party members, who paid money to the party, were disenfranchised. All protests and appeals fell on deaf ears.

After the purported failed exercise, another South-south caucus meeting was called, this time at the home of Minister of State for Petroleum and it was agreed the rules were not followed in Rivers State and the exercise was not acceptable, he said.

The APC, he added, must distance itself from the show of shame currently going on in Rivers State.

Speaking on allegations that he was working with Governor Nyesom Wike to destabilise APC in the state, Mr Abe noted that his dealings with the governor is open and in the interest of APC to douse tension and minimise violence.

Mr Abe on Friday, secured an injunction stopping the conduct of the local government congress in the state.

The development had ruptured peace in the state as Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) and the APC supporters clashed, leading to a temporary closure of the Rivers State High Court.
The Bayelsa State Government has decried dwindling federal allocation to states in the past months, saying the problem could render the state bankrupt but for civil service reform initiated by the state government.

Presenting the income and expenditure profile of the state for April, 2018, in Yenagoa, the Deputy Governor, John Jonah, said without the reforms, Bayelsa stands the risk of becoming a failed state.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Francis Agbo, maintained that the deputy governor decried the drastic reduction of federal allocation to the states in recent times, in spite of the improvement in all the critical indicators in the oil industry.

All the indicators are improving but the money coming to us is decreasing. That is why state governors have been insisting that they should be part of those calculating the money, he said.

Funding is a very difficult thing in this country now. Recall that between March and April this year, our income reduced by over N700 million and it is still threatening.

And the strange thing about this reduction at the federal level, is that, the accruals to the federation account has defied all mathematical predictions. You can no longer calculate it sitting down here.

Ordinarily, we should expect that if oil price and production increase with the naira devalued, there is no justification why we should not have sufficient money to pay salaries, he explained.

According to the Deputy Governor, Bayelsas Gross FAAC inflow stood at N14.5 billion, comprising a statutory allocation of N2.6 billion, derivation, N9.2 billion, Excess Bank charges N1.8 billion, Value Added Tax N741 million and refund from other states N57 million.

He announced total FAAC deductions of N1.6 billion, which include, bond loan deduction of N421 million, restructured commercial bank loan N741 million, Excess Crude Account facility to states N126 million, refund of overpayments to the states N128 million, bringing the net inflow to N12.9 billion.

The deputy governor, who declared N1.2 billion for the month of March as internally generated revenue, explained that the state government expended a total of N6.2 billion on salaries, contractual guarantees, subvention to tertiary institutions and ten per cent contribution to payment of primary school teachers.

He also said recurrent payment gulped N2.7 billion, while capital expenditure was N6.6 billion, adding that, the state government was left with a balance of N7.6 billion as at the end of April, 2018.

Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Daniel Markson, emphasised the need for the public, particularly media practitioners to partner with government in driving the reform agenda in the public sector.

While reaffirming the administrations determination to sanitise the system with fairness, he assured that, government would provide succour to those, who would be affected by the exercise.

I cant imagine that we are still doing N4 billion in terms of monthly salaries in Bayelsa. We are even doing much more in terms of our wage bill. That is not sustainable so we need everybodys hand to be on deck to clean up the payroll.

Its better we swallow the bitter pill today so that we safeguard the future of our children and the ones yet unborn. I believe very strongly most Bayelsans who are in the public service can do better outside the service as entrepreneurs.
The State Criminal Investigation Department of the Nigeria Police Force have detained a former chairman of Agege Local Government Area, Jubreel Abdulkareem, over the deadly fracas at last Saturdays All Progressives Congress election in Lagos, PREMIUM TIMES has learnt.

The violence, which erupted at the end of the partys Agege local government congress, led to the shooting of a party member identified as Nurudeen Olanose.

Mr Olanose was allegedly shot at the back of the head and died on the spot.

Following the fatal shooting, the APC leaders in the local government traded blames among themselves over who caused the fracas.

PREMIUM TIMES learnt that 12 people were arrested in the aftermath of the violence including Ahmed Haruna; Bosun Adigun, a former driver at the Agege local government; Salami Azeez; Sabitu Kamorudeen; and Toheeb Ahmed.

The rest are Badmus Fatai; Kabiru Kareem; Olayinka Olasende; Adetutu Omotosho; Idiatu Olokode; Ogunbona Semiu; and Bimbo Kuku, a former ward leader in the local government.

The police stormed the home of Mr Abdulkareem, who was council boss between 2008 and 2014, at Kosoko Street, Agege, on Monday and invited him to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti.

He was reportedly detained on Monday night.

Their defence is that the 12 people arrested are delegates, a party source who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak on the matter told PREMIUM TIMES.

But Mr Egunjobi (the current Agege council chairman) is insisting they are not delegates. Hes taking the list of delegates to Panti this morning.

A source in Mr Abdulkareems camp said the former council boss and Mr Egunjobi were invited by the police on Monday but could not confirm if the former was detained by the police.

Phone calls and text messages to Chike Oti, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, were not responded to.

At a press conference on Sunday, party leaders in Agege local government heaped the blame of last Saturdays violence at the congress on Mr Abdulkareem and thugs.

The former council boss, however, told PREMIUM TIMES he was being victimised for refusing to step down for Mudashiru Obasa, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, ahead of the 2019 election.

Messrs Abdulkareem and Obasa are from Agege Constituency 1 in Lagos State.
After sitting for three days, the appeal committee set up to review complaints arising from the governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State on Tuesday submitted its report to the party, declaring that it received no petition against the nomination of Kayode Fayemi.

Mr Fayemi, who is a former governor of the state and current Minister of Solid Minerals Development, appeared to be in the lead among 33 contestants when the primary was first conducted on Saturday May 5 in the state capital, Ado-Ekiti.

Following the disruption of that first exercise, the party rescheduled it for Saturday May 12 and Mr Fayemi emerged as the flag bearer of the party out of 32 aspirants. One of the aspirants, Babafemi Ojudu, had pulled out ahead of the poll.

The appeal committee chaired by Fati Balla on Tuesday presented its report to the National Organising Secretary of the party, Osita Izunaso, who received it on behalf of the partys leadership at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja.

Mrs Balla said the three-member Appeal Committee which was inaugurated on May 2, sat for three days after the primary election. Its other members were Bala Jibrin (Secretary) and Lilian Obenwa.

In the three days that we have sat, we have not received a single petition, either in form of writing, telephone call or a text message, which means there has been no petition after the primary election in Ekiti State. We have come before you this afternoon to submit a report. Since there is no petition from Ekiti State, therefore the committee has wound up this afternoon, she stated.

After receiving the report, Mr Izunaso thanked the committee for undertaking the assignment on behalf of the party, disclosing that the partys National Campaign Committee will soon be set up ahead of the main election on July 14.

We are glad that you have finished your assignment after sitting for three days and there is no petition from any aspirant, both orally and in writing. We are also glad that the Ekiti Primary Election has taken place and that the aspirants are working together to ensure that we win the governorship election in Ekiti State.

The most important thing to us in the APC is victory in the July election in Ekiti State. For us in the APC, whenever there is a primary election, it is a family affair. And whenever we finish our primary elections, and aspirants and stakeholders come together to work as a team, it gladdens our heart as a party.

I am aware that very soon we will set up the National Campaign Committee for Ekiti state and also have another meeting with the aspirants to properly integrate them into what we are doing because ultimately, victory is our end result and we believe that by the special Grace of God, the people of Ekiti will regain the mandate that they gave to APC four years ago, that was stolen.

This is another opportunity for Ekiti people to regain that mandate. And this time around, it will no longer be stolen by anybody. Once Ekiti people come out enmasse and vote for the APC, we will defend our result and ensure that we reclaim what truly belongs to us.

Right now, it is only Ekiti State in the South West that is not in the APC fold. That shows that South West is APC and we should as much as possible try to encourage our voters in Ekiti State to come out enmasse and vote for our party, Mr Izunaso said.
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, has ordered investigation into alleged killing of three men during a raid by Lagos State Task Force on Land grabbers at Ilaje area of Makoko, Lagos.

Mr Imohimi, who gave the order in Lagos on Tuesday, said that an unknown land grabber attacked the policemen and the task force officials during which they were forced to defend themselves.

Three people were killed in the fracas following arguments among residents of Ilaje, officials from the Ministry of Justice and the taskforce operatives.

Mr Imohimi said he ordered investigation into the matter based on new evidence that emerged from a petition written by a lawyer from the church where the fracas started.

As a first step, the head of the policemen who ordered the police to the assignment and who incidentally is the head of the Anti-Kidnapping unit has been relieved of his appointment to give way for impartial investigation.

All the policemen in the unit that went on the assignment have been brought to State Headquarters for proper investigation.

Also, a letter of investigation had been sent to the head of Land grabbers unit at the Ministry of Justice and he has given his statement as to the assignment and what transpired.

We are also in the process of obtaining statement from the leadership of the church and other witnesses. he said.

Mr Imohimi further assured members of the public that the investigation would be thorough and anyone found guilty of abuse of power would be penalised.

(NAN)
For the New World Order, a world government is just the beginning. Once in place they can engage their plan to exterminate 80% of the world's population, while enabling the "elites" to live forever with the aid of advanced technology. For the first time, crusading filmmaker ALEX JONES reveals their secret plan for humanity's extermination: Operation ENDGAME.

Jones chronicles the history of the global elite's bloody rise to power and reveals how they have funded dictators and financed the bloodiest warscreating order out of chaos to pave the way for the first true world empire.

Watch as Jones and his team track the elusive Bilderberg Group to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III.





to Ottawa and Istanbul to document their secret summits, allowing you to witness global kingpins setting the world's agenda and instigating World War III. Learn about the formation of the North America transportation control grid, which will end U.S. sovereignty forever.





Discover how the practitioners of the pseudo-science eugenics have taken control of governments worldwide as a means to carry out depopulation.





View the progress of the coming collapse of the United States and the formation of the North American Union.

Never before has a documentary assembled all the pieces of the globalists' dark agenda. Endgame's compelling look at past atrocities committed by those attempting to steer the future delivers information that the controlling media has meticulously censored for over 60 years. It fully reveals the elite's program to dominate the earth and carry out the wicked plan in all of human history.

Endgame is not conspiracy theory, it is documented fact in the elite's own words.




MIAMI, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 3 UNI for Orphans, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting Christians to bless orphans, will present an information session on various ways volunteers can assist foster children in Miami-Dade County. The focus of the May 19, 2018 session will be to educate prospective volunteers about becoming a Guardian ad Litem to advocate for Florida's most vulnerable children.

Prospective volunteers can RSVP at https://www.3uni.org/volunteer.

3 UNI has already had incredible success in achieving its mission. Recent accomplishments include connecting sponsors so a school in Africa could expand its operational capacity via crowdfunding on 3 UNI's platform. Now 3 UNI is partnering with the local Guardian ad Litem (GAL) program, a vital program to assist foster children in Miami-Dade. Over 3,000 kids are part of Miami-Dade County's foster care system and 45% of these kids are 5 years old or younger.

Rosangela de Morais, 3 UNI's President and Founder, says the GAL program is in critical need for volunteers. "If it was me suffering as a child; I would love if someone stepped up. As the bible says, 'Continue to remember those... who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering' (Hebrews 13:3 NIV)."

GAL volunteers are responsible for visiting their assigned child and speaking on her behalf in court hearings, about three times a year. Interested volunteers are invited to the info session to learn more about the program on May 19, 2018 at 10200 NW 25 St. #115, Doral, FL.

About 3 UNI

3 UNI operates from Miami, FL, through an online platform to assist orphans and preventing children from becoming orphans. Rosangela de Morais, 3 UNI's President, and her husband Tarcio are parents through international adoption, Foster Parents and longtime advocates for children. They are also founders and counselors of a mentorship program for orphanages in Brazil and are familiar with challenges in developing countries, as well as in the U.S. 3 UNI comes to the orphan care scene believing the local church is the solution to the orphan crisis and they aim to facilitate ways for fellow Christians to fulfill the commandment to care for the orphans. Their website also provides resources for people who want to adopt a child, foster, volunteer or begin an orphan care Ministry. For more information, contact Rosangela de Morais at 561-614-5336 or [email protected].

SOURCE 3 UNI

Related Links

http://www.3uni.org


CHICAGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ansarada, an AI-powered dealmaking platform provider, has expanded North American operations with a series of key hires across its Chicago headquarters and offices in New York and San Francisco. The expansion is designed to meet surging demand for Ansarada's AI-powered Virtual Data Room and Material Information Platform from major companies, investors and advisors, including Google, VMWare, PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, CBRE and Baird Capital. The company also appointed seasoned business executive Peter Santis as country manager for the Americas, based in Chicago.

"Companies are learning that Ansarada's platform delivers significant value in running smoother business transactions, while getting more deals done faster with less risk and agony," said Sam Riley, CEO and co-founder at Ansarada. "We're seeing strong demand from advisors and corporates across North America who want to harness the power of AI to improve operations. Our expansion marks an important step forward as we continue scaling up operations in the United States while serving more clients around the world."

Ansarada's North American expansion comes on the heels of a $18 million Series A investment in March. To meet customer demand and continue enhancing its products, Ansarada plans to triple headcount in Chicago, New York and San Francisco by the end of 2018. To date, Ansarada has already hired key roles in business development and client success with experience from leading companies and investment firms such as Glassdoor, Groupon, S&P Capital IQ and Baird Capital.

Country Manager Peter Santis brings several decades of business leadership experience to Ansarada. Most recently, he served as vice president of sales for the Americas for Workshare, where he helped deliver 8 consecutive quarters of growth. Before that, he was vice president of business development and international sales at Extenua, an enterprise software company serving Boeing, the NCAA, IBM and many more global customers.

"I was immediately impressed by Ansarada's vision to upend the traditional dealmaking process with big data, artificial intelligence and predictive analytics," said Peter Santis, country manager for the Americas. "Sam and his team have an incredible track record of making both employee and customer happiness paramount, which has been key to their impressive growth trajectory. I'm honored to lead our next chapter expanding across North America and beyond."

About Ansarada

Ansarada is an AI-powered dealmaking platform provider focused on helping companies and their advisors thrive amid their most important business events, such as mergers and acquisitions, capital raises, IPOs and audits. Ansarada's platform draws on more than 20,000 business-critical events worth over $2 trillion to deliver the most sophisticated dealmaking artificial intelligence on the market. Customers include some of the biggest companies and strategic advisors in the world, from Google, VMWare and CBRE to PwC, KPMG and Baird Capital. Ansarada is based in Sydney, Australia, with offices in Chicago, New York, San Francisco and more. Learn more at ansarada.com.

CONTACT: Matt Stewart, [email protected]

SOURCE Ansarada

Related Links

https://www.ansarada.com


KOCHI, India, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) today announced it has inaugurated its new world-scale industrial gas complex within the Integrated Refinery Expansion Project (IREP) of the BPCL Kochi Refinery located in Kochi, India. Air Products' new facility was inaugurated by Dr. K.T. Jaleel, Minister for Local Self-Governments, Kerala, in the presence of Mr. P. Thilothaman, Minister for Food & Civil Supplies, Kerala, Dr. Samir J. Serhan, executive vice president for Air Products, Mr. Richard Boocock, president, Industrial Gases  Middle East, India, Egypt and Turkey for Air Products, and other dignitaries and guests.

Air Products has invested several hundred million dollars for the build-own-operate (BOO) project, the largest of its kind in India in terms of investment. Air Products' Kochi Industrial Gas Complex, which generates hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and steam, is an invaluable constituent of BPCL's IREP to manufacture auto-fuels complying with Euro-IV/Euro-V specifications. The industrial gases manufactured at the complex also enable BPCL to increase refining capacity by nearly two-thirds, from 190,000 to 310,000 barrels per day, while producing cleaner fuels through upgraded fuel specification. The industrial gas complex provides jobs to around 50 employees.

"Air Products is privileged to serve BPCL's expansion needs at Kochi to provide significantly more high quality, cleaner-burning fuels," said Serhan. "I am very proud of the team for their excellent work on this project, which achieved a flawless start-up and is now reliably supplying industrial gases to the BPCL refinery. This world-class facility represents true project execution excellence and took more than 10 million man-hours to build without any safety incidents."

An Air Products team located across four countries, including India, the U.K., the Netherlands, and the U.S., worked on the Kochi project, built on more than 15 acres of land leased from BPCL.

"As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, we are very proud to invest in India and want to continue growing our presence and strong relationships in the region as the safest and most innovative industrial gas company," said Boocock. "The Kochi Industrial Gas Complex houses one of the most efficient and flexible HyCO (hydrogen/carbon monoxide) plants in Air Products' global plant fleet. This is a technologically-advanced plant, built using Air Products' proprietary technology, incorporating state-of-the-art safety features which also deliver reliability and environmental performance."

A unique highlight of the plant is that the gas turbine is integrated into the design of the twin steam methane reformers. These are the first-ever twin steam methane reformers designed and built by Air Products with a combined capacity of 16.4 tonnes per hour of hydrogen production.

"We are committed to continuing investing in Kochi as BPCL and the downstream petrochemical industry grows," said Hui Hong Thng, general manager  Air Products Kochi. "We understand that safe, reliable and cost-effective industrial gases are a critical enabler of local manufacturing investment, and we see our Kochi site as a national model for other states."

"The commissioning of the IREP in 2017 has made BPCL Kochi Refinery the largest Public Sector refinery in the country and enabled it to manufacture auto-fuels complying with the required Bharat Stage IV (Euro IV) specifications and a greater depth of conversion. We are happy to partner with leading global players such as Air Products to achieve this target," said Mr. R. Ramachandran, director, Refineries at BPCL

"IREP is one of the largest investments Kerala has ever witnessed, targeted at enhancing the refining capacity of Kochi refinery at a cost of 16,500 crore. With the increased capacity of 15.5 million tonnes, the Kochi Refinery will transform itself into a most modern industrial complex having global standards. Commissioning of the state-of-the-art hydrogen generation unit by Air Products is a significant milestone towards this," said Mr. Prasad K. Panicker, executive director, BPCL Kochi Refinery.

BPCL and Air Products are looking forward to the commissioning of a second project at Kochi, as the two companies signed a long-term agreement in January 2018 to build, own and operate a new syngas production facility. The syngas facility will be located alongside the current BOO project and will supply BPCL's new Propylene Derivates Petrochemical Project (PDPP). The unit will employ Air Products' proprietary cryogenic gas separation technologies to produce syngas. The PDPP enables BPCL to enter the Indian petrochemical market and enhance the value obtained from its refining operations.

The Kochi Industrial Gas Complex was executed with Air Products' long-term alliance partner, TechnipFMC, a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface projects for the energy industry. For more than 25 years, the alliance has provided the worldwide refining industry with competitive technology and world-class safety. The alliance is responsible for over 35 hydrogen production plants located in 11 countries around the world and produces well over two billion standard cubic meters of hydrogen per day for clean fuels production. TechnipFMC provides the design and construction expertise for steam reformers, while Air Products provides the gas separation technology.

Hydrogen is widely used in petroleum refining processes to remove impurities found in crude oil such as sulfur, olefins, and aromatics to meet product fuels specifications. Removing these components allows gasoline and diesel to burn cleaner and thus makes hydrogen a critical component in the production of cleaner fuels needed by modern, efficient internal combustion engines.

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE: APD) is a world-leading Industrial Gases company in operation for over 75 years. The Company's core industrial gases business provides atmospheric and process gases and related equipment to manufacturing markets, including refining and petrochemical, metals, electronics, and food and beverage. Air Products is also the world's leading supplier of liquefied natural gas process technology and equipment.

The Company had fiscal 2017 sales of $8.2 billion from continuing operations in 50 countries and has a current market capitalization of approximately $35 billion. Approximately 15,000 passionate, talented and committed employees from a diversity of backgrounds are driven by Air Products' higher purpose to create innovative solutions that benefit the environment, enhance sustainability and address the challenges facing customers, communities, and the world. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

Air Products in India

Since 2009, Air Products has expanded its industrial gas operations and supply presence in India as an engineering company. From an engineering center based in Pune, the company provides technology and equipment for air separation, hydrogen generation and associated technologies for industrial gases applications.

Air Products initially entered India in January 1999 as a joint venture (JV) company called INOX Air Products Pvt. Ltd. Better known as INOXAP, the JV is jointly owned by the Jain family -- former owners of the Industrial Oxygen Company -- and Air Products. INOXAP is head-quartered in Mumbai.

INOXAP represents a significant part of Air Products' business interests in India. The JV has more than 35 operating locations and 1,200 employees throughout India; and is one of largest manufacturers and suppliers of industrial gases including: oxygen, nitrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, and specialty gas mixtures throughout the country. The company specialises in providing products, technologies and services to a vast cross-section of industries including the chemical, pharmaceutical, metals, steel, food, waste water treatment, cement, glass, textiles, paint, medical and pulp and paper sectors, among other markets.

Aside from the JV, the two supply agreements with BPCL cement Air Products' commitment to invest in India. Air Products' expansion of its offices in Pune  which became fully operational in early 2018 - further demonstrate this. The offices will become a base for approximately 300 professional employees who will support and deliver world class engineering, procurement and construction expertise. Air Products and INOXAP are fully committed to future investment in India and the Pune office will support local as well as global project developments.

About BPCL

The Maharatna BPCL is India's second largest public sector oil company and a Global Fortune 500 company with four domestic refineries, two of which, Kochi and Mumbai, are wholly owned. The company reported USD 36.08 billion in annual sales and total assets of USD 14.19 billion on their 2017 financial statements. It is listed on the Indian Stock exchange and is 54.93% owned by the Indian Government. For more information, visit www.bharatpetroleum.in.

About TechnipFMC

TechnipFMC plc is a global leader in subsea, onshore/offshore, and surface projects. With our proprietary technologies and production systems, integrated expertise, and comprehensive solutions, we are transforming our clients' project economics.

We are uniquely positioned to deliver greater efficiency across project lifecycles from concept to project delivery and beyond. Through innovative technologies and improved efficiencies, our offering unlocks new possibilities for our clients in developing their oil and gas resources.

Each of our more than 37,000 employees is driven by a steady commitment to clients and a culture of purposeful innovation, challenging industry conventions, and rethinking how the best results are achieved.

To learn more about us and how we are enhancing the performance of the world's energy industry, go to TechnipFMC.com and follow us on Twitter @TechnipFMC.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2017.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Downloadable photos and video are available in the company's online News Center.

SOURCE Air Products

Related Links

http://www.airproducts.com


PHILADELPHIA, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Veeva Commercial & Medical Summit  Aktana, the pioneer in decision support for global life science companies, today announced the introduction of AI Fusion, designed to bring best-of-breed AI together with Aktana's own, proprietary AI to ensure positive impact on commercial execution. Analytic inputs from teams at life science companies such as Novartis and AI models from partner platforms such as Salesforce Einstein or Prognos can all be integrated into Aktana via AI Fusion for smarter go-to-market execution.

Aktana utilizes AI to deliver customer value in three distinct ways:

1) To Improve Execution by curating suggestions and insights that "feel right" for field and marketing decision makers, reflecting both brand strategy and user behavior, much like Google sorts search results,

2) As a Strategy Input, where customer and partner analytic models are synthesized with Aktana's own AI to deliver the smartest next-best-action recommendations,

3) To Refine Go-to-Market Strategy via machine learning techniques that analyze the Who, What, When, and Where of each execution, and recommend improvements according to what works best in each specific situation.

AI Fusion is designed to intelligently synthesize various AI Strategy Inputs (#2 above) in the context of a brand's business strategy and the range of execution tools and resources available.

"As new technologies arrive, there is a tendency to initially focus on 'more' more data, more technology, more AI," said David Ehrlich, CEO of Aktana. "But often, 'more' just leads to confusion and noise. The greatest impact comes from intelligent synthesis and alignment of data and insights  synthesis to isolate what truly matters and alignment to deliver insight where and when it's most relevant. That's what AI Fusion will do for life science companies."

"Novartis is thrilled to see Aktana take the lead in helping customers translate AI advances into improved execution," said Nikos Georgiades, senior vice president and global head of commercial execution at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. "As a global leader in harnessing digital capability to enhance information flow and improve patient care, we look forward to leveraging this new capability."

There is no shortage of analytic work being pursued by internal teams at life science companies or by their partners. But that work frequently sits on the shelf waiting to be tested and executed, or it's deployed in a single-purpose manner like predicting the likelihood of new patients for a given therapy.

Aktana's AI Fusion takes these inputs and contextualizes them with the full commercial decision scope. For example, in the case of new patient likelihood, AI Fusion identifies the specific actions that should be considered, incorporating other strategic and AI inputs such as 1) the channel preference of a given HCP, 2) key interactions, such as the HCP attending a recent event, or 3) recent multichannel follow-up priorities. And combined with Aktana's "feel right" suggestion design, AI Fusion drives rep adoption of the AI output.

"Prognos is an innovator in applying artificial intelligence to clinical lab and diagnostic data to predict disease earlier," said Sundeep Bhan, co-founder and CEO of Prognos. "With Aktana's AI Fusion, we are able to translate our insights into true next-best-actions that are contextualized within broader life science brand strategies and a rep's full decision scope."

About Aktana

Aktana is the pioneer in decision support for global life science sales and marketing teams. The company's data-fueled suggestions and insights are delivered within a sales professional's existing CRM workflow, serving as a critical ally in data leverage and better decision-making. Aktana serves the entire organization by helping to coordinate multichannel marketing initiatives and facilitate learning about which program elements are most successful for which customers. Half of the world's top 20 pharmaceutical companies rely on Aktana to drive more insightful marketing and sales programs. Aktana is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Philadelphia, London, Tokyo, Osaka, and Shanghai.

Contact:

Lauren Schively

[email protected]

908-605-0327

SOURCE Aktana

Related Links

https://www.aktana.com


PLANO, Texas, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE: ADS), a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions, today provided an update on its Card Services segment.

In conjunction with the release of the Company's Master Trust Monthly Noteholder's Statement, the Company is releasing similar metrics for the overall total managed portfolio. The Master Trust data represents a subset of the Company's total managed portfolio, and the Company believes the information presented below provides a more complete view of the Card Services segment.



For the month ended April 30, 2018

For the four months ended April 30, 2018

(dollars in thousands) Average receivables..................................................................................................... $ 17,475,331

$ 17,660,604 Year over year change in average

receivables...................................................................................................................

12%



13% Net charge-offs............................................................................................................. $ 91,395

$ 387,512 Net charge-offs as a percentage of average

receivables (1)(2)...........................

6.3%



6.6%

(1) Compares to 7.4% and 6.6% for the month and four months ended April 30, 2017, respectively.



As of April 30, 2018

As of April 30, 2017

(dollars in thousands) 30 days + delinquencies -

principal..................................................................................................................... $ 889,942

$ 707,910 Period ended receivables -

principal..................................................................................................................... $ 16,832,713

$ 15,135,584 Delinquency rate (2)...................................................................................................

5.3%



4.7%



(2) Delinquency and net charge-off rates will be elevated for the first part of 2018 as accounts that were provided a two-month

leniency period due to last year's hurricanes will roll through delinquency. In addition, net charge-off rates will be impacted by lower

recovery rates as the Company transitions from third-party sales of written-off accounts to in-house collections in order to realize

higher long-term recovery rates. Both of these factors are expected to be transitory and dissipate as the year progresses. As such,

the Company is targeting a full-year loss rate of 6%.

About Alliance Data

Alliance Data (NYSE: ADS) is a leading global provider of data-driven marketing and loyalty solutions serving large, consumer-based industries. The Company creates and deploys customized solutions, enhancing the critical customer marketing experience; the result is measurably changing consumer behavior while driving business growth and profitability for some of today's most recognizable brands. Alliance Data helps its clients create and increase customer loyalty through solutions that engage millions of customers each day across multiple touch points using traditional, digital, mobile and emerging technologies. An S&P 500, FORTUNE 500 and FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For company headquartered in Plano, Texas, Alliance Data consists of three businesses that together employ approximately 20,000 associates at more than 100 locations worldwide.

Alliance Data's card services business is a provider of market-leading private label, co-brand, and business credit card programs. Epsilon is a leading provider of multichannel, data-driven technologies and marketing services, and also includes Conversant, a leader in personalized digital marketing. LoyaltyOne owns and operates the AIR MILES Reward Program, Canada's most recognized loyalty program, and Netherlands-based BrandLoyalty, a global provider of tailor-made loyalty programs for grocers.

Follow Alliance Data on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements give our expectations or forecasts of future events and can generally be identified by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "project," "plan," "likely," "may," "should" or other words or phrases of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe our business strategy, outlook, objectives, plans, intentions or goals also are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding our expected operating results, future economic conditions including currency exchange rates and the guidance we give with respect to our anticipated financial performance.

We believe that our expectations are based on reasonable assumptions. Forward-looking statements, however, are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release, and no assurances can be given that our expectations will prove to have been correct. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, factors set forth in the Risk Factors section in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year, which may be updated in Item 1A of, or elsewhere in, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed for periods subsequent to such Form 10-K.

Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and we undertake no obligation, other than as required by applicable law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events, anticipated or unanticipated circumstances or otherwise.

Contact: Investors/Analysts

Tiffany Louder

Alliance Data

214-494-3048

[email protected]





Media

Annabelle Baxter

Alliance Data

214-494-3818

[email protected]

SOURCE Alliance Data Systems Corporation
PERTH, Australia, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alloy Steel International, Inc. (OTC: AYSI) advises that its 2018 Financial year Second Quarter Report for the six months ended March 31, 2018 is now available on www.otcmarkets.com website by searching for AYSI then choosing "Filings and Disclosure."

About Alloy Steel

Alloy Steel manufactures and distributes Arcoplate, a technically superior and market leading 'alloy overlay' wear plate, servicing the global market place from its modern manufacturing facilities in Perth, Australia. Arcoplate is used throughout the mining and materials processing industries, from opportunistic one-off specialty applications in small companies to large relationship based repeat business applications with leading international companies.

Arcoplate provides users with superior wear protection due to its premium alloy mix, its high ratio of carbide rich alloy and its unique manner of manufacture. The product's technical superiority combined with its unbeatable 'whole-of-life' cost has resulted in Arcoplate's wide acceptance in the mining and mineral processing industries to reduce wear in a host of fixed plant and mobile equipment applications.

In mining and materials processing industries, where premature equipment wear is the primary cause of downtime, to undertake repairs or refurbishment, Arcoplate can provide users with significant profit improvement. Arcoplate can substantially lower equipment downtime, resulting in higher production, whilst also lowering the overall cost of wear protection.

Furthermore, in applications where material 'hang-up' or 'carry-back' are also a significant cause of lost production, such as sticky materials that do not discharge freely from truck trays, buckets and chutes, Arcoplate's unique characteristic of polishing to a very low friction factor has the potential to virtually eliminate these problems, whilst simultaneously providing enhanced equipment wear life.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

Thushara Sam Dahanayake

Company Secretary

+61-8-9248 3188

SOURCE Alloy Steel International, Inc.

Related Links

http://alloysteel.net


In his new role, Sobotta will oversee the protection of the company's information technology assets, ensuring robust IT security architecture, operations and compliance throughout the Americas.

"In today's globally connected society, cybersecurity is more critical than ever," said Mezzabotta. "We are thrilled to have Andy join Bridgestone to lead our information security team in the Americas. His expertise and leadership will help ensure we have the right cybersecurity strategy and the right standards in place that are necessary to prevent and mitigate risks."

Sobotta joins Bridgestone with more than 20 years of experience as an information security executive, including nearly 10 years in the automotive industry. He most recently served as Chief Information Security Officer at Sensata Technologies, Inc., after four years as Associate Executive Director of Global Information Security with Procter & Gamble. Sobotta also served as Chief Information Security Officer for Elavon/US Bank and was Chief Information Security Officer for Volkswagen of America.

Sobotta earned his bachelor's degree in computer science from East Tennessee State University and his master's degree in information science from Penn State University. He also served in the United States Army.

For more company news, visit BridgestoneAmericas.com.

About Bridgestone Americas, Inc.:

Nashville, Tennessee-based Bridgestone Americas, Inc. (BSAM) is the U.S. subsidiary of Bridgestone Corporation, the world's largest tire and rubber company. BSAM and its subsidiaries develop, manufacture and market a wide range of Bridgestone, Firestone and associate brand tires to address the needs of a broad range of customers, including consumers, automotive and commercial vehicle original equipment manufacturers, and those in the agricultural, forestry and mining industries. The companies are also engaged in retreading operations throughout the Western Hemisphere and produce air springs, roofing materials, and industrial fibers and textiles. The BSAM family of companies also operates the world's largest chain of automotive tire and service centers. Guided by its One Team, One Planet message, the company is dedicated to achieving a positive environmental impact in all of the communities it calls home.

SOURCE Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bridgestoneamericas.com


SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Announced before 600+ corporate and health leaders from Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health, Dignity Health, and the University of California health systems; the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) in Greater Sacramento named, Drisha Leggitt, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of international life sciences corporation Anpac Bio-Medical Science Company its 2018, "Woman of the Year" (LLSWOY).

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in Greater Sacramento named Anpac Bio-Medical Science Company Chief Marketing Officer Drisha Leggitt its 2018, Woman of the Year. Pictured here between LLS first Girl of the Year (GOY) and current Anpac Bio Marketing Assistant Allison Steele; and 2018 GOY Gracie Gonzales; Leggitt, a blood cancer survivor, celebrated the 25th anniversary of her late stage Hodgkins Lymphoma diagnosis by raising $70,000 for LLS and earning the LLSWOY title. (Photo by LLSGSC).

Leggitt, a former Stage IV blood cancer survivor, celebrated the 25th anniversary of her late stage Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis by dedicating ten weeks to LLS fundraising through multiple events, speaking appearances, communications campaigns, and media relations. The campaign concluded on Saturday, May 12, when LLS announced Leggitt's selection as the 2018 LLSWOY - collecting over $70,000 for the nonprofit organization.

In addition to the LLSWOY title, Leggitt will name a 2018 LLS blood cancer research portfolio grant - created annually to fund innovative research projects.

While Leggitt's campaign was personal, her employer, Anpac Bio, enthusiastically supported her efforts, donating a $25,000 "Presenting Sponsorship", and other in-kind endorsement.

"Our Anpac Bio team is very proud Drisha Leggitt was named the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's 'Woman of the Year'," states Dr. Chris Yu, Anpac Bio Chief Executive Officer. "Drisha leads our company's global marketing and business development with experience and professionalism. I knew when I hired her that she was fully-committed to Anpac Bio's mission of early cancer detection and prevention; in part because of her own personal battle fighting late-stage blood cancer. So, I wasn't surprised she was nominated for this great honor. And we remain proud to cheer on her efforts!"

Described as "game changing", and receiving the, "Breakthrough Innovation Award", at the World Nobel Prize Laureate Summit; and named, "Most Promising Cancer Screening Company", at the 2017 Global Precision Medicine Industry Awards, Anpac Bio's "Cancer Differentiation Analysis" (CDA) liquid biopsy technology effectively reinvents early cancer screening/detection.

Comprehensive research validity data from 80,000+ cases to date demonstrate CDA detects up to 26 cancers -- with 75%-90% sensitivity and specificity rates -- usually identifying the disease at its earliest stages. And it does so without harmful side effects; generating far fewer "false positives"; and at a cost substantially lower than traditional testing. Anpac Bio has filed 200+ CDA-related patent applications worldwide  80+ issued currently.

For more information, Drisha Leggitt's LLSWOY campaign: http://bit.ly/DrishaLLSStory; Anpac Bio: www.AnpacBio.com.

SOURCE Anpac Bio-Medical Science Company

Related Links

http://anpacbio.com


Reporting directly to Astellas president and CEO, Kenji Yasukawa, Ph.D., Zeiher will join the company's top executive leadership team. He will continue to lead the organization from Northbrook, Ill., Astellas' headquarters for M&D and its Americas operations.

In his new role, Zeiher will focus on further integrating and enhancing Astellas' delivery of its global innovative pipeline and driving support for the appropriate use of its products.

"I am honored to lead the Astellas M&D organization during this critical time," said Zeiher. "As we embark upon a new Corporate Strategic Plan, it is my goal to continue and further implement the corporate vision of turning innovative science into value for patients."

Zeiher started his career at Astellas in 2010 as vice president and Therapeutic Area leader for Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Diseases. He was promoted to senior vice president and Therapeutic Area Head for Immunology, Infectious Diseases and Transplant in 2012. Zeiher was later named executive vice president and Therapeutic Area Head when his organization was expanded to include the company's CNS and Pain programs. Most recently, Zeiher was promoted to president of Development in 2015. Prior to joining Astellas, Zeiher served as the vice president of the Inflammation/Immunology therapeutic area at Pfizer.

He earned his Doctor of Medicine at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and completed an internal medicine residency at University Hospitals of Cleveland as well as a fellowship in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Zeiher is a Fellow in the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians. He has worked in the pharmaceutical industry since 1998.

About Astellas

Astellas Pharma Inc., based in Tokyo, Japan, is a company dedicated to improving the health of people around the world through the provision of innovative and reliable pharmaceutical products. We focus on Urology, Oncology, Immunology, Nephrology and Neuroscience as prioritized therapeutic areas while advancing new therapeutic areas and discovery research leveraging new technologies/modalities. We are also creating new value by combining internal capabilities and external expertise in the medical/healthcare business. Astellas is on the forefront of healthcare change to turn innovative science into value for patients. For more information, please visit our website at https://www.astellas.com/en.

SOURCE Astellas Pharma Inc.

Related Links

https://www.astellas.com


MANHATTAN, N.Y., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- ATSG, a tech-enabled managed services and solutions company, today announced its new Digital-Workplace-as-a-Service offering powered by Tech Data, the world's leading end-to-end distributor of technology products, services and solutions, through its Tech-as-a-Service (TaaS) solution. ATSG's Digital-Workplace-as-a-Service is an easy-to-consume, fully bundled endpoint provisioning solution designed to empower end users while promoting and enforcing security at the very edge of the enterprise.

"Today's end-user customers demand innovative ways to manage the digital transformation and ever-increasing array of endpoint devices taking hold across their businesses," said Anthony J. D'Ambrosi, President, ATSG. "With the launch of our Digital-Workplace-as-a-Service solution, ATSG is answering this call by setting a new standard in offering intelligent services and solutions to our clients across a broad spectrum of critical digital initiatives."

Digital-Workplace-as-a-Service is a bundled, secure and fully managed endpoint device service, the costs of which users can amortize over the life of the engagementencompassing both hardware and software. It features complete technology lifecycle management, including rolling refreshes and the latest device technology to enable the latest applications. The service provides full digital workplace engagement for maximum end-user productivity and mobility.

"Tech Data is delighted to join forces with ATSG to deliver this compelling endpoint service program," said Linda Rendleman, Senior Vice President, Endpoint Solutions, Americas, at Tech Data. "Powered by our ground-breaking TaasS model, a comprehensive, flexible program for value-added resellers that bundles hardware, software and services into a single subscription price, Digital-Workplace as-a-Service is the right solution at the right time to help ATSG's customers successfully run their businesses in the digital age."

For more information on ATSG's Digital-Workplace-as-a-Service solution, visit www.atsg.net, email [email protected] or call (914) 984-2400.

About ATSG

ATSG is a tech-enabled managed services and solutions company focused on innovative solutions to enhance the end-user experience. ATSG provides technology solutions as a service to a variety of customers; leveraging their portfolio of rediCloud, rediTech and rediManage, which includes deep expertise in technology consulting, wireless and network, unified communications, collaboration, cloud solutions, data center, mobility and productivity solutions.

ATSG is a privately held company headquartered in Briarcliff Manor, New York. For more information on ATSG, please visit us on the web at www.atsg.net, like us on LinkedIn, follow us on Twitter or become a fan on our Facebook page.

About Tech Data

Tech Data connects the world with the power of technology. Our end-to-end portfolio of products, services and solutions, highly specialized skills, and expertise in next-generation technologies enable channel partners to bring to market the products and solutions the world needs to connect, grow and advance. Tech Data is ranked No. 107 on the Fortune 500 and has been named one of Fortune's World's Most Admired Companies for nine straight years. To find out more, visit www.techdata.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

SOURCE ATSG

Related Links

http://www.atsg.net


FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys Jory Lange and Rebecca Vinocur filed the first federal lawsuit in the nation on May 14, 2018, in the multi-state Salmonella outbreak from contaminated eggs that is currently affecting the East Coast. The complaint was filed on behalf of a 70-year-old Florida resident against Rose Acre Farms, Inc. dba Hyde County Egg, Moran Foods, LLC, and Save-A-Lot Food Stores, LTD.

The complaint alleges that the Florida resident ate eggs contaminated with Salmonella from a local Save-A-Lot Food Store.

"Elderly people, like our client, and the very young are especially at risk for developing severe Salmonella infections. Check your eggs. If you have the recalled eggs in your home, you should throw them out and disinfect anywhere that they touched. The recalled eggs have 'P-1065' or 'P-1359' stamped on the side of the carton," said Jory Lange, a national food safety lawyer.

The CDC reports that 11 people have been hospitalized and 35 people from 9 states have been infected with Salmonella as part of this outbreak, including: Florida (2), New York (8), Virginia (8), Pennsylvania (6), North Carolina (5), South Carolina (3), New Jersey (1), West Virginia (1), and Colorado (1). More than 200 million eggs have been recalled.

The complaint filed by Jory Lange and Rebecca Vinocur can be read here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LsOe1PeYiyQ3zZK1w6MDJrN4EYDv6DvR/view?usp=sharing

About Jory Lange and Rebecca Vinocur

When corporations sell food contaminated with E. coli, Listeria, Salmonella, or other food poisoning pathogens, Jory Lange helps the families who have been harmed. One of the nation's leading food safety lawyers, Jory Lange has helped families from Florida to California, the Mid-Atlantic to the Midwest, and in states across the nation. You can learn more about Jory Lange at MakeFoodSafe.com.

Rebecca Vinocur is one of Florida's leading products liability lawyers, with a special emphasis on helping families who have been harmed by asbestos and mesothelioma. You can learn more about Rebecca Vinocur at RSV-Law.com.

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2018 The Lange Law Firm, PLLC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is The Lange Law Firm, PLLC, 3131 Eastside Street, Suite 440, Houston, TX 77098.

Contacts

The Lange Law Firm, PLLC

Jory D. Lange Jr.

www.MakeFoodSafe.com

Candess Zona-Mendola

833.330.3663

[email protected]

SOURCE The Lange Law Firm, PLLC

Related Links

https://www.makefoodsafe.com


KANSAS CITY, Mo., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoAlert  the industry leader in data mining, sales-lead generation, and communication solutions for car dealerships  received Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 Type 2 certification recently, making it the only software company in the automotive software arena to have this high-level security in place.

In a time when data protection is more critical than ever, the company began readying for the rigorous SOC 2 audit last year in order to streamline and advance data-security measures that it already had in place.

AutoAlert received its SOC 2 Type 1 certification in October, and then began preparing for the even more thorough SOC 2 Type 2 designation. The Type 2 report came back from auditor Hancock Askew this week as passing with "no exceptions," meaning that in six months of observing minutia of the company's handling of sensitive information, no issues were found.

"This assures our thousands of clients, here in the U.S. and abroad, that we will reliably cover their security requirements," says AutoAlert Compliance Manager Jim Fales. "Our team takes data protection very seriously, and we know our clients do too."

Conducted by third-party auditors, SOC 2 reports have gained recognition as the worldwide standard for secure and confidential information handling. They allow clients (in this case, OEMs and dealerships) to gain assurance about a company's controls and processes that effect the security, availability, and processing integrity of the systems used to process data, as well as the confidentiality and privacy of the information processed by the systems.

SOC 1 covers the financial controls, and SOC 2 reports on the security behind those controls, giving information service providers (like software companies) a way to verify the way they protect and secure data, and ensure that it's accessible.

The designation expires after a year, at which point another review will take place.

About AutoAlert

A pioneer in data mining and new-client engagement, AutoAlert was founded in 2002 and now leads the automotive industry in data mining, communication platforms, and other software solutions. AutoAlert's technology bridges the communication gap between a dealership's management, employees, and customers, creating high-quality sales opportunities, increased gross margin, and improved customer retention.

Visit www.autoalert.com to learn more about AutoAlert's software solutions for growing and supporting dealerships.

For more about this news release, contact Ian Ritter, AutoAlert's Manager of Corporate Communications, at [email protected].

SOURCE AutoAlert, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.autoalert.com


SAN DIEGO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aya Healthcare, the largest privately held travel nurse staffing and healthcare workforce solutions provider in the country, was named to the 2018 Modern Healthcare Best Places to Work in Healthcare list for the second year in a row.

The award recognizes outstanding employers in the healthcare industry on a national level for empowering employees and promoting an exceptional workplace culture. Employees rate job satisfaction, work-life balance, benefits and more.

"We're thrilled to be recognized again by Modern Healthcare," said Amber Zeeb, VP of Employee Experience at Aya Healthcare. "Creating a more human company culture is something that has always been important to us. I'm so proud of the innovative environment we've built because our employees feel valued and know that their voices are heard."

Aya strives to foster a culture of empowerment, innovation and leadership where employees can thrive and advance their careers. Aya's unique employee perks include 100% employer-paid healthcare, free on-site fitness classes, fully stocked kitchens of healthy food, flexible schedules with work-from home options, unlimited paid time off and more.

The company continues to experience rapid growth and market share gains as it reshapes the healthcare staffing industry by focusing on what truly matters most: people.

Aya's corporate headquarters are in San Diego, Calif., with additional offices in Los Angeles, Calif., Sacramento, Calif., Palm Beach, Fla., Marshall, Mich., Omaha, Neb., Atlanta, Ga. and Virginia Beach, Va. If you are interested in starting your career with Aya Healthcare, visit www.ayahealthcare.com/careers.

About Aya Healthcare

Aya Healthcare is the largest privately held travel nurse staffing and healthcare workforce solutions provider in the country. The company continues to experience rapid growth as it reshapes the travel nurse staffing and healthcare workforce solutions segments. Aya creates exceptional experiences for their clinicians, their corporate employees and the healthcare facilities they serve. Aya's platform provides access to one of the largest sources of contract clinicians in the country, which improves efficiency, increases quality and reduces costs for healthcare systems. To learn more about Aya Healthcare, visit www.ayahealthcare.com.

Media Contact:

Heidi Everly

Corporate Communications Manager

Aya Healthcare

[email protected]

619.917.9167

SOURCE Aya Healthcare

Related Links

http://www.ayahealthcare.com


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The announcement of Azamara Club Cruises' extensive 2020 itineraries highlights the brand's commitment to creating immersive experiences for travelers to connect with local cultures. In 2020, guests will explore deeper into newly added destinations including South Africa, French Polynesia and Hawaii. With a total of 92 individual cruises across the three ships, Azamara will offer 41 maiden ports, 303 late night stays, 170 overnight stays and 40 country-intensive voyages, where guests can explore numerous ports within one country and stay late or overnight in most cities.

Azamara's carefully crafted 2020 itineraries emphasize spending more time in port, enabling travelers to explore beyond the initial layers of a city and fully immerse themselves in the destination. In addition, Azamara will also unveil new Land and Sea packages hosted by Micato Safaris, a luxury safari outfitter that will further enhance the brand's immersive land products.

"Our guests spoke and we listened; the addition of our third ship, the Azamara Pursuit, has allowed us to expand our footprint across all seven continents, bringing guests to new destinations, new experiences, and new opportunities," said Larry Pimentel, President and CEO of Azamara Club Cruises. "In 2020, Azamara will offer a total of 473 late night and overnight stays, a 12% percent increase from 2019, which will allow us to provide our guests with the opportunity to experience night touring at some of the most compelling destinations."

2020 Highlights Include:

(1) South Africa/African Continent and South Pacific Itineraries

Azamara will be expanding its global coverage by calling in South Africa and the African Continent for the first time. Each voyage will offer an exceptional variety of immersive land programs that take travelers to the heart of Zulu culture, South Africa's most famous wine region, and beyond.

The new South Africa itineraries will coincide with pre-and post-cruise packages from Micato Safaris. Azamara and Micato both embody a similar love of travel, exploration and value creating one-of-a-kind experiences for travelers. Highlights include 30 departures of the two following tours:

Five-Night Kruger to Cape: A Wildlife & Culinary Safari (offered pre-or post-Azamara voyage) Before embarking on a voyage with Azamara, meet the Micato team in Johannesburg for an exploration from Kruger to Cape Town with stops along the way at a notable game reserve and a visit to the Western Cape, known for its world class wines and top-quality restaurants; an experience that will delight the senses.

Before embarking on a voyage with Azamara, meet the Micato team in for an exploration from Kruger to with stops along the way at a notable game reserve and a visit to the Western Cape, known for its world class wines and top-quality restaurants; an experience that will delight the senses. Five-Night Wild Wonders of the World - Victoria Falls & Botswana Safari (offered pre-or post-Azamara Voyage): Travel through Zimbabwe to Botswana to experience one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Victoria Falls . This expedition also includes a dawn game drive through Botswana's Chobe Game Reserve and an optional helicopter tour of the falls.

In addition to the extensions by Micato Safaris, Azamara continues to expand its extensive Destination Immersion programing (guests can step on land as an insider, and travel deeper, beyond the initial layers of a city across Africa by adding a diverse selection of shore excursions including:

Cruise Global , Stay Local - Kenya : On this overnight excursion, travelers will fly past Mount Kilimanjaro  the highest mountain in Africa  and over the Great Rift Valley to Kenya's renowned game reserve, Masai Mara, where they will spend the night at the Neptune Mara Rianta Luxury Camp, located along the Mara River. The excursion includes two game viewing drives in search of elephant, lions, rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes and more.

On this overnight excursion, travelers will fly past Mount Kilimanjaro  the highest mountain in  and over the Great Rift Valley to renowned game reserve, Masai Mara, where they will spend the night at the Neptune Mara Rianta Luxury Camp, located along the Mara River. The excursion includes two game viewing drives in search of elephant, lions, rhinos, cheetahs, giraffes and more. Cruise Global , Meet Local  South Africa : On a day trip to Shakaland  a living monument of Zulu culture  travelers will be met by a Zulu guide who will act as an interpreter as he leads them through the village. Guests will learn how to make a sword and shield as well as build a traditional Zulu "beehive" grass hut.

On a day trip to Shakaland  a living monument of Zulu culture  travelers will be met by a Zulu guide who will act as an interpreter as he leads them through the village. Guests will learn how to make a sword and shield as well as build a traditional Zulu "beehive" grass hut. Cruise Global, Taste Local  South Africa : Departing from Cape Town , the excursion will take travelers to the Paarl region  one of South Africa's most famous wine-producing areas  for a formal vino tasting at a wine estate. Following, guests will pay a visit to Haute Cabriere  founded in 1694 and situated on opposite ends of the breathtaking Franschoek  where visitors will get to experience a deep passion for wine as well as a pairing comprised of two farms.

The 2020 itineraries will also feature an 18-night maiden voyage to French Polynesia and Hawaii, visiting some of the most unique Hawaiian Islands (Maui, Oahu and Hilo). During this voyage guests can shop for bright Polynesian silk wrap or shop for items with Tahitian black pearls, an organic gem only found in that region and formed from the black lip oyster. Some of the land experiences guests can participate in include:

Cruise Global, Eco Local  French Polynesia : Join a marine biologist in this ecotourism and research project on wild, free-ranging dolphins. Learn about the geology of French Polynesia while viewing the dramatic beauty of Moorea from the water. Spinner dolphins, rough-tooth dolphins and pilot whales are seen around Moorea, while an excellent commentary provides details on the remarkable life and society of these wonderful mammals.

Join a marine biologist in this ecotourism and research project on wild, free-ranging dolphins. Learn about the geology of while viewing the dramatic beauty of Moorea from the water. Spinner dolphins, rough-tooth dolphins and pilot whales are seen around Moorea, while an excellent commentary provides details on the remarkable life and society of these wonderful mammals. Cruise Global, Adventure Local - Hawaii : Embark on an underwater exploration of Maui onboard a high-tech passenger submarine. The expedition will pass the "Brig Carthaginian," a sunken ship built in the 1920s that now acts as an artificial reef off of the coast of Maui's Puamana Beach Park .

(2) Specialty Voyages

In addition to adding new destinations and immersive land experiences to its offerings, Azamara's 2020 itineraries will feature an assortment of specialty voyages including the following:

Nearly half of Azamara's 2020 itineraries will include country-intensive voyages , giving travelers the opportunity to connect to the authentic heart of local life and culture. The new country intensive sailings include Ireland , Scotland , Denmark , and South Africa .

, giving travelers the opportunity to connect to the authentic heart of local life and culture. The new country intensive sailings include , , , and . For the first time, Azamara's three sister ships will meet on October 8, 2020 in Koper, Slovenia , where the cruise line will host a grand AzAmazing Evening in port for all guests on all three ships, and then sail together to Venice .

will meet on in Koper, , where the cruise line will host a grand AzAmazing Evening in port for all guests on all three ships, and then sail together to . Azamara's holiday and Christmas sailings provide the opportunity to take part in celebrations around the world including ringing in the New Year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Cape Town, South Africa .

provide the opportunity to take part in celebrations around the world including ringing in the New Year in and . On February 20, 2020 , the Azamara Quest will be embarking on the brand's second World Journey from Cape Town to Southampton .

, the Azamara Quest will be embarking on the brand's second from to . The Triple Tour is a 42-night voyage starting May 26, 2020 from Athens to Copenhagen , allowing guests to sail on all three ships and get an in-depth experience with crew members across the entire fleet, all on one epic voyage. More details on the Triple Tour will be available in early Summer of 2018.

(3) New Stateroom Category:

Starting in 2020, Azamara will offer guests a more inclusive stateroom category called Veranda Plus. The new accommodation will have the same dimensions and features as a regular Veranda stateroom, for a slightly higher cost, but include additional benefits such as: internet minutes, one night of specialty dining, priority embarkation and more. All of these amenities have been built in price, which will provide a value for guests, versus buying individually.

2020 continues Azamara's expansion of Destination Immersion experiences, for more information on voyages and experiences, visit www.azamaraclubcruises.com or travelers can call their travel agent professionals. Connect with Azamara on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and follow President and CEO Larry Pimentel (@LarryPimentel) on Twitter. Travel agent professionals can access more information and make reservations at www.CruisingPower.com.

To preview Azamara Club Cruises' 2020 deployment video, click here.

About Azamara Club Cruises

Azamara Club Cruises is a boutique upmarket cruise line. Azamara's wide selection of Destination Immersion signature programming offers guests the opportunity to connect with local cultures, delivering guests authentic cultural experiences across the globe. In 2018, Azamara will take guests to more than 200 ports, in 70 countries, including 170 late night stays and 114 overnights. Azamara's commitment to Destination Immersion cruise experiences coupled with exceptional authentic service offers and inclusive amenities make for a unique cruise vacation experience. Additional information can be found on www.azamara.com. Explore Further.

About Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that owns and operates three global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises. We are a 50% joint venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises, a 49% shareholder in the Spanish brand Pullmantur and a 36% shareholder in the Chinese brand SkySea Cruises. Together, these brands operate a combined total of 50 ships with an additional twelve on order as of March 31, 2018. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on approximately 540 destinations on all seven continents. Additional information can be found on www.royalcaribbean.com, www.celebritycruises.com, www.azamaraclubcruises.com, www.tuicruises.com, www.pullmantur.es, or www.rclinvestor.com.

SOURCE Azamara Club Cruises

Related Links

http://www.azamara.com


NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bengs, a leading innovation and strategy consulting company founded in 2015 and headquartered in Paris, France, announced today, three years after its inception, that the company will expand its operations into the United States.

Bengs selected the USA as the first of many steps of the roll-out of its international expansion strategy. This will enable Bengs to provide global transformation support to many of its international clients with US interests.

Bengs will initially establish facilities in three major cities: New York, Miami and Dallas. A major innovation hub will be established in each location. The other services available at each facility will be customized to suit nearby clients.

Following the outstanding success of Bengs' open innovation lab in Paris, Bengs will establish a second lab in the USA. The innovation lab provides the environment, the skills and resources to fast track innovation activity using the patented Radical Innovation Design (RID) for business methodology.

Bengs has grown by 80% in the last 2 years and is well on its way to achieving a 50% growth rate in 2018, with the ambition to deliver sustainable and long-term growth globally.

Sebastien Durand, Bengs co-founder and CEO commented, "Since we founded Bengs in 2015, we have always had a globalization ambition. Now that the business is established and recognized in France, the time is right to make the move. The USA is an attractive and buoyant market. We are optimistic that we can quickly gain traction there."

Colin Palombo, US Managing Partner at Bengs said, "The Bengs methodology is unique and will be quickly adopted by US clients as they start to see the benefits and results it can deliver."

Chris Poole, US Managing Partner at Bengs noted, "We are proud to be bringing the Bengs brand into the States. The innovation lab and RID methodology has been proven in Europe, so the US clients will quickly reap the associated rewards."

Bengs is a consulting company focused on strategy and innovation. It helps its clients transform intuition and know-how into bottom line results. Bengs works with many leading international companies, supporting and accelerating their sustainable, profitable growth.

If you would like more information about this topic, please call Chris Poole at +1 (817) 851-4582, or email [email protected].

Contact:

Colin Palombo, Managing Partner, Bengs-US, [email protected]

Chris Poole, Managing Partner, Bengs-US, [email protected]

SOURCE Bengs

Related Links

http://www.bengs-lab.com


BERGEN, Norway, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BerGenBio ASA (OSE: BGBIO), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel, selective AXL kinase inhibitors for multiple cancer indications, announces its results for the first quarter 2018. A presentation of the results by the Company's management will take place today at 10.00 am CET in Oslo  details below.

Richard Godfrey, Chief Executive Officer of BerGenBio, commented: "We are pleased with the progress made during Q1 2018. Patient recruitment into our global Phase II clinical proof-of-concept trials with bemcentinib is progressing well and we expect to deliver interim read-outs across all studies during 2018. Presentation of these results will be at major clinical congresses, including the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in June. Coinciding with ASCO, we will host a satellite event that will allow us to meet with our stakeholders and provide insights from KOLs and clinical experts on our selective AXL inhibitor bemcentinib as a potential cornerstone of cancer combination therapy. We believe that we will be able to demonstrate the significant potential of bemcentinib in cancer therapy by making tumour cells visible to the immune system and more susceptible to treatment with chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immuno-oncology drugs."

Highlights - First Quarter 2018

Good progress advancing bemcentinib's proof-of-concept clinical development

First efficacy endpoint met in Phase II trial of bemcentinib/TARCEVA (erlotinib) combination in advanced lung cancer (NSCLC) patients

Recruitment completed in first stage of Phase II trial of bemcentinib in combination with KEYTRUDA in advanced breast cancer (TBNC) patients

Bemcentinib shown to be well tolerated in all patients enrolled across three combination trials with KEYTRUDA  data presented at ASCO-SITC 2018

Single agent therapy with bemcentinib led to increased immune activity in relapsed / refractory leukaemia (AML & MDS) patients  data presented at ASCO-SITC 2018

Post period

Private placement raising gross NOK 187.5 million from international institutional investors including from the USA , specialising in the biotechnology sector

from international institutional investors including from the , specialising in the biotechnology sector Recruitment completed in the first stage of Phase II trial of bemcentinib in combination with KEYTRUDA in NSCLC patients

Preclinical data highlighting bemcentinib's potential to reverse tumour immune suppression and enhance immune checkpoint inhibitor efficacy, presented at AACR annual meeting

Publications describe the role of AXL signalling in, and potential therapeutic effect of selective AXL inhibition to counteract the progression of aggressive fibrosis in lung and liver diseases

Financial Summary

(NOK million) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 FY 2017 Operating revenues - - - Operating expenses 54.8 65.8 183.7 Operating profit (loss) -54.8 -65.8 -183.7 Profit (loss) after tax -53.8 -65.1 -182.2 Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share (NOK) -1.08 -1.93 -4.01 Net cash flow in the period -41.1 -66.4 208.5 Cash position end of period 329.2 95.4 370.3

Presentation and Webcast Details

A presentation by BerGenBio's senior management team will take place at 10.00 am CET at:

Felix Konferansesenter, Bryggetorget 3, 0125 Oslo

The presentation will webcast live and the link will be available at www.bergenbio.com in the section Investors/ Financial Reports. A recording will be available shortly after the webcast has finished.

The results report and the presentation will be available at www.bergenbio.com in the section: Investors/ Financial Reports from 7:00 am CET the same day.

About BerGenBio ASA

BerGenBio ASA is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing a pipeline of first-in-class AXL kinase inhibitors as a potential cornerstone of combination cancer therapy. The Company is a world leader in understanding the essential role of AXL kinase in mediating aggressive disease, including immune evasive, drug resistant, metastatic solid and haematological cancers.

BerGenBio's lead product, bemcentinib (BGB324), is a selective, potent and orally bio- available small molecule AXL inhibitor in four Company sponsored Phase II clinical trials in major cancer indications, with read-outs anticipated during 2018. It is the only selective AXL inhibitor in clinical development.

The Company sponsored clinical trials are:

Bemcentinib with TARCEVA (erlotinib) in advanced EGFR mutation driven non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Bemcentinib with KEYTRUDA in advanced adenocarcinoma of the lung, and

Bemcentinib with KEYTRUDA in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

Bemcentinib as a single agent and combination therapy in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) / myeloid dysplastic syndrome (MDS)

The clinical trials combining bemcentinib with KEYTRUDA in adenocarcinoma of the lung and TNBC are conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc. (Kenilworth, NJ, USA), through a subsidiary.

In addition, a number of investigator-sponsored trials are underway, including a trial to investigate bemcentinib with either MEKINIST (trametinib) plus TAFINLAR (dabrafenib) or KEYTRUDA in advanced melanoma, as well as a trial combining bemcentinib with docetaxel in advanced NSCLC.

BerGenBio is simultaneously developing a companion diagnostic test to identify patient subpopulations most likely to benefit from treatment with bemcentinib. This will facilitate more efficient registration trials and support a precision medicine based commercialization strategy.

The Company is also developing a diversified pre-clinical pipeline of drug candidates, including BGB149, an anti-AXL monoclonal antibody.

For further information, please visit: www.bergenbio.com

KEYTRUDA is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA, TARCEVA is a registered trademark of OSI Pharmaceuticals, LLC., marketed by Roche-Genentech. TAFLINAR is a registered trademark of Novartis International AG and MEKINIST is a registered trademark of GSK plc.

Contacts

Richard Godfrey

CEO, BerGenBio ASA

+47-917-86-304

Rune Skeie

CFO, BerGenBio ASA

[email protected]

+47-917-86-513

International Media Relations

David Dible, Mark Swallow, Marine Perrier

Citigate Dewe Rogerson

[email protected]

+44-207-638-9571

Media relations in Norway

Jan Petter Stiff,

Crux Advisers

[email protected]

+47-995-13-891

Forward looking statements

This announcement may contain forward-looking statements, which as such are not historical facts, but are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions. These assumptions are inherently subject to significant known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors. Such risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other important factors could cause actual events to differ materially from the expectations expressed or implied in this announcement by such forward-looking statements

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/bergenbio-asa/r/bergenbio-asa--results-for-the-first-quarter-2018,c2520434

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/15728/2520434/841032.pdf PDF http://mb.cision.com/Public/15728/2520434/b13604f77e225915.pdf 2018 1Q pres final reduced-size http://mb.cision.com/Public/15728/2520434/b28c6cb35ffb07aa.pdf 2018 1Q Report reduced-size http://news.cision.com/bergenbio-asa/i/richard-godfrey,c2409693 Richard Godfrey

SOURCE BerGenBio ASA

Related Links

http://www.bergenbio.com


Receiving the award were MatchCraft's Sandy Lohr (CEO), Marc Zaks (CRO) and Lan Le (UX Designer).

"As partners, both Bing and MatchCraft strive to provide the best advertising technology to merchants around the world. At MatchCraft our mission is to keep evolving our offerings as the market changes in order to better serve our clients. And so, it is an absolute honor to be recognized again for our continuous efforts," said Sandy Lohr, MatchCraft's CEO. "The entire MatchCraft team is over the moon!"

MatchCraft was also honored with the Growth Technology Partner of the Year (North America) Award, at the 2017 Bing Partner Summit.

About 2018 Global Bing Partner Awards

Global Bing Partner Awards aim to honor the individuals and organizations behind some of the most impactful, innovative and performance-driven work from Bing Ads' Partners in North America, Europe and APAC. The winners were recognized at the Bing Partner Summit Celebration and Awards Ceremony held on May 2, 2018 at Fremont Studios in Seattle, WA, USA.

About MatchCraft

MatchCraft, founded in 1998, provides a best-in-class marketing platform that enables companies to successfully sell and manage search, display, and social campaigns for their advertisers. MatchCraft's platform AdVantage helps organizations efficiently manage campaigns of all sizes, enabling clients to deliver spectacular results to their advertisers. MatchCraft's sophisticated real-time bidding algorithms, and team of digital marketing enthusiasts, work relentlessly to deliver exceptional ROI for merchants around the world. MatchCraft has headquarters in the heart of "Silicon Beach," in Santa Monica, Calif., with additional offices in The Netherlands, India and Brazil. MatchCraft will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary this year! For digital marketing news, advice and to stay in the loop on product rollouts, follow MatchCraft on Facebook, MatchCraft on Twitter, or visit www.MatchCraft.com.

Contact:

U.S.: 310-314-3320

Europe: +31 71 760 16 34

[email protected]

SOURCE MatchCraft

Related Links

http://www.matchcraft.com


ATLANTA, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- PriorAuthNow, a platform for connecting the healthcare landscape using prior authorization (ePA) automation, today announced that it has raised a Series A funding round of $10.5 million led by BIP Capital.

PriorAuthNow reduces both the cost and inefficiencies in the healthcare system by decreasing the time required for hospitals to connect with patients' insurance providers to obtain approvals for procedures. Research published by Health Affairs estimates that the annual cost of prior authorization compliance is between $23 billion and $31 billion each year. Additionally, a 2016 survey of more than 300 health providers found that both physicians and support staff spend between five and eight hours a week on prior authorization-related processes.

"We're excited to partner with PriorAuthNow to transform the way the healthcare industry addresses prior authorizations," said Mark Buffington, CEO of BIP Capital. "PriorAuthNow CEO Joe Anstine has done a phenomenal job building a technology company with a sophisticated product that dramatically reduces inefficiencies in a traditionally time-consuming process."

"It's not easy to find a win-win solution in an industry as complex as healthcare technology, but through extensive customer research, we've been able to build something that delivers faster care at a lower price in a way that benefits patients, providers and insurance companies," said PriorAuthNow's Anstine. "We're thrilled to raise this next round of capital to fuel the growth of our company, bringing our product to all the different healthcare markets across the country."

The PriorAuthNow technology significantly reduces the manual time it takes to acquire prior authorizations from several days to a matter of hours, revolutionizing the entire revenue management cycle through its efficiency. With the PriorAuthNow platform, health systems have experienced denial reductions greater than 60 percent related to authorizations.

"PriorAuthNow is a disruptive technology platform that automates a manual process plaguing every health system and provider in the United States. It provides an immediate ROI for hospital executives looking for improved cash flow and revenue cycle," said Sarath Degala, vice president at BIP Capital, who led the PriorAuthNow deal.

About PriorAuthNow

PriorAuthNow, Inc. is the leading electronic prior authorization (ePA) solution enabling healthcare providers and payers to leverage a single platform to submit, monitor and complete the prior authorization process. Based in Columbus, Ohio, PriorAuthNow's powerful, secure software works with EMR systems and integrates directly with insurance carriers, making it the fastest, most economical way to handle prior authorizations. The company's platform eliminates the need for lengthy phone calls, cumbersome faxing, going to myriad portals, and filling out the many different authorization formssaving provider and payer teams countless administrative hours and ultimately improving patient care. For more information visit: www.priorauthnow.com.

About BIP Capital

BIP Capital is recognized as one of the most active and successful venture investors in the Southeast, serving entrepreneurs, investors and operators to grow the emerging company ecosystem. The firm applies experience and process to make investment decisions and operational recommendations, allowing its portfolio companies to achieve and stay on a glide path of growth. Areas of focus include Enterprise SaaS, Healthcare IT, Digital Media, Dev Tools and MarTech. For more information, visit www.bip-capital.com or follow BIP Capital on Twitter @BIPCapital.

Media Contact:

Kathy Berardi

Carabiner Communications

678.644.4122

[email protected]

SOURCE BIP Capital

Related Links

http://www.bip-capital.com


DENVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. (OTCQX: BDMS), business services provider of PERFECT TEETH dental practices, announced results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. For the quarter ended March 31, 2018, revenue increased $161,000, or 1.0%, to $15.8 million compared to $15.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The Company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, and stock-based compensation expense ("Adjusted EBITDA") decreased $385,000, or 49.6%, to $392,000. This result includes $66,000 of one-time expenses related to the accounting and valuation consulting services the Company utilized in connection with the $5,000,000 financing completed in December 2017. Net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 increased $253,000 to $(478,000) compared to $(225,000) for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Loss per share increased to $(0.25) for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 compared to $(0.12) for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. During the quarter ended March 31, 2017, the Company had capital expenditures of $126,000 and decreased bank debt outstanding by approximately $125,000.

The Company continues to experience strong patient flow with new patient visits up 5.9% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017 and total patient visits up 4.6% in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017. The Company had 107 dentists at March 31, 2018 compared to 112 dentists at December 31, 2017 and 102 dentists at March 31, 2017.

The company was unable to convert its strong patient flow to earnings due to the slow ramp in productivity from new dental professionals and decreases in hygiene and oral surgery revenues. The Company expects productivity of new dentists to increase with time and a recently hired hygiene director to assist with hygienist productivity.

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc. acquires, develops, and manages geographically dense dental practice networks in select markets in Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. As of March 31, 2018, the Company managed 68 dental offices under the PERFECT TEETH name.

The Company previously announced it would conduct a conference call to review results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 on Tuesday, May 15, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. MT. In addition to current operating results, the teleconference may include discussion of management's expectations of future financial and operating results. To participate in this conference call, dial in to 1-888-298-3465 and refer to Confirmation Code 9279206 approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled time. If you are unable to join the conference call on May 15, 2018, the rebroadcast number is 1-888-203-1112 with the pass code of 9279206. This rebroadcast will be available through May 29, 2018.

Non-GAAP Disclosures

This press release includes a non-GAAP financial measure with respect to Adjusted EBITDA. Please see below for more information regarding Adjusted EBITDA and a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain of the matters discussed herein may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These include statements regarding the Company's prospects and performance in future periods, including improvement in operating results and dentist hiring, the amount of bank debt, compliance with debt covenants, performance of de novo offices, the payment or nonpayment of dividends, dentist count, dentist turnover and recruitment, dentist productivity, new patient visits and patient flow and the impact of certain shareholder matters. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These and other risks and uncertainties are set forth in the reports filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

For Further Information Contact:

Birner Dental Management Services, Inc.

Dennis Genty

Chief Financial Officer

(303) 691-0680

BIRNER DENTAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)



Quarters Ended





March 31,





2017

2018

REVENUE:









Dental practice revenue $ 14,618,704

$ 14,858,074



Capitation revenue 1,041,976

963,393





15,660,680

15,821,467













DIRECT EXPENSES:









Clinical salaries and benefits 9,466,299

9,820,077



Dental supplies 628,406

696,314



Laboratory fees 881,141

883,376



Occupancy 1,550,259

1,614,021



Advertising and marketing 169,904

131,458



Depreciation and amortization 964,802

778,701



General and administrative 1,263,626

1,335,937





14,924,437

15,259,884















Contribution from dental offices 736,243

561,583













CORPORATE EXPENSES:









General and administrative 959,458 (1) 1,001,389 (1)

Depreciation and amortization 46,084

33,374













OPERATING LOSS (269,299)

(473,180)



Interest expense, net 72,423

164,143













LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES (341,722)

(637,323)



Income tax benefit (116,663)

(159,332)













NET LOSS $ (225,059)

$ (477,991)















Net loss per share of Common Stock - Basic $ (0.12)

$ (0.25)















Net loss per share of Common Stock - Diluted $ (0.12)

$ (0.25)















Weighted average number of shares of Common Stock and dilutive securities:









Basic 1,860,261

1,874,694















Diluted 1,860,261

1,874,694







(1) Corporate expenses - general and administrative includes $35,236 and $52,976 of stock-based compensation expense pursuant to ASC Topic 718 for the quarters ended March 31, 2017 and 2018, respectively.

BIRNER DENTAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)



December 31,

March 31, ASSETS 2017

2018 CURRENT ASSETS:







Cash $ 1,888,828

$ 2,009,097

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of approximately $500,000 and $475,000, respectively 3,772,514

4,206,930

Note receivable 33,768

25,600

Prepaid expenses and other assets 655,310

917,241











Total current assets 6,350,420

7,158,868









PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 5,016,141

4,541,000









OTHER NONCURRENT ASSETS:







Intangible assets, net 5,876,053

5,664,911

Deferred charges and other assets 163,991

163,991

Total assets $ 17,406,605

$ 17,528,770









LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY















CURRENT LIABILITIES:







Accounts payable $ 4,210,521

$ 3,946,822

Accrued expenses 777,863

804,524

Accrued payroll and related expenses 2,009,720

2,719,982

Current maturities of long-term debt 750,000

800,000











Total current liabilities 7,748,104

8,271,328









LONG-TERM LIABILITIES:







Deferred tax liability, net 101,482

17,021

Bank credit facilities, net 5,684,085

5,511,818

Convertible senior subordinated secured notes, net 4,445,862

4,519,150

Other long-term obligations 1,190,811

1,173,598











Total liabilities 19,170,344

19,492,915























10,000

10,000









SERIES A PREFERRED STOCK, no par value, 100 shares authorized, 10 shares outstanding -

-









SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY / (DEFICIT):







Preferred Stock, no par value, 7,999,900 shares authorized; none outstanding -

-

Common Stock, no par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; 1,872,761 and 1,874,761 shares issued and outstanding, respectively 2,060,208

2,113,184

Accumulated deficit (3,833,947)

(4,087,329)











Total shareholders' deficit (1,773,739)

(1,974,145)











Total liabilities and shareholders' deficit $ 17,406,605

$ 17,528,770

Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA is not a U.S. generally accepted accounting principle ("GAAP") measure of performance or liquidity. However, the Company believes that it may be useful to an investor in evaluating the Company's ability to meet future debt service, capital expenditures and working capital requirements, and the Company uses Adjusted EBITDA for this purpose. Investors should not consider Adjusted EBITDA in isolation or as a substitute for operating income, cash flows from operating activities or any other measure for determining the Company's operating performance or liquidity that is calculated in accordance with GAAP. In addition, because Adjusted EBITDA is not calculated in accordance with GAAP, it may not necessarily be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss can be made by adding depreciation and amortization expense - offices, depreciation and amortization expense  Corporate, stock-based compensation expense, interest expense, net and income tax benefit to net loss as in the table below.



Quarters

Ended March 31,

2017

2018 RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA:







Net loss ($225,059)

($477,991)

Add back:









Depreciation and amortization - Offices 964,802

778,701



Depreciation and amortization - Corporate 46,084

33,374



Stock-based compensation expense 35,236

52,976



Interest expense, net 72,423

164,143



Income tax benefit (116,663)

(159,332)







Adjusted EBITDA $776,823

$391,871

SOURCE Birner Dental Management Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.bdms-perfectteeth.com


ALLENTOWN, Pa., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Creditsafe, the world's leading provider of global business intelligence, has today announced enhancements to its U.S. credit information product portfolio with access to financial trade payment data. This information provides significantly increased insight into the credit and financial performance of businesses across the nation. The payment data includes trade line information from business leases, commercial credit cards and term loans that will enable businesses to make better, more informed decisions.

Creditsafe has the ability to source over $220 billion in trade from banks, credit card companies and credit unions. In addition to having this data within new sections on a business's credit report, this data can be leveraged by Creditsafe customers to enhance their credit algorithms to deliver even higher levels of predictability.

"While business credit reports and scores are traditionally put together using a variety of public and private information covering business demographics and company-to-company trade payment data, the addition of payment data showing not just how a business pays its bills, but how it pays its term loans, commercial cards and other debts takes our reports to another level," said Matthew Debbage, CEO of Creditsafe's Americas and Asia-Pacific division. "To be honest, any credit manager or business owner who makes a credit granting decision without viewing this data first is actually cheating themselves and their business by not taking the opportunity to see the whole picture. I cannot over-emphasize how important this information is," he added.

Debbage added, "Creditsafe has built its reputation and success on doing things differently. We are committed to changing the way business information is used and by adding in this payment data to our U.S. offering we are continuing to do just that and to provide American businesses with a compelling option. Our Analysis shows that a typical user will now have the added benefit of seeing financial payment data on over 40% of previously 'thin credit file' companies. We believe this increase in data availability is a complete game-changer."

Not only does this enhanced product provide detail on reported credit lines, it also highlights a company's total credit utilization and any past due or at risk balances. Details of closed accounts are included to provide a historical perspective to show if a business has a poor track record on inactive accounts.

Businesses who wish to benefit from this enhanced service should either contact Creditsafe directly or click here.

About Creditsafe:

Creditsafe is the world's most used supplier of company business intelligence with ten Creditsafe Group reports downloaded every second. Privately owned and independently minded, Creditsafe is looking to change the way business information is used by providing high-quality data in an easy to use format that everyone in an organization can benefit from.

Founded in Norway in 1997, Creditsafe has offices in countries all over the world including the UK, Germany, France, Sweden, Ireland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Japan and the United States. Globally, The Creditsafe Group employs over 1,000 people and has more than 100,000 subscription customers. In 2013, The Creditsafe Group opened offices in the US under the name Creditsafe USA, Inc. Its U.S. operations are headquartered in Allentown, PA with nearly 10,000 companies in the U.S. subscribing to its services, ranging from small businesses to large, global companies like Staples, Ryder, and Nestle.

Creditsafe's global database is one of the most rapidly expanding in the industry and also one of the most comprehensive. Each day over 250,000 users around the world leverage the company's database to gather strategic, insightful business information. Creditsafe's database is updated over a million times a day with information gathered from thousands of sources. In 99.9% of the cases, reports requested by customers are delivered instantly. Over forty percent of Creditsafe's customers leverage the company's internationally reporting capabilities.

For more information about Creditsafe, please visit www.creditsafe.com.

SOURCE Creditsafe

Related Links

http://www.creditsafe.com


HAIKOU, China, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- China Pharma Holdings, Inc. (NYSE MKT: CPHI) ("China Pharma," the "Company" or "We"), an NYSE American listed corporation with a fully-integrated specialty pharmaceuticals subsidiary based in China, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2018.

First Quarter Highlights

Revenue increased 10.1% to $3.6 million in first quarter 2018 from $3.3 million in the same period of 2017;

in first quarter 2018 from in the same period of 2017; Gross margin was 29.1% in first quarter 2018, compared to 21.9% in the same period of 2017;

Loss from operations was $0.1 million in first quarter 2018 compared to $0.8 million in the same period of 2017, a decrease of $0.7 million ;

in first quarter 2018 compared to in the same period of 2017, a decrease of ; Net loss was $0.3 million in first quarter 2018 compared to $1.0 million in the same period of 2017. Loss per common share was $(0.01) per basic and diluted share in first quarter 2018 compared with $(0.02) per basic and diluted share in the same period of 2017.

"Actively and steadily increasing sales remains our top priority in recent quarters. It was encouraging to see increasing revenue in this quarter. Management will continue to vigorously promote sales through active participation in recent provincial market openings to receive new drug tender offers and through further penetration into the market," said Ms. Zhilin Li, China Pharma's Chairman and CEO. Ms. Li continued, "The ongoing generic drug consistency evaluations and reform of China's drug production registration and review policies will continue to have a significant impact on the current performance and future development of Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers, including us, and may gradually change business patterns of the industry. We will continue to actively adapt to state policy guidance and further evaluate market conditions for our current existing products, pipeline products, and competition in the market in order to optimize our development strategy."

First Quarter Results

Revenue increased by 10.1% to $3.6 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, as compared to $3.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. This increase was mainly due to change in exchange rate between USD and RMB. Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was RMB 23.0 million, which represented an increase of 2%, compared to RMB 22.6 million for the same period in 2017.

Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $1.1 million, compared to $0.7 million in the same period in 2017. Our gross profit margin in the three months ended March 31, 2018 was 29.1% compared to 21.9% in the same period in 2017. The increase in our gross profit margin was mainly due to the increase in general selling price of our product package in the first quarter of 2018.

Our selling expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were both $0.7 million. Selling expenses accounted for 18.8% of the total revenue in the three months ended March 31, 2018 compared to 21.8% in the same period in 2017. Because of adjustments in our sales practices resulting from healthcare reform policies, we reserve a basic amount of personnel and expenses to support our sales and the collection of accounts receivable.

Our general and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 were $0.5 million, which represented an increase of $0.1 million compared to $0.4 million in the same period in 2017. General and administrative expenses accounted for 13.6% and 12.7% of our total revenues in the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Net Loss for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $0.3 million, compared to net loss of $1.0 million in the same period a year ago. The decrease in net loss was mainly the result of the increase in gross profit margin.

Financial Condition

As of March 31, 2018, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $2.5 million compared to $2.0 million as of December 31, 2017. Working capital increased to $3.9 million as of March 31, 2018 from $3.1 million as of December 31, 2017; and the current ratio was 1.4 and 1.3 times at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively.

As of March 31, 2018, our net accounts receivable was $2.5 million, compared to $2.3 million as of December 31, 2017.

For the three months ended March 31, 2018, cash flow from operating activities was $0.5 million, as compared to $0.01 million for the same period in 2017.

Conference Call

The Company will hold a conference call at 8:30 am E.T. on May 15, 2018 to discuss the results of first quarter 2018. Listeners may access the call by dialing 1-866-519-4004 or 65-671-350-90 for international callers, Conference ID # 3765759. A replay of the call will be accessible through May 23, 2018 by dialing 1-855-452-5696 or 61-281-990-299 for international callers, Conference ID # 3765759.

About China Pharma Holdings, Inc.

China Pharma Holdings, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets a diversified portfolio of products focused on conditions with a high incidence and high mortality rates in China, including cardiovascular, CNS, infectious, and digestive diseases. The Company's cost-effective, high-margin business model is driven by market demand and supported by new GMP-certified product lines covering the major dosage forms. In addition, the Company has a broad and expanding nationwide distribution network across all major cities and provinces in China. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Hainan Helpson Medical & Biotechnology Co., Ltd., is located in Haikou City, Hainan Province. For more information about China Pharma Holdings, Inc., please visit www.chinapharmaholdings.com. The Company routinely posts important information on its website.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements set forth above that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, which may include, but are not limited to, such factors as the achievability of financial guidance, success of new product development, unanticipated changes in product demand, increased competition, downturns in the Chinese economy, uncompetitive levels of research and development, and other information detailed from time to time in the Company's filings and future filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements made herein speak only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company's expectations except as required by applicable law or regulation.

Contact:



China Pharma Holdings, Inc.

Ms. Diana Na Huang

Phone: +86-898-6681-1730 (China)

Email: [email protected]

- FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW -

CHINA PHARMA HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS















March 31,

December 31,



2018

2017 ASSETS

(Unaudited)

(Audited) Current Assets:







Cash and cash equivalents

$ 2,468,035

$ 2,030,214 Restricted cash

1,184,516

709,796 Banker's acceptances

25,239

39,867 Trade accounts receivable, less allowance for doubtful







accounts of $18,865,079 and $18,209,734, respectively

2,474,716

2,293,120 Other receivables, less allowance for doubtful







accounts of $43,926 and $40,010, respectively

203,055

162,981 Advances to suppliers

714,748

461,307 Inventory

6,355,745

6,407,155 Prepaid expenses

189,411

185,647 Total Current Assets

13,615,465

12,290,087









Advances for purchases of intangible assets

24,577,519

23,722,954 Property and equipment, net

23,554,653

23,541,003 Intangible assets, net

379,335

398,856 TOTAL ASSETS

$ 62,126,972

$ 59,952,900









LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY







Current Liabilities:







Trade accounts payable

$ 1,377,841

$ 1,141,138 Accrued expenses

334,398

276,368 Other payables

2,614,978

2,858,701 Advances from customers

623,027

581,132 Other payables - related parties

1,354,567

1,354,567 Current portion of construction loan facility

2,229,246

2,305,430 Bankers' acceptance notes payable

1,184,516

709,796 Total Current Liabilities

9,718,573

9,227,132 Non-current Liabilities:







Construction loan facility

7,165,434

6,916,291 Deferred tax liability

791,067

738,175 Total Liabilities

17,675,074

16,881,598 Stockholders' Equity:







Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 5,000,000 shares authorized;







no shares issued or outstanding

-

- Common stock, $0.001 par value; 95,000,000 shares authorized;







43,579,557 shares and 43,579,557 shares outstanding, respectively

43,580

43,580 Additional paid-in capital

23,590,204

23,590,204 Retained earnings

5,186,329

5,479,809 Accumulated other comprehensive income

15,631,785

13,957,709 Total Stockholders' Equity

44,451,898

43,071,302 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY

$ 62,126,972

$ 59,952,900

CHINA PHARMA HOLDINGS, INC. CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS) (Unaudited)













For the Three Months



Ended March 31,



2018

2017 Revenue

$ 3,615,684

$ 3,285,203 Cost of revenue

2,561,984

2,567,350









Gross profit

1,053,700

717,853









Operating expenses:







Selling expenses

678,330

717,637 General and administrative expenses

492,010

416,726 Research and development expenses

22,213

26,060 Bad debt expense

1,834

360,063 Total operating expenses

1,194,387

1,520,486









Loss from operations

(140,687)

(802,633)









Other income (expense):







Interest income

2,294

5,033 Interest expense

(129,102)

(138,964) Net other expense

(126,808)

(133,931)









Loss before income taxes

(267,495)

(936,564) Income tax expense

(25,985)

(30,334) Net loss

(293,480)

(966,898) Other comprehensive income - foreign currency







translation adjustment

1,674,076

479,592 Comprehensive income (loss)

$ 1,380,596

$ (487,306) Loss per share:







Basic and diluted

$ (0.01)

$ (0.02) Weighted average shares outstanding

43,579,557

43,579,557

CHINA PHARMA HOLDINGS, INC. CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)



For the Three Months



Ended March 31,



2018

2017 Cash Flows from Operating Activities:







Net loss

$ (293,480)

$ (966,898) Depreciation and amortization

861,430

815,394 Bad debt expense

1,834

360,063 Deferred income taxes

25,985

30,334 Changes in assets and liabilities:







Trade accounts and other receivables

(266,479)

(261,377) Advances to suppliers

(237,165)

(17,509) Inventory

427,741

549,500 Trade accounts payable

196,434

(206,599) Accrued taxes payable

(163,335)

(71,575) Other payables and accrued expenses

(52,823)

(130,772) Advances from customers

20,709

(113,615) Prepaid expenses

2,888

22,818 Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities

523,739

9,764









Cash Flows from Investing Activities:







Purchases of property and equipment

(3,627)

(26,628) Net Cash Used in Investing Activities

(3,627)

(26,628)









Cash Flows from Financing Activity:







Payments of construction term loan

(157,316)

(145,176) Net Cash Used in Financing Activity

(157,316)

(145,176)









Effect of Exchange Rate Changes on Cash

75,025

19,779 Net (Decrease) Increase in Cash and Cash Equivalents

437,821

(142,261) Cash and Cash Equivalents at Beginning of Period

2,030,214

2,665,802 Cash and Cash Equivalents at End of Period

$ 2,468,035

$ 2,523,541









Supplemental Cash Flow Information:







Cash paid for income taxes

$ -

$ - Cash paid for interest

$ 125,716

$ 138,964









Supplemental Noncash Investing and Financing Activities:







Issuance of banker's acceptances

$ 443,748

$ 621,753 Accounts receivable collected with banker's acceptances

133,053

182,499 Inventory purchased with banker's acceptances

148,924

167,981

SOURCE China Pharma Holdings, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.chinapharmaholdings.com


DENVER, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) announced today the date of the special mid-quarter investor conference call referenced on its Q1 earnings call. The special call will be held on Wednesday, June 27 at 4:15 PM Eastern time to discuss company strategy and plans under its new executive leadership.

The conference call can be accessed live over the phone by dialing 1-877-451-6152 or for international callers by dialing 1-201-389-0879.

The call will also be webcast live from Chipotle's website on the Investor Relations page at ir.chipotle.com. An archived webcast will be available approximately one hour after the end of the call.

ABOUT CHIPOTLE

Steve Ells, founder and executive chairman, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in an interactive style allowing people to get exactly what they want. Chipotle seeks out extraordinary ingredients that are not only fresh, but that are raised responsibly, with respect for the animals, land, and people who produce them. Chipotle prepares its food using real, wholesome ingredients and without the use of added colors, flavors or other additives typically found in fast food. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in Denver in 1993 and now operates more than 2,400 restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.

SOURCE Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.
The first STEM Education Day, held on May 2, 2018, focused on science, weather and engineering. Pre-game activities included a STEM Fair with experiments from local organizations, an egg drop from the top of Fenway Park's historic Green Monster, and a fun coding challenge. The second STEM Education Day, scheduled for May 30, 2018, will highlight NASA and other important space initiatives. Activities will begin with a STEM Fair featuring the Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. These will be followed by a panel with former astronauts and current NASA professionals. In 2017, each "Red Sox STEM Education Days Presented by CITGO" hosted more than 4,000 students.

"At CITGO, we support STEM initiatives because we believe that investing in education is the key to building stronger communities," said CITGO Interim Vice President of Strategic Shareholder Relations, Government & Public Affairs Rafael Gomez. "As a company with a rich history in Boston, including our iconic CITGO sign at Kenmore Square, we are proud to promote efforts such as these, which allow students to come to Fenway Park to learn about STEM and catch a game."

The "Red Sox STEM Education Days Presented by CITGO" is one of the many programs supported through the CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline, an initiative designed to expand STEM education and career opportunities for students in the company's operational areas. The initiative provides grants to schools for programs that increase student interest, retention and graduation rates, and for programs that prepare students for technical and university- level curricula. The CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline also provides scholarships for students pursuing higher degrees in STEM fields.

Since the initiative's inception, the company has awarded more than $1.5 million toward programs that promote the importance of STEM education and provide educators with the resources they need. Together with nearly 36 STEM partners, CITGO STEM programs have touched the lives of more than 20,000 students and educators across the company's regions. In addition to the CITGO STEM Talent Pipeline initiative, CITGO also promotes educational programs designed to improve attendance and support childhood and family literacy programs.

About CITGO

CITGO, based in Houston, is a refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. The company is owned by CITGO Holding, Inc., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., the national oil company of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. For more information, visit http://www.CITGO.com.

SOURCE CITGO

Related Links

http://www.CITGO.com


CHICAGO and SAN FRANCISCO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinbase today announced new product offerings for institutions, designed to better meet their rapidly growing demand to trade and invest in cryptocurrency. In the past few months, over 100 hedge funds announced plans to trade and invest in cryptocurrency, signaling heightened interest from institutional clients and financial services professionals for a source of liquidity and custody for their digital assets.

The company will launch Coinbase Custody, a cryptocurrency custodian in partnership with an SEC-regulated broker-dealer, to a group of initial clients that include the leading institutions in the crypto industry. New product offerings announced today also include Coinbase Prime, a suite of tools and services specifically designed for institutions, and enhancements to Coinbase Markets that will be driven by an engineering team out of the newly opened Chicago office. Finally, Coinbase is announcing an institutional coverage group headquartered in New York City to provide the highest level of service to clients.

"There is clear demand from institutional clients and financial services professionals for more specific solutions with regard to cryptocurrencies that address their sophisticated needs," said Adam White, Vice President and General Manager of Coinbase Institutional. "Through new products like Coinbase Prime and Coinbase Custody, we're building the necessary capability for institutions that allows cryptocurrencies to be traded and stored in a compliant, trusted and efficient manner."

Coinbase Custody to launch in partnership with SEC-regulated broker-dealer

Coinbase has leveraged the company's deep experience safely storing more than $20 billion of cryptocurrency to create Coinbase Custody, the most secure crypto storage solution available. In partnership with an SEC-regulated broker-dealer, Coinbase Custody is proud to offer a service that couples Coinbase's cryptocurrency security excellence with third-party auditing and financial reporting validation that operates at the high standard of an SEC-regulated, custodial broker-dealer.

Our Coinbase Custody launch partners are all leading institutions in the crypto industry, including 1confirmation, Autonomous Partners, Boost VC, MetaStable, Multicoin Capital, Polychain Capital, Scalar Capital and Walden Bridge Capital.

"We're very familiar with the need for trusted, institutional custody in the crypto space and are excited to partner with Coinbase to help bring this to market," said Kyle Samini, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Multicoin Capital.

"Coinbase has an impeccable record of secure crypto storage. Polychain is excited to partner with them to bring both security and regulatory clarity to our investors," said Olaf Carlson-Wee, Founder and CEO Polychain Capital.

New Chicago office to execute Coinbase Markets product development

Coinbase is making a major investment in Chicago through a new engineering office that will focus on further developing Coinbase Markets, the premier electronic marketplace for cryptocurrencies. Coinbase already offers the deepest pool of liquidity to the largest number of participants in the cryptocurrency space and will continue developing Coinbase Markets by opening a new engineering office in Chicago.

Coinbase Markets provides a centralized pool of liquidity for all Coinbase products. Over the course of the year Coinbase Markets will introduce new features like low latency performance, on-premise datacenter colocation services, institutional connectivity and access, and settlement and clearing services. These additions will allow for a more efficient price discovery to occur, creating tighter markets, deeper liquidity, and increased certainty of execution.

Coinbase is thrilled to open an office in Chicago and have access to a large talent pool of engineers with deep exchange infrastructure experience. This office will serve as the home for the Coinbase Markets team and enable Coinbase to continue offering the most performant and reliable cryptocurrency exchange.

"As a global leader in financial technology, Chicago welcomes innovative companies investing in our city and creating jobs for Chicago residents," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel. "There is no better city than Chicago for companies that want to put down roots and grow their businesses."

"As leaders in innovation and technology, Chicago and Coinbase are perfectly suited in working together to help shape the present and future of digital currency," said Paul Bauerschmidt, Product Lead, Coinbase Markets. "Chicago is an ideal location for our newest Coinbase office and we hope our investment will continue to position the city as a growing hub for technological innovation. We look forward to adding talented engineers who are motivated by our mission to create an open financial system for the world."

Coinbase PrimeA new product experience designed specifically for institutions

Coinbase is announcing Coinbase Prime, a new platform designed specifically to provide a suite of tools and services that institutional investors rely on when trading cryptocurrency.

This product will fill a missing piece of critical infrastructure needed for institutions. Over the course of the year Coinbase intends to offer lending and margin financing products to qualified clients, high touch and low touch execution services like over-the-counter (OTC) trading and algorithmic orders and new market data and research products. Coinbase will also introduce platform improvements like multi-user permissions and whitelisted withdrawal addresses.

Coinbase Prime will accelerate adoption of cryptocurrency worldwide by helping institutions everywhere participate in this emerging asset class. To learn more or sign up as an institution, please visit Coinbase Prime.

The Coinbase Institutional Coverage Group

Coinbase understands that institutions need more than great products, they need great service too. The Coinbase Institutional Coverage group is focused exclusively on serving the needs of institutional clients by providing sales, sales trading, research, market operations and client services support. This group, headquartered in the Coinbase New York City office, brings years of diverse and relevant institutional experience from firms such as the New York Stock Exchange, Morgan Stanley and the SEC and CFTC.

By guiding clients through the onboarding process and advising on execution strategies, the Coinbase Institutional Coverage Group will offer personalized white-glove service and help institutional investors navigate the increasingly complex world of crypto asset investing.

To learn more about Coinbase and its new products, services and offerings, please visit coinbase.com.

About Coinbase

Founded in June of 2012, Coinbase offers a suite of products to consumers, professional traders and institutions that make trading, investing and transacting in cryptocurrencies easy and secure. Coinbase strives to be the most trusted brand in the space, and has built the world's leading platform for cryptocurrencies serving over 20 million customers. The company is based in San Francisco, California with offices in Chicago, New York and London.

SOURCE Coinbase

Related Links

http://coinbase.com


DENVER and TORONTO, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cologix, a network neutral interconnection and data center company, announced today that the last available 10K SQF at Canada's largest carrier hotel at 151 Front St. is ready for service. The 1.5MW, 2N, customizable space is available for cloud providers and enterprises needing low latency connections within 151 Front Street.

"The 151 Front St building is the country's largest and most important telecommunications hub and we are thrilled to be bringing the last available 10K SQF on line for our Customers," stated Sean Maskell, President, Cologix Canada. "The new customizable space is ideal for Customers needing low latency access to unparalleled Network and Cloud choice within 151 Front Street."

Cologix now operates over 75,000 gross SQF of highly networked, latency sensitive capacity in the market. The newly completed space offers 2N redundancy, 1.5MW of power and access to 160+ networks and 50+ cloud providers including direct connectivity to AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and IBM Cloud. The Company also recently announced a 20K SQF expansion 2km away at their 905 King St. data center which can be utilized as a stand-alone, diverse bypass facility to the TOR1 data center, or can be leveraged as a natural extension with the diverse fiber ring connecting the two Toronto colocation data centers.

"The expansions at 151 Front & 905 King truly provide our Customers a customizable data center environment with unsurpassed levels of security, reliability and unparalleled connectivity choice," stated Maskell.

For more information or to request a tour of the space, please contact [email protected].

About Cologix Inc.

Cologix provides reliable, secure, scalable data center and interconnection solutions from 25 prime interconnection locations across 9 strategic North American edge markets. Over 1,600 leading network, managed services, cloud, media, content, financial services and enterprise customers trust Cologix to support their business critical infrastructure and connect them to customers, vendors and partners. Our dedicated, experienced local teams and scalable solutions enable us to provide industry-leading customer service and the ability to successfully support customers at the Internet's new edge. For a tour of one of our data centers in Columbus, Dallas, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Minneapolis, Montreal, New Jersey, Toronto or Vancouver visit www.cologix.com or email [email protected]. Follow Cologix on LinkedIn and Twitter.

SOURCE Cologix

Related Links

http://www.cologix.com


In bid to speed the pace of enterprise adoption, blockchain trailblazer ConsenSys collaborates with AWS to offer a new service, Kaleido, a Blockchain Business Cloud that radically simplifies the creation and operation of private blockchain networks.

NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Companies are eager to capture the potential of blockchain but to date have struggled to move experimental projects forward into live production networks. ConsenSys today announced Kaleido, a new Blockchain Business Cloud aimed at speeding and simplifying enterprises' journey to using the technology. Kaleido is the first Software-as-a-Service featuring popular Ethereum packages Geth and Quorum, and is offered in collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Additional first-of-a-kind capabilities include linking between private networks and the public Ethereum mainnet, integrated analytics, and support for multiple protocol options and consensus mechanisms. The platform runs on AWS and provides clients the ability to seamlessly connect to other popular AWS services, reducing the cost of real-world projects that often require complex integrations.

According to Gartner's 2018 CIO Survey, of 3,138 CIOs respondents "only 1% indicated any kind of blockchain adoption within their organizations."

Although organizations across many industries are increasingly evaluating blockchain, many are now coming to grips with the fact that there are significant hurdles to getting their arms around the technology. For example, a live blockchain network requires a shared IT infrastructure across all involved parties, which has proven to be difficult and costly. Many early adopters have spent millions of dollars and months or even years writing thousands of lines of custom code, only to stall or pull the plug on projects entirely.

Steve Cerveny, Kaleido Founder said, "If blockchain doesn't become dramatically easier to use, then companies will have to walk back their investments and our society will be far too slow in realizing blockchain's significant promise. We designed the Kaleido platform from scratch with new user experiences and tools to radically simplify the entire enterprise journey. This all-in-one Blockchain Business Cloud changes the economic equation of an enterprise blockchain project. By offering a full solution way beyond do-it-yourself scripts or templates, Kaleido significantly speeds up development and deployment cycles and dramatically lowers operating costs. What Salesforce did for CRMs, Kaleido will do for blockchain."

Kaleido streamlines the process of standing up secure, permissioned blockchain networks without sacrificing the ability to customize the environment. These networks offer all of the benefits of the underlying blockchain technology, while still maintaining the necessary levels of robustness, security, and performance. The platform onboards member organizations with ease and distributes ownership and control of the network among them according to defined and agreed upon governing policies that are automatically enforced.

Kaleido uniquely integrates the greater security and diversification of the public blockchain, or Ethereum mainnet, to enterprises running private chains on the platform. By permanently "anchoring" the private chain to the public blockchain through the Kaleido Relay, a network of companies can further reduce risk of after-the-fact collusion going unnoticed. Anchoring can occur automatically at regular checkpoints to provide greater "proof of settlement finality" over all transactions, as well as on demand for specific events such as a high value trade. For example, when a new member onboards into the group via a voting policy enforced on the private chain, a irrefutable proof of that decision can be written to the public chain including signatures and timestamps. By doing this, any chance of counterparty disputes about membership is eliminated.

Cerveny adds, "Public and private blockchains have been evolving largely independently for the last couple years. We knew that a next generation platform must focus on convergence between the two. Kaleido is bringing them together in a valuable and meaningful way for enterprises. And true to our mission, we are pushing the boundaries in this area and making it really easy for companies to tap into."

Kaleido is the first Blockchain Software as a Service (SaaS) available in the AWS Marketplace and is accessible across multiple AWS Regions around the world.

"We are thrilled to see innovative new services being built by ConsenSys within this emerging space," said Joshua Hofmann, GM and Global Lead, Software Partnerships, Amazon Web Services, Inc. "Kaleido is making blockchain more accessible and easier to use for our customers and even faster to securely connect their blockchain solutions to the rest of AWS's fleet of services. This creates a frictionless experience and streamlines integration with additional AWS services that our customers often leverage when deploying Blockchain solutions."

Kaleido is the first enterprise blockchain platform to utilize Ethereum, the most proven smart contract platform in the market today. The service offers the ability to switch between configurations of the underlying Ethereum protocol. For example, there are several consensus algorithms (RAFT, POA, and IBFT) that users can toggle between when configuring the Quorum and Geth packages.

ConsenSys is a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a group of now more than 500 organizations dedicated to ensuring Ethereum meets the specific needs of companies.

"The Enterprise Ethereum Alliance is a large and vibrant community," said Ron Resnick, Executive Director, Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. "ConsenSys and AWS coming together to deliver a next generation Enterprise Ethereum service is a game-changer."

Kaleido has already been quietly piloted by several consortia. Justo Ortiz, Chairman of the Board for UnionBank said, "Our team was inspired to harness blockchain in order to reach farther into our rural communities of the Philippines. Many people are still financially excluded and we're looking to change that. In partnership with ConsenSys and running on the Kaleido platform, we successfully accelerated Project i2i into active pilot without the complexity and cost of starting from scratch."

Joseph Lubin, Co-founder of Ethereum and Founder of ConsenSys adds, "We are now entering a new era of simple and inclusive access to blockchain technology that cuts through the hype to advance stronger, more collaborative, business relationships previously out of reach. Kaleido is the first platform to radically simplify and speed the use of blockchain by companies across all industries. It also represents the first "dual mode" use of Ethereum, enabling private, permissioned Ethereum-based systems to link with public, permissionless Ethereum, in order to achieve an element of trustworthiness that has previously been unobtainable. This may be considered the first major link forged in the internet of blockchains."

Kaleido is available today and can be accessed in the AWS Marketplace by visiting https://aws.amazon.com/marketplace.

To learn more or try out Kaleido, visit http://www.kaleido.io

More about ConsenSys

ConsenSys is a global formation of technologists and entrepreneurs building the infrastructure, applications, and best practices to enable a decentralized world. The ConsenSys "hub" coordinates, incubates, accelerates, and spawns "spoke" ventures through development, resource sharing, investments and the formation of joint ventures. ConsenSys is dedicated to growing the Ethereum-based blockchain ecosystem through various domains including ConsenSys Solutions, ConsenSys Capital, ConsenSys Labs, and ConsenSys Academy. For more information, please visit www.ConsenSys.net.

SOURCE ConsenSys

Related Links

http://www.ConsenSys.net


PLYMOUTH NOTCH, Vt., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation is pleased to announce the four recipients of the 2018 Coolidge Scholarship. This full-ride merit scholarship, which can be used at any accredited college or university in the United States, covers tuition, fees, room and board for four years of undergraduate study.

The Coolidge Scholarship honors America's thirtieth president and seeks to elevate the values for which President Coolidge stood. Amity Shlaes, Coolidge biographer and Coolidge Foundation chairman said, "President Coolidge is one of the most underrated presidents. Yet considering the challenges facing America today, especially our large national debt, Coolidge's principles are more important than ever. We are pleased to honor President Coolidge, and these remarkable students, with the Coolidge Scholarship."

The main criterion that distinguishes Coolidge Scholars is academic excellence. Students must also demonstrate a keen interest in public policy, an appreciation for the values Coolidge championed, a record of service, and humility. The Scholarship is non-partisan and winners may pursue any academic discipline they choose. This year more than 3,200 students applied for the award. Each applicant writes an essay about the Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge.

Matthew Denhart, Coolidge Foundation executive director, remarked, "It has been our great pleasure learning about the many interests and remarkable accomplishments of this year's applicants. We can't help but feel optimistic about America's future having had this opportunity to get to know so many of our country's future leaders."

Students apply during their junior year of high school and Coolidge Scholars are selected through a multi-stage review process. Semifinalist juries meet across the country to consider top applicants and select finalists. Twelve finalists are flown in for a finalist weekend at the Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont. During this weekend, candidates are interviewed by the Coolidge Scholars Finalist Jury, chaired by former Vermont governor James H. Douglas.

Speaking on behalf of the finalist jury, Gov. Douglas said: "It's gratifying to see thousands of students each year responding to the call for excellence and discovering the lessons of our thirtieth president through the Coolidge Scholarship application process."

The recipients of the 2018 Coolidge Scholarship are:

Phillip Meng, Union High School, Camas, Washington

Matthew Muellner, Creighton Preparatory School, Omaha, Nebraska

Katherine Sylvester, Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Maryland

Alison Xin, Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, Ohio

These recipients come from a group of distinguished finalists. The other finalists, who each received the one-time Finalist Award of $5,000, include:

Joshua Anumolu, Homeschool student, Glendale, Wisconsin

Kelsey Griffin, Bishop Kelley High School, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tivas Gupta, Saint Ignatius College Prep, Chicago, Illinois

Sathvik Kolli, Homeschool student, Milpitas, California

Peter Mugemancuro, Flintridge Preparatory School, La Canada Flintridge, California

Luis Sanchez Boedo, Franklin High School, Franklin, Tennessee

Eshika Saxena, Interlake High School, Bellevue, Washington

Talia Tax, University High School, Tucson, Arizona

For more information about the Coolidge Scholarship, including profiles of this year's winners, please visit CoolidgeScholars.org.

SOURCE Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation
How Quebrada Blanca would traditionally be valued

Up until recently, Canadian miner Teck held a 76.5% stake in Quebrada Blanca, a copper mine located in northern Chile. Teck increased its stake in the mine to 90% at the beginning of April this year. Interestingly, based on CRU's Copper Cost Services, Quebrada Blanca is a loss-making asset fast approaching the end of its life as a mine. So, why did Teck decide to acquire an additional 13.5% stake from local shareholders? The quick answer would be that they are considering a brownfield expansion  Quebrada Blanca 2 (QB2)  which would put the mine in the third quartile of the copper industry cost curve. But there are two large risks surrounding this expansion:

 Environmental permits: The company is currently applying for them, but Chilean environmental authority has yet to provide an answer.

 Market environment at the time of the investment decision: The copper market is volatile, and although currently there is positive momentum regarding price, the market environment at the time of the decision may not be the same as it is today.

By using the traditional valuation approach, assuming CRU's current price forecast and that Teck will be granted environmental permits, we can conclude that the traditional Net-Present Value (NPV) of the asset1  considering the expansion  would be 2.0 USD billion; thus, the 13.5% stake on the operation would be valued at 276 USD million.

Quebrada Blanca

Quebrada Blanca is an open pit mine that began operations in 1994. The mine is located 4,400 metres above sea level. The operation produced 23 kt of copper in 2017  steadily decreasing from over 80 kt one decade before. The mine produces copper cathode via ore leaching and an SX-EW plant. While the original operation has greatly exceeded its original life expectancy, its reserves are finally due to be exhausted in the next few years. As it stands, Quebrada Blanca is located in the fourth quartile of the CRU copper industry cost curve.

Quebrada Blanca has a Project for a brownfield expansion  Quebrada Blanca 2 (QB2). In this expansion the operation would begin concentrate production  a much more water intensive process than the one currently in use. QB2 is estimated to require an investment of around 4.7 USD billion; which includes a concentrate plant, tailing dam, pumping and piping facilities to extract seawater  amongst other investments. This expansion is expected to prolong the life of the mine for around 30 years, achieve a copper production of around 238 ktpa  plus molybdenum production as by-product  and will then place Quebrada Blanca in the third quartile of the copper industry cost curve.

A big caveat is that the project is in the process of obtaining the environmental permits  which have not been awarded.

The actual sale

In fact, the actual sale was structured in four streams2

 52.5 USD million upfront

 60 USD million once they have environmental permits for Quebrada Blanca 2

 50 USD million one month after Quebrada Blanca 2 commences production

 Up to 100 USD million if copper price exceeds a $3.15/lb threshold  equivalent to $6,944/t.

The questions that arise then are: why was the sale structured in this particular way? And, why was the minority interest bought at a total of 162.5 USD million3 when the traditional method places its value at 276 USD million?

A real options analysis can explain both the value and the structure of the actual sale.

Read the full story: https://www.crugroup.com/knowledge-and-insights/insights/2018/increased-stake-in-end-of-life-copper-mine-an-inspired-move/

Read more about CRU: http://bit.ly/About_CRU

About CRU

CRU offers unrivalled business intelligence on the global metals, mining and fertilizer industries through market analysis, price assessments, consultancy and events.

Since our foundation by Robert Perlman in 1969, we have consistently invested in primary research and robust methodologies, and developed expert teams in key locations worldwide, including in hard-to-reach markets such as China.

CRU employs over 260 experts and has more than 10 offices around the world, in Europe, the Americas, China, Asia and Australia  our office in Beijing opened in 2004.

When facing critical business decisions, you can rely on our first-hand knowledge to give you a complete view of a commodity market. And you can engage with our experts directly, for the full picture and a personalised response.

CRU  big enough to deliver a high quality service, small enough to care about all of our customers.

SOURCE CRU
HIAWATHA, Iowa, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Crystal Group Inc., a leading designer/manufacturer of rugged computer and electronic hardware, will feature its latest advanced computing and network equipment at the Association of the US Army LANPAC Symposium & Exposition in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 22 - 24 at the Sheraton Waikiki.

The Association of the United States Army's 2018 LANPAC Symposium & Exposition is a world-class, international event highlighting the role of land forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific theater and their contributions to the Joint Force in peace and war.

Robert Haag, vice president of sales and marketing for Crystal Group, noted, "The military's shift toward collecting, communicating and analyzing vast amounts of data in real time is fueling the need for high performance, reliable, rugged servers, embedded computers and network switches that operate in harsh environments. Our proven solutions enable system developers to select and customize the precise equipment needed for deployment in multi-domain battle."

Crystal Group supplies innovative solutions for autonomous and unmanned systems, military, industrial and commercial applications and will exhibit its latest servers, embedded computers, and network switches at LANPAC.

Product experts at Crystal Group booth #308 will demonstrate a breadth of integrated capabilities designed for high performance in severe environments and critical around-the-clock operations in multi-domain battlefields with a variety of solutions including:

Crystal Group FORCE (Fully Optimized Rugged Computer Equipment) 1U, 2U, and 3U Rugged Servers are high-bandwidth, low-latency, high-performance computing (HPC) systems optimized for size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C). Crystal Group FORCE Rugged Servers with Intel Xeon Scalable processors and state-of-the-art liquid cooling (2U dissipates 280W of CPU power), offer superior compute and greater reliability in harsh elements, such as shock and vibration, temperature extremes, and humidity.

The RCS7150 intelligent, scalable, edge switch solution is based on the Ruckus ICX 7150 Series stackable switch with a 9.75-inch depth available in 12- and 24-port configurations. This switch is housed in rugged, lightweight, and compact enclosure designed to survive harsh environments, including extreme temperatures or high shock and vibration. It supports IPv6 routing, offers plug-and-play functionality, and is compatible with industry command line technology enabling the integration of multiple units into a single logical unit addressable with a single IP address.

About Crystal Group Inc.

Crystal Group Inc., a technology leader in rugged computer hardware, specializes in the design and manufacture of custom and commercial rugged servers, embedded computing, networking devices, displays, power supplies, and data storage for high reliability in harsh environments. An employee-owned small business founded in 1987, Crystal Group provides the defense, government and industrial markets with in-house customization, engineering, integration, configuration management, product lifecycle planning, warranty, and support services.

Crystal Group products meet or exceed IEEE, IEC, and military standards (MIL-STD-810, 167-1, 461, MIL-S-901); are backed by warranty (5+ year) with in-house support; and are manufactured in the company's Hiawatha, Iowa, USA, facility certified to AS9100C:2009 and ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards. crystalrugged.com

 2018 Crystal Group Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are property of their respective owners. Design and specifications are subject to change.

SOURCE Crystal Group Inc.
VestLink is a platform for connecting Seattle-based global innovators with the China market. Founder and CEO Amy Du says there are logistic and cultural challenges involved in fostering collaboration between US and Chinese companies and their aim is to bridge these gaps:

"We need to bring these partners onto the same platform, into the same room, for them to have a mini conversation and the goal for that conversation is not to just meet and greet, but to become a starting point for people to explore interest and then have the opportunity to follow up and foster real partnership and real investment and that's why we created Xinno Week."

Seattle's population is one of the fastest growing in the US. San Francisco for its part lost 24,000 people, many of whom simply jumped ship and headed north to The Emerald City. The US Census revealed that from 2016 to 2017 Seattle was the only metropolitan center north of the Sunbelt to have more people moving in than leaving.

People came for more affordable living, a better lifestyle, but more pertinently, they came to work in tech.

Of all new office jobs created in Seattle over the past two years, 69% have been in tech. IBM, Intel, Google, Apple - they're all here. China's big players - Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent - have all followed suit. In an era of growing cross-border innovation and collaboration, Chinese firms are now coming to Seattle too, to recruit, collaborate, invest, and acquire.

VestLink CEO Amy Du experienced this all first hand when she became one of the very first consultants at Chinese systems integrator Digital China to be sent to Seattle to assist Microsoft. Through her connections on both sides of the Pacific, Amy introduced a local startup to one of China's biggest IT consulting firms iSoftStone; iSoftStone later acquired the startup and set up its US HQ in Seattle, where Amy ultimately took up the role of Vice-President, Worldwide Services.

Yet in promoting China-Seattle collaboration and investment, Seattle needs to do more than overcome cultural differences; they must compete for attention with Silicon Valley's decades-long history as a high-tech hub.

VestLink was created to fill this gap in Seattle. It now runs its own co-working space and incubation center designed specifically for startups with an interest in China. It also welcomes Chinese company, government or investment delegations almost every other week to host events and connect with local entrepreneurs.

In education and research, Seattle finds itself locked in a similar scenario. University of Washington (UW) with its world-class computer science faculty still generates far less companies from its graduate pool than does Stanford.

Still, UW's in-house incubator program Co-Motion recently partnered with Beijing's prestigious Tsinghua University to co-launch the Global Innovation Exchange in the first-ever case of an official Chinese educational institution setting up its own brand abroad. In total, Co-Motion has produced 81 startup companies since 2013. It all points to a very encouraging trend in Seattle-China innovation collaboration.

Just last year, Amazon in cooperation with United Innovation Services (UIS) opened their Qingdao-AWS Joint Innovation Center in China to promote AWS cloud services application in the market and provide startups with technical training and funding support.

Vice-President of Amazon Web Services (AWS) Dorothy Nicholls is the tech giant's highest ranking Chinese employee. She says Amazon represents a great case study of a company that entered China over ten years ago yet is still transforming today and finding their identity in the China market:

"So we ask ourselves: what do we want to be? What's our strength to the Chinese consumers? You really have to take a step back. I think the bottom line for me here is a US company trying to appeal to consumers in China, and we really have to figure out what's our differentiation and what model we can have that's defensible, that cannot be easily copied."

Dorothy joined a group of more than 30 speakers and panelists present on Xinno Opening Day, including senior executives of 12 unicorns, to discuss the trends of cross-border collaboration.

"My team and I are looking to promote the technology and culture of the City of Jinan, and to attract local talents and companies here in Seattle to the city," says Zhaocun Xie, chief executive of Lixia District in Jinan, who signed the contract with VestLink Group to establish the "Seattle Cross-border Innovation and Collaboration Center" on Xinno Opening Day. Bin Yin, CEO of UIS, a China-based incubator and fund which oversees the operations of over 20 science and technology parks located both in China and the US, is also participating in the week-long event.

Two more participants were Doctors Xuchen Yao and GuoGuo Chen, cofounders and former CEO and CTO respectively of Kitt.ai. PhD graduates at John Hopkins, Yao and Chen (both Chinese nationals) decided to move to Seattle to found their own startup; there they enrolled in the Allen Institute for AI where they developed a framework to build and power chat bots and voice-based applications. Within only a couple of years, the company was acquired by Baidu, which then went on to open its local R&D center. Amy Du says that for firms wanting to strengthen their competitive advantages in technologies like AI and Machine Learning, this "makes sense"; the best way being to set up an R&D center, the quickest to acquire a creditable local firm.

Yao and Chen represent just two instances of a huge influx of Chinese students that now accounts for a massive 50% of Seattle's entire international student body. 3.4% of the population speak Chinese. China's FDI (foreign direct investment) into the city continues to grow. More signs that Seattle is well set to facilitate further collaboration with Chinese companies.

VestLink has flown out investment partners from China and the Bay area for Xinno Week. Eight local startups, selected on the basis of their significant traction and interest in building cross-border collaboration with China will also be pitching to these US and China-based investors.

About Xinno Week

Xinno Week provides a platform for entrepreneurs, innovators, business and industry leaders to connect and gain valuable insights of technology and investment trends in both the US and China markets, to discuss emerging opportunities and foster future partnerships and collaboration. The event is jointly hosted by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Washington State (CCCWA), VestLink, MSUP and the Chinese Young Professionals Association (CYPA). Xinno Week kicks off in Seattle this Sunday 13 May.

About VestLink

VestLink is a leading platform for connecting global innovators with the China market. Entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists are able to leverage VestLink's large and rapidly growing network of startups and innovators to connect with investment opportunities in AI, Machine Learning, Big Data, IoT, CloudTech, HealthTech, FinTech, EdTech, RetailTech, smart cities and AR/VR. Its Seattle-based incubation center and co-working space, supported by its consulting expertise and team of seasoned mentors, creates an environment to accelerate startup growth with a unique focus on cross-border business and collaboration.

Please visit https://www.xinnoweek.org/ for more information.

SOURCE VestLink
NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world, and one of the biggest problems with mankind. The impact on society is reflected in the Official 2017-2018 Cybercrime Report, published by Cybersecurity Ventures.

According to the report, cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021, up from $3 trillion in 2015. This represents the greatest transfer of economic wealth in history, risks the incentives for innovation and investment, and will be more profitable than the global trade of all major illegal drugs combined.

Thousands of startups have been formed over the past decade to focus on combating cybercrime. The Cybersecurity 500 features the hottest and most innovative companies in this market.

The first-ever official annual Cybersecurity 500 list for 2018 was announced to a live audience at the Cyber Investing Summit in New York City earlier today.

Now in its third year, the Cyber Investing Summit is an all-day conference focused on investing in the cybersecurity industry, which is predicted to exceed $1 trillion in cumulative spending on products and services over the next five years, according to the Cybersecurity Market Report.

The Cybersecurity 500 selection criteria includes some or all of the items below for each company:

Cybersecurity Sector (market category)

Problem(s) Solved

Customer Base

Feedback from CISOs and Decision Makers

Feedback from IT Security Evaluators & Recommenders

Feedback from VARs, SIs and Consultants

VC Funding

Company Growth

Published Product Reviews

Demos and Presentations at Conferences

Corporate Marketing and Branding

Media Coverage

Notable Implementations

Founder and Management Pedigree

Interviews with Senior Management

About

Cybersecurity Ventures is the world's leading researcher and publisher covering the global cyber economy, and a trusted source for cybersecurity facts, figures, and statistics.

SOURCE Cybersecurity Ventures

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NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Following a year marked by significant geopolitical and social change, millennials and Gen Z are sounding the alarm for businesses to step up their efforts to make a positive impact on the broader world, according to Deloitte's seventh annual Millennial Survey. Although some leaders are starting to tackle social issues, millennials have become more skeptical overall of business' motivation and ethics. The findings were revealed through a survey of 10,455 millennials across 36 countries. Nearly 1,850 Gen Z respondents across six countries who are just entering the workforce were also surveyed about their views on business.

Deloitte's past two surveys suggested millennials felt increasingly more positive about business' motivation and ethics. However, in 2018, there was a dramatic reversal as opinions of business reached their lowest level in four years. Today, less than half of millennials believe businesses behave ethically (48 percent vs 65 percent in 2017) and that business leaders are committed to helping improve society (47 percent vs 62 percent).

As highlighted over the past six years, millennialsand now Gen Zare acutely attuned to business' wider role in society, and overwhelmingly feel that business success should be measured beyond financial performance. They believe business' priorities should be job creation, innovation, enhancing employees' lives and careers, and making a positive impact on society and the environment. However, when asked what their organizations focus on, they cited generating profit, driving efficiencies, and producing or selling goods and servicesthe three areas they felt should have the least focus. They recognize businesses must make a profit to achieve the priorities millennials desire, but believe businesses should set out to achieve a broader balance of objectives along with financial performance.

"The results of this year's survey indicate that the rapid social, technological and geopolitical changes of the past year have had an impact on millennials' and Gen Z's views of business, and it should be a wake-up call to leaders everywhere," says Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. "These cohorts feel business leaders have placed too high a premium on their companies' agendas without considering their contributions to society at large. Businesses need to identify ways in which they can positively impact the communities they work in and focus on issues like diversity, inclusion and flexibility if they want to earn the trust and loyalty of millennial and Gen Z workers."

Trust gap provides opportunity for business leaders

While millennials' view of business has declined sharply, their trust in political leaders is even lower. When asked whether certain groupsincluding leaders of NGOs/nonprofits, business leaders, religious leaders and political leaderswere having a positive or negative impact on the world, only 19 percent of millennials believe politicians are having a positive impact (compared to 71 percent negative).

By comparison, 44 percent of millennials believe business leaders are making a positive impact, and they still have some faith in business' ability to enact meaningful change in society. Three quarters of millennials believe multinational corporations have the potential to help solve society's economic, environmental and social challenges. These findings suggest millennials believe business has an imperative to become involved in improving society beyond creating jobs and generating profit.

Loyalty levels recede; diversity/inclusion, flexibility keys to retention

Loyalty levels have retreated to where they were two years ago. Among millennials, 43 percent envision leaving their jobs within two years, and only 28 percent are looking to stay beyond five years. This represents a 15-point gap, up seven percentage points from the year prior. Among millennials who would willingly leave their employers within the next two years, 62 percent regard the gig economy as a viable alternative to full-time employment. Loyalty is even lower among the emerging Gen Z employees, with 61 percent saying they would leave their current jobs within two years if given the choice.

So, how can business hold onto them? Both millennials and Gen Z place a premium on factors such as tolerance and inclusivity, respect and different ways of thinking. While pay and culture attract this cohort to employers, diversity, inclusion and flexibility are the keys to keeping millennials and Gen Z happy. Those working for employers perceived to have diverse workforces and senior management teams are more likely to want to stay five or more years. And among millennial and Gen Z respondents who said they intend to stay with their current employers for at least five years, 55 percent note greater flexibility in where and when they work now compared to three years ago.

Industry 4.0 leaves millennials, Gen Z feeling unprepared

Millennials and Gen Z are highly aware of how Industry 4.0 is shaping the workplace and feel it has the potential to free people from routine activities to focus on more creative work. However, many are uneasy about its arrival. Seventeen percent of all surveyed millennials, and 32 percent of those whose organizations already use Industry 4.0 technologies extensively, fear part or all of their jobs will be replaced. Also, fewer than four in 10 millennials and three in 10 Gen Z workers feel they have the skills they'll need to succeed, and they're looking to business to help ready them to succeed in this new era.

Respondents are looking for guidance that's far broader than technical knowledge. Young professionals are especially seeking help building softer skills like confidence, interpersonal skills andparticularly for Gen Zethics/integrity aptitude. In their view, though, businesses are not being responsive to their developmental needs. Just 36 percent of millennials and 42 percent of Gen Z respondents reported their employers were helping them understand and prepare for the changes associated with Industry 4.0.

"The fluctuating loyalty levels showcase a unique opportunity for businesses to double-down on attracting and retaining talent," explains Michele Parmelee, Deloitte Global talent leader. "Businesses need to listen to what millennials are telling us and reimagine how business approaches talent management in Industry 4.0, placing a renewed focus on learning and development to help all people grow in their careers throughout their lifetimes."

About the Survey

The 2018 report is based on the views of 10,455 millennials questioned across 36 countries. Millennials included in the study were born between January 1983 and December 1994 and represent a specific group of this generationthose who have college or university degrees, are employed full time, and work predominantly in large, private-sector organizations. Millennials are increasingly taking on senior positions in which they can influence how their organizations address society's challenges.

This report also includes responses from 1,844 Gen Z respondents in Australia, Canada, China, India, the United Kingdom and the United States. Gen Z respondents were born between January 1995 and December 1999. All are currently studying for or have obtained a first/higher degree. More than a third are working either full time (16 percent) or part time (21 percent).

About Deloitte

Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited ("DTTL"), its global network of member firms and their related entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more.

Deloitte is a leading global provider of audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, tax and related services. Our network of member firms in more than 150 countries and territories serves four out of five Fortune Global 500 companies. Learn how Deloitte's approximately 264,000 people make an impact that matters at www.deloitte.com.

SOURCE Deloitte

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North Eastern Rescue Vehicles Recognized for Business and Sales Performance

MONTREAL, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Demers Ambulance, a North American leader in ambulance manufacturing, has announced North Eastern Rescue Vehicles (NERV) as the company's 2017 Dealer of the Year for unit sales. The award focuses on excellence in dealership performance, as well as business and unit sales performance within the United States.

"This is the eleventh year North Eastern Rescue Vehicles has been recognized as a Demers Dealer of the Year," said Benoit Lafortune, Demers Ambulances executive vice president. "We've had a successful partnership with NERV for many years, and we are proud to recognize them once again for their commitment to not only selling our ambulances, but also embracing our key values." The Demers Dealer of the Year award for unit sales was recently presented at the 2018 Fire Department Instructor's Conference (FDIC International), held in Indianapolis, Indiana.

"Receiving this award is validation of the efforts of our incredible team," said Bob Reilly, owner of North Eastern Rescue Vehicles. "We value the relationship we have with Demers Ambulances in helping us to provide an outstanding customer experience."

About North Eastern Rescue Vehicles Inc.

Headquartered in Syracuse New York, North Eastern Rescue Vehicles, Inc. is one of the largest independent ambulance dealers in the country. NERV has 10 extremely qualified salespeople serving New York and New England. Since 1987, NERV's business has been built through service one customer at a time. NERV strives to be the one-stop source for all their customer's needs. Customer loyalty and repeat sales are what drives the company. To learn more about North Eastern Rescue Vehicles Inc., visit www.nervinc.com.

About Demers Ambulances

Founded in 1960, Demers Ambulances is the second largest ambulance manufacturer in North America, delivering more than 18,000 ambulances to more than 20 countries. Recognized as a leader in innovative products that meet and exceed the expectations of medical emergency specialists around the world, Demers Ambulances is accredited by Transport Canada, recognized as a "Qualified Vehicles Modification" (QVM) by Ford, and also holds the US National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) Member Verification Program (MVP) certification. Demers Ambulances merged with Braun Industries in February 2018. To learn more about Demers Ambulances, visit www.demers-ambulances.com.

SOURCE Demers-Ambulances inc.

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The dual-diagnosis curriculum employed by the expert medical staff at Desert Hope is complemented with the use of industry best practices and addiction therapy types. Individual, customized treatment plans are utilized to ensure that patients are wholly treated  co-occurring mental health disorders, ongoing health issues and personal history are taken in to account when developing a tailored plan. The addiction professionals at Desert Hope provide patients with informative recovery tools, resources and education for successful treatment and prolonged recovery.

To learn more about the treatments offered at Desert Hope, visit https://deserthopetreatment.com/addiction-treatment-services-las-vegas/therapy-types/.

"Having achieved The Joint Commission accreditation translates into a trust that patients and their families will receive the highest level of clinical and medical care provided by a team of dedicated employees," said Ambrozino Storr, CEO of Desert Hope Treatment Center. "This honorable distinction further establishes Desert Hope as a treatment center that provides the highest quality of addiction services in a safe, progressive and comfortable environment."

To obtain accreditation, Desert Hope underwent an extensive review process, which included a rigorous on-site survey. The facility demonstrated compliance with behavior healthcare standards related to several areas including treatment and services; environment and care; leadership; and screening procedures for early detection of imminent harm.

"The Joint Commission accreditation provides behavioral health care organizations with the processes needed to improve in a variety of areas related to the care of individuals and their families," said Julia Finken, RN, BSN, MBA, CSSBB, CPHQ, executive director, Behavioral Health Care Accreditation Program, The Joint Commission. "We commend Desert Hope for its efforts."

The Joint Commission accreditation is the second international certification bestowed upon Desert Hope; the treatment center is also CARF- accredited, which further illustrates their commitment to continually improving services and serving their community.

About Desert Hope

Desert Hope is an American Addiction Centers facility. American Addiction Centers is a leading provider of inpatient and outpatient substance abuse treatment services. We treat clients who are struggling with drug addiction, alcohol addiction, and co-occurring mental/behavioral health issues. We currently operate substance abuse treatment facilities located throughout the United States. These facilities are focused on delivering effective clinical care and treatment solutions. For more information, please find us at AmericanAddictionCenters.org or follow us on Twitter @AAC_Tweet.

Media Contact: Joy Sutton

(615) 587-7728

[email protected]

SOURCE Desert Hope Treatment Center

Related Links

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LONDON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Dilesh Mehta, Chairman and CEO of UK based Designer Parfums announced today that the Company has acquired the fragrance license of the Cerruti 1881 brand to add to their portfolio of prestige fragrances.

Dilesh Mehta says: "We are pleased to be adding Cerruti 1881 to the Designer Parfums collection of fragrance brands. The Cerruti 1881 brand was founded in 1967 by Nino Cerruti in Paris and is known the world over for the quality of its products in the world of fashion, accessories and fragrance. Our goal is to build on its strong heritage as we develop the brand for future growth."

Laurent Grosgogeat, Cerruti 1881 Executive Vice President says: "Cerruti scents have always been a major category for Nino Cerruti, opening the way for hugely successful fragrances in the past 40 years. In partnership with Designer Parfums, we look forward to continuing to build on Cerruti' s strong legacy as a leading lifestyle brand."

About Cerruti 1881

The Cerruti brothers founded the House of Cerruti in 1881 in Biella, Italy, manufacturing the highest-quality wools and luxurious textiles. Maestros of their craft, the Cerruti's reputation grew throughout the century, with the 20 year old Nino Cerruti taking up the baton in the 1950s. In 1967, he founded Cerruti 1881, creating a legendary impact on men's ready to wear. Today, the brand has almost 100 directly-operated stores globally and is stocked at leading retailers worldwide.

Cerruti has a long-standing expertise in the global Fragrance industry. The first Cerruti fragrance was launched in 1978 and since then the brand has had many successful fragrances for both men and women, particularly the 1881 range.

Since April 2011, Cerruti 1881 is part of the Hong Kong based Trinity Limited group, specialized in high-end men's pret a porter. Jason Basmajian was appointed Chief Creative Officer in October 2015. His vision of the Cerruti Man is sophisticated, a man of the times who appreciates style over trends. In 2017, Cerruti celebrated the 50 years of the brand.

About Designer Parfums

Designer Parfums has a strong assortment of premium fragrances and beauty products which are either wholly owned or operated under license. Whether creating a brand from the very beginning or acquiring a license, the combination of innovative marketing solutions and flawless execution have been the foundation for their global success. Their current portfolio is distributed across over 80 countries and covers a spectrum of classics with true heritage alongside designer and celebrity fragrance brands including Jean Patou, Aigner Parfums, Ghost, Jean-Louis Scherrer, and now Cerruti fragrances. Designer Parfums' expertise spans key fragrance markets including Europe, US, Asia and the Middle East.

http://www.designerparfums.com

SOURCE SA Designer Parfums Ltd
BOCA RATON, Fla., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Colony, a global investment firm focused on enabling the next generation of mobile and internet infrastructure, today announced the appointment of Steven Sonnenstein as Managing Director, effective immediately.

"Steven has significant transaction experience in communications infrastructure across many geographies and sectors in the digital ecosystem," said Marc Ganzi, Managing Partner of Digital Colony. "He will be a great addition to our growing investment team, and we look forward to leveraging his international deal making expertise."

Steven was most recently a Senior Director at PSP Investments (PSP), one of Canada's largest pension investment managers with over C$139 billion of assets under management, where he led numerous infrastructure investments globally. During his six years at PSP, he put in final bids worth more than C$7.5 billion of equity, closing on more than C$2.2 billion - predominantly in the telecom infrastructure sector - and co-led and asset managed over C$1 billion of additional investments.

"Having worked with many of the Digital Colony team members over the years, I've always been impressed by their keen perspective on the future of the mobile and internet infrastructure space, and admired their successful transaction experience," said Sonnenstein. "This is a dynamic sector, and I am excited by the opportunity to continue to invest in this space with this motivated and experienced team."

Before joining PSP, Steven worked for Brookfield Asset Management in its Private Equity and Infrastructure Groups with particular focus and experience in South America. Prior to that, Steven spent several years working in mergers and acquisitions and distressed advisory.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill University, and a post-graduate in Chartered Accountancy.

About Digital Colony

Digital Colony is focused on investing in the next generation of digital infrastructure. The firm invests in the mobile and internet infrastructure landscape worldwide, including macro cell towers, data centers, small cell networks, and fiber networks. Digital Colony's strategic investments help meet the demand for digital infrastructure capacity which is driven by growth in mobile data and video consumption, and the mega-trends of cloud computing, big data analysis, IT outsourcing and e-commerce. Digital Colony brings together the industry and investment expertise of Digital Bridge Holdings, LLC, and Colony NorthStar, Inc. (NYSE: CLNS). The Digital Colony executive leadership team has a history of successful operations in digital infrastructure across multiple platforms and continents.

SOURCE Digital Colony
Through an auction currently live on the MileagePlus Exclusives website , members can bid miles to travel to Tupelo, Mississippi for a private tour of Universal Asset Management (UAM) Aircraft Disassembly Center, an aviation asset management facility that is currently home to a number of retired United 747 aircraft. The tour will culminate with a champagne toast in the 747 first-class cabin of N118UA, followed by dinner under the belly of the aircraft, which operated the airline's final 747 revenue flight last year.

In total, MileagePlus Exclusives is offering only five packages for this one-of-a-kind event  two packages are available to bid on by all MileagePlus members, two packages are reserved for bids from MileagePlus Premier members and one package is for United MileagePlus Cardmembers. Each package is for two guests.

Package Details:

Roundtrip United Economy domestic airfare for two to Memphis, Tennessee

Two-night hotel accommodations at a Marriott hotel property in Memphis

Check-in: Friday, June 1, 2018



Check out: Sunday, June 3, 2018

Access for two to tour UAM's hangar and aircraft disassembly center that holds some of United's 747s on Saturday, June 2, 2018

Tail numbers: N118UA, N117UA and N121UA

Access for two to tour UAM's Global Distribution Center on Saturday, June 2, 2018

A champagne toast in the first-class cabin of a United 747 on Saturday, June 2, 2018

Complimentary dinner outside with the "Queen of the Skies" on Saturday, June 2, 2018

Roundtrip shuttle bus transportation from Memphis to Tupelo on Saturday, June 2, 2018

"Through MileagePlus Exclusives, we aim to offer our members access to unique experiences that money can't buy, and there's no better example of that then getting up close with the 747 in a setting not typically experienced by the public," said Luc Bondar, president of MileagePlus Holdings and vice president of loyalty at United Airlines. "We're thrilled to be able to offer this uniquely United chance of a lifetime to aviation and engineering enthusiasts."

MileagePlus members have until May 24 to bid for this experience. To claim your spot visit: https://exclusives.mileageplus.com/747-400a

In addition to this exciting experience, in July, MileagePlus members will have an opportunity to own a piece of three United 747s. Members will be able to bid on or buy parts of this historic aircraft fleet, including tail numbers, windows and more. For details, visit: https://exclusives.mileageplus.com/747-400a

United's final revenue flight operated by a 747 took place on Nov. 7, 2017, when the airline recreated its very first 747 flight, flying from San Francisco to Honolulu.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600 flights a day to 354 airports across five continents. In 2017, United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark/New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 750 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 545 regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 191 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol "UAL".

SOURCE United Airlines

Related Links

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LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Jordan Taylor Wright, Founder of Taylor Cut Films and content creator to the stars, announced today the release of his new book, "Forever in the Infinite Now." The book, which serves as a tool to help readers meditate, is accompanied by a curated soundtrack to aid in the mediation process and features custom illustrations by Rebecca Reitz. The book is available for pre-order now on Amazon.com and Wright's new interactive digital platform, IntentOn. The official release date coincides with National Meditation Day, May 31.

Taylor Cut Films

While spending years traveling the world while on tour with eight-time Grammy Award-winner Usher and creating stunning visual content for artists including Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, The Chainsmokers and many others, Wright found himself on a spiritual journey. He credits his career and personal success with finding meditation and learning to live in the present. "Forever in the Infinite Now" delves into Wright's own experience and aims to share this message with his fans.

"I got to experience these amazing places at such a high level, but I also saw how chasing money doesn't make you truly fulfilled. Once we, as humans, realize that we are all nothing and by nothing, I mean no thing, we are freed to realize that we are also all everything. When we operate without ego, we are able to find what is truly fulfilling," said Jordan Taylor Wright, author.

The book is also a precursor to Wright's upcoming full-length film, "Discovery of the Divine Consciousness," which was shot in Tokyo, New Zealand, Alaska and Los Angeles and set to debut late 2018, focusing on similar themes.

"With so many projects in the works, I needed a place to share everything with my fans which is why I am also launching a digital platform, IntentOn, which means you remove the 'i' from intention so you're operating without ego," said Jordan Taylor Wright.

The platform serves as a one-stop shop for accessing Wright's new book and film, but will also include many custom features. Fans of Wright's can learn how he creates certain visual effects and photography aesthetics through his Taylor Cut University where Wright will teach filmmaking and photography techniques he uses. The platform will also offer custom Adobe Lightroom photography filters. IntentOn will operate on a subscription-based model for content, with select a la carte options available.

Los Angeles-based fans of Wright's work can also attend one of his local book signings to celebrate the launch of his book and platform. Wright will be on hand to answers questions and connect with fans. For more information on these dates and to pre-order the book and reserve event tickets, please visit https://intenton.io.

About Jordan Taylor Wright

Jordan Taylor Wright, the founder of Taylor Cut Films, is a creative director and filmmaker based out of Los Angeles. Taylor Cut Films is a production company/ creative agency specializing in music videos, commercials, and films. Over a 10 year span, Taylor Cut Films has worked and created original content for artists such as Usher, Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lopez, and The Chainsmokers. Jordan and his team are currently creating ad campaigns with renowned brands such as Bose, L'Oreal, American Express, and Marvel. Taylor Cut Films will soon announce a slate of original TV and film content for 2018/2019. To learn more follow Jordan on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.



About "Forever in the Infinite Now"

"Forever in the Infinite Now" is a visual written narrative with illustrations explaining how we as humans are the functioning harmony between our mind, physical body, and spirit. As we read along with a curated playlist, we get to discover how to remove ourselves from our thoughts and ego, to live in a place of meditation, perceiving this reality from the mirror reflection of our conscious awareness. Let's allow ourselves to be free from any stress, worry, and attachments, to live eternally in happiness within the infinite moment of now.

Media Contact:

Jennifer Buonantony

Press Pass LA

[email protected]

323-496-1976

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Book Cover

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SOURCE Taylor Cut Films

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DUBLIN, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

DPS Group, the engineering and construction management firm with operations and projects across Europe and the US has been awarded a major contract from the global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to provide Engineering, Procurement, Construction Management and Validation (EPCMV) services for small and medium sized projects on AstraZeneca's pharmaceutical site in Sodertalje, Sweden.

As a result of winning this contract, DPS Group is now establishing an office in Sweden, which will be used initially to service AstraZeneca exclusively but later to service other clients in Sweden.

DPS Group CEO Frank Keogh said: "DPS are delighted to have won this contract and we are confident the combination of a substantial local office and local partners in Sweden, as well as our large pharma centre of excellence offices in Dublin and Cork will ensure a quality and cost effective delivery model for AstraZeneca. As with all our clients we will work with AstraZeneca in a true partnership, building a long term relationship."

The value of the contract has not been disclosed but it is expected that over 100 DPS engineering personnel potentially will be working on AstraZeneca projects depending on capital expenditure levels.

About DPS Group

DPS Group is a global engineering, consulting and project management company, serving high-tech industries around the world. DPS delivers services for clients across the complete engineering and construction value chain including feasibility studies, concepts, consulting, architecture, engineering, professional outsourcing, procurement, construction management, commissioning, qualification and validation; as well as contingent staffing solutions.

DPS applies its extensive Process Engineering expertise built over 40+years, as well as significant Lean Construction experience to assist our clients in high-end process sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biotech, medical devices and semiconductors. DPS deliver their manufacturing facilities speedily, safely and cost effectively. What sets us apart are the partnerships we build with our clients through a fundamental understanding of their businesses and our own agility, flexibility, original thinking and our high-calibre people.

We have grown substantially in recent years and now employ over 1,300 people in our offices and on client sites in Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, Israel, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, visit http://www.dpsgroupglobal.com.

Contact: Annette O'Hara, Group Marketing Manager

O +353-1-466-1755

M +353-87-248-2573

E [email protected]



SOURCE DPS Group
ROSWELL, N.M., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Daniel Lyman Ridout III MD, FACP, AGAF, FASGE is recognized by Continental Who's Who as 2018 Doctor of The Year in the field of Healthcare as a result of his role as Chief of Gastroenterology at Eastern New Mexico Gastroenterology.

Eastern New Mexico Gastroenterology patients can always count on a rising selection of resources and technology to further assist them in their medical endeavors. With a team of over 150 well trained professionals, Eastern New Mexico promises promoting, maintaining and restoring health with exceptional patient-focused care in a compassionate setting. With excellent success from both a quality care and economic standpoint, the clinic is currently being run by Dr. Jessie Surla, who is a Certified Nurse Practitioner with a PhD in nursing and who contributed a great deal with her impeccable knowledge in the correlation of economics to the healthcare industry.



Known for his excellence and outstanding contributions, Dr. Ridout has become a trusted authority in all aspects of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. Dr. Ridout's professional experience began as an Internist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where he realized his passion for working in the field of Gastroenterology. Inspired by his time in working with the minority community in underserved areas, Dr. Ridout continued on his mission to serve the general public with the highest quality medical care possible. In this capacity, Dr. Ridout specializes in educating patients on prevention and medical options, community-based medicine, gastroenterology procedures, consultations, clinical care, and mentoring residents and medical school students.



A prominent scholar, Dr. Ridout is sought after for his astute knowledge and keen sense of understanding in the field of medicine. Dr. Ridout taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Hospital for twelve years prior to his assuming his teaching role at Crozer Chester Medical Center for seventeen years. Here, Dr. Ridout was responsible for teaching, guiding and mentoring residents and minority-premedical students every year the moral and ethical duties as an attending physician.



Highlighting his ability to combine the humanistic, the business and skill aspects of medicine and putting it all together to develop a successful product, Dr. Ridout feels there is a responsibility for the gifts, skills and talents that have been given to him in order to improve humanity.



Dr. Ridout's greatest mentor, his father, raised him to believe that humanity and being productive in society was more important than anything, and he continues to live by that philosophy every day.



Early in his career, Dr. Ridout attained his Medical Doctor degree from the University of Cincinnati and attained Board Certification in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. In his previous years, Dr. Ridout attained his Bachelor of Art degree in Music Composition and Orchestration from Dartmouth College. Dr. Ridout conducted his internship in Internal Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, Graduate Hospital where he also completed his Residency.



It is no surprise that Dr. Ridout's long-standing, successful career comes with several professional licensures and certifications that he has culminated throughout the years. Licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Delaware, California, Virginia, New Mexico and Arizona, Dr. Ridout holds certifications in Advanced Trauma and Life Support, Advanced Cardiac and Life Support, Endoscopic Laser Therapy, and Endoscopic Ultrasonography Training.



In an effort to further enhance his professional development, Dr. Ridout is an elite member of several organizations including the Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy; the American Gastroenterological Association; American Professional Practice Association; American Medical Association; Pennsylvania Medical Society; Philadelphia County Medical Society; New Castle County Medical Society; Medical Society of Delaware; Medical Society of Eastern Pennsylvania; Delaware County Medical Society; American Society of Internal Medicine; Crohns and Colitis Foundation; Delaware County Medical Society; and Virginia Medical Society. In addition, Dr. Ridout has served as a Fellow with the American College of Physicians.



Extending his scope of interest to the community at large, Dr. Ridout maintains charitable ties to the Sylvia Olden Music Guild, American Cancer Society, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc.



An extraordinary career filled with several professional accolades, Dr. Ridout was named in Who's Who in America, Top 101 Industry Experts in 2012, and the recipient of the Achievement and Service in Medicine Award from the African American Historical Society of Delaware. Dr. Ridout has been inducted into the Hall of Fame of African American Museum and Historical Society of Delaware, inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Physicians in 2005, and inducted as a Fellow in the American Gastroenterological Association.



An active philanthropist interested in the arts and music, Dr. Ridout has been active in the preservation of the arts for many years. Involved with the Arts Council Eastern Shore of Virginia Advisory Board where he utilizes a community- based business model for new ventures at Eastern New Mexico Medical Center, Dr. Ridout administers enhanced methods of efficiency, profitability and cost effective, quality healthcare.



When he is not working, Dr. Ridout enjoys listening to music, boating, choral singing, and conducting choirs.



In looking to the future, Dr. Ridout would like to become a director of musical ensembles and involved in musical composition and orchestration in the future.



For more information, please visit www.enmmc.com.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

https://www.continentalwhoswho.com


FAIRHOPE, Ala., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Charles Runels, of the Cellular Medicine Association, the owner of the registered trademarks VAMPIRE FACELIFT, VAMPIRE FACIAL, VAMPIRE BREAST LIFT, ORGASM SHOT, O SHOT, VAMPIRE O-SHOT, PRIAPUS SHOT, VAMPIRE M SHOT, M SHOT, and P-SHOT, announces the following update on his enforcement activities against infringers.

Charles Runels, MD Legal Proceedings Underway

As is known, Dr. Runels licenses other medical providers to use his trademarks for PRP therapeutic procedures, but only subject to quality control measures to which all licensees agree. This ensures that both providers and patients will continue to trust in the quality of services performed under these trademarks. Due to the nearly instant success and popularity of the VAMPIRE FACIAL and VAMPIRE FACELIFT procedures first launched by Dr. Runels in 2010, including the media attention that surrounded the launch, Dr. Runels has been forced to employ a full-time staff to identify and stop providers who use any or all of his trademarks without license (i.e., infringers).

To date, Dr. Runels and his staff have identified several hundred infringers throughout the country, all of whom receive communications from Dr. Runels to stop using his trademarks. This is an ongoing process. Internet advertising has made Dr. Runels' trademarks ubiquitous because of the sheer number of legitimate licensees who hold the authority to use the mark (in that regard, as of this date, Dr. Runels has approximately two thousand licensees who are authorized to use his marks). This widespread authorized use, in turn, has made it that much easier for infringers to attempt to "blend in with the crowd."

While it is obviously not an easy task to contain these illegal uses, Dr. Runels estimates that he has already stopped 400 unauthorized users. He will relentlessly follow-up with those whom he has identified as infringing and to whom he has sent cease and desist letters. Dr. Runels encourages licensed providers who are aware of anyone using any of Dr. Runels' trademarks without authority to please help by informing Dr. Runels immediately. They may do so by accessing his website at CellularMedicineAssociation.org/report-imposter.



Providers may also first check to see if Dr. Runels and his staff have already identified such infringer(s), since Dr. Runels has recently added a page to his website that lists all of those who have been identified and contacted about their infringement.



Dr. Runels would also like to inform licensed providers that one former provider and licensee, Dr. Lisbeth Roy of Boca Raton, Florida, has petitioned the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cancel Dr. Runels' trademarks. Dr. Runels is vigorously defending against the allegations set forth in Dr. Roy's petition, almost all of which Dr. Runels denies as simply untrue. A copy of Dr. Roy's petition, along with Dr. Runels' detailed answer, is available on Dr. Runels' website under the heading "current litigation."

Media Contact:

Charles Runels, MD

1-888-920-5311

[email protected]

SOURCE Cellular Medicine Association

Related Links

https://cellularmedicineassociation.org


WASHINGTON, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Drivers at XPO Logistics in Erie, Pa. filed for Teamster representation today with Local 294, the latest action by workers across the U.S. who are banding together to fight for fair treatment at one of the largest transportation and logistics companies in the world.

The drivers at the former Con-way Freight are planning to join XPO freight workers in Laredo, Texas; Vernon, Calif.; Miami, Florida; Aurora, Ill.; King of Prussia, Pa., and Trenton, N.J. and warehouse workers in North Haven, Conn. who have already joined the Teamsters.

"The workers in Erie have had enough with higher health care costs and reduced coverage and no voice on the job," said Ernie Soehl, Director of the Teamsters National Freight Division. "We look forward to helping the workers in Erie address their issues."

"The workers reached out to us because they want to be treated with dignity and respect, have an 8-hour guarantee and are seeking strong retirement security," said Steve Getz, President of Teamsters Local 397 in Erie. "We will stand with these workers as they form their union."

Port, freight and warehouse workers at XPO are coming together across the country in their fight for a more secure future.

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Galen Munroe (202) 624-6904

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Wildwood School in West Los Angeles was awarded a $250,000 matching grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation, a premier funder of independent schools. Wildwood is one of only four schools to be honored in 2018 and is the sole awardee in the western United States. The award will be used to support the expansion of Wildwood's Institute Model program and launch the second of three academic institutes organized and run by studentsthe Wildwood Institute for Social Good and Community Leadership. The inaugural director of the new Institute is Callie Kamada, who comes to Wildwood from Westminster School's Glenn Institute for Philanthropy and Service Learning in Atlanta.

The Wildwood Institute for Social Good and Community Leadership will center on finding ways to address challenging social issues such as poverty and unequal access to resources; cultivate in students the expertise needed for grassroots organizing; and provide them with the necessary skills to serve as nonprofit leaders, volunteers, and trustees.

Wildwood academic Institutes bring together motivated scholars who develop their learning outcomes alongside professionals and graduate students. The Institute Model is a hallmark program for teaching and learning at Wildwood's upper school. It provides a framework for the best ways to help students develop skills that are essential to success: mastering content, risk-taking, problem-solving, critical-thinking, collaboration, and navigating unfamiliar situations with comfort.

In a letter to Head of School Landis Green announcing the grant award, John C. Gulla, Executive Director of The Edward E. Ford Foundation, said, "The Institute Model holds such promise, not just for your school but for others as well. I look forward to watching how things unfold in the years ahead."

Wildwood Head of School Landis Green said, "The Edward E. Ford Foundation is a standard-bearer for supporting innovation and new models of working with middle and high school students, so it's especially gratifying to have them provide such powerful support for our efforts to keep students where they belong, which is at the center of their learning."

This is the second major grant the school has received from the Foundation in the past three years. The first, awarded in 2015, helped fund the school's inaugural InstituteWildwood Institute for STEM Research and Development (WISRD)which is internationally acclaimed.

About the Wildwood Institute Model

The Wildwood Institute Model marries the acquisition of academic content with the development of skills such as student initiative, productivity, and leadership. Students lead Institutes organized around big, bold ideas and collaborate with universities, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits. With guidance from faculty mentors, students figure out how to acquire the knowledge necessary to do original, real-world work. Rooted in Wildwood's deep-seated community value of "service to the common good," and aligned with the school's multicultural and global citizenship programming, the Institute Model addresses complicated world issues through the lens of affecting positive change.

Contact:

Janet Keller, Director of

Marketing and Communications

(310) 806-4526

[email protected]

SOURCE Wildwood School

Related Links

https://www.wildwood.org


SAN FRANCISCO and NEW YORK, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants announced today that financial and professional risk management and insurance veteran Diane Montelione has joined the firm's Financial Risk Practice as a senior vice president. She will be based in New York and report to managing principal and Financial Risk Practice Leader, Michael Klaschka.

Montelione's primary responsibilities will include providing risk management advisory and insurance brokerage services to a complex book of financial services and commercial clients, with a particular emphasis on directors & officers, errors & omissions, fiduciary, and cyber liability, as well as fidelity bonds.

Prior to joining EPIC, Montelione was a senior vice president at Marsh, Inc. where she served for nearly 30 years as a management liability insurance broker with extensive experience in both U.S. and international markets. In this role, Montelione designed and implemented strategically aligned risk management and insurance solutions for a wide range of domestic and international organizations.

"We are excited to further expand and enhance EPIC's Financial Risk Practice with Diane's addition," said Klaschka. "She is highly respected for her professional knowledge and client service excellence, and we are pleased to add such an experienced broker to our financial services team as we continue to grow our portfolio of complex financial and commercial clients."

Montelione attended State University of New York College of Brockport where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French Language and Literature. Following recognition as a Fulbright Scholar, she went on to earn a Master's Degree in French Language and Literature from Sorbonne University in France.

Montelione can be reached at [email protected] or (646) 452-4033.

About EPIC:

EPIC is a unique and innovative retail property & casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm. EPIC has created a values-based, client-focused culture that attracts and retains top talent, fosters employee satisfaction and loyalty and sustains a high level of customer service excellence.

EPIC team members have consistently recognized their company as a "Best Place to Work" in multiple regions and as a "Best Place to Work in the Insurance Industry" nationally.

EPIC now has more than 1,400 team members operating from 50 offices across the U.S., providing Property & Casualty, Employee Benefits, Specialty Programs and Private Client solutions to more than 20,000 clients.

With run rate revenues greater than $400 million, EPIC ranks among the top 20 retail insurance brokers in the United States. Backed by Oak Hill Capital Partners, the company continues to expand organically and through strategic acquisitions across the country. For additional information, please visit https://www.epicbrokers.com/.

*PHOTO Link for Media: Send2Press.com/300dpi/18-0415s2p-Montelione-300dpi.jpg

This release was issued through Send2Press, a unit of Neotrope. For more information, visit Send2Press Newswire at https://www.Send2Press.com

SOURCE EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants

Related Links

https://www.epicbrokers.com


SOMERVILLE, Mass., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Evergage, The 1-to-1 Platform company, today announced that it is a winner in The 2018 American Business Awards. Evergage's email personalization solution, Evergage for Email, received a gold Stevie Award  the highest-level honor  in the "New Product of the Year: Marketing Solutions" category. This is the fourth year in a row that Evergage has been a Stevie Award winner and the third consecutive year that the company has brought home the gold.

The American Business Awards are the nation's premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S.  public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small  are eligible to submit nominations. The program received more than 3,700 nominations this year.

Honored for dramatically improving email marketing effectiveness, Evergage for Email enables marketers to capitalize on in-depth behavioral data  delivering contextually relevant, personalized emails at precisely the right time. Primary components include open-time email personalization (for showing individualized recommendations, content and promotions the moment an email is opened, not sent) and triggered emails (enabling marketers to deploy one-off messages, triggered by a visitor's actions, product/content catalog changes or external factors). Marketers can also use Evergage for Email in conjunction with Evergage's full personalization and customer data platform (CDP) to monitor, understand and personalize user interactions in real time across digital channels, and remember where visitors "left off."

Judges praised Evergage for Email's scope and results. Feedback included:

"It's like someone applied data-driven digital metrics to email instead of treating it as direct mail without the envelope. This is powerful stuff."

"Impressive capabilities; important in today's account-based-marketing (ABM)-focused world."

"This is not only a very impressive and much-needed product offering, I am pleased to see the product backed up by the real results of a well-known customer brand. Well done."

"Important tool to help companies stand out in the crowd."

"Interesting and useful tool. The technology continues to advance."

This win comes on the heels of other recent accolades for Evergage including being named an EContent Trendsetting Product and a Top Rated A/B Testing and Personalization Tool on TrustRadius for the second straight year. The company is also currently a finalist in both the SIIA CODiE Awards ("Best E-Commerce Solution" category) and MITX Awards ("Most Strategic Use of Data Driving Personalization" category).

"People today are bombarded with emails. All too often, their inboxes are chock-full of irrelevant and ill-timed offers," said Evergage CMO Andy Zimmerman. "We can all relate to the frustration this causes. Evergage for Email helps marketers cut through the clutter  making emails more relevant, engaging and effective at the 1-to-1 level. This Stevie Award is great validation of our strategy, as we continue to innovate with new email personalization capabilities."

For more information and ideas on how to improve email marketing campaigns, please see Evergage's newly released eBook, "Email Personalization: 15 Examples that Go Way Beyond {First_Name}" (http://bit.ly/evergage-email-personalization).

About Evergage

Only Evergage's real-time personalization and customer data platform (CDP) delivers The Power of 1, enabling companies to transform the dream of 1:1 engagement, across channels, into reality. Combining in-depth behavioral analytics with advanced machine learning, Evergage provides the one solution you need to systematically understand and interact with each person that visits your site, uses your app or opens your emails  one at a time, "in the moment" and at scale  to deliver a maximally relevant, individualized experience. Evergage's powerful and flexible cloud-based platform delivers personalization to billions of web visitors, improving revenue growth, demand generation and customer success for leading organizations across industries, including Citrix, Endurance International Group, Lenovo, Publishers Clearing House, Rue La La and Zumiez. Evergage is a CODiE Award winner, four-time winner in the Stevie American Business Awards, and three-time winner in the Golden Bridge Awards and Best in Biz Awards. For more information, visit http://evergage.com or contact the company at [email protected] or 1-888-310-0589.

Media Contact:

Paula Crerar

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 1-888-310-0589

SOURCE Evergage

Related Links

http://www.evergage.com


"Consumers want seamlessly integrated smart home solutions," said Albert Lin, general manager of EZVIZ. "Now that our cameras are compatible with the Google Assistant, EZVIZ customers can control our cameras with simple voice commands."

The Google Assistant is now compatible with EZVIZ smart home and surveillance cameras. Visit the EZVIZ website for more details.

About EZVIZ

EZVIZ, Inc., provides smart home security systems through its versatile cameras and cloud-based platform. The intelligent and intuitive products from EZVIZ enable customers to see, capture, share and protect what's valuable to them. Located in City of Industry, California, EZVIZ is the consumer and residentially focused subsidiary of Hikvision, the world's largest provider of video surveillance solutions.

SOURCE EZVIZ
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Tesla executive Diarmuid O'Connell has joined Fair's executive team as Chief Strategy Officer as the company prepares to roll out nationwide this year.

An established leader in automotive technology, O'Connell will help direct Fair's organizational and market activities as it gets ready to expand from California to major markets across the U.S. throughout 2018.

"Diarmuid is a world-class executive and leader who has proven himself in an array of disciplines and organizationsfrom groundbreaking companies to our country's national security framework," said Scott Painter, Fair's founder and CEO. "Diarmuid's experience launching revolutionary products will be a critical aspect of our growth plan, while his operational savvy and close relationships at all levels of business and government will help us overcome countless obstacles along the way."

Diarmuid comes to Fair after 11 years at Tesla, where he served across multiple functions in his capacity as Vice President of Business Development. Besides managing commercial and OEM relationships, Diarmuid negotiated strategic deals, took leadership on global public policy, and served on several occasions as interim head of communications.

Prior to Tesla, Diarmuid served as Chief of Staff for Political Military Affairs at the U.S. State Department, where he was involved in policy and operational support to the U.S military in various theaters of operation. Before his tenure in Washington, Diarmuid worked in corporate strategy as a management consultant for Accenture, co-founded an educational software development startup, and was a senior executive with both Young & Rubicam and McCann-Erickson. Diarmuid has a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College, a master's degree in foreign policy from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management.

"The best companies solve big, pervasive problems, and there's no bigger one in auto than customers having to take out a massive loan for a car they're forced to drive years past obsolescenceall while watching it constantly lose value," O'Connell said. "I'm excited to help transform how people get a car with a process that's totally transparent and mirrors the countless other digital transactions they make on their terms and with no long-term commitment."

Having launched last August, Fair is an app that lets customers get a pre-owned car entirely on their phone, with the ability to turn it in any time. Customers can shop for cars from a wide variety of Fair's dealer partners right in the app and scan their driver's license to see if they are pre-qualified for a range of monthly payments. If approved, they can sign for their car with their finger, pick up their keys, and drive it for as long as they want.

Fair is working with hundreds of dealers throughout California alone, has raised significant debt and equity capital, and entered into several notable strategic alliances to help scale its model nationwide. Earlier this year, it acquired the Xchange Leasing portfolio from Uber and became Uber's exclusive long-term vehicle partner in the U.S. for drivers seeking access for 30 days or longer. Fair also acquired certain assets of vehicle-delivery app, Skurt, as part of its plan to quickly scale a cost-effective platform for vehicle delivery, pick-up and fleet management. More recently, Fair announced a strategic relationship with Ally Financial Inc. in which Fair will use Ally's SmartAuction platform as a remarketing solution for its returned cars and offer consumers flexible car financing powered by Ally's Clearlane programin addition to exploring other areas in which to partner.

About Fair

Fair offers a forward-thinking model of flexible car ownership that responds to consumer demand for more freedom Fair gives customers the flexibility to drive the car they want for as long as they want, and lets them walk away any time, eliminating the long-term commitment of traditional financing or leasing. Fair allows you to select your car, miles, and view your paymentsall in a mobile and paperless end-to-end experience that's simple, transparent and affordable. Fair is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif. For more information, please visit www.fair.com.

Media Contact

Michelle Horn

Edelman

(323) 761-6541

[email protected]

Yasmin Moaven

Fair

(800) 584-5000

[email protected]

SOURCE Fair

Related Links

http://www.fair.com


WASHINGTON, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today announced the appointment of Family Research Council (FRC) President Tony Perkins to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) as its newest commissioner, for a two-year term. Mr. Perkins will remain FRC president during his time with USCIRF. Majority Leader McConnell appointed Perkins to the independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission which is tasked with reviewing "the facts and circumstances of religious freedom violations and makes policy recommendations to the president, the secretary of state, and Congress." USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the president and the congressional leadership of both political parties.

In recent years Mr. Perkins has taken a direct and active role in advocating for religious minorities helping to bring national and international attention to their plight. He has testified before Congress on the topic of international religious freedom on multiple occasions.

FRC President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"I am grateful to Majority Leader McConnell for appointing me to this prestigious position. From my post at USCIRF, I look forward to doing all that I can to ensure that our government is the single biggest defender of religious freedom internationally. One immediate step our government can take in this regard is to make sure that the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act is fully and properly implemented. As a commissioner, I also look forward to working with willing partners among those nations on USCIRF's list of 'Countries of Particular Concern' to substantively address religious freedom concerns, including at the grassroots level, and assist them in being removed from the list. It is my hope that through the work of USCIRF, the world will become one step closer to recognizing the vital role religious freedom and the defense of religious minorities play in peace, security and human flourishing."

The Honorable Frank Wolf, arguably our nation's most prominent international religious freedom advocate, senior fellow of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative and former U.S. congressman from Virginia, offered the following praise:

"I'm extremely pleased that Tony Perkins has been appointed to USCIRF. I wholeheartedly support him as a USCIRF Commissioner, in which role I fully believe he will advocate vigorously for those of all faiths as a matter of international religious freedom. This is a fantastic appointment," concluded Wolf.

Dr. Zuhdi Jasser, President and Founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy (AIFD), said:

"As a former member of USCIRF (2012-2016), and having worked with Tony Perkins for many years, I am confident that his clarity and courage in the advocacy of religious freedom and universal human rights will be an outstanding addition to the mission of USCIRF and its vitally important work across the world in these difficult times. Tony is an American patriot who will surely bring to USCIRF a wealth of experience, dedication and passion for international religious freedom issues," concluded Jasser.

Meriam Ibraheem, the Sudanese Christian who was sentenced to death for apostasy and spent months in a notoriously rank Sudanese prison with her toddler son and newborn daughter, but was released from imprisonment in July 2014, in part, through the efforts of Perkins advocating on her behalf, commented on his appointment to USCIRF:

"I want to thank Tony Perkins for all of his efforts on my behalf and the persecuted around the world. If it wasn't for God, Tony and those working for religious freedom, I wouldn't be free today. I am excited that Tony will be serving in this new role," concluded Ibraheem.

"Tony has been a great champion for persecuted believers around the world, using his voice to help bring freedom and dignity to people like Meriam Ibraheem of Sudan among many others. I am encouraged to hear that he will be joining the Commission and bringing his deep well of compassion and commitment for the persecuted and their freedom to it. His voice will help propel the Commission into a new season of growth and excellence."  Tina Ramirez, President, Hardwired

SOURCE Family Research Council

Related Links

http://www.frc.org